Hamptons Film Festival Screens Top Awards Season Contenders

Nick Clement The Newport Beach Film Festival is attracting more interest from Hollywood as it opens its 23rd edition Oct. 13. The festival, which runs through Oct. 20 will feature a battalion of acclaimed films and attract talent for its numerous awards. This year’s opening night screening is the Daniel Radcliffe-led biopic “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” while the closing night selection is “Glass Onion,” which is Rian Johnson’s hotly anticipated follow-up to “Knives Out,” a big critical and box office success in 2019.  “We’re seeing all of the major studios and distribution companies seeking to work with us, as they understand the many benefits and opportunities of screening at festivals that are growing, and bringing in an enthusiastic crowd to their films,” says CEO and co-founder Gregg Schwenk. 

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama The Fabelmans has been announced as the opening film of 44th Cairo International Film Festival, running from November 13 to 22.

Clayton Davis J.D. Dillard’s “Devotion” was announced as the Audience Award winner for best narrative film following the conclusion of the Middleburg Film Festival. The Sony Pictures historical drama, which stars Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, was a heavy favorite from patrons and could be a quiet dark horse contender in the Oscar race. Dillard and actor Christina Jackson were both in attendance in Virginia for a post-screening Q&A. Written by Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart, the film is based on Adam Makos’ novel and tells the inspirational, true story of two elite U.S. Navy fighter pilots who fought in the Korean War in the 1950s. “We were honored to have these filmmakers join us at the festival to present their exceptional films to our audiences and engage in thoughtful conversations,” said Susan Koch, MFF executive director.

Katie Reul editor The 66th annual British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival announced winners Saturday evening for a competition group representing a diverse selection of stories ranging from period pieces to eerie thrillers. Writer-director Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage,” was recognized with the festival’s highest honor — the best film award — continuing the historical drama’s festival praise after lead actress Vicky Krieps was awarded the Un Certain Regard best performance prize at Cannes. Set during Christmas in 1877, “Corsage” follows Empress Elizabeth as she attempts to find liberation from the stifling conformity of her stuffy, image-focused lifestyle as a Vienna royal. Though the film is in part based on the historical figure, who reigned for 44 years, artistic deviations are made in the former ruler’s story.

Is there a better way to prove the virtue of the cinematic experience than to get 5,000 people on their feet giving a film a standing ovation?  Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Fremaux did just that on the opening night of his 14th Lumière Film Festival in Lyon with Louis Garrel’s romantic comedy “The Innocent.”  The movie played in the jam-packed Halle Tony Garnier before a star-studded crowd, including Garrel and his cast, Noémie Merlant and Roschdy Zem, as well as Sebastián Lelio, Costa Gavras, Leila Bekhti, Marina Fois, Lee Chang-dong, Nicole Garcia, Sabine Azema and Damien Bonnard. 

Emma Corrin showcased her edgy sense of style as she stepped out to the My Policeman premiere during 66th BFI London Film Festival at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday. The actress, 26, wore a multicoloured one-shoulder mini dress with an abstract spray paint design. Screen star Emma's ensemble finished high above her knee, with the garment tied on her shoulder with a crimped length of material fanning out to the side.

A24’s Close, which won the Grand Prix in Cannes, has picked up another accolade, capturing the jury prize for top narrative film at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Janelle Monáe was fashionably late as she strolled onstage at the BFI Southbank, where she headlined the London Film Festival’s final major keynote ‘screen talk’ Friday afternoon. 

Katie Reul editor Director Gregg Araki’s 1995 comedy-thriller “The Doom Generation” first debuted at that year’s Sundance Film Festival, setting in motion the film’s successful trajectory toward the distinction of being a cult classic. Almost three decades later, the film — now remastered in 4K and presented as an uncensored director’s cut — will be enjoyed by audiences again at the 2023 iteration of the Utah-based festival. Also being screened for audiences is a digital restoration of “SLAM,” the 1998 urban crime drama from director Marc Levin that took home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival that same year. “SLAM” and “The Doom Generation” were announced by the nonprofit Sundance Institute as the first two films in this year’s From the Collection screening line-up.

While your future planning probably only extends to Thanksgiving, the Sundance Film Festival is already thinking ahead to January, the 2023 edition of their festival. Today,  the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the first two films in the lineup for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and they are the 25th Anniversary and digital restoration screening of “SLAM” and the uncensored director’s cut and restoration of “The Doom Generation.” Directed by Marc Levin and written by Levin, Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, and Richard Stratton, “SLAM” was first introduced to audiences at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in the U.S.

Hamptons International Film Festival is underway in full swing and has already seen a host of famous faces in attendance.The Long Island-based fest runs from Oct. 7 until Oct.

Japanese director Naomi Kawase will preside over the international jury of the 44th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, running November 13 to 22.

The 16th Film London Production Finance Market opened Tuesday morning with a keynote talk featuring BFI CEO Ben Roberts who spoke at length about his 10-year funding plan for British cinema and the financial issues hitting the industry, including the recent shuttering of the Edinburgh Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Oscar and Venice-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”) and fellow filmmakers Georgia Oakley (“Blue Jean”), Roberto Minervini (“What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?”) and Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) were among those who protested against the imprisonment of Iranian filmmakers and other incarcerated artists around the world, and to demonstrate support for the tenacious women of Iran who are challenging for their freedom at the BFI London Film Festival on Monday. They joined festival director Tricia Tuttle, producer Madeleine Molyneaux (“Gospel Hill”); actors Aurélia Petit (“Saint Omer”) and Taki Mumladze (“A Room of My Own”); actor and writer Mariam Khundadze (“To Batumi and every single memory”); writer Morgan M. Page (“Framing Agnes”); industry leaders Tabitha Jackson, Clare Binns and Jason Wood; and other festival delegates in a moment of solidarity and reflection.

Nick Clement Celebrating its 10th year as a major east coast destination for cinema lovers, the Middleburg Film Festival, held in scenic Middleburg, Virginia from October 13th to 16th, continues to highlight an outstanding selection of titles while presenting informative special events and forums. “We’re extremely excited because this year is a true milestone, and it’s a chance to celebrate how far we’ve come as a group, and to celebrate all of the filmmakers who have helped to make the festival a success. We cater to true cinephiles, so it’s not unusual for people to see 10 films over the course of the weekend. And because the festival draws a great mix of Washington DC influencers and people in the film industry, there’s lots of tremendous insight being shared before and after screenings,” says Susan Koch, Executive Director.

Italian producer Lorenzo Mieli gave a spirited and often humorous rundown of his career as a producer working with directors such as Luca Guadagnino and Paolo Sorrentino during a keynote talk at the London Film Festival Monday.

Katie Reul editor The annual Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) came to a close Saturday evening, concluding an 11-day event by screening the year’s top honorees at Háskólabíó alongside the award-winning Austrian drama “Vera.” Victors in the New Visions category, which exclusively features debut and sophomore films from filmmakers, are among the works which earned an on-screen reprisal. Winners include Golden Puffin recipient “Rodeo,” continuing the film’s early success in the awards circuit at festivals like Cannes and Champs-Élysées. “I spent five years writing what became ‘Rodeo,'” director Lola Quivoron previously told Varietyin regard to her feature debut. “I wanted to create a true fiction tale and weave in elements of genre, gangsterism and a bit of western. The idea was to make a film that had an aesthetic and a cinematic dimension.”

The strengths and possibilities of cinematic language were heavy on Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s mind as he sat down for a keynote ‘screen talk’ at the London Film Festival on Sunday afternoon.

K.J. Yossman “White Noise” director Noah Baumbach spoke about his career highlights – and low points – as well as his creative partnership with Greta Gerwig during the BFI London Film Festival on Friday afternoon (Oct. 7). Asked about the eight-year gap between making “Mr. Jealousy” and “The Squid and the Whale,” Baumbach quipped: “I thought, you know what? I really needed about eight years off.” “No, it wasn’t by design, it was by accident,” he quickly clarified. “I sort of had two careers in a way. I had this early career very quickly and I was really figuring it all out as I was doing it. I had never really been on a movie set before I made ‘Kicking and Screaming.’ But I had this sense of how a movie should be and what I wanted a movie to be. And then after ‘Mr. Jealousy’ [the way] I experienced it at the time is that I was having trouble getting things made. I think, also, I didn’t really know what I wanted to make. And I think maybe, in some ways, my ambitions sort of exceeded my ability.”