IDFA Reveals Prize Winners At 2022 Edition Of World’s Biggest Documentary Film Festival

Director, screenwriter and producer Fatih Akin passed through the Red Sea film festival Monday where he discussed his career and what he described as the unique experience of straddling Turkish and German culture in his films.

It was two days after director Adil El Arbi’s wedding in Morocco when he and his co-director Bilall Fallah got the call that their recently wrapped $70M film Batgirl would be shelved as part of a cost-saving move for Warner Bros Discovery under David Zaslav’s new regime. 

All eyes are on Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning film industry as the second edition of its Red Sea International Film Festival continues to unfold this week in the port city of Jeddah, running from December 1 to 10.

The stars of the Amazon Studios documentary Wildcat are a man, a woman and an orphaned baby jungle cat they live with in a rainforest in Peru. The subject of this first feature from a filmmaking couple based in Virginia is something more: how to survive psychological damage and suicidal depression to find peace and a place in the world. 

As Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicks into gear in Jeddah, a parallel film program is underway 300 miles north in the small desert town of AlUla.

Andrew Dominik shared his thoughts on the unexpected backlash against his Marylin Monroe drama Blonde during an In-Conversation event at the Red Sea International Film Festival on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia’s emerging fashion design labels have been making their red carpet world premiere over the past few days at the Red Sea International Film Festival, running December 1-10 in the port city of Jeddah.

Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar revealed that he is making a feature on the theme of sex education that he hopes to release next spring during an In-Conversation event at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival on Saturday.

UPDATED, 8:16 AM: Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans will receive the Vanguard Award at the 2023 Palm Springs Film Festival’s gala in January.

The Queen is getting crowned at the 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

France’s Les Arcs Film Festival has unveiled the 15 European feature film projects that will be presented in its Works in Progress showcase as part of its industry program, running December 1-10.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (December 1 to 10) kicks off its second edition in the port city of Jeddah this week.

Ruben Östlund Appointed Honorary President of Göteborg Film FestivalRuben Östlund has been appointed as the new Honorary President of Göteborg Film Festival. Östlund will be an advisor for the festival, starting with the upcoming 2023 edition. The board of Göteborg Film Festival appoints the Honorary President for five years, at which point it will be renewed or concluded. In a statement, Östlund described his decision to accept the honorary role as “easy and a joyful.” Past presidents include Ingmar Bergman and Roy Andersson. Östlund will speak at the opening ceremony of the 2023 edition. Jonas Holmberg, Artistic Director at Göteborg Film Festival, said: “With two Palme d’Or wins and many unforgettable cinematic moments, the Gothenburg-born and loyal visitor of the festival Ruben Östlund has the artistic integrity, the intellectual playfulness, and the international luminescence that make him an excellent Honorary President for Göteborg Film Festival.”

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Unveils Jury

Emmy-winning documentary executive Courtney Sexton is returning to the esteemed production company Participant, CEO David Linde announced today. She will oversee all of Participant’s documentary content as Executive Vice President of Documentary Film and Television from the start of 2023, having previously spent eight years as a development executive with the company.

As “Meet The Press” unveils their slate of documentaries for the sixth annual Meet The Press Film Festival in New York City, Chuck Todd has embraced highlighting films boiling political tensions to bring a new understanding to these issues outside of the red blue prism.“If you run towards the controversy, you can break a barrier,” Todd told TheWrap ahead of the festival’s debut. “Make the people three-dimensional figures so they’re not treated like two-dimensional political props.”This year’s festival, which is set in New York for the first time, spotlights short documentaries that dive deep into global migration, equality in sports, civil and gender rights, and racism in the criminal justice system — issues that heavily drove voters to the polls in last week’s midterm election.

IDFA is going wild for Wildcat.

Robin Pecknold is best known for being the front man of indie folk band Fleet Foxes, but he’s also dabbled in scoring music for the stage and big screen. His sounds will next be heard in Wildcat, an upcoming Amazon Studios documentary following a young veteran on his journey into the Amazon.

The influence of streaming companies was a central topic of the Women in Leadership panel at the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival this past weekend.