Ji.hlava Film Festival Boosts Slate, Streamlines Sections for 25th Anniversary Edition

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesIn 1997, Jeff Friday, founder and CEO of Jeff Friday Media, was working as the film division president of UniWorld Group, a prominent multicultural advertising agency headquartered in New York and founded by legendary ad world maven Byron E. Lewis.

Will Tizard ContributorArguably the highlight of the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival – certainly among the industry folk – is the Emerging Producers presentations, a glimpse of things to come as bizzers new to the nonfiction film field present their work and upcoming projects.Selected for their initiative and dedication, then coached by more experienced leaders in the European doc world – often former Emerging Producers themselves – members of the group generally go on to

Will Tizard ContributorStories of urban life under pressure dominated the 25th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival as the event wrapped Saturday with top honors going to Slovak director Barbora Sliepkova for “Lines,” called by the jury an “exceptional” approach to showing how “beauty, intimacy and space are intertwined” amid social and economic contradictions and connections.“Lines” also took the prize for best debut and sound design by Michal Horvath along with $10,000, and was

Dylan Penn stuns in a red hot dress for the 2021 SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Friday night (October 29) in Savannah, Ga.

Will Tizard ContributorOliver Stone believes we will never really get to the bottom of the many conflicting accounts of the assassination of John F.

Kodi Smit-McPhee suits up in a sharp red ensemble for the 2021 SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Tuesday night (October 26) in Savannah, Ga.

Naman Ramachandran Teemu Nikki’s Venice and Antalya winner “The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic” won the Golden star for best film at the 5th El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, which wrapped Friday. The award carries a cash prize of $50,000.The film’s lead Petri Poikolainen won best actor, while Maya Vanderbeque, the young star of “Playground,” won best actress.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor“Flowers Are Not Silent,” a film about the brutal suppression of demonstrations against last year’s rigged presidential election in Belarus, will open the 25th Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival on Tuesday.

Naman Ramachandran Yomna Khattab’s “Fifty Meters” (Egypt) was the big winner at the CineGouna Platform, the El Gouna Film Festival’s industry arm created to support and empower Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. This year, the CineGouna Platform disbursed awards worth $300,000 across 13 projects in development and seven films in post-production.

Naman Ramachandran Palestinian filmmaker Said Zagha was turned away by Egyptian authorities in Cairo on his way to the El Gouna Film Festival to pitch his new project.The U.K. permanent resident has a Jordanian passport that indicates he is of Palestinian origin.

Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and Jason Momoa are ready for their big movie debut!

K.J. Yossman When a friend told director, writer and actor Missy Malek about a real-life group of disabled drug dealers operating in London, Malek instantly knew she had the makings of a film.“The second I heard it, I was like, ‘Yes, yes, amazing.

Naman Ramachandran The fire that engulfed a section of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival’s Festival Plaza on Wednesday turned out to be a minor deterrent as the event’s fifth anniversary got off to a rousing start on Thursday.The fire, the cause of which has not yet been confirmed but is possibly a short circuit, was contained swiftly, with Samih Sawiris, chair of festival parent company Orascom Development Holding, personally supervizing repairs.

Naman Ramachandran A massive fire that broke out at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival on Wednesday is now under control, organizers have confirmed.Shortly after the fire broke out, dramatic videos of the incident were posted on social media. Watch: A massive fire has broken out in the main hall of the El Gouna Film Festival site in Egypt, one day ahead of the opening ceremony, according to local media reports.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s Pingyao International Film Festival got under way on Tuesday with the gala screening of Zhang Lu’s new drama film “Yanagawa.” The festival will unspool Oct.

J. Kim Murphy administratorThe Napa Valley Film Festival has announced its line-up for this year’s virtual festival format.The annual festival will take place over the course of five days from Nov.

K.J. Yossman Alongside the Beatles, fashion designer Mary Quant was one of the pioneers of the 1960s “British invasion,” which saw the world go nuts for U.K.

Naman Ramachandran After a pandemic induced 2020 hybrid edition, the 10th edition of the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival will take place as a wholly in-person event. The festival will open with Benito Zambrano’s Mallorca-set literary adaptation “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” (Spain).