Karlovy Vary Film Festival Sets Four-Day November Event

Tom Grater International Film ReporterProminent Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke has announced he is departing the Pingyao International Film Festival, which he co-founded four years ago.The fest has not yet made an official statement but the director made the surprise announcement yesterday during the closing day of the fourth edition, telling local media he was looking for the event to “get rid of Ji Zhangke’s shadow and let it gain independent vitality” and that he was opting to “leave when it

Rebecca Davis editorThe competition section of China’s Pingyao Intl. Film Festival on Friday awarded top prizes to Russia’s Philipp Yuryev, Serbia’s Ivan Ilkic, and Chinese directors Li Dongmei and Wang Jing.

Michael B. Jordan and Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi have unveiled the line-up for their virtual Social Justice Now Film Festival (SJNFF).The new initiative is set to launch with the Black Panther star and the activist as co-ambassadors and on Monday (October 12, 2020), organizers for the event announced the socially conscious productions they plan to screen.The documentaries 40 Years a Prisoner and Freedia Got a Gun will be featured while original films Us Kids, Reefa, and SNCC,

Angelique Jackson Michael B. Jordan’s award-winning films “Just Mercy,” and “Fruitvale Station” will serve as opening night screenings for the inaugural Social Justice Now Film Festival (SJNFF).Both films will play on Wednesday, Oct.

Dino-Ray Ramos editorThe Film Life Foundation’s inaugural Social Justice Now Film Festival (SJNFF) has unveiled its robust program including its spotlight screenings including the documentaries 40 Years A Prisoner from HBO, Us Kids, and SNCC executive produced by Pharell Williams as well as I Am Other. and the narrative feature REEFA.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterThe Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) has announced the full agenda for its third annual event and film festival in partnership with Mondo.NYC.Among those participating are Bryan Cosgrove, head of creative music licensing for TikTok, and Sam Hayflitch from Viacom and +1 The Vote. “Mr.

Steve McQueen helped raise the curtain on the 2020 BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday night, with his feature Mangrove — one of his five films in the BBC/Amazon Small Axe anthology — getting its European premiere in London and simultaneously across select cinemas around the U.K.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic earlier this yeardelayed its 55th annual edition to July 2021 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but organizers have now unveiled plans to screen roughly 30 films over four days in November in what is dubbed the fest's 54 1/2th edition. A complete program for the four-day event will be unveiled on Oct.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentDavid Bowie origin story “Stardust,” starring Johnny Flynn as the musician, has secured distribution in Italy with a deal inked with I Wonder Pictures ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Rome Film Festival this month.Flynn and director Gabriel Range will be in Rome for the red carpet event on Oct.

Jake Kanter International TV Editor‘A Perfect Planet’ Goes Global BBC One and Discovery’s latest David Attenborough epic, A Perfect Planet, has secured a raft of international sales. The natural history series has pre-sold to Australia (Nine), Croatia (HRT), Czech Republic (Czech TV), Denmark (DR), Lithuania (LRT), New Zealand (TVNZ), Norway (NRK), Russia (Friday! and United Media Group), Spain (Movistar+), Slovenia (RTVS) and Sweden (SVT).

Patrick Hipes Executive Managing EditorNewFest is hosting a reading of Ang Lee’s groundbreaking Brokeback Mountain at its New York LGBTQ Film Festival on October 18, employing an all-trans cast for the event that commemorates the film’s 15th anniversary.The cast features Leo Sheng (The L Word) as Ennis, Brian Michael Smith (911: Lone Star) as Jack, Jen Richards (Tales of the City) as Alma, Alexandra Grey (Empire) as Lurleen and Disclosure director Sam Feder as the narrator.The original film

Pete Hammond Awards Columnist/Chief Film CriticIn a letter sent to “the TCM Classic Film Festival Community” today. Turner Classic Movies has confirmed that , due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, their live and in person Four Day Classic Film Fest which normally takes place in April in  Hollywood is formally moving to a virtual format in 2021.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsEXCLUSIVE: The annual Slamdance film festival has revealed the dates for its 2021 iteration. Running February 12-25, 2021, it will tout not only a physical screening experience, but also an online one free of charge as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Slamdance ‘21 isn’t about compromise because of the pandemic.

The American Black Film Festival has unveiled plans for a Remembering Chadwick Boseman Film Retrospective on Oct. 3 and 4, via its newly launched streaming platform ABFF Play.

Jamie Lang Returning for its fourth year, although necessarily postponed from its traditional March dates by the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaga Film Festival’s Spanish Screenings will take place Nov.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorIt may have been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus but after seeing Venice and San Sebastian host successful film festivals this fall, Cannes is getting in on the action by hosting a three-day film event in October.Running Tuesday 27th to Thursday 29th at the Palais, the event will feature four films from the 2020 Cannes Official Selection, and is being organised in collaboration with the Cannes City Council.The general public will be able to access

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe Cannes Film Festival may have been canceled this year, but organizers still plan to honor the 2020 Official Selection via a three-day event.The Palais des Festivals will host a ‘Special Cannes’ event, which runs Oct. 27-29 and will feature four films from this year’s Official Selection, as well as in-competition short films and the Cinéfondation’s school films.

SAN SEBASTIÁN, Spain -- Georgian writer-director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s first feature film “Beginning” triumphed at Spain’s San Sebastian International Film Festival, scooping up four of its top prizes including best film and best director.The story about a community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in a isolated village in Georgia amid the aftermath of an extremist attack also won best screenplay and best actress for Ia Sukhitashvili in the awards ceremony Saturday night.“Beginning,” a Franco-Georgian