Locarno Film Festival Puts on Digital Showcase

Acclaimed film director William Friedkin will be honored with a lifetime retrospective at this year's Oldenburg International Film Festival. The 84-year-old director of such genre classics as The Exorcist, The French Connection and To Live and Die in L.A., will not be able to attend the German independent festival but will participate in a live Q&A that Oldenburg will stream worldwide.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsThe IFP Gotham Awards on Thursday opened submissions for its 30th annual awards show, which last month shifted to January 2021 because of the pandemic. Organizers also said today that they are introducing a new category, Best International Feature, a director and producers award in which the key roles of director, producer and screenwriter should be based outside the U.S.

Jamie Lang Locarno SwissBiz panel, a round-table featuring five local industry professionals that takes an often critical and always self aware look at the state of affairs in Switzerland’s film industry, was always going to be a bit different this year.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSwitzerland’s Tristan Aymon, director of short film “Black Hole” (“Trou Noir”), the only title to win two prizes at the 2020 Locarno Festival – a Pardino d’Argento in Swiss Competition and a Youth Jury best Swiss short – is preparing “Skate,” his feature debut.Written by Aymon and Marianne Brun, his co-screenwriter on “Black Hole,” “Skate” will tap into the same context, themes and, above all, emotions of “Black Hole,” a low key and laid-back but

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentUpcoming movies from two Argentine filmmakers, Lucrecia Martel’s “Chocobar” and Mari Alessandrini’s “Zahori,” won the top Pardo 2020 Awards at the Locarno Film Festival’s The Films After Tomorrow, its highest-profile competition, the festival announced Friday.Of other major plaudits in The Films After Tomorrow, a section highlighting COVID-19-hit productions, “Savagery,” from Portugal’s Miguel Gomes, scooped the strand’s Special Jury Prize.

David Cronenberg is still sour about how his 1996 classic “Crash” was received upon release.

The Zurich Film Festival has unveiled further details of its inaugural Zurich Market, a pop-up film market created to provide independent movies that would have screened at a major film festival an opportunity to present to international buyers. Zurich and Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival are collaborating on the event, which will see around 20 new indie titles screen in local cinemas during the Swiss festival from Sept.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentThe Zurich Film Festival has revealed more details of its first Zurich Market, an on-site event organized in collaboration with Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival that will see the Swiss event hosting screenings in local cinema theaters for about 20 new independent titles.Described by the festival in a press statement as “highly anticipated titles,” the movies will be screened from Sept.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentZurich-Berlin based Tellfilm, producer of “Blue My Mind” from “Killing Eve” director Lisa Brühlmann, is set to go into production on Aug.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLetterbox Filmproduktion, producer of ZDF-Arte hit “Bad Banks” – and part of the Studio Hamburg Production Group that backed Netflix’s “Unorthodox” – has boarded “Davos,” a high-end drama series from Zurich-based film producer Content Film, producer of “Wonderland.”“Davos,” a period espionage thriller, is being written by Germany’s Julia Penner, head writer on seasons 3, 4 and 5 of “Druck,” Germany’s adaptation of “Skam,” and Switzerland’s Adrian

Eli Countryman Day three of the Locarno Film Festival StepIn 2020, moderated by Variety‘s Leo Barraclough and hosted by the Variety Streaming Room platform, brought professionals from various parts of the film festival and market sectors together for a panel on the Future of Film Festivals and Film Markets.Jérôme Paillard, executive director of Cannes Film Market; Lili Hinstin, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival; Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival; Sarah

Locarno Film Festival’s decision this year to pull its traditional completed feature film sections — with its top Golden Leopard prizes — has thrust into the limelight its short film lineup, Pardi di Domani (Leopards of Tomorrow).

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAmka Films, the Swiss indie shingle founded by prominent producer Tiziana Soudani – who sadly passed away in January – is carrying on its activities under a trio of women led by her daughter Amel Soudani.The company is known for its involvement in prizewinning films by prominent directors from nearby Italy, such as Alice Rohrwacher (“The Wonders”), Silvio Soldini (“Bread and Tulips) and Fabio and Damiano D’Innocenzo (“Bad Tales”) as well as by emerging

was forced to scrub this year’s edition due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tribeca Film Festival has announced it will return in 2021.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFollowing a two-year absence, France will be back among the partner countries of Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development platform that facilitates cooperation between existing co-development funds in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and – well – France, once again.Launched by the Locarno fest’s industry side in 2014, the initiative aims to test market potential and to form creative alliances and foster European co-productions at early stages of development.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Hans Fraikin was the founding commissioner of the Quebec Film and TV Council, where during his tenure the region saw $1.5BN in inward investment, staging shoots for titles including 300 and X-Men: Apocalypse, as well as becoming a world leader in animation.Now, he has set up shop in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, the Middle East city which is attempting to establish itself as a global hub for film and TV shoots.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSounding a note of hope for the 20 titles selected for Locarno Festival’s highest-profile competition, The Films After Tomorrow, Helena Wittmann’s entry, the sensuous sea odyssey “Human Flowers of Flesh,” is scheduled to go into production on Aug.

Ever since its announcement as part of this year’s Cannes Film Festival Official Selections, Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology series from Amazon has been positioned as one of the 2020 fall festival darlings. And it appears that is playing out at this year’s New York Film Festival, which will not only debut a feature-length episode of the anthology as its Opening Night film but will also showcase two additional episodes as part of the main slate.

Also Read: Toronto Film Festival Lineup to Include Films Directed by Regina King, Halle BerryNYFF this year will host outdoor and virtual screenings with some indoor screenings as possible as directed by state and health officials.

After unveiling a few of the works that would be at the fest, the Toronto International Film Festival has today releases their full lineup for 2020. Obviously, this comes in the wake of COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic changing what film festivals will be like this year.