Neorealism-Inspired Rome Film Fest Opener ‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ Scores Slew of International Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Stuart Gatt’s “Catching Dust,” which premiered at Tribeca earlier this year, will open the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Robert Kolodny’s “The Featherweight,” which bowed at Venice, will close the festival.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Casino Royale” Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan actor-director Faouzi Bensaïdi will be celebrated with career achievement awards at the upcoming 20th Marrakech International Film Festival that will run Nov. 24- Dec.

EXCLUSIVE: Stars Collective, a Los Angeles-based film finance and mentorship arm, has announced the launch of Stars Asian International Film Festival – a new capsule film showcase to take place in Los Angeles November 12-16. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has announced the bulk of its lineup from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), signaling that the event is forging ahead with its third edition despite the Israel-Hamas war that has caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world. The fest’s third edition, set to run Nov.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pia Lundberg, a Swedish film industry veteran, is set to succeed Jonas Holmberg as the new artistic director of Göteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s leading film-TV event. Lundberg most recently served as counsellor for cultural affairs at the Embassy of Sweden in London for the last five years.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Richard Linklater’s action comedy “Hit Man” is set to open the Marrakech International Film Festival, which has announced its lineup of more than 70 films mixing known titles and fresh fare. The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov.

Gerard Butler traveled to Rome, Italy this weekend to help honor his buddy Oliver Trevena!

K.J. Yossman Kaleidoscope Film Distribution have snapped up Scottish thriller “Kill” for the U.K. market and are set to launch international sales at AFM.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Marrakech International Film Festival has announced its full jury, signaling that the event is forging ahead with its 20th edition despite the Israel-Hamas conflict — which has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region — and the earthquake that hit the country in September. Joining Jessica Chastain – who is the fest’s previously announced jury president – will be Iranian actor Zar Amir; French actor Camille Cottin; Australian actor and director Joel Edgerton; British director Joanna Hogg; U.S. director Dee Rees; Swedish-Egyptian director Tarek Saleh; Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård and French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani.

Josh O’Connor is hitting the red carpet at the 2023 Rome Film Festival!

Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci are making their first public appearance as a couple!

Italian actress and screenwriter Paola Cortellesi’s directorial feature debut There’s Still Tomorrow (C’è Ancora Domani) opened the 18th Rome Film Festival on Wednesday evening.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Cairo International Film Festival’s upcoming 45th edition has been canceled due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Cairo fest and market, which is the oldest running film event in the Middle East and Africa, announced its decision Wednesday on Instagram with the following statement: “Minister of Culture Dr. Neven El-Kelany has decided to postpone the 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, which was scheduled to take place from Nov.

Ellise Shafer Daniel Kaluuya world premiered his feature directorial debut, “The Kitchen,” at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday night, calling it “one of the best days of my life.” Kaluuya was on hand alongside his co-director Kibwe Tavares, producer Daniel Emmerson and several of the film’s actors, including “Top Boy” star Kane Robinson and newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman. Set in a dystopian London where all social housing has been banned, the film follows the residents of a community called the Kitchen who must fight to save their home. Speaking before the premiere, Kaluuya and Tavares explained that it’s taken nearly a decade to bring the Netflix film to the screen.

Lise Pedersen “Vive la paix, vive le cinéma!” Irène Jacob, the president of Lyon’s Lumière Institute which runs the Lumière Film Festival, chose to mark the opening of the event on Saturday night with a solemn message of peace, a week to the day after the outbreak of renewed conflict in the Middle East. “Tonight, we are really looking forward to this festival as a gesture of peace, because we do not forget what is going on in the world, the tragedies that move us, the wars all around us, the children and civilians in danger, the madness and the sadness of our divided world.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Tiger Stripes,” the Malaysian coming-of-age, body horror film that debuted in Cannes’ Critics Week section has been set as the opening title for this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (Nov. 30 – Dec.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Raffaele Annecchino, the former president of Paramount Global who left the company last year, is launching a consultancy firm called Blue Ocean Media Partners. In its first deal, he has forged a partnership with Spain’s Mediapro Group, which is looking to expand its footprint in the Middle East.

Cailee Spaeny dazzles while promoting her new film Priscilla at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival on Monday (October 9).

Dear Jassi arrives with echoes of Madonna’s 1989 hit “Dear Jessie” and its sugary promise of pink elephants and lemonade, but none of that turns out to be forthcoming in Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s beautiful and brutal sixth feature. Instead, we have perhaps the most disturbing bait-and-switch since George Sluizer’s original iteration of The Vanishing, a Punjabi Juliet-meets-Romeo story that’s much harsher that any so-far-filmed version of West Side Story and a whole lot funnier. This dissonance takes a while to reveal itself, but when it does, the shock is visceral. The fact that almost everything is true is the killer blow, and the shockwave of that reverberates through the poignant final credits, a static shot that forces the audience, or maybe just simply dares them, to think about what they’ve just seen.  

Valerie Wu Intern The Urbanworld Film Festival, based in New York City, has released its 2023 slate of screenings and presentations. With HBO and WBD as Founding Partner and Prestige Partner, respectively, the 27th annual festival will take place from Nov. 1 to Nov.