Online Films Critics Society Unveils Annual Film Awards Recipients, Names ‘Nomadland’ Best Picture

EXCLUSIVE: In a deal north of $2 million, Annapurna Pictures has acquired North American rights to On The Count of Three, the 2021 Sundance buzz title that marks the directorial debut of standup comedian Jerrod Carmichael.  Pic is expected to be released through Annapurna’s distribution pact with MGM’s Orion Pictures.

Frank Moreno, who was known for screening films at Cannes for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures to purchase and distribute in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, died Wednesday in Florida. He was 82 and died after a brief battle with cancer, according to his daughter.

Spike Lee is receiving a major honour.

Spike Lee will be honored by the American Cinema Editors with its ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award “in recognition of his distinguished achievement in the art and business of film.” The award will be presented at the 71st annual ACE Eddie Awards on April 18. Exact plans for the ceremony are still to be determined but will likely be a virtual event due to the pandemic.

Natalie Oganesyan editorLegendary Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn will receive the 2021 Spotlight Award, Actress for her role in the critically-hailed “Minari” at the Palm Springs International Film Awards.“In her first-ever American feature film, ‘Minari,’ Yuh-Jung Youn wonderfully portrays a feisty and foul-mouthed grandmother whose Korean American family has suddenly moved from California to a hardscrabble farm in Arkansas.

For Nomadland, writer-director Chloé Zhao adapted Jessica Bruder’s 2017 book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century into a screenplay, got Frances McDormand to star in the movie, and hasn’t looked back since.

Student filmmakers from USC dominated the 26th Annual DGA Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and women directors, which are designed to honor, encourage and bring attention to exceptional diverse directors in film schools and universities across the country. A national awards ceremony will take place virtually on Tuesday.

The Toronto Film Critics Association named Chloe Zhao's Nomadland as its best picture of 2020 as the American road movie continued its run as an early award season contender. On Sunday, Zhao picked up the best director honor for Nomadland, which also earned Frances McDormand the best actress trophy for her role in the film, while Riz Ahmed earned a win for best actor for his performances in Sound of Metal.

New Republic Pictures (NRP) and Dirty Films have signed onto produce Queen Bitch & The High Horse. The film, written by Eric Matthew Brown with Bert and Bertie (Troop Zero) set to direct, will be produced by Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini and Andrew Upton of Dirty Films alongside Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer of New Republic. This is the first feature acquired under Dirty Films’ first look deal with New Republic.

The Palm Springs International Film Awards will honor “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” star Andra Day with the 2021 Breakthrough Performance Award, the festival’s organizers announced on Friday.Day will receive the award for her performance as Holiday in the Lee Daniels film about the iconic but tortured jazz singer, who was relentlessly pursued by the FBI while fighting drug addiction in the 1940s and ’50s.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s Gaza Mon Amour, Palestine’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film will be released later this year.

IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to “Holler,” a coming-of-age drama starring Jessica Barden (“End of the F***ing World”) that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020.Nicole Riegel made her directorial debut on “Holler,” which also stars Gus Halper, Pamela Adlon, Becky Ann Baker and Austin Amelio and is executive produced by Paul Feig.IFC Films plans to release “Holler” in June 2021.

Debbie Allen, Cynthia Erivo, Rian Johnson and Lulu Wang, among others — has unveiled its 10 best movies of 2020. Indicative of the year that was, the list is heavy on titles from Netflix, with additional streaming offerings via Amazon Studios, Disney+ and HBO Max.«All of the honored works advance the art of the moving image, inspire audiences and artists alike, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America's art form and make a mark on American society,» reads the press release.

The American Film Institute has picked its 2020 award winners for the 10 best movies and TV shows of the year. The titles, presented in alphabetical order, are works AFI's juries have determined advance the art of the moving image, enhance the cultural heritage of America's art form, inspire audiences and artists, and make a mark on American society.

The American Film Institute (better known as AFI) announced their ten best films of the year today, putting another dent in the precursor season. While they obviously had to snub a few titles, with Promising Young Woman being the main one to feel the pinch, the ten movies they did select definitely seem to be in the upper echelon of the awards hunt.

Clayton Davis The American Film Institute has announced the recipients of the AFI Awards for 2020, the top ten films and TV shows “deemed culturally and artistically representative of this year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.”The best films from this pandemic year were recognized with no big surprises among the 10 selections. The big miss from the lineup is Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” from Focus Features.

Shane Filan is making sure to look at all the positives over the last week as he had plenty to celebrate alongside his family.

Manori Ravindran International EditorDrafthouse Films is stepping back into the world of distribution after a five-year hiatus with the North American co-release of India’s Oscar entry, “Jallikattu.”The company — which is the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema — is partnering with XYZ Films, which picked up the phantasmagorical “Jallikattu” for North America back in December.

Juno Films has picked up the North American rights to the documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World ahead of its world premiere at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. The film, to bow as part of the World Documentary Competition on Jan.