Oscar-Winning Editor Pietro Scalia to Be Honored by Locarno Film Festival

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Veteran Swedish star Stellan Skarsgård, who plays villain Baron Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” – part two of which will be released in November – will be honoured by the Locarno Film Festival with its Leopard Club Award. Skarsgård, who started his Hollywood career working with top directors such as StevenSpielberg in “Amistad” (1997) and Gus Van Sant in “Good Will Hunting,” the same year, and segued to memorable roles in Gore Verbinsky’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and in “Mamma Mia!,” among other films. He is being feted by the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema with its Leopard Club Award dedicated to a film industry artist who has made a “mark on the collective imagination.”

EXCLUSIVE: LA’s Micheaux Film Festival (July 10-16) is to honor director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) and actress Yvette Nicole Brown (Community).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent For his third edition at the helm, Locarno Film Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro has assembled a wide spectrum of films that “do not resemble each other in terms of tone or form” while reflecting “the world in all its expressions and manifestations,” he tells Variety. This boundless range is best exemplified by the fact that starkly surrealist Filipino arthouse star Lav Díaz’s latest work, “Essential Truths of the Lake,” will be vying for the fest’s Golden Leopard alongside fare that, at least on paper, appears much lighter. This includes U.S. director Bob Byington’s indie comedy “Lousy Carter” and Estonian helmer Rainer Sarnet’s “The Invisible Flight,” which Nazzaro says  “mixes Kung Fu, hard rock and the Orthodox Church.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Riz Ahmed will be honoured by the Locarno Film Festival where the latest short in which the British actor appears – titled “Dammi” and directed by French auteur Yann Mounir Damage – will world premiere. Ahmed, who earned an Oscar nomination for best actor in 2021 for his performance as a drummer who suddenly goes deaf in Amazon’s “Sound of Metal,” will be feted by the Swiss fest dedicated to indie filmmaking cinema with with its 2021 Excellence Award Davide Campari, which pays tribute to film personalities who have left their personal stamp on contemporary cinema. “Dammi,” which was teased at Cannes, is an experimental work, broadly on the theme of immigration and identity, produced by French fashion brand  AMI, founded by Alexandre Mattiussi, and also starring Isabelle Adjani, Souheila Yacoub, Sandor Funtek and Suzy Bemba. The buzzed-about short will screen at Locarno’s 8,000-seat Piazza Grande, on opening night, Aug. 2, during the ceremony at which Amed will receive the award.

Oscar– and Tony-winning star of Little Miss Sunshine and more, has died aged 89.The news was confirmed to People by Arkin’s sons, Adam, Matthew and Anthony.The family’s statement read: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man.“A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”The actor was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934 before moving to Los Angeles as a child. After a career with the folk band The Tarriers, he left for Chicago to start improvisational comedy group Second City, before making his Broadway debut in the early 1960s.In the next six decades, Arkin would win a Tony for Enter Laughing (1963) and an Oscar for his portrayal of grandfather Edwin Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006.Other roles came in Ben Affleck’s Argo, for which he was also nominated for an Oscar, and most recently in Netflix’s The Kominsky Method, for which be was nominated for Emmys in 2019 and 2020 and a Golden Globe in 2021.When receiving his Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine in 2007, Arkin said: “More than anything, I’m deeply moved by the open-hearted appreciation our small film has received, which in these fragmented times speaks so openly of the possibility of innocence, growth, and connection.”Upon news of his death, fans have been sharing some of Arkin’s best scenes from across his career, which you can see below.RIP Alan Arkin.

no emphasis on religion,” and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 11. His father worked as a set decorator until losing that job due to an eight-month Hollywood strike.

Alan Arkin, the longtime celebrated actor, who won an Oscar for his performance in “Little Miss Sunshine” and earned two Emmy nominations for “The Kominsky Method”, has died. He was 89.

Actor Alan Arkin, who won an Oscar for his role in Little Miss Sunshine, has died aged 89.

Alan Arkin, the longtime celebrated actor, who won an Oscar for his performance in and earned two Emmy nominations for, has died. He was 89.Arkin's death was confirmed to by his sons, Adam, Matthew and Anthony, in a statement, saying, «Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man.

EXCLUSIVE: After partnering with LeBron James on the 2018 HBO documentary Student Athlete, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) and Trish Dalton (Election Year) have reteamed for Reggae Girlz, a feature doc telling the untold story of the Jamaican women’s national football team and their inspirational journey, both on and off the field, to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“Next Goal Wins” will have its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.Waititi’s Oscar-winning feature “Jojo Rabbit” also premiered at TIFF and won the festival’s People’s Choice Award in 2019. His most recent film was “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022) for Marvel/Disney.A sports comedy starring Michael Fassbender, “Next Goal Wins” is based on the story of the 2014 American Samoa soccer team, which lost a FIFA match 31-0 and then hired a Dutch-American coach, Thomas Rongen, to help them prepare for World Cup qualifiers.

2023 ShortList Film Festival, chosen from award-winning shorts from across the world in the past year. This year’s films tell personal stories that captivate and inspire — including a film about two Chinese grandmothers, a film about scuba diving in the ruins of a tsunami and one film about the LAPD blowing up a neighborhood.The films – which include narrative, documentaries and animation - are available to watch and vote on from June 28 through July 12, exclusively on TheWrap. The award-winning short film that is chosen by TheWrap’s Industry Jury will be honored with the prestigious Industry Prize.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Taika Waititi’s sports comedy “Next Goal Wins” will have its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. “We’re thrilled to welcome Taika back to the Festival and share his audacious take on the most popular sport in the world,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF. “’Next Goal Wins’ is perfect for TIFF fans of the beautiful game looking for their football fix until the 2024 World Cup arrives.” Waititi, who most recently directed Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” was last at the festival in 2019 with “Jojo Rabbit.” The offbeat comedy, about a 10-year-old Hitler Youth member whose imaginary friend is the Führer himself, won the TIFF People’s Choice Award and an Academy Award for adapted screenplay. Waititi is also known for “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” “Our Flag Means Death” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”

EXCLUSIVE: Sony’s video game adaptation Gran Turismo is among movies set to debut at the fifth edition of LA’s Micheaux Film Festival (July 10-16).

Mia Wasikowska To Head Sarajevo JuryActress and director Mia Wasikowska (Bergman Island) will head the Competition jury at this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. Wasikowska will be joined by actor Zlatko Burić, actress Danica Ćurčić, director and actor Juraj Lerotić, and Josh Siegel, curator of MoMA’s Department of Film. “I’m thrilled to serve as Jury president for the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival alongside such wonderful members of the international arts community,” Wasikowska said. “It seems a particularly poignant time to reflect on the origins of the festival, and to celebrate the importance of coming together to promote a diverse range of cultures, perspectives, and experiences through art.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Prince Aden,” a new drama by Italian directing duo Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio, known internationally for their immigration-themed “Seven Acts of Mercy,” is among projects selected by Locarno’s Alliance for Development initiative. The platform, now in its 8th year, is geared towards fostering co-productions between France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Inspired by the book “Partigiani d’Oltremare,” by Italian historian Matteo Petracci, the De Serio twins’ new colonial-era film follows the vicissitudes of a 16-year-old Somali named Aden Sicré who in 1935 becomes a soldier in the Italian army that invaded Ethiopia on Mussolini’s orders. In an unexpected turn, he becomes hailed as a war hero by the Fascist regime. Then a few years later Aden and other African fighters play a pivotal role in the partisan struggle against fascism in Europe.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, the arthouse darling known for works including Venice Golden Lion winner “Vive L’Amour” and “The River,” which scored the Berlin Silver Bear, will be celebrated by the Locarno Film Festival with its Honorary Leopard achievement award.  The iconoclastic auteur, who is a key figure in Taiwan’s so-called Second New Wave, will receive the prize from the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema during an Aug. 6 ceremony held on its 8,000-seat outdoor Piazza Grande venue. The tribute to Tsai Ming-liang will also involve an onstage conversation with the director on the future of cinema and a screening of the helmer’s 2020 film “Days” (Rizi), as well as an art gallery exhibition of his experimental works.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese drama feature “Yoko” won the Golden Goblet best picture award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The jury Grand Prix was awarded to Spain’s “Muyeres” with China’s Liu Jin winning the best director prize.The trio also collected additional prizes making them the only multiple winners in a ceremony that sprinkled its awards widely. “Yoko,” directed by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi, who earlier this year saw melodramatic “#Manhole” play in Berlin, takes the structure of a road-movie and is a journey of self-discovery of a woman who had been socially isolated in her apartment for many years. Portrayed by global star Rinko Kikuchi (”Babel,” “47 Ronin”), the woman is forced to confront the real world, and herself, when she takes a 658 kilometre cross-country journey to her father’s funeral. Without a cell phone or the money for public transport, she finds herself having to hitch hike. Kikuchi also earned the best actress award.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut “Goodbye Julia,” a timely morality tale that takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes, has scored a raft of sales following its launch. The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes official selection, “Goodbye Julia” is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.

BBC News her agent Lionel Larner said she passed away after a brief illness.He added: “Glenda Jackson, two-time Academy Award-winning actress and politician, died peacefully at her home in Blackheath, London this morning after a brief illness with her family at her side.“She recently completed filming The Great Escaper in which she co-starred with Michael Caine.”Jackson became an international star in the 1970s, winning Academy Awards for the 1969 film Women In Love and 1973’s A Touch of Class.She also famously starred as Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC drama Elizabeth R from 1971.Jackson gave up acting to join the House of Commons as a Labour MP in north London from 1992 to 2015 before she later returned to acting, winning a Bafta for her comeback role in the TV drama Elizabeth Is Missing in 2020.This is a breaking news story, check back for further updates.