Oscars Expand Shortlist For International Film Contenders To 15, Eliminate Executive Committee “Saves”

When the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, the city’s largest film festival, gets underway February 17, it will look a little different from previous seasons. It’s a virtual event, save for some drive-in screenings, but the LGBTQ content is still abundant.

Natalie Oganesyan editor“The Trial of the Chicago 7″ director Aaron Sorkin and the film’s cast will receive the Vanguard Award from the Palm Springs International Film Awards.“‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ is a thrilling court-room drama that chronicles the highlights of the historic trial that sought to punish activists for inciting riots outside of the 1968 Democratic National Convention,” Harold Matzner, the festival chairman, said.

Alissa Simon Film CriticAn endangered musician in a Syrian town controlled by ISIS must sell his beloved piano in order to escape the country in the gripping drama “Broken Keys.” It marks the feature debut of Columbia U.-trained, Lebanese writer-director Jimmy Keyrouz.

Clayton Davis The motion picture academy has announced the animated, documentary and international features eligible for Oscar consideration. Some of the animated and documentary contenders have not yet had their required qualifying release.

Also Read: Oscars Best Picture Screening Room for Voters Hits 200 Movies - But Not 'Tenet'Two documentaries, “The Lost Paradise” and “Music Got Me Here,” were initially sent to the branch members in October and December, respectively, and were placed on the “required viewing” lists for some voters.

Sacha Baron Cohen will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year award at the 36th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.The 49-year-old actor is being honored with the award after starring in where he famously portrays Borat, and where he plays Abbie Hoffman.«In 2020, Mr. Cohen twice was able to capture our interest, our imagination as well as the zeitgeist.

announced Wednesday that the 2021 edition will move from its regular late-May spot to early July, when the seaside Côte d’Azur averages a balmy 86 degrees.The summery change-up comes days after the French government announced plans to vaccinate its entire population against the coronavirus by August. Cinemas there remain closed through at least the end of January.Last year’s festival was canceled outright due to the pandemic, though cases at the time had subsided in France.

What has been hinted at and speculated about for weeks now is official — the 2021 Cannes Film Festival is officially no longer a spring event, as it moves into the middle of summer over concerns about COVID-19. According to the event’s organizers, this year’s Cannes Film Festival is no longer going to happen in mid-May and will instead begin on July 6, running until July 17.

Palm Springs International Film Awards.The organization announced on Wednesday that the 38-year-old actor will receive this year's Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor. «Riz Ahmed delivers one of the most complex and moving on-screen performances of the year,» Festival Chairman Harold Matzner said in a statement. «In Sound of Metal, the film tells the emotional journey of Ruben, a musician who learns he is losing his hearing and must deal with this new reality.

A riotous horror-tinged romp starring a runaway buffalo, there's no other contender for the 2021 best international film Oscar quite like India's submission,Jallikattu, directed by Malayalam cinema maverick Lijo Jose Pellissery. The 90-minute movie's galloping plot couldn't be simpler: a bull escapes from a slaughterhouse in a remote Indian village and all of the menfolk gather to chase it down.

Carey Mulligan's performance in was more than promising. For her «daring and outstanding performance,» the actress is set to receive the International Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards.The festival and film awards gala will not take place as an in-person event this year, but honoree selections will be announced to recognize this year's great performances.

Irish actress Clare Dunne stars in Herself, a harrowing drama about a single mother who, after escaping an abusive partner, aims to rebuild her life in a unique manner. After months of struggling with the welfare and housing systems, she comes upon the idea of self-building an affordable home and, with the help of friends and neighbors, rebuilds her life and theirs from the ground up.

Manori Ravindran International EditorGreek filmmaker Christos Nikou marks his directorial debut with “Apples,” an accidentally timely pandemic movie that captured imaginations at the Venice Film Festival, where it opened the respected Orrizonti section, and has since gone on to represent Greece in the international feature film Oscar race.The film wasn’t actually shot during the COVID-19 crisis, but follows a man (Aris Servetalis) struggling to recover his memory amid a pandemic that causes

Carey Mulligan's performance in  was more than promising.

If you are looking to stir emotions and grab some tissues this weekend Our Friend has got you covered.

Last year, as the second wave of COVID-19 swept through Europe, bringing many countries back into lockdown, the folks at the Cannes Film Festival revealed plans for alternative dates for the event if the typical May timeframe wasn’t a possibility. Let’s call May “Plan A” and the alternate dates in June/July were “Plan B.” Well, it appears Cannes is well past Plan A and already looking at Plan B…while drafting up a possible Plan C.

Usually, the twists and turns during awards season are prompted by scandals, public relations goofs, or films that simply didn’t play as expected. This year, the ongoing pandemic has created changes in the process itself that continue to surprise longtime observers.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Cop Secret,” “Magrete – Queen of the North” and “The Emigrants” are among 12 wide-ranging projects set to be presented at a virtual Nordic Film Market, Scandinavia’s biggest industry showcase which runs alongside the Goteborg Film Festival.“Cop Secret,” directed by Icelandic gaolkeeper turned filmmaker Hannes Þór Halldórsson, is an action comedy following a tough cop who in denial about his sexuality and falls in love with his new partner while

Johnny Flynn has defended Stardust, arguing that the film avoids the “bland and safe” territory often occupied by musical biopics.Actor and musician Flynn, who portrays David Bowie in the film that did not receive the late star’s estate’s blessing, said close cooperation risks “suppressing” the story.“I think you could argue that this story told with the complicit cooperation of an estate would mean that it becomes a homogenised, slightly, sort of suppressed version of the story, and with all

Clayton Davis The Oscars have made some adjustments for the best international feature category.The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has provided many challenges, both in viewing the films up for awards and voting. To ensure that the process’ integrity remains intact, the international feature film preliminary committee will vote via a secret ballot that will produce a shortlist of 15 films from different countries, up from the previous 10.