Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2024 Lineup

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Slow,” Marija Kavtaradze’s delicate romance, won the Crystal Arrow at the 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival from a jury presided over by Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”). Kavtaradze’s sophomore outing, “Slow” world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won best director.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor South Korean director Hong Sang-soo was awarded the El Gouna Gold Star for best narrative film for his meditation on art and relationships, “In Our Day,” as the delayed edition of the El Gouna Film Festival held its closing ceremony on Thursday. The Italian animated film “A Greyhound of a Girl,” directed by Enzo D’Alò, and the Brazilian director Guto Parente’s “A Strange Path” picked up the Silver and Bronze Stars respectively.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor The 6th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has wrapped with a feeling of quiet triumph. The glitz and celebrities were largely absent, although Egyptian star Yousra and legendary French actor Christophe Lambert both appeared at In Conversation events. But in a way, this allowed festival organizers to better focus on the core values which they wish to take forward.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Johan Renck’s Netflix sci-fi drama “Spaceman,” starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano, and German filmmaker Julia von Heinz’s “Treasure” – formerly titled “Iron Box” – with Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry, are among high-profile titles set to launch from the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. The 74th Berlinale – which will unveil its competition lineup on Jan.

International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed its lineup for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions. The festival runs from January 25-February 4. Scroll down for the full lists.

Kristen Stewart will be lauded with the Visionary Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s opening-night gala January 18 at the DeJoria Center in Utah.

Berlin Film Festival has appointed Tricia Tuttle, the former director of the BFI London Film Festival, to become the new director of the international film event starting in 2024. Tuttle will succeed Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek who have co-led the Berlinale as artistic and executive directors since 2020 and will step down after this year’s edition when their respective mandates end. The Berlin Film Festival is the world’s second biggest international film festival after Cannes.

Tricia Tuttle has been named director of the Berlin Film Festival. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Arcs Film Festival, the European equivalent to the Sundance Film Festival, has unveiled the list of projects which will be presented during its competitive Work-in-Progress showcase. Curated by Tribeca and Les Arcs’ artistic director Frederic Boyer and Lison Hervé, the selection will present a broad range of movies in post-production seeking a sales agent, festival slots and international distribution.

Nick Holdsworth At the closing ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival Thursday, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in front of an audience that included Hollywood stars Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Jason Statham and Adrien Brody, the Golden Yusr for best film and a $100,000 cash prize went to Pakistani-Canadian horror film “In Flames,” directed by Zarrar Kahn. The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.” The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S.

Sundance Film Festival is right around the corner. Hosted in snowy and gorgeous Utah, the festival is a favorite for filmmakers and critics of all sorts, premiering independent projects that have launched careers and achieved great acclaim.

Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea International Film Festival is midway through its third edition, running November 30 to December 9 in the palatial surroundings of the seafront Ritz Carlton in the port city of Jeddah.

Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the high-profile names that have been added to the popular ‘In-Conversation’ sidebar section at the third edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival. Scroll down for the full list of attendees.

The Marrakech Film Festival celebrated its 20th edition this year, arriving at the landmark some 22 years after its 2001 launch due to the missed years of the pandemic.

Former Mister Smith sales executive Antone Saliba has launched management and production company Untamed Talent, with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions.

The Match Factory has acquired international rights to the newly restored 4K version of Fatih Akin’s documentary Crossing The Bridge: The Sound Of Istanbul ahead of its retrospective screening at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Though the Red Sea Film Festival will feature a slew of films from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region – including 11 feature films from Saudi Arabia – there is a rich roster of international fare set to launch locally from Jeddah. Kaleem Aftab, the festival’s director of international programming, says they received lots more submissions for this year’s third edition.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival stands as testimony to the kingdom’s unwavering drive to become a film and TV industry powerhouse amid regional conflicts, political turbulence and societal changes. The Israel-Hamas war caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world, including the Cairo Film Festival and Tunisia’s Carthage Film Days.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, after being postponed due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, has announced it will hold a special edition from Dec. 14 to 21.

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which put its sixth edition on hold in October due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, has announced it will run a special edition from December 14 to 21.