Spike Lee to Lead Cannes Film Festival Jury

Filmmaker Tabitha Jackson has been named the incoming director of the Sundance Film Festival, succeeding outgoing director John Cooper.

The Sundance Film Festival awards are underway.

If you care about cinema, you take the Sundance Film Festival for granted at your peril. Yet despite some early-in-the-festival grousing (“Oh no! The first day has gone by without a masterpiece!”), this was the sort of year that didn’t allow one to take the festival for granted.

"Pinch me. This couldn’t have worked out better for this project," Byrne says.

Spike Lee has signed on to direct a film adaptation of David Byrne’s American Utopia, Deadline reports. The feature-length version of Byrne’s hit Broadway show is slated for a 2020 release, and will be executive produced by Participant alongside Byrne, Lee, and others. The film will be produced by Byrne’s Todomundo and Lee’s Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks production companies, as well as RadicalMedia.

Spike Lee has signed on to direct a movie based on the Broadway show “David Byrne’s American Utopia” with Participant acting as lead financier and executive producer.

By Mike Fleming Jr

The Berlin Film Festival is unveiling its main competition line-up this morning, alongside additional galas.

Anne Hathaway enjoyed a rare public night out with her husband, Adam Shulman, on Monday night. 

For 26 years, debuting filmmakers have traversed the wintry landscape of Park City to screen their films at the Slamdance Film Festival, and this year’s crop of selections promises to showcase significant talent. Taking place January 24-30, this celebration of cinema continues to be, as co-founder and president Peter Baxter calls it, “the premiere film festival by filmmakers and for filmmakers,” with an emphasis on creating a community for emerging independent artists.

A study by the Time’s Up Foundation and USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has found that women and people of color are vastly underrepresented at film festivals worldwide.

Taylor Swift arrived at this year's Sundance Film Festival in style and was met with a really warm welcome.

Taylor Swift has a lot to look forward to in 2020 with the first important event being the release of her documentary, Miss Americana. Ahead of the Netflix documentary release, we got a small glimpse into what to expect from it through a refreshing trailer.

The San Francisco International Film Festival, known as SFFilm, named Anne Lai as its new executive director on Tuesday. She is the first woman of color to hold the title.Lai, who is currently at the Sundance Institute as director of creative producing and artist support, will start her new role on March 11, ahead of the 63rd SFFilm festival kickoff on April 8.

By Denise Petski

Actor/producer Cate Blanchett will be the president of the international jury of the competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival this September, which will decide on the Golden Lion for best film and other awards, organizers said Thursday.The decision was made by the board of directors of the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta, based on the recommendation of festival director Alberto Barbera.In accepting the proposal, Blanchett said: "Every year I look expectantly to

Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island, starring Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live, will make its premiere as the opening night film at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival.The Austin, Texas, festival on Wednesday announced that “The King of Staten Island” will kick off SXSW on March 13. The movie, Apatow’s first fiction film as director since 2015′s Trainwreck, is Davidson’s highest profile project yet.Universal Pictures will release The King of Staten Island in June.

By Andreas Wiseman

Cate Blanchett is to preside over the international jury at the Venice Film Festival, which runs Sept. 2-12.