Steve Gravestock Stepping Down As Toronto International Film Festival Senior Programmer After 25 Years

Christopher Vourlias Bogdan George Apetri’s “Miracle” took home the top prize in the Romanian Days competition at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, which saw nine first-time directors among the 12 filmmakers competing in the annual showcase of domestic cinema.It’s the first time such a formidable number of debuts have featured in the competition, offering a snapshot of what the fest’s artistic director Mihai Chirilov describes as a “balanced landscape” of new and established voices in Romania’s celebrated film industry.It’s been nearly two decades since Cristi Puiu’s “The Death of Mr.

No Time to Die star Léa Seydoux has landed a key role in Dune: Part Two.As reported by Deadline, the actress has been cast by director Denis Villeneuve as Lady Margot Fenring, a member of the Sisterhood of sorceresses.Seydoux joins an all-star cast for the sequel, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista and Austin Butler.In May, it was announced that veteran actor Christopher Walken will also join the sequel as Emperor Shaddam IV, another significant character in the story.Pre-production on Dune: Part Two began in April, according to Villeneuve – who will once again write, direct and produce the epic’s latest chapter.On what to expect from the sequel, Villeneuve previously told ET Canada: “I cannot say nothing about the movie – I don’t like to talk about projects as I am doing them – but it’s probably going to be the biggest challenge of my career, again, because it’s even more complex than Part One.”Elsewhere, the director recently confirmed that Zendaya will have a significantly larger role in Part Two, having featured sparingly in the first film.Speaking to Variety, he said: “For Zendaya, I will say Part One was a promise. I know that we saw a glimpse of her in Part One, but in Part Two, she’ll have a prominent part.“We will follow Timothée [Chalamet] and Zendaya on their adventures in the desert.

Christopher Vourlias Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.” The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the $100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K.

Fulwell 73, the production company behind The Late Late Show with James Corden, would like to continue producing the CBS series when its current host steps down next year.

Princess Charlene attends the opening ceremony for the 2022 Monte Carlo TV Festival on Friday (June 17) in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorKarlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival’s industry section, Eastern Promises, has unveiled its lineup of 35 film projects, which will be showcased during the Works in Progress, Works in Development – Feature Launch, First Cut+ Works in Progress and Odesa International Film Festival Works in Progress presentations.

Kate Mara and Dianna Agron are among the stars appearing at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival!

passed away at the age of 52 after a battle with cancer. In an essay about his wife, Damian said the "Harry Potter" star managed to "spread happiness" as her time was coming to an end. "Even when dying in her last few days, when talking to our wonderful carers, she repeatedly said, 'thank you so much' in her half delirious state," Damian penned in The Sunday Times.

Fandango, which is owned by NBCUniversal, has spent the past decade expanding under Yanover’s leadership, acquiring the popular review site Rotten Tomatoes, the on-demand video platform Vudu, and movie social media site Flixster. Fandango also expanded its YouTube footprint with its channel Movieclips, which has 57 million subscribers and has become a popular site for its clips of beloved scenes from popular films.

Thania Garcia Since its 2002 genesis, the Tribeca Film Festival has celebrated music to a degree uncommon in the film fest world, and the 2022 event gathering again includes a wide array of music-focused events, including not just documentaries and music-centric narrative features but music video premieres, artist conversations, and master classes.The overlap between film and music is evident right from the start Wednesday night, when the festival will host the world premiere of Jennifer Lopez’s Netflix documentary, “Halftime.” The doc follows the singer’s evolution as an artist, from her performances onscreen and on stages around the world to her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show and beyond.This year, the lineup will also incorporate songwriters and producers in conversation, including what will surely be a full house at the Beacon Theater for Taylor Swift as she shows and talks about her “All Too Well” short film. Also on deck for conversations are Pharrell Williams, Steve Aoki and Common, who will be receiving the 2022 Harry Belafonte Voice for Social Justice Award.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterTabitha Jackson is resigning her post as director of the Sundance Film Festival.Jackson has been a veteran of the premiere American festival since 2013, and departs after only two years in the top job. She replaced longtime leader John Cooper in the role in 2020, weeks before the coronavirus pandemic upended the event and the rest of Hollywood.Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente announced Tuesday that Jackson will leave her post shortly after the imminent London edition of the fest.

announced Monday.The city of roughly 25 million people, one of the world’s major financial hubs, has been under lockdown for more than two months. City-wide restrictions were lifted last week, but some neighborhoods have been placed back under the tight lockdown as cases continue to emerge.SIFF officials said the fest was “postponed” until 2023.

Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg announced Wednesday in a post to her Facebook page that she is stepping down after 14 years at the company.Sandberg will continue to serve on Meta’s board of directors. She said she will be focusing more on her foundation and philanthropic work. Her direct reports will transition in coming months as she prepares for her departure in the fall.“Today, I am sharing the news that after 14 years, I will be leaving Meta,” Sandberg said in a post.

Manori Ravindran International EditorA new “Accessibility Scorecard” launched this summer will aim to help U.S. and international film festivals assess and improve their accessibility measures, Variety can reveal.Developed by filmmaker and former International Documentary Association executive Cassidy Dimon in conjunction with the Film Festival Alliance and FWD-Doc, a collective of documentary filmmakers with disabilities, the Accessibility Scorecard will gather data from festival participants (such as speakers and filmmakers) and attendees that will be fed back to organizers in order to increase their awareness of how accessible their events are.“Right now, the burden is on the filmmaker or attendee to provide feedback and go to a festival and tell them what’s wrong or right — they can’t just [focus on] their job,” explains Dimon.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBrut, the digital media startup which became Cannes’ media partner this year, covered the festival with 1,200 video content that were watched by 220 million people around the world.The company hosted the Cannes Creators Connection, an initiative which brought a flurry of content creators and social media stars to the festival for the first time with the aim of building bridges with the film community. On top of the 220 million people who watched Cannes-related content on Brut’s different platforms, an estimated 150,000 people watched the videos of content creators attending the festival with Brut, for instance Adam Waheed and Liza Koshy from the U.S., Casey Neistat from the U.K., Ashish Chanchlani from India, as well as Lena Situation and Squeezie from France.

The 75th Cannes Film Festival is coming to a close. The two-week festival saw some of the biggest stars and most anticipated films of the year come together to celebrate cinema.

Michelle Williams is glowing in Cannes! On Friday, the 41-year-old actress stepped out to attend the premiere of her latest film, , at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and proudly displayed her baby bump on the red carpet.Williams, who's currently in the midst of her third pregnancy, stunned in an all Chanel look, wearing a white and midnight blue lace long dress with embroidered top from the fashion house's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2022 collection.Two hundred and seventy hours were spent embroidering 15,000 elements, including a floral motif embroidery composed of strass, glass beads and sequins, on the gown.She paired the dress with white shoes, along with a white gold and diamond ring and coordinating necklace, all which were designed by Chanel.Williams' Cannes appearance came the same month that she confirmed she and her husband, Tony-winning director Thomas Kail, are expecting their second child together.The couple also shares a son, Hart, whom they welcomed in 2020, the same year they tied the knot. Williams is also mom to Matilda, 16, the daughter she shares with the late Heath Ledger.«It’s totally joyous,» Williams told  of her third pregnancy.

Steve Kazanjian, president & CEO of Promax for the past seven years, is stepping down. Stacy La Cotera, current GM and executive producer for the non-profit global association for the entertainment marketing industry, will take the top job.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentIn its first year as an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, Campari is celebrating the arts and creativity at the world’s most glamorous film festival.Campari has had quite a presence in the South of France fest with an exclusive Campari lounge in the Palais des Festivals and an evening beach club party that was open to the public, drawing one of the biggest crowds at Cannes.“At the heart of Campari, there’s a passion for creativity. We really believe in the power of unlocking creativity fueled by passion,” said Julka Villa, the CMO of Campari, in conversation with Variety at the Variety Studio presented by Campari at the Cannes Film Festival.“Cinema definitely the pinnacle of creativity,” Villa added.