Tallinn Film Festival’s Industry Strand Grows Beyond Baltic Borders

EXCLUSIVE: The 34th Israel Film Festival Los Angeles has confirmed its line-up for this year’s edition, which will be held entirely online for the first time.

Remember film festivals? Especially in person ones? Well, they won’t be returning for a bit, but 2021 will still be filled with festivals, just of the mostly virtual variety. One such fest is the Slamdance Film Festival, which has in the past taken place alongside the Sundance Film Festival.

Also Read: Ava DuVernay's Array Acquires Slamdance Winner 'Residue'Slamdance’s newest program is called “Unstoppable,” and it will feature 22 short films from up-and-coming disabled filmmakers, or ones that feature actors with disabilities or highlight the conversation of disabilities in today’s world.

Dave McNary Film ReporterThe Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodics for the mostly virtual 27th edition of the festival — a number that equals previous editions of the festival.The opening night film, which will screen at a drive-in in Joshua Tree on Feb. 13, is the world premiere of “No Trace” (Nulle Trace) from Canadian director and screenwriter Simon Lavoie.

Christopher Vourlias Even in the best of times, a young film festival might expect growing pains as it preps for its third edition. But the organizers of the Africa Rising Intl.

Dave McNary Film Reporter“Waikiki” and “Hawaiian Soul” won the Made in Hawai’i awards at the the 40th edition of the Hawai’i International Film Festival.The awards were announced at a virtual gala held Sunday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEmily J. Hoe took over as executive director of the Singapore International Film Festival just as the world was waking up to the coronavirus as a full-on pandemic.

Naman Ramachandran As is customary, the local fare on offer at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is linguistically and thematically diverse, reflecting the nature of the island city-state.The opening film, Tan Bee Thiam’s “Tiong Bahru Social Club,” is presented in several languages, including English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Malay and Tamil.

The Luang Prabang Film Festival, a Laos-based boutique event showcasing emerging cinematic voices from Southeast Asia, has unveiled an ambitious lineup despite being forced to shift its activities entirely online in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Laos-based Luang Prabang Film Festival has set out a selection that focuses strongly on films from South East Asia, or were made in or about the region. Now entering its tenth edition, the independent festival will be held fully online this year and run Dec.

After being dealt some major personal and professional blows in 2020, things seem to be ending on a brighter note for Johnny Depp. The actor just accepted an award from the Polish EnergaCamerimage Film Festival, and decided to show off holding his trophy in an usual setting.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a nod to the exponentially growing interest in premium TV content and the swelling number of content-ravenous platforms, the Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG)’s industry section has launched a competitive television section dubbed Episode 0: Series in Development.Its participants will be given the opportunity to network and vie for prizes that consist of post-production services worth a combined total of some $35,000 (700,000 pesos) from Cinecolor Mexico and Shalala

Will Tizard ContributorIndie ethos, costume drama and rich fantasy won the day at Poland’s top cinematography fest this year, with Joshua James Richards’ naturalistic filming in Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” taking the Golden Frog plus FIPRESCI jury honors.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorThe Berlin Film Festival is still planning a physical event in February but will reduce its lineup in the face of COVID-19 restrictions, the festival has confirmed.The event, which is due to run February 11-21, has said it is “too early to consider cancellation”.Tickets for screenings will have to be pre-booked and capacity in cinemas will be reduced by 45-50% in order to abide by social distancing rules.The festival confirmed to us today that the Competition

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWen Tien-hsiang is one of the few film festival bosses who have been able to go ahead with an in-person event this year. He spoke with Variety to describe the challenges that remain.Variety: What are the conditions that have allowed the GHFF to go ahead as an in-person event this year?Wen Tien-hsiang: Good control of the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan has enabled this.

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorThe Tribeca Film Festival will launch a juried podcast category at its next edition in June of 2021.The festival Thursday announced Tribeca Podcasts, a new vertical dedicated to audio storytelling timed to its 20th anniversary to run June 9-20.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterThe 10th edition of U.S. In Progress Wroclaw, the industry wing of the American Film Festival in Poland which was held online this year, wrapped over the weekend and presented a variety of awards to the participating American film projects.The awards range from post-production services to travel bursaries and cash.

Christopher Vourlias “Identifying Features,” Fernanda Valadez’s searing abduction drama set along the U.S.-Mexico border, was awarded the Golden Alexander for best feature film at the 61st Thessaloniki Film Festival.The awards were announced Monday at the conclusion of the Greek fest’s digital edition, which ran Nov. 5-15.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: This year’s Hainan International Film Festival (December 5 – 12) will host China’s biggest retrospective of Charlie Chaplin films in collaboration with Trinity CineAsia and Mk2.The event will host 20 screenings of Chaplin films across the island, encompassing five of his classic comedies: Modern Times, The Kid, City Lights, The Great Dictator and Monsieur Verdoux.