‘The Woman King,’ ‘Bros,’ ‘The Son’ Among Gala Premieres at Zurich Film Festival

Olivia Wilde is looking stunning on the red carpet!

Asghar Farhadi will preside over the jury for the International Feature Film Competition at this year’s Zurich Film Festival.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, who directed the Oscar winners “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” U.S. producer Christine Vachon, whose credits includes Oscar winner “Boys Don’t Cry,” and Oscar nominees “Far from Heaven” and “Carol,” and Romania’s Alexander Nanau, the director of the Oscar nominated “Collective,” are among the jury members at the 18th edition of the Zurich Film Festival, which takes place from Sept. 22 to Oct. 2.  Farhadi will head the jury for the International Feature Film Competition. He is joined by the U.K.’s Clio Barnard, who directed the BAFTA nominated “The Arbor,” “The Selfish Giant” and “Ali & Ava”; L.A.-based Brazilian Daniel Dreifuss, a producer on the Oscar nominated “No” and “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Germany’s Oscar entry; Swiss/Italian screenwriter and director Petra Volpe, whose credits include Tribeca prizewinner “The Divine Order”; and  Sweden’s Peter “Piodor” Gustafsson, the producer of Ali Abbassi’s “Border,” which won the main award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor It was supposed to be all about the movies. But even here at the Toronto International Film Festival, an ocean away from the United Kingdom, the death of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II has loomed large. It has provided an opportunity for festival organizers, filmmakers and talent to reflect on the life and legacy of a monarch whose 70-year reign ranks as the longest in her country’s history. That’s partly due to Canada’s status as a member of the British Commonwealth, but it’s also because the festival is such an international A-list affair, one that attracts movie stars and directors who have often had personal encounters with the queen.

Gina Prince Bythewood’s period film The Woman King opens with an incredible action sequence with General Nanisca (Viola Davis) of The Agojie army approaching a village of men holding their women hostage. Men are getting sliced, diced and tossed across the screen by these mighty warrior women. After they arrive back in the Dahomey kingdom victorious, the story introduces Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), an unmarried young woman deemed worthless because she has no husband. She’s taken to the palace and introduced to Izogie (Lashana Lynch) and Amenza (Shiela Atim), Dahomey’s top soldiers in the King Ghezo Royal guard. Women in the army are respected, and when they pledge to service, they take an oath of celibacy and childlessness to be accepted and train.

The winds of change with theatrical and streaming coming out of Covid were top of mind this morning at the TIFF panel for Dialogues: Production & Development which included TriStar President Nicole Brown, Knives Out franchise producer Ram Bergman and White Noise producer Uri Singer.

Brent Lang Executive Editor New Slate Ventures has come on board as a production partner for Insignia Films’ “Free Money.” The announcement was made just ahead of the documentary feature’s world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen and Tess Cohen will join producer Amanda Pollak, and executive producers Stephen Ives, Bradwel Iro (LBX Africa), Chris Buck (Retro Report) to back the film.  The film explores what happens when universal basic income (UBI) comes to the Kenyan village of Kogutu. GiveDirectly, a non-profit organization, is sending free money for 12 years as part of an experiment. Filmmakers Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko juxtapose the story of these young economists, bankrolled by Silicon Valley and convinced that they have found an infallible algorithm to improve lives, with those of the villagers.

Brad Pitt joins Ana de Armas and the rest of the cast of Blonde on the red carpet at the film’s premiere during the 2022 Venice Film Festival Thursday (September 8).

Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (October 5-14) has announced its full line-up, including opening film Scent Of Wind, directed by Iran’s Hadi Mohaghegh, while Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai will be honoured as Asian Filmmaker Of The Year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the Hong Kong star of “In The Mood For Love” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” has been named Asian Filmmaker of the Year by the Busan International Film Festival. Leung will collect his award at the festival’s opening ceremony on Oct. 5. 2022. The festival will open with a screening of “Scent of a Wind” by Iranian director Hagi Mohaghegh. Busan organizers said that the festival will play a total of 243 films (features and shorts) from 71 countries and territories. These include 89 world premieres and 13 international premieres.

The Venice Film Festival audience were enraptured with “The Banshees of Inisherin”.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Academy Award-winner Eddie Redmayne will be awarded a Golden Eye for his career achievements during the 18th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 22-Oct. 2). The British actor will receive the award in person on Sept. 25 prior to presenting the European premiere of Tobias Lindholm’s thriller “The Good Nurse,” in which he plays a nurse who poses a deadly threat to his patients. He will also participate in a ZFF Masters session. Redmayne is one of his generation’s leading character actors. The broader public will recognize him as Newt Scamander from the fantasy franchise “Fantastic Beasts,” the arthouse crowd will know him from more challenging dramas like “Trial of the Chicago 7.” Redmayne won the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of the paralysed physicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” (2014).

Vincent Cassel is getting some support on the red carpet.

ARMAGEDDON TIME (d. James Gray, U.S., 2022) BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS (d. Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexico-U.S., 2022) BOBI WINE, GHETTO PRESIDENT (d.

The 49th Telluride Film Festival opens Friday in a much-awaited edition that is set to feature world premieres of Searchlight’s Oscar hopeful Empire of Light from director Sam Mendes, starring Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth; Women Talking from director Sarah Polley, starring Rooney Mara and Frances McDormand in the ensemble; Sebastian Lelio’s The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh; and Sony/Netflix’s sizzling new version of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover with Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell; among other films.

of late, from the translucent Interior NYC gown she wore to Westworld’s season four premiere to the dramatic and cycling shorts she sported on the streets of London earlier this summer.Over at Venice Film Festival, the actor has already delivered a series of stand-out moments—arriving in style in , paired with a clashing Vivienne Westwood bag and bright red gloves. This was quickly followed up with a black tulle skirt and oversized blazer by Rodarte, worn with a black bralette underneath.For her latest red-carpet appearance on Wednesday, August 31, Thompson opted for vintage—stepping out for the White Noise premiere in a sci-fi inspired look from Armani Privé’s autumn/winter 2009 couture show.

The BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its full list of titles, with the program comprised of 164 features and 23 world premieres across film and TV.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Zurich Film Festival will honor Italian director and screenwriter Luca Guadagnino at its 18th edition, which runs Sept. 22-Oct. 2. He will receive its “A Tribute To…” award on Sept. 30 before the screening of his latest film “Bones and All,” which plays in the Gala Premiere section, and will hold a public masterclass on Oct. 1. The film world premieres in Venice tomorrow. Guadagnino, born in Palermo in 1971, has been one of the most internationally sought-after directors since the success of “Call Me By Your Name” in 2017, which Guadagnino presented in person at the Zurich fest.

K.J. Yossman Among the world premieres set for the BFI London Film Festival are Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pinocchio” and Emily Blunt series “The English.” Others include “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical,” Asif Kapadia’s ballet-infused “Creature,” family animation “My Father’s Dragon” from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and Nora Twomey, Jez Butterworth’s “Mammals,” which stars James Corden and “A Spy Among Friends,” starring Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis. The number of feature-length world premieres at the festival has gone up from 11% to 15% since 2019. This year three of those are Netflix productions: “Pinocchio,” “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical” and “My Father’s Dragon.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The delayed 46th edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival wrapped Wednesday with the award of 13 prizes for its young filmmaker, documentary and shorts competitions. Hailed by the jury as “one of this year’s most distinguished films both creatively and artistically,” Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play” was named best film for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language). “A New Old Play” is a tale of a family of Sichuan Opera artists living through a tumultuous era. It also collected the FIPRESCI Prize, with the jury commending the film for “its masterful approach and inventive visual style.”  In the global category, Palestinian director Maha Haj’s “Mediterranean Fever” was chosen as the Firebird Award winner for being “an all-rounded gem that is at once a thriller, social comedy, and odd couple bromance.”