Toronto Film Festival Plans In-Person Return In Fall

There’s no denying that Baz Luhrmann is going big for his new film, “Elvis.” From the over-the-top style and the “What the hell?” accent from Tom Hanks, the musical drama seems like a must-see event. And when you have such a stylish, uber-theatrical musical film, what better place to debut than at Cannes? READ MORE: ‘Elvis’ Trailer: Austin Butler & Tom Hanks Star In Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama About The King Of Rock & Roll According to Deadline, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEgyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy is stepping down as president of the Cairo Film Festival. During his four-year tenure, the executive helped to revamp the prominent Arab fest, which had been losing luster due to political turbulence.The announcement was made on Tuesday by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Enas Abdel Dayem, who said veteran Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy will take over the fest’s presidency.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s drama of the rock-and-roll legend starring Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Tom Hanks, will world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has confirmed.The movie currently has June 24 release date, which means it couldn’t open the festival unless Warner Bros. Pictures decides to have it bow on May 17 to kick off the milestone 75th edition.

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival is a showcase of some of the best films from around the world made by some of the most respected filmmakers alive today. Oh, and it’s also an event that loves to showcase at least one tentpole, blockbuster film.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTikTok has become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival on time for its 75th anniversary and will give the cultural event a wider-than-ever platform comprising one billion users around the world.While it banned selfies on the red carpet several years ago, Cannes is looking to draw global eyeballs and will provide TikTok users with some exclusive content from backstage, glamorous red carpet scenes and interviews with talents. Aiming to position itself as a top entertainment destination and content creator, the banner is also launching the #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition of vertical short films – between 30 secondes and 3 minutes.

J. Kim Murphy The Kyiv-based Molodist International Film Festival has penned an open letter to the film community calling on other festivals to join in a boycott of Russian films as a response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.The festival’s statement cites an ongoing effort by modern Russia to “separate culture from politics” and to “[use] that same culture to distract the West from Russia’s wars, human rights violations, censorship and persecution of political dissidents.”“There are Russian filmmakers and intellectuals who have been truly vocal in their dissent and criticism of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine throughout these years, and we know some of them personally,” the statement reads.

Two family dramas, the feature film Freda and short film You Can Always Come Home, have earned the top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format with in-theater and virtual presentations, the 2022 Festival ran from March 4 through tomorrow.

The Santa Barbara Film Festival unveiled winners for its 37th edition on Saturday morning, bestowing its Audience Choice award to the Irish-language film Róise and Frank.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorEva Zaoralová, the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival’s artistic advisor and its artistic director for many years, has died, the festival confirmed Friday.

SXSW festival less than a week before it was scheduled to kick off.For years, as the festival grew from a cool place to see up-and-coming bands into a multinational, multidisciplinary megalodon, it seemed like an unstoppable force. A source of both pride and annoyance for Austinites, it was also a major driver of the local economy, and its once fledgling film festival had turned into a major launching pad for everything from the most avant-garde of American indies to blockbuster studio comedies.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorThe Sun Valley Film Festival, which will be returning in-person for its 11th annual event from March 30 to April 3, has announced additional awards and films that will be screened this year.Variety will present this year’s Pioneer Award to Danny Strong on April 1. As a writer, director, actor and producer, Strong has earned two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two WGA awards, a PGA Award and a Peabody Award — with credits ranging from both parts of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” to “Dopesick.” Previous Pioneer Award winners include Shaka King, Aaron Paul, Eliza Hittman and Mark Duplass.Also on April 1, the Rising Star Award will be given to Netflix’s “Outer Banks” cast members Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey and Carlacia Grant.

Native sons and daughters of the American South have offered many a meditation on the soil where their lineage was replanted. But the observations and insights of documentarian Jon-Sesrie Goff form something that strikes with the potency of prayer.

Lest there be any lingering doubt, director Ramin Bahrani intones in narration over his first documentary feature “2nd Chance” that this is a metaphor for America. This isn’t particularly surprising given that his subject Richard Davis, a pioneer of the concealable bulletproof vest, straddles the country’s dark fascinations with violence and capitalism.

After being the first major film festival hit by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic—the unfortunate timing couldn’t have been worse, March 2020 as the virus first started causing lockdowns around the U.S. — and having to cancel that year, SXSW has been arguably hit the hardest of all the festivals in North America.

At a whopping 246 minutes, Sergey Loznitsa’s feature documentary “Mr. Landsbergis” spans a duration longer than some non-fiction miniseries that pop up on streamers now.

The Toronto Film Festival said Thursday that it will suspend participation by film organizations and media outlets supported by the Russian state for its next festival, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ellise Shafer The Toronto Film Festival has banned all official Russian delegations from its 2022 edition following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, but will welcome work from independent Russian filmmakers into their programming.“As an arts organization dedicated to transforming the way people see the world through film, we support artists and their freedom of expression. TIFF will continue to include films from independent Russian filmmakers in our programming at the Toronto International Film Festival and year-round at TIFF Bell Lightbox,” festival organizers said in a statement to Variety on Thursday.

Nick Clement Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival will present its 39th annual edition from March 4-13, featuring a mix of in-theater and virtual presentations. With more than 120 films from 35 countries on display, ranging from features to documentaries to shorts, the event will be filled with premieres and special screenings and events.“Last year we did the hybrid event, with reduced capacity and no parties and limited guests.

The Glasgow Film Festival has withdrawn two Russian titles from its 2022 program in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Despite a new rule about theatrical releases in France and filmmaker Andrew Dominik really hoping “Blonde” would debut at the event, it appears 2022 will be another year where Netflix skips the Cannes Film Festival. According to Variety, Netflix isn’t expected to debut any new films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.