Tribeca Film Festival Adds Juried Podcast Category For 20th Edition Next Summer

José F. Rodriguez and Karen McMullen have joined the Tribeca Film Festival programming team led by fest director and VP of programming Cara Cusumano as the New York event plans its 20th edition.

Leave the snow boots, parkas and glove warmers in the closet, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival is coming down from the mountain and straight to your living room.Organizers on Wednesday said that this year they will premiere over 70 films on a custom online platform during the seven day event. There will also be some socially distanced screening opportunities around the country.

As the Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals demonstrated earlier this year, a memorable celebration of cinema can still be held in the middle of a pandemic. The next major cinephile event on the calendar is America’s independent cinema showcase, the Sundance Film Festival.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterThe next edition of Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City, Utah — and New York, and Ohio, and Tennessee, and Kansas, and California, and Florida.The 2021 festival, which runs from Jan. 28 through Feb.

Today the Sundance Film Festival unveiled more details about its 2021 edition which will span not just its Park City, UT hub as previously announced, but several arthouses and drive-ins across the nation, as well as an online viewing platform (festival.sundance.org) so that all can partake and enjoy the fest during the pandemic.

Kaleem Aftab While it may seem a bit odd that the artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival is world premiering his new film, “Curfew,” at the Cairo International Film Festival, the director in question Amir Ramses says it makes perfect sense. “There was no way I would consider El Gouna for my film because it’s a direct conflict of interest,” he says.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentTwo years ago Egyptian film producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy was appointed president of the Cairo Film Festival with a mandate to revamp and relaunch the prominent Arab fest, which had been losing luster due to political turbulence. Having largely accomplished that with last year’s watershed edition, Hefzy had to face new challenges this year, contending with COVID-19, of course.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Cairo Film Festival kicks off its 42nd edition Wednesday as a mostly physical event with the Middle East premiere of Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his hit stage play “The Father,” for which co-writer Christopher Hampton and actor Rufus Sewell are expected in attendance.“I think it’s one of the best films of the year,” fest president Mohamed Hefzy tells Variety.

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.