Virtual TCM Classic Film Festival Begins May 6 With 'West Side Story'

Robert De Niro is making an exciting announcement about the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival!

With vaccines getting distributed pretty damn fast in the US, we’re starting to see some cities begin to recover and make plans for in-person events in the summer and fall. In the world of film festivals, it appears that the first event to really attempt a full in-person experience is going to be this year’s Tribeca.

The Tribeca Film Festival is moving ahead with its 20th-anniversary edition this June, moving screenings to outdoor venues and becoming the first major U.S. film festival held in person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.As part of the festival, outdoor screenings will be held in all five New York City boroughs using portable 40-foot LED screens that will travel to different venues; community screenings will be included as part of the program.

The Marché du Film has set its dates for the “Pre-Cannes Screenings” virtual film market, which will now take place May 25-28.The smaller, virtual film market is designed to bridge the gap between the Berlin Film Market and Cannes, though the Marché du Film will still host a more traditional — and hopefully in-person — film market to coincide with the delayed Cannes Film Festival between July 6-15.The “intermediate event” in May will be a four-day online version of the Marché du Film.

Veteran film critic Huh Moon-younghas been appointed director of South Korea'sinfluential Busan International Film Festival. He will replace former festival head Jay Jeon, who stepped down abruptly in January.

Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-CEO, is set to do a keynote speech at the upcoming virtual Banff World Media Festival, organizers said Tuesday. Sarandos was to have participated in a fireside conversation during Banff's 41st edition in the Canadian Rockies last year.

Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos will give a keynote speech at the virtual Banff World Media Festival in June.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe New Zealand International Film Festival, normally held in mid-year, will shift to new dates later in 2021. It plans to operate as an in-cinema event in October, November and December.The move reflects an anticipated improvement in coronavirus conditions by the fourth quarter of the year.

Also Read: Spike Lee Returns as Cannes Jury PresidentOfficial dates still need to be confirmed, but the pre-screenings will begin no earlier than May 24.

Spike Lee, who was set to lead last year’s jury for the Cannes Film Festival that was ultimately cancelled by the pandemic, will preside over this year’s jury instead.

It is truly beginning to feel like we’re in a time loop. It was only a year ago when the Cannes Film Festival announced that Spike Lee would be the Jury President for the film festival.

Andrew Barker Senior Features WriterFew film institutions, and certainly no film festivals, experienced a COVID trial by fire quite as SXSW did last year. The mammoth Austin event — which includes a film festival, a tech conference and its original smorgasbord of musical performances — was the first major film festival to cancel in response to the pandemic when the city of Austin shut it down on March 6, a week before it was supposed to kick off.

The Tokyo International Film Festival unveiled a range of operational changes Monday, including the appointment of a new programming director and a move of locations within the Japanese capital. The shakeup reflects the continued influence of former Japanese diplomat Hiroyasu Ando, who was appointed festival chairman in 2019 and has vowed to boost the festival's global relevancy.

Sundance Film Festival is coming to Asia in 2021. The Park City event will launch a new offshoot in Indonesian capital Jakarta in late summer, showcasing a selection of titles from this year’s fest in Utah.

Don't worry about making the trip to Hollywood for the Turner Classic Movies Festival this year — it's coming straight to your living room. TCM said Wednesday that its 12th installment will run on both its cable channel and the HBO Max streaming service.The festival begins May 6 with a 60th anniversary screening of “West Side Story” with new interviews from stars Rita Moreno, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn.

TheHong Kong International Film Festival, running April 1-12 this year as joint online/in-person event, will open with the premiere of two high-profile local features: Philip Yung's Where the Wind Blows, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Aaron Kwok, and Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, an omnibus film co-helmed by seven acclaimed Hong Kong directors including Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark.

In 1970, director John Schlesinger’s film Midnight Cowboytook home the Oscar for best picture at the 42ndAcademy Awards, beating bigbox office winner Butch Cassidy andbecoming the first X-rated film to win the covetedaward.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is always starry a celebration of up and coming filmmakers and Oscar hopefuls, but this year the programmers have also decided to make it more accessible.

EXCLUSIVE: Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Giants Being Lonely, the coming-of-age drama that had its world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. The pic, which marked the feature debut for mixed media artist Grear Patterson, will now bow April 6 day-and-day in theaters and on demand.

Pat Saperstein Deputy EditorThe Telluride Film Festival is optimistic that by September, it will be able to safely hold an in-person event in the Colorado mountain town, including an extra day of programming. The fest is set for Sept.