The new trailer debuted for The Planters, a dark comedy written, directed, starring and crewed by longtime friends Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder. 1091 Pictures is set to release the film in theaters in September 2020 followed by a rollout on digital and on-demand December 8th.
Academy Award–nominated and six-time Grammy Award–winning composer Terence Blanchard will be honored with the TIFF Variety Artisan Award at this year’s TIFF Tribute Awards during the 45th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The award recognizes a distinguished creative who has excelled at their craft and made an outstanding contribution to cinema and entertainment. Last year’s Variety Artisan Award was given to Academy Award–winning cinematographer Roger Deakins.
Due to Covid-19 and the related restrictions, the European Film Academy is announcing the EFA Feature Film Selection 2020 in two steps. Today, EFA revealed the titles of the 32 films in the first part, the second part will be announced in September. This will allow the inclusion of films that would have premiered by May 31, 2020 – be it at a festival or at a regular cinema – but could not due to the pandemic, provided they will premiere theatrically or online before the end of November 2020. Together, the films from part 1 and 2 form the EFA Feature Film Selection, the list of feature-length fiction films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2020. The films have been selected by a committee consisting of the EFA Board and invited experts.
Lillian LaSalle’s award-winning, documentary My Name Is Pedro on South Bronx, Latino maverick educator, Pedro Santana will be released in New York on September 17 at The Maysles Cinema, followed by Los Angeles on October 2 at Laemmle, with major cities to follow.
Sidewalk Film Festival announced the complete film lineup of official selections for the 22nd edition of the Birmingham-based film festival which will take place August 24-30. All 163 films (41 features, 122 shorts) and 23 music videos, will be screened at The Grand River Drive-In at The Backyard in Leeds.
Milwaukee Film will hold two 15-day virtual film festivals this fall including the 12th annual Milwaukee Film Festival (MFF2020), which although virtual, will take place during its previously announced dates of Oct. 15-29. The second Minority Health Film Festival (MHFF), presented by the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network, will expand to 15 days, running from Sept. 10-24.
The official trailer debuted this week for Chino Moya’s debut Underdogs set to premiere at 2020 Fantasia Film Festival. Described as an otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline, Chino Moya’s debut Underdogs is a collection of darkly humorous fantasy tales about a series of men whose worlds fall apart through a visit from an unexpected stranger.
The award-winning documentary feature Public Trust from director David Garrett Byars (No Man’s Land), executive producers Yvon Chouinard, Robert Redford and Patagonia Films, will be released on Friday, September 25 ahead of National Public Lands Day 2020, one day later. A series of Drive-In events will be held across the U.S. on or around September 1 ahead of the film’s release.
In response to the challenges impacting the film community amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Boston Underground Film Festival (MA), Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (NY), North Bend Film Festival (WA), the Overlook Film Festival (LA), and Popcorn Frights Film Festival (FL) will join forces under the banner of NIGHTSTREAM to present a dynamic and accessible virtual festival, to run from October 8 – 11.
The 44th Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference (ATLFF) which was originally scheduled to take place in the spring, but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now take place from Thursday, September 17 – Sunday, September 27, 2020. The festival shared the lineup of creative works, feature-length and short films selected from a record-breaking 8,500+ submissions for the 2020 event.
The 16th Zurich Film Festival revealed the first ten films in its gala section including the French comedy The Big Hit (Un triomphe) with Kad Merad, Kajillionaire by Miranda July with Evan Rachel Wood and Debra Winger and The Truffle Hunters by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw.
Healing From Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation is the new documentary from filmmaker Peter Hutchison (Requiem for the American Dream) that examines the root cause of hate group activity and following efforts by former extremists to de-radicalize white nationalists. The film, an official selection of DOC NYC and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, opens September 4, 2020 in Los Angeles – Laemmle Theaters via virtual cinema.