After ten days of virtual and in-person screenings at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, the 2021 DocLands Documentary Film Festival ended with the awards ceremony. The 2021 DocLands Audience Favorite Award went to Jennifer Abbott for her deeply intimate and thought-provoking feature-length documentary The Magnitude of All Things.
The international premiere of the film “Polański, Horowitz. Hometown” by Mateusz Kudła and Anna Kokoszka-Romer will open the 61st Krakow Film Festival on May 30th. The film featuring director Roman Polański and his friend, world-famous photographer Ryszard Horowitz is described as a colorful story about childhoods, friendship, the common Jewish fate of the protagonists and about Krakow. Polański, Horowitz. Hometown will be presented in the Polish competition of this year’s Festival.
The World to Come by Norwegian filmmaker and actress Mona Fastvold opens the 50th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on Wednesday June 2. The European premiere of Japanese animation Poupelle of Chimney Town by director Hirota Yusuke closes the festival on Sunday June 6.
Hulu released the official trailer for Changing The Game, Emmy award-winning filmmaker Michael Barnett’s timely sports documentary focusing on transgender inclusion in sports. The documentary will be available on Hulu on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.
Here is the official trailer for the indie drama film Grace and Grit, starring Mena Suvari and Stuart Townsend. Written and directed by Sebastian Siegel, the film is based on the book of the same name by psychologist Ken Wilber.
Sheffield DocFest announced their 2021 full program including the World Premiere of Uprising, by Steve McQueen and James Rogan. Uprising is a vivid and visceral three-part series which examines three events from 1981: in January, the New Cross Fire which killed 13 black teenagers; in March, Black People’s Action Day, which saw more than 20,000 people join the first organized mass protest by black British people; and then the Brixton riots in April.
Focus Features will release Robert Eggers’ Viking drama The Northman in theaters on Friday, April 8, 2022. Universal Pictures International will release the film internationally on the same date.
The independent film Under the Lantern Lit Sky directed by Michelle Bossy will premiere at the 23rd Brooklyn Film Festival on June 12 at Windmill Studios in Brooklyn. Billed as written in the tradition of Tennessee Williams, the period piece drama explores female trauma, sisterhood, LGBTQ+ issues and the sacrifices we make for those we love.
discovery+ has acquired the Lily Topples the World, the winner of the 2021 SXSW Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary and winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival.
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, The Night of) will receive this year’s Excellence in Acting Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF). His latest film, Mogul Mowgli, which he co-wrote, produced and stars in, will be screened during the festival. The film follows the story of a British Pakistani rapper who, on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that forces him to face his past, his family, and the uncertainty of his legacy. Ahmed will be honored in a virtual conversation during the festival. Strand Releasing will open the film in theaters on September 3.
The 2021 Sarasota Film Festival wrapped its 23rd edition, which due to COVID took place in hybrid format, with a mix of outdoor screenings and virtual cinema. At the award ceremony, Best Summer Ever won the Narrative Competition Prize; Chasing Childhood won the Documentary Competition Prize; East of Middle West received the Audience Award for Feature Film and Desert Heart took the Audience Award for Short Film.
Sierra Pettengill’s new documentary short The Rifleman, about the architect of the modern NRA is available to watch on Field of Vision, Vimeo, YouTube, and Facebook.