For its 39th edition, Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will showcase more than 100 feature films and events, including a vibrant blend of boundary-pushing Canadian work, adventurous East Asian cinema, provocative and inspiring documentaries, elevated genre cinema, festival favorites and more.
Set in Australia’s Northern Territory, In My Blood it Runs follows Dujuan, a young Aborginal boy with a spiritual connection to, and vast knowledge of, his cultural ancestry. At home in Alice Springs, Dujuan is surrounded by his loving family, which includes his mother, his two brothers, and his maternal grandmother Nana Carol, with whom he has a special bond.
Tommy Oliver (“1982”) directs, produces and shoots the documentary 40 Years a Prisoner, chronicling the controversial 1978 Philadelphia police raid on the radical back-to-nature group MOVE and the aftermath that led to a son’s decades long fight to free his parents.
Film at Lincoln Center unveiled the poster for the 58th New York Film Festival (September 17 – October 11), designed by filmmaker, artist, and “Pope of Trash,” John Waters.
SFFILM announced the four winners of 2020 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grants totaling $80,000, which support feature-length documentaries in post-production. Giovanni Buccomino’s After a Revolution (working title), Clarke Lyons and Gabe Dinsmoor’s Squeegee, Farah Kassem’s We Are Inside, and Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s Writing with Fire were each awarded funding that will help push each project towards completion.
Daria Woszek’s debut Marygoround swept the film awards of the Fantasia International Film Festival which closed out its digital 2020 edition. Marygoround won the awards for Best Film, Best Director for Daria Woszek, Best Actress for Grazyna Misiorowska, and a Special Jury Mention.
For the first time, this year’s 14th edition of The Method Fest Independent Film Festival showcased a total of 27 feature films and 29 short films as a Drive-In movie experience. The festival which wrapped on August 30, announced the Grand Jury selections of award winning films and actors.
The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the full slate of 26 films from 20 countries being presented online for the 2020 AFI Latin American Film Festival, which will take place September 25–October 7, 2020.
This year’s All Drive-in Edition of the Sidewalk Film Festival which ran August 24-30, announced the awards winners. The Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature went to The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain directed by Dwight Cameron; and for Best Documentary Feature to Transhood directed by Sharon Liese. Transhood also won the prize for Best SHOUT Feature.
Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival announced the winners of this year’s festival. Los Fuertes (The Strong Ones), directed by Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo won the Audience award for Best Narrative Feature and the Grand Jury Prize for Best International Narrative Feature. Minyan, directed by Eric Steel won the Grand Jury Prize for Best U.S. Narrative Feature.
Tayler Montague’s debut short film In Sudden Darkness, set during 2003 NYC blackout, will receive its NY premiere at the 2020 New York Film Festival, in the Currents section (Program #8: New York Stories). The film will also receive its international premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, and had its world premiere at the 2020 Blackstar Film Festival.
The first in-depth film biography of iconic musician Ronnie Wood titled Somebody Up There Likes Me by acclaimed director Mike Figgis, will be available in North America as a Virtual Cinema release starting September 18, running through October. This will be followed by a DVD, Blu-ray and deluxe hardback book release on October 9.