The Alliance of Women Film Journalists announced the nominees for the 2020 EDA Awards, with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland this year’s most nominated film with nine EDA nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Woman Director, Best Actress, Grand Dame Award, and Most Daring Performance Award for Frances McDormand.
You Will Die At Twenty, the feature debut of director Amjad Abu Alala and Sudan’s very first Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film, will open in virtual cinema on January 22, 2021. Starring Mustafa Shehata, Moatasem Rashid, Islam Mubarak, Mahmoud Alsarraj,Bonna Khalid and Talal Afifi, the film is only the eighth narrative feature filmed in Sudan.
Fashion designer Pierre Cardin, profiled in the 2019 documentary House of Cardin, died on Tuesday at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, just outside Paris. He was 98.
Netflix released the official trailer for the new docu-series Martin Scorsese Presents – “Pretend It’s a City” directed by Academy Award Winner Martin Scorsese. Wander the New York City streets and fascinating mind of wry writer, humorist and raconteur Fran Lebowitz as she sits down with Martin Scorsese. “Pretend It’s a City” premieres on Netflix on January 8, 2021.
The North Carolina Film Critics Association announced its nominations for its ninth annual awards for achievements in film. Minari and Nomadland received 6 nominations including Best Narrative Film. Winners will be announced on January 4, 2021.
IFC Films released the official poster for the documentary “MLK/FBI” opening in select theaters, digital and cable VOD on January 15, 2021.
The Chicago Indie Critics announced their nominees for their fifth annual film awards. Leading all films with an impressive nine nominations is Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom helmed by Best Director nominee George C. Wolfe and starring acting nominees Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis.
The winner of the 2020 Whistler Film Festival (WFF) Audience Award is The Paper Man (Lafortune en papier) directed and produced by journalist Tanya Lapointe, which received its world premiere at the fest as well as an honorable mention in WFF’s World Documentary Competition. This is an affectionate look at Claude Lafortune, Quebec’s own version of Mr. Rogers, who was a staple of French-Canadian television bringing his inspirational story and beautiful paper sculptures to life. The beloved children’s television host inspired generations of children through his celebration of creativity, inclusivity and diversity. For over five decades, he dedicated his life to transforming mere paper into whimsical sculptures, creatures and film sets. The Paper Man reveals the depths of Claude Lafortune’s work, as well as his continuing legacy. The gentle, compassionate and truly humble folk artist Lafortune passed away in April at the age of 83 after contracting COVID-19.
Once upon a time, the Venezuelan village of Congo Mirador was prosperous, alive with fishermen and poets. Now it is decaying and disintegrating – a small but prophetic reflection of Venezuela itself. The massive political and economic crisis and one of the world’s largest refugee crises in Venezuela is the backdrop of the documentary Once Upon A Time In Venezuela, selected as Venezuela’s official Oscar submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
The 6th annual British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) came to a close with the annual awards ceremony streamed online via the festival website (see video below) and hosted by actor, writer and director Femi Oyeniran. How to Stop a Recurring Dream directed by Ed Morris won the Victor Adebodun Award: Best Feature along with Best Actress for Ruby Barker. Exploring themes of separation and loss this dreamy trip takes place over a weekend in the lives of two sisters. In the film, an imminent family separation forces the oldest daughter to kidnap her sister in an attempt to reconnect before they part.
Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures will release the psychological thriller, “Go/Don’t Go” written and directed by first time filmmaker, Alex Knapp on digital and cable VOD platforms on January 12, 2021. The thriller stars Alex Knapp, Olivia Luccardi, Nore Davis, Bettina Skye, Tom Essig, and Zoey Wagner.
Sony Classics released the trailer for Pedro Almodóvar’s The Human Voice. starring Tilda Swinton. The Human Voice, running approximately 30 minutes, is a very free adaptation of the original stage play by Jean Cocteau, with which Pedro Almodóvar has been dreaming of for decades. It tells the story of a desperate woman (Tilda Swinton), who waits for the phone call of the lover who has just abandoned her. It marks Pedro Almodóvar’s first time shooting in English.