Writer-director Alexander Payne will receive the prestigious honorary leopard award, the Pardo d’Onore at the upcoming 78th Locarno Film Festival taking place from August 6-16, 2025. Payne will also present his films The Descendants and Nebraska and participate in a public discussion with the festival audience.
Michael Douglas will attend the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to present a newly restored version of Miloš Forman’s 1975 classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as part of the “Out of the Past” section. Michael Douglas, one of the film’s producers and recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture, will personally introduce the restored version at a special gala screening. He will be joined by fellow producer Paul Zaentz – nephew of the late Saul Zaentz, who co-produced the film, as well as members of Miloš Forman’s family.
The 24th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (SF DocFest) announced the winners with Audience Award for Best Feature going to Rebel With A Clause directed by Brandt Johnson and Jury Prize for Best Feature going to Flamingo Camp directed by Chris Coats.
In his signature style, Jim Hosking’s latest film Ebony & Ivory reunites him with his faithful collaborators Sky Elobar and Gil Gex in a surreal, comedic “anti-biopic.” Elobar and Gex play exaggerated versions of musical icons – rumored to be Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder – who convene in a remote Scottish cottage to forge a song that’s anything but ordinary.
Dermot Mulroney is a former outlaw in the Old West in Long Shadows, the Western drama film from actor‑turned‑director William Shockley. Set in the 1880s in a rapidly modernizing American West, a young man must choose between vengeance and the love of a young woman, in the film also starring Dominic Monaghan, Jacqueline Bisset, Blaine Maye, and Sarah Cortez.
A24 debuted the official trailer for Eddington, a high-stakes, COVID‑era Western thriller starring Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe Cross, the morally conflicted sheriff of Eddington, New Mexico; Pedro Pascal as Ted Garcia, the charismatic mayor on the brink of re‑election and Emma Stone as Louise Cross, Joe’s emotionally guarded wife. Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, with Austin Butler round out the all-star ensemble cast.
Actress Lucy Liu will be honored with the prestigious Career Achievement Award at the Locarno Film Festival and present the international premiere of Rosemead directed by Eric Lin, alongside the film’s cast and crew on the Piazza Grande. She will also engage in a public discussion with the festival audience at the Forum @Spazio Cinema.
Mouse by Kenny Riches has won the top prize – the Grand Chameleon along with the Best Narrative Feature award at the Brooklyn Film Festival’s 28th edition, “Pause,” which wrapped up on Sunday, June 8th. In Mouse, a petty thief living with his mother, signs up for a penpal service in hopes of finding a friend, or maybe more. Unfortunately, his penpal has other plans.
The Stony Brook Film Festival revealed the full lineup for its 30th anniversary edition taking place from July 17–26 at Staller Center for the Arts. The 2025 Festival will showcase 36 films from 19 countries, including world premieres, U.S. debuts, and exclusive screenings.
Actress Kim Novak, known starring in Vertigo, Picnic, Bell, Book and Candle, will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival taking place August 27 – September 6, 2025.
From over 11,750 films submitted by more than 7,500 filmmakers, the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards announced the 2025 winners (see shortlist) at a special ceremony hosted by Denny Directo of Entertainment Tonight.