20,000 Species of Bees directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren won the Outstanding First Feature award at the 47th Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. In the film, an eight-year-old child struggles with the fact that people keep addressing her in confusing ways. Frameline presents the annual juried Outstanding First Feature Award to a notable narrative feature from an emerging voice in LGBTQ+ cinema.
Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, a soccer comedy directed and co-written by the New Zealand filmmaker, will make its World Premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival taking place September 7–17, 2023.
The world premiere of Silent Roar, the debut feature from Scottish writer and director, Johnny Barrington will open the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) taking place from August 18 – 23, 2023. The Festival will close with the UK premiere of Fremont, directed by BAFTA-nominated director Babak Jalali (whose debut Frontier Blues played EIFF in 2010).
Locarno Film Festival will honor film editor and two-time Oscar winner Pietro Scalia with the Vision Award Ticinomoda, the prize “dedicated to creatives whose work has extended the horizons of the filmic image”.
The 2023 Palm Springs International ShortFest announced the Festival juried and audience award winners.
The European premiere of Iranian-Australian director Noora Niasari’s debut film Shayda, which won the Audience Award at Sundance 2023, will close the curtains on the final night of the 2023 Locarno Film Festival.
Clara Cullen’s Manuela won Best Narrative Feature and Gisela Delgadillo’s Kenya won Best Documentary Feature at the 25th Anniversary edition of the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF).
Jewish Film Institute revealed the 67 films from 18 countries featured at the upcoming 43rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), running July 20 – August 6, 2023 in San Francisco and the East Bay.
The East Coast Premiere of The First Slam Dunk, the number one movie at the Japanese box office this year, and manga creator Takehiko Inoue’s directorial debut will open this year’s 16th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film. The festival, set for July 26–August 6 will present 29 films and mark the first fully in-person edition since 2019.
The queer action romantic comedy Artist Unknown, directed by Cinder Chou, is the winner of the Jury prize at the 2023 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. The film tells the story of an insecure unlucky-in-love martial artist who must find out the origins of a painting after two thieves attempt to steal it from her. Kerry Lacy also won the award for Outstanding Performance in a Narrative Feature for her performance in the film.
Netflix revealed the official trailer for Wham!, the documentary charting George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s four year journey from teenage school friends to global superstars with Wham!.
The North American premiere of the Korean genre mashup Killing Romance, directed by Lee Won-suk will kick off the 22nd edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF). The director will be joined at Film at Lincoln Center on opening night by his lead actor, Lee Sun-kyun (Parasite, A Hard Day), who turns in an unforgettable performance as the indescribably overbearing husband of a disgraced supermodel-movie star, fully armed with his history of versatile roles in everything from art-house collaborations with Hong Sang-soo to rom-coms to his SAG Award-winning turn in Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. Director Lee Won-suk has a rich history with NYAFF—his first film, How to Use Guys with Secret Tips, premiered at NYAFF 2013, and Lee won the Audience Award at NYAFF 2015 with his second feature, the big-budget period drama The Royal Tailor.