Film Festivals

Brazil Oscar Submission ‘Private Desert’ to Open Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival 2021

Private Desert (Deserto Particular) directed by Aly Muritiba

The 13^th edition of the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival will take place November 19-21, 2021, in Los Angeles. The festival will open with the North American Premiere of Aly Muritiba’s Private Desert (Deserto Particular). The film was selected as the official submission to represent Brazil for Best International Feature at the Oscars® and had its World Premiere in Venice where it won the People’s Choice Award. The Opening Night screening will take place at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills.

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‘We Are Conjola,’ ‘Castro Spies’ and ‘Inferno Without Borders’ Win Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2021 Awards

We Are Conjola by Anthony “Ash” Brennan

The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival handed out the awards for the 2021 season, with We Are Conjola snagging the Feature Awards Supreme Feature Award, Castro Spies won the Best International Feature Award and Inferno Without Borders took the Audience Choice Award.

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International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021 Returns to In-Person Event + Reveals First Films

Memoria directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announced the first confirmed titles for its 51st edition which takes place in Rotterdam from January 26 to February 6, 2022. The festival is planned as a physical event that celebrates the reunion of audiences, filmmakers, industry and press with a full festival program. As IFFR veterans including Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Tan Chui Mui return, there are world premieres for feature debuts by Alberto De Michele and David Easteal.

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14 PEAKS: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE Trailer. Documentary Follows Mountain Climber as He Attempts to Break World Record

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible

Netflix released the official trailer for 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible set to world premiere at the upcoming 2021 DOC NYC film festival. In the documentary, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nimsdai” Purja in 2019, sets out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. Following the premiere, the documentary, directed by Torquil Jones, will then debut on Netflix starting November 29th, 2021.

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21st Whistler Film Festival Rolls out Film Lineup with THE LOST DAUGHTER as Opening Night Film

The Lost Daughter directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal

Whistler Film Festival (WFF) announced the full film lineup of 81 epic, bold and inspiring films, for its 21st edition with a hybrid offering of online and in-theatre screenings. 20 of 40 features and 25 of 41 shorts directed or co-directed by women or non-binary individuals.

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OMARA, Documentary on Cuba’s Iconic Singer Omara Portuondo, Premieres at DOC NYC

Omara directed by Hugo Perez

Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the recording of the landmark Cuban album “Buena Vista Social Club,” Cuban-American director Hugo Perez is set to premiere his latest feature documentary Omara on the life of Afro-Cuban singer and cultural icon Omara Portuondo in the Sonic Cinema section at the 12th edition of DOC NYC, taking place in-person and online from November 11-18, 2021. Notably, Perez will also have a second title in its world premiere at this year’s festival, the documentary Once Upon a Time in Uganda, co-directed with Cathryne Czubek.

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CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival 2021 Reveals First Five Films for First In-Person Festival in Two Years

Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist

The Calgary Underground Film Festival revealed the first look at the CUFF.Docs 2021 film lineup, as CUFF gets ready to celebrate its first in-person festival in two years. The 9th CUFF.Docs will take place from November 24-28 at Globe Cinema and Online.

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‘The First Call’ and ‘Subjects of Desire’ Take CineFAM Film Festival 2021 Top Awards

The First Call directed by Angela Onuora (via Vimeo)

The First Call by Angela Onuora won the prize for Best Feature Film and Subjects of Desire by Jennifer Holness won for Best Feature Documentary at the 2021 CineFAM Film Festival.

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San Pedro International Film Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Packed Weekend of Films

Wisper directed by Russ Emanuel

The 10^th Anniversary edition of the San Pedro International Film Festival (SPIFF) taking place November 4-14 in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, will once again celebrate the work of emerging filmmakers from around the world, both in-person and virtually.

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‘Women Is Losers’ ‘Holy Frit’ ‘Peace by Chocolate’ Win at 2021 Naples International Film Festival

Winners of 2021 Naples International Film Festival

Lissette Feliciano’s Women Is Losers won the jury prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $2,500) and Justin Monroe’s Holy Frit won the jury prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $2,500) at the 2021 Naples International Film Festival. Audience Awards went to Jonathan Keijser’s Peace by Chocolate (Best Narrative Feature), Christopher Chambers’ A Fire Within (Best Documentary Feature) and Maria Brendle’s Ala Kachuu – Take and Run (Best Short Film). Both feature films received cash prizes of $1,000 and the short film winner received a cash prize of $500.

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Disfluency, Buried, Larry Flynt for President, Unsilenced Among Winners of 2021 Austin Film Festival

Larry Flynt for President

Disfluency written and directed by Anna Baumgarten took the jury award for Best Narrative Feature, and Buried directed by Jared Drake and Steven Siig won for Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Austin Film Festival (AFF).

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‘The Worst Person in the World,’ ‘Flee,’ ‘Dionne Warwick’ Among 2021 Montclair Film Festival Awards Winners

“The Worst Person in the World,” “Flee,” “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over” – 2021 Montclair Film Festival Awards Winners

The Worst Person in the World directed by Joachim Trier was awarded the Fiction Feature Prize and Flee, directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, took home the festival’s top Non-Fiction Competition prize at the 2021 Montclair Film Festival (MFF).

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