The 2021 Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) will open with the world premiere of Waterman directed by Isaac Halasima. The film explores the role of sports in breaking societal barriers through Duke Paoa Kahanamoku’s journey and legacy as a trailblazer, father of modern-day surfing, and five-time Olympic medalist.
The 30th Philadelphia Film Festival will showcase more than 130 feature-length and short films, opening on Wednesday, October 20 with Belfast starring Dame Judi Dench and Jamie Dornan. The semi-autobiographical film, written and directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh, tells the story of the life of a working-class family and their young son’s childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital.
After hosting part one of their 2021 festival virtually this past February, Final Girls Berlin Film Festival convenes in the flesh once more in Berlin for a second part of the 6th edition to run from October 29th-31st, 2021.
The Fourth Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns in 2021 as a hybrid festival with both in-person and virtual screenings on November 3-14. This year, the festival will feature eleven feature films and one TV series with three International premieres, three North American premieres and one U.S. premiere, two New York premieres, and two East Coast premieres. Filmmakers will be in attendance to participate in Q&As after the screenings.
“Borrelia Borealis”, a film by writer/director/actress Kathryne Isabelle Easton, which is loosely based on her real-life experience with Lyme, will have it’s world premiere at the 2021 LaFemme International Film Festival, running October 14-17 held both virtually and at the Regal Cinema at LA Live.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye directed by Michael Showalter will open and Marvel Studios’ Eternals will close the sixteenth Rome Film Fest taking place October 14 – 24, 2021. Rome Film Fest will also celebrate Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Poser directed by Noah Dixon and Ori Segev won Best Narrative Feature, and Bo McGuire’s Socks on Fire won the Best Documentary Feature award at the 52nd edition of Nashville Film Festival.
Actress Ann Dowd and actor Woody Norman will be presented with the Pioneering Spirit Awards at the 30th Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF), set to open this week in Indianapolis (October 7-17).
Austin Film Festival (AFF) will close out the 2021 festival with the highly anticipated Kristen Stewart stunner, Spencer, directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Academy Award Nominee Steven Knight. The Writers Conference’s annual celebration of some of the industry’s most talented wordsmiths will culminate with a Centerpiece screening of A24’s The Humans by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephen Karam.
The 15th Annual Other Israel Film Festival returns as a hybrid format with in-person premieres and filmmaker Q+As at the freshly renovated Carole Zabar Center for Film’s Goldman-Sonnenfeldt auditorium at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and streaming online from November 4–11, 2021.
The 26th Busan International Film Festival has selected director Im Kwon-taek, as the recipient of The Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award, presented to an Asian filmmaker or organization that has made the most significant contribution to the advancement of Asian film industry and culture throughout the year.
Miami Film Festival unveiled the line-up for the eighth annual edition of its acclaimed Miami Film Festival GEMS, expanding to seven days from its traditional four-day format. Legendary Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers starring Penélope Cruz will open the Festival. King Richard, produced by and starring Will Smith, will be the Centerpiece screening, while Denmark’s Oscar submission shortlist candidate Flee will close the event. The festival will hold its screenings at MDC’s Tower Theater Miami from November 4-10.