Sheffield DocFest announced their 2021 full program including the World Premiere of Uprising, by Steve McQueen and James Rogan. Uprising is a vivid and visceral three-part series which examines three events from 1981: in January, the New Cross Fire which killed 13 black teenagers; in March, Black People’s Action Day, which saw more than 20,000 people join the first organized mass protest by black British people; and then the Brixton riots in April.
The independent film Under the Lantern Lit Sky directed by Michelle Bossy will premiere at the 23rd Brooklyn Film Festival on June 12 at Windmill Studios in Brooklyn. Billed as written in the tradition of Tennessee Williams, the period piece drama explores female trauma, sisterhood, LGBTQ+ issues and the sacrifices we make for those we love.
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, The Night of) will receive this year’s Excellence in Acting Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF). His latest film, Mogul Mowgli, which he co-wrote, produced and stars in, will be screened during the festival. The film follows the story of a British Pakistani rapper who, on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that forces him to face his past, his family, and the uncertainty of his legacy. Ahmed will be honored in a virtual conversation during the festival. Strand Releasing will open the film in theaters on September 3.
The 2021 Sarasota Film Festival wrapped its 23rd edition, which due to COVID took place in hybrid format, with a mix of outdoor screenings and virtual cinema. At the award ceremony, Best Summer Ever won the Narrative Competition Prize; Chasing Childhood won the Documentary Competition Prize; East of Middle West received the Audience Award for Feature Film and Desert Heart took the Audience Award for Short Film.
Perfume de Gardenias, the debut film from the renowned queer Afro-Puerto Rican singer, multi-disciplinary artist, and filmmaker Macha Colón, will world premiere at the 2021 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, taking place June 9 to 20.
Legendary chef Wolfgang Puck is the subject of the new documentary titled “Wolfgang,” premiering on Disney+ on Friday, June 25. The documentary film chronicles the inspiring true story of Wolfgang Puck, a man who survived a troubled childhood filled with a series of challenging obstacles and whose perseverance led him to become one of the most prolific chefs of our time and household name. “Wolfgang,” will be available to stream on Disney+ following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, June 12.
The 2021 Tribeca Festival unveiled its full lineup of specially curated Juneteenth programming, highlighting the voices of the African Diaspora with an emphasis on African-American artists, performers, filmmakers, and interdisciplinary creators all culminating on Juneteenth (June 19th).
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF) in Austin, Texas announced the feature films selected for this year’s 23rd edition taking place as a hybrid event from June 9-13; and opening with Mariem Pérez Riera’s documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.
Sundance Film Festival announced that the 2022 festival will take place in-person and online January 20-30, 2022.
AFI DOCS 2021 will open with the world premiere of Naomi Osaka, directed by Academy Award® nominee Garrett Bradley, and will close with Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt’s celebrated coming-of-age film Cusp. This year’s Centerpiece Screening will be Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, directed by Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville.
Film at Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà announced the complete lineup of contemporary Italian films for the 20th edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, screening May 28 – June 6 in the FLC Virtual Cinema.
