The National Film Board of Canada withdrew Michelle Latimer’s documentary Inconvenient Indian from active distribution and all upcoming festivals, including the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The withdrawal comes after questions were raised about filmmaker Latimer’s claims about her Indigenous identity.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2021 will open with the international premiere of absurdist tragicomedy Riders of Justice by Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen, starring Mads Mikkelsen. Riders of Justice with Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas centers on the deployed military man Markus who has to go home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems to be plain bad luck – until the mathematics geek Otto shows up with his two eccentric colleagues, Lennart and Emmenthaler. Otto was also a passenger on the wrecked train. He is convinced someone must have been behind it. As the clues pile up, it becomes clear to Markus that his wife became a random casualty of what looks like a carefully orchestrated assassination.
The winners of the 2020 Whistler Film Festival (WFF) were announced at the Awards Celebration on the final day of official programming at the 20th edition.
The Russian Film Week in New York kicks off the New Year with an online edition that brings the latest in Russian cinema to US audiences from January 23-29, 2021. Last year’s edition expanded the event’s program to audiences in Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, Chicago, Denver and Palo Alto with next year’s online edition opening up fresh Russian films to nationwide viewers.
Casey Feigh took home the Best Film Grand Prize for his comedic short Beginner’s Luck at the 5th annual Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival. The comedic short stars Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy), Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds), Ego Nwodim (Saturday Night Live), and Mary Holland (Happiest Season). Patrick Norman won Best Feature Script for his screenplay Derby Dolls.
A Glitch in the Matrix, the mind-bending new sci-fi documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Ascher (Room 237, The Nightmare) that offers viewers a red or blue pill before entering the funhouse of simulation theory has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures ahead of the world premiere at 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the 71st Berlin International Film Festival has developed a new festival format for 2021. The industry platforms European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund will kick off the 71st Berlinale in March with an online offer. In June, there will be a summer event with numerous film screenings for the public audiences – in cinemas as well as open air.
Ahead of the world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight section, a teaser trailer debuted for “Knocking” from director Frida Kempff, and starring Cecilia Milocco.
Stony Brook Film Festival hosted its LIVE Virtual Awards Ceremony for the 2020 festival and The Subject directed by Lanie Zipoy and written by Chisa Hutchinson, won the Jury Award for Best Feature. The Subject tells the story of a successful documentary filmmaker haunted by his last film, which captured the murder of his Subject, a black teen in Harlem; a timely film that explores the relationship between an artist and their subject and addresses the harsh reality of race and class among the privileged. The film features Jason Biggs, Aunjanue Ellis, Anabelle Acosta, Carra Patterson, Nile Bullock, and Caleb Eberhardt,
The Jewish Museum and Film at Lincoln Center will present the virtual 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival (NYJFF) virtually from January 13 through 26 showcasing 17 features and seven shorts.
Sundance announced today the independent films selected for Feature Film, Short Film, Indie Series and New Frontier categories for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival will take place digitally via a feature-rich, Sundance-built online platform and in person on Satellite Screens across the country (public health permitting) from January 28-February 3, 2021.
Revelation Perth International Film Festival closed its 23rd annual edition with the inaugural WA Screen Culture Awards. The critically acclaimed award-winning short film Judas Collar, which made the Oscar’s Best Live Action Short Film Category Long List last year, took home five awards (and every one of their nominations).