Film Festivals

exground filmfest 33 Reveals Hybrid Program with DINNER IN AMERICA, SAVAGE STATE, WALCHENSEE FOREVER and More

Dinner in America

For this hybrid Covid-19 edition, the 33rd edition of exground filmfest, which runs from November 13 to 22, will present a total of 121 independent short and feature-length films from 45 countries in various Wiesbaden, Germany venues. The festival will share large portions of the film program via on-demand streaming, and for the first time, the festival opening and awards ceremony will be broadcast live, and panels and film talks will be recorded for presentation on the festival’s YouTube channel.

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“The Legend of Baron To’a” and “Compañía” Win Top Awards at 2020 imagineNATIVE Film Festival

The Legend of Baron To’a directed by Kiel McNaughton

The 2020 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival announced the winning film, video, audio, and digital media works from Canadian and international Indigenous artists. The award for Best Dramatic Feature along with a $7,500 cash prize went to The Legend of Baron To’a directed by Kiel McNaughton; and the award for Best Documentary Work Long Format along with a $5,000 cash prize Miguel Hilari’s Compañía.

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Chicago International Film Festival 2020 Winners – SWEAT and THINGS WE DATE NOT DO Win Gold Hugo

Sweat directed by Magnus von Horn

The Polish film Sweat directed by Magnus von Horn won the Gold Hugo for Best International Feature Film at the 56th Chicago International Film Festival. The film also won the Silver Hugo for Best Art Direction for Jagna Dobesz. The insightful drama about loneliness and insecurity in the digital age chronicles three days in the candy-colored life of social media celebrity Sylwia Zajac played by stage actress Magdalena Kolésnik.

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BendFilm Festival 2020 Winners – WARRIOR WOMEN, FREELAND and SAPELA Win Top Awards

Warrior Women directed by Christina D. King and Elizabeth A. Castle

BendFilm Festival announced the 27 films and filmmakers awarded jury prizes and more than $12,000 at the 17th Annual Festival with the top prize – Best of Show going to Warrior Women directed by Christina D. King and Elizabeth A. Castle. Other winners include Best Narrative Feature going to Freeland directed by Mario Furlon, Kate McLean; and Best Documentary Feature went to Sapelo directed by Nick Brandestini. Sapela also won the awards for Best Directing along with Special Jury Award for Documentary Cinematography for Nick Brandestini.

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“Nomadland” Director Chloé Zhao to be Honored at Virginia Film Festival

Chloé Zhao

Nomadland director Chloé Zhao will be honored with the American Perspectives Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema at the 33rd Annual Virginia Film Festival running October 21-25.

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AFI FEST 2020 Winners – WOLFWALKERS and 76 DAYS Win Audience Awards

Wolfwalkers directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart

AFI FEST 2020 presented by Audi announced the films that received this year’s Jury and Audience awards. The Audience Award – Narrative Feature went to Wolfwalkers directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart and the Audience Award – Documentary Feature went to 76 Days directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous.

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JACINTA and ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA Win Top Awards at Hot Springs Documentary Film Fest 2020

Jacinta directed by Jessica Earnshaw

The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival announced the award winning films and filmmakers for this year’s 29th edition of the festival with Jessica Earnshaw’s Jacinta winning the jury prize for Best US Feature as well as earning a Special Jury Mention for the Critics Prize. Anabel Rodríguez Ríos’ Once Upon a Time in Venezuela won the jury prize for Best International Feature, and Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss’ World Premiere of Missing in Brooks County earned the award for Best Southern Feature. Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s The Viewing Booth was the recipient of this year’s HSDFF Critics Prize, and Sami Khan and Michael Gassert’s The Last Out won the Matt DeCample Audience Choice Award.

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IDFA 2020 Announces Films in Dutch, Short, Student, and Young Audience Competitions

100UP directed by Heddy Honigmann

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2020 (IDFA) announced the films selected for the Dutch, short, student, and young audience competitions, as well as for the non-competitive sections Luminous, Frontlight, and IDFA on Stage.

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Billy Crystal to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Savannah Film Festival

Billy Crystal

Tony and Emmy award winner Billy Crystal will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, taking place as a virtual experience October 24 – October 31. Crystal will receive his award on Monday, October 26 following the screening of his latest critically acclaimed film Standing Up, Falling Down.

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HollyShorts Film Festival to Open with THOMPSON FARM, Directed by Spike Lee’s Son Jackson Lewis Lee

THOMPSON FARM directed by Jackson Lewis Lee

The 16th annual HollyShorts Film Festival will open with the premiere of Jackson Lewis Lee’s new short film THOMPSON FARM. Jackson Lewis Lee is the son of legendary filmmaker and Oscar-Winning writer/director Spike Lee. Thompson Farm will screen as part of the HollyShorts opening night lineup on Monday, November 9th.

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NOMADLAND Kicks Off 43rd Denver Film Festival Lineup, NINE DAYS as Centerpiece Film

Frances McDormand in the film NOMADLAND. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2020 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

The 43rd Denver Film Festival (DFF43) kicks off tonight, Opening Night, October 22 with Searchlight’s NOMADLAND. The film will also receive DFF43’s Rare Pearl Award which will be accepted by director, Chloé Zhao, in a video presentation before the film screening. The Rare Pearl Award highlights a film whose beauty and uniqueness stand out as finest of the year. Recent Rare Pearl Award winners include Portrait of a Lady on Fire (DFF42) and Roma (DFF41).

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NOMADLAND, UNCLE FRANK Among Winners of Mill Valley Film Festival 2020 Audience Awards

NOMADLAND

The 43rd Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF43) and the DocLands Documentary Film Festival (which ran in tandem this year) concluded on October 18th after 11 days of virtual and drive-in screenings, panels, and special events.

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