Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, this year’s fourth annual LGBTQ+ Spectrum Film Festival will be held as a “virtual festival” from Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 3 with six different LGBTQ+ films all available for patrons to watch from the health-safety and security of their own homes.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has decided to cancel this year’s edition in light of the Czech government’s ongoing coronavirus measures and the ‘complicated worldwide situation today.’
Tribeca is partnering with YouTube to launch We Are One: A Global Film Festival, an unprecedented 10-day digital film festival exclusively on YouTube, to present festival programming for free to audiences around the world. Set to begin on May 29 on YouTube.com/WeAreOne, the festival will feature programming curated by the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Guadalajara International Film Festival, International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM), Jerusalem Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI), Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and more.
In Asia, the debut narrative feature from director Ruthy Pribar world premiering at the down-sized 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, Shira Haas, star of the Netflix series Shtisel and Unorthodox, plays 17-year-old Vika, daughter of single mother Asia played by Alena Yiv. Vika’s deteriorating health urges Asia to finally find her voice as a mother and to embrace and cherish their time together.
Things We Dare Not Do (Cosas que no hacemos), the second feature film by Mexican director and cinematographer Bruno Santamaría and executive produced by Academy Award-winner Laura Poitras and Charlotte Cook, will have its world premiere in the World Showcase section at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
“If Melissa had had a fair trial, she would not be on death row.
– Sabrina Van Tassel, Director
The 24th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival which was cancelled amid COVID-19 public health and safety concerns still handed out jury awards to the official films selected for the festival. The top prize, Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award was presented to Mayor directed by David Osit. This captivating portrait of life in Palestine under Israeli occupation follows Musa Hadid, the Christian mayor of Ramallah, over the course of his second term as he navigates civic responsibilities in a volatile political climate.
ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto will celebrate its 5th Anniversary edition from May 20 – 24, 2020 – all online. ReelAbilities Film Festival will showcase Canadian and International shorts, features, and documentaries about Deaf and disability cultures and by filmmakers and actors with disabilities and/or who are Deaf.
Due to covid-19 pandemic, the 9th edition of Curaçao IFFR (CIFFR), scheduled for April 21 to 26 2020 in Willemstad, Curaçao, has been cancelled. To continue to offer visibility to filmmakers from the Caribbean region, IFFR has made six previous winners of the Yellow Robin Award available to watch online in Curaçao and the Benelux until May 12 2020.
Amazon Prime Video and SXSW announced “Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection” will launch on April 27, 2020 with 39 films, composed of narrative and documentary features, short films and episodic titles. Filmmakers in the official 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup were invited to opt in to take part in this online film festival, which will play exclusively on Prime Video in the U.S. from April 27, 2020 thru May 6, 2020. The one-time event will be available in front of the Prime Video paywall, free to all U.S. audiences with or without an Amazon Prime membership — all that is needed is a free Amazon account.
Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary Stateless uncovers the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris. The documentary will world premiere at the down-sized 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.
