German director Roland Emmerich will be honored with this year’s A Tribute to… Award at the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) alongside a retrospective of his work, from his debut film THE NOAH’S ARK PRINCIPLE to the widely known INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and ANONYMOUS. The 15th edition of the festival will also feature Emmerich taking part in a special ZFF Masters session.
Actress Laura Dern will receive this year’s Mind the Gap Actor of the Year Award at Mill Valley Film Festival for her incredible body of work, with a special focus on her impressive slate of roles in 2019.
Ashland Independent Film Festival will showcase 13 independent feature films and one short film program from 11 countries, including Bulgaria, Siberia, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Denmark, Kenya, Iceland, Israel, Egypt, and the USA for the 30th annual Varsity World Film Week running Oct. 4 through Oct. 11 at the Varsity Theatre in downtown Ashland.
The Woodstock Film Festival will celebrate its landmark 20th Anniversary, from October 2 to 6, 2019 in the historic Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Kingston, Saugerties, and Rosendale. This year’s festival lineup will showcase more than 50 features from around the world, as well as many short films, and will include panels, live performances, and other special events.
The animated film Turu, The Wacky Hen (La gallina turuleca), and the documentary Sua – Irabazi arte, about the week leading up to the day that the Real Sociedad team won the Copa de la Reina (Queen’s Cup), will World Premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in the Velodrome
Japanese film director Kore-eda Hirokazu, winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for Shoplifters (2018), has been named the recipient of the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award at the 24th Busan International Film Festival. The Asian Filmmaker of the Year is presented annually to a notable film professional or organization that has shown outstanding contributions to developing the Asian film industry and culture.
Joker directed by Todd Phillips won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival, with the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize going to J’Accuse (An Officer and a Spy) by Roman Polanski.
The Santa Fe Independent Film Festival (SFiFF) revealed the first 10 titles that will be featured on the 2019 lineup. Films announced include I Was At Home, But… directed by Angela Schanelec – winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival; It Must Be Heaven directed by Elia Suleiman – Palestine’s submission to the 2019 Academy Awards, and The Whistlers directed by Corneliu Porumboiu – Romanian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.
One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk by Zacharias Kunuk will open the 20th imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival on Tuesday, October 22 at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in in Toronto, Ontario. Rich in Kunuk’s distinct visual language, One Day tells the true story of Noah Piugattuk’s community in Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, 1961. They live and hunt by dogteam, just as Noah’s ancestors did when he was born in 1900. When a European settler, known as Boss, arrives in camp, what appears as a chance meeting soon opens up the prospect of momentous change.
Miami Film Festival GEMS returns October 10 to 13th, 2019, with Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory starring Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz opening the Festival, and Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce selected as Centerpiece.
