This year’s 2020 AFI European Union Film Showcase will take place as a virtual event from December 2–20 featuring 48 films representing 25 EU member states. Now in its 33rd year, the Showcase, one of the largest and long-running showcases of European cinema in the United States, has typically taken place at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD.
The Argentine Film The Weasels’ Tale (El cuento de las comadrejas) from Juan José Campanella, the director of the Oscar Award-winning The Secret in Their Eyes opens in theaters and virtual cinemas in the U.S. on Friday, December 11 via Outside Pictures and Strand Releasing. The comedic thriller starring a cast of acclaimed, seasoned Argentine actors including Graciela Borges (La Ciénaga) and Óscar Martínez (Wild Tales), won the Audience Award at the AFI Latin American and Chicago Latino Film Festivals.
Deepa Mehta’s Funny Boy will represent Canada in the race for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro’s (Neon Bull) Divine Love (Divino Amor) that world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, begins its North American theatrical premiere on Friday, November 13.
Parasite won the Best Film award at the 14th Asian Film Awards (“AFA14”) along with Best Screenplay for co-writers Han Jin Won and the film’s director Bong Joon Ho. The film also won for Best Production Design and Best Editing totaling four awards. “I am grateful to all the people involved with the Asian Film Awards for making it possible that Parasite could become part of AFA’s legacy. I strongly believe that we will meet in person next year at the Asian Film Awards, shake hands, and enjoy talking with one another without masks…I believe that nothing can stop us from continuing to make films,” said Bong
Óscar Catacora’s acclaimed debut feature, Wiñaypacha (Eternity), -winner of the Best First Film and Best Cinematography awards at the Guadalajara Film Festival and the first Peruvian film shot entirely in the indigenous Aymara language, premieres on Tropical on Demand on Thursday, October 29, 2020.
Netflix released the trailer for the Italian drama “The Life Ahead” (La vita davanti a sé) from director Edoardo Ponti and starring Academy Award® winner Sophia Loren, along with Ibrahima Gueye. In the film set in seaside Italy, a Holocaust survivor Madame Rosa (Loren), takes in 12-year-old street kid Momo (Gueye), who recently robbed her. The two become each other’s protectors, anchoring an unconventional family.
The South Korean horror thriller “Beasts Clawing at Straws” directed by Kim Yong-hoon opens in numerous theaters nationwide on October 21 from Kino Marquee. VOD release follows on December 15.
Filmmaker Paolo Licata makes his debut with the Italian coming-of-age drama “Alone with her Dreams” opening in the U.S. via Virtual Cinema on October 30, 2020. Winner of Best First Feature and Best Original Score at the 2020 Italian Golden Globe Awards, the film stars Lucia Sardo, Marta Castiglia, Ileana Rigano, Katia Greco, Claudio Collovà,Loredana Marino, Tania Bambaci, along with Federica Sarno.
The Czech biographical drama Charlatan (Czech: Šarlatán) directed by Agnieszka Holland has been selected by the Czech Film and Television Academy (CFTA) to represent Czech Republic in the Oscars’ 2021 race for Best International Feature Film.
Philippe Lacôte’s sophomore feature, Night of the Kings has been chosen as the Ivory Coast submission for the 93rd Academy Awards. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and went on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Night of the Kings will be released by NEON, with plans to be announced at a later date.
