In a first-of-its-kind, the Utah premiere of The Climb, screening in the Spotlight category of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, will be simulcast across ten cinemas across the U.S., with the following Q&A simulcast live from The Ray Theatre in Park City. Sundance Institute is partnering with& Sony Pictures Classics and Trafalgar Releasing to enable independent film fans in markets nationwide to participate in the buzz of Festival from afar.
The 2020 incarnation of the world’s most popular Film Noir festival, Noir City, is returning to the legendary SIFF Cinema Egyptian February 14 through 20 for a weeklong excursion into darkness hosted by Eddie Muller, internationally renowned “Czar of Noir” and host of the popular Turner Classic Movies series “Noir Alley.”
Written and directed by Nathan Catucci, Impossible Monsters will have its theatrical release in New York at the Cinema Village and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica Film Center on Friday, February 14, 2020. Gravitas Ventures acquired Worldwide rights to the film, and set a release date for various Video On Demand platforms in North America, UK and Australia, and worldwide on Vimeo of March 3, 2020.
The feature documentary COOKED: Survival by Zip Code, a searing exploration into the politics of “disaster,” blends investigative reporting about the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave with a potent argument that the best preparation for a disaster may start with investing in racial and economic justice.
Showtime will air Outcry, a five-part documentary series examining the gripping story of high school football star Greg Kelley, his controversial conviction and the quest for truth and justice as the case unfolds. Produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Pat Kondelis (Disgraced), Outcry will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals in Austin, ahead of its television premiere on Friday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.
From April 21 to 26, 2020, the 32nd Filmfest Dresden will take place in the state capital of Saxony in Dresden, Germany, featuring an exciting festival program with the best short films from across the world.
Oscilloscope Laboratories released the trailer for Saint Frances, winner of the SXSW 2019 Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature. The film which also won the SXSW 2019 Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Voice is directed by Alex Thompson and stars Kelly O’Sullivan, Ramona Edith Williams, Jim True-Frost, Francis Guinan, Lily Mojekwu, Mary Beth Fisher, along with Charin Alvarez.
Dark Star Pictures released a new trailer for the indie film Goalie, based on the true story of professional hockey player Terry Sawchuk.
HBO has confirmed their slate of captivating documentaries for the first half of 2020, including ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS (working title), a documentary series reexamining the missing and murdered children of Atlanta in the late-’70s and early-’80s in collaboration with Show of Force, Roc Nation and Get Lifted Film Co.; WELCOME TO CHECHNYA, directed by David France, chronicling a group of brave activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ persecution in the repressive and closed Russian republic of Chechnya; NATALIE WOOD: WHAT REMAINS BEHIND, intimately exploring Natalie Wood’s life, career and tragic death through the unique perspective of her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner and others who knew her best; and McMILLION$, from executive producer Mark Wahlberg and directors James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, a six-part documentary series chronicling the stranger-than-fiction story of the mysterious McDonald’s Monopoly game promotion scam and the mastermind who developed the complex scheme, stealing millions of dollars and building a vast network of co-conspirators across the U.S.
HBO is in production on the first project in its multi-film deal with best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow. Farrow will collaborate with Academy Award nominated directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady of Loki Films to investigate threats, intimidation and violence directed at journalists working to expose corruption and abuse by governments, corporations and other powerful interests. The film will follow subjects in the United States and internationally.
Showtime Documentary Films announced upcoming titles from its 2020 slate from preeminent documentarians, including LOVE FRAUD from Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, THE TRADE from Matthew Heineman, THE LONGEST WAR from Greg Barker, Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, KINGDOM OF SILENCE from Alex Gibney, Rick Rowley and Lawrence Wright, and THE KINGMAKER from Lauren Greenfield.
Vertical Entertainment released the official trailer for the indie WWII drama film Waiting for Anya from British writer-director Ben Cookson (Almost Married). Based on the novel of the same name by Sir Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), the film stars Noah Schnapp (“Stranger Things”, Bridge of Spies), Jean Reno (Godzilla, Alex Cross, Léon: The Professional), Academy Award winner ;Anjelica Huston (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, The Addams Family, Daddy Day Care), Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist, King Kong), Elsa Zylberstein (Bel Canto, Un + une) and Frederick Schmidt (Mission: Impossible – Fallout, “Supergirl”, Patient Zero). Waiting for Anya opens in select theaters and on VOD starting Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2020.