The 2021 Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF) in Richmond, Virginia, scheduled for early May has been postponed until September 14-19, 2021. In the announcement, Heather Waters, RIFF Founder & Producer, was optimistic that come September, with the vaccine rollout, the festival will be able to return to the silver screen together in person for the 10th Year Anniversary celebration.
HBO’s The Crime of the Century, a two-part documentary directed by Emmy(R) and Academy Award(R) winner Alex Gibney (HBO’s “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” “Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief”), is described as a searing indictment of Big Pharma and the political operatives and government regulations that enable over-production, reckless distribution and abuse of synthetic opiates. Exploring the origins, extent and fallout of one of the most devastating public health tragedies of our time, with half a million deaths from overdoses this century alone, the film reveals that America’s opioid epidemic is not a public health crisis that came out of nowhere. The documentary The Crime of the Century will debut on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max this May.
Hulu announced its 2021 Spring original documentary slate featuring “kid 90” and SXSW official selections “WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn” and “Sasquatch”.
Focus Features acquired Limbo, the English-language directorial debut of Ben Sharrock (Pikadero). The film is written and directed by Sharrock, and stars BIFA Nominee Amir El-Masry (Industry, Jack Ryan, The Night Manager).
Palm Springs International Film Awards selected Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn as the recipient of the 2021 Spotlight Award, Actress for Minari.
IFC Midnight released a new trailer for the supernatural horror film The Vigil directed by Keith Thomas and starring Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig along with Lynn Cohen. The film opens in select theaters, on digital platforms and VOD on February 26th.
The new documentary Tina, from Academy Award®-winning directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, is a revealing and intimate look at the life and career of musical icon Tina Turner, charting her improbable rise to early fame, her personal and professional struggles throughout her life and her even more improbable resurgence as a global phenomenon in the 1980s. The documentary debuts Saturday, March 27 (8:00 PM- 10:00 PM ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
SXSW Film Festival announced the full program for the 28th edition of the festival which this year will take place online. The festival will open with Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil with Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free as Centerpiece Film and Alone Together, a documentary on popstar Charli XCX, in quarantine will World Premiere as the Closing Night Film.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted Nomadland as the best film of 2020, with Chloe Zhao winning Best Director and Joshua James Richards for Best Cinematography.
Berlin International Film Festival 2021 revealed the films selected for Encounters, Panorama and Perspektive Deutsches Kino programs. In the 2021 Perspektive Deutsches Kino, three documentary and three fiction films take us on journeys to places in Denmark, Nigeria, Canada, the USA, Georgia, Hong Kong and Germany – from the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, to Berlin and Brandenburg, to the Baltic Sea.
Saban Films released the trailer for Happily, an indie dark comedy starring Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé, along with Stephen Root, Paul Scheer, Breckin Meyer, Natalie Zea, Natalie Morales. Happily, the feature directorial debut of writer BenDavid Grabinski, opens in theaters, on digital and on demand on March 19th 2021.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced shortlists in nine categories for the 93rd Academy Awards®: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film and Visual Effects.