Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting during 2020. Winners will be honored at a joint 2021 Writers Guild Awards virtual ceremony on Sunday, March 21, 2021.
Academy Award-nominated actor Bill Murray will receive the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award at the 36th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Murray will be honored on Friday, April 2nd for his long-standing contributions to the film industry, most recently in the role of Felix Keane in Sofia Coppola’s On The Rocks opposite Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans, for which he received Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice nominations. Leonard Maltin will return for his 30th year to moderate the evening.
IFC Films will release Gia Coppola’s sophomore feature Mainstream, starring Academy Award® nominee and Tony Award® winner Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge, Under the Silver Lake), Maya Hawke (Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood, Stranger Things), Nat Wolff (Palo Alto, The Fault in Our Stars), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass, Bad Grandpa), Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, and Alexa Demie (Euphoria, Waves).
Oxford Film Festival announced the lineup of official selections for the 18th annual edition of the festival which will be a hybrid presentation including an open-air outdoor theater, drive-ins, and a full month of virtual screenings from March 24-28, and April 1-30.
Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland is the big winner this year with the Seattle Film Critics Society (“SFCS”), landing five 2020 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards, including Best Picture of the Year. The film also earned Zhao the Best Director award and a win for Best Film Editing. Frances McDormand was named Best Actress in a Leading Role, while Joshua James Richards’ work behind the camera secured a win for Best Cinematography.
Lee Isaac Chung’s autobiographical drama Minari took the top honor of Best Picture for the Utah Film Critics Association 2020 awards.
Netflix released the trailer for Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell, a rare behind-the-scenes footage of the late rapper and hip hop icon Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., featuring the testimonies of the closest friends and family. The documentary premieres on Netflix on March 1, 2021.
Due to the local COVID-19 regulations, Filmfest Dresden has postponed the upcoming 33rd edition from April to the new date of July 13 to 18, 2021
PBS will air a new three-part documentary series following teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg as she seeks to raise awareness of the accelerating climate change. The documentary titled Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World (w.t.) premieres in its entirety as a special presentation on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22 at 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide. Encore airings of all three episodes air Wednesdays, April 28 – May 12, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings).
In honor of Academy Award and BAFTA winning actress Cloris Leachman, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 94, BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival will screen Leachman’s final starring role “Jump, Darling” in the Bodies strand. BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival runs digitally from the March 17th- 28th, 2021.
HBO released the trailer for COVID Diaries NYC, chronicling the lives of five young filmmakers, ranging in age from 17 to 21, who turn their cameras on themselves to tell the stories of their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The deeply personal film illuminates the plight of essential workers and their families during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis as they navigate the deadly virus and a country riven by social upheaval. COVID Diaries NYC debuts Tuesday, March 9 (9:00-9:40 ET/PT) on HBO.
The fantasy animation horror film The Spine of Night from directors Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King will world premiere as part of the SXSW Midnighters section, taking place virtually next month. NY/LA-based arthouse genre sales company Yellow Veil Pictures have acquired world sales rights on the film.