Ahead of its online World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition, the first trailer debuted for Debbie Lum’s Try Harder!. The documentary follows seniors at Lowell High School in San Francisco as the pressure intensifies to impress admissions officers at elite universities with their report cards, test scores, and overall awesomeness.
Focus Features released a new video clip from Land, actress Robin Wright’s directorial debut, world premiering at Sundance Film Festival. Following the Sundance premiere, Land which also stars Robin Wright, along with Demián Bichir, and Kim Dickens, opens in theaters on February 12, 2021.
Variety will honor director Steve McQueen with its annual Creative Impact in Directing Award for his work on Amazon Studios’ collection of films Small Axe. McQueen directed all five films in the anthology that includes Mangrove, Lovers Rock, and Red, White and Blue.
The Palm Springs International Film Awards announced that The Trial of the Chicago 7 is the recipient of the Vanguard Award, which is presented to the cast and director Aaron Sorkin. The Vanguard Award is a group honor distinguishing a film’s cast and director in recognition of their collective work on an exceptional film project.
Cannes Festival announced that the 74th edition of the festival originally scheduled to take place in May will now tentatively take place in July.
Gravitas Ventures released the trailer for the powerful indie drama Donna: Stronger Than Pretty directed by Jaret Martino and starring Shameless star Kate Amundsen. Stronger Than Pretty premieres on streaming platforms on February 23.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced feature films eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature and International Feature Film categories for the 93rd Academy Awards®.
GLAAD announced the nominees for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. In the midst of a long overdue social movement against racial and ethnic discrimination, several of the nominees at the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards include powerful and impactful stories about LGBTQ people of color. Those nominees include: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, I May Destroy You, The Half of It, Monsoon, Lingua Franca, The Boys in the Band, I Carry You With Me, Kajillionaire, The Wilds, Supergirl, Big Mouth, Dead to Me, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, Wynonna Earp, and Dispatches from Elsewhere.
HBO released a video clip from the documentary In the Same Breath, which recounts the origin and spread of the novel coronavirus from the earliest days of the outbreak in Wuhan to its rampage across the United States. The film will make its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Sound of Metal star Riz Ahmed will receive the inaugural Impact Award at the upcoming 38th Miami Film Festival. The award tribute and conversation moderated by Variety’s Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis will take place on March 6, 2021.
IFC Films released a new trailer for My Salinger Year starring Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver and Douglas Booth; and based on the book by Joanna Rakoff. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, the film opens in theaters on March 5, 2021.
Television pioneer Norman Lear will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, February 28.