Lovers Rock directed by BFI Fellow Steve Mc Queen, has been added to the lineup of this year’s BFI London Film Festival. Lovers Rock is one of five films from Steve Mc Queen’s Small Axe anthology alongside the festival’s Opening film Mangrove. The film will screen on Sunday October 18th across two screenings at BFI Southbank as part of the LFF’s Love strand.
Raindance Film Festival opens on October 28th with the UK Premiere of Stardust directed by Gabriel Range. Stardust stars Johnny Flynn (Emma, Beast) as a young David Bowie embarking on his first trip to America, revealing the inspirations and life events that gave birth to his iconic alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, charting the transformation of one of the world’s greatest cultural icons.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) revealed the first films selected for its 33rd edition, including 30 films in the Best of Fests program, and 10 films selected by Gianfranco Rosi for the Top 10 program.
Urbanworld Film Festival announced the 2020 award winners with The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, directed by David Midell winning the award for Best Narrative Feature (US) . The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain is based on the true story of the events that led to the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran suffering from bipolar disorder, who was killed during a conflict with police officers who were dispatched to check on him.
YouTube Originals launched the first episode for their new documentary series TOGETHER WE RISE: The Uncompromised Story of GRM Daily. The four-part documentary series tells the story of how GRM Daily founder Posty, with the help of his peers and other platforms, helped to give new opportunities to a whole generation of new music talent.
Apple+ released the first trailer for the new documentary on singer and songwriter Billie Eilish titled “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry,” directed by award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“Belushi,” “The September Issue,” “The War Room”), set to premiere in theaters and on Apple TV+ in February 2021.
Cannes Film Festival postponed early this year due to the COVID19 pandemic, will present a special Fall edition titled “2020 Special Cannes” featuring part of the 2020 Cannes Official Selection. The event, organized in collaboration with the Cannes City Council, will be held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès from Tuesday October 27th to Thursday October 29th.
The award-winning short film, The Gesture and the Word written and directed by filmmaker Helen Alexis Yonov, competes for Best Narrative Short at the prestigious Oscar® qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival. If it wins, it becomes eligible for an Oscar® nomination. The screening is scheduled on October 6, 2020 on the Comedy Program 3. This is the short’s Los Angeles Premiere.
Montclair Film Festival announced the Storyteller Series for the 9th annual festival taking place October 16-25, in Montclair, NJ. The 2020 Storyteller Series features Aaron Sorkin, Stephen Colbert, Sienna Miller, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and more.
Vancouver International Film Festival 2020 (VIFF) announce the complete programming lineup for the Impact, M/A/D and Insights film streams; the Altered States, Gateway, International Shorts and MODES film series; and Canadian short film series VIFF Short Forum, coupled with the cohort for the Catalyst mentorship program for its 39th edition.
The French-Georgian film Beginning (Dasatskisi) is the winner of the Golden Shell for Best Film at San Sebastian Festival’s 68th edition, along with three awards including the Silver Shell for Best Director for Dea Kulumbegashvili, the Silver Shell for Best Actress going to Ia Sukhitashvili and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay going both to Kulumbegashvili herself and to Rati Oneli, also co-producer and actor in the film.
Academy Award accredited Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), in partnership with Facebook, will present an exclusive, first-ever virtual film festival that will feature original content, immersive panel discussions and the official 2020 MVAAFF film slate. The Festival will be streamed exclusively via Facebook on the MVAAFF page from October 6 – 10, 2020.