British Columbian actor and musician Finn Wolfhard burst onto the world stage in the culture-shifting Netflix series Stranger Things with subsequent performances in the IT films, The Goldfinch, The Turning, and The Addams Family, among others, and forthcoming roles in Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s recently announced Pinocchio, Wolfhard has solidified his standing as a major international talent.
ARZAK Since 1897, the documentary by Asier Altuna about the restaurant run by Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena, will open the Culinary Zinema section at the San Sebastian Festival’s 68th edition. The other 3 films in the section include Camí lliure / Free Way (Vía libre), by Ángel Parra, which also has a strong family component and shows the relationship between chefs Raül Balam and his mother Carme Ruscalleda, while La receta del equilibrio, by Óscar Bernàcer, places the chef Ricard Camarena before the challenge of opening his premises after the lockdown. Lastly, The Truffle Hunters, by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, brings a portrait of several elderly people and their search for the coveted white truffle in Italy’s Piedmont region.
The European Film Academy and EFA Productions announced the EFA Documentary Selection, a list of 13 European documentaries recommended for a nomination for this year’s European Film Awards. There are 14 European countries represented in this year’s EFA Documentary Selection.
Actor Matt Dillon has joined the members of the Venezia 77 Competition Jury at the 77th Venice International Film Festival (September 2 – 12, 2020) replacing Romanian director Cristi Puiu who will no longer be a member of the Jury.
The 68th edition of the San Sebastian Festival will host the world premiere of the series Dime quién soy (Tell me who I am), directed by Eduard Cortés, starring Irene Escolar, and based on the book of the same name by Julia Navarro. The presentation will take place on Monday September 21 in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre, at the Movistar+ Gala.
The Web Theatre at Venice International Film Festival returns for its ninth edition with a selection of films from the Orizzonti, Out of Competition and Biennale College – Cinema sections available online on La Biennale di Venezia’s official website.
HBO released the trailer for David Byrne’s American Utopia directed by Academy Award and Emmy(R)-winner Spike Lee which will debut Saturday, October 17 (8:00-9:45 p.m. ET/PT).
Director and producer Andrew Rossi (Ivory Tower, Page One: Inside The New York Times), explores the dark side of disinformation, or ‘fake news,’ in a new documentary executive produced by CNN’s Brian Stelter titled AFTER TRUTH: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News. AFTER TRUTH will broadcast as a CNN Films Presents feature Saturday, August 29 at 10:00pm Eastern (7:00pm Pacific).
The American Film Institute (AFI) and Universal Pictures announced the launch of a week-long AFI Movie Club event called “Black Stories Matter,” spotlighting diverse and unique narratives from celebrated Black films. Born from a recent AFI/Universal collaboration honoring Do the Right Thing and Academy Award®-winning director Spike Lee, the expanded partnership will pay tribute to notable films BlacKkKlansman, Get Out, Girls Trip, Loving and Straight Outta Compton with free digital movie rentals available all week. Enhanced AFI Movie Club content will feature new interviews with composer Terence Blanchard (BlacKkKlansman), Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip), cinematographer and AFI Alum Matthew Libatique (Straight Outta Compton), Ruth Negga (Loving), writer Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip), Ron Stallworth (BlacKkKlansman) and more.
Film at Lincoln Center announced the Currents section lineup for the 58th New York Film Festival taking place September 17 – October 11. The new Currents section includes 14 features and 46 short films, representing 28 countries, and complements the Main Slate, tracing a more complete picture of contemporary cinema with an emphasis on new and innovative forms and voices.
Continuing TIFF’s commitment to championing women filmmaker, Beans director Tracey Deer will receive the TIFF Emerging Talent Award at the 2020 TIFF Tribute Awards, during this year’s 45th Annual Toronto International Film Festival.
Let’s put the word ‘collusion’ aside for a moment… and let’s instead use the word ‘seduction.’
Timothy Snyder, Professor of History, Yale University; Author, The Road to Unfreedom