Teenage Badass, the independent music comedy film directed by Grant McCord that was supposed to have its world premiere at this year’s now cancelled 2020 SXSW will be released digitally on September 18 via Freestyle as exclusively reported by Deadline.
Director Shalini Kantayya’s feature documentary, Coded Bias, that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival explores the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately. As part of a national Science on Screen initiative, Coded Bias will have a virtual cinema release starting at Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) in Queens, New York (Two week run opening Wednesday 11/11) and Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA (Two week run opening Friday 11/18).
Actor Samuel L. Jackson will headline the new six-part docuseries Enslaved set to premiere September 14, 2020 at 10 P.M. ET/PT on EPIX. Enslaved sheds new light on 400 years of human trafficking from Africa to the New World. Based on a DNA test identifying his ancestral tribe, the series traces Jackson’s personal journey from the U.S. to Gabon for his induction into the Benga tribe, with rare and unprecedented access to secret ceremonies and local customs. Following its launch on EPIX, Enslaved will also premiere on CBC in Canada on Sunday, October 18 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).
Due to the continuing global coronavirus crisis, and uncertainty over the reopening of cinemas in Mumbai, the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) has pushed the 22nd Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival to 2021. The festival will, however, be releasing its official selection of Indian films for the year later in August.
Award-winning actress Sigourney Weaver (“Alien,” “Avatar,” “Gorillas in the Mist”) will narrate the National Geographic docuseries Secrets of the Whales, which chronicles the whale way of life and their challenges and triumphs in an ever-changing ocean with renowned filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large James Cameron serving as executive producer. Secrets of the Whales will premiere globally on National Geographic on Earth Day 2021 in 172 countries and 43 languages.
The new feature documentary, Blood on the Wall, from Academy Award nominee and best-selling author, journalist and filmmaker Sebastian Junger and Emmy-winning filmmaker Nick Quested, will premiere Wednesday, September 30, at 9/8c on National Geographic.
Before Oprah – before Arsenio – there was Mr. SOUL! Ellis Haizlip made television broadcast history with SOUL!, America’s first “black Tonight Show.” The documentary titled Mr. SOUL! which brilliantly profiles Haizlip is right on time given the subject with Black Lives Matter and the current state of our country and our communities addressing racism in a meaningful manner – Haizlip’s story and his inspiration is now even more important. Mr. SOUL! comes to theaters and cinemas across the nation through the virtual cinema platform starting August 28, 2020.
The powerful, timely thriller Watch List, from Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment, arrives in virtual theaters on August 21 before an On Demand release on September 1.
Widow’s Point, Gregory Lamberson’s award-winning adaptation of the book of the same name, premieres on DVD and Digital in the USA and Canada September 1 via 101 Films.
Eleven films from Brazil, China, France, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom and Vietnam will compete for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award at the 68th San Sebastian Festival, taking place from September 18 to 26.
The Chicago International Film Festival announced this year’s Industry Days will be held virtually for a global audience, from October 12-18, 2020.
From twice Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Steve James (America to Me, Hoop Dreams) and his longtime producing partner Zak Piper (Life Itself, The Interrupters), City So Real, an official Indie Episodic selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, will premiere on the National Geographic network this fall. The fascinating and complex portrait of contemporary Chicago delivers a deep, multifaceted look into the soul of a quintessentially American city, set against the backdrop of its history-making 2019 mayoral election.