The Virginia Film Festival announced that, in light of the evolving COVID-19 situation, their 5-day Film Festival will shift to a virtual format this fall. The VAFF will be presented on its originally-scheduled dates, October 21-25, and will feature a diverse slate of features, documentaries, and shorts alongside panels, Q&As, and a series of conversations with leading industry experts and artists.
Michael Covino’s The Climb, which had an original release date in March, will premiere in Los Angeles and New York theaters on October 9, 2020, with additional cities to follow. Written by Covino and Kyle Marvin, The Climb stars Covino, Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt, and Judith Godrèche.
The Tallgrass Film Association has announced that the 18th Annual Tallgrass Film Festival will go virtual this October, with extended dates and online film screenings, Q&As, parties, and other events. The original five-day event will be expanded to ten days from October 16 to 25, 2020.
Terrance Daye’s award-winning Ship is a beautiful short story that depicts the complexities of love, family, and grief within the Black household. In the thirteen-minute short, Jeremiah learns the contradicting lessons of manhood and masculinity on the day of his cousin’s funeral.
The Whistler Film Festival’s 6th annual Adventure Film Series will take place online from August 3 to 30, 2020. The film series will include five features plus five shorts authorized for viewing in Canada over four weeks ranging from extreme sports to activism through adventure. Mountain biking, deep water cave diving, kayaking, cycling, rowing, trail running, skiing, pioneering, adventure photography, and environmental activism are themes highlighted in the adrenaline-fueled lineup.
Following an award-winning festival run, Jared P. Scott’s (Requiem for the American Dream) The Great Green Wall, an epic journey to the front lines of climate change, makes its theatrical and digital premiere starting in Canada July 30th.
At this defining moment in American history, The Fight follows a scrappy team of heroic ACLU lawyers in an electrifying battle over abortion rights, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, and voting rights, available everywhere July 31st.
rePRO by mama.film, a new five-day virtual film festival dedicated to exploring women’s reproductive healthcare, awareness, advocacy, and bodily integrity in America, has announced its line-up for the inaugural festival will take place online from August 12-16, 2020. The line-up of films and conversations, which will be open to anyone in the US, includes documentaries and narratives dealing with women’s rights, endometriosis, illegal sterilization, access to abortion, and reproductive justice for women of color, among other topics. The program was announced today by the festival’s founders, Lela Meadow-Conner, Mallory Martin, and Debby Samples.
The final selection of films has been announced for the Venice Classics section of the 77th Venice International Film Festival, which will be hosted this year as part of the Il Cinema Ritrovato program promoted by the Cineteca di Bologna, set to take place from August 25-31 in Bologna.
Women Texas Film Festival (WTxFF) announced the official selections for the fifth year of the critically-acclaimed Dallas-based film festival. The festival focuses solely on visionary female filmmakers and features LGBTQIA+ stories, provocative documentaries, and Texas-based female filmmakers throughout its lineup. Pivoting to an all-virtual presentation, Olivia Peace’s teenage comedy Tahara will open the festival, and Lisa Donato’s Gossamer Folds is the Closing Night Selection for WTxFF, August 13-16.
Jimmy Henderson’s The Prey will be released in virtual theaters August 21st with an on demand release to follow on August 25th.
Spike Lee’s filmed adaptation of the Broadway-acclaimed David Byrne’s American Utopia is the Opening Night Presentation of the 45th Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, September 10th.