Sundance Film Festival announced the works selected across the Indie Episodic, Shorts and Special Events sections of the 2020 Festival. Of the projects announced, 48% were directed or created by one or more women, 33% were directed or created by one or more filmmaker of color, and 19% by one or more people who identify as LGBTQIA. 7 were supported by Sundance Institute in development, whether through direct granting or Labs.
Films ranging from Prince’s 1984 autobiographical hit “Purple Rain” and Spike Lee’s 1986 breakout movie “She’s Gotta Have It” to this year’s biggest public vote getter, Kevin Smith’s 1994 “Clerks” are among the 2019 selection of 25 of America’s most influential motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite took the top spot among films released in 2019 in Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey. Of the films that screened at festivals worldwide but have not announced stateside distribution, Sergei Loznitsa’s State Funeral, Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro’s Endless Night, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s To the Ends of the Earth received the top rankings.
Georgian film director Zaza Urushadze known internationally for his film Tangerines passed away on December 7th, reportedly of heart attack, according to local news sites. He was 53.
Nominees for the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding individual, cast and ensemble performances in film and television of 2019 were announced this morning at the Pacific Design Center’s SilverScreen Theater in West Hollywood. Marriage Story scored Best Actor nominations for Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson along with Supporting Actor nomination for Laura Dern; while the cast of Parasite were nominated along with JoJo Rabbit, The Irishman and more for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Bong Joon-ho‘s Parasite as Best Picture of 2019 along with Best Director for Joon-ho and Best Supporting Actor for Song Kang Ho, with Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman as runner-up in all three categories.
The 31st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will screen 188 films from 81 countries, opening with An Almost Ordinary Summer, directed by Simone Godano, on Friday, January 3, and close with Military Wives, directed by Peter Cattaneo on Sunday, January 12.
Two new documentaries profiling iconic rock bands New Order and Duran Duran will premiere on Showtime in late December. Part concert, part documentary, New Order: Decades follows the band’s preparations in the re-staging of their acclaimed collaboration, So It Goes, with the artist Liam Gillick and the 12-piece synthesizer orchestra that captured the headlines during Manchester International Festival 2017. New Order: Decades will premiere on Friday, December 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Hulu announced the official premiere date for the new four-part docuseries, Hillary, about the life and 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton, which will world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
The 19th edition of the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) tagged as ‘Canada’s coolest film fest’ wrapped on Sunday night with the Audience Award going to the North American premiere of LIBERTÉ: A CALL TO SPY, an exciting true story about female spies during WWII. The film is an American title shot partly in Budapest and was produced, written by and stars Sarah Megan Thomas and was directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher.
The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) named Jordan Peele’s “Us” Best Film of 2019 with other awards going to “The Black Godfather” for Best Documentary, and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” for Best Independent Film.
South Korean, director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” was also a hit with the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) receiving the top honor of Best Film of 2019, in addition to Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay.