The 39th edition of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) announced their Jury winners with the first ever Best Made In Hawai‘i Award going to MOLOKA‘I BOUND directed by Alika Maikau. The jurors also awarded a second place award to DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK IN WAIKĪKĪ, directed by Justyn Ah Chong. The jury also awarded an Honorable Mention to Ellsha Johnston for her role of Kiana in Chelsi Johnston’s film, DRIVING.
Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin’s funny and unique bro-mance The Climb which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard, and won the Jury Coup de Couer Prize will be released on March 20, 2020 by Sony Pictures Classics.
Filming began on November 14th on the story of the world’s most beloved children’s author, Roald Dahl and his film star wife, Patricia Neal currently untitled (f.k.a An Unquiet Life).
Gravitas Ventures will release Daniel Schechter’s smart comedy/drama After Class (formerly Safe Spaces) in theaters and on VOD beginning December 6, 2019. The film stars Justin Long, Fran Drescher, Richard Schiff and Kate Berlant.
French artist and filmmaker Éric Baudelaire’s Un Film Dramatique which had its international premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in August and played the Toronto International Film Festival followed by New York Film Festival this fall was acquired by Cinema Guild for release in the U.S. In October, Baudelaire was announced as the winner of the Prix Marcel Duchamp, France’s biggest art prize. Cinema Guild will open the film in U.S. theaters in 2020.
Vertical Entertainment acquired English Speaking World rights to Neo-Noir Blood on Her Name starring Bethany Anne Lind (REPRISAL, OZARK), Will Patton, (REMEMBER THE TITANS, ARMAGEDDON), and Elizabeth Röhm (AMERICAN HUSTLE, JOY).
Apollo 11 took home the most prestigious award for Best Documentary Feature as well as Best Editing for Todd Douglas Miller, Best Score for Matt Morton, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Science/Nature Documentary at the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards earlier this week.
Brazil’s official entry for Oscars 2020 Best Foreign Film, the Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão, will open the 11th annual Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival on Friday, November 15th. Directed by Karim Aïnouz and Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira (Ad Astra, Call Me By Your Name), the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it won the coveted Un Certain Regard Award.
LINDA RONSTADT: The Sound of My Voice, the 2019 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards winner for Best Music Documentary about singer Linda Ronstadt’s life and musical journey, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, will premiere on CNN on Wednesday, New Year’s Day at 9:00pm ET and PT .
One hundred fifty-nine features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 92nd Academy Awards®. Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture.
Academy Award-winning actor, producer and director Robert De Niro has been named the 56th recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute: the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. De Niro will be presented the performers union’s top accolade at the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards which will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020 at 8 p.m. (ET), 7 p.m. (CT), 6 p.m. (MT) and 5 p.m. (PT).
Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) and An Officer and a Spy (J’accuse) directed by Roman Polanski lead the nominations for the 32nd European Film Awards with 4 nominations each including Best European Film and Best European Director.