Michael Steiner’s romantic comedy Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa which premiered at the 2018 Zurich Film Fest, has been selected by Switzerland as the country’s submission for the Best International Feature category (formerly Best Foreign Language Film) in the 92nd Academy Awards.
Prague Independent Film Festival announced the winners of the 2019 edition with the experimental art-house film M by Finnish director Anna Eriksson receiving the Grand Prix and best feature film awards. The film, loosely inspired by the last days of Marilyn Monroe, initially premiered at the Venice’s International Film Critics’ Week in 2018. Anna Eriksson took upon herself multiple duties during the making of the film; she directed it, played the lead role, edited the film and composed the score.
Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi (The Great Beauty, The Way We Laughed, Bread and Tulips) is the recipient of the Campari Passion for Film Award of the 76th Venice International Film Festival. The award, instituted last year at the 75th Venice Film Festival, seeks to highlight the remarkable contribution given by the director’s closest collaborators to the fulfillment of the artistic project that each film represents. It is not often that cinematographers, editors, composers, set or costume designers are adequately recognized for their work, which is often key to the quality of the final result. Passion for Film attributes this award to these professional figures (last year the prize was awarded to American film editor Bob Murawski), who are more than just craftsmen: they are artists and co-authors of the films to which they offer the gift of their unparalleled talent.
Big World Pictures will release Milko Lazarov’s ÁGA, which had its World Premiere at the Closing Night Film of Berlin International Film Festival – the first Bulgarian film in 29 years to be honored with that slot. The film went on to win many top prizes at several international film festivals, including Best Film at Cairo International Film Festival; Best Film at Bulgarian Feature Film Festival; Audience Award at Best Feature at Llubljana International Film Festival; and Best Film at Sarajevo Intl. Film Festival.
Epic Pictures and Dread released exclusive stills from the sci-fi horror-thriller, AUTOMATION which will have its World Premiere this weekend at Hollywood Horrorfest, and released in Winter.
Three-time Academy Award–nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix will be honored with one of two TIFF Tribute Actor Awards at this year’s TIFF Tribute Gala awards event, taking place on Monday, September 9 at Fairmont Royal York, during the 44th Toronto International Film Festival.
Laura Fairrie is directing LADY BOSS: THE JACKIE COLLINS STORY, the “truth-is-stranger-than-fiction” documentary about best-selling author, rebel, actress, millionaire Hollywood chronicler, mother, sister, survivor, and unlikely feminist, Jackie Collins.
Pablo Aura Langer’s “Influencia” starring Alejandra Cárdenas, Marco Zapata, Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto star Gerardo Taracena and the 2 times winner of the Mexican Academy Award ‘Ariel’ Veronica Langer, was awarded “Best International Film” at the Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting competition, at the Action Film Awards.
In a nod to its commitment to film preservation, the Toronto International Film Festival announced today that the 2019 TIFF Cinematheque program at the Festival will feature select screenings in 35mm, with two prints coming from the TIFF Film Reference Library Screening Collection, the organization’s own film library. The narrative titles selected will be preceded by guest introductions from Festival filmmakers past and present.
The Toronto International Film Festival announced the 10 eclectic films that will make up this year’s Midnight Madness lineup. Midnight Madness welcomes new genre filmmakers with remarkable debuts, including Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s dystopian sci-fi film The Platform; Rose Glass’s unnerving psychological thriller Saint Maud, starring Morfydd Clark (Love & Friendship) and Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty); Andrew Patterson’s paranormal period piece The Vast of Night, which won the audience award for Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance and features breakout performances by Jake Horowitz and Sierra McCormick; and Keith Thomas’s supernatural horror film The Vigil.
The revamped Discovery program at this year’s 2019 Toronto International Film Festival features a lineup of 37 films from emerging filmmakers representing 35 countries, with 54% of its selection directed by women.
The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled its lineup of 25 documentary films covering high-profile figures including Truman Capote, Merce Cunningham, Ron Howard, Bikram Choudhury, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and Imelda Marcos; as well as a broad range of themes, including journalism, immigration, global politics, environmentalism, capitalism, and racism.