As part of the festival format in 2021, the directors of six Golden Bear winning films will decide on the prizes in the International Competition at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival and will view the films on the big screen in Berlin. A jury presidency is not planned for this year.
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.
The 8th Annual Key West Film Festival announced its official 2019 lineup including major fall films from Noah Baumbach and Destin Daniel Cretton. More than 115 films and V/R pieces will be shown during the 5-day festival, which runs November 20-24. Nearly half of the feature films at the festival will be Florida festival premieres.
The 28th Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) will screen 389 films representing 63 countries, from November 7 to 17. The festival will kick off on Thursday, November 7, with the local premiere of the much-lauded “Marriage Story,” starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, and directed by Noah Baumbach.
Destin Daniel Cretton’s JUST MERCY will open the 28th Philadelphia Film Festival on October 17. This heartrending and inspirational film tells the story of author and social justice activist, Bryan Stevenson, played by acclaimed actor Michael B. Jordan of FRUITVALE STATION, CREED, and BLACK PANTHER fame. Additional Opening Night titles include PARASITE, opening Masters of Cinema; CUNNINGHAM, opening Spotlights; COME AS YOU ARE, opening Made in the USA; BIKRAM: YOGI, GURU, opening Non/Fiction; and THE LODGE opening After Hours.
The 32nd Annual Virginia Film Festival will feature more than 150 films, including independent films along with hotly anticipated titles including Harriet, Just Mercy, Western Stars, Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story, The Two Popes, The Report, Clemency, and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire. This year’s lineup also includes award-winning actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke, noted actor Ann Dowd, international bestselling author John Grisham, actor Dennis Christopher, acclaimed filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu – plus more than 100 filmmakers in all.
The Heartland International Film Festival announced the official selections for its 28th edition, taking place October 10-20. Marielle Heller’s Tom Hanks’ starrer A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD was chosen as the Opening Night Gala film, and Destin Daniel Cretton’s JUST MERCY will screen as the Closing Night Gala selection. Noah Baumbach’s MARRIAGE STORY is set to be the Centerpiece Screening, and Fernando Meirelles’ THE TWO POPES will be the Showcase Screening.
The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) unveiled the full slate of films for the 2019 edition, including additional spotlight films – Tom Harper’s THE AERONAUTS, Marc Meyers’ HUMAN CAPITAL, Scott Z. Burns’ gripping post 9/11 drama THE REPORT; François Girard’s THE SONG OF NAMES; and Bruce Springsteen and Thom Zimny’s concert documentary WESTERN STARS.
The Woodstock Film Festival will celebrate its landmark 20th Anniversary, from October 2 to 6, 2019 in the historic Hudson Valley towns of Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Kingston, Saugerties, and Rosendale. This year’s festival lineup will showcase more than 50 features from around the world, as well as many short films, and will include panels, live performances, and other special events.
The European Film Academy announced the 46 films on this year’s EFA Feature Film Selection, the list of feature-length fiction films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2019. With 31 European countries represented, the list illustrates the great diversity in European cinema.
The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the rich slate of films from 48 countries in the lineup for its 2019 Contemporary World Cinema (CWC) programs. The films include a wide range of thought-provoking stories that delve into cultural issues and social struggles in poetic and captivating ways. Introducing 21 works directed and co-directed by women, this year’s edition of CWC focuses on fractured families, self-exploration, female-driven narratives, and the consequences of social and political crises.
This year’s Main Slate of the 57th New York Film Festival, September 27 – October 13, showcases 29 films from 17 different countries. Nine films in the festival were honored at Cannes, including Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or–winner Parasite; Grand Prix–winner Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story, directed by Mati Diop, an alum of annual FLC series Art of the Real and winner of the 2016 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist award; Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, NYFF’s Film Comment Presents selection and winner of both the Queer Palm and the Best Screenplay prize; Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, awarded Best Actor for Antonio Banderas; Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Jury Prize–winner Bacurau; Young Ahmed, which brought home the Best Director prize for Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne; and three Un Certain Regard winners, including Oliver Laxe’s Jury Prize–winner Fire Will Come, Albert Serra’s Special Jury Prize–winner Liberté, and Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole, which collected the Best Director prize. Top prize winners from the Berlinale will also appear in the Main Slate: Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear–winner Synonyms and Angela Schanelec’s I Was at Home, But…, which won the Silver Bear for Best Director.