Ashland Independent Film Festival will showcase 13 independent feature films and one short film program from 11 countries, including Bulgaria, Siberia, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Denmark, Kenya, Iceland, Israel, Egypt, and the USA for the 30th annual Varsity World Film Week running Oct. 4 through Oct. 11 at the Varsity Theatre in downtown Ashland.
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will open its 2019 festival with the world premiere of the documentary The Australian Dream – written by Walkley award-winning Australian journalist Stan Grant. Grant’s moving work is a powerful exploration of race, identity and belonging as told from the perspective of champion AFL footballer and Indigenous rights activist, Adam Goodes.
WORKING WOMAN, an absorbing Israeli drama about a young mother and wife struggling with sexual harassment in the workplace, will open theatrically in NYC March 27 at the IFC Center & Marlene Meyerson JCC of Manhattan, and April 12 in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Royal, Town Center, and Playhouse.
The 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will open with All is True directed by Kenneth Branagh on Friday, January 4, and close with Ladies in Black, directed by Bruce Beresford on Sunday, January 13. The Festival will screen 223 films from 78 countries, with a focus on cinema from France, India and Mexico, Premieres, Talking Pictures, Book to Screen, Special Presentations, FLOS: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions, Gay!La, Local Spotlight, Modern Masters, True Stories, World Cinema Now, a 30-film retrospective of selections from past festivals and more.
In All is True, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen star in Branagh’s intimate, revelatory portrait of William Shakespeare in the last act of his life. His career over, he returns to his home in Stratford-upon-Avon to encounter old ghosts, old loves, and his resentful family. Branagh is expected to attend.
Ladies in Black, set in Sydney in 1959, Oscar®-nominated writer/director Bruce Beresford takes us back to the heyday of glamorous upscale department stores, when a concierge met you at the door and clerks wore gloves. The film from Lumila Films stars Julia Ormond, Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Ryan Corr, Shane Jacobson and Alison McGirr. Beresford, Ormond, Taylor and McGirr are expected to attend.
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The Toronto International Film Festival will spotlight 48 films from international filmmakers in this year’s 2018 Contemporary World Cinema roster with a strong presence from Latin America and Eastern Europe — telling stories of identity, depicting family dynamics, and making bold political statements.
Several of the the impressive 27 World Premieres in the program are from TIFF veterans, including Belmonte from Uruguay’s Federico Veiroj, The Other Story from Israel’s Avi Nesher, Stupid Young Heart from Finnish Academy Award nominee Selma Vilhunen, Quién te Cantará from Spain’s Carlos Vermut, and Look at Me from Tunisia’s Nejib Belkadhi.
The program also highlights film selections that have already captivated audiences worldwide this year, including “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” by Radu Jude, Birds of Passage by directing duo Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, and Border by Ali Abbasi.
