George C. Wolfe’s Netflix drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was named Best Film of Year for the 10th annual Black Film Critics Circle Awards. Regina King’s One Night in Miami was among the big winners with honors for best director for King, in a tie with Chloé Zhao for Nomadland; best supporting actor for Leslie Odom, Jr. and best ensemble for the cast.
Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning actress Cynthia Erivo, filmmakers Julie Dash, Joshua Oppenheimer and Lana Wilson are among 22 celebrated voices across film, art and culture adjudicating this year’s awards on feature-length and short films at the Sundance Film Festival, presented at a digital ceremony taking place February 2nd.
The new trailer debuted for the high school romantic comedy, Young Hearts, starring Anjini Taneja Azhar, Quinn Liebling, Alex Jarmon, Ayla Carda, Kelly Grace that world premiered at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival. Executive Produced by Mark and Jay Duplass and directed by Sarah and Zachary Ray Sherman, the film is a fun, nuanced and refreshingly authentic look at Gen Z through the lens of two characters trying to navigate their first relationship, high school, family, and friends.
Now in its 5th year, the MidWest WeirdFest taking place March 5 -7, 2021 at the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, announced its first programming wave of films.
Gary Oldman will receive the Chairman’s Award for his performance in Mank at the Palm Springs International Film Awards.
The Hong Kong International Film Festival today announced the return of multi-talented actor Aaron Kwok as its ambassador for the third consecutive year and unveiled a new key art to mark its 45th anniversary.
HBO released the trailer for the documentary Fake Famous debuting Tuesday, February 2 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), from first-time director and veteran journalist Nick Bilton, that explores the industry of social media influencers through an innovative social experiment. The film’s journey into this world is driven by the casting of three people in Los Angeles who all have relatively small social followings and the attempt to grow them into famous influencers. By purchasing fake followers and an army of bots to “engage” with their social media, the newly made “influencers” discover both the wonders and costs of this unlikely, immersive lifestyle.
Voice of Freedom is a new documentary about singer Marian Anderson, whose talent broke down barriers around the world. Hailed as a voice that “comes around once in 100 years” and widely celebrated by both white and Black audiences at home, her fame wasn’t enough to insulate her from the indignities and trauma of racism and segregation. On Easter Sunday, 1939, she stepped up to a microphone in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Inscribed on the walls of the monument behind her were the words “all men are created equal.” Barred from performing in Constitution Hall because of her race, Anderson would sing for the American people in the open air. Narrated by Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), Voice of Freedom interweaves Anderson’s rich life story with this landmark moment in history, exploring fundamental questions about talent, race, fame, democracy and the American soul. Produced by Rob Rapley and executive produced by Cameo George, Voice of Freedom premieres Monday, February 15, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET on American Experience on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App.
Gravitas Ventures released the trailer for the indie thriller ‘The Violent Heart’ written and directed by Kerem Sanga, that premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. The film starring Grace Van Patten, Jovan Adepo, Lukas Haas, Mary J. Blige, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Jahi Di’Allo Winston will be released in theaters and on demand on February 19, 2021.
The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) announced the nominees for its 24th annual film awards. Films nominated for Best Picture include First Cow, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Minari, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman and Sound of Metal.
MTV Documentary Films will debut documentary short contenders A Life Too Short, from two-time Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Tribeca Film Festival winner My Father The Mover from breakout director Julia Jansch on Friday, January 22 at 7:00PM ET on Pluto TV.
The Houston Film Critics Society named ‘Nomadland’ the Best Picture of 2020 along with Best Director honors for Chloé Zhao and Best Cinematography for Joshua James Richards. The Society honored Taiwan’s ‘A Sun’ as Best Foreign Language Film and ‘My Octopus Teacher’ as Best Documentary.