Documentarian Rory Kennedy will receive the Pennebaker Award at the Ninth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday, November 10, 2024. The late Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award winner D. A. Pennebaker inspired the name of the award, and Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s producing partner and widow, will present it.
Helmed by H. Nelson Tracey in his feature film directorial debut, Breakup Season is a romance/drama film following the story of a recently broken-up couple who got stuck at a family Christmas visit. The film initially premiered at the 2024 Desertscape Film Festival on March 29th. The independent film also screened at the 13th Richmond Film Festival, the 25th Newport Beach Film Festival, and the 2024 Waco Indie Film Festival where it won the Best Narrative Feature and Best Performance for lead actor Chandler Riggs.
The American Film Institute (AFI) today named Francis Ford Coppola the 50th recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, America’s highest honor for a career in film.
Celebrating its world-premiere earlier this year at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, Lake George marks the return to feature film directing for veteran TV director Jeffrey Reiner (Fargo, Friday Night Lights). Led by Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon, the film follows two people as they attempt to steal money from a group of mobsters who plans to kill them.
Marking the third feature film collaboration between co-directors Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn (L For Leisure, Two Plains & a Fancy), Dream Team is an absurdist sci-fi/comedy film shot on 16mm as an homage to ’90s cable TV thrillers. The film had its world premiere at the 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Anora leads the nominations for the 34th Gothams awards receiving nods for Best Feature, Best Director for Sean Baker, Outstanding Lead Performance for Mikey Madison and Outstanding Supporting Performance for Yura Borisov.
Making his second collaboration with screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes after this year’s Challengers, Oscar-nominated director of Call Me by Your Name, Luca Guadagnino returns with Queer, a historical romantic drama based on William S. Burroughs’ 1985 novel of the same name. The film starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey follows an American expat’s romance with a young student.
Deadline shared the official trailer for Orang Ikan, a historical monster thriller set in 1942.
Helmed by Emmy-nominated The World According to Jeff Goldblum director Nic Stacey, Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy is a new Netflix documentary that explores the shady tactics brands use to keep customers constantly purchasing their products. The documentary features insiders and whistleblowers from major brands, exposing the manipulative tactics used to deceive customers.
Directed by Tamra Davis (Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child), the documentary Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands delves into the evolution of boy bands, from the groundbreaking influence of The Beatles to the global rise of K-pop and shining a spotlight on the iconic groups of the 1990s and 2000s.
AFI FEST 2024 announced the Grand Jury Award short film winners and Special Mentions. The Grand Jury Award winners for Live Action Short, Documentary Short and Animated Short will be eligible for the 2024 Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short Academy Awards.
Marking the feature film directorial debut of director Jean Shim, A Great Divide is a family drama film telling the story of a Korean-American family leaving the Bay Area for a fresh start in the rural expanses of Wyoming, only to encounter hostility and xenophobia in their new community. The film had its world premiere at the Bentonville Film Festival.