2023 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced

Posted on January 27, 2023 by admin

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute, returned back in person and across the country online for 2023. Whether you gathered in theaters or are joining us from home, the Festival offers the opportunity to be a part of the discovery of stories and artists that will inspire and entertain us for years to come. The 2023 Sundance Film Festival jurors and audiences have voted with the awards announced today during an event at The Ray Theatre in Park City and updated on Sundance Film Festival’s official social accounts. The award-winning films will screen in person and via the online Festival platform on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29. Tickets for all award-screening films are available beginning at 1:00 p.m. MT today.

The jury and audience-awarded prizes amplify the fearless and dynamic stories across sections, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to A Thousand and One (U.S. Dramatic), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (U.S. Documentary), Scrapper (World Cinema Dramatic), and The Eternal Memory (World Cinema Documentary), and the NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was awarded to KOKOMO CITY.

Voted on by the audience, Radical was granted the Festival Favorite Award. Audience Awards for films in competition were presented by Acura to The Persian Version (U.S. Dramatic) and Beyond Utopia (U.S. Documentary), and presented by United Airlines to Shayda (World Cinema Dramatic) and 20 Days in Mariupol (World Cinema Documentary). KOKOMO CITY won the audience award for NEXT.

“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections for sharing their stories with the Sundance community.”

“In addition to acknowledging our artists, I want to thank this year’s jurors for their time and thoughtful consideration,” added Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “Their efforts help contextualize our artists’ work beyond the Festival program and elevate their stories to new audiences around the globe. The winners themselves represent a diverse mix of bold storytelling, thought-provoking reflections, and critical representations of our world today.”
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Angela Bassett To Receive 38th Annual SBIFF Montecito Award

Posted on December 1, 2022 by admin

Angela Bassett will be honored with the Montecito Award at the 38th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Bassett will receive the award on Thursday, February 9th, 2023 at an in-person conversation about her career leading up to this year’s performance in Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER directed by Ryan Coogler from Disney Studios.

“Ms. Bassett has had an illustrious career as an actor, director and producer and in WAKANDA FOREVER reminds us why she’s so greatly revered. She’s regal, fierce and commanding as Queen Ramonda. We bow down.” SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling stated.

Angela Bassett is an actress, director, and executive producer known for captivating, emotionally-tinged performances full of dignity in treasured films such as MALCOLM X, BOYZ IN THE HOOD, WAITING TO EXHALE, HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK, and of course, WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. She has since made star-turns in the historic BLACK PANTHER, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-FALLOUT, BUMBLEBEE from Paramount, as well as the television hits 9-1-1, and MASTER OF NONE. Other recent projects include Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning animated feature SOUL, for which she lent her melodious voice for the character, Dorothea Williams; feature films OTHERHOOD and GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE from Netflix; and THE FLOOD from National Geographic, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Narrator. Further, she was nominated for two Emmys, including Outstanding Narrator for the IMAGINEERING STORY: THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW. Bassett recently wrapped production on the Netflix Originals feature film, DAMSEL, opposite Millie Bobby Brown.

The Montecito Award is named after one of the most beautiful and stylish areas in Santa Barbara. Past recipients include Penélope Cruz, Amanda Seyfried, Lupita Nyong’o, Melissa McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan, Isabelle Huppert, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts and Javier Bardem.
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Cate Blanchett To Receive Honor At Palm Springs Film Festival

Posted on November 21, 2022 by admin

Focus Features

The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Cate Blanchett is set to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award.

“Cate Blanchett is truly one of the best actresses of this generation, whose performances are always extraordinary no matter the role. In her latest film Tár, Cate perfectly embodies Lydia Tár as an orchestra conductor at the height of her career whose life begins to unravel,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. ” There is no one better suited for this role and it is our honor to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress, to Cate Blanchett.”

Two-time Oscar winner Blanchett will receive the honor during a ceremony at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Jan. 5, 2023.

Her film Tar saw its initial theatrical release Oct. 7 through Focus Features.

Blanchett was honored at the festival previously with the Desert Palm Achievement Award: Actress (2016) for Carol and Truth, Career Achievement Award and Ensemble Performance Award Babel (2007).

Cate Blanchett To Receive 38th Annual SBIFF Outstanding Performer Of The Year Award

Posted on November 8, 2022 by admin

Cate Blanchett will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award at the 38th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Blanchett will be honored on Friday, February 10, 2023 for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Lydia Tár in Todd Feld’s TÁR from Focus Features. Setting a historic record, this is the second time Blanchett will be feted at the festival as the Outstanding Performer of the Year.

In 2014, she received the honor for her role as Jasmine French in BLUE JASMINE. In 2008, she was crowned the Modern Master Award for her role as Queen Elizabeth in ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE and as multi-faceted Bob Dylan in I’M NOT THERE.

“Cate Blanchett is an artist that has nothing left to prove; she is one of the most brilliant actresses ever – yet she keeps challenging herself and proving over and over again that she’s the most outstanding performer!” SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling noted.

Cate Blanchett is an internationally acclaimed, Academy Award-winning actor, producer, artistic director, humanitarian, and dedicated member of the arts community. Blanchett plays the titular role and executive produces Todd Field’s highly anticipated feature film “TÁR,” which marks the writer-director-producer’s first film in over 15 years. The film was warmly welcomed at the Telluride Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival, where Blanchett was awarded the Coppa Volpi for Best Actress for her second time since I’m Not There. This fall, Blanchett will appear in Guillermo Del Toro’s latest film, “PINOCCHIO,” and the mockumentary hit series “Documentary Now!” She has now begun production in Australia on Warwick Thornton’s “The New Boy,” in which she stars and produces via the production company Dirty Films. She most recently wrapped production on “Disclaimer,” directed by Alfonso Cuaron, in which she also stars and executive produces. In 2021, Blanchett appeared in Adam McKay’s smash hit, Don’t Look Up, as well as Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley.
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Henry Cavill And Eiza González Set To Lead WWII Action Spy Flick

Posted on November 2, 2022 by admin

Henry Cavill and Eiza González have been tapped to lead “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” under the direction of Guy Ritchie, with Jerry Bruckheimer producing.

The film will reunite Cavill and Ritchie, who worked together in the 2015 spy film “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

The project was initially announced back in 2021, and is currently set to start shooting next year. Based on Damien Lewis’s book Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the film tells the story of real-life secret combat organization that was created by Winston Churchill and James Bond creator Ian Fleming which conducted unconventional ‘ungentlemanly’ operations against the Nazis.

Cavill recently announced that he will be exiting from Netflix’s “The Witcher” where he starred as Geralt of Rivia for three seasons. The actor also confirmed last week that he is returning Superman, s following his cameo in the new Warner Bros-DC film “Black Adam.”

Eiza González wasa recently seen in Michael Bay’s “Ambulance” nad wwill will next be see in Netflix’s sci-fi pic The Three Body Problem and Scott Z Burns’ Extrapolations for Apple TV+.

Live Nation And Penguin Random House Announce Bono’s ‘Stories Of Surrender’ The Book Tour

Posted on October 4, 2022 by admin

Today, Live Nation and Penguin Random House announced a 14-city book tour in support of SURRENDER: 40 Songs, One Story, the forthcoming memoir by Bono—artist, activist and U2 lead singer —which will be released worldwide on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.

The book tour, titled ‘Stories of Surrender’ and produced by Live Nation, is a limited run of theatre dates to mark the release of a memoir in which one of the world’s most iconic artists writes for the first time about his remarkable life and those he has shared it with. Bono will bring the stories of his life to life — live and in person— to 14 cities across North America and Europe.

Kicking off at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Wednesday, November 2, ‘Stories of Surrender’ will make stops in Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Glasgow, Manchester, Berlin, Paris—and Bono’s hometown of Dublin— before wrapping on Monday, November 28 in Madrid.

Tickets go on sale starting Friday, October 7 at 10am local time and will be available at: www.ticketmaster.com/bono. Each ticket purchased comes with a copy of Bono’s forthcoming book, Surrender, to be released on November 1, 2022. All tickets purchased online will be delivered as secure mobile tickets. There will be a two-ticket limit per person.
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Michelle Yeoh To Receive SBIFF’s 15th Annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film

Posted on August 10, 2022 by admin

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is honored to announce global icon Michelle Yeoh will be receiving the 15th annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film. This marks the first time since the passing of screen legend Kirk Douglas that the honor will be awarded. The award, which benefits Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s year-round educational programs, will be presented on Friday, December 9 at a Black-Tie dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara.

“A well-deserved honor for the legendary and multi-talented Michelle Yeoh. She has been entertaining and thrilling us in films since the 1980s …… AND she does her own stunts!! Bravo Michelle!” says Michael Douglas.

Michelle Yeoh is an internationally recognized Malaysian-born actress who rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films before going on to shatter convention and star in a myriad of globally acclaimed blockbusters. In March 2022, she starred in Daniels’ mind-bending, critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All At Once, which has since become A24’s highest grossing film worldwide.

She has appeared in more than 70 features and television series, with her filmography showcasing a collection of iconic roles, including Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 1 & 2, Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha, Roger Spottiswoode’s James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, and Jon Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. in the past 10 years. After appearing in James Gunn’s second installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Yeoh returned to the Marvel universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

In television, Yeoh was most recently seen as Emperor Philippa Georgiou in CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery. Next, she will be reuniting with Destin Daniel Cretton in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese and starring in Netflix’s upcoming limited series, The Witcher: Blood Origin. Other upcoming credits include James Cameron’s Avatar sequels and Paul Feig’s The School for Good and Evil.
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Photos: The Cave of Adullam Premieres 2022 Tribeca Film Festival

Posted on June 16, 2022 by admin

“The Cave of Adullam” was the winner for Best Documentary Feature at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.

Directed by Laura Checkoway and produced by Laurence Fishburne, the documentary tells the story of martial arts sensei Jason Wright. He tenderly guides his often-troubled young Detroit students with a beautifully effective blend of compassion and tough love.

Photos: AIPimaging.com

Lady Gaga In Talks To Join Todd Phillips’ Joker Sequel

Posted on June 15, 2022 by admin

The sequel to 2019’s Joker, Joker: Folie à Deux will reportedly be a musical which will likely star the original film’s lead Joaquin Phoenix, and Lady Gaga is set to join him, according to THR.

Per story, Gaga would play DC’s Harley Quinn but a different incarnation than that played by Margot Robbie’s version from current DC Universe. And it will also be a musical.

Phillips and Gaga have worked together before in 2018’s A Star is Born, which starred Gaga along with Bradley Cooper, and which Philips served as a producer.

The original 2019 blockbuster was a huge hit for Phillips. That film grossed $1 billion at the boxoffice worldwide, received 12 nominations at the Oscars, one of which won by Phoenix for playing the iconic lead anti-hero.

More recently, Harley Quinn has been played by Margot Robbie three times, in 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” 2020’s “Birds of Prey” and 2021’s “The Suicide Squad.

Photos: GOOD GIRL JANE @ 2022 Tribeca Festival

Posted on June 15, 2022 by admin

By Armando

Cast and filmmakers of the coming-of-age drama “Good Girl Jane”, which took the top prize at the 2022 Tribeca Festival Founders’ Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature, with its star Rain Spencer winning for Best Performance.

Written and directed by Sarah Elizabeth Mintz, the film tells the story of a lonely private school dropout teen (Rain Spencer) who falls in love with a charismatic drug dealer, played by Patrick Gibson, and becomes entangled in his meth ring run by LA teens.

Cast: Rain Spencer, Patrick Gibson, Andie MacDowell, Odessa A’Zion, Olan Prenatt, Eloisa Huggins
Producer: Fred Bernstein, Dominique Telson, Lauren Pratt, Sarah Elizabeth Mintz, Simone Williams

Photos: AIPimaging.com