Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Full Lineup Announcements
– The Chicago International Film Festival today announces the complete film and event lineup, including the International Feature Competition, Documentary Competition and Special Presentations. The festival will include Special Presentations of “Lion,” “Paterson” and the re-release of “Daughters of the Dust.” Other highlights include “After the Storm,” “Neruda” and “The Salesman.” The festival’s documentary lineup is also a typically robust one, including titles like “Among Wolves,” “Karl Marx City” and “A Mere Breath.”
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, September 21 for Cinema/Chicago members and September 23 for the general public.
– The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) has announced its Spotlight Films, World Cinema, Shorts programs, Views from Long Island, and Special Screenings, as part of the 2016 festival lineup. The 24th edition will take place October 6 – 10, Columbus Day Weekend, with 68 features and 58 shorts representing a total of 32 countries across the globe.
“Lion”
The Weinstein Company
This year’s Spotlight Films include the U.S. Premiere of “Burn Your Maps” and “Lion,” the World Cinema Documentary titles include the World Premiere of “Davi’s Way” and “Score: A Musical Documentary,” he World Cinema Narrative films include the U.S. Premiere of “Blue Jay” and “The Red Turtle.” Other highlights include “Lovesong,” “Paterson” and “Under the Shadow.”
Openers, Closers and Other Additions
– The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) has announced that Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester By the Sea” will be the Saturday Centerpiece Film and Mike Mills’ “20th Century Women” will be the Sunday Centerpiece Film. The festival also announced that Katherine Dieckmann’s “Strange Weather” will be the Southampton Opening Night film on Friday, October 7.
The festival has also announced that Aaron Eckhart, Holly Hunter and Edward Norton will each participate in “A Conversation With…,” a signature program at the festival. “Our ‘A Conversation With…’ series has been a focal point of the Hamptons International Film Festival since its inception. These riveting conversations allow audiences a deeper look into the cinematic discussion of acting and filmmaking,” said HIFF Executive Director Anne Chaisson. “We are honored to have the talented Aaron Eckhart, Holly Hunter and Edward Norton at the festival this year to bring in-depth and intriguing discussions to our audience in the Hamptons.”
– The Montclair Film Festival has announced that Stephen Colbert, host of CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” will host an evening with John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” on stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in downtown Newark, NJ on Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 8:00 PM.
“The Handmaiden”
Amazon Studios
“Wow, That Was Weird: A Post-Election Evening With Stephen Colbert and John Oliver” will feature the pair in an hilarious, on-stage exchange on everything from their comic influences to the political season that will have concluded with the November election.
– The 60th BFI London Film Festival has announced that Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel will discuss their careers and current feature “Lion,” this year’s American Express Gala. Eminent South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, whose film “The Handmaiden” is this year’s Dare Gala, also join the Screen Talk series. Previously announced Screen Talk participants are Werner Herzog, Paul Verhoeven and Ben Wheatley.
Three additional feature films have also been added to the festival lineup, including Lav Diaz’s “The Woman Who Left,” Errol Morris’ new documentary “The B Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography” and the European Premiere of “Before the Flood” from filmmakers Fisher Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprio.
– The Middleburg Film Festival announced the highly anticipated film “La La Land” as the 2016 Centerpiece selection. The film, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, will screen on Saturday, October 22 with Oscar-nominated director Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”) in attendance. The Festival runs October 20-23, 2016 in historic Middleburg, VA, located one hour from the nation’s capital. The full film slate and schedule will be announced the end of September.
– The Chelsea Film Festival will open its Fourth Edition with the NY Premiere of Dramatic Feature Film, “Misfortune,” directed by Desmond Devenish, on Thursday, October 13 at Cinepolis Chelsea. Devenish (director/producer/co-writer/actor), Xander Bailey (actor/co-writer) and Sarah Kinga Smith (manager/executive producer) are confirmed to attend the NY Premiere of the film, and there will be a post-screening Q&A moderated by 2016 Jury Member, Dana Verde (screenwriter/director).
“20th Century Women” for NYFF
A24
– The Mill Valley Film Festival will present Mike Mills’ “20th Century Women” as the Festival’s Centerpiece Ensemble Spotlight program. Mills will be on hand for the screening at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center on Thursday, October 13 alongside actress Annette Bening and actor Lucas Jade Zumann.
– The 3rd Annual Calabasas Film Festival has announced the U.S. Premiere of two feature films as part of their 2016 film lineup, including Bryan Bertino’s “The Monster,” starring Zoe Kazan, Ella Ballentine and Scott Speedman, and their Opening Night film, Amanda Sharp’s “Sticky Notes,” starring Gina Rodriguez, Ray Liotta, Rose Leslie and Justin Bartha.
Awards
– The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) has announced the winners of the 2016 Festival, which took place September 15 – 18 in Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine. Under its new banner, the Points North Institute, the organization has expanded artist programs such as the Shortform Editing Residency, Virtual Reality Crash Course at Maine Media Workshops and the inaugural Storyforms, an exhibition of virtual reality and immersive nonfiction storytelling. Attendance of filmmakers, industry and passholders was at a record high for the 2016 Festival.
On Sunday, September 18, CIFF hosted their annual Awards Ceremony, presenting four awards for documentary features and one for a documentary short, in addition to its Points North Pitch Award and CMG Action Grant.
For the second year, Conservation Media Group partnered with the Points North Institute to select projects from filmmakers and organizations alike that use video to create measurable action in ocean conservation or sustainable energy. 2016 CMG Action Grant finalists included: Alex Finn’s “Whale Heritage Sites,” Jeff Talbot’s “Protect the Great Bear Sea” and Doug Woodring’s “Global Alert – Floating Trash.” This year’s $10,000 CMG Action Grant cash prize was awarded to Alex Finn’s “Whale Heritage Sites.”
The 2016 class of Points North Fellows included Sofie Benoot, Isabelle Tollenaere and Liesbeth De Ceulaer’s “Printed Circuit,” Bridget Besaw and Ben Severance’s “The Mountain and the Magic City,” Michael Lei’s “A Taste of Sky,” Luke Lorentzen’s “Midnight Family,” Assia Boundaoui’s “The Feeling of Being Watched” and Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s “Rescue Breath.”
Honors and Tributes
– The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced that Warren Beatty will receive their 11th annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film this year. Beatty will be presented with the honor at a fundraising dinner on December 1, just one week after Beatty’s latest film, “Rules Don’t Apply,” arrives in theaters on November 23. Proceeds from the event will support SBIFF’s free year-round educational programs.
Submissions and Prizes
– The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital announces four film awards for its 25th anniversary Festival, March 14-26, 2017 in Washington, D.C., offering a total of $30,000 in prize money. Deadline for submissions is October 14, with a late deadline of November 18. Submit your films celebrating Earth and inspiring environmental stewardship at their Film Freeway site right here.
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