Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, announced multi-hyphenates Barbra Streisand and Alejandro González Iñárritu as two of the Tribeca Talks conversations for the 16th annual festival. Streisand will take part in the Storytellers series that features pioneering creators who work across mediums to tell their stories, and Iñárritu will be one of the headline conversations in the Directors Series.
Also announced is the world premiere of Kathryn Bigelow and Imraan Ismail’s virtual reality documentary short “The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes” which transport users to a day in the life of African rangers protecting elephants from ivory poachers. Tribeca takes place April 19 – 30, 2017.
“At Tribeca we celebrate the power that film and art has to transport and unite communities. As the first woman to win the Oscar for directing, Kathryn Bigelow continues to break boundaries in storytelling by using VR to take us to the frontline battle with Ivory poachers in the Congo in the stunning new documentary which she co-directed with Imraan Ismail. We are thrilled to be able to debut this work as part of Tribeca’s renowned VR program,” said Jane Rosenthal, Executive Chair of Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Film Festival Co-Founder, in a statement.
Honors and Tributes
– The 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Casey Affleck with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Film Awards Gala for his performance in “Manchester By the Sea.” Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. The Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart, will be held Monday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2-16.
“Casey Affleck delivers his finest performance in ‘Manchester By the Sea,’ playing a Boston janitor living a lonely and isolated existence,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner in a statement. “He has earned rave reviews from critics and is sure to garner awards attention. It is our honor to present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Casey Affleck.”
Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Johnny Depp, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne.
“Manchester By the Sea”
– Additionally, the festival will present Ruth Negga with the Rising Star Award at its annual Film Awards Gala for her performance in “Loving.”
“Ruth Negga’s performance as Mildred Loving is one of the year’s most luminous and striking portrayals,” said Matzner in a statement. “This timeless love story about an interracial couple reminds us of the unstoppable power of love in the face of hate and prejudice – a story that could not be more resonant and powerful today. This will certainly be just one of many breathtaking performances in a long career. The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Ruth Negga with this year’s Rising Star Award.”
Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Alicia Vikander, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning, and Terrence Howard.
Awards
– The Denver Film Festival (DFF), produced by the Denver Film Society, announced earlier this week its juried and audience award winners for this year’s festival, which ran from November 2-13 in Denver. Winners included “Lion,” “The Eagle Huntress,” “Do Not Resist,” “Off the Rails” and “The Chop.” You can check out the full list of winners right here.
In addition to the awards, the Denver Film Society announced the Music on Film-Film on Music Documentary Fund and the Sheila K. O’Brien Cinematic Achievement Award for UK & Ireland. The Music On Film-Film On Music Documentary Fund (MOFFOM) is a grant program of the Denver Film Society created in thanks to the generous support of John Caulkins.
The MOFFOM Grant Program will launch in spring of 2017 and will support production expenses for documentary filmmakers specifically for music licensing, scoring, and composition. The Denver Film Society will award up to $25,000 anually in grant support. Submissions will open in Spring of 2017.
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