Documentary Festival IDFA Reveals Wang Bing’s Top 10 Chinese Films, Focus Program Lineups

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival is back after a one-year hiatus with a rich mix of Arabic and international titles launching into the Middle East and plenty of promising projects from Arab countries set to be unveiled to prospective partners at its CineGouna industry side. The event launched in 2017 by Egyptian telecom billionaire Naguib Sawiris – whose brother Samih built the El Gouna resort in a swathe of desert near the tourist town of Hurghada 250 miles south of Cairo – was put on pause in 2022 ostensibly due to the country’s economic crisis following five editions during which fest co-founder Amr Mansi and chief Intishal Al Timimi had managed to rapidly put El Gouna on the international festival map while also making it a favourite with the local crowd.

Sharareh Drury Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival GEMS has announced the full lineup for its 2023 festival, which will run from Nov. 2-5. The 10th edition of the fest will feature 26 films from 14 countries, all taking place at MDC’s Koubek Center and Silverspot Cinema.

Naman Ramachandran Shah Rukh Khan has beaten Shah Rukh Khan at the box office. The Bollywood star’s “Jawan” has sped past his own “Pathaan” to occupy the box office top spot among the Indian films of 2023. “Jawan,” featuring Khan in a dual role as a father and son who set out to rectify corruption in Indian society, opened on Sept.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A clutch of Chinese movies released for the end of September holiday season dominated the global box office over the latest weekend. Mainland Chinese-produced films took first, third and fifth places across the planet, according to U.S.-based data service Comscore. Comscore shows “Under the Light,” which released only in mainland China, grossing an estimated $54 million between Friday and Sunday.

“Gangs of New York.”“I realized that I couldn’t work if I had to make films that way ever again,” Scorsese told GQ in a profile published last week.“If that was the only way that I was able to be allowed to make films, then I’d have to stop,” he said. “Because the results weren’t satisfying. It was at times extremely difficult, and I wouldn’t survive it.

International execs from Unifrance, MK2 and TrustNordisk kicked off the annual Zurich Summit on Saturday to discuss the importance of film festivals when promoting a title and if fests are drifting away from what works in cinemas. 

Carlos Santana was the O.G. hippie in the ’60s, think again.In fact, the 76-year-old guitar hero was once an anti-weed warrior as his namesake band was huffing — and puffing — to succeed in the San Francisco scene alongside groups such as the Grateful Dead.“I’d been around marijuana all my life since I was a child, but I never toked,” reveals Santana in the new documentary “Carlos,” which opens in theaters on Friday.Indeed, the “Smooth” operator was that guy who was a downer to the doobies — in part, to protect his own good name and reputation.“You’re building a band around me, and I noticed that they smoke weed.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards kicked off the first of two nights on Wednesday in New York, with CNN, Vice and the New York Times as among the big winners. CNN led the news portion of the Emmys, with ten wins — followed closely by Vice, with nine, and then the NYT with five.

CNN, Vice, and the New York Times were among the big winners on the first of two nights for the 44th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards. CNN led the news portion of the Emmys with ten wins, with trailing Vice winning nine and the New York Times with five.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival’s Cinemed industry section has teamed up with Beirut-based cultural nonprofit Aflamuna on a new initiative, under which 10 film and doc projects from a wide range of Arab countries will soon be unveiled to prospective partners. The new program, called Cinemed and Aflamuna Professional Encounters, features 10 Arab works in development that reflect a slew of themes relevant to the region, including political turbulence, societal changes, female empowerment and climate change concerns.

Naman Ramachandran Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig and Emerald Fennell are among the filmmakers delivering screen talks at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, alongside Andrew Haigh, Lulu Wang and Kitty Green. Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, is a headline gala at the festival. He will be in conversation with filmmaker Edgar Wright about his body of work.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Neo Sora’s concert documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus,” a standout at the Venice Film Festival, has sold for theatrical distribution in North America to Janus Films ahead of its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The theatrical release will be followed by a Blu-ray Disc release on the “Janus Contemporaries” label. This is the latest deal inked by London and Paris-based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation, following a slew of sales to Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Midas Filmes), Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye), Scandinavia (NjutaFilms), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), South Korea (Media Castle), China (JL Vision Films), Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Singapore (Anticipate Pictures).

My Mum, Your Dad star Roger Hawes captured the hearts of viewers, when he revealed how his wife Joanna passed away from cancer 18 months ago.The 59 year old from Derbyshire told the whole tragic story, saying she went to sleep one night and never woke up again.Then fans were enthralled as they watched the father's first attempt at dating in 34 years, with him getting to know gorgeous blond Janey Smith during the course of the two week series. Now Roger has revealed how he's overcome his grief and is still dating Janey, four months after filming on the show, hosted by Davina McCall, ended.

We’re getting an update on where Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga currently stand.

Maja Hoffmann has been officially confirmed as President of the Locarno Film Festival following a vote at an Extraordinary General Assembly on Wednesday.

Acclaimed director Wang Bing, this year’s guest of honor at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, will be using his IDFA platform to highlight nonfiction cinema of his native China.

A first-time filmmaker has claimed the top prize at the 19th Annual Camden Film Festival in Maine, one of the country’s foremost all-documentary festivals.

Organizers of the Camden International Film Festival in coastal Maine are moving ahead with regular programming today, as Hurricane Lee – downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone – aims further north towards Nova Scotia.

ABC News Live will debut new hours of weekday programming on Monday, with Kayna Whitworth anchoring from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

Stockport is gearing up to host its first Full Moon Festival later this week as the town comes together to host three-days of colourful celebrations.