Festival in Focus: Saudi Film Festival Master Of Ceremonies Mohammed Elshehri Talks Journey From MC To Film & TV Fame

At the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, Mitsuhiro Mihara’s Takano Tofu clinched the Golden Mulberry prize, the top honor at the festival’s audience awards.

Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival has revealed the full program lineup for its 34th edition. The festival champions 2SLGBTQ+ filmmakers from across the globe, and will showcase 106 films from 25 countries, including 30 feature films and 5 world premieres. The festival will take place May 24th to June 1st in Toronto, Canada at TIFF Lightbox as well as online. Inside Out’s Co-Head & Executive Director, Elie Chivi, and Co-Head & Artistic Director, Andrew Murphy, made today’s announcement. ​​ 

EXCLUSIVE: A24 has acquired North American rights to Parthenope, the new film from Oscar winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, ahead of its world premiere at the 77th Festival de Cannes.

EXCLUSIVE: The Human Rights Watch Film Festival recently announced it’s closing down, and the future of Hot Docs remains uncertain at best. But there’s some hopeful news for the troubled film festival space: the return of the Margaret Mead Film Festival in New York.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Takano Tofu” claimed double honors on the closing night of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. It won the Golden Mulberry audience award and the MyMovies Purple Mulberry award. Directed by Mihara Mitsuhiro, “Takano Tofu” is a melodrama about an elderly tofu-making craftsman, who is stuck in his ways but is also experimental and who is kindly, but whose stubbornness brings suffering on those around him.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Meryl Streep will receive the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th edition of Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned. Luring the Oscar winner is yet another feat for this Cannes edition, which will bring together a flurry Hollywood legends. Notably, George Lucas will receive the honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony; Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” are playing in competition; and George Miller‘s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon, an American Saga” are playing out of competition.

EXCLUSIVE: The Cannes Film Festival is well known as a place of protest and this year will be no different. However, this edition, the rebellion is coming from within.

Slamdance said Tuesday that its annual film festival will move to Los Angeles starting in February 2025. The move, organizers said, will allow for the continued growth of the festival’s year-round mission to provide an accessible community for independent filmmakers and creators.

There was a fleeting moment in the early and mid-00s when being selected for the Slamdance Film Festival could mean something for a filmmaker’s career. Sure, it wasn’t the same as being part of the more prestigious and larger Park City, Utah film festival, but the edgier offshoot event gave a voice to independent films that didn’t have an industry connection or agency influence to make the Sundance cut.

Katcy Stephan The Bentonville Film Foundation has announced the narrative, documentary, short film and episodic selections premiering in-person for the 10th annual Bentonville Film Festival. Set this year for June 10-16 in Bentonville, Ark., the festival aims to amplify female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment. Festival passes are on sale now.

Greta Gerwig has her jury. This evening, the Cannes Film Festival revealed the rest of the nine-member jury filled with festival veterans and Academy members.

Angelique Jackson The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.” This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF PLAY. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.

Just over six years have passed since Saudi Arabia announced the lifting of its 35-year cinema ban as part of a strategy to open up the country and move its economy away from a reliance on oil.

A small piece of contemporary cinema history was written last night in St Andrews, Scotland when Steven Soderbergh sat down with Joe and Anthony Russo on stage at the Sands International Film Festival to discuss their 2002 collaboration Welcome to Collinwood. 

EXCLUSIVE: The ancient Scottish town of St Andrews was hit with a heavy bout of  Spidey fever this past weekend as the third annual Sands International Film Festival opened, pulling in an eclectic set of films, filmmakers, and speakers alongside one popular guest of honor. 

Who’d have thought they’d see ya? Certainly not John Travolta, who had a reunion with castmate Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs on the red carpet at the TCM Film Festival.

Tom Holland and his brother Harry Holland were pictured arriving at the opening night of the Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews. The Scottish film festival is set to take place over three days.

Pulp Fiction stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and Harvey Keitel reunited Thursday to celebrate the movie’s 30th Anniversary as part of this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Returning for its 15th annual edition this weekend, the TCM Classic Film Festival will turn Hollywood Blvd. into the center of the movie universe again for four days, for that very obsessive and loving subset of film fans that has the network’s vintage fare as part of their weekly and daily lives. And just what time span “classics” falls into is exemplified by the big opening and closing night films.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising Saudi Star Mohammed Elshehri has been announced as master of ceremonies at the 10th edition Saudi Film Festival, running from May 2 to 9 in the Eastern Province city of Dhahran.