‘In Our Day,’ ‘Hollywoodgate’ Claim Top Prizes at El Gouna Film Festival

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve has begun filming in Japan of “Spirit World,” a fantasy-drama film directed by Singapore’s Eric Khoo. Deneuve portrays a singer who dies suddenly while on tour in Japan. But her spirit lives on and she embarks on a journey to find humanity in the after-world.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Berlin Film Festival, which runs Feb. 15-25, has revealed the lineup of its Berlinale Co-Production Market.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Sandra Hüller, who is an awards contender with “The Zone of Interest” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” will be one of the guest speakers taking part in the International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Talks program later this month. In her talk, Hüller will “delve into her acting trajectory, discussing the highlights of her career, but also lesser-known performances – including work in the theater and other arts,” the festival said.

The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).

Addie Morfoot Contributor This year’s Oscar feature documentary shortlist is made up of a group of 15 films that, by and large, big streamers aren’t interested in sharing with subscribers. Six films that made it to the shortlist — Lea Glob’s “Apolonia, Apolonia,” Nancy Buirski’s “Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy,” Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters,” Maciek Hamela’s “In the Rearview,” Luke Lorentzen’s “A Still Small Voice” and Sam Green’s “32 Sounds” — have theatrical distribution, but were not picked up by a major streaming company such as Netflix, Amazon or Apple TV+.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Want to know which international features vying for Oscar gold are worth watching? Variety‘s team of critics has been on the ground at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and other major film festivals, on the hunt for the best of the best. In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences unveiled its shortlist of 15 films eligible for the second round of voting in the Best International Feature Film category.

Jordan Peele has come forth to tease his as-yet-untitled fourth directorial effort, previously dated for Christmas Day 2024, following its strike-imposed removal from Universal Pictures‘ release calendar.

“Each year, First Feature Competition is something truly special. We can’t wait to introduce these emerging talents to the world.”, she adds.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo gets in the driver’s seat to discuss “Ferrari” with director Michael Mann (“Heat,” “Collateral,” “Ali”). The film is based on the real-life of Enzo Ferrari, founder of Ferrari—the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, who is played by Adam Driver.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker have shared pictures of their new baby for the first time. The couple, who married in May 2022, posted a series of images on Instagram.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor The 6th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has wrapped with a feeling of quiet triumph. The glitz and celebrities were largely absent, although Egyptian star Yousra and legendary French actor Christophe Lambert both appeared at In Conversation events. But in a way, this allowed festival organizers to better focus on the core values which they wish to take forward.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sydney Sweeney’s starring role in the Rolling Stones‘ music video for “Angry,” the lead single off their most recent album “Hackney Diamonds,” led to some claims that she was sexualized during the nearly four-minute clip. The video features Sweeney wearing black studded chaps and dancing in the back seat of a convertible as it speeds down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The street is lined with animated billboards showing the history of the Rolling Stones.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Kingdom of the Blind,” “Little Trouble Girls” and “Wind, Talk To Me” were among the projects which won prizes at the milestone 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival‘s Industry Village. The event, held in a popular French Alps resort, was attended by more than 700 professionals, including top sales agents, distributors and festival programmers, on top of high profile talent, such as two-time Palme d’Or winning Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) who was the festival’s guest of honor.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Top prizes were handed out by the CineGouna Platform (CGP) at the El Gouna Film Festival this week to projects in various stages of inception or completion. Winning a $15,000 prize for a project in development, “Theft of Fire” is Palestinian filmmaker Amer Shomali’s hybrid documentary, retelling the true story of an art heist “that never happened” to steal back antiquities pilfered from Palestinian lands by former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan.

Some 30 film organizations, festivals and professionals as well as freedom of speech NGOs have signed an open letter calling on Iranian authorities to immediately drop all charges against directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha as well as lift a travel ban.

The Les Arcs Film Festival has handed out a raft of prizes to feature projects and works-in-progress participating in its 15th Industry Village, running from December 16 to 19.

International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed its lineup for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions. The festival runs from January 25-February 4. Scroll down for the full lists.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Lupita Nyong’o, the Oscar-winning Kenyan-Mexican actor and filmmaker, will preside over the international jury of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. She will be the second consecutive female jury president at the Berlinale, following fellow actor Kristen Stewart.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Les Arcs Film Festival, the European equivalent to the Sundance Film Festival, has unveiled the list of projects which will be presented during its competitive Work-in-Progress showcase. Curated by Tribeca and Les Arcs’ artistic director Frederic Boyer and Lison Hervé, the selection will present a broad range of movies in post-production seeking a sales agent, festival slots and international distribution.

The third annual Red Sea Film Festival handed out its Yusr Awards on Thursday night, with Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames taking Best Feature and Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher scoring a pair of wins including Best Actor for Saleh Bakri. See the full list below.