Iran’s Reza Dormishian Banned From Travel To Indian Film Festival For Supporting Protests

Deadline reports that the Berlin Film Festival has its titles for its Panorama section this February. And while not the Festival’s main titles in competition, it’s a stellar crop of films annually.

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first titles selected for its Panorama section at the upcoming in-person edition that takes place February 16-26. (Scroll down for the full list)

SAG-AFTRA has condemned the arrest of two Iranian actors and other demonstrators during recent protests that have swept the Islamic Republic.

Actress, screenwriter and director Kristen Stewart has been named president of the International Jury at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.“We’re excited about Kristen Stewart taking on this distinguished task. She’s one of the most talented and multi-faceted actors of her generation,” festival directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian said in a statement. “From Bella Swan to the Princess of Wales she has given life to everlasting characters.

An unwieldy crowd rushed the stage and frequently broke out in song as Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor discussed his life and career during one of the final ‘In Conversation’ sessions at the Red Sea Film Festival Wednesday.

Back to in-person attendance for the first time since 2020, the Sundance Film Festival is leaning into its independent roots with a timely 2023 line-up that examines the Russian invasion of Ukraine, conflict in Iran and the dangers of technology, as well as documentaries on author Judy Blume, Michael J Fox, Brooke Shields and the Emperor of Rock’n’Roll himself, Little Richard. 

Director, screenwriter and producer Fatih Akin passed through the Red Sea film festival Monday where he discussed his career and what he described as the unique experience of straddling Turkish and German culture in his films.

Deadline’s Contenders Film: Documentary awards-season event kicks off Sunday at 8 a.m. PT and promises to open up distant lands and even a distant planet—no passport required.

“I always had a very specific sense of urgency with this idea,” said Holy Spider director Ali Abbasi of wanting to make a film noir based on the true story of the “Spider Killer” Saeed Hanaei, who saw himself as on a mission from God as he killed 16 women between 2000 and 2001.

Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar revealed that he is making a feature on the theme of sex education that he hopes to release next spring during an In-Conversation event at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival on Saturday.

UPDATED, 8:16 AM: Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans will receive the Vanguard Award at the 2023 Palm Springs Film Festival’s gala in January.

A protester made it onto the field during the World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay today, but you might not know it if you weren’t on the field yourself. TV footage of the moment, which came in the match’s 51st minute, was almost nonexistant, with the protester running through the bottom left hand corner of the screen in a split-second and the referee then stooping to pick up the rainbow flag the he had been carrying.

Israeli director Nadav Lapid surprised audiences during his speech at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa by criticizing the festival for including controversial Hindi-language movie The Kashmir Files in competition. 

A group of leading Indian filmmakers and producers discussed strategies for bringing local audiences back into cinemas following the huge rise in OTT consumption in India, at a panel at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here. World Cup fever has gripped Deadline Towers and while our U.S. colleagues gobble up their turkey with all the trimmings, we’ve got plenty to round up in the world of international TV and film.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Unveils Jury

England’s fiery World Cup opener against Iran, which ended 6-2, was watched by a peak of 8M viewers yesterday lunchtime in the UK. The peak was similar to that of host Qatar’s opener with Ecuador.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has announced that renowned Indian actor and producer Shah Rukh Khan will receive an honorary award at its upcoming second edition running December 1-10.