‘Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line’ Rockumentary to Open Sydney Film Festival

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.

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.

Bad Bunny is one of the most successful singers in the world at the moment. The Puerto Rican star has influenced music and pop culture throughout his career, introducing his sound and representing Latin America around the globe.Bad Bunny opens up about his mother’s thoughts on his musicOnly one Kardashian/Jenner is reportedly confirmed for the Met Gala: More stars on the listPenélope Cruz celebrates 50th birthday at Bad Bunny’s concertDuring his latest interview with Vogue, the singer talked about the beginnings of his career, and everything that he has learned.

Jack Dunn Universal Studios Hollywood premiered “The Fall Guy Stuntacular Pre-Show” at the “WaterWorld” set on Saturday. The live stunt performance, featuring Ryan Gosling and “The Fall Guy” director David Leitch, came six days before “The Fall Guy” hits theaters May 3.

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.

Holly Gleason There used to be a joke in old-school country music: How many girl singers does it take to sing Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”? The punchline was always an eye-rolling “All of them.” It spoke to the ubiquity of Cline’s influence, as well as the tired renditions of Willie Nelson’s torch lament every “chick singer” clung to. Back in those pre-internet days, Cline’s ubiquity was word-of-mouth, but deeply felt.

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Epic war-time survival tale “The Guns of Muschu” has already assembled a weighty cast ahead of a production start in the first quarter of 2025. The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book “The Guns of Muschu,” written by Don Dennis, with an adapted screenplay by Tom Broadhurst and Jack Brislee (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”). The narrative brings to life a pivotal chapter of Australian war history with gritty authenticity, recounting the high body count Operation Copper, a mission during WWII when Australian and New Zealand troops were sent into the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The objective of the mission was to investigate the Japanese defenses on Muschu Island, capture a Japanese officer for interrogation and discover the location of two naval guns on the island that were protecting a harbor.

Actor Mohammed Elshehri belongs to a generation of emerging Saudi talents who first cut their teeth on YouTube and are now making their names in film and TV.

Oh. My. GOD – literally!

After wrapping its inaugural edition, the Ho Chi Minh Film Festival (HIFF) has set its sights on becoming the largest film festival in Southeast Asia.

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. 

Ania Trzebiatowska has compiled an eclectic selection of fiction and non-fiction titles for the third annual Sands International Film Festival, which kicked off Friday evening in St Andrews, Scotland. 

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.

Like a macabre pilgrimage, the Overlook Film Festival summons genre film obsessives from around the country and beyond to the party-friendly streets of New Orleans, Louisiana—a city whose one-of-a-kind history with the otherworldly befits the event’s atmosphere. Dedicated to the late Doug Jones, a longtime festival programmer and esteemed member of the Los Angeles film community, the 2024 edition featured repertory presentations from his personal wish list.

The rumors are true. After 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival may (and an emphasis on “may”) be leaving the confines of Park City, Utah.

Seattle International Film Festival has revealed its lineup for the 50th edition, which takes place May 9–19 at venues across Seattle and followed by a week of select virtual screenings on the SIFF Channel May 20–27. The program includes 261 films representing 84 countries and regions, including 92 features, 47 documentaries, five archival features, two special tributes, two secret screenings and 115 short films. The festival will open with Josh Margolin’s action comedy “Thelma” from Magnolia Pictures, which will screen at the Paramount Theatre during SIFF’s opening night on May 9.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Escapade Media has come on board to take international sales rights to ‘Follow the Rain,’ a feature-length documentary about unknown species of mushroom that has enjoyed theatrical release in its native Australia. The film is directed and produced by Catherine Marciniak and follows Marciniak and Stephen Axford, her partner in production company Planet Fungi, as they explore forests and wetlands charting some of the millions of undocumented forms of mushroom, fungus and mycelium.