Sundance Institute Documentary Fund Sets 2023 Grantees

Australia has selected Shayda, from Iranian-Australian debut writer and director Noora Niasari, as its submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar race.

EXCLUSIVE: Radical, the Mexican true-life drama starring CODA‘s Eugenio Derbez that broke out of Sundance as the 2023 Festival Favorite, has secured an interim agreement that will permit publicity efforts ahead of its October 20th nationwide release, Deadline has learned.

HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. and Canada television and streaming rights to Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at Sundance.

Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver are launching a limited podcast series about their experiences navigating the writers and actors strike.

Due to its strict laws and ridiculous secrecy, not many people have seen what life is like in North Korea. Not many people are able to travel freely to and from the country.

After going viral with comedy skits years ago, Andrew Bowser has taken his character, Onyx the Fortuitious, to the big screen in the upcoming film, ‘Talisman of Souls.’ As seen in the trailer for the horror-comedy, “Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls” brings the title character (known most for viral comedy videos on social media) to life in a feature-length story about the silly goth getting involved in a ritual hoping to bring a demon from Hell to Earth.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Fathom Events and Roadside Attractions are teaming up to release Madeleine Gavin’s Sundance award-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia.” The film takes viewers on a harrowing journey as one family risks everything to escape from North Korea. The pact comes after the film made its world premiere in the U.S. documentary competition section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the doc audience award.

Naman Ramachandran New York-based digital media company Generation Iron and its partner The Vladar Company have secured global distribution rights for the documentary film “Driven: The Tony Pearson Story.” Directed by Andrew Menjivar (“Float”), the film chronicles the life and achievements of iconic bodybuilder Tony Pearson, based on his memoir. The documentary delves into Pearson’s early experiences of adversity and his subsequent rise above challenges. The narrative traces his trajectory from childhood hardships to his relocation to Los Angeles, culminating in his remarkable career in the realm of bodybuilding.

A £40m new medical training centre is receiving its first applications with thousands of students set to learn at the ‘gamechanging’ development. The University of Bolton’s Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) is welcoming interest from prospective students set to start their studies from September 2024.

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has unveiled a first wave of international titles due to play at its upcoming comeback sixth edition, unfolding from October 13 to 20 after a one-year hiatus.

In today’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo is resurrected by director Laura Moss to discuss the film “Birth/Rebirth.” The thriller follows a pathologist (Marin Ireland) who is attempting to cure death and receives a chance to test her experiment on a human being, forcing multiple lives down an increasingly dark path. The movie also stars Judy Reyes, Breeda Wool, A.J.

Scientist Yewande Biala is one of the smartest people to have been on Love Island. With a first-class honours degree in biotechnology and a masters in pharmaceutical quality assurance, she walked into the villa in 2019 looking to discover the perfect formula for love. It didn’t work out, but now the 28-year-old is applying all that brain power to a documentary exploring the secrets of the female orgasm.

Sophia Scorziello editor Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund will be supporting 23 selected independent documentary film projects this year through grants totaling over $1 million. This initiative has previously funded notable films including Oscar-nominated features “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “Minding the Gap” and “The Edge of Democracy.” This year, the documentaries awarded grants explore a large breadth subject matters from around the world, telling stories about Indigenous People and Native Americans, transgender youth, secrets of a family’s lineage, people with disabilities and an untitled feature about Uvalde, Texas.

After glamour model Katie Price sensationally said last week that she’d rather be "put in prison" than go to court next month, an insider source revealed that the mum-of-five believes a stint behind bars will relaunch her career. "Katie’s adamant that a stint in prison will relaunch her career," they exclusively told OK! this week. "She believes it’ll be her route to book deals, behind bars-style documentaries, television interviews." Speaking on Michelle Visage’s Rule Breaker podcast last week, Katie, 45, described a prison sentence as a "win-win" in regards to the future rewards she sees herself reaping.

Lil Nas X is coming to TIFF.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Pianoforte directed by Jakub Piatek (Prime Time).

Estonia has selected the Sundance prize-winning doc Smoke Sauna Sisterhood as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The European Film Academy has fired the starting gun in the race for the European Film Awards. It has recommended 19 films to its members who will then select the nominees from this list.

Powder Hound Pictures and the Polish Film Institute have teamed to finance and co-produce the World War II feature Enemy of My Enemy written by Matt King. The film is based on the book Ochotnik (“The Volunteer”) by Marco Patricelli. Production will shoot in Poland and Italy.

Fantastic Fest is back for its 18th edition featuring 29 world premieres, 24 North American premieres and 18 U.S. premieres. The festival will again possess Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX from September 21-28. Badges are available now.