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International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s Hubert Bals Fund (Hbf) has selected 12 feature film projects for its 2024 Development Support scheme.

The 12 projects, which will receive a grant of €10,000 to support their development, were selected from a record 1,150 submissions.

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They include Christopher Murray’s Piedras Gigantes which will be among the first Chilean national fiction feature films shot on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the remote Pacific Ocean island.

Piedras Gigantes tells the story of the archaeologist Katherine Routledge arriving on the island in 1914, who played a conflicted role amidst an indigenous uprising. Murray’s The...

Cannes has announced the six first and second-time filmmakers selected for its annual Résidence programme, whose 48th session kicked off on October 1 in Paris and will run through February 15, 2025.

This year’s crop of rising talents includes four female filmmakers, among them: French-Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui, a 2022 Screen Arab Star of Tomorrow and 2023 Unifrance 10 to Watch talent, whose debut feature Animalia won the 2023 Sundance special jury prize; Lithuanian director Eglé Razumaite whose latest short Ootidé competed at Cannes 2024; India’s director Diwa Shah, whose Bahadur: The Brave screened at San Sebastián; and Germany’s Anastasia Veber whose short Trap won...

Upcoming projects from Iranian filmmaker Behrooz Karamizade and Golden Bear-winning producer Bianca Oana are among 10 titles selected for the Full Circle Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine Hessen workshop.

The first edition of the lab, which has been announced in Cannes and is organised by France’s Tatino Films, will host six projects in development and four in the editing stage. The Development Lab will support writing, co-production consultations and industry guidance while the First Cut Lab will supply expert feedback, guided by an experienced editing tutor.

From the selection, six are connected to the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France and four with the Hessen region in Germany.

The International Documentary Association (IDA), Cinema Eye Honors and Gotham Awards have delivered their verdicts on the top feature docs of the year. And, for the streamers, it’s a grim result.

Absent from the Gothams’ doc feature selections, the Cinema Eye’s top feature and director noms and the IDA’s 17-title shortlist are titles from Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+.

The lists read, in the words of one leading awards publicist, “like a giant fuck-you to Netflix.” And with Oscar campaigning in high gear, they pose the question: Is a streamer backlash brewing?

The Gotham noms are mostly non-u.S. productions, including Kino Lorber’s Four Daughters, PBS’ 20 Days in Mariupol and Cinema Guild’s Our Body. Likewise, the IDA’s shortlisted titles included Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, Colombia’s Anhell69, South African artist portrait Milisuthando, the CBC-backed Twice Colonized and the BBC-backed,...

The Academy has revealed the list of eligible films for consideration in best animated, documentary and international feature of the year, encompassing a broad range of blockbusters and critically acclaimed titles.

GKids’ “The Boy and the Heron,” Pixar’s “Elemental,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” are among the 33 animated films in the running. This is up from 27 in 2023, when “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” took home the prize.

The eventual five nominees are determined by members of the shorts and animation branch, and any Academy members outside the branch who wish to participate. The number of outside members who opt in is unknown. All films submitted for animated feature also qualify for the Academy Awards in other categories, including best picture.

Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.

There are 88 films representing their countries for the international feature Oscar,...

Colombian sales and distribution company Doc:Co is venturing into the global sales arena with its first international pick up, Chilean-Colombian co-production “Otra Piel.”

The debut feature documentary of Patricia Correa, “Otra Piel” is co-produced by Colombia’s Romeo, 235 Digital and Sonata Films alongside Chile’s Cine Matriz, founded by producer Gabriela Sandoval who co-runs another, more established label, Storyboard Media.

The doc revolves around Miguel, who at 38, is not just a taxidermist but also an accomplished hunter. His passion lies in creating a unique museum for visually impaired children, showcasing some of the species he skillfully preserves. As we delve into Miguel’s narrative, we unravel the prejudices associated with his craft, prompting us to reflect on our complex relationship with animals.

“It’s excellent news for Latin American cinema that Doc:Co is expanding and venturing into international sales of fiction and documentary films; They’ve been successful in distributing films in Colombia,...

The International Documentary Association has announced nominations in 18 categories for its 39th awards, which will be awarded in a streaming ceremony on Dec. 12.

The nominees for best feature documentary are “Against the Tide,” “ANHELL69,” “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” “In the Rearview,” “Milisuthando,” Q,” “The Mother of All Lies” and “While We Watched.”

The awards will unspool at 8 p.m. Pt on documentary.org and on IDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels.

“In the wake of devastating events unfolding in the world and the grief our staff, board, community, and humanity at large are experiencing, we have decided to forego an in-person party. We know that stories have the power to encourage compassion, understanding, and peace. We are committed to preserving space for stories to be shared. Our wish is to recognize and celebrate the nominees and winners together, as a global documentary community,...

The International Documentary Association has unveiled their shortlist for their 39th annual award ceremony, celebrating the best in documentary filmmaking.

17 feature-length documentaries — including “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” and “Anonymous Sister” — were selected for the shortlist, as were 25 short films. The films hail from over 20 countries, including Canada, India, Cambodia, Denmark, Uganda, France, and South Africa.

From the shortlist, up to 10 nominees in both the Best Feature Documentary and Best Short Documentary categories will be selected by IDA members. In addition, awards will be given to additional films in the following categories: Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Multi-Part Documentary, Best TV Feature Documentary or Mini-Series, Best Short Form Series, Best Stand-Alone Audio Documentary, Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series, David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, Best Music Documentary, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, ABC News VideoSource Award,...

The city of Medellín, when we first see it, looks like something out of a fairy tale, a secret valley flooded with light. High up in the Andes and surrounded by lofty peaks, it’s an incredible place to look down at – but, as filmmaker and narrator Theo Montoya explains, when you live it it, you can’t see the horizon. At times the clouds which linger round the mountaintops slide across the valley and seal it off like the lid of a pressure cooker.

Blending documentary and fiction, Anhell69 unfolds as a story told to us by a young man (Montoya) in a coffin. It looks back at his life and his efforts to make his first film, incorporating footage of the teenagers and twentysomethings who worked on it with...

The festival runs October 21 - 29.

Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival will have world premieres of three new Ukrainian films as well as Portuguese director Andrés Marques’ The Drunk in its first complete edition with both competition and non-competition programmes since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian director-DoP-artist-exhibition curator Ivan Sautkin’s debut documentary feature A Poem For Little People about a group of volunteers at the front-line zone and two elderly female friends from a village in the Chernihiv region will premiere in the documentary competition which will also feature Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann’s...

The Grand Jury winners of the 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival, presented by Genesis Motor and Warner Bros. Discovery, have been announced, with “Something You Said Last Night” and “Anhell69” winning the top awards for North American Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature. Select award winners will be available on the Outfest Los Angeles’ virtual platform through Sunday, after which Audience Award winners will be announced.

The Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature, now in Year 2 thanks to a generous donation from Lerner and Reis to the Outfest Empathy Fund, will see the awarded filmmaker, “Anhell69,” director Theo Montoya, receive a $5,000 prize.

The festival opened with Aitch Alberto’s “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and closed with Sav Rodger’s “Chasing Chasing Amy.” For the first time in Outfest’s LGBTQ+ Summer Film Festival history, both the opening...

Updated from July 24 story with Audience Award winners: Outfest announced the winners of audience awards, as voted on by attendees of the Lgbtqia+ festival in Los Angeles. Big Boys, directed by Corey Sherman, won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, directed by Sharon Marie Roggio, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature, and the Audience Award for Best Episodic Series went to Day Jobs, directed by Stevie Wain and Auri Jackson.

Earlier: Outfest announced its grand jury prize winners today, after the Lgbtqia+ film festival in Los Angeles wrapped its 41st edition.

Anhell69, directed by Theo Montoya, won the Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis Grand Jury Award for Documentary Feature, which comes with a $5,000 cash prize. The film set in Medellín, Colombia takes a hybrid doc-fictional approach to explore the country’s history of violence and the bleak prospects for many young people in Colombia.

The traditional closing-night party saw revellers celebrating until breakfast.

Iranian director Dornaz Hajiha’s Like A Fish On The Moon won the Transilvania Trophy, the top prize of the international competition at the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) in Romania at a gala ceremony on Saturday June 17.

Hajiha’s debut feature premiered at in Karlovy Vary’s Proxima competition in 2022 and is being handled internationally by Hong Kong-based Asian Shadows It also picked up the best performance award for the lead actress Sepidar Tari ex aequo with Nacho Quesada, who plays the lead role in Andrew Sala’s France-Argentina film The Barbarians.

The traditional closing-night party saw revellers celebrating until breakfast.

Iranian director Dornaz Hajiha’s Like A Fish On The Moon won the Transilvania Trophy, the top prize of the international competition at the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) in Romania at a gala ceremony on Saturday June 17.

Hajiha’s debut feature premiered at in Karlovy Vary’s Proxima competition in 2022 and is being handled internationally by Hong Kong-based Asian Shadows It also picked up the best performance award for the lead actress Sepidar Tari ex aequo with Nacho Quesada, who plays the lead role in Andrew Sala’s France-Argentina film The Barbarians.

Like a Fish on the Moon, the feature debut of Iranian writer-director Dornaz Hajiha, has won the Transilvania Trophy for best feature film at this year’s festival, marking the first time in the event’s 22-year history that Transilvania International Film Festival’s top award went to a female director.

The film follows new parents who are forced to adapt when their apparently healthy son suddenly stops talking.

“The film we have chosen impressed us for the originality of its premise, the power of its performances and the intelligence with which it explored very difficult subject matter,” Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco, the jury president, said in a statement. “The director demonstrated great attention to detail and an impressive, singular vision. We were also impressed by the script, which captured the often conflicting pressures of parenthood, the brutality of devotion. It is a film that resonated long after it ended.

Iranian filmmaker Dornaz Hajiha took home the top prize Saturday at the Transilvania Film Festival, as the jury awarded the first-time director with the Transilvania Trophy for “Like a Fish on the Moon,” a moving family drama about two parents coping with the emotional fallout when their young son suddenly stops talking.

In the jury’s citation, Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco highlighted “the originality of its premise, the power of its performances, and the intelligence with which it explored very difficult subject matter,” describing “Like a Fish on the Moon” as “a film that resonated long after it ended.”

Hajiha was visibly moved as she took the stage to accept the award, which was presented to her by Transilvania Lifetime Achievement Award winner Geoffrey Rush moments after the Australian actor delivered an impassioned and at times whimsical tribute to the power of cinema.

“It’s such an honor to get...

The Romanian film festival runs June 9-18.

Transilvania International Film Festival has announced the line-up for its 22nd edition which takes place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

The official competition is made up of 12 features while the documentary strand, entitled What’s Up Doc?, will screen 10 titles. All of the films are from first and second-time directors.

Among the competition selection is Ion Bors’ Carbon which premiered in San Sebastian’s New Directors strand last year, having won the festival’s Wip Europa Industry and Wip Europa awards the previous year. The dark comedy, surrounding the Transnistrian conflict of the 1990s, is...

A second wave of film and television programming has been announced for this year’s South by Southwest Conference and Festivals, with highlights including the series debuts of “Swarm” and Steven Yeun starring “Beef” on opening and closing night, respectively.

A full list of honorees in the visions, global presented by Mubi, 24 beats and festival favorites categories was also unveiled in tandem with additions to previously announced sections.

“The second wave of our lineup signals that the countdown to SXSW is on! The hype train is officially leaving the station, baby!” said Claudette Godfrey, V.P. of film and TV at SXSW. “From thought-provoking documentaries and thrilling television series, to hotly anticipated studio tentpoles and micro-budget dramas, we strive to showcase the best of a diverse range of work, and couldn’t be more proud of this year’s lineup.”

From co-creators Donald Glover and Janine Nabers comes the March 10 world premiere of “Swarm,...

Festival runs in Austin, Texas, from March 10-19.

Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby follow-up Bottoms and Jon S. Baird’s Tetris starring Taron Egerton are among the second wave of SXSW unveiled on Wednesday.

Festival organisers announced all selections in Visions, Global presented by Mubi, 24 Beats, and Festival Favorites as well as additions to Headliners, TV Premieres, Narrative and Documentary Spotlight.

New to Headliners are world premieres of Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby follow-up Bottoms which follows two unpopular queer high school students who start a fight club to have sex before graduation; and Jon S. Baird’s Tetris starring...

Venice Critics’ Week Unveils 2022 Selection

The 37th edition of Venice Critics’ Week has unveiled its 2022 line-up. Films in competition comprise Theo Montoya’s Anhell69 (Colombia), Philippe Petit’s Beating Sun (France), Isabella Carbonell’s Dogborn (Sweden) and David Wagner’s Eismayer (Austria), Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluscevic’s Have You Seen This Woman (Serbia), Niccolò Falsetti’s Margins (Italy) and Alex Schaad’s Skin Deep (Germany). Out of Competition, French director Florent Gouëlou’s Three Nights A Week is the opening film and French-Moroccan director Yasmine Benkiran’s Queens will close the section. There will also be a special screening of established Portuguese director Pedro Costa’s Blood. The parallel Venice section devoted mainly to first and second films runs from August 31 to September 10.

Sky Greenlights Ricky Hatton Documentary

Sky is to tell the story of champion British boxer Ricky Hatton in a doc from 14 Peaks producer Noah Media Group.