Author: CWB News Department

David Oyelowo has just returned to London to prepare for rehearsals. The eldest of three boys, Oyelowo moved to the United Kingdom with his parents – who were both academics – as immigrants. Reflecting on his illustrious career, which spans over two decades, he pauses over a Zoom call with FORBES AFRICA to consider what inspired him to become a storyteller. During his school days, he had been interested in theater and performing but had never thought of it as a means to earn a living. It was one teacher, in particular, who noticed the young talent and encouraged him…

The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) has announced its slate of features and short films for the 20th edition of the festival, which will take place in person from September 12-15 at venues in Camden and Rockland, Maine and online from September 16-30 for audiences across the United States. A program of the Points North Institute, CIFF is recognized as one of the world’s most vital platforms championing cinematic nonfiction and documentary film from global filmmakers. The festival attracts one of the largest industry gatherings of the documentary film community in the U.S. It is recognized as both an important stop on the beginning…

Whenever the issue of representation inevitably comes up, various questions are asked about how it can be achieved on film without coming across as forced or inauthentic, with bundles of tokenized stories of communities that live on the margins being scattered throughout the past couple of decades in an effort to almost over-exert this concept. Yet, it’s always been very clear that the most important aspect is simply to make the film as one would any other, and focus on genuine emotions and a compelling story, with everything else falling into place if the right balance is achieved. It’s not…

She threw at least one party that would have made Bacchus envious, photographed Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe (both friends), co-produced the Oscar-winning “Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion” and distributed films by the directors Luchino Visconti, Luis Buñuel and Pier Paolo Pasolini, among others. If a person can personify a global film festival, Marina Cicogna was for decades the face of the Venice Film Festival. Born in 1934, two years after her maternal grandfather, Giuseppe Volpi (who was one of Benito Mussolini’s finance ministers), helped found the festival, Cicogna (pronounced chi-CONE-ya) helped transform it into a global event. She…

With 22 million people forced to leave their countries and more than 6 million children still living in war zones, the Syrian conflict represents after 12 years the biggest humanitarian crisis of our times. With Shukran [+], in Italian theatres on 8, 9 and 10 July through Eagle Pictures, Italian director Pietro Malegori has added another piece to the great mosaic that cinema has tried to compose throughout these years about the Syrian civil war –or revolution– and more generally about Arab springs and winters. Inspired by real events, Malegori tells an episode out of a thousand, paying homage to who “tries to make a difference”,…

Mark Cousins’ portrait of a British modernist painter, “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” took the Karlovy Vary Film Festival top prize Saturday, winning over a jury that included Christine Vachon and Geoffrey Rush with its perceptive take on art and seeing. Cousins said the film’s subject, painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, “lived completely, truly and utterly – let’s try to do that.” Norwegian divorce story “Loveable” won the Crystal Globe jury prize, as well as three other awards categories, taking home the FIPRESCI, ecumenical and Europa Cinemas Label prizes with its nuanced look at a woman morphing into a new life.…

On 2 July, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s new elegant industry hub, the Imperial Spa, hosted the International Industry Insight session. One of the panels held in the afternoon, titled “Celebrating Diversity: The Relevance of Diversity and Inclusion within Central Eastern European Cinema,” was moderated by Deadline journalist Diana Lodderhose and saw the participation of Fatih Abay, Diversity & Inclusion Officer at the European Film Academy. Abay landed his European Film Academy post after working in academia and other research fields related to the topics of diversity and inclusion for 15 years. First, he touched on the body’s continuous efforts to ensure the largest…

The 23nd annual Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, announced the winners in its competition categories at an awards ceremony at Racket NYC. Winners of the Audience Award will be announced at a later date. Taking home the award for Best Animated Short in the Shorts Competition is In the Shadow of the Cypress (Iran), directed and produced by Barfak Studio founders Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi. Originally titled Dar Saaye Sarv, the 2D piece centers on a former captain who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder while trying to be a caring father to his daughter. (Watch the trailer here.) https://youtu.be/LVzZ3CVanPk?si=0OuAjq_XHjGnF5cK…

Alexandre Dumas’ 1,200-page adventure tale doesn’t condense easily, but a pair of French directors have cracked it brilliantly, underscoring what the story has to say about revenge. Last year, in bold defiance of post-pandemic doomsayers, French distributor Pathé doubled down on its commitment to the big-screen experience with its extravagant, no-expense-spared adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” — a starry two-part tentpole that featured dynamic single-take swashbuckling sequences and a delectably wicked turn from Eva Green. As theatrical events go, it was fun, if not especially faithful to the book, demonstrating that the French could rival the Americans in…

Burbank, CA – May 29, 2024: Today, Cinema Without Borders Foundation announced jury members  for CWB’s Bridging The Borders Award for  the 2024 Palm Springs International ShortFest Film Festival. The Bridging The Borders Award at the 2024 Palm ShortFest will be given to the most successful film in bringing the people of our world closer together.  Bridging The Borders Award  is presented by Cinema Without Borders Foundation and award sponsored and prize provided by 360 MEDIA. The winner of Bridging the Borders Award will receive a cash prize of $2000 Cinema Without Borders Foundation’ jury members to decide the 2024…