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The full Edinburgh Film Festival industry lineup was announced this afternoon, with high-profile visitors including filmmakers Rose Garnett and Eva Victor alongside producer Adele Romanski (Moonlight).

Edinburgh’s industry events will run from 15 August to 20 August at the Festival Hub at Tollcross Central Hall.

The festival’s In Conversation session will begin on August 15 with a session featuring Rose Garnett. The next day, Victor and Romanski will chair a masterclass, and it will be followed by an Eiff Networking Brunch delivered in association with Screen Fringe.

The Sixteen Films team, Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, and Rebecca O’Brien, will give a session on 20 August, while filmmaker Kevin Macdonald and his brother, producer Andrew Macdonald, will deliver the Eiff Keynote on 17 August. Scroll down for the full industry lineup.

Discussing this afternoon’s announcement, Paul Ridd, CEO and Festival Director, said he is “absolutely thrilled to welcome so many major Scottish,...

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has unveiled the full lineup of its 2025 industry program, assembling a heavyweight slate of prestigious U.K. and international filmmakers, producers and executives — from Andrea Arnold and Nia DaCosta to Jeremy Thomas, David Hinojosa and Ken Loach.

Running throughout the Festival, with a concentrated program over Aug. 15–20 at the Festival Hub (Tollcross Central Hall), the industry strand looks to consolidate Eiff’s expanding ambitions under Festival Director and CEO Paul Ridd, offering a mix of case study panels, networking events, and its flagship Eiff In Conversation sessions.

This year’s edition leans into cross-sector dialogue and talent development while strengthening links between Scotland’s creative ecosystem and global industry players. Unified, the producing banner founded by Amy Jackson and Lauren Dark, curates a dedicated strand within the programme – a series of one-on-one talks with senior decision-makers and creatives.

Guests in the Unified Series include Rose Garnett,...

A24 executive Rose Garnett and Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach are to speak as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival industry programme, which runs from August 15-20.

Garnett, who has previously worked as director of BBC Film and head of creative at Film4, will be speaking as part of the Unified series, a partnership between Eiff and Amy Jackson and Lauren Dark’snascent production company, Unified.

Further execs speaking across the programme will be Eva Yates, director of BBC Film and Farhana Bhula, interim Film4 director.

Filmmakers that will take part in ‘in conversation’ events include Loach alongside his longstanding partners,...

This year’s edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival will host British filmmaker Ken Loach and his longtime creative collaborators, writer Paul Laverty and producer Rebecca O’Brien.

The trio will discuss the acclaimed films they have created together over the years including Palme d’Or winners The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016), on Aug. 20. The group will then introduce a special retrospective screening on 35mm print of the The Wind That Shakes The Barley, starring Cillian Murphy, the fest confirmed.

Eiff’s In Conversation strand also features a range of other major filmmaking talent who will discuss their creative careers to date, including director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void, One to One: John & Yoko) speaking with his brother, producer Andrew Macdonald (Trainspotting, Civil War, 28 Years Later). Kevin Macdonald will also present a screening of The Cranes are Flying...

Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival (August 15-22).

The festival is also screening a retrospective of Sorrentino’s works, which includes the Oscar-nominated Hand Of God, as part of the ‘Tribute To’ programme.

Sorrentino will attend Sarajevo to receive the award and deliver a masterclass.

The filmmaker’s career has seen him represent Italy at the Oscars several times, including 2014’s winner The Great Beauty which also picked up the Golden Globe and Bafta award for best foreign language film.

Sorrentino’s other credits include the 2008 Cannes jury prize winner Il Divo,...

Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino is this year’s recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award to be bestowed upon him during the 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which will also feature a retrospective of his films that will be screened as part of the fest’s “tribute to” program.

The honor and tribute will be “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the art of cinema,” Sarajevo fest organizers said on Tuesday. Sorrentino will also hold a masterclass and “share his thoughts on contemporary art in a conversation with the audience,” they noted.

“I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious recognition and grateful for the attention given to my filmography,” said Sorrentino. “I look forward to being with you in Sarajevo. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The fest highlighted the effect the Italian director and screenwriter’s oeuvre has had on audiences. “Paolo...

Millennium Docs Against Gravity just wrapped the in-person edition of the nonfiction festival, which takes place simultaneously in seven cities in Poland (the online edition runs today until June 2).

The Grand Prix – the Bank Millennium Award – went to Yintah, directed by Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell and Michael Toledano. The award automatically qualifies Yintah for Academy Award consideration (Mdag is one of the few festivals in the world with the distinction of being an Oscar qualifier for Best Documentary Film).

The jury – made up of Salma Abdalla of the Austrian Film Institute, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont and two-time Oscar-nominated producer Rémi Grellety – awarded a Special Mention to A Want in Her, directed by Myrid Carten (the filmmaker appeared on Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast after the world premiere of her film at IDFA).

For the first time, Doc Talk traveled to Poland to cover Mdag. In the new episode of the pod,...

Some doors are portals to discovery.

One on Kredytowa street in Warsaw, Poland bears a sign that reads, “The door is heavy, but it’s worth the effort.” Manage to pull it open and inside the 19th century building you’ll find exhibits of the National Museum of Ethnography. During the Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival now underway in Warsaw, the museum serves as the home for Mdag Industry, a program of pitching sessions, panel discussions, and an unusual discovery — an “anti-masterclass” given by the noted filmmaker Mark Cousins.

For 75 minutes on Saturday, Cousins held an audience rapt with unscripted observations on photography, documentary, and inspiration, inviting those in the room to look at the world with fresh eyes. Karol Piekarczyk, the festival’s artistic director, moderated the event, initially clicking through a series of slides that he asked the filmmaker to react to spontaneously.

“I have literally no idea...

As any fan of Shakespeare – or of romance – can tell you, Romeo & Juliet takes places in Verona, Italy. Turns out the lovelorn everywhere are well aware of the play’s setting.

For over 50 years, “people from around the world have sent their heartaches, hopes, and confessions” to the city in Italy’s northern Veneto region. The Juliet Club in Verona has become the repository for these heartfelt letters – 200,000 of them.

This is the background for a documentary in development called Love Letters, which intends to explore the archived missives “and the real lives of young people writing new ones. What happens when we revisit senders from decades ago? Do they still remember their letters? Are they still in love? As we follow students through their daily lives, and volunteers answering the latest letters, we look for echoes of the past in the present. Has love changed—or have only...

Some of the biggest names in nonfiction film are heading to Poland for the 22nd edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity, one of the largest documentary festivals in the world.

The event running from this Friday until May 18 (and online from May 20-June 2) will welcome Oscar winners Asif Kapadia and Alex Gibney, Oscar nominees David France, Rémi Grellety, and Guy Davidi, and fellow award-winning filmmakers Lauren Greenfield, Mark Cousins, Andres Veiel, Alexis Bloom, Chester Algernal Gordon, Mads Brügger, Zackary Drucker, Brandon Kramer, Rachel Elizabeth Seed, among many others.

The festival, which runs simultaneously in seven cities including Warsaw, Łódź, and Gdynia, will showcase almost 180 films from around the world, a number of which are very likely to wind up in the next Oscar race.

“I think it’s going to be amazing,” says artistic director Karol Piekarczyk. “These films are absolutely incredible, and I can’t wait for people to see them.

Readying for its 22nd edition, Polish fest Millennium Docs Against Gravity isn’t shying away from politically charged content, opening with “Coexistence, My Ass!” Its protagonist, pro-Palestinian Israeli comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi, will also deliver a stand-up performance.

“We’re aware of the subject matter we’re dealing with. Last year, ‘No Other Land’ won the Grand Prix at our festival,” argues festival director Artur Liebhart, calling it “a treasure that shows some hope for reconciliation.”

“It was already shown at other events, at Sundance, but it didn’t get the attention Noam Shuster-Eliassi deserves.”

But the Millennium Docs Against Gravity audience isn’t afraid of films about war, he stresses.

“They want more. Poland is a front-line country but also, it’s not about date night for them. They are engaged and want to learn – and feel – more. Also, it’s an audience that has something that’s not very popular these days,...

Mark Cousins will deliver an “anti-masterclass” at Mdag Industry, the industry strand of Polish fest Millennium Docs Against Gravity. He’ll also lead a retrospective of his work.

“As filmmakers, our job is always to surprise and excite. We need to play with the form. Film festivals should play with their form, too. Many of them have masterclasses, so I’ll do an anti-masterclass, to plant a bomb under the idea of what a master is, and what a class is,” he tells Variety.

“In Finland, I was asked to do a 90-minute masterclass. I thought: ‘You can cook something in 90 minutes.’ We put an oven on stage and cooked as we talked about cinema. In Cannes, I said to the host: ‘Choose images, don’t tell me what they are, show them to me on the day and we’ll talk about them.’ The idea was to be vulnerable,...

Around ninety percent of life forms in the deep sea have yet to be named by humans, British director Eleanor Mortimer informs us in the course of her documentary “How Deep Is Your Love.” It’s a statistic somehow comforting in its vagueness — how, after all, can we put an exact figure on what is unknown to us — and humbling in its vastness, a reminder that we still don’t own huge stretches of the globe we profess to run. Across history, any number of explorers, scientists and storytellers have been fascinated by the essential, alien hostility of the ocean to our species, and its enduring status as a place we can only visit but never settle. Mortimer joins those ranks with a film that functions both as awestruck spectacle and anxious warning — joining a literal boatload of marine biologists racing to demystify an ecosystem before deep-sea miners destroy it.

Petra Volpe’s Berlinale title Late Shift has secured distribution deals for territories including UK-Ireland, having crossed the $5m mark at the box office in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

TrustNordisk has sold the film to UK-Ireland (Vertigo Releasing), Portugal (Alambqiue), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg Cultural), Japan (New Select), Taiwan (Light Year Images) and Indonesia (Falcon).

Previous deals include France (Wild Bunch Distribution), Italy (Bim Distribuzione), Spain (Karma Films), Benelux (September Film Rights), Germany and Austria (Tobis), and Switzerland (Filmcoopi Zurich).

Following its debut as a Berlinale Special title, Late Shift opened in German-speaking territories on February 27. The film has held the...

Focus Features announced on Thursday that the third Downton Abbey feature is called Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

The latest entry in the period drama would appear to be the last. New teaser art bears the legend: “The time has come to say goodbye.”

The Grand Finale follows 2022 release Downton Abbey: A New Era, which earned more than $90m at the worldwide box office, and 2019’s Downton Abbey, which ranks as Focus Features’ highest-grossing film ever on $194m worldwide.

From Focus Features and Carnival Films, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will open in cinemas around the world on September 12.

Simon Curtis...

Mark Cousins says ChatGPT presented him with an “exact summary” of a book he wrote almost 30 years ago, when he was researching his new film Story Of Documentary Film.

The Northern Irish filmmaker was speaking in a ‘A Morning With’ conversation at Cph:dox, with Toronto film festival documentary programmer Thom Powers.

“When I started this project, I asked ChatGPT, ‘What is the history of documentary?’” said Cousins, in response to a question about his thoughts on AI technologies. “If it can do it, I don’t need to,” joked the director.

“You know what it did? It was an exact...

Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion and Wes Anderson are among the signees of an appeal to stave off the impending threat that a substantial portion of Rome’s movie theaters could be converted into shopping centers and supermarkets under proposed regional legislation.

Alarm over the future of the Eternal City’s cinemas was prompted last month after asset management companies Colliers Global Investors and Wrm Capital won a Rome real estate bankruptcy auction and acquired nine movie theaters for a reported €50 million ($52 million).

Some of these venues, such as the city’s central Cinema Adriano multiplex, are fully operational, while others have long been shuttered. The person behind the fund is believed to be Italian-British financier Raffaele Mincione.

Meanwhile, a new regional piece of legislation is being drafted — and is up for approval this week — that would remove norms that currently prevent Rome movie theaters from being converted into any other...

A vote is scheduled for next week in Italy that could turn cultural venues in Rome — including 50 movie theaters — into shopping malls and supermarkets. Martin Scorsese is among the filmmakers petitioning to save them.

Architect Renzo Piano has shared a letter whose appeal has now been endorsed by filmmakers and Hollywood luminaries including Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Julie Taymor, Yorgos Lanthimos, J.J. Abrams, Josh Safdie, Todd Haynes, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Mark Cousins, Alfonso Cuarón, Willem Dafoe, Robert Eggers, Joanna Hogg, Dawn Hudson, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Schrader, Léa Seydoux, John Turturro, Thomas Vinterberg, Jeremy Thomas, Paweł Pawlikowski, and Debra Winger.

The government of the Lazio region, which hosts the Italian capital, is about to approve a law that will be voted on next week that would make 50 movie theaters, including Rome’s many historic and abandoned cinemas, vulnerable...

The conference program of Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, a.k.a. Cph:Dox, will explore topics such as AI in non-fiction, immersive storytelling, investigative journalism and climate justice.

Speakers attending the program, running March 24-28 and held in partnership with Documentary Campus, include Christo Grozev, James Jones, Alexis Bloom, Kate Townsend, Sam Soko, Mstyslav Chernov and Nathan Grossman.

The conference this year is curated by Mandy Chang, former head of BBC Storyville, and global documentaries at Fremantle.

Mara Gourd-Mercado, head of industry and training at Cph:dox, said the conference “creates space to explore how documentary filmmaking shapes the world around us.” She added: “Through hands-on discussions and insights from industry leaders, the conference promises to spark fresh ideas and equip filmmakers with new tools for telling impactful stories.”

Donata von Perfall, managing director of Documentary Campus, added: “The documentary filmmaking community has an immense sense of shared responsibility and values.

Former Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam and Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grosev are among the speakers lined up for Cph:Conference, the talks platform of Denmark’s Cph:dox film festival.

Putnam, who was president of production at Miramax from 2006 to 2009 and Sundance CEO & executive director from 2010 to 2021, will participate in a session named ‘Collaborations & Coalitions’, alongside Arte’s Alexandre Marionneau and Pov’s Erika Dilday.

Grosev will speak on a panel titled ‘The Cost of Exposing Truth to Power, with James Jones, director of 2024 documentary Antidote; and Jenny Raskin on Impact Partners. Grosev is head of investigations with investigative journalism publication The Insider,...

Cph:forum, the financing and co-production arm of documentary festival Cph:dox, has unveiled its lineup of projects, including those by director Tamara Kotevska, Oscar nominated for “Honeyland,” and producers Monica Hellström, Oscar nominated for “Flee,” and Sigrid Dyekjær, Oscar nominated for “The Cave” and an Emmy winner with “The Territory.”

Other projects include those by directors such as Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan (“Nocturnes”), Jennie Livingston (“Paris Is Burning”), Peter Middleton (“Notes on Blindness”), Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson, Margreth Olin (“Songs of Earth”), Anabel Rodriguez (“Once Upon a Time in Venezuela”), Mark Cousins (“The Story of Film: An Odyssey”), Robin Petré (“Only on Earth”), and Agnieszka Zwiefka (“Silent Trees”), along with producers such as James Paul Dallas (“Invisible Beauty”) and John Archer (“Bogancloch”).

The event, which runs March 24-27 in Copenhagen, Denmark, will bring together 75 directors and producers representing 26 countries who will take the stage to present 30 new documentary...

Feature projects from the directors of Notes On Blindness and Honeylandare among those selected forCPH:Forum, the financing and co-production event on the industry programme of Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (Cph:dox) that will take place in March.

The Forum has also added two new awards to the event which will run from March 24-27.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

The Forum includes 30 documentary projects from 26 contries, spanning early to late development and production.

Director Peter Middleton will present UK title Landfall, produced by Hugh Davies and Clive Patterson for Fee Fie Foe and Insight Film.Middleton and...

It isn't often that the major film studios come together for a bigger purpose, but that's what just happened with the newly released set, Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection. Warner Bros. and Paramount Home Entertainment have partnered with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment to release this limited edition coffee table book that contains the latest 4K Uhd transfers of six masterpieces by Alfred Hitchcock. The set covers arguably his greatest era, from 1953 to 1963, when he directed and released Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. It's one of the greatest runs from any filmmaker in history, and is collected now with a large number of special features.

The premium book style-packaging consists of rare photos, bios, trivia, and original cover art by renowned artist Tristan Eaton. It features over 15 hours of revealing bonus features, including Psycho Uncut (the extended version of the movie...

A century removed from his directorial debut, Alfred Hitchcock remains one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema — but how does his work and legacy hold up in today’s society?

My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock aims to tackle that question in the director’s own voice. The documentary will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 14 via Cohen Media Group.

Directed by award-winning documentarian Mark Cousins, the film is framed by Hitchcock (voiced by British impressionist Alistair McGowan) revisiting his filmography.

From his early silent efforts to iconic works like Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, and beyond, viewers are taken on an odyssey through Hitchcock’s storied career.

Special Features include:

Cinema Q&a with Chuck Rose: Interview with Director Mark Cousins Alternate trailer with narration by Mark Cousins Alastair McGowan voice test audio Graphics animation tests Mark Cousins introduces Notorious, Rope, and Saboteur

My Name Is Alfred...

Mark Cousins has long established himself as one of film’s most thoughtful commentators, crafting illuminating documentaries that uncover new layers of understanding. In his latest, My Name is Alfred Hitchcock, the director works his analytical magic on one of cinema’s true legends. What makes this film especially fascinating is the innovative format—it plays like an evening spent chatting with Hitchcock himself.

Through the skilled vocal impersonation of Alistair McGowan, the droll yet perceptive Master of Suspense acts as our guide. He walks us through his own vast body of work, bringing a personal touch lacking in other analytical profiles.

Cousins has divided the film into thematic chapters, with Hitchcock pointing out recurring motifs and ingenious techniques. We cover topics like escape, desire, loneliness, and the tantalizing effects of suspended time.

By imagining this lively dialogue with Hitchcock across the ages, Cousins keeps the late director’s mystique alive while offering fresh insights.

Alfred Hitchcock, the director as well as self-analyzing critical observer, is evoked in the latest documentary from Mark Cousins, titled, appropriately, My Name is Alfred Hitchcock. During the pandemic lockdown, Cousins was invited by producer John Archer to make a film about the great director timed to the 100th anniversary of his debut film. Cousins set about watching all of Hitchcock’s films in chronological order, reading various critical book as well as works by his daughter and The Birds actress Tippi Hedren, all the while filling up notebooks of thoughts, reflections and details. That research and viewing produced a script, […]

The post Watch: An Exclusive Clip from Mark Cousins’s Forthcoming My Name is Alfred Hitchcock first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Alfred Hitchcock, the director as well as self-analyzing critical observer, is evoked in the latest documentary from Mark Cousins, titled, appropriately, My Name is Alfred Hitchcock. During the pandemic lockdown, Cousins was invited by producer John Archer to make a film about the great director timed to the 100th anniversary of his debut film. Cousins set about watching all of Hitchcock’s films in chronological order, reading various critical book as well as works by his daughter and The Birds actress Tippi Hedren, all the while filling up notebooks of thoughts, reflections and details. That research and viewing produced a script, […]

The post Watch: An Exclusive Clip from Mark Cousins’s Forthcoming My Name is Alfred Hitchcock first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

With the possible exception of Stanley Kubrick, no directors work has been picked apart as extensively as Alfred Hitchcocks. Mark Cousins new documentary My Name is Alfred Hitchcock may not be the first place to go for the Hitchcock-uninitiated its too academically inclined for that but its a thoroughly fascinating and risk-taking deep dive that luxuriates in the themes and visual motifs inherent in the Master of Suspenses filmography. That risk comes in the form of Cousins decision to not narrate the documentary himself.

Instead, the doc is written and voiced by Alfred Hitchcock, played by English impressionist Alistair McGowan. Its a gamble that works given McGowans spot-on vocal rendering of the late directors distinctive voice. Combine that with Cousins clever and probing script and Timo Langers smooth editing and My Name is Alfred Hitchcock will make you desperate to binge the masters prodigious body of work. And thats...

The work of the late Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham is brought to life by this idiosyncratically persuasive Mark Cousins film

A rogue preposition in the title betrays this film’s distinctive, dartingly eccentric idiom: not “of deeper things” but “to deeper things”. It is about neglected abstract painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, born in Scotland in 1912 and a resident of St Ives, whose landscapes she represented with endless curiosity and passion; she died in 2004. Film-maker Mark Cousins makes an idiosyncratic but compellingly persuasive case for this artist to be restored (or in fact introduced for the first time) to the pantheon of accepted greatness, with Tilda Swinton giving us Barns-Graham in voiceover.

The film grew out of a Barns-Graham installation Cousins curated in Edinburgh; the title is taken from her diaries, recording her ecstatic encounter with the Grindelwald glaciers in Switzerland in the late 1940s, whose forms and colours revolutionised her life and art,...

It is nearly impossible for Luca Guadagnino to discuss one of his films without folding his cinematic hero, Bernardo Bertolucci, into the conversation. While on an upcoming episode of IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast about his forthcoming release, A24’s “Queer,” Guadagnino revealed his documentary about the great Italian director behind such films as “The Last Emperor” and “The Conformist,” who passed away in 2018, is much further along than we thought.

“I’m editing it now,” said Guadagnino while on the podcast. “I have a few more conversations I want to have. Actually, Marty Scorsese, I want to talk to him about it. We’ve been shooting for a while now. They’re not interviews; it’s a conversation. It’s a very personal movie. I am the protagonist of the movie. It could be called, ‘Bertolucci and I,’ which it’s not going to be.”

The current working title is “Joie de Vivre,...

"Everything was about color, and form, and line." She was a master! Conic Film has unveiled the official trailer for a documentary film called A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things, the latest doc creation from acclaimed Irish filmmaker Mark Cousins. This recently premiered at the 2024 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Main Competition (here's my review), where it won the top Crystal Globe competition prize. Featuring Tilda Swinton as the voice of Scottish painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, better known as "Willie", this feature documentary tells the story of a remarkable artist and a magnificent obsession. Exploring the pivotal 1949 experience atop Switzerland's Grindelwald glacier that reshaped the British modernist painter's artistic perspective for decades to come. Made with the support of the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust, the film delves into her archives, private notebooks and diaries from her 65-year career. Two decades after her death in 2004, the film represents a major reassessment of Barns-Graham's life and work,...

Director Mark Cousins shines a light on the remarkable artistic journey of 20th-century Scottish painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham in his poetic new documentary A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things. Known to friends as Willie, Barns-Graham immersed herself in the St Ives artistic community in Cornwall yet routinely faced dismissal from critics during her career. Cousins steps back from a traditional biographical approach, instead exploring Willie’s life and work through her own eyes. We learn of her upbringing, time with the St. Ives group, and how nature’s rhythms inspired a breakthrough during a 1949 hike in Switzerland’s Grindelwald Glacier. With Tilda Swinton’s narration of Willie’s writings and striking visuals of her paintings, Cousins draws us intimately into Willie’s world. Through this rose-tinted lens, her overlooked genius is brought vibrantly to light. Premiering at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where it took the top prize, A Sudden Glimpse...

The upcoming episode of *Scene by Scene*, airing at 10:30 Pm on Thursday, September 12, 2024, on BBC Four, promises an intimate look into the life of Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall. In a rare interview, Bacall sits down with filmmaker Mark Cousins to discuss her illustrious career, offering insights that fans and film lovers will cherish.

Throughout the conversation, Bacall reflects on her iconic roles and the impact she made in the film industry. Viewers will also get a glimpse into her personal life, including her marriage to the legendary Humphrey Bogart, which has captivated audiences for decades. Bacall shares anecdotes about their life together, revealing the depth of their relationship and the challenges they faced in the spotlight.

Additionally, the episode touches on her friendships with fellow icons such as Katharine Hepburn and Rock Hudson, showcasing the bonds that shaped her career. This episode of *Scene by Scene* is a heartfelt tribute to Bacall’s legacy,...

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence and Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini in ‘Conclave’ (Photo Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024)

The 51st Telluride Film Festival announced its lineup just days ahead of the festival’s opening on Friday, August 30, 2024. The festival, which runs through Monday, September 2nd, will include the world premieres of Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, Edward Berger’s Conclave, and Malcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson.

This year’s festival includes 60 feature films, shorts, and revival programs.

“This brief weekend of cinematic bliss reminds us every year that movies really are magic,” stated Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “The process of assembling our line-up is both daunting and rewarding, and it never fails to bring the most fantastic sense of satisfaction once we’re finished. Our anticipation matches that of the audience. We’re delighted to now share what we found to be the most exciting, interesting and...

The 12 feature documentaries in the running for the 2023 European Film Awards (EFAs) have been revealed.

Scroll down for full list of titles

They include Mati Diop’s Dahomey, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in February. The film tracks the journey of 26 plundered royal treasures from the former West African kingdom of Dahomey exhibited in Paris, now being returned to Benin. French filmmaker Diop was previously nominated for a European Discovery Award at the EFAs with her Cannes 2019 award-winner Atlantics.

Titles that premiered at Berlin make up nearly half the total selection and also include At Averroes & Rosa...

Meg Ryan is not just America’s sweetheart anymore — now she’s an international “heart” icon.

The writer/director/actress is being feted with the Heart Award at the 2024 Sarajevo Film Festival, where her classic rom-com “You’ve Got Mail” screened 25 years ago in 1999.

This year, Ryan will present a special screening of the 1998 hit film and also host a masterclass about writing and directing her sophomore 2023 film “What Happens Later,” which will additionally be screened at the Festival. The masterclass will be moderated by “No Man’s Land” director Danis Tanović.

Ryan made her directorial debut with 2015’s WWII drama “Ithaca,” which marked a reunion for Ryan and frequent collaborator Tom Hanks.

“Meg Ryan had our hearts at hello! Not only has she charmed us all with her unforgettable performances, but she has also proven her prowess behind the camera as a director and screenwriter. It is our honor to present...

Warner Bros. Discovery Strikes Film Deal With Former Staffer; ‘The Intern’ To Be Remade

Warner Bros. Discovery is getting into business with one of its longest-serving execs in Asia and will remake The Intern as part of the agreement. The entertainment powerhouse has struck a first-look film deal with Jack Nguyen and his Joat Films. Under terms of the deal, Nguyen will present Asia-focused films to the studio with an emphasis on local-language remakes of Wbd’s English-language films. First off of the line will be a Korean remake of 2015 comedy-drama The Intern, which starred Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway and Rene Russo. “Jack is an industry veteran with a second to none understanding of the film production business across Asia,” said Kurt Rieder, SVP, Head of Theatrical Distribution, Apac, Wbd. “There is a strong appetite for remakes of universally popular Hollywood stories across the region, and we look forward...

US filmmaker Alexander Payne will receive the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the 2024 Sarajevo Film Festival (August 16-23).

Payne will present a masterclass at the festival about film production, directing and writing as well as other aspects of his career. He will also present a screening of his 2004 comedy-drama Sideways, which won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

He will be joined by longtime collaborator Jim Taylor, who wrote Payne’s films Election, About Schmidt and Sideways, and produced 2011’s The Descendants.

Payne previously attended the festival in 2005, presenting his films in a ‘Tribute to’ programme. His last feature...

Lynda Myles, the world’s first female festival director, is to be honoured with the Bafta Scotland outstanding contribution to film award.

Myles led the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) during a formative 1973 to 1980 period in which the festival was cementing its international reputation.

She then went on to work as a film producer, scoring a Bafta in 1992 for The Commitments, with further credits including Defence Of The Realm, The Snapper and The Van. She held posts including senior vice-president at Columbia Pictures, commissioning editor for drama at the BBC and head of fiction at the UK’s National Film and Television School.

The revived Edinburgh Filmhouse is set to open at the turn of the year, with Aftersun director Charlotte Wells and actor Jack Lowden to be the UK cinema’s inaugural patrons.

A 25-year renewable lease has been signed with the 88 Lothian Road building owners Caledonian Heritable, which will mean the team of former Edinburgh Filmhouse staff who have led the campaign to re-open the cinema as an arthouse, independent venue can proceed with the refurbishment plans that will see the existing cinema building fully modernised.

In March the Filmhouse was awarded £1.4m from the UK government’s Levelling Up Community...

The 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has launched its entire program for the Aug. 15-21 event, where it will screen 37 new feature films and 18 world premieres.

Ten world premieres will compete for the new Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence as the fest showcases talent from filmmakers in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Mexico, Norway, China, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Iran and beyond. Screenings will take place in the heart of Scotland’s picturesque capital at some of the city’s most iconic venues including Cameo Cinema, Summerhall, and 50 George Square.

Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, starring Saoirse Ronan, was previously confirmed as the Fest’s opening night film, with the world premiere of Carla J. Easton and Blair Young’s documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands set to close. Its Midnight Madness strand will close with the body horror The Substance, starring Demi Moore.

Joining the ranks of films about great artists who have been forgotten and deserve to be rediscovered is A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things, the latest documentary film made by the cinepahile doc filmmaker Mark Cousins. This new film is a unique and captivating look at the life of a Scottish artist named Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, who preferred to be called Willie for most of her life. It premiered at the 2024 Karlovy Vary Film Festival where it won the top prize - the Crystal Globe Grand Prix as chosen by the fest's jury. In all honesty, it would not have been my personal pick from the competition (I prefer Loveable over this one) but this win will give it a chance to gain extra attention and, above all else, allow more people to learn about Willie. As is usual with Mark Cousins' films, he narrates the story and integrates himself into...

Everybody loves painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, including Tilda Swinton.

“I messaged her a while ago, saying I was making this film. She said: ‘I’m on fire for Willie,’” Mark Cousins, director of biographical documentary “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” tells Variety.

“Willie didn’t live a dramatic life, she wasn’t going to fancy parties. Then there was the sexism of the art world and agism. She changed her style, too, and the art world doesn’t like that. The film world doesn’t like that either. It wants a Hitchcock film to be like a Hitchcock film.”

“Abbas Kiarostami told me once he wanted his films to be pure on the outside and rich on the inside. Willie’s life seemed undramatic but inside, there was a raging fire.”

In his Karlovy Vary Film Festival winner “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” Cousins peeks inside the mind of the forgotten artist,...

Mark Cousins wins Grand Prix Crystal Globe at the closing ceremony of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Photo: Film Servis Karlovy Vary

A documentary portrait of the Scottish modernist painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, by film-maker Mark Cousins, has won the top prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which ended with an awards ceremony tonight.

A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things scooped the accolade from a jury that included indy film producer Christine Vachon and Australian actor Geoffrey Rush.

British actor Clive Owen said festivals such as Karlovy Vary are needed “now more than ever.” Photo: Film Servis Karlovy Vary

Cousins, accepting the award, the Grand Prix Crystal Globe, said 'Willie' Barns-Graham “lived completely, truly and utterly – let’s all try to do that.”

A divorce story, Loveable, won the Crystal Globe jury prize, as well as three other awards categories, taking home the Fipresci, Ecumenical and Europa Cinemas...

Mark Cousins’ unconventional portrait of an artist “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things” took top honors at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, snagging the fest’s iconic Crystal Globe alongside a cash prize of $25K to split by the Scottish-Irish filmmaker and his producing partners.

Featuring the voice work of Tilda Swinton, the award-winning doc follows the life and career of artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a lesser-known master of modern art whose outlook and output underwent a profound spiritual, aesthetic and ideological transformation once the painter had a moment of epiphany atop Switzerland’s Grindelwald glacier in 1949.

The climbing expedition left Barns-Graham with a new set of obsessions and forms of expression – giving her life a new meaning.

Before claiming the Jury Prize, Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s domestic drama “Loveable” also took acting honors for star Helga Guren as well as parallel awards from the Ecumenical Jury, the Europa Cinema Label,...

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.

Director Lilja Ingolfsdottir scored big with her first feature-length drama with “Loveable,” telling the audience at the Hotel Thermal Grand Hall the story helped her “find barriers we have built against connections.”

The directing prize went to Nelicia Low for the Singapore/Taiwan/Poland production “Pierce,” an intricate account...

Not for the first time in his filmmaking career, Northern Irish documentarian Mark Cousins begins his latest work by presenting the audience with a banal image, and persuasively talking us into a reconsideration. The picture is an unremarkable vacation snapshot of British artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham in her seventies or eighties, dressed for a day’s sightseeing in a sensible raincoat, not projecting any particular halo of artistic genius. Cousins’ quizzical narration ponders her pose, her clothes, her comfortably ordinary aura, and wonders how easy these details make her — in a realm geared against even palpably extraordinary women — to overlook. A winningly discursive, often lyrical valentine to Barns-Graham and her oeuvre, “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things” aims to draw eyes toward her angular modernist interpretations of nature at its most serene and severe, and train them to see the subversive soul expressed therein.

Premiering in the main competition at the Karlovy Vary festival,...

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 to July 6) boasted not one but two competitions, the Crystal Globe and Proxima, presided over by the festival president Jiří Bartoška, artistic director Karel Och, and executive director Kryštof Mucha. The festival is the main summer event in the country, which attracts many sponsors and patrons who want to attend, and faces none of the financial hardships of such festivals as Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. 130 films are shown, with 140,000 tickets sold. There is no room for growth, given the limited venues, from the many screening rooms at the festival hub, the Hotel Thermal, where juror Christine Vachon mixed Negronis for her fellow jurors between screenings, to the colorful arthouse Kino Drahomira, named after a revered Czech woman director.

The Eastern European festival falls between Cannes and Venice, and programs many films in its Crystal Globe Competition that did not make the cut at Cannes,...

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 – July 6) came to a close this evening with an awards ceremony that saw Mark Cousins’ essay film A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things win the main prize in the festival’s Crystal Globe competition. Narrated by Tilda Swinton and — in Cousins’ familiar, idiosyncratic style, exploring themes of gender, climate change and creativity — the UK film offers a creative biography of Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004). Coming what most have been a close second to take the Jury Prize — and Best Actress Award for its star, Helga Guren — was Norway’s acclaimed divorce drama Loveable, directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir.

Also taking the stage tonight was Czech actor Ivan Trojan, already perhaps the country’s most garlanded performer, who received the Festival President’s Award for Contribution to Czech Cinema. And following hot on the heels of Viggo Mortensen and Daniel Brühl, British actor...

UK director Mark Cousins’s A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things has won the top prize, the Crystal Globe, at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, while Loveable by Norwegian director Lilja Ingolfsdottir won five awards in total including the special jury prize and best actress award for Helga Guren.

Cousins‘ A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things is a documentary portrait of British painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a leading figure in the modernist St Ives group of artists. Screen’s review said that Cousins brought “his distinctively poetic and enquiring approach to this elegiac cine-essay“ to the film. Conic acquired...