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Exclusive: Film Independent has named the 37 filmmakers and 15 projects selected for the 22nd edition of its Fast Track Film Finance Market, which kicked off in-person November 12 and wraps up today.

Through the program, creatives working on both fictional projects and documentaries are connected with established financiers, production companies, agents, managers and other film industry professionals who can move their projects forward.

Industry participants this year included 3Pas Studios, Independent Artist Group, Bankside Films, Bleecker Street, Bright West, CAA, Chrystie Street Casting, Cinetic Media, Dead Duck Films, First Gen, Giant Leap Media, Giant Pictures, Heidi Levitt Casting, IDA, Impact Partners, Kas Kas Productions, Kindred Spirit, Ley Line Entertainment, Linden Entertainment, Los Angeles Media Fund, Mandalay Pictures, Media Res, Motto Pictures, National Geographic, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Park Pictures, Pastel, Perspective Fund, Pinky Promise, Plan B, Redefine Entertainment, Rhino Films, Rideback Rise, River Road Entertainment, Roadside Attractions, Sffilm, Searchlight Pictures, ShivHans Pictures, Sons of Rigor,...

Exterior. Establishing: Film Independent HQ. Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. Prelap the sounds of passionate conversation and laughter. Cut To: Interior, Conference Room, Film Independent HQ. Seven new screenwriting Fellows are arrayed around a table, the Hollywood Sign visible on the distant hills outside the window. They’re here to develop six deeply personal and wholly original feature film projects under the steady guiding hand of Film Independent’s Screenwriting Lab. A fun, creative, safe space.

The End.

(Roll credits)

Sorry–we wish our story could’ve been longer but there wasn’t really any dramatic conflict at the Screenwriting Lab this year, just a lot of productive discussion and writing workshops with lead creative advisors Javier Fuentes-León, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Jessica Sharzer, Jeff Stockwell and Christopher Makoto Yogi. Additional guest speakers and advisors include Ruth Atkinson, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Bridget Savage Cole, Lauren Craniotes, Ellie Foumbi, Priyanka Kapoor, Danielle Krudy,...

Exclusive: Film Independent has named Omer Ben Shachar, Mary Dauterman, Mg Evangelista, Naomi Iwamoto, Thomas Kivney, Juan Paulo Laserna and Jhanvi Motla as the screenwriters selected for the 26th edition of its Screenwriting Lab, an intensive program designed to provide individualized story and career development for screenwriters with fiction feature scripts.

Over the course of the program, Fellows will workshop their projects under the guidance of creative advisors Javier Fuentes-León, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Jessica Sharzer, Jeff Stockwell and Christopher Makoto Yogi. Additional guest speakers and advisors will include Ruth Atkinson, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Bridget Savage Cole, Lauren Craniotes, Ellie Foumbi, Priyanka Kapoor, Danielle Krudy, Amanda Marshall, Josh Peters, Jon Schumacher, Ellen Shanman, Lauren Shelton and Caddy Vanasirikul.

“We are honored to provide the tools and support necessary for these exceptional filmmakers to propel their projects and careers forward,” said Dea Vazquez, Associate Director of Fiction Programs for Film Independent.

The American Film Institute (AFI) has officially announced the eight filmmakers for the upcoming AFI Dww+ Class of 2025 program, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the program. IndieWire announces it here.

The AFI Dww+ is a year-long directing program that supports women and traditionally underrepresented narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts. The short films completed in the workshop will premiere at the annual Dww+ Showcase in Spring 2025.

AFI Dww alum Hanelle M. Culpepper, who made history helming the “Star Trek: Picard” pilot and recently directed a block of episodes for “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” is this year’s AFI Dww+ Guest Artistic Director. Culpepper will oversee and direct the artistic curriculum and serve as a mentor for the Dww+ participants through their production cycle and the industry showcase, and act as an ambassador on behalf of the program.

“I remember...

Tfl Meeting, a TorinoFilmLab-organized initiative, has awarded 18 cash prizes, worth a total of €315,000, to support the development and production of feature-length projects.

Of the 30 projects presented during the program’s 15th edition, 20 were part of the ScriptLab program, and 10 were showcased in the FeatureLab program. The participants presented them to an audience of 260 professionals, attending over 600 meetings with potential partners and co-producers.

This year’s FeatureLab jury, which included Florence Almozini, Dyveke Bjørkly Graver, Philippe Bober and Donsaron Kovitvanitcha, awarded four debut projects with a grant of €40,000 each.

The first is Inbar Horesh’s “Birth Right.” Staged by Alona Refua, of Tel Aviv-based Green Productions, the picture aims to capture “the point of view of young tourists experiencing Israel for the first time.” The plot centers on Nieszka who, after mourning her father’s death, joins a tour to Israel that turns out to be a sex-filled Zionist propaganda trip.

€315,000 in prizes awarded at Tfl Meeting Event.

Co-production market Tfl Meeting Event has awarded prizes worth €315,000 to projects that took part in TorinoFilmLab’s annual ScriptLab and FeatureLab programmes.

30 projects were pitched over two days at the Tfl Meeting Event in Turin - 20 titles from Tfl’s nine-month scriptwriting programme ScriptLab and another 10 from its FeatureLab strand for films at a more advanced stage.

Four FeatureLab projects were selected by an international jury as winners of the Tfl Production Awards, sharing a total of €160,000: Inbar Horesh’s Birth Right, Prantik Basu’s Dengue, Konstantinos Antonopoulos’ Glory B and Sara Fgaier’s Weightless.

“The White Tiger” actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas talks to director Karishma Dev Dube and the young stars of “Bittu,” which is shortlisted in the live action short film category at the 2021 Oscars.

“Bittu” is the story of a close friendship between two girls (played by Rani Kumari and Renu Kumari) in northern India that is eclipsed by an accidental poisoning at school. The film is based on a real life incident from 2013, where 136 school children were hospitalized and 22 died after eating school lunch that was contaminated with pesticide.

“Bittu” is Dube’s New York University thesis film. The film is riding a wave of acclaim and recognition. It won a silver medal at the Student Academy Awards in 2020, and has had a stellar festival run. It played at the BFI London Film Festival, Telluride, Palm Springs Shortfest, Hollyshorts, where Dube won best director, and the Denver Film Festival, where it won best domestic film.

Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars from Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis. Following Academy Awards history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Oscar predictions are updated regularly with the current year's contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year long: Draft, Pre-Season, Regular Season and Post Season. Eligibility calendar and dates of awards will determine how long each phase lasts and will be displayed next to revision date.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Collective

Draft>>>Pre Season>>>Regular Season>>>Post Season

2021 Oscars Predictions:

Best Live Action Short Film

Updated: Feb. 25, 2021

Awards Prediction Commentary: There seems to be a strong three films at the top Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Human Voice” (with Tilda Swinton), Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe’s “Two Distant Strangers” (with Joey...

Newly formed cinema collective Indian Women Rising has boarded Student Academy Award-winning short film “Bittu” as presenter. Iwr will shepherd the film through its Oscar campaign.

Based on a real life incident from 2013, “Bittu” is based on the story of a close friendship between two girls (played by Rani Kumari and Renu Kumari) in northern India that is eclipsed by an accidental poisoning at school. It is directed by Karishma Dev Dube and “Bittu” is her New York University thesis film.

“Bittu” won a silver medal at the Student Academy Awards in 2020. That makes it eligible for the 2021 Oscars in the best live action short category.

“Bittu” has also had a stellar festival run, having played the BFI London Film Festival, Telluride, Palm Springs Shortfest, Hollyshorts, where Dube won best director, and the Denver Film Festival, where it won best domestic film.

“ ‘Bittu’ is a film that seeks to give voice to an overlooked community,...

The 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its festival juried award winners from the 332 shorts films featured throughout this year’s virtual edition, running June 16-22. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 were handed out, and a number of the winners are now eligible for the 2021 Academy Awards short film categories. See the full list of winners below.

At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.

The 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest has announced its festival juried award winners from the 332 shorts films featured throughout this year’s virtual edition, running June 16-22. Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000 were handed out, and a number of the winners are now eligible for the 2021 Academy Awards short film categories. See the full list of winners below.

At a time when all festivals have been forced to go virtual, there’s no telling how much buzz these events can generate, but the Oscar eligibility provides a nice boost for rising filmmakers coming out of ShortFest. It’s a long road ahead for festival films since the Oscars have now been pushed back to April 25 next year, with other awards ceremonies, including the Film Independent Spirit Awards (now April 24), falling in line. Expect a packed fall season as the backlog of titles from postponed dates, canceled festivals, and shuttered productions get unleashed.

“Matriochkas,” a French and Belgian short-film directed by Bérangère Mc Neese, has been named the best film of the 2020 Palm Springs International Shortfest, which announced its winners on Sunday. The film, about the sexual awakening of a 16-year-old girl over the course of a summer, is one of five films that can qualify for the Academy Awards in the short-film categories because of jury awards in Palm Springs.

The other Oscar-qualifying winners are Josephine Lohoar Self’s “The Fabric of You,” which was named best animated short; Savanah Leaf and Taylor Russell’s “The Heart Still Hums,” best documentary short; Inbar Horesh’s “Birth Right,” best live-action short over 15 minutes; and Laurynas Bareisa’s “Dummy,” best live-action short 15 minutes and under.

A total of 332 short films were part of the official selection at the festival, which did not physically take place this year because of the coronavirus. A number of...

Exclusive: Outfest has unveiled their lineup for the 17th annual Outfest Fusion — or the more official title: Outfest 2020: Culture. Film. Music. Story. The fest will run March 6-10 and include screenings, performances, panels, galas, workshops, and world premieres in Los Angeles.

Outfest Fusion brings together one of the largest, inclusive and diverse cross-sections of the Lgbtq+ community and its allies. The fest is a space the next generation of storytellers and cultural ambassadors are discovered. This year, Outfest Fusion 2020 will feature more than 60 films, including 11 World Premieres, 4 North American Premieres, 12 West Coast Premieres, 13 Los Angeles Premieres and 1 International Premiere.

Films featured this year include El Principe (The Prince) directed by Sebastián Muñoz’s El Principe (The Prince) which won the Queer Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. The fest will also feature the L.A. premiere of Andrew Ahn’s Driveways which stars Hong Chau and Golden...

Baobab Studios’ Bonfire, Yo-Yo Ma project Into The Light among selections.

Tribeca Film Festival brass on Wednesday (6) unveiled the 2019 immersive programme of more than 30 Vr, Ar, and mixed reality films and experiences.

New work includes Baobab Studios’ Bonfire created by the Madagascar series and Antz director Eric Darnell and featuring Ali Wong; Wolves In The Walls: It’s All Over includes Jeffrey Wright and Noah Schnapp from Stranger Things; and Immersive experiences including Into The Light featuring musician Yo-Yo Ma, and Ayahuasca (pictured) created by Jan Kounen.

Tribeca Immersive includes two events, the Virtual Arcade featuring Storyscapes, and Tribeca Cinema...

Initiative spans nine months of filmmaking, workshops, networking.

Film Independent has selected 30 filmmakers for Project Involve, the body’s diversity mentorship programme whose alumni include Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu, and Dear White People producer Effie T. Brown and director Justin Simien.

The free nine-month-long initiaitve enables participants to bond one-on-one with film industry mentors, create short films, attend workshops, and networking events.

Senior manager of Project Involve Francisco Velasquez said, “It is with renewed vigor and excitement that Film Independent welcomes the 2019 Project Involve Fellows. In 2017, the Project Involve Short Film, Emergency, not only screened at Sundance...

The Outfest Los Angeles Lgbtq Film Festival has unveiled winners for its 2018 edition that wrapped Sunday, with Jeremiah Zagar’s We the Animals taking the U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize and Jamie Patterson’s Tucked scoring the Best Narrative Audience Award among the honors.

Drew Droege, who starred in the Michael Urie-directed Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, won the U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance. The top documentary winners included T Cooper’s Man Made in the audience category and Jamal Sims’ When the Beat Drops landing the grand jury prize.

The Orchard acquired North American rights to We The Animals, based on Justin Torres’ debut novel, after it took the Next Innovator Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It will hit theaters sometime this year. Tucked, meanwhile, inked an output deal with Gravitas Ventures last week ahead of its world premiere.