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Lights On, the Turin-based world sales company, has made a double swoop on Locarno titles, taking international sales rights to Lucy Kerr’s “Family Portrait” and “Dreaming & Dying” (“Hao Jiu Bu Jian”), written and directed by Singapore’s Nelson Yeo.

Both play in Locarno’s Cineasti del Presenti Sierra, focused on new talent. Locarno’s 2023 lineup was announced July 5.

‘Family Portrait’

The first feature from Kerr, a Texas-born filmmaker and video and installation artist, “Family Portrait” turns on a sprawling Texas family that gets together on a morning to take a group picture.

The mother disappears; the rest of the family seem reluctant to take the photos; one of the daughters, Katy, sets off to find her. Doing so, the synopsis says, she loses herself and her family.

Written by Kerr, “Family Portrait’s” key cast includes Deragh Campbell, Chris Galust “Give Me Liberty”), Rachel Alig (“Girl Next”) and Katie Folger (“Day 5”). Insufficient Funds,...

Toronto announced the 10 world premieres in its Platform program, a section comprised of first-time feature filmmakers and vets whose voices are emerging in the cinematic landscape.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Now in year seven, it’s become a true home for international auteurs on the rise.”

Named after Jia Zhang-ke’s groundbreaking second feature, Platform is curated by TIFF Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee; Director, Festival Programming Robyn Citizen; and Senior Manager, Festival Programming Ravi Srinivasan.

“Eclectic in vision, this year’s selection not only represents all World Premieres of exciting, on-the-rise voices from around the world, but it also reflects the very timely and unique perspectives of racialized filmmakers from diasporic communities broadening the canvas,” said Lee.

Of the ten Platform titles making their world premiere at TIFF,...

The Toronto International Film Festival today revealed the 10 feature films that will make up its Platform section. The festival, which runs September 8 through 18 this year, annually hosts the Platform vertical to shine a light on first-time and veteran filmmakers and their bold directorial visions from around the globe.

The program’s opening night selection is the directorial debut of actor Frances O’Connor, “Emily,” which centers on author Emily Brontë and the years leading up to the publication of her novel “Wuthering Heights.” Notably the selection also includes two Canadian films as well as the latest movie from Maïmouna Doucouré, the director of 2020’s controversial “Cuties.” All 10 films in the program are world premieres.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival. “Now in year seven, it...

The Berlinale continues to unveil its lineup, today announcing films selected for its Forum category: an independent section of the festival, organized by Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art, celebrating its 50th anniversary.

This intermeshing of old and new runs throughout the selection. The category offers challenging and thought-provoking films that bring together cinema with the visual arts, theatre and literature. Many of the 35 films in this year’s program — 28 of which are world premieres — are distinguished by how they navigate between past and present.

Included in the selection is late Chilean director Raúl Ruiz and his widow Valeria Sarmientos’ “The Tango of the Widower and Its Distorting Mirror,” which opens this year’s Forum. Ruiz, who died in 2011, shot the material in Chile in 1967, but was unable to complete it before going into exile in 1973. His widow Sarmiento has now transformed the footage into a finished film.

The...