Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Who Has What / TIFF Honors Mirror Telluride / AFI Goes Virtual

WHO HAS WHAT


Perhaps it's because Telluride announced its slate of intended films earlier than it normally does.  Maybe it's because the Cannes fest didn't happen.  It could be a matter of a diminished number of films available or the uncertainty over when and how those films might be released.  It might be because of distributor's decisions to hold back several titles because of the date changes for the Academy Awards.  And then there is the absence of any Netflix titles due to their decision to skip all of the festivals.  It's possibly a combination of these factors. Or it might be something else entirely but the number of films among the 29 titles on TFF's list for its 47th edition that do not yet have domestic distribution is significant. 


As I write this post this morning I can point to eight films with distributors for the U.S. lined up:

Sony Pictures Classics: The Father, The Truffle Hunters

Searchlight: Nomadland

Focus Features: The Way I See It

Amazon: All In: The Fight for Democracy

Neon: Ammonite

Kino Lorber: There Is No Evil

Apple+: Fireball 

That's a smallish eight of 29 titles.  You have to expect that will change over the next couple of months, but still...the weirdness of 2020 continues.

All of the above with the exception of Apple+ have been common players at Telluride (it's Apple+'s first time with a film that would have been part of TFF's lineup).

No A24 (which in recent years has been at T-ride a bunch).  No Roadside Attractions.  No Lionsgate.  No Bleecker Street or Cohen Media. No IFC/Sundance Selects.  And, as you can see above, a limited presence of  the distributors that are represented on the TFF #47 list with SPC being the only house with more than a single film among the 29.

Stay tuned.  I'll try to keep up with acquisitions as they occur.


TI FF HONORS MIRROR TELLURIDE


When Telluride organizers announced what would have been the lineup for the 47th edition of the festival they included the news that the three tributes would have been for Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet and Chloe Zhao.


We found out just in the last few days that the Toronto International Film Fest  will recognize both Hopkins (the TIFF Tribute Actor Award), and Zhao (the Ebert Director Award).  They join Winslet who had previously been announced as the recipient of a TIFF Tribute Actor Award.  Joining the threesome who would have been feted in the San Juans is an award from TIFF to director Mira Nair.  She will receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Media Impact.  

Details are here in this story from Variety.


AFI FEST GOES VIRTUAL


The American Film Institute has announced that their 34th iteration on Oct. 15-22 will be an all virtual affair.  The AFI Fest is usually the last large U.S. film fest in the calendar year with bearing on the Oscar race.  AFI organizers, however, moved their event to an earlier date for this year.  Normally the fest is a November affair.

AFI will likely be smaller than its normal size this year according to reporting from Variety.  That story is linked here.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays


No comments: