The Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival has announced the official line-up for this year’s event. The opening night film, set to premiere on Oct. 13, will be “Yanuni,” directed by Richard Ladkani and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. The festival will take place from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16. in Culver City.
“Yanuni” will transport audiences into the Amazon, capturing both nature and the alarming threats faced by Indigenous communities and fragile ecosystems. The film is set to not only raise awareness of the environmental crisis and highlight the voices of those fighting to protect the land. “Yanuni” will tell the story of Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia as she fights to protect tribal lands despite assassination attempts.
The closing night film will be “Manas”, directed by Mariana Brennand. “Manas” is set against the backdrop of northeastern Brazil, weaving the story of sisterhood, resilience, and the power of family ties during hardship.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
Beyond Fest to Celebrate Guillermo del Toro With 12 Movie Retrospective
Beyond Fest will celebrate the career of Guillermo del Toro with a 12 feature retrospective series, Está Vivo: The Gods and Monsters of Guillermo del Toro. This year’s festival runs from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
In partnership with the American Cinematheque, Está Vivo will include new restorations, special director’s cut and rare 35mm screenings spanning from Del Toro’s debut with “Cronos” to his most recent film, “Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light.”
Del Toro will join the celebration for four specially curated blocks of programming, during which he will share his personal stories, dreams, and nightmares from his life behind the lens. Ahead of his forthcoming film “Frankenstein,” releasing later this year, the series will be divided into themes of monsters, humanity, and imagination.
“Guillermo del Toro’s films have inspired generations of filmmakers and audiences alike in a way unlike any other artist we’ve experienced,” Evrim Ersoy, head of programming at Beyond Fest, said. “To welcome him and celebrate his artistic vision on this scale truly honors who he is as both a creative force of nature and a proudly obsessive servant of Cinema.”
Está Vivo will open with “In The Mood For Love,” a triple bill exploring the emotional core of del Toro’s “high wire balancing of beauty and bloodshed,” according to Beyond Fest. The opening celebration will also include screenings of “The Shape of Water” and del Toro’s personally supervised brand-new version of his 2022 odyssey, “Nightmare Alley: Vision in Darkness and Light.”
The next block of programming includes the features “Hellboy,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” and “Blade II.” Screenings of Del Toro’s foundational works will follow with the theatrical premiere of his 4K restoration of his debut feature “Cronos,” the L.A. premiere of the 4K restoration of “The Devil’s Backbone” and a director’s cut of his first studio feature “Mimic.”
“Pan’s Labyrinth” will receive its own block of programming, which includes a pre-screening Q&A. Showings of “Pacific Rim” and “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” will also take place at the Los Feliz 3 theater.
‘TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets’ Doc Expands Nationwide Through GATHR
Documentary “TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets,” directed by Nim Shapira, will open in theaters in New York (Cinema Village) and Los Angeles (Laemmle’s Town Center 5) on Friday.
GATHR has partnered with Hemdale Films to expand “TORN” nationwide, using its Direct to Audience technology platform. GATHR’s recent titles have included Oscar-winning “No Other Land,” labor documentary “Union” and “The Last Class.”
“’TORN’ is a film about consequences – the unintended, the human, the deeply personal,” said director Nim Shapira. “My hope is that audiences will see their own reflections in the people on screen and perhaps discover a renewed capacity for empathy, even in the most divisive of conflicts.”
‘TORN’ tracks the grassroots poster campaign to raise awareness for the 251 hostages taken by Hamas that escalated into a symbolic street war, as pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists tore down each other’s posters.
SCAD AnimationFest Announces Schedule and Honorees
The Savannah College of Art and Design’s SCAD AnimationFest will return to the university’s SCADshow theater on Sept. 25-27 with a lineup of film and television projects, special guests, panels, and honorees from the world of animation.
This year’s festival will include panels and discussions with executives and creators from Amazon MGM Studios/Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Disney Branded Television, Disney Jr., Netflix and Warner Bros. Animation alongside current and former SCAD film students.
The festival will also honor “Phineas and Ferb” creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh as well as “KPop Demon Hunters” directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans with special awards for their contributions to the craft.
Additional information and tickets for the festival are available on the SCAD website.
Johanna Coelho and Sandra Valde-Hansen to Be Honored at the 27th Emerging Cinematographer Awards
Cinematographers Johanna Coelho and Sandra Valde-Hansen will be honored for their contributions to the film and TV industry at the 27th Annual Emerging Cinematographer Awards.
Cinematographer Stephen Lighthill will present the American Society of Cinematographers Mentor Award to Valde-Hansen. Coelho will receive the Distinguished Filmmaker Award.
Both honorees will be recognized at an awards event on Sept. 28 and a luncheon at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse on Sept. 26.
Coelho is currently shooting season two of HBO MAX’s series “The Pitt” and has previously worked on seasons two and four of ABC’s “The Rookie” and the film “All Happy Families.” Valde-Hansen is a Filipina-American cinematographer with credits on “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and “Plan B” as well as Gregg Araki’s “Now Apocalypse,” “Kaboom” and “White Bird in a Blizzard.”
In addition to the special awards, the International Cinematographers Guild will screen the films of their eight honorees announced earlier this summer.
The eight winning filmmakers, selected from 100 submissions, are: Isaac Banks’ “The Trophy King,” John B. Barrett’s “Recall,” Daniel Cotroneo’s “Yae: Blind Samurai Woman,” Eythan Maidhof’s “Class Clown,” Mariscela Beatríz, Méndez’s “The Middle,” Josh Pickering’s “Boundless | HomeAid,” Steven Jacob Russell’s “Hammer” and Alexa Wolf’s “To Fade Away.”
The event will take place at Television Academy Saban Media Center Wolf Theatre.
