And honestly, from the DFI, I would expect nothing less!
Read MoreA still from ‘Once Upon a Time in Gaza’ by Tarzan and Arab Nasser, courtesy of DFI
Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix produced 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' to open inaugural Doha Film Festival
Tunisian Oscar nominated filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s Venice Silver Lion winner is “a moving tribute to resilience and the power of cinema”.
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A still from Annemarie Jacir’s ‘Palestine 36’ courtesy of Philistine Films
Chloe Zhao's 'Hamnet', two Linklater titles and a Screen Talk with the elusive Daniel Day-Lewis at this year's BFI London Film Fest
The festival will open with Rian Johnson’s ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ and close with Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights of Hero’. In between, masterpieces of cinema will rule over Old Foggy for nearly two weeks.
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George Clooney in ‘Jay Kelly’ by Noah Baumbach, photo courtesy of Netflix
The Venice Diaries: A Saudi wonder film, Variety's 2025 Achievement in International Film Award does it right plus films, stars & more stars
Among the highlights of the first few days of the Venice International Film Festival, a first appearance on the Lido by Julia Roberts and some well-deserved recognition for Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, the wondrous CEO of the Doha Film Institute.
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Director Paolo Sorrentino meets his fans on the red carpet of La Biennale di Venezia, photo by © Jacopo Salvi, ASAC
The Venice Diaries: Paolo Sorrentino kicks off 82nd Venice Film Festival with a film about love
Love in all its forms, from messy to romantic, is at the core of Sorrentino’s profound film ‘La Grazia’, his most awardable since ‘La Grande Bellezza’, and at the Opening Ceremony of this year’s La Biennale, it proved an emotional affair.
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A still from ‘Kill the Jockey’ by Luis Ortega, photo courtesy of the LSFF
The London Spanish Film Festival is coming in September, ¡Olé!
With a selection that boasts cinema from Spain, but also co-productions with France, Portugal, Argentina and Italy, this year’s program looks phenomenal. And yours truly is going to be on their Competition Jury for 2025, choosing with my esteemed colleagues our favorites, out of a stellar lineup.
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Charlotte Gainsbourg in a still from ‘Étoile’ on Amazon
Four women-centric TV shows that have revolutionized my life
One title you might be able to guess, perhaps two even, but the next two might astound you, yet they are so worth watching, I’d go to war for them. And I just might have to, as one of my faves has been unceremoniously cancelled…
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A still from ‘A House of Dynamite’ by Kathryn Bigelow
The golden girls of the Lido: Seven women-helmed films to watch at the 82nd Venice Film Festival
From the MENA to the USA, there may not be so so many titles directed by women at the festival. But what is programmed is simply the best.
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Meg Stalter getting photographed by Will Sharpe in a scene from Lena Dunham’s ‘Too Much’ now available on Netflix
Five reasons to love 'Too Much' on Netflix
The series is the start of something beautiful, and grants permission to all women, and men also, those of us who have been told we are “too much” to continue misbehaving, disrupting the status quo and doing things differently. What do I think of it personally? I love it — too much!
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Opening reception for the 2024 edition of AIFF, photo used with permission
"A World Unscripted": Amman International Film Festival kicks off this week with outstanding program
The Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film (AIFF) is in its sixth edition and scheduled to take place in the Jordanian capital from July 2-10, 2025.
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Jason Isaacs in a still from ‘Heavyweight’ by Christopher M. Anthony, photo © Tiernan Hanby, used with permission
Raindance to kick off in London with the world premiere of 'Heavyweight' featuring Jason Isaacs
The 33rd edition of the UK’s leading indie film festival will run from 18 – 27 June at host cinema Vue Piccadilly and will close with the international premiere of Camilla Guttner’s art school drama ‘The Academy’. But there are also loads of cinematic gems screening in between!
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Onur Güvenatam, Helen Hoehne, Diana Olifirova, Gareth Neame, Nigel Marchant at the SXSW London x Golden Globes, photo courtesy of the Golden Globes
Beyond Borders: Takeaways from a Golden Globes x SXSW event in London
On a chilly London afternoon, for early June anyway, a special event was held inside Shoreditch House, a Soho House property in the cool East London neighborhood where most of the SXSW events and screenings are being held.
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Clara Khoury and Yasmine Al Massri in Laila Abbas’ ‘Thank You for Banking with Us!’
SAFAR Film Festival to bring extraordinary works of Arab cinema to London, and beyond
Running from the 11th to the 28th of June, organized by the Arab British Centre and supported by the BFI, the upcoming 10th edition of the festival will feature dozens of screenings in 10 cities across the UK and online through streaming courtesy of Beirut-based site Aflamuna.
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The 27th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival brings together film, food & culture
The American Sephardi Federation is also debuting Festival Sefarad NYC, a special monthlong celebration dedicated to the community and featuring a variety of events with something for everyone—from musical performances and book talks, to exhibitions, tours, and Shabbat dinners, with the film festival at its center.
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Jafar Panahi, after his Palme d’Or win for It Was Just an Accident
Jafar Panahi & 'The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo' take Cannes top prizes -- in Competition and Un Certain Regard
At a festival where everyone was told to avoid political statements, the juries made their views loud and clear by choosing films to award with their activists caps on.
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The announcement of the Film Fund at the Palestinian Pavilion in Cannes, photo © Hamza Hamida
PFI launches Film Fund to support Palestinians, plus more Palestinian news from Cannes
While the festival’s official stance may have been to avoid controversy and politics at all cost, or at the cost of the Palestinian people, there were a few cinematic organizations doing right by them on the Croisette. And the presence of a Palestinian Pavilion in the Marché du Film, with their just-announced Film Fund, brought well-deserved attention to their cause.
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The kind of beautiful women attending this year’s Festival de Cannes, as photographed at the Kering Women in Motion Awards dinner
The difference between us: Another Cannes Film Festival dispatch
Never before did I notice such a gender divide and so much incredibly superfluous mansplaining as I did this year on the Croisette.
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DFI supporting the Palestinian pavilion in Cannes this year, with Fatma Hasan Alremaihi, center, Elia Suleiman, third from left and Hanaa Issa, third from right.
Doha Film Institute proves once again the cinematic force to be reckoned with in Cannes
And with a new upcoming international film festival announced for November 2025, the Gulf cultural organization plans to prove to the world what many of us already knew.
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A still from ‘The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo’ by Diego Céspedes
Moments incroyables: A second Cannes Dispatch
Everything moves so fast on the Croisette, that sometimes I imagine I’ve been here for a year, others that I landed just five minutes ago. But in that time, somewhere in between, I’ve definitely watched loads of films, met interesting people and attended a few parties. So here’s a recap of… only the last 48 hrs?! Incroyable, I tell you.
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Don’t be fooled by the official images, those trains are no longer allowed on the red carpet in Cannes
Oops they did it again: a first dispatch from Cannes
Well, I’m almost there, writing this on the flight, but the trials and tribulations have already started. And the controversies too.
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