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The stage at Mediterranean Film Festival is lit up in a dark room for the awards ceremony. The left side says We Are Malta and the right says We Are Film.

Mediterrane Film Festival Showcases Malta’s Popularity with Hollywood

Most film festivals are designed to bring together audiences with the latest movies from both established directors and rising stars. Now in its third year, the Mediterrane Film Festival (MFF) seemingly has a different mission. Hosted on the island of Malta during the last ten days of June, it’s as…

Cannes Film Festival - Marche du Film 2025 - Defining and Designing European Film Success - Panel - Maja Cappello, Huub Roelvink, Peter Fornstam, Valeska Neu, Mati?ss Kaz?a, Agnieszka Moody, Gilles Fontaine

Cannes 2025: Defining the Success of European Films

The European Audiovisual Observatory’s traditional Saturday panel at Cannes’ Marché du Film, held this year on 17 May, returned to a timely and contentious question: what makes a European film successful—and how can we create more success stories? Moderated by Maja Cappello and Gilles Fontaine of th…

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panhi won the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2025 in Cannes, France

Jafar Panahi Goes From Prison to Palme d’Or at 2025 Cannes Film Festival

Jafar Panahi collapsed into his seat at the Grand Théâtre Lumière on Saturday evening during the closing ceremony of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The Iranian filmmaker had just heard actress Juliette Binoche inform the world that he had won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize, for…

Cannes Film Festival - 2025 Opening Ceremony - Group Photo

Cannes 2025 Opens with Political and Artistic Defiance

One day before the the 78th Cannes Film Festival commenced on 13 May 2025, its artistic director, Thierry Frémaux, insisted that the event only becomes “political when the artists are political.” Less than 24-hours later his statement was confirmed during an opening ceremony that transce…

Thierry Fre?maux - Cannes Film Festival 2025

Thierry Frémaux Is Keeping Cannes Focused on the Big Screen

Thierry Frémaux never strolls into a room. Rather, the Director of the Cannes Film Festival, seems to bound into the room, usually a packed auditorium at the Palais des Festivals, as if running behind schedule, delayed by whatever previously scheduled rendezvous he has just departed. Such was the ca…

Tricia Tuttle - Berlin International Film Festival - Berlinale

A New Direction for the Berlinale at 75th Edition

This was a significant year for the Berlinale, the nickname for the Berlin International Film Festival. Not only is 2025 the 75th anniversary of the event, but it was also the first edition with Tricia Tuttle as festival director. The festival returned to its former organisational structure, with a…

A panel of experts sits in front of an audience at IFFR Pro, with a TV screen to the left.

Festivals as Gatekeepers and Tastemakers: The Changing Landscape of Festival Distribution at IFFR

As the landscape of distribution and exhibition evolves, the role of festivals as ‘gatekeepers and tastemakers’ is being questioned more than ever before. Once seen as the primary arbiters of cinematic prestige, festivals now face stiff competition from distributors and streamers that increasingly s…

Kathleen McInnis - 2025 International Rotterdam Film Festival IFFR

Veteran Programmer and Publicist Kathleen McInnis on Promoting Indie Films, the Importance of Planning Marketing Strategies and the Role of Festivals

One of the particularly interesting sessions at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) was hosted by seasoned film festival programmer and publicist Kathleen McInnis on 1 February. Titled “Meet the Expert: Marketing, Publicity, and Strategies for Independent Films”, the talk saw th…

Spike Lee with Lotfi Achour at the Yusr Award Ceremony during the 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival

Lotfi Achour’s “Red Path” Wins Golden Yusr at 2024 Red Sea Film Festival

The 2024 Red Sea International Film Festival wrapped on Thursday, 12 December, in Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad district with an awards ceremony honoring selections from the official competition. Tunisian filmmaker Lotfi Achour won the night’s biggest honor, the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film, for h…

Red Sea Souk - 2024 Award Winners - Red Sea International Film Festival

New Voices Shine at the 2024 Red Sea Souk with Awards and Cash Prizes

In its fourth year the Red Sea International Film Festival maintained its industry platform, the Red Sea Souk, running alongside the main event. This year’s market concluded with an awards ceremony that handed out over USD $900,000 in prizes to emerging talent from the Arab world, Africa, and…