Film Festivals Archives - Page 2 of 8 - Celluloid Junkie

NEWS

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…

Tiina Lokk-Tramberg on the Tallinn Black Nights black carpet

Festival Director Tiina Lokk on the Evolution and Growth of Tallinn Black Nights

The 28th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (a.k.a. PÖFF – Pimedate Ööde FilmiFestival) was held this year in its namesake Estonian city from 8 – 24 November. Since 2014, PÖFF has been one of 15 global A-list film festivals accredited by the International Federation of Film Prod…

2024 Red Sea International Film Festival - Opening Ceremony - Aamir Khan, Michelle Yeoh, Jumana Al-Rashed, Emily Blunt and Cynthia Erivo

Red Sea International Film Festival Opens Fourth Edition in Jeddah with Star-Studded Ceremony

The fourth annual Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) opened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 5 December with a ceremony packed with international stars from all corners of the globe. Just a few of those seen on the red carpet included Aamir Kahn the Indian actor and filmmaker, British actresses E…

Susan and Thierry Hugot discuss Eurimages' new support scheme

Eurimages Launches Brand-new Film Marketing and Audience Development Support Scheme at Locarno

On August 10th the Hotel Belvedere in Locarno, Switzerland, hosted an exclusive presentation of Eurimages’ brand-new Film Marketing and Audience Development Support Scheme as part of Locarno Film Festival. Eurimages is one of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) most prominent cultural support funds, and t…