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Nov 08, 2026

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The Festival Beat N°1183 AFM in focus

THE FESTIVAL BEAT MAKER ! SHARING MOTION AND EMOTION SINCE 1995 - FINALIZING OUR NEW SITE - BEST OF LUCK ON THE CIRCUIT

We are working hard fine tuning the new version of our platform to better serve our community. Filmfestivals.com was established in 1995 before google even existed, turned into a social network in 2006 with a blog platform welcoming festivals and film professionals with over 120 000 articles and counting. We take our pride in helping filmmakers and Fest organizers offering unique visibility, legitimacy and promotion in our dailies so they can match and grow.

EMAIL US FOR PROMOTION AND FESTIVAL MARKETING HELP : Bruno Chatelin

We cover over 15 000 festivals worldwide and proudly share our knowledge of the Festival circuit with our community, we trust our audience will ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE even better on our new platform : stay tuned for new features coming out soon!. In case you missed any of these 1100+ newsletters ... you can find them all here.

> AFM IN FOCUS

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Shifter(s) Series x AFM House - Winston Baker taking over Opening Night!

AFM 2026 Click here to be considered for an invitationAll registrations are subject to approval. An RSVP request does not guarantee admission*For sponsorship inquiries for this event, please email...

Missed it Live? You Can Now Watch "Know Before You Go: Preparing for AFM" …

On October 14, AFM and The Numbers presented “Know Before You Go: Preparing for AFM,” a practical webinar designed to help filmmakers make the most of their AFM experience. Building on our popular...

AFM26 Is Almost Here. Will You Be There?

The People. The Projects. The Possibilities.NOVEMBER 10–15 | FAIRMONT CENTURY PLAZA | LOS ANGELES Spend a few days surrounded by like-minded people who could become your next collaborators, business...

> FESTIVALS IN FOCUS

The Festival de Cannes supports the launch of Premier Continent in Côte d'Ivoire

The Festival de Cannes took part in the launch of Premier Continent, a project led by actor Isaach de Bankolé and director Philippe Lacôte, which aims to establish a theater and film school and an...

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 08: Overview: Nohum

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 08: Overview: NohumFor the title of his film, writer-director chooses a word that is unfamiliar to about 99.99% of his possible audience, thus challenging and...

Forever Young in focus as Göteborg Film Festival celebrates 50 years

50th Göteborg Film Festival January 29 – February 7, 2027 ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ...

A CELEBRATION!

THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL: MAY THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!
Bravo to François Truffart, founder of https://theamericanfrenchfilmfestival.org  , his deputy director ...

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 07: The Thrift Store Dress-Sometimes true love can be so sad

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 07: The Thrift Store Dress-Sometimes true love can be so sadThis gem of a film from Canada, in English, originally titled The Thrift Store, was a major takeaway...

Branding news-From Bahrain to the World-Bahrain Film Festival starts today-short films, great stories

Bahrain International Film Festival (BIFF) running November 05-10 is a vibrant crossroads for bold cinematic voices, bringing outstanding short films from across the world into one immersive...

Fantasporto submissions close November 15

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE NOVEMBER 15th The Fantasporto 2027/47th Porto International Film Festival informs that the submission period for the 47th edition of the event closes November 15th.. We will only...

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 06: Bombay Stories- Smutty and sordid interpretation of Manto’s short stories

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 06: Bombay Stories- Smutty and sordid interpretation of Manto’s short storiesFrankly, I do not know how this film could have gone past the selection committee of...

Marrakech Film Festival Sets 76-Title Programme, With Eisenberg, Guadagnino and Gray Among Directors Featured

By Liza ForemanThe Marrakech International Film Festival has announced a 76-film programme for its 23rd edition, running Nov. 20-28, 2026. Jesse Eisenberg's comedy The Debut, starring Julianne Moore,...

Fantasporto 2027 / 47th Porto International Film Festival opens the call for entry

PORTO CITY OF CINEMA, CULTURE, ARCHITECTURE, LEISURE…THE CITY OF FANTASPORTO
SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN TILL NOVEMBER 15th The Fantasporto 2027/47th Porto International Film Festival informs that the...

Julien Dubuque International Film Festival April 17 - 24, 2027 Call for entry opening now!

The JDIFF Video Channel: ambiance and interviewsEmail I 467 Bluff Street Dubuque, IA 52001 United States I Website I Profile on filmfestivals.com I Facebook I Twitter I SUBMITPhotos by Bruno...

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS TO PRESENT LA BOLA NEGRA WITH THE INTERNATIONAL STAR AWARD

The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Netflix's La Bola Negra is the recipient of the International Star Award. Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, as well as...

JFF 2026 Mumbai, 09: Shakkar-Bittersweet dose of great film-making

JFF 2026 Mumbai, 09: Shakkar-Bittersweet dose of great film-makingIf I catch at least five films, at any International Film Festival, that leave me spellbound, I feel rewarded, no matter how many B...

Ramayanam, Rise of a Legend, Part I, Review: Ancient classic in IMAX 3D, with a generous dose of Special Effects

Ramayanam, Rise of a Legend, Part I, Review: Ancient classic in IMAX 3D, with a generous dose of Special EffectsAdapting any holy scripture to the screen is a challenging task. Firstly,...

Branding news-From Bahrain to the World-Bahrain Film Festival starts today-short films, great stories

Bahrain International Film Festival (BIFF) running November 05-10 is a vibrant crossroads for bold cinematic voices, bringing outstanding short films from across the world into one immersive...

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ONES TO WATCH FOR FESTIVAL CONSIDERATION carefully curated by Bruno Chatelin

Coming Home from ShadowLand to SpiritWorld

USA April 2026 85 minutes documentary film by J.Mitchell Johnson & Daniel Golding (Quechan Indian tribe)

Coming Home: From Shadowland to Spiritworld is the story of a California native tribe’s surprisingly successful recovery of sacred land and their unique quest for reunification with descendants of tribal women taken to Russia at the end of that country’s brief colonial enterprise on the California coast.

Shot over a period of 14 years beginning in 2012 in a cinéma vérité style, Coming Home: From
Shadowland to Spiritworld follows the story of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians as they undertake an extraordinary effort to reclaim their ancestral lands on the Sonoma Coast after 170 years of displacement. Interweaving the little-known history of Russian colonization in California with a modern story of negotiation, diplomacy, and ceremony, the film shows how land repatriation becomes a powerful act of cultural renewal. The Kashia tell their own story without a third-party narrator as they confront the legacy of historical trauma—including generational loss and the ongoing impacts of colonialism—the return to their sacred places like Metini and Danaka reveals how restoring land can help restore identity, resilience, and community.

After sacred land goes up for sale following 170 years of dispossession brought-on by

the California genocide of native peoples, Kashia Pomo tribal-elder (OTIS PARRISH) mentors a pair of young tribal members (MARTINA MORGAN and JERRY PINOLA) on a journey seeking coastal land return and self-recovery that inspires healing, spiritual revival, and a search for the truth about those tribal members gone missing and murdered.

Watch the trailer

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Trailer I Synopsis I About the filmmakers I Website I IMDB

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STAKEOUT by Riker Lynch USA 90 minutes April 26

Suspicious of his new girlfriend, Jon enlists his wannabe-detective best friend for a DIY stakeout - only to stumble on a dangerous secret that puts them in way over their heads.

Action, comedy romantic thriller by Riker Lynch Writer, Director, Producer

Produced by Billy Gould, Ross Lynch, Gordy De St. Jeor and Riker Lynch

Casting: Riker Lynch, Titus Makin, Bella Martinez, Samuel Del Real, Curt Mega, Sammy Ferrenbach,Bobby UKey, Kayden Muller-Janssen

Riker’s band is ready to perform in sync with festival screenings.

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Trailer I Synopsis I Director's statement I Crew I IMDB

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IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES: AN AMERICAN JOURNEY Documentary by Susan Kucera

1 hour 21 minutes
USA, December 2025

The American West is a mythos known around the world — a landscape of freedom, rugged individualism, boundless possibility, and the collision of human ambition with ecological reality. This film explores the truth beneath it, revealing how wolves — and the domesticated animals traveling in their wake — shaped our ideas, our folklore, and our sense of nationhood, altering the course of American history as profoundly as any human hand.

Academy-Award winner, JEFF BRIDGES narrates this stunning journey, following wolves as co-travelers through American history — from the shores of England to the birth of the New Republic and ultimately the colonization of the vast, contested landscapes of the modern American West. A place where the ensemble doesn’t merely walk through history; they trot, lope, stampede, and migrate across it reminding us that the connection between the wild and the domesticated have always reflected a deeper story of who we are as a nation — and who we might yet become.

Susan Kucera and Academy Award winner, Jeff Bridges, team up for their 3rd Documentary Film together, In the Company of Wolves; An American Journey. This is Susan's 8th documentary film following award winning films such as, Living in the Future's Past, Hot Money, 12th Hour, For the Love of Tango, Wild Genius, Breath of Life and Trading on Thin Air. She spent her youth filming on the ice fields of the Athabasca Glacier and has a deep love of nature, cinematography, animals and the great outdoors.

Watch the Trailer

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Trailer I Synopsis I Director's statement I Stills I Website I IMDB
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"Lala my readhead" script by Nellie K. and Deniz Nala

'LALA, MY REDHEAD'

Feature film by Nellie K. and Deniz Nala

in development stage, with a finalised script

Looking for support: partners and financiers.

Love and poverty, betrayal and wealth - centuries of traditions put to the test! A compelling story intricately woven into a comprehensive exploration of women’s status against the backdrop of the Roma culture. From the director of an award-winning film in Cannes 2023.

Profile on filmfestivals.com I Synopsis I Awards

36th FilmFestival Cottbus: YOU DON’T BELONG HERE Wins Main Prize – Best Director Award Goes to MEMORY

A father-son conflict in Romania, childhood memories of the Chechen War and a friendship overshadowed by racial prejudice: The awards of the 36th FilmFestival Cottbus were presented on Saturday...

IA en Corto Film Fest Announces the Winners of Its Second Edition.

The Chile-based festival wrapped up its online edition with 24 short films from 16 countries and champions the birth of a new auteur cinema.Santiago, Chile, November 4, 2026. IA en Corto Film Fest...

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 05: Awards, and the unseen awards ceremony

Jagran Film Festival, 2026, Mumbai, 05: Awards, and the unseen awards ceremonyCompared to a multiplex, like Cinépolis, a 5-star hotel is a much better venue for the closing ceremony and awards...

Jessica Lange Receives the Inaugural Chelsea Film Festival ICON AWARD Following Live Conversation with Acclaimed Producer Richard Gladstein

The Chelsea Film Festival proudly announces that Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Lange was honored with the first-ever Chelsea Film Festival ICON AWARD on October 15, 2026, during the...

Jeff Bridges honored with the 2026 UNAFF Visionary Award

Jeff Bridges, narrator of In the Company of Wolves: An American Journey, received the Visionary Award at the 29th United Nations Association Film Festival.The festival is recognizing his longtime...

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS TO PRESENT LA BOLA NEGRA WITH THE INTERNATIONAL STAR AWARD

The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Netflix's La Bola Negra is the recipient of the International Star Award. Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, as well as...

Thierry Frémaux will receive the Giraldillo de Honor at Seville Festival

The head of one of the world's leading film festivals will receive the award for his contribution to the promotion of cinema and the preservation of film heritage. His award joins those already announced for Agnieszka Holland and Cartoon Saloon. The Official Section jury will be chaired by screenwriter and vice-president of the American academy Howard A. Rodman and made up of José Luis Rebordinos, director of the San Sebastián Film Festival; Lisa Marie Russo, filmmaker and producer; Denise O'Dell, producer; and Miguel Ángel Vivas, director, screenwriter and producer from Seville.