Fall Festival Season is Here
September Previews; Venice + Telluride; Making the Most of the Festival Circuit; What to Watch this Long Weekend
Happy Thursday, friends.
Some of you might be celebrating the end of summer this long weekend, but with Venice and Telluride film festivals this week — and so many more around the corner — it’s time to get serious about the fall festival circuit. Let’s talk shop:
Make a Plan. Sign up for Film Fatales’ Fest and Furious: Maximize your Film Festival Strategy. Use code PORTRAITGUEST for 50% off your ticket! Online, Next Friday, Sept. 8th.
Make Some Friends. Join Portrait and ARRI Rental for FESTIVAL ROLL CALL, a mixer to find out who’s heading where this year — and swap festival tips and tales from the road. Thursday, Sept. 21st in Long Island City.
Meet Up With Us! If your fall festival calendar kicks off at TIFF, don’t forget to RSVP for our Filmmaker X Industry Happy Hour. Next Saturday, Sept. 9th.
What else is happening this weekend — and into September? Let’s dive in…
Roll of Honor
Premieres, Press, Awards, and Standout Member Work This Week
Festival Round Up: From Sea to Summit
Congratulations to everyone with films premiering at elevations from three to 8,750 feet, including:
In Venice. “The Featherweight”, Robert Kolodny, Director; “Gasoline Rainbow,” Justin Lacob, Executive Producer; “Origin,” Christine Ng, Camera Operator; “Thank You Very Much,” Daniel Hollis, Cinematographer (also at Telluride!)
In Telluride. “Aka Mr Chow,” Richard Hama, Cinematographer; Diane Quon, Producer; “Cassandro,” Roger Ross Williams, Director and Screenwriter; Sabine Hoffman, Editor (In theaters Sept 15th).
And at home on the horse farms…. Congratulations to the team of “Backside,” a film about Kentucky Derby workers, for its ITVS Open Call Award and Princess Grace grant. Gabriella Garcia-Pardo, Producer and Cinematographer; Cristina Carrasco Hernandez, Editor.
Watch, Read, Listen This Weekend: Wild Journeys
If you are kicking it at home this weekend, we’ve got a few end-of-summer finds.
Read + Watch: “Ayenda.” Sad the World Cup is over? Watch this new doc about the Afghan women’s soccer team’s daring escape from the Taliban — and read Time’s companion piece, “How the Afghan Girls' Soccer Team Started Life Anew.” Alex Pilkington, Post-Production Supervisor; Kristina Motwani, Editor. Peacock.
Listen: “Starring Jerry as Himself.” Like a high quality summer spy novel in audio — listen to the feature on the film on AARP’s podcast “The Perfect Scam.” From Producer Jonathan Hsu: “As many of you know, we like to position the film as a spy movie… The film is best experienced NOT knowing the scam plot but maybe the audio version is a nice appetizer until the film becomes available for theater/streaming.”
Fall Previews, Thrill-Ride Edition
Festival or no festival, suddenly, it’s September. Lots of trailers are dropping — and it’s looking like a suspense-heavy Autumn:
Corporate Thriller: “The Other Black Girl.” Read about the path from best-selling novel to series in Deadline. Jordan Reddout Wilhoit, Director; Gus Hickey, Co-Showrunner. Hulu.
Reality Rollercoaster: “House of Kardashian.” A three-part documentary series “exploring their rise, reach and the cost that comes with being some of the most famous women on the planet” (THR). Kadri Koop, DP. Sky.
A Real-Life Indiana Jones: “Canary.” As in… canary in the coal mine. “A thrilling story featuring a real-life superhero” and scientist battling climate change in earth’s extreme locations (Variety). Devin Whetstone, Cinematographer. In theaters.
Window of Opportunity
Weekly Jobs, Grants, Labs, Intensives, Screenings, Workshops, and More
Closing Soon: September Deadlines
Bloomberg Green Docs (9/1 deadline)
Berlinale Talents Summit (9/4 deadline)
Film Independent Spirit Awards (9/5 deadline)
Mountainfilm Commitment Grants (9/5 deadline)
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles: NewNarratives (9/6 deadline)
MacDowell Fellowships (9/10 deadline)
US In Progress (9/10 deadline)
Tasveer Film Fund (9/10 late deadline)
Gotham Awards (9/15 deadline)
Nostos Screenwriting Retreat (9/15 deadline)
Bendfilm BIPOC Women Production Grant (9/15 deadline)
Stowe Story Labs: Feature Campus (9/15 deadline)
The Athena List (9/15 deadline)
AFI Conservatory: Directing Workshop for Women (DWW+) (9/15 deadline)
Voices with Impact Production Grant (9/17 deadline)
Black Public Media Open Call (9/25 deadline)
Graton Fellowship for Artists from California-Based Tribes (9/29 deadline)
Jobs/Gigs Roundup
Editorial Producer, CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, Warner Bros. Discovery.
Lead Producer, Epic Games.
Supervising Producer, Media Partnerships, Stand Together.
Senior Producer, Cinematics, That's No Moon Entertainment.
Development Producer, A+E Networks.
Freelance Producer, Line (Olympic Games) - NBC Sports, NBCUniversal.
Segment Producer, Morning News NOW, NBCUniversal.
Executive Producer - Spectrum News NY1, Spectrum News.
Digital Supervising Producer, CBS News and Stations, Paramount.
Editor, CNBC Make It, NBCUniversal.
Creative Strategist, Vox Creative (Evergreen Job), Vox Media.
Manager, Creative Strategy, The Walt Disney Company.
End Credits: Portrait Post of the Week
See many of you soon in Toronto — and all of you on the app.