In our continued work to create spaces for expression, engagement, and empowerment, Visual Communications is proud to present the 40th edition of the VC FILM FEST (Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival) from May 1 to May 10, 2024. The Festival will feature a robust lineup of in-person programming, along with virtual programming for our audiences at home in Southern California and beyond.

Since 1983, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival has presented over 5,000 films, videos, and digital mediaworks by Asian & Pacific Islander artists, and features seminars, panels, in-person guest appearances, and filmmaker awards. The Film Festival continues to be the largest festival of its kind in Southern California and is the premier showcase for the best and brightest of Asian Pacific cinema.

The VC Film Festival is a proud Academy Award®-qualifying film festival for Short Film Awards. Recipient(s) of the Film Festival's Golden Reel Award for Narrative/Animated Short Film will be eligible to submit in the Animated Short Film/Live-Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards

Please also visit the Official Website of the festival

UK Asian Film Festival (Tongues on Fire) is synonymous for championing South Asian feminist films and supporting pioneering artists and auteurs. The organisation was conceived of by Dr. Pushpinder Chowdhry MBE and Mrs Harvinder Nath, who both recognised the impact that films can have on society, particularly when tackling complex and challenging issues. Opening doors and providing a platform for emerging talent, independent film and arts with a link to South Asia.

All our activities are brought together by common values and a shared approach. We create and present high-quality activities that promotes the authentic voice of South Asian communities and reflects a genuine sense of place.

Some of our key aims include:
�
- Bridging art, culture, health, and technology to herald the challenges of a world in motion
- Dismantling inequalities in the creative industries to readdress the balance
- Breaking barriers, taboos in South Asian communities and encourage open discussion
- Empowering the next generation through masterclasses and showcases
- Pioneering networking occasions to develop leaders and provide wider learning opportunities

Please also visit the Official Website for more information

Crossing lines, defying boundaries, and continuing to take on new challenges is the identity of the JEONJU International Film Festival. JEONJU IFF has constantly made efforts to expand the realm of film as an art form based on new methods of expression and borderless imagination. This year's slogan, "Beyond the Frame", continuing from last year, highlights the pioneering spirit of the festival, which has been breaking away from conventional film formats and screening methods to achieve cross-genre integration centered on film through programs, venues and festival events.

Please also visit the Official Website of the Jeonju International Film Festival

The Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF)—Korea's most dynamic festival and a hub for Korean and international short films—is growing both domestically and internationally. As the festival celebrates its 41st anniversary, it looks forward to a brighter future spurred on by its past accomplishments. Whether independent and art films or commercial films thrive or decline, short films, the foundation of all cinematic endeavors, must exist as the core and base of cinema. Without the development of short films, which constitute cinema's past, present, and future, there will be no future for Korean cinema.

This year's BISFF identifies distinctive and artistically valuable short films created internationally and domestically through the International Competition, the Korean Competition, and Operation Kino. This year, "Cinema & Reality" is the festival's theme, which aims to explore whether films can connect with audiences in a continuously changing reality and whether films can offer a means of examining reality from an alternative angle.

Italy is the guest country for this year's BISFF. The Guest Country section will highlight Italian short films that have garnered significant public and critical attention recently. These short films offer an intimate approach to reality and experimentation with new cinematic language, demonstrating that Italian cinema strives to create new films and doesn't dwell on past glory.

Furthermore, the festival features distinctive films that explore a wide spectrum of cinematic possibilities, both artistically and technically. The Prism section showcases experimental films, 3D films, interactive films, and XR films. This section allows viewers to witness how the festival continues to innovate and explore new cinematic language. Furthermore, the Korean Shorts and the Hub of Asia sections showcase short films with complex narratives and a keen awareness of societal issues, highlighting a limitless cinematic potential. In addition, we have prepared various screenings and accompanying events, such as Curtain Call, where you can view the best short films from the world's top four film festivals, and roundtable discussions delving into film education beyond the institutional framework.

The 41st BISFF offers a wide range of programs for Korean and international audiences who are eager to rediscover cinema while sitting in a dark theater with strangers, especially at a time when cinema and theaters feel neglected. Your support and interest in the festival is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Please visit the Official Website for more information

After the long lasting writers and actors strike in Hollywood, the Canadian Writers Guild has also already voted to go on strike if they don't come to an agreement with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). The writers guild already had an over 96% vote in favor for a strike if no resolutions are reached.

How this affects films and shows

Many shows and films are being produced in Canada therefore it could again affect shows viewed all around the world. Many shows and films produced by Hollywood also have parts of them created and filmed in Canada therefore those would also be affected.

The Canadian Writers - that consist 2500 members - asks for fair compensation for their work and set these forth in further contracts. One of the biggest threats for writers is AI and AI produced stories. The CMPA agrees that stories and scripts should be created by humans and not computers.

The U.S. writers strike lasted for 148 days, if the Canadian strikes also goes on for similar length of time, it will again affect the film and TV industry significantly.

More information can be obtained at the Official Website of the Writers Guild of Canada.

 The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled new additions to the Official Selection for its upcoming 77th edition from May 14 to May 25. Three new films have been added to the Competition lineup: Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius' animated feature The Most Precious of Cargoes, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof's Seed of the Sacred Fig and Emanuel Parvu's Three Miles to the End of the World.

The Artist skyrocketed Hazanavicius to international fame in 2011 as the film won best picture at the Academy Awards, and received 10 Oscar nominations and five wins. Hazanavicius for his latest film adapted the Second World War novel of the same title by Jean-Claude Grumberg that is set against the events of the Holocaust and told with magical realism.

Rasoulof is not expected to attend his Cannes premiere as the director a year ago was barred by Iranian authorities from leaving the country to attend the Cannes Film Festival to serve on the Un Certain Regard jury. In addition, a film adaptation of the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo by directors Alexandre De La Patelliere and Matthieu Delaporte, and starring Pierre Niney, will debut out of competition in Cannes.

The French festival has also announced special screenings for Oliver Stone's Lula, a documentary about Brazilian leader Lula da Silva; Arnaud Desplechin's Spectators; Lou Ye's An Unfinished Film; and Tudor Giurgiu's Nasty. And in the Cannes Premiere sidebar, the festival has added Gael Morel's Vivre, Mourir, Renaitre and Jessica Palud's Maria.

Cannes also announced that When the Light Breaks, by director Rúnar Rúnarsson, will open the Un Certain Regard section on May 15, while Céline Sallette's debut feature Niki and Gints Zilbalodis' Flow have been added to that section.

The 77th Cannes Festival kicks off May 14 with Quentin Dupieux's The Second Act starring Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon. It runs through May 24.

Please also visit the Official Website of the Cannes Film Festival for more information.

The Academy of Motion Picture Ars and Sciences has published new rules for qualifying for awards starting next year. While the biggest change is the expansion of the theatrical requirements for Best Picture, there are other highlights of note, that includes animated feature films submitted for Best International Feature Film now being able to also submit for Best Animated Feature Film if eligibility requirements outlined for both categories are met. There's also a new eligibility period for the Best International Feature Film - November 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024 - and Best Original Score now allowing three composers to receive individual statuettes if, in rare circumstances, they all contributed fully to the score. Plus, the screenplay categories now require a final shooting script to be part of submissions and a handful of overall name changes and/or clarifications for some of the awards The Academy hands out at the separate Governors Awards and Scientific and Technical Awards ceremonies.

Similarly, The Academy also updated and clarified formatting and language in the campaign promotional regulations for the 97th Oscars. Much of what was instated last year in wake of the "To Leslie" campaign scandal still stands, with the campaign promotional regulations specifying motion picture companies and individuals directly associated with Oscars-eligible motion pictures may promote such motion pictures, achievements, and performances to Academy members and how Academy members may promote Oscars-eligible motion pictures, achievements, and performances. (See the full list of rules and regulations for the 97th Academy Awards here.)

To elaborate on the theatrical requirement changes, the easiest thing to first highlight is that drive-in theaters will no longer be a means of qualification-one of the last vestiges of adaptations made during the peak of COVID-19.

Please also visit the Official Website of the Motion Pictures Academy for more information

George Lucas, the iconic filmmaker behind the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises, will receive the Honorary Palme d'Or on May 25 during the Closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

So far  moviegoers have repeatedly shown that they are willing to return to theaters for quality content and altogether skip any content that is not deemed theater-worthy. The driving demand for premium large-format screens -- like Imax's curved, giant displays; Dolby's luxe auditoriums; or ScreenX's 270-degree screens that extend projection onto three walls. Even more immersive movie experiences, although still niche, appear to be growing. D-Box puts you in a moving, haptic seat, usually positioned in a prime location of an otherwise standard auditorium. More intense formats like 4DX and MX4D build upon motion chairs with blasts of air, water and fog, even scent effects and haptics that "tickle" or "punch."

D-Box is among the most prevalent, present in more than 800 auditoriums globally, including a large partnership with Cinemark, the No. 3 US chain behind AMC and Regal. In a world with about 200,000 total movie screens, 800 is a sliver. But Cinemark's D-Box revenues climbed 25% in the third quarter compared with the same period pre-pandemic in 2019, even though the overall box office was down 32%.

So far, audiences are favoring these formats for tent-pole releases that make the best use of a huge screen and top-notch sound. But with studios pivoting toward franchise extravaganzas, they're moving away from the "little movies" that used to show on the eighth, ninth or 10th screen at any location.

Kevin Costner's HORIZON, AN AMERICAN SAGA has been selected at Cannes to be the film to play out of competition this year. The Cannes Film Festival celebrates its 77th year and is considered one of the oldest and most important film festivals in the world, it will run from 14 - 25 May 2024.

The first chapter of "Horizon" will debut at the French film festival on May 19, giving the world its first glimpse of Costner's ambitious Western epic. The first two parts of "Horizon" are set to open in quick succession this summer, with Warner Bros. releasing chapter one in theaters June 28 and the second installment on Aug. 16.

"It's been 20 years since I've had the pleasure of being on the Croisette," Costner said in a statement. "I've been waiting for the right time to return and I'm proud to say that this time has come."

"The French have always supported films and believed deeply in filmmaking," added Costner. "Just as I believe deeply in my film."

"Horizon," which will screen out of competition at Cannes, is directed by Costner and stars him, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Jena Malone.

The 77th Cannes Film Festival runs May 14-25. George Miller's "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," also from Warner Bros., was recently announced as another high-profile premiere at Cannes. The full lineup will be announced Thursday.