CANNES: American director, scriptwriter and producer Todd Haynes screens in competition with May December a film about a May December romance with a very interesting twist. Haynes is well known for his films about celebrities and showbiz personalities that kicked off with his 1987 film about Karen Carpenter. But it was his 2002 Far From Heaven, which screened in competition in Venice and was nominated for an Academy Award, that really put him on the map. Since then he has spent 40 years looking at famous musicians, gay and gender roles and our dis-functional society.

CANNES: Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has become a Cannes regular since his film Uzak (Distant) won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2003. Since then he has racked up prizes in Cannes that include Best Director for his 2008 Three Monkeys, the Grand Prix for his 2011 Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and the Palme d’Or for his Winter Sleep in 2014.

BRATISLAVA: The documentary Photophobia directed by Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík will have its world premiere in the Special Events programme of the 20th Giornate degli Autori, which will be held 30 August – 9 September 2023 alongside the 80th Venice Film Festival. The film is a coproduction between Slovakia, Czech Republic and Ukraine.

VENICE: The Green Border by Agnieszka Holland and Woman Of by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert have been selected for the Competition of the 80th Venice Film Festival, which will be held 30 August – 9 September 2023.

KARLOVY VARY: Bulgarian/German coproduction Blaga's Lessons / Urotcite na Blaga directed by Stephan Komandarev received the Grand Prix - Crystal Globe in the main competition of the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which was held 30 June – 8 July 2023.

KARLOVY VARY: Karlovy Vary IFF’s Eastern Promises industry segment, which was held 2 – 5 July 2023, has announced its winners.

VENICE: Three projects (co)produced by Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Serbia and Romania have been selected for the 10th edition of the Venice Gap – Financing Market, which will be held 1 – 3 September 2023 within the 80th Venice IFF (30 August – 9 September 2023).

VALLETTA: If the level of organisation and quality of infrastructure that was on display during the first edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival, organised by the Malta Film Commission 25-30 June 2023 in Malta is anything to go by then international filmmakers should flock to Malta to shoot their films there as soon as possible.

VALLETTA: Alcarràs directed by Carla Simón won Best Feature Film at the first edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival, organised by the Malta Film Commission in Valletta 25 – 30 June 2023. Croatian Juraj Lerotić received the award for Best Director, while the rest of the awards were almost shared between Italian Nostalgia and Portuguese Alma viva.

KARLOVY VARY: The 57th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (30 June - 8 July 2023) kicked off with a star studded opening ceremony and gala party with Russell Crowe and his band The Indoor Garden party giving a free outdoor concert despite the traditional opening night downpour of rain earlier in the evening. The music went on until well after midnight with Crowe joking with the audience who cheered and shouted their approval.