Per an official press release, the festival said today that “preparations are in full swing with a large numbers of films being viewed by the selection committee. The Festival will have the opportunity to outline in more details the 74th edition in the coming weeks.” Added Pierre Lescure, President of the festival, “Throughout the months of uncertainty we’ve just been through, Spike Lee has never stopped encouraging us. This support is finally coming to fruition and we could not have hoped for a more powerful personality to chart our troubled times....

The iconic comedian has been in Hollywood for over 60 years, but Martin said that after his beloved Hulu whodunnit series “Only Murders in the Building” ends, he’s ready to step away from the screen. “When this television show is done, I’m not going to seek others,” Martin told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m not going to seek other movies. I don’t want to do cameos. This is, weirdly, it.” However, Martin assured he will still be in the public eye....

Per its official synopsis, the film “explores what it means to live as a being without status or security, following three strays — Zeytin, Nazar, and Kartal — as they embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society that allow us an unvarnished portrait of human life — and their own canine culture. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds companions in the security guards who care for her....

“While it is a deep loss to not have the in-person experience in Utah, we do not believe it is safe nor feasible to gather thousands of artists, audiences, employees, volunteers, and partners from around the world, for an 11-day festival while overwhelmed communities are already struggling to provide essential services,” the festival said in a release today. The decision is a quick about-face from two weeks ago, when Sundance announced it would move forward with plans for a hybrid festival amid a flurry of other canceled events....

Last June, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to rage across the world, the festival rolled out an innovative hybrid plan to ensure both the existence of a pared-down in-person element and a robust online hub for the virtual attendance of those unable to travel to Park City, Utah. While other festivals opted to go entirely virtual or postpone their physical editions altogether, heavy hitters like TIFF and Sundance both mounted events that offered both physical and virtual components....

Kiernan Shipka stars as bright-eyed intern Lou Simms, who starts her apprenticeship at Hollywood production studio Fountain Pictures to learn from the best of the best, CEO Joyce Holt (Diane Kruger), in “Swimming with Sharks.” Yet Lou’s dreams of stardom seem to come with a darker edge as her complex plot against Joyce unravels. It was no accident that Lou was selected to join Fountain Pictures, and she’s going to do more than just get her feet wet in the secrets of the studio....

The 2023 festival will be helmed by Claudette Godfrey, taking over for longtime mentor Janet Pierson, who ran SXSW for 15 years as VP Director. Pierson will transition into a “Director Emeritus” role. “Leading SXSW Film (now SXSW Film & TV) starting in 2008 at the age of 50 was a wonderful, and quite unexpected, adventure,” Pierson said in a press statement. “It’s been glorious to present so much great work at our unique event, yielding so many transformative experiences for creators and audience alike....