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Priyanka Chopra is currently in Australia shooting for her film “The Bluff,” accompanied by her daughter, Malti Marie Jonas. The actress has been sharing heartwarming moments with her daughter on Instagram, giving fans a glimpse into their time together on set.

Recently, Priyanka shared several adorable photos of Malti exploring her makeup room. In the first photo, Malti is seen sketching a mannequin’s face placed on a table, with Priyanka captioning it, “When Mm is in the Hmu trailer.” Another photo shows Malti playing with a hairbrush, while a third picture captures her practicing sailing knots with a long rope, with Priyanka writing, “Practicing her sailing knots.”

Malti Marie Jonas

The final picture in the series features the mother-daughter duo holding the mannequin, with Malti appearing delighted and Priyanka smiling at her daughter. Priyanka captioned this photo, “I think ‘Diane’ is coming home with us.”

Priyanka Chopra and Malti...

For those who believe rags-to-riches stories are the stuff of fairy tales, Sash Simpson’s life will make them wake up and dig into the caviar. It is ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ played out in real life. And it will bring back memories of ‘Lion’, the Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman-starrer based on the amazing story of Saroo Brierley and his search from Melbourne for his original home in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh.

The story of Sash Simpson, an orphan found off the streets of Coimbatore who’s now one of Toronto’s top chefs, is the subject of a documentary, ‘Born Hungry’, by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, which was just premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and then picked up by Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s company, Purple Pebble Pictures.

In the words of ‘The New York Times’, “Sash Simpson made his name as a chef for Canada’s rich, preparing...

Exclusive: Melbar Entertainment Group and Purple Pebble Pictures announced that award-winning actor and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her production company Purple Pebble Pictures banner have joined the production team of Barry Avrich’s new feature documentary Born Hungry.

A true story brought to life, Born Hungry is a gritty drama about a young Indian boy who finds himself abandoned by his family, lost on trains and thousands of miles from home. Now, Sash Simpson, a celebrity chef who once survived alone on the streets of Chennai eating from garbage bins before ultimately being adopted by a Canadian couple, returns to India armed with only blurry memories to find his lost family.

Chopra Jonas and Mary Rohlich, Head of TV and Film at Purple Pebble Pictures, will serve as producers. The partnership was negotiated by Iag representing Melbar Entertainment Group and UTA representing Chopra Jonas.

“Sash’s story immediately captivated me,...

Toronto’s Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has unveiled the full lineup of films that will screen in its Special Presentations program. The festival runs April 25 to May 5.

World premieres include “Red Fever,” which sees Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond travel to the four corners of Turtle Island and across Europe to explore the world’s fascination with Native Americans; “American Cats: The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly,” in which “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” correspondent Amy Hoggart explores the controversial practice of declawing cats; “The Ride Ahead,” an expansion of co-director Samuel Habib’s short film “My Disability Roadmap” (which got an Honorable Mention in the International Shorts section of Hot Docs in 2022), exploring a typical 21-year-old itching to move out, start a career and find love—all while navigating life with a disability; “Lost in the Shuffle,” which follows world champion magician Shawn Farquhar as...

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took a few jabs during Monday’s Hot Docs world premiere of Barry Avrich’s “Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella.”

The American Justice was in Toronto to celebrate Abella, who served on Canada’s Supreme Court from 2004 until her retirement in 2021.

Avrich’s “Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella” is a portrait of Abella’s life and career. As the first Jewish woman, and refugee to sit on Canada’s top court bench, Abella was a fierce advocate for women’s rights, the disabled, and visible minorities.

After the 84 minute doc, Abella, Avrich, Sotomayor and the film’s exec producer Mark Selby sat for a Q&a.

Sotomayor explained that she met Abella in 2010, six months after she began serving on the Supreme Court of the United States.

“I was in a room with Supreme Court justices from...

Toronto’s Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has added 12 films to its Special Presentations program. The first tranche of titles was announced March 14. The festival runs April 27 to May 7.

World premieres include Canadian journalist Michelle Shephard’s “The Man Who Stole Einstein’s Brain,” the uncovering of the story behind the pathologist who stole the genius’ brain in 1955; “The Rise of Wagner,” a chilling exposé on the collusion between Wagner Group mercenaries and the Kremlin, which has resulted in secret killings and countless human rights violations; “We Are Guardians,” the story of the Indigenous guardians of the Brazilian Amazon, struggling to protect their territories from the ravages of extractive industries, deforestation, corrupt politicians and profit hungry global corporations; “Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law?,” a chronicle of dissident Hong Kong politician and activist Nathan Law’s fight for democracy; and director Barry Avrich’s “Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella,...

Exclusive: Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, the division run by Mike Darnell, is entering the feature documentary acquisitions market with its first big purchase – rights to Canadian true-con doc The Talented Mr. Rosenberg.

While the unit has produced documentaries such as HBO Max’s LGBTQ series Equal and Epix’s Charles Manson series Helter Skelter as well as an upcoming DC Comics doc, this marks the first time that it has picked up the global rights, outside of Canada, to a doc coming out of a market.

The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, which tells the story of Canadian jet-setting con artist Albert Rosenberg, who is described as a cross between Bernie Madoff and The Tinder Swindler Simon Leviev, recently premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, in association with its sibling Warner Horizon, will now shop it to broadcasters and streamers in the U.S. and internationally outside of Canada,...

The 29th annual Hot Docs Canadian Intl. Documentary Festival will open with Jennifer Baichwal’s “Into the Weeds,” about a former groundskeeper who battles an agrochemical corporation after his cancer diagnosis, it was announced this morning at a media conference in Toronto unveiling the full slate.

The acclaimed Toronto filmmaker is best known for her trio of visually arresting collaborations with Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky exploring impact of humans on the planet, such as “Manufactured Landscapes.” She is the first director in Hot Docs history to have a second film open the festival, and among the 49% of female directors in its 2022 official selection.

“Into the Weeds” is one of 63 titles receiving their world premieres at Hot Docs, which returns to live screenings for the first time since 2019, presenting 226 films from 63 countries across 15 programs. Hot Docs runs April 28 to May 8.

“We are elated to be able to bring these outstanding, outspoken stories to Toronto cinemas,...

In-person fest runs April 28-May 8 in Toronto.

Hot Docs on Tuesday (15) announced the first wave of Special Presentation films for its 2022 iteration running April 28-May 8 in Toronto, a list that includes world premieres of The Talented Mr. Rosenberg and Million Dollar Pigeons.

This year’s festival returns to the in-person format and in addition selections will stream to audiences across Canada on Hot Docs At Home.

The Talented Mr. Rosenberg directed by Barry Avrich takes a lurid look into the story of infamous Toronto conman Albert Rosenberg aka the Yorkville Swindler. World premieres include Gavin Fitzgerald’s Million Dollar Pigeons...

Exclusive: Emmy and Golden Globe winner Brian Cox (Succession) has been tapped as the narrator for Sacrilege: The Unholy Radicalization of Europe, a documentary from director Barry Avrich (Oscar Peterson: Black + White) and his Melbar Entertainment Group that recently wrapped production.

Avrich’s latest explores how Europe became a global centre of extremism, offering illuminating perspectives and personal stories of how radical Islam, political errors, and the failure of immigration and integration government policies changed the course of the continent forever. The film was shot on location in Vienna, Paris, Copenhagen, Nice, and Malmo, and features unprecedented access to former Isis radicals, as well as victims of terrorism, radicalization experts, journalists and clerics such as the Chief Rabbi of Denmark and Nice’s top Imam.

Avrich produced Sacrilege alongside Melissa Coghlan and Mark Selby, also serving as the film’s executive producer. Melbar is looking to release the feature in late fall,...

Peacock has nabbed streaming rights to the Howie Mandel documentary “But Enough About Me.”

The film that examines Mandel’s long career in comedy and his long battle with obsessive compulsive disorder made the festival rounds last year. Directed by Barry Avrich, “Howie Mandel: But Enough About Me” will be available as of Aug. 10 on NBCUniversal’s streaming service.

“When you’re doing a documentary on a world-renowned germaphobe, there’s no better production value than a worldwide pandemic,” Mandel told Variety.

The deal with Peacock is appropriate given that NBC has been Mandel’s home on and off since the early 1980s when he was a member of the ensemble of medical drama “St. Elsewhere” At present he serves as a judge for NBC’s summer stalwart “America’s Got Talent.” He is also host of the game show franchise “Deal or No Deal,” which has aired on NBC and CNBC.

Netflix announced the final season of “Dear White People” will launch Sept. 22 and be a musical season.

“The only way to move forward is to throw it back,” a teaser for the season previews. From there a cover of Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” kicks into gear.

The teaser also shows the students getting ready to dance, with snapping of hands and getting into formation to perform Jordan’s 1995 hit. There is an Afro-futuristic and 1990s-inspired dance floor, as the students of the fictional Winchester University look back on their time on campus amid their final year.

“Dear White People,” an extension of the film of the same name by Justin Simien, deals with issues of race, class and sexuality on that college campus. Logan Browning’s Sam White hosts a radio show within the series that is also titled “Dear White People” and is where...

Eva Orner’s Burning, about Australia’s devastating ‘Black Summer’, will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September.

Produced by Propagate Content, Dirty Films and Amazon Studios, the film marks Amazon’s first feature-length Australian documentary commission. To screen as part of the TIFF Docs strand, it explores what happened during the 2019 and 2020 bushfires from the perspective of victims, activists and scientists, as well as the lack of political will to address climate change.

In addition to directing, Orner executive produces alongside Cate Blanchett.

The LA-based Australian director won an Oscar for producing Alex Gibney’s 2008 doc Taxi To The Dark Side. Her credits also include Chasing Asylum, which tackled Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, and The Network, a behind-the-scenes look at the largest TV network in Afghanistan.

Burning is one of two Australian films selected for this year’s TIFF,...

The Toronto International Film Festival announced which films will fill the TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness, and Wavelength sections at this year’s edition of the event, which runs from Sept. 9-18. The festival also added new titles to the Special Presentation and Contemporary World Cinema programs.

Opening TIFF Docs is the world premiere of “Attica” by Stanley Nelson, which tells the story of the 1971 Attica prison riot. Coming about as a result of the prisoners’ fight for more humane living conditions and lasting for five days, it remains the deadliest prison rebellion in U.S. history.

Wavelengths will open with “Neptune Frost” from directors and married couple Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman. The film is billed a sci-fi musical romance between an intersex hacker and a coltan miner that will follow the “virtual marvel born as a result of their union.” This marks the North American premiere of the film,...

BenedictionThe lineup has been unveiled for the 2021 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place over 10 days (September 9-18) both in-person and physically in Toronto, and digitally across Canada. Wavelengths - FEATURESFutura (Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher)The Girl and the Spider (Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher)Neptune Frost (Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman)A Night of Knowing Nothing (Payal Kapadia)Ste. Anne (Rhayne Vermette)The Tsugua Diaries (Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes)Wavelengths - SHORTSThe Capacity for Adequate Anger (Vika Kirchenbauer)Dear Chantal (Querida Chantal) (Nicolás Pereda)earthearthearth (Daïchi Saïto)Inner Outer Space (Laida Lertxundi)Polycephaly in D (Michael Robinson)“The red filter is withdrawn.” (Minjung Kim)Train Again (Peter Tscherkassky)Midnight Madness After Blue (Dirty Paradise) (Bertrand Mandico)Dashcam (Rob Savage)Saloum (Jean Luc Herbulot)Titane (Julia Ducournau)You Are Not My Mother (Kate Dolan)Zalava (Arsalan Amiri)TIFF DOCSAttica (Stanley Nelson)Beba (Rebeca Huntt)Becoming Cousteau...

Titles include a new film from ‘Host’ director Rob Savage.

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has added 35 feature titles to its line-up for 2021, predominantly across the TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths strands.

The new titles include 11 world premieres, consisting of eight in TIFF Docs and three in Midnight Madness.

Titles in the latter include Dashcam, the new film from Rob Savage, director of 2020 pandemic horror hit Host. Savage was named a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2013.

Also in the Midnight Madness section is Kate Dolan’s You Are Not My Mother, inspired by the mythology of the Changeling, which...

New nonfiction films from directors Liz Garbus, Stanley Nelson, and E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the TIFF Docs program, TIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.

Nelson’s documentary “Attica” will serve as the opening-night film in the section, while other docs at the festival will include Garbus’ “Becoming Cousteau,” Barry Avrich’s “Oscar Peterson: Black + White,” Penny Lane’s “Listening to Kenny G” and Vasarhelyi and Chin’s “Rescue.”

The festival’s Midnight Madness section will open with the Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Titane,” by Julia Ducournau, while TIFF has also added three Special Presentations films that also premiered in Cannes: Nadav Lapid’s “Ahed’s Knee,” Bruno Dumont’s “France” and Ari Folman’s “Where Is Anne Frank?”

In the Contemporary World Cinema section, additions include Juho Kuosmanen’s “Compartment No. 6” and Khadar Ayderus Ahmed’s “The Gravedigger’s Wife.

Toronto International Film Festival announced its section of TIFF Docs presented by A&e IndieFilms, Wavelengths and Midnight Madness sections, and confirmed additions to the Special Presentation and Contemporary World Cinema programs of the fest.

“We’re so proud to present the films selected for the popular programmes TIFF Docs, Wavelengths and Midnight Madness,” stated Joana Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head. “Always provocative, exhilarating and engaging, this year’s offerings are guaranteed to thrill Festival audiences.”

“​A​s an audience-first ​film ​festival​, mesmerizing​ film lovers with boundary-pushing stories is pivotal,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head. “​​​It’s exciting that even in this exceptional time in our industry, we’re able to bring such​ ​thought-provoking selections​​ to these coveted TIFF programmes.”

Of note today in the lineup is the international premiere of National Geographic’s documentary Becoming Cousteau from two-time Oscar-nominated and two-time Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus (The Farm, Angola USA,...

Exclusive: Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich and his Melbar Entertainment Group have signed with APA for representation.

The renowned writer, director and producer’s feature credits include acclaimed 2020 doc Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art, which tells the story of the largest art fraud in American history. That project is currently being packaged for a scripted series adaptation.

Avrich also produced the Scotiabank Giller Prize television show, and three editions of The Canadian Screen Awards, between 2015 and 2017. He also directed and produced the upcoming feature The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, which is currently in post-production.

One of North America’s largest producers of non-scripted content, Melbar Entertainment Group has produced over 50 documentaries and filmed productions, including The Last Mogul, about Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman; Prosecuting Evil, about Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz; contemporary art world pic Blurred Lines; The Reckoning, which takes on the #MeToo movement; the upcoming Oscar Peterson: Black and White,...

Fremantle has acquired international distribution rights to Oscar Peterson: Black and White, the feature-length documentary about the iconic jazz pianist being directed by Barry Avrich. The deal is for overseas rights excluding Canada on the film, which is in production. A fall 2021 release is planned.

The doc will center on the life and music of the prolific jazz pioneer, whose blazing-fast hands on the piano were put to use via collaborations with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole. It also will dive into the racism that Peterson was forced to endure throughout his career, and his commitment to mentoring younger players.

Peterson, who died in 2007 at 82, won seven Grammys and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy in 1997 to honor his six-decade career.

The film hails from Avrich’s Melbar Entertainment Group, which is producing with Canada’s Bell Media.

There’s a spectacular contradiction at the heart of art forgery. Forgeries, which pretend to be paintings by timeless artists, hang in museums all over the world; there are more of them than anyone knows, all hiding in plain sight. When a case of forgery comes to light, it tends to be greeted with moral outrage. The act of imitating a famous artist’s work, and profiting off it, is seen as a sleazy low-life con, as well as a major crime. Yet art forgery isn’t just about the eye candy of duplicity and profit. As Orson Welles caught in his jump-cut meditation “F for Fake” (1973), there’s a fantasy behind it: What if you had the daring, and the talent, to produce a fake work of art so drop-dead authentic that no one alive could tell it was fake? There’s an audacity to that, a kind of grand illusion.

Barry Avrich’s art scandal documentary “Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art” is being adapted into a feature film by the director’s Melbar Entertainment Group (“David Foster: Off The Record”).

The documentary tells the story of how one of the most respected art galleries in New York City became the center of the largest art fraud in American history. Knoedler & Company, under its president, Ann Freedman, made millions selling previously unseen works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and others that had supposedly come from a secret collection. But when her prestigious clients discovered they had purchased fakes, the scandal rocked the art world. Avrich secured unprecedented access to Freedman, her clients and other key players for the documentary.

The film has played Hot Docs and the Hamptons International Film Festival and will feature at the upcoming Doc NYC in November. Fremantle is handling international sales.

The first all-virtual edition of the Doc NYC festival of nonfiction films announced its 2020 lineup on Thursday, with 107 feature documentaries about everyone from John Belushi to Jamal Khashoggi and Pope Francis to Frank Zappa,

The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”

Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.

The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...

"David knows exactly what he's looking for. That's his whole thing: he knows what he wants." Melbar Ent. has released a new official trailer for the documentary titled David Foster: Off the Record, a profile of the award-winning entertainment icon, musician, and composer / producer. Not to be confused with David Foster Wallace. This premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, because the director is Canadian and because David Foster is Canadian as well. The documentary offers unprecedented access into David Foster's private life and stories from his incomparable career. This intimate portrait of the Grammy Award-winning David Foster features candid interviews with Foster himself and an all-star cast including: Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, President Bill Clinton, Peter Cetera, Katharine McPhee, Erin Foster, Sara Foster, Clive Davis, Andrea Bocelli. This one's for music nerds. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Barry Avrich...

Editors Note: Barry Avrich is a filmmaker who has made dozens of high-profile documentaries including The Last Mogul, Blurred Lines, Prosecuting Evil and is currently in production on Made You Look, a film about the largest art fraud in U.S. history.

As Harvey Weinstein finds himself cast in the most anticipated production of the year — his own trial — I watched in horror as actress Annabella Sciorra told her story in technicolor. I don’t know how and from where she pulled the level of strength to endure not only the alleged abuse and rape, but also the attempts to discredit her through grilling on the stand. I can’t say I am surprised, though. It is a page from Harvey’s take no prisoners playbook that I got to see up close when I made two documentary films about him. Nothing compares to the alleged abuse that these victims are describing in the courtroom,...

"I was the chief prosecutor in what was certainly the biggest murder trial in human history," says Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg Trials prosecutor and the subject of Barry Avrich's acclaimed new documentary feature Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz, as we sit down at h Club La to record an episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. Ferencz, a 99-year-old Hungarian-born Jew, served the U.S. Army valiantly during World War II, fighting in numerous storied battles before becoming an investigator of Nazi war crimes at numerous concentration camps as the war wound to ...

"I was the chief prosecutor in what was certainly the biggest murder trial in human history," says Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg Trials prosecutor and the subject of Barry Avrich's acclaimed new documentary feature Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz, as we sit down at h Club La to record an episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. Ferencz, a 99-year-old Hungarian-born Jew, served the U.S. Army valiantly during World War II, fighting in numerous storied battles before becoming an investigator of Nazi war crimes at numerous concentration camps as the war wound to ...

Ben Ferencz is a name you should know. He should be a known hero, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. But unless you’ve seen a particular “60 Minutes” interview or “Prosecuting Evil” on Netflix, you may never have heard of him.

It was while watching the “60 Minutes” interview that director Barry Avrich heard about Ferencz’s story, which inspired him to make “Prosecuting Evil.” Ferencz is 99 years old, and the only surviving Nuremberg Trial prosecutor. He has seen the worst of humankind’s history and is still alive to tell his story.

Avrich sought out Ferencz and sat down with him. His only goal was to finish his documentary so Ferencz would have a chance to see it before he died. The race was on to film, research and complete “Prosecuting Evil.”

Avrich’s documentary follows the life of Ferencz, a Hungarian immigrant who, after escaping the persecution of Jews in Hungary with his parents,...

The Toronto Film Festival rolled out the red carpet Monday night for its inaugural Tiff Tribute Gala, a fundraiser and awards-season launcher that feted a select group of cinema changemakers and included both inspiring and surprising moments.

Held at the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the packed event was hosted by Toronto thesps Sarah Gadon (“American Woman”) and Stephan James (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), both alumni of Tiff Rising Stars, one of many career-boosting programs the not-for-profit Tiff puts on year round.

Following a greeting from Tiff co-heads Cameron Bailey and Joanna Vicente — who together decided to consolidate previous tribute/fundraiser events into a single high-profile festival centerpiece for maximum impact — “The Goldfinch” director John Crowley presented the Variety Artisan Award to Roger Deakins.

“I am honored to make a great artist greatly uncomfortable,” Crowley joked, referring to the legendary cinematographer’s dislike of the spotlight.

Deakins — whose work,...

Directors Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) and Patricia Rozema (“I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”) and producer Cassian Elwes will serve as mentors at the Toronto International Film Festival’s 2019 Tiff Filmmaker Lab, Tiff organizers announced on Wednesday.

The festival also unveiled its lineup of Canadian films, which will include new work directed by Atom Egoyan, Louise Archambault, Ellen Page and Amy Jo Johnson, and starring Felicity Huffman, Imogen Poots and David Cronenberg, among others. And it announced participants in industry programs and the Canadian honorees in its annual Tiff Rising Stars showcase.

The films were spread across eight different sections of the Toronto Film Festival, some of which have yet to announce their non-Canadian programming.

Also Read: Mister Rogers, the Joker and Judy Garland Are All Headed to Toronto Film Festival

The Canadian galas, all previously announced, are the opening-night documentary “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” Semi...

The Toronto International Film Festival​ has added another 26 new titles to its 2019 festival lineup, comprised entirely of features directed by Canadian filmmakers. Each year, Tiff highlights films that hail from its own shores in a standalone announcement, and this year it ​includes seven f​irst features, ​13 w​orks by returning Tiff alumni, and almost 50% films directed by women.

Tiff debuts include Aisling Chin-Yee’s “The Rest of Us,” Harry Cepka’s “Raf,” Matthew Rankin’s “The Twentieth Century,” Heather Young’s “Murmur,” and Nicole Dorsey’s “Black Conflux.” Plenty of returning filmmakers are also included in this batch of films, including Atom Egoyan, Sophie Deraspe, Joey Klein, Albert Shin, Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis, Louise Archambault, Kire Paputts, and Amy Jo Johnson.

“We are deeply impressed by the high quality of the work done by Canadian directors this year — particularly from filmmakers who were making their first and second features,...

Festival also announces four Canadian Rising Stars and the annual Filmmaker Lab participants.

Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) brass announced on Wednesday (July 31) the launch of a talent incubator for female content creators and unveiled the line-up of Canadian features, nearly half of which are directed by women.

Five features from indigenous filmmakers are among the selection of 26 Canadian features. Tiff also announced four Canadian Rising Stars, the annual Tiff Filmmaker Lab participants, finallists for Telefilm Canada’s Pitch This! competition, and the roster of Canadian short films.

The Canadian feature selections include seven first features and 13 works by returning Tiff alumni,...

Kacey Rohl, Mikhaïl Ahooja, Nahéma Ricci, Shamier Anderson are Tiff Rising Stars.

Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) brass announced on Wednesday (July 31) the launch of a talent incubator for female content creators and unveiled the line-up of Canadian features, nearly half of which are directed by women.

Five features from indigenous filmmakers are among the selection of 26 Canadian features. Tiff also announced four Canadian Rising Stars, the annual Tiff Filmmaker Lab participants, finallists for Telefilm Canada’s Pitch This! competition, and the roster of Canadian short films.

The Canadian feature selections include seven first features and 13 works by returning Tiff alumni,...

The docu David Foster: Off the Record will make its World Premiere at Toronto in a gala premiere and follow with a tribute to the musician, composer and producer. Directed by Barry Avrich, the film covers a career that has seen half a billion records sold and collaborations with such artists as Chicago, Barbra Streisand, and Andrea Bocelli and been credited with discovering and working with Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, and Josh Groban.

“A global musical genius, David Foster has left his mark on some of the most timeless songs of today while discovering and launching the careers of the industry’s most talented artists, defining what it means to be a multi-hyphenate musician,” said Tiff co-head Joana Vicente. “We are proud to celebrate his creations and collaborations with the World Premiere of David Foster: Off the Record at Tiff, honouring Foster in his native country.”...

Canadian-born music producer and songwriter David Foster will receive a special tribute at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, along with the world premiere of the new documentary “David Foster: Off the Record,” Tiff co-heads Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey announced on Tuesday.

The film comes from Canadian director Barry Avrich, whose other work includes “The Last Mogul” and “Prosecuting Evil.” In addition to archival footage and interviews with Foster, it features a number of the producer’s clients and friends, including Barbra Streisand, Michael Buble, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Lionel Richie, Clive Davis and Diane Warren.

Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, an Emmy and a Golden Globe, and has been nominated for three Best Original Song Oscars.

Also Read: David Foster: I Won't Plan Trump Inauguration

Foster will also be the subject of a special tribute at the inaugural Tiff Tribute Gala, a fundraising event that will also honor Meryl Streep and Participant Media,...

Barry Avrich (The Last Mogul) directs documentary.

Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) will host the world premiere of documentary David Foster: Off the Record followed by a Tiff Tribute Gala honour for the Oscar-nominated producer and Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand collaborator in September.

Barry Avrich directed the documentary, which combines rare archival footage, and interviews with Foster and music industry figures.

The Victoria, British Columbia–born musician, producer, songwriter, and composer has earned three Oscar nods for best original song including ‘I Have Nothing’ from The Bodyguard, and has won 16 Grammy Awards, an Emmy, and shared a Golden...

David Foster: Off the Record, a documentary about Canadian music icon David Foster, will receive a world premiere at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday.

The bow for the feature documentary from Bell Media Studios and Melbar Entertainment Group and director Barry Avrich will be followed by a special tribute to Foster at the Tiff Tribute Gala on Sept. 9.

The veteran music producer, composer and songwriter has worked with top artists like Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. His body of work comprises more than 500 songs, including such hits as “I ...

David Foster: Off the Record, a documentary about Canadian music icon David Foster, will receive a world premiere at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday.

The bow for the feature documentary from Bell Media Studios and Melbar Entertainment Group and director Barry Avrich will be followed by a special tribute to Foster at the Tiff Tribute Gala on Sept. 9.

The veteran music producer, composer and songwriter has worked with top artists like Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. His body of work comprises more than 500 songs, including such hits as “I ...

Is it possible Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes are so despicable, not even Hollywood will cash in on them? A long-in-the-works doc about the billionaire sex offender has been nixed because its filmmaker decided the material is just too gross.

“I began developing the story in 2017 and shopping it around to the various networks. There was very little interest in the subject matter given the fact that Jeffrey Epstein was at that time an unknown player with very little awareness," says Barry Avrich, 56, whose films include Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Project and Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione ...

Is it possible Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes are so despicable, not even Hollywood will cash in on them? A long-in-the-works doc about the billionaire sex offender has been nixed because its filmmaker decided the material is just too gross.

“I began developing the story in 2017 and shopping it around to the various networks. There was very little interest in the subject matter given the fact that Jeffrey Epstein was at that time an unknown player with very little awareness," says Barry Avrich, 56, whose films include Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Project and Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione ...

Exclusive: David Foster, the 16-time Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter and composer, is set to be the subject of a feature documentary, David Foster: Off the Record. Barry Avrich is directing the pic, which is now in postproduction from Canada’s Bell Media Studios and Melbar Entertainment Group.

A North American theatrical plan is in the works for the pic after a likely fall festival run, after which CTV and Crave have broadcast and streaming rights in Canada. Caitlin Cheddie is producer, and Bell Media president Randy Lennox, Avrich, Jeffrey Latimer and Marc Johnston are executive producers.

The film about the Victoria, BC-born Foster mixes rare archival footage, interviews and unprecedented access to Foster to chart the career of the multihyphenate who has helped sell more than a half-billion records collaborating with such artists as Chicago, Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli, as well as being credited...

Exclusive: Following the documentary, Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World Of Ben Ferencz, producers Barry Avrich and Patrice Theroux are continuing to tell the story of the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz by acquiring the film and television rights to Ferencz’s story for an upcoming scripted project.

Ferencz, a lifelong advocate of “law not war”, became the lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg after witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation. In his first trial, at age 27, all 22 Nazi officials who were tried for murdering over a million people, were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later assisted in the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

“I am honored to take this journey,” said Ferencz, “I never dreamed as a 27-year-old standing in a Nuremberg courtroom prosecuting Nazis that my life would be the subject of a film.

If anything, Abel Ferrara’s lovingly crafted personal documentary The Projectionist answers a question has plagued many a hardcore New York-based cinephile at one point or another: how the hell does the Cinema Village on 12th street stay open? While Ferrara doesn’t audit the finances of his subject–life-long movie exhibitor and real estate developer Nicolas Nicolaou–he never the less crafts a portrait of a man who has kept neighborhood theaters alive in the city, fighting it out with the big guns like Regal, AMC, and Landmark Theaters (the de facto new proprietor of neighboring Quad Cinema) for first run product. Premiering in Tribeca’s programming lineup This Used To Be New York, The Projectionist provides a personal history of running movie theaters through the changing landscape.

The film starts with a friendship between Nicolaou and Ferrara–always a lively presence in festival Q&As, occasionally taking on the persona of host,...

In today’s film news roundup, Sinemia is offering a non-subscription movie ticket plan, the Aclu is starting a tour at SXSW and production has launched on a documentary about the Knoedler Gallery art scandal,

Movie Tickets

MoviePass rival Sinemia is expanding its service with the launch of a discounted plan that does not require a subscription or use of an app.

Its Sinemia Limitless plan, launched Thursday, is offering a $70 digital or physical debit card of $100 value — valid for one year for ordering tickets from any theatre at any time. The digital card can purchase tickets online, while the physical card can buy online and in person at the box office.

Sinemia Limitless allows customers to make multiple ticket purchases on the same day and buy movie tickets for as many people as they want with a single transaction. It noted that the new plan eliminates the necessity of...

Prosecuting Evil Vertical Entertainment Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net by: Harvey Karten Director: Barry Avrich Screenwriter: Barry Avrich Cast: Benjamin Ferencz Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 2/24/19 Opens: February 22, 2019 The best kinds of documentaries feature fly-in-the-wall eavesdropping. After that, you could get a good story about people facing the interviewer, whereas the worst […]

The post Prosecuting Evil Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Exclusive: Seventh Art has obtained the North America distribution rights to Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World Of Ben Ferencz, a documentary that tells the story of Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor whose first case led to the conviction of several Nazi officials. Directed by Barry Avrich, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year will and will be released theatrically in New York on February 22 and Los Angeles on March 1.

Ferencz, a lifelong advocate of “law not war” who, after witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation, became lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg, which has been called the biggest murder trial in history. He was 27 years old and it was his first trial. All 22 Nazi officials tried for murdering over a million people were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later...

Exclusive: Here’s a promising update on an intriguing project: Ozark’s Julia Garner is in negotiations to play the lead in Kitty Green’s (Casting JonBenet) upcoming movie charting a day in the life of one of Harvey Weinstein’s assistants.

Due to shoot in New York next year, the as-yet-untitled narrative feature is being produced by the same team that made Green’s acclaimed documentary Casting JonBenet: Scott Macaulay, and James Schamus.

Weinstein’s former assistants have spoken out about various types of improper conduct from the film mogul. Multiple women, including assistants, have alleged sexual harassment by him, claims he has denied.

Writer-director Green is said to have spent more than a year researching public records and documents, and conducting scores of interviews, for the project. Macaulay previously described it as “a work of profound empathy, crafted to allow our audience to wholly identify with its heroine...

In what’s sure to be one of many films that probe the depths of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal, Barry Avrich’s new documentary “The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret” gets the stories of some of his accusers and the journalists who followed what led to the #MeToo movement.

Among those featured in this first trailer for the film are #MeToo-era accusers Lauren Sivan, Katherine Kendall, Melissa Sagemiller, Starr Rinaldi, Rebecca Corry and journalists Kim Masters and Margaret Wente. They share their personal stories about dealing with Weinstein and how he impacted their respective careers.

“It was allowed to go on because he had so much power,” Sivan says in the film. “If he was some schmuck in the mail room, he’d be in jail.”

Also Read: Lauren Sivan Had Her Own 'Crazy Harvey Weinstein Story.' Then She Was Demoted (Video)

The film further explores...

Several Harvey Weinstein accusers open up about their experiences with the disgraced producer in the powerful new trailer for the upcoming documentary, The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret. Barry Avrich directed the film, which is set to arrive on demand November 6th.

The clip opens with a montage of prominent actors and actresses thanking Weinstein while accepting Academy Awards before cutting to interviews with several Weinstein accusers. These women – including Katherine Kendall, Melissa Sagemiller and Laura Sivan – are candid about their encounters with Weinstein, as well as the Hollywood...

Director Barry Avrich adds to the conversation of #MeToo and Time’s Up with the forthcoming documentary The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret…and that secret is not that much of a secret anymore.

Featuring interviews with Melissa Sagemiller, Lauren Sivan, Dylan Farrow, and others, Avrich explores sexual misconduct in Hollywood, the abuse of power, and how some of the industry’s biggest names — mainly Harvey Weinstein — came toppling down after the floodgates opened with numerous allegations of sexual misconduct.

Written and produced by Avrich and Melissa Hood, the film puts the spotlight on those accused of sexual misconduct and gives an insider’s account of what happened with Weinstein along with other disgraced producers. The Weinstein accusation launched of an emotional movement that shifted the Hollywood landscape when it came to the treatment of women and led to women sharing stories of abuse that have been happening for decades.