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Exclusive: Rideback Rise, the non-profit accelerator seeking to advance racial equity through mainstream entertainment from Poc creators, has announced its 2025 Fellowship cohort of 15 mid-career writers, filmmakers and creators who will be financially and creatively supported as they develop market-ready television and film projects.

They are Aitch Alberto, Kerry Coddett, Morgan Collins, Melody Cooper, Alesia S.C. Etinoff, Carolyn Huynh, Taietsarón:sere Leclaire aka Tai Leclaire, Michael Yuchen Lei, Elaine Loh, Andrew Lopez, Kelly Luu & Kevin Luu, Paloma Riojas, Keith Sweet II, and Sunny Tripathy.

Clockwise from Top Left: Elaine Loh, Andrew Lopez, Kevin Luu, Kelly Luu, Paloma Riojas, Keith Sweet II, and Sunny Tripathy

Fellows were selected from more than 500 applicants, in a 25+% increase from the last application pool. Each will receive an unrestricted $40K grant for the year-long Fellowship. Fellows are also eligible to access a Development Fund to secure underlying rights to material and/or to create presentations, short...

Kanopy – the no-fee, ad-free film and TV show streaming service that’s available to some 45 million people in the United States with a library card and through more than 85% of large American colleges and universities – is featuring movies selected by GLAAD in celebration of Pride Month in June. The GLAAD Pride Month Picks include films that feature “fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ+ representation” as part of the service’s full Pride Month collection of 107 movies and documentaries.

GLAAD is the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media advocacy organization. Its Pride Month choices (including the 2023 Oscar Best Picture winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) are below:

“The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1994) “The Aggressives: The World of Lesbian Subculture” (2005) “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” (2022) “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) “The Blue Caftan” (2022) “But I’m a Cheerleader” (1999) “Call Her Ganda” (2018) “Changing the Game” (2019) “Everything Everywhere All at Once...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Picture

Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic “Oppenheimer,” narrating the saga of the father of the atomic bomb, is poised to sweep the Oscars. Having clinched every major guild and industry accolade – BAFTA, Critics Choice, Golden Globes, DGA, PGA, and SAG – it’s the first...

Barbie is the most nominated film for the 2024 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, landing three nominations, including two in the best song for film category for “What Was I Made For?” and “I’m Just Ken.”

Barbie is nominated for best music supervision for film budgeted over $25 million and scored two nods for best song written and/or recorded for a film for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” and Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt’s “I’m Just Ken,” performed by Ryan Gosling.

The music supervisors with the most individual nominations are Mike Ladman and Mara Techam, each with five nominations, whose work in advertising includes collaborations with brands like Levis, The New York Times, Hennessy and others.

The 14th annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards are set to take place in-person and virtually at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre on Sunday, March 3.

A full list of nominees follows.

GLAAD has announced the nominees for its 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards, with Variety earning two nods for outstanding online journalism (Tiana DeNicola’s piece on Michaela Jaé Rodriguez) and magazine overall coverage.

Other nominees include “All of Us Strangers,” “And Just Like That…,” “Bottoms,” “The Color Purple,” “Deadloch,” “Despierta America,” “Everything Now,” “Fellow Travelers,” “Heartstopper,” “Kokomo City,” “The Last of Us,” “Our Flag Means Death,” “Red, White and Royal Blue,” “Rustin,” “Sin Huellas,” “Ted Lasso” and “Yellowjackets.” These are a total of 310 nominees across 33 categories.

The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues.

“For 35 years, the GLAAD Media Awards has provided the global stage for LGBTQ creators, alongside industry talent and leaders, to be celebrated and supported. At a time when the LGBTQ community is under attack by false narratives and misinformation, when less than half of Americans say they...

“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” director Aitch Alberto considers her film adaptation timely yet “long overdue” for several reasons.

Aitch, who hails from Cuba and identifies as transgender, penned the screen adaptation of the novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz after spending four days in El Paso with the author, who gave her his blessing to adapt the story. She spoke with TheWrap about intentional directorial choices for specific scenes, her take on the relationship between Aristotle (Max Pelayo) and his father Jaime (Eugenio Derbez) and the broader implications of the film in a growing canon of LGBTQ+ and Latin American stories released during a tense political time.

How is this film uniquely Mexican-American?

Alberto: This film is uniquely Latino. I’m not Mexican American. I’m Cuban, so I really tried to focus on the similarities that we have as a culture because there are also a lot of differences.

As someone who grew up in Texas back in the late 1980s, when “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” takes place, I can assure you: The last thing any closeted Southern teen wants is to stand out. That must make it a special kind of torture to be named after thinkers one’s peers aren’t likely to read until college. Then again, it’s also a rather wonderful bonding opportunity for two boys who don’t fit in until they find one another — though it’ll take some figuring out to untangle what both of them want in a movie I dearly wish had existed several decades earlier.

Now’s as good a time as any for the world to discover Aristotle and Dante — not the Greek philosopher and the “Divine Comedy” author, but the title characters of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s beloved YA novel. Imagine...

The Grand Jury winners of the 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival, presented by Genesis Motor and Warner Bros. Discovery, have been announced, with “Something You Said Last Night” and “Anhell69” winning the top awards for North American Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature. Select award winners will be available on the Outfest Los Angeles’ virtual platform through Sunday, after which Audience Award winners will be announced.

The Paul D. Lerner and Stephen Reis Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Documentary Feature, now in Year 2 thanks to a generous donation from Lerner and Reis to the Outfest Empathy Fund, will see the awarded filmmaker, “Anhell69,” director Theo Montoya, receive a $5,000 prize.

The festival opened with Aitch Alberto’s “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and closed with Sav Rodger’s “Chasing Chasing Amy.” For the first time in Outfest’s LGBTQ+ Summer Film Festival history, both the opening...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be launching 10 new scientific and technical investigations in 2023. The investigations will be completed by an Academy committee ahead of the upcoming Scientific and Technical Awards on Feb. 23, 2024.

Investigations currently underway cover the following areas: onboard remote driving apparatus; reusable cable-cutting devices for motion picture squibs; post-process depth of field software; mathematically lossless encoding of motion picture camera raw files; motor-stabilized motion picture camera support systems for hand/body-supported operation; interactive renderers that provide a representative approximation of final offline renders during post-production; volumetric surface reconstruction; pattern-based 3D clothing creation software; layerable hierarchical 3D scene description frameworks; and digital image processing film restoration software utilized for theatrical re-release and archival preservation.

Individuals and companies with devices or claims of innovation that fall under the umbrella of any of these categories are welcomed by the Academy to submit their achievements for review. The...

Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired North American rights to “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” a queer coming-of-age story about two teens who form a special bond after a chance meeting one summer. The sale comes a few months after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Blue Fox is planning a wide theatrical release of the film this summer, though the exact date has yet to be determined. Blue Fox’s international division is handling the international sales.

“It’s rare when a best-selling book, talented crew, amazing director and cast all come together to create a ‘must see’ film, and we are very proud to bring ‘Aristotle and Dante’ to audiences across the U.S.,” said Blue Fox executive James Huntsman.

Filmmaker Aitch Alberto wrote and directed “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” marking her directorial debut. It’s based on...

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” (Spain), Lilo and Camilo Vilaplana’s “Plantadas” (U.S.), Hansel Porras Garcia’s “Febrero”, Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” (Canada) and Pavel Giroud’s “The Padilla Affair” were among the winners at the 40th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival, which ran March 3-12.

“The Beasts,” won the festival’s top awards, including the top jury prize, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas trophy and the Rene Rodriguez Critics nod. In addition to the two awards, “The Beasts” composer, Oliver Arson was recognized for his soundtrack and awarded the Alacran Music in Film Award, he was selected by Art of Light (Composer) Award honoree Nicholas Britell.

“Febrero” and “Plantadas” both were awarded $45,000 for the ​​Knight Made in Mia Film Award after the two made their world premieres.

In addition “Plantadas” received the Audience Feature Film Award, while Aitch Alberto’s “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe...

As they say here north of the border: Time to drop the puck on the 2022 Toronto Film Festival.

The weather is beautiful, and they’ve cordoned off King Street from the Lightbox to Roy Thomson Hall. People are getting their bearings, most not wearing masks in the open air. This is a sight better than last year, when the cable cars were not rerouted from King Street because so few came for the festivities. Not surprisingly, not a single major deal happened on the ground as the festivals and specialty theatrical business were still feeling the fallout from Covid.

Toronto Film Festival: Deadline’s Complete Coverage

Will this year be any better? Some believe it certainly can’t get worse. Buyers and sellers expect the pace to be on the slow side, with some possible exceptions. I hear that the hot title is one that isn’t officially on the for-sale lists,...

Variety will honor Academy Award-winning actor Javier Bardem at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 7 as part of their annual “10 Directors to Watch” and Creative Impact Awards brunch at the Parker Palm Springs.

Bardem will be celebrated for his recent film, Amazon Studios’ “Being the Ricardos,” as well his entire body of work, which includes “No Country for Old Men,” “Dune,” “Skyfall,” “Biutiful” and “The Good Boss.”

“It’s been 30 years since Bardem emerged as a major international star in Bigas Luna’s ‘Jamón Jamón,'” said Variety’s executive vice president of content Steven Gaydos. “In that time, he’s garnered acting honors around the world, including the European Film Award, the Cannes Festival best actor award and three Oscar nominations, including a win for his powerful role in the Coen Brothers’ best picture winner, ‘No Country for Old Men.’ Along the way, Bardem has worked...

Variety will honor two-time Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 7 as part of the publication’s annual “10 Directors to Watch” and Creative Impact Awards brunch at the Parker Palm Springs.

Farhadi will be celebrated for his recent film “A Hero”, released by Amazon Studios, as well his entire body of work which includes “A Separation,” “Everybody Knows” and “The Salesman.”

“With ‘A Hero,’ Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi reaffirms his place at the forefront of international writer-directors,” said Variety’s executive vice president of content, Steven Gaydos. “The film’s Grand Prix award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival was only the beginning of its international acclaim. As with ‘A Separation’ and ‘The Salesman,’ Farhadi has again elicited praise from film critics and awards voters who value Farhadi’s now-trademark virtues of densely layered screenplays and complex, sophisticated performances, all in the hands...

Variety recognized “No Time to Die” maestro Cary Joji Fukunaga’s potential on the strength of his debut, “Sin Nombre.” Wes Anderson caught our eye with “Bottle Rocket.” And “Red Rocket” director Sean Baker made the cut the year “Tangerine” took Sundance by storm. Other distinguished alumni of Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch program include “The Green Knight” helmer David Lowery, Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau (“Titane”) and “Bergman Island” auteur Mia Hansen-Løve.

And now, on the strength of that track record, Variety announces 10 more helmers with sterling futures ahead: the class of 2022, to be profiled in full with the first print edition of the new year.

It’s a decidedly forward-looking — and female-driven — group of visionaries this time around, spanning genres, languages and a wide variety of backgrounds.

Just two of the 10 directors are men. Only four of the films have already premiered to the world at...