The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is produced by Cinequest, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is also responsible for Picture The Possibilities and the distribution label Cinequest Mavericks Studio LLC. Cinequest awards the annual Maverick Spirit Awards. In addition to over 130 world or U.S. premieres from over 30 countries, the festival hosts writer's events including screenwriting competitions, a shorts program, technology and artistic forums and workshops, student programs, and a silent film accompanied on the theatre organ. Founded in 1990 as the Cinequest Film Festival, the festival was rebranded in 2017 as the Cinequest Film & VR Festival and expanded beyond downtown San Jose to Redwood City. It took its present name in 2019.
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became an annual event in 1998. It is one of the four international animated film festivals sponsored by the International Animated Film Association.
Marshall Curry is an Oscar-winning American documentary director, producer, cinematographer and editor. His films include Street Fight, Racing Dreams, If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Point and Shoot, and A Night at the Garden. His first fiction film was the Academy Award-winning short film The Neighbors' Window (2019).
The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) is an annual film festival founded in 1999 and held on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The festival presents American and international narrative features, documentaries and short films for five days in June of each year.
A Magritte Award is an accolade presented by the Académie André Delvaux of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry. Modelled after the French César Award, the formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in Belgium. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette. The awards, first presented in 2011, are considered the Belgian equivalent of the Academy Awards in the United States.
The Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Providence, Rhode Island, which features a wide variety of horror, sci-fi, and thriller films, as well as documentaries, from the United States and around the world. Founded in 2000, as one of several "festival sidebars" of the Rhode Island International Film Festival, it is the largest and longest-running horror film festival in New England.
Olivier Masset-Depasse is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. He made his feature-length debut in 2006 with Cages. In 2010, he wrote and directed Illegal, which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for eight Magritte Awards. It was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. His next film was Mothers' Instinct starring Veerle Baetens, Anne Coesens and Mehdi Nebbou, which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It received ten nominations at the 10th Magritte Awards, winning in nine categories, including Best Film and Best Director for Masset-Depasse, holding the record for the most Magritte Awards won by a single film.
Adastra Films is a film production and distribution company based in Cannes, France. It was founded in March 2008 by Sébastien Aubert and David Guiraud.
The Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) is an annual nonprofit film festival dedicated to promoting and increasing multicultural awareness and showcases world cinema and independent films in their original language with English subtitles. Independent film producers, directors and actors within the US and abroad are invited to participate in engaging panel discussions and Q&A sessions after the screenings. Each year the festival greets more than 2,000 movie aficionados and shows about fifty films from all over the world with an impressive lineup of premieres. The Arlington International Film Festival also includes a year-round events such as poster contest competitions, pre-festival screenings and art exhibitions with local artists and performances by musicians, singers and dancers.
Two Days, One Night is a 2014 drama film written and directed by the Dardenne brothers, starring Marion Cotillard and Fabrizio Rongione. It is an international co-production between Belgium, France and Italy. The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or.
Guillaume Senez is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. He studied at the National Institute of Radioelectricity and Cinematography (INRACI) in Brussels and graduated from there. He made his feature-length debut in 2015 with Keeper, which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received eight nominations at the 7th Magritte Awards and won three, including Best First Feature Film.
C. Fitz is an advertising, marketing and filmmaking professional. In her digital work she has produced social media branding campaigns winning four Webby’s for creative content. As a filmmaker, TV showrunner and film director she has won multiple awards for her scripted and unscripted work. She is also an activist and speaker.
Little Hands is a Live Action short film directed by Rémi Allier and produced by Wrong Men & Films Grand Huit, winner of the César Award for Best Short Film at the French Motion Picture César Academy. The short film has been presented and won awards in a number of festivals including Brussels Short Film Festival and the Magritte Award where it was nominated for "Best Short Film".
Nefta Football Club is a 2018 live action short film directed by French director Yves Piat. It has been selected and awarded at several film festivals including Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival as well as Aspen Shortsfest, where it won the Oscar Qualifying Jury Award for Comedy.
Mothers' Instinct is a 2018 Belgian psychological thriller film directed by Olivier Masset-Depasse. The story is loosely based on the 2012 novel Behind the Hatred by Barbara Abel. The film was screened as a special presentation at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
I'm Going Out for Cigarettes is a 2018 animated short film directed by Osman Cerfon. The film has been nominated and awarded in many festivals including Locarno International Film Festival and the Animator International Animated Film Festival where it received the Oscar-qualifying Grand Jury Prize.
The Neighbors' Window is a 2019 American short film written and directed by Marshall Curry. It won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2020. The film was inspired by a true story by Diane Weipert, which she recounted on the podcast Love and Radio.
Patrick is a 2019 Belgian comedy-drama film directed by Tim Mielants and starring Kevin Janssens, Jemaine Clement, Hannah Hoekstra, and Bouli Lanners. It had its world premiere at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it competed for the Crystal Globe, winning the Best Director Award for Mielants. It received five nominations at the 10th Magritte Awards, winning Best Flemish Film.
My Pilot, Whale is a short documentary film directed by Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky, demonstrating direct communication between a human and free pilot whales in the open ocean.
Ala Kachuu – Take and Run is a 2020 Swiss short film directed by Maria Brendle and produced by Nadine Lüchinger and Flavio Gerber, Filmgerberei. The film is about a Kyrgyz girl who falls victim to bride kidnapping.
