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Winner of the Best Film award in Tallinn Black Nights festival as well as Bulgaria’s official Oscar entry, Ivaylo Hristov’s fourth feature Fear is arriving in the U.S. next month courtesy of Film Movement and we’re pleased to debut the exclusive trailer. Mixing absurdity, comedy, and tragedy, the film––which debuts March 11 in Virtual Cinemas and on VOD––explores the fear of the outsider in a small-minded community.

Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva), a strong-willed widow, lives alone in a small Bulgarian village close to the Turkish border. She has recently lost her job as a teacher due to the lack of families with young children. One day, while hunting in a forest, she encounters an African refugee, Bamba (Michael Fleming), who is trying to reach Germany, and will bring about a dramatic turn in her life. Reluctantly, she offers him hospitality, but day after day, a bond...

The 17th Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30 – Dec 08) has set a jury comprising Suspiria star Dakota Johnson, Indian actress Ileana D’Cruz (Barfi!), Lebanese filmmaker and visual artist Joana Hadjithomas (I Want To See), Brit director Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin), Moroccan director Tala Hadid (House In The Fields), French director Laurent Cantet (The Class), German actor Daniel Brühl (Rush) and Mexican director Michel Franco (April’s Daughter). As previously revealed, director James Gray will serve as jury president.

A total of 80 films will unspool at the festival, with Julian Schnabel’s Van Gogh biopic At Eternity’s Gate among gala screenings and also the festival’s opener. Other galas include Roma, Green Book and Capernaum while special screenings include Wildlife, Her Smell and Birds Of Passage. The official competition, galas and special screenings are listed below.

The festival will also feature tributes to Robert DeNiro, Robin Wright,...

Georgia was the big winner at the 18th edition of the Sofia International Film Festival (Siff) which closed at the weekend with the Grand Prix for Best Film and Best Director award going to Levan Koguashvili’s second feature Blind Dates.

The melancholic comedy, which premiered at the Berlinale’s Forum last month, also received the Fipresci International Film Critics’ Prize. Handled internationally by Films Boutique, it is already booked to screen at the April festivals in Wiesbaden (goEast) and Lecce and in Odessa in July.

Presenting the Grand Prix to Koguashvili, the International Jury’s president producer Alexander Rodnyansky said that the jury’s discussion on the top prize had ¨lasted only about 10 minutes and was unanimous. This film has become the absolute winner of this festival!¨

In addition, Vladimer Katcharava of Tbilisi-based 20 Steps Production received the Sofia Meetings’ €10,000 Digimage - Lvt Postproduction Award for Miriam Khachvani’s Dede which he pitched in the Plus Minus...