News

Emilia Pérez leads the 2024 nominees for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, which honor scores and songs in film and other visual media categories. Blitz is next with three, followed by The Wild Robot, Moana 2, and Wicked with two each. See the full list below.

Among the nominees are such hitmakers and composers as Elton John and Brandi Carlile, Miley Cyrus, Diane Warren, Pharrell Williams, A.R. Rahman and Linda Perry, among others.

The hardware will be handed out at the 15th annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards on November 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood. Several of the nominated songs will be performed live during the ceremony.

The HMMAs will present this year’s Outstanding Career Achievement Award to legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin, who collaborations with Elton John produced some of the greatest pop songs and albums on the 1970s. The duo scored 10 No. 1 singles in the UK and seven in the U.

Germany’s Dolphin Medien has acquired the rights to Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End, which plays in TIFF’s Centrepiece section this week.

The film tells the historical story of the 1864 battle of O-Rākau between Māori and Colonial forces from the point of view of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, in their own language Te Reo Māori.

It is currently New Zealand’s top grossing local film of 2024, with takings of $US 536,000.

Ka Whawhai Tonu is directed by Michael Jonathan and stars Temuera Morrison. The cast also includes Cliff Curtis, Miriama Smith, newcomers Paku Fernandez and...

By Abe Friedtanzer

Many modern countries are founded on colonization, and what’s taught in schools may not fully cover the true nature of what happened. In New Zealand, the relationship between the native Māori people and the English-speaking settlers who arrived there later is a complicated one, and the country’s cinema continues to pay homage to that history. After Muru in 2022 and The Convert in 2023, TIFF once again features an important film about the clash of cultures with Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End…...

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival has revealed its Centrepiece program lineup, with 43 films from 41 countries. The selections include 18 world premieres plus an array of festival favorites and winners from Cannes (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig“), Sundance (“Presence“), and more recently the 2024 Venice Film Festival (“April”). This year’s festival runs Thursday, September 5 through Sunday, September 15.

Per TIFF, Centrepiece honors “and celebrates global cinematic achievements, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in a dynamic array of contemporary films. The programme is a reflection of TIFF’s commitment to providing an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”

The 2024 Centrepiece selection has been programmed by Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Giovanna Fulvi, Nataleah Hunter-Young, June Kim, Dorota Lech, Jason Ryle, and Norm Wilner.

Per the festival, “Notable world premieres include ‘Front Row,...

Steven Soderbergh’s spooky ghost story Presence — starring Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and newcomer Callina Liang — will receive its international premiere as part of the Centerpiece sidebar at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.

Soderbergh first screened Presence at Sundance earlier this year, some 35 years after the debut of his breakout film, Sex, Lies and Videotape, in Park City. In all, TIFF’s Centerpiece section, previously known as Contemporary World Cinema, unveiled 43 films from 41 countries on Tuesday.

There’s world premieres for Marcelle Lunam’s rom com Addition, starring Teresa Palmer and Joe Dempsie; Erin Lee Carr’s documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, a Hulu title about the Canadian pop duo falling victim to identity theft; French director Laura Piani’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, with a Frederick Wiseman cameo; Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Measures for a Funeral, written by actor Derah Campbell; and Algerian director Merzak Allouache’s Front Row,...

"Go and rouse your people... raise your weapons!" Transmission Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie film from New Zealand titled Ka Whawhai Tonu, directed by Kiwi filmmaker Mike Jonathan. Set in New Zealand in 1864, the film follows the story of a crucial conflict of the nation's first land warfare, fought between Maori and colonial soldiers. The film's full title is Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End: the historical story of the battle of O-Rākau as told for the first time from the point of view of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, in their own language Te Reo Māori. Set in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1864, it's the story of a pivotal battle in the first New Zealand land wars in the Waikato region. A battle fought with impossible odds between Māori and the Colonial forces. This heroic conflict is told through the eyes of two...