New York Ukrainian Restaurant Doc ‘Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World’ Gets Digital and Physical Releases From Gravitas Ventures – Film News in Brief
“Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World,” Michael Fiore’s documentary about a New York Ukrainian restaurant, will receive digital and physical releases from Gravitas Ventures. Starting on Nov. 12, the film will be available on Blu-ray and major streamers in the U.S. and Canada.
According to an official logline, the film follows the operations of Manhattan’s mainstay Veselka, which was “opened in 1954 by a Ukrainian refugee (Wolodymyr Darmochwal) to give his displaced compatriots a place of refuge after World War II. Upon Wolodymyr’s passing in 1974, his all-American son-in-law (Tom) took over as manager. In 2020, amidst Tom’s plan for a major restaurant renovation, the COVID-19 pandemic forced him into early retirement. His son (Jason) takes over and has large shoes to fill. But Jason’s biggest challenge becomes the war in Ukraine; he is thrust into the role of surrogate father to support his Ukrainian staff and keep his business afloat. A pandemic, a renovation, and a war — what could go wrong?”
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“After debuting at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, ‘Veselka’ swiftly opened theatrically in over 40 cities across North America and Ukraine,” said Fiore. “Audiences discovered and fell in love with the ‘Veselka’ subjects and this universal story of family (both biological and extended), community, resilience, kindness, and paying it forward – in good times and bad.”
“Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World” is written and directed by Fiore.
Wednesday, Oct. 16
Runway Announces 2025 AFI Film Festival, Opens Submissions
Runway has announced the third annual AI Film Festival, which will take place in New York City and Los Angeles in the spring of 2025.
Submissions for the festival have opened, with a deadline of March 31. Some of this year’s highlights include an open call for videos under 10 minutes featuring AI-generated content and 10 finalists to be honored at the 2025 screenings with over $60,000 in prizes.
IMAX, Tribeca, and NVIDIA are among this year’s festival partners. Additional information on this year’s festival and submission requirements can be found here.
Monday, Oct. 14
Lindsay Lohan to Star in Netflix Holiday Rom-Com ‘Our Little Secret’
Netflix announced it will release the Christmas romantic comedy “Our Little Secret” on Nov 27. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Tony-award winning Kristin Chenoweth, “Pretty Little Liars” alum Ian Harding and former “SNL” and “Mean Girls” cast member Tim Meadows.
The storyline is that of two exes, Lohan and Hardin, who find themselves having to spend Christmas together after they realize their respective partners are siblings. To top it all off, the former couple can not stand the sight of one another.
“Our Little Secret” is directed by Stephen Herek, known for “The Mighty Ducks,” produced by Mike Elliot and Lisa Gooding (“Bring It On: In it to Win it”) and written by Hailey DeDominicis.
Lohan is making her rom-com comeback and becoming a staple on Netflix. In 2022 she starred in “Falling for Christmas” and this year she released the spring movie “Irish Wish.” This will mark Lohan’s third rom-com with the platform in two years.
American Society of Cinematographers Presents 2024 Student Heritage Awards
This is the Ukrainian Cultural Film Festival’s second year. It is co-presented by Razom for Ukraine, led by the head of its cinema department, Polina Buchak, and the Ukrainian Institute, Kyiv. The event is produced by partners, some of whom are the Kyiv International Shorts Film Festival (KISFF) and the Linoleum Animation Festival. The UCF will take place from Oct. 15 through 31 in New York.
The lineup includes over 15 short films representing unique Ukrainian experiences. Among these are “‘Slovo’ House: Unfinished Novel,” a story about Ukrainian writers gathered in the Slovo cooperative house in Kharkiv in 1927 during the Executed Renaissance, which will screen on Oct. 16; “Porcelain War,” the winner of the 2024 U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, screening on Oct. 22; and “La Palisiada,” Ukraine’s 2025 Narrative Feature entry for the Academy Awards, screening on Oct. 24.
Q&A sessions will be held at the end of each film with a panel of its collaborators ready to engage with the audience.
American Society of Cinematographers Presents 2024 Student Heritage Awards
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has announced winners for the 2024 Student Heritage Awards competition.
Ellen Kuras, ASC presented the John Bailey Heritage Award (Graduate Category) to Joewi Verhoeven of the American Film Institute for “Taha” while the George Spiro Dibie Heritage Award (Undergraduate Category) was presented by Michael Goi, ASC, ISC to Isabelle Leonard of the University of Southern California for “Amos’ Bride.” Patrick Cady, ASC presented The Haskell Wexler Documentary Award to Meg Weck, also of the University of Southern California, for “Danceable.”
A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found here.
American Film Convention Announces Film Screenings, Final Exhibitors for Inaugural Event
The inaugural American Film Convention has confirmed 30 feature and short films that will screen over the course of the three-day convention from Oct 15-17 at Magic Box, The Reef in downtown Los Angeles.
These selected films will join 70 exhibitors as well as over 70 speakers for 50 panels the AFC announced earlier in September.
“After months of detailed planning, we’re thrilled to welcome the industry to this dynamic event,” said AFC’s CEO Mitesh Patel. “Our film program presents an excellent selection, spanning genres from drama to documentary, heartwarming to horror and commercial to independent—offering something for ever prospective distributor.”
The films screening are “Circumcision” from director Yuri Zeltser, “Clown & Out” from director Sergio Guerrero Garzafox, “Paper Flowers” from director Mahesh Pailoor, “We’re Not Married?” from director Cynthia Garcia Williams, “Without a Name” from director Emmett Charles Loverde and “The World’s Happiest Man” from director Binod Paudel.
Placements for the Student Academy Awards Have Been Announced
The 51st Student Academy Awards have announced placements for the winning films, which now become eligible for the 97th Oscars.
The placements were announced Monday at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London where they received their trophies. Below are the 2024 Student Academy Award Placements:
Alternative/Experimental:
Gold: Birdy Wei-Ting Hung, “A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers,” San Francisco State University
Silver: Dori Walker, “In Living Memory,” Brown University
Bronze: Akshit Kumar, “bonVoyage pour monVoyage,” National Institute of Design, India
Animation:
Gold: Florian Maurice, Maxime Foltzer & Estelle Bonnardel, “Au Revoir Mon Monde,” MoPA 3D Animation School, France
Silver: Kei Kanamori, “Origami,” Digital Hollywood University, Japan
Bronze: Spencer Baird, “Student Accomplice,” Brigham Young University
Documentary:
Gold: Hannah Rafkin, “Keeper,” School of Visual Arts
Silver: Aaron Johnson, “The 17%,” Chapman University
Bronze: Rishabh Raj Jain, “A Dream Called Khushi (Happiness),” New York University
Narrative:
Gold: Pavel Sykora & Viktor Horák, “The Compatriot,” Filmová Akademie Miroslava Ond?í?ka v Písku, Czech Republic
Silver: Jens Kevin Georg, “Crust,” Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Germany
Bronze: Robin Wang, “Neither Donkey nor Horse,” University of Southern California
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