Dee Rees News

Get the latest news on upcoming film adaptations, the schedule of movie musicals in development or production, and more with our always up-to-date musical film adaptation schedule!

Fifteen emerging storytellers from Chile, India, Kenya, Tunisia and the U.S. will convene digitally for Sundance Institute’s January Screenwriters Lab, taking place online via Sundance Co//ab from January 11 -15, 2021. The Fellows will work to further develop twelve original projects, in collaboration with an experienced group of Creative Advisors.

OPERA America has announced the inaugural participants of the IDEA Opera Residencies (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) program, a new initiative that provides New  York City-based composers and librettists of color an opportunity to explore opera as an expressive medium.  The program is supported by the Katherine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund of The Scherman Foundation. 

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today that Radha Blank will be honored with the 2020 Vanguard Award presented by Acura, given annually to an artist whose work highlights the art of storytelling and creative independence. The award honors the artistic achievement of her feature film directorial debut The Forty-Year-Old Version, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was developed by Blank at the Institute's Labs.

MGM has set Dee Rees is set to write and direct a feature film adaptation of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for MGM, according to Deadline.

Sundance Institute will gather 25 celebrated and revered expert voices across film, art, culture and science to award feature-length and short films shown at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with 31 prizes, announced at a ceremony February 1. Short Film Awards will be announced at a separate ceremony on January 28. The Festival takes place January 23 through February 2 in Park City, Salt Lake City and Sundance, Utah.

Fifteen screenwriters will convene to advance their independent projects at Sundance Institute's January Screenwriters Lab, taking place at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, from January 17-22, 2020. At the Lab, the screenwriters will immerse themselves in a rigorous and holistic creative process, working to further develop their scripts with the mentorship of accomplished Creative Advisors.

Sundance Institute invites champions of independent storytelling to attend An Artist at the Table Presented by IMDbPro, Sundance Institute's annual fundraising event hosted on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival, Thursday, January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. During the celebratory event, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, will be honored with the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy. Proceeds from the evening will advance Sundance Institute's mission and programs that discover, support and amplify risk-taking and exciting independent film, media and theatre artists.  In addition to Presenting Sponsor IMDbPro, the event is supported by Lead Sponsor the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

Sundance Institute invites champions of independent storytelling to attend An Artist at the Table Presented by IMDbPro, Sundance Institute's annual fundraising event hosted on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival, Thursday, January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. During the celebratory event, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, will be honored with the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy. Proceeds from the evening will advance Sundance Institute's mission and programs that discover, support and amplify risk-taking and exciting independent film, media and theatre artists. In addition to Presenting Sponsor IMDbPro, the event is supported by Lead Sponsor the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the showcase of new independent feature films selected across all categories for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 23a?"February 2, 2020. The Sundance Film Festival is Sundance Institute's flagship public program, widely regarded as the largest American independent film festival and attended by more than 120,000 people and 1,300 accredited press, and powered by more than 2,000 volunteers last year.

Sonia Friedman Productions today announced Conor McPherson's (The Weir, Girl from the North Country) new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's masterpiece Uncle Vanya directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, The Seagull) which will run at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 14th January 2020 with Opening Night on Thursday 23rd January 2020. Tickets go on general sale from Monday 30th September with priority booking from Wednesday 25th September.

Queer|Art, New York City's home for the creative and professional development of LGBTQ+ artists, is pleased to announce a special Fall season of Queer|Art|Film at IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue at West 3rd St.), September 16-December 2. Organized by guest curators Vivian Crockett, Camilo Godoy, and Carlos Mottaa?"the season, titled Chicas y Fantasmas, explores the shells we inhabit to move through the world. Presented by four contemporary Latinx artists, the season assembles a fierce ensemble of showgirls, cyborgs, glam rockers, and two Chicana teens who defy gendered expectations, ableist norms, and society's limitations to actualize their own self-constructed identities and shape a vision of the world in which they want to live. A full itinerary follows. All screenings begin at 8pm.

At this year's Toronto International Film Festival​®​, the revamped Discovery programme features a robust lineup of 37 films from emerging filmmakers representing 35 countries, including 33 World Premieres and four films making international debuts.

Sundance Institute, in collaboration with A24, invites fans and supporters of independent cinema to celebrate writer/director Lulu Wang with a special premiere screening of her film The Farewell and afterparty at The Theatre at Ace Hotel DTLA on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Wang, an alumna of Sundance Institute's 2017 FilmTwo Initiative, will be honored with the Institute's annual Vanguard Award presented by Acura at the summer benefit. Proceeds from the evening will advance Sundance Institute's mission and programs that discover, support and amplify risk-taking and exciting independent artists across film, theatre and media. 

Filmmakers from the U.S., Lebanon, Palestine, and the United Kingdom have been selected for the 2019 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, taking place at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah. At the Directors Lab (May 27-June 18), filmmakers will rehearse, shoot, and edit key scenes from their scripts, working in an immersive, hands-on environment with support from accomplished advisors to build their craft as directors and make key discoveries in collaboration with their actors and key crew. Immediately following, the Screenwriters Lab (June 20-24) provides the opportunity to process the insight gained from the Directors Lab through one-on-one story sessions with screenwriter advisors, and find inspiration and guidance for continued development of their screenplays.

Queer|Art, New York City's home for the creative and professional development of LGBTQ+ artists, is pleased to announce the Summer 2019 season of Queer|Art|Film at IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue at West 3rd St.), May 13-August 26. Curated by filmmakers Ira Sachs and Adam Baran, the season features films about (and starring) fierce, funny, and fabulous women, presented by a multigenerational lineup of queer drag icons, playwrights, and performance artists.

New York City's premier cabaret highlighting the talents of transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming performers returns to The Duplex with the all new show, 'Make 'Em Laugh', for it's 8th performance at The Duplex on Saturday, April 27th at 6:30pm. The show is directed by Donnie Cianciotto, with Musical Direction by Anessa Marie. Cianciotto will also serve as the emcee for the evening.

The Tribeca Talks program will return to entertain and inspire audiences at the 18th annual Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, taking place April 24 - May 5. This year's lineup will include intimate and once in a lifetime conversations with a diverse list of groundbreaking and critically acclaimed filmmakers, artists, entertainers, and icons.

Today, TIFF announced a new generation of film experts and curators who have been appointed as Lead Programmers for the 44th Toronto International Film Festival. The new programming team features some of the most sought after and valuable voices in the industry and comprises 50% women.

The nominees for the 50th NAACP Image Awards were exclusively announced today at the Television Critics Association's (TCA) TV One's joint press conference with Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP and Alfred Liggins, Chairman and CEO of TV One. The winners will be revealed during the Two-Hour LIVE TV special airing on TV One on Saturday, March 30, 2019.