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WEEK IN WOMEN: AFI Gala Honoring Julie Andrews Pushed Back – Brandy McDonnell reports

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The American Film Institute is postponing its 48th annual AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute honoring Dame Julie Andrews in an apparent response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Additionally, several film festivals, other gala events and movie premieres around the country have been pushed back in the past week over concerns about the spreading coronavirus.

As reported, COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus, has killed more than 3,500 people worldwide and infected more than 100,000. In the United States, the disease has spread quickly: More than 234 people reportedly have been infected and 14 people had died as of Friday.

That’s the same day that organizers of the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas, announced they were canceling the massive event. The 27th edition of the SXSW Film Festival was slated to run March 13-22 in Austin. Nearly 300,000 people attended SXSW in 2019.

As also reported, organizers of the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival in San Jose, California, announced they’re postponing the festival’s second week of programming to August due to concerns over the coronavirus.

Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas also is moving to August because of travel restrictions and public health concerns stemming from the coronavirus. Continue reading on THE WEEK IN WOMEN.

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Brandy McDonnell

Brandy McDonnell writes features and reviews movies, music, events and the arts for The Oklahoman, Oklahoma's statewide newspaper, and NewsOK.com, the state's largest news Web site. Raised on a farm near Lindsay, Okla., she started her journalism career in seventh grade, when she was elected reporter for her school's 4-H Club. Taking her duties seriously, she began submitting stories to The Lindsay News, and worked for the local weekly through high school. She attended Oklahoma State University, where she worked for The Daily O'Collegian and earned her journalism degree with honors. She worked for three years at small Oklahoma dailies The Edmond Sun and Shawnee News-Star. In 2002, she joined The Oklahoman as a features reporter, writing about movies, the arts, events, families and nonprofits. She moved to The Oklahoman's entertainment desk in 2007. In 2004, she won a prestigious Journalism Fellowship in Child & Family Policy from the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Along with her membership in AWFJ, she also is a founding member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. Brandy writes The Week In Women blog for AWFJ.org.