Starting today, Discovery+ subscribers will have access to many of CNN’s most popular evergreen television series, including popular food shows “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” and “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” and documentaries like “The History of Comedy” and “Diana.” The series can be found under a new CNN Originals hub on Discovery+, the latest addition to the popular documentary-heavy streaming service.
Since WarnerMedia and Discovery merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year, CEO David Zaslav has made the consolidation of the conglomerate’s streaming services a top priority. One of his first moves was to scrap CNN+, a streaming service that the company had invested over 100 million into, just a month after it launched. CNN+ primarily focused on content made by CNN personalities that was not strictly news-related. While the service failed to find a significant subscriber base, much of the content produced for it is now...
Since WarnerMedia and Discovery merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year, CEO David Zaslav has made the consolidation of the conglomerate’s streaming services a top priority. One of his first moves was to scrap CNN+, a streaming service that the company had invested over 100 million into, just a month after it launched. CNN+ primarily focused on content made by CNN personalities that was not strictly news-related. While the service failed to find a significant subscriber base, much of the content produced for it is now...
- 8/19/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
“Trump Is No Hitler, But…”: ‘The Meaning Of Hitler’ Directors On Parallels Between The Führer And 45
It’s purely coincidental, but the new documentary The Meaning of Hitler was released in theaters and on-demand platforms Friday, the very day some Trump supporters (like the My Pillow guy) insisted their preferred president would magically re-take power. They woke up today to find Joe Biden still occupying the White House.
The film written, directed and produced by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, based partly on the 1978 book of the same name by Sebastian Haffner, examines the enduring fascination with Hitler and Nazism, “set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of antisemitism and the weaponization of history itself.”
Through judicious use of audio and video of Trump, the documentary also invites viewers to compare the Führer and the 45th American president, who arguably share personality traits and political tactics, if not precisely the same goals.
Deadline: Tell me what inspired you to make the film.
The film written, directed and produced by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, based partly on the 1978 book of the same name by Sebastian Haffner, examines the enduring fascination with Hitler and Nazism, “set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of antisemitism and the weaponization of history itself.”
Through judicious use of audio and video of Trump, the documentary also invites viewers to compare the Führer and the 45th American president, who arguably share personality traits and political tactics, if not precisely the same goals.
Deadline: Tell me what inspired you to make the film.
- 8/14/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
In a wide-ranging new documentary, the lasting and insidious influence of the Nazi dictator is put under the microscope
Start a conversation about Donald Trump these days and it’s only a matter of time before someone mentions Adolf Hitler.
But if your subject is Hitler, how long before someone brings up Trump? Two minutes is all it takes in the film The Meaning of Hitler, a study of our undying fascination with the Nazi dictator directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker.
Start a conversation about Donald Trump these days and it’s only a matter of time before someone mentions Adolf Hitler.
But if your subject is Hitler, how long before someone brings up Trump? Two minutes is all it takes in the film The Meaning of Hitler, a study of our undying fascination with the Nazi dictator directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker.
- 8/10/2021
- by David Smith in Washington
- The Guardian - Film News
The Meaning Of Hitler IFC Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker Writer: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker, based on the novel “The Meaning of Hitler” by Sebastian Haffner Cast: Martin Amis, Yehuda Bauer, Richard Evans, Saul Friedländer, David Irving, Serge Klarsfeld, Deborah Lipstadt, Francine […]
The post The Meaning of Hitler Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Meaning of Hitler Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 8/8/2021
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
"An urgent warning." IFC Films has debuted the official US trailer for an acclaimed, provocative, and eye-opening documentary film titled The Meaning of Hitler, the latest doc from award-winning filmmakers Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker. This premiered at the Doc NYC Film Festival last year, and is opening in theaters this August. And it's an important doc that is as relevant as ever today - we need to hear all of this. What can history tell us about the present? Shot in nine countries, the film explores what Hitler means in the current waves of white supremacy, antisemitism, and weaponization of history. "As fears of fascism and authoritarianism now abound, the film explores the myths and misconceptions of our understanding of the past, and the difficult process of coming to terms with it at a time in our history when it seems more urgent than ever." I watched this last year and highly recommend it.
- 7/13/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Autlook is doing brisk sales on its Cannes slate.
Scandinavia’s Non-Stop Entertainment has bought Theo Anthony’s Sundance documentary All Light, Everywhere from Austria’s Autlook following its release by Neon in North America this month.
Non-Stop has also pre-bought all Scandinavian and Baltic rights to Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s The Meaning Of Hitler, exploring the influence Hitler continues to have in contemporary culture.
Ahead of Cannes, the film was picked up by Just Wanted (Italy), Against Gravity (Poland), Jiff Films (Australia), Film Europe (Czech and Slovak Republic).
IFC Films is releasing the film in North America this summer.
Scandinavia’s Non-Stop Entertainment has bought Theo Anthony’s Sundance documentary All Light, Everywhere from Austria’s Autlook following its release by Neon in North America this month.
Non-Stop has also pre-bought all Scandinavian and Baltic rights to Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s The Meaning Of Hitler, exploring the influence Hitler continues to have in contemporary culture.
Ahead of Cannes, the film was picked up by Just Wanted (Italy), Against Gravity (Poland), Jiff Films (Australia), Film Europe (Czech and Slovak Republic).
IFC Films is releasing the film in North America this summer.
- 7/7/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films has acquired North American rights to “The Meaning of Hitler,” Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s thought-provoking documentary about the enduring cultural fascination with the Nazi dictator and its resonance on contemporary politics.
Filmed over the course of four years, the documentary is set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy and anti-Semitism, and explores the myths and misconceptions of our understanding of the past. Shot in nine countries, “The Meaning of Hitler” traces the dictator’s movements, his rise to power, and the scenes of his crimes through the lens of key locations in his life.
The documentary’s framework is inspired by Sebastian Haffner’s 1978 best-selling book of the same title, which dismantled the legend surrounding Hitler’s life through interviews with subjects including Martin Amis, Saul Friedländer, Richard Evans, Yehuda Bauer and famed Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld.
“Petra and Michael...
Filmed over the course of four years, the documentary is set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy and anti-Semitism, and explores the myths and misconceptions of our understanding of the past. Shot in nine countries, “The Meaning of Hitler” traces the dictator’s movements, his rise to power, and the scenes of his crimes through the lens of key locations in his life.
The documentary’s framework is inspired by Sebastian Haffner’s 1978 best-selling book of the same title, which dismantled the legend surrounding Hitler’s life through interviews with subjects including Martin Amis, Saul Friedländer, Richard Evans, Yehuda Bauer and famed Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld.
“Petra and Michael...
- 3/2/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
When a documentary is called “The Meaning of Hitler,” there are two things you know off the bat. One is that the film probably won’t live up to that title — and doesn’t have to, because how could it? The other thing you know is that it’s trying for something audacious, placing itself on the high bar of who-was-Adolf-Hitler? meditation. And that’s a good thing, since for all the mystery that still surrounds Hitler we do know a great deal about him, and we want a movie like this one to jolt us with the shock of the new. The author Martin Amis, who’s one of the most compelling people interviewed here, says that if you can expand our knowledge of Hitler by just a millimeter, you’ve done something. We go into “The Meaning of Hitler” craving that millimeter of insight, of intrigue and revelation.
- 11/26/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s ever more timely The Meaning Of Hitler, a Doc NYC highlight, features Saul Friedländer and Francine Prose on Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will, Martin Amis on political tactics and characterology, Klaus Theweleit on strangers, Deborah Lipstadt, Beate Klarsfeld, Serge Klarsfeld, Ute Frevert, and Yehuda Bauer. The filmmakers start in 2017 with a commuter train ride into New York City, and then on to a subway - Epperlein is seen reading books that mark the moment by the likes of Timothy Snyder, Hannah Arendt, George Orwell, Theweleit, and the one by Sebastian Haffner that gives the film its name.
A little avalanche of movie clips, from Mel Brooks’s [film id=10451]The...
A little avalanche of movie clips, from Mel Brooks’s [film id=10451]The...
- 11/22/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Christian D Bruun's Calendar Girl on Ruth Finley, the creator of the Fashion Calendar, is a Doc NYC highlight. Other feature films of note include Chris McKim’s Wojnarowicz (on David Wojnarowicz); Nathan Grossman’s I Am Greta (on Greta Thunberg); Ulrike Ottinger’s Paris Calligrammes; Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s The Meaning of Hitler; Oliver Murray’s Ronnie’s (on Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club); Katja Hogset, Margreth Olin, and Espen Wallin’s Self Portrait (Selvportrettet) (on photographer Lene Marie Fossen); Yael Bridge’s The Big Scary "S" Word; and two shorts, Jennifer Callahan’s Making The Case on Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s handbags (thank you to Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer) and Alison Klayman’s Flower Punk (on artist Azuma Makoto).
Calendar Girl (written with producer Natalie Nudell) features interviews with the who’s who of the fashion world (including Bill Cunningham; Carolina Herrera, who designed the white pantsuit and pussy-bow blouse.
Calendar Girl (written with producer Natalie Nudell) features interviews with the who’s who of the fashion world (including Bill Cunningham; Carolina Herrera, who designed the white pantsuit and pussy-bow blouse.
- 11/18/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Francine Prose will join Roger Berkowitz, head of the Hannah Arendt Center, Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker for a conversation on Doc NYC Facebook Live this Monday at 2:00pm (Est) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s kaleidoscopic investigation into the past and our future takes us on the road of history and the state of the world at this moment in time, featuring interviews with Saul Friedländer and Francine Prose on Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will, Martin Amis on political tactics and characterology, Deborah Lipstadt, Beate Klarsfeld, Serge Klarsfeld, and 94-year-old Yehuda Bauer getting the last word. We enter with books by Timothy Snyder, Hannah Arendt, George Orwell, Klaus Theweleit, and the one by Sebastian Haffner that gives the film its name.
Clips from Mel Brooks’s The Producers to Bruno Ganz in Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Downfall to Anthony Hopkins in George Schaefer’s...
Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s kaleidoscopic investigation into the past and our future takes us on the road of history and the state of the world at this moment in time, featuring interviews with Saul Friedländer and Francine Prose on Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will, Martin Amis on political tactics and characterology, Deborah Lipstadt, Beate Klarsfeld, Serge Klarsfeld, and 94-year-old Yehuda Bauer getting the last word. We enter with books by Timothy Snyder, Hannah Arendt, George Orwell, Klaus Theweleit, and the one by Sebastian Haffner that gives the film its name.
Clips from Mel Brooks’s The Producers to Bruno Ganz in Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Downfall to Anthony Hopkins in George Schaefer’s...
- 11/15/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Robert Yapkowitz and Rich Peete’s In My Own Time: A Portrait Of Karen Dalton executive producer Wim Wenders on Nick Cave and Karen Dalton: “Just like Nick, Karen’s music had a profound effect on me.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda, co-written with Ainara Vera, executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix, co-produced by Anita Rehoff Larsen from Sant & Usant with Joslyn Barnes and Susan Rockefeller of Louverture Films and a Main Slate selection of the 58th New York Film Festival; Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s ever more timely The Meaning Of Hitler; Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s intimate portrait, Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide, produced with David Koh (featuring remembrances from Kenny of Keith Haring, Klaus Nomi, <a...
Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda, co-written with Ainara Vera, executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix, co-produced by Anita Rehoff Larsen from Sant & Usant with Joslyn Barnes and Susan Rockefeller of Louverture Films and a Main Slate selection of the 58th New York Film Festival; Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s ever more timely The Meaning Of Hitler; Malia Scharf and Max Basch’s intimate portrait, Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide, produced with David Koh (featuring remembrances from Kenny of Keith Haring, Klaus Nomi, <a...
- 11/15/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Time has a tendency to flatten history’s darkest chapters, reducing panic and persecution to footnotes and caricature. So it goes with Adolf Hitler, whose outsized image as a cartoon villain often obscures the horrifying endurance of Nazi ideology today. “The Meaning of Hitler” sets the record straight. , directors Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s eerie and insightful essay film burrows into the nexus of Hitler’s mythology in a remarkable attempt to determine whether it makes more sense to understand its resilience or tune it out. As it meanders through a parade of talking heads, pensive narration, fragments of biography, and genocidal sightseeing, the movie assembles a trenchant argument against shrugging aside the specter of Nazism, and makes it clear that the fascism of the past can happen just as easily today.
This is not uncharted terrain. “The Meaning of Hitler” takes its title from Sebastian Haffner’s 1978 German bestseller,...
This is not uncharted terrain. “The Meaning of Hitler” takes its title from Sebastian Haffner’s 1978 German bestseller,...
- 11/14/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Doc NYC, America’s largest documentary festival and staple of the New York film community, announced the lineup for its 11th edition, running online November 11-19 and available to viewers across the US. The program includes new films about John Belushi, Pope Francis, Bill T. Jones, Jamal Khashoggi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frank Zappa, and many more. The 2020 festival lineup includes 107 feature-length documentaries among over 200 films and dozens of events. Included are 23 World Premieres, 12 international or North American premieres, and 7 US premieres. Fifty-seven features (53% of the lineup) are directed or co-directed by women and 36 by Bipoc directors (34% of the feature program).
World Premieres at the festival include Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s “A La Calle,” Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan,” Sian-Pierre Regis’s “Duty Free,” Noah Hutton’s “In Silico,” Nancy Buirski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,...
World Premieres at the festival include Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo’s “A La Calle,” Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan,” Sian-Pierre Regis’s “Duty Free,” Noah Hutton’s “In Silico,” Nancy Buirski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,...
- 10/15/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
The first all-virtual edition of the Doc NYC festival of nonfiction films announced its 2020 lineup on Thursday, with 107 feature documentaries about everyone from John Belushi to Jamal Khashoggi and Pope Francis to Frank Zappa,
The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”
Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.
The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...
The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”
Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.
The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...
- 10/15/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Doc NYC, the documentary film festival set to run Nov. 11-19 in New York City, has unveiled its virtual 2020 edition lineup, with 23 world premieres, including Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s The Meaning of Hitler and Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s Wuhan Wuhan.
The upcoming festival as it goes online amid the pandemic will screen 107 feature-length documentaries among more than 200 films and events overall, organizers announced Thursday.
Also headed to Doc NYC is Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI; Alex Gibney’s Crazy, Not Insane; Tommy Oliver’s 40 Years a Prisoner; Sonia Kennebeck’s Enemies of the States, and an international ...
The upcoming festival as it goes online amid the pandemic will screen 107 feature-length documentaries among more than 200 films and events overall, organizers announced Thursday.
Also headed to Doc NYC is Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI; Alex Gibney’s Crazy, Not Insane; Tommy Oliver’s 40 Years a Prisoner; Sonia Kennebeck’s Enemies of the States, and an international ...
- 10/15/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Doc NYC, the documentary film festival set to run Nov. 11-19 in New York City, has unveiled its virtual 2020 edition lineup, with 23 world premieres, including Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s The Meaning of Hitler and Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s Wuhan Wuhan.
The upcoming festival as it goes online amid the pandemic will screen 107 feature-length documentaries among more than 200 films and events overall, organizers announced Thursday.
Also headed to Doc NYC is Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI; Alex Gibney’s Crazy, Not Insane; Tommy Oliver’s 40 Years a Prisoner; Sonia Kennebeck’s Enemies of the States, and an international ...
The upcoming festival as it goes online amid the pandemic will screen 107 feature-length documentaries among more than 200 films and events overall, organizers announced Thursday.
Also headed to Doc NYC is Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI; Alex Gibney’s Crazy, Not Insane; Tommy Oliver’s 40 Years a Prisoner; Sonia Kennebeck’s Enemies of the States, and an international ...
- 10/15/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Updated Exclusive: While NFL players debate the severity of punishment that might come the way of Philadelphia Eagles Wr DeSean Jackson for tweeting anti-Semitic comments and evoking Adolf Hitler in a widely derided social media rant, team owner Jeffrey Lurie coincidentally launched his new production company Play/Action Pictures with what might be an ideal teaching tool for the player.
Lurie has teamed with Cinetic Media for their inaugural project The Meaning Of Hitler. Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, the film uses the title of the bestselling book from 1978 to put a provocative spotlight on our culture’s fascination with Hitler and Nazism as it sets itself against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of antisemitism and the weaponization of history itself.
Filmed in nine countries over three years, the film traces Hitler’s movements, his rise...
Lurie has teamed with Cinetic Media for their inaugural project The Meaning Of Hitler. Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, the film uses the title of the bestselling book from 1978 to put a provocative spotlight on our culture’s fascination with Hitler and Nazism as it sets itself against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of antisemitism and the weaponization of history itself.
Filmed in nine countries over three years, the film traces Hitler’s movements, his rise...
- 7/10/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
11/8/16 The Orchard Directors: Duane Andersen, Yung Chang, Garth Donovan, Vikram Gandhi, Raul Gasteazoro, Andrew Beck Grace, Jamie Goncalves, Alma Har’el, Daniel Junge, Alison Klayman, Martha Shane, Ciara Lacy, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Bassam Tariq, Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce, Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/24/17 Opens: November 3, 2017 If we […]
The post 11/8/16 Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post 11/8/16 Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/30/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Now playing in New York at Film Forum, Karl Marx City, Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s follow-up to 2013’s The Flag. An entirely different meditation on national identity, in Karl Marx City Epperlein — who emigrated to the States following the collapse of the Berlin Wall — travels back to her East German homeland, and the film follows her as she attempts to discover the reason for her father’s suicide in 1999. Evidence that he may have been a Stasi informant deepens the urgency of her journey, with a visit to the Stasi archives revealing thousands of hours of footage, somewhere in […]...
- 3/31/2017
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
Two Very Different Movies Look to Divide Up the Weekend Box Office Business
With Disney’s Beauty and the Beast continuing to dominate at the box office with $90 million this past weekend, and Saban’s Power Rangers (Lionsgate) also doing exceedingly well with $40 million in second place, you wouldn’t think anyone would try to release a movie that might get overshadowed by those two blockbusters.
That said, what’s interesting about this weekend is the fact there are two very different movies that are competing very heavily for second place with DreamWorks Animation’s latest animated family film, The Boss Baby (20th Century Fox), taking on the live action English remake of Ghost In The Shell (Paramount), starring Scarlett Johansson. In most cases,...
Two Very Different Movies Look to Divide Up the Weekend Box Office Business
With Disney’s Beauty and the Beast continuing to dominate at the box office with $90 million this past weekend, and Saban’s Power Rangers (Lionsgate) also doing exceedingly well with $40 million in second place, you wouldn’t think anyone would try to release a movie that might get overshadowed by those two blockbusters.
That said, what’s interesting about this weekend is the fact there are two very different movies that are competing very heavily for second place with DreamWorks Animation’s latest animated family film, The Boss Baby (20th Century Fox), taking on the live action English remake of Ghost In The Shell (Paramount), starring Scarlett Johansson. In most cases,...
- 3/31/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
The German Democratic Republic was the most intensely surveilled society in human history, and yet — as time marches on and the Cold War becomes nothing more than a memory, gray and alien — the fundamental irony of such a perfect spy state grows more striking by the day: By obsessively monitoring their friends and neighbors, the Gdr’s secret police were creating a perfect documentary of themselves.
For proof of that fact, look no further than Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s fascinating and necessary “Karl Marx City,” a vaguely Guy Maddin-esque swan-dive into the mysteries of life behind the Berlin Wall and the traumas of surviving it. A remarkable if occasionally unfocused work of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (“the process of coming to terms with the past”), this hypnotic autobiography leverages one woman’s fear to exhume the paranoia that once defined an entire country. In its haphazard search for facts, it...
For proof of that fact, look no further than Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s fascinating and necessary “Karl Marx City,” a vaguely Guy Maddin-esque swan-dive into the mysteries of life behind the Berlin Wall and the traumas of surviving it. A remarkable if occasionally unfocused work of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (“the process of coming to terms with the past”), this hypnotic autobiography leverages one woman’s fear to exhume the paranoia that once defined an entire country. In its haphazard search for facts, it...
- 3/28/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Movie Review: Karl Marx City uncovers a dark mystery from the files of the East German secret police
In the hours before his suicide in 1999, Petra Epperlein’s father washed his car, burned his personal papers, and mailed his daughter a cryptic note along with a postcard she had sent him some years earlier. The death seemed to come out of nowhere for Epperlein and her two brothers; their father had been a prototypical mustachioed, hard-working family man who labored to give his children the best life he could in their corner of East Germany. But there was the matter of the mysterious blackmail threat that arrived at their home not long after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and the fact that their father had been able to get his sons out of military training thanks to what had been described as a favor from a friend. In the years since his suicide, a suspicion has bugged the family: Did their father, in fact, work with ...
- 3/28/2017
- by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
- avclub.com
After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, Karl Marx City stopped by New York Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, and more, and now it’s heading to theaters this month. In Karl Marx City, documentarians Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker take a personal exploration of life under the East German Stasi, specifically through the eyes of Epperlein as she reflects on her father’s suicide. Ahead of a release next, week a new trailer has now arrived.
We said in our review, “With a clearer focus, Karl Marx City could have been the Stasi version of What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy or Inheritance, or, with more intimacy, been akin to an East German No Home Movie. While we’re told that there is 111 km of Stasi archives informing on over 17 million people and shown the archive storage units, this film spends an inordinate amount of time...
We said in our review, “With a clearer focus, Karl Marx City could have been the Stasi version of What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy or Inheritance, or, with more intimacy, been akin to an East German No Home Movie. While we’re told that there is 111 km of Stasi archives informing on over 17 million people and shown the archive storage units, this film spends an inordinate amount of time...
- 3/22/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"She was born in a place called Karl Marx City, where she claims she had a happy childhood." Bond/360 has released an official trailer for the documentary Karl Marx City, which premiered at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals last fall. The film follows one of the filmmakers, Petra Epperlein, as she journeys through the former East Germany looking into her father's 1999 suicide. It has been described as a "lean, smart, quick, well-made, and unsparing" documentary. It's both a look into Cold War Germany, along with an investigation into her father's potential connection with the Stasi secret police of the German Democratic Republic. This looks like a fascinating documentary with multiple layers of discussion and examination. I like this trailer because it's so different than most trailers we see nowadays, and that's definitely refreshing. Here's the official trailer for Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker's doc Karl Marx City, from...
- 3/13/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Combining family history with a lean, but no less detailed look at Germany’s Stasi past, “Karl Marx City” is a documentary with the qualities of a thriller, and today we have the exclusive trailer for the upcoming film.
Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, the duo behind “Gunner Palace,” the film explores the possible link Epperlein’s father had with the security state, while also studying Germany’s Cold War era.
Continue reading Exclusive: A Family Mystery Unfolds In The Trailer For Documentary ‘Karl Marx City’ at The Playlist.
Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, the duo behind “Gunner Palace,” the film explores the possible link Epperlein’s father had with the security state, while also studying Germany’s Cold War era.
Continue reading Exclusive: A Family Mystery Unfolds In The Trailer For Documentary ‘Karl Marx City’ at The Playlist.
- 3/13/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Karl Marx City Bond/360 Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Director: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker Written by: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker Cast: Petra Epperlein, Matilda Tucker (voice), Christa Epperlein, Uwe Epperlein, Volker Epperlein, Dr. Udo Grashoff, Dr. Hubertus Knabe, Dr. Douglas Selvage, Dagmar Hovestädt, Lother Raschker, Dr. Juliane Schütterle, Jana X, R. S.X. Screened at: Critics’ […]
The post Karl Marx City Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Karl Marx City Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 3/7/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Bleecker Street has secured U.S. distribution rights to Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s true-life story, “Megan Leavey.” The film is based on the life of Leavey (Kate Mara), a young marine corporal in the K9 unit whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.
Bleecker Street will release the movie on June 9, 2017.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Samuel Goldwyn Films Picks Up ‘Youth in Oregon,’ The Orchard Buys ‘Monkey Business’ and More
The film co-stars Edie Falco, Ramon Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, and Common. Directed by Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”), the movie was written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tim Lovestedt and produced by Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon and Jennifer Monroe.
– Bleecker Street has secured U.S. distribution rights to Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s true-life story, “Megan Leavey.” The film is based on the life of Leavey (Kate Mara), a young marine corporal in the K9 unit whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.
Bleecker Street will release the movie on June 9, 2017.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Samuel Goldwyn Films Picks Up ‘Youth in Oregon,’ The Orchard Buys ‘Monkey Business’ and More
The film co-stars Edie Falco, Ramon Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, and Common. Directed by Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”), the movie was written by Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tim Lovestedt and produced by Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon and Jennifer Monroe.
- 1/13/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
HBO has acquired Evgeny Afineevsky’s Sundance selection and follow-up to Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom in a deal with executive producer David Dinerstein.
Cries From Syria chronicles the Middle East country’s civil war and draws on hundreds of hours of war footage as well as testimony from child protestors, human rights activists, citizens and high-ranking army generals who have defected from the Army.
The film receives its world premiere in Park City this month in the Documentary Premieres strand and will debut on HBO on March 13.
Annapurna Television is partnering with the Coen Brothers on Western anthology The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. Annapurna issued a press release saying it intended to pursue “an innovative television and theatrical integrated approach” without elaborating. Joel and Ethen Coen wrote the script and will direct and produce through their Mike Zoss Productions label. Ellison and Annapurna Television president of television Sue Naegle are executive producers. UTA represents...
Cries From Syria chronicles the Middle East country’s civil war and draws on hundreds of hours of war footage as well as testimony from child protestors, human rights activists, citizens and high-ranking army generals who have defected from the Army.
The film receives its world premiere in Park City this month in the Documentary Premieres strand and will debut on HBO on March 13.
Annapurna Television is partnering with the Coen Brothers on Western anthology The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. Annapurna issued a press release saying it intended to pursue “an innovative television and theatrical integrated approach” without elaborating. Joel and Ethen Coen wrote the script and will direct and produce through their Mike Zoss Productions label. Ellison and Annapurna Television president of television Sue Naegle are executive producers. UTA represents...
- 1/10/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The election will be over in six days, but this cycle has been unprecedented in so many ways — most of them bad — that it’s likely to take years of hindsight and any number of books and movies to fully understand. Jeff Deutchman will start that process with “11/8/16,” a documentary he’s producing that will be directed by a huge group of directors that includes David Lowery, Lena Dunham and Yung Chang. The Orchard will both fund and produce the project, which is being executive produced by Dana O’Keefe, Brad Navin, Paul Davidson and Danielle Digiacomo.
Read More: Career Moves: Jeff Deutchman Leaves Alchemy, Bob Pilon Goes to Participant and More
More than 30 filmmakers total will document Election Day, from early morning until the polls close and the results are announced, in a follow-up to Deutchman’s earlier “11/4/08.” “This election has started to feel like it is testing the...
Read More: Career Moves: Jeff Deutchman Leaves Alchemy, Bob Pilon Goes to Participant and More
More than 30 filmmakers total will document Election Day, from early morning until the polls close and the results are announced, in a follow-up to Deutchman’s earlier “11/4/08.” “This election has started to feel like it is testing the...
- 11/2/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The 27th edition of the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 9 - 20) will present 200 films from 70 countries.
The Stockholm International Film Festival will kick-off with Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake, followed by a mid-festival ‘middle film’ screening in the shape of Nate Parker’s Birth of A Nation, and will close with Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By The Sea.
Directors attending the festival include Francis Ford Coppola (who will receive the lifetime achievement award, present a public talk, and screen Apocalypse Now), Ken Loach, Francois Ozon (who receives the festival’s Visionary Award), Ira Sachs, Alice Lowe, Mark Cousins, Anne Fontaine, Gabe Klinger, and many more.
The festival’s main competition line-up is:
A Decent Woman by Lukas Valenta Rinner (Arg, S Kor, Aus)A Taste Of Ink by Morgan Simon (Fr)Albüm by Mehmet Can Mertoğlu (Tur, Fr, Rom)Are We Not Cats by Xander Robin (Us)Birth Of A Nation by [link...
The Stockholm International Film Festival will kick-off with Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake, followed by a mid-festival ‘middle film’ screening in the shape of Nate Parker’s Birth of A Nation, and will close with Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By The Sea.
Directors attending the festival include Francis Ford Coppola (who will receive the lifetime achievement award, present a public talk, and screen Apocalypse Now), Ken Loach, Francois Ozon (who receives the festival’s Visionary Award), Ira Sachs, Alice Lowe, Mark Cousins, Anne Fontaine, Gabe Klinger, and many more.
The festival’s main competition line-up is:
A Decent Woman by Lukas Valenta Rinner (Arg, S Kor, Aus)A Taste Of Ink by Morgan Simon (Fr)Albüm by Mehmet Can Mertoğlu (Tur, Fr, Rom)Are We Not Cats by Xander Robin (Us)Birth Of A Nation by [link...
- 10/18/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
As this year’s New York Film Festival nears its conclusion, it’s time to look at and take stock of numerous aspects of the film landscape. A cavalcade of films hit the Big Apple for the prestigious festival, be it world premieres or pictures already seen at high ranking festivals like Cannes or even Berlin, hoping to either gain a new foothold in the growing awards season, or make an impact with critics and audiences. Opening for the first time ever with a documentary (Ava DuVernay’s superlative 13th), this is a historic year for the festival, and with that comes one of the most interesting lineups in years. But what about the films below even this radar? What about the films you may not see heat up the trades or make waves on hashtag Film Twitter? If you’re looking for the hidden gems from this year’s lineup,...
- 10/15/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The head of Karl Marx glooms over Chemnitz, Germany — figuratively, as this city was once part of the Eastern Bloc, formerly known as Karl-Marx-Stadt, and literally, as a 40-ton stone bust of him is too massive to be taken away. In Karl Marx City, documentarians Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker use this place as both title and backdrop to reflect on past and residual damage caused by the G.D.R. (German Democratic Republic) and its conspiratorial abuses of power under the banner of Marxist ideology. Its narrative follows Karl Marx City-born Epperlein in a search for answers about her childhood, identity, and father.
When Epperlein’s father committed suicide in 1999 (a decade after the fall of communism), he left behind a rushed letter signed “Best regards” and a convoluted string of conflicting questions and histories involving the Stasi (Ministry for State Security, also known as East Germany’s...
When Epperlein’s father committed suicide in 1999 (a decade after the fall of communism), he left behind a rushed letter signed “Best regards” and a convoluted string of conflicting questions and histories involving the Stasi (Ministry for State Security, also known as East Germany’s...
- 10/15/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, Garth Davis’ Lion and Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson are among the special presentations set to screen at the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival that runs from October 13-27.
Director Julie Dash will attend a newly restored version of Daughters Of The Dust as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of festival’s Black Perspectives programme.
International Feature Competition selections include Pablo Larrain’s Neruda, Paolo Virzi’s Like Crazy, Antonio Campos’ Christine starring Rebecca Hall, and Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune.
Among the Documentary Competition entries are Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s Karl Marx City, Paul Fegan’s Where You’re Meant To Be, and Monika Grassl’s Girls Don’t Fly.
Click here for the full line-up.
Karyn Kusama and writer-producers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (The Invitation) have signed on to 20th Century Fox’s horror film Breed. Scott Frank will also produce the adaptation of Chase Novak’s novel...
Director Julie Dash will attend a newly restored version of Daughters Of The Dust as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of festival’s Black Perspectives programme.
International Feature Competition selections include Pablo Larrain’s Neruda, Paolo Virzi’s Like Crazy, Antonio Campos’ Christine starring Rebecca Hall, and Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune.
Among the Documentary Competition entries are Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s Karl Marx City, Paul Fegan’s Where You’re Meant To Be, and Monika Grassl’s Girls Don’t Fly.
Click here for the full line-up.
Karyn Kusama and writer-producers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (The Invitation) have signed on to 20th Century Fox’s horror film Breed. Scott Frank will also produce the adaptation of Chase Novak’s novel...
- 9/19/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Focus has stolen headlines with its acquisition of Pt Anderson’s latest, while buyers are circling Jackie.
Heading into the weekend Toronto has already delivered two headline-grabbing pre-buys.
Focus Features’ $35m worldwide rights swoop on Pt Anderson’s untitled Daniel Day-Lewis reunion project stirred up excitement before the festival even started.
CAA brokered that deal and was also fielding intense early interest on Jackie, Pablo Larrain’s Venice critical darling that may trigger a Us deal after the North American premiere in Toronto on Sunday.
The second major pre-buy came on Friday when Lionsgate closed a deal with Wme Global and Good Universe on Kin.
No Trace Camping will finance the action thriller to star James Franco and Jack Reynor and Lionsgate is understood to have paid in the upper $20m range for its Summit Entertainment label.
There are more packages floating about – CAA is touting Rebel In The Rye, while Wme Global...
Heading into the weekend Toronto has already delivered two headline-grabbing pre-buys.
Focus Features’ $35m worldwide rights swoop on Pt Anderson’s untitled Daniel Day-Lewis reunion project stirred up excitement before the festival even started.
CAA brokered that deal and was also fielding intense early interest on Jackie, Pablo Larrain’s Venice critical darling that may trigger a Us deal after the North American premiere in Toronto on Sunday.
The second major pre-buy came on Friday when Lionsgate closed a deal with Wme Global and Good Universe on Kin.
No Trace Camping will finance the action thriller to star James Franco and Jack Reynor and Lionsgate is understood to have paid in the upper $20m range for its Summit Entertainment label.
There are more packages floating about – CAA is touting Rebel In The Rye, while Wme Global...
- 9/10/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Sales outfit has picked up Karl Marx City and Politics, An Instruction Manual.
Us sales company Cinetic International has added Tiff Docs selections Karl Marx City [pictured] and Politics, An Instruction Manual to its Toronto sales slate. Cinetic head Jason Ishikawa and his team represent international on Karl Marx City and jointly handle the Us with Submarine.
Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein’s film gets its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival today (Sept 8) and will receive its Us premiere at the New York Film Festival (Sept 30 - Oct 16). It follows Epperlein as she investigates her father’s suicide and reflects on the possibility that he may have worked for the East German Stasi secret police.
Fernando Leon de Aranoa’s Politics, An Instruction Manual is the highest grossing documentary of the year in its native Spain and lines up for its international premiere here on Saturday (Sept 10). The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the...
Us sales company Cinetic International has added Tiff Docs selections Karl Marx City [pictured] and Politics, An Instruction Manual to its Toronto sales slate. Cinetic head Jason Ishikawa and his team represent international on Karl Marx City and jointly handle the Us with Submarine.
Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein’s film gets its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival today (Sept 8) and will receive its Us premiere at the New York Film Festival (Sept 30 - Oct 16). It follows Epperlein as she investigates her father’s suicide and reflects on the possibility that he may have worked for the East German Stasi secret police.
Fernando Leon de Aranoa’s Politics, An Instruction Manual is the highest grossing documentary of the year in its native Spain and lines up for its international premiere here on Saturday (Sept 10). The film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the...
- 9/8/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters and Life Itself director Steve James's latest, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, in the New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Films by Steve James, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens (on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds), Errol Morris (on Elsa Dorfman), Bill Morrison, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Raoul Peck, Kasper Collin (on Lee Morgan), Sam Pollard, Aaron Brookner (on William Burroughs and Robert Wilson documentarian Howard Brookner), Olatz López Garmendia, Shimon Dotan, Mohamed Siam, Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger (on Wendy Whelan), Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker will shine in the New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary section.
Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th was announced earlier as the Opening Night Gala film, Gimme Danger's Jim Jarmusch appears in Brookner's Uncle Howard and Sacro Gra director Gianfranco Rosi has his latest Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) screening in the Main Slate program.
Chaired by Festival Director Kent Jones,...
Films by Steve James, Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens (on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds), Errol Morris (on Elsa Dorfman), Bill Morrison, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Raoul Peck, Kasper Collin (on Lee Morgan), Sam Pollard, Aaron Brookner (on William Burroughs and Robert Wilson documentarian Howard Brookner), Olatz López Garmendia, Shimon Dotan, Mohamed Siam, Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger (on Wendy Whelan), Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker will shine in the New York Film Festival Spotlight on Documentary section.
Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th was announced earlier as the Opening Night Gala film, Gimme Danger's Jim Jarmusch appears in Brookner's Uncle Howard and Sacro Gra director Gianfranco Rosi has his latest Fire at Sea (Fuocoammare) screening in the Main Slate program.
Chaired by Festival Director Kent Jones,...
- 8/25/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Film Society of Lincoln Center today announced the complete Spotlight on Documentary lineup for the 54th New York Film Festival, which begins on September 30 and ends on October 16. Among the more prominent selections are “Hoop Dreams” director Steve James’ “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” and Errol Morris’ “The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography,” among others; already announced titles for this year’s edition of Nyff, the 54th, include Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea,” Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” and Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women.” Find the full list of documentaries below.
Read More: Nyff Reveals Main Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Manchester By the Sea,’ ‘Paterson’ and ‘Personal Shopper’
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” (Steve James)
“The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography” (Errol Morris)
“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds” (Alexis Bloom & Fisher Stevens)
“The Cinema Travellers” (Shirley Abraham & Amit Madheshiya”)
“Dawson City: Frozen Times” (Bill Morrison)
“Hissen Habré,...
Read More: Nyff Reveals Main Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Manchester By the Sea,’ ‘Paterson’ and ‘Personal Shopper’
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” (Steve James)
“The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography” (Errol Morris)
“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds” (Alexis Bloom & Fisher Stevens)
“The Cinema Travellers” (Shirley Abraham & Amit Madheshiya”)
“Dawson City: Frozen Times” (Bill Morrison)
“Hissen Habré,...
- 8/24/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Festival top brass announced on Wednesday the selections that will screen in the 54th New York Film Festival’s Spotlight On Documentary.
The roster includes Steve James’ Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, Errol Morris’ The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography, Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, and Mohamed Siam’s Whose Country?
The festival runs from September 30-October 16 and as previously announced will open with Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th.
Spotlight On Documentary
(All 2016 unless stated otherwise)
Abacus: Small Enough To Jail (USA) Steve JamesThe B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (USA) Errol MorrisBright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (USA) Alexis Bloom and Fisher StevensThe Cinema Travellers (India) Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya — Us premiereDawson City: Frozen Time (USA) Bill Morrison — North American premiereHissen Habré, A Chadian Tragedy (France-Chad) Mahamat-Saleh HarounI Am Not Your Negro (USA-France-Belgium-Switzerland) Raoul PeckI Called Him Morgan (Sweden) Kasper CollinKarl Marx City (USA-Germany) Petra Epperlein and Michael...
The roster includes Steve James’ Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, Errol Morris’ The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography, Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, and Mohamed Siam’s Whose Country?
The festival runs from September 30-October 16 and as previously announced will open with Ava DuVernay’s documentary The 13th.
Spotlight On Documentary
(All 2016 unless stated otherwise)
Abacus: Small Enough To Jail (USA) Steve JamesThe B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (USA) Errol MorrisBright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (USA) Alexis Bloom and Fisher StevensThe Cinema Travellers (India) Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya — Us premiereDawson City: Frozen Time (USA) Bill Morrison — North American premiereHissen Habré, A Chadian Tragedy (France-Chad) Mahamat-Saleh HarounI Am Not Your Negro (USA-France-Belgium-Switzerland) Raoul PeckI Called Him Morgan (Sweden) Kasper CollinKarl Marx City (USA-Germany) Petra Epperlein and Michael...
- 8/24/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The third cascade of world premieres in 15 days flowed from the headquarters of the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday as programmers revealed their Midnight Madness, Tiff Docs, Vanguard, Tiff Cinematheque and Short Cuts selections.
This week’s offering includes Ben Wheatley’s all-star gangster thriller Free Fire, which opens Midnight Madness one year after the premiere of the British auteur’s High-Rise; fast-rising Chadwick Boseman in revenge thriller Message From The King in Vanguard and a Tiff Docs strand that features climate change documentary The Turning Point, featuring and produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 41st Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 to 18.
Wp = world premiere, IP = international premiere, Nap = North American premiere, Cp = Canadian premiere, Tp = Toronto premiere.
Midnight Madness
Ben Wheatley’s all-star gunfight Free Fire starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy will open the section, which includes Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Rats, Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch, André Øvredal’s [link...
This week’s offering includes Ben Wheatley’s all-star gangster thriller Free Fire, which opens Midnight Madness one year after the premiere of the British auteur’s High-Rise; fast-rising Chadwick Boseman in revenge thriller Message From The King in Vanguard and a Tiff Docs strand that features climate change documentary The Turning Point, featuring and produced by Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 41st Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 to 18.
Wp = world premiere, IP = international premiere, Nap = North American premiere, Cp = Canadian premiere, Tp = Toronto premiere.
Midnight Madness
Ben Wheatley’s all-star gunfight Free Fire starring Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Cillian Murphy will open the section, which includes Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Rats, Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch, André Øvredal’s [link...
- 8/9/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has nearly completed its slate announcement this year — expect a few stragglers to be announced in the coming days, but this is about the size of it — rounding out its lineup with today’s announcement of its Docs, Midnight Madness, Vanguard and Tiff Cinematheque picks. And what a group this is, including plenty of returning favorites and some very exciting new names.
Tiff’s Docs section features a collection of works from award-winning directors including Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris and Werner Herzog. Leonardo DiCaprio even pops up for a “rousing call to action on climate change” in “The Turning Point,” made in collaboration with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens and already picked up by National Geographic.
Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’
The beloved Midnight Madness section offers...
Tiff’s Docs section features a collection of works from award-winning directors including Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris and Werner Herzog. Leonardo DiCaprio even pops up for a “rousing call to action on climate change” in “The Turning Point,” made in collaboration with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens and already picked up by National Geographic.
Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’
The beloved Midnight Madness section offers...
- 8/9/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The real story behind Bowe Bergdahl is only beginning to unfold. While it may take weeks or months to find out exactly why and how the U.S. soldier may have left his platoon in Afghanistan in 2009 and found himself held captive by the Taliban for five years, Bergdahl’s narrative has renewed long seething debates about America’s foreign entanglements in the Middle East. Was Bergdahl a deserter or hero, a traitor or a Pow? And ultimately, was his reason for being in Afghanistan justified or, to use the military acronym, Fubar (fucked-up beyond all recognition)? American documentary cinema has long embraced this debate, with U.S. soldiers like Bergdahl emerging as some of the most powerful characters in this ongoing national drama. Think of Scott Camil, the traumatized Vietnam vet, in 1972’s Winter Soldier, who testified to the horrifying brutalization and murder of innocent Vietnamese civilians by U.
- 6/18/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
"The Flag," which premieres on CNN tonight, September 4th, at 9pm, serves as a softer counterpart to "9/11: The Falling Man," the 2006 documentary Henry Singer made about the search for the identity of the jumper in Richard Drew's iconic image from the World Trade Center. Drew's unforgettable photograph of a man plunging headfirst past rows of windows on a building that would later crumble was initially deemed too troubling when it appeared in news coverage following the attack, and "9/11: The Falling Man," which premiered on UK TV in 2006 before coming to the Us on what's now Investigation Discovery, carried with it that wounded sense of being a quest to seek out the name of someone who died horribly. "The Flag," directed by "Gunner Palace" filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, is centered around an image that people were actually eager to embrace after the tragedy -- one shot by Thomas Franklin,...
- 9/4/2013
- by Alison Willmore
- Indiewire
Filmmakers [pictured] are the latest to join Morgan Spurlock’s commercial production company.
Morgan Spurlock’s commercial production company Warpaint has signed filmmakers Sean Dunne and Braden King for commercial representation.
Dunne won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival best new documentary director award for Oxyana and amassed over 1m online hits for The Archive.
King has directed the likes of Here, which premiered at Sundance and Berlin, and Dutch Harbor, as well as short films such as the award-winning Home Movie.
Spurlock commented: “”Dunne and King each have uniquely beautiful aesthetics in their filmmaking. They are such gifted storytellers and I am ecstatic they have become part of Warpaint.”
“We are impressed with Dunne’s ability to tap into the heart of his subjects and King’s strong visual pedigree,” added Shannon Lords, managing director and executive producer of Warpaint.
Dunne and King join a list of award winning filmmakers represented by Warpaint that includes Gary Hustwit, Rupert Wyatt, [link...
Morgan Spurlock’s commercial production company Warpaint has signed filmmakers Sean Dunne and Braden King for commercial representation.
Dunne won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival best new documentary director award for Oxyana and amassed over 1m online hits for The Archive.
King has directed the likes of Here, which premiered at Sundance and Berlin, and Dutch Harbor, as well as short films such as the award-winning Home Movie.
Spurlock commented: “”Dunne and King each have uniquely beautiful aesthetics in their filmmaking. They are such gifted storytellers and I am ecstatic they have become part of Warpaint.”
“We are impressed with Dunne’s ability to tap into the heart of his subjects and King’s strong visual pedigree,” added Shannon Lords, managing director and executive producer of Warpaint.
Dunne and King join a list of award winning filmmakers represented by Warpaint that includes Gary Hustwit, Rupert Wyatt, [link...
- 6/26/2013
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Deals Made At Sundance For Films Screened At Sundance
Films by women are markedwith the ♀, African American with the symbol α (9). Latino is marked by the symbol ɤ (7). Jewish by ✡ (13), Asian by ¥ (10), Middle Eastern ᵯ (4), Lgbt (13)
New
I Used To Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr. -- Domestic: Paradigm -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance -- Monterey Media acquires rights at Sundance.
Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ✡) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own. Domestic: Submarine -- Radius-twc acquires N.A. and French rights at Sundance -- King Records licensed Japanese rights at Sundance.
Mother of George /α/ U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu α, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi. Domestic: Paradigm -- Isa: K5 -- Oscilloscope Laboratories acquired N.A. rights at Sundance
Newlyweeds /α/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King α) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez. -- Domestic: Circus Road Films -- Phase 4 acquires N.A. rights at Sundance
Before Midnight/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. Domestic: Cinetic -- Isa: Im Global -- Sony Pictures Classics acquires N.A. and UK at Sundance
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Domestic: Elevated Film Sales / Wme Isa: TWC-- IFC Films acquires Us rights reportedly for low 7-figures at Sundance
S-vhs / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez ɤ, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto ¥ & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes. Domestic: Wme -- Magnolia acquires Us rights reportedly for over $1m at Sundance
Earlier
Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins. Domestic: The Film Sales Company -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
Halley ɤ/ Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann ɤ, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores. -- Isa: Visit Films -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman ♀) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.- Isa: Visit Films -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Domestic: ICM Partners / Traction Media -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Domestic: UTA - A24 took domestic distribution at Sundance- Isa: The Exchange
The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom Lgbt, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. - UTA is No.American consultant to StudioCanal -- IFC Films has acquired North American rights at Sundance - StudioCanal has UK
The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Domestic: CAA, Wme Isa: Sierra/ Affinity -- Fox Searchlight acquired N.A. and most major territories reportedly for $9.75m at Sundance.
Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Domestic: CAA, Wme -- Relativity Media reportedly bought for close to $4 million at Sundance Isa: Voltage Pictures has sold to Future Films for Finland, Remstar for Canada, Ascot Elite Entertainment Group for Germany and Switzerland, Midget Entertainment for Denmark, Noori Pictures for So. Korea.
Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess ♀, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis. Domestic: UTA -- Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions takes worldwide rights at Sundance - Sony Pictures Classics has Us.
Blackfish / U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite ♀) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. Domestic: Submarine -- CNN Films (TV) and Magnolia Pictures (theatrical) have jointly acquired domestic rights at Sundance.
Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars. -- Domestic: Submarine
-- Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights at Sundance
Twenty Feet From Stardom / α / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada/ U.K/ Australia/ N.Zealand -- Radius-twc takes N.A. rights at Sundance. Isa: Elle Driver/Wild Bunch took international rights at Sundance
Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. -- Domestic: Submarine -- Isa: Mundial
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear / Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani ♀) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere -- Icarus Films has acquired N.A. distribution rights pre-Sundance.
Sound City / U.S.A. (Director: Dave Grohl) — Through interviews and performances with the legendary musicians and producers who worked at America’s greatest unsung recording studio, Sound City, we explore the human element of music, and the lost art of analog recording in an increasingly digital world. Gravitas Ventures has picked up worldwide VOD rights pre-Sundance
History of the Eagles Part One / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood ♀) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Domestic: Azoff Music -- Showtime picked up for cable at Sundance.
The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere -- Domestic: Submarine -- Sundance Selects acquires N.A. rights at Sundance - Madman has Australia, N. Zealand
jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern ✡, Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. (Synopses are written by Sundance staff.) Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. Closing Night Film -- Domestic: CAA -- Open Road Films acquired U.S. pre-Sundance -- Entertainment One (in collaboration with Remstar) has Canada except theatrical, VOD and French-language TV rights in Quebec which Remstar holds exclusively.
Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. -- Domestic: Mosaic -- Shane Carruth will self-distribute via his Erbp banner.
The Rambler / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) — After being released from prison, a man known as “The Rambler” stumbles upon a strange mystery as he attempts the treacherous journey through back roads and small towns en route to reconnecting with his long-lost brother. Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natasha Lyonne, James Cady, Scott Sharot. Domestic: Xyz Films -- Isa: Celluloid Nightmares -- Anchor Bay Films has picked up North America, the UK and Australia at Sundance
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere -- Domestic: Cinetic Isa:Goldcrest Films --HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. television rights at Sundance
Fruitvale /α/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler α) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray. --Domestic: Wme - TWC took N.A. and English Speaking territories reportedly for $2m at Sundance Isa:TWC
Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere Isa:Independent Film Company --Haut et Court acquires France pre-Sundance
Concussion Lgbt/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon ♀,Lgbt) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins. Domestic: Paradigm-- TWC takes N.A. at Sundance -- Isa: Content
Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth (✡)) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy. -- Domestic: Wme - Radius-twc acquired at Sundance.
Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green ✡) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch. -- Magnolia took N.A. rights at Sundance
Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine ♀, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile. Domestic:CAA -- Exclusive Releasing took Us, UK and Cis rights at Sundance - Isa:Gaumont sold toRemstar for Canada,Hopscotch Features for Australia/ N.Z.,Gaumont for France
Lovelace / U.S.A. (Directors: Rob Epstein ✡ Lgbt, Jeffrey Friedman ✡ Lgbt, Screenwriter: Andy Bellin) — Deep Throat, the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success, was an international sensation in 1972 and made its star, Linda Lovelace, a media darling. Years later the “poster girl for the sexual revolution” revealed a darker side to her story. Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, Sharon Stone. Domestic:Millennium Entertainment -- Radius-twc acquires Us rights at Sundance reportedly for $3m
Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Domestic:UTA/Elevated Film Sales Isa: Inferno Entertainment -- Sony Pictures Classics acquired Us, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, African TV and Eastern European excluding Cis at Sundance
Toy's House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie. Domestic: Cinetic Isa:Qed International -- CBS Films acquires domestic rights at Sundance
We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis. Domestic:Wme -- eOne takes Us rights reportedly for low 7-figures at Sundance -- Isa: Memento Films
Deals Made At Sundance For Films Not Screened At Sundance
Blumhouse Productions picked up Duplass Brothers’ Peachfuzz from Submarine pre-Sundance.
Ketchup Entertainment acquired Mukunda Michael Dewil’s Vehicle 19 at Sundance.
Anchor Bay Films acquired N.A. rights to Leland Orser's Morning at Sundance.
Deals Made Outside Sundance 2013
New
D Films acquires Canadian rights to Paul Haggis’ Third Person from Corsan World Sales.
Earlier
Freestyle Digital Media takes VoD and DVD rights to Jonathan Segal’s Norman.
Variance Films acquired N.A. theatrical rights to Terence Nance’s “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. DVD and digital rights previously picked up by Cinema Guild.
A24 acquired Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring.
Cohen Media Group to distribute “What is Cinema” by Chuck Workman
Factory 25 has taken world rights to 2012 SXSW film, A Sun Don’t Shine by Amy Seimetz
Inception Media Group (Img) has acquired the Justin Donnelly’s Pressed from Double Dutch International and A Haunting At Silver Falls from Outsider Pictures.
ro*co films educational has the non-theatrical release of How To Survive A Plague and Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush’s A Place At The Table.
Zeitgeist Films has acquired Margarethe Von Trotta’s Hannah Arendt starring Barbara Sukowa from Match Factory.
Factory 25 has taken worldwide rights to Matt Boyd’s A Rubberband Is An Unlikely Instrument.
Ctb Films acquired Wrong and Wrong Cops and is in negotiation to pick up Wrong Cops 2 (in development) and Realite, Praesens has acquired all rights to Wrong Cops and Realite, in Switzerland.
Picturehouse relaunching by distributing Metallica Through The Never by Nimród Antal
CNN Films has acquired 3 docs: Untitled Roger Ebert by Steve James, Untitled Ground Zero by Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein Untitled Higher Education by Andrew Rossi.
Gravitas Ventures has acquired three films from Slamdance: Steven Feinartz's doc The Bitter Buddha, Michael Urie's He's Way More Famous Than You and Peter Baxter's doc Wild In the Streets.
Gaumont acquired worldwide rights except Spain and French distribution rights to Isabel Coixet's Yesterday Never Ends (Ayer No Termina Nunca).
Breaking Glass Pictures has taken Us rights to Amelia’s 25th and N.A. rights to Christian Filippella’s Silver Case.
Paulette by Jerome Enrico -- Isa: Gaumont -- Cohen Media Group has N.A. -- Brazil (Art Films), Switzerland (Monopole-Pathe), Italy (Moviemax), Portugal (Lusomundo), Czech Republic (Hollywood Classic Entertainment) and Canada (A-z Films), among other territories.
Films by women are markedwith the ♀, African American with the symbol α (9). Latino is marked by the symbol ɤ (7). Jewish by ✡ (13), Asian by ¥ (10), Middle Eastern ᵯ (4), Lgbt (13)
New
I Used To Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr. -- Domestic: Paradigm -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance -- Monterey Media acquires rights at Sundance.
Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ✡) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own. Domestic: Submarine -- Radius-twc acquires N.A. and French rights at Sundance -- King Records licensed Japanese rights at Sundance.
Mother of George /α/ U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu α, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi. Domestic: Paradigm -- Isa: K5 -- Oscilloscope Laboratories acquired N.A. rights at Sundance
Newlyweeds /α/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King α) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez. -- Domestic: Circus Road Films -- Phase 4 acquires N.A. rights at Sundance
Before Midnight/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. Domestic: Cinetic -- Isa: Im Global -- Sony Pictures Classics acquires N.A. and UK at Sundance
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Domestic: Elevated Film Sales / Wme Isa: TWC-- IFC Films acquires Us rights reportedly for low 7-figures at Sundance
S-vhs / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez ɤ, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Jamie Nash, Timo Tjahjanto ¥ & Gareth Huw Evans, John Davies) — Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance. Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L.C Holt, Kelsy Abbott, Hannah Hughes. Domestic: Wme -- Magnolia acquires Us rights reportedly for over $1m at Sundance
Earlier
Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins. Domestic: The Film Sales Company -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
Halley ɤ/ Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann ɤ, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores. -- Isa: Visit Films -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman ♀) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.- Isa: Visit Films -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
This Is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. Domestic: ICM Partners / Traction Media -- AMC/Sundance Channel acquired linear and VoD premiere rights at Sundance
The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. Domestic: UTA - A24 took domestic distribution at Sundance- Isa: The Exchange
The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom Lgbt, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. - UTA is No.American consultant to StudioCanal -- IFC Films has acquired North American rights at Sundance - StudioCanal has UK
The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. Domestic: CAA, Wme Isa: Sierra/ Affinity -- Fox Searchlight acquired N.A. and most major territories reportedly for $9.75m at Sundance.
Don Jon’s Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. Domestic: CAA, Wme -- Relativity Media reportedly bought for close to $4 million at Sundance Isa: Voltage Pictures has sold to Future Films for Finland, Remstar for Canada, Ascot Elite Entertainment Group for Germany and Switzerland, Midget Entertainment for Denmark, Noori Pictures for So. Korea.
Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess ♀, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis. Domestic: UTA -- Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions takes worldwide rights at Sundance - Sony Pictures Classics has Us.
Blackfish / U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite ♀) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. Domestic: Submarine -- CNN Films (TV) and Magnolia Pictures (theatrical) have jointly acquired domestic rights at Sundance.
Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars. -- Domestic: Submarine
-- Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights at Sundance
Twenty Feet From Stardom / α / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. -- Submarine handling U.S/ Canada/ U.K/ Australia/ N.Zealand -- Radius-twc takes N.A. rights at Sundance. Isa: Elle Driver/Wild Bunch took international rights at Sundance
Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. -- Domestic: Submarine -- Isa: Mundial
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear / Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani ♀) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere -- Icarus Films has acquired N.A. distribution rights pre-Sundance.
Sound City / U.S.A. (Director: Dave Grohl) — Through interviews and performances with the legendary musicians and producers who worked at America’s greatest unsung recording studio, Sound City, we explore the human element of music, and the lost art of analog recording in an increasingly digital world. Gravitas Ventures has picked up worldwide VOD rights pre-Sundance
History of the Eagles Part One / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood ♀) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Domestic: Azoff Music -- Showtime picked up for cable at Sundance.
The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere -- Domestic: Submarine -- Sundance Selects acquires N.A. rights at Sundance - Madman has Australia, N. Zealand
jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern ✡, Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. (Synopses are written by Sundance staff.) Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. Closing Night Film -- Domestic: CAA -- Open Road Films acquired U.S. pre-Sundance -- Entertainment One (in collaboration with Remstar) has Canada except theatrical, VOD and French-language TV rights in Quebec which Remstar holds exclusively.
Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. -- Domestic: Mosaic -- Shane Carruth will self-distribute via his Erbp banner.
The Rambler / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) — After being released from prison, a man known as “The Rambler” stumbles upon a strange mystery as he attempts the treacherous journey through back roads and small towns en route to reconnecting with his long-lost brother. Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natasha Lyonne, James Cady, Scott Sharot. Domestic: Xyz Films -- Isa: Celluloid Nightmares -- Anchor Bay Films has picked up North America, the UK and Australia at Sundance
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere -- Domestic: Cinetic Isa:Goldcrest Films --HBO Documentary Films has acquired U.S. television rights at Sundance
Fruitvale /α/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler α) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray. --Domestic: Wme - TWC took N.A. and English Speaking territories reportedly for $2m at Sundance Isa:TWC
Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere Isa:Independent Film Company --Haut et Court acquires France pre-Sundance
Concussion Lgbt/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon ♀,Lgbt) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins. Domestic: Paradigm-- TWC takes N.A. at Sundance -- Isa: Content
Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth (✡)) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy. -- Domestic: Wme - Radius-twc acquired at Sundance.
Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green ✡) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch. -- Magnolia took N.A. rights at Sundance
Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine ♀, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile. Domestic:CAA -- Exclusive Releasing took Us, UK and Cis rights at Sundance - Isa:Gaumont sold toRemstar for Canada,Hopscotch Features for Australia/ N.Z.,Gaumont for France
Lovelace / U.S.A. (Directors: Rob Epstein ✡ Lgbt, Jeffrey Friedman ✡ Lgbt, Screenwriter: Andy Bellin) — Deep Throat, the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success, was an international sensation in 1972 and made its star, Linda Lovelace, a media darling. Years later the “poster girl for the sexual revolution” revealed a darker side to her story. Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, Sharon Stone. Domestic:Millennium Entertainment -- Radius-twc acquires Us rights at Sundance reportedly for $3m
Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas Lgbt, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen. Domestic:UTA/Elevated Film Sales Isa: Inferno Entertainment -- Sony Pictures Classics acquired Us, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, African TV and Eastern European excluding Cis at Sundance
Toy's House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie. Domestic: Cinetic Isa:Qed International -- CBS Films acquires domestic rights at Sundance
We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis. Domestic:Wme -- eOne takes Us rights reportedly for low 7-figures at Sundance -- Isa: Memento Films
Deals Made At Sundance For Films Not Screened At Sundance
Blumhouse Productions picked up Duplass Brothers’ Peachfuzz from Submarine pre-Sundance.
Ketchup Entertainment acquired Mukunda Michael Dewil’s Vehicle 19 at Sundance.
Anchor Bay Films acquired N.A. rights to Leland Orser's Morning at Sundance.
Deals Made Outside Sundance 2013
New
D Films acquires Canadian rights to Paul Haggis’ Third Person from Corsan World Sales.
Earlier
Freestyle Digital Media takes VoD and DVD rights to Jonathan Segal’s Norman.
Variance Films acquired N.A. theatrical rights to Terence Nance’s “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. DVD and digital rights previously picked up by Cinema Guild.
A24 acquired Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring.
Cohen Media Group to distribute “What is Cinema” by Chuck Workman
Factory 25 has taken world rights to 2012 SXSW film, A Sun Don’t Shine by Amy Seimetz
Inception Media Group (Img) has acquired the Justin Donnelly’s Pressed from Double Dutch International and A Haunting At Silver Falls from Outsider Pictures.
ro*co films educational has the non-theatrical release of How To Survive A Plague and Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush’s A Place At The Table.
Zeitgeist Films has acquired Margarethe Von Trotta’s Hannah Arendt starring Barbara Sukowa from Match Factory.
Factory 25 has taken worldwide rights to Matt Boyd’s A Rubberband Is An Unlikely Instrument.
Ctb Films acquired Wrong and Wrong Cops and is in negotiation to pick up Wrong Cops 2 (in development) and Realite, Praesens has acquired all rights to Wrong Cops and Realite, in Switzerland.
Picturehouse relaunching by distributing Metallica Through The Never by Nimród Antal
CNN Films has acquired 3 docs: Untitled Roger Ebert by Steve James, Untitled Ground Zero by Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein Untitled Higher Education by Andrew Rossi.
Gravitas Ventures has acquired three films from Slamdance: Steven Feinartz's doc The Bitter Buddha, Michael Urie's He's Way More Famous Than You and Peter Baxter's doc Wild In the Streets.
Gaumont acquired worldwide rights except Spain and French distribution rights to Isabel Coixet's Yesterday Never Ends (Ayer No Termina Nunca).
Breaking Glass Pictures has taken Us rights to Amelia’s 25th and N.A. rights to Christian Filippella’s Silver Case.
Paulette by Jerome Enrico -- Isa: Gaumont -- Cohen Media Group has N.A. -- Brazil (Art Films), Switzerland (Monopole-Pathe), Italy (Moviemax), Portugal (Lusomundo), Czech Republic (Hollywood Classic Entertainment) and Canada (A-z Films), among other territories.
- 1/25/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
CNN Films has decided to use the Sundance Film Festival to announce its intentions to further muscle into the documentary film game with three new big projects. And they’ve got some heavy-hitting names involved. First, the company has acquired U.S. broadcast rights to a documentary about author and film critic Roger Ebert based on his memoir “Life Itself.” “Hoop Dreams” helmer Steve James is directing the film, with Martin Scorsese and Steve Zaillian aboard as executive producers. Kartemquin Films and Film Rites are producing, and the finished film will be released theatrically before it airs on CNN in 2014. Also on the docket is a project from Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein (“Fightville”), who will direct a documentary about the days after 9/11 constructed solely from still photography. It is scheduled to air on CNN this year, as is an untitled project from “Page One: Inside the New York Times” filmmaker.
- 1/19/2013
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
CNN Films has acquired a documentary about film critic Roger Ebert that's executive-produced by Martin Scorsese and Steve Zaillian, along with two other documentaries, the company said on Friday. The Ebert documentary, which is based on the film critic's memoir "Life Itself," will be directed by Steve James ("Hoop Dreams"), and will be produced by Kartemquin Films and Zaillian, along with Garrett Basch's Film Rites. The film will be released theatrically before it airs on CNN next year. A second film, from the directors Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein ("Gunner Palace"), will...
- 1/18/2013
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
By Allen Gardner
The Samurai Trilogy (Criterion) Director Hiroshi Inagaki’s sprawling epic filmed from 1954-56 is an early Japanese Technicolor masterpiece, rivaling the scope of filmmakers like David Lean and Luchino Visconti. Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s greatest actor, stars as real-life swordsman, artist and writer Musashi Miyamoto, following his growth from callow youth to disciplined warrior. The three films: the Oscar winning “Musashi Miyamoto,” “Duel at Ichijoji Temple,” and “Duel at Ganryu Island” are an incredible story of human growth, tender love and sublime, blood-soaked action. Not to be missed. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with translator and historian William Scott Wilson; Trailers. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
The 39 Steps (Criterion) Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 story of spies, conspiracies and sexual tension put him on the map on both sides of the Pond. Robert Donat stars as an innocent thrust into a deadly plot alongside a cool blonde (Madeleine Carroll...
The Samurai Trilogy (Criterion) Director Hiroshi Inagaki’s sprawling epic filmed from 1954-56 is an early Japanese Technicolor masterpiece, rivaling the scope of filmmakers like David Lean and Luchino Visconti. Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s greatest actor, stars as real-life swordsman, artist and writer Musashi Miyamoto, following his growth from callow youth to disciplined warrior. The three films: the Oscar winning “Musashi Miyamoto,” “Duel at Ichijoji Temple,” and “Duel at Ganryu Island” are an incredible story of human growth, tender love and sublime, blood-soaked action. Not to be missed. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with translator and historian William Scott Wilson; Trailers. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
The 39 Steps (Criterion) Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 story of spies, conspiracies and sexual tension put him on the map on both sides of the Pond. Robert Donat stars as an innocent thrust into a deadly plot alongside a cool blonde (Madeleine Carroll...
- 7/9/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 10, 2012
Price: DVD $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98
Studio: Mpi
Dustin Poirier reigns in Fightville.
The 2011 documentary Fightville chronicles the story of real-life Mixed Martial Arts (Mma) fighters and their struggles to make it to the top.
Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (How to Fold a Flag), Fightville reveals how Mma has taken hold in the American heartland, where modern-day gladiators battle with bare fists and feet in strip mall gyms and dusty rodeo arenas, desperate for glory and a shot at the big time. In Lafayette, Louisiana, far from the glamorous and lucrative world of Las Vegas bouts, pro hopefuls Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (currently the world’s No. 3 contender) and Albert Stainback fight tooth and nail for their chance to snag the American Dream.
Fightville popped up at a handful of festivals over the past year (including South by Southwest and the Woodstock Film Festival) before...
Price: DVD $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98
Studio: Mpi
Dustin Poirier reigns in Fightville.
The 2011 documentary Fightville chronicles the story of real-life Mixed Martial Arts (Mma) fighters and their struggles to make it to the top.
Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (How to Fold a Flag), Fightville reveals how Mma has taken hold in the American heartland, where modern-day gladiators battle with bare fists and feet in strip mall gyms and dusty rodeo arenas, desperate for glory and a shot at the big time. In Lafayette, Louisiana, far from the glamorous and lucrative world of Las Vegas bouts, pro hopefuls Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (currently the world’s No. 3 contender) and Albert Stainback fight tooth and nail for their chance to snag the American Dream.
Fightville popped up at a handful of festivals over the past year (including South by Southwest and the Woodstock Film Festival) before...
- 6/20/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
If Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker hadn't made "Gunner Palace," their documentary about American soldiers in Iraq, they likely never would have made their new film, "Fightville," which looks at up-and-coming Mixed Martial Arts (Mma) fighters and promoters in Louisiana. What's the connection? The directors didn't even know what Mma was, but the young soldiers they were documenting most certainly did. That put the sport on their radar, which eventually led them to Louisiana and to two young fighters, Dustin Poirier and Albert Stainback, as well as their trainer, Tim Credeur, a Ufc fighter himself, and a local Mma promoter, Gil Guillory, who used to be a professional wrestler. The movie delves into the personal lives of these young men, and captures a number of their fights, too. Poirier, certainly, was a find for the directors, because he has since become a successful Ufc fighter in his own rite. Tucker spoke to Upcoming-Movies.
- 4/30/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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