Eugen Jebeleanu’s debut feature “Poppy Field” has been sold to Missing Films for distribution in German-speaking territories ahead of its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
The film follows the struggles of a young Romanian policeman Cristi over 24 hours as he tries to find the balance between two parts of his identity: that of a policeman working in a macho environment and that of a closeted gay person.
During a visit by his boyfriend, Hadi, with whom he is involved in a long-distance relationship, Cristi is called to a cinema where an ultra-nationalist, homophobic group has sabotaged the screening of a queer film. When one of the protesters recognizes him and threatens to disclose the secret about his sexuality, Cristi is faced with the danger of losing everything he has.
Although this is Jebeleanu’s first feature film he is an experienced theater director and writer,...
The film follows the struggles of a young Romanian policeman Cristi over 24 hours as he tries to find the balance between two parts of his identity: that of a policeman working in a macho environment and that of a closeted gay person.
During a visit by his boyfriend, Hadi, with whom he is involved in a long-distance relationship, Cristi is called to a cinema where an ultra-nationalist, homophobic group has sabotaged the screening of a queer film. When one of the protesters recognizes him and threatens to disclose the secret about his sexuality, Cristi is faced with the danger of losing everything he has.
Although this is Jebeleanu’s first feature film he is an experienced theater director and writer,...
- 11/6/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Screen investigates which films from around the world could launch on the Croisette, including on opening night.
With just over a month to go before the line-up for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is unveiled in Paris, Croisette predictions and wish lists are hitting the web thick and fast.
Screen’s network of correspondents and contributors around the world have been putting out feelers to get a sense of what might or might not make it to the Palais du Cinéma or one of the parallel sections.
Just like the Oscars, this year’s festival is likely to unfold amid a politically-charged atmosphere. Beyond Trump and the rise of populism across the globe, France will be digesting the result of its own presidential election on May 7. Against this background, the festival will be feting its 70th edition.
Below, Screen reveals which titles might - and might not - be in the running for a place at the...
With just over a month to go before the line-up for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is unveiled in Paris, Croisette predictions and wish lists are hitting the web thick and fast.
Screen’s network of correspondents and contributors around the world have been putting out feelers to get a sense of what might or might not make it to the Palais du Cinéma or one of the parallel sections.
Just like the Oscars, this year’s festival is likely to unfold amid a politically-charged atmosphere. Beyond Trump and the rise of populism across the globe, France will be digesting the result of its own presidential election on May 7. Against this background, the festival will be feting its 70th edition.
Below, Screen reveals which titles might - and might not - be in the running for a place at the...
- 3/13/2017
- ScreenDaily
Les Arcs unveils 16 projects due to be presented in the work-in-progress selection.
Upcoming films by the UK’s Rungano Nyoni, the Czech Republic’s Olmo Omerzu and Sweden’s Johannes Nyholm are among 16 works-in-progress projects due to be presented at the eighth edition of the Les Arcs Coproduction village (Dec 10-13).
Footage from the films, which are all in post-production, will be shown on Dec 11. The festival’s artistic director Frédéric Boyer made the selection.
British-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni will show first footage from her debut satire I Am Not A Witch [pictured top] about a nine-year-old girl who is a victim of a witch-hunt, which is shot by Embrace Of The Serpent’s DoP David Gallego.
Nyholm will present his second feature Koko-di Koko-da - after The Giant which premiered at Tiff this year - revolving around a couple whose camping trip takes a strange turn when a circus troupe turns up.
Two awards...
Upcoming films by the UK’s Rungano Nyoni, the Czech Republic’s Olmo Omerzu and Sweden’s Johannes Nyholm are among 16 works-in-progress projects due to be presented at the eighth edition of the Les Arcs Coproduction village (Dec 10-13).
Footage from the films, which are all in post-production, will be shown on Dec 11. The festival’s artistic director Frédéric Boyer made the selection.
British-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni will show first footage from her debut satire I Am Not A Witch [pictured top] about a nine-year-old girl who is a victim of a witch-hunt, which is shot by Embrace Of The Serpent’s DoP David Gallego.
Nyholm will present his second feature Koko-di Koko-da - after The Giant which premiered at Tiff this year - revolving around a couple whose camping trip takes a strange turn when a circus troupe turns up.
Two awards...
- 11/25/2016
- ScreenDaily
Projects previously presented at the market include Laszlo Nemes’s Oscar-winning Son Of Saul.
The 14th CineLink Co-Production Market (Aug 18-20), the backbone of Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry section, will this year present 15 projects from South-East Europe, and three guest projects from Qatar and Mexico.
CineLink boasts an impressive track record. An average of 60% of the projects that have taken part at the market in the last 13 years went all the way from development to production.
The most recent success is Laszlo Nemes’ Son Of Saul which won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2015 and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Films.
Other titles developed at the market include two winners of Venice’s Lion of the Future: White Shadow by Noaz Deshe, and Mold by Ali Aydin; two Berlinale Silver Bear winners: Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin and If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle by Florin Serban; and Semih Kaplanoglu’s 2010 Golden Bear winner Honey.
The...
The 14th CineLink Co-Production Market (Aug 18-20), the backbone of Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry section, will this year present 15 projects from South-East Europe, and three guest projects from Qatar and Mexico.
CineLink boasts an impressive track record. An average of 60% of the projects that have taken part at the market in the last 13 years went all the way from development to production.
The most recent success is Laszlo Nemes’ Son Of Saul which won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2015 and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Films.
Other titles developed at the market include two winners of Venice’s Lion of the Future: White Shadow by Noaz Deshe, and Mold by Ali Aydin; two Berlinale Silver Bear winners: Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin and If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle by Florin Serban; and Semih Kaplanoglu’s 2010 Golden Bear winner Honey.
The...
- 8/17/2016
- ScreenDaily
The 65th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (November 6-14) offers busy industry programme including works in progress and Crossroads co-production strand.The 56th Thessaloniki International Film Festival kicks off today with the Berlin prizewinner Victoria by Sebastian Schipper.
The festival closes Nov 14 with the Cannes awarded My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse) by Arnaud Desplechin, who receives an homage, enjoys a full retrospective of his films and will deliver a masterclass.
Also receiving homages are veteran Romanian director Mircea Daneliuc and Greek master cinematographer Nikos Kavoukidis, accompanied by tributes to the 70 years of Greek animation and to the recent Austrian cinema.The late Belgian director Chantal.Akerman is receiving a special homage with the presentation of her 2011 film Almayer’s Folly (La folie Almayer).
The competition program includes 15 first and second films (the full list is below). The five members of the international jury set to award the Golden, Silver and Bronze...
The festival closes Nov 14 with the Cannes awarded My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse) by Arnaud Desplechin, who receives an homage, enjoys a full retrospective of his films and will deliver a masterclass.
Also receiving homages are veteran Romanian director Mircea Daneliuc and Greek master cinematographer Nikos Kavoukidis, accompanied by tributes to the 70 years of Greek animation and to the recent Austrian cinema.The late Belgian director Chantal.Akerman is receiving a special homage with the presentation of her 2011 film Almayer’s Folly (La folie Almayer).
The competition program includes 15 first and second films (the full list is below). The five members of the international jury set to award the Golden, Silver and Bronze...
- 11/6/2015
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
The 44th edition of the Festival du Nouveau Cinema has just announced their entire lineup and it’s pretty insane! The festival which takes place in Montreal from October 7 to 18 is screening nearly 400 films and events in only 11 days. This includes 151 feature films and 203 short films from 68 countries – 49 world premieres, 38 North American premieres and 60 Canadian premieres. Give credit to the team of programmers: Claude Chamberlan, Dimitri Eipides Julien Fonfrède, Philippe Gajan, Karolewicz Daniel, Marie-Hélène Brousseau, Katayoun Dibamehr and Gabrielle Tougas-Frechette.
Below is the lineup. There’s a lot to process so take your sweet time!
Opening and closing
The whole New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero, Mr Nobody, The Eighth Day), will kick off this 44th edition.
After its world premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last May, the new opus unconventional Belgian director, starring Benoît Poelvoorde (Three Hearts, Ransom of Glory), Yolande Moreau (Mammuth,...
Below is the lineup. There’s a lot to process so take your sweet time!
Opening and closing
The whole New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero, Mr Nobody, The Eighth Day), will kick off this 44th edition.
After its world premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last May, the new opus unconventional Belgian director, starring Benoît Poelvoorde (Three Hearts, Ransom of Glory), Yolande Moreau (Mammuth,...
- 9/29/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The Fixer among five projects selected for the CineLink Work in Progress sessions.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) has unveiled five projects selected for this year’s CineLink Work in Progress sessions - an industry preview of upcoming films from Southeast Europe.
The presentations are open for invited guests who may engage in the projects completion or distribution, and will run Aug 19-20.
Scheduled to attend are representatives from Wild Bunch, The Match Factory, Pyramide, Memento, Fortissimo as well as the Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals.
The 2015 project line-up consists of three fiction projects, one animation and one documentary, selected from the festival’s documentary workshop Docu Rough Cut Boutique.
They include The Fixer (Fixeur) from Adrian Sitaru, the Romanian filmmaker who won best director at Locarno in 2011 with Best Intentions and the Daad Short Film Award at the 2010 Berlinale with The Cage (Colivia).
The Fixer is inspired by true events and centres on a young...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) has unveiled five projects selected for this year’s CineLink Work in Progress sessions - an industry preview of upcoming films from Southeast Europe.
The presentations are open for invited guests who may engage in the projects completion or distribution, and will run Aug 19-20.
Scheduled to attend are representatives from Wild Bunch, The Match Factory, Pyramide, Memento, Fortissimo as well as the Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals.
The 2015 project line-up consists of three fiction projects, one animation and one documentary, selected from the festival’s documentary workshop Docu Rough Cut Boutique.
They include The Fixer (Fixeur) from Adrian Sitaru, the Romanian filmmaker who won best director at Locarno in 2011 with Best Intentions and the Daad Short Film Award at the 2010 Berlinale with The Cage (Colivia).
The Fixer is inspired by true events and centres on a young...
- 8/11/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The Fixer among five projects selected for the CineLink Work in Progress sessions.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) has unveiled five projects selected for this year’s CineLink Work in Progress sessions - an industry preview of upcoming films from Southeast Europe.
The presentations are open for invited guests who may engage in the projects completion or distribution and will run Aug 19-20. Scheduled to attend are representatives from Wild Bunch, The Match Factory, Pyramide, Memento, Fortissimo as well as the Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals.
The 2015 project line-up consists of three fiction projects, one animation and one documentary, selected from the festival’s documentary workshop Docu Rough Cut Boutique.
They include The Fixer (Fixeur) from Adrian Sitaru, the Romanian filmmaker who won best director at Locarno in 2011 with Best Intentions and the Daad Short Film Award at the 2010 Berlinale with The Cage (Colivia).
The Fixer is inspired by true events and centres on a young...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) has unveiled five projects selected for this year’s CineLink Work in Progress sessions - an industry preview of upcoming films from Southeast Europe.
The presentations are open for invited guests who may engage in the projects completion or distribution and will run Aug 19-20. Scheduled to attend are representatives from Wild Bunch, The Match Factory, Pyramide, Memento, Fortissimo as well as the Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals.
The 2015 project line-up consists of three fiction projects, one animation and one documentary, selected from the festival’s documentary workshop Docu Rough Cut Boutique.
They include The Fixer (Fixeur) from Adrian Sitaru, the Romanian filmmaker who won best director at Locarno in 2011 with Best Intentions and the Daad Short Film Award at the 2010 Berlinale with The Cage (Colivia).
The Fixer is inspired by true events and centres on a young...
- 8/11/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Fipresci winner Box at Karlovy Vary: “ “Brilliantly depicts contemporary Rumanian society.” Photo: Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary
As the 50th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival winds down to its gala awards ceremony later this evening (11 July) the organisers have announced some of the early awards.
The International Critics’ Award (Fipresci) has been bestowed on Box, a co-production between Rumania, Germany and France and directed by Florin Serban. The citation said the film “brilliantly depicts contemporary Romanian society.”
It is a portrait of the relationship between a talented 19-year-old boxer named Rafael, for whom a session in the ring is everything, and Cristina, an attractive, 30-something mother who finds herself at a critical moment in her life.
Bob And The Trees: Ecumenical jury prize for “simplicity, truth and honesty.” Photo: Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary
The Ecumenical Jury award went to a Us film, Bob and the Trees by director Diego Ongaro.
As the 50th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival winds down to its gala awards ceremony later this evening (11 July) the organisers have announced some of the early awards.
The International Critics’ Award (Fipresci) has been bestowed on Box, a co-production between Rumania, Germany and France and directed by Florin Serban. The citation said the film “brilliantly depicts contemporary Romanian society.”
It is a portrait of the relationship between a talented 19-year-old boxer named Rafael, for whom a session in the ring is everything, and Cristina, an attractive, 30-something mother who finds herself at a critical moment in her life.
Bob And The Trees: Ecumenical jury prize for “simplicity, truth and honesty.” Photo: Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary
The Ecumenical Jury award went to a Us film, Bob and the Trees by director Diego Ongaro.
- 7/11/2015
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Read More: Sundance Review: 'Tangerine' is a Charming Buddy Comedy About Transgender Prostitutes in L.A. The Czech-based Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has just announced its 50th lineup, which includes new films by Dietrich Bruggemann ("Stations of the Cross") and Romanian filmmakers Anca Damian ("A Very Unsettled Summer") and Florin Serban ("If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle"), as well as the feature debut rising Italian director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino. The festival will also present the youngest competition lineup in Kviff's recent history; the average age of filmmakers in the main festival section is 39-years-old. American highlights include "Bob and the Trees," by Massachusetts-based filmmaker Diego Ongaro, and Sean Baker's Sundance sensation "Tangerine", which will get its European premiere at the festival. Read on for the full line up, with synopses courtesy of the Karlovy Vary International Film...
- 6/2/2015
- by Sarah Choi
- Indiewire
With the world’s most prestigious film festival just around the corner, cineastes have been lasciviously salivating about what’s going to show up at Cannes, with wish lists appearing almost immediately after Berlin (a fest that had one of their most impressive line-ups ever) announced their awards. The remainder of the 2015 fest circuit looks to be a plentiful, diverse porridge, with many of the world’s most renowned auteurs’ sporting brand new titles. While many prognosticators will be sharing the same lists, more or less, hopes are incredibly high for a handful of sure bets, and a gaggle of hopefuls. The main competition always seems easier to postulate, though Thierry Fremaux always throws a few curves, (After the Battle in 2012, The Hunt in 2013 or last year’s Timbuktu, which won the Cesar for Best Picture recently, are a couple ready examples of under-the-radar titles).
Italy seems primed for saturation at the fest.
Italy seems primed for saturation at the fest.
- 3/9/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
They didn’t make our final Top 100 cut, but here is a list of foreign film titles that are on our radar for 2015. We being with…
200. Remember – Dir. Atom Egoyan
199. Suffragette – Dir. Sarah Gavron
198. Kills on Wheels – Dir. Attila Till
197. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend – Dir. Yuen Woo-ping
196. The Go-Between – Dir. Pete Travis
195. Peur de Rien Dir. Danielle Arbid
194. Regular Boy – Dir. Michele Civetta
193. Flaskepost – Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
192. The Lady in the Van – Dir. Nicolas Hytner
191. Zoom – Dir. Pedro Morelli
190. Away from the Sea – Dir. Imanol Uribe
189. Tulip Fever – Dir. Justin Chadwick
188. Ulrike’s Brain – Dir. Bruce La Bruce
187. Tsunami – Dir. Jacques Deschamps
186. And Your Sister? – Dir. Marion Vernoux
185. There Was Las Vegas – Dir. Alexandre Castas
184. Prejudice – Dir. Antoine Cuypers
183. Stepne – Dir. Maryna Vroda
182. Irreplaceable – Dir. Olivier Masset-Depasse
181. Histoire de Judas Iscariot – Dir. Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
180. The First, the Last – Dir. Bouli Lanners
179. Selection Officielle – Dir. Jacques Richard
178. Desierto – Dir.
200. Remember – Dir. Atom Egoyan
199. Suffragette – Dir. Sarah Gavron
198. Kills on Wheels – Dir. Attila Till
197. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend – Dir. Yuen Woo-ping
196. The Go-Between – Dir. Pete Travis
195. Peur de Rien Dir. Danielle Arbid
194. Regular Boy – Dir. Michele Civetta
193. Flaskepost – Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
192. The Lady in the Van – Dir. Nicolas Hytner
191. Zoom – Dir. Pedro Morelli
190. Away from the Sea – Dir. Imanol Uribe
189. Tulip Fever – Dir. Justin Chadwick
188. Ulrike’s Brain – Dir. Bruce La Bruce
187. Tsunami – Dir. Jacques Deschamps
186. And Your Sister? – Dir. Marion Vernoux
185. There Was Las Vegas – Dir. Alexandre Castas
184. Prejudice – Dir. Antoine Cuypers
183. Stepne – Dir. Maryna Vroda
182. Irreplaceable – Dir. Olivier Masset-Depasse
181. Histoire de Judas Iscariot – Dir. Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
180. The First, the Last – Dir. Bouli Lanners
179. Selection Officielle – Dir. Jacques Richard
178. Desierto – Dir.
- 1/5/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
In an effort to explain the criteria used to create our list of Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2015, we must first explain what we consider to be foreign. We’ve included film projects that are in the English language, either from foreign auteurs making their first foray into Anglo-Saxon territory, or those that already speak it, such as Australians, Canadians, and our friends from the United Kingdom. But we’ve also included projects that are international co-productions, films being funded through sources outside of the United States, all technically foreign bodies within the American film industry.
With the love of subtitles ever on a seemingly increased decline, we wanted to devote a complete list to these ‘foreign’ entities, titles often untethered or uninterested in discernable ‘entertainment’ value. A quick glance at our menu will show a distinct leaning toward French auteurs, given that they have a very provocative and healthy domestic film industry.
With the love of subtitles ever on a seemingly increased decline, we wanted to devote a complete list to these ‘foreign’ entities, titles often untethered or uninterested in discernable ‘entertainment’ value. A quick glance at our menu will show a distinct leaning toward French auteurs, given that they have a very provocative and healthy domestic film industry.
- 1/5/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Russian actor Sergey Puskepalis is to make his directorial debut and has cast Alexey Serebryakov, star of Cannes winner Leviathan.
Clinch is billed as a drama with tragicomic elements starring Serebryakov, who headlined Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan, winner of best screenplay at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Clinch, which is being produced by Ruben Dishdishyan’s Mars Media Entertainment, also features the actress Asya Domskaya in her first screen role.
Speaking to Ria-Novosti, Puskepalis explained that the film’s story, which he had developed for the past five years, focuses on “the clinch of relations between the ‘next’ generations and people of my age”.
“We are not very good at understanding the kids who are around 20-22 years-old. And there’s an essential difference between us – they are citizens of Russia and we are all still from the Ussr,” he added.
Puskepalis and his co-star Grigory Dobrygin shared a Silver Bear at the 2010 Berlinale for their...
Clinch is billed as a drama with tragicomic elements starring Serebryakov, who headlined Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan, winner of best screenplay at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Clinch, which is being produced by Ruben Dishdishyan’s Mars Media Entertainment, also features the actress Asya Domskaya in her first screen role.
Speaking to Ria-Novosti, Puskepalis explained that the film’s story, which he had developed for the past five years, focuses on “the clinch of relations between the ‘next’ generations and people of my age”.
“We are not very good at understanding the kids who are around 20-22 years-old. And there’s an essential difference between us – they are citizens of Russia and we are all still from the Ussr,” he added.
Puskepalis and his co-star Grigory Dobrygin shared a Silver Bear at the 2010 Berlinale for their...
- 7/11/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Alexander Kott’s love story [pictured] awarded the Grand Prix and the prize for best cinematography.
Alexander Kott’s Test was the big winner at this year’s Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The jury headed by Cannes prize-winner Andrey Zvyagintsev awarded its Grand Prix “for the realisation of the dream” and the prize for best cinematography to Kott’s love story, set against the first hydrogen bomb tests in the Kazakh Steppe at the beginning of the 50s.
In addition, Kott’s film received the Elephant Trophy from the Guild of Film Critics and Film Scholars.
Test is handled internationally by Anton Mazurov’s fledgling Russian sales company Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, which saw its other three new titles by four women directors coming away from this year’s Kinotavr with trophies and diplomas in their luggage:
Anna Melikian’s Star received the prizes for best direction and best actress...
Alexander Kott’s Test was the big winner at this year’s Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The jury headed by Cannes prize-winner Andrey Zvyagintsev awarded its Grand Prix “for the realisation of the dream” and the prize for best cinematography to Kott’s love story, set against the first hydrogen bomb tests in the Kazakh Steppe at the beginning of the 50s.
In addition, Kott’s film received the Elephant Trophy from the Guild of Film Critics and Film Scholars.
Test is handled internationally by Anton Mazurov’s fledgling Russian sales company Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, which saw its other three new titles by four women directors coming away from this year’s Kinotavr with trophies and diplomas in their luggage:
Anna Melikian’s Star received the prizes for best direction and best actress...
- 6/9/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
With only hours ago before the official selection for the Main Competition is announced, we’ve narrowed our final predictions to the following titles that we’re crystal-balling as the films that will be included on Thierry Fremaux’s highly anticipated list. Despite an obvious drought of Asian auteurs (we’re thinking the rumored frontrunner Takashi Miike won’t be included in tomorrow’s list) who’s to say there won’t be some definite surprises, like Jia Zhang-ke’s A Touch of Sin last year.
Several hopefuls appear not to be ready in time, including Malick, Hsou-hsien, Cristi Puiu, and Innarritu, to name a few. But there does appear to be a high quantity of exciting titles from some of cinema’s leading auteurs. We’re still a bit tentative about whether Xavier Dolan’s latest, Mommy, will get a main competition slot—instead, we’re predicting another surprise,...
Several hopefuls appear not to be ready in time, including Malick, Hsou-hsien, Cristi Puiu, and Innarritu, to name a few. But there does appear to be a high quantity of exciting titles from some of cinema’s leading auteurs. We’re still a bit tentative about whether Xavier Dolan’s latest, Mommy, will get a main competition slot—instead, we’re predicting another surprise,...
- 4/17/2014
- by IONCINEMA.com Contributing Writers
- IONCINEMA.com
You hear it all the time: Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News. But Americans were buying all the same, and to quote Screen International: “The current market is focused on smart money and smart deals, not volume of product”. Business at Afm was also solid though unspectacular. Moreover, the pre-buying of projects may be below the radar of this $3 billion business of international film buying and selling. TrustNordisk’s CEO Rikke Ennis says that 70% of their films are pre-sold. As you look at the upcoming Winter Rights Roundup due out in two weeks from SydneysBuzz.com/Reports, you will notice many of the films have been pre-buys this market and many films screening were already pre-sold during Afm in November.
And for all the complaints about Berlin, many sales agents set up private screenings before the market kicked off. What is that about?
Beki Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, responded to the many media reports of a quieter market in an interview with ScreenDaily which sounds almost the same as the one she gave in 2009.
Quoting her current statement which I take the liberty of quoting here as it appears in Screen:
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said. In the opinion of Probst, there had been a muddying of the distinction between the Efm and the more general term of the ‘market’.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m check, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
"Sales agents were not sitting idle at their stands if one takes the example of one company in the Martin Gropius Bau: the CEO met with 90 buyers and the members of staff responsible for marketing had no less than 180 meetings in addition to ad-hoc discussions at events in the evenings."
Coproductions are the engine driving the business these days.
This year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market ended after two-and-a-half days with awards handed out to projects from Kazakhstan and Belgium.
The €6,000 Arte International Prize went to Kazakh film-maker Emir Baigazin’s planned second feature The Wounded Angel, the second part of a trilogy after his Silver Bear-winning Harmony Lessons. The €1.2m Almaty-based Kazakhfilm Jsc production has already attracted France’s Capricci Production as a co-producer and has backing in place from the Doha Film Institute and the Hubert Bals Fund.
The €10,000 Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award was presented to Belgian director Bavo Defurne for his romantic dramedy Souvenir. The €2m co-production by Oostende-based Indeed Films with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Germany’s Karibufilm already has backing from Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Cinefinance and public broadcaster Vrt/ Een.
India-Norway’s $55 million film to be directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance)’s The Indian Bride is an exciting example of an unusual pairing of countries.
Bavaria and Senator’s joint venture Bavaria Pictures’ The Postcard Killers to be directed by Mexican director Everardo Gout shows the international expansion of talent.
The Hungary-Austria-Germany co-production of Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity, or U.K.-Lithuania action comedy Redirected being sold by Content brings unusual European partners together.
U.S. born Damian John Harper’s coproduction with the German producers, brothers Jakob and Jonas Weydemann, on Los Angeles will be followed by In the Middle of the River now being developed with Zdf’s Das Kleine Fernsehspiel unit.
Shoreline’s The Infinite Man produced with Australia’s Hedone Productions in association with Bonsai Films with investment from South Australia Film Corporation through its Filmlab funding initiative, development assistance from Screen Australia is also a new sort of pairing.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, 20 Steps Productions and Bruemmer & Herzog’s The President is shooting in Tbilisi, Georgia and is being directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Italian-Canadian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Sights of Death starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen is directed by Allessandro Capone in Rome.
The Spain-u.K. co-production Second Origin is based on the best selling Catalan novel Mecanoscrit Del Segon Orgen.
The Golden Bear Winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is a Boneyard Entertainment (New York & Hong Kong) co-production with Boneyard Entertainment China (Bec), Omnijoi Media (Jiangsu, China), China Film co-production.
A sign of the times is the Swedish Film in Berlin advertisement which lists all Swedish co-productions:
In Competition: In Order of DisappearanceOut of Competition: NymphomaniacBerlinale Special: Someone You Love Generation Kplus: A Christmoose StoryPerspektive Deutsches Kino: Lamento
All are with European co-producers as is Antboy a Danish-German co-production.
One of my favorites is Gallows Hill, being sold by Im Global and already picked up by IFC for U.S. Starring Twilight actor Peter Facinelli, U.K. actress Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, it was entirely financed from within Colombia by television network Rcn’s affiliate Five 7 Media which produced with Peter Block's A Bigger Boat, David Higgins and Angelique Higgins' Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung. The screenplay was written by Rich D’Ovidio ( The Call, Thir13en Ghosts) about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
Another interesting combo is the Australian-Singapore co-production Canopy being sold by Odin’s Eye which was acquired by Kaleidoscope for U.K., by Kinosmith for Canada and Odin’s Eye itself for Australia. After its Tiff 2013 premiere, Monterrey acquired U.S. rights.
Cathedrals of Culture, was produced by Wim Wenders’ production company: Neue Road Movies in Germany and co-produced by Final Cut For Real (Denmark), Lotus Film (Austria), Mer Film (Norway), Les Films d'Ici 2 (France), Sundance Productions / RadicalMedia (U.S.), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg In collaboration with Arte (Germany and France) and Wowow (Japan).
Grand Budapest Hotel is a co-production of Scott Rudin in U.S. and Studio Babelsburg in Germany.
Wouldn't you say there had to be an awful lot of business going on? If only the media knew where to look for it. Instead, they moan the same old tired tune, "Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News". Oh well...
Efm Coproduction Market
Asian producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who was pitching the Hong Kong comedy Grooms by writer-director Arvin Chen at the Berlin Coproduction Market, announced that Germany’s augenschein filmproduktion will be a coproducer on Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s second feature Apprentice. The film has already received backing from France’s World Cinema Support, the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw of Germany and Germany's second network, Zdf’s Das kleine fernsehspiel unit. It also has Cinema Defacto as its French co-producer. Junfeng’s first film, Sandcastle, was screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2010.
Cologne-based augenschein, who produced Maximilian Leo’s My Brother’s Keeper, the opening film of this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino and is handled internationally by Media Luna, is currently in post-production on Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban’s Box, his second feature after the 2010 Berlinale Competition film If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle.
Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre whose debut The Student established him as one of the brightest and most courted young directors in Latin America was in the Co-production Market with his untitled second feature which France’s Full House connected to along with Argentina’s Union de los Rio, Argentine broadcast network Telefe, Ignacio Viale and the ubiquitous Lita Stantic.
Full House was also at the Coproduction Market with Peter Webber’s Fresh about a young thief learning the art of pickpocketing in Bogota, Colombia. It will be co-produced with Rcn affiliate Five 7 Media and 4Direcciones in Colombia and by Webber himself.
Raymond van der Kaaij, the producer of Tamar van den Dop’s Panorama title Supernova, is now financing Sundance winner Ernesto Contreras’ next feature I Dream In Another Language. The Spanish-English language project will be produced with Mexico-based Agencia Sha, and it is now casting the American lead according to producer van der Kaaij of Revolver Amsterdam. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the winner of the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, I Dream has already received support from Imcine in Mexico. Shooting is scheduled in Mexico for the end of 2014.
Revolver is now editing Bodkin Ras, the debut film of Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri, an English-language documentary-thriller set in North Scotland. The Dutch-Belgian-u.K. coproduction is set for release at the end of 2014.
Finnish film-maker Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa’s is editing his latest feature They Have Escaped, which Revolver coproduced with Helsinki Film.
Trend of smart art genres
Another continuing trend, which began with Xyz and Celluloid Nightmares and continued with Memento, is the character-driven art genre films with tight budgets, like the Danish coming-of-age-werewolf-romance, When Animals Dream, directed by first timer Jonas Arnby, sold by Gaumont to Radius-twc for No. Americ. The Scandinavians, formerly making a mark with "Nordic Noir" are now making what they call "Nordic Twilight".
Trend of remake rights
Another trend is that of remake rights. Film Sharks reports it makes more from selling remake rights than from licensing distribution rights.
The Intouchables is selling remake rights to more countries than only India as is the sale of Other Angle’s Babysitting remake rights. Negotiations are underway with Russia, Italy and Germany.
Fruit Chan is considering an English language remake of his 2004 cult horror film Dumplings.
The market is bit too calm?…Then let us look at Cannes…
Usually by Afm you can begin the Tipped for Cannes List (which Gilles Jacob detested), but even that is a little on the quiet side. I begin to question whether all media fueled news is accurate: the slow sales being reported, the lack of pre-Cannes buzz… Is the media really investigating deeply?
Of all the trades, while Screen has the most international news and deepest analyses, Variety reports things no other trade is covering. But…still the non-news of a quiet market persists as if it were headline news. We always hear this and we are still in an economic slump, so what we wish for is not apparent, but this is not news.
Tipped for Cannes
Tipped for Cannes are Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home staring Gong Li and to be sold by Wild Bunch, Stealth’s First Law starring Mads Mikkelsen (Cannes 2012 Best Actor Award for The Hunt); Self Made (Boreg) by Shira Geffen and to be sold by Westend, shot in Hebrew and Arabic by the production and sales team behind Oscar nominated 2011 drama Footnote, the second film after Geffen’s 2007 debut Jellyfish which won the Cannes Camera d’Or. MK2’s Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water will be delivered in time for Cannes. Pyramide International is plannng for Leviathan, a modern retelling of the biblical story which deals with some of Russia’s most important social issues to be ready for Cannes. It is directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky (Stalingrad) as their followup to Elena. Gaumont-cj co-production, The Target, the Korean remake of Fred Cavaye’s action thriller Point Blank will be ready in time for Cannes.
Rumors and truths about people changing positions
Rumors about Dieter Kosslick replacing Berlin’s Culture Secretary who resigned after a tax evasion scandal in which he admitted to stashing $575,000 in a Swiss bank account…Charlotte Mickie has left eOne and knowing her, she is bound to find something good elsewhere as she's too good to lose...StudioCanals Harold van Lier now leads eOne’s newly ramped international sales team and Montreal based Anick Poirier leads its subsidiary label, Seville International. Jeff Nuyts is leaving Intramovies. Nigel Sinclair and Guy East seem to be leaving Exclusive Media the company they founded as discussions with partners from Dasym Investment Strategies Bv move forward. Kevin Hoiseth from Voltage Pictures has joined International Film Trust as their director of international sales...and of course, Nadine de Barros has founded her own company, Fortitude, and was holding court at the Ritz Carlton the buzziest spot outside of the Martin Gropius Bau.
What I Saw and What I Thought
For what it's worth, here is my limited list of screenings of films seen only in the last 3 days of the festival when I was no longer "working". I am including some I actually saw at Sundance.
First and foremost -- and to be written about further in a "thought piece" as I term the articles I think long about before writing and to include my interview with the director Goran Hugo Olsson's (The Black Power Mixtapes winner of Sundance 2011 World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award) -- Concerning Violence (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S.: Cinetic), based on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth and seen at Sundance this year next to Stanley Nelson's outstanding Freedom Summer (PBS) and Greg Barker's We Are The Giant (Submarine), is a call to action for new societal models ringing out loud and clear.
Golden Bear Winner, Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan, a Chinese noir, lacked the momentum and substance I would have expected in a winning film, though it was a fascinating way to see today's urban China. Had I been on the jury, I would have chosen the Best Director Award winning Boyhood (Isa: IFC) by Richard Linklater. But perhaps because James Schamus, an American who loves Chinese films, was President of the Jury, there might have arisen a question of disinterested objectivity. I would have to hear what jurists Barbara Broccoli, Trine Dyrhom, Chistoph Waltz, Tony Leung, Greta Gerwig, Mitra Farahani and Michel Gondry would have to say about the deliberations.
Speaking of jury prizes, it was a surprise the much acclaimed '71 (Isa: Protagonist, now headed by our dear Mike Goodridge) won nothing, and good Alain Renais' Life of Riley (Isa: Le Pacte) received recognition. I found Christophe Gans' La belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) (Isa: Pathe) an overproduced unwieldy special effects-ridden mess, even though it was exec-produced by Jérôme Seydoux who also produced the masterpiece La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty), and starred his granddaughter Lea Seydoux. I'll stand by Cocteau's versoin. I heard Claudia Llosa (Milk of Sorrow)'s Aloft was also not widely admired.
About the best actress winning film The Little House (Isa: Shochiku could have marketed it more widely), I heard nothing at all, though it sounds really good. Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (Isa: Beta) by brother and sister team Anna and Dietrich Brueggemann (any relation to our own Tom Brueggeman?) had a satisfying denouement and was quite engrossing with moments of humor lightening the heavy weight of the cross carried by 14 year old Maria played by Lea van Acken, a picture face out of a George de la Tour painting (Magdeline with a Smoking Flame or A Piece of Art). Macondo (Isa: Films Boutique - again! ) by Sudabeh Mortezai of Austria was a window on a world never seen before and very engrossing although the coming of age story was one we have seen before.
Not sorry to say I missed The Monuments Men and Nymphomaniac Volume I, but sorry that I missed Beloved Sisters (Isa: Global Screen) of Dominik Graf, The Grand Budapest Hotel (will see it in U.S.), Argentinian Benjamin Naishat's History of Fear (Isa: Visit) -- I'll catch it in Carthegena, Guadalajara or San Sebastian I'm sure, Jack, In Order of Disappearance which sounds like the sleeper hit of the festival, Argentinan (again!) La tercera orilla (The Third Side of the River), Lou Ye's Tui Na (Blind Massage) and Rachid Bouchareb's Two Men in Town (Isa: Pathe - again!), which I heard was rather flat which is not surprising, for when non-Americans try to make an American genre, it usually misses a certain verve, but still is such an interesting subject for him to tackle, Zwischen Welten (Inbetween Worlds) (Isa: The Match Factory) from Germany, another "American" subject, but here about a German soldier in Afghanistan, not an American one.
Among the Berlinale Specials, I wish I had seen Nancy Buirski's Afternoon of a Faun which everyone said was good (Isa: Cactus Three the doc production company of Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens) and Volker Schloendorff's 1969 Brecht piece Baal starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta. I did see his Diplomacy (Isa: Gaumont) which was a great treat, erudite, intimate and reminiscent of the novels of Sandor Marai (Embers and Casanova in Bolzano). Wish I could have seen Wim Wenders' Cathedrals of Culture (Isa: Cinephil), Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez (Isa: Mundial) and In the Courtyard aka Dans la cours (Isa: Wild Bunch) starring Catherine Deneuve and The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq (Isa: Le Pacte - again!!). I will see The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Isa: The Film Sales Company) by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, produced by Jonathan Dana, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder (Ballets Russes), back home. The Turning (Isa: Level K), an experimental omnibus produced by my favorite Australian producer, Robert Connelly who also directed in part and Maggie Myles, is also a must-see as is Errol Morris' companion piece to The Fog of War, The Unknown Known (Isa: HanWay) and Houssein Amini's Two Faces of January (Isa: StudioCanal) starring my favorites Viggo Mortenson and Kirsten Dunst. We Come as Friends (Isa: Le Pacte), by Hubert Sauper whose earlier film Darwin's Destiny astounded me, was worth watching although so often his films plunge one into a hopeless helplessness. Fresh from Sundance, it was raising controversy and the story of the Sudan is worth knowing. His particular and peculiar Pov is valuable. Watermark (Isa: Entertainment One), another social issue worth knowing about will have to wait for a more propitious time. Personally I'm hoping Israel's current venture into desalination of water will lead the world into peace and that I will rejoice watching the doc about that.
Difret (Isa: Films Boutique - again!), fresh from Sundance where I saw it was really good and it sold well. I got to hang out with the team at the Panorama party. Gueros (Isa: Mundial - again!), was a disappointment -- too like The Year of the Nail (though different) in tone. But what a great company Canana is!
Panorama's Finding Vivian Maier (Isa: HanWay - again!) is brilliantly interesting. It is about to be released in U.S. by IFC. I highly recommend seeing this documentary about an eccentric, unknown photographer. It premiered at Tiff 2013. Fresh from Sundance where it won a Special Jury Prize, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Isa: Submarine) was a treasure; Velvet Terrorists was about the oddest piece I have ever seen. About three former opponents of the Czechoslovakian Soviet Regime, each has continued to enjoy blowing up things. One is still training the next generation in urban guerilla warfare. They are otherwise unremarkable, sweet even, but twisted. What an odd documentary.
A quick look at the Market Films I have seen: of the 400+ premieres: Zero -- no I did see German Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Two Lives (Isa: Beta), and I will soon be home to celebrate its nomination at the famous Villa Aurora, the former home of German expatriate writer Leon Feuchtwanger. So many more films look sooooo attractive! A pity I may never get to see them. I would need all the time in the world, and I have so little. I have so much and yet I want more!
And for all the complaints about Berlin, many sales agents set up private screenings before the market kicked off. What is that about?
Beki Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, responded to the many media reports of a quieter market in an interview with ScreenDaily which sounds almost the same as the one she gave in 2009.
Quoting her current statement which I take the liberty of quoting here as it appears in Screen:
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said. In the opinion of Probst, there had been a muddying of the distinction between the Efm and the more general term of the ‘market’.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m check, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
"Sales agents were not sitting idle at their stands if one takes the example of one company in the Martin Gropius Bau: the CEO met with 90 buyers and the members of staff responsible for marketing had no less than 180 meetings in addition to ad-hoc discussions at events in the evenings."
Coproductions are the engine driving the business these days.
This year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market ended after two-and-a-half days with awards handed out to projects from Kazakhstan and Belgium.
The €6,000 Arte International Prize went to Kazakh film-maker Emir Baigazin’s planned second feature The Wounded Angel, the second part of a trilogy after his Silver Bear-winning Harmony Lessons. The €1.2m Almaty-based Kazakhfilm Jsc production has already attracted France’s Capricci Production as a co-producer and has backing in place from the Doha Film Institute and the Hubert Bals Fund.
The €10,000 Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award was presented to Belgian director Bavo Defurne for his romantic dramedy Souvenir. The €2m co-production by Oostende-based Indeed Films with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Germany’s Karibufilm already has backing from Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Cinefinance and public broadcaster Vrt/ Een.
India-Norway’s $55 million film to be directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance)’s The Indian Bride is an exciting example of an unusual pairing of countries.
Bavaria and Senator’s joint venture Bavaria Pictures’ The Postcard Killers to be directed by Mexican director Everardo Gout shows the international expansion of talent.
The Hungary-Austria-Germany co-production of Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity, or U.K.-Lithuania action comedy Redirected being sold by Content brings unusual European partners together.
U.S. born Damian John Harper’s coproduction with the German producers, brothers Jakob and Jonas Weydemann, on Los Angeles will be followed by In the Middle of the River now being developed with Zdf’s Das Kleine Fernsehspiel unit.
Shoreline’s The Infinite Man produced with Australia’s Hedone Productions in association with Bonsai Films with investment from South Australia Film Corporation through its Filmlab funding initiative, development assistance from Screen Australia is also a new sort of pairing.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, 20 Steps Productions and Bruemmer & Herzog’s The President is shooting in Tbilisi, Georgia and is being directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Italian-Canadian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Sights of Death starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen is directed by Allessandro Capone in Rome.
The Spain-u.K. co-production Second Origin is based on the best selling Catalan novel Mecanoscrit Del Segon Orgen.
The Golden Bear Winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is a Boneyard Entertainment (New York & Hong Kong) co-production with Boneyard Entertainment China (Bec), Omnijoi Media (Jiangsu, China), China Film co-production.
A sign of the times is the Swedish Film in Berlin advertisement which lists all Swedish co-productions:
In Competition: In Order of DisappearanceOut of Competition: NymphomaniacBerlinale Special: Someone You Love Generation Kplus: A Christmoose StoryPerspektive Deutsches Kino: Lamento
All are with European co-producers as is Antboy a Danish-German co-production.
One of my favorites is Gallows Hill, being sold by Im Global and already picked up by IFC for U.S. Starring Twilight actor Peter Facinelli, U.K. actress Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, it was entirely financed from within Colombia by television network Rcn’s affiliate Five 7 Media which produced with Peter Block's A Bigger Boat, David Higgins and Angelique Higgins' Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung. The screenplay was written by Rich D’Ovidio ( The Call, Thir13en Ghosts) about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
Another interesting combo is the Australian-Singapore co-production Canopy being sold by Odin’s Eye which was acquired by Kaleidoscope for U.K., by Kinosmith for Canada and Odin’s Eye itself for Australia. After its Tiff 2013 premiere, Monterrey acquired U.S. rights.
Cathedrals of Culture, was produced by Wim Wenders’ production company: Neue Road Movies in Germany and co-produced by Final Cut For Real (Denmark), Lotus Film (Austria), Mer Film (Norway), Les Films d'Ici 2 (France), Sundance Productions / RadicalMedia (U.S.), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg In collaboration with Arte (Germany and France) and Wowow (Japan).
Grand Budapest Hotel is a co-production of Scott Rudin in U.S. and Studio Babelsburg in Germany.
Wouldn't you say there had to be an awful lot of business going on? If only the media knew where to look for it. Instead, they moan the same old tired tune, "Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News". Oh well...
Efm Coproduction Market
Asian producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who was pitching the Hong Kong comedy Grooms by writer-director Arvin Chen at the Berlin Coproduction Market, announced that Germany’s augenschein filmproduktion will be a coproducer on Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s second feature Apprentice. The film has already received backing from France’s World Cinema Support, the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw of Germany and Germany's second network, Zdf’s Das kleine fernsehspiel unit. It also has Cinema Defacto as its French co-producer. Junfeng’s first film, Sandcastle, was screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2010.
Cologne-based augenschein, who produced Maximilian Leo’s My Brother’s Keeper, the opening film of this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino and is handled internationally by Media Luna, is currently in post-production on Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban’s Box, his second feature after the 2010 Berlinale Competition film If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle.
Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre whose debut The Student established him as one of the brightest and most courted young directors in Latin America was in the Co-production Market with his untitled second feature which France’s Full House connected to along with Argentina’s Union de los Rio, Argentine broadcast network Telefe, Ignacio Viale and the ubiquitous Lita Stantic.
Full House was also at the Coproduction Market with Peter Webber’s Fresh about a young thief learning the art of pickpocketing in Bogota, Colombia. It will be co-produced with Rcn affiliate Five 7 Media and 4Direcciones in Colombia and by Webber himself.
Raymond van der Kaaij, the producer of Tamar van den Dop’s Panorama title Supernova, is now financing Sundance winner Ernesto Contreras’ next feature I Dream In Another Language. The Spanish-English language project will be produced with Mexico-based Agencia Sha, and it is now casting the American lead according to producer van der Kaaij of Revolver Amsterdam. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the winner of the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, I Dream has already received support from Imcine in Mexico. Shooting is scheduled in Mexico for the end of 2014.
Revolver is now editing Bodkin Ras, the debut film of Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri, an English-language documentary-thriller set in North Scotland. The Dutch-Belgian-u.K. coproduction is set for release at the end of 2014.
Finnish film-maker Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa’s is editing his latest feature They Have Escaped, which Revolver coproduced with Helsinki Film.
Trend of smart art genres
Another continuing trend, which began with Xyz and Celluloid Nightmares and continued with Memento, is the character-driven art genre films with tight budgets, like the Danish coming-of-age-werewolf-romance, When Animals Dream, directed by first timer Jonas Arnby, sold by Gaumont to Radius-twc for No. Americ. The Scandinavians, formerly making a mark with "Nordic Noir" are now making what they call "Nordic Twilight".
Trend of remake rights
Another trend is that of remake rights. Film Sharks reports it makes more from selling remake rights than from licensing distribution rights.
The Intouchables is selling remake rights to more countries than only India as is the sale of Other Angle’s Babysitting remake rights. Negotiations are underway with Russia, Italy and Germany.
Fruit Chan is considering an English language remake of his 2004 cult horror film Dumplings.
The market is bit too calm?…Then let us look at Cannes…
Usually by Afm you can begin the Tipped for Cannes List (which Gilles Jacob detested), but even that is a little on the quiet side. I begin to question whether all media fueled news is accurate: the slow sales being reported, the lack of pre-Cannes buzz… Is the media really investigating deeply?
Of all the trades, while Screen has the most international news and deepest analyses, Variety reports things no other trade is covering. But…still the non-news of a quiet market persists as if it were headline news. We always hear this and we are still in an economic slump, so what we wish for is not apparent, but this is not news.
Tipped for Cannes
Tipped for Cannes are Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home staring Gong Li and to be sold by Wild Bunch, Stealth’s First Law starring Mads Mikkelsen (Cannes 2012 Best Actor Award for The Hunt); Self Made (Boreg) by Shira Geffen and to be sold by Westend, shot in Hebrew and Arabic by the production and sales team behind Oscar nominated 2011 drama Footnote, the second film after Geffen’s 2007 debut Jellyfish which won the Cannes Camera d’Or. MK2’s Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water will be delivered in time for Cannes. Pyramide International is plannng for Leviathan, a modern retelling of the biblical story which deals with some of Russia’s most important social issues to be ready for Cannes. It is directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky (Stalingrad) as their followup to Elena. Gaumont-cj co-production, The Target, the Korean remake of Fred Cavaye’s action thriller Point Blank will be ready in time for Cannes.
Rumors and truths about people changing positions
Rumors about Dieter Kosslick replacing Berlin’s Culture Secretary who resigned after a tax evasion scandal in which he admitted to stashing $575,000 in a Swiss bank account…Charlotte Mickie has left eOne and knowing her, she is bound to find something good elsewhere as she's too good to lose...StudioCanals Harold van Lier now leads eOne’s newly ramped international sales team and Montreal based Anick Poirier leads its subsidiary label, Seville International. Jeff Nuyts is leaving Intramovies. Nigel Sinclair and Guy East seem to be leaving Exclusive Media the company they founded as discussions with partners from Dasym Investment Strategies Bv move forward. Kevin Hoiseth from Voltage Pictures has joined International Film Trust as their director of international sales...and of course, Nadine de Barros has founded her own company, Fortitude, and was holding court at the Ritz Carlton the buzziest spot outside of the Martin Gropius Bau.
What I Saw and What I Thought
For what it's worth, here is my limited list of screenings of films seen only in the last 3 days of the festival when I was no longer "working". I am including some I actually saw at Sundance.
First and foremost -- and to be written about further in a "thought piece" as I term the articles I think long about before writing and to include my interview with the director Goran Hugo Olsson's (The Black Power Mixtapes winner of Sundance 2011 World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award) -- Concerning Violence (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S.: Cinetic), based on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth and seen at Sundance this year next to Stanley Nelson's outstanding Freedom Summer (PBS) and Greg Barker's We Are The Giant (Submarine), is a call to action for new societal models ringing out loud and clear.
Golden Bear Winner, Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan, a Chinese noir, lacked the momentum and substance I would have expected in a winning film, though it was a fascinating way to see today's urban China. Had I been on the jury, I would have chosen the Best Director Award winning Boyhood (Isa: IFC) by Richard Linklater. But perhaps because James Schamus, an American who loves Chinese films, was President of the Jury, there might have arisen a question of disinterested objectivity. I would have to hear what jurists Barbara Broccoli, Trine Dyrhom, Chistoph Waltz, Tony Leung, Greta Gerwig, Mitra Farahani and Michel Gondry would have to say about the deliberations.
Speaking of jury prizes, it was a surprise the much acclaimed '71 (Isa: Protagonist, now headed by our dear Mike Goodridge) won nothing, and good Alain Renais' Life of Riley (Isa: Le Pacte) received recognition. I found Christophe Gans' La belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) (Isa: Pathe) an overproduced unwieldy special effects-ridden mess, even though it was exec-produced by Jérôme Seydoux who also produced the masterpiece La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty), and starred his granddaughter Lea Seydoux. I'll stand by Cocteau's versoin. I heard Claudia Llosa (Milk of Sorrow)'s Aloft was also not widely admired.
About the best actress winning film The Little House (Isa: Shochiku could have marketed it more widely), I heard nothing at all, though it sounds really good. Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (Isa: Beta) by brother and sister team Anna and Dietrich Brueggemann (any relation to our own Tom Brueggeman?) had a satisfying denouement and was quite engrossing with moments of humor lightening the heavy weight of the cross carried by 14 year old Maria played by Lea van Acken, a picture face out of a George de la Tour painting (Magdeline with a Smoking Flame or A Piece of Art). Macondo (Isa: Films Boutique - again! ) by Sudabeh Mortezai of Austria was a window on a world never seen before and very engrossing although the coming of age story was one we have seen before.
Not sorry to say I missed The Monuments Men and Nymphomaniac Volume I, but sorry that I missed Beloved Sisters (Isa: Global Screen) of Dominik Graf, The Grand Budapest Hotel (will see it in U.S.), Argentinian Benjamin Naishat's History of Fear (Isa: Visit) -- I'll catch it in Carthegena, Guadalajara or San Sebastian I'm sure, Jack, In Order of Disappearance which sounds like the sleeper hit of the festival, Argentinan (again!) La tercera orilla (The Third Side of the River), Lou Ye's Tui Na (Blind Massage) and Rachid Bouchareb's Two Men in Town (Isa: Pathe - again!), which I heard was rather flat which is not surprising, for when non-Americans try to make an American genre, it usually misses a certain verve, but still is such an interesting subject for him to tackle, Zwischen Welten (Inbetween Worlds) (Isa: The Match Factory) from Germany, another "American" subject, but here about a German soldier in Afghanistan, not an American one.
Among the Berlinale Specials, I wish I had seen Nancy Buirski's Afternoon of a Faun which everyone said was good (Isa: Cactus Three the doc production company of Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens) and Volker Schloendorff's 1969 Brecht piece Baal starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta. I did see his Diplomacy (Isa: Gaumont) which was a great treat, erudite, intimate and reminiscent of the novels of Sandor Marai (Embers and Casanova in Bolzano). Wish I could have seen Wim Wenders' Cathedrals of Culture (Isa: Cinephil), Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez (Isa: Mundial) and In the Courtyard aka Dans la cours (Isa: Wild Bunch) starring Catherine Deneuve and The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq (Isa: Le Pacte - again!!). I will see The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Isa: The Film Sales Company) by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, produced by Jonathan Dana, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder (Ballets Russes), back home. The Turning (Isa: Level K), an experimental omnibus produced by my favorite Australian producer, Robert Connelly who also directed in part and Maggie Myles, is also a must-see as is Errol Morris' companion piece to The Fog of War, The Unknown Known (Isa: HanWay) and Houssein Amini's Two Faces of January (Isa: StudioCanal) starring my favorites Viggo Mortenson and Kirsten Dunst. We Come as Friends (Isa: Le Pacte), by Hubert Sauper whose earlier film Darwin's Destiny astounded me, was worth watching although so often his films plunge one into a hopeless helplessness. Fresh from Sundance, it was raising controversy and the story of the Sudan is worth knowing. His particular and peculiar Pov is valuable. Watermark (Isa: Entertainment One), another social issue worth knowing about will have to wait for a more propitious time. Personally I'm hoping Israel's current venture into desalination of water will lead the world into peace and that I will rejoice watching the doc about that.
Difret (Isa: Films Boutique - again!), fresh from Sundance where I saw it was really good and it sold well. I got to hang out with the team at the Panorama party. Gueros (Isa: Mundial - again!), was a disappointment -- too like The Year of the Nail (though different) in tone. But what a great company Canana is!
Panorama's Finding Vivian Maier (Isa: HanWay - again!) is brilliantly interesting. It is about to be released in U.S. by IFC. I highly recommend seeing this documentary about an eccentric, unknown photographer. It premiered at Tiff 2013. Fresh from Sundance where it won a Special Jury Prize, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Isa: Submarine) was a treasure; Velvet Terrorists was about the oddest piece I have ever seen. About three former opponents of the Czechoslovakian Soviet Regime, each has continued to enjoy blowing up things. One is still training the next generation in urban guerilla warfare. They are otherwise unremarkable, sweet even, but twisted. What an odd documentary.
A quick look at the Market Films I have seen: of the 400+ premieres: Zero -- no I did see German Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Two Lives (Isa: Beta), and I will soon be home to celebrate its nomination at the famous Villa Aurora, the former home of German expatriate writer Leon Feuchtwanger. So many more films look sooooo attractive! A pity I may never get to see them. I would need all the time in the world, and I have so little. I have so much and yet I want more!
- 2/27/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: Beki Probst, head of Berlin’s European Film Market (Efm), has hit back at claims that the 2014 edition was “sluggish” or “lukewarm” while the Berlinale Co-Production Market has handed out its awards.
Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, was responding to reports of a quieter market.
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said in an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m cheque, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
In the opinion...
Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, was responding to reports of a quieter market.
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said in an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m cheque, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
In the opinion...
- 2/14/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The Dardenne brothers have begun shooting their latest film - one of 21 features to receive a major financial boost from Eurimages.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have commenced principal photography on Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit) in Seraing, Belgium.
For full production details visit
Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit)
Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard and Fabrizio Rongione play the leads alongside a variety of Belgian actors including Olivier Gourmet, Christelle Cornil and Catherine Salée.
The film follows 30-year old Sandra (Cotillard) and her husband (Rongione) on their hunt across the city for colleagues prepared to sacrifice their bonuses so she can keep her job.
Artificial Eye pre-bought the film for the UK from Wild Bunch, which is handling international sales. Sundance Selects has acquired it for the Us.
This €7m ($9.1m) film will be co-produced by Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium), Archipel (France) and Bim (Italy).
The technical crew will be mainly Belgian, including...
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have commenced principal photography on Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit) in Seraing, Belgium.
For full production details visit
Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit)
Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard and Fabrizio Rongione play the leads alongside a variety of Belgian actors including Olivier Gourmet, Christelle Cornil and Catherine Salée.
The film follows 30-year old Sandra (Cotillard) and her husband (Rongione) on their hunt across the city for colleagues prepared to sacrifice their bonuses so she can keep her job.
Artificial Eye pre-bought the film for the UK from Wild Bunch, which is handling international sales. Sundance Selects has acquired it for the Us.
This €7m ($9.1m) film will be co-produced by Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium), Archipel (France) and Bim (Italy).
The technical crew will be mainly Belgian, including...
- 6/26/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
★★★☆☆ Romanian director Florin Serban's If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle (2010), based on the play of the same name by Andreea Valean, tells the story of Silviu (George Pistereanu), a young offender coming to the end of his four-year prison sentence. Silviu's younger brother, whom he has raised in the absence of their mother, informs him that their mother has returned and wants to take him to Italy. Distraught at the idea of losing his sibling, Silviu attempts to find a way to keep him in the country until his release.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 8/21/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Dictator (15)
(Larry Charles, 2012, Us) Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Jason Mantzoukas, Ben Kingsley, John C Reilly. 83 mins
Having run out of unsuspecting Americans to prank, Sacha Baron Cohen takes the conventional fish-out-of-water route this time, as his Arab tyrant comes to terms with western democracy. But if the story plays it safe, the comedy treads a risky line between lampooning Islamophobia and fuelling it. The high gag rate, animated performance and general broad-spectrum offensiveness help him get away with murder, and worse.
The Raid (18)
(Gareth Evans, 2011, Indon/Us) Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian. 101 mins
Throwing more punches than every other movie this year combined, this single-minded Indonesian martial arts epic doesn't let up until everyone in its baddy-infested apartment block, and the auditorium, is pummelled into submission. Pacifists, look away now.
2 Days In New York (15)
(Julie Delpy, 2011, Ger/Fra/Bel) Julie Delpy, Chris Rock, Albert Delpy. 96 mins
Welcome return for Delpy's chaotic,...
(Larry Charles, 2012, Us) Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Jason Mantzoukas, Ben Kingsley, John C Reilly. 83 mins
Having run out of unsuspecting Americans to prank, Sacha Baron Cohen takes the conventional fish-out-of-water route this time, as his Arab tyrant comes to terms with western democracy. But if the story plays it safe, the comedy treads a risky line between lampooning Islamophobia and fuelling it. The high gag rate, animated performance and general broad-spectrum offensiveness help him get away with murder, and worse.
The Raid (18)
(Gareth Evans, 2011, Indon/Us) Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian. 101 mins
Throwing more punches than every other movie this year combined, this single-minded Indonesian martial arts epic doesn't let up until everyone in its baddy-infested apartment block, and the auditorium, is pummelled into submission. Pacifists, look away now.
2 Days In New York (15)
(Julie Delpy, 2011, Ger/Fra/Bel) Julie Delpy, Chris Rock, Albert Delpy. 96 mins
Welcome return for Delpy's chaotic,...
- 5/18/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
New film projects by the likes of Aktan Arym Kubat (The Light Thief), Athina Rachel Tsangari (Attenberg), Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark), Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff), Úrszula Antoniak (Code Blue and Nothing Personal), Quentin Dupieux (Rubber and the Sundance selected Wrong), Florin Serban (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), Ruben Östlund (pictured above) and Aditya Assarat (Wonderful Town) are among the 36 projects participating in Rotterdam’s 29th co-production market CineMart (where a whopping 850 potential co-financiers add coin to future projects). Among the filmmakers we are keeping a closer eye on, we see that Athina Rachel Tsangari's breakout Venice-winning Attenberg helped her secure producing help for her next feature, "Duncharon," - Haos Films will be joined by Faliro House Productions, Maharaja Films and one of our favorite outfitters in The Match Factory. Another female auteur in The Netherlands' Úrszula Antoniak is working on Nude Area with Topkapi Films and Pandora Film producing.
- 12/19/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
While several countries are still deliberating which film will represent them for the upcoming Foreign Films category at the Oscars, the Romanian National Center for Cinematography have announced their pic in Marian Crisan's Morgen. Scripted by Crisan and featuring Yalcin Yilmaz and Andras Hathazi, is about a man, Nelu (Hathazi), who lives near Romanian-Hungarian border, who works as a supermarket security guard and who just likes fishing. One day, though, he meets an illegal Kurdish immigrant and he has to decide whether to help him pass the border or not. Morgen grabbed four awards at last year Locarno Film Festival: Special Jury Prize, Third Prize of the Junior Jury Awards, Eucumenical Prize and Ficc/Iffs Prize. Crisan’s film also received Best Director and Best Actor (ex aequo - Andras Hathazi and Yilmaz Yalcin) at Thessaloniki Film Festival, while at the 3rd edition of CinEast festival, Morgen won The...
- 8/17/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
High time to round up the films at this year's Cannes Film Festival that never saw entries of their own and send them on their way. Today: Un Certain Regard.
"Bakur Bakuradze's The Hunter seems like a ficticious version of Raymond Depardon's Modern Life, a trilogy on farming that was screened in Cannes in 2008," finds Moritz Pfeifer, who also interviews the director for the East European Film Bulletin. "With no soundtrack, no professional actors, little dialogue and a minimalist plot, the film depicts the daily life of Ivan (Mikhail Barskovich) as he peacefully runs his pig farm in one of the less populous areas of northwestern Russia…. Clearly, Bakuradze wants to depict an alternative world, and the spirit of his film is more utopian than its hyper-realistic images suggest."
Grumbles the Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt: "There is maybe 10 to 15 minutes of actual story located within this 124 minute slog,...
"Bakur Bakuradze's The Hunter seems like a ficticious version of Raymond Depardon's Modern Life, a trilogy on farming that was screened in Cannes in 2008," finds Moritz Pfeifer, who also interviews the director for the East European Film Bulletin. "With no soundtrack, no professional actors, little dialogue and a minimalist plot, the film depicts the daily life of Ivan (Mikhail Barskovich) as he peacefully runs his pig farm in one of the less populous areas of northwestern Russia…. Clearly, Bakuradze wants to depict an alternative world, and the spirit of his film is more utopian than its hyper-realistic images suggest."
Grumbles the Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt: "There is maybe 10 to 15 minutes of actual story located within this 124 minute slog,...
- 5/31/2011
- MUBI
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle won best film, director and first feature film for helmer Florin Serban at the Gopo awards, Romania's 5th annual national cinema awards. According to Variety, the film won supporting actress for Clara Voda as well as the Young Hope Award for star George Pistereanu. Serbin directed from a screenplay written alongside Catalin Mitulescu. The film is produced by and Catalin and Daniel Mitulescu. About If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle Silviu has only two weeks left before his release from a hostile juvenile detention center. But when his mother, who abandoned him long ago, returns to take his younger brother away - a brother Silviu raised like a son – those two weeks become an eternity. While his outcries for help fall on deaf ears, he finds himself mercilessly taunted and harassed...
- 3/30/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle won best film, director and first feature film for helmer Florin Serban at the Gopo awards, Romania's 5th annual national cinema awards. According to Variety, the film won supporting actress for Clara Voda as well as the Young Hope Award for star George Pistereanu. Serbin directed from a screenplay written alongside Catalin Mitulescu. The film is produced by and Catalin and Daniel Mitulescu. About If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle Silviu has only two weeks left before his release from a hostile juvenile detention center. But when his mother, who abandoned him long ago, returns to take his younger brother away - a brother Silviu raised like a son – those two weeks become an eternity. While his outcries for help fall on deaf ears, he finds himself mercilessly taunted and harassed...
- 3/30/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle was the big winner at the 5th edition of Gopo Awards (Romania's film industry honours) last night, winning seven awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Florin Şerban) and Best Supporting Actress (Clara Vodă). Titus Muntean's Kino Caravan was a surprising winner of four Gopos for Best Original Music, Best Production Design, Best Costumes and Best Make-up. On the other side, Victor Rebengiuc winning Best Actor for his performance in Medal of Honor was no surprise. While Mirela Oprişor received Best Actress award, the only Gopo award for Radu Munean's Tuesday, after Christmas. George Piştereanu impressed the jury, winning the Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle. Adrian Sitaru took home the award for Best Shortfilm – The Cage, and Andrei Ujică's The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceauşescu winning the Best Documentary category was not much of a surprise at all either.
- 3/30/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Sigrid Thornton in Michael Rymer's Face to Face Troubadours Wins Santa Barbara Film Festival Audiece Award Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema: Michael Rymer's Face to Face Best International Film Award: Nathan Collett's Togetherness Supreme Special Jury Mention: Alicia Vikander for Pure The Nueva Vision Award: Nostalgia for the Light, Patricio Guzmán Best East Meets West Cinema Award: Patisserie (Coin de rue) by Yoshihiro Fukagawa Best Eastern Bloc Award: If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle by Florin Serban Best Documentary Film Award: The Boy Mir: Ten Years in Afghanistan by Phil Grabsky Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film: West of the Moon Brent Bonacorso Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation Short Film:The Lost Thing by Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award: When I Rise by Mat Hames and Nostalgia for the Light by Patricio Guzmán...
- 2/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” a documentary about the Los Angeles music scene from the late 1960s to the early ‘70s, was audience favorite when the 26th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival handed out its awards over the weekend at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
- 2/7/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” a documentary about the Los Angeles music scene from the late 1960s to the early ‘70s, was audience favorite when the 26th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival handed out its awards over the weekend at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
- 2/7/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced its 2011 prize winners earlier today.
The highly-coveted Audience Award went to Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” an engaging doc about the rise of singer-songwriters — most notably Carole King and James Taylor, who feature prominently in the film alongside other headliners of the period — in Los Angeles, generally, and at the Troubadour Club, specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (The film premiered at last month’s Sundance Film Festival and will air nationally on PBS on March 2 at 8pm Est.)
The other top honors were determined by a jury that included actor Billy Baldwin (“Gossip Girl”), writer/director Paul Brickman (“Risky Business”), director Andy Davis (“The Fugitive”), producer Frank Donner (“Deliver Us from Evil”), actor Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future”), and actor Anthony Zerbe (“The Matrix”), among others, and went to the following films…
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema (given...
The highly-coveted Audience Award went to Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” an engaging doc about the rise of singer-songwriters — most notably Carole King and James Taylor, who feature prominently in the film alongside other headliners of the period — in Los Angeles, generally, and at the Troubadour Club, specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (The film premiered at last month’s Sundance Film Festival and will air nationally on PBS on March 2 at 8pm Est.)
The other top honors were determined by a jury that included actor Billy Baldwin (“Gossip Girl”), writer/director Paul Brickman (“Risky Business”), director Andy Davis (“The Fugitive”), producer Frank Donner (“Deliver Us from Evil”), actor Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future”), and actor Anthony Zerbe (“The Matrix”), among others, and went to the following films…
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema (given...
- 2/7/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
January 7-9th 2011
There was a lot of movement in the top ten films over the weekend with one significant accomplishment-True Grit lasso.ed itself into the number one spot bringing in $14,605,135 and horse kicked Little Fockers into number two pulling in $13,487,245.
The surprise of the weekend was Relativity.s new release Season Of The Witch, starring Nicolas Cage, flying into the number three position with a decent showing of $10,612,375. It was released in 2,816 theaters with an average $3,769 per theater.
Tron: Legacy was barely edged out of the spot, but only moved down to the number four slot.
Screen Gem.s Country Strong strummed its way into number six by opening in 1,422 more theaters. Now with a 1,424 theater showing, it had the second highest per theater average of $5,145.
The number one highest grossing per theater average was The King.S Speech with $8,462 in 758 theaters. The unfortunate two movies finally...
There was a lot of movement in the top ten films over the weekend with one significant accomplishment-True Grit lasso.ed itself into the number one spot bringing in $14,605,135 and horse kicked Little Fockers into number two pulling in $13,487,245.
The surprise of the weekend was Relativity.s new release Season Of The Witch, starring Nicolas Cage, flying into the number three position with a decent showing of $10,612,375. It was released in 2,816 theaters with an average $3,769 per theater.
Tron: Legacy was barely edged out of the spot, but only moved down to the number four slot.
Screen Gem.s Country Strong strummed its way into number six by opening in 1,422 more theaters. Now with a 1,424 theater showing, it had the second highest per theater average of $5,145.
The number one highest grossing per theater average was The King.S Speech with $8,462 in 758 theaters. The unfortunate two movies finally...
- 1/12/2011
- by Allison Ritcher
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Strada Film has a new film project in development with a basic log-line about drug-dealers and an innocent girl. This will be the first feature film of Eva Pervolovici, who’s also written the screenplay, along with Monica Stan, while the producers are Strada Film (the company that produced Florin Serban’s If I Want to Whistle I Whistle - which gets released early next month in the U.S) and Marcian Lazăr. The shooting is planned to start somewhere in spring 2012. Meanwhile the working title is "Ileana", and its story, based on reality, sounds like this: Article 16 in the Romanian Penal Code states that a friend of a person charged with drug dealing can reduce his sentence by turning in another drug dealer. So Ileana, an innocent and dreamy young girl, has to enter a world she is not familiar with, a world of heroin addicts in the suburbs of Bucharest,...
- 12/22/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Film Forum is welcoming the winter and spring months with a diverse slate of films from Britain, Scandinavia, Chad, Romania, Thailand, and Italy. Romania's official entry to the Academy Awards, Florin Serban's "If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle" will kick off their 2011 slate in January. The film took home the Silver Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Cannes winners "Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall ...
- 11/15/2010
- Indiewire
Film Movement have picked up their third Foreign Oscar hopeful by adding Eran Riklis' The Human Resources Manager to their list of two comprised of Olivier Masset-Depasse's Illegal (Belgium) and Florin Serban's If I Want to Whistle…I Whistle (Romania). Riklis' film which preemed at Locarno, played at Tiff and was just shown at the AFI Fest, should manage to sway some first round voters his way -- the director of The Syrian Bride and Lemon Tree is perhaps one of the more internationally known filmmakers out of Israel. Film Movement have tagged an unconfirmed March release date for the tragi-comedy. Gist: An Israel, Germany, France and Romania co-production, this is about the Human Resources Manager of Jerusalem’s largest bakery is in trouble. He is separated from his wife, distanced from his daughter, and stuck in a job he hates. When one of his employees, a foreign worker,...
- 11/9/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The Press Conference started with Mr. Narayan, Director of Mami, welcoming the panellist of International directors who are participating in the Mami Film festival. Narayan thanked and admitted that he has seen each of their films and if it was in his power, he would felicitate each one of them in this film festival. He also promised them that on a personal level he will help them- to promote and distribute their movie, if ever need be. The Panelist consisted of Babar Nayafi (Director of Seebe), Michael Noer (Director of :R), Screen Yuce ( (Director of: Majority), Anocha ( (Director of Mundane History), Florin Serban (Director of If I want to Whistle, I Whistle), Vardi's Marinak and George (Directors of Black Feild), Aamir Bashir (Director of Autumn), Sebastian Astore (Director of A Stone throw away), Daniel Vega (Director of October), Su Turban (Director of Ayla), Oliver (Director of Sweet Evil) Most of...
- 10/27/2010
- by Bollywood Hungama News Network
- BollywoodHungama
The Press Conference started with Mr. Narayan, Director of Mami, welcoming the panellist of International directors who are participating in the Mami Film festival. Narayan thanked and admitted that he has seen each of their films and if it was in his power, he would felicitate each one of them in this film festival. He also promised them that on a personal level he will help them- to promote and distribute their movie, if ever need be. The Panelist consisted of Babar Nayafi (Director of Seebe), Michael Noer (Director of :R), Screen Yuce ( (Director of: Majority), Anocha ( (Director of Mundane History), Florin Serban (Director of If I want to Whistle, I Whistle), Vardi's Marinak and George (Directors of Black Feild), Aamir Bashir (Director of Autumn), Sebastian Astore (Director of A Stone throw away), Daniel Vega (Director of October), Su Turban (Director of Ayla), Oliver (Director of Sweet Evil) Most of...
- 10/27/2010
- by Bollywood Hungama News Network
- BollywoodHungama
Mumbai, Oct 23 – After the lively debate on censorship on the second day of the Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), the third day Saturday saw a discussion on film scripts and their creative evolution.
The panel for the event, chaired by Atul Tiwari, included Shama Zaidi, Chetan Bhagat, Piyush Mishra, Deepa Gahlot and Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban.
Novelist Chetan Bhagat highlighted the difference between writing a book and a script. ‘Book is an author’s game, while film is not,’ he said.
He highlighted the changes that during the adaptation of his book for ‘3 Idiots’. ‘The.
The panel for the event, chaired by Atul Tiwari, included Shama Zaidi, Chetan Bhagat, Piyush Mishra, Deepa Gahlot and Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban.
Novelist Chetan Bhagat highlighted the difference between writing a book and a script. ‘Book is an author’s game, while film is not,’ he said.
He highlighted the changes that during the adaptation of his book for ‘3 Idiots’. ‘The.
- 10/23/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
While I do not think that something as edgy or unusual as Giorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth (pictured above) will make the 'final five' short list, but kudos to Greece for throwing it out there. Perhaps something like Tetsuya Nakashima's Confessions will make the cut despite its similarly unsettling subject matter. Either way, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did put out a big release yesterday with all of their Foreign Language film submissions, 65 of them in total even Greenland, from various countries. Many of these films have reviews in our archives.
Albania, East West East, Gjergj Xhuvani
Algeria, Hors la Loi ("Outside the Law"), Rachid Bouchareb
Argentina, Carancho, Pablo Trapero
Austria, La Pivellina, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel
Azerbaijan, The Precinct, Ilgar Safat
Bangladesh, Third Person Singular Number, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Belgium, Illegal, Olivier Masset-Depasse
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Circus Columbia, Danis Tanovic
Brazil, Lula the Son of Brazil,...
Albania, East West East, Gjergj Xhuvani
Algeria, Hors la Loi ("Outside the Law"), Rachid Bouchareb
Argentina, Carancho, Pablo Trapero
Austria, La Pivellina, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel
Azerbaijan, The Precinct, Ilgar Safat
Bangladesh, Third Person Singular Number, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
Belgium, Illegal, Olivier Masset-Depasse
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Circus Columbia, Danis Tanovic
Brazil, Lula the Son of Brazil,...
- 10/14/2010
- Screen Anarchy
65 Countries Enter Race for 2010 Foreign Language Film Oscar®
Beverly Hills, CA: Sixty-five countries, including first-time entrants Ethiopia and Greenland, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 83rd Academy Awards®.
The 2010 submissions are:
.Albania, .East, West, East,. Gjergj Xhuvani, director;
.Algeria, .Hors la Loi. (.Outside the Law.), Rachid Bouchareb, director;
.Argentina, .Carancho,. Pablo Trapero, director;
.Austria, .La Pivellina,. Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, directors;
.Azerbaijan, .The Precinct,. Ilgar Safat, director;
.Bangladesh, .Third Person Singular Number,. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director;
.Belgium, .Illegal,. Olivier Masset-Depasse, director;
.Bosnia and Herzegovina, .Circus Columbia,. Danis Tanovic, director;
.Brazil, .Lula, the Son of Brazil,. Fabio Barreto, director;
.Bulgaria, .Eastern Plays,. Kamen Kalev, director;
.Canada, .Incendies,. Denis Villeneuve, director;
.Chile, .The Life of Fish,. Matias Bize, director;
.China, .Aftershock,. Feng Xiaogang, director;
.Colombia, .Crab Trap,. Oscar Ruiz Navia, director;
.Costa Rica, .Of Love and Other Demons,. Hilda Hidalgo, director;
.Croatia, .The Blacks,...
Beverly Hills, CA: Sixty-five countries, including first-time entrants Ethiopia and Greenland, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 83rd Academy Awards®.
The 2010 submissions are:
.Albania, .East, West, East,. Gjergj Xhuvani, director;
.Algeria, .Hors la Loi. (.Outside the Law.), Rachid Bouchareb, director;
.Argentina, .Carancho,. Pablo Trapero, director;
.Austria, .La Pivellina,. Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, directors;
.Azerbaijan, .The Precinct,. Ilgar Safat, director;
.Bangladesh, .Third Person Singular Number,. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director;
.Belgium, .Illegal,. Olivier Masset-Depasse, director;
.Bosnia and Herzegovina, .Circus Columbia,. Danis Tanovic, director;
.Brazil, .Lula, the Son of Brazil,. Fabio Barreto, director;
.Bulgaria, .Eastern Plays,. Kamen Kalev, director;
.Canada, .Incendies,. Denis Villeneuve, director;
.Chile, .The Life of Fish,. Matias Bize, director;
.China, .Aftershock,. Feng Xiaogang, director;
.Colombia, .Crab Trap,. Oscar Ruiz Navia, director;
.Costa Rica, .Of Love and Other Demons,. Hilda Hidalgo, director;
.Croatia, .The Blacks,...
- 10/13/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I have been keeping track of all of the Foreign Language Oscar submissions in my "The Contenders" section of the site and today the official list of sixty-five films from sixty-five countries was unveiled by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 83rd Academy Awards. On January 20, 2011 a shortlist of nine contenders will be announced prior to the naming of the nominees on January 25, 2011.
I have included the complete list directly below, which includes first-time entrants Ethiopia and Greenland. The only film that was originally thought to be under consideration, but didn't show up on the Academy's final list was Afghanistan's entry, Black Tulip, directed by Sonia Nassery Cole. IMDb doesn't list a release date for the film, which means it may not have met the release requirements in time.
I have linked each film to their corresponding IMDb page for those films not included...
I have included the complete list directly below, which includes first-time entrants Ethiopia and Greenland. The only film that was originally thought to be under consideration, but didn't show up on the Academy's final list was Afghanistan's entry, Black Tulip, directed by Sonia Nassery Cole. IMDb doesn't list a release date for the film, which means it may not have met the release requirements in time.
I have linked each film to their corresponding IMDb page for those films not included...
- 10/13/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Year: 2010
Director: Florin Serban
Writers: Florin Serban, Catalin Mitulescu
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 7 out of 10
Two weeks before his release, Silviu starts to crack. After serving four years as a model prisoner, news that his mother has returned from Italy and plans on taking Silviu’s little brother with her after years of neglect sends Silviu over the edge and we witness the mental collapse of a young man with nothing left on the outside worth living for.
The basic premise of Florin Serban’s debut film If I want to Whistle, I Whistle sets up a promising film and Serban mostly delivers on the promise but this is not the best of the Romanian films of late though it does up the ante with a story that allows for more emoting and action than we’ve seen from previous film made in the region...
Director: Florin Serban
Writers: Florin Serban, Catalin Mitulescu
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 7 out of 10
Two weeks before his release, Silviu starts to crack. After serving four years as a model prisoner, news that his mother has returned from Italy and plans on taking Silviu’s little brother with her after years of neglect sends Silviu over the edge and we witness the mental collapse of a young man with nothing left on the outside worth living for.
The basic premise of Florin Serban’s debut film If I want to Whistle, I Whistle sets up a promising film and Serban mostly delivers on the promise but this is not the best of the Romanian films of late though it does up the ante with a story that allows for more emoting and action than we’ve seen from previous film made in the region...
- 10/12/2010
- QuietEarth.us
An English language feature film co-produced by Ireland and the Netherlands “Nothing Personal” has been shortlisted for the European Discovery-the Prix Fipresci at this years European Film Academy. The award is presented annually to a young and upcoming director. “Nothing Personal” is about Anne who leaves her life behind her in the Netherlands and moves to Ireland. “Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin,” writes IMDb. The movie is written and...
- 10/12/2010
- IrishCentral
The European Film Academy have announced this year’s nominations for the European Discovery - Prix Fipresci, an award presented annually as part of the European Film Awards (23rd edition) to a young and upcoming director for a first full-length feature film, and leading the pack we have the front-runner and more known Venice winning title of 2009 in Samuel Maoz's Lebanon (an Israel/Germany/France co-production) and also from Venice of the same year, Giuseppe Capotondi's La doppia ora (The Double Hour). Completing the five noms, there's Florin Serban's Berlin Film Festival-winning If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Film Movement) along with Germany's Feo Aladag's When We Leave (Olive Films) and overwhelming 2009 Locarno winning favorite in Urszula Antoniak's Nothing Personal (Olive Films) - see pic above. Here are the trailers for the five nominated films - the winner will be announced on 4 December in Tallinn/Estonia.
- 10/11/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The European Film Academy announces five nominees for its European Discovery Award, which recognizes emerging directors' first feature-length films. The nominees are selected by members of Fipresci, the International Federation of Film Critics. The 2,300 members of the Efa will watch and vote for the winner, which will be announced December 4th at the 23rd European Film Awards. The nominees are: La Doppia Ora (The Double Hour), Italy, directed by Giuseppe Capotondi Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), Romania, directed by Florin Serban Die Fremde (When We Leave), Germany, written & directed by Feo Aladag Lebanon, Israel/Germany/France, written & directed by Samuel Maoz [pictured] Nothing Personal, the Netherlands/Ireland, written & directed by Urszula Antoniak...
- 10/11/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
Five films from first-time directors, including two that have been submitted to the Academy’s Foreign-Language Film competition, have been selected as nominees for the European Film Academy’s European Discovery Prix Fipresci.
The two Oscar submissions nominated for the award are the Romanian film “Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier” (“If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle”), directed by Florin Serban, and the German drama “Die Fremde” (“When We Leave”), directed by Feo Aladag.
The two Oscar submissions nominated for the award are the Romanian film “Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier” (“If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle”), directed by Florin Serban, and the German drama “Die Fremde” (“When We Leave”), directed by Feo Aladag.
- 10/11/2010
- The Wrap
I'm not sure what the cutoff date is for from the individual countries for the Foreign Language Film nominations, but Sony Pictures Classics are glad to see Canada select Denis Villeneuve's Incendies. The company now has three horses in the race and once again, places the distributor in a pretty good position to grab the most of the spots in the final five nominations. Their solid trio so far includes: the Villeneuve film that played at Venice, Telluride and Tiff with Cannes items Xavier Beauvois' Of Gods and Men and Olivier Schmitz's Life, Above All. Having seen all three mentioned titles, I can say that this will please Academy voters. Cross your fingers for Dogtooth folks. Algeria: Outside the Law, Rachid Bouchareb Austria: La Pivellina, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel Azerbaijan: The Precinct, Ilgar Safat Belgium: Illègal, Olivier Masset-Depasse Bosnia and Herzegovina: Circus Columbia, Danis Tanovic Bulgaria: Eastern Plays,...
- 9/22/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Cologne, Germany -- Roman Polanski's political thriller "The Ghost Writer," Mike Leigh's melancholic drama "Another Year" and Berlin Film Fest winner "Honey" from Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu are among the features on the European Film Academy's 46-title long list for this year's European Film Awards.
Other high-profile films on the Efa long list include Samuel Maoz's Venice Film Fest winner "Lebanon," Stephen Frears' comic-book adaptation "Tamara Drewe" and "Oliver Assayas' five-and-a-half hour terrorist biopic "Carlos."
The 20 countries with the most Efa Members each picked a national feature, with the remaining 12 selected by the Efa selection committee. The 2,300 European Film Academy members will vote for the official nominees, which will be announced at the Sevilla Film Festival in Spain on Nov. 6.
The 23rd European Film Awards will be held in Tallinn, Estonia Dec. 4.
The long list of nominees for the 2010 European Film Awards:
European Film Awards 2010
"3 Seasons In Hell,...
Other high-profile films on the Efa long list include Samuel Maoz's Venice Film Fest winner "Lebanon," Stephen Frears' comic-book adaptation "Tamara Drewe" and "Oliver Assayas' five-and-a-half hour terrorist biopic "Carlos."
The 20 countries with the most Efa Members each picked a national feature, with the remaining 12 selected by the Efa selection committee. The 2,300 European Film Academy members will vote for the official nominees, which will be announced at the Sevilla Film Festival in Spain on Nov. 6.
The 23rd European Film Awards will be held in Tallinn, Estonia Dec. 4.
The long list of nominees for the 2010 European Film Awards:
European Film Awards 2010
"3 Seasons In Hell,...
- 9/9/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- Two debut features from Europe have entered the race for the 2011 Foreign Language Oscar: Florin Serban's juvenile delinquent drama "If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle," which will contend for Romania and "Simple Simon" from director Andreas Ohman, a tale of a boy dealing with Asperger's syndrome, which will represent Sweden.
"If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle" won the Silver Bear Jury Award as well as the Alfred Bauer Prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival. "Simple Simon" has been critically lauded in Sweden, where it bowed last week.
In the overall Oscar standings, Sweden has been nominated 15 times for the Foreign Language prize and won four -- three going to legendary auteur Ingmar Bergmann. Romania has yet to receive an Academy Award nomination in the Foreign Language Film category.
"If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle" won the Silver Bear Jury Award as well as the Alfred Bauer Prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival. "Simple Simon" has been critically lauded in Sweden, where it bowed last week.
In the overall Oscar standings, Sweden has been nominated 15 times for the Foreign Language prize and won four -- three going to legendary auteur Ingmar Bergmann. Romania has yet to receive an Academy Award nomination in the Foreign Language Film category.
- 9/8/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With the kickoff of the 37th Telluride Film Festival, so begins the 2010 Awards Season. Of special note are the special sneak previews of The King’S Speech starring Oscar hopeful Colin Firth, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan via the Venice Film Festival and Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. Also on the schedule are Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, and Peter Weir’s The Way Back starring Colin Farrell, Mark Strong, and Ed Harris. Many of the films listed below will continue onto the Toronto International Film Festival which runs September 9-19. So fellow Awards Watchers…let the games begin.
Press Release:
37th Telluride Film Festival Announces 2010 Festival Lineup Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the “Show” Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards Special revival programs...
Press Release:
37th Telluride Film Festival Announces 2010 Festival Lineup Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the “Show” Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards Special revival programs...
- 9/3/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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