Well-established docu sales outfit Cinephil has acquired world rights to the U.S. doc “Black Snow,” directed and produced by New York-based Alina Simone of Prettier in the Dark Productions.
For her doc feature debut, due to world premiere at Copenhagen’s Cph:dox in the F:act competition program, Ukraine-born Simone has teamed up with Academy Award-nominated producer Kirstine Barfod (“The Cave”).
“I was in the U.S. for the promotion of Feras Fayyad’s ‘The Cave’ when I heard about this project about the ‘Erin Brockovich of Russia.’ I got immediately intrigued,” says New York-based Barfod, involved in her first U.S.-produced documentary through her banner Nordland Pictures.
Director Alina Simone
The film is both an eco-thriller, and an awe-inspiring portrait of Russian mother-turned-environmental journalist Natalia Zubkova. We follow her as she embarks on a perilous crusade in the heart of Siberia, in the name of truth and healthy living,...
For her doc feature debut, due to world premiere at Copenhagen’s Cph:dox in the F:act competition program, Ukraine-born Simone has teamed up with Academy Award-nominated producer Kirstine Barfod (“The Cave”).
“I was in the U.S. for the promotion of Feras Fayyad’s ‘The Cave’ when I heard about this project about the ‘Erin Brockovich of Russia.’ I got immediately intrigued,” says New York-based Barfod, involved in her first U.S.-produced documentary through her banner Nordland Pictures.
Director Alina Simone
The film is both an eco-thriller, and an awe-inspiring portrait of Russian mother-turned-environmental journalist Natalia Zubkova. We follow her as she embarks on a perilous crusade in the heart of Siberia, in the name of truth and healthy living,...
- 3/6/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
In the opening moments of 20 Days in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov’s chilling account of the siege of the Ukrainian port city, a Russian tank marked with the ominous ‘Z’ swivels its turret toward a hospital. On an upper floor of the building, Chernov and his small team record as the cannon slowly rotates towards them, preparing to fire.
“The tank did shoot the hospital right above the floor we were at,” he says. “It hit between the fifth and sixth floors and a patient was killed with that shell.”
It was one of many times he put his life at risk to show the Russian army’s destruction of the city and its systematic targeting of civilians. He remembers feeling his life was about to end.
“Exactly in that moment in the film, this moment of uncertainty, the moment when tanks are shooting at the residential areas, when the hospital...
“The tank did shoot the hospital right above the floor we were at,” he says. “It hit between the fifth and sixth floors and a patient was killed with that shell.”
It was one of many times he put his life at risk to show the Russian army’s destruction of the city and its systematic targeting of civilians. He remembers feeling his life was about to end.
“Exactly in that moment in the film, this moment of uncertainty, the moment when tanks are shooting at the residential areas, when the hospital...
- 2/21/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Elsa Zylberstein, the French actor-producer whose timely movie “Simone: Woman of a Century” was recently released in the U.S., has signed with CAA for representation.
The actor’s performance as Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became a feminist icon and human rights activist, earned critical praise and struck a chord with French audiences, becoming one of the highest-grossing French films of 2022.
Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the U.S., Olivier Dahan’s biopic sheds light on how Veil became a revered figure within France’s male-dominated political world after surviving the camps, championing the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France. The Holocaust Museum in L.A. will host a special screening of the movie on Nov. 29 in the presence of Zylberstein. A similar event is also being organized in Washington, D.C.
The actor has also launched production vehicles in France and the U.S. to develop...
The actor’s performance as Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became a feminist icon and human rights activist, earned critical praise and struck a chord with French audiences, becoming one of the highest-grossing French films of 2022.
Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the U.S., Olivier Dahan’s biopic sheds light on how Veil became a revered figure within France’s male-dominated political world after surviving the camps, championing the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France. The Holocaust Museum in L.A. will host a special screening of the movie on Nov. 29 in the presence of Zylberstein. A similar event is also being organized in Washington, D.C.
The actor has also launched production vehicles in France and the U.S. to develop...
- 11/14/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“Hesitation Wound” and “Hollywoodgate” were named winners at the Zurich Film Festival, as the 19th edition of the Swiss festival came to a close.
Selman Nacar’s drama “Hesitation Wound” impressed the Feature Film Competition jury.
“Moral issues are a frequent underlying theme in many films, but the dilemma facing the main character in this film is really strongly felt here,” argued the jury, which comprised president Anton Corbijn, Finola Dwyer, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Juho Kuosmanen and Bryce Nielsen.
Praising “wonderful” Tülin Özen, cast as a lawyer struggling at home and at work – “a woman forever on the verge of either breakthrough or breakdown,” wrote Variety – they added: “It’s a film that stayed with the majority of the jury throughout the festival and even though it was a fight with two other contenders, it became our favorite. Selman Nacar, thank you so much for this delicious film.”
Iris Kaltenbäck...
Selman Nacar’s drama “Hesitation Wound” impressed the Feature Film Competition jury.
“Moral issues are a frequent underlying theme in many films, but the dilemma facing the main character in this film is really strongly felt here,” argued the jury, which comprised president Anton Corbijn, Finola Dwyer, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Juho Kuosmanen and Bryce Nielsen.
Praising “wonderful” Tülin Özen, cast as a lawyer struggling at home and at work – “a woman forever on the verge of either breakthrough or breakdown,” wrote Variety – they added: “It’s a film that stayed with the majority of the jury throughout the festival and even though it was a fight with two other contenders, it became our favorite. Selman Nacar, thank you so much for this delicious film.”
Iris Kaltenbäck...
- 10/7/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Anton Corbijn, the renowned Dutch photographer and film director (Control, The American, Life) will head up this year’s competition jury for the 2023 Zurich Film Festival.
Joining Corbijn on the Zurich jury are two-time Oscar-nominated producer Finola Dwyer (Brooklyn, An Education), French director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (Mustang), Finnish filmmaker Juho Kuosmanen (Compartment No. 6), and VFX artist Bryce Nielsen (Roma, Iron Man 2). Together they will judge the competition line up at the 2023 Zff, which runs September 28 to October 8, and present the best film Golden Eye honor, which comes with a Chf 25,000 ($27,400) cash prize.
Malte Grunert, producer of 4-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front, will head up the jury for Zurich’s Focus sidebar, joined by Oscar-nominated producer Gabrielle Tana (Philomena); Katrin Renz, a producer on Margarethe von Trotta’s Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert; editor Heike Parplies (Toni Erdmann); and Swiss actor Sven Schelker (Der Kreis...
Joining Corbijn on the Zurich jury are two-time Oscar-nominated producer Finola Dwyer (Brooklyn, An Education), French director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (Mustang), Finnish filmmaker Juho Kuosmanen (Compartment No. 6), and VFX artist Bryce Nielsen (Roma, Iron Man 2). Together they will judge the competition line up at the 2023 Zff, which runs September 28 to October 8, and present the best film Golden Eye honor, which comes with a Chf 25,000 ($27,400) cash prize.
Malte Grunert, producer of 4-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front, will head up the jury for Zurich’s Focus sidebar, joined by Oscar-nominated producer Gabrielle Tana (Philomena); Katrin Renz, a producer on Margarethe von Trotta’s Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert; editor Heike Parplies (Toni Erdmann); and Swiss actor Sven Schelker (Der Kreis...
- 9/26/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netherlands photographer and director Anton Corbijn has been named as president of the main feature film jury for the upcoming Zurich Film Festival.
Oscar-winning producer Malte Grunert (All Quiet On The Western Front) will be the jury president for the Focus competition, reserved for first, second and third features, while another Academy Awards winner, Last Men In Aleppo director Feras Fayyad will head up the documentary competition jury.
The juries each award a Golden Eye endowed with a $27,000.
“Anton presented his film Life about James Dean at Zff eight years ago, now we’re delighted that the world-famous director and photographer is returning to preside over the feature film jury,” said Zurich director Christian Jungen.
“Producer Malte Grunert and documentary film director Feras Fayya are also set to enrich the Zff with their wealth of experience. Our competitions are dedicated to promoting the next generation, so it’s encouraging...
Oscar-winning producer Malte Grunert (All Quiet On The Western Front) will be the jury president for the Focus competition, reserved for first, second and third features, while another Academy Awards winner, Last Men In Aleppo director Feras Fayyad will head up the documentary competition jury.
The juries each award a Golden Eye endowed with a $27,000.
“Anton presented his film Life about James Dean at Zff eight years ago, now we’re delighted that the world-famous director and photographer is returning to preside over the feature film jury,” said Zurich director Christian Jungen.
“Producer Malte Grunert and documentary film director Feras Fayya are also set to enrich the Zff with their wealth of experience. Our competitions are dedicated to promoting the next generation, so it’s encouraging...
- 9/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Samuel Goldwyn Films has unveiled the trailer for “Simone: Woman of the Century,” a biopic of Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became health minister of France and championed the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France.
Directed by Olivier Dahan, best-known for his Oscar-winning Edith Piaf biopic “La Vie en Rose,” “Simone” boasts powerful performances by Elsa Zylberstein and Rebecca Marder. The key cast is completed by Elodie Bouchez, Sylvie Testud and Olivier Gourmet.
The film was a box office hit in France, where it was released by Warner Bros and ranked as 2022’s third highest-grossing French-language hit with over 2.5 million tickets sold. Samuel Goldwyn Films is planning to release the film in U.S. theaters, opening in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 18, followed by a wider rollout.
Since starring in “Simone,” Zylberstein has set up two production banners in France and the U.S. and is actively...
Directed by Olivier Dahan, best-known for his Oscar-winning Edith Piaf biopic “La Vie en Rose,” “Simone” boasts powerful performances by Elsa Zylberstein and Rebecca Marder. The key cast is completed by Elodie Bouchez, Sylvie Testud and Olivier Gourmet.
The film was a box office hit in France, where it was released by Warner Bros and ranked as 2022’s third highest-grossing French-language hit with over 2.5 million tickets sold. Samuel Goldwyn Films is planning to release the film in U.S. theaters, opening in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 18, followed by a wider rollout.
Since starring in “Simone,” Zylberstein has set up two production banners in France and the U.S. and is actively...
- 6/27/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The prestigious Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon, Switzerland wraps up this weekend, after hosting the world premiere of dozens of documentaries.
One of those world premieres, the feature documentary Amany, Behind the Lines, centers on Amany Al-Ali, considered to be the first female cartoonist in Idlib, Syria. Her city became a hotbed of protest against the regime of Bashar al-Assad beginning in 2011 in the midst of the Arab Spring and, despite enormous risk, Al-Ali has used her cartooning skill to critique the chaotic developments in Idlib for a dozen years now.
Alisar Hasan and Alaa Amer directed the 73-minute long feature documentary.
Cartoonist Amany Al-Ali
Amany Al-Ali “draws the life of her town, a bastion of jihadist groups that are attempting to overthrow President Assad since 2011,” the Visions du Réel program notes. “Armed with her pen, she is struggling against Islamist authority and traditional patriarchy. But for how...
One of those world premieres, the feature documentary Amany, Behind the Lines, centers on Amany Al-Ali, considered to be the first female cartoonist in Idlib, Syria. Her city became a hotbed of protest against the regime of Bashar al-Assad beginning in 2011 in the midst of the Arab Spring and, despite enormous risk, Al-Ali has used her cartooning skill to critique the chaotic developments in Idlib for a dozen years now.
Alisar Hasan and Alaa Amer directed the 73-minute long feature documentary.
Cartoonist Amany Al-Ali
Amany Al-Ali “draws the life of her town, a bastion of jihadist groups that are attempting to overthrow President Assad since 2011,” the Visions du Réel program notes. “Armed with her pen, she is struggling against Islamist authority and traditional patriarchy. But for how...
- 4/29/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Elsa Zylberstein (“Simone: Woman of the Century”) will star as the French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir in a feature film that will be penned by Oscar-winning writer Christopher Hampton and directed by Anne Fontaine.
Zylberstein’s Sonia Films will produce the film with Philippe Carcassone’s banner Cine@ and Master Movie, the production vehicle of Marco and Lola Pacchioni.
Rather than a biopic, the movie will revolve around the passionate transatlantic romance between de Beauvoir and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Nelson Algren.
Zylberstein has scooped the adaptation rights of de Beauvoir’s “Lettres à Nelson Algren” from Gallimard. Through those letters, the film will chart the pair’s affair, which spanned nearly two decades from 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, to 1964. Two-thirds of the movie will take place in Chicago, and the reminder will unfold in Paris.
Zylberstein said Hampton has penned a treatment and is expected to...
Zylberstein’s Sonia Films will produce the film with Philippe Carcassone’s banner Cine@ and Master Movie, the production vehicle of Marco and Lola Pacchioni.
Rather than a biopic, the movie will revolve around the passionate transatlantic romance between de Beauvoir and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Nelson Algren.
Zylberstein has scooped the adaptation rights of de Beauvoir’s “Lettres à Nelson Algren” from Gallimard. Through those letters, the film will chart the pair’s affair, which spanned nearly two decades from 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, to 1964. Two-thirds of the movie will take place in Chicago, and the reminder will unfold in Paris.
Zylberstein said Hampton has penned a treatment and is expected to...
- 4/11/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Elsa Zylberstein, one of the most famous – and bankable — faces of French cinema, known for her Cesar-winning performance in “I’ve Loved You For So Long,” is preparing to emerge as a major film producer.
Having recently set up banners in France and the U.S., Zylberstein is actively developing a raft of films and series, working with the likes of Oscar-winning Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad (“The Cave”), Ted Braun (Darfur Now”) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (“The Father”), among others. These include “Kingdom of Hope,” a movie about Elise Boghossian, a French acupuncturist and humanitarian worker in a war zone who has healed children victims of Isis . The movie will be directed by Fayyad, who is based in Berlin, and is being penned by Braun, based on Boghossian’s autobiographical book “Au royaume de l’espoir, il n’y a pas d’hiver.”
Zylberstein, who stands out from the...
Having recently set up banners in France and the U.S., Zylberstein is actively developing a raft of films and series, working with the likes of Oscar-winning Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad (“The Cave”), Ted Braun (Darfur Now”) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (“The Father”), among others. These include “Kingdom of Hope,” a movie about Elise Boghossian, a French acupuncturist and humanitarian worker in a war zone who has healed children victims of Isis . The movie will be directed by Fayyad, who is based in Berlin, and is being penned by Braun, based on Boghossian’s autobiographical book “Au royaume de l’espoir, il n’y a pas d’hiver.”
Zylberstein, who stands out from the...
- 2/20/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Locarno Film Festival’s StepIN think tank on the state of the indie film industry is set to take the pulse of the theatrical landscape, the flow of production, how film festivals and markets are faring and where things stand on gender equality and social impact.
After a taking a break last year from its strictly business focus to zero in mainly on mental health and envisioning a more humane work environment, the Swiss fest’s unique initiative is back to delving into the industry’s most pressing operational issues and what lies ahead.
“Now that the worst moments of the global pandemic seem behind us — and after a Cannes Film Festival in full gear — the film industry is questioning its future,” said StepIN project manager Marcello Paolillo, who is an Italian producer.
As Paolillo puts it in his introduction, the basic overarching theme at StepIN is “Putting The...
After a taking a break last year from its strictly business focus to zero in mainly on mental health and envisioning a more humane work environment, the Swiss fest’s unique initiative is back to delving into the industry’s most pressing operational issues and what lies ahead.
“Now that the worst moments of the global pandemic seem behind us — and after a Cannes Film Festival in full gear — the film industry is questioning its future,” said StepIN project manager Marcello Paolillo, who is an Italian producer.
As Paolillo puts it in his introduction, the basic overarching theme at StepIN is “Putting The...
- 8/2/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
First published May 14th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.
Don’t spend hours scrolling the menus at Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other movie services. I point you to the best new films and hidden gems to stream.
Movies included here may be available on services other than those mentioned, and in other regions, too. JustWatch and Reelgood are great for finding which films are on what streamers; you can customize each site so that it shows you only those services you have access to.
When you rent or purchase a film through the Amazon and Apple links here, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)
both sides of the pond
Whether any of us have actually gotten used to the idea of paying 20/£16 (or more) to stream a hot new movie at home is debatable.
Don’t spend hours scrolling the menus at Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other movie services. I point you to the best new films and hidden gems to stream.
Movies included here may be available on services other than those mentioned, and in other regions, too. JustWatch and Reelgood are great for finding which films are on what streamers; you can customize each site so that it shows you only those services you have access to.
When you rent or purchase a film through the Amazon and Apple links here, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)
both sides of the pond
Whether any of us have actually gotten used to the idea of paying 20/£16 (or more) to stream a hot new movie at home is debatable.
- 6/14/2022
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
European production group Newen Studios is teaming with Oscar-nominated Danish producer Sigrid Dyekjaer to launch production company Real Lava.
Based in Denmark, Real Lava will aim to produce cinematic documentary films and series for international audiences. Kicking off Real Lava’s documentary slate is Alex Pritz’s “The Territory” which will be premiering at Sundance. “The Territory” follows the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau community as they defend their land against a network of Brazilian farmers who are colonizing their protected territory.
A leading figure in the film industry, Dyekjaer has produced some 30 documentary features in the past 23 years. She most recently produced Feras Fayyad’s Oscar-nominated documentary “The Cave” which won Emmy and Peabody and Cinema Eye awards.
The Paris-headquartered Newen Studios has scaled up its international presence in recent years, investing in production companies in the U.K., Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark. The group is already well established in the documentary field.
Based in Denmark, Real Lava will aim to produce cinematic documentary films and series for international audiences. Kicking off Real Lava’s documentary slate is Alex Pritz’s “The Territory” which will be premiering at Sundance. “The Territory” follows the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau community as they defend their land against a network of Brazilian farmers who are colonizing their protected territory.
A leading figure in the film industry, Dyekjaer has produced some 30 documentary features in the past 23 years. She most recently produced Feras Fayyad’s Oscar-nominated documentary “The Cave” which won Emmy and Peabody and Cinema Eye awards.
The Paris-headquartered Newen Studios has scaled up its international presence in recent years, investing in production companies in the U.K., Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark. The group is already well established in the documentary field.
- 12/10/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Updated with latest winners: The Peabody Awards revealed its complete list of winners for its 81st edition, recognizing the year’s most compelling and empowering stories in broadcasting and streaming media, topics that in the year 2020 included Covid-19, racial equality, immigration and social justice.
Joining the list of winners that has been rolling out since Monday is Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe, which rounded out this year’s list of Entertainment honorees that include HBO’s I May Destroy You, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Netflix’s Unorthodox, Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird and Shudder’s Guatemalan folk horror movie La Llorona.
A total of 30 awards were handed out this year for the Peabodys, presented by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. There were 60 nominees this year, with winners selected by 19 jurors who considered 1,300 entries across TV,...
Joining the list of winners that has been rolling out since Monday is Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe, which rounded out this year’s list of Entertainment honorees that include HBO’s I May Destroy You, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Netflix’s Unorthodox, Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird and Shudder’s Guatemalan folk horror movie La Llorona.
A total of 30 awards were handed out this year for the Peabodys, presented by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. There were 60 nominees this year, with winners selected by 19 jurors who considered 1,300 entries across TV,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Feras Fayyad, the Syrian filmmaker who helmed Emmy-winning National Geographic film The Cave, has told Deadline that he would never knowingly cause “worry and sorrow” to a woman after becoming embroiled in an alleged sexual harassment scandal in Denmark.
The Scandinavian country has been gripped by a #MeToo reckoning in recent weeks and Fayyad is among a number of high-profile individuals who have been accused of inappropriate behavior after living and working in Copenhagen, where he made The Cave with influential local production outfit Danish Documentary Production.
The most prominent allegations against Fayyad have been leveled by former Danish Documentary production assistant Emilia Moth, who went on record in an interview with local newspaper Ekstra Bladet. Moth has accused Fayyad of making inappropriate comments about her and looking at her “ass” in the office. She told Deadline in a statement that she stands by everything that has been reported by Ekstra Bladet.
The Scandinavian country has been gripped by a #MeToo reckoning in recent weeks and Fayyad is among a number of high-profile individuals who have been accused of inappropriate behavior after living and working in Copenhagen, where he made The Cave with influential local production outfit Danish Documentary Production.
The most prominent allegations against Fayyad have been leveled by former Danish Documentary production assistant Emilia Moth, who went on record in an interview with local newspaper Ekstra Bladet. Moth has accused Fayyad of making inappropriate comments about her and looking at her “ass” in the office. She told Deadline in a statement that she stands by everything that has been reported by Ekstra Bladet.
- 11/23/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Nominations for feature film and documentary up from five to six.
The nominations for the 2020 European Film Awards have been unveiled, with the size of two key categories extended as a result of the virus crisis.
The categories for best feature and best documentary have each been increased from five to six to offer more exposure to titles and artists impacted by cinema closures and release delays during the pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of nominees
The films nominated in the best European Film category are Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Berhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi,...
The nominations for the 2020 European Film Awards have been unveiled, with the size of two key categories extended as a result of the virus crisis.
The categories for best feature and best documentary have each been increased from five to six to offer more exposure to titles and artists impacted by cinema closures and release delays during the pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of nominees
The films nominated in the best European Film category are Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Berhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi,...
- 11/10/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
This year’s fifth and final night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies aired Saturday night “virtually live” on Fxx, and viewers discovered that first hand, when a snafu happened late in the broadcast during the award for guest actor in a drama.
When the winner was revealed, the screen read Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) — but the voice over announced Jason Bateman, from “The Outsider.” Producers quickly realized their mistake, and pulled the visual down, going to commercial. When the show returned, an on-screen note offered an apology:
It turns out Cephas Jones was indeed the winner, although if he had sent in an acceptance speech, it wasn’t played.
And so goes Emmy 2020, a most unusual year that has led to a most unusual setup for this year’s Emmy Awards. A virtual Emmys was bound to have some hiccups, and this could perhaps be a...
When the winner was revealed, the screen read Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) — but the voice over announced Jason Bateman, from “The Outsider.” Producers quickly realized their mistake, and pulled the visual down, going to commercial. When the show returned, an on-screen note offered an apology:
It turns out Cephas Jones was indeed the winner, although if he had sent in an acceptance speech, it wasn’t played.
And so goes Emmy 2020, a most unusual year that has led to a most unusual setup for this year’s Emmy Awards. A virtual Emmys was bound to have some hiccups, and this could perhaps be a...
- 9/20/2020
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
The Primetime Emmys take place on September 20 and air live coast-to-coast on ABC. But the majority of awards are handed out at the five Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies that take place in the week leading up to TV’s biggest night. The Creative Arts trophies will be awarded at five events on: September 14 (reality and nonfiction; Sept. 15 (variety); Sept. 16; Sept. 17 and Sept. 19 (mix). The first four of these will stream live on Emmys.com while the last will air on Fxx.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced TV productions, film shoots and entertainment events to shut down all year to slow the spread of the easily transmitted disease, all of this year’s Emmy ceremonies will be held virtually. While Jimmy Kimmel emcees just one show — the Emmys next Sunday — Best Reality Host nominee Nicole Byer (“Nailed It”) has been tapped to preside over all five of the Creative Arts awards.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced TV productions, film shoots and entertainment events to shut down all year to slow the spread of the easily transmitted disease, all of this year’s Emmy ceremonies will be held virtually. While Jimmy Kimmel emcees just one show — the Emmys next Sunday — Best Reality Host nominee Nicole Byer (“Nailed It”) has been tapped to preside over all five of the Creative Arts awards.
- 9/20/2020
- by Paul Sheehan, Marcus James Dixon, Joyce Eng, Daniel Montgomery and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
If you were watching Monday’s live stream of the 2020 Creative Arts Emmys (and we were — watch our reactions here), then you definitely heard the name “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” a lot. But not when it came to the winners. Indeed, Netflix’s behemoth docu-series lost five Emmys at the virtual ceremony: directing, music composition, picture editing, sound editing and sound mixing. However, there’s still hope on the horizon as the big prize — Best Documentary or Nonfiction Series — doesn’t get handed out until Saturday, September 19.
See‘Tiger King’ directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin give update on possible Season 2 [Exclusive Video Interview]
During Saturday’s upcoming ceremony, “Tiger King” will face off against ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” Hulu’s “Hillary,” PBS’s “American Masters” and HBO’s “McMillion$.” None of these contenders took home any Emmys on Monday night, so it’s an even playing field heading into...
See‘Tiger King’ directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin give update on possible Season 2 [Exclusive Video Interview]
During Saturday’s upcoming ceremony, “Tiger King” will face off against ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” Hulu’s “Hillary,” PBS’s “American Masters” and HBO’s “McMillion$.” None of these contenders took home any Emmys on Monday night, so it’s an even playing field heading into...
- 9/15/2020
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Titles include Sundance award-winner ‘Acasa, My Home’.
The 13 documentaries up for the 2020 European Film Awards have been announced.
Scroll down for full list of titles
There are 14 European countries represented in the selection and Efa members will now vote for a shortlist of five.
The titles include Radu Ciorniciuc’s Acasă, My Home, which won the cinematography award when it debuted at Sundance in January, and Alexander Nanau’s Collective, first seen at Venice at Toronto last year and winner of Zurich’s top Golden Eye prize.
Others include Sergei Loznitsa’s State Funeral, which also debuted at Venice and Toronto,...
The 13 documentaries up for the 2020 European Film Awards have been announced.
Scroll down for full list of titles
There are 14 European countries represented in the selection and Efa members will now vote for a shortlist of five.
The titles include Radu Ciorniciuc’s Acasă, My Home, which won the cinematography award when it debuted at Sundance in January, and Alexander Nanau’s Collective, first seen at Venice at Toronto last year and winner of Zurich’s top Golden Eye prize.
Others include Sergei Loznitsa’s State Funeral, which also debuted at Venice and Toronto,...
- 8/25/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Between 2008 and 2018, four documentary directors focused their lenses on a quartet of formidable women. Women who are remarkably similar, yet incredibly different. Who defy patriarchy and inspire change. Women whose names are Dr. Amani Ballour, Hillary Clinton, Ursula Kroeber Le Guin and Michelle Obama.
While Clinton and Obama, two former first ladies, are better-known then Ballour and Le Guin, all four of these females have lives that contain an arsenal of dense material through which each filmmaker had to carefully sift and then whittle down in order to construct a project that succinctly and effectively told each groundbreaking story. The result is four Emmy nominated nonfiction projects: “The Cave,” “Hillary,” “American Masters” and “Becoming.”
National Geographic’s “The Cave,” nominated in the exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking category, focuses on unlikely heroine Ballour, who was Syria’s first and only female hospital administrator. Director Feras Fayyad first laid eyes on...
While Clinton and Obama, two former first ladies, are better-known then Ballour and Le Guin, all four of these females have lives that contain an arsenal of dense material through which each filmmaker had to carefully sift and then whittle down in order to construct a project that succinctly and effectively told each groundbreaking story. The result is four Emmy nominated nonfiction projects: “The Cave,” “Hillary,” “American Masters” and “Becoming.”
National Geographic’s “The Cave,” nominated in the exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking category, focuses on unlikely heroine Ballour, who was Syria’s first and only female hospital administrator. Director Feras Fayyad first laid eyes on...
- 8/18/2020
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Nat Geo was in seventh heaven last year after its Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo” won all seven Emmys for which it was nominated. The network will look to strike gold again in September with another harrowing doc that also competed at the Oscars.
“The Cave” gave Nat Geo its second straight Best Documentary Oscar nomination earlier this year, losing to Netflix’s “American Factory.” Because the film had a shorter-than-70-day theatrical release, it is also Emmy eligible — starting next year, Oscar-nominated docs are banned from double-dipping at the Emmys — and received four bids: Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, which is a juried award, Best Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for Feras Fayyad, Best Writing for a Nonfiction Program for Fayyad and co-writer Alisar Hasan, and Best Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program.
“The Cave” spotlights Dr. Amani Ballor, the first female hospital manager in war-torn Syria. The film takes its title from her hospital,...
“The Cave” gave Nat Geo its second straight Best Documentary Oscar nomination earlier this year, losing to Netflix’s “American Factory.” Because the film had a shorter-than-70-day theatrical release, it is also Emmy eligible — starting next year, Oscar-nominated docs are banned from double-dipping at the Emmys — and received four bids: Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, which is a juried award, Best Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for Feras Fayyad, Best Writing for a Nonfiction Program for Fayyad and co-writer Alisar Hasan, and Best Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program.
“The Cave” spotlights Dr. Amani Ballor, the first female hospital manager in war-torn Syria. The film takes its title from her hospital,...
- 8/17/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Contenders Television: The Nominees, Deadline’s livestream telecast Sunday that featured 28 of the year’s most celebrated shows hailing from 17 networks and studios, launched its streaming site Monday. It allows access to all the panels as well as interstitial video extras showcasing most of our 74 participants discussing what new skills they’ve picked up during the coronavirus lockdown and what is their best piece of advice.
Click here to access the streaming site. You can also catch up on our print coverage of our panels here.
Sunday’s 10-hour event, which like June’s pre-Emmy nominations Contenders Television event was virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic, featured talent including actors Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Martin Short, Sterling K. Brown, Ron Chephas Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter, Matt Berry, Hugh Jackman, Mark Ruffalo, Regina King,...
Click here to access the streaming site. You can also catch up on our print coverage of our panels here.
Sunday’s 10-hour event, which like June’s pre-Emmy nominations Contenders Television event was virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic, featured talent including actors Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Martin Short, Sterling K. Brown, Ron Chephas Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter, Matt Berry, Hugh Jackman, Mark Ruffalo, Regina King,...
- 8/17/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker Feras Fayyad joined me for Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees all-day event to discuss his multiple-Emmy nominated The Cave, the harrowing documentary he spent 3 1/2 years making.
It chronicles the plight of hospitals trying to provide urgent medical care during the five-year Syrian civil war. His focused on one that, as many have been forced to do, became an underground operation in order to remain undetected. In particular, The Cave centered on Dr. Amani Ballour, who ran the operation at great risk to her own life.
The Cave is up for Outstanding Merit in Documentary Film as well as writing, directing and cinematography. Earlier this year, it was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Fayyad’s second after being Oscar nominated and awarded an Emmy for 2018’s Last Men in Aleppo.
Talking to me from Berlin, Fayyad, who is Syrian, explained why this was a personal story affecting...
It chronicles the plight of hospitals trying to provide urgent medical care during the five-year Syrian civil war. His focused on one that, as many have been forced to do, became an underground operation in order to remain undetected. In particular, The Cave centered on Dr. Amani Ballour, who ran the operation at great risk to her own life.
The Cave is up for Outstanding Merit in Documentary Film as well as writing, directing and cinematography. Earlier this year, it was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Fayyad’s second after being Oscar nominated and awarded an Emmy for 2018’s Last Men in Aleppo.
Talking to me from Berlin, Fayyad, who is Syrian, explained why this was a personal story affecting...
- 8/16/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s all-day Contenders Television: The Nominees virtual event is underway and is being live-streamed all day, so get on your couch and prepare for a one-stop shopping experience as we present a remarkable gathering of this season’s newly minted Emmy and TCA nominees and Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics’ Choice winners.
Check out the full schedule below for the event, hosted again by Deadline’s Awardsline editor Joe Utichi. You can sign up for the livestream here, and also follow along on Deadline’s social channels using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.
We have a total of 74 speakers this time around, along with 17 studios and networks and 28 different show contenders. Among the talent scheduled to appear are Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Martin Short, Sterling K. Brown, Ron Chephas Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter,...
Check out the full schedule below for the event, hosted again by Deadline’s Awardsline editor Joe Utichi. You can sign up for the livestream here, and also follow along on Deadline’s social channels using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.
We have a total of 74 speakers this time around, along with 17 studios and networks and 28 different show contenders. Among the talent scheduled to appear are Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Martin Short, Sterling K. Brown, Ron Chephas Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter,...
- 8/16/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
On June 20. Deadline presented Phase 1 of our The Contenders Television all-day virtual event, a huge success with record attendance and withrecord numbers of participants including 100-plus stars and creatives. Now it is time for Phase 2 on Sunday, August 16, for an all-new, all-day invitation-only edition of Contenders TV featuring numerous Emmy and Television Critics Association nominees as well as many 2020 Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG winners. It is the place to be for voters, and it all will be livestreamed beginning at 8 a.m. Pt.
We have a total of 74 speakers this time around, along with 17 studios and networks and 28 different show contenders. Among talent scheduled to appear are Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Martin Short, Sterling K. Brown, Ron Chephas Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter, Matt Berry, Hugh Jackman, Mark Ruffalo, Regina KIng,...
We have a total of 74 speakers this time around, along with 17 studios and networks and 28 different show contenders. Among talent scheduled to appear are Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Martin Short, Sterling K. Brown, Ron Chephas Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter, Matt Berry, Hugh Jackman, Mark Ruffalo, Regina KIng,...
- 8/10/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
On the heels of an overwhelmingly successful virtual premiere attended by close to 6,000 people, National Geographic Documentary Films announced today that it will move forward with release plans for Rebuilding Paradise from Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard and Imagine Documentaries in virtual and physical theaters on July 31, 2020.
The documentary, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January to positive reviews, will open in more than 70 markets through a hybrid release. In addition to major virtual releases through Laemmle and ShowcaseNOW (National Amusements), the film will be released in select drive-ins and through individual cinemas including Jacob Burns Center in New York, Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Gene Siskel Film Center and Music Box Theatre in Chicago as well as Balboa and Vogue Theaters in San Francisco. Click here for a full list of markets.
“We knew we would have a good turnout for our premiere, but when close to...
The documentary, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January to positive reviews, will open in more than 70 markets through a hybrid release. In addition to major virtual releases through Laemmle and ShowcaseNOW (National Amusements), the film will be released in select drive-ins and through individual cinemas including Jacob Burns Center in New York, Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Gene Siskel Film Center and Music Box Theatre in Chicago as well as Balboa and Vogue Theaters in San Francisco. Click here for a full list of markets.
“We knew we would have a good turnout for our premiere, but when close to...
- 7/27/2020
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exclusive: Film Independent has unveiled their keynotes, conversations and panelists for the 15th annual Film Independent Forum. The Forum, which is traditionally a weekend event, will now be a week-long virtual event that will reach all corners of the globe from July 31 to August 7.
The event has set a roster of banner names in the industry, featuring a U.S. Filmmaker Keynote with Lulu Wang (The Farewell); a U.S. Executive Keynote with Elissa Federoff, President of Distribution at Neon; a Documentary Keynote with Dawn Porter; and a Global Executive Keynote with Ashok Amritraj, Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment Group. Traditionally a weekend event, the Forum has expanded to a full week-long event accessible online to global audiences the week of July 31 to August 7.
In addition, panels will cover financing, production and distribution of films to digital content across diverse platforms...
The event has set a roster of banner names in the industry, featuring a U.S. Filmmaker Keynote with Lulu Wang (The Farewell); a U.S. Executive Keynote with Elissa Federoff, President of Distribution at Neon; a Documentary Keynote with Dawn Porter; and a Global Executive Keynote with Ashok Amritraj, Chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment Group. Traditionally a weekend event, the Forum has expanded to a full week-long event accessible online to global audiences the week of July 31 to August 7.
In addition, panels will cover financing, production and distribution of films to digital content across diverse platforms...
- 6/30/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The streaming pool just keeps getting deeper. Joining fellow boutique distributors like Kino Lorber, Film Movement, and Cinema Tropical, Grasshopper Film is now making the jump into the streaming world, armed with the brand-new Projectr, a deeply curated platform that already boasts films from auteurs like Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, and Pedro Costa.
“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”
Available today, Projectr will function as both a...
“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”
Available today, Projectr will function as both a...
- 6/18/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Thompson on Hollywood
The streaming pool just keeps getting deeper. Joining fellow boutique distributors like Kino Lorber, Film Movement, and Cinema Tropical, Grasshopper Film is now making the jump into the streaming world, armed with the brand-new Projectr, a deeply curated platform that already boasts films from auteurs like Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, Hong Sangsoo, and Pedro Costa.
“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”
Available today, Projectr will function as both a...
“So many of the acclaimed international and American Independent films that cinephiles hunger to see have fallen through the cracks of current Tvod providers,” Grasshopper Film founder Ryan Krivoshey told IndieWire. “With Projectr, we are seeking to remedy that oversight and create an accessible treasure trove for movie lovers. We’ve long contemplated a curated streaming platform — where viewers could immerse themselves in some of the most adventurous, exciting and important independent cinema. During these past months, we’ve realized this is more urgent than ever.”
Available today, Projectr will function as both a...
- 6/18/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The story of “Spaceship Earth” sounds like the premise of a sci-fi movie, but in true stranger-than-fiction manner, this Sundance premiere (which starts streaming Friday on Hulu) is truly out of this world.
How else do you explain how a theater troupe from San Francisco would, decades after the fact, attempt a large-scale ecological experiment to prove humans could create sustainable habitats for life in outer space?
Rich with archival footage and first-hand accounts of people who were a part of this earthbound interstellar trial, Matt Wolf’s documentary shares many a tall tale that would be almost unbelievable were it not for the vintage footage.
Also Read: New Space Force Uniforms Mocked for Camo Design: 'Are They Fighting on the Forest Moon of Endor?'
Not to be confused with the Epcot attraction of the same name (although it does make a cheeky cameo), “Spaceship Earth” beams us from...
How else do you explain how a theater troupe from San Francisco would, decades after the fact, attempt a large-scale ecological experiment to prove humans could create sustainable habitats for life in outer space?
Rich with archival footage and first-hand accounts of people who were a part of this earthbound interstellar trial, Matt Wolf’s documentary shares many a tall tale that would be almost unbelievable were it not for the vintage footage.
Also Read: New Space Force Uniforms Mocked for Camo Design: 'Are They Fighting on the Forest Moon of Endor?'
Not to be confused with the Epcot attraction of the same name (although it does make a cheeky cameo), “Spaceship Earth” beams us from...
- 5/8/2020
- by Monica Castillo
- The Wrap
Ron Howard is continuing his relationship with National Geographic and is set to direct another documentary film for the studio, this time focused on the founder of the nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen, chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, National Geographic announced Thursday.
Howard will direct the documentary that will focus on the work of Andres helping to rebuild nations in the wake of disasters and providing healthy food to those affected. Howard will have access to World Central Kitchen’s archives and will follow Andres around the globe, including his work in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Dorian from September of last year.
The untitled film continues the relationship after Howard directed “Rebuilding Paradise” for National Geographic about the Paradise wildfires. The film premiered at Sundance early this year.
Also Read: Why 'Rebuilding Paradise' Director Ron Howard Speaks Out on Climate Change | Video
Howard and Brian Grazer are producing...
Howard will direct the documentary that will focus on the work of Andres helping to rebuild nations in the wake of disasters and providing healthy food to those affected. Howard will have access to World Central Kitchen’s archives and will follow Andres around the globe, including his work in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Dorian from September of last year.
The untitled film continues the relationship after Howard directed “Rebuilding Paradise” for National Geographic about the Paradise wildfires. The film premiered at Sundance early this year.
Also Read: Why 'Rebuilding Paradise' Director Ron Howard Speaks Out on Climate Change | Video
Howard and Brian Grazer are producing...
- 4/16/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Awards season officially comes to a close on Oscar Sunday.
The 92nd Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Feb. 9 and air live on ABC at 5 p.m. Pt/8 p.m. Et. Red carpet coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pt/6:30 p.m. Et. Viewers will be able to live-stream the awards show on abc.com or on the ABC app via DirecTV Now, Hulu, PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV.
The ceremony, which is going hostless again, will include appearances from this year’s nominees, as well as presenters Salma Hayek, Brie Larson, James Corden, Regina King, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. Additionally, the show will feature performances from Cynthia Erivo, Idina Menzel, Elton John, Chrissy Metz, Randy Newman and five-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish.
A special tribute for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna is scheduled to take place during the ceremony. The pair,...
The 92nd Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Feb. 9 and air live on ABC at 5 p.m. Pt/8 p.m. Et. Red carpet coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pt/6:30 p.m. Et. Viewers will be able to live-stream the awards show on abc.com or on the ABC app via DirecTV Now, Hulu, PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV.
The ceremony, which is going hostless again, will include appearances from this year’s nominees, as well as presenters Salma Hayek, Brie Larson, James Corden, Regina King, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. Additionally, the show will feature performances from Cynthia Erivo, Idina Menzel, Elton John, Chrissy Metz, Randy Newman and five-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish.
A special tribute for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna is scheduled to take place during the ceremony. The pair,...
- 2/9/2020
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Putting together the documentary “The Cave” — which follows a group of mostly female doctors working at a subterranean hospital in Eastern Ghouta during the Syrian Civil War — was so traumatizing that the filmmakers employed an on-call therapist during production.
“Some days I could only work one hour, and then I had to go home, crying,” editor Per Kirkegaard told awards editor Steve Pond during TheWrap’s Oscars Screening Series on Sunday. “But it’s a little price to pay, given what the Syrian people are experiencing.”
Pediatrician Amani Ballour is the subject of the Best Feature Documentary nominee. Viewers follow the doctor as she operates the underground hospital nicknamed “The Cave,” covering under shelling as she pulls shrapnel from children’s mouths and resuscitates victims of chemical warfare.
Also Read: 'The Cave' Film Review: Women Are Lifesaving Heroes in Syrian War Hospital Documentary
“I will never do a...
“Some days I could only work one hour, and then I had to go home, crying,” editor Per Kirkegaard told awards editor Steve Pond during TheWrap’s Oscars Screening Series on Sunday. “But it’s a little price to pay, given what the Syrian people are experiencing.”
Pediatrician Amani Ballour is the subject of the Best Feature Documentary nominee. Viewers follow the doctor as she operates the underground hospital nicknamed “The Cave,” covering under shelling as she pulls shrapnel from children’s mouths and resuscitates victims of chemical warfare.
Also Read: 'The Cave' Film Review: Women Are Lifesaving Heroes in Syrian War Hospital Documentary
“I will never do a...
- 2/4/2020
- by Daniel Toomey
- The Wrap
Feras Fayyad would have been forgiven for not wanting to return to Syria.
After winning a Sundance grand jury prize and an Oscar nomination for his 2017 feature doc, Last Men in Aleppo, which follows the work of Syria's White Helmets volunteer force, the filmmaker was warned in no uncertain terms that his success would make him a more visible target for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his murderous regime.
Having already been arrested and tortured twice by Syrian troops in 2011, Fayyad had no desire to return to a jail cell.
"But even though my picture was well ...
After winning a Sundance grand jury prize and an Oscar nomination for his 2017 feature doc, Last Men in Aleppo, which follows the work of Syria's White Helmets volunteer force, the filmmaker was warned in no uncertain terms that his success would make him a more visible target for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his murderous regime.
Having already been arrested and tortured twice by Syrian troops in 2011, Fayyad had no desire to return to a jail cell.
"But even though my picture was well ...
Feras Fayyad would have been forgiven for not wanting to return to Syria.
After winning a Sundance grand jury prize and an Oscar nomination for his 2017 feature doc, Last Men in Aleppo, which follows the work of Syria's White Helmets volunteer force, the filmmaker was warned in no uncertain terms that his success would make him a more visible target for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his murderous regime.
Having already been arrested and tortured twice by Syrian troops in 2011, Fayyad had no desire to return to a jail cell.
"But even though my picture was well ...
After winning a Sundance grand jury prize and an Oscar nomination for his 2017 feature doc, Last Men in Aleppo, which follows the work of Syria's White Helmets volunteer force, the filmmaker was warned in no uncertain terms that his success would make him a more visible target for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his murderous regime.
Having already been arrested and tortured twice by Syrian troops in 2011, Fayyad had no desire to return to a jail cell.
"But even though my picture was well ...
Exclusive: Dr. Amani Ballour, the courageous subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave, has been granted a visa to enter the United States in time for the Academy Awards, Deadline has learned.
Amani, whose efforts to run a subterranean hospital in the besieged Syrian city of Eastern Ghouta are documented in the film by Feras Fayyad, is expected to arrive in New York on Sunday, capping an extensive effort by distributor National Geographic to get her here.
“I have seen the visa with my own eyes. It was texted to me this morning,” Chris Albert, Evp Marketing Strategy and Communications at National Geographic, told Deadline exclusively. “For Dr. Amani — who is just, in our eyes, such a hero — to be able to come [here] … in person means a lot to us.”
Nat Geo previously went to bat for Fayyad, who had been denied a visa to come back to the U.
Amani, whose efforts to run a subterranean hospital in the besieged Syrian city of Eastern Ghouta are documented in the film by Feras Fayyad, is expected to arrive in New York on Sunday, capping an extensive effort by distributor National Geographic to get her here.
“I have seen the visa with my own eyes. It was texted to me this morning,” Chris Albert, Evp Marketing Strategy and Communications at National Geographic, told Deadline exclusively. “For Dr. Amani — who is just, in our eyes, such a hero — to be able to come [here] … in person means a lot to us.”
Nat Geo previously went to bat for Fayyad, who had been denied a visa to come back to the U.
- 2/1/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been said time and again that the Academy’s documentary branch is a consistently unpredictable bunch. But are they?
Given their Oscar nomination track record, it certainly doesn’t seem like it. The group has made their likes and dislikes perfectly clear in recent years. They enjoy recognizing international productions as well as newcomers. In the past two decades alone, 12 directors have taken home the Academy Award for their very first documentary theatrical feature. They include Bryan Fogel (“Icarus”), Ezra Edelman (“O.J.: Made in America”), Louie Psihoyos (“The Cove”) and Malik Bendjelloul (“Searching for Sugarman”). Big box office numbers also don’t impress this nonfiction crowd. Examples include snubbing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” ($22.8 million) “Three Identical Strangers” ($13.4 million) and this year’s “Apollo 11” ($15.3 million). They also aren’t awed by archival footage. (Again: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Apollo 11”.) And they especially...
Given their Oscar nomination track record, it certainly doesn’t seem like it. The group has made their likes and dislikes perfectly clear in recent years. They enjoy recognizing international productions as well as newcomers. In the past two decades alone, 12 directors have taken home the Academy Award for their very first documentary theatrical feature. They include Bryan Fogel (“Icarus”), Ezra Edelman (“O.J.: Made in America”), Louie Psihoyos (“The Cove”) and Malik Bendjelloul (“Searching for Sugarman”). Big box office numbers also don’t impress this nonfiction crowd. Examples include snubbing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” ($22.8 million) “Three Identical Strangers” ($13.4 million) and this year’s “Apollo 11” ($15.3 million). They also aren’t awed by archival footage. (Again: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Apollo 11”.) And they especially...
- 1/31/2020
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
When the 2020 Oscar nominations were announced, critics immediately seized upon the glaring lack of women recognized in the Best Director competition. But on the nonfiction side, it’s a completely different story.
In the Best Documentary Feature category, four of the five nominated films are directed or co-directed by women. In Best Documentary Short, it’s the same story—four of five nominees are directed or co-directed by women.
It’s also a year when Greta Gerwig was overlooked for Best Director in the fiction realm. “Narrative is so badly handling women,” comments Carol Dysinger, who earned an Oscar nomination for her short doc Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl). “But in my community, documentary, we do Ok.”
Among the women documentary filmmakers recognized with an Oscar nomination this year is Syrian-born Waad Al-Kateab, who directed For Sama with Edward Watts.
“Two days before the nominations,...
In the Best Documentary Feature category, four of the five nominated films are directed or co-directed by women. In Best Documentary Short, it’s the same story—four of five nominees are directed or co-directed by women.
It’s also a year when Greta Gerwig was overlooked for Best Director in the fiction realm. “Narrative is so badly handling women,” comments Carol Dysinger, who earned an Oscar nomination for her short doc Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl). “But in my community, documentary, we do Ok.”
Among the women documentary filmmakers recognized with an Oscar nomination this year is Syrian-born Waad Al-Kateab, who directed For Sama with Edward Watts.
“Two days before the nominations,...
- 1/30/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Syria’s brutal civil war has cost the lives of tens of thousands of civilians—men, women and children. It would have cost even more were it not for the life-saving efforts of Dr. Amani Ballour, the heroine of Feras Fayyad’s Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave.
Dr. Amani, who trained as a pediatrician, ran a subterranean hospital in Eastern Ghouta, an area outside Damascus that came under relentless attack from Syrian government forces and their Russian allies. For her work she was recently awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize, named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during World War II.
“Dr. Amani Ballour is a shining example of the empathy, virtue and honor that can flourish even in the worst circumstances: in the midst of war and suffering,” the Council of Europe’s secretary general noted. “[She] risked her own safety and security to help those in the greatest need.
Dr. Amani, who trained as a pediatrician, ran a subterranean hospital in Eastern Ghouta, an area outside Damascus that came under relentless attack from Syrian government forces and their Russian allies. For her work she was recently awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize, named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during World War II.
“Dr. Amani Ballour is a shining example of the empathy, virtue and honor that can flourish even in the worst circumstances: in the midst of war and suffering,” the Council of Europe’s secretary general noted. “[She] risked her own safety and security to help those in the greatest need.
- 1/30/2020
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
As with every year, the 2020 nominees for the Oscars’ short film categories cover a wide range of topics, but as their creators noted at TheWrap and ShortsTV’s showcase, they are all connected by how they drew their inspiration from real-life encounters.
TheWrap awards editor Steve Pond spoke on Monday with directors and producers of the five nominated films in the Best Live Action Short category, as well as Siqi Song, director of the Best Animated Short nominee “Sister.” Song’s stop-motion animated film tells the story of a boy sharing memories of living with his younger sister…though it comes with a rug-pull twist rooted in Song’s personal connection to China’s one-child policy.
“I was born and raised in China, and I was a younger sibling to an older brother,” Song said. “My parents told me that it was against the law to have more than one...
TheWrap awards editor Steve Pond spoke on Monday with directors and producers of the five nominated films in the Best Live Action Short category, as well as Siqi Song, director of the Best Animated Short nominee “Sister.” Song’s stop-motion animated film tells the story of a boy sharing memories of living with his younger sister…though it comes with a rug-pull twist rooted in Song’s personal connection to China’s one-child policy.
“I was born and raised in China, and I was a younger sibling to an older brother,” Song said. “My parents told me that it was against the law to have more than one...
- 1/29/2020
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Last year, “Free Solo” took home the Best Documentary Oscar, giving National Geographic its first Oscar win. Could the company make it two victories in a row?
Nat Geo, which produces documentaries under its National Geographic Documentary Films banner, has snagged a second straight nomination in the category with “The Cave.” From former Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad (“Last Man in Aleppo”), “The Cave” is pretty much the opposite of the daredevil adventures of Alex Honnold in “Free Solo,” but no less intense. It focuses on Dr. Amani Ballor, the first female hospital manager in war-torn Syria, except her hospital — the titular cave — is underground to hide from the unspeakable horrors going on above that floods the hospital with new patients by the hour.
See Oscar-nominated ‘The Cave’ director Feras Fayyad arrives in U.S. after visa issues
Like “Free Solo,” “The Cave” won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival.
Nat Geo, which produces documentaries under its National Geographic Documentary Films banner, has snagged a second straight nomination in the category with “The Cave.” From former Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad (“Last Man in Aleppo”), “The Cave” is pretty much the opposite of the daredevil adventures of Alex Honnold in “Free Solo,” but no less intense. It focuses on Dr. Amani Ballor, the first female hospital manager in war-torn Syria, except her hospital — the titular cave — is underground to hide from the unspeakable horrors going on above that floods the hospital with new patients by the hour.
See Oscar-nominated ‘The Cave’ director Feras Fayyad arrives in U.S. after visa issues
Like “Free Solo,” “The Cave” won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival.
- 1/28/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
May el-Toukhy became the first woman to win best director.
May el-Toukhy’s age-gap relationship drama Queen Of Hearts dominated the winners at the 36th Robert awards in Denmark, taking home nine prizes from 17 categories in which it was eligible.
el-Toukhy became the first woman to receive the best director prize since the category was introduced in 2001.
Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Her Sundance 2019 title also picked up best film, best actress for Trine Dyrholm, best supporting actor for Magnus Krepper, and best original screenplay for el-Toukhy and Maren Louise Käehne.
The film’s four further prizes were in best cinematography,...
May el-Toukhy’s age-gap relationship drama Queen Of Hearts dominated the winners at the 36th Robert awards in Denmark, taking home nine prizes from 17 categories in which it was eligible.
el-Toukhy became the first woman to receive the best director prize since the category was introduced in 2001.
Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Her Sundance 2019 title also picked up best film, best actress for Trine Dyrholm, best supporting actor for Magnus Krepper, and best original screenplay for el-Toukhy and Maren Louise Käehne.
The film’s four further prizes were in best cinematography,...
- 1/28/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Feras Fayyad, the director of the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Cave,” has arrived in the United States, weeks after being denied entry.
“After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles,” National Geographic said in a statement Sunday night.
Fayyad, who was the first Syrian director nominated for an Oscar with his 2017 doc “Last Man in Aleppo,” had encountered issues obtaining a new visa the past two months, forcing him to miss several stateside events in support of “The Cave,” including December’s International Documentary Association’s Documentary Awards, where he won the writing prize, and the film’s Television Critics Association panel on Jan. 17.
During the TCA panel, producer Sigrid Dyekjar revealed that Fayyad’s aunt’s house in Syria had been bombed, and that the director had been traveling between Turkey, to be close to his family,...
“After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles,” National Geographic said in a statement Sunday night.
Fayyad, who was the first Syrian director nominated for an Oscar with his 2017 doc “Last Man in Aleppo,” had encountered issues obtaining a new visa the past two months, forcing him to miss several stateside events in support of “The Cave,” including December’s International Documentary Association’s Documentary Awards, where he won the writing prize, and the film’s Television Critics Association panel on Jan. 17.
During the TCA panel, producer Sigrid Dyekjar revealed that Fayyad’s aunt’s house in Syria had been bombed, and that the director had been traveling between Turkey, to be close to his family,...
- 1/27/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
“The Cave” director Feras Fayyad has arrived in the United States after dealing with a number of visa and family issues in recent weeks, National Geographic shared on Monday morning. The Syrian filmmaker made it to the U.S. on Sunday — exactly two weeks before the Academy Awards, where “The Cave” is nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
“The outpouring of support from the documentary and entertainment community to help us in our efforts to have ‘The Cave’s’ director Feras Fayyad return to the U.S. has been overwhelming,” National Geographic said in a statement. “After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles.”
Fayyad had struggled to gain a visa into the U.S. until Sunday and missed several industry events this month as a result. He was unable to attend the...
“The outpouring of support from the documentary and entertainment community to help us in our efforts to have ‘The Cave’s’ director Feras Fayyad return to the U.S. has been overwhelming,” National Geographic said in a statement. “After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles.”
Fayyad had struggled to gain a visa into the U.S. until Sunday and missed several industry events this month as a result. He was unable to attend the...
- 1/27/2020
- by Sean Burch
- The Wrap
The documentary community has been rallying around Syrian-born filmmaker Feras Fayyad, director of Oscar-shortlisted film The Cave, after he was denied a visa to enter the United States. The situation escalated 10 days ago when Fayyad was detained on his way into Copenhagen, where he lives in exile, by immigration police and was forced to miss The Cave‘s panel at TCA. At the time, his colleagues and National Geographic, which is behind The Cave, said that the documentary-maker would be reapplying for a U.S. visa. This time, he was successful.
“After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles,” Nat Geo Documentary Films said in a lengthy statement Sunday night.
The Cave tells the story of Dr. Amani Ballour, the first woman to lead a hospital in Syria, who made heroic efforts...
“After weeks of turmoil and struggle and obstacles no one should have to endure, we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles,” Nat Geo Documentary Films said in a lengthy statement Sunday night.
The Cave tells the story of Dr. Amani Ballour, the first woman to lead a hospital in Syria, who made heroic efforts...
- 1/27/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Cave” director Feras Fayyad has finally made it into the United States, weeks after he was denied entry into the country. According to National Geographic Documentary Films, which is behind the Oscar-nominated “The Cave,” “we can report that Feras arrived safely this evening in Los Angeles.”
Fayyad’s arrival comes after he missed a Television Critics Assn. press tour panel on Jan. 17 promoting “The Cave.” At the time, Nat Geo told reporters that Fayyad had been detained by immigration police in Copenhagen, and eventually released to producer Sigrid Dyekjar.
Fayyad had earlier been denied a visa into the United States, and was not able to attend the International Documentary Association’s Documentary Awards in Los Angeles to accept his prize for best writing for “The Cave.” Since then, his aunt’s house was bombed in Syria, and he had traveled back and forth between Turkey, to be close to his family,...
Fayyad’s arrival comes after he missed a Television Critics Assn. press tour panel on Jan. 17 promoting “The Cave.” At the time, Nat Geo told reporters that Fayyad had been detained by immigration police in Copenhagen, and eventually released to producer Sigrid Dyekjar.
Fayyad had earlier been denied a visa into the United States, and was not able to attend the International Documentary Association’s Documentary Awards in Los Angeles to accept his prize for best writing for “The Cave.” Since then, his aunt’s house was bombed in Syria, and he had traveled back and forth between Turkey, to be close to his family,...
- 1/27/2020
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Mendes has been named the best feature-film director of 2019 by the Directors Guild of America, which handed out its annual awards on Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles.
The win makes the “1917” director a commanding front-runner in the Oscar race for Best Directors — and coupled with his film’s victory at the Producers Guild Awards last week, makes the World War I drama the favorite to win Best Picture winner as well.
Mendes beat his fellow Oscar nominees Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”) and Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), as well as “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi.
The DGA Award is one of the most reliable Oscar predictors, with the winner going on to win the Academy Award for Best Director for the last six years in a row, 15 times in the last 16 years and 62 times in 71 years.
In addition, the film...
The win makes the “1917” director a commanding front-runner in the Oscar race for Best Directors — and coupled with his film’s victory at the Producers Guild Awards last week, makes the World War I drama the favorite to win Best Picture winner as well.
Mendes beat his fellow Oscar nominees Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”) and Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), as well as “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi.
The DGA Award is one of the most reliable Oscar predictors, with the winner going on to win the Academy Award for Best Director for the last six years in a row, 15 times in the last 16 years and 62 times in 71 years.
In addition, the film...
- 1/26/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 2020 Directors Guild of America Awards wrapped Saturday night in downtown Los Angeles, with winners spanning television and film. IndieWire has rounded up all the night’s big winners, below. Films “1917,” “Honey Boy,” and “American Factory” all took home the night’s film prizes, while “Chernobyl,” “Watchmen,” and “Barry” claimed the television honors.
The DGA prize is often considered a bellwether for the Best Director Oscar and the last six DGA winners all went on to repeat at the Academy Awards: Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma,” Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water,” Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for both “The Revenant” and “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2019
Bong Joon Ho
“Parasite”
(Neon)
Sam Mendes
“1917”
(Universal Pictures) *Winner
Martin Scorsese
“The Irishman”
(Netflix)
Quentin Tarantino
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
(Sony)
Taika Waititi
“Jojo Rabbit...
The DGA prize is often considered a bellwether for the Best Director Oscar and the last six DGA winners all went on to repeat at the Academy Awards: Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma,” Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water,” Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for both “The Revenant” and “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).”
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2019
Bong Joon Ho
“Parasite”
(Neon)
Sam Mendes
“1917”
(Universal Pictures) *Winner
Martin Scorsese
“The Irishman”
(Netflix)
Quentin Tarantino
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
(Sony)
Taika Waititi
“Jojo Rabbit...
- 1/26/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
When the winners of the 72nd Directors Guild of America ceremony were handed out Saturday, January 25, all eyes were on the feature film category. (Read our live blog here.) Would Sam Mendes (“1917”) continue his winning streak after claiming the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award? Would Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), who tied Mendes with the critics, prevail with the directors guild? Or would Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) or Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”) triumph instead? Scroll down to see who won all of the film and TV categories at the 2020 DGA Awards, which took place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
SEEJanuary 25 is busiest day on 2020 Oscars calendar: DGA Awards plus cinematographers, sound mixers and Annies
DGA voters have a great track record with predicting what will ultimately win the Oscar for Best Director, including the past six in a...
SEEJanuary 25 is busiest day on 2020 Oscars calendar: DGA Awards plus cinematographers, sound mixers and Annies
DGA voters have a great track record with predicting what will ultimately win the Oscar for Best Director, including the past six in a...
- 1/26/2020
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
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