Dubai-based investment fund Fortress Film Clinic has boarded Zombie Gozombie, Egypt’s first zombie comedy, which is set to be directed by award-winning filmmaker Ahmad Abdalla.
Set against the backdrop of a provincial Egyptian town, the picture will revolve around a zombie breakout during a soccer match between the local squad and a top Egyptian team.
Up and coming Egyptian actor Ahmed El Feshawy is set to star as a local man who fights to keep the zombies in the stadium.
“There’s a political subtext but ultimately it’s a comedy,” said Fortress Film Clinic co-founder Mohamed Hefzy. “It will be Egypt’s first zombie comedy and marks quite a departure for Ahmad who has never done a genre movie before.”
Hefzy and Abdalla previously collaborated on Rags And Tatters and Microphone, set against Alexandria’s hip-hop scene just prior to the Arab Spring.
Film and TV investment fund Fortress Film Clinic – a joint venture between...
Set against the backdrop of a provincial Egyptian town, the picture will revolve around a zombie breakout during a soccer match between the local squad and a top Egyptian team.
Up and coming Egyptian actor Ahmed El Feshawy is set to star as a local man who fights to keep the zombies in the stadium.
“There’s a political subtext but ultimately it’s a comedy,” said Fortress Film Clinic co-founder Mohamed Hefzy. “It will be Egypt’s first zombie comedy and marks quite a departure for Ahmad who has never done a genre movie before.”
Hefzy and Abdalla previously collaborated on Rags And Tatters and Microphone, set against Alexandria’s hip-hop scene just prior to the Arab Spring.
Film and TV investment fund Fortress Film Clinic – a joint venture between...
- 12/10/2015
- ScreenDaily
Paris-based industry veteran, who also works with actor Amr Waked, deepens ties with Egypt.
Paris-based producer Daniel Ziskind has signed to act as the European representative of Egyptian Mohamed Hefzy’s Cairo-based production house Film Clinic.
Under the accord, Ziskind will support Film Clinic’s co-production and sales activities in Europe.
“I’m very happy to join the Film Clinic family,” Ziskind said. “The company has a great line-up and strategy.”
First feature
The first project under the collaboration will be Mohamed Diab’s drama Clash, his second film after the much-praised Cairo 678 tackling sexual harassment through the experiences of women on a bus.
Set against the backdrop of violent demonstrations that erupted at the end of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s Islamist reign in summer of 2013, Clash revolves around two groups of opposing protestors who find themselves trapped in the same police van as fighting rages around them.
“It’s a timely...
Paris-based producer Daniel Ziskind has signed to act as the European representative of Egyptian Mohamed Hefzy’s Cairo-based production house Film Clinic.
Under the accord, Ziskind will support Film Clinic’s co-production and sales activities in Europe.
“I’m very happy to join the Film Clinic family,” Ziskind said. “The company has a great line-up and strategy.”
First feature
The first project under the collaboration will be Mohamed Diab’s drama Clash, his second film after the much-praised Cairo 678 tackling sexual harassment through the experiences of women on a bus.
Set against the backdrop of violent demonstrations that erupted at the end of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s Islamist reign in summer of 2013, Clash revolves around two groups of opposing protestors who find themselves trapped in the same police van as fighting rages around them.
“It’s a timely...
- 4/9/2015
- ScreenDaily
Despite the cancellation of last year’s Cairo International Film Festival due to continued political unrest, this year’s festival, now in its 36th year, possesses an optimistic energy that change is happening within Egypt’s film industry.
Working under the newly appointed Minister of Culture Gaber Asfour, festival president Samir Farid (also in his first year) has added a staff of fresh new faces to help pull together a programme showcasing films from over 50 countries, including both animated and short films for the first time.
Also new, a cultural sidebar has been included that features an exhibition celebrating film icon Henry Barakat, a showcase of works from female artist Najat Makki, a film publications symposium and a musical concert comprised of scores by composer Rageh Daoud.
“Cinema, and culture, is a way of life for Egyptians, so how is it that our once beautiful cinemas have turned into shops, cafes have turned...
Working under the newly appointed Minister of Culture Gaber Asfour, festival president Samir Farid (also in his first year) has added a staff of fresh new faces to help pull together a programme showcasing films from over 50 countries, including both animated and short films for the first time.
Also new, a cultural sidebar has been included that features an exhibition celebrating film icon Henry Barakat, a showcase of works from female artist Najat Makki, a film publications symposium and a musical concert comprised of scores by composer Rageh Daoud.
“Cinema, and culture, is a way of life for Egyptians, so how is it that our once beautiful cinemas have turned into shops, cafes have turned...
- 11/19/2014
- ScreenDaily
Maha and her husband Sherif are talented set designers, who have been hired to work on their first commercial film (as oppose to the independent, art house films they usually prefer). On the first day of shooting, when Maha is setting the scene, she turns around to find that the set has a real place, the crew, including her husband, have disappeared, and she is living in an alternate reality with a different husband, Moustafa, a daughter (she and Sherif do not have children), and a job as an art teacher. She finds herself moving between the two realities, no longer able to decide which one to which she belongs.Director Ahmad Abdalla (Microphone, Rags and Tatters) and screenwriters Sherin Diab and Mohamed Diab have made...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 11/17/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Exclusive: Film Clinic’s Hefzy also co-producing Mohamed Khan’s new film Before the Summer Crowds.
Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy and director Ahmad Abdalla are reuniting for an adaptation of Lebanese writer Rabee Jaber’s 1995 novel Black Tea.
“Set mostly in Beirut, the story follows a young man during one night as he journeys through various incidents of his past as he prepares to reconnect with friends he had left behind,” said Hefzy.
He and Abdalla will launch the project at the Crossroads Co-production forum, taking place Nov 4-8 during the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
“It’s the first time we’ll present it,” said Hefzy, who is at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff) this year as one of the creative producers on Emirati Ali Mostafa’s second feature From A to B.
Hefzy is initially seeking Lebanese and possibly French partners for the film.
Lebanese writer Jaber won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2012, also...
Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy and director Ahmad Abdalla are reuniting for an adaptation of Lebanese writer Rabee Jaber’s 1995 novel Black Tea.
“Set mostly in Beirut, the story follows a young man during one night as he journeys through various incidents of his past as he prepares to reconnect with friends he had left behind,” said Hefzy.
He and Abdalla will launch the project at the Crossroads Co-production forum, taking place Nov 4-8 during the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
“It’s the first time we’ll present it,” said Hefzy, who is at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff) this year as one of the creative producers on Emirati Ali Mostafa’s second feature From A to B.
Hefzy is initially seeking Lebanese and possibly French partners for the film.
Lebanese writer Jaber won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2012, also...
- 10/26/2014
- ScreenDaily
Only the seventh time Palestine has submitted film to the Academy Awards.
The Palestinian Ministry of Culture has submitted Najwa Najjar’s Eyes of a Thief for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards.
The timely drama explores the impact of the Middle East conflict on Palestinian life through the tale of a West Bank man searching for his lost daughter following his release from an Israeli jail.
Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga, whose credits include Villa 69 and Microphone, plays the protagonist Tareq – an enigmatic figure with a violent past – opposite Algerian actress and singer Souad Massi, as a woman who knows the whereabouts of his child.
The film has drawn strong audiences in the West Bank and Jerusalem since its release there at the beginning of September.
“We had quite an overwhelming opening on September 9 at the Ramallah Cultural Palace. 850 people came to a space meant for 700,” Najjar told ScreenDaily...
The Palestinian Ministry of Culture has submitted Najwa Najjar’s Eyes of a Thief for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards.
The timely drama explores the impact of the Middle East conflict on Palestinian life through the tale of a West Bank man searching for his lost daughter following his release from an Israeli jail.
Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga, whose credits include Villa 69 and Microphone, plays the protagonist Tareq – an enigmatic figure with a violent past – opposite Algerian actress and singer Souad Massi, as a woman who knows the whereabouts of his child.
The film has drawn strong audiences in the West Bank and Jerusalem since its release there at the beginning of September.
“We had quite an overwhelming opening on September 9 at the Ramallah Cultural Palace. 850 people came to a space meant for 700,” Najjar told ScreenDaily...
- 9/25/2014
- ScreenDaily
Algerian singer Souad Massi and Egyptian Khaled Abol Naga co-star in film shot in West Bank city of Nablus.
Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar has finished her timely drama Eyes Of A Thief exploring the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian life through the tale of a man searching for his lost daughter after his release from an Israeli jail.
Inspired by a real-life event that took place in 2002, at the height of the Second Palestinian Intifada and the Israeli incursion into the West Bank, the film moves back and forth between that period and contemporary Palestine.
It revolves around Tareq, an enigmatic figure harbouring a dark, violent secret returning to his hometown after serving 10 years in an Israeli jail.
He is desperate to find his daughter who disappeared during his absence. His search leads him to a young woman called Lila and also brings him up against the town’s self-imposed leader Adel, a man of...
Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar has finished her timely drama Eyes Of A Thief exploring the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian life through the tale of a man searching for his lost daughter after his release from an Israeli jail.
Inspired by a real-life event that took place in 2002, at the height of the Second Palestinian Intifada and the Israeli incursion into the West Bank, the film moves back and forth between that period and contemporary Palestine.
It revolves around Tareq, an enigmatic figure harbouring a dark, violent secret returning to his hometown after serving 10 years in an Israeli jail.
He is desperate to find his daughter who disappeared during his absence. His search leads him to a young woman called Lila and also brings him up against the town’s self-imposed leader Adel, a man of...
- 8/4/2014
- ScreenDaily
Algerian singer Souad Massi and Egyptian Khaled Abol Naga co-star in film shot in West Bank city of Nablus.
Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar has finished her timely drama Eyes Of A Thief exploring the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian life through the tale of a man searching for his lost daughter after his release from an Israeli jail.
Inspired by a real-life event that took place in 2002, at the height of the Second Palestinian Intifada and the Israeli incursion into the West Bank, the film moves back and forth between that period and contemporary Palestine.
It revolves around Tareq, an enigmatic figure harbouring a dark, violent secret returning to his hometown after serving 10 years in an Israeli jail.
He is desperate to find his daughter who disappeared during his absence. His search leads him to a young woman called Lila and also brings him up against the town’s self-imposed leader Adel, a man of...
Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar has finished her timely drama Eyes Of A Thief exploring the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian life through the tale of a man searching for his lost daughter after his release from an Israeli jail.
Inspired by a real-life event that took place in 2002, at the height of the Second Palestinian Intifada and the Israeli incursion into the West Bank, the film moves back and forth between that period and contemporary Palestine.
It revolves around Tareq, an enigmatic figure harbouring a dark, violent secret returning to his hometown after serving 10 years in an Israeli jail.
He is desperate to find his daughter who disappeared during his absence. His search leads him to a young woman called Lila and also brings him up against the town’s self-imposed leader Adel, a man of...
- 8/4/2014
- ScreenDaily
Cairo may be the traditional hub for the cinema industry in Egypt but an independent scene is also growing in the country’s second city of Alexandria.
The founders of this nascent indie scene are at Diff this year with their first feature-length picture The Mice House, which is competing in the Muhr Arab Feature competition.
The film, collectively directed by Nermeen Salem, Mohamed Zedan, Mohamad El-Hadidi, Mayye Zayed, Hend Bakr and Ahmed Magdy Morsy, was co-produced by Alexandria-based production companies Fig Leaf Studios and Rufy’s. It consists of six intertwining stories about Alexandria residents facing up to a personal fear.
Fig Leaf Studios founder Mark Lotfy explains the indie hub is the direct result of a series of workshops held by the Jesuits Cultural Centre from 2005 to 2012.
“The Alex scene has grown-up around the 20 or so filmmakers who attended the workshops… we collaborate on all of our projects,” says Lotfy, who...
The founders of this nascent indie scene are at Diff this year with their first feature-length picture The Mice House, which is competing in the Muhr Arab Feature competition.
The film, collectively directed by Nermeen Salem, Mohamed Zedan, Mohamad El-Hadidi, Mayye Zayed, Hend Bakr and Ahmed Magdy Morsy, was co-produced by Alexandria-based production companies Fig Leaf Studios and Rufy’s. It consists of six intertwining stories about Alexandria residents facing up to a personal fear.
Fig Leaf Studios founder Mark Lotfy explains the indie hub is the direct result of a series of workshops held by the Jesuits Cultural Centre from 2005 to 2012.
“The Alex scene has grown-up around the 20 or so filmmakers who attended the workshops… we collaborate on all of our projects,” says Lotfy, who...
- 12/11/2013
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Cairo-based New Century Production is putting together an ambitious six-picture slate featuring some of Egypt’s leading veteran and independent filmmakers, including the next project from Rags And Tatters director Ahmad Abdalla.
Entitled Décor, the project is scripted by renowned Egyptian screenwriter Mohamed Diab, who previously wrote and directed award-winning sexual harassment drama 678. Khaled Abol Naga (Microphone, Villa 69) and Egyptian actress Horreya Farghaly will head the cast.
Scheduled to start shooting in the next few weeks, Décor marks the first big-budget production from Abdalla who has won acclaim for independent productions such as Heliopolis, Microphone and current Egyptian box office hit Rags And Tatters.
Abdalla plans to shoot Decor in black-and-white – the first time the format has been used in Egyptian cinema since Mohamed Fadel’s Nasser 56, about the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, in 1996.
New Century will also produce Abnormal Decisions – written and to be directed by veteran Egyptian filmmaker Daoud Abdel Sayed, whose...
Entitled Décor, the project is scripted by renowned Egyptian screenwriter Mohamed Diab, who previously wrote and directed award-winning sexual harassment drama 678. Khaled Abol Naga (Microphone, Villa 69) and Egyptian actress Horreya Farghaly will head the cast.
Scheduled to start shooting in the next few weeks, Décor marks the first big-budget production from Abdalla who has won acclaim for independent productions such as Heliopolis, Microphone and current Egyptian box office hit Rags And Tatters.
Abdalla plans to shoot Decor in black-and-white – the first time the format has been used in Egyptian cinema since Mohamed Fadel’s Nasser 56, about the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, in 1996.
New Century will also produce Abnormal Decisions – written and to be directed by veteran Egyptian filmmaker Daoud Abdel Sayed, whose...
- 12/10/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Rags and Tatters which I saw in Toronto, at first seemed like a documentary, and it does have doc footage, but it is a circular story that ends where it began but with much more understanding of the chaotic events in Cairo. Really worth watching.
Film Clinic, held the premiere of its new production Rags and Tatters on Monday, November 18th, 2013, at Nile City cinemas in Cairo, with the presence of the film's cast and filmmakers along with several celebrities, critics, and intellectuals who were keen on watching this distinctive experience. Among the celebrities and filmmakers who attended the premiere were: Producer and Scriptwriter Mohamed Hefzy, founder of Film Clinic, Director Ahmed Abdallah, Asser Yassin and Dorra Zarrouk.
Mohamed Hefzy stated that the reason behind launching the film in theaters for only one limited week is that the film market is currently in a recovery phase after ending the curfew that has been imposed for months. He added, "the film is of a special nature and some believe that it unfolds an untraditional narrative experience. I personally think that the audience will enjoy watching the film and maybe having it released for a limited period of time will help draw the attention of the audience who would come to watch it. Of course we wanted to release the film for a longer period in theaters, however the on-going conditions make that impossible."
Ahmed Abdallah's feature Rags and Tatters' release in seven Egyptian film theaters across Cairo and Alexandria by Film Clinic for one week only from November 20th, 2013, makes it the first film in the history of Egyptian cinema where the production house releases its own production for only one week.
The film won the Golden Antigone Prize for the Best Narrative Feature at the 35th Cinemed International Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellierin France, which has recently closed on November 2nd, 2013. The film took part at the Narrative Features Competition within the 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival which has recently closed. Recently, Ahmed Abdallah's Microphone placed the 95th among the 100 Most Important Arab Films listed in Cinema of Passion: Dubai International Film Festival. Released by Dubai International Film Festival and supported by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dcaa), the book is considered the first reference book of its kind in the Arab world.
Written and directed by Ahmed Abdallah, the film unfolds a new experience in Egyptian cinema as the story builds up with minimal dialogue between the characters based on visual narration within a balanced equation of documentation and narration. The film tells the story of a prison inmate who escapes from jail following the incidents that took place on January 28th, 2011, when police forces were withdrawn from the streets and chaos prevailed. The film stars Asser Yassin who plays the leading role of the fugitive inmate who moves in a number of poor alienated Egyptian districts.
Rags and Tatters has recently participated in the BFI London Film Festival, the only Arab film competing in the official competition of the prestigious film event this year, and had its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious film events.
Rags and Tatters is produced by Mohamed Hefzy's Film Clinic in co-production with Mashrou', Ahmed Abdallah's new production house formed with Asser Yassin, and Producer and Writer Amr Shama, scriptwriter of After the Battle film. Shot on location in Mansheyet Nasser and Old Cairo, Rags and Tatters also stars Amr Abed, Mohamed Mamdouh, Seif Al Aswani, Yara Gobran and Latifa Fahmi.
Ahmed Abdallah started his career as a film editor in several films, the most distinctive of which is Ain Shams. In 2010, he presented his directorial debut Heliopolis, which tells the story of a group of people living in Heliopolis. Abdallah also directed Microphone, which is about independent music productions and underground art scene in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Starring Khaled Abul Naga, Hani Adel, and Youssra AlLouzi, the film premiered in Egypt in January 26th, 2011, coinciding with the second day of the revolution at that time. Both of the two films were screened in previous installments of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Film Clinic, held the premiere of its new production Rags and Tatters on Monday, November 18th, 2013, at Nile City cinemas in Cairo, with the presence of the film's cast and filmmakers along with several celebrities, critics, and intellectuals who were keen on watching this distinctive experience. Among the celebrities and filmmakers who attended the premiere were: Producer and Scriptwriter Mohamed Hefzy, founder of Film Clinic, Director Ahmed Abdallah, Asser Yassin and Dorra Zarrouk.
Mohamed Hefzy stated that the reason behind launching the film in theaters for only one limited week is that the film market is currently in a recovery phase after ending the curfew that has been imposed for months. He added, "the film is of a special nature and some believe that it unfolds an untraditional narrative experience. I personally think that the audience will enjoy watching the film and maybe having it released for a limited period of time will help draw the attention of the audience who would come to watch it. Of course we wanted to release the film for a longer period in theaters, however the on-going conditions make that impossible."
Ahmed Abdallah's feature Rags and Tatters' release in seven Egyptian film theaters across Cairo and Alexandria by Film Clinic for one week only from November 20th, 2013, makes it the first film in the history of Egyptian cinema where the production house releases its own production for only one week.
The film won the Golden Antigone Prize for the Best Narrative Feature at the 35th Cinemed International Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellierin France, which has recently closed on November 2nd, 2013. The film took part at the Narrative Features Competition within the 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival which has recently closed. Recently, Ahmed Abdallah's Microphone placed the 95th among the 100 Most Important Arab Films listed in Cinema of Passion: Dubai International Film Festival. Released by Dubai International Film Festival and supported by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dcaa), the book is considered the first reference book of its kind in the Arab world.
Written and directed by Ahmed Abdallah, the film unfolds a new experience in Egyptian cinema as the story builds up with minimal dialogue between the characters based on visual narration within a balanced equation of documentation and narration. The film tells the story of a prison inmate who escapes from jail following the incidents that took place on January 28th, 2011, when police forces were withdrawn from the streets and chaos prevailed. The film stars Asser Yassin who plays the leading role of the fugitive inmate who moves in a number of poor alienated Egyptian districts.
Rags and Tatters has recently participated in the BFI London Film Festival, the only Arab film competing in the official competition of the prestigious film event this year, and had its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious film events.
Rags and Tatters is produced by Mohamed Hefzy's Film Clinic in co-production with Mashrou', Ahmed Abdallah's new production house formed with Asser Yassin, and Producer and Writer Amr Shama, scriptwriter of After the Battle film. Shot on location in Mansheyet Nasser and Old Cairo, Rags and Tatters also stars Amr Abed, Mohamed Mamdouh, Seif Al Aswani, Yara Gobran and Latifa Fahmi.
Ahmed Abdallah started his career as a film editor in several films, the most distinctive of which is Ain Shams. In 2010, he presented his directorial debut Heliopolis, which tells the story of a group of people living in Heliopolis. Abdallah also directed Microphone, which is about independent music productions and underground art scene in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Starring Khaled Abul Naga, Hani Adel, and Youssra AlLouzi, the film premiered in Egypt in January 26th, 2011, coinciding with the second day of the revolution at that time. Both of the two films were screened in previous installments of the Toronto International Film Festival.
- 11/21/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: Rotana Studios has acquired a slew of rights to Ahmad Abdalla’s Rags And Tatters, which is receiving its world premiere in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section.
Egyptian production house Film Clinic struck the deal with Rotana which includes TV networks in the Middle East, DVD, online streaming and worldwide in-flight entertainment. Film Clinic has theatrical rights in the Middle East and the film will be released in Egyptian cinemas in October.
Set in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution, Rags And Tatters follows a fugitive, played by Asser Yassin, who has escaped from prison and is seeking shelter. It was shot in Ezbet El Zabbaleen – a 30,000-strong settlement of rag-pickers on the outskirts of Cairo, which has rarely been seen on film.
Us-based sales company Visit Films is repping Rags And Tatters outside the Mena region at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Abdalla’s credits include award-winning drama Microphone, about Egypt’s...
Egyptian production house Film Clinic struck the deal with Rotana which includes TV networks in the Middle East, DVD, online streaming and worldwide in-flight entertainment. Film Clinic has theatrical rights in the Middle East and the film will be released in Egyptian cinemas in October.
Set in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution, Rags And Tatters follows a fugitive, played by Asser Yassin, who has escaped from prison and is seeking shelter. It was shot in Ezbet El Zabbaleen – a 30,000-strong settlement of rag-pickers on the outskirts of Cairo, which has rarely been seen on film.
Us-based sales company Visit Films is repping Rags And Tatters outside the Mena region at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Abdalla’s credits include award-winning drama Microphone, about Egypt’s...
- 9/7/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
A revealing new season of films at the Ica looks at the links between religion and revolt
Do the roots of the Arab spring lie in cinema? The question seems absurd: surely kleptocratic dictatorship, youth unemployment and grain prices all played a more important part. Iranian film scholar Hamid Dabashi disagrees: "If you want to understand the emotive universe from which the Arab spring arose, cinema is a good place to start. Look at a film like Elia Suleiman's Divine Intervention: there the director spits out an apricot pit at an Israeli tank and blows it up. The scene is both fantasy and prophecy."
Dabashi will be speaking this month at Winds of Change, a series of talks and screenings at the Ica in London showcasing films from across the Muslim world; it hopes to explore the rich, sometimes fraught relationship between religion and civic society. Özer Kiziltan's...
Do the roots of the Arab spring lie in cinema? The question seems absurd: surely kleptocratic dictatorship, youth unemployment and grain prices all played a more important part. Iranian film scholar Hamid Dabashi disagrees: "If you want to understand the emotive universe from which the Arab spring arose, cinema is a good place to start. Look at a film like Elia Suleiman's Divine Intervention: there the director spits out an apricot pit at an Israeli tank and blows it up. The scene is both fantasy and prophecy."
Dabashi will be speaking this month at Winds of Change, a series of talks and screenings at the Ica in London showcasing films from across the Muslim world; it hopes to explore the rich, sometimes fraught relationship between religion and civic society. Özer Kiziltan's...
- 9/20/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
"Do the roots of the Arab spring lie in cinema?" asks Sukhdev Sandhu in the Guardian. "The question seems absurd: surely kleptocratic dictatorship, youth unemployment and grain prices all played a more important part. Iranian film scholar Hamid Dabashi disagrees: 'If you want to understand the emotive universe from which the Arab spring arose, cinema is a good place to start.' … Dabashi will be speaking this month at Winds of Change, a series of talks and screenings at the Ica in London showcasing films from across the Muslim world; it hopes to explore the rich, sometimes fraught relationship between religion and civic society." Tomorrow though October 13.
Iranian authorities have arrested six independent filmmakers, accusing them of working covertly with the BBC "and supplying it with content, including films, that depict the country in a negative way," reports Rick Gladstone in the New York Times. In its own report, the...
Iranian authorities have arrested six independent filmmakers, accusing them of working covertly with the BBC "and supplying it with content, including films, that depict the country in a negative way," reports Rick Gladstone in the New York Times. In its own report, the...
- 9/20/2011
- MUBI
Omar Kholeif, curator of the Liverpool Arabic film festival, picks the film-makers most likely to put Arab cinema on the map
As the Arab world reimagines its boundaries, it seems a good moment to reflect on how the medium of cinema has been reshaped by a new generation of film-makers. The last few years have seen a new guard carve out a niche for themselves, breaking on to the international film festival circuit with their divergent portraits of Arabic daily life.
Ahmad Abdalla
Thirty-two-year-old Abdalla makes vital films that capture the youthful spirit of Egypt's major cities. Reawakening a realism that has been missing in Egyptian cinema since the late 1960s, Abdalla merges a verite camera style with astutely edited montages of activism on the streets. His acclaimed second feature, Microphone (2010), portrays the dissident underground arts movement in Alexandria, capturing a world in which Arabic hip-hop meets conceptual Egyptian video art.
As the Arab world reimagines its boundaries, it seems a good moment to reflect on how the medium of cinema has been reshaped by a new generation of film-makers. The last few years have seen a new guard carve out a niche for themselves, breaking on to the international film festival circuit with their divergent portraits of Arabic daily life.
Ahmad Abdalla
Thirty-two-year-old Abdalla makes vital films that capture the youthful spirit of Egypt's major cities. Reawakening a realism that has been missing in Egyptian cinema since the late 1960s, Abdalla merges a verite camera style with astutely edited montages of activism on the streets. His acclaimed second feature, Microphone (2010), portrays the dissident underground arts movement in Alexandria, capturing a world in which Arabic hip-hop meets conceptual Egyptian video art.
- 7/4/2011
- by Omar Kholeif
- The Guardian - Film News
Studio Ghibli, London
If you've never stepped into the universes of Hayao Miyazaki and co, it's time you discovered what you're missing. These aren't just some of the best animated children's movies ever made; they'e some of the best movies full stop. The vibrant fantasy worlds, airborne adventures and noble junior heroes of Studio Ghibli's movies fascinate kids, but they're richer, more challenging and more psychedelically epic than most of what passes for grown-up fantasy. Avatar looks like Mr Men compared to, say, Princess Mononoke – which deals with similar themes with considerably more nuance. Having first championed them 10 years ago, the Barbican brings back Ghibli classics, from Laputa: Castle In The Sky and My Neighbour Totoro (the best one for young viewers), right up to previews of their latest, Arrietty, a version of The Borrowers.
Barbican Screen EC2, Wed to 31 Jul
Liverpool Arabic Fim Festival
Partly as a result of the Arab Spring,...
If you've never stepped into the universes of Hayao Miyazaki and co, it's time you discovered what you're missing. These aren't just some of the best animated children's movies ever made; they'e some of the best movies full stop. The vibrant fantasy worlds, airborne adventures and noble junior heroes of Studio Ghibli's movies fascinate kids, but they're richer, more challenging and more psychedelically epic than most of what passes for grown-up fantasy. Avatar looks like Mr Men compared to, say, Princess Mononoke – which deals with similar themes with considerably more nuance. Having first championed them 10 years ago, the Barbican brings back Ghibli classics, from Laputa: Castle In The Sky and My Neighbour Totoro (the best one for young viewers), right up to previews of their latest, Arrietty, a version of The Borrowers.
Barbican Screen EC2, Wed to 31 Jul
Liverpool Arabic Fim Festival
Partly as a result of the Arab Spring,...
- 7/1/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
"Ah, the pungent odor, the fermented esprit, the sulfurous insanity of the New York Asian Film Fest!" exclaims Michael Atkinson, introducing his overview of the lineup in the Voice. "It's a new year for the city's favorite attack of the imported-irrational, and as always, the jejune state of the late-spring/early-summer box office gets a shot in the ass. The pulp is especially ripe this year, particularly from Japan, where manga-ness seems to have gone from a national pastime to a mass psychosis."
For R Emmet Sweeney, writing for TCM, "most of the revelations in this year's slate came in the Nyaff sidebar, Sea of Revenge: New Korean Thrillers, so I'll focus there." Michael J Anderson splits the difference, concentrating on Takashi Miike's Ninja Kids!!! and Na Hong-jin's The Chaser (image above). Time Out New York's got a slide of "titles worth cutting class for." Cinespect's Ryan Wells picks...
For R Emmet Sweeney, writing for TCM, "most of the revelations in this year's slate came in the Nyaff sidebar, Sea of Revenge: New Korean Thrillers, so I'll focus there." Michael J Anderson splits the difference, concentrating on Takashi Miike's Ninja Kids!!! and Na Hong-jin's The Chaser (image above). Time Out New York's got a slide of "titles worth cutting class for." Cinespect's Ryan Wells picks...
- 6/30/2011
- MUBI
The 30th edition of one of Europe’s most accomplished film festivals, the Istanbul International, presented its Golden Tulip Awards at the Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 16th.
The International Competition Golden Tulip Awards come with cash awards of 10,000 Euros to the director who wins the Golden Tulip Award and 10,000 Euros to a Turkish company to distribute the film. 5,000 Euros are also presented to the Special Jury Prize winner.
Golden Tulip International Competition Award: Egyptian director Ahmad Abdalla for “Microphone.”
Golden Tulip International Competition Special Jury Prizes: Seyfi Teoman for Bizim Büyük “Çaresizliğimiz” (“Our Grand Despair”), and Federico Veiroj for (“A Useful Life”).
Golden Tulip for Best Turkish Film of the Year: Tayfun Pirselimoğlu for ”Saç” (“Hair”).
Golden Tulip for Best Director of the Year: ”Saç” (“Hair”) director, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism gives 150,000 Tl to the Golden Tulip winner for Best Turkish Film,...
The International Competition Golden Tulip Awards come with cash awards of 10,000 Euros to the director who wins the Golden Tulip Award and 10,000 Euros to a Turkish company to distribute the film. 5,000 Euros are also presented to the Special Jury Prize winner.
Golden Tulip International Competition Award: Egyptian director Ahmad Abdalla for “Microphone.”
Golden Tulip International Competition Special Jury Prizes: Seyfi Teoman for Bizim Büyük “Çaresizliğimiz” (“Our Grand Despair”), and Federico Veiroj for (“A Useful Life”).
Golden Tulip for Best Turkish Film of the Year: Tayfun Pirselimoğlu for ”Saç” (“Hair”).
Golden Tulip for Best Director of the Year: ”Saç” (“Hair”) director, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism gives 150,000 Tl to the Golden Tulip winner for Best Turkish Film,...
- 4/18/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
The 30th edition of one of Europe’s most accomplished film festivals, the Istanbul International, presented its Golden Tulip Awards at the Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre on April 16th.
The International Competition Golden Tulip Awards come with cash awards of 10,000 Euros to the director who wins the Golden Tulip Award and 10,000 Euros to a Turkish company to distribute the film. 5,000 Euros are also presented to the Special Jury Prize winner.
Golden Tulip International Competition Award: Egyptian director Ahmad Abdalla for “Microphone.”
Golden Tulip International Competition Special Jury Prizes: Seyfi Teoman for Bizim Büyük “Çaresizliğimiz” (“Our Grand Despair”), and Federico Veiroj for (“A Useful Life”).
Golden Tulip for Best Turkish Film of the Year: Tayfun Pirselimoğlu for ”Saç” (“Hair”).
Golden Tulip for Best Director of the Year: ”Saç” (“Hair”) director, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism gives 150,000 Tl to the Golden Tulip winner for Best Turkish Film,...
The International Competition Golden Tulip Awards come with cash awards of 10,000 Euros to the director who wins the Golden Tulip Award and 10,000 Euros to a Turkish company to distribute the film. 5,000 Euros are also presented to the Special Jury Prize winner.
Golden Tulip International Competition Award: Egyptian director Ahmad Abdalla for “Microphone.”
Golden Tulip International Competition Special Jury Prizes: Seyfi Teoman for Bizim Büyük “Çaresizliğimiz” (“Our Grand Despair”), and Federico Veiroj for (“A Useful Life”).
Golden Tulip for Best Turkish Film of the Year: Tayfun Pirselimoğlu for ”Saç” (“Hair”).
Golden Tulip for Best Director of the Year: ”Saç” (“Hair”) director, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism gives 150,000 Tl to the Golden Tulip winner for Best Turkish Film,...
- 4/18/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Watching Microphone now, which is basically a love letter to Alexandria, is all the more poignant considering what's been happening in Egypt for the last few months. Director Ahmad Abdalla succeeds in capturing the essence of the youth culture in the Egypt's second largest, cosmopolitan port city. This film was first conceived as a documentary- shot on HD with a small mobile crew. Then it later evolved into a narrative starring the TV/film superstar Khaled Abol Naga (who also serves as a producer) while keeping the small scale filmmaking intact. It features some of the best underground musicians and graffiti artists the sun drenched bustling Mediterranean city can offer.Khaled comes back after 7 years of living overseas. He finds that his old flame no longer...
- 3/25/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Have you picked up your tickets yet?
It’s that time of the year, when the early film festivals debut/premiere some of the films that we’ll be talking about later on in the year.
Sundance, Berlin, Pan African, Fespaco, and South By Southwest Film Festivals are done! And this week, the 40th installment of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival here in New York City, begins!
Press screenings for the festival end today, and I saw around 10 films. I’ve already reviewed 4 or so of them, with another 5 or 6 reviews coming, today and tomorrow. I’ll also include a brief write-up of what to expect at the festival, films you should see, those that you could skip, etc… so stay tuned for that.
The lineup of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival follows below, and those of you who live in New York, or who are...
It’s that time of the year, when the early film festivals debut/premiere some of the films that we’ll be talking about later on in the year.
Sundance, Berlin, Pan African, Fespaco, and South By Southwest Film Festivals are done! And this week, the 40th installment of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival here in New York City, begins!
Press screenings for the festival end today, and I saw around 10 films. I’ve already reviewed 4 or so of them, with another 5 or 6 reviews coming, today and tomorrow. I’ll also include a brief write-up of what to expect at the festival, films you should see, those that you could skip, etc… so stay tuned for that.
The lineup of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival follows below, and those of you who live in New York, or who are...
- 3/21/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Celebrating its 40th year of spotlighting the world’s best up-and-coming feature filmmakers, the Museum of Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center’s prestigious New Directors/New Films series has chosen Portland-based experimental filmmaker Matt McCormick‘s Some Days Are Better Than Others to screen.
McCormick is hardly a “new” director. He’s been making short films and music videos since 1999. However, Some Days Are Better Than Others is his first feature-length project. The movie follows the lives of several quirky Portland residents who all experience the good times of their lives slipping quickly into memory, while their more painful moments are so difficult to let go of.
Starring in the film is Carrie Brownstein, the former guitarist and singer for the band Sleater-Kinney and current star of the hit IFC cable TV series Portlandia. Brownstein previously appeared in Miranda July’s short film Getting Stronger Every Day...
McCormick is hardly a “new” director. He’s been making short films and music videos since 1999. However, Some Days Are Better Than Others is his first feature-length project. The movie follows the lives of several quirky Portland residents who all experience the good times of their lives slipping quickly into memory, while their more painful moments are so difficult to let go of.
Starring in the film is Carrie Brownstein, the former guitarist and singer for the band Sleater-Kinney and current star of the hit IFC cable TV series Portlandia. Brownstein previously appeared in Miranda July’s short film Getting Stronger Every Day...
- 2/17/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Announce Feature Film Lineup for the 40th Annual New Directors/New Films March 23 . April 3
J.C. Chandor.s .Margin Call. is the Opening Night presentation with Maryam Keshavarz.s Award-winning .Circumstance. the Closing Night selection
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the full lineup today for the 40th edition of New Directors/New Films (March 23 . April 3). Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, the film festival will screen 28 feature films (24 narrative, 4 documentary) representing 22 countries.
The opening night feature is J.C. Chandor.s Margin Call. Screening on Wednesday, March 23, at 7:00Pm at MoMA, Chandor’s feature film directing debut is a timely and terrifying dramatic expose that tackles twenty-four hours on an investment bank trading floor; a day that brings layer upon layer of human and...
J.C. Chandor.s .Margin Call. is the Opening Night presentation with Maryam Keshavarz.s Award-winning .Circumstance. the Closing Night selection
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the full lineup today for the 40th edition of New Directors/New Films (March 23 . April 3). Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, the film festival will screen 28 feature films (24 narrative, 4 documentary) representing 22 countries.
The opening night feature is J.C. Chandor.s Margin Call. Screening on Wednesday, March 23, at 7:00Pm at MoMA, Chandor’s feature film directing debut is a timely and terrifying dramatic expose that tackles twenty-four hours on an investment bank trading floor; a day that brings layer upon layer of human and...
- 2/17/2011
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
NYC’s New Directors/New Films Festival Unveils Lineup (“Pariah,” “Black Power Mixtape”) Make The Cut
Ahhh yes, it’s that time of the year, when the early film festivals debut/premiere some of the films that we’ll be talking about later on in the year.
Sundance is done; the Berlin and Pan African Film Festivals are currently underway; the South By Southwest Film Festival takes over Austin, TX in less than a month! And a few days after it ends, the 40th installment of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival here in New York City, begins!
Can’t you just feel the excitement in the air? I can!
And I feel even better knowing that I was granted press credentials by the festival organizers, meaning I’ll be seeing as many of these films for Free, with reviews to follow on this site, afterward, as usual.
The lineup of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival was just unveiled, and those of you who live in New York,...
Sundance is done; the Berlin and Pan African Film Festivals are currently underway; the South By Southwest Film Festival takes over Austin, TX in less than a month! And a few days after it ends, the 40th installment of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival here in New York City, begins!
Can’t you just feel the excitement in the air? I can!
And I feel even better knowing that I was granted press credentials by the festival organizers, meaning I’ll be seeing as many of these films for Free, with reviews to follow on this site, afterward, as usual.
The lineup of the New Directors/New Films Film Festival was just unveiled, and those of you who live in New York,...
- 2/16/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Rachel Weisz in The Whistleblower The Toronto International Film Festival has added even more films to their line-up today as the complete line-up was announced, which ended up causing the festival's server to crash, but I was lucky enough to get in and get out before missing out on the information.
First off, the festival's Mavericks line-up is quite interesting, which includes a series of guest presentations and this year will see Edward Norton interview Bruce Springsteen, NBA All-Star and native Canadian Steve Nash will present his hour-long film Into the Wind, Apichatpong Weerasethakul will talk with the audience as his Cannes Palm d'Or-winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives was just added to the Masters programme, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty will be interviewed by Michael Moore on politics and cinema and Philip Seymour Hoffman will have his own panel. Also on hand will be Bill Gates,...
First off, the festival's Mavericks line-up is quite interesting, which includes a series of guest presentations and this year will see Edward Norton interview Bruce Springsteen, NBA All-Star and native Canadian Steve Nash will present his hour-long film Into the Wind, Apichatpong Weerasethakul will talk with the audience as his Cannes Palm d'Or-winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives was just added to the Masters programme, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty will be interviewed by Michael Moore on politics and cinema and Philip Seymour Hoffman will have his own panel. Also on hand will be Bill Gates,...
- 8/24/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I'm calling it now. Vanguard is the best program of the Toronto International Film festival 2010. Featuring titles from Romain Gavras, Adam Wingard, Sion Sono, Tatsuya Nakashima and more, this is exactly the sort of programming I was hoping for when the program was first created a few years back. Absolutely fantastic. Here are the announcements for both Visions and Vanguard.
Visions Programme
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu Andrei Ujica, Romania North American Premiere
Culled from one thousand hours of archival footage and four years in the making, this spellbinding epic montage unfolds as if from the memory of former Romanian ruler Nicolae Ceausescu, after his reign was brought to an abrupt and
tumultuous end in December 1989.
Brownian Movement Nanouk Leopold, The Netherlands/Germany/Belgium World Premiere
Acclaimed Dutch filmmaker Nanouk Leopold explores a young mother's desires and needs in this langorous and atmospheric film.
The Ditch Wang Bing, France/Belgium...
Visions Programme
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu Andrei Ujica, Romania North American Premiere
Culled from one thousand hours of archival footage and four years in the making, this spellbinding epic montage unfolds as if from the memory of former Romanian ruler Nicolae Ceausescu, after his reign was brought to an abrupt and
tumultuous end in December 1989.
Brownian Movement Nanouk Leopold, The Netherlands/Germany/Belgium World Premiere
Acclaimed Dutch filmmaker Nanouk Leopold explores a young mother's desires and needs in this langorous and atmospheric film.
The Ditch Wang Bing, France/Belgium...
- 8/24/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Tiff's edgy Vanguard section features the world premiere of Romain Gavras' Our Day Will Come featuring the scary looking Vincent Cassel (also at Tiff for Blakc Swan) and perhaps M.I.A's Born Free as part of the film's soundtrack. You've got the North American preems for Gregg Araki's Kaboom (Cannes Ff), Pia Marais' At Ellen’s Age (Locarno Ff), Sion Sono's Cold Fish (Venice Ff) and the well travelled Monsters from Gareth Edwards which receives it Canadian premiere via Magnet Pictures. Here's the rest of the line-up including a zombie film I have no intention in seeing. At Ellen’s Age Pia Marais, Germany North American Premiere A German flight attendant falls into increasingly bizarre adventures when she leaves her husband, quits her job and joins a radical group of animal activists. The Christening Marcin Wrona, Poland International Premiere Michal (Wojciech Zielinski) hopes to change his...
- 8/24/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
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