New York arthouse distributor Kino Lorber is expanding its streaming service, Kino Film Collection, currently available on Amazon Prime, to include a stand-alone SVOD which will feature hundreds of titles from its extensive back catalog, including features from the likes of Yorgos Lanthimos, Jia Zhangke, and Ken Loach.
Kino Lorber announced the new service timed to start of this year’s Cannes film festival. The stand-alone SVOD, available to subscribers for $5.99 a month, includes several Cannes highlights from years past, including Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary Four Daughters and Thien An Pham-directed drama Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, both winners of the Camera d’Or prize on the Croisette last year; Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, a 2019 competition title; and Palme d’Or winners Winter Sleep (2014) from Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Underground (1995) from Emir Kusturica.
“Cannes and the Kino Film Collection are so intertwined because we share a...
Kino Lorber announced the new service timed to start of this year’s Cannes film festival. The stand-alone SVOD, available to subscribers for $5.99 a month, includes several Cannes highlights from years past, including Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary Four Daughters and Thien An Pham-directed drama Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, both winners of the Camera d’Or prize on the Croisette last year; Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, a 2019 competition title; and Palme d’Or winners Winter Sleep (2014) from Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Underground (1995) from Emir Kusturica.
“Cannes and the Kino Film Collection are so intertwined because we share a...
- 5/17/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Goodfellas is adding a new sports-focused sales label to its growing roster of genre-based companies and themed sales strands.
Bannered Oui Michel, the label is launching with documentary Nasty, about controversial Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase, which makes its international premiere as a Special Screening in Cannes Official Selection this May.
Directed by Romanian filmmakers Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu, the doc focuses on the immediate aftermath of Nastase’s sudden worldwide fame when he won his first U.S. Open in 1972 and made it into the Wimbledon and Davis Cup finals that same year.
As per the official synopsis: “Nasty explores his highs and lows, the controversies that surrounded the 1973 world number one ranked player, and the enduring impact he has had on the world of tennis. Lovable, charming and generous, yet temperamental, arrogant and obscene – Nastase disrupted the sport’s antiquated etiquette with a...
Bannered Oui Michel, the label is launching with documentary Nasty, about controversial Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase, which makes its international premiere as a Special Screening in Cannes Official Selection this May.
Directed by Romanian filmmakers Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu, the doc focuses on the immediate aftermath of Nastase’s sudden worldwide fame when he won his first U.S. Open in 1972 and made it into the Wimbledon and Davis Cup finals that same year.
As per the official synopsis: “Nasty explores his highs and lows, the controversies that surrounded the 1973 world number one ranked player, and the enduring impact he has had on the world of tennis. Lovable, charming and generous, yet temperamental, arrogant and obscene – Nastase disrupted the sport’s antiquated etiquette with a...
- 5/6/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Gu Xiaogang knows firsthand the impact that international film festivals can have.
Gu turned to the Beijing International Film Festival back in 2018 in an effort to get his breakthrough feature, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, made. He took his film to Bjiff’s project market and he walked away with the funds he needed after impressing investors with his story — an intimate look at a family’s life as it evolves across one year — along with his languid style.
The international film world has since felt much the same. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains went on to become the first Chinese-language film to close Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2019, was selected among the top 10 films of the year by the leading French film magazine Cahier du Cinema in 2020 and led directly to Gu being named a co-winner of the Akira Kurosawa Award at last year’s 36th Tokyo International Film Festival,...
Gu turned to the Beijing International Film Festival back in 2018 in an effort to get his breakthrough feature, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, made. He took his film to Bjiff’s project market and he walked away with the funds he needed after impressing investors with his story — an intimate look at a family’s life as it evolves across one year — along with his languid style.
The international film world has since felt much the same. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains went on to become the first Chinese-language film to close Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2019, was selected among the top 10 films of the year by the leading French film magazine Cahier du Cinema in 2020 and led directly to Gu being named a co-winner of the Akira Kurosawa Award at last year’s 36th Tokyo International Film Festival,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Mathew Scott
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in October 2017. It has since been updated with additional entries.]
Few filmmakers of the 21st century have risen to prominence and prestige with the forcefulness of Denis Villeneuve, whose seemingly unstoppable career has been bolstered by a steady balance of critical respect and commercial success. In fact, Christopher Nolan is the only other person who comes to mind, and the similarities between the two of them are hard to ignore.
For one thing, these men are both men, and that tends to be a more crucial detail than it should. For another, they’re also genuine auteurs, each committed to a clinical brand of Cinema (with a capital “C”) that’s muscular and intellectual in equal measure. Nolan is a bit more rigidly defined by his own rubric, but Villeneuve shares his gift for sublimating big ideas into even bigger spectacles and has likewise honed his skills by fluidly moving between massive blockbusters and idiosyncratic passion projects. For Nolan, those...
Few filmmakers of the 21st century have risen to prominence and prestige with the forcefulness of Denis Villeneuve, whose seemingly unstoppable career has been bolstered by a steady balance of critical respect and commercial success. In fact, Christopher Nolan is the only other person who comes to mind, and the similarities between the two of them are hard to ignore.
For one thing, these men are both men, and that tends to be a more crucial detail than it should. For another, they’re also genuine auteurs, each committed to a clinical brand of Cinema (with a capital “C”) that’s muscular and intellectual in equal measure. Nolan is a bit more rigidly defined by his own rubric, but Villeneuve shares his gift for sublimating big ideas into even bigger spectacles and has likewise honed his skills by fluidly moving between massive blockbusters and idiosyncratic passion projects. For Nolan, those...
- 2/29/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
UK producer David P Kelly has come on board Zara Jian’s hybrid documentary drama I Will Revenge This World With Love celebrating Armenia’s greatest filmmaker Sergei Paradjanov.
Jian is shooting material at the Berlinale with Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan, whose The Seven Veils screens as a Berlinale Special. Paradjanov (1924-90) directed Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors and The Colour Of Pomegranates.
Double Palme D’Or winner Emir Kusturica, Joel Chapiron, and Lora Guerra are on board the project, which is being set up as an Armenian-French-uk coproduction with support from the Cnc in France and the National Cinema Centre of Armenia.
Jian is shooting material at the Berlinale with Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan, whose The Seven Veils screens as a Berlinale Special. Paradjanov (1924-90) directed Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors and The Colour Of Pomegranates.
Double Palme D’Or winner Emir Kusturica, Joel Chapiron, and Lora Guerra are on board the project, which is being set up as an Armenian-French-uk coproduction with support from the Cnc in France and the National Cinema Centre of Armenia.
- 2/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
Mexico’s Guannaby Films and Colombia’s Dynamo have joined forces to make “The Last Circus.” Among the 10 feature film projects being presented at Iberseries & Platino Industria’s Co-Production and Financing Forum, it promises “magnetic, complex but fun characters in what is primarily a family tale,” said actor-producer Christian Tappan, co-founding partner of Guannaby Films alongside Luis Emilio Guzmán and Tiago Correa.
Written by Guzman and to be directed by “The Thin Yellow Line” helmer Celso Garcia, “The Last Circus” turns on Gerardo, a gypsy con artist, who has just lost his family’s circus business due to its mounting debt. A chance to redeem himself comes when he stumbles across the Heart of the Warrior, a priceless gem that has been stolen from a museum. Unfortunately, the jewel thieves will stop at nothing to recover their prized loot.
Garcia describes the project as a family tale “that explores human relationships,...
Written by Guzman and to be directed by “The Thin Yellow Line” helmer Celso Garcia, “The Last Circus” turns on Gerardo, a gypsy con artist, who has just lost his family’s circus business due to its mounting debt. A chance to redeem himself comes when he stumbles across the Heart of the Warrior, a priceless gem that has been stolen from a museum. Unfortunately, the jewel thieves will stop at nothing to recover their prized loot.
Garcia describes the project as a family tale “that explores human relationships,...
- 9/29/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
For the past 40 Cannes Film Festivals, Alexandre has been putting on a show.
As the head bartender at the Mondrian Cannes — the établissement formerly known as The Grand — he’s been mixing cocktails and charming post-premiere revelers since 1983. Alexandre — it’s always “Alexandre,” no last name, like Prince or Madonna — is, for festival regulars, as familiar and welcome a sight as Cannes’ iconic red carpet. With a tall, lean frame and sharp Gallic nose, he darts between tables like a more elegant version of Monsieur Hulot, instantly recognizable with his striking bald head and those playful eyes that spring open in delight and surprise at every new guest.
Over the years, Alexandre has served festival grandees and Hollywood royalty. Johnny Depp and Jim Jarmusch, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro. Isabella Rossellini.
He has his stories.
“Sitting right there: Tony Curtis. And there, Bo Derek,” Alexandre begins. “He goes over,...
As the head bartender at the Mondrian Cannes — the établissement formerly known as The Grand — he’s been mixing cocktails and charming post-premiere revelers since 1983. Alexandre — it’s always “Alexandre,” no last name, like Prince or Madonna — is, for festival regulars, as familiar and welcome a sight as Cannes’ iconic red carpet. With a tall, lean frame and sharp Gallic nose, he darts between tables like a more elegant version of Monsieur Hulot, instantly recognizable with his striking bald head and those playful eyes that spring open in delight and surprise at every new guest.
Over the years, Alexandre has served festival grandees and Hollywood royalty. Johnny Depp and Jim Jarmusch, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro. Isabella Rossellini.
He has his stories.
“Sitting right there: Tony Curtis. And there, Bo Derek,” Alexandre begins. “He goes over,...
- 5/20/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At the Cannes Film Festival on behalf of the film “Jeanne du Barry” on Wednesday, Johnny Depp hit back at critics on who suggested the festival shouldn’t have welcomed him on the heels of accusations that he abused his ex-wife, Amber Heard. “Everything that the majority of you have been reading for the last five or six years with regard to me and my life is fantastically, horrifically written fiction,” Depp said at a press conference for “Jeanne du Barry,” in which he stars as 18th-century French King Louis Xv.
The actor arrived at 12:42 for the press conference, which was scheduled to begin at noon but was delayed until 12:26. For the first 15 minutes, director Maiwenn and other cast members spoke about the period drama, in which Maiwenn also stars as the title character, a working-class courtesan who became the favorite of the King.
Johnny Depp in “Jeanne du Barry...
The actor arrived at 12:42 for the press conference, which was scheduled to begin at noon but was delayed until 12:26. For the first 15 minutes, director Maiwenn and other cast members spoke about the period drama, in which Maiwenn also stars as the title character, a working-class courtesan who became the favorite of the King.
Johnny Depp in “Jeanne du Barry...
- 5/17/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In keeping with tradition, the 2023 edition of Cannes Classics promises to be a feast for cineastes with tributes to global masters and restored versions of all-time classics.
Cannes Classics’ Memories of Jean-Luc Godard strand pays homage to the master who died in 2022 by screening a restored version of “Contempt” (1963); “Godard by Godard,” a self-portrait of the auteur; and the world premiere of “Phony Wars,” a trailer for a film that will never get made, described by the festival as a venture where the filmmaker “transformed his synopses into aesthetic programs.”
Liv Ullman will be present at the strand with “Liv Ullmann – A Road Less Travelled,” a documentary directed by Dheeraj Akolkar.
Japanese master Ozu Yasujiro will be paid tribute to with screenings of “Record of a Tenement Gentleman” (1947) and “The Munekata Sisters” (1950) off restored prints. “Return to Reason” – where four films of painter, photographer and director Man Ray have been...
Cannes Classics’ Memories of Jean-Luc Godard strand pays homage to the master who died in 2022 by screening a restored version of “Contempt” (1963); “Godard by Godard,” a self-portrait of the auteur; and the world premiere of “Phony Wars,” a trailer for a film that will never get made, described by the festival as a venture where the filmmaker “transformed his synopses into aesthetic programs.”
Liv Ullman will be present at the strand with “Liv Ullmann – A Road Less Travelled,” a documentary directed by Dheeraj Akolkar.
Japanese master Ozu Yasujiro will be paid tribute to with screenings of “Record of a Tenement Gentleman” (1947) and “The Munekata Sisters” (1950) off restored prints. “Return to Reason” – where four films of painter, photographer and director Man Ray have been...
- 5/5/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Violent story of a man’s doomed efforts to settle back into family life after a shady trip abroad is dynamic but despairing
This movie from western Ukraine is one of the strangest and fiercest I have seen in a while: dynamic and yet despairing. It does not allude to Russia’s war on Ukraine, but perhaps that conflict is there subtextually, in the sense of tribal loyalty, community tradition and the distinct, almost occult pull towards the west. There is something of Aleksey German or Sergey Loznitsa here, and its lead character is like a more watchful and subdued, though no less violent, version of someone that Emir Kusturica would dream up.
The setting is Bukovina, in the eastern Carpathian mountains bordering Romania. Oleksandr Yatsentyuk plays Leonid, nicknamed Pamfir (“Stone”), a guy who has just come home from a job in Poland; he makes passionate love to his wife...
This movie from western Ukraine is one of the strangest and fiercest I have seen in a while: dynamic and yet despairing. It does not allude to Russia’s war on Ukraine, but perhaps that conflict is there subtextually, in the sense of tribal loyalty, community tradition and the distinct, almost occult pull towards the west. There is something of Aleksey German or Sergey Loznitsa here, and its lead character is like a more watchful and subdued, though no less violent, version of someone that Emir Kusturica would dream up.
The setting is Bukovina, in the eastern Carpathian mountains bordering Romania. Oleksandr Yatsentyuk plays Leonid, nicknamed Pamfir (“Stone”), a guy who has just come home from a job in Poland; he makes passionate love to his wife...
- 5/3/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
“That’s life” is often heard throughout Lucian Pintilie’s adaptation of Ion Băieșu’s novel The Oak. It’s such a sweeping response to the grotesqueries that mark everyday life amid the death throes of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s dictatorship, during which the film is set, that it practically becomes a shibboleth. The words may seem little more than a verbal shrug, but in the mouths of Pintilie’s characters, full to bursting with lust for life, they express a liberatory side of absurdism that goes beyond mere politics. That the meaning and the mechanisms of their lives are unknowable is as much cause for jubilation as despair.
Fittingly, The Oak opens with a death—that of Truica (Virgil Andriescu), former colonel in the Securitate (Romania’s secret police agency during its communist regime) and father to Nela (Maia Morgenstern), the film’s protagonist. As his caretaker, Nela projects for him...
Fittingly, The Oak opens with a death—that of Truica (Virgil Andriescu), former colonel in the Securitate (Romania’s secret police agency during its communist regime) and father to Nela (Maia Morgenstern), the film’s protagonist. As his caretaker, Nela projects for him...
- 4/24/2023
- by William Repass
- Slant Magazine
No matter what Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, aka the Dardenne brothers, ever do, they will always be known as members of a very elite super club: two-time Palme d’Or winners at Cannes.
While their latest film, “Tori and Lokita” did not win the Palme d’Or prize last year, it competed at Cannes, which is pretty much the case any time the Dardennes ever deign us with a new film—it’s an instant Cannes competition title which is nothing to sneeze at.
Continue reading ‘Tori And Lokita’ Clip: Martin Scorsese Calls The Dardenne’s Latest Drama The “Most Devastating Cinematic Experiences” at The Playlist.
While their latest film, “Tori and Lokita” did not win the Palme d’Or prize last year, it competed at Cannes, which is pretty much the case any time the Dardennes ever deign us with a new film—it’s an instant Cannes competition title which is nothing to sneeze at.
Continue reading ‘Tori And Lokita’ Clip: Martin Scorsese Calls The Dardenne’s Latest Drama The “Most Devastating Cinematic Experiences” at The Playlist.
- 3/31/2023
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
The love affair between Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund and the Cannes Film Festival continues.
The 48-year-old director will return to the scene of his recent triumph, as it was just last year that his “Triangle of Sadness” came away with the coveted Palme d’Or, the top prize at the most prestigious festival in world cinema. (Don’t tell Venice I said that.)
“I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honor of jury president for this year’s competition at the Festival de Cannes,” he wrote in an announcement released by the festival early Tuesday morning. “I am sincere when I say that cinema culture is in its most important period ever,” he continued.
Östlund’s “Triangle” is, of course, currently a long-shot Oscar candidate in three categories: Best Director (a nomination for Östlund), Best Original Screenplay (another nomination for Östlund), and Best Picture (a nomination...
The 48-year-old director will return to the scene of his recent triumph, as it was just last year that his “Triangle of Sadness” came away with the coveted Palme d’Or, the top prize at the most prestigious festival in world cinema. (Don’t tell Venice I said that.)
“I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honor of jury president for this year’s competition at the Festival de Cannes,” he wrote in an announcement released by the festival early Tuesday morning. “I am sincere when I say that cinema culture is in its most important period ever,” he continued.
Östlund’s “Triangle” is, of course, currently a long-shot Oscar candidate in three categories: Best Director (a nomination for Östlund), Best Original Screenplay (another nomination for Östlund), and Best Picture (a nomination...
- 2/28/2023
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
After nabbing Palme d’Ors for his last two films, Ruben Östlund is selecting this year’s winner of Cannes’ top prize. The Swedish director of “Triangle of Sadness” and “The Square” has been appointed jury president for the 76th Cannes Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday.
“I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honor of Jury President for this year’s Competition at the Festival de Cannes,” Östlund said in a statement announcing his appointment. “Nowhere in the film world is the anticipation as strong as when the curtain rises on the films in Competition at the festival. It is a privilege to be part of it, together with the Cannes audience of connoisseurs. I am sincere when I say that cinema culture is in its most important period ever. The cinema has a unique aspect. There, we watch together, and it demands more on...
“I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honor of Jury President for this year’s Competition at the Festival de Cannes,” Östlund said in a statement announcing his appointment. “Nowhere in the film world is the anticipation as strong as when the curtain rises on the films in Competition at the festival. It is a privilege to be part of it, together with the Cannes audience of connoisseurs. I am sincere when I say that cinema culture is in its most important period ever. The cinema has a unique aspect. There, we watch together, and it demands more on...
- 2/28/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Appointment comes 50 years after fellow Swede Ingrid Bergman presided over 1973 festival jury.
Two-time Palme d’Or-winning Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund has been named president of the jury for the 76th Cannes Film Festival, running May 16-27.
The director, known for his darkly comic social satires, will make his Croisette return following his second Palme d’Or win last May for Triangle Of Sadness after previously taking home the coveted prize in 2017 for The Square.
Östlund has been a Cannes regular over the years, selected twice for Un Certain Regard, first for Involuntary in 2008 and then in 2014 for Force Majeure, for...
Two-time Palme d’Or-winning Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund has been named president of the jury for the 76th Cannes Film Festival, running May 16-27.
The director, known for his darkly comic social satires, will make his Croisette return following his second Palme d’Or win last May for Triangle Of Sadness after previously taking home the coveted prize in 2017 for The Square.
Östlund has been a Cannes regular over the years, selected twice for Un Certain Regard, first for Involuntary in 2008 and then in 2014 for Force Majeure, for...
- 2/28/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Triangle of Sadness director Ruben Östlund will head up this year’s competition jury for the Cannes International Film Festival, organizers announced on Tuesday.
The Swedish director is currently riding high. Triangle of Sadness, a capitalism satire starring Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Dolly De Leon and the late Charlbi Dean, won Cannes’ Palme d’Or for best film last year, the director’s second, after his 2017 win for the art world satire The Square.
Buoyed by its Palme d’Or win, Triangle of Sadness has become Östlund’s most commercially successful film, with a box office of $24 million and counting. After sweeping the European Film Awards, winning best film, best director and best screenwriter honors for Östlund, as well as the best actor honor for co-star Zlatko Buric, Triangle of Sadness picked up three Oscar nominations, for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Cannes has always been a special place for Östlund.
The Swedish director is currently riding high. Triangle of Sadness, a capitalism satire starring Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Dolly De Leon and the late Charlbi Dean, won Cannes’ Palme d’Or for best film last year, the director’s second, after his 2017 win for the art world satire The Square.
Buoyed by its Palme d’Or win, Triangle of Sadness has become Östlund’s most commercially successful film, with a box office of $24 million and counting. After sweeping the European Film Awards, winning best film, best director and best screenwriter honors for Östlund, as well as the best actor honor for co-star Zlatko Buric, Triangle of Sadness picked up three Oscar nominations, for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Cannes has always been a special place for Östlund.
- 2/28/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ruben Östlund has been named president of the jury at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Cannes organizers announced Tuesday morning in Paris.
Östlund is a two-time winner of Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, which he won in 2017 for “The Square” and last year for “Triangle of Sadness,” which is currently an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. He is one of only nine directors to have won the Palme twice, and one of only three to win the award for consecutive films. (The others were Michael Haneke for “The White Ribbon” and “Amour” and Bille August for “Pelle the Conqueror” and “The Best Intentions.”)
Two other two-time winners, Francis Ford Coppola and Emir Kusturica, have previously served as jury presidents, but Östlund is the first to do it the year after winning the Palme. He will become the first jury president from Sweden since Ingmar Bergman served in the position...
Östlund is a two-time winner of Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, which he won in 2017 for “The Square” and last year for “Triangle of Sadness,” which is currently an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. He is one of only nine directors to have won the Palme twice, and one of only three to win the award for consecutive films. (The others were Michael Haneke for “The White Ribbon” and “Amour” and Bille August for “Pelle the Conqueror” and “The Best Intentions.”)
Two other two-time winners, Francis Ford Coppola and Emir Kusturica, have previously served as jury presidents, but Östlund is the first to do it the year after winning the Palme. He will become the first jury president from Sweden since Ingmar Bergman served in the position...
- 2/28/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Cannes Film Festival has appointed Swedish director and two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund as jury president for its upcoming 76th edition, running from May 16 to 27.
Östlund’s jury duty will fall exactly 50 years after late compatriot, actress Ingrid Bergman also served in the role in 1973.
“I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honor of jury president for this year’s Competition at the Festival de Cannes. Nowhere in the film world is the anticipation as strong as when the curtain rises on the films in Competition at the festival,” said Östlund.
“It is a privilege to be part of it, together with the Cannes audience of connoisseurs. I am sincere when I say that cinema culture is in its most important period ever. The cinema has a unique aspect – there, we watch together, and it demands more on what is shown and increases the intensity of the experience.
Östlund’s jury duty will fall exactly 50 years after late compatriot, actress Ingrid Bergman also served in the role in 1973.
“I am happy, proud, and humbled to be trusted with the honor of jury president for this year’s Competition at the Festival de Cannes. Nowhere in the film world is the anticipation as strong as when the curtain rises on the films in Competition at the festival,” said Östlund.
“It is a privilege to be part of it, together with the Cannes audience of connoisseurs. I am sincere when I say that cinema culture is in its most important period ever. The cinema has a unique aspect – there, we watch together, and it demands more on what is shown and increases the intensity of the experience.
- 2/28/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Ruben Östlund, the Oscar-nominated director whose latest film “Triangle of Sadness” won last year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes, will be back at the French festival to preside over the jury of its 76th edition.
Östlund is a Cannes regular, having won the festival’s top prize twice, for “Triangle of Sadness” in 2022 and for “The Square” in 2017. Before that, he presented two films at Un Certain Regard, including “Force Majeure,” which won the Jury Prize.
“I am happy, proud and humbled to be trusted with the honor of jury president for this year’s competition at the Festival de Cannes,” said Östlund, who will be the first Swede to head the jury in 50 years, following the footsteps of Ingrid Bergman. “Nowhere in the film world is the anticipation as strong as when the curtain rises on the films in competition at the festival.”
“It is a privilege to be part of it,...
Östlund is a Cannes regular, having won the festival’s top prize twice, for “Triangle of Sadness” in 2022 and for “The Square” in 2017. Before that, he presented two films at Un Certain Regard, including “Force Majeure,” which won the Jury Prize.
“I am happy, proud and humbled to be trusted with the honor of jury president for this year’s competition at the Festival de Cannes,” said Östlund, who will be the first Swede to head the jury in 50 years, following the footsteps of Ingrid Bergman. “Nowhere in the film world is the anticipation as strong as when the curtain rises on the films in competition at the festival.”
“It is a privilege to be part of it,...
- 2/28/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
IFFKThe International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) will be held between December 9 and 16, across various theatres in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram.CrisDelegates have fun at the previous edition of IFFKOn December 7, a Wednesday, there are just a few odd people hovering around the make-shift film festival offices at the Tagore Theatre. A vast campus placed at an enviable spot in Thiruvananthapuram, the premise will turn into a whole different place in the next two days. December 9 is the first day of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk), which will be held across different venues in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. Owing to Covid-19 the last two editions suffered delayed schedules, making this the second fest to happen in a year. But going back to its routine, the Iffk is ready to welcome 12,000 and more delegates into its fold this December. “It was not easy,” says the new artistic director of the festival,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Cris
- The News Minute
IFFKAs part of the International Film Festival of Kerala, films from across the world will be screened simultaneously on fourteen screens in Thiruvananthapuram from December 9 to 16.Don PalatharaA still from the Lav Diaz film 'When The Waves are Gone'The International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) is a mammoth event, not only in terms of the number of attendees, but also the number of films screened there each year. Films from across the world will be screened simultaneously on fourteen screens in Kerala’s capital city of Thiruvananthapuram for six days, excluding the opening and closing days. The 27th edition of the festival, scheduled to be held from December 9 to 16, is special to me for several reasons. Even though I am attending the festival with a professional obligation, many of the films being screened this time are from filmmakers whose works I admire and look up to. By now, I have...
- 12/8/2022
- by LakshmiP
- The News Minute
Almulla has played an important part in the development of the local industry.
Trying to conduct an interview with Ahmed Almulla in the bustling Red Sea Souk at Rsiff can prove challenging. Every few minutes, an aspiring filmmaker or an industry professional approaches the published poet and Saudi Film Festival director to greet him and pay their respects.
It is not surprising as Almulla has been an important part of the cinematic movement that eventually led to movie theatres reopening in 2018 and the creation of a film industry in a country where, not too long ago, the entertainment medium was...
Trying to conduct an interview with Ahmed Almulla in the bustling Red Sea Souk at Rsiff can prove challenging. Every few minutes, an aspiring filmmaker or an industry professional approaches the published poet and Saudi Film Festival director to greet him and pay their respects.
It is not surprising as Almulla has been an important part of the cinematic movement that eventually led to movie theatres reopening in 2018 and the creation of a film industry in a country where, not too long ago, the entertainment medium was...
- 12/6/2022
- by E. Nina Rothe
- ScreenDaily
IFFKSix of the legendary filmmaker’s films, known for their philosophical approach towards humanity’s problems, will be screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk).Tnm StaffImage credit/ BollywoodirectLegendary Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr, often referred to as one of the greatest innovators in world cinema, will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) this year. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a sculpture, Kerala Cultural Affairs Minister Vn Vasavan said at a press conference on Tuesday, November 29. Six of the auteur’s films, generally known for their philosophical approach towards humanity’s problems, will be screened at the festival. Some of Tarr’s best films including The Turin Horse (2011) and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) are among the films set to be screened, the minister said. The 27th Iffk, organised by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy,...
- 11/29/2022
- by LakshmiP
- The News Minute
Triangle of Sadness (2022).There was only one film playing at various festivals this year for which audiences were provided with a promotional sick bag. Having already put a roomful of art scene dignitaries off their dinner in his Palme d’Or winner The Square (2017), director Ruben Östlund has been turning stomachs again onscreen and off with his latest examination of the absurdities of human behavior.A satirical adventure on the high seas, Triangle of Sadness (2022) casts its net wide. What begins with some broad swipes at high fashion and influencer culture soon hurls itself into farce, before setting its ambitious sights on the dismantling of capitalist hierarchies. While much of The Square was shot in English, this latest burlesque on the lives of the super-rich goes further still, marking Östlund’s most concerted targeting of international, multiplex appeal. It’s also riotously funny, the outrageously-staged set pieces of its middle...
- 10/26/2022
- MUBI
Spain’s Bendita Films (“The Clash”) has scooped international sales rights to twisted and suspenseful production “The Uncle” (“Stric”) ahead of its market screening at the Toronto Festival.
“We’re thrilled to represent the brilliant debut feature from David Kapac and Andrija Mardešić, a captivating, oppressive thriller with humorous notes that will surely surprise international audiences with its unsettling atmosphere and inventive narrative structure,” stated Luis Renart, CEO-sales & acquisitions at Bendita Films.
Written and directed in tandem by Kapac and Mardešić, the project garnered a special jury mention in July at the Proxima strand which has replaced East of the West at the Karlovy Vary Festival. It marks the first feature effort for the Croatian duo who’ve previously paired to create several festival-showcased short films, including post-war noir comedy “Iris.”
“The Uncle” is a near-claustrophobic depiction of a Yugoslavian family in the late ‘80s as they hastily prepare to gather for Christmas Eve dinner.
“We’re thrilled to represent the brilliant debut feature from David Kapac and Andrija Mardešić, a captivating, oppressive thriller with humorous notes that will surely surprise international audiences with its unsettling atmosphere and inventive narrative structure,” stated Luis Renart, CEO-sales & acquisitions at Bendita Films.
Written and directed in tandem by Kapac and Mardešić, the project garnered a special jury mention in July at the Proxima strand which has replaced East of the West at the Karlovy Vary Festival. It marks the first feature effort for the Croatian duo who’ve previously paired to create several festival-showcased short films, including post-war noir comedy “Iris.”
“The Uncle” is a near-claustrophobic depiction of a Yugoslavian family in the late ‘80s as they hastily prepare to gather for Christmas Eve dinner.
- 9/10/2022
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
“You inevitably turn into what people think you are,” someone opines a few hours (or years) into Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths),” a movie so nakedly personal in spite of its epic scope that even the most benign stray comments betray the sting of self-flagellation. And yet there’s a reason why this one manages to break the skin.
By this point in the film’s oneiric non-story, it’s already clear that Silverio (Daniel Giménez Cacho) — a journalist turned documentarian who returns to Mexico a few days before he’s scheduled to receive a major industry award in his adopted home of Los Angeles — is a stand-in for the Oscar-winning auteur behind the camera, who’s shooting an entire movie in his birth country for the first time since “Amores Perros” catapulted him to fame 22 years ago. By the same token,...
By this point in the film’s oneiric non-story, it’s already clear that Silverio (Daniel Giménez Cacho) — a journalist turned documentarian who returns to Mexico a few days before he’s scheduled to receive a major industry award in his adopted home of Los Angeles — is a stand-in for the Oscar-winning auteur behind the camera, who’s shooting an entire movie in his birth country for the first time since “Amores Perros” catapulted him to fame 22 years ago. By the same token,...
- 9/1/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund will receive an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 28th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which will open Aug. 12 with the Swedish director’s 2022 Cannes winner “Triangle of Sadness.”
Östlund’s English-language debut, which earned a rowdy eight-minute standing ovation in Cannes, is a provocative social satire starring Harris Dickinson as a male model struggling with his shallow industry and the unchecked capitalism he benefits from, and Woody Harrelson as the rabid Marxist captain of a cruise for the super-rich. The film was acquired by Neon for North American distribution.
Östlund will be presented with the award during the festival’s opening ceremony on Aug. 12, which will be followed by a screening of his latest feature. Last week the festival announced it would also be giving an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award to U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader.
Sweden...
Östlund’s English-language debut, which earned a rowdy eight-minute standing ovation in Cannes, is a provocative social satire starring Harris Dickinson as a male model struggling with his shallow industry and the unchecked capitalism he benefits from, and Woody Harrelson as the rabid Marxist captain of a cruise for the super-rich. The film was acquired by Neon for North American distribution.
Östlund will be presented with the award during the festival’s opening ceremony on Aug. 12, which will be followed by a screening of his latest feature. Last week the festival announced it would also be giving an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award to U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader.
Sweden...
- 7/20/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Filmmakers Dea Kulumbegashvili (Beginning) and Visar Morina (Exil) are this year’s joint winners of the 2022 Baumi Script Development Award, an indie film bursary set up in honor of the late German producer Karl Baumgartner (Le Havre, Clouds of Sils Maria).
Georgian filmmaker Kulumbegashvili won for her treatment for her next feature project, Historia, which follows a female obstetrician in a rural part of Georgia who performs illegal abortions. German-Kosovar filmmaker Morina got the nod for the pitch for his upcoming feature Hatixhe and Shaban, which looks at a family in rural Kosovo, which loses its farm and is forced to move to the city to earn a living.
The two will share the 21,000 (20,000 eduro) cash prize, to be put toward developing their respective scripts.
Kulumbegashvili’s debut feature, Beginning, a story of a woman caught in an isolated community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in rural Georgia,...
Filmmakers Dea Kulumbegashvili (Beginning) and Visar Morina (Exil) are this year’s joint winners of the 2022 Baumi Script Development Award, an indie film bursary set up in honor of the late German producer Karl Baumgartner (Le Havre, Clouds of Sils Maria).
Georgian filmmaker Kulumbegashvili won for her treatment for her next feature project, Historia, which follows a female obstetrician in a rural part of Georgia who performs illegal abortions. German-Kosovar filmmaker Morina got the nod for the pitch for his upcoming feature Hatixhe and Shaban, which looks at a family in rural Kosovo, which loses its farm and is forced to move to the city to earn a living.
The two will share the 21,000 (20,000 eduro) cash prize, to be put toward developing their respective scripts.
Kulumbegashvili’s debut feature, Beginning, a story of a woman caught in an isolated community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in rural Georgia,...
- 6/10/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Neon earned bragging rights tonight with the third consecutive Palme d’Or Cannes winner in a row, that being Ruben Östlund’s satirical comedy Triangle of Sadness, which was a huge crowd pleaser during the fest.
The pic follows Neon’s previous Palme d’Or winner, last year’s Titane and, of course, 2019’s Parasite which went on to win four Oscars including Best Picture.
Triangle of Sadness is a knock on the 1 and follows a fashion model and her model casting agent partner, played by Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson. The duo wind up on luxury yacht where they’re the poorest of the poor. Woody Harrelson plays a Marxist captain who gets drunk with a Russian oligarch, reads from the Communist manifesto and sends his yacht into rough waters until the passengers crap and vomit. Hijinks ensue with a portion marooned to a deserted island.
The pic clocks in at 2 1/2 hours.
The pic follows Neon’s previous Palme d’Or winner, last year’s Titane and, of course, 2019’s Parasite which went on to win four Oscars including Best Picture.
Triangle of Sadness is a knock on the 1 and follows a fashion model and her model casting agent partner, played by Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson. The duo wind up on luxury yacht where they’re the poorest of the poor. Woody Harrelson plays a Marxist captain who gets drunk with a Russian oligarch, reads from the Communist manifesto and sends his yacht into rough waters until the passengers crap and vomit. Hijinks ensue with a portion marooned to a deserted island.
The pic clocks in at 2 1/2 hours.
- 5/28/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is nearing its conclusion, and soon the jury will be selecting awards for this year’s impressive, albeit quieter, slate of films. After last year’s “Titane” from Julia Ducournau made history as the first female-directed film to fully win the Palme d’Or (Jane Campion’s “The Piano” tied with “Farewell My Concubine” in 1993), at this point in the festival, it doesn’t seem likely that a woman-directed project will walk away with it this year.
“Forever Young” by French-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi seems to be the only film directed by a woman that has so far invoked any passion for bringing it to the finish line. Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up,” Leonor Serraille’s “Mother and Son” and Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix van Groeningen’s “Eight Mountains” are the other titles directed by women among the 21 contending features.
“Forever Young” by French-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi seems to be the only film directed by a woman that has so far invoked any passion for bringing it to the finish line. Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up,” Leonor Serraille’s “Mother and Son” and Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix van Groeningen’s “Eight Mountains” are the other titles directed by women among the 21 contending features.
- 5/26/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Film Constellation, the London-based company behind Cannes’ Un Certain Regard highlights “Joyland” and “Harka,” is set to ramp up its production pipeline with the launch of a dedicated banner in Paris and a raft of ambitious new projects.
Named Constellation Productions, the new outfit is on board to co-produce Oscar-nominated Quebecois director Jeremy Comte’s debut “Paradise” and Carmen Chaplin’s documentary feature “Charlie Chaplin: A Man of the World.”
Created by Fabien Westerhoff in 2016, Film Constellation kicked off its production activities two years ago and is now taking it to the next level to invest on more promising talents, as well as develop original projects. Edward Parodi, head of acquisitions at Film Constellation, will be working across acquisition and development for the sales and production outfits.
“The new production house is another step in that direction to develop original projects with historical talent relationships, and take an active part in international co-productions,...
Named Constellation Productions, the new outfit is on board to co-produce Oscar-nominated Quebecois director Jeremy Comte’s debut “Paradise” and Carmen Chaplin’s documentary feature “Charlie Chaplin: A Man of the World.”
Created by Fabien Westerhoff in 2016, Film Constellation kicked off its production activities two years ago and is now taking it to the next level to invest on more promising talents, as well as develop original projects. Edward Parodi, head of acquisitions at Film Constellation, will be working across acquisition and development for the sales and production outfits.
“The new production house is another step in that direction to develop original projects with historical talent relationships, and take an active part in international co-productions,...
- 5/25/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The 75th Cannes Film Festival returns with international auteurs, Palme d’Or winning filmmakers, potential summer blockbusters, and many films that will, if everything breaks their way, be campaigning for Oscar come the fall.
In short, the competition lineup is loaded with promise.
The track record for Palme d’Or winners going onto Oscar success has varied over the years. Over the past two decades, Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” (2002), Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” (2011), Michael Haneke’s “Amour” (2012) and Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019) have received best picture nominations. However, “Parasite” is one of only two Cannes winners that have matched with Oscar, with the other being “Marty” (1955).
And yet, other Cannes winners have gone on to receive other nominations, such as Hirokazu Kore-media’s “Shoplifters” (2018) and Ruben Östlund’s “The Square” (2017), both of which have films playing in the this year’s fest with “Broker” and “Triangle of Sadness” respectively.
In short, the competition lineup is loaded with promise.
The track record for Palme d’Or winners going onto Oscar success has varied over the years. Over the past two decades, Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” (2002), Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” (2011), Michael Haneke’s “Amour” (2012) and Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019) have received best picture nominations. However, “Parasite” is one of only two Cannes winners that have matched with Oscar, with the other being “Marty” (1955).
And yet, other Cannes winners have gone on to receive other nominations, such as Hirokazu Kore-media’s “Shoplifters” (2018) and Ruben Östlund’s “The Square” (2017), both of which have films playing in the this year’s fest with “Broker” and “Triangle of Sadness” respectively.
- 5/18/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Mexican director Joaquin del Paso’s coming-of-age drama “The Hole in the Fence,” set in an all-male religious camp in rural Mexico, scored the Cairo Film Festival’s top prize, the Golden Pyramid, on Sunday capping a vibrant 43rd edition of the preeminent Arab event, which was held in person despite the impending threat of the coronavirus Omicron variant.
Though there were some last minute cancellations, most international attendees made the trek to Cairo undeterred, including jury president Emir Kusturica, U.S. producer Lawrence Bender and Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux – dubbed the “King of the Croisette” by the master of ceremonies. The latter two were honored with lifetime achievement awards during the glitzy closing ceremony in Cairo’s opera house.
“Hole in the Fence,” which world premiered in Venice, is Del Paso’s second work after “Panamerican Machinery,” which had made a splash after launching from Berlin in 2016. “Hole” explores...
Though there were some last minute cancellations, most international attendees made the trek to Cairo undeterred, including jury president Emir Kusturica, U.S. producer Lawrence Bender and Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux – dubbed the “King of the Croisette” by the master of ceremonies. The latter two were honored with lifetime achievement awards during the glitzy closing ceremony in Cairo’s opera house.
“Hole in the Fence,” which world premiered in Venice, is Del Paso’s second work after “Panamerican Machinery,” which had made a splash after launching from Berlin in 2016. “Hole” explores...
- 12/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
For the upcoming 43rd edition of the Cairo Film Festival, which is the grande dame of Arab film events, fest chief Mohamed Hefzy and his team have assembled a rich mix of top notch Arab and international titles, including the world premiere of Tunisian star Dhafer L’Abidine’s directorial debut “Ghodwa” and the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) premiere of “House of Gucci.”
They have also recruited high-caliber talents and industry personalities such as U.S. producer Lawrence Bender, Emir Kusturica, who is this year’s jury president, Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman, as well as Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux and Egyptian icon Nelly, who are being feted. Hefzy, who is also a prominent Egyptian producer, talked to Variety about how he’s been rebooting Cairo while braving the pandemic and contending with changes in the Arab film festival landscape. Excerpts from the conversation.
This is your fourth year heading Cairo.
They have also recruited high-caliber talents and industry personalities such as U.S. producer Lawrence Bender, Emir Kusturica, who is this year’s jury president, Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman, as well as Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux and Egyptian icon Nelly, who are being feted. Hefzy, who is also a prominent Egyptian producer, talked to Variety about how he’s been rebooting Cairo while braving the pandemic and contending with changes in the Arab film festival landscape. Excerpts from the conversation.
This is your fourth year heading Cairo.
- 11/26/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Middle East premiere of caustic Spanish comedy “Official Competition” will open the Cairo Film Festival, which has assembled a rich roster of international titles for its upcoming 43rd edition, to be held in person Nov. 26-Dec. 5.
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
- 11/8/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Chilean star writer José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela, creator, showrunner and executive producer of hit Netflix series “Who Killed Sara?” has formed a production company with L.A.-based Argentine producer Lucas Akoskin of Aliwen Entertainment.
The new bi-coastal production company, called Malule Entertainment, will be based out of Los Angeles and Miami, where Valenzuela resides. Both partners have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Hinting at the type of films and TV series they’ll be producing, Valenzuela said: “I’m most interested in exploring the chance to collaborate with first-rate screenwriters and, at the same time, give emerging Latin American writers the opportunity to write hybrid stories that mix genres and formats.”
“Who said that a thriller cannot be written as if it were a melodrama? Why can’t a romantic comedy have, in addition to a powerful love story, a layer of suspense?” he pointed out.
The new bi-coastal production company, called Malule Entertainment, will be based out of Los Angeles and Miami, where Valenzuela resides. Both partners have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Hinting at the type of films and TV series they’ll be producing, Valenzuela said: “I’m most interested in exploring the chance to collaborate with first-rate screenwriters and, at the same time, give emerging Latin American writers the opportunity to write hybrid stories that mix genres and formats.”
“Who said that a thriller cannot be written as if it were a melodrama? Why can’t a romantic comedy have, in addition to a powerful love story, a layer of suspense?” he pointed out.
- 11/4/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Mirjana Karanović, an actor best known for her starring role in Emir Kusturica’s “When Father Was Away on Business” and Jasmila Žbanić’s Golden Bear winner “Grbavica,” is preparing to direct her second feature, “Mother Mara.” This follows her directorial debut, “A Good Wife,” which competed in Sundance’s World Cinema – Dramatic section in 2016, and screened at more than 40 festivals.
Producer Snezana van Houwelingen pitched the new project at Venice Gap-Financing Market last week. Karanović will also star in “Mother Mara,” alongside Vucic Perovic.
The success of “A Good Wife” was “very beneficial” for Karanović, she says. Meeting with the audience gave her directorial self a confidence boost, allowing to believe she can direct again. It also made pitching and finding partners for “Mother Mara” easier, van Houwelingen says.
“Mother Mara” follows a successful businesswoman and single mother who suddenly loses her 18-year-old son Nemanja to a heart attack.
Producer Snezana van Houwelingen pitched the new project at Venice Gap-Financing Market last week. Karanović will also star in “Mother Mara,” alongside Vucic Perovic.
The success of “A Good Wife” was “very beneficial” for Karanović, she says. Meeting with the audience gave her directorial self a confidence boost, allowing to believe she can direct again. It also made pitching and finding partners for “Mother Mara” easier, van Houwelingen says.
“Mother Mara” follows a successful businesswoman and single mother who suddenly loses her 18-year-old son Nemanja to a heart attack.
- 9/12/2021
- by Anna Tatarska
- Variety Film + TV
Describing its world premiere on the opening night of the Sarajevo Film Festival as “magic,” Oscar-winning Bosnian director Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) called his latest feature “a love letter to our city,” offering it as a beacon of hope in troubled times to the people of Sarajevo.
Speaking to Variety the day after the premiere, Tanović described an emotional night as his feel-good film “Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair” opened the festival’s 27th edition.
“For me, the Sarajevo Film Festival is my home. Sarajevo is my home,” he said. “Last night was beautiful, because…we are getting out of this dire situation in which we were in a bad place for quite some time. We still are – we didn’t get out of this mess yet. So to put a bit of humor and a funny look on everything we’ve gone through helps. Last night was beautiful because everybody came out happy.
Speaking to Variety the day after the premiere, Tanović described an emotional night as his feel-good film “Not So Friendly Neighborhood Affair” opened the festival’s 27th edition.
“For me, the Sarajevo Film Festival is my home. Sarajevo is my home,” he said. “Last night was beautiful, because…we are getting out of this dire situation in which we were in a bad place for quite some time. We still are – we didn’t get out of this mess yet. So to put a bit of humor and a funny look on everything we’ve gone through helps. Last night was beautiful because everybody came out happy.
- 8/15/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
A group of Spanish filmmakers denounced the San Sebastian’s film festival’s announcement that it would honor Johnny Depp with the Donostia Award at the 69th annual festival next month.
The Associated Press reported that the women filmmakers said awarding Depp the highest honor at San Sebastian gives the event a bad name after a British judge ruled last year that allegations of domestic violence against the actor were “substantially correct.” His ex-wife Amber Heard had accused Depp of domestic violence, charges that he denied.
Cristina Andreu, president of Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, said she was “very surprised” by the award. The Donostia Award is the festival’s top prize and aims to honor lifetime achievement.
“This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership, and transmits a terrible message to the public: ‘it doesn’t matter if you are an abuser as...
The Associated Press reported that the women filmmakers said awarding Depp the highest honor at San Sebastian gives the event a bad name after a British judge ruled last year that allegations of domestic violence against the actor were “substantially correct.” His ex-wife Amber Heard had accused Depp of domestic violence, charges that he denied.
Cristina Andreu, president of Spain’s Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, said she was “very surprised” by the award. The Donostia Award is the festival’s top prize and aims to honor lifetime achievement.
“This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership, and transmits a terrible message to the public: ‘it doesn’t matter if you are an abuser as...
- 8/10/2021
- by Jennifer Yuma
- Variety Film + TV
Described by Spain’s San Sebastian Festival as “one of contemporary cinema’s most talented and versatile actors,” American actor Johnny Depp will receive San Sebastian’s highest honor, its Donostia Award, in a ceremony taking place on Sept. 22 at the festival’s Kursaal Auditorium.
Depp is already one of San Sebastian’s favorite sons, having figured as one of the highest profile star presences at last year’s on-site festival, where he co-presented “Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan” with director Julien Temple.
This year’s award puts Depp among recent honorees including Ethan Hawke, Sigourney Weaver, Judy Dench, Penelope Cruz and Viggo Mortensen.
Breaking out in the early 1990s with lead roles in John Waters’ “Cry Baby” and Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands,” Depp secured his left of field artistic credentials making films with prestigious foreign directors such as Emir Kusturica (“Arizona Dream”) and Lasse Hallström...
Depp is already one of San Sebastian’s favorite sons, having figured as one of the highest profile star presences at last year’s on-site festival, where he co-presented “Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan” with director Julien Temple.
This year’s award puts Depp among recent honorees including Ethan Hawke, Sigourney Weaver, Judy Dench, Penelope Cruz and Viggo Mortensen.
Breaking out in the early 1990s with lead roles in John Waters’ “Cry Baby” and Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands,” Depp secured his left of field artistic credentials making films with prestigious foreign directors such as Emir Kusturica (“Arizona Dream”) and Lasse Hallström...
- 8/9/2021
- by Jamie Lang and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
MK2, the venerable family-owned film group which operates a leading arthouse multiplex chain in France and Spain, is emerging from the pandemic stronger, cooler and more ambitious than ever.
Nathanaël and Elisha Karmitz, who succeeded their father Marin at the helm of the company in 2005, have galvanized the MK2 brand with activities ranging from films, art, publishing, technology and lifestyle. The common threads between all these ventures are a taste for singularity, curation and a socially-minded approach.
After scoring big at Cannes in 2019 with Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which competed and won prizes, MK2 Films will again boast a fairly large presence for the festival’s comeback edition with nine films across several selections, including the competition with Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” the new Cannes Premiere section with Andrea Arnold’s “Cow,” Un Certain Regard...
Nathanaël and Elisha Karmitz, who succeeded their father Marin at the helm of the company in 2005, have galvanized the MK2 brand with activities ranging from films, art, publishing, technology and lifestyle. The common threads between all these ventures are a taste for singularity, curation and a socially-minded approach.
After scoring big at Cannes in 2019 with Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which competed and won prizes, MK2 Films will again boast a fairly large presence for the festival’s comeback edition with nine films across several selections, including the competition with Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” the new Cannes Premiere section with Andrea Arnold’s “Cow,” Un Certain Regard...
- 7/2/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Films will world premiere as part of Le Cinema de la Plage nightly screenings on the beach.
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the selection of films that will play in its evening Le Cinema de la Plage screenings, which take place at 9.30 pm every night on the Macé beach opposite the Majestic hotel.
The line-up features a mix of premieres and classic film titles.
Two titles, Tony Gatlif’s Tom Medina and Patrick Imbert’s animated adventure tale The Summit Of The Gods, will world premiere in the sidebar and are regarded as being part of Cannes 2021 Official Selection.
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the selection of films that will play in its evening Le Cinema de la Plage screenings, which take place at 9.30 pm every night on the Macé beach opposite the Majestic hotel.
The line-up features a mix of premieres and classic film titles.
Two titles, Tony Gatlif’s Tom Medina and Patrick Imbert’s animated adventure tale The Summit Of The Gods, will world premiere in the sidebar and are regarded as being part of Cannes 2021 Official Selection.
- 6/30/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Bulgaria, a small Eastern European country of 7 million, is having a moment. For only the second time, Bulgarian is a main spoken language in a big Hollywood film. Joining 2004’s The Terminal is Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, with Bulgarian the language spoken by Borat’s daughter Tutar, played by Maria Bakalova in one of the breakout performances of 2020. The comedy has catapulted the unknown Bulgarian actress into global superstardom and major awards contention, with a slew of year-end awards to her name already.
Bakalova, 24, also has a small part in the Bulgarian Oscar entry The Father, giving a visibility boost to the Karlovy Vary-winning title. What’s more, The Father and its directors contributed to Bakalova’s big break in Borat 2.
In a Zoom chat conducted in their native tongue, Bakalova (whose last name is pronounced bah-kah-loh-vah) shares her Cinderella story with fellow Bulgarian expat, Deadline’s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Nellie Andreeva,...
Bakalova, 24, also has a small part in the Bulgarian Oscar entry The Father, giving a visibility boost to the Karlovy Vary-winning title. What’s more, The Father and its directors contributed to Bakalova’s big break in Borat 2.
In a Zoom chat conducted in their native tongue, Bakalova (whose last name is pronounced bah-kah-loh-vah) shares her Cinderella story with fellow Bulgarian expat, Deadline’s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Nellie Andreeva,...
- 2/2/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Mira Furlan, the Croatian actress who portrayed the Minbari ambassador Delenn on the 1990s sci-fi series Babylon 5, has died. She was 65.
Furlan died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of complications from West Nile virus, her manager, Chris Roe, announced.
On the big screen, Furlan starred in Emir Kusturica’s Palme d’Or-winning When Father Was Away on Business (1985); in Cirkus Columbia (2010), directed by Bosnia’s Danis Tanovic; and in Seaburners (2014), a Berlin Festival entry from Turkish helmer Melisa Onel.
She also was known for her recurring turn as the French researcher Danielle Rousseau on ABC’s Lost.
Furlan appeared on ...
Furlan died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of complications from West Nile virus, her manager, Chris Roe, announced.
On the big screen, Furlan starred in Emir Kusturica’s Palme d’Or-winning When Father Was Away on Business (1985); in Cirkus Columbia (2010), directed by Bosnia’s Danis Tanovic; and in Seaburners (2014), a Berlin Festival entry from Turkish helmer Melisa Onel.
She also was known for her recurring turn as the French researcher Danielle Rousseau on ABC’s Lost.
Furlan appeared on ...
- 1/22/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mira Furlan, the Croatian actress who portrayed the Minbari ambassador Delenn on the 1990s sci-fi series Babylon 5, has died. She was 65.
Furlan died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of complications from West Nile virus, her manager, Chris Roe, announced.
On the big screen, Furlan starred in Emir Kusturica’s Palme d’Or-winning When Father Was Away on Business (1985); in Cirkus Columbia (2010), directed by Bosnia’s Danis Tanovic; and in Seaburners (2014), a Berlin Festival entry from Turkish helmer Melisa Onel.
She also was known for her recurring turn as the French researcher Danielle Rousseau on ABC’s Lost.
Furlan appeared on ...
Furlan died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of complications from West Nile virus, her manager, Chris Roe, announced.
On the big screen, Furlan starred in Emir Kusturica’s Palme d’Or-winning When Father Was Away on Business (1985); in Cirkus Columbia (2010), directed by Bosnia’s Danis Tanovic; and in Seaburners (2014), a Berlin Festival entry from Turkish helmer Melisa Onel.
She also was known for her recurring turn as the French researcher Danielle Rousseau on ABC’s Lost.
Furlan appeared on ...
- 1/22/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The festival founded by Emir Kusturica, aimed at connecting young and seasoned filmmakers, will be held online this year. The Kustendorf Film Festival, the 14th edition of which kicks off today, 22 January, held in the tiny ski resort that was originally built as a set for Emir Kusturica’s Life Is a Miracle, is one of those annual gatherings that boast both a great programme and an enchanting atmosphere. While visiting the festival, you can talk to seasoned filmmakers such as the founder himself, as well as up-and-coming Kusturicas – emerging talents from all over the world, who can show off their first efforts and enjoy all-night discussions about art and life, which only the youth can stomach. Owing to the pandemic, only the film part of the programme has been salvaged, and it’s definitely worth spending the time to enjoy it online. The international short-film competition, simply called Competition,...
Actress Mira Furlan, who played Minbari Ambassador Delenn on the sci-fi drama series Babylon 5, passed away Jan. 20. She was 65.
Furlan’s death was announced by her official Twitter account and confirmed by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, who paid tribute to the accomplished actress.
“It is a night of great sadness, for our friend and comrade had gone down the road where we cannot reach her,” he wrote. “Mira was a good and kind woman, a stunningly talented performer and a friend to everyone in the cast and crew of Babylon 5, and we are all devastated by the news.
Born in the Croatian capital Zagreb in 1955, Furlan was a well known, award-winning theater, film and TV actress in the former Yugoslavia. She starred in numerous plays, TV series and films, including Emir Kusturica’s Palm d’Or-winning and Oscar-nominated 1985 film When Father Was Away On Business.
Furlan emigrated to the U.
Furlan’s death was announced by her official Twitter account and confirmed by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, who paid tribute to the accomplished actress.
“It is a night of great sadness, for our friend and comrade had gone down the road where we cannot reach her,” he wrote. “Mira was a good and kind woman, a stunningly talented performer and a friend to everyone in the cast and crew of Babylon 5, and we are all devastated by the news.
Born in the Croatian capital Zagreb in 1955, Furlan was a well known, award-winning theater, film and TV actress in the former Yugoslavia. She starred in numerous plays, TV series and films, including Emir Kusturica’s Palm d’Or-winning and Oscar-nominated 1985 film When Father Was Away On Business.
Furlan emigrated to the U.
- 1/22/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Mira Furlan, best known for her roles as Delenn on “Babylon 5” and Danielle Rousseau on “Lost,” died on Wednesday. She was 65.
Her Twitter account announced the news on Thursday, and “Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a tribute to the actress later that night.
pic.twitter.com/uVlatjUocZ
— Mira Furlan (@FurlanMira) January 22, 2021
While a cause of death has yet not been revealed, Straczynski said the cast and crew of “Babylon 5” had “known for some time now that Mira’s health was fading.” “We kept hoping that she would improve,” he wrote. “In a group email sent to the cast a while back, I heard that she might be improving.”
However, Straczynski said he later got the call from “Babylon 5” co-star Peter Jurasik that Furlan’s husband, director Goran Gajić, was “bringing her home.”
“Mira was a good and kind woman, a stunningly talented performer, and a...
Her Twitter account announced the news on Thursday, and “Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a tribute to the actress later that night.
pic.twitter.com/uVlatjUocZ
— Mira Furlan (@FurlanMira) January 22, 2021
While a cause of death has yet not been revealed, Straczynski said the cast and crew of “Babylon 5” had “known for some time now that Mira’s health was fading.” “We kept hoping that she would improve,” he wrote. “In a group email sent to the cast a while back, I heard that she might be improving.”
However, Straczynski said he later got the call from “Babylon 5” co-star Peter Jurasik that Furlan’s husband, director Goran Gajić, was “bringing her home.”
“Mira was a good and kind woman, a stunningly talented performer, and a...
- 1/22/2021
- by Alex Stedman
- Variety Film + TV
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
- 12/1/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The world took to social media on Wednesday to mourn the death of Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, among the greatest soccer players of all time, whose career skyrocketed in Italy where he played for A.C. Napoli starting in the mid-1980s.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted, “The entire world mourns the loss of Maradona, who with his unequalled talent has written unforgettable pages in soccer history. Goodbye eternal champion.”
Il mondo intero piange la scomparsa di #Maradona, che con il suo talento ineguagliabile ha scritto pagine indimenticabili della storia del calcio. Addio eterno campione. pic.twitter.com/nhNo1ySjdp
— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) November 25, 2020
British director Asif Kapadia, who made the high-profile doc “Maradona,” was among the first to respond on Twitter, noting he “can’t quite believe Dm has gone.”
“Hard to process. He always seemed indestructible. I had 10 hours with the man!! I touched his left foot.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted, “The entire world mourns the loss of Maradona, who with his unequalled talent has written unforgettable pages in soccer history. Goodbye eternal champion.”
Il mondo intero piange la scomparsa di #Maradona, che con il suo talento ineguagliabile ha scritto pagine indimenticabili della storia del calcio. Addio eterno campione. pic.twitter.com/nhNo1ySjdp
— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) November 25, 2020
British director Asif Kapadia, who made the high-profile doc “Maradona,” was among the first to respond on Twitter, noting he “can’t quite believe Dm has gone.”
“Hard to process. He always seemed indestructible. I had 10 hours with the man!! I touched his left foot.
- 11/25/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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