News

Carlos Marques-Marcet’s Toronto-winning musical drama They Will Be Dust, will open the 69th edition of the Valladolid International Film Week, also known as the Seminci, on October 18.

The end of life drama starring Alfredo Castro and Angela Molina won the Platform section at TIFF last month.

Valladolid, headed by José Luis Cienfuegos for a second year, is a key launchpad into the Spanish market for local and international films.

There are a total of 22 titles in the running for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Spike that comes with a €70,000 award for the Spanish distributor. The Silver Spike...

La 69 edición del Festival de Cine contará con 18 producciones españolas. © Seminci

La Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid, en su 69 edición, que se celebra del 18 al 26 de octubre, ha anunciado las producciones españolas que formarán parte de su programación.

Entre las películas anunciadas, cinco películas La Espiga de Oro competirán por la Espiga de Oro: la película inaugural de Carlos Marques-Marcet, Polvo serán, Javier Rebollo con En la alcoba del sultán, Mar Coll con Salve Maria, Marta Nieto con La mitad de Ana y Elena Manrique con Fin de fiesta.

La inaugural Polvo serán, de Carlos Marques-Marcet, tendrá en la Seminci su estreno nacional después de pasar por el Festival Internacional de Cine de Toronto (TIFF). En esta película, definida como una tragicomedia musical y protagonizada por Ángela Molina, Alfredo Castro y Mònica Almirall, Tras ser diagnosticada con una enfermedad terminal, Claudia decide hacer su último viaje a Suiza y Flavio,...

Director Édouard Salier tells the story of twin brothers training to become stellar explorers. But whether we should accept that space is reserved for humanity’s best remains unclear

A strain of science fiction has emerged lately, especially in Europe and more specifically France, that’s very sparing with visual effects and more dependent on tricks involving makeup and sets, sprinkled with a bit of body horror, à la David Cronenberg. French director Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom, which debuted in Cannes and played at the London film festival but has yet to open in the UK, is very much in this style, with genetically mutated people turning into animal-human hybrids – lizards, birds, all manner of mammals – and leaving the civilised world behind.

Tropic, a film directed by Édouard Salier, who has a horror feature, Cabeza Madre, under his belt, and lots of shorts and music videos – is in a similar vein.

"It's clear to everyone that their closeness is holding him back." Dark Star Pics has revealed the official US trailer for an indie sci-fi creation called Tropic, also known as Tropique, originally from France. (It also goes under the title Things Behind the Stars.) This first premiered at both Fantastic Fest 2022 and also at the Sitges Film Festival more then a year ago, but is only now getting released in theaters in 2023. It already opened in France a few months ago, and arrives in the US (in theaters then on VOD later) in December. As twin brothers and best friends Lázaro and Tristán train together for the Astronaut Academy tests, they find themselves facing a greater challenge. When disaster strikes, the pair must find their place in a world where there is no room for monsters. A mysterious meteor from space crashes down, completely deforming one of the brothers, turning...

"Visions" is a new live-action, France-produced 'psychological thriller', directed by Yann Gozlan, starring Diane Kruger, Mathieu Kassovitz, Marta Nieto, Amira Casar, Grégory Fitoussi and Élodie Navarre, with a theatrical release Tba:

"...airline captain 'Estelle' is married to the overly protective 'Guillaume'...

"...whose life suddenly spirals out of control upon the appearance of old flame 'Anna', a photographer..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Madrid-based Latido Films has unveiled a slew of sales during the summer, led by standout deals reached on Daniel Calparsoro’s thriller “All the Names of God” and Gerardo Herrero’s comedy “Under Therapy.”

The announcement comes as the 20 year-old company Latido disclosed early sales deals to Javier Fesser’s “Championext,” the sequel to his comedy blockbuster “Champions”- which has become Spain’s biggest box office hit of 2023, scoring €7.52 million ($8.08 million) and 1.2 million tickets sold through Sept. 3, three weekends after its Aug. 18 release.

Latido deal details add some much needed granularity to the state of the non-English language sales scene as major festivals take place at Venice and now Toronto.

A Bullish Summer

“It has been a good summer for Latido. And we hope for an even better fall,” explained Latido CEO Antonio Saura.

“The way the post-covid market works is not only linked to the market events themselves.

Actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz has been in a serious motorcycle accident, a representative for Kassovitz confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

The La Haine filmmaker was driving along the Autodrome de Montlhéry, a motor racing circuit south of Paris, French news channel CNews and international news agency Afp reported Sunday. Kassovitz’s condition is said to be “worrying.”

Kassovitz was transported to the Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital, a source told the news outlets, after doing a motorcycle course on the circuit, a police source told Afp.

The director originally broke out in the industry in 1995 with La Haine, a French film that follows three men in the 24 hours after a violent riot takes place on the outskirts of Paris. The project, which Kassovitz also stars in and wrote, is regarded as an influential story that portrays racism and police violence in France.

“La Haine” is a French phrase that translates to “Hatred...

Pulsar Content and XYZ Films have dropped the teaser for “Tropic,” Edouard Salier sci-fi drama which world premiered at Fantastic Fest and will next play in competition at Sitges on Oct. 9.

Penned by Salier and Mauricio Carrasco, the film follows Lázaro and Tristán, two twin brothers and best friends who are training together for the Astronaut Academy entrance tests. One day, Tristán is contaminated with some mysterious residue which makes him monstrous physically and weakened mentally. This disaster forces Lázaro to let go of how he remembers his brother and learn to love him as he is now, in a world where there is no room for monsters.

“Tropic” stars Pablo Cobo, Louis Peres, Marta Nieto, and Marvin Dubart. It was produced by Ninon Chapuis and Jean-Michel Rey, Rezo Productions. The movie will be released in France by Rezo Films.

Salier comes from a graphic background and is passionate about science fiction,...

Exclusive: Pulsar Content and XYZ Films have partnered to handle sales on the Fantastic Fest and Sitges sci-fi drama Tropic, directed by Edouard Salier who also co-wrote with Mauricio Carrasco.

The film follows Lázaro and Tristán (19), twin brothers and best friends, who are training together for the Astronaut Academy entrance tests. One day, Tristán is contaminated with some mysterious residue which makes him monstrous physically and weakened mentally. This disaster forces Lázaro to let go of how he remembers his brother and learn to love him as he is now, in a world where there is no room for monsters.

The French-language feature stars Pablo Cobo, Louis Peres, Marta Nieto, and Marvin Dubart, and was produced by Rezo Productions, Ninon Chapuis, and Jean-Michel Rey. Above is a first-look clip.

The pic will world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 23 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and will screen at Sitges...

Juanjo Giménez: 'I thought that for every sound designer it's like a dream to be working on a film like that because sound is its protagonist. So you can play with things that in other films are impossible' Juanjo Giménez introducing Out Of Sync in Edinburgh Photo: Courtesy of Eiff

Juanjo Giménez's feature Out Of Sync, co-written by Pere Altimira and starring Marta Nieto, focuses on a workaholic sound designer, who becomes afflicted with a mysterious illness. In a development that feels very in tune with our times of streaming and Zoom calls while trying to navigate the pandemic, her hearing begins to slip out of sync with not only her job but the wider world, with the situation worsening in tandem with her personal circumstances. The end result, which as you would expect features excellent sound design, starts off in thriller territory but then becomes much more ambiguous...

Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio in Critics' Week winner Aftersun by Charlotte Well Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Critics' Week

The 75th edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival kicks off on tomorrow (August 11) with Aftersun, which screened to critical plaudits at Cannes earlier this year. There's a wealth of films to choose from so we've rounded up seven of the best that are showing ahead of opening night.

Out Of Sync - Screening 14 August, Vue Omni 11 at 9.15pm,  and 19 August, Filmouse 2 at 1.45pm

Out Of Sync Juanjo Giménez proved he had a strong grip of mood with his Oscar-nominated short Timecode and he repeats the feat here as his fiction feature debut retains an air of mystery and the unexpected throughout. C (Marta Nieto) is a sound designer, who spends her life adding foley sound effects to films. Is it the pressure of her personal getting to her when she can't...

American actress Julianne Moore has been announced as the international jury president for the main competition of the 79th Venice International Film Festival, running from August 31 to September 10.

She will be joined by Argentine director Mariano Cohn, Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo, French director and 2021 Golden Lion winner Audrey Diwan, Iranian actress Leila Hatami, Japanese-uk writer Kazuo Ishiguro and Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.

The jury awards the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Volpi Cups for Best Actress and Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay and“Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Moore has long ties with Venice having won its Volpi Cup Best Actress Award for her performance in Far From Heaven in 2002 and the Franca Sozzani Award for Suburbicon in 2017.

Cohn was at Venice last year with Official Competition, starring Penélope Cruz,...

Antonia Nava’s Barcelona-based Neo Art Producciones has teamed with Rome’s Pupkin Production to co-produce gay romantic drama “Si las paredes hablasen” (“If Walls Had Ears”), the feature debut of Spanish femme director, Ceres Machado.

Scheduled to roll by this year-end or the first quarter of 2023 in Barcelona and Rome, the film will be produced by Nava and Pupkin’s Rita Rognoni.

Spanish actor Fernando Tejero is attached to star in a cast that will combine Spanish and Italian actors.

Co-written by Machado and scribe Salva Martos Cortés (“Maniac Tales”), “If Walls had Ears” will narrate, in 10 sequences, a Barcelona and Rome-set story of intense love, passion and pain between two men.

They are Juan, a 50 year-old married man who hides his homosexuality, and Leonardo, a 23-year Italian who arrives in Barcelona to try his luck as a soccer player.

Over a decade, they will live their romance, but...

Spain has two films in this year’s main competition at the Berlinale, and a record haul of films participating across all sections. Similarly, the country boasts an impressive list of productions looking for buyers at the festival’s EFM. Below, a list of standouts from Spain looking to make moves on the global market.

“Prison 77” (Alberto Rodríguez)

A potential jewel in Spanish cinema’s 2022 crown, “Modelo 77” is produced by Spanish pay TV-vod giant Movistar Plus and Madrid-based Atípica Films, Rodríguez’s career-long producer. S.A. Film Factory

“Alcarràs” (Carla Simón)

In Berlin’s main competition, the much anticipated follow up to Simón’s “Summer 1993,” “Alcarrás” tracks the final harvest at a multi-generational family farm. Co-produced with Italy. S.A. MK2 Films

“The Beast” (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

A Galicia-set thriller from Oscar-nominee Sorogoyen (“Mother”) and his regular co-scribe Esther Peña.

“Beyond the Summit” (Ibon Cormenzana)

Javier Rey and Patricia Lopez...

It marks director Edouard Salier’s debut feature after a number of award-winning shorts.

Paris-based company Pulsar Content has boarded sales on French director Edouard Salier’s near-future sci-fi drama Things Behind The Stars ahead of the EFM.

Set in France in 2041, it revolves around two twin brothers who are training to be astronauts.

Their relationship takes on another dimension when one of them is contaminated with a mysterious residue that disfigures him, weakens his mind and makes him fluorescent at night.

Louis Peres, seen recently as the protagonist Etienne Lantier in France Televisions’ high-end serialised adaptation of Emile Zola’s Germinal,...

On Jan. 28 Netflix will drop its next big Spanish drama series, “Feria: The Darkest Light,” a new ‘90s-set fantastic thriller from “Elíte” co-creator Carlos Montero and thriller expert Agustín Martínez (“La caza: Monteperdido”).

Produced by Filmax, one of Spain’s leading production, distribution and sales outfits, the show is a clear demonstration of Netflix’s ever-increasing ingratiation into the local industry and the company’s desire to work with the best local talent. Award-winning Spanish directors Jorge Dorado (“Anna”) and Carles Torrens (“Sequence”) were recruited to head production, and the series stars an impressive cast of cinema talent and TV superstars including Marta Nieto, the lead in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Oscar-nominated short “Madre,” Patricia López, last year’s Spanish Academy Goya Award-winner for best actress (“Ane is Missing”), and Isak Férriz (“Below Zero”), among others.

Set in the Andalusian mountains in the mid ‘90s, the show is billed as a...

Spanish director Juanjo Gimenez’s “Out of Sync” (“Tres”) – his first outing since the Oscar-nominated short “Timecode,” winner of Cannes’ Palme d’Or for best short film – came into this year’s Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival buzzing ahead of its world premiere.

In the film, sound designer C – played by Marta Nieto, the lead in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Oscar-nominated short “Madre” and its eponymous feature follow-up – spends countless hours alone recording sound effects, editing and mixing. There, she finds refuge from the pains of the world outside, like broken relationships and a growing distance with her mother. That is, until her own hearing drops out of sync, forcing the workaholic to take time off and reevaluate much of her life.

Featuring elements borrowed from fantasy and thriller films, “Out of Sync” is an intense, first person experience of questioning one’s own identity. Although Gimenez asks the...

Le Pacte has boarded Juanjo Gimenez’s drama “Out of Sync,” which makes its world premiere at Venice Days, and the documentary biopic “Inferno Rosso: Joe d’Amato on the Path of Excess,” which will world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Special Screenings section.

“Inferno Rosso: Joe d’Amato on the Path of Excess,” directed by Manlio Gomarasca and Massimiliano Zanin and presented by Danish helmer Nicolas Winding Refn, sheds light on Aristide Massaccesi, known as Joe D’amato, a popular filmmaker of horror, erotic and adult films who delivered 200 films as producer, director and cinematographer from the 1970s to the late 1990s.

Gomarasca and Zanin said telling the story of Massaccesi “means telling the story of Italian genre cinema, from spaghetti Westerns to horror and even porn, but also the remarkable life of a man who sacrificed everything for his great obsession, cinema.”

The documentary, produced by Wave Cinema,...

The speakers are producer María Zamora, Maialen Beloki from San Sebastián film festival and Protagonist Pictures’ Marielle Membreno.

The next episode in our ScreenDaily Talks webinar series will take place September 9 at 10:00 BST / 11:00 Cest and will discuss how the international industry can work with the dynamic Spanish film sector.

Click here to register

The international demand for Spanish films and talent is making stars out of a new generation of directors and actors and ensuring Spain’s thriving indie producers are sought-after creative partners.

Last month Screen launched our inaugural Spain Stars of Tomorrow, in partnership with Filmin,...

Madrid-based Avalon is transforming from a prestige producer-distributor into an industrial force.

Founded by CEO Stefan Schmitz in 1996, Avalon has carved a reputation most recently for co-producing and releasing in Spain Carla Simon’s “Summer 1993,” a Berlin 2017 First Feature Award winner. It co-produced Clara Roquet’s Cannes Critics’ Week entry “Libertad.”

The shingle, set to distribute “Benedetta” and “Bergman Island” in Spain, now has an 11-title production slate, both features and drama series, taking in new titles from leading lights in a new generation of female Catalan cineastes.

Simón herself has rural family drama “Alcarrás” in shooting and is developing her third feature, “Romería,” “a kind of continuation of ‘Summer 93,’” Schmitz said. “Alcarrás“ – “a highly cinematographic, and bigger budgeted Spanish independent film,” said Schmitz – is being sold by MK2.

“Libertad” director Clara Roquet is co-writing “Creatura,” set up at San Sebastian project lab Ikusmira Berriak, from Malaga best director...

"You think this is a game?" Brainstorm Media has released an official US trailer for a mysterious new film titled A Perfect Enemy, made by Catalonian filmmaker Kike Maíllo. This originally premiered at last year's Sitges Film Festival in the fall, and arrives on VOD in the US starting this June. A successful architect meets a mysterious, chatty young woman at the airport, causing him to miss his flight. They strike up a conversation that grows stranger and more twisted until it turns deadly. It has a vibe that reminds me of something like Under the Skin meets Promising Young Woman. Starring Athena Strates, Tomasz Kot, and Marta Nieto. This looks like a much darker, more twisted revenge tale than Pyw with strange reveals in the backstory. I'm intrigued to find out what's going on and what kind of tricks she's playing on this guy. Here's the official trailer (+ poster...

Nominations for feature film and documentary up from five to six.

The nominations for the 2020 European Film Awards have been unveiled, with the size of two key categories extended as a result of the virus crisis.

The categories for best feature and best documentary have each been increased from five to six to offer more exposure to titles and artists impacted by cinema closures and release delays during the pandemic.

Scroll down for full list of nominees

The films nominated in the best European Film category are Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Berhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, Jan Komasa’s Corpus Christi,...

The European Film Academy has unveiled the nominations for its 2020 awards, which will take place virtually across a series of online events December 8-12.

Leading the way are Another Round, Corpus Christi, and Martin Eden which have four nominations apiece, including for European Film 2020. Joining them in that main category are Berlin Alexanderplatz, The Painted Bird, and Undine.

Nominated for European Documentary are: Acasa, My Home; Collective; Gunda; Little Girl; Saudi Runaway; and The Cave.

In the European Director category, joining Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round, Jan Komasa for Corpus Christi, and Pietro Marcello for Martin Eden are Agnieszka Holland for Charlatan, Francois Ozon for Summer Of 85, and Maria Sødahl for Hope.

The European Actress nominees are: Paula Beer (Udine); Natasha Berezhnaya (Dau. Natasha); Andrea Bræin Hovig (Hope); Ane Dahl Torp (Charter); Nina Hoss (My Little Sister); and Marta Nieto (Mother).

Up for European actor: Bartosz Bielenia (Corpus Christi...

The recipient of the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2016 (and an Oscar nod) is currently directing his second feature, a drama with hints of black comedy starring Marta Nieto. Juanjo Giménez took home the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2016, the European Film Academy’s European Short Film Award and the Goya, among many other trophies – as well as being nominated for the Oscar, the following year – with his fiction mini-film Timecode. That’s why we are now waiting with bated breath for his next work: the filmmaker is currently flitting between Barcelona and A Coruña shooting the feature Tres (lit. “Three”), starring Marta Nieto in the lead role and featuring a screenplay written by the director together with his regular collaborator on such matters, Pere Altimira. The cast is rounded off by Miki Esparbé, Francisco Reyes, and Galician thesps Luisa Merelas, Cris...

This week, Barcelona-based filmmaker Kike Maíllo’s “A Perfect Enemy” will world premiere at Catalonia’s Sitges Film Festival, playing in the event’s Official Fantastic Competition. Ahead of its Oct. 16 premiere, sales agent Pulsar Content has given Variety access to the film’s international trailer.

An adaptation of Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling novel “Cosmétique de l’Ennemi,” the film is the story of internationally renowned architect Jeremiasz Angust. While waiting in the Paris International Airport, he’s approached by a talkative young woman named Texel Textor who’s colorful and energetic look and demeanor are a complete mismatch with Angust’s own uptight garb and composure.

After Texel causes him to miss his flight, Angust is unable to shake the girl and what started as an amusing chat quickly becomes something far more malicious.

For the cast, Maíllo recruited Oscar-level talent in “Cold War” star Tomasz Kot and Spanish actress Marta Nieto,...

"I saw you following me." "Were you with him?" Strand Releasing has debuted an official US trailer for the Spanish dramatic thriller Madre, from acclaimed filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. This first premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, where it won the Venice Horizons Award for Best Actress. It also stopped by the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, Seville European Film Festival, and Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival last year. Ten years have passed since Elena's son, then six years old, has disappeared. Today Elena lives and works at a seaside restaurant until she meets a French teenager who reminds her of her missing son. Marta Nieto stars as Elena, with an indie cast including Jules Porier, Alex Brendemühl, Anne Consigny, Frédéric Pierrot, and Guillaume Arnault. This looks very mysterious and suspenseful, with powerful atmospheric cinematography that makes it even more tense to watch. It's definitely worth a look. Here's the...

The Spaniard is directing this psychological thriller based on the famous novel by France’s Amélie Nothomb; it will star Marta Nieto, Tomasz Kot, Athena Strates and Dominique Pinon. Toro, a movie toplined by Mario Casas, Luis Tosar and José Sacristán, was released four years ago, and nine years have passed since the futuristic Eva collected three Goya Awards after first being unveiled at the Sitges Film Festival in 2011. At that same Catalonian gathering, which specialises in fantasy and horror fare, but at its upcoming edition, set to unspool in autumn this year, audiences will get the chance to see the new film by Kike Maíllo, who directed both of the aforementioned flicks. This one will bear the international title A Perfect Enemy, and it is an adaptation of the best-selling novel The Enemy's Cosmetique by French author Amélie Nothomb. It stars an international cast comprising Spanish actress Marta Nieto.

The actor-director is back on set after the hiatus caused by Covid-19, stepping behind the camera for the fifth time to shoot this Italian-Spanish co-production co-starring Marta Nieto. Edoardo Leo is back on set playing the dual role of director and lead actor in Lasciarsi un giorno a Roma, the fifth feature film to see him step behind the camera and on which filming began on 7 July in Rome. The film is produced by Fulvio and Federica Lucisano for Italian International Film in league with Vision Distribution, and is co-produced by Spain via Barcelona-based firm Neo Art Producciones. Also hailing from Spain is the film’s female lead who’s set to share the stage with Leo: Marta Nieto, who won the Best Actress award in Venice’s 2019 Orizzonti competition for her...

Shoot is underway on Euro co-production thriller A Perfect Enemy starring Tomasz Kot (Cold War), Athena Strates (The Good Liar), Marta Nieto (Madre) and Dominique Pinon (Delicatessen).

The English-language film follows a sophisticated and successful businessman who is approached in an airport by a chatty woman with sinister intentions. Cameras are due to roll until February 2020 in Reus, Barcelona, Paris and Frankfurt.

From Spanish firm Sábado Películas, French outfit The Project Film Club and German’s Barry Films, the feature is an adaptation of novel Cosmétique de l’Ennemi by Amélie Nothomb, which was translated into 24 languages.

Spanish helmer Kike Maíllo directs. Screenplay comes from Cristina Clemente (Eva), Fernando Navarro (Verónica) and Maíllo. It marks the filmmaker’s third film. His debut Eva was awarded a Spanish Academy Goya Award for Best New Director.

Also aboard are Rtve, TV3, Treehouse Pictures and recently-launched Paris-based international sales firm Pulsar Content. The film is supported by Icaa,...

Other nominees include ‘Intemperie’, ’The Endless Trench’ and ’Fire Will Come’.

Alejandro Amenábar’s While At War leads the nominations for Spain’s 34th Goya Academy Awards but will face-off against Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain And Glory at the ceremony on January 25 in Malaga.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

Amenábar’s Spanish Civil War drama has secured 17 nominations while Almodóvar’s semi-autobiographical film has 16 nods.

While At War has proved a box office hit following its debut at Toronto, ranking as Spain’s third highest-grossing domestic film of 2019 and taking more than $11.3m to date.

Pain and Glory...

Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory” will go head-to-head with two other big Spanish films – Alejandro Amenábar’s “While at War” and “The Endless Trench,” from Aitor Aguirre, Jon Garaño and José Mari Goenaga – at Spain’s 34th Goya Academy Awards, to be held Jan. 25 in Malaga.

“Pain and Glory” garnered 16 nominations,” “While at War” 17 and “The Endless Trench” 15.

Though most pundits would put “Pain and Glory” as the frontrunner, the outcome is difficult to predict. World-premiering in Spain before competing in Cannes, where Antonio Banderas won the best actor prize, “Pain and Glory” was reckoned by Spanish critics to be Almodóvar’s best film in a decade.

But ever since the screenplay for Luis Buñuel’s “Viridiana,” which went on to win the Palme d’Or, was written off in Spain as nonsense, the Spanish industry has steadfastly refused to kowtow to internationally acclaimed directors or indeed talent.

Screening at Ventana Sur,...

Toby Wallace.

Toby Wallace’s turn as a small-time drug dealer in Shannon Murphy’s debut feature Babyteeth has won him the Venice Film Festival’s Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young actor.

It is the second year in a row that the prize has been won by an Australian, with last year’s gong going to Baykali Ganambarr for his debut performance in Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale.

In Babyteeth, Wallace stars as Moses, the love interest of Eliza Scanlen’s Milla, a terminally ill teenager. Their relationship is a nightmare for Milla’s parents, played by Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis, but Milla teaches those in her orbit how to live like there is nothing to lose.

Produced by Alex White and based on Rita Kalnejais’ Belvoir Theatre play of the same name, the film was critically lauded after its debut in competition at Venice last week.

Variety...

The 76th Annual Venice Film Festival winners are in, and the Joker is at the top of the list. Joining the ranks of past winners 2018's The Shape of Water and 2019's Roma, Joker is leaving Italy with the Golden Lion, the highest price awarded at the festival. Roman Polanski' An Officer and a Spy trailed closely behind, winning the Grand Jury Prize.

Joker has been capturing headlines since its world premiere on August 31st. It has received positive critical reviews and an abundance of praise for Joaquin Phoenix's transformative performance. Under Todd Phillip's direction and a script from Phillips and Scott Silver, Joker seems to surprise and delight.

The film centers around Batman's iconic arch nemesis. It is an original standalone story that explores the man who would become known as The Joker. Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a man struggling to find his place among the divided and troubled society of Gotham.

JokerIn CompetitionGolden Lion – Joker (Todd Philipps) | ReviewSilver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) – An Officer and a Spy (Roman Polanski) | ReviewSilver Lion (Best Director) – Roy Andersson (About Endlessness) | ReviewCoppa Volpi for Best Actress – Ariane Ascaride (Gloria Mundi)Coppa Volpi for Best Actor – Luca Marinelli (Martin Eden) | ReviewBest Screenplay – Yonfan (No. 7 Cherry Lane)Special Jury Prize – La Mafia non è più quella di una Volta (Franco Maresco)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress – Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) | ReviewOrizzontiAtlantisOrizzonti Award for Best Film – Atlantis (Valentyn Vasyanovych)Orizzonti Award for Best Director – Théo Court (Blanco en Blanco)Special Orizzonti Jury Prize – Verdict (Raymund Ribay Gutierrez)Orizzonti Award for Best Actress – Marta Nieto (Madre)Orizzonti Award for Best Actor — Bik Eneich (Un fils)Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay – Jessica Palud, Philippe Lioret, Diastème (Revenir)Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film – Darling (Salim Sadiq)Lion of the Future AwardYou Will Die at 20 (Amjad Abu Alala...

The 2019 Venice International Film Festival has wrapped, and this year’s edition has announced its award winners. The Golden Lion, the festival’s top laureate, went to “Joker,” which is a strong statement from this year’s competition jury led by Lucrecia Martel. See the complete list of this year’s winners below.

In recent years, the Venice Golden Lion has gone to films that went on to have legs in the awards-season conversation stateside. Last year’s Lion went to Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” which won three Academy Awards for Netflix but lost Best Picture to “Green Book.” The year prior, the Golden Lion went to Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” which won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2018.

In a surprise upset over Joaquin Phoenix in hot competition title “Joker” (until it carried off with the Golden Lion), Best Actor went to Luca Marinelli for...

“Joker” from director Todd Phillips won the Golden Lion, and “J’Accuse,” or “An Officer and a Spy,” from director Roman Polanski has won the Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s runner up prize, at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival.

The comic book film starring Joaquin Phoenix in an origin story of the iconic Batman villain beat out a lineup that also included films such as James Gray’s “Ad Astra” and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat” for the top prize.

“I want to thank Warner Bros. and DC for stepping out of their comfort zone and taking a big swing on me,” director Todd Phillips said as he accepted the Golden Lion.

Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” stars Jean Dujardin in a film about the Dreyfus Affair. His presence at the festival generated some backlash, as it’s his first film since the director...

Refresh for latest…: The 76th Venice Film Festival draws to a close tonight with the winners about to be announced from inside the Sala Grande on the Lido. It’s been another year replete with strong movies hungry for awards season attention, as well as a fair share of controversy. And, it’s anybody’s guess which way Lucrecia Martel’s jury will swing.

Among the most contested titles, from even before the fest kicked off, is Roman Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy which nevertheless held sway with Italian critics in an annual poll. Any win tonight would certainly seem to cement the divide between U.S. and Euro perspectives in the #MeToo era.

Overall, and for Hollywood, among the biggest show-stopping moments of the past 10 days was the world premiere of Warner Bros’ Joker with a mesmerizing turn by star Joaquin Phoenix. Also highly-praised are such...

Roman Polanski wins the Silver Lion grand jury prize for An Officer And A Spy.

Todd Phillips’ Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the DC Comics villain, cemented its Oscar credentials after winning the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

At tonight’s award ceremony (September 7) the Silver Lion grand jury prize went to Roman Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy. Despite the controversy following the director, the film also picked up the Fipresci prize yesterday.

Swedish veteran Roy Andersson won the best director award for comedy About Endlessness.

The Lucrecia Martel-led jury awarded best screenplay to Hong Kong animation No.

Who will win the Golden Lion?

The winners of the 2019 Venice Film Festival are being announced this evening (Saturday, September 7).

Screen will update this story with all they winners as they happen. Refresh for latest updates.

Lion of the Future (Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film)

You Will Die At 20, dir. Amjad Abu Alala

Horizon Awards

Best Film

Atlantis, dir. Valentyn Vasyanovych

Best Director

Théo Court, White On White

Special Jury Prize

Verdict, dir. Raymund Ribay Gutierrez

Best Actress

Marta Nieto, Madre

Best Actor

Sami Bouajila, A Son

Best Screenplay

Jessica Palud, Philippe Lioret, Diastème, Revinir

Best Short

Darling,...

There are two kinds of “what if” story. One plunges viewers into an immediate, all-too-imaginable situation, and invites them to consider how they might act and react; the other casts us into realms of uncanny uncertainty, inviting us to consider the world as we don’t quite know it. Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Oscar-nominated 2017 short “Madre” was an expert example of the former, placing us inside the head of a single mother freaking out over a phone call from her young son, who’s abandoned and imperiled on an unidentified beach neither she nor he can pinpoint. A parent’s worst nightmare of the most tightly wound order, it seemed an obvious candidate for feature treatment very much in the other “what if” camp — what was a palpitating mystery gives way to a kind of metaphysical love story, eliding the roles of parent, child and lover.

Only select distributors and audiences...

“Mother,” Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s anticipated feature follow-up to the 2017 Oscar-nominated short of the same name, premieres in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons sidebar on Friday.

While the feature shares the short’s title and main character, played with great intensity by Marta Nieto once again, the narrative will catch Sorogoyen and regular co-writer Isabel Peña’s fans a bit off guard. Best known for their work on thrilling fare “The Realm,” which received seven Goya nominations from the Spanish Academy, or their 2013 breakout feature “Stockholm,” the two have forgone the predictable thriller follow-up in favor of a more personal drama about a woman’s recovery from unthinkable trauma.

“Mother,” the feature, starts with the 19-minute short acting as a prologue: Elena receives a call from her son, six-years-old Ivan, saying that he is lost on a beach in France and can’t find his father. The film picks up,...

by Eric Blume

It’s my fourth year covering the nominees for the Live Action Short Oscar, and this group of nominees is far and away the most grim, depressing, and unrelenting batch yet. Four out of five of these films are about horrible things happening to young boys. You’d think the nominating committee would have cleaved to some other topics. After a while, provided you view them back-to-back, the horror of it all becomes nearly comical. If you have a boy child under twelve years of age, you will definitely want to skip this category this year to avoid going to a very dark place. But all five directors are talented artists who know how to build suspense and tell a story with fluidity and grace. Ready?

Madre (Mother)

This short won the Goya (Spanish Oscar) last year and the director and actress have since reteamed for a feature version,...

The shorts and animation branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose its final five from 140 qualifying films. In order to qualify for Oscar contention, shorts have to win an award at an eligible film festival. Last year’s winner, for example, Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton’s “The Silent Child,” debuted at the Rhode Island International Film Festival before going on to win the Academy Award.

Many Academy voters don’t catch up with these shorts from emerging filmmakers around the world until they’re nominated. This year’s five contenders hail from four countries, and deal with a disturbing range of dark subjects, often involving children in jeopardy.

Irish director Vincent Lambe’s controversial, true-life drama, “Detainment,” focuses on the shocking 1993 Liverpool murder of a toddler by two 10-year-old boys, who are interrogated by skeptical police.

Jérémy Comte’s 16-minute Sundance winner, “Fauve,” also focuses...

While most movies in the Oscar race generate attention for months, the short film contenders generally don’t receive much notice until they’re nominated. However, the live-action shorts often deserve as much attention as the higher-profile contenders, in part because they’re so different from the rest of the pack.

The 2019 nominees are a perfect example: The five contenders hail from four countries, and tackle a range of heavy subject matters, from racism to repressed sexuality. Collectively, they speak to the clash of innocence with troubled times, as the majority of the shorts deal with children in dark situations. And while the Best Director category is loaded with veterans ranging from Spike Lee to Alfonso Cuarón, the filmmakers nominated in the Short Film (Live Action) category are largely newcomers from around the world.

Many of the winners in this category often go on to craft memorable features, from Andrea Arnold to Martin McDonagh.

PARK CITY -- "Summer Rain" is a train wreck of a movie. In his second film after "Crazy in Alabama", Antonio Banderas returns to his native Malaga in Spain to film, as he puts it, "memories and thoughts." Funny thing about memories and thoughts: They may reside vividly in a filmmaker's head, but he must express them visually and aurally for a movie audience to embrace them. In "Summer Rain", a tiny, insignificant soap opera gets filtered through images and voiceovers that reach for poetry but scream pretension.

Without Banderas' movie-star celebrity status, the film would never have premiered here at Sundance. Nor is there any audience for this film other than curiosity seekers.

A central location (and the original Spanish title) is the English Road in Malaga, a kind of crossroads leading symbolically many places in front of a popular bar where youthful characters meet and mingle over a long and sometimes rainy -- when the need for "poetry" is most profound -- summer. So many characters drift in and out with little introduction that one never fully works out all the details.

It's the 1970s when Spain is recovering from the Franco era. You would never know that though since Banderas and co-writer Antonio Soler (working from the latter's novel) cocoon their characters from politics, society and all aspects of human relationships that don't include sex, booze or violence.

Teenager Miguelito (Antonio Amarilla) leaves a hospital after a kidney removal inspired to be a poet because a dying patient gave him a copy of Dante's "Divine Comedy". What he pursues though is Luli (Maria Ruiz), a dreamy beauty who longs to be a ballet dancer.

Paco (Felix Gomez) carries on a steamy affair with a girl known only as The Body (Marta Nieto). Babi (Raul Arevalo) obsesses over Bruce Lee and his anger and shame over his mother's involvement in the sex industry in London.

The various affairs, betrayals and revenge ambushes take place at parties, discos and in the streets. Banderas draws out each sequence with slow motion, lingering shots of objects and post-production gimmicks for image manipulation. These get intercut with daydreams and other internalized images, although it's not clear in whose head the movie takes place.

One's patience wears thin almost immediately, to the point that even the brutality and sexual couplings feel remote, activities observed only for their compositional value and juxtaposition to the metaphorical voiceovers.

For non-Spanish speakers, the white subtitles frequently vanish into a sea of white on screen. Memo to all filmmakers seeking international audiences: Do subtitles in yellow! In this case, however, this loss does not feel like a missed opportunity.