Italian genre specialist Stefano Sollima – who is known in Hollywood for “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” “Without Remorse” and the TV series “Gomorrah” – is in the Venice competition for the first time with Rome-set crime drama “Adagio.”
This beautifully shot picture features an ensemble cast of Italian A-listers comprising Pierfrancesco Favino (“Nostalgia”), Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”), Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”) and Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”). It’s the tale of three old – and once mighty – mobsters searching for redemption in a cutthroat contemporary Rome that is literally burning. They find it in the form of a 16 year old named Manuel who is being blackmailed after venturing too deep in a rotting Roman underworld world that he doesn’t understand.
You often work from books such as “Gomorrah” but this is your original idea. How did it germinate?
“Adagio” – this is no secret – is a gift that I made to myself.
This beautifully shot picture features an ensemble cast of Italian A-listers comprising Pierfrancesco Favino (“Nostalgia”), Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”), Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”) and Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”). It’s the tale of three old – and once mighty – mobsters searching for redemption in a cutthroat contemporary Rome that is literally burning. They find it in the form of a 16 year old named Manuel who is being blackmailed after venturing too deep in a rotting Roman underworld world that he doesn’t understand.
You often work from books such as “Gomorrah” but this is your original idea. How did it germinate?
“Adagio” – this is no secret – is a gift that I made to myself.
- 9/7/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian actor-turned-director Andrea Di Stefano, whose gritty police drama “The Last Night of Amore” is launching from the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Special Gala section, reps an Italian anomaly.
“Amore,” which refers to a police lieutenant named Franco Amore, oddly marks Di Stefano debut directing an Italian-language film after helming well-received U.S. indie thrillers “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” with Benicio del Toro, and “The Informer.”
Sumptuosly shot in 35mm film and set in present-day Milan, “Last Night of Amore” harks back to Italian genre films of the 70s and 80s but has a fresh contemporary feel. The plot sees the good lieutenant, played by Italian A-lister Pierfrancesco Favino being called on the night before retirement to investigate a crime scene where his best friend and long-time partner Dino has been killed during a diamond heist. Complications ensue, things get very frantic, and we learn how his love for his wife Viviana,...
“Amore,” which refers to a police lieutenant named Franco Amore, oddly marks Di Stefano debut directing an Italian-language film after helming well-received U.S. indie thrillers “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” with Benicio del Toro, and “The Informer.”
Sumptuosly shot in 35mm film and set in present-day Milan, “Last Night of Amore” harks back to Italian genre films of the 70s and 80s but has a fresh contemporary feel. The plot sees the good lieutenant, played by Italian A-lister Pierfrancesco Favino being called on the night before retirement to investigate a crime scene where his best friend and long-time partner Dino has been killed during a diamond heist. Complications ensue, things get very frantic, and we learn how his love for his wife Viviana,...
- 2/24/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Gianni Amelio’s “Lord of the Ants,” a biopic of Italian poet and playwright Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law, has reached the top spot at Italy’s box office following its launch from the Venice Film Festival.
“Ants” on Monday reached the numero uno position at the local box office roster with a €483,474 intake from more than 300 screens following its September 8 release. While far from stellar in normal times, this result is being hailed as an encouraging sign for the country’s still sagging post-pandemic theatrical sector.
Amelio’s film is now ahead of Japanese anime pic “Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo,” which was released as an event on Monday for a three day run, and “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which is at the end of its run, following it’s Aug. 18 Italian outing.
“After being excellently received at the Venice Film Festival,...
“Ants” on Monday reached the numero uno position at the local box office roster with a €483,474 intake from more than 300 screens following its September 8 release. While far from stellar in normal times, this result is being hailed as an encouraging sign for the country’s still sagging post-pandemic theatrical sector.
Amelio’s film is now ahead of Japanese anime pic “Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo,” which was released as an event on Monday for a three day run, and “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which is at the end of its run, following it’s Aug. 18 Italian outing.
“After being excellently received at the Venice Film Festival,...
- 9/13/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran Italian auteur Gianni Amelio rose to prominence with Oscar-nominated “Open Doors” (1990) and also “Stolen Children,” which won the 1992 Cannes Grand Prix. He won the Venice Golden Lion in 1998 with period drama “The Way We Laughed” and competed again in Venice with “A Lonely Hero” in 2013. Amelio’s more recent work comprises “Hammamet,” a portrait of disgraced late Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi’s final years in Tunisia.
Amelio is back in Venice with “Lord of the Ants” a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968, after a four-year trial due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law. Pic, which is produced by Simone Gattoni and Marco Bellocchio, stars Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Ties”) as Braibanti, who was convicted after a complaint from his younger partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality.
Amelio is back in Venice with “Lord of the Ants” a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968, after a four-year trial due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law. Pic, which is produced by Simone Gattoni and Marco Bellocchio, stars Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Ties”) as Braibanti, who was convicted after a complaint from his younger partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality.
- 9/10/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian director Stefano Sollima, who is known in Hollywood for “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” “Without Remorse” and TV show “Gomorrah,” is back behind camera on a contemporary Rome-set crimer titled “Adagio.”
Shooting started Sept. 5 on “Adagio” which features an ensemble cast of Italian A-listers comprising Pierfrancesco Favino (“Nostalgia”), Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”), Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”) and Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”).
“I am eager and full of enthusiasm about finally returning to depict my city after all these years. Rome has changed, and so have I,” Sollima said in a statement for Variety. He went on to describe “Adagio” as a dark story of revenge and redemption, which will be the last chapter of my Roman criminal trilogy.”
The previous two installments in this trilogy are “A.C.A.B: All Cops Are Bastards,” from 2012, and “Suburra,” from 2015, which was subsequently spun out into a Netflix TV series.
The “Adagio” story...
Shooting started Sept. 5 on “Adagio” which features an ensemble cast of Italian A-listers comprising Pierfrancesco Favino (“Nostalgia”), Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”), Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”) and Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”).
“I am eager and full of enthusiasm about finally returning to depict my city after all these years. Rome has changed, and so have I,” Sollima said in a statement for Variety. He went on to describe “Adagio” as a dark story of revenge and redemption, which will be the last chapter of my Roman criminal trilogy.”
The previous two installments in this trilogy are “A.C.A.B: All Cops Are Bastards,” from 2012, and “Suburra,” from 2015, which was subsequently spun out into a Netflix TV series.
The “Adagio” story...
- 9/7/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Prominent arthouse sales company The Match Factory has closed multiple sales on Italian auteur Gianni Amelio’s Venice competition title “Lord of the Ants” ahead of its Venice premiere on Tuesday.
The Match Factory has sealed deals on Amelio’s latest work – which is a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law – that will ensure the film’s theatrical release in Australia/New Zealand (Palace Films); Japan (Zazie Films); Spain (Surtsey Films); Sweden (TriArt Film) and Greece (Ama Films). Further deals are in negotiation, the company said.
Braibanti was convicted after a complaint from his partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The Fascist-era law that punished Braibanti, which made it a crime to lead innocent or unwary people “morally” astray,...
The Match Factory has sealed deals on Amelio’s latest work – which is a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law – that will ensure the film’s theatrical release in Australia/New Zealand (Palace Films); Japan (Zazie Films); Spain (Surtsey Films); Sweden (TriArt Film) and Greece (Ama Films). Further deals are in negotiation, the company said.
Braibanti was convicted after a complaint from his partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The Fascist-era law that punished Braibanti, which made it a crime to lead innocent or unwary people “morally” astray,...
- 9/6/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian actor-turned-director Andrea Di Stefano, who helmed well-received U.S. indie thrillers “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” with Benicio del Toro, and “The Informer,” is set to make “L’Ultima Notte di Amore,” his Italian-language debut.
Universal Pictures Intl., Focus Features, and Italy’s Vision Distribution have worldwide distribution rights on the pic, which toplines Pierfrancesco Favino (Cannes competition title “Nostalgia” from Mario Martone).
The film’s title, which translates as “The Last Night of Love,” is a play on words. Amore actually refers to a police lieutenant named Franco Amore. On the night before his retirement the lieutenant is called to investigate a crime scene where his best friend and long-time partner Dino has been killed during a diamond heist. We soon find out that Amore was involved in the diamond heist and learn how the love of his wife Viviana will help him survive this fatal night.
The film’s screenplay is by Di Stefano.
Universal Pictures Intl., Focus Features, and Italy’s Vision Distribution have worldwide distribution rights on the pic, which toplines Pierfrancesco Favino (Cannes competition title “Nostalgia” from Mario Martone).
The film’s title, which translates as “The Last Night of Love,” is a play on words. Amore actually refers to a police lieutenant named Franco Amore. On the night before his retirement the lieutenant is called to investigate a crime scene where his best friend and long-time partner Dino has been killed during a diamond heist. We soon find out that Amore was involved in the diamond heist and learn how the love of his wife Viviana will help him survive this fatal night.
The film’s screenplay is by Di Stefano.
- 5/22/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In spite of a disastrous box office situation, the Italian film industry is staying buoyant thanks to increased exports, a friendly rapport with streaming giants and support from the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi that is pumping money into a revamp of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios.
“Production never stopped and ailing movie theaters have been able to get subsidies,” says Francesco Rutelli, the former Rome mayor who heads Italy’s motion picture association, Anica. The org recently broadened its member base to include executives from Amazon Prime Video, Disney and ViacomCBS, after Netflix had joined.
This move — which is unique in Europe — indicates the level of friendly dialogue between film producers and streaming platforms in Italy, best encapsulated by Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” Italy’s international Oscar nominee. Sorrentino’s Netflix original film was released theatrically in November across the country before dropping on the platform...
“Production never stopped and ailing movie theaters have been able to get subsidies,” says Francesco Rutelli, the former Rome mayor who heads Italy’s motion picture association, Anica. The org recently broadened its member base to include executives from Amazon Prime Video, Disney and ViacomCBS, after Netflix had joined.
This move — which is unique in Europe — indicates the level of friendly dialogue between film producers and streaming platforms in Italy, best encapsulated by Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” Italy’s international Oscar nominee. Sorrentino’s Netflix original film was released theatrically in November across the country before dropping on the platform...
- 2/13/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The third season of the Rai and HBO series “My Brilliant Friend” is ready to air in Italy and in the U.S., where the high-end show based the third book in Elena Ferrante’s quadrilogy has been set for a Feb. 28 debut on HBO and HBO Max.
The eight-episode adaptation of Ferrante’s 1970s-set novel, “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” was unveiled Wednesday during an online presser held in Rome by Rai, ahead of its premiere on Feb. 6 on the pubcaster’s flagship Rai 1 station.
“My Brilliant Friend: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay” follows Lila (Gaia Gerace), who married at 16, has a young son, left her husband and comfortable life and is now working in a factory under tough conditions. Elena, aka Lenù, (Margherita Mazzucco) meanwhile has left the Naples neighborhood, earned her college degree and published a successful novel, all of which has...
The eight-episode adaptation of Ferrante’s 1970s-set novel, “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” was unveiled Wednesday during an online presser held in Rome by Rai, ahead of its premiere on Feb. 6 on the pubcaster’s flagship Rai 1 station.
“My Brilliant Friend: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay” follows Lila (Gaia Gerace), who married at 16, has a young son, left her husband and comfortable life and is now working in a factory under tough conditions. Elena, aka Lenù, (Margherita Mazzucco) meanwhile has left the Naples neighborhood, earned her college degree and published a successful novel, all of which has...
- 1/26/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian auteur Gianni Amelio (“Open Doors”) will shoot a biopic of Italian poet, playwright and director Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law. The Match Factory has boarded the pic and is launching international sales in Cannes.
Amelio is best-known for the Oscar-nominated “Open Doors” (1990) and also “Stolen Children,” which won the 1992 Cannes Grand Prix, as well as “Hammamet,” a portrait of disgraced late Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi’s final years in Tunisia.
Braibanti was convicted after a complaint from his partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The Fascist-era law that punished Braibanti, which made it a crime to lead innocent or unwary people “morally” astray, was repealed in 1981.
Amelio’s new film, titled “Il signore delle formiche,” which translates as “The Ants Man,” features an...
Amelio is best-known for the Oscar-nominated “Open Doors” (1990) and also “Stolen Children,” which won the 1992 Cannes Grand Prix, as well as “Hammamet,” a portrait of disgraced late Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi’s final years in Tunisia.
Braibanti was convicted after a complaint from his partner’s father, who later forced his son to be treated with electroconvulsive therapy in an ill-conceived attempt to rid him of his homosexuality. The Fascist-era law that punished Braibanti, which made it a crime to lead innocent or unwary people “morally” astray, was repealed in 1981.
Amelio’s new film, titled “Il signore delle formiche,” which translates as “The Ants Man,” features an...
- 7/10/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Two of the highlights of the 2021 virtual edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema presented by Film at Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà are Salvatore Mereu’s adaptation of Giulio Angioni’s Assandira, starring Gavino Ledda with Anna König, Marco Zucca, and Corrado Giannetti, and Daniele Luchetti’s The Ties (Lacci), adapted from the novel by Domenico Starnone, with co-screenwriter Francesco Piccolo, which stars Alba Rohrwacher and Luigi Lo Cascio with Laura Morante, Silvio Orlando, Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Adriano Giannini.
Starnone’s novel begins with Vanda’s letters to her husband Aldo. She writes about how she feels and how she sees what he is doing to their family, which includes two small children, Sandro and Anna. “You want to isolate me, cut me out completely. And what matters most, you want to...
Starnone’s novel begins with Vanda’s letters to her husband Aldo. She writes about how she feels and how she sees what he is doing to their family, which includes two small children, Sandro and Anna. “You want to isolate me, cut me out completely. And what matters most, you want to...
- 6/1/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Marco Zucca as Mario and Gavino Ledda as Costantino in Salvatore Mereu’s Open Roads: New Italian Cinema highlight Assandira
Two of the highlights of the 2021 virtual edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema are Daniele Luchetti’s The Ties (Lacci), adapted from the novel by co-screenwriter Domenico Starnone, and Francesco Piccolo, which stars Alba Rohrwacher and Luigi Lo Cascio, and Salvatore Mereu’s adaptation of Giulio Angioni’s Assandira, starring Gavino Ledda with Anna König, Marco Zucca, and Corrado Giannetti. Film at Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà’s festival opens with Damiano D'Innocenzo and Fabio D'Innocenzo’s Bad Tales (Favolacce) this Friday.
Salvatore Mereu in Sardinia with his son Francesco Mereu (our translator) in Bologna and Anne-Katrin Titze in New York
In 2013, before the New York Open Roads Italian Cinema luncheon for the Rome delegation of filmmakers, which included Marco Bellocchio for Dormant Beauty and Daniele Cipri for It Was The Son,...
Two of the highlights of the 2021 virtual edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema are Daniele Luchetti’s The Ties (Lacci), adapted from the novel by co-screenwriter Domenico Starnone, and Francesco Piccolo, which stars Alba Rohrwacher and Luigi Lo Cascio, and Salvatore Mereu’s adaptation of Giulio Angioni’s Assandira, starring Gavino Ledda with Anna König, Marco Zucca, and Corrado Giannetti. Film at Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà’s festival opens with Damiano D'Innocenzo and Fabio D'Innocenzo’s Bad Tales (Favolacce) this Friday.
Salvatore Mereu in Sardinia with his son Francesco Mereu (our translator) in Bologna and Anne-Katrin Titze in New York
In 2013, before the New York Open Roads Italian Cinema luncheon for the Rome delegation of filmmakers, which included Marco Bellocchio for Dormant Beauty and Daniele Cipri for It Was The Son,...
- 5/27/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Amazon Prime Video is stepping up scripted production in Italy with green lights for two new original series: dark Mafia comedy “The Bad Guy,” and young adult coming-of-age drama “Prisma,” which is about twin brothers who go against gender norms in different ways.
The new Italian Amazon Original skeins were announced at a Prime Video Presents Italy 2021 showcase event held in Rome, but attended online by journalists.
With these new shows, Amazon is reaching a presence in Italy comparable to Netflix in terms of volume of original productions.
Prime Video also announced A-list actor Kim Rossi Stuart (pictured) as the lead in their previously announced heist series “Everybody Loves Diamonds” and Arianna Becheroni, Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”), Lucia Mascino and Dora Romano as the ensemble cast of crime drama “Bang Bang Baby,” their first Italian original. These Amazon shows are being produced by Fremantle units Wildside and The Apartment.
Rising...
The new Italian Amazon Original skeins were announced at a Prime Video Presents Italy 2021 showcase event held in Rome, but attended online by journalists.
With these new shows, Amazon is reaching a presence in Italy comparable to Netflix in terms of volume of original productions.
Prime Video also announced A-list actor Kim Rossi Stuart (pictured) as the lead in their previously announced heist series “Everybody Loves Diamonds” and Arianna Becheroni, Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”), Lucia Mascino and Dora Romano as the ensemble cast of crime drama “Bang Bang Baby,” their first Italian original. These Amazon shows are being produced by Fremantle units Wildside and The Apartment.
Rising...
- 5/27/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards are set to celebrate on May 11 a year of resilience for Cinema Italiano that also looks likely to germinate some creative renewal, just as Italian movie theaters start to reopen and production is booming.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
- 5/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran Italian auteur Daniele Luchetti, whose most recent film “The Ties” opened the 2020 Venice Film Festival, is now shooting season 3 of HBO-rai series “My Brilliant Friend,” taking the reins from helmer-showrunner Saverio Costanzo, who is taking a break.
The show’s hotly anticipated third season is based on the bestselling novel “My Brilliant Friend – Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” the third book of the quadrilogy by Elena Ferrante published in the U.S. by Europa Editions. It’s produced by The Apartment and Wildside, both Fremantle companies, along with FremantleMedia Italia and Fandango Production, in collaboration with Rai Fiction and HBO Entertainment. The story and screenplays are by Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo.
Luchetti spoke exclusively to Variety about the upcoming season’s cinematic references, the two protagonists’ journeys, and his personal connection to the material.
Saverio had told me that after referencing Neorealism in...
The show’s hotly anticipated third season is based on the bestselling novel “My Brilliant Friend – Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” the third book of the quadrilogy by Elena Ferrante published in the U.S. by Europa Editions. It’s produced by The Apartment and Wildside, both Fremantle companies, along with FremantleMedia Italia and Fandango Production, in collaboration with Rai Fiction and HBO Entertainment. The story and screenplays are by Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo.
Luchetti spoke exclusively to Variety about the upcoming season’s cinematic references, the two protagonists’ journeys, and his personal connection to the material.
Saverio had told me that after referencing Neorealism in...
- 4/16/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Dominique Sanda, Alba Rohrwacher and Maya Sansa star in the director’s new film, the story of an impossible love that will throw into question the feelings of an entire family. Filming on Il paradiso del pavone, the latest film from Laura Bispuri, has just wrapped in Ostia. The film comes three years after Sworn Virgin and Daughter of Mine (selected in competition at the 2018 Berlinale). This story of an impossible love that will throw into question the feelings of an entire family will be told by actors Dominique Sanda (recently seen in Saint Laurent), Alba Rohrwacher (seen last year in The Ties and shortly in Tre piani), Maya Sansa (last year in Lasciami andare), Carlo Cerciello, Fabrizio Ferracane, Leonardo Lidi, Tihana Lazović (the Croatian actress...
When Jane Fonda opened that envelope and called Bong Joon-ho and his team to the stage, we really should have known. The Oscars were not supposed to get it right, it was too perfect. From a moment like that there was nowhere to go but down, way down.
The rest of 2020 turned out to be quite a historic dumpster fire. As much as you think you’ve gotten used to it by now, the bleak news updates, the sight of cities on lockdown or trainfuls of masked passengers still strike me as dizzyingly surreal sometimes. Like waking up inside an elaborate Terry Gilliam production.
As with most other cultural sites, cinemas were first in line to be shuttered for being non-essential. From an epidemiological perspective it’s hard to argue against this. In every other regard, however, film proved even more essential in a pandemic. How else do you see the world beyond the confinement,...
The rest of 2020 turned out to be quite a historic dumpster fire. As much as you think you’ve gotten used to it by now, the bleak news updates, the sight of cities on lockdown or trainfuls of masked passengers still strike me as dizzyingly surreal sometimes. Like waking up inside an elaborate Terry Gilliam production.
As with most other cultural sites, cinemas were first in line to be shuttered for being non-essential. From an epidemiological perspective it’s hard to argue against this. In every other regard, however, film proved even more essential in a pandemic. How else do you see the world beyond the confinement,...
- 1/3/2021
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which shifted its dates from September to an October slot, will mark a moment of post Covid-19 restart for the Arab film industry, while also seeking to reinvigorate the region’s international ties after the pandemic.
Barring complications, the ambitious event, now in its fourth edition, “will be the first festival in the region that will happen physically” after the pandemic, says its chief Intishal Al Timimi. He points out that El Gouna organizers have taken their cue from Venice and will have lots of sanitary measures in place for the Oct. 23-31 event held in a Red Sea resort where socially-distanced screenings will take place in open-air theaters.
Social distancing and other factors have caused El Gouna to reduce the lineup from 80 to roughly 65 entries, though its structure remains unchanged.
As always, the competition is a mix of titles picked from the year’s festival circuit crop,...
Barring complications, the ambitious event, now in its fourth edition, “will be the first festival in the region that will happen physically” after the pandemic, says its chief Intishal Al Timimi. He points out that El Gouna organizers have taken their cue from Venice and will have lots of sanitary measures in place for the Oct. 23-31 event held in a Red Sea resort where socially-distanced screenings will take place in open-air theaters.
Social distancing and other factors have caused El Gouna to reduce the lineup from 80 to roughly 65 entries, though its structure remains unchanged.
As always, the competition is a mix of titles picked from the year’s festival circuit crop,...
- 10/20/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Portuguese film distributor Midas Filmes has picked up a slew of new acquisitions, including Nanni Moretti’s upcoming “Three Floors,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria” and Daniele Luchetti’s “The Ties,” which opened this year’s Venice Film Festival.
The Lisbon-based company, which is taking part in this year’s International Classic Film Market (Mifc) focus on Portugal in Lyon, France, has also recently picked up Belgian helmer Lucas Belvaux’s “Home Front,” starring Gérard Depardieu; “The Woman Who Ran,” by Hong Sang-Soo; and “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue,” Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke’s documentary about a local literature festival in Shanxi, China, which premiered at this year’s Berlinale.
Launched in 2006, Midas Filmes has released more than 60 films and boasts a DVD catalog of more than 200 films. Catalog titles and classics play major roles in the distributor’s repertoire, some 85% of which comprises international films, about 10% Portuguese titles and 5% U.
The Lisbon-based company, which is taking part in this year’s International Classic Film Market (Mifc) focus on Portugal in Lyon, France, has also recently picked up Belgian helmer Lucas Belvaux’s “Home Front,” starring Gérard Depardieu; “The Woman Who Ran,” by Hong Sang-Soo; and “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue,” Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke’s documentary about a local literature festival in Shanxi, China, which premiered at this year’s Berlinale.
Launched in 2006, Midas Filmes has released more than 60 films and boasts a DVD catalog of more than 200 films. Catalog titles and classics play major roles in the distributor’s repertoire, some 85% of which comprises international films, about 10% Portuguese titles and 5% U.
- 10/13/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Turkey’s 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival is forging ahead with a hybrid edition this year that will feature a mix of the best new Turkish features and cherry-picked international titles.
The storied event being held Oct. 3-10 in the bustling resort city on Turkey’s Southern coast has been through a spell of politically-prompted turbulence that led to the appointment last year of new fest chief Ahmet Boyacıoğlu and artistic director Başak Emre, who both stated that “Return to Roots” would be their mantra as they took the helm.
That’s because the 2017 and 2018 editions, headed by British-Irish producer Mike Downey, had done away with the national competition, historically the backbone of Turkey’s oldest and most prominent film event.
Therefore lots of locals during those two years “boycotted the festival” since Turkish cinema, which had been folded into the international lineup, “was practically out,” says Boyacıoğlu, who...
The storied event being held Oct. 3-10 in the bustling resort city on Turkey’s Southern coast has been through a spell of politically-prompted turbulence that led to the appointment last year of new fest chief Ahmet Boyacıoğlu and artistic director Başak Emre, who both stated that “Return to Roots” would be their mantra as they took the helm.
That’s because the 2017 and 2018 editions, headed by British-Irish producer Mike Downey, had done away with the national competition, historically the backbone of Turkey’s oldest and most prominent film event.
Therefore lots of locals during those two years “boycotted the festival” since Turkish cinema, which had been folded into the international lineup, “was practically out,” says Boyacıoğlu, who...
- 10/5/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This was the original release weekend for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ before its Covid-induced delay.
France, Wednesday, September 30
French comedy My Cousin by Jan Kounen was the biggest release of the week in France on just under 700 prints for Pathé. Vincent Lindon stars as the uptight chief of a family business empire on a mission to get his wayward cousin, who owns half its shares, to sign off on a mega-deal.
Cannes 2020 label feature animation Josep was the second widest launch on 200 prints for Sophie Dulac Distribution. This was followed by Israeli-French drama The End Of Love by Keren Ben Rafael...
France, Wednesday, September 30
French comedy My Cousin by Jan Kounen was the biggest release of the week in France on just under 700 prints for Pathé. Vincent Lindon stars as the uptight chief of a family business empire on a mission to get his wayward cousin, who owns half its shares, to sign off on a mega-deal.
Cannes 2020 label feature animation Josep was the second widest launch on 200 prints for Sophie Dulac Distribution. This was followed by Israeli-French drama The End Of Love by Keren Ben Rafael...
- 10/2/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Martin Blaney¬Gabriele Niola¬Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The festival will open with Sun Hong’s This Is Life, while Zhang Yang’s So Far So Close will screen as the Special Presentation.
Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff) has unveiled the full line-up for its fourth edition (October 10-19), which like many Asian festivals during the Covid-19 pandemic is taking place as a physical event without international guests.
The festival’s opening film and Special Presentation are both world premieres of Chinese productions – Sun Hong’s This Is Life will open the festival, while Zhang Yang’s So Far So Close will screen as the Special Presentation title...
Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff) has unveiled the full line-up for its fourth edition (October 10-19), which like many Asian festivals during the Covid-19 pandemic is taking place as a physical event without international guests.
The festival’s opening film and Special Presentation are both world premieres of Chinese productions – Sun Hong’s This Is Life will open the festival, while Zhang Yang’s So Far So Close will screen as the Special Presentation title...
- 10/1/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Shooting started Monday in Sardinia on season three of pubcaster Rai’s TV drama “The Hunter” about a Palermo prosecutor with a killer instinct for tracking down top Mafiosi. The widely-exported Italian show is set for a major twist since the lead will transition from a male magistrate to a female mobster hunter.
Rising local talent Linda Caridi, seen recently in Venice fest opener “The Ties” – where she plays the illicit lover who unties a marriage – has been cast as magistrate Paola Romano. During the course of the new season of “The Hunter” she will eventually replace her colleague Saverio Barone, played by Francesco Montanari, and become the new anti-Mafia prosecutor at the show’s center.
Montanari, incidentally, won the best performance prize for that role at Canneseries in 2018 where “The Hunter,” which is sold by Beta Film, made an international splash.
“I am really happy because this third season...
Rising local talent Linda Caridi, seen recently in Venice fest opener “The Ties” – where she plays the illicit lover who unties a marriage – has been cast as magistrate Paola Romano. During the course of the new season of “The Hunter” she will eventually replace her colleague Saverio Barone, played by Francesco Montanari, and become the new anti-Mafia prosecutor at the show’s center.
Montanari, incidentally, won the best performance prize for that role at Canneseries in 2018 where “The Hunter,” which is sold by Beta Film, made an international splash.
“I am really happy because this third season...
- 9/24/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Actor Matt Dillon, 56, and girlfriend of four years Roberta Mastromichele, 44, walked the red carpet together on Sept. 2 at the 77th Venice Film Festival ahead of the opening ceremony and the red carpet for the screening of Lacci (The Ties). Dillon stunned in a sleek Armani tux while Mastromichele chose a flowy green […]
The post Matt Dillon & Girlfriend Roberta Mastromichele Walk Red Carpet At 77th Venice Film Festival appeared first on uInterview.
The post Matt Dillon & Girlfriend Roberta Mastromichele Walk Red Carpet At 77th Venice Film Festival appeared first on uInterview.
- 9/10/2020
- by Yati Sanghvi
- Uinterview
More than half of all competition titles directed by women.
Switzerland’s Zurich Film Festival (Zff) has unveiled the full programme for its 2020 edition, which is set to go ahead as a physical event from September 24 to October 4.
Scroll down for list of competition titles
The 16th edition of the festival will comprise 165 films, of which 23 are world premieres and more than half of the competition titles are directed by women. Zff also revealed that Oscar-winning UK actress Olivia Colman will receive an honorary award and Johnny Depp is set to attend the festival with a new documentary.
The feature...
Switzerland’s Zurich Film Festival (Zff) has unveiled the full programme for its 2020 edition, which is set to go ahead as a physical event from September 24 to October 4.
Scroll down for list of competition titles
The 16th edition of the festival will comprise 165 films, of which 23 are world premieres and more than half of the competition titles are directed by women. Zff also revealed that Oscar-winning UK actress Olivia Colman will receive an honorary award and Johnny Depp is set to attend the festival with a new documentary.
The feature...
- 9/10/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Titles include ‘Nomadland’, ‘The Courier’, Regina King’s ‘One Night In Miami’ and Venice opener ‘The Ties’.
The Zurich Film Festival has added 12 gala premieres to its 2020 line-up, including several selected for Venice and Toronto.
The 16th edition of the festival has secured Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, starring and produced by Frances McDormand, which will receive a simultaneous world premiere next week in Venice and Toronto.
Films set to receive their international premieres at the festival include Daniele Luchetti’s Italian drama The Ties (aka Lacci), which opened Venice on Wednesday, and Sonke Wortmann’s German comedy Contra.
Zurich will...
The Zurich Film Festival has added 12 gala premieres to its 2020 line-up, including several selected for Venice and Toronto.
The 16th edition of the festival has secured Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, starring and produced by Frances McDormand, which will receive a simultaneous world premiere next week in Venice and Toronto.
Films set to receive their international premieres at the festival include Daniele Luchetti’s Italian drama The Ties (aka Lacci), which opened Venice on Wednesday, and Sonke Wortmann’s German comedy Contra.
Zurich will...
- 9/4/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The Venice Film Festival’s market is kicking off preceded by a flurry of activity, with several significant deals already announced during the world’s first physical place to do business after lockdown.
Though smaller than in past editions, the event – known as the Venice Production Bridge – has more than 800 mostly European accredited buyers, sellers, producers and financiers in attendance. Plus 150 more signed up for its online aspect. Roughly 400 physical meetings have already been booked through the market’s networking service. That’s symbolic of a restart.
“Our business is meeting; it’s networking, first of all,” says Vpb chief Pascal Diot. “Especially for producers,” he adds. “They need to meet people, it’s simply not the same thing as a Zoom or Skype conversation.”
Meanwhile, sales announcements of Venice titles have been springing forth. Sony Pictures Classics snapped up worldwide rights to Luca Guadagnino’s Salvatore Ferragamo doc “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams,...
Though smaller than in past editions, the event – known as the Venice Production Bridge – has more than 800 mostly European accredited buyers, sellers, producers and financiers in attendance. Plus 150 more signed up for its online aspect. Roughly 400 physical meetings have already been booked through the market’s networking service. That’s symbolic of a restart.
“Our business is meeting; it’s networking, first of all,” says Vpb chief Pascal Diot. “Especially for producers,” he adds. “They need to meet people, it’s simply not the same thing as a Zoom or Skype conversation.”
Meanwhile, sales announcements of Venice titles have been springing forth. Sony Pictures Classics snapped up worldwide rights to Luca Guadagnino’s Salvatore Ferragamo doc “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams,...
- 9/4/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Daniele Luchetti’s “The Ties” (“Lacci”), the first Italian film to open the Venice Film Festival in 11 years, garnered warm reviews on its world premiere on Wednesday evening, and has been sold by MK2 Films in a raft of territories around the world.
MK2 Films has been able to lure major distributors in key markets, notably France (Pyramide), Spain (Caramel), Latin America (Synapse), China (Huanxi), Portugal (Midas), Greece (Weirdwave), Austria (Thim), Switzerland (Cineworx), Cis (Provzyglad), Bulgaria (Cinelibri) and former Yugoslavia (McF).
“The Ties” opens in Naples, in the early 1980s, and revolves around the relationship of Aldo and Vanda who go through a separation after Aldo reveals an affair. Their two young children are torn between their parents, in a whirlwind of resentment; but even without love, the ties that keep people together are inescapable, and 30 years later, Aldo and Vanda are still married.
The movie is headlined by a...
MK2 Films has been able to lure major distributors in key markets, notably France (Pyramide), Spain (Caramel), Latin America (Synapse), China (Huanxi), Portugal (Midas), Greece (Weirdwave), Austria (Thim), Switzerland (Cineworx), Cis (Provzyglad), Bulgaria (Cinelibri) and former Yugoslavia (McF).
“The Ties” opens in Naples, in the early 1980s, and revolves around the relationship of Aldo and Vanda who go through a separation after Aldo reveals an affair. Their two young children are torn between their parents, in a whirlwind of resentment; but even without love, the ties that keep people together are inescapable, and 30 years later, Aldo and Vanda are still married.
The movie is headlined by a...
- 9/3/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
by Nathaniel R
Cinema, simply, is my happy place. Its my true motherland. And its fellowship is my heart's family tree.
- Tilda Swinton
The Venice Film Festival has begun its annual journey. Venice's 77th opening night film was the Italian marital drama Lacci. The day's festivities also included the arrival of the glamorous jury (Jury presiden Cate Blanchett is only wearing gowns she's previously worn at other events!) and a Golden Lion lifetime tribute to the alien icon punk actress Tilda Swinton.
Tilda's full speech is below... it's a true beauty. I want to type it all up and use it as a daily mantra but first let's join together in listening to Tilda's elegant commanding voice and passion.
Tilda Swinton Leone d’Oro alla carriera a #Venezia77 #biennalecinema2020 #tildaswinton #leonedoro@la_Biennale pic.twitter.com/GCgrRDUhZX
— Rai Movie (@raimovie) September 2, 2020...
Cinema, simply, is my happy place. Its my true motherland. And its fellowship is my heart's family tree.
- Tilda Swinton
The Venice Film Festival has begun its annual journey. Venice's 77th opening night film was the Italian marital drama Lacci. The day's festivities also included the arrival of the glamorous jury (Jury presiden Cate Blanchett is only wearing gowns she's previously worn at other events!) and a Golden Lion lifetime tribute to the alien icon punk actress Tilda Swinton.
Tilda's full speech is below... it's a true beauty. I want to type it all up and use it as a daily mantra but first let's join together in listening to Tilda's elegant commanding voice and passion.
Tilda Swinton Leone d’Oro alla carriera a #Venezia77 #biennalecinema2020 #tildaswinton #leonedoro@la_Biennale pic.twitter.com/GCgrRDUhZX
— Rai Movie (@raimovie) September 2, 2020...
- 9/2/2020
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The 77th Venice Film Festival opened in earnest Wednesday evening with a moving ceremony that served as a passionate rallying cry in defense of the collective moviegoing experience in the face of a perceived threat posed by streaming giants.
The opening film was Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s marriage drama “The Ties,” which was generally well received. But the ties that took center stage just prior to the screening were those between film festivals and movie theaters around the world.
During the ceremony, the directors of seven top European festivals, including Cannes, Berlin and Locarno, took the stage to read a symbolic declaration in support of the big screen.
“Today, movie theaters are opening their doors again, though, like festivals, with a degree of uncertainty and anxiety,” the joint statement said. “But they are also doing so with hope and conviction, because they know that now, more than ever before,...
The opening film was Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s marriage drama “The Ties,” which was generally well received. But the ties that took center stage just prior to the screening were those between film festivals and movie theaters around the world.
During the ceremony, the directors of seven top European festivals, including Cannes, Berlin and Locarno, took the stage to read a symbolic declaration in support of the big screen.
“Today, movie theaters are opening their doors again, though, like festivals, with a degree of uncertainty and anxiety,” the joint statement said. “But they are also doing so with hope and conviction, because they know that now, more than ever before,...
- 9/2/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s Venice Film Festival is a less starry affair than usual, for obvious reasons, with few of the Oscar contenders that have become its trademark in the last decade. Witness its opening film, Daniele Luchetti’s “Lacci” or “The Ties,” an intimate Italian domestic drama that’s smaller in scale and in international appeal than some recent openers (such as “First Man” and “Birdman”) — and smaller in its emotional scale, too. A year on from the premiere of “Marriage Story” at Venice, here is another marriage story, but instead of surveying the destructive fury of a divorce, “Lacci” sees what happens when a wife and an unfaithful husband stay together. It’s just as sad, but not as engrossing.
The unhappy couple comprises Aldo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and Vanda (Alba Rohrwacher), who live in a cluttered Naples apartment with their son and daughter. In the opening scenes, set in a stylized early-1980s,...
The unhappy couple comprises Aldo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and Vanda (Alba Rohrwacher), who live in a cluttered Naples apartment with their son and daughter. In the opening scenes, set in a stylized early-1980s,...
- 9/2/2020
- by Nicholas Barber
- Indiewire
Midway through “The Ties,” a long-absent father and his estranged young son realize they have an unlikely thing in common: They both tie their shoes in an unconventional way that draws light mockery from others. The boy must have learned it from his dad, though neither can remember when; now, as they scarcely know each other anymore, it’s the one literal tie that binds them. The original Italian title of “The Ties” is “Lacci,” which translates more specifically as “shoelaces,” and it better evokes where the strengths of Daniele Luchetti’s freely time-skipping domestic drama lie: in conveying the more banal everyday details, incidents and anecdotes that become, over time and often subconsciously, the very fabric of family history. When it reaches for grander metaphors and emotional gestures, on the other hand, Luchetti’s film comes a little undone.
As the first homegrown production in 11 years to be selected...
As the first homegrown production in 11 years to be selected...
- 9/2/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The Venice Film Festival stuck to its guns in promising a physical 2020 festival amid a global pandemic, and somehow, it’s pulled it off. While recent Covid-19 shockwaves in Europe made the undertaking even more precarious, the early days of this year’s edition are so far meeting the expectations of its largely European delegates.
Elisabetta Segre travelled from Rome to Venice to support her brother Andrea Segre’s pre-opening night film “Molecole,” a deeply personal documentary about their family and its relationship to Venice that premiered on Tuesday. “I cried the whole time and it’s very complicated to cry with a mask on,” she says, laughing.
Segre, who spoke to Variety after a press screening of Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s festival opener “Lacci,” has attended the festival numerous times. “It’s weird [this year], but everyone respects the rules. You feel safe.”
The fest is “very well organized,” and...
Elisabetta Segre travelled from Rome to Venice to support her brother Andrea Segre’s pre-opening night film “Molecole,” a deeply personal documentary about their family and its relationship to Venice that premiered on Tuesday. “I cried the whole time and it’s very complicated to cry with a mask on,” she says, laughing.
Segre, who spoke to Variety after a press screening of Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s festival opener “Lacci,” has attended the festival numerous times. “It’s weird [this year], but everyone respects the rules. You feel safe.”
The fest is “very well organized,” and...
- 9/2/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
In what is being touted as a first, the Venice Film Festival’s opening ceremony is streaming live this evening in roughly 100 Italian movie theaters, followed by the fest’s opening film, Daniele Luchetti’s “The Ties.”
The film’s distributor, 01 Distribution, is previewing “The Ties” in cinemas across Italy as a double bill in conjunction with the fest’s opening ceremony.
“It’s the first time this has ever been done anywhere in the world,” says 01 Distribution chief Luigi Lonigro, who devised this marketing strategy in tandem with fest organizers in the spirit of Venice’s symbolic significance as a restart moment.
Luchetti, a veteran helmer whose “Our Life” and “My Brother Is an Only Child” years ago launched from Cannes, had submitted “The Ties” to Cannes earlier this year. But when he did so the film was not completed, since the pandemic had forced him to interrupt editing.
The film’s distributor, 01 Distribution, is previewing “The Ties” in cinemas across Italy as a double bill in conjunction with the fest’s opening ceremony.
“It’s the first time this has ever been done anywhere in the world,” says 01 Distribution chief Luigi Lonigro, who devised this marketing strategy in tandem with fest organizers in the spirit of Venice’s symbolic significance as a restart moment.
Luchetti, a veteran helmer whose “Our Life” and “My Brother Is an Only Child” years ago launched from Cannes, had submitted “The Ties” to Cannes earlier this year. But when he did so the film was not completed, since the pandemic had forced him to interrupt editing.
- 9/2/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In the year of coronavirus, the Venice Film Festival opened on a low-key note with a local Italian drama that, though finely crafted by director Daniele Luchetti, pushed no envelope and made no splash. It also included a new credit at the end, which we’re likely to see for some time to come: “cast medical exams,” followed by a doctor’s name.
The Ties (Lacci) takes place in an airless pre-covid space, primarily the apartments of a husband and his wife and his lover, where a tale of unfaithfulness and blame plays out with none of the pixie-ish sense of humor ...
The Ties (Lacci) takes place in an airless pre-covid space, primarily the apartments of a husband and his wife and his lover, where a tale of unfaithfulness and blame plays out with none of the pixie-ish sense of humor ...
In the year of coronavirus, the Venice Film Festival opened on a low-key note with a local Italian drama that, though finely crafted by director Daniele Luchetti, pushed no envelope and made no splash. It also included a new credit at the end, which we’re likely to see for some time to come: “cast medical exams,” followed by a doctor’s name.
The Ties (Lacci) takes place in an airless pre-covid space, primarily the apartments of a husband and his wife and his lover, where a tale of unfaithfulness and blame plays out with none of the pixie-ish sense of humor ...
The Ties (Lacci) takes place in an airless pre-covid space, primarily the apartments of a husband and his wife and his lover, where a tale of unfaithfulness and blame plays out with none of the pixie-ish sense of humor ...
After more than six month of struggle for the film industry, this morning saw the first major movie event return as Venice staged its first press screenings for opening film Lacci and Greek drama Apples.
What a difference a year makes. Last year’s screenings of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth were largely full. Today’s screenings were sparsely attended with plenty of empty seats, a strange sight on the first day of the usually packed festival. It wasn’t only the social distancing measures. Attendance looks to be significantly down. I would say my screening of Apples was a tenth full at best. The late morning screenings were busier than those at 8.30am, and it should be noted that the screening of Italian competition film Lacci was always going to be busier than the Horizons opener, but reports are that Lacci was also far from 50% capacity.
Our temperatures were...
What a difference a year makes. Last year’s screenings of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth were largely full. Today’s screenings were sparsely attended with plenty of empty seats, a strange sight on the first day of the usually packed festival. It wasn’t only the social distancing measures. Attendance looks to be significantly down. I would say my screening of Apples was a tenth full at best. The late morning screenings were busier than those at 8.30am, and it should be noted that the screening of Italian competition film Lacci was always going to be busier than the Horizons opener, but reports are that Lacci was also far from 50% capacity.
Our temperatures were...
- 9/2/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Industry registration closes on September 2.
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) organisers on Tuesday (September 1) announced a selection of 30 global acquisition titles outside the Official Selection.
TIFF Industry Selects titles hail from 29 countries and have been hand-picked by TIFF’s industry and festival programming teams and will screen to accredited users on the festival’s dedicated press and industry platform, TIFF Digital Cinema Pro. Industry registration closes on September 2.
2020 TIFF Industry Selects Titles:
A Good Man (France) Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
After Love (UK) Aleem Khan
And Tomorrow The Entire World (Germany/France) Julia Von Heinz
Apples (Greece) Christos Nikou
Baby Done (New...
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) organisers on Tuesday (September 1) announced a selection of 30 global acquisition titles outside the Official Selection.
TIFF Industry Selects titles hail from 29 countries and have been hand-picked by TIFF’s industry and festival programming teams and will screen to accredited users on the festival’s dedicated press and industry platform, TIFF Digital Cinema Pro. Industry registration closes on September 2.
2020 TIFF Industry Selects Titles:
A Good Man (France) Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
After Love (UK) Aleem Khan
And Tomorrow The Entire World (Germany/France) Julia Von Heinz
Apples (Greece) Christos Nikou
Baby Done (New...
- 9/1/2020
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The 77th Venice Film Festival kicks off Wednesday, with Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Matt Dillon, and France’s Ludivine Sagnier among international stars expected on the social-distanced red carpet that will open the first major post coronavirus physical film event packed with plenty of symbolic significance.
Just as the release of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster spy thriller “Tenet” is now considered a post-pandemic turning point for exhibitors, Venice is likely to go down in the annals as the pivotal restart moment for film festivals.
Along with enough stars to keep the 120 accredited photographers happy enough, the fest’s opening ceremony will be attended by artistic directors of seven prominent European film events, including Cannes (Thierry Fremaux), Berlin (Carlo Chatrian) and Locarno (Lili Hinstin). As previously announced, these fest chiefs will be taking the stage to express solidarity toward other fests that have been cancelled or postponed and “especially to express...
Just as the release of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster spy thriller “Tenet” is now considered a post-pandemic turning point for exhibitors, Venice is likely to go down in the annals as the pivotal restart moment for film festivals.
Along with enough stars to keep the 120 accredited photographers happy enough, the fest’s opening ceremony will be attended by artistic directors of seven prominent European film events, including Cannes (Thierry Fremaux), Berlin (Carlo Chatrian) and Locarno (Lili Hinstin). As previously announced, these fest chiefs will be taking the stage to express solidarity toward other fests that have been cancelled or postponed and “especially to express...
- 9/1/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Thierry Fremaux from the Cannes Film Festival, José Luis Rebordinos from San Sebastian and Carlo Chatrian from the Berlinale are among the eight artistic directors of the main European film festivals who will be attending the opening night of Venice.
The inaugural evening of the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival will take place Sept. 2 in Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido). Each of the artistic directors will represent the community of film festivals in Europe and around the world.
Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of Venice, will be surrounded by Chatrian, Rebordinos, Fremaux, as well as Lili Hinstin from Locarno, Vanja Kaludjeric from Rotterdam, Karel Och from Karlovy Vary, Tricia Tuttle from London Film Festival.
The symbolic event will be meant to “reassert the importance of the art of cinema as a sign of solidarity towards the global film industry which has been hit hard by the pandemic,...
The inaugural evening of the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival will take place Sept. 2 in Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido). Each of the artistic directors will represent the community of film festivals in Europe and around the world.
Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of Venice, will be surrounded by Chatrian, Rebordinos, Fremaux, as well as Lili Hinstin from Locarno, Vanja Kaludjeric from Rotterdam, Karel Och from Karlovy Vary, Tricia Tuttle from London Film Festival.
The symbolic event will be meant to “reassert the importance of the art of cinema as a sign of solidarity towards the global film industry which has been hit hard by the pandemic,...
- 8/28/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
While the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to both the Cannes and Telluride film festivals, seen as essential stops on the road to awards season glory, both the Venice and Toronto film festivals are going ahead.
For its 77th celebration of film that starts September 2, the Venice Film Festival will open with Daniele Luchetti‘s drama “Lacci,” the first Italian film to kick off the event in 11 years. While “Lacci” is not competing for the Golden Lion, which was won by “Joker” last year, one title to keep an eye on is “Nomadland,” directed by Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”). The drama starring two-time Oscar-winning Best Actress Frances McDormand will premiere on September 11 at Venice and Toronto.
SEEFrances McDormand movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Cate Blanchett is serving as the president of this year’s Venice competition jury. Other selections vying for the fest’s top prize beyond “Nomadland” are:
“In Between Dying,...
For its 77th celebration of film that starts September 2, the Venice Film Festival will open with Daniele Luchetti‘s drama “Lacci,” the first Italian film to kick off the event in 11 years. While “Lacci” is not competing for the Golden Lion, which was won by “Joker” last year, one title to keep an eye on is “Nomadland,” directed by Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”). The drama starring two-time Oscar-winning Best Actress Frances McDormand will premiere on September 11 at Venice and Toronto.
SEEFrances McDormand movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Cate Blanchett is serving as the president of this year’s Venice competition jury. Other selections vying for the fest’s top prize beyond “Nomadland” are:
“In Between Dying,...
- 8/7/2020
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
As the Venice Film Festival ramps up for its 77th (and in-person!) run on September 2, now’s the time to peruse the lineup for the discoveries that will pop, especially in a festival season without many new major movies. One such discovery is the film from Kazakhstan “Yellow Cat,” set for the Horizons section dedicated to edgier fare looking to break out. IndieWire shares the exclusive first trailer for the film, which is directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov. Check it out below.
It’s no coincidence that the music in the trailer sounds a lot like Carl Orff’s “Gassenhauer,” the theme for Terrence Malick’s debut “Badlands.” Like that film, “Yellow Cat” follows lovers on the lam, running from a criminal background but still entangled in all sorts of misadventures. The story centers on ex-con Kermek (Azamat Nigmanov) and his beloved Eva (Kamila Nugmanova), who want to give up their...
It’s no coincidence that the music in the trailer sounds a lot like Carl Orff’s “Gassenhauer,” the theme for Terrence Malick’s debut “Badlands.” Like that film, “Yellow Cat” follows lovers on the lam, running from a criminal background but still entangled in all sorts of misadventures. The story centers on ex-con Kermek (Azamat Nigmanov) and his beloved Eva (Kamila Nugmanova), who want to give up their...
- 8/5/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Lasciami andare by Stefano Mordini will be Venice’s closing film; the special events include the series 30 Coins, directed by Álex de la Iglesia. Eight fiction films and 11 non-fiction titles, plus three special screenings, comprise the jam-packed Out of Competition programme of the 77th Venice Film Festival (2-12 September), as announced by artistic director Alberto Barbera this morning during a live-streamed press conference (see the news on the Venice 77 and Orizzonti competitions). Among the works of fiction on this list, besides the previously announced opening film (The Ties by Daniele Luchetti – see the news), is also the movie that will have the honour of closing this year’s Mostra: it will be another Italian title, Lasciami andare by Stefano Mordini, a psychological thriller filmed during the period of high water levels in Venice, starring Valeria Golino, Stefano Accorsi, Maya Sansa and Serena Rossi. In the same section is...
With Telluride Film Festival forced to cancel their yearly event, what is now the first of the major fall festivals, Venice, has announced their complete lineup. Along with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, which was revealed yesterday, the lineup includes more of our most-anticipated films of the year, including Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, Gia Coppola’s Mainstream, Abel Ferrara’s Sportin’ Life, Lav Diaz’s Genus Pan, Mona Fastvold’s The World to Come, Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman, Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno, and more.
There were also a few surprises in the lineup. Luca Guadagnino has directed a new documentary titled Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, while Alice Rohrwacher and Jr have teamed for the new short film, Omelia Contadina. Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibules will also premiere out of competition.
In perhaps the best surprise of all, a new, recently uncovered film by Orson Welles,...
There were also a few surprises in the lineup. Luca Guadagnino has directed a new documentary titled Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, while Alice Rohrwacher and Jr have teamed for the new short film, Omelia Contadina. Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibules will also premiere out of competition.
In perhaps the best surprise of all, a new, recently uncovered film by Orson Welles,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
While the coronavirus pandemic has canceled major festivals such as Cannes and Telluride, the 2020 Venice Film Festival is moving ahead as planned and will be the world’s first major film festival since Sundance and Berlin at the start of the year. Venice 2020’s main selection will be split into three sections: Venezia 77 (aka the main competition), Out of Competition, and Horizons. The titles selected for the main competition will compete for the Golden Lion, which was awarded last year to Todd Phillips’ “Joker.”
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
- 7/28/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The Venice Film Festival is unveiling the lineup of its 77th edition, which, barring complications, will be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition following the coronavirus crisis.
Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11, in both cases preceded by virtual introductions.
The out-of-competition opener will be Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s anatomy of a marriage drama “Lacci” (“The Ties”) (pictured) starring Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Traitor”) as the couple at the film’s center.
The virtual press conference is scheduled to begin at 11am Cet. This post will be updated live as films are revealed.
Venice Film Festival Lineup
In Competition
“In Between Dying,” Hilal Baydarov
“Le Sorelle Macaluso,” Emma Dante (Italy)
“The World to Come,” Mona Fastvold (U.S.)
“Nuevo Orden,” Michel Franco
“Lovers,...
Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11, in both cases preceded by virtual introductions.
The out-of-competition opener will be Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s anatomy of a marriage drama “Lacci” (“The Ties”) (pictured) starring Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Traitor”) as the couple at the film’s center.
The virtual press conference is scheduled to begin at 11am Cet. This post will be updated live as films are revealed.
Venice Film Festival Lineup
In Competition
“In Between Dying,” Hilal Baydarov
“Le Sorelle Macaluso,” Emma Dante (Italy)
“The World to Come,” Mona Fastvold (U.S.)
“Nuevo Orden,” Michel Franco
“Lovers,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Update, with more detail: As expected, the Venice Film Festival’s 2020 competition lineup is light on studio titles with only Searchligh’s Nomadland and Sony’s The World To Come figuring. Both of those are directed by women in what is a much stronger year for female filmmakers than in the past. Last year, Venice faced criticism for having just two women in competition while this year, there are women behind eight of the 18 features. Venice chief Alberto Barbera noted they were “selected exclusively on the basis of their quality and not as a result of gender protocols.”
Acknowledging the effects of Covid on Hollywood, Barbera also said in an introductory note, “A few spectacular movies will be missing, blocked by the lockdown which still affects the programming of the most-awaited Hollywood releases.” Venice has had great success as a launchpad in recent years,...
Acknowledging the effects of Covid on Hollywood, Barbera also said in an introductory note, “A few spectacular movies will be missing, blocked by the lockdown which still affects the programming of the most-awaited Hollywood releases.” Venice has had great success as a launchpad in recent years,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Competition line-up includes films by Chloe Zhao, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Kornel Mandruczo and Andrei Konchalovsky.
The line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The big talking points from this year’s selection include an improved gender split, with eight women selected for the competition section (compared to two last year), and a lack of major US projects. Venice will be one of the first major film festivals to take place as a physical event following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the big-name auteurs selected are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Michel Franco (Nuevo...
The line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The big talking points from this year’s selection include an improved gender split, with eight women selected for the competition section (compared to two last year), and a lack of major US projects. Venice will be one of the first major film festivals to take place as a physical event following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the big-name auteurs selected are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Michel Franco (Nuevo...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
The ‘slimmed-down’ festival will run September 2-12.
The line-up for the 76th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) is being unveiled this morning at around 11am Cet.
This story will be updated with the films as they are announced at the press conference, which is being live-streamed here.
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s Lacci will open the festival out of competition. Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand, has also been selected as part of a pact that will also see it play at Toronto, New York and a special drive-in screening organised by Telluride.
Cate Blanchett will preside over...
The line-up for the 76th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) is being unveiled this morning at around 11am Cet.
This story will be updated with the films as they are announced at the press conference, which is being live-streamed here.
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s Lacci will open the festival out of competition. Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand, has also been selected as part of a pact that will also see it play at Toronto, New York and a special drive-in screening organised by Telluride.
Cate Blanchett will preside over...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
The pre-opening film will be Andrea Segre’s Molecole, shot in Venice during the lockdown; the members of the various juries have also been announced. The Ties by Daniele Luchetti will have the honour of opening the 77th edition of the Venice International Film Festival (2-12 September), out of competition. Produced by Beppe Caschetto for Ibc Movie together with Rai Cinema, the new film by the director of My Brother Is an Only Child and Our Life is based on a novel by Domenico Starnone and is described as “a mystery about feelings, a story of loyalty and faithlessness, of resentment and shame”. The main characters are Aldo and Vanda (Alba Rohrwacher), who live in Naples in the early 1980s. Their marriage begins to break down when Aldo falls in love with young...
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