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Forqué-nominated Spanish director Gala Gracia (“Evanescente”) will debut her tender first feature, “Remnants of You” (“Lo que queda de ti”), in competition at this year’s Malaga Film Festival.

The narrative follows Sara, a young jazz pianist living in New York who’s returned home to Spain’s Pyrenees after news of her father’s abrupt death. As heightened mourning grips her, she finds she’s inherited his sheep farm alongside her sister Elena, planting her firmly in a hometown both familiar and suffocating.

A highly personal portrait of reconciling desires against the sturdy expectations life doles out, the film centers Sara’s trepidation, as she weighs abandoning her passions to run the family business in an attempt to uphold her father’s legacy, potentially sacrificing the nourishment of her own.

Produced by Carlo D’Ursi’s Potenza Producciones (“The Quiet Maid”) with co-production credits to Bastian Films, Sajama Films, Garbo Produzioni and Fado Filmes,...

New Italian distribution company PiperFilm is launching its international sales unit at Rome’s upcoming Mia Market with veteran sales agent Catia Rossi spearheading the potentially high-powered player’s sales side having secured a small but promising multi-genre film slate.

Rossi is a former head of international sales at Vision Distribution, True Colours, and Rai Com. She launched True Colours and the sales unit at Vision. She’s now joining PiperFilm as director of international sales and will be unveiling the brand new PiperFilm lineup of Italian movies to buyers in Rome.

Domestically, PiperFilm is adopting an innovative distribution model having struck an agreement with Netflix under which the streaming giant will have the first exclusive post-theatrical window for Italy on their titles, while Warner Bros. Entertainment Italia will handle the operational distribution of their lineup in Italian movie theatres.

In Italy, the first PiperFilm to be released is Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,...

Stars: Diana Gardner, Nathaniel Ansbach, Isabella Egizi, Davide Nurra, Anastasiya Bogach, Giulia Nunnari, Fabián Castro, Riccardo Angelini | Written by Michael Lucid, Mary O’Neil | Directed by Dave Parker

After The Dead Hate the Living! and The Hills Run Red, Dave Parker was getting referred to as the next big thing in horror. Then in 2012 he made ColdWater which sat on the shelf for four years before being dumped on the streaming market as It Watches, killing his career momentum in the process. In the years since, he’s only directed one feature, Puppet Master: Doktor Death, and a pair of compilations, all for Full Moon. His new film, You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In, is a Tubi Original, and I’m not sure if that’s a step up or down career wise, but at least it’s a directing gig.

It begins with Kelsey and her friend Blake taking a...

Pulsar Content has secured worldwide sales on Michele Placido’s “Eternal Visionary,” a film about the life of Luigi Pirandello, the Italian playwright, novelist and poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934.

Pirandello is played by Fabrizio Bentivoglio, one of Italy’s best known actors whose credits include “Loro,” “The Invisible Boy” and “Human Capital.” Bentivoglio stars opposite filmmaker and actor Valeria Bruni Tedeschi who stars as Pirandello’s wife. Federica Luna Vincenti completes the cast.

The movie opens in 1934 as Pirandello is traveling to Stockholm, where he is about to receive the Nobel Prize. He starts reliving the drama and magic of the loved ones who have populated his life and inspired his art. He reminisces about the madness of his wife, his stormy relationship with his children, his controversial stance towards fascism and his love for Marta Abba, the young actress who became his muse.

Now in post-production,...

“Blends moments of wonder with visceral action” SFX

“Strong Guillermo del Toro vibes” Los Angeles Times

“A superheroic spin on Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds” Projected Figures

“A phantasmagoria version of Rome in 1943 that crosses Fellini and Tarantino” Maven’s Nest

“Will have you crying, laughing, wincing and smiling as it tells its epic story” The Hollywood News

Dazzler Media presents critically acclaimed and fresh fantasy adventure, Freaks Vs The Reich, in selected UK and Irish cinemas from 12th January 2024. Own the action on Blu-ray, DVD & Download from 26th February 2024!

Get ready for Freaks Vs The Reich, a wild and highly original fantasy adventure, reimagining history like never before…

Looking to flee the Nazi menace for the shores of America are four super-powered circus performers: there’s beautiful, young, electrically-charged Matilde, Cencio, an albino with the ability to control insects, Mario, a dwarf graced with magnetic powers, and Fulvio, a...

‘The Beekeeper’ starts a buzz for Sky Cinema; ‘The Boys In The Boat’ sets sail for Warner Bros.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things starts its run in 585 cinemas this weekend at the UK-Ireland box office – a wide opening for an 18-rated title.

The eighth feature from Greek director Lanthimos is his first 18-rated title since 2009’s Dogtooth, which opened to £26,149 from 16 sites and took a strong £189,815 in total.

Since that film, Lanthimos’ box office horizons have expanded significantly – first with 2015’s The Lobster , then especially with The Favourite his most recent film before Poor Things.

That film took a similar early...

Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” continued its dominance over the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.7 million ($4.8 million) in its fifth weekend, according to numbers from Comscore.

The Timothée Chalamet starrer has now amassed £53.3 million. In second place, another Warner Bros. title, “One Life,” starring Anthony Hopkins, which opened on Jan. 1, collected £1.7 million over the weekend for a total of £3.5 million.

In third position, in its second weekend, Sony’s “Anyone But You” collected £1.09 million for a total of £3.5 million. In fourth place, Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom” earned £938,355 in its third weekend for a total of £8.3 million.

Rounding off the top five was Elysian’s Miyazaki Hayao film “The Boy and the Heron” with £794,741 in its second weekend for a total of £3.1 million.

In sixth place, Mubi’s “Priscilla,” which also opened on Jan. 1, grossed £643,800 over the weekend for a total of £1.4 million. The other Top 10 debut was...

Production in Italy has boomed in recent years, and so too have budgets and international investment.

Cast an eye over the titles vying for a Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival and one thing stands out – the number of Italian films in the main competition.

Six of the 23 films in the main competition are Italian, an increase from the usual three Italian titles that are programmed in the section. While the step change could be a result of the writers and actors’ strikes leading to fewer US productions making the trip to Venice, each of the selected...

Troma's films, like Surf Nazis Must Die, were looked down upon by the movie industry and ridiculed by reviewers, but they still found fans. The film raises awareness of the reality behind the glamorized So Cal surfing scene, shedding light on the boorish behavior of some surfers. While Surf Nazis Must Die may not be a great movie, it captures the seedy aesthetic and ethos of authentic 60s Californian surfing better than other films.

Troma never had a great rep in the movie industry as a film studio, looked down upon even by Golan-Globus. To describe their films as schlock is an insult to schlock. Troma’s output was ridiculed by reviewers and relegated to the back corner of the Blockbuster.

Still, they found their fans here and there. While it’s not quite up there with the likes of Schindler’s List, Peter George’s 1987 apocalyptic-Nazi revenge film...

The 2023 Venice Film Festival has unveiled its Main Competition jury.

Under president Damien Chazelle, the jury will include Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Laura Poitras, Martin McDonagh, Saleh Bakri, Gabriele Mainetti, Santiago Mitre, and Shu Qi. The 80th annual festival will run from August 30 to September 9.

The Main Competition jury will award the Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Last year’s jury was overseen by Julianne Moore, awarding the Golden Lion to 2023 jury member Poitras’ documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.”

Silver Lion winner Luca Guadagnino returns to the 2023 festival with Opening Night film “Challengers” starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as three tennis players caught up in a game of love.

An all-star award-winning filmmaker jury is lining up to judge the competition titles of the 80th Venice Film Festival. Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion, Oscar winner Martin McDonagh, and Oscar and Venice Golden Lion winner Laura Poitras will join jury president Damien Chazelle on the Venice 2023 international jury.

Also on this year’s jury judging the Golden and Silver Lion winners will be acclaimed French director Mia Hansen-Love, Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, Argentine filmmaker Santiago Mitre as well as Chinese actress Shu Qi.

Most of the jury has a history with Venice. Chazelle premiered La La Land and First Man in competition on the Lido. Poitras’ last film, the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, won last year’s Golden Lion. Campion’s The Power of the Dog was a Silver Lion winner in 2021. McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, a 2022 Venice competition title, took the...

Among those selected, Laura Poitras won the Golden Lion at the festival last year.

Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Laura Poitras and Martin McDonagh have joined the main Competition jury of the 80th Venice Film Festival (August 30-September 9).

The filmmakers will be joined by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (Wajib); Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, who was in Competition at the festival in 2021 with Freaks Out; Argentinian writer/director Santiago Mitre, whose Argentina, 1985 premiered in Competition at Venice last year; and Chinese actress Shu Qi, known for her performances in Hou Hsiao-Hsien films Millennium Mambo, Three Times and The Assassin.

US director Poitras...

The Venice Film Festival has unveiled the names who will join Damien Chazelle on the main Competition jury of its 80th edition, running Aug 30 — Sep 9.

Jury members include Saleh Bakri, Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Gabriele Mainetti, Martin McDonagh, Santiago Mitre, Laura Poitras, and Shu Qi.

The jury will award the following official prizes to the feature films in Competition, with no joint awards allowed: Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Saleh Bakri is a Palestinian film and theater actor. For the movie Wajib (2017) by Annemarie Jacir, Bakri won the Muhr Award for Best Actor at the Dubai Film Festival. His latest film performances are in the Oscar-nominated short film The Present by Farah Nabulsi (2020) and in Costa Brava,...

Jane Campion, Laura Poitras, Martin McDonagh and Mia Hansen-Løve have joined the main jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

The prominent directors, most of whom are Venice regulars – Poitras last year scored the Golden Lion with documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” – will be joined by fellow jury members including Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“Wajib”); Chinese star Shu Qi (“The Assassin”); Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, who was at Venice last year with “Freaks Out”; and Argentinian auteur Santiago Mitre, whose “Argentina, 1985” also launched from the Lido last year.

They will join Damien Chazelle who, as previously announced, will serve as president of the Venice competition jury.

Venice revealed its jury just hours after talks broke down without a deal between actors union SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance for Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). A strike is expected to be called on Thursday morning, Pacific time, which could have...

Exclusive: American Honey director Andrea Arnold’s next film is gearing up as Deadline has confirmed that Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski are in talks to star in Bird.

Not much is known about the film other than it begins filming next month which is why Keoghan had to part ways with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel which shoots at the same time.

Keoghan is coming off a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the 1920s-set The Banshees of Inisherin. Next up he can be seen in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn opposite Jacob Elordi and is shooting Trey Edward Shults’ latest movie, which also stars Jenna Ortega and The Weeknd.

Following his star-making role in the sci fi pic Transit, Rogowski has been on the industry’s radar as one of the rising stars to keep an eye on. He recently wrapped production on the A24 comedy Wizards! opposite Pete Davidson,...

Gabriele Mainetti on the streets of Rome with Anne-Katrin Titze: “In Once Upon A Time In America you don’t even have the American Dream like Scarface does.”

In the second instalment with Gabriele Mainetti we touch upon Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Brian De Palma’s Scarface, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America, John Ford and John Wayne, Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City, Michael Haneke’s comment on Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Tod Browning, and the painful process of accepting yourself in Freaks Out, co-written with Nicola Guaglianone.

Gabriele Mainetti on Franz (Franz Rogowski): “Franz says no and Matilda can’t say no and says yes with all the pain.”

There’s Franz, the German pianist blessed with 12 fingers and the ability to see the future. He wants the “freaks” on his side. But what exactly is his side?...

You've got to see (formerly known as) Freaks Out! That's all we ever heard when Gabriele Mainetti's (formerlly known as) Freaks Out hit the festival circuit. And then it straight up disappeared and we heard nary of word of its whereabouts. Now retitled Freaks vs. The Reich the fantasy drama war flick written by Mainetti and Nicola Guaglianone will finally see the light of day, via Vmi Worldwide on April 28th. It will be released theatrically & VOD/Digital on that day. The complete announcement follows with a small gallery of stills. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any trailers. Four Supernaturally Gifted Circus Performers Band Together To Fight The Oppressive Nazi Regime's Occupation Of Italy In Director Gabriele Mainetti’S Epic Genre Mash-up...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Exclusive: Vmi Releasing has picked up North American rights to the fantastical WWII drama Freaks vs. the Reich (formerly Freaks Out), which won eight awards at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, including the Grafetta d’Oro for Best Film, and went on to land six David di Donatello Awards from the Academy of Italian Cinema the following year. The second feature from director Gabriele Mainetti (They Call Me Jeeg) will bow in theaters and on digital on April 28th.

Related Story Roadside Attractions Acquires Emerson Brothers Drama ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ With Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe & Zooey Deschanel Related Story Vmi Releasing Taps 'Skinamarink' Exec Producer Jonathan Barkan As Head Of U.S. Distribution Related Story Michael Madsen Horror Gets North America Deal; Toronto Music Biz Pic Adds Cast; Carmen Aguirre Memoir Optioned — North America Briefs

The film set in 1943 Rome opens on an artisanal circus owned by elderly magician,...

Now that we have entered full-on into the spooky season festivals around this time of year are some of your best bets to get into that holiday mood. Our friends at Mayhem have just announced the full lineup for this year's edition; it promises a weekend full of thrills and chills.   Already announced was the festival's participation in BFI's In Dreams Are Monsters program this year. The festivals also announced Argento's Dark Glasses and the UK premiere of Jethica were the first films programmed this year.    Current festival faves include The Harbinger, Huesera, Unicorn Wars, Freaks Out, and Watcher. The festival is hosting a number of indie genre flicks and more repetoire screenings as well. The full lineup can be found in the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Lea Mysius’s ‘The Five Devils’ will open the festival, which runs July 1-9.

Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, one of Europe’s leading fantasy festivals, has announced its full programme today (16 June).

The festival will open with the international premiere of The Five Devils by Léa Mysius, while the closing film is Sun Haipeng’s animated feature I Am What I Am.

This is the first edition under Pierre-Yves Walder, who took up the post of general and artistic director last July after 11 years as part of the Nifff programming team. The competition jury is to be headed by US author Joyce Carol Oates,...

Great Freedom, starring Franz Rogowski, is showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries starting May 7, 2022. The actor is also the subject of Mubi's retrospective, Franz Rogowski: Man of the Hour.Franz Rogowski in Great Freedom (2021).Some people just have it—"it" here being largely indefinable and perhaps even a quality others also possess but for whatever reason doesn’t galvanize the masses like that rare individual. German actor Franz Rogowski is one of those people, a once-in-a-generation talent whose meteoric rise has been as surprising as it is warranted. Though he’d featured prominently as both a lead (in German director Jakob Lass’s 2013 bizarre romantic improvisation Love Steaks) and a supporting player, Rogowski’s star truly began to rise when Berlin School auteur Christian Petzold cast him in his 2018 masterpiece Transit, which launched the face that launched a thousand appreciations of it, particularly in the United States where he had theretofore been largely unknown.

Exclusive: Rising German actor Franz Rogowski, who most recently starred in Cannes Film Festival critical hit Great Freedom, has signed with CAA.

Sebastian Meise’s drama, about the criminilization of homosexuality in post-war Germany, won the 2021 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in Cannes. Rogowski gives a magnetic performance as Hans, a man repeatedly imprisoned under Paragraph 175 but who over the span of decades develops an unlikely bond with his cellmate.

Rogowski is also known for Christian Petzold films Transit and Undine, Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, Gabriele Mainetti’s Venice Film Festival title Freaks Out and Sebastian Schipper’s Berlin drama Victoria.

The former Berlin Shooting Star also starred in In The Aisles for which he won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role at the 2018 German Film Awards and a Lola Award.

Rogowski continues to be represented in the UK by Sam Fox and Kate Morrison at B-Side Management,...

The Hand Of God won four prizes including best film, best director and best supporting actress.

Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God won four prizes at the 67th David di Donatello awards, including best film (the first Netflix title to do so), best director and best supporting actress for Teresa Saponangelo.

The Oscar-nominated coming-of-age drama also shared the cinematography prize with Gabriele Mainetti’s Venice competition title Freaks Out, which won six awards in total, including prizes for the producers, production design, hairdressing, make-up and VFX.

The two films both had the highest number of nominations with 16.

The in-person...

The David di Donatello Awards were held in Rome on Tuesday evening, the first time Italy’s equivalent to the Oscar has had a fully in-person ceremony in the pandemic era. Taking top honors was Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God which scooped Best Film and Director as well as Best Supporting Actress for Teresa Saponangelo and a tie for Best Cinematography. In the latter category, The Hand Of God shared the win with Freaks Out, a fantasy drama that likewise debuted in Venice.

Sorrentino’s autobiographical drama launched on the Lido last September where it won the Grand Jury Prize. A Netflix title, it went on to myriad festival and critics prizes and was also nominated for an Oscar as Best International Feature.

Freaks Out, directed by Gabriele Mainetti, also picked up prizes for Producer, Production Design, Hair and Makeup. Other titles to figure in the David di...

Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-nominated autobiographical drama “The Hand of God” took top honors at Italy’s 67th David di Donatello Awards, winning best picture, director, supporting actress and tying for the best cinematography statuette.

Sorrentino’s Naples-set film about the personal tragedy and other vicissitudes that drove him to become a top notch film director had been the frontrunner along with young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out.”

“Freaks Out” won six prizes, including for its producer, Andrea Occhipinti, as well as cinematographer, set design, and effects.

The cinematography prize, which was a tie, was split between “Hand of God” Dp Daria D’Antonio, marking the first time this David goes to a woman, and Michele Attanasio for “Freaks Out.”

The Davids were held as a fully in-person ceremony at Rome’s Cinecittà studios just as the famed facilities undergo a radical renewal being...

As they celebrate being held as a physical event, Italy’s upcoming 67th David di Donatello Awards epitomize the ongoing shift in generations and genres that is underway in Cinema Italiano.

Leading the pack this year are seasoned auteur Paolo Sorrentino’s most personal film “The Hand of God” and young helmer Gabriele Mainetti’s second feature, the elegant effects-laden historical fantasy “Freaks Out,” which is set in 1943 Rome and involves four “freaks” working in a circus when the Eternal City is bombed by Allied Forces. Both pics scored 16 nominations each.

Close behind are Mario Martone’s classic biopic “The King of Laughter,” about popular early 20th-century Neapolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta, with 14 noms. Then come Leonardo Di Costanzo’s subtle prison drama “Ariaferma” and “Diabolik,” an adaptation of a comic book about a charming master thief, directed by Marco and Antonio Manetti, both with 11 noms a piece.

“We...

Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” and Gabriele Mainetti’s “Freaks Out” lead the pack at the David di Donatello Awards this year with 16 nominations each.

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Picture

“Ariaferma” (The Inner Cage), Leonardo Di Costanzo

“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino

“Ennio,” Giuseppe Tornatore

“Freaks Out,” Gabriele Mainetti

“Qui Rido Io” (The King of Laughter), Mario Martone

Director

“Ariaferma” (The Inner Cage), Leonardo Di Costanzo

“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino

“Ennio,” Giuseppe Tornatore

“Freaks Out,” Gabriele Mainetti

“Qui Rido Io” (The King of Laughter), Mario Martone

Debut Director

“The Bad Poet,” Gianluca Jodice

“Maternal,” Maura Delpero

“Small Body,” Laura Samani

“Re Granchio” (The Legend of King Crab), Alessio Rigo De Righi, Matteo Zoppis

“Una Femmina” (The Code of Silence), Francesco Constabile

Producer

“A Chiara,” Jon Coplon, Paolo Carpignano, Ryan Zacarias, Jonas Carpignano (Stayblack Productions) — Rai Cinema

“Ariaferma” (The Inner Cage), Carlo Cresto...

Cinecittà CEO Nicola Maccanico, who is a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec, is implementing a major upgrade and expansion of the iconic Rome studios where he recently installed Europe’s largest LED Wall on the lot near the large Studio 5 that was once Federico Fellini’s second home. Maccanico, who has ambitions for Cinecittà to become continental Europe’s top studio facility, spoke to Variety from the lot about the symbolic significance of holding the David di Donatello Awards on the premises. Excerpts.

Why is it so important to have the Davids at Cinecittà?

They are being held here exactly a year after the studio’s renewal and new phase started. It’s also a time when Cinecittà is now celebrating being fully booked through most of 2023. So there are symbolic elements of various types: the Italian film community is back together in person at Cinecittà at a time when,...

Toni Servillo stars in a Genovese film for the first time.

Paolo Genovese’s The First Day Of My Life, starring Toni Servillo, and now in post-production, has sold widely for Italian sales outfit True Colours, following the European Film Market.

The film has been acquired for Benelux (Paradiso Entertainment), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Israel (Nachshon), former Yugoslavia (Stars Media), Finland (Future Films) and Portugal (Outsider Pictures).

The First Day Of My Life is an adaptation of Genovese’s novel of the same title. about a group of individuals who meet a stranger, played by Servillo, at the worst moment in their lives.

Mijke de Jong’s Along The Way was the only film to officially receive a physical screening.

Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), struck an upbeat note on the closing weekend of the 51st edition which included the physical world premiere of Mijke de Jong’s Along The Way, at cinemas in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen.

She hailed the efforts made by her festival team in putting together an online edition for a second year in such challenging circumstances. The entire festival had to be re-thought as an online event at short notice when in late December,...

The festival runs in Glasgow from March 10-12.

Christina Ricci-led supernatural thriller Monstrous and Christopher Lee Parson’s debut A Cloud So High are among the 12 films in the line-up for UK horror festival Glasgow FrightFest, running from March 10-12.

Monstrous receives its international premiere, and tells the story of a mother and son who flee an abusive husband only to encounter a more terrifying monster. Christina Ricci stars in the supernatural thriller, directed by Chris Sivertson.

Christopher Lee Parson’s directorial debut A Cloud So High has its world premiere at the event. It stars The Deer Hunter...

Answering the SunInternational Film Festival Rotterdam have announced the full lineup for their "scaled-down" 51st edition, which will take place online between January 26 — February 6. As part of a full, nationwide lockdown, cinemas will remain closed in the Netherlands until at least 14 January. Tiger COMPETITIONAchrome (Maria Ignatenko)The Cloud Messenger (Rahat Mahajan)The Child (Marguerite de Hillerin/Félix Dutilloy-Liégeois)Eami (Paz Encina)Excess Will Save Us (Morgane Dziurla-Petit)Kafka for Kids (Roee Rosen)Malintzin 17 (Mara Polgovsky/Eugenio Polgovsky)Met mes (Sam de Jong)The Plains (David Easteal)Proyecto Fantasma (Roberto Doveris)Le rêve et la radio (Renaud Després-Larose/Ana Tapia Rousiouk)Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish (Lei Lei)To Love Again (Gao Linyang)Yamabuki (Juichiro Yamasaki)Big Screen COMPETITIONAssault (Adilkhan Yerzhanov)Broadway (Christos Massalas)Third Grade (Jacques Doillon)Daryn’s Gym (Brett Michael Innes)Drifting Petals (Clara Law)The Harbour (Rajeev Ravi)The Island (Anca Damian)Kung Fu Zohra (Mabrouk El Mechri...

Grants

The International Documentary Association (IDA) will award grants totalling $105,000 to five films through its Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund on the theme, “Challenging White Supremacy.”

The films are “Aanikoobijigan”; “Brigidy Bram: The Life and Mind of Kendal Hanna”; “Home Is Somewhere Else”; “The Quiet Part” (working title); and “Yintah”.

In addition, filmmakers Ilse Fernandez (“Exodus Stories”) and Sundance winner Rintu Thomas (“Writing with Fire”), will receive IDA’s Logan Elevate Grants of $25,000 each.

Highlighting IDA’s support for diversity, among the Pare Lorentz grants, one project is directed and/or produced by a non-binary filmmaker and four are directed and/or produced by a woman. Four have a Bipoc director and/or producer and four directors and/or producers identify as LGBTQ+.

Since 2011, IDA has provided over $5.9 million in grants through its documentary funds.

Festival

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Jan. 26 – Feb. 6) has revealed the first confirmed titles for its 51st edition,...

Italy’s Rai Com, which is the sales arm of Italian state broadcaster Rai, is scoring sales to key territories on Gabriele Mainetti’s “Freaks Out,” following the genre-bending film’s launch in competition at Venice.

Mainetti’s lavish historical fantasy set in 1943 Rome, where four “freaks” who work in a circus are left to their own devices when the Eternal City is bombed by Allied Forces, has been sold to Metropolitan Film for France and to The Klockwork Co. for Japan.

In an interview with Variety, Rai Com CEO Angelo Teodoli called these first sales on “Freaks,” which is screening at Rome’s Mia Market, “very important for us because due to Covid we were getting less titles,” while now things are perking up again.

The Rai Com lineup at Mia also includes another Venice title, Roberto Andò’s “The Hidden Child,” starring Silvio Orlando, who plays Cardinal Voiello in “The Young Pope,...

Films set for release on the first weekend at full capacity include Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and Andy Serkis’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Italian cinemas will be permitted to open at full capacity from Monday, October 11 following a new government ruling.

The new rules, which also apply to theatres, museums and concert halls, will require proof of vaccination and mask-wearing from attendees and apply to all regions labelled as white – which signifies that Covid is under control. Currently all regions in Italy are white, with none labelled yellow (at risk) or red (full lockdown required), although this will be reviewed on Monday.

Above: Qui rido io (The King of Laughter).Ever so slowly, at least in good parts of Europe, life is returning more and more to a semblance of what we once knew as normal—setbacks and snags included, of course.The 2021 Venice Film Festival was a curious example of that on the organizational level: The same security measures as last year plus vaccination or recovery certificates on top; the same ticketing system, but much more attendees. Which ended in a bit of a massive mess as getting access to screenings became an ordeal. The festival probably hoped that if they just offered enough possibilities to watch a film then everything would even out somehow, but that was not the case, for myriads of reasons, some too mathematical to get into here and others too tediously defined by circumstances. These things happen when a team has to deal with dozens and...

by Nathaniel R

Elisa and Nathaniel on one of several drink between movies breaks

That's a wrap on Venezia 78, otherwise known at the 2021 edition of the Venice Film Festival. The Golden Lion went to the excellent French abortion drama L'Evenement / Happening with Parallel Mothers, Spencer, and a trio of Netflix movies Hand of God, The Lost Daughter, and Power of the Dog  also emerging as hot future awards-prospects from the competition. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful the city is (my first time visiting), or what it's like to take a boat ride to the movies each day. Or especially to hang with Elisa in person who was such a great translator for me both linguistically and culturally. There was definitely a learning curve as a first-timer (I missed way too many of the hot ticket titles) but overall it was a good experience.  We hope you enjoyed our coverage.

No one can accuse Freaks Out of lacking shock value. This historical fantasy drama directed by Gabriele Mainetti indulges in every conceivable twist and corny antic to tell the story of four circus performers in Nazi-occupied Rome. Unfortunately, they don’t pay off, and instead end up turning this lengthy flick into a mostly gimmicky slog.

The film opens in 1943 and Matilde, Cencio, Fulvio and Mario, four circus performers, are putting on a routine show. First up is Cencio (Pietro Castellitto), a lanky platinum-blond boy who can control insects (except bees because they annoy him); then comes Mario (Giancarlo Martini), a ...

In the pantheon of notoriously unavailable films, Jerry Lewis’ “The Day the Clown Cried” occupies a special plinth: Its outline — a circus clown is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp where he cheers up Jewish children before being forced to lead them to their doom — makes it one of the few movies to have been suppressed purely on the grounds of “yikes.” It is perhaps unfair to compare it with “Freaks Out,” the second film from Italian director Gabriele Mainetti (“They Call Me Jeeg”), though given that Mainetti’s film also involves circus performers, Nazis and a train full of Jewish people being transported to the camps, quite which film the comparison is unfair to is up for debate. After all, Lewis’ boondoggle didn’t have in it a psychotic, ether-addicted, six-fingered, “Sieg Heil!”-ing pianist who can see into the future, and a whole host of references to, of all things,...

The country’s box office is still sputtering but Italian cinema is instead “in a state of grace,” as Venice chief Alberto Barbera put it recently as he announced the five features from Italy that are competing for the fest’s Golden Lion. It’s the most he’s ever selected from Italy.

And Barbera is adamant that he didn’t allocate almost one-fourth of Venice’s 21 competition slots to Cinema Italiano “to support our colors at a difficult time.”

“Some years he selects very little from Italy,” notes Barbara Salabè, who is the top Warner Bros. exec in Italy. “But this year Alberto told me: ‘the [Italian] films are good.’”

The Italian contingent on the Lido spans a wide range of cinematic styles, from “Il Buco,” an eclectic film with no dialogue or music about a group of speleologists who, in 1961, discover the world’s second-deepest cave — directed by underground helmer Michelangelo Frammartino,...

Venice this year has the goods and the glitz with a star-studded lineup packed with hotly anticipated titles such as Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” and Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel,” alongside more esoteric titles. It’s likely to make the Lido a place to reignite theatrical and bolster its standing as an awards season kingmaker.

The U.S. studios and indies will be out in force. European cinema is well-represented, especially Italy. Latin America has a significant presence, as does the Middle East. The only notable absence is China, which, due to Covid restrictions, makes travel to and from the country extremely difficult for filmmakers.

“Up until recently all Americans were in lockdown, which was much more rigid than what European productions had to contend with,” says Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera. “Americans shuttered for a year, films were not released,...

The programme for the 2021 Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Pedro Almodóvar, Jane Campion, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelangelo Frammartino, Pablo Larraín, Paul Schrader, Ridley Scott, and more.Parallel MothersCOMPETITIONParallel Mothers (Pedro Almodóvar)Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (Ana Lily Amirpour)Un Autre Monde (Stephane Brize)The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion)America LatinaL’Evenement (Audrey Diwan)Official CompetitionThe Hole (Michelangelo Frammartino)Sundown (Michel Franco)Lost Illusions (Xavier Giannoli)The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal)Spencer (Pablo Larrain)Freaks Out (Gabriele Mainetti)Qui Rido Io (Mario Martone)On The Job: The Missing 8 (Erik Matti)Leave No Traces (Jan P. Matuszyński)Captain Volkonogov EscapedThe Card Counter (Paul Schrader)The Hand of God (Paolo Sorrentino)Reflection (Valentyn Vasyanovych)The Box (Lorenzo Vigas)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesDune (Denis Villeneuve)Il Bambino Nascosto (Roberto Andò)Les Choses Humaines (Yvan Attal)Ariaferma (Leonardo Di Costanzo)Halloween Kills (David Gordon Green...

Italian sales company True Colours has secured a seven-title slate of pics premiering in Venice across various sections, including Mario Martone’s competition entry “The King of Laughter” and high-profile doc “Django and Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained,” in which Quentin Tarantino talks about the influential Spaghetti Westerns director.

Martone (“Capri Revolution”), who is a Lido aficionado, will once again vye for the Golden Lion with “King of Laughter,” a drama about Neapolitan theatre luminary Edoardo Scarpetta, played by Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”). Italy’s 01 Distribution will release the film in Italian theaters in September.

Another Venice competition title that True Colours is handling –– in this case in tandem with Rai Com –– is “Freaks Out,” the new genre-bender by Gabriele Mainetti, known for off-kilter 2016 superhero pic “They Call Me Jeeg.” Mainetti’s latest is set in 1943 Rome where four “freaks” who work in a circus are left to their...

As anticipated, writer-director Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog will make its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival.

The festival unveiled its full line-up yesterday, with Campion’s drama – a Netflix Original – to compete against 20 other titles such as Pablo Larrain’s Princess Diana biopic Spencer; Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter and Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers.

An Australian-New Zealand co-production based on the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage, The Power of the Dog stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Frances Conroy, Keith Carradine, Peter Carroll and Adam Beach.

Set in the 1920s, Cumberbatch and Plemons play brothers Phil and George Burbank, who own the biggest ranch in the Montana valley.

When George secretly marries local widow Rose (Dunst), a shocked and angry Phil wages a relentless war to destroy her, using her effeminate son Peter (Smit-McPhee) as a pawn.

“The 78th Venice International Film Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. It will take place at Venice Lido from 1 – 11 September 2021. The Festival is officially recognised by the Fiapf (International Federation of Film Producers Association). The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. The Festival also organises retrospectives and tributes to major figures as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.” Venezia 2021 – Competition Madres Paralelas, dir: Pedro Almodovar Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon, dir: Ana Lily Amirpour Un Autre Monde, dir: Stéphane Brizé The Power Of The Dog, dir: Jane Campion America Latina, dir: Damiano D’Innocenzo, Fabio D’Innocenzo L’Evénement, dir: Audrey Diwan Competencia Oficial, dirs: Gaston Duprat, Mariano Cohn Il Buco, dir: Michelangelo Frammartino Sundown,...

Taking place September 1 through 11, the Venice Film Festival has now unveiled its lineup, after a few teases of what it contains (the opening night selection of Madres Paralelas by Pedro Almodovar and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune). Among the selections are Jane Campion’s The Power of a Dog, Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, Pablo Larrain’s Spencer, Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, and Edgar Wright’s The Last Night in Soho will premiere there, along with new shorts by Radu Jude and Tsai Ming-liang.

Check out the line below for the festival that will feature 50% capacity at screenings.

Venezia 78 – Competition

Madres Paralelas, dir: Pedro Almodovar

Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon, dir: Ana Lily Amirpour

Un Autre Monde, dir: Stéphane Brizé

The Power Of The Dog,...

The 2021 Cannes Film Festival brought the international film circuit back to life in roaring fashion earlier this month (French filmmaker Julia Ducournau became the second woman director to win the Palme d’Or thanks to Neon release “Titane”), and next up are the trio of major fall film festivals in September: the Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Venice is first out of the gate by launching its 78th edition Wednesday, September 1. The lineup for Venice 2021 has now been revealed.

As previously announced, Pedro Almodóvar will kick off the 2021 Venice Film Festival with the world premiere of his new drama “Parallel Mothers.” The film will debut in competition and vie for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion. “Parallel Mothers” is written and directed by Almodóvar, and stars both regular and new collaborators, including Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Julieta Serrano,...

Updated, with more detail: The Venice Film Festival unveiled the lineup for its 78th edition Monday morning with a notably strong studio presence after last year’s near dearth of Hollywood titles and muted star attendance. Universal (with Blumhouse’s previously announced Halloween Kills and Focus’ Last Night In Soho and The Card Counter), Warner Bros (with Legendary’s also previously confirmed Dune) and Disney (with 20th Century’s The Last Duel) will all be represented in town and each was thanked by Venice chief Alberto Barbera for supporting the event. “There is a strong comeback of the Americans,” he said. Scroll down for a full list of titles announced today.

Also showing up is Netflix, which has a cozy relationship with Venice. On the streamer’s roster are Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God and Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog, both in competition.

Venice has...

This year’s line-up includes five female directors in competition.

The line-up of the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) has been announced by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.

Scroll down for the full line-up

This year’s selection saw the festival take a backward step for gender balance, with five female directors selected in the main competition, down from last year’s eight. 26% of films in the overall line-up are directed by women, down from 28% in 2020.

The high-profile titles picked for competition this year include Pablo Larrain’s Spencer; Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God...

The Venice Film Festival has unveiled a star-studded lineup full of hotly anticipated new works from Jane Campion, Ana Lily Amirpour, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Denis Villeneuve, Ridley Scott, Paolo Sorrentino and Edgar Wright — to name a few standouts — who are likely to bolster the Lido’s standing as an awards season kingmaker.

Amirpour’s “Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon,” in competition, starring Kate Hudson as girl with unusual powers who escapes from a mental asylum, will bring the Iranian-American director back to Venice after her post-apocalyptic cannibal love story “The Bad Batch,” scored the Special Jury Prize in 2016.

Campion, as anticipated by Variety, is competing with “The Power of the Dog,” a drama about feuding brothers set in 1920s Montana starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons. “Dog” is one of two Netflix Original films in the Venice competition, the other one being Paolo Sorrentino’s personal drama “The Hand of God,...