Disney+ has unveiled the trailer for “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld,” the streamer’s highly anticipated original series starring Daniel Brühl as the iconic fashion designer.
Produced by Gaumont (“Lupin”) and Jour Premier, the six-part series chronicles the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion. It will be available to stream on Disney+ in France and international territories, and on Hulu in the U.S., on June 7. “Becoming Karl” world premiered at Canneseries, where it received a standing ovation and warm reviews.
The lushly lensed series opens in 1972, when the 38-year-old Lagerfeld is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. He falls in love with a sultry dandy, Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), who inspires him to challenge himself and act on his ambition to become the world’s most famous French fashion designer. He faces off Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), who reigned supreme with...
Produced by Gaumont (“Lupin”) and Jour Premier, the six-part series chronicles the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion. It will be available to stream on Disney+ in France and international territories, and on Hulu in the U.S., on June 7. “Becoming Karl” world premiered at Canneseries, where it received a standing ovation and warm reviews.
The lushly lensed series opens in 1972, when the 38-year-old Lagerfeld is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. He falls in love with a sultry dandy, Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), who inspires him to challenge himself and act on his ambition to become the world’s most famous French fashion designer. He faces off Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), who reigned supreme with...
- 4/24/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“I’m Nevenka,” a Movistar Plus+ original film and the awaited next feature from Spain’s Iciar Bollaín, has closed its earliest pre-sales, struck by Film Factory Entertainment, including a bellwether deal in France.
The deals come as “I’m Nevenka” has wrapped production, shooting in the Basque city of Bilbao before transferring to rural Zamora, western Spain.
Daniel Chabannes’ Epicentre Films, a classic 30-year-old distributor and producer of non-English language art pics, especially from Europe and Latin America, whose recent acquisitions take in San Sebastian Gold Shell winner “The Rye Horn” and Amos Gitai’s “It’s Not Over,” has acquired French rights.
A distributor of both big Cannes winners – “Triangle of Sadness,” “Rosetta,” “The Child” – and slightly more out-there propositions, such as Pablo Berger’s silent movie “Blancanieves,” Xenix Film Distribution has clinched rights to Switzerland.
Iciar Bollaín: A Broader Audience Auteur
The early pre-sales are hardly surprising. Since her big breakout,...
The deals come as “I’m Nevenka” has wrapped production, shooting in the Basque city of Bilbao before transferring to rural Zamora, western Spain.
Daniel Chabannes’ Epicentre Films, a classic 30-year-old distributor and producer of non-English language art pics, especially from Europe and Latin America, whose recent acquisitions take in San Sebastian Gold Shell winner “The Rye Horn” and Amos Gitai’s “It’s Not Over,” has acquired French rights.
A distributor of both big Cannes winners – “Triangle of Sadness,” “Rosetta,” “The Child” – and slightly more out-there propositions, such as Pablo Berger’s silent movie “Blancanieves,” Xenix Film Distribution has clinched rights to Switzerland.
Iciar Bollaín: A Broader Audience Auteur
The early pre-sales are hardly surprising. Since her big breakout,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Pablo Sandoval and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
A loose adaptation of absurdist playwright Eugène Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” director Amos Gitai’s “Shikun” unfolds in a multi-use housing project, where it follows the stream-of-consciousness travails of a diverse cross-section of characters in Be’er-Sheva, Israel.
Bound by the French-language narration of Irène Jacob — a one-woman Greek chorus and de-facto liaison between sides of the fourth wall — the film embodies the struggle to reconcile learned anger with calls for peace, and it takes several steps to the left of the distant, “kumbaya” observationalism of some of Gitai’s previous work (like “Tramway in Jerusalem”). However, despite its refreshing political outlook, “Shikun” is anything but radical in execution, and it’s rarely interesting to watch.
Echoes of “Rhinoceros” remain in Gitai’s transposition from a small French town to an Israeli building and bus station. The play saw numerous characters transform into rhinoceroses while others around them remained indifferent, a...
Bound by the French-language narration of Irène Jacob — a one-woman Greek chorus and de-facto liaison between sides of the fourth wall — the film embodies the struggle to reconcile learned anger with calls for peace, and it takes several steps to the left of the distant, “kumbaya” observationalism of some of Gitai’s previous work (like “Tramway in Jerusalem”). However, despite its refreshing political outlook, “Shikun” is anything but radical in execution, and it’s rarely interesting to watch.
Echoes of “Rhinoceros” remain in Gitai’s transposition from a small French town to an Israeli building and bus station. The play saw numerous characters transform into rhinoceroses while others around them remained indifferent, a...
- 2/20/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
Top Brazilian titles at the Berlin Festival and EFM:
“Betânia,” (Marcelo Botta)
Botta’s feature debut, produced by Salvatore Filmes, associate produced by Ventre Studio, selected for Berlin’s Panorama. Set in stunning but barren Brazilian sand dunes, Betânia, 65, rebuilds amid global collapse. After losing her husband to a salty diet common in electricity-deprived areas, she seeks solace in a new village, cherishing its traditions. Sales: MPM Premium
“The Best Friend,” (Allan Deberton)
By Deberton, director of award-winning “Pacarrete,” co-produced by Ceara-based Deberton Filmes and Telecine. During a quiet beach trip to Canoa Quebrada, Lucas reunites with his old college friend Felipe, whose free-spirited nature sparks feelings of nostalgia. Sales: Deberton Filmes
“Carnival is Over,” (Fernando Coimbra)
A much awaited title from helmer-scribe, now in post. Winner of a Sundance Institute global filmmaking award, the thriller centers on Regina and Valerio who live an opulent lifestyle in Rio as heirs...
“Betânia,” (Marcelo Botta)
Botta’s feature debut, produced by Salvatore Filmes, associate produced by Ventre Studio, selected for Berlin’s Panorama. Set in stunning but barren Brazilian sand dunes, Betânia, 65, rebuilds amid global collapse. After losing her husband to a salty diet common in electricity-deprived areas, she seeks solace in a new village, cherishing its traditions. Sales: MPM Premium
“The Best Friend,” (Allan Deberton)
By Deberton, director of award-winning “Pacarrete,” co-produced by Ceara-based Deberton Filmes and Telecine. During a quiet beach trip to Canoa Quebrada, Lucas reunites with his old college friend Felipe, whose free-spirited nature sparks feelings of nostalgia. Sales: Deberton Filmes
“Carnival is Over,” (Fernando Coimbra)
A much awaited title from helmer-scribe, now in post. Winner of a Sundance Institute global filmmaking award, the thriller centers on Regina and Valerio who live an opulent lifestyle in Rio as heirs...
- 2/16/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
As the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage in Gaza, repercussions are being felt at the Berlinale, which looks to be one of the most politically charged editions in recent history.
Several filmmakers have already canceled their participation to the festival in protest of Germany’s attitude towards Palestinian voices, while more than 50 Berlinale workers have signed an open letter this week demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and asking that the festival leadership take a “stronger institutional stance” on what the statement calls “the current assault on Palestinian life” and calling on the festival to take a stance that is “consistent with those taken in response to other events that have struck the international community in recent years.”
The war in Gaza followed Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken. As the death toll continues to rise, with nearly 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza...
Several filmmakers have already canceled their participation to the festival in protest of Germany’s attitude towards Palestinian voices, while more than 50 Berlinale workers have signed an open letter this week demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and asking that the festival leadership take a “stronger institutional stance” on what the statement calls “the current assault on Palestinian life” and calling on the festival to take a stance that is “consistent with those taken in response to other events that have struck the international community in recent years.”
The war in Gaza followed Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken. As the death toll continues to rise, with nearly 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza...
- 2/16/2024
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlinale has rounded out its special screenings programme with three more films.
Omar Sy-starring The Strangers’ Case by Brandt Andersen is a Berlinale Special Gala.
Two Japanese mid-length films - Chime by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and August My Heaven by Riho Kudo - will play as Berlinale Specials.
Andersen’s The Strangers’ Case is about a tragedy that strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo which triggers a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries. The cast includes Omar Sy, Jason Beghe and Yasmine Al Massri.
It is based on a 2020 short, Refugee, that Andersen...
Omar Sy-starring The Strangers’ Case by Brandt Andersen is a Berlinale Special Gala.
Two Japanese mid-length films - Chime by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and August My Heaven by Riho Kudo - will play as Berlinale Specials.
Andersen’s The Strangers’ Case is about a tragedy that strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo which triggers a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries. The cast includes Omar Sy, Jason Beghe and Yasmine Al Massri.
It is based on a 2020 short, Refugee, that Andersen...
- 1/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Visit Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Berlinale Special selection Shikun and will kick off talks with buyers at the EFM next month.
The Israeli film is inspired by Eugène Ionesco’s allegorical play Rhinoceros, and dramatises the emergence of intolerance and totalitarianism through a series of theatrical episodes that take place in a single Israeli building, the Shikun.
Among this diverse group of people of different origins and languages, some turn into rhinoceroses, while others resist.
The ensemble cast includes Irène Jacob (The Double Life Of Véronique), Hanna Laslo (Free Zone), Yael Abecassis (Sacred), Bahira Ablassi...
The Israeli film is inspired by Eugène Ionesco’s allegorical play Rhinoceros, and dramatises the emergence of intolerance and totalitarianism through a series of theatrical episodes that take place in a single Israeli building, the Shikun.
Among this diverse group of people of different origins and languages, some turn into rhinoceroses, while others resist.
The ensemble cast includes Irène Jacob (The Double Life Of Véronique), Hanna Laslo (Free Zone), Yael Abecassis (Sacred), Bahira Ablassi...
- 1/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever (“Banel & Adama”) has acquired international rights to “Shambhala,” the first Nepalese film to premiere in competition at the Berlinale or any other top film festival.
Directed by Min Bahadur Bham, “Shambhala” is also the first South Asian film to be selected in Berlinale’s competition lineup after three decades. Bham is best known for his feature debut, “Kalo Pothi,” which won a prize at Venice Critics’ Week in 2015. The helmer previously directed “Bansulli,” which was Nepal’s first selection at the Venice Film Festival in 2012.
“Shambhala” is set in a Himalayan polyandrous village in Nepal, where a newly married and pregnant woman, Pema, tries to make the best of her new life. But soon, her husband Tashi vanishes, prompting her to embark on a journey into the wilderness to find him, accompanied by her monk.
The film shot in the world’s highest settlement, located...
Directed by Min Bahadur Bham, “Shambhala” is also the first South Asian film to be selected in Berlinale’s competition lineup after three decades. Bham is best known for his feature debut, “Kalo Pothi,” which won a prize at Venice Critics’ Week in 2015. The helmer previously directed “Bansulli,” which was Nepal’s first selection at the Venice Film Festival in 2012.
“Shambhala” is set in a Himalayan polyandrous village in Nepal, where a newly married and pregnant woman, Pema, tries to make the best of her new life. But soon, her husband Tashi vanishes, prompting her to embark on a journey into the wilderness to find him, accompanied by her monk.
The film shot in the world’s highest settlement, located...
- 1/24/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
For his fifth and final edition, outgoing Berlin Film Festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian has assembled a promising lineup, rich in prestige, star-driven titles as well as more eclectic films containing the political elements intrinsic to the fest’s DNA.
“I am very happy and proud of this year’s lineup,” Chatrian tells Variety. “I think it achieved the balance between highly anticipated titles by filmmakers who are relevant in cinema history and, as always, films that you don’t expect to find in competition. At the same time I know that expectations can be a double-edged sword.”
The 74th annual Berlinale, held Feb. 15-25, will feature such films as “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara; sci-fi drama “Another End” with Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve; and the historical drama “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy.
Chatrian spoke with Variety to break down the lineup that looks...
“I am very happy and proud of this year’s lineup,” Chatrian tells Variety. “I think it achieved the balance between highly anticipated titles by filmmakers who are relevant in cinema history and, as always, films that you don’t expect to find in competition. At the same time I know that expectations can be a double-edged sword.”
The 74th annual Berlinale, held Feb. 15-25, will feature such films as “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara; sci-fi drama “Another End” with Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve; and the historical drama “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy.
Chatrian spoke with Variety to break down the lineup that looks...
- 1/22/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Festival will play upcoming Netflix series Supersex about pornstar Rocco Siffredi.
South Korean action title The Roundup: Punishment and Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart are among 12 additions to the Berlinale Special line-up, ahead of next month’s Berlin Film Festival (February 15-25).
Directed by Heo Myeong-haeng, Punishment will have its world premiere in Berlin. It is the fourth instalment in The Roundup action franchise, in which Don Lee plays detective Ma Seok-do.
Scroll down for the full list of new Special titles
Third title The Roundup: No Way Out took $69m in just three weeks at the...
South Korean action title The Roundup: Punishment and Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart are among 12 additions to the Berlinale Special line-up, ahead of next month’s Berlin Film Festival (February 15-25).
Directed by Heo Myeong-haeng, Punishment will have its world premiere in Berlin. It is the fourth instalment in The Roundup action franchise, in which Don Lee plays detective Ma Seok-do.
Scroll down for the full list of new Special titles
Third title The Roundup: No Way Out took $69m in just three weeks at the...
- 1/15/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Festival will play upcoming Netflix series Supersex about pornstar Rocco Siffredi.
South Korean action title The Roundup: Punishment and Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart are among 12 additions to the Berlinale Special line-up, ahead of next month’s Berlin Film Festival (February 15-25).
Directed by Heo Myeong-haeng, Punishment will have its world premiere in Berlin. It is the fourth instalment in The Roundup action franchise, in which Don Lee plays detective Ma Seok-do.
Scroll down for the full list of new Special titles
Third title The Roundup: No Way Out took $69m in just three weeks at the...
South Korean action title The Roundup: Punishment and Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart are among 12 additions to the Berlinale Special line-up, ahead of next month’s Berlin Film Festival (February 15-25).
Directed by Heo Myeong-haeng, Punishment will have its world premiere in Berlin. It is the fourth instalment in The Roundup action franchise, in which Don Lee plays detective Ma Seok-do.
Scroll down for the full list of new Special titles
Third title The Roundup: No Way Out took $69m in just three weeks at the...
- 1/15/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
This year’s Berlinale Specials program, the out-of-competition gala section of the Berlin Film Festival, will include a pair of high-octane action movies: Rose Glass’ crime actioner Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, and Korean thriller The Roundup: Punishment from director Heo Myeong-haeng.
Love Lies Bleeding, which co-stars Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Katy M. O’Brian, Ed Harris and Jena Malone, will have its international premiere in Berlin after its bow in Sundance later this month. The Roundup: Punishment, starring Train to Busan breakout Don Lee, will have its world premiere in Berlin.
Other Berlinale Special highlights, unveiled Monday, include Shikun, the latest drama from Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai (Kadosh); the documentary project Turn in the Wound, from acclaimed New York auteur Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant), about life in Kyiv since the start of the war in Ukraine; and Supersex, an Italian Netflix drama based on the life of notorious porn star Rocco Siffredi,...
Love Lies Bleeding, which co-stars Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Katy M. O’Brian, Ed Harris and Jena Malone, will have its international premiere in Berlin after its bow in Sundance later this month. The Roundup: Punishment, starring Train to Busan breakout Don Lee, will have its world premiere in Berlin.
Other Berlinale Special highlights, unveiled Monday, include Shikun, the latest drama from Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai (Kadosh); the documentary project Turn in the Wound, from acclaimed New York auteur Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant), about life in Kyiv since the start of the war in Ukraine; and Supersex, an Italian Netflix drama based on the life of notorious porn star Rocco Siffredi,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Love Lies Bleeding” starring Kristen Stewart and Netflix’s “Supersex” series have been added to Berlin Film Festival’s Special lineup.
A romantic thriller centered on a bodybuilder and gym manager, “Love Lies Bleeding” is directed by “Saint Maud” helmer Rose Glass and will have its world premiere at Sundance this month. “Love Lies Bleeding” also stars Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov and Dave Franco.
“Supersex,” based on the life of porn star Rocco Siffredi, is created and written by Francesca Manieri. The series, which premieres on Netflix March 6, will look at how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world.”
Another standout is “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger,” a documentary by David Hinton that features rare archival material from the filmmakers and is narrated by Martin Scorsese.
Other additions include Nicolas Philibert’s...
A romantic thriller centered on a bodybuilder and gym manager, “Love Lies Bleeding” is directed by “Saint Maud” helmer Rose Glass and will have its world premiere at Sundance this month. “Love Lies Bleeding” also stars Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov and Dave Franco.
“Supersex,” based on the life of porn star Rocco Siffredi, is created and written by Francesca Manieri. The series, which premieres on Netflix March 6, will look at how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world.”
Another standout is “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger,” a documentary by David Hinton that features rare archival material from the filmmakers and is narrated by Martin Scorsese.
Other additions include Nicolas Philibert’s...
- 1/15/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival today unveiled further titles for the 2024 edition of its Berlinale Special Presentations sidebar section alongside its classics program. Scroll down for the full list of titles announced today.
Highlights from the latest drop of Specials titles include Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The feature is directed by David Hinton and features rare archival material from the personal collections of Powell, Pressburger, and Scorsese.
Love Lies Bleeding, the latest feature from British filmmaker Rose Glass will debut in the Specials program. The feature stars Kristen Stewart alongside Katy O’Brian. A short synopsis describes the pic as “a romance fueled by ego, desire, and the American Dream.” The film will arrive at Berlin following it’s debut at Sundance.
Abel Ferrara is...
Highlights from the latest drop of Specials titles include Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The feature is directed by David Hinton and features rare archival material from the personal collections of Powell, Pressburger, and Scorsese.
Love Lies Bleeding, the latest feature from British filmmaker Rose Glass will debut in the Specials program. The feature stars Kristen Stewart alongside Katy O’Brian. A short synopsis describes the pic as “a romance fueled by ego, desire, and the American Dream.” The film will arrive at Berlin following it’s debut at Sundance.
Abel Ferrara is...
- 1/15/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Annihilation (Alex Garland)
More terrifying than any creature Hollywood could dream up is the unraveling of one’s mind—the steady loss of a consciousness as defined by the memories, motivations, and knowledge built up from decades of experience and reflection. With Annihilation, Alex Garland’s beautiful, frightening follow-up to Ex Machina, he portrays this paralyzing sensation with a sense of vivid imagination, and also delivers a cadre of horrifying creatures to boot. – Jordan R. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Barbarian (Zach Cregger)
The kind of horror film that resembles the experience of traveling down the dark recesses of one’s nightmares, Barbarian is also quite funny to boot. While its thin characterization and merely surface-level thrills hold it back from...
Annihilation (Alex Garland)
More terrifying than any creature Hollywood could dream up is the unraveling of one’s mind—the steady loss of a consciousness as defined by the memories, motivations, and knowledge built up from decades of experience and reflection. With Annihilation, Alex Garland’s beautiful, frightening follow-up to Ex Machina, he portrays this paralyzing sensation with a sense of vivid imagination, and also delivers a cadre of horrifying creatures to boot. – Jordan R. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Barbarian (Zach Cregger)
The kind of horror film that resembles the experience of traveling down the dark recesses of one’s nightmares, Barbarian is also quite funny to boot. While its thin characterization and merely surface-level thrills hold it back from...
- 6/30/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Rights to ‘Man in Black,” one of two documentary films by China’s Wang Bing to appear in Official Selection at Cannes this year, have been picked up by specialty sales agency Asian Shadows.
The 60-minute film, which will debut as a special screening, is a portrait of 86-year-old Wang Xilin, one of China’s most important modern classical composers and is now lives in exile in Germany. It was made in close collaboration with French cinematographer Caroline Champetier, whose credits include Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors,” Amos Gitai’s “Promised Land” and Andre Techine’s “Alice and Martin.”
During the 1960s, when China’s Cultural Revolution forced intellectuals into the fields and stripped the middle classes of their wealth, Wang Xilin was the was the target of severe persecution, including beatings, imprisonment and torture. The film examines the body and soul of a man scarred by a life of suffering,...
The 60-minute film, which will debut as a special screening, is a portrait of 86-year-old Wang Xilin, one of China’s most important modern classical composers and is now lives in exile in Germany. It was made in close collaboration with French cinematographer Caroline Champetier, whose credits include Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors,” Amos Gitai’s “Promised Land” and Andre Techine’s “Alice and Martin.”
During the 1960s, when China’s Cultural Revolution forced intellectuals into the fields and stripped the middle classes of their wealth, Wang Xilin was the was the target of severe persecution, including beatings, imprisonment and torture. The film examines the body and soul of a man scarred by a life of suffering,...
- 4/21/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Love to Love You, Donna Summer,” a docu biopic of the iconic disco singer, has been added to the lineup of Berlinale Special.
Directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (“Music by Prudence”) and Brooklyn Sudano, the film weaves rich archive of unpublished extracts, home video, photographs, artwork, writings, personal audio and other recordings spanning Summer’s life.
Also joining the Berlinale Special roster is “100 Years of Disney Animation – a Shorts Celebration,” which sees Clark Spencer, the Oscar-winning Walt Disney Animation Studios president, sharing his favorite shorts. Among them are rare gems from the earliest days of animation, from the introduction of sound to Mickey Mouse.
The 73rd edition of the Berlin Film Festival will also pay tribute to renowned cinematographer Caroline Champetier who will receive the Berlinale Camera Award. The prize was created in 1986 to honor personalities and institutions who have made a special contribution to filmmaking.
“With her extraordinary body of work,...
Directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (“Music by Prudence”) and Brooklyn Sudano, the film weaves rich archive of unpublished extracts, home video, photographs, artwork, writings, personal audio and other recordings spanning Summer’s life.
Also joining the Berlinale Special roster is “100 Years of Disney Animation – a Shorts Celebration,” which sees Clark Spencer, the Oscar-winning Walt Disney Animation Studios president, sharing his favorite shorts. Among them are rare gems from the earliest days of animation, from the introduction of sound to Mickey Mouse.
The 73rd edition of the Berlin Film Festival will also pay tribute to renowned cinematographer Caroline Champetier who will receive the Berlinale Camera Award. The prize was created in 1986 to honor personalities and institutions who have made a special contribution to filmmaking.
“With her extraordinary body of work,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Producer Guillaume Benski explains how the hit film came to be made.
“It wasn’t supposed to be this big,” says producer Guillaume Benski of the international box office success of Anthony Fabian’s Mrs Harris Goes To Paris, starring Lesley Manville and Isabelle Huppert.
The English-language film, produced by Benski’s Paris and London-based Superbe Films, with Xavier Marchand’s MoonRiver, has grossed approximately 30m worldwide since its release in July 2022. It opened first in North America via Focus Features, grossing 10.3m. Universal Pictures then opened Mrs Harris around the world where it has performed particularly well in the...
“It wasn’t supposed to be this big,” says producer Guillaume Benski of the international box office success of Anthony Fabian’s Mrs Harris Goes To Paris, starring Lesley Manville and Isabelle Huppert.
The English-language film, produced by Benski’s Paris and London-based Superbe Films, with Xavier Marchand’s MoonRiver, has grossed approximately 30m worldwide since its release in July 2022. It opened first in North America via Focus Features, grossing 10.3m. Universal Pictures then opened Mrs Harris around the world where it has performed particularly well in the...
- 1/10/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
More than 250 of Israel’s top filmmakers have signed an open letter, saying they will not seek funding from, nor cooperate with the recently–established Shomron (Samaria/West Bank) Film Fund, following the fund’s inaugural film festival in the occupied West Bank.
The filmmakers call on the Israeli Academy of Film and Television not to partake in “whitewashing the Occupation” ahead of the Ophir Awards — Israel’s Academy Awards — later this month. Read the full text of the letter below.
Among the signatories are multiple Academy Award winners and nominees. They have signed a public letter in which they state that they will not receive grants and will not participate in “lectura” (selection of films for development and production) or in professional events held by the Shomron (Samaria) Film Fund. The goal of the Shomron (Samaria) Film Fund, write the filmmakers, is “to invite Israeli filmmakers to actively participate...
The filmmakers call on the Israeli Academy of Film and Television not to partake in “whitewashing the Occupation” ahead of the Ophir Awards — Israel’s Academy Awards — later this month. Read the full text of the letter below.
Among the signatories are multiple Academy Award winners and nominees. They have signed a public letter in which they state that they will not receive grants and will not participate in “lectura” (selection of films for development and production) or in professional events held by the Shomron (Samaria) Film Fund. The goal of the Shomron (Samaria) Film Fund, write the filmmakers, is “to invite Israeli filmmakers to actively participate...
- 9/3/2022
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Charles S. Cohen’s Cohen Media Group, which owns the Landmark Theatres chain of art-houses, has acquired HanWay Films, the U.K.-based international film sales giant founded by Jeremy Thomas and long run by his partner Peter Watson.
Terms of the deal, which the company announced Thursday, were not disclosed.
HanWay will continued to be function as an independent unit selling a broad range of theatrical titles to international distributors. Peter Watson will continue to serve as president, along with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO.
Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company will maintain its close relationship to HanWay, which will continue to represent films from his upcoming slate; Watson will also keep his role as CEO of Recorded Picture Company.
Also Read:
Ted Mundorff Steps Down as Head of Landmark Theatres
Since its founding in 1998, HanWay Films has been one of the most prolific forces in indie cinema worldwide — accumulating a library...
Terms of the deal, which the company announced Thursday, were not disclosed.
HanWay will continued to be function as an independent unit selling a broad range of theatrical titles to international distributors. Peter Watson will continue to serve as president, along with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO.
Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company will maintain its close relationship to HanWay, which will continue to represent films from his upcoming slate; Watson will also keep his role as CEO of Recorded Picture Company.
Also Read:
Ted Mundorff Steps Down as Head of Landmark Theatres
Since its founding in 1998, HanWay Films has been one of the most prolific forces in indie cinema worldwide — accumulating a library...
- 8/25/2022
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
HanWay will continue to be branded as an independent label.
Charles S. Cohen’s Cohen Media Group has acquired London-based international sales company HanWay Films, which was founded by producer Jeremy Thomas and was co-owned with his partner Peter Watson.
HanWay will continue to be branded as an independent label. Peter Watson will remain as president, with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO.
Cohen Media Group also owns the US’s Landmark Theatres and the UK’s Curzon; Curzon CEO Philip Knatchbull negotiated the deal on behalf of Cohen Media Group.
Recent HanWay sales titles include Cannes title Eo and The Card Counter starring Oscar Isaac.
Charles S. Cohen’s Cohen Media Group has acquired London-based international sales company HanWay Films, which was founded by producer Jeremy Thomas and was co-owned with his partner Peter Watson.
HanWay will continue to be branded as an independent label. Peter Watson will remain as president, with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO.
Cohen Media Group also owns the US’s Landmark Theatres and the UK’s Curzon; Curzon CEO Philip Knatchbull negotiated the deal on behalf of Cohen Media Group.
Recent HanWay sales titles include Cannes title Eo and The Card Counter starring Oscar Isaac.
- 8/25/2022
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
In a move that will turn heads across the industry, Charles Cohen’s Cohen Media Group has acquired international sales company HanWay Films, the banner founded by legendary producer Jeremy Thomas (and that was co-owned with his partner Peter Watson).
While financial details weren’t disclosed splashy purchase sees real estate billionaire Cohen add to his growing indie empire, having already bought Landmark Theaters and U.K. cinema chain Curzon.
Under the deal, announced Thursday, London-based HanWay will continued to be branded as an independent label selling a broad range of theatrical titles to its distribution partners worldwide. Watson will continue to serve as president of the company, with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO.
Philip Knatchbull, CEO of Curzon, negotiated the transaction on behalf of Cohen Media Group.
“Twenty-five years in the sales agency business has given me enormous satisfaction,” said Thomas. “I am...
In a move that will turn heads across the industry, Charles Cohen’s Cohen Media Group has acquired international sales company HanWay Films, the banner founded by legendary producer Jeremy Thomas (and that was co-owned with his partner Peter Watson).
While financial details weren’t disclosed splashy purchase sees real estate billionaire Cohen add to his growing indie empire, having already bought Landmark Theaters and U.K. cinema chain Curzon.
Under the deal, announced Thursday, London-based HanWay will continued to be branded as an independent label selling a broad range of theatrical titles to its distribution partners worldwide. Watson will continue to serve as president of the company, with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO.
Philip Knatchbull, CEO of Curzon, negotiated the transaction on behalf of Cohen Media Group.
“Twenty-five years in the sales agency business has given me enormous satisfaction,” said Thomas. “I am...
- 8/25/2022
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: In an eye-catching independent deal, Charles S. Cohen’s Cohen Media Group, owner of Landmark Theatres and UK cinema group Curzon, has added to his arthouse fleet with the acquisition of blue-chip international sales company HanWay Films, co-owned by stalwart Brit producer Jeremy Thomas and his partner Peter Watson.
HanWay will continue to be branded as an independent label selling independent features and Peter Watson will continue to serve as president of the company together with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO. All other staff will remain in tact, we’re told.
Philip Knatchbull, CEO of Curzon, negotiated the transaction on behalf of Cohen Media Group. Financial details weren’t disclosed.
Based in London, a sale of HanWay has been discussed for a number of years. HanWay execs said today the deal would allow growth and the ability to get involved in projects earlier. The company’s current slate comprises a...
HanWay will continue to be branded as an independent label selling independent features and Peter Watson will continue to serve as president of the company together with Gabrielle Stewart as CEO. All other staff will remain in tact, we’re told.
Philip Knatchbull, CEO of Curzon, negotiated the transaction on behalf of Cohen Media Group. Financial details weren’t disclosed.
Based in London, a sale of HanWay has been discussed for a number of years. HanWay execs said today the deal would allow growth and the ability to get involved in projects earlier. The company’s current slate comprises a...
- 8/25/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Acclaimed French producer Catherine Dussart has a full production slate including new works from veterans Amos Gitai, Rithy Panh and Peter Greenaway.
Dussart is currently at the Venice Film Festival where Indian filmmaker Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s “Once Upon a Time in Calcutta,” co-produced by her Catherine Dussart Productions, is playing in the Horizons strand. Dussart is also on board Sengupta’s next, “Birthmark,” about two women who become part of a catastrophic plan hatched by a patriarchal family, which is at the Venice gap financing market.
Gitai started a Dussart-produced trilogy about Israelis and Palestinians engaging with each other harmoniously with “A Tramway in Jerusalem,” which won the Unimed Award at Venice in 2018. The second, “Laila in Haifa” was in the reckoning for a Venice Golden Lion in 2020. “Shikun,” which completes the trilogy, is set in a massive social housing project in Beersheba, in the Negev desert. The film,...
Dussart is currently at the Venice Film Festival where Indian filmmaker Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s “Once Upon a Time in Calcutta,” co-produced by her Catherine Dussart Productions, is playing in the Horizons strand. Dussart is also on board Sengupta’s next, “Birthmark,” about two women who become part of a catastrophic plan hatched by a patriarchal family, which is at the Venice gap financing market.
Gitai started a Dussart-produced trilogy about Israelis and Palestinians engaging with each other harmoniously with “A Tramway in Jerusalem,” which won the Unimed Award at Venice in 2018. The second, “Laila in Haifa” was in the reckoning for a Venice Golden Lion in 2020. “Shikun,” which completes the trilogy, is set in a massive social housing project in Beersheba, in the Negev desert. The film,...
- 9/7/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Mymovies Chief Gianluca Guzzo on How Streaming Venice Pics Has Led to ‘Unique’ Biz Model (Exclusive)
The Venice Film Festival and Italy’s Mymovies streaming platform have devised what the streamer’s chief Gianluca Guzzo calls “a unique model.”
It’s an SVOD service called Biennale Cinema Channel that offers Italians Lido titles from past editions that never made it into local theaters and in September will also provide them with a selection of world premieres launching from Venice’s upcoming 78th edition.
It all started with Alberto Barbera’s second mandate at Venice 10 years ago, says Guzzo. Barbera wanted to give more visibility to films screening in the Horizons section dedicated to more cutting edge pics, and subsequently also to Biennale College titles, the micro budget works that Venice shepherds from development to distribution.
So Mymovies created a virtual screening room during the Venice fest with access limited to 2,500 spectators that recreated the collective cinema experience one gets in movie theaters.
Subsequently Guzzo and his...
It’s an SVOD service called Biennale Cinema Channel that offers Italians Lido titles from past editions that never made it into local theaters and in September will also provide them with a selection of world premieres launching from Venice’s upcoming 78th edition.
It all started with Alberto Barbera’s second mandate at Venice 10 years ago, says Guzzo. Barbera wanted to give more visibility to films screening in the Horizons section dedicated to more cutting edge pics, and subsequently also to Biennale College titles, the micro budget works that Venice shepherds from development to distribution.
So Mymovies created a virtual screening room during the Venice fest with access limited to 2,500 spectators that recreated the collective cinema experience one gets in movie theaters.
Subsequently Guzzo and his...
- 8/26/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Kino Lorber has acquired all North American rights to the Amos Gitai Film Collection, comprising 22 films by the award-winning bold Israeli director of Cannes’ Palme d’Or contenders “Kippur,” BAFTA-winning “Kadosh,” and “Free Zone” with Natalie Portman. Gitai’s latest film, “Laila in Haifa” (pictured), which featured Israeli and Palestinian actors, world premiered at Venice in 2020.
The collection also includes “Alila” (2003), “Ana Arabia” (2013), “The Arena of Murder” (1996), “Berlin Jerusalem” (1989), “Carmel” (2009), “Disengagement” (2007), “Devarim” (1995), “Eden” (2001), “Esther” (1986), “Golem Spirit of Exile” (1992), “Kedma” (2000), “Lullaby to My Father” (2012), “Petrified Garden” (1993), “Promised Land” (2004), “Roses à crédit” (2010), “Tsili” (2014), and “Yom Yom” (1998).
These films join two of Gitai’s other works distributed by Kino Lorber, including “Rabin: The Last Day,” which played at Venice in 2015, and his thought-provoking documentary “West of the Jordan River” which opened at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2017.
Gitai has worked with a flurry international stars besides Portman, notably Rosamund Pike (“Promised Land”), Juliette Binoche...
The collection also includes “Alila” (2003), “Ana Arabia” (2013), “The Arena of Murder” (1996), “Berlin Jerusalem” (1989), “Carmel” (2009), “Disengagement” (2007), “Devarim” (1995), “Eden” (2001), “Esther” (1986), “Golem Spirit of Exile” (1992), “Kedma” (2000), “Lullaby to My Father” (2012), “Petrified Garden” (1993), “Promised Land” (2004), “Roses à crédit” (2010), “Tsili” (2014), and “Yom Yom” (1998).
These films join two of Gitai’s other works distributed by Kino Lorber, including “Rabin: The Last Day,” which played at Venice in 2015, and his thought-provoking documentary “West of the Jordan River” which opened at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2017.
Gitai has worked with a flurry international stars besides Portman, notably Rosamund Pike (“Promised Land”), Juliette Binoche...
- 6/15/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After 10 consecutive days of violence, the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict is already considered the worst clash since 2014. For a film community known to be fiercely opposed to the politics led by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers and producers fear the escalation of violence will cause irreparable damage. There have been countless fallouts between Israelis and Palestinians in the region over the last 70 years, but industry executives indicate that the proliferation of social media is taking commentary on the conflict to unprecedented levels.
“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.
“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...
“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.
“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...
- 5/19/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
With early rollouts of vaccines offering a sliver of silver lining to this most tumultuous of years, film festivals around the world already begin anticipating some return to normalcy in 2021. Falling annually around the middle of August, just before the leaves of the gorgeous Ticino valley begin losing their chlorophyll, the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland will be feeling more hopeful than many.
The 2021 festival will also be the first under the stewardship of new creative director Giona A. Nazzaro. A critic of 30 years, delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week, member of IFFR’s selection committee, and author of various tomes on action and Hong Kong cinema, Nazzaro recently took over the role from Lili Hinston—who helmed Locarno during the turbulent spell following Carlo Chatrain’s departure for the Berlin Film Festival in 2018 and online switch following the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year. We caught up with Nazzaro earlier...
The 2021 festival will also be the first under the stewardship of new creative director Giona A. Nazzaro. A critic of 30 years, delegate of the Venice Critics’ Week, member of IFFR’s selection committee, and author of various tomes on action and Hong Kong cinema, Nazzaro recently took over the role from Lili Hinston—who helmed Locarno during the turbulent spell following Carlo Chatrain’s departure for the Berlin Film Festival in 2018 and online switch following the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year. We caught up with Nazzaro earlier...
- 12/8/2020
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Arab Stars of Tomorrow spotlights six talents from the Middle East and North Africa who are making their mark on the global stage.
In our fourth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International celebrates six of the most exciting talents to emerge this year from the Middle East and North Africa. Egyptian director Sameh Alaa, Palestinian-Jordanian actress Tara Abboud, Saudi director Hana Al Omair, Lebanese actress Stephanie Atala, Moroccan actor Brice Bexter El Glaoui and Algerian actor Mehdi Ramdani are the breakout names of 2020.
Click on the links below to read the profiles of this year’s stars, and...
In our fourth edition of Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Screen International celebrates six of the most exciting talents to emerge this year from the Middle East and North Africa. Egyptian director Sameh Alaa, Palestinian-Jordanian actress Tara Abboud, Saudi director Hana Al Omair, Lebanese actress Stephanie Atala, Moroccan actor Brice Bexter El Glaoui and Algerian actor Mehdi Ramdani are the breakout names of 2020.
Click on the links below to read the profiles of this year’s stars, and...
- 12/8/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The 34th Israel Film Festival Los Angeles has confirmed its line-up for this year’s edition, which will be held entirely online for the first time.
Running December 13 – 27, the fest will screen 23 features, including two U.S. premieres, Israel’s Oscar submission this year, Asia, as well as a number of past Ophir award winners. The event will also host Q&As after each film with talent.
Asia opens the festival having recently won Best Film at this year’s Ophir Awards, Israel’s top film awards, which automatically makes it the Oscar contender for 2021. The film also won Ophirs for Best Actress, Supporting Actress and Cinematography.
The festival will present its 2020 Iff Lifetime Achievement Award to Meir Feningstein, the event’s founder and executive director. It will also screen concert documentary Poogy / Kaveret 2013 Reunion Concert, centered on the band for which Feningstein is the drummer.
“As the world faces enormous disruption and loss,...
Running December 13 – 27, the fest will screen 23 features, including two U.S. premieres, Israel’s Oscar submission this year, Asia, as well as a number of past Ophir award winners. The event will also host Q&As after each film with talent.
Asia opens the festival having recently won Best Film at this year’s Ophir Awards, Israel’s top film awards, which automatically makes it the Oscar contender for 2021. The film also won Ophirs for Best Actress, Supporting Actress and Cinematography.
The festival will present its 2020 Iff Lifetime Achievement Award to Meir Feningstein, the event’s founder and executive director. It will also screen concert documentary Poogy / Kaveret 2013 Reunion Concert, centered on the band for which Feningstein is the drummer.
“As the world faces enormous disruption and loss,...
- 11/30/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Giona Nazzaro signals determination to hold a physical edition of the festival next August.
Respected programmer and selector Giona Nazzaro was announced as the new artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival on Thursday (November 5).
He arrives at the 73-year-old lakeside festival from the International Film Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival. He put his stamp on the parallel selection as delegate general from 2016, showcasing an eclectic selection of films ranging from UK actress-director Alice Lowe’s dark comedy Prevenge to Tunisian filmmaker Alaeddine Slim’s The Last Of Us, which won the Lion of the Future for best debut film,...
Respected programmer and selector Giona Nazzaro was announced as the new artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival on Thursday (November 5).
He arrives at the 73-year-old lakeside festival from the International Film Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival. He put his stamp on the parallel selection as delegate general from 2016, showcasing an eclectic selection of films ranging from UK actress-director Alice Lowe’s dark comedy Prevenge to Tunisian filmmaker Alaeddine Slim’s The Last Of Us, which won the Lion of the Future for best debut film,...
- 11/6/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
“Love Mooning,” a drama by veteran Japanese director Manda Kunitoshi, has been set as the opening film of Tokyo Filmex. The festival announced the line-up for its 21st edition on Thursday.
Filmex, which has long specialized in Asian art films and usually starts in late November, will be held Oct. 30-Nov. 7 this year. It will be operated in partnership with the Tokyo International Film Festival, whose dates are Oct.31-Nov. 9.
“Love Mooning,” charts the troubled romance between the head of a mental health clinic and one of his patients. Manda also chairs the festival’s five-person jury.
The closing film will be Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven,” a 2019 Cannes selection about a director, played by Suleiman himself, who finds himself comically trapped in Palestine even when he is in New York and Paris. Suleiman is also the subject of the festival’s Filmmaker in Focus section, which will...
Filmex, which has long specialized in Asian art films and usually starts in late November, will be held Oct. 30-Nov. 7 this year. It will be operated in partnership with the Tokyo International Film Festival, whose dates are Oct.31-Nov. 9.
“Love Mooning,” charts the troubled romance between the head of a mental health clinic and one of his patients. Manda also chairs the festival’s five-person jury.
The closing film will be Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven,” a 2019 Cannes selection about a director, played by Suleiman himself, who finds himself comically trapped in Palestine even when he is in New York and Paris. Suleiman is also the subject of the festival’s Filmmaker in Focus section, which will...
- 9/24/2020
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
A documentary about the Wirecard financial scandal is in the works at Sky Studios. Gabriela Sperl is developing the project with producer Sffp, it will be directed by Benji and Jono Bergmann of Babka, who will also co-produce. The doc will chart the rise and fall of Wirecard, a financial payments firm once seen as the poster child for German tech innovation before it suddenly collapsed after the discovering of a €1.9Bn accounting black hole. Today, Wirecard’s CEO Markus Braun remains in custody with COO Jan Marsalek on the run, following the issuance of an international arrest warrant. In addition to the documentary, Sperl is also developing a fictional mini-series on the same topic for Sky Studios.
BBC Four has commissioned Brook Lapping, part of Zinc Media Group, to make a feature-length investigative documentary examining what became of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s huge wealth in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
BBC Four has commissioned Brook Lapping, part of Zinc Media Group, to make a feature-length investigative documentary examining what became of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s huge wealth in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
- 9/14/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The whole of Amos Gitai’s “Laila in Haifa” is set in and just outside Fattoush, a bar in Israel that has been touted as “the best place to party in Haifa.” Maybe it is. One of the few venues in town where Israelis and Palestinians can socialize together, Fattoush boasts a knowledgeable barman, a small stage for musicians and drag queens, an adjoining art gallery, and plenty of such shabby-chic staples as bare brick walls, vintage posters and hanging plants.
If nothing else, the film may be useful to design historians as a record of what hipster-ish cafés and restaurants looked like in the early 21st century. It’s also a venue with no shortage of resonant thematic possibilities: trains trundle right past the beer garden, and beyond that a mountainous cruise ship is docked in Haifa’s harbor. But, as much as Fattoush has to recommend it, there...
If nothing else, the film may be useful to design historians as a record of what hipster-ish cafés and restaurants looked like in the early 21st century. It’s also a venue with no shortage of resonant thematic possibilities: trains trundle right past the beer garden, and beyond that a mountainous cruise ship is docked in Haifa’s harbor. But, as much as Fattoush has to recommend it, there...
- 9/12/2020
- by Nicholas Barber
- Indiewire
Haifa, a port city in Israeli, is famous for its mixture of Arabs and Israelis, making it an ideal location for inter-cultural dramas. Well-known Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai, who hails from the city, aims to make the most of it in Laila in Haifa, where he brings a hip bunch of contemporary Israelis and Palestinians together in mixed couples. But the comprehension issues are not just on the screen. Without a grasp of Hebrew or Arabic, audiences are going to have their hands full identifying the two groups, which only makes the thin storyline additionally confusing.
Chasing down clues to the ...
Chasing down clues to the ...
Haifa, a port city in Israeli, is famous for its mixture of Arabs and Israelis, making it an ideal location for inter-cultural dramas. Well-known Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai, who hails from the city, aims to make the most of it in Laila in Haifa, where he brings a hip bunch of contemporary Israelis and Palestinians together in mixed couples. But the comprehension issues are not just on the screen. Without a grasp of Hebrew or Arabic, audiences are going to have their hands full identifying the two groups, which only makes the thin storyline additionally confusing.
Chasing down clues to the ...
Chasing down clues to the ...
Though born and raised in Haifa, Israel, filmmaker Amos Gitai had never heard of Fattoush, a popular restaurant-cum-club located in the port city.
“I discovered this club through one of the actresses from one of my previous films. She basically said, ‘Why don’t I take you on a tour of the nightlife in your own town, which you don’t know,’” says Gitai.
That tour, and Fattoush, forms the focal point of “Laila in Haifa,” Gitai’s latest drama, which follows 18 characters from all walks of life as they converge for one night at the Haifa club. The film, which debuted Tuesday in competition at the Venice Film Festival, features a diverse cast of Palestinian and Israeli actors, including Bahira Ablassi, Tom Baum, Tsahi Halevi, Makram Khoury and Amir Khoury.
“The first thing I needed to cast was the site,” says Gitai of Fattoush, a spot known for its spirit of inclusivity.
“I discovered this club through one of the actresses from one of my previous films. She basically said, ‘Why don’t I take you on a tour of the nightlife in your own town, which you don’t know,’” says Gitai.
That tour, and Fattoush, forms the focal point of “Laila in Haifa,” Gitai’s latest drama, which follows 18 characters from all walks of life as they converge for one night at the Haifa club. The film, which debuted Tuesday in competition at the Venice Film Festival, features a diverse cast of Palestinian and Israeli actors, including Bahira Ablassi, Tom Baum, Tsahi Halevi, Makram Khoury and Amir Khoury.
“The first thing I needed to cast was the site,” says Gitai of Fattoush, a spot known for its spirit of inclusivity.
- 9/9/2020
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
Club Fattoush is a real-life bar and arts space in the Israeli port city of Haifa: a kind of bohemian, liberal-minded gathering point for a broad array of residents, be they Israeli or Palestinian, Jewish or Arabic, gay or straight, and so on. Veteran Haifa-born filmmaker Amos Gitai is sufficiently enamored of the venue to have made a feature-length fictional celebration of its diversity and cultural import. Enter “Laila in Haifa,” a spaghetti pile of connected and disconnected narrative strands, revolving around a series of Fattoush employees and patrons over a single evening of business. It’s enough to convince you to drop into the place should you ever find yourself in town: It’d almost certainly offer a better time than “Laila in Haifa,” which, for all its good intentions and social interests, is among Gitai’s most listless films, not even propped up by his usual formal rigor.
- 9/8/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Nineteen French feature films, including minority coproductions, will screen at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which runs Sept. 2-12. There are also four short films produced by France, and six French VR productions.
Nicole Garcia will represent France in the Official Competition with “Lovers,” her ninth feature film. She will be joined in the section by Amos Gitaï, whose film “Laila in Haifa” is a majority-French coproduction.
In addition to those movies, six films majority produced or coproduced by France will be showcased at the festival. They include Quentin Dupieux’s “Mandibules,” presented out of competition, and “Princesse Europe” by Camille Lotteau, to be shown in a special screening. The competitive Orizzonti section features four majority-French films.
“Honey Cigar” plays in Giornate degli Autori, a sidebar event.
Majority-French Feature Films in Venice
“Lovers”
Section: In Competition
Director: Nicole Garcia
Cast: Stacy Martin, Pierre Niney, Benoît Magimel
Sales:...
Nicole Garcia will represent France in the Official Competition with “Lovers,” her ninth feature film. She will be joined in the section by Amos Gitaï, whose film “Laila in Haifa” is a majority-French coproduction.
In addition to those movies, six films majority produced or coproduced by France will be showcased at the festival. They include Quentin Dupieux’s “Mandibules,” presented out of competition, and “Princesse Europe” by Camille Lotteau, to be shown in a special screening. The competitive Orizzonti section features four majority-French films.
“Honey Cigar” plays in Giornate degli Autori, a sidebar event.
Majority-French Feature Films in Venice
“Lovers”
Section: In Competition
Director: Nicole Garcia
Cast: Stacy Martin, Pierre Niney, Benoît Magimel
Sales:...
- 8/27/2020
- by Ben Croll
- 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
Wife of a SpyThe programme for the 2020 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Gia Coppola, Lav Diaz, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Alice Rohrwacher, Gianfranco Rosi, Frederick Wiseman, Chloé Zhao, and more.COMPETITIONIn Between Dying (Hilal Baydarov)Le sorelle Macluso (Emma Dante)The World to Come (Mona Fastvold)Nuevo Orden (Michel Franco)Lovers (Nicole Garcia)Laila in Haifa (Amos Gitai)Dear Comrades (Andrei Konchalovsky)Wife of a Spy (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)Sun Children (Majid Majidi)Pieces of a Woman (Kornél Mundruczó)Miss Marx (Susanna Nicchiarelli)Padrenostro (Claudio Noce)Notturno (Gianfranco Rosi)Never Gonna Snow AgainThe Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane)And Tomorrow The Entire World (Julia Von Heinz)Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Zbanic)Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesThe Ties (Daniele Luchetti)Lasciami Andare (Stefano Mordini)Mandibules (Quentin Dupieux)Love After Love (Ann Hui)Assandria (Salvatore Mereu)The Duke (Roger Michell)Night in Paradise (Park Hoon-jung)Mosquito...
- 8/3/2020
- MUBI
The 77th Venice International Film Festival is one of the first “big” Festivals that will open its physical doors after the Covid-19 pandemic. The Festival is organised by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera; it will take place at Venice Lido from 2 – 12 September 2020.
Here are all the Asian Titles on the Programme:
Competition/Venezia 77
“In Between Dying” by Hilal Baydarov
“Laila In Haifa” by Amos Gitai
“Wife of a Spy” by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan)
“Sun Children” by Majid Majidi (Iran)
“The Disciple” by Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
“Nomadland” by Chloe Zhao (USA)
Out of Competition (Fiction)
“Love After Love” by Ann Hui (China)
“Night in Paradise” by Park Hoon-Jung (South Korea)
Horizons
“Milestone” by Ivan Ayr (India)
“The Wasteland” by Ahmad Bahrami (Iran)
“Genus Pan” by Lav Diaz (Philippines)
“Careless Crime” by Shahram Mokri (Iran)
“Gaza Mon Amour” by Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser (Palestine/Qatar)
“The Best Is Yet to Come...
Here are all the Asian Titles on the Programme:
Competition/Venezia 77
“In Between Dying” by Hilal Baydarov
“Laila In Haifa” by Amos Gitai
“Wife of a Spy” by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan)
“Sun Children” by Majid Majidi (Iran)
“The Disciple” by Chaitanya Tamhane (India)
“Nomadland” by Chloe Zhao (USA)
Out of Competition (Fiction)
“Love After Love” by Ann Hui (China)
“Night in Paradise” by Park Hoon-Jung (South Korea)
Horizons
“Milestone” by Ivan Ayr (India)
“The Wasteland” by Ahmad Bahrami (Iran)
“Genus Pan” by Lav Diaz (Philippines)
“Careless Crime” by Shahram Mokri (Iran)
“Gaza Mon Amour” by Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser (Palestine/Qatar)
“The Best Is Yet to Come...
- 7/31/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
‘The Furnace.’
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
“I’m thrilled at this opportunity for the...
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
“I’m thrilled at this opportunity for the...
- 7/28/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Hot on the heels of the 2020 New York Film Festival releasing its first selection in Nomadland (taking the Centerpiece slot at the fest), Venice is chiming in as well. Not only are they also going to be showing Chloe Zhao’s movie, but the festival has in fact unveiled its entire lineup for this year. It’s a crop of titles that’s low on flashy name recognition, at least for now, but it’s an international group that should hopefully be cause for some celebration in the cinematic world. These days, that’s hard to come by, to say the least. Read on for the entire list… If there’s something else of note besides Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland at Venice right now, it’s either The Duke from Roger Michell, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, or The World to Come. The former is a crime comedy, while...
- 7/28/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The sales outfit previously represented Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s feature debut ‘Baduk’.
Paris-based Celluloid Dreams has boarded international sales rights to Majid Majidi’s Sun Children, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12).
The French sales firm previously handled the Iranian director’s feature debut Baduk, which screened in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 1992.
His latest feature centres on 12-year-old Ali and his three friends, who take small jobs and commit petty crimes to make fast money. When Ali is entrusted to find some underground “hidden treasure”, he recruits his gang to help.
Paris-based Celluloid Dreams has boarded international sales rights to Majid Majidi’s Sun Children, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12).
The French sales firm previously handled the Iranian director’s feature debut Baduk, which screened in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 1992.
His latest feature centres on 12-year-old Ali and his three friends, who take small jobs and commit petty crimes to make fast money. When Ali is entrusted to find some underground “hidden treasure”, he recruits his gang to help.
- 7/28/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
This year’s pandemic-altered Venice Film Festival will include a record number of competition films directed by women, festival organizers announced on Tuesday. And two of those are also the only Hollywood studio films to make the competition lineup — Mona Fastvold’s “The World to Come” and Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland.”
In all, eight of the 18 competition features have a female director — an improvement from last year, when just two made the cut.
“Nomadland,” a drama starring Frances McDormand released by Searchlight Pictures, will simultaneously premiere through the Toronto Film Festival as well as through the New York Film Festival and the now-canceled Telluride fest (at a special drive-in screening in Southern California). Sony’s “The World to Come” stars Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.
Also Read: Frances McDormand's 'Nomadland' to Get Joint World Premiere From Venice and Toronto Film Festivals
Other top titles screening out...
In all, eight of the 18 competition features have a female director — an improvement from last year, when just two made the cut.
“Nomadland,” a drama starring Frances McDormand released by Searchlight Pictures, will simultaneously premiere through the Toronto Film Festival as well as through the New York Film Festival and the now-canceled Telluride fest (at a special drive-in screening in Southern California). Sony’s “The World to Come” stars Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.
Also Read: Frances McDormand's 'Nomadland' to Get Joint World Premiere From Venice and Toronto Film Festivals
Other top titles screening out...
- 7/28/2020
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
Sales outfit to also handle international sales for the Israeli director’s back catalogue.
HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Laila In Haifa, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12).
The UK sales outfit will also now handle international sales for the Israeli director’s back catalogue of work.
Laila In Haifa is set over one fateful night in a club in the port town of Haifa and explores the interweaving stories of five women. The film aims to present a snapshot of contemporary life in one of...
HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Laila In Haifa, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12).
The UK sales outfit will also now handle international sales for the Israeli director’s back catalogue of work.
Laila In Haifa is set over one fateful night in a club in the port town of Haifa and explores the interweaving stories of five women. The film aims to present a snapshot of contemporary life in one of...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Sales outfit to also handle international sales for the Israeli director’s back catalogue.
HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Laila In Haifa, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12).
The UK sales outfit will also now handle international sales for the Israeli director’s back catalogue of work.
Laila In Haifa is set over one fateful night in a club in the port town of Haifa and explores the interweaving stories of five women. The film aims to present a snapshot of contemporary life in one of...
HanWay Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Laila In Haifa, ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12).
The UK sales outfit will also now handle international sales for the Israeli director’s back catalogue of work.
Laila In Haifa is set over one fateful night in a club in the port town of Haifa and explores the interweaving stories of five women. The film aims to present a snapshot of contemporary life in one of...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
HanWay Films will handle international sales on Amos Gitai’s Laila In Haifa, which was announced today in the Venice Film Festival’s Competition line-up.
With an ensemble cast of both Israeli and Palestinian actors, the pic interweaves the stories of five women. It is set over a night in a club in the Israeli port town of Haifa and is a candid snapshot of one of the last remaining spaces where Israelis and Palestinians come together to engage in face-to-face relationships.
Project is an Israel-France co-production between Agav Films, Cdp and United King Film in association with Patrick Jeanneret, Andrea Di Nardo and Ruth and Stephen Hendel.
Alongside the deal, HanWay will also take on rights to the majority of Gitai’s back catalogue. Including: Esther (1986), Berlin Jerusalem (1989), Golem: Spirit Of Exile (1992), The Petrified Garden (1993), Devarim (1995), The Arena Of Murder (1996), Yom Yom (1998), Kadosh (1999), Kippur (2000), Kedma (2002), Alila (2003), Promised Land (2003), One...
With an ensemble cast of both Israeli and Palestinian actors, the pic interweaves the stories of five women. It is set over a night in a club in the Israeli port town of Haifa and is a candid snapshot of one of the last remaining spaces where Israelis and Palestinians come together to engage in face-to-face relationships.
Project is an Israel-France co-production between Agav Films, Cdp and United King Film in association with Patrick Jeanneret, Andrea Di Nardo and Ruth and Stephen Hendel.
Alongside the deal, HanWay will also take on rights to the majority of Gitai’s back catalogue. Including: Esther (1986), Berlin Jerusalem (1989), Golem: Spirit Of Exile (1992), The Petrified Garden (1993), Devarim (1995), The Arena Of Murder (1996), Yom Yom (1998), Kadosh (1999), Kippur (2000), Kedma (2002), Alila (2003), Promised Land (2003), One...
- 7/28/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K. based HanWay Films will handle international sales on Israeli auteur Amos Gitai’s new film “Laila In Haifa,” set to bow in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September. HanWay will also represent 25 films from Gitai’s extensive body of award-winning work.
With an ensemble cast of both Israeli and Palestinian actors, “Laila in Haifa” (A Night in Haifa) follows the interweaving stories of five women over one night in a club in the port town of Haifa.
The film is a co-production between France’s Agav Films and Cdp and Israel’s United King Film in association with Patrick Jeanneret, Andrea Di Nardo and Ruth and Stephen Hendel.
Gitai said, “We are delighted at the announcement that Laila in Haifa is selected this year as part of the Venice Film Festival. This is a special moment after the anxieties, economic worries, viruses, political viruses of the...
With an ensemble cast of both Israeli and Palestinian actors, “Laila in Haifa” (A Night in Haifa) follows the interweaving stories of five women over one night in a club in the port town of Haifa.
The film is a co-production between France’s Agav Films and Cdp and Israel’s United King Film in association with Patrick Jeanneret, Andrea Di Nardo and Ruth and Stephen Hendel.
Gitai said, “We are delighted at the announcement that Laila in Haifa is selected this year as part of the Venice Film Festival. This is a special moment after the anxieties, economic worries, viruses, political viruses of the...
- 7/28/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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