It has been a big week for beloved musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the 1964 Palme d’Or and went on to international acclaim and five Oscar nominations and served as one of the key inspirations for Damien Chazelle’s La La Land.
The film got a special 60th anniversary Cannes Classics screening Thursday of the exquisitely new restoration at the Agnes Varda Theatre, which is named after the late director and is also wife of late Cherbourg writer-director Jacques Demy. This week also has seen the world premieres of two documentaries related to the film here. On Saturday night at the Buñuel Theatre in the Palais came the premiere of Once Upon a Time: Michel Legrand, an extensive two-hour documentary on the late great composer of Cherbourg and so much more.
Then on Wednesday night, also at the Buñuel, was the unveiling...
The film got a special 60th anniversary Cannes Classics screening Thursday of the exquisitely new restoration at the Agnes Varda Theatre, which is named after the late director and is also wife of late Cherbourg writer-director Jacques Demy. This week also has seen the world premieres of two documentaries related to the film here. On Saturday night at the Buñuel Theatre in the Palais came the premiere of Once Upon a Time: Michel Legrand, an extensive two-hour documentary on the late great composer of Cherbourg and so much more.
Then on Wednesday night, also at the Buñuel, was the unveiling...
- 5/23/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
After nearly two years of planning, the digital platform “The Gleaners and I: Revisiting Agnès Varda’s Edit” is about to go live.
Supported by Martin Scorsese, the pedagogical platform will open the treasure trove of Agnès Varda’s archives, making never-before-seen footage and hours of unused rushes available to nascent filmmakers across the globe. Through “The Gleaners and I,” students at participating universities will be able to re-edit and completely rethink Varda’s 2000 documentary of the same name — pooling from 62 hours of rushes, all subtitled in English – under the proviso that each new clip edit be uploaded back on to the platform.
“Agnès would have surely loved the idea of having her work live on in this way,” says daughter and project leader Rosalie Varda. “She would want to give the students full freedom – and that’s what we’ve done. Participants can really reconceive the work however they see fit.
Supported by Martin Scorsese, the pedagogical platform will open the treasure trove of Agnès Varda’s archives, making never-before-seen footage and hours of unused rushes available to nascent filmmakers across the globe. Through “The Gleaners and I,” students at participating universities will be able to re-edit and completely rethink Varda’s 2000 documentary of the same name — pooling from 62 hours of rushes, all subtitled in English – under the proviso that each new clip edit be uploaded back on to the platform.
“Agnès would have surely loved the idea of having her work live on in this way,” says daughter and project leader Rosalie Varda. “She would want to give the students full freedom – and that’s what we’ve done. Participants can really reconceive the work however they see fit.
- 5/17/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
As Cannes Film Festival kicks off, the Paris-based international sales company MK2 Films has revealed it has acquired three films and made substantial investments in new restorations, set against the backdrop of a strong presence at Cannes Classics.
MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973). “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” has been restored in 4K by L’Immagine Ritrovata (Bologna-Paris) under the supervision of Arielle de Saint Phalle and with funding from Dior. It was presented at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, New York Film Festival and the new Los Angeles Festival of Movies. “Daddy” will soon be available in a restored version. MK2 Films described it as a “unique feminist work by one of...
MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973). “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” has been restored in 4K by L’Immagine Ritrovata (Bologna-Paris) under the supervision of Arielle de Saint Phalle and with funding from Dior. It was presented at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, New York Film Festival and the new Los Angeles Festival of Movies. “Daddy” will soon be available in a restored version. MK2 Films described it as a “unique feminist work by one of...
- 5/14/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Kohn’s Corner is a weekly column about the challenges and opportunities of sustaining American film culture.
When you’re living in the bubble of daily cinema life during the Cannes Film Festival, it’s hard to know if the rest of the world cares about any of the movies you’ve seen over the past two weeks. The obvious marketing hooks for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” will take care of them. For everything else, who knows?
The last three Palme d’Or winner winners — “Triangle of Sadness,” “Titane,” and “Parasite” — leveraged their Cannes success into genuine cultural impact. The challenges in getting movies made and seen is higher than ever, but Cannes 2023 came ready for battle. Here are some of the most promising signs I found.
The French New Wave Isn’t Finished
For a generation of cinephiles, the death...
When you’re living in the bubble of daily cinema life during the Cannes Film Festival, it’s hard to know if the rest of the world cares about any of the movies you’ve seen over the past two weeks. The obvious marketing hooks for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” will take care of them. For everything else, who knows?
The last three Palme d’Or winner winners — “Triangle of Sadness,” “Titane,” and “Parasite” — leveraged their Cannes success into genuine cultural impact. The challenges in getting movies made and seen is higher than ever, but Cannes 2023 came ready for battle. Here are some of the most promising signs I found.
The French New Wave Isn’t Finished
For a generation of cinephiles, the death...
- 5/26/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Varda’s seminal documentary can now be used a pioneering educational tool by film students around the world.
More than 60 hours of rushes of Agnes Varda’s 2000 documentary feature The Gleaners and I will now be available for the next generation of international filmmakers thanks to a new educational initiative from France’s National Audiovisual Institute (Ina) and Ciné-Tamaris.
The project was unveiled in Cannes at the beachside hub of the Cnc by Rosalie Varda, the filmmaker’s daughter and CEO of Ciné-Tamaris and Ina’s deputy general director Agnès Chauveau, complete with a surprise visit from Martin Scorsese, who...
More than 60 hours of rushes of Agnes Varda’s 2000 documentary feature The Gleaners and I will now be available for the next generation of international filmmakers thanks to a new educational initiative from France’s National Audiovisual Institute (Ina) and Ciné-Tamaris.
The project was unveiled in Cannes at the beachside hub of the Cnc by Rosalie Varda, the filmmaker’s daughter and CEO of Ciné-Tamaris and Ina’s deputy general director Agnès Chauveau, complete with a surprise visit from Martin Scorsese, who...
- 5/25/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Netflix made headlines at Cannes for buying Todd Haynes’ “May December” for $11 million, but it’s also spending money on film history. The streamer is one of several entities getting into the Agnes Varda business this year by investing in a new project to reignite interest in the late French New Wave filmmaker’s work.
Varda’s daughter, producer Rosalie Varda, announced at Cannes this week that she had secured financing for “Education in Images: ‘The Gleaners and I,'” an ambitious heritage project for film students built out of restored dailies from Varda’s seminal 1999 documentary. The digital platform will be made available to film schools around the world and cull from 60 hours of rushes from Varda’s poetic 2000 documentary “The Gleaners and I,” which explores the unique lives and challenges of gleaners throughout French society. Students will be able to use the platform to create their own versions...
Varda’s daughter, producer Rosalie Varda, announced at Cannes this week that she had secured financing for “Education in Images: ‘The Gleaners and I,'” an ambitious heritage project for film students built out of restored dailies from Varda’s seminal 1999 documentary. The digital platform will be made available to film schools around the world and cull from 60 hours of rushes from Varda’s poetic 2000 documentary “The Gleaners and I,” which explores the unique lives and challenges of gleaners throughout French society. Students will be able to use the platform to create their own versions...
- 5/24/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
On the eve of King Charles III’s coronation, Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge was awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his long devotion to supporting French cinema. The French government bestows the honor, which means Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters, to creative and literary figures who have contributed to French culture over the years. Past recipients range from Dennis Lim to Wes Anderson.
The event took place Friday at the Beverly Hills residence of French consul general Julie Duhaut-Bedos, who hosted the ceremony along with Rosalie Varda, daughter of director Agnès Varda. “We are gathered today to celebrate the remarkable career of Peter Debruge and his strong relationship with France,” said Duhaut-Bedos. “French cinema could not have asked for a better long-distance lover,” she continued.
Presenting Debruge with the medal, Rosalie Varda talked about his deep connection with her mother,...
The event took place Friday at the Beverly Hills residence of French consul general Julie Duhaut-Bedos, who hosted the ceremony along with Rosalie Varda, daughter of director Agnès Varda. “We are gathered today to celebrate the remarkable career of Peter Debruge and his strong relationship with France,” said Duhaut-Bedos. “French cinema could not have asked for a better long-distance lover,” she continued.
Presenting Debruge with the medal, Rosalie Varda talked about his deep connection with her mother,...
- 5/7/2023
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Filmmakers and executives, creatives of music, theater and art remembered Tom Luddy as friend and mentor, tastemaker and cultural force who deployed an astonishingly vast network to nurture talent and bring people and projects together over decades.
The co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival passed away in February.
“I am thinking of getting a tattoo of you on my arm,” said Irish director Mark Cousins at tribute event at the Paris Theatre over the weekend. “Here is Hitchcock on my arm, and here is and Kira Muratova. Maybe you would fit between the two?” He added, “For the rest of my life, I will see partly through your eyes. I miss you and I love you.”
“Tom Luddy was a constant presence. The sun around which so many of us have revolved,” said Ken Burns. The two met when Burns screened Huey Long at Telluride in 1985. “For the next 35-plus years,...
The co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival passed away in February.
“I am thinking of getting a tattoo of you on my arm,” said Irish director Mark Cousins at tribute event at the Paris Theatre over the weekend. “Here is Hitchcock on my arm, and here is and Kira Muratova. Maybe you would fit between the two?” He added, “For the rest of my life, I will see partly through your eyes. I miss you and I love you.”
“Tom Luddy was a constant presence. The sun around which so many of us have revolved,” said Ken Burns. The two met when Burns screened Huey Long at Telluride in 1985. “For the next 35-plus years,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Tom Luddy wasn’t famous exactly. But he had a huge impact on film culture via Uc Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive in the ’60s and the Telluride Film Festival in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and up to his death in February at age 79. And while he was based in the Bay Area, a theater full of Luddy-philes from both coasts turned up for his tribute at New York’s packed Paris Theater on April 15. They represented the cross-cultural network that Luddy created over decades of introducing people, sharing his favorite film gems, and luring folks to Telluride by inviting their films or bringing them in as guest directors (like Stephen Sondheim or Salman Rushdie) or tributees (like Athol Fugard or Michael Powell). Once they came, they usually came back.
Five of the stalwarts in the Luddy family, who have supported the festival on the Telluride board of directors and in other ways,...
Five of the stalwarts in the Luddy family, who have supported the festival on the Telluride board of directors and in other ways,...
- 4/16/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
While Agnès Varda explored her own work throughout her career, including in The Beaches of Agnès, her TV series From Here to There, and her final film Varda by Agnès, a new documentary has been announced that will take a look at the late, legendary Belgian-born French director’s massive contributions to the art of cinema.
Variety reports Mk2 Films, Cinétévé Sales, and Varda’s own Ciné-Tamaris have backed Viva Varda!, which will feature never-before-seen archival footage along with interviews from directors, including Atom Egoyan and Audrey Diwan. Helmed by Pierre-Henri Gibert, the film features interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy, and Jonathan Romney. With a French Cinémathèque retrospctive also taking place the fall, here’s hoping the documentary will debut for the occasion.
“With the upcoming homage at the French Cinémathèque, I felt like...
Variety reports Mk2 Films, Cinétévé Sales, and Varda’s own Ciné-Tamaris have backed Viva Varda!, which will feature never-before-seen archival footage along with interviews from directors, including Atom Egoyan and Audrey Diwan. Helmed by Pierre-Henri Gibert, the film features interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy, and Jonathan Romney. With a French Cinémathèque retrospctive also taking place the fall, here’s hoping the documentary will debut for the occasion.
“With the upcoming homage at the French Cinémathèque, I felt like...
- 2/17/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Agnès Varda, the late New Wave cinema legend, is the subject of “Viva Varda!,” a documentary boasting exclusive archive footage and interviews by filmmakers such as Atom Egoyan and Audrey Diwan. Mk2 Films is co-representing the documentary feature with Cinétévé Sales.
“Viva Varda!” will be first portrait of the Honorary Oscar recipient that’s not directed by Varda herself. The last film she directed was “Varda par Agnes,” a documentary shedding light on her own experiences as a filmmaker. Her sprawling career and legacy will be celebrated this fall at the French Cinémathèque.
Pierre-Henri Gibert, a film buff who’s made several documentaries about filmmakers, including Jacques Audiard, explored different aspects of Varda’s life and body of work and conducted insightful interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy and Jonathan Romney, among others.
“Viva Varda!
“Viva Varda!” will be first portrait of the Honorary Oscar recipient that’s not directed by Varda herself. The last film she directed was “Varda par Agnes,” a documentary shedding light on her own experiences as a filmmaker. Her sprawling career and legacy will be celebrated this fall at the French Cinémathèque.
Pierre-Henri Gibert, a film buff who’s made several documentaries about filmmakers, including Jacques Audiard, explored different aspects of Varda’s life and body of work and conducted insightful interviews with friends, family, and collaborators, including Varda’s children, Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, along with Sandrine Bonnaire, Patricia Mazuy and Jonathan Romney, among others.
“Viva Varda!
- 2/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Rosalie Varda and Audrey Diwan have boarded Adrian Moyse Dullin’s live action short “The Right Words” as executive producers.
The film, which was selected for Cannes’ Palme d’Or competition last year, tells the story of a brother and sister who get a kick out of embarrassing each other on social media. One day, on a crowded bus home from school, the sister convinces her younger brother to approach his crush.
“When naive and romantic Mahdi is peer-pressured into confessing his love to Jada, a girl who doesn’t know he exists, his declaration becomes a public spectacle,” reads the logline.
“The Right Words” is written and directed by Moyse Dullin and represents his fiction debut. He is currently working on a feature film about love. The short is produced by Punchline Cinéma co-founder Lucas Tothe with cinematography by Augustin Barbaroux.
The film has been shortlisted for the 2023 Césars and is an Oscar qualifier.
The film, which was selected for Cannes’ Palme d’Or competition last year, tells the story of a brother and sister who get a kick out of embarrassing each other on social media. One day, on a crowded bus home from school, the sister convinces her younger brother to approach his crush.
“When naive and romantic Mahdi is peer-pressured into confessing his love to Jada, a girl who doesn’t know he exists, his declaration becomes a public spectacle,” reads the logline.
“The Right Words” is written and directed by Moyse Dullin and represents his fiction debut. He is currently working on a feature film about love. The short is produced by Punchline Cinéma co-founder Lucas Tothe with cinematography by Augustin Barbaroux.
The film has been shortlisted for the 2023 Césars and is an Oscar qualifier.
- 11/18/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed In Competition(Jury: Julianne Moore, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo di Costanzo, Audrey Diwan, Leila Hatami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Rodrigo Sorogoyen)Golden Lion – All The Beauty And The Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) – Saint Omer (Alice Diop)Silver Lion (Best Director) – Luca Guadagnino (Bones & All)Coppa Volpi for Best Actress – Cate Blanchett (Tár)Coppa Volpi for Best Actor – Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Best Screenplay – Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Special Jury Prize – No Bears (Jafar Panahi)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress – Taylor Russell (Bones & All)Orizzonti(Jury: Isabel Coixet, Laura Bispuri, Antonio Campos, Sofia Djama, Edourad Waintrop)Orizzonti Award for Best Film – World War III (Houman Seyedi)Orizzonti Award for Best Director – Vera (Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel)Special Orizzonti Jury Prize – Bread And Salt (Damian Kocur)Orizzonti Award for Best Actress – Vera Gemma (Vera)Orizzonti Award for...
- 9/10/2022
- MUBI
The 2022 Venice Film Festival has awarded Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” the Golden Lion for Best Film, with Colin Farrell and Cate Blanchett landing the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor and Best Actress.
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Luca Guadagnino for “Bones and All.” The cannibal love story also saw co-star Taylor Russell win the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
In addition to Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” won the award for Best Screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The film, which follows an abrupt fallout between two best friends (“In Bruges” co-stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), received a 13-minute standing ovation at its Tuesday premiere. Meanwhile, Blanchett won her second Volpi Cup (following her performance as Bob Dylan in 2007’s “I’m Not There”) for playing the world-renowned composer at the center of Todd Field’s “Tár.”
Also Read:
Brendan Fraser...
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Luca Guadagnino for “Bones and All.” The cannibal love story also saw co-star Taylor Russell win the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
In addition to Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” won the award for Best Screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The film, which follows an abrupt fallout between two best friends (“In Bruges” co-stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), received a 13-minute standing ovation at its Tuesday premiere. Meanwhile, Blanchett won her second Volpi Cup (following her performance as Bob Dylan in 2007’s “I’m Not There”) for playing the world-renowned composer at the center of Todd Field’s “Tár.”
Also Read:
Brendan Fraser...
- 9/10/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
The star studded Variety and Hotel Danieli pre-festival cocktail party on Aug. 30 was a taster of the riches in store at the Venice Film Festival that kicks off the following day.
Head of the jury Julianne Moore and fellow jurors, “A Separation” actor Leila Hatami and filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo Di Costanzo and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, were present as was “Thor: Love and Thunder” actor Tessa Thompson, who is serving on the festival’s Horizons strand jury.
The evening, titled “Cinema Danieli – An Unforgettable Story,” on the terrace of the plush Hotel Danieli, which turns 200 this year, has become a festival tradition dating back 13 years. It was introduced by Claudio Staderini, director of the Danieli, who described the hotel as a shooting and residential choice of many of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera said that the Variety and Danieli pre-festival cocktail as...
Head of the jury Julianne Moore and fellow jurors, “A Separation” actor Leila Hatami and filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo Di Costanzo and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, were present as was “Thor: Love and Thunder” actor Tessa Thompson, who is serving on the festival’s Horizons strand jury.
The evening, titled “Cinema Danieli – An Unforgettable Story,” on the terrace of the plush Hotel Danieli, which turns 200 this year, has become a festival tradition dating back 13 years. It was introduced by Claudio Staderini, director of the Danieli, who described the hotel as a shooting and residential choice of many of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera said that the Variety and Danieli pre-festival cocktail as...
- 8/31/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Michelangelo Frammartino was also named president of the Luigi de Laurentiis award.
Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet has been named president of the Horizons jury for the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).
Coixet’s credentials include My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words and The Bookshop. Most recently her documentary The Yellow Ceiling was introduced at Cannes Marché 2022 slate.
Joining her on the jury is Italian director Laura Bispuri; US filmmaker Antonio Campos; Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama and former Cannes’ Directors Fortnight director Edouard Waintrop.
The Horizons section awards seven prizes in total in all major categories including a special jury prize.
Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet has been named president of the Horizons jury for the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).
Coixet’s credentials include My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words and The Bookshop. Most recently her documentary The Yellow Ceiling was introduced at Cannes Marché 2022 slate.
Joining her on the jury is Italian director Laura Bispuri; US filmmaker Antonio Campos; Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama and former Cannes’ Directors Fortnight director Edouard Waintrop.
The Horizons section awards seven prizes in total in all major categories including a special jury prize.
- 7/20/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Spanish director Isabel Coixet will preside over the international jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti competition at the upcoming edition running from August 31 to September 10.
The director knows Orizzonti well having world premiered her 2005 drama The Secret Life Of Words in the section, ahead of it winning four Spanish Goya awards the following year.
More recent credits include The Bookshop, which also swept the Goyas in 2017, winning best director, film and adapted screenplay, and Spanish and English-language romantic drama It Snows In Benidorm, starring Timothy Spall.
She will be by Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri, whose third film The Peacock’s Paradise played in Orizzonti last year, and US director Antonio Campus, whose recent credits include HBO show The Staircase.
Further members include Sofia Djama, the Algerian director of The Blessed, for which lead Lyna Khoudri won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award in 2017 and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Delegate General Edouard Waintrop.
The director knows Orizzonti well having world premiered her 2005 drama The Secret Life Of Words in the section, ahead of it winning four Spanish Goya awards the following year.
More recent credits include The Bookshop, which also swept the Goyas in 2017, winning best director, film and adapted screenplay, and Spanish and English-language romantic drama It Snows In Benidorm, starring Timothy Spall.
She will be by Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri, whose third film The Peacock’s Paradise played in Orizzonti last year, and US director Antonio Campus, whose recent credits include HBO show The Staircase.
Further members include Sofia Djama, the Algerian director of The Blessed, for which lead Lyna Khoudri won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award in 2017 and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Delegate General Edouard Waintrop.
- 7/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop, My Life Without Me) will head up the competition jury for the Orizzonti, or Horizons, section of this year’s Venice International Film festival, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The Secret Life of Words helmer will be joined by Italian director Laura Bispuri (Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine); American filmmaker Antonio Campos (The Staircase, The Devil All the Time); Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose feature debut, The Blessed, screened in Oizzonti last year, winning the best actress honor for star Lyna Khoudri; and French journalist and critic Edouard Waintrop, who most recently was artistic director at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section.
The Orizzonti jury will present awards for best film, best director, a jury prize, best actor and actress, best screenplay and a best short film honor, picking from the titles selected for the Venice sidebar this year.
Venice...
Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop, My Life Without Me) will head up the competition jury for the Orizzonti, or Horizons, section of this year’s Venice International Film festival, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The Secret Life of Words helmer will be joined by Italian director Laura Bispuri (Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine); American filmmaker Antonio Campos (The Staircase, The Devil All the Time); Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose feature debut, The Blessed, screened in Oizzonti last year, winning the best actress honor for star Lyna Khoudri; and French journalist and critic Edouard Waintrop, who most recently was artistic director at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section.
The Orizzonti jury will present awards for best film, best director, a jury prize, best actor and actress, best screenplay and a best short film honor, picking from the titles selected for the Venice sidebar this year.
Venice...
- 7/20/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spanish director Isabel Coixet, known for prizewinning works such as “The Secret Life of Words” and “The Bookshop,” will preside over the jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons (Orizonti) section dedicated to more cutting-edge works.
Coixet will be joined on the Horizons jury by Italian director Laura Bispuri; U.S. director and producer Antonio Campos, who most recently created, wrote and directed HBO Max series “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche; Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose first feature “The Blessed” won the 2017 Horizons best actress award for Lyna Khoudri; and former Cannes Director’s Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop.
Additionally, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was in Venice last year with “Il Buco,” will preside over the jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for best first work across all Venice sections, which is worth 100,000.
Joining Frammartino on the Venice jury for best first work...
Coixet will be joined on the Horizons jury by Italian director Laura Bispuri; U.S. director and producer Antonio Campos, who most recently created, wrote and directed HBO Max series “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche; Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose first feature “The Blessed” won the 2017 Horizons best actress award for Lyna Khoudri; and former Cannes Director’s Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop.
Additionally, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was in Venice last year with “Il Buco,” will preside over the jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for best first work across all Venice sections, which is worth 100,000.
Joining Frammartino on the Venice jury for best first work...
- 7/20/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films is shooting “Curiosity Room,” a remake of Wim Wenders’s cult 1982 documentary “Room 666,” during the Cannes Film Festival. Produced by Mk Prods. in collaboration with the Cannes Film Festival, “Curiosity Room” will be directed Lubna Playoust, an actor (“The French Dispatch”) and filmmaker who notably helmed “Le Cormoran.”
Following the same set up as the original film, “Curiosity Room” is filming every day of the festival in a room at the Marriott Hotel on the Croisette, where 30 filmmakers, many of whom are either on juries or have movies and projects presented at this year’s Cannes, will answer questions about filmmaking and the future of cinema. Playoust is asking fellow directors if “cinema is a language about to get lost, an art about to die?,” said Nathanael Karmitz, MK2 Films’s CEO.
The remake is particularly relevant at this point since the film industry is going through a...
Following the same set up as the original film, “Curiosity Room” is filming every day of the festival in a room at the Marriott Hotel on the Croisette, where 30 filmmakers, many of whom are either on juries or have movies and projects presented at this year’s Cannes, will answer questions about filmmaking and the future of cinema. Playoust is asking fellow directors if “cinema is a language about to get lost, an art about to die?,” said Nathanael Karmitz, MK2 Films’s CEO.
The remake is particularly relevant at this point since the film industry is going through a...
- 5/20/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes slates includes new restorations of David Lynch’s Lost Highway, Claire Denis’s Chocolat, and Olivier Assayas’s Irma Vep.
France’s mk2 films is ramping up its heritage film operation with the appointment of Frédérique Rouault as head of collections and the acquisition of a raft of catalogues by directors who have marked cinema history.
In one of its most significant heritage deals to date, the company has acquired the rights to the entire collection of films by the late writer and director Marcel Pagnol.
Until now, the catalogue has been managed by grandson Nicolas Pagnol under the...
France’s mk2 films is ramping up its heritage film operation with the appointment of Frédérique Rouault as head of collections and the acquisition of a raft of catalogues by directors who have marked cinema history.
In one of its most significant heritage deals to date, the company has acquired the rights to the entire collection of films by the late writer and director Marcel Pagnol.
Until now, the catalogue has been managed by grandson Nicolas Pagnol under the...
- 5/18/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
An A-list panel of key actors in the film heritage industry gathered around a table at the Lumière Festival’s Classic Film Market (Mifc) with this year’s special guest Margaret Bodde to discuss how they relay the actions of the Film Foundation she heads.
“Obviously there’s a commercial imperative, but we work with partners that have a great track record and who share our vision that it’s important to handle these films like the works of art that they are,” said Bodde, The Film Foundation executive director.
“People who have the ability to get the film out broadly like Vincent [Paul-Boncour] and Carlotta with ‘Chess of the Wind,’” she went on, referring to the French distributor of one of the Film Foundation’s latest restorations, a rediscovered Iranian movie from 1976 by Mohammad Reza Aslani.
“As a partner of the Film Foundation, we were able to seek the rights for the film,...
“Obviously there’s a commercial imperative, but we work with partners that have a great track record and who share our vision that it’s important to handle these films like the works of art that they are,” said Bodde, The Film Foundation executive director.
“People who have the ability to get the film out broadly like Vincent [Paul-Boncour] and Carlotta with ‘Chess of the Wind,’” she went on, referring to the French distributor of one of the Film Foundation’s latest restorations, a rediscovered Iranian movie from 1976 by Mohammad Reza Aslani.
“As a partner of the Film Foundation, we were able to seek the rights for the film,...
- 10/15/2021
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
The Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market (Mifc) in Lyon, France, bows Tuesday, again bringing together distributors, exhibitors, streamers, TV programmers, film restorers and festival reps for one of the world’s leading heritage cinema events.
This year’s market looks set for a much more upbeat atmosphere compared to the 2020 edition, which took place right before the pandemic’s second wave that led to months-long cinema closures.
“It’s more about getting back on track,” says Mifc programming coordinator Gérald Duchaussoy. “The impression that we have when we talk to the distributors and rights owners is that they are very motivated to make it happen, to make it move once again. I’m not saying it’s easy, but frankly we feel a lot of very positive energy when we talk to them.”
It’s a very different vibe compared to last year, when the market took place under very difficult conditions,...
This year’s market looks set for a much more upbeat atmosphere compared to the 2020 edition, which took place right before the pandemic’s second wave that led to months-long cinema closures.
“It’s more about getting back on track,” says Mifc programming coordinator Gérald Duchaussoy. “The impression that we have when we talk to the distributors and rights owners is that they are very motivated to make it happen, to make it move once again. I’m not saying it’s easy, but frankly we feel a lot of very positive energy when we talk to them.”
It’s a very different vibe compared to last year, when the market took place under very difficult conditions,...
- 10/8/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Organised by UniFrance, the online festival’s Filmmakers’ Jury crowned Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary its champion, while the audience and international press voted in favour of Aurel’s Josep. At the close of a record 11th edition which saw MyFrenchFilmFestival, the online festival organised by UniFrance (read our news), amass 13 million views in upwards of 200 territories, the Filmmakers’ Jury, the International Press Jury and the audience delivered their verdicts. Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary Adolescentes found favour with the Filmmakers’ Jury composed of Gianfranco Rosi, Mounia Meddour, Monia Chokri, Franco Lolli and Rosalie Varda. Unveiled during Critics’ Week at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival, this Agat Film & Ex Nihilo production (co-produced with Arte France Cinéma and Arte France’s Society and Culture division) has been racking up awards since its release in French cinemas back in September via Ad Vitam, not only earning itself six nominations at this year’s Césars (notably in the.
MyFrenchFilmFestival, an online film festival dedicated to French movies launched by the promotion org UniFrance, will showcase 33 titles, including a competitive lineup of 10 feature films and 10 shorts.
Set to run Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, the 11th edition of the festival will collaborate with more than 60 platforms around the world to allow movies to be watched across more than 200 territories.
The roster of films selected to compete as part of this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival includes Sébastien Lifshitz’s “Adolescents,” a documentary exploring the evolving friendship of two young women through the years; Hafsia Herzi’s “You Deserve a Lover,” a drama about a young woman struggling to overcome a breakup; and Frédéric Fonteyne’s “Filles de joie,” a social drama about family women leading double lives to make ends meet.
The rest of the lineup comprises Bruno Merle’s “Felicita,” a family dramedy about an eccentric couple raising a child; Stéphane Batut...
Set to run Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, the 11th edition of the festival will collaborate with more than 60 platforms around the world to allow movies to be watched across more than 200 territories.
The roster of films selected to compete as part of this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival includes Sébastien Lifshitz’s “Adolescents,” a documentary exploring the evolving friendship of two young women through the years; Hafsia Herzi’s “You Deserve a Lover,” a drama about a young woman struggling to overcome a breakup; and Frédéric Fonteyne’s “Filles de joie,” a social drama about family women leading double lives to make ends meet.
The rest of the lineup comprises Bruno Merle’s “Felicita,” a family dramedy about an eccentric couple raising a child; Stéphane Batut...
- 1/5/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin’s Carlo Chatrian and Venice’s Alberto Barbera have also been invited.
Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux, French actress and gender equality activist Adèle Haenel, and a number of the key cast and crew of Oscar-winning picture Parasite are among the some 400 international film industry professionals invited to join the Us’ Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Tuesday June 30.
With 49% of the 819 invitees hailing from 68 countries outside of the Us, the latest round of invitees was one of the most international selections ever.
Frémaux is among a number of festival chiefs to be invited...
Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux, French actress and gender equality activist Adèle Haenel, and a number of the key cast and crew of Oscar-winning picture Parasite are among the some 400 international film industry professionals invited to join the Us’ Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Tuesday June 30.
With 49% of the 819 invitees hailing from 68 countries outside of the Us, the latest round of invitees was one of the most international selections ever.
Frémaux is among a number of festival chiefs to be invited...
- 7/1/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
While recent shutdowns and work stoppages engendered by this year’s pandemic have led to a halt in France’s normally robust exhibition landscape, streaming platforms — both international and local — have emerged from the crisis all the stronger.
The effects of this shift have been felt across the French industry. On the local front, distributors including Le Pacte, StudioCanal and Pyramide have taken advantage of temporary exemptions issued by the Cnc in order to release current titles directly onto paid-vod platforms, while SVOD hybrid services such as the Wild Bunch-backed Filmo TV have seen an exponential increase in traffic and subscriptions.
On the international front, however, the recent upheavals in the market have reinforced existing trends.
“The existence of platforms, both local and transnational, creates more opportunities in general,” says sales agent Carole Baraton. “That was already the case before, and I think Covid just pushed that even further.
The effects of this shift have been felt across the French industry. On the local front, distributors including Le Pacte, StudioCanal and Pyramide have taken advantage of temporary exemptions issued by the Cnc in order to release current titles directly onto paid-vod platforms, while SVOD hybrid services such as the Wild Bunch-backed Filmo TV have seen an exponential increase in traffic and subscriptions.
On the international front, however, the recent upheavals in the market have reinforced existing trends.
“The existence of platforms, both local and transnational, creates more opportunities in general,” says sales agent Carole Baraton. “That was already the case before, and I think Covid just pushed that even further.
- 6/22/2020
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
After getting a tease and the announcement of a theatrical touring retrospective, The Criterion Collection have now announced their Agnès Varda boxset, aptly titled The Complete Films of Agnès Varda. A gorgeous, epic undertaking, this treasure trove of cinematic beauty is split into different aspects of the Belgian-born French director’s life and career.
Arriving on a fifteen-disc Blu-ray release on August 11, the set features digital restorations of thirty-nine films, including the first home-video presentations of Les créatures, Jacquot de Nantes, and the television series Agnès de ci de là Varda. There’s also over seven hours of archival programs from Varda, a 200-page book, video introductions by the late filmmaker herself, and much, much more. Check out the details below.
The Films
Agnès Forever – Varda by Agnès (2019), Les 3 boutons (2015)
Early Varda – La Pointe Courte (1955), Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1958), Du côté de la côte (1958)
Around Paris – Cléo from 5 to 7...
Arriving on a fifteen-disc Blu-ray release on August 11, the set features digital restorations of thirty-nine films, including the first home-video presentations of Les créatures, Jacquot de Nantes, and the television series Agnès de ci de là Varda. There’s also over seven hours of archival programs from Varda, a 200-page book, video introductions by the late filmmaker herself, and much, much more. Check out the details below.
The Films
Agnès Forever – Varda by Agnès (2019), Les 3 boutons (2015)
Early Varda – La Pointe Courte (1955), Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1958), Du côté de la côte (1958)
Around Paris – Cléo from 5 to 7...
- 5/11/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Nathanaël Karmitz, CEO at Paris-based Mk2, which operates the biggest art-house cinema network in France, is preaching patience for the re-opening of theaters.
Speaking to Deadline, Karmitz said that a mid-July opening, which has been bandied around Europe in the last two weeks, initially as a provisional timeline by the International Union of Cinemas (Unic), was unlikely.
More from DeadlineLysol Maker Warns Against Ingestion Of Disinfectants After Donald Trump Pitches Testing Their Use To Fight CoronavirusJoe Biden, At Showbiz-Centric Virtual Fundraiser, Says Donald Trump Will "Try To Kick Back The Election Somehow"Donald Trump Complains Joe Biden Is Getting A Media "Free Pass" -- As Pundits Say It's The President Who Is Getting A Nightly Gift Of Free Airtime
“Right now to have a projection in July, I think it’s not realistic,” the Mk2 boss commented. “We can say ‘we want to open’, ‘we want people to...
Speaking to Deadline, Karmitz said that a mid-July opening, which has been bandied around Europe in the last two weeks, initially as a provisional timeline by the International Union of Cinemas (Unic), was unlikely.
More from DeadlineLysol Maker Warns Against Ingestion Of Disinfectants After Donald Trump Pitches Testing Their Use To Fight CoronavirusJoe Biden, At Showbiz-Centric Virtual Fundraiser, Says Donald Trump Will "Try To Kick Back The Election Somehow"Donald Trump Complains Joe Biden Is Getting A Media "Free Pass" -- As Pundits Say It's The President Who Is Getting A Nightly Gift Of Free Airtime
“Right now to have a projection in July, I think it’s not realistic,” the Mk2 boss commented. “We can say ‘we want to open’, ‘we want people to...
- 4/24/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Rosalie Varda, a seasoned French film producer who is the daughter of late New Wave filmmaking icons Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, has been appointed senior advisor at MK2 Films.
MK2 Films is part of the arthouse production, sales and exhibition group headed by Nathanael and Elisha Karmitz which had five movies in competition at Cannes last year and in 2018.
Under this newly-created position, Varda will be advising Nathanael Karmitz at MK2 Films on the acquisition and distribution strategy, in France and abroad, with regards to the company’s prestigious library which boasts more than 800 movies, including many classics by François Truffaut, Charlie Chaplin, Alain Resnais, as well as Varda and Demy, among others.
Activities linked to its library are a significant part of MK2 Films’ business. MK2 Films recently signed a non-exclusive deal with Netflix in France giving the streaming service access to 50 movies from MK2’s library, notably pics by Truffaut,...
MK2 Films is part of the arthouse production, sales and exhibition group headed by Nathanael and Elisha Karmitz which had five movies in competition at Cannes last year and in 2018.
Under this newly-created position, Varda will be advising Nathanael Karmitz at MK2 Films on the acquisition and distribution strategy, in France and abroad, with regards to the company’s prestigious library which boasts more than 800 movies, including many classics by François Truffaut, Charlie Chaplin, Alain Resnais, as well as Varda and Demy, among others.
Activities linked to its library are a significant part of MK2 Films’ business. MK2 Films recently signed a non-exclusive deal with Netflix in France giving the streaming service access to 50 movies from MK2’s library, notably pics by Truffaut,...
- 4/21/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French group MK2 has appointed veteran French producer Rosalie Varda as a senior advisor shortly after signing a major library deal with Netflix.
Varda, the daughter of late French cinema icons Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, will advise MK2 CEO Nathanaël Karmitz on the company's national and international acquisition and distribution strategy with regards to its sizable film library.
MK2 has an impressive back catalog of more than 800 titles, including many classics from Varda and Demy, as well as from François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Charlie Chaplin and others.
The group recently signed a non-exclusive deal with ...
Varda, the daughter of late French cinema icons Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, will advise MK2 CEO Nathanaël Karmitz on the company's national and international acquisition and distribution strategy with regards to its sizable film library.
MK2 has an impressive back catalog of more than 800 titles, including many classics from Varda and Demy, as well as from François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Charlie Chaplin and others.
The group recently signed a non-exclusive deal with ...
- 4/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French group MK2 has appointed veteran French producer Rosalie Varda as a senior advisor shortly after signing a major library deal with Netflix.
Varda, the daughter of late French cinema icons Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, will advise MK2 CEO Nathanaël Karmitz on the company's national and international acquisition and distribution strategy with regards to its sizable film library.
MK2 has an impressive back catalog of more than 800 titles, including many classics from Varda and Demy, as well as from François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Charlie Chaplin and others.
The group recently signed a non-exclusive deal with ...
Varda, the daughter of late French cinema icons Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, will advise MK2 CEO Nathanaël Karmitz on the company's national and international acquisition and distribution strategy with regards to its sizable film library.
MK2 has an impressive back catalog of more than 800 titles, including many classics from Varda and Demy, as well as from François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Charlie Chaplin and others.
The group recently signed a non-exclusive deal with ...
- 4/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Appointment comes hot on heels of mk2’s Netflix deal in France.
Paris-based film company mk2 Films has hired Rosalie Varda to oversee the exploitation and promotion of its vast 800-title catalogue of classic films.
Varda is the daughter of late filmmaker Agnès Varda and actor and theatre director Antoine Bourseiller and the step-daughter of late film director Jacques Demy.
She forged a career in the cinema, theatre and opera worlds as a costume designer, working on films of Jean-Luc Godard and Demy.
From 2006 onwards, she collaborated closely with her mother on her projects, taking a producer credit on Faces,...
Paris-based film company mk2 Films has hired Rosalie Varda to oversee the exploitation and promotion of its vast 800-title catalogue of classic films.
Varda is the daughter of late filmmaker Agnès Varda and actor and theatre director Antoine Bourseiller and the step-daughter of late film director Jacques Demy.
She forged a career in the cinema, theatre and opera worlds as a costume designer, working on films of Jean-Luc Godard and Demy.
From 2006 onwards, she collaborated closely with her mother on her projects, taking a producer credit on Faces,...
- 4/21/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Appointment comes hot on heels of mk2’s Netflix deal in France.
Paris-based film company mk2 Films has hired Rosalie Varda to oversee the exploitation and promotion of its vast 800-title catalogue of classic films.
Varda is the daughter of late filmmaker Agnès Varda and actor and theatre director Antoine Bourseiller and the step-daughter of late film director Jacques Demy.
She forged a career in the cinema, theatre and opera worlds as a costume designer, working on films of Jean-Luc Godard and Demy.
From 2006 onwards, she collaborated closely with her mother on her projects, taking a producer credit on Faces,...
Paris-based film company mk2 Films has hired Rosalie Varda to oversee the exploitation and promotion of its vast 800-title catalogue of classic films.
Varda is the daughter of late filmmaker Agnès Varda and actor and theatre director Antoine Bourseiller and the step-daughter of late film director Jacques Demy.
She forged a career in the cinema, theatre and opera worlds as a costume designer, working on films of Jean-Luc Godard and Demy.
From 2006 onwards, she collaborated closely with her mother on her projects, taking a producer credit on Faces,...
- 4/21/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
When director Agnès Varda came out with her 2017 Oscar-nominated documentary Faces Places, co-directed with the artist Jr, many people assumed it would be her final film. In her late 80s at that point, her eyesight was failing—if not her unquenchable curiosity.
But in fact she would complete one more film before her death in March at age 90. Varda by Agnès, the capstone to a remarkable career in cinema, plays at AFI Fest in Los Angeles November 21. The next day it opens in theaters in New York before expanding nationwide.
“It’s a way of saying goodbye,” Varda explained at the film’s world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, a month before her passing. “I have to prepare myself to say goodbye and to go away. It’s fine.”
The film is built around talks Varda gave late in her career about her work. Rosalie Varda, the...
But in fact she would complete one more film before her death in March at age 90. Varda by Agnès, the capstone to a remarkable career in cinema, plays at AFI Fest in Los Angeles November 21. The next day it opens in theaters in New York before expanding nationwide.
“It’s a way of saying goodbye,” Varda explained at the film’s world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, a month before her passing. “I have to prepare myself to say goodbye and to go away. It’s fine.”
The film is built around talks Varda gave late in her career about her work. Rosalie Varda, the...
- 11/8/2019
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Other films on the submission short list were Celine Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Alice Winocour’s Proxima.
Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Miserables, capturing the tensions in a tough Paris housing estate, will represent France as the country’s submission to the Academy Awards’s rebranded international feature film category in the 2019-20 Oscar race.
The film made waves when it premiered in Competition in Cannes this year, winning the Jury Prize (in a tie with Bacurau).
It is a first feature for Ly, who has spent most his filmmaking career capturing the...
Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Miserables, capturing the tensions in a tough Paris housing estate, will represent France as the country’s submission to the Academy Awards’s rebranded international feature film category in the 2019-20 Oscar race.
The film made waves when it premiered in Competition in Cannes this year, winning the Jury Prize (in a tie with Bacurau).
It is a first feature for Ly, who has spent most his filmmaking career capturing the...
- 9/20/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Ladj Ly’s politically charged drama “Les Miserables,” which won the Jury Prize at Cannes, has been chosen by France’s Oscar committee to enter the international feature film race.
In one of the most competitive years for French movies, “Les Miserables” beat out Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” the 18th-century-set romance which won best screenplay at Cannes. Also falling short was Alice Winocour’s “Proxima,” which opened at Toronto in the competitive Platform section and received an honorable mention. The film stars Eva Green as an astronaut preparing for a mission that will separate her from her young daughter.
“Les Miserables,” which was bought by Amazon for the U.S., earned stellar reviews at Cannes, including in Variety, whose review said the film “simmers with urgent anger over police brutality” and compared Ly’s work to that of Spike Lee.
The movie just had its...
In one of the most competitive years for French movies, “Les Miserables” beat out Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” the 18th-century-set romance which won best screenplay at Cannes. Also falling short was Alice Winocour’s “Proxima,” which opened at Toronto in the competitive Platform section and received an honorable mention. The film stars Eva Green as an astronaut preparing for a mission that will separate her from her young daughter.
“Les Miserables,” which was bought by Amazon for the U.S., earned stellar reviews at Cannes, including in Variety, whose review said the film “simmers with urgent anger over police brutality” and compared Ly’s work to that of Spike Lee.
The movie just had its...
- 9/20/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSOleg Sentsov.Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, whose film Gamer was previously shown on Mubi in December of 2018, has been released from imprisonment in Russia following a prisoner exchange. Today, September 18, 2019, is Art House Theater Day, "an annual celebration of art house and indie theaters." The official Art House Theater Day website has provided a service that helps art-house movie enthusiasts find nearby locations to celebrate and support their local theaters. New details have emerged regarding Angela Schanelec's upcoming feature, Music, an adaptation of the Oedipus myth that follows a young boy from Greece to London. Recommended Viewing. Todd Haynes's latest, Dark Waters, delves into a legal battle between an attorney and a chemical company that connects a series of mysterious deaths to forty years of poisoned water. The international trailer for Pietro Marcello's Martin Eden,...
- 9/18/2019
- MUBI
The foreign language Oscar has a new name — Best International Feature Film — after being known as “Best Foreign Language Film” since 1956, and the ever-evolving category might be getting a new look when it comes to its contenders. Last year, 87 countries vied for nine shortlist slots (there will be 10 in 2020) and the final five Oscar nominations. While the rules for submission have morphed slightly over the years, as it stands, each country may submit one film as long as it’s not primarily in English, and notoriously, local cultural politics tend to dictate that choice.
This year, all eyes are on France, as the country has changed up its Oscar submission process in hopes of picking a winner after striking out for over two decades (and enduring three years in a row without even making it to the final five nominees). While France has nabbed more foreign-language Oscar nominations (39) than any other country,...
This year, all eyes are on France, as the country has changed up its Oscar submission process in hopes of picking a winner after striking out for over two decades (and enduring three years in a row without even making it to the final five nominees). While France has nabbed more foreign-language Oscar nominations (39) than any other country,...
- 9/18/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
France’s shortlist for its best international film Oscar submission includes Cannes hits Les Miserables and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and recent Toronto premiere Proxima. The selection committee, which is overseen by the country’s National Cinema Centre, will make its final selection on Friday, September 20. There was no place for Roman Polanski’s Venice title An Officer And A Spy, perhaps less of a surprise given the Academy’s expulsion from its ranks of the six-time Oscar-winning director in 2018. France’s selection committee includes producers Rosalie Varda and Jean Bréhat, sales agents Agathe Valentin and Muriel Sauzay, directors Danièle Thompson and Pierre Salvadori, Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux, UniFrance president Serge Toubiana and Cesar president Alain Terzian. France has been one of the most successful countries in the foreign language category: more than half of their Oscar submissions have achieved nominations and nine have won the award.
Comcast...
Comcast...
- 9/17/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Selection committee overseen by National Cinema Centre will make final selection on September 20.
Les Miserables, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and recent Toronto world premiere Proxima are the trio of films on the shortlist to be France’s submission for the rebranded international feature film category at the Oscars.
The selection committee, which is overseen by the National Cinema Centre, will make the final selection on September 20.
For the first time, the committee includes film industry professionals alongside filmmakers and cultural institution chiefs as part of a shake-up announced in July aimed at increasing France’s chances in the Oscar race.
Les Miserables, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and recent Toronto world premiere Proxima are the trio of films on the shortlist to be France’s submission for the rebranded international feature film category at the Oscars.
The selection committee, which is overseen by the National Cinema Centre, will make the final selection on September 20.
For the first time, the committee includes film industry professionals alongside filmmakers and cultural institution chiefs as part of a shake-up announced in July aimed at increasing France’s chances in the Oscar race.
- 9/16/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Nearly a decade since Ava DuVernay launched Array, what was initially a small distribution company has grown to become a multimedia empire that now sits on a sprawling Los Angeles campus. The gated property in Historic Filipinotown contains, among several things, post-production facilities and a recently completed state-of-the-art, 50-seat theater that will screen Array titles, work by local artists, and an annual film series, which was announced today, curated and funded by DuVernay’s non-profit Array Alliance. Titled Array 360, the program will bring together award-winning filmmakers and emerging artists for six weekends of cinema, community, and conversation.
Array 360 will run from September 27 – November 2 at the all-new Amanda Theater, as the new screening space will be called. The inaugural slate features a celebration of women filmmakers including Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Suzana Amaral, Kathleen Collins, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley, and Mati Diop, among others; a John Singleton retrospective; a...
Array 360 will run from September 27 – November 2 at the all-new Amanda Theater, as the new screening space will be called. The inaugural slate features a celebration of women filmmakers including Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Suzana Amaral, Kathleen Collins, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley, and Mati Diop, among others; a John Singleton retrospective; a...
- 9/13/2019
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Ava DuVernay continues to champion inclusivity and global film perspectives with Array 360 film series to mark the completion of the Array Creative Campus and the brand-spankin’ new, state-of-the-art Amanda Theater. The series will kick off September 27 and continue through November 2.
Located in the Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles, the Amanda Theater will host the inaugural film series created and funded by DuVernay’s non-profit Array Alliance. For six weekends, Array 360 will feature award-winning filmmakers and emerging artists.
“As a model, Array does steep itself in inclusion models to correct long-held absences. We believe in balance from the beginning,” said DuVernay. “Our Array Creative Campus was built with this belonging in mind from the first day and Array 360 is a reflection of our mantra that everyone has a place in true cinema.”
“In addition to paying tribute to exquisite filmmakers, some of whose work has gone underappreciated, our Array 360 series strives...
Located in the Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles, the Amanda Theater will host the inaugural film series created and funded by DuVernay’s non-profit Array Alliance. For six weekends, Array 360 will feature award-winning filmmakers and emerging artists.
“As a model, Array does steep itself in inclusion models to correct long-held absences. We believe in balance from the beginning,” said DuVernay. “Our Array Creative Campus was built with this belonging in mind from the first day and Array 360 is a reflection of our mantra that everyone has a place in true cinema.”
“In addition to paying tribute to exquisite filmmakers, some of whose work has gone underappreciated, our Array 360 series strives...
- 9/13/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Ava DuVernay is launching a curated film series in Los Angeles showcasing emerging artists, female filmmakers and directors from underrepresented backgrounds, DuVernay’s non-profit organization Array Alliance announced Friday.
Array 360 will be six weeks of cinema, community and conversation hosted in La’s historic Filipinotown starting on Sept. 27 and running through Nov. 2. The screening space for the films, including work by Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Suzana Amaral, Kathleen Collins, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley and Mati Diop, among others, will be hosted on the Array Creative Campus at the Amanda Theater.
As part of the series, DuVernay is also hosting a weekend marathon of the films of the late John Singleton, who passed away earlier this year. Array 360 will also feature a showcase of Filipinx cinema from the neighborhood and a conversation between DuVernay and director Michael Mann. His appearance will also include a centerpiece screening of his 2004 film...
Array 360 will be six weeks of cinema, community and conversation hosted in La’s historic Filipinotown starting on Sept. 27 and running through Nov. 2. The screening space for the films, including work by Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, Barbara Loden, Suzana Amaral, Kathleen Collins, Shirin Neshat, Garrett Bradley and Mati Diop, among others, will be hosted on the Array Creative Campus at the Amanda Theater.
As part of the series, DuVernay is also hosting a weekend marathon of the films of the late John Singleton, who passed away earlier this year. Array 360 will also feature a showcase of Filipinx cinema from the neighborhood and a conversation between DuVernay and director Michael Mann. His appearance will also include a centerpiece screening of his 2004 film...
- 9/13/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
When Agnès Varda died in March at the age of 90, Jean-Luc Godard sent a sympathy gift to her daughter. That small gesture should resonate for anyone who saw “Faces/Places,” Varda’s Oscar-nominated penultimate feature, which culminated at Godard’s doorstep. Varda’s good-natured attempt to introduce the fellow French New Wave filmmaker to her new friend and co-director Jr is a bittersweet moment, because the reclusive Godard stands them up. Godard was a close acquaintance of Varda before he receded to the shadows, but his absence in “Faces/Places” didn’t tell the whole story.
“He sent me a kind of photo collage of Agnés,” said Rosalie Varda, who produced “Faces/Places.” “It was something special. It’s a secret. But he sent me something nice. I think he cared for Agnès a lot. He saw all her films.”
It’s only fitting that a plot point from Varda...
“He sent me a kind of photo collage of Agnés,” said Rosalie Varda, who produced “Faces/Places.” “It was something special. It’s a secret. But he sent me something nice. I think he cared for Agnès a lot. He saw all her films.”
It’s only fitting that a plot point from Varda...
- 9/5/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Colorado’s San Juan Mountains will soon be alive with the sights and sounds of movies.
The line-up for the 46th Telluride Film Festival has been announced.
The starry slate includes the world premiere of “Judy,” director Rupert Goold’s biopic about the final months of Judy Garland’s life with Renée Zellweger in the title role. “Maybe because Renée hasn’t done a huge number of things in the past few years, she’s saved up all of her tenderness, all of that vulnerability to bring to this role,” Telluride co-director Julie Huntsinger told Variety.
“Judy” is certainly not the only world premiere during this year’s festivities, which run from Friday, Aug. 30 to Monday, Sept. 2. James Mangold’s real-life car racing drama “Ford v Ferrari” starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale is on the bill. Edward Norton will premiere his directorial debut “Motherless Brooklyn,” with an ensemble including Gugu Mbatha-Raw,...
The line-up for the 46th Telluride Film Festival has been announced.
The starry slate includes the world premiere of “Judy,” director Rupert Goold’s biopic about the final months of Judy Garland’s life with Renée Zellweger in the title role. “Maybe because Renée hasn’t done a huge number of things in the past few years, she’s saved up all of her tenderness, all of that vulnerability to bring to this role,” Telluride co-director Julie Huntsinger told Variety.
“Judy” is certainly not the only world premiere during this year’s festivities, which run from Friday, Aug. 30 to Monday, Sept. 2. James Mangold’s real-life car racing drama “Ford v Ferrari” starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale is on the bill. Edward Norton will premiere his directorial debut “Motherless Brooklyn,” with an ensemble including Gugu Mbatha-Raw,...
- 8/29/2019
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival is saluting director Agnès Varda with its official poster, which depicts the filmmaker, then in her mid-20s, shooting her first feature, 1955’s “La Pointe Courte.”
The announcement reflects the enormous respect the director-cum-visual-artist had earned from Cannes and the film community worldwide as a pioneering director — the woman whose independent debut paved the way for the French New Wave. Later, Varda went on to make “Cléo from 5 to 7,” which premiered in competition at Cannes in 1962 and featured a cameo from “Breathless” director Jean-Luc Godard, whose own film career was catalyzed in part by her example. Varda died at 90 last month.
Varda was a regular at Cannes, whether or not she had a film to screen there — and she presented many, including “Jacquot de Nantes,” “The Gleaners and I,” and, most recently, “Faces Places” — and served on the jury in 2005, the year Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne...
The announcement reflects the enormous respect the director-cum-visual-artist had earned from Cannes and the film community worldwide as a pioneering director — the woman whose independent debut paved the way for the French New Wave. Later, Varda went on to make “Cléo from 5 to 7,” which premiered in competition at Cannes in 1962 and featured a cameo from “Breathless” director Jean-Luc Godard, whose own film career was catalyzed in part by her example. Varda died at 90 last month.
Varda was a regular at Cannes, whether or not she had a film to screen there — and she presented many, including “Jacquot de Nantes,” “The Gleaners and I,” and, most recently, “Faces Places” — and served on the jury in 2005, the year Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne...
- 4/15/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Agnès Varda, the French New Wave director and filmmaking icon behind such films as “Cleo From 5 to 7” and “Vagabond,” has died at age 90. Varda passed away from breast cancer at her home in Paris early March 29. The death was confirmed by Varda’s family, who issued a statement saying Varda was “surrounded by her family and friends” at the time of her passing. The family described the filmmaker as a “joyful feminist” and “passionate artist.” Varda’s funeral is expected to take place in Paris on Tuesday.
Varda got her start as a still photographer before making the jump to feature filmmaking with the 1955 drama “La Pointe Courte.” The film, starring Silvia Monfort and Philippe Noiret, is widely considered to be one of the forerunners of the French New Wave.
Varda’s second feature, “Cleo From 5 to 7,” was entered into the Cannes Film Festival and earned her international acclaim.
Varda got her start as a still photographer before making the jump to feature filmmaking with the 1955 drama “La Pointe Courte.” The film, starring Silvia Monfort and Philippe Noiret, is widely considered to be one of the forerunners of the French New Wave.
Varda’s second feature, “Cleo From 5 to 7,” was entered into the Cannes Film Festival and earned her international acclaim.
- 3/29/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Agnès Varda will receive l'Etoille d'Or Photo: Rosalie Varda Pioneering French New Wave director Agnès Varda has died on the day before her 91st birthday.
She died at her home in France after a short battle with cancer.
The Belgian-born writer/director had been making films since 1954, when she established Tamaris, a film-production company for her first feature film La Pointe Courte. Her final, 37th film Varda by Agnès had its premiere in Berlin early this year.
Her groundbreaking films included Cleo From 5 to 7, The Gleaners And I and The Beaches Of Agnes.
She became the first female director to receive an honorary Oscar in 2018 and was nominated for the Documentary Academy Award that same year for her collaboration with Jr, Faces Places. It was just one of a string of honours she received in recent years, which also included a Palme d’Or d’Honneur at Cannes, the Etoile...
She died at her home in France after a short battle with cancer.
The Belgian-born writer/director had been making films since 1954, when she established Tamaris, a film-production company for her first feature film La Pointe Courte. Her final, 37th film Varda by Agnès had its premiere in Berlin early this year.
Her groundbreaking films included Cleo From 5 to 7, The Gleaners And I and The Beaches Of Agnes.
She became the first female director to receive an honorary Oscar in 2018 and was nominated for the Documentary Academy Award that same year for her collaboration with Jr, Faces Places. It was just one of a string of honours she received in recent years, which also included a Palme d’Or d’Honneur at Cannes, the Etoile...
- 3/29/2019
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
At the 2018 Oscars, Frances McDormand, who won her second Best Actress Academy Award for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” asked all the female nominees to stand. Ten women will always be nominated by the academy: five for Best Actress and another five for Best Supporting Actress. Besides these other nine women, how many others were on their feet in the Dolby Theater?
Of the 20 non-gender specific categories, women were contenders in 17 of them; they were shut out of Original Score (5 men), Sound Editing (9 men) and Visual Effects (20 men). As you can see below, 47 women other than actresses were nominated at the 90th Academy Awards. Of these, only four won Oscars. By comparison, 151 men other than actors were nominated and 32 took home Oscars.
Only one category — Costume Design — had more women contending then men but the winner was a man: Mark Bridges (“Phantom Thread”), who also picked up the jet ski for the shortest acceptance speech.
Of the 20 non-gender specific categories, women were contenders in 17 of them; they were shut out of Original Score (5 men), Sound Editing (9 men) and Visual Effects (20 men). As you can see below, 47 women other than actresses were nominated at the 90th Academy Awards. Of these, only four won Oscars. By comparison, 151 men other than actors were nominated and 32 took home Oscars.
Only one category — Costume Design — had more women contending then men but the winner was a man: Mark Bridges (“Phantom Thread”), who also picked up the jet ski for the shortest acceptance speech.
- 1/1/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
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