The documentary festival has experienced protests, open letters and film withdrawals this week.
After an eventful week at International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), festival director Orwa Nyrabia is hoping to organise a symposium at which the film community can discuss how best to address the various issues facing festivals as they steer through the choppy waters of geo-political events.
IDFA is one of the first major festivals to have taken place since the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza. IDFA’s various programmes and sidebars included films and projects from both Israel and Palestine.
After an eventful week at International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), festival director Orwa Nyrabia is hoping to organise a symposium at which the film community can discuss how best to address the various issues facing festivals as they steer through the choppy waters of geo-political events.
IDFA is one of the first major festivals to have taken place since the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza. IDFA’s various programmes and sidebars included films and projects from both Israel and Palestine.
- 11/17/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The Rough Cut Presentations section has expanded, including five additional projects from Ukraine.
IDFA Forum (November 12-15), the co-production and co-financing market of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), has selected its 2023 edition titles, with the likes of Aboozar Amini, Asmae El Moudir and Michael Madsen returning with their latest projects to Forum Pitch, while the Rough Cut Presentations section has expanded.
Afghanistan-born, Netherlands-based filmmaker Amini’s Kabul, City In The Wind screened at IDFA in 2018, and is now pitching Kabul, Year Zero, which threads together four vivid coming-of-age stories against the backdrop of war.
After presenting The Postcard at IDFA...
IDFA Forum (November 12-15), the co-production and co-financing market of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), has selected its 2023 edition titles, with the likes of Aboozar Amini, Asmae El Moudir and Michael Madsen returning with their latest projects to Forum Pitch, while the Rough Cut Presentations section has expanded.
Afghanistan-born, Netherlands-based filmmaker Amini’s Kabul, City In The Wind screened at IDFA in 2018, and is now pitching Kabul, Year Zero, which threads together four vivid coming-of-age stories against the backdrop of war.
After presenting The Postcard at IDFA...
- 10/5/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Peduzzi’s Houston-set documentary Ghost Song opened parallel Cannes section Acid in 2021.
Vice World News has acquired world rights for French director Nicolas Peduzzi’s documentary Ghost Song, which opened parallel Cannes section Acid in 2021.
Filmed in Houston, Texas, as a hurricane approaches, the feature documentary follows three separate characters, including rapper Omb Bloodbath, who was a close friend of George Floyd having been mentored by him as a young adult.
After its Acid debut, it went on to win the best film prize in the Permanent Revolutions section of the Seville Film Festival last November.
Vice World News...
Vice World News has acquired world rights for French director Nicolas Peduzzi’s documentary Ghost Song, which opened parallel Cannes section Acid in 2021.
Filmed in Houston, Texas, as a hurricane approaches, the feature documentary follows three separate characters, including rapper Omb Bloodbath, who was a close friend of George Floyd having been mentored by him as a young adult.
After its Acid debut, it went on to win the best film prize in the Permanent Revolutions section of the Seville Film Festival last November.
Vice World News...
- 2/14/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Vice is launching its own online documentary film festival with 11 feature-docs curated by the company’s co-founder Suroosh Alvi.
The youth-skewing media company is launching a site to house the films, which includes a number of Oscar contenders, with each film featuring a Q&a with Alvi and the filmmakers and subjects.
The films are The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima, Showgirls of Pakistan, We Hold the Line, Sakawa, Another Kind of Paradise, Dope Is Death, Mayor, The Donut King, Yung Lean – In My Head, Two Gods and The Prophet and the Space Aliens (full details below).
The collection will be preceded by a linear airing of The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima, which will air today, January 31 at 6:30am Pt, on Vice TV, with the site going live at 8am Pt.
The Short List With Suroosh Alvi is produced by Vice World News and distributed worldwide by Vice Distribution. Executive...
The youth-skewing media company is launching a site to house the films, which includes a number of Oscar contenders, with each film featuring a Q&a with Alvi and the filmmakers and subjects.
The films are The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima, Showgirls of Pakistan, We Hold the Line, Sakawa, Another Kind of Paradise, Dope Is Death, Mayor, The Donut King, Yung Lean – In My Head, Two Gods and The Prophet and the Space Aliens (full details below).
The collection will be preceded by a linear airing of The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima, which will air today, January 31 at 6:30am Pt, on Vice TV, with the site going live at 8am Pt.
The Short List With Suroosh Alvi is produced by Vice World News and distributed worldwide by Vice Distribution. Executive...
- 1/31/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – The mercurial genius of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick is a cinephile’s dream, and his films continue to influence. A new documentary, “Kubrick by Kubrick,” directed by Gregory Monro, uses Kubrick’s actual words from past interviews.
The film is available to download during the virtual and online 56th Chicago International Film Festival through October 25th.
Stanley Kubrick remains one of the most audacious and misunderstood directors in film history, mostly because of his perceived reclusiveness. Through an amazing cache of interview tapes from film scholar Michel Ciment, Kubrick himself goes over his career, and illuminates many of the thought processes and filmmaker methods that have thrilled and challenged audiences for three generations. Director Monro has created a visual symphony to go along with Kubrick’s own words, in a remarkable 75 minute package. (click here).
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates Day Eight of the movie extravaganza, with films available for 2020 virtually and online.
The film is available to download during the virtual and online 56th Chicago International Film Festival through October 25th.
Stanley Kubrick remains one of the most audacious and misunderstood directors in film history, mostly because of his perceived reclusiveness. Through an amazing cache of interview tapes from film scholar Michel Ciment, Kubrick himself goes over his career, and illuminates many of the thought processes and filmmaker methods that have thrilled and challenged audiences for three generations. Director Monro has created a visual symphony to go along with Kubrick’s own words, in a remarkable 75 minute package. (click here).
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates Day Eight of the movie extravaganza, with films available for 2020 virtually and online.
- 10/21/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Skating into my halfway point for the 56th Chicago International Film Festival, I’m starting to realize the little things I miss about doing this in person. Sure, seeing movies on the big screen is always the preferred way, but what about the other stuff? What about starting each morning by kneeling at the altar of the Dunkin Donuts Express inside the Grand Red Line stop? My Keurig is getting me by, but binging several movies without eating anything just isn’t the same without those little touches.
And rest assured, those little touches cushion the blow each festival has. Meet the first empty movie of this year’s Ciff. It’s the United States premiere of Stefanie Klemm’s Of Fish and Men (Grade: C-), something so stagnant and stretched out that it almost feels like it’s trying to get nothing out of its audiences. Each festival has one of these movies,...
And rest assured, those little touches cushion the blow each festival has. Meet the first empty movie of this year’s Ciff. It’s the United States premiere of Stefanie Klemm’s Of Fish and Men (Grade: C-), something so stagnant and stretched out that it almost feels like it’s trying to get nothing out of its audiences. Each festival has one of these movies,...
- 10/18/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
Virtual festival to run from October 14-25.
A host of Cannes Label and autumn festival selections populate the competitions line-up at the upcoming virtual edition of the 56th Chicago International Film Festival announced on Monday (September 21).
Venice and Toronto selections in the International Feature Competition include Apples (Greece) from Christos Nikou and Philippe Lacôte’s Ivorian Night Of The Kings, while among the New Directors highlights are João Paulo Miranda Maria’s Memory House from Brazil, and Palestine-set Gaza Mon Amor from Tarzan and Arab Nasser.
True Mothers (Japan) from Naomi Kawase in International Feature Competition and Spring Blossom (France...
A host of Cannes Label and autumn festival selections populate the competitions line-up at the upcoming virtual edition of the 56th Chicago International Film Festival announced on Monday (September 21).
Venice and Toronto selections in the International Feature Competition include Apples (Greece) from Christos Nikou and Philippe Lacôte’s Ivorian Night Of The Kings, while among the New Directors highlights are João Paulo Miranda Maria’s Memory House from Brazil, and Palestine-set Gaza Mon Amor from Tarzan and Arab Nasser.
True Mothers (Japan) from Naomi Kawase in International Feature Competition and Spring Blossom (France...
- 9/21/2020
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Canadian festival will run a virtual event from August 20 to September 2.
Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival has revealed a second wave of titles – including eight world premieres - for this year’s virtual ediion which is taking place from August 20 to September 2.
The Montreal-based festival will offer live screenings, a programme library, panels and workshops which will be accessible across Canada and geo-locked to prevent access from elsewhere.
World premieres now set for Fantasia include The Block Island Sound, the latest horror outing from Kevin and Matthew McManus; The Oak Room, a fourth feature from Canadian filmmaker Cody Calahan; and Minor Premise,...
Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival has revealed a second wave of titles – including eight world premieres - for this year’s virtual ediion which is taking place from August 20 to September 2.
The Montreal-based festival will offer live screenings, a programme library, panels and workshops which will be accessible across Canada and geo-locked to prevent access from elsewhere.
World premieres now set for Fantasia include The Block Island Sound, the latest horror outing from Kevin and Matthew McManus; The Oak Room, a fourth feature from Canadian filmmaker Cody Calahan; and Minor Premise,...
- 7/9/2020
- by 31¦John Hazelton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The Israeli Competition titles have been announced for this year’s event.
Israeli documentary festival Docaviv will run a “hybrid” format for this year’s festival, which will now take place from September 3-12 in Tel Aviv.
The event was postponed from its usual May dates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It will now use both online and physical screenings, all complying with social distancing guidelines.
Audience-attended events will take place both indoors and outdoors throughout the city as well as on the festival’s website. The entire industry strand will take place online.
Israel’s cinemas are still closed as of Monday,...
Israeli documentary festival Docaviv will run a “hybrid” format for this year’s festival, which will now take place from September 3-12 in Tel Aviv.
The event was postponed from its usual May dates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It will now use both online and physical screenings, all complying with social distancing guidelines.
Audience-attended events will take place both indoors and outdoors throughout the city as well as on the festival’s website. The entire industry strand will take place online.
Israel’s cinemas are still closed as of Monday,...
- 6/15/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
A total 120 projects from Morocco to Syria are set to be supported over the next three years by the new $2.2m (€2m) Icam programme co-funded the European Union.
Speaking to ScreenDaily, Catherine Buresi, one of Icam’s initiators, explained that “the idea was to create a programme to support the development of projects, training measures and networking events as a forum for producers from the nine Arab countries”.
Icam (Investing in Culture & Arts in the South Mediterranean) started operations from headquarters in Cairo at the Noon Foundation earlier this year and will run for three years until April 2018.
The eligible countries are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
According to Buresi, the project is working with local partners throughout the region such as Jordan’s Luminus Media, Egypt/Cyprus-based Semat for production & distribution, Morocco’s Rabii Films Productions, Algeria’s M.D. Ciné as well as the non-profit association Cap Network in Belgium...
Speaking to ScreenDaily, Catherine Buresi, one of Icam’s initiators, explained that “the idea was to create a programme to support the development of projects, training measures and networking events as a forum for producers from the nine Arab countries”.
Icam (Investing in Culture & Arts in the South Mediterranean) started operations from headquarters in Cairo at the Noon Foundation earlier this year and will run for three years until April 2018.
The eligible countries are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
According to Buresi, the project is working with local partners throughout the region such as Jordan’s Luminus Media, Egypt/Cyprus-based Semat for production & distribution, Morocco’s Rabii Films Productions, Algeria’s M.D. Ciné as well as the non-profit association Cap Network in Belgium...
- 8/18/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The premiere post-tiff destination (September 20-25th) in the film community and a major leg up for narrative and non-fiction films in development, the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) announced a whopping 140 projects selected for the Project Forum at the upcoming Ifp Independent Film Week. Made up of several sections (Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program, No Borders International Co-Production Market and Spotlight on Documentaries), we find latest updates from the likes of docu-helmers Doug Block (112 Weddings) and Lana Wilson (After Tiller), and among the narrative items we find headliners in Andrew Haigh (coming off the well received 45 Years), Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls and Madame Bovary), Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty), Lawrence Michael Levine (Wild Canaries), Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal (Stranger Things) and new faces in Sundance’s large family in Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again) and Olivia Newman (First Match). Here...
- 7/22/2015
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The Jewish Film Institute's new VOD platform, Jfi On Demand, includes festival favorites from the Sfjff archives over the past three decades, including "5 Days" by Yoav Shamir, "Aliyah" by Elie Wajeman, "Out in the Dark" by Michael Mayer, "Forgiveness" by Udi Aloni, "Live and Become" by Radu Mihaileanu and more. The 35th edition of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival returns to the Bay Area this year from July 23 to August 9, 2015 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, the CinéArts Theatre in Palo Alto, the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, The California Theatre in Berkeley, and the Lakeside Theater in Oakland. Since 1981, the festival has screened over 1500 films. Read More: Noir City and Jewish Film Festival Compete for San Francisco Cinephiles To view all 35 film titles on Jfi On Demand, visit jewishfilminstitute.org.
- 6/26/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The Isa of the Day segment of SydneysBuzz resumes for the Cannes Film Festival 2015. ISAs, or International Sales Agents, help to bring films into global distribution by selling distribution rights to distributors worldwide. Topics include new trends in distribution and sales, inspirational success stories, film slates and more. A worthy read for any serious filmmaker looking to have a better understanding of the chain of business between producing a film and sharing it with the world.
Philippa Kowarsky is the Managing Director of Cinephil, an international sales company that is renowned for securing financing and distribution for documentaries from all around the world. Kowarsky started Cinephil 18 years ago on the first of January in 1997.
Cinephil has a solid history of working with award winning films including Academy Award nominee, “The Gatekeepers“ (for which Kowarsky was a nominee, with Cinephil as the producer); the 2014 Academy Award nominee, “The Act of Killing, and Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
Kowarsky, the first ever film sales agent of Israel, shares more about her background and the success of Cinephil:
I’ve was doing sales, marketing and production before I started Cinephil. I worked for some studios in Israel, and got into sales because there were no companies dedicated to sales only. I was representing films at the previous company I worked at — when I left, people just kept coming to me, saying “Will you take my film?” I started Cinephil and we got a film into Rotterdam’s mocumentary section. It was the first Cinephil festival. I didn’t even have a proper concept or mission for my company, but I did meet sales agents from around the world, and thought, “Perhaps we could have some sales agents in Israel!” Then it became a bit more formal.
We started doing everything - features, children’s programming, and documentaries -working with Israeli and Palestinian films. Over the years, we decided to drop children’s programming, and then let go of feature films (which I still love). Now Cinephil focuses on documentaries.
About 8 years ago, we decided to go International to represent films to the world, from the world – everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you’re based: Tel Aviv, Paris, Montreal or New York. Everyone is traveling to all the festivals, and everything is done by emails and phone. Thanks to technology, we have a very international career and life, and to make matters better, we also have Heather Wyer working for us out of Montreal. Having a North American base is great!
How did you enter the film industry?
A lot of this happened to me by chance. I received an Ma in London for communication policy studies. At the end of the day, it’s been helpful, because it has given me a deeper understanding of the media world. That’s been a strong part of Cinephil – being able to strategize with all this know-how.
When I started 20 years ago, there was very little international film and television activity in Israel. In the meantime, the Israeli industry has developed, but getting Israeli films into festivals was a big deal back then. Now our cinema is well received everywhere. There are fabulous agencies based in Israel, including our TV channels which selling product around the world.
How is Cinephil expanding?
We do sales and distribution and act as Ep’s on films. We’ve always been into development and raising finance for films, but recently the films we’ve been working with are of a higher profile. One of the highlights is when we came in as producers for “The Gatekeepers”, for which we were nominated for an Academy Award in 2012. In 2013, we were back in Los Angeles with “The Act of Killing”, which was nominated as well. We are proud to work with Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sorensen again on “The Look of Silence”, which premiered in competition in Venice last year and won the Grand Jury Award on top of four other awards. Since then, it has won countless awards worldwide. We’re now working with Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi on “The 50 Year Argument”.
Please discuss your slate for Cannes.
We‘re thrilled to be working on a Cannes Classics premiere “By Sidney Lumet” by Nancy Buirski. Cinephil will present several films in the market. One is “Invasion”, by Abner Benaim, about the USA’s invasion of Panama.
Another is a film that we just picked up in Tribeca where it made headlines, titled “Among the Believers”, which follows the growth of the Red Mosques in Pakistan. It portrays a system that offers young children free food and accommodation, and, in return, the young adepts are force fed the principles of radical Islam from the moment they can read.
Other films in the Cannes Market include “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”, which premiered in Sundance, and “The Yes Men are Revolting”, which will open in the Us this summer.
“Thank You for Playing”, follows a family struggling with a terminally ill boy. Ryan, his Dad, an indie video game developer, is building a poetic, autobiographical video game to document his pain and to tell the story of his baby. It’s sophisticated, touching and timely.
Learn more about Cinephil’s new releases here.
See Cinephil’s full catalogue here.
More About Cinephil:
Cinephil is an international sales and advisory firm, which has a strong reputation for securing international distribution, broadcasting and financing deals for documentaries from all over the world on behalf of film producers and directors.
With a history of selling unique and award-winning films,Cinephil also acts as a strategic advisor and co-producer.
Cinephil has facilitated the sale and financing of well over a hundred films. Cinephil represented (and produced) the 2013 Academy Award nominee, “The Gatekeepers“; the 2014 Academy Award nominee, “The Act of Killing“, executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris; “Cathedrals of Culture“, a 3D project executive produced by Wim Wenders and including films by Wim Wenders and Robert Redford, and Martin Scorsese’s new documentary, “The 50 Year Argument“, about The New York Review of Books. Managing director, Philippa Kowarsky, has co-produced many films, including 2014 Academy Award nominee, Dror Moreh’s, “The Gatekeepers“, Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, “Defamation” by Yoav Shamir, “Watermarks” by Yaron Zilberman and the award-winning “Trembling Before G-d” by Sandi DuBowski.
Philippa Kowarsky is the Managing Director of Cinephil, an international sales company that is renowned for securing financing and distribution for documentaries from all around the world. Kowarsky started Cinephil 18 years ago on the first of January in 1997.
Cinephil has a solid history of working with award winning films including Academy Award nominee, “The Gatekeepers“ (for which Kowarsky was a nominee, with Cinephil as the producer); the 2014 Academy Award nominee, “The Act of Killing, and Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
Kowarsky, the first ever film sales agent of Israel, shares more about her background and the success of Cinephil:
I’ve was doing sales, marketing and production before I started Cinephil. I worked for some studios in Israel, and got into sales because there were no companies dedicated to sales only. I was representing films at the previous company I worked at — when I left, people just kept coming to me, saying “Will you take my film?” I started Cinephil and we got a film into Rotterdam’s mocumentary section. It was the first Cinephil festival. I didn’t even have a proper concept or mission for my company, but I did meet sales agents from around the world, and thought, “Perhaps we could have some sales agents in Israel!” Then it became a bit more formal.
We started doing everything - features, children’s programming, and documentaries -working with Israeli and Palestinian films. Over the years, we decided to drop children’s programming, and then let go of feature films (which I still love). Now Cinephil focuses on documentaries.
About 8 years ago, we decided to go International to represent films to the world, from the world – everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you’re based: Tel Aviv, Paris, Montreal or New York. Everyone is traveling to all the festivals, and everything is done by emails and phone. Thanks to technology, we have a very international career and life, and to make matters better, we also have Heather Wyer working for us out of Montreal. Having a North American base is great!
How did you enter the film industry?
A lot of this happened to me by chance. I received an Ma in London for communication policy studies. At the end of the day, it’s been helpful, because it has given me a deeper understanding of the media world. That’s been a strong part of Cinephil – being able to strategize with all this know-how.
When I started 20 years ago, there was very little international film and television activity in Israel. In the meantime, the Israeli industry has developed, but getting Israeli films into festivals was a big deal back then. Now our cinema is well received everywhere. There are fabulous agencies based in Israel, including our TV channels which selling product around the world.
How is Cinephil expanding?
We do sales and distribution and act as Ep’s on films. We’ve always been into development and raising finance for films, but recently the films we’ve been working with are of a higher profile. One of the highlights is when we came in as producers for “The Gatekeepers”, for which we were nominated for an Academy Award in 2012. In 2013, we were back in Los Angeles with “The Act of Killing”, which was nominated as well. We are proud to work with Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sorensen again on “The Look of Silence”, which premiered in competition in Venice last year and won the Grand Jury Award on top of four other awards. Since then, it has won countless awards worldwide. We’re now working with Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi on “The 50 Year Argument”.
Please discuss your slate for Cannes.
We‘re thrilled to be working on a Cannes Classics premiere “By Sidney Lumet” by Nancy Buirski. Cinephil will present several films in the market. One is “Invasion”, by Abner Benaim, about the USA’s invasion of Panama.
Another is a film that we just picked up in Tribeca where it made headlines, titled “Among the Believers”, which follows the growth of the Red Mosques in Pakistan. It portrays a system that offers young children free food and accommodation, and, in return, the young adepts are force fed the principles of radical Islam from the moment they can read.
Other films in the Cannes Market include “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”, which premiered in Sundance, and “The Yes Men are Revolting”, which will open in the Us this summer.
“Thank You for Playing”, follows a family struggling with a terminally ill boy. Ryan, his Dad, an indie video game developer, is building a poetic, autobiographical video game to document his pain and to tell the story of his baby. It’s sophisticated, touching and timely.
Learn more about Cinephil’s new releases here.
See Cinephil’s full catalogue here.
More About Cinephil:
Cinephil is an international sales and advisory firm, which has a strong reputation for securing international distribution, broadcasting and financing deals for documentaries from all over the world on behalf of film producers and directors.
With a history of selling unique and award-winning films,Cinephil also acts as a strategic advisor and co-producer.
Cinephil has facilitated the sale and financing of well over a hundred films. Cinephil represented (and produced) the 2013 Academy Award nominee, “The Gatekeepers“; the 2014 Academy Award nominee, “The Act of Killing“, executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris; “Cathedrals of Culture“, a 3D project executive produced by Wim Wenders and including films by Wim Wenders and Robert Redford, and Martin Scorsese’s new documentary, “The 50 Year Argument“, about The New York Review of Books. Managing director, Philippa Kowarsky, has co-produced many films, including 2014 Academy Award nominee, Dror Moreh’s, “The Gatekeepers“, Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, “Defamation” by Yoav Shamir, “Watermarks” by Yaron Zilberman and the award-winning “Trembling Before G-d” by Sandi DuBowski.
- 5/8/2015
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
It should come as no surprise that Cannes Film Festival will play host to Kent Jones’s doc on the touchstone of filmmaking interview tomes, Hitchcock/Truffaut (see photo above). The film has been floating near the top of this list since it was announced last year as in development, while Jones himself has a history with the festival, having co-written both Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P. and Martin Scorsese’s My Voyage To Italy, both of which premiered in Cannes. The film is scheduled to screen as part of the Cannes Classics sidebar alongside the likes of Stig Björkman’s Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words, which will play as part of the festival’s tribute to the late starlet, and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna’s Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (see trailer below). As someone who grew up watching road races with my dad in Watkins Glen,...
- 5/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Hubert Sauper's Darwin's Nightmare Head-on, Javier Bardem, Imelda Staunton: European Film Awards 2004 European Film Academy Documentary – Prix Arte Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer by Nick Broomfield & Joan Churchill / UK * Darwin's Nightmare by Hubert Sauper / Austria / France / Belgium Die SPIELWÜTIGEN (Addicted to Acting) by Andres Veiel / Germany La Pelota Vasca, La Piel Contra La Piedra (Basque Ball, Skin Against Stone) by Julio Medem / Spain Le Monde Selon Bush (The World According to Bush) by William Karel / France Mahssomim (Checkpoint) by Yoav Shamir / Israel The Last Victory by John Appel / The Netherlands Touch The Sound by Thomas Riedelsheimer / Germany / UK / Finland European Film Academy Short Film – Prix Uip * Prix Uip Ghent: J'attendrai le suivant… by Philippe Orreindy / France Prix Uip Valladolid: Les Baisers des Autres by Carine Tardieu / France Prix Uip Angers: Poveste La Scara "C" by Cristian Nemescu / Romania Prix Uip Berlin: Un Cartus De Kent Si Un Pachet De Cafea...
- 11/26/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The popular sentiment about Holocaust grief at the movies reached a breaking point in 2008, when backlash against "The Reader" suggested that audiences had grown tired of the predetermined gravitas that seemed to infuse such stories with an immediate sense of purpose. Last year, Yoav Shamir's perceptive documentary "Defamation" put an additional focus on the problem by following school children on a guilt-inducing field trip to Auschwitz. The kids are meant ...
- 8/18/2010
- Indiewire
Yoav Shamir's film about antisemitism has drawn both praise and criticism. So what's it like being dubbed 'the Israeli Mel Gibson'?
Having depicted modern Israeli life in his previous films, a run-in with several critics turned 39-year-old Tel Avivian film-maker Yoav Shamir on to the subject of antisemitism. In a quest to explore what the term means today he travelled from Israel to New York, Poland and Moscow and captured his startling discoveries in a Grierson Award-winning film, Defamation.
Why did you decide to make the film?
Some years ago I made Checkpoint, a film shot in checkpoints in the occupied territories where I'd been a soldier. It got alot of attention and I started noticing that I'd been referred to as "the Israeli Mel Gibson", antisemitic, mostly by American journalists. It got me thinking about what it means when somebody is called antisemitic. The word is used all around us,...
Having depicted modern Israeli life in his previous films, a run-in with several critics turned 39-year-old Tel Avivian film-maker Yoav Shamir on to the subject of antisemitism. In a quest to explore what the term means today he travelled from Israel to New York, Poland and Moscow and captured his startling discoveries in a Grierson Award-winning film, Defamation.
Why did you decide to make the film?
Some years ago I made Checkpoint, a film shot in checkpoints in the occupied territories where I'd been a soldier. It got alot of attention and I started noticing that I'd been referred to as "the Israeli Mel Gibson", antisemitic, mostly by American journalists. It got me thinking about what it means when somebody is called antisemitic. The word is used all around us,...
- 1/10/2010
- by Imogen Carter
- The Guardian - Film News
The European Film Academy have announced the documentary film titles nominations and out of the ten mostly unknown titles we find a pair of exceptions in Burma VJ (which received some solid buzz at Sundance) and The Beaches of Agnes... - The European Film Academy have announced the documentary film titles nominations and out of the ten mostly unknown titles we find a pair of exceptions in Burma VJ (which received some solid buzz at Sundance) and The Beaches of Agnes (which received a film festival red carpet treatment and was shown at the Film Forum this summer). Previous winners of Prix Arte award include: last year's Helena Trestikova's Rene (read here) and 2007 the prize went to Rithy Panh's Paper cannot Wrap up Embers. The winner will be announced on the 12th of December. The Beaches Of Agnes - Agnès Varda, France Below Sea Level - Gianfranco Rosi,...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
by Eric Kohn
Anti-semitism lurks in unsuspecting places, but only to those who seek it out. Defamation, Yoav Shamir's provocative documentary, released in select theaters last week, conveys at least that much. But Shamir goes one step further, arguing that awareness of the eponymous offense is buried in a confusion of past and present. Adopting an intentionally naïve outlook, he cheerfully follows members of the Anti-Defamation League on missions to spread the international battle against Jewish hatred. Simultaneously, his camera trails a group of Israeli high-schoolers traveling to Auschwitz for a class. In both cases, the Holocaust engenders a peculiar backwards logic that Shamir knowingly assaults: He believes that battles against anti-semitism are too often defined by earlier infractions. If "Holocaust," "Nazi" and "Anti-semitism" remain the key buzzwords in a battle against shadows, then the purpose of Defamation is to turn on the light.
Continued reading Ain't No Party Like a Holocaust Party.
Anti-semitism lurks in unsuspecting places, but only to those who seek it out. Defamation, Yoav Shamir's provocative documentary, released in select theaters last week, conveys at least that much. But Shamir goes one step further, arguing that awareness of the eponymous offense is buried in a confusion of past and present. Adopting an intentionally naïve outlook, he cheerfully follows members of the Anti-Defamation League on missions to spread the international battle against Jewish hatred. Simultaneously, his camera trails a group of Israeli high-schoolers traveling to Auschwitz for a class. In both cases, the Holocaust engenders a peculiar backwards logic that Shamir knowingly assaults: He believes that battles against anti-semitism are too often defined by earlier infractions. If "Holocaust," "Nazi" and "Anti-semitism" remain the key buzzwords in a battle against shadows, then the purpose of Defamation is to turn on the light.
Continued reading Ain't No Party Like a Holocaust Party.
- 11/24/2009
- GreenCine Daily
European Film Award nominee and a very likely contender for the 2010 best documentary feature Academy Award*, Yoav Shamir’s Defamation opens on Friday, Nov. 20, in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities across the United States. The film info below is from distributor First Run Features’ website: "Intent on shaking up the ultimate ‘sacred cow’ for Jews, Israeli director Yoav Shamir embarks on a provocative — and at times irreverent — quest to answer the question, ‘What is anti-Semitism today?’ Does it remain a dangerous and immediate threat? Or is it a scare tactic used by right-wing Zionists to discredit their critics? "Speaking with an array of people from across the political spectrum (including [...]...
- 11/18/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Holiday festivities are about to kick into full gear, but you wouldn't know it looking at this angst-ridden release slate, since the closest we come to Christmas is Nicolas Cage's "Bad Lieutenant" doing a lot of "snow." Instead, planets are discovered, new moons rise and suns set.
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"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"
Ever since Nicolas Cage was shown clinging to his "lucky crackpipe," cinephiles have been jonesing for Werner Herzog's re-imagining of Abel Ferrara's arthouse cop thriller. After months of backbiting between Ferrara, who suggested that the film's producers "burn in hell," and Herzog's admission that he had never seen the original film, audiences will finally see Cage in the shoes of Terence McDonagh, the hopped-up, hopelessly bent detective who shakes down suspects and random pedestrians on the trail...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 18:21 minutes, 16.8 Mb)
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"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"
Ever since Nicolas Cage was shown clinging to his "lucky crackpipe," cinephiles have been jonesing for Werner Herzog's re-imagining of Abel Ferrara's arthouse cop thriller. After months of backbiting between Ferrara, who suggested that the film's producers "burn in hell," and Herzog's admission that he had never seen the original film, audiences will finally see Cage in the shoes of Terence McDonagh, the hopped-up, hopelessly bent detective who shakes down suspects and random pedestrians on the trail...
- 11/16/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
Note: These pieces were originally published as Discover: Defamation and Faces of the Festival: Yoav Shamir during the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. Discover: Defamation By Zachary Wigon Congratulations to Yoav Shamir, director of Defamation, which won a Tff 2009 Special Jury Prize. Defamation is a film designed to raise questions and provoke discussion. Shamir, a young Israeli filmmaker, adopts a deceptively simple pose as he ventures into addressing the issue of contemporary anti-Semitism. 'What is anti-Semitism?' he asks his Israeli grandmother. 'I've lived in Israel all my life. I don't know.' So Shamir journeys out into the world to try to understand the nature of anti-Semitism today. What is it? Where does it pop up most often? Who is afraid of it? His journeys take him to a far-flung assortment of places, meeting a wide variety of people who provide this film with a startlingly wide web of different opinions on the issue.
- 11/16/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
First Run Features
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: A-
Directed by: Yoav Shamir
Written By: Yoav Shamir
Cast: Abraham Foxman, Norman Finkelstein, Stephen M. Walt, John J. Mearsheimer
Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 11/4/09
Opens: November 20, 2009
Michael Moore.s .Capitalism: A Love Story,. may be the funniest documentary seen this year by Americans, but consider .Defamation. for sheer power, audience interest, a look at diverse groups all dealing with a single big, global issue, the nonfiction picture that should be rained upon with awards. Yoav Shamir, serving as cameraman and director simultaneously, deals with a catch-all theme: the nature of anti-Semitism today, a motif that evokes such controversial questions as: Can you be against Israeli policies yet not be considered anti-Semitic? Is anti-Semitism an organic poison that infests the body politic no matter what the world.s Jews are up to? Yoav, in interviewing a wide range of subjects,...
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: A-
Directed by: Yoav Shamir
Written By: Yoav Shamir
Cast: Abraham Foxman, Norman Finkelstein, Stephen M. Walt, John J. Mearsheimer
Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 11/4/09
Opens: November 20, 2009
Michael Moore.s .Capitalism: A Love Story,. may be the funniest documentary seen this year by Americans, but consider .Defamation. for sheer power, audience interest, a look at diverse groups all dealing with a single big, global issue, the nonfiction picture that should be rained upon with awards. Yoav Shamir, serving as cameraman and director simultaneously, deals with a catch-all theme: the nature of anti-Semitism today, a motif that evokes such controversial questions as: Can you be against Israeli policies yet not be considered anti-Semitic? Is anti-Semitism an organic poison that infests the body politic no matter what the world.s Jews are up to? Yoav, in interviewing a wide range of subjects,...
- 11/5/2009
- Arizona Reporter
The London Film Festival has folded its tent for another year, and Jacques Audiard's A Prophet took Best Film. At the event held at London's Inner Temple, Best British Newcomer went to The Scouting Book For Boys director Jack Thorne, and the Sutherland Award was nabbed by Scandar Copti bad Yaron Shani for Ajami. The Grierson Award - given to the best documentary of the fest - was handed to Yoav Shamir's Defamation. Finally, the BFI Fellowships - the highest accolade that the British Film Institute bestows - were handed out to John...
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- 10/30/2009
- by James White
- TotalFilm
Tahar Rahim, the star of Jacques Audiard’s widely praised prison drama A Prophet, winner of the best picture award at the London Film Festival and a likely best foreign language film Oscar contender, arrives for the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony at Inner Temple on October 28. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) John Hurt and Ann Rees Meyers arrive for the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony. Hurt and filmmaker Souleymane Cissé were given BFI Fellowships at the awards ceremony. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Filmmaker Yoav Shamir, whose documentary Defamation won the London Film Festival’s top prize in that category, arrives for the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony. Defamation [...]...
- 10/30/2009
- by Joan Lister
- Alt Film Guide
Screenwriter Jack Thorne, voted best British newcomer for The Scouting Book for Boys, poses with his award. Actors Dominic Cooper and Jodie Whittaker are standing next to him at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony at Inner Temple on October 28. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Documentary filmmaker Yoav Shamir poses with his Grierson Award for Best Documentary Defamation, an European Film Award nominee and a potential Oscar 2010 contender, at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) Tahar Rahim, the star of Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet, poses with the Best Film award given to Audiard’s gritty prison drama. Academy Award winner and London Film [...]...
- 10/30/2009
- by Joan Lister
- Alt Film Guide
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival announced its winners at the high profile awards ceremony held at London’s Inner Temple this evening. Hosted by journalist and broadcaster, Paul Gambaccini, the six awards were presented by some of the most respected figures in the film world. Best Film In recognition of original, intelligent and distinctive filmmaking, the new award for Best Film was judged by an international jury chaired by Anjelica Huston and fellow jurors John Akomfrah, Jarvis Cocker, Mathieu Kassovitz, Charlotte Rampling and Iain Softley. The Star of London for Best Film was awarded to Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet and was presented by Anjelica Huston.. On behalf of the jury Anjelica Huston (Chair) said: “A masterpiece: Un Prophete has the ambition, purity of vision and clarity of purpose to make it an instant classic. With seamless and imaginative story-telling, superb performances and universal themes, Jacques Audiard has made a perfect film.
- 10/29/2009
- by Marianne
- SoundOnSight
Yesterday marked the first time that The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival has held an awards ceremony and the winners of the first-ever Star Of London gongs are listed below...
At the event, hosted at London's Inner Temple by journalist and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, a panel of judges (chaired by Anjelica Huston) sifted through the brightest and best that this year's festival had to offer.
First up was the award for best film, which went to Jacques Audiard's A Prophet. Huston had this to say: "A masterpiece: Un Prophete has the ambition, purity of vision and clarity of purpose to make it an instant classic. With seamless and imaginative story-telling, superb performances and universal themes, Jacques Audiard has made a perfect film."
John Hillcoat's The Road was also singled out for praise for its "breathtaking vision, extraordinary performances and profound political statement".
The prize for Best British Newcomer went to Jack Thorne,...
At the event, hosted at London's Inner Temple by journalist and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, a panel of judges (chaired by Anjelica Huston) sifted through the brightest and best that this year's festival had to offer.
First up was the award for best film, which went to Jacques Audiard's A Prophet. Huston had this to say: "A masterpiece: Un Prophete has the ambition, purity of vision and clarity of purpose to make it an instant classic. With seamless and imaginative story-telling, superb performances and universal themes, Jacques Audiard has made a perfect film."
John Hillcoat's The Road was also singled out for praise for its "breathtaking vision, extraordinary performances and profound political statement".
The prize for Best British Newcomer went to Jack Thorne,...
- 10/29/2009
- Screenrush
Star of London for Best Film: Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet On behalf of the London Film Festival jury, Anjelica Huston stated: “A masterpiece: Un prohète has the ambition, purity of vision and clarity of purpose to make it an instant classic. With seamless and imaginative story-telling, superb performances and universal themes, Jacques Audiard has made a perfect film.” In A Prophet, Tahar Rahim stars as a prison newcomer who learns how to become that realm’s top dog. Special mention: John Hillcoat’s The Road Best British Newcomer: Jack Thorne, screenwriter of the film The Scouting Book For Boys Sutherland Award for most original and imaginative first feature: Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani for Ajami Grierson Award for Best Documentary: Yoav Shamir for [...]...
- 10/28/2009
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
London -- Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" won the inaugural best film nod presented during this year's The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Wednesday evening.
The best film award, presented by jury chair Anjelica Huston during a formal black tie dinner, was one of two new awards presented by Lff organizers for the first time in the event's history.
Audiard's award was collected by the movie's star Tahar Rahim, who said it was amazing to pick up the nod. Host journalist and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini raised a few eyebrows and smiles when he advised Rahim after winning the nod to enjoy it because his future films are "not all going to turn out this well."
Huston also paused to give a special mention to John Hillcoat's apocalyptic father and son drama "The Road" for its devastating political statement and bleak but important message.
The second inaugural award, for best British newcomer,...
The best film award, presented by jury chair Anjelica Huston during a formal black tie dinner, was one of two new awards presented by Lff organizers for the first time in the event's history.
Audiard's award was collected by the movie's star Tahar Rahim, who said it was amazing to pick up the nod. Host journalist and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini raised a few eyebrows and smiles when he advised Rahim after winning the nod to enjoy it because his future films are "not all going to turn out this well."
Huston also paused to give a special mention to John Hillcoat's apocalyptic father and son drama "The Road" for its devastating political statement and bleak but important message.
The second inaugural award, for best British newcomer,...
- 10/28/2009
- by By Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The European Film Academy has announced that Peter Liechti’s “The Sound of Insects - Record of a Mummy” has been awarded the European Film Awards’ “Prix Arte” for best documentary. The Swiss film beat out Agnes Varda’s “The Beaches of Agnes,” Anders Ostergaard’s “Burma VJ,” and Yoav Shamir’s “Defamation,” among others. The award chosen by an independent jury, whose members this year were documentary filmmaker Nino Kirtadzé from France/Georgia, Austrian producer …...
- 10/12/2009
- Indiewire
Cologne, Germany -- Political issues have pride of place among this year's nominees for the Prix Arte, the European Film Academy's documentary award.
Andres Ostergaard's "Burma VJ," on the 2007 protest by thousands of Burmese monks; German directors Leon Geller and Marcus Vetter's "The Heart of Jenin," an investigation into the Israeli army's shooting of Palestinian boy Ahmed Khatib; and Jawad Rhalib's "The Damned of the Sea," which looks at the plight of Moroccan fisherman, all made this year's short list.
Political undercurrents are also clearly visible in other nominees, including Gianfranco Rosi's portrait of anarchists living in a makeshift "slab city" in the California desert and "Defamation," a critical look at anti-Semitism from Israeli director Yoav Shamir.
But the scope of the 2009 Prix Arte nominees ranges from Agnes Varda's autobiographical essay "The Beaches of Agnes" to portraits of extraordinary people in Lilian Franck & Robert Cibis'...
Andres Ostergaard's "Burma VJ," on the 2007 protest by thousands of Burmese monks; German directors Leon Geller and Marcus Vetter's "The Heart of Jenin," an investigation into the Israeli army's shooting of Palestinian boy Ahmed Khatib; and Jawad Rhalib's "The Damned of the Sea," which looks at the plight of Moroccan fisherman, all made this year's short list.
Political undercurrents are also clearly visible in other nominees, including Gianfranco Rosi's portrait of anarchists living in a makeshift "slab city" in the California desert and "Defamation," a critical look at anti-Semitism from Israeli director Yoav Shamir.
But the scope of the 2009 Prix Arte nominees ranges from Agnes Varda's autobiographical essay "The Beaches of Agnes" to portraits of extraordinary people in Lilian Franck & Robert Cibis'...
- 10/8/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Festival Films Picked Up: The Eclipse After a bidding war, you will be getting gothic with Conor McPherson's spooky tale and Ciaran Hinds' Best Actor-winning performance via Magnolia Pictures. [indieWIRE] Defamation Yoav Shamir's thought-provoking (and Special Jury Prize-winning) documentary has been picked up by First Run Features for a theatrical release in the fall. [Screen Daily] Fish Eyes After starting out with some gorgeously curated DVD releases (Lol, The Guatemalan Handshake), the cineastes over at Benten/Watchmaker proudly announced their first theatrical pickup, the debut feature from Chinese director Zheng Wei. [Benten] Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi Set your DVRs for August, because that's when HBO plans to premiere Festival award winner (Best New Documentary Filmmaker) Ian Olds' stirring work. [The Hollywood Reporter] The Lost Son of Havana The first acquisition of the Festival, Jonathan Hock's documentary is set to air on Espn. [Variety] Festival Films with a Summer Release: Make it...
- 5/6/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
Tribeca Film Festival Awards 2009 Tribeca Film Festival 2009: April 22-May 3, 2009 The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature: About Elly / Darbareye Elly, directed and written by Asghar Farhadi Best New Narrative Filmmaker: Rune Denstad Langlo for North / Nord, written by Erlend Loe Best Actor: Ciarán Hinds in The Eclipse, directed and written by Conor McPherson Best Actress: Zoe Kazan in The Exploding Girl, directed and written by Bradley Rust Gray Best Documentary Feature: Racing Dreams, directed by Marshall Curry Special Jury Mention: Defamation / Hashmatsa, directed by Yoav Shamir Best New Documentary Filmmaker: Ian Olds for Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi New York Competition Best New York Narrative: Here and There / Tamo i ovde, directed and written by Darko Lungulov Best New York Documentary: Partly Private, directed by Danae Elon Short Film Competition Best Narrative Short: The North Road / La route du Nord, directed and written by Carlos Chahine Best Documentary Short: Home,...
- 5/2/2009
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
Congratulations to Yoav Shamir, director of Defamation, who just won a Tff '09 Special Jury Prize. Defamation is a film designed to raise questions and provoke discussion. Shamir, a young Israeli filmmaker, adopts a deceptively simple pose as he ventures into addressing the issue of contemporary anti-Semitism. 'What is anti-Semitism?' he asks his Israeli grandmother. 'I've lived in Israel all my life. I don't know.' So Shamir journeys out into the world to try to understand the nature of anti-Semitism today. What is it? Where does it pop up most often? Who is afraid of it? His journeys take him to a far-flung assortment of places, meeting a wide variety of people who provide this film with a startlingly wide web of different opinions on the issue. He gets unprecedented access to Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, and later follows him on a trip to Europe.
- 5/1/2009
- TribecaFilm.com
First Run Features has picked up rights to the Yoav Shamir-helmed documentary "Defamation" which showed on Thursday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. Shamir made the war documentary "Flipping Out" as well as 2005's "5 Days," a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His work on his 2003 documentary "Machssomim" earned him multiple award wins and nominations including taking home the Hot Docs Best International Documentary prize and the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival. Producer Sandra Itkoff said: "We're thrilled to be working with First Run Features on 'Defamation's' distribution. They have done wonderful work with some very important films in the past, and I know they will help 'Defamation' reach its audience and generate some vital conversations." See all of the images in the gallery. What Tribeca Film Festival says: In Defamation, director Yoav Shamir sets out to discover the realities...
- 4/27/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
First Run Features has picked up rights to the Yoav Shamir-helmed documentary "Defamation" which showed on Thursday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. Shamir made the war documentary "Flipping Out" as well as 2005's "5 Days," a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His work on his 2003 documentary "Machssomim" earned him multiple award wins and nominations including taking home the Hot Docs Best International Documentary prize and the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival. Producer Sandra Itkoff said: "We're thrilled to be working with First Run Features on 'Defamation's' distribution. They have done wonderful work with some...
- 4/27/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
First Run Features has picked up rights to the Yoav Shamir-helmed documentary "Defamation" which showed on Thursday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. Shamir made the war documentary "Flipping Out" as well as 2005's "5 Days," a nominee of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His work on his 2003 documentary "Machssomim" earned him multiple award wins and nominations including taking home the Hot Docs Best International Documentary prize and the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival. Producer Sandra Itkoff said: "We're thrilled to be working with First Run Features on 'Defamation's' distribution. They have done wonderful work with some...
- 4/27/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
My, my, the Tribeca Film Festival (Tff) has certainly grown up. It seems like it was born only yesterday, and already it's celebrating its eighth edition. This year's festivities got started on Wednesday evening with a "by invitation only" screening of Woody Allen's Whatever Works, the director's first NYC-based film in five years. Only a few members of the press were allowed to attend: three of the four reviews linked at Rotten Tomatoes were negative. Coincidence?
Deals. Espn picked up TV rights to Jonathan Hock's documentary The Lost Son of Havana, according to indieWIRE, and will broadcast the film in August. The doc follows Luis Tiant, a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1964 to 1982, as he returns to his homeland of Cuba after 46 years of exile. Tiant once said: "We should never forget what has happened to the people in Cuba for forty years."
First Run Features acquired Yoav Shamir's Defamation,...
Deals. Espn picked up TV rights to Jonathan Hock's documentary The Lost Son of Havana, according to indieWIRE, and will broadcast the film in August. The doc follows Luis Tiant, a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1964 to 1982, as he returns to his homeland of Cuba after 46 years of exile. Tiant once said: "We should never forget what has happened to the people in Cuba for forty years."
First Run Features acquired Yoav Shamir's Defamation,...
- 4/26/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Editor’s Note: This is one of dozens of interviews, conducted via email, with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival in the narrative and doc competitions as well as the Discovery section. The festival takes place April 22 - May 3. “Defamation” (World Documentary Feature Competition) Director: Yoav Shamir Producers: Karoline Leth, Knut Ogris, Sandra Itkoff, Philippa Kowarsky 2009 | 94 min | Feature Documentary (Austria, Denmark, …...
- 4/22/2009
- indieWIRE - People
Editor’S Note: This is one of several interviews, conducted via email, with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. “Defamation” (World Documentary Feature Competition) Director: Yoav Shamir Synopsis: In “Defamation,” director Yoav Shamir sets out to discover the realities of anti-Semitism as an identity issue. Is it an extant threat continually on the verge of coalescing into a second Holocaust? Or is it a scare tactic used …...
- 4/22/2009
- indieWIRE - People
I know it looks dire as it's 28% lighter (at least so far) and minus an artistic director, but no fear, there's still more to come, and with what's been announced theirs some interesting sounding stuff, especially a film we wrote about briefly called Accidents Happen. Also premiering is the comedy Stay Cool and the Danish film Original, along with the North American premier of The Exploding Girl which we also wrote about.
Check the narrative features, world documentary, and discovery lineups after the break!
World Narrative Feature Competition
A compelling cross-section of bold creative visions from every corner of the globe come together in this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition. Presenting a diverse array of unique voices, this international film collection includes premieres from a wide range of directors, such as U.S. indie veterans the Polish brothers and Tony-nominated Conor McPherson, as well as exciting newcomers. Together, these...
Check the narrative features, world documentary, and discovery lineups after the break!
World Narrative Feature Competition
A compelling cross-section of bold creative visions from every corner of the globe come together in this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition. Presenting a diverse array of unique voices, this international film collection includes premieres from a wide range of directors, such as U.S. indie veterans the Polish brothers and Tony-nominated Conor McPherson, as well as exciting newcomers. Together, these...
- 3/10/2009
- QuietEarth.us
The Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled its competition and discovery sections, revealing a streamlined but nonetheless eclectic list for its eighth annual edition.
In its competition section, the springtime fest will see a host of noted filmmakers mix with newer talents. Acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson will world premiere "The Eclipse," a drama about a widower prone to supernatural visions that stars Aidan Quinn, while indie stalwarts the Polish brothers will debut "Stay Cool," their high-school reunion dramedy that stars Winona Ryder.
Meanwhile, indie faves like Amir Naderi will return with dramas like "Vegas: Based on a True Story," while emerging Norweigan director Rune Denstad Langlo will mark the North American premiere at the fest of his "North," a comedy about a former ski champion who endures a mental breakdown.
"We think this slate plays to the strengths of the festival, which is a mix of foreign films and more recreational...
In its competition section, the springtime fest will see a host of noted filmmakers mix with newer talents. Acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson will world premiere "The Eclipse," a drama about a widower prone to supernatural visions that stars Aidan Quinn, while indie stalwarts the Polish brothers will debut "Stay Cool," their high-school reunion dramedy that stars Winona Ryder.
Meanwhile, indie faves like Amir Naderi will return with dramas like "Vegas: Based on a True Story," while emerging Norweigan director Rune Denstad Langlo will mark the North American premiere at the fest of his "North," a comedy about a former ski champion who endures a mental breakdown.
"We think this slate plays to the strengths of the festival, which is a mix of foreign films and more recreational...
- 3/9/2009
- by By Steven Zeitchik
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- A pulsating look from the front lines during last year's Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip, "5 Days" should enthrall viewers interested in the Israel-Palestinian conflicts, as well as those generally interested in prescriptive conflict resolution.
"5 Days" will thrive at film festivals and should be a smart draw on the Sundance Channel.
In this gripping document, we follow the removal of 8,000 settlers from their Gaza dwellings by the Israeli army. What was feared would be a catastrophe of bloodletting turns into a triumph of restraint. Director Yoav Shamir evenly captures the endgame scenario orchestrated by both sides and shows succinctly how armed violence was avoided.
With multiple camera crews, including a unit that followed Gen. Dan Harel, chief of the Southern Command, "5 Days" is a ranging, provocative insight into the volatile dynamics of this historic mission. Harel, we see, is a commanding but compassionate leader who realized that the five days would proceed on a certain course. Under his command, the Israeli soldiers showed compassion and civil fortitude as things inexorably climaxed toward the fifth day, when the most entrenched and resistant would be confronted and removed.
Told with intelligence and multiple perspectives, "5 Days" provokes one to examine why all intractable conflicts can't be solved with such honor and delicacy.
Technical contributions are first rate, including taut editing from Arik Lahav-Leibovitz and probing camerawork from the legion of cinematographers.
5 DAYS
Keshet, IDFA Documentary, Sundance Channel and Profile Prods.
Credits:
Director: Yoav Shamir
Producer: Moshe Levinson
Directors of photography: Yoav Shamir, Mahmoud Albaied, Yossi Aviram, Shai Goldman, Eytan Harris, Nadav Lapid, Gil Mezuman, Amit Shalev, Claudio Steinberg, Alon Zingman
Music: Ophir Leibovitch
Editor: Arik Lahav-Leibovitz
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 94 minutes...
"5 Days" will thrive at film festivals and should be a smart draw on the Sundance Channel.
In this gripping document, we follow the removal of 8,000 settlers from their Gaza dwellings by the Israeli army. What was feared would be a catastrophe of bloodletting turns into a triumph of restraint. Director Yoav Shamir evenly captures the endgame scenario orchestrated by both sides and shows succinctly how armed violence was avoided.
With multiple camera crews, including a unit that followed Gen. Dan Harel, chief of the Southern Command, "5 Days" is a ranging, provocative insight into the volatile dynamics of this historic mission. Harel, we see, is a commanding but compassionate leader who realized that the five days would proceed on a certain course. Under his command, the Israeli soldiers showed compassion and civil fortitude as things inexorably climaxed toward the fifth day, when the most entrenched and resistant would be confronted and removed.
Told with intelligence and multiple perspectives, "5 Days" provokes one to examine why all intractable conflicts can't be solved with such honor and delicacy.
Technical contributions are first rate, including taut editing from Arik Lahav-Leibovitz and probing camerawork from the legion of cinematographers.
5 DAYS
Keshet, IDFA Documentary, Sundance Channel and Profile Prods.
Credits:
Director: Yoav Shamir
Producer: Moshe Levinson
Directors of photography: Yoav Shamir, Mahmoud Albaied, Yossi Aviram, Shai Goldman, Eytan Harris, Nadav Lapid, Gil Mezuman, Amit Shalev, Claudio Steinberg, Alon Zingman
Music: Ophir Leibovitch
Editor: Arik Lahav-Leibovitz
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 94 minutes...
- 1/30/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- A pulsating look from the front lines during the August 2005 Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip, "5 Days" should enthrall viewers interested in the Israel-Palestinian conflicts, as well as those generally interested in prescriptive conflict resolution.
"5 Days" will thrive at film festivals, and should be a smart draw on the Sundance Channel.
In this gripping document, we follow the removal of 8,000 settlers from their Gaza dwellings by the Israeli army. What was feared would be a catastrophe of bloodletting turns into a triumph of restraint. Director Yoav Shamir evenly captures the endgame scenario orchestrated by both sides and shows succinctly how armed violence was avoided.
With multiple camera crews, including a unit which followed General Dan Harel, chief of the Southern Command, "5 Days" is a ranging, provocative insight into the volatile dynamics of this historic mission. General Dan Harel, we see, is a commanding but compassionate leader who realized that the five-days would proceed on a certain course. Under his command, the Israeli soldiers showed compassion and civil fortitude as things inexorably climaxed toward the fifth day, when the most entrenched and resistant would be confronted and removed.
Told with intelligence and multiple perspectives, "5 Days" provokes one to examine why all intractable conflicts can't be solved with such honor and delicacy.
Technical contributions are first rate: taut editing from Arik Lahav-Leibovitz and probing camera work from the legion of cinematographers.
5 DAYS
Keshet
idfa Documentary
Sundance Channel
Profile Prods. Presents
Credits:
Director: Yoav Shamir
Producer: Moshe Levinson
Directors
of photography: Yoav Shamir, Mahmoud Albaied, Yossi Aviram, Shai Goldman, Eytan Harris, Nadav Lapid, Gil Mezuman, Amit Shalev, Claudio Steinberg, Alon Zingman
Music: Ophir Leibovitch
Editor: Arik Lahav-Leibovitz
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 94 minutes...
"5 Days" will thrive at film festivals, and should be a smart draw on the Sundance Channel.
In this gripping document, we follow the removal of 8,000 settlers from their Gaza dwellings by the Israeli army. What was feared would be a catastrophe of bloodletting turns into a triumph of restraint. Director Yoav Shamir evenly captures the endgame scenario orchestrated by both sides and shows succinctly how armed violence was avoided.
With multiple camera crews, including a unit which followed General Dan Harel, chief of the Southern Command, "5 Days" is a ranging, provocative insight into the volatile dynamics of this historic mission. General Dan Harel, we see, is a commanding but compassionate leader who realized that the five-days would proceed on a certain course. Under his command, the Israeli soldiers showed compassion and civil fortitude as things inexorably climaxed toward the fifth day, when the most entrenched and resistant would be confronted and removed.
Told with intelligence and multiple perspectives, "5 Days" provokes one to examine why all intractable conflicts can't be solved with such honor and delicacy.
Technical contributions are first rate: taut editing from Arik Lahav-Leibovitz and probing camera work from the legion of cinematographers.
5 DAYS
Keshet
idfa Documentary
Sundance Channel
Profile Prods. Presents
Credits:
Director: Yoav Shamir
Producer: Moshe Levinson
Directors
of photography: Yoav Shamir, Mahmoud Albaied, Yossi Aviram, Shai Goldman, Eytan Harris, Nadav Lapid, Gil Mezuman, Amit Shalev, Claudio Steinberg, Alon Zingman
Music: Ophir Leibovitch
Editor: Arik Lahav-Leibovitz
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 94 minutes...
- 1/23/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- Political documentaries about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were the big winners of jury awards as the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival went into its closing weekend. Israeli director Yoav Shamir picked up the trophy for best international documentary feature for "Checkpoint", a portrait of Palestinians facing hostile Israeli soldiers as they crossed into Israel. And the FIPRESCI (international critics) award for best first documentary feature was given to Juliano Mer Khamis and Danniel Danniel for their film "Arna's Children", about an Israeli woman bravely running a small theater group for Palestinian children, some of whom go on to join the struggle for Palestinian independence.
TEL AVIV, Israel -- The 6th annual Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival will launch with the Israeli premier of Checkpoint, local director Yoav Shamir's record of the checkpoints the Israel Defense Forces man throughout the Palestinian Authority. The film won the Joris Iven Award at the Amsterdam International Film Festival. Organizers recently announced the program for the festival, which will take place March 25-April 3 at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Screening in eight categories will be 54 films from 25 countries, all Israeli premieres. The three competitive categories include the international competition, with the winner receiving the best international film award; the Israeli competition, which includes awards for best film, best editing, best director and special recognition; and the Israeli student competition, with an award for best film. Awards, in amounts still to be confirmed, will be presented March 30.
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