The Sudanese drama Goodbye Julia is continuing its impressive awards run, earning the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature over the weekend at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California.
Mohamed Kordofani directed the story set in the context of the secessionist movement that led to the establishment of the independent nation of South Sudan in 2011.
“We commend the festival for its impressive selection of narrative features and unanimously select Goodbye Julia as the best film,” jurors wrote. “An outstanding first feature from Mohamed Kordofani, anchored by two stellar performances from Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak, Goodbye Julia provides a glimpse into a culture and region that’s underrepresented and underexplored in contemporary cinema.”
The jury, comprised of Rosa Bosch (Begin Again Films), Tyler Coates (The Hollywood Reporter), Rebecca Fisher (Magnolia Pictures), Jason Hellerstein (Sideshow), and Julie Huntsinger (Telluride Film Festival), awarded a Special Mention to Hesitation Wound, describing...
Mohamed Kordofani directed the story set in the context of the secessionist movement that led to the establishment of the independent nation of South Sudan in 2011.
“We commend the festival for its impressive selection of narrative features and unanimously select Goodbye Julia as the best film,” jurors wrote. “An outstanding first feature from Mohamed Kordofani, anchored by two stellar performances from Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak, Goodbye Julia provides a glimpse into a culture and region that’s underrepresented and underexplored in contemporary cinema.”
The jury, comprised of Rosa Bosch (Begin Again Films), Tyler Coates (The Hollywood Reporter), Rebecca Fisher (Magnolia Pictures), Jason Hellerstein (Sideshow), and Julie Huntsinger (Telluride Film Festival), awarded a Special Mention to Hesitation Wound, describing...
- 3/25/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The 27th Sonoma International Film Festival (March 20-24), as always, leaned into wine and food with the sold-out opening night U.S. premiere of Thomas Napper’s “Widow Clicquot” (Vertical Entertainment), starring Haley Bennett as the woman who saves the legendary winemaker’s legacy. The wine country film festival drew its highest audience attendance to date with a robust film slate programmed by artistic director Carl Spence (working with Executive Director Ginny Krieger), in his second year, including upcoming specialty fare like Luc Besson’s “DogMan” (Briarcliff Entertainment) starring Caleb Landry Jones in an incendiary performance, and Sony Pictures Classics’ raucous comedy “Wicked Little Letters,” starring Olivia Colman, along with a smattering of yummy wine and food events.
The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...
The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...
- 3/24/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The champagne may be flowing at the kickoff for the 27th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival – for more reasons than one.
This year’s event in California’s wine country will open with the U.S. premiere of Widow Clicquot, directed by Thomas Napper, a narrative feature about the Grande Dame of Champagne. Actress Haley Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, “who against all odds advanced her late husband’s techniques to create the recipe for modern-day champagne.”
Siff, running from March 20-24, will showcase 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 48 short films representing more than 25 countries, according to a release.
Maya Hawke in ‘Wildcat’
The festival’s Centerpiece Film is Wildcat, directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke as renowned Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor. The Closing Night Film is Luc Besson’s crime drama Dogman, starring Caleb Landry Jones. A Closing Night...
This year’s event in California’s wine country will open with the U.S. premiere of Widow Clicquot, directed by Thomas Napper, a narrative feature about the Grande Dame of Champagne. Actress Haley Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, “who against all odds advanced her late husband’s techniques to create the recipe for modern-day champagne.”
Siff, running from March 20-24, will showcase 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 48 short films representing more than 25 countries, according to a release.
Maya Hawke in ‘Wildcat’
The festival’s Centerpiece Film is Wildcat, directed by Ethan Hawke and starring his daughter Maya Hawke as renowned Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor. The Closing Night Film is Luc Besson’s crime drama Dogman, starring Caleb Landry Jones. A Closing Night...
- 3/2/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Haley Bennett and Dominic Cooper have joined the cast of the upcoming Apple TV+ series “The Last Frontier,” Variety has learned.
Bennett and Cooper join previously announced series lead Jason Clarke in the show, which received a 10-episode order back in February 2023.
Per the official description, the series follows US Marshall Frank Remnick (Clarke), “the lone Marshal in charge of the quiet, rugged barrens of Alaska, whose jurisdiction is turned upside-down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates. Tasked with protecting the town he’s vowed to keep safe, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident, but the first step of a well-crafted plan with international political implications.”
Bennett will star as Sidney, descrbed as “a CIA Agent who is tasked with working with Frank.” Cooper will star as Havlock, said to be “a former Navy Seal and...
Bennett and Cooper join previously announced series lead Jason Clarke in the show, which received a 10-episode order back in February 2023.
Per the official description, the series follows US Marshall Frank Remnick (Clarke), “the lone Marshal in charge of the quiet, rugged barrens of Alaska, whose jurisdiction is turned upside-down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates. Tasked with protecting the town he’s vowed to keep safe, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident, but the first step of a well-crafted plan with international political implications.”
Bennett will star as Sidney, descrbed as “a CIA Agent who is tasked with working with Frank.” Cooper will star as Havlock, said to be “a former Navy Seal and...
- 2/7/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: On the heels of its fall world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the indie drama Widow Clicquot starring Haley Bennett (Cyrano) has been acquired by Vertical for 2024 theatrical distribution in North America.
Based on Tilar J Mazzeo’s New York Times bestseller The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, the film tells the true story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century. After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Bennett) flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great entrepreneurs.
Also starring Tom Sturridge (The Sandman), Sam Riley (Maleficent), Anson Boon (1917), Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla), Ben Miles...
Based on Tilar J Mazzeo’s New York Times bestseller The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, the film tells the true story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century. After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Bennett) flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great entrepreneurs.
Also starring Tom Sturridge (The Sandman), Sam Riley (Maleficent), Anson Boon (1917), Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla), Ben Miles...
- 11/29/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Pop the cork and celebrate Haley Bennett in Widow Clicquot, a fast-paced and sexy biopic of the woman known as Madame “Veuve” Clicquot, or by her actual full name, Barbe Nicole Ponsardin-Clicquot, who triumphed over all odds to become the force that created and brought to the world the leading brand of champagne. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
Serving as a producer with her Cyrano director Joe Wright (along with Christina Weiss Lurie), and taking on the title role, Bennett anchors a plush and gorgeous period film set against the vineyards in France circa 1800, with a story that begins with Barbe Nicole at age 26, widowed by the sudden tragic death of her husband Francois Clicquot (Tom Sturridge) who, though manic and excitable, managed to build a dream of a vineyard and the creation of a new champagne and was joined by his wife and mother of their daughter in the quest.
Serving as a producer with her Cyrano director Joe Wright (along with Christina Weiss Lurie), and taking on the title role, Bennett anchors a plush and gorgeous period film set against the vineyards in France circa 1800, with a story that begins with Barbe Nicole at age 26, widowed by the sudden tragic death of her husband Francois Clicquot (Tom Sturridge) who, though manic and excitable, managed to build a dream of a vineyard and the creation of a new champagne and was joined by his wife and mother of their daughter in the quest.
- 9/18/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The first thing we learn at the start of Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is that Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) loved her husband François (Tom Sturridge). The second thing we learn is that the vineyard that held his name was synonymous with himself. Not just in death––as the film begins with Barbe dressing for his funeral––but in life too. It is where he spent all his time. Where he welcomed his new wife into every breath he took. And where he will live on in her memory as she preserves the vines to ensure he’s never forgotten.
To say all this would suggest the film is about François. That he permeates every single moment, however, is less about his impact on the world than his impact on her. It’s Barbe who left a mark: she’s the one who revolutionized the champagne industry during Napoleon’s trade embargoes,...
To say all this would suggest the film is about François. That he permeates every single moment, however, is less about his impact on the world than his impact on her. It’s Barbe who left a mark: she’s the one who revolutionized the champagne industry during Napoleon’s trade embargoes,...
- 9/18/2023
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The last time Haley Bennett starred in a gloriously romantic period piece, it was Joe Wright’s daring musical re-imagining of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” 2021’s “Cyrano.” She’s back in lavish gowns and rapturously beautiful settings in “Widow Clicquot,” Thomas Napper’s ode to (in no particular order) champagne, doomed romance and girl power. If it’s neither as bold nor as swooning as “Cyrano,” it does provide additional evidence that Bennett slips easily into the 19th century as both an object of beauty and a force of nature.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it is one of a number of wildly varied films in which women claim power that had been denied to them in patriarchal societies. But the gender-driven power struggles in “Widow Clicquot” are in some ways the most conventional part of the film, which can soar in one...
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it is one of a number of wildly varied films in which women claim power that had been denied to them in patriarchal societies. But the gender-driven power struggles in “Widow Clicquot” are in some ways the most conventional part of the film, which can soar in one...
- 9/16/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: Haley Bennett in Champagne Biopic with More Personal Than Professional Fizz
Like the elixirs that Barbe-Nicole (Haley Bennett) so carefully tends to at her vineyard, Widow Clicquot takes time to come into its fullest potential. Initially, it appears a sticky-sweet tale of love, as manifested by its heroine’s determination to carry on the vision of her late husband François (Tom Sturridge). But it takes on added layers as Barbe-Nicole reveals the breadth of her ambition, and as her rosy recollections of her marriage give way to thornier ones — ultimately yielding a drama that feels more substantive than its 89-minute run time might suggest, if not quite rich enough to leave its own lasting legacy.
Rooted in the history behind the still-renowned champagne Veuve Clicquot, Widow Clicquot arrives amid a bumper crop of biopics about brands. Like most of the others, it’s not exactly a commercial, but does have the PR-friendly side effect of bolstering the company’s image.
Through...
Rooted in the history behind the still-renowned champagne Veuve Clicquot, Widow Clicquot arrives amid a bumper crop of biopics about brands. Like most of the others, it’s not exactly a commercial, but does have the PR-friendly side effect of bolstering the company’s image.
Through...
- 9/15/2023
- by Angie Han
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF
A transformation suddenly bubbles to the surface right around the crucial first-act closing mark of the period drama, “Widow Clicquot.” And it’s not a second too late. About the widow who nearly single-handedly transformed Veuve Clicquot into the world-renowned champagne brand it is today, just as the film threatens to suffocate the viewer with the dreary, stately, oh-so-proper and drab sheen of tragedy and frumpy dourness that overwhelms so many dowdy period dramas of this ilk, it froths to life, its cup running over.
Continue reading ‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: An Always-Compelling Haley Bennett Raises The Glass Of Champagne Problems Period Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.
A transformation suddenly bubbles to the surface right around the crucial first-act closing mark of the period drama, “Widow Clicquot.” And it’s not a second too late. About the widow who nearly single-handedly transformed Veuve Clicquot into the world-renowned champagne brand it is today, just as the film threatens to suffocate the viewer with the dreary, stately, oh-so-proper and drab sheen of tragedy and frumpy dourness that overwhelms so many dowdy period dramas of this ilk, it froths to life, its cup running over.
Continue reading ‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: An Always-Compelling Haley Bennett Raises The Glass Of Champagne Problems Period Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.
- 9/13/2023
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Domestic distributor Bleecker Street is in negotiations to acquire rights to “Fackham Hall,” a British spoof of “Downton Abbey” and other costume dramas. Sales outfit The Veterans is pre-selling international territories. And as international buyers face a potential drought of Hollywood product due to strikes, the market is offering other promising presale titles.
WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...
WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...
- 9/7/2023
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
“It’s clearly not just a post-Covid catch-up trend.”
Fuelled by a competitive tax rebate and infrastructure investment, international production in France has tripled from a €305m spend in the country in pre-pandemic 2019 to a total spend of nearly €1bn ($1.09bn) in 2022, up from €398m in 2021.
“It’s clearly not just a post-Covid catch-up trend,” the Cnc’s director of digital Vincent Florant told Screen of the surge in international production in the territory.
In 2022, 101 projects benefitted from the Trip (Tax Rebate for International Production), a rebate of up to 30% of the eligible production spend to a cap of €30m...
Fuelled by a competitive tax rebate and infrastructure investment, international production in France has tripled from a €305m spend in the country in pre-pandemic 2019 to a total spend of nearly €1bn ($1.09bn) in 2022, up from €398m in 2021.
“It’s clearly not just a post-Covid catch-up trend,” the Cnc’s director of digital Vincent Florant told Screen of the surge in international production in the territory.
In 2022, 101 projects benefitted from the Trip (Tax Rebate for International Production), a rebate of up to 30% of the eligible production spend to a cap of €30m...
- 4/5/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: WME Independent has unveiled the first image of Haley Bennett in the upcoming 19th Century champagne drama Clicquot ahead of launching sales on the title at the European Film Market.
Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, who is popularly known in France as the “Grande Dame of Champagne”.
This real-life historic figure defied convention to take over her late husband’s fledgling wine business in Reims in 1805 after being widowed at the age of 27.
The production, announced on Deadline last year, is based on the 2008 novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo.
Filming took place the French regions of Chablis and Reims last fall.
Thomas Napper () directs from a screenplay by Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).
Other previously announced cast members include Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman,...
Bennett stars in the titular role of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, who is popularly known in France as the “Grande Dame of Champagne”.
This real-life historic figure defied convention to take over her late husband’s fledgling wine business in Reims in 1805 after being widowed at the age of 27.
The production, announced on Deadline last year, is based on the 2008 novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo.
Filming took place the French regions of Chablis and Reims last fall.
Thomas Napper () directs from a screenplay by Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).
Other previously announced cast members include Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
(L-r) Elijah Bynum, Haley Bennett, Jonathan Majors, and Taylour Paige visit the IMDb Portrait Studio at Acura Festival Village at Sundance 2023. Image Source: Getty Images for IMDb /Corey Nickols
Imagine a dimly lit room in a small house that is covered with photos of muscly, oiled-up male bodybuilders. This room exists in "Magazine Dreams" - a feature from writer-director Elijah Bynum that premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival - and it belongs to Killian Maddox (played by Jonathan Majors), an amateur bodybuilder who is caring for his ailing grandfather. Killian spends his days training excessively in his garage and at the gym, all in an attempt to win the world championships and appear on the cover of esteemed magazines like his idol, Brad Vanderhorn (Michael O'Hearn).
Killian's obsessive tendency to "fix" his body initially borders on vanity, but a deeper examination of "Magazine Dreams" reveals a larger truth at the...
Imagine a dimly lit room in a small house that is covered with photos of muscly, oiled-up male bodybuilders. This room exists in "Magazine Dreams" - a feature from writer-director Elijah Bynum that premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival - and it belongs to Killian Maddox (played by Jonathan Majors), an amateur bodybuilder who is caring for his ailing grandfather. Killian spends his days training excessively in his garage and at the gym, all in an attempt to win the world championships and appear on the cover of esteemed magazines like his idol, Brad Vanderhorn (Michael O'Hearn).
Killian's obsessive tendency to "fix" his body initially borders on vanity, but a deeper examination of "Magazine Dreams" reveals a larger truth at the...
- 1/26/2023
- by Pooja Shah
- Popsugar.com
Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge & Sam Riley Set For ‘Clicquot’ About The Rise Of French Champagne House
Exclusive: Haley Bennett is set to star as the titular role in Clicquot from writers Erin Dignam (Land, Submergence) and Christopher Monger (Temple Grandin).
Directed by Thomas Napper (Jawbone), the pic chronicles the gritty journey in the early years of the Veuve Clicquot vineyard in 19th century France and brings to life the fascinating young woman behind the iconic orange label. The feature is based on the novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Production began in the French regions of Chablis and Reims on October 24.
As Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, Bennett will be joined by cast members Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman, Irma Vep), Sam Riley (upcoming Firebrand, Maleficent), Leo Suter (Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla), and Anson Boon (Pistol, 1917).
Christina Weiss Lurie (Persuasion) will produce alongside Bennett, with Joe Wright and John Bernard as EPs.
Directed by Thomas Napper (Jawbone), the pic chronicles the gritty journey in the early years of the Veuve Clicquot vineyard in 19th century France and brings to life the fascinating young woman behind the iconic orange label. The feature is based on the novel The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Production began in the French regions of Chablis and Reims on October 24.
As Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, Bennett will be joined by cast members Tom Sturridge (DC Comics and Netflix’s The Sandman, Irma Vep), Sam Riley (upcoming Firebrand, Maleficent), Leo Suter (Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla), and Anson Boon (Pistol, 1917).
Christina Weiss Lurie (Persuasion) will produce alongside Bennett, with Joe Wright and John Bernard as EPs.
- 10/31/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
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