Director Florian Gallenberger, president of the German Film Academy, has voiced concerns about the country’s future as an internationally competitive production hub.
The filmmaker said the proposed new financial instruments of tax incentive and investment obligation set to be introduced as part of the overall reforms to the German film funding infrastructure from 2025 do not go far enough.
Speaking at the traditional reception given by the Cdu and Csu political parties to coincide with the German Film Awards on Sunday May 5, Gallenberger said the current production incentives in Germany, the German Federal Film Fund (Dfff) and the German Motion Picture Fund...
The filmmaker said the proposed new financial instruments of tax incentive and investment obligation set to be introduced as part of the overall reforms to the German film funding infrastructure from 2025 do not go far enough.
Speaking at the traditional reception given by the Cdu and Csu political parties to coincide with the German Film Awards on Sunday May 5, Gallenberger said the current production incentives in Germany, the German Federal Film Fund (Dfff) and the German Motion Picture Fund...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
The German Film Academy has announced the movies in competition this year for the German Film Awards, the local equivalent of the Oscars.
Matthias Glasner’s epic family drama Dying, Timm Kröger’s experimental sci-fi feature The Universal Theory, and In the Blind Spot, Ayşe Polat’s documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey, are among the favorites for this year’s awards, called the Lolas.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger as a classical conductor with an extremely dysfunctional family, picked up nominations in every major category, including best film, best director and best screenplay nominations for Glasner, a best actor nom for Eidinger and a best actress nomination for Corinna Harfoch, who plays Eidinger’s mother. In total, the film is up for nine Lolas.
The Universal Theory, a black-and-white drama about the multiverse, is also in the running for the best film Lola, and Kröger is up for best director.
Matthias Glasner’s epic family drama Dying, Timm Kröger’s experimental sci-fi feature The Universal Theory, and In the Blind Spot, Ayşe Polat’s documentary-style conspiracy thriller set in modern-day Turkey, are among the favorites for this year’s awards, called the Lolas.
Dying, which stars Lars Eidinger as a classical conductor with an extremely dysfunctional family, picked up nominations in every major category, including best film, best director and best screenplay nominations for Glasner, a best actor nom for Eidinger and a best actress nomination for Corinna Harfoch, who plays Eidinger’s mother. In total, the film is up for nine Lolas.
The Universal Theory, a black-and-white drama about the multiverse, is also in the running for the best film Lola, and Kröger is up for best director.
- 3/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Non-English language drama streamer Walter Presents has acquired a package of five drama titles from Beta for release on its services in Australia and New Zealand.
The titles include Italian YA drama The Sea Beyond, Spanish investigative drama Rapa and German WWII miniseries The Turncoat.
The Sea Beyond, revolving around young inmates in a Naples prison, has enjoyed strong ratings in Italy on Rai, RaiPlay and Netflix since its launch in late 2020. The third season is currently enjoying linear success on Rai2.
Rapa, which was the most watched show on Spanish streamer Movistar Plus+ in 2022, follows a high school teacher and local police officer in the Spanish port city of Ferrol, who form an unlikely team in solving a murder case.
Two-part, event mini-series The Turncoat is about a young German soldier in 1944, who is posted to a small unit in the Polish woods, where he connects with local...
The titles include Italian YA drama The Sea Beyond, Spanish investigative drama Rapa and German WWII miniseries The Turncoat.
The Sea Beyond, revolving around young inmates in a Naples prison, has enjoyed strong ratings in Italy on Rai, RaiPlay and Netflix since its launch in late 2020. The third season is currently enjoying linear success on Rai2.
Rapa, which was the most watched show on Spanish streamer Movistar Plus+ in 2022, follows a high school teacher and local police officer in the Spanish port city of Ferrol, who form an unlikely team in solving a murder case.
Two-part, event mini-series The Turncoat is about a young German soldier in 1944, who is posted to a small unit in the Polish woods, where he connects with local...
- 3/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Each year we are proud to partner with the European Film Promotion to celebrate ten emerging European talents as part of their ongoing Efp Shooting Stars programme. Today we’re pleased to join the reveal of 2023’s cohort, who we’ll be getting to know better next year at the 73rd Berlinale.
Here are 2023’s European Shooting Stars:
Joely Mbundu (Belgium), Alina Tomnikov (Finland), Leonie Benesch (Germany), Thorvaldur Kristjansson (Iceland), Benedetta Porcaroli (Italy), Yannick Jozefzoon (The Netherlands), Kristine Kujath Thorp (Norway), Judith State (Romania), Gizem Erdogan (Sweden) and Kayije Kagame (Switzerland).
We’ll be meeting with each of the Shooting Stars out in Berlin next February and speaking to them. So, remember to check back next year for those interviews.
In the meantime, here are more details about each of the intake from the Efp themselves.
Belgium / Joely Mbundu ©Tina Herbots
Joely Mbundu hails from Villeneuve-St-Georges, France and attended school in Flanders,...
Here are 2023’s European Shooting Stars:
Joely Mbundu (Belgium), Alina Tomnikov (Finland), Leonie Benesch (Germany), Thorvaldur Kristjansson (Iceland), Benedetta Porcaroli (Italy), Yannick Jozefzoon (The Netherlands), Kristine Kujath Thorp (Norway), Judith State (Romania), Gizem Erdogan (Sweden) and Kayije Kagame (Switzerland).
We’ll be meeting with each of the Shooting Stars out in Berlin next February and speaking to them. So, remember to check back next year for those interviews.
In the meantime, here are more details about each of the intake from the Efp themselves.
Belgium / Joely Mbundu ©Tina Herbots
Joely Mbundu hails from Villeneuve-St-Georges, France and attended school in Flanders,...
- 12/14/2022
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Czech crime series “Nineties” by Slovak director Peter Bebjak drew 2.23 million viewers over six nights on Czech Television – the best result for a Czech series in the past 18 years, according to Film New Europe.
The fifth episode, “Barrels,” broke the rating record with 2.41 million viewers (one in four Czechs watched it), becoming the most watched TV show in primetime since the start of the electronic measurement of broadcasting rating in 1997.
“Nineties” is based on real criminal cases that occurred in the 90s, after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. The series has six episodes and the main characters are played by Martin Finger, Kryštof Bartoš, Ondřej Sokol, Vasil Fridrich and Robert Mikluš.
The series is directed by Bebjak and Dan Wlodarczyk, and was produced by Czech Television, and creative producer Michal Reitler.
‘You Resemble Me’ Wins Prague Iff – Febiofest
The debut feature by Dina Amer, “You Resemble Me,” a coproduction between France,...
The fifth episode, “Barrels,” broke the rating record with 2.41 million viewers (one in four Czechs watched it), becoming the most watched TV show in primetime since the start of the electronic measurement of broadcasting rating in 1997.
“Nineties” is based on real criminal cases that occurred in the 90s, after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. The series has six episodes and the main characters are played by Martin Finger, Kryštof Bartoš, Ondřej Sokol, Vasil Fridrich and Robert Mikluš.
The series is directed by Bebjak and Dan Wlodarczyk, and was produced by Czech Television, and creative producer Michal Reitler.
‘You Resemble Me’ Wins Prague Iff – Febiofest
The debut feature by Dina Amer, “You Resemble Me,” a coproduction between France,...
- 5/5/2022
- by Ales Hudsky
- Variety Film + TV
Florian Gallenberger, the director behind “John Rabe,” a historical drama about the Nanking Massacre in China, and “Colonia,” a political thriller set in Chile against the backdrop of the 1973 military coup, has made his first comedy.
“It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” which had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, offers a hilarious look at a married couple, played by Christoph Maria Herbst and Christiane Paul, who, in the midst of a mid-life crisis, attempt a trial separation.
The film is an adaptation of Maxim Leo and Jochen-Martin Gutsch’s bestseller, which comprises 25 short, unconnected anecdotes. Gallenberger and co-writer Malte Welding had to create a major plotline that included the various scenes of the book.
“We had to and did take some liberties with the novel in order to make it into one story instead of 25 little funny moments,” Gallenberger explains.
Poking fun at the near-50 crowd, the...
“It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” which had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, offers a hilarious look at a married couple, played by Christoph Maria Herbst and Christiane Paul, who, in the midst of a mid-life crisis, attempt a trial separation.
The film is an adaptation of Maxim Leo and Jochen-Martin Gutsch’s bestseller, which comprises 25 short, unconnected anecdotes. Gallenberger and co-writer Malte Welding had to create a major plotline that included the various scenes of the book.
“We had to and did take some liberties with the novel in order to make it into one story instead of 25 little funny moments,” Gallenberger explains.
Poking fun at the near-50 crowd, the...
- 9/30/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The 17th Zurich Film Festival will host the Swiss premiere of “No Time to Die,” the 25th James Bond film, on Sept. 28. The festival will also stage a retrospective of the other Bond movies starring Daniel Craig.
“We are extremely pleased to be one of the first in the world to show our audience the most recent Bond adventure,” Christian Jungen, Zurich’s artistic director, said. “We fought for months to get this premiere and had to negotiate every last detail with the distribution company Universal. Never before has James Bond been in the official selection of a film festival. I am further pleased that the Zff has succeeded in this coup as it sends out a powerful signal that highlights the importance of cinema. The industry has waited more eagerly for this movie than any other.”
“Year after year, the Zff brings the glamour of Hollywood to Zurich and...
“We are extremely pleased to be one of the first in the world to show our audience the most recent Bond adventure,” Christian Jungen, Zurich’s artistic director, said. “We fought for months to get this premiere and had to negotiate every last detail with the distribution company Universal. Never before has James Bond been in the official selection of a film festival. I am further pleased that the Zff has succeeded in this coup as it sends out a powerful signal that highlights the importance of cinema. The industry has waited more eagerly for this movie than any other.”
“Year after year, the Zff brings the glamour of Hollywood to Zurich and...
- 8/27/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Zurich Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of Gala Premieres, including the world premieres of Florian Gallenberger’s relationship comedy “It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” and Andreas Schmied’s skiing champion biopic “Chasing the Line,” as well as a German-language territories premiere for Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” which will close the festival.
The Gala section focuses on auteur films with broad audience appeal, with the filmmakers presenting their films in person. “We’re celebrating the comeback of great auteur cinema this year,” said artistic director Christian Jungen. “Thanks to the Zff’s reputation on the international film scene, it has now become easier for us to get important movies that go on to play a crucial role later in the award season.”
“It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” which stars Christoph Maria Herbst and Christiane Paul, focuses on Emilia and Paul, whose marriage has broken down.
The Gala section focuses on auteur films with broad audience appeal, with the filmmakers presenting their films in person. “We’re celebrating the comeback of great auteur cinema this year,” said artistic director Christian Jungen. “Thanks to the Zff’s reputation on the international film scene, it has now become easier for us to get important movies that go on to play a crucial role later in the award season.”
“It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” which stars Christoph Maria Herbst and Christiane Paul, focuses on Emilia and Paul, whose marriage has broken down.
- 8/19/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Busan Planning Physical Edition
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival is eyeing a physical edition this year, the event has confirmed to Deadline. Despite worsening Covid cases in many Asian nations, including Korea where authorities are reportedly eyeing increased restrictions, organizers of Busan said it did not expect issues with holding an in-person event. Recent Korean festivals including Jeonju and Bifan have successfully been staged and by the time Busan arrives – it runs October 6-15 this year – it is expected that 70% of the Korean population will have received at least their first dose of the vaccine.
Zurich Gala Premieres
Zurich Film Festival has confirmed eight titles that will screen as Gala Premieres at this year’s fest, including two world premieres, namely Florian Gallenberger’s It’s Just A Phase, Honey and Andreas Schmied’s Chasing The Line. Also screening are Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Yvan Attal’s Les Choses Humaines,...
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival is eyeing a physical edition this year, the event has confirmed to Deadline. Despite worsening Covid cases in many Asian nations, including Korea where authorities are reportedly eyeing increased restrictions, organizers of Busan said it did not expect issues with holding an in-person event. Recent Korean festivals including Jeonju and Bifan have successfully been staged and by the time Busan arrives – it runs October 6-15 this year – it is expected that 70% of the Korean population will have received at least their first dose of the vaccine.
Zurich Gala Premieres
Zurich Film Festival has confirmed eight titles that will screen as Gala Premieres at this year’s fest, including two world premieres, namely Florian Gallenberger’s It’s Just A Phase, Honey and Andreas Schmied’s Chasing The Line. Also screening are Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Yvan Attal’s Les Choses Humaines,...
- 8/19/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Indian actor Soumitra Chatterjee, best known internationally for his long association with Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray, died on Sunday in Kolkata after contracting coronavirus. He was 85.
Chatterjee was born in Calcutta in 1935. While at university he developed an interest in theater and was subsequently mentored by Sisir Bhaduri, a doyen in the field. He pursued an acting career in cinema while working as an announcer with All India Radio.
Chatterjee’s film debut, “The World of Apu,” (1959) was the third part of Ray’s celebrated Apu Trilogy that began with Cannes-winner “Pather Panchali” in 1955 and continued with Venice-winner “Aparajito” in 1956. The film began a fruitful association with Ray over the years that included “The Goddess” (1960), “Three Daughters” (1961), “The Expedition” (1962), “Charulata” (1964), “Days and Nights in the Forest” (1970), “Distant Thunder” (1973), “The Golden Fortress” (1974), “The Elephant God” (1979), “The Home and the World” (1984) and “Branches of the Tree” (1990).
Chatterjee also worked with the other greats of Bengali-language cinema,...
Chatterjee was born in Calcutta in 1935. While at university he developed an interest in theater and was subsequently mentored by Sisir Bhaduri, a doyen in the field. He pursued an acting career in cinema while working as an announcer with All India Radio.
Chatterjee’s film debut, “The World of Apu,” (1959) was the third part of Ray’s celebrated Apu Trilogy that began with Cannes-winner “Pather Panchali” in 1955 and continued with Venice-winner “Aparajito” in 1956. The film began a fruitful association with Ray over the years that included “The Goddess” (1960), “Three Daughters” (1961), “The Expedition” (1962), “Charulata” (1964), “Days and Nights in the Forest” (1970), “Distant Thunder” (1973), “The Golden Fortress” (1974), “The Elephant God” (1979), “The Home and the World” (1984) and “Branches of the Tree” (1990).
Chatterjee also worked with the other greats of Bengali-language cinema,...
- 11/15/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has closed multiple pre-sales deals on “Atlantic Crossing,” the prestige Norwegian period drama starring Sofia Helin (“The Bridge”) as Crown Princess Märtha, and Kyle MacLachlan (“Twin Peaks”) as U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, ahead of its world premiere at Canneseries and Mipcom.
Sales have been struck with Italy’s Rai and Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta TV for Germany and Austria, as well as with France’ Chérie 25. The series was produced by leading Norwegian banner Cinenord for public broadcaster Nrk, and was co-produced by Beta Film, Svt and Dr.
“Atlantic Crossing” was also snatched up for Russia (more.tv), the Australian public broadcaster Sbs, Greece and
Cyprus (Forthnet) and across Eastern Europe, including Lithuania (Lrt). The event series is competing at Canneseries and will bow on Nrk on Oct. 26.
Directed by Alexander Eik (“Cold Feet”), “Atlantic Crossing” tells the riveting untold story of the Norwegian Crown Princess who became...
Sales have been struck with Italy’s Rai and Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta TV for Germany and Austria, as well as with France’ Chérie 25. The series was produced by leading Norwegian banner Cinenord for public broadcaster Nrk, and was co-produced by Beta Film, Svt and Dr.
“Atlantic Crossing” was also snatched up for Russia (more.tv), the Australian public broadcaster Sbs, Greece and
Cyprus (Forthnet) and across Eastern Europe, including Lithuania (Lrt). The event series is competing at Canneseries and will bow on Nrk on Oct. 26.
Directed by Alexander Eik (“Cold Feet”), “Atlantic Crossing” tells the riveting untold story of the Norwegian Crown Princess who became...
- 10/11/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film’s drama “The Turncoat,” which was just honored as best TV movie at the Seoul Intl. Drama Awards, has scored a series of territory deals, including the U.S.
The German miniseries, based on the bestseller by Siegfried Lenz and directed by Florian Gallenberger, winner of the Oscar for best live-action short, was sold around the world. Among others buyers include MHz Networks (U.S.), AMC Networks (Latin America), 1Hdtv and Mts (Russia), Npo (Netherlands), Rtp (Portugal), and Filmin (Spain).
Viasat World acquired “The Turncoat” for Epic Drama across Central and Eastern Europe. It is also going to be broadcast on Nrk (Norway), Yle (Finland), Dr (Denmark) and Svt (Sweden).
“The Turncoat” tells the story of the young German soldier Walter, who is posted to a unit in the Polish woods in 1944, surrounded by partisans. He is soon torn between a sense of duty, guilt and his conscience,...
The German miniseries, based on the bestseller by Siegfried Lenz and directed by Florian Gallenberger, winner of the Oscar for best live-action short, was sold around the world. Among others buyers include MHz Networks (U.S.), AMC Networks (Latin America), 1Hdtv and Mts (Russia), Npo (Netherlands), Rtp (Portugal), and Filmin (Spain).
Viasat World acquired “The Turncoat” for Epic Drama across Central and Eastern Europe. It is also going to be broadcast on Nrk (Norway), Yle (Finland), Dr (Denmark) and Svt (Sweden).
“The Turncoat” tells the story of the young German soldier Walter, who is posted to a unit in the Polish woods in 1944, surrounded by partisans. He is soon torn between a sense of duty, guilt and his conscience,...
- 9/21/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Poland’s government has given the greenlight for film and TV production to resume on May 18 as it loosens restrictions in the battle against coronavirus.
The country introduced a 30% cash rebate for production at the start of last year, and the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Film Commission have been wooing foreign producers to come to shoot their projects there. In the first year of the incentive 26 projects benefited from a total fund of €12 million ($13 million).
Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,” produced by local production powerhouse Atm Grupa for Netflix, and “The Turncoat,” a World War II miniseries directed by Florian Gallenberger, an Oscar winner for live-action short.
Upcoming projects to be lensed in Poland include Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest,” which is being co-produced and distributed in the U.S. by A24,...
The country introduced a 30% cash rebate for production at the start of last year, and the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Film Commission have been wooing foreign producers to come to shoot their projects there. In the first year of the incentive 26 projects benefited from a total fund of €12 million ($13 million).
Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,” produced by local production powerhouse Atm Grupa for Netflix, and “The Turncoat,” a World War II miniseries directed by Florian Gallenberger, an Oscar winner for live-action short.
Upcoming projects to be lensed in Poland include Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest,” which is being co-produced and distributed in the U.S. by A24,...
- 5/13/2020
- by Leo Barraclough and Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
With the introduction of a 30% cash rebate at the start of 2019, Poland has been wooing foreign productions to Eastern Europe. Production was steady before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and the industry is optimistic about an incentive scheme that in its first year has received more than €12 million ($13 million) from the Polish Film Institute (Pfi) to support 26 projects.
The rebate is open to feature films, animated films, documentaries and TV series. The Pfi also provided 127 million zloty ($30.6 million) for project development and production in 2019, while a dedicated fund to support minority co-productions is helping to boost ties between Polish and international producers.
Along with evocative locations rarely seen onscreen, Poland offers competitive costs on par with or lower than any in the region, as well as highly skilled crews that benefit from a proud and storied moviemaking tradition. Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,...
The rebate is open to feature films, animated films, documentaries and TV series. The Pfi also provided 127 million zloty ($30.6 million) for project development and production in 2019, while a dedicated fund to support minority co-productions is helping to boost ties between Polish and international producers.
Along with evocative locations rarely seen onscreen, Poland offers competitive costs on par with or lower than any in the region, as well as highly skilled crews that benefit from a proud and storied moviemaking tradition. Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,...
- 5/8/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Set to air in April on Germany’s Ard, Beta Film has sold Dreamtool series “The Turncoat” throughout Scandinavia to public broadcasters Nrk in Norway, Svt in Sweden, Dr in Denmark and Yle in Finland. Negotiations are underway in the U.K. and U.S.
Directed by Florian Gallenberger who co-wrote with Bernd Lange (“Criminal: Germany”), the four-hour series is an adaptation of Siegfried Lenz’ novel of the same name. The book, which was only found after its author’s death as a hidden manuscript, follows the story of Walter Proska (Jannis Niewöhner), a German soldier who by 1944 starts questioning his duty.
As the Red Army approaches, he struggles with the idea of deserting. The relationship with Polish partisan Wanda (Małgorzata Mikołajczak) and his comrade Kürschner impact heavily on his life as Germany enters a new era which Walter faces with hope, but a growing concern.
Led by Stefan Raiser and Felix Zackor,...
Directed by Florian Gallenberger who co-wrote with Bernd Lange (“Criminal: Germany”), the four-hour series is an adaptation of Siegfried Lenz’ novel of the same name. The book, which was only found after its author’s death as a hidden manuscript, follows the story of Walter Proska (Jannis Niewöhner), a German soldier who by 1944 starts questioning his duty.
As the Red Army approaches, he struggles with the idea of deserting. The relationship with Polish partisan Wanda (Małgorzata Mikołajczak) and his comrade Kürschner impact heavily on his life as Germany enters a new era which Walter faces with hope, but a growing concern.
Led by Stefan Raiser and Felix Zackor,...
- 3/30/2020
- by Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — In one of the first detailed breakdowns from a major European company of marketing strategies in the Series Mania/MipTV online marketplace, Germany’s Beta Film has announced that it will stage a virtual Beta Brunch on March 31.
Nobody will be offered virtual food, but the event will retain some of its flavor, going live at the same time at the traditional event, which also always takes place at midday on the markets’ Tuesday.
It remains to be seen how much of another highlight remains: Jan Mojto taking the stage to deliver a highly entertaining, anecdote-laced, 10-minutes-or-so speech. Mojto is billed this year, but as featuring along with Beta colleagues in an initial video presentation which will explain who is who at the ever-expanding Beta Film empire.
To retain the essence of a live event, however, clients will be provided with a personalized link, which will expire after the live-streaming of this introduction.
Nobody will be offered virtual food, but the event will retain some of its flavor, going live at the same time at the traditional event, which also always takes place at midday on the markets’ Tuesday.
It remains to be seen how much of another highlight remains: Jan Mojto taking the stage to deliver a highly entertaining, anecdote-laced, 10-minutes-or-so speech. Mojto is billed this year, but as featuring along with Beta colleagues in an initial video presentation which will explain who is who at the ever-expanding Beta Film empire.
To retain the essence of a live event, however, clients will be provided with a personalized link, which will expire after the live-streaming of this introduction.
- 3/27/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
As Poland prepares for its closeup, with the introduction of a 30% cash rebate earlier this year, the local industry is gearing up to show the world how much it has to offer. Easily accessible from anywhere in Europe, the country boasts diverse locations, highly skilled crews, and a rich movie-making tradition.
Even the lack of incentives in years past has become something of a competitive advantage. “The fact that these locations have yet to be extensively seen in international productions provides the most coveted treasure: unique, evocative locations,” says Lori Balton, of the Location Managers Guild Intl., who describes visiting fairy-book castles, Gothic churches, and Brutalist modern structures on a visit to Poland.
Poland has sandy beaches skirting the Baltic Sea in the north, as well as spectacular mountain ranges in the south. Pockets of the Polish countryside are virtually pristine. “There are still places you can go and there...
Even the lack of incentives in years past has become something of a competitive advantage. “The fact that these locations have yet to be extensively seen in international productions provides the most coveted treasure: unique, evocative locations,” says Lori Balton, of the Location Managers Guild Intl., who describes visiting fairy-book castles, Gothic churches, and Brutalist modern structures on a visit to Poland.
Poland has sandy beaches skirting the Baltic Sea in the north, as well as spectacular mountain ranges in the south. Pockets of the Polish countryside are virtually pristine. “There are still places you can go and there...
- 11/7/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
“As long as he’s running the fund I will not ever apply to them,” said one producer.
Hans Joachim Mendig, the CEO of Frankfurt-based regional film fund HessenFilm, has come under fire after a photograph emerged of him meeting with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (Afd) political party.
An Instagram post from Jörg Meuthen, the Afd’s co-leader and a member of the European Parliament, depicting a meeting with Mendig and controversial public relations executive Moritz Hunzinger, was picked up on by executives in the German industry and shared widely on social channels.
The picture was accompanied by...
Hans Joachim Mendig, the CEO of Frankfurt-based regional film fund HessenFilm, has come under fire after a photograph emerged of him meeting with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (Afd) political party.
An Instagram post from Jörg Meuthen, the Afd’s co-leader and a member of the European Parliament, depicting a meeting with Mendig and controversial public relations executive Moritz Hunzinger, was picked up on by executives in the German industry and shared widely on social channels.
The picture was accompanied by...
- 9/12/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Six months after Poland unveiled a new 30% cash rebate at the Berlin Intl. Film Festival, a wave of applications have been approved for the incentive scheme, with the first projects to access the rebate going into production in recent weeks.
“The cash rebate is a game-changer for the Polish film industry,” said Radosław Śmigulski, general director of the Polish Film Institute, citing an uptick in interest from foreign producers. “Poland has a very strong cinematographic tradition, amazing talents and great conditions for filmmaking, but it’s the incentive program that makes us truly visible on the map of Europe.”
The most high-profile project currently shooting in Poland is “Der Überläufer” (The Turncoat), directed by Academy Award winner Florian Gallenberger. Based on Siegfried Lenz’s international bestseller, the historical drama is set in the summer of 1944, when a German soldier prevented from returning to the eastern front realizes he can only...
“The cash rebate is a game-changer for the Polish film industry,” said Radosław Śmigulski, general director of the Polish Film Institute, citing an uptick in interest from foreign producers. “Poland has a very strong cinematographic tradition, amazing talents and great conditions for filmmaking, but it’s the incentive program that makes us truly visible on the map of Europe.”
The most high-profile project currently shooting in Poland is “Der Überläufer” (The Turncoat), directed by Academy Award winner Florian Gallenberger. Based on Siegfried Lenz’s international bestseller, the historical drama is set in the summer of 1944, when a German soldier prevented from returning to the eastern front realizes he can only...
- 9/7/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film and Oscar-winning director Florian Gallenberger are continuing their partnership with WWII drama, The Turncoat. Described as being in the tradition of International Emmy winner Generation War, the limited series is based on the novel by Siegfried Lenz that centers on a young Wehrmacht soldier who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests, surrounded by partisans, questioning the meaning of duty, conscience, friendship and love. Jannis Niewöhner (Maximilian And Marie De Bourgogne) stars alongside Malgorzata Mikolajczak, Sebastian Urzendowsky (The Counterfeiters), Rainer Bock (Never Look Away) and Ulrich Tukur (The Lives Of Others). Gallenberger is helming from a script by Bernd Lange (The Vanishing). Shooting is underway in Poland and Germany on the Dreamtool production for public broadcaster Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Beta Film handles world sales and will present first images at Mipcom in Cannes this fall.
- 6/13/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Four-hour Second World War series is shooting now in Poland and Germany.
Beta Film and producers Dreamtool have started shooting Second World War drama series The Turncoat, directed by Oscar-winner Florian Gallenberger.
Bernd Lange (The Vanishing) adapts the script from the novel by Siegfried Lenz about Walter, a young Wehrmacht soldier in the summer of 1944 who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests, surrounded by partisans, questioning the meaning of duty, conscience, friendship and love.
Broadcast partners are Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Backers also include the Polish Film Institute, the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, and the Mfg Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg.
Beta Film and producers Dreamtool have started shooting Second World War drama series The Turncoat, directed by Oscar-winner Florian Gallenberger.
Bernd Lange (The Vanishing) adapts the script from the novel by Siegfried Lenz about Walter, a young Wehrmacht soldier in the summer of 1944 who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests, surrounded by partisans, questioning the meaning of duty, conscience, friendship and love.
Broadcast partners are Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Backers also include the Polish Film Institute, the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, and the Mfg Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg.
- 6/13/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Following “Colonia,”Beta Film and Oscar-winning director Florian Gallenberger are set to re-team on “The Turncoat,” a WW2 mini-series based on Siegfried Lenz’s bestselling novel by the same name.
Currently shooting in Poland and Germany, “The Turncoat” will boast a high-profile German cast including Jannis Niewöhner (“Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne”), Malgorzata Mikolajczak, Sebastian Urzendowsky (“The Counterfeiters”), Rainer Bock (“Never Look Away”) and Ulrich Tukur (“The Lives of Others”).
Dreamtool is producing “The Turncoat” for public broadcaster Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Written by Gallenberger and Bernd Lange (“The Vanishing”), “The Turncoat” depicts the story of young Wehrmacht soldier Walter who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests starts questioning the meaning of duty, friendship and love.
“These are stormy times, even though we are the generation which has everything – peace, freedom and prosperity. We want to create a touching film that shows us...
Currently shooting in Poland and Germany, “The Turncoat” will boast a high-profile German cast including Jannis Niewöhner (“Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne”), Malgorzata Mikolajczak, Sebastian Urzendowsky (“The Counterfeiters”), Rainer Bock (“Never Look Away”) and Ulrich Tukur (“The Lives of Others”).
Dreamtool is producing “The Turncoat” for public broadcaster Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Written by Gallenberger and Bernd Lange (“The Vanishing”), “The Turncoat” depicts the story of young Wehrmacht soldier Walter who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests starts questioning the meaning of duty, friendship and love.
“These are stormy times, even though we are the generation which has everything – peace, freedom and prosperity. We want to create a touching film that shows us...
- 6/13/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The history of the “Untitled Milli Vanilli Movie” has been almost as much of a roller coaster ride as the duo’s infamous career. The latest roadblock for the biopic, which dates back to a 2007 screenplay by fan Jeff Nathanson, who wanted to direct the film himself, was the demise of Brett Ratner’s $450 million co-financing deal with Warner Bros. for his RatPac Entertainment, which the studio officially announced it wouldn’t renew on April 10. The company was responsible for some of the studio’s biggest hits last year, including “Wonder Woman,” “It,” “Dunkirk” and “The Lego Batman Movie.”
Ratner was set to take the director’s chair for the proposed $20-30 million production, helming his first project since 2014’s “Hercules.” Shooting was planned for both Berlin and Los Angeles, but once Ratner became the subject of sexual harassment accusations late last year, the momentum stopped.
Milli Vanilli’s epic...
Ratner was set to take the director’s chair for the proposed $20-30 million production, helming his first project since 2014’s “Hercules.” Shooting was planned for both Berlin and Los Angeles, but once Ratner became the subject of sexual harassment accusations late last year, the momentum stopped.
Milli Vanilli’s epic...
- 4/12/2018
- by Roy Trakin
- Variety Film + TV
Swedish star made several high-profile forays into Hollywood.
Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish star who found international fame with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, died on Tuesday (27) following a battle with lung cancer. He was 56.
Nyqvist’s Us-based representatives issued a statement on Tuesday that read: “On behalf of Michael Nyqvist’s representatives and family, it is with deep sadness that I can confirm that our beloved Michael, one of Sweden’s most respected and accomplished actors, has passed away quietly surrounded by family after a year long battle with lung cancer. Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him. His charm and charisma were undeniable, and his love for the arts was felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him.”
Nyqvist will be most famous to non-Scandinavian audiences for his role as investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 adaptation...
Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish star who found international fame with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, died on Tuesday (27) following a battle with lung cancer. He was 56.
Nyqvist’s Us-based representatives issued a statement on Tuesday that read: “On behalf of Michael Nyqvist’s representatives and family, it is with deep sadness that I can confirm that our beloved Michael, one of Sweden’s most respected and accomplished actors, has passed away quietly surrounded by family after a year long battle with lung cancer. Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him. His charm and charisma were undeniable, and his love for the arts was felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him.”
Nyqvist will be most famous to non-Scandinavian audiences for his role as investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 adaptation...
- 6/27/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Swedish star made several high-profile forays into Hollywood.
Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish star who found international fame with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, died on Tuesday (27) following a battle with lung cancer. He was 56.
Nyqvist’s Us-based representatives issued a statement on Tuesday that read: “On behalf of Michael Nyqvist’s representatives and family, it is with deep sadness that I can confirm that our beloved Michael, one of Sweden’s most respected and accomplished actors, has passed away quietly surrounded by family after a year long battle with lung cancer. Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him. His charm and charisma were undeniable, and his love for the arts was felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him.”
Nyqvist will be most famous to non-Scandinavian audiences for his role as investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 adaptation...
Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish star who found international fame with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, died on Tuesday (27) following a battle with lung cancer. He was 56.
Nyqvist’s Us-based representatives issued a statement on Tuesday that read: “On behalf of Michael Nyqvist’s representatives and family, it is with deep sadness that I can confirm that our beloved Michael, one of Sweden’s most respected and accomplished actors, has passed away quietly surrounded by family after a year long battle with lung cancer. Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him. His charm and charisma were undeniable, and his love for the arts was felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him.”
Nyqvist will be most famous to non-Scandinavian audiences for his role as investigative reporter Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Niels Arden Oplev’s 2009 adaptation...
- 6/27/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
You see “Iran” and think certain things. You go to Iran and see the people, the shops, street activity, the environment, its museums and you forget the two things about it which shape your emotional reaction to it: politics and history. Being one of two Americans attending the Fajr International Film Festival makes me feel responsible for sharing my best moments with a broader public.
The Fajr International Film Festival is a gala affair, small enough to meet and share time with the many participants, both filmmakers and invitees from countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Armenia, Turkey, Japan, Mongolia and Korea (and more!). I can only think of one other film event which offered such a luxurious array of experiences to go along with film watching (when Rosskino of Russia invited 25 U.S.distributors and us to Moscow and St. Petersburg and then repeated the event for Brics countries...
The Fajr International Film Festival is a gala affair, small enough to meet and share time with the many participants, both filmmakers and invitees from countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Armenia, Turkey, Japan, Mongolia and Korea (and more!). I can only think of one other film event which offered such a luxurious array of experiences to go along with film watching (when Rosskino of Russia invited 25 U.S.distributors and us to Moscow and St. Petersburg and then repeated the event for Brics countries...
- 5/1/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
★★★★☆ From Argentine director Pablo Trapero, The Clan is the third South American-set drama of the last twelve months to inspect the devastating personal trauma caused by autocratic, prison-like communities. From a remote Chilean coastal village Pablo Larrain's The Club scythed through a suffocating cloak of hushed-up Catholic church abuse; with less gut-wrenching guile Florian Gallenberger exposed the sordid Pinochet era exploits of German tyrant Paul Schafer in The Colony. The Clan takes place in Trapero's homeland across the border and focuses on the outwardly normal, well-to-do Puccio family, who, in the early 1980s, kidnapped and murdered people for money.
- 10/20/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Emma Watson’s star power couldn’t help her latest film, “The Colony,” in the UK. According to figures released by the British Film Institute, the drama only made £47, or about $60, in its opening weekend. The numbers came from three cinemas that reported sales figures to the measurement agency Rentrak.
“The Colony” tells the story of Lena (Watson), a young woman who infiltrates Colonia Dignidad, a religious compound that serves as a cult and torture prison for the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, in order to find her boyfriend (Daniel Brühl) who was kidnapped.
Read More: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Trailer: Emma Watson Might Be The One In Disney’s Live-Action Remake
According to The Telegraph, the thriller was released in just five cinemas operated by Reel Cinemas last Friday and was also available to stream on demand. The ticket prices for the theaters suggested that only seven people paid...
“The Colony” tells the story of Lena (Watson), a young woman who infiltrates Colonia Dignidad, a religious compound that serves as a cult and torture prison for the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, in order to find her boyfriend (Daniel Brühl) who was kidnapped.
Read More: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Trailer: Emma Watson Might Be The One In Disney’s Live-Action Remake
According to The Telegraph, the thriller was released in just five cinemas operated by Reel Cinemas last Friday and was also available to stream on demand. The ticket prices for the theaters suggested that only seven people paid...
- 7/6/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl star in this ropey drama about a sinister Chilean religious community founded by a Nazi émigré
Despite exploitative dodginess, plot-holes the size of Saturn’s rings and an ending pinched from Ben Affleck’s Argo, this movie deserves some points for addressing a little-known dysfunctional horror in Chile’s Pinochet era. Some time after the war, Chile had become home to the Colonia Dignidad, a spartan religious community founded by a German émigré: former Wehrmacht officer and Hitler Youth veteran Paul Schäfer. It was actually a prison camp with barbed wire fences and watchtowers enclosing a Teutonic cult-kingdom involving child abuse, which furthermore put itself enthusiastically at the service of the Pinochet regime, spiriting away its prisoners and torture victims – itself becoming part of the torture.
Florian Gallenberger’s well-meaning movie imagines a liberal German couple Lena (Emma Watson) and Daniel (Daniel Brühl) who get...
Despite exploitative dodginess, plot-holes the size of Saturn’s rings and an ending pinched from Ben Affleck’s Argo, this movie deserves some points for addressing a little-known dysfunctional horror in Chile’s Pinochet era. Some time after the war, Chile had become home to the Colonia Dignidad, a spartan religious community founded by a German émigré: former Wehrmacht officer and Hitler Youth veteran Paul Schäfer. It was actually a prison camp with barbed wire fences and watchtowers enclosing a Teutonic cult-kingdom involving child abuse, which furthermore put itself enthusiastically at the service of the Pinochet regime, spiriting away its prisoners and torture victims – itself becoming part of the torture.
Florian Gallenberger’s well-meaning movie imagines a liberal German couple Lena (Emma Watson) and Daniel (Daniel Brühl) who get...
- 6/30/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
★★☆☆☆ European middleweights Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl and Michael Nygvist form a strong foundation on which to build a semi-political historical thriller. Though Florian Gallenberger's The Colony aims for the likes of Munich and Argo, it falls some distance short, an early warning sign coming in the form of an 'Inspired by real events' fast and loose disclaimer. Set in early 1970s Chile, and prefaced with archival footage of the final days of Salvador Allende's presidency, The Colony paddles indecisively in the unspeakable ills of the Pinochet era without ever really taking the plunge.
- 6/29/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
As Florian Gallenberger’s The Colony begins, it sets itself up as a political movie, studying the Pinochet regime in Chile and the implications it had on the people. But as we progress we take a dark turn, and a rapid change of pace and tone occurs, as we head in a completely different direction […]
The post The Colony Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post The Colony Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 6/29/2016
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Lars Kraume’s drama has nine nominations, including Best Film and Best Director; Colonia, A Heavy Heart and Me & Kaminski score five nominations.
Lars Kraume’s Nazi hunter thriller The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer) is the hot ticket for this year’s German Film Awards (aka Lolas) after garnering nine nominations.
The co-production between Berlin’s zero one film and Cologne-based Terz Film attracted nods in the categories for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Lead Actor (Burghart Klaußner), and Best Supporting Actor (Ronald Zehrfeld) as well for production design, costume design, make-up, and the film score.
Kraume’s film – which is being handled internationally by Beta Cinema - had its world premiere on Locarno’s Piazza Grande last August where it won the Audience Award, and was named by the Best German Film of 2015 by the German Film Critics Association at their annual awards ceremony during February’s Berlinale...
Lars Kraume’s Nazi hunter thriller The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer) is the hot ticket for this year’s German Film Awards (aka Lolas) after garnering nine nominations.
The co-production between Berlin’s zero one film and Cologne-based Terz Film attracted nods in the categories for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Lead Actor (Burghart Klaußner), and Best Supporting Actor (Ronald Zehrfeld) as well for production design, costume design, make-up, and the film score.
Kraume’s film – which is being handled internationally by Beta Cinema - had its world premiere on Locarno’s Piazza Grande last August where it won the Audience Award, and was named by the Best German Film of 2015 by the German Film Critics Association at their annual awards ceremony during February’s Berlinale...
- 4/20/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Lars Kraume’s drama has nine nominations, including Best Film and Best Director; Colonia, A Heavy Heart and Me & Kaminski score five nominations.
Lars Kraume’s Nazi hunter thriller The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer) is the hot ticket for this year’s German Film Awards (aka Lolas) after garnering nine nominations.
The co-production between Berlin’s zero one film and Cologne-based Terz Film attracted nods in the categories for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Lead Actor (Burghart Klaußner), and Best Supporting Actor (Ronald Zehrfeld) as well for production design, costume design, make-up, and the film score.
Kraume’s film – which is being handled internationally by Beta Cinema - had its world premiere on Locarno’s Piazza Grande last August where it won the Audience Award, and was named by the Best German Film of 2015 by the German Film Critics Association at their annual awards ceremony during February’s Berlinale...
Lars Kraume’s Nazi hunter thriller The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer) is the hot ticket for this year’s German Film Awards (aka Lolas) after garnering nine nominations.
The co-production between Berlin’s zero one film and Cologne-based Terz Film attracted nods in the categories for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Direction, Best Lead Actor (Burghart Klaußner), and Best Supporting Actor (Ronald Zehrfeld) as well for production design, costume design, make-up, and the film score.
Kraume’s film – which is being handled internationally by Beta Cinema - had its world premiere on Locarno’s Piazza Grande last August where it won the Audience Award, and was named by the Best German Film of 2015 by the German Film Critics Association at their annual awards ceremony during February’s Berlinale...
- 4/20/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Colonia is a romance/thriller starring Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl as a young couple caught up in the 1973 Chilean military coup, when General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically-elected but left-leaning Allende government. The event launched a period of harsh repression during which thousands of people were “disappeared,” and torture and murder of suspected dissidents was common, a time that still haunts Chileans today. One of the dictator’s favor places for those interrogations was a remote compound occupied a shadowy religious cult with reported neo-Nazi leanings, known as Colonia Dignidad (Dignity Colony), whose leader Paul Schafer was an influential supporter of Pinochet.
This is real history and it sounds like a great premise for a gripping historical/political drama but Colonia fails to capitalize on that potential. Instead, we get a fitful thriller that focuses more on a romance between the lead characters and less on the history. With...
This is real history and it sounds like a great premise for a gripping historical/political drama but Colonia fails to capitalize on that potential. Instead, we get a fitful thriller that focuses more on a romance between the lead characters and less on the history. With...
- 4/15/2016
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Belgica (Felix van Groeningen)
Writer/director Felix van Groeningen based Belgica’s script on his father’s experiences running a nightclub in Ghent. How closely the story hews to the real events is anyone’s guess, though the boilerplate “though inspired by true events, all persons depicted are fictitious” title card which opens the film suggests that it might hit too close to home for more than a few real-life people.
Belgica (Felix van Groeningen)
Writer/director Felix van Groeningen based Belgica’s script on his father’s experiences running a nightclub in Ghent. How closely the story hews to the real events is anyone’s guess, though the boilerplate “though inspired by true events, all persons depicted are fictitious” title card which opens the film suggests that it might hit too close to home for more than a few real-life people.
- 4/15/2016
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
When is a historically-based political thriller not a historically-based political thriller? When it only pretends to be one for twenty minutes or so before switching gears to become an action/drama about life inside a mysterious cult. This isn’t automatically a bad thing… Lena (Emma Watson) is a stewardess who arrives in Chile for a few days of rest, relaxation, and time with her boyfriend, Daniel (Daniel Brühl). He came to Santiago several months earlier to assist the people in their protests against a harsh and unfair government, but when a military coup sends the city into chaos he and Lena find themselves trapped. He’s taken prisoner and sent to a remote camp called Colonia Dignidad, and while she’s free to leave for safer shores she instead stays in Chile intent on finding him. Colonia Dignidad is, on its surface, a charity-based camp filled with people dedicating their lives to God through hard work...
- 4/14/2016
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
There's something about cults which has always interested me, the idea that a person can ignore everything that makes them who they are and completely submit to a most likely insane person who seeks to bend their will in service of their own beliefs. In addition to being both fascinating and terrifying, cults also make for great movie fodder. Florian Gallenberger's Colonia delves... Read More...
- 2/20/2016
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall was the Chilean drama Colonia starring Mikael Nyqvist, Emma Watson, and Daniel Brühl, which follows a young couple who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973. Directed by Florian Gallenberger, it was picked up for a U.S. release by Screen Media Films and now we have the first U.S. trailer.
We said in our review, “Colonia ultimately falls prey to a desire for a concrete happy ending in the face of adversity. While the film’s exact conclusion works well in Argo because it’s the goal from the beginning, the airport chase here plays as an afterthought. We invest so much time in the compound and its oppression that turning the emotional drama of love into against-the-clock action feels disingenuous. Especially since not everyone survives the initial fight for freedom. How can we experience what should be...
We said in our review, “Colonia ultimately falls prey to a desire for a concrete happy ending in the face of adversity. While the film’s exact conclusion works well in Argo because it’s the goal from the beginning, the airport chase here plays as an afterthought. We invest so much time in the compound and its oppression that turning the emotional drama of love into against-the-clock action feels disingenuous. Especially since not everyone survives the initial fight for freedom. How can we experience what should be...
- 2/19/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It looks like Emma Watson has another solid looking film project for us to watch. It's called Colonia, and it's set in the '70s, and it tells the true story of a young woman who infiltrates a cult community to find her boyfriend. It looks like it’s going to be a pretty intense thriller.
The movie also stars Daniel Bruhl (Inglourious Basterds), Mikael Nyqvist (John Wick), Richenda Carey (Residue, Separate Lies), Vicky Krieps (A Most Wanted Man), August Zirner (The Counterfeiters), and Martin Wuttke (Inglourious Basterds). Here’s the synopsis:
Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in support of embattled President Salvador Allende. When Allende is violently ousted, General Augusto Pinochet’s forces begin rounding up dissidents. Daniel is taken to the remote stronghold of Colonia Dignidad (“Dignity Colony”), home to a secret...
The movie also stars Daniel Bruhl (Inglourious Basterds), Mikael Nyqvist (John Wick), Richenda Carey (Residue, Separate Lies), Vicky Krieps (A Most Wanted Man), August Zirner (The Counterfeiters), and Martin Wuttke (Inglourious Basterds). Here’s the synopsis:
Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in support of embattled President Salvador Allende. When Allende is violently ousted, General Augusto Pinochet’s forces begin rounding up dissidents. Daniel is taken to the remote stronghold of Colonia Dignidad (“Dignity Colony”), home to a secret...
- 2/18/2016
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Screen Media Films have released the first trailer for "Colonia," Florian Gallenberger's upcoming 1970s Chile-set true story drama in which "Harry Potter" star Emma Watson plays a flight attendant who disguises herself as a religious devotee to infiltrate the Colonia Dignidad and rescue her activist boyfriend (Daniel Bruhl).
Said boyfriend was taken there when he was caught campaigning in the streets for President Salvador Allende. Though a religious cult's base on the surface, the place doubled as a torture prison for dictator Augusto Pinochet. Michael Nyqvist also stars in the film which opens in cinemas and on VOD on April 15th.
Said boyfriend was taken there when he was caught campaigning in the streets for President Salvador Allende. Though a religious cult's base on the surface, the place doubled as a torture prison for dictator Augusto Pinochet. Michael Nyqvist also stars in the film which opens in cinemas and on VOD on April 15th.
- 2/18/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Just how far would you go to save a loved one in peril? That’s the question asked by today’s brand new trailer for Colonia, thrusting Emma Watson’s Lufthansa flight attendant Lena into the Chilean military coup of 1973 – a political cauldron if there ever was one – in search of her wayward significant other.
Based loosely on real events, Florian Gallenberger’s period drama is situated during a time in which Salvador Allende governed the South American country with an iron fist, sparking an uprising to oust him from power. Rallying the freedom fighters is Daniel Brühl’s artist and activist, who becomes one of the many dissidents to be captured and ordered to Colonia Dignidad by General Augusto Pinochet.
It is here that Watson’s determined lead hopes to salvage a plan to help rescue Brühl’s rebel, but the only way to do so is to enlist...
Based loosely on real events, Florian Gallenberger’s period drama is situated during a time in which Salvador Allende governed the South American country with an iron fist, sparking an uprising to oust him from power. Rallying the freedom fighters is Daniel Brühl’s artist and activist, who becomes one of the many dissidents to be captured and ordered to Colonia Dignidad by General Augusto Pinochet.
It is here that Watson’s determined lead hopes to salvage a plan to help rescue Brühl’s rebel, but the only way to do so is to enlist...
- 2/17/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Read More: Watch: Emma Watson Fights for Love in 'Colonia' Trailer Academy Award-winning director Florian Gallenberger unites Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl and Michael Nyqvist for the upcoming drama "Colonia," which is based on true events. The film is centered around Colonia Dignidad, a religious compound that serves as a cult and torture prison for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Lena (Watson) infiltrates the camp in order to find her boyfriend (Brühl) who was kidnapped by the cult for campaigning for Salvador Allende. Colonia Dignidad is led by the sinister Paul Schäfer (Nyqvist) who practices crushingly oppressive and viciously misogynistic practices. "Colonia" opens in theaters and on VOD on April 15. Watch the trailer above, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. Read More: EuropaCorp Lands James Ponsoldt's 'The Circle' Adaptation, Starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson...
- 2/17/2016
- by Kristen Santer
- Indiewire
What would you do for love? If you're Emma Watson, you disguise yourself as a religious devotee and infiltrate a dangerous cult in order to rescue your activist boyfriend, and that's just what she does in the upcoming "Colonia." Read More: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2016 Directed by Florian Gallenberger, and co-starring Daniel Brühl and Michael Nyqvist, the drama centers around the real-life Colonia Dignidad, a religious compound on the surface, that actually served as cult camp/torture prison for General Augusto Pinochet. And in this story, loosely based on true events, a young woman must track down her boyfriend, who campaigned in the streets for President Salvador Allende, who gets whisked away to face the unknown horrors of the camp. Here's the synopsis: Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in...
- 2/17/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Colonia Trailer 2. Florian Gallenberger‘s Colonia (2015) movie trailer 2 stars Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl and Michael Nyqvist. Colonia‘s plot synopsis: “A young woman’s desperate search for her abducted boyfriend that draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody ever escaped from.” We previously reported on Colonia upon the release of the first trailer. Today, we have a second one. […]...
- 1/11/2016
- by Marco Margaritoff
- Film-Book
How far would you go to save your love? An official full-length trailer for Florian Gallenberger's Colonia has arrived online. The film stars Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl as young lovers in Chile, and when Brühl's character is abducted and taken to a very strange camp in Chile in an infamous area called Colonia Dignidad, she goes in to try and find him. The first trailer from last year didn't show too much, this sets up a much more interesting story that has quite a bit of scope. Not only are there early shots of Brühl leading some protests, but then there's an entire story where Watson embeds herself in this creepy cult place, featuring Michael Nyqvist as the funky leader of it all. I'm intrigued, I will say that. Give it a look below. Here's the new official trailer (+ a poster) for Florian Gallenberger's Colonia, found on...
- 1/9/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
While a movie bringing together Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl sounds promising on paper, unfortunately, "Colonia" didn't really live up to the promise when I reviewed it at the Toronto International Film Festival. Regardless, those two leads are certainly magnetic and share some good chemistry, which should be enough for many to check it out, and a new international trailer has arrived. Read More: Review: Emma Watson Tries To Rescue Daniel Bruhl In Thriller 'Colonia' Directed by Florian Gallenberger, the '70s set picture follows a German activist who travels to Chile and finds himself thrown into the notorious Colonia Dignidad, a torture camp run by an enigmatic cult, all due to his support of Salvador Allende. Effectively disappeared, it's up to his flight attendant girlfriend to go undercover as a nun (really) to Colonia Dignidad and rescue him from its clutches. Here's the synopsis: Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight...
- 1/9/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
This year's Afm Indie Filmmakers' Roundtable includes two Oscar winners, a low-budget darling with his first $10 million project and a fearless helmer of experimental documentaries. British director Ben Wheatley, 43, recreated a 1970s dystopia in his adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s "unfilmable" novel High-Rise with Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons and Sienna Miller; Germany’s Florian Gallenberger, 43, sent Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl to a real-life cult compound in Chile for 1970s-set Colonia; Spanish genre master Alejandro Amenabar, 43, delves into the dark recesses of memory for his mystery thriller Regression, starring Watson and Ethan Hawke;
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- 11/9/2015
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Ambitious UK distributor adds Colonia, Man Down.
Voracious UK distributor Signature Entertainment, the home entertainment specialist with eyes on the theatrical market, has concluded deals on Beta thriller Colonia, starring Emma Watson, and Shia Labeouf action film Man Down from The Solution.
Director Florian Gallenberger’s Colonia sees Emma Watson (Harry Potter) and Daniel Bruhl (Rush), starring as a young couple caught up in the terrifying Chilean cult Colonia Dignidad in the 1970’s.
Man Down follows the journey of a soldier traumatised by war who must search for his family in post-apocalyptic America. Kate Mara (House Of Cards), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight) and Jai Courney (Unbroken) star alongside Labeouf (Transformers).
Both films are set to get at least limited theatrical runs in the UK.
Signature’s head of acquisitions Elizabeth Williams said: “We are thrilled to be releasing Colonia and Man Down. Having been blown away by the films at Tiff, we know our...
Voracious UK distributor Signature Entertainment, the home entertainment specialist with eyes on the theatrical market, has concluded deals on Beta thriller Colonia, starring Emma Watson, and Shia Labeouf action film Man Down from The Solution.
Director Florian Gallenberger’s Colonia sees Emma Watson (Harry Potter) and Daniel Bruhl (Rush), starring as a young couple caught up in the terrifying Chilean cult Colonia Dignidad in the 1970’s.
Man Down follows the journey of a soldier traumatised by war who must search for his family in post-apocalyptic America. Kate Mara (House Of Cards), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight) and Jai Courney (Unbroken) star alongside Labeouf (Transformers).
Both films are set to get at least limited theatrical runs in the UK.
Signature’s head of acquisitions Elizabeth Williams said: “We are thrilled to be releasing Colonia and Man Down. Having been blown away by the films at Tiff, we know our...
- 11/5/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
It’s amazing how many horrific acts mankind has initiated over the past century. With all the coups, wars, dictators, etc. it’s impossible to find a country devoid of at least one historically heinous blight. Chile under Augusto Pinochet certainly had its fair share, but I never heard of the prison camp/cult commune Colonia Dignidad. Run by a “godly” savior in Peter Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist), this community guarded by an electrified fence and segregated between men, women, and children became his state-run playground. He took in Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (Dina)’s tortured and lobotomized, broke up families forced into captivity, and ensured no one could leave. Only five people in forty years ever escaped and we’re to believe Lena (Emma Watson) and Daniel (Daniel Bruhl) are two.
We meet this young couple as they stumble upon each other in Santiago: she a flight attendant with four...
We meet this young couple as they stumble upon each other in Santiago: she a flight attendant with four...
- 9/20/2015
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Colonia Trailer. Florian Gallenberger‘s Colonia (2015) movie trailer stars Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl, and Michael Nyqvist. Colonia‘s plot synopsis: “A young woman’s desperate search for her abducted boyfriend that draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody ever escaped from.” Colonia looks like a very interesting slice of history that most of us haven’t read up on. Entangled […]...
- 9/16/2015
- by Marco Margaritoff
- Film-Book
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