In Jonathan Ogilvie's coming-of-age picture Head South we follow a schoolboy in Christchurch, New Zealand, around 1980, who desperately tries to be cool. He fakes selling weed, he fakes playing bass guitar, he's basically fantasising his way into being cool and never quite gets why that doesn't work out to his advantage. Until he lies himself into a corner, that is, and is forced to start a band. A post-punk band thankfully, so the threshold seems low, but he still needs to come up with something or lose all of what little credibility he's got left among his friends. So: where to get instruments? Where to get people willing to play with him? How to learn playing bass before Friday? And what the hell will...
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- 1/29/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) made an impassioned opening-night speech that broached how film festivals can make space for emotional and complex conversations about geo-politics, ahead of the gala screening of Jonathan Ogilvie’s New Zealand comedy drama Head South.
“The Israeli invasion of Gaza has joined headlines of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and become the cause of heated and often incandescent and immovable opinions, with furious expression of convictions, hurled with vitriol on social media and in the pages of quality newspapers alike,” said Kaludjercic.
“Whether it’s this or that. Choose.
“The Israeli invasion of Gaza has joined headlines of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and become the cause of heated and often incandescent and immovable opinions, with furious expression of convictions, hurled with vitriol on social media and in the pages of quality newspapers alike,” said Kaludjercic.
“Whether it’s this or that. Choose.
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
A teenager in 70s New Zealand dreams of starting a band in Jonathan Ogilvie’s nostalgic comedy, which opens Rotterdam’s international film festival
Jonathan Ogilvie is the New Zealand film-maker who made the gangster drama The Tender Hook (2008) and also Lone Wolf (2021), a postmodern spin on Conrad’s The Secret Agent. Now he hits a lighter, gentler and much more personal note in this coming-of-age comedy, which opens the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) – a nostalgiafest romance from the 70s post-punk era about a kid in New Zealand mooching around in his uncool school uniform, hanging out in the local record shop (which still has its prog-era name of Middle Earth Records) and dreaming of starting a punk band called the Daleks – though wondering if just Daleks sounds cooler — and obsessing about an unattainably sexy girl who sneers at him.
It will have all of us of a certain...
Jonathan Ogilvie is the New Zealand film-maker who made the gangster drama The Tender Hook (2008) and also Lone Wolf (2021), a postmodern spin on Conrad’s The Secret Agent. Now he hits a lighter, gentler and much more personal note in this coming-of-age comedy, which opens the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) – a nostalgiafest romance from the 70s post-punk era about a kid in New Zealand mooching around in his uncool school uniform, hanging out in the local record shop (which still has its prog-era name of Middle Earth Records) and dreaming of starting a punk band called the Daleks – though wondering if just Daleks sounds cooler — and obsessing about an unattainably sexy girl who sneers at him.
It will have all of us of a certain...
- 1/25/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Joining a long line of filmmakers who’ve fictionalized their comings-of-age in one regional punk scene or another, veteran New Zealand writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie turns the clock back to 1979 Christchurch in “Head South.” Its protagonist is the classic shy but would-be rebellious teen boy dared into starting his own band, whose first gig naturally provides an underdogs-triumphant climax. Pleasant but awfully thin, feeling like a short insufficiently fleshed out to feature length, this modest nostalgic exercise provides a lightweight opener to this year’s Rotterdam fest.
Angus (Ed Oxenbould) is a high-schooler intrigued by new U.K. sounds as yet little-heard hereabouts —though he can barely summon the courage to enter Middle Earth Records, where proprietor Fraser (Jackson Bliss) is the obvious go-to source for such breaking intel. Even more intimidatingly cool is mysterious Holly (Roxie Mohebbi), a Debbie Harry-esque bottle-blonde bombshell who claims to be from London. Amongst his own,...
Angus (Ed Oxenbould) is a high-schooler intrigued by new U.K. sounds as yet little-heard hereabouts —though he can barely summon the courage to enter Middle Earth Records, where proprietor Fraser (Jackson Bliss) is the obvious go-to source for such breaking intel. Even more intimidatingly cool is mysterious Holly (Roxie Mohebbi), a Debbie Harry-esque bottle-blonde bombshell who claims to be from London. Amongst his own,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, taking place between Jan. 25 – Feb. 4, will be the first for Clare Stewart as managing director. Functioning under a dual leadership structure where the managing director and festival director oversee the commercial and creative elements of the organization respectively, IFFR appointed Stewart back in June 2023 to focus on the festival’s business side.
Speaking to Variety ahead of the festival and joined by festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, the former director of the Sydney Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival emphasized it feels like a “full circle moment” to be back in Rotterdam after first attending IFFR over 20 years ago as her first international film event outside of her home country of Australia.
“It’s also interesting to be coming in as the managing director, having previously held roles that either combined the two or were more of a creative director role,...
Speaking to Variety ahead of the festival and joined by festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, the former director of the Sydney Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival emphasized it feels like a “full circle moment” to be back in Rotterdam after first attending IFFR over 20 years ago as her first international film event outside of her home country of Australia.
“It’s also interesting to be coming in as the managing director, having previously held roles that either combined the two or were more of a creative director role,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
“Head South” director Jonathan Ogilvie is all about underdogs.
“It’s not a story about winners. It’s a story about also-rans, to use this racing term, because there is nothing to win,” he tells Variety about the International Film Festival Rotterdam opener, which sees schoolboy Angus (Ed Oxenbould) falling for a girl and for post-punk music in 1979’s New Zealand.
“There wasn’t a real music industry, so you couldn’t become a rock star. Back in those days, we often talked about ‘the tyranny of distance.’ We felt so removed from everything. But it was the triumph of distance, because it allowed people to interpret things in a new way. It’s a film about music, yes, but also about art and creative expression.”
Praising Oxenbould, he adds: “On the page, Angus could seem like a nasty little brat. But Ed was also in a band; his brother was also living in London.
“It’s not a story about winners. It’s a story about also-rans, to use this racing term, because there is nothing to win,” he tells Variety about the International Film Festival Rotterdam opener, which sees schoolboy Angus (Ed Oxenbould) falling for a girl and for post-punk music in 1979’s New Zealand.
“There wasn’t a real music industry, so you couldn’t become a rock star. Back in those days, we often talked about ‘the tyranny of distance.’ We felt so removed from everything. But it was the triumph of distance, because it allowed people to interpret things in a new way. It’s a film about music, yes, but also about art and creative expression.”
Praising Oxenbould, he adds: “On the page, Angus could seem like a nasty little brat. But Ed was also in a band; his brother was also living in London.
- 1/23/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Sandra Hüller Set For Rotterdam Talks Program
Awards season frontrunner Sandra Hüller has joined the roster of speakers lined up for the talks program of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. She joins 16 previously announced talks guests who also include L.A. Rebellion filmmaker Billy Woodberry, veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio, animation maestro Bill Plympton, French director Anne Fontaine and avant-garde German director Alexander Kluge, who continues to blaze a trail at the age of 91 with his new AI work Cosmic Miniatures. As previously announced, IFFR opens with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South and 14 titles are in the running for its top Tiger award.
Bavaria Fiction Restructures Development Team
Germany’s Bavaria Fiction is rejigging its development team with Thomas Kren placed in charge. Work has begun to restructure the unit, with Kren expanding his existing role to “accelerate and coordinate...
Awards season frontrunner Sandra Hüller has joined the roster of speakers lined up for the talks program of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. She joins 16 previously announced talks guests who also include L.A. Rebellion filmmaker Billy Woodberry, veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio, animation maestro Bill Plympton, French director Anne Fontaine and avant-garde German director Alexander Kluge, who continues to blaze a trail at the age of 91 with his new AI work Cosmic Miniatures. As previously announced, IFFR opens with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South and 14 titles are in the running for its top Tiger award.
Bavaria Fiction Restructures Development Team
Germany’s Bavaria Fiction is rejigging its development team with Thomas Kren placed in charge. Work has begun to restructure the unit, with Kren expanding his existing role to “accelerate and coordinate...
- 1/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow, Jesse Whittock and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed its lineup for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions. The festival runs from January 25-February 4. Scroll down for the full lists.
Head South by Jonathan Ogilvie will open the proceedings with M. Raihan Halim’s comedy La Luna on closing duties. The Tiger Competition jury will be comprised of Marco Müller, Ena Sendijarević, Nadia Turincev, Herman Yau and Billy Woodberry.
Also confirmed are the first names for the Talks lineup including Marco Bellocchio, Anne Fontaine, Alexander Kluge and Rachel Maclean.
Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic said today, “For over half a century, IFFR has stood as a haven for diverse voices – a convergence where artists share perspectives. Our program celebrates the resilience and creativity of global filmmakers, a testament to cinema’s power to transcend borders. From Indian to Japanese epics, a Kazakh thriller, Finnish Freudian reinterpretations, Dominican sci-fi and underground Iranian cinema,...
Head South by Jonathan Ogilvie will open the proceedings with M. Raihan Halim’s comedy La Luna on closing duties. The Tiger Competition jury will be comprised of Marco Müller, Ena Sendijarević, Nadia Turincev, Herman Yau and Billy Woodberry.
Also confirmed are the first names for the Talks lineup including Marco Bellocchio, Anne Fontaine, Alexander Kluge and Rachel Maclean.
Festival director Vanja Kaludjercic said today, “For over half a century, IFFR has stood as a haven for diverse voices – a convergence where artists share perspectives. Our program celebrates the resilience and creativity of global filmmakers, a testament to cinema’s power to transcend borders. From Indian to Japanese epics, a Kazakh thriller, Finnish Freudian reinterpretations, Dominican sci-fi and underground Iranian cinema,...
- 12/18/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Head South.International Film Festival Rotterdam have announced the lineup for their 53rd edition, which will take place between January 25 to February 4. Opening FILMHead South (Jonathan Ogilvie)The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire.Tiger COMPETITIONThe Ballad of Suzanne Césaire (Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich)Flathead (Jaydon Martin)Grey Bees (Dmytro Moiseiev)Kiss Wagon (Midhun Murali)Me, Maryam, the Children and 26 Others (Farshad Hashemi)MosesLa Parra (Alberto Gracia)Praia Formosa (Julia De Simone)Rei (Tanaka Toshihiko)Reise der Schatten (Yves Netzhammer)She Fell to Earth (Susie Au)sr (Lea Hartlaub)Swimming Home (Justin Anderson)Under a Blue Sun (Daniel Mann)Milk Teeth.Big Screen COMPETITIONAire: Just Breathe (Leticia Tonos Paniagua)Children of War and Peace (Ville Suhonen)Confidenza (Daniele Luchetti)Eternal (Ulaa Salim)Milk Teeth (Sophia Bösch)The Old Bachelor (Oktay Baraheni)Portrait of a Certain Orient (Marcelo Gomes)Seven Seas Seven Hills (Ram)Steppenwolf (Adilkhan Yerzhanov)TenementThe Worst Man in London (Rodrigo Areias...
- 12/18/2023
- MUBI
Titles for the Limelight, Harbour, Cinema Regained and Focus strands have been added to the line-up.
Marco Müller, who headed International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) from 1989-1991, is returning as part of the 2024 Tiger international competition jury.
He is being joined by Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ena Sendijarević,producer, industry expert and founder of Easy Rider Films, Nadia Turincev; Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau; and LA Rebellion film movement figure and filmmaker Billy Woodberry, whose title Mário will have its world premiere in the Harbour strand.
They will choose the winners of the Tiger award, worth €40,000, and the special jury awards, worth...
Marco Müller, who headed International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) from 1989-1991, is returning as part of the 2024 Tiger international competition jury.
He is being joined by Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ena Sendijarević,producer, industry expert and founder of Easy Rider Films, Nadia Turincev; Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau; and LA Rebellion film movement figure and filmmaker Billy Woodberry, whose title Mário will have its world premiere in the Harbour strand.
They will choose the winners of the Tiger award, worth €40,000, and the special jury awards, worth...
- 12/12/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Rotterdam Film Festival Sets ‘Head South’ As Opening Film
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
- 11/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy “Head South” will open the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Jan. 25, with the festival running until Feb. 4.
Ogilvie’s semi-autobiographical film is set in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1979 where a private schoolboy becomes desperately enamored with all things post-punk. The director’s last film, thriller “Lone Wolf,” screened in the festival’s Big Screen competition section in 2021.
Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR festival director, said: “With ‘Head South,’ Jonathan Ogilvie returns to the festival with an unpredictable coming-of-age story that delights in its shifting tone. Quirkiness and nostalgia become sober and thoughtful, only to turn exuberant and then something else again, in a fitting tribute to post-punk subculture. Ogilvie is the kind of filmmaker we cherish at IFFR: those for whom the art is, above all, an adventure of discovery.”
Other films to have their world premieres at the Dutch festival include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla...
Ogilvie’s semi-autobiographical film is set in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1979 where a private schoolboy becomes desperately enamored with all things post-punk. The director’s last film, thriller “Lone Wolf,” screened in the festival’s Big Screen competition section in 2021.
Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR festival director, said: “With ‘Head South,’ Jonathan Ogilvie returns to the festival with an unpredictable coming-of-age story that delights in its shifting tone. Quirkiness and nostalgia become sober and thoughtful, only to turn exuberant and then something else again, in a fitting tribute to post-punk subculture. Ogilvie is the kind of filmmaker we cherish at IFFR: those for whom the art is, above all, an adventure of discovery.”
Other films to have their world premieres at the Dutch festival include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla...
- 11/23/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
IFFR will run from January 25 to February 4.
The 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will open with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy Head South on January 25.
New Zealand director Ogilvie returns to IFFR with Head South, a semi-autobiographical film that centres a private schoolboy who becomes desperately enamoured with all things post-punk in 1979 Christchurch. Ogilvie’s last film Lone Wolf screened in the festival’s Big Screen Competition in 2021.
The festival has also confirmed some of the first titles to play in its programme, along with details about industry event IFFR Pro Days.
Ishan Shukla’s dystopian sci-fi animation Schirkoa:...
The 2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will open with Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk coming-of-age comedy Head South on January 25.
New Zealand director Ogilvie returns to IFFR with Head South, a semi-autobiographical film that centres a private schoolboy who becomes desperately enamoured with all things post-punk in 1979 Christchurch. Ogilvie’s last film Lone Wolf screened in the festival’s Big Screen Competition in 2021.
The festival has also confirmed some of the first titles to play in its programme, along with details about industry event IFFR Pro Days.
Ishan Shukla’s dystopian sci-fi animation Schirkoa:...
- 11/23/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Industry veteran Dov Kornits has launched the new distribution outfit.
Industry veteran Dov Kornits has launched Australian distribution outfit Screen Inc and unveiled a raft of titles including Cannes Critics’ Week award-winner Olga.
Sydney-based Kornits sold his interest in his former distribution company Pivot Pictures to co-owner Lou Balletti before opening Screen Inc’s doors. He is also publisher of Australian film magazine Filmink and a former head of theatrical for speciality distributor Umbrella Entertainment.
Initial acquisitions include Elie Grappe’s Olga, the gymnastics-themed Swiss drama that won the screenplay award at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2021, and Andrew Ryan’s The Florist,...
Industry veteran Dov Kornits has launched Australian distribution outfit Screen Inc and unveiled a raft of titles including Cannes Critics’ Week award-winner Olga.
Sydney-based Kornits sold his interest in his former distribution company Pivot Pictures to co-owner Lou Balletti before opening Screen Inc’s doors. He is also publisher of Australian film magazine Filmink and a former head of theatrical for speciality distributor Umbrella Entertainment.
Initial acquisitions include Elie Grappe’s Olga, the gymnastics-themed Swiss drama that won the screenplay award at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2021, and Andrew Ryan’s The Florist,...
- 11/1/2022
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
LevelK has boarded international sales rights to “The Passenger” (“La pasajera”), a high-concept Spanish horror film directed by Fernando Gonzalez (“Downunder”) and Raul Cerezo which will world premiere at Sitges in the Panorama Fantastic section.
Produced by Jose Luis Rancaño (“The Night My Mother Killed My Father”), “The Passenger” follows a group of strangers on a road trip who get abruptly interrupted when their van accidentally hits a female hiker in the middle of the night. They decide to take her to the hospital but soon understand that they only have to comply with a clear rule: not to sit next to her.
The film was penned by Luis Sánchez-Polack, based on an original idea by Cerezo. “The Passenger” is headlined by established Spanish actors, including Ramiro Blas (“Blackwod”), Cecilia Suarez (“The House of Flowers”), Paula Gallego (“Paquita Salas”) and Christina Alcazar (“Cachorro”).
Gonzalez and Cerezo said the “film’s...
Produced by Jose Luis Rancaño (“The Night My Mother Killed My Father”), “The Passenger” follows a group of strangers on a road trip who get abruptly interrupted when their van accidentally hits a female hiker in the middle of the night. They decide to take her to the hospital but soon understand that they only have to comply with a clear rule: not to sit next to her.
The film was penned by Luis Sánchez-Polack, based on an original idea by Cerezo. “The Passenger” is headlined by established Spanish actors, including Ramiro Blas (“Blackwod”), Cecilia Suarez (“The House of Flowers”), Paula Gallego (“Paquita Salas”) and Christina Alcazar (“Cachorro”).
Gonzalez and Cerezo said the “film’s...
- 10/4/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The science fiction thriller "Lone Wolf" is adapted from Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel "The Secret Agent", written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie starring Hugo Weaving, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton:
"..in the future, the city of Melbourne is marked by state corruption and constant surveillance, a group of small-time activists hatch a plan to commit an act of urban terrorism. But an unforeseen outcome and the involvement of police and state officials complicate this seemingly innocuous PR stunt, as disempowered individuals struggle against a system that protects itself at the expense of its own citizens..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
"..in the future, the city of Melbourne is marked by state corruption and constant surveillance, a group of small-time activists hatch a plan to commit an act of urban terrorism. But an unforeseen outcome and the involvement of police and state officials complicate this seemingly innocuous PR stunt, as disempowered individuals struggle against a system that protects itself at the expense of its own citizens..."
Click the images to enlarge... ...
- 9/27/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"You know, they'll kill you?" Gravitas Ventures has unveiled an official US trailer for the indie surveillance thriller titled Lone Wolf, from filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie. In a near-future Melbourne marked by state corruption and constant surveillance, a group of small-time activists hatches a plan to commit a "victimless atrocity". Conrad and Winnie live above a struggling underground bookshop. Most of the film is made up of CCTV footage, and other "found footage", to show us how the government (mis)uses surveillance for their gain and misinterprets what's actually happening. A "political thriller that comments on data privacy, police powers, technology, corruption and crime's many, shady manifestations." Starring Hugo Weaving, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville, and Chris Bunton. I saw this during IFFR and it's so bad, I was shocked by how dull and uninteresting it was - despite the setup and concept. Tread carefully. Here's the official US trailer...
- 8/11/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Director and producer Nadia Tass will chair the jury for this year’s CinefestOZ, which had its full line-up announced in Perth yesterday.
The filmmaker will helm voting on the $100,000 CinefestOZ prize, adjudicating in-competition finalists Here Out West, Nitram, River, and The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.
Tass is among the directors to have their work showcased at the event, with her documentary, Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story, announced among the Australian premieres in the line-up.
Speaking to If, she said the festival had always been “invigorating”.
“The event is so elegant, but at the same time it is not empty,” she said.
“There is so much about films that is discussed, both in terms of the creative process and films as pieces of entertainment or communication with an audience.
“They have really thought about how they are going to excite people to come to the event.”
Tass...
The filmmaker will helm voting on the $100,000 CinefestOZ prize, adjudicating in-competition finalists Here Out West, Nitram, River, and The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.
Tass is among the directors to have their work showcased at the event, with her documentary, Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story, announced among the Australian premieres in the line-up.
Speaking to If, she said the festival had always been “invigorating”.
“The event is so elegant, but at the same time it is not empty,” she said.
“There is so much about films that is discussed, both in terms of the creative process and films as pieces of entertainment or communication with an audience.
“They have really thought about how they are going to excite people to come to the event.”
Tass...
- 7/29/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Jen Peedom’s River and Ben Lawrence’s Ithaka add to the already strong contingent of local films bound for August’s Melbourne International Film Festival, which unveiled its full program today.
Miff 2021 will include a hefty 283 titles, including 199 features, 84 shorts and 10 Xr experiences. Among them are 40 world premieres; the most in the festival’s 69 year history.
Some 62 of those films will be available nationally via Miff Play, the festival’s online screening platform, with the festival reimagined this year as a hybrid event.
“This year, Miff continues to evolve — to meet the moment, and to meet audiences where they are,” said artistic director Al Cossar.
“What will not change is the extraordinary lineup of cinematic adventures, from home and afar, waiting for them. These are anticipated festival blockbusters, experimentations, breakthrough discoveries, and a huge lineup of incredible Australian talent. We will again share a world of cinema, reignited, to...
Miff 2021 will include a hefty 283 titles, including 199 features, 84 shorts and 10 Xr experiences. Among them are 40 world premieres; the most in the festival’s 69 year history.
Some 62 of those films will be available nationally via Miff Play, the festival’s online screening platform, with the festival reimagined this year as a hybrid event.
“This year, Miff continues to evolve — to meet the moment, and to meet audiences where they are,” said artistic director Al Cossar.
“What will not change is the extraordinary lineup of cinematic adventures, from home and afar, waiting for them. These are anticipated festival blockbusters, experimentations, breakthrough discoveries, and a huge lineup of incredible Australian talent. We will again share a world of cinema, reignited, to...
- 7/12/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
A group of filmmakers including director Kimberly Townes-Gethers, producer-writer-actor Theo Perkins and executive Kirk Moore have launched Audacity Division, a banner that aims to amplify non-dominant narratives in the Bipoc space.
Its debut project is 14 Days, a short film that follows two ex-lovers (Diarra Kilpatrick and Perkins) who find reconciliation over Zoom conversations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film reinforces the power of therapy and challenges the stigma associated with mental health with Bipoc communities. (See the trailer below.)
Kilpatrick’s credits include writing on The Last O.G. and a role on HBO’s Perry Mason, and is up next in USA Network’s Nash Bridges revival. She also earned an Emmy nomination for the ABC Digital Studios short-form series American Koko. Perkins’ acting credits include Lie to Me, NCIS and Raising the Bar.
The short is helmed by Ad co-founder Townes-Gethers. Perkins and Brandon Scotland are producers and Moore is executive producer. Christian Epps is the Dp. The short was shot on iPhones during the pandemic, and all the cast and crew worked remotely.
The plan is to develop 14 Days into a potential TV series. Audacity Division’s next short is Hands to the Sky, which will highlight the rising epidemic of autism in Bipoc communities in New Jersey, with an eye on developing it into a feature-length film.
“My belief is that in order to transform, change, and liberate, we can not stay still,” said Perkins, also founder and artistic director of the nonprofit Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble. “What we accomplished during the filming of 14 Days, the audacity that we had as artists, led to the birth of the collective.”
Here’s the 14 Days trailer:
***
Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led independent production company dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities, has hired veteran producer Sweta Vohra and promoted Ameena Din to VP Finance. The news comes after the company founded and led by Jessica Devaney signed with ICM Partners.
The company produced the Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues, and its latest projects include Netflix’s upcoming Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
Vohra, a three-time News & Documentary Emmy nominees, is a New York City-based journalist, filmmaker, and producer who previously was a producer-director on the first season of New York Times series The Weekly on FX and Hulu. Din also consults on Netflix projects including the recent Lenox Hill and works with Fork Films, HBO, Conde Nast Entertainment, Itvs, Hoff Productions and more.
***
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to Lone Wolf, an Australian thriller directed by Jonathan Ogilvie. Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hugo Weaving, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton star in the pic, a product of the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund. It will no get a U.S. release in theaters and on-demand on September 24.
Set in contemporary Melbourne, the plot center on Winnie (Cobham-Hervey), a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad (McConville) and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie skillfully blends issues of surveillance and big government and how they intersect with radical political groups, resulting in a highly topical and tense film that leaves the viewer thinking about who is watching, and why,” said Megan Huggins, Gravitas’ Acquisitions Coordinator.
Huggins negotiated the deal with Denmark-based LevelK.
Its debut project is 14 Days, a short film that follows two ex-lovers (Diarra Kilpatrick and Perkins) who find reconciliation over Zoom conversations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film reinforces the power of therapy and challenges the stigma associated with mental health with Bipoc communities. (See the trailer below.)
Kilpatrick’s credits include writing on The Last O.G. and a role on HBO’s Perry Mason, and is up next in USA Network’s Nash Bridges revival. She also earned an Emmy nomination for the ABC Digital Studios short-form series American Koko. Perkins’ acting credits include Lie to Me, NCIS and Raising the Bar.
The short is helmed by Ad co-founder Townes-Gethers. Perkins and Brandon Scotland are producers and Moore is executive producer. Christian Epps is the Dp. The short was shot on iPhones during the pandemic, and all the cast and crew worked remotely.
The plan is to develop 14 Days into a potential TV series. Audacity Division’s next short is Hands to the Sky, which will highlight the rising epidemic of autism in Bipoc communities in New Jersey, with an eye on developing it into a feature-length film.
“My belief is that in order to transform, change, and liberate, we can not stay still,” said Perkins, also founder and artistic director of the nonprofit Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble. “What we accomplished during the filming of 14 Days, the audacity that we had as artists, led to the birth of the collective.”
Here’s the 14 Days trailer:
***
Multitude Films, the LGBTQ-led independent production company dedicated to telling nonfiction stories by and about underrepresented communities, has hired veteran producer Sweta Vohra and promoted Ameena Din to VP Finance. The news comes after the company founded and led by Jessica Devaney signed with ICM Partners.
The company produced the Peabody-nominated Roll Red Roll and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted documentary short Call Center Blues, and its latest projects include Netflix’s upcoming Pray Away in partnership with Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, and “Apart,” an installment of the HBO Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes.
Vohra, a three-time News & Documentary Emmy nominees, is a New York City-based journalist, filmmaker, and producer who previously was a producer-director on the first season of New York Times series The Weekly on FX and Hulu. Din also consults on Netflix projects including the recent Lenox Hill and works with Fork Films, HBO, Conde Nast Entertainment, Itvs, Hoff Productions and more.
***
Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to Lone Wolf, an Australian thriller directed by Jonathan Ogilvie. Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hugo Weaving, Diana Glenn, Josh McConville and Chris Bunton star in the pic, a product of the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund. It will no get a U.S. release in theaters and on-demand on September 24.
Set in contemporary Melbourne, the plot center on Winnie (Cobham-Hervey), a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad (McConville) and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie skillfully blends issues of surveillance and big government and how they intersect with radical political groups, resulting in a highly topical and tense film that leaves the viewer thinking about who is watching, and why,” said Megan Huggins, Gravitas’ Acquisitions Coordinator.
Huggins negotiated the deal with Denmark-based LevelK.
- 7/2/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie’s Lone Wolf takes audiences to a near-future Melbourne marked by state corruption and constant surveillance. There, a group of small-time activists hatch a plan to commit a “victimless atrocity”.
Tilda Cobham-Hervey stars as Winnie, a young woman who, along with her brother Stevie (Chris Bunton), ends up being caught-up in a web of intrigue involving a bomb plot, inept anarchists, ambitious police and a corrupt politician.
Hugo Weaving, Stephen Curry and Josh McConville also star.
An adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel ‘The Secret Agent’, Lone Wolf is produced by Mat Govoni and Adam White.
The post ‘Lone Wolf’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
Tilda Cobham-Hervey stars as Winnie, a young woman who, along with her brother Stevie (Chris Bunton), ends up being caught-up in a web of intrigue involving a bomb plot, inept anarchists, ambitious police and a corrupt politician.
Hugo Weaving, Stephen Curry and Josh McConville also star.
An adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel ‘The Secret Agent’, Lone Wolf is produced by Mat Govoni and Adam White.
The post ‘Lone Wolf’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
- 6/17/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
This year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) promises the Australian premieres of highly anticipated local features such as Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson and Justin Kurzel’s Nitram.
Miff unveiled the first slate of projects for its 69th iteration today, which sees it return to cinemas, with the full line-up to be announced July 13.
Purcell’s debut feature, which premiered at SXSW, will form the Opening Night Gala – marking the first time a film from an Indigenous female director has opened the event in its history.
“Leah Purcell’s monumental feature The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson will not just open Miff this year – it will kick the doors in,” said Miff artistic director Al Cossar.
“This is a film made for Miff’s return to cinema – an outback western of grand vision; a resonant, revisionist force of filmmaking that...
Miff unveiled the first slate of projects for its 69th iteration today, which sees it return to cinemas, with the full line-up to be announced July 13.
Purcell’s debut feature, which premiered at SXSW, will form the Opening Night Gala – marking the first time a film from an Indigenous female director has opened the event in its history.
“Leah Purcell’s monumental feature The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson will not just open Miff this year – it will kick the doors in,” said Miff artistic director Al Cossar.
“This is a film made for Miff’s return to cinema – an outback western of grand vision; a resonant, revisionist force of filmmaking that...
- 6/16/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Hugo Weaving and Ed Oxenbould are attached to star as father and son in a new film from Jonathan Ogilvie exploring New Zealand’s 1979 post-punk scene.
Set in Christchurch, Head South will be a semi-autobiographical story drawn from some of the director’s experiences as part of the long-running post-punk ensemble Yfc, with whom he released a track as recently as last year.
Ogilvie collaborated with Weaving on the 2021 International Film Festival of Rotterdam selection Lone Wolf, which is set to have its Australian premiere at Miff in August.
His upcoming Australian/New Zealand co-production is in the final stages of financing, with plans to shoot across the Tasman in spring.
The film is being produced by Mat Govoni and Antje Kulpe, both of whom worked on Lone Wolf, alongside Trevor Haysom.
The film will be distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Label and internationally by Arclight.
Ogilvie told...
Set in Christchurch, Head South will be a semi-autobiographical story drawn from some of the director’s experiences as part of the long-running post-punk ensemble Yfc, with whom he released a track as recently as last year.
Ogilvie collaborated with Weaving on the 2021 International Film Festival of Rotterdam selection Lone Wolf, which is set to have its Australian premiere at Miff in August.
His upcoming Australian/New Zealand co-production is in the final stages of financing, with plans to shoot across the Tasman in spring.
The film is being produced by Mat Govoni and Antje Kulpe, both of whom worked on Lone Wolf, alongside Trevor Haysom.
The film will be distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Label and internationally by Arclight.
Ogilvie told...
- 4/21/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
When Australian films Friends and Strangers and Lone Wolf screened at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam this week, it was the culmination of a decade’s worth of work between their respective directors.
James Vaughan’s Friends and Strangers became the first Australian film to be shown as part of the event’s Tiger competition when it was screened on Wednesday, while Jonathan Ogilvie’s Lone Wolf had its world premiere as part of the Big Screen Competition the preceding day.
According to Vaughan and Ogilvie, both films took about five years to make.
Filmed in 2019 with mostly first-time actors, Friends and Strangers follows 20-somethings Ray and Alice as they navigate a series of increasingly awkward and comedic situations, from limp romantic encounters to bungled opportunities for professional growth.
Vaughan, who makes his feature debut with the film, said while the pandemic had delayed the film’s entry into the festival circuit,...
James Vaughan’s Friends and Strangers became the first Australian film to be shown as part of the event’s Tiger competition when it was screened on Wednesday, while Jonathan Ogilvie’s Lone Wolf had its world premiere as part of the Big Screen Competition the preceding day.
According to Vaughan and Ogilvie, both films took about five years to make.
Filmed in 2019 with mostly first-time actors, Friends and Strangers follows 20-somethings Ray and Alice as they navigate a series of increasingly awkward and comedic situations, from limp romantic encounters to bungled opportunities for professional growth.
Vaughan, who makes his feature debut with the film, said while the pandemic had delayed the film’s entry into the festival circuit,...
- 2/4/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
During today’s press conference, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) announced vital details for its 2021 edition. IFFR 2021 will also take place from 1 to 7 February, and will be opened by film “Riders of Justice” by Anders Thomas Jensen and the Robby Müller Award recipient Kelly Reichardt. They will also be part of IFFR Talks, next to Benoît Jacquot, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, Dea Kulumbegashvili and Nicolás Jaar. IFFR 2021 will also be the first year for new festival director Vanja Kaludjercic — who is also debuting IFFR’s online format. The entire online programme will be available to audiences across the Netherlands, and the Press / Industry screenings, IFFR Talks programmes accessible worldwide. Premieres will have Q&As and live interaction will be available to limited ticket capacity for 72 hours.
Next year’s slate also shows plenty of promise. Of the 16 films selected for the festival’s Tiger Competition, 6 hail from different points...
Next year’s slate also shows plenty of promise. Of the 16 films selected for the festival’s Tiger Competition, 6 hail from different points...
- 12/23/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Looking for VeneraThe first titles for the International Film Festival Rotterdam's hybrid multi-part 50th edition program have been revealed. Under new festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, the newly-organized and extended IFFR 2021 will feature a new program structure, with competition sections to be presented between 1 – 7 February. The festival will resume again between 2 – 6 June with Bright Future (the festival's existing section dedicated to emerging film talent) and what will be the festival's latest and largest section, Harbour. In February the festival will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of Amsterdam's Eye Filmmusuem, while in June IFFR's own 50th year will be celebrated with a special anniversary program. Tiger COMPETITIONAgate mousse (Selim Mourad)Bebia, à mon seul désir (Juja Dobrachkous)Bipolar (Queena Li)Black MedusaA Corsican Summer (Pascal Tagnati)The Edge of Daybreak (Taiki Sakpisit)Feast (Tim Leyendekker)Friends and Strangers (James Vaughan)Gritt (Itonje Søimer Guttormsen)Landscapes of Resistance (Marta Popivoda)Liborio (Nino Martínez Sosa...
- 12/22/2020
- MUBI
The Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) has unveiled the line-up for its 50th edition, with the Mads Mikkelsen-starring Riders Of Justice set to open the fest.
You can see the full line-up below. The event has had to change its traditional format for 2021 due to ongoing pandemic disruption. It will now run as a two-stage event, initially with a hybrid showcase of films February 1-7, followed by a physical event June 2-6.
The flagship Tiger Competition has confirmed 16 titles, 14 of which are world premieres. There are a further 15 titles in the Big Screen competition, which looks to bridge the gap between popular and arthouse cinema, while the non-competitive Limelight section will feature 13 titles, most of which have played other festivals, such as Magnus von Horn’s Sweat and Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?.
Anders Thomas Jensen’s dark comedy Riders Of Justice will be having its international premiere...
You can see the full line-up below. The event has had to change its traditional format for 2021 due to ongoing pandemic disruption. It will now run as a two-stage event, initially with a hybrid showcase of films February 1-7, followed by a physical event June 2-6.
The flagship Tiger Competition has confirmed 16 titles, 14 of which are world premieres. There are a further 15 titles in the Big Screen competition, which looks to bridge the gap between popular and arthouse cinema, while the non-competitive Limelight section will feature 13 titles, most of which have played other festivals, such as Magnus von Horn’s Sweat and Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?.
Anders Thomas Jensen’s dark comedy Riders Of Justice will be having its international premiere...
- 12/22/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Anders Thomas Jensen’s action comedy “Riders of Justice,” starring Mads Mikkelsen, will open the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. The festival will be staged in two parts this year: the first, in a hybrid format, running Feb. 1-7, and the second, hopefully a physical event, June 2-6. The awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 7.
In “Riders of Justice,” Mikkelsen plays Markus, a military man who returns home to look after his daughter Mathilde following his wife’s death in a train accident. At first it looks like she was the victim of a tragic piece of bad luck, but then mathematics geek Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a fellow passenger on the train, shows up with his two eccentric colleagues, Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro), and floats the theory of a possible murder conspiracy. The film plays in the Limelight section.
Jensen is Denmark’s top screenwriter,...
In “Riders of Justice,” Mikkelsen plays Markus, a military man who returns home to look after his daughter Mathilde following his wife’s death in a train accident. At first it looks like she was the victim of a tragic piece of bad luck, but then mathematics geek Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a fellow passenger on the train, shows up with his two eccentric colleagues, Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro), and floats the theory of a possible murder conspiracy. The film plays in the Limelight section.
Jensen is Denmark’s top screenwriter,...
- 12/22/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Furnace.’
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
- 10/14/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
‘The Furnace.’
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.
They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.
Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.
However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.
“Business is not what it used to be...
- 10/14/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Actor Hugo Weaving ("The Matrix") stars in the new Australian-produced full-length 'virtual reality' thriller, "Lone Wolf", directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, adapting author Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel "The Secret Agent", with LevelK acquiring world sales rights:
"...set in contemporary Melbourne, 'Winnie' runs a struggling 'political' bookshop with her boyfriend 'Conrad' and takes care of her disabled brother.
"But Winnie's efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism, with a group of anarchists. One of whom is also a police informant..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...set in contemporary Melbourne, 'Winnie' runs a struggling 'political' bookshop with her boyfriend 'Conrad' and takes care of her disabled brother.
"But Winnie's efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism, with a group of anarchists. One of whom is also a police informant..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 8/20/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Actor Hugo Weaving ("The Matrix") stars in the new full-length 'virtual reality' thriller, "Lone Wolf", directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, adapting author Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel "The Secret Agent":
"...set in contemporary Melbourne, 'Winnie' runs a struggling 'political' bookshop with her boyfriend 'Conrad' and takes care of her disabled brother.
"But Winnie's efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism, with a group of anarchists. One of whom is also a police informant..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...set in contemporary Melbourne, 'Winnie' runs a struggling 'political' bookshop with her boyfriend 'Conrad' and takes care of her disabled brother.
"But Winnie's efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism, with a group of anarchists. One of whom is also a police informant..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 8/3/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Lee Matthews.
Producer Lee Matthews is teaming up with Steve Kearney and Lisa Wang to develop Caper’ble, a 6 x 30′ comedy about young people with disability who are forced to live together in shared accommodation.
The producers are staging a two-day workshop at Arts Access Victoria in South Melbourne, starting tomorrow, led by Kelly Lefever and supported by Film Victoria.
The concept was created by Matthews and Kearney, who are collaborating with lead writer Alistair Baldwin and story consultant Eliza Hull.
Baldwin and Hull have lived experiences of disability, as have the other workshop participants Olivia Muscat, Chris Bunton, Anna Seymour and Imaan Hadchiti.
Matthews tells If he decided to join forces with Kearney and Wang because he’s convinced that will enable Aussie producers to best compete in the new global landscape.
He is confident Caper’ble will appeal to broadcast or on-demand platforms and that it has the...
Producer Lee Matthews is teaming up with Steve Kearney and Lisa Wang to develop Caper’ble, a 6 x 30′ comedy about young people with disability who are forced to live together in shared accommodation.
The producers are staging a two-day workshop at Arts Access Victoria in South Melbourne, starting tomorrow, led by Kelly Lefever and supported by Film Victoria.
The concept was created by Matthews and Kearney, who are collaborating with lead writer Alistair Baldwin and story consultant Eliza Hull.
Baldwin and Hull have lived experiences of disability, as have the other workshop participants Olivia Muscat, Chris Bunton, Anna Seymour and Imaan Hadchiti.
Matthews tells If he decided to join forces with Kearney and Wang because he’s convinced that will enable Aussie producers to best compete in the new global landscape.
He is confident Caper’ble will appeal to broadcast or on-demand platforms and that it has the...
- 1/29/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Debra Liang, Tine Klint and Lauren Valmadre.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of her international film sales and distribution company LevelK, Tine Klint offers some advice to Australian filmmakers.
Perhaps the most valuable tip: Don’t target the world, even though the mantra “local for global” is in vogue.
“I recommend staying true to original stories,” Tine tells If. “Don’t adapt and change cultural differences: some projects lose their originality because they are designed for world platforms or global deals.”
A former sales exec at TrustNordisk, Zentropa and Nordisk Film, the Copenhagen-based Klint first connected with Australia when Aquarius Films’ Angie Fielder got in touch in 2009 after announcing plans to produce Wish You Were Here.
Subsequently Klint and Fielder met at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2010 and LevelK handled international sales for the drama directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith.
That led to numerous collaborations with Aussie filmmakers encompassing such films as Celeste,...
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of her international film sales and distribution company LevelK, Tine Klint offers some advice to Australian filmmakers.
Perhaps the most valuable tip: Don’t target the world, even though the mantra “local for global” is in vogue.
“I recommend staying true to original stories,” Tine tells If. “Don’t adapt and change cultural differences: some projects lose their originality because they are designed for world platforms or global deals.”
A former sales exec at TrustNordisk, Zentropa and Nordisk Film, the Copenhagen-based Klint first connected with Australia when Aquarius Films’ Angie Fielder got in touch in 2009 after announcing plans to produce Wish You Were Here.
Subsequently Klint and Fielder met at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2010 and LevelK handled international sales for the drama directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith.
That led to numerous collaborations with Aussie filmmakers encompassing such films as Celeste,...
- 12/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
LevelK has acquired world sales rights to “Lone Wolf,” an Australian thriller starring Hugo Weaving (“The Matrix”) and Tilda Cobham-Hervey (“Hotel Mumbai”) in the run up to Cannes.
Written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, “Lone Wolf” is set in contemporary Melbourne and tells the story of Winnie, a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism. “Lone Wolf” is based on Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel “The Secret Agent.”
Ogilvie’s previous films include “The Tender Hook,” an AFI award-winning film with Rose Byrne and Weaving; as well as “This Film is a Dog” and “The Despondent Divorcee” — both of which played in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
“‘Lone Wolf’ is an incredibly timely story on two counts,” said Ogilvie.
Written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, “Lone Wolf” is set in contemporary Melbourne and tells the story of Winnie, a young woman who runs a struggling political bookshop with her boyfriend Conrad and takes care of her disabled brother. But Winnie’s efforts to hold everything together get thwarted when Conrad becomes entangled in an act of terrorism. “Lone Wolf” is based on Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel “The Secret Agent.”
Ogilvie’s previous films include “The Tender Hook,” an AFI award-winning film with Rose Byrne and Weaving; as well as “This Film is a Dog” and “The Despondent Divorcee” — both of which played in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
“‘Lone Wolf’ is an incredibly timely story on two counts,” said Ogilvie.
- 5/13/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Jacki Weaver.
Comedy feature The Chain Breakers, to star Jacki Weaver, Jack Thompson, James Cromwell, Denis Waterman and Shane Jacobson, is one of seven projects to have recently received production funding from Screen Australia.
Written by Luke Preston and directed by Mark Lamprell, the film follows four Vietnam vets, famous for escaping a Pow camp, who find themselves in a new hell: The Hogan Hills Retirement Home for Returned Veterans. Each has an unrealised dream they want achieve, and so they band together to escape again. Produced by Antony I. Ginnane and David Lightfoot, the film is billed as a cross between Grumpy Old Men and The Great Escape. It will be distributed via R & R Films, the new venture between Richard Becker and Robert Slaviero.
Among the other projects to have shared in the $7.5 million of funding from the federal agency is Lone Wolf, writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie’s...
Comedy feature The Chain Breakers, to star Jacki Weaver, Jack Thompson, James Cromwell, Denis Waterman and Shane Jacobson, is one of seven projects to have recently received production funding from Screen Australia.
Written by Luke Preston and directed by Mark Lamprell, the film follows four Vietnam vets, famous for escaping a Pow camp, who find themselves in a new hell: The Hogan Hills Retirement Home for Returned Veterans. Each has an unrealised dream they want achieve, and so they band together to escape again. Produced by Antony I. Ginnane and David Lightfoot, the film is billed as a cross between Grumpy Old Men and The Great Escape. It will be distributed via R & R Films, the new venture between Richard Becker and Robert Slaviero.
Among the other projects to have shared in the $7.5 million of funding from the federal agency is Lone Wolf, writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie’s...
- 1/14/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
I don't know what the future holds for Virtual Reality films, but there are production companies and studios that are playing around with the possibilities. There is a market for Vr films, it's just really small right now because no one knows what it could be.
There's a new Vr film project that's been announced called Lone Wolf. It's a terrorist thriller and Hugo Weaving is set to star in it alongside Hotel Mumbai actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey.
The film is a modern-day adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel The Secret Agent. The story explores themes of fanaticism and terrorism, and it "involves a cluster of anarchists, one of whom is also a police informant, who receive a proposal to attack the Sydney Opera House."
According to Variety, Weaving plays a police minister involved in the conspiracy, and Cobham-Hervey as one of the cell members.
The film is being produced in...
There's a new Vr film project that's been announced called Lone Wolf. It's a terrorist thriller and Hugo Weaving is set to star in it alongside Hotel Mumbai actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey.
The film is a modern-day adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel The Secret Agent. The story explores themes of fanaticism and terrorism, and it "involves a cluster of anarchists, one of whom is also a police informant, who receive a proposal to attack the Sydney Opera House."
According to Variety, Weaving plays a police minister involved in the conspiracy, and Cobham-Hervey as one of the cell members.
The film is being produced in...
- 6/4/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Hugo Weaving, who previously starred in technology trend-setting film “The Matrix,” will head the cast of full-length virtual reality feature “Lone Wolf.” He is joined by “Hotel Mumbai” actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey.
The Australian film is to be directed by Jonathan Ogilvie as a modern-day adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel “The Secret Agent.” Exploring themes of fanaticism and terrorism, the story involves a cluster of anarchists, one of whom is also a police informant, who receive a proposal to attack the Sydney Opera House. Weaving plays a police minister involved in the conspiracy, with Cobham-Hervey as one of the cell members.
The film is set to go into production later this year after completing funding of its $2 million budget. Executive producer is Lee Hubber. An Australian theatrical release in 2019 is set through distributor Label. International sales are to be handled by Level K, a Danish sales firm which has previously represented other Australian film titles.
The Australian film is to be directed by Jonathan Ogilvie as a modern-day adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel “The Secret Agent.” Exploring themes of fanaticism and terrorism, the story involves a cluster of anarchists, one of whom is also a police informant, who receive a proposal to attack the Sydney Opera House. Weaving plays a police minister involved in the conspiracy, with Cobham-Hervey as one of the cell members.
The film is set to go into production later this year after completing funding of its $2 million budget. Executive producer is Lee Hubber. An Australian theatrical release in 2019 is set through distributor Label. International sales are to be handled by Level K, a Danish sales firm which has previously represented other Australian film titles.
- 5/31/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Aftrs Open Summer School — now in its third year — has expanded to 17 intensive courses, including a new six-week doco school and a six-week film school.
These introductory and intermediate film courses running between November and January are designed for intensive learning and the chance to upskill in the rapidly changing media landscape.
Amongs the screen industry speakers and lecturers are writer/director David Caesar (Nowhere Boys, Underbelly, Dirty Deeds, Mullet), cinematographer Ross Emery (The Wolverine, Woman In Gold, I Frankenstein), TV writer Vicki Madden (The Bill, Water Rats, Blood Brothers, McLeod.s Daughters and Foxtel drama The Kettering Incident), feature film director Elissa Down (The Black Balloon, Offspring) and documentary director/producer Madeleine Heatherton (Call Me Dad, Bondi Rescue, The Nest,. Last Chance Surgery, Outback Truckies).
Also screenwriter Ian David ( Police Crop: The Winchester Conspiracy, Police State, Joh's Jury, Blue Murder, Killing Time, 3 Acts of Murder, The Shark Net,...
These introductory and intermediate film courses running between November and January are designed for intensive learning and the chance to upskill in the rapidly changing media landscape.
Amongs the screen industry speakers and lecturers are writer/director David Caesar (Nowhere Boys, Underbelly, Dirty Deeds, Mullet), cinematographer Ross Emery (The Wolverine, Woman In Gold, I Frankenstein), TV writer Vicki Madden (The Bill, Water Rats, Blood Brothers, McLeod.s Daughters and Foxtel drama The Kettering Incident), feature film director Elissa Down (The Black Balloon, Offspring) and documentary director/producer Madeleine Heatherton (Call Me Dad, Bondi Rescue, The Nest,. Last Chance Surgery, Outback Truckies).
Also screenwriter Ian David ( Police Crop: The Winchester Conspiracy, Police State, Joh's Jury, Blue Murder, Killing Time, 3 Acts of Murder, The Shark Net,...
- 11/17/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
Screen Media will release the 2008 Australian movie The Boxer and The Bombshell starring Hugo Weaving (The Wolfman) and Rose Byrne (Insidious) on DVD on Sept. 27 for the list price of $24.98.
Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne each have ulterior motives in The Boxer and The Bombshell.
Written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie and entitled The Tender Hook when it was released theatrically Down Under, the crime drama tells the story of a love triangle set against the backdrop of Sydney’s crime-filled boxing underworld in the 1920s. Filled with deception, scheming and murder, the story is about the rise of femme fatale Iris (Byrne) to the tip of a pyramid that includes her includes her English con man lover McHeath (Weaving) and a young, aspiring boxer (Matt Le Nevez).
The film played a couple of film festivals in the U.S. but is premiering commercially on these shores on DVD.
The...
Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne each have ulterior motives in The Boxer and The Bombshell.
Written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie and entitled The Tender Hook when it was released theatrically Down Under, the crime drama tells the story of a love triangle set against the backdrop of Sydney’s crime-filled boxing underworld in the 1920s. Filled with deception, scheming and murder, the story is about the rise of femme fatale Iris (Byrne) to the tip of a pyramid that includes her includes her English con man lover McHeath (Weaving) and a young, aspiring boxer (Matt Le Nevez).
The film played a couple of film festivals in the U.S. but is premiering commercially on these shores on DVD.
The...
- 6/20/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Review by Dana Jung
The masterful Hugo Weaving is the main reason to see the Australian noir film The Tender Hook. Whether he’s cast in villainous roles such as Neo’s nemesis in the Matrix movies, or as the eloquent political insurgent in V For Vendetta, Weaving is always interesting to watch. The Tender Hook is no different, with Weaving’s portrayal of the rather sadistic ring promoter McHeath.
Set in 1930′s Australia, Weaving’s performance drives the movie toward its rather predictable conclusion. McHeath is a man who seems to enjoy flaunting his power over everyone, both male and female. However, there are layers to this mobster: he enjoys Shakespeare, has genuine feelings for his woman, and, in a few all-too-brief scenes, he sings with a band! Enter a promising young boxer (hence the double meaning of the title), trouble is brewing. One rule of noir films that...
The masterful Hugo Weaving is the main reason to see the Australian noir film The Tender Hook. Whether he’s cast in villainous roles such as Neo’s nemesis in the Matrix movies, or as the eloquent political insurgent in V For Vendetta, Weaving is always interesting to watch. The Tender Hook is no different, with Weaving’s portrayal of the rather sadistic ring promoter McHeath.
Set in 1930′s Australia, Weaving’s performance drives the movie toward its rather predictable conclusion. McHeath is a man who seems to enjoy flaunting his power over everyone, both male and female. However, there are layers to this mobster: he enjoys Shakespeare, has genuine feelings for his woman, and, in a few all-too-brief scenes, he sings with a band! Enter a promising young boxer (hence the double meaning of the title), trouble is brewing. One rule of noir films that...
- 11/16/2010
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Burning Inside, the second feature film by West Haven, Ct filmmaker Nathan Wrann, will be making its world premiere at the Connecticut Film Festival on May 8. The film is a tense thriller about a man who wakes up from a coma to begin a new life only to be plagued by vague, violent memories of his past. Or, are they just evil hallucinations? Either way, “John Doe” is out for revenge.
Following this film festival screening, Burning Inside will be released on DVD on May 11 by the brand new distributor Channel Midnight Releasing, which was created by filmmaker James Felix McKenney and producers Lisa Wisely and Chase Tyler. (And, yes, the title of the film comes from the song by Ministry.)
The Connecticut Film Festival runs May 4-9 in Danbury, Ct and features a mix of movies and music. While the festival will be screening a combination of short films and features,...
Following this film festival screening, Burning Inside will be released on DVD on May 11 by the brand new distributor Channel Midnight Releasing, which was created by filmmaker James Felix McKenney and producers Lisa Wisely and Chase Tyler. (And, yes, the title of the film comes from the song by Ministry.)
The Connecticut Film Festival runs May 4-9 in Danbury, Ct and features a mix of movies and music. While the festival will be screening a combination of short films and features,...
- 4/28/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
SYDNEY -- Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne have signed on to Australian feature The Tender Hook, which starts shooting next week in Melbourne, production shingle Mandala Films said Tuesday.
Billed as a contemporary film noir set in Sydney in the 1920's, the production will be helmed by writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie.
The story centers around Byrne's character and her involvement in a love triangle that includes her English lover, played by Weaving, and a young boxer played by Matt Le Nevez.
The film is being produced by Michelle Harrison and John Brousek of Mandala Films, who previously collaborated on the 2000 comedy hit The Wog Boy.
Financed by the Film Finance Corporation Australia and U.K.-based Parkland Pictures with support from Film Victoria, Tender Hook is scheduled for release in 2008. Parkland will handle International sales, with Dendy Films distributing in Australasia.
Billed as a contemporary film noir set in Sydney in the 1920's, the production will be helmed by writer-director Jonathan Ogilvie.
The story centers around Byrne's character and her involvement in a love triangle that includes her English lover, played by Weaving, and a young boxer played by Matt Le Nevez.
The film is being produced by Michelle Harrison and John Brousek of Mandala Films, who previously collaborated on the 2000 comedy hit The Wog Boy.
Financed by the Film Finance Corporation Australia and U.K.-based Parkland Pictures with support from Film Victoria, Tender Hook is scheduled for release in 2008. Parkland will handle International sales, with Dendy Films distributing in Australasia.
- 3/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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