Top Israeli director Talya Lavie is developing “Seven Eyes,” a feature film based on the gripping story of the female lookout soldiers who were based at the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 7, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians.
Entirely staffed by women, that Idf “lookout” unit is stationed by the Nahal Oz Outpost in Southern Israel, near the village which was decimated by Hamas. In the months preceding the attack, these female soldiers consistently reported suspicious activities, indicating that Hamas terrorists were preparing for an attack, said Lavie, an alumna of the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Lab.
Of the 24 lookout soldiers who were stationed in Nahal Oz on Oct. 7, 15 were killed during the attack, seven were abducted by Hamas into Gaza and two survived. Lavie said the film will follow fictional characters but will be based on true events.
In “Zero Motivation,” one of Israel’s biggest B.O. hits of all times,...
Entirely staffed by women, that Idf “lookout” unit is stationed by the Nahal Oz Outpost in Southern Israel, near the village which was decimated by Hamas. In the months preceding the attack, these female soldiers consistently reported suspicious activities, indicating that Hamas terrorists were preparing for an attack, said Lavie, an alumna of the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Lab.
Of the 24 lookout soldiers who were stationed in Nahal Oz on Oct. 7, 15 were killed during the attack, seven were abducted by Hamas into Gaza and two survived. Lavie said the film will follow fictional characters but will be based on true events.
In “Zero Motivation,” one of Israel’s biggest B.O. hits of all times,...
- 1/5/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Israel has signed a filmmaking cooperation deal with Russia.
The deal, which is understood to have been in the works for fifteen years, was inked by Israel’s Russian ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi and Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova.
“Now colleagues from Russia and Israel can exchange experiences, create films together, and work with film archives,” Lyubimova said in a post on the social network Telegram. “We look forward to seeing Israeli filmmakers in the competition programs of our international film festivals and in public discussions. We are also preparing to expand the distribution capabilities of Russian-Israeli films.”
Israel has a significant Russian and Eastern European population and – in theory – a collaboration between the two countries would have made sense at any other time. Lyubimova said Israel first initiated the collaboration back in 2009.
But given that Russia is currently facing sanctions from most of Western Europe following its war on Ukraine,...
The deal, which is understood to have been in the works for fifteen years, was inked by Israel’s Russian ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi and Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova.
“Now colleagues from Russia and Israel can exchange experiences, create films together, and work with film archives,” Lyubimova said in a post on the social network Telegram. “We look forward to seeing Israeli filmmakers in the competition programs of our international film festivals and in public discussions. We are also preparing to expand the distribution capabilities of Russian-Israeli films.”
Israel has a significant Russian and Eastern European population and – in theory – a collaboration between the two countries would have made sense at any other time. Lyubimova said Israel first initiated the collaboration back in 2009.
But given that Russia is currently facing sanctions from most of Western Europe following its war on Ukraine,...
- 9/7/2023
- by K.J. Yossman and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Maipo Film, the leading Norwegian banner behind “Heirs of the Night” and “Lykkeland,” has teamed up with Tel Aviv-based Spiro Films (“When Heroes Fly”) to develop “Blindspot,” a thought-provoking series about the enigmatic Lillehammer case of 1973.
The gripping series unfolds in the aftermath of the tragic Munich Massacre, when a group of Mossad agents were dispatched to Lillehammer with the mission to eliminate Ali Hassan Salameh, the leader of the Black September organization. But upon their arrival, the agents mistakenly identified Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter, as their intended target. On the evening of July 21, just a day after the misidentification, the Mossad agents carried out the assassination before Bouchikhi’s pregnant wife, ending an innocent life. What was initially intended as a swift and covert operation for the Mossad soon transformed into a political nightmare.
This drama series will unravel the complex web of events surrounding the Lillehammer case,...
The gripping series unfolds in the aftermath of the tragic Munich Massacre, when a group of Mossad agents were dispatched to Lillehammer with the mission to eliminate Ali Hassan Salameh, the leader of the Black September organization. But upon their arrival, the agents mistakenly identified Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter, as their intended target. On the evening of July 21, just a day after the misidentification, the Mossad agents carried out the assassination before Bouchikhi’s pregnant wife, ending an innocent life. What was initially intended as a swift and covert operation for the Mossad soon transformed into a political nightmare.
This drama series will unravel the complex web of events surrounding the Lillehammer case,...
- 7/10/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
We’re getting close to that eight-year mark between features and we’ve just learned that Samuel Maoz is set to close out the trilogy and take another critical jab at the Israeli military-industrial complex with It’s Good to Die For Your Country — a film that will follow 2009’s Lebanon and 2017’s Foxtrot. Variety reports that producer Eitan Mansuri lassoed The Match Factory and Sophie Dulac to help back the project. It sounds like they are still in finding funds mode so the absolute earliest might be a Venice premiere in ’24 (the lieu where the filmmaker won the Golden Lion and Silver Lion).…...
- 3/25/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Eitan Mansuri, who attended Series Mania Festival to pitch season 2 of “No Man’s Land” (pictured), is re-teaming with award-winning Israeli director Samuel Maoz on his next film “It’s Good to Die For Your Country.”
The project will mark Maoz’s follow up to “Foxtrot” and “Lebanon” which won Venice’s Silver and Golden Lion awards, respectively. Mansuri told Variety that “It’s Good to Die For Your Country” will be like the third opus of a trilogy on war, completing “Foxtrot” and “Lebanon.”
“‘Lebanon’ was about being a soldier, ‘Foxtrot’ was about the implication of war on families and ‘It’s Good to Die For Your Country’ will be about trauma itself,” said Mansuri, whose produced Maoz’s last two movies.
While the exact plot remains under wraps, Mansuri revealed that it will revolve around two childhood friends in their late 50’s and 60’s who grew up believing that...
The project will mark Maoz’s follow up to “Foxtrot” and “Lebanon” which won Venice’s Silver and Golden Lion awards, respectively. Mansuri told Variety that “It’s Good to Die For Your Country” will be like the third opus of a trilogy on war, completing “Foxtrot” and “Lebanon.”
“‘Lebanon’ was about being a soldier, ‘Foxtrot’ was about the implication of war on families and ‘It’s Good to Die For Your Country’ will be about trauma itself,” said Mansuri, whose produced Maoz’s last two movies.
While the exact plot remains under wraps, Mansuri revealed that it will revolve around two childhood friends in their late 50’s and 60’s who grew up believing that...
- 3/24/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Israel’s largest film fund, the Rabinovitz Foundation’s Israel Cinema Project, has bowed to pressure from the country’s director’s guild to drop a requirement that filmmakers submitting projects for funding agree to what has been termed a “loyalty pledge” that their films does not “harm the good name of the State of Israel.”
The clause has been part of funding agreements from the Israel Cinema Project since 2017 and refers to a 2011 amendment to Israeli legislation called the “foundations of the budget law.” The law gives Israel’s finance ministry the authority to cut state funding for an institution if it supports activities judged to deny the “existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” that mark “[Israeli] Independence Day or the day of the establishment of the state as a day of mourning” or that “harm the honor of the country’s flag” among other criteria.
The clause has been part of funding agreements from the Israel Cinema Project since 2017 and refers to a 2011 amendment to Israeli legislation called the “foundations of the budget law.” The law gives Israel’s finance ministry the authority to cut state funding for an institution if it supports activities judged to deny the “existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” that mark “[Israeli] Independence Day or the day of the establishment of the state as a day of mourning” or that “harm the honor of the country’s flag” among other criteria.
- 3/8/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sasson Gabay and Rita Shukrun star opposite Lior Ashkenazi in Moshe Rosenthal’s neighbourly Karaoke
Oscar-winning director Martin Strange-Hansen (This Charming Man) and two-time Oscar-winning producer Kim Magnusson (Anders Walter’s Helium and Anders Thomas Jensen’s Election Night) this year had Martin’s Live Action Short On My Mind receive an Oscar nomination. In On My Mind, a man walks into an unfamiliar bar with no patrons. He wants to sing karaoke. It has to be “You were always on my mind” and it has to be right now.
Moshe Rosenthal with Anne-Katrin Titze (wearing a Maserati cap) on Sasson Gabay’s Meir: “The tone of The Graduate and the feeling of disconnection to the environment that you’re living in. Even Fight Club …”
In Moshe Rosenthal’s feature Karaoke, a highlight of the 21st edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, Lior Ashkenazi stars as Itsik, a fun loving,...
Oscar-winning director Martin Strange-Hansen (This Charming Man) and two-time Oscar-winning producer Kim Magnusson (Anders Walter’s Helium and Anders Thomas Jensen’s Election Night) this year had Martin’s Live Action Short On My Mind receive an Oscar nomination. In On My Mind, a man walks into an unfamiliar bar with no patrons. He wants to sing karaoke. It has to be “You were always on my mind” and it has to be right now.
Moshe Rosenthal with Anne-Katrin Titze (wearing a Maserati cap) on Sasson Gabay’s Meir: “The tone of The Graduate and the feeling of disconnection to the environment that you’re living in. Even Fight Club …”
In Moshe Rosenthal’s feature Karaoke, a highlight of the 21st edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, Lior Ashkenazi stars as Itsik, a fun loving,...
- 6/23/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Hot off the success of “No Man’s Land,” Israel’s Spiro Films and France’s Haut et Court TV are re-teaming on “Armageddon,” a sprawling thriller miniseries looking at Christian extremists operating in the Holy Land.
The show is being created by David Ackerman, who previously worked in national security in Israel and went on to pen the film “Blank Bullet” inspired by the story of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, and “Jerusalem,” a gritty geopolitical thriller drama which competed at last year’s Series Mania.
Ackerman is currently writing the script for “Armageddon,” which weaves several characters, including a Christian American priest who travels with a few disciples to the Kibbutz Megiddo. Appearing friendly and charitable, the group starts forging bonds within the small community, including a mother and a son, while pursuing their secret agenda: find the Antichrist who will provoke a war that will fulfil their biblical prophecy...
The show is being created by David Ackerman, who previously worked in national security in Israel and went on to pen the film “Blank Bullet” inspired by the story of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, and “Jerusalem,” a gritty geopolitical thriller drama which competed at last year’s Series Mania.
Ackerman is currently writing the script for “Armageddon,” which weaves several characters, including a Christian American priest who travels with a few disciples to the Kibbutz Megiddo. Appearing friendly and charitable, the group starts forging bonds within the small community, including a mother and a son, while pursuing their secret agenda: find the Antichrist who will provoke a war that will fulfil their biblical prophecy...
- 3/25/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Regev has been the CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque since 2013.
Jerusalem Cinematheque CEO Noa Regev has been appointed as the new CEO of the Israel Film Fund (Iff) and is due to take up the role at the beginning of April.
She replaces veteran producer and broadcast executive Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad, who spent two-and-a-half years in the role having succeeded long-time executive director Katriel Schory in 2019.
Regev has been CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque since 2013. She took over the organisation at a delicate point in its history as its hands-on founder Lia Van Leer, who was then in her late 80s,...
Jerusalem Cinematheque CEO Noa Regev has been appointed as the new CEO of the Israel Film Fund (Iff) and is due to take up the role at the beginning of April.
She replaces veteran producer and broadcast executive Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad, who spent two-and-a-half years in the role having succeeded long-time executive director Katriel Schory in 2019.
Regev has been CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque since 2013. She took over the organisation at a delicate point in its history as its hands-on founder Lia Van Leer, who was then in her late 80s,...
- 2/4/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Israel has approved a 25% rebate for international TV and film productions with an initial budget of 45 million shekels ($14.5 million) for two years.
The program, which aims at enticing foreign producers to come shoot in Israel, has been pushed by the Israeli TV & Film Producers Association, in partnership with the Israeli Finance Minister, as well as the culture, foreign, economy and tourism industries.
“This is a very big deal for Israel and the local TV and film industry,” said Adar Shafran, chairman of the Israeli TV & Film Producers Association. Shafran said the rebate program will “provide thousands of jobs for Israelis and tens of millions of shekels that will be invested in the Israeli economy as a result of using services such as flights, hotels, catering, transportation and more.”
In the absence of a tax incentive, only a handful of international shows and films have shot in Israel in recent years,...
The program, which aims at enticing foreign producers to come shoot in Israel, has been pushed by the Israeli TV & Film Producers Association, in partnership with the Israeli Finance Minister, as well as the culture, foreign, economy and tourism industries.
“This is a very big deal for Israel and the local TV and film industry,” said Adar Shafran, chairman of the Israeli TV & Film Producers Association. Shafran said the rebate program will “provide thousands of jobs for Israelis and tens of millions of shekels that will be invested in the Israeli economy as a result of using services such as flights, hotels, catering, transportation and more.”
In the absence of a tax incentive, only a handful of international shows and films have shot in Israel in recent years,...
- 11/12/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Mike Goodridge, who was appointed artistic director of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) in 2017, is stepping down after four editions. The festival will not take place in 2021, as Covid-19 restrictions remain tight in Macau.
In 2020, like many festivals, IFFAM went online. Last year, it featured a film screening section and masterclasses with Hirokazu Koreeda, Hur Jin-ho, Nina Hoss and Viggo Mortensen.
Goodridge is busy in production and management through his Good Chaos label and will continue to work in festival programming and curation. He was a consultant with the Chicago International Film Festival this year.
“I have had an incredible experience working with my friends and colleagues in Macau,” said Goodridge. “We built the audience for different kinds of cinema in the city and created an event that resonated across the region and the world. The team we assembled was second to none, and we were all dedicated...
In 2020, like many festivals, IFFAM went online. Last year, it featured a film screening section and masterclasses with Hirokazu Koreeda, Hur Jin-ho, Nina Hoss and Viggo Mortensen.
Goodridge is busy in production and management through his Good Chaos label and will continue to work in festival programming and curation. He was a consultant with the Chicago International Film Festival this year.
“I have had an incredible experience working with my friends and colleagues in Macau,” said Goodridge. “We built the audience for different kinds of cinema in the city and created an event that resonated across the region and the world. The team we assembled was second to none, and we were all dedicated...
- 9/28/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Souvenir: Part II Cannes, Day 3: early in the festival, late in the night. I began my first dispatch wondering what the films here would have to say about the past two years, and already a few seem to raise questions that we’ve all been forced to wrestle with in these pandemic times. What is it that makes up a community? What does it mean to exist without one? In Nadav Lapid’s incendiary Ahed’s Knee, screening in the official competition, the dilemmas take place on a national scale. Avshalom Pollak plays Y, a Tel Aviv director in his forties who travels to a remote village in Israel’s Arava region for a screening of his latest work. There, he’s greeted by Yahalom (Nur Fibak), a young officer for the Ministry of Culture who’s there to make sure the Q&a will only touch upon a list of “sanctioned” topics.
- 7/10/2021
- MUBI
Exclusive: European arthouse sales force The Match Factory and ICM Partners are teaming up to jointly represent four films playing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The Match Factory and ICM Partners will co-rep North American rights on Nanni Moretti’s Competition film Tre Piani (Three Floors), and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Competition entry Drive My Car, based on Haruki Murakami’s short story.
Additionally, they will co-rep North American rights on two films in Un Certain Regard: Sebastian Meise’s film Great Freedom starring Franz Rogowski and Georg Friedrich, and Eran Kolirin’s film Let It Be Morning, which marks the director’s return to Cannes where his well-received film The Band’s Visit won an award in Un Certain Regard in 2007.
As previously announced, The Match Factory reps international sales on all four of the titles.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy won Best Director at this year’s Berlinale.
The Match Factory and ICM Partners will co-rep North American rights on Nanni Moretti’s Competition film Tre Piani (Three Floors), and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Competition entry Drive My Car, based on Haruki Murakami’s short story.
Additionally, they will co-rep North American rights on two films in Un Certain Regard: Sebastian Meise’s film Great Freedom starring Franz Rogowski and Georg Friedrich, and Eran Kolirin’s film Let It Be Morning, which marks the director’s return to Cannes where his well-received film The Band’s Visit won an award in Un Certain Regard in 2007.
As previously announced, The Match Factory reps international sales on all four of the titles.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy won Best Director at this year’s Berlinale.
- 7/7/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
After 10 consecutive days of violence, the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict is already considered the worst clash since 2014. For a film community known to be fiercely opposed to the politics led by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers and producers fear the escalation of violence will cause irreparable damage. There have been countless fallouts between Israelis and Palestinians in the region over the last 70 years, but industry executives indicate that the proliferation of social media is taking commentary on the conflict to unprecedented levels.
“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.
“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...
“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.
“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...
- 5/19/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Cluj, Romania – The storm clouds that had spent the better part of the afternoon trundling across Transilvania couldn’t be kept at bay Friday night, though several hundred festival-goers – armed with umbrellas and ponchos – arrived for the opening of the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival hoping for the best.
“People are ready to go on. It’s unbelievable,” said Tiff artistic director Mihai Chirilov, as crowds continued to tramp down the soggy red carpet spread across Piata Unirii (Union Square). “They’re unstoppable.”
Nearby veteran director and festival founder Tudor Giurgiu worked a crowd sprinkled with Romanian stars of the big and small screen. A man dressed as the Pope posed for photos to commemorate the Pontiff’s contemporaneous visit to Romania, while dozens of corporate-branded balloons drifted past the Gothic spire of St. Michael’s Church. Between drags of his cigarette, Chirilov furiously worked his cell phone for the latest weather report.
“People are ready to go on. It’s unbelievable,” said Tiff artistic director Mihai Chirilov, as crowds continued to tramp down the soggy red carpet spread across Piata Unirii (Union Square). “They’re unstoppable.”
Nearby veteran director and festival founder Tudor Giurgiu worked a crowd sprinkled with Romanian stars of the big and small screen. A man dressed as the Pope posed for photos to commemorate the Pontiff’s contemporaneous visit to Romania, while dozens of corporate-branded balloons drifted past the Gothic spire of St. Michael’s Church. Between drags of his cigarette, Chirilov furiously worked his cell phone for the latest weather report.
- 5/31/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Michal Aviad on Glenn Close and Michael Douglas in Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction and Demi Moore and Douglas in Barry Levinson's Disclosure: "Before writing and while writing and researching I looked for films that deal with sexual harassment." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Michal Aviad's Working Woman, co-written with Sharon Azulay Eyal and Michal Vinik, shot by Daniel Miller, stars Liron Ben-Shlush (Asaf Korman's Next to Her), Menashe Noy (Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz' Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem), and Oshri Cohen with Irit Sheleg (Rama Burshtein's Fill The Void), and is produced by Amir Harel (Eytan Fox's Walk On Water which starred Lior Ashkenazi) and Ayelet Kait.
Michal Aviad on Liron Ben-Shlush as Orna in Working Woman: "I want to know how does it feel to be inside the female protagonist and try to look at it from her point of view.
Michal Aviad's Working Woman, co-written with Sharon Azulay Eyal and Michal Vinik, shot by Daniel Miller, stars Liron Ben-Shlush (Asaf Korman's Next to Her), Menashe Noy (Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz' Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem), and Oshri Cohen with Irit Sheleg (Rama Burshtein's Fill The Void), and is produced by Amir Harel (Eytan Fox's Walk On Water which starred Lior Ashkenazi) and Ayelet Kait.
Michal Aviad on Liron Ben-Shlush as Orna in Working Woman: "I want to know how does it feel to be inside the female protagonist and try to look at it from her point of view.
- 4/2/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
‘The Aftermath’ with Keira Knightley is another new opener.
Stephen Merchant’s solo directorial debut Fighting With My Family leads the openers at the UK box office this weekend, and will look to dethrone three-time champion The Lego Movie 2 from the summit.
The film, which premiered as a ‘secret screening’ in Sundance this year, follows a family of wrestlers from Norwich, as siblings Saraya and Zak work to make it in the WWE. Screen Stars of Tomorrow Florence Pugh (2016) and Jack Lowden (2014) lead the cast, which also includes Nick Frost, Lena Headey and executive producer and former wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Stephen Merchant’s solo directorial debut Fighting With My Family leads the openers at the UK box office this weekend, and will look to dethrone three-time champion The Lego Movie 2 from the summit.
The film, which premiered as a ‘secret screening’ in Sundance this year, follows a family of wrestlers from Norwich, as siblings Saraya and Zak work to make it in the WWE. Screen Stars of Tomorrow Florence Pugh (2016) and Jack Lowden (2014) lead the cast, which also includes Nick Frost, Lena Headey and executive producer and former wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
- 3/1/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Samuel Maoz brings a weird but exhilarating style to the mysterious story of an Israeli soldier and his anxious parents
Foxtrot is a movie from Israeli writer-director Samuel Maoz that is structurally fascinating yet also structurally flawed: its accumulations of ambiguity and mystery are jettisoned by a whimsical final reveal. But, before the retrospective letdown, there is an exhilarating kind of disorientation as we move from one narrative section to the next.
It is presented in three parts. We see the fraught existence of a successful middle-aged architect and his wife in Tel Aviv whose son is away doing military service; then the fraught existence of this son’s unit, out in the middle of nowhere guarding a border post; and then we are back with the architect and his family. It is a triptych of scenes of which the first and third are very theatrical, like a conventional stage play,...
Foxtrot is a movie from Israeli writer-director Samuel Maoz that is structurally fascinating yet also structurally flawed: its accumulations of ambiguity and mystery are jettisoned by a whimsical final reveal. But, before the retrospective letdown, there is an exhilarating kind of disorientation as we move from one narrative section to the next.
It is presented in three parts. We see the fraught existence of a successful middle-aged architect and his wife in Tel Aviv whose son is away doing military service; then the fraught existence of this son’s unit, out in the middle of nowhere guarding a border post; and then we are back with the architect and his family. It is a triptych of scenes of which the first and third are very theatrical, like a conventional stage play,...
- 2/27/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Produced by Germany’s Gringo Films, “Stitch Head” will pitch at March’s Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux, a leading European event for animation coming down the pipeline. Fellow German studios Lavalabs and Studio Rakete co-produce.
“Stitch Head” will be a stereoscopic 3D animated feature directed by Toby Genkel, co-director –alongside Reza Memari– of the successful “A Stork’s Journey,” a German production from Ulysses Filmproduktion which secured a U.S. release through Grindstone and Lionsgate, and was sold by Global Screen.
“Stitch Head” is a family entertainment adventure-comedy intended for mainstream audiences. According to its producers, it’s a fun take on the Frankenstein myth, where the monsters are the good guys, and the humans are scary.
“It’s based on a simple premise: If a mad professor is obsessively bringing monstrous creatures to Almost-Life in his castle’s laboratory… then who takes care of the monsters? Who keeps them fed and clean?...
“Stitch Head” will be a stereoscopic 3D animated feature directed by Toby Genkel, co-director –alongside Reza Memari– of the successful “A Stork’s Journey,” a German production from Ulysses Filmproduktion which secured a U.S. release through Grindstone and Lionsgate, and was sold by Global Screen.
“Stitch Head” is a family entertainment adventure-comedy intended for mainstream audiences. According to its producers, it’s a fun take on the Frankenstein myth, where the monsters are the good guys, and the humans are scary.
“It’s based on a simple premise: If a mad professor is obsessively bringing monstrous creatures to Almost-Life in his castle’s laboratory… then who takes care of the monsters? Who keeps them fed and clean?...
- 2/14/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Nadav Lapid’s astonishing, maddening, brilliant, hilarious, obstinate, and altogether unmissable new film “Synonyms” opens with a sequence that might be described as a sideways attempt at psychic suicide. A twentysomething Israeli traveler named Yoav (extraordinary newcomer Tom Mercier) strides through the rainy streets of Paris in a shaky low-def shot that resembles paparazzi footage of a celebrity trying to leave the press behind. He storms into one of those gorgeous old buildings along the banks of the Seine, digs out the hide-a-key, and opens the door to a cold and cavernous apartment. There’s no couch, no bed, no furniture of any kind, but Yoav doesn’t seem to mind the monastic vibe; the camera relaxes into the refined grammar of contemporary European cinema as he surveys the empty space.
Yoav strips nude in the tub, revealing a soldier’s body, and yanks at his genitals. Then, some rustling from the next room over.
Yoav strips nude in the tub, revealing a soldier’s body, and yanks at his genitals. Then, some rustling from the next room over.
- 2/14/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday.
Now that 2018 is coming to an end and most critics have already filed their “best of the year” lists, we’ve decided to step away from new releases for a moment, and shift focus to older movies that members of our survey fell in love with for the first time this year.
This week’s question: What was the best “older” film — anything from the early silents to recent under-the-radar gems — that you discovered for the first time this year?
Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), The Wrap, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla
Late last year, I went to see Samuel Maoz’s “Foxtrot” and walked out a different person. The Israeli drama about a couple waiting on news of their soldier son had simultaneously devastated my psyche and shown me a refined and measured film...
Now that 2018 is coming to an end and most critics have already filed their “best of the year” lists, we’ve decided to step away from new releases for a moment, and shift focus to older movies that members of our survey fell in love with for the first time this year.
This week’s question: What was the best “older” film — anything from the early silents to recent under-the-radar gems — that you discovered for the first time this year?
Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), The Wrap, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla
Late last year, I went to see Samuel Maoz’s “Foxtrot” and walked out a different person. The Israeli drama about a couple waiting on news of their soldier son had simultaneously devastated my psyche and shown me a refined and measured film...
- 12/17/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Pawel Pawlikowski’s “”Cold War” swept the European Film Academy Awards on Saturday, winning five of its bids: Best Picture, Director, Actress (Joanna Kulig), Screenplay and Film Editing. This Polish picture contended for the top prize against three other films that are also entered in this year’s Oscar race for Foreign-Language Film — Sweden’s “Border,” Poland’s “Cold War,” Italy’s “Dogman” and Belgium’s “Girl.” The fifth nominee was “Happy as Lazzaro,” which is also from Italy.
Winners of the 31st edition of these awards were decided by the 3,000 plus members of the academy, drawn from all parts of Europe. Scroll down to see all the winners (and nominees).
Last year Ruben Ostlund‘s satire “The Square” swept the EFAs with six wins including both Best Picture and Best Comedy. Ostlund claimed both the writing and directing awards for his savage satire set in the high stakes art...
Winners of the 31st edition of these awards were decided by the 3,000 plus members of the academy, drawn from all parts of Europe. Scroll down to see all the winners (and nominees).
Last year Ruben Ostlund‘s satire “The Square” swept the EFAs with six wins including both Best Picture and Best Comedy. Ostlund claimed both the writing and directing awards for his savage satire set in the high stakes art...
- 12/16/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“Cold War” was the big winner at the European Film Awards, picking up the prizes for Best European Film, Actress (Joanna Kulig), Director, and Screenwriter (both Paweł Pawlikowski). Best actor went to Marcello Fonte of “Dogman,” while Armando Iannucci’s “The Death of Stalin” was named Best European Comedy.
“Cold War” also led all films with five nominations, continuing a strong year for the black-and-white drama — Pawlikowski, whose “Ida” won the Foreign-Language Oscar, also took home Best Director laurels from Cannes.
Ali Abbasi’s “Border” and Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro” left the ceremony empty-handed despite picking up four nominations apiece.
The full list of winners:
Best European Film
“Border,” Ali Abbasi
“Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski
“Dogman,” Matteo Garrone
“Girl,” Lukas Dhont
“Happy as Lazzaro,” Alice Rorhwacher
European Comedy
“C’est La Vie,” Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
“Diamantino,” Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt
“The Death of Stalin,” Armando Iannucci
European Director
Ali Abbasi,...
“Cold War” also led all films with five nominations, continuing a strong year for the black-and-white drama — Pawlikowski, whose “Ida” won the Foreign-Language Oscar, also took home Best Director laurels from Cannes.
Ali Abbasi’s “Border” and Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro” left the ceremony empty-handed despite picking up four nominations apiece.
The full list of winners:
Best European Film
“Border,” Ali Abbasi
“Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski
“Dogman,” Matteo Garrone
“Girl,” Lukas Dhont
“Happy as Lazzaro,” Alice Rorhwacher
European Comedy
“C’est La Vie,” Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
“Diamantino,” Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt
“The Death of Stalin,” Armando Iannucci
European Director
Ali Abbasi,...
- 12/15/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
“Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski’s black-and-white romance set in the 1950s, scooped the prizes for best film, director and screenplay at the 31st edition of the European Film Awards on Saturday.
“Cold War” star Joanna Kulig also won the award for best actress. Marcello Fonte, the star of Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” won for best actor.
Armando Iannucci’s political satire “The Death of Stalin” won for best European comedy. Adapted from the French graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, “The Death of Stalin” is a comic look at how Joseph Stalin’s stroke in 1953 threw the U.S.S.R. into chaos and inspired a mad power grab among his top advisors.
“This is very brave of you. This movie was banned in Russia,” Iannucci said upon picking up his award onstage. The British writer-director added that he loved Europe and made a joke about Brexit.
Lukas Dhont’s “Girl,...
“Cold War” star Joanna Kulig also won the award for best actress. Marcello Fonte, the star of Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” won for best actor.
Armando Iannucci’s political satire “The Death of Stalin” won for best European comedy. Adapted from the French graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, “The Death of Stalin” is a comic look at how Joseph Stalin’s stroke in 1953 threw the U.S.S.R. into chaos and inspired a mad power grab among his top advisors.
“This is very brave of you. This movie was banned in Russia,” Iannucci said upon picking up his award onstage. The British writer-director added that he loved Europe and made a joke about Brexit.
Lukas Dhont’s “Girl,...
- 12/15/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Variety will honor director Ryan Coogler at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 4th as part of the annual 10 Directors to Watch Brunch at the Parker Palm Springs. The brunch is presented by At&T.
The “Black Panther” director will receive the annual creative impact in directing award. Previous recipients of this award have included Patty Jenkins, David O. Russell, Charlie Kaufman, Jeff Nichols, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The award celebrates his career, from his groundbreaking first feature “Fruitvale Station,” to his most recent work directing ‘Black Panther,” which was recently named one of AFI’s Best Films of the Year and is nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture – drama.
“Ryan Coogler has directed one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the year with ‘Black Panther,’” said Variety co-editor in chief, Claudia Eller. “The film’s cultural significance is matched by its...
The “Black Panther” director will receive the annual creative impact in directing award. Previous recipients of this award have included Patty Jenkins, David O. Russell, Charlie Kaufman, Jeff Nichols, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The award celebrates his career, from his groundbreaking first feature “Fruitvale Station,” to his most recent work directing ‘Black Panther,” which was recently named one of AFI’s Best Films of the Year and is nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture – drama.
“Ryan Coogler has directed one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the year with ‘Black Panther,’” said Variety co-editor in chief, Claudia Eller. “The film’s cultural significance is matched by its...
- 12/10/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Film FestivalAmong the world cinema are films by directors Kim Ki-duk, Jean-Luc Godard, Jahar Panahi, Spike Lee, Lars von Trier and Olivier Assayas. Asghar Farhadi's 'Everybody Knows' is the inaugural film. Tnm StaffStill from 'Everybody Knows'iffk has not broken its tradition. There is going to be a Kim Ki-duk film this time as well among the 90 odd pictures coming from various parts of the world. It's called Human, Space, Time and Human. Then there's Jean-Luc Godard's The Image Book. Banned Jafar Panahi’s 3 Faces. Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. Lars von Trier’s The House That Jack Built. And Olivier Assayas’s Non-Fiction. In the world cinema category, are 26 films having their Indian premiers and two with their Asian premiers. Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows is the inaugural film. Asghar's film About Elly had won the Golden Crow Pheasant (Suvarna Chakoram) at Iffk, 2009. Everybody Knows tells the story of...
- 11/30/2018
- by Cris
- The News Minute
The international film industry has been paying tribute to a beloved figure.
RIchard Lormand was a popular and flamboyant personality in the film world, whose tireless work and dedication to cinema made him the compass point for filmmakers, sales agents, distributors and journalists.
Over the past 25 years working in international communications, film publicity and marketing, he handled a plethora of award-winning films, including several Palme d’Or, Golden Lion and Golden Bear victors.
Lormand was working as part of the press consultancy team at the Locarno Film Festival and was preparing for the re-launch of the Marrakech International Film Festival...
RIchard Lormand was a popular and flamboyant personality in the film world, whose tireless work and dedication to cinema made him the compass point for filmmakers, sales agents, distributors and journalists.
Over the past 25 years working in international communications, film publicity and marketing, he handled a plethora of award-winning films, including several Palme d’Or, Golden Lion and Golden Bear victors.
Lormand was working as part of the press consultancy team at the Locarno Film Festival and was preparing for the re-launch of the Marrakech International Film Festival...
- 11/16/2018
- by Kaleem Aftab
- ScreenDaily
The international film industry has been paying tribute to a beloved figure.
RIchard Lormand was a popular and flamboyant personality in the film world, whose tireless work and dedication to cinema made him the compass point for filmmakers, sales agents, distributors and journalists.
Over the past 25 years working in international communications, film publicity and marketing, he handled a plethora of award-winning films, including several Palme d’Or, Golden Lion and Golden Bear victors.
Lormand was working as part of the press consultancy team at the Locarno Film Festival and was preparing for the re-launch of the Marrakech International Film Festival...
RIchard Lormand was a popular and flamboyant personality in the film world, whose tireless work and dedication to cinema made him the compass point for filmmakers, sales agents, distributors and journalists.
Over the past 25 years working in international communications, film publicity and marketing, he handled a plethora of award-winning films, including several Palme d’Or, Golden Lion and Golden Bear victors.
Lormand was working as part of the press consultancy team at the Locarno Film Festival and was preparing for the re-launch of the Marrakech International Film Festival...
- 11/16/2018
- by Kaleem Aftab
- ScreenDaily
Veteran international film publicist Richard Lormand has passed away aged 56 following illness.
Lormand, an art-house champion and regular fixture at major film festivals, worked in the business for more than 25 years. He and his Film Press Plus banner handled publicity on a string of award-winning movies including Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, Fatih Akin’s In The Fade, Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee and Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi.
The respected and well-liked Paris-based professional worked closely with festivals such as Locarno and Marrakech and in recent months was working tirelessly on the latter, which kicks off November 30.
Born and raised outside Lafayette, Louisiana, Lormand was the son of a Japanese mother and a native French-speaking Cajun American father. He had an international outlook from early life, which contributed to the wide network he was able to build. He began his career...
Lormand, an art-house champion and regular fixture at major film festivals, worked in the business for more than 25 years. He and his Film Press Plus banner handled publicity on a string of award-winning movies including Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, Fatih Akin’s In The Fade, Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee and Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi.
The respected and well-liked Paris-based professional worked closely with festivals such as Locarno and Marrakech and in recent months was working tirelessly on the latter, which kicks off November 30.
Born and raised outside Lafayette, Louisiana, Lormand was the son of a Japanese mother and a native French-speaking Cajun American father. He had an international outlook from early life, which contributed to the wide network he was able to build. He began his career...
- 11/16/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Nominations for the European Film Academy Award were announced on Saturday (Nov. 10) at the Seville film festival in Spain. Four of the entries in this year’s Oscar race for Foreign-Language Film — Sweden’s “Border,” Poland’s “Cold War,” Italy’s “Dogman” and Belgium’s “Girl” — are up for Best Picture. The fifth nominee is “Happy as Lazzaro” from Germany (which submitted “Never Look Away” at the Oscars).
Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” leads with five nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actor (Tomasz Kot), Actress (Joanna Kulig) and Screenplay. “Dogman” and “Border” have four nominations apiece as does “Happy as Lazzaro.”
Winners of the 31st edition of these awards will be decided by the 3,000 plus members of the academy, drawn from all parts of Europe. The ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 15 in Seville.
Last year Ruben Ostlund‘s satire “The Square” swept the EFAs with six wins including both Best Picture and Best Comedy.
Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” leads with five nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actor (Tomasz Kot), Actress (Joanna Kulig) and Screenplay. “Dogman” and “Border” have four nominations apiece as does “Happy as Lazzaro.”
Winners of the 31st edition of these awards will be decided by the 3,000 plus members of the academy, drawn from all parts of Europe. The ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 15 in Seville.
Last year Ruben Ostlund‘s satire “The Square” swept the EFAs with six wins including both Best Picture and Best Comedy.
- 11/11/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
This year’s European Film Awards will be dominated by movies that won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, with Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Cold War,” Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro,” Lukas Dhont’s “Girl” and Ali Abbasi’s “Border” all in the running for best picture.
A 1950s-set love story shot in black and white, “Cold War” world premiered in competition at Cannes, along with the crime thriller “Dogman” and magic parable “Happy as Lazzaro.” “Cold War” won the award for best director, “Dogman” for best actor and “Happy as Lazzaro” for screenplay.
“Girl,” a drama about a transgender teen who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, world premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won four awards, including the Golden Camera for best first film. “Border” also opened in Un Certain Regard and won the top prize. It follows a customs officer with an extraordinary sense of smell,...
A 1950s-set love story shot in black and white, “Cold War” world premiered in competition at Cannes, along with the crime thriller “Dogman” and magic parable “Happy as Lazzaro.” “Cold War” won the award for best director, “Dogman” for best actor and “Happy as Lazzaro” for screenplay.
“Girl,” a drama about a transgender teen who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, world premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won four awards, including the Golden Camera for best first film. “Border” also opened in Un Certain Regard and won the top prize. It follows a customs officer with an extraordinary sense of smell,...
- 11/11/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” leads the pack in this year’s European Film Awards, picking up five nominations after winning Best Director laurels earlier this year at Cannes. The black-and-white romance is followed closely by Matteo Garrone’s “Dogman,” Alice Rohrwacher’s “Happy as Lazzaro,” and Ali Abassi’s “Border,” all of which also picked up awards on the Croisette and now find themselves with four nods apiece.
This year’s ceremony takes place on December 15 in Seville, Spain. Here’s the full list of nominations:
European Film 2018
Border, dir: Ali Abbasi
Cold War, dir: Pawel Pawlikowski
Dogman, dir: Matteo Garrone
Girl dir: Lukas Dhont
Happy As Lazzaro, dir: Alice Rohrwacher
European Documentary 2018
A Woman Captured, dir: Bernadett Tuza-Ritter
Bergman – A Year In A Life, dir: Jane Magnusson
Of Fathers And Sons, dir: Talal Derki
The Distant Barking Of Dogs, dir: Simon Lering Wilmont
The Silence Of Others, dirs:...
This year’s ceremony takes place on December 15 in Seville, Spain. Here’s the full list of nominations:
European Film 2018
Border, dir: Ali Abbasi
Cold War, dir: Pawel Pawlikowski
Dogman, dir: Matteo Garrone
Girl dir: Lukas Dhont
Happy As Lazzaro, dir: Alice Rohrwacher
European Documentary 2018
A Woman Captured, dir: Bernadett Tuza-Ritter
Bergman – A Year In A Life, dir: Jane Magnusson
Of Fathers And Sons, dir: Talal Derki
The Distant Barking Of Dogs, dir: Simon Lering Wilmont
The Silence Of Others, dirs:...
- 11/10/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Nominations are in for the 31st European Film Awards with previous winner Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War leading the pack. The romance drama won the Best Director prize in Cannes and Pawlikowski is up here for the same nod. Cold War, Poland’s Oscar hopeful this year, is also mentioned in the Best Film, Screenwriting, Actress and Actor categories.
Joining Cold War in the main race are a series of Oscar entries for the Best Foreign Language Film statue. They include Sweden’s wild Border from Ali Abbasi, Italy’s Dogman from Matteo Garrone and Belgium’s Girl by Lukas Dhont. The latter won the Camera d’Or in Cannes for best first film, and also scored the Best Performance nod in the Un Certain Regard section for lead Victor Polster who received a nomination today from the European Film Academy. Netflix acquired Girl for North and Latin America out of the festival.
Joining Cold War in the main race are a series of Oscar entries for the Best Foreign Language Film statue. They include Sweden’s wild Border from Ali Abbasi, Italy’s Dogman from Matteo Garrone and Belgium’s Girl by Lukas Dhont. The latter won the Camera d’Or in Cannes for best first film, and also scored the Best Performance nod in the Un Certain Regard section for lead Victor Polster who received a nomination today from the European Film Academy. Netflix acquired Girl for North and Latin America out of the festival.
- 11/10/2018
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Schory said decision is his as Israeli industry battles controversial state reforms.
Katriel Schory, the respected long-time head of the Israel Film Fund (Iff), has announced he is planning to step down in early 2019.
“After 20 years of serving as the executive director of the Israel Film Fund, I notified the board of directors of my wish to step down, early next year,” Schory said in a letter, due to be mailed out to friends and contacts in the international film industry on Monday.
The industry veteran emphasised he will not be walking away from the Israeli film industry, which he...
Katriel Schory, the respected long-time head of the Israel Film Fund (Iff), has announced he is planning to step down in early 2019.
“After 20 years of serving as the executive director of the Israel Film Fund, I notified the board of directors of my wish to step down, early next year,” Schory said in a letter, due to be mailed out to friends and contacts in the international film industry on Monday.
The industry veteran emphasised he will not be walking away from the Israeli film industry, which he...
- 11/5/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
“I’m still an outsider, that has guaranteed my freedom for all these years.”
Meinolf Zurhorst, the highly-respected producer, commissioner and writer who has worked at French-German public broadcaster Arte since 1992, was in Sarajevo Film Festival on Tuesday (Aug 14) to deliver a reflective talk on his career.
In an interview with Simon Perry from the Ace Producers network, Zurhorst discussed his time at Arte, which he first joined as a commissioning editor in the cinema department, before becoming head of the Arte film department of German broadcaster Zdf (one of Arte’s major shareholders and where the films are broadcast...
Meinolf Zurhorst, the highly-respected producer, commissioner and writer who has worked at French-German public broadcaster Arte since 1992, was in Sarajevo Film Festival on Tuesday (Aug 14) to deliver a reflective talk on his career.
In an interview with Simon Perry from the Ace Producers network, Zurhorst discussed his time at Arte, which he first joined as a commissioning editor in the cinema department, before becoming head of the Arte film department of German broadcaster Zdf (one of Arte’s major shareholders and where the films are broadcast...
- 8/14/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
“I’m still an outsider, that has guaranteed my freedom for all these years.”
Meinolf Zurhorst, the highly-respected producer, commissioner and writer who has worked at French-German public broadcaster Arte since 1992, was in Sarajevo Film Festival on Tuesday (Aug 14) to deliver a reflective talk on his career.
In an interview with Simon Perry from the Ace Producers network, Zurhorst discussed his time at Arte, which he first joined as a commissioning editor in the cinema department, before becoming head of the Arte film department of German broadcaster Zdf (one of Arte’s major shareholders and where the films are broadcast...
Meinolf Zurhorst, the highly-respected producer, commissioner and writer who has worked at French-German public broadcaster Arte since 1992, was in Sarajevo Film Festival on Tuesday (Aug 14) to deliver a reflective talk on his career.
In an interview with Simon Perry from the Ace Producers network, Zurhorst discussed his time at Arte, which he first joined as a commissioning editor in the cinema department, before becoming head of the Arte film department of German broadcaster Zdf (one of Arte’s major shareholders and where the films are broadcast...
- 8/14/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: European sales stalwart The Match Factory has taken international rights to intriguing Venice Competition entry The Mountain, starring Tye Sheridan and Jeff Goldblum.
Rick Alverson (Entertainment) directs the drama, which also stars Hannah Gross (Netflix’s Mindhunter), Udo Kier (Downsizing) and Denis Lavant (Holy Motors).
30West will handle domestic sales on the movie, which Venice festival director Alberto Barbera was effusive about during his line-up press conference earlier this week.
It turns out the somewhat under-the-radar project was shepherded by Vice Studios, whose film unit is on a hot run just now following Cannes buzz title Climax and well-reviewed movies such as Lords Of Chaos and Under The Wire. Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum, which also came in for special praise from Barbera on Wednesday, is another among their upcoming slate.
The Mountain‘s impressive producing team comprises Sara Murphy (If Beale Street Could Talk), a producing partner at Barry Jenkins’ Pastel,...
Rick Alverson (Entertainment) directs the drama, which also stars Hannah Gross (Netflix’s Mindhunter), Udo Kier (Downsizing) and Denis Lavant (Holy Motors).
30West will handle domestic sales on the movie, which Venice festival director Alberto Barbera was effusive about during his line-up press conference earlier this week.
It turns out the somewhat under-the-radar project was shepherded by Vice Studios, whose film unit is on a hot run just now following Cannes buzz title Climax and well-reviewed movies such as Lords Of Chaos and Under The Wire. Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum, which also came in for special praise from Barbera on Wednesday, is another among their upcoming slate.
The Mountain‘s impressive producing team comprises Sara Murphy (If Beale Street Could Talk), a producing partner at Barry Jenkins’ Pastel,...
- 7/27/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Representatives of the Israeli film industry are furious over proposed legislation that would drastically change how government funding is distributed, amid ongoing controversy over movies, such as award-winning “Foxtrot,” that politicians say portray Israel in a bad light.
Until now, government backing for movie projects has been distributed through a series of independent film funds. But a series of amendments to Israel’s Film Law, proposed by conservative Culture Minister Miri Regev last week, calls for the establishment of a body of script readers selected by and subordinate to her ministry. According to Regev, the film funds would be forced to hire 70% of their own script readers from this body.
The bill has passed its first reading in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and could pass into law as early as this week. But in hearings that have been held ahead of voting, industry representatives have expressed their disgust and anger over the proposed changes.
Until now, government backing for movie projects has been distributed through a series of independent film funds. But a series of amendments to Israel’s Film Law, proposed by conservative Culture Minister Miri Regev last week, calls for the establishment of a body of script readers selected by and subordinate to her ministry. According to Regev, the film funds would be forced to hire 70% of their own script readers from this body.
The bill has passed its first reading in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and could pass into law as early as this week. But in hearings that have been held ahead of voting, industry representatives have expressed their disgust and anger over the proposed changes.
- 7/16/2018
- by Amy Spiro
- Variety Film + TV
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 platforms. 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, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
The cinema of Kelly Reichardt lives in quiet, tender observations with deeply rooted characters and location. Even when adding a thriller element as with her last feature, the overlooked Night Moves, her style is never compromised. Her latest feature, Certain Women, is a loosely connected three-part drama adapted from the short stories of Maile Meloy. It’s perhaps the purest distillation of her sensibilities yet...
Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
The cinema of Kelly Reichardt lives in quiet, tender observations with deeply rooted characters and location. Even when adding a thriller element as with her last feature, the overlooked Night Moves, her style is never compromised. Her latest feature, Certain Women, is a loosely connected three-part drama adapted from the short stories of Maile Meloy. It’s perhaps the purest distillation of her sensibilities yet...
- 7/6/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Cluj, Romania — The off-beat, the avant garde and the boundary-defying take center stage at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, which kicked off Friday night with a soggy start to the 17th edition.
Unspooling over 10 days in the lively medieval city of Cluj, a festival known for bold and provocative programming will feature 12 films in competition for the Transilvania Trophy, starting with fest opener “Foxtrot,” Israeli director Samuel Maoz’s Oscar-shortlisted portrait of a grieving family who lose their soldier son in the line of duty.
Though evening showers threatened to turn the night into a washout, the skies cleared over the historic Piata Unirii (Union Square), where Maoz’s controversial film, which won the Silver Lion in Venice last year, played to a damp but upbeat crowd.
With lightning flashing over what the Israeli helmer described as “the biggest screen and the biggest screening my film has ever had,” Maoz...
Unspooling over 10 days in the lively medieval city of Cluj, a festival known for bold and provocative programming will feature 12 films in competition for the Transilvania Trophy, starting with fest opener “Foxtrot,” Israeli director Samuel Maoz’s Oscar-shortlisted portrait of a grieving family who lose their soldier son in the line of duty.
Though evening showers threatened to turn the night into a washout, the skies cleared over the historic Piata Unirii (Union Square), where Maoz’s controversial film, which won the Silver Lion in Venice last year, played to a damp but upbeat crowd.
With lightning flashing over what the Israeli helmer described as “the biggest screen and the biggest screening my film has ever had,” Maoz...
- 5/25/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Yes, we know: It’s only May! There are eight months and many more movies coming out this year. However, the end of the year is a tricky time to survey the best movies released over the previous 12 months, since there’s often so much to consider. As an alternative, we’ve decided to get a jump on the process and keep you posted as the list keeps growing. Below, you’ll find our current favorites among the films that have either opened theatrically this year or become available on other platforms. We see a lot of movies early, primarily on the festival circuit, and so we’ve included films at the end of our list that are “on deck” for inclusion — but only if we know for certain that they’re coming out this year.
Note: While some films on this list were released by studios, they were initially developed as independent projects.
Note: While some films on this list were released by studios, they were initially developed as independent projects.
- 5/2/2018
- by Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
London-based FremantleMedia is on board to co-develop, co-produce and handle global distribution on “Fertile Crescent,” an ambitious drama set in the Middle East which is being created by the talent behind “False Flag,” Maria Feldman.
Spiro Films’s Eitan Mansuri, the producer of “When Heroes Fly,” is lead-producing “Fertile Crescent” with Haut et Court TV, the French outfit behind “The Young Pope,” “The Last Panthers” and the original “The Returned.” On top of creating and co-writing the series, Feldman is also co-producing via her banner Masha Productions. Amit Cohen, who co-created “False Flag” with Feldman, is co-writing “Fertile Crescent.”
Christian Vesper, FremantleMedia’s executive vice president and creative director at FremantleMedia’s drama team, will serve as executive producer on “Fertile Crescent.” Vesper said FremantleMedia started tracking “Fertile Crescent” after discovering it last year at Series Mania where it won the best project award.
Vesper had previously collaborated with “Haut...
Spiro Films’s Eitan Mansuri, the producer of “When Heroes Fly,” is lead-producing “Fertile Crescent” with Haut et Court TV, the French outfit behind “The Young Pope,” “The Last Panthers” and the original “The Returned.” On top of creating and co-writing the series, Feldman is also co-producing via her banner Masha Productions. Amit Cohen, who co-created “False Flag” with Feldman, is co-writing “Fertile Crescent.”
Christian Vesper, FremantleMedia’s executive vice president and creative director at FremantleMedia’s drama team, will serve as executive producer on “Fertile Crescent.” Vesper said FremantleMedia started tracking “Fertile Crescent” after discovering it last year at Series Mania where it won the best project award.
Vesper had previously collaborated with “Haut...
- 4/10/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Despite the title of this film’s association with the dance world, its subject is not the stuff of bouncy, bubbly musicals. It concerns the struggles and challenges faced by a military family. This was explored last year in a couple of films, most notably Thank You For Your Service. Though sharing a similar service setting, the Middle East, this new film comes from Israel, where a stint in the military is mandatory for citizens (we learned that from the media frenzy surrounding one of last year’s biggest stars, Gal Gadot). The story bounces back from the home front to just a few hours away. Watching the drama unfold, the title makes sense. This particular dance is highly structured, with an exact number of steps which leads you right back to where you began. That’s the basics of the Foxtrot.
The film is structured much like a play...
The film is structured much like a play...
- 3/30/2018
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It's no secret that I am a big fan of the Eurimages funding scheme and the projects it backs, and Foxtrot is no exception. This dark, multi-tonal Israeli, French, German and Swiss co-production carries all the hallmarks of a good psychological thriller. As a fiction, it all starts rather open-endedly. Under a stunning, pink sunset, we jerkily advance along a rugged path through a vast, expansive nowhere. We follow the motions of some vehicle, but it is never apparent or explained what kind. In front of us, the road channels your eye towards a central vanishing point, where the asphalt distantly dips and disappears over the brow of a hill. Immediately we are placed in director Samuel Maoz's capable hands, and he pays scrupulous attention...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/1/2018
- Screen Anarchy
This emotional knockout from Israel isn’t nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film at the 2018 Oscars – another strike to add to the tally of Academy fuck-ups. From first shot to last, Foxtrot takes a piece out of you. Director Samuel Maoz (Lebanon) begins with a devastating moment of grief: Soldiers arrive at the home of a middle-aged couple to tell Dafna (Sarah Adler) and Michael Feldman (Lior Ashkenazi) that their son has been killed in the line of duty. As his mother is tranquilized, his father is told about funeral arrangements.
- 3/1/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Samuel Maoz’s Israeli drama “Foxtrot” is willfully confusing, emotionally chaotic, and occasionally anarchic. It makes complete sense from one angle, but no sense at all from another. In other words, it reflects its subject perfectly. As the movie opens, Michael Feldmann (Israeli superstar Lior Ashkenazi, “Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer”) has just learned that his soldier son was killed on duty. But is Jonathan (Yonaton Shiray) actually dead? No. Maybe. Yes? Maoz (“Lebanon”) isn’t going to make this easy for anyone. He shoots the story in three uncomfortably interconnected acts, with multiple perspectives and...
- 2/28/2018
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
Beware the Ides of March! Which, in cineplex terms, means an odd couple of releases set in different (but equally violent) eras of Russia; an outstanding Israeli film about grief; and not one, not two, but three sci-fi-inflected blockbusters. (Warning: Only one of them features Oprah.) Plus Wes Anderson makes a welcome return with stop-motion figurines in tow and a pair of deliciously disturbing indie releases find women in various perils. Here's what's coming to a theater (hey, remember those?!) near you this March.
The Death of Stalin (Mar. 9th)
Bad news,...
The Death of Stalin (Mar. 9th)
Bad news,...
- 2/28/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Period drama wins Special Jury, Screenwriter and New Talent prizes.
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s Youth was the big winner at the 2nd Asian Brilliant Stars Awards in Berlin, scooping the Special Jury Award and two other prizes.
The hit period drama, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year, was also awarded best screenwriter for Yan Geling’s script, and the Asian New Talent award, which went to actress Zhong Chuxi.
Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz was awarded best director for Foxtrot, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice last year.
Best actress went to Thailand’s Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying for her role in Bad Genius, a hit drama about an exam cheating scam, while Taiwan’s Chang Chen won best actor for Chinese martial arts drama Brotherhood Of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield.
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang was awarded best producer for Paths Of The Soul, which he wrote, directed and produced...
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s Youth was the big winner at the 2nd Asian Brilliant Stars Awards in Berlin, scooping the Special Jury Award and two other prizes.
The hit period drama, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last year, was also awarded best screenwriter for Yan Geling’s script, and the Asian New Talent award, which went to actress Zhong Chuxi.
Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz was awarded best director for Foxtrot, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice last year.
Best actress went to Thailand’s Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying for her role in Bad Genius, a hit drama about an exam cheating scam, while Taiwan’s Chang Chen won best actor for Chinese martial arts drama Brotherhood Of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield.
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang was awarded best producer for Paths Of The Soul, which he wrote, directed and produced...
- 2/23/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Director/screenwriter Samuel Maoz on Foxtrot: "The hero is creating his own punishment. And fights against anyone who tries to save him." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Foxtrot, Silver Lion winner at the Venice Film Festival and Israel's shortlisted Oscar submission, begins with every parent's worst nightmare happening to the Feldmann family. We see a mother fainting because she knows that the Israeli military officers who have come to her home are here to inform them that their son Jonathan (Yonaton Shiray) had fallen in service.
The mother, Dafna (Sarah Adler) is given morphine to make her sleep, as we get to follow the father Michael's (Lior Ashkenazi) response to the devastating news. He descends into a private and national hell with fine subtleties of suffering and broad kicks of sadism. It is a marvelous, wickedly truthful performance because it balances so many emotions.
Michael Feldmann (Lior Ashkenazi) with his wife...
Foxtrot, Silver Lion winner at the Venice Film Festival and Israel's shortlisted Oscar submission, begins with every parent's worst nightmare happening to the Feldmann family. We see a mother fainting because she knows that the Israeli military officers who have come to her home are here to inform them that their son Jonathan (Yonaton Shiray) had fallen in service.
The mother, Dafna (Sarah Adler) is given morphine to make her sleep, as we get to follow the father Michael's (Lior Ashkenazi) response to the devastating news. He descends into a private and national hell with fine subtleties of suffering and broad kicks of sadism. It is a marvelous, wickedly truthful performance because it balances so many emotions.
Michael Feldmann (Lior Ashkenazi) with his wife...
- 2/22/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Germany is the latest beachhead in Entertainment One’s plans for world domination. After setting up distribution outposts in the U.K., Australia, Spain and Benelux, the Canada-based media group launched in Germany this year, hiring veteran producer and film exec Benjamina Mirnik- Voges to run an operation that will cover the exploitation chain from theatrical to online. The former acquisitions head at German mini-major Universum, whose production credits include Samuel Maoz’s Venice Golden Lion winner Lebanon, will handle distribution of eOne titles in Germany — starting with Jose Padilha’s 7 Days in Entebbe, starring Rosamund Pike and Daniel Bruhl, which premieres...
- 2/15/2018
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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