Exclusive: Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) and Briana Middleton (The Tender Bar) have been set to topline Silent Planet, a sci-fi thriller written and directed by Jeffrey St. Jules (Bang Bang Baby), which has wrapped production in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and been picked up for worldwide distribution by Quiver Distribution.
Produced by Andrew Bronfman’s Good Movies, Jonathan Bronfman’s JoBro Productions and Mark O’Neill’s St. John’s-based Panoramic Pictures, the film follows two prisoners in the near future who are sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor on a distant planet. As things unravel, they become increasingly paranoid and start to lose a sense of who they are and their past lives.
Pic was produced in association with Telefilm Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, Canada Media Fund, New Tang Dynasty and Vigilante Productions. Allan Ungar and Jason Jallet exec produced alongside Quiver’s Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz,...
Produced by Andrew Bronfman’s Good Movies, Jonathan Bronfman’s JoBro Productions and Mark O’Neill’s St. John’s-based Panoramic Pictures, the film follows two prisoners in the near future who are sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor on a distant planet. As things unravel, they become increasingly paranoid and start to lose a sense of who they are and their past lives.
Pic was produced in association with Telefilm Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, Canada Media Fund, New Tang Dynasty and Vigilante Productions. Allan Ungar and Jason Jallet exec produced alongside Quiver’s Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz,...
- 6/28/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Fantaspoa 2022 Announced: "After two years of successful online editions, the 18th edition of the beloved Brazilian genre festival Fantaspoa will return to the cinemas from April 15th through May 1st. This year, attendees will discover a very different Fantaspoa from its last on-site edition (a very distant 2019): instead of its usual two venues, the fest will take place simultaneously in five cinemas, with part of its program also being available online, geo-blocked for viewers within Brazil.
The poster for this year’s festival was conceived by the festival’s art director Thalles Mourão, with the drawing from local artist Fernanda Moreira. The striking image is a mashup of two centenary anniversaries: The Modern Art Week, one of Brazil’s greatest art movements, and F. W. Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece of cinema, Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror.
Nosferatu will also have a very special screening on the opening night of the festival,...
The poster for this year’s festival was conceived by the festival’s art director Thalles Mourão, with the drawing from local artist Fernanda Moreira. The striking image is a mashup of two centenary anniversaries: The Modern Art Week, one of Brazil’s greatest art movements, and F. W. Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece of cinema, Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror.
Nosferatu will also have a very special screening on the opening night of the festival,...
- 3/23/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Centenary screening of Nosferatu, world premiere of stoner comedy The Smoke Master bookend event.
Brazil’s Fantaspoa genre festival, billed as the largest of its kind in Latin America, is returning to an in-person event for the first time since 2019 and has unveiled its first wave of titles.
This year’s International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre will take place in five cinemas around the southern city from April 15-May 1. It is bookended by a special opening night centenary screening of F. W. Murnau’s vampire classic Nosferatu accompanied by a live soundtrack performed by Carlos Ferreira and Brazilian...
Brazil’s Fantaspoa genre festival, billed as the largest of its kind in Latin America, is returning to an in-person event for the first time since 2019 and has unveiled its first wave of titles.
This year’s International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre will take place in five cinemas around the southern city from April 15-May 1. It is bookended by a special opening night centenary screening of F. W. Murnau’s vampire classic Nosferatu accompanied by a live soundtrack performed by Carlos Ferreira and Brazilian...
- 3/14/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Launched in 2004 in Kawaguchi City of Saitama Prefecture as a film festival to discover and nurture new talent, the 18th edition of Skip City International D-Cinema Festival was held virtually from September 25 to October 3. Jury and Audience award winners were announced at the Closing Ceremony on October 3.
Luzzu (Malta), directed by Alex Camilleri, received the Grand Prize in the International Competition. The film is about a man who agonises over his decision to choose the family fishery business or a better life for his family. Naoto Takenaka, the President of the Jury commented, “The director’s perspective is not icky, but cool and hot. I think it is irresistible. Luzzu is a great film.” This is the first film from Malta to be nominated for, and to have received, this award.
In addition Rival, directed by Marcus Lenz, won the Best Director award. The film is about the lonely battle...
Luzzu (Malta), directed by Alex Camilleri, received the Grand Prize in the International Competition. The film is about a man who agonises over his decision to choose the family fishery business or a better life for his family. Naoto Takenaka, the President of the Jury commented, “The director’s perspective is not icky, but cool and hot. I think it is irresistible. Luzzu is a great film.” This is the first film from Malta to be nominated for, and to have received, this award.
In addition Rival, directed by Marcus Lenz, won the Best Director award. The film is about the lonely battle...
- 10/5/2021
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
The Santa Barbara Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Aaron Maurer’s documentary Invisible Valley, which profiles the stories of the disparate people that make up the Coachella Valley. It kicks off a festival that will run March 31-April 10 with a hybrid edition that includes online elements and screenings at a pair of pop-up beachside drive-in venues.
The full lineup revealed Tuesday features 47 world premieres and 37 U.S. premieres from 45 countries alongside the fest’s annual tributes featuring the likes of Bill Murray, Carey Mulligan, Sacha Baron Cohen and Amanda Seyfried which will be livestreamed online.
Every film screening will be offered for free this year, with a ticketed online component that will showcase the entire film lineup along with the tributes, industry panels and filmmaker Q&As.
The fest will close with a series of short documentaries by local filmmakers.
Here’s the trailer for Invisible Valley,...
The full lineup revealed Tuesday features 47 world premieres and 37 U.S. premieres from 45 countries alongside the fest’s annual tributes featuring the likes of Bill Murray, Carey Mulligan, Sacha Baron Cohen and Amanda Seyfried which will be livestreamed online.
Every film screening will be offered for free this year, with a ticketed online component that will showcase the entire film lineup along with the tributes, industry panels and filmmaker Q&As.
The fest will close with a series of short documentaries by local filmmakers.
Here’s the trailer for Invisible Valley,...
- 3/9/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The revamped The X-Files series doesn't air until January of next year, but we are getting a look at some more teaser images to hold us over until then. Also: a trailer for Body, Mystery Science Theater 3000 Kickstarter details, a Bang Bang Baby release announcement, and TeeFury's ugly Christmas sweaters.
The X-Files Series: "David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their iconic roles as Agent Fox Mulder and Agent Dana Scully in the upcoming event series which will encompass a mixture of stand-alone investigative episodes and those that further the original show’s seminal mythology. In the opening episode, Mulder and Scully take on a case of a possible alien abductee. The all-new episodes will feature appearances by guest stars, including Joel McHale (“Community”), Robbie Amell (“The Flash”), Lauren Ambrose (“Dig,” “Six Feet Under”), Annabeth Gish (“The Bridge”), Annet Mahendru (“The Americans”), Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Kumail Nanjiani...
The X-Files Series: "David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their iconic roles as Agent Fox Mulder and Agent Dana Scully in the upcoming event series which will encompass a mixture of stand-alone investigative episodes and those that further the original show’s seminal mythology. In the opening episode, Mulder and Scully take on a case of a possible alien abductee. The all-new episodes will feature appearances by guest stars, including Joel McHale (“Community”), Robbie Amell (“The Flash”), Lauren Ambrose (“Dig,” “Six Feet Under”), Annabeth Gish (“The Bridge”), Annet Mahendru (“The Americans”), Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Kumail Nanjiani...
- 11/11/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
All Stepphy (Jane Levy) wants is to get out of her small town. In Bang Bang Baby, the 1960s-set musical that could easily be the result of David Lynch remaking Hairspray, getting as far away from her small town is an incredibly wise decision, as there’s a chemical leak at the local plant.
While a mysterious purple mist begins to permeate the town, Stepphy happens upon her chance at fulfilling her Hollywood-bound ambitions. Rock idol Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) is having a bit of car trouble just down the street from her house and – luck would have it – her father (Peter Stormare) owns the local chop shop.
Canadian director Jeffrey St. Jules’ Bang Bang Baby plays select theatres in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal starting on August 21. Before it hits theatres, Cineplex had the opportunity to chat with Chatwin about the film, his co-stars, and the very real origins of his vain heartthrob character,...
While a mysterious purple mist begins to permeate the town, Stepphy happens upon her chance at fulfilling her Hollywood-bound ambitions. Rock idol Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) is having a bit of car trouble just down the street from her house and – luck would have it – her father (Peter Stormare) owns the local chop shop.
Canadian director Jeffrey St. Jules’ Bang Bang Baby plays select theatres in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal starting on August 21. Before it hits theatres, Cineplex had the opportunity to chat with Chatwin about the film, his co-stars, and the very real origins of his vain heartthrob character,...
- 8/21/2015
- by Sasha James
- Cineplex
It’s the movie genre we’ve all been awaiting for: a campy sci-fi throwback to the 1960’s musical. Bang Bang Baby offers all that and more as Jane Levy (“Suburgatory”) stars opposite Justin Chatwin (“Shameless”) in the brand new film that mixes music with mass mutations. And what better way to check it out than in our exclusivevirtual reality trailer?
The film, which picked up the Best First Feature award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival is hitting theatres in select locations across Canada this month. The breakout indie musical follows the story of small-town teenager Stepphy (Levy) who believes her dream of becoming a famous signer will finally come true when her rock star idol Bobby Shore (Chatwin) is stranded in town. Stepphy’s dream soon becomes a nightmare when a leak at a nearby chemical plant starts causing mutations. Co-starring Peter Stormare and David Reale...
The film, which picked up the Best First Feature award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival is hitting theatres in select locations across Canada this month. The breakout indie musical follows the story of small-town teenager Stepphy (Levy) who believes her dream of becoming a famous signer will finally come true when her rock star idol Bobby Shore (Chatwin) is stranded in town. Stepphy’s dream soon becomes a nightmare when a leak at a nearby chemical plant starts causing mutations. Co-starring Peter Stormare and David Reale...
- 8/18/2015
- by Rachel West
- Cineplex
Read More: Watch: Exclusive Trailer for Tiff Entry ‘Bang Bang Baby’ Looks Insane (In a Good Way) Random Media has acquired all domestic rights for Jeffrey St. Jules' debut feature, the sci-fi musical "Bang Bang Baby," which won the Canadian First Feature Film Award at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Jane Levy stars as Stepphy, who lives in a 1960s town with her alcoholic father and dreams of escaping to a life of stardom on the stage and screen. Justin Chatwin stars as Bobby Shore, a rock star who may hold the key to making those dreams a reality. However, a dangerous chemical spill that causes human mutations puts a pause on all that. A theatrical release for "Bang Bang Baby" is planned for later this year. Read More: Random Media Acquires 'Camilla Dickinson' and 'The Jokesters' at 2015 Berlinale...
- 3/30/2015
- by Travis Clark
- Indiewire
Now in its 30th year, Sbiff announced its 2015 awards winners Saturday morning. Jurors were director and cinematographer Will Eubank, director Peter Chelsom, producer Chaz Ebert, actors Anthony and Arnette Zerbe, composer/lyricist Adam Guettel, actor James Read, Sbiff founder Phyllis de Picciotto, director/actor Perry Lang and producer Mimi deGruy. Highlights include the fest's first-ever Santa Barbara Features Award, which went to the documentary "Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey" about renowned character actor Hal Holbrook; Panavision Spirit Award-winning "Bang Bang Baby" director Jeffrey St. Jules, who receives a $60,000 camera package; Social Justice Award-winning "A Snake Gives Birth to a Snake," a stirring documentary on war-torn South Africa, and more. From January 27 to February 7, Santa Barbara presented eclectic international films, including premieres and fresh-off-the-circuit titles, 2015 Oscar nominees including "Keep on...
- 2/7/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Campy Histrionics at Their Most Mediocre
Canadian director Jeffrey St. Jules has demonstrated an aptitude for experimenting with the cinematic form and creating hyper-realized, wildly stylized environments in his short film work. With his feature film debut, Bang Bang Baby, he’s created a similarly idiosyncratic, insulated world that ultimately succumbs to an inability to account for the demands of a longer, more involved and complex narrative.
The story, which blends the faux-aspirational insincerity of the American Dreams/American Idol ethos and the fever-dream sensibilities of Mulholland Drive, is an amalgam of all things pertaining to the 1960s. Stepphy (Jane Levy), a whimsical, idealistic high school student with a penchant for crooning, looks to an American televised singing competition as her mode of escape from small town Canadian life. This standard-issue, coming-of-age template reaches its obvious state of conflict early when teen heartthrob Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) randomly shows up in town,...
Canadian director Jeffrey St. Jules has demonstrated an aptitude for experimenting with the cinematic form and creating hyper-realized, wildly stylized environments in his short film work. With his feature film debut, Bang Bang Baby, he’s created a similarly idiosyncratic, insulated world that ultimately succumbs to an inability to account for the demands of a longer, more involved and complex narrative.
The story, which blends the faux-aspirational insincerity of the American Dreams/American Idol ethos and the fever-dream sensibilities of Mulholland Drive, is an amalgam of all things pertaining to the 1960s. Stepphy (Jane Levy), a whimsical, idealistic high school student with a penchant for crooning, looks to an American televised singing competition as her mode of escape from small town Canadian life. This standard-issue, coming-of-age template reaches its obvious state of conflict early when teen heartthrob Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) randomly shows up in town,...
- 9/15/2014
- by Robert Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The 2014 Toronto Film Festival has come to a close and the awards have been announced with little surprise at the top as it seemed it would either be James Marsh's The Theory of Everything my review and Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game my review, at least based on the movies I saw and the reaction I'd heard walking around the fest. And lo and behold, it was Imitation Game taking hom the People's Choice Award, but it appears Theory of Everything wasn't a close second. The first runner up was Isabel Coixet's Learning to Drive and the second was Theodore Melfi's St. Vincent starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy. The People's Choice Documentary award went to Hajooj Kuka for Beats of the Antonov with David Thorpe's Do I Sound Gayc taking first runner-up in which Thorpe confronts his anxiety about "sounding gay" while the second...
- 9/15/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Toronto International Film Festival today announced award winners from the 39th Festival which wraps up this evening.
This year marked the 37th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favorite Festival film, with the GrolschPeople’s Choice Award.
This year’s award goes to Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game. The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.
The Imitation Game is the type of film the awards season was made for. Look for it...
This year marked the 37th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favorite Festival film, with the GrolschPeople’s Choice Award.
This year’s award goes to Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game. The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.
The Imitation Game is the type of film the awards season was made for. Look for it...
- 9/14/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Bang Bang Baby
Over the years, the Toronto International Film Festival has grown into one of the top destinations for film fans and one of the biggest stops on the festival circuit, with numerous films making their World Premiere and North American Premiere at the event before going on to commercial and critical acclaim. This has given Tiff’s awards a level of prestige, as previous winners include 12 Years a Slave, The King’s Speech, and Slumdog Millionaire. The committee has now announced the winners for the 2014 incarnation of the festival, and they are as follows:
The Grolsch People’s Choice Award for most popular film at the festival goes to Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game.
Runners up for the prize included Isabel Coixet’s Learning to Drive and Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award for most popular documentary at the festival goes...
Over the years, the Toronto International Film Festival has grown into one of the top destinations for film fans and one of the biggest stops on the festival circuit, with numerous films making their World Premiere and North American Premiere at the event before going on to commercial and critical acclaim. This has given Tiff’s awards a level of prestige, as previous winners include 12 Years a Slave, The King’s Speech, and Slumdog Millionaire. The committee has now announced the winners for the 2014 incarnation of the festival, and they are as follows:
The Grolsch People’s Choice Award for most popular film at the festival goes to Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game.
Runners up for the prize included Isabel Coixet’s Learning to Drive and Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award for most popular documentary at the festival goes...
- 9/14/2014
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
The Toronto International Film Festival gave its top prize Sunday to The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and distributed by The Weinstein Company. The announcement brings the huge festival to a close after hundreds of film screenings over 10 days. The Imitation Game, a biopic about gay computer pioneer and code-breaker Alan Turing, won the Grolsch People’s Choice Winner, Aka, the audience award for favorite feature-length film shown.
The acclaimed film, which had its World Premiere at Telluride over Labor Day weekend and its unveiling at Tiff on Tuesday, also stars Keira Knightley and was directed by Norwegian helmer Morten Tyldum.
Unlike other festivals that throw their weight behind juried prizes, Tiff prides itself on the fact that their most important honor is chosen by actual moviegoers (although they do hand out some juried awards in other categories).
At the beginning of each film, the audience is reminded that they can vote.
The acclaimed film, which had its World Premiere at Telluride over Labor Day weekend and its unveiling at Tiff on Tuesday, also stars Keira Knightley and was directed by Norwegian helmer Morten Tyldum.
Unlike other festivals that throw their weight behind juried prizes, Tiff prides itself on the fact that their most important honor is chosen by actual moviegoers (although they do hand out some juried awards in other categories).
At the beginning of each film, the audience is reminded that they can vote.
- 9/14/2014
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline
At a Tiff Telefilm Canada panel, four Canadian directors talked about current industry issues including film vs digital.
Jacob Tierney, Jeffrey St. Jules [pictured], Mathieu Denis, and Andrea Dorfman – these four names are just a sampling of the future of Canadian cinema. These up-and-coming directors sat down at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto today during a Telefilm Canada panel to express their attitudes towards new technologies and the changing medium of cinema, weighing in on a crucial debate that emerging filmmakers must confront: film or digital?
Moderator Richard Crouse: You’ve all been making films for at least 10 years, and in some cases, a bit longer than that. These 10 years, which have probably been the most tumultuous 10 years in filmmaking in recent memory, there have been changes in technology, how films are financed, and virtually every facet of the business. I wanted to ask each of you, as people...
Jacob Tierney, Jeffrey St. Jules [pictured], Mathieu Denis, and Andrea Dorfman – these four names are just a sampling of the future of Canadian cinema. These up-and-coming directors sat down at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto today during a Telefilm Canada panel to express their attitudes towards new technologies and the changing medium of cinema, weighing in on a crucial debate that emerging filmmakers must confront: film or digital?
Moderator Richard Crouse: You’ve all been making films for at least 10 years, and in some cases, a bit longer than that. These 10 years, which have probably been the most tumultuous 10 years in filmmaking in recent memory, there have been changes in technology, how films are financed, and virtually every facet of the business. I wanted to ask each of you, as people...
- 9/5/2014
- ScreenDaily
If you’ve been waiting for a revival of the ‘60s-style science fiction musical (I know I have), Bang Bang Baby just might be the movie for you. Starring Jane Levy, Justin Chatwin, and Peter Stormare, the movie is about an aspiring singer in a small town whose dreams seem about to come true when her favorite rockstar comes to her town, until their chance meeting is maybe ruined when the local chemical plant springs a leak and everyone starts mutating.
I know you’re probably thinking that we’ve seen this movie a hundred times before, but... Just kidding. We've never seen anything like this before. Director Jeffrey St. Jules has brought a surreal, kitschy aesthetic that looks wicked fun. Bang Bang Baby will premiere on September 8 at the Toronto Film Festival. I’m interested to see the reviews, because this looks like a unique moviegoing experience. You can watch the trailer below.
I know you’re probably thinking that we’ve seen this movie a hundred times before, but... Just kidding. We've never seen anything like this before. Director Jeffrey St. Jules has brought a surreal, kitschy aesthetic that looks wicked fun. Bang Bang Baby will premiere on September 8 at the Toronto Film Festival. I’m interested to see the reviews, because this looks like a unique moviegoing experience. You can watch the trailer below.
- 9/1/2014
- by Mily Dunbar
- GeekTyrant
For the first time ever, Toronto International Film Festival along with Telefilm Canada had a pre-Toronto reception for the trade. Held at Soho House on a flawless L.A. day, with views of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the trade had the happy hours to greet and catch up with each other and to preview trailers of the films Canada will be showing at the festival. And best of all, Tiff gave everyone a 2 lb. 4 oz. catalog (even more than one to gift to other colleagues) to take home instead of having to pack them into our suitcases to take back from Toronto.
Maybe it’s the drought here in L.A. that gives me the yearning for rain, but the films on my must-see list include a couple about rain: the Tiff Doc, “Monsoon” by Surla Gunnarsson and “October Gale” by Ruba Nadda (“Cairo Time”) starring Patricia Clarkson and Scott Speedman, a Special Presentation being sold by Myriad.
Canada has the most coproduction treaties of any other nation, and Seoul Korea is the chosen city in this year’s City to City program. The coproduction between Canada and So. Korea, “In Her Place” by writer-director Albert Shin, showing in the Discovery Section looks very compelling. Elle Driver is selling this drama about a wealthy couple secretly seeking to adopt the unborn child of an impoverished and troubled rural teenager.
Other trailers we watched included Contemporary World Cinema entries, “Felix and Meira” by Maxime Giroux, being sold by Udi – Urban Distribution International, “Love in the Time of Civil War” by Rodrigue Jean (Isa: Les Films du 3 Mars) and “Heartbeat” by Andrea Dorfman.
In Midnight Madness, “The Editor” looks pretty good. Park Entertainment is selling it. Xavier Dolan, Bruce Greenwood and Catherine Keener star in “Elephant Song” by Charles Biname which is a Special Presentation. Another Special Presentation is “Preggoland” by Jacob Tierney (“The Trotsky”).
Trailers from Discovery included “Guidance”, the debut film by Pat Mills, “Big Muddy”, “The Valley Below” by Kyle Thomas, “Wet Bum” by Lindsay Mackay, (Isa: Traction Media), “Backcountry” by Adam MacDonald, (Isa: Event Film Distribution, Us: contact Cinetic), “Bang Bang Baby” a surreal, fever-dream fusion of small-town musical and 1950s sci-fi debut feature which writer-director Jeffrey St. Jules developed from his own short at the Cannes Film Festival Residence Program.
Peter Goldwyn of The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Matt Dentler of iTunes, talked up the unprecedented (for a foreign language film) success reaching the top 20 films on iTunes of “ The German Doctor” directed by Lucia Puenzo.
Paul Federbush and I spoke of new horizons of the international labs of Sundance Institute. Sundance Industry’s Rosy Wong introduced me to Lisa Ogdie, Sundance Ff’s Shorts Programmer. Strand’s Marcus Hu, who has two films in the festival (Films Distribution’s “Girlhood” and Pyramide’s “Xenia”) was there, Frank Wuliger looking at the Gersh trailer of “October Gale”, Rebecca (Bec) Smith of UTA as were so many others.
New acquisitions gigs were discussed: Bobby Rock looking for international sales agent,Cinema Management Group ( Dene Anderberg, Cmg’s VP of Sales and Operations, was also there schmoozing) and for Random Media, the new U.S. distribution company founded by Eric Doctorow (formerly head of Paramount Home Video) in November 2013, which will release films through Cinedigm.
Telefilm and Tiff have held a similar soiree for four years in NewYork. I’m sure Andrew Karpen, former Co-ceo of Focus Features, who is launching the new distribution company Bleecker Street was there in N.Y.
Rachel Shapiro, also happily working on many projects at once and her friend, producer Melanie Backer, Laurie Woodrow of RightsTrade a global online marketplace for film, television and digital rights licensing whose “Market On Demand” streamlines film, television, and digital rights sales and acquisitions for content owners, sales agents and distributors who can reach thousands of industry buyers, and buyers can search, screen, and license rights from sellers of thousands of titles.
Bonnie Voland with her hands full for Im Global and its many lines, reminisced with Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada and Brigitte Hubmann of Telefilm about the five (!) regimes of the Toronto International Film Festival she has known…from before Helga Stephenson all the way to Cameron Bailey who was there talking up the upcoming festival and hearing peoples’ raves or rants.
Also reminiscing with Brigitte about their days at Goethe Institut was Margit Kleinman who is now director of Villa Aurora, the artist-in-residence program for artists in Germany housed in the Pacific Palisades former home of German émigré, the novelist Lion Furchtwanger. I didn’t have time to ask if they would host the German Academy Award party this year for their submission for Best Foreign Language film, Dominik Graf’s “Beloved Sister”. Since its premiere at the Berlinale this year, international sales agent Global Screen has sold the rights to Music Box for U.S. who will release it in December, and to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland and Croatia thus far.
Our dear friend, Ian Birnie, programmer for Mumbai Film Festival and the Louisiana International Film Festival was there with so many others. It was a wonderful moment to catch up and to forget the pressure we are all under preparing our screenings and meetings for Tiff.
Even though he wasn’t there, I want to mention a brief interchange I had with producer rep Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales, who is repping “Black and White” with Kevin Costner and co-repping the Paul Bettany movie with Jennifer Connelly, “Shelter”, with UTA at Tiff. “In Venice I have Bogdanovich’s ‘She's Funny that Way’ which is in a three way split between me, CAA and UTA and Joe Dante's movie ‘Burying the Ex’ which I'm doing with CAA.”
Steven Raphael and Mj Pekos were fronting for the reception and also are repping “Voiceover” and “Dark Horse” at Tiff.
There was no need to show trailers to the buzz films like the Gala film “Foxcatcher”, which has Oscar expectations are already swirling around it and which premiered in Cannes and is being sold by Kimberly Fox’s Panorama Media and Annapurna (already sold to Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. as well as to Canada-Métropole Films Distribution and Mongrel Media Inc., France-Mars Films, Germany-Koch Media Gmbh, Japan-Longride Inc. So. Korea-Green Narae Media, Switzerland-Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan-Long Shong International, United Kingdom- Entertainment One Uk. The film has already earned Bennett Miller the Best Director prize at Cannes.
Another not previewing was Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the much talked about Alan Turing biopic “ The Imitation Game”, and his portrayal of the legendary British code breaker and mathematician is generating talk of a Best Actor nod at this year's Academy Awards. FilmNation is repping this and has already sold it to The Weinstein Company for U.S., Belgium to Paradiso Filmed Entertainment, Greece to Seven Films, Hong Kong (China) to Edko Films Ltd, Israel to Lev Films (Shani Films), Italy toVidea - Cde S.P.A., Japan toGaga Corporation, So. Korea to Medialog Corp., Sweden to Svensk Filmindustri, Ab, Switzerland to Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan to Applause Entertainment Ltd. Taiwan Branch, Thailand to M Pictures Co., Ltd.
Two other hot films are Lone Scherfig's “The Riot Club” repped by Hanway and already sold to Universal Pictures for No. America, Belgium-Lumière, France-Selective Films, Germany-Prokino Filmverleih Gmbh, Hong Kong (China)-Golden Scene Company Limited, Italy-Notorious Pictures, Benelux-Lumiere, Poland-Kino Swiat, Switzerland-Pathe Films Ag, United Arab Emirates-Front Row Filmed Entertainment and the U.K. Kingdom-Universal Pictures International and Noah Baumbach's “ While We're Young”, produced by Scott Rudin and repped by FilmNation (again!), with no sales on record yet.
See Cameron Bailey on CBC News discussing Tiff:
Video | TIFF2014: 4 buzz-worthy films at the fest If you want to know more about sales in Toronto, please check back with www.SydneysBuzz.com/Reports for the Toronto By Numbers Report and after the festival for the Toronto Rights Roundup.
Maybe it’s the drought here in L.A. that gives me the yearning for rain, but the films on my must-see list include a couple about rain: the Tiff Doc, “Monsoon” by Surla Gunnarsson and “October Gale” by Ruba Nadda (“Cairo Time”) starring Patricia Clarkson and Scott Speedman, a Special Presentation being sold by Myriad.
Canada has the most coproduction treaties of any other nation, and Seoul Korea is the chosen city in this year’s City to City program. The coproduction between Canada and So. Korea, “In Her Place” by writer-director Albert Shin, showing in the Discovery Section looks very compelling. Elle Driver is selling this drama about a wealthy couple secretly seeking to adopt the unborn child of an impoverished and troubled rural teenager.
Other trailers we watched included Contemporary World Cinema entries, “Felix and Meira” by Maxime Giroux, being sold by Udi – Urban Distribution International, “Love in the Time of Civil War” by Rodrigue Jean (Isa: Les Films du 3 Mars) and “Heartbeat” by Andrea Dorfman.
In Midnight Madness, “The Editor” looks pretty good. Park Entertainment is selling it. Xavier Dolan, Bruce Greenwood and Catherine Keener star in “Elephant Song” by Charles Biname which is a Special Presentation. Another Special Presentation is “Preggoland” by Jacob Tierney (“The Trotsky”).
Trailers from Discovery included “Guidance”, the debut film by Pat Mills, “Big Muddy”, “The Valley Below” by Kyle Thomas, “Wet Bum” by Lindsay Mackay, (Isa: Traction Media), “Backcountry” by Adam MacDonald, (Isa: Event Film Distribution, Us: contact Cinetic), “Bang Bang Baby” a surreal, fever-dream fusion of small-town musical and 1950s sci-fi debut feature which writer-director Jeffrey St. Jules developed from his own short at the Cannes Film Festival Residence Program.
Peter Goldwyn of The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Matt Dentler of iTunes, talked up the unprecedented (for a foreign language film) success reaching the top 20 films on iTunes of “ The German Doctor” directed by Lucia Puenzo.
Paul Federbush and I spoke of new horizons of the international labs of Sundance Institute. Sundance Industry’s Rosy Wong introduced me to Lisa Ogdie, Sundance Ff’s Shorts Programmer. Strand’s Marcus Hu, who has two films in the festival (Films Distribution’s “Girlhood” and Pyramide’s “Xenia”) was there, Frank Wuliger looking at the Gersh trailer of “October Gale”, Rebecca (Bec) Smith of UTA as were so many others.
New acquisitions gigs were discussed: Bobby Rock looking for international sales agent,Cinema Management Group ( Dene Anderberg, Cmg’s VP of Sales and Operations, was also there schmoozing) and for Random Media, the new U.S. distribution company founded by Eric Doctorow (formerly head of Paramount Home Video) in November 2013, which will release films through Cinedigm.
Telefilm and Tiff have held a similar soiree for four years in NewYork. I’m sure Andrew Karpen, former Co-ceo of Focus Features, who is launching the new distribution company Bleecker Street was there in N.Y.
Rachel Shapiro, also happily working on many projects at once and her friend, producer Melanie Backer, Laurie Woodrow of RightsTrade a global online marketplace for film, television and digital rights licensing whose “Market On Demand” streamlines film, television, and digital rights sales and acquisitions for content owners, sales agents and distributors who can reach thousands of industry buyers, and buyers can search, screen, and license rights from sellers of thousands of titles.
Bonnie Voland with her hands full for Im Global and its many lines, reminisced with Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada and Brigitte Hubmann of Telefilm about the five (!) regimes of the Toronto International Film Festival she has known…from before Helga Stephenson all the way to Cameron Bailey who was there talking up the upcoming festival and hearing peoples’ raves or rants.
Also reminiscing with Brigitte about their days at Goethe Institut was Margit Kleinman who is now director of Villa Aurora, the artist-in-residence program for artists in Germany housed in the Pacific Palisades former home of German émigré, the novelist Lion Furchtwanger. I didn’t have time to ask if they would host the German Academy Award party this year for their submission for Best Foreign Language film, Dominik Graf’s “Beloved Sister”. Since its premiere at the Berlinale this year, international sales agent Global Screen has sold the rights to Music Box for U.S. who will release it in December, and to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland and Croatia thus far.
Our dear friend, Ian Birnie, programmer for Mumbai Film Festival and the Louisiana International Film Festival was there with so many others. It was a wonderful moment to catch up and to forget the pressure we are all under preparing our screenings and meetings for Tiff.
Even though he wasn’t there, I want to mention a brief interchange I had with producer rep Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales, who is repping “Black and White” with Kevin Costner and co-repping the Paul Bettany movie with Jennifer Connelly, “Shelter”, with UTA at Tiff. “In Venice I have Bogdanovich’s ‘She's Funny that Way’ which is in a three way split between me, CAA and UTA and Joe Dante's movie ‘Burying the Ex’ which I'm doing with CAA.”
Steven Raphael and Mj Pekos were fronting for the reception and also are repping “Voiceover” and “Dark Horse” at Tiff.
There was no need to show trailers to the buzz films like the Gala film “Foxcatcher”, which has Oscar expectations are already swirling around it and which premiered in Cannes and is being sold by Kimberly Fox’s Panorama Media and Annapurna (already sold to Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. as well as to Canada-Métropole Films Distribution and Mongrel Media Inc., France-Mars Films, Germany-Koch Media Gmbh, Japan-Longride Inc. So. Korea-Green Narae Media, Switzerland-Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan-Long Shong International, United Kingdom- Entertainment One Uk. The film has already earned Bennett Miller the Best Director prize at Cannes.
Another not previewing was Benedict Cumberbatch starring in the much talked about Alan Turing biopic “ The Imitation Game”, and his portrayal of the legendary British code breaker and mathematician is generating talk of a Best Actor nod at this year's Academy Awards. FilmNation is repping this and has already sold it to The Weinstein Company for U.S., Belgium to Paradiso Filmed Entertainment, Greece to Seven Films, Hong Kong (China) to Edko Films Ltd, Israel to Lev Films (Shani Films), Italy toVidea - Cde S.P.A., Japan toGaga Corporation, So. Korea to Medialog Corp., Sweden to Svensk Filmindustri, Ab, Switzerland to Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, Taiwan to Applause Entertainment Ltd. Taiwan Branch, Thailand to M Pictures Co., Ltd.
Two other hot films are Lone Scherfig's “The Riot Club” repped by Hanway and already sold to Universal Pictures for No. America, Belgium-Lumière, France-Selective Films, Germany-Prokino Filmverleih Gmbh, Hong Kong (China)-Golden Scene Company Limited, Italy-Notorious Pictures, Benelux-Lumiere, Poland-Kino Swiat, Switzerland-Pathe Films Ag, United Arab Emirates-Front Row Filmed Entertainment and the U.K. Kingdom-Universal Pictures International and Noah Baumbach's “ While We're Young”, produced by Scott Rudin and repped by FilmNation (again!), with no sales on record yet.
See Cameron Bailey on CBC News discussing Tiff:
Video | TIFF2014: 4 buzz-worthy films at the fest If you want to know more about sales in Toronto, please check back with www.SydneysBuzz.com/Reports for the Toronto By Numbers Report and after the festival for the Toronto Rights Roundup.
- 9/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Bang Bang Baby, developed by Jeffrey St. Jules in the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation, is an otherworldly musical about Stepphy (Jane Levy), who is trapped in the sleepy 1960′s town of Lonely Arms taking care of her alcoholic father (Peter Stormare). Stepphy dreams of escaping to a better life on the stage and screen, and when rock star Bobby Shore’s (Justin Chatwin) car breaks down in Lonely Arms, it seems her impossible dream might actually be coming true. But when Fabian (David Reale), the town creep, tells Stepphy that the local chemical factory is leaking dangerous purple fumes that can cause human mutations, Stepphy becomes obsessed with hiding these dark secrets from Bobby until they can escape together and make all of her fantasies a reality.
This unique and stylized film stars Jane Levy (Evil Dead, Suburgatory) in a defining turn as Stepphy, a small town girl who...
This unique and stylized film stars Jane Levy (Evil Dead, Suburgatory) in a defining turn as Stepphy, a small town girl who...
- 8/30/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The luxurious banquet hall in Toronto’s Royal York hotel was electric with excitement as Tiff senior programmers including Steve Gravestock and Agata Smoluch Del Sorbo announced the robust lineup of Canadian films (several world preems) at this year’s Tiff plus the 40+ short titles (out of an astounding 840 short films — an increase of over 200 titles from last year) that will screen at the prestigious festival. With features populating almost every section at the fest, among the headliner items from English Canada, Cairo Time‘s Ruba Nadda returns to the fest with October Gale, while also world preeming is Bang Bang Baby — Jeffrey St. Jules marks his feature film debut with a film that is equal parts Rocky Horror Picture Show and early Cronenberg. Starring Jane Levy of the recent About Alex, it revolves around a small-town teenager in the ’60s whose dream of becoming a famous singer is dashed...
- 8/6/2014
- by Leora Heilbronn
- IONCINEMA.com
Jane Levy (“Suburgatory”), Justin Chatwin (“Shameless”) and Peter Stormare (“Fargo”) will star in director Jeffrey St. Jules’ indie movie “Bang Bang Baby” for Scythia Films and JoBro Productions, TheWrap has learned. Principal photography began earlier this week in Toronto. “Bang Bang Baby” is a 1960s musical about Stepphy (Levy), who lives in the sleepy town of Lonely Arms with her alcoholic father, played by Stormare. Stepphy's dream of escaping to a better life on the stage and screen seems to be coming true when rock star Bobby Shore's (Chatwin) car breaks down in Lonely Arms. When the town creep tells Stepphy.
- 3/14/2014
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
The Invisible Woman will close the Halifax-based festival.
Over 180 films are to feature at the 33rd annual Atlantic Film Festival (Aff), running September 12-19, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Joining the Festival’s Gala program is the Atlantic Gala, Gia Milani’s All the Wrong Reasons, a locally produced drama in which four troubled young adults deal with post-traumatic experiences.
The Invisible Woman [pictured] has been unveiled as the festival’s Closing Gala presentation. Directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, The Invisible Woman tells the story of a secret love affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan.
The 2013 Rogers Special Presentations will feature ten of the newest and most anticipated films of year. Newly announced additions include civil war drama Copperhead; Jason Priestly’s directorial feature debut Cas & Dylan; and Jonathan Sobol’s heist film, The Art of the Steal, starring Kurt Russell and Jay Baruchel.
Also selected are Joseph Gordon Levitt’s Don Jon; Parkland, which looks at...
Over 180 films are to feature at the 33rd annual Atlantic Film Festival (Aff), running September 12-19, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Joining the Festival’s Gala program is the Atlantic Gala, Gia Milani’s All the Wrong Reasons, a locally produced drama in which four troubled young adults deal with post-traumatic experiences.
The Invisible Woman [pictured] has been unveiled as the festival’s Closing Gala presentation. Directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, The Invisible Woman tells the story of a secret love affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan.
The 2013 Rogers Special Presentations will feature ten of the newest and most anticipated films of year. Newly announced additions include civil war drama Copperhead; Jason Priestly’s directorial feature debut Cas & Dylan; and Jonathan Sobol’s heist film, The Art of the Steal, starring Kurt Russell and Jay Baruchel.
Also selected are Joseph Gordon Levitt’s Don Jon; Parkland, which looks at...
- 8/20/2013
- ScreenDaily
The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...
- 8/21/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Toronto has announced the homegrown portion of its lineup. Canadian filmmakers represent in both a feature film category and "Short Cuts Canada," as well as a selection of films funded by the National Film Board of Canada. Canuck first-time feature filmmakers include Jason Buxton ("Blackbird"), Brandon Cronenberg (Cannes entry "Antiviral") and Kate Melville ("Picture Day"), and returning veterans include Sarah Polley ("The Stories We Tell"), Xavier Dolan ("Laurence Anyways") and Michael McGowan ("Still"). 44 short films were selected for "Short Cuts Canada," a program that was winnowed down from nearly 700 submissions. Included in the lineup are Nfb-funded titles such as Jeffrey St. Jules' "Let the Daylight into the Swamp" and Patrick Bouchard's "Bydlo." Senior programmer Steve Gravestock stated: “Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the...
- 8/8/2012
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
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