Record Intake
The European Film Academy has added a record 709 new members in its 2024 annual intake. New members include Cate Blanchett (Australia/U.K.), Jovan Marjanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Maria Bakalova (Bulgaria), Juraj Lerotić (Croatia), Anna Hints (Estonia), Ariane Toscan du Plantier (France), Stéphan Castang (France), David Thion (France), Marie-Ange Luciani (France), Latifa Saïd (France), Rebecca Houzel (France), Thomas Hakim (France), Sami Mustafa (France/Kosovo), Mohamed Siam (France), Hanna Bergholm (Finland), Hamze Bytyçi (Germany) and Christian M. Goldbeck (Germany).
The intake also includes Behrooz Karamizade (Germany), Jerry Hoffmann (Germany), Aylin Tezel (Germany), Jasmin Tabatabai (Germany), Sofia Exarchou (Greece), Phedon Papamichael (Greece), Kate McCullough (Ireland), Matteo Garrone (Italy), Enzo d’Alò (Italy), Francesco Montagner (Italy), Uljana Kim (Lithuania), Cindy Jansen (Netherlands), Fatih Rağbet (Netherlands), Cristi Puiu (Romania), Anca Puiu (Romania), Elene Naveriani (Switzerland), Selahattin Paşalı (Turkey), Molly Manning Walker (U.K.), Melanie Hoyes (U.K.), Lizzie Francke (U.K.), Charles Newland (UK), Jad Salfiti (U.
The European Film Academy has added a record 709 new members in its 2024 annual intake. New members include Cate Blanchett (Australia/U.K.), Jovan Marjanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Maria Bakalova (Bulgaria), Juraj Lerotić (Croatia), Anna Hints (Estonia), Ariane Toscan du Plantier (France), Stéphan Castang (France), David Thion (France), Marie-Ange Luciani (France), Latifa Saïd (France), Rebecca Houzel (France), Thomas Hakim (France), Sami Mustafa (France/Kosovo), Mohamed Siam (France), Hanna Bergholm (Finland), Hamze Bytyçi (Germany) and Christian M. Goldbeck (Germany).
The intake also includes Behrooz Karamizade (Germany), Jerry Hoffmann (Germany), Aylin Tezel (Germany), Jasmin Tabatabai (Germany), Sofia Exarchou (Greece), Phedon Papamichael (Greece), Kate McCullough (Ireland), Matteo Garrone (Italy), Enzo d’Alò (Italy), Francesco Montagner (Italy), Uljana Kim (Lithuania), Cindy Jansen (Netherlands), Fatih Rağbet (Netherlands), Cristi Puiu (Romania), Anca Puiu (Romania), Elene Naveriani (Switzerland), Selahattin Paşalı (Turkey), Molly Manning Walker (U.K.), Melanie Hoyes (U.K.), Lizzie Francke (U.K.), Charles Newland (UK), Jad Salfiti (U.
- 5/9/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The European Film Academy (Efa) has added a record 709 film professionals as new members, including actress Cate Blanchett and directors Molly Manning Walker and Matteo Garrone.
New members are invited to join Efa once a year, and the 2024 cohort has been announced on today’s Europe Day.
Other new members include Sarajevo festival director Jovan Marjanović, Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, Anatomy Of A Fall producers David Thion and Marie-Ange Luciani, German actress and director Aylin Tezel, Greek director Sofia Exarchou, Romanian director and screenwriter Christi Puiu, and UK’s National Film and Television School head of fiction directing Lizzie Franke.
New members are invited to join Efa once a year, and the 2024 cohort has been announced on today’s Europe Day.
Other new members include Sarajevo festival director Jovan Marjanović, Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, Anatomy Of A Fall producers David Thion and Marie-Ange Luciani, German actress and director Aylin Tezel, Greek director Sofia Exarchou, Romanian director and screenwriter Christi Puiu, and UK’s National Film and Television School head of fiction directing Lizzie Franke.
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Festival selection includes Nikolaj Arcel’s ‘The Promised Land’ and Ernst De Geer’s ‘The Hypnosis’.
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
- 1/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
2023 was a year of seemingly seismic change for the film industry, as superhero movies (especially Marvel) lost their grip on the box office while more auteur-led efforts such as Oppenheimer and Barbie made serious bank. Audiences seem hungry for a return to thoughtful and engaging efforts, voting for their wallets against a decade of cape-clad hegenomy in favour of more challenging (and visually interesting) cinema. But as with the majority of contemporary film analysis, these are mostly concerns for Hollywood. The international arthouse scene plugs away as usual, providing a diverse range of exciting visions that once again expand the very possibilities of the cinematic form. I went back and forth on this list several times, only coming to a final top ten this very morning. With courtroom drama, oddball romance, epic character study and even outright horror, this year’s selection subverted and expanded genre norms, showing that great cinema,...
- 12/26/2023
- by Redmond Bacon
- Directors Notes
“Slow,” Marija Kavtaradze’s delicate romance, won the Crystal Arrow at the 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival from a jury presided over by Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”).
Kavtaradze’s sophomore outing, “Slow” world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won best director. The film revolves around the bond between Elena (Greta Grinevičiūtė), a contemporary dancer teaching to deaf youth, and Dovydas (Kęstutis Cicėnas), a sign language interpreter class.
“The Teachers’ Lounge,” meanwhile, won the jury prize. The satirical movie, directed Ilker Çatak, world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama section, and was just shortlisted in the Oscar’s international feature film race. Leonie Benesch stars an idealistic teacher who tries to uncover a thief within her school and sparks chaos in the process.
Dimitra Vlagopoulou won best actress for her performance as an entertainer at an all-inclusive Greek resort in...
Kavtaradze’s sophomore outing, “Slow” world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won best director. The film revolves around the bond between Elena (Greta Grinevičiūtė), a contemporary dancer teaching to deaf youth, and Dovydas (Kęstutis Cicėnas), a sign language interpreter class.
“The Teachers’ Lounge,” meanwhile, won the jury prize. The satirical movie, directed Ilker Çatak, world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Panorama section, and was just shortlisted in the Oscar’s international feature film race. Leonie Benesch stars an idealistic teacher who tries to uncover a thief within her school and sparks chaos in the process.
Dimitra Vlagopoulou won best actress for her performance as an entertainer at an all-inclusive Greek resort in...
- 12/23/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Prizes for ‘Explanation For Everything’, ‘Green Border’.
Slow, the second feature from Lithuanian filmmaker Marija Kavtaradze, has won the Crystal Arrow at the 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival in France.
The romantic drama receives a €20,000 digital promotional campaign for its release; Be For Films handles sales on the title, with Tandem distributing the film in France on March 6, 2024.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
A Sundance 2023 premiere, Slow follows a dancer and sign language interpreter who begin a relationship, building their own kind of intimacy.
It is a second feature for Kavtaradze after 2018 Toronto selection Summer...
Slow, the second feature from Lithuanian filmmaker Marija Kavtaradze, has won the Crystal Arrow at the 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival in France.
The romantic drama receives a €20,000 digital promotional campaign for its release; Be For Films handles sales on the title, with Tandem distributing the film in France on March 6, 2024.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
A Sundance 2023 premiere, Slow follows a dancer and sign language interpreter who begin a relationship, building their own kind of intimacy.
It is a second feature for Kavtaradze after 2018 Toronto selection Summer...
- 12/23/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Festival ran November 2-12.
Sofia Exarchou’s Animal has won the €10,000 Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for best film at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the first time in 30 years a Greek production has won the top prize.
The film’s lead actress Dimitra Vlagopoulou also won the best actress award ex aequo with Joanna Arnow for US production The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed, which she also directed.
Vlagopoulou had previously won best actress at Locarno where the film had its world premiere.
The Greek, Austrian, Romanian, Cypriot, Bulgarian co-production follows a group of women...
Sofia Exarchou’s Animal has won the €10,000 Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos prize for best film at the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the first time in 30 years a Greek production has won the top prize.
The film’s lead actress Dimitra Vlagopoulou also won the best actress award ex aequo with Joanna Arnow for US production The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed, which she also directed.
Vlagopoulou had previously won best actress at Locarno where the film had its world premiere.
The Greek, Austrian, Romanian, Cypriot, Bulgarian co-production follows a group of women...
- 11/15/2023
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal” won the Golden Alexander at the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday, marking the first time in 30 years that a Greek film took home the top honors at the country’s longest-running film event.
Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.
Lead actor Dimitra Vlagopoulou, who won the acting award at the prestigious Swiss fest for what Kiang called a “riveting” performance, also shared the award for best actress in Thessaloniki. The awards were handed out by a jury comprised of producer Diana Elbaum,...
Exarchou’s sophomore feature, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, was praised by Variety’s Jessica Kiang as “a poignant portrait of life amid the sequins and the seediness of a Greek resort.” The film follows a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort preparing for the busy tourist season who are forced to wrestle with the dark reality that the show must go on as the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent.
Lead actor Dimitra Vlagopoulou, who won the acting award at the prestigious Swiss fest for what Kiang called a “riveting” performance, also shared the award for best actress in Thessaloniki. The awards were handed out by a jury comprised of producer Diana Elbaum,...
- 11/12/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
There were sunny skies over the Thessaloniki Film Festival this week, with unseasonably high temperatures leading many visitors to reach for the sunscreen while dashing between movie premieres and industry events at Greece’s longest-running film fest.
The local industry, too, is enjoying a moment in the sun, as the Mediterranean nation has seen production surge post-pandemic, buoyed by foreign titles like Rian Johnson’s Netflix blockbuster “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” action thriller “Tin Soldier,” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and the Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone starring “Expend4bles,” the latest installment of the action franchise, which filmed in Thessaloniki.
Last year, production in Greece reached record heights, with 132 projects supported by the country’s cashback scheme, which covers up to 40% of qualifying expenditures and can be combined with a separate 30% tax relief scheme. This year, Pablo Larrain’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie,...
The local industry, too, is enjoying a moment in the sun, as the Mediterranean nation has seen production surge post-pandemic, buoyed by foreign titles like Rian Johnson’s Netflix blockbuster “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” action thriller “Tin Soldier,” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and the Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone starring “Expend4bles,” the latest installment of the action franchise, which filmed in Thessaloniki.
Last year, production in Greece reached record heights, with 132 projects supported by the country’s cashback scheme, which covers up to 40% of qualifying expenditures and can be combined with a separate 30% tax relief scheme. This year, Pablo Larrain’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie,...
- 11/11/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Seven years after her skillful debut Park, which played Toronto and San Sebastian, where it won the New Directors Award, Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou has returned with her sophomore outing.
Animal, which Exarchou directed from a screenplay she also penned, follows a group of young seasonal performers who provide entertainment at one of Greece’s many all-inclusive island resorts. Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou), returning for her ninth year on the resort, is the leader of the pack, but she’s starting to crack. As the summer intensifies and the work pressure builds up, their nights become violent, and Kalia’s struggle is revealed. But when the spotlights turn on again, the show must go on.
The pic debuted in competition at Locarno, where Vlagopoulou took the Pardo Award for Best Performance. Since then, Animal has been one of the year’s buzziest arthouse titles, screening across the festival circuit and picking up awards.
Animal, which Exarchou directed from a screenplay she also penned, follows a group of young seasonal performers who provide entertainment at one of Greece’s many all-inclusive island resorts. Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou), returning for her ninth year on the resort, is the leader of the pack, but she’s starting to crack. As the summer intensifies and the work pressure builds up, their nights become violent, and Kalia’s struggle is revealed. But when the spotlights turn on again, the show must go on.
The pic debuted in competition at Locarno, where Vlagopoulou took the Pardo Award for Best Performance. Since then, Animal has been one of the year’s buzziest arthouse titles, screening across the festival circuit and picking up awards.
- 11/5/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
When the Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival kicks off its 64th edition on Nov. 2, the organizers will unveil a host of changes while renewing their commitment to serving audiences at one of Europe’s longest-running film events — all at a time of almost unprecedented uncertainty over the future of cinema and even the very purpose of festivals themselves.
With a sister documentary festival held each March and a year-round program of workshops, screenings, special events and other education and outreach initiatives, Thessaloniki has established itself as a hub to “exchange ideas, train, reflect and celebrate cinema with the public,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau.
It’s also uniquely positioned to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
“We operate in an ecosystem that has changed radically over the past five years and the pace is accelerating,” says Jalladeau, calling the challenges ahead “immense, but also very motivating.” Still, Thessaloniki remains committed...
With a sister documentary festival held each March and a year-round program of workshops, screenings, special events and other education and outreach initiatives, Thessaloniki has established itself as a hub to “exchange ideas, train, reflect and celebrate cinema with the public,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau.
It’s also uniquely positioned to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
“We operate in an ecosystem that has changed radically over the past five years and the pace is accelerating,” says Jalladeau, calling the challenges ahead “immense, but also very motivating.” Still, Thessaloniki remains committed...
- 11/2/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Ken Loach’s ‘The Old Oak’ takes Spanish festival’s audience prize.
The 68th edition of the Valladolid International Film Week, also known as Seminci, wrapped on Saturday (October 28), giving its top award, the Golden Spike, to Laura Ferrés’ debut feature The Permanent Picture.
It is the first time the best feature award at the long-running film festival has been won by a Spanish woman director.
Ferrés previously directed short film The Disinherited which won the Cannes Discovery Award for best short in 2017.
See below for full list of winners
The Permanent Picture is the story of an introverted middle-aged...
The 68th edition of the Valladolid International Film Week, also known as Seminci, wrapped on Saturday (October 28), giving its top award, the Golden Spike, to Laura Ferrés’ debut feature The Permanent Picture.
It is the first time the best feature award at the long-running film festival has been won by a Spanish woman director.
Ferrés previously directed short film The Disinherited which won the Cannes Discovery Award for best short in 2017.
See below for full list of winners
The Permanent Picture is the story of an introverted middle-aged...
- 10/30/2023
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
Two movies which come in on immigration from vastly different angles – Laura Ferrés’ “The Permanent Picture” and Ken Loach’s “The Old Oak” – won big Saturday night at Spain’s Valladolid Festival, walking off with its main competition Golden Spike and the Spanish event’s best actor (Dave Turner) and Audience Award plaudits respectively.
The prize ceremony also saw Charlotte Rampling, star of closing film “Juniper” from Matthew J. Saville, accept an enthusiastically applauded Honorific Spike for her career achievement.
Though decided upon by independent juries, Valladolid’s prizes say much about the new-fit festival after a first-year reboot by new director José Luis Cienfuegos, previously a Gijón and Seville fest head.
Under directors Fernando Lara (1984-2004), Juan Carlos Frugone (2005-08) and Javier Angulo (2009-2022), Valladolid has consolidated as one of Spain’s biggest festivals, after San Sebastián. and a bastion of auteurist, arthouse independent cinema. Few figures in Europe...
The prize ceremony also saw Charlotte Rampling, star of closing film “Juniper” from Matthew J. Saville, accept an enthusiastically applauded Honorific Spike for her career achievement.
Though decided upon by independent juries, Valladolid’s prizes say much about the new-fit festival after a first-year reboot by new director José Luis Cienfuegos, previously a Gijón and Seville fest head.
Under directors Fernando Lara (1984-2004), Juan Carlos Frugone (2005-08) and Javier Angulo (2009-2022), Valladolid has consolidated as one of Spain’s biggest festivals, after San Sebastián. and a bastion of auteurist, arthouse independent cinema. Few figures in Europe...
- 10/29/2023
- by John Hopewell and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
40 feature films now selected for Academy’s 2023 shortlist.
The European Film Academy has added a further 21 features to its shortlist for the 2023 European Film Awards, including Cannes premieres The Zone of Interest and Club Zero and Venice competition titles The Green Border and Io Capitano.
The shortlist for the European Film Awards now comprises 40 features. The first 19 titles titles in the running for the 2023 European Film Awards were unveiled in August and included Anatomy Of A Fall, How To Have Sex, The Old Oak and Firebrand.
The European Film Academy said that more than 40% of all selected films are directed by women.
The European Film Academy has added a further 21 features to its shortlist for the 2023 European Film Awards, including Cannes premieres The Zone of Interest and Club Zero and Venice competition titles The Green Border and Io Capitano.
The shortlist for the European Film Awards now comprises 40 features. The first 19 titles titles in the running for the 2023 European Film Awards were unveiled in August and included Anatomy Of A Fall, How To Have Sex, The Old Oak and Firebrand.
The European Film Academy said that more than 40% of all selected films are directed by women.
- 9/27/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Greek hotel where Sofia Exarchou’s jittery, melancholic “Animal” takes place doesn’t seem to be anyone’s first-choice holiday destination. The beach is gritty rather than golden. The skies are low and gray. The guests are older couples and noisy families — pragmatic souls seeking a couple of weeks of undemanding pleasure on a budget that doesn’t stretch to luxury. Setting foot inside the Hotel Mirage, a “White Lotus” guest would turn on her heel so abruptly she’d be in danger of breaking a Manolo.
But so much for the guests, who come and go. The unromanced gaze of Monika Lenczewska’s mobile, handheld camera is firmly fixed on the seasonal entertainment staff. Shacking up in tatty digs on the premises, the men and women who provide daily diversions for the all-inclusive package tourists have the self-organizing camaraderie of a circus troupe. They practise their dance routines...
But so much for the guests, who come and go. The unromanced gaze of Monika Lenczewska’s mobile, handheld camera is firmly fixed on the seasonal entertainment staff. Shacking up in tatty digs on the premises, the men and women who provide daily diversions for the all-inclusive package tourists have the self-organizing camaraderie of a circus troupe. They practise their dance routines...
- 8/17/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Critical Zone, an Iranian drama shot in secret by dissident director Ali Ahmadzadeh, has won the Golden Leopard honor for best film at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival.
Ahmadzadeh, who has been banned from leaving Iran, was unable to attend the awards ceremony, held at the Swiss city Saturday night. The Iranian government pressured the director to pull the film from competition. Through its story of a man and his dog, who navigate Tehran’s underworld, selling drugs and talking to troubled souls, Critical Zone depicts a nation rebelling against an oppressive regime in any way it can. Produced by Germany’s Counter Intuitive Film, Critical Zone is being sold worldwide by Luxbox.
Another proudly political filmmaker, British legend Ken Loach, won the audience award, the Ubs Prix du Public, at Locarno’s 76th annual festival for his latest (and perhaps last) feature film: The Old Oak. The drama, which premiered in Cannes,...
Ahmadzadeh, who has been banned from leaving Iran, was unable to attend the awards ceremony, held at the Swiss city Saturday night. The Iranian government pressured the director to pull the film from competition. Through its story of a man and his dog, who navigate Tehran’s underworld, selling drugs and talking to troubled souls, Critical Zone depicts a nation rebelling against an oppressive regime in any way it can. Produced by Germany’s Counter Intuitive Film, Critical Zone is being sold worldwide by Luxbox.
Another proudly political filmmaker, British legend Ken Loach, won the audience award, the Ubs Prix du Public, at Locarno’s 76th annual festival for his latest (and perhaps last) feature film: The Old Oak. The drama, which premiered in Cannes,...
- 8/13/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Critical Zone took Golden Leopard Photo: Courtesy of Locarno Film Festival Ali Ahmadzadeh's Critical Zone has taken the top prize Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.
The film, which was secretly shot on the streets of Tehran without government permission, is described as “a hymn to freedom and resistance in Iran”. The director was summoned last month to Iran's Ministry of Security where he came under pressure to withdraw the film from the competition. He is currently banned from leaving the country.
In a statement the director said: "Making this film was a big rebellion. Showing it means an even bigger victory for us."
A special jury prize was awarded to Radu Jude for Do Not Expect To Much From The End Of The World while this year’s newly introduced gender-neutral acting awards went to Dimitra Vlagopoulou for Animal, directed by Sofia Exarchou and Renée Soutendijk...
The film, which was secretly shot on the streets of Tehran without government permission, is described as “a hymn to freedom and resistance in Iran”. The director was summoned last month to Iran's Ministry of Security where he came under pressure to withdraw the film from the competition. He is currently banned from leaving the country.
In a statement the director said: "Making this film was a big rebellion. Showing it means an even bigger victory for us."
A special jury prize was awarded to Radu Jude for Do Not Expect To Much From The End Of The World while this year’s newly introduced gender-neutral acting awards went to Dimitra Vlagopoulou for Animal, directed by Sofia Exarchou and Renée Soutendijk...
- 8/12/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 76th Locarno Film Festival with his latest feature Critical Zone (Mantagheye Bohrani).
Ahmadzadeh was not in attendance to receive the award as he is currently banned from leaving his native Iran. Last month, the country’s authorities summoned Ahmadzadeh to the Ministry of Security, where he was pressured to pull Critical Zone from Locarno’s official competition. The film’s international sales agent Luxbox Paris and the producer, Sina Ataeian Dena, also said they had received threatening emails and messages demanding the film be pulled from the fest.
The pic, described as “a hymn to freedom and resistance in Iran,” was shot without permission from authorities before recent protests started. The plot follows a man who drives through Tehran’s underworld with his dog, dealing drugs and healing troubled souls. Born in Tehran in 1986, Critical Zone...
Ahmadzadeh was not in attendance to receive the award as he is currently banned from leaving his native Iran. Last month, the country’s authorities summoned Ahmadzadeh to the Ministry of Security, where he was pressured to pull Critical Zone from Locarno’s official competition. The film’s international sales agent Luxbox Paris and the producer, Sina Ataeian Dena, also said they had received threatening emails and messages demanding the film be pulled from the fest.
The pic, described as “a hymn to freedom and resistance in Iran,” was shot without permission from authorities before recent protests started. The plot follows a man who drives through Tehran’s underworld with his dog, dealing drugs and healing troubled souls. Born in Tehran in 1986, Critical Zone...
- 8/12/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
For those fortunate enough to grab their own little piece of paradise during summer vacation, the memories can seem unforgettable. But there’s another side to those sunny holidays that are rarely posted on Instagram, involving the many hotel workers who labor in the background to make everything appear perfect, at least on the surface.
Greek writer-director Sofia Exarchou’s intriguing second feature, Animal, focuses on a specific group of such workers: the animateurs whose job is to entertain guests both day and night, leading seniors in a game of bingo or a group singalong, or performing Showgirls-style dance numbers marked by an excessive level of kitsch.
Paul Verhoeven’s glitter-and-guts depiction of Las Vegas definitely comes to mind in this story of a dancer, Kalia (the excellent Dimitra Vlagopoulou), who choreographs numbers and trains new recruits at a Greek resort filled with foreign tourists. She constantly reminds her team to smile at the guests,...
Greek writer-director Sofia Exarchou’s intriguing second feature, Animal, focuses on a specific group of such workers: the animateurs whose job is to entertain guests both day and night, leading seniors in a game of bingo or a group singalong, or performing Showgirls-style dance numbers marked by an excessive level of kitsch.
Paul Verhoeven’s glitter-and-guts depiction of Las Vegas definitely comes to mind in this story of a dancer, Kalia (the excellent Dimitra Vlagopoulou), who choreographs numbers and trains new recruits at a Greek resort filled with foreign tourists. She constantly reminds her team to smile at the guests,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When the Sarajevo Film Festival returned to full strength last year after successive, slimmed-down pandemic editions, a robust turn-out was to be expected. For nearly three decades, the audience-facing event has been the cultural lifeblood of the lively, cosmopolitan city it calls home.
The 2022 edition broke attendance records set in 2019, and just days after its online ticketing system launched this month, the fest appears on pace to surpass that mark again. It is a testament to the enduring love affair between a city and a festival that was founded in impossible circumstances in 1995, at the tail end of a brutal, four-year siege — proof that even in times of war and scarcity, cinema could endure.
The festival returns Aug. 11 – 18, with organizers insisting the event’s 29th edition will stay true to its roots. “We wanted to keep the festival focused on its main goals: presenting the best of cinema today to...
The 2022 edition broke attendance records set in 2019, and just days after its online ticketing system launched this month, the fest appears on pace to surpass that mark again. It is a testament to the enduring love affair between a city and a festival that was founded in impossible circumstances in 1995, at the tail end of a brutal, four-year siege — proof that even in times of war and scarcity, cinema could endure.
The festival returns Aug. 11 – 18, with organizers insisting the event’s 29th edition will stay true to its roots. “We wanted to keep the festival focused on its main goals: presenting the best of cinema today to...
- 8/11/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Sofia Exarchou’s Animal considers the lives of entertainment “animateurs” at a Greek all-inclusive resort. Their job is to keep the holidaymakers happy with a mixture of singing, dancing and flirtation. It’s an environment that Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou) is all too familiar with as she’s been working at the hotel for years. Eva (Flomaria Papadaki), meanwhile is new to the experience. Over the course of the summer the two women begin to form a bond as Kalia starts to question her life. Director Exarchou, questions the capitalist model that drives this sort of entertainment, while also interrogating the nature of performance in general.
Speaking about the film ahead of its premiere in Locarno, she says it was the product of years of research.
“The starting point was that after my previous film I wanted to...
Speaking about the film ahead of its premiere in Locarno, she says it was the product of years of research.
“The starting point was that after my previous film I wanted to...
- 8/5/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Boogie Nights: Exarchou Doses Summertime Sadness in Achy Melodrama
For anyone who’s ever wondered what life might be like for employees at any tourist trap destination, Greek director Sofia Exarchou offers up something rather disconcerting with her sophomore film, Animal. Sure, there are other films exemplifying the tight-knit bond which exists between these makeshift families in carnivalesque environments, but these usually exist on categorical extremes. For every tantalizing toxic cousin of Nightmare Alley, there’s the sun-dappled sentiment of Adventureland (2009) or The Way Way Back (2013). Exarchou instead paints a painful character portrait of less easily defined ennui in the inherent stagnation of seasonal employment, the kind enhanced in settings intended for adult entertainment, where boundaries are easily blurred, breeding despair for participants who eventually are diminished by their self-inflicted purgatory.…...
For anyone who’s ever wondered what life might be like for employees at any tourist trap destination, Greek director Sofia Exarchou offers up something rather disconcerting with her sophomore film, Animal. Sure, there are other films exemplifying the tight-knit bond which exists between these makeshift families in carnivalesque environments, but these usually exist on categorical extremes. For every tantalizing toxic cousin of Nightmare Alley, there’s the sun-dappled sentiment of Adventureland (2009) or The Way Way Back (2013). Exarchou instead paints a painful character portrait of less easily defined ennui in the inherent stagnation of seasonal employment, the kind enhanced in settings intended for adult entertainment, where boundaries are easily blurred, breeding despair for participants who eventually are diminished by their self-inflicted purgatory.…...
- 8/3/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The burgeoning subgenre of films that are set in vacation resorts but are anything but sunny - including everything from Aftersun and Make Up to Suntan - gets another entry with Sofia Exarchou’s second film. Her tale, like Suntan’s, begins in the slate-skied pre-season on an unnamed Greek island. It’s here where we enter the hotel Mirage, its name clueing us in to what we might expect from this character study, as the entertainment “animateurs” work exhaustively on creating stage shows that offer the illusion of a good time.
Dancer Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou) has been doing this for years, painting on a smile and singing Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie in front of a sparse crowd of holidaymakers. Despite her obvious abilities, she is a hot mess, coming alive during performances but struggling in between times. She senses a kindred spirit with the arrival of the young and inexperienced.
Dancer Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou) has been doing this for years, painting on a smile and singing Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie in front of a sparse crowd of holidaymakers. Despite her obvious abilities, she is a hot mess, coming alive during performances but struggling in between times. She senses a kindred spirit with the arrival of the young and inexperienced.
- 8/2/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
As the first major international film festival mounted following SAG-aftrta’s decision to join the WGA in strike action against the studios, there was much speculation about how the Locarno Film Festival would adapt its lineup.
The fest lost its opening-night centerpiece at short notice, with UK actor-producer Riz Ahmed pulling out of an appearance during which he was set to receive Locarno’s Davide Campari lifetime achievement award. Fellow lifetime award recipient Stellan Skarsgård also pulled out of his festival engagements.
Instead, the fest pulled into motion Wednesday evening with a subdued opening-night ceremony. Proceedings began with the festival’s outgoing president, Marco Solari, opening the event for the last time following a 23-year tenure. He was followed onstage by artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who, despite Ahmed’s absence, pushed on with the Davide Campari lifetime achievement award presentation, handing the gong to director Yann Mounir Demange. The...
The fest lost its opening-night centerpiece at short notice, with UK actor-producer Riz Ahmed pulling out of an appearance during which he was set to receive Locarno’s Davide Campari lifetime achievement award. Fellow lifetime award recipient Stellan Skarsgård also pulled out of his festival engagements.
Instead, the fest pulled into motion Wednesday evening with a subdued opening-night ceremony. Proceedings began with the festival’s outgoing president, Marco Solari, opening the event for the last time following a 23-year tenure. He was followed onstage by artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who, despite Ahmed’s absence, pushed on with the Davide Campari lifetime achievement award presentation, handing the gong to director Yann Mounir Demange. The...
- 8/2/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou’s drama “Animal,” which world premieres Aug. 3 in competition at the Locarno Film Festival, has secured its first distribution deals and released a teaser (see below).
The anticipated follow-up to Exarchou’s first feature, “Park,” which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won the New Directors Award in San Sebastian, “Animal” will be distributed in France by Shellac and in Austria by Filmgarten. Shellac is repping the film’s world rights.
“Animal” takes place under the scorching Greek sun as a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort prepares for the busy tourist season. As the summer intensifies and the pressure builds, the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent; in the darkness, the struggles of the group’s leader, Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou), are revealed. But when the spotlights again turn on, the entertainers learn that the show must go on.
“Animal” is produced by Maria Drandaki...
The anticipated follow-up to Exarchou’s first feature, “Park,” which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won the New Directors Award in San Sebastian, “Animal” will be distributed in France by Shellac and in Austria by Filmgarten. Shellac is repping the film’s world rights.
“Animal” takes place under the scorching Greek sun as a group of entertainers at an all-inclusive island resort prepares for the busy tourist season. As the summer intensifies and the pressure builds, the sultry Mediterranean nights turn violent; in the darkness, the struggles of the group’s leader, Kalia (Dimitra Vlagopoulou), are revealed. But when the spotlights again turn on, the entertainers learn that the show must go on.
“Animal” is produced by Maria Drandaki...
- 8/1/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
When we dial Locarno chief Giona A. Nazzaro’s line, he’s in the process of slipping into an air-conditioned bar where he can escape the blistering heat that has consumed Southern Europe for much of July.
“It’s like living in a furnace,” he says. “It’s terrible, believe me.”
This year’s Locarno Film Festival is Nazzaro’s third edition as Artistic Director. He took charge in 2020, navigating the festival through the pandemic, and has now been tasked with pulling the event together amid dual US labor strikes.
“There hasn’t been a moment since I took the helm where I could switch to autopilot and cruise along,” he adds.
Mounted on the Italian-Swiss border, Locarno will be the first major international festival impacted by the strike, with an Aug 2 kick-off date. The fest runs until Aug 12. Locarno hosts an Official Competition, several sidebar sections, and an open-air screening program for local audiences.
“It’s like living in a furnace,” he says. “It’s terrible, believe me.”
This year’s Locarno Film Festival is Nazzaro’s third edition as Artistic Director. He took charge in 2020, navigating the festival through the pandemic, and has now been tasked with pulling the event together amid dual US labor strikes.
“There hasn’t been a moment since I took the helm where I could switch to autopilot and cruise along,” he adds.
Mounted on the Italian-Swiss border, Locarno will be the first major international festival impacted by the strike, with an Aug 2 kick-off date. The fest runs until Aug 12. Locarno hosts an Official Competition, several sidebar sections, and an open-air screening program for local audiences.
- 7/27/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled its official selection for this year’s edition, with Elene Naveriani’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry among the titles playing in Competition.
A total of 49 films will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards. The Festival’s four competition sections – feature, documentary, short, and student film – will feature 22 world, two international, 22 regional, and three national premieres.
Additional titles featured in the main competition program include Animal by Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou, Tigru by Andrei Tănase, and the Turkish series Rumi from producers Ahmet Okur, Kerim Ayyildiz, and director Can Ulkaj playing as a special screening.
The festival said Creative Director Izeta Građević saw 935 films submitted for consideration, including 200 feature fiction films, 235 documentaries, 500 shorts, and student titles.
The Sarajevo Film Festival competition programme is open for films and filmmakers from Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo*, North Macedonia,...
A total of 49 films will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards. The Festival’s four competition sections – feature, documentary, short, and student film – will feature 22 world, two international, 22 regional, and three national premieres.
Additional titles featured in the main competition program include Animal by Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou, Tigru by Andrei Tănase, and the Turkish series Rumi from producers Ahmet Okur, Kerim Ayyildiz, and director Can Ulkaj playing as a special screening.
The festival said Creative Director Izeta Građević saw 935 films submitted for consideration, including 200 feature fiction films, 235 documentaries, 500 shorts, and student titles.
The Sarajevo Film Festival competition programme is open for films and filmmakers from Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo*, North Macedonia,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Forty-nine films will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival, which runs in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Aug. 11 to 18.
The Feature Film Competition will present 11 titles, with two world premieres, one international and five regional premieres.
World premieres include “Europa” from Austrian-Iranian filmmaker Sudabeh Mortezai, whose credits include 2018 Venice Days entry “Joy,” the Best Film winner at London Film Festival, and “Macondo,” which competed for the Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival in 2014.
The other world premiere is “Medium,” from Greek director Christina Ioakeimidi, whose debut feature was “Harisma” in 2010.
The international premiere is Romanian filmmaker Tudor Giurgiu’s “Freedom,” which world premiered at Transilvania Film Festival, and won the Public’s Choice award. Last year, “Freedom” won the jury prize in the Work in Progress section of CineLink Industry Days, Sarajevo’s industry program.
The festival’s four competition sections – for feature, documentary,...
The Feature Film Competition will present 11 titles, with two world premieres, one international and five regional premieres.
World premieres include “Europa” from Austrian-Iranian filmmaker Sudabeh Mortezai, whose credits include 2018 Venice Days entry “Joy,” the Best Film winner at London Film Festival, and “Macondo,” which competed for the Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival in 2014.
The other world premiere is “Medium,” from Greek director Christina Ioakeimidi, whose debut feature was “Harisma” in 2010.
The international premiere is Romanian filmmaker Tudor Giurgiu’s “Freedom,” which world premiered at Transilvania Film Festival, and won the Public’s Choice award. Last year, “Freedom” won the jury prize in the Work in Progress section of CineLink Industry Days, Sarajevo’s industry program.
The festival’s four competition sections – for feature, documentary,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Submissions to the competition sections up 23% for this year’s festival.
Sudabeh Mortezai’s Europa is one of 10 feature world premieres set to screen in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival next month (August 11-18).
Europa is the fifth feature from Austrian-Iranian filmmaker Mortezai, and follows an ambitious executive working at a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkans. Mortezai’s previous feature Joy debuted at Venice in 2018; while her 2014 title Macondo premiered at the Berlinale.
Five of the 10 titles in the feature film competition are directed by women. Also having its world premiere in the feature film competition...
Sudabeh Mortezai’s Europa is one of 10 feature world premieres set to screen in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival next month (August 11-18).
Europa is the fifth feature from Austrian-Iranian filmmaker Mortezai, and follows an ambitious executive working at a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkans. Mortezai’s previous feature Joy debuted at Venice in 2018; while her 2014 title Macondo premiered at the Berlinale.
Five of the 10 titles in the feature film competition are directed by women. Also having its world premiere in the feature film competition...
- 7/20/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The pair join jury president French actor Lambert Wilson in the international competition strand
Aftersun director Charlotte Wells and Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi are among the jurors for the 76th Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).
The Scottish filmmaker and Iranian actor will sit on the international competition jury, led by French actor Lambert Wilson, alongside European Film Academy president Matthijs Wouter Knol and Lesli Klainberg, president of film at the Lincoln Centre.
Films competing at Locarno this year include Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World, Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths...
Aftersun director Charlotte Wells and Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi are among the jurors for the 76th Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).
The Scottish filmmaker and Iranian actor will sit on the international competition jury, led by French actor Lambert Wilson, alongside European Film Academy president Matthijs Wouter Knol and Lesli Klainberg, president of film at the Lincoln Centre.
Films competing at Locarno this year include Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World, Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths...
- 7/12/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World (Radu Jude).The lineup for the 76th edition of the festival has been announced, including new films by Eduardo Williams, Leonor Teles, Lav Diaz, Radu Jude, and others.Concorso INTERNAZIONALEAnimal (Sofia Exarchou)Critical Zone (Ali Ahmadzadeh)Essential Truths of the Lake (Lav Diaz)Home (Leonor Teles)The Human Surge 3 (Eduardo Williams)The Invisible Fight (Rainer Sarnet)Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World (Radu Jude)Lousy Carter (Bob Byington)Manga D’Terra (Basil Da Cunha)Nuit Obscure – Au Revoir Ici, N’Importe Où (Sylvain George)Patagonia (Simone Bozzelli)The Permanent Picture (Laura Ferrés)Rossosperanza (Annarita Zambrano)Stepne (Maryna Vroda)Sweet Dreams (Ena Sendijarević)The Vanishing Soldier (Dani Rosenberg)Yannick (Quentin Dupieux)Excursion (Una Gunjak).Concorso Cineasti Del PRESENTECamping du Lac (Eléonore Saintagnan)Ein Schöner Ort (Katharina Huber)Excursion (Una Gunjak)Family Portrait (Lucy Kerr)Dreaming...
- 7/6/2023
- MUBI
A total of 24 feature films, including five world premieres, make up this year’s programme.
Edinburgh International Film Festival has unveiled a 24-title programme for 2023, featuring the world premiere of Janis Pugh’s feature debut Chuck Chuck Baby, and international titles spanning Europe, China, India and Japan.
There are five world premieres, plus five retrospective titles, five short films and an outdoor screening weekend of seven features.
Chuck Chuck Baby unfurls in a chicken factory in north Wales, and stars Louise Brealey, Annabel Scholey, Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones and Emily Fairn. It’s set in the present day, with a...
Edinburgh International Film Festival has unveiled a 24-title programme for 2023, featuring the world premiere of Janis Pugh’s feature debut Chuck Chuck Baby, and international titles spanning Europe, China, India and Japan.
There are five world premieres, plus five retrospective titles, five short films and an outdoor screening weekend of seven features.
Chuck Chuck Baby unfurls in a chicken factory in north Wales, and stars Louise Brealey, Annabel Scholey, Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones and Emily Fairn. It’s set in the present day, with a...
- 7/6/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
French filmmaker won the jury prize at Cannes with ‘Les Misérables’, which went on to secure an Oscar nomination.
Les Indésirables, the second feature of Cannes award-winner Ladj Ly, will receive its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.
The French filmmaker was previously at TIFF in 2019 with debut Les Misérables, which won the jury prize when it premiered in Competition at Cannes and went on to secure an Oscar nomination for best international feature film.
Les Indésirables is a timely tale of revolution, set in the suburbs on the outskirts of Paris, and stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar and Steve Tientcheu,...
Les Indésirables, the second feature of Cannes award-winner Ladj Ly, will receive its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.
The French filmmaker was previously at TIFF in 2019 with debut Les Misérables, which won the jury prize when it premiered in Competition at Cannes and went on to secure an Oscar nomination for best international feature film.
Les Indésirables is a timely tale of revolution, set in the suburbs on the outskirts of Paris, and stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar and Steve Tientcheu,...
- 7/5/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
A stellar precursor to the busy fall film festival season, Locarno Film Festival annually premieres some of the year’s most exciting cinema and 2023 looks to be no different. Taking place from August 2-12 in the Swiss town, the festival has now unveiled its lineup for the 76th edition. Highlights include Eduardo Williams’ The Human Surge 3 (brilliantly forgoing a second film), Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World, Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths of the Lake, Sylvain George’s Nuit Obscure – Au Revoir Ici, N’Importe Où, and Quentin Dupieux’s Yannick.
Speaking to its main section, Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “From Quentin Dupieux and his edgy surrealism to Lav Diaz. From the sarcastic humor of Radu Jude to the night poetry of Sylvain Georges. From the mad inventions of Rainer Sarnet to the abstract psychedelia of Eduardo Williams.
Speaking to its main section, Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “From Quentin Dupieux and his edgy surrealism to Lav Diaz. From the sarcastic humor of Radu Jude to the night poetry of Sylvain Georges. From the mad inventions of Rainer Sarnet to the abstract psychedelia of Eduardo Williams.
- 7/5/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Marks the feature directorial debut of Singapore’s Nelson Yeo.
Italian sales agent Lights On has picked up world rights for Singapore director Nelson Yeo’s feature debut Dreaming And Dying and US filmmaker Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait, which will receive their world premieres in competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).
Both are set to play in Locarno’s competitive Cinema of the Present section, which spotlights new talent.
Fantasy drama Dreaming And Dying revolves around three middle-aged friends who reunite after years apart. But their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives...
Italian sales agent Lights On has picked up world rights for Singapore director Nelson Yeo’s feature debut Dreaming And Dying and US filmmaker Lucy Kerr’s Family Portrait, which will receive their world premieres in competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).
Both are set to play in Locarno’s competitive Cinema of the Present section, which spotlights new talent.
Fantasy drama Dreaming And Dying revolves around three middle-aged friends who reunite after years apart. But their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives...
- 7/5/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Marks the feature directorial debut of Singapore’s Nelson Yeo.
Italian sales agent Lights On has picked up world rights for Singapore director Nelson Yeo’s feature debut Dreaming And Dying, which is set to receive its world premiere in competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).
The fantasy drama will screen in Locarno’s competitive Cinema of the Present section and revolves around three middle-aged friends who reunite after years apart. But their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives threatens to resurface and each of them sets out to confess unexpressed feelings.
The...
Italian sales agent Lights On has picked up world rights for Singapore director Nelson Yeo’s feature debut Dreaming And Dying, which is set to receive its world premiere in competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12).
The fantasy drama will screen in Locarno’s competitive Cinema of the Present section and revolves around three middle-aged friends who reunite after years apart. But their vacation takes a surprising turn when the undercurrent of their past lives threatens to resurface and each of them sets out to confess unexpressed feelings.
The...
- 7/5/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival, Europe’s biggest mid-Summer movie event, has announced its lineup, welcoming recognizable names to its main competition, from Filipino auteur Lav Diaz (“Essential Truths of the Lake”) to Romanian powerhouse Radu Jude, who will show “Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World.”
As already announced, Cate Blanchett and Zar Amir Ebrahimi are set to attend the Locarno Film Festival’s closing night to promote the European launch of Iranian-Australian director Noora Niasari’s debut film “Shayda.”
Among the titles selected for Locarno’s more broad-audience-friendly Piazza Grande lineup, Justine Triet will attend with her Cannes Palme’ d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” along with Ken Loach and his “The Old Oak.”
The festival will also celebrate the careers of Harmony Korine, producer Marianne Slot, editor Pietro Scalia, Tsai Ming-liang and present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Italian producer Renzo Rossellini.
As already announced, Cate Blanchett and Zar Amir Ebrahimi are set to attend the Locarno Film Festival’s closing night to promote the European launch of Iranian-Australian director Noora Niasari’s debut film “Shayda.”
Among the titles selected for Locarno’s more broad-audience-friendly Piazza Grande lineup, Justine Triet will attend with her Cannes Palme’ d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” along with Ken Loach and his “The Old Oak.”
The festival will also celebrate the careers of Harmony Korine, producer Marianne Slot, editor Pietro Scalia, Tsai Ming-liang and present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Italian producer Renzo Rossellini.
- 7/5/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
UK star Riz Ahmed will be feted with a career achievement award at the upcoming 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, running August 2 and 12.
The Sound Of Metal actor will be presented with the Excellence Award Davide Campari at the opening night ceremony on the festival’s landmark Piazza Grande open-air cinema.
The ceremony will premiere Yann Mounir Demange’s semi-autobiographical short film Dammi, in which Ahmed participated alongside Isabelle Adjani, Souheila Yacoub, Sandor Funtek and Suzy Bemba.
The tribute will also screen Bassam Tariq’s 2020 rapper drama Mughal Mowgli, which Ahmed starred in and also produced and co-wrote, as part of it program.
Locarno announced the tribute during its announcement on Wednesday of its full 2023 line-up.
French directorial duo Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel’s The Falling Star will open the festival as part of the Piazza Grande program, which also features Justine Triet’s 2023 Cannes d’Or Winner Anatomy of a Fall,...
The Sound Of Metal actor will be presented with the Excellence Award Davide Campari at the opening night ceremony on the festival’s landmark Piazza Grande open-air cinema.
The ceremony will premiere Yann Mounir Demange’s semi-autobiographical short film Dammi, in which Ahmed participated alongside Isabelle Adjani, Souheila Yacoub, Sandor Funtek and Suzy Bemba.
The tribute will also screen Bassam Tariq’s 2020 rapper drama Mughal Mowgli, which Ahmed starred in and also produced and co-wrote, as part of it program.
Locarno announced the tribute during its announcement on Wednesday of its full 2023 line-up.
French directorial duo Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel’s The Falling Star will open the festival as part of the Piazza Grande program, which also features Justine Triet’s 2023 Cannes d’Or Winner Anatomy of a Fall,...
- 7/5/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
International competition features 16 world premieres.
The Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12) has revealed the line-up for its 76th edition, which includes the world premiere of Romanian director Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World.
Locarno’s international competition will comprise 17 films, including 16 world premieres, which will vie for the coveted Golden Leopard awards.
Scroll down for full list of titles
These titles include Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World, his first feature since winning the Berlinale Golden Bear for Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn in...
The Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12) has revealed the line-up for its 76th edition, which includes the world premiere of Romanian director Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World.
Locarno’s international competition will comprise 17 films, including 16 world premieres, which will vie for the coveted Golden Leopard awards.
Scroll down for full list of titles
These titles include Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World, his first feature since winning the Berlinale Golden Bear for Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn in...
- 7/5/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Locarno International Film Festival unveiled the full program for 2023 on Wednesday, with dozens of world premieres set to screen in the 76th edition of the Swiss festival.
Locarno’s main Piazza Grande section will include several of this season’s festival favorites, among them Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall from French director Justine Triet starring Sandra Hüller; Ken Loach’s latest (and possibly last) feature, The Old Oak; Noora Niasari’s Sundance audience award winner Shayda, featuring Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi; and Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s comedy Theater Camp, which won a special jury prize at Sundance. Other highlights include U.S. horror feature Falling Stars by directors Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki; Dammi from 71′ and White Boy Rick-helmer Yann Demange; and Magnetic Continent, the new nature documentary from March of the Penguins‘ filmmaker Luc Jacquet about the continent of Antarctica.
Locarno’s main Piazza Grande section will include several of this season’s festival favorites, among them Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall from French director Justine Triet starring Sandra Hüller; Ken Loach’s latest (and possibly last) feature, The Old Oak; Noora Niasari’s Sundance audience award winner Shayda, featuring Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi; and Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s comedy Theater Camp, which won a special jury prize at Sundance. Other highlights include U.S. horror feature Falling Stars by directors Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki; Dammi from 71′ and White Boy Rick-helmer Yann Demange; and Magnetic Continent, the new nature documentary from March of the Penguins‘ filmmaker Luc Jacquet about the continent of Antarctica.
- 7/5/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Animal
She saw her feature debut Park break out at major A fests such as TIFF, San Sebastián and Rotterdam, Sofia Exarchou would get a helping hand for her sophomore project workshopping at the Cannes Cinefondation’s L’Atelier. Animal would have gone into production in October, and tells the story of a group of entertainers who work at an all-inclusive island resort unfolds amid games, dance shows and nightly encounters that take place quietly behind the scenes. Produced by Homemade Films’ Maria Drandaki and Maria Kontogianni. We can’t wait.
Gist: A group of animateurs performs every night on the stage of Hotel Mirage, on the coast of a Greek island.…...
She saw her feature debut Park break out at major A fests such as TIFF, San Sebastián and Rotterdam, Sofia Exarchou would get a helping hand for her sophomore project workshopping at the Cannes Cinefondation’s L’Atelier. Animal would have gone into production in October, and tells the story of a group of entertainers who work at an all-inclusive island resort unfolds amid games, dance shows and nightly encounters that take place quietly behind the scenes. Produced by Homemade Films’ Maria Drandaki and Maria Kontogianni. We can’t wait.
Gist: A group of animateurs performs every night on the stage of Hotel Mirage, on the coast of a Greek island.…...
- 1/13/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Greece’s Homemade Films has boarded Mahdi Fleifel’s upcoming feature “Men in the Sun,” currently in the final stages of development. The story, set in Athens, will deal with masculinity, exile and loss, showing young refugees in their 20s hustling to survive in the urban pressure cooker.
The company is also ready to start shooting Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” co-producing with Nabis Filmgroup, Ars Ltd., Digital Cube and Felony Productions.
Furthermore, its founder Maria Drandaki recently presented new projects at Venice Gap-Financing Market. “Arcadia,” directed by Yorgos Zois, will see Homemade Films joining forces with Foss Production and Red Carpet. “Titanic Ocean” by Konstantina Kotzamani will be shot in Japan and Singapore in 2023.
“I’m very excited to be working with this group of directors on a variety of different genres that span from drama to fantasy and mystery,” says Drandaki. She added that she is very interested in...
The company is also ready to start shooting Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” co-producing with Nabis Filmgroup, Ars Ltd., Digital Cube and Felony Productions.
Furthermore, its founder Maria Drandaki recently presented new projects at Venice Gap-Financing Market. “Arcadia,” directed by Yorgos Zois, will see Homemade Films joining forces with Foss Production and Red Carpet. “Titanic Ocean” by Konstantina Kotzamani will be shot in Japan and Singapore in 2023.
“I’m very excited to be working with this group of directors on a variety of different genres that span from drama to fantasy and mystery,” says Drandaki. She added that she is very interested in...
- 9/10/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Scheme rewards projects that inspire exhibition growth.
European exhibition network Europa Cinemas has selected 13 projects for the second edition of Collaborate To Innovate, the scheme to reward innovative and collaborative projects developed by exhibitors in the region.
Backed by Creative Europe’s Media programme, Europa Cinemas grants a maximum of €100,000 per project. The 13 new projects, representing 70 member cinemas, will share a total support amount of almost €1 million.
Coming from 16 European countries, the 13 projects cover a wide range of topics: film literacy and young audience development, European film circulation, technological innovation, digital marketing, enhanced cinema-going experience, as well as green practices and inclusion of disadvantaged audiences.
European exhibition network Europa Cinemas has selected 13 projects for the second edition of Collaborate To Innovate, the scheme to reward innovative and collaborative projects developed by exhibitors in the region.
Backed by Creative Europe’s Media programme, Europa Cinemas grants a maximum of €100,000 per project. The 13 new projects, representing 70 member cinemas, will share a total support amount of almost €1 million.
Coming from 16 European countries, the 13 projects cover a wide range of topics: film literacy and young audience development, European film circulation, technological innovation, digital marketing, enhanced cinema-going experience, as well as green practices and inclusion of disadvantaged audiences.
- 6/27/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Upcoming animation from ’My Life As A Courgette’ director Claude Barras also among recipients.
Berlin Golden Bear winner Radu Jude’s upcoming feature A Case History is one of 24 features to receive a share of €6.5m (6.87m) in the latest round of Eurimages co-production support funding.
The film, a co-production between Romania and Croatia, has received €150,000 and marks the Romanian filmmaker’s next feature after winning the Golden Bear in 2021 with Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.
Produced by Ada Solomon and Adrian Sitaru of Bucharest-based 4Proof Film, the story will be told in two parts. The first follows a...
Berlin Golden Bear winner Radu Jude’s upcoming feature A Case History is one of 24 features to receive a share of €6.5m (6.87m) in the latest round of Eurimages co-production support funding.
The film, a co-production between Romania and Croatia, has received €150,000 and marks the Romanian filmmaker’s next feature after winning the Golden Bear in 2021 with Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.
Produced by Ada Solomon and Adrian Sitaru of Bucharest-based 4Proof Film, the story will be told in two parts. The first follows a...
- 6/27/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
France’s Manny Films, Austria’s Nabis Filmgroup and Bulgaria’s Ars Digital have boarded Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” the follow-up to the Greek director’s San Sebastian prize winner “Park.”
“Animal” takes place under the hot Greek sun and amidst the sweaty nights of an eternal summer. The story of a group of entertainers who work at an all-inclusive island resort unfolds amid games, dance shows and nightly encounters that take place quietly behind the scenes.
The film is produced by Maria Drandaki and Maria Kontagianni for Homemade Films, with the support of the Greek Film Center, Ert and Ekome. Exarchou’s first feature, “Park,” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won the New Directors Award in San Sebastian.
Speaking to Variety at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Exarchou said that Greece’s rapidly growing mass-tourism industry was her initial inspiration for “Animal.”
“Against the backdrop of this huge tourist ‘machine,...
“Animal” takes place under the hot Greek sun and amidst the sweaty nights of an eternal summer. The story of a group of entertainers who work at an all-inclusive island resort unfolds amid games, dance shows and nightly encounters that take place quietly behind the scenes.
The film is produced by Maria Drandaki and Maria Kontagianni for Homemade Films, with the support of the Greek Film Center, Ert and Ekome. Exarchou’s first feature, “Park,” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and won the New Directors Award in San Sebastian.
Speaking to Variety at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Exarchou said that Greece’s rapidly growing mass-tourism industry was her initial inspiration for “Animal.”
“Against the backdrop of this huge tourist ‘machine,...
- 11/15/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
New projects from ‘The Father’, ‘Born To Be Blue’ producers in Ontario Creates iff forum (exclusive)
Virtual meetings, panels and networking to take place September 12-13.
New projects from producers and production companies behind The Father, Born To Be Blue, Mustang and I’m No Longer Here are among the roster at the virtual 16th Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff) set to run from September 12-13.
The two-day co-financing and co-production market, which will run online due to the pandemic, serves international and Canadian producers developing mostly English-language projects and takes place in association with Toronto International Film Festival.
Sessions encompass one-on-one producer and executive meetings with 42 executives in attendance including new companies like Voltage Pictures,...
New projects from producers and production companies behind The Father, Born To Be Blue, Mustang and I’m No Longer Here are among the roster at the virtual 16th Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff) set to run from September 12-13.
The two-day co-financing and co-production market, which will run online due to the pandemic, serves international and Canadian producers developing mostly English-language projects and takes place in association with Toronto International Film Festival.
Sessions encompass one-on-one producer and executive meetings with 42 executives in attendance including new companies like Voltage Pictures,...
- 8/30/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Five projects win cash prizes at the closing of IFFR Pro Days and CineMart.
Greek supernatural drama Cora has won the Eurimages Co-production Award, worth €20,000, at the closing ceremony of International Film Festival Rotterdam’s IFFR Pro Days and CineMart co-production market.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Evi Kalogiropoulou, whose Motorway 65 was nominated for best short film at Cannes 2020, and follows two young women who fall in love and struggle to escape the confines of a dystopian patriarchal society.
Awarding the prize, open to CineMart projects that will be a European co-production, the jury said it...
Greek supernatural drama Cora has won the Eurimages Co-production Award, worth €20,000, at the closing ceremony of International Film Festival Rotterdam’s IFFR Pro Days and CineMart co-production market.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Evi Kalogiropoulou, whose Motorway 65 was nominated for best short film at Cannes 2020, and follows two young women who fall in love and struggle to escape the confines of a dystopian patriarchal society.
Awarding the prize, open to CineMart projects that will be a European co-production, the jury said it...
- 2/5/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
In the third consecutive announcement this year, the Greek pubcaster is backing 17 national and international co-productions with a total of over €1.6 million. The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (Ert Sa) has announced that it is supporting 17 Greek and international co-productions during its latest round of financing. This is the third slate of funding announced this year, with the previous ones being in May (read the news) and in July (see below). The total amount is €1,617,000, which is in accordance with the rule that broadcasters should allocate 1.5% of their gross income to Greek cinema, and the selection comprises 17 projects – fourteen fiction features, and three documentaries. Among the fourteen selected fiction projects, which have received a total support of €1,492,000, is the upcoming film from Sofia Exarchou, whose debut feature Park had a successful festival run. She is now preparing her sophomore feature, Animal, which is produced...
- 11/10/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Some 50 projects span films, TV series and documentaries.
Rome’s Mia film and TV market has unveiled the first wave of projects for this year’s event, which will go-ahead as a mix of physical and digital elements from October 14-18.
The sixth edition of the Audiovisual International Market (Mia), which runs alongside the Rome Film Festival, will include 50 projects from more than 20 countries in its co-production market and pitching forum. The co-production market will comprise 16 projects, of which half are directed by women.
These include Amor y Dolor by Emanuele Scaringi, marking her second feature after youth comedy La Profezia Dell’Armadillo,...
Rome’s Mia film and TV market has unveiled the first wave of projects for this year’s event, which will go-ahead as a mix of physical and digital elements from October 14-18.
The sixth edition of the Audiovisual International Market (Mia), which runs alongside the Rome Film Festival, will include 50 projects from more than 20 countries in its co-production market and pitching forum. The co-production market will comprise 16 projects, of which half are directed by women.
These include Amor y Dolor by Emanuele Scaringi, marking her second feature after youth comedy La Profezia Dell’Armadillo,...
- 9/29/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
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