Cinephil has sold Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó’s feature documentary “Agent of Happiness” to a wide range of key international territories ahead of the film’s Hot Docs debut this weekend.
Deals are confirmed in the U.K. and Ireland (Dogwoof), Germany and Austria (Filmwelt), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Italy (Wanted), Spain and Portugal (Filmin), Poland (Against Gravity), Switzerland (Trigon), Belgium (Vrt), Israel (Lev), the Western Balkans (Beldocs), Hong Kong and Macao (Now TV Hong Kong), and Taiwan (Sky Digi), with North American distribution set to be announced shortly. Hungarian distributor Mozinet will release the film on May 2.
“Agent of Happiness” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews, and went on to several festivals including True/False, Cph:dox, San Francisco, Full Frame and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Co-directed by Bhattarai and Zurbó following their IDFA-selected “The Next Guardian,” “Agent of Happiness” follows Amber, one of the...
Deals are confirmed in the U.K. and Ireland (Dogwoof), Germany and Austria (Filmwelt), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Italy (Wanted), Spain and Portugal (Filmin), Poland (Against Gravity), Switzerland (Trigon), Belgium (Vrt), Israel (Lev), the Western Balkans (Beldocs), Hong Kong and Macao (Now TV Hong Kong), and Taiwan (Sky Digi), with North American distribution set to be announced shortly. Hungarian distributor Mozinet will release the film on May 2.
“Agent of Happiness” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews, and went on to several festivals including True/False, Cph:dox, San Francisco, Full Frame and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Co-directed by Bhattarai and Zurbó following their IDFA-selected “The Next Guardian,” “Agent of Happiness” follows Amber, one of the...
- 4/25/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Tel Aviv-based sales company Cinephil has acquired world rights for feature documentary “Agent of Happiness,” which delves into the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, ahead of its upcoming Sundance Film Festival debut in the World Cinema Documentary competition.
Co-directed by Arun Bhattarai, who is Bhutanese, in tandem with Hungary’s Dorottya Zurbó, “Agent of Happiness” revolves around a 40-year-old man named Amber, who is one of the agents employed by the Bhutanese government to measure its so-called Gross National Happiness level.
In the late 1990s, Bhutan introduced a unique socioeconomic indicator called the Gross National Happiness Index, meant to ensure that economic development doesn’t disrupt traditional lifestyles. Amber, who still lives with his elderly mother, is “nevertheless a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love: a happiness agent who is in search of his own happiness,” as the doc’s synopsis puts it.
In “Agent of Happiness,” the directors embark...
Co-directed by Arun Bhattarai, who is Bhutanese, in tandem with Hungary’s Dorottya Zurbó, “Agent of Happiness” revolves around a 40-year-old man named Amber, who is one of the agents employed by the Bhutanese government to measure its so-called Gross National Happiness level.
In the late 1990s, Bhutan introduced a unique socioeconomic indicator called the Gross National Happiness Index, meant to ensure that economic development doesn’t disrupt traditional lifestyles. Amber, who still lives with his elderly mother, is “nevertheless a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love: a happiness agent who is in search of his own happiness,” as the doc’s synopsis puts it.
In “Agent of Happiness,” the directors embark...
- 1/12/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s World Cinema Docu Competition sees The Painter and the Thief (2020) filmmaker Benjamin Ree among the pack of ten. Here is the line-up:
Agent of Happiness / Bhutan, Hungary — Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way? World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Battle for Laikipia / Kenya, U.S.A. — Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.…...
Agent of Happiness / Bhutan, Hungary — Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way? World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Battle for Laikipia / Kenya, U.S.A. — Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven.…...
- 12/6/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
‘Tomorrow Somewhere By The Sea’ won best film made in the Balearic Islands.
Nikolaj Arcel’s historical drama The Promised Land headed the winners at the 12th edition of Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival (Emiff), with three prizes including best actor for Mads Mikkelsen.
Mikkelsen was present to collect his award at the ceremony on Tuesday, October 24 – also accepting the prizes for best international film and best cinematography on behalf of Rasmus Videbaek.
Scroll down for the Emiff feature awards
The festival jury also gave a special mention to Simon Bennebjerg in the unofficial ‘best onscreen villain’ category. The Promised Land...
Nikolaj Arcel’s historical drama The Promised Land headed the winners at the 12th edition of Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival (Emiff), with three prizes including best actor for Mads Mikkelsen.
Mikkelsen was present to collect his award at the ceremony on Tuesday, October 24 – also accepting the prizes for best international film and best cinematography on behalf of Rasmus Videbaek.
Scroll down for the Emiff feature awards
The festival jury also gave a special mention to Simon Bennebjerg in the unofficial ‘best onscreen villain’ category. The Promised Land...
- 10/26/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Ahead of its 39th edition, Poland’s Warsaw Film Festival is betting on timely topics.
“The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn.
“For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland. We try to avoid puff pieces.”
While there is space for “lighter topics” as well, supporting Ukraine – and Ukrainian filmmakers – remains one of the priorities.
“We initiated the first solidarity action with Ukraine back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, we also supported Oleg Sentsov. Last year, we featured the entire Ukrainian competition from Odesa International Film Festival, which couldn’t take place due to the war.”
This year, eight Ukrainian productions and co-productions will be shown at the fest. Including “Diagnosis: Dissent” by Denys Tarasov, about punitive psychiatry used by the Kgb, and Taras Dron’s “The Glass House,” where...
“The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn.
“For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland. We try to avoid puff pieces.”
While there is space for “lighter topics” as well, supporting Ukraine – and Ukrainian filmmakers – remains one of the priorities.
“We initiated the first solidarity action with Ukraine back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, we also supported Oleg Sentsov. Last year, we featured the entire Ukrainian competition from Odesa International Film Festival, which couldn’t take place due to the war.”
This year, eight Ukrainian productions and co-productions will be shown at the fest. Including “Diagnosis: Dissent” by Denys Tarasov, about punitive psychiatry used by the Kgb, and Taras Dron’s “The Glass House,” where...
- 10/5/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
This edition boasts the largest feature film selection programmed to-date at Emiff.
The Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival has unveiled its full line-up for the 12th edition of the Spanish festival, with a total of 140 projects, including German auteur Wim Wenders’ Cannes world premiere Perfect Days and a special spotlight screening of David Fincher’s Venice title The Killer.
This year boasts the largest feature film selection programmed to date at Emiff. Additional categories for long-form projects include the debut feature film competition, the Made In Baleares (Mib) feature film competition, Spotlight Screenings and the Drive In Cinema strand. Six...
The Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival has unveiled its full line-up for the 12th edition of the Spanish festival, with a total of 140 projects, including German auteur Wim Wenders’ Cannes world premiere Perfect Days and a special spotlight screening of David Fincher’s Venice title The Killer.
This year boasts the largest feature film selection programmed to date at Emiff. Additional categories for long-form projects include the debut feature film competition, the Made In Baleares (Mib) feature film competition, Spotlight Screenings and the Drive In Cinema strand. Six...
- 10/5/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival, running from October 18 to 24 in the Spanish island’s capital of Palma, has unveiled its full line-up.
The festival will open with Spanish director Isabel Coixet’s new feature Un Amor, which recently world premiered at San Sebastian.
Coixet will also be feted with the festival’s Evolution Vision Award at the opening night ceremony.
Other honorees will include German-Spanish actor Daniel Brühl, best known for his roles in Goodbye Lenin, Rush and The Alienist, and Danish writer and director Susanne Bier, whose recent credits include The Night Manager and The First Lady.
They will both receive Evolution Icon awards while there will also be screenings of Brühl’s most recent film The Movie Teller, as the closing film, and Rush and Bier’s 2010 feature In A Better World, which won the Best International Feature Film Oscar.
The 12th edition marks the festival’s...
The festival will open with Spanish director Isabel Coixet’s new feature Un Amor, which recently world premiered at San Sebastian.
Coixet will also be feted with the festival’s Evolution Vision Award at the opening night ceremony.
Other honorees will include German-Spanish actor Daniel Brühl, best known for his roles in Goodbye Lenin, Rush and The Alienist, and Danish writer and director Susanne Bier, whose recent credits include The Night Manager and The First Lady.
They will both receive Evolution Icon awards while there will also be screenings of Brühl’s most recent film The Movie Teller, as the closing film, and Rush and Bier’s 2010 feature In A Better World, which won the Best International Feature Film Oscar.
The 12th edition marks the festival’s...
- 10/4/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The 20th edition of Skip City International D-Cinema Festival had been physically held from July 15 to July 23 (and virtually from July 22 to July 26), and wrapped at the Closing Ceremony, Sunday July 23. Jury and Audience award winners were announced at the Ceremony.
For the International Compeition, an Asian Premiere film, When the Seedlings Grow (Syria), directed by Rêger Azad Kaya, received the Grand Prize. I Woke Up with a Dream (Argentina, Uruguay), directed by Pablo Solarz, won the Best Director and Six Weeks (Hungary), directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi received the Special Jury Prize. This year's jury members were Masao Teshima, President of the Jury and a renowned producer from Asmik Ace, Naomi Akashi, the producer of Egoist (Dir. Daishi Matsunaga) and Patrice Nezan, a French producer, who produced the festival's 2019 winner The Tower (Dir. Mats Grorud). In addition, Midwives (France), directed by Léa Fehner, was chosen for the Audience Award.
For the International Compeition, an Asian Premiere film, When the Seedlings Grow (Syria), directed by Rêger Azad Kaya, received the Grand Prize. I Woke Up with a Dream (Argentina, Uruguay), directed by Pablo Solarz, won the Best Director and Six Weeks (Hungary), directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi received the Special Jury Prize. This year's jury members were Masao Teshima, President of the Jury and a renowned producer from Asmik Ace, Naomi Akashi, the producer of Egoist (Dir. Daishi Matsunaga) and Patrice Nezan, a French producer, who produced the festival's 2019 winner The Tower (Dir. Mats Grorud). In addition, Midwives (France), directed by Léa Fehner, was chosen for the Audience Award.
- 7/24/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Following the world premiere of “Six Weeks” at Sarajevo Film Festival, about a teenage mother who decides to give her child up for adoption, but still has some time to change her mind, director Noémi Veronika Szakonyi will continue to explore the subject in “Little Ones.” In the documentary, which she will produce, the focus will shift to the complicated workings of international adoption.
“We have been working on it for eight years now; we will shoot for four more,” she says. Her husband and frequent collaborator Máté Vincze will direct.
“I have a subconscious connection to this topic, which I have realized only later. I have been shooting another documentary about my own family, about my mother giving up her child. My brother. I am just interested in that question: how can you give up a child and survive?”
The Hungarian filmmaker already has a slew of new projects,...
“We have been working on it for eight years now; we will shoot for four more,” she says. Her husband and frequent collaborator Máté Vincze will direct.
“I have a subconscious connection to this topic, which I have realized only later. I have been shooting another documentary about my own family, about my mother giving up her child. My brother. I am just interested in that question: how can you give up a child and survive?”
The Hungarian filmmaker already has a slew of new projects,...
- 8/19/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
When the first edition of what would become the Sarajevo Film Festival was held in 1995, the Bosnian capital was in the final year of a devastating, four-year siege. Electricity shortages plunged the city into darkness, while food and hard currency were scarce. The inaugural screenings were held in the basement of a bombed-out building – a literal hole-in-the-wall – where tickets could be purchased with cigarettes instead of cash.
The annual event that emerged from the rubble didn’t just contribute to the cultural life of the city. In the early days after the siege, organizers and local clean-up crews got to work around Sarajevo, refurbishing historic buildings that had been destroyed by the shelling and converting them into festival venues. “Everyone who was involved felt that they were contributing to this rebuilding,” says festival director Jovan Marjanović. “The city was almost fully destroyed. And the festival was the place, and this time in the summer,...
The annual event that emerged from the rubble didn’t just contribute to the cultural life of the city. In the early days after the siege, organizers and local clean-up crews got to work around Sarajevo, refurbishing historic buildings that had been destroyed by the shelling and converting them into festival venues. “Everyone who was involved felt that they were contributing to this rebuilding,” says festival director Jovan Marjanović. “The city was almost fully destroyed. And the festival was the place, and this time in the summer,...
- 8/13/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled its competition line-up for this year’s festival, with Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage and Ukrainian helmer Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s documentary ‘Liturgy Of Anti-Tank Obstacles’ selected in the feature film and documentary categories respectively.
A total of 51 films will compete for the fest’s coveted Heart Of Sarajevo awards across four competition sections: feature films, documentary, short and student film. The selection includes 20 world premieres, eight international premiers, one European premiere, 21 regional premiers and one Bosnia & Herzegovina premiere.
Additional titles featured in the main competition program this year include Aida Begić’s A Ballad, Dominik Mencej’s Riders and Ukrainian-Turkish production Klondike. In the documentary section, Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose film Pamfir played in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year, will see his Liturgy Of Anti-Tank Obstacles doc have its world premiere in the section.
The program was open for films and filmmakers from Albania, Armenia, Austria,...
A total of 51 films will compete for the fest’s coveted Heart Of Sarajevo awards across four competition sections: feature films, documentary, short and student film. The selection includes 20 world premieres, eight international premiers, one European premiere, 21 regional premiers and one Bosnia & Herzegovina premiere.
Additional titles featured in the main competition program this year include Aida Begić’s A Ballad, Dominik Mencej’s Riders and Ukrainian-Turkish production Klondike. In the documentary section, Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose film Pamfir played in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year, will see his Liturgy Of Anti-Tank Obstacles doc have its world premiere in the section.
The program was open for films and filmmakers from Albania, Armenia, Austria,...
- 7/21/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Eight international, one European, 21 regional and one national premiere.
Twenty films will have world premieres in the competitive sections of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, which runs from August 12-19 this year.
Those films are among a 51-strong programme of titles competing for the Heart of Sarajevo awards, across four competition sections: Feature Film, Documentary Film, Short Film and Student Film.
Scroll down for the full list of features
Eight of the films are international premieres, with one European debut, 21 regional premieres and one national launch.
The main Feature Film section consists of eight titles, of which four are world premieres,...
Twenty films will have world premieres in the competitive sections of the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival, which runs from August 12-19 this year.
Those films are among a 51-strong programme of titles competing for the Heart of Sarajevo awards, across four competition sections: Feature Film, Documentary Film, Short Film and Student Film.
Scroll down for the full list of features
Eight of the films are international premieres, with one European debut, 21 regional premieres and one national launch.
The main Feature Film section consists of eight titles, of which four are world premieres,...
- 7/21/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Circle Women Doc Accelerator, a training program for female-identifying documentary filmmakers, has selected the four projects that will take part in its showcase as part of the Cannes Docs program of the Cannes Film Market.
“Becoming Ema” by Patricia Drati and produced by Sidsel Lønvig Siersted for Danish outlet Good Company Pictures and Marcel Plazman for Frame Film in Slovakia (Circle 2020) follows a couple who decide to abandon modern city life and start a life deep in the countryside of Mallorca. One year into their dream, the pandemic hits, the man loses his job, and the family is forced to reevaluate their life.
“A Successful Man” (Nem haltam meg) by Asia Dér, produced by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi and Máté Artur Vincze for Match Frame Productions (Hungary), was developed through Circle 2019. When a life loving, successful gallery owner is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 50, he takes it...
“Becoming Ema” by Patricia Drati and produced by Sidsel Lønvig Siersted for Danish outlet Good Company Pictures and Marcel Plazman for Frame Film in Slovakia (Circle 2020) follows a couple who decide to abandon modern city life and start a life deep in the countryside of Mallorca. One year into their dream, the pandemic hits, the man loses his job, and the family is forced to reevaluate their life.
“A Successful Man” (Nem haltam meg) by Asia Dér, produced by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi and Máté Artur Vincze for Match Frame Productions (Hungary), was developed through Circle 2019. When a life loving, successful gallery owner is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 50, he takes it...
- 4/26/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Institute allocates $590,000 in unrestricted grant support for projects from 20 countries and territories across five continents.
Projects from Rithy Panh and Laura Poitras are among a diverse roster of 18 Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grantees announced on Tuesday (June 8).
There is a strong focus on Bipoc and women directors as the Institute announced a total of $590,000 in unrestricted grant support for projects from 20 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
All of the US projects are directed by at least one Bipoc filmmaker. Some 72% of granted projects are directed by women, and the same proportion are working...
Projects from Rithy Panh and Laura Poitras are among a diverse roster of 18 Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grantees announced on Tuesday (June 8).
There is a strong focus on Bipoc and women directors as the Institute announced a total of $590,000 in unrestricted grant support for projects from 20 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
All of the US projects are directed by at least one Bipoc filmmaker. Some 72% of granted projects are directed by women, and the same proportion are working...
- 6/8/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A diverse group of nonfiction filmmakers, many just starting their careers, is joining the distinguished list of Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grantees.
The institute today announced $590,000 in “unrestricted grant support” to 18 projects at various stages of production, almost three quarters of which are helmed by women directors [full list below]. The projects originate from 20 countries and territories stretching across five continents. Of the U.S.-based films honored with grants, all “are helmed by at least one Bipoc director,” according to the institute.
“Granting focused on projects by artists from historically underrepresented communities, ensuring that these stories are being told from within the communities,” the institute noted. “Additionally, 72-percent of grantees are early career filmmakers, working on their first or second feature film. These statistics reflect the Fund’s commitment to emerging artists whose voices have been historically marginalized in hegemonic Western societies.”
Past recipients of Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grants include four...
The institute today announced $590,000 in “unrestricted grant support” to 18 projects at various stages of production, almost three quarters of which are helmed by women directors [full list below]. The projects originate from 20 countries and territories stretching across five continents. Of the U.S.-based films honored with grants, all “are helmed by at least one Bipoc director,” according to the institute.
“Granting focused on projects by artists from historically underrepresented communities, ensuring that these stories are being told from within the communities,” the institute noted. “Additionally, 72-percent of grantees are early career filmmakers, working on their first or second feature film. These statistics reflect the Fund’s commitment to emerging artists whose voices have been historically marginalized in hegemonic Western societies.”
Past recipients of Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grants include four...
- 6/8/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Ten exhibitors to be featured as part of platform.
Cannes Docs, the documentary film platform running as part of the virtual Marché du Film, has unveiled its programme for the 2020 online edition.
Running from June 22-26, the platform will feature 10 virtual exhibitors from the international documentary community: Antidote, Antipode, Article Films, Cat&Docs, Cinephil, Dogwoof, Metfilm Sales, Rise and Shine World Sales, Ruth Films, and Sweet Spot Docs.
It has expanded its festival partners, adding Dmz Docs from South Korea and É Tudo Verdade from Brazil, to the European cohort of Cph:Dox, Dok Leipzig, Idfa, Ji.hlava Idff, and Visions du Réel.
Cannes Docs, the documentary film platform running as part of the virtual Marché du Film, has unveiled its programme for the 2020 online edition.
Running from June 22-26, the platform will feature 10 virtual exhibitors from the international documentary community: Antidote, Antipode, Article Films, Cat&Docs, Cinephil, Dogwoof, Metfilm Sales, Rise and Shine World Sales, Ruth Films, and Sweet Spot Docs.
It has expanded its festival partners, adding Dmz Docs from South Korea and É Tudo Verdade from Brazil, to the European cohort of Cph:Dox, Dok Leipzig, Idfa, Ji.hlava Idff, and Visions du Réel.
- 6/11/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Tribeca Film Institute announced on Thursday the 43 projects that will participate in this year’s Tfi Network film market, to be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A traditional Tfi Network three-day event would see emerging filmmakers and creators from across the globe coming together in New York City to embark on a day of pitch prep and industry roundtables, along with two days of individual meetings with professionals during the Tribeca Film Festival, which has also moved some of its programming online. This year, Tfi Network, presented by AT&T, will move online from April 27 through May 1. Prior to Tfi Network, filmmakers will attend “Prep Week” from April 21 through April 23, which includes online pitch training sessions with mentors. This year’s 43 winners include scripted projects, documentaries and interactive projects.
“Tfi remains dedicated to creating opportunities for independent artists without compromising their health or safety,” Tribeca Film Institute executive director...
A traditional Tfi Network three-day event would see emerging filmmakers and creators from across the globe coming together in New York City to embark on a day of pitch prep and industry roundtables, along with two days of individual meetings with professionals during the Tribeca Film Festival, which has also moved some of its programming online. This year, Tfi Network, presented by AT&T, will move online from April 27 through May 1. Prior to Tfi Network, filmmakers will attend “Prep Week” from April 21 through April 23, which includes online pitch training sessions with mentors. This year’s 43 winners include scripted projects, documentaries and interactive projects.
“Tfi remains dedicated to creating opportunities for independent artists without compromising their health or safety,” Tribeca Film Institute executive director...
- 4/16/2020
- by Mackenzie Nichols
- Variety Film + TV
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