Directed by Karachi-born filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, In Flames is an impressive addition to contemporary Pakistani cinema. In it, the writer-director explores the consequences of living in the confines of a strongly patriarchal society through the eyes of Mariam (played by Ramesha Nawal), a young woman living with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha (Bakhtawar Mazhar), in a tiny apartment in Karachi, Pakistan.
After Mariam’s maternal grandfather dies, his brother tries to manipulate the family into signing over their small apartment to him. Mariam’s mother, isolated in her grief, becomes an easy target for influence and coercion at the hands of her cruel uncle. Distressed by her mother’s susceptibility, Mariam finds comfort in a secret romance with Asad (Omar Javaid), a fellow student.
When their relationship takes an unexpected turn for the worse, Mariam becomes plagued by nightmares and eerie apparitions. Meanwhile, her mother, entangled with her...
After Mariam’s maternal grandfather dies, his brother tries to manipulate the family into signing over their small apartment to him. Mariam’s mother, isolated in her grief, becomes an easy target for influence and coercion at the hands of her cruel uncle. Distressed by her mother’s susceptibility, Mariam finds comfort in a secret romance with Asad (Omar Javaid), a fellow student.
When their relationship takes an unexpected turn for the worse, Mariam becomes plagued by nightmares and eerie apparitions. Meanwhile, her mother, entangled with her...
- 5/23/2024
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Described as a ghostly parable about Pakistan’s insidious patriarchal order, Game Theory Films brings In Flames to stream at home on VOD, and we’ve got an exclusive clip for you today.
Written and Directed by Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, In Flames was the first Pakistani film to play in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century.
The cast for Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames includes Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi and Jibran Khan.
In the thriller, “Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan, where women’s property rights are fragile.
“Mariam’s mother, grieving and isolated, is easy to influence. Mariam, distraught by her mother’s foolishness,...
Written and Directed by Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, In Flames was the first Pakistani film to play in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century.
The cast for Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames includes Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi and Jibran Khan.
In the thriller, “Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan, where women’s property rights are fragile.
“Mariam’s mother, grieving and isolated, is easy to influence. Mariam, distraught by her mother’s foolishness,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Michael Roffman
- bloody-disgusting.com
After the well-received “Joyland” in 2022 and “In Flames” last year, Pakistan is debuting a central hub at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
The Pakistan Crescent Collective, set up by Modoxy Media, will represent the country’s official presence at the festival, with a mission to “discover and nurture the next generation of talent, preserve film, and
promote Pakistani and diaspora films globally, thereby advancing Pakistan’s visual culture.” The collective consists of a global team of film industry professionals based in London, Karachi, New York and Los Angeles.
Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland” won the Un Certain Regard jury prize in 2022, while Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames” was a Directors’ Fortnight selection. Both films were Pakistan’s official submissions to the Academy Awards. Usman Riaz’s animated film “The Glassworker,” which is selected at Annecy, is an homage to films in the style of this year’s honorary Palme d’Or winner Studio Ghibli.
The Pakistan Crescent Collective, set up by Modoxy Media, will represent the country’s official presence at the festival, with a mission to “discover and nurture the next generation of talent, preserve film, and
promote Pakistani and diaspora films globally, thereby advancing Pakistan’s visual culture.” The collective consists of a global team of film industry professionals based in London, Karachi, New York and Los Angeles.
Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland” won the Un Certain Regard jury prize in 2022, while Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames” was a Directors’ Fortnight selection. Both films were Pakistan’s official submissions to the Academy Awards. Usman Riaz’s animated film “The Glassworker,” which is selected at Annecy, is an homage to films in the style of this year’s honorary Palme d’Or winner Studio Ghibli.
- 5/10/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
A supernatural-charged exploration of patriarchy in Pakistan, Zarrar Kahn's In Flames is now playing in theaters via Game Theory Films, and we have an exclusive clip to share with Daily Dead readers!
Below, you can enter the "door to the beach" and take a plunge into our exclusive clip from In Flames. Written and directed by Zarrar Kahn, In Flames stars Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi, and Jibran Khan.
"A psychological thriller, In Flames is a ghostly parable about Pakistan’s insidious patriarchal order. The film was the first Pakistani film to play in Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century.
Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan,...
Below, you can enter the "door to the beach" and take a plunge into our exclusive clip from In Flames. Written and directed by Zarrar Kahn, In Flames stars Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi, and Jibran Khan.
"A psychological thriller, In Flames is a ghostly parable about Pakistan’s insidious patriarchal order. The film was the first Pakistani film to play in Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century.
Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Described as a ghostly parable about Pakistan’s insidious patriarchal order, Game Theory Films brings In Flames to theaters on Friday, April 12, and we’ve got an exclusive clip for you today.
Written and Directed by Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, In Flames was the first Pakistani film to play in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century.
The cast for Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames includes Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi and Jibran Khan.
In the thriller, “Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan, where women’s property rights are fragile.
“Mariam’s mother, grieving and isolated, is easy to influence. Mariam, distraught by her mother’s foolishness,...
Written and Directed by Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn, In Flames was the first Pakistani film to play in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century.
The cast for Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames includes Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi and Jibran Khan.
In the thriller, “Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan, where women’s property rights are fragile.
“Mariam’s mother, grieving and isolated, is easy to influence. Mariam, distraught by her mother’s foolishness,...
- 4/11/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The term 'gaslighting' is now quite ubiquitous, and one which still remains scoffed at by many (usually those who hold power). But if you're a member of a marginalized group, that gaslighting could come not just from one person, but an entire society, especially one hellbent on keeping some groups marginalized. To say patriarchal ideology is gaslighting might seem to minimize its impact, but on an individual level, this is how it can feel, in every moment, in every activity, for every woman. Zarrar Kahn's feature debut takes this psychological state to a whole new level. In Flames in an intense psychological horror, one that tightens its vice with a slow and deliberate intensity that challenges the viewer to feel what it's like to have...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/10/2024
- Screen Anarchy
"No one will find out...?" Game Theory Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror film titled In Flames, made by the Canadian-Pakistani filmmaker Zarrar Kahn. He's making his feature directorial debut with this film after a few other shorts. Described mainly as a psychological thriller, In Flames is a ghostly parable about Pakistan's insidious patriarchal order. It was the first Pakistani film to premiere in Director's Fortnight at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in nearly half a century, and was submitted as Pakistan's entry to this year's Academy Awards. After the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them. That sounds unsettling. Set mostly in Karachi, In Flames stars Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu,...
- 3/12/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A range of subjects, ranging from hot button to mystical, await Academy voters considering the contenders from South Asia in the international feature category.
The most visible film from the region is certainly Bhutan’s “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” In the film, Dorji uses the first elections in one of the world’s youngest democracies to comment on what is lost as his country modernizes. The Variety critics pick, following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, sold to a raft of major territories worldwide, including Roadside Attractions in the U.S.
Another South Asian feature in the Oscar race that’s striking a high profile is Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames,” Pakistan’s entry to the category. The film debuted at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, kicking off a stellar festival run including Toronto,...
The most visible film from the region is certainly Bhutan’s “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” In the film, Dorji uses the first elections in one of the world’s youngest democracies to comment on what is lost as his country modernizes. The Variety critics pick, following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, sold to a raft of major territories worldwide, including Roadside Attractions in the U.S.
Another South Asian feature in the Oscar race that’s striking a high profile is Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames,” Pakistan’s entry to the category. The film debuted at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, kicking off a stellar festival run including Toronto,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word “Foreign” to be outdated.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
- 12/11/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
he Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea Iff) marked the closing of its third edition with a screening of Micheal Mann's Ferrari, a Red Sea International Film Financing project, and revealed the winners of its highly anticipated Yusr Awards. The festival also welcomed Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage, receiving a Red Sea Honoree award, and joining the 2023 Honoree line-up of Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh, and Abdullah Al-Sadhan. Kristoffer Borgli's comedy horror Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage, will screen as the Final Festival Gala on Saturday 9th December.
Two juries deliberated to finally select winners across 14 categories; led by Jury President Baz Luhrmann. Seventeen films in competition, as well as 23 shorts, were in the running for the coveted awards.
The festival this year celebrated its biggest year yet in terms of attendance – welcoming almost 6,000 accredited guests and selling more than 40,000 tickets across all screenings and In Conversations.
The Closing Ceremony...
Two juries deliberated to finally select winners across 14 categories; led by Jury President Baz Luhrmann. Seventeen films in competition, as well as 23 shorts, were in the running for the coveted awards.
The festival this year celebrated its biggest year yet in terms of attendance – welcoming almost 6,000 accredited guests and selling more than 40,000 tickets across all screenings and In Conversations.
The Closing Ceremony...
- 12/8/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Oscar winner Nicholas Cage received a Red Sea Honouree award
Zarrar Kahn’s Karachi-set thriller In Flames won the $100,000 Golden Yusr award for best feature film at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its winners on Thursday evening (December 7).
A Canada-Pakistan co-production and Pakistan’s entry to the Oscars, In Flames is the story of a mother and daughter trying to survive after losing the family patriarch. It world premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Indian production Dear Jassi, directed by Tarsem Singh, won the $30,000 Silver Yusr. Based on the true story of an Indian couple who fell foul of the class system,...
Zarrar Kahn’s Karachi-set thriller In Flames won the $100,000 Golden Yusr award for best feature film at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its winners on Thursday evening (December 7).
A Canada-Pakistan co-production and Pakistan’s entry to the Oscars, In Flames is the story of a mother and daughter trying to survive after losing the family patriarch. It world premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Indian production Dear Jassi, directed by Tarsem Singh, won the $30,000 Silver Yusr. Based on the true story of an Indian couple who fell foul of the class system,...
- 12/8/2023
- by Mona Sheded
- ScreenDaily
The third annual Red Sea Film Festival handed out its Yusr Awards on Thursday night, with Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames taking Best Feature and Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher scoring a pair of wins including Best Actor for Saleh Bakri. See the full list below.
Elvis director and two-time Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann headed the Rea Sea jury, which handed out awards in 17 categories.
The Saudi Arabian fest also gave a Red Sea Honorary Award to Nicolas Cage. The Oscar winner, whose Dream Scenario will close the festival on December 9, joined fellow 2023 honorees Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh and Abdullah Al-Sadhan.
“Over the past eight days, we have welcomed the world to Jeddah and celebrated this vibrant global film community together – with a goal of bridging cultures and creating new ties,” said Jomana Al-Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “We’ve done that with over 125 films from Saudi Arabia,...
Elvis director and two-time Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann headed the Rea Sea jury, which handed out awards in 17 categories.
The Saudi Arabian fest also gave a Red Sea Honorary Award to Nicolas Cage. The Oscar winner, whose Dream Scenario will close the festival on December 9, joined fellow 2023 honorees Diane Kruger, Ranveer Singh and Abdullah Al-Sadhan.
“Over the past eight days, we have welcomed the world to Jeddah and celebrated this vibrant global film community together – with a goal of bridging cultures and creating new ties,” said Jomana Al-Rashid, Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Foundation. “We’ve done that with over 125 films from Saudi Arabia,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
At the closing ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival Thursday, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in front of an audience that included Hollywood stars Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Jason Statham and Adrien Brody, the Golden Yusr for best film and a $100,000 cash prize went to Pakistani-Canadian horror film “In Flames,” directed by Zarrar Kahn.
The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.”
The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S. co-production, is based on the true story of a Canadian Punjabi woman who ran afoul of her family’s expectations when she chose to marry a working-class...
The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.”
The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S. co-production, is based on the true story of a Canadian Punjabi woman who ran afoul of her family’s expectations when she chose to marry a working-class...
- 12/7/2023
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Zarrar Khan’s In Flames has picked up the Yusr Award for best competition film at the third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
- 12/7/2023
- by Georg Szalai and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
by Cláudio Alves
Considering the Academy's general disinclination to honor horror cinema, it's always surprising when the genre pops up amid Best International Film submissions. This year, Pakistan is one of the brave countries that didn't let genre bias stop them from selecting a scary movie for the Oscar race. Zarrar Kahn's In Flames is the lucky flick, a Canadian-produced meditation on grief, trauma, and poisonous patriarchy bound to unnerve viewers. Neighboring nation India didn't dip their toes into nightmare cinema but sent a disaster picture that's horrifying in its own way. Juan Anthany Joseph's 2018 dramatizes a real-life catastrophe that befell the state of Kerala…...
Considering the Academy's general disinclination to honor horror cinema, it's always surprising when the genre pops up amid Best International Film submissions. This year, Pakistan is one of the brave countries that didn't let genre bias stop them from selecting a scary movie for the Oscar race. Zarrar Kahn's In Flames is the lucky flick, a Canadian-produced meditation on grief, trauma, and poisonous patriarchy bound to unnerve viewers. Neighboring nation India didn't dip their toes into nightmare cinema but sent a disaster picture that's horrifying in its own way. Juan Anthany Joseph's 2018 dramatizes a real-life catastrophe that befell the state of Kerala…...
- 12/7/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames” is set mostly in a cramped apartment nestled not too far from the rowdy, crowded streets of Karachi. The hustle and bustle from the outside — not to mention the social and societal forces that so define it — continually threaten to creep inside the walls of that apartment, which serves as a safe haven that may well crumble under the weight of the very world order that rules beyond its walls. A ghostly parable about Pakistan’s insidious patriarchal order, Khan’s film — the first Pakistani film to screen in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in nearly half a century — finds mother and daughter slowly losing grip on the reality they’ve always known.
Mariam can sense her life is fated to change. While she’s dutifully been studying to become a doctor, she knows the death of her grandfather is sure to have ruinous consequences for her home life.
Mariam can sense her life is fated to change. While she’s dutifully been studying to become a doctor, she knows the death of her grandfather is sure to have ruinous consequences for her home life.
- 12/7/2023
- by Manuel Betancourt
- Variety Film + TV
Award
Zarrar Kahn‘s “In Flames,” Pakistan‘s submission to the Oscars‘ international feature category, has won the International Newcomer Award for the best film in competition at the 72nd International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany. The award carries a cash prize of €30,000.
“In Flames,” a Pakistani Canadian horror-drama about a Karachi woman and her mother who are beset by malevolent figures from their past after the family patriarch dies, premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and has had considerable festival play since, including at Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao.
The award’s jury members, Elisa Schlott, Denis Dercourt and Goran Stolevski, stated: “Our award goes to a filmmaker who manages to shift and play with genre while maintaining a connection both to his audience as well as his protagonist throughout the film. The main character is a young woman who is allowed to be both brave and fragile,...
Zarrar Kahn‘s “In Flames,” Pakistan‘s submission to the Oscars‘ international feature category, has won the International Newcomer Award for the best film in competition at the 72nd International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany. The award carries a cash prize of €30,000.
“In Flames,” a Pakistani Canadian horror-drama about a Karachi woman and her mother who are beset by malevolent figures from their past after the family patriarch dies, premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and has had considerable festival play since, including at Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao.
The award’s jury members, Elisa Schlott, Denis Dercourt and Goran Stolevski, stated: “Our award goes to a filmmaker who manages to shift and play with genre while maintaining a connection both to his audience as well as his protagonist throughout the film. The main character is a young woman who is allowed to be both brave and fragile,...
- 11/28/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
In Flames, the feature debut of Pakistani-Canadian director Zarrar Kahn, has been picked up for the U.S. market by Game Theory Films.
The Urdu-language horror movie, which premiered as part of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight lineup, follows a young woman and her mother tormented by real and fantastic forces following the death of the family patriarch. The ensemble cast includes Ramesha Nawal, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Omar Javaid, Mohammad Ali Hashmi, Adnan Shah Tipu and Jibraan Khan.
A theatrical release is set in early 2024 in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver, with a focus on South Asian audiences across North America. A home video and video-on-demand release of In Flames is scheduled to follow in the second quarter of 2024.
The AFM deal for In Flames with sales agent XYZ Films follows Game Theory Films earlier nabbing the Canadian rights out of Cannes to the horror film that is also Pakistan...
The Urdu-language horror movie, which premiered as part of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight lineup, follows a young woman and her mother tormented by real and fantastic forces following the death of the family patriarch. The ensemble cast includes Ramesha Nawal, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Omar Javaid, Mohammad Ali Hashmi, Adnan Shah Tipu and Jibraan Khan.
A theatrical release is set in early 2024 in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver, with a focus on South Asian audiences across North America. A home video and video-on-demand release of In Flames is scheduled to follow in the second quarter of 2024.
The AFM deal for In Flames with sales agent XYZ Films follows Game Theory Films earlier nabbing the Canadian rights out of Cannes to the horror film that is also Pakistan...
- 11/7/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: United Talent Agency has signed Zarrar Kahn, director of Pakistan’s Oscar entry In Flames, for representation in all areas.
In Flames premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival in Directors Fortnight and was recently named as Pakistan’s submission for the Best International Feature category of the Oscars. The film has also played at festivals including Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Pingyao, Helsinki, and SXSW Sydney.
The film, which is Kahn’s feature directorial debut, revolves around a mother and daughter whose precarious existence is ripped apart following the death of the family patriarch.
Produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, the film recently won the Kevin Tierney Indiescreen Award for Emerging Producer at Toronto and Best Feature at the International South Asian Film Festival Canada.
Prior to In Flames, Kahn’s international breakout short film Dia, about a girl who...
In Flames premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival in Directors Fortnight and was recently named as Pakistan’s submission for the Best International Feature category of the Oscars. The film has also played at festivals including Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Pingyao, Helsinki, and SXSW Sydney.
The film, which is Kahn’s feature directorial debut, revolves around a mother and daughter whose precarious existence is ripped apart following the death of the family patriarch.
Produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, the film recently won the Kevin Tierney Indiescreen Award for Emerging Producer at Toronto and Best Feature at the International South Asian Film Festival Canada.
Prior to In Flames, Kahn’s international breakout short film Dia, about a girl who...
- 10/31/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 10/30/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Pakistan: “In Flames”
Zarrar Kahn’s horror film “In Flames” is Pakistan’s entry for the international feature Oscar. The film debuted at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
“‘In Flames’ has resonated profoundly with our committee members, as it beautifully encapsulates the essence of our culture, art, and cinematic craftsmanship. We believe that the narrative, performances, direction, and every element that went into...
Zarrar Kahn’s horror film “In Flames” is Pakistan’s entry for the international feature Oscar. The film debuted at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
“‘In Flames’ has resonated profoundly with our committee members, as it beautifully encapsulates the essence of our culture, art, and cinematic craftsmanship. We believe that the narrative, performances, direction, and every element that went into...
- 10/28/2023
- by Patrick Frater, Leo Barraclough, Ellise Shafer, Elsa Keslassy, John Hopewell, Naman Ramachandran, Nick Vivarelli, K.J. Yossman and Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
China’s The Wandering Earth 2 and Pakistan’s In Flames were added to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ members-only streaming service, Academy Screening Room, on Friday, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. This means that these are the respective countries’ official selections for the 2024 Oscars in the best international feature film category.
2019’s The Wandering Earth was directed by Frant Gwo and was loosely based on the 2000 short story of the same name. It became China’s fifth highest-grossing film of all time. The prequel was released in January.
China has submitted more than 20 films for an Oscar since 1979, with two going on to receive a nomination. Both were directed by Zhang Yimou. A Chinese film has not won an Academy Award in the international feature film category.
In Flames is written and directed by Zarrar Kahn and had its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
2019’s The Wandering Earth was directed by Frant Gwo and was loosely based on the 2000 short story of the same name. It became China’s fifth highest-grossing film of all time. The prequel was released in January.
China has submitted more than 20 films for an Oscar since 1979, with two going on to receive a nomination. Both were directed by Zhang Yimou. A Chinese film has not won an Academy Award in the international feature film category.
In Flames is written and directed by Zarrar Kahn and had its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
- 10/27/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2023 Chanel X Biff Asian Film Academy has come to a close with the graduation ceremony and screening of the two short films produced by the fellows over the 20 days. This year’s edition presented a strengthened educational program by extending the program period from 18 to 20 days to secure additional time for pre-production and feedback, enhancing the quality of the projects, and introducing a ‘script doctor’, a screenplay specialist, to the line-up of instructors, in addition to the original faculty of dean, directing mentor, and cinematography mentor.
From hands-on training to get familiarized with filming equipment to a masterclass session by the dean, director Suwa Nobuhiro, which will provide insight into his experience and expertise, and workshops to better understand the film industry, such as MPA-bafa Film Workshop: Bridge to Hollywood, the practical programs and mentoring by the faculty, who are deeply invested in the future of the film industry,...
From hands-on training to get familiarized with filming equipment to a masterclass session by the dean, director Suwa Nobuhiro, which will provide insight into his experience and expertise, and workshops to better understand the film industry, such as MPA-bafa Film Workshop: Bridge to Hollywood, the practical programs and mentoring by the faculty, who are deeply invested in the future of the film industry,...
- 10/16/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
China’s Pingyao International Film Festival has announced the line-up for its seventh edition (October 11-18), which will open with Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows and close with the world premiere of Fei Yu’s Football On The Roof.
Wei’s 1990s-set noir thriller, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes film festival, is also one of 11 titles competing in Pingyao’s Hidden Dragons competition for emerging Chinese filmmakers. Football On The Roof tells the story of a female soccer team fighting against the odds in the remote mountains of Yunnan province.
The Hidden Dragons line-up also includes Geng Zihan’s A Song Sung Blue, which premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight, along with world premieres including Hao Feihuan’s Records Without Words, Li Binbin’s The Night Rain South Township and Yang Pingdao’s A Romantic Fragment (see full line-up below).
Pingyao has also...
Wei’s 1990s-set noir thriller, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes film festival, is also one of 11 titles competing in Pingyao’s Hidden Dragons competition for emerging Chinese filmmakers. Football On The Roof tells the story of a female soccer team fighting against the odds in the remote mountains of Yunnan province.
The Hidden Dragons line-up also includes Geng Zihan’s A Song Sung Blue, which premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight, along with world premieres including Hao Feihuan’s Records Without Words, Li Binbin’s The Night Rain South Township and Yang Pingdao’s A Romantic Fragment (see full line-up below).
Pingyao has also...
- 10/8/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The SXSW Sydney festival has set a 75-film screening schedule for its first edition. The selection skews heavily towards music, but is also distinctly international.
Headline titles include re-edited Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense,” “Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles,” an exploration of iconic Australian musical act The Wiggles; drill rap documentary “Onefour: Against All Odds,” directed by Gabriel Gasparinatos; and the widely-acclaimed “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” directed by Neo Sora.
“The first ever SXSW Sydney Screen Festival aims to platform the most exciting new voices, new forms and new ways of creating on screen. We hope to inspire our audiences and industry, by unwrapping the future of screen innovation as it emerges,” said Ghita Loebenstein, the festival’s head of screen. “Like our Austin counterparts, our festival presents global programming from leading creators, and our unique offer is this distinctive Asia Pacific lens. We also thematically lean...
Headline titles include re-edited Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense,” “Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles,” an exploration of iconic Australian musical act The Wiggles; drill rap documentary “Onefour: Against All Odds,” directed by Gabriel Gasparinatos; and the widely-acclaimed “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” directed by Neo Sora.
“The first ever SXSW Sydney Screen Festival aims to platform the most exciting new voices, new forms and new ways of creating on screen. We hope to inspire our audiences and industry, by unwrapping the future of screen innovation as it emerges,” said Ghita Loebenstein, the festival’s head of screen. “Like our Austin counterparts, our festival presents global programming from leading creators, and our unique offer is this distinctive Asia Pacific lens. We also thematically lean...
- 9/21/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The term 'gaslighting' is now quite ubiquitous, and one which still remains scoffed at by many (usually those who hold power). But if you're a member of a marginalized group, that gaslighting could come not just from one person, but an entire society, especially one hellbent on keeping some groups marginalized. To say patriarchal ideology is gaslighting might seem to minimize its impact, but on an individual level, this is how it can feel, in every moment, in every activity, for every woman. Zarrar Kahn's feature debut takes this psychological state to a whole new level. In Flames in an intense psychological horror, one that tightens its vice with a slow and deliberate intensity that challenges the viewer to feel what it's like to have...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/14/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Pakistani Canadian filmmaker Anam Abbas has won the Canadian Media Producers Assn.’s 2023 Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer Award, it was announced Sept. 7 at the Indiescreen Awards, the opening event of the Toronto International Film Festival’s industry conference at Glenn Gould Studios.
Abbas’ latest feature is writer and director Zarrar Kahn’s feature debut “In Flames,” a Pakistani Canadian horror-drama about a Karachi woman and her mother who are beset by malevolent figures from their past after the family patriarch dies. The film, which screens next week in Toronto, premiered in Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, where XYZ Films’ announced the title would launch its New Visions slate.
The award, which comes with a C$10,000 cash prize, recognizes the talents of emerging feature producers. Abbas was recognized by the jury for her ingenuity and her passion for creating films that feel real and essential.
Nancy Grant of Metafilms received the...
Abbas’ latest feature is writer and director Zarrar Kahn’s feature debut “In Flames,” a Pakistani Canadian horror-drama about a Karachi woman and her mother who are beset by malevolent figures from their past after the family patriarch dies. The film, which screens next week in Toronto, premiered in Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, where XYZ Films’ announced the title would launch its New Visions slate.
The award, which comes with a C$10,000 cash prize, recognizes the talents of emerging feature producers. Abbas was recognized by the jury for her ingenuity and her passion for creating films that feel real and essential.
Nancy Grant of Metafilms received the...
- 9/7/2023
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Location, Location, Location
Entertainment, sports and brand licensing firms WildBrain Cplg and WildBrain Ltd. have brokered location-based entertainment (Lbe) deals on behalf of Peanuts Worldwide for “Peanuts,” “Teletubbies” and “In the Night Garden” with China’s Max-Matching Entertainments. These are expected to lead to the opening of family entertainment centers and IP-themed hotel rooms for each brand in Beijing, in Zhongshan City, Guangdong and a third city yet to be announced. These will roll out over the next five years.
The moves come at a time when WildBrain Cplg is expanding its Asia-focused teams. These include the Los Angeles-based veteran licensing executive, Kevin Suh who is former president of themed entertainment & consumer products at Paramount Pictures. Suh was also a senior executive at the Motion Picture Association of America and a lawyer in California. Shanghai-based Evi Sari joins as VP of Lbe in Apac and the Gcc. She was previously...
Entertainment, sports and brand licensing firms WildBrain Cplg and WildBrain Ltd. have brokered location-based entertainment (Lbe) deals on behalf of Peanuts Worldwide for “Peanuts,” “Teletubbies” and “In the Night Garden” with China’s Max-Matching Entertainments. These are expected to lead to the opening of family entertainment centers and IP-themed hotel rooms for each brand in Beijing, in Zhongshan City, Guangdong and a third city yet to be announced. These will roll out over the next five years.
The moves come at a time when WildBrain Cplg is expanding its Asia-focused teams. These include the Los Angeles-based veteran licensing executive, Kevin Suh who is former president of themed entertainment & consumer products at Paramount Pictures. Suh was also a senior executive at the Motion Picture Association of America and a lawyer in California. Shanghai-based Evi Sari joins as VP of Lbe in Apac and the Gcc. She was previously...
- 9/7/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
France, UK, Middle East among buyers.
XYZ Films has reported brisk trade on Zarrar Kahn’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry In Flames and will continue talks with buyers on the New Visions sales title in TIFF.
Sales have closed with The Jokers for France, Blue Finch for the UK, NonStop for Scandinavia, Falcon for the Middle East, Game Theory for Canada, and Shaw for Singapore.
Several other territories are in active negotiations ahead of screenings at TIFF and Sitges in September and October, said the sales company,.
In Flames stars Ramesha Nawa in a Karachi-set thriller about a young Pakistani...
XYZ Films has reported brisk trade on Zarrar Kahn’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry In Flames and will continue talks with buyers on the New Visions sales title in TIFF.
Sales have closed with The Jokers for France, Blue Finch for the UK, NonStop for Scandinavia, Falcon for the Middle East, Game Theory for Canada, and Shaw for Singapore.
Several other territories are in active negotiations ahead of screenings at TIFF and Sitges in September and October, said the sales company,.
In Flames stars Ramesha Nawa in a Karachi-set thriller about a young Pakistani...
- 8/29/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
TIFF continues to build out its speaker lineup despite the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes barring a number of participants from this year’s 48th edition.
Of note, actor Viggo Mortensen will appear on stage in Toronto to discuss his feature directorial debut, the western The Dead Don’t Hurt, a movie he also stars in with Garret Dillahunt, Danny Huston and Vicky Krieps. Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, Mortensen will appear at TIFF under the guise of director. He’ll be joined by producer Jeremy Thomas and Regina Solórzano. Global rights are available on The Dead Don’t Hurt; HanWay Films is handling.
Also having onstage conversations in the Visionaries section are Oscar winners Guillermo del Toro and Spike Lee.
Last week, TIFF announced that Pedro Almodovar, who is already receiving a tribute at the fest, Hong Kong actor Andy Lau and the stars of Korean disaster epic, Concrete Utopia, are already set to have sitdown conversations.
Of note, actor Viggo Mortensen will appear on stage in Toronto to discuss his feature directorial debut, the western The Dead Don’t Hurt, a movie he also stars in with Garret Dillahunt, Danny Huston and Vicky Krieps. Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, Mortensen will appear at TIFF under the guise of director. He’ll be joined by producer Jeremy Thomas and Regina Solórzano. Global rights are available on The Dead Don’t Hurt; HanWay Films is handling.
Also having onstage conversations in the Visionaries section are Oscar winners Guillermo del Toro and Spike Lee.
Last week, TIFF announced that Pedro Almodovar, who is already receiving a tribute at the fest, Hong Kong actor Andy Lau and the stars of Korean disaster epic, Concrete Utopia, are already set to have sitdown conversations.
- 8/14/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Speakers include Guillermo del Toro, Ladj Ly, Nadine Labaki, Viggo Mortenson, Jeremy Thomas.
TIFF top brass have unveiled the bulk of the TIFF Industry Conference line-up with sessions and speakers including Spike Lee, Lucy Walker, AI and film, and African cinema and film industries.
The Conference is divided into six sections and encompasses Doc Day and the new Sloane science and technology project pitch initiative funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Public Understanding of Science and Technology programme.
Besides Lee and Walker, whose acquisition title Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa will premiere in TIFF Docs, speakers include Guillermo del Toro,...
TIFF top brass have unveiled the bulk of the TIFF Industry Conference line-up with sessions and speakers including Spike Lee, Lucy Walker, AI and film, and African cinema and film industries.
The Conference is divided into six sections and encompasses Doc Day and the new Sloane science and technology project pitch initiative funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Public Understanding of Science and Technology programme.
Besides Lee and Walker, whose acquisition title Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa will premiere in TIFF Docs, speakers include Guillermo del Toro,...
- 8/14/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Auteurs Agnieszka Holland, Wim Wenders, Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Aki Kaurismaki are among the filmmakers featured in the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Centrepiece program.
The strand, previously known as Contemporary World Cinema, which honors and celebrates global cinematic achievements, features 47 titles from filmmakers representing 45 countries.
TIFF has also revealed the additional lineup of galas, special presentations and documentaries, which feature star wattage from around the world including Tommy Lee Jones and Anil Kapoor.
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece program, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF chief programming officer. “The rebranding of the TIFF program, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.
The strand, previously known as Contemporary World Cinema, which honors and celebrates global cinematic achievements, features 47 titles from filmmakers representing 45 countries.
TIFF has also revealed the additional lineup of galas, special presentations and documentaries, which feature star wattage from around the world including Tommy Lee Jones and Anil Kapoor.
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece program, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF chief programming officer. “The rebranding of the TIFF program, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.
- 8/10/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Ahead of Toronto International Film Festival kicking off in less than a month, the festival announced more additions, including Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist, Close Your Eyes by Víctor Erice, Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki, Green Border by Agnieszka Holland, Perfect Days by Wim Wenders, About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and more.
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece programme, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. “The rebranding of the TIFF programme, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the Festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
See the lineup below.
Centrepiece Programme 2023
100 Yards Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng | China
International Premiere
About...
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece programme, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. “The rebranding of the TIFF programme, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the Festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
See the lineup below.
Centrepiece Programme 2023
100 Yards Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng | China
International Premiere
About...
- 8/10/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The programme comprises 47 films from 45 countries.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the line-up for its Centrepiece programme, with 47 titles screening from filmmakers representing 45 countries.
Included in the programme (previously known as Contemporary World Cinema) are Victor Erice’s Close Your Eyes, getting its North American premiere; Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves, receiving its Canadian premiere; and Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border, a North American premiere.
Scroll down for the full list of Centrepiece titles
TIFF also announced additional titles for its Galas, Special Presentations and Documentaries programmes, among them the world premiere of Brian Helgeland’s Finestkind.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the line-up for its Centrepiece programme, with 47 titles screening from filmmakers representing 45 countries.
Included in the programme (previously known as Contemporary World Cinema) are Victor Erice’s Close Your Eyes, getting its North American premiere; Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves, receiving its Canadian premiere; and Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border, a North American premiere.
Scroll down for the full list of Centrepiece titles
TIFF also announced additional titles for its Galas, Special Presentations and Documentaries programmes, among them the world premiere of Brian Helgeland’s Finestkind.
- 8/10/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has added 59 more films to the lineup of its 2023 festival, including 47 international films in the Centrepiece program, which in previous years was known as Contemporary World Cinema. New films were also added to the Galas, Special Presentations and Documentary sections.
World premieres among the new selections include “Finestkind,” a crime thriller from Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential”) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster; The Movie Teller,” a film set in Chile starring Berenice Bejo from “An Education” director Lone Scherfig; and Jessica Yu’s “Quiz Lady,” with Sandra Oh and Awkwafina.
The Centrepiece selections include a number of films from May’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “About Dry Grasses,” Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s “Banel & Adama,” Amjad Al Rasheed’s “Inshallah a Boy,” Joanna Arnow’s “The Feeling That the...
World premieres among the new selections include “Finestkind,” a crime thriller from Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential”) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster; The Movie Teller,” a film set in Chile starring Berenice Bejo from “An Education” director Lone Scherfig; and Jessica Yu’s “Quiz Lady,” with Sandra Oh and Awkwafina.
The Centrepiece selections include a number of films from May’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “About Dry Grasses,” Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s “Banel & Adama,” Amjad Al Rasheed’s “Inshallah a Boy,” Joanna Arnow’s “The Feeling That the...
- 8/10/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Toronto International Film Festival continues to expand its 2023 lineup with 47 films from 45 countries in the Centerpiece program, previously known as Contemporary World Cinema. The highlights include Cannes Film Festival winners “Fallen Leaves” from Aki Kaurismäki and “Perfect Days” from Wim Wenders as well as Agnieszka Holland’s Venice-bound “Green Border.” See the full lineup below.
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece program, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer, in an official statement. “The rebranding of the TIFF program, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, for acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
Centerpiece Program 2023
About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) Nuri Bilge Ceylan...
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece program, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer, in an official statement. “The rebranding of the TIFF program, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, for acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
Centerpiece Program 2023
About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) Nuri Bilge Ceylan...
- 8/10/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Text written on June 6, 2023 by Jean-Marc Thérouanne
Asia in the juries :
Franco-Afghan writer and director Atiq Rahimi was the only Asian member of the prestigious jury at the 76th Cannes Film Festival
Fench-Cambodian director Davy Chou was the only Asia-related member of the Un Certain Regard jury
Davy Chou
Shlomi Elkabetz was the only member of the short film jury and the Cinef with a connection to geographical Asia.
Asia in the selections:
Asia, from the Near to the Far East, was present with 31 features and 13 shorts in all the official and parallel sections of the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
In compétition :
– China: Youth (Spring) by Wang Bing
– Japan: Monster by Kore-eda Hirokazu,
Kim Dong-ho, Hirokazu Koreeda
– Turkey: About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
and The Pot-au-feu by French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung and Wim Wenders' Perfect Days, set in Japan.
Out of compétition :
– Korea: Cobweb by Kim Jee-won,...
Asia in the juries :
Franco-Afghan writer and director Atiq Rahimi was the only Asian member of the prestigious jury at the 76th Cannes Film Festival
Fench-Cambodian director Davy Chou was the only Asia-related member of the Un Certain Regard jury
Davy Chou
Shlomi Elkabetz was the only member of the short film jury and the Cinef with a connection to geographical Asia.
Asia in the selections:
Asia, from the Near to the Far East, was present with 31 features and 13 shorts in all the official and parallel sections of the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
In compétition :
– China: Youth (Spring) by Wang Bing
– Japan: Monster by Kore-eda Hirokazu,
Kim Dong-ho, Hirokazu Koreeda
– Turkey: About Dry Grasses by Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
and The Pot-au-feu by French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung and Wim Wenders' Perfect Days, set in Japan.
Out of compétition :
– Korea: Cobweb by Kim Jee-won,...
- 6/7/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
XYZ Films has closed a raft of deals for Czech filmmaker Robert Hloz’s science-fiction feature “Restore Point,” which is part of the company’s recently launched New Visions slate of genre films.
The film has been sold to Germany and Switzerland (Plaion); Scandinavia (NonStop); France (The Jokers); and Australia/New Zealand (Umbrella). Several other territories are in active negotiations, while XYZ is also confirmed to handle the U.S. release of the film.
“Restore Point” is set in the year 2041, when the gaps in social and economic inequality have left the world on the brink. A breakthrough in science has given humanity the ability to bring victims of a violent crime back to life by backing up their brain every two days. This affords an ambitious young detective the opportunity to solve a case of a murdered couple when the restoration team is able to bring one of them back.
The film has been sold to Germany and Switzerland (Plaion); Scandinavia (NonStop); France (The Jokers); and Australia/New Zealand (Umbrella). Several other territories are in active negotiations, while XYZ is also confirmed to handle the U.S. release of the film.
“Restore Point” is set in the year 2041, when the gaps in social and economic inequality have left the world on the brink. A breakthrough in science has given humanity the ability to bring victims of a violent crime back to life by backing up their brain every two days. This affords an ambitious young detective the opportunity to solve a case of a murdered couple when the restoration team is able to bring one of them back.
- 5/26/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
A group of South Asian filmmakers, including Indian director Anurag Kashyap (Kennedy) and the team behind Pakistani Directors Fortnight title In Flames, talked on a Cannes panel about how cinema can cross the political barriers that are keeping their countries apart.
Tensions between India and Pakistan are making it difficult for films and filmmakers to travel between each other’s countries, despite the popularity of Indian cinema in Pakistan, and the recent rise of Pakistani films on the world stage, including In Flames and last year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner, Joyland.
Kashyap, who is in Cannes with neo-noir thriller Kennedy playing Out Of Competition, said a new generation of young producers from different South Asian countries is helping talent from the region to work together and introducing global audiences to the whole region’s films: “These young producers make a difference because they don’t have any boundaries,...
Tensions between India and Pakistan are making it difficult for films and filmmakers to travel between each other’s countries, despite the popularity of Indian cinema in Pakistan, and the recent rise of Pakistani films on the world stage, including In Flames and last year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner, Joyland.
Kashyap, who is in Cannes with neo-noir thriller Kennedy playing Out Of Competition, said a new generation of young producers from different South Asian countries is helping talent from the region to work together and introducing global audiences to the whole region’s films: “These young producers make a difference because they don’t have any boundaries,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
A film festival as large as Cannes is always a study in contradictions, but the first six days of the 2023 edition feel particularly schizophrenic as the fest has veered between sentimental celebration and unsentimental artistry.
Both were on display in the festival’s biggest premiere so far, when Martin Scorsese’s monumental “Killers of the Flower Moon” had its debut in front of a delirious crowd at the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Saturday night. The invitation-only, black-tie audience was there to celebrate Scorsese, who first came to Cannes in 1976 with “Taxi Driver,” greeting him as a conquering hero and giving him a lengthy and emotional standing ovation that didn’t stop until he left the theater.
His film, meanwhile, was a hard-eyed and epic-length examination of the systematic murder of Native Americans from the Osage nation by whites looking to take the tribe’s oil money; the film’s biggest stars,...
Both were on display in the festival’s biggest premiere so far, when Martin Scorsese’s monumental “Killers of the Flower Moon” had its debut in front of a delirious crowd at the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Saturday night. The invitation-only, black-tie audience was there to celebrate Scorsese, who first came to Cannes in 1976 with “Taxi Driver,” greeting him as a conquering hero and giving him a lengthy and emotional standing ovation that didn’t stop until he left the theater.
His film, meanwhile, was a hard-eyed and epic-length examination of the systematic murder of Native Americans from the Osage nation by whites looking to take the tribe’s oil money; the film’s biggest stars,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
by Khushi Jain
When some realities are defined by fear, unease and terror, it is only right that they be translated into cinema as is. This is the basis of Zarrar Kahn's “In Flames”, a drama of patriarchal oppression robed in horror. This eerie debut feature premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as part of Directors' Fortnight, and established itself as an authentic account of Pakistani womanhood through its spectral in(ter)ventions.
In Flames is screening at Cannes Official poster – 76th edition © Photo © Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Scoop – Création graphique © Hartland Villa
Death marks the beginning of the film and of its many ghosts. The passing of a patriarch doesn't wipe out his presence but makes it even more prominent. Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) and her family are left stranded since almost everything they have is under the dead grandfather's name. Danger also lurks in the form of a greedy and deceitful uncle,...
When some realities are defined by fear, unease and terror, it is only right that they be translated into cinema as is. This is the basis of Zarrar Kahn's “In Flames”, a drama of patriarchal oppression robed in horror. This eerie debut feature premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival as part of Directors' Fortnight, and established itself as an authentic account of Pakistani womanhood through its spectral in(ter)ventions.
In Flames is screening at Cannes Official poster – 76th edition © Photo © Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Scoop – Création graphique © Hartland Villa
Death marks the beginning of the film and of its many ghosts. The passing of a patriarch doesn't wipe out his presence but makes it even more prominent. Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) and her family are left stranded since almost everything they have is under the dead grandfather's name. Danger also lurks in the form of a greedy and deceitful uncle,...
- 5/21/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
XYZ Films has acquired North American sales rights to “StayOnline,” from Ukrainian director Anton Skrypets, which uses the innovative Screenlife format to tell the story of a young Kyiv woman who risks her life to help a boy whose parents have gone missing after the Russian invasion.
“StayOnline” was co-written by Skrypets and Eva Strelnikova, who also served as director of photography. It was produced by Marina Kvasova and Alla Lypovetska of the Organization of Ukrainian Producers (Oup) together with Anatoly Dudinsky of Amo Pictures. The film begins when a young woman volunteering in Kyiv is given one of the thousands of laptops donated by ordinary Ukrainians to support the war effort. She’s asked to install a sensitive military application and deliver the laptop to her brother serving on the frontline.
But the woman receives a mysterious video call from a young boy searching for his father, the laptop’s previous owner,...
“StayOnline” was co-written by Skrypets and Eva Strelnikova, who also served as director of photography. It was produced by Marina Kvasova and Alla Lypovetska of the Organization of Ukrainian Producers (Oup) together with Anatoly Dudinsky of Amo Pictures. The film begins when a young woman volunteering in Kyiv is given one of the thousands of laptops donated by ordinary Ukrainians to support the war effort. She’s asked to install a sensitive military application and deliver the laptop to her brother serving on the frontline.
But the woman receives a mysterious video call from a young boy searching for his father, the laptop’s previous owner,...
- 5/21/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The titles include Zarrar Kahn’s Directors’ Fortnight selection In Flames.
Scandinavian and Baltic distributor NonStop Entertainment has been on a buying spree for 20 titles since Sundance.
The titles include Zarrar Kahn’s Directors’ Fortnight selection In Flames for which NonStop has acquired Scandinavian and Icelandic rights from XYZ Films, and Return To Reason, the restored 4K version of the four improvisational films that Man Ray made from 1923-1929.
It has a Cannes Classics screening with a new soundtrack composed by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan’s band Sqürl. NonStop acquired Scandinavian, Icelandic and Baltics rights from Film Constellation.
From the Berlinale,...
Scandinavian and Baltic distributor NonStop Entertainment has been on a buying spree for 20 titles since Sundance.
The titles include Zarrar Kahn’s Directors’ Fortnight selection In Flames for which NonStop has acquired Scandinavian and Icelandic rights from XYZ Films, and Return To Reason, the restored 4K version of the four improvisational films that Man Ray made from 1923-1929.
It has a Cannes Classics screening with a new soundtrack composed by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan’s band Sqürl. NonStop acquired Scandinavian, Icelandic and Baltics rights from Film Constellation.
From the Berlinale,...
- 5/20/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Kaouther Ben Hania’s heartbreaking Four Daughters (Les filles d’Olfa) pulls you in with a question: Who is Olfa Hamrouni?
She rose to international fame in 2016 when she criticized the Tunisian government for not preventing her daughters from joining the Islamic State in Libya. In interviews from those years, Hamrouni is a bereaved mother. Her voice aches with pain as she recounts the loss of her two eldest daughters, and it shakes with anger when she speaks of the government’s listless response.
The Olfa of Ben Hania’s docu-fiction strikes a more relaxed pose. She has traded her pink hijabs for a black scarf, tightly woven around her head. She’s freer with her laughs and more pointed with her asides. Grief still undergirds her anecdotes, but so does a palpable willingness to share. She eagerly explains how she believes a movie about her life will help spread an...
She rose to international fame in 2016 when she criticized the Tunisian government for not preventing her daughters from joining the Islamic State in Libya. In interviews from those years, Hamrouni is a bereaved mother. Her voice aches with pain as she recounts the loss of her two eldest daughters, and it shakes with anger when she speaks of the government’s listless response.
The Olfa of Ben Hania’s docu-fiction strikes a more relaxed pose. She has traded her pink hijabs for a black scarf, tightly woven around her head. She’s freer with her laughs and more pointed with her asides. Grief still undergirds her anecdotes, but so does a palpable willingness to share. She eagerly explains how she believes a movie about her life will help spread an...
- 5/19/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Editor’s Note: This review originally published during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Game Theory Films will release “In Flames” on April 12, 2024.
“No one gives something for nothing.”
All of the evils that emerge over the course of “In Flames” — and there are quite a few of them — stem from that prescient warning that Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) relays to her mother. The 25-year-old medical student is alarmed by the resurfacing of her sleazy Uncle Nasir (Adnan Shah), who has conveniently offered to pay all of their family’s debts after a lifetime of neglecting her and her brother. The family’s financial struggles cause her concerns to fall on deaf ears, but a lot of agony could have been avoided if her mother had just learned the film’s key lesson: some gift horses should be looked in the mouth.
Zarrar Kahn’s genre-bending horror movie — which has the well-deserved honor...
“No one gives something for nothing.”
All of the evils that emerge over the course of “In Flames” — and there are quite a few of them — stem from that prescient warning that Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) relays to her mother. The 25-year-old medical student is alarmed by the resurfacing of her sleazy Uncle Nasir (Adnan Shah), who has conveniently offered to pay all of their family’s debts after a lifetime of neglecting her and her brother. The family’s financial struggles cause her concerns to fall on deaf ears, but a lot of agony could have been avoided if her mother had just learned the film’s key lesson: some gift horses should be looked in the mouth.
Zarrar Kahn’s genre-bending horror movie — which has the well-deserved honor...
- 5/19/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
XYZ Films has unveiled the first clip from Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection “In Flames,” a Pakistani-Canadian horror film directed by Zarrar Kahn.
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
It is the first Pakistan-set film in Directors’ Fortnight since Jamil Dehlavi’s “The Blood of Hussain” was selected in 1980.
Kahn, who is now based in Canada, was born in and grew up in Karachi. “In Flames,” which is Kahn’s feature debut grew out of “Dia,...
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
It is the first Pakistan-set film in Directors’ Fortnight since Jamil Dehlavi’s “The Blood of Hussain” was selected in 1980.
Kahn, who is now based in Canada, was born in and grew up in Karachi. “In Flames,” which is Kahn’s feature debut grew out of “Dia,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes Hidden Gem: Patriarchal Oppression Meets Supernatural Horror in Pakistani Feature ‘In Flames’
When Zarrar Kahn moved back to Pakistan, the culture shock was immediate. Kahn was born in Karachi but spent his childhood and early school years in Mississauga, outside Toronto. He returned with his family to Pakistan when he was 13.
“It’s a really impressionable age and while my life, as a young man, wasn’t significantly changed, there was a huge disparity in the lives of the women I knew,” he says. “Their lived reality, navigating in public, was that they were always being watched by men. There’s a sinister sense of being patrolled. The use of gender, as a tool of discrimination, was very apparent.”
For In Flames, his debut feature, which will premiere in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar and is being sold worldwide by XYZ Films, Kahn translates that sinister sense of being watched into the language of supernatural horror. Taking inspiration from “those amazing French female...
“It’s a really impressionable age and while my life, as a young man, wasn’t significantly changed, there was a huge disparity in the lives of the women I knew,” he says. “Their lived reality, navigating in public, was that they were always being watched by men. There’s a sinister sense of being patrolled. The use of gender, as a tool of discrimination, was very apparent.”
For In Flames, his debut feature, which will premiere in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar and is being sold worldwide by XYZ Films, Kahn translates that sinister sense of being watched into the language of supernatural horror. Taking inspiration from “those amazing French female...
- 5/18/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Renowned photographer Kourtney Roy makes feature film debut.
XYZ Films has added the psychothriller Krypto to the sales slate of its New Visions label launching in Cannes to champion bold cinematic voices and has released the first two first-looks.
Paris-based Canadian photographer Kourtney Roy makes her feature film debut on the Canadian-uk co-production about a woman’s search for a missing monster hunter and her growing realisation that she is inescapably linked to the creature being pursued. Chloe Pirrie stars and Paul Bromley wrote the screenplay.
Amber Ripley of Goodbye Productions produced Krypto alongside Sophie Venner of the UK’s Taletime Pictures and Josh Huculiak,...
XYZ Films has added the psychothriller Krypto to the sales slate of its New Visions label launching in Cannes to champion bold cinematic voices and has released the first two first-looks.
Paris-based Canadian photographer Kourtney Roy makes her feature film debut on the Canadian-uk co-production about a woman’s search for a missing monster hunter and her growing realisation that she is inescapably linked to the creature being pursued. Chloe Pirrie stars and Paul Bromley wrote the screenplay.
Amber Ripley of Goodbye Productions produced Krypto alongside Sophie Venner of the UK’s Taletime Pictures and Josh Huculiak,...
- 5/15/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Chucky and Final Destination star Devon Sawa is starring in Consumed, the new film from The Butcher Brothers, aka director Mitchell Altieri, and producer Phil Flores, the team behind The Night Watchmen, The Violent Kind, and The Hamiltons.
Jeffrey Allard, producer of the 2003 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot and a frequent Butcher Brothers’ collaborator, is executive producing the film.
Courtney Halverson (Unfriended, St. Agatha) and Mark Famiglietti (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) co-star in Consumed as Jay and Beth, a married couple taking a celebratory camping trip a year after Beth’s cancer remission, who find themselves trapped between a wild madman ( Sawa) and a skin stealing monster. David Calbert wrote the script.
“When I first read the script for Consumed, I was excited about the challenges it presented. Its characters not only have to face a terrifying creature stalking the woods, but individually, they are also forced to...
Jeffrey Allard, producer of the 2003 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot and a frequent Butcher Brothers’ collaborator, is executive producing the film.
Courtney Halverson (Unfriended, St. Agatha) and Mark Famiglietti (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) co-star in Consumed as Jay and Beth, a married couple taking a celebratory camping trip a year after Beth’s cancer remission, who find themselves trapped between a wild madman ( Sawa) and a skin stealing monster. David Calbert wrote the script.
“When I first read the script for Consumed, I was excited about the challenges it presented. Its characters not only have to face a terrifying creature stalking the woods, but individually, they are also forced to...
- 5/9/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Christina Hendricks will lead the psychological thriller “Reckoner,” which will be sold at the Cannes Film Festival this month.
The project is written and directed by Nissar Modi (“Z for Zacharian”), who will be making his big screen directorial debut.
In the film, an affluent woman’s carefully constructed life is disrupted by a young man connected to a tightly-held secret from her past.
The film is based on a short story by late writer Rachel Ingalls and will be produced by XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures, with XYZ Films financing. XYZ Films has also added “Reckoner” to its New Visions slate of films, with world sales launching in Cannes.
The recently launched New Visions is designed to spotlight new voices alongside established talent that are striking a new path in the international space. “Reckoner” will be the first package in pre-production to run through the new slate.
The project is written and directed by Nissar Modi (“Z for Zacharian”), who will be making his big screen directorial debut.
In the film, an affluent woman’s carefully constructed life is disrupted by a young man connected to a tightly-held secret from her past.
The film is based on a short story by late writer Rachel Ingalls and will be produced by XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures, with XYZ Films financing. XYZ Films has also added “Reckoner” to its New Visions slate of films, with world sales launching in Cannes.
The recently launched New Visions is designed to spotlight new voices alongside established talent that are striking a new path in the international space. “Reckoner” will be the first package in pre-production to run through the new slate.
- 5/2/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.