Last night, December 14, The Ascap Foundation honored jazz legend Dee Dee Bridgewater with The Ascap Foundation Champion Award, and acclaimed Broadway composerslyricistslibrettists David Hein and Irene Sankoff with the Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. The accolades were presented at The 2017 Ascap Foundation Honors at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. BroadwayWorld has photos from the event below...
- 12/15/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Now in its eighth year, the American Film Festival offers a unique perspective on recent developments in U.S. indie filmmaking. That’s because it happens in Poland, staged at the stylish Kino Nowe Horyzonty film center in Wroclaw, also home to the summer New Horizons festival, which has more of a European tilt.
Although the festival, which recently concluded, surveys many favorites from Sundance and South by Southwest, the curation doesn’t merely transpose selections to a new setting. It imports a lively assortment of filmmakers, as well, and creates a cozy, engaged atmosphere more akin to the communal vibe of the Maryland Film Festival. Indeed, to rub shoulders in a crowd that included Jody Lee Lipes, Noel Wells, Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, producer Mike Ryan, Jessica Oreck and Mike Ott is to experience a deep dive into the creative bustle of current indie ferment.
That spirit is...
Although the festival, which recently concluded, surveys many favorites from Sundance and South by Southwest, the curation doesn’t merely transpose selections to a new setting. It imports a lively assortment of filmmakers, as well, and creates a cozy, engaged atmosphere more akin to the communal vibe of the Maryland Film Festival. Indeed, to rub shoulders in a crowd that included Jody Lee Lipes, Noel Wells, Dustin Guy Defa, Nathan Silver, producer Mike Ryan, Jessica Oreck and Mike Ott is to experience a deep dive into the creative bustle of current indie ferment.
That spirit is...
- 11/14/2017
- by Steve Dollar
- Indiewire
The Strain: New Horizons Review The Strain, season 4, episode 4, ‘New Horizons,’ got things rolling, for threads that were starting to settle in. Gus (Miguel Gomez) got goosed – forcing his crew to re-qualify itself, as the premier black market operation; the Empire struck back, at Ephraim (Corey Stoll) & his Urchins; and Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) [...]
Continue reading: TV Review: The Strain: Season 4, Episode 4: New Horizons [FX]...
Continue reading: TV Review: The Strain: Season 4, Episode 4: New Horizons [FX]...
- 8/17/2017
- by Sam Joseph
- Film-Book
Marc Buxton Aug 14, 2017
A flashback to Quinlan’s past and the Master’s final solution is revealed as the final season of The Strain continues to terrify...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Wynonna Earp season 2 episode 9 review: Forever Mine Nevermind Wynonna Earp season 2 episode 8 review: No Future In The Past Wynonna Earp season 2 episode 7 review: Everybody Knows
4.5 Belly Of The Beast
Now that the end of The Strain is in sight (five more episodes after this week, I believe), can we just all start begging FX for a Quinlan prequel series? I mean, who wouldn’t watch a series about an immoral, daywalking, altruistic vampire with an Uzi and a bone sword? This week, we get to see what a potential Quinlan spin-off would look like as the episode flashes back to Victorian England and focuses on Quinlan’s past.
In the present, Quinlan and Fet are still trying...
A flashback to Quinlan’s past and the Master’s final solution is revealed as the final season of The Strain continues to terrify...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Wynonna Earp season 2 episode 9 review: Forever Mine Nevermind Wynonna Earp season 2 episode 8 review: No Future In The Past Wynonna Earp season 2 episode 7 review: Everybody Knows
4.5 Belly Of The Beast
Now that the end of The Strain is in sight (five more episodes after this week, I believe), can we just all start begging FX for a Quinlan prequel series? I mean, who wouldn’t watch a series about an immoral, daywalking, altruistic vampire with an Uzi and a bone sword? This week, we get to see what a potential Quinlan spin-off would look like as the episode flashes back to Victorian England and focuses on Quinlan’s past.
In the present, Quinlan and Fet are still trying...
- 8/14/2017
- Den of Geek
New projects revealed, including thriller described as “David Lynch meets Ken Loach”.
New films by internationally feted Polish filmmakers Jan Komasa, Kuba Czekaj and Dorota Kedzierzawska were among 20 projects presented to sales agents, distributors and festival programmers at the sixth edition of the Polish Days (8-10 August) during this week’s New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw.
Komasa - who made his feature debut with Suicide Room - and his producer Leszek Bodzak of Aurum Film (The Last Family) pitched the contemporary social drama Corpus Christi which is based on screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz’s first screenplay for cinema.
The €1m project is being structured as a Polish-French co-production and will begin principal photography in spring 2018.
Bodzak also presented a second feature project, Borys Lankosz’s thriller Dark, Almost Night, which he described as “David Lynch meets Ken Loach”, to begin shooting this autumn with The Last Family’s Dawid Ogrodnik and Aleksandra Konieczna in the cast...
New films by internationally feted Polish filmmakers Jan Komasa, Kuba Czekaj and Dorota Kedzierzawska were among 20 projects presented to sales agents, distributors and festival programmers at the sixth edition of the Polish Days (8-10 August) during this week’s New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw.
Komasa - who made his feature debut with Suicide Room - and his producer Leszek Bodzak of Aurum Film (The Last Family) pitched the contemporary social drama Corpus Christi which is based on screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz’s first screenplay for cinema.
The €1m project is being structured as a Polish-French co-production and will begin principal photography in spring 2018.
Bodzak also presented a second feature project, Borys Lankosz’s thriller Dark, Almost Night, which he described as “David Lynch meets Ken Loach”, to begin shooting this autumn with The Last Family’s Dawid Ogrodnik and Aleksandra Konieczna in the cast...
- 8/11/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Jan Hryniak directs film about Polish artist.
Germany-based sales outfit Media Luna New Films has picked up international rights to Jan Hryniak’s Kantor.
The film is a biopic of charismatic and versatile 20th Century Polish painter Tadeusz Kantor [pictured].
Media Luna New Films’ Ida Martins revealed the news to Screen on the eve of this year’s Polish Days at the New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw (August 3-13).
The film stars Borys Szyc (Spoor) as Kantor, alongside stage actress Paulina Puslednik as Kantor’s first wife, and Agnieszka Podsiadlik (Baby Bump) as his second wife.
Produced by Studio Rewers, the biopic chronicles Kantor’s childhood through secondary school in Tarnow, his graduation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and activities in the city’s artistic community as well as his international successes from the 1960s until his death in 1990.
Director Jan Hryniak previously made Polish features The Third, Trick and The...
Germany-based sales outfit Media Luna New Films has picked up international rights to Jan Hryniak’s Kantor.
The film is a biopic of charismatic and versatile 20th Century Polish painter Tadeusz Kantor [pictured].
Media Luna New Films’ Ida Martins revealed the news to Screen on the eve of this year’s Polish Days at the New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw (August 3-13).
The film stars Borys Szyc (Spoor) as Kantor, alongside stage actress Paulina Puslednik as Kantor’s first wife, and Agnieszka Podsiadlik (Baby Bump) as his second wife.
Produced by Studio Rewers, the biopic chronicles Kantor’s childhood through secondary school in Tarnow, his graduation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and activities in the city’s artistic community as well as his international successes from the 1960s until his death in 1990.
Director Jan Hryniak previously made Polish features The Third, Trick and The...
- 8/10/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: German sales outfit boards Hagar Ben-Asher film set in the days following WWII.
The Match Factory is reuniting with Israeli filmmaker Hagar Ben-Asher for her third feature film The War Has Ended.
The Cologne-based company will handle world sales on the film while managing director Michael Weber will co-produce the film through his Pola Pandora Filmproduktion outfit in Berlin alongside Poland’s Madants and Israel’s Transfax Film Productions.
Pitching the €3.5m project at this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Madants’ Beata Rzezniczek said the planned Polish majority production - which received development funding from the Polish-German Fund at the beginning of 2017 - is set to begin shooting at locations in Poland from late 2018.
Set in the days following the Second World War, The War Has Ended sees a marionette puppeteer rescuing a 13-year-old girl from verge of death and subsequently teaching her the art of puppeteering. Their lives become intertwined through circumstances and the...
The Match Factory is reuniting with Israeli filmmaker Hagar Ben-Asher for her third feature film The War Has Ended.
The Cologne-based company will handle world sales on the film while managing director Michael Weber will co-produce the film through his Pola Pandora Filmproduktion outfit in Berlin alongside Poland’s Madants and Israel’s Transfax Film Productions.
Pitching the €3.5m project at this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Madants’ Beata Rzezniczek said the planned Polish majority production - which received development funding from the Polish-German Fund at the beginning of 2017 - is set to begin shooting at locations in Poland from late 2018.
Set in the days following the Second World War, The War Has Ended sees a marionette puppeteer rescuing a 13-year-old girl from verge of death and subsequently teaching her the art of puppeteering. Their lives become intertwined through circumstances and the...
- 8/10/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: German sales outfit boards Hagar Ben-Asher film set in the days following WWII.
The Match Factory is reuniting with Israeli filmmaker Hagar Ben-Asher for her third feature film The War Has Ended.
The Cologne-based sales company will also serve as a co-producer on the film through its Pola Pandora Filmproduktion outfit in Berlin alongside Poland’s Madants and Israel’s Transfax Film Productions.
Pitching the €3.5m project at this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Madants’ Beata Rzezniczek said the planned Polish majority production - which received development funding from the Polish-German Fund at the beginning of 2017 - is set to begin shooting at locations in Poland from late 2018.
Set in the days following the Second World War, The War Has Ended sees a marionette puppeteer rescuing a 13-year-old girl from verge of death and subsequently teaching her the art of puppeteering. Their lives become intertwined through circumstances and the belief that the war may never...
The Match Factory is reuniting with Israeli filmmaker Hagar Ben-Asher for her third feature film The War Has Ended.
The Cologne-based sales company will also serve as a co-producer on the film through its Pola Pandora Filmproduktion outfit in Berlin alongside Poland’s Madants and Israel’s Transfax Film Productions.
Pitching the €3.5m project at this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Madants’ Beata Rzezniczek said the planned Polish majority production - which received development funding from the Polish-German Fund at the beginning of 2017 - is set to begin shooting at locations in Poland from late 2018.
Set in the days following the Second World War, The War Has Ended sees a marionette puppeteer rescuing a 13-year-old girl from verge of death and subsequently teaching her the art of puppeteering. Their lives become intertwined through circumstances and the belief that the war may never...
- 8/10/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Marc Buxton Aug 7, 2017
Three harrowing struggles take place as the intensity level hits heart-stopping crescendo on The Strain season 4...
This review contains spoilers.
See related 24 new TV shows to watch in 2017 What can Fox learn from the previous X-Men TV series? 50 upcoming comic book TV shows, and when to expect them
4.4 New Horizons
Oh dear, now that’s a cliffhanger.
This week’s episode of The Strain features three separate struggles that are quite gripping and continue to escalate the battle against the strigoi dystopia that has defined this final season.
Two weeks back, the always brave and capable Dutch Vanders was caught trying to free one of her friends from the baby factory she was imprisoned in. In that episode, it seemed like Dutch was caught and was going to become the main course of a strigoi banquet. Thankfully, the strigoi, specifically human traitor Sanjay Desai, saw a use...
Three harrowing struggles take place as the intensity level hits heart-stopping crescendo on The Strain season 4...
This review contains spoilers.
See related 24 new TV shows to watch in 2017 What can Fox learn from the previous X-Men TV series? 50 upcoming comic book TV shows, and when to expect them
4.4 New Horizons
Oh dear, now that’s a cliffhanger.
This week’s episode of The Strain features three separate struggles that are quite gripping and continue to escalate the battle against the strigoi dystopia that has defined this final season.
Two weeks back, the always brave and capable Dutch Vanders was caught trying to free one of her friends from the baby factory she was imprisoned in. In that episode, it seemed like Dutch was caught and was going to become the main course of a strigoi banquet. Thankfully, the strigoi, specifically human traitor Sanjay Desai, saw a use...
- 8/7/2017
- Den of Geek
Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, one of the world’s most renowned directors who has won awards at many prestigious European film festivals, has been named jury president for the 54th International Antalya Film Festival, it was announced today by Antalya Film Festival Artistic Director Mike Downey.Elia Sulieman
Elia Suleiman has participated in numerous festivals as a jury member including Cannes Film Festival (2006) and was a President of the Jury of The New Horizons Competition, Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2010), Deauville Asian Film Festival (2012), Rotterdam Film Festival (2014).
He has been given tributes amongst which are the MoMA in New York, Istanbul Film Festival, and Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival in Portugal. He was the recipient of the 1992 Rockefeller Award and the 2008 Prince Claus Award. In 2009, he was named the Variety Magazine Middle-East filmmaker of the year in Abu Dhabi Film Festival where he was awarded the Black Pearl Award for The Time That Remains.
Elia Suleiman has participated in numerous festivals as a jury member including Cannes Film Festival (2006) and was a President of the Jury of The New Horizons Competition, Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2010), Deauville Asian Film Festival (2012), Rotterdam Film Festival (2014).
He has been given tributes amongst which are the MoMA in New York, Istanbul Film Festival, and Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival in Portugal. He was the recipient of the 1992 Rockefeller Award and the 2008 Prince Claus Award. In 2009, he was named the Variety Magazine Middle-East filmmaker of the year in Abu Dhabi Film Festival where he was awarded the Black Pearl Award for The Time That Remains.
- 8/7/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Strain: New Horizons: Trailer FX’s The Strain ‘New Horizons’ TV show trailer stars Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Richard Sammel, Kevin Durand, Rupert Penry-Jones, Miguel Gomez, Ruta Gedmintas, Natalie Brown, Max Charles, and Jonathan Hyde. Guest stars include Angel Parker, Michael Reventar, Jamie Hector, and Cas Anvar. A fairly deranged, and certainly dangerous game of tit-for-tat has been initiated, by [...]
Continue reading: The Strain: Season 4, Episode 4: New Horizons: TV Show Trailer [FX]...
Continue reading: The Strain: Season 4, Episode 4: New Horizons: TV Show Trailer [FX]...
- 8/1/2017
- by Sam Joseph
- Film-Book
Alberto Barbera discusses the stellar line-up for the 74th edition of the festival.
As the world’s oldest film festival gears up for its 74th edition, Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera is excited about kicking off this year’s awards season in earnest.
In the last four years the festival has launched major Oscar runs for four Us movies: Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.
This year, Venice’s world premieres include Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, Guillermo del Toro’s other-worldly fairy tale The Shape of Water, George Clooney’s crime-caper Suburbicon, Darren Aronofsky’s drama-horror mother! and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In 2016, the festival chief knew he had a diamond in the shape of Damien Chazelle’s musical and while he may not have a slam dunk as obvious as that, he is sanguine about this crop’s awards potential.
”Downsizing has good chances, of course...
As the world’s oldest film festival gears up for its 74th edition, Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera is excited about kicking off this year’s awards season in earnest.
In the last four years the festival has launched major Oscar runs for four Us movies: Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.
This year, Venice’s world premieres include Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, Guillermo del Toro’s other-worldly fairy tale The Shape of Water, George Clooney’s crime-caper Suburbicon, Darren Aronofsky’s drama-horror mother! and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In 2016, the festival chief knew he had a diamond in the shape of Damien Chazelle’s musical and while he may not have a slam dunk as obvious as that, he is sanguine about this crop’s awards potential.
”Downsizing has good chances, of course...
- 7/31/2017
- ScreenDaily
Alberto Barbera discusses the stellar line-up for the 74th edition of the festival.
As the world’s oldest film festival gears up for its 74th edition, Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera is excited about kicking off this year’s awards season in earnest.
Venice will give world premieres to Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, Guillermo del Toro’s other-worldly fairy tale The Shape of Water, George Clooney’s crime-caper Suburbicon, Darren Aronofsky’s drama-horror mother! and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In the last four years Venice has kickstarted major Oscar runs for four Us films - Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.
Last year, the festival chief knew he had a diamond in the shape of Damien Chazelle’s musical and while he may not have a slam dunk as obvious as that, he is sanguine about this crop’s awards potential.
”Downsizing has good chances, of course...
As the world’s oldest film festival gears up for its 74th edition, Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera is excited about kicking off this year’s awards season in earnest.
Venice will give world premieres to Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, Guillermo del Toro’s other-worldly fairy tale The Shape of Water, George Clooney’s crime-caper Suburbicon, Darren Aronofsky’s drama-horror mother! and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In the last four years Venice has kickstarted major Oscar runs for four Us films - Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.
Last year, the festival chief knew he had a diamond in the shape of Damien Chazelle’s musical and while he may not have a slam dunk as obvious as that, he is sanguine about this crop’s awards potential.
”Downsizing has good chances, of course...
- 7/31/2017
- ScreenDaily
Argentinian filmmaker and Us actor honoured in Poland.
Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel and Us actor Edward Norton were the guests of honour at the seventh edition of the Transatlantyk Festival which comes to a close in the Polish city of Lodz on Friday evening (July 21).
Martel became the second woman director - after Germany’s Margarethe von Trotta - and the 11th filmmaker overall, to be awarded the Fipresci 90+ statuette in celebration of the International Federation of Film Critics’ ten decades of activities.
Fipresci general secretary Klaus Eder travelled to Lodz to present the award along with Transatlantyk’s director Jan A.P. Kaczmarek to Martel at a gala ceremony last night (Thursday) before a screening of her 2008 film The Headless Woman.
Previous recipients include Jean-Jacques Annaud, Edgar Reitz, Bela Tarr and the late Andrzej Wajda, while the choice of Martel this year was particularly fitting since the Polish festival had the Power of Woman as an overlying...
Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel and Us actor Edward Norton were the guests of honour at the seventh edition of the Transatlantyk Festival which comes to a close in the Polish city of Lodz on Friday evening (July 21).
Martel became the second woman director - after Germany’s Margarethe von Trotta - and the 11th filmmaker overall, to be awarded the Fipresci 90+ statuette in celebration of the International Federation of Film Critics’ ten decades of activities.
Fipresci general secretary Klaus Eder travelled to Lodz to present the award along with Transatlantyk’s director Jan A.P. Kaczmarek to Martel at a gala ceremony last night (Thursday) before a screening of her 2008 film The Headless Woman.
Previous recipients include Jean-Jacques Annaud, Edgar Reitz, Bela Tarr and the late Andrzej Wajda, while the choice of Martel this year was particularly fitting since the Polish festival had the Power of Woman as an overlying...
- 7/21/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Argentinean filmmaker and Us actor honoured in Poland.
Argentinean filmmaker Lucrecia Martel and Us actor Edward Norton were the guests of honour at the seventh edition of the Transatlantyk Festival which comes to a close in the Polish city of Lodz on Friday evening (July 21).
Martel became the second woman director - after Germany’s Margarethe von Trotta - and the 11th filmmaker overall, to be awarded the Fipresci 90+ statuette in celebration of the International Federation of Film Critics’ ten decades of activities.
Fipresci general secretary Klaus Eder travelled to Lodz to present the award along with Transatlantyk’s director Jan A.P. Kaczmarek to Martel at a gala ceremony last night (Thursday) before a screening of her 2008 film The Headless Woman.
Previous recipients include Jean-Jacques Annaud, Edgar Reitz, Bela Tarr and the late Andrzej Wajda, while the choice of Martel this year was particularly fitting since the Polish festival had the Power of Woman as an overlying...
Argentinean filmmaker Lucrecia Martel and Us actor Edward Norton were the guests of honour at the seventh edition of the Transatlantyk Festival which comes to a close in the Polish city of Lodz on Friday evening (July 21).
Martel became the second woman director - after Germany’s Margarethe von Trotta - and the 11th filmmaker overall, to be awarded the Fipresci 90+ statuette in celebration of the International Federation of Film Critics’ ten decades of activities.
Fipresci general secretary Klaus Eder travelled to Lodz to present the award along with Transatlantyk’s director Jan A.P. Kaczmarek to Martel at a gala ceremony last night (Thursday) before a screening of her 2008 film The Headless Woman.
Previous recipients include Jean-Jacques Annaud, Edgar Reitz, Bela Tarr and the late Andrzej Wajda, while the choice of Martel this year was particularly fitting since the Polish festival had the Power of Woman as an overlying...
- 7/21/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Polish showcase to highlight 26 movies.
Polish Days (August 8 - 10), the showcase of national films at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival (August 3 - 13) in Wroclaw, Poland, has announced twenty-six titles this year.
Among six completed films are Andrzej Jakimowski’s Once Upon a Time in November and Maciej Sobieszczański’s The Reconciliation.
Eleven films will be presented at the pitchings event while nine films will be presented in the work-in-progress section.
Around 150 guests from Poland and abroad are expected to attend the event in Wrocław, which has been organized since 2013 in co-operation with the Polish Film Institute.
Projects presented in past years include Spoor, The Last Family, The Birds Are Singing in Kigali and All These Sleepless Nights.
New Horizons is being held two weeks later in the calendar this year to accomodate incoming sporting event The World Games, meaning the Polish festival coincides with the Locarno Film Festival for the first time.
Full list of...
Polish Days (August 8 - 10), the showcase of national films at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival (August 3 - 13) in Wroclaw, Poland, has announced twenty-six titles this year.
Among six completed films are Andrzej Jakimowski’s Once Upon a Time in November and Maciej Sobieszczański’s The Reconciliation.
Eleven films will be presented at the pitchings event while nine films will be presented in the work-in-progress section.
Around 150 guests from Poland and abroad are expected to attend the event in Wrocław, which has been organized since 2013 in co-operation with the Polish Film Institute.
Projects presented in past years include Spoor, The Last Family, The Birds Are Singing in Kigali and All These Sleepless Nights.
New Horizons is being held two weeks later in the calendar this year to accomodate incoming sporting event The World Games, meaning the Polish festival coincides with the Locarno Film Festival for the first time.
Full list of...
- 7/14/2017
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: 12 Polish premieres include Menashe and Makala.
This year’s New Horizons International Film Festival (August 3 – 13) competition in Wroclaw, Poland, will see 12 Polish premieres vying for the Grand Prix award.
The premieres include three Polish films: A Heart of Love, by director Łukasz Ronduda, a biopic about Polish art scene couple Wojtek Bąkowski and Zuza Bartoszek who are played by Jacek Poniedziałek and Justyna Wasilewska; Norman Leto’s Photon; and Karlovy Vary winner The Birds Are Singing in Kigali by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze.
From Mexico will be director Michel Lipkes dark story Strange But True and Natalia Almada’s Everything Else, which stars Babel and Amores Perros actor Adrian Barraza in the lead role.
Mexican director Sergio Flores Thorija, a former student of Bela Tarr, will bring his Bosnia-set movie 3 Women about three women living in Sarajevo who wish to change their lives.
Menashe by Joshua Z. Weinstein is the first film since the second...
This year’s New Horizons International Film Festival (August 3 – 13) competition in Wroclaw, Poland, will see 12 Polish premieres vying for the Grand Prix award.
The premieres include three Polish films: A Heart of Love, by director Łukasz Ronduda, a biopic about Polish art scene couple Wojtek Bąkowski and Zuza Bartoszek who are played by Jacek Poniedziałek and Justyna Wasilewska; Norman Leto’s Photon; and Karlovy Vary winner The Birds Are Singing in Kigali by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze.
From Mexico will be director Michel Lipkes dark story Strange But True and Natalia Almada’s Everything Else, which stars Babel and Amores Perros actor Adrian Barraza in the lead role.
Mexican director Sergio Flores Thorija, a former student of Bela Tarr, will bring his Bosnia-set movie 3 Women about three women living in Sarajevo who wish to change their lives.
Menashe by Joshua Z. Weinstein is the first film since the second...
- 7/11/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The Arab Cinema Center is launching the Critics Awards to promote and support Arab cinema internationally. The winners will be for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor.
The 26 member jury includes prominent Arab and foreign critics from 15 countries from around the world. Egyptian film critic Ahmed Shawky is serving as manager of the Critics Awards.
Film analyst Alaa Karkouti, CEO of Mad Solutions, the company in charge of organizing the Arab Cinema Center’s events and also the first Pan Arab independent distributor and PR company of Arabic content to and from the Arab world, said: “The Critics Awards marks a first-time initiative that encompasses film critics from all over the world dedicated to Arab films within the strategy of Arab Cinema Center to add initiatives and events to every large-scale international film festival around the world.”
He added: “This is the first new addition...
The 26 member jury includes prominent Arab and foreign critics from 15 countries from around the world. Egyptian film critic Ahmed Shawky is serving as manager of the Critics Awards.
Film analyst Alaa Karkouti, CEO of Mad Solutions, the company in charge of organizing the Arab Cinema Center’s events and also the first Pan Arab independent distributor and PR company of Arabic content to and from the Arab world, said: “The Critics Awards marks a first-time initiative that encompasses film critics from all over the world dedicated to Arab films within the strategy of Arab Cinema Center to add initiatives and events to every large-scale international film festival around the world.”
He added: “This is the first new addition...
- 4/16/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
What a surprising city Rotterdam is and the Festival and Cinemart are full of surprises too.
Being in The Netherlands is like a homecoming for me. My first major job in the film industry was with 20th Century Fox International and City Fox Films in Amsterdam in 1975 which is when I first attended the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, three years after its founding by Huub Bals. It was much smaller then. Iffr’s logo is a tiger, loosely based on the M.G.M. lion as an alternative. From the beginning, the festival has profiled itself as a promoter of alternative, innovative and non-commercial films, with an emphasis on the Far East and developing countries. It has become one of the most important events in the film world, an integral part of the winter circuit of Sundance, Rotterdam and Berlin Film Festivals.
“Fox and HIs Friends”
Except for my...
Being in The Netherlands is like a homecoming for me. My first major job in the film industry was with 20th Century Fox International and City Fox Films in Amsterdam in 1975 which is when I first attended the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, three years after its founding by Huub Bals. It was much smaller then. Iffr’s logo is a tiger, loosely based on the M.G.M. lion as an alternative. From the beginning, the festival has profiled itself as a promoter of alternative, innovative and non-commercial films, with an emphasis on the Far East and developing countries. It has become one of the most important events in the film world, an integral part of the winter circuit of Sundance, Rotterdam and Berlin Film Festivals.
“Fox and HIs Friends”
Except for my...
- 3/8/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
New Horizons Studio 2016
Organized within the framework of the 16th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the 7th edition of the New Horizons Studio took place from 24 to 26 July in Wrocław, the 2016 European Capital of Culture.
The most important training program of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival has two objectives: to teach, during three days, young European directors and producers about the workings of the international film market, particularly production, promotion and distribution, and to raise awareness of the importance of the pitch in the film pre-production process. In relation to the latter, it offers, as a matter of fact, training in pitching to twenty-four participants from ten countries all over Europe.
Apart from the aforementioned intense three-day teachings and lectures on production, promotion and distribution of a film, the participants also had the opportunity to take part in team-to-expert sessions about the pitch itself during which they discussed,...
Organized within the framework of the 16th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the 7th edition of the New Horizons Studio took place from 24 to 26 July in Wrocław, the 2016 European Capital of Culture.
The most important training program of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival has two objectives: to teach, during three days, young European directors and producers about the workings of the international film market, particularly production, promotion and distribution, and to raise awareness of the importance of the pitch in the film pre-production process. In relation to the latter, it offers, as a matter of fact, training in pitching to twenty-four participants from ten countries all over Europe.
Apart from the aforementioned intense three-day teachings and lectures on production, promotion and distribution of a film, the participants also had the opportunity to take part in team-to-expert sessions about the pitch itself during which they discussed,...
- 8/31/2016
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
A Sunday in the Country 2016For the 5th time, “A Sunday in the Country,” one of the most inventive and out of the box workshops for young European film critics and journalists, was organized within the framework of the 16th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in an old guest house by the Bystrzyckie lake during the first weekend of the cinematic event (21–24 July, 2016).
There, in Zagórze Śląslie in Lower Silesia, during three days, the group watched and discussed films, networked, exchanged thoughts and practices and shared their professional experiences. Under the tutelage of Pascal Edelmann of the European Film Academy, Ula Śniegowska of the New Horizons Association and the Dutch film critic of de Filmkrant, Dana Linssen, the critics and journalists spent the weekend cooking, networking, watching films, meeting with filmmakers and discussing cinephilia as well as issues such as the critic’s responsibility — if there is one — towards...
There, in Zagórze Śląslie in Lower Silesia, during three days, the group watched and discussed films, networked, exchanged thoughts and practices and shared their professional experiences. Under the tutelage of Pascal Edelmann of the European Film Academy, Ula Śniegowska of the New Horizons Association and the Dutch film critic of de Filmkrant, Dana Linssen, the critics and journalists spent the weekend cooking, networking, watching films, meeting with filmmakers and discussing cinephilia as well as issues such as the critic’s responsibility — if there is one — towards...
- 8/31/2016
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
Uncork'd Entertainment has released an official trailer for the documentary Doomed!: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four, directed by Marty Langford, which is actually getting released on VOD + DVD later this year. As the title explains, the film examines the curious case of the 1994 version of The Fantastic Four, which was made by Roger Corman and distributed by New Horizons, but it was never actually released. The film has since ended up online as a bootleg, but this doc goes back and tells the complete story of how it all fell apart. "The average moviegoer doesn’t know that, ten years before releasing Tim Story's version, Roger Corman was asked to produce a Fantastic Four movie. Unbeknownst to cast and crew, the film was never going to be released though - and for a variety of reasons." Find out why in the film. Trailer...
- 8/19/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
This year’s winners include film-makers from Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
The winners of this year’s Open Doors Hub co-production platform at Locarno Film Festival (Aug 3-13) have been revealed.
Bangladesh director Kamar Ahmad Simon’s first feature documentary Day After Tomorrow (working title) was awarded an Open Doors production grant worth $30,500 (CHF30,000) as well as the Arte International Open Doors Prize with a cash prize of $6,700 (€6,000).
The second in the planned Water trilogy, Day After Tomorrow already has French producer-consultant Dominique Welinski’s company Dw onboard as a co-producer.
Whilst attending Open Doors in Locarno this week, Simon was also able to meet the German producer Jakob D. Weydemann who will be serving as a co-producer on his next feature Silence Of The Seashell which received funding from Creative Europe-backed World Cinema Fund Europe fund last month.
Weydemann was in Locarno for the Alliance for Development initiative with the Italian-German co-production Children Of The Ice...
The winners of this year’s Open Doors Hub co-production platform at Locarno Film Festival (Aug 3-13) have been revealed.
Bangladesh director Kamar Ahmad Simon’s first feature documentary Day After Tomorrow (working title) was awarded an Open Doors production grant worth $30,500 (CHF30,000) as well as the Arte International Open Doors Prize with a cash prize of $6,700 (€6,000).
The second in the planned Water trilogy, Day After Tomorrow already has French producer-consultant Dominique Welinski’s company Dw onboard as a co-producer.
Whilst attending Open Doors in Locarno this week, Simon was also able to meet the German producer Jakob D. Weydemann who will be serving as a co-producer on his next feature Silence Of The Seashell which received funding from Creative Europe-backed World Cinema Fund Europe fund last month.
Weydemann was in Locarno for the Alliance for Development initiative with the Italian-German co-production Children Of The Ice...
- 8/9/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Wroclaw moves 2017 dates to accommodate World Games; Polish festival reveals 2016 New Horizons winners.
The film festivals in Wroclaw and Locarno are set for a collision course as both festivals will be held concurrently for the first time next year.
A Locarno spokesperson confirmed to Screen that the Swiss festival’s 70th edition will be held from Wednesday 2 to Saturday 12 August, while New Horizons will kick off its 17th outing a day later, from Thursday 3 August, according to the New Horizons press department.
New Horizons’ organisers were obliged to change its dates from the traditional slot in the last two weeks in July as the Polish city will be hosting the 10th edition of sports event the World Games.
Speaking exclusively to Screen, New Horizons festival president Roman Gutek explained that the decision to move to August for 2017 had been made two years ago in order to avoid a strain on resources in the city.
¨We have consulted...
The film festivals in Wroclaw and Locarno are set for a collision course as both festivals will be held concurrently for the first time next year.
A Locarno spokesperson confirmed to Screen that the Swiss festival’s 70th edition will be held from Wednesday 2 to Saturday 12 August, while New Horizons will kick off its 17th outing a day later, from Thursday 3 August, according to the New Horizons press department.
New Horizons’ organisers were obliged to change its dates from the traditional slot in the last two weeks in July as the Polish city will be hosting the 10th edition of sports event the World Games.
Speaking exclusively to Screen, New Horizons festival president Roman Gutek explained that the decision to move to August for 2017 had been made two years ago in order to avoid a strain on resources in the city.
¨We have consulted...
- 8/1/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Projects from directors Bodo Kox and Adrian Panek are also being introduced.
Projects by Agnieszka Holland [pictured], Bodo Kox and Adrian Panek are among the films being presented at this week’s Polish Days during the T Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw (July 21-31).
Holland’s dark comedy-thriller Game Count, which she bills as “No Country For Old Women¨, is one of nine titles in the Works in Progress showcase.
The $3.9m (€3.5m) co-production between Krzysztof Zanussi’s Tor Film Studio and Germany’s Heimatfilm will be distributed internationally by Beta Cinema.
Polish Days’ international audience of sales agents, distributors and festival programmers were also treated to the first footage from Kasia Adamik’s thriller Amok and Dorota Kobiela’s animated drama Loving Vincent as well as from two films which will be featured in Locarno’s First Look works in progress sidebar next week: Maciej Pieprzyca’s psychological thriller I’m A Killer (which...
Projects by Agnieszka Holland [pictured], Bodo Kox and Adrian Panek are among the films being presented at this week’s Polish Days during the T Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw (July 21-31).
Holland’s dark comedy-thriller Game Count, which she bills as “No Country For Old Women¨, is one of nine titles in the Works in Progress showcase.
The $3.9m (€3.5m) co-production between Krzysztof Zanussi’s Tor Film Studio and Germany’s Heimatfilm will be distributed internationally by Beta Cinema.
Polish Days’ international audience of sales agents, distributors and festival programmers were also treated to the first footage from Kasia Adamik’s thriller Amok and Dorota Kobiela’s animated drama Loving Vincent as well as from two films which will be featured in Locarno’s First Look works in progress sidebar next week: Maciej Pieprzyca’s psychological thriller I’m A Killer (which...
- 7/29/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Masters of European Cinema at 16th T-Mobile New Horizons Iff: Moretti, Saura, Konchalovsky, Holland…
The repertoire of Wrocław’s T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival (July 21–31, 2016) joins forces with the European Capital of…
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
- 6/29/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
As I was leaving Vilnius and its film festival, I ventured into FilmBox Lt, the Vilnius Airport movie theatre, and I was transported directly to the Visions du Réel Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland.
There, an impressive and comprehensive retrospective of Audrius Stonys’ work was held, from his first film, "Open the Door to Him Who Comes" (1989), to the most recent, "Gates of the Lamb" (2014). Indeed, with this event, Lithuania was one of the festival’s focus countries with a total of twenty films – eighteen that pertained to the aforementioned retrospective and two that screened in the official program.
The initiative came from the director of Visions du Réel, Luciano Barisone, who is an admirer of Lithuanian cinema, and especially of Audrius Stonys.
“The relationship with Lithuania is a relationship with Audrius Stonys who is a filmmaker I have liked for a long time; he is a filmmaker who has always underlined the importance of the invisible which is, for me, a fundamental notion of cinema. What is often interesting in Film is not what appears on screen but rather what does not. And so, the work that Stonys does in that regard is essential… And, I like Lithuania because it is a country of extreme contrasts. It is the last country to have been Christianized, so there is an immense influence of paganism and paganism brings a notion of magic and nature. So, there is the rational world of Man and the magical world of nature, together,” Barisone stated.
Stonys’ films "Fedia: Three Minutes After the Big Bang" (1999), "Alone" (2001), "Ramin" (2011) and Cenotaph (2013) were previously screened at Visions du Réel but his works have never been showcased on a similar scale at the festival before. So, according to Barisone, it was the right time to present a full retrospective. For the occasion, the Lithuanian Film Centre commissioned the restoration of the copies of "Open the Door to Him Who Comes" (1989), "Baltic Way" (1990) and "Harbor" (1998) while the restoration of the remaining two copies was done by Meno Avilys, an Ngo based in Vilnius, Lithuania that specializes in the area of film education and film preservation. In total, five new digital copies – previously unseen – were presented at Visions du Réel. “It was kind of an obvious choice,” said Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, the head of the department of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage of the Lithuanian Film Centre, who supports the restoration of old copies of Lithuanian films “I see the benefit. There are a lot of fantastic films that we would like to restore, especially those made since 1991 because it was kind of a chaotic time when it comes to film heritage. There was no film center at the time and a lot of copies were nearly or totally destroyed. And, with a limited budget we have to be very focused on which part we take now and help restore it,” she noted.
The retrospective was introduced by Audrius Stonys himself and Arūnas Matelis who has collaborated on and produced several of his films. The director also held a masterclass during the festival. Mentored by Henrikas Šablevičius, Audrius Stonys is considered one of the most creative, accomplished and productive Lithuanian filmmakers. His works are often attributed to the genre of poetic documentary and according to him, his films aim to preserve fading dreams. Stonys’ career began in 1989 and he has produced over twenty documentaries since, most of which have won awards at various festivals. In 1992, his film "Earth of the Blind" received the European Film Award for Best Documentary of the Year from the European Film Academy.
As far as the other Lithuanian films that screened at the festival are concerned, Visions du Réel also held the world premiere of "I’m Not from Here" by Giedrė Žickytė and Maite Alberdi, a coproduction between Lithuania, Denmark and Chile. The film’s development started in 2013 at the Dox:lab workshop of Cph:dox. It is the first result of the cooperation between the Lithuanian Film Centre and the Copenhagen festival. "I’m Not from Here" tells the story of Josebe, an elderly Basque woman from San Sebastián who resides at a retirement home in Santiago de Chile. Everyday she believes that this is the first day of her visit at the home, and everyday she struggles to realize it is not – as well as the fact that she is no longer living in her homeland with her family. The film won the Sesterce d’Or – Fondation Goblet for Best Short Documentary Film. “It's very nice to receive this kind of news because we invested in this film, we developed this project within the Dox:lab at the Cph:dox festival. It was the first edition when we entered the network and became member and Giedrė Žickytė was selected as the first young filmmaker from Lithuania to be connected with filmmakers from other countries other than Europe. I was at the world premiere and I could see well invested money and the audience reacted in a very nice way,” Ruokytė-Jonsson commented.
Mantas Kvedaravičius’ film "Mariupol" was selected in the “Regard Neuf” section of the festival. It had its world premiere at the Berlinale in the “Panorama – Dokument” program. "Mariupol" is an essay about the industrial port in the Donetsk Region in Ukraine. The everyday life depicted in the film is framed by the constant anticipation and proximity of war.
Visions du Réel has always kept a keen eye on Lithuanian films. In the past, the festival featured works of other Lithuanian filmmakers such as "Barzakh" by Mantas Kvedaravičius (2011) and "Father" by Marat Sargsyan (2013). “Visions du Réel has been keeping an eye on Lithuanian documentaries because Lithuanian documentaries are strong. We are strong in documentaries first of all… Henrikas Šablevičius, the father of poetic documentary, is an idol for young filmmakers like Stonys. There is a school created in Lithuania and that's why the tradition continues. And, you don't need many resources to make good films, especially in terms of poetic documentary films. I mean, his filmmaking kind of aims to restore or preserve dreams from fading as he always says and it's this tradition or view on reality and reflection of reality that makes sense to younger generations who are inspired by filmmakers like Audrius Stonys and Henrikas Šablevičius”, observed Ruokytė-Jonsson.
In terms of potential coproductions between Switzerland and Lithuania, there is none yet in the works but Ruokytė-Jonsson is confident that it will happen sooner or later: “It will come in time, in a natural way. If two creative people want to coproduce, nobody can stop them – no funds, no structure, no policies can stop them,” she added, hoping that one day, the Baltic countries will be in focus at Visions du Réel, just like Chile was this year, “that would be really fantastic because all three Baltic countries have strong documentary film traditions and it's a good idea...” Ruokytė-Jonsson admitted.
This is not the first time Lithuania was the focus country at a film festival. Indeed, last year, the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival and the Krakow Film Festival both had a focus on the Baltic country. And, it will most certainly not be the last as the next focus on Lithuania will be at the upcoming Transilvania International Film Festival (unspooling from 27/05 to 05/06 2016) that will consist of thirteen films and will include classics, three films by Šarunas Bartas as well as contemporary documentaries and features. And, after that, the focus will move on to the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev, Ukraine.
The presentation of Audrius Stonys’ retrospective and the films "I’m Not from Here" and "Mariupol" was supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre.
There, an impressive and comprehensive retrospective of Audrius Stonys’ work was held, from his first film, "Open the Door to Him Who Comes" (1989), to the most recent, "Gates of the Lamb" (2014). Indeed, with this event, Lithuania was one of the festival’s focus countries with a total of twenty films – eighteen that pertained to the aforementioned retrospective and two that screened in the official program.
The initiative came from the director of Visions du Réel, Luciano Barisone, who is an admirer of Lithuanian cinema, and especially of Audrius Stonys.
“The relationship with Lithuania is a relationship with Audrius Stonys who is a filmmaker I have liked for a long time; he is a filmmaker who has always underlined the importance of the invisible which is, for me, a fundamental notion of cinema. What is often interesting in Film is not what appears on screen but rather what does not. And so, the work that Stonys does in that regard is essential… And, I like Lithuania because it is a country of extreme contrasts. It is the last country to have been Christianized, so there is an immense influence of paganism and paganism brings a notion of magic and nature. So, there is the rational world of Man and the magical world of nature, together,” Barisone stated.
Stonys’ films "Fedia: Three Minutes After the Big Bang" (1999), "Alone" (2001), "Ramin" (2011) and Cenotaph (2013) were previously screened at Visions du Réel but his works have never been showcased on a similar scale at the festival before. So, according to Barisone, it was the right time to present a full retrospective. For the occasion, the Lithuanian Film Centre commissioned the restoration of the copies of "Open the Door to Him Who Comes" (1989), "Baltic Way" (1990) and "Harbor" (1998) while the restoration of the remaining two copies was done by Meno Avilys, an Ngo based in Vilnius, Lithuania that specializes in the area of film education and film preservation. In total, five new digital copies – previously unseen – were presented at Visions du Réel. “It was kind of an obvious choice,” said Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, the head of the department of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage of the Lithuanian Film Centre, who supports the restoration of old copies of Lithuanian films “I see the benefit. There are a lot of fantastic films that we would like to restore, especially those made since 1991 because it was kind of a chaotic time when it comes to film heritage. There was no film center at the time and a lot of copies were nearly or totally destroyed. And, with a limited budget we have to be very focused on which part we take now and help restore it,” she noted.
The retrospective was introduced by Audrius Stonys himself and Arūnas Matelis who has collaborated on and produced several of his films. The director also held a masterclass during the festival. Mentored by Henrikas Šablevičius, Audrius Stonys is considered one of the most creative, accomplished and productive Lithuanian filmmakers. His works are often attributed to the genre of poetic documentary and according to him, his films aim to preserve fading dreams. Stonys’ career began in 1989 and he has produced over twenty documentaries since, most of which have won awards at various festivals. In 1992, his film "Earth of the Blind" received the European Film Award for Best Documentary of the Year from the European Film Academy.
As far as the other Lithuanian films that screened at the festival are concerned, Visions du Réel also held the world premiere of "I’m Not from Here" by Giedrė Žickytė and Maite Alberdi, a coproduction between Lithuania, Denmark and Chile. The film’s development started in 2013 at the Dox:lab workshop of Cph:dox. It is the first result of the cooperation between the Lithuanian Film Centre and the Copenhagen festival. "I’m Not from Here" tells the story of Josebe, an elderly Basque woman from San Sebastián who resides at a retirement home in Santiago de Chile. Everyday she believes that this is the first day of her visit at the home, and everyday she struggles to realize it is not – as well as the fact that she is no longer living in her homeland with her family. The film won the Sesterce d’Or – Fondation Goblet for Best Short Documentary Film. “It's very nice to receive this kind of news because we invested in this film, we developed this project within the Dox:lab at the Cph:dox festival. It was the first edition when we entered the network and became member and Giedrė Žickytė was selected as the first young filmmaker from Lithuania to be connected with filmmakers from other countries other than Europe. I was at the world premiere and I could see well invested money and the audience reacted in a very nice way,” Ruokytė-Jonsson commented.
Mantas Kvedaravičius’ film "Mariupol" was selected in the “Regard Neuf” section of the festival. It had its world premiere at the Berlinale in the “Panorama – Dokument” program. "Mariupol" is an essay about the industrial port in the Donetsk Region in Ukraine. The everyday life depicted in the film is framed by the constant anticipation and proximity of war.
Visions du Réel has always kept a keen eye on Lithuanian films. In the past, the festival featured works of other Lithuanian filmmakers such as "Barzakh" by Mantas Kvedaravičius (2011) and "Father" by Marat Sargsyan (2013). “Visions du Réel has been keeping an eye on Lithuanian documentaries because Lithuanian documentaries are strong. We are strong in documentaries first of all… Henrikas Šablevičius, the father of poetic documentary, is an idol for young filmmakers like Stonys. There is a school created in Lithuania and that's why the tradition continues. And, you don't need many resources to make good films, especially in terms of poetic documentary films. I mean, his filmmaking kind of aims to restore or preserve dreams from fading as he always says and it's this tradition or view on reality and reflection of reality that makes sense to younger generations who are inspired by filmmakers like Audrius Stonys and Henrikas Šablevičius”, observed Ruokytė-Jonsson.
In terms of potential coproductions between Switzerland and Lithuania, there is none yet in the works but Ruokytė-Jonsson is confident that it will happen sooner or later: “It will come in time, in a natural way. If two creative people want to coproduce, nobody can stop them – no funds, no structure, no policies can stop them,” she added, hoping that one day, the Baltic countries will be in focus at Visions du Réel, just like Chile was this year, “that would be really fantastic because all three Baltic countries have strong documentary film traditions and it's a good idea...” Ruokytė-Jonsson admitted.
This is not the first time Lithuania was the focus country at a film festival. Indeed, last year, the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival and the Krakow Film Festival both had a focus on the Baltic country. And, it will most certainly not be the last as the next focus on Lithuania will be at the upcoming Transilvania International Film Festival (unspooling from 27/05 to 05/06 2016) that will consist of thirteen films and will include classics, three films by Šarunas Bartas as well as contemporary documentaries and features. And, after that, the focus will move on to the Molodist International Film Festival in Kiev, Ukraine.
The presentation of Audrius Stonys’ retrospective and the films "I’m Not from Here" and "Mariupol" was supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre.
- 5/24/2016
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
Vanishing Point DoP Phuttiphong Aroonphen is making his directorial debut on the film.
The team behind last year’s Rotterdam winner Vanishing Point is reuniting for Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s Departure Day, which starts shooting later this year.
Phuttiphong, the DoP on Vanishing Point, is making his feature directing debut on the film. Thailand’s Diversion and Mit Out Sound Films are co-producing with China’s Heyi Pictures, marking the first Thai-China co-production for independent films.
Heyi, the film arm of Chinese streaming giant Youku Tudou, boarded the project on the strength of Phuttiphong’s short film, Ferris Wheel, which he directed as part of the Colour Of Asia omnibus, backed by Heyi and Busan International Film Festival (Biff).
Departure Day continues the themes that Phuttiphong explored in Ferris Wheel, through the story of a Thai fisherman on the Thailand-Myanmar border who helps save a member of the persecuted Rohingya people when he washes up on the shore...
The team behind last year’s Rotterdam winner Vanishing Point is reuniting for Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s Departure Day, which starts shooting later this year.
Phuttiphong, the DoP on Vanishing Point, is making his feature directing debut on the film. Thailand’s Diversion and Mit Out Sound Films are co-producing with China’s Heyi Pictures, marking the first Thai-China co-production for independent films.
Heyi, the film arm of Chinese streaming giant Youku Tudou, boarded the project on the strength of Phuttiphong’s short film, Ferris Wheel, which he directed as part of the Colour Of Asia omnibus, backed by Heyi and Busan International Film Festival (Biff).
Departure Day continues the themes that Phuttiphong explored in Ferris Wheel, through the story of a Thai fisherman on the Thailand-Myanmar border who helps save a member of the persecuted Rohingya people when he washes up on the shore...
- 5/15/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Us in Progress Wrocław 2016 submissions are now open. This little-known event in Poland offers American indie filmmakers one of the biggest opportunities in the world to meet the international trade in an intimate and fun setting. Every year one of the films here seems to make it into Sundance. The filmmakers get to know European buyers, sellers and programmers. The great thing about European film festivals is that they do not take your money and then refuse your film. They cost nothing to apply and can make your reputation abroad.
Submissions are now open for the sixth edition of the Us in Progress (October 26-29), a co-production forum held in Wroclaw, during 7. American Film Festival. Applications for projects will be open until August 15, 2016. No entry fee is required.
Please go to www.americanfilmfestival.pl/usinprogress or click here for detailed regulations and entry form.
Us in Progress is a unique event presenting independent American projects in final production stages to top European buyers (sales agents, distributors and festival programmers), post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and general exposure of American independent work in Europe. The forum is composed of invitees-only screenings of the American feature narratives in rough-cut stage with a filmmaker-producer teams in attendance. Formal one-to-one talks and informal meetings further facilitate networking and exchange.
Applications are open for Us-produced narrative feature projects in post-production stage:
• looking for completion money, services and sales agent or European distribution
• projects in post-production when applying, with at least 30 min of the film edited and to reach feature format by the presentation date. If selected, the feature length version of the rough/fine cut will be presented. No excerpts or trailers will be accepted.
• projects with no Us or international premiere nor European sales representation prior to October 2016 are eligible.
To the selected 4-6 projects the organizers will offer:
a flight to Poland for 1 team member and accommodation during 3 day Us in Progress (October 26-29) in Wrocław, Poland
• networking opportunities during the American Film Festival parties and events
• post-production and promotion packages worth of $40,000 total
• exposure to the European buyers in a friendly professional environment.
Us in Progress alumni that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2016 included:
• "The Loner" directed by Daniel Y Grove
• Mike Ott and Nathan Silver's "Actor Martinez"
• "Live Cargo' by Logan Sandler
• Deb Shoval's "Awol"
Us in Progress take place twice yearly, in Paris, France (June, 7-14) during Champs-Elysées Film Festival and in Wroclaw hosted by the American Film Festival in fall (October 25-30, 2016). Paris edition submissions have just closed and we are looking forward to receiving your work for Wroclaw edition.
Us in Progress is a joint initiative of the Polish New Horizons Association and the French Champs-Elysées Film Festival (in collaboration with New York-based Black Rabbit Film).
After being called one of '25 Coolest Film Festivals of the World', American Film Festival has been recently placed on the MovieMaker's list of "Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, 2016". The magazine assures that American Film Festival plays a tight collection of the year's best American indie films, as well as the two-day U.S. in Progress event for works-in-progress (winners receive handy post-production packages). And if shooting in Poland appeals to you, Aff should be your favorite resource: Participants enjoy presentations from the Polish Film Institute, Polish production and post-production houses, and a field trip of Poland and Lower Silesia shooting locations.
Submissions are now open for the sixth edition of the Us in Progress (October 26-29), a co-production forum held in Wroclaw, during 7. American Film Festival. Applications for projects will be open until August 15, 2016. No entry fee is required.
Please go to www.americanfilmfestival.pl/usinprogress or click here for detailed regulations and entry form.
Us in Progress is a unique event presenting independent American projects in final production stages to top European buyers (sales agents, distributors and festival programmers), post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and general exposure of American independent work in Europe. The forum is composed of invitees-only screenings of the American feature narratives in rough-cut stage with a filmmaker-producer teams in attendance. Formal one-to-one talks and informal meetings further facilitate networking and exchange.
Applications are open for Us-produced narrative feature projects in post-production stage:
• looking for completion money, services and sales agent or European distribution
• projects in post-production when applying, with at least 30 min of the film edited and to reach feature format by the presentation date. If selected, the feature length version of the rough/fine cut will be presented. No excerpts or trailers will be accepted.
• projects with no Us or international premiere nor European sales representation prior to October 2016 are eligible.
To the selected 4-6 projects the organizers will offer:
a flight to Poland for 1 team member and accommodation during 3 day Us in Progress (October 26-29) in Wrocław, Poland
• networking opportunities during the American Film Festival parties and events
• post-production and promotion packages worth of $40,000 total
• exposure to the European buyers in a friendly professional environment.
Us in Progress alumni that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2016 included:
• "The Loner" directed by Daniel Y Grove
• Mike Ott and Nathan Silver's "Actor Martinez"
• "Live Cargo' by Logan Sandler
• Deb Shoval's "Awol"
Us in Progress take place twice yearly, in Paris, France (June, 7-14) during Champs-Elysées Film Festival and in Wroclaw hosted by the American Film Festival in fall (October 25-30, 2016). Paris edition submissions have just closed and we are looking forward to receiving your work for Wroclaw edition.
Us in Progress is a joint initiative of the Polish New Horizons Association and the French Champs-Elysées Film Festival (in collaboration with New York-based Black Rabbit Film).
After being called one of '25 Coolest Film Festivals of the World', American Film Festival has been recently placed on the MovieMaker's list of "Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, 2016". The magazine assures that American Film Festival plays a tight collection of the year's best American indie films, as well as the two-day U.S. in Progress event for works-in-progress (winners receive handy post-production packages). And if shooting in Poland appeals to you, Aff should be your favorite resource: Participants enjoy presentations from the Polish Film Institute, Polish production and post-production houses, and a field trip of Poland and Lower Silesia shooting locations.
- 4/25/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Us in Progress Paris, a three-day works in progress event targeted at American independent filmmakers and European buyers, will take place in the scope of Champs-Elysées Film Festival on June 07-14 2016 in Paris.
The event is looking for 5 U.S. independent films at post-production stage (rough & fine cuts). The call for entries is open till April 8th 2016.
The application requirements for the films are the following:
* Narrative feature projects in post-production are eligible.
* Production Company needs to be Us based.
* Films looking for completion money, services and sales agent or European distribution should apply.
* Films in post-production when applying, with at least 30 min of the film edited and to reach feature format by June 1st 2016. If selected, the feature length version of the rough/fine cut will be presented on June 08-10. No excerpts or trailers will be accepted.
* Films with no Us or international premiere nor European sales representation prior to June 10th 2016 are eligible.
Us in Progress is a joint initiative between New Horizons Association (American Film Festival), Sophie Dulac’s Champs-Elysées Film Festival and Black Rabbit Film. It presents independent Us films in final production stages to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe. Us in Progress involves two yearly get-togethers at two different festivals (Paris in June and Wroclaw in October). The next event will take form of two days of exclusive screenings of the 5 selected films (behind closed doors, for registered guests only) and one-to-one meetings on June 10th 2016.
As a bonus to contracts resulting from the presentations and meetings, a jury made of professionals (Europa Distribution, Producer’s Network, Ciné +, Commune Image, Eaux Vives Productions, Firefly, Titra-Tvs, Kickstarter, Centre Phi) will award one of the selected works in progress. The awarded movie will get post-production and promotion services in kind.
The last Paris and Wroclaw editions attracted more than 40 buyers and producers. Alumni of the workshop were selected in Sundance 2013 ("I Used to Be Darker," "Milkshake," "A Teacher"), Berlinale 2013 ("Hide Your Smiling Faces," "I Used to Be Darker"), SXSW 2013 ("A Teacher"), Tribeca 2013 ("Hide Your Smiling Faces," "Bluebird"), Karlovy Vary 2013 ("Bluebird"), Toronto International Film Festival 2013 ("1982"), Sundance 2014 ("Ping Pong Summer"), SXSW 2015 ("Creative Control"), Rotterdam 2016 ("Actor Martinez"), Berlinale 2016 ("Nakom").
The fifth edition of Champs-Elysées Film Festival is to take place in Paris on June 07th to 14th 2016.
Apply now: Entry Form...
The event is looking for 5 U.S. independent films at post-production stage (rough & fine cuts). The call for entries is open till April 8th 2016.
The application requirements for the films are the following:
* Narrative feature projects in post-production are eligible.
* Production Company needs to be Us based.
* Films looking for completion money, services and sales agent or European distribution should apply.
* Films in post-production when applying, with at least 30 min of the film edited and to reach feature format by June 1st 2016. If selected, the feature length version of the rough/fine cut will be presented on June 08-10. No excerpts or trailers will be accepted.
* Films with no Us or international premiere nor European sales representation prior to June 10th 2016 are eligible.
Us in Progress is a joint initiative between New Horizons Association (American Film Festival), Sophie Dulac’s Champs-Elysées Film Festival and Black Rabbit Film. It presents independent Us films in final production stages to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe. Us in Progress involves two yearly get-togethers at two different festivals (Paris in June and Wroclaw in October). The next event will take form of two days of exclusive screenings of the 5 selected films (behind closed doors, for registered guests only) and one-to-one meetings on June 10th 2016.
As a bonus to contracts resulting from the presentations and meetings, a jury made of professionals (Europa Distribution, Producer’s Network, Ciné +, Commune Image, Eaux Vives Productions, Firefly, Titra-Tvs, Kickstarter, Centre Phi) will award one of the selected works in progress. The awarded movie will get post-production and promotion services in kind.
The last Paris and Wroclaw editions attracted more than 40 buyers and producers. Alumni of the workshop were selected in Sundance 2013 ("I Used to Be Darker," "Milkshake," "A Teacher"), Berlinale 2013 ("Hide Your Smiling Faces," "I Used to Be Darker"), SXSW 2013 ("A Teacher"), Tribeca 2013 ("Hide Your Smiling Faces," "Bluebird"), Karlovy Vary 2013 ("Bluebird"), Toronto International Film Festival 2013 ("1982"), Sundance 2014 ("Ping Pong Summer"), SXSW 2015 ("Creative Control"), Rotterdam 2016 ("Actor Martinez"), Berlinale 2016 ("Nakom").
The fifth edition of Champs-Elysées Film Festival is to take place in Paris on June 07th to 14th 2016.
Apply now: Entry Form...
- 2/22/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Youtube/National Space Society
Remember back in 2015 when everybody suddenly went a bit bonkers for Pluto?
Well, that was only the beginning of the story and, although the hype has somewhat settled down, the New Horizons probe continues to beam the latest news from deep space back to those boffins at Nasa.
As the rest of the world fell in love with the shining heart of Pluto, and shared pictures of the distant dwarf planet on social media, scientists were impatiently waiting for the detailed reams of data that would pour back to Earth over the coming months, just waiting to be interpreted.
From this, we’ve managed to piece together an incredibly detailed picture of an object that is over 4.6 billion miles away, and it has become apparent that Pluto is much more surprising and complex than anybody had previously thought.
Remember back in 2015 when everybody suddenly went a bit bonkers for Pluto?
Well, that was only the beginning of the story and, although the hype has somewhat settled down, the New Horizons probe continues to beam the latest news from deep space back to those boffins at Nasa.
As the rest of the world fell in love with the shining heart of Pluto, and shared pictures of the distant dwarf planet on social media, scientists were impatiently waiting for the detailed reams of data that would pour back to Earth over the coming months, just waiting to be interpreted.
From this, we’ve managed to piece together an incredibly detailed picture of an object that is over 4.6 billion miles away, and it has become apparent that Pluto is much more surprising and complex than anybody had previously thought.
- 2/18/2016
- by Stevie Shephard
- Obsessed with Film
Submissions for the 2016 edition of American Film Festival are now open till July 15, 2016.
Set in Wroclaw, the 2016 European Capital of Culture and host city of T-Mobile New Horizons Iff, American Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 7th edition, to take place October 25- 30, 2016. As one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals 2015" according to MovieMaker Magazine, Aff programs some of the most exciting American movies of the year. And in particular honor of Wroclaw's title as the 2016 European Capital of Culture, Aff aims to highlight and connect the traditions and influences between American and European cinemas.
Submissions can be made online here.
Selected films compete to win a $10,000 prize in Spectrum's narrative competition and a $5,000 prize in American Doc's documentary competition. In addition to the Bny Mellon funded awards, movies selected to screen at Aff are featured in various sections that highlight acclaimed American masterpieces, diverse indies and documentaries, and newly discovered experimental films. Submission is free of charge.
Filmmakers selected for Us in Progress, an industry event for feature films in the final stages of production, also have the chance to win $40,000 in the form of post-production services from Poland's leading studios and executives. Participants of Us in Progress include top European sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and journalists, who attend the program's private screenings, networking events, and one-on-one meetings. Submission for Us in Progress is open from April 8 to August 21 2016.
For more on submissions and Aff's competitions, prizes, programs, and events, you can visit www.americanfilmfestival.pl.
Set in Wroclaw, the 2016 European Capital of Culture and host city of T-Mobile New Horizons Iff, American Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 7th edition, to take place October 25- 30, 2016. As one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals 2015" according to MovieMaker Magazine, Aff programs some of the most exciting American movies of the year. And in particular honor of Wroclaw's title as the 2016 European Capital of Culture, Aff aims to highlight and connect the traditions and influences between American and European cinemas.
Submissions can be made online here.
Selected films compete to win a $10,000 prize in Spectrum's narrative competition and a $5,000 prize in American Doc's documentary competition. In addition to the Bny Mellon funded awards, movies selected to screen at Aff are featured in various sections that highlight acclaimed American masterpieces, diverse indies and documentaries, and newly discovered experimental films. Submission is free of charge.
Filmmakers selected for Us in Progress, an industry event for feature films in the final stages of production, also have the chance to win $40,000 in the form of post-production services from Poland's leading studios and executives. Participants of Us in Progress include top European sales agents, distributors, festival programmers, and journalists, who attend the program's private screenings, networking events, and one-on-one meetings. Submission for Us in Progress is open from April 8 to August 21 2016.
For more on submissions and Aff's competitions, prizes, programs, and events, you can visit www.americanfilmfestival.pl.
- 2/9/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The second edition of the festivals’ hugely ambitious, border crossing Iffr Live launched on Friday with a showing of Leyla Bound’s As I Open My Eyes in 46 screens across 17 countries.
“That’s only the cinema part,” explained project leader Melissa Van der Schoor. The film was also available online via Festival Scope.
After the screening, questions rained in via social media. They came in Serbian and Slovenian as well as English. There was a live musical performance from the actresses in the film.
Over the rest of the weekend, four further Iffr Live screenings are being held. There were two on Saturday: the world premiere of The Model by Mads Matthiessen and the international premiere of Préjudice,by Antoine Cuypers.
Today (Sunday) sees the event round off with La Novia, an adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s play Blood Wedding by Paula Ortiz, and Jonas Selberg Augustsén’s feature debut The Garbage Helicopter.
Van der Schoor...
“That’s only the cinema part,” explained project leader Melissa Van der Schoor. The film was also available online via Festival Scope.
After the screening, questions rained in via social media. They came in Serbian and Slovenian as well as English. There was a live musical performance from the actresses in the film.
Over the rest of the weekend, four further Iffr Live screenings are being held. There were two on Saturday: the world premiere of The Model by Mads Matthiessen and the international premiere of Préjudice,by Antoine Cuypers.
Today (Sunday) sees the event round off with La Novia, an adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s play Blood Wedding by Paula Ortiz, and Jonas Selberg Augustsén’s feature debut The Garbage Helicopter.
Van der Schoor...
- 1/31/2016
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Long-time festival executive will leave his post in March but will continue in Tiff role.
The resignation this week of Dimitri Eipides from his post at the helm of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival has come as a surprise to the Greek film community and the international festival scene.
The departure of esteemed festival director Eipides is expected to mark a new chapter in the future of Thessaloniki - now in its 57th year - and the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, founded by Eipides in 1992.
Eipides will officially step down following the conclusion of the Documentary Festival in March.
“The new leadership at the Culture Ministry as well as recent changes in the cultural policy in the country make me feel my work is not necessary here anymore,” Eipides told Screen.
The festival veteran added that he intends to go on with his work as senior international programmer of the Toronto International Film Festival, a post he...
The resignation this week of Dimitri Eipides from his post at the helm of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival has come as a surprise to the Greek film community and the international festival scene.
The departure of esteemed festival director Eipides is expected to mark a new chapter in the future of Thessaloniki - now in its 57th year - and the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, founded by Eipides in 1992.
Eipides will officially step down following the conclusion of the Documentary Festival in March.
“The new leadership at the Culture Ministry as well as recent changes in the cultural policy in the country make me feel my work is not necessary here anymore,” Eipides told Screen.
The festival veteran added that he intends to go on with his work as senior international programmer of the Toronto International Film Festival, a post he...
- 1/14/2016
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
I just received my Loot Crate box for December 2015. This month's theme is "Galaxy" and it's packed full of all kinds of goodies that would make any geek happy. The box features items from franchises such as Star Wars, Galaxy Quest, and Halo 5. Below you'll find a breakdown of what was in the box.
December 2015 Galaxy Button (Loot Crate Labs)
This month’s pin is a gold color with a spacecraft on it. Every box comes with a pin, and it's fun to collect them all.
We decided to commemorate Galaxy with this special metallic gold button. Next month, we raise the bar even higher. The countdown to launch has begun…
Exclusive Ugly Holiday Sweater T-Shirt (Loot Crate Labs)
I love this shirt! I'm a huge fan of art done in the style of retro 8-bit graphics and the print seems to have that kind of theme to it. The...
December 2015 Galaxy Button (Loot Crate Labs)
This month’s pin is a gold color with a spacecraft on it. Every box comes with a pin, and it's fun to collect them all.
We decided to commemorate Galaxy with this special metallic gold button. Next month, we raise the bar even higher. The countdown to launch has begun…
Exclusive Ugly Holiday Sweater T-Shirt (Loot Crate Labs)
I love this shirt! I'm a huge fan of art done in the style of retro 8-bit graphics and the print seems to have that kind of theme to it. The...
- 12/23/2015
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
School of Film Agents celebrated its third edition in Wroclaw, Poland, bringing together, once again, some of the best and most promising young players active in the European film industry today. The unique, core philosophy behind Sofa is the initiative's continuous commitment to strengthening the film landscape of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus States where unstable political and economical conditions result in an underdeveloped film industry.
Sofa-Founder Nikolaj Nikitin: "Granted, many films from these countries are being successfully screened at the big film festivals. Nonetheless, they are still lacking the necessary infrastructure and institutional support that not only acknowledges and strengthens the position of film as an art form and relevant socio-cultural and economic factor, but also backs the much-needed film mediators managing these initiatives - such as film festival-makers, distributors and cinema operators."
The Program
Ten intensive days of workshop participation were made available to the eight film agents and their top-class tutors, where, together, they were given the opportunity to successfully develop and push their promising ideas forward towards realization. Strengths and weaknesses of the projects pitched were openly and constructively discussed in close dialogue with some of the biggest names in the European film industry. Lectures and panel discussions dealing with the central topics at hand were visited and numerous in-depth one-to-one meetings took place. In comparison to last year's edition, this year, an intensive exchange between mentors and participants was able to take place already in advance guaranteeing optimal preparation for the workshop activities ahead.
The film agents and their film projects
In its third year, Sofa was, once again, able to pave the way towards realization for eight particularly committed projects. The eight participants were selected out of over one hundred applicants in total - the rising number of applications in 2015 is a clear confirmation of the growing popularity of Sofa.
The goal of strengthening the regional film culture and industries in their respective countries unified most of the participants' projects in 2015. Additionally the production and distribution of European co-productions within the international theatrical market also took center stage at this year's Sofa edition.
With her project Lviv Film Commission the Ukrainian participant Olha Reiter pursued the establishment of the first regional film commission in the Ukraine, a project which already commenced with its important work in August earlier this year.
The Dushanbe Documentary Film Center from Sergey Chutkov serves as a place for film education in Tajikistan - a platform providing space, equipment and seminars for the production of documentary films by young filmmakers.
The project Criss-Cross Film Lab developed by the Serbian participant Milica Bozanic would also like to provide a space for workshops and networking. In addition to bringing together young filmmakers with producers, business skills and marketing strategies will also be taught.
A mobile film educational project will be put into motion by the Polish participant Malgorzata Tusk. With her project Cinebus - Mobile Center of Audiovisual Education she would like to bring the already well-established workshop initiative "Film Spring Open" (led by the world-renowned Dop Slawomir Idziak) into light in Poland.
With his project Cuz We Are Talented, the Czech participant Michal Kracmer plans to steer the attention to young talents from countries in Central Europe while promoting co-productions between these countries.
Conceptualized as a full-service agency, the project Kaleidoscope, developed by the Slovakian participant Katarina Tomkova, intends to offer consultation and internationalization strategies from script to theatrical release.
The Romanian participant Dorina Oarga aims to digitize student films from the National University of Theatre and Film Archive and make them available online with her project Cinepub 2nd Life - a pilot project with the intention of preserving the film heritage of Romania.
Creating new visibility for ambitious children's films is the goal of the möwe. derKinderFilmVerleih, conceptualized by the German Sofa-participant Hella Riehl.
The Lecturers
Each of the eight participants had a tutor by his/her side offering project feedback from his/her own special and professional perspective. The following mentors lent their expertise to Sofa this year: Claudia Dillmann (Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt), Maciej Jakubczyk (New Horizons Association, Wroclaw), Matthijs Wouter Knol (European Film Market, Berlin), Roberto Olla (Eurimages, Strasbourg), Katriel Schory (Israel Film Fund, Tel Aviv), Riina Sildos (Baltic Event, Tallinn), Tamara Tatishvili (Ablabudafilm, Tbilisi) und Kristina Trapp (Eave, Luxemburg). An additional lecture dealing with the topic of Marketing and Consumer Psychology was presented by Domenico la Porta (Cineuropa, Brussels).
Four further experts - each of whom have been an integral part of the Sofa-Team since the inception of the initiative - accompanied the participants from the first day to the very last of the workshop. Participants were able to develop individually tailored marketing strategies for their projects with Renaud Redien-Collot (Novancia Business School, Paris), while Pitching Expert Sibylle Kurz (Frankfurt am Main) ensured that projects are presented with a sense of confidence and ease. Oliver Baumgarten (Programme Director, Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken) und Oscar-Winner Ewa Puszczynska (Opus Film, Lodz) were also present, offering individual feedback-meetings aimed at stylistically and conceptually enhancing the participants' concept drafts as well as helping them to work out appropriate budgeting and realistic timeline schemes for their projects.
The Sofa-participants and lecturers were invited to attend a Film-Preview of the Cannes-premiered Swedish-Polish co-production "The Here After" in Wroclaw's largest arthouse cinema. After the screening director Magnus von Horn and producer Mariusz Wlodarski spoke about opportunities within and the challenges facing the European co-production scene.
Film culture for the future - success stories
A look back at the last two editions of Sofa proves that the pan-European Thinktank dedicated to the future of cinema is truly making waves with sustainable signs of change and the first projects bearing fruit. Many of the projects from the last two years have been able to be successfully realized or are close to realization and implementation.
The Eurimage-backed Serbian Sofa-project Fbo - Festival Box Office by Sonja Topalovic was launched as a beta version in February at the Berlinale. A presentation of the interactive online-database for film festivals followed in the Spring in Cannes. Meanwhile, Fbo is closely cooperating with the Film Center Serbia, officially evaluating for them the number of visitors and ticket sales of art house theaters participating at Serbian film festivals. Moreover, negotiations are continuously taking place with numerous international film festivals, not only keeping the project's network flow in full-swing, but also helping to supplement their valuable database at the same time. As an innovative business tool, Fbo has long-term, world-wide plans to evaluate the success of art house films screened at festivals, thereby giving key players in the industry invaluable insight into understanding public taste.
Leana Jalukse's project Doktok - a distribution initiative for Estonian documentary films was able to be realized with the help of Sofa. Leana was also able to participate in a six-week German language course in Munich where she completed a creative internship with Beta Cinema. This combination of language training with professional internship possibilities is the result of cooperation between Sofa and the Goethe-Institut Prague and will be continued in 2016. Former Sofa-participants Anna Bielak (Poland) and Gábor Böszörményi (Hungary) have also been able to take part in a German language course whilst building up their networks of German business contacts.
The Romanian Sofa-project Transilvania Film Fund by Cristian Hordila is close to being fully implemented and the Lithuanian Sofa-project Front - Film Republic of Networked Theatres by Kestutis Drazdauskas is making headway with the digitalization of cultural centers in Lithuania. The first agreements with local government administrative agencies have been reached and plans are being made to incorporate the private sector into the overall financing scheme of the project. Kestutis is also working out further financial support with Fatima Djoumer (Europe Cinemas), who plans to visit with him in Lithuania this Fall.
Sofa-Founder Nikolaj Nikitin: "Granted, many films from these countries are being successfully screened at the big film festivals. Nonetheless, they are still lacking the necessary infrastructure and institutional support that not only acknowledges and strengthens the position of film as an art form and relevant socio-cultural and economic factor, but also backs the much-needed film mediators managing these initiatives - such as film festival-makers, distributors and cinema operators."
The Program
Ten intensive days of workshop participation were made available to the eight film agents and their top-class tutors, where, together, they were given the opportunity to successfully develop and push their promising ideas forward towards realization. Strengths and weaknesses of the projects pitched were openly and constructively discussed in close dialogue with some of the biggest names in the European film industry. Lectures and panel discussions dealing with the central topics at hand were visited and numerous in-depth one-to-one meetings took place. In comparison to last year's edition, this year, an intensive exchange between mentors and participants was able to take place already in advance guaranteeing optimal preparation for the workshop activities ahead.
The film agents and their film projects
In its third year, Sofa was, once again, able to pave the way towards realization for eight particularly committed projects. The eight participants were selected out of over one hundred applicants in total - the rising number of applications in 2015 is a clear confirmation of the growing popularity of Sofa.
The goal of strengthening the regional film culture and industries in their respective countries unified most of the participants' projects in 2015. Additionally the production and distribution of European co-productions within the international theatrical market also took center stage at this year's Sofa edition.
With her project Lviv Film Commission the Ukrainian participant Olha Reiter pursued the establishment of the first regional film commission in the Ukraine, a project which already commenced with its important work in August earlier this year.
The Dushanbe Documentary Film Center from Sergey Chutkov serves as a place for film education in Tajikistan - a platform providing space, equipment and seminars for the production of documentary films by young filmmakers.
The project Criss-Cross Film Lab developed by the Serbian participant Milica Bozanic would also like to provide a space for workshops and networking. In addition to bringing together young filmmakers with producers, business skills and marketing strategies will also be taught.
A mobile film educational project will be put into motion by the Polish participant Malgorzata Tusk. With her project Cinebus - Mobile Center of Audiovisual Education she would like to bring the already well-established workshop initiative "Film Spring Open" (led by the world-renowned Dop Slawomir Idziak) into light in Poland.
With his project Cuz We Are Talented, the Czech participant Michal Kracmer plans to steer the attention to young talents from countries in Central Europe while promoting co-productions between these countries.
Conceptualized as a full-service agency, the project Kaleidoscope, developed by the Slovakian participant Katarina Tomkova, intends to offer consultation and internationalization strategies from script to theatrical release.
The Romanian participant Dorina Oarga aims to digitize student films from the National University of Theatre and Film Archive and make them available online with her project Cinepub 2nd Life - a pilot project with the intention of preserving the film heritage of Romania.
Creating new visibility for ambitious children's films is the goal of the möwe. derKinderFilmVerleih, conceptualized by the German Sofa-participant Hella Riehl.
The Lecturers
Each of the eight participants had a tutor by his/her side offering project feedback from his/her own special and professional perspective. The following mentors lent their expertise to Sofa this year: Claudia Dillmann (Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt), Maciej Jakubczyk (New Horizons Association, Wroclaw), Matthijs Wouter Knol (European Film Market, Berlin), Roberto Olla (Eurimages, Strasbourg), Katriel Schory (Israel Film Fund, Tel Aviv), Riina Sildos (Baltic Event, Tallinn), Tamara Tatishvili (Ablabudafilm, Tbilisi) und Kristina Trapp (Eave, Luxemburg). An additional lecture dealing with the topic of Marketing and Consumer Psychology was presented by Domenico la Porta (Cineuropa, Brussels).
Four further experts - each of whom have been an integral part of the Sofa-Team since the inception of the initiative - accompanied the participants from the first day to the very last of the workshop. Participants were able to develop individually tailored marketing strategies for their projects with Renaud Redien-Collot (Novancia Business School, Paris), while Pitching Expert Sibylle Kurz (Frankfurt am Main) ensured that projects are presented with a sense of confidence and ease. Oliver Baumgarten (Programme Director, Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken) und Oscar-Winner Ewa Puszczynska (Opus Film, Lodz) were also present, offering individual feedback-meetings aimed at stylistically and conceptually enhancing the participants' concept drafts as well as helping them to work out appropriate budgeting and realistic timeline schemes for their projects.
The Sofa-participants and lecturers were invited to attend a Film-Preview of the Cannes-premiered Swedish-Polish co-production "The Here After" in Wroclaw's largest arthouse cinema. After the screening director Magnus von Horn and producer Mariusz Wlodarski spoke about opportunities within and the challenges facing the European co-production scene.
Film culture for the future - success stories
A look back at the last two editions of Sofa proves that the pan-European Thinktank dedicated to the future of cinema is truly making waves with sustainable signs of change and the first projects bearing fruit. Many of the projects from the last two years have been able to be successfully realized or are close to realization and implementation.
The Eurimage-backed Serbian Sofa-project Fbo - Festival Box Office by Sonja Topalovic was launched as a beta version in February at the Berlinale. A presentation of the interactive online-database for film festivals followed in the Spring in Cannes. Meanwhile, Fbo is closely cooperating with the Film Center Serbia, officially evaluating for them the number of visitors and ticket sales of art house theaters participating at Serbian film festivals. Moreover, negotiations are continuously taking place with numerous international film festivals, not only keeping the project's network flow in full-swing, but also helping to supplement their valuable database at the same time. As an innovative business tool, Fbo has long-term, world-wide plans to evaluate the success of art house films screened at festivals, thereby giving key players in the industry invaluable insight into understanding public taste.
Leana Jalukse's project Doktok - a distribution initiative for Estonian documentary films was able to be realized with the help of Sofa. Leana was also able to participate in a six-week German language course in Munich where she completed a creative internship with Beta Cinema. This combination of language training with professional internship possibilities is the result of cooperation between Sofa and the Goethe-Institut Prague and will be continued in 2016. Former Sofa-participants Anna Bielak (Poland) and Gábor Böszörményi (Hungary) have also been able to take part in a German language course whilst building up their networks of German business contacts.
The Romanian Sofa-project Transilvania Film Fund by Cristian Hordila is close to being fully implemented and the Lithuanian Sofa-project Front - Film Republic of Networked Theatres by Kestutis Drazdauskas is making headway with the digitalization of cultural centers in Lithuania. The first agreements with local government administrative agencies have been reached and plans are being made to incorporate the private sector into the overall financing scheme of the project. Kestutis is also working out further financial support with Fatima Djoumer (Europe Cinemas), who plans to visit with him in Lithuania this Fall.
- 11/12/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Artistic Director Urszula Śniegowska has created a family here of great cineastes and cinephiles. Included is the Austin posse with David Gordon Green receiving the double-barreled Indie Star Award and the European debut of his latest film, "Our Brand is Crisis" with the formidable Sandra Bullock in her ballsiest role ever playing the political strategist, James Carville, as she dictates the terms to her candidate for the President of Bolivia played by my new heartthrob, the Portuguese actor, Joaquim de Almeida. David says he may star in the next film he will direct which will be in Portuguese.
I'm betting on David Gordon Green becoming heir to the throne now occupied by Clint Eastwood as Warner Bros. creates its new brand. Warner Bros. also supplied the Clint Eastwood prints and virtual prints for the Eastwood retrospective. His masterpiece "The Unforgiven" was shown in 35mm. The evolution of Dgg since the Sundance debut (and his own first feature) of " George Washington" in 2000 shows his skill directing both indie and major genres.
The family in the Austin posse includes the grand director Berndt Mader ("Winnebago Man") of "Booger Red" (exec produced by Dgg) with his producer, Irish transplant and immigrant Johnny McAllister who co-wrote with Berndt, and Onur Tukel, the "Turkish Woody Allen" whose own directed and produced " Summer of Blood" debuted at Tribeca last year and was a huge hit at the Champs Elysees Film Festival (this year June 7-14), the sister of Aff who share their child Us in Progress. "Booger Red" is a hybrid documentary/narrative about a veteran reporter who searches for the truth behind the largest purported child sex ring in Texas history. On his journey through the bowels of East Texas, he's forced to confront his own history with abuse while he discovers that the allegations at the root of his investigation might have never happened.
At one of the nightly bar gatherings (which last til 4 am!), Dgg credited Onur for keeping the independent film scene in Austin alive.
Second to receive the double-barreled Indie Star Award with Dgg was Hal Hartley whose humble acceptance of the prize touched us all. He thanked the audience, a new generation for its "fresh" questions, a great pleasure for him after 25 years of doing Q&As. And he thanked the festival for putting on the most complete retrospective of his film ever held.
The Audience Award of Us$10,000 went to the Spectrum film "Dope" by Rick Famuyiwa , one of the freshest films to show in Sundance this year; a delightful, sweet romp with young talents De'aundre Bonds, Kiersey Clemons and Tony Revolori as they follow the orders of dope dealer Rakim Mayers, through the streets of Inglewood California.
The Audience Award of Us$5,000 went to the American Doc film "Transfatty Lives" by Patrick O'Brian. The Awards were funded by festival sponsor, Bny Mellon, wealth management and investments banker to the world. Started by Alexander Hamilton in 1784, Bny Mellon is one of the longest-lasting financial institutions in the world.
Festival Director Roman Gutek has created a great and lasting bond between film artists in U.S. and in Poland. He has also created Europe's largest international film festival, New Horizons, held here in Wroclaw July 25-31 which this year will have a special section of America as depicted by European filmmakers. In addition he has created Europe's largest arthouse multiplex, the New Horizons Theater where these two festivals are held.
I'm betting on David Gordon Green becoming heir to the throne now occupied by Clint Eastwood as Warner Bros. creates its new brand. Warner Bros. also supplied the Clint Eastwood prints and virtual prints for the Eastwood retrospective. His masterpiece "The Unforgiven" was shown in 35mm. The evolution of Dgg since the Sundance debut (and his own first feature) of " George Washington" in 2000 shows his skill directing both indie and major genres.
The family in the Austin posse includes the grand director Berndt Mader ("Winnebago Man") of "Booger Red" (exec produced by Dgg) with his producer, Irish transplant and immigrant Johnny McAllister who co-wrote with Berndt, and Onur Tukel, the "Turkish Woody Allen" whose own directed and produced " Summer of Blood" debuted at Tribeca last year and was a huge hit at the Champs Elysees Film Festival (this year June 7-14), the sister of Aff who share their child Us in Progress. "Booger Red" is a hybrid documentary/narrative about a veteran reporter who searches for the truth behind the largest purported child sex ring in Texas history. On his journey through the bowels of East Texas, he's forced to confront his own history with abuse while he discovers that the allegations at the root of his investigation might have never happened.
At one of the nightly bar gatherings (which last til 4 am!), Dgg credited Onur for keeping the independent film scene in Austin alive.
Second to receive the double-barreled Indie Star Award with Dgg was Hal Hartley whose humble acceptance of the prize touched us all. He thanked the audience, a new generation for its "fresh" questions, a great pleasure for him after 25 years of doing Q&As. And he thanked the festival for putting on the most complete retrospective of his film ever held.
The Audience Award of Us$10,000 went to the Spectrum film "Dope" by Rick Famuyiwa , one of the freshest films to show in Sundance this year; a delightful, sweet romp with young talents De'aundre Bonds, Kiersey Clemons and Tony Revolori as they follow the orders of dope dealer Rakim Mayers, through the streets of Inglewood California.
The Audience Award of Us$5,000 went to the American Doc film "Transfatty Lives" by Patrick O'Brian. The Awards were funded by festival sponsor, Bny Mellon, wealth management and investments banker to the world. Started by Alexander Hamilton in 1784, Bny Mellon is one of the longest-lasting financial institutions in the world.
Festival Director Roman Gutek has created a great and lasting bond between film artists in U.S. and in Poland. He has also created Europe's largest international film festival, New Horizons, held here in Wroclaw July 25-31 which this year will have a special section of America as depicted by European filmmakers. In addition he has created Europe's largest arthouse multiplex, the New Horizons Theater where these two festivals are held.
- 10/28/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Us in Progress is a unique film industry event in two parts, connecting European buyers and American independent filmmakers, running since 2011 annually. It is a joint initiative of the Polish New Horizons Association and the French Champs-Elysées Film Festival (in collaboration with New York- and Paris-based Black Rabbit Film). Two market-type events take place, first in Paris, France in June (during Champs- Elysées Film Festival), and then in Wrocław, Poland (hosted by the American Film Festival) in October. Us in Progress aims at strengthening the trans-Atlantic film industry collaborations and partnerships, to strike distribution and post-production contracts. It...
- 10/26/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Athens was the first European Capital of Culture in 1985. For the 2016 title, Wroclaw, Poland and San Sebastian, Spain were both selected four years ago. Since then, various cultural projects and initiatives funded by the European Commission have been developed as both cities prepare for the tourism boosts and international attention in the coming year. One of the biggest arthouse cinemas in Europe called the New Horizons Cinema, for example, opened in Wroclaw as one these projects. And with more developments underway, city pride among local inhabitants, as well as possibilities of discovery for passing travelers, flourishes. I don’t […]...
- 9/15/2015
- by Taylor Hess
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Athens was the first European Capital of Culture in 1985. For the 2016 title, Wroclaw, Poland and San Sebastian, Spain were both selected four years ago. Since then, various cultural projects and initiatives funded by the European Commission have been developed as both cities prepare for the tourism boosts and international attention in the coming year. One of the biggest arthouse cinemas in Europe called the New Horizons Cinema, for example, opened in Wroclaw as one these projects. And with more developments underway, city pride among local inhabitants, as well as possibilities of discovery for passing travelers, flourishes. I don’t […]...
- 9/15/2015
- by Taylor Hess
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Screen Australia is offering marketing support for producers to attend the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers in Vienna, Austria.
An annual event for specialist factual programming producers, broadcasters and distributors, this year.s host broadcaster is Orf..
More than 200 broadcast representatives are expected to attend..
In addition to panels and networking events, Wcsfp also programs several market events to assist with advancing projects and finding new production partners.
The congress will showcase a session about the multiple-platform viewing experience of Nasa.s New Horizons fly-by of Pluto..
Plus there is currently a call-out for breakthrough projects to be presented at the congress. More program and guest details will be announced in October.
Applicants wishing to advance their projects in development can apply to Screen Australia for up to $5,000 towards the cost of attending Wcsfp..
Selection is by a competitive assessment process. Producers must demonstrate the suitability of their...
An annual event for specialist factual programming producers, broadcasters and distributors, this year.s host broadcaster is Orf..
More than 200 broadcast representatives are expected to attend..
In addition to panels and networking events, Wcsfp also programs several market events to assist with advancing projects and finding new production partners.
The congress will showcase a session about the multiple-platform viewing experience of Nasa.s New Horizons fly-by of Pluto..
Plus there is currently a call-out for breakthrough projects to be presented at the congress. More program and guest details will be announced in October.
Applicants wishing to advance their projects in development can apply to Screen Australia for up to $5,000 towards the cost of attending Wcsfp..
Selection is by a competitive assessment process. Producers must demonstrate the suitability of their...
- 9/8/2015
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
Nasa
“Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is”, so said the great author and genius, Douglas Adams.
But as well as big, space is also mind-bogglingly beautiful as well. Since antiquity, people have been looking to the stars and recording what they see; from Galileo’s detail drawings of the moon, to New Horizons’ latest photographs of the distant Pluto, there’s something about space that makes us want to see it, record it and study it.
Since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in the early nineties, as well as the many unmanned probes now flying about the solar system, we’ve built up an enormous collection of breathtaking images of space. It’s absolutely mind-blowing to look at these pictures and think that the things in them are really out there.
Not only are these beautiful, but...
“Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is”, so said the great author and genius, Douglas Adams.
But as well as big, space is also mind-bogglingly beautiful as well. Since antiquity, people have been looking to the stars and recording what they see; from Galileo’s detail drawings of the moon, to New Horizons’ latest photographs of the distant Pluto, there’s something about space that makes us want to see it, record it and study it.
Since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in the early nineties, as well as the many unmanned probes now flying about the solar system, we’ve built up an enormous collection of breathtaking images of space. It’s absolutely mind-blowing to look at these pictures and think that the things in them are really out there.
Not only are these beautiful, but...
- 8/27/2015
- by Stevie Shephard
- Obsessed with Film
Arthouse exhibitors from Poland to Venezuela have added their voices to the chorus of disapproval about Europa Cinemas’ new bonus payment scheme to promote partnerships between cinemas and online distribution platforms.
The International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (Cicae) has joined forces with the French Association of Art Cinemas Afcae, Germany’s Ag Kino - Gilde, and Italy’s Arthouse Exhibitors Federation Fice to express their concerns about Europa Cinemas “giving in to the massive demands by ‘Creative Europe’ in Brussels to do away with the release chronology for films”.
“The abandonment of release windows and the introduction of simultaneous releases in the cinemas and as VoD will result in an existential threat for many smaller cinemas with a European profile to their programming,” the associations explained.
“It will mainly affect cinemas in small towns and small countries where there isn’t sufficient or any public funding measures for cinemas.”
The arthouse cinemas argued that “no amount of funding...
The International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (Cicae) has joined forces with the French Association of Art Cinemas Afcae, Germany’s Ag Kino - Gilde, and Italy’s Arthouse Exhibitors Federation Fice to express their concerns about Europa Cinemas “giving in to the massive demands by ‘Creative Europe’ in Brussels to do away with the release chronology for films”.
“The abandonment of release windows and the introduction of simultaneous releases in the cinemas and as VoD will result in an existential threat for many smaller cinemas with a European profile to their programming,” the associations explained.
“It will mainly affect cinemas in small towns and small countries where there isn’t sufficient or any public funding measures for cinemas.”
The arthouse cinemas argued that “no amount of funding...
- 8/27/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
They won’t all be like this. Responding, after our inaugural dispatch, to the international vlogger community’s insistently histrionic cries that we get ourselves a cameraman, Neil acquired the skills of a friend’s friend who was also in town for the 16th edition of New Horizons, in Wrocław, Poland. We won’t always, it should be noted, have the luxury of such handy professional contacts. The location for this conversation was the roof of Wrocław’s Monopol Hotel, from which could be seen, not far away, a yellow Liebherr crane. Knowing the company has a branch in Sunderland, Neil speculated with much optimism that the crane might be from there—like him.Due to a technical mishap beyond our control, the published video concludes ten minutes sooner than the real-life conversation did. We have, though, an exchange covering Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin, Miguel Gomes’s Arabian Nights,...
- 8/25/2015
- by Michael Pattison
- MUBI
The sixth edition of the New Horizons Studio kicked off on 26 July 2015 within the framework of the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland.
During the event, young directors and producers from Europe learned about the mechanisms of the international film market, the accent being especially put on production, promotion and distribution. During two days, and in small groups, they discussed their projects and career plans with experts and were also trained to pitch their projects. In that regard, the aim of the New Horizons Studio is to raise awareness of the pitch in a film pre-production process and it offered training in pitching to 24 participants from all over Europe. According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of the New Horizons Studio and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program wants to show the participants that “while the international film business may seem inaccessible and closed, it’s actually waiting for [them] with numerous opportunities”.
The selected participants were Emilie Aussel (France), Marta Bacewicz, Ana Brzezińska, Ben Brand (Holland), Kacper Czubak, Marcin Dudziak, Marija Fridinovaite (Romania), Marcin Filipowicz, Jasiek Gorący, Marta Habior, Cristi Iftime (Romania), Grzegorz Jaroszuk, Karolina Kołtun, Michał Korynek, Michal Kráčmer (Czech Rep.), Justyna Mytnik, Magdalena Puzmujźniak, Margarida Rego (Portugal), Beata Rzeźniczek, Wojtek Stuchlik, Michał Szcześniak, Giedrius Tamosevicius (Lithuanina), Fritz Urschitz (Austria) and Vladilen Vierny (France).
The best pitch was awarded with a package offered by the London Film Academy and postproduction services from CeTa, an audiovisual technology center based in Wrocław. This year, the team made up of Wojtek Stuchlik, Beata Rzeźniczek and Ben Brand won the pitching competition.
The following speakers shared their know-how with the New Horizons Studio participants: David Pope and Gavin Humphries of the London Film Academy, James Mullighan of the Cork Film Festival, producers Raymond Phathanavirangoon and Guillaume de Seille, the distribution consultant Beatrice Naumann, Katarzyna Karwan of Premium Films, and, last but not least Ewa Puszczyńska, the producer of the Academy Award winning film Ida. From the point of view of the co-founder and joint principal of the London Film Academy and founder of Lfa productions, Anna MacDonald, these industry professionals “are among the best in their fields.”
James Mullighan, one of the aforementioned participating experts stated that the New Horizons Studio “is one of the best organized and most potent film talent development events [he has] ever come across.” According to him, it “ brings together the most important new voices in Poland and beyond, and provides them with a safe place to develop their projects, and then show them to the global industry .”
Moreover, the program included an insightful masterclass by Magnus von Horn and Mariusz Włodarski, the director-producer team of "The Here After," the Polish-Swedish coproduction that premiered in Cannes’s Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year and was screened at the festival. The masterclass was the highlight of the event. Magnus von Horn was born in Sweden and graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź. He described "The Here After’s" genesis and how his debut film got selected in Cannes while Mariusz Włodarski shared his experience of working on the project, his role as a producer in the film’s success and the marketing strategy he has planned for it. In fact, "The Here After" is a fruit of the friendship between Magnus and Mariusz who started working together during their studies, getting to know each other and each other’s working methods.
Over the past five years, these workshops have already trained more than 100 graduates from Poland and abroad. Thanks to the involvement of the national cultural institutes this year’s list of participants included - besides 16 Polish filmmakers - 9 people from Austria, Czech Republic, Holland, France, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania. This training program was organized by the New Horizons Association, the London Film Academy and the Creative Europe Desk Poland with the support of the Lithuanian Film Center, the Cinessonne Festival in Paris, the Czech Center, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Instituto Camoes, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw. In Łapińska’s opinion, this group “ has worked together for several years” and is, in her view, “a fantastic force backing the New Horizons Studio”.
During the event, young directors and producers from Europe learned about the mechanisms of the international film market, the accent being especially put on production, promotion and distribution. During two days, and in small groups, they discussed their projects and career plans with experts and were also trained to pitch their projects. In that regard, the aim of the New Horizons Studio is to raise awareness of the pitch in a film pre-production process and it offered training in pitching to 24 participants from all over Europe. According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of the New Horizons Studio and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program wants to show the participants that “while the international film business may seem inaccessible and closed, it’s actually waiting for [them] with numerous opportunities”.
The selected participants were Emilie Aussel (France), Marta Bacewicz, Ana Brzezińska, Ben Brand (Holland), Kacper Czubak, Marcin Dudziak, Marija Fridinovaite (Romania), Marcin Filipowicz, Jasiek Gorący, Marta Habior, Cristi Iftime (Romania), Grzegorz Jaroszuk, Karolina Kołtun, Michał Korynek, Michal Kráčmer (Czech Rep.), Justyna Mytnik, Magdalena Puzmujźniak, Margarida Rego (Portugal), Beata Rzeźniczek, Wojtek Stuchlik, Michał Szcześniak, Giedrius Tamosevicius (Lithuanina), Fritz Urschitz (Austria) and Vladilen Vierny (France).
The best pitch was awarded with a package offered by the London Film Academy and postproduction services from CeTa, an audiovisual technology center based in Wrocław. This year, the team made up of Wojtek Stuchlik, Beata Rzeźniczek and Ben Brand won the pitching competition.
The following speakers shared their know-how with the New Horizons Studio participants: David Pope and Gavin Humphries of the London Film Academy, James Mullighan of the Cork Film Festival, producers Raymond Phathanavirangoon and Guillaume de Seille, the distribution consultant Beatrice Naumann, Katarzyna Karwan of Premium Films, and, last but not least Ewa Puszczyńska, the producer of the Academy Award winning film Ida. From the point of view of the co-founder and joint principal of the London Film Academy and founder of Lfa productions, Anna MacDonald, these industry professionals “are among the best in their fields.”
James Mullighan, one of the aforementioned participating experts stated that the New Horizons Studio “is one of the best organized and most potent film talent development events [he has] ever come across.” According to him, it “ brings together the most important new voices in Poland and beyond, and provides them with a safe place to develop their projects, and then show them to the global industry .”
Moreover, the program included an insightful masterclass by Magnus von Horn and Mariusz Włodarski, the director-producer team of "The Here After," the Polish-Swedish coproduction that premiered in Cannes’s Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year and was screened at the festival. The masterclass was the highlight of the event. Magnus von Horn was born in Sweden and graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź. He described "The Here After’s" genesis and how his debut film got selected in Cannes while Mariusz Włodarski shared his experience of working on the project, his role as a producer in the film’s success and the marketing strategy he has planned for it. In fact, "The Here After" is a fruit of the friendship between Magnus and Mariusz who started working together during their studies, getting to know each other and each other’s working methods.
Over the past five years, these workshops have already trained more than 100 graduates from Poland and abroad. Thanks to the involvement of the national cultural institutes this year’s list of participants included - besides 16 Polish filmmakers - 9 people from Austria, Czech Republic, Holland, France, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania. This training program was organized by the New Horizons Association, the London Film Academy and the Creative Europe Desk Poland with the support of the Lithuanian Film Center, the Cinessonne Festival in Paris, the Czech Center, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Instituto Camoes, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw. In Łapińska’s opinion, this group “ has worked together for several years” and is, in her view, “a fantastic force backing the New Horizons Studio”.
- 8/14/2015
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
For the fourth time, A Sunday in the Country, a retreat-like workshop for young film critics from Europe, was organized as a part of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, in a charming house by the woods of Byków, near Wrocław, Poland, during the last days of the festival (July 30 – August 2, 2015).
There, the critics watched and discussed films, exchanged thoughts and learned from each other’s experiences. Under the guidance of Pascal Edelmann of the European Film Academy, Ula Śniegowska of the New Horizons Association and the British film critic of The Independent Kaleem Aftab, the weekend was spent cooking, networking, watching films, meeting with filmmakers and discussing cinephilia and the challenges faced by film critics today. Apart from the primary networking purpose, the workshop aimed at raising awareness of the film critic’s role today and the current state of film journalism as well as the exchange of practices and professional skills among the young participants. In that regard, A Sunday in the Country is definitely one of the most inventive and out of the box film criticism workshops out there.
On Friday, the participants watched the Polish-Swedish coproduction "The Here After" (which premiered this year in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section and in the Panorama section of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival) and "H.," an Argentina/U.S. coproduction. The director-producer duos of both films (Magnus von Horn and Mariusz Włodarski and Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia respectively) were present for lunch and dinner and engaged in a discussion about the role of the critic in the filmmakers’ career and the expectations or demands these professions have towards each other. The following day, the participants watched "Ruined Heart" by the Philippino filmmaker Khavn de la Cruz, a juror of this year’s New Horizons competition program, who joined them for lunch and a discussion. In the evening, Kaleem Aftab, A Sunday’s expert and established British critic and author, introduced Spike Lee’s "Inside Man." The conversations continued long into the night.
The group was composed of eight people from eight different European countries: Anka Herbut (Poland) – recipient of the Krzysztof Mętrak Award, Andrey Arnold (Austria), Astrid Jansen (Belgium), Katerina Lambrinova (Bulgaria), Pete Wu (the Netherlands), Tara Karajica (Serbia), and Thomas Sejersen (Denmark).
The get-together was organized by the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival and the European Film Academy in collaboration with Eunic and with the support of local cultural institutes and the Krzysztof Mętrak Award.
For Katerina Lambrinova, A Sunday in the Country is “definitely a great place to meet new friends, who share the same love for cinema,” and gives the participants a unique opportunity to meet “ interesting up-and-coming or prominent film directors, screenwriters, producers and film critics in a very informal and light atmosphere.” Fellow participant from Denmark, Thomas Sejersen, shares her view of it. For him, it is “ not only a weekend of thought-provoking discussion of the past, present, and future of film criticism. First and foremost, it provides a unique encounter of like-minded and future friends from all over Europe.”...
There, the critics watched and discussed films, exchanged thoughts and learned from each other’s experiences. Under the guidance of Pascal Edelmann of the European Film Academy, Ula Śniegowska of the New Horizons Association and the British film critic of The Independent Kaleem Aftab, the weekend was spent cooking, networking, watching films, meeting with filmmakers and discussing cinephilia and the challenges faced by film critics today. Apart from the primary networking purpose, the workshop aimed at raising awareness of the film critic’s role today and the current state of film journalism as well as the exchange of practices and professional skills among the young participants. In that regard, A Sunday in the Country is definitely one of the most inventive and out of the box film criticism workshops out there.
On Friday, the participants watched the Polish-Swedish coproduction "The Here After" (which premiered this year in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section and in the Panorama section of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival) and "H.," an Argentina/U.S. coproduction. The director-producer duos of both films (Magnus von Horn and Mariusz Włodarski and Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia respectively) were present for lunch and dinner and engaged in a discussion about the role of the critic in the filmmakers’ career and the expectations or demands these professions have towards each other. The following day, the participants watched "Ruined Heart" by the Philippino filmmaker Khavn de la Cruz, a juror of this year’s New Horizons competition program, who joined them for lunch and a discussion. In the evening, Kaleem Aftab, A Sunday’s expert and established British critic and author, introduced Spike Lee’s "Inside Man." The conversations continued long into the night.
The group was composed of eight people from eight different European countries: Anka Herbut (Poland) – recipient of the Krzysztof Mętrak Award, Andrey Arnold (Austria), Astrid Jansen (Belgium), Katerina Lambrinova (Bulgaria), Pete Wu (the Netherlands), Tara Karajica (Serbia), and Thomas Sejersen (Denmark).
The get-together was organized by the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival and the European Film Academy in collaboration with Eunic and with the support of local cultural institutes and the Krzysztof Mętrak Award.
For Katerina Lambrinova, A Sunday in the Country is “definitely a great place to meet new friends, who share the same love for cinema,” and gives the participants a unique opportunity to meet “ interesting up-and-coming or prominent film directors, screenwriters, producers and film critics in a very informal and light atmosphere.” Fellow participant from Denmark, Thomas Sejersen, shares her view of it. For him, it is “ not only a weekend of thought-provoking discussion of the past, present, and future of film criticism. First and foremost, it provides a unique encounter of like-minded and future friends from all over Europe.”...
- 8/13/2015
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
A version of this story first appeared in the Aug. 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. After tackling Straight Outta Compton, director F. Gary Gray is ready to head straight into … the cosmos? "I'm really, really heavily researching a sci-fi movie," said Gray. While finishing Compton in July, Gray spent his scant downtime checking out the Nasa New Horizons spacecraft's Pluto images. "I have a huge telescope and I stargaze. I marvel when I study the moon and think of stories about colonizing Mars," says the Cosmos
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- 8/13/2015
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Polish Days constitutes the most important industry event at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival. There, more than 250 movers and shakers of the Polish and international film industry, from producers and film funds to buyers and festival programmers from Berlin, Semaine de la Critique, Rotterdam, Venice, Tribeca and New Directors/New Films, met to watch the latest Polish films at closed screenings. This year, the event took place from July 29 to 31 in the city of Wrocław, Poland.
The 2015 edition focused on funding and German producers. Polish and German film producers met at a conference organized by the Polish Film Institute, the Film Commission of Poland, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (Mdm), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, German regional funds and the Cottbus Film Festival.
A total of 26 films and projects by both first-time directors and well-established filmmakers were selected for the industry event.
In fact, among the works shown in full at closed screenings were Karlovy Vary competition titles "The Red Spider" by Marcin Koszalkaand "Chemo" by Bartosz Prokopowicz as well as the debut features by Wojciech Kasperski "The High Frontier," "Berlin Diaries" by Przemysław Wojcieszek, "My Sister" by Kinga Dębska and Krzysztof Łukaszewicz’s "Karbala."
As far as the work-in-progress section is concerned, it presented 10 films. These were "Baby Bump" by Kuba Czekaj, "Journals" by Wiktoria Szymańska, "Waves" by Grzegorz Zariczny, "Into the Spirale" by Konrad Aksinowicz, "All These Sleepless Nights" by Michał Marczak and two projects pitched at the festival last year - "Wild Roses" by Anna Jadowska and "Volhynia" by Wojtek Smarzowski. Two documentaries were also presented here: "21 x New York" by Piotr Stasik and "When You Return" by Anna Zamęcka.
Pitchings presented Polish films at an earlier stage of development and production included new works by Marcin Wrona ("Lili"), Dorota Kędzierzawska ("Speedway") and Marcin Dudziak ("Presence"), as well as the following debut features: "The Last Family" by Jan P. Matuszyński, "Tower" by Jagoda Szelc, "Forest" by Joanna Zastróżna and the Cinemart project "Hurrah, we're still alive!" by Agnieszka Polska. Moreover, three projects by foreign directors but developed in Poland were also pitched: "AA" by Jack Faber, "Marie Curie" by Marie Noelle and "People I'm Not" by Francesco Rizzi. Post-production awards from Toya Studios (sound) and Chimney Poland (image) went to "People I'm Not" by Francesco Rizzi, "Tower" by Jagoda Szelc and "Speedway" by Dorota Kędzierzawska.
In the case of "The Last Family," David Ogrodnik, one of the stars of the critically acclaimed hit "Ida," has been cast in the film as Tomek, the son of Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski, played by Andrzej Seweryn, a veteran film and theater actor.
According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of Polish Days and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program “contains, in equal measure, expressive, original works, along with interesting genre films, moving features, and courageous documentaries.” As far as Agnieszka Odorowicz, the general director of the Polish Film Institute, is concerned, Polish Days has become “one of the most interesting events dedicated to promoting Polish cinema and showcasing film projects in early stages of production. The importance of Polish Days for the international promotion of Polish cinema cannot be overstated. ” Łapińska was adamant on “making it clear” that “Poland is a place for interesting coproductions.”
Polish Days is co-organized with the Polish Film Institute. The event’s partners include the Film Commission of Poland, the Mazovia-Warsaw and Wrocław Film Commissions, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the National Audiovisual Institute and post-production studios Toya Studios and Chimney Poland.
The 2015 edition focused on funding and German producers. Polish and German film producers met at a conference organized by the Polish Film Institute, the Film Commission of Poland, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (Mdm), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, German regional funds and the Cottbus Film Festival.
A total of 26 films and projects by both first-time directors and well-established filmmakers were selected for the industry event.
In fact, among the works shown in full at closed screenings were Karlovy Vary competition titles "The Red Spider" by Marcin Koszalkaand "Chemo" by Bartosz Prokopowicz as well as the debut features by Wojciech Kasperski "The High Frontier," "Berlin Diaries" by Przemysław Wojcieszek, "My Sister" by Kinga Dębska and Krzysztof Łukaszewicz’s "Karbala."
As far as the work-in-progress section is concerned, it presented 10 films. These were "Baby Bump" by Kuba Czekaj, "Journals" by Wiktoria Szymańska, "Waves" by Grzegorz Zariczny, "Into the Spirale" by Konrad Aksinowicz, "All These Sleepless Nights" by Michał Marczak and two projects pitched at the festival last year - "Wild Roses" by Anna Jadowska and "Volhynia" by Wojtek Smarzowski. Two documentaries were also presented here: "21 x New York" by Piotr Stasik and "When You Return" by Anna Zamęcka.
Pitchings presented Polish films at an earlier stage of development and production included new works by Marcin Wrona ("Lili"), Dorota Kędzierzawska ("Speedway") and Marcin Dudziak ("Presence"), as well as the following debut features: "The Last Family" by Jan P. Matuszyński, "Tower" by Jagoda Szelc, "Forest" by Joanna Zastróżna and the Cinemart project "Hurrah, we're still alive!" by Agnieszka Polska. Moreover, three projects by foreign directors but developed in Poland were also pitched: "AA" by Jack Faber, "Marie Curie" by Marie Noelle and "People I'm Not" by Francesco Rizzi. Post-production awards from Toya Studios (sound) and Chimney Poland (image) went to "People I'm Not" by Francesco Rizzi, "Tower" by Jagoda Szelc and "Speedway" by Dorota Kędzierzawska.
In the case of "The Last Family," David Ogrodnik, one of the stars of the critically acclaimed hit "Ida," has been cast in the film as Tomek, the son of Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski, played by Andrzej Seweryn, a veteran film and theater actor.
According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of Polish Days and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program “contains, in equal measure, expressive, original works, along with interesting genre films, moving features, and courageous documentaries.” As far as Agnieszka Odorowicz, the general director of the Polish Film Institute, is concerned, Polish Days has become “one of the most interesting events dedicated to promoting Polish cinema and showcasing film projects in early stages of production. The importance of Polish Days for the international promotion of Polish cinema cannot be overstated. ” Łapińska was adamant on “making it clear” that “Poland is a place for interesting coproductions.”
Polish Days is co-organized with the Polish Film Institute. The event’s partners include the Film Commission of Poland, the Mazovia-Warsaw and Wrocław Film Commissions, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the National Audiovisual Institute and post-production studios Toya Studios and Chimney Poland.
- 8/12/2015
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
On the fourth anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s death, I was watching the opening night screening of Amy at the New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, another documentary about a legendary musician who died at the age of twenty-seven, was also slated in the New Horizons program. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the controversial German filmmaker who made over 40 films before his death at thirty-seven years old, was the subject of Fassbinder, a documentary also screening in Wroclaw. The Actress, a documentary about the Polish movie star Elżbieta Czyżewska, who fled from communist Warsaw to New […]...
- 8/12/2015
- by Taylor Hess
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
On the fourth anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s death, I was watching the opening night screening of Amy at the New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, another documentary about a legendary musician who died at the age of twenty-seven, was also slated in the New Horizons program. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the controversial German filmmaker who made over 40 films before his death at thirty-seven years old, was the subject of Fassbinder, a documentary also screening in Wroclaw. The Actress, a documentary about the Polish movie star Elżbieta Czyżewska, who fled from communist Warsaw to New […]...
- 8/12/2015
- by Taylor Hess
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
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