Yesterday we tossed filmmaker names like Ala Eddine Slim, Alexandre Koberidze, Marco Dutra and the tandem of Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza into the prognostication Un Certain Regard mix. Today we present another ten options and make sure to tune in on Monday for 25 firm Palme d’Or competition guesses. The official line-up will be revealed on April 11th.
Maria –...
Maria –...
- 3/29/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Roll up, roll up for Part 2 of our Cannes Film Festival preview, this time with a focus on international, mainly non-English-language fare. If you didn’t catch Andreas’ English-language-focused Part 1, check it out.
As the fest basks in the warm glow of the Oscar wins for 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Grand Jury Prize winner The Zone of Interest, delegate general Thierry Frémaux and his team are furiously tying up the 2024 Official Selection.
With less than four weeks to go until the bulk of the 77th edition (running May 14-25) is revealed at the press conference in Paris on April 11, we’ve rounded up a host of the titles ready and in the running for a splash in either Official Selection or the main parallel sections of Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week.
The registration deadline was March 15, with March 22 the official cut-off for submissions to arrive...
As the fest basks in the warm glow of the Oscar wins for 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Grand Jury Prize winner The Zone of Interest, delegate general Thierry Frémaux and his team are furiously tying up the 2024 Official Selection.
With less than four weeks to go until the bulk of the 77th edition (running May 14-25) is revealed at the press conference in Paris on April 11, we’ve rounded up a host of the titles ready and in the running for a splash in either Official Selection or the main parallel sections of Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week.
The registration deadline was March 15, with March 22 the official cut-off for submissions to arrive...
- 3/18/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Over the past few years Italian cinema has been making strides in the global arena and 2024 looks likely to bolster its international standing. New works by top auteurs Paolo Sorrentino and Luca Guadagnino will be launching from the festival circuit just as a fresh crop of directors comes to fore, starting with Margherita Vicario, whose first film “Gloria!” scored a Berlin competition slot.
Below is a compendium of new Italian movies set to hit this year’s fest circuit.
“Another End” – Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve (“The Worse Person in the World”) star as lovers caught in an unusual bind in Italian director Piero Messina’s sci-fi film “Another End” which is competing in Berlin. This second feature by Messina – whose first feature, “The Wait,” launched with a splash in the 2015 Venice competition – is set in a near-future when a new technology exists that can put the consciousness of...
Below is a compendium of new Italian movies set to hit this year’s fest circuit.
“Another End” – Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve (“The Worse Person in the World”) star as lovers caught in an unusual bind in Italian director Piero Messina’s sci-fi film “Another End” which is competing in Berlin. This second feature by Messina – whose first feature, “The Wait,” launched with a splash in the 2015 Venice competition – is set in a near-future when a new technology exists that can put the consciousness of...
- 2/17/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Toni Servillo, who played Roman socialite Jep Gambardella in Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty,” will star in a drama about Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro, dubbed “the last godfather” directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (“Sicilian Ghost Story”).
Also starring in the hotly-anticipated drama titled “Iddu” – which means “Him” in Sicilian dialect – is Italian A-list actor Elio Germano, winner of a Cannes best actor prize for Daniele Luchetti’s “Our Life” in 2010 and more recently of Italy’s 2021 David di Donatello Award for Giorgio Diritti’s “Hidden Away.”
The roles respectively being played by Servillo and Elio Germano are being kept under wraps.
After being on the run for three decades, Messina Denaro was arrested in mid-January 2023 outside an upscale medical facility in Palermo, where he had been undergoing cancer treatment for a year under false identity. The top mafioso, convicted of masterminding some of Italy...
Also starring in the hotly-anticipated drama titled “Iddu” – which means “Him” in Sicilian dialect – is Italian A-list actor Elio Germano, winner of a Cannes best actor prize for Daniele Luchetti’s “Our Life” in 2010 and more recently of Italy’s 2021 David di Donatello Award for Giorgio Diritti’s “Hidden Away.”
The roles respectively being played by Servillo and Elio Germano are being kept under wraps.
After being on the run for three decades, Messina Denaro was arrested in mid-January 2023 outside an upscale medical facility in Palermo, where he had been undergoing cancer treatment for a year under false identity. The top mafioso, convicted of masterminding some of Italy...
- 1/18/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian producer Massimo Cristaldi, who as a production manager worked with masters such as Federico Fellini and Francesco Rosi before setting up his own company and shepherding films including prizewinning drama “Sicilian Ghost Story,” has died. He was 66.
Cristaldi’s death was announced over the weekend by his Rome-based company Cristaldi Pictures in a statement that did not specify the cause.
Born in 1956, Massimo Cristaldi was the only son of prominent producer Franco Cristaldi, the triple Oscar-winner who made Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style,” Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord” and Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso.”
In 1974 Massimo Cristaldi started cutting his teeth in the film business first as a production assistant and eventually, starting in the 1980s, becoming a line producer on many of his father’s productions, working with Fellini, Rosi, Tornatore, and many other Italian cinema greats.
After Franco Cristaldi’s death in 1992, he took over management of...
Cristaldi’s death was announced over the weekend by his Rome-based company Cristaldi Pictures in a statement that did not specify the cause.
Born in 1956, Massimo Cristaldi was the only son of prominent producer Franco Cristaldi, the triple Oscar-winner who made Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style,” Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord” and Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso.”
In 1974 Massimo Cristaldi started cutting his teeth in the film business first as a production assistant and eventually, starting in the 1980s, becoming a line producer on many of his father’s productions, working with Fellini, Rosi, Tornatore, and many other Italian cinema greats.
After Franco Cristaldi’s death in 1992, he took over management of...
- 4/11/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
"For me if you dream something, it means it might exist..." Strand Releasing has debuted the full Us trailer for an Italian indie horror film titled Sicilian Ghost Story, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Critics' Week last year, and played at a number of other festivals last year. Set in a little Sicilian village at the edge of a forest, the film is about a girl named Luna who goes into the forest to search for a boy she's in love with from school, Giuseppe, who disappeared. What she finds is unlike anything she's seen before. The film stars Julia Jedlikowska as Luna, and Gaetano Fernandez as Giuseppe, with Corinne Musallari, Andrea Falzone, Federico Finocchiaro, Lorenzo Curcio, Vincenzo Amato, plus Filippo Luna. This does remind me a bit of del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, but with an Italian touch. Looks creepy but good. Full Us trailer (+ posters) for...
- 9/26/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Musical sequel tops UK chart for third straight week.
Today’s Gbp to Usd conversion rate - 1.29
RankFilm / DistributorThree-day gross (Aug 3-5) Running gross Week 1 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Universal) £4.1m £39.3m 3 2 Ant-Man And The Wasp (Disney) £3.8m £5m 1 3 Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount) £2.5m £13.3m 2 4 Incredibles 2 (Disney) £2.4m £40m 4 5 Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation (Sony) £1.5m £7.8m 2 Universal
In its third week on release, musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again triumphed over the competition again, dropping 43% with £4.1m. The film now sits on a hugely impressive £39.3m, though still some way shy of Mamma Mia!
Today’s Gbp to Usd conversion rate - 1.29
RankFilm / DistributorThree-day gross (Aug 3-5) Running gross Week 1 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Universal) £4.1m £39.3m 3 2 Ant-Man And The Wasp (Disney) £3.8m £5m 1 3 Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount) £2.5m £13.3m 2 4 Incredibles 2 (Disney) £2.4m £40m 4 5 Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation (Sony) £1.5m £7.8m 2 Universal
In its third week on release, musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again triumphed over the competition again, dropping 43% with £4.1m. The film now sits on a hugely impressive £39.3m, though still some way shy of Mamma Mia!
- 8/6/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Marvel sequel to go up against Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Expect another strong weekend at the UK box office, with Disney’s Ant-Man And The Wasp (released on Thursday August 2) taking on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
The original Ant-Man opened with £4.8m in the UK, going on to make £19m – a somewhat below par score for a non-Avengers Marvel film. Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok ended up on £53m and £30m respectively.
The sequel, once again starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will face competition from the resurgent Mission: Impossible – Fallout,...
Expect another strong weekend at the UK box office, with Disney’s Ant-Man And The Wasp (released on Thursday August 2) taking on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
The original Ant-Man opened with £4.8m in the UK, going on to make £19m – a somewhat below par score for a non-Avengers Marvel film. Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok ended up on £53m and £30m respectively.
The sequel, once again starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will face competition from the resurgent Mission: Impossible – Fallout,...
- 8/3/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s good-looking film is a tragi-romance, but it’s based on a revolting crime
You could alternatively call it Sicilian Love Story or Sicilian Bedtime Story or even Sicilian Shaggy-Dog Story. It’s an intriguing and good-looking film, an award winner in the critics’ week section at last year’s Cannes, inspired by a grisly true-crime horror of modern Sicily, a fact that is eventually revealed in a few lines flashed up on screen just before the closing credits. But it is a disconcerting revelation, as the preceding film’s recurrent mode of tragi-romantic fantasy, with a touch of Guillermo del Toro, isn’t adequate for the revulsion and outrage that this story must surely inspire.
It is well acted and well directed by Sicilian film-makers Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, whose debut feature Salvo – about a hitman’s psychological breakdown – had comparable style.
Continue reading.
You could alternatively call it Sicilian Love Story or Sicilian Bedtime Story or even Sicilian Shaggy-Dog Story. It’s an intriguing and good-looking film, an award winner in the critics’ week section at last year’s Cannes, inspired by a grisly true-crime horror of modern Sicily, a fact that is eventually revealed in a few lines flashed up on screen just before the closing credits. But it is a disconcerting revelation, as the preceding film’s recurrent mode of tragi-romantic fantasy, with a touch of Guillermo del Toro, isn’t adequate for the revulsion and outrage that this story must surely inspire.
It is well acted and well directed by Sicilian film-makers Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, whose debut feature Salvo – about a hitman’s psychological breakdown – had comparable style.
Continue reading.
- 8/2/2018
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s drama “Sicilian Ghost Story,” Variety has learned exclusively.
“Sicilian Ghost Story” opened the International Critics’ Week at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time an Italian film launched the Critics’ Week. Grassadonia and Piazza won the David di Donatello award for top adapted script.
Strand made the announcement on Wednesday, ahead of “Sicilian Ghost Story’s” North American debut as the opening night film at the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2018 event on May 31 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. Strand will release the film in the fall.
The film follows a young girl whose quest and search for her kidnapped friend leads her on a psychic journey to find him. Julia Jedlikowska and Gaetano Fernandez star.
Jay Weissberg wrote in his review for Variety: “‘Ghost Story...
“Sicilian Ghost Story” opened the International Critics’ Week at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time an Italian film launched the Critics’ Week. Grassadonia and Piazza won the David di Donatello award for top adapted script.
Strand made the announcement on Wednesday, ahead of “Sicilian Ghost Story’s” North American debut as the opening night film at the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2018 event on May 31 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City. Strand will release the film in the fall.
The film follows a young girl whose quest and search for her kidnapped friend leads her on a psychic journey to find him. Julia Jedlikowska and Gaetano Fernandez star.
Jay Weissberg wrote in his review for Variety: “‘Ghost Story...
- 5/23/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
In a ceremony dominated by gender inequality speeches most of the awards went to box office disappointments.
The Manetti brothers’ Love And Bullets won five prizes at the 62nd David di Donatello awards – Italy’s equivilent to the Oscars – after starting the evening with 15 nominations.
The musical crime comedy, which first premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, was awarded for best film, best actress in a supporting role, best score, best original song and best costumes.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Nico, 1988, which also premiered in Venice winning the Orizzonti competition, got four awards; best original screenplay, best sound, best make-up and best hairdressing.
The Manetti brothers’ Love And Bullets won five prizes at the 62nd David di Donatello awards – Italy’s equivilent to the Oscars – after starting the evening with 15 nominations.
The musical crime comedy, which first premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, was awarded for best film, best actress in a supporting role, best score, best original song and best costumes.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Nico, 1988, which also premiered in Venice winning the Orizzonti competition, got four awards; best original screenplay, best sound, best make-up and best hairdressing.
- 3/22/2018
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
In a ceremony dominated by gender inequality speeches most of the awards went to box office disappointments.
The Manetti brothers’ Love And Bullets won five prizes at the 62nd David di Donatello awards – Italy’s equivilent to the Oscars – after starting the evening with 15 nominations.
The musical crime comedy, which first premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, was awarded for best film, best actress in a supporting role, best score, best original song and best costumes.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Nico, 1988, which also premiered in Venice winning the Orizzonti competition, got four awards; best original screenplay, best sound, best make-up and best hairdressing.
The Manetti brothers’ Love And Bullets won five prizes at the 62nd David di Donatello awards – Italy’s equivilent to the Oscars – after starting the evening with 15 nominations.
The musical crime comedy, which first premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, was awarded for best film, best actress in a supporting role, best score, best original song and best costumes.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Nico, 1988, which also premiered in Venice winning the Orizzonti competition, got four awards; best original screenplay, best sound, best make-up and best hairdressing.
- 3/22/2018
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
We live in uncertain times. Hard-fought progress is being reversed. Appeals to love and compassion are losing out to easier options like hate and fear. With horror, anxiety, and jaw-dropped disbelief we watch the worst instincts of mankind play out in a world we thought we knew.
The jumpiness seems to be felt at the cinemas as well, considering the banner year it’s been for scary movies. Right out the gate Split provided quite a kick, reminding us the playful master of paranoia M. Night Shyamalan can be. Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo, for his part, uses comedy in a high-concept, low-budget kaiju flick and turns Colossal into an absurdist delight. It doesn’t get more low-budget than Chilean director Jorge Riquelme Serrano’s debut Chameleon, but the brutal elegance of his touch drives the depiction of random, depraved home invasion to bone-chilling heights.
Kevin Phillips’ Super Dark Times and...
The jumpiness seems to be felt at the cinemas as well, considering the banner year it’s been for scary movies. Right out the gate Split provided quite a kick, reminding us the playful master of paranoia M. Night Shyamalan can be. Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo, for his part, uses comedy in a high-concept, low-budget kaiju flick and turns Colossal into an absurdist delight. It doesn’t get more low-budget than Chilean director Jorge Riquelme Serrano’s debut Chameleon, but the brutal elegance of his touch drives the depiction of random, depraved home invasion to bone-chilling heights.
Kevin Phillips’ Super Dark Times and...
- 1/1/2018
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
Chicago – The 53rd Chicago International Film Festival has kicked off, and the first weekend has already unspooled. But what is coming up for the Week One as the Festival kicks into gear? HollywoodChicago.com’s Patrick McDonald and Jon Lennon Espino preview the films and events to put on your list.
Each review is designated by (Je) Jon Espino and (Pm) Patrick McDonald. For a Pdf connection to the complete schedule, click here.
Breathe (Britain)
’Breathe,’ Directed by Andy Serkis
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Master of motion capture Andy Serkis makes his directorial debut in the form of a love story that turns into an inspirational tale. Necessity is the mother of all invention, and this story shows us how Robin (Andrew Garfield) and Diana Cavendish (Claire Foy) turned their love – with the aid of white privilege and wealth – into hope for people with debilitating polio. Garfield delivers a fantastic performance,...
Each review is designated by (Je) Jon Espino and (Pm) Patrick McDonald. For a Pdf connection to the complete schedule, click here.
Breathe (Britain)
’Breathe,’ Directed by Andy Serkis
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Master of motion capture Andy Serkis makes his directorial debut in the form of a love story that turns into an inspirational tale. Necessity is the mother of all invention, and this story shows us how Robin (Andrew Garfield) and Diana Cavendish (Claire Foy) turned their love – with the aid of white privilege and wealth – into hope for people with debilitating polio. Garfield delivers a fantastic performance,...
- 10/16/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Exclusive: Protagonist inks sales on Chloé Zhao’s Directors’ Fortnight winner.
Altitude Film Distribution has taken UK and Ireland rights for Chloé Zhao’s The Rider, which won the top prize in this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.
The deal was struck between Altitude’s Will Clarke and Vanessa Saal from sales outfit Protagonist Pictures.
The Rider was previously picked up for by Sony Pictures Classics for North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Eastern Europe.
Protagonist has now also sold to film to: Les Films du Losange (France), Weltkino (Germany), Caramel Films (Spain), Cherry Pickers (Benelux), Cineworx (Switzerland), NonStop (Scandinavia and Iceland), Shani Films (Israel), Front Row Entertainment (Middle East), Fabula Films (Turkey) and Blue Lake (worldwide airlines).
Separately, Protagonist has also scored a series of further deals on fellow Directors’ Fortnight title The Florida Project, which Altitude took for the UK during Cannes.
Following its warmly-received Directors’ Fortnight berth, The Rider was presented...
Altitude Film Distribution has taken UK and Ireland rights for Chloé Zhao’s The Rider, which won the top prize in this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.
The deal was struck between Altitude’s Will Clarke and Vanessa Saal from sales outfit Protagonist Pictures.
The Rider was previously picked up for by Sony Pictures Classics for North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Eastern Europe.
Protagonist has now also sold to film to: Les Films du Losange (France), Weltkino (Germany), Caramel Films (Spain), Cherry Pickers (Benelux), Cineworx (Switzerland), NonStop (Scandinavia and Iceland), Shani Films (Israel), Front Row Entertainment (Middle East), Fabula Films (Turkey) and Blue Lake (worldwide airlines).
Separately, Protagonist has also scored a series of further deals on fellow Directors’ Fortnight title The Florida Project, which Altitude took for the UK during Cannes.
Following its warmly-received Directors’ Fortnight berth, The Rider was presented...
- 6/7/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Buoyed by the critical success of Salvo, their break-out debut about a mafia hitman which won the 2013 Grand Prix in Cannes’ Critics Week, co-directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza are back with the more resonant and multi-layered Sicilian Ghost Story. As in the previous film, elements of the supernatural (which may also be read as pure imagination) appear like soothing balm on the warped relationships of a typical family, school and community. Given the film’s morbidly fascinating subject based on a true crime story, it stands a very good chance of snagging audiences outside festivals, while its concessions to teen...
- 5/18/2017
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The lineup for the 2017 Cannes Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) has been announced.Opening FILMSicilian Ghost Story (Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza)COMPETITIONLa familia (Gustavo Rondón Córdova)Los perros (Marcela Said)Oh Lucy! (Atsuko Hirayagani)Gabriel e a montanha (Felipe Gamarano Barbosa)Ava (Léa Mysius)Tehran Taboo (Ali Soozandeh)Makala (Emmanuel Gras)Special Feature SCREENINGSBloody Milk (Hubert Charuel)Une vie violente (Thierry de Peretti)Special Short SCREENINGSAfter School Knife Fight (Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel)Coelho Mau (Carlos Conceição)Les îles (Yann Gonzales)Short & Medium-LENGTHSelva (Sofía Quirós Ubeda)Möbius (Sam Khun)Real Gods Require Blood (Moin Hussain)Jodilerks dela Cruz, Employee of the Month (Carlo Francisco Manatad)Los desheredados (Laura Ferrés)Ela - szkice na pożegnanie (Oliver Adam Kusio)Najpiękniejsze fajerwerki ever (Aleksandra Terpinska)Tesla: Lumière mondiale (Matthew Rankin)Les enfants partent à l'aube (Manon Coubia)Le visage (Salvatore Lista)Closing FILMBrigsby Bear (Dave McCary)...
- 4/26/2017
- MUBI
The 56th edition of the Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar has announced its main program, including seven films screening in competition. The sidebar is dedicated to films coming from first- and second-time filmmakers, and always promises a fertile ground for discovering new and emerging talent. Last year’s breakout title was Julia Ducournau’s horror film “Raw,” which sold to Focus World.
Read More: Cannes 2017 Announces Directors Fortnight Lineup, Including Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Patti Cake$’
The section will open with Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s latest feature, “Sicilian Ghost Story,” which combines the myths of Romeo and Juliet with the present day Sicilian mafia. Dave McCary’s debut “Brigsby Bear,” the Sundance comedy that sold to Sony Pictures Classics, will close out the section.
For the first time in its history, both a documentary and an animated film will screen in competition. Ali Soozandeh’s animated...
Read More: Cannes 2017 Announces Directors Fortnight Lineup, Including Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Patti Cake$’
The section will open with Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s latest feature, “Sicilian Ghost Story,” which combines the myths of Romeo and Juliet with the present day Sicilian mafia. Dave McCary’s debut “Brigsby Bear,” the Sundance comedy that sold to Sony Pictures Classics, will close out the section.
For the first time in its history, both a documentary and an animated film will screen in competition. Ali Soozandeh’s animated...
- 4/21/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
While most think of the main slate of the Cannes Film Festival as the be-all, end-all of the lineup, the importance of the various sidebars to the festival’s success cannot be overlooked. And today marked two big updates about the festival’s most popular siders, with the Cannes Critics’ Week setting its 2017 lineup and the Un Certain Regard jury naming a president. The Critics’ Week lineup looks to feature another strong year, with returning participants Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza and first-time filmmaker and “Saturday Night Live” alum Dave McCary bookending the series.
Continue reading Cannes Film Festival Announces Its Critics’ Week Selections, Un Certain Regard Jury President at The Playlist.
Continue reading Cannes Film Festival Announces Its Critics’ Week Selections, Un Certain Regard Jury President at The Playlist.
- 4/21/2017
- by Matthew Monagle
- The Playlist
First animation in Critics’ Week: Teheran Taboo Photo: Critics’ Week
After all the other programme revelations for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the French film critics finally have revealed today (21 April) in Paris their selection for Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) which opens with a Mafia romance drama, Sicilian Ghost Story, from the directorial partnership of Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza.
Critics’ Week director Charles Tesson Photo: Aurélie Lamachère
The duo have a track record with Critics’ Week, having won the top prize for a hit-man thriller Salvo.
Artistic director Charles Tesson announced that the closing title is a Sundance hit, Brigsby Bear, a kidnap comedy directed by Kyle Mooney from Saturday Night Live with cast including Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Greg Kinnear and Andy Samberg.
Seven features by first or second time directors will compete for the Nespresso Prize while ten shorts are in competition for the Leica Cine Discovery prize.
After all the other programme revelations for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the French film critics finally have revealed today (21 April) in Paris their selection for Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) which opens with a Mafia romance drama, Sicilian Ghost Story, from the directorial partnership of Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza.
Critics’ Week director Charles Tesson Photo: Aurélie Lamachère
The duo have a track record with Critics’ Week, having won the top prize for a hit-man thriller Salvo.
Artistic director Charles Tesson announced that the closing title is a Sundance hit, Brigsby Bear, a kidnap comedy directed by Kyle Mooney from Saturday Night Live with cast including Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Greg Kinnear and Andy Samberg.
Seven features by first or second time directors will compete for the Nespresso Prize while ten shorts are in competition for the Leica Cine Discovery prize.
- 4/21/2017
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Mafia tale Sicilian Ghost Story to open sidebar, Sundance hit Brigsby Bear selected as closer.
Cannes Critics’ Week, devoted to first and second features as well as shorts, has unveiled the line-up of its 56th edition, running May 18-26.
Italian directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza will open the selection with their second feature Sicilian Ghost Story, a genre-mixing work following a teenage girl as she searches for the boy she loves after he is kidnapped by the Mafia.
It is inspired by the real-life tale of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a former Mafia hitman-turned-informant, who was abducted in 1993.
Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson described it as a “staggering crossover between cinema genres, combining politics, fantasy and terrible teen love.”
The directorial duo premiered their debut feature Salvo in competition in Critics’ Week in 2013, winning the €15,000 Nespresso Grand Prize.
The screenplay for Sicilian Ghost Story was developed at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and went...
Cannes Critics’ Week, devoted to first and second features as well as shorts, has unveiled the line-up of its 56th edition, running May 18-26.
Italian directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza will open the selection with their second feature Sicilian Ghost Story, a genre-mixing work following a teenage girl as she searches for the boy she loves after he is kidnapped by the Mafia.
It is inspired by the real-life tale of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a former Mafia hitman-turned-informant, who was abducted in 1993.
Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson described it as a “staggering crossover between cinema genres, combining politics, fantasy and terrible teen love.”
The directorial duo premiered their debut feature Salvo in competition in Critics’ Week in 2013, winning the €15,000 Nespresso Grand Prize.
The screenplay for Sicilian Ghost Story was developed at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and went...
- 4/21/2017
- ScreenDaily
After featuring such discoveries as Raw, Mimosas, It Follows, The Tribe, and more in recent years, the Cannes sidebar Critics’ Week have now unveiled their 2017 line-up. Now in their 56th year, the Jury President is Kleber Mendonça Filho, who came to Cannes last year with Aquarius, and he’ll be joined by Niels Schneider, Diana Bustamante Escobar, Hania Mroué and Eric Kohn.
After receiving 1,700 short films and 1,250 feature films, 11 features have been selected, with 6 being first films and 5 being second features, including the closing night film Brigsby Bear, which we reviewed at Sundance. Running from May 18-26, check out the line-up below with a hat tip to Mubi and see more about the films here.
Opening Film
Sicilian Ghost Story (Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza)
Competition
La familia (Gustavo Rondon)
Los perros (Marcela Said)
Oh Lucy! (Atsuko Hirayagani)
Gabriel e a montanha (Felipe Gamarano Barbosa)
Ava (Lea Mysius)
Tehran Taboo (Ali Soozandeh...
After receiving 1,700 short films and 1,250 feature films, 11 features have been selected, with 6 being first films and 5 being second features, including the closing night film Brigsby Bear, which we reviewed at Sundance. Running from May 18-26, check out the line-up below with a hat tip to Mubi and see more about the films here.
Opening Film
Sicilian Ghost Story (Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza)
Competition
La familia (Gustavo Rondon)
Los perros (Marcela Said)
Oh Lucy! (Atsuko Hirayagani)
Gabriel e a montanha (Felipe Gamarano Barbosa)
Ava (Lea Mysius)
Tehran Taboo (Ali Soozandeh...
- 4/21/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Directing duo Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza will open the Critics' Week program in Cannes with their genre-busting mythical mafia romance drama Sicilian Ghost Story, which will screen out of competition, organizers said Friday.
The pair won the top prize in 2013 for their hit-man thriller Salvo and will bring their Romeo and Juliette-meets-The Godfather drama back to the sidebar.
The out-of-competition closing film will be Dave McCary’s star-studded Sundance hit Brigsby Bear. The kidnap comedy from Saturday Night Live's Kyle Mooney stars Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Greg Kinnear and Andy Samberg.
The Critics’ Week sidebar aims to promote young filmmakers with first...
The pair won the top prize in 2013 for their hit-man thriller Salvo and will bring their Romeo and Juliette-meets-The Godfather drama back to the sidebar.
The out-of-competition closing film will be Dave McCary’s star-studded Sundance hit Brigsby Bear. The kidnap comedy from Saturday Night Live's Kyle Mooney stars Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Greg Kinnear and Andy Samberg.
The Critics’ Week sidebar aims to promote young filmmakers with first...
- 4/20/2017
- by Rhonda Richford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every year since 2009, the San Francisco Film Society (Sffs) selects multiple film projects to receive the biannual Sffs/Krf Filmmaking Grant that helps fund some of the best up-and-coming narrative features that support the Bay Area filmmaking industry.
The grant is presented in tangent with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the U.S. The winners of the grant will be announced in November, with one or more of the fifteen projects eligible to receive upwards of $250,000 for assistance in post-production, screenwriting, or packing.
The fall 2016 finalists are as follows:
Read More: San Francisco Film Society Announces Winners of 2016 Documentary Film Fund
“Buoyancy” – Rodd Rathjen, writer/director:
Chakra, a Cambodian teenager, leaves his family to seek a better life in Thailand, but is soon sold onto a Thai fishing trawler and enslaved at sea indefinitely, working 22 hours a day with little food.
The grant is presented in tangent with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the U.S. The winners of the grant will be announced in November, with one or more of the fifteen projects eligible to receive upwards of $250,000 for assistance in post-production, screenwriting, or packing.
The fall 2016 finalists are as follows:
Read More: San Francisco Film Society Announces Winners of 2016 Documentary Film Fund
“Buoyancy” – Rodd Rathjen, writer/director:
Chakra, a Cambodian teenager, leaves his family to seek a better life in Thailand, but is soon sold onto a Thai fishing trawler and enslaved at sea indefinitely, working 22 hours a day with little food.
- 10/25/2016
- by Mark Burger
- Indiewire
Nate Parker’s directorial debut claimed the Us Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and corresponding audience award at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, capping off a barnstorming week for the slave revolt drama.
Last week The Birth Of A Nation sparked a bidding frenzy that resulted in the biggest on-site deal in the festival’s history as Fox Searchlight paid $17.5m for worldwide rights.
Sonita, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami’s film about a rapping Afghan teenager opposed to arranged marriage, earned similar double honours as it won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and audience awards.
The Us Grand Jury Prize: Documentary award went to Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s Weiner, while the audience voted for Brian Oakes’ Jim: The James Foley Story.
The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic went to Elite Zexer’s Sand Story and the audience choice was Carlos del Castillo’s Between Land And Sea.
In other winners:...
Last week The Birth Of A Nation sparked a bidding frenzy that resulted in the biggest on-site deal in the festival’s history as Fox Searchlight paid $17.5m for worldwide rights.
Sonita, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami’s film about a rapping Afghan teenager opposed to arranged marriage, earned similar double honours as it won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and audience awards.
The Us Grand Jury Prize: Documentary award went to Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s Weiner, while the audience voted for Brian Oakes’ Jim: The James Foley Story.
The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic went to Elite Zexer’s Sand Story and the audience choice was Carlos del Castillo’s Between Land And Sea.
In other winners:...
- 1/30/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute is including a touch of Cannes this week as the likes of Pippa Bianco (her short Share was the 2015 winner of Cannes Cinefondation), Alistair Banks Griffin (Two Gates of Sleep premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in 2010), and the Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza tandem (from Critics’ Week Grand Prize in 2013 for Salvo) are among the dozen selected projects for the 2016 January Screenwriters Lab. The immersive, five-day writers’ workshop takes place just prior to the festival at the Sundance Resort in Utah, January 15-20. Look for several of these projects to one day break into not only Sundance, but other major film fests. Here are the selected people & projects:
The projects and fellows selected for the 2016 January Screenwriters Lab are:
Bull (U.S.A.) / Annie Silverstein (Co-writer/Director) and Johnny McAllister (Co-writer)
In a near-abandoned subdivision west of Houston, a wayward teen runs headlong into her equally willful and unforgiving neighbor,...
The projects and fellows selected for the 2016 January Screenwriters Lab are:
Bull (U.S.A.) / Annie Silverstein (Co-writer/Director) and Johnny McAllister (Co-writer)
In a near-abandoned subdivision west of Houston, a wayward teen runs headlong into her equally willful and unforgiving neighbor,...
- 1/11/2016
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sicilian Ghost Story
Directors: Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza
Writers: Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza
Directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza won the Grand Prize at 2013 Critics Week for their debut, Salvo. The duo received funding for their sophomore feature, Sicilian Ghost Story in April, 2015, and have remained mostly tight-lipped about the actual narrative, confirming it’s based on a Sicilian fairy tale and will have minimalist supernatural aspects concerning two young people in love. Details surrounding production have been minimal, although casting was supposedly underway in October, 2015.
Cast: Na
Production Co./Producers: Massimo Cristaldi, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima , Jean-Pierre Guérin, Cristaldi Pictures, Indigo Film, Jpg Films
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic/international).
Release Date: Based on the lack of production news, it’s safe to assume Grassadonia and Piazza aren’t near completion on their latest project. Should they complete the feature in early 2016, we’d expect...
Directors: Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza
Writers: Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza
Directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza won the Grand Prize at 2013 Critics Week for their debut, Salvo. The duo received funding for their sophomore feature, Sicilian Ghost Story in April, 2015, and have remained mostly tight-lipped about the actual narrative, confirming it’s based on a Sicilian fairy tale and will have minimalist supernatural aspects concerning two young people in love. Details surrounding production have been minimal, although casting was supposedly underway in October, 2015.
Cast: Na
Production Co./Producers: Massimo Cristaldi, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima , Jean-Pierre Guérin, Cristaldi Pictures, Indigo Film, Jpg Films
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic/international).
Release Date: Based on the lack of production news, it’s safe to assume Grassadonia and Piazza aren’t near completion on their latest project. Should they complete the feature in early 2016, we’d expect...
- 1/7/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Sara Serraiocco's star shines in Lamberto Sanfelice's Chlorine and Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza's Salvo Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Attending the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema lunch at Barbetta were filmmakers Francesca Archibugi - An Italian Name (Il Nome Del figlio); Duccio Chiarini - Short Skin; Eleonora Danco - N-Capace / N-Able; Cristina Comencini - Latin Lover; Ivano de Matteo - The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi); Masbedo (Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni) - The Lack and actors Claudio Santamaria in Ermanno Olmi's Greenery Will Bloom Again (Torneranno I Prati); Adriano Giannini in Claudio Noce's The Ice Forest (La Foresta Di Ghiaccio) and Lamberto Sanfelice's Chlorine (Cloro) star, Sara Serraiocco.
Jenny with Flavia (Chiara Romano): "I spent a lot of time with the girls who do synchronized swimming."
The Italian cinema delegation in town was joined by Antonio Monda, the newly appointed Artistic Director of...
Attending the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema lunch at Barbetta were filmmakers Francesca Archibugi - An Italian Name (Il Nome Del figlio); Duccio Chiarini - Short Skin; Eleonora Danco - N-Capace / N-Able; Cristina Comencini - Latin Lover; Ivano de Matteo - The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi); Masbedo (Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni) - The Lack and actors Claudio Santamaria in Ermanno Olmi's Greenery Will Bloom Again (Torneranno I Prati); Adriano Giannini in Claudio Noce's The Ice Forest (La Foresta Di Ghiaccio) and Lamberto Sanfelice's Chlorine (Cloro) star, Sara Serraiocco.
Jenny with Flavia (Chiara Romano): "I spent a lot of time with the girls who do synchronized swimming."
The Italian cinema delegation in town was joined by Antonio Monda, the newly appointed Artistic Director of...
- 6/6/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Receiving a Us release in August 2014, Salvo arrives with an equally subdued DVD release this month. An experimentally inclined gangster piece, any brooding tension established by an immersive theatrical experience tends to be compromised in a smaller format. Traction due to the film’s generous critical reception doesn’t explain the underwhelming DVD presentation, but perhaps it will reach the audience that neglected it during a limited theatrical run.
Though its initial setup holds considerable promise, due mostly to subdued visual cues that take on greater meaning as the plot unfolds, Fabio Grassianda and Antonio Piazza’s directorial debut, ends up casting a rather empty spell. Its brooding ambience traipsing into a shallow narrative coma, there’s much to be desired as concerns this mafia tinged love story of unexplained events and feelings. Obscurity is certainly not a cause for automatic dismissal, but there’s a failure to maintain any...
Though its initial setup holds considerable promise, due mostly to subdued visual cues that take on greater meaning as the plot unfolds, Fabio Grassianda and Antonio Piazza’s directorial debut, ends up casting a rather empty spell. Its brooding ambience traipsing into a shallow narrative coma, there’s much to be desired as concerns this mafia tinged love story of unexplained events and feelings. Obscurity is certainly not a cause for automatic dismissal, but there’s a failure to maintain any...
- 1/20/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
At first glance, Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza's Salvo looks like just another entry into the Sensitive Hit-man genre: During a sticky Palermo summer heat wave, Mafia hit-man Salvo (Saleh Bakri) has a change of heart and decides not to kill Rita (Sara Serraiocco), the blind sister of his prey.
Salvo instead kidnaps and imprisons her in an abandoned warehouse, unaware that at the moment he spared Rita's life, her vision began to return. The opening scenes suggest the possibility that this may be a John Woo homage, complete with symbolic white birds and anonymous bad guys wearing black motorcycle helmets; indeed, a hit man with a heart of gold finding his life is changed by a blind girl is reminiscent of Woo's masterpiece The Killer.
But Salvo has mo...
Salvo instead kidnaps and imprisons her in an abandoned warehouse, unaware that at the moment he spared Rita's life, her vision began to return. The opening scenes suggest the possibility that this may be a John Woo homage, complete with symbolic white birds and anonymous bad guys wearing black motorcycle helmets; indeed, a hit man with a heart of gold finding his life is changed by a blind girl is reminiscent of Woo's masterpiece The Killer.
But Salvo has mo...
- 8/20/2014
- Village Voice
Fund is dedicated to supporting audience development strategies; Meanwhile, Beta Cinema has acquired Toronto title Labyrinth of Lies.
The TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) is launching a distribution fund dedicated to supporting audience development strategies to accompany the releases of four EU or non-eu co-productions in at least three territories
Speaking exclusively to Screen at this week’s Locarno Film Festival, Tfl’s Olga Lamontanara explained: “This initiative really completes the circle and the successful projects will be able to make use of the experiences of the alumni from our audience design course which have been working on the implementation of audience engagement strategies.”
A total of four grants, worth a maximum of €43,000 each, will be awarded in 2014/15 to feature film projects which have been previously selected and developed at one of the Tfl programmes since 2008.
“Those applying must be a producer or sales agent from a country participating in the Media sub-programme,” outlined Lamontanara...
The TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) is launching a distribution fund dedicated to supporting audience development strategies to accompany the releases of four EU or non-eu co-productions in at least three territories
Speaking exclusively to Screen at this week’s Locarno Film Festival, Tfl’s Olga Lamontanara explained: “This initiative really completes the circle and the successful projects will be able to make use of the experiences of the alumni from our audience design course which have been working on the implementation of audience engagement strategies.”
A total of four grants, worth a maximum of €43,000 each, will be awarded in 2014/15 to feature film projects which have been previously selected and developed at one of the Tfl programmes since 2008.
“Those applying must be a producer or sales agent from a country participating in the Media sub-programme,” outlined Lamontanara...
- 8/13/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Brit filmmaker Andrea Arnold ("Wuthering Heights," "Fish Tank") will preside over the jury of the 53rd Semaine de la Critique, otherwise known as the Cannes Critics Week. This means she and her jury will award one film of the seven in-competition features with the Nespresso Grand Prize. Arnold has a personal history with the Semaine, as her short film "Milk" screened as part of its lineup in 1998, essentially launching her career. Meanwhile, her first two features, "Red Road" and "Fish Tank," both nabbed the Jury Prize at Cannes several years later. She is still one of the few women filmmakers to be awarded at the prestigious French festival. Last year's winning Critics Week film was Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza's "Salvo." Cannes runs May 14 through 25.
- 3/27/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
HeyUGuys recently had the opportunity to catch up with first time writer-directors Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia, to get under the skin of their silent and haunting debut feature Salvo.
Antonio and Fabio spoke with us about confronting the expectations of Sicilian narratives, the current challenges facing Italian filmmakers, contending with one blind and one silent protagonist, slowly constructing empathy, before taking a moment to look ahead to following up a Sicilian mafia character drama with a Sicilian ghost story.
Why a career in filmmaking? Was there that one inspirational moment?
Antonio Piazza: Fabio and I worked together for a number of years as writers and script consultants for other people, as well as a couple of Italian production companies. A few years ago we decided we wanted to write and direct own story, and so the first thing we did was to go back to Sicily where we come from.
Antonio and Fabio spoke with us about confronting the expectations of Sicilian narratives, the current challenges facing Italian filmmakers, contending with one blind and one silent protagonist, slowly constructing empathy, before taking a moment to look ahead to following up a Sicilian mafia character drama with a Sicilian ghost story.
Why a career in filmmaking? Was there that one inspirational moment?
Antonio Piazza: Fabio and I worked together for a number of years as writers and script consultants for other people, as well as a couple of Italian production companies. A few years ago we decided we wanted to write and direct own story, and so the first thing we did was to go back to Sicily where we come from.
- 3/27/2014
- by Paul Risker
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Jury includes four international journalists who will award the Nespresso Grand Prize to one of seven feature films in competition.
British film-maker Andrea Arnold [pictured] will preside over the jury at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week.
Arnold heads up the jury made up of four international journalists who will award the Nespresso Grand Prize to one of the seven feature films in competition. Last year, the Grand Prize was awarded to Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza’s Salvo.
“I was so excited when Milk screened in La Semaine de la Critique that I kept crashing into things. When I got home I counted 19 bruises,” commented Arnold.
“I am just as excited about being asked to be President of the Jury of the Nespresso Grand Prize for La Semaine de la Critique and I think it might be a good idea to put away the china.”
Arnold’s Red Road and Fish Tank both won the Jury Prize at Cannes...
British film-maker Andrea Arnold [pictured] will preside over the jury at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week.
Arnold heads up the jury made up of four international journalists who will award the Nespresso Grand Prize to one of the seven feature films in competition. Last year, the Grand Prize was awarded to Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza’s Salvo.
“I was so excited when Milk screened in La Semaine de la Critique that I kept crashing into things. When I got home I counted 19 bruises,” commented Arnold.
“I am just as excited about being asked to be President of the Jury of the Nespresso Grand Prize for La Semaine de la Critique and I think it might be a good idea to put away the china.”
Arnold’s Red Road and Fish Tank both won the Jury Prize at Cannes...
- 3/27/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
British filmmaker Andrea Arnold will head this year's Nespresso Grand Prize jury for the 53rd edition of the Semaine de la Critique section during Cannes 2014. The jury, made up of four international journalists, will pick a winner from one of the seven feature films in competition. The winning entry will follow Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza's Salvo, winner of 2013's Nespresso Grand Prize. Story: Jane Campion to Lead Jury at Cannes Film Festival Arnold's short film Milk unspooled in Critics' Week in 1998 and she has been back to the Festival de Cannes several times over the last few
read more...
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- 3/27/2014
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
White-knuckle action coupled with eerie, atmospheric pacing makes this film about the Sicilian mafia an intriguing watch
Salvo is a strange, involving, if flawed movie about the Sicilian mafia; a stylised drama with elements of the supernatural and the sentimental amid the tension. It announces Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza as film-makers who might be mentioned alongside Matteo Garrone, the director of Gomorrah. Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri plays Salvo, a mafia "soldier" who finds himself on the receiving end of a horrendous assassination attempt, grippingly and stylishly filmed, which is then followed by an extraordinary, almost real-time sequence as he arrives at the house of the man who schemed his death – then makes a discovery about the person the man lives with, Rita (Sara Serraiocco). It is an event that appears to send Salvo into a kind of breakdown, but one suffered gradually and generally. The temperature in Palermo has risen to a brain-frazzling 40 degrees,...
Salvo is a strange, involving, if flawed movie about the Sicilian mafia; a stylised drama with elements of the supernatural and the sentimental amid the tension. It announces Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza as film-makers who might be mentioned alongside Matteo Garrone, the director of Gomorrah. Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri plays Salvo, a mafia "soldier" who finds himself on the receiving end of a horrendous assassination attempt, grippingly and stylishly filmed, which is then followed by an extraordinary, almost real-time sequence as he arrives at the house of the man who schemed his death – then makes a discovery about the person the man lives with, Rita (Sara Serraiocco). It is an event that appears to send Salvo into a kind of breakdown, but one suffered gradually and generally. The temperature in Palermo has risen to a brain-frazzling 40 degrees,...
- 3/25/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Starred Up | Labor Day | Yves Saint Laurent | Gbf | The Robber | The Machine | Salvo | The Unknown Known | A Long Way Down
Starred Up (18)
(David Mackenzie, 2013, UK) Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend. 106 mins
We've seen enough prison movies to know the drill, but this is closer to A Prophet than The Great Escape – a bracing mix of brutal thriller, institutional critique and complex character drama. Conviction is key, both in the day-to-day details and the natural performances, particularly O'Connell – a young offender violent enough to be housed with the grown-ups, including his own father. It feels like things could kick off with every scene.
Labor Day (12A)
(Jason Reitman, 2013, Us) Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith. 111 mins
The Juno director tries nuanced domestic drama – and it doesn't really suit him. Erotic tremors are a given when Brolin's escaped convict shacks up with Winslet's lonely single mum, but you'll need to park your disbelief.
Starred Up (18)
(David Mackenzie, 2013, UK) Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend. 106 mins
We've seen enough prison movies to know the drill, but this is closer to A Prophet than The Great Escape – a bracing mix of brutal thriller, institutional critique and complex character drama. Conviction is key, both in the day-to-day details and the natural performances, particularly O'Connell – a young offender violent enough to be housed with the grown-ups, including his own father. It feels like things could kick off with every scene.
Labor Day (12A)
(Jason Reitman, 2013, Us) Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith. 111 mins
The Juno director tries nuanced domestic drama – and it doesn't really suit him. Erotic tremors are a given when Brolin's escaped convict shacks up with Winslet's lonely single mum, but you'll need to park your disbelief.
- 3/22/2014
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
All at sea in Salvo
Getting its UK première at the Glasgow Film Festival, screening as part of the Italian Film Festival and now on general release, Salvo is the story of a hitman whose worldview begins to change dramatically when he meets a young blind woman. I spoke to co-writers and co-directors Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia when they were visiting London, and asked what it was that inspired this unusual fusion of genres.
“The first thing, for us, was to write a Sicilian film,” Antonio said. “For years and years we had worked together as writers for other people, on other people’s films, and at some point we felt we needed to tell our own story. We wanted it to be about Sicily, the place where we were born.
“For some time we’d had this image, this scene of a Mafia hitman being in front of a blind girl – this.
Getting its UK première at the Glasgow Film Festival, screening as part of the Italian Film Festival and now on general release, Salvo is the story of a hitman whose worldview begins to change dramatically when he meets a young blind woman. I spoke to co-writers and co-directors Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia when they were visiting London, and asked what it was that inspired this unusual fusion of genres.
“The first thing, for us, was to write a Sicilian film,” Antonio said. “For years and years we had worked together as writers for other people, on other people’s films, and at some point we felt we needed to tell our own story. We wanted it to be about Sicily, the place where we were born.
“For some time we’d had this image, this scene of a Mafia hitman being in front of a blind girl – this.
- 3/22/2014
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
There’s nothing quite like an Italian Mafia movie. They are cinematic by their very nature, oozing style, sex and masculinity. They are made for the big screen, and Salvo, the latest offering from Italian duo Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, is certainly no exception. It has all the hallmarks of an exciting, modern thriller, yet has a certain nostalgia that makes it feel somewhat timeless.
Our enigmatic protagonist is lone assassin Salvo, (Saleh Bakri), a silent, brooding character, able to snuff out a life without so much as a backward glance. That is, until he meets the beautiful Rita (Sara Serraiocco). Her blindness makes her vulnerable, a trait that Salvo is not accustomed to in his line of work, and he can’t quite get her out of his head. She is a witness to her brother’s death at Salvo’s cruel hands, and he feels a responsibility...
Our enigmatic protagonist is lone assassin Salvo, (Saleh Bakri), a silent, brooding character, able to snuff out a life without so much as a backward glance. That is, until he meets the beautiful Rita (Sara Serraiocco). Her blindness makes her vulnerable, a trait that Salvo is not accustomed to in his line of work, and he can’t quite get her out of his head. She is a witness to her brother’s death at Salvo’s cruel hands, and he feels a responsibility...
- 3/21/2014
- by Nia Childs
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
★★★☆☆A stoic tough guy being confronted by his own maltreated conscience is hardly a novelty in cinema. When the convention is adopted, there is always the hope that it with the intention to approach the subject from some fresh angle, or provide a new kind of insight into age-old roles. In Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza's debut feature as directors, the ingredients are all there for something with original flavour but, after an impeccable opening, Salvo (2013) lapses into familiar territory. It's technically excellent throughout, but the style and strong performances aren't enough to entirely compensate for a distinct lack of narrative purpose.
- 3/19/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Salvo starts off with promise, a quiet opening explodes into an unexplained shoot-out in a country backroad. Contrasted with the silence present mere moments before, the sound of the gunfire is buffeting as a handful of bodies hit the floor and a chase through a construction site ensues. It’s 5 minutes of genuinely thrilling cinema, and would’ve made for a great short feature. But to say Salvo runs out of ideas from there would be a gross understatement. The following hour and a half feels like it’s constantly stalling for time to the point of near ridicule, which begs the question: Why on earth was this a feature length film?
To call Salvo overstretched would not even begin to describe the problems here. This is a movie where what should be a 30 second snippet takes 5 minutes to play out, with scenes dragging on well past the point of ludicrousness.
To call Salvo overstretched would not even begin to describe the problems here. This is a movie where what should be a 30 second snippet takes 5 minutes to play out, with scenes dragging on well past the point of ludicrousness.
- 3/19/2014
- by Dominic Mill
- We Got This Covered
Panaji, Nov 22: Freedom of expression has been extremely difficult in Italy in the last 20 years, especially under Silvio Berlusconi, say makers of an Italian film which is being screened at the 44th edition of Iffi here.
Directors of a mafia-themed film "Salvo", Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia, who were speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Iffi (International Film Festival of India), being held here, also said that funding for free cinema had nearly dried up.
"Freedom of expression has dried up in Italy for the last 20 years, especially under the Berlusconi government. There could be really many reasons for this," Piazza said.
"Salvo", about a mafia hitman, has already picked up two awards at the Cannes.
Directors of a mafia-themed film "Salvo", Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia, who were speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Iffi (International Film Festival of India), being held here, also said that funding for free cinema had nearly dried up.
"Freedom of expression has dried up in Italy for the last 20 years, especially under the Berlusconi government. There could be really many reasons for this," Piazza said.
"Salvo", about a mafia hitman, has already picked up two awards at the Cannes.
- 11/22/2013
- by Abhijeet Sen
- RealBollywood.com
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open festival; director Peter Greenaway to receive Visionary Award.Scroll down for full line-up
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
- 10/22/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The full line up has been unveiled for the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
- 10/1/2013
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
The full line up has been unveiled for the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
- 10/1/2013
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
This fall, one of Montreal’s most intriguing film festivals the Festival du Nouveau Cinema (Fnc) offers sixteen films as part of their international showcase. This showcase provides a platform for fresh, personal and visionary films from around the world. Films in this competition come from Quebec, Morocco, France, Poland, Mexico, Singapore, Austria, Venezuela, Georgia and more. Themes range from vengeance, drama, youth, daily violence, questions of identity, to migrant life, mystery, and love.
Some of these titles have already won awards (despite their short time on the festival circuits), including Escalante’s Heli, Chen’s Illo,Ilo, Guiraudie’s L’Inconnu du Lac, Avranas’ Miss Violence (picture on right), and Dolan’s Tom à la ferme (featured image). However, this doesn’t mean the prize is in the bag for these front runners.
The program is from Oct. 9th to Oct. 20th, 2013:
Arwad, Samer Najari et Dominique Chila (Québec)
Au nom du fils,...
Some of these titles have already won awards (despite their short time on the festival circuits), including Escalante’s Heli, Chen’s Illo,Ilo, Guiraudie’s L’Inconnu du Lac, Avranas’ Miss Violence (picture on right), and Dolan’s Tom à la ferme (featured image). However, this doesn’t mean the prize is in the bag for these front runners.
The program is from Oct. 9th to Oct. 20th, 2013:
Arwad, Samer Najari et Dominique Chila (Québec)
Au nom du fils,...
- 9/28/2013
- by Pamela Fillion
- SoundOnSight
The programme for the 57th BFI London Film Festival was recently announced, with the BFI’s Head of Cinemas and Festivals, Clare Stewart, returning for her second year with a rich and diverse group of international films and events from established and upcoming talent over a 12-day celebration of cinema.
The Festival will screen 234 fiction and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres, and 20 Archive films. There will also be screenings of 134 live-action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes, and other special events. The 57th BFI London Film Festival will run from 9-20 October 2013.
The Festival’s screenings are at venues across the capital, from the West End cinemas – Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square and a new addition this year the Cineworld Haymarket; to central London venues – BFI Southbank; the Ica,...
The Festival will screen 234 fiction and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres, and 20 Archive films. There will also be screenings of 134 live-action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes, and other special events. The 57th BFI London Film Festival will run from 9-20 October 2013.
The Festival’s screenings are at venues across the capital, from the West End cinemas – Odeon West End, Vue West End, Odeon Leicester Square and a new addition this year the Cineworld Haymarket; to central London venues – BFI Southbank; the Ica,...
- 9/18/2013
- by John
- SoundOnSight
This morning at London's Odeon Leicester Square, the British Film Institute announced the full programme for the 57th BFI London Film Festival, a twelve-day extravaganza showcasing the very best in upcoming mainstream, world and experimental cinema. With British director Paul Greengrass' hijack thriller Captain Phillips and Disney's Saving Mr. Banks (both starring Tom Hanks) already announced as the opening and closing films, the stage was set for a whole raft of high profile Gala screenings and premieres, including the cream of 2013's international festival crop. Amongst these will be Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, Steve McQueen's Twelve Years a Slave and the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis.
This year's Lff will screen a total of 234 narrative and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres and 20 Archive films. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are also expected to take part in career interviews, master classes and other special events.
This year's Lff will screen a total of 234 narrative and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres and 20 Archive films. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are also expected to take part in career interviews, master classes and other special events.
- 9/4/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Browse all the sections of the 57th London Film Festival (Oct 9-20) including the galas, competition titles and individual sections.
Alphabetical list of titles by section including feature premiere status
Wp = Wp
Ep = European Premiere
IP = International Premiere
UK = UK Premiere
Gala’s
Opening Night
Captain Phillips, Paul Greengrass (Us) Ep
Closing Night
Saving Mr Banks, John Lee Hancock (Us/UK) Ep
Philomena, Stephen Frears (UK) UK12 Years A Slave, Steve Mcqueen (UK) EPGravity, Alfonso Cuaron (Us) UKInside Llewyn Davis, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (Us) UKLabor Day, Jason Reitman (Us) EPThe Invisible Woman, Ralph Fiennes (UK), EPThe Epic Of Everest, John Noel (UK) WPBlue Is The Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche (France) UKNight Moves, Kelly Reichardt (Us) UKStranger By The Lake, Alain Guiraudie (France) UKDon Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Us) UKMystery Road, Ivan Sen (Australia) UKOnly Lovers Left Alive, Jim Jarmusch (Us) UKNebraska, Alexander Payne (Us) UKWe Are The Best!, Lukas Moodysson (Sweden) EPFoosball 3D, Juan Jose Campanella (Argentina...
Alphabetical list of titles by section including feature premiere status
Wp = Wp
Ep = European Premiere
IP = International Premiere
UK = UK Premiere
Gala’s
Opening Night
Captain Phillips, Paul Greengrass (Us) Ep
Closing Night
Saving Mr Banks, John Lee Hancock (Us/UK) Ep
Philomena, Stephen Frears (UK) UK12 Years A Slave, Steve Mcqueen (UK) EPGravity, Alfonso Cuaron (Us) UKInside Llewyn Davis, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (Us) UKLabor Day, Jason Reitman (Us) EPThe Invisible Woman, Ralph Fiennes (UK), EPThe Epic Of Everest, John Noel (UK) WPBlue Is The Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche (France) UKNight Moves, Kelly Reichardt (Us) UKStranger By The Lake, Alain Guiraudie (France) UKDon Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Us) UKMystery Road, Ivan Sen (Australia) UKOnly Lovers Left Alive, Jim Jarmusch (Us) UKNebraska, Alexander Payne (Us) UKWe Are The Best!, Lukas Moodysson (Sweden) EPFoosball 3D, Juan Jose Campanella (Argentina...
- 9/4/2013
- ScreenDaily
The 57th BFI London Film Festival line-up has officially been revealed, and it is led by a slew of incredibly promising films, many of which have already been buzzing on the festival circuit, and a number of which will be making their debuts here in London.
As previously announced, Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips will open the festival next month, and John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks will close it, book-ending the festival with Tom Hanks leading two highly prominent, Oscar-primed movies.
Stephen Frears’ Philomena was also previously announced as the Lff American Express Gala, with The Epic of Everest announced as the Lff Archive Gala.
And leading the line-up alongside them this year will be some of the most Oscar-buzzed movies of 2013, including Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (in 3D), Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis, Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem,...
As previously announced, Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips will open the festival next month, and John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks will close it, book-ending the festival with Tom Hanks leading two highly prominent, Oscar-primed movies.
Stephen Frears’ Philomena was also previously announced as the Lff American Express Gala, with The Epic of Everest announced as the Lff Archive Gala.
And leading the line-up alongside them this year will be some of the most Oscar-buzzed movies of 2013, including Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (in 3D), Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis, Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem,...
- 9/4/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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