Exclusive: James Franco is starring in a Middle Eastern TV crime drama penned by Shades of Blue creator Adi Hasak. Check out a teaser below.
Alongside a cast of actors who hail from the Mena region, the Oscar-nominated 127 Hours star recently wrapped on Karantina, which is being shopped for the first time at Mipcom Cannes this week. Hasak told Deadline he hopes the “gamechanger” crime drama will “do for Mena what Fauda did for Israel and Squid Game did for Korea.”
Based on the German series Tempel, Franco plays an American laying low from the FBI in Beirut who has opened a club called the Miami Rainbow Club, a “taste of Americana,” according to Hasak.
The show’s lead is Yaqoub Al Farhan as Dahab, who is released from jail and promises his paraplegic wife and teenage daughter that he will never return to a world of crime, instead...
Alongside a cast of actors who hail from the Mena region, the Oscar-nominated 127 Hours star recently wrapped on Karantina, which is being shopped for the first time at Mipcom Cannes this week. Hasak told Deadline he hopes the “gamechanger” crime drama will “do for Mena what Fauda did for Israel and Squid Game did for Korea.”
Based on the German series Tempel, Franco plays an American laying low from the FBI in Beirut who has opened a club called the Miami Rainbow Club, a “taste of Americana,” according to Hasak.
The show’s lead is Yaqoub Al Farhan as Dahab, who is released from jail and promises his paraplegic wife and teenage daughter that he will never return to a world of crime, instead...
- 10/16/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Prolific Danish writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen (Riders of Justice, Adams Apples, Men & Chicken), is dipping back into his deep well of dark comedy for his upcoming film, Back to Reality.
The film is described as a drama/crime comedy mashup involving a bank robbery, Anker, who gets released after a jail stint for a heist from which the money was never recovered. The only one who knows where the loot is buried is Anker’s brother Manfred, but the shock of his childhood trauma has sent him fleeing to an alter ego who has no recollection of the money. Hoping to unlock Manfred’s memory, the brothers travel to their childhood home and start digging, physically and psychologically. Back to Reality is currently in preproduction and in the final phase of financing.
No cast has been confirmed but Jensen is a frequent collaboration with Danish star Mads Mikkelsen, the...
The film is described as a drama/crime comedy mashup involving a bank robbery, Anker, who gets released after a jail stint for a heist from which the money was never recovered. The only one who knows where the loot is buried is Anker’s brother Manfred, but the shock of his childhood trauma has sent him fleeing to an alter ego who has no recollection of the money. Hoping to unlock Manfred’s memory, the brothers travel to their childhood home and start digging, physically and psychologically. Back to Reality is currently in preproduction and in the final phase of financing.
No cast has been confirmed but Jensen is a frequent collaboration with Danish star Mads Mikkelsen, the...
- 5/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Back To Reality’ is a dark comedy from writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen.
TrustNordisk has acquired international sales rights to two upcoming features from Denmark’s Zentropa, including a new film from acclaimed comedy filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen.
Jensen’s Back To Reality (working title) is a dark comedy, about a bank robber recently released from jail, who must unlock his traumatised brother’s memory to recover stolen loot.
Zentropa is producing the title, which is at script stage with no cast yet attached; Nordisk Film Distribution will release the film in Scandinavia. Producers are Sisse Graum Jorgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann for Zentropa,...
TrustNordisk has acquired international sales rights to two upcoming features from Denmark’s Zentropa, including a new film from acclaimed comedy filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen.
Jensen’s Back To Reality (working title) is a dark comedy, about a bank robber recently released from jail, who must unlock his traumatised brother’s memory to recover stolen loot.
Zentropa is producing the title, which is at script stage with no cast yet attached; Nordisk Film Distribution will release the film in Scandinavia. Producers are Sisse Graum Jorgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann for Zentropa,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Now Netflix title “Caliphate,” produced by the Endemol Shine-owned Swedish production company Filmlance, has smashed all-time viewing records on Sweden’s Svt Play, the catch-up VOD service of public broadcaster Svt, Endemol Shine Group confirmed Wednesday.
“Caliphate” was made available globally on Netflix on March 18.
The biggest success ever on Svt Play, Endemol Shine said, “Caliphate” bowed on Svt on Jan. 12 where it is already known to have attracted an average of over 600,000 adult viewers during its first month on Play, a record for the streaming service.
Svt figures at the time, published by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond newsletter, also underscored a clear shift from linear to online in the Swedish public as more episodes of the series were released.
That can be put down to “Caliphate” itself. On one hand, it is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, turning on the excruciating daily danger suffered by a young Swedish mother,...
“Caliphate” was made available globally on Netflix on March 18.
The biggest success ever on Svt Play, Endemol Shine said, “Caliphate” bowed on Svt on Jan. 12 where it is already known to have attracted an average of over 600,000 adult viewers during its first month on Play, a record for the streaming service.
Svt figures at the time, published by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond newsletter, also underscored a clear shift from linear to online in the Swedish public as more episodes of the series were released.
That can be put down to “Caliphate” itself. On one hand, it is an edge-of-the-seat thriller, turning on the excruciating daily danger suffered by a young Swedish mother,...
- 4/8/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Filmlance International, the Swedish production company owned by Endemol Shine Group, is set to produce “Tsunami,” a psychological drama mini-series directed by Henrik Georgsson (“Bron/Broen”).
“Tsunami,” which is being co-produced by Swedish broadcaster Svt, is set in Stockholm in the aftermath of a tsunami. The gripping drama explores how humans behave when faced with a natural disaster and follows the journey of Tomas, a man suspected of fraud who goes missing in Thailand. “Tsunami” is based on an original idea by Sara Kadefors (“Sandor & Ida”).
TrustNordisk has boarded international sales to “Tsunami.” Filmlance International recently launched the Swedish series “Caliphate” on Svt as well as presented the series at Goteborg’s TV showcase. Repped by Endemol Shine International, “Caliphate” explores how religious fundamentalism can destroy lives through the story of five women and charts events leading up to a terrorist attack in Sweden.
Directed by Goran Kapetanovic (“My...
“Tsunami,” which is being co-produced by Swedish broadcaster Svt, is set in Stockholm in the aftermath of a tsunami. The gripping drama explores how humans behave when faced with a natural disaster and follows the journey of Tomas, a man suspected of fraud who goes missing in Thailand. “Tsunami” is based on an original idea by Sara Kadefors (“Sandor & Ida”).
TrustNordisk has boarded international sales to “Tsunami.” Filmlance International recently launched the Swedish series “Caliphate” on Svt as well as presented the series at Goteborg’s TV showcase. Repped by Endemol Shine International, “Caliphate” explores how religious fundamentalism can destroy lives through the story of five women and charts events leading up to a terrorist attack in Sweden.
Directed by Goran Kapetanovic (“My...
- 2/3/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Swedish series “Caliphate” begins in Syria with Pervin and other women being corralled into a square. A man is dragged to a table, his arm then stretched across it; the women are told to look away. Then a man standing beside the table produces a meat cleaver, raises it, and chops off the man’s lower arm.
A thriller building up to a terrorist attack in Sweden, the series turns in part on Pervin but also on The Traveller, a charming students’ assistant in Sweden, who recruits a team there with backup from Is in Syria, including two students, 15-year-old Sulle and friend Kerima.
Married to Raqqa-based Is member Hasum, a Muslim Swede, Pervin gets wind of the attack, is told by ambitious Swedish Intelligence Service agent Fatima that she needs to find out more about in return for a safe passage out of Syria. As she desperately attempts to do so,...
A thriller building up to a terrorist attack in Sweden, the series turns in part on Pervin but also on The Traveller, a charming students’ assistant in Sweden, who recruits a team there with backup from Is in Syria, including two students, 15-year-old Sulle and friend Kerima.
Married to Raqqa-based Is member Hasum, a Muslim Swede, Pervin gets wind of the attack, is told by ambitious Swedish Intelligence Service agent Fatima that she needs to find out more about in return for a safe passage out of Syria. As she desperately attempts to do so,...
- 1/27/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Dr’s “When the Dust Settles,” Nrk’s “22. Juli” and Svt’s “Caliphate” will compete for 2020’s 4th Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, as terrorism strikes to the heart of three of the five Nordic dramas nominated for the award for outstanding screenwriting announced at Sweden’s Göteborg.Film Festival on Jan. 29.
Two other titles – Yle/Mediapro’s “The Paradise” and Ruv’s ”Happily Never After” – chart halting spiritual recovery – after caring for years for a loved one and separation in marriage respectively.
Winners of the Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award will receive a €20,000 cash prize, announced during the Göteborg Film & TV Festival’s TV Drama Vision, a highlight of the festival, and part of the Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s 30th anniversary celebrations
First episodes of all the series will screen at the Göteborg Festival.
”With the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, the Fund wants to celebrate the art of script writing,...
Two other titles – Yle/Mediapro’s “The Paradise” and Ruv’s ”Happily Never After” – chart halting spiritual recovery – after caring for years for a loved one and separation in marriage respectively.
Winners of the Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award will receive a €20,000 cash prize, announced during the Göteborg Film & TV Festival’s TV Drama Vision, a highlight of the festival, and part of the Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s 30th anniversary celebrations
First episodes of all the series will screen at the Göteborg Festival.
”With the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize, the Fund wants to celebrate the art of script writing,...
- 12/17/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Projects backed by Nordic funding bodies range from the next disaster film by the writers of The Wave to a documentary reconstructing the Utoya massacre.
The Norwegian Film Institute’s latest funding round includes $1.82m (Nok 15m) to Kon-Tiki co-director Espen Sandberg’s new film Roald Amundsen, a biopic of the titular Arctic explorer.
The $9m (Nok 75m) production is produced by Espen Horn and Kristian Sinkerud for Motion Blur Films.
The Nfi also awarded $1.7m (Nok 13.9m) to John Andreas Andersen’s The Quake (Skjelvet), written by The Wave writers Harald Rosenløw Eeg and John Kåre Raake.
The film is inspired by a 1904 earthquake in Oslo. Martin Sundland and Are Heidenstrøm of Fantefilm Fiction (also behind The Wave) produce the $6.3m (Nok 52.1m) production.
Andersen makes his solo directorial debut after working as a cinematographer on films such as The Snowman and Headhunters.
Sweden
In Sweden, the Swedish Film Institute has backed 23 projects in its latest...
The Norwegian Film Institute’s latest funding round includes $1.82m (Nok 15m) to Kon-Tiki co-director Espen Sandberg’s new film Roald Amundsen, a biopic of the titular Arctic explorer.
The $9m (Nok 75m) production is produced by Espen Horn and Kristian Sinkerud for Motion Blur Films.
The Nfi also awarded $1.7m (Nok 13.9m) to John Andreas Andersen’s The Quake (Skjelvet), written by The Wave writers Harald Rosenløw Eeg and John Kåre Raake.
The film is inspired by a 1904 earthquake in Oslo. Martin Sundland and Are Heidenstrøm of Fantefilm Fiction (also behind The Wave) produce the $6.3m (Nok 52.1m) production.
Andersen makes his solo directorial debut after working as a cinematographer on films such as The Snowman and Headhunters.
Sweden
In Sweden, the Swedish Film Institute has backed 23 projects in its latest...
- 9/16/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Latvia’s Official entry for the Academy Awards Gulf Stream Under The Iceberg will have its North American premiere this month at the Scandinavian Film Festival of Los Angeles - www.Ssfla.net.
The Sffla is leading the industry by extending its program to include its Baltic neighbors from Latvia and Lithuania. Ahead of the curve, the 14 year old festival has carved out a loyal and dedicated audience during the last lobbying weeks of a busy award season over the two weekends in January 12&13 and 19&20 at the Writer’s Guild in Beverly Hills.
“Northern European countries have often taken to the seas with a cargo of culture, commerce and collaboration,” says festival founder/director James Koenig. “We have an exciting program that follows old routes to new worlds and now we are journeying around to our Baltic neighborhood where cultural cross-currents have been a reality since even before Hanseatic ‘happenings’!”
This year the program will begin with Yevgeny Pashkevich’s mythical fairy tale Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg, a kaleidoscopic and hypnotic affair inspired by the works of Anatole France and influenced by Talmud and the medieval books of Cabala. It is the self-absorbing story about Adam´s first wife, Lilith – how humanity tries to run away from Eden and strives to become sinless, yet ultimately ends up trapped in its own unconsciousness.A
Written & Directed by Yevgeny Pahskevich, Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg is produced by Yevgeny Pashkevich, Natalia Ivanova and stars Olga Shepitskaya, Ville Haapasalo, Danila Kozlovsky, Liubomiras Lauciavicius, and Yuriy Tsurilo. Executive producers are Kristians Luhaers, Antra Cilinska and Maria Ksinopulo. Wide Management is handling worldwide sales.
Sffla 2013 will continue its strong line-up of showcasing Scandinavian films - premiering features, documentaries, shorts from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and which will include this year’s Academy’s short-list of Foreign Language films from Iceland Baltasar Kormakur’s The Deep, and Norway’s Golden Globe nominee Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg’s Kon-tiki; with Sweden’s Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair closing the festival. Other Academy submissions include Finland’s entry Antti Joinen’s Purge, Latvia’s Yevgeny Pashkevich’s Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg and Lithuania’s Loss from Maris Martinsons.
The shorts program will also include two Academy short-listed films: Anders Walter’s 9 Meter (Denmark) and Goran Kapetanovic’s Kiruna-Kigali (Sweden)
Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg Premieres Saturday, January 12 at 11am
WGA
135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills - www.nidafilma.lv
Ticket sales: www.Sffla.net
Sales enquiries: www.widemanagement.com...
The Sffla is leading the industry by extending its program to include its Baltic neighbors from Latvia and Lithuania. Ahead of the curve, the 14 year old festival has carved out a loyal and dedicated audience during the last lobbying weeks of a busy award season over the two weekends in January 12&13 and 19&20 at the Writer’s Guild in Beverly Hills.
“Northern European countries have often taken to the seas with a cargo of culture, commerce and collaboration,” says festival founder/director James Koenig. “We have an exciting program that follows old routes to new worlds and now we are journeying around to our Baltic neighborhood where cultural cross-currents have been a reality since even before Hanseatic ‘happenings’!”
This year the program will begin with Yevgeny Pashkevich’s mythical fairy tale Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg, a kaleidoscopic and hypnotic affair inspired by the works of Anatole France and influenced by Talmud and the medieval books of Cabala. It is the self-absorbing story about Adam´s first wife, Lilith – how humanity tries to run away from Eden and strives to become sinless, yet ultimately ends up trapped in its own unconsciousness.A
Written & Directed by Yevgeny Pahskevich, Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg is produced by Yevgeny Pashkevich, Natalia Ivanova and stars Olga Shepitskaya, Ville Haapasalo, Danila Kozlovsky, Liubomiras Lauciavicius, and Yuriy Tsurilo. Executive producers are Kristians Luhaers, Antra Cilinska and Maria Ksinopulo. Wide Management is handling worldwide sales.
Sffla 2013 will continue its strong line-up of showcasing Scandinavian films - premiering features, documentaries, shorts from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and which will include this year’s Academy’s short-list of Foreign Language films from Iceland Baltasar Kormakur’s The Deep, and Norway’s Golden Globe nominee Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg’s Kon-tiki; with Sweden’s Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair closing the festival. Other Academy submissions include Finland’s entry Antti Joinen’s Purge, Latvia’s Yevgeny Pashkevich’s Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg and Lithuania’s Loss from Maris Martinsons.
The shorts program will also include two Academy short-listed films: Anders Walter’s 9 Meter (Denmark) and Goran Kapetanovic’s Kiruna-Kigali (Sweden)
Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg Premieres Saturday, January 12 at 11am
WGA
135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills - www.nidafilma.lv
Ticket sales: www.Sffla.net
Sales enquiries: www.widemanagement.com...
- 1/6/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
VI Issue II
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The Invisible War written and directed by Kirby Dick
The Invisible War is a documentary about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film paints a startling picture of the extent of the problem— the film claims that today a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The filmmakers’ state that the Department of Defense estimates there were 22,800 violent sex crimes in the military in 2011, that 20% of all active‐duty female soldiers are sexually assaulted and that female soldiers aged 18 to 21 account for more than half of the victims.
Focusing on the powerfully emotional stories of rape victims, The Invisible War suggests a systemic cover-up of military sex crimes by the military. The film chronicles women’s struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice within and outside the military and features interviews with high-ranking military officials and members of Congress that reveal the conditions that exist for rape in the military, its long history, and suggests what can be done to bring about much-needed change.
Oscar and Emmy nominated director Kirby Dick (Outrage, This Film Is Not Yet Rated), found the inspiration for The Invisible War from a 2007 Salon.com article about women serving in Iraq entitled “The Private War of Women Soldiers,” by Columbia University journalism professor Helen Benedict. When Dick and Emmy-nominated producing partner Amy Ziering (Outrage) read Benedict's piece, they were astounded by the prevalence of sexual assault in the military.
This film is beautifully made, shot, directed and produced. It is one of the strongest films of the year. It shows that rape and other sexually based harassment seems to be wide spread in our military and that the military is unwilling to adjust its culture to effect the necessary change to provide a safe work environment for all of its members. The filmmakers make excellent choices in terms of who they interview, whose stories they tell. This is a strong advocacy film that can make a difference and start pushing the civilians who control our military to demand to make the necessary changes to protect the men and women who serve from each other. Frankly, it has to have a zero tolerance for any kind of harassment. With the striking of “don’t ask, don’t tell” the armed services are on their way to addressing this. The film was short listed for the documentary feature Academy Award.
Credits:
Director/Writer: Kirby Dick
Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow
Cinematography: Thaddeus Wadleigh, Kirsten Johnson
Music Supervisor: Dondi Bastone, Gary Calamar/Go
Editor, Associate Producer: Doug Blush
Executive Producer for Itvs: Sally Jo Fifer Cinedigm and Docurama Films
Revolution Reykjavík a short film by Isold Uggadottir
Gudfinna, a successful 58-year old mid-level employee of the Icelandic bank Landsbankinn, finds herself a victim of the economic failure, not only losing her job, but her lifesavings as well. Proud and independent, she struggles to shield her dire circumstances from her family members and friends. But as tensions in Icelandic society grow, so does her inner turmoil. She finds that she cannot deal with her increasingly desperate financial concerns and her ideas of self-worth. Slowly, Gudfinna, much like the Icelandic economy, finds herself metamorphosed into the utterly helpless being she never could have foreseen becoming.
Revolution Reykjavík is one of the outstanding short films of the 2011/12 year. One of the few works to screen at both New Directors and Telluride and dozens of other festivals, it is evident that Isold Uggadottir, while not yet a known name as a director, is tremendously talented. Watching Gudfinna fall apart is deeply moving. Her inner struggles are evident by the nuanced direction of a subtle performance. The film is nicely shot, edited and at 19 minutes it becomes a metaphor for the 2008 Icelandic banking disaster that wiped out tens of thousands of Icelanders and three of the major banks. It caused thousands of people to lose their jobs and created a political crisis for the country. Few portfolio works try for nuanced and subtle performances but are in-your-face testosterone fueled action works. This film is a keeper.
Director/ Writer’s Bio:
Isold Uggadottir is an Icelandic writer/director. Her four short films have been invited to over 120 international film festivals, including Telluride, Sundance and New Directors/New Films hosted by Lincoln Center & MoMA. Two of her films (Clean and Committed) have been honored with Icelandic Academy Awards for Best Short Film in 2010 and 2011, while Revolution Reykjavík and Family Reunion received nominations in 2012 and 2006. Additionally, Isold has received multiple international awards, most recently in Spain and Greece.
Isold holds an Mfa in writing and directing from Columbia University in New York, where she was honored with the Adrienne Shelly Award for Best Female Director. Screen International named her “one of the rising stars of Icelandic film.”
Credits:
Written and Directed: Isold Uggadottir
Producers: Snorri Thórisson, Isold Uggadottir
Director of Photography: Óskar Thór Axelsson
Editor: Isold Uggadottir
Academy announces 11 short films shortlisted for the Short Film Nomination
Because of a voting tie the Academy short listed 11 dramatic/fiction short films instead of 10. Culled from 125 submitted films, it is perhaps the best group of films entered in the last 30 years. These films range from a thesis work from Columbia’s University’s graduate film program to When You Find Me, directed by Bryce Howard, filmmaker Ron Howard’s 31 year old daughter, to the Danish 61 year old director Anders Walther with short film Oscar winner (and nominee) producer Tivi Magnusson for 9 Meter.
Following screenings in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in December, Branch members will select three to five nominees from among the 11 semi-finalists. It will be challenging for the committees to find the five best in this really impressive group of films. It is an embarrassment of solid filmmaking from a global group of filmmakers. Please note: I have not seen two of the short listed films and I am relying on others for their synopses to be accurate.
Below is an alphabetical listing of the short listed films, the key filmmakers, the country of production and a link to a clip. Take a look and make up your own mind:
A Fábrica (The Factory), Aly Muritiba, director (Grafo Audiovisual)
“An inmate convinces his mother to take a risk smuggling a cell phone for him into the penitentiary.
Length: 15 min.
Language: Portuguese
Country: Brazil
“Asad,” Bryan Buckley, director, and Mino Jarjoura, producer (Hungry Man)
A Somali boy must choose either the life of a pirate or that of a fisherman
Length: 17 min.
Language: Somali with English subtitles.
Country: USA
“Buzkashi Boys,” Sam French, director, and Ariel Nasr, producer (Afghan Film Project)
Two young boys dream of a better life. One is without parents and the other the father wants him to follow into his blacksmithing.
Length: 30 min.
Language: Pashto
Country: Afghanistan, USA Production
“Curfew,” Shawn Christensen, director (Fuzzy Logic Pictures)
A suicidal New Yorker, Richie’s attempt to end his life is interrupted by a call from his estranged sister asking him to babysit his niece for the evening.
Length: 20 min
Language: English
Country: USA
“Death of a Shadow” (Dood van een Schaduw),” Tom Van Avermaet, director, and Ellen De Waele, producer(Serendipity Films)
This highly produced sci-fi fantasy work is about a dead Wwi soldier stuck in the limbo between life and death who has to collect shadows to regain a second chance at life.
Length: 20 min.
Language: German
Country: Belgium
“Henry,” Yan England, director (Yan England) Henry, a concert pianist, has his life thrown into turmoil the day the love of his life mysteriously disappears. (Confession, I have not seen this film.)
Length: 21 min.
Language: English
Country: Canadian
“Kiruna-Kigali,” Goran Kapetanovic, director (Hepp Film Ab)
This tour‐de‐force Swedish short begins in a mist of frost and snow. A woman is driving to the hospital in Kiruna, the northernmost city of Sweden. Under the scorching sunlight of Kigali, Rwanda,another woman is being carried to the hospital on a stretcher. The two single mothers‐to‐be are on the verge of giving birth to a baby are thousands of miles apart, but share the same fear of entering the unknown world of motherhood. I think this is the film to beat.
Length: 15 min.
Language: Swedish/ Kinyarwanda
Country: Swedish/Rwanda
“The Night Shift Belongs to the Stars,” Silvia Bizio and Paola Porrini Bisson, producers (Oh! Pen LLC)
The story of Matteo (Enrico Lo Verso), a passionate mountain climber, and Sonia (Nastassja Kinski), a married woman, also in love with mountain, as they set out to climb a peak on the Dolomites, in Trentino, Italy. (Confession, I have not seen this film.)
Length: 24 min.
Language: English
Country: USA
“9 meter,” Anders Walther, director, and Tivi Magnusson, producer (M & M Productions A/S)
A boy tries to set a new record in the long jump as his mother fights her illness. (Confession, I have not seen this film.)
Length: 18 min.
Language: Danish
Country: Danish
“Salar,” Nicholas Greene, director, and Julie Buck, producer (Nicholas Greene)
In an isolated Bolivian village, on the edge of the vast Uyuni salt flats, two lives collide. This powerful film is my favorite of the 11 short listed films.
Length: 18 min.
Language: English
Country: USA
“When you find me,” Ron Howard, executive producer, and Bryce Dallas Howard, director (Freestyle Production Company)
This Cannon sponsored film looks at the story of two sisters whose childhood bond is tested by a tragedy that they were too young to understand at the time.
Length: 29 min.
Language: English
Country: USA
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
"Poster Girl," produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the "Best" Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series "Carrier,” a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
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Join us twice weekly. Send us links to your sizzle reels and film sites.
The Invisible War written and directed by Kirby Dick
The Invisible War is a documentary about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film paints a startling picture of the extent of the problem— the film claims that today a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The filmmakers’ state that the Department of Defense estimates there were 22,800 violent sex crimes in the military in 2011, that 20% of all active‐duty female soldiers are sexually assaulted and that female soldiers aged 18 to 21 account for more than half of the victims.
Focusing on the powerfully emotional stories of rape victims, The Invisible War suggests a systemic cover-up of military sex crimes by the military. The film chronicles women’s struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice within and outside the military and features interviews with high-ranking military officials and members of Congress that reveal the conditions that exist for rape in the military, its long history, and suggests what can be done to bring about much-needed change.
Oscar and Emmy nominated director Kirby Dick (Outrage, This Film Is Not Yet Rated), found the inspiration for The Invisible War from a 2007 Salon.com article about women serving in Iraq entitled “The Private War of Women Soldiers,” by Columbia University journalism professor Helen Benedict. When Dick and Emmy-nominated producing partner Amy Ziering (Outrage) read Benedict's piece, they were astounded by the prevalence of sexual assault in the military.
This film is beautifully made, shot, directed and produced. It is one of the strongest films of the year. It shows that rape and other sexually based harassment seems to be wide spread in our military and that the military is unwilling to adjust its culture to effect the necessary change to provide a safe work environment for all of its members. The filmmakers make excellent choices in terms of who they interview, whose stories they tell. This is a strong advocacy film that can make a difference and start pushing the civilians who control our military to demand to make the necessary changes to protect the men and women who serve from each other. Frankly, it has to have a zero tolerance for any kind of harassment. With the striking of “don’t ask, don’t tell” the armed services are on their way to addressing this. The film was short listed for the documentary feature Academy Award.
Credits:
Director/Writer: Kirby Dick
Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow
Cinematography: Thaddeus Wadleigh, Kirsten Johnson
Music Supervisor: Dondi Bastone, Gary Calamar/Go
Editor, Associate Producer: Doug Blush
Executive Producer for Itvs: Sally Jo Fifer Cinedigm and Docurama Films
Revolution Reykjavík a short film by Isold Uggadottir
Gudfinna, a successful 58-year old mid-level employee of the Icelandic bank Landsbankinn, finds herself a victim of the economic failure, not only losing her job, but her lifesavings as well. Proud and independent, she struggles to shield her dire circumstances from her family members and friends. But as tensions in Icelandic society grow, so does her inner turmoil. She finds that she cannot deal with her increasingly desperate financial concerns and her ideas of self-worth. Slowly, Gudfinna, much like the Icelandic economy, finds herself metamorphosed into the utterly helpless being she never could have foreseen becoming.
Revolution Reykjavík is one of the outstanding short films of the 2011/12 year. One of the few works to screen at both New Directors and Telluride and dozens of other festivals, it is evident that Isold Uggadottir, while not yet a known name as a director, is tremendously talented. Watching Gudfinna fall apart is deeply moving. Her inner struggles are evident by the nuanced direction of a subtle performance. The film is nicely shot, edited and at 19 minutes it becomes a metaphor for the 2008 Icelandic banking disaster that wiped out tens of thousands of Icelanders and three of the major banks. It caused thousands of people to lose their jobs and created a political crisis for the country. Few portfolio works try for nuanced and subtle performances but are in-your-face testosterone fueled action works. This film is a keeper.
Director/ Writer’s Bio:
Isold Uggadottir is an Icelandic writer/director. Her four short films have been invited to over 120 international film festivals, including Telluride, Sundance and New Directors/New Films hosted by Lincoln Center & MoMA. Two of her films (Clean and Committed) have been honored with Icelandic Academy Awards for Best Short Film in 2010 and 2011, while Revolution Reykjavík and Family Reunion received nominations in 2012 and 2006. Additionally, Isold has received multiple international awards, most recently in Spain and Greece.
Isold holds an Mfa in writing and directing from Columbia University in New York, where she was honored with the Adrienne Shelly Award for Best Female Director. Screen International named her “one of the rising stars of Icelandic film.”
Credits:
Written and Directed: Isold Uggadottir
Producers: Snorri Thórisson, Isold Uggadottir
Director of Photography: Óskar Thór Axelsson
Editor: Isold Uggadottir
Academy announces 11 short films shortlisted for the Short Film Nomination
Because of a voting tie the Academy short listed 11 dramatic/fiction short films instead of 10. Culled from 125 submitted films, it is perhaps the best group of films entered in the last 30 years. These films range from a thesis work from Columbia’s University’s graduate film program to When You Find Me, directed by Bryce Howard, filmmaker Ron Howard’s 31 year old daughter, to the Danish 61 year old director Anders Walther with short film Oscar winner (and nominee) producer Tivi Magnusson for 9 Meter.
Following screenings in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in December, Branch members will select three to five nominees from among the 11 semi-finalists. It will be challenging for the committees to find the five best in this really impressive group of films. It is an embarrassment of solid filmmaking from a global group of filmmakers. Please note: I have not seen two of the short listed films and I am relying on others for their synopses to be accurate.
Below is an alphabetical listing of the short listed films, the key filmmakers, the country of production and a link to a clip. Take a look and make up your own mind:
A Fábrica (The Factory), Aly Muritiba, director (Grafo Audiovisual)
“An inmate convinces his mother to take a risk smuggling a cell phone for him into the penitentiary.
Length: 15 min.
Language: Portuguese
Country: Brazil
“Asad,” Bryan Buckley, director, and Mino Jarjoura, producer (Hungry Man)
A Somali boy must choose either the life of a pirate or that of a fisherman
Length: 17 min.
Language: Somali with English subtitles.
Country: USA
“Buzkashi Boys,” Sam French, director, and Ariel Nasr, producer (Afghan Film Project)
Two young boys dream of a better life. One is without parents and the other the father wants him to follow into his blacksmithing.
Length: 30 min.
Language: Pashto
Country: Afghanistan, USA Production
“Curfew,” Shawn Christensen, director (Fuzzy Logic Pictures)
A suicidal New Yorker, Richie’s attempt to end his life is interrupted by a call from his estranged sister asking him to babysit his niece for the evening.
Length: 20 min
Language: English
Country: USA
“Death of a Shadow” (Dood van een Schaduw),” Tom Van Avermaet, director, and Ellen De Waele, producer(Serendipity Films)
This highly produced sci-fi fantasy work is about a dead Wwi soldier stuck in the limbo between life and death who has to collect shadows to regain a second chance at life.
Length: 20 min.
Language: German
Country: Belgium
“Henry,” Yan England, director (Yan England) Henry, a concert pianist, has his life thrown into turmoil the day the love of his life mysteriously disappears. (Confession, I have not seen this film.)
Length: 21 min.
Language: English
Country: Canadian
“Kiruna-Kigali,” Goran Kapetanovic, director (Hepp Film Ab)
This tour‐de‐force Swedish short begins in a mist of frost and snow. A woman is driving to the hospital in Kiruna, the northernmost city of Sweden. Under the scorching sunlight of Kigali, Rwanda,another woman is being carried to the hospital on a stretcher. The two single mothers‐to‐be are on the verge of giving birth to a baby are thousands of miles apart, but share the same fear of entering the unknown world of motherhood. I think this is the film to beat.
Length: 15 min.
Language: Swedish/ Kinyarwanda
Country: Swedish/Rwanda
“The Night Shift Belongs to the Stars,” Silvia Bizio and Paola Porrini Bisson, producers (Oh! Pen LLC)
The story of Matteo (Enrico Lo Verso), a passionate mountain climber, and Sonia (Nastassja Kinski), a married woman, also in love with mountain, as they set out to climb a peak on the Dolomites, in Trentino, Italy. (Confession, I have not seen this film.)
Length: 24 min.
Language: English
Country: USA
“9 meter,” Anders Walther, director, and Tivi Magnusson, producer (M & M Productions A/S)
A boy tries to set a new record in the long jump as his mother fights her illness. (Confession, I have not seen this film.)
Length: 18 min.
Language: Danish
Country: Danish
“Salar,” Nicholas Greene, director, and Julie Buck, producer (Nicholas Greene)
In an isolated Bolivian village, on the edge of the vast Uyuni salt flats, two lives collide. This powerful film is my favorite of the 11 short listed films.
Length: 18 min.
Language: English
Country: USA
“When you find me,” Ron Howard, executive producer, and Bryce Dallas Howard, director (Freestyle Production Company)
This Cannon sponsored film looks at the story of two sisters whose childhood bond is tested by a tragedy that they were too young to understand at the time.
Length: 29 min.
Language: English
Country: USA
Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).
"Poster Girl," produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the "Best" Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series "Carrier,” a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.
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- 12/20/2012
- by Mitchell Block
- Sydney's Buzz
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