To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.
Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list here, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.
See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for June 2016
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, June 24. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Free State of Jones
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland
Synopsis: “In Jones County, Miss., Newt Knight joins forces with other farmers and a group of slaves to lead a rebellion against the Confederacy.”
Independence Day: Resurgence...
Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list here, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.
See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for June 2016
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, June 24. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Free State of Jones
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland
Synopsis: “In Jones County, Miss., Newt Knight joins forces with other farmers and a group of slaves to lead a rebellion against the Confederacy.”
Independence Day: Resurgence...
- 6/24/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Suncoast Credit Union Gasparilla International Film Festival (Giff) has announced the official program for its 10th year anniversary in Tampa, Florida. The 10th annual festival will be held March 30-April 3 at the Tampa Theater and Ybor City’s Carmike Cinemas. With 115 films, the festival will host international and regional premieres of narrative features, documentaries and short films around the world, special tributes, master classes, panel discussions and much more.
This year’s special tribute will celebrate the many accomplishments of Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony winner Rita Moreno. Giff will honor Moreno with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, her film, "Remember Me" will screen at the festival.
A jury of industry professionals and acclaimed filmmakers will be presenting awards to competition films in the following categories: Narrative Feature, Documentary, Spotlight and Shorts.
Highlights include:
Opening Night Film (Narrative)
"Eye in the Sky" (UK): Academy Award winner Helen Mirren stars alongside Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Iain Glen in this timely thriller about a terrorist-targeting drone mission that becomes a flashpoint when a civilian girl enters the kill zone. Directed by Gavin Hood.
Closing Night Film (Narrative)
"Everybody Wants Some" (USA): A group of college baseball players navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Starring Zoey Deutch, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman, Blake Jenner. Directed by Richard Linklater
Narrative Features:
"Precious Cargo" (World Premiere) : After a botched heist, Eddie, a murderous crime boss, hunts down the seductive thief Karen who failed him. In order to win back Eddie’s trust, Karen recruits her ex-lover and premier thief Jack. Starring Bruce Willis, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Claire Forlani. Directed by Max Adams. "Embrace Of The Serpent" (Colombia. Florida Premiere): Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. Starring: Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolivar. Directed by Ciro Guerra "Ma Ma" (Spain. Florida Premiere): A woman recently diagnosed with cancer forms an unexpected bond with a soccer scout (Luis Tosar) whose wife has been gravely injured in a car accident. Starring: Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz. Directed by Julio Medem "Love and Friendship" (France/Netherlands. Florida Premiere): In the 18th century, the seductive and manipulative Lady Susan uses devious tactics to win the heart of the eligible Reginald De Courcy. Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny. Directed by Whit Stillman. "The Daughter" (Australia. Florida Premiere): A young man returns to his dying hometown and discovers a dark family secret that could tear apart the lives of those he left behind, in this contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck. Starring: Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Ewen Leslie, Paul Schneider, Miranda Otto, Anna Torv, with Odessa Young and Sam Neill. Directed by Simon Stone. "The Debt" (USA. Florida Premiere): A hedge-fund honcho puts through the deal of a lifetime: the redemption of a billion-dollar debt owed by the Peruvian government to its citizens. The quick buck soon turns into a nightmare. Starring: Stephen Dorff, Alberto Ammann, Carlos Bardem, and David Strathairn. Directed by Barney Elliott"The Adderall Diaries" (USA. Florida Premiere): Based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliott, The Adderall Diaries is the story of an author paralyzed by writer's block and an escalating drug dependency who is sucked down the rabbit hole of a high-profile murder case. Starring:James Franco, Ed Harris and Amber Heard. Written and directed by Pamela Romanowsky"One More Time" (USA. Florida Premiere): After one too many big city problems, Jude heads to the Hamptons home of her father, an over-the-hill crooner desperately charting his musical comeback. Starring: Amber Heard, Kelli Garner and Christopher Walken. Directed by Robert Edwards. "Little Men" (USA. Florida Premiere): Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler when he meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious. Starring: Greg Kinnear, Theo Taplitz, Michael Barbieri and Alfred Molina. Directed by Ira Sachs "A Beautiful Now" (USA. Florida Premiere): As a beautiful dancer balances between reality and fantasy, she asks her friends to help her figure out the passions and relationships that have shaped her identity. Starring: Abigail Spencer, Cheyenne Jackson, Collette Wolfe. Directed by: Daniela Amavia "Puerto Ricans in Paris" (USA. Florida Premiere): Two Puerto Rican NYPD detectives head to Paris to track down a stolen handbag. Starring: Luiz Guzman, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson. Directed by Ian Edelman "The Black Coat’s Daughter" (USA. Florida Premiere): Beautiful and haunted Joan makes a pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all girls prep school where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. Starring: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, James Remar, Lauren Holly. Directed by Osgood Perkins "The Truth About Lies" (USA. Florida Premiere): A desperate, unemployed man (Fran Kranz) who lives with his mother weaves an ever-growing web of lies to impress a beautiful woman. Starring: Fran Kranz, Odette Annable. Directed by Phil Allocco. Documentaries
"Hair I Go Again" (World Premiere): Facing a mid-life crossroads, two longtime friends risk everything as they set out to fulfill their dreams of achieving rock & roll stardom. Directed by: Steve McClure. "Hano! A Century in the Bleachers" (Florida Premiere): Meet Arnold Hano, 93, legendary sportswriter and social activist. Baseball fan, war veteran and storyteller emeritus: few have lived and chronicled the American experience as extensively. Directed by: Jon Leonoudakis. "Smart" (Florida Premiere): Groundbreaking feature-length documentary about a group of highly trained, adrenaline-fueled professionals who risk life and limb to rescue animals. They're Los Angeles' Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team! Directed by Justin Zimmerman "No Greater Love" (Florida Premiere): U.S. Army Chaplain Justin Roberts goes on missions with the legendary No Slack battalion in Afghanistan in 2010/2011 armed with only a camera. Directed by Justin Roberts.
Cuban Sidebar: Films focusing on Cuba
"Craving Cuba" (World Premiere): A Cuban-American woman seeks to understand her true identity. Directed by: Zuzy Martin Lynch "The Forbidden Shore" (World Premiere)- The amazing diversity of contemporary Cuban music is gorgeously explored in Ron Chapman’s third documentary feature. Chapman captures the full gamut of what’s happening now in Cuba, both the most exciting artists and the distinct musical scenes they move In. Directed by Ron Chapman. "Havana Motor Club" (Florida Premiere): Reforms have offered opportunity in Cuba but the children of the Revolution are unsure of the best route forward. For a half-dozen drag racers, this means last-minute changes to their beloved American muscle cars, as they prepare for the first sanctioned race in Cuba since 1960. Directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt
Florida Focus : World premiere of independent films made in Florida
"Waiting on Mary" : A struggling actor, traumatized by a brutal divorce, assumes the personality of a colonial character he played at a failed amusement park as a way of retreating from his pain. Directed by: Corey Horton "Bear With Us" : A modern farce about a guy who attempts to propose to his girlfriend in the most romantic way possible, but his plan falls apart when a ravenous bear stumbles on their charming cabin in the woods. Directed by: William Stribling. "Dooder And the Lighthouse" : Dooder Parker is eighty-six and full of life. When the historic lighthouse in his hometown becomes doomed to fall into the Gulf, his recounting of local history evolves into a reflection on his love for his wife. Stories intertwine to paint a portrait of a vanishing way of life. Directed by: Clayton Long & Lisa Long In addition to feature length films, Giff will present over 70 short films. Short film blocks include:
“Lol”: Comedic short films · “Films on a Mission”: Short films focusing on a specific cause
· “Thrill Ride”: Thriller, action, and horror short films.
· “Love is In the Air”: Romantic short films
· “ Motion Tunes”: Short films related to music
· “Save the Drama”: Drama short films
· “Films 101”: College made short films
· “High School Film Showcase”: Giff’s high school filmmaking competition sponsored by Suncoast Credit Union
Additionally, Gasparilla will feature in-depth, informative Industry Panels, including, Meet The Press, Casting Directors, “The Performance” Actor’s panel, Special Effects, Do’s, Don’ts for a Film Festival Run and “The Pitch.” Additionally, Giff is proud to welcome Academy Award nominated animator Bill Plympton (1987’s Your Face).
For more information on all the films to be screened and industry events, please go to:
www.gasparillafilmfestival.com...
This year’s special tribute will celebrate the many accomplishments of Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony winner Rita Moreno. Giff will honor Moreno with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, her film, "Remember Me" will screen at the festival.
A jury of industry professionals and acclaimed filmmakers will be presenting awards to competition films in the following categories: Narrative Feature, Documentary, Spotlight and Shorts.
Highlights include:
Opening Night Film (Narrative)
"Eye in the Sky" (UK): Academy Award winner Helen Mirren stars alongside Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Iain Glen in this timely thriller about a terrorist-targeting drone mission that becomes a flashpoint when a civilian girl enters the kill zone. Directed by Gavin Hood.
Closing Night Film (Narrative)
"Everybody Wants Some" (USA): A group of college baseball players navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Starring Zoey Deutch, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman, Blake Jenner. Directed by Richard Linklater
Narrative Features:
"Precious Cargo" (World Premiere) : After a botched heist, Eddie, a murderous crime boss, hunts down the seductive thief Karen who failed him. In order to win back Eddie’s trust, Karen recruits her ex-lover and premier thief Jack. Starring Bruce Willis, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Claire Forlani. Directed by Max Adams. "Embrace Of The Serpent" (Colombia. Florida Premiere): Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. Starring: Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolivar. Directed by Ciro Guerra "Ma Ma" (Spain. Florida Premiere): A woman recently diagnosed with cancer forms an unexpected bond with a soccer scout (Luis Tosar) whose wife has been gravely injured in a car accident. Starring: Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz. Directed by Julio Medem "Love and Friendship" (France/Netherlands. Florida Premiere): In the 18th century, the seductive and manipulative Lady Susan uses devious tactics to win the heart of the eligible Reginald De Courcy. Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny. Directed by Whit Stillman. "The Daughter" (Australia. Florida Premiere): A young man returns to his dying hometown and discovers a dark family secret that could tear apart the lives of those he left behind, in this contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck. Starring: Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Ewen Leslie, Paul Schneider, Miranda Otto, Anna Torv, with Odessa Young and Sam Neill. Directed by Simon Stone. "The Debt" (USA. Florida Premiere): A hedge-fund honcho puts through the deal of a lifetime: the redemption of a billion-dollar debt owed by the Peruvian government to its citizens. The quick buck soon turns into a nightmare. Starring: Stephen Dorff, Alberto Ammann, Carlos Bardem, and David Strathairn. Directed by Barney Elliott"The Adderall Diaries" (USA. Florida Premiere): Based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliott, The Adderall Diaries is the story of an author paralyzed by writer's block and an escalating drug dependency who is sucked down the rabbit hole of a high-profile murder case. Starring:James Franco, Ed Harris and Amber Heard. Written and directed by Pamela Romanowsky"One More Time" (USA. Florida Premiere): After one too many big city problems, Jude heads to the Hamptons home of her father, an over-the-hill crooner desperately charting his musical comeback. Starring: Amber Heard, Kelli Garner and Christopher Walken. Directed by Robert Edwards. "Little Men" (USA. Florida Premiere): Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler when he meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious. Starring: Greg Kinnear, Theo Taplitz, Michael Barbieri and Alfred Molina. Directed by Ira Sachs "A Beautiful Now" (USA. Florida Premiere): As a beautiful dancer balances between reality and fantasy, she asks her friends to help her figure out the passions and relationships that have shaped her identity. Starring: Abigail Spencer, Cheyenne Jackson, Collette Wolfe. Directed by: Daniela Amavia "Puerto Ricans in Paris" (USA. Florida Premiere): Two Puerto Rican NYPD detectives head to Paris to track down a stolen handbag. Starring: Luiz Guzman, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson. Directed by Ian Edelman "The Black Coat’s Daughter" (USA. Florida Premiere): Beautiful and haunted Joan makes a pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all girls prep school where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. Starring: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, James Remar, Lauren Holly. Directed by Osgood Perkins "The Truth About Lies" (USA. Florida Premiere): A desperate, unemployed man (Fran Kranz) who lives with his mother weaves an ever-growing web of lies to impress a beautiful woman. Starring: Fran Kranz, Odette Annable. Directed by Phil Allocco. Documentaries
"Hair I Go Again" (World Premiere): Facing a mid-life crossroads, two longtime friends risk everything as they set out to fulfill their dreams of achieving rock & roll stardom. Directed by: Steve McClure. "Hano! A Century in the Bleachers" (Florida Premiere): Meet Arnold Hano, 93, legendary sportswriter and social activist. Baseball fan, war veteran and storyteller emeritus: few have lived and chronicled the American experience as extensively. Directed by: Jon Leonoudakis. "Smart" (Florida Premiere): Groundbreaking feature-length documentary about a group of highly trained, adrenaline-fueled professionals who risk life and limb to rescue animals. They're Los Angeles' Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team! Directed by Justin Zimmerman "No Greater Love" (Florida Premiere): U.S. Army Chaplain Justin Roberts goes on missions with the legendary No Slack battalion in Afghanistan in 2010/2011 armed with only a camera. Directed by Justin Roberts.
Cuban Sidebar: Films focusing on Cuba
"Craving Cuba" (World Premiere): A Cuban-American woman seeks to understand her true identity. Directed by: Zuzy Martin Lynch "The Forbidden Shore" (World Premiere)- The amazing diversity of contemporary Cuban music is gorgeously explored in Ron Chapman’s third documentary feature. Chapman captures the full gamut of what’s happening now in Cuba, both the most exciting artists and the distinct musical scenes they move In. Directed by Ron Chapman. "Havana Motor Club" (Florida Premiere): Reforms have offered opportunity in Cuba but the children of the Revolution are unsure of the best route forward. For a half-dozen drag racers, this means last-minute changes to their beloved American muscle cars, as they prepare for the first sanctioned race in Cuba since 1960. Directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt
Florida Focus : World premiere of independent films made in Florida
"Waiting on Mary" : A struggling actor, traumatized by a brutal divorce, assumes the personality of a colonial character he played at a failed amusement park as a way of retreating from his pain. Directed by: Corey Horton "Bear With Us" : A modern farce about a guy who attempts to propose to his girlfriend in the most romantic way possible, but his plan falls apart when a ravenous bear stumbles on their charming cabin in the woods. Directed by: William Stribling. "Dooder And the Lighthouse" : Dooder Parker is eighty-six and full of life. When the historic lighthouse in his hometown becomes doomed to fall into the Gulf, his recounting of local history evolves into a reflection on his love for his wife. Stories intertwine to paint a portrait of a vanishing way of life. Directed by: Clayton Long & Lisa Long In addition to feature length films, Giff will present over 70 short films. Short film blocks include:
“Lol”: Comedic short films · “Films on a Mission”: Short films focusing on a specific cause
· “Thrill Ride”: Thriller, action, and horror short films.
· “Love is In the Air”: Romantic short films
· “ Motion Tunes”: Short films related to music
· “Save the Drama”: Drama short films
· “Films 101”: College made short films
· “High School Film Showcase”: Giff’s high school filmmaking competition sponsored by Suncoast Credit Union
Additionally, Gasparilla will feature in-depth, informative Industry Panels, including, Meet The Press, Casting Directors, “The Performance” Actor’s panel, Special Effects, Do’s, Don’ts for a Film Festival Run and “The Pitch.” Additionally, Giff is proud to welcome Academy Award nominated animator Bill Plympton (1987’s Your Face).
For more information on all the films to be screened and industry events, please go to:
www.gasparillafilmfestival.com...
- 3/23/2016
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
This is a very cursory look at where I spent two weeks in February. It is by no means complete, but it gives you some idea about how I spend so much of my time.
The Berlinale is an A-festival, founded in 1951 at the height of the Cold War. It accredits about 20,000 industry visitors and about 4,000 journalists each year with a total of 130 countries. It is one of the largest public festivals, selling about 300,000 tickets. The actual figure is 303,077 up 1.2% from last year’s 299,362). Aside from the Competition, it has 10 other sections and series, from children’s films to retrospectives. This year The Weimar Touch and also an homage to Claude Lanzmann were especially appealing to me. See more on the Efm website.
The Berlinale, which ran Feb. 7 to 17 includes the Festival, the European Film Market, the second largest market after Cannes, Talent Campus, Meet the Docs, The Co-Production Market and possibly other sections I am missing here. Efm registered a greater number of exhibitors than last year and they saw brisk sales for competition films including Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, Chilean Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria (which won a Silver Bear for actress Paulina Garcia), as well as films from other sections and from the market itself. I am offering a report called Winter Rights Roundup which lists all the buying activity, not only for the Berlinale but also for Sundance. It includes links to the companies.
While around 400 films screened in thefestival (out of about 7,000 applications), 890 films screened in the market (600 were market premieres) to more than 8,000 participants from 95 countries. 1,690 of those were distributors in Berlin to buy rights from 172 international sales agents.
The Efm offered a new introduction to the market, “Shortcuts for First-Timers” on the first day of the Market, It was held in the Mirror Restaurant and 300 or 400 people attended. Thursday February 7 from 3.00 - 4.30 pm. I attended since I participate in the Cannes First-Timers event. The panelists were quite clear but I wished their names were in front of them. And I wondered who was in the audience. There is also possibly a replay of the panel but I don’t know where to find it for reference. There was a back screen which might have been used by showing a map of the market, or the names of those speaking or other graphics to help illustrate their points. They pointed out that red lights served to point out all the paths and venues used by the festival and market. That was very clever and once I knew to look for them, they helped me find new places.
They announced a new Berlinale Residency Program for writers/ directors who will have a four month stay in Berlin to work on their fiction, doc or cross-media project with the help of script consultants and industry experts from September to December. In February the residents return to present their projects at the Berlinale Co-Production Market to find further co-producers and financiers. This year 6 filmmakers were invited.
They didn’t mention the free WiFi for every registrant and the password written on the badges themselves.
I myself gave tours around the Martin Gropius Bau where most of the market takes place to participants at the Talent Campus and Deutsche Welle Akademie where I also taught about the international film business to Asian, African, Latin American and Caribbean film festival organizers. The tours are a great way to understand how the market works, who the people are, what company cultures are and how to understand them in order to operate optimally. I do the same thing for first timers in Cannes.
My partner Peter and I also had two clients there; one had his film in the market already and the other was following up with meetings with interested international sales agents. As it was their first time in Berlin, we were very pleased to see them take to it so easily.
It was only in the last two days I could actually see movies. But I caught up on lots of gossip along the way. For instance, I had not realized that Turner Broadcasting had bought a Norwegian sales agent and distributor for Scandinavia until Michael Werner who headed sales for NonStop told me that two years after their buyout they were now letting go of 400 people and Michael Werner and the international sales division were included.
I also heard about a new educational program called Making Waves. Five film schools including including the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman brought students to Berlin and the students were making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves is a new week long distribution and marketing workshop devised by the London Film School in partnership with La fémis, the dffb, l'escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University and New York's Columbia University of the Arts Film Department. Held in parallel to the Berlinale, 30 participants from the 6 film training institutions are immersed in all areas of the Berlinale: the European Film Market, the Festival and the Talent Campus where they work collaboratively in teams to develop creative campaigns, edit trailers, design posters and plan roll-out packages for actual independent films in the European Film Market. They are joined by experienced industry professionals working in the independent distribution sector who offer in-depth case studies. This hands-on workshop is for graduating students to gain understanding in emerging strategies in independent film distribution.
Venice seems to be working on student initiatives as well with a call for entries to the Biennale College. Unlike festivals that call for finished films, the Biennale College asked for up-and-comers to submit their ideas. The best proposals get 150,000 euros in seed money and the filmmakers are matched with some of the industry's finest practitioners who would help turn their treatments into reality, with a guaranteed screening at Venice in the summer. After narrowing it down to 15 semifinalists out of hundreds of submissions from around the globe, organizers this month announced three winners, each from a different continent. From the United States, director Tim Sutton and producer John Baker have won a spot with their yet-to-be-made film called Memphis, which follows the transformation of Ezra Jack, 'from beloved soul singer to ecstatic contemplator,' said judges in their review. From Thailand, director Nawapol Thanrongratanarit and producer Aditya Assarat won with their submission The Year of June, which follows a year in the life of an anonymous female student in Bangkok through her Twitter status. And from Italy, director Alessio Fava and producer Max Chicco won the last spot with Yuri Esposito, about a documentary film crew who follows a man who lives in a state of perennial sluggishness, whose wife all of a sudden gets pregnant. Buzz around the competition, which has the potential to launch unknowns into stardom, has been mounting for months. “To me the promise of a Venice debut is even a bigger deal than the money, because it's one thing to make a movie and quite another to have a chance for the entire international press to see it,” said San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick Lasalle. “In fact, it's quite a big deal to make a movie, as an unknown, knowing that international exposure is guaranteed. The whole question mark - even if this turns out great, will anybody ever see it? - is eliminated”. Ensuring a fresh batch of talent, competition rules stipulated that the submission must be the applicant's first or second film endeavor. Earlier this month, semifinalists took part in a 10-day workshop with veteran filmmakers and cinema experts in Venice. “The key is that masters in cinema were present here during the workshop to help participants along,” says Paolo Baratta, president of the Biennale, the festival body that oversees the annual film fest. Organizers then narrowed it down to the three winners, who will receive funding thanks in part to Italian luxury fashion designer Gucci. In just 15 days the filmmakers will get a jumpstart on making micro-budget feature films before screening them at Venice August 28 through September 7. The winners will also get online distribution, adding to their much-needed visibility at the dawn of their careers. Organizers of the Venice Film Festival, the oldest in the world, say mixing veteran mentors with young blood is key to sustaining cinema as an art as well as keeping the festival relevant. “It is an initiative whose constant development will be continued for years to come,” Baratta says. See Variety Feb 11 – 17, 2013. You know this is in response and attests to the success of the the Berlinale Talent Campus which just completed its 11th year.
And in France, Cinefondation has brought U.S. director Barney Elliott to its six month residence program in Paris where he wrote the first draft of Oliver's Deal and later developed it at Amsterdam’s Binger Filmlab. It is now set to star Edward Burns and Spain’s Alberto Ammann. Marina Fuentes of Dreamcatches will bring the film to the market. Christine Vachon is exec producing. It will start shooting in May in New York and will travel to Lima, Peru and Huarez in the Anders.
Other notes gathered during this intense 10 day experience were Russian filmmaker Andrey Khvostov made a summer love story called Saint Petersburg which is being sold by Aktis Film International. Of course I want to see this especially because Rosskino hosted a trip last year to St. Petersburg for distributors after holding screenings of current films on offer. St. Peterburg of one of the most beautiful cities in the world; and the film has an original score by Sergei Yetushenko (The Last Station, Russian Ark).
Also Alberto Antonio Dandolo whom I met in Havana, was in his new home town Berlin continuing to sell The Cuban Wives about the wives of the Cuban 5 who are imprisoned in the United States.
Other news of interest includes The Match Factory’s Distribution 2.0 VOD initiative which will release its first film, Postcards from the Zoo. Partnering with Euro VoD platforms in France, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Peccadillo Pictures in U.K. and Eye Film Institute in the Netherlands, The Match Factory will coordinate marketing activities. This exploration of new marketing and distribution avenues for international arthouse features has the support of the EU’s Media Mundus.
BackUp, the Paris based financier is launching a new rights management software Movie Chainer on April 30, two weeks ahead of the Cannes Film Festival. This cloud based app enables Av rights holders to track contracts, generate exploitation and availability reports and calculate revenue splits and repayment schedules in a clear and visual style. The Cannes March’s database and networking platform Cinando will host and support the launch. The first live version of Movie Chainer will be available free to all industry professionals for a maximum of three projects and a demo version and presentation of the software is available here.
Former Arte Cinema chief Michel Reilhac has reactivated his production company Melange with a $6.7 million multi-platform project exploring the world of high endurance sport ultra-trailing. The work will revolve around six blocks or storylines, unfolding on several platforms – the web, the real world, tv. over six months in the second half of 2014.
New international sales agent out of Poland, New Europe, which picked up two Us in Progress films, Now Forager and I Used to be Darker, has also picked up Papusza, the story of the first published Romany Gypsy woman poet, whose work enraged her patriarchal community. Poland is also coming out with films by up and coming female directors two of which are in the official selection: 39 year old Malgorzata Szumowska has In the Name Of about homosexuality within the Polish Catholic Church (picked up for U.S by Film Movement) in the Main Competition, and Baby Blues, a story about teenage parents by Katarzyna Roslaniec in Generation. Izabela Kiszka, head of international relations at the Polish Film Institute, the country’s major public film funder, says both films are “daring, important, modern and up-to-date Eruopean cinema”. Both films are produced by Agnieszka Kurzydlo of Mental Disorder 4 and Szumowska is co-producer of both. Zentropa Poland is also a co-producer.
International sales agent We Pictures of China is producing a $9 million film called American Dreams in China, to be directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan and photographed by Christopher Doyle. One of the protagonists teaches English in a Kentucky Fried Chicken store in China and invites his two other friends to partake in his “New Vision” where thousands of students wanting to go to the U.S. to follow their “American Dream” flock to the class.
David Castellanos formerly of Latido, has found success in his own international sales company, Cinema Republic. Their film The Clown was the Brazilian entry for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and has wracked up 1.5 million admissions in Brazil. At Efm he is premiering Camina o Revienta which features first time director Paco Leon and stars a top Spanish TV actor and his real-life mother. It was the first day & date release in Spain and worked quite well. The Dumbass (Muro Mula) is also by a first time director and was filmed on a low $30K budget. It comes from Guaemala and features great music and is an example of the new wave of Latin American comedy. 18 Meals is the actor Luis Tozar’s first production and is directed by first timer Jorge Coira. It sold to Argentina and Japan, won for Best Director in Taorima Iff, the Audience Award and Jury Special Mention at Ourense Iff, and won Best Film and Audience Award at La Laguna Gastronomic Iff. Yummy: six seemingly unconnected stories in which food is the common demominator make up a romantic comedy set in Santiago de Compostela. It is available for viewing at Cinando as is The Clown and Carmina or Blow Up.
The Berlinale is an A-festival, founded in 1951 at the height of the Cold War. It accredits about 20,000 industry visitors and about 4,000 journalists each year with a total of 130 countries. It is one of the largest public festivals, selling about 300,000 tickets. The actual figure is 303,077 up 1.2% from last year’s 299,362). Aside from the Competition, it has 10 other sections and series, from children’s films to retrospectives. This year The Weimar Touch and also an homage to Claude Lanzmann were especially appealing to me. See more on the Efm website.
The Berlinale, which ran Feb. 7 to 17 includes the Festival, the European Film Market, the second largest market after Cannes, Talent Campus, Meet the Docs, The Co-Production Market and possibly other sections I am missing here. Efm registered a greater number of exhibitors than last year and they saw brisk sales for competition films including Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, Chilean Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria (which won a Silver Bear for actress Paulina Garcia), as well as films from other sections and from the market itself. I am offering a report called Winter Rights Roundup which lists all the buying activity, not only for the Berlinale but also for Sundance. It includes links to the companies.
While around 400 films screened in thefestival (out of about 7,000 applications), 890 films screened in the market (600 were market premieres) to more than 8,000 participants from 95 countries. 1,690 of those were distributors in Berlin to buy rights from 172 international sales agents.
The Efm offered a new introduction to the market, “Shortcuts for First-Timers” on the first day of the Market, It was held in the Mirror Restaurant and 300 or 400 people attended. Thursday February 7 from 3.00 - 4.30 pm. I attended since I participate in the Cannes First-Timers event. The panelists were quite clear but I wished their names were in front of them. And I wondered who was in the audience. There is also possibly a replay of the panel but I don’t know where to find it for reference. There was a back screen which might have been used by showing a map of the market, or the names of those speaking or other graphics to help illustrate their points. They pointed out that red lights served to point out all the paths and venues used by the festival and market. That was very clever and once I knew to look for them, they helped me find new places.
They announced a new Berlinale Residency Program for writers/ directors who will have a four month stay in Berlin to work on their fiction, doc or cross-media project with the help of script consultants and industry experts from September to December. In February the residents return to present their projects at the Berlinale Co-Production Market to find further co-producers and financiers. This year 6 filmmakers were invited.
They didn’t mention the free WiFi for every registrant and the password written on the badges themselves.
I myself gave tours around the Martin Gropius Bau where most of the market takes place to participants at the Talent Campus and Deutsche Welle Akademie where I also taught about the international film business to Asian, African, Latin American and Caribbean film festival organizers. The tours are a great way to understand how the market works, who the people are, what company cultures are and how to understand them in order to operate optimally. I do the same thing for first timers in Cannes.
My partner Peter and I also had two clients there; one had his film in the market already and the other was following up with meetings with interested international sales agents. As it was their first time in Berlin, we were very pleased to see them take to it so easily.
It was only in the last two days I could actually see movies. But I caught up on lots of gossip along the way. For instance, I had not realized that Turner Broadcasting had bought a Norwegian sales agent and distributor for Scandinavia until Michael Werner who headed sales for NonStop told me that two years after their buyout they were now letting go of 400 people and Michael Werner and the international sales division were included.
I also heard about a new educational program called Making Waves. Five film schools including including the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman brought students to Berlin and the students were making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves is a new week long distribution and marketing workshop devised by the London Film School in partnership with La fémis, the dffb, l'escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University and New York's Columbia University of the Arts Film Department. Held in parallel to the Berlinale, 30 participants from the 6 film training institutions are immersed in all areas of the Berlinale: the European Film Market, the Festival and the Talent Campus where they work collaboratively in teams to develop creative campaigns, edit trailers, design posters and plan roll-out packages for actual independent films in the European Film Market. They are joined by experienced industry professionals working in the independent distribution sector who offer in-depth case studies. This hands-on workshop is for graduating students to gain understanding in emerging strategies in independent film distribution.
Venice seems to be working on student initiatives as well with a call for entries to the Biennale College. Unlike festivals that call for finished films, the Biennale College asked for up-and-comers to submit their ideas. The best proposals get 150,000 euros in seed money and the filmmakers are matched with some of the industry's finest practitioners who would help turn their treatments into reality, with a guaranteed screening at Venice in the summer. After narrowing it down to 15 semifinalists out of hundreds of submissions from around the globe, organizers this month announced three winners, each from a different continent. From the United States, director Tim Sutton and producer John Baker have won a spot with their yet-to-be-made film called Memphis, which follows the transformation of Ezra Jack, 'from beloved soul singer to ecstatic contemplator,' said judges in their review. From Thailand, director Nawapol Thanrongratanarit and producer Aditya Assarat won with their submission The Year of June, which follows a year in the life of an anonymous female student in Bangkok through her Twitter status. And from Italy, director Alessio Fava and producer Max Chicco won the last spot with Yuri Esposito, about a documentary film crew who follows a man who lives in a state of perennial sluggishness, whose wife all of a sudden gets pregnant. Buzz around the competition, which has the potential to launch unknowns into stardom, has been mounting for months. “To me the promise of a Venice debut is even a bigger deal than the money, because it's one thing to make a movie and quite another to have a chance for the entire international press to see it,” said San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick Lasalle. “In fact, it's quite a big deal to make a movie, as an unknown, knowing that international exposure is guaranteed. The whole question mark - even if this turns out great, will anybody ever see it? - is eliminated”. Ensuring a fresh batch of talent, competition rules stipulated that the submission must be the applicant's first or second film endeavor. Earlier this month, semifinalists took part in a 10-day workshop with veteran filmmakers and cinema experts in Venice. “The key is that masters in cinema were present here during the workshop to help participants along,” says Paolo Baratta, president of the Biennale, the festival body that oversees the annual film fest. Organizers then narrowed it down to the three winners, who will receive funding thanks in part to Italian luxury fashion designer Gucci. In just 15 days the filmmakers will get a jumpstart on making micro-budget feature films before screening them at Venice August 28 through September 7. The winners will also get online distribution, adding to their much-needed visibility at the dawn of their careers. Organizers of the Venice Film Festival, the oldest in the world, say mixing veteran mentors with young blood is key to sustaining cinema as an art as well as keeping the festival relevant. “It is an initiative whose constant development will be continued for years to come,” Baratta says. See Variety Feb 11 – 17, 2013. You know this is in response and attests to the success of the the Berlinale Talent Campus which just completed its 11th year.
And in France, Cinefondation has brought U.S. director Barney Elliott to its six month residence program in Paris where he wrote the first draft of Oliver's Deal and later developed it at Amsterdam’s Binger Filmlab. It is now set to star Edward Burns and Spain’s Alberto Ammann. Marina Fuentes of Dreamcatches will bring the film to the market. Christine Vachon is exec producing. It will start shooting in May in New York and will travel to Lima, Peru and Huarez in the Anders.
Other notes gathered during this intense 10 day experience were Russian filmmaker Andrey Khvostov made a summer love story called Saint Petersburg which is being sold by Aktis Film International. Of course I want to see this especially because Rosskino hosted a trip last year to St. Petersburg for distributors after holding screenings of current films on offer. St. Peterburg of one of the most beautiful cities in the world; and the film has an original score by Sergei Yetushenko (The Last Station, Russian Ark).
Also Alberto Antonio Dandolo whom I met in Havana, was in his new home town Berlin continuing to sell The Cuban Wives about the wives of the Cuban 5 who are imprisoned in the United States.
Other news of interest includes The Match Factory’s Distribution 2.0 VOD initiative which will release its first film, Postcards from the Zoo. Partnering with Euro VoD platforms in France, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Peccadillo Pictures in U.K. and Eye Film Institute in the Netherlands, The Match Factory will coordinate marketing activities. This exploration of new marketing and distribution avenues for international arthouse features has the support of the EU’s Media Mundus.
BackUp, the Paris based financier is launching a new rights management software Movie Chainer on April 30, two weeks ahead of the Cannes Film Festival. This cloud based app enables Av rights holders to track contracts, generate exploitation and availability reports and calculate revenue splits and repayment schedules in a clear and visual style. The Cannes March’s database and networking platform Cinando will host and support the launch. The first live version of Movie Chainer will be available free to all industry professionals for a maximum of three projects and a demo version and presentation of the software is available here.
Former Arte Cinema chief Michel Reilhac has reactivated his production company Melange with a $6.7 million multi-platform project exploring the world of high endurance sport ultra-trailing. The work will revolve around six blocks or storylines, unfolding on several platforms – the web, the real world, tv. over six months in the second half of 2014.
New international sales agent out of Poland, New Europe, which picked up two Us in Progress films, Now Forager and I Used to be Darker, has also picked up Papusza, the story of the first published Romany Gypsy woman poet, whose work enraged her patriarchal community. Poland is also coming out with films by up and coming female directors two of which are in the official selection: 39 year old Malgorzata Szumowska has In the Name Of about homosexuality within the Polish Catholic Church (picked up for U.S by Film Movement) in the Main Competition, and Baby Blues, a story about teenage parents by Katarzyna Roslaniec in Generation. Izabela Kiszka, head of international relations at the Polish Film Institute, the country’s major public film funder, says both films are “daring, important, modern and up-to-date Eruopean cinema”. Both films are produced by Agnieszka Kurzydlo of Mental Disorder 4 and Szumowska is co-producer of both. Zentropa Poland is also a co-producer.
International sales agent We Pictures of China is producing a $9 million film called American Dreams in China, to be directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan and photographed by Christopher Doyle. One of the protagonists teaches English in a Kentucky Fried Chicken store in China and invites his two other friends to partake in his “New Vision” where thousands of students wanting to go to the U.S. to follow their “American Dream” flock to the class.
David Castellanos formerly of Latido, has found success in his own international sales company, Cinema Republic. Their film The Clown was the Brazilian entry for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and has wracked up 1.5 million admissions in Brazil. At Efm he is premiering Camina o Revienta which features first time director Paco Leon and stars a top Spanish TV actor and his real-life mother. It was the first day & date release in Spain and worked quite well. The Dumbass (Muro Mula) is also by a first time director and was filmed on a low $30K budget. It comes from Guaemala and features great music and is an example of the new wave of Latin American comedy. 18 Meals is the actor Luis Tozar’s first production and is directed by first timer Jorge Coira. It sold to Argentina and Japan, won for Best Director in Taorima Iff, the Audience Award and Jury Special Mention at Ourense Iff, and won Best Film and Audience Award at La Laguna Gastronomic Iff. Yummy: six seemingly unconnected stories in which food is the common demominator make up a romantic comedy set in Santiago de Compostela. It is available for viewing at Cinando as is The Clown and Carmina or Blow Up.
- 3/4/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
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