Six film projects currently at development stage have been selected to take part in a workshop session as part of mylab+@Jogja next month. The six share a common characteristic of Indonesian co-production and a recurring theme of luminescence.
“This theme underscores the importance of having the distinctive light of Asian cinema arise from its own characteristics. The participants reflect the new hope of Asian cinema with a fresh and authentic perspective. With this kind of program I really hope Asian films continue to shine by their own characters and beauty throughout the world,” said Ifa Isfansyah, producer, director and festival director of the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival.
Selected from over 60 applications, the six include a mix of youth on the directing side and experience on the producing side
They include: “A Ballad of Long Hair” with director-scriptwriter Giovanni Rustanto, producer Annisa Adjam and co-producer Fran Borgia; “Carpet” (aka “Karpet”) (Malaysia) with director Mien.
“This theme underscores the importance of having the distinctive light of Asian cinema arise from its own characteristics. The participants reflect the new hope of Asian cinema with a fresh and authentic perspective. With this kind of program I really hope Asian films continue to shine by their own characters and beauty throughout the world,” said Ifa Isfansyah, producer, director and festival director of the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival.
Selected from over 60 applications, the six include a mix of youth on the directing side and experience on the producing side
They include: “A Ballad of Long Hair” with director-scriptwriter Giovanni Rustanto, producer Annisa Adjam and co-producer Fran Borgia; “Carpet” (aka “Karpet”) (Malaysia) with director Mien.
- 10/26/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Some twenty aspiring film projects have been selected to participate in the inaugural edition of the Qcinema Project Market (Nov. 18-19) that this year represents and expansion of the QCinema Film Festival in The Philippines’ Quezon City.
The selected titles include development projects by several of East Asia’s better known independent and art-house directors and projects. Among them is “Filipinana,” which on Tuesday collected three prizes at Busan’s Asian Project Market. Another is “Fox King,” by well-established Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jing, which will also travel to the Tokyo Gap Financing Market. Also lining up is established Singapore filmmaker Boo Junfeng and producer partner Raymond Phathanavirangoon with “Medium.”
The 20 selected projects are vying for over $400,000 in grants and prizes, including a $35,000 co-production grants for Southeast Asian projects and $50,000 for Filipino projects.
“From an impressive submission of sixty five projects from all over the region, these selected projects really...
The selected titles include development projects by several of East Asia’s better known independent and art-house directors and projects. Among them is “Filipinana,” which on Tuesday collected three prizes at Busan’s Asian Project Market. Another is “Fox King,” by well-established Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jing, which will also travel to the Tokyo Gap Financing Market. Also lining up is established Singapore filmmaker Boo Junfeng and producer partner Raymond Phathanavirangoon with “Medium.”
The 20 selected projects are vying for over $400,000 in grants and prizes, including a $35,000 co-production grants for Southeast Asian projects and $50,000 for Filipino projects.
“From an impressive submission of sixty five projects from all over the region, these selected projects really...
- 10/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Though his movies have made billions at the box office and he’s been awarded pretty much every major accolade, from the Oscars to the Emmys to a Grammy, Ron Howard has achieved an honor even more rare: He’s maintained his reputation as one of the nicest guys in the business. It’s why the team behind Fox’s animated hit “The Simpsons” got such a kick out of portraying Howard as the ultimate Hollywood stereotype in his several appearances on the show. Howard would show up, often clad in a baseball cap and bathrobe while sipping a martini — even at a movie premiere or going to a special zoo for famous people.
His composure and creative output are even more impressive considering that Howard has literally grown up in the spotlight. By age five he was cast in “The Andy Griffith Show” and he spent his 20’s on...
His composure and creative output are even more impressive considering that Howard has literally grown up in the spotlight. By age five he was cast in “The Andy Griffith Show” and he spent his 20’s on...
- 10/16/2022
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will be serving as directing mentor along with fellow filmmakers Anthony Chen, Ifa Isfansyah, Joko Anwar and Ho Yuhang, for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival.
The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking, reports Variety.
An incubator programme for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.
According to Variety, the programme is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas). Other partners include Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines (Fdcp...
The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking, reports Variety.
An incubator programme for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.
According to Variety, the programme is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas). Other partners include Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines (Fdcp...
- 10/6/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Celebrated filmmakers Anthony Chen (“Wet Season”), Anurag Kashyap (“Dobaaraa”), Ifa Isfansyah (“Losmen Bu Broto”), Joko Anwar (“Impetigore”) and Ho Yuhang (“The Ghost Bride”) are serving as directing mentors for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival.
The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in depth conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking.
An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.
The program is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas). Other partners include Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines...
The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in depth conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking.
An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.
The program is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas). Other partners include Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines...
- 10/6/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sansón and Me Photo: Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival Sheffield DocFest has announced the winners of its 2022 edition as the festival drew to a close.
The Best Film in International Competition was awarded to Sansón And Me, directed by Rodrigo Reyes, which sees the director enter into correspondence with a Mexican emigre to the US who has been sentenced to a full life term in jail.
The jury of Emma Davie, Ike Nnaebue, and Raymond Phathanavirangoon said: “The filmmaker chooses to explore a subject matter which is all too often invisible and neglected: the incarceration of immigrants in the US. By collaborating with the young protagonist to find an innovative filmic language to evolve the socio-economic circumstances behind his desperation, the filmmaker allows us to empathise with a personal narrative beyond the law.”
Special mentions were given to One Day in Ukraine, Volodymyr Tykhyy and After the End of the World,...
The Best Film in International Competition was awarded to Sansón And Me, directed by Rodrigo Reyes, which sees the director enter into correspondence with a Mexican emigre to the US who has been sentenced to a full life term in jail.
The jury of Emma Davie, Ike Nnaebue, and Raymond Phathanavirangoon said: “The filmmaker chooses to explore a subject matter which is all too often invisible and neglected: the incarceration of immigrants in the US. By collaborating with the young protagonist to find an innovative filmic language to evolve the socio-economic circumstances behind his desperation, the filmmaker allows us to empathise with a personal narrative beyond the law.”
Special mentions were given to One Day in Ukraine, Volodymyr Tykhyy and After the End of the World,...
- 6/29/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Matt Dillon To Receive Locarno Award
Matt Dillon is to receive the Locarno Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award ceremony on Thursday, August 4 in Piazza Grande will be accompanied by screenings of Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant, 1989) and City of Ghosts (Matt Dillon, 2002), and a Q&a with the actor on Friday, August 5 at the Forum @Spazio Cinema. Dillon is best known for movies including The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), Wild Things (John McNaughton, 1998), There’s Something About Mary (Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, 1998) and Lars von Trier’s The House That Jack Built (2018). Previous recipients of Locarno’s Lifetime Achievement Award have included Harrison Ford (2011), Alain Delon (2012), Jacqueline Bisset (2013), Harvey Keitel (2016) and, in 2021, Dario Argento.
Channel 4 Orders Facial Differences Format ‘Love My Face’
British broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned Glasgow’s Flabbergast TV to make life-affirming series Love My Face (working title). Each episode will see three people with visible facial differences —whether congenital,...
Matt Dillon is to receive the Locarno Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award ceremony on Thursday, August 4 in Piazza Grande will be accompanied by screenings of Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant, 1989) and City of Ghosts (Matt Dillon, 2002), and a Q&a with the actor on Friday, August 5 at the Forum @Spazio Cinema. Dillon is best known for movies including The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), Wild Things (John McNaughton, 1998), There’s Something About Mary (Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, 1998) and Lars von Trier’s The House That Jack Built (2018). Previous recipients of Locarno’s Lifetime Achievement Award have included Harrison Ford (2011), Alain Delon (2012), Jacqueline Bisset (2013), Harvey Keitel (2016) and, in 2021, Dario Argento.
Channel 4 Orders Facial Differences Format ‘Love My Face’
British broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned Glasgow’s Flabbergast TV to make life-affirming series Love My Face (working title). Each episode will see three people with visible facial differences —whether congenital,...
- 6/21/2022
- by Jesse Whittock, Andreas Wiseman and Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes Film Festival says it is anticipating in-person industry attendance at its 2022 edition to be “much higher than last year”, with the vast majority of delegates set to make the trip.
Last year, the French fest reported 10,000 total registrations for its market, split roughly evenly between on-site and online attendance. That total was in line with 2020, when the event was entirely digital due to lockdowns, with 10,000 professionals registering for the virtual market.
In 2019, pre-Covid, Cannes saw more than 12,500 industry delegates jet to the Riviera. Currently, registration numbers are tracking below 2019, but the fest is expecting many to make last-minute decisions amid degrees of ongoing uncertainty.
Jerome Paillard, who is set to oversee his final Marche du Film before handing over the keys to Guillaume Esmiol, told Deadline that this year the event was forecasting only 10 of delegates to be virtual attendees, with the remainder traveling to France.
Paillard added that the U.
Last year, the French fest reported 10,000 total registrations for its market, split roughly evenly between on-site and online attendance. That total was in line with 2020, when the event was entirely digital due to lockdowns, with 10,000 professionals registering for the virtual market.
In 2019, pre-Covid, Cannes saw more than 12,500 industry delegates jet to the Riviera. Currently, registration numbers are tracking below 2019, but the fest is expecting many to make last-minute decisions amid degrees of ongoing uncertainty.
Jerome Paillard, who is set to oversee his final Marche du Film before handing over the keys to Guillaume Esmiol, told Deadline that this year the event was forecasting only 10 of delegates to be virtual attendees, with the remainder traveling to France.
Paillard added that the U.
- 4/6/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
A loss of funding compounded by the pandemic has contributed to the closure.
The Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (Seafic) is set to close operations, six years after becoming the first ever script lab in the region.
The non-profit foundation, which helped Southeast Asian filmmakers working on their first, second or third feature-length scripts, cited a lack of funding as well as the ongoing pandemic as reasons for having to shutter the organisation.
“The loss of funders, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic which has made finding new support much more difficult, are the main deciding factors for this,” said Seafic in a statement released today.
The Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (Seafic) is set to close operations, six years after becoming the first ever script lab in the region.
The non-profit foundation, which helped Southeast Asian filmmakers working on their first, second or third feature-length scripts, cited a lack of funding as well as the ongoing pandemic as reasons for having to shutter the organisation.
“The loss of funders, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic which has made finding new support much more difficult, are the main deciding factors for this,” said Seafic in a statement released today.
- 3/31/2022
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Five filmmakers from Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have been selected to participate in the inaugural Seed Lab, operated by the non-profit Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab.
The new program helps promising shorts filmmakers explore their directorial voices prior to the development of their first features. It is being operated in partnership with the Festival des 3 Continents’ Produire au Sud program.
The first session of Seed Lab will run online December 4-10, 2021, with a second in-person session in Phuket, Thailand, in early April 2022.
San Danech from Cambodia had previous shorts that won prizes at the Singapore Film Festival and was selected in Busan’s Wide Angle competition. The Philippines’ Sam Manacsa is an Asian Film Academy alumnus whose most recent short was in competition in Clermont-Ferrand. Singapore’s Shoki Lin, was in Cannes’ Cinefondation and won awards at festivals worldwide with “Adam.” CalArts graduate Tulapop Saenjaroen from...
The new program helps promising shorts filmmakers explore their directorial voices prior to the development of their first features. It is being operated in partnership with the Festival des 3 Continents’ Produire au Sud program.
The first session of Seed Lab will run online December 4-10, 2021, with a second in-person session in Phuket, Thailand, in early April 2022.
San Danech from Cambodia had previous shorts that won prizes at the Singapore Film Festival and was selected in Busan’s Wide Angle competition. The Philippines’ Sam Manacsa is an Asian Film Academy alumnus whose most recent short was in competition in Clermont-Ferrand. Singapore’s Shoki Lin, was in Cannes’ Cinefondation and won awards at festivals worldwide with “Adam.” CalArts graduate Tulapop Saenjaroen from...
- 11/10/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Five filmmakers have been selected for the inaugural lab from Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Seafic (Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab) has launched a new script and development lab, Seed Lab, which aims to help promising short filmmakers from Southeast Asia prior to the development of their first features.
The first edition will be held in two sessions – the first taking pace online December 4-10 and the second in person in Phuket, Thailand, in early April 2022.
Five filmmakers have been selected for the inaugural lab from Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. All five have had short...
Seafic (Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab) has launched a new script and development lab, Seed Lab, which aims to help promising short filmmakers from Southeast Asia prior to the development of their first features.
The first edition will be held in two sessions – the first taking pace online December 4-10 and the second in person in Phuket, Thailand, in early April 2022.
Five filmmakers have been selected for the inaugural lab from Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. All five have had short...
- 11/10/2021
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Bringing Southeast Asian cinema to the fore, the annual Seashorts Film Festival is returning online this August 25 to September 2 with cinematic and cultural programs, exclusively on seashorts.org.
Seashorts aims to showcase Southeast Asia’s stories and culture through the lens of emerging filmmaking talents and cinema from the region. This year’s festival goers can look forward to a wide range of curated programmes including forums, workshops, and masterclasses. These programmes will be taught and facilitated by esteemed filmmakers from all over Southeast Asia, and in partnership with Golden Harvest Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and Image Forum.
Apart from the programmes to look forward to, 20 shortlisted films out of 438 submissions from 8 countries will be chosen as contenders for the SeaShorts Award. Lending their prowess, the 2021 jury who will be choosing the winning film includes producer and film festival programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon (Thailand), producer Meiske Taurisia (Indonesia...
Seashorts aims to showcase Southeast Asia’s stories and culture through the lens of emerging filmmaking talents and cinema from the region. This year’s festival goers can look forward to a wide range of curated programmes including forums, workshops, and masterclasses. These programmes will be taught and facilitated by esteemed filmmakers from all over Southeast Asia, and in partnership with Golden Harvest Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and Image Forum.
Apart from the programmes to look forward to, 20 shortlisted films out of 438 submissions from 8 countries will be chosen as contenders for the SeaShorts Award. Lending their prowess, the 2021 jury who will be choosing the winning film includes producer and film festival programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon (Thailand), producer Meiske Taurisia (Indonesia...
- 8/25/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: It took a village to rescue those 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded Thailand cave in 2018. MGM and Thirteen Lives director Ron Howard have firmed a big international cast to play the heroic rescuers who took part in a dangerous operation that cost one rescue diver — Thai Navy Seal Saman Gunan — his life. All of the boys, and the coach, were saved before floodwaters completely filled the caves.
Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton will star with Weir Sukollawat (Malila), Thiraphat Sajakul (The Serpent), Sahajak Boonthanakit (The Serpent), Vithaya Pansringarm (The Prey), Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo (Bad Genius), Nophand Boonyai (Only God Forgives), Tom Bateman (Death on the Nile), Paul Gleeson (The Thin Red Line), and Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Pitch Black).
The film will shoot in Australia — with the support of the Australian and Queensland Governments — and also Thailand. Production begins this month. Thirteen Lives will be released theatrically in the U.
Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton will star with Weir Sukollawat (Malila), Thiraphat Sajakul (The Serpent), Sahajak Boonthanakit (The Serpent), Vithaya Pansringarm (The Prey), Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo (Bad Genius), Nophand Boonyai (Only God Forgives), Tom Bateman (Death on the Nile), Paul Gleeson (The Thin Red Line), and Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Pitch Black).
The film will shoot in Australia — with the support of the Australian and Queensland Governments — and also Thailand. Production begins this month. Thirteen Lives will be released theatrically in the U.
- 3/11/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Thai film maker Thanakorn Pongsuwan, best known for 2009 film “Fireball,” died on Friday. He was 46.
His death was not caused by the coronavirus outbreak, though his last rites will be affected. Rather he died following an unsuccessful battle with cancer of the blood (lymphoma.) The news was announced by his sister Manussanun Pongsuwan, who is also his producer.
Also known as “Un,” Pongsuwan was responsible for writing and directing five completed and released feature films. His “Fake” appeared at the 2003 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Martial arts film “Fireball,” later released by Lionsgate in certain territories, played at the Far East Film Festival in Udine.
At the time of his death, he was close to completing “Suppose,” which was billed as “an ordinary love story” and stars Ananda Everingham and Chayanit Chansangavej (“The Iron Mask”).
In a posting on Facebook, Pongsuwan’s sister said that the current public...
His death was not caused by the coronavirus outbreak, though his last rites will be affected. Rather he died following an unsuccessful battle with cancer of the blood (lymphoma.) The news was announced by his sister Manussanun Pongsuwan, who is also his producer.
Also known as “Un,” Pongsuwan was responsible for writing and directing five completed and released feature films. His “Fake” appeared at the 2003 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Martial arts film “Fireball,” later released by Lionsgate in certain territories, played at the Far East Film Festival in Udine.
At the time of his death, he was close to completing “Suppose,” which was billed as “an ordinary love story” and stars Ananda Everingham and Chayanit Chansangavej (“The Iron Mask”).
In a posting on Facebook, Pongsuwan’s sister said that the current public...
- 4/6/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Leading independent producers from Asia and Europe showed the complicated routes taken in making indie films that are co-produced between the two regions.
They were gathered on Monday at Platform Busan, the Busan International Film Festival’s venue for sharing experiences.
Raymond Phathanavirangoon, a Bangkok-based producer and co-founder of the Seafic script lab, took the audience on the myriad paths taken by 2016 multi-country co-production “Apprentice,” by Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, that he co-wrote and co-produced.
The project was introduced in 2012 at the Rotterdam CineMart, then benefited from the Busan Asian Cinema Script Development Fund and Singapore’s Media Development Authority Development Fund before going to the Jerusalem Script Lab the same year. In 2013, the project received funding from Germany’s Film – und Medienstiftung Nrw and France’s Aide aux Cinemas du Monde.
In 2014, Germany’s Zdf Das Kleine Fernsehspiel did a pre-buy. The same year “Apprentice” received a Singapore Media Development Authority Production Grant.
They were gathered on Monday at Platform Busan, the Busan International Film Festival’s venue for sharing experiences.
Raymond Phathanavirangoon, a Bangkok-based producer and co-founder of the Seafic script lab, took the audience on the myriad paths taken by 2016 multi-country co-production “Apprentice,” by Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, that he co-wrote and co-produced.
The project was introduced in 2012 at the Rotterdam CineMart, then benefited from the Busan Asian Cinema Script Development Fund and Singapore’s Media Development Authority Development Fund before going to the Jerusalem Script Lab the same year. In 2013, the project received funding from Germany’s Film – und Medienstiftung Nrw and France’s Aide aux Cinemas du Monde.
In 2014, Germany’s Zdf Das Kleine Fernsehspiel did a pre-buy. The same year “Apprentice” received a Singapore Media Development Authority Production Grant.
- 10/7/2019
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
In order to increase the impact of its industry support efforts Locarno Film Festival is doubling down on – and in fact trebling the duration of – its Open Doors activities. Instead of an annually revolving country focus, starting this year the section will pick projects, producers and film-makers from one region for three consecutive years, before moving on.
South-East Asia, plus Mongolia, is the first region to benefit from the extended spotlight. The region is diverse and there is much ground to cover, especially as several South-East Asian countries are now reaching a level of economic and technological development that is allowing the film and TV industries to accelerate.
“South-East Asia has produced some of the greatest directors of our time, and now a new wave of talent, of young people with astonishing creative energy, is emerging today despite all the obstacles,” says Lili Hinstin, Locarno’s artistic director.
A total...
South-East Asia, plus Mongolia, is the first region to benefit from the extended spotlight. The region is diverse and there is much ground to cover, especially as several South-East Asian countries are now reaching a level of economic and technological development that is allowing the film and TV industries to accelerate.
“South-East Asia has produced some of the greatest directors of our time, and now a new wave of talent, of young people with astonishing creative energy, is emerging today despite all the obstacles,” says Lili Hinstin, Locarno’s artistic director.
A total...
- 8/6/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Execs from Neon, Fox Searchlight, Haut et Court and Film4 set to attend Warsaw initiative.
Top executives from Neon, Fox Searchlight, Haut et Court and Film4 are among the professionals confirmed to mentor six emerging international filmmakers at the second annual New Europe Warsaw Sessions, taking place in the Polish capital from June 23-27.
Ayo Kepher-Maat, director of acquisitions at Us distributor Neon; Peter Spencer, creative executive at Fox Searchlight; Carole Scotta, founder of French producer and distributor Haut et Court; and Julia Oh, commissioning executive at the UK’s Film4, will particpate in masterclasses, networking and creative exchange with the new talents.
Top executives from Neon, Fox Searchlight, Haut et Court and Film4 are among the professionals confirmed to mentor six emerging international filmmakers at the second annual New Europe Warsaw Sessions, taking place in the Polish capital from June 23-27.
Ayo Kepher-Maat, director of acquisitions at Us distributor Neon; Peter Spencer, creative executive at Fox Searchlight; Carole Scotta, founder of French producer and distributor Haut et Court; and Julia Oh, commissioning executive at the UK’s Film4, will particpate in masterclasses, networking and creative exchange with the new talents.
- 6/18/2019
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
Increasingly, they are winning prizes at international festivals. “A Land Imagined” won the Golden Leopard in Locarno last year, while 18 months earlier “Pop Aye” and its helmer/screenwriter Kirsten Tan won the screenwriting prize in the world cinema section at Sundance. In 2013, Anthony Chen won the Camera d’Or for best first feature at Cannes with bittersweet drama “Ilo Ilo.”
These and a swelling number of Singaporean productions reflect several years of government attempts to support the film industry. Emphasis has variously been put on Singapore as an Asian funding hub, a co-productions nexus and as a shooting location.
Film funds were set up that ended up in tears and loss — and jail time for one former partner. Since then grants have replaced co-investment. And dubious outreach to China — which shares some linguistic overlap, but is a vastly different market — has been quietly sidelined.
What has paid off, however, is persistence.
These and a swelling number of Singaporean productions reflect several years of government attempts to support the film industry. Emphasis has variously been put on Singapore as an Asian funding hub, a co-productions nexus and as a shooting location.
Film funds were set up that ended up in tears and loss — and jail time for one former partner. Since then grants have replaced co-investment. And dubious outreach to China — which shares some linguistic overlap, but is a vastly different market — has been quietly sidelined.
What has paid off, however, is persistence.
- 5/16/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Project pitching event, Thai Pitch will return to Cannes for the eighth time next month. It will launch three film projects from Thailand seeking international finance, co-production and sales partners.
Director, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (“P-047”) and producer Soros Sukhum (“Wonderful Town”) will pitch “51 Faces of Anne,” about a woman with memory loss faced with the challenge of survival on a mysterious island. The radical concept film is expected to involve all 51 members of the pop idol sensation BNK48.
Nontawat Numbenchapol (“Boundary”) as director and producers Steve Chen (“Diamond Island”) and Supatcha Thipsena, will present “Doi Boy,” about an undocumented heterosexual refugee, working as a gay masseuse and prostitute in Chiang Mai. “Doi Boi” was previously crafted at the Cannes Atelier and the Seafic lab, where it won the Seafic Award.
Director Sorayos Prapapan (“Death of the Sound Man”) and producer Donsaron Kovitvanitcha will unwrap “Arnold is a Model Student” about the...
Director, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (“P-047”) and producer Soros Sukhum (“Wonderful Town”) will pitch “51 Faces of Anne,” about a woman with memory loss faced with the challenge of survival on a mysterious island. The radical concept film is expected to involve all 51 members of the pop idol sensation BNK48.
Nontawat Numbenchapol (“Boundary”) as director and producers Steve Chen (“Diamond Island”) and Supatcha Thipsena, will present “Doi Boy,” about an undocumented heterosexual refugee, working as a gay masseuse and prostitute in Chiang Mai. “Doi Boi” was previously crafted at the Cannes Atelier and the Seafic lab, where it won the Seafic Award.
Director Sorayos Prapapan (“Death of the Sound Man”) and producer Donsaron Kovitvanitcha will unwrap “Arnold is a Model Student” about the...
- 4/17/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Nontawat Numbenchapol and Sorayos Prapapan will bring projects to this year’s edition of Thai Pitch at Cannes.
Three internationally acclaimed Thai directors – Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Nontawat Numbenchapol and Sorayos Prapapan – have been selectd to bring projects to this year’s edition of Thai Pitch at Cannes.
Organised by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, the event aims to match the three filmmakers and their producers with prospective sales agents, distributors, funders and co-producers. The three projects are:
51 Faces Of Anne
Director: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Producer: Soros Sukhum (Mundane History)
Synopsis: Anne is an ordinary girl who wakes up alone on a mysterious island.
Three internationally acclaimed Thai directors – Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Nontawat Numbenchapol and Sorayos Prapapan – have been selectd to bring projects to this year’s edition of Thai Pitch at Cannes.
Organised by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, the event aims to match the three filmmakers and their producers with prospective sales agents, distributors, funders and co-producers. The three projects are:
51 Faces Of Anne
Director: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Producer: Soros Sukhum (Mundane History)
Synopsis: Anne is an ordinary girl who wakes up alone on a mysterious island.
- 4/17/2019
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
The James Cameron-produced “Terminator” reboot, Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener “Everybody Knows” and Netflix phenomenon “La Casa de Papel” share a common shoot locale: Madrid.
Spain’s main film and TV hub, Madrid is rolling off two key drivers of the country’s content economy: a rising number of big U.S. shoots that take advantage of locations, talent and rebates in the area, and Spain’s booming drama series scene.
With a long litany of international shoots through the decades, both Madrid’s city and region boast an ultra-modern communications infrastructure and usually stable weather.
The launch three years ago of Spanish tax rebates for film and TV projects — tabbed at 20% of spend in Spain’s mainland — is boosting Madrid, as with Spain at large, as an increasingly attractive destiny for foreign shoots.
The Tim Miller-directed “Terminator” reboot — yet to be titled — will partly film for two...
Spain’s main film and TV hub, Madrid is rolling off two key drivers of the country’s content economy: a rising number of big U.S. shoots that take advantage of locations, talent and rebates in the area, and Spain’s booming drama series scene.
With a long litany of international shoots through the decades, both Madrid’s city and region boast an ultra-modern communications infrastructure and usually stable weather.
The launch three years ago of Spanish tax rebates for film and TV projects — tabbed at 20% of spend in Spain’s mainland — is boosting Madrid, as with Spain at large, as an increasingly attractive destiny for foreign shoots.
The Tim Miller-directed “Terminator” reboot — yet to be titled — will partly film for two...
- 5/12/2018
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Two of the projects are Lgbt-themed stories; the third is set in Barcelona.
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has revealed the three projects that will participate in this year’s Thai Pitch event at Cannes.
Tongpong Chantarangkul, whose first film I Carried You Home (2011) was acquired by France’s Pretty Pictures, has had his long-awaited second film, The Fireflies, selected for the event. Set in Barcelona, the project is a story about a Thai fire juggler who leaves his family behind when he finds a job in Spain.
Prolific filmmaker Tanwarin Sukhaphisit (A Gas Station) is bringing Lgbt-themed project Down To Heaven to Cannes.
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has revealed the three projects that will participate in this year’s Thai Pitch event at Cannes.
Tongpong Chantarangkul, whose first film I Carried You Home (2011) was acquired by France’s Pretty Pictures, has had his long-awaited second film, The Fireflies, selected for the event. Set in Barcelona, the project is a story about a Thai fire juggler who leaves his family behind when he finds a job in Spain.
Prolific filmmaker Tanwarin Sukhaphisit (A Gas Station) is bringing Lgbt-themed project Down To Heaven to Cannes.
- 3/20/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Selected projects include works from producers Soros Sukhum and Prachya Pinkaew and filmmaker Jakrawal Nilthamrong.
Leading Thai producers Soros Sukhum and Prachya Pinkaew and award-winning filmmaker Jakrawal Nilthamrong have been selected to present projects at this year’s Thai Pitch in Cannes.
Organised by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, the event will take place May 22-23 at the Thai Pavilion in the International Village. Producer and film festival programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon is coordinating the event.
Soros Sukhum is producing artist and filmmaker Taiki Sakpisit’s first feature film The Edge Of Daybreak, about a former army general who is forced to confront the past through a series of intensive sessions of electroshock therapy.
Sukhum’s recent producing credits include Anocha Suwichakornpong’s By The Time It Gets Dark, Davy Chou’s Diamond Island and Kirsten Tan’s Pop Aye[pictured], the latter two projects as a co-producer.
Prachya Pinkaew, best known as director of worldwide action hit Ong...
Leading Thai producers Soros Sukhum and Prachya Pinkaew and award-winning filmmaker Jakrawal Nilthamrong have been selected to present projects at this year’s Thai Pitch in Cannes.
Organised by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, the event will take place May 22-23 at the Thai Pavilion in the International Village. Producer and film festival programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon is coordinating the event.
Soros Sukhum is producing artist and filmmaker Taiki Sakpisit’s first feature film The Edge Of Daybreak, about a former army general who is forced to confront the past through a series of intensive sessions of electroshock therapy.
Sukhum’s recent producing credits include Anocha Suwichakornpong’s By The Time It Gets Dark, Davy Chou’s Diamond Island and Kirsten Tan’s Pop Aye[pictured], the latter two projects as a co-producer.
Prachya Pinkaew, best known as director of worldwide action hit Ong...
- 5/1/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
New Horizons Studio 2016
Organized within the framework of the 16th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the 7th edition of the New Horizons Studio took place from 24 to 26 July in Wrocław, the 2016 European Capital of Culture.
The most important training program of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival has two objectives: to teach, during three days, young European directors and producers about the workings of the international film market, particularly production, promotion and distribution, and to raise awareness of the importance of the pitch in the film pre-production process. In relation to the latter, it offers, as a matter of fact, training in pitching to twenty-four participants from ten countries all over Europe.
Apart from the aforementioned intense three-day teachings and lectures on production, promotion and distribution of a film, the participants also had the opportunity to take part in team-to-expert sessions about the pitch itself during which they discussed,...
Organized within the framework of the 16th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the 7th edition of the New Horizons Studio took place from 24 to 26 July in Wrocław, the 2016 European Capital of Culture.
The most important training program of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival has two objectives: to teach, during three days, young European directors and producers about the workings of the international film market, particularly production, promotion and distribution, and to raise awareness of the importance of the pitch in the film pre-production process. In relation to the latter, it offers, as a matter of fact, training in pitching to twenty-four participants from ten countries all over Europe.
Apart from the aforementioned intense three-day teachings and lectures on production, promotion and distribution of a film, the participants also had the opportunity to take part in team-to-expert sessions about the pitch itself during which they discussed,...
- 8/31/2016
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
Selection committee also announced for Southeast Asian projects lab.
Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (Seafic), the script development initiative that launched earlier this year, has joined forces with France’s Produire au Sud producer training workshop.
The move will merge Seafic’s nine-month script development programme with Produire au Sud’s long-running producers’ workshop in Bangkok.
Titled Seafic x Pas, the pact will consolidate both programme’s calls for entries.
The five projects eventually selected for Seafic will be automatically be enrolled in Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia workshop.
The directors and screenwriter will also attend Seafic’s script development lab, while in parallel the producers of those same projects shall attend Produire au Sud, held at he Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.
Previously held annually in Bangkok in November, Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia lab will now move to Chiang Mai, Thailand and will run concurrently with Seafic’s first session (Oct 23-...
Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (Seafic), the script development initiative that launched earlier this year, has joined forces with France’s Produire au Sud producer training workshop.
The move will merge Seafic’s nine-month script development programme with Produire au Sud’s long-running producers’ workshop in Bangkok.
Titled Seafic x Pas, the pact will consolidate both programme’s calls for entries.
The five projects eventually selected for Seafic will be automatically be enrolled in Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia workshop.
The directors and screenwriter will also attend Seafic’s script development lab, while in parallel the producers of those same projects shall attend Produire au Sud, held at he Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.
Previously held annually in Bangkok in November, Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia lab will now move to Chiang Mai, Thailand and will run concurrently with Seafic’s first session (Oct 23-...
- 7/7/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Directors of critically-acclaimed dramas The Blue Hour and 36 among the filmmakers presenting projects at Thai Pitch this year.
Two of last year’s most acclaimed Thai filmmakers – Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Freelance) and Anucha Boonyawatana (The Blue Hour) – will present new projects at Thai Pitch in Cannes this year, while Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad returns after a 10-year hiatus with her sophomore film.
Hosted by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, with Raymond Phathanavirangoon coordinating, the pitch event will be held on May 14-15 at the Thai Pavilion in the International Village in Cannes.
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit won the Busan New Currents award with his debut 36 (2012), while his second film Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy (2013) premiered in Venice. He had a critical and commercial hit last year with Freelance, which swept the Thailand National Film Association Awards with eight wins, including best film and best director.
Anucha Boonyawatana’s first feature The Blue Hour premiered at Berlin Panorama last year, while veteran...
Two of last year’s most acclaimed Thai filmmakers – Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Freelance) and Anucha Boonyawatana (The Blue Hour) – will present new projects at Thai Pitch in Cannes this year, while Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad returns after a 10-year hiatus with her sophomore film.
Hosted by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, with Raymond Phathanavirangoon coordinating, the pitch event will be held on May 14-15 at the Thai Pavilion in the International Village in Cannes.
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit won the Busan New Currents award with his debut 36 (2012), while his second film Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy (2013) premiered in Venice. He had a critical and commercial hit last year with Freelance, which swept the Thailand National Film Association Awards with eight wins, including best film and best director.
Anucha Boonyawatana’s first feature The Blue Hour premiered at Berlin Panorama last year, while veteran...
- 5/4/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Paris-based sales agent Luxbox has sealed a string of deals on Cannes Un Certain Regard title Apprentice, including a sale to France’s Version Originale Condor.
The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.
A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.
Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.
The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...
The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.
A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.
Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.
The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...
- 4/15/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Paris-based sales agent Luxbox has sealed a string of deals on Cannes Un Certain Regard title Apprentice, including a sale to France’s Version Originale Condor.
The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.
A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.
Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.
The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...
The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.
A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.
Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.
The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...
- 4/15/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Paris-based sales agent Luxbox has sealed a string of deals on Cannes Un Certain Regard title Apprentice, including a sale to France’s Version Originale Condor.
The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.
A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.
Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.
The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...
The film, the second feature from Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, has also gone to Turkey (Bir Films), Mexico (Nd Mantarraya), Singapore (Clover Films) and Hong Kong and China (Bravos Pictures). Version Originale Condor plans to release the film in France on June 1, 2016.
A co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar, Apprentice revolves around a young prison officer, who strikes up a friendship with the prison’s chief executioner, and is asked to become his assistant and possibly successor.
Shot in Singapore and Australia, the film stars veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su (Bunohan), Mastura Ahmad and newcomer Fir Rahman as the young protagonist.
The film was produced by Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon, Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Zhao Wei Films’ Tan Fong Cheng, with Germany...
- 4/15/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Southeast Asia’s first ever script lab – the Southeast Asian Fiction Film Lab (Seafic) – is launching in Thailand and Singapore this year with support from the Purin Foundation, Singapore Film Commission and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Each year, Seafic will select five Southeast Asian filmmakers – working on their first, second or third feature film scripts – to work with script consultants over a period of nine months. The filmmakers will be invited to three lab sessions in Chiangmai, Thailand (October 23-30), Chiangmai again in late February 2017 and Singapore in late June 2017.
During the final session in Singapore, the five filmmakers will take part in a pitch session, after which one project will be awarded a cash prize of $15,000.
Seafic’s selection committees and award juries will comprise leading industry figures such as Cannes Film Festival’s Christian Jeune, producer Shozo Ichiyama and Thai filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang. A representative from TorinoFilmLab will take part in the Seafic selection...
Each year, Seafic will select five Southeast Asian filmmakers – working on their first, second or third feature film scripts – to work with script consultants over a period of nine months. The filmmakers will be invited to three lab sessions in Chiangmai, Thailand (October 23-30), Chiangmai again in late February 2017 and Singapore in late June 2017.
During the final session in Singapore, the five filmmakers will take part in a pitch session, after which one project will be awarded a cash prize of $15,000.
Seafic’s selection committees and award juries will comprise leading industry figures such as Cannes Film Festival’s Christian Jeune, producer Shozo Ichiyama and Thai filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang. A representative from TorinoFilmLab will take part in the Seafic selection...
- 3/14/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The sixth edition of the New Horizons Studio kicked off on 26 July 2015 within the framework of the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland.
During the event, young directors and producers from Europe learned about the mechanisms of the international film market, the accent being especially put on production, promotion and distribution. During two days, and in small groups, they discussed their projects and career plans with experts and were also trained to pitch their projects. In that regard, the aim of the New Horizons Studio is to raise awareness of the pitch in a film pre-production process and it offered training in pitching to 24 participants from all over Europe. According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of the New Horizons Studio and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program wants to show the participants that “while the international film business may seem inaccessible and closed, it’s actually waiting for [them] with numerous opportunities”.
The selected participants were Emilie Aussel (France), Marta Bacewicz, Ana Brzezińska, Ben Brand (Holland), Kacper Czubak, Marcin Dudziak, Marija Fridinovaite (Romania), Marcin Filipowicz, Jasiek Gorący, Marta Habior, Cristi Iftime (Romania), Grzegorz Jaroszuk, Karolina Kołtun, Michał Korynek, Michal Kráčmer (Czech Rep.), Justyna Mytnik, Magdalena Puzmujźniak, Margarida Rego (Portugal), Beata Rzeźniczek, Wojtek Stuchlik, Michał Szcześniak, Giedrius Tamosevicius (Lithuanina), Fritz Urschitz (Austria) and Vladilen Vierny (France).
The best pitch was awarded with a package offered by the London Film Academy and postproduction services from CeTa, an audiovisual technology center based in Wrocław. This year, the team made up of Wojtek Stuchlik, Beata Rzeźniczek and Ben Brand won the pitching competition.
The following speakers shared their know-how with the New Horizons Studio participants: David Pope and Gavin Humphries of the London Film Academy, James Mullighan of the Cork Film Festival, producers Raymond Phathanavirangoon and Guillaume de Seille, the distribution consultant Beatrice Naumann, Katarzyna Karwan of Premium Films, and, last but not least Ewa Puszczyńska, the producer of the Academy Award winning film Ida. From the point of view of the co-founder and joint principal of the London Film Academy and founder of Lfa productions, Anna MacDonald, these industry professionals “are among the best in their fields.”
James Mullighan, one of the aforementioned participating experts stated that the New Horizons Studio “is one of the best organized and most potent film talent development events [he has] ever come across.” According to him, it “ brings together the most important new voices in Poland and beyond, and provides them with a safe place to develop their projects, and then show them to the global industry .”
Moreover, the program included an insightful masterclass by Magnus von Horn and Mariusz Włodarski, the director-producer team of "The Here After," the Polish-Swedish coproduction that premiered in Cannes’s Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year and was screened at the festival. The masterclass was the highlight of the event. Magnus von Horn was born in Sweden and graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź. He described "The Here After’s" genesis and how his debut film got selected in Cannes while Mariusz Włodarski shared his experience of working on the project, his role as a producer in the film’s success and the marketing strategy he has planned for it. In fact, "The Here After" is a fruit of the friendship between Magnus and Mariusz who started working together during their studies, getting to know each other and each other’s working methods.
Over the past five years, these workshops have already trained more than 100 graduates from Poland and abroad. Thanks to the involvement of the national cultural institutes this year’s list of participants included - besides 16 Polish filmmakers - 9 people from Austria, Czech Republic, Holland, France, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania. This training program was organized by the New Horizons Association, the London Film Academy and the Creative Europe Desk Poland with the support of the Lithuanian Film Center, the Cinessonne Festival in Paris, the Czech Center, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Instituto Camoes, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw. In Łapińska’s opinion, this group “ has worked together for several years” and is, in her view, “a fantastic force backing the New Horizons Studio”.
During the event, young directors and producers from Europe learned about the mechanisms of the international film market, the accent being especially put on production, promotion and distribution. During two days, and in small groups, they discussed their projects and career plans with experts and were also trained to pitch their projects. In that regard, the aim of the New Horizons Studio is to raise awareness of the pitch in a film pre-production process and it offered training in pitching to 24 participants from all over Europe. According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of the New Horizons Studio and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program wants to show the participants that “while the international film business may seem inaccessible and closed, it’s actually waiting for [them] with numerous opportunities”.
The selected participants were Emilie Aussel (France), Marta Bacewicz, Ana Brzezińska, Ben Brand (Holland), Kacper Czubak, Marcin Dudziak, Marija Fridinovaite (Romania), Marcin Filipowicz, Jasiek Gorący, Marta Habior, Cristi Iftime (Romania), Grzegorz Jaroszuk, Karolina Kołtun, Michał Korynek, Michal Kráčmer (Czech Rep.), Justyna Mytnik, Magdalena Puzmujźniak, Margarida Rego (Portugal), Beata Rzeźniczek, Wojtek Stuchlik, Michał Szcześniak, Giedrius Tamosevicius (Lithuanina), Fritz Urschitz (Austria) and Vladilen Vierny (France).
The best pitch was awarded with a package offered by the London Film Academy and postproduction services from CeTa, an audiovisual technology center based in Wrocław. This year, the team made up of Wojtek Stuchlik, Beata Rzeźniczek and Ben Brand won the pitching competition.
The following speakers shared their know-how with the New Horizons Studio participants: David Pope and Gavin Humphries of the London Film Academy, James Mullighan of the Cork Film Festival, producers Raymond Phathanavirangoon and Guillaume de Seille, the distribution consultant Beatrice Naumann, Katarzyna Karwan of Premium Films, and, last but not least Ewa Puszczyńska, the producer of the Academy Award winning film Ida. From the point of view of the co-founder and joint principal of the London Film Academy and founder of Lfa productions, Anna MacDonald, these industry professionals “are among the best in their fields.”
James Mullighan, one of the aforementioned participating experts stated that the New Horizons Studio “is one of the best organized and most potent film talent development events [he has] ever come across.” According to him, it “ brings together the most important new voices in Poland and beyond, and provides them with a safe place to develop their projects, and then show them to the global industry .”
Moreover, the program included an insightful masterclass by Magnus von Horn and Mariusz Włodarski, the director-producer team of "The Here After," the Polish-Swedish coproduction that premiered in Cannes’s Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year and was screened at the festival. The masterclass was the highlight of the event. Magnus von Horn was born in Sweden and graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź. He described "The Here After’s" genesis and how his debut film got selected in Cannes while Mariusz Włodarski shared his experience of working on the project, his role as a producer in the film’s success and the marketing strategy he has planned for it. In fact, "The Here After" is a fruit of the friendship between Magnus and Mariusz who started working together during their studies, getting to know each other and each other’s working methods.
Over the past five years, these workshops have already trained more than 100 graduates from Poland and abroad. Thanks to the involvement of the national cultural institutes this year’s list of participants included - besides 16 Polish filmmakers - 9 people from Austria, Czech Republic, Holland, France, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania. This training program was organized by the New Horizons Association, the London Film Academy and the Creative Europe Desk Poland with the support of the Lithuanian Film Center, the Cinessonne Festival in Paris, the Czech Center, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Instituto Camoes, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw. In Łapińska’s opinion, this group “ has worked together for several years” and is, in her view, “a fantastic force backing the New Horizons Studio”.
- 8/14/2015
- by Tara Karajica
- Sydney's Buzz
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture will host the Thai Pitch event at Cannes again this year, where projects will be presented by three directors including Wisit Sasanatieng (Tears Of The Black Tiger, Citizen Dog).
Wisit will present drama Suriya, about an ingenious Thai boxer and the addictions he battles outside the ring that lead to his downfall. Athimes Arunrojangkul (Karaoke Girl, Phobia 2) is set to produce.
Also selected for the event are Wasunan Hutawet’s Sydney, about a woman returning to her hometown after trying to better herself in Bangkok, and Sananjit Bangsapan’s Uncle Ho, about the young Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Thailand in the 1920s.
Sydney will be produced by Soros Sokhum (Wonderful Town) and Parinee Buthrasri, while Uncle Ho will be produced by by Supong Javanasundara (Hit Man File) and Nakorn Veerapavati.
Wasunan was selected for Berlinale Talents in 2012 and hopes to make her feature debut with Sydney. Sananjit previously...
Wisit will present drama Suriya, about an ingenious Thai boxer and the addictions he battles outside the ring that lead to his downfall. Athimes Arunrojangkul (Karaoke Girl, Phobia 2) is set to produce.
Also selected for the event are Wasunan Hutawet’s Sydney, about a woman returning to her hometown after trying to better herself in Bangkok, and Sananjit Bangsapan’s Uncle Ho, about the young Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Thailand in the 1920s.
Sydney will be produced by Soros Sokhum (Wonderful Town) and Parinee Buthrasri, while Uncle Ho will be produced by by Supong Javanasundara (Hit Man File) and Nakorn Veerapavati.
Wasunan was selected for Berlinale Talents in 2012 and hopes to make her feature debut with Sydney. Sananjit previously...
- 4/30/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Directors include Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho.Scroll down for full list
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including films from directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors...
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including films from directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors...
- 8/19/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Directors include Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho.
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors include July Jung, the [link=nm...
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors include July Jung, the [link=nm...
- 8/19/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Leading figures from film festivals in Cannes, London, Edinburgh and Hong Kong revealed their top tips for standing out from the rest when gaining selection to festivals.
The panel discussion at the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) in Colombia included Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival; Maria Delgado, programmer and advisor on Spanish and Spanish-American cinema for the BFI London Film Festival; Chris Fujiwara, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival; and Raymond Phathanavirangoon, programme consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Here are the tips shared by the panel…
Charles Tesson, Cannes Critics’ Week
Do not show a rough cut of your film because the first impression is the strongest.
Do not show us the film too late. The idea that we will forget previous films and only remember the ones we received last is wrong.
If you’re at Cannes, it’s useful to get a press agent for...
The panel discussion at the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) in Colombia included Charles Tesson, artistic director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival; Maria Delgado, programmer and advisor on Spanish and Spanish-American cinema for the BFI London Film Festival; Chris Fujiwara, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival; and Raymond Phathanavirangoon, programme consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Here are the tips shared by the panel…
Charles Tesson, Cannes Critics’ Week
Do not show a rough cut of your film because the first impression is the strongest.
Do not show us the film too late. The idea that we will forget previous films and only remember the ones we received last is wrong.
If you’re at Cannes, it’s useful to get a press agent for...
- 7/17/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Pickpocket drama from Girl With a Pearl Earring director is one of 33 film projects in development being presented at the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam).
Filmmakers will begin talks with potential partners in Bogota today at the fifth edition of Bam (July 14-18), Colombia’s biggest film market, organised by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and Proimagenes Colombia
The projects include Fresh, a new film to be directed by Peter Webber, who made Oscar-nominated Girl With a Pearl Earring and more recently Emperor.
The feature is being produced by Colombia’s 4Direcciones Audio-Visual, which has raised nearly 25% of its estimated $2.5m budget, and centres on a teenage pickpocket against the backdrop of hip hop and graffiti in Bogota.
The project, which is hunting co-production, investors and distribution partners, was previously selected for Rotterdam’s Cinemart and the Berlinale Co-production market.
More than 250 applications were submitted for this year’s Bam Projects, covering films in...
Filmmakers will begin talks with potential partners in Bogota today at the fifth edition of Bam (July 14-18), Colombia’s biggest film market, organised by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and Proimagenes Colombia
The projects include Fresh, a new film to be directed by Peter Webber, who made Oscar-nominated Girl With a Pearl Earring and more recently Emperor.
The feature is being produced by Colombia’s 4Direcciones Audio-Visual, which has raised nearly 25% of its estimated $2.5m budget, and centres on a teenage pickpocket against the backdrop of hip hop and graffiti in Bogota.
The project, which is hunting co-production, investors and distribution partners, was previously selected for Rotterdam’s Cinemart and the Berlinale Co-production market.
More than 250 applications were submitted for this year’s Bam Projects, covering films in...
- 7/16/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Mina Djukic’s film wins best film, director and actress in National Class; Free Entry by Hungary’s Yvonne Kerekgyarto gets Cineuropa Award in Fresh Danube Film section.
The seventh Cinema City international film festival, which took place June 21-28 in Novi Sad, Serbia, wrapped with Mina Djukic’s Sundance title The Disobedient winning the Ibis Statuettes for best film, best directing and best female role for Hana Selimovic in the National Class, dedicated to Serbian films.
The best male role award went to Muhamed Dupovac for Slobodan Skerlic’s So Hot Was The Cannon.
The jury consisting of Wide Management’s Managing Director Loic Magneron, official delegate for Cannes Critics’ Week and Programme Consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival Raymond Phathanavirangoon, and Peter Stumbur, a programmer for Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, also gave out two special mentions: to Milan Todorovic’s horror title Nymph, and Dragan Nikolic’s documentary The Undertaker.
The Fipresci...
The seventh Cinema City international film festival, which took place June 21-28 in Novi Sad, Serbia, wrapped with Mina Djukic’s Sundance title The Disobedient winning the Ibis Statuettes for best film, best directing and best female role for Hana Selimovic in the National Class, dedicated to Serbian films.
The best male role award went to Muhamed Dupovac for Slobodan Skerlic’s So Hot Was The Cannon.
The jury consisting of Wide Management’s Managing Director Loic Magneron, official delegate for Cannes Critics’ Week and Programme Consultant for the Hong Kong International Film Festival Raymond Phathanavirangoon, and Peter Stumbur, a programmer for Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, also gave out two special mentions: to Milan Todorovic’s horror title Nymph, and Dragan Nikolic’s documentary The Undertaker.
The Fipresci...
- 6/30/2014
- ScreenDaily
Drama will reunite director with Headshot producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon and is set to star Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak.
Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang is reuniting with his Headshot producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon on drama Samui Song, set to star Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak.
Chermarn will play an actress who is worried by her foreign husband’s growing obsession with a cult-like religious sect and its charasmatic leader, the Holy One. A mysterious stranger offers to rid her of her problem, but she ends up taking drastic measures to escape falling under the influence of the Holy One.
The cult leader will be played by Vithaya “Pu” Pansringarm, who recently starred in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives. Chermarn has credits including The Love Of Siam, Eternity and a supporting role in Pen-ek’s 2003 Last Life In The Universe.
Despite Samui Song’s dark themes, Pen-ek and Phathanavirangoon describe it as less serious than award-winning 2012 noir thriller Headshot.
“Using Hitchcock...
Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang is reuniting with his Headshot producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon on drama Samui Song, set to star Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak.
Chermarn will play an actress who is worried by her foreign husband’s growing obsession with a cult-like religious sect and its charasmatic leader, the Holy One. A mysterious stranger offers to rid her of her problem, but she ends up taking drastic measures to escape falling under the influence of the Holy One.
The cult leader will be played by Vithaya “Pu” Pansringarm, who recently starred in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives. Chermarn has credits including The Love Of Siam, Eternity and a supporting role in Pen-ek’s 2003 Last Life In The Universe.
Despite Samui Song’s dark themes, Pen-ek and Phathanavirangoon describe it as less serious than award-winning 2012 noir thriller Headshot.
“Using Hitchcock...
- 3/25/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
You hear it all the time: Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News. But Americans were buying all the same, and to quote Screen International: “The current market is focused on smart money and smart deals, not volume of product”. Business at Afm was also solid though unspectacular. Moreover, the pre-buying of projects may be below the radar of this $3 billion business of international film buying and selling. TrustNordisk’s CEO Rikke Ennis says that 70% of their films are pre-sold. As you look at the upcoming Winter Rights Roundup due out in two weeks from SydneysBuzz.com/Reports, you will notice many of the films have been pre-buys this market and many films screening were already pre-sold during Afm in November.
And for all the complaints about Berlin, many sales agents set up private screenings before the market kicked off. What is that about?
Beki Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, responded to the many media reports of a quieter market in an interview with ScreenDaily which sounds almost the same as the one she gave in 2009.
Quoting her current statement which I take the liberty of quoting here as it appears in Screen:
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said. In the opinion of Probst, there had been a muddying of the distinction between the Efm and the more general term of the ‘market’.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m check, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
"Sales agents were not sitting idle at their stands if one takes the example of one company in the Martin Gropius Bau: the CEO met with 90 buyers and the members of staff responsible for marketing had no less than 180 meetings in addition to ad-hoc discussions at events in the evenings."
Coproductions are the engine driving the business these days.
This year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market ended after two-and-a-half days with awards handed out to projects from Kazakhstan and Belgium.
The €6,000 Arte International Prize went to Kazakh film-maker Emir Baigazin’s planned second feature The Wounded Angel, the second part of a trilogy after his Silver Bear-winning Harmony Lessons. The €1.2m Almaty-based Kazakhfilm Jsc production has already attracted France’s Capricci Production as a co-producer and has backing in place from the Doha Film Institute and the Hubert Bals Fund.
The €10,000 Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award was presented to Belgian director Bavo Defurne for his romantic dramedy Souvenir. The €2m co-production by Oostende-based Indeed Films with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Germany’s Karibufilm already has backing from Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Cinefinance and public broadcaster Vrt/ Een.
India-Norway’s $55 million film to be directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance)’s The Indian Bride is an exciting example of an unusual pairing of countries.
Bavaria and Senator’s joint venture Bavaria Pictures’ The Postcard Killers to be directed by Mexican director Everardo Gout shows the international expansion of talent.
The Hungary-Austria-Germany co-production of Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity, or U.K.-Lithuania action comedy Redirected being sold by Content brings unusual European partners together.
U.S. born Damian John Harper’s coproduction with the German producers, brothers Jakob and Jonas Weydemann, on Los Angeles will be followed by In the Middle of the River now being developed with Zdf’s Das Kleine Fernsehspiel unit.
Shoreline’s The Infinite Man produced with Australia’s Hedone Productions in association with Bonsai Films with investment from South Australia Film Corporation through its Filmlab funding initiative, development assistance from Screen Australia is also a new sort of pairing.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, 20 Steps Productions and Bruemmer & Herzog’s The President is shooting in Tbilisi, Georgia and is being directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Italian-Canadian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Sights of Death starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen is directed by Allessandro Capone in Rome.
The Spain-u.K. co-production Second Origin is based on the best selling Catalan novel Mecanoscrit Del Segon Orgen.
The Golden Bear Winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is a Boneyard Entertainment (New York & Hong Kong) co-production with Boneyard Entertainment China (Bec), Omnijoi Media (Jiangsu, China), China Film co-production.
A sign of the times is the Swedish Film in Berlin advertisement which lists all Swedish co-productions:
In Competition: In Order of DisappearanceOut of Competition: NymphomaniacBerlinale Special: Someone You Love Generation Kplus: A Christmoose StoryPerspektive Deutsches Kino: Lamento
All are with European co-producers as is Antboy a Danish-German co-production.
One of my favorites is Gallows Hill, being sold by Im Global and already picked up by IFC for U.S. Starring Twilight actor Peter Facinelli, U.K. actress Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, it was entirely financed from within Colombia by television network Rcn’s affiliate Five 7 Media which produced with Peter Block's A Bigger Boat, David Higgins and Angelique Higgins' Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung. The screenplay was written by Rich D’Ovidio ( The Call, Thir13en Ghosts) about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
Another interesting combo is the Australian-Singapore co-production Canopy being sold by Odin’s Eye which was acquired by Kaleidoscope for U.K., by Kinosmith for Canada and Odin’s Eye itself for Australia. After its Tiff 2013 premiere, Monterrey acquired U.S. rights.
Cathedrals of Culture, was produced by Wim Wenders’ production company: Neue Road Movies in Germany and co-produced by Final Cut For Real (Denmark), Lotus Film (Austria), Mer Film (Norway), Les Films d'Ici 2 (France), Sundance Productions / RadicalMedia (U.S.), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg In collaboration with Arte (Germany and France) and Wowow (Japan).
Grand Budapest Hotel is a co-production of Scott Rudin in U.S. and Studio Babelsburg in Germany.
Wouldn't you say there had to be an awful lot of business going on? If only the media knew where to look for it. Instead, they moan the same old tired tune, "Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News". Oh well...
Efm Coproduction Market
Asian producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who was pitching the Hong Kong comedy Grooms by writer-director Arvin Chen at the Berlin Coproduction Market, announced that Germany’s augenschein filmproduktion will be a coproducer on Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s second feature Apprentice. The film has already received backing from France’s World Cinema Support, the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw of Germany and Germany's second network, Zdf’s Das kleine fernsehspiel unit. It also has Cinema Defacto as its French co-producer. Junfeng’s first film, Sandcastle, was screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2010.
Cologne-based augenschein, who produced Maximilian Leo’s My Brother’s Keeper, the opening film of this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino and is handled internationally by Media Luna, is currently in post-production on Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban’s Box, his second feature after the 2010 Berlinale Competition film If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle.
Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre whose debut The Student established him as one of the brightest and most courted young directors in Latin America was in the Co-production Market with his untitled second feature which France’s Full House connected to along with Argentina’s Union de los Rio, Argentine broadcast network Telefe, Ignacio Viale and the ubiquitous Lita Stantic.
Full House was also at the Coproduction Market with Peter Webber’s Fresh about a young thief learning the art of pickpocketing in Bogota, Colombia. It will be co-produced with Rcn affiliate Five 7 Media and 4Direcciones in Colombia and by Webber himself.
Raymond van der Kaaij, the producer of Tamar van den Dop’s Panorama title Supernova, is now financing Sundance winner Ernesto Contreras’ next feature I Dream In Another Language. The Spanish-English language project will be produced with Mexico-based Agencia Sha, and it is now casting the American lead according to producer van der Kaaij of Revolver Amsterdam. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the winner of the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, I Dream has already received support from Imcine in Mexico. Shooting is scheduled in Mexico for the end of 2014.
Revolver is now editing Bodkin Ras, the debut film of Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri, an English-language documentary-thriller set in North Scotland. The Dutch-Belgian-u.K. coproduction is set for release at the end of 2014.
Finnish film-maker Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa’s is editing his latest feature They Have Escaped, which Revolver coproduced with Helsinki Film.
Trend of smart art genres
Another continuing trend, which began with Xyz and Celluloid Nightmares and continued with Memento, is the character-driven art genre films with tight budgets, like the Danish coming-of-age-werewolf-romance, When Animals Dream, directed by first timer Jonas Arnby, sold by Gaumont to Radius-twc for No. Americ. The Scandinavians, formerly making a mark with "Nordic Noir" are now making what they call "Nordic Twilight".
Trend of remake rights
Another trend is that of remake rights. Film Sharks reports it makes more from selling remake rights than from licensing distribution rights.
The Intouchables is selling remake rights to more countries than only India as is the sale of Other Angle’s Babysitting remake rights. Negotiations are underway with Russia, Italy and Germany.
Fruit Chan is considering an English language remake of his 2004 cult horror film Dumplings.
The market is bit too calm?…Then let us look at Cannes…
Usually by Afm you can begin the Tipped for Cannes List (which Gilles Jacob detested), but even that is a little on the quiet side. I begin to question whether all media fueled news is accurate: the slow sales being reported, the lack of pre-Cannes buzz… Is the media really investigating deeply?
Of all the trades, while Screen has the most international news and deepest analyses, Variety reports things no other trade is covering. But…still the non-news of a quiet market persists as if it were headline news. We always hear this and we are still in an economic slump, so what we wish for is not apparent, but this is not news.
Tipped for Cannes
Tipped for Cannes are Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home staring Gong Li and to be sold by Wild Bunch, Stealth’s First Law starring Mads Mikkelsen (Cannes 2012 Best Actor Award for The Hunt); Self Made (Boreg) by Shira Geffen and to be sold by Westend, shot in Hebrew and Arabic by the production and sales team behind Oscar nominated 2011 drama Footnote, the second film after Geffen’s 2007 debut Jellyfish which won the Cannes Camera d’Or. MK2’s Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water will be delivered in time for Cannes. Pyramide International is plannng for Leviathan, a modern retelling of the biblical story which deals with some of Russia’s most important social issues to be ready for Cannes. It is directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky (Stalingrad) as their followup to Elena. Gaumont-cj co-production, The Target, the Korean remake of Fred Cavaye’s action thriller Point Blank will be ready in time for Cannes.
Rumors and truths about people changing positions
Rumors about Dieter Kosslick replacing Berlin’s Culture Secretary who resigned after a tax evasion scandal in which he admitted to stashing $575,000 in a Swiss bank account…Charlotte Mickie has left eOne and knowing her, she is bound to find something good elsewhere as she's too good to lose...StudioCanals Harold van Lier now leads eOne’s newly ramped international sales team and Montreal based Anick Poirier leads its subsidiary label, Seville International. Jeff Nuyts is leaving Intramovies. Nigel Sinclair and Guy East seem to be leaving Exclusive Media the company they founded as discussions with partners from Dasym Investment Strategies Bv move forward. Kevin Hoiseth from Voltage Pictures has joined International Film Trust as their director of international sales...and of course, Nadine de Barros has founded her own company, Fortitude, and was holding court at the Ritz Carlton the buzziest spot outside of the Martin Gropius Bau.
What I Saw and What I Thought
For what it's worth, here is my limited list of screenings of films seen only in the last 3 days of the festival when I was no longer "working". I am including some I actually saw at Sundance.
First and foremost -- and to be written about further in a "thought piece" as I term the articles I think long about before writing and to include my interview with the director Goran Hugo Olsson's (The Black Power Mixtapes winner of Sundance 2011 World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award) -- Concerning Violence (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S.: Cinetic), based on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth and seen at Sundance this year next to Stanley Nelson's outstanding Freedom Summer (PBS) and Greg Barker's We Are The Giant (Submarine), is a call to action for new societal models ringing out loud and clear.
Golden Bear Winner, Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan, a Chinese noir, lacked the momentum and substance I would have expected in a winning film, though it was a fascinating way to see today's urban China. Had I been on the jury, I would have chosen the Best Director Award winning Boyhood (Isa: IFC) by Richard Linklater. But perhaps because James Schamus, an American who loves Chinese films, was President of the Jury, there might have arisen a question of disinterested objectivity. I would have to hear what jurists Barbara Broccoli, Trine Dyrhom, Chistoph Waltz, Tony Leung, Greta Gerwig, Mitra Farahani and Michel Gondry would have to say about the deliberations.
Speaking of jury prizes, it was a surprise the much acclaimed '71 (Isa: Protagonist, now headed by our dear Mike Goodridge) won nothing, and good Alain Renais' Life of Riley (Isa: Le Pacte) received recognition. I found Christophe Gans' La belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) (Isa: Pathe) an overproduced unwieldy special effects-ridden mess, even though it was exec-produced by Jérôme Seydoux who also produced the masterpiece La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty), and starred his granddaughter Lea Seydoux. I'll stand by Cocteau's versoin. I heard Claudia Llosa (Milk of Sorrow)'s Aloft was also not widely admired.
About the best actress winning film The Little House (Isa: Shochiku could have marketed it more widely), I heard nothing at all, though it sounds really good. Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (Isa: Beta) by brother and sister team Anna and Dietrich Brueggemann (any relation to our own Tom Brueggeman?) had a satisfying denouement and was quite engrossing with moments of humor lightening the heavy weight of the cross carried by 14 year old Maria played by Lea van Acken, a picture face out of a George de la Tour painting (Magdeline with a Smoking Flame or A Piece of Art). Macondo (Isa: Films Boutique - again! ) by Sudabeh Mortezai of Austria was a window on a world never seen before and very engrossing although the coming of age story was one we have seen before.
Not sorry to say I missed The Monuments Men and Nymphomaniac Volume I, but sorry that I missed Beloved Sisters (Isa: Global Screen) of Dominik Graf, The Grand Budapest Hotel (will see it in U.S.), Argentinian Benjamin Naishat's History of Fear (Isa: Visit) -- I'll catch it in Carthegena, Guadalajara or San Sebastian I'm sure, Jack, In Order of Disappearance which sounds like the sleeper hit of the festival, Argentinan (again!) La tercera orilla (The Third Side of the River), Lou Ye's Tui Na (Blind Massage) and Rachid Bouchareb's Two Men in Town (Isa: Pathe - again!), which I heard was rather flat which is not surprising, for when non-Americans try to make an American genre, it usually misses a certain verve, but still is such an interesting subject for him to tackle, Zwischen Welten (Inbetween Worlds) (Isa: The Match Factory) from Germany, another "American" subject, but here about a German soldier in Afghanistan, not an American one.
Among the Berlinale Specials, I wish I had seen Nancy Buirski's Afternoon of a Faun which everyone said was good (Isa: Cactus Three the doc production company of Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens) and Volker Schloendorff's 1969 Brecht piece Baal starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta. I did see his Diplomacy (Isa: Gaumont) which was a great treat, erudite, intimate and reminiscent of the novels of Sandor Marai (Embers and Casanova in Bolzano). Wish I could have seen Wim Wenders' Cathedrals of Culture (Isa: Cinephil), Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez (Isa: Mundial) and In the Courtyard aka Dans la cours (Isa: Wild Bunch) starring Catherine Deneuve and The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq (Isa: Le Pacte - again!!). I will see The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Isa: The Film Sales Company) by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, produced by Jonathan Dana, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder (Ballets Russes), back home. The Turning (Isa: Level K), an experimental omnibus produced by my favorite Australian producer, Robert Connelly who also directed in part and Maggie Myles, is also a must-see as is Errol Morris' companion piece to The Fog of War, The Unknown Known (Isa: HanWay) and Houssein Amini's Two Faces of January (Isa: StudioCanal) starring my favorites Viggo Mortenson and Kirsten Dunst. We Come as Friends (Isa: Le Pacte), by Hubert Sauper whose earlier film Darwin's Destiny astounded me, was worth watching although so often his films plunge one into a hopeless helplessness. Fresh from Sundance, it was raising controversy and the story of the Sudan is worth knowing. His particular and peculiar Pov is valuable. Watermark (Isa: Entertainment One), another social issue worth knowing about will have to wait for a more propitious time. Personally I'm hoping Israel's current venture into desalination of water will lead the world into peace and that I will rejoice watching the doc about that.
Difret (Isa: Films Boutique - again!), fresh from Sundance where I saw it was really good and it sold well. I got to hang out with the team at the Panorama party. Gueros (Isa: Mundial - again!), was a disappointment -- too like The Year of the Nail (though different) in tone. But what a great company Canana is!
Panorama's Finding Vivian Maier (Isa: HanWay - again!) is brilliantly interesting. It is about to be released in U.S. by IFC. I highly recommend seeing this documentary about an eccentric, unknown photographer. It premiered at Tiff 2013. Fresh from Sundance where it won a Special Jury Prize, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Isa: Submarine) was a treasure; Velvet Terrorists was about the oddest piece I have ever seen. About three former opponents of the Czechoslovakian Soviet Regime, each has continued to enjoy blowing up things. One is still training the next generation in urban guerilla warfare. They are otherwise unremarkable, sweet even, but twisted. What an odd documentary.
A quick look at the Market Films I have seen: of the 400+ premieres: Zero -- no I did see German Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Two Lives (Isa: Beta), and I will soon be home to celebrate its nomination at the famous Villa Aurora, the former home of German expatriate writer Leon Feuchtwanger. So many more films look sooooo attractive! A pity I may never get to see them. I would need all the time in the world, and I have so little. I have so much and yet I want more!
And for all the complaints about Berlin, many sales agents set up private screenings before the market kicked off. What is that about?
Beki Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, responded to the many media reports of a quieter market in an interview with ScreenDaily which sounds almost the same as the one she gave in 2009.
Quoting her current statement which I take the liberty of quoting here as it appears in Screen:
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said. In the opinion of Probst, there had been a muddying of the distinction between the Efm and the more general term of the ‘market’.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m check, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
"Sales agents were not sitting idle at their stands if one takes the example of one company in the Martin Gropius Bau: the CEO met with 90 buyers and the members of staff responsible for marketing had no less than 180 meetings in addition to ad-hoc discussions at events in the evenings."
Coproductions are the engine driving the business these days.
This year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market ended after two-and-a-half days with awards handed out to projects from Kazakhstan and Belgium.
The €6,000 Arte International Prize went to Kazakh film-maker Emir Baigazin’s planned second feature The Wounded Angel, the second part of a trilogy after his Silver Bear-winning Harmony Lessons. The €1.2m Almaty-based Kazakhfilm Jsc production has already attracted France’s Capricci Production as a co-producer and has backing in place from the Doha Film Institute and the Hubert Bals Fund.
The €10,000 Vff Talent Highlight Pitch Award was presented to Belgian director Bavo Defurne for his romantic dramedy Souvenir. The €2m co-production by Oostende-based Indeed Films with Belgium’s Frakas Productions and Germany’s Karibufilm already has backing from Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Cinefinance and public broadcaster Vrt/ Een.
India-Norway’s $55 million film to be directed by Hans Petter Moland (In Order of Disappearance)’s The Indian Bride is an exciting example of an unusual pairing of countries.
Bavaria and Senator’s joint venture Bavaria Pictures’ The Postcard Killers to be directed by Mexican director Everardo Gout shows the international expansion of talent.
The Hungary-Austria-Germany co-production of Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity, or U.K.-Lithuania action comedy Redirected being sold by Content brings unusual European partners together.
U.S. born Damian John Harper’s coproduction with the German producers, brothers Jakob and Jonas Weydemann, on Los Angeles will be followed by In the Middle of the River now being developed with Zdf’s Das Kleine Fernsehspiel unit.
Shoreline’s The Infinite Man produced with Australia’s Hedone Productions in association with Bonsai Films with investment from South Australia Film Corporation through its Filmlab funding initiative, development assistance from Screen Australia is also a new sort of pairing.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, 20 Steps Productions and Bruemmer & Herzog’s The President is shooting in Tbilisi, Georgia and is being directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
Italian-Canadian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s Sights of Death starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen is directed by Allessandro Capone in Rome.
The Spain-u.K. co-production Second Origin is based on the best selling Catalan novel Mecanoscrit Del Segon Orgen.
The Golden Bear Winner Black Coal, Thin Ice is a Boneyard Entertainment (New York & Hong Kong) co-production with Boneyard Entertainment China (Bec), Omnijoi Media (Jiangsu, China), China Film co-production.
A sign of the times is the Swedish Film in Berlin advertisement which lists all Swedish co-productions:
In Competition: In Order of DisappearanceOut of Competition: NymphomaniacBerlinale Special: Someone You Love Generation Kplus: A Christmoose StoryPerspektive Deutsches Kino: Lamento
All are with European co-producers as is Antboy a Danish-German co-production.
One of my favorites is Gallows Hill, being sold by Im Global and already picked up by IFC for U.S. Starring Twilight actor Peter Facinelli, U.K. actress Sophia Myles, Nathalia Ramos and Colombian model and actress Carolina Guerra, it was entirely financed from within Colombia by television network Rcn’s affiliate Five 7 Media which produced with Peter Block's A Bigger Boat, David Higgins and Angelique Higgins' Launchpad Productions and Andrea Chung. The screenplay was written by Rich D’Ovidio ( The Call, Thir13en Ghosts) about a widower who takes his children on a trip to their mother’s Colombian hometown.
Another interesting combo is the Australian-Singapore co-production Canopy being sold by Odin’s Eye which was acquired by Kaleidoscope for U.K., by Kinosmith for Canada and Odin’s Eye itself for Australia. After its Tiff 2013 premiere, Monterrey acquired U.S. rights.
Cathedrals of Culture, was produced by Wim Wenders’ production company: Neue Road Movies in Germany and co-produced by Final Cut For Real (Denmark), Lotus Film (Austria), Mer Film (Norway), Les Films d'Ici 2 (France), Sundance Productions / RadicalMedia (U.S.), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg In collaboration with Arte (Germany and France) and Wowow (Japan).
Grand Budapest Hotel is a co-production of Scott Rudin in U.S. and Studio Babelsburg in Germany.
Wouldn't you say there had to be an awful lot of business going on? If only the media knew where to look for it. Instead, they moan the same old tired tune, "Quality a bit soft. Not a lot of Big Titles. Not a lot of Big News". Oh well...
Efm Coproduction Market
Asian producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who was pitching the Hong Kong comedy Grooms by writer-director Arvin Chen at the Berlin Coproduction Market, announced that Germany’s augenschein filmproduktion will be a coproducer on Singaporean director Boo Junfeng’s second feature Apprentice. The film has already received backing from France’s World Cinema Support, the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw of Germany and Germany's second network, Zdf’s Das kleine fernsehspiel unit. It also has Cinema Defacto as its French co-producer. Junfeng’s first film, Sandcastle, was screened at the Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2010.
Cologne-based augenschein, who produced Maximilian Leo’s My Brother’s Keeper, the opening film of this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino and is handled internationally by Media Luna, is currently in post-production on Romanian filmmaker Florin Serban’s Box, his second feature after the 2010 Berlinale Competition film If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle.
Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Mitre whose debut The Student established him as one of the brightest and most courted young directors in Latin America was in the Co-production Market with his untitled second feature which France’s Full House connected to along with Argentina’s Union de los Rio, Argentine broadcast network Telefe, Ignacio Viale and the ubiquitous Lita Stantic.
Full House was also at the Coproduction Market with Peter Webber’s Fresh about a young thief learning the art of pickpocketing in Bogota, Colombia. It will be co-produced with Rcn affiliate Five 7 Media and 4Direcciones in Colombia and by Webber himself.
Raymond van der Kaaij, the producer of Tamar van den Dop’s Panorama title Supernova, is now financing Sundance winner Ernesto Contreras’ next feature I Dream In Another Language. The Spanish-English language project will be produced with Mexico-based Agencia Sha, and it is now casting the American lead according to producer van der Kaaij of Revolver Amsterdam. Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the winner of the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, I Dream has already received support from Imcine in Mexico. Shooting is scheduled in Mexico for the end of 2014.
Revolver is now editing Bodkin Ras, the debut film of Iranian-Dutch director Kaweh Modiri, an English-language documentary-thriller set in North Scotland. The Dutch-Belgian-u.K. coproduction is set for release at the end of 2014.
Finnish film-maker Jukka-Pekka Valkeapaa’s is editing his latest feature They Have Escaped, which Revolver coproduced with Helsinki Film.
Trend of smart art genres
Another continuing trend, which began with Xyz and Celluloid Nightmares and continued with Memento, is the character-driven art genre films with tight budgets, like the Danish coming-of-age-werewolf-romance, When Animals Dream, directed by first timer Jonas Arnby, sold by Gaumont to Radius-twc for No. Americ. The Scandinavians, formerly making a mark with "Nordic Noir" are now making what they call "Nordic Twilight".
Trend of remake rights
Another trend is that of remake rights. Film Sharks reports it makes more from selling remake rights than from licensing distribution rights.
The Intouchables is selling remake rights to more countries than only India as is the sale of Other Angle’s Babysitting remake rights. Negotiations are underway with Russia, Italy and Germany.
Fruit Chan is considering an English language remake of his 2004 cult horror film Dumplings.
The market is bit too calm?…Then let us look at Cannes…
Usually by Afm you can begin the Tipped for Cannes List (which Gilles Jacob detested), but even that is a little on the quiet side. I begin to question whether all media fueled news is accurate: the slow sales being reported, the lack of pre-Cannes buzz… Is the media really investigating deeply?
Of all the trades, while Screen has the most international news and deepest analyses, Variety reports things no other trade is covering. But…still the non-news of a quiet market persists as if it were headline news. We always hear this and we are still in an economic slump, so what we wish for is not apparent, but this is not news.
Tipped for Cannes
Tipped for Cannes are Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home staring Gong Li and to be sold by Wild Bunch, Stealth’s First Law starring Mads Mikkelsen (Cannes 2012 Best Actor Award for The Hunt); Self Made (Boreg) by Shira Geffen and to be sold by Westend, shot in Hebrew and Arabic by the production and sales team behind Oscar nominated 2011 drama Footnote, the second film after Geffen’s 2007 debut Jellyfish which won the Cannes Camera d’Or. MK2’s Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas and starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water will be delivered in time for Cannes. Pyramide International is plannng for Leviathan, a modern retelling of the biblical story which deals with some of Russia’s most important social issues to be ready for Cannes. It is directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and produced by Alexander Rodnyansky (Stalingrad) as their followup to Elena. Gaumont-cj co-production, The Target, the Korean remake of Fred Cavaye’s action thriller Point Blank will be ready in time for Cannes.
Rumors and truths about people changing positions
Rumors about Dieter Kosslick replacing Berlin’s Culture Secretary who resigned after a tax evasion scandal in which he admitted to stashing $575,000 in a Swiss bank account…Charlotte Mickie has left eOne and knowing her, she is bound to find something good elsewhere as she's too good to lose...StudioCanals Harold van Lier now leads eOne’s newly ramped international sales team and Montreal based Anick Poirier leads its subsidiary label, Seville International. Jeff Nuyts is leaving Intramovies. Nigel Sinclair and Guy East seem to be leaving Exclusive Media the company they founded as discussions with partners from Dasym Investment Strategies Bv move forward. Kevin Hoiseth from Voltage Pictures has joined International Film Trust as their director of international sales...and of course, Nadine de Barros has founded her own company, Fortitude, and was holding court at the Ritz Carlton the buzziest spot outside of the Martin Gropius Bau.
What I Saw and What I Thought
For what it's worth, here is my limited list of screenings of films seen only in the last 3 days of the festival when I was no longer "working". I am including some I actually saw at Sundance.
First and foremost -- and to be written about further in a "thought piece" as I term the articles I think long about before writing and to include my interview with the director Goran Hugo Olsson's (The Black Power Mixtapes winner of Sundance 2011 World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award) -- Concerning Violence (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S.: Cinetic), based on Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth and seen at Sundance this year next to Stanley Nelson's outstanding Freedom Summer (PBS) and Greg Barker's We Are The Giant (Submarine), is a call to action for new societal models ringing out loud and clear.
Golden Bear Winner, Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan, a Chinese noir, lacked the momentum and substance I would have expected in a winning film, though it was a fascinating way to see today's urban China. Had I been on the jury, I would have chosen the Best Director Award winning Boyhood (Isa: IFC) by Richard Linklater. But perhaps because James Schamus, an American who loves Chinese films, was President of the Jury, there might have arisen a question of disinterested objectivity. I would have to hear what jurists Barbara Broccoli, Trine Dyrhom, Chistoph Waltz, Tony Leung, Greta Gerwig, Mitra Farahani and Michel Gondry would have to say about the deliberations.
Speaking of jury prizes, it was a surprise the much acclaimed '71 (Isa: Protagonist, now headed by our dear Mike Goodridge) won nothing, and good Alain Renais' Life of Riley (Isa: Le Pacte) received recognition. I found Christophe Gans' La belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) (Isa: Pathe) an overproduced unwieldy special effects-ridden mess, even though it was exec-produced by Jérôme Seydoux who also produced the masterpiece La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty), and starred his granddaughter Lea Seydoux. I'll stand by Cocteau's versoin. I heard Claudia Llosa (Milk of Sorrow)'s Aloft was also not widely admired.
About the best actress winning film The Little House (Isa: Shochiku could have marketed it more widely), I heard nothing at all, though it sounds really good. Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (Isa: Beta) by brother and sister team Anna and Dietrich Brueggemann (any relation to our own Tom Brueggeman?) had a satisfying denouement and was quite engrossing with moments of humor lightening the heavy weight of the cross carried by 14 year old Maria played by Lea van Acken, a picture face out of a George de la Tour painting (Magdeline with a Smoking Flame or A Piece of Art). Macondo (Isa: Films Boutique - again! ) by Sudabeh Mortezai of Austria was a window on a world never seen before and very engrossing although the coming of age story was one we have seen before.
Not sorry to say I missed The Monuments Men and Nymphomaniac Volume I, but sorry that I missed Beloved Sisters (Isa: Global Screen) of Dominik Graf, The Grand Budapest Hotel (will see it in U.S.), Argentinian Benjamin Naishat's History of Fear (Isa: Visit) -- I'll catch it in Carthegena, Guadalajara or San Sebastian I'm sure, Jack, In Order of Disappearance which sounds like the sleeper hit of the festival, Argentinan (again!) La tercera orilla (The Third Side of the River), Lou Ye's Tui Na (Blind Massage) and Rachid Bouchareb's Two Men in Town (Isa: Pathe - again!), which I heard was rather flat which is not surprising, for when non-Americans try to make an American genre, it usually misses a certain verve, but still is such an interesting subject for him to tackle, Zwischen Welten (Inbetween Worlds) (Isa: The Match Factory) from Germany, another "American" subject, but here about a German soldier in Afghanistan, not an American one.
Among the Berlinale Specials, I wish I had seen Nancy Buirski's Afternoon of a Faun which everyone said was good (Isa: Cactus Three the doc production company of Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens) and Volker Schloendorff's 1969 Brecht piece Baal starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta. I did see his Diplomacy (Isa: Gaumont) which was a great treat, erudite, intimate and reminiscent of the novels of Sandor Marai (Embers and Casanova in Bolzano). Wish I could have seen Wim Wenders' Cathedrals of Culture (Isa: Cinephil), Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez (Isa: Mundial) and In the Courtyard aka Dans la cours (Isa: Wild Bunch) starring Catherine Deneuve and The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq (Isa: Le Pacte - again!!). I will see The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Isa: The Film Sales Company) by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, produced by Jonathan Dana, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller and Celeste Schaefer Snyder (Ballets Russes), back home. The Turning (Isa: Level K), an experimental omnibus produced by my favorite Australian producer, Robert Connelly who also directed in part and Maggie Myles, is also a must-see as is Errol Morris' companion piece to The Fog of War, The Unknown Known (Isa: HanWay) and Houssein Amini's Two Faces of January (Isa: StudioCanal) starring my favorites Viggo Mortenson and Kirsten Dunst. We Come as Friends (Isa: Le Pacte), by Hubert Sauper whose earlier film Darwin's Destiny astounded me, was worth watching although so often his films plunge one into a hopeless helplessness. Fresh from Sundance, it was raising controversy and the story of the Sudan is worth knowing. His particular and peculiar Pov is valuable. Watermark (Isa: Entertainment One), another social issue worth knowing about will have to wait for a more propitious time. Personally I'm hoping Israel's current venture into desalination of water will lead the world into peace and that I will rejoice watching the doc about that.
Difret (Isa: Films Boutique - again!), fresh from Sundance where I saw it was really good and it sold well. I got to hang out with the team at the Panorama party. Gueros (Isa: Mundial - again!), was a disappointment -- too like The Year of the Nail (though different) in tone. But what a great company Canana is!
Panorama's Finding Vivian Maier (Isa: HanWay - again!) is brilliantly interesting. It is about to be released in U.S. by IFC. I highly recommend seeing this documentary about an eccentric, unknown photographer. It premiered at Tiff 2013. Fresh from Sundance where it won a Special Jury Prize, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Isa: Submarine) was a treasure; Velvet Terrorists was about the oddest piece I have ever seen. About three former opponents of the Czechoslovakian Soviet Regime, each has continued to enjoy blowing up things. One is still training the next generation in urban guerilla warfare. They are otherwise unremarkable, sweet even, but twisted. What an odd documentary.
A quick look at the Market Films I have seen: of the 400+ premieres: Zero -- no I did see German Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Two Lives (Isa: Beta), and I will soon be home to celebrate its nomination at the famous Villa Aurora, the former home of German expatriate writer Leon Feuchtwanger. So many more films look sooooo attractive! A pity I may never get to see them. I would need all the time in the world, and I have so little. I have so much and yet I want more!
- 2/27/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Singapore-France-Germany co-production set to shoot in September.
Singapore-based Zhao Wei Films and Peanut Pictures have announced Boo Junfeng, director of the 2010 Cannes Critics Week entry Sandcastle, will start shooting his Singapore/France/Germany co-production Apprentice this September with locations in Singapore and Sydney, Australia.
Produced by Singapore’s Zhao Wei Films, Peanut Pictures and Akanga Film Asia, the project previously confirmed Germany’s augenschein Filmproduktion and France’s Cinéma Defacto as co-producers at the European Film Market (Efm).
Attached as associate producer, Rachel Higgins’ Birdcage Films will coordinate the Australian shoot.
Described as “a tense psychological drama”, Apprentice takes place in the territory’s top prison where Aiman, a newly transferred correctional officer happens to befriend Koon, who turns out to be the chief executioner there. When Koon’s assistant suddenly quits, he asks Aiman to work under him with implications that he might succeed him.
Singapore’s Eric Khoo (My Magic) is attached as executive producer...
Singapore-based Zhao Wei Films and Peanut Pictures have announced Boo Junfeng, director of the 2010 Cannes Critics Week entry Sandcastle, will start shooting his Singapore/France/Germany co-production Apprentice this September with locations in Singapore and Sydney, Australia.
Produced by Singapore’s Zhao Wei Films, Peanut Pictures and Akanga Film Asia, the project previously confirmed Germany’s augenschein Filmproduktion and France’s Cinéma Defacto as co-producers at the European Film Market (Efm).
Attached as associate producer, Rachel Higgins’ Birdcage Films will coordinate the Australian shoot.
Described as “a tense psychological drama”, Apprentice takes place in the territory’s top prison where Aiman, a newly transferred correctional officer happens to befriend Koon, who turns out to be the chief executioner there. When Koon’s assistant suddenly quits, he asks Aiman to work under him with implications that he might succeed him.
Singapore’s Eric Khoo (My Magic) is attached as executive producer...
- 2/26/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Beki Probst, head of Berlin’s European Film Market (Efm), has hit back at claims that the 2014 edition was “sluggish” or “lukewarm” while the Berlinale Co-Production Market has handed out its awards.
Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, was responding to reports of a quieter market.
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said in an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m cheque, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
In the opinion...
Probst, who has run the Efm since 1988, was responding to reports of a quieter market.
“I think that there was a good movement of business this year,” she said in an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily.
“Daphné Kapfer of Europa International representing 35 sales agents said that it was a very good Berlin, and Glen Basner of FilmNation commented that it was ‘the best Berlin’.
“Even Harvey Weinstein came just for 24 hours to sign a $7m cheque, and Aloft was bought by Sony Pictures Classics.
“It’s the players, and not the market, that is important. The players come here if they have the right line-up. All we can do is provide the best infrastructure, but what happens after that is up to them.”
In the opinion...
- 2/14/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
New Horizons Studio’s Best Pitch prize has been awarded to Aleksandra Terpinska for documentary comedy project Czech Swan.
Terpinska is a student of directing at the University of Silesia in Katowice. A special mention was made by the jury of La Femis graduate Sylvain Coisne for his feature debut Cockfest.
Terpinska and Coisne were among the participants of the fourth edition of the Wroclaw’s training programme, which included workshops on pitching, production, distribution and promotion.
It comprised 18 young Polish film-makers and nine from countries including Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and France.
Studio line-up
This year’s Studio line-up included Romania’s Iulia Rugina, whose debut feature - the low budget Love Building - premiered at the Transilvania International Film Festival last month and will open in Romanian cinemas on September 13.
Also included was Polish producer Maria Golos ,who is now in final preparations for Michal Rogalski’s Summer Solstice (Sommerwende), structured as a Polish-German co-production with Berlin...
Terpinska is a student of directing at the University of Silesia in Katowice. A special mention was made by the jury of La Femis graduate Sylvain Coisne for his feature debut Cockfest.
Terpinska and Coisne were among the participants of the fourth edition of the Wroclaw’s training programme, which included workshops on pitching, production, distribution and promotion.
It comprised 18 young Polish film-makers and nine from countries including Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and France.
Studio line-up
This year’s Studio line-up included Romania’s Iulia Rugina, whose debut feature - the low budget Love Building - premiered at the Transilvania International Film Festival last month and will open in Romanian cinemas on September 13.
Also included was Polish producer Maria Golos ,who is now in final preparations for Michal Rogalski’s Summer Solstice (Sommerwende), structured as a Polish-German co-production with Berlin...
- 7/25/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia could be among six potential new members of the European Union’s (EU) forthcoming Creative Europe programme, which is expected to begin operations from January 2014.
Speaking at a discussion about cooperation between East and West at this week’s Odessa International Film Festival’s Industry Programme, the European Commission’s Irina Orssich explained that accession candidates countries or countries bordering the EU - such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia - could negotiate to have full participation or sign bilateral agreements for specific actions.
Key prerequisites for full participation in Creative Europe would be for any of these countries to have the World Trade Organisation’s ¨most-favoured-nation¨ exemption of the audiovisual sector and respect of certain conditions laid down in the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services (Avms) directive.
Alternatively, a national government could decide to conclude a bilateral agreement with the European Commission on specific actions in the future framework programme...
Speaking at a discussion about cooperation between East and West at this week’s Odessa International Film Festival’s Industry Programme, the European Commission’s Irina Orssich explained that accession candidates countries or countries bordering the EU - such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia - could negotiate to have full participation or sign bilateral agreements for specific actions.
Key prerequisites for full participation in Creative Europe would be for any of these countries to have the World Trade Organisation’s ¨most-favoured-nation¨ exemption of the audiovisual sector and respect of certain conditions laid down in the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services (Avms) directive.
Alternatively, a national government could decide to conclude a bilateral agreement with the European Commission on specific actions in the future framework programme...
- 7/18/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture is once again organizing the Thai Pitch event at this year’s Cannes Film Festival market. Four projects from well-regarded Thai filmmakers have been chosen to take part in this year’s initiative, to be held on Saturday May 18th from 10:00-15:30. The event will take place at the Thailand Pavilion in Cannes’ Village International no. 140. This year, Thai Pitch will be coordinated by producer and film programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon.
The four projects include:
A Culinary Murder
dir: Somkiat Vithuranich (October Sonata)
prod: Pawas Sawatchaiyamet (Headshot, Red Eagle)
Born poor and raised as the kitchen maid to a wealthy, corrupt family, Anoma spends her childhood learning that the secrets to a man’s heart lie in his stomach. When she is made to marry the master of the house, she begins to transform her culinary skills into a deadly weapon. If food could kill, then her food is the deadliest.
The General’S Secret
dir/prod: Pimpaka Towira (One Night Husband)
Rian lives alone with her mother who suffers from a chronic back pain. One day, after a trip, she finds that her mother's condition has gotten better after receiving a homeopathic massage from an old masseuse called “auntie”. Rian does not believe in the treatment, but her mother feels otherwise. She decides to find out auntie’s secret by making a massage appointment with her.
The Way Back
dir: Boonsong Nakphoo (Four Stations)
prod: Pantham Thongsang (Tropical Malady, Mid Road Gang)
Sueb decides to leave the capital city Bangkok behind and bring his family to live a humble life in the countryside. Things initially seems to be as joyful as anticipated, until stresses gradually pile up. Unexpectedly, one day his wife takes their only son back to the capital city. Sueb insists on hanging onto his land until he finds the key to a harmonious life.
The White Buffalo
dir: Aditya Assarat (Wonderful Town, Hi-so)
prod: Aditya Assarat, Soros Sukhum (Mundane History, P-047)
This is the story of Peter, a European, who is married to a Thai woman and living in her village. It is a situation that reflects a colonial past, an age when white men came to the East to exploit and build their own paradise. But today, the balance of power has changed. The European is large only in body. He is no match for the cunning and deceit of the Thais.
For more information about the event and individual projects, as well as inquiries into booking meetings, please go to www.thaipitch.com...
The four projects include:
A Culinary Murder
dir: Somkiat Vithuranich (October Sonata)
prod: Pawas Sawatchaiyamet (Headshot, Red Eagle)
Born poor and raised as the kitchen maid to a wealthy, corrupt family, Anoma spends her childhood learning that the secrets to a man’s heart lie in his stomach. When she is made to marry the master of the house, she begins to transform her culinary skills into a deadly weapon. If food could kill, then her food is the deadliest.
The General’S Secret
dir/prod: Pimpaka Towira (One Night Husband)
Rian lives alone with her mother who suffers from a chronic back pain. One day, after a trip, she finds that her mother's condition has gotten better after receiving a homeopathic massage from an old masseuse called “auntie”. Rian does not believe in the treatment, but her mother feels otherwise. She decides to find out auntie’s secret by making a massage appointment with her.
The Way Back
dir: Boonsong Nakphoo (Four Stations)
prod: Pantham Thongsang (Tropical Malady, Mid Road Gang)
Sueb decides to leave the capital city Bangkok behind and bring his family to live a humble life in the countryside. Things initially seems to be as joyful as anticipated, until stresses gradually pile up. Unexpectedly, one day his wife takes their only son back to the capital city. Sueb insists on hanging onto his land until he finds the key to a harmonious life.
The White Buffalo
dir: Aditya Assarat (Wonderful Town, Hi-so)
prod: Aditya Assarat, Soros Sukhum (Mundane History, P-047)
This is the story of Peter, a European, who is married to a Thai woman and living in her village. It is a situation that reflects a colonial past, an age when white men came to the East to exploit and build their own paradise. But today, the balance of power has changed. The European is large only in body. He is no match for the cunning and deceit of the Thais.
For more information about the event and individual projects, as well as inquiries into booking meetings, please go to www.thaipitch.com...
- 5/16/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.