Max has announced The Easterngate as one of the streaming service’s first Original series in Poland. The series started production in March 2024.
The Easterngate is a suspense thriller that delves into the world of modern espionage during an emerging conflict and international unrest. It paints a vivid picture of the clandestine world while also exploring the personal struggles of an individual caught in the Secret Service’s web.
NATO’s eastern flank, Russian war maneuvers at a hotspot of strategic importance for the entire continent. The Easterngate follows the journey of Ewa Oginiec, who, after a personal drama, aims to exit the secret service and start over.
Things take a twist when her partner, also an agent, gets outed by Russian intelligence and vanishes mysteriously. The series explores the mechanism of provocation on the global stage and the high-stakes battle between intelligence agencies in a world gripped by the complexities of hybrid warfare.
The Easterngate is a suspense thriller that delves into the world of modern espionage during an emerging conflict and international unrest. It paints a vivid picture of the clandestine world while also exploring the personal struggles of an individual caught in the Secret Service’s web.
NATO’s eastern flank, Russian war maneuvers at a hotspot of strategic importance for the entire continent. The Easterngate follows the journey of Ewa Oginiec, who, after a personal drama, aims to exit the secret service and start over.
Things take a twist when her partner, also an agent, gets outed by Russian intelligence and vanishes mysteriously. The series explores the mechanism of provocation on the global stage and the high-stakes battle between intelligence agencies in a world gripped by the complexities of hybrid warfare.
- 5/2/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
Following the October parliamentary election that saw the defeat of the right-wing Law and Justice party and appointment of leader of the opposition party Donald Tusk as prime minister, Polish filmmakers are cautiously readying for change.
“So far, our cinema authorities have not changed. It remains to be seen whether they will change their approach to funding more topical or controversial projects. Recent years have been very difficult in this regard,” says acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland.
Holland’s latest film, refugee drama “Green Border,” had been attacked by the right-wing government last year. Her next film, “Franz,” about Franz Kafka, is a Czech-German-Polish co-production to be sold at EFM by Films Boutique.
“We know everything and nothing about Kafka. There are dozens of detailed biographies and the reasons for his growing importance remain a mystery. I am trying to put this film together like a scattered jigsaw puzzle,” she adds.
“So far, our cinema authorities have not changed. It remains to be seen whether they will change their approach to funding more topical or controversial projects. Recent years have been very difficult in this regard,” says acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland.
Holland’s latest film, refugee drama “Green Border,” had been attacked by the right-wing government last year. Her next film, “Franz,” about Franz Kafka, is a Czech-German-Polish co-production to be sold at EFM by Films Boutique.
“We know everything and nothing about Kafka. There are dozens of detailed biographies and the reasons for his growing importance remain a mystery. I am trying to put this film together like a scattered jigsaw puzzle,” she adds.
- 2/17/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The event is an important incubator for European arthouse projects.
Feature debuts from Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania are among the 13 projects selected for the 25th anniversary edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus, taking place from November 8-10 in the German town of Cottbus.
The event brings together producers from eastern and western Europe.
Producer Martina Sakova of Bratislava-based What If Films and writer-director Daniel Rihák will be presenting the coming of age comedy My World Upside Down which won the Orka Co-Production Award at last year’s Kids Kino Industry Forum in Warsaw and the PopUp Residency Visegrad...
Feature debuts from Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania are among the 13 projects selected for the 25th anniversary edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus, taking place from November 8-10 in the German town of Cottbus.
The event brings together producers from eastern and western Europe.
Producer Martina Sakova of Bratislava-based What If Films and writer-director Daniel Rihák will be presenting the coming of age comedy My World Upside Down which won the Orka Co-Production Award at last year’s Kids Kino Industry Forum in Warsaw and the PopUp Residency Visegrad...
- 10/13/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Polish Days runs July 23-25.
New films by Jan P. Matuszyński, Jakub Piątek, Agnieszka Zwiefka and the makers of Loving Vincent are among 22 projects being presented at the 2023 edition of Polish Days, the industry event for Polish cinema running during New Horizons International Film Festival (July 20-30) in Wrocław.
Scroll down for full line-up
The event runs July 23-25 and is aimed at sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.
The line-up includes four completed Polish films, including Marcin Koszałka’s historical drama White Courage, produced by Warsaw-based Balapolis, and Amp Polska’s production of Edward Porembny’s docudrama The Life...
New films by Jan P. Matuszyński, Jakub Piątek, Agnieszka Zwiefka and the makers of Loving Vincent are among 22 projects being presented at the 2023 edition of Polish Days, the industry event for Polish cinema running during New Horizons International Film Festival (July 20-30) in Wrocław.
Scroll down for full line-up
The event runs July 23-25 and is aimed at sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.
The line-up includes four completed Polish films, including Marcin Koszałka’s historical drama White Courage, produced by Warsaw-based Balapolis, and Amp Polska’s production of Edward Porembny’s docudrama The Life...
- 7/12/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
With Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz-set Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” competing for the Palme d’Or and a host of Polish producers bringing buzzy upcoming projects to the Marché du Film, the Polish industry should again have Cannes talking. Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights:
The Zone of Interest
(Competition)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Producers: James Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska
Sales: A24
The veteran British filmmaker’s first film in nearly a decade, which will compete for the Palme d’Or, is a Holocaust drama loosely based on the novel by Martin Amis that’s sure to be among the festival’s most talked-about films.
In the Rearview
(Acid)
Director: Maciek Hamela
Producers: Piotr Grawender, Maciek Hamela, Jean-Marie Gigon
Sales: N/A
Filmed in the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hamela’s documentary is a collective portrait of Ukrainians searching for a safe haven...
The Zone of Interest
(Competition)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Producers: James Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska
Sales: A24
The veteran British filmmaker’s first film in nearly a decade, which will compete for the Palme d’Or, is a Holocaust drama loosely based on the novel by Martin Amis that’s sure to be among the festival’s most talked-about films.
In the Rearview
(Acid)
Director: Maciek Hamela
Producers: Piotr Grawender, Maciek Hamela, Jean-Marie Gigon
Sales: N/A
Filmed in the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hamela’s documentary is a collective portrait of Ukrainians searching for a safe haven...
- 5/20/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Polish filmmaker Jan P. Matuszyński is deep in production with Minghun. Screen Daily reports that Marcin Dorociński leads the cast. Originally set for an early 2022 shoot, the cast includes Natalia Bui and Antek Sztaba, Ewelina Starejki, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Fenfen Huang, Kwong Loke, Yuk Han and Daxing Zhang – he plays a pivotal supporting player here. The idea here for the film’s producers in Wonder Films’ Krzysztof Rak, Klaudiusz Frydrych and Inga Kruk is to be ready for a Venice showing – this is where Matuszyński showcased Leave No Traces in competition back in 2021. This is shot an English, Polish and Chinese language film.…...
- 3/30/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Distributor plans exclusive nationwide theatrical release on August 4.
Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to 2022 Venice entry Dreamin’ Wild starring Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe.
‘Dreamin’ Wild’: Venice Review
The distributor plans an exclusive nationwide theatrical release on August 4 for director Bill Pohlad’s (Love & Mercy) drama about real-life musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson, who find fame 30 years after their rediscovered album was seemingly consigned to oblivion.
Casey plays the older Donnie Emerson and Jupe plays the younger version. The cast includes Zooey Deschanel, Walton Goggins, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Beau Bridges.
Serving as producers are Jim Burke,...
Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to 2022 Venice entry Dreamin’ Wild starring Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe.
‘Dreamin’ Wild’: Venice Review
The distributor plans an exclusive nationwide theatrical release on August 4 for director Bill Pohlad’s (Love & Mercy) drama about real-life musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson, who find fame 30 years after their rediscovered album was seemingly consigned to oblivion.
Casey plays the older Donnie Emerson and Jupe plays the younger version. The cast includes Zooey Deschanel, Walton Goggins, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Beau Bridges.
Serving as producers are Jim Burke,...
- 3/30/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Project is targeting an autumn festival premiere.
Polish star Marcin Dorociński will lead the cast for Minghun, the latest feature from Leave No Traces director Jan P. Matuszynski.
Dorociński’s credits include The Queen’s Gambit, Vikings: Valhalla and the forthcoming Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.
The cast also includes Daxing Zhang, young actors Natalia Bui and Antek Sztaba, as well as Ewelina Starejki, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Fenfen Huang, Kwong Loke and Yuk Han. The script was written by Grzegorz Łoszewski.
The project, which is currently shooting, is targeting an autumn festival premiere (with Venice a potential destination) and will be...
Polish star Marcin Dorociński will lead the cast for Minghun, the latest feature from Leave No Traces director Jan P. Matuszynski.
Dorociński’s credits include The Queen’s Gambit, Vikings: Valhalla and the forthcoming Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.
The cast also includes Daxing Zhang, young actors Natalia Bui and Antek Sztaba, as well as Ewelina Starejki, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Fenfen Huang, Kwong Loke and Yuk Han. The script was written by Grzegorz Łoszewski.
The project, which is currently shooting, is targeting an autumn festival premiere (with Venice a potential destination) and will be...
- 3/30/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed In Competition(Jury: Julianne Moore, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo di Costanzo, Audrey Diwan, Leila Hatami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Rodrigo Sorogoyen)Golden Lion – All The Beauty And The Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) – Saint Omer (Alice Diop)Silver Lion (Best Director) – Luca Guadagnino (Bones & All)Coppa Volpi for Best Actress – Cate Blanchett (Tár)Coppa Volpi for Best Actor – Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Best Screenplay – Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin)Special Jury Prize – No Bears (Jafar Panahi)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress – Taylor Russell (Bones & All)Orizzonti(Jury: Isabel Coixet, Laura Bispuri, Antonio Campos, Sofia Djama, Edourad Waintrop)Orizzonti Award for Best Film – World War III (Houman Seyedi)Orizzonti Award for Best Director – Vera (Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel)Special Orizzonti Jury Prize – Bread And Salt (Damian Kocur)Orizzonti Award for Best Actress – Vera Gemma (Vera)Orizzonti Award for...
- 9/10/2022
- MUBI
The 2022 Venice Film Festival has awarded Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” the Golden Lion for Best Film, with Colin Farrell and Cate Blanchett landing the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor and Best Actress.
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Luca Guadagnino for “Bones and All.” The cannibal love story also saw co-star Taylor Russell win the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
In addition to Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” won the award for Best Screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The film, which follows an abrupt fallout between two best friends (“In Bruges” co-stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), received a 13-minute standing ovation at its Tuesday premiere. Meanwhile, Blanchett won her second Volpi Cup (following her performance as Bob Dylan in 2007’s “I’m Not There”) for playing the world-renowned composer at the center of Todd Field’s “Tár.”
Also Read:
Brendan Fraser...
The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Luca Guadagnino for “Bones and All.” The cannibal love story also saw co-star Taylor Russell win the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
In addition to Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” won the award for Best Screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh. The film, which follows an abrupt fallout between two best friends (“In Bruges” co-stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), received a 13-minute standing ovation at its Tuesday premiere. Meanwhile, Blanchett won her second Volpi Cup (following her performance as Bob Dylan in 2007’s “I’m Not There”) for playing the world-renowned composer at the center of Todd Field’s “Tár.”
Also Read:
Brendan Fraser...
- 9/10/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
The star studded Variety and Hotel Danieli pre-festival cocktail party on Aug. 30 was a taster of the riches in store at the Venice Film Festival that kicks off the following day.
Head of the jury Julianne Moore and fellow jurors, “A Separation” actor Leila Hatami and filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo Di Costanzo and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, were present as was “Thor: Love and Thunder” actor Tessa Thompson, who is serving on the festival’s Horizons strand jury.
The evening, titled “Cinema Danieli – An Unforgettable Story,” on the terrace of the plush Hotel Danieli, which turns 200 this year, has become a festival tradition dating back 13 years. It was introduced by Claudio Staderini, director of the Danieli, who described the hotel as a shooting and residential choice of many of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera said that the Variety and Danieli pre-festival cocktail as...
Head of the jury Julianne Moore and fellow jurors, “A Separation” actor Leila Hatami and filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Mariano Cohn, Leonardo Di Costanzo and Rodrigo Sorogoyen, were present as was “Thor: Love and Thunder” actor Tessa Thompson, who is serving on the festival’s Horizons strand jury.
The evening, titled “Cinema Danieli – An Unforgettable Story,” on the terrace of the plush Hotel Danieli, which turns 200 this year, has become a festival tradition dating back 13 years. It was introduced by Claudio Staderini, director of the Danieli, who described the hotel as a shooting and residential choice of many of the biggest movie stars in the world.
Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera said that the Variety and Danieli pre-festival cocktail as...
- 8/31/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Michelangelo Frammartino was also named president of the Luigi de Laurentiis award.
Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet has been named president of the Horizons jury for the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).
Coixet’s credentials include My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words and The Bookshop. Most recently her documentary The Yellow Ceiling was introduced at Cannes Marché 2022 slate.
Joining her on the jury is Italian director Laura Bispuri; US filmmaker Antonio Campos; Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama and former Cannes’ Directors Fortnight director Edouard Waintrop.
The Horizons section awards seven prizes in total in all major categories including a special jury prize.
Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet has been named president of the Horizons jury for the Venice Film Festival (August 31 - September 10).
Coixet’s credentials include My Life Without Me, The Secret Life Of Words and The Bookshop. Most recently her documentary The Yellow Ceiling was introduced at Cannes Marché 2022 slate.
Joining her on the jury is Italian director Laura Bispuri; US filmmaker Antonio Campos; Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama and former Cannes’ Directors Fortnight director Edouard Waintrop.
The Horizons section awards seven prizes in total in all major categories including a special jury prize.
- 7/20/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Spanish director Isabel Coixet will preside over the international jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti competition at the upcoming edition running from August 31 to September 10.
The director knows Orizzonti well having world premiered her 2005 drama The Secret Life Of Words in the section, ahead of it winning four Spanish Goya awards the following year.
More recent credits include The Bookshop, which also swept the Goyas in 2017, winning best director, film and adapted screenplay, and Spanish and English-language romantic drama It Snows In Benidorm, starring Timothy Spall.
She will be by Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri, whose third film The Peacock’s Paradise played in Orizzonti last year, and US director Antonio Campus, whose recent credits include HBO show The Staircase.
Further members include Sofia Djama, the Algerian director of The Blessed, for which lead Lyna Khoudri won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award in 2017 and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Delegate General Edouard Waintrop.
The director knows Orizzonti well having world premiered her 2005 drama The Secret Life Of Words in the section, ahead of it winning four Spanish Goya awards the following year.
More recent credits include The Bookshop, which also swept the Goyas in 2017, winning best director, film and adapted screenplay, and Spanish and English-language romantic drama It Snows In Benidorm, starring Timothy Spall.
She will be by Italian filmmaker Laura Bispuri, whose third film The Peacock’s Paradise played in Orizzonti last year, and US director Antonio Campus, whose recent credits include HBO show The Staircase.
Further members include Sofia Djama, the Algerian director of The Blessed, for which lead Lyna Khoudri won the Orizzonti Best Actress Award in 2017 and former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Delegate General Edouard Waintrop.
- 7/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop, My Life Without Me) will head up the competition jury for the Orizzonti, or Horizons, section of this year’s Venice International Film festival, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The Secret Life of Words helmer will be joined by Italian director Laura Bispuri (Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine); American filmmaker Antonio Campos (The Staircase, The Devil All the Time); Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose feature debut, The Blessed, screened in Oizzonti last year, winning the best actress honor for star Lyna Khoudri; and French journalist and critic Edouard Waintrop, who most recently was artistic director at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section.
The Orizzonti jury will present awards for best film, best director, a jury prize, best actor and actress, best screenplay and a best short film honor, picking from the titles selected for the Venice sidebar this year.
Venice...
Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop, My Life Without Me) will head up the competition jury for the Orizzonti, or Horizons, section of this year’s Venice International Film festival, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The Secret Life of Words helmer will be joined by Italian director Laura Bispuri (Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine); American filmmaker Antonio Campos (The Staircase, The Devil All the Time); Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose feature debut, The Blessed, screened in Oizzonti last year, winning the best actress honor for star Lyna Khoudri; and French journalist and critic Edouard Waintrop, who most recently was artistic director at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section.
The Orizzonti jury will present awards for best film, best director, a jury prize, best actor and actress, best screenplay and a best short film honor, picking from the titles selected for the Venice sidebar this year.
Venice...
- 7/20/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spanish director Isabel Coixet, known for prizewinning works such as “The Secret Life of Words” and “The Bookshop,” will preside over the jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons (Orizonti) section dedicated to more cutting-edge works.
Coixet will be joined on the Horizons jury by Italian director Laura Bispuri; U.S. director and producer Antonio Campos, who most recently created, wrote and directed HBO Max series “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche; Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose first feature “The Blessed” won the 2017 Horizons best actress award for Lyna Khoudri; and former Cannes Director’s Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop.
Additionally, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was in Venice last year with “Il Buco,” will preside over the jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for best first work across all Venice sections, which is worth 100,000.
Joining Frammartino on the Venice jury for best first work...
Coixet will be joined on the Horizons jury by Italian director Laura Bispuri; U.S. director and producer Antonio Campos, who most recently created, wrote and directed HBO Max series “The Staircase,” starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche; Algerian director Sofia Djama, whose first feature “The Blessed” won the 2017 Horizons best actress award for Lyna Khoudri; and former Cannes Director’s Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop.
Additionally, Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino, who was in Venice last year with “Il Buco,” will preside over the jury for the “Luigi de Laurentiis” award for best first work across all Venice sections, which is worth 100,000.
Joining Frammartino on the Venice jury for best first work...
- 7/20/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
After pulling off the near miraculous feat of mounting two in-person editions in the middle of a global pandemic, the organizing team of the Transilvania Film Festival had hoped for a return to normalcy this year – hopes that were quickly dashed when Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The tone and tenor of this year’s event swiftly shifted gears, says TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu, as festival leadership looked to strike a precarious balance. “The lives of many people have been turned upside-down. We need to be empathetic and pay attention to what’s happening over there and try to mirror through the festival program this tragedy which is happening in Ukraine,” Giurgiu tells Variety.
As TIFF kicks off its 21st edition, which runs June 17 – 26, the war in Ukraine will be reaching the conclusion of its fourth month, a period that has already dramatically upended life in its Eastern European neighbor.
The tone and tenor of this year’s event swiftly shifted gears, says TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu, as festival leadership looked to strike a precarious balance. “The lives of many people have been turned upside-down. We need to be empathetic and pay attention to what’s happening over there and try to mirror through the festival program this tragedy which is happening in Ukraine,” Giurgiu tells Variety.
As TIFF kicks off its 21st edition, which runs June 17 – 26, the war in Ukraine will be reaching the conclusion of its fourth month, a period that has already dramatically upended life in its Eastern European neighbor.
- 6/16/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is now the highest-grossing title of the year at the UK-Ireland box office, overtaking ’Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’.
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (June 10 - 12) Total gross to date Week 1. Jurassic World Dominion (Universal) £12.1m £12.1m 1 2. Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount)
£5.6m £50.1m 3 3. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Disney)
£397,350 £41.5m 6 4. Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)
£205,252 £4.5m 5 5. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Paramount)
£182,000 £26.5m 11
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.22
Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion has strutted straight to the top of the UK-Ireland box office in its opening weekend, taking £12.1m from 709 locations.
This...
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (June 10 - 12) Total gross to date Week 1. Jurassic World Dominion (Universal) £12.1m £12.1m 1 2. Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount)
£5.6m £50.1m 3 3. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Disney)
£397,350 £41.5m 6 4. Everything Everywhere All At Once (A24)
£205,252 £4.5m 5 5. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Paramount)
£182,000 £26.5m 11
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.22
Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion has strutted straight to the top of the UK-Ireland box office in its opening weekend, taking £12.1m from 709 locations.
This...
- 6/13/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Nine projects have been selected for the CineLink Co-Production Market and seven for the CineLink Drama at the upcoming edition of CineLink Industry Days within the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug. 12-19), according to Film New Europe.
The CineLink Co-Production Market includes projects from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, while projects from Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary were selected for CineLink Drama.
A new development award, Female Voices CineLink Award with a cash prize of Euros 10,000, presented by the Slovenian Film Center, will be handed to one project from the CineLink Co-Production Market or CineLink Drama.
CineLink Industry Days will start with CineLink Workshop this month, one-on-one meetings during the festival (Aug. 15-18), and will continue with online meetings in September.
Click here to see the selected projects for CineLink Co-Production Market and CineLink Drama.
‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ Dominates Polish Film Awards, the Eagles
“Quo Vadis, Aida?...
The CineLink Co-Production Market includes projects from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, while projects from Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary were selected for CineLink Drama.
A new development award, Female Voices CineLink Award with a cash prize of Euros 10,000, presented by the Slovenian Film Center, will be handed to one project from the CineLink Co-Production Market or CineLink Drama.
CineLink Industry Days will start with CineLink Workshop this month, one-on-one meetings during the festival (Aug. 15-18), and will continue with online meetings in September.
Click here to see the selected projects for CineLink Co-Production Market and CineLink Drama.
‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ Dominates Polish Film Awards, the Eagles
“Quo Vadis, Aida?...
- 6/10/2022
- by Anna Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
‘All My Friends Hate Me’, ‘Earwig’ and ‘Il Buco’ also open this weekend.
Jurassic World Dominion is hoping to snare the top spot from Top Gun: Maverick at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, after two weeks at the number one for Paramount’s Tom Cruise hit.
Universal is distributing Jurassic World Dominion at 708 sites – Universal’s fourth biggest UK-Ireland opening of all time, behind No Time To Die (772),Downton Abbey: A New Era (746) and Downton Abbey (730). The Colin Trevorrow-directed title opened with 55m from early markets last week, and expands to North America, UK/Ireland, China, France, Germany, Australia and Spain this weekend.
Jurassic World Dominion is hoping to snare the top spot from Top Gun: Maverick at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, after two weeks at the number one for Paramount’s Tom Cruise hit.
Universal is distributing Jurassic World Dominion at 708 sites – Universal’s fourth biggest UK-Ireland opening of all time, behind No Time To Die (772),Downton Abbey: A New Era (746) and Downton Abbey (730). The Colin Trevorrow-directed title opened with 55m from early markets last week, and expands to North America, UK/Ireland, China, France, Germany, Australia and Spain this weekend.
- 6/10/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Spotlight on New Israeli cinema, cine-concerts also confirmed.
Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) has confirmed the first elements for its 2022 edition, including a partnership with Netflix on the Drama Room strand of its industry programme.
One of eight strands to the industry section, Drama Room will select five series projects in development from Romanian screenwriters and producers.
The three-day programme is designed to help creators develop series production skills and understand the dynamics of the international market; it will consist of panels led by industry experts, including several Netflix executives.
The industry programme also includes Transilvania Pitch Stop, an international...
Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) has confirmed the first elements for its 2022 edition, including a partnership with Netflix on the Drama Room strand of its industry programme.
One of eight strands to the industry section, Drama Room will select five series projects in development from Romanian screenwriters and producers.
The three-day programme is designed to help creators develop series production skills and understand the dynamics of the international market; it will consist of panels led by industry experts, including several Netflix executives.
The industry programme also includes Transilvania Pitch Stop, an international...
- 5/12/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Best International Feature Film has been awarded annually at the Oscars since the 29th Academy Awards in 1956. Each year countries from around the world are allowed to submit just one non-English speaking film for consideration. The Foreign Language Film Award Committee(s) then vote by secret ballot to select the shortlist and eventual Oscar nominees. Directors Paolo Sorrentino (“The Hand of God” – Italy), Maria Schrader (“I’m Your Man” – Germany), Jan P. Matuszynski (“Leave No Traces” – Poland), Tatiana Huezo (“Prayers for the Stolen” – Mexico) and Aly Muritiba (“Private Desert” – Brazil) share what it means to be selected to represent their countries in our Meet The Experts: Film International Feature Panel. Watch the exclusive group roundtable video above. Click each name to watch that person’s individual interview.
“What I hope I can communicate to the world is that my country is a very lively country,” says Sorrentino. “My film is full...
“What I hope I can communicate to the world is that my country is a very lively country,” says Sorrentino. “My film is full...
- 12/1/2021
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Poland’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, “Leave No Traces,” tells the true story of Grzegorz Przemyk, a high school student who was beaten to death by police in 1983 communist Poland. The only witness of the beating becomes the number one enemy of the state. The film is directed by Jan P. Matuszynski and is based on the book of the same name written by Cezary Łazarewicz.
“After the communist regime ended in Poland, the government opened some of the archives,” Matuszynski explains while discussing how he became attached to the project. “People could go and see what really happened in the 80s and that’s one of the stories. Of course, it’s also because of the witness who saw it all. He’s the main character of ‘Leave No Traces.’ For me, this story is symbolic. It’s a crime against humanity.
“After the communist regime ended in Poland, the government opened some of the archives,” Matuszynski explains while discussing how he became attached to the project. “People could go and see what really happened in the 80s and that’s one of the stories. Of course, it’s also because of the witness who saw it all. He’s the main character of ‘Leave No Traces.’ For me, this story is symbolic. It’s a crime against humanity.
- 12/1/2021
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Five top international feature film directors will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Oscar and guild contenders. Each person from these films will participate in two video discussions to premiere tomorrow on Monday, November 29, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our contributing editor Denton Davidson and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series of 17 panels in November and December. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 awards contenders:
“The Hand of God” (Italy): Paolo Sorrentino
Synopsis: The story of a boy in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series of 17 panels in November and December. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 awards contenders:
“The Hand of God” (Italy): Paolo Sorrentino
Synopsis: The story of a boy in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s.
- 11/29/2021
- by Chris Beachum and Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Deadline’s Contenders Film: International kicks off this morning, offering up the opportunity to hear from filmmakers who have been making waves around the world in 2021. The second annual event spotlighting international feature films begins at 9 a.m. Pt and will showcase the cream of the crop from this year’s festival awards winners, box office hits and International Feature Oscar hopefuls as the teams behind them discuss their work and inspirations.
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
For Contenders Film: International, we’ve again pivoted to a virtual event, which will boast a robust lineup. In total, talent will appear to discuss 26 titles that will represent their home countries as the official submissions for the International Feature Film category at the 94th Academy Awards. A total of 19 studios, streamers and distributors be on hand with presentations including clips and Q&As moderated by Deadline’s crack crew...
Click here to register and watch the livestream.
For Contenders Film: International, we’ve again pivoted to a virtual event, which will boast a robust lineup. In total, talent will appear to discuss 26 titles that will represent their home countries as the official submissions for the International Feature Film category at the 94th Academy Awards. A total of 19 studios, streamers and distributors be on hand with presentations including clips and Q&As moderated by Deadline’s crack crew...
- 11/20/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Leave No Traces’ Director Calls Infamous 1983 Killing Of Polish Teen “Kafkaesque” – Contenders L.A.
Leave No Traces director Jan P. Matuszynski said that although the Polish population might know about the murder of Grzegorz Przemyk, most didn’t understand the full scope of the operation. Matuszynski and lead actor Tomasz Zietek joined film critic Todd McCarthy to talk about the political drama during Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles award-season event Sunday at the DGA Theater.
“No one knew the details — just names and if they had gotten beaten up,” Matuszynski said. “If you go more into the characters, which is in the film, they didn’t know how much of a cover-up it was. The problem was not the situation in the police station. The problem was that it was getting more and more political. This is something that is universal.”
The film, which premiered at Venice, is Poland’s official entry in this year’s International Film Oscar race. It’s set...
“No one knew the details — just names and if they had gotten beaten up,” Matuszynski said. “If you go more into the characters, which is in the film, they didn’t know how much of a cover-up it was. The problem was not the situation in the police station. The problem was that it was getting more and more political. This is something that is universal.”
The film, which premiered at Venice, is Poland’s official entry in this year’s International Film Oscar race. It’s set...
- 11/15/2021
- by Brandon Choe
- Deadline Film + TV
The haunting case of Polish student and poet Grzegorz Przemyk dominated the country’s national media throughout 1983. It divided Poland into an Us vs Them scenario as the nation was still in the grips of heavy Soviet influence and struggling to survive in a stratocracy. Jan P. Matuszynski’s Venice Film Festival competition entry, Leave No Traces , puts the entire case of Przemyk’s death and all those involved on display by showing how far military and crooked politicians will go to circumvent responsibility by using threats and intimidation to keep a witness from testifying in court.
Good lengthy movies have a purpose of existing that way. Every hour is utilized to keep the story moving forward. Leave No Traces (which clocks in at 2:45) could have been a film with a powerful statement about state-sanctioned violence. In the end, it’s just an overstuffed slog that could have benefitted...
Good lengthy movies have a purpose of existing that way. Every hour is utilized to keep the story moving forward. Leave No Traces (which clocks in at 2:45) could have been a film with a powerful statement about state-sanctioned violence. In the end, it’s just an overstuffed slog that could have benefitted...
- 9/9/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Submissions from Cambodia, Ecuador, Morocco, Poland and Switzerland have been announced so far.
Entries for the 2022 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
Submissions from Cambodia, Ecuador, Morocco, Poland and Switzerland have been announced so far.
The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 1, 2022 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This is the first time since 2018 that the ceremony will take place in March, having moved to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international...
Entries for the 2022 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
Submissions from Cambodia, Ecuador, Morocco, Poland and Switzerland have been announced so far.
The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 1, 2022 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This is the first time since 2018 that the ceremony will take place in March, having moved to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international...
- 9/7/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Poland has become the first European nation to make its official submission to the International Oscar race this year, with Jan P. Matuszynski’s Leave No Traces selected to compete.
The movie has its premiere at Venice Film Festival on September 9. The story is set in Poland in 1983, when the country is shaken by the case of Grzegorz Przemyk, a high school student beaten to death by militia. Based on true events, the film follows the story of Jurek, the only witness of the beating, who overnight became the number one enemy of the state. The oppressive regime used its whole apparatus – the secret service, militia, the media and the courts – to squeeze Jurek and other people close to the case, including his parents and Przemyk’s mother, Barbara.
Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Cebula-Hickinbotham produced the pic. New Europe Film Sales is handling world rights. Watch the trailer further down this page.
The movie has its premiere at Venice Film Festival on September 9. The story is set in Poland in 1983, when the country is shaken by the case of Grzegorz Przemyk, a high school student beaten to death by militia. Based on true events, the film follows the story of Jurek, the only witness of the beating, who overnight became the number one enemy of the state. The oppressive regime used its whole apparatus – the secret service, militia, the media and the courts – to squeeze Jurek and other people close to the case, including his parents and Przemyk’s mother, Barbara.
Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Cebula-Hickinbotham produced the pic. New Europe Film Sales is handling world rights. Watch the trailer further down this page.
- 9/3/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2021 Cannes Film Festival brought the international film circuit back to life in roaring fashion earlier this month (French filmmaker Julia Ducournau became the second woman director to win the Palme d’Or thanks to Neon release “Titane”), and next up are the trio of major fall film festivals in September: the Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Venice is first out of the gate by launching its 78th edition Wednesday, September 1. The lineup for Venice 2021 has now been revealed.
As previously announced, Pedro Almodóvar will kick off the 2021 Venice Film Festival with the world premiere of his new drama “Parallel Mothers.” The film will debut in competition and vie for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion. “Parallel Mothers” is written and directed by Almodóvar, and stars both regular and new collaborators, including Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Julieta Serrano,...
As previously announced, Pedro Almodóvar will kick off the 2021 Venice Film Festival with the world premiere of his new drama “Parallel Mothers.” The film will debut in competition and vie for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion. “Parallel Mothers” is written and directed by Almodóvar, and stars both regular and new collaborators, including Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Julieta Serrano,...
- 7/26/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
This year’s line-up includes five female directors in competition.
The line-up of the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) has been announced by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Scroll down for the full line-up
This year’s selection saw the festival take a backward step for gender balance, with five female directors selected in the main competition, down from last year’s eight. 26% of films in the overall line-up are directed by women, down from 28% in 2020.
The high-profile titles picked for competition this year include Pablo Larrain’s Spencer; Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God...
The line-up of the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) has been announced by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Scroll down for the full line-up
This year’s selection saw the festival take a backward step for gender balance, with five female directors selected in the main competition, down from last year’s eight. 26% of films in the overall line-up are directed by women, down from 28% in 2020.
The high-profile titles picked for competition this year include Pablo Larrain’s Spencer; Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God...
- 7/26/2021
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
A host of anticipated upcoming titles from the growing Polish industry have hit the Cannes Film Market.
Fools
Director: Tomasz Wasilewski
Producer: Ewa Puszczyńska (Extreme Emotions)
Logline: Marlena (62) and Tomasz (42), hidden away from the world in a small seaside town, have been in a happy relationship for many years. Their intricately woven everyday life slowly begins to crumble when, against Tomasz’s will, Marlena allows her son to move in with them. As the past comes back to them in full force, they’ll have to redefine their love, choices and life.
Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Leave No Traces
Director: Jan P. Matuszyński
Producers: Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham (Aurum Film)
Logline: Poland, 1983. The country is shaken by the case of Grzegorz Przemyk, a high school student beaten to death by a militia. Based on true events, the film follows the story of Jurek, the only witness to the beating,...
Fools
Director: Tomasz Wasilewski
Producer: Ewa Puszczyńska (Extreme Emotions)
Logline: Marlena (62) and Tomasz (42), hidden away from the world in a small seaside town, have been in a happy relationship for many years. Their intricately woven everyday life slowly begins to crumble when, against Tomasz’s will, Marlena allows her son to move in with them. As the past comes back to them in full force, they’ll have to redefine their love, choices and life.
Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Leave No Traces
Director: Jan P. Matuszyński
Producers: Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham (Aurum Film)
Logline: Poland, 1983. The country is shaken by the case of Grzegorz Przemyk, a high school student beaten to death by a militia. Based on true events, the film follows the story of Jurek, the only witness to the beating,...
- 7/10/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The presitgious German event was held entirely online.
Vacuum, the feature debut by Ukrainian filmmaker Yelizaveta Smith has won the €1,500 best pitch award at Germany’s Connecting Cottbus (coco) East-West coproduction market today (November 6), which was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic
The film’s producer Aleksandra Kostine of Bosonfilm, also received the Producers Network Award which grants free accreditation to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film in Cannes 2021.
The script has previously been developed through Torino Film Lab Extended and Midpoint Feature Launch and is now at late development stage.
A graduate of Kyiv’s National University of Cinema and Theatre,...
Vacuum, the feature debut by Ukrainian filmmaker Yelizaveta Smith has won the €1,500 best pitch award at Germany’s Connecting Cottbus (coco) East-West coproduction market today (November 6), which was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic
The film’s producer Aleksandra Kostine of Bosonfilm, also received the Producers Network Award which grants free accreditation to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film in Cannes 2021.
The script has previously been developed through Torino Film Lab Extended and Midpoint Feature Launch and is now at late development stage.
A graduate of Kyiv’s National University of Cinema and Theatre,...
- 11/6/2020
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Projects in development include new films by Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina.
New films by Russia’s Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina, whose credits include Waterdrop, are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus (coco).
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in...
New films by Russia’s Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina, whose credits include Waterdrop, are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus (coco).
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in...
- 10/19/2020
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Projects in development include new films by Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina.
New films by Roman Bondarchuk (The Editorial Office) and Robert Budina (Waterdrop) are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus.
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in 2018.
Among the other...
New films by Roman Bondarchuk (The Editorial Office) and Robert Budina (Waterdrop) are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus.
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in 2018.
Among the other...
- 10/19/2020
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has acquired world rights for the upcoming drama “Leave No Traces,” from acclaimed Polish director Jan P. Matuszyński (“The Last Family”), produced by Aurum Film, the production house behind Jan Komasa’s Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi.”
“Leave No Traces” is based on the real-life story of a young man who witnesses the fatal beating of his friend by the police in ‘80s Warsaw. Determined to testify about the killing in court, he must stand up to the full force of Poland’s communist regime.
Pic is produced by Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham for Aurum Film, in coproduction with Canal+ Polksa and Mikuláš Novotný’s Background Films (Czech Republic), with the support of the Polish Film Institute and the Czech Film Fund. The film is slated to premiere in 2021. Kino Świat will release in Poland.
Matuszyński’s last feature, “The Last Family,...
“Leave No Traces” is based on the real-life story of a young man who witnesses the fatal beating of his friend by the police in ‘80s Warsaw. Determined to testify about the killing in court, he must stand up to the full force of Poland’s communist regime.
Pic is produced by Leszek Bodzak and Aneta Hickinbotham for Aurum Film, in coproduction with Canal+ Polksa and Mikuláš Novotný’s Background Films (Czech Republic), with the support of the Polish Film Institute and the Czech Film Fund. The film is slated to premiere in 2021. Kino Świat will release in Poland.
Matuszyński’s last feature, “The Last Family,...
- 3/4/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
As Poland prepares for its closeup, with the introduction of a 30% cash rebate earlier this year, the local industry is gearing up to show the world how much it has to offer. Easily accessible from anywhere in Europe, the country boasts diverse locations, highly skilled crews, and a rich movie-making tradition.
Even the lack of incentives in years past has become something of a competitive advantage. “The fact that these locations have yet to be extensively seen in international productions provides the most coveted treasure: unique, evocative locations,” says Lori Balton, of the Location Managers Guild Intl., who describes visiting fairy-book castles, Gothic churches, and Brutalist modern structures on a visit to Poland.
Poland has sandy beaches skirting the Baltic Sea in the north, as well as spectacular mountain ranges in the south. Pockets of the Polish countryside are virtually pristine. “There are still places you can go and there...
Even the lack of incentives in years past has become something of a competitive advantage. “The fact that these locations have yet to be extensively seen in international productions provides the most coveted treasure: unique, evocative locations,” says Lori Balton, of the Location Managers Guild Intl., who describes visiting fairy-book castles, Gothic churches, and Brutalist modern structures on a visit to Poland.
Poland has sandy beaches skirting the Baltic Sea in the north, as well as spectacular mountain ranges in the south. Pockets of the Polish countryside are virtually pristine. “There are still places you can go and there...
- 11/7/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
At Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival this week a new initiative was launched in collaboration with Midpoint titled Works in Development – Feature Launch, where nine in-development projects were pitched at the Central European event.
Midpoint is a Czech training and networking platform under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague aimed at writers, directors and producers from low audiovisual capacity territories. In addition to their festival ties, the organization runs a year-long center that organizes a wide range of activities.
The projects, which were selected from workshops run by Midpoint at the Trieste Film Festival in Italy in January, and in Belgrade, Serbia in May, came from Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
The event, which was described as a training platform for emerging filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe, hosted workshops that focused on project development, financing and co-production. Invited participants were writers,...
Midpoint is a Czech training and networking platform under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague aimed at writers, directors and producers from low audiovisual capacity territories. In addition to their festival ties, the organization runs a year-long center that organizes a wide range of activities.
The projects, which were selected from workshops run by Midpoint at the Trieste Film Festival in Italy in January, and in Belgrade, Serbia in May, came from Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
The event, which was described as a training platform for emerging filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe, hosted workshops that focused on project development, financing and co-production. Invited participants were writers,...
- 7/7/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Kosovo on track to join Creative Europe; Lgbt road movie scores Us, UK deals.
Polish filmmaker Jan Matuszynski’s The Last Family has continued its successful festival run by being named best film in the New Europe - New Names competition at the Vilnius International Film Festival (23 March - 6 April).
Matuszynski’s feature debut - which is being handled internationally by New Europe Film Sales - had its world premiere at last year’s Locarno Film Festival and received the special jury award at the Sofia International Film Festival as well as four prizes at the national Polish Film Awards last month.
The competition’s international jury of Gothenburg Film Festival’s programmer Freddy Olsson, Russian film critic and programmer Boris Nelep and Fipresci president Alin Tasciyan presented its best director prize to the Bulgarian directorial duo Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valcahnov for their second feature Glory which also picked up the Cicae Art Cinema Award.
Moreover...
Polish filmmaker Jan Matuszynski’s The Last Family has continued its successful festival run by being named best film in the New Europe - New Names competition at the Vilnius International Film Festival (23 March - 6 April).
Matuszynski’s feature debut - which is being handled internationally by New Europe Film Sales - had its world premiere at last year’s Locarno Film Festival and received the special jury award at the Sofia International Film Festival as well as four prizes at the national Polish Film Awards last month.
The competition’s international jury of Gothenburg Film Festival’s programmer Freddy Olsson, Russian film critic and programmer Boris Nelep and Fipresci president Alin Tasciyan presented its best director prize to the Bulgarian directorial duo Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valcahnov for their second feature Glory which also picked up the Cicae Art Cinema Award.
Moreover...
- 4/7/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Sofia Meetings industry winners include UK project The Tentmaster’s Daughter; The Expendables 4 heads to Bulgaria.
Ralitza Petrova’s Godless was this year’s winner of the ‘Sofia City of Film’ Grand Prix at the 21st edition of the Sofia International Film Festival (Siff).
Petrova’s feature debut, which won the Golden Leopard for best film and the best actress Silver Leopard in Locarno last year, received the award for best Bulgarian feature film.
Petrova also won Turkey’s Yapim-lab young producer award for her second feature Dust which she presented with producer Poli Angelova as a project at the Sofia Meetings.
This is the third year in a row that a local Bulgarian film has won Siff’s international competition grand prix following Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s The Lesson in 2015 and Eliza Petkova’s Zhaleika in 2016.
Local Bulgarian films also featured among the other prize winners this year: Grozeva and Valchanov’s second film Glory...
Ralitza Petrova’s Godless was this year’s winner of the ‘Sofia City of Film’ Grand Prix at the 21st edition of the Sofia International Film Festival (Siff).
Petrova’s feature debut, which won the Golden Leopard for best film and the best actress Silver Leopard in Locarno last year, received the award for best Bulgarian feature film.
Petrova also won Turkey’s Yapim-lab young producer award for her second feature Dust which she presented with producer Poli Angelova as a project at the Sofia Meetings.
This is the third year in a row that a local Bulgarian film has won Siff’s international competition grand prix following Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s The Lesson in 2015 and Eliza Petkova’s Zhaleika in 2016.
Local Bulgarian films also featured among the other prize winners this year: Grozeva and Valchanov’s second film Glory...
- 3/20/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
One of the best festivals during the first half of the year is The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s New Directors/New Films, which kicks off its 46th year this March, running from the 15th to the 26th. With last year’s line-up including some of the year’s best films, including Cameraperson, The Fits, Kaili Blues, Neon Bull, Weiner, and more, we can expect many more discoveries this year.
Opening with Patti Cake$ and closing with Person to Person, in between will be one of our favorite films from Sundance as the centerpiece, Beach Rats. Also among the line-up is a handful of other festival favorites, including The Dreamed Path, The Giant, Menashe, and Lady Macbeth.
“Authenticity is an elusive thing these days, and without it we risk ruin. This is particularly true in cinema,” says Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief...
Opening with Patti Cake$ and closing with Person to Person, in between will be one of our favorite films from Sundance as the centerpiece, Beach Rats. Also among the line-up is a handful of other festival favorites, including The Dreamed Path, The Giant, Menashe, and Lady Macbeth.
“Authenticity is an elusive thing these days, and without it we risk ruin. This is particularly true in cinema,” says Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief...
- 2/15/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center has today announces their complete lineup for the 46th annual New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf), running March 15 – 26. Dedicated to the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent, this year’s festival will screen 29 features and nine short films. This year’s lineup boasts nine North American premieres, seven U.S. premieres, and two world premieres, with features and shorts from 32 countries across five continents.
The opening, centerpiece, and closing night selections showcase three exciting new voices in American independent cinema that all recently debuted at Sundance: Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$” is the opening night pick, while Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” is the centerpiece selection and Dustin Guy Defa will close the festival with “Person to Person.” Other standouts include “Menashe,” “My Happy Family,” “Quest” and “The Wound.”
Read More: The Sundance Rebel:...
The opening, centerpiece, and closing night selections showcase three exciting new voices in American independent cinema that all recently debuted at Sundance: Geremy Jasper’s “Patti Cake$” is the opening night pick, while Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” is the centerpiece selection and Dustin Guy Defa will close the festival with “Person to Person.” Other standouts include “Menashe,” “My Happy Family,” “Quest” and “The Wound.”
Read More: The Sundance Rebel:...
- 2/15/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Heartstone, The Red Turtle, 24 Weeks and After Love also selected for release.
Polish director Jan Matuszynski’s The Last Family – charting the lives of a dysfunctional, artistic dynasty over a 28-year period – has won the second expanded edition of the pan-European distribution initiative Scope100.
Under the joint venture — developed by Polish distributor Gutek Film and Paris-based digital cinema platform Festival Scope – nine European distributors recruited around 100 cinephiles each to watch seven films online and then vote on which one they would like to see released theatrically in their territory.
Matuszynski’s The Last Family – which premiered at Locarno over the summer where lead Andrzej Seweryn won the Leopard for Best Actor – was selected by participants in four of the participating territories: France, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Austria. It is sold internationally by New Europe Film Sales.
Other participating films proving popular with the Scope100 audience jury included Icelandic director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s coming-of-age tale Heartstone...
Polish director Jan Matuszynski’s The Last Family – charting the lives of a dysfunctional, artistic dynasty over a 28-year period – has won the second expanded edition of the pan-European distribution initiative Scope100.
Under the joint venture — developed by Polish distributor Gutek Film and Paris-based digital cinema platform Festival Scope – nine European distributors recruited around 100 cinephiles each to watch seven films online and then vote on which one they would like to see released theatrically in their territory.
Matuszynski’s The Last Family – which premiered at Locarno over the summer where lead Andrzej Seweryn won the Leopard for Best Actor – was selected by participants in four of the participating territories: France, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Austria. It is sold internationally by New Europe Film Sales.
Other participating films proving popular with the Scope100 audience jury included Icelandic director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s coming-of-age tale Heartstone...
- 1/9/2017
- ScreenDaily
Festival’s industry strand crowns work-in-progress winners from Macedonia and Ukraine.
The Grand Prix of FilmFestival Cottbus (8-13 November) went to Russia for the fourth time in the last six years, with filmmaker Ivan I. Tverdovsky taking the top award for his second feature Zoology after also winning top honours for his debut Corrections Class in 2014.
The other previous winners from Russia had been Angelina Nikonova in 2011 with Twilight Portrait and Alexander Veledinsky in 2013 with The Geographer Who Drank His Globe Away.
Moreover, Tverdovsky is the third film-maker to win Cottbus’s top prize twice in the festival’s 26-year history following Slovakia’s Martin Sulik (1993: Everything I Like and 1995: The Garden) and Serbia’s Oleg Novkovic (2006: Tomorrow Morning and 2010: White White World).
The international jury, which included veteran Israeli producer Marek Rosenbaum and Serbian actress-director Mirjana Karanovic, described Zoology as ¨an original and emotional story about loneliness, love, hope and...
The Grand Prix of FilmFestival Cottbus (8-13 November) went to Russia for the fourth time in the last six years, with filmmaker Ivan I. Tverdovsky taking the top award for his second feature Zoology after also winning top honours for his debut Corrections Class in 2014.
The other previous winners from Russia had been Angelina Nikonova in 2011 with Twilight Portrait and Alexander Veledinsky in 2013 with The Geographer Who Drank His Globe Away.
Moreover, Tverdovsky is the third film-maker to win Cottbus’s top prize twice in the festival’s 26-year history following Slovakia’s Martin Sulik (1993: Everything I Like and 1995: The Garden) and Serbia’s Oleg Novkovic (2006: Tomorrow Morning and 2010: White White World).
The international jury, which included veteran Israeli producer Marek Rosenbaum and Serbian actress-director Mirjana Karanovic, described Zoology as ¨an original and emotional story about loneliness, love, hope and...
- 11/14/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Copenhagen’s festival, in new autumn dates, will show a record 226 features kicking off with Doctor Strange.
Copenhagen’s Cph Pix festival, now in its new autumn dates, has revealed a record 226 feature films in its lineup.
The 14-day festival (Oct 27 - Nov 9), which now also includes kids and family festival Buster, will show 46 features for young people in its daytime programmes and 180 films for teenagers and adults in the evenings.
As previously reported, the eighth edition of festival will open with a gala premiere of Marvel’s Doctor Strange (Mads Mikkelsen will attend).
There will be four main awards at Pix: the New Talent Grand Pix for a debut feature (with $11,200 (€10,000)); the Politiken Audience Award that comes with Danish distribution support, and the Nordisk Film Fond prizes for best children’s feature and best children’s short.
Terence Davies [pictured] will be given a full retrospective as well as showing his latest film A Quiet Passion and participating...
Copenhagen’s Cph Pix festival, now in its new autumn dates, has revealed a record 226 feature films in its lineup.
The 14-day festival (Oct 27 - Nov 9), which now also includes kids and family festival Buster, will show 46 features for young people in its daytime programmes and 180 films for teenagers and adults in the evenings.
As previously reported, the eighth edition of festival will open with a gala premiere of Marvel’s Doctor Strange (Mads Mikkelsen will attend).
There will be four main awards at Pix: the New Talent Grand Pix for a debut feature (with $11,200 (€10,000)); the Politiken Audience Award that comes with Danish distribution support, and the Nordisk Film Fond prizes for best children’s feature and best children’s short.
Terence Davies [pictured] will be given a full retrospective as well as showing his latest film A Quiet Passion and participating...
- 10/3/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Locarno premiere took home eight awards; meanwhile Ukraine greenlights cash rebate scheme.
Jan P. Matuszynski’s feature debut The Last Family swept the board at this year’s Gdynia Film Festival in Poland (19-24 September) with eight awards, including the Golden Lions Grand Prix as well as the awards for Best Actor and Actress and the Audience Award.
The tragicomic story also picked up the Journalists Award, the Onetu Award for the three lead actors Aleksandra Konieczna, Andrzej Seweryn and Dawid Ogrodnik, as well as the Elle Crystal Star and the Golden Kangaroo for director Matuszynski.
Handled internationally by New Europe Film Sales and distributed theatrically in Poland by Kino Swiat, The Last Family had its world premiere in competition at last month’s Locarno Film Festival where the Leopard for Best Actor was awarded to star Andrzej Seweryn for his performance.
Tomasz Wasilewski’s Berlinale competition title United States Of Love - also with New Film...
Jan P. Matuszynski’s feature debut The Last Family swept the board at this year’s Gdynia Film Festival in Poland (19-24 September) with eight awards, including the Golden Lions Grand Prix as well as the awards for Best Actor and Actress and the Audience Award.
The tragicomic story also picked up the Journalists Award, the Onetu Award for the three lead actors Aleksandra Konieczna, Andrzej Seweryn and Dawid Ogrodnik, as well as the Elle Crystal Star and the Golden Kangaroo for director Matuszynski.
Handled internationally by New Europe Film Sales and distributed theatrically in Poland by Kino Swiat, The Last Family had its world premiere in competition at last month’s Locarno Film Festival where the Leopard for Best Actor was awarded to star Andrzej Seweryn for his performance.
Tomasz Wasilewski’s Berlinale competition title United States Of Love - also with New Film...
- 9/26/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Bulgarian drama won the Golden Leopard as well as Best Actress for star Irena Ivanova.
Bulgarian director Ralitza Petrova’s debut feature Godless has won the top prize, the Golden Leopard, at the 69th Locarno Film Festival.
The drama also took the Best Actress award for Irena Ivanova’s performance as a nurse looking after elderly patients with dementia in a remote Bulgarian town.
In addition, the production by Klas Film’s Rossitsa Valkanova with Denmark’s Snowglobe and France’s Alcatraz Films and Film Factory, received the Ecumenical Jury’s Prize, which comes with a cash award of $20,500 (CHF20,000).
The screenplay for Godless - which is being handled internationally by Greek-based Heretic Outreach - had been supported by Torino FilmLab’s FrameWork, Sarajevo’s CineLink and the Women in Film Finishing Fund in Los Angeles.
“This prize was unusual among juries because it was a unanimous decision between all the members of our team,” the International...
Bulgarian director Ralitza Petrova’s debut feature Godless has won the top prize, the Golden Leopard, at the 69th Locarno Film Festival.
The drama also took the Best Actress award for Irena Ivanova’s performance as a nurse looking after elderly patients with dementia in a remote Bulgarian town.
In addition, the production by Klas Film’s Rossitsa Valkanova with Denmark’s Snowglobe and France’s Alcatraz Films and Film Factory, received the Ecumenical Jury’s Prize, which comes with a cash award of $20,500 (CHF20,000).
The screenplay for Godless - which is being handled internationally by Greek-based Heretic Outreach - had been supported by Torino FilmLab’s FrameWork, Sarajevo’s CineLink and the Women in Film Finishing Fund in Los Angeles.
“This prize was unusual among juries because it was a unanimous decision between all the members of our team,” the International...
- 8/13/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Wroclaw moves 2017 dates to accommodate World Games; Polish festival reveals 2016 New Horizons winners.
The film festivals in Wroclaw and Locarno are set for a collision course as both festivals will be held concurrently for the first time next year.
A Locarno spokesperson confirmed to Screen that the Swiss festival’s 70th edition will be held from Wednesday 2 to Saturday 12 August, while New Horizons will kick off its 17th outing a day later, from Thursday 3 August, according to the New Horizons press department.
New Horizons’ organisers were obliged to change its dates from the traditional slot in the last two weeks in July as the Polish city will be hosting the 10th edition of sports event the World Games.
Speaking exclusively to Screen, New Horizons festival president Roman Gutek explained that the decision to move to August for 2017 had been made two years ago in order to avoid a strain on resources in the city.
¨We have consulted...
The film festivals in Wroclaw and Locarno are set for a collision course as both festivals will be held concurrently for the first time next year.
A Locarno spokesperson confirmed to Screen that the Swiss festival’s 70th edition will be held from Wednesday 2 to Saturday 12 August, while New Horizons will kick off its 17th outing a day later, from Thursday 3 August, according to the New Horizons press department.
New Horizons’ organisers were obliged to change its dates from the traditional slot in the last two weeks in July as the Polish city will be hosting the 10th edition of sports event the World Games.
Speaking exclusively to Screen, New Horizons festival president Roman Gutek explained that the decision to move to August for 2017 had been made two years ago in order to avoid a strain on resources in the city.
¨We have consulted...
- 8/1/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Ewa Puszczynska, a producer on Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winning Ida, is preparing the first feature project of her own new company.
Speaking to ScreenDaily during this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Puszczynska said Lodz-based Extreme Emotions is managed with her daughter Emilia and is in addition to her work as a producer and head of development at Opus Film (Ida).
Puszczynska was at the Polish Days’ pitching session on Thursday (July 30) with Aa, the planned feature film debut by the Israeli-born writer-director Jack Faber, which she has been accompanying in its development for the past 18 months
Based on actual events, the film centres on the last night of a heritage tour in Poland by a group of Israeli high-school students when a prank quickly spins out of control and exposes the violent nature of the young people’s present lives.
Faber had initially started working on the project during his studies at the Netherlands Film Academy...
Speaking to ScreenDaily during this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Puszczynska said Lodz-based Extreme Emotions is managed with her daughter Emilia and is in addition to her work as a producer and head of development at Opus Film (Ida).
Puszczynska was at the Polish Days’ pitching session on Thursday (July 30) with Aa, the planned feature film debut by the Israeli-born writer-director Jack Faber, which she has been accompanying in its development for the past 18 months
Based on actual events, the film centres on the last night of a heritage tour in Poland by a group of Israeli high-school students when a prank quickly spins out of control and exposes the violent nature of the young people’s present lives.
Faber had initially started working on the project during his studies at the Netherlands Film Academy...
- 7/31/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Japan was the big winner at this year’s Moscow International Film Festival which ended on Saturday evening with the Golden St. George trophy for best film going to Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s My Man (Watashi-No Otoko) [pictured].The film, which also received the Silver St. George best actor honours for Tadanobu Asano, had its international premiere in Moscow and was the first Japanese film to win the grand prix since Kaneto Shindo’s Will To Live received the honour
Japan was the big winner at this year’s Moscow International Film Festival which ended on Saturday evening with the Golden St. George trophy for best film going to Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s My Man (Watashi-No Otoko) [pictured].
The film, which also received the Silver St. George best actor honours for Tadanobu Asano, had its international premiere in Moscow and was the first Japanese film to win the grand prix since Kaneto Shindo’s Will To Live received the honour in 1999.
Kumakiri...
Japan was the big winner at this year’s Moscow International Film Festival which ended on Saturday evening with the Golden St. George trophy for best film going to Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s My Man (Watashi-No Otoko) [pictured].
The film, which also received the Silver St. George best actor honours for Tadanobu Asano, had its international premiere in Moscow and was the first Japanese film to win the grand prix since Kaneto Shindo’s Will To Live received the honour in 1999.
Kumakiri...
- 6/29/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
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