Watching an actual barn burn to the ground while filming “Minari,” Lee Isaac Chung knew he wanted to make a disaster movie.
The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker behind that bittersweet and semiautobiographical portrait of South Korean immigrant life in rural Arkansas is now the director of “Twisters” — not a reboot, not a sequel, but an expansion of the world built (and destroyed) by the 1996 tornado blockbuster. Here, a team of science-loving storm chasers led by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos become rivals to a group of scrappier thriller seekers led by Glen Powell in this summer’s ultimate blockbuster spectacle — and its most forceful argument for the importance of the big-screen experience.
But back to that barn-burning that so intoxicated its director. In “Minari,” Jacob (Steven Yeun) watches flames engulf his barn after his mother-in-law (Yuh-Jung Young) sets fire to it. Filming that moment was a high Chung has been chasing ever since,...
The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker behind that bittersweet and semiautobiographical portrait of South Korean immigrant life in rural Arkansas is now the director of “Twisters” — not a reboot, not a sequel, but an expansion of the world built (and destroyed) by the 1996 tornado blockbuster. Here, a team of science-loving storm chasers led by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos become rivals to a group of scrappier thriller seekers led by Glen Powell in this summer’s ultimate blockbuster spectacle — and its most forceful argument for the importance of the big-screen experience.
But back to that barn-burning that so intoxicated its director. In “Minari,” Jacob (Steven Yeun) watches flames engulf his barn after his mother-in-law (Yuh-Jung Young) sets fire to it. Filming that moment was a high Chung has been chasing ever since,...
- 7/15/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
As with most pieces of art, films are often a collection of life experiences. A writer or filmmaker often doesn’t display their true creative potential until tackling the moments that shaped their lives. Lee Isaac Chung had earned acclaim for his feature debut “Munyurangabo,” which debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Despite two follow pictures, he has only now shown his genuine auteur talent with the semi-autobiographical “Minari.”
Read More: Steven Yeun faces his father’s generation in “Minari” [Interview]
Set in the 1980s, “Minari” follows the Yi family as they attempt to farm Korean produce in rural Arkansas.
Continue reading ‘Minari’ Might Have Been Lee Isaac Chung’s Last Shot At Filmmaking [Interview] at The Playlist.
Read More: Steven Yeun faces his father’s generation in “Minari” [Interview]
Set in the 1980s, “Minari” follows the Yi family as they attempt to farm Korean produce in rural Arkansas.
Continue reading ‘Minari’ Might Have Been Lee Isaac Chung’s Last Shot At Filmmaking [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 3/4/2021
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
The biography and the filmmaking career path of the American auteur Lee Isaac Chung is a bit peculiar. Born to first-generation Korean immigrant parents, he grew up in rural Arkansas, studied ecology at Yale and planned to go to a medical school before giving it up for his filmmaking dream. After a number of shorts realized during his studies at the University of Utah, his shot his first feature “Munyurangabo” (2007) in Rwanda and in Kinyarwanda language (as the first ever narrative feature film). It premiered at Cannes to a great critical reception, signalling a significant talent on the rise. His next two features, “Lucky Life” (2010) and “Abigail Harm” (2012) were more to the typical American indie side, while he went back to Rwanda to co-direct a documentary called “I Have Seen My Last Born” (2015).
For his last one, “Minari”, premiering cum laudae at last year’s Sundance, he went back to his personal history.
For his last one, “Minari”, premiering cum laudae at last year’s Sundance, he went back to his personal history.
- 2/19/2021
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
‘Finding Hillywood’: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present documentary about Rwanda’s budding film industry The 2013 documentary Finding Hillywood, which offers a glimpse into the budding film industry in Rwanda, will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Bpeace, the Business Council for Peace, at a special screening on Monday, October 21, at 7 p.m. at the Academy Theater in New York City. The Finding Hillywood screening will be followed by an onstage discussion with Leah Warshawski, who directed and produced the documentary with Christopher Towey, and production designer Wynn Thomas (Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, Spike Lee’s Inside Man), who was a member of the Academy’s International Outreach delegation to Rwanda and Kenya in 2011. According to the Academy’s website, Wynn Thomas and several other Academy delegates, among them actress Alfre Woodard (Cross Creek), writer-director Phil Robinson (Field of Dreams...
- 10/4/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
I've always liked Amanda Plummer. Her small, gravelly voice, her fawn-like demeanor, and her hidden ferocity have always gotten my attention in the many films in which I've seen her. It's that fragile, otherworldly quality of the seasoned actress that director Lee Isaac Chung (Munyurangabo) taps into and uses to maximum effect in his new feature film, Abigail Harm.This modern day fairy tale is apparently loosely based on a Korean folklore, Woodcutter and the Nymph, which goes something like this: Once there was a poor man who barely eked out a living off of cutting down and selling trees deep in the countryside. One day, he encountered a wounded deer in the forest. The animal pleaded with him to hide him from the hunters. This...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 8/29/2013
- Screen Anarchy
We all require friendship, companionship. In the three films Lee Isaac Chung (known as Isaac) has made, he observes assorted relationships in vastly different milieu: in Munyurangabo (2007), the bustling central market of Kigali, the capitol of Rwanda, and that country’s verdant countryside and poor isolated villages; a beach house smacking of privilege on the southeastern coast of the U.S. in Lucky Life (2010); and, in his latest, the mysterious, inventive Abigail Harm (2013), a large but charmless apartment on a depressing, sparsely populated edge of New York City. The dramatic emphases, however, are less on bonding than on the […]...
- 8/28/2013
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Matthias Schoenaerts, Bullhead AFI Fest 2011, currently being held in Los Angeles, has announced the winners of its audience and jury awards. The Breakthrough section Audience Award winner was Alexandra-Therese Keining's Swedish romantic drama With Every Heartbeat, starring Ruth Vega Fernandez and Liv Mjönes as two women who meet and fall in love at a family wedding. Michaël R. Roskam's Belgian [not Dutch, as previously stated in this post] crime drama Bullhead, that country's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar entry, was the winner in the New Auteurs section. The film's star, Matthias Schoenaerts, was given the Acting Award for his portrayal of a Limburg cattle farmer enmeshed in shady activities. In the Young Americans section, the winner was Clay Liford's comedy Wuss, the story of a high-school teacher whose life takes a turn for the worse after he gets beaten up by his own pupils. David Gelb's Philip Glass-scored documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, about sushi master Jiro Ono,...
- 11/11/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Lee Isaac Chung’s follow-up to the acclaimed Munyurangabo… the story goes… Every year, Jason, Alex, and newly married Mark and Karen leave New York for a North Carolina beach house to reconnect and relax. But this year is different: Jason has been diagnosed with an aggressive terminal cancer, re-purposing their trip as a meaningful, yet uncertain, farewell to Jason.
Jason’s the sole black fellow, by the way… why else would I post this . He’s played by Kenyon Adams. The film will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival next week.
Jason’s the sole black fellow, by the way… why else would I post this . He’s played by Kenyon Adams. The film will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival next week.
- 4/21/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Following his last feature "Munyurangabo," shot in Rwanda, director Lee Isaac Chung returned to the U.S. to tell an altogether different story in "Lucky Life." The touching drama will be making its world premiere at Tribeca this year, and is competing in the World Narrative Feature Competition. Every year, Jason, Alex, and newly married Mark and Karen leave New York for a North Carolina beach house to reconnect and relax. But ...
- 4/21/2010
- indieWIRE - People
Following his last feature "Munyurangabo," shot in Rwanda, director Lee Isaac Chung returned to the U.S. to tell an altogether different story in "Lucky Life." The touching drama will be making its world premiere at Tribeca this year, and is competing in the World Narrative Feature Competition. Every year, Jason, Alex, and newly married Mark and Karen leave New York for a North Carolina beach house to reconnect and relax. But ...
- 4/21/2010
- Indiewire
Welcome back to our Tribeca 2010 Film Festival preview series. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll be featuring a providing trailers and film descriptions, for many of the films that Rudie Obias will be seeing while at the Film Festival. We’ll try to feature smaller, independent films that may not be receiving as much media attention as say, the next Shrek film which also happens to be premiering at Tribeca. Tonight we’re highlighting Lee Isaac Chung’s film, Lucky Life.
Lucky Life will be screening on April 23rd, 28th, and 30th. For complete times and locations, visit the Tribeca Film Festival website. You can also visit the film’s website, or become a fan of the film on Facebook.
Again, be sure to follow Rudie on Twitter, to stay up to date as to what he’s watching, and what it’s like to attend the Tribeca Film Festival.
Lucky Life will be screening on April 23rd, 28th, and 30th. For complete times and locations, visit the Tribeca Film Festival website. You can also visit the film’s website, or become a fan of the film on Facebook.
Again, be sure to follow Rudie on Twitter, to stay up to date as to what he’s watching, and what it’s like to attend the Tribeca Film Festival.
- 4/6/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
At the Movies may be closing up shop, but the legacy of Roger Ebert continues on. This week, the titles were announced for the 12th annual Ebertfest, held at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, not far from the campus of the University of Illinois. Members of his movie club were informed a few days ago, but the film schedule has now been announced on the fest's website for every cinema lover to salivate over.
The festivities kick off in mind-melting fashion on Wednesday, April 21 with a 70mm presentation of Alan Parker's Pink Floyd: The Wall. If your faculties are intact after that you may want to stick around to see Roy Andersson's You, The Living with actress Jessika Lundberg and Assistant Director/Production Manager, Johan Carlsson, in attendance.
Thursday brings audiences Munyurangabo with writer/director Lee Isaac Chung, co-writer/producer, Sam Anderson and co-producer Jenny Lund, The New Age...
The festivities kick off in mind-melting fashion on Wednesday, April 21 with a 70mm presentation of Alan Parker's Pink Floyd: The Wall. If your faculties are intact after that you may want to stick around to see Roy Andersson's You, The Living with actress Jessika Lundberg and Assistant Director/Production Manager, Johan Carlsson, in attendance.
Thursday brings audiences Munyurangabo with writer/director Lee Isaac Chung, co-writer/producer, Sam Anderson and co-producer Jenny Lund, The New Age...
- 3/28/2010
- by Erik Childress
- Cinematical
9th Annual Festival to Present 85 Feature-Length and 47 Short Film Selections from April 21 – May 2, 2010
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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach
New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.
The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...
***
Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach
New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.
The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...
- 3/10/2010
- Makingof.com
Look at it this way. We have the chance to see virtually every American film that's released, and many of the English language films in general. But with the crisis in U.S. distribution, the only foreign-language films are those someone paid hard cash for, and risked opening here. "You always like those foreign films," I'm told, often by someone making it sound like a failing. Not always, but often. They tend to involve characters of intelligence and complexity. If
they're about people of subnormal intelligence, they're about that, or acknowledge it. In most of the world, people want to hurry into adulthood, not clinging to adolescence.
Have you noticed how many American mainstream films are about stupid people who are presented as normal? One opened recently: "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" No one in that film has an interesting thought as they stumble from one plot point to the next.
they're about people of subnormal intelligence, they're about that, or acknowledge it. In most of the world, people want to hurry into adulthood, not clinging to adolescence.
Have you noticed how many American mainstream films are about stupid people who are presented as normal? One opened recently: "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" No one in that film has an interesting thought as they stumble from one plot point to the next.
- 12/30/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
"Just learned, Robin Wood has died," Jaime posted at Dave Kehr's site yesterday evening. "I can't think of anything else to say, except that the loss hurts, a lot. What a wonderful mind."
Anecdotes and appreciations have followed in the ensuing hours. "He and Andrew Sarris were my role models when I started writing film criticism," posts Joseph McBride, "and they remain my two idols in the field. Robin wrote brilliantly and in great intellectual depth and with a brave candor and passion. He showed us all the way to write about films seriously and with the kind of scholarly involvement that characterized the work of the great literary critics who paved his way before film criticism became a true scholarly field. Robin was one of the few auteurists who weathered the structuralist storm by accomodating its insights while not succumbing to its jargon or conformism. His work was actually strengthened by that challenge.
Anecdotes and appreciations have followed in the ensuing hours. "He and Andrew Sarris were my role models when I started writing film criticism," posts Joseph McBride, "and they remain my two idols in the field. Robin wrote brilliantly and in great intellectual depth and with a brave candor and passion. He showed us all the way to write about films seriously and with the kind of scholarly involvement that characterized the work of the great literary critics who paved his way before film criticism became a true scholarly field. Robin was one of the few auteurists who weathered the structuralist storm by accomodating its insights while not succumbing to its jargon or conformism. His work was actually strengthened by that challenge.
- 12/25/2009
- MUBI
This is the best of times and the worst of times for the kinds of films we here in this blog find ourselves seeking. I'm talking about good independent films--which usually means films financed, released and marketed outside the big distribution channels. That's a vague category which might also include foreign films, documentaries and classic revivals. These are the films where the future of film as an art form resides.
I have nothing to say against mainstream movies, the kinds that open on thousands of screens and are the only movies most people ever hear about. I like a lot of them--too many some of my readers say. They fend nicely for themselves. Sometimes they can be genuine art. Good for them.
I speak instead of films that make their own way in the world, inhabiting those few theaters that are booked with taste and independence. Or films available only on DVD.
I have nothing to say against mainstream movies, the kinds that open on thousands of screens and are the only movies most people ever hear about. I like a lot of them--too many some of my readers say. They fend nicely for themselves. Sometimes they can be genuine art. Good for them.
I speak instead of films that make their own way in the world, inhabiting those few theaters that are booked with taste and independence. Or films available only on DVD.
- 7/25/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Eric Ndorunkundiye And Josef "Jeff" Rutagengwa In Director Lee Isaac Chung'S Munyurangabo. Courtesy Film Movement. For Lee Isaac Chung, filmmaking is linked to tackling challenges and obstacles above and beyond those inherent to the cinematic process. The son of Korean immigrants, Chung was born in Denver in 1978 and grew up on a farm in rural Arkansas. He attended Yale and was studying biology, on track to become a doctor, when he discovered arthouse movies. Rather than continue on his path to a medical career, Chung took a filmmaking class given by Michael Roemer and went on to earn an Mfa in film from the University of Utah in 2004. A classmate at Utah, Yohei Kawamata, became the star of Chung's first two shorts, Highway (2004) and Sex...
- 6/10/2009
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
“Munyurangabo” boasts a provenance that would make a film festival programmer salivate—here is a debut feature from Rwanda starring nonactors, written by a white American, and directed by a Korean-American. But the movie’s successful jog on the festival circuit, which included stops at Cannes and Toronto, can be attributed to more than its back story. Rough around the edges though it may be, director Lee Isaac Chung’s film is an intermittently …...
- 5/26/2009
- Indiewire
With Cannes now wrapped up, this week finds everyone on the move as a trio of Indian workers go to Michigan, Sam Raimi goes home and Karl Fredricksen and his yappy companion go, well, up.
Download this in audio form (MP3: 07:59 minutes, 11 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Departures"
Best known as the unknown film that won the Best Foreign Language Oscar, Japanese director Yojiro Takita's tonally eccentric story of guilt and self-realization finally gets a chance to prove its bonafides. Crushed by the dismantling of his Tokyo-based orchestra, newly unemployed cellist Daigo Kobyashi (Masahiro Motoki) returns to his sleepy hometown to work performing burial rituals at a funeral home, a job that slowly transitions from a necessity to a duty to a calling. In Japanese with subtitles.
Opens in limited release.
"Drag Me To Hell"
The first film from Ghost House Pictures to actually be directed by the boss,...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 07:59 minutes, 11 Mb) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]
"Departures"
Best known as the unknown film that won the Best Foreign Language Oscar, Japanese director Yojiro Takita's tonally eccentric story of guilt and self-realization finally gets a chance to prove its bonafides. Crushed by the dismantling of his Tokyo-based orchestra, newly unemployed cellist Daigo Kobyashi (Masahiro Motoki) returns to his sleepy hometown to work performing burial rituals at a funeral home, a job that slowly transitions from a necessity to a duty to a calling. In Japanese with subtitles.
Opens in limited release.
"Drag Me To Hell"
The first film from Ghost House Pictures to actually be directed by the boss,...
- 5/25/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
We're all for getting out in the summertime, but there might not be anything more refreshing than cooling off in a movie theater... or seeing a movie in the comfort of your air-conditioned home on demand, on DVD, or online... or better yet catching a classic on the big screen at a nearby repertory theater. With literally hundreds of films to choose from this summer, we humbly present this guide to the season's most exciting offerings.
May 1
"Eldorado"
The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy
Director: Bouli Lanners
Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,
The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.
May 1
"Eldorado"
The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy
Director: Bouli Lanners
Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,
The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.
- 5/6/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
James Cameron in Los Angeles with 70Mm prints of "Aliens" and "The Abyss"?!?! The Dardenne brothers in New York for a career retrospective?!?! The instant cult classic "The Room" with Tommy Wiseau live in Austin?!?! Be still my heart. There's something for all tastes this summer on the West Coast, the East Coast and as you'll notice, the Third Coast on our calendar of the must-see events on the repertory theater circuit in May, June and July. And don't miss our look at the indie films that are hitting theaters or headed to online, VOD or DVD premiere this summer.
Anthology Film Archives
With the New York Polish Film Festival (May 6-10) and first-runs of the docs "Ice People" (May 1-7) and "Audience of One" (May 8-14) and Ken Jacobs' reinvention of his 1969 work "Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son" with the 3D "Anaglyph Tom" (May 15-21) taking up the Anthology's screens,...
Anthology Film Archives
With the New York Polish Film Festival (May 6-10) and first-runs of the docs "Ice People" (May 1-7) and "Audience of One" (May 8-14) and Ken Jacobs' reinvention of his 1969 work "Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son" with the 3D "Anaglyph Tom" (May 15-21) taking up the Anthology's screens,...
- 5/5/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Recent US Acquisitions
For a market that is supposed to be flat, there are a number of U.S. film acquisitions made in the month of March, not to mention February. If there's no money, are these companies acquiring them for no mgs? The films are also holding up surprisingly well in theaters which bodes well for future sales of independent films into the coming year. Rumblings from venture capital waiting in the wings to begin investing again are also heard. I predict 2010 will be the year of the turnaround when the buying cycle begins again. Meanwhile there are some bargains to be had. Also notable are the key festivals where these films have all shown.
Amreeka was acquired by National Geographic and will open New Directors/ New Films. It showed as a work in progress at the Dubai Film Festival and went from there to its world premiere at Sundance. William Morris Independent brokered the deal on behalf of E1 Entertainment which has acquired Charlotte Mickie's and Robert Lantos' Maximum as well as U.K. distribtution company Contender all of which are very notable moves in the industry.
Afghan Star which showed at IDFA went to ZeitgeistZeitgeist[/link] for U.S. It was the Sundance World Doc winner of both Best Director and Audience Awards. Earlier this month they acquired Three Monkeys from the bankrupt New Yorker whose auction earlier this month found no takers. So its catalog still resides with its creditor Technicolor.
Nowhere Boy went to The Weinstein Co. for U.S., Latin America and German speaking territories from Hanway.
The Greatest went to Senator for North America who saw it at Sundance. It was repped by Graham Taylor of Endeavor and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.
Paranoids went to Oscilloscope from Visit Films for North America just before its SXSW premiere. The Toronto and Berlin film of Fortissimo, Unmistaken Child, went earlier to Oscilloscope for North America. Earlier in the month Oscilloscope acquired Burma VJ and The Garden.
B-Side acquired its first film for U.S., RiP: A Remix Manifesto before its SXSW screening. Disinformation will release it on DVD. In Canada Eye Steele and National Film Board of Canada will partner with B-Side on its release there.
One of several new U.S. distributors, Trela Media, acquired its first of 6 envisioned yearly acquisitions, Guest of Cindy Sherman which has played in several festivals already for North America.
Another new and innovative U.S. distribution configuration of Variance Films, Elementary Films and Argyle Productons will will release the Hot Docs, Hamptons and Margaret Mead festival film Nursery University in April 2009 in New York.
Lorber HT Digital acquired Intangible Asset #82 before it SXSW premiere and Nollywood Babylon which showed in Toronto and Sundance for North America.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil was acquired by VH1 for North America.
Strand acquied U.S. rights to The Headless Woman from Focus. It had been named one of the best as yet undistributed films of 2008 by IndieWIRE after its premier in Cannes last year.
First Run acquired Four Seasons Lodge by Albert Maysles and a handpicked team for U.S.
Wolfe acquired Pedro for DVD and VOD, and MTV acquired TV rights in North America. Produced by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland for U.S., it premiered in Toronto.
The Cove which premiered in Sundance and was acquired for world sales by The Works went to Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and Participant for U.S. The deal was made with William Morris Indendent and Submarine.
Alive Mind, Richard Lorber's intellectual, spiritual and alternative distribution outfit acquired North American rights to Theater of War.
Film Movement acquired North American rights to Munyurangabo from Umedia after its festival screenings in Cannes' Un Certain Regard, Berlin, Toronto and New Directors/ New Films. It premiered at Slamdance.
Regent acquired worldwide rights excluding North America to Weather Girl from Submarine Entertainment.
Amreeka was acquired by National Geographic and will open New Directors/ New Films. It showed as a work in progress at the Dubai Film Festival and went from there to its world premiere at Sundance. William Morris Independent brokered the deal on behalf of E1 Entertainment which has acquired Charlotte Mickie's and Robert Lantos' Maximum as well as U.K. distribtution company Contender all of which are very notable moves in the industry.
Afghan Star which showed at IDFA went to ZeitgeistZeitgeist[/link] for U.S. It was the Sundance World Doc winner of both Best Director and Audience Awards. Earlier this month they acquired Three Monkeys from the bankrupt New Yorker whose auction earlier this month found no takers. So its catalog still resides with its creditor Technicolor.
Nowhere Boy went to The Weinstein Co. for U.S., Latin America and German speaking territories from Hanway.
The Greatest went to Senator for North America who saw it at Sundance. It was repped by Graham Taylor of Endeavor and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.
Paranoids went to Oscilloscope from Visit Films for North America just before its SXSW premiere. The Toronto and Berlin film of Fortissimo, Unmistaken Child, went earlier to Oscilloscope for North America. Earlier in the month Oscilloscope acquired Burma VJ and The Garden.
B-Side acquired its first film for U.S., RiP: A Remix Manifesto before its SXSW screening. Disinformation will release it on DVD. In Canada Eye Steele and National Film Board of Canada will partner with B-Side on its release there.
One of several new U.S. distributors, Trela Media, acquired its first of 6 envisioned yearly acquisitions, Guest of Cindy Sherman which has played in several festivals already for North America.
Another new and innovative U.S. distribution configuration of Variance Films, Elementary Films and Argyle Productons will will release the Hot Docs, Hamptons and Margaret Mead festival film Nursery University in April 2009 in New York.
Lorber HT Digital acquired Intangible Asset #82 before it SXSW premiere and Nollywood Babylon which showed in Toronto and Sundance for North America.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil was acquired by VH1 for North America.
Strand acquied U.S. rights to The Headless Woman from Focus. It had been named one of the best as yet undistributed films of 2008 by IndieWIRE after its premier in Cannes last year.
First Run acquired Four Seasons Lodge by Albert Maysles and a handpicked team for U.S.
Wolfe acquired Pedro for DVD and VOD, and MTV acquired TV rights in North America. Produced by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland for U.S., it premiered in Toronto.
The Cove which premiered in Sundance and was acquired for world sales by The Works went to Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and Participant for U.S. The deal was made with William Morris Indendent and Submarine.
Alive Mind, Richard Lorber's intellectual, spiritual and alternative distribution outfit acquired North American rights to Theater of War.
Film Movement acquired North American rights to Munyurangabo from Umedia after its festival screenings in Cannes' Un Certain Regard, Berlin, Toronto and New Directors/ New Films. It premiered at Slamdance.
Regent acquired worldwide rights excluding North America to Weather Girl from Submarine Entertainment.
- 3/23/2009
- Sydney's Buzz
In this week's edition of Indie Roundup, we look back on a busy week for acquisitions, upcoming film awards, and two fests.
Deals. The Garden, nominated this year for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, was picked up by Oscilloscope and will be released to theaters in the spring and on DVD this summer, according to indieWIRE. Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, the film follows a long court battle to save the South Central Farm, a community produce garden that sprang up in the wake of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
With the unfortunate demise of New Yorker Films, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's critically-acclaimed Three Monkeys will now be distributed by Zeitgeist Films. The theatrical release planned for this month will be delayed to April.
Other films receiving deals, per indieWIRE, with distributor and release dates noted: Roger Spottiswoode's Shake Hands with the Devil (Regent Releasing, Summer 2009); Lee Isaac Chung's Munyurangabo (Film Movement,...
Deals. The Garden, nominated this year for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, was picked up by Oscilloscope and will be released to theaters in the spring and on DVD this summer, according to indieWIRE. Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, the film follows a long court battle to save the South Central Farm, a community produce garden that sprang up in the wake of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
With the unfortunate demise of New Yorker Films, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's critically-acclaimed Three Monkeys will now be distributed by Zeitgeist Films. The theatrical release planned for this month will be delayed to April.
Other films receiving deals, per indieWIRE, with distributor and release dates noted: Roger Spottiswoode's Shake Hands with the Devil (Regent Releasing, Summer 2009); Lee Isaac Chung's Munyurangabo (Film Movement,...
- 3/5/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
- I think Film Movement's company motto should be "no excellent film gets left behind". I've repeatedly missed out Lee Isaac Chung's debut film on the festival circuit, but it looks like FM have given a second life to the debut of a promising new director (Chung was fittingly nominated for the Indie Spirit's Someone to Watch Award). The company is looking at a May release. Munyurangabo accomplished one of those rare triple crown feats: it started its festival life at Cannes, made its way to Tiff and landed in Berlin. The story commences with the stealing a machete from a market in Kigali, Munyurangabo and his friend, Sangwa, leave the city on a journey tied to their pasts. Munyurangabo wants justice for his parents who were killed in the genocide, and Sangwa wants to visit the home he deserted years ago. Though they plan to visit Sangwa's home for just a few hours,
- 3/2/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Film Movement has acquired rights to American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung's "Munyurangabo," a study of two Rwandan teenagers.
The film, which premiered last year as part of the Festival de Cannes's Un Certain Regard sidebar, will be released domestically in late May.
The first narrative feature shot in the native Kinyarwanda dialect, the film boasts an entirely nonprofessional cast and crew consisting of genocide orphans, returned refugees and other undereducated locals barely making a living in the village where the film was shot.
"This is an incredibly special film, in many ways, that we believe will soon become a world cinema classic," said Rebeca Conget, Film Movement's vp acquisitions and distribution. "We feel extremely proud to give 'Munyurangabo' a home in North America and look forward to sharing its compelling story and artistry with audiences."
The deal was negotiated by Film Movement president nm2231766 autoAdley Gartenstein...
The film, which premiered last year as part of the Festival de Cannes's Un Certain Regard sidebar, will be released domestically in late May.
The first narrative feature shot in the native Kinyarwanda dialect, the film boasts an entirely nonprofessional cast and crew consisting of genocide orphans, returned refugees and other undereducated locals barely making a living in the village where the film was shot.
"This is an incredibly special film, in many ways, that we believe will soon become a world cinema classic," said Rebeca Conget, Film Movement's vp acquisitions and distribution. "We feel extremely proud to give 'Munyurangabo' a home in North America and look forward to sharing its compelling story and artistry with audiences."
The deal was negotiated by Film Movement president nm2231766 autoAdley Gartenstein...
- 3/2/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- The very young, and so far, extremely successful Cannes Atelier program (now in its 4th year) has announced the 15 projects as part of the 2008 curriculum that basically invites directors and their producers to pitch their projects, find financing and/or find distribution to world investors in film the film festival dates. This year's batch includes plenty of first time film projects from short film directors who've canvased the festival circuit but the list also two familiar names with the 6th film project from Lou Ye's (Summer Palace) and the sophomore feature (Lucky Life) from Lee Isaac Chung - perhaps 2007's best new director with Munyurangabo (Liberation Day) making waves on the circuit. Here are the selected projects: Australia – Cure For Serpents by Ben Hackworth (2nd feature film)China – Bitch by Lou Ye (6th feature film)Colombia – The Stoplight Society by Ruben Mendoza (1st feature film)Estonia – One More Croissant
- 3/31/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- The toast of the town is Diablo Cody and the gift she gave to Jason Reitman. Juno picks up a trio of awards and trailing with two awards each is another Fox Searchlight flick The Savages and the Cannes Julian Schnabel and his cinematographer were well rewarded for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's aesthetic brilliance. Here is the complete list of noms and winners below. Best Feature: Juno Best Director: Julian Schnabel Best First Feature: The Lookout Best Documentary: Crazy Love Best Foreign Film: Once Best Female Lead: Ellen Page Best Male Lead: Philip Seymour Hoffman Best Supporting Female: Cate Blanchett Best Supporting Male: Chiwetel Ejiofor Best Screenplay: The Savages Best First Screenplay: Juno Best Cinematography: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly John Cassavetes Award: August Evening August Evening Writer/Director: Chris Eska Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling Owl and the Sparrow Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger Producers: Nguyen Van Quan,
- 2/23/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- Underrated, overlooked, and mostly unknown, I’ve decided to highlight my four favorite award sections separately from today’s lengthy list of Indie Spirit noms. Why? because a). I haven’t heard of half these films and want to further research them, b). I want to add the missing titles to the Ioncinema.com database and c). I think it’s in the best interests of indie film lovers to familiarize themselves with the budding/future talent. Commencing with the John Cassavetes award noms (the name of this section says it all) which is given to the best feature made for under $500,000; and followed by the noms for my favorite category the Someone to Watch Award and the listings for the Truer Than Fiction Award the Producers Award.August Evening is a two-time nominee thanks to the votes going to actor Pedro Castaneda. Owl and the Sparrow was actually
- 11/28/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- The 2007 AFI Fest ended with the screening of Love in the Time of Cholera and the announcement of this year's winners with the politically correct choice of Munyurangabo, an uneven drama set in Rwanda by a Korean-American director was a surprise given the strong line up this year. The tie between Operation Filmmaker and Afghan Muscles was justified, both were evocative and timely, dealing with an Iraqi film student and the other about Afghan body builders. Winners pictured above are: From left to Right: Jenny Lund (Munyurangabo), Nash Edgerton (Spider), Lauren Greenfield (Kids + Money), Jeffrey Schwarz (Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story), Andreas Mol Dalsgaard (Afghan Muscles), Micheal Addis (Heckler). The line up was one of the strongest in years including many films from Cannes (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Persepolis, Silent Light, Jellyfish, Caramel, Secret Sunshine and others) and Berlin (Irina Palm, The
- 11/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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