Italian indie producer Vivo Film has boarded André Ristum’s action drama “Tecnicamente Dolce” (“Technically Sweet”), based on a screenplay by Italian legend Michelangelo Antonioni, teaming with Gullane Filmes, Brazil’s biggest independent film production house.
The news comes as “Carnival Is Over,” the awaited thriller drama by “Narcos” director Fernando Coimbra, whose “A Wolf at the Door” was one of the standout Brazilian feature debuts of the last decade, has now entered post-production, shaping up as one of the big arthouse titles to hit festivals from Brazil next year.
Featuring Leandra Leal (“A Wolf at the Door”), Pêpê Rapazote (“Narcos”) and Irandhir Santos (“Tropa de Elite 2”), “Carnival” is a Brazilian-Portuguese co-production that teams Gullane with Fado Filmes, Videodrome, Globo Filmes and Telecine, in association with Tc Filmes. France’s Playtime has started to pre-sell the film.
“This movie is our main title for next year. This is the...
The news comes as “Carnival Is Over,” the awaited thriller drama by “Narcos” director Fernando Coimbra, whose “A Wolf at the Door” was one of the standout Brazilian feature debuts of the last decade, has now entered post-production, shaping up as one of the big arthouse titles to hit festivals from Brazil next year.
Featuring Leandra Leal (“A Wolf at the Door”), Pêpê Rapazote (“Narcos”) and Irandhir Santos (“Tropa de Elite 2”), “Carnival” is a Brazilian-Portuguese co-production that teams Gullane with Fado Filmes, Videodrome, Globo Filmes and Telecine, in association with Tc Filmes. France’s Playtime has started to pre-sell the film.
“This movie is our main title for next year. This is the...
- 5/24/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio is returning to Cannes with ‘Kidnapped’, a drama that reconstructs the true tale of Edgardo Mortara, a young Jewish boy who was kidnapped and forcibly raised as a Christian in 19th century Italy.
It’s a story that Steven Spielberg had his eye on, having announced in 2016 that he would make a drama about Mortara for which he began scouting locations in Italy, reports ‘Variety’.
Earlier this month, it also scored a slew of statuettes, including best director, at Italy’s David Awards, the country’s top film prizes.
Talking about how his approach to the story is different, Bellocchio told ‘Variety’, “Working with writer-director Susanna Nicchiarelli, who directed historical films ‘Nico, 1988’, ‘Miss Marx’ and ‘Chiara’, we used several books as sources, but also plenty of documents. Since it’s about an Italy that no longer exists, we did lots of digital effects work to reconstruct that world.
It’s a story that Steven Spielberg had his eye on, having announced in 2016 that he would make a drama about Mortara for which he began scouting locations in Italy, reports ‘Variety’.
Earlier this month, it also scored a slew of statuettes, including best director, at Italy’s David Awards, the country’s top film prizes.
Talking about how his approach to the story is different, Bellocchio told ‘Variety’, “Working with writer-director Susanna Nicchiarelli, who directed historical films ‘Nico, 1988’, ‘Miss Marx’ and ‘Chiara’, we used several books as sources, but also plenty of documents. Since it’s about an Italy that no longer exists, we did lots of digital effects work to reconstruct that world.
- 5/23/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Revered Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio is returning to Cannes with “Kidnapped,” a drama that reconstructs the true tale of Edgardo Mortara, a young Jewish boy who was kidnapped and forcibly raised as a Christian in 19th century Italy.
It’s a story that Steven Spielberg had his eye on, having announced in 2016 that he would make a drama about Mortara for which he began scouting locations in Italy.
Last year, Bellocchio was in Cannes with another kidnapping drama, the limited TV series “Exterior Night,” about the abduction and assassination of former Italian premier Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists. The veteran auteur’s first foray in TV has had the rare distinction of playing well in Italian cinemas — in two installments — before airing on Rai and selling globally. Earlier this month it also scored a slew of statuettes, including best director, at Italy’s David Awards, the country’s top film prizes.
It’s a story that Steven Spielberg had his eye on, having announced in 2016 that he would make a drama about Mortara for which he began scouting locations in Italy.
Last year, Bellocchio was in Cannes with another kidnapping drama, the limited TV series “Exterior Night,” about the abduction and assassination of former Italian premier Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists. The veteran auteur’s first foray in TV has had the rare distinction of playing well in Italian cinemas — in two installments — before airing on Rai and selling globally. Earlier this month it also scored a slew of statuettes, including best director, at Italy’s David Awards, the country’s top film prizes.
- 5/23/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli, whose trilogy of female biopics, “Nico, 1988,” “Miss Marx,” and “Chiara” all launched from the Venice Film Festival, is set to direct the TV series “Fireworks” depicting the struggle of Italy’s partisans against Nazis and Fascists through the point of view of a twelve-year-old girl named Marta.
Shooting is set to start on May 8 in the Piedmontese Alps on “Fireworks,” which is being produced by Domenico Procacci’s Fandango and Rome shingle Matrioska.
Fandango, who is the show’s lead producer, is in advanced talks with Italian state broadcaster Rai to come on board. Fandango is also talking up the six-episode limited series at the Series Mania confab in Lille, France, where they are seeking prospective international partners.
The “Fireworks” cast, which is not fully contractualized, is being kept under wraps.
The historical series is based on the book “Fuochi d’artificio” by prolific Italian writer...
Shooting is set to start on May 8 in the Piedmontese Alps on “Fireworks,” which is being produced by Domenico Procacci’s Fandango and Rome shingle Matrioska.
Fandango, who is the show’s lead producer, is in advanced talks with Italian state broadcaster Rai to come on board. Fandango is also talking up the six-episode limited series at the Series Mania confab in Lille, France, where they are seeking prospective international partners.
The “Fireworks” cast, which is not fully contractualized, is being kept under wraps.
The historical series is based on the book “Fuochi d’artificio” by prolific Italian writer...
- 3/22/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With “Chiara,” Susanna Nicchiarelli’s portrait of Saint Clare of Assisi – the 13th century saint born into a wealthy family who at age 18 became a nun after hearing St. Francis preach – the Italian director completes her trilogy of female biopics, segueing from “Nico, 1988” and “Miss Marx,” which both launched respectively from Venice’s Horizons and competition sections. She is now back on the Lido in competition with “Chiara.”
Nicchiarelli spoke to Variety about what drew her to portraying this prototypical feminist and directing “My Brilliant Friend” star Margherita Mazzucco in the pic’s titular role. Excerpts.
What drove you to want to tell us this story about St. Clare?
Well, first of all, I was always passionate about Saint Francis. I have a very strong memory when I first saw Franco Zeffirelli’s “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” I was at school when they showed it to us and this boy,...
Nicchiarelli spoke to Variety about what drew her to portraying this prototypical feminist and directing “My Brilliant Friend” star Margherita Mazzucco in the pic’s titular role. Excerpts.
What drove you to want to tell us this story about St. Clare?
Well, first of all, I was always passionate about Saint Francis. I have a very strong memory when I first saw Franco Zeffirelli’s “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” I was at school when they showed it to us and this boy,...
- 9/10/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In spite of a disastrous box office situation, the Italian film industry is staying buoyant thanks to increased exports, a friendly rapport with streaming giants and support from the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi that is pumping money into a revamp of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios.
“Production never stopped and ailing movie theaters have been able to get subsidies,” says Francesco Rutelli, the former Rome mayor who heads Italy’s motion picture association, Anica. The org recently broadened its member base to include executives from Amazon Prime Video, Disney and ViacomCBS, after Netflix had joined.
This move — which is unique in Europe — indicates the level of friendly dialogue between film producers and streaming platforms in Italy, best encapsulated by Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” Italy’s international Oscar nominee. Sorrentino’s Netflix original film was released theatrically in November across the country before dropping on the platform...
“Production never stopped and ailing movie theaters have been able to get subsidies,” says Francesco Rutelli, the former Rome mayor who heads Italy’s motion picture association, Anica. The org recently broadened its member base to include executives from Amazon Prime Video, Disney and ViacomCBS, after Netflix had joined.
This move — which is unique in Europe — indicates the level of friendly dialogue between film producers and streaming platforms in Italy, best encapsulated by Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” Italy’s international Oscar nominee. Sorrentino’s Netflix original film was released theatrically in November across the country before dropping on the platform...
- 2/13/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Actress and filmmaker Romola Garai, whose directorial debut Amulet played at Sundance 2020, is working on a raft of projects including a re-team with Amulet producer Matthew James Wilkinson (Yesterday).
Well-received feminist horror Amulet stars Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton and Alec Secareanu and was released in the U.S. in 2020 by Magnolia. Delayed by lockdown, it had its UK premiere at Frightfest last year and was released in the UK by Film Republic last week.
In the film, an ex-soldier, living homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for her, he cannot ignore his suspicion that something sinister is going on.
BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actress Garai, known for screen roles including The Hour, The Crimson Petal And The White and Miss Marx, is looking to get back to...
Well-received feminist horror Amulet stars Carla Juri, Imelda Staunton and Alec Secareanu and was released in the U.S. in 2020 by Magnolia. Delayed by lockdown, it had its UK premiere at Frightfest last year and was released in the UK by Film Republic last week.
In the film, an ex-soldier, living homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for her, he cannot ignore his suspicion that something sinister is going on.
BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actress Garai, known for screen roles including The Hour, The Crimson Petal And The White and Miss Marx, is looking to get back to...
- 2/9/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
If your household isn’t wall-to-wall Elf for the entirety of this month, then a) that must be nice and quiet. Can I come and stay? and b) you must be on the look-out for some alternative film options. Find them below in our handy guide to what’s premiering daily on Sky Cinema in the UK in December. Yes, there’s Christmas fare, including something about an animated cow, Mel Gibson playing a gun-toting Santa Claus, and two Sky Original festive films Last Train to Christmas and A Christmas Number One, but there’s much more besides.
Our highlights include monster mash-up Godzilla vs. Kong, Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights, excellent Thomas Vinterberg drinking drama Another Round (Mads Mikkelsen’s closing scene is worth the price of admission alone), and The Suicide Squad, which needs no introduction round these parts. There’s also the Peter Rabbit sequel for...
Our highlights include monster mash-up Godzilla vs. Kong, Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights, excellent Thomas Vinterberg drinking drama Another Round (Mads Mikkelsen’s closing scene is worth the price of admission alone), and The Suicide Squad, which needs no introduction round these parts. There’s also the Peter Rabbit sequel for...
- 12/1/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
“My Brilliant Friend” star Margherita Mazzucco is set to play Saint Clare of Assisi in Susanna Nicchiarelli’s new feature film “Chiara” which will conclude the director’s trilogy of female biopics also comprising “Nico, 1988” and “Miss Marx.”
Nicchiarelli’s portrait of the 13th century saint born into a wealthy family who at age 18 became a nun after hearing St. Francis preach is being produced by the director’s regular producers, Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa’s Vivo Film, with Rai Cinema and Belgium’s Tarantula.
Italian actor Andrea Carpenzano (“The Champion”) is also set to star.
“The strength of Chiara’s story lies in her modernity: after all, we are talking about an eighteen year old who, although in a very different context from ours, fights for her dreams,” Nicchiarelli said in a statement. “I am convinced that his story can also speak to the girls and boys of today,...
Nicchiarelli’s portrait of the 13th century saint born into a wealthy family who at age 18 became a nun after hearing St. Francis preach is being produced by the director’s regular producers, Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa’s Vivo Film, with Rai Cinema and Belgium’s Tarantula.
Italian actor Andrea Carpenzano (“The Champion”) is also set to star.
“The strength of Chiara’s story lies in her modernity: after all, we are talking about an eighteen year old who, although in a very different context from ours, fights for her dreams,” Nicchiarelli said in a statement. “I am convinced that his story can also speak to the girls and boys of today,...
- 7/11/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Other winners include Italian star Sophia Loren and two Netflix features.
Giorgio Diritti’s Hidden Away was the big winner at Italy’s David di Donatello awards on Tuesday (May 11), winning seven awards including best picture, best director and lead actor for Elio Germano.
The drama, which chronicles the difficult life of Italian painter Antonio Ligabue, is produced by Palomar with Rai Cinema, and premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, where Elio Germano won the Silver Bear for best actor. The film, which was the frontrunner going into the night with 15 nominations, also picked up prizes for cinematography, hair artist and sound.
Giorgio Diritti’s Hidden Away was the big winner at Italy’s David di Donatello awards on Tuesday (May 11), winning seven awards including best picture, best director and lead actor for Elio Germano.
The drama, which chronicles the difficult life of Italian painter Antonio Ligabue, is produced by Palomar with Rai Cinema, and premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, where Elio Germano won the Silver Bear for best actor. The film, which was the frontrunner going into the night with 15 nominations, also picked up prizes for cinematography, hair artist and sound.
- 5/12/2021
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, was the big winner at Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes.
The Davids were held with an in-person ceremony aired from two venues amid a strong spirit of restart as Italian movie theaters gradually begin to reopen.
“Hidden Away,” which was the frontrunner with 15 nominations, scored seven statuettes including best picture, director and actor honors won by Elio Germano who tackles “the fiendishly difficult role” of the self-taught artist “with customary gusto,” as Variety critic Jay Weissberg noted in his review.
The best actress statuette went to Sophia Loren for her role as Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor, in Netflix Original “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. The Italian icon’s return to the big screen after a decade had been snubbed by the Oscars earlier this year.
The Davids were held with an in-person ceremony aired from two venues amid a strong spirit of restart as Italian movie theaters gradually begin to reopen.
“Hidden Away,” which was the frontrunner with 15 nominations, scored seven statuettes including best picture, director and actor honors won by Elio Germano who tackles “the fiendishly difficult role” of the self-taught artist “with customary gusto,” as Variety critic Jay Weissberg noted in his review.
The best actress statuette went to Sophia Loren for her role as Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor, in Netflix Original “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. The Italian icon’s return to the big screen after a decade had been snubbed by the Oscars earlier this year.
- 5/11/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s David di Donatello Awards historically have been dominated by men in the key best picture, film, and producer categories. And this year is no exception.
All told, out of a total of 145 movies vying for the top Italian film prizes 17 are directed by women, which amounts to a mere 12%.
Women account for roughly 30% of the 1,578 voters for the Davids, which throughout their 66-year history have never seen a woman score the best director statuette. And that percentage marks a definite improvement over past editions.
Sadly significant fact: Lina Wertmuller – who in 1975 became the first woman nominated for a best director Oscar for “Seven Beauties” – has never been nominated for a David. That says a lot. Though Wertmuller was honored with a career David in 2010.
On the bright side, this year there are two women directors (out of five competing) in all of the prizes’ main categories.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Miss Marx,...
All told, out of a total of 145 movies vying for the top Italian film prizes 17 are directed by women, which amounts to a mere 12%.
Women account for roughly 30% of the 1,578 voters for the Davids, which throughout their 66-year history have never seen a woman score the best director statuette. And that percentage marks a definite improvement over past editions.
Sadly significant fact: Lina Wertmuller – who in 1975 became the first woman nominated for a best director Oscar for “Seven Beauties” – has never been nominated for a David. That says a lot. Though Wertmuller was honored with a career David in 2010.
On the bright side, this year there are two women directors (out of five competing) in all of the prizes’ main categories.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Miss Marx,...
- 5/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards are set to celebrate on May 11 a year of resilience for Cinema Italiano that also looks likely to germinate some creative renewal, just as Italian movie theaters start to reopen and production is booming.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, Gianni Amelio’s wistful “Hammamet,” which reconstructs the Tunisian self-exile of scandal-plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the crowded field for Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars, with no clear frontrunner.
Significantly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which scored 13, both star actor Elio Germano. And Germano also plays the lead in another standout title in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which landed 11 noms, including one for the pic’s producer, multihyphenate Matteo Rovere, whose Groenlandia Group is having a banner year.
- 5/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Further films on the slate include titles from Susanna Nicchiarelli and Pietro Marcello.
New films from Roman Polanski and Alice Rohrwacher headline Rai Cinema’s upcoming production slate.
Polanski’s The Palace is being written by Jerzy Skolimowski (director of Golden Bear winner Le Départ and Deep End) and is about a hotel in Switzerland on New Year’s Eve 1999, blending stories of guests and staff. It is being produced by Italy’s Eliseo Entertainment, which co-produced Polanski’s last film, An Officer And A Spy, with Rai Cinema. No further details have yet been revealed.
Rohrwacher’s La Chimera...
New films from Roman Polanski and Alice Rohrwacher headline Rai Cinema’s upcoming production slate.
Polanski’s The Palace is being written by Jerzy Skolimowski (director of Golden Bear winner Le Départ and Deep End) and is about a hotel in Switzerland on New Year’s Eve 1999, blending stories of guests and staff. It is being produced by Italy’s Eliseo Entertainment, which co-produced Polanski’s last film, An Officer And A Spy, with Rai Cinema. No further details have yet been revealed.
Rohrwacher’s La Chimera...
- 4/29/2021
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Roman Polanski will soon return behind the camera on “The Palace” a drama set in Switzerland that is co-written with fellow Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski.
The new Polanski project, which the director is expected to start shooting this fall, was announced Thursday during a lineup presentation by Rai Cinema, the film arm of Italian public broadcaster Rai.
“The Palace” is set on New Year’s Eve in 1999, “which is the epilogue of an entire millennium,” said Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco. The film is situated “in a big hotel immersed in the Swiss Alps where the lives of the guests and those who work for them intersect,” the exec added, noting that he only recently received the screenplay and isn’t allowed to say more.
The Polanski pic is being lead-produced by Italian actor-producer Luca Barbareschi via his Eliseo Entertainment company.
Barbareschi was also a producer on Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,...
The new Polanski project, which the director is expected to start shooting this fall, was announced Thursday during a lineup presentation by Rai Cinema, the film arm of Italian public broadcaster Rai.
“The Palace” is set on New Year’s Eve in 1999, “which is the epilogue of an entire millennium,” said Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco. The film is situated “in a big hotel immersed in the Swiss Alps where the lives of the guests and those who work for them intersect,” the exec added, noting that he only recently received the screenplay and isn’t allowed to say more.
The Polanski pic is being lead-produced by Italian actor-producer Luca Barbareschi via his Eliseo Entertainment company.
Barbareschi was also a producer on Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,...
- 4/29/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic of an obscure artist “Hidden Away,” Gianni Amelio’s “Hammamet,” about scandal plagued Italian leader Bettino Craxi, and dark drama “Bad Tales” by the D’Innocenzo Brothers lead the race for Italy’s David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes, for which this year there is no clear frontrunner.
Interestingly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which tallied 13 noms, both star actor Elio Germano. Germano also stars in another film in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which scooped 11 nominations, including one for Matteo Rovere, its producer.
During a virtual press conference Piera Detassis, who heads the David nods, underlined the strong presence this year of women directors, citing Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Miss Marx,” a biopic of Karl Marx’s proto-feminist daughter Eleanor, and also Emma Dante’s Sicily-set “The Macaluso Sisters,” that are both nominated for film and director.
Interestingly, “Hidden Away,” which scooped 15 nominations, and “Bad Tales,” which tallied 13 noms, both star actor Elio Germano. Germano also stars in another film in the Davids race, Netflix Italian Original “The Incredible Story of Rose Island,” which scooped 11 nominations, including one for Matteo Rovere, its producer.
During a virtual press conference Piera Detassis, who heads the David nods, underlined the strong presence this year of women directors, citing Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Miss Marx,” a biopic of Karl Marx’s proto-feminist daughter Eleanor, and also Emma Dante’s Sicily-set “The Macaluso Sisters,” that are both nominated for film and director.
- 3/26/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
As Italy’s film and TV industry forges ahead after bearing the brunt of the pandemic in 2020, the Filming Italy — Los Angeles fest, which is a bridgehead between Italy and Hollywood, is pulling out all the stops to drive and promote the country’s restart effort.
After Filming Italy miraculously managed to hold its sister shindig as a physical edition on the island of Sardinia last summer, the upcoming March 18-21 Los Angeles event will be mostly online. But going virtual has just prompted Italian marketing guru Tiziana Rocca, a longtime Italian industry promoter, to double her efforts.
This year the former Taormina Film Festival general manager is serving up twice the number of titles — a selection of more than 50 features, TV skeins, docs and shorts — and a marathon medley of 25 master classes, starting with Edoardo Ponti, director of Oscar-buzzed Sophia Loren-starrer “The Life Ahead,” in conversation with Diane Warren,...
After Filming Italy miraculously managed to hold its sister shindig as a physical edition on the island of Sardinia last summer, the upcoming March 18-21 Los Angeles event will be mostly online. But going virtual has just prompted Italian marketing guru Tiziana Rocca, a longtime Italian industry promoter, to double her efforts.
This year the former Taormina Film Festival general manager is serving up twice the number of titles — a selection of more than 50 features, TV skeins, docs and shorts — and a marathon medley of 25 master classes, starting with Edoardo Ponti, director of Oscar-buzzed Sophia Loren-starrer “The Life Ahead,” in conversation with Diane Warren,...
- 3/15/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s arthouse cinemas are celebrating International Women’s Day by symbolically reopening to stage “closed door” screenings of films and documentaries directed by female filmmakers in empty venues across the country.
The symbolic initiative is being launched by the country’s association of arthouse cinemas, called Fice. In a statement, the org noted that besides being International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021, also marks exactly one year from the date in 2020 when Italian cinemas were forced to shutter due to the coronavirus crisis. Thus, the move is also a preamble of sorts to the hoped for — though still uncertain — real opening of some Italian movie theaters later this month.
Fice president Domenico Di Noia has launched an appeal to Italy’s 500-member arthouse cinema network to “symbolically” reopen for one closed-door screening at 8 p.m. of films either directed or co-directed by women directors. Titles being proposed include Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Miss Marx,...
The symbolic initiative is being launched by the country’s association of arthouse cinemas, called Fice. In a statement, the org noted that besides being International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021, also marks exactly one year from the date in 2020 when Italian cinemas were forced to shutter due to the coronavirus crisis. Thus, the move is also a preamble of sorts to the hoped for — though still uncertain — real opening of some Italian movie theaters later this month.
Fice president Domenico Di Noia has launched an appeal to Italy’s 500-member arthouse cinema network to “symbolically” reopen for one closed-door screening at 8 p.m. of films either directed or co-directed by women directors. Titles being proposed include Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Miss Marx,...
- 3/8/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio (“The Traitor”) is set to reconstruct the true-life drama of Edgardo Mortara, a Jewish boy kidnapped and converted to Catholicism in 1858. It’s a story that Steven Spielberg was in advanced stages to bring to the screen a few years ago.
Mortara was a young Jewish boy living in Bologna, Italy, who in 1858, after being secretly baptized, was forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents’ struggle to free their son became part of a larger political battle that pitted the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Mortara went on to become a priest in the Augustinian order.
Unlike Spielberg — who announced his Mortara drama in 2014 based on a book by U.S. academic David Kertzer — Bellocchio is basing his pic, titled “La conversione” (“The Conversion”), on first-hand documents. Spielberg’s project reportedly lost steam after he was unable...
Mortara was a young Jewish boy living in Bologna, Italy, who in 1858, after being secretly baptized, was forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents’ struggle to free their son became part of a larger political battle that pitted the papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Mortara went on to become a priest in the Augustinian order.
Unlike Spielberg — who announced his Mortara drama in 2014 based on a book by U.S. academic David Kertzer — Bellocchio is basing his pic, titled “La conversione” (“The Conversion”), on first-hand documents. Spielberg’s project reportedly lost steam after he was unable...
- 2/26/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Paul Hilton, Alex Lawther and Romola Garai topline the first English-language film by the French helmer, produced by Petit Films and Anti-Worlds, co-produced by Frakas and sold by Wbi. On the heels of Innocence (New Directors Award at San Sebastián in 2004) and Evolution (Special Jury Prize and Best Cinematography Award at San Sebastián in 2015), groundbreaking French director Lucile Hadzihalilovic kicks off the shoot today for Earwig, her third feature and her first in the English language, in Belgium. Toplining the opus are Brits Paul Hilton (Lady Macbeth), Alex Lawther and Romola Garai. The story, written by the director and Geoff Cox (who was...
The film has grossed over €400,000 in Italy.
Celluloid Dreams has secured a slew of deals on Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Venice Competition title Miss Marx, following a strong opening at the Italian box office via 01 Distribution.
The film has been acquired by Sweden (Triart), Portugal (Midas), Austria (Filmladen), and former Yugoslavia (Cinemania).
Negotiations are underway for North America, Japan and the UK according to Celluloid. It has previously secured deals to China (DDDreams) and to Spain (B-Team Films).
Miss Marx opened in Italy on September 17 and has grossed over €400,000 to date through 01 Distribution, the distribution arm of Rai Cinema.
The...
Celluloid Dreams has secured a slew of deals on Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Venice Competition title Miss Marx, following a strong opening at the Italian box office via 01 Distribution.
The film has been acquired by Sweden (Triart), Portugal (Midas), Austria (Filmladen), and former Yugoslavia (Cinemania).
Negotiations are underway for North America, Japan and the UK according to Celluloid. It has previously secured deals to China (DDDreams) and to Spain (B-Team Films).
Miss Marx opened in Italy on September 17 and has grossed over €400,000 to date through 01 Distribution, the distribution arm of Rai Cinema.
The...
- 10/20/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The film has grossed over €400,000 in Italy.
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Venice Competition title Miss Marx has secured further international distribution deals, following a strong opening at the Italian box office.
Sales company Celluloid Dreams has confirmed deals for Sweden (Triart), Portugal (Midas), Austria (Filmladen), and former Yugoslavia (Cinemania).
Negotiations are underway for North America, Japan, and the UK, in addition to previously-announced deals for China (DDDreams) and Spain (B-Team Films).
Following its Venice Competition bow, Miss Marx opened in Italy on September 17, and has grossed over €400,000 to date through 01 Distribution, the distribution arm of Rai Cinema.
The film tells the story of Eleanor Marx,...
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Venice Competition title Miss Marx has secured further international distribution deals, following a strong opening at the Italian box office.
Sales company Celluloid Dreams has confirmed deals for Sweden (Triart), Portugal (Midas), Austria (Filmladen), and former Yugoslavia (Cinemania).
Negotiations are underway for North America, Japan, and the UK, in addition to previously-announced deals for China (DDDreams) and Spain (B-Team Films).
Following its Venice Competition bow, Miss Marx opened in Italy on September 17, and has grossed over €400,000 to date through 01 Distribution, the distribution arm of Rai Cinema.
The film tells the story of Eleanor Marx,...
- 10/20/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Downtown Boys have released a video for “L’Internationale,” their cover of the communist anthem from the Italian film Miss Marx.
The film is a biopic about Karl Marx’s daughter, Eleanor Marx (played by Romola Garai), and features outtakes from the film — raucous, fuzzed-out guitar riffs and Victoria Ruiz’s vocals accompanying the scenes.
“This year, we saw people throughout the globe come together amidst the pain of and struggle against police brutality and the loss of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd,” the band said in a statement. “We...
The film is a biopic about Karl Marx’s daughter, Eleanor Marx (played by Romola Garai), and features outtakes from the film — raucous, fuzzed-out guitar riffs and Victoria Ruiz’s vocals accompanying the scenes.
“This year, we saw people throughout the globe come together amidst the pain of and struggle against police brutality and the loss of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd,” the band said in a statement. “We...
- 10/14/2020
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
“It has given us a renewed hope in cinema.”
Hot on the heels of the Venice film festival, the San Sebastián Film Festival has safely pulled off (fingers crossed) the second major film event held during a global coronavirus pandemic. International film stars (most based in Europe) including Johnny Depp, Matt Dillon and Viggo Mortensen made the journey to the Basque town and enjoyed the festival and industry activities in a socially distanced way.
Seating arrangements in theatres involved alternate empty seats and a strict pre-booking system. Disinfectant gel dispensers were at the entrance and exit of all venues and...
Hot on the heels of the Venice film festival, the San Sebastián Film Festival has safely pulled off (fingers crossed) the second major film event held during a global coronavirus pandemic. International film stars (most based in Europe) including Johnny Depp, Matt Dillon and Viggo Mortensen made the journey to the Basque town and enjoyed the festival and industry activities in a socially distanced way.
Seating arrangements in theatres involved alternate empty seats and a strict pre-booking system. Disinfectant gel dispensers were at the entrance and exit of all venues and...
- 9/26/2020
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
“It has given us a renewed hope in cinema.”
Hot on the heels of the Venice film festival, the San Sebastián Film Festival has safely pulled off (fingers crossed) the second major film event held during a global coronavirus pandemic. International film stars (most based in Europe) including Johnny Depp, Matt Dillon and Viggo Mortensen made the journey to the Basque town and enjoyed the festival and industry activities in a socially distanced way.
Seating arrangements in theatres involved alternate empty seats and a strict pre-booking system. Disinfectant gel dispensers were at the entrance and exit of all venues and...
Hot on the heels of the Venice film festival, the San Sebastián Film Festival has safely pulled off (fingers crossed) the second major film event held during a global coronavirus pandemic. International film stars (most based in Europe) including Johnny Depp, Matt Dillon and Viggo Mortensen made the journey to the Basque town and enjoyed the festival and industry activities in a socially distanced way.
Seating arrangements in theatres involved alternate empty seats and a strict pre-booking system. Disinfectant gel dispensers were at the entrance and exit of all venues and...
- 9/26/2020
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
Altitude’s ‘Rocks’ opens in the UK and Ireland.
France, opening Wednesday, September 16
Two French Cannes 2020 titles were the biggest openers in France this week. Caroline Vignal’s comedy-drama My Lover, My Donkey & I opened on around 460 copies for Diaphana Distribution. This second feature for Vignal stars the popular actress as a school teacher who sets off on a donkey trekking holiday in hot pursuit of her secret lover.
Emmanuel Mouret’s contemporary love-triangle drama Love Affair(s) also launched on around 460 copies for Pyramide Distribution. Camelia Jordana co-stars opposite Niels Schneider and Vincent Macaigne as a pregnant young woman...
France, opening Wednesday, September 16
Two French Cannes 2020 titles were the biggest openers in France this week. Caroline Vignal’s comedy-drama My Lover, My Donkey & I opened on around 460 copies for Diaphana Distribution. This second feature for Vignal stars the popular actress as a school teacher who sets off on a donkey trekking holiday in hot pursuit of her secret lover.
Emmanuel Mouret’s contemporary love-triangle drama Love Affair(s) also launched on around 460 copies for Pyramide Distribution. Camelia Jordana co-stars opposite Niels Schneider and Vincent Macaigne as a pregnant young woman...
- 9/18/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Melanie Goodfellow¬Martin Blaney¬Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
The 77th Venice Film Festival announces the recipients of its parallel awards - Venice 2020 – Awards
Venice 2020: The winners have been decided on independently by associations of film critics, clubs and cultural associations, as well as cinema professionals. The 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival (2-12 September) has announced the recipients of this year's parallel awards. Traditionally, the winners are decided on independently by associations of film critics, clubs and cultural associations, as well as cinema professionals. Among this year's victors were Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple (Fipresci Award for Best Film in the Main Competition), Ahmad Bahrami's The Wasteland (Fipresci Award for Best Film from Orizzonti and the Parallel Sections) and Susanna Nicchiarelli's Miss Marx (Fedic Award for Best Film). Here is a list of the main parallel award winners: Arca Young Cinema Award Best Film at Venice 77Pieces of a Woman - Kornél Mundruczó (Canada/Hungary) Best Italian Film at VeniceNotturno - Gianfranco Rosi (Italy/Germany/France) Fedic (Federazione Italiana...
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s latest film opens with a neo-punk song and title credits flashing in Alexander McQueen-esque prints across the screen. Woohoo! Looks like we are in for a punk-rock rollercoaster ride in the life of Karl Marx’s daughter, Eleanor (Romola Garai); a film as radical as the woman, perhaps. Alas, the in-your-face opening does not live up to its promise. Nicchiarelli has chosen a fascinating woman who was surrounded by great thinkers, was a gifted writer and orator, had forward-thinking views, was a linguist and lived a life outside of the parameters dictated by Victorian society. And what does the director focus on? Eleanor’s love life.
The film opens with Eleanor (Tussie to her family and friends) speaking at her father’s graveside on the day of his funeral and this is a handy way to introduce some of the key characters: Engels (John Gordon Sinclair...
The film opens with Eleanor (Tussie to her family and friends) speaking at her father’s graveside on the day of his funeral and this is a handy way to introduce some of the key characters: Engels (John Gordon Sinclair...
- 9/8/2020
- by Jo-Ann Titmarsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s audacious retelling of the life of Eleanor Marx is in competition in Venice
Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli made a splash in Venice three years ago with her Nico, 1988, about the last days of the German singer and counterculture icon. It portrayed Nico as rather more of a rock’n’roller than she actually was, which is fair enough – but Nicchiarelli sticks her neck out considerably further doing the same with Eleanor Marx in Miss Marx, her competition entry on the Lido this year.
It’s unlikely that this tragic-fated socialist pioneer, the daughter of Karl Marx, ever enjoyed a punk-rock freakout after hitting the opium pipe, but that’s what happens here. Romola Garai going full Courtney Love makes for one of the film’s livelier tilts against biopic proprieties.
Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli made a splash in Venice three years ago with her Nico, 1988, about the last days of the German singer and counterculture icon. It portrayed Nico as rather more of a rock’n’roller than she actually was, which is fair enough – but Nicchiarelli sticks her neck out considerably further doing the same with Eleanor Marx in Miss Marx, her competition entry on the Lido this year.
It’s unlikely that this tragic-fated socialist pioneer, the daughter of Karl Marx, ever enjoyed a punk-rock freakout after hitting the opium pipe, but that’s what happens here. Romola Garai going full Courtney Love makes for one of the film’s livelier tilts against biopic proprieties.
- 9/5/2020
- by Jonathan Romney
- The Guardian - Film News
“Miss Marx” is a biopic bookended by death, colored by it throughout. It introduces us to socialist activist Eleanor Marx at the funeral of her father Karl, and follows her through to her untimely suicide, at the age of 43, some 15 years later. Ghosts of the past and future weigh heavily on her in the interim: She mourns her father not long after burying her mother and her sister. Months after Eleanor’s suicide, her long-term partner Edward Aveling followed her into the ground; another sister took her own life years later. All of which is to say that waves and shadows of grief move through Susanna Nicchiarelli’s ambitious film at every turn, running backwards and forwards, as it studies how its subject attempted to change the world for the better — all while a hard black knot of compacted unhappiness settled and expanded inside her.
This makes for an unavoidably downcast portrait,...
This makes for an unavoidably downcast portrait,...
- 9/5/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
A raucous, rock n’ roll-tinged opening sets the stage for Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Eleanor Marx biopic, “Miss Marx,” all crashing music and zinging credits, giddily announcing that this will not be your typical biodrama. Yet, save for a few more uses of a modern punk score and an explosive performance from star Romola Garai,
Eleanor, Karl Marx’s youngest daughter and one of his closest confidants, lived a life worthy of a Sub Pop soundtrack. She liked to play in her father’s office while he wrote “Das Kapital” and became his secretary at 16. Around the same time, the family took in Prosper-Olivier Lissagaray, a journalist who was exiled from France for his participation in the Paris Commune. At 17, Eleanor fell in love with the 35-year-old Lissagaray, who continued living with the Marx family for nearly a decade despite the family’s initial disapproval of the match. She and her...
Eleanor, Karl Marx’s youngest daughter and one of his closest confidants, lived a life worthy of a Sub Pop soundtrack. She liked to play in her father’s office while he wrote “Das Kapital” and became his secretary at 16. Around the same time, the family took in Prosper-Olivier Lissagaray, a journalist who was exiled from France for his participation in the Paris Commune. At 17, Eleanor fell in love with the 35-year-old Lissagaray, who continued living with the Marx family for nearly a decade despite the family’s initial disapproval of the match. She and her...
- 9/5/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
There’s something that seems to jinx biopics about Karl Marx and his family. Perhaps it’s the irreconcilable need to talk respectfully about these early defenders of the working class while at the same time making their life’s work relevant to audiences. Few today read The Communist Manifest by Marx and Friedrich Engels, but many more could potentially get the highlights from a gripping film. We’re still waiting for that movie.
After Raoul Peck drew a blank with the disappointing The Young Karl Marx a few years ago, it’s the turn of Susanna Nicchiarelli to carry the burden in Miss Marx. The results ...
After Raoul Peck drew a blank with the disappointing The Young Karl Marx a few years ago, it’s the turn of Susanna Nicchiarelli to carry the burden in Miss Marx. The results ...
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s “Nico, 1988,” about the German singer who performed with the Velvet Underground, made a splash at the Venice Film Festival in 2017 when it took top honors in the cutting-edge Horizons section. She’s back on the Lido – now in the main competition – with another biopic, “Miss Marx,” about Karl Marx’s ill-fated younger daughter Eleanor, a fervent feminist pioneer played by Golden Globe nominee Romola Garai (“The Hour”).
The film, which world premieres Saturday, chronicles Eleanor Marx’s tragic relationship with political activist and playwright Edward Aveling, portrayed as sneaky and spineless.
In terms of tone it’s a fresh take on the period piece genre, as Nicchiarelli tells Variety. Excerpts from the conversation.
You seem to be drawn to biopics about conflicted women, am I right?
Yes. I’ve been thinking lately that it will be very hard for me to make a movie that is not biographical from now on,...
The film, which world premieres Saturday, chronicles Eleanor Marx’s tragic relationship with political activist and playwright Edward Aveling, portrayed as sneaky and spineless.
In terms of tone it’s a fresh take on the period piece genre, as Nicchiarelli tells Variety. Excerpts from the conversation.
You seem to be drawn to biopics about conflicted women, am I right?
Yes. I’ve been thinking lately that it will be very hard for me to make a movie that is not biographical from now on,...
- 9/5/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In February, “Mission: Impossible 7” was forced to halt production in Italy days before its planned shoot in Venice, as the country contended with one of the highest coronavirus death rates in Europe.
Cut to September. The Venice Film Festival is the first top-tier fest physically taking place, and Tom Cruise is expected back in the lagoon city later this month to resume shooting, according to multiple sources.
The Paramount production is getting logistical support from Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, where “Mission: Impossible 7” currently has an operational office. And, barring complications, Cinecittà is gearing up for a boom.
At the iconic – and recently revamped – facilities outside the Italian capital, cameras resumed rolling in early July on high-end British TV series “Domina,” the Sky original looking at power of women in Ancient Rome, which had shut down production in early March.
This lavish period piece co-produced by Sky Studios with the U.
Cut to September. The Venice Film Festival is the first top-tier fest physically taking place, and Tom Cruise is expected back in the lagoon city later this month to resume shooting, according to multiple sources.
The Paramount production is getting logistical support from Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, where “Mission: Impossible 7” currently has an operational office. And, barring complications, Cinecittà is gearing up for a boom.
At the iconic – and recently revamped – facilities outside the Italian capital, cameras resumed rolling in early July on high-end British TV series “Domina,” the Sky original looking at power of women in Ancient Rome, which had shut down production in early March.
This lavish period piece co-produced by Sky Studios with the U.
- 9/2/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera has become well-versed in dealing with uncertainty. How else could he pull off assembling what will hopefully be the world’s first A-list celebration of cinema after the coronavirus crisis?
“Up until the beginning of May, I actually thought we could not have the festival,” he told Variety in early July. “I was happy because after nine years,
I would have been able to go on a summer holiday,” Barbera added ironically. “But that was the only element of consolation vis-a-vis a very worrying and uncertain future.”
Barbera has since announced a director-driven lineup for the Lido’s 77th edition, running Sept. 2-12, that’s understandably thinner than other years on high-profile U.S. titles, but suffers no shortage of substantial new works from around the globe by both known names and potential breakouts. It has the makings of a watershed...
“Up until the beginning of May, I actually thought we could not have the festival,” he told Variety in early July. “I was happy because after nine years,
I would have been able to go on a summer holiday,” Barbera added ironically. “But that was the only element of consolation vis-a-vis a very worrying and uncertain future.”
Barbera has since announced a director-driven lineup for the Lido’s 77th edition, running Sept. 2-12, that’s understandably thinner than other years on high-profile U.S. titles, but suffers no shortage of substantial new works from around the globe by both known names and potential breakouts. It has the makings of a watershed...
- 8/26/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The costume biopic produced by Vivo Film with Tarantula celebrates one of the first women to have fought for women’s rights. In competition at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. Brilliant, cultured, liberated and passionate, Eleanor is the youngest daughter of celebrated philosopher and economist Karl Marx and the subject of costume biopic Miss Marx, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli. “Among the first women to bring together the themes of feminism and socialism,” reads the film’s synopsis, “she participates in workers' struggles, fights for women's rights and the abolition of child labor. When, in 1883, she meets Edward Aveling, her life is forever changed by a passionate but ultimately tragic love story.” The 45-year-old director explains: “With the apparent inconsistency between its public and its private dimensions, the story of Eleanor Marx opens up a door into the complexity of the human soul, the fragility of illusions and the toxicity of certain.
In Venice, the French sales will be betting on Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Miss Marx and Majid Majidi’s Sun Children, and in Toronto on the Cannes Label recipient Memory House. The Lido will be, as it often is, a launchpad of choice for French international sales company Celluloid Dreams, whose line-up includes two films competing for the Golden Lion at the 77th Venice Film Festival (2-12 September): Miss Marx from Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli, and Sun Children by Majid Majidi. A duo of films selected in competition similar to those of 2019 (Milla and The Painted Bird) and 2017 (Custody and Lean on Pete), Venice having often been a profitable festival for the Parisian company (in particular with the victory of From Afar in 2015). Following Nico, 1988 which won in the Orizzonti section of the 2017 edition, Celluloid Dreams once again teams up with Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli and with Roma-based...
While the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to both the Cannes and Telluride film festivals, seen as essential stops on the road to awards season glory, both the Venice and Toronto film festivals are going ahead.
For its 77th celebration of film that starts September 2, the Venice Film Festival will open with Daniele Luchetti‘s drama “Lacci,” the first Italian film to kick off the event in 11 years. While “Lacci” is not competing for the Golden Lion, which was won by “Joker” last year, one title to keep an eye on is “Nomadland,” directed by Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”). The drama starring two-time Oscar-winning Best Actress Frances McDormand will premiere on September 11 at Venice and Toronto.
SEEFrances McDormand movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Cate Blanchett is serving as the president of this year’s Venice competition jury. Other selections vying for the fest’s top prize beyond “Nomadland” are:
“In Between Dying,...
For its 77th celebration of film that starts September 2, the Venice Film Festival will open with Daniele Luchetti‘s drama “Lacci,” the first Italian film to kick off the event in 11 years. While “Lacci” is not competing for the Golden Lion, which was won by “Joker” last year, one title to keep an eye on is “Nomadland,” directed by Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”). The drama starring two-time Oscar-winning Best Actress Frances McDormand will premiere on September 11 at Venice and Toronto.
SEEFrances McDormand movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best
Cate Blanchett is serving as the president of this year’s Venice competition jury. Other selections vying for the fest’s top prize beyond “Nomadland” are:
“In Between Dying,...
- 8/7/2020
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Wife of a SpyThe programme for the 2020 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Gia Coppola, Lav Diaz, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Alice Rohrwacher, Gianfranco Rosi, Frederick Wiseman, Chloé Zhao, and more.COMPETITIONIn Between Dying (Hilal Baydarov)Le sorelle Macluso (Emma Dante)The World to Come (Mona Fastvold)Nuevo Orden (Michel Franco)Lovers (Nicole Garcia)Laila in Haifa (Amos Gitai)Dear Comrades (Andrei Konchalovsky)Wife of a Spy (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)Sun Children (Majid Majidi)Pieces of a Woman (Kornél Mundruczó)Miss Marx (Susanna Nicchiarelli)Padrenostro (Claudio Noce)Notturno (Gianfranco Rosi)Never Gonna Snow AgainThe Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane)And Tomorrow The Entire World (Julia Von Heinz)Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Zbanic)Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesThe Ties (Daniele Luchetti)Lasciami Andare (Stefano Mordini)Mandibules (Quentin Dupieux)Love After Love (Ann Hui)Assandria (Salvatore Mereu)The Duke (Roger Michell)Night in Paradise (Park Hoon-jung)Mosquito...
- 8/3/2020
- MUBI
Venice Golden Lion contender “Miss Marx,” starring Romola Garai as the spirited daughter of philosopher Karl Marx, has secured its first tranche of international deals ahead of the September fest. (Watch the film’s exclusive trailer above.)
Written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, with Celluloid Dreams serving as international sales agent, the film has been picked up by DDDreams in China and B-Team in Spain. In Italy, 01 — the distribution arm of Rai Cinema — will distribute the film, which is produced by Vivo film with Rai Cinema and Tarantula.
In what appears to be a refreshingly rock ‘n’ roll take on history, Garai plays Marx’s youngest daughter Eleanor, a strong feminist and socialist who takes part in workers’ battles and fights for women’s rights, as well as the abolition of child labor. The film also details her tragic relationship with Edward Aveling (Patrick Kennedy), whom she meets in 1883.
Nicchiarelli...
Written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, with Celluloid Dreams serving as international sales agent, the film has been picked up by DDDreams in China and B-Team in Spain. In Italy, 01 — the distribution arm of Rai Cinema — will distribute the film, which is produced by Vivo film with Rai Cinema and Tarantula.
In what appears to be a refreshingly rock ‘n’ roll take on history, Garai plays Marx’s youngest daughter Eleanor, a strong feminist and socialist who takes part in workers’ battles and fights for women’s rights, as well as the abolition of child labor. The film also details her tragic relationship with Edward Aveling (Patrick Kennedy), whom she meets in 1883.
Nicchiarelli...
- 7/31/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Furnace.’
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
“I’m thrilled at this opportunity for the...
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace, an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
“I’m thrilled at this opportunity for the...
- 7/28/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Hot on the heels of the 2020 New York Film Festival releasing its first selection in Nomadland (taking the Centerpiece slot at the fest), Venice is chiming in as well. Not only are they also going to be showing Chloe Zhao’s movie, but the festival has in fact unveiled its entire lineup for this year. It’s a crop of titles that’s low on flashy name recognition, at least for now, but it’s an international group that should hopefully be cause for some celebration in the cinematic world. These days, that’s hard to come by, to say the least. Read on for the entire list… If there’s something else of note besides Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland at Venice right now, it’s either The Duke from Roger Michell, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, or The World to Come. The former is a crime comedy, while...
- 7/28/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
In a fraught years for film festivals, some good news: the Venice Film Festival, one of the world’s starriest annual film events — and one that has previously resisted pressure to program more female filmmakers — has nearly reached gender parity with its competition lineup. This year’s festival will host eight films directed by women in its highest-profile section, where they will compete for the Golden Lion. Only four women have won the prize since the festival started in 1932, with Sofia Coppola as the most recent winner for “Somewhere” in 2010. The other past winners were Mira Nair, Margarethe von Trotta, and Agnès Varda.
The 2020 festival will play home to new films from a variety of the industry’s top female directors, including Chloe Zhao, Mona Fastvold (“The World to Come”), Emma Dante (“Le Sorelle Macaluso”), Nicole Garcia (“Lovers”), Susanna Nicchiarelli (“Miss Marx”), Malgorzata Szumowska (“Never Gonna Snow Again”), Julia Von Heinz...
The 2020 festival will play home to new films from a variety of the industry’s top female directors, including Chloe Zhao, Mona Fastvold (“The World to Come”), Emma Dante (“Le Sorelle Macaluso”), Nicole Garcia (“Lovers”), Susanna Nicchiarelli (“Miss Marx”), Malgorzata Szumowska (“Never Gonna Snow Again”), Julia Von Heinz...
- 7/28/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
In a normal year, the announcement of the Venice Film Festival lineup — often coming on the heels of its Toronto counterpart across the pond — triggers the first whisperings of awards season. Once second to Cannes in the European festival prestige stakes, Venice has in the last decade taken advantage of its late-summer scheduling to premiere any number of glossy fall hopefuls, from “Gravity” to “La La Land” to “A Star is Born.”
But this is not a normal year, and in turn, Venice fest director Alberto Barbera today unveiled an unconventional lineup — light on big U.S. names, but heavy on less established and more diverse talent, hearkening back to the Lido’s history of giving future heavyweights their first big break. Those who follow Venice purely for Oscar-tracking purposes may be disappointed; more curious cinephiles, on the other hand, will welcome the refresh.
The change in guard extends all...
But this is not a normal year, and in turn, Venice fest director Alberto Barbera today unveiled an unconventional lineup — light on big U.S. names, but heavy on less established and more diverse talent, hearkening back to the Lido’s history of giving future heavyweights their first big break. Those who follow Venice purely for Oscar-tracking purposes may be disappointed; more curious cinephiles, on the other hand, will welcome the refresh.
The change in guard extends all...
- 7/28/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s pandemic-altered Venice Film Festival will include a record number of competition films directed by women, festival organizers announced on Tuesday. And two of those are also the only Hollywood studio films to make the competition lineup — Mona Fastvold’s “The World to Come” and Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland.”
In all, eight of the 18 competition features have a female director — an improvement from last year, when just two made the cut.
“Nomadland,” a drama starring Frances McDormand released by Searchlight Pictures, will simultaneously premiere through the Toronto Film Festival as well as through the New York Film Festival and the now-canceled Telluride fest (at a special drive-in screening in Southern California). Sony’s “The World to Come” stars Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.
Also Read: Frances McDormand's 'Nomadland' to Get Joint World Premiere From Venice and Toronto Film Festivals
Other top titles screening out...
In all, eight of the 18 competition features have a female director — an improvement from last year, when just two made the cut.
“Nomadland,” a drama starring Frances McDormand released by Searchlight Pictures, will simultaneously premiere through the Toronto Film Festival as well as through the New York Film Festival and the now-canceled Telluride fest (at a special drive-in screening in Southern California). Sony’s “The World to Come” stars Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.
Also Read: Frances McDormand's 'Nomadland' to Get Joint World Premiere From Venice and Toronto Film Festivals
Other top titles screening out...
- 7/28/2020
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
With Telluride Film Festival forced to cancel their yearly event, what is now the first of the major fall festivals, Venice, has announced their complete lineup. Along with Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, which was revealed yesterday, the lineup includes more of our most-anticipated films of the year, including Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, Gia Coppola’s Mainstream, Abel Ferrara’s Sportin’ Life, Lav Diaz’s Genus Pan, Mona Fastvold’s The World to Come, Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman, Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno, and more.
There were also a few surprises in the lineup. Luca Guadagnino has directed a new documentary titled Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, while Alice Rohrwacher and Jr have teamed for the new short film, Omelia Contadina. Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibules will also premiere out of competition.
In perhaps the best surprise of all, a new, recently uncovered film by Orson Welles,...
There were also a few surprises in the lineup. Luca Guadagnino has directed a new documentary titled Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, while Alice Rohrwacher and Jr have teamed for the new short film, Omelia Contadina. Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibules will also premiere out of competition.
In perhaps the best surprise of all, a new, recently uncovered film by Orson Welles,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
While the coronavirus pandemic has canceled major festivals such as Cannes and Telluride, the 2020 Venice Film Festival is moving ahead as planned and will be the world’s first major film festival since Sundance and Berlin at the start of the year. Venice 2020’s main selection will be split into three sections: Venezia 77 (aka the main competition), Out of Competition, and Horizons. The titles selected for the main competition will compete for the Golden Lion, which was awarded last year to Todd Phillips’ “Joker.”
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
- 7/28/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The Venice Film Festival is unveiling the lineup of its 77th edition, which, barring complications, will be the first major international film event to hold a physical edition following the coronavirus crisis.
Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11, in both cases preceded by virtual introductions.
The out-of-competition opener will be Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s anatomy of a marriage drama “Lacci” (“The Ties”) (pictured) starring Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Traitor”) as the couple at the film’s center.
The virtual press conference is scheduled to begin at 11am Cet. This post will be updated live as films are revealed.
Venice Film Festival Lineup
In Competition
“In Between Dying,” Hilal Baydarov
“Le Sorelle Macaluso,” Emma Dante (Italy)
“The World to Come,” Mona Fastvold (U.S.)
“Nuevo Orden,” Michel Franco
“Lovers,...
Previously announced titles include Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, which will screen at Venice and Toronto simultaneously on Sept. 11, in both cases preceded by virtual introductions.
The out-of-competition opener will be Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s anatomy of a marriage drama “Lacci” (“The Ties”) (pictured) starring Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and Luigi Lo Cascio (“The Traitor”) as the couple at the film’s center.
The virtual press conference is scheduled to begin at 11am Cet. This post will be updated live as films are revealed.
Venice Film Festival Lineup
In Competition
“In Between Dying,” Hilal Baydarov
“Le Sorelle Macaluso,” Emma Dante (Italy)
“The World to Come,” Mona Fastvold (U.S.)
“Nuevo Orden,” Michel Franco
“Lovers,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Competition line-up includes films by Chloe Zhao, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Kornel Mandruczo and Andrei Konchalovsky.
The line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The big talking points from this year’s selection include an improved gender split, with eight women selected for the competition section (compared to two last year), and a lack of major US projects. Venice will be one of the first major film festivals to take place as a physical event following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the big-name auteurs selected are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Michel Franco (Nuevo...
The line-up of the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) has been announced.
Scroll down for the full line-up
The big talking points from this year’s selection include an improved gender split, with eight women selected for the competition section (compared to two last year), and a lack of major US projects. Venice will be one of the first major film festivals to take place as a physical event following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the big-name auteurs selected are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Michel Franco (Nuevo...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
Top Italian film outfit Rai Cinema on Wednesday sounded an upbeat post-pandemic note as it unveiled a slate of 20 upcoming titles to exhibitors and press, comprising new works by prominent Italian directors such as Nanni Moretti, Gianfranco Rosi, and Susanna Nicchiarelli alongside their U.S. acquisitions — most notably Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
“Italy will be the only country in the world where this film will not be distributed by a major company,” boasted Rai’s head of distribution Luigi Lo Nigro, referring to Scorsese’s murder mystery drama set to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Apple is reportedly in the process of partnering on “Flower Moon” with Paramount. The Italy deal between Paramount Rai and Leone Film Group had been previously announced.
Rai Cinema chief Paolo De Brocco said he expects shooting to start soon on Scorsese’s next pic, which is based on...
“Italy will be the only country in the world where this film will not be distributed by a major company,” boasted Rai’s head of distribution Luigi Lo Nigro, referring to Scorsese’s murder mystery drama set to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Apple is reportedly in the process of partnering on “Flower Moon” with Paramount. The Italy deal between Paramount Rai and Leone Film Group had been previously announced.
Rai Cinema chief Paolo De Brocco said he expects shooting to start soon on Scorsese’s next pic, which is based on...
- 6/25/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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