A record number of African films are premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival — including two titles in the main competition and four more in Un Certain Regard — promising a robust turnout on the Croisette from a continent that doesn’t often find itself being feted on world cinema’s grandest stage.
Perhaps a more noticeable shift, however, has been taking place in and around the Palais des Festivals, where participants at the Cannes Market are opening their arms — and their checkbooks — to an industry just beginning to realize its potential.
Witness the delegation of international film financiers, including Creative Wealth Media’s Jason Cloth and Convergent Media Capital’s Michael Cleaver, gathered on a recent, rainy morning to talk shop at a full house at the Pavillon Afriques. Or check the scene at the Palais des Festivals nearby, where three representatives of the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank...
Perhaps a more noticeable shift, however, has been taking place in and around the Palais des Festivals, where participants at the Cannes Market are opening their arms — and their checkbooks — to an industry just beginning to realize its potential.
Witness the delegation of international film financiers, including Creative Wealth Media’s Jason Cloth and Convergent Media Capital’s Michael Cleaver, gathered on a recent, rainy morning to talk shop at a full house at the Pavillon Afriques. Or check the scene at the Palais des Festivals nearby, where three representatives of the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank...
- 5/21/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: For the second time this week, we can reveal a milestone performance for a Mubi film, with the update that Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave has become the company’s most streamed film in North America.
We’re told the Cannes 2022 hit has now surpassed North America engagement for films such as Lars Von Trier’s The Kingdom, Gotham nominee Azor, Werner Herzog’s Family Romance and Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time.
Decision To Leave is also the company’s best-performing title on transactional platforms in the market.
Tang Wei and Park Hae-il (The Host) star in the story of a detective investigating a man’s death in the mountains who meets the dead man’s mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.
Voracious arthouse streaming platform and theatrical buyer Mubi kicked on a gear last year with the splashy Mg it paid for all U.
We’re told the Cannes 2022 hit has now surpassed North America engagement for films such as Lars Von Trier’s The Kingdom, Gotham nominee Azor, Werner Herzog’s Family Romance and Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time.
Decision To Leave is also the company’s best-performing title on transactional platforms in the market.
Tang Wei and Park Hae-il (The Host) star in the story of a detective investigating a man’s death in the mountains who meets the dead man’s mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.
Voracious arthouse streaming platform and theatrical buyer Mubi kicked on a gear last year with the splashy Mg it paid for all U.
- 2/10/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
This review of “The Janes” was first published Jan. 24, 2022, after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
They had names like Heather, Martha, Marie, Jody and Judith. But they called themselves the Janes. And between 1968 and 1973, they performed approximately 11,000 underground abortions in Chicago. Their stories, which they share in Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ powerfully forthright documentary, “The Janes,” remain stunning five decades later. (The group also inspired a fictional movie that premiered at Sundance this year titled “Call Jane.”)
They weren’t medical professionals, and their work was flatly illegal. But the alternatives for women who wanted an abortion were to go to the mob and assume they might be sexually assaulted before or after a procedure, or to try to end a pregnancy alone, at home. The situation was so grim, in fact, that one local hospital had a septic ward designed purely for those who came to...
They had names like Heather, Martha, Marie, Jody and Judith. But they called themselves the Janes. And between 1968 and 1973, they performed approximately 11,000 underground abortions in Chicago. Their stories, which they share in Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ powerfully forthright documentary, “The Janes,” remain stunning five decades later. (The group also inspired a fictional movie that premiered at Sundance this year titled “Call Jane.”)
They weren’t medical professionals, and their work was flatly illegal. But the alternatives for women who wanted an abortion were to go to the mob and assume they might be sexually assaulted before or after a procedure, or to try to end a pregnancy alone, at home. The situation was so grim, in fact, that one local hospital had a septic ward designed purely for those who came to...
- 6/7/2022
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
• Deadline Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) has passed away unexpectedly at 67. He was shooting a film called Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic. Rip
• Vulture Alison Willmore asks where the abortion thriller goes to next after recent films like Happening, Lingui the Sacred Bonds, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Deadline Ellen DeGeneres bids her talk show farewell after 19 seasons on air
More after the jump including Gone Girl's legacy, frequently naked Clae Bang, Tom Cruise's all time biggest hits, Kevin Doyle from Downton Abbey A New Era, and a fascinating history of where streaming fits in the history of Hollywood...
• Vulture Alison Willmore asks where the abortion thriller goes to next after recent films like Happening, Lingui the Sacred Bonds, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Deadline Ellen DeGeneres bids her talk show farewell after 19 seasons on air
More after the jump including Gone Girl's legacy, frequently naked Clae Bang, Tom Cruise's all time biggest hits, Kevin Doyle from Downton Abbey A New Era, and a fascinating history of where streaming fits in the history of Hollywood...
- 5/26/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSThe Mother and the Whore (1972).The lineup for this year's Cannes Classics boasts a 4k digital restoration of Jean Eustache's The Mother and the Whore, a rare screening of Satyajit Ray’s newly restored Pratidwandi, films by Vittorio de Sica, Orson Welles, Mike De Leon, and much more. After recently making Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going! available for free online, Martin Scorsese is set to narrate and executive produce a documentary about the filmmaking duo. Directed by David Hinton, the documentary follows Scorsese's personal journey with and relationship to Powell & Pressburger's films. David Cronenberg has announced his follow-up to Crimes of the Future: Starring Vincent Cassel and produced by Saïd Ben Saïd, Shrouds is about grieving widower whose technologically innovative (and controversial) cemetery is vandalized. Recommended VIEWINGThe trailer...
- 5/11/2022
- MUBI
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Lingui, The Sacred Bonds is now streaming exclusively on Mubi in the UK, US, and many other countries.On this special episode, host Rico Gagliano talks to Cannes-winning filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun about his latest film Lingui, The Sacred Bonds — the story of a mother trying to secure an abortion for her daughter... in Chad, a country where abortion is illegal. Haroun opens up about the movie's real-life inspirations, the collective power of women, and about his homeland's last remaining movie theater — the palace where he learned to tell stories.Listen to the episode below or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe on your preferred podcast app to stay tuned for more special episodes and the upcoming second season of the show:Apple PodcastsStitcherSpotifyGoogle PodcastsMore...
- 5/10/2022
- MUBI
Mubi has acquired the North American, UK and other territories rights to “Decision to Leave,” the new film from “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” director Park Chan-wook, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.
Park’s film is a Korean crime drama and is playing in the main competition at Cannes next month. “Decision to Leave” tells the story of a detective investigating the death of a man in the mountains, only to develop an interest in the dead man’s mysterious wife once she becomes a suspect in the case.
“Decision to Leave” stars Tang Wei and Park Hae-il (“The Host”). The film is a presentation of Cj Enm (“Parasite”) and was produced by Moho Film.
Mubi is also planning a theatrical release for “Decision to Leave” in the U.S. and the UK for the fall of 2022, followed by an exclusive streamer premiere on the Mubi platform.
The art-house streamer...
Park’s film is a Korean crime drama and is playing in the main competition at Cannes next month. “Decision to Leave” tells the story of a detective investigating the death of a man in the mountains, only to develop an interest in the dead man’s mysterious wife once she becomes a suspect in the case.
“Decision to Leave” stars Tang Wei and Park Hae-il (“The Host”). The film is a presentation of Cj Enm (“Parasite”) and was produced by Moho Film.
Mubi is also planning a theatrical release for “Decision to Leave” in the U.S. and the UK for the fall of 2022, followed by an exclusive streamer premiere on the Mubi platform.
The art-house streamer...
- 4/28/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
IFFKTo enjoy them, one may need to shelve the logic of grownups and embrace the blind faith children have in magic and fantasy and the words spoken by their friends.CrisStill from 'Dostojee'From the kitchen of an old house rises the sweet sound of laughter of two little girls, attempting to make an omelette and royally messing it up. Elsewhere, half a dozen children huddle secretly behind trees to watch a strange man, who seems magical to them. In another scenario, two boys living on either side of a thatched fence find themselves inseparable. Many such enviable moments of childhood lie scattered across films chosen for the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) this year. To enjoy them, one may need to shelve the logic of grownups and embrace the blind faith children have in magic and fantasy and the words spoken by their friends. In Petite Maman, one little...
- 3/24/2022
- by Cris
- The News Minute
The series Tales from the Fatherland: Films by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, including Lingui, the Sacred Bonds, is showing on Mubi in many countries starting March 8, 2022.Lingui, the Sacred BondsIn Lingui, the Sacred Bonds, the new film by Chadian filmmaking great Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, a potentially life-threatening situation is met with compassion and quiet solidarity by an affirming community. These connections are necessary, particularly so for women to survive in a world that fails to see them as priority. A teenage girl finds solace in her mother when she is kicked out of school for getting pregnant. They arrive at their decision soon enough: An abortion presents her only path out of poverty and pariah status. The problem is that abortion is illegal in Chad, not to mention frowned upon by the conservative dictates of the Muslim faith. To find a solution, both mother and daughter must rely on lingui, an altruistic philosophy...
- 3/20/2022
- MUBI
Five Inspirations is a series in which we ask directors to share five things that shaped and informed their film. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Lingui, the Sacred Bonds is showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries starting March 8, 2022 in the series Luminaries.Inspiration #1Wall, WallIn N'djamena, these narrow streets wind like labyrinths and these walls give the impression that we are surrounded. I used them like a trap, a prison in which Amina and her daughter try to escape from. Inspiration #2Night in N'djamenaIn this street, public lighting is rare in the popular neighborhoods of N'djamena. I wanted to recreate those thick nights in Lingui. Inspiration #3Maria Magdalene (c. 1594-1596) by CaravaggioIn Lingui, I used bright and dark tones inspired by this painting. The ecstasy of Maria Madeleine has also inspired the shot of Amina looking at the sky filled with clouds. Inspiration #4Pleasures of the Flesh (1965) by Nagisa OshimaEven though...
- 3/7/2022
- MUBI
Next month’s Mubi lineup for the U.S. has been unveiled, with a major highlight being their recent release Lingui, The Sacred Bonds and more films from director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (read our recent chat with him). Matías Piñeiro’s Isabella and Kazik Radwanski’s Anne at 13,000 Ft., two of last year’s highlights, will also arrive.
Two recent Cannes premieres, the Adèle Exarchopoulos-led Zero Fucks Given and Peter Tscherkassky’s Train Again will also finally come to the U.S. courtesy of Mubi. In terms of older highlights, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Hong Sang-soo’s The Power of the Kangwon Province, Jafar Panahi’s Crimson Gold, Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion, and more will arrive.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
March 1 | The Willmar 8 | Lee Grant | Down and Out in America: Lee Grant’s Documentaries
March 2 | Train Again | Peter Tscherkassky | Brief Encounters
March...
Two recent Cannes premieres, the Adèle Exarchopoulos-led Zero Fucks Given and Peter Tscherkassky’s Train Again will also finally come to the U.S. courtesy of Mubi. In terms of older highlights, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Hong Sang-soo’s The Power of the Kangwon Province, Jafar Panahi’s Crimson Gold, Jean Renoir’s Grand Illusion, and more will arrive.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
March 1 | The Willmar 8 | Lee Grant | Down and Out in America: Lee Grant’s Documentaries
March 2 | Train Again | Peter Tscherkassky | Brief Encounters
March...
- 2/18/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Moviegoing Memories is a series of short interviews with filmmakers about going to the movies. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Lingui, the Sacred Bonds is Mubi Go's Film of the Week in the US for February 4, 2022.Notebook: How would you describe your movie in the least amount of words?Mahamet-saleh Haroun: The fight (or struggle) of a single mother to save her 15-year-old pregnant daughter and who does not want to keep this unwanted pregnancy.Notebook: Where and what is your favorite movie theater? Why is it your favorite?Haroun: My favorite cinéma theatre is Le Normandie in N'djaména, Chad. I love this cinema because it's where I felt my first emotions with my girlfriend when I was teen. First kisses, first caresses, first loves.Notebook: What is the most memorable movie screening of your life? Why is it memorable?Haroun: The most memorable screening of my life is Rome, Open City by Rosselini.
- 2/16/2022
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Visual FX pioneer Douglas Trumbull has died at the age of 79. Among Trumbull's many achievements are his VFX contributions to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (which Trumbull worked on at the age of 25), Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, and Terrence Malick's Tree of Life. In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, Trumbull described his ongoing experiments with new technology and his belief that "if you want to get people to go out to the movies, to pay a premium price for some kind of premium experience, it better be damned premium. It better be extraordinary.”With this year's Oscar nominations, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car becomes the first Japanese film to be nominated for Best Picture.
- 2/10/2022
- MUBI
‘The Souvenir Part II’, ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ both open.
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Feb 4-6) Total gross to date Week 1. Sing 2 (Universal) £5.1m £13m 2 2. Jackass Forever (Paramount) £2.1m £2.1m 1 3. Belfast (Univeral) £1.5m £9m 3 4. Spider-Man: No Way Home (Sony) £1.15m £91.7m 8 5. Moonfall (Efd) £1m £1.16m 1
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.35
Paramount’s Jackass Forever has set a franchise opening record with a £2.1m start at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, as Sing 2 kept top spot with an impressive second session.
Jackass Forever played in 537 locations, taking a location average of £3,911 – a decent total for an 18-rated film.
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Feb 4-6) Total gross to date Week 1. Sing 2 (Universal) £5.1m £13m 2 2. Jackass Forever (Paramount) £2.1m £2.1m 1 3. Belfast (Univeral) £1.5m £9m 3 4. Spider-Man: No Way Home (Sony) £1.15m £91.7m 8 5. Moonfall (Efd) £1m £1.16m 1
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.35
Paramount’s Jackass Forever has set a franchise opening record with a £2.1m start at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, as Sing 2 kept top spot with an impressive second session.
Jackass Forever played in 537 locations, taking a location average of £3,911 – a decent total for an 18-rated film.
- 2/7/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
‘Moonfall’, ‘The Souvenir Part II’, ‘Belle’ among busy weekend.
Paramount Picitures’ non-fiction comedy Jackass Forever heads the new openers at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, on a busy weekend that also features sci-fi Moonfall, festival favourite The Souvenir Part II and anime Belle.
The fifth theatrically-released film in the Jackass franchise, Jackass Forever reunites Johnny Knoxville, Steve-o, Chris Pontius and the gang of miscreants for what they claim is their final outing under the Jackass name; although this was previously asserted after the 2002 first film, Jackass: The Movie.
Forever opens in 537 locations – a significant increase on the previous films...
Paramount Picitures’ non-fiction comedy Jackass Forever heads the new openers at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, on a busy weekend that also features sci-fi Moonfall, festival favourite The Souvenir Part II and anime Belle.
The fifth theatrically-released film in the Jackass franchise, Jackass Forever reunites Johnny Knoxville, Steve-o, Chris Pontius and the gang of miscreants for what they claim is their final outing under the Jackass name; although this was previously asserted after the 2002 first film, Jackass: The Movie.
Forever opens in 537 locations – a significant increase on the previous films...
- 2/4/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Chad-born, France-based Mahamat-Saleh Haroun debuted his latest drama, Lingui, The Sacred Bonds, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last summer. A formally classical vision, his morality tale follows a mother and her pregnant daughter as they navigate their next steps in Chad, a country where abortion is both illegal and condemned by religion. With Lingui now opening in theaters this Friday, courtesy of Mubi, I spoke with Haroun about seven influential films, from silent classics to international landmarks.
As David Katz said in his Cannes review of Lingui, “In Chad, whose two main languages are Arabic and French, “lingui” is a distinct term meaning a ‘bond or connection’; the film’s alternate title gives it a more pious hue—the ‘sacred bonds.’ But what’s fascinating and most novel about African cinema great Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s new drama is the lack of an overtly religiose aura: the bonds...
As David Katz said in his Cannes review of Lingui, “In Chad, whose two main languages are Arabic and French, “lingui” is a distinct term meaning a ‘bond or connection’; the film’s alternate title gives it a more pious hue—the ‘sacred bonds.’ But what’s fascinating and most novel about African cinema great Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s new drama is the lack of an overtly religiose aura: the bonds...
- 2/3/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With Sundance now wrapped up, this month we turn our sights on Berlinale and a number of notable releases arriving both theatrically and digitally. From international Oscar contenders to long-delayed releases to musician-focused docs to our favorite group of jackasses, it’s an eclectic month. See our picks below.
15. The Sky Is Everywhere (Josephine Decker; Feb. 11 in theaters and Apple TV+)
Curiously absent from Sundance and Berlinale is the latest by an alum of both, Josephine Decker. Following Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley, the director is back with The Sky Is Everywhere, which was adapted by Jandy Nelson, based on her novel. Produced by A24 and Apple, it follows a high-schooler who loses her older sister and attempts to regain her footing in life. With the YA material, it looks like Decker is carving a new path; we’re curious to see the results.
14. Taste (Lê Bảo; Feb. 16 on Mubi...
15. The Sky Is Everywhere (Josephine Decker; Feb. 11 in theaters and Apple TV+)
Curiously absent from Sundance and Berlinale is the latest by an alum of both, Josephine Decker. Following Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley, the director is back with The Sky Is Everywhere, which was adapted by Jandy Nelson, based on her novel. Produced by A24 and Apple, it follows a high-schooler who loses her older sister and attempts to regain her footing in life. With the YA material, it looks like Decker is carving a new path; we’re curious to see the results.
14. Taste (Lê Bảo; Feb. 16 on Mubi...
- 2/2/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The reign of Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” atop the U.K. and Ireland box office has finally ended with Universal’s animation sequel “Sing 2” claiming the throne.
“Sing 2,” directed by Garth Jennings and featuring a stellar voice cast of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Taron Egerton among many others, debuted in pole position with £6.8 million ($9.2 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.
Another Universal release, Kenneth Branagh’s awards season favorite “Belfast,” retained its second position from last week with £1.8 million and now has £6 million after two weekends.
After six weeks as box office champion, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” placed third with £1.7 million. After seven weekends, the film has swung to a total of £90 million and is in sixth place on the all-time U.K. and Ireland charts. The film’s next target is “Avatar,” which currently occupies fifth place with £94 million.
Paramount’s...
“Sing 2,” directed by Garth Jennings and featuring a stellar voice cast of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Taron Egerton among many others, debuted in pole position with £6.8 million ($9.2 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.
Another Universal release, Kenneth Branagh’s awards season favorite “Belfast,” retained its second position from last week with £1.8 million and now has £6 million after two weekends.
After six weeks as box office champion, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” placed third with £1.7 million. After seven weekends, the film has swung to a total of £90 million and is in sixth place on the all-time U.K. and Ireland charts. The film’s next target is “Avatar,” which currently occupies fifth place with £94 million.
Paramount’s...
- 2/1/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
If you wanted to name a winner from the Oscar international film shortlist right now, it would be the Cannes Film Festival. Nine of the 15 titles that made the cut came from the fest, even though the Palme d’Or winner, France’s submission “Titane,” did not. But then only those who were not paying attention to past trends in stage one voting assumed that it would be included.
Although a record 93 countries put forward an entry, only 15 are moving on. The ones selected for the shortlist come from almost every continent, although Africa, despite some exciting entries such as Somalia’s “The Gravedigger’s Wife,” Chad’s “Lingui: The Sacred Bonds” and Morocco’s “Casablanca Beats,” was ignored (all three titles premiered at Cannes).
Cannes players that are in the mix include Iran’s “A Hero,” helmed by previous Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadi; Norway’s “The Worst Person in the World...
Although a record 93 countries put forward an entry, only 15 are moving on. The ones selected for the shortlist come from almost every continent, although Africa, despite some exciting entries such as Somalia’s “The Gravedigger’s Wife,” Chad’s “Lingui: The Sacred Bonds” and Morocco’s “Casablanca Beats,” was ignored (all three titles premiered at Cannes).
Cannes players that are in the mix include Iran’s “A Hero,” helmed by previous Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadi; Norway’s “The Worst Person in the World...
- 1/22/2022
- by Shalini Dore and Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Lina Wertmüller in Behind the White Glasses (2015).Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmüller, the first woman to be nominated for a directing Oscar (for 1975's Seven Beauties), died on December 9. After working as an assistant director for Federico Fellini on 8 1/2, Wertmüller went on to become a prolific and distinctive filmmaker in her own right, combining politics and sex and humor in films like The Seduction of Mimi and Swept Away. In an interview with Criterion, she stated: "I consider myself a director, not a female director. I think there’s no difference. The difference is between good movies and bad movies. We should not make other distinctions." The prolific critic and theorist bell hooks has died today. In addition to her many writings on the feminist movement and cultural politics, hooks was also an important media theorist.
- 12/15/2021
- MUBI
Of the six Sub-Saharan African submissions, the buzziest titles include Somalia’s first-ever entry, “The Gravedigger’s Wife” from feature debutant Khadar Ayderus Ahmed and Chad’s Cannes competitor, “Lingui: The Sacred Bonds” from veteran helmer Mahamet-Saleh Haroun.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s dysfunctional family dramedy “Barakat” from Amy Jephta earns points for likeability although it represents a genre not usually awarded by the Academy. Nevertheless, the tale of a family feud developing when the clan matriarch decides to take a second chance on love is a universally relatable one.
“The Gravedigger’s Wife” arri-ves at the Academy screenings trailing the top prize from Fespaco, Africa’s largest film festival. Mogadishu-born director-writer Ahmed came to Finland as a refugee at the age of 16 and returned to his African roots for his first feature, which is both a touching love story and a tragedy of social injustice about a poor man trying to get treatment for his ailing wife.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s dysfunctional family dramedy “Barakat” from Amy Jephta earns points for likeability although it represents a genre not usually awarded by the Academy. Nevertheless, the tale of a family feud developing when the clan matriarch decides to take a second chance on love is a universally relatable one.
“The Gravedigger’s Wife” arri-ves at the Academy screenings trailing the top prize from Fespaco, Africa’s largest film festival. Mogadishu-born director-writer Ahmed came to Finland as a refugee at the age of 16 and returned to his African roots for his first feature, which is both a touching love story and a tragedy of social injustice about a poor man trying to get treatment for his ailing wife.
- 12/14/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
"We don't need protection." Mubi has unveiled an official US trailer for the African drama Lingui: The Sacred Bonds, which originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, playing in the main competition. The film is the latest by an award-winning filmmaker from Chad named Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, best known for his other films Our Father, Dry Season, A Screaming Man, Grigris, and A Season in France. Amina, a practicing Muslim, lives with her daughter, 15-year-old Maria. When Amina learns Maria is pregnant and wants to abort the child, they face an impossible situation in a country where abortion is legally and morally condemned. The cast features Achouackh Abakar, Rihane Khalil Alio, Youssouf Djaoro, Briya Gomdigue, and Hadje Fatime N'Goua. This earned great reviews at festivals, saying "Haroun takes a quiet, meditative approach to storytelling." If you're into slow cinema this is for you. Here's the US trailer (+ poster...
- 12/10/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
After going dark for the first time in more than half a century, the return of the Cannes Film Festival proves one major point: the event is still a significant launch pad when it comes to the International Feature Film Oscars. Indeed, of the 90-plus submissions recorded so far this year, nearly a quarter made their debut on the Croisette, be it in Competition, Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight or Critics’ Week. It’s perhaps to be expected—since the Academy first introduced the category in 1956, foreign-language auteur works have dominated more commercial fare—but the skew towards Cannes is telling. Other festivals have their place—notably Berlin and Venice, with Sundance emerging this year as an unexpected new contender—but, as a rough guide, Cannes has physically premiered six of the last 10 winners and presented last year’s victor, Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round (Denmark) under the umbrella of its virtual 2020 label.
- 12/10/2021
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
After opening the Venice Film Festival and continuing on to the New York Film Festival, Oscar winner Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers from Sony Pictures Classics will have a red-carpet premiere at this year’s AFI Fest at the Tcl Chinese Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 13.
In the movie, two women, Janis and Ana, played respectively by Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn’t regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way. Cruz won the Volpi...
In the movie, two women, Janis and Ana, played respectively by Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn’t regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way. Cruz won the Volpi...
- 10/13/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Jury prizes returned this year following a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Prize money totalling €125,000 was handed out to 10 films screening in this year’s Filmfest Hamburg (September 30-October 9), which saw jury prizes return following a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.
On Friday evening (October 8) at Hamburg’s producer awards, the jury comprising producer Martina Haubrich and directors Julian Pörksen and Arman T. Riahi presented the producers award for German cinema productions, worth €25,000, to Jonas Weydemann of Weydemann Bros for Sabrina Sarabi’s No One’s With The Calves, which had been screened in the Grosse Freiheit section.
Sarabi...
Prize money totalling €125,000 was handed out to 10 films screening in this year’s Filmfest Hamburg (September 30-October 9), which saw jury prizes return following a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic.
On Friday evening (October 8) at Hamburg’s producer awards, the jury comprising producer Martina Haubrich and directors Julian Pörksen and Arman T. Riahi presented the producers award for German cinema productions, worth €25,000, to Jonas Weydemann of Weydemann Bros for Sabrina Sarabi’s No One’s With The Calves, which had been screened in the Grosse Freiheit section.
Sarabi...
- 10/11/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
With Nsw reopening for the fully vaccinated, Sydney Film Festival is set to finally go ahead, with a line-up that director Nashen Moodley believes is one the most diverse and exciting in the event’s 68-year history.
Traditionally held in June, this year has seen the festival pushed back twice, initially to August, and then November.
Yet when the Delta outbreak nixed the August edition, it was unclear that the festival would realistically be held at all. Indeed, Sff will mark the first major festival event to occur in Sydney’s CBD post-lockdown, a notion that fills Moodley with “excitement but trepidation”.
The move to November meant the festival was tasked with reconfirming every title that had been programmed so far. Overall, it lost about 20 films, but gained almost 30, including some of the year’s most anticipated out of Venice and Toronto.
Among the new additions are Jane Campion’s...
Traditionally held in June, this year has seen the festival pushed back twice, initially to August, and then November.
Yet when the Delta outbreak nixed the August edition, it was unclear that the festival would realistically be held at all. Indeed, Sff will mark the first major festival event to occur in Sydney’s CBD post-lockdown, a notion that fills Moodley with “excitement but trepidation”.
The move to November meant the festival was tasked with reconfirming every title that had been programmed so far. Overall, it lost about 20 films, but gained almost 30, including some of the year’s most anticipated out of Venice and Toronto.
Among the new additions are Jane Campion’s...
- 10/6/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
“Happening” does not extravagantly announce itself as a period piece, though gradually you figure it out. The young women on whom it’s focused speak in a way that sounds more or less contemporary, if you’re not thinking too hard about it. And if their outfits are a little dated, the film is shot in such tender, peering close-up on their smooth, hopeful faces that you scarcely notice. But then it clicks: The guys are wearing ties, phones are absent, the dancing in an early party scene is rather quaint. “Happening” is set, it turns out, in 1963, and you soon wish it felt altogether more distant from the present moment. For our protagonist, Anne, is 23 years old and unwillingly pregnant; determined to do something about it, she immediately finds every door in her world closed to her.
Audrey Diwan’s quietly devastating sophomore feature is the latest in an ongoing run of tough,...
Audrey Diwan’s quietly devastating sophomore feature is the latest in an ongoing run of tough,...
- 9/6/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
The 65th British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival has revealed the eight films in its official competition.
The competition titles include a few films currently playing at the Venice Film Festival, including Michelangelo Frammartino’s “Il Buco” (Italy-Germany-France), Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” (Italy) Harry Wootliff’s “True Things” (U.K.) and Michel Franco’s “Sundown” (Mexico-France-Sweden).
Films that bowed at Cannes also make an appearance in the competition, including Mamoru Hosoda’s “Belle” (Japan), Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram” (Australia), Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s “Lingui” (Chad-France-Germany-Belgium) and Panah Panahi’s (Hit The Raad” (Iran).
The winner will be chosen by the official competition jury, the members of which will be revealed imminently.
Festival director Tricia Tuttle said: “With official competition our aim is to present a curated programme that showcases the breadth and richness of international cinema for our audiences. Anyone new to the Lff should consider official...
The competition titles include a few films currently playing at the Venice Film Festival, including Michelangelo Frammartino’s “Il Buco” (Italy-Germany-France), Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” (Italy) Harry Wootliff’s “True Things” (U.K.) and Michel Franco’s “Sundown” (Mexico-France-Sweden).
Films that bowed at Cannes also make an appearance in the competition, including Mamoru Hosoda’s “Belle” (Japan), Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram” (Australia), Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s “Lingui” (Chad-France-Germany-Belgium) and Panah Panahi’s (Hit The Raad” (Iran).
The winner will be chosen by the official competition jury, the members of which will be revealed imminently.
Festival director Tricia Tuttle said: “With official competition our aim is to present a curated programme that showcases the breadth and richness of international cinema for our audiences. Anyone new to the Lff should consider official...
- 9/3/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The winner will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony on October 17.
The 65th BFI London Film Festival has revealed the eight films selected for its 2021 official competition.
Among the titles selected are Mamoru Hosoda’s Japanese animation Belle, Justin Kurzel’s Nitram, Iranian filmmaker Panah Panahi’s Hit The Road and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Lingui, The Sacred Bonds. All four films premiered at Cannes Film Festival in July.
UK writer/director Harry Wootliff also returns to the festival following her Lff debut in 2018 with Only You. Wootliff is in Lff competition with her second feature True Things, a psychological...
The 65th BFI London Film Festival has revealed the eight films selected for its 2021 official competition.
Among the titles selected are Mamoru Hosoda’s Japanese animation Belle, Justin Kurzel’s Nitram, Iranian filmmaker Panah Panahi’s Hit The Road and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Lingui, The Sacred Bonds. All four films premiered at Cannes Film Festival in July.
UK writer/director Harry Wootliff also returns to the festival following her Lff debut in 2018 with Only You. Wootliff is in Lff competition with her second feature True Things, a psychological...
- 9/3/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The BFI London Film Festival has confirmed an eight-strong lineup for its Official Competition this year. The movies are:
Belle
Il Buco
The Hand Of God
Nitram
Hit The Road
Sundown
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
True Things
The films arrive from premieres at festivals including Cannes and Venice.
A jury will select a winning film, to be announced at the Lff Awards Ceremony on October 17.
“With Official Competition our aim is to present a curated programme that showcases the breadth and richness of international cinema for our audiences. Anyone new to the Lff should consider Official Competition a big neon sign that is blinking: “enter here”. This eight film selection is full of individual cinematic diamonds – each one...
Belle
Il Buco
The Hand Of God
Nitram
Hit The Road
Sundown
Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
True Things
The films arrive from premieres at festivals including Cannes and Venice.
A jury will select a winning film, to be announced at the Lff Awards Ceremony on October 17.
“With Official Competition our aim is to present a curated programme that showcases the breadth and richness of international cinema for our audiences. Anyone new to the Lff should consider Official Competition a big neon sign that is blinking: “enter here”. This eight film selection is full of individual cinematic diamonds – each one...
- 9/3/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Peter Kerekes documentary-fiction hybrid is set in an Odessa prison.
German sales outfit Films Boutique has snapped up world rights to Peter Kerekes’ Venice Horizons contender 107 Mothers.
The project participated in the 2020 First Cut Lab run by the When East Meets West forum; and at works-in-progress events at Karlovy Vary in 2017 and Odessa in 2018.
The documentary-fiction hybrid was co-written by Kerekes and Ivan Ostrochovsky. It was inspired by the real-life stories of 107 mothers in the Odessa prison in Ukraine and Kerekes spent many years in the prison getting to know the inmates and their stories. The main protagonist Lesya, played by Maryna Klimova,...
German sales outfit Films Boutique has snapped up world rights to Peter Kerekes’ Venice Horizons contender 107 Mothers.
The project participated in the 2020 First Cut Lab run by the When East Meets West forum; and at works-in-progress events at Karlovy Vary in 2017 and Odessa in 2018.
The documentary-fiction hybrid was co-written by Kerekes and Ivan Ostrochovsky. It was inspired by the real-life stories of 107 mothers in the Odessa prison in Ukraine and Kerekes spent many years in the prison getting to know the inmates and their stories. The main protagonist Lesya, played by Maryna Klimova,...
- 7/27/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
So, how to grade the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and especially the film marketplace? It would be too simple to describe it as a solid if unspectacular affair, when considering the presales business done virtually in the weeks leading up to the festival and a few small deals for the arthouse films that premiered on the Riviera.
A pandemic rebound will be measured in increments, but the most notable part of 2021 Cannes might well be the collective rallying cry elicited from buyers, sellers and the stars and filmmakers who routinely were moved to tears at Palais premieres, simply because of the feeling of getting back what was stolen from them by the Covid shutdown.
“It would be a mistake to talk about the market and the festival, contextualized by normalcy,” said FilmNation’s Glen Basner, who with CAA Media Finance led the charge on three big packages in the virtual market...
A pandemic rebound will be measured in increments, but the most notable part of 2021 Cannes might well be the collective rallying cry elicited from buyers, sellers and the stars and filmmakers who routinely were moved to tears at Palais premieres, simply because of the feeling of getting back what was stolen from them by the Covid shutdown.
“It would be a mistake to talk about the market and the festival, contextualized by normalcy,” said FilmNation’s Glen Basner, who with CAA Media Finance led the charge on three big packages in the virtual market...
- 7/19/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The streamer and distributor has also picked up Benedetta, Memoria, Cow and other titles.
Continuing its Cannes festival buying spree, London-based global streamer and distributor Mubi has picked up all rights for North America, the UK, Ireland, Latin America and India to Un Certain Regard Grand Prize winner Unclenching The Fists.
The second feature from Russian director Kira Kovalenko, the film is set in a former Caucasus mining town, where a young woman struggles to escape the hold of her family. Milana Aguzarova, Alik Karaev, Soslan Khugaev and Khetag Bibilov star.
Wild Bunch is handling international sales on the film.
Continuing its Cannes festival buying spree, London-based global streamer and distributor Mubi has picked up all rights for North America, the UK, Ireland, Latin America and India to Un Certain Regard Grand Prize winner Unclenching The Fists.
The second feature from Russian director Kira Kovalenko, the film is set in a former Caucasus mining town, where a young woman struggles to escape the hold of her family. Milana Aguzarova, Alik Karaev, Soslan Khugaev and Khetag Bibilov star.
Wild Bunch is handling international sales on the film.
- 7/16/2021
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Norwegian romantic drama premiered in Competition at Cannes.
Mubi has acquired all UK, Ireland and India rights for Joachim Trier’s Norwegian drama The Worst Person In The World, which premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival last week.
The London-based streaming platform and distributor closed the deal with French sales agent mk2 Films, which is handling international sales. Mubi plans to release the feature theatrically in the UK and Ireland. Neon has picked up the US rights.
The romantic drama is the third film in Trier’s Olso trilogy, which began with Reprise in 2006 and continued with Oslo,...
Mubi has acquired all UK, Ireland and India rights for Joachim Trier’s Norwegian drama The Worst Person In The World, which premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival last week.
The London-based streaming platform and distributor closed the deal with French sales agent mk2 Films, which is handling international sales. Mubi plans to release the feature theatrically in the UK and Ireland. Neon has picked up the US rights.
The romantic drama is the third film in Trier’s Olso trilogy, which began with Reprise in 2006 and continued with Oslo,...
- 7/16/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Today’s grid also includes Ildiko Enyedi’s ’The Story Of My Wife’.
Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District and Sean Baker’s Red Rocket achieved middling scores on Screen‘s Cannes jury grid, whilst Ildiko Enyedi’s The Story Of My Wife failed to impress the majority of our jurors.
The latest film from Jacques Audiard – a Palme d’Or winner in 2015 with Dheepan – came out on top of the new arrivals with a score of 2.5, placing it fifth on the grid - just behind Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero. Helping the average were scores of four (excellent) from...
Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District and Sean Baker’s Red Rocket achieved middling scores on Screen‘s Cannes jury grid, whilst Ildiko Enyedi’s The Story Of My Wife failed to impress the majority of our jurors.
The latest film from Jacques Audiard – a Palme d’Or winner in 2015 with Dheepan – came out on top of the new arrivals with a score of 2.5, placing it fifth on the grid - just behind Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero. Helping the average were scores of four (excellent) from...
- 7/15/2021
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Indie distributor and SVOD service Mubi is continuing its remarkable buying spree at Cannes 2021. The growing player has now taken rights from The Match Factory to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cannes Competition drama Memoria for Germany, Italy, Latin America and India.
Palme d’Or winner Weerasethakul is debuting his latest drama on the Croisette today. Tilda Swinton stars in the movie as Jessica a woman who travels from Scotland to Bogotá to visit her sister. Ever since being startled by a loud ‘bang’ at daybreak, she is unable to sleep. However, during her journey she befriends Agnes (Jeanne Balibar), an archaeologist studying human remains discovered within a tunnel under construction, and a fish scaler, Hernan (Elkin Diaz). As the day comes to a close, she is awakened to a sense of clarity.
Weerasethakul’s ninth feature is his first shoot outside his native Thailand.
Palme d’Or winner Weerasethakul is debuting his latest drama on the Croisette today. Tilda Swinton stars in the movie as Jessica a woman who travels from Scotland to Bogotá to visit her sister. Ever since being startled by a loud ‘bang’ at daybreak, she is unable to sleep. However, during her journey she befriends Agnes (Jeanne Balibar), an archaeologist studying human remains discovered within a tunnel under construction, and a fish scaler, Hernan (Elkin Diaz). As the day comes to a close, she is awakened to a sense of clarity.
Weerasethakul’s ninth feature is his first shoot outside his native Thailand.
- 7/15/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Films Boutique has closed multiple deals on Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s abortion drama.
Films Boutique has closed multiple deals on Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Cannes Competition title Lingui, The Sacred Bonds.
The Chadian abortion drama has sold to Spain (Wanda Vision), Italy (Academy Two), Switzerland (Trigon-Film), Poland (Gutek Film), Australia (Rialto), Greece (One from the Heart) and Portugal (Leopardo Filmes).
Rights for the US, UK, Ireland, Latin America and Turkey were recently secured by London-based streamer and theatrical distributor Mubi.
It marks the seventh feature of Chadian filmmaker Haroun, who also write the script. The story centres on an ostracised woman in...
Films Boutique has closed multiple deals on Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Cannes Competition title Lingui, The Sacred Bonds.
The Chadian abortion drama has sold to Spain (Wanda Vision), Italy (Academy Two), Switzerland (Trigon-Film), Poland (Gutek Film), Australia (Rialto), Greece (One from the Heart) and Portugal (Leopardo Filmes).
Rights for the US, UK, Ireland, Latin America and Turkey were recently secured by London-based streamer and theatrical distributor Mubi.
It marks the seventh feature of Chadian filmmaker Haroun, who also write the script. The story centres on an ostracised woman in...
- 7/15/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Mubi, the art house streamer and theatrical distributor, has acquired the North American rights to “Lingui, The Sacred Bonds” out of the Cannes Film Festival.
“Lingui” is an abortion drama from the country of Chad and is directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, and the film premiered last week in the main competition for the festival as it competes for the Palme D’Or.
Mubi also acquired the UK, Ireland, Latin America and Turkey distribution rights to the film.
“Lingui, The Sacred Bonds” is set in the outskirts of N’Djamena in Chad, where a Muslim woman named Amina lives alone with her 15-year-old daughter Maria and who discovers that her teenage daughter is pregnant and does not want this pregnancy. In a country where abortion is not only condemned by religion, but also by law, Amina finds herself facing a battle that seems lost in advance.
Haroun also wrote the screenplay,...
“Lingui” is an abortion drama from the country of Chad and is directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, and the film premiered last week in the main competition for the festival as it competes for the Palme D’Or.
Mubi also acquired the UK, Ireland, Latin America and Turkey distribution rights to the film.
“Lingui, The Sacred Bonds” is set in the outskirts of N’Djamena in Chad, where a Muslim woman named Amina lives alone with her 15-year-old daughter Maria and who discovers that her teenage daughter is pregnant and does not want this pregnancy. In a country where abortion is not only condemned by religion, but also by law, Amina finds herself facing a battle that seems lost in advance.
Haroun also wrote the screenplay,...
- 7/13/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
One of the intriguing aspects of any film festival is the way conversations can develop between films that may have been made in completely different circumstances and countries — how themes can cut across regions and genres and a multifaceted dialogue can spring up even if none of the filmmakers knew they were getting into it.
At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, one of the conversations that has developed is about young women trying to find a place for themselves in environments that afford them little or no agency in their own lives. We’ve seen that theme given a mystical spin in the Costa Rican drama “Clara Sola” and a naturalistic one in the African film “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds.” It’s even surfaced in Charlotte Gainsbourg’s documentary about her mother, Jane Birkin, “Jane by Charlotte,” in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II” and in Joachim Trier...
At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, one of the conversations that has developed is about young women trying to find a place for themselves in environments that afford them little or no agency in their own lives. We’ve seen that theme given a mystical spin in the Costa Rican drama “Clara Sola” and a naturalistic one in the African film “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds.” It’s even surfaced in Charlotte Gainsbourg’s documentary about her mother, Jane Birkin, “Jane by Charlotte,” in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II” and in Joachim Trier...
- 7/10/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Joachim Trier’s comedy-drama received two scores of four but three ones.
Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person In The World has divided the opinions of Screen’s Cannes jury critics, receiving an average score of 2.4, enough for second place currently.
The comedy-drama about a young woman’s attempts to navigate her troubled love life scored two fours (excellent) from UK-based critics Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian) and Robbie Collin and Tim Robey (The Telegraph), as well as a trio of threes (good). However, threes scores of one (poor) – from Liberation’s Julien Gester and Didier Peron, Le Monde’s Mathieu Macheret...
Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person In The World has divided the opinions of Screen’s Cannes jury critics, receiving an average score of 2.4, enough for second place currently.
The comedy-drama about a young woman’s attempts to navigate her troubled love life scored two fours (excellent) from UK-based critics Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian) and Robbie Collin and Tim Robey (The Telegraph), as well as a trio of threes (good). However, threes scores of one (poor) – from Liberation’s Julien Gester and Didier Peron, Le Monde’s Mathieu Macheret...
- 7/10/2021
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
In Chad, whose two main languages are Arabic and French, “lingui” is a distinct term meaning a “bond or connection”; the film’s alternate title gives it a more pious hue—the “sacred bonds.” But what’s fascinating and most novel about African cinema great Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s new drama is the lack of an overtly religiose aura: the bonds created by its generation-spanning units of women are uplifting and resilient, while sought independently from Chad’s ruling, patriarchal class. To compare with conditions in the West, an analog would be to radical women’s networks, or even experiments in collective living and solidarity like communes.
Lingui, the Sacred Bonds is a glossier, more expensive-looking film than Haroun’s prior work; it has a slightly off-putting, color-corrected digital sheen, and less emphasis on the negative space present in the environment—all those hulking deserts and azure skies. Compared to the...
Lingui, the Sacred Bonds is a glossier, more expensive-looking film than Haroun’s prior work; it has a slightly off-putting, color-corrected digital sheen, and less emphasis on the negative space present in the environment—all those hulking deserts and azure skies. Compared to the...
- 7/9/2021
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
Director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s “Lingui, The Sacred Bonds,” a slow burn from the Chadian filmmaker, operates through a deceptively simple premise: A single mother living on the modest outskirts of N’djamena, Chad watches her 15-year old daughter emotionally withdraw only to discover she’s pregnant. In a Muslim country where single motherhood is already frowned upon. And abortion illegal. Both mother and daughter are forced to navigate their patriarchal society in a bid for self-affirmation and survival.
Continue reading ‘Lingui, The Sacred Bonds’: A Rich Pro-Choice Meditation [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Lingui, The Sacred Bonds’: A Rich Pro-Choice Meditation [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
- 7/9/2021
- by Robert Daniels
- The Playlist
While the pandemic failed to vanquish awards season in 2020, one key prize was left out of the picture. For many filmmakers, the Palme d’Or is the most revered accolade on the planet, and in 2019, it set the bar high. After Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” won the Competition and went on to commercial and critical success — not to mention that historic Oscar for Best Picture — many expected that it would place renewed focus on Cannes as a major launchpad for international cinema. That didn’t happen in 2020, as the festival canceled its physical edition, but it’s back to business as usual in 2021.
With Spike Lee as its president, the return of the Cannes Competition looks to be one of the most unpredictable in years. He’s joined by an international group of filmmakers and actors, mostly women, whose work suggest a wide array of sensibilities in play: The other directors are Mati Diop,...
With Spike Lee as its president, the return of the Cannes Competition looks to be one of the most unpredictable in years. He’s joined by an international group of filmmakers and actors, mostly women, whose work suggest a wide array of sensibilities in play: The other directors are Mati Diop,...
- 7/9/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun returns to the sun-scrubbed Sahel region of West Africa for his latest feature, “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds,” which competes for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Set on the outskirts of the capital city of N’Djamena, “Lingui” is the story of a single mother, Amina (Achouackh Abakar Souleymane), whose already fragile world threatens to collapse when she learns that her daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio Brahim), is pregnant — a birth the 15-year-old is desperate to terminate. But in a country where abortion is condemned by Islamic faith and banned by law, Amina finds herself facing an impossible battle.
The film highlights the traditional bonds that hold Chadian society together, even at times when the social fabric in the vast, arid West African country— which has struggled with instability and violence throughout much of its post-independence history — threatens to unravel. For women especially,...
Set on the outskirts of the capital city of N’Djamena, “Lingui” is the story of a single mother, Amina (Achouackh Abakar Souleymane), whose already fragile world threatens to collapse when she learns that her daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio Brahim), is pregnant — a birth the 15-year-old is desperate to terminate. But in a country where abortion is condemned by Islamic faith and banned by law, Amina finds herself facing an impossible battle.
The film highlights the traditional bonds that hold Chadian society together, even at times when the social fabric in the vast, arid West African country— which has struggled with instability and violence throughout much of its post-independence history — threatens to unravel. For women especially,...
- 7/9/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
by Cláudio Alves
The third day of this year's Cannes Film Festival was a busy one. First, there were two premieres for films in the main competition, Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Lingui. The response to the latter was so effusive, some are already calling it a contender for the Palme d'Or. Then, in the Un Certain Regard section, Kogonada's sophomore feature, After Yang, took its bow. Other premieres from prominent directors included Andrea Arnold's Cow and Tom McCarthy's Stillwater. Our Cannes at Home program is made up of past films from this illustrious quintet, encompassing a meditation on loss, an allegory of civil war, love songs for architecture, and more.
Oslo, August 31St (2011)
From dawn to dawn, a young man ponders the end. Joachim Trier gives a premise fit for po-faced European miserabilism a fresh face in Oslo, August 31st.
The third day of this year's Cannes Film Festival was a busy one. First, there were two premieres for films in the main competition, Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Lingui. The response to the latter was so effusive, some are already calling it a contender for the Palme d'Or. Then, in the Un Certain Regard section, Kogonada's sophomore feature, After Yang, took its bow. Other premieres from prominent directors included Andrea Arnold's Cow and Tom McCarthy's Stillwater. Our Cannes at Home program is made up of past films from this illustrious quintet, encompassing a meditation on loss, an allegory of civil war, love songs for architecture, and more.
Oslo, August 31St (2011)
From dawn to dawn, a young man ponders the end. Joachim Trier gives a premise fit for po-faced European miserabilism a fresh face in Oslo, August 31st.
- 7/9/2021
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
One of the very few African filmmakers to have their work distributed in Europe and the U.S., Mahamat-Saleh Haroun has made six feature-length films, and all but one are set in Chad. But his latest, Cannes competition entry “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds,” is noteworthy for another reason. The Paris-based Haroun returned to his native Chad to tell a story about a prickly issue: abortion, which is taboo in the country. It’s also his very first film with female leads since he launched his career almost 30 years ago, and here he has made a film that’s sensitive to feminist causes in Chad.
The move was prompted by Haroun’s desire to challenge Chad’s ruling patriarchy and specifically the country’s strict laws on abortion. “Unwanted pregnancies are becoming an increasingly important problem,” he said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “There are more and more reports of people discovering abandoned newborns,...
The move was prompted by Haroun’s desire to challenge Chad’s ruling patriarchy and specifically the country’s strict laws on abortion. “Unwanted pregnancies are becoming an increasingly important problem,” he said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “There are more and more reports of people discovering abandoned newborns,...
- 7/8/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
“We are all brothers in Islam. Anyone with a problem can come to talk.” With these words, a local imam offers supposed comfort and counsel to troubled single mother Amina (Achouackh Abakar Souleymane), not considering that addressing her as his “brother” might not be the most welcoming invitation. Least of all for the problem Amina is nursing: Her 15-year-old daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio), is pregnant, and has no desire to bear the child. When, later on, a kindly midwife declares that Amina is “like my sister now,” that simple term of address is like a fresh supply of oxygen. In “Lingui,” a brief, quietly forceful new film from veteran Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Amina and Maria are faced with a man’s world at every turn; how they carve a woman’s one out of it makes for startling viewing.
For Haroun, “Lingui” is a bracing return to form...
For Haroun, “Lingui” is a bracing return to form...
- 7/8/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
It’s been eight years since director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was last in the Cannes Film Festival’s main competition lineup with his 2013 drama “Grisgris,” and it’s no surprise that the filmmaker from Chad, in Central Africa, is back this year with “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds” — after all, the director has been in the Cannes lineup five times, and he won the jury prize for “A Screaming Man” in 2010.
But here’s what is surprising, and dismaying: In the six festivals between “Grisgris” and “Lingui,” Cannes’ main competition has included a grand total of three African films: “Timbuktu” in 2014, “Yomeddine” in 2018 and “Atlantics” in 2019. Others have screened in various sidebars and out of competition, but for the past decade, Cannes’ marquee section has been almost entirely devoid of work from Africa.
While Haroun shouldn’t have to carry the load on the Croisette for an entire continent, he is an...
But here’s what is surprising, and dismaying: In the six festivals between “Grisgris” and “Lingui,” Cannes’ main competition has included a grand total of three African films: “Timbuktu” in 2014, “Yomeddine” in 2018 and “Atlantics” in 2019. Others have screened in various sidebars and out of competition, but for the past decade, Cannes’ marquee section has been almost entirely devoid of work from Africa.
While Haroun shouldn’t have to carry the load on the Croisette for an entire continent, he is an...
- 7/8/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Leos Carax’s ‘Annette’ leads Nadav Lapid’s ’Ahed’s Knee’ and Francois Ozon’s ’Everything Went Fine’.
Leos Carax’s opening-night film Annette has taken the early lead on Screen’s 2021 Cannes jury grid, with three films seen so far by our jurors.
The film, which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, has an average of three stars, scoring three or four stars from more than half of the critics. However, Screen International’s critic and Positif’s Michel Ciment were the exceptions, both giving the film a less impressive two.
The romantic musical set in Los Angeles is about...
Leos Carax’s opening-night film Annette has taken the early lead on Screen’s 2021 Cannes jury grid, with three films seen so far by our jurors.
The film, which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, has an average of three stars, scoring three or four stars from more than half of the critics. However, Screen International’s critic and Positif’s Michel Ciment were the exceptions, both giving the film a less impressive two.
The romantic musical set in Los Angeles is about...
- 7/8/2021
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Bertrand Mandico's After Blue (Paradis sale).The lineup for the 2021 Locarno International Film Festival includes Piazza Grande screenings of Michael Mann's Heat and Gaspar Noé's Vortex, and the latest by by Bertrand Mandico, Axelle Ropert, Abel Ferrara, Salomé Lamas and more.The great filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr. has passed on at age 85. His incredible filmography includes Babo 73 (1964), Sweet Smell of Sex (1965), Chafed Elbows (1966), No More Excuses (1968), Putney Swope (1969), Pound (1970), and Greaser's Palace (1972).In an interview on the Armchair Expert podcast, Quentin Tarantino announced that he has purchased Los Angeles' Vista Theatre, emphasizing that though the theatre will screen both new and old movies, it will be "only film [...] the best prints." Screenwriter and filmmaker Clare Peploe has died. Though best known for her screenplays for Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged and La Luna,...
- 7/7/2021
- MUBI
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