Berlin-based sales agency M-Appeal has closed several new deals for Berlinale title “Sex,” directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, and two further deals for Venice’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” directed by Oscar-winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
The new “Sex” buyers include U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot Film), Portugal (Films4You), Switzerland (Xenix Film), Ex-Yugoslavian territories (McF Megacom) and Hungary (Vertigo Média).
The film, which premiered in the Panorama section of Berlinale, follows two men – both working as chimney sweeps – living in monogamous, heterosexual marriages as they both end up in situations that challenge their views on sexuality and gender roles.
The title received three awards at the festival: the Europa Cinemas Label – Best European Film (Panorama), the Cicae Art Cinema Award, and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.
Previously, the film secured distribution deals in North America (Strand Releasing), France (Pyramide Distribution), South Korea (JinJin Pictures...
The new “Sex” buyers include U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot Film), Portugal (Films4You), Switzerland (Xenix Film), Ex-Yugoslavian territories (McF Megacom) and Hungary (Vertigo Média).
The film, which premiered in the Panorama section of Berlinale, follows two men – both working as chimney sweeps – living in monogamous, heterosexual marriages as they both end up in situations that challenge their views on sexuality and gender roles.
The title received three awards at the festival: the Europa Cinemas Label – Best European Film (Panorama), the Cicae Art Cinema Award, and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.
Previously, the film secured distribution deals in North America (Strand Releasing), France (Pyramide Distribution), South Korea (JinJin Pictures...
- 5/10/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The opening, multi-minute shot of “Evil Does Not Exist” stares upwards at the trees, floating backwards through the forest, while Eiko Ishibashi’s haunting score casts a spell on us. It’s contemplative but not peaceful; weirdly arresting, like a thriller with no tangible thrills. It’s almost a shock when the story kicks in, but writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi looks at his characters much the same way. He’s fascinated and concerned by who they are and what they might do, and he watches them float by.
Hamaguchi’s previous film, “Drive My Car,” was a nearly three-hour drama about a man directing a stage version of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” where every character speaks a different language. Along the way, he formed a relationship with his production-mandated chauffeur who — fittingly enough — drives his car, as they listen to recordings of his recently-deceased wife reading the script. You...
Hamaguchi’s previous film, “Drive My Car,” was a nearly three-hour drama about a man directing a stage version of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” where every character speaks a different language. Along the way, he formed a relationship with his production-mandated chauffeur who — fittingly enough — drives his car, as they listen to recordings of his recently-deceased wife reading the script. You...
- 5/3/2024
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Soon it's that time of year again! Just a few weeks left until the 24th Nippon Connection Film Festival once again envelops Frankfurt am Main (Germany) in bright pink. From May 28 to June 2, 2024, the world's largest festival of Japanese cinema will showcase around 100 short and feature films at eight venues. The country's culture will also be explored through the extensive culture program, reflecting Japan's musical, culinary, and artistic diversity.
The Nippon Connection Film Festival presents works by both established filmmakers and emerging directors. From Takeshi Kitano's action-packed samurai film Kubi to the captivating comedy Fly Me To The Saitama -From Biwa Lake With Love- by Hideki Takeuchi, and Yoshimi Itazu's imaginative animation The Concierge, the film program offers highlights of various genres. Most films will celebrate their German, European, or international premieres at the festival. The festival's focus on Crossing Borders, supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, explores...
The Nippon Connection Film Festival presents works by both established filmmakers and emerging directors. From Takeshi Kitano's action-packed samurai film Kubi to the captivating comedy Fly Me To The Saitama -From Biwa Lake With Love- by Hideki Takeuchi, and Yoshimi Itazu's imaginative animation The Concierge, the film program offers highlights of various genres. Most films will celebrate their German, European, or international premieres at the festival. The festival's focus on Crossing Borders, supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, explores...
- 4/6/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Evil Does Not ExistPhoto: Janus Films
There are few things more bone-chilling than the real-life evils set upon our planet and its people each and every day. This is the type of horror Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi is contending with in Evil Does Not Exist, the stirring and eerie follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2021 film,...
There are few things more bone-chilling than the real-life evils set upon our planet and its people each and every day. This is the type of horror Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi is contending with in Evil Does Not Exist, the stirring and eerie follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2021 film,...
- 3/26/2024
- by Emma Keates
- avclub.com
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi retreated into a rural village outside of Tokyo to make “Evil Does Not Exist,” his first film following the global success of “Drive My Car,” which won the 2022 Best International Feature Oscar. The Japanese director found himself perhaps uncomfortably in the worldwide spotlight after being known for indies like “Asako I & II” and “Happy Hour,” and so “Evil Does Not Exist,” winner of the 2023 Venice Silver Lion and Fipresci prizes, is a return to minimalist basics — an ecological parable wrapped up with unexpected thriller elements, and a movie he shot in secret.
IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for the film, out in U.S. theaters May 3 from Sideshow and Janus Films, below. While “Evil Does Not Exist” wasn’t eligible for the International Feature Oscar due to its release date in Japan, Hamaguchi had a great run at the 2022 Academy Awards — along with the “Drive My Car” International Feature win,...
IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for the film, out in U.S. theaters May 3 from Sideshow and Janus Films, below. While “Evil Does Not Exist” wasn’t eligible for the International Feature Oscar due to its release date in Japan, Hamaguchi had a great run at the 2022 Academy Awards — along with the “Drive My Car” International Feature win,...
- 3/26/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Devil’s Bath and Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s My Favourite Cake have jointly topped Screen’s 2024 Berlin jury grid with an average score of 3.1.
See the final 2024 grid below.
The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.
Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...
See the final 2024 grid below.
The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.
Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
“I don’t find the definition of Chinese filmmakers by generation to be a useful tool,” said Marco Mueller, introducing dark satire “The Movie Emperor” as the opening film of the first edition of his Festival of Young Cinema (Asia-Europe) in Macau on Friday. “Much more interesting is the concept of exchange between new and old and between East and West.”
“The new forces of Chinese cinema are present and participating. More than 100 young filmmakers will have the opportunity to meet and interact with names including Amir Naderi, Aleksei German Jr and Yonfan,” Mueller continued. While Macau is these days best known for its high-tech casinos, the former Portuguese colony has long been a venue for international cultural exchange and retains ambitions to restore some of that diversity.
Along with screenings of 27 films and 17 works in progress, masterclasses and on-stage dialogs are a key educational tool on offer at the...
“The new forces of Chinese cinema are present and participating. More than 100 young filmmakers will have the opportunity to meet and interact with names including Amir Naderi, Aleksei German Jr and Yonfan,” Mueller continued. While Macau is these days best known for its high-tech casinos, the former Portuguese colony has long been a venue for international cultural exchange and retains ambitions to restore some of that diversity.
Along with screenings of 27 films and 17 works in progress, masterclasses and on-stage dialogs are a key educational tool on offer at the...
- 1/5/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor will screen as the opening film of Macau’s Asia-Europe Young Cinema Film Festival, which is holding its inaugural edition from January 5-11. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, recently a hit in India, will screen as the closing film.
The event has two major sections – a programme of masterclasses and screenings aimed at young directors, film students and local audiences, and a Works-in-Progress (WiP) Lab, which will be attended by international sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.
The masterclasses will be held by leading international filmmakers including several from the Chinese-speaking world – Ning Hao, Li Dongmei, Johnnie To, Yon Fan and Lee Hong-chi – along with Japanese filmmakers Ryosuke Hamaguchi and Shinya Tsukamoto, Russia’s Aleksey German Jr, Italy’s Gabriel Menetti, India’s Anurag Kashyap, Lav Diaz from the Philippines and Iranian filmmaker Amir Naderi.
China Film Directors Association is actively involved in...
The event has two major sections – a programme of masterclasses and screenings aimed at young directors, film students and local audiences, and a Works-in-Progress (WiP) Lab, which will be attended by international sales agents, distributors and festival programmers.
The masterclasses will be held by leading international filmmakers including several from the Chinese-speaking world – Ning Hao, Li Dongmei, Johnnie To, Yon Fan and Lee Hong-chi – along with Japanese filmmakers Ryosuke Hamaguchi and Shinya Tsukamoto, Russia’s Aleksey German Jr, Italy’s Gabriel Menetti, India’s Anurag Kashyap, Lav Diaz from the Philippines and Iranian filmmaker Amir Naderi.
China Film Directors Association is actively involved in...
- 1/4/2024
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
As dusk fell on a warm Tokyo evening, comeback director Wim Wenders introduced the cast and crew of “Perfect Days” at an outdoor stage, giving the opening ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival a moment of European cool.
Inside the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, Wenders was brought on stage twice more.
“I had a dream that with ‘Perfect Days,’ I’d make a film that would play at the Cannes Film Festival. I dreamed that it would win the best acting prize. I didn’t dare to dream that it would be Japan’s Oscar entry. But I did dream that it would be the opening film at the Tokyo festival and play in front of Japanese audiences,” said Wenders, getting into his stride. “And then I woke up. And yet here you are.”
Wenders, who must be nursing a bad case of jetlag, having only recently been honored...
Inside the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, Wenders was brought on stage twice more.
“I had a dream that with ‘Perfect Days,’ I’d make a film that would play at the Cannes Film Festival. I dreamed that it would win the best acting prize. I didn’t dare to dream that it would be Japan’s Oscar entry. But I did dream that it would be the opening film at the Tokyo festival and play in front of Japanese audiences,” said Wenders, getting into his stride. “And then I woke up. And yet here you are.”
Wenders, who must be nursing a bad case of jetlag, having only recently been honored...
- 10/23/2023
- by Patrick Frater and Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
At first, you might not detect the tonal deception seeded into Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "Evil Does Not Exist." Yet, seemingly innocuous nature shots unfold into a thriller. With a penchant for revealing character in long takes, Hamaguchi opens "Evil Does Not Exist" with a lengthy full-shot of a forest villager, Takami (Hitoshi Omika) chopping firewood. The rustic elegance looms large in this frame. However, the forest days are numbered. Hunting gunshots cackle from the distance. Bullet-by-bullet, the ecological peace is being penetrated.
Hamaguchi's modern eco-cautionary tale (a short film concept expanded into a feature-length) does not expound grand visuals of ravaged landscapes, but rather indicates the micro-forces that are already upsetting the balance in the fictional Mizubiki Village. Among the 6,000 villagers, Takami lives his serene existence chopping firewood, performing odd jobs for his neighbors, and raising his 8-year-old daughter (Ryo Nishikawa). The villagers' bond with the land is illustrated in delicate slice-of-life strokes,...
Hamaguchi's modern eco-cautionary tale (a short film concept expanded into a feature-length) does not expound grand visuals of ravaged landscapes, but rather indicates the micro-forces that are already upsetting the balance in the fictional Mizubiki Village. Among the 6,000 villagers, Takami lives his serene existence chopping firewood, performing odd jobs for his neighbors, and raising his 8-year-old daughter (Ryo Nishikawa). The villagers' bond with the land is illustrated in delicate slice-of-life strokes,...
- 10/6/2023
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
Following critically acclaimed films like “Asako I & II” (2018) and the one-two punch of two 2021 films, “Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy” and “Drive My Car” Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s reputation was sealed as a name that merited international recognition. But it wasn’t until the latter film, “Drive My Car,” which won three awards at Cannes that year, including Best Screenplay, and Hamaguchi received two Academy Awards nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay that he really became an international filmmaking star (he was the third Japanese director ever to be nominated for Oscar’s Best Director).
Continue reading ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ Trailer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice Award-Winner Is Coming Soon at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ Trailer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice Award-Winner Is Coming Soon at The Playlist.
- 10/3/2023
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
A number of people in Amp, including this author, have a soft spot for Kiyohiko Shibukawa, an actor who has proven a true chameleon in the way he jumps from one part to another, with equal success. Shibukawa, born July 2, 1974, actually started his career as a fashion model under the name Kee. He started acting in TV with “Twinkle”, in 1998, and he got his first role in cinema in Toshiaki Toyoda's “Pornostar”, with him actually accompanying the director in most of his later works, something that actually happened with the rest of the filmmakers he was casted by over the years. These include, among others, Takashi Miike, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Eiji Uchida. Currently, his credits number 160, with the majority of them being non-protagonist roles, which, still, though do not prevent him from shining quite brightly, particularly to the more “trained” eye.
Without further ado, here are 10 of his most iconic performances,...
Without further ado, here are 10 of his most iconic performances,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Yui Kiyohara with Anne-Katrin Titze on Tadashi Okuno and Abbas Kiarostami: “I did cast Mr. Okuno because I saw Like Someone In Love and he was fantastic.”
“It’s missing a key” is the first sentence spoken by one of the musicians whose compositions will accompany Yui Kiyohara’s beautifully memorable Remembering Every Night, shot by Yukiko Iioka, stars Kumi Hyodo, Minami Ohba, and Ai Mikami with Guama Uchida, Shintaro Yuya, Mizuho Nojima, and Tadashi Okuno (star of Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love).
Sanae (Minami Ohba) with Mr. Takada (Tadashi Okuno)
Tama New Town is the setting, a housing complex built in 1971 as a Tokyo satellite city. This is where the film lets us stroll around and bike with its three female protagonists. Via these movements and the caring gaze the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Chizu (Kumi Hyodo) is 44 and recently lost her...
“It’s missing a key” is the first sentence spoken by one of the musicians whose compositions will accompany Yui Kiyohara’s beautifully memorable Remembering Every Night, shot by Yukiko Iioka, stars Kumi Hyodo, Minami Ohba, and Ai Mikami with Guama Uchida, Shintaro Yuya, Mizuho Nojima, and Tadashi Okuno (star of Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love).
Sanae (Minami Ohba) with Mr. Takada (Tadashi Okuno)
Tama New Town is the setting, a housing complex built in 1971 as a Tokyo satellite city. This is where the film lets us stroll around and bike with its three female protagonists. Via these movements and the caring gaze the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Chizu (Kumi Hyodo) is 44 and recently lost her...
- 9/12/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Yui Kiyohara’s Remembering Every Night shot by Yukiko Iioka stars Kumi Hyodo, Minami Ohba, and Ai Mikami with Guama Uchida, Shintaro Yuya, Mizuho Nojima, and Tadashi Okuno (star of Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love).
“It’s missing a key” is the first sentence spoken by one of the musicians whose compositions will accompany Kiyohara’s beautifully memorable Remembering Every Night. Tama New Town, a housing complex built in 1971 as a Tokyo satellite city, is where the film lets us stroll around and bike with its three female protagonists. Via these movements and the caring gaze the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Chizu (Kumi Hyodo) is 44 and recently lost her job as a...
“It’s missing a key” is the first sentence spoken by one of the musicians whose compositions will accompany Kiyohara’s beautifully memorable Remembering Every Night. Tama New Town, a housing complex built in 1971 as a Tokyo satellite city, is where the film lets us stroll around and bike with its three female protagonists. Via these movements and the caring gaze the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Chizu (Kumi Hyodo) is 44 and recently lost her job as a...
- 9/8/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
In a flurry of international deals, Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Evil Does Not Exist” has secured distribution across further key territories. Hamaguchi is best known for the Oscar winning film “Drive My Car.”
The film created a buzz at the Venice Film Festival following its world premiere in competition on Monday, and saw Hamaguchi receive an almost eight-minute standing ovation.
Further deals have been closed in Poland (Gutek Film), Latin America (Imovision), Australia and New Zealand (Hi Gloss Entertainment), and the ex-Yugoslavian region (Five Stars Film Distribution), all of which will release the film theatrically.
Previously, the film sold to North America (Sideshow), U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), France (Diaphana), Italy (Tucker and Teodora), Spain (Caramel Films), Germany (Pandora Film Distribution), Korea (GreenNarae), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Taiwan (Andrews Film), Austria (Polyfilm), Turkey (Mars Film), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Greece (Ama Films), Switzerland (Cineworx...
The film created a buzz at the Venice Film Festival following its world premiere in competition on Monday, and saw Hamaguchi receive an almost eight-minute standing ovation.
Further deals have been closed in Poland (Gutek Film), Latin America (Imovision), Australia and New Zealand (Hi Gloss Entertainment), and the ex-Yugoslavian region (Five Stars Film Distribution), all of which will release the film theatrically.
Previously, the film sold to North America (Sideshow), U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), France (Diaphana), Italy (Tucker and Teodora), Spain (Caramel Films), Germany (Pandora Film Distribution), Korea (GreenNarae), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Taiwan (Andrews Film), Austria (Polyfilm), Turkey (Mars Film), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Greece (Ama Films), Switzerland (Cineworx...
- 9/7/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Editor’s Note: This review originally published during the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films will release “Evil Does Not Exist” in U.S. theaters on May 3.
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the title of the latest film from “Drive My Car” director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, is a bold statement to make in the year 2023. As it turns out in this eerie and elusive ecological tone poem about man, nature, and man’s nature, the statement is not necessarily something the Japanese filmmaker believes.
This made-in-secret and gently lilting film set in a bucolic village on the outskirts of Tokyo seems like a call for compassion on the surface — it centers on how the village’s inhabitants tangle with a corporation trying to set up a glamping site in their forest, only for the two opposing sides to eventually find common ground. But that entente proves a foil for a much...
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the title of the latest film from “Drive My Car” director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, is a bold statement to make in the year 2023. As it turns out in this eerie and elusive ecological tone poem about man, nature, and man’s nature, the statement is not necessarily something the Japanese filmmaker believes.
This made-in-secret and gently lilting film set in a bucolic village on the outskirts of Tokyo seems like a call for compassion on the surface — it centers on how the village’s inhabitants tangle with a corporation trying to set up a glamping site in their forest, only for the two opposing sides to eventually find common ground. But that entente proves a foil for a much...
- 9/5/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the new film by the Oscar-winning auteur Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, has sold to several additional territories. The film will world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, will have its North America premiere as a special presentation at Toronto, and will go on to screen at New York and San Sebastian.
Hamaguchi received Oscar nominations last year for directing and adapted screenplay, shared with Takamasa Ôe, for “Drive My Car.” The film was also nominated in the best picture category and won the international feature film Oscar.
M-Appeal, which is handling world sales on “Evil Does Not Exist,” has closed distribution deals with Pandora Film Distribution for Germany, GreenNarae for Korea, Polyfilm for Austria, and Mars Film for Turkey. All deals have a strong focus on theatrical release.
The film has already been sold in North America (Sideshow), U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), France (Diaphana...
Hamaguchi received Oscar nominations last year for directing and adapted screenplay, shared with Takamasa Ôe, for “Drive My Car.” The film was also nominated in the best picture category and won the international feature film Oscar.
M-Appeal, which is handling world sales on “Evil Does Not Exist,” has closed distribution deals with Pandora Film Distribution for Germany, GreenNarae for Korea, Polyfilm for Austria, and Mars Film for Turkey. All deals have a strong focus on theatrical release.
The film has already been sold in North America (Sideshow), U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), France (Diaphana...
- 8/28/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the next film from Oscar-winning “Drive My Car” filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, has secured North American distribution from Sideshow and Janus Films, reuniting the filmmaker with the distributors of his 2021 Best Picture Oscar nominee.
The film will have its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, screening in competition. In addition to its Venice world premiere, “Evil Does Not Exist” will screen as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and in the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its festival run.
The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
The film will have its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, screening in competition. In addition to its Venice world premiere, “Evil Does Not Exist” will screen as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and in the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its festival run.
The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the new drama film by “Drive My Car” director Hamaguchi Ryusuke, has been picked up for North American release by Sideshow and Janus Films.
The title will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice festival before playing as a special presentation in Toronto and the main slate of the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films, which acquired all North American rights, expect to release the film in theaters after a run of top festivals.
The narrative follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable escape to nature. When two representatives of the glamping company arrive...
The title will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice festival before playing as a special presentation in Toronto and the main slate of the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films, which acquired all North American rights, expect to release the film in theaters after a run of top festivals.
The narrative follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable escape to nature. When two representatives of the glamping company arrive...
- 8/10/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the next film from “Drive My Car” director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, has landed North American distribution rights from Sideshow and Janus Films, which previously released “Drive My Car” to a Best Picture nomination in 2021.
“Evil Does Not Exist” is making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month in competition, and it will also have a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and as part of the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival.
Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its fall festival run but did not specify a date.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis: “‘Evil Does Not Exist’ follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants...
“Evil Does Not Exist” is making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month in competition, and it will also have a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and as part of the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival.
Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its fall festival run but did not specify a date.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis: “‘Evil Does Not Exist’ follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants...
- 8/10/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Latest film from the Japanese director of Oscar-winner ’Drive My Car’ has also landed deals in Benelux, Portugal and Taiwan.
Eve Gabereau’s Modern Films has acquired UK and Irish rights to Venice Competition title Evil Does Not Exist, the latest feature from Oscar-winning Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
Evil Does Not Exist, which is sold by Berlin-based M-Appeal, is the story of Takumi and his daughter Hana who live quietly in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house, which offers city residents a comfortable ‘escape’ to nature.
Eve Gabereau’s Modern Films has acquired UK and Irish rights to Venice Competition title Evil Does Not Exist, the latest feature from Oscar-winning Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
Evil Does Not Exist, which is sold by Berlin-based M-Appeal, is the story of Takumi and his daughter Hana who live quietly in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house, which offers city residents a comfortable ‘escape’ to nature.
- 8/4/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has sold “Evil Does Not Exist,” which will world premiere in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, to France, Italy and Spain. The film is directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose “Drive My Car” won the Oscar for International Film, was Oscar nominated for Best Picture, and earned him Oscar nominations for Directing and Adapted Screenplay last year.
“Drive My Car” premiered in Cannes Competition in 2021, winning four prizes including Best Screenplay.
Hamaguchi’s “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which also premiered in 2021, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale.
“Evil Does Not Exist” has been co-acquired by Tucker and Teodora for Italian distribution. Tucker is specialized in Asian cinema and it handled “Drive My Car” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” and achieved great theatrical successes with those. Teodora is the distributor of prestigious art house films, such as recent Palme d’Or...
“Drive My Car” premiered in Cannes Competition in 2021, winning four prizes including Best Screenplay.
Hamaguchi’s “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which also premiered in 2021, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale.
“Evil Does Not Exist” has been co-acquired by Tucker and Teodora for Italian distribution. Tucker is specialized in Asian cinema and it handled “Drive My Car” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” and achieved great theatrical successes with those. Teodora is the distributor of prestigious art house films, such as recent Palme d’Or...
- 7/24/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Love triangles, the shifting fault lines of emotional landscapes, and the ramifications of common cruelty — in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s second feature, 2008’s “Passion” (now hitting U.S. cinemas for the first time), the celebrated director grapples with the themes that would become a constant in his films to come. As one might expect from a picture made as a student thesis project, this is a filmmaker still in raw form, working through the ideas and techniques that he would refine with a sculptor’s precision to acclaim in later pictures like the Oscar-winning “Drive My Car,” “Happy Hour,” and “Wheel Of Fortune and Fantasy.” Those films are better places to start for Hamaguchi newcomers, but for everyone else, “Passion” offers an intriguing look at his earliest steps, with flashes of the brilliance that would eventually blossom in fuller form.
Continue reading ‘Passion’ Review: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Sophomore Feature Hints At...
Continue reading ‘Passion’ Review: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Sophomore Feature Hints At...
- 4/11/2023
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s sophomore feature will soon be available stateside.
The Japanese filmmaker behind “Drive My Car” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” first earned international attention with his thesis graduation film “Passion” out of the Tokyo University of the Arts.
Never before released in the U.S., the second feature from Hamaguchi examines a series of intersecting love triangles as only he can, plunging headlong into the exposed-nerve confessions and unrequited attachments among a group of thirtysomethings. It begins when a couple, Kaho (Aoba Kawai) and Tomoya (Ryuta Okamoto), announce their engagement to their friends over dinner, where it’s also revealed the groom had an affair years earlier. While the two spend the evening apart, Tomoya follows his friends to the apartment of his former classmate (Fusako Urabe), with whom he’s in love, and are led into ever more vulnerable and shocking exchanges of emotional honesty.
The...
The Japanese filmmaker behind “Drive My Car” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” first earned international attention with his thesis graduation film “Passion” out of the Tokyo University of the Arts.
Never before released in the U.S., the second feature from Hamaguchi examines a series of intersecting love triangles as only he can, plunging headlong into the exposed-nerve confessions and unrequited attachments among a group of thirtysomethings. It begins when a couple, Kaho (Aoba Kawai) and Tomoya (Ryuta Okamoto), announce their engagement to their friends over dinner, where it’s also revealed the groom had an affair years earlier. While the two spend the evening apart, Tomoya follows his friends to the apartment of his former classmate (Fusako Urabe), with whom he’s in love, and are led into ever more vulnerable and shocking exchanges of emotional honesty.
The...
- 3/31/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Takashi Shimizu is executive producer on the horror from director Yuta Shimotsu.
Japan’s Kadokawa Corporation is launching sales at Hong Kong Filmart on horror film Best Regards To All, executive produced by Ju On: The Grudge creator Takashi Shimizu.
First-time feature director Yuta Shimotsu is making the film, which stars Kotone Furukawa from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Berlinale Silver Bear winner Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy.
The story follows a young nursing school student who visits her grandparents in the countryside, but begins to feel increasingly uncomfortable in their house and discovers a horrifying truth. Now in post-production,...
Japan’s Kadokawa Corporation is launching sales at Hong Kong Filmart on horror film Best Regards To All, executive produced by Ju On: The Grudge creator Takashi Shimizu.
First-time feature director Yuta Shimotsu is making the film, which stars Kotone Furukawa from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Berlinale Silver Bear winner Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy.
The story follows a young nursing school student who visits her grandparents in the countryside, but begins to feel increasingly uncomfortable in their house and discovers a horrifying truth. Now in post-production,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
’Suzume’, ’On The Adamant’, and ’Art College 1994’ all land in joint fourth place with a score of 2.7.
Celine Song’s feature debut Past Lives has finished top of Screen’s 2023 Berlin jury grid after the final five titles failed to match its average score of 3.6 from seven critics.
The romantic drama has the highest score of a Berlin jury grid winner since 2017’s The Other Side Of Hope by Aki Kaurismaki, which scored 3.7.
Click top left to expand
Past Lives stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro, and follows two childhood friends from South Korea who reconnect...
Celine Song’s feature debut Past Lives has finished top of Screen’s 2023 Berlin jury grid after the final five titles failed to match its average score of 3.6 from seven critics.
The romantic drama has the highest score of a Berlin jury grid winner since 2017’s The Other Side Of Hope by Aki Kaurismaki, which scored 3.7.
Click top left to expand
Past Lives stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro, and follows two childhood friends from South Korea who reconnect...
- 2/27/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based sales company M-Appeal will be handling eight films by Academy Award winner Hamaguchi Ryûsuke made between 2008-2016.
The deal follows M-Appeal’s previous collaboration with Hamaguchi and producer Takata Satoshi, of Neopa Inc., in 2021 on the film “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which premiered in Berlinale Competition and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. “Drive My Car” by Hamaguchi screened in Cannes Competition the same year, before winning Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
The deal includes “Passion,” Hamaguchi’s 2008 graduation film for the School of Film & New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as “Happy Hour,” which world premiered in Locarno in 2015. “Happy Hour” won the Best Actress Award in Locarno, shared between the four lead actresses of the film, all of whom had no previous acting experience, as well as receiving a special mention for the film’s script. Other titles...
The deal follows M-Appeal’s previous collaboration with Hamaguchi and producer Takata Satoshi, of Neopa Inc., in 2021 on the film “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which premiered in Berlinale Competition and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. “Drive My Car” by Hamaguchi screened in Cannes Competition the same year, before winning Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
The deal includes “Passion,” Hamaguchi’s 2008 graduation film for the School of Film & New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as “Happy Hour,” which world premiered in Locarno in 2015. “Happy Hour” won the Best Actress Award in Locarno, shared between the four lead actresses of the film, all of whom had no previous acting experience, as well as receiving a special mention for the film’s script. Other titles...
- 2/9/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Keep track of when films are coming out in the territory.
Screen is listing the release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.
For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here.
Screen also has an awards season calendar for 2022, here.
December
December 30
Peter Von Kant (Curzon), Where Are You, Adam? (Primal Screen)
December 31
Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2022 (Trafalgar, event cinema)
Previous releases January
January 1
Licorice Pizza (Universal), The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain (Studiocanal), Cinderella - Met Opera 2022 (Trafalgar, event...
Screen is listing the release dates for films in the UK and Ireland in the calendar below.
For distributors who wish to add/amend a date on the calendar, please get in touch with Screen here.
Screen also has an awards season calendar for 2022, here.
December
December 30
Peter Von Kant (Curzon), Where Are You, Adam? (Primal Screen)
December 31
Berliner Philharmoniker Live: New Year’s Eve Concert 2022 (Trafalgar, event cinema)
Previous releases January
January 1
Licorice Pizza (Universal), The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain (Studiocanal), Cinderella - Met Opera 2022 (Trafalgar, event...
- 12/28/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Japan in Frankfurt! After two online editions, the 22nd Nippon Connection Film Festival, which will be held May 24 to 29, 2022, will bring the most exciting current Japanese films and culture programs to the city again. Around 100 short and feature-length films showcase the complete range of Japanese cinema – from newcomers to established directors, from anime to documentaries. The film program includes one world premiere, 24 international, eleven European and 30 German premieres. This year’s thematic focus “Stories Of Youth – Coming Of Age In Japan”, supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, deals with the lives and challenges of young people in Japan.
The supporting program, which will include more than 60 workshops, concerts, lectures and performances, is more extensive than ever, promising a fascinating festival week outside the cinema as well. For snacks in between, there will be a wide range of Japanese foods and drinks available on the festival grounds.
The events take place...
The supporting program, which will include more than 60 workshops, concerts, lectures and performances, is more extensive than ever, promising a fascinating festival week outside the cinema as well. For snacks in between, there will be a wide range of Japanese foods and drinks available on the festival grounds.
The events take place...
- 4/29/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
An impotent Japanese man who hasn’t slept with his wife in more than five years receives a house call from her secret lover, who tortures — and arouses — the husband with pungent descriptions of his partner’s vaginal secretions, which he lustfully compares to the stink and stringiness of fermented soybeans. A beautiful woman stricken with panic attacks runs over a familiar pedestrian on her way to buy some mapo tofu, only to discover that her masochistic victim might know how to alleviate her anxiety. A handsome executive who’s sick of his mistress receives a phone call that she’s been abducted, and is forced to listen to her captor ramble on about the missing woman’s carnal appetites as he slurps noodles in a ramen bar where talking is strictly forbidden.
Kôta Yoshida’s 70-minute “Sexual Drive” serves up an explicit yet tasteful triptych of semi-connected shorts, all...
Kôta Yoshida’s 70-minute “Sexual Drive” serves up an explicit yet tasteful triptych of semi-connected shorts, all...
- 4/21/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Accomplished screenwriter and avid movie watcher, Daniel Waters breaks down his ‘Best of the Best of 2021’ list with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Drive My Car (2021)
A History of Violence (2005)
Larry Crowne (2011)
The Vanishing (1988)
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Gerry (2002)
Swept Away (1974)
Swept Away (2002)
The Tender Bar (2021)
Riders Of Justice (2021)
Another Round (2020)
The Worst Person In The World (2021)
Pig (2021)
Dune (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dune (2021)
Fifty Shades Freed (2018)
Den of Thieves (2018)
Copshop (2021)
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – Neil Marshall’s trailer commentary
Magnum Force (1973) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Driver (1978)
Memoria (2021)
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Old Henry (2021)
The Village (2004)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Annette (2021)
Titane (2021)
Zola (2021)
The Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
Who You Think I Am (2021)
Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2021)
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Drive My Car (2021)
A History of Violence (2005)
Larry Crowne (2011)
The Vanishing (1988)
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Gerry (2002)
Swept Away (1974)
Swept Away (2002)
The Tender Bar (2021)
Riders Of Justice (2021)
Another Round (2020)
The Worst Person In The World (2021)
Pig (2021)
Dune (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dune (2021)
Fifty Shades Freed (2018)
Den of Thieves (2018)
Copshop (2021)
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – Neil Marshall’s trailer commentary
Magnum Force (1973) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Driver (1978)
Memoria (2021)
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Old Henry (2021)
The Village (2004)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Annette (2021)
Titane (2021)
Zola (2021)
The Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
Who You Think I Am (2021)
Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2021)
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy...
- 3/29/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
No two ways about it: April’s a great month for the Criterion Channel, which (among other things; more in a second) adds two recent favorites. We’re thrilled at the SVOD premiere of Hamaguchi’s entrancing Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, our #3 of 2021, and Bruno Dumont’s lacerating France, featuring Léa Seydoux’s finest performance yet.
Ethan Hawke’s Adventures in Moviegoing runs the gamut from Eagle Pennell’s Last Night at the Alamo to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, while a 14-film John Ford retro (mostly) skips westerns altogether. And no notes on the Delphine Seyrig retro—multiple by Akerman, Ulrike Ottinger, Duras, a smattering of Buñuel, and Seyrig’s own film Be Pretty and Shut Up! That of all things might be the crown jewl.
See the full list of April titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
—
3 Bad Men, John Ford, 1926
Aar paar, Guru Dutt,...
Ethan Hawke’s Adventures in Moviegoing runs the gamut from Eagle Pennell’s Last Night at the Alamo to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, while a 14-film John Ford retro (mostly) skips westerns altogether. And no notes on the Delphine Seyrig retro—multiple by Akerman, Ulrike Ottinger, Duras, a smattering of Buñuel, and Seyrig’s own film Be Pretty and Shut Up! That of all things might be the crown jewl.
See the full list of April titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
—
3 Bad Men, John Ford, 1926
Aar paar, Guru Dutt,...
- 3/25/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Chicago – Here we go again. Welcome to the annual Oscar Predictions on HollywoodChicago.com, for 2022 (the 94th Academy Awards). The film/entertainment contributors – Patrick McDonald, Spike Walters and Jon Lennon Espino – are joined by guest Michael Glover Smith, the director of the upcoming film “Relative.”
Michael Glover Smith is a locally-based Chicago filmmaker. “Relative” is his fourth feature film and will have its Chicago debut at a sold-out screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center on April 5th, 2022, as part of the Midwest Film Festival. The general release is scheduled for the upcoming summer.
The Predictors! The Oscars are on ABC-tv, March 27th, 2022
Photo credit: File Photo
Ten films of 2021 – “Belfast,” “Coda,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Drive My Car,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story” – will vie for the Best Picture Award. The Hc.com predictors will opine on six categories … Best Picture,...
Michael Glover Smith is a locally-based Chicago filmmaker. “Relative” is his fourth feature film and will have its Chicago debut at a sold-out screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center on April 5th, 2022, as part of the Midwest Film Festival. The general release is scheduled for the upcoming summer.
The Predictors! The Oscars are on ABC-tv, March 27th, 2022
Photo credit: File Photo
Ten films of 2021 – “Belfast,” “Coda,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Drive My Car,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story” – will vie for the Best Picture Award. The Hc.com predictors will opine on six categories … Best Picture,...
- 3/25/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Berlinale Competition title “Return to Dust,” written and directed by China’s Li Ruijun, has been sold to Modern Films for U.K. and Ireland, and BTeam Pictures for Spain. The film was previously picked up by several other European distributors. M-Appeal is handling world sales.
Previously reported buyers include Alambique (Portugal), Trigon Film (Switzerland), Ama Films/Stergiakis Brothers (Greece), Arp (France) and September Film (Benelux).
The film centers on humble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao, who have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. They have to combine their strength and build a home to survive.
It was described by Variety’s reviewer Jessica Kiang as an “absorbing, beautifully framed drama.” She writes: “As a portrait of the dying end of a traditional way of life and the rapid decimation of China’s outlying rural communities, ‘Return to Dust’ is potent, often poetic in its encroaching-dustbowl imagery.
Previously reported buyers include Alambique (Portugal), Trigon Film (Switzerland), Ama Films/Stergiakis Brothers (Greece), Arp (France) and September Film (Benelux).
The film centers on humble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao, who have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage. They have to combine their strength and build a home to survive.
It was described by Variety’s reviewer Jessica Kiang as an “absorbing, beautifully framed drama.” She writes: “As a portrait of the dying end of a traditional way of life and the rapid decimation of China’s outlying rural communities, ‘Return to Dust’ is potent, often poetic in its encroaching-dustbowl imagery.
- 2/25/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome, one and all, to the latest episode of The Film Stage Show! Today, Brian Roan, Robyn Bahr, and Bill Graham count down their personal top 10 films of 2021 as well as honorable mentions. Catch up with our complete year-end coverage here.
Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.
And speaking of our Patreon Slack community, a special thanks to Alex Chiles for polling and collating the top 10 films of 2021 from our members. Check out the list below:
10. The Tragedy of Macbeth
9. Memoria
8. C’mon C’mon
7. The Power of the Dog
6. Dune
5. Licorice Pizza
4. Red Rocket
3. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
2. The Last Duel
1. Drive My Car
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify,...
Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.
And speaking of our Patreon Slack community, a special thanks to Alex Chiles for polling and collating the top 10 films of 2021 from our members. Check out the list below:
10. The Tragedy of Macbeth
9. Memoria
8. C’mon C’mon
7. The Power of the Dog
6. Dune
5. Licorice Pizza
4. Red Rocket
3. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
2. The Last Duel
1. Drive My Car
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify,...
- 2/21/2022
- by Brian Roan
- The Film Stage
The winners for the 2022 Berlin Film Festival have been revealed. The in-person event took place this year February 10–20. The competition jury, led by president M. Night Shyamalan, included filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, producer Saïd Ben Saïd, filmmaker Anne Zohra Berrached, filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga, Oscar-nominated “Drive My Car” director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and actor Connie Nielsen.
The festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear for Best Film, was presented by Shyamalan. “For its extraordinary performances, from the child actors to the actors in their 80s, for the ability to show the tenderness and comedy and struggle,” he awarded Spanish drama “Alcarras,” from director Carla Simon.
The festival did away with gendered acting awards once again, instead offering Silver Bears for Best Supporting and Best Lead Performance. Beloved auteur Claire Denis won best director for her romantic psychodrama “Both Sides of the Blade” — or “Fire,” as it’s known in the United States. (IFC Films has stateside rights.
The festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear for Best Film, was presented by Shyamalan. “For its extraordinary performances, from the child actors to the actors in their 80s, for the ability to show the tenderness and comedy and struggle,” he awarded Spanish drama “Alcarras,” from director Carla Simon.
The festival did away with gendered acting awards once again, instead offering Silver Bears for Best Supporting and Best Lead Performance. Beloved auteur Claire Denis won best director for her romantic psychodrama “Both Sides of the Blade” — or “Fire,” as it’s known in the United States. (IFC Films has stateside rights.
- 2/16/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Every year, Super Bowl weekend vies with post-Labor Day and early December for theaters’ rock bottom. This weekend was unusual with three wide releases, at least two aimed at Valentine’s Day-adjacent viewership. That took the box office to $52 million; between 2016-2020, this weekend ranged between $73 million-$100 million.
“Death on the Nile” (Disney), Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie adaptation, took #1 with $12.8 million. “Marry Me” (Universal), also streaming on Peacock, managed only $8 million for third despite proven rom-com draw Jennifer Lopez in the lead.
The biggest villain is how recent releases lack any accumulative impact. This weekend, they accounted for $28 million; in 2020, against the Super Bowl and two weekends before Valentines Day, they managed $70 million. Valentines Day weekend that year brought in $156 million.
Things will get better with “Uncharted” (Sony) next weekend, followed by “The Batman” (Warner Bros.) March 4. The latest D.C. Comics entry will likely cross $100 million on opening weekend.
“Death on the Nile” (Disney), Kenneth Branagh’s second Agatha Christie adaptation, took #1 with $12.8 million. “Marry Me” (Universal), also streaming on Peacock, managed only $8 million for third despite proven rom-com draw Jennifer Lopez in the lead.
The biggest villain is how recent releases lack any accumulative impact. This weekend, they accounted for $28 million; in 2020, against the Super Bowl and two weekends before Valentines Day, they managed $70 million. Valentines Day weekend that year brought in $156 million.
Things will get better with “Uncharted” (Sony) next weekend, followed by “The Batman” (Warner Bros.) March 4. The latest D.C. Comics entry will likely cross $100 million on opening weekend.
- 2/13/2022
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Romantic comedy ‘Marry Me’ and Oscar-nominated ‘Flee’ among other titles set for release.
All-star murder mystery Death On The Nile leads the new openers at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, which will also see a wide release for action thriller Uncharted, starring Tom Holland.
Released by the Walt Disney Studios, Death On The Nile opens in a hefty 718 sites – the widest release since October 2020, when James Bond blockbuster No Time To Die opened in a record 772 cinemas.
The Agatha Christie adaptation is a follow-up to Murder On The Orient Express, which opened on 624 sites and took £4.98m across its...
All-star murder mystery Death On The Nile leads the new openers at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, which will also see a wide release for action thriller Uncharted, starring Tom Holland.
Released by the Walt Disney Studios, Death On The Nile opens in a hefty 718 sites – the widest release since October 2020, when James Bond blockbuster No Time To Die opened in a record 772 cinemas.
The Agatha Christie adaptation is a follow-up to Murder On The Orient Express, which opened on 624 sites and took £4.98m across its...
- 2/11/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” and Terence Davies’s “Benediction” won top prizes at the 2022 Ics Awards, which are handed out by the International Cinephile Society.
This 19th edition marked a milestone with female talents winning best picture, director, animated film, documentary, debut feature, breakthrough performance and cinematography.
“Happening,” a timely abortion drama set in 1960s France, took home best picture, while its star, Anamaria Vartolomei, won best breakthrough performance.
“Remarkable in its combination of artistic delicacy and brutal realism, yet resisting any hint of didacticism, the film quietly builds tension to a gut-wrenching emotional pitch,” stated the Ics.
Campion, meanwhile, won best director with her Western family drama “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up for top film was Hamaguchi with “Drive My Car,” a road drama based on Haruki Murakami’s short story about guilt and grief.
This 19th edition marked a milestone with female talents winning best picture, director, animated film, documentary, debut feature, breakthrough performance and cinematography.
“Happening,” a timely abortion drama set in 1960s France, took home best picture, while its star, Anamaria Vartolomei, won best breakthrough performance.
“Remarkable in its combination of artistic delicacy and brutal realism, yet resisting any hint of didacticism, the film quietly builds tension to a gut-wrenching emotional pitch,” stated the Ics.
Campion, meanwhile, won best director with her Western family drama “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up for top film was Hamaguchi with “Drive My Car,” a road drama based on Haruki Murakami’s short story about guilt and grief.
- 2/7/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
There’s only one New Year’s resolution which makes sense in 2022: have as good a year as Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s 2021. The Japanesewriter-director won near-unanimous acclaim at Cannes for Drive My Car – though admittedly not quite mine – just a couple of months after Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy won prizes at Berlin. If Hamaguchi’s more awarded second film is a dense telling of a Haruki Murakami short story, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is a little easier on the mind. An hour shorter and split into three self-contained stories, it’s a more accessible introduction to Hamaguchi’s undoubtedly unique and provocative style. And for cinephiles and casual moviegoers alike, Hamaguchi’s way of making films is not one to miss.
The first part, titled “Magic (or Something Less Assuring)”, is about a model whose best friend falls for her ex. Meiko (Kotone Furukawa) keeps a cool head...
The first part, titled “Magic (or Something Less Assuring)”, is about a model whose best friend falls for her ex. Meiko (Kotone Furukawa) keeps a cool head...
- 2/7/2022
- by Adam Solomons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Apple and A24 has debuted a new trailer for ‘The Sky Is Everywhere’ based on the beloved novel and directed by Josephine Decker.
Tucked among the magical redwood trees of Northern California and surrounded by her grandmother’s gargantuan roses, 17-year-old Lennie Walker, a radiant musical prodigy, struggles with overwhelming grief following the sudden loss of her older sister, Bailey. When Joe Fontaine, the charismatic new guy at school, enters Lennie’s life, she’s drawn to him. But Lennie’s complicated relationship with her sister’s devastated boyfriend, Toby, starts to affect Lennie and Joe’s budding love. Through her vivid imagination and honest, conflicted heart, Lennie navigates first love and first loss to create a song of her own. Acclaimed filmmaker Josephine Decker directs this moving adaptation of the beloved novel of the same name.
The film stars Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon, Julia Schlaeper, Ji-young Yoo,...
Tucked among the magical redwood trees of Northern California and surrounded by her grandmother’s gargantuan roses, 17-year-old Lennie Walker, a radiant musical prodigy, struggles with overwhelming grief following the sudden loss of her older sister, Bailey. When Joe Fontaine, the charismatic new guy at school, enters Lennie’s life, she’s drawn to him. But Lennie’s complicated relationship with her sister’s devastated boyfriend, Toby, starts to affect Lennie and Joe’s budding love. Through her vivid imagination and honest, conflicted heart, Lennie navigates first love and first loss to create a song of her own. Acclaimed filmmaker Josephine Decker directs this moving adaptation of the beloved novel of the same name.
The film stars Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon, Julia Schlaeper, Ji-young Yoo,...
- 1/21/2022
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
There’s no pretending on my part to have seen everything there was to see in 2021. I’ve still got a pretty long list of movies from the year that I would like to catch up on, including the other movie from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy, Hamaguchi’s was a name that was completely unknown to me before a couple of months ago, so it’s exciting to actually have another film of his on which to hang my high expectations, after being so captivated by Drive My Car. But there are others than have yet gone unseen, including end-of-year award contenders like Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, King Richard and Belfast, along with potentially fascinating (or disappointing) titles like Luca, Red Rocket, Citizen Ashe, Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar, A Choice Of Weapons: Inspired By Gordon Parks,...
- 1/16/2022
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Though critics analyze and express opinions on stories, they are also storytellers themselves. And film festivals are full of stories — both on and off screen. As 2021 saw the world begin to return to in-person film festivals, we asked our chief film critics about some of their festival memories, past and present. Owen Gleiberman recalled a chance encounter from two decades ago at the Sundance Film Festival, while Peter Debruge detailed his experience at 2021’s Cannes.
Cannes Brought Rewards — and Risks — Aplenty
If the first year of the pandemic taught us not to take anything for granted, 2021 was all about getting back in the saddle. I swore I’d attend Cannes if I could, and sure enough, I was there in person last July, freshly vaxxed and desperate enough for a return to normal that I went along with protocols that were anything but.
As you probably recall, Cannes 2020 was canceled on account of the coronavirus.
Cannes Brought Rewards — and Risks — Aplenty
If the first year of the pandemic taught us not to take anything for granted, 2021 was all about getting back in the saddle. I swore I’d attend Cannes if I could, and sure enough, I was there in person last July, freshly vaxxed and desperate enough for a return to normal that I went along with protocols that were anything but.
As you probably recall, Cannes 2020 was canceled on account of the coronavirus.
- 1/14/2022
- by Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
For almost half a century, the National Society of Film Critics (Nsfc) , which was founded in 1966, rarely previewed the Oscar winner for Best Picture, doing so only five times in 49 years. But it has done just that four times in the last six years: “Spotlight” (2016), “Moonlight” (2017), “Parasite” (2020) and “Nomadland.”
That stat bodes well for the Oscar hopes of “Drive My Car,” which dominated this year’s awards with wins on January 8 for Best Picture, Director (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), Actor (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Screenplay. The Japanese film has already been feted by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association this awards season.
The three-hour film tells the story of a grieving theater director (Hidetoshi Nishijima), who is assigned a young woman (Toko Miura) as his chauffeur when he helms a production of “Uncle Vanya.” It debuted at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and won Best Screenplay,...
That stat bodes well for the Oscar hopes of “Drive My Car,” which dominated this year’s awards with wins on January 8 for Best Picture, Director (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), Actor (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Screenplay. The Japanese film has already been feted by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association this awards season.
The three-hour film tells the story of a grieving theater director (Hidetoshi Nishijima), who is assigned a young woman (Toko Miura) as his chauffeur when he helms a production of “Uncle Vanya.” It debuted at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and won Best Screenplay,...
- 1/8/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“Drive My Car” has won best picture from this year’s edition of the National Society of Film Critics, continuing its streak of major prizes from major critics groups. The organization announced its honors on Saturday.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s sweeping drama also won top honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle.
Along with best picture, “Drive My Car” also won for director, screenplay and best actor for Hidetoshi Nishijima. “West Side Story,” “The Power of the Dog” and “Petite Maman” made frequent appearances across various runner-up slots.
A prestigious organization known for its highbrow taste, National Society of Film Critics (N.S.F.C.) boasts members from across top entertainment publications — including Variety‘s own chief film critics Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman — as well as notable freelancers. The L.A. Times’ Justin Chang serves as chair of the organization.
Any film that opened in the U.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s sweeping drama also won top honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle.
Along with best picture, “Drive My Car” also won for director, screenplay and best actor for Hidetoshi Nishijima. “West Side Story,” “The Power of the Dog” and “Petite Maman” made frequent appearances across various runner-up slots.
A prestigious organization known for its highbrow taste, National Society of Film Critics (N.S.F.C.) boasts members from across top entertainment publications — including Variety‘s own chief film critics Peter Debruge and Owen Gleiberman — as well as notable freelancers. The L.A. Times’ Justin Chang serves as chair of the organization.
Any film that opened in the U.
- 1/8/2022
- by Ethan Shanfeld and J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
“Drive My Car” racked up several wins from the National Society of Film Critics January 8, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. As “Drive My Car” won Best Picture, the organization’s rules determined that there would not be a separate Best Foreign-Language Film category.
The winners were a distinctly international affair, with Penélope Cruz winning Best Actress for “Parallel Mothers,” Hidetoshi Nishijima as Best Actor for “Drive My Car,” and Anders Danielsen Lie scoring Best Supporting Actor for “The Worst Person in the World.” Ruth Negga picked up Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Passing.”
The critics group convened in New York and Los Angeles to vote January 8 using a weighted scoring system, choosing winners and runners up across a variety of categories. Hidetoshi Nishijima received the the highest weighted score of any single award winner for his Best Actor prize.
Prior to the start of voting,...
The winners were a distinctly international affair, with Penélope Cruz winning Best Actress for “Parallel Mothers,” Hidetoshi Nishijima as Best Actor for “Drive My Car,” and Anders Danielsen Lie scoring Best Supporting Actor for “The Worst Person in the World.” Ruth Negga picked up Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Passing.”
The critics group convened in New York and Los Angeles to vote January 8 using a weighted scoring system, choosing winners and runners up across a variety of categories. Hidetoshi Nishijima received the the highest weighted score of any single award winner for his Best Actor prize.
Prior to the start of voting,...
- 1/8/2022
- by Mark Peikert
- Indiewire
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2021, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
It’s been a bit of a demoralizing year for me, as far as Hollywood is concerned. The Covid pandemic shut the entire industry down in 2020 and yet the gatekeeping status quo has all but been reinstalled despite its continuing destruction. My desire to seek out so-called “theatrical only” work was thus tempered in many ways, leading me to want to reward my time to those production houses and distributors who seemed to genuinely understand the changing landscape. I eventually caught up to most of the rest via FYC screeners this past month, but my enthusiasm for many had waned. To see the middle ground met (successfully), only to then watch it unceremoniously stripped away wasn’t easy to digest. And the chasm between cinema as art...
It’s been a bit of a demoralizing year for me, as far as Hollywood is concerned. The Covid pandemic shut the entire industry down in 2020 and yet the gatekeeping status quo has all but been reinstalled despite its continuing destruction. My desire to seek out so-called “theatrical only” work was thus tempered in many ways, leading me to want to reward my time to those production houses and distributors who seemed to genuinely understand the changing landscape. I eventually caught up to most of the rest via FYC screeners this past month, but my enthusiasm for many had waned. To see the middle ground met (successfully), only to then watch it unceremoniously stripped away wasn’t easy to digest. And the chasm between cinema as art...
- 1/4/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
by Team Experience
Olivia Colman photographed by Amelia Troubridge from The Guardian
In our final "Team Experience Year in Review" post before the 10th annual Team Experience Awards and Nathaniel's own Film Bitch Awards (both in January), we wanted to pay tribute to the stars who worked overtime to keep us smiling, crying, laughing, and altogether wide-eyed in 2021. We asked contributors to cite ten choices as "Entertainer of the Year". The catch was the celebrity in question had to have had more than one project during the year. Quantity and Quality.
Names that didn't quite make the list but are nevertheless worthy of our sincere gratitude include actors Olivia Colman, Bradley Cooper, Vicky Krieps, and auteurs Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Ridley Scott. Technically speaking both Jamie Dornan and Oscar Isaac made the following list but since we already sufficiently highlighted them yesterday in "Thirst Traps of the Year" we've ceded their spots to others.
Olivia Colman photographed by Amelia Troubridge from The Guardian
In our final "Team Experience Year in Review" post before the 10th annual Team Experience Awards and Nathaniel's own Film Bitch Awards (both in January), we wanted to pay tribute to the stars who worked overtime to keep us smiling, crying, laughing, and altogether wide-eyed in 2021. We asked contributors to cite ten choices as "Entertainer of the Year". The catch was the celebrity in question had to have had more than one project during the year. Quantity and Quality.
Names that didn't quite make the list but are nevertheless worthy of our sincere gratitude include actors Olivia Colman, Bradley Cooper, Vicky Krieps, and auteurs Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Ridley Scott. Technically speaking both Jamie Dornan and Oscar Isaac made the following list but since we already sufficiently highlighted them yesterday in "Thirst Traps of the Year" we've ceded their spots to others.
- 1/1/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Drive My Car It was the year when everything was supposed to go back to normal: cinemas would reopen, and people would once again sit among strangers to enjoy a deluge of films (new and delayed) all while the pandemic would recede into the background. That things didn’t unfold according to plan is quite the understatement, but after the annus horribilis that was 2020, it’s difficult not to think of 2021 as an “exuberant, celebratory spring,” to borrow from Time’s Stephanie Zacharek, “a celebratory season of light after months of darkness.” Yes, Covid is still among us, and the future of the medium (and of moviegoing as we knew it) is all but certain, but 2021 did treat us to a bounty of memorable movies, many of which are now bobbing up in the cascade of year-end polls and best-of lists. Once again, flicking through these provides more than just...
- 12/22/2021
- MUBI
One of the most respected film magazines has delivered their list of favorite films of 2021. Sight and Sound, from the BFI, has selected Joanna Hogg’s stunning meta sequel The Souvenir Part II as their best film of the year, while the top 10 also includes Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s two new features, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, and more.
Sight and Sound Editor in Chief Mike Williams said, “Congratulations to Joanna Hogg for topping our poll for a second time, becoming the first female director to do that. The list that she heads is wide-ranging and colourfully international, and it’s exciting to see such a plurality of voices being represented – proof if it were needed that while the pandemic may have impacted on the way we watch films, it’s not dimmed the brilliance of the people that make them. The Souvenir Part II...
Sight and Sound Editor in Chief Mike Williams said, “Congratulations to Joanna Hogg for topping our poll for a second time, becoming the first female director to do that. The list that she heads is wide-ranging and colourfully international, and it’s exciting to see such a plurality of voices being represented – proof if it were needed that while the pandemic may have impacted on the way we watch films, it’s not dimmed the brilliance of the people that make them. The Souvenir Part II...
- 12/3/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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