The political situation in the Middle East has been tense for many years, as up to this day, some countries still refuse to recognize the state of Israel, established in 1948. This attitude results, among others, in boycotts of Israel in sports. During international tournaments, some Arab and Muslim athletes deliberately avoid competing against Israelis, as it’s prohibited by the Islamic clergy and mosque leaders. Certain countries, most notably Iran, even go so far as to mandate that their athletes do not compete against Israelis or in Israel. In this context, it’s important to mention that “Tatami” is the first feature movie co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker – Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv. It premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Venice Horizons Award, and won the Brian Award. It was also awarded the Special Jury Prize, and the...
- 9/1/2024
- by Tobiasz Dunin
- AsianMoviePulse
"How did we get into such a mess?" Madman in Australia is the first to reveal a trailer for this acclaimed film titled Tatami, which originally premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival last year. It received plenty of acclaim and excellent reviews from most critics. While there's still no US release date set, it has European release dates confirmed for later in 2024, after playing at the Göteborg Film Festival. Midway through the Judo World Championships, Iranian female judo fighter Leila and her coach Maryam receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. An intense political thriller described by one director as "a creative statement to the world as thousands of innocent Iranian people are paying with their lives for freedom." This stars Arienne Mandi, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Jaime Ray Newman, and Ash Goldeh. It's...
- 7/10/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Zum zwölften Mal wurde gestern der von Tellux Film und der Erzdiözese München und Freising in Erinnerung an den im Kz Dachau ermordeten Publizisten Fritz Gerlich initiierte Fritz Gerlich Preis vergeben. Ausgezeichnet wurde die erste israelisch-iranische Regiearbeit „Tatami“.
Tellux-ceo Philipp Schall, Kardinal Reinhard Marx, Regisseur Guy Nattiv und Filmfest-München-Leiter Christoph Gröner (v.l.n.r.) bei der Verleihung des Fritz Gerlich Preises (Credit: Tellux/M.Högl)
Am 2. Juli feierte „Tatami“, die erste israelisch-iranische Regiearbeit, auf dem Filmfest München seine Deutschlandpremiere, gestern wurde das Regiedebüt der in Cannes für ihre Rolle in „Holy Spider“ als beste Nebendarstellerin ausgezeichneten Schauspielerin Zar Amir, die „Tatami“ zusammen mit Guy Nattiv inszeniert hat, im Rahmen des Filmfest München mit dem Fritz Gerlich Preis ausgezeichnet.
Initiiert von Tellux Film und der Erzdiözese München und Freising wurde der Preis zum zwölften Mal verliehen. Er wird in Erinnerung an den Publizisten Fritz Gerlich vergeben, ein katholischer Christ, der...
Tellux-ceo Philipp Schall, Kardinal Reinhard Marx, Regisseur Guy Nattiv und Filmfest-München-Leiter Christoph Gröner (v.l.n.r.) bei der Verleihung des Fritz Gerlich Preises (Credit: Tellux/M.Högl)
Am 2. Juli feierte „Tatami“, die erste israelisch-iranische Regiearbeit, auf dem Filmfest München seine Deutschlandpremiere, gestern wurde das Regiedebüt der in Cannes für ihre Rolle in „Holy Spider“ als beste Nebendarstellerin ausgezeichneten Schauspielerin Zar Amir, die „Tatami“ zusammen mit Guy Nattiv inszeniert hat, im Rahmen des Filmfest München mit dem Fritz Gerlich Preis ausgezeichnet.
Initiiert von Tellux Film und der Erzdiözese München und Freising wurde der Preis zum zwölften Mal verliehen. Er wird in Erinnerung an den Publizisten Fritz Gerlich vergeben, ein katholischer Christ, der...
- 7/4/2024
- by Jochen Müller
- Spot - Media & Film
Am 2. Juli feierte Guy Nattivs „Tatami” seine Deutschlandpremiere im Rahmen des Filmfest München. Wild Bunch bringt den Film am 1. August in die deutschen Kinos.
Christoph Liedke (Wild Bunch), Moderatorin Shahrzad Eden Osterer, Regisseur Guy Nattiv, Komponistin Dascha Dauenhauer und Bernhard Karl (Filmfest München) bei der Premiere von „Tatami” (v.l.) (Credit: Sophie Mahler/Filmfest München)
Gestern Abend fand im Rio Kino die Deutschlandpremiere von „Tatami” im Rahmen des Filmfest München statt. Es handelt sich um die erste israelisch-iranische Ko-Regie von Guy Nattiv („Golda“) und Zar Amir. Es ist gleichzeitig das Regiedebüt der mit der Goldenen Palme ausgezeichneten Schauspielerin Zar Amir („Holy Spider“). Der Film erzählt von der iranischen Judoka Leila, die zur Judo-Weltmeisterschaft nach Tiflis reist. Als der Verlauf des Wettkampfs zeigt, dass sie auf eine Konkurrentin aus Israel treffen könnte, meldet sich das Teheraner Regime: Leila soll eine Verletzung vortäuschen und aus dem Wettbewerb aussteigen – eine unmögliche Entscheidung, die...
Christoph Liedke (Wild Bunch), Moderatorin Shahrzad Eden Osterer, Regisseur Guy Nattiv, Komponistin Dascha Dauenhauer und Bernhard Karl (Filmfest München) bei der Premiere von „Tatami” (v.l.) (Credit: Sophie Mahler/Filmfest München)
Gestern Abend fand im Rio Kino die Deutschlandpremiere von „Tatami” im Rahmen des Filmfest München statt. Es handelt sich um die erste israelisch-iranische Ko-Regie von Guy Nattiv („Golda“) und Zar Amir. Es ist gleichzeitig das Regiedebüt der mit der Goldenen Palme ausgezeichneten Schauspielerin Zar Amir („Holy Spider“). Der Film erzählt von der iranischen Judoka Leila, die zur Judo-Weltmeisterschaft nach Tiflis reist. Als der Verlauf des Wettkampfs zeigt, dass sie auf eine Konkurrentin aus Israel treffen könnte, meldet sich das Teheraner Regime: Leila soll eine Verletzung vortäuschen und aus dem Wettbewerb aussteigen – eine unmögliche Entscheidung, die...
- 7/3/2024
- by Barbara Schuster
- Spot - Media & Film
The Munich International Film Festival will screen 150 films from 53 countries during its 41st edition, which runs from June 28 to July 6.
Titles set for the fest include Cannes breakouts like the Demi Moore body The Substance by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, Payal Kapadia’s Grand Pix-winning All We Imagine As Light, and Karim Aïnouz’s Motel Destino.
World premieres announced today include the Brazillian horror drama Continente and Noaz Deshe’s Xoftex, a joint world premiere with the Karlovy Vary Festival. Other titles on offer include Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Isabelle Huppert pic Sidonie in Japan, and Zar Amir and Guy Nattiv’s Tatami. The festival’s closing film is Baltasar Kormákur’s Touch.
Munich has already announced the European premiere of Kate Winslet’s Lee. Winslet will be in attendance and will be feted with the Festival’s CineMerit honor, alongside Jessica Lange, who also receives the accolade.
Titles set for the fest include Cannes breakouts like the Demi Moore body The Substance by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, Payal Kapadia’s Grand Pix-winning All We Imagine As Light, and Karim Aïnouz’s Motel Destino.
World premieres announced today include the Brazillian horror drama Continente and Noaz Deshe’s Xoftex, a joint world premiere with the Karlovy Vary Festival. Other titles on offer include Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Isabelle Huppert pic Sidonie in Japan, and Zar Amir and Guy Nattiv’s Tatami. The festival’s closing film is Baltasar Kormákur’s Touch.
Munich has already announced the European premiere of Kate Winslet’s Lee. Winslet will be in attendance and will be feted with the Festival’s CineMerit honor, alongside Jessica Lange, who also receives the accolade.
- 6/18/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: AI firm Flawless, distributor-financier XYZ Films (Mandy), and producer Tea Shop Productions (The Fall) have acquired Michel Gondry’s 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight movie The Book Of Solutions for all English-speaking territories.
Directed and written by Gondry, the French-language comedy is the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep filmmaker.
It will be releases simultaneously in the original French language and converted to a director-approved English-language version using Flawless’ TrueSync AI technology, which became known after movies like The Fall. You can read about Flawless’ “visual translation” techniques and acquisitions strategy in our story here.
Pic stars Pierre Niney, Blanche Gardin, Francoise Lebrun and Vincent Elbaz and was produced by George Bermann at Partizan.
In the film, Marc (Niney), a bipolar and paranoid filmmaker, is having trouble with his latest project. With his editor as an accomplice, he manages...
Directed and written by Gondry, the French-language comedy is the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep filmmaker.
It will be releases simultaneously in the original French language and converted to a director-approved English-language version using Flawless’ TrueSync AI technology, which became known after movies like The Fall. You can read about Flawless’ “visual translation” techniques and acquisitions strategy in our story here.
Pic stars Pierre Niney, Blanche Gardin, Francoise Lebrun and Vincent Elbaz and was produced by George Bermann at Partizan.
In the film, Marc (Niney), a bipolar and paranoid filmmaker, is having trouble with his latest project. With his editor as an accomplice, he manages...
- 5/23/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Italy, where debate over violence against women is currently raging, is celebrating International Women’s Day by becoming the first country to theatrically release “Tatami,” a female empowerment thriller about an Iranian judo fighter that made a splash in Venice and marks the first collaboration by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers.
Italy’s Bim Distribuzione is bowing “Tatami” – which is co-helmed by Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider) and Israeli director Guy Nattiv – on 90 local movie screens on Friday as an International Women’s Day special preview at a discounted €3.50 ($3.80) ticket price. The film will officially release locally on April 4.
“Tatami” reconstructs the tale of a young judo champion named Leila, played by Arienne Mandi, who Iranian authorities wanted to force to withdraw from a competition in order to keep her from competing against an Israeli athlete.
In an interview with Variety, Ebrahimi, who also stars, said that depicting the...
Italy’s Bim Distribuzione is bowing “Tatami” – which is co-helmed by Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider) and Israeli director Guy Nattiv – on 90 local movie screens on Friday as an International Women’s Day special preview at a discounted €3.50 ($3.80) ticket price. The film will officially release locally on April 4.
“Tatami” reconstructs the tale of a young judo champion named Leila, played by Arienne Mandi, who Iranian authorities wanted to force to withdraw from a competition in order to keep her from competing against an Israeli athlete.
In an interview with Variety, Ebrahimi, who also stars, said that depicting the...
- 3/8/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Tatami, the groundbreaking Iranian drama co-directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Tatami,” the Iranian drama from co-directors Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, where both lip-synched English and original language versions will be released later this year.
The feature, which bowed in Venice 2023 where it won the Brian Award, made history by becoming the first film to be jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Starring Arienne Mandi, Amir, Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh, and written by Nattiv — an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin” — and Elham Erfani, “Tatami” is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Midway through the competition, Iranian female judo fighter Leila (Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Amir ) receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake,...
The feature, which bowed in Venice 2023 where it won the Brian Award, made history by becoming the first film to be jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Starring Arienne Mandi, Amir, Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh, and written by Nattiv — an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin” — and Elham Erfani, “Tatami” is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Midway through the competition, Iranian female judo fighter Leila (Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Amir ) receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: As Netflix’s The Night Agent gears up to begin production on Season 2, a new list of recruits joining Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan and Amanda Warren is being released.
Berto Colon, Louis Herthum (Westworld) and Arienne Mandi (Tatami) are set as series regulars with Brittany Snow and Teddy Sears joining in recurring roles.
Colon plays Solomon, a former Marine turned right-hand man/fixer for a powerful businessman; Herthum plays Jacob Monroe, an international businessman with powerful global connections that he uses to obtain valuable information; and Mandi plays Noor, a low-level aide in the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York who is looking to leverage her access to top secret information into a better life for her and her family.
Snow plays Alice, Peter’s (Basso) partner...
Berto Colon, Louis Herthum (Westworld) and Arienne Mandi (Tatami) are set as series regulars with Brittany Snow and Teddy Sears joining in recurring roles.
Colon plays Solomon, a former Marine turned right-hand man/fixer for a powerful businessman; Herthum plays Jacob Monroe, an international businessman with powerful global connections that he uses to obtain valuable information; and Mandi plays Noor, a low-level aide in the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York who is looking to leverage her access to top secret information into a better life for her and her family.
Snow plays Alice, Peter’s (Basso) partner...
- 1/11/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, his producing partner at HyperObject Industries, have come aboard the Oscar-shortlisted animated short Wild Summon as executive producers. Joining them are Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman of New Native Pictures, who won an Oscar for their 2019 live-action short Skin and went on to adapt it into a feature starring Jamie Bell.
An eco-film also recently longlisted for the BAFTA Film Awards, Wild Summon hails from filmmakers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed and their independent animation studio Sulkybunny. The film narrated by Marianne Faithful blends elements of natural history and fantasy to follow the dramatic life cycle of the wild salmon in human form. It world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was produced with support from the British Film Institute, which awarded National Lottery funding.
When Messick, McKay and the HyperObject Industries team caught Wild Summon at Cannes,...
An eco-film also recently longlisted for the BAFTA Film Awards, Wild Summon hails from filmmakers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed and their independent animation studio Sulkybunny. The film narrated by Marianne Faithful blends elements of natural history and fantasy to follow the dramatic life cycle of the wild salmon in human form. It world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was produced with support from the British Film Institute, which awarded National Lottery funding.
When Messick, McKay and the HyperObject Industries team caught Wild Summon at Cannes,...
- 1/8/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Films and talent from China and Iran dominated the winners.
Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden has won the Grand Prix at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on a night dominated by Chinese and Iranian cinema.
The Tibetan-language drama centres on an argument between a father and son after a snow leopard breaks into a sheep pen and kills nine rams. It was completed before the filmmaker died in May and premiered out-of-competition at Venice before going on to screen at Toronto.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who presided over the international jury, announced the winner at the festival’s closing ceremony today.
Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden has won the Grand Prix at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on a night dominated by Chinese and Iranian cinema.
The Tibetan-language drama centres on an argument between a father and son after a snow leopard breaks into a sheep pen and kills nine rams. It was completed before the filmmaker died in May and premiered out-of-competition at Venice before going on to screen at Toronto.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who presided over the international jury, announced the winner at the festival’s closing ceremony today.
- 11/1/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
“Snow Leopard,” the last film by Tibetan director Pema Tseden prior to his death in May, was awarded the Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday. Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and later screening at Toronto, the film depicts the argument between a father and his adult son of how to deal with the title beast, which has descended from the mountains to kill sheep in their village.
Winner of the second-place Special Jury Prize was “Tatami,” a drama co-directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir about an Iranian judoka (Arienne Mandi), who is ordered by her government to withdraw from a match to avoid facing an Israeli opponent and is subjected to increasingly desperate pleadings from her coach (Amir). Premiering at Venice, “Tatami” is the first feature film to be co-directed by an Israeli (Nattiv...
Winner of the second-place Special Jury Prize was “Tatami,” a drama co-directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir about an Iranian judoka (Arienne Mandi), who is ordered by her government to withdraw from a match to avoid facing an Israeli opponent and is subjected to increasingly desperate pleadings from her coach (Amir). Premiering at Venice, “Tatami” is the first feature film to be co-directed by an Israeli (Nattiv...
- 11/1/2023
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Family drama Snow Leopard, directed by the late Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden, has won the Tokyo Grand Prix, the top prize at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
The film, which is also nominated for three Asia Pacific Screen Awards, follows a rural family who debate whether they should kill a snow leopard that broke into their home and killed nine sheep. The full synopsis reads: In a mountain village where white leopards live, the film explores the symbiosis of humans and animals through the fantastical interaction of a young Tibetan monk and a leopard.
Snow Leopard is one of two films Tseden, who had Chinese citizenship, had been working on when he died in May, aged 53. His death was reported by Chinese media. No cause of death was given, but unverified Chinese media reports said he had a heart attack.
The film, which is also nominated for three Asia Pacific Screen Awards, follows a rural family who debate whether they should kill a snow leopard that broke into their home and killed nine sheep. The full synopsis reads: In a mountain village where white leopards live, the film explores the symbiosis of humans and animals through the fantastical interaction of a young Tibetan monk and a leopard.
Snow Leopard is one of two films Tseden, who had Chinese citizenship, had been working on when he died in May, aged 53. His death was reported by Chinese media. No cause of death was given, but unverified Chinese media reports said he had a heart attack.
- 11/1/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
At a moment of war and deep division in the Middle East, a film co-directed by an Israeli and an Iranian is already a victory in and of itself. But the gripping sports drama Tatami, which follows a female judo champ whose career is severely jeopardized by Iran’s government during an international tournament, is more than just a promising collaboration between two filmmakers hailing from opposing sides of the conflict.
Set during one nail-biting day at the world championship in Tbilisi, Tatami — whose title refers to the mat where judoka fighters engage in combat — is both a riveting story of an athlete trying to achieve gold for the first time, and a searing political thriller where Iranian women are subjected to persecution, intimidation and possibly kidnapping at the hands of their country’s far-reaching authoritarian regime. Vibrantly helmed and performed, with co-director and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi...
Set during one nail-biting day at the world championship in Tbilisi, Tatami — whose title refers to the mat where judoka fighters engage in combat — is both a riveting story of an athlete trying to achieve gold for the first time, and a searing political thriller where Iranian women are subjected to persecution, intimidation and possibly kidnapping at the hands of their country’s far-reaching authoritarian regime. Vibrantly helmed and performed, with co-director and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi...
- 10/22/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tatami, the groundbreaking Iranian drama co-directed by Oscar-winner Guy Nattiv (Golda, Skin) and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Shayda, Holy Spider), has landed a number of major international territory deals following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
WestEnd Films has closed sales on the feature — the first to be co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker — for Italy (Bim Distribuzione), France (Metropolitan), Portugal (Nos), Benelux (Cineart), Greece (Cinobo), Scandinavia (Mislabel), Spain (Vertigo), Germany and Switzerland (Wild Bunch), and Israel (United King). Discussions are undergoing for North America, the U.K. and all remaining territories. Range are co-repping North America with Westend.
Based on real-life stories, Tatami follows Iranian female judokas Leila (Arienne Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Ebrahimi), who travel to the Judo World Championship intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic...
WestEnd Films has closed sales on the feature — the first to be co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker — for Italy (Bim Distribuzione), France (Metropolitan), Portugal (Nos), Benelux (Cineart), Greece (Cinobo), Scandinavia (Mislabel), Spain (Vertigo), Germany and Switzerland (Wild Bunch), and Israel (United King). Discussions are undergoing for North America, the U.K. and all remaining territories. Range are co-repping North America with Westend.
Based on real-life stories, Tatami follows Iranian female judokas Leila (Arienne Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Ebrahimi), who travel to the Judo World Championship intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic...
- 10/5/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Tokyo International Film Festival undertook a series of bold changes in 2020 to enhance its international reach, including a location change and major shakeups across staffing and programming. For the global film community, however, much of the overhaul went unfelt due to the travel restrictions of the pandemic. The Tokyo festival’s chairman, Hiroyasu Ando, emphasized at a press conference in the Japanese capital Wednesday that the event “aims to take a bigger leap” this year with its upcoming 36th edition, making good on its ambitions for a transformation.
“We’re really focussing on international interaction,” Ando said, noting that the festival would welcome some 600 overseas guests this year, including filmmakers, jury members and industry professionals, a major uptick from the 104 international industry VIPs who attended in 2022.
The Tokyo International Film Festival will open Oct. 23 with a gala screening of acclaimed German auteur Wim Wenders’ Tokyo-set drama Perfect Days, which...
“We’re really focussing on international interaction,” Ando said, noting that the festival would welcome some 600 overseas guests this year, including filmmakers, jury members and industry professionals, a major uptick from the 104 international industry VIPs who attended in 2022.
The Tokyo International Film Festival will open Oct. 23 with a gala screening of acclaimed German auteur Wim Wenders’ Tokyo-set drama Perfect Days, which...
- 9/27/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The full lineup has been unveiled for the festival’s 36th edition.
The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today revealed the lineup for its 36th edition, including 20 world premieres across its two competition strands.
The festival, set to run October 23 to November 1, will feature 15 titles in its main Competition section led by Japan and China, which each have three films in the selection.
Scroll down for full list
From China are crime drama A Long Shot from debut feature director Gao Peng; Snow Leopard by late Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden, which premiered at Venice; and Dwelling By The West Lake by Gu Xiaogang,...
The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today revealed the lineup for its 36th edition, including 20 world premieres across its two competition strands.
The festival, set to run October 23 to November 1, will feature 15 titles in its main Competition section led by Japan and China, which each have three films in the selection.
Scroll down for full list
From China are crime drama A Long Shot from debut feature director Gao Peng; Snow Leopard by late Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden, which premiered at Venice; and Dwelling By The West Lake by Gu Xiaogang,...
- 9/27/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Billed as the first feature film to be co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker, “Tatami” goes all in with a lean and tense narrative that is part sport movie, part political thriller — with both parts equally neatly realized. Directed by Guy Nattiv and “Holy Spider” lead actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi (who also stars), from a screenplay by Nattiv and Elham Erfani, the film is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, in which Iranian judo fighter Leila (Arienne Mandi) starts to perform better than anyone except perhaps her coach Maryam (Amir Ebrahimi) expected.
Leila’s success is a problem for the Iranian government since it means that she may go on to face an Israeli fighter in the final. The regime sees it as humiliating for Iran to potentially lose to Israel, so decides to eliminate any possibility of this happening by ordering Leila to either withdraw under a pretext,...
Leila’s success is a problem for the Iranian government since it means that she may go on to face an Israeli fighter in the final. The regime sees it as humiliating for Iran to potentially lose to Israel, so decides to eliminate any possibility of this happening by ordering Leila to either withdraw under a pretext,...
- 9/3/2023
- by Catherine Bray
- Variety Film + TV
“Holy Spider” breakout Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv are set to make history with “Tatami,” the first feature co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Premiering in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, “Tatami” shows Iranian female judo fighter Leila (played by “The L Word: Generation Q” star Arienne Mandi) heading to the world championships with her coach Maryam (Ebrahimi). Soon, they receive an ultimatum: in order to avoid squaring off against an Israeli opponent, Leila should immediately fake an injury and drop out.
“Can you imagine how many threats I have received after ‘Holy Spider,’ accusing me of ‘working with Jews’? We are not even allowed to call someone Israeli. It’s always ‘the occupying regime,’” Ebrahimi says.
Fearing for their safety, they decided to shoot in secret.
“We didn’t want anyone to know about it. We shot in Tbilisi in Georgia, two hours away from...
Premiering in Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, “Tatami” shows Iranian female judo fighter Leila (played by “The L Word: Generation Q” star Arienne Mandi) heading to the world championships with her coach Maryam (Ebrahimi). Soon, they receive an ultimatum: in order to avoid squaring off against an Israeli opponent, Leila should immediately fake an injury and drop out.
“Can you imagine how many threats I have received after ‘Holy Spider,’ accusing me of ‘working with Jews’? We are not even allowed to call someone Israeli. It’s always ‘the occupying regime,’” Ebrahimi says.
Fearing for their safety, they decided to shoot in secret.
“We didn’t want anyone to know about it. We shot in Tbilisi in Georgia, two hours away from...
- 9/2/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Political sports thriller premieres in Horizon’s section at Venice Film Festival.
World premiering in Venice’s Horizon’s section, political sports thriller Tatami is the first feature film to be co-directed by Israeli and Iranian directors – Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir.
LA-based Nattiv won the 2019 Academy Award for best live-action short for Skin and directed recent release Golda starring Helen Mirren. His 2012 film The Flood won the Generations prize at the Berlinale. He co-wrote Tatami with Elham Erfani.
Paris-based Amir is an Iranian-French actress, producer, director and casting director who won the best actress award at Cannes last year...
World premiering in Venice’s Horizon’s section, political sports thriller Tatami is the first feature film to be co-directed by Israeli and Iranian directors – Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir.
LA-based Nattiv won the 2019 Academy Award for best live-action short for Skin and directed recent release Golda starring Helen Mirren. His 2012 film The Flood won the Generations prize at the Berlinale. He co-wrote Tatami with Elham Erfani.
Paris-based Amir is an Iranian-French actress, producer, director and casting director who won the best actress award at Cannes last year...
- 9/1/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The death of Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16, 2022, would shake Iran to its core. In what proved to be a tinder box moment and led to what experts have asserted was the greatest challenge to the hard-line Iranian government since the 1979 revolution, the 22-year-old died in Tehran, having allegedly been beaten by the police after she’d been arrested for not wearing the mandatory hijab.
The news sparked widespread protests across the country as thousands took to the streets over the following weeks and months to demand an end to the hijab rule and for wider social freedoms, particularly for women. The brutal crackdown by authorities that followed resulted in more than 500 reportedly killed by security forces and tens of thousands detained.
Amini’s death would also shake up the production of Tatami, then underway in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, just over 200 miles from the Iranian border. The film, receiving...
The news sparked widespread protests across the country as thousands took to the streets over the following weeks and months to demand an end to the hijab rule and for wider social freedoms, particularly for women. The brutal crackdown by authorities that followed resulted in more than 500 reportedly killed by security forces and tens of thousands detained.
Amini’s death would also shake up the production of Tatami, then underway in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, just over 200 miles from the Iranian border. The film, receiving...
- 8/31/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 80th Venice Film Festival gets underway in earnest Wednesday and the landmark edition will be unlike any other, taking place as it does against the backdrop of two Hollywood strikes.
The build-up to the festival has been dominated by talk of which stars will make it to the event and which will stay at home. It hasn’t been as challenging for organizers as the Covid editions, but it’s surely up there in recent memory.
As we revealed Friday, the outlook for U.S. celebrity attendance is patchy, with a handful of big names set to appear and do the usual press obligations. Others have decided to stay away to avoid the accusation of strike breaking or simply “bad optics.” Expect media to be dominated by strike talk, especially on any American films.
Despite initial anxiety about...
The build-up to the festival has been dominated by talk of which stars will make it to the event and which will stay at home. It hasn’t been as challenging for organizers as the Covid editions, but it’s surely up there in recent memory.
As we revealed Friday, the outlook for U.S. celebrity attendance is patchy, with a handful of big names set to appear and do the usual press obligations. Others have decided to stay away to avoid the accusation of strike breaking or simply “bad optics.” Expect media to be dominated by strike talk, especially on any American films.
Despite initial anxiety about...
- 8/30/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman and Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The upcoming Venice Film Festival has announced it will hold a flash mob on the red carpet in solidarity with the women and men of Iran “who are fighting for their freedom and against the ongoing repression” and also “the filmmakers and artists who have been arrested or imprisoned,” the fest said in a statement on Friday.
Festival organizers specified that the flash mob is partly in reaction to the conviction earlier this month in Iran of director Saeed Roustaee (pictured), who was sentenced to six months in prison for showing his latest film “Leila’s Brothers” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and banned from making movies. Roustaee had been in the Venice Horizons section in 2019 with the film “Just 6.5.”
Venice also held a red carpet flash mob last year in solidarity with then incarcerated auteur Jafar Panahi.
Directors, artists and other personalities present at the Lido on Sept.
Festival organizers specified that the flash mob is partly in reaction to the conviction earlier this month in Iran of director Saeed Roustaee (pictured), who was sentenced to six months in prison for showing his latest film “Leila’s Brothers” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and banned from making movies. Roustaee had been in the Venice Horizons section in 2019 with the film “Just 6.5.”
Venice also held a red carpet flash mob last year in solidarity with then incarcerated auteur Jafar Panahi.
Directors, artists and other personalities present at the Lido on Sept.
- 8/25/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Vanessa Redgrave and Freida Pinto have boarded the family feature “The Boy at the Back of the Class,” based on the acclaimed children’s book.
Directed by Stephen Herek (“101 Dalmations”), the film centers on a mysterious new boy called Ahmet who joins nine-year-old Alexa’s school. As Alexa learns that he is a refugee, separated from his family, she will do anything she can to help. With the adults out of the way, Alexa and her school friends come up with a daring plan to reunite Ahmet with his family – the start of an adventure that will take them all the way to Buckingham Palace.
The film is penned by “A Street Cat Named Bob” screenwriter Tim John. Adam Rolston and David Braithwaite at Studio Pictures are producing. Nicola Pearcey of Picnik Entertainment and Paul Grindey are executive producing. Casting director is BAFTA nominee Carolyn McLeod.
“The Boy at the Back of the Class,...
Directed by Stephen Herek (“101 Dalmations”), the film centers on a mysterious new boy called Ahmet who joins nine-year-old Alexa’s school. As Alexa learns that he is a refugee, separated from his family, she will do anything she can to help. With the adults out of the way, Alexa and her school friends come up with a daring plan to reunite Ahmet with his family – the start of an adventure that will take them all the way to Buckingham Palace.
The film is penned by “A Street Cat Named Bob” screenwriter Tim John. Adam Rolston and David Braithwaite at Studio Pictures are producing. Nicola Pearcey of Picnik Entertainment and Paul Grindey are executive producing. Casting director is BAFTA nominee Carolyn McLeod.
“The Boy at the Back of the Class,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
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