Working Title Films co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and Searchlight Pictures executive Katie Goodson-Thomas will participate in conversation events as part of the 68th BFI London Film Festival’s industry programme.
This year’s industry forum will run from October 10-16 with a focus on the industry’s challenging financial climate while also exploring fresh opportunities.
Three Spotlight conversations include Bevan and Fellner, whose Working Title Films has produced more than 130 films that have grossed over $8.5bn and earlier this year announced with Universal the Global Writers Program, the studio’s first internationally-run talent initiative. Their latest film, Blitz directed by Steve McQueen,...
This year’s industry forum will run from October 10-16 with a focus on the industry’s challenging financial climate while also exploring fresh opportunities.
Three Spotlight conversations include Bevan and Fellner, whose Working Title Films has produced more than 130 films that have grossed over $8.5bn and earlier this year announced with Universal the Global Writers Program, the studio’s first internationally-run talent initiative. Their latest film, Blitz directed by Steve McQueen,...
- 9/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 BFI London Film Festival has unveiled a bustling lineup of speakers and events for its industry forum.
Set to take place between Oct. 10-16 at the Picturehouse Central cinema in central London, the festival’s industry arm is headlined by a trio of “Lff Spotlight” conversations with Working Title Films co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (whose current output includes Steve McQueen’s festival opener “Blitz”), Searchlight’s head of international production and development Katie Goodson-Thomas, and Apple TV+ creative director for Europe — and BFI Chair — Jay Hunt.
Elsewhere, Variety is sponsoring a conversation with Johnnie Burn, the award-winning sound designer whose long list of credits include a lengthy collaborative partnership with Yorgos Lanthimos (including last year’s “Poor Things”) and “The Zone of Interest,” for which he won an Oscar.
Other events include discussions with documentary filmmakers Cécile Embleton (“Mother Vera”) and Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter (“Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other...
Set to take place between Oct. 10-16 at the Picturehouse Central cinema in central London, the festival’s industry arm is headlined by a trio of “Lff Spotlight” conversations with Working Title Films co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (whose current output includes Steve McQueen’s festival opener “Blitz”), Searchlight’s head of international production and development Katie Goodson-Thomas, and Apple TV+ creative director for Europe — and BFI Chair — Jay Hunt.
Elsewhere, Variety is sponsoring a conversation with Johnnie Burn, the award-winning sound designer whose long list of credits include a lengthy collaborative partnership with Yorgos Lanthimos (including last year’s “Poor Things”) and “The Zone of Interest,” for which he won an Oscar.
Other events include discussions with documentary filmmakers Cécile Embleton (“Mother Vera”) and Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter (“Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other...
- 9/16/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Spotlight sessions featuring the bosses of Working Title Films, the international head of Searchlight Pictures and the chair of the BFI, as well as panels on the story behind the success of Last Swim, emerging film writers and documentary makers, adaptations and remakes, the art of sound, and marketing magic are among the industry sessions at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.
Organizers unveiled the discussions on a broad range of topics on Monday.
In Spotlight sessions, BFI CEO Ben Roberts will discuss U.K. film production, the transformation of the industry, talent relationships and how to nurture a new generation of filmmakers with Working Title co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, while BFI chair Jay Hunt, who is also creative director, Europe, worldwide video at Apple, will discuss her career and the industry. Plus, Katie Goodson-Thomas, head of international production and development for Searchlight’s U.K operations (The Banshees of Inisherin,...
Organizers unveiled the discussions on a broad range of topics on Monday.
In Spotlight sessions, BFI CEO Ben Roberts will discuss U.K. film production, the transformation of the industry, talent relationships and how to nurture a new generation of filmmakers with Working Title co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, while BFI chair Jay Hunt, who is also creative director, Europe, worldwide video at Apple, will discuss her career and the industry. Plus, Katie Goodson-Thomas, head of international production and development for Searchlight’s U.K operations (The Banshees of Inisherin,...
- 9/16/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The first edition of the U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab, the initiative founded by Film Constellation, Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival and Tatino Films, has found its first projects.
Following an open call led by Myriam Sassine, Evrim Ersoy, and Edward Parodi that saw hundreds of filmmakers apply to be a part of the development lab, 12 feature film projects have been selected highlighting genre stories from around the U.K.
Meanwhile, the program has secured additional masterclasses from some of the world’s leading genre filmmakers. Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Jessica Hausner (“Little Joe”), and Tea Shop Productions have joined the roster of award-winning talent contributing to the lab alongside Patrik Andersson, Jenna Cato Bass, Verena Gräfe-Höft, Antoine Waked, Carlota Pereda, Andy Starke, Dan Martin and Frank Kruse.
The U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab is a development initiative and recipient of the BFI Creative Challenge fund,...
Following an open call led by Myriam Sassine, Evrim Ersoy, and Edward Parodi that saw hundreds of filmmakers apply to be a part of the development lab, 12 feature film projects have been selected highlighting genre stories from around the U.K.
Meanwhile, the program has secured additional masterclasses from some of the world’s leading genre filmmakers. Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Jessica Hausner (“Little Joe”), and Tea Shop Productions have joined the roster of award-winning talent contributing to the lab alongside Patrik Andersson, Jenna Cato Bass, Verena Gräfe-Höft, Antoine Waked, Carlota Pereda, Andy Starke, Dan Martin and Frank Kruse.
The U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab is a development initiative and recipient of the BFI Creative Challenge fund,...
- 9/6/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Festival favourites from throughout 2024 will screen at France’s Dinard Festival of British & Irish Film, including two films starring Barry Keoghan, Andrea Arnold’s Cannes premiere Bird and Chris Andrews’ Toronto title Bring Them Down.
Bring Them Down, a rural Ireland-set revenge story partly filmed in the Irish language and co-starring Christopher Abbott, will play in the main festival competition, alongside Ariane Labed’s Cannes premiere and directorial debut September Says.
Another Irish-language title in the 53-strong line-up is Rich Peppiatt’s Sundance breakout hip-hop biopic Kneecap. While Irish titles have previously been included in the festival’s programme, this...
Bring Them Down, a rural Ireland-set revenge story partly filmed in the Irish language and co-starring Christopher Abbott, will play in the main festival competition, alongside Ariane Labed’s Cannes premiere and directorial debut September Says.
Another Irish-language title in the 53-strong line-up is Rich Peppiatt’s Sundance breakout hip-hop biopic Kneecap. While Irish titles have previously been included in the festival’s programme, this...
- 9/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
Fifteen features will world premiere at the 68th BFI London Film Festival (Lff), including Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s documentary Endurance, and previously announced opening title Steve McQueen’s Blitz.
The festival takes place from October 9-20.
Free Solo and Nyad directing duo Vasarhelyi and Chin direct Endurance alongside Natalie Hewit, which examines the lost ship of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Further world premieres include Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson’s documentary Holloway, about one of the largest women’s prisons in Europe.
Steven Knight’s Victorian boxing series A Thousand Blows, starring Stephen Graham, will receive its world premiere.
The festival takes place from October 9-20.
Free Solo and Nyad directing duo Vasarhelyi and Chin direct Endurance alongside Natalie Hewit, which examines the lost ship of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Further world premieres include Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson’s documentary Holloway, about one of the largest women’s prisons in Europe.
Steven Knight’s Victorian boxing series A Thousand Blows, starring Stephen Graham, will receive its world premiere.
- 9/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 68th BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its star-studded 2024 lineup, featuring Angelina Jolie, Elton John, Daniel Craig, Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, Saoirse Ronan, and more in a program boasting 39 world premieres and 12 international premieres among its 253 feature, short, series and immersive works.
The festival’s headline gala screenings will showcase a range of high-profile films. The world premiere of Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” starring Ronan opens the festival, while Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece” closes it.
Other gala screenings include R.J. Cutler and David Furnish’s “Elton John: Never Too Late,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” starring Sebastian Stan, Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Edward Berger’s “Conclave” with Ralph Fiennes, Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” Ben Taylor’s “Joy,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” featuring Jolie, Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch” starring Amy Adams, Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door...
The festival’s headline gala screenings will showcase a range of high-profile films. The world premiere of Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” starring Ronan opens the festival, while Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece” closes it.
Other gala screenings include R.J. Cutler and David Furnish’s “Elton John: Never Too Late,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” starring Sebastian Stan, Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Edward Berger’s “Conclave” with Ralph Fiennes, Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” Ben Taylor’s “Joy,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” featuring Jolie, Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch” starring Amy Adams, Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door...
- 9/4/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The BFI London Film Festival (Lff) 2024 will screen documentaries about “witches,” and zoos and animal rescue centers in Argentina, first features from directors of varied backgrounds, and Ali Abbas’ Donald Trump film The Apprentice in its gala lineup organizers said on Wednesday as they unveiled the full program for this year’s event.
Overall, Lff will screen 253 titles, including features films, shorts, series, and immersive works, that hail from 79 countries and feature 64 languages. Of the total, 112 works are made by female and non-binary filmmakers, or 44 percent of the program, the fest said.
The London doc lineup includes the likes of Elizabeth Sankey’s 90-minute goth-y Witches, which posits a connection between historical witchery and post-partum psychological suffering and debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Meanwhile, the first feature program at Lff includes Denise Fernandes’ Hanami, which recently world-premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and Neo Sora’s Happyend, which debuted...
Overall, Lff will screen 253 titles, including features films, shorts, series, and immersive works, that hail from 79 countries and feature 64 languages. Of the total, 112 works are made by female and non-binary filmmakers, or 44 percent of the program, the fest said.
The London doc lineup includes the likes of Elizabeth Sankey’s 90-minute goth-y Witches, which posits a connection between historical witchery and post-partum psychological suffering and debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Meanwhile, the first feature program at Lff includes Denise Fernandes’ Hanami, which recently world-premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and Neo Sora’s Happyend, which debuted...
- 9/4/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
France’s Dinard Festival of British & Irish Film has unveiled the line-up of its 34th edition, including two films starring Barry Keoghan, Andrea Arnold’s Cannes premiere Bird and Chris Andrews’ Toronto title Bring Them Down.
Bring Them Down, a rural Ireland-set revenge story that’s also partly in the Irish language and stars Poor Things’ Christopher Abbott, will play in the main festival competition, competing for the Golden Hitchcock award for best film award, alongside Ariane Labed’s Cannes premiere and directorial debut September Says.
Another Irish-language title in the 53-strong line-up is Rich Peppiatt’s Sundance breakout hip-hop biopic Kneecap.
Bring Them Down, a rural Ireland-set revenge story that’s also partly in the Irish language and stars Poor Things’ Christopher Abbott, will play in the main festival competition, competing for the Golden Hitchcock award for best film award, alongside Ariane Labed’s Cannes premiere and directorial debut September Says.
Another Irish-language title in the 53-strong line-up is Rich Peppiatt’s Sundance breakout hip-hop biopic Kneecap.
- 9/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
From Aug. 17-23, the charming coastal town of Haugesund, Norway, will showcase 76 films and 21 shorts in the newly renovated Edda film hub, offering two extra screening rooms, bringing the total halls to seven.
“We are looking forward to using the two new luxury halls and giving both the films and the audience a quality experience,” said festival honcho Tonje Hardersen.
Many of the high-quality features will screen in the festival’s main program, including several Cannes entries making their Norwegian premiere, such as “All We Imagine as Light,” “The Substance,” “Wild Diamond,” “The Girl with the Needle” and “When the Light Breaks.”
Among the four world premieres, three hail from Norway, a nation that boasts an enviable list of 2024 fest winners, such as Sundance’s “A New Kind of Wilderness,” “Handling the Undead,” Berlin’s “Sex” and Karlovy Vary’s “Loveable,” all lined up for Haugesund as well.
“Once again,...
“We are looking forward to using the two new luxury halls and giving both the films and the audience a quality experience,” said festival honcho Tonje Hardersen.
Many of the high-quality features will screen in the festival’s main program, including several Cannes entries making their Norwegian premiere, such as “All We Imagine as Light,” “The Substance,” “Wild Diamond,” “The Girl with the Needle” and “When the Light Breaks.”
Among the four world premieres, three hail from Norway, a nation that boasts an enviable list of 2024 fest winners, such as Sundance’s “A New Kind of Wilderness,” “Handling the Undead,” Berlin’s “Sex” and Karlovy Vary’s “Loveable,” all lined up for Haugesund as well.
“Once again,...
- 8/3/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Brendan Quinn, whose role in Netflix’s “One Day” landed him a best supporting nod at the National Film Awards UK, has joined the ensemble cast of “Scene House,” a dark comedy penned and directed by Annabella Fazio.
Quinn stars alongside Netflix alum Safiyya Ingar (“The Witcher”), Nell Williams (“Blinded by the Light”), Denzel Baidoo (“Last Swim”), Selina Jones (“Raised by Wolves”), Aaron Teoh (“Wicked”) and Ivy Freeman-Attwood (“Two Neighbors”).
Looking at societal obsession with celebrity culture, the short film is set in a dystopian future where actors inhabit an enclosed area called The Scene House – an unsettling hybrid of a theme park and museum. Here, observers pay to enter and, for an additional cost, interact with the actors. One of these Actors, played by Jones, begins to question their existence in The Scene House as the boundaries blur between performance and reality.
“Scene House” is executive produced by Sarah Carter,...
Quinn stars alongside Netflix alum Safiyya Ingar (“The Witcher”), Nell Williams (“Blinded by the Light”), Denzel Baidoo (“Last Swim”), Selina Jones (“Raised by Wolves”), Aaron Teoh (“Wicked”) and Ivy Freeman-Attwood (“Two Neighbors”).
Looking at societal obsession with celebrity culture, the short film is set in a dystopian future where actors inhabit an enclosed area called The Scene House – an unsettling hybrid of a theme park and museum. Here, observers pay to enter and, for an additional cost, interact with the actors. One of these Actors, played by Jones, begins to question their existence in The Scene House as the boundaries blur between performance and reality.
“Scene House” is executive produced by Sarah Carter,...
- 7/24/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Blandine Lenoir’s completed family drama Juliette In Spring, starring Izia Higelin, has sold to key buyers including Palace Films for Australia and New Zealand, Polyfilm in Austria, Pandora in Germany, Surstey in Spain, and Cineworx in Switzerland for Indie Sales.
The film, based on Camille Jourdy’s graphic novel, is about a woman who returns to her hometown to spend time with her family as buried memories, unspoken truths and long-buried secrets bubble up to the surface in what Indie Sales calls “a sweet, tender and sometimes extravagant family portrait.”
Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Noémie Lvovsky and Sophie Guillemin co-star in...
The film, based on Camille Jourdy’s graphic novel, is about a woman who returns to her hometown to spend time with her family as buried memories, unspoken truths and long-buried secrets bubble up to the surface in what Indie Sales calls “a sweet, tender and sometimes extravagant family portrait.”
Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Noémie Lvovsky and Sophie Guillemin co-star in...
- 5/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
The British Independent Film Awards has selected 17 producers to participate in its Springboard programme assisting filmmakers beyond their first feature.
They include Savannah James-Bayly, producer of Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Layla through her company Fox Cub Films. James-Bayly also runs Teen Club with Loran Dunn and Sorcha Bacon, with the company focusing on commercial, positive, queer content for young audiences.
Nisha Mullea, executive producer at Caviar London, is also selected, having recently produced Sasha Nathwani’s Last Swim, winner of the Crystal Bear for best feature film in the Generation 14plus section at the Berlinale.
The programme runs from May 2024 until...
They include Savannah James-Bayly, producer of Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Layla through her company Fox Cub Films. James-Bayly also runs Teen Club with Loran Dunn and Sorcha Bacon, with the company focusing on commercial, positive, queer content for young audiences.
Nisha Mullea, executive producer at Caviar London, is also selected, having recently produced Sasha Nathwani’s Last Swim, winner of the Crystal Bear for best feature film in the Generation 14plus section at the Berlinale.
The programme runs from May 2024 until...
- 5/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Indie Sales has hopped aboard Across The Sea, French-Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s second feature that will premiere as a special screening at Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
Moroccan TV star Ayoub Gretaa stars in the Marseille-set 1990s melodrama as Nour, an undocumented immigrant from Morocco with big dreams whose life turns upside down when he meets a charismatic police officer and his wife and a love triangle unfolds.
Anna Mouglalis and Grégoire Colin co-star in the decade-spanning film that follows Nour as he grows older, explores love and seeks a better life amidst the backdrop of the Rai music-focused party...
Moroccan TV star Ayoub Gretaa stars in the Marseille-set 1990s melodrama as Nour, an undocumented immigrant from Morocco with big dreams whose life turns upside down when he meets a charismatic police officer and his wife and a love triangle unfolds.
Anna Mouglalis and Grégoire Colin co-star in the decade-spanning film that follows Nour as he grows older, explores love and seeks a better life amidst the backdrop of the Rai music-focused party...
- 5/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
The second slate for the upcoming Red Lorry Film Festival has been unveiled, and it features many award-winning films and TV series across a wide spectrum of languages and genres. The inaugural edition of the film festival will feature over 100 films.
These titles include iconic films like ‘A Few Good Men’, ‘Jerry Maguire’, ‘Love Actually’, ‘The Great Escaper’ and ‘Escape To Victory’.
The Emma Stone-starrer ‘Poor Things’, which is based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, will also be screened at the festival along with other titles like ‘Last Swim’, ‘The Good Teacher’, ‘Yolo’, ‘100 Yen Love’, ‘Amal’ and ‘Reawakening’.
Sriram Raghavan, Ambassador of Red Lorry Film Festival, said, “It is an exciting and rewarding experience to be a part of Red Lorry Film Festival. I am ecstatic to be a part of the movie selection process and bring to you an array of diverse films through this festival. The...
These titles include iconic films like ‘A Few Good Men’, ‘Jerry Maguire’, ‘Love Actually’, ‘The Great Escaper’ and ‘Escape To Victory’.
The Emma Stone-starrer ‘Poor Things’, which is based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray, will also be screened at the festival along with other titles like ‘Last Swim’, ‘The Good Teacher’, ‘Yolo’, ‘100 Yen Love’, ‘Amal’ and ‘Reawakening’.
Sriram Raghavan, Ambassador of Red Lorry Film Festival, said, “It is an exciting and rewarding experience to be a part of Red Lorry Film Festival. I am ecstatic to be a part of the movie selection process and bring to you an array of diverse films through this festival. The...
- 3/21/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Generation, the Berlin Film Festival sidebar for children and youth films, has announced this year’s winners unveiling the picks from both the Generation 14plus (for teen and older viewers) and the youth jury for the Generation Kplus (kids and tweens) sections.
Sasha Nathwani’s coming-of-age drama Last Swim, about an Iranian-British teen confronting a major life decision, took the Crystal Bear for best film in the Generation 14plus section, with Kim Hye-young’s It’s Okay!, about an orphaned young dancer, winning the top prize for Generation Kplus. Both prizes were awarded by youth juries of young filmgoers.
In its statement, the 14plus jury called Last Swim “a story about the beauty of life and of things coming to an end. It is a film that does not shy away from portraying the messy and consuming feelings that can arise when you know your dreams may not be fulfilled. However,...
Sasha Nathwani’s coming-of-age drama Last Swim, about an Iranian-British teen confronting a major life decision, took the Crystal Bear for best film in the Generation 14plus section, with Kim Hye-young’s It’s Okay!, about an orphaned young dancer, winning the top prize for Generation Kplus. Both prizes were awarded by youth juries of young filmgoers.
In its statement, the 14plus jury called Last Swim “a story about the beauty of life and of things coming to an end. It is a film that does not shy away from portraying the messy and consuming feelings that can arise when you know your dreams may not be fulfilled. However,...
- 2/25/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The independent juries of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival early Saturday unveiled their picks of the best movies at the 2024 Berlinale.
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the guild of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci...
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the guild of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci...
- 2/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With his debut feature Last Swim, an ambitious and quietly radical portrait of young life in London, Sasha Nathwani has achieved one of the most difficult tasks for a new filmmaker: cutting through with a festival audience.
Last Swim debuted last week at the Berlin Film Festival, where it opened the festival’s Generation sidebar. The pic has been one of the more buzzy titles here on the ground in the German capital and is considered a frontrunner to pick up some gold when awards are announced this weekend.
Set over a sweltering exam results day in London, the pic follows Ziba, a promising British-Iranian teen, as she leads her friends on an eventful journey across the city. Despite the celebratory atmosphere, Ziba struggles to retain her characteristic optimism as she finds herself battling the fears and secrets she’s been hiding from her friends. As day turns to night,...
Last Swim debuted last week at the Berlin Film Festival, where it opened the festival’s Generation sidebar. The pic has been one of the more buzzy titles here on the ground in the German capital and is considered a frontrunner to pick up some gold when awards are announced this weekend.
Set over a sweltering exam results day in London, the pic follows Ziba, a promising British-Iranian teen, as she leads her friends on an eventful journey across the city. Despite the celebratory atmosphere, Ziba struggles to retain her characteristic optimism as she finds herself battling the fears and secrets she’s been hiding from her friends. As day turns to night,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Deba Hakmat is impressively subtle as a British-Iranian teen whose celebrations come unstuck
Sasha Nathwani is a UK-based director of award-winning short films, of Iranian and Indian heritage, stepping up here to his feature debut. It opens the Generation strandin Berlin and is a sweet-natured, heartfelt and earnestly acted film; a little precious maybe, but saved from emo-sentimentalism by irreverent humour and a wittily self-aware final image of his leading actor’s face.
Last Swim is the story of Ziba, played by Deba Hakmat, an Iranian-British teen who has just stormed her A-levels and landed a place at University College London to read astrophysics; this is despite a certain attitude on the part of her interviewer who shows, if not microaggression, then microcondescension, pointedly asking if any other members of Ziba’s family ever studied this subject. Ziba has got intricately detailed plans for her and her 6th form mates...
Sasha Nathwani is a UK-based director of award-winning short films, of Iranian and Indian heritage, stepping up here to his feature debut. It opens the Generation strandin Berlin and is a sweet-natured, heartfelt and earnestly acted film; a little precious maybe, but saved from emo-sentimentalism by irreverent humour and a wittily self-aware final image of his leading actor’s face.
Last Swim is the story of Ziba, played by Deba Hakmat, an Iranian-British teen who has just stormed her A-levels and landed a place at University College London to read astrophysics; this is despite a certain attitude on the part of her interviewer who shows, if not microaggression, then microcondescension, pointedly asking if any other members of Ziba’s family ever studied this subject. Ziba has got intricately detailed plans for her and her 6th form mates...
- 2/16/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
France’s Indie Sales has picked up Come Back, the directorial debut from Flemish brothers Jan and Raf Roosens starring Veerle Baetens and her real-life daughter Billie Vlegels.
The film is in post and Indie Sales is launching it at the European Film Market later this month. Kinepolis Film Distribution is handling the Belgian release.
Vlegels plays the teenage daughter of a once-successful techno DJ couple, living with her father after her parents’ divorce. When her mother (Baetens) sets off to make an international comeback, her daughter is thrust into the nocturnal club scene world and finds herself torn between...
The film is in post and Indie Sales is launching it at the European Film Market later this month. Kinepolis Film Distribution is handling the Belgian release.
Vlegels plays the teenage daughter of a once-successful techno DJ couple, living with her father after her parents’ divorce. When her mother (Baetens) sets off to make an international comeback, her daughter is thrust into the nocturnal club scene world and finds herself torn between...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sasha Nathwani’s feature film debut “Last Swim,” which opens the Generation 14plus competition at the Berlin Film Festival, will be represented for worldwide sales by Indie Sales.
Set over a hot summer day in London as the high-school year is ending, the film follows British-Iranian teen Ziba as she leads her friends on an eventful journey across the city, culminating in a once in a lifetime astronomical event. Despite the celebratory atmosphere, Ziba struggles to retain her characteristic optimism as she finds herself battling the intrusive fears and secrets she’s been hiding from her friends. As day turns to night, Ziba has no choice but to confront the irreversible event she has planned for the end of this last day of untainted adolescence.
The cast is led by Deba Hekmat (“Hoard”) and also includes Narges Rashidi (“Gangs of London”), Solly McLeod (“Tom Jones”), Jay Lycurgo (“Titans”), Denzel Baidoo...
Set over a hot summer day in London as the high-school year is ending, the film follows British-Iranian teen Ziba as she leads her friends on an eventful journey across the city, culminating in a once in a lifetime astronomical event. Despite the celebratory atmosphere, Ziba struggles to retain her characteristic optimism as she finds herself battling the intrusive fears and secrets she’s been hiding from her friends. As day turns to night, Ziba has no choice but to confront the irreversible event she has planned for the end of this last day of untainted adolescence.
The cast is led by Deba Hekmat (“Hoard”) and also includes Narges Rashidi (“Gangs of London”), Solly McLeod (“Tom Jones”), Jay Lycurgo (“Titans”), Denzel Baidoo...
- 2/1/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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