InterviewActor Vishnu Govindhan talks to Tnm about ‘Attention Please’, which has been selected for screening at the International Film Festival of Kerala, and his other projects.CrisSix years ago, Vishnu Govindhan stood alongside other delegates of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk), inside a packed theatre, protesting that they too be allowed to watch Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President. They had all waited under the sun for two hours in a long queue and when their turn came to get in, the seats were all taken and they were asked to leave. The protesters’ demands finally led to the movie being paused for long minutes until the projectionist said that the license would expire if the film’s not played soon. Everyone quietened down and all of the audience stood up to watch the movie together. This year Vishnu is a guest at the same festival, lead actor of...
- 2/16/2021
- by Cris
- The News Minute
A trio of high-profile Scandinavian producers – Thomas Gammeltoft (“Terribly Happy”), Sofie Wanting Hassing (“Ida”) and Ole Søndberg (“Wallander”) – are launching TrueContent Entertainment, an ambitious independent production and distribution company based in Copenhagen.
The company is a reboot of Sweet Chili Entertainment, a digital distribution company founded by Wanting Hassing and joined by Gammeltoft in Jan. 2020 after he stepped down from the Copenhagen Film Fund, rolling off a seven-year tenure. Søndberg, an industry veteran who founded Yellow Bird and executive produced “Wallander” and the “Millennium” franchises, joined TrueContent Entertainment in 2018 as executive producer. Wanting Hassing and Gammeltoft will serve as co-CEOs.
Financially backed by independent private capital, TrueContent Entertainment will work as a talent-driven company, bringing on board top-notch creatives who will set up individual production companies to develop their own projects, ranging from films to series, including documentaries, as well as source third-party projects. These banners will be subsidiaries of...
The company is a reboot of Sweet Chili Entertainment, a digital distribution company founded by Wanting Hassing and joined by Gammeltoft in Jan. 2020 after he stepped down from the Copenhagen Film Fund, rolling off a seven-year tenure. Søndberg, an industry veteran who founded Yellow Bird and executive produced “Wallander” and the “Millennium” franchises, joined TrueContent Entertainment in 2018 as executive producer. Wanting Hassing and Gammeltoft will serve as co-CEOs.
Financially backed by independent private capital, TrueContent Entertainment will work as a talent-driven company, bringing on board top-notch creatives who will set up individual production companies to develop their own projects, ranging from films to series, including documentaries, as well as source third-party projects. These banners will be subsidiaries of...
- 2/3/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Janice Johnston has been promoted to executive producer of ABC’s newsmagazine 20/20.
Johnston, who has been senior producer of the show, is only the fourth person to lead the show as EP since its launch in 1978 (with original hosts Harold Hayes and Robert Hughes quickly replaced by Hugh Downs).
Johnston will report to David Sloan, senior executive producer of network primetime content, who oversees the news division’s primetime programming.
In a memo to staff, ABC News President James Goldston wrote that Johnston has “been at the helm of critical programming in the last year, including our two-hour broadcast on Vanessa Guillen and three breaking news specials on the Covid-19 pandemic. Janice also led two-hour 20/20 events on John Lennon’s life, legacy and last days, the Yosemite Serial Killer and Robin Roberts’ interviews with three women kidnapped and held captive in Cleveland for a decade.”
Johnston joined 20/20...
Johnston, who has been senior producer of the show, is only the fourth person to lead the show as EP since its launch in 1978 (with original hosts Harold Hayes and Robert Hughes quickly replaced by Hugh Downs).
Johnston will report to David Sloan, senior executive producer of network primetime content, who oversees the news division’s primetime programming.
In a memo to staff, ABC News President James Goldston wrote that Johnston has “been at the helm of critical programming in the last year, including our two-hour broadcast on Vanessa Guillen and three breaking news specials on the Covid-19 pandemic. Janice also led two-hour 20/20 events on John Lennon’s life, legacy and last days, the Yosemite Serial Killer and Robin Roberts’ interviews with three women kidnapped and held captive in Cleveland for a decade.”
Johnston joined 20/20...
- 1/14/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Uruguay’s government has announced new and ambitious film-tv legislation aimed at converting the small Latin American nation into a far larger film-tv hub via a new series of cash rebates for international shoots and co-productions with Uruguay.
Coming as Uruguay neighbors Brazil and Argentina battle huge challenges to state film funding – an incentive free in Brazil, a decimation of state funding in Argentina tanks to Covid-19 – the new regulation in Uruguay looks set to accelerate a disappear of productions from Latin America and runaway international shoots to its shores.
Measures take in a qualitative leap in the ceiling put on cash rebate plus a plunge in the minimum expenditure in Uruguay required to access them.
Announced Nov. 25, the regs, framed in an Uruguay Audiovisual Program (Pua), establish four action lines. International shoots and international co-productions filming in Uruguay with a local expenditure from $300,000 to $4 million receive a 25% of spend...
Coming as Uruguay neighbors Brazil and Argentina battle huge challenges to state film funding – an incentive free in Brazil, a decimation of state funding in Argentina tanks to Covid-19 – the new regulation in Uruguay looks set to accelerate a disappear of productions from Latin America and runaway international shoots to its shores.
Measures take in a qualitative leap in the ceiling put on cash rebate plus a plunge in the minimum expenditure in Uruguay required to access them.
Announced Nov. 25, the regs, framed in an Uruguay Audiovisual Program (Pua), establish four action lines. International shoots and international co-productions filming in Uruguay with a local expenditure from $300,000 to $4 million receive a 25% of spend...
- 12/2/2020
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: F&Me slate includes two projects with Ida writer Rebecca Lenckiewicz; plus Streetkids United III.
UK co-production specialists Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) have boarded films to shoot in 2017 including The Dream Girl written and directed by Maurizio Braucci, best known for writing Matteo Garrone’s Gomorra and Reality.
Braucci co-wrote the film with Ida writer Rebecca Lenckiewicz and the UK-Ireland co-production is set to shoot from September. F&Me are working with accountants Grant Thornton in Ireland to access the section 481 tax credit. Windmill Lane is on board for post-production services.
F&Me are also working with Lenkiewicz on The Disciple, to be directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky and written by Lenkiewicz, Marek Lescak and Ostrochovsky. The film looks at two friends who go to a seminary in Communist Slovakia.
Also shooting by the end of 2017 will be the documentary Streetkids United III – The Road to Moscow. As with the past two films in the...
UK co-production specialists Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) have boarded films to shoot in 2017 including The Dream Girl written and directed by Maurizio Braucci, best known for writing Matteo Garrone’s Gomorra and Reality.
Braucci co-wrote the film with Ida writer Rebecca Lenckiewicz and the UK-Ireland co-production is set to shoot from September. F&Me are working with accountants Grant Thornton in Ireland to access the section 481 tax credit. Windmill Lane is on board for post-production services.
F&Me are also working with Lenkiewicz on The Disciple, to be directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky and written by Lenkiewicz, Marek Lescak and Ostrochovsky. The film looks at two friends who go to a seminary in Communist Slovakia.
Also shooting by the end of 2017 will be the documentary Streetkids United III – The Road to Moscow. As with the past two films in the...
- 2/11/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Recovered and restored version of banned film The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood to be seen for the first time in more than 25 years.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood, a film that was cut and banned by Iranian censors in 1990, has been resurrected and will open the Venice Classics strand of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival (Aug 31-Sept 10) on Sept 1.
Makhmalbaf, perhaps best known for films such as Palme d’Or nominated Kandahar (2001) and The President (2014), made the feature in Iran in 1990 and it was shown just once at the Fajr Film Festival.
At the time, the Iranian censorship committee decreed that the film betrayed the spirit of the Iranian revolution and cut 37 minutes out of the original negative.
Following its public screening, even the cut version was banned and all public screenings were prohibited. Furthermore, no copies of the film were allowed to be made.
Earlier this year, some parts of...
Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood, a film that was cut and banned by Iranian censors in 1990, has been resurrected and will open the Venice Classics strand of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival (Aug 31-Sept 10) on Sept 1.
Makhmalbaf, perhaps best known for films such as Palme d’Or nominated Kandahar (2001) and The President (2014), made the feature in Iran in 1990 and it was shown just once at the Fajr Film Festival.
At the time, the Iranian censorship committee decreed that the film betrayed the spirit of the Iranian revolution and cut 37 minutes out of the original negative.
Following its public screening, even the cut version was banned and all public screenings were prohibited. Furthermore, no copies of the film were allowed to be made.
Earlier this year, some parts of...
- 8/19/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Recovered and restored version of banned film The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood to be seen for the first time in more than 25 years.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood, a film that was cut and banned by Iranian censors in 1990, has been resurrected and will open the Venice Classics strand of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival (Aug 31-Sept 10) on Sept 1.
Makhmalbaf, perhaps best known for films such as Palme d’Or nominated Kandahar (2001) and The President (2014), made the feature in Iran in 1990 and it was shown just once at the Fajr Film Festival.
At the time, the Iranian censorship committee decreed that the film betrayed the spirit of the Iranian revolution and cut 37 minutes out of the original negative.
Following its public screening, even the cut version was banned and all public screenings were prohibited. Furthermore, no copies of the film were allowed to be made.
Earlier this year, some parts of...
Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood, a film that was cut and banned by Iranian censors in 1990, has been resurrected and will open the Venice Classics strand of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival (Aug 31-Sept 10) on Sept 1.
Makhmalbaf, perhaps best known for films such as Palme d’Or nominated Kandahar (2001) and The President (2014), made the feature in Iran in 1990 and it was shown just once at the Fajr Film Festival.
At the time, the Iranian censorship committee decreed that the film betrayed the spirit of the Iranian revolution and cut 37 minutes out of the original negative.
Following its public screening, even the cut version was banned and all public screenings were prohibited. Furthermore, no copies of the film were allowed to be made.
Earlier this year, some parts of...
- 8/19/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Ten projects from South-East Europe, Middle East and North Africa comprise Sarajevo’s Work in Progress section.
Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 12-20) Works in Progress strand is set to present the line-up of projects, which will compete for three awards during the festival’s Industry Days on Aug 17-18.
Ten projects in post-production - from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region - will be screened to about 40 industry decision-makers who are active on the supply end of the chain: funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers.
Prizes will include the traditional post-production in-kind awards from Slovenia’s Restart (€20,000) and Berlin-based The Post Republic (€50,000), as well as a newly established €30,000 cash prize from Turkish broadcaster Trt.
The jury is comprised of Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales, Giona A. Nazzaro from the Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week, Michael Reuter of The Post Republic and a representative from the Trt.[p...
Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 12-20) Works in Progress strand is set to present the line-up of projects, which will compete for three awards during the festival’s Industry Days on Aug 17-18.
Ten projects in post-production - from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region - will be screened to about 40 industry decision-makers who are active on the supply end of the chain: funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers.
Prizes will include the traditional post-production in-kind awards from Slovenia’s Restart (€20,000) and Berlin-based The Post Republic (€50,000), as well as a newly established €30,000 cash prize from Turkish broadcaster Trt.
The jury is comprised of Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales, Giona A. Nazzaro from the Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week, Michael Reuter of The Post Republic and a representative from the Trt.[p...
- 8/17/2016
- by vladan.petkovic@gmail.com (Vladan Petkovic)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The Survivalist producer David Gilbery joins the investment company whose credits include Under The Shadow and The President.
London-based investment firm Creativity Capital has hired David Gilbery as its director of film and media investments.
Gilbery joins from production and finance outfit The Fyzz Facility where he was head of business operations.
Gilbery’s producer credits include recent BAFTA-nominee The Survivalist from Screen Star of Tomorrow director Stephen Fingleton, and Michael Lennox’s A Patch Of Fog.
His executive producer credits include S. Craig Zahler’s Kurt Russell-starring Bone Tomahawk and Ryan Little’s Luke Goss-starring War Pigs.
In his new position, he will work alongside Creativity Capital’s co-founders Patrick Fischer and Richard Kondal with the aim of expanding the finance outfit, which specialises in tax credit lending, pre-sale and Mg lending and Gap lending.
Creativity Capital was founded in 2013 and to-date has invested in the likes of Babak Anvari’s Sundance premiere...
London-based investment firm Creativity Capital has hired David Gilbery as its director of film and media investments.
Gilbery joins from production and finance outfit The Fyzz Facility where he was head of business operations.
Gilbery’s producer credits include recent BAFTA-nominee The Survivalist from Screen Star of Tomorrow director Stephen Fingleton, and Michael Lennox’s A Patch Of Fog.
His executive producer credits include S. Craig Zahler’s Kurt Russell-starring Bone Tomahawk and Ryan Little’s Luke Goss-starring War Pigs.
In his new position, he will work alongside Creativity Capital’s co-founders Patrick Fischer and Richard Kondal with the aim of expanding the finance outfit, which specialises in tax credit lending, pre-sale and Mg lending and Gap lending.
Creativity Capital was founded in 2013 and to-date has invested in the likes of Babak Anvari’s Sundance premiere...
- 5/4/2016
- ScreenDaily
In other Cottbus news, F&Me boards The Disciple and Macedonia backs Sugar Kid.
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
- 11/6/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
In other Cottbus news, F&Me boards The Disciple and Macedonia backs Sugar Kid.
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
- 11/6/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The Assassin will compete for best feature at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards on Nov 26.Scroll down for the full list
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s festival hit The Assassin, which won him best director at Cannes this year, has been nominated for three prizes at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The film will compete for best feature, achievement in directing for Hou Hsiao-Hsien and achievement in cinematography for Mark Lee Ping-Bing.
Other nominees in the best feature category include multi-territory co-production Cementery Of Splendour, Korean feature End Of Winter and Japanese/French drama Journey To The Shore.
Elsewhere, France’s foreign language Oscar submission Mustang received a best youth feature film nod, while Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look Of Silence will compete for best documentary.
A total of 39 films from 22 countries have received nominations.
The awards ceremony takes place on Thursday 26 November at City Hall, Brisbane.
Full...
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s festival hit The Assassin, which won him best director at Cannes this year, has been nominated for three prizes at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The film will compete for best feature, achievement in directing for Hou Hsiao-Hsien and achievement in cinematography for Mark Lee Ping-Bing.
Other nominees in the best feature category include multi-territory co-production Cementery Of Splendour, Korean feature End Of Winter and Japanese/French drama Journey To The Shore.
Elsewhere, France’s foreign language Oscar submission Mustang received a best youth feature film nod, while Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look Of Silence will compete for best documentary.
A total of 39 films from 22 countries have received nominations.
The awards ceremony takes place on Thursday 26 November at City Hall, Brisbane.
Full...
- 10/22/2015
- ScreenDaily
The Assassin will compete for best feature at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards on Nov 26.Scroll down for the full list
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s festival hit The Assassin, which won him best director at Cannes this year, has been nominated for three prizes at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The film will compete for best feature, achievement in directing for Hou Hsiao-Hsien and achievement in cinematography for Mark Lee Ping-Bing.
Other nominees in the best feature category include multi-territory co-production Cementery Of Splendour, Korean feature End Of Winter and Japanese/French drama Journey To The Shore.
Elsewhere, France’s foreign language Oscar submission Mustang received a best youth feature film nod, while Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look Of Silence will compete for best documentary.
A total of 39 films from 22 countries have received nominations.
The awards ceremony takes place on Thursday 26 November at City Hall, Brisbane.
Full...
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s festival hit The Assassin, which won him best director at Cannes this year, has been nominated for three prizes at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The film will compete for best feature, achievement in directing for Hou Hsiao-Hsien and achievement in cinematography for Mark Lee Ping-Bing.
Other nominees in the best feature category include multi-territory co-production Cementery Of Splendour, Korean feature End Of Winter and Japanese/French drama Journey To The Shore.
Elsewhere, France’s foreign language Oscar submission Mustang received a best youth feature film nod, while Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look Of Silence will compete for best documentary.
A total of 39 films from 22 countries have received nominations.
The awards ceremony takes place on Thursday 26 November at City Hall, Brisbane.
Full...
- 10/22/2015
- ScreenDaily
Legende and Parts & Labor scripts among development projects at Mia market.
Projects from producer Alain Goldman and directors Hana Makhmalbaf and Sally Potter are among scripts being presented in Rome as part of the Mia’s New Cinema Network (Ncn) and Make It With Italy co-production strands.
In the Ncn strand, La Vie En Rose producer Goldman of Paris-based Legende is in development on English-language Us-set drama Mustang from actress and writer-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnere (Girafada), director of well-received shorts Rabbit and Atlantic Avenue.
Mustang charts the story of an inmate serving an 11-year prison sentence who is given the chance to participate in an unusual therapy programme.
Legende, currently in pre-production on buzzed-about thriller Hhhh, is also supporting Romanian drama 237 Years from first-time filmmaker Iona Mischie.
Paris-based Incognito Films is in development on English-language drama Mobile Homes while English-language fracking romance 50 Miles From Boomtown teams Swiss outfit Turnus Film with Love Is Strange producers Parts & Labor...
Projects from producer Alain Goldman and directors Hana Makhmalbaf and Sally Potter are among scripts being presented in Rome as part of the Mia’s New Cinema Network (Ncn) and Make It With Italy co-production strands.
In the Ncn strand, La Vie En Rose producer Goldman of Paris-based Legende is in development on English-language Us-set drama Mustang from actress and writer-director Laure de Clermont-Tonnere (Girafada), director of well-received shorts Rabbit and Atlantic Avenue.
Mustang charts the story of an inmate serving an 11-year prison sentence who is given the chance to participate in an unusual therapy programme.
Legende, currently in pre-production on buzzed-about thriller Hhhh, is also supporting Romanian drama 237 Years from first-time filmmaker Iona Mischie.
Paris-based Incognito Films is in development on English-language drama Mobile Homes while English-language fracking romance 50 Miles From Boomtown teams Swiss outfit Turnus Film with Love Is Strange producers Parts & Labor...
- 10/18/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Busan’s Asian Film Market closed today with Hana Makhmalbaf’s London Stories picking up the top Busan Award at the Asian Project Market.
Producer Maysam Makhmalbaf told ScreenDaily: “Last time we had The President in Apm with my father directing, and it screened in Busan the next year - last year.
“This time, we are here with a project for Hana and we hope the same will happen again next year.”
Following four women over a 24-hour period in the UK capital, the project aims to delve into the different layers and cultures of the city’s modern society.
Yu Lik-Wai’s China-France co-production A Means To An End picked up the Dexter Studios Award. Produced by Francois Da Silva, the project features a French drifter who gets caught up in the underworld of professional gambling in Hong Kong and Macau.
Sponsored by major Korean entertainment media company Next Entertainment World (New), the inaugural New Creator...
Producer Maysam Makhmalbaf told ScreenDaily: “Last time we had The President in Apm with my father directing, and it screened in Busan the next year - last year.
“This time, we are here with a project for Hana and we hope the same will happen again next year.”
Following four women over a 24-hour period in the UK capital, the project aims to delve into the different layers and cultures of the city’s modern society.
Yu Lik-Wai’s China-France co-production A Means To An End picked up the Dexter Studios Award. Produced by Francois Da Silva, the project features a French drifter who gets caught up in the underworld of professional gambling in Hong Kong and Macau.
Sponsored by major Korean entertainment media company Next Entertainment World (New), the inaugural New Creator...
- 10/6/2015
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
The 26th Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) is set to pay tribute to Iranian filmmaker in exile Mohsen Makhmalbaf with a retrospective and an honorary award.
Sgiff executive director Yuni Hadi, said; “Makhmalbaf’s films have been a regular feature in the history of Sgiff, with Gabbeh opening the festival in 1997, and Kandahar in 2002.
“His unyielding efforts in conveying the untold stories of a region through film, in honest and profound ways, are unmatched.
“We celebrate and pay tribute to his perseverance, fervour and conviction as both artist and advocate, and strongly believe that he will inspire future generations of filmmakers to continue telling our Asian story.”
The critically acclaimed auteur has produced more than 20 works since 1983, examining themes around social and political circumstances.
Sgiff’s special showcase will include his latest feature The President (2014) as well as other award-winning films such as The Cyclist (1987), Salaam Cinema (1994), Gabbeh (1995) and A Moment of Innocence (1995).
Makhmalbaf will give a...
Sgiff executive director Yuni Hadi, said; “Makhmalbaf’s films have been a regular feature in the history of Sgiff, with Gabbeh opening the festival in 1997, and Kandahar in 2002.
“His unyielding efforts in conveying the untold stories of a region through film, in honest and profound ways, are unmatched.
“We celebrate and pay tribute to his perseverance, fervour and conviction as both artist and advocate, and strongly believe that he will inspire future generations of filmmakers to continue telling our Asian story.”
The critically acclaimed auteur has produced more than 20 works since 1983, examining themes around social and political circumstances.
Sgiff’s special showcase will include his latest feature The President (2014) as well as other award-winning films such as The Cyclist (1987), Salaam Cinema (1994), Gabbeh (1995) and A Moment of Innocence (1995).
Makhmalbaf will give a...
- 10/1/2015
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Iranian film-maker Makhmalbaf endorses international outcry over 20-year jail sentence imposed on Ukrainian director convicted of terrorism
The Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf has added his voice to international protests over the plight of Oleg Sentsov, the Ukrainian director serving a 20-year jail sentence after being convicted on terrorism charges in Russia, by dedicating his acceptance of the prestigious Robert Bresson prize to the jailed film-maker.
Makhmalbaf, the acclaimed director of such films as Gabbeh, Kandahar and most recently The President, prepared a statement in which he described Sentsov’s conviction as a “major injustice” and branded the sentencing “outrageous”. He went on to say: “No national revival is possible on the basis of lies and propaganda … the way to a better future can start only with an act of magnanimity, mercy, and understanding. Oleg Sentsov should make new films, not count years in prison.”
Continue reading...
The Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf has added his voice to international protests over the plight of Oleg Sentsov, the Ukrainian director serving a 20-year jail sentence after being convicted on terrorism charges in Russia, by dedicating his acceptance of the prestigious Robert Bresson prize to the jailed film-maker.
Makhmalbaf, the acclaimed director of such films as Gabbeh, Kandahar and most recently The President, prepared a statement in which he described Sentsov’s conviction as a “major injustice” and branded the sentencing “outrageous”. He went on to say: “No national revival is possible on the basis of lies and propaganda … the way to a better future can start only with an act of magnanimity, mercy, and understanding. Oleg Sentsov should make new films, not count years in prison.”
Continue reading...
- 9/7/2015
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf has dedicated the Robert Bresson Award to imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.
The award was presented this morning (Sept 7) during the Venice Film Festival by the Fondazione ente dello Spettacolo (FedS) and the cinema magazine Rivista del Cinematografo in recognition of “a director who has given testimony of the difficult path towards the search for the spiritual meaning of life”.
Founded in 1999, the award has been received in past years by directors such as Manoel de Oliveira, Alexander Sokurov, Ken Loach and Wim Wenders.
Makhmalbaf’s most recent film, The President, was shown in Venice last year.
Speaking to ScreenDaily ahead of the award ceremony, Makhmalbaf said that he had been made aware of Sentsov’s fate by festival programming director Alexey Medvedev when he served as jury president at the On The Edge Film Festival in the Russian Far East town of Sakhalin last month.
¨In recent...
The award was presented this morning (Sept 7) during the Venice Film Festival by the Fondazione ente dello Spettacolo (FedS) and the cinema magazine Rivista del Cinematografo in recognition of “a director who has given testimony of the difficult path towards the search for the spiritual meaning of life”.
Founded in 1999, the award has been received in past years by directors such as Manoel de Oliveira, Alexander Sokurov, Ken Loach and Wim Wenders.
Makhmalbaf’s most recent film, The President, was shown in Venice last year.
Speaking to ScreenDaily ahead of the award ceremony, Makhmalbaf said that he had been made aware of Sentsov’s fate by festival programming director Alexey Medvedev when he served as jury president at the On The Edge Film Festival in the Russian Far East town of Sakhalin last month.
¨In recent...
- 9/7/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
★★★★☆ Iranian Mohsen Makhmalbaf opened last year's Venice Orizzonti sidebar with The President (2014), which attains the open force of a parable while at the same time maintaining the excitement and tension of a political thriller. Georgian actor Misha Gomiashvili plays the President of the title, who reigns over an unnamed country. His grandson (Dachi Orvelashvili) sits on his knee, dressed in a military uniform and asks for ice cream, which he's not allowed for health reasons. To distract the boy, the President has him order by telephone that all the lights in the city be turned off. It's a brilliantly absurd moment showing the childishness, flippancy and immorality of absolute power.
- 8/25/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The film team review this week's new releases, including The Wolfpack, about a gang of brothers raised in semi-isolation and Gemma Bovery, a sleepy adaptation of the Posy Simmonds comic, starring Gemma Arterton
Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes join Xan Brooks for our weekly round-up of the big cinema releases. This week the team wonder howl honest The Wolfpack, a documentary about a gang of brothers raised in semi-isolation, is being with us; watch Gemma Arterton wander listlessly around rural France in Posy Simmonds adaptation Gemma Bovery; follow Alejandro Jodorowsky on a wonky waltz through his childhood in The Dance of Reality; and see a dictator plummet from power in Mohsen Makhmalbaf's satire The President
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Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes join Xan Brooks for our weekly round-up of the big cinema releases. This week the team wonder howl honest The Wolfpack, a documentary about a gang of brothers raised in semi-isolation, is being with us; watch Gemma Arterton wander listlessly around rural France in Posy Simmonds adaptation Gemma Bovery; follow Alejandro Jodorowsky on a wonky waltz through his childhood in The Dance of Reality; and see a dictator plummet from power in Mohsen Makhmalbaf's satire The President
Continue reading...
- 8/20/2015
- by Presented by Xan Brooks, with Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes. Produced by Andrea Salvatici
- The Guardian - Film News
Peter Bradshaw and Henry Barnes join Xan Brooks for our weekly round-up of the big cinema releases. This week the team wonder howl honest The Wolfpack, a documentary about a gang of brothers raised in semi-isolation, is being with us; watch Gemma Arterton wander listlessly around rural France in Posy Simmonds adaptation Gemma Bovery; follow Alejandro Jodorowsky on a wonky waltz through his childhood in The Dance of Reality; and see a dictator plummet from power in Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s satire The President
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 8/20/2015
- by Xan Brooks, Peter Bradshaw, Henry Barnes, Dan Susman and Andrea Salvatici
- The Guardian - Film News
In this excerpt from the Guardian film show Xan Brooks, Henry Barnes and Peter Bradshaw review Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s satire about a dictator barged out of his seat of power in an unnamed country. Starring Georgian actor Misha Gomiashvilli as the hapless autocrat running from his own people, The President is released in the UK on Friday 21 August
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Continue reading...
- 8/20/2015
- by Xan Brooks, Henry Barnes, Peter Bradshaw, Dan Susman and Andrea Salvatici
- The Guardian - Film News
Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s film centres on a dictator’s final days in a country taken over by revolutionists.
Independent film distributor Swipe Films has acquired the UK and Irish rights to UK-French-Georgian-German co-production The President, from Bac Films International
The film is directed by Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who lives in exile in London and Paris.
Makhmalbaf was tortured and spent five years in prison in Tehran as a teenager when he was shot by a policeman while protesting the dictatorship of the Shah of Iran.
The President was shot entirely in Georgia and tells the story of a revolution and the collapse of a dictatorship. It is inspired by the different revolutions taking place in Iran and the Middle East in recent years.
“It is a modern fable about power, reconciliation, and the hope for breaking a never ending circle of violence, exploring the possibility of stopping the violence after a revolution in search of freedom...
Independent film distributor Swipe Films has acquired the UK and Irish rights to UK-French-Georgian-German co-production The President, from Bac Films International
The film is directed by Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who lives in exile in London and Paris.
Makhmalbaf was tortured and spent five years in prison in Tehran as a teenager when he was shot by a policeman while protesting the dictatorship of the Shah of Iran.
The President was shot entirely in Georgia and tells the story of a revolution and the collapse of a dictatorship. It is inspired by the different revolutions taking place in Iran and the Middle East in recent years.
“It is a modern fable about power, reconciliation, and the hope for breaking a never ending circle of violence, exploring the possibility of stopping the violence after a revolution in search of freedom...
- 8/14/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
He’s been jailed, poisoned, banned and bombed. But film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf won’t stop asking tough questions. As The President, his new satire about a toppled dictator living in disguise, goes on release, the exiled Iranian explains why oppressed people are also to blame for tyranny
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is fidgeting in his seat. “In the cinema,” he says, “I tend to drive people next to me insane. I can’t sit on my ass. I have to constantly move.” Over lunch, in this top-floor restaurant overlooking St Paul’s cathedral in London, he changes seats twice.
Makhmalbaf, one of Iran’s most prominent directors, is restless by nature. Constantly thinking of new ideas, endlessly curious about the world, he has made a film and written a book every year since 1981. In his home by the Thames, he has a stack of two dozen scripts on standby. He is by...
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is fidgeting in his seat. “In the cinema,” he says, “I tend to drive people next to me insane. I can’t sit on my ass. I have to constantly move.” Over lunch, in this top-floor restaurant overlooking St Paul’s cathedral in London, he changes seats twice.
Makhmalbaf, one of Iran’s most prominent directors, is restless by nature. Constantly thinking of new ideas, endlessly curious about the world, he has made a film and written a book every year since 1981. In his home by the Thames, he has a stack of two dozen scripts on standby. He is by...
- 8/10/2015
- by Saeed Kamali Dehghan
- The Guardian - Film News
Filipino director Lav Diaz among jury members.
Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf is to serve as president of the International Competition jury for the 5th On The Edge (Kray Sveta) International Film Festival (Aug 21-28) on the Russian island of Sakhalin in the North Pacific Ocean.
The jury will comprise: Filipino director Lav Diaz, who won Locarno’s Golden Leopard last year for From What Is Before; leading Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky, who made a recent foray into Hollywood with Vampire Academy; and actress Anna Chipovskaya whose recent credits include Shpion and Yolki 3.
Makhmalbaf’s last feature, The President, will be shown during the festival as a Russian premiere, and there will also be screenings of his documentary Daddy’s School. Diaz’s five-hour epic, From What Is Before, is also set to screen at the festival.
The Competition section is set to include such titles as Kim Ki-Duk’s latest feature Stop; Armenian filmmaker Aram Shakhbadzian...
Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf is to serve as president of the International Competition jury for the 5th On The Edge (Kray Sveta) International Film Festival (Aug 21-28) on the Russian island of Sakhalin in the North Pacific Ocean.
The jury will comprise: Filipino director Lav Diaz, who won Locarno’s Golden Leopard last year for From What Is Before; leading Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky, who made a recent foray into Hollywood with Vampire Academy; and actress Anna Chipovskaya whose recent credits include Shpion and Yolki 3.
Makhmalbaf’s last feature, The President, will be shown during the festival as a Russian premiere, and there will also be screenings of his documentary Daddy’s School. Diaz’s five-hour epic, From What Is Before, is also set to screen at the festival.
The Competition section is set to include such titles as Kim Ki-Duk’s latest feature Stop; Armenian filmmaker Aram Shakhbadzian...
- 7/30/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Hosts of Michel Hazanavicius’s The Search and Transporter 3 set to add rebates; Ukraine to join Creative Europe framework.
Georgia and Ukraine are set to become the latest countries to introduce tax incentives in order to attract foreign productions to shoot in their locations.
Speaking at this week’s Film Industry Office forum in Odessa, David Vashadze, head of export and distribution at the Georgian National Film Center (Gnfc), revealed that a tax rebate scheme will be launched from next January.
Foreign producers wishing to benefit from the scheme will be required to reach a minimum of spend of $300,000 in Georgia and fulfil a minimum of three days of shooting in the country.
The minimum spend will be reduced to $150,000 for documentary projects.
The rebate would be 20% of the qualifying expenses and an additional 2% could be paid if there are more Georgian elements such as the hiring of local cast or the promotion of Georgian culture...
Georgia and Ukraine are set to become the latest countries to introduce tax incentives in order to attract foreign productions to shoot in their locations.
Speaking at this week’s Film Industry Office forum in Odessa, David Vashadze, head of export and distribution at the Georgian National Film Center (Gnfc), revealed that a tax rebate scheme will be launched from next January.
Foreign producers wishing to benefit from the scheme will be required to reach a minimum of spend of $300,000 in Georgia and fulfil a minimum of three days of shooting in the country.
The minimum spend will be reduced to $150,000 for documentary projects.
The rebate would be 20% of the qualifying expenses and an additional 2% could be paid if there are more Georgian elements such as the hiring of local cast or the promotion of Georgian culture...
- 7/17/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Italian-language film could shoot this autumn in Southern Italy.
Iranian director Hana Makhmalbaf unveiled first details of her upcoming film Single Mother at the Paris Coproduction Village (June 10-12) last week.
The inter-generational drama revolves around a young single mother who leaves her six-year-old daughter in the care of an older woman when she leaves her small town in southern Italy to look for work in the north of the country.
“Although the synopsis says it’s about a 22-year girl living in Italy, this story could happen anywhere in the world,” said Makhmalbaf on the fringes of the coproduction event. “I wanted to capture the situation of three generations of women in the world today.”
The new project is her first film since Green Days, about an Iranian playwright struggling with creative block against the backdrop of the political clashes that broke out after the contested presidential elections in 2009.
It premiered out of competition at Venice...
Iranian director Hana Makhmalbaf unveiled first details of her upcoming film Single Mother at the Paris Coproduction Village (June 10-12) last week.
The inter-generational drama revolves around a young single mother who leaves her six-year-old daughter in the care of an older woman when she leaves her small town in southern Italy to look for work in the north of the country.
“Although the synopsis says it’s about a 22-year girl living in Italy, this story could happen anywhere in the world,” said Makhmalbaf on the fringes of the coproduction event. “I wanted to capture the situation of three generations of women in the world today.”
The new project is her first film since Green Days, about an Iranian playwright struggling with creative block against the backdrop of the political clashes that broke out after the contested presidential elections in 2009.
It premiered out of competition at Venice...
- 6/17/2015
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) have pacted with Tbilisi-based 20 Steps Productions and The Caucasian Film Service on a three-picture deal to be shot in 2015/16.
The arrangement follows the three companies’ partnership shooting and co-producing in Georgia on Pawel Pawlikowski scripted Lost in Karastan, starring Matthew Macfadyen, and Venice opener The President, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
First up to start later this year is How to Sell a War, scripted by Tim Price and director Rudolph Herzog. Producers are Sam Taylor, Mike Downey and Vladimer Katcharava.
Development of the project is being co-financed with Creative England. Following an initial recce to the Caucasus earlier in the year, a first draft is due soon after this year’s Cannes market.
The film tells the story of Peggy, a naïve but ambitious young woman with a crippling physical disability, who gets thrown into the deep end when she starts her new career in PR at a high-profile company...
The arrangement follows the three companies’ partnership shooting and co-producing in Georgia on Pawel Pawlikowski scripted Lost in Karastan, starring Matthew Macfadyen, and Venice opener The President, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
First up to start later this year is How to Sell a War, scripted by Tim Price and director Rudolph Herzog. Producers are Sam Taylor, Mike Downey and Vladimer Katcharava.
Development of the project is being co-financed with Creative England. Following an initial recce to the Caucasus earlier in the year, a first draft is due soon after this year’s Cannes market.
The film tells the story of Peggy, a naïve but ambitious young woman with a crippling physical disability, who gets thrown into the deep end when she starts her new career in PR at a high-profile company...
- 5/17/2015
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Political satire starring Matthew Macfadyen co-written by Ida’s Pawel Pawlikowski.
Black comedy Lost in Karastan has been picked up by Bulldog Films for a UK theatrical release this autumn alongside a simultaneous digital rollout.
Michael Cowan’s Phoenix World Entertainment handles international sales on the political satire, which stars Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina) as a British filmmaker hired by the president of Karastan to make an epic movie about the European region.
Ben Hopkins directs from a script he co-wrote with Ida director Pawel Pawlikowski.
The film, which opened the London Comedy Festival in January, is also being released this month across Germany by Piffl Medien as Welcome to Karastan, following its award winning success at the Hamburg Film Festival.
A release in the Cis territories will begin on May 15 through 20 Steps, and further summer festival dates for the film are being lined up including Motovun and Cluj following recent screenings in Prague and Sofia...
Black comedy Lost in Karastan has been picked up by Bulldog Films for a UK theatrical release this autumn alongside a simultaneous digital rollout.
Michael Cowan’s Phoenix World Entertainment handles international sales on the political satire, which stars Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina) as a British filmmaker hired by the president of Karastan to make an epic movie about the European region.
Ben Hopkins directs from a script he co-wrote with Ida director Pawel Pawlikowski.
The film, which opened the London Comedy Festival in January, is also being released this month across Germany by Piffl Medien as Welcome to Karastan, following its award winning success at the Hamburg Film Festival.
A release in the Cis territories will begin on May 15 through 20 Steps, and further summer festival dates for the film are being lined up including Motovun and Cluj following recent screenings in Prague and Sofia...
- 5/12/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Crocodile, directed by the Philippines’ Francis Xavier Pasion, won the Grand Prize at this year’s Tokyo Filmex film festival (November 22-30).
Set in the southern Philippines, the film follows a mother’s search for the body of her daughter who was attacked by a crocodile. The Filmex jury, headed by Chinese director Jia Zhangke, said that “the film’s strength lies in its honest and cohesive directorial style and the vivid expressiveness of its cast”.
The film won also won four awards, including best film, at this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
The special jury prize went to Israeli filmmaker Asaf Korman’s Next To Her, which also picked up the student jury prize. The film, which revolves around two sisters living in Haifa, premiered in this year’s Cannes Directors Fortnight section.
A special mention went to Shadow Days, from China’s Zhao Dayong, which premiered in this year’s Berlin Forum, while...
Set in the southern Philippines, the film follows a mother’s search for the body of her daughter who was attacked by a crocodile. The Filmex jury, headed by Chinese director Jia Zhangke, said that “the film’s strength lies in its honest and cohesive directorial style and the vivid expressiveness of its cast”.
The film won also won four awards, including best film, at this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
The special jury prize went to Israeli filmmaker Asaf Korman’s Next To Her, which also picked up the student jury prize. The film, which revolves around two sisters living in Haifa, premiered in this year’s Cannes Directors Fortnight section.
A special mention went to Shadow Days, from China’s Zhao Dayong, which premiered in this year’s Berlin Forum, while...
- 12/1/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Busy with the schedule of films, Amitabh Bachchan will be taking time out to attend the festival that celebrates the art of filmmaking, the 45th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) which will be held in Goa from November 20 to 30.
While Amitabh Bachchan will attend the ceremony as the chief guest, the festival will also honour the work of superstar Rajinikanth by conferring him with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.
Moreover, the festival will have films coming from the globe whereby it will screen 170 films that have come from 75 countries. The President directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf will be screened at the opening ceremony and The Grandmaster by Wong Kar-wai will be a part of closing ceremony.
Also, special features on renowned personalities like Gulzar, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen, a tribute to Farooq Sheikh and filmmaker Richard Attenborough is on the cards.
While Amitabh Bachchan will attend the ceremony as the chief guest, the festival will also honour the work of superstar Rajinikanth by conferring him with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.
Moreover, the festival will have films coming from the globe whereby it will screen 170 films that have come from 75 countries. The President directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf will be screened at the opening ceremony and The Grandmaster by Wong Kar-wai will be a part of closing ceremony.
Also, special features on renowned personalities like Gulzar, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen, a tribute to Farooq Sheikh and filmmaker Richard Attenborough is on the cards.
- 11/12/2014
- BollywoodHungama
Wong Kar Wai’s Grandmaster will close Iffi 2014
Celebrated Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the 45th International Film Festival of India (Iffi), to be held in Goa from November 20-30.
The festival will open with Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan will be the Chief Guest of the opening ceremony of the festival to be held on November 20 which will be attended by Chinese film actress Zhang Ziyi and Swedish filmmaker Jan Troell. Polish film maker Krzysztof Zanussi will be the Guest of Honour of the ceremony.
Wong Kar Wai’s Grandmaster will close the festival on November 30.
Superstar Rajnikanth will be honoured with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.
Iffi will hold Retrospectives of filmmakers Gulzar and Jahnu Barua and pay homage to Richard Attenborough, Robin Williams, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen and Farooq Sheikh.
Celebrated Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the 45th International Film Festival of India (Iffi), to be held in Goa from November 20-30.
The festival will open with Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan will be the Chief Guest of the opening ceremony of the festival to be held on November 20 which will be attended by Chinese film actress Zhang Ziyi and Swedish filmmaker Jan Troell. Polish film maker Krzysztof Zanussi will be the Guest of Honour of the ceremony.
Wong Kar Wai’s Grandmaster will close the festival on November 30.
Superstar Rajnikanth will be honoured with the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year.
Iffi will hold Retrospectives of filmmakers Gulzar and Jahnu Barua and pay homage to Richard Attenborough, Robin Williams, Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen and Farooq Sheikh.
- 11/12/2014
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Makhmalbaf’s Conspicuous Allegory
Early on in Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s grimly steadfast The President, you may start by racking your brain for specific references to the ‘unnamed country’ that ends up undergoing a coup, wondering who that omniscient narrator was guiding us through a spectacularly lit city square. We are told that yet another capital punishment is about to transpire under the tyranny of a dictator, a man referred to only by his euphemistic occupation. Signing off on these death sentences, the grizzled leader plays a silly game with his young grandson to show off his spectacular authority by turning the lights on and off in the entire city, and then the lights literally go out on his regime. But as the film progresses, you’ll realize it doesn’t really matter where this is happening as this is an allegory, an unspecified country standing in for many.
Early on in Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s grimly steadfast The President, you may start by racking your brain for specific references to the ‘unnamed country’ that ends up undergoing a coup, wondering who that omniscient narrator was guiding us through a spectacularly lit city square. We are told that yet another capital punishment is about to transpire under the tyranny of a dictator, a man referred to only by his euphemistic occupation. Signing off on these death sentences, the grizzled leader plays a silly game with his young grandson to show off his spectacular authority by turning the lights on and off in the entire city, and then the lights literally go out on his regime. But as the film progresses, you’ll realize it doesn’t really matter where this is happening as this is an allegory, an unspecified country standing in for many.
- 9/6/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Chen-Zer Doze Niu’s Paradise In Service and Lee Bo-Cheung’s Gangster Pay Day to bookend 19th edition.
The 19th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) (Oct 2-11) today announced its line-up with the international premiere of Chen-Zer Doze Niu’s Taiwanese film Paradise In Service as the opening film.
Niu and cast members will be on hand at the opening ceremony on Oct 2, to be emceed by Moon So-ri and Ken Watanabe.
Lee Bo-Cheung’s Hong Kong-China film Gangster Pay Day will receive its world premiere as the closing film on Oct 11. The director as well as stars Anthony Wong and Charlene Choi will be on hand to present the film.
Biff will screen 314 films from 79 countries with 98 world premieres and 36 international premieres.
All the 12 New Currents competition films are world or international premieres, including Amin Dora’s Ghadi, the first Lebanese film to screen in this section, and Jalal’s Story, directed by Abu...
The 19th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) (Oct 2-11) today announced its line-up with the international premiere of Chen-Zer Doze Niu’s Taiwanese film Paradise In Service as the opening film.
Niu and cast members will be on hand at the opening ceremony on Oct 2, to be emceed by Moon So-ri and Ken Watanabe.
Lee Bo-Cheung’s Hong Kong-China film Gangster Pay Day will receive its world premiere as the closing film on Oct 11. The director as well as stars Anthony Wong and Charlene Choi will be on hand to present the film.
Biff will screen 314 films from 79 countries with 98 world premieres and 36 international premieres.
All the 12 New Currents competition films are world or international premieres, including Amin Dora’s Ghadi, the first Lebanese film to screen in this section, and Jalal’s Story, directed by Abu...
- 9/2/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s despot-on-the-run satire gestures to eastern Europe and the fallout of the Arab spring. It’s a gutsy and vivid parable, says Peter Bradshaw
• Xan Brooks reviews festival opener, Birdman
• More from the 2014 Venice film festival
Perhaps even Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s most devoted admirers weren’t expecting his latest film - here opening the Festival’s Orrizonti sidebar section - to be quite so absorbing and gripping. But that’s what it is, and the director discloses a unsuspected gift for satire and suspense, along with some old-fashioned storytelling gusto. Makhmalbaf is the co-screenwriter with his partner, Marziyeh Meshkiny - herself an established film-maker - and they have between them created a gutsy drama and a vivid parable. It’s the sort of movie that Milos Foreman might have directed forty years ago but it feels contemporary and as sharp as a tack. This is a really good film,...
• Xan Brooks reviews festival opener, Birdman
• More from the 2014 Venice film festival
Perhaps even Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s most devoted admirers weren’t expecting his latest film - here opening the Festival’s Orrizonti sidebar section - to be quite so absorbing and gripping. But that’s what it is, and the director discloses a unsuspected gift for satire and suspense, along with some old-fashioned storytelling gusto. Makhmalbaf is the co-screenwriter with his partner, Marziyeh Meshkiny - herself an established film-maker - and they have between them created a gutsy drama and a vivid parable. It’s the sort of movie that Milos Foreman might have directed forty years ago but it feels contemporary and as sharp as a tack. This is a really good film,...
- 8/27/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
UK industry representatives arrive in Sarajevo as part of CineLink Partner Country initiative
Sarajevo’s CineLink Partner Country Initiative has been running for more than a decade, systematically strengthening the working relationship between the Southeast European film industry and its international counterparts.
This year’s Partner Country is the UK, and a delegation of around 20 British producers, sales agents, distributors, agents and festival representatives will be present at CineLink for four intensive days of meeting regional film makers and promoting the possibilities of cooperation with the UK.
As an introduction for the producers from Southeast Europe attending the festival, Isabel Davis, the head of international film fund at the BFI, held a presentation of its recently established minority co-production fund.
“The UK has had a good, long-standing relationship with this festival and this region, and it felt very timely to come here as a partner country,” Davis said.
“While the UK is very talent-driven and actually getting...
Sarajevo’s CineLink Partner Country Initiative has been running for more than a decade, systematically strengthening the working relationship between the Southeast European film industry and its international counterparts.
This year’s Partner Country is the UK, and a delegation of around 20 British producers, sales agents, distributors, agents and festival representatives will be present at CineLink for four intensive days of meeting regional film makers and promoting the possibilities of cooperation with the UK.
As an introduction for the producers from Southeast Europe attending the festival, Isabel Davis, the head of international film fund at the BFI, held a presentation of its recently established minority co-production fund.
“The UK has had a good, long-standing relationship with this festival and this region, and it felt very timely to come here as a partner country,” Davis said.
“While the UK is very talent-driven and actually getting...
- 8/22/2014
- by vladan.petkovic@gmail.com (Vladan Petkovic)
- ScreenDaily
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