Stars: Harold Torres, Tete Espinoza, Norma Reyna | Written by Luis Javier Henaine, Ricardo Aguado-Fentanes | Directed by Luis Javier Henaine
Photography converts the whole world into a cemetery. Photographers, connoisseurs of beauty, are also – wittingly or unwittingly – the recording-angels of death.
– Susan Sontag
Those words appear at the beginning of Disappear Completely (Desaparecer Por Completo), and seem perfectly appropriate as we see Santiago sitting in his car listening to the police radio. He’s a photographer, and he’s waiting to hear what he’ll be covering next. He doesn’t have long to wait before he’s busy shooting pictures of a cuffed suspect, sobbing victims in an ambulance, and, with the help of a bribe, a woman’s corpse.
Santiago works for a Mexican tabloid, one that very firmly believes the old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads”. And he’s excellent at capturing that bleeding on film, regardless of the cost.
Photography converts the whole world into a cemetery. Photographers, connoisseurs of beauty, are also – wittingly or unwittingly – the recording-angels of death.
– Susan Sontag
Those words appear at the beginning of Disappear Completely (Desaparecer Por Completo), and seem perfectly appropriate as we see Santiago sitting in his car listening to the police radio. He’s a photographer, and he’s waiting to hear what he’ll be covering next. He doesn’t have long to wait before he’s busy shooting pictures of a cuffed suspect, sobbing victims in an ambulance, and, with the help of a bribe, a woman’s corpse.
Santiago works for a Mexican tabloid, one that very firmly believes the old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads”. And he’s excellent at capturing that bleeding on film, regardless of the cost.
- 4/16/2024
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
There are three white fortresses that neatly demarcate the divides so evocatively drawn in Igor Drljača’s “The White Fortress,” recently named Bosnia and Herzegovina’s submission for the 94th Oscars. There’s the grim, encircling tower block in which scrappy low-level hustler Faruk (Pavle Čemerkić) lives with his grandmother. There’s the modernist dream home perched on a hill that belongs to the wealthy, distant, politically corrupt parents of teenager Mona (Sumeja Dardagan). And there’s the famous late-medieval White Fortress, or Bijela Tabija, the national monument that overlooks Sarajevo, where Faruk and Mona spend a single night of their doomed romance in an embrace that inevitably dissolves in the cold light of morning.
The love-across-the-social-divide narrative is hardly new, but writer-director Drljača turns familiarity into an advantage. Along with a gently intense performance from pale-eyed rising Balkan star Čemerkić, it allows him to pay attention to...
The love-across-the-social-divide narrative is hardly new, but writer-director Drljača turns familiarity into an advantage. Along with a gently intense performance from pale-eyed rising Balkan star Čemerkić, it allows him to pay attention to...
- 12/7/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Hardly a decade ago the film industry in Serbia was in a state of crisis. The state-funded film center had failed to secure its annual budget for 2011. Production was in the doldrums. For a proud country with a rich cinematic legacy dating back to the glory days of the former Yugoslavia, alarm bells were ringing.
Fast-forward eight years and Belgrade is humming. In September alone, 18 foreign and domestic film and TV projects were in production around the Serbian capital. Two dozen local features were released this year, including eight from first-time fiction directors — a wave of young filmmakers breathing fresh life into the biz. Across this historic city sitting at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, hopes are high that the Serbian industry can become the linchpin for the wider Balkan region.
“It’s amazing. We’re really proud of that kind of progress,” says Gordan Matić, director of Film Center Serbia.
Fast-forward eight years and Belgrade is humming. In September alone, 18 foreign and domestic film and TV projects were in production around the Serbian capital. Two dozen local features were released this year, including eight from first-time fiction directors — a wave of young filmmakers breathing fresh life into the biz. Across this historic city sitting at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, hopes are high that the Serbian industry can become the linchpin for the wider Balkan region.
“It’s amazing. We’re really proud of that kind of progress,” says Gordan Matić, director of Film Center Serbia.
- 12/20/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
A wide and varied selection of industry events, ranging from film and television to video games, formed the rich industry programme of this year's Zagreb Film Festival. The 17th edition of the Zagreb Film Festival presented a wide and varied selection of industry events, mixing the staple diet of workshops such as My First Script, My First Video Game and Industry Youth! (pitching workshop and forum) with master classes and panels held by established professionals. This year's choice of topics saw the trend of spreading the focus from strictly cinema to other branches of the audiovisual industry such as television and video games. My First Script had started to bear fruits in the previous two editions of the Zagreb Film Festival, with Elmir Jukić's The Frog screened two years ago and last year's Golden Pram winner, Ognjen Glavonić's The Load. This year, another project developed through the workshop, Dana Budisavljević's.
- 11/19/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of visionary filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile, we ask the filmmaker to identify their all time top ten favorite films. We looked back at the incredible 2018/19 launch year for Ognjen Glavonić‘s The Load — it began his festival life at the Directors’ Fortnight (2018) and recently saw his film get theatrically released via Grasshopper Film (August 30th). We asked Ognjen to identify the films with the mostest — so in A to Z order, here are Glavonić’s top ten films as of September 2019.…...
- 9/25/2019
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
“There Was Almost a Competition to See Who Could Spit on the Film More”: Ognjen Glavonić on The Load
A road trip movie where the destination is clear but the intent is hidden, Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load is something of a taut genre film with political subtext. Set in Yugoslavia during the 1999 Kosovo War (that ultimately concluded with the catastrophic Nato bombing that went unapproved by the Un Security Council), The Load goes micro in its study of a truck driver who’s trying to make ends meet by driving unknown cargo from one destination to another. What he’s transporting, he doesn’t bother to ask and he certainly doesn’t want to know. Drab and dreary, war-torn and ravaged, The […]...
- 8/30/2019
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
“There Was Almost a Competition to See Who Could Spit on the Film More”: Ognjen Glavonić on The Load
A road trip movie where the destination is clear but the intent is hidden, Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load is something of a taut genre film with political subtext. Set in Yugoslavia during the 1999 Kosovo War (that ultimately concluded with the catastrophic Nato bombing that went unapproved by the Un Security Council), The Load goes micro in its study of a truck driver who’s trying to make ends meet by driving unknown cargo from one destination to another. What he’s transporting, he doesn’t bother to ask and he certainly doesn’t want to know. Drab and dreary, war-torn and ravaged, The […]...
- 8/30/2019
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Anyone who admired the chutzpah of “Sorcerer” but thought that William Friedkin went off the rails in remaking “The Wages of Fear” will have an easier time with “The Load,” another wartime thriller largely confined to the inside of a truck.
Ognjen Glavonić’s narrative feature debut, which premiered at Cannes last year before continuing its tour of the festival circuit at Toronto and New Directors/New Films, concerns a long-haul drive from Kosovo to Belgrade during Nato’s 1999 bombing of Serbia. Behind the wheel is middle-aged Vlada (Leon Lučev), who’s been tasked with covertly transporting, well, something. What it is, he has no idea.
They say that the journey counts more than the destination, and so it is here. The plot, such as it is, kicks into gear upon the discovery of a fire blocking the main route, necessitating one detour after another for our intrepid driver.
Ognjen Glavonić’s narrative feature debut, which premiered at Cannes last year before continuing its tour of the festival circuit at Toronto and New Directors/New Films, concerns a long-haul drive from Kosovo to Belgrade during Nato’s 1999 bombing of Serbia. Behind the wheel is middle-aged Vlada (Leon Lučev), who’s been tasked with covertly transporting, well, something. What it is, he has no idea.
They say that the journey counts more than the destination, and so it is here. The plot, such as it is, kicks into gear upon the discovery of a fire blocking the main route, necessitating one detour after another for our intrepid driver.
- 8/28/2019
- by Michael Nordine
- The Wrap
History, memory, and female-driven stories mark some of the main themes in the six Serbian films selected for Locarno’s First Look, a pix-in-post strand that represents one of the high points of the mid-summer festival on the shores of Lake Maggiore.
The competitive showcase this year highlights an industry that has become increasingly prolific in the past decade. Thanks in large part to an uptick in government funding, which has opened the door for more international collaborations, it’s also grown in scope and ambition. “The industry itself, in terms of production power, it’s growing,” said First Look project manager Markus Duffner. More importantly, he added, young Serbian producers are “rapidly growing in terms of international industry experience.”
As part of its partnership with Locarno, Film Center Serbia selected six projects – including five documentary features – with all but one in post-production. Four of the six films are helmed by female directors.
The competitive showcase this year highlights an industry that has become increasingly prolific in the past decade. Thanks in large part to an uptick in government funding, which has opened the door for more international collaborations, it’s also grown in scope and ambition. “The industry itself, in terms of production power, it’s growing,” said First Look project manager Markus Duffner. More importantly, he added, young Serbian producers are “rapidly growing in terms of international industry experience.”
As part of its partnership with Locarno, Film Center Serbia selected six projects – including five documentary features – with all but one in post-production. Four of the six films are helmed by female directors.
- 8/9/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
SauvageNew Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf) returns to the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Museum of Modern Art for its 48th edition, and once again proves that for New Yorkers it’s the key festival to discover an exciting new crop of young filmmakers, most of them presenting debut or second features. The program includes some movies previously covered on Notebook: Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Ms Slavic 7, Peter Parlow’s The Plagiarists, and Mark Jenkin’s Bait (Berlin Film Festival premieres), Andrea Bussmann’s Fausto (Locarno Festival), Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s Manta Ray (Venice), Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load (Directors' Fortnight), and Eva Torbisch’s All Is Good (Locarno). While diverse, overall, this year’s slate is thoughtful and yet agile, with films that invite both risk and ambiguity.Not since Agnès Varda’s Vagabond (1985) has there been a film in which the main character drifts into willful dissolution with as...
- 3/26/2019
- MUBI
Iffr under way with world premiere of Sacha Polak’s Dirty God.
The 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam got underway last night with the sold-out world premiere of Sacha Polak’s Dirty God at the city’s Schouwburg Grote Zaal.
In his opening speech, festival director Bero Beyer highlighted many of the challenges facing modern society, and discussed how the cinematic medium plays into that discourse.
“It’s 2019 and the era of facts - or whatever truth used to be - is definitely behind us,” Beyer began. “Yet when looked at with Vulcan-like rationality many developments in the world...
The 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam got underway last night with the sold-out world premiere of Sacha Polak’s Dirty God at the city’s Schouwburg Grote Zaal.
In his opening speech, festival director Bero Beyer highlighted many of the challenges facing modern society, and discussed how the cinematic medium plays into that discourse.
“It’s 2019 and the era of facts - or whatever truth used to be - is definitely behind us,” Beyer began. “Yet when looked at with Vulcan-like rationality many developments in the world...
- 1/24/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Iffr under way with world premiere of Sacha Polak’s Dirty God.
The 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam got underway last night with the sold-out world premiere of Sacha Polak’s Dirty God at the city’s Schouwburg Grote Zaal.
In his opening speech, festival director Bero Beyer highlighted many of the challenges facing modern society, and discussed how the cinematic medium plays into that discourse.
“It’s 2019 and the era of facts - or whatever truth used to be - is definitely behind us,” Beyer began. “Yet when looked at with Vulcan-like rationality many developments in the world...
The 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam got underway last night with the sold-out world premiere of Sacha Polak’s Dirty God at the city’s Schouwburg Grote Zaal.
In his opening speech, festival director Bero Beyer highlighted many of the challenges facing modern society, and discussed how the cinematic medium plays into that discourse.
“It’s 2019 and the era of facts - or whatever truth used to be - is definitely behind us,” Beyer began. “Yet when looked at with Vulcan-like rationality many developments in the world...
- 1/24/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Around The World When You Were My AgeThe titles for the 48th International Film Festival Rotterdam are being announced in anticipation of the event running January 23 – February 3, 2018. We will update the program as new films are revealed.Tiger COMPETITIONSons of Denmark (Ulaa Salim)Take Me Somewhere Nice (Ena Sendijarević)Present.Perfect. (Shengze Zhu)Sheena667 (Grigory Dobrygin)Nona. If They Soak Me, I’ll Burn Them (Camila José Donoso)Koko-di Koko-da (Johannes Nyholm)Els dies que vindran (Carlos Marqués-Marcet)Bright Future COMPETITIONAlva (Ico Costa)Chèche lavi (Sam Ellison)De nuevo otra vez (Romina Paula)Doozy (Richard Squires)Dreissig (Simona Kostova)Ende der Saison (Elmar Imanov)Fabiana (Brunna Laboissière)The Gold-Laden Sheep & the Sacred Mountain (Ridham Janve)Heroes (Köken Ergun)Historia de mi nombre (Karin Cuyul)Last Night I Saw You Smiling (Kavich Neang)Lost Holiday (Michael Kerry Matthews/Thomas Matthews)Maggie (Yi Okseop)Mens (Isabelle Prim)No Data Plan (Miko Revereza...
- 1/9/2019
- MUBI
Lila Avilès, Aenne Schwarz, Sudabeh Mortezai, Nidhal Saadi and Ognjen Glavonić Photo: Courtesy of Marrakech Film Festival
Joy took home the Golden Star for best film as the 17th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival drew to a close last night.
The Austrian film, directed by Sudabeh Mortezai tells the story of a young Nigerian woman who becomes caught in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking. It continues a strong awards run for Joy, which was also named Best Film at London Film Festival.
Mortezai, who received the prize from Monica Bellucci, said that she hoped the award would help the untold story "get greater visibility".
The Jury Prize was given to The Chambermaid (La Camarista), directed by Lila Avilès - a character study of a hotel maid - and the Best Directing accolade was awarded to Serbian director Ognjen Glavonic for The Load (Teret), a drama set against the 1999 Nato bombing of Serbia.
Joy took home the Golden Star for best film as the 17th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival drew to a close last night.
The Austrian film, directed by Sudabeh Mortezai tells the story of a young Nigerian woman who becomes caught in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking. It continues a strong awards run for Joy, which was also named Best Film at London Film Festival.
Mortezai, who received the prize from Monica Bellucci, said that she hoped the award would help the untold story "get greater visibility".
The Jury Prize was given to The Chambermaid (La Camarista), directed by Lila Avilès - a character study of a hotel maid - and the Best Directing accolade was awarded to Serbian director Ognjen Glavonic for The Load (Teret), a drama set against the 1999 Nato bombing of Serbia.
- 12/9/2018
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
During the gala closing ceremony of the 17th edition of the Marrakech Intl. Film Festival, the Golden Star for best film was awarded to Sudabeh Mortezai for her second feature, “Joy,” about a young Nigerian woman forced into prostitution, which recently won best film at the BFI London Film Festival.
Accepting the prize from actress Monica Bellucci, she said: “I’d like to thank all the people who helped me make the movie, especially all the women who talked to me and told me their stories and helped me write the film, and the actresses who made the film with me. I’m very happy that, with this prize, this untold story will get greater visibility.”
The jury prize went to Lila Avilés’ debut feature, “The Chambermaid,” about Eve, a maid in Mexico City’s Hotel Presidente Internacional, which Avilés describes as a “high-class prison.”
Avilés said: “I love Patti Smith.
Accepting the prize from actress Monica Bellucci, she said: “I’d like to thank all the people who helped me make the movie, especially all the women who talked to me and told me their stories and helped me write the film, and the actresses who made the film with me. I’m very happy that, with this prize, this untold story will get greater visibility.”
The jury prize went to Lila Avilés’ debut feature, “The Chambermaid,” about Eve, a maid in Mexico City’s Hotel Presidente Internacional, which Avilés describes as a “high-class prison.”
Avilés said: “I love Patti Smith.
- 12/8/2018
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
The Load is about a man and a van. We’re in Yugoslavia in 1999, where the rumble of Nato bombers can be heard in the distance. The man’s name is Vlada (Leon Luvec) and his job is to drive a container full of who-knows-what from Kosovo to Belgrade, no questions asked. His consignment and consigners are not divulged. Even he sits uneasily in his driver’s seat as worrying clanks emit from his cargo. In times of war what is out of sight can so easily slip out of mind.
The film was written and directed by Ognjen Glavonić, a 33-year-old Serb who grew up close to Belgrade and would have been in his mid-teens when Nato launched their non-Un-security-council-approved campaign to pressure the country into withdrawing its troops from Kosovo. His first feature is an ambitious piece of filmmaking, as thrilling as it is both politically and emotionally serious,...
The film was written and directed by Ognjen Glavonić, a 33-year-old Serb who grew up close to Belgrade and would have been in his mid-teens when Nato launched their non-Un-security-council-approved campaign to pressure the country into withdrawing its troops from Kosovo. His first feature is an ambitious piece of filmmaking, as thrilling as it is both politically and emotionally serious,...
- 12/5/2018
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Festival to kick off with Julian Schnabel’s At Eternity’s Gate.
The Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30-Dec 8) has revealed its 2018 line-up, jury and honorary awards.
The Moroccan festival has been running since 2001, but took a year off in 2017 to “reflect on its editorial line”.
The competition line-up features 14 films from first or second-time directors. Six of the films competing for the Marrakech Etoile d’Or (or the Gold Star) are directed by women. Among the line-up is Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, Kent Jones’ Diane and Eva Trobisch’s All Good.
The festival opens with a gala screening of...
The Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30-Dec 8) has revealed its 2018 line-up, jury and honorary awards.
The Moroccan festival has been running since 2001, but took a year off in 2017 to “reflect on its editorial line”.
The competition line-up features 14 films from first or second-time directors. Six of the films competing for the Marrakech Etoile d’Or (or the Gold Star) are directed by women. Among the line-up is Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, Kent Jones’ Diane and Eva Trobisch’s All Good.
The festival opens with a gala screening of...
- 11/19/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Sergey Dvortsevoy’s Russian drama Ayka wins best film.
Russian director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s Ayka, about a young woman attemping to survive after abandoning her baby in Moscow, was the big winner at Germany’s Filmfestival Cottbus (Nov 6-11), taking home the best film prize in the feature competition as well as prize of the ecumenical jury.
Ayka, which is Dvortsevoy’s second feature, premiered in competition at Cannes earlier this year and is Kazakhstan’s entry for the best foreign- language film Oscar category. The Match Factory is handling international sales.
Russian films regularly garner the main prize in...
Russian director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s Ayka, about a young woman attemping to survive after abandoning her baby in Moscow, was the big winner at Germany’s Filmfestival Cottbus (Nov 6-11), taking home the best film prize in the feature competition as well as prize of the ecumenical jury.
Ayka, which is Dvortsevoy’s second feature, premiered in competition at Cannes earlier this year and is Kazakhstan’s entry for the best foreign- language film Oscar category. The Match Factory is handling international sales.
Russian films regularly garner the main prize in...
- 11/12/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
World premieres include Simone Kostova’s debut feature ’Thirty’.
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has unveiled the first 26 titles to be confirmed for its 48th edition, running Jan 23-Feb 3, 2019.
The early selections include hotly-tipped foreign-language Oscar contender Capernaum by Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, Claire Denis’s space thriller High Life and Jia Zhangke’s epic melodrama Ash Is Purest White.
First world premieres include German filmmaker Simona Kostova’s debut feature Thirty (Dreissig), capturing the lives of a group of friends living in Berlin over the course of 24 hours.
Fabienne Godet’s drama Our Wonderful Lives will get its...
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has unveiled the first 26 titles to be confirmed for its 48th edition, running Jan 23-Feb 3, 2019.
The early selections include hotly-tipped foreign-language Oscar contender Capernaum by Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, Claire Denis’s space thriller High Life and Jia Zhangke’s epic melodrama Ash Is Purest White.
First world premieres include German filmmaker Simona Kostova’s debut feature Thirty (Dreissig), capturing the lives of a group of friends living in Berlin over the course of 24 hours.
Fabienne Godet’s drama Our Wonderful Lives will get its...
- 11/7/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
World premieres include Simone Kostova’s debut feature ’Thirty’.
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has unveiled the first 26 titles to be confirmed for its 48th edition, running Jan 23-Feb 3, 2019.
The early selections include hotly-tipped foreign-language Oscar contender Capernaum by Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, Claire Denis’s space thriller High Life and Jia Zhangke’s epic melodrama Ash Is Purest White.
First world premieres include German filmmaker Simona Kostova’s debut feature Thirty (Dreissig), capturing the lives of a group of friends living in Berlin over the course of 24 hours.
Fabienne Godet’s drama Our Wonderful Lives will get its...
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has unveiled the first 26 titles to be confirmed for its 48th edition, running Jan 23-Feb 3, 2019.
The early selections include hotly-tipped foreign-language Oscar contender Capernaum by Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, Claire Denis’s space thriller High Life and Jia Zhangke’s epic melodrama Ash Is Purest White.
First world premieres include German filmmaker Simona Kostova’s debut feature Thirty (Dreissig), capturing the lives of a group of friends living in Berlin over the course of 24 hours.
Fabienne Godet’s drama Our Wonderful Lives will get its...
- 11/7/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Box office hit sells to UK, Benelux, South Kore and more.
Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has racked up early sales on family animation Cattle Hill, which recently opened top of the box office in its native Norway.
The film has sold to UK (Kaleidoscope), Middle East (Empire), Benelux (Just Film), Russia (Ten Letters) and South Korea (L Company), with further territories likely to be inked in the coming days.
Released by Nordisk Film in Norway on Oct 19, the film topped the likes of A Star Is Born, Venom and fellow animation Smallfoot with a $400,000 debut. This weekend (Oct 26-...
Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has racked up early sales on family animation Cattle Hill, which recently opened top of the box office in its native Norway.
The film has sold to UK (Kaleidoscope), Middle East (Empire), Benelux (Just Film), Russia (Ten Letters) and South Korea (L Company), with further territories likely to be inked in the coming days.
Released by Nordisk Film in Norway on Oct 19, the film topped the likes of A Star Is Born, Venom and fellow animation Smallfoot with a $400,000 debut. This weekend (Oct 26-...
- 11/1/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teasers for Syllas Tzoumerkas’ female revenge story “The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea” – being sold at Afm by Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales.
Set in a small eel-farming town in the west of Greece it’s a story of two women, who live solitary lives while dreaming of getting away. One of them is Elisabeth, a once-ambitious policewoman forced to relocate from Athens 10 years ago and now living a joyless, hung over life; the other is Rita, a quiet, mysterious sister of a local music star. When a sudden suicide case upsets the town and turns the local community upside-down, the two women who have been ignoring each other’s existence so far begin drifting toward each other. As the secrets hidden in the swamps begin to surface, they will have a chance to become each other’s saviors.
Set in a small eel-farming town in the west of Greece it’s a story of two women, who live solitary lives while dreaming of getting away. One of them is Elisabeth, a once-ambitious policewoman forced to relocate from Athens 10 years ago and now living a joyless, hung over life; the other is Rita, a quiet, mysterious sister of a local music star. When a sudden suicide case upsets the town and turns the local community upside-down, the two women who have been ignoring each other’s existence so far begin drifting toward each other. As the secrets hidden in the swamps begin to surface, they will have a chance to become each other’s saviors.
- 11/1/2018
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Ivan Ayr’s Soni won best film in the Roberto Rossellini Awards, while The Crossing took best film in the Fei Mu Awards.
Indian director Ivan Ayr’s Soni won best film in the Roberto Rossellini Awards at this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff), while The Crossing from China’s Bai Xue took best film in the Fei Mu Awards.
Best director in the Roberto Rossellini Awards, selected from the festival’s Crouching Tigers section, went to Serbia’s Ognjen Glavonić for The Load, while the Jury Award went to A Land Imagined, directed by Singapore’s Yeo Siew Hua.
Indian director Ivan Ayr’s Soni won best film in the Roberto Rossellini Awards at this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff), while The Crossing from China’s Bai Xue took best film in the Fei Mu Awards.
Best director in the Roberto Rossellini Awards, selected from the festival’s Crouching Tigers section, went to Serbia’s Ognjen Glavonić for The Load, while the Jury Award went to A Land Imagined, directed by Singapore’s Yeo Siew Hua.
- 10/17/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Indian film “Soni,” directed by Ivan Iyer, was named as the best film at the second edition of the Pingyao International Film Festival. It wins a prize of $20,000, with half going to development of the director’s next project, and half provided to the film’s distributor in China.
Other Roberto Rossellini prizes went to Ognjen Glavonic as best director, for “The Load” (aka “Teret”) worth $10,000, and to Singaporean-Chinese film “A Land Imagined,” which collected the jury prize. The jury included China’s Dai Jinhua, and Wang Xiaoshuai, American actor Mason C. Lee, Iran’s Amir Naderi, and Georgia’s Ana Urushadze.
A separate prize series, the Fei Mu Awards was presented to Chinese-language films which are directorial debuts or second features and which showed in the festival’s New Generation China, Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons, or Best of Fest sections. “The Crossing” by Bai Xue was named best film...
Other Roberto Rossellini prizes went to Ognjen Glavonic as best director, for “The Load” (aka “Teret”) worth $10,000, and to Singaporean-Chinese film “A Land Imagined,” which collected the jury prize. The jury included China’s Dai Jinhua, and Wang Xiaoshuai, American actor Mason C. Lee, Iran’s Amir Naderi, and Georgia’s Ana Urushadze.
A separate prize series, the Fei Mu Awards was presented to Chinese-language films which are directorial debuts or second features and which showed in the festival’s New Generation China, Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons, or Best of Fest sections. “The Crossing” by Bai Xue was named best film...
- 10/17/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Below you will find an index of our coverage from the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) in 2018, as well as our favorite films.Top Picksdaniel KASMANFeatures:1. What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire? (Roberto Minervini)2. High Life (Claire Denis)3. Monrovia, Indiana (Frederick Wiseman)4. Green Book (Peter Farrelly)5. aKasha (hajooj kuka)6. Rojo (Benjamin Naishtat)7. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)8. Belmonte (Federico Veiroj)9. If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)10. Hidden Man (Jiang Wen)Shorts:1. Blue (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)2. Arena (Björn Kämmerer)3. Polly One (Kevin Jerome Everson)4. Colophon (Nathaniel Dorsky)5. Please step out of the frame. (Karissa Hahn)6. Wall Unwalled (Lawrence Abu Hamdan)7. Ada Kaleh (Helena Wittmann)8. Alitplano (Malena Szlam)9. Norman Norman (Sophy Romvari)10. Hoarders without Borders, 1.0 (Jodie Mack)Kelley DONG1. "I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians" (Radu Jude)2. High Life (Claire Denis)3. Our Time (Carlos Reygadas)4. Our Body (Han Ka-Ram)5. A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper...
- 9/25/2018
- MUBI
The Peterloo Massacre of 1819, in which British magistrates sent cavalry with drawn swords into a political gathering of Manchester civilians, is an event not likely to be recollected in tranquility; and Mike Leigh’s Peterloo (2018) goes full agit-prop, with apoplectic hanging judges, heartless aristocrats, mercenaries advocating “violence, hatred, destruction,” and local governors declaring “We must be brutal!” On top of the mustache-twirling, Leigh coarsens his storytelling to remove ambiguity: character is conveyed via TV-style shorthand; sympathetic characters foreshadow the coming catastrophe; the historical context is signposted in the dialogue. And yet the film is still deeply impressive, with more evidence of Leigh’s greatness than any of his films since Vera Drake (2004). Despite his reputation for kitchen-sink naturalism, Leigh has always favored exaggerated acting that isolates and intensifies character traits, and this stylization, coupled with his intelligence about social behavior, blows away the obstacles of historical adaptation as if they didn’t exist.
- 9/17/2018
- MUBI
Film opens in Norway on October 19.
Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has taken international rights to Norwegian family animation Cattle Hill, which opens in local cinemas on October 19.
Directed by Lise I. Osvoll, the film is the story of a young cow who lives in the city with her mum and dreams of becoming a pop star. One day she receives a letter from her father whom she has not seen for many years and travels to the countryside to meet him.
Cattle Hill is produced by Scandinavian animation outfit Qvisten Animation, the company behind In The Forest Of Huckybucky,...
Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has taken international rights to Norwegian family animation Cattle Hill, which opens in local cinemas on October 19.
Directed by Lise I. Osvoll, the film is the story of a young cow who lives in the city with her mum and dreams of becoming a pop star. One day she receives a letter from her father whom she has not seen for many years and travels to the countryside to meet him.
Cattle Hill is produced by Scandinavian animation outfit Qvisten Animation, the company behind In The Forest Of Huckybucky,...
- 9/3/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has added Brady Corbet’s drama “Vox Lux,” starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, and Neil Jordan’s “Greta,” with Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert.
The festival also announced Tuesday a total of 46 titles in its Discovery program, which is devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers. The festival will screen 255 features and 88 shorts with 138 being world premieres, including “Greta.” The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival will begin on Sept. 6.
“Vox Lux” and “Greta” have been added to the Special Presentations program. “Vox Lux,” which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, is a musical drama about a woman who achieves success after a tragic childhood. The film also stars Jennifer Ehle, Stacy Martin and Raffey Cassidy. “Greta” stars Moretz as a young woman in New York who befriends a widow, played by Huppert, who has sinister intentions.
The Discovery program includes Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s ‘Girl,...
The festival also announced Tuesday a total of 46 titles in its Discovery program, which is devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers. The festival will screen 255 features and 88 shorts with 138 being world premieres, including “Greta.” The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival will begin on Sept. 6.
“Vox Lux” and “Greta” have been added to the Special Presentations program. “Vox Lux,” which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, is a musical drama about a woman who achieves success after a tragic childhood. The film also stars Jennifer Ehle, Stacy Martin and Raffey Cassidy. “Greta” stars Moretz as a young woman in New York who befriends a widow, played by Huppert, who has sinister intentions.
The Discovery program includes Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s ‘Girl,...
- 8/21/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Brady Corbet’s “Vox Lux,” with Natalie Portman and Jude Law, and Neil Jordan’s “Greta,” with Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert, are among almost 50 films that have been added to the lineup of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Tiff organizers announced on Tuesday.
The two films have been added to the Special Presentations program, with “Greta” having its world premiere at Tiff and “Vox Lux” its Canadian premiere.
“Greta” features Moretz as a young woman in New York who befriends a widow who turns out to have sinister intentions; “Vox Lux” is a musical drama that encompasses the life of a woman who achieves success after a tragic childhood.
Also Read: Natalie Portman Is an Aspiring Pop Star in First-Look at Brady Corbet's 'Vox Lux' (Photo)
Toronto also announced its Discovery program, which is devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers. The 46 films in the lineup come from 37 different countries,...
The two films have been added to the Special Presentations program, with “Greta” having its world premiere at Tiff and “Vox Lux” its Canadian premiere.
“Greta” features Moretz as a young woman in New York who befriends a widow who turns out to have sinister intentions; “Vox Lux” is a musical drama that encompasses the life of a woman who achieves success after a tragic childhood.
Also Read: Natalie Portman Is an Aspiring Pop Star in First-Look at Brady Corbet's 'Vox Lux' (Photo)
Toronto also announced its Discovery program, which is devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers. The 46 films in the lineup come from 37 different countries,...
- 8/21/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 24th Sarajevo Film Festival has awarded its top prize to Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov’s “Ága.” The Yakut-language movie, which saw its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February, tells the story of a troubled Inuit family.
“Ága” won the Heart of Sarajevo on Thursday night, the festival’s prize for best feature film, which includes a €16,000 award. The movie, a co-production between Bulgaria, Germany and France, was co-written by Lazarov and Simeon Ventsislavov.
“Ága” centers on an isolated Inuit couple who hold on to their traditions while global warming and the modern world encroach. When the wife’s health deteriorates, the husband decides to fulfill her last wish by embarking on a long journey to find their daughter, Ága, who deserted the couple long ago. Variety’s Jay Weissberg called the film a “handsome paean to a dying culture.”
For the second year running, the festival...
“Ága” won the Heart of Sarajevo on Thursday night, the festival’s prize for best feature film, which includes a €16,000 award. The movie, a co-production between Bulgaria, Germany and France, was co-written by Lazarov and Simeon Ventsislavov.
“Ága” centers on an isolated Inuit couple who hold on to their traditions while global warming and the modern world encroach. When the wife’s health deteriorates, the husband decides to fulfill her last wish by embarking on a long journey to find their daughter, Ága, who deserted the couple long ago. Variety’s Jay Weissberg called the film a “handsome paean to a dying culture.”
For the second year running, the festival...
- 8/17/2018
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
The Sarajevo Film Festival, which was launched in 1995 during the four-year siege of the capital in the midst of the Bosnian War, has always relied on a mixture of self-sufficiency and smart alliances with international partners. It’s a combination that will be deployed again during its 24th edition, running Aug. 10-17.
The event is characterized by its director, Mirsad Purivatra, as an international festival with a focus on a region: Southeast Europe. Purivatra was inspired to adopt a regional focus for Sarajevo after he visited Sweden’s Goteborg Film Festival, with its focus on the Nordic region. This year, Sarajevo’s industry section, CineLink, will look to Scandinavia again for inspiration, this time centered on television drama, an area of growth for both regions.
Norway will be the focus of a panel event as an example of how a local TV industry can transform itself, says Jovan Marjanovic, Sarajevo’s head of industry.
The event is characterized by its director, Mirsad Purivatra, as an international festival with a focus on a region: Southeast Europe. Purivatra was inspired to adopt a regional focus for Sarajevo after he visited Sweden’s Goteborg Film Festival, with its focus on the Nordic region. This year, Sarajevo’s industry section, CineLink, will look to Scandinavia again for inspiration, this time centered on television drama, an area of growth for both regions.
Norway will be the focus of a panel event as an example of how a local TV industry can transform itself, says Jovan Marjanovic, Sarajevo’s head of industry.
- 8/3/2018
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The 24th edition of the event takes place from August 10-17.
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan will receive an honourary Heart of Sarajevo award at the upcoming Sarajevo Film Festival (August 10-17).
Ceylan, who is an honourary guest at this year’s festival, will also present an exhibition of his photography, which includes stills and location shots from his film work.
His most recent film, The Wild Pear Tree, was co-produced with Bosnia-Herzegovina, and screened in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Ceylan won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2014 with Winter Sleep.
The Heart of Sarajevo...
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan will receive an honourary Heart of Sarajevo award at the upcoming Sarajevo Film Festival (August 10-17).
Ceylan, who is an honourary guest at this year’s festival, will also present an exhibition of his photography, which includes stills and location shots from his film work.
His most recent film, The Wild Pear Tree, was co-produced with Bosnia-Herzegovina, and screened in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Ceylan won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2014 with Winter Sleep.
The Heart of Sarajevo...
- 8/3/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Grasshopper Film has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the thriller “The Load,” the debut feature from filmmaker Ognjen Glavonića, Variety has learned exclusively.
“The Load,” which debuted at the Directors Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in May, centers on a truck driver hired to deliver a mysterious cargo across a dangerous, war-torn landscape. “The Load” will receive a theatrical release next year, followed by home video and VOD.
The story takes place during the Nato bombing of Serbia in 1999. To transport the mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, the central character must drive through unfamiliar territory and try to make his way in a country scarred by war.
Jessica Kiang said in her review for Variety: “It is in the very banality of this day in the life of a Serbian trucker that this impressive new filmmaker illuminates a painful truth that inculpates more of us than...
“The Load,” which debuted at the Directors Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in May, centers on a truck driver hired to deliver a mysterious cargo across a dangerous, war-torn landscape. “The Load” will receive a theatrical release next year, followed by home video and VOD.
The story takes place during the Nato bombing of Serbia in 1999. To transport the mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, the central character must drive through unfamiliar territory and try to make his way in a country scarred by war.
Jessica Kiang said in her review for Variety: “It is in the very banality of this day in the life of a Serbian trucker that this impressive new filmmaker illuminates a painful truth that inculpates more of us than...
- 7/17/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Four world premieres selected for festival’s Competition.
The 2018 Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 10-18) has unveiled the titles selected for its Competition and In Focus programmes.
This year’s Competition selection features four world premieres, one international premiere and five regional premieres, all either produced or co-produced from the Eastern European region.
As previously announced, Asghar Farhadi will preside over the Competition jury, which will award the festival’s top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo.
Selected titles having their world premieres include All Alone, the latest feature from Croatian director Bobo Jelčić, whose 2013 drama A Stranger premiered at Berlin and...
The 2018 Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 10-18) has unveiled the titles selected for its Competition and In Focus programmes.
This year’s Competition selection features four world premieres, one international premiere and five regional premieres, all either produced or co-produced from the Eastern European region.
As previously announced, Asghar Farhadi will preside over the Competition jury, which will award the festival’s top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo.
Selected titles having their world premieres include All Alone, the latest feature from Croatian director Bobo Jelčić, whose 2013 drama A Stranger premiered at Berlin and...
- 7/9/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Below you will find an index of our coverage from the Cannes Film Festival, Directors' Fortnight, and Critics' Week in 2018, as well as our favorite films.Awardstop 101. The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard)2. Ash Is Purest White (Jia Zhangke) & Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher)4. Burning (Lee Chang-dong)5. Asako I & II (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)6. Long Day's Journey Into Night (Bi Gan)7. Dead Souls (Wang Bing)8. In My Room (Ulrich Köhler)9. Climax (Gaspar Noé)10. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)(Contributors: Gustavo Beck, Annabel Ivy Brady-Brown, Giovanni Marchini Camia, Josh Cabrita, Jordan Cronk, Jesse Cumming, Lawrence Garcia, Daniel Kasman, Roger Koza, Richard Porton, Kurt Walker, Blake Williams)Correspondences#1 Daniel Kasman previews the festival | Read#2 Lawrence Garcia on Everybody Knows (Asghar Farhadi), Dead Souls (Wang Bing) | Read#3 Daniel Kasman on Birds of Passage (Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra), Donbass (Sergei Loznitsa) | Read#4 Lawrence Garcia on Leto (Kirill Serebrennikov), Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski) | Read#5 Daniel Kasman on The Image Book...
- 5/29/2018
- MUBI
The Notebook is covering Cannes with an on-going correspondence between critics Lawrence Garcia and Daniel Kasman.Dear Lawrence,I also shared your experience of being welcomed by the calm of Jafar Panahi’s new picture after the all-out assault of Gaspar Noé’s nightmarish party film. 3 Faces, as you imply, uses a scintillating premise—the investigation of a possible suicide by an aspiring young actress, carried out personally by the filmmaker and star actress Behnaz Jafari who are morally blackmailed into being responsible—to make down-to-earth observations about the interaction between these famed city artists and the provincial village in which they search. Leaving cosmopolitan Tehran behind, the two find themselves facing the prejudices of the countryside against art-making: the young actress being heckled by her family and community for her aspirations, and, pointedly, a retired star from “before the Revolution” lives in seclusion on the outskirts. Most villagers (at...
- 5/15/2018
- MUBI
It was launched in 2014 to connect international projects with French partners.
The team behind the Les Arcs European Film Festival, held in the French Alps every December has confirmed it has put its sister summer event, the Paris Co-production Village, on ice.
The popular event was launched in 2014 out of the ashes of the Paris Project, which in turn was created out of the now-defunct Paris Cinema Film Festival. Its aim was to connect international projects with French partners.
Les Arcs head of industry Jérémy Zelnik said the co-production meeting, which took place in central Paris in June, had been...
The team behind the Les Arcs European Film Festival, held in the French Alps every December has confirmed it has put its sister summer event, the Paris Co-production Village, on ice.
The popular event was launched in 2014 out of the ashes of the Paris Project, which in turn was created out of the now-defunct Paris Cinema Film Festival. Its aim was to connect international projects with French partners.
Les Arcs head of industry Jérémy Zelnik said the co-production meeting, which took place in central Paris in June, had been...
- 5/13/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Far away, behind the darkened Kosovan hills, bombs fall, sending up columns of sparks into the dusky sky. The rumble and crackle sounds out a moment later, and it’s indicative of Serbian director Ognjen Glavonić’s ruthlessly rigorous approach to his austere debut fiction feature: The fireworks are never in the foreground. Instead, we follow a small truck wending its way down the hillside. Inside a motley collection of surly men, including Vlada avoid each other’s eyes, bicker about money and take brief naps, despite the jolting, against windows that reflect burning buildings and leafless trees. This is Kosovo in 1999, when the Nato bombing campaign has been going on so long that it’s become part of everyday life, as unremarkable as an extended spell of bad weather.
When they finally disembark, the men are each assigned a sealed truck to drive to Belgrade. Vlada’s vehicle is dirty white,...
When they finally disembark, the men are each assigned a sealed truck to drive to Belgrade. Vlada’s vehicle is dirty white,...
- 5/13/2018
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Ognjen Glavonic’s “The Load,” which world premieres in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. New Europe Film Sales is handling international rights.
The film centers on Vlada, who works as a truck driver during the Nato bombing of Serbia in 1999. “Tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, trying to make his way in a country scarred by the war,” according to a statement. “He knows that once the job is over, he will need to return home and face the consequences of his actions.”
Throughout the film, we rarely leave the inside of the truck. “This truck is like a cocoon: it shields him from the rest of the world, but at the same time he is left all alone with his thoughts. It’s hard to understand what is...
The film centers on Vlada, who works as a truck driver during the Nato bombing of Serbia in 1999. “Tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, trying to make his way in a country scarred by the war,” according to a statement. “He knows that once the job is over, he will need to return home and face the consequences of his actions.”
Throughout the film, we rarely leave the inside of the truck. “This truck is like a cocoon: it shields him from the rest of the world, but at the same time he is left all alone with his thoughts. It’s hard to understand what is...
- 5/9/2018
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
It’s 1999 during the Nato bombings of what was then Yugoslavia. Vlada (Leon Lucev) is an ordinary man, earning money for his family by driving a truck from Kosovo to Belgrade. We don’t know what’s in his vehicle, but it’s soon apparent that the load is as symbolic as it is physical.
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
It’s 1999 during the Nato bombings of what was then Yugoslavia. Vlada (Leon Lucev) is an ordinary man, earning money for his family by driving a truck from Kosovo to Belgrade. We don’t know what’s in his vehicle, but it’s soon apparent that the load is as symbolic as it is physical.
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
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