LevelK has acquired international sales rights to Lisa Aschan’s new film “Call Mom!”, a sequel to her well-received feature debut, “She Monkeys.”
Produced by Anna-Maria Kantarius (“Amateurs”) at Garagefilm Intl., “Call Mom!” follows Niki, a 35-year-old who lives like she’s 25 and is forced to come to grips with all of her relationships and past choices in life.
Aschan said “Call Mom!” could be thought of as a “standalone sequel” to “She Monkeys” (pictured), a coming-of-age film which won the best film award at Tribeca, received an Honorable Mention at Berlin and took home the Guldbagge award for best film.
“The choice of genre was obvious to me: A movie about familial relationships has to be a comedy. I’m drawn to humor because I think it’s very much connected to pain,” Aschan said. “I’m drawn to people who use humor as a survival mechanism.”
Aschan said...
Produced by Anna-Maria Kantarius (“Amateurs”) at Garagefilm Intl., “Call Mom!” follows Niki, a 35-year-old who lives like she’s 25 and is forced to come to grips with all of her relationships and past choices in life.
Aschan said “Call Mom!” could be thought of as a “standalone sequel” to “She Monkeys” (pictured), a coming-of-age film which won the best film award at Tribeca, received an Honorable Mention at Berlin and took home the Guldbagge award for best film.
“The choice of genre was obvious to me: A movie about familial relationships has to be a comedy. I’m drawn to humor because I think it’s very much connected to pain,” Aschan said. “I’m drawn to people who use humor as a survival mechanism.”
Aschan said...
- 11/18/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
When he founded the California Film Institute in 1977, Mark Fishkin didn’t know much about running a film festival. Not many people did — there were few major film festivals in the United States at the time, and it would be decades before there emerged anything like today’s bustling international festival circuit. Fishkin had recently moved to California from the small town of Ouray, Colo., about an hour’s drive to Telluride the long way around Mt. Sneffels. He’d visited once or twice while the festival was on, by chance, and had seen how they did things out there and it inspired him, when he founded a festival of his own, to do things a little differently.
The first Mill Valley Film Festival took place Aug. 11-13, 1978, and was intended, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle from that summer, to “honor successful filmmakers living or working out of Marin County,...
The first Mill Valley Film Festival took place Aug. 11-13, 1978, and was intended, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle from that summer, to “honor successful filmmakers living or working out of Marin County,...
- 10/3/2019
- by Calum Marsh
- Variety Film + TV
AFI Fest isn’t thought of as an acquisition festival, as most of its offerings are either world premieres about to enter awards season or high-profile selections from Cannes and Venice. Explore the program a bit, however, and you’ll discover any number of under-the-radar titles that have yet to find a home. That’s unsurprising, given how crowded the fall festival season has been, but dealmakers should seek out these worthy titles before it’s too late.
“Amateurs”
Gabriela Pichler’s debut as writer-director, the youth-in-revolt dramedy “Eat Sleep Die,” never got a theatrical release. That was a shame, and it’d be just as much of a disappointment if her follow-up met the same fate. Working from an appropriately zany premise — a small Swedish town attempts to woo a German superstore company into opening a new location via a promotional video — Pichler delivers clever scenarios and a surprising...
“Amateurs”
Gabriela Pichler’s debut as writer-director, the youth-in-revolt dramedy “Eat Sleep Die,” never got a theatrical release. That was a shame, and it’d be just as much of a disappointment if her follow-up met the same fate. Working from an appropriately zany premise — a small Swedish town attempts to woo a German superstore company into opening a new location via a promotional video — Pichler delivers clever scenarios and a surprising...
- 11/19/2018
- by Michael Nordine, Eric Kohn and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
In June, a mere five months before the American Film Institute’s 32nd annual film festival, Michael Lumpkin took over the reins from fest director Jacqueline Lyanga, who exited after eight years at the helm.
Despite the short turnaround time, Lumpkin, already head of the AFI Docs festival in Washington, D.C., was determined to make this year’s Los Angeles-based fest a diverse mix of cinema with a focus on new auteurs, international filmmakers, the best work from 2018’s earlier festivals and, of course, potential Oscar players. He didn’t disappoint.
From 4,000-plus submissions, the fest will screen 83 features, four episodic shows and 47 shorts for a grand total of 134 titles from 45 countries. Selected films are dispersed into eight categories that include galas, world cinema and cinema legacy.
The festival — which kicks off Nov. 8 at Tcl Chinese Theatre — boasts five world premieres: Susanne Bier’s “Bird Box,” Mimi Leder’s...
Despite the short turnaround time, Lumpkin, already head of the AFI Docs festival in Washington, D.C., was determined to make this year’s Los Angeles-based fest a diverse mix of cinema with a focus on new auteurs, international filmmakers, the best work from 2018’s earlier festivals and, of course, potential Oscar players. He didn’t disappoint.
From 4,000-plus submissions, the fest will screen 83 features, four episodic shows and 47 shorts for a grand total of 134 titles from 45 countries. Selected films are dispersed into eight categories that include galas, world cinema and cinema legacy.
The festival — which kicks off Nov. 8 at Tcl Chinese Theatre — boasts five world premieres: Susanne Bier’s “Bird Box,” Mimi Leder’s...
- 11/8/2018
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Now that the Los Angeles Film Festival is no more, AFI Fest is more important than ever. It was the premier event of its kind even before its crosstown rival announced its permanent closure late last month, but now that it’s the only game in town, it’s unmissable. This year’s edition of the last major festival of the calendar year comes with a handful world premieres — “On the Basis of Sex,” “Mary Queen of Scots,” and “Bird Box” — and a robust slate of offerings from the likes of Berlin, Cannes, and Venice.
AFI Fest’s strength has always been the way it eschews world premieres in favor of high-quality films that premiered elsewhere on the festival circuit; Jacqueline Lyanga, whose eight-year tenure as Festival Director came to an end this summer, likened it to an “almanac of the year in cinema.” With that in mind, seek out...
AFI Fest’s strength has always been the way it eschews world premieres in favor of high-quality films that premiered elsewhere on the festival circuit; Jacqueline Lyanga, whose eight-year tenure as Festival Director came to an end this summer, likened it to an “almanac of the year in cinema.” With that in mind, seek out...
- 11/8/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The programme will screen 17 titles from around the world.
Sarajevo Film Festival (August 10-18) has revealed the 17 titles that will play in its Kinoscope programme, with China, Brazil and the Us all represented.
The Kinoscope section is open to films from around the world, excluding the Southeastern European territories which comprise the festival’s competition strand.
On the list is a special screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in May this year. Screen’s review described it as ‘a masterful ensemble piece about a ‘family’ living on its wits’.
Also appearing after...
Sarajevo Film Festival (August 10-18) has revealed the 17 titles that will play in its Kinoscope programme, with China, Brazil and the Us all represented.
The Kinoscope section is open to films from around the world, excluding the Southeastern European territories which comprise the festival’s competition strand.
On the list is a special screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in May this year. Screen’s review described it as ‘a masterful ensemble piece about a ‘family’ living on its wits’.
Also appearing after...
- 7/25/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Event will open with Joern Utkilen’s Norwegian debut feature Lake Over Fire.
The second edition of Oslo Pix (June 4-10) will open with Joern Utkilen’s Norwegian debut feature Lake Over Fire and close with Gustav Moller’s Danish festival hit The Guilty.
The festival has three competition programmes: Nordic fiction, Nordic documentary and international competition.
The international competition is comprised of: A Gentle Creature, Daughter of Mine, Disobedience, Faces Places, Golden Exits, Soldiers. Story From Ferentari, Summer 1993, The Tale and Aga.
The Nordic fiction competition includes: Amateurs, Jimmie, Lake Over Fire, Team Hurricane, The Real Estate, Thick Lashes of Lauri Mantyvaara,...
The second edition of Oslo Pix (June 4-10) will open with Joern Utkilen’s Norwegian debut feature Lake Over Fire and close with Gustav Moller’s Danish festival hit The Guilty.
The festival has three competition programmes: Nordic fiction, Nordic documentary and international competition.
The international competition is comprised of: A Gentle Creature, Daughter of Mine, Disobedience, Faces Places, Golden Exits, Soldiers. Story From Ferentari, Summer 1993, The Tale and Aga.
The Nordic fiction competition includes: Amateurs, Jimmie, Lake Over Fire, Team Hurricane, The Real Estate, Thick Lashes of Lauri Mantyvaara,...
- 5/29/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Variety honored its 10 Producers to Watch for 2018 at a breakfast on Monday morning on Cannes’ Nespresso Beach.
First launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998, the event celebrates an eclectic mix of producers from the U.S. and the international film community, who are united in their commitment to bold and original storytelling.
The films produced by this year’s honorees have played festivals including Berlin, Sundance and Venice, with a number screening at Cannes. “As well as they’re doing, as exciting as they are right now, there’s even greater things ahead,” said Variety’s VP and executive editor Steven Gaydos.
Victor Loewy was also honored with a lifetime achievement award for his long and distinguished career. “You can’t tell the story of Cannes, you can’t tell the story of international cinema, you can’t tell the story of Canadian business in cinema, without knowing who...
First launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998, the event celebrates an eclectic mix of producers from the U.S. and the international film community, who are united in their commitment to bold and original storytelling.
The films produced by this year’s honorees have played festivals including Berlin, Sundance and Venice, with a number screening at Cannes. “As well as they’re doing, as exciting as they are right now, there’s even greater things ahead,” said Variety’s VP and executive editor Steven Gaydos.
Victor Loewy was also honored with a lifetime achievement award for his long and distinguished career. “You can’t tell the story of Cannes, you can’t tell the story of international cinema, you can’t tell the story of Canadian business in cinema, without knowing who...
- 5/14/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Variety has selected its 10 Producers to Watch for 2018, a diverse mix of producers from the U.S. and the thriving international film scene. Variety Producers to Watch, which was originally launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998, returned to the Croisette last year and will once again be presented there this year.
Regardless of their home base, these producers all share a fierce commitment to storytelling. Their films have played festivals including Berlin, Sundance and Venice, and a number are screening at Cannes.
Producer Dina Emam’s her first narrative feature, “Yomeddine,” was selected for competition. It will vie alongside Russian-made “Leto,” a music filled biopic that Murad Osmann and Ilya Stewart produced for director Kirill Serebrennikov, now under house arrest in that country.
Variety has also selected the forces behind “I, Tonya,” an Oscar winner for Allison Janney (Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara), and Rachel Song, who brought two...
Regardless of their home base, these producers all share a fierce commitment to storytelling. Their films have played festivals including Berlin, Sundance and Venice, and a number are screening at Cannes.
Producer Dina Emam’s her first narrative feature, “Yomeddine,” was selected for competition. It will vie alongside Russian-made “Leto,” a music filled biopic that Murad Osmann and Ilya Stewart produced for director Kirill Serebrennikov, now under house arrest in that country.
Variety has also selected the forces behind “I, Tonya,” an Oscar winner for Allison Janney (Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara), and Rachel Song, who brought two...
- 4/24/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Other Nordic works-in-progress presentations include Anne Sewitsky’s Sonja Henie biopic and Anna Magnusson’s new Bergman documentary.
Source: TriArt
‘Untitled Anna Odell project’
Provocative Swedish artist and filmmaker Anna Odell (The Reunion) unveiled footage from her forthcoming as-yet-untitled feature as part of the works in progress presentations at Goteborg’s Nordic Film Market.
The idea for the project has been mostly under wraps, except that it was to star the director with Mikael Persbrandt. Frida Bargo and Matthias Nohrborg of Sweden’s B-Reel produce and New Europe has come on board to handle international sales. The feature is editing now could be ready for summer/autumn. TriArt will release in Sweden.
Read more: Gabriela Pichler’s ‘Amateurs’ wins Goteborg’s Dragon Award
“I worked with a mix of reality and fiction and what people believe about Mikael Persbrandt, who is Sweden’s most famous male actor, and what people think about me as an artist known for doing...
Source: TriArt
‘Untitled Anna Odell project’
Provocative Swedish artist and filmmaker Anna Odell (The Reunion) unveiled footage from her forthcoming as-yet-untitled feature as part of the works in progress presentations at Goteborg’s Nordic Film Market.
The idea for the project has been mostly under wraps, except that it was to star the director with Mikael Persbrandt. Frida Bargo and Matthias Nohrborg of Sweden’s B-Reel produce and New Europe has come on board to handle international sales. The feature is editing now could be ready for summer/autumn. TriArt will release in Sweden.
Read more: Gabriela Pichler’s ‘Amateurs’ wins Goteborg’s Dragon Award
“I worked with a mix of reality and fiction and what people believe about Mikael Persbrandt, who is Sweden’s most famous male actor, and what people think about me as an artist known for doing...
- 2/5/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Amateurs, the second feature film from Swedish director Gabriela Pichler (Eat Sleep Die), has won the Dragon Award for best Nordic film at this year's Goteborg Film Festival.
The prize comes with a cash bursary of 1 million Swedish krona, around $125,000, making the Dragon Award one of the world's most lucrative film honors.
Amateurs is the story of a small Swedish community that, in an effort to attract a big German discount supermarket to bring in jobs, asks local youths to produce films praising their community. But the films do not turn out as planned. The Goteborg jury praised...
The prize comes with a cash bursary of 1 million Swedish krona, around $125,000, making the Dragon Award one of the world's most lucrative film honors.
Amateurs is the story of a small Swedish community that, in an effort to attract a big German discount supermarket to bring in jobs, asks local youths to produce films praising their community. But the films do not turn out as planned. The Goteborg jury praised...
- 2/5/2018
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Other winners at the Swedish festival include The Distant Barking of Dogs, Menina, Men Don’t Cry.
Source: Camilla Lindberg, courtesy of Goteborg Film Festival
Gabriela Pichler’s ‘Amateurs’ wins Goteborg award
Gabriela Pichler’s Amateurs won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film in Goteborg on Saturday night. The prize, one of the festival world’s most lucrative at $126,000 (1m Sek), is financed by Volvo Car Group, Region Västra Götaland and the City Council of Gothenburg.
Amateurs, which had its world premiere as the opening film of Goteborg and has also screened in Rotterdam, was praised by the jury for “its vibrant, nuanced and intelligent portrait of a small town in contemporary Sweden, which embraces different generations, backgrounds and mediums.”
The story is about the small town of Lafors, which wants to improve its fortunes by luring in a German discount supermarket. Local politicians ask teenagers to make short films to promote their hometown, with unexpected results...
Source: Camilla Lindberg, courtesy of Goteborg Film Festival
Gabriela Pichler’s ‘Amateurs’ wins Goteborg award
Gabriela Pichler’s Amateurs won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film in Goteborg on Saturday night. The prize, one of the festival world’s most lucrative at $126,000 (1m Sek), is financed by Volvo Car Group, Region Västra Götaland and the City Council of Gothenburg.
Amateurs, which had its world premiere as the opening film of Goteborg and has also screened in Rotterdam, was praised by the jury for “its vibrant, nuanced and intelligent portrait of a small town in contemporary Sweden, which embraces different generations, backgrounds and mediums.”
The story is about the small town of Lafors, which wants to improve its fortunes by luring in a German discount supermarket. Local politicians ask teenagers to make short films to promote their hometown, with unexpected results...
- 2/5/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
A trio of lively lead performances can't quite compensate for more fundamental shortcomings in Gabriela Pichler's blandly titled Amateurs (Amatorer), the Swedish writer-director's slightly belated follow-up to her widely screened debut Eat Sleep Die (2012). A good-natured satire on small-town provincialism set in the country's rural west, it opened the Gothenburg Film Festival and went on to win the lucrative prize for best Nordic film, worth a cool $126,000. In between, it bowed internationally at Rotterdam, where reactions were generally more measured. Further festival play is likely, but theatrical exposure looks to be decidedly limited beyond Scandinavian territories.
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- 2/4/2018
- by Neil Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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