Indie Sales has hopped aboard Across The Sea, French-Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s second feature that will premiere as a special screening at Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
Moroccan TV star Ayoub Gretaa stars in the Marseille-set 1990s melodrama as Nour, an undocumented immigrant from Morocco with big dreams whose life turns upside down when he meets a charismatic police officer and his wife and a love triangle unfolds.
Anna Mouglalis and Grégoire Colin co-star in the decade-spanning film that follows Nour as he grows older, explores love and seeks a better life amidst the backdrop of the Rai music-focused party...
Moroccan TV star Ayoub Gretaa stars in the Marseille-set 1990s melodrama as Nour, an undocumented immigrant from Morocco with big dreams whose life turns upside down when he meets a charismatic police officer and his wife and a love triangle unfolds.
Anna Mouglalis and Grégoire Colin co-star in the decade-spanning film that follows Nour as he grows older, explores love and seeks a better life amidst the backdrop of the Rai music-focused party...
- 5/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Running Jan. 19-Feb. 19, this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival, an online showcase organized by France’s film-tv promotional body UniFrance, will mark its 14th edition with an accent on young talent, both in front of and behind the camera, and an emphasis on female empowerment.
With a mix of heritage docs like Agnès Varda’s “Jane B. for Agnès V.,” and a nine-film competition that spotlights auteurist animation like Alain Ughetto’s “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” alongside outré dramatic fare, the 11 features and 15 shorts that make up this year’s selection will be available on 80 partner platforms as well on MyFrenchFilmFestival.com, where all the shorts will be available to screen free of charge.
All films will be subtitled in 11 languages, including Arabic, English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and Ukrainian, while the feature section will also be available for free in many Latin American, African and Middle Eastern territories.
“No...
With a mix of heritage docs like Agnès Varda’s “Jane B. for Agnès V.,” and a nine-film competition that spotlights auteurist animation like Alain Ughetto’s “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” alongside outré dramatic fare, the 11 features and 15 shorts that make up this year’s selection will be available on 80 partner platforms as well on MyFrenchFilmFestival.com, where all the shorts will be available to screen free of charge.
All films will be subtitled in 11 languages, including Arabic, English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and Ukrainian, while the feature section will also be available for free in many Latin American, African and Middle Eastern territories.
“No...
- 1/9/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
The bittersweet travails of two not-very-successful Casablanca-based debt collectors as they traverse the arid villages of Morocco in search of loan deadbeats eventually intersects with a tragic love story in “Deserts,” the sixth feature from Moroccan writer-director Faouzi Bensaïdi. Boasting striking Cinemascope visuals, it’s a nonlinear drama spiked with ellipses that mixes moods and genres. Those that prefer straightforward cinema with dotted I’s and crossed T’s will be out of their comfort zone here, but it looks like manna for cinephiles. Bensaïdi, who has a parallel career as an actor and theater director, is an auteur who is overdue for a retrospective Stateside.
At the beginning, Bensaïdi gives viewers a clue to the film’s unconventionality as the map that wrinkled-suit-and-tie-clad Mehdi (Fehd Benchemsi) and Hamid (Abdelhadi Taleb) are examining blows away. As the two men make their way around some picturesque but impoverished villages, the stories...
At the beginning, Bensaïdi gives viewers a clue to the film’s unconventionality as the map that wrinkled-suit-and-tie-clad Mehdi (Fehd Benchemsi) and Hamid (Abdelhadi Taleb) are examining blows away. As the two men make their way around some picturesque but impoverished villages, the stories...
- 12/3/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Karim Debbagh‘s leading Tangier-based line producer Kasbah Films has secured a raft of U.S. and U.K. projects that will lense in Morocco, including “Lords of War,” the sequel to “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage as the world’s most notorious arms dealer.
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work on “Lords of War,” which is expected to start shooting in March for approximately 40 days and is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, alongside Cage’s Saturn Films. Debbagh is currently scouting locations across Morocco.
“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” said the veteran producer, who seemed overjoyed to restart scouting after having been forced to pause for eight months due to the...
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work on “Lords of War,” which is expected to start shooting in March for approximately 40 days and is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, alongside Cage’s Saturn Films. Debbagh is currently scouting locations across Morocco.
“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” said the veteran producer, who seemed overjoyed to restart scouting after having been forced to pause for eight months due to the...
- 12/3/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Tilda Swinton famously cut her acting teeth on the experimental films of late director Derek Jarman such as Caravaggio and The Garden as well as life-long friend Joanna Hogg’s debut short Caprice and Sally Potter’s Orlando.
Nearly 50 years later, she has continued to work with Hogg as well as in the experimental cinema arena, finding a new Jarman-esque kindred spirit in Thai artist and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Speaking in an in-conversation event at the Marrakech Film Festival on Monday, the actress revealed how some of the big commercial studio pictures she has worked on across her career have felt personally more experimental to her than her avant-garde work.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have some adventures in worlds of filmmaking that I never thought I would be able to go into,” she said.
“When Derek died [in 1994], I was a bit high and dry… slowly… invitations came...
Nearly 50 years later, she has continued to work with Hogg as well as in the experimental cinema arena, finding a new Jarman-esque kindred spirit in Thai artist and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Speaking in an in-conversation event at the Marrakech Film Festival on Monday, the actress revealed how some of the big commercial studio pictures she has worked on across her career have felt personally more experimental to her than her avant-garde work.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have some adventures in worlds of filmmaking that I never thought I would be able to go into,” she said.
“When Derek died [in 1994], I was a bit high and dry… slowly… invitations came...
- 11/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Marrakech International Film Festival runs November 24 – December 2.
The Marrakech International Film Festival (November 24 – December 2) will honour Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi with its Etoile d’Or (Golden Star) for their contributions to cinema.
Bensaïdi will also be in town to present a Gala screening of his latest film Deserts, a Casablanca-set friendship drama that premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Mikkelsen stars in Nikolaj Arcel’s historical epic The Promised Land that will get a special screening at the festival after debuting in Venice.
The festival cited Mikkelsen’s “audacity, his magnetism, and his ability to...
The Marrakech International Film Festival (November 24 – December 2) will honour Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi with its Etoile d’Or (Golden Star) for their contributions to cinema.
Bensaïdi will also be in town to present a Gala screening of his latest film Deserts, a Casablanca-set friendship drama that premiered at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Mikkelsen stars in Nikolaj Arcel’s historical epic The Promised Land that will get a special screening at the festival after debuting in Venice.
The festival cited Mikkelsen’s “audacity, his magnetism, and his ability to...
- 11/7/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
“Casino Royale” Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan actor-director Faouzi Bensaïdi will be celebrated with career achievement awards at the upcoming 20th Marrakech International Film Festival that will run Nov. 24- Dec. 2.
The fest, which is forging ahead despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September, has also recruited an impressive lineup of international talents to hold onstage conversations, including Tilda Swinton, Viggo Mortensen and Willem Dafoe.
Mikkelsen, who in tandem with his Hollywood career has recently returned to making films in his native Denmark such as Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” and Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land,” which is Denmark’s current Oscar hopeful, said in a statement that he is “proud, honoured and so fortunate, that in a short while I will meet friends and colleagues and some of...
The fest, which is forging ahead despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September, has also recruited an impressive lineup of international talents to hold onstage conversations, including Tilda Swinton, Viggo Mortensen and Willem Dafoe.
Mikkelsen, who in tandem with his Hollywood career has recently returned to making films in his native Denmark such as Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” and Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land,” which is Denmark’s current Oscar hopeful, said in a statement that he is “proud, honoured and so fortunate, that in a short while I will meet friends and colleagues and some of...
- 11/7/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 10 cinema figures who will participate in its In Conversation With program at its 20th edition running from November 24 to December 2.
They comprise Australian actor Simon Baker, French director Bertrand Bonello, U.S. actor Willem Dafoe, Indian filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap; Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Danish-u.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen; U.K. actor Tilda Swinton; and Russian director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, who will receive the festival’s honorary Étoile d’or prize this year, will also participate in the program.
Baker’s was seen most recently in Toronto title Limbo and Tribeca 2022 selection Blaze, with early features including L.A. Confidential (1997), David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011), followed by hit series The Mentalist (2008–2015).
Bensaïdi’s first feature A Thousand Months world premiered...
They comprise Australian actor Simon Baker, French director Bertrand Bonello, U.S. actor Willem Dafoe, Indian filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap; Japanese director Naomi Kawase; Danish-u.S. actor and director Viggo Mortensen; U.K. actor Tilda Swinton; and Russian director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen and Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, who will receive the festival’s honorary Étoile d’or prize this year, will also participate in the program.
Baker’s was seen most recently in Toronto title Limbo and Tribeca 2022 selection Blaze, with early features including L.A. Confidential (1997), David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011), followed by hit series The Mentalist (2008–2015).
Bensaïdi’s first feature A Thousand Months world premiered...
- 11/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
As predicted, the 20th edition of the Marrakech Intl. Film Festival (November 24th to December 2nd) will highlight what was a solid year in Cannes this year for Moroccan cinema showcasing Kamal Lazraq’s Hounds, Faouzi Bensaïdi’s Deserts and Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies and will get the festivities started with one of the top films from Venice in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man. The Official Competition section (14 films from first and second time filmmakers) will include the likes of Ramata-Toulaye Sy, Lina Soualem, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, Luck Razanajaona, Nehir Tuna, Una Gunjak, Juan Sebastián Quebrada, Luàna Bajrami, Felipe Carmona, Johnny Barrington, Carolina Markowicz and Daina O.…...
- 11/2/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Festival has programmed 75 films from 36 countries.
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which runs from November 24-December 2.
The festival is opening with Richard Linklater’s action comedy Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, and is screening 75 films in total from 36 countries.
Marrakech’s official competition, which comprises first and second feature films, includes Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes Competition title Banel & Adama, Lina Soualem’s Venice Giornate degli Autori documentary Bye Bye Tiberias and Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s feature debut Hounds, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Scroll down for full line-up
Johnny Barrington,...
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which runs from November 24-December 2.
The festival is opening with Richard Linklater’s action comedy Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, and is screening 75 films in total from 36 countries.
Marrakech’s official competition, which comprises first and second feature films, includes Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes Competition title Banel & Adama, Lina Soualem’s Venice Giornate degli Autori documentary Bye Bye Tiberias and Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s feature debut Hounds, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Scroll down for full line-up
Johnny Barrington,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Richard Linklater’s action comedy “Hit Man” is set to open the Marrakech International Film Festival, which has announced its lineup of more than 70 films mixing known titles and fresh fare.
The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov. 24- Dec.2 in the ancient Moroccan city despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.
“Hit Man,” for which organizers declined to specify whether talent will attend, will screen as part of Marrakech’s red carpet gala screenings. Italian director Matteo Garrone is expected to make the trek for the gala of his Venice prizewinning immigration drama “Io Capitano” and Michel Franco will be coming to present another Venice prizewinner, “Memory,” starring Jessica Chastain, who is presiding over the fest’s main jury.
Also expected on hand for...
The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov. 24- Dec.2 in the ancient Moroccan city despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.
“Hit Man,” for which organizers declined to specify whether talent will attend, will screen as part of Marrakech’s red carpet gala screenings. Italian director Matteo Garrone is expected to make the trek for the gala of his Venice prizewinning immigration drama “Io Capitano” and Michel Franco will be coming to present another Venice prizewinner, “Memory,” starring Jessica Chastain, who is presiding over the fest’s main jury.
Also expected on hand for...
- 11/2/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival has announced its selection, opening with Richard Linklater’s comedy Hit Man.
The event, running from November 24 to December 24, will unfold two months after the devastating earthquake in the nearby Atlas Mountains in September, which killed more than 2,000 people.
The management team has decided to push on with the event to support Marrakech, which suffered very little damage and relies heavily on tourism for its livelihood.
Hit Man will play as part of the festival’s six picture red carpet Gala selection which also includes Matteo Garrone’s Italian Oscar entry Me Captain and Michel Franco’s Memory.
Previously announced high-profile guests due to attend this year include Martin Scorsese, who will act as a mentor to emerging filmmakers attending the industry-focused Atlas Workshops, and Jessica Chastain as president of the jury.
She will be joined by Iranian actress and director Zar Amir,...
The event, running from November 24 to December 24, will unfold two months after the devastating earthquake in the nearby Atlas Mountains in September, which killed more than 2,000 people.
The management team has decided to push on with the event to support Marrakech, which suffered very little damage and relies heavily on tourism for its livelihood.
Hit Man will play as part of the festival’s six picture red carpet Gala selection which also includes Matteo Garrone’s Italian Oscar entry Me Captain and Michel Franco’s Memory.
Previously announced high-profile guests due to attend this year include Martin Scorsese, who will act as a mentor to emerging filmmakers attending the industry-focused Atlas Workshops, and Jessica Chastain as president of the jury.
She will be joined by Iranian actress and director Zar Amir,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
After landing in Cannes with outstanding French-Moroccan cinema items in the Un Certain Regard selected Kamal Lazraq’s Hounds (read review) and Directors’ Fortnight selected Faouzi Bensaïdi’s Déserts (see interview) Saïd Hamich Benlarbi will be taking his producer’s hat and alternating with the director’s clapperboard for his sophomore feature which just added some new players. According to Le Film Francais reports Saïd Hamich Benlarbi will direct Anna Mouglalis and Grégoire Colin (along with the already cast Ayoub Gretaa) in that La Mer Au Loin. Benlarbi will produce via his label Barney Production along with The Jokers’ Manuel Chiche. His debut film Return to Bollene received a prestigious Louis Delluc award nomination.…...
- 10/30/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The very first image we find in Déserts informs the viewer that we need directions and that its the elements that have a stronger grip on the outcome. It’s the perfect allegory for a narrative strategy that fractures conventional narrative blueprints and we could coin Moroccan filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi‘s latest film as a modern take on the Western, a revenge film, a buddy comedy with deadpan humor. Working with a text that jabs at capitalism and corruption, we find a subversive, jarring and refreshing text here. It’s a world of payback and pay me back for Casablanca debt collection agents Mehdi and Hamid in a vast land.…...
- 10/23/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
For more on Venice's standout films, read our dispatch coverage: "Biopics Reloaded" and "Hitmen, A.I., and Dangerous Women."Poor Things.Main Competition(Jury: Damien Chazelle (chair), Saleh Bakri, Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Gabriele Mainetti, Martin McDonagh, Santiago Mitre, Laura Poitras, and Shu Qi)Golden Lion: Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize: Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)Silver Lion Best Director: Matteo Garrone (Io Capitano)Special Jury Prize: Green Border (Agnieszka Holland)Best Screenplay: Pablo Larraín and Guillermo Calderón (El Conde)Best Actress: Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla)Best Actor: Peter Sarsgaard (Memory)Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Seydou Sarr (Io Capitano)Explanation For Everything.HORIZONSJury: Jonas Carpignano (chair), Kaouther Ben Hania, Kahlil Joseph, Jean-Paul Salomé, and Tricia Truttle)Best Film: Explanation For Everything (Gábor Reisz)Best Director: Mika Gustafson (Paradise Is Burning)Special Jury Prize: Una Sterminata Domenica (Alain Parroni)Best Actress:...
- 9/12/2023
- MUBI
Martin Scorsese has been confirmed as a special guest of the upcoming Marrakech International Film Festival as it gears up for its 20th edition, running from November 24 to December 2.
Scorsese, whose new movie Killers of the Flower Moon begins its worldwide rollout in early October, is a long-time supporter of the Moroccan festival and has attended five times.
As well as participating in this year’s 20th edition celebrations, he has also agreed to take on the role of patron of the sixth edition of the Atlas Workshops, the festival’s industry program dedicated to emerging talent from the African continent and the Arab world.
“I am always happy to be returning to my beloved Marrakech Film Festival—when I haven’t been able to attend in person, I’ve always been there in spirit,” Scorsese said in a statement.
“For this very special anniversary edition of the festival, I...
Scorsese, whose new movie Killers of the Flower Moon begins its worldwide rollout in early October, is a long-time supporter of the Moroccan festival and has attended five times.
As well as participating in this year’s 20th edition celebrations, he has also agreed to take on the role of patron of the sixth edition of the Atlas Workshops, the festival’s industry program dedicated to emerging talent from the African continent and the Arab world.
“I am always happy to be returning to my beloved Marrakech Film Festival—when I haven’t been able to attend in person, I’ve always been there in spirit,” Scorsese said in a statement.
“For this very special anniversary edition of the festival, I...
- 8/29/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The main jury for the upcoming Venice Film Festival has added a number of prestigious filmmakers, with Jane Campion, Martin McDonagh, Laura Poitras and Mia Hansen-Løve joining jury president Damien Chazelle for the festival.
Other jurors on the panel include Saleh Bakri (“Wajib”), Gabriele Mainetti (“They Call Me Jeeg”), Santiago Mitre and Shu Qi (“The Assassin”).
The jury is responsible for awarding the following prizes during the festival: Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
The festival also unveiled the juries for the other sections on Thursday, with the Orizzonti section jury set to include Jonas Carpignano, Kaouther Ben Hania, Kahlil Joseph, Jean-Paul Salomé and Tricia Tuttle.
The “Luigi De Laurentis” award for a debut film,...
Other jurors on the panel include Saleh Bakri (“Wajib”), Gabriele Mainetti (“They Call Me Jeeg”), Santiago Mitre and Shu Qi (“The Assassin”).
The jury is responsible for awarding the following prizes during the festival: Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
The festival also unveiled the juries for the other sections on Thursday, with the Orizzonti section jury set to include Jonas Carpignano, Kaouther Ben Hania, Kahlil Joseph, Jean-Paul Salomé and Tricia Tuttle.
The “Luigi De Laurentis” award for a debut film,...
- 7/13/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
An all-star award-winning filmmaker jury is lining up to judge the competition titles of the 80th Venice Film Festival. Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion, Oscar winner Martin McDonagh, and Oscar and Venice Golden Lion winner Laura Poitras will join jury president Damien Chazelle on the Venice 2023 international jury.
Also on this year’s jury judging the Golden and Silver Lion winners will be acclaimed French director Mia Hansen-Love, Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, Argentine filmmaker Santiago Mitre as well as Chinese actress Shu Qi.
Most of the jury has a history with Venice. Chazelle premiered La La Land and First Man in competition on the Lido. Poitras’ last film, the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, won last year’s Golden Lion. Campion’s The Power of the Dog was a Silver Lion winner in 2021. McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, a 2022 Venice competition title, took the...
Also on this year’s jury judging the Golden and Silver Lion winners will be acclaimed French director Mia Hansen-Love, Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, Argentine filmmaker Santiago Mitre as well as Chinese actress Shu Qi.
Most of the jury has a history with Venice. Chazelle premiered La La Land and First Man in competition on the Lido. Poitras’ last film, the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, won last year’s Golden Lion. Campion’s The Power of the Dog was a Silver Lion winner in 2021. McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, a 2022 Venice competition title, took the...
- 7/13/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Among those selected, Laura Poitras won the Golden Lion at the festival last year.
Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Laura Poitras and Martin McDonagh have joined the main Competition jury of the 80th Venice Film Festival (August 30-September 9).
The filmmakers will be joined by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (Wajib); Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, who was in Competition at the festival in 2021 with Freaks Out; Argentinian writer/director Santiago Mitre, whose Argentina, 1985 premiered in Competition at Venice last year; and Chinese actress Shu Qi, known for her performances in Hou Hsiao-Hsien films Millennium Mambo, Three Times and The Assassin.
US director Poitras...
Jane Campion, Mia Hansen-Løve, Laura Poitras and Martin McDonagh have joined the main Competition jury of the 80th Venice Film Festival (August 30-September 9).
The filmmakers will be joined by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (Wajib); Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, who was in Competition at the festival in 2021 with Freaks Out; Argentinian writer/director Santiago Mitre, whose Argentina, 1985 premiered in Competition at Venice last year; and Chinese actress Shu Qi, known for her performances in Hou Hsiao-Hsien films Millennium Mambo, Three Times and The Assassin.
US director Poitras...
- 7/13/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Jane Campion, Laura Poitras, Martin McDonagh and Mia Hansen-Løve have joined the main jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival.
The prominent directors, most of whom are Venice regulars – Poitras last year scored the Golden Lion with documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” – will be joined by fellow jury members including Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“Wajib”); Chinese star Shu Qi (“The Assassin”); Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, who was at Venice last year with “Freaks Out”; and Argentinian auteur Santiago Mitre, whose “Argentina, 1985” also launched from the Lido last year.
They will join Damien Chazelle who, as previously announced, will serve as president of the Venice competition jury.
Venice revealed its jury just hours after talks broke down without a deal between actors union SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance for Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). A strike is expected to be called on Thursday morning, Pacific time, which could have...
The prominent directors, most of whom are Venice regulars – Poitras last year scored the Golden Lion with documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” – will be joined by fellow jury members including Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri (“Wajib”); Chinese star Shu Qi (“The Assassin”); Italian director Gabriele Mainetti, who was at Venice last year with “Freaks Out”; and Argentinian auteur Santiago Mitre, whose “Argentina, 1985” also launched from the Lido last year.
They will join Damien Chazelle who, as previously announced, will serve as president of the Venice competition jury.
Venice revealed its jury just hours after talks broke down without a deal between actors union SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance for Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). A strike is expected to be called on Thursday morning, Pacific time, which could have...
- 7/13/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Pierre Niney fooling around on the first day of filming for Michel Gondry’s The Book of Solutions Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Directors' Fortnight New films from Korean director Hong Sangsoo with In Our Day and the return of Michel Gondry, after a gap of eight years, with The Book of Solutions are among the highlights at Directors’ Fortnight, the edgier and indy section that runs in tandem to the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.
The edition marks the first under the leadership of Julien Rejl as artistic director of what is now called the Quinzaine des Cinéastes (rather than Réalisateurs - making it more “gender inclusive”).
Premiere for Deserts, by Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaidi as part of Directors' Fortnight Photo: UniFrance The selection displays a mix of emerging directors as well as established names. Hong Sangsoo will present In Our Day on closing night. This year's edition...
The edition marks the first under the leadership of Julien Rejl as artistic director of what is now called the Quinzaine des Cinéastes (rather than Réalisateurs - making it more “gender inclusive”).
Premiere for Deserts, by Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaidi as part of Directors' Fortnight Photo: UniFrance The selection displays a mix of emerging directors as well as established names. Hong Sangsoo will present In Our Day on closing night. This year's edition...
- 4/18/2023
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The lineup for the 2023 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) at Cannes has been announced. See also the lineup of the Official Selection and Critics' Week.Creatura.Feature FILMSThe Goldman Case (Cédric Kahn)Agra (Kanu Behl)The Other Laurens (Claude Schmitz)Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Thien An Pham)Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (Elene Naveriani) Blazh (Ilya Povolotsky)She Is Conann (Bertrand Mandico)Creatura (Elena Martín Gimeno)Déserts (Faouzi Bensaïdi)In Flames (Zarrar Kahn) Légua (Filipa Reis and João Miller Guerra)The Book of Solutions (Michel Gondry)Mambar Pierrette (Rosine Mbakam)Riddle of Fire (Weston Razooli)The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something has Passed (Joanna Arnow)The Sweet East (Sean Price Williams)A Prince (Pierre Creton)A Song Sung Blue (Zihan Geng)In Our Day (Hong Sang-soo)Short FILMSThe House Is on Fire, Might as Well Get Warm (Mouloud Aït Liotna)A Storm Inside (Clément Pérot)The Birthday Party (Francesco Sossai...
- 4/18/2023
- MUBI
The Cannes Directors’ Fortnight lineup has been unveiled ahead of this year’s festival.
Set for May 16 through May 27, the Directors’ Fortnight will debut 20 feature films and 10 short films this year.
Cédric Kahn’s “The Goldman Case” is the opening night selection. The film centers on the 1976 trial of left-wing revolutionary Pierre Goldman who was convicted of multiple armed robberies and later murdered.
Korean director Hong Sangsoo’s “In Our Day” will conclude the festival. The feature stars Kim Minhee and Ki Joobong in parallel stories of cat owners grappling with their felines’ respective mortality.
Directors’ Fortnight highlights also include Oscar winner Michel Gondry’s French comedy “The Book of Solutions,” starring Pierre Niney as a filmmaker with writer’s block. The film marks “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” director Gondry’s first feature in seven years.
“Good Time” director of photography Sean Price William makes his directorial feature...
Set for May 16 through May 27, the Directors’ Fortnight will debut 20 feature films and 10 short films this year.
Cédric Kahn’s “The Goldman Case” is the opening night selection. The film centers on the 1976 trial of left-wing revolutionary Pierre Goldman who was convicted of multiple armed robberies and later murdered.
Korean director Hong Sangsoo’s “In Our Day” will conclude the festival. The feature stars Kim Minhee and Ki Joobong in parallel stories of cat owners grappling with their felines’ respective mortality.
Directors’ Fortnight highlights also include Oscar winner Michel Gondry’s French comedy “The Book of Solutions,” starring Pierre Niney as a filmmaker with writer’s block. The film marks “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” director Gondry’s first feature in seven years.
“Good Time” director of photography Sean Price William makes his directorial feature...
- 4/18/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Cannes Directors’ Fortnight sidebar has unveiled its 2023 lineup, which will feature new films from arthouse favorites Hong Sang-soo, Michel Gondry and Cédric, Kahn as well as a broad selection from up-and-coming international directors.
Gondry’s French-language comedy The Book of Solutions, the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep director, is a clear Fortnight highlight this year. Franz and Yves Saint Laurent star Pierre Niney plays the lead as a director dealing with a creative block. The project was a hot seller for Kinology at the Cannes market last year.
The phenomenally-productive Hong Sangsoo will close this year’s Fortnight section with In Our Day, a drama starring Kim Minhee as a 40-something woman temporarily living at the home of a friend and Ki Joobong as a 70-something man living alone. Both receive visitors, eat noodles, and talk.
Gondry’s French-language comedy The Book of Solutions, the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep director, is a clear Fortnight highlight this year. Franz and Yves Saint Laurent star Pierre Niney plays the lead as a director dealing with a creative block. The project was a hot seller for Kinology at the Cannes market last year.
The phenomenally-productive Hong Sangsoo will close this year’s Fortnight section with In Our Day, a drama starring Kim Minhee as a 40-something woman temporarily living at the home of a friend and Ki Joobong as a 70-something man living alone. Both receive visitors, eat noodles, and talk.
- 4/18/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After Cannes Film Festival announced its main lineup last week, the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week sidebars have unveiled their slates. Now in its 55th edition, Directors’ Fortnight features Hong Sangsoo’s second feature of the year, In Our Day, while Sean Price Williams’ The Sweet East, Michel Gondry’s The Book of Solutions, Bertrand Mandico’s She Is Conann, and more.
“The Directors’ Fortnight was born when a community of directors came together with the desire to create an independent space that would encourage the emergence of free filmmaking regardless of geographical provenance or any other limiting criteria,” said Julien Rejl, Artistic Director of the Directors’ Fortnight. “At the heart of the creation of the Directors’ Fortnight was the singular quality of a work of art and the impossibility of pigeonholing it. We have chosen to present 30 films to you which, through their own unique language, embody a spirit...
“The Directors’ Fortnight was born when a community of directors came together with the desire to create an independent space that would encourage the emergence of free filmmaking regardless of geographical provenance or any other limiting criteria,” said Julien Rejl, Artistic Director of the Directors’ Fortnight. “At the heart of the creation of the Directors’ Fortnight was the singular quality of a work of art and the impossibility of pigeonholing it. We have chosen to present 30 films to you which, through their own unique language, embody a spirit...
- 4/18/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The sidebar unveiled its 55th selection under new artistic director Julien Rejl on Tuesday (April 18).
Films from Michel Gondry, Hong Sangsoo and Cédric Kahn are among the 19 features set to world premiere at the 55th Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, running May 17-26.
Scroll down for the full selection
Incoming artistic director Julien Rejl unveiled the line-up at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday (April 18) for the non-competitive Cannes parallel section run by French directors guild the Srf.
Rejl said he and his committee chose the films from nearly 4,000 submissions and travelled to more than 20 countries to meet filmmakers and professionals across the globe.
Films from Michel Gondry, Hong Sangsoo and Cédric Kahn are among the 19 features set to world premiere at the 55th Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, running May 17-26.
Scroll down for the full selection
Incoming artistic director Julien Rejl unveiled the line-up at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday (April 18) for the non-competitive Cannes parallel section run by French directors guild the Srf.
Rejl said he and his committee chose the films from nearly 4,000 submissions and travelled to more than 20 countries to meet filmmakers and professionals across the globe.
- 4/18/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The sidebar unveiled its 55th selection under new artistic director Julien Rejl on Tuesday (April 18).
Projects from Michel Gondry, Hong Sang-Soo and Cédric Kahn are among the 19 features set to world premiere at the 55th Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, running May 17-26.
Scroll down for the full selection
Incoming artistic director Julien Rejl unveiled the line-up at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday (April 18) for the non-competitive Cannes parallel section run by French directors guild the Srf.
Rejl said he and his committee chose the films from nearly 4,000 submissions and travelled to more than 20 countries to meet filmmakers and professionals across the globe.
Projects from Michel Gondry, Hong Sang-Soo and Cédric Kahn are among the 19 features set to world premiere at the 55th Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, running May 17-26.
Scroll down for the full selection
Incoming artistic director Julien Rejl unveiled the line-up at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday (April 18) for the non-competitive Cannes parallel section run by French directors guild the Srf.
Rejl said he and his committee chose the films from nearly 4,000 submissions and travelled to more than 20 countries to meet filmmakers and professionals across the globe.
- 4/18/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
New films from Hong Sang-soo and Michel Gondry will world premiere at Directors Fortnight, a selection running parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. This edition marks the first under the leadership of Julien Rejl as artistic director.
Succeeding to Paolo Moretti, Rejl was named by the governing body of Directors’ Fortnight, the Srf (Société des réalisateurs de films), as part of a rebranding. Unlike previous artistic directors for this selection, Rejl doesn’t come from the festival circuit. He was previously in charge of distribution, international co-productions and international sales at Capricci, an arthouse film banner based in Paris.
The well-balanced lineup shows his taste for international cinema, with a mix of emerging directors and established masters, such as Hong, who will present his movie “In Our Day” on closing night. The edition will kick off with “The Goldman’s Case,” a thriller directed by actor-turned-helmer Cedric Kahn about the true story of Pierre Goldman,...
Succeeding to Paolo Moretti, Rejl was named by the governing body of Directors’ Fortnight, the Srf (Société des réalisateurs de films), as part of a rebranding. Unlike previous artistic directors for this selection, Rejl doesn’t come from the festival circuit. He was previously in charge of distribution, international co-productions and international sales at Capricci, an arthouse film banner based in Paris.
The well-balanced lineup shows his taste for international cinema, with a mix of emerging directors and established masters, such as Hong, who will present his movie “In Our Day” on closing night. The edition will kick off with “The Goldman’s Case,” a thriller directed by actor-turned-helmer Cedric Kahn about the true story of Pierre Goldman,...
- 4/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Film is first Mongolian feature to play in Official Selection at Cannes.
Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired If Only I Could Hibernate, the debut feature from Mongolian director Zoljargal (Zoro) Purevdash that will world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
If Only I Could Hibernate is the first Mongolian film to play in Official Selection at Cannes. It is a co-production between Purevdash’s Mongolian production house Amygdala Films and Paris-based Urban Factory, headed by producers Frédéric Corvez and Maeva Savinien.
Amel Lacombe’s Eurozoom signed a deal for French distribution ahead of the film’s selection for Cannes.
Set in Ulaanbaatar,...
Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired If Only I Could Hibernate, the debut feature from Mongolian director Zoljargal (Zoro) Purevdash that will world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
If Only I Could Hibernate is the first Mongolian film to play in Official Selection at Cannes. It is a co-production between Purevdash’s Mongolian production house Amygdala Films and Paris-based Urban Factory, headed by producers Frédéric Corvez and Maeva Savinien.
Amel Lacombe’s Eurozoom signed a deal for French distribution ahead of the film’s selection for Cannes.
Set in Ulaanbaatar,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Noted filmmakers from around the globe have contributed short films to anthology project “Interactions,” which is showcased at the ongoing International Film Festival of India, Goa.
The project, an Art For The World Production, was set up with the aim of 12 international filmmakers creating connections between humans and animals through biodiversity, climate change, environment and water risks. This resulted in original short films questioning biodiversity, conservation of nature, deforestation, ecosystem, environment, health, marine life, species extinction, water and more.
The participating filmmakers were selected from all over the world, including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the U.S., not only on the basis of their filmography, awards and fame, but also for their sensitivity to themes regarding the planet and the consequences of climate change on humankind, nature and animal life.
“Domestication” by Isabella Rossellini looks at the origin of domestic animals, explains the lack of biodiversity...
The project, an Art For The World Production, was set up with the aim of 12 international filmmakers creating connections between humans and animals through biodiversity, climate change, environment and water risks. This resulted in original short films questioning biodiversity, conservation of nature, deforestation, ecosystem, environment, health, marine life, species extinction, water and more.
The participating filmmakers were selected from all over the world, including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the U.S., not only on the basis of their filmography, awards and fame, but also for their sensitivity to themes regarding the planet and the consequences of climate change on humankind, nature and animal life.
“Domestication” by Isabella Rossellini looks at the origin of domestic animals, explains the lack of biodiversity...
- 11/26/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Up-and-coming Moroccan filmmaker Saïd Hamich Benlarbi is developing a brace of projects as a producer and director, notably “La mer au loin” which won one of the two top prizes at the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops.
Produced by Hamich Benlarbi’s Paris-based banner Barney Production and Manuel Chiche’s company The Jokers, “La mer au loin” is a 1990’s-set melodrama laced with Rai, a form of lyrical Algerian folk music .
The movie takes place in Marseille, in the South of France, and follows a young Arab immigrant living illegally in the city who falls in love with a woman who happens to be married with a cop.
Citing Todd Haynes and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Hamich Benlarbi said “La mer au loin” will “explore the concept of identity and how one defines it through exile.” He said the movie will talk about “Rai, love and friendship” and be “festive...
Produced by Hamich Benlarbi’s Paris-based banner Barney Production and Manuel Chiche’s company The Jokers, “La mer au loin” is a 1990’s-set melodrama laced with Rai, a form of lyrical Algerian folk music .
The movie takes place in Marseille, in the South of France, and follows a young Arab immigrant living illegally in the city who falls in love with a woman who happens to be married with a cop.
Citing Todd Haynes and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Hamich Benlarbi said “La mer au loin” will “explore the concept of identity and how one defines it through exile.” He said the movie will talk about “Rai, love and friendship” and be “festive...
- 11/19/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Amjad Al Rasheed’s “Inshallah A Boy,” Luck Razanajaona’s “Disco Afrika,” and Boubacar Sangaré’s “A Golden Life” claimed a trio of post-production prizes at this year’s Atlas Workshops, which ran from Nov. 14–17 as part of the Marrakech Film Festival.
The Moroccan festival’s industry platform, this 5th edition of the Atlas Workshops saw a return to in-person events after two years online, and with it, a welcome reception from the 250 professional delegates who turned out to support the 23 selected projects – in development, production and post-production – with mentorship sessions, targeted consulting and, finally, 109,000 in prize money split between the eight winning titles.
Directed by Amjad Al Rasheed, produced by Rula Nasser of The Imaginarium Films, and winner of this year’s top prize at Venice Final Cut, the Jordanian drama “Inshallah A Boy” can now add a 25,000 Atlas Workshops post-production grant to an already hefty list honors (that...
The Moroccan festival’s industry platform, this 5th edition of the Atlas Workshops saw a return to in-person events after two years online, and with it, a welcome reception from the 250 professional delegates who turned out to support the 23 selected projects – in development, production and post-production – with mentorship sessions, targeted consulting and, finally, 109,000 in prize money split between the eight winning titles.
Directed by Amjad Al Rasheed, produced by Rula Nasser of The Imaginarium Films, and winner of this year’s top prize at Venice Final Cut, the Jordanian drama “Inshallah A Boy” can now add a 25,000 Atlas Workshops post-production grant to an already hefty list honors (that...
- 11/18/2022
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
‘Deserts,’ from ‘Death for Sale’ Helmer Faouzi Bensaïdi, Leads Morocco’s Presence at Atlas Workshops
Marrakech — One Moroccan highlight at this year’s Atlas Workshops has been given a special berth, as its director merits: “Deserts” from actor-helmer Faouzi Bensaidi whose films have played Berlin and Venice.
A modern take on the Western, “It will be an abstract Western, but not a Spaghetti Western. It will be more existential. Man against himself, against God and against nature and coming to terms with his own interior violence,” he told Variety when he film was still a project, closing co-production. .
Those deals are now in place with France’s Barney Productions, NiKo in Germany, Entre Chien et Loup in Belgium accompanying Mont Fleuri in Morocco. The production is locked and aiming to premiere next year.
Meanwhile, five other Moroccan titles, this time in development are hoping to get to this stage of completion with the help of the Workshops. These projects are presented in the Atlas Close-Ups section.
A modern take on the Western, “It will be an abstract Western, but not a Spaghetti Western. It will be more existential. Man against himself, against God and against nature and coming to terms with his own interior violence,” he told Variety when he film was still a project, closing co-production. .
Those deals are now in place with France’s Barney Productions, NiKo in Germany, Entre Chien et Loup in Belgium accompanying Mont Fleuri in Morocco. The production is locked and aiming to premiere next year.
Meanwhile, five other Moroccan titles, this time in development are hoping to get to this stage of completion with the help of the Workshops. These projects are presented in the Atlas Close-Ups section.
- 11/15/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
The festival runs November 11-19
The Marrakech International Film Festival (November 11-19) has mapped out its 2022 Atlas Workshops programme with 23 projects and films selected for its 5th edition.
The Moroccan festival’s industry platform will feature 16 projects in development and six films in post-production from 11 countries. The project incubator and industry platform was launched in 2018 and was held online in 2020 and 2021. This will be its return to an in-person event set for Nov 14-17. The program aims to support the next generation of Moroccan, Arab and African filmmakers by giving their projects exposure on the international stage during the global,...
The Marrakech International Film Festival (November 11-19) has mapped out its 2022 Atlas Workshops programme with 23 projects and films selected for its 5th edition.
The Moroccan festival’s industry platform will feature 16 projects in development and six films in post-production from 11 countries. The project incubator and industry platform was launched in 2018 and was held online in 2020 and 2021. This will be its return to an in-person event set for Nov 14-17. The program aims to support the next generation of Moroccan, Arab and African filmmakers by giving their projects exposure on the international stage during the global,...
- 10/19/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
28 selected projects pitched to sales agents and distributors.
A new documentary project from Prayers For The Stolen director Tatiana Huezo was among the prize-winners at the fifth edition of European Work in Progress (Ewip), held in Cologne October 17-19.
An international jury including mk2 films’ head of acquisitions Olivier Barbier, Directors’ Fortnight artistic director Julien Rejl and German director-producer-actress Saralisa Volm awarded in-kind prizes worth a total of €60,000, after the 28 selected projects had been pitched to sales agents and distributors.
The K13 Studios award of €10,000 in Dolby Atmos mixing went to Huezo’s documentary The Echo, a documentary about children...
A new documentary project from Prayers For The Stolen director Tatiana Huezo was among the prize-winners at the fifth edition of European Work in Progress (Ewip), held in Cologne October 17-19.
An international jury including mk2 films’ head of acquisitions Olivier Barbier, Directors’ Fortnight artistic director Julien Rejl and German director-producer-actress Saralisa Volm awarded in-kind prizes worth a total of €60,000, after the 28 selected projects had been pitched to sales agents and distributors.
The K13 Studios award of €10,000 in Dolby Atmos mixing went to Huezo’s documentary The Echo, a documentary about children...
- 10/19/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Official competition includes Maryam Touzani’s The Blue Caftan and Cristèle Alves Meira’s Alma Viva.
The Marrakech International Film Festival (November 11-19) has announced the line-up for its 2022 edition, which returns as a physical edition following its cancellation in 2020 and 2021.
The official competition will see 14 first and second features vie for the Etoile d’Or (Gold Star) prize voted upon by a jury presided by Paolo Sorrentino. Among the selected titles, 10 are first features and six are from female directors.
The section includes two best international feature Oscar entries; Maryam Touzani’s The Blue Caftan (Morocco) and Cristèle Alves...
The Marrakech International Film Festival (November 11-19) has announced the line-up for its 2022 edition, which returns as a physical edition following its cancellation in 2020 and 2021.
The official competition will see 14 first and second features vie for the Etoile d’Or (Gold Star) prize voted upon by a jury presided by Paolo Sorrentino. Among the selected titles, 10 are first features and six are from female directors.
The section includes two best international feature Oscar entries; Maryam Touzani’s The Blue Caftan (Morocco) and Cristèle Alves...
- 10/14/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
28 projects selected from over 150 submissions.
New features from Mexican director Amat Escalante and Mexican-San Salvadoran filmmaker Tatiana Huezo are among the 28 feature projects selected for the fifth edition of European Work in Progress Cologne (Ewip), the industry pitching event held from October 17-19 in the run-up to Film Festival Cologne.
Escalante will pitch Lost In The Night, about a man searching for those responsible for his mother’s disappearance, who encounters an incompetent justice system.
The Mexico-Germany-Netherlands-Denmark co-production is produced by Nicolas Celis and Fernanda de la Peza for Tres Tunas Cine. Escalante has previously directed four features including Venice and Toronto 2016 horror The Untamed.
New features from Mexican director Amat Escalante and Mexican-San Salvadoran filmmaker Tatiana Huezo are among the 28 feature projects selected for the fifth edition of European Work in Progress Cologne (Ewip), the industry pitching event held from October 17-19 in the run-up to Film Festival Cologne.
Escalante will pitch Lost In The Night, about a man searching for those responsible for his mother’s disappearance, who encounters an incompetent justice system.
The Mexico-Germany-Netherlands-Denmark co-production is produced by Nicolas Celis and Fernanda de la Peza for Tres Tunas Cine. Escalante has previously directed four features including Venice and Toronto 2016 horror The Untamed.
- 10/11/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
“Plan 75,” Hayakawa Chie’s Japanese dystopian drama which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, has been sold in a raft of territories by Urban Sales.
The movie is set in Japan, in a near future where a government program called Plan 75 encourages senior citizens to be voluntarily euthanized in order to remedy the aging society. The film weaves the stories of an elderly woman who isn’t able to live independently, a pragmatic Plan 75 salesman and a young Filipino caregiver. “Plan 75” stars Chieko Baisho (“Howl’s Moving Castle”) and Hayato Isomura, among others.
Urban Sales has closed deals on the promising debut feature to Italy (Tucker Film), China (Dddream), Benelux (September Films), Taiwan (Sky Digi) and Singapore (Lighthouse Film Distribution).
Happinet will handle the Japanese release of “Plan 75” in mid-June. Eurozoom will distribute it in France in the fall. “Plan 75” was produced by Loaded Films,...
The movie is set in Japan, in a near future where a government program called Plan 75 encourages senior citizens to be voluntarily euthanized in order to remedy the aging society. The film weaves the stories of an elderly woman who isn’t able to live independently, a pragmatic Plan 75 salesman and a young Filipino caregiver. “Plan 75” stars Chieko Baisho (“Howl’s Moving Castle”) and Hayato Isomura, among others.
Urban Sales has closed deals on the promising debut feature to Italy (Tucker Film), China (Dddream), Benelux (September Films), Taiwan (Sky Digi) and Singapore (Lighthouse Film Distribution).
Happinet will handle the Japanese release of “Plan 75” in mid-June. Eurozoom will distribute it in France in the fall. “Plan 75” was produced by Loaded Films,...
- 5/27/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Milcho Manchevski, Pablo Berger.
Co-productions from French director Michel Hazanavicius and Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are among 24 selected for funding in the latest Eurimages round.
Hazanavicius, whose 2011 title The Artist which won five Oscars including best picture and director, receives €470,000 towards Franco-Belgian animation The Most Precious Of Cargoes.
Adapted from a 2019 novel by French writer Jean-Claude Grumberg, the animated film is set during the Second World War, when a Jewish father throws one of his twins from the train to Auschwitz in a desperate attempt to save him. The boy is then discovered by a childless Polish couple.
Co-productions from French director Michel Hazanavicius and Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are among 24 selected for funding in the latest Eurimages round.
Hazanavicius, whose 2011 title The Artist which won five Oscars including best picture and director, receives €470,000 towards Franco-Belgian animation The Most Precious Of Cargoes.
Adapted from a 2019 novel by French writer Jean-Claude Grumberg, the animated film is set during the Second World War, when a Jewish father throws one of his twins from the train to Auschwitz in a desperate attempt to save him. The boy is then discovered by a childless Polish couple.
- 3/22/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Two projects from Franco-Moroccan producer Saïd Hamich won big at the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshop this year, with the upcoming Kamal Lazraq-directed feature “Les Meutes” nabbing a development prize and the recently wrapped “Zanka Contact” winning an $11,000 post-production grant. “Zanka Contact” director Ismaël El Iraki was on-hand to present 10 minutes of footage, which screened before the gathered sales agents and festival programmers for the first time.
Speaking with Variety, Hamich touts El Iraki’s feature debut as an original proposition for contemporary Moroccan cinema. “It’s a wild, energetic film that’s part musical, part Western, and shot in 35mm scope,” says the producer. “It’s a love story between two survivors… who connect because they’ve both survived traumatic events.”
That subject has some resonance for El Iraki, who himself is a survivor of the Nov. 13, 2015 attacks in Paris. Though the film is not directly inspired...
Speaking with Variety, Hamich touts El Iraki’s feature debut as an original proposition for contemporary Moroccan cinema. “It’s a wild, energetic film that’s part musical, part Western, and shot in 35mm scope,” says the producer. “It’s a love story between two survivors… who connect because they’ve both survived traumatic events.”
That subject has some resonance for El Iraki, who himself is a survivor of the Nov. 13, 2015 attacks in Paris. Though the film is not directly inspired...
- 12/8/2019
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Moroccan director Nour-Eddine Lakhmari – whose trilogy of films, “Casanegra,” “Zero” and “Burnout,” were major local hits – is completing a documentary for the Marrakech Film Festival Foundation, entitled “Turn the Light On,” about the Foundation’s medical-social campaign, that provides free cataract surgery treatment.
The campaign is organized in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Hassan II Foundation of Ophthalmology and has been in existence since 2009. Lakhmari filmed 310 operations in one week.
A 6-minute teaser from the documentary will be screened in the closing ceremony of the Marrakech Film Festival on Saturday. The final 45-minute version will be released in early 2020.
Lakhmari is also preparing a new feature film about a young woman who runs away from home and moves to a remote village in Morocco. This marks a significant break from the style and themes of his previous films, which revolved around strong male protagonists, street violence and were all lensed in Casablanca.
The campaign is organized in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Hassan II Foundation of Ophthalmology and has been in existence since 2009. Lakhmari filmed 310 operations in one week.
A 6-minute teaser from the documentary will be screened in the closing ceremony of the Marrakech Film Festival on Saturday. The final 45-minute version will be released in early 2020.
Lakhmari is also preparing a new feature film about a young woman who runs away from home and moves to a remote village in Morocco. This marks a significant break from the style and themes of his previous films, which revolved around strong male protagonists, street violence and were all lensed in Casablanca.
- 12/5/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Projects by Sylvie Verheyde, Robert Schwentke, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Wissam Charaf, Berni Goldblat and Cédric Ido will be showcased at the co-production market event in Mulhouse on 26 and 27 November. 220 professionals will descend on Mulhouse tomorrow for the 17th Franco-German Film Meeting (26 and 27 November). Organised by UniFrance, German Films and the Académie Franco-Allemande du Cinéma, in partnership with the Cnc and Ffa, the event will host debates on topics impacting the industry on both sides of the Rhine but also a co-production market with 22 projects to be showcased.One of the most notable of the 12 French...
- 11/25/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Ten leading European sales agents attended the first edition of Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops. In interviews with Variety the executives emphasized the importance of this new industry event, which will help leverage the importance of Marrakech as a key industry hub for Arab and African filmmakers.
Films Boutique’s Gabor Greiner said that the workshops provided an excellent opportunity to meet filmmakers and producers from the region, some of whom don’t travel very often to festivals in Europe.
“African cinema has tremendous potential and we’re keen to learn more about cinema from the region. As sales agents we’re on the lookout for something that stands out, and it can be easier to find unusual new voices in a region where cinema production is less common.”
Greiner cited examples of recent films that have raised visibility for Africa-related issues – such as Aalam-Warqe Davidian’s tragic romance “Fig Tree,...
Films Boutique’s Gabor Greiner said that the workshops provided an excellent opportunity to meet filmmakers and producers from the region, some of whom don’t travel very often to festivals in Europe.
“African cinema has tremendous potential and we’re keen to learn more about cinema from the region. As sales agents we’re on the lookout for something that stands out, and it can be easier to find unusual new voices in a region where cinema production is less common.”
Greiner cited examples of recent films that have raised visibility for Africa-related issues – such as Aalam-Warqe Davidian’s tragic romance “Fig Tree,...
- 12/6/2018
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Comparisons with Tunisia’s “Beauty and the Dogs” will unfortunately hound Morocco’s “Sofia,” though if parallels must be made, it’s the latter title that comes off as the better film. Both are centered around a nightmarish eve in a young middle-class woman’s life, when mistreatment for perceived lapses in the social contract reach abusive proportions. In the case of “Sofia,” the woman surprises herself and her family when she gives birth out of wedlock and then calculatedly manipulates the situation to her own ends. Debuting writer-director Meryem Benm’barek won the best screenplay prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, though even without the award, this admirably mordant film deserves to travel widely on the festival circuit as well as art houses beyond its Francophone countries of origin.
Another comparison that springs to mind is “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days,” both for the way Benm’barek blocks out her...
Another comparison that springs to mind is “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days,” both for the way Benm’barek blocks out her...
- 5/24/2018
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
The first edition will be presided over by Palestinian actress and director Hiam Abbass
Paris’s Institute of the Arab World is set to revive its festival activities this June with the launch of the new Arab Film Festival, the first edition of which will be presided over by Palestinian actress and director Hiam Abbass.
The new event will present some 70 films hailing from the Arab world across all genres.
A competitive feature line-up will showcase 13 recent titles from the Arab world including Palestinian director Muayad Alayan’s The Reports on Sarah and Salim, which premiered to critical acclaim at Rotterdam,...
Paris’s Institute of the Arab World is set to revive its festival activities this June with the launch of the new Arab Film Festival, the first edition of which will be presided over by Palestinian actress and director Hiam Abbass.
The new event will present some 70 films hailing from the Arab world across all genres.
A competitive feature line-up will showcase 13 recent titles from the Arab world including Palestinian director Muayad Alayan’s The Reports on Sarah and Salim, which premiered to critical acclaim at Rotterdam,...
- 5/15/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Company also takes on Venice Out of Competition title Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda.
Paris-based sales company Doc & Film has unveiled a slew of deals on Frederick Wiseman’s Venice Golden Lion contender Ex Libris – The New York Public Library.
The documentary, going behind the scenes of the world-famous public library, was revealed on Thursday as being one of the titles in the Venice Film Festival’s main competition.
Doc & Film CEO Daniela Elstner said the feature had pre-sold to Spain (La Aventura Audiovisual), Korea (Jinjin), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), China (Lemon Tree) and Switzerland (Xenix).
“Other territories are under negotiation and it will be released in France on 1st November by Meteore Films,” she added.
Wiseman’s film delves into how the New York Public Library continues traditional activities while adapting to the digital age.
Venice sales pick-up
In other Venice-related news, Doc & Film has also taken on sales of Stephen Schible’s Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda...
Paris-based sales company Doc & Film has unveiled a slew of deals on Frederick Wiseman’s Venice Golden Lion contender Ex Libris – The New York Public Library.
The documentary, going behind the scenes of the world-famous public library, was revealed on Thursday as being one of the titles in the Venice Film Festival’s main competition.
Doc & Film CEO Daniela Elstner said the feature had pre-sold to Spain (La Aventura Audiovisual), Korea (Jinjin), Taiwan (Joint Entertainment), China (Lemon Tree) and Switzerland (Xenix).
“Other territories are under negotiation and it will be released in France on 1st November by Meteore Films,” she added.
Wiseman’s film delves into how the New York Public Library continues traditional activities while adapting to the digital age.
Venice sales pick-up
In other Venice-related news, Doc & Film has also taken on sales of Stephen Schible’s Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda...
- 7/27/2017
- ScreenDaily
Qatar’s Doha Film Institute (Dfi) backs 32 projects in autumn funding round.
Moroccan filmmaker Narjiss Nejjar (Cry No More), Lebanon’s Bassem Breish and Palestinian director Suha Arraf (Villa Touma, pictured) are among the latest recipients of the Doha Film Institute’s grants programme aimed at first and second-time film-makers in the Middle East and Africa region.
The Qatari organization backed a total 32 projects from 27 countries in its autumn funding round.
Nejjar received support for upcoming film Stateless about a girl who will do anything to re-connect with her mother, including marry an aging, blind man.
Breish is working on The Maiden’s Pond, about two woman connected to the same man who need to find a way of living side by side in the same village.
Arraf, whose last film was Villa Touma, is currently working on The Poster, about a Palestinian village situated within Israeli borders which is stirred up when a controversial poster appears...
Moroccan filmmaker Narjiss Nejjar (Cry No More), Lebanon’s Bassem Breish and Palestinian director Suha Arraf (Villa Touma, pictured) are among the latest recipients of the Doha Film Institute’s grants programme aimed at first and second-time film-makers in the Middle East and Africa region.
The Qatari organization backed a total 32 projects from 27 countries in its autumn funding round.
Nejjar received support for upcoming film Stateless about a girl who will do anything to re-connect with her mother, including marry an aging, blind man.
Breish is working on The Maiden’s Pond, about two woman connected to the same man who need to find a way of living side by side in the same village.
Arraf, whose last film was Villa Touma, is currently working on The Poster, about a Palestinian village situated within Israeli borders which is stirred up when a controversial poster appears...
- 12/14/2016
- ScreenDaily
For the first time in Academy Award history, 71 countries are vying for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The submissions for 2012 include director Michael Haneke’s Amour, which won the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival; France’s global box office sensation The Intouchables; and Nairobi Half Life, the first film ever submitted by Kenya. Check out the full list below:
Afghanistan: The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi, director
Albania: Pharmakon, Joni Shanaj, director
Algeria: Zabana!, Said Ould Khelifa, director
Argentina: Clandestine Childhood, Benjamín Ávila, director
Armenia: If Only Everyone, Natalia Belyauskene, director
Australia: Lore, Cate Shortland, director
Austria: Amour,...
Afghanistan: The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi, director
Albania: Pharmakon, Joni Shanaj, director
Algeria: Zabana!, Said Ould Khelifa, director
Argentina: Clandestine Childhood, Benjamín Ávila, director
Armenia: If Only Everyone, Natalia Belyauskene, director
Australia: Lore, Cate Shortland, director
Austria: Amour,...
- 10/8/2012
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW - Inside Movies
The Oscar season is almost upon us, and the submissions list is in for the Best Foreign Language Film category, featuring a record 71 entries, including the first submission from Kenya.
Last year, Iran’s Asghar Farhadi came away with the top prize for his acclaimed film, A Separation, and the year before, it was Denmark’s Susanne Bier with her In a Better World.
This year, there are already a handful of strong contenders amongst the pack, most notably Michael Haneke’s Amour, for Austria, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Olivier Nakache’s and Éric Toledano’s The Intouchables, for France, which has been breaking records at the global box office; Pablo Larráin’s No, for Chile, which also came away from Cannes with an award in hand; Kim Ki-duk’s Pieta, for South Korea, which took four awards at Venice, including (controversially) the Golden Lion; and...
Last year, Iran’s Asghar Farhadi came away with the top prize for his acclaimed film, A Separation, and the year before, it was Denmark’s Susanne Bier with her In a Better World.
This year, there are already a handful of strong contenders amongst the pack, most notably Michael Haneke’s Amour, for Austria, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Olivier Nakache’s and Éric Toledano’s The Intouchables, for France, which has been breaking records at the global box office; Pablo Larráin’s No, for Chile, which also came away from Cannes with an award in hand; Kim Ki-duk’s Pieta, for South Korea, which took four awards at Venice, including (controversially) the Golden Lion; and...
- 10/8/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Intouchables
A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®. In May, Michael Haneke.s Amour (Love) won the Palme d.Or at the 65th Cannes Film Festival and was shown this past weekend at the 50th New York Film Festival. However the film I was happiest to see make the list below is from France – The Intouchables from directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. Check out our review Here.
In the Academy’s rules, only one picture will be accepted from each country. Plus the Academy Statuette (Oscar) will be awarded to the motion picture and accepted by the director on behalf of the picture.s creative talents. Ultimately five foreign language motion pictures are nominated for this award.
Director/writer Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation from Iran won the Oscar for the Best...
A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®. In May, Michael Haneke.s Amour (Love) won the Palme d.Or at the 65th Cannes Film Festival and was shown this past weekend at the 50th New York Film Festival. However the film I was happiest to see make the list below is from France – The Intouchables from directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. Check out our review Here.
In the Academy’s rules, only one picture will be accepted from each country. Plus the Academy Statuette (Oscar) will be awarded to the motion picture and accepted by the director on behalf of the picture.s creative talents. Ultimately five foreign language motion pictures are nominated for this award.
Director/writer Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation from Iran won the Oscar for the Best...
- 10/8/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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