Veteran French distributor Rezo Films is closing its doors after more than 32 years and nearly 400 films after struggling to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive distribution landscape.
Founded in 1992 by Jean-Michel Rey and Nadia Lassoujade, Rezo Films helped to launch the careers of several French auteurs including Abdellatif Kechiche, Pascal Bonitzer, Catherine Corsini, Xavier Dolan, Gaspar Noé, Stéphane Brizé and Jeremy Clapin.
Several of those films performed well for arthouse titles in the territory including Clapin’s debut feature I Lost My Body in 2019, Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon in 2009, and Kechiche’s Games Of Love And Chance (L’Esquive) with 373,618 tickets...
Founded in 1992 by Jean-Michel Rey and Nadia Lassoujade, Rezo Films helped to launch the careers of several French auteurs including Abdellatif Kechiche, Pascal Bonitzer, Catherine Corsini, Xavier Dolan, Gaspar Noé, Stéphane Brizé and Jeremy Clapin.
Several of those films performed well for arthouse titles in the territory including Clapin’s debut feature I Lost My Body in 2019, Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon in 2009, and Kechiche’s Games Of Love And Chance (L’Esquive) with 373,618 tickets...
- 3/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
The festival runs June 23 - July 1.
Films by Jessica Hausner, Elegance Bratton and Sebastian Silva are among 36 titles selected for the Filmfest München’s three international competition strands, CineMasters, CineVision and CineRebels. The festival runs June 23-July 1.
CineMasters
Hausner’s Club Zero will be joined by another four Cannes competition titles - Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Marco Bellocchio’s Kidnapped, Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster - to screen in Munich’s CineMasters competition for the €50,000 Arri Award which is presented to the producers of the best international film.
The 12-title line-up also includes...
Films by Jessica Hausner, Elegance Bratton and Sebastian Silva are among 36 titles selected for the Filmfest München’s three international competition strands, CineMasters, CineVision and CineRebels. The festival runs June 23-July 1.
CineMasters
Hausner’s Club Zero will be joined by another four Cannes competition titles - Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Marco Bellocchio’s Kidnapped, Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster - to screen in Munich’s CineMasters competition for the €50,000 Arri Award which is presented to the producers of the best international film.
The 12-title line-up also includes...
- 6/13/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The 22nd edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival kicked off Friday night in the city of Cluj-Napoca with the international premiere of Northern Comfort, a comedy directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, and with a tribute to the film’s star, Timothy Spall.
The famed British character actor, known for his roles in Mike Leigh’s Topsy-Turvy and Mr. Turner, Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech and the Harry Potter films, received this year’s lifetime achievement award at the festival’s opening gala.
The Icelandic-uk-German co-production Northern Comfort is part of the massive Nordic Focus at the festival this year, with more than 40 films from Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, as well as live music performances and cine-concerts. Some of the Nordic highlights include Ruben Östlund’s 2022 Palm d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, Lars von Trier...
The famed British character actor, known for his roles in Mike Leigh’s Topsy-Turvy and Mr. Turner, Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech and the Harry Potter films, received this year’s lifetime achievement award at the festival’s opening gala.
The Icelandic-uk-German co-production Northern Comfort is part of the massive Nordic Focus at the festival this year, with more than 40 films from Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, as well as live music performances and cine-concerts. Some of the Nordic highlights include Ruben Östlund’s 2022 Palm d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, Lars von Trier...
- 6/10/2023
- by Stjepan Hundic
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When push comes to shove, the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival has always prided itself on pushing the envelope, preferring to err on the side of provocation where other fests might choose to play it safe. That mentality has been encoded into the fest’s DNA since its beginnings in the tumultuous post-Communist era, when civil liberties and artistic freedom were still far from guaranteed in the newly democratic Romania.
Yet after a turbulent period of unprecedented disruption, brought on first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by the widespread humanitarian and economic crises spurred by Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, even TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu admits, “These were tough years.” The temptation might have been there to tinker with a formula that has made the festival such a success for the past two decades.
But for its 22nd edition, which runs June 9 – 18 in the picturesque medieval city of Cluj,...
Yet after a turbulent period of unprecedented disruption, brought on first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by the widespread humanitarian and economic crises spurred by Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, even TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu admits, “These were tough years.” The temptation might have been there to tinker with a formula that has made the festival such a success for the past two decades.
But for its 22nd edition, which runs June 9 – 18 in the picturesque medieval city of Cluj,...
- 6/9/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Paris-based sales company Charades has finalized a raft of deals with international buyers for its upcoming comedy Northern Comfort, which debuted at SXSW in March.
The pic, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has sold to Rezo (France), September Films (Benelux), Kismet (Australia & Nz), Vertigo (Spain), I Wonder (Italy), Pris Audiovisual (Portugal), M2 (Poland), Cirko Films (Hungary), Aerofilms, Transilvania (Romania), Megacom (ex-Yugoslavia), Volga (Cis & Baltics), New Cinema (Israel), Falcon (Lebanon & Gulf), Avjet (Taiwan), and Pictureworks (India).
Elsewhere, Scanbox has rights in Scandinavia, Sena has rights in Iceland, Weltkino in Germany and Switzerland, with Netflix taking SVOD rights in the UK.
Co-written by Sigurdsson with Halldor Laxness Halldorsson and Tobias Munthe, the pic is billed as a “dark comedy” and stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Sverrir Gudnason, Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney.
Synopsis reads: A special forces veteran, an uptight property developer, an influencer with half a million followers,...
The pic, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has sold to Rezo (France), September Films (Benelux), Kismet (Australia & Nz), Vertigo (Spain), I Wonder (Italy), Pris Audiovisual (Portugal), M2 (Poland), Cirko Films (Hungary), Aerofilms, Transilvania (Romania), Megacom (ex-Yugoslavia), Volga (Cis & Baltics), New Cinema (Israel), Falcon (Lebanon & Gulf), Avjet (Taiwan), and Pictureworks (India).
Elsewhere, Scanbox has rights in Scandinavia, Sena has rights in Iceland, Weltkino in Germany and Switzerland, with Netflix taking SVOD rights in the UK.
Co-written by Sigurdsson with Halldor Laxness Halldorsson and Tobias Munthe, the pic is billed as a “dark comedy” and stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Sverrir Gudnason, Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney.
Synopsis reads: A special forces veteran, an uptight property developer, an influencer with half a million followers,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
In an exclusive interview with uInterview at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, Northern Comfort director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson and actor Simon Manyonda had a philosophical discussion about what they hope the audience will take home from the movie.
Northern Comfort is a dark comedy about a diverse group of people in London who, sharing a chronic fear of flying, join a course in hopes of overcoming their fears. However, the movie takes a twist when the group goes on a mandatory trip to Iceland in order to complete their “fear of flying” course, which leaves them stranded in the cold Arctic to overcome their demons and find their way home.
The Icelandic director explained that the concept for the movie came from a family member who suffers from a fear of flying and took a similar course to overcome it. “I thought to myself, ‘yeah this is a quite good premise.
Northern Comfort is a dark comedy about a diverse group of people in London who, sharing a chronic fear of flying, join a course in hopes of overcoming their fears. However, the movie takes a twist when the group goes on a mandatory trip to Iceland in order to complete their “fear of flying” course, which leaves them stranded in the cold Arctic to overcome their demons and find their way home.
The Icelandic director explained that the concept for the movie came from a family member who suffers from a fear of flying and took a similar course to overcome it. “I thought to myself, ‘yeah this is a quite good premise.
- 4/5/2023
- by Nicky Kashani
- Uinterview
Northern Comfort, a film by Icelandic director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, follows the story of a group of people, including the couple Coco (Ella Rumpf) and Alphons (Sverrir Gudnason), who are part of a “fear of flying” course. In order to finish the class, they must have one last flight to Iceland, but after a terrifying disaster, the crash survivors must navigate the cold Arctic tundra to fight their demons.
In an exclusive interview with uInterview at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Rumpf and Gudnason revealed their own fears of flying.
“I have, in years of my life, had my own fear of flying,” Gudnason began. “Because when I was a kid I didn’t have one, then the more I flew the more I felt the fear because somehow – you know, it’s like if you buy one lottery ticket, you don’t stand a chance but...
In an exclusive interview with uInterview at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Rumpf and Gudnason revealed their own fears of flying.
“I have, in years of my life, had my own fear of flying,” Gudnason began. “Because when I was a kid I didn’t have one, then the more I flew the more I felt the fear because somehow – you know, it’s like if you buy one lottery ticket, you don’t stand a chance but...
- 3/31/2023
- by Hailey Schipper
- Uinterview
Icelandic writer-director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (“Under the Tree”) makes a smooth transition to English-language directing with the high-concept comedy “Northern Comfort,” co-written with longtime collaborators Halldór Laxness Halldórsson and Tobias Munthe. It centers on a disparate group of people who share a disabling fear of air travel, which they are trying to overcome through a high-end fearless flyers course. As a final challenge, the class is scheduled for a short, roundtrip “exposure” flight during which they should face and conquer their phobias. But this practical plan soon runs into some literal and figurative turbulence. Combining human drama and absurdist comedy, “Northern Comfort” should fly into other festivals before making a comfortable landing at a boutique art-house distributor or streamer.
Inwardly and outwardly quaking as they leave Gatwick for a fateful trip to Iceland are successful property developer Sarah; Edward (Timothy Spall), a special forces veteran turned best-selling crime writer; and a social media influencer couple,...
Inwardly and outwardly quaking as they leave Gatwick for a fateful trip to Iceland are successful property developer Sarah; Edward (Timothy Spall), a special forces veteran turned best-selling crime writer; and a social media influencer couple,...
- 3/12/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Festival runs March 10-19 in Austin, Texas.
SXSW opens on Friday with the world premiere of all-star fantasy romp Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, kicking off what is expected to be a rambunctious 10 days of screenings of films both spoken for and available for worldwide distribution.
Over the years the festival has proved itself to be a valuable launchpad for studio titles and the most recent evidence of that was last year’s edition, where A24 premiered Oscar frontrunner Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022 as well as Ti West’s horror X, Lionsgate brought The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent...
SXSW opens on Friday with the world premiere of all-star fantasy romp Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, kicking off what is expected to be a rambunctious 10 days of screenings of films both spoken for and available for worldwide distribution.
Over the years the festival has proved itself to be a valuable launchpad for studio titles and the most recent evidence of that was last year’s edition, where A24 premiered Oscar frontrunner Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022 as well as Ti West’s horror X, Lionsgate brought The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent...
- 3/10/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Charades has boarded “Northern Comfort,” an Icelandic black comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (“Under the Tree”) which is world premiering at SXSW.
The well-established sales company has unveiled an exclusive clip for the film ahead of its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section.
“Northern Comfort” follows a bunch of phobic flyers, including a middle-aged property developer, a couple of twenty-something influencers and a former Sas-serviceman turned crime-novelist in his 60’s. Seeking to overcome their fear of flying, they embark on a high-end therapeutic course on a flight whose final destination is Iceland. But the experience ends up being a complete nightmare. When the group finally steps onto solid ground, their anxiety levels are off the charts and the idea of taking a flight back home to London becomes an unbearable prospect. As their intended flight is repeatedly delayed, they end up in a remote luxury ‘wellness’ hotel somewhere in the bleak,...
The well-established sales company has unveiled an exclusive clip for the film ahead of its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section.
“Northern Comfort” follows a bunch of phobic flyers, including a middle-aged property developer, a couple of twenty-something influencers and a former Sas-serviceman turned crime-novelist in his 60’s. Seeking to overcome their fear of flying, they embark on a high-end therapeutic course on a flight whose final destination is Iceland. But the experience ends up being a complete nightmare. When the group finally steps onto solid ground, their anxiety levels are off the charts and the idea of taking a flight back home to London becomes an unbearable prospect. As their intended flight is repeatedly delayed, they end up in a remote luxury ‘wellness’ hotel somewhere in the bleak,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
I have been tracking producer Sol Bondy since 2016 when co-production The Happiest Day in the Life of Ölli Mäki won the Un Certain Regard Grand Prize and the European Film Award for Best Debut. He and Fred Burle have been developing The Girl from Köln (aka Köln 75) with writer-director Ido Fluk, the filmmaker behind 2016 Tribeca selection The Ticket since 2019. "This project has been very close to our hearts in the last few years and we're very excited with the way it's been shaped so far," said Bondy, a Variety Producer to Watch in 2018. "It's been such a joy working with Ido on this exciting story and we're thrilled to have put an amazing team together," added Burle, Brazilian born producer who was just made a partner in One Two Films, alongside co-founders Sol Bondy and Christoph Lange. Burle joined One Two in January 2017, having graduated from the German Film and Television Academy (dffb) the previous year. He has previously worked as a film critic, at The Match Factory, and as curator of the inaugural dffb film festival. One Two Films has produced and co-produced award-winning films such as Holy Spider (Read my blog about it here), Vadim Perelman's Persian Lessons (Read my blog about it here), Jennifer Fox's Sundance breakout The Tale, Isabel Coixet's The Bookshop and Juho Kuosmanen's The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.Other titles in the pipeline include Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson's dark comedy Northern Comfort, which premieres in SXSW later this month, Annemarie Jacir's survival drama The Oblivion Theory, Sarah Arnold's debut feature Wild Encounters and Michiel ten Horn's romantic comedy Any Other Night. In Berlin this year it was announced that Bankside would be The Girl from Köln's international sales agent and was launching sales. Alamode Film already has German-speaking territories and is a coproducer, who have very recently secured funding through the Fff, the local fund in Bavaria. It is in early pre-production and will shoot this year in Poland and Germany. The Girl from Köln tells the little-known story of Vera Brandes, who, in 1975, at the age of 17, staged the famous Köln Concert by jazz musician Keith Jarrett, which became the top-selling jazz solo album of all time. With Polish Film Institute backing, Oscar-winning Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska (Ida, Cold War) of Extreme Emotions is co-producing along with Annegret Weitkämper-Krug of Germany's Gretchenfilm (Seneca). Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Oren Moverman (Love & Mercy, Bad Education) serves as executive producer. Moverman also produced Fluk's previous feature, The Ticket. The Tale writer-director Jennifer Fox also serves as executive producer. Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green executive produce for Bankside. It stars Mala Emde (Skin Deep, And Tomorrow the Entire World) in the lead role, alongside John Magaro (Past Lives) as Jarrett. Magaro was also in Cannes last year with Kelly Reichardt's competition title Showing Up.Other cast attached include Alexander Scheer (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush), Ulrich Tukur (The Life of Others), Susanne Wolff (Sisi & I, Styx), Jördis Triebel (Dark), Jan Bülow (Lindenberg) and Marie-Lou Sellem (Tar, Exit Marrakesh). The NYU-graduate Fluk was dubbed "a talent to watch" by Variety following his feature debut Never Too Late, the first crowd-sourced Israeli film ever made. His American debut, the Tribeca competition selection, The Ticket, starred Dan Stevens and Malin Akerman. Upcoming projects include 24 Hours in June, a retelling of the final day in the life of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union, to be produced by Academy Award winner James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain) and Joe Pirro (Driveways). Fluk is repped by Amotz Zakai, Amy Schiffman, and Kegan Schell at Echo Lake Entertainment. He is also created the recently-announced HBO series Empty Mansions for Fremantle with director Joe Wright (Atonement, Darkest Hour) attached to direct the pilot. "From the moment I heard Vera's story, about how as a high school teenager she organized one of the greatest concerts in history, I knew her story had to be told," said Fluk. "We were immediately exhilarated by Vera Brandes' remarkable female empowerment story. Her strength, courage and sheer belief in herself and the music of Keith Jarrett will entertain and inspire audiences around the world," added Kelliher.
- 3/5/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Charades and WTFilms have teamed on “Vermin,” a horror movie set in the French projects with a cast of local up-and-coming actors, who star alongside real spiders.
The movie will mark the feature debut of Sébastien Vaniček, who previously directed critically acclaimed shorts such as “Mayday.” Harry Tordjman at My Box Films is producing.
“Vermin” stars Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko.
The film is currently in shooting in Paris, with a March 3 end date. It will distributed in France by Tandem. France Télévisions pre-bought the movie and Netflix got the pay TV window in France.
“Vermin” is set in an underprivileged suburb that has been thrown into chaos following an invasion of venomous spiders. Ordered to be placed in quarantine, the project sees inhabitants living on lockdown alongside terrifying spiders that are becoming bigger and bigger.
The movie will mark the feature debut of Sébastien Vaniček, who previously directed critically acclaimed shorts such as “Mayday.” Harry Tordjman at My Box Films is producing.
“Vermin” stars Théo Christine (“Suprêmes”), Finnegan Oldfield (“Final Cut”), Jérôme Niel (“Smoking Causes Coughing”), Sofia Lesaffre (“Les Misérables”) and Lisa Nyarko.
The film is currently in shooting in Paris, with a March 3 end date. It will distributed in France by Tandem. France Télévisions pre-bought the movie and Netflix got the pay TV window in France.
“Vermin” is set in an underprivileged suburb that has been thrown into chaos following an invasion of venomous spiders. Ordered to be placed in quarantine, the project sees inhabitants living on lockdown alongside terrifying spiders that are becoming bigger and bigger.
- 2/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Burle also spearheads Annemarie Jacir’s ‘The Oblivion Theory’.
One Two Films, the Berlin-based production company behind Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, has promoted Fred Burle to partner in the company, alongside co-founders Sol Bondy and Christoph Lange.
Brazilian producer Burle will realise his own projects and continue to work alongside One Two managing director Bondy.
Burle joined One Two in January 2017, having graduated from the German Film and Television Academy (Dffb) the previous year.
He has previously worked as a film critic, in sales at The Match Factory, and as curator of the inaugural Dffb film festival.
One Two...
One Two Films, the Berlin-based production company behind Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, has promoted Fred Burle to partner in the company, alongside co-founders Sol Bondy and Christoph Lange.
Brazilian producer Burle will realise his own projects and continue to work alongside One Two managing director Bondy.
Burle joined One Two in January 2017, having graduated from the German Film and Television Academy (Dffb) the previous year.
He has previously worked as a film critic, in sales at The Match Factory, and as curator of the inaugural Dffb film festival.
One Two...
- 2/16/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Roll up, roll up, it’s our annual list of U.S. and international movies that could have festivals (and audiences) salivating in 2023. As ever, two of our main criteria are that the project is already in production and hasn’t yet been declared for a festival. This isn’t an exhaustive list but a healthy snapshot of some highlights from around the world. Enjoy!
Dune: Part Two
Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated Dune sequel recently wrapped filming. The sci-fi follow-up is currently set for a November 2023 debut and expectations are that it will launch on the Lido like the first film in the series. Pic sees Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem returning with new cast members Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Lea Seydoux and Christopher Walken. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s official synopsis reads: “This follow-up film will explore the mythic...
Dune: Part Two
Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated Dune sequel recently wrapped filming. The sci-fi follow-up is currently set for a November 2023 debut and expectations are that it will launch on the Lido like the first film in the series. Pic sees Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem returning with new cast members Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Lea Seydoux and Christopher Walken. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s official synopsis reads: “This follow-up film will explore the mythic...
- 1/2/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman, Melanie Goodfellow, Zac Ntim, Diana Lodderhose and Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Alamode to co-produce Ido Fluk’s jazz feature ’Köln 75’
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
She has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at Holy Spider...
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
She has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at Holy Spider...
- 10/10/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Alamode to co-produce Ido Fluk’s jazz feature ’Köln 75’
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature, by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk, centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
Since then, she has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at...
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature, by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk, centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
Since then, she has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at...
- 10/9/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Erlingsdóttir previously oversaw legal and business affairs for the London-based sales, production and finance company Rocket Science.
Icelandic production company Zik Zak Filmworks has appointed Ragnheidur Erlingsdóttir as its new CEO.
Zik Zak’s former CEO Skúli Malmquist is now managing director of the Iceland Dance Company.
Erlingsdóttir previously oversaw legal and business affairs for the London-based sales, production and finance company Rocket Science. She is an Iceland native who worked as a producer there (on films including Xl and Rainbow Party) before moving to the UK for four years.
Zik Zak’s current slate – also overseen by producer Arnar...
Icelandic production company Zik Zak Filmworks has appointed Ragnheidur Erlingsdóttir as its new CEO.
Zik Zak’s former CEO Skúli Malmquist is now managing director of the Iceland Dance Company.
Erlingsdóttir previously oversaw legal and business affairs for the London-based sales, production and finance company Rocket Science. She is an Iceland native who worked as a producer there (on films including Xl and Rainbow Party) before moving to the UK for four years.
Zik Zak’s current slate – also overseen by producer Arnar...
- 8/31/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Eureka! Entertainment is kicking off 2019 in fine fashion, with the announcement that Robert Aldrich’s Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Otto Preminger’s Laura and Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s Under the Tree are all coming to Blu-ray in January. Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte sees golden era screen titans Bette Davis and Joan Crawford clash once again in this loose follow-up to Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? A brooding tale of murder, mayhem and deceit, the film will join the Masters of Cinema series in a dual format Blu-ray/DVD edition on 21 January. One of the greatest film noirs of all time, Otto Preminger’s Laura also joins the Masters of Cinema series in a new Blu-ray edition on 14 January. Dana Andrews stars as the police detective tasked with...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 11/5/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Six emerging directors will be mentored at new event.
Warsaw-based sales outfit New Europe is launching a new talent initiative in a bid to help emerging filmmakers make the next steps in their careers.
New Europe Warsaw Sessions (24-27 September) will be a closed event where six directors, picked by New Europe, will meet established decision-makers in a series of workshops and will also receive individual mentoring.
Participants at the inaugural edition are: Jan P. Matuszyński, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Paweł Maślona, Laura Moss, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson and Jeppe Ronde.
The six will be mentored by Mike Goodridge and Julia Godzinskaya.
Also...
Warsaw-based sales outfit New Europe is launching a new talent initiative in a bid to help emerging filmmakers make the next steps in their careers.
New Europe Warsaw Sessions (24-27 September) will be a closed event where six directors, picked by New Europe, will meet established decision-makers in a series of workshops and will also receive individual mentoring.
Participants at the inaugural edition are: Jan P. Matuszyński, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Paweł Maślona, Laura Moss, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson and Jeppe Ronde.
The six will be mentored by Mike Goodridge and Julia Godzinskaya.
Also...
- 9/18/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
From a missing dog to an unspeakable encounter with a nail gun, neighbours rage in Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s skilful black comedy
Lest the people of Iceland be getting complacent about their ranking as the fourth happiest country in the world, here’s an unsettling film sniffing at something rotten at the back of the fridge – behind the paid-for higher education, hang-up-free sex and tastefully minimal interiors.
The film’s director, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, has said his inspiration for Under the Tree was Iceland’s high rate of “neighbour rage”: over-the-fence feuds between ordinary respectable people. Blame the Viking DNA. He skilfully constructs his film as part-thriller, part-intelligent relationship drama, topped with a juicy dollop of savage black comedy.
Lest the people of Iceland be getting complacent about their ranking as the fourth happiest country in the world, here’s an unsettling film sniffing at something rotten at the back of the fridge – behind the paid-for higher education, hang-up-free sex and tastefully minimal interiors.
The film’s director, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, has said his inspiration for Under the Tree was Iceland’s high rate of “neighbour rage”: over-the-fence feuds between ordinary respectable people. Blame the Viking DNA. He skilfully constructs his film as part-thriller, part-intelligent relationship drama, topped with a juicy dollop of savage black comedy.
- 8/10/2018
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
If humans weren’t always the pettiest creatures on Earth, we’ve definitely earned the title this past century. Just think about how often you find yourself asking the question, “Let’s see what they’ll do about this?” I don’t mean hypothetically either. I’m talking about truly contemplating your next smugly biting (until an inevitable escalation leads you towards unforgivably heinous) act of vengeance to counter whatever your latest opponent in life has delivered. Eventually we forget how our duel began because our desperation to achieve a win proves too powerful to accept anything else. I’m sure this mindset has been exacerbated by newfound convenience through technology because things that used to occupy our time have been streamlined or replaced. The resulting boredom ignites an unquenchable desire for triumphant satisfaction.
What’s worse is that our opponents very often become people we cannot avoid. Our own...
What’s worse is that our opponents very often become people we cannot avoid. Our own...
- 7/5/2018
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
"Who does a thing like this?" Magnolia Pictures has debuted an official Us trailer for the indie dark comedy Under the Tree, one of the few films from Iceland made every year. The film premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals last year, and played at a number of other fests. It will be released in Us theaters this July. When Baldwin and Inga's next door neighbours complain that a tree in their backyard casts a shadow over their sundeck, what starts off as a typical spat between neighbours in the suburbs unexpectedly and violently spirals out of control. The film stars Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, and Selma Björnsdóttir. I watched this and it's such a depressing film, despite good intentions. It's very well made but just too sad by the end. Take a look below. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson...
- 5/30/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-pro picks up seven awards including best film and best director.
Under The Tree and Prisoners were the big winners at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.
The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson), and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).
Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners took home the most gongs, with 10 awards including best TV series and most popular TV series, plus awards for sound, music, editing, cinematography, costumes, make-up, art direction and best supporting actress.
Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while best short film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.
Best children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.
Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice...
Under The Tree and Prisoners were the big winners at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.
The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson), and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).
Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners took home the most gongs, with 10 awards including best TV series and most popular TV series, plus awards for sound, music, editing, cinematography, costumes, make-up, art direction and best supporting actress.
Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while best short film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.
Best children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.
Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice...
- 2/27/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-pro picks up seven awards including best film and best director.
Under The Tree was the big winner at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.
The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson) and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).
Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while Best Short Film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.
Best Children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.
On the TV side, Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners won 10 prizes.
Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice Orizzonti before going to Toronto; the film went on to win awards in the Hamptons, Zurich and Fantastic Fest, among others. The dark comedy/tragedy was Iceland’s submission for the foreign-language...
Under The Tree was the big winner at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.
The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson) and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).
Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while Best Short Film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.
Best Children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.
On the TV side, Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners won 10 prizes.
Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice Orizzonti before going to Toronto; the film went on to win awards in the Hamptons, Zurich and Fantastic Fest, among others. The dark comedy/tragedy was Iceland’s submission for the foreign-language...
- 2/27/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Earlier today the folks at the Northwest Film Center announced the full line-up for this year’s Portland International Film Festival, and have published a Pdf for all to read online. The printed copies will be making their way around town this week.
The Northwest Film Center is proud to reveal the 41st Portland International Film Festival (Piff 41) lineup. This year’s Festival begins on Thursday, February 15th and runs through Thursday, March 1st. Our Opening Night selection is the new comedy The Death of Stalin from writer/director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop). The film, adapted from the graphic novel by Fabien Nury, stars Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs, and Michael Palin. The Death of Stalin will screen simultaneously on Opening Night at the Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum (1219 Sw Park Ave) and on two screens at Regal Fox Tower 10 (846 Sw Park Ave).
Check...
The Northwest Film Center is proud to reveal the 41st Portland International Film Festival (Piff 41) lineup. This year’s Festival begins on Thursday, February 15th and runs through Thursday, March 1st. Our Opening Night selection is the new comedy The Death of Stalin from writer/director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop). The film, adapted from the graphic novel by Fabien Nury, stars Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs, and Michael Palin. The Death of Stalin will screen simultaneously on Opening Night at the Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum (1219 Sw Park Ave) and on two screens at Regal Fox Tower 10 (846 Sw Park Ave).
Check...
- 1/30/2018
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
European Film Promotion highlights 28 European films for the 90th Academy AwardsPutting a spotlight on a record number of 28 European Oscar® entries, Efp (European Film Promotion) offers additional screenings of the films in L.A. for Academy members, journalists, U.S. distributors and international buyers. With the special support of the Efp member organizations, the event helps the productions to stand out among a record number of 92 submissions for the 90th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
This year the Efp Screenings Of Oscar® Entries From Europe were held from November 2–15 at the state of the art Dick Clark Screening Room. The campaign is financially supported by the Creative Europe — Media Programme of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations.
Many of the European Oscar submissions feature European Shooting Stars or were made by Efp-related filmmakers. Notably four films were realized by participants of this year’s edition...
This year the Efp Screenings Of Oscar® Entries From Europe were held from November 2–15 at the state of the art Dick Clark Screening Room. The campaign is financially supported by the Creative Europe — Media Programme of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations.
Many of the European Oscar submissions feature European Shooting Stars or were made by Efp-related filmmakers. Notably four films were realized by participants of this year’s edition...
- 11/17/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
- 10/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
- 10/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The 2017 Venice Film Festival kicked off on August 30, and for anyone who can’t make it all the way to Italy this year, IndieWire has a solution for you. Between now and Thursday, September 7 at noon Et, IndieWire readers can register using this form to win one of 5 online festival passes, which will give you the opportunity to stream five Venice titles for free online. All of the streaming titles will be from this year’s Orizzonti competition (Horizons), Biennale College and a few other sections. The movies include the following titles:
Endangered Species, by Gilles Bourdos – Online on August 31
Under The Tree, by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson – Online on August 31
Strange Colours, by Alena Lodkina – Online on August 31
West Of Sunshine, by Jason Raftopoulos – Online on September 1
Martyr, by Mazen Khaled – Online on September 1
Nato A Casal Di Principe, by Bruno Oliviero – Online on September 1
Beautiful Things, by Giorgio Ferrero – Online on September 2
No Date,...
Endangered Species, by Gilles Bourdos – Online on August 31
Under The Tree, by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson – Online on August 31
Strange Colours, by Alena Lodkina – Online on August 31
West Of Sunshine, by Jason Raftopoulos – Online on September 1
Martyr, by Mazen Khaled – Online on September 1
Nato A Casal Di Principe, by Bruno Oliviero – Online on September 1
Beautiful Things, by Giorgio Ferrero – Online on September 2
No Date,...
- 8/31/2017
- by Jamie Righetti
- Indiewire
Under the Tree Review Under the Tree (2017) Film Review from the 74th Annual Venice International Film Festival, a movie directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, starring Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir, Þorsteinn Bachmann, and Selma Björnsdóttir was a hyperbolic look at a dispute between neighbors that shifted from darkly comedic to sadistic in [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Under The Tree: Neighbors Get Creatively Cruel [Venice 2017]...
Continue reading: Film Review: Under The Tree: Neighbors Get Creatively Cruel [Venice 2017]...
- 8/31/2017
- by PopcornMovieMaiden
- Film-Book
Seven projects presented at Reykjavik-based film festival.
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the next film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the next film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
- 3/7/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Seven projects presented at Reykjavik-based film festival.
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
- 3/7/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Seven projects presented at Reykjavik-based film festival.
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
- 3/7/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Baldvin Z’s drama scoops 12 Edda awards.
Life in a Fishbowl (Vonarstræti), Baldvin Zophoníasson’s multiple-narrative drama, swept Iceland’s Academy Awards on Saturday night with a haul of 12 prizes.
The annual Edda awards, hosted by the Icelandic Film and Television Academy in Reykjavík’s Harpan, saw Life In A Fishbowl’s leading actor and actress Thorsteinn Bachmann and Hera Hilmars scoop top prizes.
The feature, Iceland’s submission for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Oscar, was also named Best Film and picked up prizes including Best Director, Screenplay, Editing and Cinematography.
The multiple-narrative drama tells three distinct stories of people living in pre-crisis Iceland; a struggling single mother, an ex-footballer fast-tracking in the accelerating banking world and a troubled writer who has turned full time drunk.
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s Paris Of The North won awards for supporting actor Helgi Björnsson and supporting actress Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir.
Life in a Fishbowl (Vonarstræti), Baldvin Zophoníasson’s multiple-narrative drama, swept Iceland’s Academy Awards on Saturday night with a haul of 12 prizes.
The annual Edda awards, hosted by the Icelandic Film and Television Academy in Reykjavík’s Harpan, saw Life In A Fishbowl’s leading actor and actress Thorsteinn Bachmann and Hera Hilmars scoop top prizes.
The feature, Iceland’s submission for this year’s Best Foreign-Language Oscar, was also named Best Film and picked up prizes including Best Director, Screenplay, Editing and Cinematography.
The multiple-narrative drama tells three distinct stories of people living in pre-crisis Iceland; a struggling single mother, an ex-footballer fast-tracking in the accelerating banking world and a troubled writer who has turned full time drunk.
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s Paris Of The North won awards for supporting actor Helgi Björnsson and supporting actress Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir.
- 2/23/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Kevorkian, Shoval, Haq, Fiennes, Sigurðsson, Nikonova and Runarsson heading to Les Arcs European Film Festival with upcoming projects.Scroll down for full list of projects
The UK’s Johnny Kevorkian and Sophie Fiennes, Israeli Tom Shoval, Norwegian Iram Haq and Russia’s Angelina Nikonova will be among the filmmakers presenting their upcoming projects at the Les Arcs Co-Production Village this year.
The event, running Dec 13-16 within the Les Arcs European Film Festival (Dec 13-20), will present 25 projects in development and a further 10 Works-in-Progress.
“I thinks it’s a good sign that filmmakers whose projects we presented in development are now coming back to show their films in Work-in-Progress, which is the case for Sparrow and Rams,” said Les Arcs industry head Vanja Kaludjercic.
“Conversely, we’ve got directors who presented in Works-in Progress, such as Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, who came with Paris of the North last year, who is back with his new project The Tree...
The UK’s Johnny Kevorkian and Sophie Fiennes, Israeli Tom Shoval, Norwegian Iram Haq and Russia’s Angelina Nikonova will be among the filmmakers presenting their upcoming projects at the Les Arcs Co-Production Village this year.
The event, running Dec 13-16 within the Les Arcs European Film Festival (Dec 13-20), will present 25 projects in development and a further 10 Works-in-Progress.
“I thinks it’s a good sign that filmmakers whose projects we presented in development are now coming back to show their films in Work-in-Progress, which is the case for Sparrow and Rams,” said Les Arcs industry head Vanja Kaludjercic.
“Conversely, we’ve got directors who presented in Works-in Progress, such as Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, who came with Paris of the North last year, who is back with his new project The Tree...
- 11/24/2014
- ScreenDaily
Film selections include Paris of the North [pictured], Kon-Tiki and Hotel.
The Nordic Film Festival will run its third edition in the UK from Nov 26-Dec 7 in London followed by more touring in December 2014 to the Edinburgh Filmhouse, Glasgow Film Theatre, Tyneside in Newcastle and Broadway in Nottingham.
Film company Day for Night runs the event, which includes features, documentaries and shorts.
Films selected include Iram Haq’s I Am Yours, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s Paris Of The North, Lisa Langseth’s Hotel, Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki, Ani Simon-Kennedy’s Days of Gray, Andreas Johnsen’s Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case, and Petri Luukkainen’s My Stuff.
In London, the venues are the Ica, Hackney Picturehouse, Arthouse Crouch End, The Proud Archivist, Cafe Kaizen and Hotel St Ermin.
One new strand is about Architecture, Design & The City.
Cph: Dox will screen a shorts programme from their Cph: Lab.
The Nordic Film Festival will run its third edition in the UK from Nov 26-Dec 7 in London followed by more touring in December 2014 to the Edinburgh Filmhouse, Glasgow Film Theatre, Tyneside in Newcastle and Broadway in Nottingham.
Film company Day for Night runs the event, which includes features, documentaries and shorts.
Films selected include Iram Haq’s I Am Yours, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s Paris Of The North, Lisa Langseth’s Hotel, Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki, Ani Simon-Kennedy’s Days of Gray, Andreas Johnsen’s Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case, and Petri Luukkainen’s My Stuff.
In London, the venues are the Ica, Hackney Picturehouse, Arthouse Crouch End, The Proud Archivist, Cafe Kaizen and Hotel St Ermin.
One new strand is about Architecture, Design & The City.
Cph: Dox will screen a shorts programme from their Cph: Lab.
- 11/10/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
After seeing his debut feature Either Way remade into Us film Prince Avalanche, director and writer Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson talks to Laurence Boyce about his second feature, which receives its world premiere in Karlovy Vary.
Icelandic director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s debut feature Either Way was an affecting and quirky exploration of the relationship between two road painters who live an isolated existence as they discuss life and women in the vastness of the Icelandic countryside.
Proving popular on the festival circuit, the film would go on to be remade by David Gordon Green as Prince Avalanche with Paul Rudd and Emilie Hirsch in the leads.
Now Sigurðsson’s second feature, Paris of the North, is set to have its world premiere in the Karlovy Vary International Competition. Filled with deadpan humour and a brilliant soundtrack, Sigurðsson once again tells a story of two people forced together in isolated surroundings.
Here Hugi, a...
Icelandic director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s debut feature Either Way was an affecting and quirky exploration of the relationship between two road painters who live an isolated existence as they discuss life and women in the vastness of the Icelandic countryside.
Proving popular on the festival circuit, the film would go on to be remade by David Gordon Green as Prince Avalanche with Paul Rudd and Emilie Hirsch in the leads.
Now Sigurðsson’s second feature, Paris of the North, is set to have its world premiere in the Karlovy Vary International Competition. Filled with deadpan humour and a brilliant soundtrack, Sigurðsson once again tells a story of two people forced together in isolated surroundings.
Here Hugi, a...
- 7/7/2014
- ScreenDaily
★★★☆☆David Gordon Green returned to his indie roots last year with Prince Avalanche (2013) following a handful of Hollywood comedies. Based on Either Way (2011), an Icelandic film by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, it marks a significant departure in both style and substance from the likes of Pineapple Express (2008). Alvin (Paul Rudd) and Lance (Emile Hirsch) are two men whose job it is to paint the lines down the middle of the winding rural roads of Texas after a 1988 forest fire. Alvin is dating Lance's sister Madison (Lynn Shelton), and the two men veer between comfortable companionship and childish spats.
- 2/4/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche was one of the many promising films debuting at Sundance at the start of the year, coming away with very positive reviews to match the anticipation.
The comedy-drama went on to win the Silver Berlin Bear for the writer-director at the Berlinale a month later. And after having its UK premiere over the summer at Film4 Summer Screen, it will be reaching our shores next month, and the new UK quad poster has arrived to prove it.
An odd couple of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance, dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely...
The comedy-drama went on to win the Silver Berlin Bear for the writer-director at the Berlinale a month later. And after having its UK premiere over the summer at Film4 Summer Screen, it will be reaching our shores next month, and the new UK quad poster has arrived to prove it.
An odd couple of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance, dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely...
- 9/18/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
If any recent Icelandic film seemed unlikely to attract interest in a remake, it would have be Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson's 2011 debut feature "Either Way" ("Á annan veg"), a comedy about two men working on Icelandic highways in the middle of nowhere, painting lines on the road and hammering in posts. Although critically acclaimed and well received in various film festivals worldwide, "Either Way" was only released in two Icelandic theaters and didn't receive much public attention or fanfare. But to the surprise of many, it somehow became the second Icelandic feature to be remade in the U.S. when it was announced that director David Gordon Green had secretly filmed a remake starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. The result, "Prince Avalanche," premiered at Sundance and opens in limited release this week. The screenplay for "Either Way" was written with a low budget in mind, after Iceland's banking crisis...
- 8/5/2013
- by Ari Gunnar Thorsteinsson
- Indiewire
Debuting at Sundance this year to very positive early reviews, David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche is definitely a film I can’t wait to see this year.
With Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch leading the cast, and solid reviews already surrounding the film, it’s a no-brainer. And with its August Us release date very much on the horizon, we’ve got a great new trailer and poster to share.
An odd couple of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance, dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely friendship develops through humor and nasty exchanges, leading to surprising affection.
Adapted from Icelandic film Either Way,...
With Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch leading the cast, and solid reviews already surrounding the film, it’s a no-brainer. And with its August Us release date very much on the horizon, we’ve got a great new trailer and poster to share.
An odd couple of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance, dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely friendship develops through humor and nasty exchanges, leading to surprising affection.
Adapted from Icelandic film Either Way,...
- 6/24/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Trailer for Fox Searchlight Pictures' Prince Avalanche, starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch The first trailer's in for the David Gordon Green comedy which can be seen via the player below, courtesy of Apple. An odd couple of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance, dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely friendship develops through humor and nasty exchanges, leading to surprising affection. Adapted from Icelandic film Either Way, Prince Avalanche is driven by wonderful performances by Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch, and Lance LeGault. Writer/director David Gordon Green gets back to his independent roots with this character study, which...
- 4/26/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Prince Avalanche
Directed by David Gordon Green
Written by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (original story), David Gordon Green (adapted screenplay)
Us, 2013
The inception of this film does not so much start with a story but a location. Filmed in the ash ridden Bastrop, TX after the late 2011 fires that devastated thousands of homes, Prince Avalanche observes two men as they repaint a lonely, rural road. As a remake of the Icelandic film Á annan veg (2011), the film follows the strict and humorless Alvin (Paul Rudd) and Lance (Emile Hirsch) who is brash and self centered. The dichotomy between the two is both a source of conflict as well as, ironically, a way to common ground.
Much like the rest of the film, the opening is quiet as the two rise to work in the silent Texas dawn, working slowly but deliberately. As they continue to toil away throughout the summer of...
Directed by David Gordon Green
Written by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (original story), David Gordon Green (adapted screenplay)
Us, 2013
The inception of this film does not so much start with a story but a location. Filmed in the ash ridden Bastrop, TX after the late 2011 fires that devastated thousands of homes, Prince Avalanche observes two men as they repaint a lonely, rural road. As a remake of the Icelandic film Á annan veg (2011), the film follows the strict and humorless Alvin (Paul Rudd) and Lance (Emile Hirsch) who is brash and self centered. The dichotomy between the two is both a source of conflict as well as, ironically, a way to common ground.
Much like the rest of the film, the opening is quiet as the two rise to work in the silent Texas dawn, working slowly but deliberately. As they continue to toil away throughout the summer of...
- 3/11/2013
- by David Tran
- SoundOnSight
Berlin 2013: Best Director David Gordon Green This year's Best Director at the Berlinale was David Gordon Green for Prince Avalanche, featuring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as two quite disparate road workers who develop an unlikely friendship. Green also wrote the Prince Avalanche screenplay, from an original story by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. (Pictured above: David Gordon Green.) Best Actress Paulina Garcia Best Actress winner Paulina Garcia (pictured above holding her Silver Bear) is the star of Sebastián Lelio's dramatic comedy Gloria, which follows a middle-aged woman who rediscovers love in the person of a naval officer in his mid-60s. Roadside Attractions will handle the distribution of the well-liked Gloria in the U.S. Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi receives award The Best Screenplay prize went to Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and Kamboziya Partovi for the narrative drama Closed Curtain. While accepting the award, Partovi told the audience that...
- 2/17/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Magnolia Pictures has picked up N. American distribution rights to David Gordon Green's Prince Avalanche comedy. Variety reports that a summer theatrical release is being planned for the film which premiered on at Sundance. Directed, screenwritten and produced by Green, Prince Avalanche stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch and is a loose remake of Á annan veg (Either Way, the 2011 Icelandic film helmed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. The dramedy tells of two highway road workers who spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. Working in the isolated landscape provides a misadventures and the men end up at odds with each other, as well as the women they left behind.
- 1/23/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Magnolia Pictures has picked up N. American distribution rights to David Gordon Green's Prince Avalanche comedy. Variety reports that a summer theatrical release is being planned for the film which premiered on at Sundance. Directed, screenwritten and produced by Green, Prince Avalanche stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch and is a loose remake of Á annan veg (Either Way, the 2011 Icelandic film helmed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. The dramedy tells of two highway road workers who spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. Working in the isolated landscape provides a misadventures and the men end up at odds with each other, as well as the women they left behind.
- 1/23/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Prince Avalanche
Director/Writer: David Gordon Green
Producer(s): Gordon Green, James Belfer, Muskat Filmed Properties’ Lisa Muskat, Derrick Tseng and filmmaker Craig Zobel.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch
After a string of films we might one day refer to as his Amblin phase (Pineapple Express, Your Highness, The Sitter) it appears that Prince Avalanche is the welcome return to Gordon Green’s indie roots. Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch should prove to be a great pair of misfits in an item which is based on the 2011 film Either Way, from Icelandic helmer Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. Don’t be surprised if the writer/director reminds us with his eighth feature film outing, that he can flex both his dramatic and comedic writing skills with ease – and what a year it would be if this, and Joe (we’ve slotted a bit higher up...
Director/Writer: David Gordon Green
Producer(s): Gordon Green, James Belfer, Muskat Filmed Properties’ Lisa Muskat, Derrick Tseng and filmmaker Craig Zobel.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch
After a string of films we might one day refer to as his Amblin phase (Pineapple Express, Your Highness, The Sitter) it appears that Prince Avalanche is the welcome return to Gordon Green’s indie roots. Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch should prove to be a great pair of misfits in an item which is based on the 2011 film Either Way, from Icelandic helmer Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson. Don’t be surprised if the writer/director reminds us with his eighth feature film outing, that he can flex both his dramatic and comedic writing skills with ease – and what a year it would be if this, and Joe (we’ve slotted a bit higher up...
- 1/11/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
After going big on his last few projects, director David Gordon Green recently, and secretly, shot a small comedy called Prince Avalanche. It was just last week we were discussing directors who should return to their pasts and with Green remaking Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson's Á annan veg (Either Way), it sounds like he may have heeded our advice. Okay, I doubt he was listening, but the (largely) two character dramedy about a couple of highway maintenance men, played by the excellent pair of Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, could finally be that return to form. And the news that fellow Austin artists, rock group Explosions in the Sky, would be scoring Prince Avalanche doesn't hurt either since all their previous collaborations with the director came early in his career. In the middle of Explosions recent interview with Consequence of Sound, guitarist Munaf Rayani revealed that the band has agreed...
- 6/21/2012
- cinemablend.com
Paid to do the unenviable, Finnbogi (Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson) and Alfred (Hilmar Guðjónsson) spend their weekdays painting the markings on a deserted road in a remote part of Iceland. With limited company and provisions, and personalities that quite often clash, the duo are forced to live out their lives in a confined space, whether it be the loneliness, their personal lives, or the excitement of the weekend’s freedom. Foreseeably, this results in moments of hostility, amusement and affinity.
Simplicity is key here as writer and director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson constructs an intimate snapshot into the two men’s lives, battling hardships in the remote terrain. The action may be limited, but it’s through the interplay between these two characters, the part brotherly, part enemy relationship they share and how they each cope with their solitude that brings Either Way into its own.
With a script that feels improvised,...
Simplicity is key here as writer and director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson constructs an intimate snapshot into the two men’s lives, battling hardships in the remote terrain. The action may be limited, but it’s through the interplay between these two characters, the part brotherly, part enemy relationship they share and how they each cope with their solitude that brings Either Way into its own.
With a script that feels improvised,...
- 6/21/2012
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Talk about sneaking up on us. While recent news on David Gordon Green was only timely, detailed coverage of his Suspiria remake, it turns out he, Paul Rudd, and Emile Hirsch shot a whole movie right under the world’s collective nose. While details on the film, titled Prince Avalanche, can’t amount to much right now, Twitch managed to uncover this all-important detail: it’s a remake of last year’s Icelandic road movie Either Way.
This is how the Icelandic Film Centre summarizes it:
“In the remote north of Iceland in the 1980s, Finnbogi and Alfred spend the summer painting lines on the winding roads that stretch out to the horizon. Soon the barren wilderness becomes a place of adventure, disaster and discovery as both men find themselves at crossroads in their lives.”
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson directed the original, an effort that’s been getting little exposure but,...
This is how the Icelandic Film Centre summarizes it:
“In the remote north of Iceland in the 1980s, Finnbogi and Alfred spend the summer painting lines on the winding roads that stretch out to the horizon. Soon the barren wilderness becomes a place of adventure, disaster and discovery as both men find themselves at crossroads in their lives.”
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson directed the original, an effort that’s been getting little exposure but,...
- 6/6/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
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