Exclusive: Filming is underway on long-gestating European thriller series The Kollective (6 x 60′), which we can reveal will star Natascha McElhone (Californication), Celine Buckens (Showtrial), Felix Mayr (Unorthodox), Gregg Sulkin (Marvel’s Runaways), Grégory Montel (Call My Agent), Karel Roden (A Spy Amongst Friends), Cassiopée Mayance (The Clearstream Affair), Martha Canga Antonio (Lupin) and Ralph Amoussou (Transatlantic).
Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.
Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.
Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.
Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.
- 1/31/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
A disturbing depiction of the misogynist world of Brussels gangs
This urban spin on the classic story of star-crossed lovers sparked riots on its release in Belgium. Teenagers familiar with the source material – two young adult novels by Dirk Bracke, although Romeo and Juliet is another clear influence – protested over the film’s 16 certificate there. With its unflinching depiction of misogyny in Brussels gang culture, there are parallels with Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood. However, the depiction of sexual violence – there are two highly disturbing gang rape scenes – makes this a far tougher watch. With that warning in mind, there is much to recommend this picture, not least the nervy camerawork and a pair of knockout performances from Martha Canga Antonio and Aboubakr Bensaihi as young lovers from opposite sides of a gang war.
Continue reading...
This urban spin on the classic story of star-crossed lovers sparked riots on its release in Belgium. Teenagers familiar with the source material – two young adult novels by Dirk Bracke, although Romeo and Juliet is another clear influence – protested over the film’s 16 certificate there. With its unflinching depiction of misogyny in Brussels gang culture, there are parallels with Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood. However, the depiction of sexual violence – there are two highly disturbing gang rape scenes – makes this a far tougher watch. With that warning in mind, there is much to recommend this picture, not least the nervy camerawork and a pair of knockout performances from Martha Canga Antonio and Aboubakr Bensaihi as young lovers from opposite sides of a gang war.
Continue reading...
- 8/21/2016
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
A facile riff on Romeo & Juliet amongst Brussels gangs. Banal, clichéd, and treats its teenage-girl protagonist in a spectacularly disgusting way. I’m “biast” (pro): desperate for stories about women
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Here we go again. The writing-directing team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had made only one small movie in their native Belgium when they took Black to the Toronto Film Festival last year… and it was on the supposed strengths of the film that Eddie Murphy and Jerry Bruckheimer handed them the keys to the upcoming big-budget action comedy Beverly Hills Cop 4. (Indie male filmmakers with no track records getting scooped up by Hollywood for major projects while successful female filmmakers can’t get work is an ongoing problem.) So, what’s special about Black? Absolutely nothing: it’s a facile...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Here we go again. The writing-directing team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had made only one small movie in their native Belgium when they took Black to the Toronto Film Festival last year… and it was on the supposed strengths of the film that Eddie Murphy and Jerry Bruckheimer handed them the keys to the upcoming big-budget action comedy Beverly Hills Cop 4. (Indie male filmmakers with no track records getting scooped up by Hollywood for major projects while successful female filmmakers can’t get work is an ongoing problem.) So, what’s special about Black? Absolutely nothing: it’s a facile...
- 8/19/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Martha Canga Antonio and Aboubakr Bensaihi are impressive as young Afro-Belgian lovers from rival gangs, but the hip-hop video aesthetic is obnoxious
Set in Brussels, this modern-day Romeo and Juliet story unfolds the tale of a doomed romance between Marwan (Aboubakr Bensaihi) and Mavela (Martha Canga Antonio), young lovers whose families come from north and sub-Saharan Africa, respectively, and who belong to rival gangs.
There’s a lot to admire, from the honesty about the brutality of gang culture, its pungent sense of place and the vitality of its young cast. With her breathy Betty Boop voice and impressive dramatic range, Canga Antonio represents a particular discovery here. I long to see her cast in a female buddy movie with Karidja Touré, the star of Girlhood, perhaps in a Francophone urban remake of Thelma and Louise.
Continue reading...
Set in Brussels, this modern-day Romeo and Juliet story unfolds the tale of a doomed romance between Marwan (Aboubakr Bensaihi) and Mavela (Martha Canga Antonio), young lovers whose families come from north and sub-Saharan Africa, respectively, and who belong to rival gangs.
There’s a lot to admire, from the honesty about the brutality of gang culture, its pungent sense of place and the vitality of its young cast. With her breathy Betty Boop voice and impressive dramatic range, Canga Antonio represents a particular discovery here. I long to see her cast in a female buddy movie with Karidja Touré, the star of Girlhood, perhaps in a Francophone urban remake of Thelma and Louise.
Continue reading...
- 8/18/2016
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Hard-hitting TV drama will recount the crack cocaine epidemic of 1980s La.
Their last movie caused riots in Belgian cinemas. Now, hip young Belgian auteurs Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are to direct a new, hard-hitting TV drama about the crack cocaine epidemic in La in the early 1980s. The new drama, Snowfall, has been co-written by John Singleton (Boyz n The Hood).
It has been confirmed in Cannes that El Arbi and Fallah (directors of gang movie Black, which was partially set in the notorious Molenbeek area of Brussels) are to work together on the pilot of Snowfall for the FX network.
Set in Los Angeles in 1981, the Snowfall pilot will show how the crack cocaine epidemic first took hold.
The drama follows Franklin Saint, a young street entrepreneur on a quest for power; Gustavo Zapata, a Mexican wrestler turned gangster in search of his American dream; and CIA agent Teddy McDonald.
In a statement...
Their last movie caused riots in Belgian cinemas. Now, hip young Belgian auteurs Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are to direct a new, hard-hitting TV drama about the crack cocaine epidemic in La in the early 1980s. The new drama, Snowfall, has been co-written by John Singleton (Boyz n The Hood).
It has been confirmed in Cannes that El Arbi and Fallah (directors of gang movie Black, which was partially set in the notorious Molenbeek area of Brussels) are to work together on the pilot of Snowfall for the FX network.
Set in Los Angeles in 1981, the Snowfall pilot will show how the crack cocaine epidemic first took hold.
The drama follows Franklin Saint, a young street entrepreneur on a quest for power; Gustavo Zapata, a Mexican wrestler turned gangster in search of his American dream; and CIA agent Teddy McDonald.
In a statement...
- 5/11/2016
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
European Film Promotion (Efp) has today revealed the gifted young actors selected as the 2016 European Shooting Stars. Chosen by a jury of industry experts, the ten talents will be presented to the film world during the opening weekend of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival (February 11-21). Of note, given this blog's interests, is, from Belgium, actress Martha Canga Antonio (photo above). Her breakout role came this year, when she starred in a feature film titled "Black" from co-directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah - Brussels-based filmmakers of Moroccan descent. The feature film that's based on the novel of the same name by Dutch...
- 12/15/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The young acting talent will be revealed during the opening weekend of next year’s Berlinale.
The European Film Promotion (Efp) has revealed the ten young actors that it has selected for the 2016 European Shooting Stars.
The list includes María Valverde, who had a role in Ridley Scott’s epic Exodus: Gods And Kings and has been cast in Asif Kapadia’s forthcoming romantic drama Ali And Nino.
Jella Hasse, who starred in Germany box office smash Fack Ju Göhte 2 and Atli Óskar Fjalarsson, who played a part in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s San Sebastian-winning Sparrows are also both on the list.
As is Kacey Mottet Klein, who plays the lead in Guillame Senez’s Keeper, which came away with the joint jury prize and best actress award at the 15th Marrakech International Film Festival on Saturday.
The selected group will be now be presented during the opening weekend of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival (February...
The European Film Promotion (Efp) has revealed the ten young actors that it has selected for the 2016 European Shooting Stars.
The list includes María Valverde, who had a role in Ridley Scott’s epic Exodus: Gods And Kings and has been cast in Asif Kapadia’s forthcoming romantic drama Ali And Nino.
Jella Hasse, who starred in Germany box office smash Fack Ju Göhte 2 and Atli Óskar Fjalarsson, who played a part in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s San Sebastian-winning Sparrows are also both on the list.
As is Kacey Mottet Klein, who plays the lead in Guillame Senez’s Keeper, which came away with the joint jury prize and best actress award at the 15th Marrakech International Film Festival on Saturday.
The selected group will be now be presented during the opening weekend of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival (February...
- 12/15/2015
- ScreenDaily
The 2016 shooting stars. Photo: Top row from left: Filip Van Roe, Ana Mihalic, Eric Guillemain, Janita Sassen, Debora Brune; Bottom row from left: Ruben Vega, Magnús Reynir Jónsson, Emanuele Pasquet, Sarah Robine, Laurine Mottet The European Film Promotion (Efp) has revealed the ten young actors selected as the 2016 European Shooting Stars, who will be presented to the film world during February's Berlin International Film Festival.
This year's stars are: Martha Canga Antonio (Belgium), Tihana Lazović (Croatia), Lou de Laâge (France), Jella Haase (Germany), Daphné Patakia (Greece), Atli Óskar Fjalarsson (Iceland), Sara Serraiocco (Italy), Reinout Scholten van Aschat (The Netherlands), María Valverde (Spain), Kacey Mottet Klein (Switzerland).
Jury member Anamaria Marinca - herself a Shooting Star in 2008 - said: “Being a Shooting Star was exhilarating. Little did I know how problematic it would be as a jury member to try to select just ten participants from the 24 nominees put forward by...
This year's stars are: Martha Canga Antonio (Belgium), Tihana Lazović (Croatia), Lou de Laâge (France), Jella Haase (Germany), Daphné Patakia (Greece), Atli Óskar Fjalarsson (Iceland), Sara Serraiocco (Italy), Reinout Scholten van Aschat (The Netherlands), María Valverde (Spain), Kacey Mottet Klein (Switzerland).
Jury member Anamaria Marinca - herself a Shooting Star in 2008 - said: “Being a Shooting Star was exhilarating. Little did I know how problematic it would be as a jury member to try to select just ten participants from the 24 nominees put forward by...
- 12/15/2015
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The producers of The Throne have returned their $10,600 prize, citing a desire to help the festival’s growth.
The team behind The Throne, which won Best Film at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 13-29) last week, have returned their $10,600 (€10,000) prize to the festival.
Production company Tiger Pictures and director Lee Joon-ik stated that they were impressed with the festival and they wished to donate their grant to help Black Nights become “a new European hub to create cinematic joy and fun.”
The Throne, which is South Korea’s Oscar submission for 2015, follows an 18th-century Korean ruling family. It also took the Best Music prize during the festival’s award ceremony on Nov 27.
The film’s screenwriter and producer, Cho Chul-hyun—who accepted the awards on behalf of Lee and music director Bang Jun-seok who were both absent—left a handwritten letter on Dec 1 to Festival Director Tiina Lokk explaining what Lee and Tiger Pictures wanted...
The team behind The Throne, which won Best Film at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 13-29) last week, have returned their $10,600 (€10,000) prize to the festival.
Production company Tiger Pictures and director Lee Joon-ik stated that they were impressed with the festival and they wished to donate their grant to help Black Nights become “a new European hub to create cinematic joy and fun.”
The Throne, which is South Korea’s Oscar submission for 2015, follows an 18th-century Korean ruling family. It also took the Best Music prize during the festival’s award ceremony on Nov 27.
The film’s screenwriter and producer, Cho Chul-hyun—who accepted the awards on behalf of Lee and music director Bang Jun-seok who were both absent—left a handwritten letter on Dec 1 to Festival Director Tiina Lokk explaining what Lee and Tiger Pictures wanted...
- 12/2/2015
- ScreenDaily
Read More: The Breakouts: 9 Up-and-Coming Actors to Watch For at the Toronto International Film Festival Featuring a buzzed-about performance by newbie actress Martha Canga Antonio and a modified and modernized spin on the classic Romeo and Juliet story, Adil El Abri and Bilall Fallah's Toronto International Film Festival premiere "Black" has now been announced as the winner of the inaugural Dropbox Discovery Programme Filmmakers Award. Of the announcement, the jury commented, "We are delighted to announce the winner of the Dropbox Discovery Programme Filmmakers Award is 'Black.' With this award we celebrate a clear cinematic vision, creatively and audaciously realised. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have made a powerful impression upon cinema, with their arresting visual and sonic sensibility placing the loyalties and threats of gang life into sharp relief. A discovery indeed." This year’s jury members included Pia...
- 9/20/2015
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Directors Adil El Arbi and Billal Farrah are returning to the streets of Brussels for their newest feature.
Titled Black, the film now has a festival trailer. This is the second feature from the directorial duo, both of whom also worked on the screenplay alongside Nele Meirhaeghe and Hans Herbots, adapting it from Dirk Bracke’s Black/Black. Martha Canga Antonio and Aboubakr Bensaihi take on the lead roles, with a supporting cast that includes Emmanuel Tahon, Simon Frey, and Axel Massudi.
The film’s synopsis is as follows.
A 15-year-old girl in a black gang in Brussels must choose between loyalty and love when she falls for a Moroccan boy from a rival gang.
This film marks the fourth collaboration between El Arbi and Farrah, who have previously worked together on short films and tv shows as well as features. El Arbi and Farrah also take on editing duties for the film,...
Titled Black, the film now has a festival trailer. This is the second feature from the directorial duo, both of whom also worked on the screenplay alongside Nele Meirhaeghe and Hans Herbots, adapting it from Dirk Bracke’s Black/Black. Martha Canga Antonio and Aboubakr Bensaihi take on the lead roles, with a supporting cast that includes Emmanuel Tahon, Simon Frey, and Axel Massudi.
The film’s synopsis is as follows.
A 15-year-old girl in a black gang in Brussels must choose between loyalty and love when she falls for a Moroccan boy from a rival gang.
This film marks the fourth collaboration between El Arbi and Farrah, who have previously worked together on short films and tv shows as well as features. El Arbi and Farrah also take on editing duties for the film,...
- 8/31/2015
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
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