Running April 4-7, the Iff Panama brings to this year’s edition a rich mix of standout director driven titles from Europe, the Spanish-speaking world and beyond, spangled by highlights from Central America, including Panama:
“Bila Burba,” (Duiren Wagua, Panama)
Documentary. Wagua’s debut feature. The Gunadule nation’s ties with the Panamanian government were fraught with territorial and cultural disputes. In 1925, leaders Simral Colman and Nele Kantule, inspired by their warrior ancestors, joined forces to unite their communities in the ‘Dule Revolution’ against police brutality. Today, their descendants honor this legacy through street theater, transforming community streets into stages to commemorate their ancestors’ struggle.
Bila Burba
“Brown,” (Ricardo Aguilar, Panama)
Penned by Aguilar’s regular collaborator, Manolito Rodríguez, the story centers on Teófilo Alfonso, also known as “Panamá Al” Brown, the first Latin American World Boxing Champion. After a fixed fight costs him his title, he retires to Paris.
“Bila Burba,” (Duiren Wagua, Panama)
Documentary. Wagua’s debut feature. The Gunadule nation’s ties with the Panamanian government were fraught with territorial and cultural disputes. In 1925, leaders Simral Colman and Nele Kantule, inspired by their warrior ancestors, joined forces to unite their communities in the ‘Dule Revolution’ against police brutality. Today, their descendants honor this legacy through street theater, transforming community streets into stages to commemorate their ancestors’ struggle.
Bila Burba
“Brown,” (Ricardo Aguilar, Panama)
Penned by Aguilar’s regular collaborator, Manolito Rodríguez, the story centers on Teófilo Alfonso, also known as “Panamá Al” Brown, the first Latin American World Boxing Champion. After a fixed fight costs him his title, he retires to Paris.
- 4/3/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
In his sophomore feature, David Zonana plunges into the dark underpinnings that propel military college-type institutions in Mexico (not much different around the world) with a film that provides an unflinching examination of moral corruption and normalcy in victimization thus reflecting the broader issues prevalent in his native Mexico. Serving as a subversive critical essay on violence, Heroico is the death by a thousand cuts of the soul and it asks whether a moral compass is even possible in modern day Mexico. When combined with his debut film (Workforce – 2019), which explored themes of social hierarchy and ownership, we can rely on this filmmaker to consistently produce the type of thought-provoking films that challenge and compel audiences to confront the current state of affairs.…...
- 10/24/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Argentine director Paula Hernández’s “The Ravaging Wind,” toplined by Latin American star Alfredo Castro, will be the opening night film of Horizontes Latinos sidebar at the 71st edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival, which runs Sept. 22-30.
Carolina Markowicz’s “Toll,” whose producers include Brazilian giant Globo Filmes, will close the section, one of the biggest examples of San Sebastian’s long-term commitment to Latin American cinema.
In total, Horizontes will present this year 12 stories, set in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil.
Traditionally, the sidebar showcases feature films not yet released in Spain, either totally or partially produced in Latin America directed by Latino filmmakers or which are set against the backdrop or subject of Latino communities in the rest of the world.
The contenders list of the 2023 edition takes in two films who walked off with prizes at San Sebastian’s Latin American Work In Progress initiative...
Carolina Markowicz’s “Toll,” whose producers include Brazilian giant Globo Filmes, will close the section, one of the biggest examples of San Sebastian’s long-term commitment to Latin American cinema.
In total, Horizontes will present this year 12 stories, set in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil.
Traditionally, the sidebar showcases feature films not yet released in Spain, either totally or partially produced in Latin America directed by Latino filmmakers or which are set against the backdrop or subject of Latino communities in the rest of the world.
The contenders list of the 2023 edition takes in two films who walked off with prizes at San Sebastian’s Latin American Work In Progress initiative...
- 8/7/2023
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
A dozen film titles with items dating back to this year’s Sundance (David Zonana‘s Heroic), Berlinale (Lila Aviles‘ Totem and Tatiana Huezo‘s The Echo) and the Cannes Film Festival (Felipe Galvez‘s The Settlers) will mix it up in the Horizontes Latinos Section of the San Sebastian International Film Festival. They will go up against the world premieres to The Sleepwalkers‘ Argentinean filmmaker Paula Hernandez‘s latest El Viento Que Arrasa (which will open the section) and Charcoal Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz‘s Toll which will close the section.…...
- 8/3/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Twelve stories set in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil make up Horizontes Latinos, a selection of the year’s feature films, not yet released in Spain, from among all those totally or partially produced in Latin America, directed by moviemakers of Latino origin, or which are set against the backdrop or subject of Latino communities in the rest of the world. In the selection of titles competing for the Horizontes Award at San Sebastian’s 71st edition are two films to have carried off awards at the last Wip Latam –El castillo / The Castle and Estranho caminho / A Strange Path– and at the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum –Alemania–.
Having shown one of her previous movies in Horizontes Latinos, Los sonámbulos / The Sleepwalkers (2019), Paula Hernández returns to the section she will open with El viento que arrasa / A Ravaging Wind, a cinematic adaptation of Selva Almada’s homonymous novel. Alfredo Castro,...
Having shown one of her previous movies in Horizontes Latinos, Los sonámbulos / The Sleepwalkers (2019), Paula Hernández returns to the section she will open with El viento que arrasa / A Ravaging Wind, a cinematic adaptation of Selva Almada’s homonymous novel. Alfredo Castro,...
- 8/3/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
The 12 Latin American titles compete for a €35,000 prize
Lila Aviles’ Totem and Felipe Galvez’s The Settlers are among the films selected for the Horizontes Latinos strand of the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The 12 Latin American titles are competing for the Horizontes Award of €35,000 which is split between the director and the Spanish distributor.
Totem first premiered at Berlinale earlier this year, picking up the Ecumenical jury prize before collecting further awards at Hong Kong and Jerusalem. The Mexican drama is told from the perspective of a seven-year-old girl as her family descends into crisis around her.
Winner...
Lila Aviles’ Totem and Felipe Galvez’s The Settlers are among the films selected for the Horizontes Latinos strand of the 71st San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The 12 Latin American titles are competing for the Horizontes Award of €35,000 which is split between the director and the Spanish distributor.
Totem first premiered at Berlinale earlier this year, picking up the Ecumenical jury prize before collecting further awards at Hong Kong and Jerusalem. The Mexican drama is told from the perspective of a seven-year-old girl as her family descends into crisis around her.
Winner...
- 8/3/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The San Sebastian Film Festival is shining the light on female filmmakers from across Latin America with the lineup for its Horizontes Latinos sidebar section. Eight of the 12 features in this year’s program, which San Sebastian unveiled on Thursday, are from female directors, including A Ravaging Wind from Argentine filmmaker Paula Hernández, which will open the section. All 12 films come from directors of Latino origin and were entirely or partially produced in Latin America but have not yet been released in Spain.
A Ravaging Wind is Hernández’s adaptation of Selva Almada’s novel of the same name and follows the story of a preacher and his daughter whose car breaks down during their latest mission to spread the gospel. Hernández’s 2019 feature The Sleepwalkers also screened in San Sebastian’s Horizontes Latinos sidebar.
Also returning to Horizontes Latinos are Tatiana Huezo (2021’s Prayers for the Stolen), who will...
A Ravaging Wind is Hernández’s adaptation of Selva Almada’s novel of the same name and follows the story of a preacher and his daughter whose car breaks down during their latest mission to spread the gospel. Hernández’s 2019 feature The Sleepwalkers also screened in San Sebastian’s Horizontes Latinos sidebar.
Also returning to Horizontes Latinos are Tatiana Huezo (2021’s Prayers for the Stolen), who will...
- 8/3/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” fresh from its triumphant world premiere at the Cannes fest, opens the 38th Guadalajara Film Festival (Ficg) which touts new sections this year, including a branded series showcase and midnight screenings of Italian fright maestro Dario Argento’s horror films.
Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” which had its West Coast premiere at the LA Latino Film Festival (Laliff) May 31, marks its Mexican debut at the fest.
The Series Showcase includes Patricia Martinez’s fact-based “La Narcosatánica,” which will stream on the rebranded Max, and Maite Alberdi’s “Libre de reir,” a Gato Grande production that centers on inmates in a Mexican prison who enroll in a stand-up comedy workshop. Alberdi’s Sundance-winning docu “The Eternal Memory” also vies for a prize in the festival’s documentary sidebar.
According to festival director Estrella Araiza, the festival has recovered its funding and will screen...
Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” which had its West Coast premiere at the LA Latino Film Festival (Laliff) May 31, marks its Mexican debut at the fest.
The Series Showcase includes Patricia Martinez’s fact-based “La Narcosatánica,” which will stream on the rebranded Max, and Maite Alberdi’s “Libre de reir,” a Gato Grande production that centers on inmates in a Mexican prison who enroll in a stand-up comedy workshop. Alberdi’s Sundance-winning docu “The Eternal Memory” also vies for a prize in the festival’s documentary sidebar.
According to festival director Estrella Araiza, the festival has recovered its funding and will screen...
- 6/1/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
We interviewed the talented female Dp Carolina Costa AMC, which two of her films were selected by Sundance 2023. Moreover, Costa lensed films that won multiple prizes, and she has earned the honor to be on Variety’s list of “10 Latinxs To Watch in 2020”. Read below what Costa has to say about the glass ceiling that touches many female cinematographers, and how to overcome/break it.
Dp Carolina Costa AMC Carolina Costa AMC
Originally from Brazil, Carolina studied at the University of the Arts, London, where she was mentored by Sue Gibson, the renowned first female president of the British Society of Cinematographers. Costa then moved to Los Angeles and earned her Masters in Cinematography from the American Film Institute. Her AFI thesis film Way In Rye went on to compete at Camerimage in Poland, followed by her AFI alumni short Contrapelo which premiered at Tribeca before being shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
Dp Carolina Costa AMC Carolina Costa AMC
Originally from Brazil, Carolina studied at the University of the Arts, London, where she was mentored by Sue Gibson, the renowned first female president of the British Society of Cinematographers. Costa then moved to Los Angeles and earned her Masters in Cinematography from the American Film Institute. Her AFI thesis film Way In Rye went on to compete at Camerimage in Poland, followed by her AFI alumni short Contrapelo which premiered at Tribeca before being shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
- 3/17/2023
- by Yossy Mendelovich
- YMCinema
Art has proven time and time again that war is hell. In many cases, it's dehumanizing and vicious, running through victims as if their lives meant nothing. However, one can say the same thing about the training held before a war is officially declared — if a prospective soldier has been broken down well before a real conflict arises, they could prove to be a more effective fighter. At least, that's the idea.
However, as director David Zonana posits in his film "Heroic," that cruelty will only make a soldier more numb, detached, and sadistic. Such is the case with Luis (Santiago Sandoval Carbajal), a young Nahua man who enlists in the Heroic Military College to follow in his father's footsteps. While expecting the usual harshness of the military in his training, he didn't expect his superiors to treat himself and his fellow cadets with such disdain. The worst of these...
However, as director David Zonana posits in his film "Heroic," that cruelty will only make a soldier more numb, detached, and sadistic. Such is the case with Luis (Santiago Sandoval Carbajal), a young Nahua man who enlists in the Heroic Military College to follow in his father's footsteps. While expecting the usual harshness of the military in his training, he didn't expect his superiors to treat himself and his fellow cadets with such disdain. The worst of these...
- 1/21/2023
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
A punishing look at extreme military indoctrination, David Zonana’s second feature, Heroic, portrays the relentless system of abuse, torture and violence that new army recruits go through while attending Mexico’s own version of West Point, which is ironically called the Heroic Military College.
Despite such a name, there are hardly any heroics on display in this cruel story of oppressed youth, and barely any developed characters. There are just the abused and the abusers, who face off in a series of increasingly unsettling confrontations that play out like the first half of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket extended into a full movie. It’s a grim affair indeed, and one that feels close to the work of fellow Mexican director Michel Franco (New Order), credited here as producer. Whether or not it will stir up substantial interest after Sundance is another story.
Shot in starkly elegant widescreen...
Despite such a name, there are hardly any heroics on display in this cruel story of oppressed youth, and barely any developed characters. There are just the abused and the abusers, who face off in a series of increasingly unsettling confrontations that play out like the first half of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket extended into a full movie. It’s a grim affair indeed, and one that feels close to the work of fellow Mexican director Michel Franco (New Order), credited here as producer. Whether or not it will stir up substantial interest after Sundance is another story.
Shot in starkly elegant widescreen...
- 1/21/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Workforce,” Mexican writer-director David Zonana’s first feature, world premiered at Toronto in its Platform section, played main competition at San Sebastian and is now hailed as the most prized Mexican film of 2019, nailing Mexico’s moral deficiencies.
Bowing in World Dramatic Competition Jan. 20 at 2023’s Sundance, Zonana’s follow-up, “Heroic,” is produced by Michel Franco and sold by Wild Bunch Intl. (international) and CAA (U.S.). It’s another trenchant, withering take on modern-day Mexico.
The film’s producers and Wild Bunch Intl. and CAA shared an exclusive first look at the poster of “Heroic”with Variety.
“Heroic” poster
Countries are defined by their institutions, Machiavelli argued. If so,”Heroic,” set at the Mexican army’s Heroic Military Academy, the country’s West Point or Sandhurst, underscores that Mexico is in bad shape. Contained in length – a nifty 88 minutes – though large on ideas, it turns on Luis, a Nahuatl,...
Bowing in World Dramatic Competition Jan. 20 at 2023’s Sundance, Zonana’s follow-up, “Heroic,” is produced by Michel Franco and sold by Wild Bunch Intl. (international) and CAA (U.S.). It’s another trenchant, withering take on modern-day Mexico.
The film’s producers and Wild Bunch Intl. and CAA shared an exclusive first look at the poster of “Heroic”with Variety.
“Heroic” poster
Countries are defined by their institutions, Machiavelli argued. If so,”Heroic,” set at the Mexican army’s Heroic Military Academy, the country’s West Point or Sandhurst, underscores that Mexico is in bad shape. Contained in length – a nifty 88 minutes – though large on ideas, it turns on Luis, a Nahuatl,...
- 1/20/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
U2 documentary ‘Kiss The Future’ added to Berlinale Special; further Generation titles revealed.
The Berlinale has completed the Panorama section for its 2023 edition with a raft of world premieres including UK thriller Femme, starring George MacKay and Candyman star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.
The festival, which is set to run from February 16-26, has also revealed fresh titles selected for its Generation competition and the addition of U2 documentary Kiss The Future as a Berlinale Special screening.
The Panorama strand will comprise 35 films from 30 countries, including 28 world premieres and 11 debuts. Having previously announced several titles, the festival revealed that animated feature The...
The Berlinale has completed the Panorama section for its 2023 edition with a raft of world premieres including UK thriller Femme, starring George MacKay and Candyman star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.
The festival, which is set to run from February 16-26, has also revealed fresh titles selected for its Generation competition and the addition of U2 documentary Kiss The Future as a Berlinale Special screening.
The Panorama strand will comprise 35 films from 30 countries, including 28 world premieres and 11 debuts. Having previously announced several titles, the festival revealed that animated feature The...
- 1/18/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Sepideh Farsi’s “La Sirène” (“The Siren”) is opening the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama strand.
The program, which comprises 35 films from 30 countries, including 28 world premieres and 11 debuts, includes new films by Patric Chiha, İlker Çatak, Frauke Finsterwalder, Maite Alberdi, Milad Alami and Apolline Traoré. They feature a galaxy of well-known protagonists and actors such as Joan Baez, Jafar Panahi, Payman Maadi, George MacKay, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Fan Bingbing, Sandra Hüller and Susanne Wolff.
Panorama Selections
“After”
by Anthony Lapia | with Louise Chevillotte, Majd Mastoura, Natalia Wiszniewska
France
World premiere | Debut film
“All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White”
by Babatunde Apalowo | with Tope Tedela, Riyo David, Martha Ehinome Orhiere, Uchechika Elumelu, Floyd Anekwe
Nigeria
World premiere | Debut film
“And, Towards Happy Alleys”
by Sreemoyee Singh | with Jafar Panahi, Nasrin Soutodeh, Jinous Nazokkar, Farhad Kheradmand, Aida Mohammadkhani
India
World premiere | Debut film | Documentary
“La Bête dans la...
The program, which comprises 35 films from 30 countries, including 28 world premieres and 11 debuts, includes new films by Patric Chiha, İlker Çatak, Frauke Finsterwalder, Maite Alberdi, Milad Alami and Apolline Traoré. They feature a galaxy of well-known protagonists and actors such as Joan Baez, Jafar Panahi, Payman Maadi, George MacKay, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Fan Bingbing, Sandra Hüller and Susanne Wolff.
Panorama Selections
“After”
by Anthony Lapia | with Louise Chevillotte, Majd Mastoura, Natalia Wiszniewska
France
World premiere | Debut film
“All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White”
by Babatunde Apalowo | with Tope Tedela, Riyo David, Martha Ehinome Orhiere, Uchechika Elumelu, Floyd Anekwe
Nigeria
World premiere | Debut film
“And, Towards Happy Alleys”
by Sreemoyee Singh | with Jafar Panahi, Nasrin Soutodeh, Jinous Nazokkar, Farhad Kheradmand, Aida Mohammadkhani
India
World premiere | Debut film | Documentary
“La Bête dans la...
- 1/18/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Heroic
A sophomore feature that we thought might drop in ’22 will instead break out this month at Sundance. Mexican filmmaker David Zonana who gave us Workforce (world preemed in TIFF’s Platform section in 2019) moves into another system of servants and control in Heroic. Production began in September of ’21 and sees professional actors mixing it up with non-actors. Seeing that this belongs to the larger Michel Franco family — we can expect an acute critical Pov on the mental toll that we find in such military college backdrops.
Gist: Luis, an 18-year-old boy with Indigenous roots, enters the Heroic Military College in hopes of ensuring a better future.…...
A sophomore feature that we thought might drop in ’22 will instead break out this month at Sundance. Mexican filmmaker David Zonana who gave us Workforce (world preemed in TIFF’s Platform section in 2019) moves into another system of servants and control in Heroic. Production began in September of ’21 and sees professional actors mixing it up with non-actors. Seeing that this belongs to the larger Michel Franco family — we can expect an acute critical Pov on the mental toll that we find in such military college backdrops.
Gist: Luis, an 18-year-old boy with Indigenous roots, enters the Heroic Military College in hopes of ensuring a better future.…...
- 1/16/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Paris-based sales powerhouse Wild Bunch International (Wbi) has unveiled the bulk of its French slate for the first half of 2023 as it gears up for the Unifrance Rendez-vous in Paris, running January 10-17.
New titles on the slate include Jean-Bernard Marlin’s Marseille gangland-set fantasy Salem about a former gang member who believes his daughter is the only one who can save his community from an apocalyptic curse uttered by a rival gang member in his dying breath.
Salem is Marlin’s second feature after the gritty romance Shéhérazade. That drama, also set against the backdrop of Marseille
, debuted in Cannes in 2018 and went on to win best first film in France’s 2019 César awards as well as most promising actress and actor for its big screen debutants Kenza Fortas and Dylan Robert.
The new film, which is currently in post-production, is co-produced by Bruno Nahon’s Unité and Vatos Locos Productions,...
New titles on the slate include Jean-Bernard Marlin’s Marseille gangland-set fantasy Salem about a former gang member who believes his daughter is the only one who can save his community from an apocalyptic curse uttered by a rival gang member in his dying breath.
Salem is Marlin’s second feature after the gritty romance Shéhérazade. That drama, also set against the backdrop of Marseille
, debuted in Cannes in 2018 and went on to win best first film in France’s 2019 César awards as well as most promising actress and actor for its big screen debutants Kenza Fortas and Dylan Robert.
The new film, which is currently in post-production, is co-produced by Bruno Nahon’s Unité and Vatos Locos Productions,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Donzelli’s sixth feature stars Virginie Efira and Melvil Poupaud, and is co-written with ‘Happening’ director Audrey Diwan.
Paris-based sales outfit Wild Bunch International has boarded Valerie Donzelli’s domestic abuse drama Just The Two Of Us (L’Amour Et Les Forêts) and will launch sales at the upcoming AFM market along with a star-powered slate which includes new titles The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure and Mexican military drama Heroic.
Just The Two Of Us stars Virginie Efira as a woman caught up in a toxic relationship with a possessive man played by Melvil Poupaud. Co-written with Happening director Audrey Diwan,...
Paris-based sales outfit Wild Bunch International has boarded Valerie Donzelli’s domestic abuse drama Just The Two Of Us (L’Amour Et Les Forêts) and will launch sales at the upcoming AFM market along with a star-powered slate which includes new titles The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure and Mexican military drama Heroic.
Just The Two Of Us stars Virginie Efira as a woman caught up in a toxic relationship with a possessive man played by Melvil Poupaud. Co-written with Happening director Audrey Diwan,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Donzelli’s sixth feature stars Virginie Efira and Melvil Poupaud, and is co-written with ‘Happening’ director Audrey Diwan.
Paris-based sales outfit Wild Bunch International has boarded Valerie Donzelli’s domestic abuse drama Just The Two Of Us (L’Amour Et Les Forêts) and will launch sales at the upcoming AFM market along with a star-powered slate which includes new titles The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure and Mexican military drama Heroic.
Just The Two Of Us stars Virginie Efira as a woman caught up in a toxic relationship with a possessive man played by Melvil Poupaud. Co-written with Happening director Audrey Diwan,...
Paris-based sales outfit Wild Bunch International has boarded Valerie Donzelli’s domestic abuse drama Just The Two Of Us (L’Amour Et Les Forêts) and will launch sales at the upcoming AFM market along with a star-powered slate which includes new titles The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure and Mexican military drama Heroic.
Just The Two Of Us stars Virginie Efira as a woman caught up in a toxic relationship with a possessive man played by Melvil Poupaud. Co-written with Happening director Audrey Diwan,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Totem
As highlighted in our countdown there are many reasons to be excited for the new year in Mexican and new auteur cinema when we factor in the likes of Alejandra Márquez Abella (#50) and David Zonana (#51) – and here is one more reason. Lila Avilés blasted onto the scene with La camarista (The Chambermaid) — a portrait on class division and psychological death by a thousand cuts. This debut preemed in 2018 with stops at TIFF, Donostia-San Sebastián and BFI London. Supported via Rotterdam Film Fest’s Hubert Bals Funds and the Alpha Violet folks, her next project titled Totem might have gone into production during the pandemic.…...
As highlighted in our countdown there are many reasons to be excited for the new year in Mexican and new auteur cinema when we factor in the likes of Alejandra Márquez Abella (#50) and David Zonana (#51) – and here is one more reason. Lila Avilés blasted onto the scene with La camarista (The Chambermaid) — a portrait on class division and psychological death by a thousand cuts. This debut preemed in 2018 with stops at TIFF, Donostia-San Sebastián and BFI London. Supported via Rotterdam Film Fest’s Hubert Bals Funds and the Alpha Violet folks, her next project titled Totem might have gone into production during the pandemic.…...
- 1/13/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Heroico
A longtime producer for Michel Franco’s films, Mexican filmmaker David Zonana finally kicked off his feature filmmaking career with Workforce (Mano de obra) in 2019 shoring up at TIFF and competing in San Sebastian. Zonana moves from non-professional bricklayers with a valid chip on their shoulders to the joys of training and humiliation when young recruits enter military college with his sophomore feature. Zonana describes his curiosity of wanting “to show the psychological and physical side that these boys who want to enter the go through and what their life is like inside the armed institute”. With Heroico, he reteams with his cinematographer Carolina Costa and works with professional and non-professional actors.…...
A longtime producer for Michel Franco’s films, Mexican filmmaker David Zonana finally kicked off his feature filmmaking career with Workforce (Mano de obra) in 2019 shoring up at TIFF and competing in San Sebastian. Zonana moves from non-professional bricklayers with a valid chip on their shoulders to the joys of training and humiliation when young recruits enter military college with his sophomore feature. Zonana describes his curiosity of wanting “to show the psychological and physical side that these boys who want to enter the go through and what their life is like inside the armed institute”. With Heroico, he reteams with his cinematographer Carolina Costa and works with professional and non-professional actors.…...
- 1/10/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Michel Franco’s Venice winner “New Order” (“Nueva Orden”) has scored over 330,000 admissions and $950,000 in Mexico off an Oct. 22 bow, according to Comscore.
Released by Televisa’s Videocine distrib label, that box office would be notable in any normal circumstance, given that “New Order,” an often shocking dystopian thriller, is by no stretch of the imagination a comedy nor entertainment for all the family, Mexico’s box office staples.
It’s all the more an extraordinary feat for a Mexican movie during Covid-19 when box office is tracking at some 15%-20% of its full-on power before pandemia.
“It is satisfying to see brave releases that are helping the market and attracting audiences to cinemas,” said Comscore’s Luis Vargas.
Topping Mexico’s box office on release, “New Order’s” domestic box office run is also a good way of showing the distributors who have bought the film for release in...
Released by Televisa’s Videocine distrib label, that box office would be notable in any normal circumstance, given that “New Order,” an often shocking dystopian thriller, is by no stretch of the imagination a comedy nor entertainment for all the family, Mexico’s box office staples.
It’s all the more an extraordinary feat for a Mexican movie during Covid-19 when box office is tracking at some 15%-20% of its full-on power before pandemia.
“It is satisfying to see brave releases that are helping the market and attracting audiences to cinemas,” said Comscore’s Luis Vargas.
Topping Mexico’s box office on release, “New Order’s” domestic box office run is also a good way of showing the distributors who have bought the film for release in...
- 11/9/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
For filmmakers, the process of getting the cultural powers that be to submit your film to contend for the Best International Feature Film Oscar varies from country to country. That Oscar can give your movie an enormous boost. Mexico has been participating in the foreign-language Oscar race since 1957, a year after the category was created. Of the 53 films submitted, nine have been nominated, including five from Arturo Ripstein, two from A.G. Iñárritu (“Amores Perros” and “Biutiful”), one from Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), and one from Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”), which was the first Mexican film to win the foreign-language Oscar. Cuarón lobbied the Academy Board of Governors to change the category name to Best International Feature Film.
This year, the selection committee from the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas has picked six finalists: Xavi Sala’s “Guie’dani’s Navel,” “I Carry You with Me” (Sony Pictures Classics...
This year, the selection committee from the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas has picked six finalists: Xavi Sala’s “Guie’dani’s Navel,” “I Carry You with Me” (Sony Pictures Classics...
- 10/30/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
New releases scarce in the week before ‘Tenet’ hits many markets.
UK-Ireland, opening Friday August 21
It is a quiet weekend for new releases in UK and Irish cinemas, with just two new titles on screens: Sam Quah’s Chinese crime thriller Sheep Without A Shepherd and Grégory Magne’s Perfumes.
Sheep Without A Shepherd reached number one at the Chinese box office following a December 2019 release, and was one of the last blockbuster hits in the country before Covid-19 forced the closure of venues in January. It was re-released on July 20, following the reopening of some cinemas.
Released by Trinity Film...
UK-Ireland, opening Friday August 21
It is a quiet weekend for new releases in UK and Irish cinemas, with just two new titles on screens: Sam Quah’s Chinese crime thriller Sheep Without A Shepherd and Grégory Magne’s Perfumes.
Sheep Without A Shepherd reached number one at the Chinese box office following a December 2019 release, and was one of the last blockbuster hits in the country before Covid-19 forced the closure of venues in January. It was re-released on July 20, following the reopening of some cinemas.
Released by Trinity Film...
- 8/21/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦¬1101325¦Gabriele Niola¦35¦¬158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦
- ScreenDaily
New releases scarce in the week before ‘Tenet’ hits many markets.
UK-Ireland, opening Friday August 21
It is a quiet weekend for new releases in UK and Irish cinemas, with just two new titles on screens: Sam Quah’s Chinese crime thriller Sheep Without A Shepherd and Grégory Magne’s Perfumes.
Sheep Without A Shepherd reached number one at the Chinese box office following a December 2019 release, and was one of the last blockbuster hits in the country before Covid-19 forced the closure of venues in January. It was re-released on July 20, following the reopening of some cinemas.
Released by Trinity Film...
UK-Ireland, opening Friday August 21
It is a quiet weekend for new releases in UK and Irish cinemas, with just two new titles on screens: Sam Quah’s Chinese crime thriller Sheep Without A Shepherd and Grégory Magne’s Perfumes.
Sheep Without A Shepherd reached number one at the Chinese box office following a December 2019 release, and was one of the last blockbuster hits in the country before Covid-19 forced the closure of venues in January. It was re-released on July 20, following the reopening of some cinemas.
Released by Trinity Film...
- 8/21/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦¬1101325¦Gabriele Niola¦35¦¬158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦
- ScreenDaily
GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Norwegian helmer-writer Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Beware Of Children,” a complex, almost novelistic examination of how people reveal their true colors under pressure when crisis strikes, came away the biggest winner at the 43rd Göteborg Film Festival, scoring the generously endowed best Nordic film prize.
The film’s lead actress, Henriette Steenstrup, also nabbed the fest’s award for best actor for her role as a compromised school principal at a Göteborg Film Festival prize ceremony which took place Saturday night.
The endearing Swedish film “Uje,” from debuting feature director Henrik Schyffert, also claimed two prizes: the Fipresci critics’ nod and the audience choice award for a film in the Nordic competition. Popular musician and radio host Uje Brandelius, who wrote the script and most of the film’s songs, stars along with his real-life family in a creative, meta-fiction version of his life.
Norwegian DoP Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen...
The film’s lead actress, Henriette Steenstrup, also nabbed the fest’s award for best actor for her role as a compromised school principal at a Göteborg Film Festival prize ceremony which took place Saturday night.
The endearing Swedish film “Uje,” from debuting feature director Henrik Schyffert, also claimed two prizes: the Fipresci critics’ nod and the audience choice award for a film in the Nordic competition. Popular musician and radio host Uje Brandelius, who wrote the script and most of the film’s songs, stars along with his real-life family in a creative, meta-fiction version of his life.
Norwegian DoP Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen...
- 2/1/2020
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Buzzy works-in-progress presentations include Lamb from Iceland and The Innocents from Norway.
Beware Of Children, directed by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud, has won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film in Goteborg tonight (1 Feb).
The prize money of $104,000 (Sek 1m) makes it the world’s largest film prize. The backers are Volvo Car Group, Region Västra Götaland and the City Council of Gothenburg.
The jury, led by Mia Hansen-Love, said Beware Of Children was “inspiring reflection about the intricacy of education from an adult perspective. It questions the innocence of one’s childhood in a captivating way. Human relationships...
Beware Of Children, directed by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud, has won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film in Goteborg tonight (1 Feb).
The prize money of $104,000 (Sek 1m) makes it the world’s largest film prize. The backers are Volvo Car Group, Region Västra Götaland and the City Council of Gothenburg.
The jury, led by Mia Hansen-Love, said Beware Of Children was “inspiring reflection about the intricacy of education from an adult perspective. It questions the innocence of one’s childhood in a captivating way. Human relationships...
- 2/1/2020
- by 1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” — the story about a young displaced teacher who travels to Bhutan and is taught his own life lessons from the happy and kind locals (including a yak) — won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at The Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff), it was announced Sunday.
“Gay Chorus Deep South” — a documentary following the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as the group embarks upon a high-risk tour of the Deep South to spread a message of tolerance — won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“Parasite” screenwriters Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won won the Fipresci Prize for International Screenplay for their tale about two Korean families — one wealthy and one poor — whose live intersect in the most unexpected way.
Among the acting awards, Bartosz Bielenia from “Corpus Christi” and Helena Zengel from “System Crasher” took top honors.
Also Read: Palm Springs: Renée Zellweger,...
“Gay Chorus Deep South” — a documentary following the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as the group embarks upon a high-risk tour of the Deep South to spread a message of tolerance — won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“Parasite” screenwriters Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won won the Fipresci Prize for International Screenplay for their tale about two Korean families — one wealthy and one poor — whose live intersect in the most unexpected way.
Among the acting awards, Bartosz Bielenia from “Corpus Christi” and Helena Zengel from “System Crasher” took top honors.
Also Read: Palm Springs: Renée Zellweger,...
- 1/13/2020
- by Lawrence Yee
- The Wrap
Updated with Audience Award winners: The 31st annual Palm Springs Film Festival has named the Bhutan drama Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom the winner of its Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, and Gay Chorus Deep South its Audience Award for Best Documentary.
The news Sunday comes after the fest yesterday revealed its juried award winners at a luncheon at the Hilton Palm Springs. There, Russian pic Beanpole took the Fipresci prize, while Bong Joon-Ho’s Oscar favorite Parasite copped the Fipresci Screenplay prize.
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, from director Pawo Choyning Dorji, was filmed on location at more than 16,000 feet in one of the most remote villages in Bhutan. The pic centers on a young displaced teacher who is taught his own life lessons from the happy and kind locals.
David Charles Rodrigues’ U.S. docu Gay Chorus Deep South follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus...
The news Sunday comes after the fest yesterday revealed its juried award winners at a luncheon at the Hilton Palm Springs. There, Russian pic Beanpole took the Fipresci prize, while Bong Joon-Ho’s Oscar favorite Parasite copped the Fipresci Screenplay prize.
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, from director Pawo Choyning Dorji, was filmed on location at more than 16,000 feet in one of the most remote villages in Bhutan. The pic centers on a young displaced teacher who is taught his own life lessons from the happy and kind locals.
David Charles Rodrigues’ U.S. docu Gay Chorus Deep South follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus...
- 1/13/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Foreign Oscar Contenders Win Big at Palm Springs Fest: ‘Parasite,’ ‘Beanpole,’ ‘Corpus Christi’ Lead
The Palm Springs International Film Festival, which began just after the New Year and wraps January 13, screened 188 films; 51 of them were submitted for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award. The Palm Springs Film Festival prize winners announced Saturday over brunch at the Hilton included a handful of these films. See the full list of winners below. Audience awards will be announced on Sunday.
Fipresci Prize for Best International Feature Film: “Beanpole” (Russia), Director Kantemir Balagov.
Fipresci Prize for Best Actor in a International Feature Film: Bartosz Bielenia from “Corpus Christi” (Poland).
Fipresci Prize for the Best Actress in a International Feature Film: Helena Zengel from “System Crasher” (Germany).
Fipresci Prize for International Screenplay: “Parasite” (South Korea), Screenwriters Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin-Won.
Fipresci Prize for International Screenplay Special Mention: “Antigone” (Canada), Screenwrier Sophie Deraspe.
The Fipresci jury members were film critics Pamela Biénzobas, Alferov Gavrylyshyn, and Tina Hassannia.
Fipresci Prize for Best International Feature Film: “Beanpole” (Russia), Director Kantemir Balagov.
Fipresci Prize for Best Actor in a International Feature Film: Bartosz Bielenia from “Corpus Christi” (Poland).
Fipresci Prize for the Best Actress in a International Feature Film: Helena Zengel from “System Crasher” (Germany).
Fipresci Prize for International Screenplay: “Parasite” (South Korea), Screenwriters Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin-Won.
Fipresci Prize for International Screenplay Special Mention: “Antigone” (Canada), Screenwrier Sophie Deraspe.
The Fipresci jury members were film critics Pamela Biénzobas, Alferov Gavrylyshyn, and Tina Hassannia.
- 1/11/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Palm Springs Film Festival has announced its juried winners, with “Beanpole” taking the Fipresci prize for films in the international feature film Oscar submissions program. The documentary award went to “Talking About Trees.”
Acting prizes went to Bartosz Bielenia from “Corpus Christi” for actor and Helena Zengel from “System Crasher” for actress. “Parasite” won the screenplay prize from the Fipresci jury of international film critics.
The festival, held from January 2-13, screened 192 films from 81 countries.
The New Voices New Visions award for first and second time filmmakers went to “Song Without a Name,” while “Monos” received the Ibero-American Award for films from Latin America, Spain or Portugal.
Other prizes included the local jury award to “Adam,” the Young Cineastes Award to “Corpus Christi,” and the Bridging the Borders award to “Advocate.”
The audience prizes will be announced Sunday.
A complete list of winners follows:
Fipresci Prize for Best International...
Acting prizes went to Bartosz Bielenia from “Corpus Christi” for actor and Helena Zengel from “System Crasher” for actress. “Parasite” won the screenplay prize from the Fipresci jury of international film critics.
The festival, held from January 2-13, screened 192 films from 81 countries.
The New Voices New Visions award for first and second time filmmakers went to “Song Without a Name,” while “Monos” received the Ibero-American Award for films from Latin America, Spain or Portugal.
Other prizes included the local jury award to “Adam,” the Young Cineastes Award to “Corpus Christi,” and the Bridging the Borders award to “Advocate.”
The audience prizes will be announced Sunday.
A complete list of winners follows:
Fipresci Prize for Best International...
- 1/11/2020
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Morelia, Mexico – In a relatively brief ceremony, the 17th Morelia Int’l Film Festival handed out the best film Ojo Prize Thursday night to “I’m No Longer Here,” Fernando Frias’ novel take on immigration from Mexico to the U.S., cast not as a battle for integration but rather a struggle to preserve a sense of identity.
Produced by Panorama and long in development and then post-production – Variety first reported the title as a project in 2014 – “I’m No Longer Here” kicks off as a portrait of a Monterrey urban tribe called Los Terkos who spend their days listening to Cumbia and going to dance parties until their leader is forced by cartel violence to migrate to Queens. There his Cholombiano style – sheets of straight hair pulled over their cheeks and bald back of the head – and dance moves to slowed-down Cumbia – is seen as a fashion commodity.
The...
Produced by Panorama and long in development and then post-production – Variety first reported the title as a project in 2014 – “I’m No Longer Here” kicks off as a portrait of a Monterrey urban tribe called Los Terkos who spend their days listening to Cumbia and going to dance parties until their leader is forced by cartel violence to migrate to Queens. There his Cholombiano style – sheets of straight hair pulled over their cheeks and bald back of the head – and dance moves to slowed-down Cumbia – is seen as a fashion commodity.
The...
- 10/25/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Mexican event runs from November 13-17.
Sophie Deraspe’s Canadian Oscar submission Antigone, Matías Meyer’s Modern Love, David Zonana’s Workforce and Michael Angelo Covino’s The Climb are among the Los Cabos International Film Festival’s competitive sections, Competencia Los Cabos and México Primero, announced on Tuesday (15).
Entries in the Competencia Los Cabos are: Modern Loves, Matías Meyer; Antigone (Canada), Sophie Deraspe; Ash (Canada), Andrew Huculiak; Greener Grass (Us), Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe; Honey Boy (Us), Alma Har’el; Holy Beasts, Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas; The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (Canada), Elle-Máijá...
Sophie Deraspe’s Canadian Oscar submission Antigone, Matías Meyer’s Modern Love, David Zonana’s Workforce and Michael Angelo Covino’s The Climb are among the Los Cabos International Film Festival’s competitive sections, Competencia Los Cabos and México Primero, announced on Tuesday (15).
Entries in the Competencia Los Cabos are: Modern Loves, Matías Meyer; Antigone (Canada), Sophie Deraspe; Ash (Canada), Andrew Huculiak; Greener Grass (Us), Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe; Honey Boy (Us), Alma Har’el; Holy Beasts, Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas; The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (Canada), Elle-Máijá...
- 10/15/2019
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Romanian director Alexander Nana’s Collective won the international documentary film prize.
Darius Marder’s Sound Of Metal won the Golden Eye for best international feature film as this year’s Zurich Film Festival, which concluded on Sunday (October 6).
The film stars Riz Ahmed as a drummer whose life is thrown into turmoil when he begins to lose his hearing and co-stars Olivia Cooke and Mathieu Amalric. The drama premiered in Tiff’s Platform section, with Amazon acquiring Us rights. Protagonist Pictures handles international sales.
Romanian director Alexander Nanau’s Collective won the international documentary film prize. The film follows...
Darius Marder’s Sound Of Metal won the Golden Eye for best international feature film as this year’s Zurich Film Festival, which concluded on Sunday (October 6).
The film stars Riz Ahmed as a drummer whose life is thrown into turmoil when he begins to lose his hearing and co-stars Olivia Cooke and Mathieu Amalric. The drama premiered in Tiff’s Platform section, with Amazon acquiring Us rights. Protagonist Pictures handles international sales.
Romanian director Alexander Nanau’s Collective won the international documentary film prize. The film follows...
- 10/7/2019
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
Executives from Alazraki Entertainment, Cinema 226, Cinépolis, Lemon Studios, Perro Azul and Vcs Capital will attend Cdmx Film Pitchbox, a new movie project pitching forum that will take place in Mexico City on Nov. 29, organizer Filmarket Hub announced on Wednesday, opening a call for applications.
Focusing on Mexican fiction feature projects, Cdmx Film Pitchbox will unspool at the installations in Mexico City of Cinecolor, the event’s principal partner. Cinecolor Mexico and Shalala Estudios will offer a prize of Pesos 500,000 worth of post-production image and sound-design services to the winning title.
In all, seven movie projects will be unveiled – via seven minute pitches – to an industry audience of producers, platforms and distributors. In line with the now established Filmarket Hub format, the pitching session will be followed by a networking lunch
The call for applications runs through Oct. 31. Selected projects – as well as 10 other titles receiving special mentions – will be...
Focusing on Mexican fiction feature projects, Cdmx Film Pitchbox will unspool at the installations in Mexico City of Cinecolor, the event’s principal partner. Cinecolor Mexico and Shalala Estudios will offer a prize of Pesos 500,000 worth of post-production image and sound-design services to the winning title.
In all, seven movie projects will be unveiled – via seven minute pitches – to an industry audience of producers, platforms and distributors. In line with the now established Filmarket Hub format, the pitching session will be followed by a networking lunch
The call for applications runs through Oct. 31. Selected projects – as well as 10 other titles receiving special mentions – will be...
- 10/2/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian — Blessed by sun, a steady sustenance of Donostia winning stars and a stream of production announcements, the San Sebastian Film Festival rounded its final bend on Friday after a robust 67th edition. San Sebastian’s status as the highest-profile movie event in the Spanish-speaking world remains unquestioned. The maelstrom of change – imminent global platforms. markets, Latin American politics -could not but play out over events, forging a festival of sharp contrasts and little granularity about how major pivots in the global business could impact the Spanish-language arthouse business and new directors, its stock in trade. Following seven takeaways from this edition:
1. The Winners: Spanish Svod Platforms
You could hear a proverbial pin drop as HBO España unveiled first footage from its first announced series in Spain: “Patria,” a multi-time-period set chronicle on the human impact of the Basque conflict. It left San Sebastian with the status of a must-see show.
1. The Winners: Spanish Svod Platforms
You could hear a proverbial pin drop as HBO España unveiled first footage from its first announced series in Spain: “Patria,” a multi-time-period set chronicle on the human impact of the Basque conflict. It left San Sebastian with the status of a must-see show.
- 9/27/2019
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
San Sebastian — “Talent without hard work is nothing,” Cristiano Ronaldo once said. In film, equally, talent without industry support doesn’t go far either.
New Talent – its attractions, pitfalls – was addressed Tuesday at lively San Sebastian Industry Club panel, entitled Emerging Talents, co-organized by Variety.
Speakers certainly have new talent curriculum: Latido Films’ Antonio Saura has sold notable first features, such as, two weeks ago Toronto Midnight Madness winner “The Platform,” acquired by Netflix, for example; former Jirafa producer Augusto Matte handled initial development on Francisca Alegría’s “The Cow Who Sang a Song About the Future,” one of the most anticipated of feature debuts from Latin America; San Sebastian Festival’s Maialen Beloki has helped forefront new talent as one of the festival’s major calling cards.
The other two panelists, Mexico’s David Zonana and Spain’s Belén Funes are new talents, their first features, “Workforce” and “A Thief’s Daughter,...
New Talent – its attractions, pitfalls – was addressed Tuesday at lively San Sebastian Industry Club panel, entitled Emerging Talents, co-organized by Variety.
Speakers certainly have new talent curriculum: Latido Films’ Antonio Saura has sold notable first features, such as, two weeks ago Toronto Midnight Madness winner “The Platform,” acquired by Netflix, for example; former Jirafa producer Augusto Matte handled initial development on Francisca Alegría’s “The Cow Who Sang a Song About the Future,” one of the most anticipated of feature debuts from Latin America; San Sebastian Festival’s Maialen Beloki has helped forefront new talent as one of the festival’s major calling cards.
The other two panelists, Mexico’s David Zonana and Spain’s Belén Funes are new talents, their first features, “Workforce” and “A Thief’s Daughter,...
- 9/24/2019
- by Emilio Mayorga and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Spanish film festival opens today (Sept 20) with Roger Michell’s ‘Blackbird’.
José Luis Rebordinos, director of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, talks to Screen about the key role the Spanish event plays in both the European and Latin American industries, industry innovations for this year and the art of programming a festival at one of the busiest times of the year.
The festival opens today (September 20) with the European premiere of Roger Michell’s Blackbird and runs until September 28.
You are proud of how open the festival is to new talents. How does this work in practice?
It involves different strategies.
José Luis Rebordinos, director of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, talks to Screen about the key role the Spanish event plays in both the European and Latin American industries, industry innovations for this year and the art of programming a festival at one of the busiest times of the year.
The festival opens today (September 20) with the European premiere of Roger Michell’s Blackbird and runs until September 28.
You are proud of how open the festival is to new talents. How does this work in practice?
It involves different strategies.
- 9/20/2019
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
Madrid — The kernel, quality and qualities of David Zonana’s debut feature “Workforce” were already detectable in his very first short, 2014’s “Princess,” which prompted Variety to announce him as a Mexican director to track.
Four years later, he’s come good on that promise with the Wild Bunch-sold “Workforce” (“Mano de obra”), his feature debut.
Produced by regular Cannes laureate Michel Franco, “Workforce” won both top prizes at Los Cabos Festival’s 2018 Work in Progress, was acquired for world sales by Wild Bunch and selected for Toronto’s Platform competition, focused on bold emerging voices, before segueing to play in competition at San Sebastián.
“Princess” turned on teen Natalia, who is raped – or so she says – mopes around recovering with her mother, does HIV tests, has sex with her caring boyfriend. She then goes to a bar, meets two middle-aged strangers, has sex with them in a lavatory.
“Workforce...
Four years later, he’s come good on that promise with the Wild Bunch-sold “Workforce” (“Mano de obra”), his feature debut.
Produced by regular Cannes laureate Michel Franco, “Workforce” won both top prizes at Los Cabos Festival’s 2018 Work in Progress, was acquired for world sales by Wild Bunch and selected for Toronto’s Platform competition, focused on bold emerging voices, before segueing to play in competition at San Sebastián.
“Princess” turned on teen Natalia, who is raped – or so she says – mopes around recovering with her mother, does HIV tests, has sex with her caring boyfriend. She then goes to a bar, meets two middle-aged strangers, has sex with them in a lavatory.
“Workforce...
- 9/17/2019
- by John Hopewell and Emiliano Granada
- Variety Film + TV
Italian drama recorded an average of 3.4 stars from the six critics.
Pietro Marcello‘s Martin Eden has taken the top position of Screen’s complete 2019 Toronto Platform jury grid.
The Italian drama secured an average of 3.4 stars out of four across the six international critics. A score of three stars on the grid represents ‘good’.
Martin Eden won this year’s Toronto Platform Prize worth Cad $20,000 and stars Luca Marinelli as a sailor who struggles to reinvent himself as a writer and escape privation.
In close second with 3.2 was Rocks, the UK drama from Sarah Gavron which opened Platform. Rocks...
Pietro Marcello‘s Martin Eden has taken the top position of Screen’s complete 2019 Toronto Platform jury grid.
The Italian drama secured an average of 3.4 stars out of four across the six international critics. A score of three stars on the grid represents ‘good’.
Martin Eden won this year’s Toronto Platform Prize worth Cad $20,000 and stars Luca Marinelli as a sailor who struggles to reinvent himself as a writer and escape privation.
In close second with 3.2 was Rocks, the UK drama from Sarah Gavron which opened Platform. Rocks...
- 9/17/2019
- ScreenDaily
A construction worker in Mexico City sees an unanticipated possibility to better his life after a sudden tragedy in Workforce (Mano de obra), the feature debut from writer-director David Zonana. Though modestly made, this drama is both fleet — at just 82 minutes — and very precise, steadily working its way toward a payoff that is understated yet packs a punch. It screened as part of the Platform competition at the Toronto International Film Festival and should see a healthy interest from other festivals for sales agent Wild Bunch, though it might be a little too small for theatrical ...
- 9/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A construction worker in Mexico City sees an unanticipated possibility to better his life after a sudden tragedy in Workforce (Mano de obra), the feature debut from writer-director David Zonana. Though modestly made, this drama is both fleet — at just 82 minutes — and very precise, steadily working its way toward a payoff that is understated yet packs a punch. It screened as part of the Platform competition at the Toronto International Film Festival and should see a healthy interest from other festivals for sales agent Wild Bunch, though it might be a little too small for theatrical ...
- 9/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Opening on Sept. 20 with Roger Michell’s “Blackbird,” starring Kate Winslet and Susan Sarandon, and set at a stunning Basque resort, the San Sebastián Film Festival marks the highest-profile film event in the Spanish-speaking world. Here are 10 early takes on 2019’s edition.
A Festival of Discoveries
“Every festival has its own personality. Venice is now mainly a platform for big star-driven U.S. movies, Cannes for very high-quality cinema,” says festival director José Luis Rebordinos. “We search for new talent, and if you want to know what’s going on now in Latin America, come to San Sebastián.”
Five of its main competition movies are first or second features, with some very good word-of-mouth: David Zonana’s pointedly elegant Mexican class-gulf drama “Workforce,” and Belen Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” a vision of low-income youth juggling love, broken families and bills. New Directors is now firmly established as the festival’s major sidebar.
A Festival of Discoveries
“Every festival has its own personality. Venice is now mainly a platform for big star-driven U.S. movies, Cannes for very high-quality cinema,” says festival director José Luis Rebordinos. “We search for new talent, and if you want to know what’s going on now in Latin America, come to San Sebastián.”
Five of its main competition movies are first or second features, with some very good word-of-mouth: David Zonana’s pointedly elegant Mexican class-gulf drama “Workforce,” and Belen Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter,” a vision of low-income youth juggling love, broken families and bills. New Directors is now firmly established as the festival’s major sidebar.
- 9/13/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The film explores themes of female independence in contemporary Tunisia.
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
- 8/27/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The film explores themes of female independence in contemporary Tunisia.
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
- 8/27/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has set a slew of films for its Platform strand including the world premiere Sarah Gavron’s Rocks, which will open the programme, and bookened by Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden.
Suffragette and Brick Lane director Gavron’s Rocks stars Bukky Bakray as a teenager who suddenly finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother. A film about resilience, joy, and the spirit of girlhood, Rocks follows a teenager who fears that she and her little brother will be forced apart if anyone finds out they are living alone. With the help of her friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her teenage life. Fable Pictures produces.
“Rocks brilliantly reimagines the coming-of-age narrative with a pathos and precision we rarely see,” said Cameron Bailey, Platform Co-Curator and Tiff Artistic Director and Co-Head. “Across only two features,...
Suffragette and Brick Lane director Gavron’s Rocks stars Bukky Bakray as a teenager who suddenly finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother. A film about resilience, joy, and the spirit of girlhood, Rocks follows a teenager who fears that she and her little brother will be forced apart if anyone finds out they are living alone. With the help of her friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her teenage life. Fable Pictures produces.
“Rocks brilliantly reimagines the coming-of-age narrative with a pathos and precision we rarely see,” said Cameron Bailey, Platform Co-Curator and Tiff Artistic Director and Co-Head. “Across only two features,...
- 8/7/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The Toronto International Film Festival has announced the fifth edition of its Platform lineup, a director-driven section that aims to showcase original names in international cinema. This year, Platform will screen to 10 feature films, including world premieres from Julie Delpy, Alice Winocour, and Anthony Chen. The section will also host a number of debut films, including Darius Marder’s “Sound of Metal” and David Zonana’s “Workforce.”
Of the 10 features in this year’s selection, 40 percent are directed by women. All but one are world premieres, and they hail from all over the world, including Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and the U.S. Sarah Gavron’s “Rocks,” which follows “a teenager who fears that she and her little brother will be forced apart if anyone finds out they are living alone,” will open the section. The international premiere of Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden,” an adaptation of the Jack London...
Of the 10 features in this year’s selection, 40 percent are directed by women. All but one are world premieres, and they hail from all over the world, including Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and the U.S. Sarah Gavron’s “Rocks,” which follows “a teenager who fears that she and her little brother will be forced apart if anyone finds out they are living alone,” will open the section. The international premiere of Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden,” an adaptation of the Jack London...
- 8/7/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Sarah Gavron’s “Rocks,” Julie Delpy’s “My Zoe,” Alice Winocur’s “Proxima” and Darius Marder’s “Sound of Metal” are among the 10 films that will make up the competitive Platform section at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Tiff organizers announced on Wednesday.
“Rocks,” a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl living alone with her younger brother in London, is the third feature from “Suffragette” and “Brick Lane” director Gavron, and will be the section’s opening-night film.
Italian director Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden,” an adaptation of the 1909 novel by Jack London, will close the section.
Also Read: Mister Rogers, the Joker and Judy Garland Are All Headed to Toronto Film Festival
Other films will include “My Zoe,” in which actress-director Delpy stars with Richard Armitage and Daniel Bruhl; “Promixa,” starring Eva Green and Matt Dillon; “Sound of Metal,” with Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke; “Wet Season,...
“Rocks,” a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl living alone with her younger brother in London, is the third feature from “Suffragette” and “Brick Lane” director Gavron, and will be the section’s opening-night film.
Italian director Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden,” an adaptation of the 1909 novel by Jack London, will close the section.
Also Read: Mister Rogers, the Joker and Judy Garland Are All Headed to Toronto Film Festival
Other films will include “My Zoe,” in which actress-director Delpy stars with Richard Armitage and Daniel Bruhl; “Promixa,” starring Eva Green and Matt Dillon; “Sound of Metal,” with Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke; “Wet Season,...
- 8/7/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden to close section.
The world premiere of UK filmmaker Sarah Gavron’s Rocks will open the Toronto International Film festival’s (Tiff) Platform section for strong and distinctive directorial voices.
Closing the programme, now in its fifth year, is the international premiere of Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden, a historical romance drama based loosely on the 1909 novel by Jack London, which will receives its world premiere at Venice.
The roster of 10 features includes four films by women. In addition to Gavron, they are Julie Delpy with genre-bending tale of maternal grief My Zoe , Alice Winocour with Proxima,...
The world premiere of UK filmmaker Sarah Gavron’s Rocks will open the Toronto International Film festival’s (Tiff) Platform section for strong and distinctive directorial voices.
Closing the programme, now in its fifth year, is the international premiere of Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden, a historical romance drama based loosely on the 1909 novel by Jack London, which will receives its world premiere at Venice.
The roster of 10 features includes four films by women. In addition to Gavron, they are Julie Delpy with genre-bending tale of maternal grief My Zoe , Alice Winocour with Proxima,...
- 8/7/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Line-up also includes films by Louise Archambault, Guillaume Nicloux, José Luis Torres Leiva, Ina Weisse, Adilkhan Yerzhanov and David Zonana.
The San Sebastian film festival (September 20-28) has announced seven more titles that will compete for the 2019 Golden Shell award.
They include the long-delayed Zeroville directed by James Franco, who won the Golden Shell in 2017 for The Disaster Artist, and films by Louise Archambault, Guillaume Nicloux, José Luis Torres Leiva, Ina Weisse, Adilkhan Yerzhanov and David Zonana.
Zeroville is based on Steve Erickson’s novel about the changing Hollywood of the late 60s and stars Franco, Megan Fox, Seth Rogen,...
The San Sebastian film festival (September 20-28) has announced seven more titles that will compete for the 2019 Golden Shell award.
They include the long-delayed Zeroville directed by James Franco, who won the Golden Shell in 2017 for The Disaster Artist, and films by Louise Archambault, Guillaume Nicloux, José Luis Torres Leiva, Ina Weisse, Adilkhan Yerzhanov and David Zonana.
Zeroville is based on Steve Erickson’s novel about the changing Hollywood of the late 60s and stars Franco, Megan Fox, Seth Rogen,...
- 8/2/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Madrid — James Franco’s “Zeroville,” Louise Archambault’s “And The Birds Rained Down” and José Luis Torres Leiva’s “Death Will Come And Shall Have Your Eyes” will compete for San Sebastian’s Golden Shell, the Spanish festival announced Friday.
Further new main competition titles unveiled take in Guillaume Nicloux’s “Thalasso,” Ina Weisse’s “The Audition,” Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s “A Dark-Dark Man,” and Mexican debutant director David Zonana’s “Workforce.”
The seven titles join three already-announced Spanish competition contenders: Alejandro Amenábar’s “While At War,” Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga’s “The Endless Trench” and Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter.”
Playing out-of-competition will be “Heroic Losers,” , starring and co-produced by Ricardo Darín, which receives a Special Screening, and Daniel Sánchez-Arévalo’s “Diecisiete,” marking the first time a Netflix Original Film makes San Sebastian’s Official Selection cut.
After winning the Golden Shell in 2017 with “The Disaster Artist,...
Further new main competition titles unveiled take in Guillaume Nicloux’s “Thalasso,” Ina Weisse’s “The Audition,” Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s “A Dark-Dark Man,” and Mexican debutant director David Zonana’s “Workforce.”
The seven titles join three already-announced Spanish competition contenders: Alejandro Amenábar’s “While At War,” Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga’s “The Endless Trench” and Belén Funes’ “A Thief’s Daughter.”
Playing out-of-competition will be “Heroic Losers,” , starring and co-produced by Ricardo Darín, which receives a Special Screening, and Daniel Sánchez-Arévalo’s “Diecisiete,” marking the first time a Netflix Original Film makes San Sebastian’s Official Selection cut.
After winning the Golden Shell in 2017 with “The Disaster Artist,...
- 8/2/2019
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
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