A number of years ago author turned director Nic Balthazar made his debut behind the camera with an adaptation of his novel "Nothing Was All He Said" which was based on the true story of an autistic boy who committed suicide because of bullying. The novel was a huge hit, spawning all sorts of adaptations including musicals and Ben X (trailer) followed suit, garnering a number of awards and being selected as Belgium's Oscar entry. It looks like the book still has legs as now director Erik Leijonborg is taking a stab at the material.
Irl stars Valter Skarsgard, the youngest of the Skarsgard clan to make the jump into film, as Elias the bullied kid who finds escape from his real life trouble [Continued ...]...
Irl stars Valter Skarsgard, the youngest of the Skarsgard clan to make the jump into film, as Elias the bullied kid who finds escape from his real life trouble [Continued ...]...
- 8/22/2013
- QuietEarth.us
DVD Release Date: March 19, 2013
Price: DVD $24.99
Studio: Strand Releasing
The 2012 Belgian drama (with a bit of comedy), Time Of My Life is written and directed by Nic Balthazar (Ben X).
Based on the true story of Mario Verstraete, the film revolves around a vigorous campaign to legalize euthanasia in Belgium. Just when Mario’s (Koen De Graeve) political career is about to get under stream he is diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis. Told through the eyes of his doctor friend, Thomas (Geert Van Rampelberg), the movie focuses on how Mario and his friends deal with the crisis and come to terms with both the philosophical and profoundly human sides of the issue.
Released in theaters in Belgium, Turkey and The Netherlands in early 2012, Time Of My Life is premiering in the U.S. on DVD. Theatrical reviews of the film in Europe were generally favorable.
The...
Price: DVD $24.99
Studio: Strand Releasing
The 2012 Belgian drama (with a bit of comedy), Time Of My Life is written and directed by Nic Balthazar (Ben X).
Based on the true story of Mario Verstraete, the film revolves around a vigorous campaign to legalize euthanasia in Belgium. Just when Mario’s (Koen De Graeve) political career is about to get under stream he is diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis. Told through the eyes of his doctor friend, Thomas (Geert Van Rampelberg), the movie focuses on how Mario and his friends deal with the crisis and come to terms with both the philosophical and profoundly human sides of the issue.
Released in theaters in Belgium, Turkey and The Netherlands in early 2012, Time Of My Life is premiering in the U.S. on DVD. Theatrical reviews of the film in Europe were generally favorable.
The...
- 2/27/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
For forty years, April has been a month not just to celebrate the Easter holidays or, in the case of this year, a Royal wedding, but to increase the awareness of Autism, a form of special needs that makes it hard for people to communicate and socialize.
As an autistic person, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to look at some of the films that do not just focus on this form of special needs, but that have also changed the way that these characters have been portrayed in numerous films from the late eighties and early nineties (Rain Man, Little Man Tate and I Am Sam).
From visual representations to delving into different genres that have not been seen before, the rise of awareness and understanding in society has been reflected in the media and we will take a look at three key films that have...
As an autistic person, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to look at some of the films that do not just focus on this form of special needs, but that have also changed the way that these characters have been portrayed in numerous films from the late eighties and early nineties (Rain Man, Little Man Tate and I Am Sam).
From visual representations to delving into different genres that have not been seen before, the rise of awareness and understanding in society has been reflected in the media and we will take a look at three key films that have...
- 4/27/2011
- by Martyn Warren
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Spider-man 4 got squashed yesterday, with Sony pulling the plug on the Sam Raimi / Tobey Maguire sequel to the hot franchise. There were lots of script problems and creative differences, so much so that Raimi said he couldn't meet the 2011 opening date. Sony bascially said "fine, we'll just reboot" and that's what they are doing, jettisoning the entire cast and director and relaunching the movie series in 2012 with Peter Parker back in highschool.
There's a lot of talk that the reboot had been planned all along; with the success of Twilight and the cost of the team behind the current take on the franchise increasing, Sony had already commissioned a teen Spidey / Ultimate Spidey type script. The success of Avatar has also led to the studio considering a 3D version of the movie.
I'll leave it to you to decide if this is a good idea or not. Raimi worked...
There's a lot of talk that the reboot had been planned all along; with the success of Twilight and the cost of the team behind the current take on the franchise increasing, Sony had already commissioned a teen Spidey / Ultimate Spidey type script. The success of Avatar has also led to the studio considering a 3D version of the movie.
I'll leave it to you to decide if this is a good idea or not. Raimi worked...
- 1/12/2010
- doorQ.com
- Hollywood latest lassoed import might be Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo, Variety reports that the director behind Timecrimes (the fantasy thriller that was a popular title on the fantasy film fest circuit and was released by Magnet late last year), will take on the action comedy format for Mandate Pictures and Steve Zaillian via their Film Rites co-venture. Usually foreign filmmakers take on "other people's projects", but this isn't the case for Vigalondo, he is bringing his own idea for a film to the table and will have Pat Healy (the co-lead in Great World of Sound) write the script. Did these two meet in Sundance? Gangland revolves around a team of video-game developers who get in over their heads after they promise to deliver the most realistic game of all time, titled “Gangland,” and soon find themselves having to survive by their own wits in a real-life criminal underworld.
- 7/31/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – The final week of the 12th Annual EU Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center perfectly illustrates the main strength of this festival - amazing diversity. From what we had time to see of the final stretch of films, the four highlights couldn’t be more diverse, featuring movies from four different countries with four completely different tones and styles.
The highlights of the first three weeks of EU included a coming-of-age drama from Ireland (“Kisses”), a sexy romantic comedy from France (“The Girl From Monaco”), an amazing Danish drama (“Worlds Apart”), and a very interesting horror film from Belgium (“Left Bank”). Read more here, here, and here)
The final week takes us back to two of those countries - Belgium and France - and also features a fascinating Finnish shocker before closing with a gentle and sweet film from Sweden. Overall, it’s been a fantastic festival for...
The highlights of the first three weeks of EU included a coming-of-age drama from Ireland (“Kisses”), a sexy romantic comedy from France (“The Girl From Monaco”), an amazing Danish drama (“Worlds Apart”), and a very interesting horror film from Belgium (“Left Bank”). Read more here, here, and here)
The final week takes us back to two of those countries - Belgium and France - and also features a fascinating Finnish shocker before closing with a gentle and sweet film from Sweden. Overall, it’s been a fantastic festival for...
- 3/25/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Finally we have some good dvds dropping today, including some cult favorites. First off is the soon to be remade Swedish vampire flick Let The Right One In which everyone seems to love but me, whatever. Next off I'm throwing in a comedy for good measure to wipe that foul taste out so let's pick Role Models which was actually quite funny. Then we have another Jason Statham vehicle, Transporter 3. Getting sick of those yet? Then we have the Aleister Crowley reincarnation film Crowley which was formerly titled Chemical Wedding (review here). Then we have a Belgian film called Ben X about bullying and revenge which was popular on the fest circuit, I still need to watch this one. Next off, cult fans will recognize Harold and Maude which is getting a widescreen DVD release! Lastly is Kôji Kawano tasty J-horror Cruel Restaraunt.
Check for synopses, trailers and amazon links after the break!
Check for synopses, trailers and amazon links after the break!
- 3/10/2009
- QuietEarth.us
When he's not busy with killer tadpoles wreaking havoc on the population, it looks like Gore Verbinski is going to chill out with some RPG action. Variety reports that Universal and Verbinski are teaming up to bring a 2007 Wall Street article about online role-playing to the big screen. Unlike Ben X, however, there won't be a fantasy world come to life.
Alexandra Alter's article, "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?", follows a married man who spends most of his free time on the virtual world of Second Life, creating an alternate life for himself -- one that includes a virtual spouse who is not his wife. His Irl wife feels that he is cheating, while he does not.
Verbinski plans to use this story as the basis for a film that follows how online RPGs can negatively affect people's real lives, and is prepping this as a directing vehicle.
Alexandra Alter's article, "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?", follows a married man who spends most of his free time on the virtual world of Second Life, creating an alternate life for himself -- one that includes a virtual spouse who is not his wife. His Irl wife feels that he is cheating, while he does not.
Verbinski plans to use this story as the basis for a film that follows how online RPGs can negatively affect people's real lives, and is prepping this as a directing vehicle.
- 12/17/2008
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
The European Film Promotion (EFP) and the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 18-27) launched a new promotion initiative entitled "European Distributors: Up Next".
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
- 10/11/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
MMG/EFP New York Industry Screenings
NEW YORK -- Ben X is a strong-minded debut from Belgian director Nic Balthazar, who ambitiously takes on three difficult themes -- schoolroom bullying, autism and the influence of computer games on those who play them.
Balthazar does a fine job at weaving these together to make a salient point about how online gamers can find confidence and self-belief through their hobby. Ben X is only let down by a feel-good ending that seems superfluous. More festival exposure is a strong possibility, and its courageous take on social issues should lead to TV sales.
The story, which is based on fact, centers on Ben (Greg Timmerman), an autistic teenager who is bullied at school. His condition makes forging social ties difficult, so he immerses himself in an online game called Archlord. In this virtual reality, he acts heroically. When the bullying reaches an unbearable level, Ben tries to use the lessons he has learned about courage online in the real world.
Ben X works very well as a character study that concentrates on social and psychological issues. Timmerman puts in a convincing performance as the introverted youth and is helped by the director's decision to avoid sentimentality. There's a rawness to the story that makes it engrossing. But the ending damages the movie's credibility. Balthazar's determination to draw a positive message from a negative situation doesn't quite fit.
The way the computer game Archlord -- a real online game -- is integrated into the visuals is impressive. The film never jars when Ben morphs into his online character.
NEW YORK -- Ben X is a strong-minded debut from Belgian director Nic Balthazar, who ambitiously takes on three difficult themes -- schoolroom bullying, autism and the influence of computer games on those who play them.
Balthazar does a fine job at weaving these together to make a salient point about how online gamers can find confidence and self-belief through their hobby. Ben X is only let down by a feel-good ending that seems superfluous. More festival exposure is a strong possibility, and its courageous take on social issues should lead to TV sales.
The story, which is based on fact, centers on Ben (Greg Timmerman), an autistic teenager who is bullied at school. His condition makes forging social ties difficult, so he immerses himself in an online game called Archlord. In this virtual reality, he acts heroically. When the bullying reaches an unbearable level, Ben tries to use the lessons he has learned about courage online in the real world.
Ben X works very well as a character study that concentrates on social and psychological issues. Timmerman puts in a convincing performance as the introverted youth and is helped by the director's decision to avoid sentimentality. There's a rawness to the story that makes it engrossing. But the ending damages the movie's credibility. Balthazar's determination to draw a positive message from a negative situation doesn't quite fit.
The way the computer game Archlord -- a real online game -- is integrated into the visuals is impressive. The film never jars when Ben morphs into his online character.
- 12/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BRUSSELS -- Belgian writer-director Nic Balthazar has announced plans to remake his local boxoffice smash Ben X for the U.S. market.
Balthazar was approached by Wamerica -- the Los Angeles-based production house of French comic Alain Chabat -- to rewrite and direct the film. "I'm very surprised by the concrete interest," Balthazar told Flemish-language daily Het Laaste Nieuws.
The $2 million Flemish-language drama -- Belgium's entry in next year's foreign-language Oscar race -- centers on autistic teenager Ben (Greg Timmermans), who retreats into violent online role-playing games to escape from bullying at school. It has been seen by 250,000 people in Flanders in just eight weeks, making it the most successful Flemish film of the past four years.
Ben X won three prizes at the Montreal Film Festival in September: the Grand Prix of the Americas, the Audience Award and the Ecumenical Prize. It also won the Black Pearl, the top prize at this year's inaugural edition of the Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi.
Balthazar was approached by Wamerica -- the Los Angeles-based production house of French comic Alain Chabat -- to rewrite and direct the film. "I'm very surprised by the concrete interest," Balthazar told Flemish-language daily Het Laaste Nieuws.
The $2 million Flemish-language drama -- Belgium's entry in next year's foreign-language Oscar race -- centers on autistic teenager Ben (Greg Timmermans), who retreats into violent online role-playing games to escape from bullying at school. It has been seen by 250,000 people in Flanders in just eight weeks, making it the most successful Flemish film of the past four years.
Ben X won three prizes at the Montreal Film Festival in September: the Grand Prix of the Americas, the Audience Award and the Ecumenical Prize. It also won the Black Pearl, the top prize at this year's inaugural edition of the Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi.
- 12/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- With Eran Kolirin's The Band's Visit out of the foreign Oscar picture, Ioncinema.com predicts a four-way race between audience faves Persepolis, The Counterfeiters, 4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Caramel. Spain's The Orphanage has the best chance at completing the 5 pack. That said everything else is just a formality. The final five picks will be announced on Jan. 22. The Oscar ceremony takes place Feb. 24. 2008 Foreign Oscar Long ListArgentina: Xxy (Lucia Puenzo)Australia: The Home Song Stories (Tony Ayres) Austria: The Counterfeiters (Stefan Ruzowitzky)Azerbaijan: Caucasia (Farid Gumbatov)Bangladesh: On The Wings Of Dreams (Golam Rabbany Biblob)Belgium: Ben X (Nic Balthazar) Bosnia and Herzegovina: It's Hard To Be Nice (Srdjan Vuletic)Brazil: The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Cao Hamburger)Bulgaria: Warden of the Dead (Ilian Simeonov)Canada: The Days of Darkness (Denys Arcand)Chile: Padre nuestro (Our Father) - (Rodrigo Sepulveda)China: The Knot (Yun shui
- 10/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
The animated film "Persepolis", from France, Denys Arcand's "Days of Darkness" from Canada, Johnnie To's "Exiled" from Hong Kong and Cristian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" are among the 63 films that have qualified for Oscar consideration in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' foreign language film category.
The record number of 63 entries include first-time submissions from Azerbaijan (Farid Gumbatov's "Caucasia") and Ireland (Tom Collins' "Kings").
Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22, and the Oscars will be handed out Feb. 24.
The complete list follows:
Argentina, "XXY", Lucia Puenzo, director; Australia, "The Home Song Stories", Tony Ayres; Austria, "The Counterfeiters", Stefan Ruzowitzky; Azerbaijan, "Caucasia", Farid Gumbatov; Bangladesh, "On the Wings of Dreams", Golam Rabbany, Biplob; Belgium, "Ben X", Nic Balthazar; Bosnia and Herzegovina, "It's Hard to Be Nice", Srdan Vuletic; Brazil, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," Cao Hamburger; and Bulgaria, "Warden of the Dead", Ilian Simeonov.
Canada, "Days of Darkness", Denys Arcand; Chile, "Padre Nuestro", Rodrigo Sepulveda; China, "The Knot", Yin Li; Colombia, "Satanas", Andi Baiz; Croatia, "Armin", Ognjen Svilicic; Cuba, "The Silly Age", Pavel Giroud; Czech Republic, "I Served the King of England", Jiri Menzel, director; Denmark, "The Art of Crying", Peter Schonau Fog; Egypt, "In the Heliopolis Flat", Mohamed Khan; and Estonia, "The Class", Ilmar Raag.
The record number of 63 entries include first-time submissions from Azerbaijan (Farid Gumbatov's "Caucasia") and Ireland (Tom Collins' "Kings").
Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22, and the Oscars will be handed out Feb. 24.
The complete list follows:
Argentina, "XXY", Lucia Puenzo, director; Australia, "The Home Song Stories", Tony Ayres; Austria, "The Counterfeiters", Stefan Ruzowitzky; Azerbaijan, "Caucasia", Farid Gumbatov; Bangladesh, "On the Wings of Dreams", Golam Rabbany, Biplob; Belgium, "Ben X", Nic Balthazar; Bosnia and Herzegovina, "It's Hard to Be Nice", Srdan Vuletic; Brazil, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," Cao Hamburger; and Bulgaria, "Warden of the Dead", Ilian Simeonov.
Canada, "Days of Darkness", Denys Arcand; Chile, "Padre Nuestro", Rodrigo Sepulveda; China, "The Knot", Yin Li; Colombia, "Satanas", Andi Baiz; Croatia, "Armin", Ognjen Svilicic; Cuba, "The Silly Age", Pavel Giroud; Czech Republic, "I Served the King of England", Jiri Menzel, director; Denmark, "The Art of Crying", Peter Schonau Fog; Egypt, "In the Heliopolis Flat", Mohamed Khan; and Estonia, "The Class", Ilmar Raag.
- 10/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARIS -- The French are hoping to animate the 2008 Oscars with Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Persepolis", national film organization the CNC announced after deliberations Monday night.
The adaptation of Satrapi's popular autobiographical comic book about a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl during the Islamic Revolution will represent France in the race for Oscar glory.
Belgium, meanwhile, unveiled plans to offer Nic Balthazar's "Ben X", winner of three awards at the Montreal Film Festival.
Produced by 2.4.7 films and featuring the voices of Simon Abkarian, Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni, the black-and-white animated "Persepolis" already has been tapped for a U.S. remake from Sony Pictures Classics starring Gena Rowlands, Sean Penn, Iggy Pop and Deneuve.
Despite enraging the Iranian government, the film was a huge boxoffice success in France, selling 1.12 million tickets when it was released in the territory in July. The film tied with Carlos Reygadas' "Silent Light" for the jury prize at this year's Cannes film festival.
The adaptation of Satrapi's popular autobiographical comic book about a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl during the Islamic Revolution will represent France in the race for Oscar glory.
Belgium, meanwhile, unveiled plans to offer Nic Balthazar's "Ben X", winner of three awards at the Montreal Film Festival.
Produced by 2.4.7 films and featuring the voices of Simon Abkarian, Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni, the black-and-white animated "Persepolis" already has been tapped for a U.S. remake from Sony Pictures Classics starring Gena Rowlands, Sean Penn, Iggy Pop and Deneuve.
Despite enraging the Iranian government, the film was a huge boxoffice success in France, selling 1.12 million tickets when it was released in the territory in July. The film tied with Carlos Reygadas' "Silent Light" for the jury prize at this year's Cannes film festival.
- 9/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- It won plenty of awards at the Montreal Film Festival and now Nic Balthazar's directorial debut Ben X has been named as Belgium's entry for the foreign language Oscar. Variety points out that the Flemish-language drama was unanimously selected by a jury of Belgian film professionalsBen is different. His life is a universe to itself, where he plays his favourite online computer game Archlord avidly, trying hard to train himself for the real world he lives in. The harsh world of a technical school is for him a daily kind of hell. As the horror of being a daily subject to bullying grows, Ben devises a plan. Then Scarlite comes into his life, the girl he has met in his on-line game. That wasn’t part of the plan... ...
- 9/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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