Sovereign is proud to announce that award-winning Mexican director Amat Escalante’s powerful thriller Lost In The Night received its UK premiere at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival, as part of the ‘Thrill’ section, and now the film is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
From acclaimed Mexican director Amat Escalante, following Heli, for which he won Best Director at Cannes in 2013, and The Untamed, which won him the Best Director prize at Venice in 2016, comes Lost In The Night, a taut, engrossing thriller that blends traditional elements of Latin American cinema with astute social commentary on Mexican society and contemporary influencer culture.
The film, which premiered at Cannes this year, stars Juan Daniel García Treviño (Narcos México), and Latin American influencer superstar Ester Expósito, who has 27 million followers, and features a superb score by Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.
The film...
From acclaimed Mexican director Amat Escalante, following Heli, for which he won Best Director at Cannes in 2013, and The Untamed, which won him the Best Director prize at Venice in 2016, comes Lost In The Night, a taut, engrossing thriller that blends traditional elements of Latin American cinema with astute social commentary on Mexican society and contemporary influencer culture.
The film, which premiered at Cannes this year, stars Juan Daniel García Treviño (Narcos México), and Latin American influencer superstar Ester Expósito, who has 27 million followers, and features a superb score by Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.
The film...
- 4/11/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Following up his stellar, 3.5-hour drama Malmkrog, Romanian director Cristi Puiu has premiered his latest film Mmxx at San Sebastian Film Festival. Portraying four short stories and four moments in time capturing the wanderings of a few souls, stuck at the crossroads of history, we’re now pleased to exclusively premiere the film’s first trailer.
Here’s the synopsis: “Oana Pfifer, a young therapist, gradually slips into the net of the questionnaire she submits to her patient. Mihai, Oana’s brother, worrying about his birthday, is stuck in a story far bigger than he can handle. Septimiu, Oana’s husband, concerned about his health, vaguely listens to a strange story his colleague was caught up in a while ago. Narcis Patranescu, an organized crime detective, deals with an unsettling dark story while interrogating a young woman at a funeral.”
“I don’t understand the world,” the director recently told Cineuropa.
Here’s the synopsis: “Oana Pfifer, a young therapist, gradually slips into the net of the questionnaire she submits to her patient. Mihai, Oana’s brother, worrying about his birthday, is stuck in a story far bigger than he can handle. Septimiu, Oana’s husband, concerned about his health, vaguely listens to a strange story his colleague was caught up in a while ago. Narcis Patranescu, an organized crime detective, deals with an unsettling dark story while interrogating a young woman at a funeral.”
“I don’t understand the world,” the director recently told Cineuropa.
- 10/5/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Clearly the Covid-19 scenario’s been on Cristi Puiu’s mind. After all, the Romanian director loudly voiced his opposition to mask mandates when on the publicity trail of his previous outing, the more impressive turn-of-the-century period drama Malmkrog. While his latest work is hardly a call-to-arms, Puiu is all-too-keen to bring up his disdain for bureaucracy, its concoction of corrupt officials and untrustworthy political leadership that brings forth the societal (or personal) fragility at the heart of his films. Mmxx‘s four pandemic vignettes mark alluring, somewhat wayward film that’s in turns provocative and frustratingly opaque.
The medley of pandemic anecdotes are a psychotherapy session helmed by Oana (Bianca Cuculici), whose questioning of a new patient appears to reveal more her own discomforts than the person she’s treating; a nighttime scene in which Oana’s brother (Laurențiu Bondarenco) prepares a party, interrupted by a medical emergency involving...
The medley of pandemic anecdotes are a psychotherapy session helmed by Oana (Bianca Cuculici), whose questioning of a new patient appears to reveal more her own discomforts than the person she’s treating; a nighttime scene in which Oana’s brother (Laurențiu Bondarenco) prepares a party, interrupted by a medical emergency involving...
- 9/28/2023
- by Ed Frankl
- The Film Stage
A bevy of established auteurs – Joachim Lafosse, Cristi Puiu, Robin Campillo and Martín Rejtman – rub shoulders with the fast-rising figures of Maria Alche and Benjamín Naishtat and new U.S. discovery Raven Jackson among a first batch of directors contending in main competition at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival.
Also in the mix, announced Friday, is U.S. writer-director Noah Pritzker (“Quitters”) whose “Ex-Husbands” headlines “After Hours” co-stars Griffin Dunne and Rosanna Arquette.
Always open to a broader gamut of movies than many other “A” festivals, the first features confirmed for San Sebastian on Friday include four comedies with a change of register to lighter comedy for both Naishtat and Alche, who triumphed at 2018’s San Sebastián with “Rojo” and “A Family Submerged,” best director and Horizontes winners respectively.
The biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world – which means ever more as Spanish-language titles hit big viewerships on streaming...
Also in the mix, announced Friday, is U.S. writer-director Noah Pritzker (“Quitters”) whose “Ex-Husbands” headlines “After Hours” co-stars Griffin Dunne and Rosanna Arquette.
Always open to a broader gamut of movies than many other “A” festivals, the first features confirmed for San Sebastian on Friday include four comedies with a change of register to lighter comedy for both Naishtat and Alche, who triumphed at 2018’s San Sebastián with “Rojo” and “A Family Submerged,” best director and Horizontes winners respectively.
The biggest movie event in the Spanish-speaking world – which means ever more as Spanish-language titles hit big viewerships on streaming...
- 7/7/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Following up his stellar, 3.5-hour drama Malmkrog, Romanian director Cristi Puiu has quietly completed production on his next feature. Mmxx, a dramatic comedy which is now in post-production and has a runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes, was revealed thanks to the backing of FIDLab.
The film follows four characters: Oana Pfifer, a young therapist visibly distracted; and her younger brother Mihai Dumitru, who is worried about his anniversary; her husband Septimiu Pfifer, concerned by a possible contamination with Covid-19; and Narcis Patranescu, an organized crime investigator. “The wanderings of a bunch of errant souls stuck at the crossroads of history,” the official synopsis reads.
With The Death of Mr. Lazarescu director seemingly quite far along in post-production, hopefully we’ll see it appear at fall festivals. In the meantime, see the first look below.
The post First Look at Cristi Puiu's Dramatic Comedy Mmxx first appeared on The Film Stage.
The film follows four characters: Oana Pfifer, a young therapist visibly distracted; and her younger brother Mihai Dumitru, who is worried about his anniversary; her husband Septimiu Pfifer, concerned by a possible contamination with Covid-19; and Narcis Patranescu, an organized crime investigator. “The wanderings of a bunch of errant souls stuck at the crossroads of history,” the official synopsis reads.
With The Death of Mr. Lazarescu director seemingly quite far along in post-production, hopefully we’ll see it appear at fall festivals. In the meantime, see the first look below.
The post First Look at Cristi Puiu's Dramatic Comedy Mmxx first appeared on The Film Stage.
- 6/7/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Romania’s Puiu competed for the Palme d’Or in 2016 with ‘Sieranevada’.
The next feature from feted Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu is among 12 titles selected for FIDLab, the co-production incubator of French festival FIDMarseille.
The 14th edition of the showcase, known for its focus on experimental documentary and fiction features, is set to be held from July 7-8 and will return as an in-person for the first time since 2019.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The selection includes Mmxx, an ensemble drama from Romanian director Puiu that revolves around a therapist, her younger brother, husband and an organised crime investigator.
The next feature from feted Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu is among 12 titles selected for FIDLab, the co-production incubator of French festival FIDMarseille.
The 14th edition of the showcase, known for its focus on experimental documentary and fiction features, is set to be held from July 7-8 and will return as an in-person for the first time since 2019.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The selection includes Mmxx, an ensemble drama from Romanian director Puiu that revolves around a therapist, her younger brother, husband and an organised crime investigator.
- 5/27/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The Romanian New Wave has enjoyed quite a substantial few years with Bad Luck Banging, Malmkrog, Întregalde, and The Whistlers. One of its forebearers, Cristian Mungiu, is now back with R.M.N., marking his first film since 2016’s Graduation. Ahead of a Cannes 2022 premiere in competition, the first trailer has now arrived along with news that IFC Films has picked up the film for a theatrical 2022 release.
A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias (Marin Grigore) returns to his multi-ethnic Transylvanian village. He wishes to involve himself more in the education of his son, Rudi, left for too long in the care of his mother, Ana, and to rid the boy of the unresolved fears that have taken hold of him. He’s preoccupied with his old father, Otto and also eager to see his ex-lover, Csilla (Judith State). When a few new workers...
A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias (Marin Grigore) returns to his multi-ethnic Transylvanian village. He wishes to involve himself more in the education of his son, Rudi, left for too long in the care of his mother, Ana, and to rid the boy of the unresolved fears that have taken hold of him. He’s preoccupied with his old father, Otto and also eager to see his ex-lover, Csilla (Judith State). When a few new workers...
- 5/18/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
At long last, Cannes returns to its proper May slot. With the event kicking off next week, running from the 17th through the 28th, much cinematic greatness awaits.
Ahead of the festivities we’ve rounded up what we’re most looking forward to—and while we’re sure many surprises await, per every year, one will find twenty films that should already be on your radar. Check out our picks below and be sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest updates from the festival.
20. Holy Spider (Ali Abbasi)
Following his one-of-a-kind, Oscar-nominated fantasy drama Border, Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi is heading into Cannes competition with his next feature, Holy Spider. Based on a true story, it follows a female journalist (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) investigating a serial killer who believes it is his righteous duty to murder sex workers and cleanse society. We imagine a provocative feature is in store from Abbasi,...
Ahead of the festivities we’ve rounded up what we’re most looking forward to—and while we’re sure many surprises await, per every year, one will find twenty films that should already be on your radar. Check out our picks below and be sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest updates from the festival.
20. Holy Spider (Ali Abbasi)
Following his one-of-a-kind, Oscar-nominated fantasy drama Border, Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi is heading into Cannes competition with his next feature, Holy Spider. Based on a true story, it follows a female journalist (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) investigating a serial killer who believes it is his righteous duty to murder sex workers and cleanse society. We imagine a provocative feature is in store from Abbasi,...
- 5/12/2022
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2021, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
After over 14 months of no cinema-going, 2021 finally marked a return to theaters. The first film back––something every cinephile will forever have etched in their memory––was not a movie I heavily anticipated but one that thoroughly entertained: Guy Ritchie’s delightfully nasty B-movie Wrath of Man.
While the rest of the movie-going year had its ups and downs (the uncertain future of the arthouse marketplace as they attempt to find a footing in Disneyfied world), 2021’s cinematic output certainly wasn’t lacking for quality.
Looking back at the new releases, there’s a number of films that narrowly missed my top 15, including The French Dispatch, What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?, Days, The Beatles: Get Back, Annette, West Side Story, Siberia, Procession,...
After over 14 months of no cinema-going, 2021 finally marked a return to theaters. The first film back––something every cinephile will forever have etched in their memory––was not a movie I heavily anticipated but one that thoroughly entertained: Guy Ritchie’s delightfully nasty B-movie Wrath of Man.
While the rest of the movie-going year had its ups and downs (the uncertain future of the arthouse marketplace as they attempt to find a footing in Disneyfied world), 2021’s cinematic output certainly wasn’t lacking for quality.
Looking back at the new releases, there’s a number of films that narrowly missed my top 15, including The French Dispatch, What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?, Days, The Beatles: Get Back, Annette, West Side Story, Siberia, Procession,...
- 1/14/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Beijing-based distributor Hugoeast Media has acquired Chinese distribution rights to Cannes Directors’ Fortnight film “The Tale of King Crab,” the first feature venture into narrative fiction of Italian filmmakers Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis.
Hugoeast Media plans a limited theatrical release in Chinese theaters in the course of 2022.
The deal with Hugoeast Media was closed by the international sales arm of France’s Shellac. It adds to a North American pick-up by Oscilloscope Laboratories, negotiated by Shellac’s Thomas Ordonneau and Egle Cepaite and announced a week after “Crab King” world premiered at the Cannes Festival.
An out-there tale of tragedy and redemption, “The Tale of King Crab” is based on vague local legend picked up by the filmmakers of a man, Luciano, living in a benighted Italian village in the late 1800s or early twentieth century decried as a “madman, an aristocrat, a saint and a drunkard.
Hugoeast Media plans a limited theatrical release in Chinese theaters in the course of 2022.
The deal with Hugoeast Media was closed by the international sales arm of France’s Shellac. It adds to a North American pick-up by Oscilloscope Laboratories, negotiated by Shellac’s Thomas Ordonneau and Egle Cepaite and announced a week after “Crab King” world premiered at the Cannes Festival.
An out-there tale of tragedy and redemption, “The Tale of King Crab” is based on vague local legend picked up by the filmmakers of a man, Luciano, living in a benighted Italian village in the late 1800s or early twentieth century decried as a “madman, an aristocrat, a saint and a drunkard.
- 9/21/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The challenge is how best to support local filmmakers and appeal to the wider international industry.
Four festival directors from Transilvania, IndieLisboa, Thessaloniki and New Horizons came together for the latest edition of ScreenDaily Talks - held in partnership this time with Transilvania Iff (TIFF) – to discuss how their festivals contribute to boosting their respective local (and regional) film industries and forging those all-important connections with the wider international film community.
Watch the session above.
“TIFF started as a strictly audience festival when it was launched in 2002,” recalled TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov. “That was our main priority because we...
Four festival directors from Transilvania, IndieLisboa, Thessaloniki and New Horizons came together for the latest edition of ScreenDaily Talks - held in partnership this time with Transilvania Iff (TIFF) – to discuss how their festivals contribute to boosting their respective local (and regional) film industries and forging those all-important connections with the wider international film community.
Watch the session above.
“TIFF started as a strictly audience festival when it was launched in 2002,” recalled TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov. “That was our main priority because we...
- 7/27/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Martin Scorsese and Bertrand Tavernier on the set of Round Midnight (1986) by Etienne George. French filmmaker and American cinema aficionado Bertrand Tavernier has died at 79. Read Martin Scorsese's moving Instagram tribute to Tavernier, in which he recalls how "he was so passionate that he could exhaust you."The 20th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, set to take place in June, will have in-person screenings, making it the first North American fest to do so since the start of Covid-19.Recommended VIEWINGA24 has released the official trailer for Janicza Bravo's long-awaited Zola, based on the viral #TheStory by A’Ziah “Zola” King. Mubi's official UK trailer for Limbo, Ben Sharrock's wry and poignant debut feature about a group of new arrivals awaiting the results of their asylum claims. Le Cinéma...
- 3/31/2021
- MUBI
The online edition of the two-part Berlin International Film Festival has now concluded, and the jury has announced their winners. Leading the pack taking home the Golden Bear was Romanian director Radu Jude’s new film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, while Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy took home the Silver Bear for Grand Jury Prize.
Rory O’Connor said in our review of Jude’s film, “As his old compatriots dabble in as far flung places as comic noirs (The Whistlers) and über-dense period symposiums (Malmkrog), it’s interesting that Radu Jude has lately emerged as the most contemporary minded of Romania’s great generation of filmmakers. Even when dabbling in the past his films are intrinsically linked to the here and now. In attempting to address the current moment, his latest, titled Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, is amongst the first of what can...
Rory O’Connor said in our review of Jude’s film, “As his old compatriots dabble in as far flung places as comic noirs (The Whistlers) and über-dense period symposiums (Malmkrog), it’s interesting that Radu Jude has lately emerged as the most contemporary minded of Romania’s great generation of filmmakers. Even when dabbling in the past his films are intrinsically linked to the here and now. In attempting to address the current moment, his latest, titled Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, is amongst the first of what can...
- 3/5/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Jesús del Cerro’s movie helped total admissions for domestic films to drop by only 23%, and not by 94%, in 2020. As only 12 domestic films were released in Romanian cinemas in 2020, with some features favouring alternative releases and others – for example, Cristi Puiu’s Berlinale-awarded Malmkrog – waiting for clearer exhibition skies, one would have expected a very dramatic plunge in terms of earnings and admissions for domestic features in 2020. Admissions did indeed decrease by 23%, down from 785,957 in 2019, but it could have been much, much worse: remove only one title from the list of releases, and this drop would have been as steep as 94%. The saviour of the Romanian domestic box office in 2020 was Jesús del Cerro’s Miami Bici, a low-brow independent comedy released by Vertical Entertainment on 21 February, only weeks before all of the cinemas were closed (18 March) because...
"But we really must continue this discussion." Sovereign Film Distribution has debuted a new trailer for the UK release of Malmkrog arriving on VOD there starting in March. The film originally premiered at last year's Berlin Film Festival, and also stopped by the New York Film Festival and many others. Malmkrog, which translates to Manor House (the alternate release title), is the latest film from acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu and runs a full 3 hours, 20 minutes but gets into some intense discussions. The film is made up almost entirely of conversations between guests at a house. A landowner, a politician, a countess, a General and his wife, all gather in a spacious manor and discuss death, war, progress and morality. As the time passes by, the discussion becomes more serious and heated. Starring Frédéric Schulz-Richard, Agathe Bosch, Diana Sakalauskaité, Marina Palii, Ugo Broussot, and István Téglás. Critics have been raving...
- 2/1/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Sovereign Film Distribution has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to writer-director Cristi Puiu’s Berlin and Seville winner “Malmkrog” (Manor House).
Puiu won the best director award at the Encounters section of the 2020 Berlin Film Festival, in addition to best screenplay and the Golden Giraldillo Award for best film at the Seville European Film Festival.
An adaptation of Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov’s book “Three Conversations,” “Malmkrog” follows a politician, a countess, a general and his wife as they gather over the Christmas holidays in a manor house to discuss death, war, progress and morality. As the debate becomes more heated, cultural differences become increasingly apparent and the mood grows tense.
The film is billed as a unique mixture of “Downton Abbey” and Dostoyevsky, as it recalls the drawing room masterworks of Max Ophüls, and the stark cerebral work of Ingmar Bergman.
The cast includes Frederic Schulz-Richard, Agathe Bosch,...
Puiu won the best director award at the Encounters section of the 2020 Berlin Film Festival, in addition to best screenplay and the Golden Giraldillo Award for best film at the Seville European Film Festival.
An adaptation of Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov’s book “Three Conversations,” “Malmkrog” follows a politician, a countess, a general and his wife as they gather over the Christmas holidays in a manor house to discuss death, war, progress and morality. As the debate becomes more heated, cultural differences become increasingly apparent and the mood grows tense.
The film is billed as a unique mixture of “Downton Abbey” and Dostoyevsky, as it recalls the drawing room masterworks of Max Ophüls, and the stark cerebral work of Ingmar Bergman.
The cast includes Frederic Schulz-Richard, Agathe Bosch,...
- 1/19/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
A selection of prominent films that debuted in this year’s real-world festivals Berlin and Venice, or were presented under the so-called ‘Cannes Label 2020,’ make their Southeast Asian premiere over the next week at the 31st Singapore International Film Festival. Among the highlights is the Venice Golden Lion-winning title “Nomadland” directed by Chloe Zhao.
The film festival, which runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 6 in a hybrid format with physical and online screenings amid Covid-19, has long positioned itself as a leading event in the region to showcase Singaporean cinema. Just as important is its role curating the year’s top international films for Singapore audiences.
Besides “Nomadland,” which follows a group of American middle class people forced to become nomads amid recession, the festival’s Cinema Today showcases another Venice award-winner “New Order.” Directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco, the thriller revolving around a lavish wedding turning into a coup...
The film festival, which runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 6 in a hybrid format with physical and online screenings amid Covid-19, has long positioned itself as a leading event in the region to showcase Singaporean cinema. Just as important is its role curating the year’s top international films for Singapore audiences.
Besides “Nomadland,” which follows a group of American middle class people forced to become nomads amid recession, the festival’s Cinema Today showcases another Venice award-winner “New Order.” Directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco, the thriller revolving around a lavish wedding turning into a coup...
- 11/26/2020
- by Vivienne Chow
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s Global Bulletin, Atresmedia commissions a Spanish version of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock” trailer drops, Lightbox will produced a three-part docu-series about Sophie Toscan du Plantier for Netflix, Hardcash announces a new coronavirus doc for ITV, and the Seville and Zagreb festivals announce their 2020 winners.
Format
¡Hola Hola Hola! Media company World of Wonder is teaming with Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia and production company Buendía Estudios on “Drag Race Spain,” a new Spanish version of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for Atresmedia’s SVOD platform Atresplayer Premium. The Spanish update adds to the list of previous format deals in Thailand, Chile, Canada, Netherlands, and “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.,” recently renewed for a second and third season.
Passion Distribution brokered the deal with Atresmedia and will distribute internationally, including an exclusive deal with Wow Presents Plus in the U.S., U.K and internationally, which will...
Format
¡Hola Hola Hola! Media company World of Wonder is teaming with Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia and production company Buendía Estudios on “Drag Race Spain,” a new Spanish version of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for Atresmedia’s SVOD platform Atresplayer Premium. The Spanish update adds to the list of previous format deals in Thailand, Chile, Canada, Netherlands, and “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.,” recently renewed for a second and third season.
Passion Distribution brokered the deal with Atresmedia and will distribute internationally, including an exclusive deal with Wow Presents Plus in the U.S., U.K and internationally, which will...
- 11/16/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Time (dir. Garrett Bradley)Top Picksdoug DIBBERN1. Time (Garrett Bradley)2. Days (Tsai Ming-liang)3. Gunda (Viktor Kossakovsky)4. The Woman Who Ran (Hong Sang-Soo)5. The Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane)6. The Salt of Tears (Philippe Garrel)7. Red, White and Blue (Steve McQueen)8. The Calming (Song Fang)9. Night of Kings (Philippe Lacôte)10. Malmkrog (Cristi Puiu)Daniel KASMAN1. Figure Minus Fact (Mary Helena Clark)2. Her Socialist Smile (John Gianvito)3. Untitled Sequence Of Gaps (Vika Kirchenbauer)4. Labor of Love (Sylvia Schedelbauer)5. Beginning (Dea Kulumbegashvili)6. The Disciple (Chaitanya Tamhane)7. Red, White and Blue (Steve McQueen)8. Isabella (Matías Piñeiro)9. The Calming (Song Fang)10. Humongous! (Aya Kawazoe)Michael SICINSKI1. Figure Minus Fact (Mary Helena Clark)2. Lovers Rock (Steve McQueen)3. Her Socialist Smile (John Gianvito)4. The Inheritance (Ephraim Asili)5. Apiyemiyeki? (Ana Vaz)6. The Human Voice (Pedro Almodóvar)7. Time (Garrett Bradley)8. Isabella (Matías Piñeiro)9. The Last City (Heinz Emigholz)10. Trust Study #1 (Shobun Baile)Correpondences#1 Daniel Kasman introduces the 2020 festival and reviews Lovers...
- 10/14/2020
- MUBI
With the Main Slate of the 58th New York Film Festival offering so many great choices to view, it is easy to overlook the gems featured in other strands.
Screening with Terence Dixon’s Meeting The Man: James Baldwin In Paris (1971) in the Revivals programme, is the newly restored Muhammad Ali, the Greatest (1974). William Klein’s incomparable documentary is much more than a boxing film chronicling the fights of Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, and George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali.
Klein, famous for his depiction of the fashion world in his satire Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?, a milieu he knew well as a photographer for Vogue, here portrays the famous and...
Screening with Terence Dixon’s Meeting The Man: James Baldwin In Paris (1971) in the Revivals programme, is the newly restored Muhammad Ali, the Greatest (1974). William Klein’s incomparable documentary is much more than a boxing film chronicling the fights of Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, and George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali.
Klein, famous for his depiction of the fashion world in his satire Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?, a milieu he knew well as a photographer for Vogue, here portrays the famous and...
- 9/26/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
If a film such as “The Irishman” or “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is unnecessarily long, then what will people say about “Malmkrog,” Cristi Puiu’s three-and-a-half-hour period adaptation? Focused almost entirely on the intellectual discussions of five aristocrats gathered at a wintry Transylvanian mansion in the early 1900s, “Malmkrog” belongs to the milieu of cerebral art-films whose arduousness is perhaps exactly the point. Cinephiles with a taste for the hardcore, painful pleasures of slow cinema, are encouraged to read further, but it’s difficult to recommend this feature to the movie-goer unacquainted with or baffled by the sorts of films in which “nothing happens.” Imagine “My Dinner With Andre” without the intimacy and zany charisma.
Continue reading ‘Malmkrog’: Cristi Puiu’s Ambitious Period Film Is Demanding & Beautiful Slow Cinema [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Malmkrog’: Cristi Puiu’s Ambitious Period Film Is Demanding & Beautiful Slow Cinema [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/22/2020
- by Beatrice Loayza
- The Playlist
The Notebook is covering the NYFF with an on-going correspondence between critic Doug Dibbern and editor Daniel Kasman.Above: The Monopoly of Violence.Hey, Danny,Great to hear from you. It’s comforting to learn that your own feelings about this year’s festival mirror my own. Like you, I always love the months of September and October because the festival and its press screenings represent, to me, the traditional highpoint for a sense of a cinephile community here in the city: I always feel a rush standing in those long, snaking lines outside the Walter Reade, seeing old friends and acquaintances, waving to each other across that vast auditorium, recognizing the faces of nerds I barely know, and always dumbstruck by the hundreds of faces of other critics and journalists and industry professionals whose faces I’ve never seen before.One thing about those annual reunions I feel most...
- 9/22/2020
- MUBI
by Jason Adams
The urge to wander off into our own personal worlds has become, presently, understandable. Many of us have been literally forced into it in 2020, covering our faces and taping up our windows, our only human interaction through Zoom. How many of us have watched pixelated people blow out their birthday candles from their corner of the Brady Bunch squares on our laptop screens? But I mean more than physical isolation here -- I mean it feels as if in some ways our imaginations are having a renaissance; in the absence of open spaces and fresh air at the least our brains have been given a moment to breathe. It's in some ways terrifying and in others liberating, but there seem to be ways of embracing this shitty moment that aren't shit in themselves.
Reality dictates that Cristi Puiu's new film Malmkrog, named after the region in...
The urge to wander off into our own personal worlds has become, presently, understandable. Many of us have been literally forced into it in 2020, covering our faces and taping up our windows, our only human interaction through Zoom. How many of us have watched pixelated people blow out their birthday candles from their corner of the Brady Bunch squares on our laptop screens? But I mean more than physical isolation here -- I mean it feels as if in some ways our imaginations are having a renaissance; in the absence of open spaces and fresh air at the least our brains have been given a moment to breathe. It's in some ways terrifying and in others liberating, but there seem to be ways of embracing this shitty moment that aren't shit in themselves.
Reality dictates that Cristi Puiu's new film Malmkrog, named after the region in...
- 9/21/2020
- by JA
- FilmExperience
When “the devil’s tail scatters fog across the created world”, a gauzy kind of disquiet settles in. Of course, the exhaustion of Earth is a sign of the anti-Christ. Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and is now having virtual screenings at the New York Film Festival as a Main Slate selection, takes us to the Transylvanian village that used to bear the name of the title during the Austro-Hungarian empire. The 20th century is about to begin. Based on Vladimir Solovyov’s philosophical novel War, Progress, and the End of History: Three Conversations, Including a Short Story of the Anti-Christ, Puiu’s film, divided into six chapters named after the six protagonists, takes place in the elegant Apafi Mansion, a house with a long history of confiscation, nationalisation, and restoration. Without knowing any of this, you can sense its history -.
- 9/18/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
First posted on August 13, updated on August 27 with new additions. This year’s New York Film Festival has announced its main slate, as well as plans to begin a week earlier than originally announced to accommodate its plans for drive-in screenings. The festival will run September 17 through October 11, and will include a robust main slate of 25 feature films. That selection, announced today, includes a variety of new films from a number of established masters and rising stars.
The slate boasts a deep selection of documentaries, including Garrett Bradley’s black-and-white social justice effort “Time” and Victor Kossakovsky’s Berlin entry “Gunda” (which follows a particularly special pig), Sam Pollard’s “MLK/FBI” (also set for a TIFF premiere and part of the Telluride lineup), and nonagenarian documentary maverick Frederick Wiseman’s latest deep dive, “City Hall.” And non-fiction veteran Heidi Ewing offers up a hybrid approach with her Sundance-acclaimed immigration...
The slate boasts a deep selection of documentaries, including Garrett Bradley’s black-and-white social justice effort “Time” and Victor Kossakovsky’s Berlin entry “Gunda” (which follows a particularly special pig), Sam Pollard’s “MLK/FBI” (also set for a TIFF premiere and part of the Telluride lineup), and nonagenarian documentary maverick Frederick Wiseman’s latest deep dive, “City Hall.” And non-fiction veteran Heidi Ewing offers up a hybrid approach with her Sundance-acclaimed immigration...
- 8/27/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Festival cites “unexpected difficulties” behind replacement.
US actor Matt Dillion is replacing Romanian director Cristi Puiu on the main competition jury at the 77th Venice Film Festival next month.
Puiu was selected to join the jury, presided over by actress Cate Blanchett, in July. But the filmmaker behind recent Berlinale award-winner Malmkrog has now been replaced, with the festival citing “unexpected difficulties”.
No further details were revealed but a statement from the festival said: “The Venice Film Festival thanks Cristi Puiu for having accepted the appointment when it was offered, and for the sensibility he demonstrated in attempting to honour his commitment,...
US actor Matt Dillion is replacing Romanian director Cristi Puiu on the main competition jury at the 77th Venice Film Festival next month.
Puiu was selected to join the jury, presided over by actress Cate Blanchett, in July. But the filmmaker behind recent Berlinale award-winner Malmkrog has now been replaced, with the festival citing “unexpected difficulties”.
No further details were revealed but a statement from the festival said: “The Venice Film Festival thanks Cristi Puiu for having accepted the appointment when it was offered, and for the sensibility he demonstrated in attempting to honour his commitment,...
- 8/25/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu is known for making films of near-punishing lengths, from the 181-minute “Aurora” to the just-under-three-hours “Sieranevada.” His latest film, the philosophical historical drama “Malmkrog,” is 200 minutes — a long time to sit in a theater while wearing a face mask. (“Tenet” faces a similar challenge with its two-and-a-half-hour runtime.)
Puiu, while presenting his new film at the Transylvania International Film Festival this summer, thinks so too. Which is why, in his introduction to the movie, he said it was “inhuman” to watch his film with a mask on, and launched into a speech stating that, while the virus is real, the “tone of the authorities is unacceptable.” The speech, below, was reported by Romania Journal.
Ok, I understand, social distancing, and the obligation to wear a face mask in open air in Cluj. Ok, I am sorry for you, it is a 200-minute film. To stay with...
Puiu, while presenting his new film at the Transylvania International Film Festival this summer, thinks so too. Which is why, in his introduction to the movie, he said it was “inhuman” to watch his film with a mask on, and launched into a speech stating that, while the virus is real, the “tone of the authorities is unacceptable.” The speech, below, was reported by Romania Journal.
Ok, I understand, social distancing, and the obligation to wear a face mask in open air in Cluj. Ok, I am sorry for you, it is a 200-minute film. To stay with...
- 8/15/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Notturno (Nocturne) director Gianfranco Rosi Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Film at Lincoln Center has announced that Christian Petzold’s Undine, starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran with Kim Minhee, Eugène Green’s Atarrabi & Mikelats with brothers Saia Hiriart and Lukas Hiriart, and Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno (Nocturne) will be among the Main Slate selections of the 58th New York Film Festival.
Undine director Christian Petzold Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
These highlights join the Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing selections Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, and Azazel Jacobs’s French Exit. Dea Kulumbegashvili’s Beginning, Song Fang’s The Calming, Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall, Matías Piñeiro’s Isabella, Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog, Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI, Tsai Ming-liang’s Days, Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple, Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda, Philippe Lacôte’s Night Of The Kings, Philippe Garrel’s The Salt Of Tears,...
Film at Lincoln Center has announced that Christian Petzold’s Undine, starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran with Kim Minhee, Eugène Green’s Atarrabi & Mikelats with brothers Saia Hiriart and Lukas Hiriart, and Gianfranco Rosi’s Notturno (Nocturne) will be among the Main Slate selections of the 58th New York Film Festival.
Undine director Christian Petzold Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
These highlights join the Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing selections Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, and Azazel Jacobs’s French Exit. Dea Kulumbegashvili’s Beginning, Song Fang’s The Calming, Frederick Wiseman’s City Hall, Matías Piñeiro’s Isabella, Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog, Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI, Tsai Ming-liang’s Days, Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple, Victor Kossakovsky’s Gunda, Philippe Lacôte’s Night Of The Kings, Philippe Garrel’s The Salt Of Tears,...
- 8/13/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Throughout the anxious weeks leading up to the opening night of the 19th Transilvania International Film Festival, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread across Romania, government officials began to impose a series of increasingly rigorous safety protocols that cast the festival’s viability in doubt. But the organizers insisted that the show would go one.
“When we realized that the [case] numbers were increasing…we immediately created a crisis committee” to determine how to create a safe movie-going environment, says TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu. In the picturesque medieval city of Cluj, which plays host to the festival, a series of outdoor venues were marshaled into service—from open-air cinemas to public squares to a leafy courtyard at the local agricultural university. After ensuring the necessary health and hygiene measures were in place, the green light from the government finally came with just days to spare.
“I think we’ve been...
“When we realized that the [case] numbers were increasing…we immediately created a crisis committee” to determine how to create a safe movie-going environment, says TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu. In the picturesque medieval city of Cluj, which plays host to the festival, a series of outdoor venues were marshaled into service—from open-air cinemas to public squares to a leafy courtyard at the local agricultural university. After ensuring the necessary health and hygiene measures were in place, the green light from the government finally came with just days to spare.
“I think we’ve been...
- 7/30/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
As cinemas begin to reopen again in many territories, Screen is tracking which films are released across the globe each week.
As cinemas begin to reopen again in many territories, Screen is tracking which films are being released in key territories each week.
France, opening Wednesday July 8
The French box office, which runs Wednesday to Wednesday, entered its third full week of activity on July 8, following the reopening of cinemas on June 22 after their 14-week Covid-19 hiatus. Programming for the first 10 days of reopening consisted mainly of re-released films, the theatrical careers of which were put on hold mid-March due to the lockdown,...
As cinemas begin to reopen again in many territories, Screen is tracking which films are being released in key territories each week.
France, opening Wednesday July 8
The French box office, which runs Wednesday to Wednesday, entered its third full week of activity on July 8, following the reopening of cinemas on June 22 after their 14-week Covid-19 hiatus. Programming for the first 10 days of reopening consisted mainly of re-released films, the theatrical careers of which were put on hold mid-March due to the lockdown,...
- 7/10/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦¬1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦39¦¬158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦¬134¦Jean Noh¦516¦¬1101324¦Elisabet Cabeza¦37¦¬1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
The sidebar of the postponed edition of TIFF comes with its wi(l)dest selection ever. Usually, Romanian producers and directors would wait for an international festival to present their films to the world, but as the pandemic renders the physical editions of many public events extremely uncertain, this year, they have turned to Romania’s biggest film gathering, the Transilvania International Film Festival. The upshot of this is that the 2020 edition of the Romanian Days sidebar will present a record-breaking selection, with as many as 21 features (seven of them shown as world premieres) and 16 short films in the programme. The biggest highlight in the selection is without doubt Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog (Romania/Serbia/Switzerland/Sweden/Bosnia and Herzegovina/North Macedonia), being screened in Romania for the first time after its world premiere at the Berlinale. Radu Jude’s Uppercase Print (Romania), also shown at the Berlinale, and Dan Chişu’s 5 Minutes.
It’s difficult to exactly quantify the impact of Cristi Puiu’s second feature. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is a film about an ambulance worker’s attempts to get care for a dying man against the backdrop of a disinterested and bureaucratic healthcare system. It won Puiu the main award in Un Certain Regard at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival; kick-started what would become known as the Romanian New Wave; and paved the way for his compatriot Christian Mungiu to win the Palme d’Or with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days just two years after. If Mungiu’s film was Romania’s Parasite, in a sense Puiu’s was its Oldboy.
His third feature, Aurora (2010), explored some similar themes but over the last decade Puiu branched out to experimental literary adaptation and dialogue-heavy chamber piece. Those two threads come together in Malmkrog, an adaptation of three conversations by the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov,...
His third feature, Aurora (2010), explored some similar themes but over the last decade Puiu branched out to experimental literary adaptation and dialogue-heavy chamber piece. Those two threads come together in Malmkrog, an adaptation of three conversations by the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov,...
- 3/25/2020
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Awards: Golden Bear for Mohammad Rasoulof's There Is No EvilTOP Picksdaniel KASMAN1. The Salt of Tears (Philippe Garrel)2. Days (Tsai Ming-liang)3. Corporate Accountability (Jonathan Perel)4. Voices in the Wind (Nobuhiro Suwa)5. Undine (Christian Petzold)6. Generations (Lynne Siefert)7. Blue Eyes and Colorful My Dress (Polina Gumiela)8. Siberia (Abel Ferrara)9. The Woman Who Ran (Hong Sang-soo)10. Chronicle of Space (Akshay Indikar)Ela BITTENCOURT1. First Cow (Kelly Reichardt)2. Letter to a Friend (Emily Jacir)3. Days (Tsai Ming-liang)4. Malmkrog (Cristi Puiu)5. Dau6. The Trouble with Being Born (Sandra Wollner)7. Kill It and Leave This Town (Mateusz Wilczyński)8. Orphea9. The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)10. Tango of the Widower and Its Distorning MirrorCoveragedaniel KASMANFirst Encounters of the 70th YearPhilippe Garrel's Portrait of the Cad as a Young ManChristian Petzold's Fairy Tale BerlinHong Sang-soo's Options for WomanhoodPolitical LandscapesChild's PlayELA BITTENCOURTHighlights from Forum and Forum ExpandedDreaming the Impossible CinemaDau and the...
- 3/22/2020
- MUBI
“Sheytan vojud nadarad” (“There Is No Evil”) has won the Golden Bear Award at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlin jury announced at a ceremony on Saturday.
The film by director Mohammad Rasoulof consists of four different stories about military men in Iran who are asked to perform executions. It won in a competition lineup that consisted of 18 movies and also included Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” Sally Potter’s “‘The Roads Not Taken,” Philippe Garrel’s “The Salt of Tears,” Abel Ferrara’s “Siberia” and Christian Petzold’s “Undine.”
Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” the story of two teenage girls traveling from Pennsylvania to New York City for an abortion, won the Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-place award.
Also Read: 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' Director Explains Why Her Stars Auditioned in a Bathroom (Video)
Acting awards went to Elio Germano for “Volevo nascondermi” (“Hidden Away...
The film by director Mohammad Rasoulof consists of four different stories about military men in Iran who are asked to perform executions. It won in a competition lineup that consisted of 18 movies and also included Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” Sally Potter’s “‘The Roads Not Taken,” Philippe Garrel’s “The Salt of Tears,” Abel Ferrara’s “Siberia” and Christian Petzold’s “Undine.”
Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” the story of two teenage girls traveling from Pennsylvania to New York City for an abortion, won the Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-place award.
Also Read: 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' Director Explains Why Her Stars Auditioned in a Bathroom (Video)
Acting awards went to Elio Germano for “Volevo nascondermi” (“Hidden Away...
- 2/29/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 2020 Berlin Film Festival, which kicked off on February 20, handed out its top prizes today as the fest comes to a close in Germany. The night’s top winner, Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof for “There Is No Evil,” could not attend the ceremony due to an Iran-sanctioned travel ban and possible prison sentence for his politically charged film (read IndieWire’s review here). See all this year’s winners below.
As is befitting for a festival season marked by tension, activists were gathered outside the festivities in front of the Berlinale Palast, where the honors took place, demonstrating for climate change. The 70th edition of the Berlinale weathered its share of controversies this year, too, from jury president Jeremy Irons digging up past controversial remarks to the revelation that late festival chief Alfred Bauer had ties to the Nazi party. The first edition assembled by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and...
As is befitting for a festival season marked by tension, activists were gathered outside the festivities in front of the Berlinale Palast, where the honors took place, demonstrating for climate change. The 70th edition of the Berlinale weathered its share of controversies this year, too, from jury president Jeremy Irons digging up past controversial remarks to the revelation that late festival chief Alfred Bauer had ties to the Nazi party. The first edition assembled by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and...
- 2/29/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “There Is No Evil,” a drama about the impact of capital punishment on society and the human condition, won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival on Saturday.
The seven-person festival jury, headed by Jeremy Irons, spread the prizes far and wide, with no single filmmaker dominating the awards.
American writer-director Eliza Hittman won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” a drama about teen pregnancy, while the Silver Bear for best director went to South Korea’s Hong Sang Soo for his Seoul-set drama “The Woman Who Ran.”
Rasoulof, who is unable to leave Iran due to a travel ban, faces a one-year prison sentence for “spreading propaganda.” The filmmaker released a statement on Friday expressing his sorrow at missing the premiere of “There Is No Evil”: “I am sorry that I will not be able...
The seven-person festival jury, headed by Jeremy Irons, spread the prizes far and wide, with no single filmmaker dominating the awards.
American writer-director Eliza Hittman won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” a drama about teen pregnancy, while the Silver Bear for best director went to South Korea’s Hong Sang Soo for his Seoul-set drama “The Woman Who Ran.”
Rasoulof, who is unable to leave Iran due to a travel ban, faces a one-year prison sentence for “spreading propaganda.” The filmmaker released a statement on Friday expressing his sorrow at missing the premiere of “There Is No Evil”: “I am sorry that I will not be able...
- 2/29/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
“Charlatan”
Director: Agnieszka Holland
The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor.
Sales: Films Boutique
Berlinale Special Gala
“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in
this documentary.
Sales: Cat&Docs
Generation 14plus
“The Exit of the Trains”
Directors: Radu Jude,
Adrian Cioflanca
This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian.
Sales: MicroFilm
Forum
“Frem”
Director: Viera Cakanyova
This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking.
Sales: Hypermarket Film
Forum
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
Director: Mariusz Wilczynski
A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings,...
Director: Agnieszka Holland
The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor.
Sales: Films Boutique
Berlinale Special Gala
“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in
this documentary.
Sales: Cat&Docs
Generation 14plus
“The Exit of the Trains”
Directors: Radu Jude,
Adrian Cioflanca
This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian.
Sales: MicroFilm
Forum
“Frem”
Director: Viera Cakanyova
This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking.
Sales: Hypermarket Film
Forum
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
Director: Mariusz Wilczynski
A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings,...
- 2/23/2020
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
A 200-minute conversation, set indoors, conducted mostly in stilted French and concerning late-19th-century views of religion, war and good vs. evil doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for a surefire hit, even in the art house arena. Very few filmmakers would think of attempting such a feat nowadays and even fewer would be able to find the necessary funding.
At or very near the top of the list of possible directors for such a proposition would be Romanian iconoclast Cristi Puiu, whose The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Sieranevada are highlights of the Romanian New Wave and who has ...
At or very near the top of the list of possible directors for such a proposition would be Romanian iconoclast Cristi Puiu, whose The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Sieranevada are highlights of the Romanian New Wave and who has ...
- 2/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Since Cristi Puiu’s “Malmkrog” means to drown the viewer in a dense and arcane philosophical debate about Good and Evil, the nature of Christ, Europe and the direction of History, let’s add another strand to the discussion: how is cinema put to best use? It’s an especially pertinent question since Puiu’s always stunning use of space and light, so carefully calculated in every shot, so rigidly composed as if he’s used dioramas with dolls to ensure figures and objects will be exactly in the right place, makes even “Malmkrog” a cinematic experience despite a perverse amount of verbiage that demands absolute concentration for nearly three and a half hours. Yet given that he anxiously wants his audience – never more limited than with this film – to follow the calculatedly cruel intellectual jousting between his five main characters,
Perhaps if the voluminous script were first made required reading,...
Perhaps if the voluminous script were first made required reading,...
- 2/21/2020
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
"But is to be killed... an absolute evil?" Shellac has debuted the first official promo trailer for a loquacious historical drama titled Malmkrog, premiering in the "Encounters" section at the Berlin Film Festival this month. Malmkrog, which translates to Manor House, is the latest film from acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu and runs a full 3 hours, 20 minutes (no surprise from an Eastern European filmmaker). The film is made up almost entirely of conversations between guests at a house. A landowner, a politician, a countess, a General and his wife, all gather in a spacious manor and discuss death, war, progress and morality. As the time passes by, the discussion becomes more serious and heated. Starring Frédéric Schulz-Richard, Agathe Bosch, Diana Sakalauskaité, Marina Palii, Ugo Broussot, and István Téglás. If you're into this kind of intellectual cinema, then you don't want to miss this. But I fully understand if you're not...
- 2/17/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
When you see the name Cristi Puiu attached to a film, there are a large number of film fans that don’t care what it’s about or who stars in it, the project is an instant must-see. That comes from the fact that Puiu, with only 6 features in the last 20 years, has established himself as one of the best international filmmakers working today. And with that in mind, we’re happy to share the new trailer for “Malmkrog,” the latest Puiu film, which is debuting soon in Berlin.
Continue reading ‘Malmkrog’ Trailer: Acclaimed Filmmaker Cristi Puiu Returns To Berlin With A New Period Drama at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Malmkrog’ Trailer: Acclaimed Filmmaker Cristi Puiu Returns To Berlin With A New Period Drama at The Playlist.
- 2/17/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Cristi Puiu’s “Malmkrog,” the opening film of the Berlin Film Festival’s new competitive strand, Encounters. Shellac is handling world sales.
“Malmkrog” is set at the manor house of an aristocratic landowner in Transylvania. Among the handpicked guests who have arrived to spend the Christmas holidays are a politician, a young countess, and a general with his wife. Over sumptuous meals and parlor games, the guests discuss progress and morality, death and the Antichrist. As the debate grows more heated, cultural rifts between them begin to emerge, and the climate becomes increasingly tense.
The 200-minute drama is based on a text by the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov. “The problems posed by adapting a real event for the screen are to a large extent contiguous with those that arise in the case of creating a film version of a literary text,...
“Malmkrog” is set at the manor house of an aristocratic landowner in Transylvania. Among the handpicked guests who have arrived to spend the Christmas holidays are a politician, a young countess, and a general with his wife. Over sumptuous meals and parlor games, the guests discuss progress and morality, death and the Antichrist. As the debate grows more heated, cultural rifts between them begin to emerge, and the climate becomes increasingly tense.
The 200-minute drama is based on a text by the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov. “The problems posed by adapting a real event for the screen are to a large extent contiguous with those that arise in the case of creating a film version of a literary text,...
- 2/17/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
15 films will compete for three awards in the newly established section, while the festival has also announced the full Perspektive Deutsches Kino line-up. One of the most important changes that new artistic director Carlo Chatrian is bringing to the 70th edition of the Berlinale (20 February-1 March) is a new competitive strand dubbed Encounters. A three-member jury will choose the winners for Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award. “As a result of passionate research, the 15 titles chosen for Encounters present the vitality of cinema in all of its forms. Each film presents a different way of interpreting the cinematic story: autobiographical, intimate, political, social, philosophical, epic, surreal. The films take up the challenge of shaping a world, rather than reproducing it,” says Chatrian. The section will open with Romanian auteur Cristi Puiu's newest film, Malmkrog, a co-production with Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and...
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