Christian De Schutter, Barbara Van Lombeek launch awards strategy agency The FYC Academy (exclusive)
European film executives Christian De Schutter and Barbara Van Lombeek have teamed up to launch The FYC Academy, an agency for global awards strategies.
FYC – which stands for For Your Campaign – will launch officially in Cannes next month. The company’s focus is to set up international campaigns and develop strategies aimed at achieving optimum visibility for films during awards season.
It will include, but is not limited to Academy Awards campaigns, and will work initially on around five titles per year, from any international territory.
The FYC Academy will operate separately from Van Lombeek’s The PR Factory and...
FYC – which stands for For Your Campaign – will launch officially in Cannes next month. The company’s focus is to set up international campaigns and develop strategies aimed at achieving optimum visibility for films during awards season.
It will include, but is not limited to Academy Awards campaigns, and will work initially on around five titles per year, from any international territory.
The FYC Academy will operate separately from Van Lombeek’s The PR Factory and...
- 4/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
Former Flanders Image manager Christian De Schutter has joined Tine Klint’s Denmark-based Scandinavian sales and aggregation company LevelK as festival consultant.
De Schutter left Flanders Image suddenly in December last year, announced via a short email from Flanders Audiovisual Fund CEO Koen Van Bockstal. Over 150 leading international industry figures then signed an open letter in support of De Schutter.
De Schutter had worked at Flanders Image since 2003, with responsibility for promoting Flemish films and TV dramas internationally. The organisation boosted the careers of filmmakers including Lukas Dhont, Fien Troch and Felix Van Groeningen, and scored Oscar nominations for films including Bullhead,...
De Schutter left Flanders Image suddenly in December last year, announced via a short email from Flanders Audiovisual Fund CEO Koen Van Bockstal. Over 150 leading international industry figures then signed an open letter in support of De Schutter.
De Schutter had worked at Flanders Image since 2003, with responsibility for promoting Flemish films and TV dramas internationally. The organisation boosted the careers of filmmakers including Lukas Dhont, Fien Troch and Felix Van Groeningen, and scored Oscar nominations for films including Bullhead,...
- 3/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sex, a provocative and candid look at constricting gender roles by Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud, has won the Europa Cinemas Label as best European film in the Panorama section of the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.
Jan Gunnar Roise and Thorbjorn Harr star in Sex as two married and ostensibly heterosexual chimney sweeps whose experiences lead them to question their supposedly fixed sexual and gender identities. The film was a critical hit in Berlin, with The Hollywood Reporter comparing its “gentle subversiveness” of the male character study to Joachim Trier’s twist on the traditional rom-com in the Oscar-nominated The Worst Person in the World. [Coincidentally, Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve was one of the big stars of the Berlinale this year, with two films in competition.]
The Europa Cinemas jury praised Sex as “fresh, original, and, above all, great fun,” adding: “Yes, it is a talky film, but we feel strongly that the open...
Jan Gunnar Roise and Thorbjorn Harr star in Sex as two married and ostensibly heterosexual chimney sweeps whose experiences lead them to question their supposedly fixed sexual and gender identities. The film was a critical hit in Berlin, with The Hollywood Reporter comparing its “gentle subversiveness” of the male character study to Joachim Trier’s twist on the traditional rom-com in the Oscar-nominated The Worst Person in the World. [Coincidentally, Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve was one of the big stars of the Berlinale this year, with two films in competition.]
The Europa Cinemas jury praised Sex as “fresh, original, and, above all, great fun,” adding: “Yes, it is a talky film, but we feel strongly that the open...
- 2/23/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
They claim the Flemish cultural sector will now suffer without De Schutter’s expertise and international contacts.
Over 150 leading figures from the European and international industry have signed an open letter in support of Christian De Schutter, former managing director of Flanders Image, whose sudden removal from his role was announced in a short email sent by Koen Van Bockstal, CEO of Flanders Audiovisual Fund (Vaf), on December 20.
“We’re all flummoxed by the situation and as his longtime colleagues we think we deserve some sort of explanation. We know that many people in Belgium, including your leading filmmakers, are also confused and angered,...
Over 150 leading figures from the European and international industry have signed an open letter in support of Christian De Schutter, former managing director of Flanders Image, whose sudden removal from his role was announced in a short email sent by Koen Van Bockstal, CEO of Flanders Audiovisual Fund (Vaf), on December 20.
“We’re all flummoxed by the situation and as his longtime colleagues we think we deserve some sort of explanation. We know that many people in Belgium, including your leading filmmakers, are also confused and angered,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Updated with more details: The 80th Venice Film Festival officially kicked off Wednesday evening with the world premiere screening of Edoardo De Angelis’ Italian World War II submarine drama Comandante. Running in competition, the film took over the slot vacated by Luca Guadagnino’s tennis drama Challengers, which backed out of the spot amid the actors strike.
Before the Pierfrancesco Favino-starring movie unspooled to a warm welcome and a brief post-credit standing ovation, Italian actress Caterina Murino launched the festival’s opening ceremony featuring a retrospective covering the 80 years of the event. That included glimpses of previous Golden Lion and awards winners, with the audience erupting when the late William Friedkin appeared in the montage.
Friedkin, who died August 7, has his final work, the Showtime film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, screening later this week out of competition.
Biennalle president Roberto Cicutto then came on the stage to introduce Charlotte Rampling,...
Before the Pierfrancesco Favino-starring movie unspooled to a warm welcome and a brief post-credit standing ovation, Italian actress Caterina Murino launched the festival’s opening ceremony featuring a retrospective covering the 80 years of the event. That included glimpses of previous Golden Lion and awards winners, with the audience erupting when the late William Friedkin appeared in the montage.
Friedkin, who died August 7, has his final work, the Showtime film The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, screening later this week out of competition.
Biennalle president Roberto Cicutto then came on the stage to introduce Charlotte Rampling,...
- 8/30/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Rome-based sales agency True Colours has added Edoardo de Angelis’ “Comandante,” which opens the Venice Film Festival, to its slate. The film, which plays in the main competition section, stars Pierfrancesco Favino.
“Comandante” is based on the true story of Italian submarine commander Salvatore Todaro and the events that occurred in October 1940, when Todaro was in command of the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini.
One night, while navigating in the Atlantic, the Italian vessel sinks an armed Belgian merchant ship, and Todaro decides to take the 26 shipwrecked crew members on board his already crowded submarine, aiming for the nearest safe harbor to release them. It is an unexpected action in the context of war, but follows the law of the sea, and endangers his life as well as that of his men, since the submarine has to navigate on the surface of the water for three days, visible to the enemy forces.
“Comandante” is based on the true story of Italian submarine commander Salvatore Todaro and the events that occurred in October 1940, when Todaro was in command of the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini.
One night, while navigating in the Atlantic, the Italian vessel sinks an armed Belgian merchant ship, and Todaro decides to take the 26 shipwrecked crew members on board his already crowded submarine, aiming for the nearest safe harbor to release them. It is an unexpected action in the context of war, but follows the law of the sea, and endangers his life as well as that of his men, since the submarine has to navigate on the surface of the water for three days, visible to the enemy forces.
- 8/10/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
This article discusses spoilers from the latest episode of "Strange New Worlds."
Gene Roddenberry envisioned "Star Trek" as a utopian paradise, famously mandating that "The Original Series" contain an absolute minimum of conflict -- none of it originating from within the Federation itself. After all, why would enlightened beings in the distant future ever come up against problems that we're still dealing with in our own imperfect, capitalist reality? But as the years went by, the franchise gatekeepers began to realize a simple truth: Even in a world as aspirational as "Trek," one can't truly depict an idealized society without exploring some of the darker corners of the universe, as well. Cautionary tales are usually much more potent than cut-and-dried, heavy-handed, moralistic screeds.
"Strange New Worlds" has never been afraid of directly confronting that underlying darkness, but perhaps never to the extent that the latest episode of season 2 addresses. The harrowing hour,...
Gene Roddenberry envisioned "Star Trek" as a utopian paradise, famously mandating that "The Original Series" contain an absolute minimum of conflict -- none of it originating from within the Federation itself. After all, why would enlightened beings in the distant future ever come up against problems that we're still dealing with in our own imperfect, capitalist reality? But as the years went by, the franchise gatekeepers began to realize a simple truth: Even in a world as aspirational as "Trek," one can't truly depict an idealized society without exploring some of the darker corners of the universe, as well. Cautionary tales are usually much more potent than cut-and-dried, heavy-handed, moralistic screeds.
"Strange New Worlds" has never been afraid of directly confronting that underlying darkness, but perhaps never to the extent that the latest episode of season 2 addresses. The harrowing hour,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds article contains spoilers.
During the era of The Original Series and all the classic films, the Klingons were very often the default adversaries of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. But interestingly, other than for a hot second in Deep Space Nine in the ’90s, we’d never really inhabited an era of Star Trek in which an active shooting war with the Klingons was happening. In 2017, Discovery season 1 changed all that, but even then, the crew of that titular ship skipped over a big part of the war, all because of time travel and alternate universe shenanigans.
So, now, with an extended flashback to the Klingon War in “Under the Cloak of War,” Strange New Worlds is finally throwing light into the darkest days of the Federation, and along the way, connecting to canon and easter eggs from across the entire franchise.
During the era of The Original Series and all the classic films, the Klingons were very often the default adversaries of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. But interestingly, other than for a hot second in Deep Space Nine in the ’90s, we’d never really inhabited an era of Star Trek in which an active shooting war with the Klingons was happening. In 2017, Discovery season 1 changed all that, but even then, the crew of that titular ship skipped over a big part of the war, all because of time travel and alternate universe shenanigans.
So, now, with an extended flashback to the Klingon War in “Under the Cloak of War,” Strange New Worlds is finally throwing light into the darkest days of the Federation, and along the way, connecting to canon and easter eggs from across the entire franchise.
- 7/27/2023
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
In the newest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," called "Under the Cloak of War," several members of the Enterprise crew get to openly discuss the consequences of war, and ponder their deep-seated battlefield trauma from the recent Klingon conflict. "Star Trek" has long been a franchise that advocates pacifism, and sees war as -- just like in the real world -- humankind's ultimate failing. "Cloak" sees soldiers as either brainwashed into mindless, suicidal sacrifice for ideals that don't even exist, or as suffering murderers who are constantly living on the brink of madness and violence. It also sees few avenues for healing; once war trauma has taken hold, no act of justice is sufficient to cleanse one's soul. Everyone gets out stained.
"Strange New Worlds" has been, up until now, a mostly light, often whimsical show about warm, welcoming people. Occasionally, the characters will be stranded in a...
"Strange New Worlds" has been, up until now, a mostly light, often whimsical show about warm, welcoming people. Occasionally, the characters will be stranded in a...
- 7/27/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The following contains spoilers from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2 premiere. Proceed accordingly.
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2 premiere — now streaming on Paramount+ — Spock & Co. absconded with the Enterprise to a mining planet on the edge of Klingon space, where they prevented an extremist group from instigating a war with the Federation.
More from TVLineStar Trek: Strange New Worlds EPs Explain How That Bananas Lower Decks Crossover Came to BeStar Trek: Strange New Worlds Star Anson Mount Talks Pike's 'Great Dad Personality' in Season 2Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: How to Catch Up and Stream Season 2
The episode,...
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2 premiere — now streaming on Paramount+ — Spock & Co. absconded with the Enterprise to a mining planet on the edge of Klingon space, where they prevented an extremist group from instigating a war with the Federation.
More from TVLineStar Trek: Strange New Worlds EPs Explain How That Bananas Lower Decks Crossover Came to BeStar Trek: Strange New Worlds Star Anson Mount Talks Pike's 'Great Dad Personality' in Season 2Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: How to Catch Up and Stream Season 2
The episode,...
- 6/15/2023
- by Keisha Hatchett
- TVLine.com
This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds article contains spoilers.
As a prequel to The Original Series, nearly every minute of Strange New Worlds could, arguably, be considered some kind of Star Trek easter egg. Just being on the classic Enterprise is a reference to the existence of The Original Series. Ethan Peck’s Spock just doing anything could also scan as an easter egg.
So, where does one start with references in Strange New Worlds? For the Season 2 premiere, “The Broken Circle,” we tried to make it easy. Here are the most obvious, stand-out easter eggs and references in the episode. These were the moments that probably made you say “is that…?” or “what did they mean by…?” It’s a big episode, with lots of callbacks, so start working on your warp catchphrase, and let’s hit it.
Klingon War Recap
Although Anson Mount says “Last season on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,...
As a prequel to The Original Series, nearly every minute of Strange New Worlds could, arguably, be considered some kind of Star Trek easter egg. Just being on the classic Enterprise is a reference to the existence of The Original Series. Ethan Peck’s Spock just doing anything could also scan as an easter egg.
So, where does one start with references in Strange New Worlds? For the Season 2 premiere, “The Broken Circle,” we tried to make it easy. Here are the most obvious, stand-out easter eggs and references in the episode. These were the moments that probably made you say “is that…?” or “what did they mean by…?” It’s a big episode, with lots of callbacks, so start working on your warp catchphrase, and let’s hit it.
Klingon War Recap
Although Anson Mount says “Last season on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,...
- 6/15/2023
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premiere “The Broken Circle.”] The healers become fighters in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premiere and show that they’re a great team on and off the Enterprise, in and out of sickbay. Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olasunmokun) are among those who leave the Enterprise to help La’an (Christina Chong) after they receive a distress signal; Spock (Ethan Peck), as acting captain with Pike (Anson Mount) off ship trying to help Una (Rebecca Romijn) goes against orders. And, in the course of dealing with some Klingons looking to restart the war, Chapel and M’Benga end up having to fight themselves out of trouble. “It was so fun,” Bush raves to TV Insider. “That was the most fun ever. I think by the end of the episode, Babs and I ...
- 6/15/2023
- TV Insider
This Star Trek: Strange New Worlds review contains spoilers.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 1
On paper, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the most traditional entry in the current Star Trek franchise, with its more episodic weekly adventures, light-hearted feel, and open embrace of the wonders inherent in space exploration. But, for all its old-school vibes, nothing about this show feels stodgy or stuck in the past. In fact, Strange New Worlds is at its best when it’s gleefully subverting our expectations about what a show like this is supposed to be and do from week to week, embracing shifts in genre, tone, and format that somehow manage to make even the most familiar story beats feel fresh and new.
So it probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere continues to choose the unexpected path, and does exactly the opposite of what...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Episode 1
On paper, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the most traditional entry in the current Star Trek franchise, with its more episodic weekly adventures, light-hearted feel, and open embrace of the wonders inherent in space exploration. But, for all its old-school vibes, nothing about this show feels stodgy or stuck in the past. In fact, Strange New Worlds is at its best when it’s gleefully subverting our expectations about what a show like this is supposed to be and do from week to week, embracing shifts in genre, tone, and format that somehow manage to make even the most familiar story beats feel fresh and new.
So it probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere continues to choose the unexpected path, and does exactly the opposite of what...
- 6/15/2023
- by Lacy Baugher
- Den of Geek
The second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds exudes even more of the breezy freshness of a sharply written, back-to-basics TV series than its first season. Increasingly, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers are solving the puzzle of how to make the hoary old Star Trek format new again. A welcome shift away from rigidly serialized storytelling has greatly benefited this prequel series, allowing it to cast off the chains of cause and effect that bind together each episode of Discovery and Picard.
As in the halcyon Star Trek days, each episode of Strange New Worlds explores a new, pulpy sci-fi scenario played for thrills, yuks, or, yes, sometimes heavy-handed progressive grandstanding. The writing this season nails the middle ground between the silly-but-sometimes-smart space operatics of the original series and the warm surrogate-family vibe of The Next Generation. Plots that alternate their focal points channel that Next Gen...
As in the halcyon Star Trek days, each episode of Strange New Worlds explores a new, pulpy sci-fi scenario played for thrills, yuks, or, yes, sometimes heavy-handed progressive grandstanding. The writing this season nails the middle ground between the silly-but-sometimes-smart space operatics of the original series and the warm surrogate-family vibe of The Next Generation. Plots that alternate their focal points channel that Next Gen...
- 6/12/2023
- by Pat Brown
- Slant Magazine
Sony looks for ‘Love Again’, with Celine Dion’s first on-screen role.
Universal comedy sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter leads the openers at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting its story in 612 cinemas.
Directed by Bill Holderman and written by Holderman and Erin Simms, the film follows four best friends who take their book club to Italy for the girls trip they never had.
It is a sequel to 2018’s Book Club, also directed by Holderman, which Paramount released and which opened to £721,512 in 519 cinemas at a £1,390 average. The film finished on a £4.2m cume; The Next Chapter...
Universal comedy sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter leads the openers at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting its story in 612 cinemas.
Directed by Bill Holderman and written by Holderman and Erin Simms, the film follows four best friends who take their book club to Italy for the girls trip they never had.
It is a sequel to 2018’s Book Club, also directed by Holderman, which Paramount released and which opened to £721,512 in 519 cinemas at a £1,390 average. The film finished on a £4.2m cume; The Next Chapter...
- 5/12/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch enter a new stage of their partnership, both professional and personal, through their co-direction of The Eight Mountains. Vandermeersch, primarily known for her work as an actress, had previously appeared in several of her husband’s other movies and received a screenplay collaboration credit on his Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown. But as Van Groeningen began to approach shooting the adaptation of Paolo Coginetti’s novel that he’d co-written with his wife during pandemic lockdowns, he suggested that she join him in helming the film.
In many ways, their collaboration behind the camera gracefully complements the narrative that transpires in front of it. The Eight Mountains is a gentle two-hander following two friends, the impetuous Bruno and the introverted Pietro (played respectively as adults by Alessandro Borghi and Luca Marinelli), that charts the ups and downs of their relationship over the course of four decades.
In many ways, their collaboration behind the camera gracefully complements the narrative that transpires in front of it. The Eight Mountains is a gentle two-hander following two friends, the impetuous Bruno and the introverted Pietro (played respectively as adults by Alessandro Borghi and Luca Marinelli), that charts the ups and downs of their relationship over the course of four decades.
- 4/28/2023
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slant Magazine
Editors note: This review was originally published May 18 after its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival where it co-won the Jury Prize. It opens in New York theaters Friday.
After breaking out internationally in 2012 with his Oscar-nominated drama The Broken Circle Breakdown, and making his Hollywood debut in 2018 with Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen makes his Competition debut in Cannes with The Eight Mountains, perhaps the most understated film of his career so far.
This is a gentle tale of a decades-spanning friendship that seems a little out of its depth in such a heavyweight showcase. With terrific cinematography and two engaging leads, it’s easy on the eye — as well it should be at two hours and 27 minutes — but it’s lackluster in its telling and pales next to Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, which covered similar themes of adolescence and young adulthood last awards season.
After breaking out internationally in 2012 with his Oscar-nominated drama The Broken Circle Breakdown, and making his Hollywood debut in 2018 with Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen makes his Competition debut in Cannes with The Eight Mountains, perhaps the most understated film of his career so far.
This is a gentle tale of a decades-spanning friendship that seems a little out of its depth in such a heavyweight showcase. With terrific cinematography and two engaging leads, it’s easy on the eye — as well it should be at two hours and 27 minutes — but it’s lackluster in its telling and pales next to Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, which covered similar themes of adolescence and young adulthood last awards season.
- 4/28/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Last fall, five days before Italy announced its official Oscar submission, filmmakers Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch were nervous. The Belgian couple, who co-directed the intimate Cannes winner “The Eight Mountains” in the Italian Alps and learned the language for the project, hoped that their commitment was enough to convince the committee tasked with selecting the submission that it fulfilled their requirements.
“We want to make the Italians proud of this film, so we pray that they will feel proud enough to send it,” Vandermeersch told IndieWire at the time. “If our nationality diminishes that pride or that sense of ownership, we can’t help that, but we do think that it’s less and less important in the world of today.”
The following week, the country snubbed “The Eight Mountains” in favor of another Cannes selection, Italian director Mario Matone’s crime drama “Nostalgia;” one month later, it...
“We want to make the Italians proud of this film, so we pray that they will feel proud enough to send it,” Vandermeersch told IndieWire at the time. “If our nationality diminishes that pride or that sense of ownership, we can’t help that, but we do think that it’s less and less important in the world of today.”
The following week, the country snubbed “The Eight Mountains” in favor of another Cannes selection, Italian director Mario Matone’s crime drama “Nostalgia;” one month later, it...
- 4/26/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
As news about the 2023 Cannes lineup begins to trickle in, American audiences are finally getting a chance to catch up on some of the films that played at last year’s festival. Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s “The Eight Mountains” made waves when it competed for the Palme d’Or and won the Prix Jury prize in 2022, and now the film is just weeks away from premiering at arthouses in New York and Los Angeles.
The film tells the story of a close relationship between two young Italian boys who spent their childhoods together in a mountain village before going in different directions. At Cannes, critics praised the film’s attention to detail and the way it used elements of nature to conjure the feelings of magic that childhood friendships can create.
“Here, you feel it all, because there is so much heartfelt detail,” Ella Kemp wrote in...
The film tells the story of a close relationship between two young Italian boys who spent their childhoods together in a mountain village before going in different directions. At Cannes, critics praised the film’s attention to detail and the way it used elements of nature to conjure the feelings of magic that childhood friendships can create.
“Here, you feel it all, because there is so much heartfelt detail,” Ella Kemp wrote in...
- 4/7/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
İlker Çatak’s The Teachers‘ Lounge, a German drama set in a primary school, has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European film in the Panorama section of the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.
Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, Around the World in 80 Days) stars in The Teacher’s Lounge as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who finds herself at odds with fellow teachers, parents and an inflexible and frustrating bureaucracy. Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Uygar Tamer, and Özgür Karadeniz co-star.
“The film explores key subjects like the prevalence of bureaucracy in schools and issues of race and class, but above all it is a compelling rollercoaster of a drama,” the Europa Cinemas jury said in a statement.
The Europa Cinemas prize is backed the Europa Cinemas theatre network, an association of independent theater owners, representing more than 3,000 screens in over 700 cities across Europe,...
Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, Around the World in 80 Days) stars in The Teacher’s Lounge as an idealistic and ambitious young teacher who finds herself at odds with fellow teachers, parents and an inflexible and frustrating bureaucracy. Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Löbau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Kathrin Wehlisch, Uygar Tamer, and Özgür Karadeniz co-star.
“The film explores key subjects like the prevalence of bureaucracy in schools and issues of race and class, but above all it is a compelling rollercoaster of a drama,” the Europa Cinemas jury said in a statement.
The Europa Cinemas prize is backed the Europa Cinemas theatre network, an association of independent theater owners, representing more than 3,000 screens in over 700 cities across Europe,...
- 2/25/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The debut feature from The Broken Circle Breakdown star Veerle Baetens is an uncompromising adaptation of Lize Spitz’s novel Het Smelt (It Melts), which tells the story of a woman confronting the trauma of her past. The story unfolds over two time periods as the adult Eva (Charlotte De Bruyne) prepares to travel back to the small town where she grew up. Action in the present is interwoven with what happened to her one fateful summer as a child.
We caught up with the Belgian director over Zoom to chat about the film. The very spoiler-averse may want to wait until after they have seen the film before reading the second half.
Reading the press notes, it seems...
We caught up with the Belgian director over Zoom to chat about the film. The very spoiler-averse may want to wait until after they have seen the film before reading the second half.
Reading the press notes, it seems...
- 2/10/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A couple of times over in “When It Melts,” the directorial debut of Belgian actor Veerle Baetens, Eva, played as a morose, withdrawn adult by Charlotte De Bruyne, looks at a photograph of herself as a 13-year-old. In the picture, child Eva (Sundance prizewinner Rosa Marchant) is grinning a lopsided, optimistic tomboy grin, unaware of the violent end of innocence lying in wait for her. The space between these two Evas — a vast gulf not just temporal but scarringly psychological — is territory painstakingly mapped out by Baetens, whose grip on the tone of gathering dread is sure, until it becomes suffocating. As the story pivots back and forth between its two timelines, as though hoping one will hold the key to the other’s release, it grows oppressive, as hard to witness as a cornered bird battering itself helplessly against one window, then the next.
Eva is a shy photographer’s assistant,...
Eva is a shy photographer’s assistant,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Vengeance on a Wet Afternoon: Baetens Prepares a Fatal Reckoning in Grim Debut
Home is most certainly not where the heart is in When It Melts, the directorial debut of Belgian actor Veerle Baetens, adapted from the celebrated novel by Lize Spit. Baetens has long been a recognizable force in Belgian cinema over the past two decades, appearing in slick genre fare, like Erick Van Looy’s Loft (2008), Robin Pront’s The Ardennes (read review) and Oliver Masset-Depasse’s Mothers’ Instinct (2018), while most renowned for Felix Van Groeningen’s searing 2013 drama The Broken Circle Breakdown (read review). She’s chosen a troubling, and perhaps somewhat familiar approach in this trauma induced thriller, which features a disturbed, complex characterization deftly performed by two actors portraying the central character.…...
Home is most certainly not where the heart is in When It Melts, the directorial debut of Belgian actor Veerle Baetens, adapted from the celebrated novel by Lize Spit. Baetens has long been a recognizable force in Belgian cinema over the past two decades, appearing in slick genre fare, like Erick Van Looy’s Loft (2008), Robin Pront’s The Ardennes (read review) and Oliver Masset-Depasse’s Mothers’ Instinct (2018), while most renowned for Felix Van Groeningen’s searing 2013 drama The Broken Circle Breakdown (read review). She’s chosen a troubling, and perhaps somewhat familiar approach in this trauma induced thriller, which features a disturbed, complex characterization deftly performed by two actors portraying the central character.…...
- 1/28/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Best known for playing a bluegrass-singing mother with an ill daughter in the Oscar-nominated “The Broken Circle Breakdown” and a relentless cop on the television show “Code 37,” actress Veerle Baetens donned a director’s cap for her feature debut “When it Melts.”
Based on Lize Spit’s novel “The Melting,” the film premiered in this year’s Sundance World Feature Competition. The actress-turned director and Rosa Marchant — who plays the film’s protagonist in her childhood years — joined Sharon Waxman to discuss the picture’s unflinching, uncompromising look at the lingering impact of childhood trauma with TheWrap’s Portrait and Video Studio at The Music Lodge.
Explaining the film’s cryptic title, Baetens argued it’s about how the protagonist isolates herself after a childhood incident, and how such trauma makes her a frozen person. “It’s a beautiful metaphor for people who have experienced trauma to be in a frozen state of mind,...
Based on Lize Spit’s novel “The Melting,” the film premiered in this year’s Sundance World Feature Competition. The actress-turned director and Rosa Marchant — who plays the film’s protagonist in her childhood years — joined Sharon Waxman to discuss the picture’s unflinching, uncompromising look at the lingering impact of childhood trauma with TheWrap’s Portrait and Video Studio at The Music Lodge.
Explaining the film’s cryptic title, Baetens argued it’s about how the protagonist isolates herself after a childhood incident, and how such trauma makes her a frozen person. “It’s a beautiful metaphor for people who have experienced trauma to be in a frozen state of mind,...
- 1/23/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
Film won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Lukas Dhont’s Cannes Grand Prix winner Close has been selected as Belgium’s entry for the international feature film category at the 95th Academy Awards.
Close stars Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele as two boys whose tender friendship is tragically broken. After its Cannes premiere in Competition, it shared the festival’s Grand Prix with Claire Denis’ Stars At Noon.
Considered an early frontrunner to make the Oscar shortlist, Close was also selected as one of Screen critics’ top films from Cannes 2022.
Sales agent The Match Factory...
Lukas Dhont’s Cannes Grand Prix winner Close has been selected as Belgium’s entry for the international feature film category at the 95th Academy Awards.
Close stars Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele as two boys whose tender friendship is tragically broken. After its Cannes premiere in Competition, it shared the festival’s Grand Prix with Claire Denis’ Stars At Noon.
Considered an early frontrunner to make the Oscar shortlist, Close was also selected as one of Screen critics’ top films from Cannes 2022.
Sales agent The Match Factory...
- 9/16/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Damn, in his global cover story with Rolling Stone, we learned a lot about Harry Styles — “the most wanted man in the world.” From his TV-watching habits to his disdain for the bird app, Styles opened up like never before about his life over the past several years. He touched on his relationships, referred to 1D as “the band,” and spoke about his upcoming Hollywood starring roles. Here’s what we learned about the gentle king in his interview with Brittany Spanos:
“As It Was” helped him expand his...
“As It Was” helped him expand his...
- 8/22/2022
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Mount Meru, one of the tallest mountains in the world, is surrounded by eight seas and eight mountains. It is considered by many to be the center of the universe — physically, metaphysically, and spiritually. But it is probably the hardest mountain to get to, and even harder to stay on. Would you make the trip? Or would you see more by exploring its eight satellite peaks and waters? What if once you get up there, you still don’t feel complete? What will give your life meaning instead?
Pietro (Luca Marinelli at his strongest physically and most complex and tender emotionally) never stops thinking about these questions. It’s all he asks himself as he yearns for the mountains until the summer comes and he can climb the Italian Alps again, with his father – trying desperately to understand a son he can’t see himself in – and best friend, Bruno...
Pietro (Luca Marinelli at his strongest physically and most complex and tender emotionally) never stops thinking about these questions. It’s all he asks himself as he yearns for the mountains until the summer comes and he can climb the Italian Alps again, with his father – trying desperately to understand a son he can’t see himself in – and best friend, Bruno...
- 5/21/2022
- by Ella Kemp
- Indiewire
"It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." –Sir Edmund Hillary. Mountains are mystical, magical, and extraordinary. Some people are born in the mountains, and they never leave, unable to step away from them. Some people are born in the mountains, and leave to find their place elsewhere, yet always longing to return. Those who are drawn to their poetic majesty never forget their grandeur and immensity no matter where they are on this planet. One of the best films from the 2022 Cannes Film Festival so far is The Eight Mountains, an Italian feature (originally Le Otto Montagne) co-directed by Belgian filmmakers Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch. It's another breathtaking, slow burn story about men and mountains. It takes its time, following boys growing into men as two friends navigate the cliffs, passages, and snowy peaks of their lives. This extensive two-and-a-half-hour film is indeed a poetic and moving...
- 5/20/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
by Cláudio Alves
The first day of Main Competition screenings saw the premiere of a few film by Kirill Serebrennikov, and a collaboration from Felix van Groeningen, and Charlotte Vandermeersch. Tchaikovsky's Wife (read Elisa's review) marks the third time Serebrennikov competes for the Palme d'Or, but the first time he's been at the Croisette. In the last few years, he's forbidden from exiting Russia after being convicted of deviating state funds for the Gogol Center in Moscow, a subterfuge for punishing an artist who's consistently spoken against Putin's regime. The other screening was less politically charged in comparison. The Eight Mountains (read Elisa's review) is the first directorial collaboration of Groeningen and Vandermeersch, though they previously wrote the screenplay for Groeningen's The Broken Circle Breakdown. Moreover, it's Vandermeersch's debut as a director and is the first of five competition titles directed or co-directed by women – a record in Cannes history.
The first day of Main Competition screenings saw the premiere of a few film by Kirill Serebrennikov, and a collaboration from Felix van Groeningen, and Charlotte Vandermeersch. Tchaikovsky's Wife (read Elisa's review) marks the third time Serebrennikov competes for the Palme d'Or, but the first time he's been at the Croisette. In the last few years, he's forbidden from exiting Russia after being convicted of deviating state funds for the Gogol Center in Moscow, a subterfuge for punishing an artist who's consistently spoken against Putin's regime. The other screening was less politically charged in comparison. The Eight Mountains (read Elisa's review) is the first directorial collaboration of Groeningen and Vandermeersch, though they previously wrote the screenplay for Groeningen's The Broken Circle Breakdown. Moreover, it's Vandermeersch's debut as a director and is the first of five competition titles directed or co-directed by women – a record in Cannes history.
- 5/19/2022
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Among the last batch of entries for the festival, the filmmaker behind 2004 debut Steve+Sky, 2009’s The Misfortunates (Directors’ Fortnight selection) and 2012’s The Broken Circle Breakdown makes his first ever presence in the competition section and is joined by wife and creative partner Charlotte Vandermeersch who appeared in some of his films including 2016’s Belgica.
A true piece of Italian cinema (geographically and language wise), this book to film project stars Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi – in what is essentially a tale about fathers, mountains and companionship. It spans three decades and is obviously painterly — the backdrop is a major player in their communal discontent, grievances and healing.…...
A true piece of Italian cinema (geographically and language wise), this book to film project stars Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi – in what is essentially a tale about fathers, mountains and companionship. It spans three decades and is obviously painterly — the backdrop is a major player in their communal discontent, grievances and healing.…...
- 5/19/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Mountains are not formed in an instant. Tectonic plates may buckle like the crumpling hoods of crashing cars, but it’s a collision that takes thousands of millennia to play out, and on a human timescale, seems infinitesimally slow. An inch here, a millimeter there, even the most imposing ranges were built in increments; rocky peaks rising pebble by pebble. It’s just one way that the vast, vertiginous landscapes of northwestern Italy so well suit Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s quietly magnificent “The Eight Mountains”: The film, too, is a slow, gradual accretion of detail that builds to a spectacular vista across the ridges and troughs, the spires and valleys of a lifelong, life-defining friendship.
Based on the award-winning Italian bestseller “Le Otto Montagne” by Paolo Cognetti, the movie is novelistic in the best sense. It immerses you in the world of its characters – both human...
Based on the award-winning Italian bestseller “Le Otto Montagne” by Paolo Cognetti, the movie is novelistic in the best sense. It immerses you in the world of its characters – both human...
- 5/18/2022
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
For his follow-up to the 2018 addiction drama “Beautiful Boy,” Belgian filmmaker Felix van Groeningen and his life-and-creative partner, Charlotte Vandermeersch, have delivered an Italian-language literary adaptation that might sound at first like a rather familiar song, especially if you’ve seen that other melancholy tale about two men forming and fostering a life-defining love at a steep elevation.
Van Groeningen and Vandermeersch’s “The Eight Mountains” – which premiered in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday – is more than just a Dudes Rock “Brokeback Mountain.” Still, there is something to the comparison. Not for any narrative likeness – as a story about friendship, “The Eight Mountains” explores a bond more fraternal than romantic. But on a thematic front, the two very different titles share a bittersweet belief that while our most profound relationships may lift us up, they all too rarely save us.
Adapted from Paolo Cognetti’s bestseller, this...
Van Groeningen and Vandermeersch’s “The Eight Mountains” – which premiered in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday – is more than just a Dudes Rock “Brokeback Mountain.” Still, there is something to the comparison. Not for any narrative likeness – as a story about friendship, “The Eight Mountains” explores a bond more fraternal than romantic. But on a thematic front, the two very different titles share a bittersweet belief that while our most profound relationships may lift us up, they all too rarely save us.
Adapted from Paolo Cognetti’s bestseller, this...
- 5/18/2022
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Friendship, mountains, growing up, and our changed rapport with the planet in the wake of the pandemic are the main elements in Cannes competition title “The Eight Mountains” by Belgian directors Felix van Groeningen (“Beautiful Boy”) and Charlotte Vandermeersch. (Watch the trailer above.)
The film is based on an Italian novel of the same title by Paolo Cognetti. It has won multiple awards in Italy and France and is also the author’s first book published in the U.S.
“The Eight Mountains” is a coming-of-age tale set over three decades about two young Italian boys — one, named Pietro, who is the son of a chemist, the other, Bruno, of a stonemason — who spend their childhoods together in a secluded Alpine village roaming the surrounding peaks and valleys before their paths diverge. Many years later, they reconnect in the same place.
The film marks the first foray into Italian-language filmmaking for Van Groeningen who,...
The film is based on an Italian novel of the same title by Paolo Cognetti. It has won multiple awards in Italy and France and is also the author’s first book published in the U.S.
“The Eight Mountains” is a coming-of-age tale set over three decades about two young Italian boys — one, named Pietro, who is the son of a chemist, the other, Bruno, of a stonemason — who spend their childhoods together in a secluded Alpine village roaming the surrounding peaks and valleys before their paths diverge. Many years later, they reconnect in the same place.
The film marks the first foray into Italian-language filmmaking for Van Groeningen who,...
- 5/12/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival has added two more films to the Official Selection of the 75th edition, which will kick off on May 17.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas,” a French-Spanish movie, has been added to Cannes Première, the new section dedicated to world premieres for movies that are slightly more mainstream, similarly to the out-of-competition strand. Sorogoyen previously earned an Oscar nomination with his 2017 short film “Madre.”
Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs star as a middle-aged French couple moves to a local village, seeking closeness with nature and end up sparking outright hostility and shocking violence with the small community.
“Salam,” a documentary directed by Mélanie Georgiades aka Diam’s, Houda Benyamina (“The Eddy”) and Anne Cissé (“Buck”), is set to play in the Special Screenings section.
Following its April 14 presser, the festival also added three movies competition: Léonor Serraille’s “Un Petit Frere,” Albert Serra’s “Tourment sur les iles...
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas,” a French-Spanish movie, has been added to Cannes Première, the new section dedicated to world premieres for movies that are slightly more mainstream, similarly to the out-of-competition strand. Sorogoyen previously earned an Oscar nomination with his 2017 short film “Madre.”
Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs star as a middle-aged French couple moves to a local village, seeking closeness with nature and end up sparking outright hostility and shocking violence with the small community.
“Salam,” a documentary directed by Mélanie Georgiades aka Diam’s, Houda Benyamina (“The Eddy”) and Anne Cissé (“Buck”), is set to play in the Special Screenings section.
Following its April 14 presser, the festival also added three movies competition: Léonor Serraille’s “Un Petit Frere,” Albert Serra’s “Tourment sur les iles...
- 4/29/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
New titles join 47 unveiled at April 14 press conference and previously announced Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick.
Cannes Film Festival has added a flurry of new titles to its 2022 Official Selection, as promised by delegate general Thierry Frémaux at last week’s press conference unveiling the bulk of the titles due to premiere at its 75th edition, running May 17-28.
A total of 17 fresh additions were announced, joining the 47 films unveiled on April 14 as well as Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick, which were announced earlier. This brings the total number of films in selection so far to 66 against 83 in last year’s special July edition.
Cannes Film Festival has added a flurry of new titles to its 2022 Official Selection, as promised by delegate general Thierry Frémaux at last week’s press conference unveiling the bulk of the titles due to premiere at its 75th edition, running May 17-28.
A total of 17 fresh additions were announced, joining the 47 films unveiled on April 14 as well as Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick, which were announced earlier. This brings the total number of films in selection so far to 66 against 83 in last year’s special July edition.
- 4/21/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The Eight Mountains (Le otto montagne)
After a slight detour to English language film terrain with 2018’s addiction drama Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen adapts his second consecutive book to film project but swerves back to Euro countryside to split directing duties with his wife Charlotte Vandermeersch – the actress who has appeared in some of Groeningen’s previous films and who helped shape portions The Broken Circle Breakdown. With The Eight Mountains we appear to have a more complex shooting schedule perhaps involving for seasonal passage of time transitions and what we imagine is another first with shooting with an Italian team.…...
After a slight detour to English language film terrain with 2018’s addiction drama Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen adapts his second consecutive book to film project but swerves back to Euro countryside to split directing duties with his wife Charlotte Vandermeersch – the actress who has appeared in some of Groeningen’s previous films and who helped shape portions The Broken Circle Breakdown. With The Eight Mountains we appear to have a more complex shooting schedule perhaps involving for seasonal passage of time transitions and what we imagine is another first with shooting with an Italian team.…...
- 1/10/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The project is being showcased in the Work in Progress section of Re>Connext.
The Party Film Sales has acquired world sales rights to Belgian actor Veerle Baetens’ feature directorial debut When It Melts, which has just completed the first part of shooting.
The project is being showcased in the Work in Progress section of Re>Connext, the virtual edition of the annual Connext event showcasing films and TV series made in Flanders and Brussels.
Baetens is best-known internationally for her award-winning performances in features including The Broken Circle Breakdown and Mother’s Instinct and has recently broken into high-end...
The Party Film Sales has acquired world sales rights to Belgian actor Veerle Baetens’ feature directorial debut When It Melts, which has just completed the first part of shooting.
The project is being showcased in the Work in Progress section of Re>Connext, the virtual edition of the annual Connext event showcasing films and TV series made in Flanders and Brussels.
Baetens is best-known internationally for her award-winning performances in features including The Broken Circle Breakdown and Mother’s Instinct and has recently broken into high-end...
- 10/11/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
A total of 46 films and 27 series will be showcased at the online-only event.
Lukas Dhont’s second feature Close and Olga Lucovnicova’s Last Letters From My Grandma are among the 46 feature and 27 series projects to be showcased at Re>Connext, the annual showcase for films and TV series made in Flanders and Brussels, Belgium.
Close is filmmaker Dhont’s follow-up to Girl, which won the Camera d’Or following its premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2018. Last year, the project was pitched at Re>Connext under the title The Invisible.
For this edition, drama Close returns as a work in progress,...
Lukas Dhont’s second feature Close and Olga Lucovnicova’s Last Letters From My Grandma are among the 46 feature and 27 series projects to be showcased at Re>Connext, the annual showcase for films and TV series made in Flanders and Brussels, Belgium.
Close is filmmaker Dhont’s follow-up to Girl, which won the Camera d’Or following its premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2018. Last year, the project was pitched at Re>Connext under the title The Invisible.
For this edition, drama Close returns as a work in progress,...
- 9/27/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
If you haven’t heard of The Match Factory, you probably don’t work in the international arthouse film arena. The German sales and production outfit is one of the world’s leading champions of auteur cinema and has consistently been involved in a raft of festival-winning titles since its inception in 2006. From Cannes Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives to Berlin Golden Bear winners Grbavica and Honey to Oscar-nominated titles Waltz With Bashir, Ajami, The Milk Of Sorrow, The Broken Circle Breakdown and Omar, the Cologne-based company is unwavering in its effort to bring distinct and striking titles to an international audience.
Michael Weber, managing director and mastermind behind the European outfit, and the company’s well-respected head of sales Thania Dimitrakopoulou, are in Cannes this week with their biggest and most eclectic festival slate to date. They’re representing 14 titles including Competition titles Memoria,...
Michael Weber, managing director and mastermind behind the European outfit, and the company’s well-respected head of sales Thania Dimitrakopoulou, are in Cannes this week with their biggest and most eclectic festival slate to date. They’re representing 14 titles including Competition titles Memoria,...
- 7/15/2021
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Belgian director Felix van Groeningen (“Beautiful Boy”) and Charlotte Vandermeersch have started shooting in the Alps on “The Eight Mountains,” an Italian drama based on a bestseller about male bonding set against a mountainous backdrop.
Vision Distribution will launch international sales of the film at the upcoming Cannes virtual market.
The film will be released in France by Pyramide Distribution and in Benelux by Kinepolis Film Distribution and Dutch FilmWorks.
Pic marks the first foray into Italian-language filmmaking for Van Groeningen who prior to “Beautiful Boy,” his English-language debut, broke out with Oscar-nominated “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” which is in Dutch, followed by “Belgica” winner of a prize at Sundance.
Van Groeningen has teamed up on “Eight Montains” with Vandermeersch, his partner in life, an actor and writer now making her directorial debut. They previously collaborated professionally on “Breakdown” on which she served as a co-writer.
“Bringing this deeply human,...
Vision Distribution will launch international sales of the film at the upcoming Cannes virtual market.
The film will be released in France by Pyramide Distribution and in Benelux by Kinepolis Film Distribution and Dutch FilmWorks.
Pic marks the first foray into Italian-language filmmaking for Van Groeningen who prior to “Beautiful Boy,” his English-language debut, broke out with Oscar-nominated “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” which is in Dutch, followed by “Belgica” winner of a prize at Sundance.
Van Groeningen has teamed up on “Eight Montains” with Vandermeersch, his partner in life, an actor and writer now making her directorial debut. They previously collaborated professionally on “Breakdown” on which she served as a co-writer.
“Bringing this deeply human,...
- 6/15/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
WeMake, a thriving production company launched by Bouchra Réjani, Shine France’s former COO, is turning three with a bullish slate of upscale formats and ambitious scripted projects, including drama series “Image,” from Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directors of “Bad Boys for Life,” and the variety show “Morphing Singers.”
The Paris-based banner has so far developed an impressive catalog of more than 80 formats, 12 of which have been ordered or optioned in France and around the world. Out of those 12 formats, 10 of them are original creations, including “Roll the Dice” and “Big Crazy Game Night,” which was the first original format of France’s commercial network M6. “Big Crazy Game Night’s” format just sold to Italy, Finland, and in the U.S. to Spook Studio.
In the run up to MipTV, the company is now ready to launch its new original format, “Morphing Singers,” which follows six...
The Paris-based banner has so far developed an impressive catalog of more than 80 formats, 12 of which have been ordered or optioned in France and around the world. Out of those 12 formats, 10 of them are original creations, including “Roll the Dice” and “Big Crazy Game Night,” which was the first original format of France’s commercial network M6. “Big Crazy Game Night’s” format just sold to Italy, Finland, and in the U.S. to Spook Studio.
In the run up to MipTV, the company is now ready to launch its new original format, “Morphing Singers,” which follows six...
- 4/9/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
It will be co-written and co-directed by Belgium’s Charlotte Vandermeersch.
Beautiful Boy and The Broken Circle Breakdown director Felix van Groeningen is to co-write and co-direct a feature based on Paolo Cognetti’s Italian bestseller The Eight Mountains with Charlotte Vandermeersch for Rome-based production outfit Wildside.
It will be the first move into directing for Belgian actress Vandermeersch who has had roles in Groeningen’s Belgica, The Broken Circle Breakdown, The Misfortunates and With Friends Like These.
The Eight Mountains aims to shoot in the Italian Alps, Turin and Nepal this summer. No cast is attached yet.
The project...
Beautiful Boy and The Broken Circle Breakdown director Felix van Groeningen is to co-write and co-direct a feature based on Paolo Cognetti’s Italian bestseller The Eight Mountains with Charlotte Vandermeersch for Rome-based production outfit Wildside.
It will be the first move into directing for Belgian actress Vandermeersch who has had roles in Groeningen’s Belgica, The Broken Circle Breakdown, The Misfortunates and With Friends Like These.
The Eight Mountains aims to shoot in the Italian Alps, Turin and Nepal this summer. No cast is attached yet.
The project...
- 2/23/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Sophie Marceau and Johan Heldenbergh lead the cast of Jean-Paul Civeyrac’s new movie, a Moby Dick Films production which will be sold by Kinology. The first clapperboard is primed and ready to slam on 17 February, in the Paris region, on Une femme de notre temps, Jean-Paul Civeyrac’s 10th feature film. Shining bright at the head of the cast is Sophie Marceau and Belgium’s Johan Heldenbergh. Written by the director, the story centres around Juliane Deroux, a police superintendent in Paris. She’s...
Les Arcs Film Festival’s Industry Village, one of the many events that switched to virtual due to the pandemic, has unveiled its award-winning projects, which include Delphine Girard’s “Most Alive,” Damien Manivel’s “Magdala” and Sabine Ehrl’s “Paradise Bleeding.”
The event has a stellar track record when it comes to unveiling projects that go on to premiere at prestigious festivals and win awards. Recent alumni include Alex Camilleri’s Malta-set movie “Luzzu,” which will compete at this year’s Sundance, as well as Charlene Favier’s “Slalom,” which was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection, and just won the Lumieres Award in France for best female newcomer award (for Noée Abita).
“Paradise Bleeding” was one of the eight projects pitched as part of the Talent Village, a development workshop and platform for emerging talent launched by Les Arcs in 2018. The project won the T Port-Award from a jury comprising producer Florence Gastaud,...
The event has a stellar track record when it comes to unveiling projects that go on to premiere at prestigious festivals and win awards. Recent alumni include Alex Camilleri’s Malta-set movie “Luzzu,” which will compete at this year’s Sundance, as well as Charlene Favier’s “Slalom,” which was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection, and just won the Lumieres Award in France for best female newcomer award (for Noée Abita).
“Paradise Bleeding” was one of the eight projects pitched as part of the Talent Village, a development workshop and platform for emerging talent launched by Les Arcs in 2018. The project won the T Port-Award from a jury comprising producer Florence Gastaud,...
- 1/22/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Co-production funds to support the directorial debuts of the two actresses.
The feature directorial debuts of actresses Charlotte Le Bon and Veerle Baetens and a drama about the Bataclan terrorist attack have secured a share of €4.1m ($5m) from European cultural support fund Eurimages.
The Melting is being directed and co-written by Baetens, who is best known internationally for her performance in Felix van Groeningen’s Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown.
The Belgium-Netherlands co-production has received €310,000 in Eurimages support, adding to a financial boost from Screen Flanders last week and the ARTEKino International Prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market earlier this year.
The feature directorial debuts of actresses Charlotte Le Bon and Veerle Baetens and a drama about the Bataclan terrorist attack have secured a share of €4.1m ($5m) from European cultural support fund Eurimages.
The Melting is being directed and co-written by Baetens, who is best known internationally for her performance in Felix van Groeningen’s Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown.
The Belgium-Netherlands co-production has received €310,000 in Eurimages support, adding to a financial boost from Screen Flanders last week and the ARTEKino International Prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market earlier this year.
- 12/15/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Directorial debut of ‘Broken Circle Breakdown’ actress Veerle Baetens among features.
The directorial debut of The Broken Circle Breakdown actress Veerle Baetens is among nine productions to secure more than €2m ($2.4m) from Flemish economic fund Screen Flanders.
The Melting has been co-written by Baetens, who is set to begin shooting the drama in Flanders next year, and has received €130,000 in support from the fund.
Based on a bestselling novel by Lize Spit, the story centres on a young woman who returns to her home village with a large block of ice in her car and plans to take revenge...
The directorial debut of The Broken Circle Breakdown actress Veerle Baetens is among nine productions to secure more than €2m ($2.4m) from Flemish economic fund Screen Flanders.
The Melting has been co-written by Baetens, who is set to begin shooting the drama in Flanders next year, and has received €130,000 in support from the fund.
Based on a bestselling novel by Lize Spit, the story centres on a young woman who returns to her home village with a large block of ice in her car and plans to take revenge...
- 12/8/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
- 11/11/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
An official selection at International Film Festival Rotterdam, Sundance Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and more, Dutch director Sacha Polak’s Dirty God is a powerful character study led by first-time actor Vicky Knight. A real-life burn victim, the drama follows her character’s journey as a British woman who tries to rebuild her life after being scarred from an acid attack. Courtesy of Dark Star Pictures, we’re pleased to premiere the U.S. trailer which features stunning cinematography from Ruben Impens.
Dirty God will open with a virtual release through Laemmle Theaters in LA, Gateway Film Center (Virtual) in Columbus, and more theaters to be announced on November 13, 2020. The film will also be made available on digital platforms on December 15, 2020.
Jared Mobarak said in our Sundance review, “Knight is a first-time actor and yet she embodies this role with an authenticity that goes beyond mere performance. She...
Dirty God will open with a virtual release through Laemmle Theaters in LA, Gateway Film Center (Virtual) in Columbus, and more theaters to be announced on November 13, 2020. The film will also be made available on digital platforms on December 15, 2020.
Jared Mobarak said in our Sundance review, “Knight is a first-time actor and yet she embodies this role with an authenticity that goes beyond mere performance. She...
- 10/9/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Collection of shorts was filmed with Covid-19 safety measures in place by directors including Michael R Roskam (‘Bullhead’).
A collection of films shot during lockdown with a cast that includes Matthias Schoenaerts is to be presented at Re>Connext (Oct 5-31), the annual film and TV showcase run by Flanders Image.
A first look at The Lockdown Shorts, which spans drama, comedy, thriller and horror, will be presented as a works in progress project at the virtual event by producer-directors Gilles Coulier and Maarten Moerkerke.
All 12 films were shot under coronavirus-safe conditions on the same studio set: a prison visiting...
A collection of films shot during lockdown with a cast that includes Matthias Schoenaerts is to be presented at Re>Connext (Oct 5-31), the annual film and TV showcase run by Flanders Image.
A first look at The Lockdown Shorts, which spans drama, comedy, thriller and horror, will be presented as a works in progress project at the virtual event by producer-directors Gilles Coulier and Maarten Moerkerke.
All 12 films were shot under coronavirus-safe conditions on the same studio set: a prison visiting...
- 9/29/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Etienne Comar, a well-established French producer and screenwriter who made his directorial debut with the Berlinale opener “Django” in 2017, is stepping back behind the camera for the prison drama “A L’ombre des filles.”
The movie, which will soon begin shooting, is headlined by a top-notch European cast including Alex Lutz (“Guy”), Agnès Jaoui (“The Taste of Others”), Veerle Baetens (“The Broken Circle Breakdown”), Hafsia Herzi (“Mektoub My Love”) and Marie Berto (“Grand Central”).
Set over a summer, the film follows Luc, a renowned singer who agrees to give singing lessons in a women’s prison. Quickly, Luc will have to deal with their unpredictable temperaments and keep them in harmony throughout the various prison dramas.
“A l’ombre des filles” is being produced by Didar Domehri at Maneki Films and Comar at Arches Films, and is co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart and Gwenaëlle Libert at Versus Production in Belgium. Playtime...
The movie, which will soon begin shooting, is headlined by a top-notch European cast including Alex Lutz (“Guy”), Agnès Jaoui (“The Taste of Others”), Veerle Baetens (“The Broken Circle Breakdown”), Hafsia Herzi (“Mektoub My Love”) and Marie Berto (“Grand Central”).
Set over a summer, the film follows Luc, a renowned singer who agrees to give singing lessons in a women’s prison. Quickly, Luc will have to deal with their unpredictable temperaments and keep them in harmony throughout the various prison dramas.
“A l’ombre des filles” is being produced by Didar Domehri at Maneki Films and Comar at Arches Films, and is co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart and Gwenaëlle Libert at Versus Production in Belgium. Playtime...
- 8/24/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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