Canan, the hardworking legal-eagle protagonist of Hesitation Wound, moves through drab institutional corridors with such determination that she creates a kind of force field around her. Or maybe it’s armor. In the courthouse where she spends a good part of her waking hours, she’s trying to save an accused man from the possibility of life imprisonment. In the hospital where she spends her nights, she’s looking for reasons to keep her mother on life support, despite the certainty of the doctor — and, more to the point, of Canan’s sister — that it’s time to let go.
Unfolding at the intersection of regulatory procedure, moral urgency and heartache, Selman Nacar’s finely tuned second feature, after the workplace drama Between Two Dawns, packs a sustained wallop of tension and unraveling into its impressively concise running time. Tülin Özen, in the lead role, delivers a pitch-perfect, tightly contained...
Unfolding at the intersection of regulatory procedure, moral urgency and heartache, Selman Nacar’s finely tuned second feature, after the workplace drama Between Two Dawns, packs a sustained wallop of tension and unraveling into its impressively concise running time. Tülin Özen, in the lead role, delivers a pitch-perfect, tightly contained...
- 9/4/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Some 400 film professionals have signed an open letter in support of the organisation’s former director.
Gaga Chkeidze, who was dismissed as director of the Georgian National Film Centre (Gnfc) last month, has spoken out about his removal, claiming it is part of a wider campaign of cultural censorship in the country.
Chkeidze was suddenly dismissed from his position in mid-March by Thea Tsulukiani, the country’s minister of culture and deputy prime minister, shortly before his three-year term was to expire. The ministry cited alleged financial irregularities following an internal audit of the Gnfc as the reason behind the removal.
Gaga Chkeidze, who was dismissed as director of the Georgian National Film Centre (Gnfc) last month, has spoken out about his removal, claiming it is part of a wider campaign of cultural censorship in the country.
Chkeidze was suddenly dismissed from his position in mid-March by Thea Tsulukiani, the country’s minister of culture and deputy prime minister, shortly before his three-year term was to expire. The ministry cited alleged financial irregularities following an internal audit of the Gnfc as the reason behind the removal.
- 4/6/2022
- by Vladan Petkovic
- ScreenDaily
Leading German production banner Augenschein Filmproduktion, is launching an in-house worldwide sales and financing division that will be spearheaded by former Telepool executive Jonathan Saubach (pictured).
The new division will be called Augenschein Sales and will focus on financing the company’s production slate through access to equity, market pre-sales and film funds in order to retain creative and financial control over projects.
In this new role, Saubach will report to Augenschein Filmproduktion founders Maximilian Leo and Jonas Katzenstein, and will be in charge of financing, packaging and worldwide sales of its film titles. He will also serve as an executive producer on Augenschein’s upcoming productions.
Saubach previously held senior sales, acquisitions and content executive roles for Telepool Gmbh, the German licensing, production and distribution company owned by actor Will Smith and Swiss investor Elysian Fields.
Augenschein Filmproduktion specializes in director-driven movies with global appeal and boasts more than...
The new division will be called Augenschein Sales and will focus on financing the company’s production slate through access to equity, market pre-sales and film funds in order to retain creative and financial control over projects.
In this new role, Saubach will report to Augenschein Filmproduktion founders Maximilian Leo and Jonas Katzenstein, and will be in charge of financing, packaging and worldwide sales of its film titles. He will also serve as an executive producer on Augenschein’s upcoming productions.
Saubach previously held senior sales, acquisitions and content executive roles for Telepool Gmbh, the German licensing, production and distribution company owned by actor Will Smith and Swiss investor Elysian Fields.
Augenschein Filmproduktion specializes in director-driven movies with global appeal and boasts more than...
- 6/2/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
German indie Augenschein, whose credits include Netflix sci-fi Stowaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt thriller 7500, is launching Augenschein Sales, an in-house worldwide sales and financing arm.
The new operation will be headed by Jonathan Saubach as Head Of Sales. The acquisitions exec joins from Will Smith-owned Telepool.
The new division will focus on combining the financing for the company’s production slate through access to equity, market pre-sales and film funds. Saubach will be in charge of financing, packaging and worldwide sales of the company’s film titles and will also serve as an executive producer on upcoming productions. He will report to Augenschein founders Maximilian Leo and Jonas Katzenstein.
During his ten-year tenure at Telepool the company acquired Ryan Gosling starrer Drive, The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, The Hitman’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Gary Oldman, the Has Fallen franchise starring Gerard Butler,...
The new operation will be headed by Jonathan Saubach as Head Of Sales. The acquisitions exec joins from Will Smith-owned Telepool.
The new division will focus on combining the financing for the company’s production slate through access to equity, market pre-sales and film funds. Saubach will be in charge of financing, packaging and worldwide sales of the company’s film titles and will also serve as an executive producer on upcoming productions. He will report to Augenschein founders Maximilian Leo and Jonas Katzenstein.
During his ten-year tenure at Telepool the company acquired Ryan Gosling starrer Drive, The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, The Hitman’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Gary Oldman, the Has Fallen franchise starring Gerard Butler,...
- 6/2/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
When Netflix recommendation listed this work under ‘Hidden gems for you’, I took notice as I have been fortunate with this segment in the past. Though the title sounded cheesy, I was hoping that it was a play on words before revealing what is behind the curtain and I was not disappointed.
Manana is a daughter/wife/mother/teacher in her fifties who lives with the rest of her family in an apartment in a Georgian town. The quarters are just big enough for its seven inhabitants to call it home, but not large enough for peaceful coexistence. It is her birthday and friends and family gather to celebrate and wish her well, even when that is not Manana wants. The next day she informs her family that he has found another apartment in a different district and will be moving for good, as they are all capable of taking care of themselves.
Manana is a daughter/wife/mother/teacher in her fifties who lives with the rest of her family in an apartment in a Georgian town. The quarters are just big enough for its seven inhabitants to call it home, but not large enough for peaceful coexistence. It is her birthday and friends and family gather to celebrate and wish her well, even when that is not Manana wants. The next day she informs her family that he has found another apartment in a different district and will be moving for good, as they are all capable of taking care of themselves.
- 4/6/2021
- by Arun Krishnan
- AsianMoviePulse
When Ketie Danelia was approached a few years ago with the script for “And Then We Danced,” Levan Akin’s gay romantic drama about a young man’s sexual awakening in the masculine world of Georgian dance, the producer knew the risks. “Everyone was telling me not to take this project, because it’s very dangerous. Which turned out to be true,” she tells Variety.
In a conservative, patriarchal country where the powerful Orthodox Church holds tremendous sway, filming was a challenge. Locations would balk at the last minute, concerned about the potential backlash; far-right groups threatened the cast and crew. When the movie finally premiered in Tbilisi in 2019, after bowing in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight to rave reviews, police units had to escort moviegoers into the cinema. Yet through it all, Danelia remained undaunted. “I knew why I was doing it,” she says.
“And Then We Danced” is among a...
In a conservative, patriarchal country where the powerful Orthodox Church holds tremendous sway, filming was a challenge. Locations would balk at the last minute, concerned about the potential backlash; far-right groups threatened the cast and crew. When the movie finally premiered in Tbilisi in 2019, after bowing in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight to rave reviews, police units had to escort moviegoers into the cinema. Yet through it all, Danelia remained undaunted. “I knew why I was doing it,” she says.
“And Then We Danced” is among a...
- 3/2/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Turkish-French-Romanian co-production “Between Two Dawns,” helmed by Turkish writer-director Selman Nacar and produced by Burak Çevik of Kuyu Film and Diloy Gülün of Karma Films, is taking part in Wip Europa – a section devoted to projects in post-production – at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
At Wip Europe, the filmmakers showed a picture-locked version of the film, a drama that takes place when a worker is severely injured in a sheet factory run by the family of Kadir. To protect the family business, Kadir is forced to conspire in a cover-up that alters the lives of the people involved and unveils long-held secrets.
“The film takes place over the course of 24 hours,” says Nacar. “I always wanted to make a film that takes place over a short amount of time. Then I want to show how human beings can change psychologically and emotionally in that short time. The scenes are all filmed in one shot.
At Wip Europe, the filmmakers showed a picture-locked version of the film, a drama that takes place when a worker is severely injured in a sheet factory run by the family of Kadir. To protect the family business, Kadir is forced to conspire in a cover-up that alters the lives of the people involved and unveils long-held secrets.
“The film takes place over the course of 24 hours,” says Nacar. “I always wanted to make a film that takes place over a short amount of time. Then I want to show how human beings can change psychologically and emotionally in that short time. The scenes are all filmed in one shot.
- 9/25/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
As the world witnessed earlier this year in Cannes, film festivals — as with every other institution in the #MeToo era — are under the microscope. Observers and activists alike now carefully scrutinize the number of films made by women, the composition of juries, and any fest statement on sexual harassment policies.
How will the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, running June 29-July 7 this year, deal with these issues and others in the wake of May’s Cannes protests and changes, which included the banning of red-carpet selfies and embargoes on press screenings? Executive director Krystof Mucha and artistic director Karel Och talked with Variety about their strategies.
Regarding sexual harassment, Mucha says he does not see the need for a reporting hotline or other protections of the kind set up this year by other fests, including Cannes.
“It needs to be said that Kviff is an event of which the more...
How will the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, running June 29-July 7 this year, deal with these issues and others in the wake of May’s Cannes protests and changes, which included the banning of red-carpet selfies and embargoes on press screenings? Executive director Krystof Mucha and artistic director Karel Och talked with Variety about their strategies.
Regarding sexual harassment, Mucha says he does not see the need for a reporting hotline or other protections of the kind set up this year by other fests, including Cannes.
“It needs to be said that Kviff is an event of which the more...
- 6/27/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
There must be something really frightening in a 50-year-old woman deciding to give up her role as diligent housewife and mother, especially when it is the only one she can aspire to in a strictly patriarchal society. Manana (Nata Murvanidze), the heroine of Ana Urushadze’s strikingly daring and assured debut feature, is scary that way. Best First Feature at Locarno, winner of the Sarajevo Film Festival, and later selected as Georgia’s entry for Best Foreign Feature at the Oscars, Urushadze’s Scary Mother joins another 2017 Georgian female-centered festival darling, Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross’s poignant My Happy Family, to deliver an entrancing portrait of a woman who embarks on a mid-age quest to escape from a stultifying male-dominated world.
For Manana, the quest starts with a book. An aspiring writer who sacrificed her literary ambitions for a quiet homely life with a condescending husband and three kids,...
For Manana, the quest starts with a book. An aspiring writer who sacrificed her literary ambitions for a quiet homely life with a condescending husband and three kids,...
- 3/31/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
For my money, the best thing about Netflix isn’t the high profile movies and splashy zeitgeist capturing shows they produce (and I say this as a fan of both “Mindhunter” and “The Crown”), but the space they afford for smaller films and niche programming. I’m thrilled the steaming giant has given a home to gems like “My Happy Family” and “On Body And Soul” (go watch them now), and if they spend some of their billions on projects like the upcoming “Wild Wild Country,” I’ll keep subscribing.
- 2/28/2018
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
We pretty much knew last year’s Best Picture Oscars race was coming down to La La Land and Moonlight right after the completion of the Toronto International Film Festival in September. But while there’s something to be said about the strength of films able to ascend to frontrunner position, I can’t help loving the idea of heading into March without a clue as to who might win. Ask ten different critics what their favorite of 2017 is and I’d estimate hearing at least eight unique titles. There’s a level of excitement to this reality that we frankly haven’t had in quite some time. It’s anyone’s game.
Unlike past years where the safe nominees were lacking that sense of out-of-nowhere creativity and pathos beyond tried-and-true molds, 2017’s field is inspiring in its diversity. And those twenty or so films with a real chance at a nomination are legitimately good.
Unlike past years where the safe nominees were lacking that sense of out-of-nowhere creativity and pathos beyond tried-and-true molds, 2017’s field is inspiring in its diversity. And those twenty or so films with a real chance at a nomination are legitimately good.
- 1/3/2018
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
It doesn’t take long to realize that the title of the Georgian drama “My Happy Family” is ironic. Directors Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Grob plunge into the restless lifestyle of 52-year-old Manana (Ia Shuvliashvili), the matriarch of a cramped and multigenerational household that includes her husband, grown children, parents and various in-laws who pull her from every angle. And it doesn’t take long for Mañana to realize that to escape the mayhem, much to the shock of everyone around her, she can simply move out.
The ease with which she embarks on this new stage, even as it baffles her entire community, speaks to the remarkable blend of comedy and sadness that characterizes this sophomore effort from the directors of “In Bloom.” It’s at once a celebration of individuality and its potential to unnerve those who resist it.
Manana’s life is defined by routine. She’s a pinball in her apartment,...
The ease with which she embarks on this new stage, even as it baffles her entire community, speaks to the remarkable blend of comedy and sadness that characterizes this sophomore effort from the directors of “In Bloom.” It’s at once a celebration of individuality and its potential to unnerve those who resist it.
Manana’s life is defined by routine. She’s a pinball in her apartment,...
- 1/22/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
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