For all of its well-documented troubles, the Berlin International Film Festival is still a veritable smorgasbord for adventurous distributors who might be willing to take a chance on some exciting arthouse cinema. Most of the approximately 400 movies that play at the massive annual showcase will never see the light of day in the United States, either in theaters or even on streaming platforms, but the ones that are scooped up for domestic release tend to make an outsized impact once they land on these shores. Two of the current nominees for Best Foreign Language Film premiered at last year’s Berlinale (“On Body and Soul” and “A Fantastic Woman”), while other standouts from the 2017 edition like “Félicité” and “The Other Side of Hope” eventually became highlights of the fall movie season.
As always, the 2018 festival was completely overwhelming, and offered a handful of buried treasure that American audiences deserve to see.
As always, the 2018 festival was completely overwhelming, and offered a handful of buried treasure that American audiences deserve to see.
- 2/26/2018
- by David Ehrlich and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
“Finding Your Feet,” “Skid Row Marathon” and “Félicité” are among the films that have won awards at the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival, which concluded on Sunday. Richard Loncraine’s romantic comedy “Finding Your Feet,” starring Imelda Staunton and Timothy Spall, won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, while Mark Hayes’ film “Skid Row Marathon” won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature for its chronicle of a Los Angeles judge who started a running club for homeless men and women on L.A.’s Skid row. The three films that won the Palm Springs Film Festival Fipresci awards from a jury...
- 1/15/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Senegalese film Félicité won the Fipresci Best Foreign Language Film of the Year to highlight the 29th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) juried award winners, who were honored today at a luncheon at the Hilton Palm Springs. The festival, held from January 2-15, 2018, screened 180 films from 77 countries. Last year, it welcomed 135,000 attendees for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also…...
- 1/13/2018
- Deadline
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Alain Gomis's Félicité (2017) is exclusively playing December 9, 2017 - January 8, 2018 on Mubi in the United Kingdom. It has become something of a bitter joke to speak of “strong women” in film. Not because cinema has suddenly become flooded with portraits of a wide variety of women and we need not point out the lack of such roles anymore, but because the idea is so basic it’s almost dehumanizing to ask for. The underlying plea is: write a character that’s complex, contains multitudes, has or fights for their agency. Write a human, please. The idea also has become simplistically defined, where “strong” is reduced to physical strength or the ability to bear endless suffering. In this way, strong becomes defined by a status quo “masculine” norm: the formula enshrined since the likes of Odysseus, the epic hero getting it done on their own.
- 12/18/2017
- MUBI
by Nathaniel R
"The Wound" from South Africa might be the biggest surprise on the finalist list.The Academy's foreign film nominating committees have whittled down the 92 contenders to 9. If you've forgotten or never heard the procedure it involves multiple volunteers watching a certain number of entries to be eliglble to vote on them. The top six films advance from those ballots and the executive committee chooses another three which makes the 9 finalists. Then a final committee watches the nine finalists and votes to determine the five nominations. We correctly predicted 7 of the 9 finalist (you can peak here though we'll be updating that chart to reflect the official standings shortly)
A Fantastic Woman directed by Sebastián Lelio for Chile
In the Fade directed by Fatih Akin for Germany
On Body and Soul Ildikó Enyedi for Hungary
Foxtrot directed by Samuel Maoz for Israel
The Insult directed by Ziad Doueiri for...
"The Wound" from South Africa might be the biggest surprise on the finalist list.The Academy's foreign film nominating committees have whittled down the 92 contenders to 9. If you've forgotten or never heard the procedure it involves multiple volunteers watching a certain number of entries to be eliglble to vote on them. The top six films advance from those ballots and the executive committee chooses another three which makes the 9 finalists. Then a final committee watches the nine finalists and votes to determine the five nominations. We correctly predicted 7 of the 9 finalist (you can peak here though we'll be updating that chart to reflect the official standings shortly)
A Fantastic Woman directed by Sebastián Lelio for Chile
In the Fade directed by Fatih Akin for Germany
On Body and Soul Ildikó Enyedi for Hungary
Foxtrot directed by Samuel Maoz for Israel
The Insult directed by Ziad Doueiri for...
- 12/15/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
A Fantastic Woman director Sebastián Lelio Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The 90th Academy Awards Oscar Best Foreign Language Film shortlist has been revealed.
From Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, director; Germany, In The Fade (Cannes Best Actress, Diane Kruger), Fatih Akin, director; Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director; South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director; Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director; Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director; Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director; Hungary, On Body And Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director; Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director are the nine films selected, six by Los Angeles-based Academy members and three additional films by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee.
Foxtrot director Samuel Maoz with his star Lior Ashkenazi Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Square won six European Film Awards, including Best Actor for Claes Bang. Foxtrot took home the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival.
A Fantastic Woman, In The...
The 90th Academy Awards Oscar Best Foreign Language Film shortlist has been revealed.
From Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, director; Germany, In The Fade (Cannes Best Actress, Diane Kruger), Fatih Akin, director; Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director; South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director; Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director; Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director; Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director; Hungary, On Body And Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director; Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director are the nine films selected, six by Los Angeles-based Academy members and three additional films by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee.
Foxtrot director Samuel Maoz with his star Lior Ashkenazi Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Square won six European Film Awards, including Best Actor for Claes Bang. Foxtrot took home the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival.
A Fantastic Woman, In The...
- 12/15/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are: Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director; Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director; Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi,...
- 12/15/2017
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
Los Angeles members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have screened all 93 foreign language submissions. The foreign language committee has met, reviewed the tabulations and added three “saves” to the six highest scoring films. There are now nine finalists for the Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Ruben Ostlund talks “The Square” [Interview]
Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director
The biggest snub this year was Robert Campillo’s “Bpm.” The French drama chronicling the work of Act Up Paris won the Grand Prize at Cannes as well as Best Foreign Language Film from Lafca, the Nyfcc and the Sffcc, among others.
Ruben Ostlund talks “The Square” [Interview]
Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director
The biggest snub this year was Robert Campillo’s “Bpm.” The French drama chronicling the work of Act Up Paris won the Grand Prize at Cannes as well as Best Foreign Language Film from Lafca, the Nyfcc and the Sffcc, among others.
- 12/15/2017
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Whittling down this year’s record 92 foreign-language Oscar submissions to a shortlist of nine was a challenge for the Academy which, under the leadership of new president John Bailey, instituted voting changes for the disparate group of Academy volunteers commandeered by foreign-language committee chair Mark Johnson.
Eight of the films were well-known from festival play and have been racking up awards, most notably European Film Awards winner “The Square.” Two lesser-known films that were not widely predicted made the cut, “Félicité” from Senegal and “The Wound” from South Africa. Steady as they go for Sony Pictures Classics and Magnolia Pictures, which lead the field with three and two films, respectively.
The nine films are listed alphabetically below.
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile, Sony Pictures Classics)
Berlin debuted Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama, which won Best Screenplay and played well at Telluride and Toronto.
“Félicité” (Senegal, Strand Releasing)
In Alain Gomis’s family drama,...
Eight of the films were well-known from festival play and have been racking up awards, most notably European Film Awards winner “The Square.” Two lesser-known films that were not widely predicted made the cut, “Félicité” from Senegal and “The Wound” from South Africa. Steady as they go for Sony Pictures Classics and Magnolia Pictures, which lead the field with three and two films, respectively.
The nine films are listed alphabetically below.
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile, Sony Pictures Classics)
Berlin debuted Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama, which won Best Screenplay and played well at Telluride and Toronto.
“Félicité” (Senegal, Strand Releasing)
In Alain Gomis’s family drama,...
- 12/15/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Whittling down this year’s record 92 foreign-language Oscar submissions to a shortlist of nine was a challenge for the Academy which, under the leadership of new president John Bailey, instituted voting changes for the disparate group of Academy volunteers commandeered by foreign-language committee chair Mark Johnson.
Eight of the films were well-known from festival play and have been racking up awards, most notably European Film Awards winner “The Square.” Two lesser-known films that were not widely predicted made the cut, “Félicité” from Senegal and “The Wound” from South Africa. Steady as they go for Sony Pictures Classics and Magnolia Pictures, which lead the field with three and two films, respectively.
The nine films are listed alphabetically below.
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile, Sony Pictures Classics)
Berlin debuted Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama, which won Best Screenplay and played well at Telluride and Toronto.
“Félicité” (Senegal, Strand Releasing)
In Alain Gomis’s family drama,...
Eight of the films were well-known from festival play and have been racking up awards, most notably European Film Awards winner “The Square.” Two lesser-known films that were not widely predicted made the cut, “Félicité” from Senegal and “The Wound” from South Africa. Steady as they go for Sony Pictures Classics and Magnolia Pictures, which lead the field with three and two films, respectively.
The nine films are listed alphabetically below.
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile, Sony Pictures Classics)
Berlin debuted Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama, which won Best Screenplay and played well at Telluride and Toronto.
“Félicité” (Senegal, Strand Releasing)
In Alain Gomis’s family drama,...
- 12/15/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu plays a mother scratching a living in the Congolese capital in Alain Gomis’s dramatic, compassionate study
Franco-Senegalese film-maker Alain Gomis has created a film portrait in an ambient social-realist style, showing us a woman called Félicité: a bar singer in the tough streets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gomis leaves it up to us to determine the precise level of irony in her name.
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu is a formidable presence as Félicité, a single mum of a tearaway teen boy Samo (Gaetan Claudia), for whom she must stay strong. She is scratching a living with her music, evidently bruised and humbled by the reverses of her life, drifting into a relationship with Tabu (Papi Mpaka), the boozy, unreliable guy who once came to repair her fridge.
Continue reading...
Franco-Senegalese film-maker Alain Gomis has created a film portrait in an ambient social-realist style, showing us a woman called Félicité: a bar singer in the tough streets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gomis leaves it up to us to determine the precise level of irony in her name.
Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu is a formidable presence as Félicité, a single mum of a tearaway teen boy Samo (Gaetan Claudia), for whom she must stay strong. She is scratching a living with her music, evidently bruised and humbled by the reverses of her life, drifting into a relationship with Tabu (Papi Mpaka), the boozy, unreliable guy who once came to repair her fridge.
Continue reading...
- 11/9/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Interview: Alain Gomis on Why Senegal's Oscar Submission 'Félicité' is a Film About the Modern World
By Jose Solís
The title heroine of Félicité is unlike any film character you’ve met. As played by Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, she’s both larger than life and an everywoman trying to make a living as a singer in a Kinshasan bar. When her son Samo (Gaetan Claudia) has a devastating motorcycle accident, Félicité is forced to go in a race against time, as she tries to find the money to pay for his treatment. But this is only the first of Félicité’s many plights and before we know it, the film has become a soulful character study in which a woman must learn to accept love from others. If the film sounds like a social drama, it’s only because director Alain Gomis uses that familiar structure to invite us into a world that will seem new to many, but once inside he defies the conventions...
The title heroine of Félicité is unlike any film character you’ve met. As played by Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, she’s both larger than life and an everywoman trying to make a living as a singer in a Kinshasan bar. When her son Samo (Gaetan Claudia) has a devastating motorcycle accident, Félicité is forced to go in a race against time, as she tries to find the money to pay for his treatment. But this is only the first of Félicité’s many plights and before we know it, the film has become a soulful character study in which a woman must learn to accept love from others. If the film sounds like a social drama, it’s only because director Alain Gomis uses that familiar structure to invite us into a world that will seem new to many, but once inside he defies the conventions...
- 11/2/2017
- by Jose
- FilmExperience
After winning the Grand Jury Prize at Berlin early this year, Alain Gomis's Félicité played as part of the slim but always robust Main Slate at the New York Film Festival. Featuring the great Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu in the title role, a single mother and a singer struggling to survive in the bustling streets of Kinshasa while trying to find love, Félicité is a structurally daring, vibrant, sensual and hopeful African film that you don't get to experience often. For me, it was one of the highlights of the festival. Gomis, a Senegalese director, was in town for the festival and I was lucky enough to have a chat with him about doing a film in Congo for the first time, the state of...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/25/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Chicago – The Chicago International Film Festival is a competitive fest, and the 53rd edition presented its awards on October 20th, 2017, at the AMC River East Theatre in Chicago. The winner of the Gold Hugo as Best Film was “A Sort of Family” (Argentina), directed by Diego Lerman.
The 53rd Chicago International Film Festival Awards Night was October 20th, 2017
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
The awards event was hosted by entertainment reporter Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times and FOX32. Presenters included Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher, plus various jury members. Local treasures Chaz Ebert of RogerEbert.com and Festival Founder Michael Kutza joined in as presenters. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
“A Sort of Family,” Directed by Diego Lerman
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo...
The 53rd Chicago International Film Festival Awards Night was October 20th, 2017
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
The awards event was hosted by entertainment reporter Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times and FOX32. Presenters included Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher, plus various jury members. Local treasures Chaz Ebert of RogerEbert.com and Festival Founder Michael Kutza joined in as presenters. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
“A Sort of Family,” Directed by Diego Lerman
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo...
- 10/21/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Set in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félicité is the new film from Alain Gomis, a French director of Guinea-Bissauan and Senegalese descent. It tells the story of its eponymous heroine, a singer trying to put a life together and barely making it work. It is a poignant portrait of a woman in crisis but is also about Félicité’s search for herself, for peace, for a contented soul. The film, which will represent Senegal in the Foreign Language Oscar category, recently played at the New York Film Festival and will open in limited release on October 27. We had the chance to talk to Gomis about his film, and you can read our conversation below.
I’m curious about the inception of the project. How did you come about it?
It was a mystery! I had this character, this woman I knew in Senegal. And her son, this kid with an amputated leg.
I’m curious about the inception of the project. How did you come about it?
It was a mystery! I had this character, this woman I knew in Senegal. And her son, this kid with an amputated leg.
- 10/16/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
This year's New York Film Festival, running September 28 - October 15, features some of our favorite films this year, including Valeska Grisebach's Western and Lucrecia Martel's Zama, as well as Hong Sang-soo's On the Beach Alone at Night, The Day After, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Before We Vanish. Below, you will find an index of our coverage of the films playing in the 55th New York Film Festival.The Posters of the 55th New York Film FestivalMAIN SLATEWonderstruck (Todd Haynes)Before We Vanish (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)Bpm (Beats Per Minute) (Robin Campillo)Let the Sunshine In (Claire Denis) | Director interviewCall Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)The Day After (Hong Sang-soo)Faces Places (Agnès Varda, Jr)Félicité (Alain Gomis)The Florida Project (Sean Baker)Ismael's Ghosts (Arnaud Desplechin) | Director interviewLover for a Day (Philippe Garrel) | Director interviewOn the Beach Alone at Night (Hong Sang-soo) | Director interviewThe Other Side of Hope...
- 10/11/2017
- MUBI
The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
- 10/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
- 10/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Above: French poster for Let the Sun Shine In (Claire Denis, 2017, France).Seven years ago, when I did my first round-up of posters of the New York Film Festival, I led off with a Juliette Binoche poster (for Certified Copy) so it seems fitting to kick off again with this rapturous image of Binoche for Claire Denis’ Let the Sun Shine In. It may not be the best poster of the festival—though it’s not bad—but Binoche’s look of blissful abandon seems fitting as New York cinephiles head into another fortnight of cinematic nirvana.As usual I’ve tried to collect posters for all the films in the festival’s main slate, the only two I came up short on being Serge Bozon’s Mrs. Hyde and Chloé Zhao’s The Rider. The best poster of the festival might well be one of many designs for Lucrecia Martel...
- 9/29/2017
- MUBI
Considering the esteemed level of curation at the New York Film Festival, which begins this Thursday at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, a comprehensive preview could mostly consist of the schedule.
There’s the gala slots (Last Flag Flying, Wonderstruck, and Wonder Wheel), Main Slate selections (featuring Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, The Square, Mudbound), two films from Film Twitter phenom Hong Sang-soo, and much more, as well as a 24-film Robert Mitchum retrospective and a delectable line-up of restorations.
So rather than single all of these out for our yearly preview, we’re looking at a handful of under-the-radar highlights from across the festival. Check them out below and return for our coverage.
Before We Vanish (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
There are few directors who would choose to take a semi-sincere approach to a lengthy pseudo-philosophical science-fiction film — especially not one that lightly pries into our fundamental psychological...
There’s the gala slots (Last Flag Flying, Wonderstruck, and Wonder Wheel), Main Slate selections (featuring Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, The Square, Mudbound), two films from Film Twitter phenom Hong Sang-soo, and much more, as well as a 24-film Robert Mitchum retrospective and a delectable line-up of restorations.
So rather than single all of these out for our yearly preview, we’re looking at a handful of under-the-radar highlights from across the festival. Check them out below and return for our coverage.
Before We Vanish (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
There are few directors who would choose to take a semi-sincere approach to a lengthy pseudo-philosophical science-fiction film — especially not one that lightly pries into our fundamental psychological...
- 9/25/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
by Murtada
Set in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo - a country which has seen a lot of strife in its recent history - Félicité is the new film from Alain Gomis, a French director of Guinea-Bissauan and Senegalese descent. It tells the story of its eponymous heroine, a singer trying to put a life together and barely making it work. The first few scenes establishes Félicité’s daily grind. She sings nights in a makeshift bar, comes home to tiny place. Her fridge is not working, she needs someone to fix it. Yet money is scarce so she has to make do with a local guy who’s obviously not the right person for the job.
Things start taking a turn for the worse when her teenage son is seriously injured in an accident...
Set in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo - a country which has seen a lot of strife in its recent history - Félicité is the new film from Alain Gomis, a French director of Guinea-Bissauan and Senegalese descent. It tells the story of its eponymous heroine, a singer trying to put a life together and barely making it work. The first few scenes establishes Félicité’s daily grind. She sings nights in a makeshift bar, comes home to tiny place. Her fridge is not working, she needs someone to fix it. Yet money is scarce so she has to make do with a local guy who’s obviously not the right person for the job.
Things start taking a turn for the worse when her teenage son is seriously injured in an accident...
- 9/25/2017
- by Murtada Elfadl
- FilmExperience
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale earlier this year, after a festival tour including Tiff, Nyff, and London, Alain Gomis’ Félicité will be getting a theatrical release next month thanks to Strand Releasing. Following a woman in the Congo who sets out on a journey to save her son after an accident, the first trailer has now landed.
“A wild and adventurous fourth feature from French-African director Alain Gomis, Félicité find ourselves in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s most dangerous places and a hard place in the best of times to make a living,” we said in our review. “Gomis, alongside cinematographer Céline Bozon, photograph the city as a wild, confused metropolis, unspooling over new-money concrete blocks, dirt tracks and a make-shift hazardous slums. It’s where Félicité, played with style and jazz by Congolese theatre actor Vero Tshanda Beya,...
“A wild and adventurous fourth feature from French-African director Alain Gomis, Félicité find ourselves in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s most dangerous places and a hard place in the best of times to make a living,” we said in our review. “Gomis, alongside cinematographer Céline Bozon, photograph the city as a wild, confused metropolis, unspooling over new-money concrete blocks, dirt tracks and a make-shift hazardous slums. It’s where Félicité, played with style and jazz by Congolese theatre actor Vero Tshanda Beya,...
- 9/20/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Below you will find our favorite films of the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival, as well as an index of our coverage.Top Picksfernando F. CROCE1. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)2. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)3. Western (Valeska Grisebach)4. Ex Libris (Frederick Wiseman)5. Faces Places (Agnès Varda, Jr)6. Manhunt (John Woo)7. Jeanette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (Bruno Dumont)8. Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)9. The Day After (Hong Sang-soo)10. Let the Corpses Tan (Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani)Kelley DONG1. Rose Gold (Sarah Cwynar), Strangely Ordinary This Devotion (Dani Restack, Sheilah Wilson Restack)3. Good Luck (Ben Russell)4. Manhunt (John Woo)5. The Third Murder (Hirokazu Kore-eda), Angels Wear White (Vivian Qu)Daniel KASMAN1. Ex Libris (Frederick Wiseman)2. First Reformed (Paul Schrader)3. Zama (Lucrecia Martel)4. Strangely Ordinary This Devotion (Dani Restack, Sheilah Wilson Restack)5. I Love You, Daddy (Louis C.K.)6. Rose Gold (Sarah Cwynar)7. Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)8. below-above (André...
- 9/19/2017
- MUBI
The newly reopened Quad Cinema’s upcoming retrospective “The Whole World Sings: International Musicals” aims to challenge established notion about that genre is exclusively an extension of the classical Hollywood tradition. Is it possible, then, to consider a film such as Alain Gomis’ “Félicité” — making its North American debut at Tiff — a musical? The film may not fit the genre blueprint in a Broadway sense, but the feeling in the soundtrack are nonetheless tangible and Félicité’s ability (or inability) to perform defines the film’s parabolic emotional arc.
Continue reading Alain Gomis’ ‘Felicite’ Continues The Case For Contemporary African Cinema [Tiff Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading Alain Gomis’ ‘Felicite’ Continues The Case For Contemporary African Cinema [Tiff Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/15/2017
- by Bradley Warren
- The Playlist
Dear Danny and Kelley,What a joy this time of the year to reconnect with old cinephile friends, and to meet new ones. The film festival I’ve been to more times than any other, Tiff seems to grow more personally important with each new visit—as a locus of discovery, an escape from the routine, a sanctuary and a labyrinth, exhausting and intoxicating. Could even a vérité master like Frederick Wiseman capture all its contradictions? The cinema and people I encounter during my ten days here comprise a refuge, a reminder of sublime possibilities in the midst of brutish realities. Art keeps the beast at bay, or so they say. Indeed, the very first film I saw, Alain Gomis’ Félicité, opens with just such a clash. In a roisterous Congolese bar, various squabbles hush up as a woman steps up to the microphone for a fierce, gorgeous song. As...
- 9/9/2017
- MUBI
Showcasing the Best in Independent and World Cinema
Thursday, October 5–15, 2017Acclaimed Festival Films From Around the World And New Offerings from Bay Area Filmmakers Highlight First Slate of Films Announced at 40th Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival (Mvff), presented by the California Film Institute, has announced the first set of films to premiere at the 40th edition of the Festival, returning to Marin County October 5–15, 2017. The Festival will present the Bay Area premiere of many acclaimed films from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.
Additionally, Mvff will launch many acclaimed Bay Area filmmakers’ latest films as part of the Festival’s effort to showcase the many established and emerging filmmakers in the Bay Area.
Early Confirmed films from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival at MVFF40:
Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or Winner and Swedish Oscar Submission The Square...
Thursday, October 5–15, 2017Acclaimed Festival Films From Around the World And New Offerings from Bay Area Filmmakers Highlight First Slate of Films Announced at 40th Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival (Mvff), presented by the California Film Institute, has announced the first set of films to premiere at the 40th edition of the Festival, returning to Marin County October 5–15, 2017. The Festival will present the Bay Area premiere of many acclaimed films from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.
Additionally, Mvff will launch many acclaimed Bay Area filmmakers’ latest films as part of the Festival’s effort to showcase the many established and emerging filmmakers in the Bay Area.
Early Confirmed films from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival at MVFF40:
Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or Winner and Swedish Oscar Submission The Square...
- 9/5/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
25 films comprise the main slate of 55th edition set to run from September 28-October 15.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the 25 films for the main slate of the 55th New York Film Festival.
This year’s selection showcases films honoured at Cannes such as Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winner The Square, Robin Campillo’s Critics’ Prize winner Bpm, and Agnès Varda and Jr’s Faces Places.
From Berlin, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear winner The Other Side Of Hope and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize-winner Spoor mark the returns of two New York Film Festival veterans, while Luca Guadagnino makes his debut with Call Me By Your Name (pictured).
As previously announced, the opening night screening is Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, while Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck is the Centerpiece, and Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel will close the festival.
Nyff Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said: “Every year, I’m asked...
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the 25 films for the main slate of the 55th New York Film Festival.
This year’s selection showcases films honoured at Cannes such as Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winner The Square, Robin Campillo’s Critics’ Prize winner Bpm, and Agnès Varda and Jr’s Faces Places.
From Berlin, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear winner The Other Side Of Hope and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize-winner Spoor mark the returns of two New York Film Festival veterans, while Luca Guadagnino makes his debut with Call Me By Your Name (pictured).
As previously announced, the opening night screening is Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, while Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck is the Centerpiece, and Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel will close the festival.
Nyff Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said: “Every year, I’m asked...
- 8/8/2017
- ScreenDaily
25 films comprise the main slate of 55th edition set to run from September 28-October 15.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the 25 films for the main slate of the 55th New York Film Festival.
This year’s selection showcases films honoured at Cannes such as Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winner The Square, Robin Campillo’s Critics’ Prize winner Bpm, and Agnès Varda and Jr’s Faces Places.
From Berlin, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear winner The Other Side Of Hope and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize-winner Spoor mark the returns of two New York Film Festival veterans, while Luca Guadagnino makes his debut with Call Me By Your Name (pictured).
As previously announced, the opening night screening is Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, while Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck is the Centerpiece, and Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel will close the festival.
Nyff Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said: “Every year, I’m asked...
The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the 25 films for the main slate of the 55th New York Film Festival.
This year’s selection showcases films honoured at Cannes such as Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winner The Square, Robin Campillo’s Critics’ Prize winner Bpm, and Agnès Varda and Jr’s Faces Places.
From Berlin, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear winner The Other Side Of Hope and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize-winner Spoor mark the returns of two New York Film Festival veterans, while Luca Guadagnino makes his debut with Call Me By Your Name (pictured).
As previously announced, the opening night screening is Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, while Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck is the Centerpiece, and Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel will close the festival.
Nyff Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said: “Every year, I’m asked...
- 8/8/2017
- ScreenDaily
It’s beginning to look a lot like fall festival season. On the heels of announcements from Tiff and Venice, the 55th edition of the New York Film Festival has unveiled its Main Slate, including a number of returning faces, emerging talents, and some of the most anticipated films from the festival circuit this year.
This year’s Main Slate showcases a number of films honored at Cannes including Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or–winner “The Square,” Robin Campillo’s “Bpm,” and Agnès Varda & Jr’s “Faces Places.” Other Cannes standouts, including “The Rider” and “The Florida Project,” will also screen at Nyff.
Read MoreTIFF Reveals First Slate of 2017 Titles, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Downsizing,’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’
Elsewhere, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear–winner “The Other Side of Hope” and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize–winner “Spoor” come to Nyff after Berlin bows.
This year’s Main Slate showcases a number of films honored at Cannes including Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or–winner “The Square,” Robin Campillo’s “Bpm,” and Agnès Varda & Jr’s “Faces Places.” Other Cannes standouts, including “The Rider” and “The Florida Project,” will also screen at Nyff.
Read MoreTIFF Reveals First Slate of 2017 Titles, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Downsizing,’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’
Elsewhere, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear–winner “The Other Side of Hope” and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize–winner “Spoor” come to Nyff after Berlin bows.
- 8/8/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Following their gala selections of Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck, and Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel, the New York Film Festival have now unveiled their full Main Slate. Their picks include Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name, Lucrecia Martel’s Zama, Greta Gerwig’s debut Lady Bird, as well as the Palme d’Or-winning The Square and more favorites from Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, and Sundance.
“Every year, I’m asked about the themes in our Main Slate line-up, and every year I say the same thing: we choose the best films we see, and the common themes and preoccupations arise only after the fact,” Nyff Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones says. “As I look at this slate of beautiful work, I could just make a series of simple observations: that these films come from all over the globe; that there is a...
“Every year, I’m asked about the themes in our Main Slate line-up, and every year I say the same thing: we choose the best films we see, and the common themes and preoccupations arise only after the fact,” Nyff Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones says. “As I look at this slate of beautiful work, I could just make a series of simple observations: that these films come from all over the globe; that there is a...
- 8/8/2017
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Also in Nyon: Gloria Films projects; Docs in Progress
Wide House is to handle international sales on veteran French director Claire Simon’s latest feature documentary The Village which she presented at the Pitching du Réel during the Doc Outlook - International Market (Docm) in Switzerland’s Nyon this week.
The €604,000 production by Petit à Petit Production centres on a documentary film festival held in the village of Lussas in South Ardeche that has created an internet TV platform and production studio for independent documentaries, and on the resistance to this from the local farming community.
Simon, whose previous feature documentary The Graduation (Le Concours) was also handled by Wide House and won the Documentary Award at last year’s Venice Film Festival, explained that The Village is being conceived as a double format with a documentary series and a feature film. France’s Ciné plus has already come onboard as a partner for the 7 x 26 minute...
Wide House is to handle international sales on veteran French director Claire Simon’s latest feature documentary The Village which she presented at the Pitching du Réel during the Doc Outlook - International Market (Docm) in Switzerland’s Nyon this week.
The €604,000 production by Petit à Petit Production centres on a documentary film festival held in the village of Lussas in South Ardeche that has created an internet TV platform and production studio for independent documentaries, and on the resistance to this from the local farming community.
Simon, whose previous feature documentary The Graduation (Le Concours) was also handled by Wide House and won the Documentary Award at last year’s Venice Film Festival, explained that The Village is being conceived as a double format with a documentary series and a feature film. France’s Ciné plus has already come onboard as a partner for the 7 x 26 minute...
- 4/27/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
On Body And Soul, Félicité among UK acquisitions.
Streaming service Mubi has picked up a quartet of Berlin and Cannes titles for exclusive theatrical and VOD release in the UK.
From Films Boutique, the company picked up Berlin Golden Bear winner On Body And Soul by Ildikó Enyedi.
The Hungarian drama, which also won the Fipresci prize, chart the story of two introverted people, both workers in a meat-processing plant, who find out by chance that they share the same dream every night.
They are puzzled, incredulous and frightened. As they begin to accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate in broad daylight what happens in their shared dreams.
From Jour2Fete, the company has acquired Alain Gomis’ Berlin Silver Bear grand jury prize-winner Félicité.
The movie charts the story of a free-willed woman working as a singer in a bar in Kinshasa whose life is thrown into turmoil when her 14-year-old son falls victim to an accident...
Streaming service Mubi has picked up a quartet of Berlin and Cannes titles for exclusive theatrical and VOD release in the UK.
From Films Boutique, the company picked up Berlin Golden Bear winner On Body And Soul by Ildikó Enyedi.
The Hungarian drama, which also won the Fipresci prize, chart the story of two introverted people, both workers in a meat-processing plant, who find out by chance that they share the same dream every night.
They are puzzled, incredulous and frightened. As they begin to accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate in broad daylight what happens in their shared dreams.
From Jour2Fete, the company has acquired Alain Gomis’ Berlin Silver Bear grand jury prize-winner Félicité.
The movie charts the story of a free-willed woman working as a singer in a bar in Kinshasa whose life is thrown into turmoil when her 14-year-old son falls victim to an accident...
- 4/10/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
As the film-business-crowds move through meetings designed to meet all sorts of movie-related objectives in this vast mix of people, and the movie-going public lines up for films in the Competition, Out-of-Competition, Panorama, Forum and Retrospectives; and families attend the Generation series, some for kindergarteners and others for preteens and some for those 14 and up, and as the constant exchange of ideas continues, there is lots of buzz, mostly positive about the Hungarian Competition film “On Body and Soul”.“On Body and Soul” by Ildikó Enyedi
Buzz continues the next day both pro and con about Oren Moverman’s Competition film, “The Dinner” which is definitely a must-see for each to decide on one’s own response to it. As Scott Roxborough in The Hollywood Reporter says, it “looks like just the political dish the times demand.” Produced by Caldecot Chubb, the script was originally to be written by Moverman for Cate Blanchett to direct.
Buzz continues the next day both pro and con about Oren Moverman’s Competition film, “The Dinner” which is definitely a must-see for each to decide on one’s own response to it. As Scott Roxborough in The Hollywood Reporter says, it “looks like just the political dish the times demand.” Produced by Caldecot Chubb, the script was originally to be written by Moverman for Cate Blanchett to direct.
- 2/28/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Closing Night, Remarks, WinnersInternational Jury: Olafur Eliasson, Artist (Iceland); Dora Bouchoucha Fourate, Producer (Tunisia), Julia Jentsch, Actress (Germany); Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actress, Producer (U.S.); Paul Verhoeven — Jury President — Director, Screenwriter (The Netherlands); Wang Quan’an, Director, Screenwriter (People’s Republic of China); Diego Luna, Actor, Director (Mexico)
A new tradition of sharing a “coup de champagne” on Closing Night of the Berlinale seems to be in the making with Ben and Stephanie Gibson and us. Last year we found ourselves together at the Hyatt for pre-Closing Night Drinks; this year we shared a coup at the Berlinale Palast before the crowd arrived.
Closing Night Before the Crowds Arrive
Ben, btw, is the director of dffb, the German Film School in Berlin. Read more in my previous blog here. He and his wife Stephanie could make a great TV series with the stories of their families. Once the crowd took over,...
A new tradition of sharing a “coup de champagne” on Closing Night of the Berlinale seems to be in the making with Ben and Stephanie Gibson and us. Last year we found ourselves together at the Hyatt for pre-Closing Night Drinks; this year we shared a coup at the Berlinale Palast before the crowd arrived.
Closing Night Before the Crowds Arrive
Ben, btw, is the director of dffb, the German Film School in Berlin. Read more in my previous blog here. He and his wife Stephanie could make a great TV series with the stories of their families. Once the crowd took over,...
- 2/28/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
With the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival wrapped, we’ve highlighted our favorite films from the festival. Make sure to stay tuned in the coming months as we learn about distribution news for the titles. Check out our favorites below, followed by our complete coverage, and one can see the winners here.
Ana, mon amour (Cãlin Peter Netzer)
We only hurt the ones we love, or at least it seems that seems to be the norm in Cãlin Peter Netzer’s latest film, a cerebral examination of love in decay that appears to be the Romanian New Wave’s (if we can still call that) answer to Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine. Romping, eroding, and unraveling over the course of about a decade or so, Ana, mon amour (Netzer’s first film since winning the Golden Bear back in 2013 for Child’s Pose) concerns itself with the doomed romance of Tomo...
Ana, mon amour (Cãlin Peter Netzer)
We only hurt the ones we love, or at least it seems that seems to be the norm in Cãlin Peter Netzer’s latest film, a cerebral examination of love in decay that appears to be the Romanian New Wave’s (if we can still call that) answer to Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine. Romping, eroding, and unraveling over the course of about a decade or so, Ana, mon amour (Netzer’s first film since winning the Golden Bear back in 2013 for Child’s Pose) concerns itself with the doomed romance of Tomo...
- 2/20/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
A certain mutant send-off may have gotten the most global attention out of the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, but if one retracts their claws, some of the finest in major international cinema comes into focus. Ahead of our picks of the best of the festival, the jury has delivered their awards.
Led by Paul Verhoeven, the jury made up of Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna, and Wang Quan’an gave the Hungarian drama On Body and Soul the top prize of Golden Bear, while Aki Kaurismäki picked up Best Director for The Other Side of Hope and Kim Min-hee earned Best Actress for her latest Hong Sang-soo collaboration On The Beach At Night Alone.
Check out the winners below (with a hat tip to Deadline) along with links to reviews where available. One can also see our full coverage here.
Golden Bear for Best...
Led by Paul Verhoeven, the jury made up of Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna, and Wang Quan’an gave the Hungarian drama On Body and Soul the top prize of Golden Bear, while Aki Kaurismäki picked up Best Director for The Other Side of Hope and Kim Min-hee earned Best Actress for her latest Hong Sang-soo collaboration On The Beach At Night Alone.
Check out the winners below (with a hat tip to Deadline) along with links to reviews where available. One can also see our full coverage here.
Golden Bear for Best...
- 2/19/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The 67th Berlin International Film Festival has come to a close, and winners have been selected for top prizes. The international jury this year included president Paul Verhoeven, Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna, and Wang Quan’an.
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Berlinale Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
Check out the full list below:
*Golden Bear for Best Film:
“Testről és lélekről” (“On Body and Soul”)
by Ildikó Enyedi
Producers: Monika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy
*Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
“Félicité”
by Alain Gomis
*Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize
“Pokot” (“Spoor”)
by Agnieszka Holland
*Silver Bear for Best Director
Aki Kaurismäki
for “Toivon tuolla puolen” (“The Other Side of Hope”)
*Silver Bear for Best Actress
Kim Minhee
in “Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja” (“On the Beach at Night Alone”)
by Hong Sang-soo
*Silver Bear for Best Actor
Georg Friedrich
in...
Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Berlinale Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
Check out the full list below:
*Golden Bear for Best Film:
“Testről és lélekről” (“On Body and Soul”)
by Ildikó Enyedi
Producers: Monika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy
*Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
“Félicité”
by Alain Gomis
*Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize
“Pokot” (“Spoor”)
by Agnieszka Holland
*Silver Bear for Best Director
Aki Kaurismäki
for “Toivon tuolla puolen” (“The Other Side of Hope”)
*Silver Bear for Best Actress
Kim Minhee
in “Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja” (“On the Beach at Night Alone”)
by Hong Sang-soo
*Silver Bear for Best Actor
Georg Friedrich
in...
- 2/18/2017
- by William Earl
- Indiewire
On Body And Soul took home the Golden Bear Photo: Courtesy Of the Berlin Film Festival
Hungarian drama On Body And Soul (Testrol es lelkrol), directed by Ildiko Enyedi's, won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin Film Festival tonight.
The offbeat love story, set in a slaughterhouse, had earlier taken a Fipresci critics prize and two other accolades from the independent juries.
The Silver Bear grand jury prize went to Alain Gomis's Kinshasa-set drama Félicité and the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives went to Agnieszka Holland's Spoor.
Aki Kaurismaki was named best director for The Other Side of Hope, which tells the blackly comic tale of an illegal emigre in Finland.
The best actress Silver Bear went to Kim Min-hee, star for her performance in Hang Sangsoo's On the Beach at Night Alone, while Georg Friedrich...
Hungarian drama On Body And Soul (Testrol es lelkrol), directed by Ildiko Enyedi's, won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin Film Festival tonight.
The offbeat love story, set in a slaughterhouse, had earlier taken a Fipresci critics prize and two other accolades from the independent juries.
The Silver Bear grand jury prize went to Alain Gomis's Kinshasa-set drama Félicité and the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives went to Agnieszka Holland's Spoor.
Aki Kaurismaki was named best director for The Other Side of Hope, which tells the blackly comic tale of an illegal emigre in Finland.
The best actress Silver Bear went to Kim Min-hee, star for her performance in Hang Sangsoo's On the Beach at Night Alone, while Georg Friedrich...
- 2/18/2017
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A wild and adventurous fourth feature from French-African director Alain Gomis, Félicité find ourselves in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s most dangerous places and a hard place in the best of times to make a living. Gomis, alongside cinematographer Céline Bozon, photograph the city as a wild, confused metropolis, unspooling over new-money concrete blocks, dirt tracks and a make-shift hazardous slums. It’s where Félicité, played with style and jazz by Congolese theatre actor Vero Tshanda Beya, works hand-to-mouth as a singer in raucous night clubs. The opening scene shows Félicité in full voice in a dive bar, where men drunkenly brawl and wads of notes are sent her way in reckless abandon, shot with an explosive energy.
Félicité’s livelihood is stopped in its tracks when her 14-year-old son Samo (Gaetan Claudia) lands in hospital that leaves him in need...
Félicité’s livelihood is stopped in its tracks when her 14-year-old son Samo (Gaetan Claudia) lands in hospital that leaves him in need...
- 2/18/2017
- by Ed Frankl
- The Film Stage
Update With Key Speeches: Hungarian title On Body And Soul takes best film; Aki Kaurismaki, Sebastian Lelio among winners; Insyriated and I Am Not Your Negro scoop Panorama audience awards; 2018 festival dates revealed.
The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival took place this evening (18 Feb) with winners including Ildiko Enyedi, Alain Gomis, Agnieszka Holland and Sebastian Lelio.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Ildikò Enyedi’s Hungarian feature On Body and Soul - the unusual love story of two damaged souls trying to make contact in a harsh world - was the big winner on the night taking home the Golden Bear for best film in the Competition as well as the Ecumenical and Fipresci juries’ prizes for best film in the Official Competition and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award.
Enyedi’s film - which is handled internationally by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique and had been hotly tipped for the Golden Bear - is...
The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival took place this evening (18 Feb) with winners including Ildiko Enyedi, Alain Gomis, Agnieszka Holland and Sebastian Lelio.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Ildikò Enyedi’s Hungarian feature On Body and Soul - the unusual love story of two damaged souls trying to make contact in a harsh world - was the big winner on the night taking home the Golden Bear for best film in the Competition as well as the Ecumenical and Fipresci juries’ prizes for best film in the Official Competition and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award.
Enyedi’s film - which is handled internationally by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique and had been hotly tipped for the Golden Bear - is...
- 2/18/2017
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney) andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Alain Gomis’s film is set against the backdrop of Congo’s vibrant music scene.
Paris-based sales company has unveiled early sales on Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis’s Berlinale Competition title Félicité.
The drama set in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa has been acquired for Austria and Switzerland (Trigon Film), Benelux (ABC Cinemien) and China (Hugoeast).
Set against the backdrop of Kinshasa’s bustling streets and vibrant music scene, the story follows a singer’s journey across the city as she tries to raise money to fund an urgent operation for her son.
It was produced by French producer Arnaud Dommerc at Andolfi, Gomis under his Paris-based Granit Films banner and Oumar Sall for Dakar-based Cinekap.
“We instantly fell in love with the film. Félicité is not only one of the most powerful portraits of contemporary Africa but also a work which, through music and emotions, can reach a large audience worldwide,” said [link=co...
Paris-based sales company has unveiled early sales on Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis’s Berlinale Competition title Félicité.
The drama set in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa has been acquired for Austria and Switzerland (Trigon Film), Benelux (ABC Cinemien) and China (Hugoeast).
Set against the backdrop of Kinshasa’s bustling streets and vibrant music scene, the story follows a singer’s journey across the city as she tries to raise money to fund an urgent operation for her son.
It was produced by French producer Arnaud Dommerc at Andolfi, Gomis under his Paris-based Granit Films banner and Oumar Sall for Dakar-based Cinekap.
“We instantly fell in love with the film. Félicité is not only one of the most powerful portraits of contemporary Africa but also a work which, through music and emotions, can reach a large audience worldwide,” said [link=co...
- 2/10/2017
- ScreenDaily
‘Félicité’ Exclusive Trailer: A Congolese Bar Singer Races Against The Clock To Save Her Teenage Son
Alain Gomis’ new film “Félicité” follows the eponymous character, a proud singer living in the Congo city of Kinshasa, who leaves the world behind every time she sets foot on a bar stage. But one day Félicité’s son is involved in a terrible motorcycle accident, and she’s forced to traverse the impoverished streets and the wealthier districts of the city to raise the funds necessary for his operation. She soon enlists the help of bar regular Tabu (Papi Mpaka) who soon becomes a part of her life, helping her as well as her son. Watch an exclusive trailer for the film below.
Read More: Berlinale 2016’s Complete Competition Lineup Announced: Only 9% Directed By Women
This is Gomis’ fourth feature film. His first film “L’Afrance,” about young Senegalese men who faces residency issues while living in Paris, won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Then came his next film “Andalucia,...
Read More: Berlinale 2016’s Complete Competition Lineup Announced: Only 9% Directed By Women
This is Gomis’ fourth feature film. His first film “L’Afrance,” about young Senegalese men who faces residency issues while living in Paris, won the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Then came his next film “Andalucia,...
- 2/2/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve dramas join competition; TV dramas and Oleg Sentsov doc set to get world premiere.
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the festival in Out Of Competition berths are Stanley Tucci-directed Final Portrait and Catherine Deneuve drama Sage Femme.
James Gray’s The Lost City Of Z will have its interntional premiere while documentary The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov will have its world premiere.
Among TV world premieres are Amazon’s Patriot and BBC One’s SS-gb.
In total, 18 of the 24 films selected for Competitionwill be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year...
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the festival in Out Of Competition berths are Stanley Tucci-directed Final Portrait and Catherine Deneuve drama Sage Femme.
James Gray’s The Lost City Of Z will have its interntional premiere while documentary The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov will have its world premiere.
Among TV world premieres are Amazon’s Patriot and BBC One’s SS-gb.
In total, 18 of the 24 films selected for Competitionwill be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year...
- 1/20/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve dramas join competition; TV dramas and Oleg Sentsov doc set to get world premiere.
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the competition are
18 of the 24 films selected for Competition will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
The Berlinale Special will present recent works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries, and extraordinary formats, as well as brand new series from around the world.
Berlinale Special Galas will be held at the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Zoo Palast. Other Special premieres will take place at the Kino International. Moderated discussions will follow the screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year. Audiences...
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the competition are
18 of the 24 films selected for Competition will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
The Berlinale Special will present recent works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries, and extraordinary formats, as well as brand new series from around the world.
Berlinale Special Galas will be held at the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Zoo Palast. Other Special premieres will take place at the Kino International. Moderated discussions will follow the screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year. Audiences...
- 1/20/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Sally Potter's The PartyThe titles for the 67th Berlin International Film Festival are being announced in anticipation of the event running February 9 - 19, 2017. We will update the program as new films are revealed.COMPETITIONOn Body and Soul (Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary)Ana, mon amour (Călin Peter Netzer, Romania / Germany France)Beuys (Andres Veiel, Germany)Colo (Teresa Villaverde, Portugal / France)The Dinner (Oren Moverman, USA)Félicité (Alain Gomis, France / Senegal / Belgium / Germany / Lebanon)The Party (Sally Potter, UK)Spoor (Agnieszka Holland, Poland / Germany/ Czech Republic / Sweden / Slovak Republic)The Other Side of Hope (Aki Kaurismäki, Finland)A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, Chile / German / USA / Spain)Berlinale SPECIALThe Queen of Spain (Fernando Trueba, Spain)The Young Karl Marx (Raoul Peck, France / Germany / Belgium)Last Days in Havana (Fernando Pérez, Cuba / Spain)PANORAMAVazante (Daniela Thomas, Brazil/Portugal)I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck, France/USA/Belgium/Switzerland)The Wound (John Trengove, South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France)Politics,...
- 12/22/2016
- MUBI
The 2017 Berlin Film Festival has revealed its first slate of 14 films for the Competition and Berlinale Special sections, including new work from Aki Kaurismaki (“The Man Without a Past”), Oren Moverman (“Time Out of Mind”) and Sally Potter (“Ginger & Rosa”). The festival will also screen a restored version of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 TV series “Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day.”
Read More: The 2016 Indiewire Berlin International Film Festival Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During Run of Festival
So far, ten films have been invited to screen in Competition, and four films have been selected for Berlinale Special. These productions and co-productions are from the United State, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Belgium, Poland, Senegal and more.
The 67th Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 9 through 19. Further films will be revealed in the coming weeks. For more information, visit the official website.
Read More: The...
Read More: The 2016 Indiewire Berlin International Film Festival Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During Run of Festival
So far, ten films have been invited to screen in Competition, and four films have been selected for Berlinale Special. These productions and co-productions are from the United State, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Belgium, Poland, Senegal and more.
The 67th Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 9 through 19. Further films will be revealed in the coming weeks. For more information, visit the official website.
Read More: The...
- 12/15/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
After Sundance Film Festival concludes in late January, the next big cinematic event on the globe is the Berlin International Film Festival. With Paul Verhoeven serving as jury president for the 67th edition of the festival, they’ve now announced their first line-up of titles, including Aki Kaurismäki‘s The Other Side of Hope (pictured above), Oren Moverman‘s Richard Gere-led The Dinner, Sally Potter‘s The Party (pictured below), and Agnieszka Holland‘s Spoor, as well as a restoration of a Rainer Werner Fassbinder TV show.
Check out the first titles below, and return for our coverage from the festival.
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
Hungary
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour
Romania/Germany/France
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti,...
Check out the first titles below, and return for our coverage from the festival.
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
Hungary
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour
Romania/Germany/France
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti,...
- 12/15/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Sally Potter among Competition lineup.
The first 14 films have been announced for the Competition and Berlinale Special sections of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
Among directors with movies in competition are Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Andres Veiel, Sebastián Lelio and Sally Potter.
Festival veteran Kaurismäki will debut new film The Other Side Of Hope about a Finnish travelling salesman who meets a Syrian refugee.
Moverman’s (The Messenger) mystery-drama The Dinner stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall and Chloë Sevigny. Based on the novel by Herman Koch, the film looks at at how far parents will go to protect their children.
Oscar-nominated Holland, who was nominated for the Golden Bear in 1981, will be at the Berlinale with crime-drama Pokot.
Potter returns to Berlin with ensemble comedy-drama The Party starring Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas and [link...
The first 14 films have been announced for the Competition and Berlinale Special sections of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
Among directors with movies in competition are Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Andres Veiel, Sebastián Lelio and Sally Potter.
Festival veteran Kaurismäki will debut new film The Other Side Of Hope about a Finnish travelling salesman who meets a Syrian refugee.
Moverman’s (The Messenger) mystery-drama The Dinner stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall and Chloë Sevigny. Based on the novel by Herman Koch, the film looks at at how far parents will go to protect their children.
Oscar-nominated Holland, who was nominated for the Golden Bear in 1981, will be at the Berlinale with crime-drama Pokot.
Potter returns to Berlin with ensemble comedy-drama The Party starring Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas and [link...
- 12/15/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Sally Potter among competition lineup.
The first 14 films have been announced for the Competition and Berlinale Special sections of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
Among directors with movies in competition are Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Andres Veiel, Sebastián Lelio and Sally Potter.
Moverman’s (The Messenger) mystery-drama The Dinner stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall and Chloë Sevigny.
Fernando Trueba’s comedy-drama The Queen of Spain, starring Penelope Cruz, will get its international premiere in the Berlinale Special strand.
More to follow…
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul) (Hungary)
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour (Romania / Germany / France)
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Carmen Tănase, Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov
World premiere
Beuys - Documentary (Germany)
By Andres Veiel ([link...
The first 14 films have been announced for the Competition and Berlinale Special sections of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
Among directors with movies in competition are Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Andres Veiel, Sebastián Lelio and Sally Potter.
Moverman’s (The Messenger) mystery-drama The Dinner stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall and Chloë Sevigny.
Fernando Trueba’s comedy-drama The Queen of Spain, starring Penelope Cruz, will get its international premiere in the Berlinale Special strand.
More to follow…
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul) (Hungary)
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour (Romania / Germany / France)
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Carmen Tănase, Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov
World premiere
Beuys - Documentary (Germany)
By Andres Veiel ([link...
- 12/15/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
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