Two members of Fifth Harmony went into the recording studio together again for the first time in more than five years, and the result is a festive duet that you’ll want on repeat.
The girl group – comprised of Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, Normani and Camila Cabello – went on hiatus in 2018 after dropping their last album the year prior.
On Friday (December 1), Dinah joined Ally on her festive EP Under the Tree for a joy-inducing cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” We even got a music video and some insight on the collab from the duo!
Head inside to listen to Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane’s Fifth Harmony reunion…
“I’m beyond thrilled to be back together with my former Fifth Harmony mate Dinah,” Ally gushed about the opportunity. “There are no words to explain how it feels to be reunited with our collaboration! We...
The girl group – comprised of Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, Normani and Camila Cabello – went on hiatus in 2018 after dropping their last album the year prior.
On Friday (December 1), Dinah joined Ally on her festive EP Under the Tree for a joy-inducing cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” We even got a music video and some insight on the collab from the duo!
Head inside to listen to Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane’s Fifth Harmony reunion…
“I’m beyond thrilled to be back together with my former Fifth Harmony mate Dinah,” Ally gushed about the opportunity. “There are no words to explain how it feels to be reunited with our collaboration! We...
- 12/1/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Dinah Jane was in bumper-to-bumper traffic from L.A. to her native Orange County when she put on Under the Tree, a Christmas EP recorded by her Fifth Harmony bandmate Ally Brooke. “I was going, ‘Oh my gosh, this is actually so good,'” Dinah remembers. “I loved every song.”
The production on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” impressed her so much that an idea popped into her head: What if she reached out to Ally to record a duet version of the song? “I was actually really nervous.
The production on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” impressed her so much that an idea popped into her head: What if she reached out to Ally to record a duet version of the song? “I was actually really nervous.
- 11/30/2023
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, the Beatles release their decades-in-the-making ‘final song,’ Megan Thee Stallion sheds her dark past, and Olivia Rodrigo delivers a shimmery ballad for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes soundtrack. Plus, new tracks from Kid Cudi, Jung Kook, and Mgmt.
Megan thee Stallion, “Cobra” (YouTube)
Olivia Rodrigo, “Can’t Catch Me Now” (YouTube)
The Beatles, “Now and Then” (YouTube)
Kid Cudi feat. Pharrell and Travis Scott,...
Megan thee Stallion, “Cobra” (YouTube)
Olivia Rodrigo, “Can’t Catch Me Now” (YouTube)
The Beatles, “Now and Then” (YouTube)
Kid Cudi feat. Pharrell and Travis Scott,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
You can work from ho, ho, home! Ally Brooke announced on Wednesday that she’ll be releasing a Christmas EP, titled Under the Tree, on Nov. 3.
“The holidays are my favorite time of year! There is nothing like it and I’m beyond thrilled to have my EP,” Brooke said in a press release. “It’s been a goal of mine for so long! I love that the holidays bring out goodness in people and to have that reflected in my EP means everything to me.”
Along with pop-infused covers of holiday classics,...
“The holidays are my favorite time of year! There is nothing like it and I’m beyond thrilled to have my EP,” Brooke said in a press release. “It’s been a goal of mine for so long! I love that the holidays bring out goodness in people and to have that reflected in my EP means everything to me.”
Along with pop-infused covers of holiday classics,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Remember how we mentioned that last week was a bit of a “calm before the storm” situation, as we get closer to the Halloween season and its nonstop onslaught of fresh horror movies?
That orange wave has arrived, and it won’t be slowing down until October 31. In fact, there are so many new releases this week that we’re going to break them up into separate days.
Here’s all the new horror that just released for August 22, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
Cinephobia Releasing brings Dane Elcar‘s acclaimed sci-fi thriller Brightwood home today, a time loop horror movie that’s now available on all your favorite VOD outlets.
The indie horror movie centers on a married couple at the end of their rope, and that’s before they get trapped into a loop with a hooded killer in the woods.
That orange wave has arrived, and it won’t be slowing down until October 31. In fact, there are so many new releases this week that we’re going to break them up into separate days.
Here’s all the new horror that just released for August 22, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
Cinephobia Releasing brings Dane Elcar‘s acclaimed sci-fi thriller Brightwood home today, a time loop horror movie that’s now available on all your favorite VOD outlets.
The indie horror movie centers on a married couple at the end of their rope, and that’s before they get trapped into a loop with a hooded killer in the woods.
- 8/22/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
On the way from Level 33 Entertainment is the horror movie Belle, a brand new reimagining of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast that’s headed home later this summer.
Written and directed by Max Gold, Belle will be released in select theaters July 14 and On Demand August 22.
The film will be playing at Hawkins Theatres Gateway Pavilions 18 in Avondale, Arizona this Friday, July 14, with more theaters to be added throughout the week.
Watch the official trailer for the Beauty and the Beast horror movie below…
In the upcoming film, “Belle would do anything to save her ailing father so she journeys in search of a mythical rose believed to be a cure. As payment for the rose, Belle must surrender herself to a vicious beast and battle his spell.”
Andrea Snædal (“Silicon Beach”), Ingi Hrafn Hilmarsson, Hana Vagnerová, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Helga Braga Jónsdóttir, and Sigurður Sigurjónsson star.
Written and directed by Max Gold, Belle will be released in select theaters July 14 and On Demand August 22.
The film will be playing at Hawkins Theatres Gateway Pavilions 18 in Avondale, Arizona this Friday, July 14, with more theaters to be added throughout the week.
Watch the official trailer for the Beauty and the Beast horror movie below…
In the upcoming film, “Belle would do anything to save her ailing father so she journeys in search of a mythical rose believed to be a cure. As payment for the rose, Belle must surrender herself to a vicious beast and battle his spell.”
Andrea Snædal (“Silicon Beach”), Ingi Hrafn Hilmarsson, Hana Vagnerová, Gudmundur Thorvaldsson, Helga Braga Jónsdóttir, and Sigurður Sigurjónsson star.
- 7/10/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Paris-based sales company Charades has finalized a raft of deals with international buyers for its upcoming comedy Northern Comfort, which debuted at SXSW in March.
The pic, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has sold to Rezo (France), September Films (Benelux), Kismet (Australia & Nz), Vertigo (Spain), I Wonder (Italy), Pris Audiovisual (Portugal), M2 (Poland), Cirko Films (Hungary), Aerofilms, Transilvania (Romania), Megacom (ex-Yugoslavia), Volga (Cis & Baltics), New Cinema (Israel), Falcon (Lebanon & Gulf), Avjet (Taiwan), and Pictureworks (India).
Elsewhere, Scanbox has rights in Scandinavia, Sena has rights in Iceland, Weltkino in Germany and Switzerland, with Netflix taking SVOD rights in the UK.
Co-written by Sigurdsson with Halldor Laxness Halldorsson and Tobias Munthe, the pic is billed as a “dark comedy” and stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Sverrir Gudnason, Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney.
Synopsis reads: A special forces veteran, an uptight property developer, an influencer with half a million followers,...
The pic, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has sold to Rezo (France), September Films (Benelux), Kismet (Australia & Nz), Vertigo (Spain), I Wonder (Italy), Pris Audiovisual (Portugal), M2 (Poland), Cirko Films (Hungary), Aerofilms, Transilvania (Romania), Megacom (ex-Yugoslavia), Volga (Cis & Baltics), New Cinema (Israel), Falcon (Lebanon & Gulf), Avjet (Taiwan), and Pictureworks (India).
Elsewhere, Scanbox has rights in Scandinavia, Sena has rights in Iceland, Weltkino in Germany and Switzerland, with Netflix taking SVOD rights in the UK.
Co-written by Sigurdsson with Halldor Laxness Halldorsson and Tobias Munthe, the pic is billed as a “dark comedy” and stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Sverrir Gudnason, Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney.
Synopsis reads: A special forces veteran, an uptight property developer, an influencer with half a million followers,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Icelandic writer-director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (“Under the Tree”) makes a smooth transition to English-language directing with the high-concept comedy “Northern Comfort,” co-written with longtime collaborators Halldór Laxness Halldórsson and Tobias Munthe. It centers on a disparate group of people who share a disabling fear of air travel, which they are trying to overcome through a high-end fearless flyers course. As a final challenge, the class is scheduled for a short, roundtrip “exposure” flight during which they should face and conquer their phobias. But this practical plan soon runs into some literal and figurative turbulence. Combining human drama and absurdist comedy, “Northern Comfort” should fly into other festivals before making a comfortable landing at a boutique art-house distributor or streamer.
Inwardly and outwardly quaking as they leave Gatwick for a fateful trip to Iceland are successful property developer Sarah; Edward (Timothy Spall), a special forces veteran turned best-selling crime writer; and a social media influencer couple,...
Inwardly and outwardly quaking as they leave Gatwick for a fateful trip to Iceland are successful property developer Sarah; Edward (Timothy Spall), a special forces veteran turned best-selling crime writer; and a social media influencer couple,...
- 3/12/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Charades has boarded “Northern Comfort,” an Icelandic black comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (“Under the Tree”) which is world premiering at SXSW.
The well-established sales company has unveiled an exclusive clip for the film ahead of its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section.
“Northern Comfort” follows a bunch of phobic flyers, including a middle-aged property developer, a couple of twenty-something influencers and a former Sas-serviceman turned crime-novelist in his 60’s. Seeking to overcome their fear of flying, they embark on a high-end therapeutic course on a flight whose final destination is Iceland. But the experience ends up being a complete nightmare. When the group finally steps onto solid ground, their anxiety levels are off the charts and the idea of taking a flight back home to London becomes an unbearable prospect. As their intended flight is repeatedly delayed, they end up in a remote luxury ‘wellness’ hotel somewhere in the bleak,...
The well-established sales company has unveiled an exclusive clip for the film ahead of its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section.
“Northern Comfort” follows a bunch of phobic flyers, including a middle-aged property developer, a couple of twenty-something influencers and a former Sas-serviceman turned crime-novelist in his 60’s. Seeking to overcome their fear of flying, they embark on a high-end therapeutic course on a flight whose final destination is Iceland. But the experience ends up being a complete nightmare. When the group finally steps onto solid ground, their anxiety levels are off the charts and the idea of taking a flight back home to London becomes an unbearable prospect. As their intended flight is repeatedly delayed, they end up in a remote luxury ‘wellness’ hotel somewhere in the bleak,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Denmark’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Holy Spider’ directed by Ali AbbasiThis crime genre drama labeled “Persian Noir” is based on a 20 year old case but is shockingly relevant, as is noted in this interview with producer Sol Bondy conducted by Marina Dallarosa.
US Theatrical Release October 28, 2022.
Producer Sol Bondy’s explanation of Holy Spider’s genesis and progress through the Covid infected era details the difficulties this film met at every step. However, once finished, it premiered in Cannes Competition and went on to play in the Jerusalem Film Festival, and in Toronto International Film Festival. He noted that the audience in Toronto; was 30–40% Iranians. Their ability to understand nuances and “code words” brought an element of laughter to an otherwise bloody crime film, labeled “Persian noir”.
The filmmaker Ali Abbasi is Iranian and lives in Denmark, the country submitting the film to the Motion Picture Academy for Oscar nomination. It could never have been shot in Iran due to its subject matter, though they did try, as they did in Turkey as well before shooting in Jordan. The production faced years of Covid‑19 surges, shooting delays, location changes and government resistance.
Holy Spider is based upon a true story of the infamous “spider killings” which took place while the director, Ali Abbasi, was living in the country between 2000 and 2001. It is produced by Germany’s Sol Bondy whose previous film Persian Lessons was also based on a provocative story and was Belarus’ 2020 submission for Oscars. Abbasi’s film Border was a Cannes winner of Un Certain Regard and 2018 Oscar nominated film.
A coproduction of Denmark, Germany, France, and Sweden, Holy Spider tells the story of Saeed Hanaei, a family man who embarks on his own religious quest to “cleanse” the holy Iranian city of Mashhad of immoral and corrupt street prostitutes. After murdering several women, he grows ever more desperate about the lack of public interest in his divine mission. In all, he murdered 16 women.
This genre film, with misogyny being the core theme, comes at a time where massive protests in Iran, following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini have unified the country in an unprecedented manner. While more and more protesters, many underage, are being killed by the regime, Holy Spider has met Iranian diaspora audiences with cheers.
During Cannes, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburgcelebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival. These were Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider in Competition, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness in Competition, Emily Atef’s More Than Ever in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Un beau matin in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History of Destruction in Special Screenings, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ Mariupolis 2, in Special Screenings. Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding these films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
At their celebration, I spoke with one of the most outstanding young actresses who played Zinab, a sex worker in the Holy Spider. German-based, Iran-born Sara Fazilat is also German Film’s Face To Face ambassador 2022. She is also the lead cast in Nico by Eline Gehring that was shown almost worldwide at numerous film festivals. Unfortunately Nico is not available online in the U.S…yet. It is about Nico who is enjoying the summer in Berlin with her best friend Rosa until a racist attack pulls her out of her carefree everyday life. Traumatized by the crime, the geriatric nurse decides never to be a victim again and begins to train with a karate world champion.
I also saw Sol Bondy of One Two Films, one of the lead producers of Holy Spider. Produced along with Jacob Jarek of Denmark’s Profile Pictures, coproducers were Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Film i Väst, Why Not Productions, Zdf/Arte and Arte France Cinéma.
Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek also stand out as alumni of Berlinale Talents. They both co-produced Icelandic films The County and Under The Tree previously.
Jarek, who went to the National Film School of Denmark with Abbasi and was one of the producers of his debut feature Shelley, says the director “had this story in his mind for a long time but we officially started developing it in 2016”. After Abbasi’s second feature Border was an international success at Cannes and beyond in 2018, the filmmaker was in demand. He told Jarek, “Now’s our chance to make Holy Spider,” a project always close to his heart.
An Interview with Sol Bondy by Marina Dalarossa
Marina: So the first question is just about you and the producer Jakob Jarek. Could you talk a bit about how you actually came to work together?
Sol: We didn’t do the Berlinale Talents the same year. I did it relatively late in my career, and truthfully, mainly because of the woman who runs the program, she urged me to do it. I had worked for the talents for many, many years and quite a few of my friends had done it during film school and by the time I did it, I’d been out of film school running my company for 6 years already.
But we didn’t meet there. Jakob and I were both minor coproducers on an Icelandic film called Under the Tree. That’s how we met. And then we also were both minor coproducers on another Icelandic film called The County.
We knew of each other before, I knew some people that he worked with and thought they were doing really interesting films. And then in Cannes 2018, Border had just premiered a couple of days before, everybody was talking about it and Jakob asked me if I wanted to join the next film of Ali? I didn’t read a script or ask any questions; I also didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I said yes immediately. I sensed this could be a great opportunity.
And that instinct was right. The film was financed relatively quickly and within a year we had most of the budget together. But then Covid came. I’m sure we’ll get into that later!
Marina: Yes thanks. I want to know if you think being in Talents helped your career at all?
Sol: Well, given the very specific timing of it, I think it would have helped my career much more if I had done it earlier. But there are also other great intiatives out there, postgraduate training for producers. Before Talents, I did a program called Transatlantic Partners in 2013. That was really helpful and actually generated two big projects for me. One was Angry Indian Goddessesand the other was The Tale.
A couple of years later I did a program called Inside Pictures. It was also extremely valuable and really helped me make some really important business decisions going forward. Jacob also did this program but again, in another year. There are many great initiatives. Also I’ve always loved going to festivals. They make your network bigger and stronger.
Marina: You talked about how you came on board to produce Holy Spider, but what do you think made Jakob decide you should come in at that point?
Sol: He had a hard task producing and financing a film set in the Middle East without any Middle Eastern money. Also, with this topic it was clear you can’t just roll into Iran and make a film there.
On top of that, there had been a shift in the Danish government. Suddenly, to reach a certain amount of financing from the Danish Film Institute, the film had to be culturally relevant to Denmark. So I believe that halved the financing opportunities for Jacob in Denmark. He needed money from outside Denmark to make this film; he needed coproducers.
He’s well versed in international coproductions, so he knew when is a good time to attach coproducing partners and also how much time it can take. For instance, we often get approached with projects and they tell us they will be shooting in three months. We have to tell them that when we coproduce in Germany, we have deadlines and a lot of bureaucracy, so while we can do a lot — we’re very lucky with that — it still takes time.
To get back to the first question: We were ready to go, we had the budget we thought we needed to make the film and when Covid came and then Jakob found himself in a situation where two of his projects, a series and a feature film, were hit by Covid. And it was unclear how these massive losses were going to be covered. The world was in turmoil and Jakob’s projects in limbo.
It became clear, he could currently not commit to the project — such a challenging production by a very demanding director. Ali (the director) on the other hand, who could have chosen any project after his widely successful and much loved Border, was saying, “Guys, I get it, but I don’t care about circumstances. If you guys can’t figure out how we can make this film now, then it’s over, I’m out.”
And that put me under maximum pressure because making films is squarey our only source of income. I had three employees to pay, was expecting my second child, and at that pont, we didn’t know that the German government would be helping out companies like ours. Without this film, it seemed I would have to close my shop. So Jacob and I looked at what options we had and decided I would go for it. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but I said, Ok, I’ll do it.
What was unfortunate at that time is that Jordan, during the first wave, basically closed the borders and would not let anyone in. So the country that we had scouted and wanted to shoot in was essentially shut down. We couldn’t really plan a production there because nobody knew when the borders would open again or if they might close again at some point.
So it was decided to go to Turkey. It didn’t look like Erdogan was going to close Turkey. So we went into Turkey and we scouted for weeks with a big crew, the cinematographer, the production designer, the line producers from Germany, the Turkish line producer who we hired to service the production. There was a big gang scouting different cities in Turkey. And although it was harder to match Iran, we found the right locations a couple of weeks later.
The crew was growing; we were exploring how to bring period cars over the border. Pre-production was basically in full swing, at the same time, we were waiting for a shooting permit, and this shooting permit never came. So I decided to do some more digging because this was making me very uncomfortable. I knew I couldn’t shoot without the permit. I was about to spend a significant amount of more money and I’d already spent around €50,000. Not being able to shoot the film in Turkey would mean that money would just be down the drain. Plus the entire production plan. You can imagine, with everything there, where we came from, the delays that we had already encountered, it was nerve-wracking.
We then basically found out behind the scenes that our application had gone from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Turkish Ambassador and he got the feedback that this film should not be supported.
I then took Ali and my two line producers and we flew to Ankara to meet with the Ministry of Culture. And they told us to speak to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that to get shooting permits we hd to speak with the Ministry of Culture. They basically used us like a pinball. We realiaed that we had been censored in Turkey. And it was a huge blow. I fet so hepless. Everyone was upset. Ali was furious.
It took some time to get the whole demoralized team back into the mental state to give it another go back in Jordan, where the borders had re-opened but which was logistically much more complicated.
And we went for it. We found new locations, hired local crews, got visas for our Iranian players and even managed to import Iranian cars to Jordan. You could make a documentary feature about just this aspect of the production of importing these cars. They arrived after a huge delay, when we were already shooting, but we managed to make it work.
Marina: This sounds intense. Were there other significant issues?
One of the most challenging aspects of the film was the casting, which was very complex, as we were mainly looking for Iranians who didn’t live in Iran. We knew participating in this film would be challenging for their future in the country. But Ali was adamant that his two main roles needed to be perfect in terms of their body language and the dialect. So we essentially needed people from Iran. We had found two who were willing to take the risk with all the consequences even potentially relocating after the shoot. The lead actress finally came for the makeup and hair test about 10 days before shooting. Couple days later she came to my hotel room crying and said, “I can’t do it. It’s too much.”
So we were a week before shooting and we didn’t have a lead actress. It was another massive blow. And this is when it was decided after bit of back and forth and deliberation that our casting director Zar Amir-Ebrahimi would step in and play the role. And she was rewarded in Cannes with the Best Actress Golden Palm. It’s a pretty crazy story.
And then, just two days before we were Finally going to shoot the film, Covid hit us in a way where couldn’t start shooting. I felt like I didn’t know if I was making a film or if I was in “Lost in La Mancha — Part 2”. My wife for months kept telling me I should have a documentary crew filming all this madness. I told her I was going to murder someone if I had a documentary crew around.
Marina: Wow! And after the film was completed, Denmark’s decided to submit your film to the Academy Awards. Do you know what went into their decision?
Sol: Well, the Danes may have one of the best track records in recent years when it comes to choosing the film and then being nominated or even winning. I think in the last 11 years they won twice. They got 7 nominations and I think 9 made the shortlist.
So this speaks to two things: First of all, the quality of the films they make in this small country. And then, they really look carefully at which films has the biggest chances. In our case: no other Danish film had been to Cannes competition. No other film had US distribution and played Telluride and TIFF. And already in Cannes, we had the fantastic PR of past successes like Drive My Car and Flee, so it made a lot of sense for them to choose Holy Spider. It’s still a very brave choice because it’s not a very Danish film on the outside. On the inside it looks different, you know the composer is Danish, the editor is Danish, the production designer, ok she’s Swedish, but Ali also has a Danish passport. Jakob is like me, a delegate producer and is Danish. So it has a strong Danish footprint.
Many outlets, like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter included the film in their predictions to get the nomination. So I guess all this helped the Danes come to this decision.
Marina: How does it feel to be chosen by the Danes and also to be chosen for Cannes and have gotten so many prizes already?
Sol: What can I say? It feels great! At the same time, it’s also a lot of hard work. And it’s something that we always had our eyes upon, also because Border won the Un Certain Regard. So after that, the next step is to be in Cannes Competition. Now I’ve seen this go both ways, The Icelandic film where Jacob and I were minority producers together: the filmmaker had previously done the film Rams, which had also won Un Certain Regard. We all hoped to go to Cannes Competition with this new film, The County. But we didn’t get into Cannes at all. We premiered in Toronto, which is good, but it’s not the same So looking coldly at that, you could say we failed.
Another example would be a finished film, that I was happy to be a coproducer on, called The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki . It won Un Certain Regard the year after Rams did. And so the director wanted his next film, Compartment No. 6, to go to Cannes Competition — and it did. It even won the Jury Prize! Sadly, I wasn’t involved in that production.
This is something we were discussing throughout this entire production. We were always saying the film was our chance to show the world Ali was not a one-hit wonder. You know, many people refer to Border as Ali’s first film, which it’s not. It’s his second film, his first film Shelley did well, but it wasn’t a massive breakout hit like Border was. It’s hard to follow up on a success like that.
So that fact that we succeeded in following up the Certain Regard win with getting into Competition was very exciting and rewarding. I also have to give credit to our French co-producers Wild Bunch and Why Not Productions. While they didn’t really have a lot to do with the physical production, they really helped in securing the world premiere. They gave us invaluable advice in the last stretch.
I can say that until now, we have achieved every goal that we had, and there are a few exciting steps ahead. The US release had a great limited opening weekend, the nominations at the European Film Awards are coming up and then there’s of course the Oscar shortlist of 15 films just before Christmas. We’re crossing our fingers!
Marina: I also have to ask, with the recent events in Iran, was this something you were thinking of making the film?
Sol: Well no, of course not! But the fact that our film is based on a 20 year old case — and has become so shockingly timely is incredible. Showing the film at festivals where many Iranians attend has been such an intense experience. People have thanked us for our courage to finally make a film that shows a (big) portion of their reality, one they don’t get to see in Iranian cinema. And of course the film’s main theme, misogyny, is squarely what is firing up this revolution in Iran. It really feels like the days of the Islamic Republic will be over, the different groups withing the Iranian society are more united then ever before, men are supporting women on the street and the next generation isn’t willing to give up. It’s insane what is happening there and honestly, more people should be talking about this. They are killing teenagers in the street.
Marina: The next couple questions I want to ask you are more general about your career. What did you think when you chose your career?
Sol: My parents are both filmmakers, but I never really cared too much about their work. I was quite oblivious to what was what was going on right in front of me.
But through my parents connections, I was cast as a child actor and did quite a bit of acting, so I always thought that after high school I would become an actor. But then I realized maybe I should also look for something behind the camera, because I remembered as a child actor, people were so nice and the jobs seemed fun and interesting and so I did an internship. And it became clear to me that I needed to become a director! I thought this would be the perfect way to combine all my talents.
It took three or four years and a lot of failed applications for directing to realize that I would not be studying film directing at any film school. But Reinhad Hauff, the head of the dffb, the Berlin Film School, said at some point after my second failed application that he thought I might be good for his producing class. And that’s how I got into producing after never having given it a thought before.
And I really came to terms with my profession the end of my second year while working with this one director, Grzegorz Muskala, I realized if I could find people like him, with an exceptional level of talent and tenacity and foresight I could be the right person to support them. I just needed to be very picky about who I chose to work with.
On the other hand, I also realized I have a real knack for distribution, because many producing students in my film school would just produce a film and then they would just produce the next film. And this was always crazy for me, because when the film is finished, finding distribution for your film is the most exciting moment. Like now we can do something, even for shorts! We can take the film to festivals, we can sell it to TV, this is the fun part. Of course you need to have the right film.
But I quickly earned a reputation of being somebody who took very good care of his films. All my films went to many festivals and won awards and did well. So at the end of my studies I graduated with a 1.2 million feature, which was a big achievement at that time, this was 2010. I also launched my company more or less at the same time. Since then we’ve produced or coproduced 16 films.
Marina: What do you think drives you now to continue?
Sol: There was a moment, a couple of years ago where I realized I needed to shift gears. I separated from my previous business partner with whom I had had set up the company. We built the company together, but I realized our visions weren’t really aligned anymore. I had this urge to do slightly bigger films and my little family was growing and I simply needed to make more money — while staying true to the films that I love.
So rather than diversifying with many small projects, I wanted to make fewer films but larger ones. That is also a bigger risk in a way. I wanted to take it a bit slower than the previous 10 years. Maybe also because my wife is a filmmaker. We’ve had two kids, and now it’s also her turn to go to the forefront and make more films.
Marina: And so now I guess one could say you’ve kind of made it to the top or at least you’ve checked off all those goals that you wanted to reach.
Sol: Everything that has happened with Holy Spider is really great. And having a film in Cannes Competition is quite special — who knows if it’s going to happen again? So maybe, maybe this is the top.
Marina: Do you have different kinds of goals now?
Sol: No I think I have similar goals. I like to aim high. I’m ambitious. But I also know what’s within reach. I wouldn’t set goals that are completely unrealistic in that sense.
Marina: And can you talk about what you are working on right now, so that we can start tracking it?
Sol: Yeah, so Northern Comfort is a is a fear of flying comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, the same Icelandic director of Under the Tree. And this is his English language debut because his previous films have been remade in the US. We thought, why not just shoot in English language in the first place?
A diverse group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north. That film is a lot of fun for a change! And I know there’s appetite in the market for comedies. We’re in the final stages of postproduction and hoping to show the film sometime early next year.
Köln 75 is our real passion project. It’s set in Germany. The story came to us through Oren Moverman who approached us because we had worked on The Tale together. He felt that we would be the right people to be producing this. It’s a beautiful and inspiring great true story about a 17 year old school girl who organizes one of the the world’s most famous concerts on German soil, the Cologne concert from Keith Jarrett in 1975 which is widely regarded as his masterpiece and sold nearly 5 mil. copies worldwide. It really was the soundtrack of an entire generation. So it’s really exciting. An uplifting and fun story with a fantastic script by Ido Fluk. We already have amazing partners to work on this film.
Marina: Is it different now working on German soil?
Sol: Well it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time in a couple years and it is different, yes. Production has exploded across the world with the arrival of the streamers. In Germany we really feel it. All the actors, all the crews, everybody is just like working like crazy. So you could say of course it’s a great time to be a producer. But for us it’s always hard to make a film. Always has been, always will be, there are really no free rides if you’re producing independent films.
Marina: And last question, what advice do you have for young filmmakers?
Sol: The most simple and striking advice that I received myself at some point, though at first I nearly missed it, was from Katriel Schory who ran the film fund in Israel for a long time.
Sydney knows him well I’m sure.
He gave this one inspirational speech at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2006, when I was a film student. He said the most important thing for a producer is you always have to be nice, open and friendly. And I was like, well yeah… But the way that he explained it got to me. He said that everybody who’s in a certain position of power has a free choice who he wants to work with.
And these people are always going to choose to work with the people who are nice, open and friendly and if you are that person and if you are nice, open and friendly all the time, then you’re just more likely to climb the steps of your career. And at the same time you will make this industry a better place to work in.
I found it very compelling and striking and I’ve realized that that really is what brings you forward. And so I always tried to be that person. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, so I wonder if maybe I’ve lost it a little bit on the way. Producing Holy Spider was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and has surely made me very cynical at times, but that is definitely a good piece of advice for young filmmaker, I think.
Holy Spider, 115 minutes
Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden
Directed by: Ali Abbasi
Screenplay: Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Cast: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Nima Akbarpour, Sara Fazilat, Sina Parvaneh, Alice Rahimi, Mesbah Taleb
Cinematography by: Nadim Carlsen
Film Editing: Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Production Designer: Lina Nordqvist
Costumes Cesigner: Hanadi Khurma
Music: Martin Dirkov
Produced by: Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek
Co-producers: Fred Burle, Eva Åkergren, Vincent Maraval, Calle Marthin, Peter Possne, Olivier Père, Rémi Burah
Production Cos: Profile Pictures, One Two Films, Why Not Productions, Nordisk Film Production Ab
Backing: Danish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Moin Filmförderung, Dfff, Ffa, Nordisk Film + TV Fund, Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, Film I Väst, Zdf, Arte, Arte France Cinéma
Isa Wild Bunch has thus far sold Holy Spider to Utopia for U.S., Cinéart for Benelux, A-One Films Baltic for Baltics, Academy 2 ror Italy, Alamode Filmsfor Germany, BTeam Pictures for Spain, Bir Film for Turkey, Camera Film for Denmark, Canibal for Mexico, Cinobo for Greece, Edko Films for Hong Kong, Falcon Pictures for Indonesia, Film Europe for Czechia and Slovakia, Fivia/Cenex for Yugoslavia, Gaga for Japan, Gutek Film for Poland, Independenta Film for Romania, Karma for Spain, Metropolitan Filmexportfor France, Mubi for UK Ireland, Malaysia, India; Nordisk and Mer for Norway, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, Pancinema for South Korea, United King Films for Israel, Vertigo for Hungary, Xenix for Switzerland, Front Row for Mena.
US Theatrical Release October 28, 2022.
Producer Sol Bondy’s explanation of Holy Spider’s genesis and progress through the Covid infected era details the difficulties this film met at every step. However, once finished, it premiered in Cannes Competition and went on to play in the Jerusalem Film Festival, and in Toronto International Film Festival. He noted that the audience in Toronto; was 30–40% Iranians. Their ability to understand nuances and “code words” brought an element of laughter to an otherwise bloody crime film, labeled “Persian noir”.
The filmmaker Ali Abbasi is Iranian and lives in Denmark, the country submitting the film to the Motion Picture Academy for Oscar nomination. It could never have been shot in Iran due to its subject matter, though they did try, as they did in Turkey as well before shooting in Jordan. The production faced years of Covid‑19 surges, shooting delays, location changes and government resistance.
Holy Spider is based upon a true story of the infamous “spider killings” which took place while the director, Ali Abbasi, was living in the country between 2000 and 2001. It is produced by Germany’s Sol Bondy whose previous film Persian Lessons was also based on a provocative story and was Belarus’ 2020 submission for Oscars. Abbasi’s film Border was a Cannes winner of Un Certain Regard and 2018 Oscar nominated film.
A coproduction of Denmark, Germany, France, and Sweden, Holy Spider tells the story of Saeed Hanaei, a family man who embarks on his own religious quest to “cleanse” the holy Iranian city of Mashhad of immoral and corrupt street prostitutes. After murdering several women, he grows ever more desperate about the lack of public interest in his divine mission. In all, he murdered 16 women.
This genre film, with misogyny being the core theme, comes at a time where massive protests in Iran, following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini have unified the country in an unprecedented manner. While more and more protesters, many underage, are being killed by the regime, Holy Spider has met Iranian diaspora audiences with cheers.
During Cannes, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburgcelebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival. These were Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider in Competition, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness in Competition, Emily Atef’s More Than Ever in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s Un beau matin in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History of Destruction in Special Screenings, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ Mariupolis 2, in Special Screenings. Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding these films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
At their celebration, I spoke with one of the most outstanding young actresses who played Zinab, a sex worker in the Holy Spider. German-based, Iran-born Sara Fazilat is also German Film’s Face To Face ambassador 2022. She is also the lead cast in Nico by Eline Gehring that was shown almost worldwide at numerous film festivals. Unfortunately Nico is not available online in the U.S…yet. It is about Nico who is enjoying the summer in Berlin with her best friend Rosa until a racist attack pulls her out of her carefree everyday life. Traumatized by the crime, the geriatric nurse decides never to be a victim again and begins to train with a karate world champion.
I also saw Sol Bondy of One Two Films, one of the lead producers of Holy Spider. Produced along with Jacob Jarek of Denmark’s Profile Pictures, coproducers were Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Film i Väst, Why Not Productions, Zdf/Arte and Arte France Cinéma.
Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek also stand out as alumni of Berlinale Talents. They both co-produced Icelandic films The County and Under The Tree previously.
Jarek, who went to the National Film School of Denmark with Abbasi and was one of the producers of his debut feature Shelley, says the director “had this story in his mind for a long time but we officially started developing it in 2016”. After Abbasi’s second feature Border was an international success at Cannes and beyond in 2018, the filmmaker was in demand. He told Jarek, “Now’s our chance to make Holy Spider,” a project always close to his heart.
An Interview with Sol Bondy by Marina Dalarossa
Marina: So the first question is just about you and the producer Jakob Jarek. Could you talk a bit about how you actually came to work together?
Sol: We didn’t do the Berlinale Talents the same year. I did it relatively late in my career, and truthfully, mainly because of the woman who runs the program, she urged me to do it. I had worked for the talents for many, many years and quite a few of my friends had done it during film school and by the time I did it, I’d been out of film school running my company for 6 years already.
But we didn’t meet there. Jakob and I were both minor coproducers on an Icelandic film called Under the Tree. That’s how we met. And then we also were both minor coproducers on another Icelandic film called The County.
We knew of each other before, I knew some people that he worked with and thought they were doing really interesting films. And then in Cannes 2018, Border had just premiered a couple of days before, everybody was talking about it and Jakob asked me if I wanted to join the next film of Ali? I didn’t read a script or ask any questions; I also didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I said yes immediately. I sensed this could be a great opportunity.
And that instinct was right. The film was financed relatively quickly and within a year we had most of the budget together. But then Covid came. I’m sure we’ll get into that later!
Marina: Yes thanks. I want to know if you think being in Talents helped your career at all?
Sol: Well, given the very specific timing of it, I think it would have helped my career much more if I had done it earlier. But there are also other great intiatives out there, postgraduate training for producers. Before Talents, I did a program called Transatlantic Partners in 2013. That was really helpful and actually generated two big projects for me. One was Angry Indian Goddessesand the other was The Tale.
A couple of years later I did a program called Inside Pictures. It was also extremely valuable and really helped me make some really important business decisions going forward. Jacob also did this program but again, in another year. There are many great initiatives. Also I’ve always loved going to festivals. They make your network bigger and stronger.
Marina: You talked about how you came on board to produce Holy Spider, but what do you think made Jakob decide you should come in at that point?
Sol: He had a hard task producing and financing a film set in the Middle East without any Middle Eastern money. Also, with this topic it was clear you can’t just roll into Iran and make a film there.
On top of that, there had been a shift in the Danish government. Suddenly, to reach a certain amount of financing from the Danish Film Institute, the film had to be culturally relevant to Denmark. So I believe that halved the financing opportunities for Jacob in Denmark. He needed money from outside Denmark to make this film; he needed coproducers.
He’s well versed in international coproductions, so he knew when is a good time to attach coproducing partners and also how much time it can take. For instance, we often get approached with projects and they tell us they will be shooting in three months. We have to tell them that when we coproduce in Germany, we have deadlines and a lot of bureaucracy, so while we can do a lot — we’re very lucky with that — it still takes time.
To get back to the first question: We were ready to go, we had the budget we thought we needed to make the film and when Covid came and then Jakob found himself in a situation where two of his projects, a series and a feature film, were hit by Covid. And it was unclear how these massive losses were going to be covered. The world was in turmoil and Jakob’s projects in limbo.
It became clear, he could currently not commit to the project — such a challenging production by a very demanding director. Ali (the director) on the other hand, who could have chosen any project after his widely successful and much loved Border, was saying, “Guys, I get it, but I don’t care about circumstances. If you guys can’t figure out how we can make this film now, then it’s over, I’m out.”
And that put me under maximum pressure because making films is squarey our only source of income. I had three employees to pay, was expecting my second child, and at that pont, we didn’t know that the German government would be helping out companies like ours. Without this film, it seemed I would have to close my shop. So Jacob and I looked at what options we had and decided I would go for it. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but I said, Ok, I’ll do it.
What was unfortunate at that time is that Jordan, during the first wave, basically closed the borders and would not let anyone in. So the country that we had scouted and wanted to shoot in was essentially shut down. We couldn’t really plan a production there because nobody knew when the borders would open again or if they might close again at some point.
So it was decided to go to Turkey. It didn’t look like Erdogan was going to close Turkey. So we went into Turkey and we scouted for weeks with a big crew, the cinematographer, the production designer, the line producers from Germany, the Turkish line producer who we hired to service the production. There was a big gang scouting different cities in Turkey. And although it was harder to match Iran, we found the right locations a couple of weeks later.
The crew was growing; we were exploring how to bring period cars over the border. Pre-production was basically in full swing, at the same time, we were waiting for a shooting permit, and this shooting permit never came. So I decided to do some more digging because this was making me very uncomfortable. I knew I couldn’t shoot without the permit. I was about to spend a significant amount of more money and I’d already spent around €50,000. Not being able to shoot the film in Turkey would mean that money would just be down the drain. Plus the entire production plan. You can imagine, with everything there, where we came from, the delays that we had already encountered, it was nerve-wracking.
We then basically found out behind the scenes that our application had gone from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Turkish Ambassador and he got the feedback that this film should not be supported.
I then took Ali and my two line producers and we flew to Ankara to meet with the Ministry of Culture. And they told us to speak to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that to get shooting permits we hd to speak with the Ministry of Culture. They basically used us like a pinball. We realiaed that we had been censored in Turkey. And it was a huge blow. I fet so hepless. Everyone was upset. Ali was furious.
It took some time to get the whole demoralized team back into the mental state to give it another go back in Jordan, where the borders had re-opened but which was logistically much more complicated.
And we went for it. We found new locations, hired local crews, got visas for our Iranian players and even managed to import Iranian cars to Jordan. You could make a documentary feature about just this aspect of the production of importing these cars. They arrived after a huge delay, when we were already shooting, but we managed to make it work.
Marina: This sounds intense. Were there other significant issues?
One of the most challenging aspects of the film was the casting, which was very complex, as we were mainly looking for Iranians who didn’t live in Iran. We knew participating in this film would be challenging for their future in the country. But Ali was adamant that his two main roles needed to be perfect in terms of their body language and the dialect. So we essentially needed people from Iran. We had found two who were willing to take the risk with all the consequences even potentially relocating after the shoot. The lead actress finally came for the makeup and hair test about 10 days before shooting. Couple days later she came to my hotel room crying and said, “I can’t do it. It’s too much.”
So we were a week before shooting and we didn’t have a lead actress. It was another massive blow. And this is when it was decided after bit of back and forth and deliberation that our casting director Zar Amir-Ebrahimi would step in and play the role. And she was rewarded in Cannes with the Best Actress Golden Palm. It’s a pretty crazy story.
And then, just two days before we were Finally going to shoot the film, Covid hit us in a way where couldn’t start shooting. I felt like I didn’t know if I was making a film or if I was in “Lost in La Mancha — Part 2”. My wife for months kept telling me I should have a documentary crew filming all this madness. I told her I was going to murder someone if I had a documentary crew around.
Marina: Wow! And after the film was completed, Denmark’s decided to submit your film to the Academy Awards. Do you know what went into their decision?
Sol: Well, the Danes may have one of the best track records in recent years when it comes to choosing the film and then being nominated or even winning. I think in the last 11 years they won twice. They got 7 nominations and I think 9 made the shortlist.
So this speaks to two things: First of all, the quality of the films they make in this small country. And then, they really look carefully at which films has the biggest chances. In our case: no other Danish film had been to Cannes competition. No other film had US distribution and played Telluride and TIFF. And already in Cannes, we had the fantastic PR of past successes like Drive My Car and Flee, so it made a lot of sense for them to choose Holy Spider. It’s still a very brave choice because it’s not a very Danish film on the outside. On the inside it looks different, you know the composer is Danish, the editor is Danish, the production designer, ok she’s Swedish, but Ali also has a Danish passport. Jakob is like me, a delegate producer and is Danish. So it has a strong Danish footprint.
Many outlets, like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter included the film in their predictions to get the nomination. So I guess all this helped the Danes come to this decision.
Marina: How does it feel to be chosen by the Danes and also to be chosen for Cannes and have gotten so many prizes already?
Sol: What can I say? It feels great! At the same time, it’s also a lot of hard work. And it’s something that we always had our eyes upon, also because Border won the Un Certain Regard. So after that, the next step is to be in Cannes Competition. Now I’ve seen this go both ways, The Icelandic film where Jacob and I were minority producers together: the filmmaker had previously done the film Rams, which had also won Un Certain Regard. We all hoped to go to Cannes Competition with this new film, The County. But we didn’t get into Cannes at all. We premiered in Toronto, which is good, but it’s not the same So looking coldly at that, you could say we failed.
Another example would be a finished film, that I was happy to be a coproducer on, called The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki . It won Un Certain Regard the year after Rams did. And so the director wanted his next film, Compartment No. 6, to go to Cannes Competition — and it did. It even won the Jury Prize! Sadly, I wasn’t involved in that production.
This is something we were discussing throughout this entire production. We were always saying the film was our chance to show the world Ali was not a one-hit wonder. You know, many people refer to Border as Ali’s first film, which it’s not. It’s his second film, his first film Shelley did well, but it wasn’t a massive breakout hit like Border was. It’s hard to follow up on a success like that.
So that fact that we succeeded in following up the Certain Regard win with getting into Competition was very exciting and rewarding. I also have to give credit to our French co-producers Wild Bunch and Why Not Productions. While they didn’t really have a lot to do with the physical production, they really helped in securing the world premiere. They gave us invaluable advice in the last stretch.
I can say that until now, we have achieved every goal that we had, and there are a few exciting steps ahead. The US release had a great limited opening weekend, the nominations at the European Film Awards are coming up and then there’s of course the Oscar shortlist of 15 films just before Christmas. We’re crossing our fingers!
Marina: I also have to ask, with the recent events in Iran, was this something you were thinking of making the film?
Sol: Well no, of course not! But the fact that our film is based on a 20 year old case — and has become so shockingly timely is incredible. Showing the film at festivals where many Iranians attend has been such an intense experience. People have thanked us for our courage to finally make a film that shows a (big) portion of their reality, one they don’t get to see in Iranian cinema. And of course the film’s main theme, misogyny, is squarely what is firing up this revolution in Iran. It really feels like the days of the Islamic Republic will be over, the different groups withing the Iranian society are more united then ever before, men are supporting women on the street and the next generation isn’t willing to give up. It’s insane what is happening there and honestly, more people should be talking about this. They are killing teenagers in the street.
Marina: The next couple questions I want to ask you are more general about your career. What did you think when you chose your career?
Sol: My parents are both filmmakers, but I never really cared too much about their work. I was quite oblivious to what was what was going on right in front of me.
But through my parents connections, I was cast as a child actor and did quite a bit of acting, so I always thought that after high school I would become an actor. But then I realized maybe I should also look for something behind the camera, because I remembered as a child actor, people were so nice and the jobs seemed fun and interesting and so I did an internship. And it became clear to me that I needed to become a director! I thought this would be the perfect way to combine all my talents.
It took three or four years and a lot of failed applications for directing to realize that I would not be studying film directing at any film school. But Reinhad Hauff, the head of the dffb, the Berlin Film School, said at some point after my second failed application that he thought I might be good for his producing class. And that’s how I got into producing after never having given it a thought before.
And I really came to terms with my profession the end of my second year while working with this one director, Grzegorz Muskala, I realized if I could find people like him, with an exceptional level of talent and tenacity and foresight I could be the right person to support them. I just needed to be very picky about who I chose to work with.
On the other hand, I also realized I have a real knack for distribution, because many producing students in my film school would just produce a film and then they would just produce the next film. And this was always crazy for me, because when the film is finished, finding distribution for your film is the most exciting moment. Like now we can do something, even for shorts! We can take the film to festivals, we can sell it to TV, this is the fun part. Of course you need to have the right film.
But I quickly earned a reputation of being somebody who took very good care of his films. All my films went to many festivals and won awards and did well. So at the end of my studies I graduated with a 1.2 million feature, which was a big achievement at that time, this was 2010. I also launched my company more or less at the same time. Since then we’ve produced or coproduced 16 films.
Marina: What do you think drives you now to continue?
Sol: There was a moment, a couple of years ago where I realized I needed to shift gears. I separated from my previous business partner with whom I had had set up the company. We built the company together, but I realized our visions weren’t really aligned anymore. I had this urge to do slightly bigger films and my little family was growing and I simply needed to make more money — while staying true to the films that I love.
So rather than diversifying with many small projects, I wanted to make fewer films but larger ones. That is also a bigger risk in a way. I wanted to take it a bit slower than the previous 10 years. Maybe also because my wife is a filmmaker. We’ve had two kids, and now it’s also her turn to go to the forefront and make more films.
Marina: And so now I guess one could say you’ve kind of made it to the top or at least you’ve checked off all those goals that you wanted to reach.
Sol: Everything that has happened with Holy Spider is really great. And having a film in Cannes Competition is quite special — who knows if it’s going to happen again? So maybe, maybe this is the top.
Marina: Do you have different kinds of goals now?
Sol: No I think I have similar goals. I like to aim high. I’m ambitious. But I also know what’s within reach. I wouldn’t set goals that are completely unrealistic in that sense.
Marina: And can you talk about what you are working on right now, so that we can start tracking it?
Sol: Yeah, so Northern Comfort is a is a fear of flying comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, the same Icelandic director of Under the Tree. And this is his English language debut because his previous films have been remade in the US. We thought, why not just shoot in English language in the first place?
A diverse group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north. That film is a lot of fun for a change! And I know there’s appetite in the market for comedies. We’re in the final stages of postproduction and hoping to show the film sometime early next year.
Köln 75 is our real passion project. It’s set in Germany. The story came to us through Oren Moverman who approached us because we had worked on The Tale together. He felt that we would be the right people to be producing this. It’s a beautiful and inspiring great true story about a 17 year old school girl who organizes one of the the world’s most famous concerts on German soil, the Cologne concert from Keith Jarrett in 1975 which is widely regarded as his masterpiece and sold nearly 5 mil. copies worldwide. It really was the soundtrack of an entire generation. So it’s really exciting. An uplifting and fun story with a fantastic script by Ido Fluk. We already have amazing partners to work on this film.
Marina: Is it different now working on German soil?
Sol: Well it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time in a couple years and it is different, yes. Production has exploded across the world with the arrival of the streamers. In Germany we really feel it. All the actors, all the crews, everybody is just like working like crazy. So you could say of course it’s a great time to be a producer. But for us it’s always hard to make a film. Always has been, always will be, there are really no free rides if you’re producing independent films.
Marina: And last question, what advice do you have for young filmmakers?
Sol: The most simple and striking advice that I received myself at some point, though at first I nearly missed it, was from Katriel Schory who ran the film fund in Israel for a long time.
Sydney knows him well I’m sure.
He gave this one inspirational speech at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2006, when I was a film student. He said the most important thing for a producer is you always have to be nice, open and friendly. And I was like, well yeah… But the way that he explained it got to me. He said that everybody who’s in a certain position of power has a free choice who he wants to work with.
And these people are always going to choose to work with the people who are nice, open and friendly and if you are that person and if you are nice, open and friendly all the time, then you’re just more likely to climb the steps of your career. And at the same time you will make this industry a better place to work in.
I found it very compelling and striking and I’ve realized that that really is what brings you forward. And so I always tried to be that person. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, so I wonder if maybe I’ve lost it a little bit on the way. Producing Holy Spider was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and has surely made me very cynical at times, but that is definitely a good piece of advice for young filmmaker, I think.
Holy Spider, 115 minutes
Germany, Denmark, France, Sweden
Directed by: Ali Abbasi
Screenplay: Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Cast: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Nima Akbarpour, Sara Fazilat, Sina Parvaneh, Alice Rahimi, Mesbah Taleb
Cinematography by: Nadim Carlsen
Film Editing: Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Production Designer: Lina Nordqvist
Costumes Cesigner: Hanadi Khurma
Music: Martin Dirkov
Produced by: Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek
Co-producers: Fred Burle, Eva Åkergren, Vincent Maraval, Calle Marthin, Peter Possne, Olivier Père, Rémi Burah
Production Cos: Profile Pictures, One Two Films, Why Not Productions, Nordisk Film Production Ab
Backing: Danish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Moin Filmförderung, Dfff, Ffa, Nordisk Film + TV Fund, Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, Film I Väst, Zdf, Arte, Arte France Cinéma
Isa Wild Bunch has thus far sold Holy Spider to Utopia for U.S., Cinéart for Benelux, A-One Films Baltic for Baltics, Academy 2 ror Italy, Alamode Filmsfor Germany, BTeam Pictures for Spain, Bir Film for Turkey, Camera Film for Denmark, Canibal for Mexico, Cinobo for Greece, Edko Films for Hong Kong, Falcon Pictures for Indonesia, Film Europe for Czechia and Slovakia, Fivia/Cenex for Yugoslavia, Gaga for Japan, Gutek Film for Poland, Independenta Film for Romania, Karma for Spain, Metropolitan Filmexportfor France, Mubi for UK Ireland, Malaysia, India; Nordisk and Mer for Norway, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, Pancinema for South Korea, United King Films for Israel, Vertigo for Hungary, Xenix for Switzerland, Front Row for Mena.
- 12/18/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
“Black Sands” producer Glassriver, one of Scandinavia’s fastest-growing production powerhouses, is teaming with a powerful writing duo, Ragnar Bragason and Snjolaug Ludviksdottir, to create “Magaluf.”
Currently in development, “Magaluf” marks a high-profile projects at late June’s Conecta Fiction in Spain, where it competes in the forum’s CoPro Series section.
One of Iceland’s most consistently prized top writers and directors and creator and head writer on “Magaluf,” Bragason’s credits include movie 2013’s “Metalhead,” which wonbest Nordic film at Göteborg, and in series, “The Night Shift,” part of a larger hit dramedy franchise, and the admired international sales hit “Prisoners.”
A stand-up comedian, Ludviksdottir co-writes. “She is a wonderful writer and writes three of the six episodes and on top of that ensuring that the female characters really come to life in a meaningful way,” said Glassriver co-owner Hörður Rúnarsson, a producer on the show with Arnbjorg...
Currently in development, “Magaluf” marks a high-profile projects at late June’s Conecta Fiction in Spain, where it competes in the forum’s CoPro Series section.
One of Iceland’s most consistently prized top writers and directors and creator and head writer on “Magaluf,” Bragason’s credits include movie 2013’s “Metalhead,” which wonbest Nordic film at Göteborg, and in series, “The Night Shift,” part of a larger hit dramedy franchise, and the admired international sales hit “Prisoners.”
A stand-up comedian, Ludviksdottir co-writes. “She is a wonderful writer and writes three of the six episodes and on top of that ensuring that the female characters really come to life in a meaningful way,” said Glassriver co-owner Hörður Rúnarsson, a producer on the show with Arnbjorg...
- 6/6/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Writer-director Tinna Hrafnsdóttir’s critically acclaimed Icelandic psychological-mystery drama “Quake” has sold to Juno Films for North America and the U.K. as well as to Njuta Films for Sweden.
British-French production, distribution and sales company Alief is presenting the film at the upcoming Cannes Marché du Film.
Anita Briem stars as Saga, a single mother fighting to keep her young son while trying to piece together her life after losing her memory. Afraid of being considered unable to take care of her child, Saga attempts to hide her state from others as she searches for answers and recovers long repressed memories.
“‘Quake’ is a taut mystery-thriller that masterfully spirals toward a cathartic, emotionally satisfying resolution,” said Elizabeth Sheldon, Juno Films’ president and CEO. “The stunning cinematography reflects a barren cold landscape that in turn reflects the emotionally frigid familial relationships in a film that keeps you guessing — until the very end — what is true.
British-French production, distribution and sales company Alief is presenting the film at the upcoming Cannes Marché du Film.
Anita Briem stars as Saga, a single mother fighting to keep her young son while trying to piece together her life after losing her memory. Afraid of being considered unable to take care of her child, Saga attempts to hide her state from others as she searches for answers and recovers long repressed memories.
“‘Quake’ is a taut mystery-thriller that masterfully spirals toward a cathartic, emotionally satisfying resolution,” said Elizabeth Sheldon, Juno Films’ president and CEO. “The stunning cinematography reflects a barren cold landscape that in turn reflects the emotionally frigid familial relationships in a film that keeps you guessing — until the very end — what is true.
- 5/12/2022
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Drama
“Floodlights,” a feature-length single drama for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer tells the story of Andy Woodward, the former professional soccer player whose revelations about the sexual abuse he suffered as a youth player sent shockwaves throughout the industry. In 2016, Woodward went public about sexual abuse by his youth coach, Barry Bennell. After doing so, hundreds more men, many also victims of Bennell, found the courage to speak up about their experiences of abuse, lifting the lid on a national scandal in the U.K.’s most popular sport.
Gerard Kearns (“The Last Kingdom”) portrays Woodward and the cast also includes Jonas Armstrong (“Hollington Drive”), Morven Christie (“Lockwood & Co”) and Steve Edge (“Benidorm”).
“Floodlights,” made with the full cooperation of Woodward, is written by BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Matt Greenhalgh and directed by BAFTA-nominated Nick Rowland (“Calm With Horses”). It is produced by Expectation, part of BBC Studios’ portfolio of indies...
“Floodlights,” a feature-length single drama for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer tells the story of Andy Woodward, the former professional soccer player whose revelations about the sexual abuse he suffered as a youth player sent shockwaves throughout the industry. In 2016, Woodward went public about sexual abuse by his youth coach, Barry Bennell. After doing so, hundreds more men, many also victims of Bennell, found the courage to speak up about their experiences of abuse, lifting the lid on a national scandal in the U.K.’s most popular sport.
Gerard Kearns (“The Last Kingdom”) portrays Woodward and the cast also includes Jonas Armstrong (“Hollington Drive”), Morven Christie (“Lockwood & Co”) and Steve Edge (“Benidorm”).
“Floodlights,” made with the full cooperation of Woodward, is written by BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Matt Greenhalgh and directed by BAFTA-nominated Nick Rowland (“Calm With Horses”). It is produced by Expectation, part of BBC Studios’ portfolio of indies...
- 3/29/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Lydia Leonard (the English Call My Agent remake), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg Vs. McEnroe) are leading the cast of Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson’s first English language feature Northern Comfort.
The project is getting principal photography underway now in Iceland, beginning in lake Mývatn before moving to Reykjavik and eventually the UK and France. Above is a first-look at the cast in action.
Also starring are Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney. The film is a comedy in which a motley group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north.
Paris-based Charades is handling world sales on the project. Film4 has taken UK free TV rights, Scanbox has pre-bought Nordic rights, Weltkino has rights in Germany and Sena will handle distribution in Iceland.
Director Sigurdsson’s previous work includes Under The Tree, which debuted at Venice Film Festival in...
The project is getting principal photography underway now in Iceland, beginning in lake Mývatn before moving to Reykjavik and eventually the UK and France. Above is a first-look at the cast in action.
Also starring are Ella Rumpf, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney. The film is a comedy in which a motley group of people with a chronic fear of flying are stranded in the wintry north.
Paris-based Charades is handling world sales on the project. Film4 has taken UK free TV rights, Scanbox has pre-bought Nordic rights, Weltkino has rights in Germany and Sena will handle distribution in Iceland.
Director Sigurdsson’s previous work includes Under The Tree, which debuted at Venice Film Festival in...
- 2/9/2022
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
U.K.-French sales agent, distribution and production company Alief has picked up worldwide sales for Icelandic haunting mystery title “Quake,” which will have its world premiere Nov. 20 at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Variety has been given access to the trailer.
The project was selected for Toronto Film Festival Filmmaker Lab in 2017, was selected to the final round at Sundance Institute Development Track in 2018, and the film was picked by Toronto Film Festival for its Industry Selects program this year.
It is the feature debut as writer and director of actor Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, whose acting credits include “Margrete – Queen of the North,” “Valhalla Murders” and “The Minister.”
The film, based on the novel “Grand Mal/Quake: A Novel” by Audur Jonsdóttir, stars Anita Briem, and Edda Björgvinsdóttir. It is produced by Hlín Jóhannesdóttir of Ursus Parvus.
“Quake” follows Saga (Briem), a single mother in her late thirties, who gets...
The project was selected for Toronto Film Festival Filmmaker Lab in 2017, was selected to the final round at Sundance Institute Development Track in 2018, and the film was picked by Toronto Film Festival for its Industry Selects program this year.
It is the feature debut as writer and director of actor Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, whose acting credits include “Margrete – Queen of the North,” “Valhalla Murders” and “The Minister.”
The film, based on the novel “Grand Mal/Quake: A Novel” by Audur Jonsdóttir, stars Anita Briem, and Edda Björgvinsdóttir. It is produced by Hlín Jóhannesdóttir of Ursus Parvus.
“Quake” follows Saga (Briem), a single mother in her late thirties, who gets...
- 11/4/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Here’s a cool-sounding Euro package. Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczyńska, who will helm her English-language debut Silent Twins starring Letitia Wright this fall, has been set to direct dystopian crime drama Hot Spot.
Producers are Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska at Poland’s Madants, who produced Claire Denis’ High Life and Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones, alongside Before Midnight producer Christos V. Konstantakopoulos at Greek production outfit Faliro House.
Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales, which is repping rights on buzzy 2020 Cannes label title Sweat and has also been inking deals this week on Noomi Rapace starrer Lamb, has boarded world rights to the pic.
Poland has been on a roll in recent years, delivering acclaimed features including the Oscar-nominated trio Cold War, Corpus Christi and Loving Vincent. Smoczyńska herself helmed 2016 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic jury prize winner The Lure and 2018 Cannes premiere Fugue.
For Hot Spot, she is re-teaming with The Lure scribe Robert Bolesto.
Producers are Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska at Poland’s Madants, who produced Claire Denis’ High Life and Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones, alongside Before Midnight producer Christos V. Konstantakopoulos at Greek production outfit Faliro House.
Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales, which is repping rights on buzzy 2020 Cannes label title Sweat and has also been inking deals this week on Noomi Rapace starrer Lamb, has boarded world rights to the pic.
Poland has been on a roll in recent years, delivering acclaimed features including the Oscar-nominated trio Cold War, Corpus Christi and Loving Vincent. Smoczyńska herself helmed 2016 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic jury prize winner The Lure and 2018 Cannes premiere Fugue.
For Hot Spot, she is re-teaming with The Lure scribe Robert Bolesto.
- 6/26/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
After the death of her dairy farmer husband, a middle-aged woman courageously sacrifices her livelihood to speak out against the corruption and injustice at work in her community in the audience-pleasing, humanist drama “The County.” Like writer-director Grímur Hákonarson’s previous film “Rams,” . The yin to that film’s yang, “The County” is full of feisty female energy and imagery, and sprinkled with rousing “you go girl!” comic moments. Niche arthouse play is a given for this appealing and endearingly modest tale.
Hard-working couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run Dalsmynni, a mom-and-pop dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. With money tight and their hours long, they haven’t been able to take a vacation for three years. At night, they are so fatigued that they can barely manage to mumble, “Did you call the inseminator?” or “Did you order the fertilizer?” before collapsing into bed.
Hard-working couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run Dalsmynni, a mom-and-pop dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. With money tight and their hours long, they haven’t been able to take a vacation for three years. At night, they are so fatigued that they can barely manage to mumble, “Did you call the inseminator?” or “Did you order the fertilizer?” before collapsing into bed.
- 9/8/2019
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Sol Bondy’s Berlin-based One Two Films has boarded Iranian helmer Rafi Pitts’ latest film, “Random Star Suicide,” produced by French shingle Les Films du Worso and set to shoot next year.
After 2016’s “Soy Nero,” Pitts again examines Americans living on the margins of society in a story that follows a young black man and a working-class veteran whose lives and destinies cross.
One Two Films is continuing its focus on international and English-language productions as it recalibrates following the recent exit of longtime partner Jamila Wenske. The company has a new office in Berlin and a slew of projects in the works as it seeks to broaden its reach as an international co-producer specialized in Germany’s soft money incentives.
One Two Films partnered with Denmark’s Profile Pictures on Grimur Hakonarson’s Icelandic drama “The County,” which premieres in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section, and the...
After 2016’s “Soy Nero,” Pitts again examines Americans living on the margins of society in a story that follows a young black man and a working-class veteran whose lives and destinies cross.
One Two Films is continuing its focus on international and English-language productions as it recalibrates following the recent exit of longtime partner Jamila Wenske. The company has a new office in Berlin and a slew of projects in the works as it seeks to broaden its reach as an international co-producer specialized in Germany’s soft money incentives.
One Two Films partnered with Denmark’s Profile Pictures on Grimur Hakonarson’s Icelandic drama “The County,” which premieres in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section, and the...
- 9/6/2019
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Bondy will continue to run the company.
Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy, founders and managing partners of German production outfit One Two Films, have decided to part ways.
Bondy will continue to run the company with investor and partner Christoph Lange. Fred Burle, One Two Films’ project manager since 2017, has started working on his own projects as a producer, reporting to Bondy.
Wenske will take her projects with her to Achtung Panda!, the Berlin-based production outfit she is joining as managing director. More details about her role at Achtung Panda! will be revealed soon.
One Two Films has made a...
Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy, founders and managing partners of German production outfit One Two Films, have decided to part ways.
Bondy will continue to run the company with investor and partner Christoph Lange. Fred Burle, One Two Films’ project manager since 2017, has started working on his own projects as a producer, reporting to Bondy.
Wenske will take her projects with her to Achtung Panda!, the Berlin-based production outfit she is joining as managing director. More details about her role at Achtung Panda! will be revealed soon.
One Two Films has made a...
- 8/21/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Bondy will continue to run the company.
Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy, founders and managing partners of German production outfit One Two Films, have decided to part ways.
Bondy will continue to run the company with investor and partner Christoph Lange. Fred Burle, One Two Films’ project manager since 2017, has started working on his own projects as a producer, reporting to Bondy.
Wenske will take her projects with her to Achtung Panda!, the Berlin-based production outfit she is joining as managing director. More details about her role at Achtung Panda! will be revealed soon.
One Two Films has made a...
Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy, founders and managing partners of German production outfit One Two Films, have decided to part ways.
Bondy will continue to run the company with investor and partner Christoph Lange. Fred Burle, One Two Films’ project manager since 2017, has started working on his own projects as a producer, reporting to Bondy.
Wenske will take her projects with her to Achtung Panda!, the Berlin-based production outfit she is joining as managing director. More details about her role at Achtung Panda! will be revealed soon.
One Two Films has made a...
- 8/21/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Here’s a list of what the Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson says is missing from his new film “Woman at War”: “No misery, no violence, no death, not even a gun, and no sex.”
Despite the absence of those mainstays, he said “Woman at War” is an action thriller with lessons for Hollywood films. It’s a tense, topical film of espionage, sabotage and personal demons about a lone eco-terrorist (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) being hunted by the Icelandic government and a massive corporation doing harm to the environment.
And because this is an Icelandic film, its hero has a trio of musicians who follow her across hill sides, rooftops and into her home providing the film’s brisk, invigorating score as she goes. At one point, a drummer seemingly tips her off to the danger awaiting her.
“I wish they would do more of this,” Erlingsson told TheWrap’s Steve Pond...
Despite the absence of those mainstays, he said “Woman at War” is an action thriller with lessons for Hollywood films. It’s a tense, topical film of espionage, sabotage and personal demons about a lone eco-terrorist (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) being hunted by the Icelandic government and a massive corporation doing harm to the environment.
And because this is an Icelandic film, its hero has a trio of musicians who follow her across hill sides, rooftops and into her home providing the film’s brisk, invigorating score as she goes. At one point, a drummer seemingly tips her off to the danger awaiting her.
“I wish they would do more of this,” Erlingsson told TheWrap’s Steve Pond...
- 2/28/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The County
Four years after his hit sophomore film Rams (2015), Iceland’s Grimur Hakonarson should at last be ready with his third feature, The County. His latest is an Icelandic-Danish-French-German co-production, comprised of Hakonarson’s returning producer Grimar Jonsson (also of 2017’s Under the Tree) plus co-producers Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy. Starring Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Hakonarson also reunites with his Rams actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, who are also joined by Hinrik Ólafsson, Hannes Óli Ágústsson, Ragnhildur Gísladóttir and Denmark’s Jens Albinus.…...
Four years after his hit sophomore film Rams (2015), Iceland’s Grimur Hakonarson should at last be ready with his third feature, The County. His latest is an Icelandic-Danish-French-German co-production, comprised of Hakonarson’s returning producer Grimar Jonsson (also of 2017’s Under the Tree) plus co-producers Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy. Starring Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Hakonarson also reunites with his Rams actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, who are also joined by Hinrik Ólafsson, Hannes Óli Ágústsson, Ragnhildur Gísladóttir and Denmark’s Jens Albinus.…...
- 1/4/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Ewa Puszczyńska, Klaudia Śmieja, Jan Naszewski join forces.
Ewa Puszczyńska and Klaudia Śmieja have joined forces with Jan Naszewski’s Poland-based New Europe Film Sales (Rams) to form production company Nem Corp.
The company is putting together a slate that will aim to attract international film projects to Poland, with a view to taking advantage of the 30% tax incentives newly introduced by the Polish parliament, as well as the soft money and private funding opportunities available in the country.
It will do co-production and service work, as well as developing new projects with Polish talents. New Europe will take on...
Ewa Puszczyńska and Klaudia Śmieja have joined forces with Jan Naszewski’s Poland-based New Europe Film Sales (Rams) to form production company Nem Corp.
The company is putting together a slate that will aim to attract international film projects to Poland, with a view to taking advantage of the 30% tax incentives newly introduced by the Polish parliament, as well as the soft money and private funding opportunities available in the country.
It will do co-production and service work, as well as developing new projects with Polish talents. New Europe will take on...
- 8/31/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Ewa Puszczyńska, the producer behind Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winner “Ida” and the director’s Cannes best director award winner and Toronto Film Festival entry “Cold War,” is setting up a new production company, Nem Corp., with Klaudia Śmieja, the producer of Claire Denis’ Toronto film “High Life” and Agnieszka Holland’s upcoming “Gareth Jones,” and sales agent Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales.
Nem Corp. intends to attract “prestigious international film projects” to Poland, both as co-productions and service work, as well as develop projects of its own with top Polish talent. The company, which is already working on a slate of projects, wants to take advantage of the 30% tax incentive newly introduced by the Polish parliament as well as the soft money and private funding opportunities available in Poland.
Puszczyńska co-produced Robert Schwentke’s “The Captain” and Rezo Gigineishvili’s Berlinale-selected “Hostages,” and works as an expert for the Torino Film Lab.
Nem Corp. intends to attract “prestigious international film projects” to Poland, both as co-productions and service work, as well as develop projects of its own with top Polish talent. The company, which is already working on a slate of projects, wants to take advantage of the 30% tax incentive newly introduced by the Polish parliament as well as the soft money and private funding opportunities available in Poland.
Puszczyńska co-produced Robert Schwentke’s “The Captain” and Rezo Gigineishvili’s Berlinale-selected “Hostages,” and works as an expert for the Torino Film Lab.
- 8/31/2018
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
From a missing dog to an unspeakable encounter with a nail gun, neighbours rage in Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s skilful black comedy
Lest the people of Iceland be getting complacent about their ranking as the fourth happiest country in the world, here’s an unsettling film sniffing at something rotten at the back of the fridge – behind the paid-for higher education, hang-up-free sex and tastefully minimal interiors.
The film’s director, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, has said his inspiration for Under the Tree was Iceland’s high rate of “neighbour rage”: over-the-fence feuds between ordinary respectable people. Blame the Viking DNA. He skilfully constructs his film as part-thriller, part-intelligent relationship drama, topped with a juicy dollop of savage black comedy.
Lest the people of Iceland be getting complacent about their ranking as the fourth happiest country in the world, here’s an unsettling film sniffing at something rotten at the back of the fridge – behind the paid-for higher education, hang-up-free sex and tastefully minimal interiors.
The film’s director, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, has said his inspiration for Under the Tree was Iceland’s high rate of “neighbour rage”: over-the-fence feuds between ordinary respectable people. Blame the Viking DNA. He skilfully constructs his film as part-thriller, part-intelligent relationship drama, topped with a juicy dollop of savage black comedy.
- 8/10/2018
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Best director goes to Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson for Under The Tree.
Nancy, directed by Us filmmaker Christina Choe, was awarded the Grand Prize in the International Competition of this year’s Skip City International D-Cinema Festival (July 13-22) in Japan.
The film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance film festival, stars Andrea Riseborough as a woman who claims to be the long-lost daughter of a couple seeking the child they lost in a shopping mall in the 1980s.
Best director went to Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson for Under The Tree, about a man forced to move...
Nancy, directed by Us filmmaker Christina Choe, was awarded the Grand Prize in the International Competition of this year’s Skip City International D-Cinema Festival (July 13-22) in Japan.
The film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance film festival, stars Andrea Riseborough as a woman who claims to be the long-lost daughter of a couple seeking the child they lost in a shopping mall in the 1980s.
Best director went to Icelandic filmmaker Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson for Under The Tree, about a man forced to move...
- 7/24/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Sorrow, grief and tragedy underpin deep-seated trauma in Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s snowballing dark comedy “Under The Tree.” Like an extravagant oak casting an overwhelming shade, distress and dissension brood over the lives of two neighboring families. With trivial apprehension uprooting suburban comfort, Sigurðsson’s latest proves that regardless of our individual aches and pains, grief-stricken irrationality poses tremendous and even horrifying consequences.
Iceland’s Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film this past year, “Under The Tree” operates between two plotlines divulging into preventable animosity and misunderstanding—one between neighbors, and the other between a couple who separate over the husband’s suspected affair.
Continue reading ‘Under The Tree’: There’s Familial Dysfunction, Trauma, Grief And Hostile Neighbors [Review] at The Playlist.
Iceland’s Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film this past year, “Under The Tree” operates between two plotlines divulging into preventable animosity and misunderstanding—one between neighbors, and the other between a couple who separate over the husband’s suspected affair.
Continue reading ‘Under The Tree’: There’s Familial Dysfunction, Trauma, Grief And Hostile Neighbors [Review] at The Playlist.
- 7/7/2018
- by Kyle Kohner
- The Playlist
Sundance debut Sorry to Bother You opens in seven markets this weekend via Annapurna, which picked up the title out of the festival. Written and directed by Boots Riley, the genre-bending fantasy-sic-fi stars Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson. Cannes 2018 doc Whitney will go out in well several hundred locations, hoping to tap the momentum of docs Rbg, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and Three Identical Strangers, which have had robust theatrical runs this spring/summer. Time will tell whether the Whitney Houston pic can replicate the success of the 2015 Amy Winehouse doc Amy, which also spotlighted a musical sensation who died way too soon. That A24 release took in more than $8.4M and an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. And Breaking Glass Pictures is opening Daniel Peddle’s adventure-drama Moss in two New York and L.A. locations ahead of an on-demand release July 10.
Other limited rollouts this weekend...
Other limited rollouts this weekend...
- 7/5/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
On the heels of Winter Brothers, a dramedy about alienation, brotherhood and "being loved and fucked" (read the review), comes yet another Icelandic dramedy, Under the Tree. Compared to the artist Hlynur Pálmason behind Winter Brothers, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson has already made two feature-length films whilst his debut, Either Way, scored a second-life when David Gordon Green tried his hand at it, eventually turning it into Prince Avalanche (read the review). Sigurdsson's recurring theme of people in crisis transposes unto his third oeuvre, although he opted for a bigger ensemble this time. The writer-director juggles two storylines. He opens Under the Tree rather swiftly in a brisk sequence of a couple in a bed, porn being watched, an offended wife and a man being kicked...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/5/2018
- Screen Anarchy
If humans weren’t always the pettiest creatures on Earth, we’ve definitely earned the title this past century. Just think about how often you find yourself asking the question, “Let’s see what they’ll do about this?” I don’t mean hypothetically either. I’m talking about truly contemplating your next smugly biting (until an inevitable escalation leads you towards unforgivably heinous) act of vengeance to counter whatever your latest opponent in life has delivered. Eventually we forget how our duel began because our desperation to achieve a win proves too powerful to accept anything else. I’m sure this mindset has been exacerbated by newfound convenience through technology because things that used to occupy our time have been streamlined or replaced. The resulting boredom ignites an unquenchable desire for triumphant satisfaction.
What’s worse is that our opponents very often become people we cannot avoid. Our own...
What’s worse is that our opponents very often become people we cannot avoid. Our own...
- 7/5/2018
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
There are a lot of people that can relate to the situations presented in the Icelandic dark comedy film, “Under the Tree.” The film, which was shown at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, follows a couple who is absolutely sick of their next-door neighbors after said neighbors complain about a tree in their backyard. According to the neighbors, the couple’s tree casts a large shadow over their sundeck and they would like it to be cut down.
Continue reading Bitter Feud Between Neighbors Leads To Disgusting Exchange In New Clip From Dark Comedy ‘Under The Tree’ at The Playlist.
Continue reading Bitter Feud Between Neighbors Leads To Disgusting Exchange In New Clip From Dark Comedy ‘Under The Tree’ at The Playlist.
- 6/28/2018
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
"Who does a thing like this?" Magnolia Pictures has debuted an official Us trailer for the indie dark comedy Under the Tree, one of the few films from Iceland made every year. The film premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals last year, and played at a number of other fests. It will be released in Us theaters this July. When Baldwin and Inga's next door neighbours complain that a tree in their backyard casts a shadow over their sundeck, what starts off as a typical spat between neighbours in the suburbs unexpectedly and violently spirals out of control. The film stars Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann, and Selma Björnsdóttir. I watched this and it's such a depressing film, despite good intentions. It's very well made but just too sad by the end. Take a look below. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson...
- 5/30/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Berlin-based One Two Films, co-producer of such recent high-profile works as Jennifer Fox’s “The Tale” and Isabel Coixet’s “The Bookshop,” is set to follow its winning run with a slew of upcoming German and international productions.
One Two Films’ Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy are partnering with Canadian writer-producer Mike MacMillan on two English-language films currently in development. “I Will Not Go Quietly” centers on a distant but desperate father who travels from Toronto to Switzerland to reach his ill daughter; the film is penned by MacMillan and Darragh McDonald. “Nightlife” is a comedy set in Berlin.
In addition, the company is co-producing Icelandic director Grimur Hakonarson’s recently wrapped “The County.” The film, which follows his 2015 Cannes Un Certain Regard award winner “Rams,” is a co-production by Iceland, Denmark, Germany, and France.
Wenske and Bondy — selected by Variety for its 2018 10 Producers to Watch list — are re-teaming with...
One Two Films’ Jamila Wenske and Sol Bondy are partnering with Canadian writer-producer Mike MacMillan on two English-language films currently in development. “I Will Not Go Quietly” centers on a distant but desperate father who travels from Toronto to Switzerland to reach his ill daughter; the film is penned by MacMillan and Darragh McDonald. “Nightlife” is a comedy set in Berlin.
In addition, the company is co-producing Icelandic director Grimur Hakonarson’s recently wrapped “The County.” The film, which follows his 2015 Cannes Un Certain Regard award winner “Rams,” is a co-production by Iceland, Denmark, Germany, and France.
Wenske and Bondy — selected by Variety for its 2018 10 Producers to Watch list — are re-teaming with...
- 5/8/2018
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-pro picks up seven awards including best film and best director.
Under The Tree was the big winner at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.
The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson) and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).
Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while Best Short Film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.
Best Children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.
On the TV side, Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners won 10 prizes.
Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice Orizzonti before going to Toronto; the film went on to win awards in the Hamptons, Zurich and Fantastic Fest, among others. The dark comedy/tragedy was Iceland’s submission for the foreign-language...
Under The Tree was the big winner at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.
The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson) and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).
Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while Best Short Film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.
Best Children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.
On the TV side, Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners won 10 prizes.
Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice Orizzonti before going to Toronto; the film went on to win awards in the Hamptons, Zurich and Fantastic Fest, among others. The dark comedy/tragedy was Iceland’s submission for the foreign-language...
- 2/27/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Earlier today the folks at the Northwest Film Center announced the full line-up for this year’s Portland International Film Festival, and have published a Pdf for all to read online. The printed copies will be making their way around town this week.
The Northwest Film Center is proud to reveal the 41st Portland International Film Festival (Piff 41) lineup. This year’s Festival begins on Thursday, February 15th and runs through Thursday, March 1st. Our Opening Night selection is the new comedy The Death of Stalin from writer/director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop). The film, adapted from the graphic novel by Fabien Nury, stars Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs, and Michael Palin. The Death of Stalin will screen simultaneously on Opening Night at the Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum (1219 Sw Park Ave) and on two screens at Regal Fox Tower 10 (846 Sw Park Ave).
Check...
The Northwest Film Center is proud to reveal the 41st Portland International Film Festival (Piff 41) lineup. This year’s Festival begins on Thursday, February 15th and runs through Thursday, March 1st. Our Opening Night selection is the new comedy The Death of Stalin from writer/director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop). The film, adapted from the graphic novel by Fabien Nury, stars Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs, and Michael Palin. The Death of Stalin will screen simultaneously on Opening Night at the Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum (1219 Sw Park Ave) and on two screens at Regal Fox Tower 10 (846 Sw Park Ave).
Check...
- 1/30/2018
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
There aren’t many trees in Iceland. So having one in your backyard is cause for people to get very emotionally attached. In the Icelandic black comedy “Under the Tree,” they might even go so far as to commit violence. “Under the Tree” is about a bitter squabble between two neighboring couples in the suburbs. A tree in one family’s backyard blocks the sun (admittedly a rarity in typically bleak Icelandic summers) shining onto the other’s patio. Everything starts awkwardly mundane, but things slowly escalate into frigid suburban warfare involving throwing bags of dog poop, leaving creepy garden gnomes in each.
- 12/6/2017
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Magnolia has acquired North American rights to Icelandic director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson’s “Under the Tree.” The comedy follows two neighboring families as tensions mount between them in a tranquil suburb. “Under the Tree” was written by Sigurdsson and Huldar Breidfjörd and produced by Grimar Jonsson. It was co-produced by a group including Iceland’s Netop Films, Poland’s Madants, Denmark’s Profile Pictures, and Germany’s One Two Films, and got additional support from the Icelandic Film Center, Danish Film Institute, Polish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Eurimages and Zdf/Arte. The movie premiered at the Venice Film...
- 9/9/2017
- by Matt Pressberg
- The Wrap
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