Russian-Kazakh multi-hyphenate Timur Bekmambetov has teamed up with MarVista Entertainment, Endeavor Content and Pulsar Content on a slate of feature films in his pioneering Screenlife format that will be presented to buyers at the TIFF market.
Bekmambetov told Variety during the Toronto Film Festival, that the rapid growth, critical recognition and box-office success of Screenlife films – which take place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens – prove the format is “more than just a gimmick.”
“It is the first time the presence of Screenlife movies at a major film market is so prominent,” he said. “Just a few years ago, film festivals and industry events used to have only one or two [Screenlife] pictures in the program or in the sales slate, but now it’s already multiple studios and distributors producing and promoting dozens of movies set on a computer or a smartphone screen.”
Two of the six titles Bekmambetov...
Bekmambetov told Variety during the Toronto Film Festival, that the rapid growth, critical recognition and box-office success of Screenlife films – which take place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens – prove the format is “more than just a gimmick.”
“It is the first time the presence of Screenlife movies at a major film market is so prominent,” he said. “Just a few years ago, film festivals and industry events used to have only one or two [Screenlife] pictures in the program or in the sales slate, but now it’s already multiple studios and distributors producing and promoting dozens of movies set on a computer or a smartphone screen.”
Two of the six titles Bekmambetov...
- 9/14/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Timur Bekmambetov, the Russian writer-director-producer behind such pics as 2004’s “Night Watch” and 2008’s “Wanted,” has just started shooting his latest production, the English-language sci-fi thriller “Resurrected” in L.A. with Dave Davis.
Up-and-coming Russian director Egor Baranov, whose credits include the Russian B.O. hit trilogy “Gogol” and Netflix’s “Sparta” series, is directing the film. Bekmanbetov is producing “Resurrected” with Maria Zatulovskaya through the banner Bazelevs, with David Meadeb at Logical Pictures, in association with Aleksandr Fomin at Pulsar Content, the sales banner launched by Gilles Sousa and Marie Garrett.
The film is being made using Bekmanbetov’s pioneering Screenlife storytelling and technology, revolving solely around the screen activity of characters who are seen through their digital devices. Bekmanbetov previously delivered several hit films in this Screenlife format, notably “Searching” which was released worldwide by Sony, as well as the “Unfriended” franchise released by BlumHouse and Universal, and “Profile,...
Up-and-coming Russian director Egor Baranov, whose credits include the Russian B.O. hit trilogy “Gogol” and Netflix’s “Sparta” series, is directing the film. Bekmanbetov is producing “Resurrected” with Maria Zatulovskaya through the banner Bazelevs, with David Meadeb at Logical Pictures, in association with Aleksandr Fomin at Pulsar Content, the sales banner launched by Gilles Sousa and Marie Garrett.
The film is being made using Bekmanbetov’s pioneering Screenlife storytelling and technology, revolving solely around the screen activity of characters who are seen through their digital devices. Bekmanbetov previously delivered several hit films in this Screenlife format, notably “Searching” which was released worldwide by Sony, as well as the “Unfriended” franchise released by BlumHouse and Universal, and “Profile,...
- 6/22/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
While international audiences have gotten used to Russian auteurs on red carpets from the Croisette to the Dolby Theatre, where directors such as Andrey Zvyagintsev and Kantemir Balagov (“Beanpole”) have scooped up prestigious awards and Oscar nods, more and more Russian filmmakers are focused on making a splash in the global market.
Buoyed by high-octane actioners and genre titles with slick special effects, international sales for Russian films have been rising roughly 20% per year, according to film promotion body Roskino. During the Cannes virtual market, many foreign buyers may be tempted to give the country’s commercial fare a second look. “It’s the perception that needs to change,” says Central Partnership CEO Vadim Vereshchagin. “Our productions are at the same level as the European productions right now.”
Central Partnership has a strong Cannes slate that includes “Chernobyl,” a big-budget actioner about the aftermath of the nuclear power plant meltdown,...
Buoyed by high-octane actioners and genre titles with slick special effects, international sales for Russian films have been rising roughly 20% per year, according to film promotion body Roskino. During the Cannes virtual market, many foreign buyers may be tempted to give the country’s commercial fare a second look. “It’s the perception that needs to change,” says Central Partnership CEO Vadim Vereshchagin. “Our productions are at the same level as the European productions right now.”
Central Partnership has a strong Cannes slate that includes “Chernobyl,” a big-budget actioner about the aftermath of the nuclear power plant meltdown,...
- 6/25/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller “The Blackout” has secured distribution in more than 90 countries, including the U.S. and China. The movie is helmed by Egor Baranov, the director of the hit fantasy-horror trilogy “Gogol.”
Leading Russian company Central Partnership, which is handling international distribution on the film, announced the news on Monday as Key Buyers Event, a showcase of Russian movies and series organized by Roskino, got underway.
“The Blackout,” which received a wide release in Russia on Nov. 21, will be released in China by iQIYI, one of the country’s largest VOD services, and Shout! Studios will be distributing the film in the U.S. and Canada.
The movie will be one of the first titles to get a wide theatrical release in Japan after the quarantine. Japanese distributor New Select will release the film theatrically on June 12.
Other international releases include South Korea (Eleven Ent.), France (Koba Films), Germany...
Leading Russian company Central Partnership, which is handling international distribution on the film, announced the news on Monday as Key Buyers Event, a showcase of Russian movies and series organized by Roskino, got underway.
“The Blackout,” which received a wide release in Russia on Nov. 21, will be released in China by iQIYI, one of the country’s largest VOD services, and Shout! Studios will be distributing the film in the U.S. and Canada.
The movie will be one of the first titles to get a wide theatrical release in Japan after the quarantine. Japanese distributor New Select will release the film theatrically on June 12.
Other international releases include South Korea (Eleven Ent.), France (Koba Films), Germany...
- 6/8/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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