Paris-based sales house Charades has sold the Argentinian Western-inspired documentary “Gaucho Gaucho” across much of Europe.
The film — which won a Sundance Jury Prize in January and recently played at Cph:dox — has landed deals with Tandem (France), Filmin (Spain), Selmer Media, M2, Praesens (Switzerland) and Bantam Films (Benelux). Variety understands a U.K. sale is currently under discussion.
Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, the duo behind the box office hit “The Truffle Hunters,” “Gaucho Gaucho” explores the story of a community of cowboys and cowgirls in Northern Argentina who live outside the modern world.
Produced by Dweck and Kershaw for Beautiful Stories Prods., the film is shot in black-and-white and celebrates the beauty and passion of a group of skilled Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as gauchos. It weaves together a mosaic of tales about gauchos confronting the fragility of their world in the face of unprecedented change.
The film — which won a Sundance Jury Prize in January and recently played at Cph:dox — has landed deals with Tandem (France), Filmin (Spain), Selmer Media, M2, Praesens (Switzerland) and Bantam Films (Benelux). Variety understands a U.K. sale is currently under discussion.
Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, the duo behind the box office hit “The Truffle Hunters,” “Gaucho Gaucho” explores the story of a community of cowboys and cowgirls in Northern Argentina who live outside the modern world.
Produced by Dweck and Kershaw for Beautiful Stories Prods., the film is shot in black-and-white and celebrates the beauty and passion of a group of skilled Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as gauchos. It weaves together a mosaic of tales about gauchos confronting the fragility of their world in the face of unprecedented change.
- 5/15/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based sales house Charades has acquired international sales rights to Argentinian Western-Inspired documentary “Gaucho Gaucho” which earned a Sundance Jury Prize in January and recently played at Cph:dox.
Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, the duo behind the box office hit ‘The Truffle Hunters,’ “Gaucho Gaucho” explores the story of a community of cowboys and cowgirls in Northern Argentina living outside of the modern world.
Produced by Dweck and Kershaw for Beautiful Stories Productions, the film is shot in black-and-white and celebrates the beauty and passion of a group of skilled Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as gauchos.
“Gaucho Gaucho” has been praised international critics, including Variety’ Guy Lodge who described the film as a “perfectly framed,” “loving, visually resplendent documentary” that “gives the Argentine cowboy community ample space to bond and merge.”
Charades’ co-founder Carole Baraton said the company was “very proud to bring this special masterpiece from...
Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, the duo behind the box office hit ‘The Truffle Hunters,’ “Gaucho Gaucho” explores the story of a community of cowboys and cowgirls in Northern Argentina living outside of the modern world.
Produced by Dweck and Kershaw for Beautiful Stories Productions, the film is shot in black-and-white and celebrates the beauty and passion of a group of skilled Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as gauchos.
“Gaucho Gaucho” has been praised international critics, including Variety’ Guy Lodge who described the film as a “perfectly framed,” “loving, visually resplendent documentary” that “gives the Argentine cowboy community ample space to bond and merge.”
Charades’ co-founder Carole Baraton said the company was “very proud to bring this special masterpiece from...
- 4/10/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Landing a good distributor is the holy grail for every indie filmmaker at Sundance. But when it comes to documentaries, while Netflix picked up a few titles out of the festival this year, the market remains soft.
Even as the theatrical market has improved for Oscar nominees and winners like “The Holdovers” and “Poor Things,” it’s tough to find a buyer for a lot of movies these days. For a movie like “Gaucho Gaucho,” which earned a Sundance jury prize and is now playing Cph:dox, the sooner filmmakers Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw land a distributor, the sooner they can start to build toward an awards campaign.
Cinematographer Kershaw and photographer Dweck first met years ago in New York City when they lived in the same Meatpacking District apartment building. They’d hang out in the street and share details of each other’s lives and work. Finally, they...
Even as the theatrical market has improved for Oscar nominees and winners like “The Holdovers” and “Poor Things,” it’s tough to find a buyer for a lot of movies these days. For a movie like “Gaucho Gaucho,” which earned a Sundance jury prize and is now playing Cph:dox, the sooner filmmakers Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw land a distributor, the sooner they can start to build toward an awards campaign.
Cinematographer Kershaw and photographer Dweck first met years ago in New York City when they lived in the same Meatpacking District apartment building. They’d hang out in the street and share details of each other’s lives and work. Finally, they...
- 3/19/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Cph: Dox, Copenhagen’s International Documentary Festival, has set the full lineup for its 2024 edition, including 84 world premieres, 32 international premieres, and 9 European premieres.
Running March 13-24, the festival will feature six competition categories: Dox: Award, F: Act Award, Nordic: Dox Award, Next: Wave Award, New: Vision Award, and the new Human: Rights Award.
Musician Pete Doherty will attend the festival for a screening of Peter Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin. The event will take place on March 18 at Bremen Theater, when he and the film’s director Katia de Vidas – who became Doherty’s wife over the ten years she followed him with her camera – openly discuss the substance abuse that has shadowed his entire career. After the screening, Doherty will give an acoustic concert. Other high-profile titles include Lana Wilson’s Look Into My Eyes, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s Gaucho Gaucho, Carla Gutierrez’s Frida, Yance Ford’s Power,...
Running March 13-24, the festival will feature six competition categories: Dox: Award, F: Act Award, Nordic: Dox Award, Next: Wave Award, New: Vision Award, and the new Human: Rights Award.
Musician Pete Doherty will attend the festival for a screening of Peter Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin. The event will take place on March 18 at Bremen Theater, when he and the film’s director Katia de Vidas – who became Doherty’s wife over the ten years she followed him with her camera – openly discuss the substance abuse that has shadowed his entire career. After the screening, Doherty will give an acoustic concert. Other high-profile titles include Lana Wilson’s Look Into My Eyes, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s Gaucho Gaucho, Carla Gutierrez’s Frida, Yance Ford’s Power,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
“Gaucho Gaucho” opens on a pristinely framed, lushly monochromatic shot of something that can only, at first glance, be described as an unidentified lying object. On a flat expanse of matted grassland, under a rolling widescreen canvas of sky, the camera centers a large, dark clump of what may be rock, earth or animal matter. Eventually it stirs, revealing the folds of its composition. A man rises from his slumber, clad in high boots, wide-brimmed hat and layers of hard-wearing fabric; then a horse’s head emerges from the mass, shaking and snorting and returning awkwardly to its feet. It’s an apt visual representation of the close kinship between human life, animal life and landscape that defines the Argentine cowboy community; in frame after perfectly composed frame, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s loving, visually resplendent documentary gives them ample space to bond and merge.
When it comes to...
When it comes to...
- 2/1/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Sundance documentaries are alive and well. And it looks like there’s some acquisition action this year, too. Which Sundance documentaries have the best shot at landing in Oscar contention this year? It helps to get bought early or to have an international footprint.
A rickety theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers meant that many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution, or met serious delays before companies came through. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. But last year, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which was rumored to be an HBO Documentary Films pickup for months, wasn’t announced until August 29, when other Sundance grads had been campaigning all summer.
One...
A rickety theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers meant that many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution, or met serious delays before companies came through. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. But last year, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which was rumored to be an HBO Documentary Films pickup for months, wasn’t announced until August 29, when other Sundance grads had been campaigning all summer.
One...
- 1/31/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Following the success of The Truffle Hunters, which showed all it takes to make a subject interesting is to approach it with curiosity and openness to wonder, directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw are back with Gaucho Gaucho, a stunningly beautiful chronicle of an Argentine gaucho community who closely follow the rules and traditions of their culture, despite time and progress.
Their unique attire and the allure of legends about their courage and strength turned them into defining symbols of Argentina––as well as parts of Uruguay and Brazil––where they mastered the art of horseriding and working with cattle. Like their analogs in other cultures, these cowboys came to signal different values based on the gazer. They represented ideals of masculinity and simplicity as easily as they could be seen as outlaws and fugitives who sought the safety of the plains and mountains, the way pirates hid in open oceans.
Their unique attire and the allure of legends about their courage and strength turned them into defining symbols of Argentina––as well as parts of Uruguay and Brazil––where they mastered the art of horseriding and working with cattle. Like their analogs in other cultures, these cowboys came to signal different values based on the gazer. They represented ideals of masculinity and simplicity as easily as they could be seen as outlaws and fugitives who sought the safety of the plains and mountains, the way pirates hid in open oceans.
- 1/30/2024
- by Jose Solís
- The Film Stage
The Sundance Film Festival announced its 2024 winners on January 26, two days before the festival’s end date. The Awards Ceremony took place at The Ray Theater in Park City, Utah. This year marks its 40th annual festival run taking place from January 18 to January 28.
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
- 1/27/2024
- by Ann Hoang
- Uinterview
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival awards were announced today at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
- 1/26/2024
- by Prem
- Talking Films
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival winners are in, with films like “In the Summers,” “Didi,” and “Daughters” dominating across the categories. “In the Summers” filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza, whose film centers on a fractured family in New Mexico, also won the Directing prize in U.S. Dramatic.
On Friday, January 26, the winners of juried prizes were shared out of the competition sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup.
The 2024 Sundance jury consisted of 16 filmmakers and artists across all sections, with the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury made up of “Winter’s Bone” director/co-writer Debra Granik, “Shortcomings” screenwriter Adrian Tomine, and “Master of None” producer Lena Waithe.
“Navalny” producer Shane Boris, “The Disappearance of Shere Hite” director Nicole Newnham, and “The Sentence” director Rudy Valdez serve on the U.S. Documentary Competition jury, with “The Babadook” director Jennifer Kent,...
On Friday, January 26, the winners of juried prizes were shared out of the competition sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup.
The 2024 Sundance jury consisted of 16 filmmakers and artists across all sections, with the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury made up of “Winter’s Bone” director/co-writer Debra Granik, “Shortcomings” screenwriter Adrian Tomine, and “Master of None” producer Lena Waithe.
“Navalny” producer Shane Boris, “The Disappearance of Shere Hite” director Nicole Newnham, and “The Sentence” director Rudy Valdez serve on the U.S. Documentary Competition jury, with “The Babadook” director Jennifer Kent,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Update: By Saturday afternoon up to five buyers were understood to be in serious discussions for Jeff Zimbalist’s documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story.
The film caused a stir ever since it premiered on Thursday night and hails from XYZ Films’ documentary division. Sources reported streamers and at least one theatrical buyer were in pursuit.
Meanwhile interest was understood to be building rapidly following the Saturday premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s US Dramatic Competition entry A Real Pain.
Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin star as cousins on an emotional tour to see their late grandmother’s home in Poland. WME Independent...
The film caused a stir ever since it premiered on Thursday night and hails from XYZ Films’ documentary division. Sources reported streamers and at least one theatrical buyer were in pursuit.
Meanwhile interest was understood to be building rapidly following the Saturday premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s US Dramatic Competition entry A Real Pain.
Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin star as cousins on an emotional tour to see their late grandmother’s home in Poland. WME Independent...
- 1/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
Heading into the weekend Skywalkers: A Love Story is gathering momentum at Sundance with multiple buyers circling the documentary following a strong response at Thursday night’s world premiere.
The groundswell of interest comes hot on the heels of two early transactions announced on Friday, with Sony Pictures Classics closing a deal for North America and multiple territories on Rich Peppiatt’s Next entry Kneecap and Netflix taking World Cinema Documentary Competition selection Ibelin by The Painter And The Thief director Benjamin Ree.
XYZ Films executives were on Friday locked in discussions with streamers and more traditional documentary distributors on Jeff Zimbalist’s U.
The groundswell of interest comes hot on the heels of two early transactions announced on Friday, with Sony Pictures Classics closing a deal for North America and multiple territories on Rich Peppiatt’s Next entry Kneecap and Netflix taking World Cinema Documentary Competition selection Ibelin by The Painter And The Thief director Benjamin Ree.
XYZ Films executives were on Friday locked in discussions with streamers and more traditional documentary distributors on Jeff Zimbalist’s U.
- 1/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
No strangers to Sundance, filmmaker/cinematographer Gregory Kershaw and filmmaker/visual artist Michael Dweck are back for this 40th edition with their latest unsurprisingly cinematic, nonfiction study “Gaucho Gaucho.” While the acclaimed duo’s previous docs were set at a Long Island racetrack and in the Italian countryside, respectively, “Gaucho Gaucho” is an “Argentinean Western” (according to the Sundance synopsis) that takes place in the remote plains of that faraway, South American land. And therein lies the rub.
On the upside, “Gaucho Gaucho” is exquisitely crafted, with sumptuous black-and-white cinematography, camera angles framed askew, and eye-catching slo-mo sequences. (Cowboys atop galloping horses makes for one heart-pounding mix.) Not to mention an operatic — at times literally — score. (And Los Gatos’s “La Balsa” is an ear worm for sure.) And yet this heavily stylized, and often overly staged, approach actually ends up overwhelming the story the North American filmmakers have supposedly...
On the upside, “Gaucho Gaucho” is exquisitely crafted, with sumptuous black-and-white cinematography, camera angles framed askew, and eye-catching slo-mo sequences. (Cowboys atop galloping horses makes for one heart-pounding mix.) Not to mention an operatic — at times literally — score. (And Los Gatos’s “La Balsa” is an ear worm for sure.) And yet this heavily stylized, and often overly staged, approach actually ends up overwhelming the story the North American filmmakers have supposedly...
- 1/20/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Indiewire
“Gaucho Gaucho” marks the third documentary Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw have debuted at Sundance and the second film that they have made that plunges viewers into a remote, yet enchanting world. Their 2020 acclaimed doc “The Truffle Hunters” followed a handful of men in Piedmont, Italy, in the search for rare and expensive white Alba truffles. In “Gaucho Gaucho,” the duo explore the lives of a group of skilled Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as gauchos.
Using stunning black-and-white cinematography, “Gaucho Gaucho” captures older generations of gauchos who dispense their wisdom, while also following a new generation who fight to continue their families’ legacies in a modern world.
It took two years to film and edit the 143 shots featured in the 85-minute doc.
Variety spoke to Dweck and Kershaw ahead of the film’s Jan. 19 premiere.
How did you manage to gain the trust of a very small, very tight Argentinian community?...
Using stunning black-and-white cinematography, “Gaucho Gaucho” captures older generations of gauchos who dispense their wisdom, while also following a new generation who fight to continue their families’ legacies in a modern world.
It took two years to film and edit the 143 shots featured in the 85-minute doc.
Variety spoke to Dweck and Kershaw ahead of the film’s Jan. 19 premiere.
How did you manage to gain the trust of a very small, very tight Argentinian community?...
- 1/19/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Returning to an in-person edition, along with the continuation of virtual offerings, the Sundance Film Festival kicks off this Thursday and lasts through January 28, offering a first glimpse at the year in cinema. While the annual festival has its fair share of returning filmmakers, it is certainly most renowned as a beacon of discovery, and we look forward to providing extensive coverage that one can follow via our daily newsletter.
Before reviews arrive, we’re highlighting the premieres that should be on your radar––a few we’ve already had the opportunity to see. If you’re interested in experiencing Sundance in person or from afar, one can see available tickets here ahead of Thursday’s in-person opening and an online viewing window that kicks off January 25.
Between the Temples (Nathan Silver)
After working at a prolific pace throughout his early career, it’s been a few years since we...
Before reviews arrive, we’re highlighting the premieres that should be on your radar––a few we’ve already had the opportunity to see. If you’re interested in experiencing Sundance in person or from afar, one can see available tickets here ahead of Thursday’s in-person opening and an online viewing window that kicks off January 25.
Between the Temples (Nathan Silver)
After working at a prolific pace throughout his early career, it’s been a few years since we...
- 1/16/2024
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Exhibiting Forgiveness.The Sundance Institute has announced the films selected for their 2024 Festival, which will take place January 18-28, 2024, in person in Utah. A selection of the films are available online across the U.S. from January 25-28.U.S. Dramatic COMPETITIONBetween the Temples (Nathan Silver): A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher reenters his life as his new adult bat mitzvah student. World Premiere. DìDi (弟弟) (Sean Wang): In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. World Premiere. Exhibiting Forgiveness (Titus Kaphar): Utilizing his paintings to find freedom from his past, a Black artist on the path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father,...
- 12/13/2023
- MUBI
Providing our first glimpse at the next year in cinema, the 2024 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 82 films, eight episodic titles, and New Frontier interactive experiences. Taking place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024, the festival celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Notable highlights in this year’s edition includes Steven Soderbergh’s new Lucy Liu-led feature Presence, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales starring Pedro Pascal, the Zellners’ Sasquatch Sunset, Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Handling the Undead starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, the Saoirse Ronan-led The Outrun, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples starring Jason Schwartzman, Brett Story and Stephan Maing’s Amazon Labor Union documentary Union,...
Notable highlights in this year’s edition includes Steven Soderbergh’s new Lucy Liu-led feature Presence, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales starring Pedro Pascal, the Zellners’ Sasquatch Sunset, Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Handling the Undead starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, the Saoirse Ronan-led The Outrun, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples starring Jason Schwartzman, Brett Story and Stephan Maing’s Amazon Labor Union documentary Union,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Director Marion Neumann not only pays tribute to the magic of mushrooms but claims they could save humanity from the coming climate apocalypse
At once earthy and magical, fungi not only link us to the origins of life itself but also open doors to alternate realms of consciousness. In Marion Neumann’s loose-limbed documentary, just the latest in a string of films that opine on its enigma, the mushroom can even save the world.
Compared with the surreal time-lapse photography of Louie Schwartzberg’s Fantastic Fungi (2019) or the rustic charm of Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s The Truffle Hunters (2020), Neumann’s approach is more free-wheeling and eccentric. Interviews with a wide host of fungi lovers – who include scientists, culinary specialists and devoted enthusiasts – delve into the generative power of mushrooms with vigour and optimism. Considering that the cultivation of fungal cultures has allowed us to ease our physical ailments...
At once earthy and magical, fungi not only link us to the origins of life itself but also open doors to alternate realms of consciousness. In Marion Neumann’s loose-limbed documentary, just the latest in a string of films that opine on its enigma, the mushroom can even save the world.
Compared with the surreal time-lapse photography of Louie Schwartzberg’s Fantastic Fungi (2019) or the rustic charm of Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s The Truffle Hunters (2020), Neumann’s approach is more free-wheeling and eccentric. Interviews with a wide host of fungi lovers – who include scientists, culinary specialists and devoted enthusiasts – delve into the generative power of mushrooms with vigour and optimism. Considering that the cultivation of fungal cultures has allowed us to ease our physical ailments...
- 2/21/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
West Side Story‘s Steven Spielberg, The Power of the Dog‘s Jane Campion, Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve, Licorice Pizza‘s Paul Thomas Anderson and Kenneth Branagh of Belfast have been nominated for the top feature film prize as the Directors Guild unveiled nominations Thursday for its 74th annual DGA Awards.
Winners will be announced March 12 during a planned in-person ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.
The guild, a strong predictor of Oscar success historically, missing the eventual Best Director winner only eight times in 73 years, also handed out noms for its First-Time Feature Film category. Nominees there include Lin-Manuel Miranda for Tick, Tick…Boom!, Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Lost Daughter, Rebecca Hall for Passing, Michael Sarnoski for Pig, Emma Seligman for Shiva Baby and Tatiana Huezo for Mexico’s Oscar International Feature-shortlisted Prayers for the Stolen.
Last year, the guild awarded Chloé Zhao its top film prize for Nomadland, which...
Winners will be announced March 12 during a planned in-person ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.
The guild, a strong predictor of Oscar success historically, missing the eventual Best Director winner only eight times in 73 years, also handed out noms for its First-Time Feature Film category. Nominees there include Lin-Manuel Miranda for Tick, Tick…Boom!, Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Lost Daughter, Rebecca Hall for Passing, Michael Sarnoski for Pig, Emma Seligman for Shiva Baby and Tatiana Huezo for Mexico’s Oscar International Feature-shortlisted Prayers for the Stolen.
Last year, the guild awarded Chloé Zhao its top film prize for Nomadland, which...
- 1/27/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Feature and first-time feature nominees to be announced on Thursday.
Ascension, Attica, Exterminate All The Brutes, Summer Of Soul and The Rescue have been nominated in the Directors Guild of America documentary category announced on Wednesday (26).
Jessica Kingdon is in the running for Ascension, Stanley Nelson for Attica, Raoul Peck for Exterminate All The Brutes, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for Summer Of Soul, and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for The Rescue.
The Guild also unveiled nominees in a number of TV categories. Feature and first-time feature nominees will be announced on Thursday and the winners will be unveiled at...
Ascension, Attica, Exterminate All The Brutes, Summer Of Soul and The Rescue have been nominated in the Directors Guild of America documentary category announced on Wednesday (26).
Jessica Kingdon is in the running for Ascension, Stanley Nelson for Attica, Raoul Peck for Exterminate All The Brutes, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for Summer Of Soul, and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for The Rescue.
The Guild also unveiled nominees in a number of TV categories. Feature and first-time feature nominees will be announced on Thursday and the winners will be unveiled at...
- 1/26/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The BBC’s Storyville strand, which sets out to showcase the world’s best international documentaries, has picked up a new slate of eight films.
They will be screened on BBC Four and iPlayer over eight weeks starting Jan. 26.
“We’re excited to offer U.K. audiences this eclectic range of documentaries from around the globe,” Philippa Kowarsky, commissioning editor of Storyville, said in a statement.
“These stories deal with the issues of our times, from mistrust of political systems to the challenges of educational attainment, and from class and racial discrimination to the fight for women’s rights. They shine a light on some truly inspirational, and some controversial, characters, as well as some appealing canines!”
Check out the full slate below:
“Final Account” [Pictured above]
About the last living generation of everyday people to participate in the Third Reich
Filmed and Directed by Luke Holland
Produced by John Battsek, Luke Holland,...
They will be screened on BBC Four and iPlayer over eight weeks starting Jan. 26.
“We’re excited to offer U.K. audiences this eclectic range of documentaries from around the globe,” Philippa Kowarsky, commissioning editor of Storyville, said in a statement.
“These stories deal with the issues of our times, from mistrust of political systems to the challenges of educational attainment, and from class and racial discrimination to the fight for women’s rights. They shine a light on some truly inspirational, and some controversial, characters, as well as some appealing canines!”
Check out the full slate below:
“Final Account” [Pictured above]
About the last living generation of everyday people to participate in the Third Reich
Filmed and Directed by Luke Holland
Produced by John Battsek, Luke Holland,...
- 1/21/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Anonymous Content has enlisted Nicholas Shumaker, a longtime producer and former talent agent at UTA, and Kimberly Carver, a veteran manager and TV producer, to join the company’s literary department. Both will work as managers and producers.
Anonymous Content CEO, Dawn Olmstead, said: “Kimberly and Nick have such an incredible passion and commitment to finding creators and artists that not only have authentic voices but that also are the meaningful voices of the future.”
Olmstead said both executives have “tremendous reputations in the entertainment industry, on a global scale,” and that “their fierce dedication to elevating their clients through authentic opportunities is both admirable and unshakeable.”
Shumaker spent the last six years at the UTA Independent Film Group working out of their New York office. During his tenure, Shumaker worked on packaging, financing, and the sales for a variety of international director-driven titles, including the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name,...
Anonymous Content CEO, Dawn Olmstead, said: “Kimberly and Nick have such an incredible passion and commitment to finding creators and artists that not only have authentic voices but that also are the meaningful voices of the future.”
Olmstead said both executives have “tremendous reputations in the entertainment industry, on a global scale,” and that “their fierce dedication to elevating their clients through authentic opportunities is both admirable and unshakeable.”
Shumaker spent the last six years at the UTA Independent Film Group working out of their New York office. During his tenure, Shumaker worked on packaging, financing, and the sales for a variety of international director-driven titles, including the Oscar-winning film “Call Me By Your Name,...
- 11/16/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Sales
Abacus Media Rights has sold documentary “The Beatles and India” to HBO Max for Latin America, BritBox North America for the U.S. and Canada, Channel 4 for the U.K., Foxtel for Australia, Channel One for Russia, and A Contracorriente Films for Spain, with more deals in the pipeline.
Inspired by Ajoy Bose’s “book Across The Universe – The Beatles in India,” the film marks Bose’s directorial debut, is co-directed by Peter Compton and is produced by Reynold D’Silva, CEO of Silva Screen Music Group.
Abacus MD Jonathan Ford said: “Using rare archival footage, an array of unseen recordings and photographs, eye-witness accounts and stunning location shoots across India, ‘The Beatles and India’ energetically reveals a fascinating journey which was to have a profound impact on The Beatles’ spiritual lives and their music.”
“The universal appeal of the subject has been one of our main aims in...
Abacus Media Rights has sold documentary “The Beatles and India” to HBO Max for Latin America, BritBox North America for the U.S. and Canada, Channel 4 for the U.K., Foxtel for Australia, Channel One for Russia, and A Contracorriente Films for Spain, with more deals in the pipeline.
Inspired by Ajoy Bose’s “book Across The Universe – The Beatles in India,” the film marks Bose’s directorial debut, is co-directed by Peter Compton and is produced by Reynold D’Silva, CEO of Silva Screen Music Group.
Abacus MD Jonathan Ford said: “Using rare archival footage, an array of unseen recordings and photographs, eye-witness accounts and stunning location shoots across India, ‘The Beatles and India’ energetically reveals a fascinating journey which was to have a profound impact on The Beatles’ spiritual lives and their music.”
“The universal appeal of the subject has been one of our main aims in...
- 9/21/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
China Lost and Found: Eight Films by Jia Zhangke
One of the greatest directors to emerge in this young century, Jia Zhangke has captured his native country like few others. The Criterion Channel is now spotlighting his stellar body of work, including the new restoration of his debut Xiao Wu (1997), along with Platform (2000), Unknown Pleasures (2002), The World (2004), Still Life (2006), 24 City (2008), A Touch of Sin (2013), and Mountains May Depart (2015). Also playing is the documentary Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang from 2014.
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas)
In the quarter-century since its debut, Olivier Assayas’ hilarious, mischievous, altogether unclassifiable Irma Vep stands merrily uninterested in many things contemporary movies are meant to be interested in—not ultra-sophisticated narrative gimmickry...
China Lost and Found: Eight Films by Jia Zhangke
One of the greatest directors to emerge in this young century, Jia Zhangke has captured his native country like few others. The Criterion Channel is now spotlighting his stellar body of work, including the new restoration of his debut Xiao Wu (1997), along with Platform (2000), Unknown Pleasures (2002), The World (2004), Still Life (2006), 24 City (2008), A Touch of Sin (2013), and Mountains May Depart (2015). Also playing is the documentary Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang from 2014.
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas)
In the quarter-century since its debut, Olivier Assayas’ hilarious, mischievous, altogether unclassifiable Irma Vep stands merrily uninterested in many things contemporary movies are meant to be interested in—not ultra-sophisticated narrative gimmickry...
- 9/3/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Disney to give Marvel superhero film the widest release since UK cinemas reopened in May.
After a delay of more than a year, Disney has finally released Marvel superhero adventure Black Widow in the UK and Ireland, and will deliver the territory’s widest theatrical release since cinemas began reopening in May.
The comic book adaptation, starring Scarlett Johansson and directed by Cate Shortland, opened in 622 venues in the UK on Wednesday (July 7) – two days ahead of the US – and generated £1.2m of its first day of release. The takings were impacted by England’s win over Denmark in the...
After a delay of more than a year, Disney has finally released Marvel superhero adventure Black Widow in the UK and Ireland, and will deliver the territory’s widest theatrical release since cinemas began reopening in May.
The comic book adaptation, starring Scarlett Johansson and directed by Cate Shortland, opened in 622 venues in the UK on Wednesday (July 7) – two days ahead of the US – and generated £1.2m of its first day of release. The takings were impacted by England’s win over Denmark in the...
- 7/9/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Poisoned bait, clandestine missions, top secret locations … we meet the directors of a film about the extraordinary Italians who forage for a delicacy that’s worth thousands
Anyone looking for an antidote to digital overload could do worse than spend 90 minutes in the company of some Piedmontese villagers as they root through leaf litter in search of their region’s own treasure: the white truffle. It’s this simplicity that makes new documentary The Truffle Hunters such a balm. With no voiceover, this mesmerically shot film follows a handful of foragers, and their dogs, as they scour the northern Italian forests during winter for the elusive fungus.
“That’s why we made this film,” says co-director Gregory Kershaw. “To escape from our digital lives and spend time in a place like this. You realise how many things that are so important to human existence are missing from our daily lives.
Anyone looking for an antidote to digital overload could do worse than spend 90 minutes in the company of some Piedmontese villagers as they root through leaf litter in search of their region’s own treasure: the white truffle. It’s this simplicity that makes new documentary The Truffle Hunters such a balm. With no voiceover, this mesmerically shot film follows a handful of foragers, and their dogs, as they scour the northern Italian forests during winter for the elusive fungus.
“That’s why we made this film,” says co-director Gregory Kershaw. “To escape from our digital lives and spend time in a place like this. You realise how many things that are so important to human existence are missing from our daily lives.
- 7/7/2021
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
This story about Cannes’ 2020 selection first appeared in TheWrap’s special digital Cannes magazine.
Last year, Cannes announced a list of 62 new feature films as its official selection for 2020, a year in which the festival itself didn’t take place. Bearing the prestigious imprimatur of the festival, the movies had a variety of releases. Here are some of the ones with the highest profiles since being singled out by Cannes.
“The French Dispatch” / Searchlight Pictures
Faithful
“DNA,” Maïwenn
Premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in September 2020, released by Netflix in the U.S. in December and in France in May.
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020; submitted as Japan’s entry in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
“Peninsula,” Yeon Sang-Ho
Released theatrically in South Korea in July 2020 and in the U.S. (as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) in August.
“Another Round,...
Last year, Cannes announced a list of 62 new feature films as its official selection for 2020, a year in which the festival itself didn’t take place. Bearing the prestigious imprimatur of the festival, the movies had a variety of releases. Here are some of the ones with the highest profiles since being singled out by Cannes.
“The French Dispatch” / Searchlight Pictures
Faithful
“DNA,” Maïwenn
Premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in September 2020, released by Netflix in the U.S. in December and in France in May.
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020; submitted as Japan’s entry in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
“Peninsula,” Yeon Sang-Ho
Released theatrically in South Korea in July 2020 and in the U.S. (as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) in August.
“Another Round,...
- 7/6/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 74th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards are set to take place on March 12, the guild announced Tuesday.
The DGA National Board also reinstated its requirement of an exclusive theatrical run, which was temporarily suspended due to pandemic-related theater closures, for the DGA Theatrical Feature Film Award.
The rule, which was first introduced in 2019, requires that films released after June 15, 2021 have an exclusive theatrical run of at least seven days prior to any other exhibition. Movies released via other distribution platforms, such as streaming services, on the same “day and date” they hit theaters, are not eligible for the Guild’s top award. For theatrical feature films released between March 1 and June 14, 2021, the pandemic exception will still apply.
The DGA also announced that the eligibility period for the top award runs from March 1 to Dec. 31, 2021.
“After over a year of darkness, theater marquees lighting up across our nation...
The DGA National Board also reinstated its requirement of an exclusive theatrical run, which was temporarily suspended due to pandemic-related theater closures, for the DGA Theatrical Feature Film Award.
The rule, which was first introduced in 2019, requires that films released after June 15, 2021 have an exclusive theatrical run of at least seven days prior to any other exhibition. Movies released via other distribution platforms, such as streaming services, on the same “day and date” they hit theaters, are not eligible for the Guild’s top award. For theatrical feature films released between March 1 and June 14, 2021, the pandemic exception will still apply.
The DGA also announced that the eligibility period for the top award runs from March 1 to Dec. 31, 2021.
“After over a year of darkness, theater marquees lighting up across our nation...
- 6/29/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Fido award winner The Truffle Hunters
Michael Dwek and Gregory Kershaw's The Truffle Hunters and Elizabeth Lo's Stray were jointly proclaimed Best in the World at this year's Fido Awards ceremony in London yesterday, "because they're both so brilliant," as the presenter put it. They also shared the Dog Dox award.
The event, presided over by Toby Rose, celebrated the work of canine cast members in international cinema. Rose said that one of his own favourites was The United States Vs Billie Holliday, whose four legged ensemble won in the Historical Hound category, because it was a reflection on how vital dogs had been in supporting the singer throughout her difficult life.
Several canine nominees attended the ceremony and were very well behaved. The winners were given special collars. Human guests said that they wanted to thank dogs in general for the contribution they have made in recent...
Michael Dwek and Gregory Kershaw's The Truffle Hunters and Elizabeth Lo's Stray were jointly proclaimed Best in the World at this year's Fido Awards ceremony in London yesterday, "because they're both so brilliant," as the presenter put it. They also shared the Dog Dox award.
The event, presided over by Toby Rose, celebrated the work of canine cast members in international cinema. Rose said that one of his own favourites was The United States Vs Billie Holliday, whose four legged ensemble won in the Historical Hound category, because it was a reflection on how vital dogs had been in supporting the singer throughout her difficult life.
Several canine nominees attended the ceremony and were very well behaved. The winners were given special collars. Human guests said that they wanted to thank dogs in general for the contribution they have made in recent...
- 5/24/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Los Angeles The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) presented its annual awards during a virtual ceremony today, with Erik Messerschmidt, ASC claiming the top prize in feature film for Mank. The 35th ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards also honored Aurélien Marra for Two of Us in the Spotlight Award category, and Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw for the documentary The Truffle Hunters. Winners in the TV categories included Steven Meizler for The Queen?s Gambit; Fabian Wagner, ASC, Bsc for The Crown; Jon Joffin, ASC for Motherland: Fort Salem; and Baz Idoine for The Mandalorian. TCM?s Ben Mankiewicz hosted the awards show, which was streamed live from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood. Below is the complete list of winners and nominees: Feature Award – presented by Roger Deakins, ASC, Bsc, Cbe and James Deakins -Erik Messerschmidt, ASC for Mank – Winner -Phedon Papamichael, ASC, Gsc for The Trial of the...
- 4/18/2021
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
“Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt upset “Nomadland” Dp Joshua James Richards, the Oscar favorite, at the 35th annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards on Sunday. The win for David Fincher’s monochromatic biopic, with Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) struggling to churn out a first draft of “Citizen Kane,” was a surprise, given the momentum that has been with Richards since he won Camerimage’s prestigious Golden Frog last year. However, Richards (previously nominated for the Spotlight Award for “The Rider” but is not a current ASC member) still remains the Oscar favorite for shooting Chloé Zhao’s Best Picture frontrunner (she is also the favorite to take Best Director).
Yet it is a breakthrough achievement for Fincher’s go-to cinematographer from “Mindhunter.” Messerschmidt recreated a Golden Age of Hollywood in black-and-white, shooting with the Red Ranger Helium Monochrome, and bolstered by the Cinefade variable depth of field tool to emulate...
Yet it is a breakthrough achievement for Fincher’s go-to cinematographer from “Mindhunter.” Messerschmidt recreated a Golden Age of Hollywood in black-and-white, shooting with the Red Ranger Helium Monochrome, and bolstered by the Cinefade variable depth of field tool to emulate...
- 4/18/2021
- by Chris Lindahl and Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The American Society of Cinematographers handed out its top prize in feature film visual storytelling to Erik Messerschmidt, ASC for “Mank.”
Other winners included “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “The Truffle Hunters,” “Two of Us,” “Motherland: Fort Salem” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”
Turner Classics Movies host Ben Mankiewicz served as the emcee for the ceremony, presenting the awards from the ASC clubhouse in Hollywood. During the ceremony, writer, producer and director Sofia Coppola was presented with the Board of Governors Award. Coppola accepted the award via Zoom and thanked her father “for having me on so many sets where I saw great cinematographers.”
The ASC Awards represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months. Roger Deakins and James Deakins presented the feature film prize to Messerschmidt, who beat out stiff competition from “Nomadland” cinematographer Joshua James Richards.
The ASC Awards mark the last guild...
Other winners included “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “The Truffle Hunters,” “Two of Us,” “Motherland: Fort Salem” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”
Turner Classics Movies host Ben Mankiewicz served as the emcee for the ceremony, presenting the awards from the ASC clubhouse in Hollywood. During the ceremony, writer, producer and director Sofia Coppola was presented with the Board of Governors Award. Coppola accepted the award via Zoom and thanked her father “for having me on so many sets where I saw great cinematographers.”
The ASC Awards represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months. Roger Deakins and James Deakins presented the feature film prize to Messerschmidt, who beat out stiff competition from “Nomadland” cinematographer Joshua James Richards.
The ASC Awards mark the last guild...
- 4/18/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt has won the feature-film award from the American Society of Cinematographers at the 35th annual ASC Awards, which were handed out in a ceremony that streamed live from the ASC clubhouse in Hollywood on Sunday afternoon.
The award came in a category in which four of the five nominees are nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar. The ASC nominees were “Mank,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Nomadland,” “News of the World” and “Cherry,” with the first four also landing Oscar nominations and “Cherry” replaced by “Judas and the Black Messiah” on the Oscar ballot.
Over the first 34 years, the ASC has honored the film that would go on to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography less than half the time, with the two groups matching 15 times and disagreeing 19 times. In recent years, though, the ASC has become a better Oscar predictor, with six out of 10 matches in the last decade.
The award came in a category in which four of the five nominees are nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar. The ASC nominees were “Mank,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Nomadland,” “News of the World” and “Cherry,” with the first four also landing Oscar nominations and “Cherry” replaced by “Judas and the Black Messiah” on the Oscar ballot.
Over the first 34 years, the ASC has honored the film that would go on to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography less than half the time, with the two groups matching 15 times and disagreeing 19 times. In recent years, though, the ASC has become a better Oscar predictor, with six out of 10 matches in the last decade.
- 4/18/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The American Society of Cinematographers is announcing its winners today for the 35th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards this afternoon in the feature film, documentary and television cinematography categories.
They represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months.
The Society is bestowing the ASC Board of Governors Award to filmmaker Sophia Coppola for her contributions to cinema through her body of work. It is the only ASC Award not given to a cinematographer and is reserved for industry stalwarts who have been champions for directors of photography and the visual art form.
The Michael Chapman & Allen Daviau Student Heritage Award is being awarded to Ai Chung for A Young Tough in the Michael Chapman Graduate Category and Elias Ginsberg for Milk Teeth in the Allen Daviau Undergraduate Category.
The virtual ceremony is being streamed live via American Cinematographer’s Facebook page from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.
They represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months.
The Society is bestowing the ASC Board of Governors Award to filmmaker Sophia Coppola for her contributions to cinema through her body of work. It is the only ASC Award not given to a cinematographer and is reserved for industry stalwarts who have been champions for directors of photography and the visual art form.
The Michael Chapman & Allen Daviau Student Heritage Award is being awarded to Ai Chung for A Young Tough in the Michael Chapman Graduate Category and Elias Ginsberg for Milk Teeth in the Allen Daviau Undergraduate Category.
The virtual ceremony is being streamed live via American Cinematographer’s Facebook page from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.
- 4/18/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
The Truffle Hunters triumphs in documentary category.
One week before the Oscars, the American Society Of Cinematographers (ASC) gave Netflix’s gave Mank a timely boost by honouring it with the feature award to Erik Messerschmidt.
Last year’s ASC feature film winner was Roger Deakins for 1917 and he went on to win cinematography Oscar.
The 35th ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on Sunday (April 18) also honoured Aurélien Marra for French romance Two Of Us in the Spotlight Award category, and Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw for The Truffle Hunters in the documentary category.
In the TV categories, Steven Meizler won...
One week before the Oscars, the American Society Of Cinematographers (ASC) gave Netflix’s gave Mank a timely boost by honouring it with the feature award to Erik Messerschmidt.
Last year’s ASC feature film winner was Roger Deakins for 1917 and he went on to win cinematography Oscar.
The 35th ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on Sunday (April 18) also honoured Aurélien Marra for French romance Two Of Us in the Spotlight Award category, and Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw for The Truffle Hunters in the documentary category.
In the TV categories, Steven Meizler won...
- 4/18/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Angelo Gagliardi in The Truffle Hunters.
Image by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
The Truffle Hunters opens with a camera slowly zooming in on a wooded hill side, with trees twinged with autumn colors as bird sounds filled the air. As we get closer, we see a dog, then two, and finally a man struggling up the steep hill. Their quarry? Truffles.
The poetic, idyllic start sets the tone for The Truffle Hunters, an enchanting, unnarrated documentary directed and photographed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, about older traditional Italian men who have spent their long lives in the forests with their dogs, hunting this culinary delicacy, It is also about the high prices this this fragrant and delicious fungi commands and the growing hunger of the world’s elite for truffles. But it is mostly an immersive descent into a fairy-tale world, a vanishing...
Image by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
The Truffle Hunters opens with a camera slowly zooming in on a wooded hill side, with trees twinged with autumn colors as bird sounds filled the air. As we get closer, we see a dog, then two, and finally a man struggling up the steep hill. Their quarry? Truffles.
The poetic, idyllic start sets the tone for The Truffle Hunters, an enchanting, unnarrated documentary directed and photographed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, about older traditional Italian men who have spent their long lives in the forests with their dogs, hunting this culinary delicacy, It is also about the high prices this this fragrant and delicious fungi commands and the growing hunger of the world’s elite for truffles. But it is mostly an immersive descent into a fairy-tale world, a vanishing...
- 4/16/2021
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw win documentary prize for The Truffle Hunters; Darius Marder named best first-time feature director for The Sound Of Metal.
Nomadland director Chloe Zhao confirmed her status as Oscar frontrunner on Saturday (April 10) as she became only the second woman and the first woman of colour to win the top honour at the Directors Guild Of America’s virtual 73rd Annual DGA Awards.
Not since Kathryn Bigelow won Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Theatrical Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2010 has a woman claimed the top prize. Bigelow went on to become the first woman to...
Nomadland director Chloe Zhao confirmed her status as Oscar frontrunner on Saturday (April 10) as she became only the second woman and the first woman of colour to win the top honour at the Directors Guild Of America’s virtual 73rd Annual DGA Awards.
Not since Kathryn Bigelow won Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Theatrical Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2010 has a woman claimed the top prize. Bigelow went on to become the first woman to...
- 4/11/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
There was never any suspicion that Chloé Zhao would not win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement for Direction of a Theatrical Feature Film for “Nomadland.” The Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and PGA winning film headed to this weekend’s BAFTA Awards with seven chances to win again, followed by Oscar voting from April 15-20. Zhao is the second woman to win the DGA award (after Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker”) and the first Asian woman.
When the movie did not land a SAG Ensemble nomination (given its cast of non-pros), that opened the way for Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” to win that award, but the PGA and DGA wins for “Nomadland” give it a clear lead in the race for Best Picture and Director. Overwhelmingly, the DGA winner wins the Best Director Oscar. Only eight times in 72 years has that not happened.
When the movie did not land a SAG Ensemble nomination (given its cast of non-pros), that opened the way for Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” to win that award, but the PGA and DGA wins for “Nomadland” give it a clear lead in the race for Best Picture and Director. Overwhelmingly, the DGA winner wins the Best Director Oscar. Only eight times in 72 years has that not happened.
- 4/11/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Director Chloé Zhao won the top prize at the 73rd annual Directors Guild of America Awards for “Nomadland,” certifying the elegiac exploration of the lives of itinerant workers in the American West as the film to beat at the Academy Awards.
Zhao is only the second woman, and the first woman of color, to earn the top DGA Award, after Kathryn Bigelow won for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker.”
Accepting, like all the winners, over Zoom, Zhao used her entire speech to pay heartfelt tribute to each of her fellow nominees. To “Promising Young Woman” director Emerald Fennell, Zhao said, “You’re in such control of your craft, and with such unique voice. I can’t wait to see what thought provoking journey you’re gonna take us on next.” She told “Minari” director Lee Isaac Chung that his film “touched me on such a personal level.” After calling “The Trial of the Chicago 7...
Zhao is only the second woman, and the first woman of color, to earn the top DGA Award, after Kathryn Bigelow won for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker.”
Accepting, like all the winners, over Zoom, Zhao used her entire speech to pay heartfelt tribute to each of her fellow nominees. To “Promising Young Woman” director Emerald Fennell, Zhao said, “You’re in such control of your craft, and with such unique voice. I can’t wait to see what thought provoking journey you’re gonna take us on next.” She told “Minari” director Lee Isaac Chung that his film “touched me on such a personal level.” After calling “The Trial of the Chicago 7...
- 4/11/2021
- by Adam B. Vary
- Variety Film + TV
History has been made at the 73rd annual DGA Awards. Nomadland director Chloé Zhao has won the marquee prize for Nomadland, marking the second time the DGA has given the guild’s top prize to a female director after Kathryn Bigelow for 2008’s The Hurt Locker.
Zhao, along with fellow DGA nominees David Fincher for Mank, Lee Isaac Chung for Minari and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman, also is nominated in the Best Directing Oscar category.
Zhao used her acceptance speech to thank and honor the work of each of her fellow nominees, beginning with Fennell. “Emerald, you are so brilliant, so daring, and in such control of your craft with a unique voice, I can’t wait to see what thought-provoking journey you’re going to take us on next. Lee, your film touched me on such a personal level. You’re able to show us so much...
Zhao, along with fellow DGA nominees David Fincher for Mank, Lee Isaac Chung for Minari and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman, also is nominated in the Best Directing Oscar category.
Zhao used her acceptance speech to thank and honor the work of each of her fellow nominees, beginning with Fennell. “Emerald, you are so brilliant, so daring, and in such control of your craft with a unique voice, I can’t wait to see what thought-provoking journey you’re going to take us on next. Lee, your film touched me on such a personal level. You’re able to show us so much...
- 4/11/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The 73rd annual Directors Guild of America Awards kicked off on Saturday evening. The awards honored the best directing in film and television of the past year.
This year, nominees Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman,” David Fincher for “Mank,” Aaron Sorkin for “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland” vied for the top directorial prize for film, with Zhao winning.
On the TV side, “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Homeland,” and “The Flight Attendant” won the major prizes, shaking up the race as we head into Emmys season.
The DGA prize is often considered a bellwether for the Best Director Oscar. Recent DGA winners that went on to repeat at the Academy Awards include Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma,” Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water,” Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for both “The Revenant” and “Birdman...
This year, nominees Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari,” Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman,” David Fincher for “Mank,” Aaron Sorkin for “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland” vied for the top directorial prize for film, with Zhao winning.
On the TV side, “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Homeland,” and “The Flight Attendant” won the major prizes, shaking up the race as we head into Emmys season.
The DGA prize is often considered a bellwether for the Best Director Oscar. Recent DGA winners that went on to repeat at the Academy Awards include Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma,” Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water,” Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for both “The Revenant” and “Birdman...
- 4/11/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Chloé Zhao was named the best director of 2020 at the 73rd annual Directors Guild Awards, which were presented on Saturday in a virtual ceremony.
Zhao’s win for her quiet road film “Nomadland” makes her the second woman to win the DGA Award for feature film, after Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010. Only 10 women have ever been nominated in the category, with this year marking the first time that two female directors were nominated in the category in one year. (The other was Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman.”)
The win for Zhao comes two weeks after “Nomaldland” also won the Producers Guild Award, making it the only film to win more than one prize from the four major guilds. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” won the Screen Actors Guild’s ensemble award, while “Promising Young Woman” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” won Writers Guild Awards. The combination...
Zhao’s win for her quiet road film “Nomadland” makes her the second woman to win the DGA Award for feature film, after Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010. Only 10 women have ever been nominated in the category, with this year marking the first time that two female directors were nominated in the category in one year. (The other was Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman.”)
The win for Zhao comes two weeks after “Nomaldland” also won the Producers Guild Award, making it the only film to win more than one prize from the four major guilds. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” won the Screen Actors Guild’s ensemble award, while “Promising Young Woman” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” won Writers Guild Awards. The combination...
- 4/10/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The 73rd Directors Guild of America Awards took place on Saturday, April 10 in a virtual ceremony. These kudos honored the best helmers of the year in film and television, as voted on by more than 18,000 members of the directing guild. The all-important DGA feature film nominees were Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”), David Fincher (“Mank”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) and Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”). Scroll down for the full winners list in three film and eight TV categories.
The DGA’s feature film category is one of the most telling bellwethers for the Best Director Oscar. The guild and the academy have only disagreed eight times over the past seven decades, including last year when Sam Mendes (“1917”) won the DGA but Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) claimed the Oscar. Will this year’s guild winner follow the path of so many prior champs?...
The DGA’s feature film category is one of the most telling bellwethers for the Best Director Oscar. The guild and the academy have only disagreed eight times over the past seven decades, including last year when Sam Mendes (“1917”) won the DGA but Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) claimed the Oscar. Will this year’s guild winner follow the path of so many prior champs?...
- 4/10/2021
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
When the 73rd Directors Guild of America Awards take place on April 10, look for some of the big winners to be Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), Regina King (“One Night in Miami”) and David France (“Welcome to Chechnya”). These kudos honor the best helmers of the year in film and television, as voted on by more than 18,000 members of the directing guild. Scroll down to see Gold Derby’s predictions in seven categories listed in order of their racetrack odds, with projected winners highlighted in gold.
Our 2021 DGA Awards odds are based on the combined forecasts of 1,600 Gold Derby readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors who cover awards year-round for this website, Top 24 Users who did the best predicting last year’s winners, All-Star Users who had the best prediction scores over the last two years, and the mass of Users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.
Our 2021 DGA Awards odds are based on the combined forecasts of 1,600 Gold Derby readers, including Experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, Editors who cover awards year-round for this website, Top 24 Users who did the best predicting last year’s winners, All-Star Users who had the best prediction scores over the last two years, and the mass of Users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.
- 4/8/2021
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Considering the planning and shooting of The Truffle Hunters took years, it’s only fitting the roll-out of the film would have quite a journey. After premiering at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck’s delightful, visually magnificent documentary exploring a storied, sacred tradition would go on to be selected for Cannes, Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF––a rare feat for any film to achieve. After an awards-qualifying run last year, it’s now finally arriving in select theaters nationwide, including NYC’s Film Forum this weekend.
I said in my review at last year’s Sundance, “The Truffle Hunters explores this age-old tradition of culinary treasure-hunting and the clash of passion and commerce around such a specific way of life. Executive produced by Luca Guadagnino, it’s also far from your standard documentary in terms of the picturesque approach in which we meticulously enter this Northern Italy milieu.
I said in my review at last year’s Sundance, “The Truffle Hunters explores this age-old tradition of culinary treasure-hunting and the clash of passion and commerce around such a specific way of life. Executive produced by Luca Guadagnino, it’s also far from your standard documentary in terms of the picturesque approach in which we meticulously enter this Northern Italy milieu.
- 4/1/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Nomadland” has been named the best produced film of 202o by the Producers Guild of America, giving it yet another boost in an Oscar race where it was already considered the favorite.
In a category where Chloé Zhao’s understated travelogue was facing off against seven other Oscar nominees, the Producers Guild provided a key indicator that the film has the kind of strength within the industry that it already showed with critics. In doing so, it took away the chance that rivals like “Promising Young Woman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Minari had to seize momentum at a crucial moment in awards season.
The film has now picked up a formidable array of awards, including wins at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the Gotham Awards.
Still, the Producers Guild Award is not the infallible Oscar predictor it had once seemed to be. For many years,...
In a category where Chloé Zhao’s understated travelogue was facing off against seven other Oscar nominees, the Producers Guild provided a key indicator that the film has the kind of strength within the industry that it already showed with critics. In doing so, it took away the chance that rivals like “Promising Young Woman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Minari had to seize momentum at a crucial moment in awards season.
The film has now picked up a formidable array of awards, including wins at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the Gotham Awards.
Still, the Producers Guild Award is not the infallible Oscar predictor it had once seemed to be. For many years,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Producers Guild of America Awards were handed out during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, March 24. Throughout their 31-year history, the PGA has proven to be one of the most successful Oscar bellwethers around. A whopping 21 of their picks have gone onto win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That success rate flows from the fact that both the guild and the academy use the same voting system – the preferential ballot – to determine a winner. Scroll down for the 2021 Producers Guild of America Awards winners list.
This year, seven out of the 10 PGA contenders earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The eighth Best Picture Oscar nominee – “The Father” – was missing from the PGA lineup, with “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami” rounding out the guild’s top 10 list.
This year, seven out of the 10 PGA contenders earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The eighth Best Picture Oscar nominee – “The Father” – was missing from the PGA lineup, with “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami” rounding out the guild’s top 10 list.
- 3/24/2021
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
The vast majority of successful fiction films begin with a good script. Often in documentary the opposite is true—the creative breakthrough comes in throwing out the “script” and adjusting as reality unfolds.
That theme emerged as producers of the seven theatrical documentaries nominated for Producers Guild of America Awards convened Saturday to discuss their experiences. Ramona S. Diaz, producer-director of A Thousand Cuts, said her original idea was for a “Robert Altman-esque” ensemble story about life in the Philippines under the authoritarian rule of President Rodrigo Duterte. But then the journalist Maria Ressa, who butted heads with Duterte as Diaz filmed, emerged as the central focus.
“As a documentary filmmaker I’m really aware of the shifts in the story and how I need to pivot,” Diaz explained during the Zoom roundtable discussion. “Sometimes I get very attached to this idea of this ensemble cast but then when...
That theme emerged as producers of the seven theatrical documentaries nominated for Producers Guild of America Awards convened Saturday to discuss their experiences. Ramona S. Diaz, producer-director of A Thousand Cuts, said her original idea was for a “Robert Altman-esque” ensemble story about life in the Philippines under the authoritarian rule of President Rodrigo Duterte. But then the journalist Maria Ressa, who butted heads with Duterte as Diaz filmed, emerged as the central focus.
“As a documentary filmmaker I’m really aware of the shifts in the story and how I need to pivot,” Diaz explained during the Zoom roundtable discussion. “Sometimes I get very attached to this idea of this ensemble cast but then when...
- 3/20/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Earlier today, the American Society of Cinematographers revealed their nominations, hoping to clear up who might be Oscar nominees next week. Well, they definitely confirmed that Erik Messerschmidt, Phedon Papamichael, Joshua James Richards, and Dariusz Wolski are very likely to hear their names called on Monday morning. As for the final slot, they went with Newton Thomas Sigel, but for Cherry, not Da 5 Bloods, as many expected. Messerchmidt (Mank), Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Richards (Nomadland), and Wolski (News of the World) feel safe. As for the final spot at the Academy Awards in Best Cinematography, anything is possible, so sit tight… Here are the ASC nominees for this year: Feature Film Erik Messerschmidt, ASC Mank Phedon Papamichael, ASC, Gsc The Trial of the Chicago 7 Joshua James Richards Nomadland Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC Cherry Dariusz Wolski, ASC News of the World Spotlight Katelin Arizmendi Swallow Aurélien Marra Two...
- 3/11/2021
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The American Society of Cinematographers on Wednesday set its nominees for the 35th Asc Outstanding Achievement Awards, recognizing the best in feature film, documentary and television cinematography over the past 14 months. Winners will be revealed April 18 in a virtual ceremony from the Asc Clubhouse in Hollywood.
The marquee Feature Film category this year features awards-season staples including Erik Messerschmidt for Mank and Phedon Papamichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7, both from Netflix, and Chloé Zhao’s go-to Dp Joshua James Richards for Seachlight’s Nomadland. Also in the running is Newton Thomas Sigel for A24’s Russo Brothers-directed Cherry and Dariusz Wolski for Universal’s News of the World.
Papamichael has been nominated for five Asc Awards including last year for Ford v Ferrari. He lost to Roger Deakins for 1917; Deakins went on to win the Oscar, marking the 15th time the Asc winner has gone on to scoop the Academy Award in 34 years.
The marquee Feature Film category this year features awards-season staples including Erik Messerschmidt for Mank and Phedon Papamichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7, both from Netflix, and Chloé Zhao’s go-to Dp Joshua James Richards for Seachlight’s Nomadland. Also in the running is Newton Thomas Sigel for A24’s Russo Brothers-directed Cherry and Dariusz Wolski for Universal’s News of the World.
Papamichael has been nominated for five Asc Awards including last year for Ford v Ferrari. He lost to Roger Deakins for 1917; Deakins went on to win the Oscar, marking the 15th time the Asc winner has gone on to scoop the Academy Award in 34 years.
- 3/10/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
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