The Toronto drama took seven prizes including best director, actor, supporting actor.
Axel Petersen’s Malta-set drama Shame On Dry Land won a record seven prizes at the Guldbagge awards, Sweden’s national film ceremony, held on Monday, January 15 in Stockholm.
The film, about a con man who becomes entangled in a Swedish online gambling community while in Malta, took best director for Petersen, best actor for Joel Spira, and best supporting actor for Christopher Wagelin.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
It also received prizes for best editing, cinematography, sound design and original score. Its seven awards...
Axel Petersen’s Malta-set drama Shame On Dry Land won a record seven prizes at the Guldbagge awards, Sweden’s national film ceremony, held on Monday, January 15 in Stockholm.
The film, about a con man who becomes entangled in a Swedish online gambling community while in Malta, took best director for Petersen, best actor for Joel Spira, and best supporting actor for Christopher Wagelin.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
It also received prizes for best editing, cinematography, sound design and original score. Its seven awards...
- 1/16/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto drama took seven prizes including best director, actor, supporting actor.
Axel Petersen’s Malta-set drama Shame On Dry Land won a record seven prizes at the Guldbagge awards, Sweden’s national film ceremony, held on Monday, January 15 in Stockholm.
The film, about a con man who becomes entangled in a Swedish online gambling community while in Malta, took best director for Petersen, best actor for Joel Spira, and best supporting actor for Christopher Wagelin.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
It also received prizes for best editing, cinematography, sound design and original score. Its seven awards...
Axel Petersen’s Malta-set drama Shame On Dry Land won a record seven prizes at the Guldbagge awards, Sweden’s national film ceremony, held on Monday, January 15 in Stockholm.
The film, about a con man who becomes entangled in a Swedish online gambling community while in Malta, took best director for Petersen, best actor for Joel Spira, and best supporting actor for Christopher Wagelin.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
It also received prizes for best editing, cinematography, sound design and original score. Its seven awards...
- 1/16/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Mika Gustafson’s social drama Paris Is Burning has won the top prize for best film at the Guldbagge Awards, Sweden’s top film honors.
The feature, which premiered in Venice’s Horizons section this year, follows three sisters who left to their own devices by their absent mother, live a life of anarchic freedom. But when social services come calling, the oldest has to find someone to impersonate their mum to avoid being shipped off to foster care. It was picked as the best Swedish film of the past year at the Guldbagge Awards ceremony in Stockholm on Monday night. Paris is Burning also scooped the Guldbagge for best set design for Catharina Nyqvist Ehrnrooth.
But the night’s big winner was Axel Petersén’s Shame on Dry Land. The neo-noir set in the world of online gamblers picked up 7 Guldbagge awards, including for best director and best actor for lead Joel Spira,...
The feature, which premiered in Venice’s Horizons section this year, follows three sisters who left to their own devices by their absent mother, live a life of anarchic freedom. But when social services come calling, the oldest has to find someone to impersonate their mum to avoid being shipped off to foster care. It was picked as the best Swedish film of the past year at the Guldbagge Awards ceremony in Stockholm on Monday night. Paris is Burning also scooped the Guldbagge for best set design for Catharina Nyqvist Ehrnrooth.
But the night’s big winner was Axel Petersén’s Shame on Dry Land. The neo-noir set in the world of online gamblers picked up 7 Guldbagge awards, including for best director and best actor for lead Joel Spira,...
- 1/16/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Guild has announced interim agreements on 53 projects since strike began.
Finnish tale The Summer Book with Glenn Close, Israeli spy series Tehran, and comedy The Ar Racist are among the latest indie projects to get SAG-AFTRA go-ahead under interim agreements.
The Summer Book is based on Tove Jansson’s beststeller about a girl who spends the season with her grandmother on a remote island on the Gulf of Finland. The cast includes Anders Danielsen Lie.
Charlie McDowell directs and is producing through his Case Study Films. According to reports High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital are co-financing the project. Production...
Finnish tale The Summer Book with Glenn Close, Israeli spy series Tehran, and comedy The Ar Racist are among the latest indie projects to get SAG-AFTRA go-ahead under interim agreements.
The Summer Book is based on Tove Jansson’s beststeller about a girl who spends the season with her grandmother on a remote island on the Gulf of Finland. The cast includes Anders Danielsen Lie.
Charlie McDowell directs and is producing through his Case Study Films. According to reports High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital are co-financing the project. Production...
- 7/20/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Deadline has learned that 8x Oscar nominated actress Glenn Close and Anders Danielsen Lie have signed on to star in a feature film take of Tove Jansson’s novel The Summer Book which Charlie McDowell will direct and produce with his Case Study Films, a production company he co-founded with Alex Orlovsky and wife Lily Collins.
Recently celebrating the 50th anniversary of its original print publication, The Summer Book tells the life affirming story of a young girl and her grandmother as they spend a summer on a tiny, unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The novel distills the essence of the summer into 21 vignettes and has been translated into 35 languages since its first publication in 1972.
Robert Jones adapted the book for screen. Pic is co-financed by High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital. Production starts this summer in Finland.
Anders Danielsen Lie, courtesy Case Study Films
“I’m...
Recently celebrating the 50th anniversary of its original print publication, The Summer Book tells the life affirming story of a young girl and her grandmother as they spend a summer on a tiny, unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The novel distills the essence of the summer into 21 vignettes and has been translated into 35 languages since its first publication in 1972.
Robert Jones adapted the book for screen. Pic is co-financed by High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital. Production starts this summer in Finland.
Anders Danielsen Lie, courtesy Case Study Films
“I’m...
- 3/2/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Malou Reymann’s “Unruly” won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at Göteborg on Saturday. At Sek 400 000, the Award’s cash prize is one of the largest prizes in the world.
Jurors Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Sofie Gråbøl, Antonio Lukich and Matti Bye praised the film for telling a “universal story about human spirit against the oppressive system” with “great sensitivity and power.”
“Although it is rooted in the past, it transcends time and borders, and speaks strongly to our time, our minds and hearts,” they stated.
The Danish director – also behind semi-autobiographical “A Perfectly Normal Family” – decided to go all the way to the 1930s in her sophomore feature, unravelling dark secrets about the real-life Sprogø Women’s Home.
“I am very pregnant and very out of breath, and very touched” said Reymann, accepting her award.
“This film is based on an actual place for women who were seen...
Jurors Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Sofie Gråbøl, Antonio Lukich and Matti Bye praised the film for telling a “universal story about human spirit against the oppressive system” with “great sensitivity and power.”
“Although it is rooted in the past, it transcends time and borders, and speaks strongly to our time, our minds and hearts,” they stated.
The Danish director – also behind semi-autobiographical “A Perfectly Normal Family” – decided to go all the way to the 1930s in her sophomore feature, unravelling dark secrets about the real-life Sprogø Women’s Home.
“I am very pregnant and very out of breath, and very touched” said Reymann, accepting her award.
“This film is based on an actual place for women who were seen...
- 2/4/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The 30th MipJunior, the international kids content market, opened Saturday with the presentation Binge Watching Session: Kids Audience Successes Around the Globe.
Presented by industry analyst Avril Blondelot, the head of content insight Paris-based Global Audience & Content Evolution (Glance), the colorful overview presented the latest hits for kids and tipped off the audience on upcoming shows to track.
“The trend towards reboots isn’t going away anywhere soon,” she told Variety in Cannes, citing the global success of the reboot of 80s’ hit “The Smurfs.”
Reboots like “Moominvalley,” “Rugrats,” “Animaniacs” and the upcoming “TeleTubbies”were all cited as key examples in the trend.
“Animaniacs” resurfaced on Hulu in 2020, 27 years after it was first seen. Netflix will debut its “TeleTubbies” reboot this fall. Tove Jansson’s “Moomin” characters were resurrected in 2019.
Another trend is “spin offs and more spin offs.”Titles Blondelot presented for this popular category included “Madagascar: A Little Wild,...
Presented by industry analyst Avril Blondelot, the head of content insight Paris-based Global Audience & Content Evolution (Glance), the colorful overview presented the latest hits for kids and tipped off the audience on upcoming shows to track.
“The trend towards reboots isn’t going away anywhere soon,” she told Variety in Cannes, citing the global success of the reboot of 80s’ hit “The Smurfs.”
Reboots like “Moominvalley,” “Rugrats,” “Animaniacs” and the upcoming “TeleTubbies”were all cited as key examples in the trend.
“Animaniacs” resurfaced on Hulu in 2020, 27 years after it was first seen. Netflix will debut its “TeleTubbies” reboot this fall. Tove Jansson’s “Moomin” characters were resurrected in 2019.
Another trend is “spin offs and more spin offs.”Titles Blondelot presented for this popular category included “Madagascar: A Little Wild,...
- 10/15/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Despite teasing his retirement in 2017, “Le Havre” director Aki Kaurismäki will follow his Berlin Silver Bear winner “The Other Side of Hope” with a new feature film under the working title of “Dead Leaves” (“Kuolleet lehdet” in Finnish).
The new project was announced on Friday by Helsinki-based company B-Plan Distribution.
The film will star Alma Pöysti, who recently starred in Zaida Bergroth biopic “Tove,” about Moomins creator Tove Jansson — a film that won her a Jussi award for best actress in 2021. Jussi Vatanen, known for the drama “Forest Giant” and smash hit trilogy “Lapland Odyssey” has also joined the cast. The film’s supporting cast and crew will be announced at a later date.
“Dead Leaves,” which will mark the Finnish director’s 19th feature, will start shooting at the end of August in Helsinki. According to B-Plan Distribution, it will be the fourth instalment that continues Kaurismäki’s so-called Proletariat Trilogy,...
The new project was announced on Friday by Helsinki-based company B-Plan Distribution.
The film will star Alma Pöysti, who recently starred in Zaida Bergroth biopic “Tove,” about Moomins creator Tove Jansson — a film that won her a Jussi award for best actress in 2021. Jussi Vatanen, known for the drama “Forest Giant” and smash hit trilogy “Lapland Odyssey” has also joined the cast. The film’s supporting cast and crew will be announced at a later date.
“Dead Leaves,” which will mark the Finnish director’s 19th feature, will start shooting at the end of August in Helsinki. According to B-Plan Distribution, it will be the fourth instalment that continues Kaurismäki’s so-called Proletariat Trilogy,...
- 6/10/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Maija Isola, who died in 2001, was a Finnish designer of printed textiles. She created more than 500 patterns, including home furnishings and fashion company Marimekko’s most iconic print, “Unikko” (“Poppy”), in 1964 – ironically enough, right after the company’s founder Armi Ratia declared a ban on flower patterns. But a new Finnish-German production tries to look beyond the things that made her famous, showing Isola as a person and not just an artist, says director Leena Kilpeläinen.
Produced by Merja Ritola of Greenlit Productions, with sales handled by New Docs, the film will premiere at the Helsinki Film Festival – Love & Anarchy in September, alongside the company’s other co-production “The Other Side of the River.” It will be also shown as a part of the Finnish Film Affair lineup, with Greenlit Productions bringing two new projects to the event, including psychological thriller “Lex Julia,” currently in development, and documentary “Power of the People” by Mervi Enqvist,...
Produced by Merja Ritola of Greenlit Productions, with sales handled by New Docs, the film will premiere at the Helsinki Film Festival – Love & Anarchy in September, alongside the company’s other co-production “The Other Side of the River.” It will be also shown as a part of the Finnish Film Affair lineup, with Greenlit Productions bringing two new projects to the event, including psychological thriller “Lex Julia,” currently in development, and documentary “Power of the People” by Mervi Enqvist,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
First of all, props to the BBFC for giving Tove a 12A certificate. This Finnish biopic has more nudity and sexuality in it than just about any 12A film I’ve seen, and so what? Who cares if there’s a nipple here or a merkin there? Certainly not our nation’s ‘classifiers’, so that’s great.
Don’t be misled, though. The life of Tove Jansson – the creator of the famed Moomins– has not been turned into some erotic drama. However, in telling her life from 1944 to the mid-1950s, director Zaida Bergroth does place an emphasis on Jansson’s open relationships with men and women, which are portrayed with an intimate, sexual energy.
Her first relationship is with Atos Wirtanen (Shanti Roney), a married politician and intellectual. They cut different figures on face value, but their bohemian liberalism is shared, although there are traces of jealousy when Jansson...
Don’t be misled, though. The life of Tove Jansson – the creator of the famed Moomins– has not been turned into some erotic drama. However, in telling her life from 1944 to the mid-1950s, director Zaida Bergroth does place an emphasis on Jansson’s open relationships with men and women, which are portrayed with an intimate, sexual energy.
Her first relationship is with Atos Wirtanen (Shanti Roney), a married politician and intellectual. They cut different figures on face value, but their bohemian liberalism is shared, although there are traces of jealousy when Jansson...
- 7/12/2021
- by Jack Hawkins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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
The story of Tove Jansson’s artistic struggles and daring bisexual affairs in 1940s Finland is energised by a shining central performance from Alma Pöysti
A quietly blazing and passionate performance by Alma Pöysti brings the bisexual Finnish artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson to life in this emotional but low-key drama directed by Zaida Bergroth. Covering a decade or so of Jansson’s life from the mid 1940s, it tells of her first madly-in-love relationship with a woman and the story of how her doodles on scraps of paper became a worldwide sensation. Where biopics often end up with a cardboard-tasting blandness, the focus on Jansson’s interior world gives this film moments that really come to life.
It begins with Jansson as a penniless artist in her 20s, with steady blue eyes and bluntly cropped short blond hair. Not for the first time she is swallowing the disappointment...
A quietly blazing and passionate performance by Alma Pöysti brings the bisexual Finnish artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson to life in this emotional but low-key drama directed by Zaida Bergroth. Covering a decade or so of Jansson’s life from the mid 1940s, it tells of her first madly-in-love relationship with a woman and the story of how her doodles on scraps of paper became a worldwide sensation. Where biopics often end up with a cardboard-tasting blandness, the focus on Jansson’s interior world gives this film moments that really come to life.
It begins with Jansson as a penniless artist in her 20s, with steady blue eyes and bluntly cropped short blond hair. Not for the first time she is swallowing the disappointment...
- 7/8/2021
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Helsinki-filmi also produced ’Tom Of Finland and ’Heart Of A Lion’.
Finland’s Aurora Studios has acquired independent production company Helsinki-filmi, which has credits including Tom Of Finland and Tove.
Helsinki-filmi will continue its operations independently while becoming a subsidiary of Aurora.
Aleksi Bardy, the majority owner of Helsinki-filmi, will become a partner at Aurora and join its executive board while continuing to serve as CEO of the production company. No redundancies will be made as a result of the acquisition.
Previous Helsinki-filmi shareholders Annika Sucksdorff and Dome Karukoski will no longer be part-owners of the company after the acquisition.
Finland’s Aurora Studios has acquired independent production company Helsinki-filmi, which has credits including Tom Of Finland and Tove.
Helsinki-filmi will continue its operations independently while becoming a subsidiary of Aurora.
Aleksi Bardy, the majority owner of Helsinki-filmi, will become a partner at Aurora and join its executive board while continuing to serve as CEO of the production company. No redundancies will be made as a result of the acquisition.
Previous Helsinki-filmi shareholders Annika Sucksdorff and Dome Karukoski will no longer be part-owners of the company after the acquisition.
- 7/5/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Tove director Zaida Bergroth: “We had a wonderful production designer [Catharina Nyqvist Ehrnrooth] who studied every little detail and she was able to build this wonderful place for us.” Photo: Sami Kuokkanen
Zaida Bergroth’s Tove (Finland’s 2021 Oscar submission), screenplay by Eeva Putro, stars Alma Pöysti (Xavier Picard and Hanna Hemilä’s Moomins On The Riviera) as Tove Jansson, the creator of Moomins and Krista Kosonen (in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 with Carla Juri and in Bergroth’s Miami) as theatre director Vivica Bandler with Shanti Roney, Joanna Haartti, Robert Enckell, Kajsa Ernst, Jakob Öhrman, Eeva Putro, Liisi Tandefelt, Wilhelm Enckell.
During our conversation Zaida brings up a scene in Tove that she calls Aki Kaurismaki’s Paris, I remark that Lars von Trier’s Melancholia may have been influenced by the Moomins, and Alma Pöysti is quoted as saying “we are Moomin-marinated children.” We also...
Zaida Bergroth’s Tove (Finland’s 2021 Oscar submission), screenplay by Eeva Putro, stars Alma Pöysti (Xavier Picard and Hanna Hemilä’s Moomins On The Riviera) as Tove Jansson, the creator of Moomins and Krista Kosonen (in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 with Carla Juri and in Bergroth’s Miami) as theatre director Vivica Bandler with Shanti Roney, Joanna Haartti, Robert Enckell, Kajsa Ernst, Jakob Öhrman, Eeva Putro, Liisi Tandefelt, Wilhelm Enckell.
During our conversation Zaida brings up a scene in Tove that she calls Aki Kaurismaki’s Paris, I remark that Lars von Trier’s Melancholia may have been influenced by the Moomins, and Alma Pöysti is quoted as saying “we are Moomin-marinated children.” We also...
- 6/10/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Finland’s official submission for the ‘Best International Feature’ category at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021 is Tove, the fifth film from Zaida Bergroth, which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. Together with actress Alma Poysti, who stars as one of Finland’s most notable writers and artists, Tove Jansson, they spoke with me on the making of the film. A warm and intimate portrait of Jansson post WWII as she began to channel the creative energies which she would become known for (including the impetus for her beloved Moomins cartoon strip), Bergroth and Poysti share their thoughts on and connections to Jansson as well as the process of bringing this subject to life.…...
- 6/1/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
"In my family we feel sorry for people who are not artists," says Tove Jansson (Alma Pöysti) at one point in this film. She's standing up for a new acquaintance, Vivica (Krista Kosonen), against the latter's disapproving upper class father. It's different for Vivica, though. She can afford to dabble, whilst Tove relies on her art to survive. Everything Tove does has to be for real.
Zaida Bergroth's biopic about the Finnish artist, who is best known as the creator of the Moomins, was named Best Feature Film at last year's OutShine and was Finland's 2021 Oscar submission. Though narratively simple, it's a dazzling piece of work which perfectly captures the essence of the artist and both the necessity and cost of authenticity. Pöysti, who voiced Niiskuneiti in the Finnish language version of big screen adventure Moomins On The Riviera, is extraordinary in the lead and must surely be a.
Zaida Bergroth's biopic about the Finnish artist, who is best known as the creator of the Moomins, was named Best Feature Film at last year's OutShine and was Finland's 2021 Oscar submission. Though narratively simple, it's a dazzling piece of work which perfectly captures the essence of the artist and both the necessity and cost of authenticity. Pöysti, who voiced Niiskuneiti in the Finnish language version of big screen adventure Moomins On The Riviera, is extraordinary in the lead and must surely be a.
- 5/31/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 35th edition of the BFI Flare: London Lgbtiq+ Film Festival will take place online with films available U.K.-wide via the BFI Player.
The 2020 physical edition of the festival was dramatically canceled at the last minute due to the rapid onset of coronavirus and forced to go online. A year down the line, the pandemic is still very much around, and cinemas are unlikely to open before May 17, necessitating another digital edition.
The 2021 edition will include 26 features and 38 free shorts from 23 countries. There isn’t an opening or closing film this year and all films will be available March 17-28, the duration of the festival.
BFI Flare is divided into three thematic strands: Hearts, Bodies and Minds. Highlights include Phil Connell’s “Jump, Darling,” a family drama about a drag queen reconnecting with his ageing grandmother, featuring the late Hollywood legend Cloris Leachman in her final starring role; Peeter Rebane’s “Firebird,...
The 2020 physical edition of the festival was dramatically canceled at the last minute due to the rapid onset of coronavirus and forced to go online. A year down the line, the pandemic is still very much around, and cinemas are unlikely to open before May 17, necessitating another digital edition.
The 2021 edition will include 26 features and 38 free shorts from 23 countries. There isn’t an opening or closing film this year and all films will be available March 17-28, the duration of the festival.
BFI Flare is divided into three thematic strands: Hearts, Bodies and Minds. Highlights include Phil Connell’s “Jump, Darling,” a family drama about a drag queen reconnecting with his ageing grandmother, featuring the late Hollywood legend Cloris Leachman in her final starring role; Peeter Rebane’s “Firebird,...
- 2/23/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Swedish sports drama Tigers, the story of teenage soccer star Martin Bengtsson, was named the Dragon Award winner for Best Nordic Film at the 2021 Göteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s top film event. The festival was held virtually this year because of the pandemic.
The Tigers film was based on Bengtsson’s autobiography, wherein he wrote of his experiences with top Italian football squad Inter Milan. The screenplay was by Ronnie Sandahl, best known for Janus Metz’s 2017 tennis biopic, Borg vs McEnroe.
The Dragon Award comes with a $478,000 cash prize. Erik Enge, who plays Bengtsson in the film, was named Göteborg’s Best Actor honor.
“Many of the films of this year’s Nordic competition had characters wanting to be the best versions of themselves while struggling with the pressures of success,” said a statement from the Göteborg jury. “The winning film gives a rare glimpse into a world many wish to enter,...
The Tigers film was based on Bengtsson’s autobiography, wherein he wrote of his experiences with top Italian football squad Inter Milan. The screenplay was by Ronnie Sandahl, best known for Janus Metz’s 2017 tennis biopic, Borg vs McEnroe.
The Dragon Award comes with a $478,000 cash prize. Erik Enge, who plays Bengtsson in the film, was named Göteborg’s Best Actor honor.
“Many of the films of this year’s Nordic competition had characters wanting to be the best versions of themselves while struggling with the pressures of success,” said a statement from the Göteborg jury. “The winning film gives a rare glimpse into a world many wish to enter,...
- 2/7/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Swedish helmer-writer Ronnie Sandahl’s “Tigers” – a rare glimpse inside the world of professional soccer following a protagonist who struggles with the pressures of success – came away the biggest winner at Sweden’s 43rd Göteborg Film Festival, scoring the best Nordic film kudo, this year worth approximately $48,000.
The film’s lead actor, Erik Enge, also nabbed the fest’s award for best actor for his subtle, nuanced performance as a 17-year-old professional player hired by the Italian club Inter Milan.
The Golden Globe-nominated Danish film “Another Round,” from director Thomas Vinterberg, claimed the audience choice award for a film in the Nordic competition. Meanwhile, the critics’ jury opted for director-writer Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut, “Pleasure,” a bold and daring documentary-like descent into the subterranean world of the L.A. porn industry, with a tour de force performance from newcomer Sofia Kappel.
Swedish-born, Denmark-based Dp Linda Wassberg claimed the Sven...
The film’s lead actor, Erik Enge, also nabbed the fest’s award for best actor for his subtle, nuanced performance as a 17-year-old professional player hired by the Italian club Inter Milan.
The Golden Globe-nominated Danish film “Another Round,” from director Thomas Vinterberg, claimed the audience choice award for a film in the Nordic competition. Meanwhile, the critics’ jury opted for director-writer Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut, “Pleasure,” a bold and daring documentary-like descent into the subterranean world of the L.A. porn industry, with a tour de force performance from newcomer Sofia Kappel.
Swedish-born, Denmark-based Dp Linda Wassberg claimed the Sven...
- 2/7/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
In many parts of the world, you would never need to explain that Tove Jansson was the creator of the lovable hippo-like creatures named the Moomins. In Jansson’s native Finland and neighboring Sweden, she is as well-known as Walt Disney and her characters as beloved as Mickey Mouse. And her influence extends well beyond the borders of her home country, with the Moomins universe exists in nearly 50 languages and as many cultures.
Jansson lived from 1914 to 2001, her fascinating life spanning almost the entirely of the 20th century. But the new biopic “Tove” (her name is pronounced Tu-vey) focuses on a 10-year period, beginning as World War II was drawing to a close in 1945. The film, the fifth feature by Finish director Zaida Bergroth, depicts Jansson’s romantic relationships with men and women, and the unexpected personal and creative endeavors that led to her ultimate success as an artist.
Classically...
Jansson lived from 1914 to 2001, her fascinating life spanning almost the entirely of the 20th century. But the new biopic “Tove” (her name is pronounced Tu-vey) focuses on a 10-year period, beginning as World War II was drawing to a close in 1945. The film, the fifth feature by Finish director Zaida Bergroth, depicts Jansson’s romantic relationships with men and women, and the unexpected personal and creative endeavors that led to her ultimate success as an artist.
Classically...
- 1/22/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Biopic of Moomins creator Tove Jansson is Finland’s submission for the Oscar.
LevelK has closed a slew of new deals on Tove, the biopic of artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson, which Finland has submitted for the international feature Oscar.
The deals are led by Juno Films, which has acquired US rights, Films We Like for Canada, and Blue Finch Film Releasing for the UK and Ireland.
Further deals include to Switzerland (Dcm), Benelux (Remain in Light), Austria (Polyfilm Verleih), Israel (Dbs Satellite) and Thailand (Movies Matter).
Previously announced sales include to Russia/Cis (Russian World Vision), Baltics (Estin...
LevelK has closed a slew of new deals on Tove, the biopic of artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson, which Finland has submitted for the international feature Oscar.
The deals are led by Juno Films, which has acquired US rights, Films We Like for Canada, and Blue Finch Film Releasing for the UK and Ireland.
Further deals include to Switzerland (Dcm), Benelux (Remain in Light), Austria (Polyfilm Verleih), Israel (Dbs Satellite) and Thailand (Movies Matter).
Previously announced sales include to Russia/Cis (Russian World Vision), Baltics (Estin...
- 1/20/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The festival’s 44th edition runs online (due to the pandemic) Jan 29-Feb 8.
The Goteborg Film Festival has unveiled its slimmed-down lineup of 70 films from 39 countries (compared to the usual size of about 400 films); the festival’s 44th edition runs online (due to the pandemic) Jan 29-Feb 8.
Goteborg will open with the Swedish premiere of Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a biopic of Finnish artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson; and will close with the European premiere of Frida Kempff’s Knocking, an unnerving psychological drama about a woman hearing strange noises in her new house. Knocking premieres at Sundance and is sold by Bankside.
The Goteborg Film Festival has unveiled its slimmed-down lineup of 70 films from 39 countries (compared to the usual size of about 400 films); the festival’s 44th edition runs online (due to the pandemic) Jan 29-Feb 8.
Goteborg will open with the Swedish premiere of Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a biopic of Finnish artist and Moomins creator Tove Jansson; and will close with the European premiere of Frida Kempff’s Knocking, an unnerving psychological drama about a woman hearing strange noises in her new house. Knocking premieres at Sundance and is sold by Bankside.
- 1/12/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Finnish author Tove Jansson is most known for creating the enduringly popular children’s characters the Moomins, which have spanned comics, books and TV series since she first came up with them in the 1940s. She is now the subject of a biopic, Tove, which is Finland’s submission for the International Feature Oscar this year.
“Tove Jansson is the national treasure of Finland, an icon,” says director Zaida Bergroth during the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders International. “I was really pleased [to make the film] but I was a bit worried because I needed to find my own way to the character, to feel that I was the right director to tell her story.”
For actress Alma Pöysti, it was an equal level of responsibility to depict Jansson in a film about her life. “It was such an honor, but the ground disappeared underneath my feet when I got the part,...
“Tove Jansson is the national treasure of Finland, an icon,” says director Zaida Bergroth during the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders International. “I was really pleased [to make the film] but I was a bit worried because I needed to find my own way to the character, to feel that I was the right director to tell her story.”
For actress Alma Pöysti, it was an equal level of responsibility to depict Jansson in a film about her life. “It was such an honor, but the ground disappeared underneath my feet when I got the part,...
- 1/9/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
One cinephile to watch festival premieres in total isolation.
Goteborg Film Festival is to offer one cinephile the chance to watch its line-up of features completely isolated on a remote Swedish island.
Scandinavia’s largest film festival has moved entirely online for its 44th edition, which runs January 29 to February 8.
But one film enthusiast will get the chance to spend a week watching premieres from its programme in a specially created “Isolated Cinema” on the barren Pater Noster island in the North Sea. The viewer will watch festival films, which comprises 60 titles, and record a video diary about the experience.
Goteborg Film Festival is to offer one cinephile the chance to watch its line-up of features completely isolated on a remote Swedish island.
Scandinavia’s largest film festival has moved entirely online for its 44th edition, which runs January 29 to February 8.
But one film enthusiast will get the chance to spend a week watching premieres from its programme in a specially created “Isolated Cinema” on the barren Pater Noster island in the North Sea. The viewer will watch festival films, which comprises 60 titles, and record a video diary about the experience.
- 1/5/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
For non-Nordic viewers who only know of Tove Jansson as a name attached to the cuddly, dumpling-shaped creatures called the Moomins — mid-20th-century comic strip trolls resembling hippopotami, composed of negative space and living in some kind of tundra-adjacent landscape — the engaging biopic Tove will offer some interesting surprises. Not only was Moomins creator Jansson, played with moxie by theater actor Alma Poysti, the libidinous and unconventional black sheep of an already bohemian artistic family, but she also was bisexual. Covering Jansson’s formative adult years, from just before the end of World War II to the 1950s, Tove tracks her ...
- 12/16/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For non-Nordic viewers who only know of Tove Jansson as a name attached to the cuddly, dumpling-shaped creatures called the Moomins — mid-20th-century comic strip trolls resembling hippopotami, composed of negative space and living in some kind of tundra-adjacent landscape — the engaging biopic Tove will offer some interesting surprises. Not only was Moomins creator Jansson, played with moxie by theater actor Alma Poysti, the libidinous and unconventional black sheep of an already bohemian artistic family, but she also was bisexual. Covering Jansson’s formative adult years, from just before the end of World War II to the 1950s, Tove tracks her ...
- 12/16/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In today’s Global Bulletin, WarnerMedia appoints Vanessa Brookman as head of kids for Emea, Discovery commissions two new unscripted series while Channel 5 gets a pair of dramas and the Göteborg Film Festival selects “Tove” as its opening film.
Appointment
WarnerMedia has announced that Vanessa Brookman will be promoted to the newly created position of head of kids for Emea, effective immediately.
The move brings, for the first time, all WarnerMedia’s operational, editorial and creative responsibilities for kids’ content and channel brands in the region under a single remit. The consolidated portfolio includes Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Boing and Cartoonito as well as digital properties on third-party and WarnerMedia streaming platforms.
Brookman will collaborate closely with Johannes Larcher and Christina Sulebakk at HBO Max to improve the platform’s offerings for kids before it launches across Emea markets.
A near-six-year vet at WarnerMedia, Brookman has worked in senior content,...
Appointment
WarnerMedia has announced that Vanessa Brookman will be promoted to the newly created position of head of kids for Emea, effective immediately.
The move brings, for the first time, all WarnerMedia’s operational, editorial and creative responsibilities for kids’ content and channel brands in the region under a single remit. The consolidated portfolio includes Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Boing and Cartoonito as well as digital properties on third-party and WarnerMedia streaming platforms.
Brookman will collaborate closely with Johannes Larcher and Christina Sulebakk at HBO Max to improve the platform’s offerings for kids before it launches across Emea markets.
A near-six-year vet at WarnerMedia, Brookman has worked in senior content,...
- 12/11/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
- 11/18/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The audience share of domestic films reached 71.6% in October, according to the Finnish Film Foundation. With no American blockbusters in sight, and even as cinemas operate at reduced capacity due to the pandemic, Finnish productions are faring relatively well at the local box-office. According to the Finnish Film Foundation, the audience share of domestic films has reached 71.6% in October, with children's film Ricky Rapper and the Fake Vincent – the eighth in a hugely popular series, directed by Maria Sid and produced by Solar Films – as well as Zaida Bergroth's take on beloved Moomin creator Tove Jansson, Tove, gathering more than 100,000 spectators by the end of October and counting. The good news doesn't end there: among the ten most watched films, a whopping six are Finnish productions. They include Lost Boys (Helsinki Filmi Oy and Tekele Productions), already...
- 11/10/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
In today’s Global Bulletin, “Moominvalley” gets a third season commission; Abacus Media Rights sells “Trickster” in the U.S.; “The Last Journey of the Vikings” to dock at various destinations; Channel 4 and Curious Films announce Caroline Flack documentary special; Talpa Entertainment hires and Jellyfish Studios promotes.
Animation
Gutsy Animation’s global hit “Moominvalley” has been picked up for a third season at Finland’s Yle and Sky in the U.K. International Emmy-nominated and a hit at international festivals such as Banff and Shanghai, the series adapts Finnish-Swedish author and artist Tove Jansson’s popular “Moomin” kids stories.
“Moominvalley” vets Sara Barbas (“Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit”), Nigel Davies (“Shaun the Sheep”), Darren Robbie (“Doc McStuffins”) and Jay Grace (The Farmer’s Llamas) return to direct for Season 3. The series’ voice acting cast includes the likes of Rosamund Pike, Bel Powley, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry,...
Animation
Gutsy Animation’s global hit “Moominvalley” has been picked up for a third season at Finland’s Yle and Sky in the U.K. International Emmy-nominated and a hit at international festivals such as Banff and Shanghai, the series adapts Finnish-Swedish author and artist Tove Jansson’s popular “Moomin” kids stories.
“Moominvalley” vets Sara Barbas (“Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit”), Nigel Davies (“Shaun the Sheep”), Darren Robbie (“Doc McStuffins”) and Jay Grace (The Farmer’s Llamas) return to direct for Season 3. The series’ voice acting cast includes the likes of Rosamund Pike, Bel Powley, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry,...
- 11/2/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Banijay Executive Team
Banijay has set its leadership plans for Creative Networks, with James Townley and Lucas Green remaining in the business to lead the central content team. Both will report to Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti. In the revised posts, Green will become Global Head of Content Operations. He will be at the helm of all super-brands and existing IP in the combined format catalogue, including MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Temptation Island and Deal Or No Deal. Taking on all existing unscripted formats, his remit will cover Banijay’s 22-territory footprint, to promote recommissions, reboots and returnability. Townley becomes Global Head of Content Development, in charge of influencing and driving the development and creation of original unscripted IP across the group. In addition, he will manage internal creative incentivisation and pilot schemes, and targeted development for new platforms. In its new capacity, his team also includes Carlotta Rossi Spencer,...
Banijay has set its leadership plans for Creative Networks, with James Townley and Lucas Green remaining in the business to lead the central content team. Both will report to Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti. In the revised posts, Green will become Global Head of Content Operations. He will be at the helm of all super-brands and existing IP in the combined format catalogue, including MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Temptation Island and Deal Or No Deal. Taking on all existing unscripted formats, his remit will cover Banijay’s 22-territory footprint, to promote recommissions, reboots and returnability. Townley becomes Global Head of Content Development, in charge of influencing and driving the development and creation of original unscripted IP across the group. In addition, he will manage internal creative incentivisation and pilot schemes, and targeted development for new platforms. In its new capacity, his team also includes Carlotta Rossi Spencer,...
- 11/2/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The Moomins, with their hippo-like silhouettes, are beloved cartoon characters familiar to readers around the globe. But less is known about their creator, the bisexual, Swedish-speaking, Finnish visual artist and author Tove Jansson and her surprisingly unconventional life. The engaging biopic “Tove,” from Finnish helmer Zaida Bergroth, goes a long way toward remedying that knowledge gap. Featuring a mesmerizing lead performance by Alma Pöysti, the sensuously textured film, shot on 16mm, concentrates on a formative decade in Tove’s life (from the mid-1940s to mid-’50s) and explores her artistic and personal passions, and the challenges they entail. With multiple hooks, sales and festival interest should be strong.
Born in 1914 and raised in an artistic, bohemian family in Helsinki, Tove is the eldest child of a prominent sculptor father (Robert Enckel) and a supportive graphic-artist mother (Kajsa Ernst). Although a student of painting, she, like her mother, also creates illustrations,...
Born in 1914 and raised in an artistic, bohemian family in Helsinki, Tove is the eldest child of a prominent sculptor father (Robert Enckel) and a supportive graphic-artist mother (Kajsa Ernst). Although a student of painting, she, like her mother, also creates illustrations,...
- 9/9/2020
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
International sales outfit LevelK has acquired the uplifting female-led Danish drama “The Food Club,” directed by Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg (“One-Two-Three Now!”).
LevelK will be handling world sales rights to “The Food Club” outside of the Nordics. Set in the lush countryside, “The Food Club” is headlined by three well-known Scandinavian actresses, Kirsten Olesen (“The Bridge”), Stina Ekblad (“Wallander”) and Kirsten Lehfeldt (“Men & Chicken”).
The film revolves around three longtime girlfriends from elementary school who are coming into their prime and are finding a new lease on life after participating in a cooking course in Italy.
Marie (Olesen) is abandoned by her husband on Christmas Eve, leading her identity as part of a happy family to crumble; while Berling (Ekblad) is the eternal bachelor who lives the sweet life but has a complicated relationship with her daughter; and Vanja (Lehfeldt) lives with the memories of her late husband and has difficulty moving on.
LevelK will be handling world sales rights to “The Food Club” outside of the Nordics. Set in the lush countryside, “The Food Club” is headlined by three well-known Scandinavian actresses, Kirsten Olesen (“The Bridge”), Stina Ekblad (“Wallander”) and Kirsten Lehfeldt (“Men & Chicken”).
The film revolves around three longtime girlfriends from elementary school who are coming into their prime and are finding a new lease on life after participating in a cooking course in Italy.
Marie (Olesen) is abandoned by her husband on Christmas Eve, leading her identity as part of a happy family to crumble; while Berling (Ekblad) is the eternal bachelor who lives the sweet life but has a complicated relationship with her daughter; and Vanja (Lehfeldt) lives with the memories of her late husband and has difficulty moving on.
- 8/17/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Jarvis Cocker has built one of rock’s weirdest, wittiest, most fascinating careers. But he’s still not finished experimenting. In the Nineties, he crashed the British charts as the frontman of Pulp, turning into an unlikely sex god purring hits like “Common People” and “Disco 2000” on classics like Different Class. His eagerly awaited new Beyond the Pale, out July 17th on Rough Trade, isn’t just his first album in a decade — it’s one of his most brilliant ever. With his new band Jarv Is…, he explores his favorite obsessions — lust,...
- 7/8/2020
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
Samuel Goldwyn in North America and Telepool in Germany are some of the major buyers lured by “H is for Happiness,” the acclaimed feature debut of seasoned Australian theater director John Sheedy.
The Australian heartwarming comedy drama is represented in international markets by LevelK. It opened the Generation Kplus section at this year’s Berlinale, where it received the Children’s Jury Special Mention.
LevelK has scored deals for North America (Samuel Goldwyn), Germany (Telepool), the Middle East and North Africa (Front Row), the Nordics excluding Iceland (Angel Films/FilmCentrum), Estonia (Estin Film) Poland (New Horizons Assoc.), Eastern Europe Israel (yes Dbs) and Holland (Npo Holland).
Based on Australian author Barry Jonsberg’s popular young adult novel “My Life as an Alphabet,” the film follows Candice Phee, an optimistic 12-year-old girl from a small coastal town who is determined to bring her family back from the brink while facing the trials of adolescence.
The Australian heartwarming comedy drama is represented in international markets by LevelK. It opened the Generation Kplus section at this year’s Berlinale, where it received the Children’s Jury Special Mention.
LevelK has scored deals for North America (Samuel Goldwyn), Germany (Telepool), the Middle East and North Africa (Front Row), the Nordics excluding Iceland (Angel Films/FilmCentrum), Estonia (Estin Film) Poland (New Horizons Assoc.), Eastern Europe Israel (yes Dbs) and Holland (Npo Holland).
Based on Australian author Barry Jonsberg’s popular young adult novel “My Life as an Alphabet,” the film follows Candice Phee, an optimistic 12-year-old girl from a small coastal town who is determined to bring her family back from the brink while facing the trials of adolescence.
- 7/1/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
"What started as a distraction, became her biggest achievement." Helsinki-Filmi has just debuted the first official sales trailer for the film Tove, a biopic about the life of acclaimed Finnish artist Tove Jansson. She is best known as the creator of the beloved Moomins, which have become famous worldwide, but she also live a struggling artists life in Scandinavia post-wwii. Swedo-Finnish actress Alma Pöysti plays Tove, and while it is mostly a Finnish story, the film is shot in the Swedish language. Tove is the untold story of Tove Jansson – artist, lover, author, icon. The film focuses on her formative years in post-war Helsinki, her fight for recognition for her art and the passionate bisexual love affair that was mirrored in the internationally beloved Moomin books. The cast includes Krista Kosonen, Joanna Haartti, and Shanti Roney. Well this looks quite good, a more emotional story than expected but compelling nonetheless.
- 6/23/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Alma Pösti plays the Finnish painter Tove Jansson.
Denmark-based sales company LevelK has landed its first deals on Tove, the biopic of Moomins creator Tove Jansson.
The film has sold to Japan (The Klockworx) and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (Estin Film). The Moomins are extremely popular in Japan; the country has produced several series featuring the animated characters, and opened the MoominValley theme park in Sanno, Saitama last year.
Screen can also reveal the exclusive first trailer for the film, above.
Set from 1944 to 1956, the Swedish-language film shows how painter Tove Jansson finds worldwide success from an unexpected side project,...
Denmark-based sales company LevelK has landed its first deals on Tove, the biopic of Moomins creator Tove Jansson.
The film has sold to Japan (The Klockworx) and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (Estin Film). The Moomins are extremely popular in Japan; the country has produced several series featuring the animated characters, and opened the MoominValley theme park in Sanno, Saitama last year.
Screen can also reveal the exclusive first trailer for the film, above.
Set from 1944 to 1956, the Swedish-language film shows how painter Tove Jansson finds worldwide success from an unexpected side project,...
- 6/23/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Annecy 2020 Online’s first wave of special programming for its world-class French animation festival (June 15-30) will include making of sessions, previews, and works-in-progress. The biggest news is that indie feature “Animal Crackers,” which premiered at Annecy in 2017, returns as a making of program, having been acquired by streamer Netflix.
The CG children’s fantasy, directed by Tony Bancroft (“Mulan”) and Scott Christan Sava, concerns a magical box of cookies coming to the rescue of a rundown circus. It contains voice work by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and boasts the work of character designer Carter Goodrich (“Ice Age”).
Netflix is also bringing a work-in-progress presentation of “The Cuphead Show!” series for 2021, adapted from retro-style video game by showrunners Dave Wasson (“Mickey Mouse”) and Cosmo Segurson (“SpongeBob Squarepants”). Drawing on the classic ’30s rubber hose animation style of Disney and Fleischer, the comedy follows the misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his naive brother,...
The CG children’s fantasy, directed by Tony Bancroft (“Mulan”) and Scott Christan Sava, concerns a magical box of cookies coming to the rescue of a rundown circus. It contains voice work by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and boasts the work of character designer Carter Goodrich (“Ice Age”).
Netflix is also bringing a work-in-progress presentation of “The Cuphead Show!” series for 2021, adapted from retro-style video game by showrunners Dave Wasson (“Mickey Mouse”) and Cosmo Segurson (“SpongeBob Squarepants”). Drawing on the classic ’30s rubber hose animation style of Disney and Fleischer, the comedy follows the misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his naive brother,...
- 5/20/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
A former childhood detective returns to her hometown on holiday break only to get wrapped up in a mystery that could make it the literal Christmas from Hell in the new digital comic book series Friday. Written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Marcos Martin, and featuring colors by Muntsa Vicente, the first chapter of Friday recently launched on Panel Syndicate (giving readers the chance to name their price for the new comic and enjoy it from the comfort of their own homes). We caught up with Brubaker and Martin in our latest Q&a feature to discuss their new series, and we've also been provided with exclusive designs from the comic as a special treat for Daily Dead readers.
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions for us, Ed and Marcos, and congratulations on your new comic book Friday! How and when did you come up with the idea for this story?...
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions for us, Ed and Marcos, and congratulations on your new comic book Friday! How and when did you come up with the idea for this story?...
- 4/29/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Liang was previously sales and acquisitions manager.
Danish sales agency LevelK has promoted Debra Liang to head of sales, with immediate effect.
Liang joined the company three years ago as part of the Screen Australia: Gender Matters – Brilliant Careers initiative.
She moves up from sales and acquisitions manager to her new role.
Prior to working at LevelK, she worked as a freelancer in production across live-action, animation, shorts and music videos.
Liang’s focus will be on acquiring English-language titles; she will cover all key territories.
LevelK’s upcoming slate includes Tove, Zaida Bergroth’s biopic of Moomins creator Tove Jansson...
Danish sales agency LevelK has promoted Debra Liang to head of sales, with immediate effect.
Liang joined the company three years ago as part of the Screen Australia: Gender Matters – Brilliant Careers initiative.
She moves up from sales and acquisitions manager to her new role.
Prior to working at LevelK, she worked as a freelancer in production across live-action, animation, shorts and music videos.
Liang’s focus will be on acquiring English-language titles; she will cover all key territories.
LevelK’s upcoming slate includes Tove, Zaida Bergroth’s biopic of Moomins creator Tove Jansson...
- 4/27/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
20 new projects, including Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment Number 6 and Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, have received production support in March. Amid the current coronavirus scare, the Finnish Film Foundation has cemented its belief in a brighter future by granting production support to 20 projects – backing that amounts to almost €6.5 million. A total of €750,000 have gone to Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment Number 6, currently shooting in Russia under the watchful eye of Aamu Film Company, following the international success of his debut feature, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki. Furthermore, €850,000 went to Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a biopic of Moomin creator Tove Jansson, produced by Helsinki-filmi and scheduled to premiere domestically in October. Tove wasn’t the only title marking the presence of Helsinki-filmi, with Marja Pyykkö’s Wedding of the Century getting €484,999. This was followed by the features Love on the Spot, to be directed by Reetta...
Sf Studios is joining forces with Antti J. Jokinen’s leading Finnish production banner Cinematic Inc. to develop and produce the animated feature “Comet in Moominland” and “When the Doves Disappeared,” adapted from Sofi Oksanen’s bestseller.
“Comet in Moominland” and “When the Doves Disappeared” are being made by both companies as part of a five-picture deal. Sf Studios and Cinematic Inc. are already working together on the ambitious action thriller franchise “Omerta” which comprises of two feature films represented in international markets by Reinvent Studios, and a series that will premiere on C More, the Swedish streamer.
“Comet in Moominland,” based on the near-cult Finnish comicbooks created by Tove Jansson, is a remake of Hiroshi Saito’s 1992 classic animation film “Moomin,” which was itself a remake of
Tim Livson, the son of the producer of original producer of “Comet in Moominland,” is co-producing the new film through his banner...
“Comet in Moominland” and “When the Doves Disappeared” are being made by both companies as part of a five-picture deal. Sf Studios and Cinematic Inc. are already working together on the ambitious action thriller franchise “Omerta” which comprises of two feature films represented in international markets by Reinvent Studios, and a series that will premiere on C More, the Swedish streamer.
“Comet in Moominland,” based on the near-cult Finnish comicbooks created by Tove Jansson, is a remake of Hiroshi Saito’s 1992 classic animation film “Moomin,” which was itself a remake of
Tim Livson, the son of the producer of original producer of “Comet in Moominland,” is co-producing the new film through his banner...
- 2/22/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The former took best film with the latter winning best director.
Levan Akin’s Cannes 2019 title And Then We Danced and Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja’s Toronto 2018 film Aniara led the winners at the 2020 Guldbagge Awards, held on January 20 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Both films picked up four awards each. And Then We Danced took best film, best actor for Levan Gelbakhiani, best screenplay for Akin, and best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell; while Aniara received best director, best actress for Emelie Garbers, best supporting actress for Bianca Cruzeiro, and best visual effects for Arild Andersson, Per Jonsson and Andreas Wicklund.
Levan Akin’s Cannes 2019 title And Then We Danced and Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja’s Toronto 2018 film Aniara led the winners at the 2020 Guldbagge Awards, held on January 20 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Both films picked up four awards each. And Then We Danced took best film, best actor for Levan Gelbakhiani, best screenplay for Akin, and best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell; while Aniara received best director, best actress for Emelie Garbers, best supporting actress for Bianca Cruzeiro, and best visual effects for Arild Andersson, Per Jonsson and Andreas Wicklund.
- 1/21/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
The film is set in the 1940s and 50s.
Alma Pöysti is set to play famed artist, author and Moomins creator Tove Jansson in Zaida Bergroth’s Swedish-language biopic Tove which has started shooting in Helsinki. The actress is Swedo-Finnish, like Jansson herself.
Produced by Helsinki-filmi, whose credits include Tom of Finland, Dogs Don’t Wear Pants, Tove is the first feature based on Jansson’s life. It will also be Pöysti’s first lead screen role. She has previously played Jansson on stage at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki.
“I needed to find somebody who would have the right kind of aura,...
Alma Pöysti is set to play famed artist, author and Moomins creator Tove Jansson in Zaida Bergroth’s Swedish-language biopic Tove which has started shooting in Helsinki. The actress is Swedo-Finnish, like Jansson herself.
Produced by Helsinki-filmi, whose credits include Tom of Finland, Dogs Don’t Wear Pants, Tove is the first feature based on Jansson’s life. It will also be Pöysti’s first lead screen role. She has previously played Jansson on stage at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki.
“I needed to find somebody who would have the right kind of aura,...
- 1/16/2020
- by 1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Tove Jansson’s beloved Moomin stories were a celebration of tolerance, curiosity and the power of imagination. This Easter weekend a new animated Moomin series premieres on Sky One and Sky Kids. The opening episodes begin a series of 13 22-minute episodes.
HeyUGuys attended a preview screening of episodes 1 and 10 and a Q&A with co-creator/director Steve Box, actress Akiya Henry (who voices Snorkmaiden) and Tove Jansson’s niece Sophia Jansson, the creative director of Moomin Characters Ltd.
Many of our readers will have fond memories of Moomintroll, Little My and Snufkin. After a successful crowdfunding campaign helped support its return, Sky and Gutsy Animations are hoping Moominvalley will find a place in your hearts again and enchant a new generation of viewers.
The 2019 incarnation is a weird and wonderful mix of old and new as the “I’m whacky, me!” gabble of It Crowd stars mingles with the subtler,...
HeyUGuys attended a preview screening of episodes 1 and 10 and a Q&A with co-creator/director Steve Box, actress Akiya Henry (who voices Snorkmaiden) and Tove Jansson’s niece Sophia Jansson, the creative director of Moomin Characters Ltd.
Many of our readers will have fond memories of Moomintroll, Little My and Snufkin. After a successful crowdfunding campaign helped support its return, Sky and Gutsy Animations are hoping Moominvalley will find a place in your hearts again and enchant a new generation of viewers.
The 2019 incarnation is a weird and wonderful mix of old and new as the “I’m whacky, me!” gabble of It Crowd stars mingles with the subtler,...
- 4/21/2019
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Sky has unveiled the first trailer for animated kids series Moominvalley that features the voice talents of A-listers including Rosamund Pike, Kate Winslet and Taron Egerton.
This comes after the world premiere of the series over the weekend.
The series, which is based on the Moomin stories by Finnish-Swedish artist Tove Jansson, was created by Oscar-winning director Steve Box (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) and creative director Marika Makaroff.
It will air as two series, comprising 13 episodes, on Sky in the UK over Easter, and will also air via Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
Egerton voices Moomintroll, Pike voices Moominmamma and Winslet voices Mrs Fillyjonk. Other stars featured include Matt Berry, Bel Powley, Warwick Davis, Joe Wilkinson, Jennifer Saunders, Alison Steadman, Will Self, Richard Ayoade, Akiya Henry, Edvin Endre, Mayumi Kawai, Matt Lucas, Katie Leung, Rebecca Root, Susie Brann and Joe Wilkinson.
This comes after the world premiere of the series over the weekend.
The series, which is based on the Moomin stories by Finnish-Swedish artist Tove Jansson, was created by Oscar-winning director Steve Box (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) and creative director Marika Makaroff.
It will air as two series, comprising 13 episodes, on Sky in the UK over Easter, and will also air via Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
Egerton voices Moomintroll, Pike voices Moominmamma and Winslet voices Mrs Fillyjonk. Other stars featured include Matt Berry, Bel Powley, Warwick Davis, Joe Wilkinson, Jennifer Saunders, Alison Steadman, Will Self, Richard Ayoade, Akiya Henry, Edvin Endre, Mayumi Kawai, Matt Lucas, Katie Leung, Rebecca Root, Susie Brann and Joe Wilkinson.
- 1/28/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Marc Munden will direct the film which is being produced by Kevin Loader’s Free Range Films.
Julie Walters is set to star in Marc Munden’s film adaptation of Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book for UK producer Kevin Loader’s Free Range Films.
The Summer Book is about a woman who spends the summer with her six-year-old granddaughter. on a remote Finnish island.
The project is being developed by producer Kath Mattock, whose credits include BBC TV series Murder, Buried and The Cops. The Summer Book will be her first film credit, with Loader serving as executive producer.
Julie Walters is set to star in Marc Munden’s film adaptation of Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book for UK producer Kevin Loader’s Free Range Films.
The Summer Book is about a woman who spends the summer with her six-year-old granddaughter. on a remote Finnish island.
The project is being developed by producer Kath Mattock, whose credits include BBC TV series Murder, Buried and The Cops. The Summer Book will be her first film credit, with Loader serving as executive producer.
- 9/28/2018
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
If you can read the stories of a whole bunch of women pioneers — such as the ones in the book I’m about to discuss — without being at least a little bit annoyed at men in general, frankly there’s something wrong with you.
And you can take “men in general” as expansively as you want, o dudes who insist “man” is always and ever a perfectly good word to mean “humanity.” There’s enough shittiness and negativity in the world for at least two genders.
But damn did every single advance for women come because a woman demanded it, fought for it, and faced down multiple men who insisted that not only shouldn’t she do that, it was physically impossible for her to do it, so she should just go back her knitting and housekeeping.
(And if I hear a single “not all men,” I’m going to smack you so hard.
And you can take “men in general” as expansively as you want, o dudes who insist “man” is always and ever a perfectly good word to mean “humanity.” There’s enough shittiness and negativity in the world for at least two genders.
But damn did every single advance for women come because a woman demanded it, fought for it, and faced down multiple men who insisted that not only shouldn’t she do that, it was physically impossible for her to do it, so she should just go back her knitting and housekeeping.
(And if I hear a single “not all men,” I’m going to smack you so hard.
- 8/11/2018
- by Andrew Wheeler
- Comicmix.com
An all-star cast has been assembled for the upcoming animated TV series centered on the Moomins, the central characters in a series of hugely popular Scandinavian children’s books,
Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton, Kate Winslet, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry, Richard Ayoade, Will Self and Akiya Henry will lend their voices to Moominvalley, which is being produced by Finnish studio Gutsy Animations. Steve Box, formerly of Aardman and an Oscar winner for co-directing Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with Nick Park, will helm.
The Moomins, created by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson and first published in 1945 and now one...
Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton, Kate Winslet, Warwick Davis, Matt Berry, Richard Ayoade, Will Self and Akiya Henry will lend their voices to Moominvalley, which is being produced by Finnish studio Gutsy Animations. Steve Box, formerly of Aardman and an Oscar winner for co-directing Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit with Nick Park, will helm.
The Moomins, created by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson and first published in 1945 and now one...
- 9/11/2017
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bill Skarsgard is swapping Pennywise for a role that's definitely more child-friendly after signing up for Moomins and the Winter Wonderland.
The Swedish actor, who has a starring role as the killer clown in Warner Bros.' upcoming film It, will voice the protagonist Moomintroll in the animated movie. Skarsgard is the latest in what is becoming an all-star Swedish voice cast that includes Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander and his father Stellan.
“So excited to be a part of this lovely project and bringing Tove Jansson's fantastical world to the big screen. I grew up with my mom and dad reading Moomin and their adventures...
The Swedish actor, who has a starring role as the killer clown in Warner Bros.' upcoming film It, will voice the protagonist Moomintroll in the animated movie. Skarsgard is the latest in what is becoming an all-star Swedish voice cast that includes Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander and his father Stellan.
“So excited to be a part of this lovely project and bringing Tove Jansson's fantastical world to the big screen. I grew up with my mom and dad reading Moomin and their adventures...
- 8/4/2017
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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