James Cameron sequel scores joint seventh-highest weekend opening total for a post-pandemic title.
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Dec 16-18) Total gross to date Week 1. Avatar: The Way Of Water (Disney) £11.2m £11.2m 1 2. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (Sony)
£1.3m £12.7m 4 3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney)
£377,598 £31.6m 6 4. Violent Night (Universal) £352,203 £2.7m 3 5. Strange World (Disney)
£193,659 £2m 4
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.22
Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water has claimed its spot atop the UK-Ireland box office this weekend with ease, banking £11.2m in its debut.
This figure is above the original film, which took £6.7m (plus £1.8m in previews...
Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Dec 16-18) Total gross to date Week 1. Avatar: The Way Of Water (Disney) £11.2m £11.2m 1 2. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (Sony)
£1.3m £12.7m 4 3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney)
£377,598 £31.6m 6 4. Violent Night (Universal) £352,203 £2.7m 3 5. Strange World (Disney)
£193,659 £2m 4
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.22
Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water has claimed its spot atop the UK-Ireland box office this weekend with ease, banking £11.2m in its debut.
This figure is above the original film, which took £6.7m (plus £1.8m in previews...
- 12/19/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
One of only two new titles, with ‘Nutcracker And The Magic Flute’.
Walt Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water dominates the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, opening in 725 cinemas and looking to break records 13 years after the first film’s release.
The Way Of Water resumes the story of Jake Sully, living with his newfound Na’vi family on Pandora, who faces a familiar threat that returns to finish what it previously started.
James Cameron directs again, and is one of five credited writers on the three hours and 12-minutes film. With a reported budget of 350m to 400m,...
Walt Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water dominates the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, opening in 725 cinemas and looking to break records 13 years after the first film’s release.
The Way Of Water resumes the story of Jake Sully, living with his newfound Na’vi family on Pandora, who faces a familiar threat that returns to finish what it previously started.
James Cameron directs again, and is one of five credited writers on the three hours and 12-minutes film. With a reported budget of 350m to 400m,...
- 12/16/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Updated– Russia will not be sending an official Oscar candidate for the upcoming international feature film race, Variety has confirmed.
The news, which was reported by the news outlet Afp, was announced by the Russian film academy on Monday evening (Sept. 27). Several members of Russia’s Oscar committee, including its president Pavel Tchoukhraï, have resigned to protest the decision of the Russian film academy.
Tchoukhraï issued a letter, unveiled by veteran journalist Larisa Malyukova, in which he blamed the Russian film academy for taking an “unilateral decision over the head of the committee” and said it was both “unfair and illegal.” Joel Chapron, an expert on the Russian film industry who is based in Paris, said Tchoukhraï had been followed by several other member of the committee who have now resigned, including Nikolaï Dostal, Sergey Selyanov, Vladimir Kott and Andrey Zvyagintsev, who is currently living in Paris.
The decision of...
The news, which was reported by the news outlet Afp, was announced by the Russian film academy on Monday evening (Sept. 27). Several members of Russia’s Oscar committee, including its president Pavel Tchoukhraï, have resigned to protest the decision of the Russian film academy.
Tchoukhraï issued a letter, unveiled by veteran journalist Larisa Malyukova, in which he blamed the Russian film academy for taking an “unilateral decision over the head of the committee” and said it was both “unfair and illegal.” Joel Chapron, an expert on the Russian film industry who is based in Paris, said Tchoukhraï had been followed by several other member of the committee who have now resigned, including Nikolaï Dostal, Sergey Selyanov, Vladimir Kott and Andrey Zvyagintsev, who is currently living in Paris.
The decision of...
- 9/27/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Loco Films has boarded international sales rights to actor-turned-helmer Dinara Drukarova’s feature debut “Woman at Sea” which will world premiere in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”), “Woman at Sea” stars Drukarova as Lili, who has left everything behind to travel to the end of the earth to fulfil her dream of fishing in the northern seas, in Iceland. She convinces Ian, a fishing boat skipper, to give her a chance and embarks on the Rebel. She is the only woman in the crew but she will win everybody’s respect thanks to her determination and courage.
“We are proud of this first film, shot on the harsh northern seas about a young woman seeking the fresh air of freedom. A beautiful and free film and the birth of a new director,” said Laurent Danielou,...
Produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”), “Woman at Sea” stars Drukarova as Lili, who has left everything behind to travel to the end of the earth to fulfil her dream of fishing in the northern seas, in Iceland. She convinces Ian, a fishing boat skipper, to give her a chance and embarks on the Rebel. She is the only woman in the crew but she will win everybody’s respect thanks to her determination and courage.
“We are proud of this first film, shot on the harsh northern seas about a young woman seeking the fresh air of freedom. A beautiful and free film and the birth of a new director,” said Laurent Danielou,...
- 9/13/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Russian director’s ‘No Looking Back’ is benig sold by M-Appeal in the EFM.
Russian director Kirill Sokolov is in advanced development on the comedy drama To Banya, set in the steamy world of Finnish saunas, which he aims to shoot in the summer. Artem Vasilyev’s Metrafilms is producing together with Sergey Selyanov’s Ctb and Yellow Film & TV in Finland.
The story takes place against the backcloth of the world sauna championships in Helsinki as a Russian man tries to earn some much needed money.
Sokolov’s latest feature No Looking Back (pictured) is being sold...
Russian director Kirill Sokolov is in advanced development on the comedy drama To Banya, set in the steamy world of Finnish saunas, which he aims to shoot in the summer. Artem Vasilyev’s Metrafilms is producing together with Sergey Selyanov’s Ctb and Yellow Film & TV in Finland.
The story takes place against the backcloth of the world sauna championships in Helsinki as a Russian man tries to earn some much needed money.
Sokolov’s latest feature No Looking Back (pictured) is being sold...
- 2/13/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film won best feature and best screenplay.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was the big winner at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa), which took place on the Gold Coast in Australia today (November 11).
Scroll down for the full list of winners
The film – Japan’s entry for the best international feature Oscar and the Cannes 2021 best screenplay winner – won best feature film and best screenplay for Hamaguchi and co-writer Oe Takamasa. It follows a theatre actor and director who is grappling with grief for his lost wife and is based on a novella of...
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was the big winner at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa), which took place on the Gold Coast in Australia today (November 11).
Scroll down for the full list of winners
The film – Japan’s entry for the best international feature Oscar and the Cannes 2021 best screenplay winner – won best feature film and best screenplay for Hamaguchi and co-writer Oe Takamasa. It follows a theatre actor and director who is grappling with grief for his lost wife and is based on a novella of...
- 11/11/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car triumphed this eve at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The movie scooped best film, which Japanese filmmaker Hamaguchi shared with producer Teruhisa Yamamoto, and best screenplay, which the director shared with Oe Takamasa. Scroll down for the full list of winners on the night.
Further winners included Asghar Farhadi, who took Best Director for A Hero, and Hogir Hirori’s Sabaya, which win Best Documentary Feature Film.
Two Jury Grand Prizes were awarded this year, one to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Rehana, and Leah Purcell for The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.
Best Performance by an Actor was awarded to Georgian actor Merab Ninidze for Alexey German Jr’s House Arrest, while Best Performance by an Actress went to Azmeri Haque Badhon for Rehana. Nguyễn Vinh Phúc won achievement in cinematography for Taste.
This was Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s...
Further winners included Asghar Farhadi, who took Best Director for A Hero, and Hogir Hirori’s Sabaya, which win Best Documentary Feature Film.
Two Jury Grand Prizes were awarded this year, one to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Rehana, and Leah Purcell for The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.
Best Performance by an Actor was awarded to Georgian actor Merab Ninidze for Alexey German Jr’s House Arrest, while Best Performance by an Actress went to Azmeri Haque Badhon for Rehana. Nguyễn Vinh Phúc won achievement in cinematography for Taste.
This was Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s...
- 11/11/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Japan’s Hamaguchi Ryusuke earned double honors on Thursday at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. His “Drive My Car” was named best film, while he shared the best screenplay award with the film’s co-writer Oe Takamasa.
The 14th Apsa ceremony was held at the Home of the Arts in Queensland, Australia and gave prizes to ten films from eleven territories. The event also marked the official opening of the third Asia Pacific Screen Forum conference series.
The second place or Jury Grand Prizes were awarded jointly to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Bangladesh drama “Rehana” (aka “Rehana Maryam Noor”) and to Leah Purcell for her debut feature “The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.” “Rehana” lead Azmeri Haque Badhon was awarded the prize for the best performance by an actress.
Iran’s Asghar Farhadi was awarded achievement in directing prize for “A Hero” (aka “Ghahreman”) which the Apsa jury called “an intimate epic.
The 14th Apsa ceremony was held at the Home of the Arts in Queensland, Australia and gave prizes to ten films from eleven territories. The event also marked the official opening of the third Asia Pacific Screen Forum conference series.
The second place or Jury Grand Prizes were awarded jointly to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Bangladesh drama “Rehana” (aka “Rehana Maryam Noor”) and to Leah Purcell for her debut feature “The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.” “Rehana” lead Azmeri Haque Badhon was awarded the prize for the best performance by an actress.
Iran’s Asghar Farhadi was awarded achievement in directing prize for “A Hero” (aka “Ghahreman”) which the Apsa jury called “an intimate epic.
- 11/11/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Release
Kenneth Branagh‘s “Belfast” and the late Roger Michell‘s “The Duke” will release theatrically in the U.K. on Jan. 21 and Feb. 25, 2022 respectively.
Featuring an ensemble cast, “Belfast” is an autobiographical story set in late 1960s Northern Ireland. It follows Buddy, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
The film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and is an odds on favorite at the upcoming awards season.
Universal is giving “Belfast” a wide release of more than 300 screens.
Meanwhile, Pathe is also planning a wide release with more than 300 screens for “The Duke.” The film bowed at...
Kenneth Branagh‘s “Belfast” and the late Roger Michell‘s “The Duke” will release theatrically in the U.K. on Jan. 21 and Feb. 25, 2022 respectively.
Featuring an ensemble cast, “Belfast” is an autobiographical story set in late 1960s Northern Ireland. It follows Buddy, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
The film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and is an odds on favorite at the upcoming awards season.
Universal is giving “Belfast” a wide release of more than 300 screens.
Meanwhile, Pathe is also planning a wide release with more than 300 screens for “The Duke.” The film bowed at...
- 11/5/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Grindstone Entertainment Group, which has a distribution partnership with Lionsgate, has acquired North American rights to the Russian animated adventure “My Sweet Monster,” which is scheduled to be released theatrically in Russia by Sony Pictures on Dec. 9.
Worldwide rights are handled by the sales outfit Luminescence, which screened the film for international buyers earlier this year at the Key Buyers Event organized by Russian film promotion body Roskino, and will also screen it during Rome’s Mia market (Oct. 13-17).
The announcement was made by Grindstone president and CEO Barry Brooker, Grindstone partner Stan Wertlieb, and Juraj Barabas, managing director of Luminescence.
Directed by Viktor Glukhushin and produced by Academy Award-nominated producer Sergey Selyanov, “My Sweet Monster” tells the story of rebellious teenage Princess Barbara, who escapes the palace and joins forces with two forest bandits to find the charming Prince, stop the sleazy Bandy Joyce from taking over the kingdom,...
Worldwide rights are handled by the sales outfit Luminescence, which screened the film for international buyers earlier this year at the Key Buyers Event organized by Russian film promotion body Roskino, and will also screen it during Rome’s Mia market (Oct. 13-17).
The announcement was made by Grindstone president and CEO Barry Brooker, Grindstone partner Stan Wertlieb, and Juraj Barabas, managing director of Luminescence.
Directed by Viktor Glukhushin and produced by Academy Award-nominated producer Sergey Selyanov, “My Sweet Monster” tells the story of rebellious teenage Princess Barbara, who escapes the palace and joins forces with two forest bandits to find the charming Prince, stop the sleazy Bandy Joyce from taking over the kingdom,...
- 10/13/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Well Go USA has acquired North American rights to the Russian war movie “Infiltration,” the directorial debut of acclaimed actor Alexey Chadov, the company announced at Mipcom this week.
The film centers around Ivan, played by Chadov, who sets off on a dangerous mission into Syria to exfiltrate his ex-commander Grey after his capture by Isis. With the help of U.S. military patrols, he succeeds in freeing Grey and attempts to escape the country while being hunted by terrorists.
“Infiltration,” which launched earlier this year at the Key Buyers Event hosted by Russian film promotion body Roskino, is produced by Academy Award nominee Sergey Selyanov (“Mongol”) through his Ctb Film Company. Sony Pictures will release the film in Russia on Nov. 18, with Well Go planning a 2022 release for North America. Worldwide sales are being handled by Luminescence.
Selyanov said “Infiltration,” which will screen at Rome’s Mia market next week,...
The film centers around Ivan, played by Chadov, who sets off on a dangerous mission into Syria to exfiltrate his ex-commander Grey after his capture by Isis. With the help of U.S. military patrols, he succeeds in freeing Grey and attempts to escape the country while being hunted by terrorists.
“Infiltration,” which launched earlier this year at the Key Buyers Event hosted by Russian film promotion body Roskino, is produced by Academy Award nominee Sergey Selyanov (“Mongol”) through his Ctb Film Company. Sony Pictures will release the film in Russia on Nov. 18, with Well Go planning a 2022 release for North America. Worldwide sales are being handled by Luminescence.
Selyanov said “Infiltration,” which will screen at Rome’s Mia market next week,...
- 10/11/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The treaty is expected to come into effect by the end of the year.
Russia is set to sign a bilateral co-production agreement with Israel, it was announced at Key Buyers Event: Digital (June 8-10), the audiovisual content market organised by Russian state film body Roskino.
Speaking at a panel on co-production opportunities on Tuesday (June 8), Leonid Demchenko, head of the documentaries and animation cinema department at the Ministry of Culture and Russia’s Eurimages representative said: “I know that there is a need for this treaty and Israeli producers want to cooperate with us. Hopefully, the treaty will come...
Russia is set to sign a bilateral co-production agreement with Israel, it was announced at Key Buyers Event: Digital (June 8-10), the audiovisual content market organised by Russian state film body Roskino.
Speaking at a panel on co-production opportunities on Tuesday (June 8), Leonid Demchenko, head of the documentaries and animation cinema department at the Ministry of Culture and Russia’s Eurimages representative said: “I know that there is a need for this treaty and Israeli producers want to cooperate with us. Hopefully, the treaty will come...
- 6/10/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Grindstone Entertainment Group, which has a distribution partnership with Lionsgate, has acquired North American rights to the Russian box office hit “Upon the Magic Roads.” The fantasy adventure film was released in Russia on Feb. 18 and grossed an outstanding $15.9 million.
Worldwide rights are handled by the sales outfit Luminescence, which screened the film for international buyers at this week’s digital Key Buyers Event, organized by Roskino, and will also screen it during the Pre-Cannes Screenings (June 21-25).
Deals have also closed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Capelight), France and French-speaking Belgium (Koba), Portugal (Cinemundo), Poland (Puls TV), Czech Republic and Slovakia (MediaSquad), Turkey (aTV), Middle East (Front Row), South Africa (Filmfinity), South East Asia Ptv (Disney), Mongolia (FilmBridge), Vietnam (Cj Cgv), South Korea (World Cinema), and Latin America Ptv/SVOD (Discovery).
“Upon the Magic Roads” tells the story of John, a kind-hearted romantic fool, who is sent on a...
Worldwide rights are handled by the sales outfit Luminescence, which screened the film for international buyers at this week’s digital Key Buyers Event, organized by Roskino, and will also screen it during the Pre-Cannes Screenings (June 21-25).
Deals have also closed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Capelight), France and French-speaking Belgium (Koba), Portugal (Cinemundo), Poland (Puls TV), Czech Republic and Slovakia (MediaSquad), Turkey (aTV), Middle East (Front Row), South Africa (Filmfinity), South East Asia Ptv (Disney), Mongolia (FilmBridge), Vietnam (Cj Cgv), South Korea (World Cinema), and Latin America Ptv/SVOD (Discovery).
“Upon the Magic Roads” tells the story of John, a kind-hearted romantic fool, who is sent on a...
- 6/10/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Russia’s Ctb Film Company, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, is set to follow its 2021 family adventure “Upon the Magic Roads” with two animated films, “The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute” and “My Sweet Monster.” The latter, scheduled for September release and already sold to several territories, including the U.S., Germany and France, will see a tantrum-prone teenage princess on the run, captured by the forest monster, whose peaceful existence is about to come to an end. As neither of them is ready to compromise, tensions run high.
“Besides the love story, there is a conflict between civilization – pictured in steampunk style – and nature. Not to mention we have a lot of comic situations between the main characters,” the company’s founder Sergey Selyanov shares with Variety ahead of the film’s presentation at the Key Buyers Event, organized by Roskino.
The same could be said about “Upon the Magic Roads,...
“Besides the love story, there is a conflict between civilization – pictured in steampunk style – and nature. Not to mention we have a lot of comic situations between the main characters,” the company’s founder Sergey Selyanov shares with Variety ahead of the film’s presentation at the Key Buyers Event, organized by Roskino.
The same could be said about “Upon the Magic Roads,...
- 6/8/2021
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Offers in for UK, South Korea.
Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Russian action sci-fi action Cosmoball, one of a raft of worldwide deals by Budapest-based Luminescence heading into the Cannes virtual market.
Luminescence has licensed rights to: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux (Splendid); France (Fip); Spain (YouPlanet); Portugal (Cinemundo); Latin America (Sato); Middle East (Front Row); Cis (Nashe Kino), and Poland (Puls TV). Offers are in from the UK and South Korea.
Rights have also gone in: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia (HBO Europe); Estonia, Latvia and...
Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Russian action sci-fi action Cosmoball, one of a raft of worldwide deals by Budapest-based Luminescence heading into the Cannes virtual market.
Luminescence has licensed rights to: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux (Splendid); France (Fip); Spain (YouPlanet); Portugal (Cinemundo); Latin America (Sato); Middle East (Front Row); Cis (Nashe Kino), and Poland (Puls TV). Offers are in from the UK and South Korea.
Rights have also gone in: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia (HBO Europe); Estonia, Latvia and...
- 6/4/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Animation sold to Germany, Italy and more.
Budapest-based sales firm Luminescence has closed a raft of deals on its animated adventure Nutcracker And The Magic Flute following screenings of first footage at Afm this month.
The film has sold to Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Telepool), Italy (Notorious), Spain (Big Picture), Portugal (Cinemundo), Poland (Monolith), Middle East (Front Row), South Africa (FilmFinity), Baltics (Gpi), South Korea (Aone Entertainment), Malaysia (Suraya), West Indies (Vaa) and South East Asia (Fox/Disney). Nashe Kino will release the film in Russia and the rest of the Cis republics.
Based on the classic story and featuring Tchaikovsky’s famous score,...
Budapest-based sales firm Luminescence has closed a raft of deals on its animated adventure Nutcracker And The Magic Flute following screenings of first footage at Afm this month.
The film has sold to Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Telepool), Italy (Notorious), Spain (Big Picture), Portugal (Cinemundo), Poland (Monolith), Middle East (Front Row), South Africa (FilmFinity), Baltics (Gpi), South Korea (Aone Entertainment), Malaysia (Suraya), West Indies (Vaa) and South East Asia (Fox/Disney). Nashe Kino will release the film in Russia and the rest of the Cis republics.
Based on the classic story and featuring Tchaikovsky’s famous score,...
- 11/18/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Andes Films has taken the distribution rights in four Latin American countries for Wizart’s animated feature “Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal,” which is being sold by the Russian company at the American Film Market. Wizart has also signed an agreement with Peppermint for the release of “Fantastic Return to Oz” in Germany.
Andes has picked up rights to “Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal” in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. The company is a major distributor in the region, handling the release of movies from Sony Pictures, Universal and Paramount.
Previously announced deals for the family pic include Klb Sas (France), Ads Service (Hungary), Bohemia Motion Pictures (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Kino Swiat (Poland), Koch Films (Germany), Storytelling Media (Norway), McF MegaCom (former Yugoslavia), Pro Films (Bulgaria) and Acme Film.
“Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal” was produced by Sergey Selyanov, Yuri Moskvin and Vladimir Nikolaev, in collaboration with Ctb Film Company.
Andes has picked up rights to “Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal” in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. The company is a major distributor in the region, handling the release of movies from Sony Pictures, Universal and Paramount.
Previously announced deals for the family pic include Klb Sas (France), Ads Service (Hungary), Bohemia Motion Pictures (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Kino Swiat (Poland), Koch Films (Germany), Storytelling Media (Norway), McF MegaCom (former Yugoslavia), Pro Films (Bulgaria) and Acme Film.
“Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal” was produced by Sergey Selyanov, Yuri Moskvin and Vladimir Nikolaev, in collaboration with Ctb Film Company.
- 11/8/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Leading Russian producer Sergey Selyanov is producing both titles.
Budapest-based sales outfit Luminescence is launching world sales on two new animated projects at Afm, both being produced by leading Russian producer Sergey Selyanov (Mongol: The Rise Of Genghis Khan) through his production banner Ctb.
Fantasy adventure Upon Magic Roads, which Selyanov will produce with Alexander Gorokhov and Anton Zlatopolskiy, is directed by Oleg Pogodin (Spacewalk) and follows John the Fool and his friend Foal as they embark on a series of unpredictable adventures. Currently in post-production, it is due for release in autumn 2020.
“We are thrilled to present this brand-new fantasy adventure to international distributors,...
Budapest-based sales outfit Luminescence is launching world sales on two new animated projects at Afm, both being produced by leading Russian producer Sergey Selyanov (Mongol: The Rise Of Genghis Khan) through his production banner Ctb.
Fantasy adventure Upon Magic Roads, which Selyanov will produce with Alexander Gorokhov and Anton Zlatopolskiy, is directed by Oleg Pogodin (Spacewalk) and follows John the Fool and his friend Foal as they embark on a series of unpredictable adventures. Currently in post-production, it is due for release in autumn 2020.
“We are thrilled to present this brand-new fantasy adventure to international distributors,...
- 11/6/2019
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Euro thriller The Sonata, starring Freya Tingley (Hemlock Grove), Simon Abkarian (Casino Royale) and the late Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) in one of his last roles, has sold to France and a handful of Asian markets.
On the heels of its North American deal to Screen Media, the film has sold to France with Condor Distribution, whose recent releases include Can You Ever Forgive Me, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace and Sundance winner The Miseducation Of Cameron Post. Pic is slated for a 2020 release with a premium digital strategy.
Directed by Andrew Desmond, the gothic thriller sees a young violinist unravel her long lost father’s past, triggering dark forces. Festival berths have included London FrightFest, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and Bifan.
Sales firm Arri has also newly sold the film to Suraya for Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Myanmar. Previous deals include Japan (Klockworx), Russia (Nashe Kino...
On the heels of its North American deal to Screen Media, the film has sold to France with Condor Distribution, whose recent releases include Can You Ever Forgive Me, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace and Sundance winner The Miseducation Of Cameron Post. Pic is slated for a 2020 release with a premium digital strategy.
Directed by Andrew Desmond, the gothic thriller sees a young violinist unravel her long lost father’s past, triggering dark forces. Festival berths have included London FrightFest, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and Bifan.
Sales firm Arri has also newly sold the film to Suraya for Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Myanmar. Previous deals include Japan (Klockworx), Russia (Nashe Kino...
- 9/10/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen Media has picked up all North American rights to “The Sonata,” a thriller that features one of the late actor Rutger Hauer’s final film roles.
“The Sonata” centers on young violinist Rose (Freya Tingley) who inherits an old mansion after the death of her composer father (Hauer). After moving in, she discovers that his final work was a mysterious musical score with strange symbols that unlock keys to her father’s shadowy past, unleashing a horror beyond imagination. Screen Media is planning a theatrical and VOD release in early 2020.
The film has already sold key foreign territories and played as part of Lincoln Center’s “Scary Movies” summer series and at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival. “The Sonata” was co-written and directed by Andrew Desmond, marking his first time behind the camera for a feature-length production. “The Sonata” was co-written by Arthur Morin.
Tingley, best known for her work on “Hemlock Grove,...
“The Sonata” centers on young violinist Rose (Freya Tingley) who inherits an old mansion after the death of her composer father (Hauer). After moving in, she discovers that his final work was a mysterious musical score with strange symbols that unlock keys to her father’s shadowy past, unleashing a horror beyond imagination. Screen Media is planning a theatrical and VOD release in early 2020.
The film has already sold key foreign territories and played as part of Lincoln Center’s “Scary Movies” summer series and at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival. “The Sonata” was co-written and directed by Andrew Desmond, marking his first time behind the camera for a feature-length production. “The Sonata” was co-written by Arthur Morin.
Tingley, best known for her work on “Hemlock Grove,...
- 9/6/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Titles are animation ’Nutcracker And The Magic Flute’ and sci-fi ’Spaceball’.
International sales outfit Luminescence has acquired two titles produced by Sergey Selyanov’s Russian production house Ctb – Nutcracker And The Magic Flute and Spaceball.
The company will launch sales on the titles at next week’s Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).
Nutcracker And The Magic Flute is an animated adventure comedy based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s classic 1816 story The Nutcracker And The Mouse King and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa’s 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.
The narrative centres around ballerina Marie, whose toys come alive...
International sales outfit Luminescence has acquired two titles produced by Sergey Selyanov’s Russian production house Ctb – Nutcracker And The Magic Flute and Spaceball.
The company will launch sales on the titles at next week’s Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).
Nutcracker And The Magic Flute is an animated adventure comedy based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s classic 1816 story The Nutcracker And The Mouse King and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa’s 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.
The narrative centres around ballerina Marie, whose toys come alive...
- 5/10/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Titles are animation ’Nutcracker And The Magic Flute’ and sci-fi ’Spaceball’.
International sales outfit Luminescence has acquired two titles produced by Sergey Selyanov’s Russian production house Ctb – Nutcracker And The Magic Flute and Spaceball.
The company will launch sales on the titles at next week’s Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).
Nutcracker And The Magic Flute is an animated adventure comedy based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s classic 1816 story The Nutcracker And The Mouse King and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa’s 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.
The narrative centres around ballerina Marie, whose toys come alive...
International sales outfit Luminescence has acquired two titles produced by Sergey Selyanov’s Russian production house Ctb – Nutcracker And The Magic Flute and Spaceball.
The company will launch sales on the titles at next week’s Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).
Nutcracker And The Magic Flute is an animated adventure comedy based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s classic 1816 story The Nutcracker And The Mouse King and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa’s 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.
The narrative centres around ballerina Marie, whose toys come alive...
- 5/10/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Family animation sequel sells to Poland and Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
Moscow-based Wizart has sealed some early Afm business on one of the titles on its slate.
Sheep And Wolves: Pig Deal, the sequel to 2016 family animation Sheep And Wolves, has now sold to Kino Swiat for Poland, with a theatrical release planned, and Koch Films GmbH for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the film will be relased across TV, DVD and VoD.
The film previously sold to Norway (Storytelling Media), former Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom), Bulgaria (Pro Films) and Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (Acme Film).
The film is a Wizart Animation...
Moscow-based Wizart has sealed some early Afm business on one of the titles on its slate.
Sheep And Wolves: Pig Deal, the sequel to 2016 family animation Sheep And Wolves, has now sold to Kino Swiat for Poland, with a theatrical release planned, and Koch Films GmbH for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the film will be relased across TV, DVD and VoD.
The film previously sold to Norway (Storytelling Media), former Yugoslavia (McF MegaCom), Bulgaria (Pro Films) and Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (Acme Film).
The film is a Wizart Animation...
- 11/1/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: A trio of U.S. executives and European production collective The Project are launching OneWorld Entertainment (Owe), an investment and production vehicle for U.S. and European features.
OneWorld Films will be the U.S. production arm of Owe and will open its La office after Afm. It will be overseen by producer Matt Bradley (The Sonata) and former development executive Sharunya Varriale, who will build a slate of projects out of La. Financing is due to come from the newly created OneWorld Fund, managed by Ron Bradley, founder and CEO of Pinnacle Advisors Group.
OneWorld Films and partner The Project are aiming to back up to ten projects a year in the low-medium budget range with a slate due to be revealed soon. The finance firm will be opening a Paris office run by The Project’s Paris-based former sales executive Rodolphe Sanzé and producer Laurent Fumeron. The...
OneWorld Films will be the U.S. production arm of Owe and will open its La office after Afm. It will be overseen by producer Matt Bradley (The Sonata) and former development executive Sharunya Varriale, who will build a slate of projects out of La. Financing is due to come from the newly created OneWorld Fund, managed by Ron Bradley, founder and CEO of Pinnacle Advisors Group.
OneWorld Films and partner The Project are aiming to back up to ten projects a year in the low-medium budget range with a slate due to be revealed soon. The finance firm will be opening a Paris office run by The Project’s Paris-based former sales executive Rodolphe Sanzé and producer Laurent Fumeron. The...
- 10/29/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Russian outfit Wizart inks slew of deals on animation.
Russian powerhouse Wizart has announced a series of new deals for animated feature Fantastic Journey To Oz, including a sale to China to Yl Pictures.
The film is set to open in Chinese cinemas in early summer on more than 7000 screens. Yl Pictures has distributed Jurassic World, Furious Seven and Point Break in China.
Fantastic Journey To Oz was made by Russian studio Melnitsa. Vladimir Toropchin directed, Alexandr Boyarsky wrote the screenplay and Anton Zlatopolsky and Sergey Selyanov produced.
“We are glad that Yl Pictures has come on board to distribute our project. We have chosen them because we are sure that their experience and resources are enough to distribute our film at the highest level,” said Yuri Moskvin, Wizart’s general producer.
Ruby Xie, Yl Pictures director of international affairs, added: “Yl Pictures is thrilled to have the deal with Wizart on Fantastic Journey To Oz. We...
Russian powerhouse Wizart has announced a series of new deals for animated feature Fantastic Journey To Oz, including a sale to China to Yl Pictures.
The film is set to open in Chinese cinemas in early summer on more than 7000 screens. Yl Pictures has distributed Jurassic World, Furious Seven and Point Break in China.
Fantastic Journey To Oz was made by Russian studio Melnitsa. Vladimir Toropchin directed, Alexandr Boyarsky wrote the screenplay and Anton Zlatopolsky and Sergey Selyanov produced.
“We are glad that Yl Pictures has come on board to distribute our project. We have chosen them because we are sure that their experience and resources are enough to distribute our film at the highest level,” said Yuri Moskvin, Wizart’s general producer.
Ruby Xie, Yl Pictures director of international affairs, added: “Yl Pictures is thrilled to have the deal with Wizart on Fantastic Journey To Oz. We...
- 5/18/2017
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Russian sales company inks Asia deals with Runaway-Luminosity Distribution
Russian animation sales outfit Wizart has inked deals on recently completed 3D family feature Fantastic Journey To Oz with Runaway-Luminosity Distribution for India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives.
Melnitsa Studio’s spin on The Wizard Of Oz classic tells the story of the cunning Urfin whose plot to rule Magic Land is undone by Dorothy and her friends.
Director Vladimir Toropchin’s film is written by Alexandr Boyarsky. Producers are Anton Zlatopolsky, Sergey Selyanov and Alexander Boyarsky.
“Runaway-Luminosity Distribution is proud to be associated with the animated retelling of the classic story of Wizard of Oz. The animation quality of the film and storytelling is world class and we are very happy to bring this timeless story to a new generation of young audiences,” said Sailesh Dave, managing partner of Runaway-Luminosity Distribution.
Russian animation has been making headway in Asian markets. In 2015, the...
Russian animation sales outfit Wizart has inked deals on recently completed 3D family feature Fantastic Journey To Oz with Runaway-Luminosity Distribution for India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives.
Melnitsa Studio’s spin on The Wizard Of Oz classic tells the story of the cunning Urfin whose plot to rule Magic Land is undone by Dorothy and her friends.
Director Vladimir Toropchin’s film is written by Alexandr Boyarsky. Producers are Anton Zlatopolsky, Sergey Selyanov and Alexander Boyarsky.
“Runaway-Luminosity Distribution is proud to be associated with the animated retelling of the classic story of Wizard of Oz. The animation quality of the film and storytelling is world class and we are very happy to bring this timeless story to a new generation of young audiences,” said Sailesh Dave, managing partner of Runaway-Luminosity Distribution.
Russian animation has been making headway in Asian markets. In 2015, the...
- 3/12/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Company scores sales on titles inlcuding Middleground, Petersburg, A Selfie, and Aestetik.
Fledgling Russian sales outfit Indie Vision, the arthouse label of Moscow-based Russian World Vision, has announced deals on its inaugural European Film Market (Efm) slate.
These include a multi-picture deal with Chinese outfit Hugoeast.
That agreement includes Alisa Khazanova’s romantic drama Middleground starring Noah Huntley, and Guillaume Protsenko’s Moscow-based thriller Wake Me Up.
Also on Indie Vision’s inaugural Efm slate (and already sold to Hugoeast) is Petersburg, A Selfie, a seven-story portmanteau pic set in St Petersburg and with seven female directors helming each segment. It is described as an anthology film in the vein of Paris, I Love You. One of the producers is Sergey Selyanov (Brother, Mongol).
Indie Vision has closed an unusual deal with Al-Jazeera on its animated short Listening To Beethoven, directed by legendary Russian animator Garry Bardin. The film screened in the Cannes Quinzaine.
The company...
Fledgling Russian sales outfit Indie Vision, the arthouse label of Moscow-based Russian World Vision, has announced deals on its inaugural European Film Market (Efm) slate.
These include a multi-picture deal with Chinese outfit Hugoeast.
That agreement includes Alisa Khazanova’s romantic drama Middleground starring Noah Huntley, and Guillaume Protsenko’s Moscow-based thriller Wake Me Up.
Also on Indie Vision’s inaugural Efm slate (and already sold to Hugoeast) is Petersburg, A Selfie, a seven-story portmanteau pic set in St Petersburg and with seven female directors helming each segment. It is described as an anthology film in the vein of Paris, I Love You. One of the producers is Sergey Selyanov (Brother, Mongol).
Indie Vision has closed an unusual deal with Al-Jazeera on its animated short Listening To Beethoven, directed by legendary Russian animator Garry Bardin. The film screened in the Cannes Quinzaine.
The company...
- 2/12/2017
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Hemlock Grove actress joins supernatural thriller The Sonata.
European producers collective The Project, which launched at Berlin last year, has added UK production partners and cast to its first production.
Hemlock Grove actress Freya Tingley (Jersey Boys) is attached to star in Andrew Desmond’s supernatural thriller The Sonata, a UK-France-Latvia-Russia co-production, which is due to shoot in Latvia and London at the end of 2016.
Featuristic alliance
Meanwhile, the collective, which comprises A-One Films’ Daniel Goroshko, Ctb’s Sergey Selyanov, former K5 executive Rodolphe Sanzé and producer Laurent Fumeron, has struck an alliance with UK outfit Featuristic Films’ (Hi-Lo Joe) Julien Loeffler and Fabrice Smadja to collaborate on The Project’s slate of English-language projects.
On the slate is Target writer-director Alexandr Zeldovich’s next project Sweet Life; Full Moon Day written by Linda Lo; Adam’s Perfection written by Alexander Talal; and Knuckledust by James Kermack.
Featuristic develops and produces but also works closely with post-production...
European producers collective The Project, which launched at Berlin last year, has added UK production partners and cast to its first production.
Hemlock Grove actress Freya Tingley (Jersey Boys) is attached to star in Andrew Desmond’s supernatural thriller The Sonata, a UK-France-Latvia-Russia co-production, which is due to shoot in Latvia and London at the end of 2016.
Featuristic alliance
Meanwhile, the collective, which comprises A-One Films’ Daniel Goroshko, Ctb’s Sergey Selyanov, former K5 executive Rodolphe Sanzé and producer Laurent Fumeron, has struck an alliance with UK outfit Featuristic Films’ (Hi-Lo Joe) Julien Loeffler and Fabrice Smadja to collaborate on The Project’s slate of English-language projects.
On the slate is Target writer-director Alexandr Zeldovich’s next project Sweet Life; Full Moon Day written by Linda Lo; Adam’s Perfection written by Alexander Talal; and Knuckledust by James Kermack.
Featuristic develops and produces but also works closely with post-production...
- 2/14/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The 52nd International Antalya Film Festival this year was a case of “The Show Must Go On”. In spite of several setbacks which made Turkey quite unstable and put it on the U.S. State Department’s Alert List, it took place in the beautiful Turkish seaside site of the recent G20 Conference. It rivals Cannes for its Croisette; its boulevards exceed any street in Cannes. Organized by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality whose Mayor Menderes Türel, recently reelected for a five year term, is supporting this festival in a major way and directed by Elif Dağdeviren, the Festival’s Closing Night was an extravaganza of special effects as it announced its winners and handed out its Golden Orange 35 times.
The Festival’s industry component, the one year old, Antalya Film Forum (Aff), was directed by filmmaker Zeynep Özbatur Atakan. Industry guests included, among others, Jim Stark and his partner Nicolas Celis whom I had just recently written about. Idfa’s Ally Derks, Tiff’s Piers Handling, International sales agent Catherine Le Clef, BaseWerx for Film’s Claudia Landsberger, and Producer Linda Beath who all attended in spite of warnings of terrorism in Turkey. I also had the good fortune to meet the Bosnian Dp Mirsad Herović who seems to be working non-stop in Turkey these days, on his film “Iftarlik Gazoz/Pop A Revolution”.
At the ceremony I sat next to Alin Tasciyan, President of Fipresci who was also responsible for the international press in attendance. Days later, we went to a fabulous restaurant in Istanbul and talked more about the state of the industry and Turkey in general. This evening was one of the highlights of the trip and deserves an article of its own.
The jury was presided over by the elegant Ömer Vargi, known as the director who revitalized the Turkish cinema and who is also the head of the Istanbul Film Studios. The jury members included the award winning screenwriter Tarik Tufan and L.A.’s own James Ulmer, the entertainment journalist who created a ranking list of actors, known as "The Ulmer Scale" and who wrote the books James Ulmer's Hollywood Hot List -- The Complete Guide to Star Ranking and Directors Hot List, which measure the global value of stars and directors in a variety of areas including bankability, career management, professionalism, promotion, risk factors and talent. We again shared an evening together in Istanbul where we stayed at the same boutique hotel recommend to us by Israel’s Dan and Edna Fainaru , who unfortunately broke her foot at the festival.
The most notable film was “Ivy” which won four awards: National Competition for Best Movie -- plus 100.000 Turkish Lira (3Tl = 1Us$) and whose director-writer Tolga Karaçelik won the National Competition for Best Screenplay and for Best Director (for which he also won 1 million travel miles by Turkish Airlines) and whose actor Nadir Sarıbacak won the Best Actor Award of the National Competition.
“Ivy” is Tolga Karaçelik’s second film and previously played at Sundance 2015, Tiff 2015 Contemporary World Cinema, Thessaloniki, Istanbul and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals in 2015. The story is about a ship sailing to Egypt to load goods bound for Angola. The crew is forbidden to go to shore when a lien is put on the ship because the ship’s owner has gone bankrupt leaving the crew with no salaries paid which puts them into a nasty mood. While in anchorage, supplies run out, the crew fractures into parts, small arguments escalate into major conflicts and the ship becomes a battlefield.
“The Cold of Kalander” also won four prizes: the Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury Special Award, National Competition for Best Music to François Couturier, International Competition Best Actor to Haydar Şişman and National Competition to Nuray Yeşilaraz for Best Actress.
Winning three prizes, “Memories of the Wind," about an intellectual of Armenian origin hiding from Turkish militia by the Georgian border during WWII who falls in love with the wife of the farmer offering shelter, received a great round of applause with its Audience Award in International Competition, International Award for Best Music by Eleonore Fourning and Best Visual Director Award going to Andreas Sinanos. International sales by Arizona Flms.
“For Love of the Neighborhood” won the Special Jury Award, Best Art Direction Award and Best Editing Award. “The Apprentice” won for Best First Movie, and the Best Supporting Actress Award went to Çiğdem Selışık.
Elif Dağdeviren on the state of the festival and its mission today says,
"Our aim was and will continue to be a respected film festival on a par with all the important film festivals around the world. We choose all the films, events, national and international guests according to this mission and vision.
During the first 50 years, the festival served a very important purpose to support the cinema of Turkey locally. This was at a time when there were no other festivals and very few theatres in Turkey.
Antayla opened many doors for other successful local festivals and then needed to renew itself by becoming a meeting point of both the local and the world cinema sector. And it needed to modernize itself according to the technological innovations taking place worldwide. The first two years have proven that this is not a dream but a possible reality."
List of winners:
International Competition Awards
Audience Award: “Memories of the Wind” (Director: Ozcan Alper, Producers: Soner Alper, Mustafa Oğuz, Ali Bayraktar – Turkey)
Best Music Award: Eleni Karaindrou and Irena Popoviç (“Enclave” –Serbia/Germany)
Best Actor: Haydar Şişman (“The Cold of Kalandar” - Turkey)
Best Actress: Alba Rohrwacher (“Sworn Virgin” -Italy/ Switzerland/ Germany/ Albania/ Kosovo/ France)
Best Screenplay: Alexandra-Therese Keining (“Girls Lost” - Sweden)
Best Director: Hany Abu Assad (“The Idol” – U.K./ Palestine/ Netherlands/ United Arab Emirates)
Jury Mansion Award: “Pioneer Heroes” (Director: Natalya Kudryashova, Producer: Sergey Selyanov - Russia)
Best Movie: “Memories on Stone” (Director: Shawkat Amin Korki, Producer: Mehmet Aktaş - Germany/ Iraq)
Antalya Film Forum Awards:
DigiFlame Color and Digital Effect Award: “Goodness” (Producer: Sevil Demirci / Director: Özgür Sevimli) Aff Villa Kult Berlin Artistic Residency Award: “Dormitory” (Producer: Evrim Sanal / Director: Nehir Tuna) Documentary Pitching Jury Special Award : “The Memories of Antoine Köpe” (Producer: Elsa Ginoux / Director: Nefin Dinç) Documentary Pitching Platform Award: “Mr. Gay Syria” (Producer: Cem Doruk / Director: Ayşe Toprak) with 30,000 Tl, “The Olympiad” (Producer: Tuğçe Taçkın / Director: Efe Öztezdoğan) with 30,000 Tl Fiction Pitching Jury Special Award: “Death of the Black Horses” (Producer: Gülistan Acet / Director: Ferit Karahan) Fiction Pitching Award: “Butterflies” (Producer-Director: Tolga Karaçelik) with 30,000 Tl, “The Boarding School” (Producer: Bilge Elif Özköse / Director: Rezan Yeşilbaş) with 30,000 Tl Work in Progress Award: “Rauf” (Producer: Soner Caner, Burak Ozan / Director: Barış Kaya, Soner Caner) with 100,000 Tl Honorary and Lifetime Achivement Awards:
Golden Orange Labor Award : Sonay Kanat
Honarary Award: Kathleen Turner
Lifetime Achievement Award: Catherine Deneuve
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeremy Irons
Lifetime Achievement Award: Franco Nero
Lifetime Achievement Award: Vanessa Redgrave
Honarary Award: Aysen Gruda
Honarary Award: Erden Kıral
Honarary Award: Kayhan Yıldızoğlu
Honarary Award: Tijen Par
National Competition Awards:
Antalya Film Support Fund Award: “Snow“, Emre Erdoğdu with 100.000Tl
Documentary Audience Award : “Zerk” (Director: İnan Erbil, Producer: Doğacan Aktaş)
Short Film Audience Award: “Zilan” (Director: Mehmet Mahsum Akyel, Producer: Doğacan Aktaş)
National Competition Audience Award: “The Coop” (Director: Ufuk Bayraktar, Producer, Ufuk Bayraktar, Ali Adnan Özgür)
Behlül Dal Jury Special Award (Young Talented Actor): Yağız Can Konyalı (The Team: “For the Love of the Neighborhood”)
Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury Special Award: “ The Cold of Kalandar “(Director: Mustafa Kara, Producer: Nermin Aytekin))
Best Editing: Emre Şahin (The Team: “For the Love of the Neighborhood”)
Best Production Designer: Uykura Bayyurt (The Team: “For the Love of the Neighborhood”)
Best Cinematography: Andreas Sinanos (“Memories of the Wind”)
Best Music: François Couturier (“Memories of The Wind“), Eleonore Fourniau (“The Cold of Kalandar“)
Best Supporting Actor: Kaan Çakır (“Muna“)
Best Supporting Actress: Cigdem Selisik (“The Apprentice“)
Best Actor: Nadir Sarıbacak (“Ivy“)
Best Actress: Nuray Yeşilaraz (“The Cold of Kalandar“)
Best First Movie: “The Apprentice“ (Director: Emre Konuk)
Film-yön Best Director: Selim Evci (“Saklı“)
Best Screenplay: Tolga Karacelik (“Ivy“)
Best Director: Tolga Karacelik (“Ivy“), 1 million Turkish Arlines travel miles
Best Movie: “Ivy” (Producer: Bilge Elif Turhan, Tolga Karacelik) 100.000 Tl award...
The Festival’s industry component, the one year old, Antalya Film Forum (Aff), was directed by filmmaker Zeynep Özbatur Atakan. Industry guests included, among others, Jim Stark and his partner Nicolas Celis whom I had just recently written about. Idfa’s Ally Derks, Tiff’s Piers Handling, International sales agent Catherine Le Clef, BaseWerx for Film’s Claudia Landsberger, and Producer Linda Beath who all attended in spite of warnings of terrorism in Turkey. I also had the good fortune to meet the Bosnian Dp Mirsad Herović who seems to be working non-stop in Turkey these days, on his film “Iftarlik Gazoz/Pop A Revolution”.
At the ceremony I sat next to Alin Tasciyan, President of Fipresci who was also responsible for the international press in attendance. Days later, we went to a fabulous restaurant in Istanbul and talked more about the state of the industry and Turkey in general. This evening was one of the highlights of the trip and deserves an article of its own.
The jury was presided over by the elegant Ömer Vargi, known as the director who revitalized the Turkish cinema and who is also the head of the Istanbul Film Studios. The jury members included the award winning screenwriter Tarik Tufan and L.A.’s own James Ulmer, the entertainment journalist who created a ranking list of actors, known as "The Ulmer Scale" and who wrote the books James Ulmer's Hollywood Hot List -- The Complete Guide to Star Ranking and Directors Hot List, which measure the global value of stars and directors in a variety of areas including bankability, career management, professionalism, promotion, risk factors and talent. We again shared an evening together in Istanbul where we stayed at the same boutique hotel recommend to us by Israel’s Dan and Edna Fainaru , who unfortunately broke her foot at the festival.
The most notable film was “Ivy” which won four awards: National Competition for Best Movie -- plus 100.000 Turkish Lira (3Tl = 1Us$) and whose director-writer Tolga Karaçelik won the National Competition for Best Screenplay and for Best Director (for which he also won 1 million travel miles by Turkish Airlines) and whose actor Nadir Sarıbacak won the Best Actor Award of the National Competition.
“Ivy” is Tolga Karaçelik’s second film and previously played at Sundance 2015, Tiff 2015 Contemporary World Cinema, Thessaloniki, Istanbul and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals in 2015. The story is about a ship sailing to Egypt to load goods bound for Angola. The crew is forbidden to go to shore when a lien is put on the ship because the ship’s owner has gone bankrupt leaving the crew with no salaries paid which puts them into a nasty mood. While in anchorage, supplies run out, the crew fractures into parts, small arguments escalate into major conflicts and the ship becomes a battlefield.
“The Cold of Kalander” also won four prizes: the Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury Special Award, National Competition for Best Music to François Couturier, International Competition Best Actor to Haydar Şişman and National Competition to Nuray Yeşilaraz for Best Actress.
Winning three prizes, “Memories of the Wind," about an intellectual of Armenian origin hiding from Turkish militia by the Georgian border during WWII who falls in love with the wife of the farmer offering shelter, received a great round of applause with its Audience Award in International Competition, International Award for Best Music by Eleonore Fourning and Best Visual Director Award going to Andreas Sinanos. International sales by Arizona Flms.
“For Love of the Neighborhood” won the Special Jury Award, Best Art Direction Award and Best Editing Award. “The Apprentice” won for Best First Movie, and the Best Supporting Actress Award went to Çiğdem Selışık.
Elif Dağdeviren on the state of the festival and its mission today says,
"Our aim was and will continue to be a respected film festival on a par with all the important film festivals around the world. We choose all the films, events, national and international guests according to this mission and vision.
During the first 50 years, the festival served a very important purpose to support the cinema of Turkey locally. This was at a time when there were no other festivals and very few theatres in Turkey.
Antayla opened many doors for other successful local festivals and then needed to renew itself by becoming a meeting point of both the local and the world cinema sector. And it needed to modernize itself according to the technological innovations taking place worldwide. The first two years have proven that this is not a dream but a possible reality."
List of winners:
International Competition Awards
Audience Award: “Memories of the Wind” (Director: Ozcan Alper, Producers: Soner Alper, Mustafa Oğuz, Ali Bayraktar – Turkey)
Best Music Award: Eleni Karaindrou and Irena Popoviç (“Enclave” –Serbia/Germany)
Best Actor: Haydar Şişman (“The Cold of Kalandar” - Turkey)
Best Actress: Alba Rohrwacher (“Sworn Virgin” -Italy/ Switzerland/ Germany/ Albania/ Kosovo/ France)
Best Screenplay: Alexandra-Therese Keining (“Girls Lost” - Sweden)
Best Director: Hany Abu Assad (“The Idol” – U.K./ Palestine/ Netherlands/ United Arab Emirates)
Jury Mansion Award: “Pioneer Heroes” (Director: Natalya Kudryashova, Producer: Sergey Selyanov - Russia)
Best Movie: “Memories on Stone” (Director: Shawkat Amin Korki, Producer: Mehmet Aktaş - Germany/ Iraq)
Antalya Film Forum Awards:
DigiFlame Color and Digital Effect Award: “Goodness” (Producer: Sevil Demirci / Director: Özgür Sevimli) Aff Villa Kult Berlin Artistic Residency Award: “Dormitory” (Producer: Evrim Sanal / Director: Nehir Tuna) Documentary Pitching Jury Special Award : “The Memories of Antoine Köpe” (Producer: Elsa Ginoux / Director: Nefin Dinç) Documentary Pitching Platform Award: “Mr. Gay Syria” (Producer: Cem Doruk / Director: Ayşe Toprak) with 30,000 Tl, “The Olympiad” (Producer: Tuğçe Taçkın / Director: Efe Öztezdoğan) with 30,000 Tl Fiction Pitching Jury Special Award: “Death of the Black Horses” (Producer: Gülistan Acet / Director: Ferit Karahan) Fiction Pitching Award: “Butterflies” (Producer-Director: Tolga Karaçelik) with 30,000 Tl, “The Boarding School” (Producer: Bilge Elif Özköse / Director: Rezan Yeşilbaş) with 30,000 Tl Work in Progress Award: “Rauf” (Producer: Soner Caner, Burak Ozan / Director: Barış Kaya, Soner Caner) with 100,000 Tl Honorary and Lifetime Achivement Awards:
Golden Orange Labor Award : Sonay Kanat
Honarary Award: Kathleen Turner
Lifetime Achievement Award: Catherine Deneuve
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeremy Irons
Lifetime Achievement Award: Franco Nero
Lifetime Achievement Award: Vanessa Redgrave
Honarary Award: Aysen Gruda
Honarary Award: Erden Kıral
Honarary Award: Kayhan Yıldızoğlu
Honarary Award: Tijen Par
National Competition Awards:
Antalya Film Support Fund Award: “Snow“, Emre Erdoğdu with 100.000Tl
Documentary Audience Award : “Zerk” (Director: İnan Erbil, Producer: Doğacan Aktaş)
Short Film Audience Award: “Zilan” (Director: Mehmet Mahsum Akyel, Producer: Doğacan Aktaş)
National Competition Audience Award: “The Coop” (Director: Ufuk Bayraktar, Producer, Ufuk Bayraktar, Ali Adnan Özgür)
Behlül Dal Jury Special Award (Young Talented Actor): Yağız Can Konyalı (The Team: “For the Love of the Neighborhood”)
Dr. Avni Tolunay Jury Special Award: “ The Cold of Kalandar “(Director: Mustafa Kara, Producer: Nermin Aytekin))
Best Editing: Emre Şahin (The Team: “For the Love of the Neighborhood”)
Best Production Designer: Uykura Bayyurt (The Team: “For the Love of the Neighborhood”)
Best Cinematography: Andreas Sinanos (“Memories of the Wind”)
Best Music: François Couturier (“Memories of The Wind“), Eleonore Fourniau (“The Cold of Kalandar“)
Best Supporting Actor: Kaan Çakır (“Muna“)
Best Supporting Actress: Cigdem Selisik (“The Apprentice“)
Best Actor: Nadir Sarıbacak (“Ivy“)
Best Actress: Nuray Yeşilaraz (“The Cold of Kalandar“)
Best First Movie: “The Apprentice“ (Director: Emre Konuk)
Film-yön Best Director: Selim Evci (“Saklı“)
Best Screenplay: Tolga Karacelik (“Ivy“)
Best Director: Tolga Karacelik (“Ivy“), 1 million Turkish Arlines travel miles
Best Movie: “Ivy” (Producer: Bilge Elif Turhan, Tolga Karacelik) 100.000 Tl award...
- 12/20/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Ida producer Opus Film and distributors Against Gravity and Next Film were among the winners at the 8th Polish Film Institute Awards.
The awards were presented at a gala ceremony last night during the Gdynia Film Festival (Sept 14-29).
Lodz-based Opus Film and the Acme PR agency won the prize for ¨International Promotion of Polish Cinema¨ for its Oscar campaign for Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida, which won Best Foreign-Language Film at the Academy Awards.
Next Film was recognised for its distribution of Jan Komasa’s Warsaw Uprising and Lukasz Palkowski’s Gods, the big winner at last year’s Gdynia Film Festival with admissions topping 2.2 million in Polish cinemas.
Against Gravity received the award for ¨Distribution of a Non-Commercial Foreign Film in Poland¨ for its release of Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated Leviathan.
In addition, the 41st Film Summer in Insk beat off competition from the 5th American Film Festival in Wroclaw and the 21st Nationwide...
The awards were presented at a gala ceremony last night during the Gdynia Film Festival (Sept 14-29).
Lodz-based Opus Film and the Acme PR agency won the prize for ¨International Promotion of Polish Cinema¨ for its Oscar campaign for Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida, which won Best Foreign-Language Film at the Academy Awards.
Next Film was recognised for its distribution of Jan Komasa’s Warsaw Uprising and Lukasz Palkowski’s Gods, the big winner at last year’s Gdynia Film Festival with admissions topping 2.2 million in Polish cinemas.
Against Gravity received the award for ¨Distribution of a Non-Commercial Foreign Film in Poland¨ for its release of Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated Leviathan.
In addition, the 41st Film Summer in Insk beat off competition from the 5th American Film Festival in Wroclaw and the 21st Nationwide...
- 9/17/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Seven films have been recognised for their strength, technicality and ingenuity in the 64th Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) best shorts awards.
The jury consisting of producer Anna McLeish, author and writer Christos Tsiolkas and Rialto Distribution.s Hayley Weston. awarded the following films: The Rmit University Award for Best Experimental Short Film went to French film Tehran-geles by director Arash Nassiri and producer Eric Prigent, in which a futuristic vision of Tehran is constructed using aerial shots of Los Angeles at night. The jury said, .Nassiri.s astonishing and mesmerising film, that blurs the lines between animation and the real, between science fiction and documentary, is a visually inventive exploration of what the future of the moving image might look like.. Pond5 Award for Best Documentary Short Film was given to Nowhere Line: Voices from Manus Island by director/producer Lukas Schrank, in which animation is used to depict...
The jury consisting of producer Anna McLeish, author and writer Christos Tsiolkas and Rialto Distribution.s Hayley Weston. awarded the following films: The Rmit University Award for Best Experimental Short Film went to French film Tehran-geles by director Arash Nassiri and producer Eric Prigent, in which a futuristic vision of Tehran is constructed using aerial shots of Los Angeles at night. The jury said, .Nassiri.s astonishing and mesmerising film, that blurs the lines between animation and the real, between science fiction and documentary, is a visually inventive exploration of what the future of the moving image might look like.. Pond5 Award for Best Documentary Short Film was given to Nowhere Line: Voices from Manus Island by director/producer Lukas Schrank, in which animation is used to depict...
- 8/10/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
New film from The Tribe director among projects at Odessa.
New films by award-winning Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy (The Tribe), documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky (Pipeline) and Lithuania’s Sharunas Bartas (Freedom) are among over two dozen projects being presented at the Odessa International Film Festival’s industry section, the Film Industry Office (Fio, July 14-17).
Bartas’ drama Frost, which is being structured as a co-production between Ukraine, Lithuania and France, tells the story of a young Lithuanian’s experiences as he drives his truck with humanitarian aid from Vilnius to Ukraine.
The $936,000 (€850,000) production by Odessa-based Truman Production is one of ten feature film projects competing for a prize to be judged by a jury made up of the producers Guillaume de Seille, Raymond van der Kaaij and Anna Katchko as well as Meetings on the Bridge chief Gülin Üstün.
The pitching line-up this year ranges from Sebastian Saam’s black comedy-thriller Midnight In Uman (working title) through...
New films by award-winning Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy (The Tribe), documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky (Pipeline) and Lithuania’s Sharunas Bartas (Freedom) are among over two dozen projects being presented at the Odessa International Film Festival’s industry section, the Film Industry Office (Fio, July 14-17).
Bartas’ drama Frost, which is being structured as a co-production between Ukraine, Lithuania and France, tells the story of a young Lithuanian’s experiences as he drives his truck with humanitarian aid from Vilnius to Ukraine.
The $936,000 (€850,000) production by Odessa-based Truman Production is one of ten feature film projects competing for a prize to be judged by a jury made up of the producers Guillaume de Seille, Raymond van der Kaaij and Anna Katchko as well as Meetings on the Bridge chief Gülin Üstün.
The pitching line-up this year ranges from Sebastian Saam’s black comedy-thriller Midnight In Uman (working title) through...
- 7/8/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
New anti-piracy measures in Russia risk destroying the film and TV industries, according to a Cannes panel.
The Association of Film and TV Producers of Russia expressed grave concern at the Roskino-hosted discussion on co-production, as the panellists discussed the latest proposed law from the Russian Copyrights Holders’ Union, which suggests relinquishing the fight against piracy by taxing internet providers and working with pirate websites.
The main concerns voiced at the event, held at the Russian Pavilion, were that cinema revenues would crash as movies would be watched online before and during theatrical release; legal sites, that have worked to build a legitimate business, would be forced to close; and copyright holders would lose out on sales of their content from more profitable sources
Sergey Selyanov, Head of the Association of Film and TV Producers of Russia said: “The Russian film and TV industries are upset and nervous. This law has every chance of being passed and if...
The Association of Film and TV Producers of Russia expressed grave concern at the Roskino-hosted discussion on co-production, as the panellists discussed the latest proposed law from the Russian Copyrights Holders’ Union, which suggests relinquishing the fight against piracy by taxing internet providers and working with pirate websites.
The main concerns voiced at the event, held at the Russian Pavilion, were that cinema revenues would crash as movies would be watched online before and during theatrical release; legal sites, that have worked to build a legitimate business, would be forced to close; and copyright holders would lose out on sales of their content from more profitable sources
Sergey Selyanov, Head of the Association of Film and TV Producers of Russia said: “The Russian film and TV industries are upset and nervous. This law has every chance of being passed and if...
- 5/20/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Serbian director Vuk Rsumovic’s No One’s Child and Slovak filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský fiction debut Koza were the big winners at the 15th edition of the goEast Festival of Central and East European Film (April 22-28) in Wiesbaden.
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director and the...
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director and the...
- 4/29/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Serbian director Vuk Rsumovic’s No One’s Child and Slovak filmmaker Ivan Ostrochovský fiction debut Goat (Koza) were the big winners at the 15th edition of the goEast Festival of Central and East European Film (April 22-28) in Wiesbaden.
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director...
The international jury headed by Czech producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film and including Filmfestival Cottbus’ artistic director Bernd Buder and Bosnian writer-director Ines Tanovic awarded the Grand Prix to Rsumovic’s feature debut which is being handled internationally by Belgrade-based Soul Food Distribution.
In addition, Achim Forst of broadcaster 3sat announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening that hise channel has interest in acquiring the broadcast rights to the film.
Last year, 3sat picked up the 2014 Grand Prix winner Blind Dates and broadcast the film on the eve of this year’s goEast.
Ostrochovský’s road movie about an ex-boxer known as ¨The Goat¨ (Koza) received the City of Wiesbaden’s Prize for Best Director...
- 4/29/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Fanny Ardant attached to 19th century feature; Vincent Cassel and Vladimir Mashkov eyed for lead role.
Alexander Rodnyansky, producer of Cannes and Golden Globe winner Leviathan, is travelling back to the mid-19th century for his next project, Duellist, to be made by Non Stop Productions.
Speaking at the Russian Cinema Fund’s public pitching for new projects from Russia’s leading production studios, Rodynansky revealed that Alexey Mizgirev (The Convoy) would direct the $12.5m (Rub 720m) genre mix of adventure, drama and action.
The cast already includes French actress Fanny Ardant and Russia’s Ekaterina Vilkova, who played Milady in the local adaptation of The Three Musketeers (2013).
French actor Vincent Cassel or the Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov - known recently to Western audiences for his appearance in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - are being considered for the title role of the duellist who takes on duels for money in a bid to clear his name...
Alexander Rodnyansky, producer of Cannes and Golden Globe winner Leviathan, is travelling back to the mid-19th century for his next project, Duellist, to be made by Non Stop Productions.
Speaking at the Russian Cinema Fund’s public pitching for new projects from Russia’s leading production studios, Rodynansky revealed that Alexey Mizgirev (The Convoy) would direct the $12.5m (Rub 720m) genre mix of adventure, drama and action.
The cast already includes French actress Fanny Ardant and Russia’s Ekaterina Vilkova, who played Milady in the local adaptation of The Three Musketeers (2013).
French actor Vincent Cassel or the Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov - known recently to Western audiences for his appearance in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - are being considered for the title role of the duellist who takes on duels for money in a bid to clear his name...
- 3/30/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Ctb, A-One Films, former K5 exec launch company at Efm; among first titles is next project from Target [pictured] writer-director Alexander Zeldovich.
Daniel Goroshko, Sergey Selyanov, Rodolphe Sanzé and Laurent Fumeron have joined forces to launch new European co-production outlet The Project.
The company launches at the Efm in Berlin where the founders will be discussing projects with potential production partners and backers.
The collective, which will develop projects in house initially but will also look to partner on third-party-developed projects with commercial potential, has its eye on opening additional European offices at a later date.
Among the first titles on the slate are Target writer-director Alexander Zeldovich’s next project Sweet Life and Andrew Desmond’s (Entity) The Sonata.
Ctb CEO Selyanov (Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) and producer-distributor Goroshko, founder of Russian distributor A-One Films, will operate out of Russia while former K5 and Imagina sales exec Sanzé and producer Fumeron will spearhead a Paris...
Daniel Goroshko, Sergey Selyanov, Rodolphe Sanzé and Laurent Fumeron have joined forces to launch new European co-production outlet The Project.
The company launches at the Efm in Berlin where the founders will be discussing projects with potential production partners and backers.
The collective, which will develop projects in house initially but will also look to partner on third-party-developed projects with commercial potential, has its eye on opening additional European offices at a later date.
Among the first titles on the slate are Target writer-director Alexander Zeldovich’s next project Sweet Life and Andrew Desmond’s (Entity) The Sonata.
Ctb CEO Selyanov (Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) and producer-distributor Goroshko, founder of Russian distributor A-One Films, will operate out of Russia while former K5 and Imagina sales exec Sanzé and producer Fumeron will spearhead a Paris...
- 2/6/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
St Petersburg International Media Forum closes inaugural edition with world premiere of Serena.
Francois Ozon’s latest feature The New Girlfriend was voted as the Best of the Fest by the audience at the inaugural edition of the St Petersburg International Media Forum (Spimf) which closed on Friday evening with the world premiere of Susanne Bier’s Serena, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
However, neither director Bier, nor any of the talent were in St Petersburg for the film, which Volgafilm will be releasing in Russian cinemas on October 30.
Although there was no formal competition for Spimf’s film programme, a jury of local film critics was formed to give awards for what they regarded as the best film and TV series showing in the 2014 line-up.
Australian film-maker Anna Broinowsky’s documentary Aim High In Creation, which screened in the Kor-kor sidebar about North Korean cinema, was named best film, while the Press...
Francois Ozon’s latest feature The New Girlfriend was voted as the Best of the Fest by the audience at the inaugural edition of the St Petersburg International Media Forum (Spimf) which closed on Friday evening with the world premiere of Susanne Bier’s Serena, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
However, neither director Bier, nor any of the talent were in St Petersburg for the film, which Volgafilm will be releasing in Russian cinemas on October 30.
Although there was no formal competition for Spimf’s film programme, a jury of local film critics was formed to give awards for what they regarded as the best film and TV series showing in the 2014 line-up.
Australian film-maker Anna Broinowsky’s documentary Aim High In Creation, which screened in the Kor-kor sidebar about North Korean cinema, was named best film, while the Press...
- 10/12/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Russian producers and theater owners are warning that a total or partial ban on Hollywood films, which has been discussed by some senior government officials, would lead to a "business catastrophe" for the film theater sector. "If Us films are completely banned, all theaters will close down the next day, as they will incur huge losses," producer Sergei Selyanov said during a panel discussion devoted to the issue at the St Petersburg International Media Forum on Thursday. "If a 50 percent quota for local films is introduced, theaters will close down in a month," he went on to
read more...
read more...
- 10/10/2014
- by Vladimir Kozlov
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Last Broadcast director Lance Weiler among those set to deliver masterclasses at the St Petersburg International Media Forum, which opens tonight with Mommy [pictured].
Lance Weiler, Adam Sigel and Andy Green are among the international guests set to give masterclasses at the inaugural St Petersburg International Media Forum (Spimf) which kicks off tonight (Oct 1) with the Russian premiere of Xavier Dolan’s Mommy.
Film director Weiler (The Last Broadcast, Pandemic), who is also the co-founder of Columbia University’s Digital Storytelling Lab, will speak about interactive storytelling as part of Spimf’s business programme (Oct 6-8), while writer-producer and content strategist Adam Sigel of La-based Cutbait Productions will explore storytelling across platforms, and Andy Green, a co-founder of the viral distribution platform Distrify, will discuss the influence of scientific and technological innovation on cultural strategy.
In other master classes, the creative technologist Clint Beharry of New York-based Harmony Institute will look at ways of optimising stories for social...
Lance Weiler, Adam Sigel and Andy Green are among the international guests set to give masterclasses at the inaugural St Petersburg International Media Forum (Spimf) which kicks off tonight (Oct 1) with the Russian premiere of Xavier Dolan’s Mommy.
Film director Weiler (The Last Broadcast, Pandemic), who is also the co-founder of Columbia University’s Digital Storytelling Lab, will speak about interactive storytelling as part of Spimf’s business programme (Oct 6-8), while writer-producer and content strategist Adam Sigel of La-based Cutbait Productions will explore storytelling across platforms, and Andy Green, a co-founder of the viral distribution platform Distrify, will discuss the influence of scientific and technological innovation on cultural strategy.
In other master classes, the creative technologist Clint Beharry of New York-based Harmony Institute will look at ways of optimising stories for social...
- 10/1/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Deals for The Nightmare, Nabat; plus news on Drive Productions and Petersburg Carousel.
Content pre-sells The Nightmare
Rodney Ascher (Room 237) has wrapped production in Los Angeles on The Nightmare (first image shown here). Content has already pre-sold the horror documentary to Altitude for the UK and The Jokers for France. Content is working with Preferred Content on the North American deal.
Nabat goes Swiss
Dreamlab Films has sold Elchin Musaoglu’s Venice Orizzonti title Nabat, an Azerbaijan-set family drama, to Swiss Distributor Trigon.
Drive revs up
Kyle Mann and Michael Risley have launched Los Angeles and Vancouver based Drive Productions, which will focus on elevated genre films. They company has raised an initial $2m.
Directors spin Carousel
Petersburg: Category of Feelings, the Russian omnibus film that has attracted a host of acclaimed directors, has been renamed Petersburg Carousel. Ralph Fiennes, Cédric Klapisch, Alexandre Rockwell, Feodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov are among directors due to direct segments...
Content pre-sells The Nightmare
Rodney Ascher (Room 237) has wrapped production in Los Angeles on The Nightmare (first image shown here). Content has already pre-sold the horror documentary to Altitude for the UK and The Jokers for France. Content is working with Preferred Content on the North American deal.
Nabat goes Swiss
Dreamlab Films has sold Elchin Musaoglu’s Venice Orizzonti title Nabat, an Azerbaijan-set family drama, to Swiss Distributor Trigon.
Drive revs up
Kyle Mann and Michael Risley have launched Los Angeles and Vancouver based Drive Productions, which will focus on elevated genre films. They company has raised an initial $2m.
Directors spin Carousel
Petersburg: Category of Feelings, the Russian omnibus film that has attracted a host of acclaimed directors, has been renamed Petersburg Carousel. Ralph Fiennes, Cédric Klapisch, Alexandre Rockwell, Feodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov are among directors due to direct segments...
- 9/6/2014
- ScreenDaily
Deals for The Nightmare, Nabat; plus news on Drive Productions and Petersburg Carousel.
Content pre-sells The Nightmare
Rodney Ascher (Room 237) has wrapped production in Los Angeles on The Nightmare (first image shown here). Content has already pre-sold the horror documentary to Altitude for the UK and The Jokers for France. Content is working with Preferred Content on the North American deal.
Nabat goes Swiss
Dreamlab Films has sold Elchin Musaoglu’s Venice Orizzonti title Nabat, an Azerbaijan-set family drama, to Swiss Distributor Trigon.
Drive revs up
Kyle Mann and Michael Risley have launched Los Angeles and Vancouver based Drive Productions, which will focus on elevated genre films. They company has raised an initial $2m.
Directors spin Carousel
Petersburg: Category of Feelings, the Russian omnibus film that has attracted a host of acclaimed directors, has been renamed Petersburg Carousel. Ralph Fiennes, Cédric Klapisch, Alexandre Rockwell, Feodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov are among directors due to direct segments...
Content pre-sells The Nightmare
Rodney Ascher (Room 237) has wrapped production in Los Angeles on The Nightmare (first image shown here). Content has already pre-sold the horror documentary to Altitude for the UK and The Jokers for France. Content is working with Preferred Content on the North American deal.
Nabat goes Swiss
Dreamlab Films has sold Elchin Musaoglu’s Venice Orizzonti title Nabat, an Azerbaijan-set family drama, to Swiss Distributor Trigon.
Drive revs up
Kyle Mann and Michael Risley have launched Los Angeles and Vancouver based Drive Productions, which will focus on elevated genre films. They company has raised an initial $2m.
Directors spin Carousel
Petersburg: Category of Feelings, the Russian omnibus film that has attracted a host of acclaimed directors, has been renamed Petersburg Carousel. Ralph Fiennes, Cédric Klapisch, Alexandre Rockwell, Feodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov are among directors due to direct segments...
- 9/6/2014
- ScreenDaily
Russian omnibus film to shoot in early 2015.
Petersburg: Category of Feelings, the Russian omnibus film that has attracted a host of acclaimed directors, has been renamed Petersburg Carousel.
Ralph Fiennes, Cédric Klapisch, Alexandre Rockwell, Feodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov are among directors due to direct segments about the city.
An early 2015 shoot is scheduled for the film, which is produced by Ctb Film Company’s CEO Sergey Selyanov and Bondarchuk’s Lenfilm Studios....
Petersburg: Category of Feelings, the Russian omnibus film that has attracted a host of acclaimed directors, has been renamed Petersburg Carousel.
Ralph Fiennes, Cédric Klapisch, Alexandre Rockwell, Feodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov are among directors due to direct segments about the city.
An early 2015 shoot is scheduled for the film, which is produced by Ctb Film Company’s CEO Sergey Selyanov and Bondarchuk’s Lenfilm Studios....
- 9/6/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The Saint Petersburg International Media Forum (Spimf) will be held from October 1st to October 10th, 2014.
The Forum is organized by Roskino and supported by the Government of St. Petersburg under the personal patronage of the Acting Governor, Georgy Poltavchenko, with the participation of the National Media Group holding, Petromir LLC, and Aeroflot Russian Airlines.
Spimf is a cross-platform cultural initiative aimed at promoting a synergy of professionals and the general public while creating a communal meeting place for representatives of the film and TV industries and also leading new media start-ups. An international content market for media business representatives and a film and TV screenings for the general public will take place under the umbrella of the Forum.
Georgy Poltavchenko, Acting Governor of Saint Petersburg:
"St. Petersburg is well known to the business community as the traditional venue for the Economic Forum. I am thrilled to welcome the leaders of the international media industry to our city, which we hope will become an important venue for business development and interaction. The Media Forum has prepared an exceptional program of film and TV premieres for the citizens of Saint Petersburg and we are delighted that the historical building of the Stock Exchange, originally meant for fostering business ties and holding negotiations, will become the event ’ s main venue. I have no doubt that the expertise of the organizers, combined with the support of the city, will guarantee the success of the initiative. "
The aim of the Media Forum is to establish St. Petersburg as an international location for the development of the film, TV and digital content industries. The Forum offers an opportunity for stimulating commercial interaction to its participants as well as an intensive program including panels, master classes from leading world and Russian specialists, creative laboratories for young filmmakers and a diversified, vibrant film program for the public. The Spimf format, devised by Roskino, is largely based on the concept of the Tiff, one of the most high-profile film events in the world, which combines an exciting market with out-of-competition public screenings.
The festival line-up of the Media Forum features 50 premieres in 10 programs created by renowned curators. The films will be judged by three independent boards: a jury of bloggers, a jury of the press and a jury of the public.
Katya Mtsitouridze, Roskino CEO, concept developer and Spimf general producer:
"The whole idea of the Media Forum is to establish an exciting entertainment industry venue in Saint Petersburg. We went to great lengths in order to achieve our goal, devising a cross-platform concept, inviting the participants well in advance, preparing a list of films and panel discussion topics, picking out an appropriate location for the film market, and many other things. But no one could foresee that the Forum would acquire an additional significance. The political climate should affect neither the professionals that create films, TV or digital content nor the public that such productions are meant for. Culture represents a bridge that unites nations and people of good will and is especially relevant in one of the most beautiful cities of the world, one in which bridges are drawn every night. In due time, an annual Forum will allow St. Petersburg to establish itself as an internationally in-demand area for the entertainment industry."
The Advisory Board of the Media Forum has enlisted a number of leading world industry professionals such as the Efm President Beki Probst, the media entrepreneur Jay Penske (owner of the iconic magazine Variety), director, producer and Lenfilm Studio Head Fedor Bondarchuk, Co-Chairman of the Film and TV Producers Association Alexander Akopov, the State Hermitage Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovsky and other experts. The Board is headed by the Acting Governor of St. Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko.
Over 1200 media industry professionals - producers, directors, distributors and sales agents representing leading companies from Europe, Asia, North America, and the Brics countries - will participate in the Spimf agenda.
Film and TV industry will be showcased by the projects and representatives of major companies such as Warner Bros, Disney, Fox, CBS, Showtime, HBO, Starz, Sony, Fremantle, Lionsgate and Endemol.
Digital technologies will be showcased by Netflix, Hulu, Film London, Tribeca Film Festival, Tfi New Media Fund, ViceMedia, Power to the Pixel and PopUp Cinema, and the list of their Russian counterparts includes Rambler&Co, VKontakte, Ivi.ru and Amediateka.
The international press has taken a keen interest in the Media Forum. The list of the Spimf-accredited journalists includes correspondents from leading industry publications such as Variety, THR, Screen International and a number of other print and digital outlets.
Dda, a leading British film, television and entertainment PR consultancy, is handling international promotion and PR for the Forum.
Vadim Zingman, Aeroflot Russian Airlines Deputy CEO for Work with Clients:
"The St. Petersburg Media Forum is just starting out but I am sure that it will become one of the most important events for the Russian and world media industries. We are proud of our partnership with Roskino and the Forum, since it is of paramount importance for us to support initiatives that offer a major role for Russia in shaping the world ’ s common cultural space. We wish all the Spimf participants a fruitful time, successful new partnerships and a fresh sense of perspective. We are glad that Aeroflot Russian Airlines is contributing to the development and expansion of our national media industry."
The Spimf program consists of the following sections:
1. Public Screenings:
Gala Screenings: Russian and international film and TV premieres of 2014;
Kor-Kor: A showcase of the diversity of North Korean cinema, curated by Vasily Koretsky;
Locarno Local: The best of the Locarno Film Festival 2014;
Mamentum: The best of the Cannes Film Festival 2014, selected by Alexander Mamontov;
N-l-po: Iconic sci-fi movies that lead to the triumph of Gravity, selected by Boris Nelepo;
Non Fiction: A line-up of high-profile 2014 documentaries;
Word Order: Films and TV drama pilots created by renowned critics, in partnership with Séance magazine;
The Birth of a Nation: Alexey Medvedev’s program of new British cinema;
Teen Spirit: Films aimed at children and teenagers that raise some questions concerning social issues;
Trofey: Films dwelling on political leaders and their roles in the crucial events of 20th and 21st century film history, selected by Mikhail Trofimenkov.
The screenings will take place from October 1st to October 5th, 2014, in the Aurora, Angleterre, Velikan, Leningrad, Rodina and Khudozhestvenny cinemas as well as on the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky theater and the Old Stock Exchange building on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
2. Film, TV and New Media Content Market
The Doors International Traveling Film Market, successfully held in Moscow in 2012 and in St. Petersburg in 2013, invites major buyers and sales agents from Europe, Asia, North America and the Brics countries to view Russian films produced in 2014.
The co-production market aimed at Russian and international companies interested in developing potential co-production projects has been co-organized by the Northern Seas Forum.
Sergey Selyanov’s P.O.V. Film Development Fund’s will grant awards to the winners of the development funding competition held from July 1 to August 1, 2014
The TV Content market for Russian and international professionals has been co-organized by the World Content Market.
The TV Showcase will exhibit Russian and international dramas produced by leading studios and TV channels. Co-organized by Amediateka.
Start-up Alley is a digital, new media and entertainment industry Start-Up Market, co-organized by Rambler&Co, the RusBase platform and Variety Russia.
Global Russians will showcase the top 50 shorts directed by Russian film school graduates over the last 5 years (2010-2014). These will be made available in the digital library of the Forum. Co-organized by Roskino and the Youth Center of the Russia Filmmakers' Union.
The International Film, TV and New Media Content Market will be held form October 6th to October 9th, 2014, in the Old Stock Exchange building on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
3. C.L.A.S: Cinema Lab by Alexander Sokurov
A team of professionals headed by Alexander Sokurov, one of the world’s most important filmmakers, will spend a week with directors whose works have been preselected via the program website. The campus program has been tailored for 100 participants. The aim of the workshop is to help these talented non-professionals to find their way in the world of cinema and to expose them to the many possibilities of contemporary filmmaking and its various processes. Creative workshops will be supplemented by master classes from leading industry specialists, and a professional jury is to select the best projects.
The C.L.A.S. lab will take place at the Baltiets Hotel at Repino from October 4th to October 10th, 2014.
4. Cross-Platform Panels Dealing with Major Issue in the Entertainment Industry
A total of 12 panels, including discussions on:
- Competing for the VOD market and alternative content distribution strategies, with the participation of the Film and TV Producers Association;
- The Internet as a piracy battlefield, with the participation of the Federal Supervision Agency for Mass Media and Communications, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
- Crowd-funding: making the most of minimal budgets, with the participation of PopUp Cinema (UK).
The Panels will be held in the Old Stock Exchange building from October 6 to October 9, 2014.
The Forum is organized by Roskino and supported by the Government of St. Petersburg under the personal patronage of the Acting Governor, Georgy Poltavchenko, with the participation of the National Media Group holding, Petromir LLC, and Aeroflot Russian Airlines.
Spimf is a cross-platform cultural initiative aimed at promoting a synergy of professionals and the general public while creating a communal meeting place for representatives of the film and TV industries and also leading new media start-ups. An international content market for media business representatives and a film and TV screenings for the general public will take place under the umbrella of the Forum.
Georgy Poltavchenko, Acting Governor of Saint Petersburg:
"St. Petersburg is well known to the business community as the traditional venue for the Economic Forum. I am thrilled to welcome the leaders of the international media industry to our city, which we hope will become an important venue for business development and interaction. The Media Forum has prepared an exceptional program of film and TV premieres for the citizens of Saint Petersburg and we are delighted that the historical building of the Stock Exchange, originally meant for fostering business ties and holding negotiations, will become the event ’ s main venue. I have no doubt that the expertise of the organizers, combined with the support of the city, will guarantee the success of the initiative. "
The aim of the Media Forum is to establish St. Petersburg as an international location for the development of the film, TV and digital content industries. The Forum offers an opportunity for stimulating commercial interaction to its participants as well as an intensive program including panels, master classes from leading world and Russian specialists, creative laboratories for young filmmakers and a diversified, vibrant film program for the public. The Spimf format, devised by Roskino, is largely based on the concept of the Tiff, one of the most high-profile film events in the world, which combines an exciting market with out-of-competition public screenings.
The festival line-up of the Media Forum features 50 premieres in 10 programs created by renowned curators. The films will be judged by three independent boards: a jury of bloggers, a jury of the press and a jury of the public.
Katya Mtsitouridze, Roskino CEO, concept developer and Spimf general producer:
"The whole idea of the Media Forum is to establish an exciting entertainment industry venue in Saint Petersburg. We went to great lengths in order to achieve our goal, devising a cross-platform concept, inviting the participants well in advance, preparing a list of films and panel discussion topics, picking out an appropriate location for the film market, and many other things. But no one could foresee that the Forum would acquire an additional significance. The political climate should affect neither the professionals that create films, TV or digital content nor the public that such productions are meant for. Culture represents a bridge that unites nations and people of good will and is especially relevant in one of the most beautiful cities of the world, one in which bridges are drawn every night. In due time, an annual Forum will allow St. Petersburg to establish itself as an internationally in-demand area for the entertainment industry."
The Advisory Board of the Media Forum has enlisted a number of leading world industry professionals such as the Efm President Beki Probst, the media entrepreneur Jay Penske (owner of the iconic magazine Variety), director, producer and Lenfilm Studio Head Fedor Bondarchuk, Co-Chairman of the Film and TV Producers Association Alexander Akopov, the State Hermitage Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovsky and other experts. The Board is headed by the Acting Governor of St. Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko.
Over 1200 media industry professionals - producers, directors, distributors and sales agents representing leading companies from Europe, Asia, North America, and the Brics countries - will participate in the Spimf agenda.
Film and TV industry will be showcased by the projects and representatives of major companies such as Warner Bros, Disney, Fox, CBS, Showtime, HBO, Starz, Sony, Fremantle, Lionsgate and Endemol.
Digital technologies will be showcased by Netflix, Hulu, Film London, Tribeca Film Festival, Tfi New Media Fund, ViceMedia, Power to the Pixel and PopUp Cinema, and the list of their Russian counterparts includes Rambler&Co, VKontakte, Ivi.ru and Amediateka.
The international press has taken a keen interest in the Media Forum. The list of the Spimf-accredited journalists includes correspondents from leading industry publications such as Variety, THR, Screen International and a number of other print and digital outlets.
Dda, a leading British film, television and entertainment PR consultancy, is handling international promotion and PR for the Forum.
Vadim Zingman, Aeroflot Russian Airlines Deputy CEO for Work with Clients:
"The St. Petersburg Media Forum is just starting out but I am sure that it will become one of the most important events for the Russian and world media industries. We are proud of our partnership with Roskino and the Forum, since it is of paramount importance for us to support initiatives that offer a major role for Russia in shaping the world ’ s common cultural space. We wish all the Spimf participants a fruitful time, successful new partnerships and a fresh sense of perspective. We are glad that Aeroflot Russian Airlines is contributing to the development and expansion of our national media industry."
The Spimf program consists of the following sections:
1. Public Screenings:
Gala Screenings: Russian and international film and TV premieres of 2014;
Kor-Kor: A showcase of the diversity of North Korean cinema, curated by Vasily Koretsky;
Locarno Local: The best of the Locarno Film Festival 2014;
Mamentum: The best of the Cannes Film Festival 2014, selected by Alexander Mamontov;
N-l-po: Iconic sci-fi movies that lead to the triumph of Gravity, selected by Boris Nelepo;
Non Fiction: A line-up of high-profile 2014 documentaries;
Word Order: Films and TV drama pilots created by renowned critics, in partnership with Séance magazine;
The Birth of a Nation: Alexey Medvedev’s program of new British cinema;
Teen Spirit: Films aimed at children and teenagers that raise some questions concerning social issues;
Trofey: Films dwelling on political leaders and their roles in the crucial events of 20th and 21st century film history, selected by Mikhail Trofimenkov.
The screenings will take place from October 1st to October 5th, 2014, in the Aurora, Angleterre, Velikan, Leningrad, Rodina and Khudozhestvenny cinemas as well as on the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky theater and the Old Stock Exchange building on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
2. Film, TV and New Media Content Market
The Doors International Traveling Film Market, successfully held in Moscow in 2012 and in St. Petersburg in 2013, invites major buyers and sales agents from Europe, Asia, North America and the Brics countries to view Russian films produced in 2014.
The co-production market aimed at Russian and international companies interested in developing potential co-production projects has been co-organized by the Northern Seas Forum.
Sergey Selyanov’s P.O.V. Film Development Fund’s will grant awards to the winners of the development funding competition held from July 1 to August 1, 2014
The TV Content market for Russian and international professionals has been co-organized by the World Content Market.
The TV Showcase will exhibit Russian and international dramas produced by leading studios and TV channels. Co-organized by Amediateka.
Start-up Alley is a digital, new media and entertainment industry Start-Up Market, co-organized by Rambler&Co, the RusBase platform and Variety Russia.
Global Russians will showcase the top 50 shorts directed by Russian film school graduates over the last 5 years (2010-2014). These will be made available in the digital library of the Forum. Co-organized by Roskino and the Youth Center of the Russia Filmmakers' Union.
The International Film, TV and New Media Content Market will be held form October 6th to October 9th, 2014, in the Old Stock Exchange building on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
3. C.L.A.S: Cinema Lab by Alexander Sokurov
A team of professionals headed by Alexander Sokurov, one of the world’s most important filmmakers, will spend a week with directors whose works have been preselected via the program website. The campus program has been tailored for 100 participants. The aim of the workshop is to help these talented non-professionals to find their way in the world of cinema and to expose them to the many possibilities of contemporary filmmaking and its various processes. Creative workshops will be supplemented by master classes from leading industry specialists, and a professional jury is to select the best projects.
The C.L.A.S. lab will take place at the Baltiets Hotel at Repino from October 4th to October 10th, 2014.
4. Cross-Platform Panels Dealing with Major Issue in the Entertainment Industry
A total of 12 panels, including discussions on:
- Competing for the VOD market and alternative content distribution strategies, with the participation of the Film and TV Producers Association;
- The Internet as a piracy battlefield, with the participation of the Federal Supervision Agency for Mass Media and Communications, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
- Crowd-funding: making the most of minimal budgets, with the participation of PopUp Cinema (UK).
The Panels will be held in the Old Stock Exchange building from October 6 to October 9, 2014.
- 8/28/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
New films from Krzysztof Zanussi and Ralph Fiennes to also world premiere at Window To Europe Film Festival.
New films by Gérard Depardieu, Krzysztof Zanussi and Ralph Fiennes will have their world premieres at the 22nd edition of the Window To Europe Film Festival (Aug 8-15) in the Russian town of Vyborg situated close to the border with Finland.
French director Philippe Martinez’s tale of redemption and revenge Viktor, which stars Depardieu, Elizabeth Hurley and Eli Danker, will open a competition section dedicated to films co-produced with Russia.
Viktor, which was shot in Chechnya and Moscow last summer and is being handled internationally by UK-based sales agent Saradan Media, will be released by Paradise in Russian cinemas on September 4.
Co-production competition
Other co-productions selected include Zanussi’s Foreign Body, produced by his own company Studio Filmowe Tor with Italy’s Revolver Film and Russia’s Ineureka and Bella Vostok Ltd; Uzbek director Dilmurod Masaidov’s thriller...
New films by Gérard Depardieu, Krzysztof Zanussi and Ralph Fiennes will have their world premieres at the 22nd edition of the Window To Europe Film Festival (Aug 8-15) in the Russian town of Vyborg situated close to the border with Finland.
French director Philippe Martinez’s tale of redemption and revenge Viktor, which stars Depardieu, Elizabeth Hurley and Eli Danker, will open a competition section dedicated to films co-produced with Russia.
Viktor, which was shot in Chechnya and Moscow last summer and is being handled internationally by UK-based sales agent Saradan Media, will be released by Paradise in Russian cinemas on September 4.
Co-production competition
Other co-productions selected include Zanussi’s Foreign Body, produced by his own company Studio Filmowe Tor with Italy’s Revolver Film and Russia’s Ineureka and Bella Vostok Ltd; Uzbek director Dilmurod Masaidov’s thriller...
- 8/5/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Among the deals, Mexico’s In Films We Trust will buy a package of eight Russian films from Timur Bekmambetov’s Bazelevs.
Moscow Business Square’s Latin American focus has already borne its first fruits less than a week after the event closed.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, consultant Diana Karklin revealed that Russian producer Vlad Ketkovich will serve as the executive producer on the Mexican documentary Torre about the tragic story of Mexico’s greatest ever chess player Carlos Torre, which was pitched in Moscow by director Juan Obregon and co-director/producer Roberto Garza.
In addition, Mexico’s facilities house Studio 5 de mayo plans to finance the post-production of Maria Gavrilova´s Brazilian-Russian documentary project Close Your Eyes by Marx Films, as well as for the Colombian project Revolution which was pitched at Mbs by the producer-director-screenwriter team of Camilo Molano Parra, Felipe Cano Ibanez and Santiago Ardilla Reyes.
Karklin also noted...
Moscow Business Square’s Latin American focus has already borne its first fruits less than a week after the event closed.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, consultant Diana Karklin revealed that Russian producer Vlad Ketkovich will serve as the executive producer on the Mexican documentary Torre about the tragic story of Mexico’s greatest ever chess player Carlos Torre, which was pitched in Moscow by director Juan Obregon and co-director/producer Roberto Garza.
In addition, Mexico’s facilities house Studio 5 de mayo plans to finance the post-production of Maria Gavrilova´s Brazilian-Russian documentary project Close Your Eyes by Marx Films, as well as for the Colombian project Revolution which was pitched at Mbs by the producer-director-screenwriter team of Camilo Molano Parra, Felipe Cano Ibanez and Santiago Ardilla Reyes.
Karklin also noted...
- 6/30/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
31 projects were presented by nine Russian production houses at a pitching to the Russian Cinema Fund.
Russia’s answer to Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity and an updated, Russian-set adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost were among the 31 film projects presented by nine Russian production houses - the so-called ‘leaders’ - at a pitching to the Russian Cinema Fund (Rcf) this week.
An expert committee gave each of the 31 projects a rating, but the final decision on how much production support - and whether it is a subsidy or conditionally repayable loan - will be decided by the Rcf later in the year.
Sergey Selyanov’s St Petersburg-based Ctb is behind the “first Russian space thriller”, Salyut 7, which would be based on the true story of the rescue mission for the orbital station in 1985. The film is budgeted at RUB320m and Ctb is looking to receive RUB150m from the Cinema Fund.
Ctb’s slate...
Russia’s answer to Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity and an updated, Russian-set adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost were among the 31 film projects presented by nine Russian production houses - the so-called ‘leaders’ - at a pitching to the Russian Cinema Fund (Rcf) this week.
An expert committee gave each of the 31 projects a rating, but the final decision on how much production support - and whether it is a subsidy or conditionally repayable loan - will be decided by the Rcf later in the year.
Sergey Selyanov’s St Petersburg-based Ctb is behind the “first Russian space thriller”, Salyut 7, which would be based on the true story of the rescue mission for the orbital station in 1985. The film is budgeted at RUB320m and Ctb is looking to receive RUB150m from the Cinema Fund.
Ctb’s slate...
- 6/26/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Alexander Kott’s love story [pictured] awarded the Grand Prix and the prize for best cinematography.
Alexander Kott’s Test was the big winner at this year’s Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The jury headed by Cannes prize-winner Andrey Zvyagintsev awarded its Grand Prix “for the realisation of the dream” and the prize for best cinematography to Kott’s love story, set against the first hydrogen bomb tests in the Kazakh Steppe at the beginning of the 50s.
In addition, Kott’s film received the Elephant Trophy from the Guild of Film Critics and Film Scholars.
Test is handled internationally by Anton Mazurov’s fledgling Russian sales company Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, which saw its other three new titles by four women directors coming away from this year’s Kinotavr with trophies and diplomas in their luggage:
Anna Melikian’s Star received the prizes for best direction and best actress...
Alexander Kott’s Test was the big winner at this year’s Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The jury headed by Cannes prize-winner Andrey Zvyagintsev awarded its Grand Prix “for the realisation of the dream” and the prize for best cinematography to Kott’s love story, set against the first hydrogen bomb tests in the Kazakh Steppe at the beginning of the 50s.
In addition, Kott’s film received the Elephant Trophy from the Guild of Film Critics and Film Scholars.
Test is handled internationally by Anton Mazurov’s fledgling Russian sales company Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, which saw its other three new titles by four women directors coming away from this year’s Kinotavr with trophies and diplomas in their luggage:
Anna Melikian’s Star received the prizes for best direction and best actress...
- 6/9/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Non Stop Productions, producer of Cannes winner Leviathan, is among nine “industry leaders” selected by the Russian Cinema Fund (Fond Kino) to take a share of $55m (RUB1.9bn).
Alexander Rodnyansky’s Non Stop Productions, producer of Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes winner Leviathan, is among nine production companies selected as ¨industry leaders¨ for 2014 by the Russian Cinema Fund (Fond Kino) for the allocation of $55m (RUB1.9bn) to be distributed among them as subsidies or repayable loans.
Leviathan will be the closing film at the weekend for this week’s ‘Kinotavr’ Open Russia Film Festival in Sochi, and Non Stop is also represented by Konstantin Buslov’s second feature Adventurers as part of the open-air programme
The line-up of ¨leaders¨ also includes Igor Tolstunov’s company ProFIT, which has two films in Kinotavr’s main competition - Alexander Kott’s Test and Nigina Saifullayeva’s Whatayacallme -; Sergei Selyanov’s Ctb - in Sochi with the animation...
Alexander Rodnyansky’s Non Stop Productions, producer of Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes winner Leviathan, is among nine production companies selected as ¨industry leaders¨ for 2014 by the Russian Cinema Fund (Fond Kino) for the allocation of $55m (RUB1.9bn) to be distributed among them as subsidies or repayable loans.
Leviathan will be the closing film at the weekend for this week’s ‘Kinotavr’ Open Russia Film Festival in Sochi, and Non Stop is also represented by Konstantin Buslov’s second feature Adventurers as part of the open-air programme
The line-up of ¨leaders¨ also includes Igor Tolstunov’s company ProFIT, which has two films in Kinotavr’s main competition - Alexander Kott’s Test and Nigina Saifullayeva’s Whatayacallme -; Sergei Selyanov’s Ctb - in Sochi with the animation...
- 6/5/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Films by Todd Solondz, Ralph Fiennes and Andrei Konchalovsky as well as an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s White Nights, starring Daniel Brühl, are among 12 projects to be supported by Russia’s Ministry of Culture this year.
Solondz, Fiennes and Bekmambetov are set to join director colleagues Avdotya Smirnova, Bakur Bakuradze, Cedric Klapisch, Igor Voloshin, Ilmar Raag and Sam Rockwell in shooting episodes of the omnibus film Petersburg: A Category Of Feelings.
The project, which is to be produced by Lenfilm Studio in cooperation with Sergey Selyanov’s St Petersburg-based production powerhouse Ctb Company, will invite the filmmakers to present their views of the “Venice of the North” through emotions or qualities whose first letters make up the city’s name: Pleasure, Effort, Trust, Envy, Repose, Shrewdness, Bravery, Uncertainty, Refuge and Glee.
The idea for the project originates from Selyanov, and one of the episodes will be directed by actor-director-producer Fedor Bondarchuk who is also serving as the...
Solondz, Fiennes and Bekmambetov are set to join director colleagues Avdotya Smirnova, Bakur Bakuradze, Cedric Klapisch, Igor Voloshin, Ilmar Raag and Sam Rockwell in shooting episodes of the omnibus film Petersburg: A Category Of Feelings.
The project, which is to be produced by Lenfilm Studio in cooperation with Sergey Selyanov’s St Petersburg-based production powerhouse Ctb Company, will invite the filmmakers to present their views of the “Venice of the North” through emotions or qualities whose first letters make up the city’s name: Pleasure, Effort, Trust, Envy, Repose, Shrewdness, Bravery, Uncertainty, Refuge and Glee.
The idea for the project originates from Selyanov, and one of the episodes will be directed by actor-director-producer Fedor Bondarchuk who is also serving as the...
- 6/2/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
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