Cillian Murphy and writer, director, and producer Christopher Nolan on the set of ‘Oppenheimer’ (Photo © Universal Pictures)
Since Cillian Murphy just became the first Irish-born actor to win the Best Actor Oscar, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a list of the most notable Irish actors who have been honored by the Academy with either Oscar gold or a nomination.
1. Cillian Murphy
Murphy has played non-Irish roles so often and so well that some people may not realize or remember that he is Irish. His best Irish films include Breakfast on Pluto and The Wind that Shakes the Barley. And as noted above, he is the first Irish-born actor to take home an Academy Award in the Best Actor category.
Vicky Krieps and Daniel Day-Lewis in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Phantom Thread’ (Photo by Laurie Sparham / Focus Features)
2. Daniel Day-Lewis
Day-Lewis...
Since Cillian Murphy just became the first Irish-born actor to win the Best Actor Oscar, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a list of the most notable Irish actors who have been honored by the Academy with either Oscar gold or a nomination.
1. Cillian Murphy
Murphy has played non-Irish roles so often and so well that some people may not realize or remember that he is Irish. His best Irish films include Breakfast on Pluto and The Wind that Shakes the Barley. And as noted above, he is the first Irish-born actor to take home an Academy Award in the Best Actor category.
Vicky Krieps and Daniel Day-Lewis in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Phantom Thread’ (Photo by Laurie Sparham / Focus Features)
2. Daniel Day-Lewis
Day-Lewis...
- 3/17/2024
- by Beth Accomando
- Showbiz Junkies
Occupied City.At one point in Steve McQueen’s new documentary, Occupied City, the director sends his camera touring through the halls of a school in present-day Amsterdam as voice-over narration describes it having been the temporary site of an SS headquarters during the Nazi occupation. For just a moment it feels as though all of history has collapsed into itself. To see images of a building dedicated to the enrichment of children while hearing of its one-time appropriation for such monstrosity demands reckoning with the meaning even benign living spaces might hold. Occupied City is filled with such moments of dark revelation born of unthinkable contrasts: an apartment building that was home to the Dutch resistance, a grand theater used as a processing center for Jewish deportation, a now-bustling sidewalk by the river where three resistance members were publicly executed. In the long history of Amsterdam, the occupation, though seismic in impact,...
- 1/29/2024
- MUBI
Murderers abound in the cinema of David Fincher, yet up until now they’ve tended to operate on the margins or hardly appeared at all. Fincher returns with The Killer, premiering in competition at the Venice Film Festival and a film that plays to his directorial strengths and artistry. Based on Alexis “Matz” Nolent and Luc Jacamon’s popular series of French comics from the late ’90s, The Killer is the first of Fincher’s crime stories to not only place the criminal at its center but to delight in the ruthless rationalizations of his inner mind.
It’s the latest chapter in Fincher’s long history with Netflix, and while easily suited to the streamer’s house aesthetic––episodic structure; quick, flashy titles; a color palette and tone that is never too light and never too dark––it brings together a perfect marriage of director and source material, offering...
It’s the latest chapter in Fincher’s long history with Netflix, and while easily suited to the streamer’s house aesthetic––episodic structure; quick, flashy titles; a color palette and tone that is never too light and never too dark––it brings together a perfect marriage of director and source material, offering...
- 9/3/2023
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Sir Steve McQueen is warning his unflinching film on the Grenfell Tower disaster will leave audiences “disturbed”.The Oscar-winning ’12 Years a Slave’ director shot his movie of the burned out husk of the high-rise flat block from a helicopter – just before its charred remains were shrouded in white plastic emblazoned with a giant green heart – as a stark reminder of the brutal destruction the building represents – and of the fact not one person or firm has been punished for their role in the 72 deaths in the inferno there on June 14, 2017.McQueen told The Guardian he wanted to use the 24-minute film, soundtracked only by natural noise, to ensure people didn’t get “want to let people off the hook” when it came to the reality of the tragedy.He said: “You must understand that the violence that was inflicted on that community was no joke.“I didn’t want to let people off the hook.
- 3/31/2023
- by Aaron Tinney
- Bang Showbiz
Steve McQueen’s 2020 anthology film series “Small Axe” grew out of a desire to shed light on Black resistance movements in Britain, between the 1960s and 1980s. So, too, does a complementary new franchise of individual documentaries, executive produced by McQueen, which chronicle pivotal stories from recent British history largely ignored by media. Viewed collectively, the films make it clear that McQueen almost single-handedly aims to disrupt the preferred timeline with films that detail tumultuous crusades for change that cross borders, and still very much resonate today.
“When I was growing up, we did not learn about our own history unfortunately, which is why ‘Roots’ was so popular,” McQueen said, referring to the multiple Emmy-winning 1977 television miniseries. “Anything about any kind of Black history, even if it wasn’t great, or even if it wasn’t necessarily positive, Black people would flock to the television. I remember the streets were...
“When I was growing up, we did not learn about our own history unfortunately, which is why ‘Roots’ was so popular,” McQueen said, referring to the multiple Emmy-winning 1977 television miniseries. “Anything about any kind of Black history, even if it wasn’t great, or even if it wasn’t necessarily positive, Black people would flock to the television. I remember the streets were...
- 9/20/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen’s films rarely have a light touch. For example, “Hunger” recounts the life of Ira member Bobby Sands, and the group’s organized hunger strike; “Shame” depicts sex addiction; “12 Years a Slave” violently retells the story of a freed Black man kidnapped into slavery; and “Widows” explains the socio-political environment for women and Black people in Chicago.
Continue reading ‘Lovers Rock’: Steve McQueen’s Dance-Filled ‘Small Axe’ Entry Is Surprisingly Tender [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Lovers Rock’: Steve McQueen’s Dance-Filled ‘Small Axe’ Entry Is Surprisingly Tender [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/17/2020
- by Robert Daniels
- The Playlist
Break Out Pictures launches with four upcoming titles slated for Irish release.
A new Irish distribution company has been launched by former Element Pictures execs Nell Roddy and Robert McCann Finn.
Break Out Pictures launches with four upcoming titles slated for Irish release. As well as distribution, Break Out will focus on event cinema. Roddy and Finn most recently headed up publicity and sales respectively for Element.
This summer the company will release Hugh O’Conor’s coming-of-age drama Metal Heart, starring Jordanne Jones, Leah McNamara and Moe Dunford.
Three further titles are slated for an autumn release, including Ian Fitzgibbon’s pitch-black comedy,...
A new Irish distribution company has been launched by former Element Pictures execs Nell Roddy and Robert McCann Finn.
Break Out Pictures launches with four upcoming titles slated for Irish release. As well as distribution, Break Out will focus on event cinema. Roddy and Finn most recently headed up publicity and sales respectively for Element.
This summer the company will release Hugh O’Conor’s coming-of-age drama Metal Heart, starring Jordanne Jones, Leah McNamara and Moe Dunford.
Three further titles are slated for an autumn release, including Ian Fitzgibbon’s pitch-black comedy,...
- 5/20/2019
- by Esther McCarthy
- ScreenDaily
Kew Media Group has picked up international rights to six non-fiction films for Cannes including documentary Nothing Like A Dame, about the lives and careers of Brit actresses Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith. Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill) and produced by Sally Angel (Night Will Fall) and Karen Steyn (Looking For Audrey), executive producers are Sally Angel and Debbie Manners for Field Day and Anthony Wall for the BBC.
Also new to the roster is Sam Rockwell-narrated One Million American Dreams, a history of the final resting place of over one million of New York’s unclaimed dead directed by Brendan J. Byrne (Bobby Sands: 66 Days); The Last Animals, an exposé on the crisis of the killing of African elephants and rhinos; Dealt, winner of the SXSW Audience Award for best documentary feature, about Richard Turner, one of the world’s great card...
Also new to the roster is Sam Rockwell-narrated One Million American Dreams, a history of the final resting place of over one million of New York’s unclaimed dead directed by Brendan J. Byrne (Bobby Sands: 66 Days); The Last Animals, an exposé on the crisis of the killing of African elephants and rhinos; Dealt, winner of the SXSW Audience Award for best documentary feature, about Richard Turner, one of the world’s great card...
- 4/30/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Though released nearly four decades ago, the impact of British director Alan Clarke’s stripped-down, visually matter-of-fact-yet-enrapturing “prison” drama Scum can still be felt in ripples throughout modern cinema, from the dirt-caked musings of the excellent Starred Up, to the philosophical discussion posed between a beaten Bobby Sands and stubborn priest in Steve McQueen’s Hunger. Shrouded in controversy upon its release, Scum has sat for years under the sort of “banned film” title that lends to a certain morbid fascination, which itself overlooks potential (or inherent) cinematic value. But Scum lives up to its title to this day, its manic energy balanced with an assured and naked openness that creates a searing level of realism and, as such, savagery.
Scum is set in a juvenile-offender institution that is more akin to youthful hell than a chance at redemption for its sordid inmates, who struggle, fall, and brawl in the...
Scum is set in a juvenile-offender institution that is more akin to youthful hell than a chance at redemption for its sordid inmates, who struggle, fall, and brawl in the...
- 6/14/2017
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
How important is resemblance, really?
As we mentioned in our newsletter yesterday, Christian Bale is reportedly in talks to star as former vice president Dick Cheney in an Adam McKay helmed biopic, alongside Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney and Steve Carrell as Donald Rumsfeld. The news, broken by Variety, has lead to a host of reactions across the internet, including a number of Dark Knight and American Psycho related jokes because, you know, duh. Front and center in many of these reactions is speculation (though in some cases, anticipatory salivation might be more accurate) over how Bale will transform for the role.
After all, Christian Bale is known for physical metamorphoses that rank just below those of caterpillars on an impressiveness scale; he famously lost 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist (bringing the 6' actor to a skeletal 120-ish pounds), and afterwards went directly to Batman Begins, eating and weight-lifting his way to 220 pounds, which...
As we mentioned in our newsletter yesterday, Christian Bale is reportedly in talks to star as former vice president Dick Cheney in an Adam McKay helmed biopic, alongside Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney and Steve Carrell as Donald Rumsfeld. The news, broken by Variety, has lead to a host of reactions across the internet, including a number of Dark Knight and American Psycho related jokes because, you know, duh. Front and center in many of these reactions is speculation (though in some cases, anticipatory salivation might be more accurate) over how Bale will transform for the role.
After all, Christian Bale is known for physical metamorphoses that rank just below those of caterpillars on an impressiveness scale; he famously lost 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist (bringing the 6' actor to a skeletal 120-ish pounds), and afterwards went directly to Batman Begins, eating and weight-lifting his way to 220 pounds, which...
- 4/7/2017
- by Ciara Wardlow
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
And look at that, not a leprechaun in sight.
For a relatively small island with a tiny film industry, Ireland certainly gets a lot of representation in movies — sometimes via other places masquerading as Ireland, other times by representing other places (the beach landing scene in Saving Private Ryan was shot in Wexford, for example) or worlds (Ahch-To in The Force Awakens), and occasionally it even gets to play itself. The island also exports a rather impressive number of cinematic talents considering the fact that, though every third or forth person you meet on the street in, say, Boston or Chicago (a lot of places, really) will claim Irish heritage, the Republic of Ireland has a population of slightly less than 4.6 million and Northern Ireland slightly more than 1.8 million, bringing the island to a total of only around 6.4 million. In other words, still around 2 million less than before the Famine, over...
For a relatively small island with a tiny film industry, Ireland certainly gets a lot of representation in movies — sometimes via other places masquerading as Ireland, other times by representing other places (the beach landing scene in Saving Private Ryan was shot in Wexford, for example) or worlds (Ahch-To in The Force Awakens), and occasionally it even gets to play itself. The island also exports a rather impressive number of cinematic talents considering the fact that, though every third or forth person you meet on the street in, say, Boston or Chicago (a lot of places, really) will claim Irish heritage, the Republic of Ireland has a population of slightly less than 4.6 million and Northern Ireland slightly more than 1.8 million, bringing the island to a total of only around 6.4 million. In other words, still around 2 million less than before the Famine, over...
- 3/16/2017
- by Ciara Wardlow
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Art house patrons in America may mostly know Irish Republican Army martyr Bobby Sands from Hunger, Steve McQueen's acclaimed 2008 debut starring Michael Fassbender. But he looms large in the history of Northern Ireland's decades-long quest for self-governance, and Brendan J. Byrne's new documentary Bobby Sands: 66 Days offers something both for those who've never heard of Sands and those who have his youthful smile etched forever in memory. If its subject ensures the doc will sometimes be tough viewing, it may be doubly so for those viewers who, unexpectedly this month, feel as engulfed with impotent anger as the...
- 11/30/2016
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When it comes to both the daily news and the history books, a proper definition can be everything, affecting how we weigh the story being told. When a hunger strike ended the life of Irish republican Bobby Sands and a handful of other inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison Maze in Northern Ireland, it changed the tone of the conversation about the Troubles between the British government and rebellious Northern Irish Catholics. Activists who’d been branded as terrorists were re-evaluated as martyrs, which met one of the main goals that Sands and his comrades had originally set with their protest: to be recognized as political prisoners, not criminals. Even now, not everyone is willing to accept those terms—especially if their lives were directly affected by Irish Republican Army violence. But at the time, what the hunger strikers did was enough to get the media more focused on the...
- 11/29/2016
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
Irish revolutionary Bobby Sands is probably best known in the contemporary context of Michael Fassbender‘s performance as the activist in Steve McQueen‘s terrific “Hunger.” But Sands’ story is so much more, and “Bobby Sands: 66 Days,” making its North American Premiere at Doc NYC today, offers another window into his life.
Directed by Brendan Byrne, the film centers on Sands’ 66 day hunger strike that would forever change the course of Irish and English history, as he battled for himself and his fellow inmates to be recognized as political prisoners.
Continue reading Doc NYC Exclusive: The Iconic Irish Revolutionary Transitions From Soldier To Artist In Clip From ‘Bobby Sands: 66 Days’ at The Playlist.
Directed by Brendan Byrne, the film centers on Sands’ 66 day hunger strike that would forever change the course of Irish and English history, as he battled for himself and his fellow inmates to be recognized as political prisoners.
Continue reading Doc NYC Exclusive: The Iconic Irish Revolutionary Transitions From Soldier To Artist In Clip From ‘Bobby Sands: 66 Days’ at The Playlist.
- 11/11/2016
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
He does raw and repressed better than anyone, but off-screen the actor is learning how to relax. He talks old friends, forgiveness and on-screen nudity
Michael Fassbender is either one of the world’s most well-adjusted human beings, or the most brilliant liar. “I can lie pretty easily to journalists,” he tells me, and he says he’s good at it. “I have to be.” But as this is the policy a well-adjusted movie star might adopt, talking about it only reinforces the impression of someone unusually at peace with himself.
Fassbender came to fame playing men who are decidedly not at peace with themselves. In 2008, he starred in Steve McQueen’s debut film, Hunger, as the Republican prisoner Bobby Sands on hunger strike. McQueen then cast him as a sex addict in Shame, followed by a sadistic plantation owner in 12 Years A Slave. Fassbender has appeared in Fish Tank and Inglourious Basterds,...
Michael Fassbender is either one of the world’s most well-adjusted human beings, or the most brilliant liar. “I can lie pretty easily to journalists,” he tells me, and he says he’s good at it. “I have to be.” But as this is the policy a well-adjusted movie star might adopt, talking about it only reinforces the impression of someone unusually at peace with himself.
Fassbender came to fame playing men who are decidedly not at peace with themselves. In 2008, he starred in Steve McQueen’s debut film, Hunger, as the Republican prisoner Bobby Sands on hunger strike. McQueen then cast him as a sex addict in Shame, followed by a sadistic plantation owner in 12 Years A Slave. Fassbender has appeared in Fish Tank and Inglourious Basterds,...
- 10/22/2016
- by Decca Aitkenhead
- The Guardian - Film News
Bobby Sands 66 Days has achieved the highest opening weekend ever at the Irish box office for an Irish made documentary. The film which was released in Irish cinemas by Wildcard Distribution is now the second highest (non-concert) documentary opening of all-time after the international cinema hitFarenheit 911. The Oscar winning Amy (also released in Ireland by Wildcard on behalf of Altitude) is in 3rd position. Taking in €50,933 (with some sites yet to still report), over its opening weekend and with previews,Bobby Sands 66 Days surpassed previous record holder The Queen of Ireland's opening weekend. Brendan J. Byrne’s critically acclaimed and controversial documentary which is a portrait of the Irish Republican’s 66-day hunger strike has garnered much publicity and debate on both sides of the border. It played in a total of 16 cinemas in the Republic and 9 cinemas in Northern Ireland and despite the good weather,...
- 8/8/2016
- by noreply@blogger.com (Vic Barry)
- www.themoviebit.com
An authoritative documentary about the Ira hunger striker gets to the heart of its subject
A contentious subject – the role of Bobby Sands, and of hunger strikes in general, in the Irish republican movement – is approached with intelligence and restraint in this thorough and well-researched documentary. Director Brendan J Byrne combines authoritative analysis of the philosophical and political impact of Sands’s death with a visual component that is more daringly unpredictable: sometimes poetic, sometimes impressionistic images are juxtaposed against the words of Sands and the voices of interviewees. The use of archive material – stills and clips of Northern Ireland are blended and overlaid with other, more esoteric images – is adventurous and manages to evoke a broader sense of both the tensions, and of the quotidian daily life of the period.
While acknowledging that the republican movement had a tendency to elevate, almost sanctify, the memories of those who died in its name,...
A contentious subject – the role of Bobby Sands, and of hunger strikes in general, in the Irish republican movement – is approached with intelligence and restraint in this thorough and well-researched documentary. Director Brendan J Byrne combines authoritative analysis of the philosophical and political impact of Sands’s death with a visual component that is more daringly unpredictable: sometimes poetic, sometimes impressionistic images are juxtaposed against the words of Sands and the voices of interviewees. The use of archive material – stills and clips of Northern Ireland are blended and overlaid with other, more esoteric images – is adventurous and manages to evoke a broader sense of both the tensions, and of the quotidian daily life of the period.
While acknowledging that the republican movement had a tendency to elevate, almost sanctify, the memories of those who died in its name,...
- 8/7/2016
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
Sands remains an opaque figure, but Brendan J Byrne’s film makes a persuasive case that his 1981 hunger strike lead directly to the Good Friday agreement
Here is a documentary that needed to be made: a careful, well put together film about the Ira prisoners who went on hunger strike in 1981 to campaign for prisoner-of-war status, led by Bobby Sands, who became a global icon of anti-British protest during the 66-day ordeal which ended in his death and those of his comrades.
Related: Hunger: The real maze men speak
Continue reading...
Here is a documentary that needed to be made: a careful, well put together film about the Ira prisoners who went on hunger strike in 1981 to campaign for prisoner-of-war status, led by Bobby Sands, who became a global icon of anti-British protest during the 66-day ordeal which ended in his death and those of his comrades.
Related: Hunger: The real maze men speak
Continue reading...
- 8/4/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Other winners include A Date For Mad Mary from Room producer Ed Guiney.
The 28th Galway Film Fleadh handed out its annual awards last night (July 10) and named Taika Waititi’s Hunt For The Wilderpeople as best international feature.
The ceremony took place after the Fleadh’s annual public interview, in which director Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) regaled a packed Town Hall Theatre.
The prize for best Irish feature was shared between Peter Foott’s The Young Offenders and Darren Thornton’s A Date For Mad Mary. The latter was co-produced by Ed Guiney, whose films include Oscar-winner Room, The Lobster and Frank.
The best Irish feature documentary was won by Frankie Fenton’s It’s Not Yet Dark, which centres on Simon Fitzmaurice, a talented young Irish film maker with motor neuron disease, as he embarks on making his first film through the use of his eyes and eye gaze technology.
It’s...
The 28th Galway Film Fleadh handed out its annual awards last night (July 10) and named Taika Waititi’s Hunt For The Wilderpeople as best international feature.
The ceremony took place after the Fleadh’s annual public interview, in which director Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) regaled a packed Town Hall Theatre.
The prize for best Irish feature was shared between Peter Foott’s The Young Offenders and Darren Thornton’s A Date For Mad Mary. The latter was co-produced by Ed Guiney, whose films include Oscar-winner Room, The Lobster and Frank.
The best Irish feature documentary was won by Frankie Fenton’s It’s Not Yet Dark, which centres on Simon Fitzmaurice, a talented young Irish film maker with motor neuron disease, as he embarks on making his first film through the use of his eyes and eye gaze technology.
It’s...
- 7/11/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Documentary filmmakers will descend on Sheffield in the coming days to offer a window on the past, present and virtual future. Michael Rosser reports
The 23rd Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15) kicks off today and promises to be one of its most eclectic to date, with its typically diverse line-up of documentaries from around the world complemented by big name speakers and a major showcase of virtual reality content.
Its 160 feature and short films will be bookended by opening film Where To Invade Next, from Oscar-winning Us director Michael Moore, and The Seasons In Quincy: Four Portraits Of John Berger. Moore and actress Tilda Swinton, a co-director on the latter doc, will both be in Sheffield to present their films.
Moore’s film and accompanying Q&A will also be live streamed to 120 cinemas across the UK through distributor Dogwoof – the second time Doc/Fest has done this, following Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets...
The 23rd Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15) kicks off today and promises to be one of its most eclectic to date, with its typically diverse line-up of documentaries from around the world complemented by big name speakers and a major showcase of virtual reality content.
Its 160 feature and short films will be bookended by opening film Where To Invade Next, from Oscar-winning Us director Michael Moore, and The Seasons In Quincy: Four Portraits Of John Berger. Moore and actress Tilda Swinton, a co-director on the latter doc, will both be in Sheffield to present their films.
Moore’s film and accompanying Q&A will also be live streamed to 120 cinemas across the UK through distributor Dogwoof – the second time Doc/Fest has done this, following Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets...
- 6/10/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Tasters of the films in competition at this week’s Sheffield Doc/Fest.
Click here to see the full competition line-ups.
Opening FilmWhere To Invade Next - Michael Moore Grand JuryJim: The James Foley Story - Brian Oakes Brothers - Wojciech Staron The Settlers - Shimon Dotan Bobby Sands: 66 Days - Brendan J Byrne Presenting Princess Shaw - Ido Haar City 40 - Samira Goetschel Tempestad - Tatiana Huezo The Land of the Enlightened - Pieter-Jan De Pue Notes On Blindness - Peter Middleton, James Spinney Environmental JurySeed: The Untold Story - Taggart Siegel, Jon Betz Kivalina - Gina Abatemarco Freightened - The Real Price of Shipping - Denis Delestrac...
Click here to see the full competition line-ups.
Opening FilmWhere To Invade Next - Michael Moore Grand JuryJim: The James Foley Story - Brian Oakes Brothers - Wojciech Staron The Settlers - Shimon Dotan Bobby Sands: 66 Days - Brendan J Byrne Presenting Princess Shaw - Ido Haar City 40 - Samira Goetschel Tempestad - Tatiana Huezo The Land of the Enlightened - Pieter-Jan De Pue Notes On Blindness - Peter Middleton, James Spinney Environmental JurySeed: The Untold Story - Taggart Siegel, Jon Betz Kivalina - Gina Abatemarco Freightened - The Real Price of Shipping - Denis Delestrac...
- 6/9/2016
- ScreenDaily
Members of Grand Jury Award also revealed, which will be supported by Screen International and Broadcast.
Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, is to be honoured at Sheffield Doc/Fest next month.
The Us exec, who first joined HBO in 1979 where she has produced more than 1,000 documentaries, will receive the festival’s first Creative Leadership Award.
The honour has been launched by Doc/Fest to highlight an influential individual’s contribution to the international documentary industry.
Doc/Fest will also present its inaugural Award for Unsung Hero in Factual TV to Jan Tomalin, the managing director of Media Law Consultancy who has advised a significant number of the UK’s top documentary makers, companies and broadcasters.
Both will be presented at the Doc/Fest Award Ceremony on June 14.
Grand Jury
Doc/Fest has also revealed the names of those who will bestow the Grand Jury Award, which is supported by Screen International and sister title Broadcast...
Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, is to be honoured at Sheffield Doc/Fest next month.
The Us exec, who first joined HBO in 1979 where she has produced more than 1,000 documentaries, will receive the festival’s first Creative Leadership Award.
The honour has been launched by Doc/Fest to highlight an influential individual’s contribution to the international documentary industry.
Doc/Fest will also present its inaugural Award for Unsung Hero in Factual TV to Jan Tomalin, the managing director of Media Law Consultancy who has advised a significant number of the UK’s top documentary makers, companies and broadcasters.
Both will be presented at the Doc/Fest Award Ceremony on June 14.
Grand Jury
Doc/Fest has also revealed the names of those who will bestow the Grand Jury Award, which is supported by Screen International and sister title Broadcast...
- 5/25/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Growing Dublin-based distributor is inking deals for key local fare as well as sub-licensing for London-based distributors.
Irish distributor Wildcard Distribution has secured a wide and varied slate of forthcoming releases - including new projects from some of Ireland’s strongest emerging filmmakers.
Two crime-themed films, The Young Offenders and Cardboard Gangsters, which have completed production, will have their world premieres at the Galway Film Fleadh in July.
The Young Offenders is inspired by the bizarre case of Ireland’s biggest-ever drug seizure in 2007. The haul, off the coast of West Cork, took place after a boat capsized, leaving bales of cocaine floating in the water.
It fired the imagination of first-time feature director Peter Foott, whose film focuses on two Cork city teenagers who embark on a 160km road trip to steal some of the bales. The film will be released in Ireland this autumn.
Also on the company’s release slate is Cardboard Gangsters, the new...
Irish distributor Wildcard Distribution has secured a wide and varied slate of forthcoming releases - including new projects from some of Ireland’s strongest emerging filmmakers.
Two crime-themed films, The Young Offenders and Cardboard Gangsters, which have completed production, will have their world premieres at the Galway Film Fleadh in July.
The Young Offenders is inspired by the bizarre case of Ireland’s biggest-ever drug seizure in 2007. The haul, off the coast of West Cork, took place after a boat capsized, leaving bales of cocaine floating in the water.
It fired the imagination of first-time feature director Peter Foott, whose film focuses on two Cork city teenagers who embark on a 160km road trip to steal some of the bales. The film will be released in Ireland this autumn.
Also on the company’s release slate is Cardboard Gangsters, the new...
- 5/9/2016
- ScreenDaily
For no reason whatsoever that's what we're blogging at this moment! (Just humor me, okay? My back is in spasming pain.)
1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S. but 151 years later the topic is still on everyone's minds: see TV's Underground (any of you watching this?), the exciting news about Harriet Tubman on the $20 and two new biopics about her in the works, plus recent and current Best Picture types (Lincoln, 12 Years a Slave and possibly Birth of a Nation)
1891 - Carnegie Hall (then named Music Hall) opened in NYC so that one day "Judy! Judy! Judy!" could be recorded for posterity
1914 - Movie star Tyrone Power was born and we still don't have a biopic 102 years later even though Zac Efron would be perfect in the role
1927 - Pat Carroll is born so that 62 years later we might enjoy the genius of her voice...
1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S. but 151 years later the topic is still on everyone's minds: see TV's Underground (any of you watching this?), the exciting news about Harriet Tubman on the $20 and two new biopics about her in the works, plus recent and current Best Picture types (Lincoln, 12 Years a Slave and possibly Birth of a Nation)
1891 - Carnegie Hall (then named Music Hall) opened in NYC so that one day "Judy! Judy! Judy!" could be recorded for posterity
1914 - Movie star Tyrone Power was born and we still don't have a biopic 102 years later even though Zac Efron would be perfect in the role
1927 - Pat Carroll is born so that 62 years later we might enjoy the genius of her voice...
- 5/5/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Competition titles revealed; retrospectives of Ken Loach and Chantal Akerman; speakers include HBO documentaries president Sheila Nevins and revered filmmaker Da Pennebaker. Scroll down for competition films
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15) has unveiled the programme for its 23rd edition, including 160 feature and short documentaries, an alternate realities line-up and a series of on-stage interviews and debates with major filmmakers and industry figures.
As previously announced, Michael Moore’s Where To Invade Next will open the festival with the Us documentarian in attendance at Doc/Fest for the first time since 1998.
The UK premiere and Q&A will be live streamed to 114 cinemas across the UK through distributor Dogwoof. It marks the second time Doc/Fest has streamed its opening, following Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets in 2014.
There are a total of 27 world premieres, 15 international, 19 European and 52 UK premieres with documentaries from 49 countries including Mexico, Cuba, China and Peru.
Competition titles...
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15) has unveiled the programme for its 23rd edition, including 160 feature and short documentaries, an alternate realities line-up and a series of on-stage interviews and debates with major filmmakers and industry figures.
As previously announced, Michael Moore’s Where To Invade Next will open the festival with the Us documentarian in attendance at Doc/Fest for the first time since 1998.
The UK premiere and Q&A will be live streamed to 114 cinemas across the UK through distributor Dogwoof. It marks the second time Doc/Fest has streamed its opening, following Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets in 2014.
There are a total of 27 world premieres, 15 international, 19 European and 52 UK premieres with documentaries from 49 countries including Mexico, Cuba, China and Peru.
Competition titles...
- 5/5/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Competition titles revealed; retrospectives of Ken Loach and Chantal Akerman; speakers include HBO documentaries president Sheila Nevins and legendary filmmaker Da Pennebaker.Scroll down for competition films
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15) has unveiled the programme for its 23rd edition, including 160 feature and short documentaries, an alternate realities line-up and a series of on-stage interviews and debates with major filmmakers and industry figures.
As previously announced, Michael Moore’s Where To Invade Next will open the festival with the Us documentarian in attendance at Doc/Fest for the first time since 1998.
The UK premiere and Q&A will be live streamed to 114 cinemas across the UK through distributor Dogwoof. It marks the second time Doc/Fest has streamed its opening, following Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets in 2014.
There are a total of 27 world premieres, 15 international, 19 European and 52 UK premieres with documentaries from 49 countries including Mexico, Cuba, China and Peru.
Competition titles...
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 10-15) has unveiled the programme for its 23rd edition, including 160 feature and short documentaries, an alternate realities line-up and a series of on-stage interviews and debates with major filmmakers and industry figures.
As previously announced, Michael Moore’s Where To Invade Next will open the festival with the Us documentarian in attendance at Doc/Fest for the first time since 1998.
The UK premiere and Q&A will be live streamed to 114 cinemas across the UK through distributor Dogwoof. It marks the second time Doc/Fest has streamed its opening, following Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets in 2014.
There are a total of 27 world premieres, 15 international, 19 European and 52 UK premieres with documentaries from 49 countries including Mexico, Cuba, China and Peru.
Competition titles...
- 5/5/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
One glance at Michael Fassbender’s decorated and ever-growing resume will tell you that the actor isn’t one to shy away from difficult roles. From his breakout as Bobby Sands in Hunger almost a decade ago to numerous turns as the mercurial Magneto, Fassbender continues to be a compelling screen presence, making him the perfect fit to play Jack Unterweger in true crime story, Entering Hades.
Setting up shop at Broad Green Pictures, with production help from Storyscape Entertainment and Fassbender’s own Dmc Film, the real-life drama will pull inspiration from John Leake’s novel recounting Unterweger’s remarkable and frankly harrowing story. A celebrated journalist and best-selling author, the Austrian moonlit as a serial killer, racking up a body count of 11 – most of which were prostitutes – across multiple countries across Europe before he was convicted in 1974.
Bill Wheeler produced the original script for Entering Hades, though Variety...
Setting up shop at Broad Green Pictures, with production help from Storyscape Entertainment and Fassbender’s own Dmc Film, the real-life drama will pull inspiration from John Leake’s novel recounting Unterweger’s remarkable and frankly harrowing story. A celebrated journalist and best-selling author, the Austrian moonlit as a serial killer, racking up a body count of 11 – most of which were prostitutes – across multiple countries across Europe before he was convicted in 1974.
Bill Wheeler produced the original script for Entering Hades, though Variety...
- 5/4/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
This year's Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, opening today and running through May 8, "features a whopping 232 titles from 51 countries," notes Indiewire, focusing "five notable highlights." David Ehrlich recommends Brendan Byrne’s Bobby Sands: 66 Days, Steve Greene goes for Livia Ungur's Hotel Dallas and Eric Kohn revisits Matt Johnson's Operation Avalanche. For the Canadian Press, Victoria Ahearn talks with Rama Rau, director of the festival opener, League of Exotique Dancers, and we're collecting further recommendations from the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Sun, the programmers themselves and more. » - David Hudson...
- 4/28/2016
- Keyframe
This year's Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, opening today and running through May 8, "features a whopping 232 titles from 51 countries," notes Indiewire, focusing "five notable highlights." David Ehrlich recommends Brendan Byrne’s Bobby Sands: 66 Days, Steve Greene goes for Livia Ungur's Hotel Dallas and Eric Kohn revisits Matt Johnson's Operation Avalanche. For the Canadian Press, Victoria Ahearn talks with Rama Rau, director of the festival opener, League of Exotique Dancers, and we're collecting further recommendations from the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Sun, the programmers themselves and more. » - David Hudson...
- 4/28/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
Hot Docs has announced 14 documentary features that will screen in this year¹s Special Presentations program, joining 15 selections previously announced. Special Presentations features a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award winners from the recent international festival circuit and works by master filmmakers or featuring some star subjects.
Notable subjects featured as part of the Special Presentations program include activist Bobby Sands ("Bobby Sands: 66 Days"), musicians David Byrne, Nelly Furtado and St. Vincent ("Contemporary Color"), filmmaker Brian de Palma ("De Palma"), former NFL defensive back Steve Gleason ("Gleason"), Canadian rapper Shad and hip-hop stars Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash ("Hip-Hop Evolution"), Afghan rapper and activist Sonita Alizadeh ("Sonita"), artist Frida Kahlo ( "The Legacy Of Frida Kahlo"), and comedians Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman and Carl Reiner ("The Last Laugh").
Award winners from the recent international festival circuit include "Life, Animated" (Directing Award: U.S. Documentary, Sundance 2016), "Trapped" (U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking, Sundance 2016), and "Sonita" (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary, Sundance 2016).
Special Presentations will screen as part of the 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, running April 28 to May 8. Ticket packages and passes as well as single tickets are now on sale online and at the CraveTV Box Office at Hot Docs House, located at 610 Markham Street.
Special Presentation titles are below:
"The Age of Consequences"
D: Jared P. Scott | USA | 2016 | 78 min | World Premiere
Sounding an alarm over the critical and disturbing effects of societal inaction, this revealing film highlights the irreversible impacts of climate change‹resource scarcity, mass migration and conflict‹through the lens of global stability and national security.
"American Movie"
D: Chris Smith | USA | 1999 | 107 min | Cinema Eye Legacy Screening
In this beloved cult classic, an aspiring filmmaker struggles to complete a hilariously lo-fi horror film, only to be derailed by personal demons and the staggering ineptitude of his production team.
"Bobby Sands: 66 Days"
D: Brendan Byrne | Ireland, UK | 2016 | 105 min | World Premiere
This riveting account of a turning point in the Troubles in Northern Ireland is taken straight from the diary of Bobby Sands, who led protests of imprisoned Irish Republicans and a hunger strike with momentous consequences.
"Contemporary Color"
D: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | USA | 2016 | 96 min | International Premiere
An extraordinary lineup of top music stars including event mastermind David Byrne of The Talking Heads, Nelly Furtado, St. Vincent and more perform live with 10 ³colour guard² teams‹perfectly synchronized students in pep-rally choreography‹in this one-of-a-kind, kaleidoscopic event.
"De Palma"
D: Noah Baumbach, Jake Paltrow | USA | 2015 | 107 min | Canadian Premiere
From Carrie to Mission: Impossible to Scarface and beyond, Brian de Palma has created some of cinema¹s most iconic work. In this career-spanning, funny and candid conversation, he reveals his unique perspective on life, work and the past 50 years in film.
"Gleason"
D: Clay Tweel | USA | 2016 | 110 min | International Premiere
At age 34, former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero Steve Gleason was diagnosed with Als. With limited time left to live, he purposefully records his spirited and inspiring life‹a heartfelt time capsule for his newborn son.
"Hip-Hop Evolution"
D: Darby Wheeler | Co-d: Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn | Canada | 2016 | 90 min | World Premiere
Acclaimed Canadian rapper Shad travels to the Bronx and Harlem to talk with hip-hop¹s originators and biggest stars‹Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash among others‹tracing its evolution from underground to global phenomenon.
"The Last Laugh"
D: Ferne Pearlstein | USA | 2016 | 85 min | International Premiere
Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Carl Reiner, a 90-year-old Auschwitz survivor and others uproariously debate and test the limits of comedy¹s ultimate taboo: how to joke about the Holocaust, or if it¹s even ethical to try.
"The Legacy of Frida Kahlo"
D: Tadasuke Kotani | Japan | 2015 | 89 min | Canadian Premiere
A renowned Japanese photographer inventories iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo¹s wardrobe and personal belongings, recently discovered 58 years after her death, lending deserved importance to fashion and ³women¹s work,² while resurrecting the dead through clothing and talismans.
"Life,Animated"
D: Roger Ross Williams | USA | 2015 | 91 min | International Premiere
Disney cartoons play a key role in helping a young autistic boy communicate and understand the world around him in this moving testament to coming-of-age through fantasy, from Academy Awardwinning director Roger Ross Williams.
"Sonita"
D: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami | Iran, Germany, Switzerland | 2015 | 90 min | Canadian Premiere
After her family attempts to sell her into marriage, a young Afghan refugee in Iran channels her frustrations and seizes her destiny through music. Grabbing the mic, she spits fiery rhymes in the face of oppressive traditions.
"Sour Grapes"
D: Jerry Rothwell | USA, France | 2016 | 96 min | World Premiere
Controversy erupts when an unassuming young man floods the American market with fake vintages valued in the millions, bamboozling wine snobs and the super-wealthy alike, in this suspenseful tale of excess on the eve of the 2008 crash.
"Trapped"
D: Dawn Porter | USA | 2016 | 80 min | International Premiere
American women¹s right to abortion is no longer clear, as 288 dubious laws slyly crafted by the right have decimated access. While a watershed Supreme Court battle looms, witness the human stakes of the right to choose.
"Under the Gun"
D: Stephanie Soechtig | USA | 2016 | 110 min | International Premiere
With razor-sharp arguments and insight, Stephanie Soechtig and Katie Couric (the team behind Fed Up) craft a gripping indictment of American gun culture, meeting communities shattered by shootings and exposing the politics that allow the epidemic of violence to persist.
Notable subjects featured as part of the Special Presentations program include activist Bobby Sands ("Bobby Sands: 66 Days"), musicians David Byrne, Nelly Furtado and St. Vincent ("Contemporary Color"), filmmaker Brian de Palma ("De Palma"), former NFL defensive back Steve Gleason ("Gleason"), Canadian rapper Shad and hip-hop stars Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash ("Hip-Hop Evolution"), Afghan rapper and activist Sonita Alizadeh ("Sonita"), artist Frida Kahlo ( "The Legacy Of Frida Kahlo"), and comedians Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman and Carl Reiner ("The Last Laugh").
Award winners from the recent international festival circuit include "Life, Animated" (Directing Award: U.S. Documentary, Sundance 2016), "Trapped" (U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking, Sundance 2016), and "Sonita" (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary, Sundance 2016).
Special Presentations will screen as part of the 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, running April 28 to May 8. Ticket packages and passes as well as single tickets are now on sale online and at the CraveTV Box Office at Hot Docs House, located at 610 Markham Street.
Special Presentation titles are below:
"The Age of Consequences"
D: Jared P. Scott | USA | 2016 | 78 min | World Premiere
Sounding an alarm over the critical and disturbing effects of societal inaction, this revealing film highlights the irreversible impacts of climate change‹resource scarcity, mass migration and conflict‹through the lens of global stability and national security.
"American Movie"
D: Chris Smith | USA | 1999 | 107 min | Cinema Eye Legacy Screening
In this beloved cult classic, an aspiring filmmaker struggles to complete a hilariously lo-fi horror film, only to be derailed by personal demons and the staggering ineptitude of his production team.
"Bobby Sands: 66 Days"
D: Brendan Byrne | Ireland, UK | 2016 | 105 min | World Premiere
This riveting account of a turning point in the Troubles in Northern Ireland is taken straight from the diary of Bobby Sands, who led protests of imprisoned Irish Republicans and a hunger strike with momentous consequences.
"Contemporary Color"
D: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross | USA | 2016 | 96 min | International Premiere
An extraordinary lineup of top music stars including event mastermind David Byrne of The Talking Heads, Nelly Furtado, St. Vincent and more perform live with 10 ³colour guard² teams‹perfectly synchronized students in pep-rally choreography‹in this one-of-a-kind, kaleidoscopic event.
"De Palma"
D: Noah Baumbach, Jake Paltrow | USA | 2015 | 107 min | Canadian Premiere
From Carrie to Mission: Impossible to Scarface and beyond, Brian de Palma has created some of cinema¹s most iconic work. In this career-spanning, funny and candid conversation, he reveals his unique perspective on life, work and the past 50 years in film.
"Gleason"
D: Clay Tweel | USA | 2016 | 110 min | International Premiere
At age 34, former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero Steve Gleason was diagnosed with Als. With limited time left to live, he purposefully records his spirited and inspiring life‹a heartfelt time capsule for his newborn son.
"Hip-Hop Evolution"
D: Darby Wheeler | Co-d: Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn | Canada | 2016 | 90 min | World Premiere
Acclaimed Canadian rapper Shad travels to the Bronx and Harlem to talk with hip-hop¹s originators and biggest stars‹Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash among others‹tracing its evolution from underground to global phenomenon.
"The Last Laugh"
D: Ferne Pearlstein | USA | 2016 | 85 min | International Premiere
Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Carl Reiner, a 90-year-old Auschwitz survivor and others uproariously debate and test the limits of comedy¹s ultimate taboo: how to joke about the Holocaust, or if it¹s even ethical to try.
"The Legacy of Frida Kahlo"
D: Tadasuke Kotani | Japan | 2015 | 89 min | Canadian Premiere
A renowned Japanese photographer inventories iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo¹s wardrobe and personal belongings, recently discovered 58 years after her death, lending deserved importance to fashion and ³women¹s work,² while resurrecting the dead through clothing and talismans.
"Life,Animated"
D: Roger Ross Williams | USA | 2015 | 91 min | International Premiere
Disney cartoons play a key role in helping a young autistic boy communicate and understand the world around him in this moving testament to coming-of-age through fantasy, from Academy Awardwinning director Roger Ross Williams.
"Sonita"
D: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami | Iran, Germany, Switzerland | 2015 | 90 min | Canadian Premiere
After her family attempts to sell her into marriage, a young Afghan refugee in Iran channels her frustrations and seizes her destiny through music. Grabbing the mic, she spits fiery rhymes in the face of oppressive traditions.
"Sour Grapes"
D: Jerry Rothwell | USA, France | 2016 | 96 min | World Premiere
Controversy erupts when an unassuming young man floods the American market with fake vintages valued in the millions, bamboozling wine snobs and the super-wealthy alike, in this suspenseful tale of excess on the eve of the 2008 crash.
"Trapped"
D: Dawn Porter | USA | 2016 | 80 min | International Premiere
American women¹s right to abortion is no longer clear, as 288 dubious laws slyly crafted by the right have decimated access. While a watershed Supreme Court battle looms, witness the human stakes of the right to choose.
"Under the Gun"
D: Stephanie Soechtig | USA | 2016 | 110 min | International Premiere
With razor-sharp arguments and insight, Stephanie Soechtig and Katie Couric (the team behind Fed Up) craft a gripping indictment of American gun culture, meeting communities shattered by shootings and exposing the politics that allow the epidemic of violence to persist.
- 4/6/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Toronto's own Hot Docs Film Festival has announced the addition of 14 documentary features that will screen as part of this year’s Special Presentations program. Per the festival, Special Presentations section "features a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award winners from the recent international festival circuit and works by master filmmakers or featuring some star subjects." This year's picks are rife with captivating subjects, from Bobby Sands to David Byrne, Brian De Palma to Mel Brooks. This portion of the slate also includes a number of award-winning docs, including Sundance winners "Sonita," "Trapped" and "Life, Animated." Read More: 8 Great Documentary Discoveries from Hot Docs 2015 The 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival will run from April 28 - May 8 in Toronto. The complete Special Presentations program and the full selection of films set to screen at the...
- 3/15/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Earlier this spring, it was revealed that "Shame" and "12 Years A Slave" helmer Steve McQueen had directed a music video for Kanye West's upcoming album, the currently titled Swish, and it has already screened at Paris Fashion Week. Now, the video is slated to make its stateside debut this weekend at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a few more details have been revealed about the promo. The New York Times reports that the video runs 9-minutes long, and most intriguingly, it's done in a single-take as Yeezy "runs, crouches, dodges, raps, rants, sweats and pants, as if being pursued by the camera or the police or in pursuit himself, until he slumps against the wall to catch his breath." It would appear the mini-movie of sorts will feature two songs, "All Day" and "I Feel Like That," and basically, I can't wait to see it. McQueen...
- 7/20/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Documentary festival to include a Q&A with CitizenFour director Laura Poitras and a strand dedicated to women in docs.
The 27th edition of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) (Nov 19-30) opened last night with the world premiere of Heddy Honigmann’s Around the World in 50 Concerts - made to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
With guests ranging from Naomi Klein and British director Nick Broomfield to Star Trek’s George Takei, Jay Jay French from Twisted Sister and documentary legend D.A. Pennebaker, this year’s edition is shaping up to be a typically lively affair.
Idfa is also a key industry event. Over 300 distributors, sales agents and festival programmers are registered for the annual “Docs For Sales” bazaar.
Meanwhile, the Forum, Idfa’s co-financing and coproduction market, will kickstart a number of new projects, among them Heddy Honigmann’s latest doc 100Up, a film about people from around the world who are...
The 27th edition of International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) (Nov 19-30) opened last night with the world premiere of Heddy Honigmann’s Around the World in 50 Concerts - made to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
With guests ranging from Naomi Klein and British director Nick Broomfield to Star Trek’s George Takei, Jay Jay French from Twisted Sister and documentary legend D.A. Pennebaker, this year’s edition is shaping up to be a typically lively affair.
Idfa is also a key industry event. Over 300 distributors, sales agents and festival programmers are registered for the annual “Docs For Sales” bazaar.
Meanwhile, the Forum, Idfa’s co-financing and coproduction market, will kickstart a number of new projects, among them Heddy Honigmann’s latest doc 100Up, a film about people from around the world who are...
- 11/20/2014
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Projects range from a film about centenarians to documentaries about renowned hunger striker Bobby Sands, Winnie Mandela, Ratko Mladic and Madonna’s backing dancers.Scroll down for full list of projects
Idfa (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) has unveiled the 50 titles that will be presented at its international co-finance and production market, the Idfa Forum (Nov 24-26).
At the market, filmmakers and producers will present their documentary projects to commissioning editors from international television stations and other financiers with the aim of completing finance for their documentary projects.
A total of 50 projects have been selected for the upcoming Idfa Forum, including new projects by Heddy Honigmann, Janus Metz and Vitaly Mansky.
The Idfa 2014 programme contains 17 documentaries that were presented as projects at previous editions of the Idfa Forum.
Projects selected for this year’s Idfa Forum will be pitched in a variety of settings: the central pitches in the main auditorium of the Compagnietheater, the round table...
Idfa (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) has unveiled the 50 titles that will be presented at its international co-finance and production market, the Idfa Forum (Nov 24-26).
At the market, filmmakers and producers will present their documentary projects to commissioning editors from international television stations and other financiers with the aim of completing finance for their documentary projects.
A total of 50 projects have been selected for the upcoming Idfa Forum, including new projects by Heddy Honigmann, Janus Metz and Vitaly Mansky.
The Idfa 2014 programme contains 17 documentaries that were presented as projects at previous editions of the Idfa Forum.
Projects selected for this year’s Idfa Forum will be pitched in a variety of settings: the central pitches in the main auditorium of the Compagnietheater, the round table...
- 10/14/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The European Film Academy will honor Steve McQueen with its award for European Achievement in World Cinema. The U.K. director will be celebrated for a career that began making shorts as a video artist before a hugely successful move into feature films, starting with 2008's Hunger, dramatizing the final months of hunger strike by Ira activist Bobby Sands and proving a breakout film for Michael Fassbender, and moving onto Shame, which won numerous international awards. McQueen's third film 12 Years a Slave picked up three Oscars at the last Academy Awards, including Best Film, and has to date earned
read more...
read more...
- 9/29/2014
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In a development that feels more inevitable than surprising, Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are in talks to get back into the Bourne business. The two had sent mixed messages over the years, ever since Jason Bourne disappeared in the murky East River at the end of The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, with the major roadblock being Damon’s insistence that a reluctant Greenglass direct, while Universal handed the franchise over to writer-turned-director Tony Gilroy. But with Gilroy’s Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner, failing to live up to the original three Bourne films at the box office, and Damon’s recent non-Bourne projects,...
- 9/17/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
For this week’s spotlight piece, I wanted to take a look at one of the business’s hottest names…one Michael Fassbender. In a rather short period of time, he’s gone from a character actor to a critical darling to a superstar, with an Academy Award nomination thrown in there for good measure (along with a few Oscar snubs as well). Fassbender is arguably one of Hollywood’s most talented actors, so it’s great to see him continually display it in interesting and unique projects. He’s a definite A-lister, likely to go down as an all time great when all is said and done, so he’s perfect for this column! Fassbender got his start on television, first coming on to my radar with HBO’s landmark miniseries Band of Brothers. There were other small TV projects (both miniseries and movies, as well as full on...
- 8/14/2014
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
It's been a good year so far for Michael Fassbender. He earned his long-overdue first Oscar nomination for 12 Years a Slave, recently wrapped one of the great Shakespearean tragedies, and will soon reprise his fan favourite role of Magneto in X-Men sequel Days of Future Past.
He's also winning yet more universal critical acclaim for his performance as the eccentric, papier-mâché head-wearing title character of Lenny Abrahamson's Frank, which is released in UK cinemas this week.
To celebrate his current hot streak, Digital Spy looks back on Fassbender's five greatest roles to date.
Hunger (2008)
After close to a decade of under-the-radar TV work, Fassbender's breakthrough performance came with first-time director Steve McQueen, who would go on to become something like the Scorsese to his De Niro. Fassbender's raw performance as Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands is what anchors McQueen's breathlessly powerful and near-silent chronicle of a terrible piece of history.
He's also winning yet more universal critical acclaim for his performance as the eccentric, papier-mâché head-wearing title character of Lenny Abrahamson's Frank, which is released in UK cinemas this week.
To celebrate his current hot streak, Digital Spy looks back on Fassbender's five greatest roles to date.
Hunger (2008)
After close to a decade of under-the-radar TV work, Fassbender's breakthrough performance came with first-time director Steve McQueen, who would go on to become something like the Scorsese to his De Niro. Fassbender's raw performance as Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands is what anchors McQueen's breathlessly powerful and near-silent chronicle of a terrible piece of history.
- 5/7/2014
- Digital Spy
Director Steve McQueen's first feature film, about Bobby Sands and the 1981 hunger strike, captures the humanity and brutality on both sides of the conflict in the Hm Prison Maze
• Steve McQueen: my hidden shame
Hunger (2008)
Director: Steve McQueen
Entertainment grade: B+
History grade: B+
Bobby Sands was a member of the Provisional Ira. He led a hunger strike against conditions in Hm Prison Maze, Northern Ireland, in 1981.
Chronology
12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen's first feature film opens with a prison warder (Stuart Graham) going to work. We see snatches of his day: checking under his car for bombs, washing his bloodied knuckles in a sink, smoking a cigarette outside in the snow with large sweat stains on his shirt for reasons yet unknown. The voice of Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister, is heard: "There's no such thing as political murder, political bombing or political violence. There is only criminal murder,...
• Steve McQueen: my hidden shame
Hunger (2008)
Director: Steve McQueen
Entertainment grade: B+
History grade: B+
Bobby Sands was a member of the Provisional Ira. He led a hunger strike against conditions in Hm Prison Maze, Northern Ireland, in 1981.
Chronology
12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen's first feature film opens with a prison warder (Stuart Graham) going to work. We see snatches of his day: checking under his car for bombs, washing his bloodied knuckles in a sink, smoking a cigarette outside in the snow with large sweat stains on his shirt for reasons yet unknown. The voice of Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister, is heard: "There's no such thing as political murder, political bombing or political violence. There is only criminal murder,...
- 3/6/2014
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
“Man, that plausible creature whose wagging tongue so often hides the despair and darkness in his heart” Dennis Wrong
What makes a monster? What makes a man? In the filmic worlds of London born director, Steve McQueen, many tortured attributes and twisted ailments of masculinity intersect to form a deeply unsettling, yet unflinchingly candid, portrayal of male protagonists. The man McQueen has so often, and so memorably, chosen to depict these fractured representations is no other than Michael Fassbender. From Hunger, to Shame, to McQueen’s latest masterpiece, 12 Years a Slave, the partnership of McQueen and Fassbender has given rise to some unforgettably provocative characters – all of whom we witness in a physical and mental state of flux. We watch them battle with both themselves and the environments which they inhabit. Whether it’s the sleepless neon avenues of New York City, the cold cement and steel of a Northern Irish prison,...
What makes a monster? What makes a man? In the filmic worlds of London born director, Steve McQueen, many tortured attributes and twisted ailments of masculinity intersect to form a deeply unsettling, yet unflinchingly candid, portrayal of male protagonists. The man McQueen has so often, and so memorably, chosen to depict these fractured representations is no other than Michael Fassbender. From Hunger, to Shame, to McQueen’s latest masterpiece, 12 Years a Slave, the partnership of McQueen and Fassbender has given rise to some unforgettably provocative characters – all of whom we witness in a physical and mental state of flux. We watch them battle with both themselves and the environments which they inhabit. Whether it’s the sleepless neon avenues of New York City, the cold cement and steel of a Northern Irish prison,...
- 2/28/2014
- by Brody Rossiter
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The idea that only a British director such as Steve McQueen with British stars could have made Hollywood confront America's slavery legacy is a popular one with fans of UK cinema. But is there any foundation for it?
The bookies, at least, are of one mind: Sunday's Oscars victor will be either Gravity or 12 Years a Slave. The space spectacular must surely rank as the greatest-ever achievement of British film craftsmanship; the Louisiana-set drama doesn't even qualify as a UK film. Nonetheless, Britain's cinema chauvinists aren't all rooting for Gravity. There is something about its rival that inspires yet fiercer patriotism.
Of course, unlike Gravity, Slave features British stars. But that doesn't fully explain its hold on British hearts. Something else is involved: after decades of guilty silence from Hollywood, many believe, a British director has laid bare America's historic shame. Steve McQueen's feat is thus a rare transatlantic putdown of the swaggering yanks.
The bookies, at least, are of one mind: Sunday's Oscars victor will be either Gravity or 12 Years a Slave. The space spectacular must surely rank as the greatest-ever achievement of British film craftsmanship; the Louisiana-set drama doesn't even qualify as a UK film. Nonetheless, Britain's cinema chauvinists aren't all rooting for Gravity. There is something about its rival that inspires yet fiercer patriotism.
Of course, unlike Gravity, Slave features British stars. But that doesn't fully explain its hold on British hearts. Something else is involved: after decades of guilty silence from Hollywood, many believe, a British director has laid bare America's historic shame. Steve McQueen's feat is thus a rare transatlantic putdown of the swaggering yanks.
- 2/28/2014
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
Brutal slavery movie marks another collaboration between this news cameraman turned cinematographer and the Turner Prize-winning artist and film-maker Steve McQueen
"The beauty about Steve McQueen," says Sean Bobbitt, "is his collaboration. He picks people who he respects and trust; he briefs them very clearly and let's them get on with it. That's for every department, from cinematography to hair and makeup. In all these things he has the final say, but he lets you go. Because of that, working with him is incredibly rewarding. When you are allowed to be brave, it is so exciting."
Bobbitt, we can assume, knows whereof he speaks: he has shot all three of McQueen's features – Hunger, Shame and now 12 Years a Slave – as well as five of McQueen's gallery shorts, dating back to 2002's Western Deep, shot in South Africa inside the world's deepest gold mine. He is clear that it is McQueen's...
"The beauty about Steve McQueen," says Sean Bobbitt, "is his collaboration. He picks people who he respects and trust; he briefs them very clearly and let's them get on with it. That's for every department, from cinematography to hair and makeup. In all these things he has the final say, but he lets you go. Because of that, working with him is incredibly rewarding. When you are allowed to be brave, it is so exciting."
Bobbitt, we can assume, knows whereof he speaks: he has shot all three of McQueen's features – Hunger, Shame and now 12 Years a Slave – as well as five of McQueen's gallery shorts, dating back to 2002's Western Deep, shot in South Africa inside the world's deepest gold mine. He is clear that it is McQueen's...
- 1/9/2014
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Theatrical hell-raisers and the art world's enfants terribles take centre stage in our roundup of the biggest risk-takers of 2014
Theatre
Oh! What a Lovely War
Theatre-maker Joan Littlewood was a visionary, an iconoclast and a subversive. Her 1963 "documentary collage" about the bitter ironies of the first world war was way ahead of its time, using popular period song and hard-hitting testimony. Lyn Gardner Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15 (020-8534 0310), 1 February to 15 May.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's dark tale as you've never seen it before, taking place in a secret location from dawn to dusk. Party with Duncan, bed down in Macbeth's castle on the 27th floor of a tower block, glimpse the witches in an underground car park, and join the feast at which Banquo will be an uninvited guest. The spectres will be bloody – but the food will be vegetarian. LG Secret location, London, 4 April to 31 May.
Grit
This...
Theatre
Oh! What a Lovely War
Theatre-maker Joan Littlewood was a visionary, an iconoclast and a subversive. Her 1963 "documentary collage" about the bitter ironies of the first world war was way ahead of its time, using popular period song and hard-hitting testimony. Lyn Gardner Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15 (020-8534 0310), 1 February to 15 May.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's dark tale as you've never seen it before, taking place in a secret location from dawn to dusk. Party with Duncan, bed down in Macbeth's castle on the 27th floor of a tower block, glimpse the witches in an underground car park, and join the feast at which Banquo will be an uninvited guest. The spectres will be bloody – but the food will be vegetarian. LG Secret location, London, 4 April to 31 May.
Grit
This...
- 1/1/2014
- by Lyn Gardner, Andrew Dickson, Jonathan Jones, Adrian Searle, Imogen Tilden, Andrew Clements, Tom Service, Mark Lawson, Tim Jonze, Brian Logan, Oliver Wainwright, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, Henry Barnes, Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
Although the latest Turner prize went to a video artist, the 12 Years a Slave director shows that the art form is just a finishing school for serious film-making
The rise of video and film art appears irresistible. The Turner prize has just been given to a video for the second year in a row.
Yet in spite of the successes of Laure Prouvost and Elizabeth Price, the triumph of video art is an illusion. It is not a stable, enduring art form; it may not even be an art form at all. It is in reality an experimental space at the margins of a much bigger culture of the moving image – a place for talented film-makers to mess around with a freedom they could never enjoy in commercial cinema or mainstream television, but which the true artists among them hunger to apply in those bigger, more important arenas.
For it...
The rise of video and film art appears irresistible. The Turner prize has just been given to a video for the second year in a row.
Yet in spite of the successes of Laure Prouvost and Elizabeth Price, the triumph of video art is an illusion. It is not a stable, enduring art form; it may not even be an art form at all. It is in reality an experimental space at the margins of a much bigger culture of the moving image – a place for talented film-makers to mess around with a freedom they could never enjoy in commercial cinema or mainstream television, but which the true artists among them hunger to apply in those bigger, more important arenas.
For it...
- 12/6/2013
- by Jonathan Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
The 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will present Steve McQueen with the Director of the Year Award for his critically-acclaimed slavery epic “12 Years a Slave.” “12 Years a Slave” follows the incredible true story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), born a free man and living with his wife and children in upstate New York only to be abruptly and brutally drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana. The film chronicles Solomon’s everlasting will and struggle through his harrowing predicament to survive and return to his family unharmed and free of his shackles.The film is directed by McQueen and in addition to Ejiofor, stars Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt and others. Having marked his first feature debut with the Bobby Sands I.R.A drama “Hunger”, which won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, McQueen has only sharpened...
- 11/21/2013
- by Ramzi De Coster
- Indiewire
So, James Franco has seen "12 Years A Slave" three times already. And after the second viewing, he penned a review for Vice because that's what he does sometimes these days. And leave it to Franco to reference Alexis de Tocqueville and two of his own movies ("Homefront," "This Is The End") in the process. But he also talks about "12 Years A Slave," the book versus the movie and the previous movies of director Steve McQueen, notably "Shame," which Franco has some problems with. Mostly, he thinks being a sex addict probably isn't so bad, and more crucially, he thinks the downward spiral culminating in a gay sex club visit during the third act was a bit offensive: Watch Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years a Slave. He has been in every McQueen film to date—did McQueen’s parents like the actor Steve McQueen? Just wondering...—first as the hunger striker,...
- 11/15/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
What makes a great performance? Acting is such a subtle and mysterious art form that sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on all of the minute nuances that elevate a good portrayal to a great one. Maybe that’s why so many of us get so worked up into a tizzy when we see a movie star drop a ton of weight for a role. It’s something we can see, something we can explain in raw numbers.
Robert De Niro gained 60 pounds of Method flab to play the past-his-prime middleweight lug Jake Lamotta in Raging Bull. Michael Fassbender...
Robert De Niro gained 60 pounds of Method flab to play the past-his-prime middleweight lug Jake Lamotta in Raging Bull. Michael Fassbender...
- 11/3/2013
- by Chris Nashawaty
- EW.com - PopWatch
Director: Steve McQueen; Screenwriter John Ridley; Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt; Running time: 133 mins; Certificate: 15
It will come as no surprise that Steve McQueen's real-life chronicle of a free man sold into slavery is a remarkable, unflinching, breathlessly affecting drama, the kind of film that leaves you winded. What's surprising is how few of McQueen's fingerprints are visible on 12 Years a Slave. The director's previous films have centred on a laser-focused portrait of a single character – Hunger's ardent Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands, and Shame's self-punishing sex addict Brandon – and the uncomfortable intimacy of these portrayals is a McQueen staple.
The 1840s-set story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who has his freedom, his family and even his name stripped from him in a single fateful evening, seems to offer the opportunity for another such rigorous character study. But this is overall a much broader,...
It will come as no surprise that Steve McQueen's real-life chronicle of a free man sold into slavery is a remarkable, unflinching, breathlessly affecting drama, the kind of film that leaves you winded. What's surprising is how few of McQueen's fingerprints are visible on 12 Years a Slave. The director's previous films have centred on a laser-focused portrait of a single character – Hunger's ardent Ira hunger striker Bobby Sands, and Shame's self-punishing sex addict Brandon – and the uncomfortable intimacy of these portrayals is a McQueen staple.
The 1840s-set story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who has his freedom, his family and even his name stripped from him in a single fateful evening, seems to offer the opportunity for another such rigorous character study. But this is overall a much broader,...
- 10/18/2013
- Digital Spy
The actor describes the process as 'a grind' in an interview to publicise the film
• News: Michael Fassbender says no to Oscar campaign
• News: 12 Years a Slave a 'torch' for race relations, says Steve McQueen
Age: 36.
Appearance: Nope, he won't be making one of those.
Excuse me? The lantern-jawed hottie of an Irish-German movie star has announced that he is "too busy working" to take part in the screenings and interviews that campaigning for an Oscar nomination requires, despite being hotly tipped for his role as a sadistic plantation owner in British director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave.
Hold on. How do we know this? He told GQ. "It's just a grind," quoth he.
Didn't that interview publicise 12 Years a Slave? Now you mention it, yes it did. Mind you, perhaps his aversion to Oscar campaigning is understandable. Joaquin Phoenix called the Academy awards "the worst-tasting carrot I've ever...
• News: Michael Fassbender says no to Oscar campaign
• News: 12 Years a Slave a 'torch' for race relations, says Steve McQueen
Age: 36.
Appearance: Nope, he won't be making one of those.
Excuse me? The lantern-jawed hottie of an Irish-German movie star has announced that he is "too busy working" to take part in the screenings and interviews that campaigning for an Oscar nomination requires, despite being hotly tipped for his role as a sadistic plantation owner in British director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave.
Hold on. How do we know this? He told GQ. "It's just a grind," quoth he.
Didn't that interview publicise 12 Years a Slave? Now you mention it, yes it did. Mind you, perhaps his aversion to Oscar campaigning is understandable. Joaquin Phoenix called the Academy awards "the worst-tasting carrot I've ever...
- 10/16/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
John Ridley has been honing his craft for years, apprenticing with John Wells on "Third Watch," through multiple movie scripts ("U-Turn," "Red Tails") and television series ("Barbershop," "Platinum") to his first feature "Cold Around the Heart." He wrote the script for Oscar frontrunner "12 Years a Slave" as well as his sophomore directing effort, Jimi Hendrix slice-of-life "All Is by My Side," which was picked up by Open Road after a successful debut at the Toronto Film Festival. Anne Thompson: "12 Years a Slave" blew me away, and I'm not the only one. What brought you to the film? John Ridley: Five years ago now, "Hunger" was screening at CAA and I was invited to the screening. I'd also given Steve McQueen a manuscript I'd written. I thought "Hunger" was truly a phenomenal film and as a kid I had been interested in Bobby Sands as well. When you're a kid...
- 10/16/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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