Free Streaming
Freely, the new free streaming service backed by Britain’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) that delivers live TV over broadband, has launched. The initiative is from Everyone TV, the organization which runs free TV in the U.K. and is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Paramount Global’s Channel 5. Announced last year, the service allows viewers to browse and watch live TV channels together with on-demand content streamed to their smart TV via the internet. Freely will be built-in to the next generation of smart TVs and features a lineup of public service broadcaster content and other free-to-air channels.
Content from Stv and S4C, free-to-air public service broadcasters for Scotland and Wales respectively, is also available on Freely. Hisense, previously announced as the first Freely smart TV partner, brings Freely TVs to market today. TiVo will be offering Freely as part of its TiVo Os platform.
Freely, the new free streaming service backed by Britain’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) that delivers live TV over broadband, has launched. The initiative is from Everyone TV, the organization which runs free TV in the U.K. and is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Paramount Global’s Channel 5. Announced last year, the service allows viewers to browse and watch live TV channels together with on-demand content streamed to their smart TV via the internet. Freely will be built-in to the next generation of smart TVs and features a lineup of public service broadcaster content and other free-to-air channels.
Content from Stv and S4C, free-to-air public service broadcasters for Scotland and Wales respectively, is also available on Freely. Hisense, previously announced as the first Freely smart TV partner, brings Freely TVs to market today. TiVo will be offering Freely as part of its TiVo Os platform.
- 4/30/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Four African screenwriters will pitch stories spanning genres at the 15th edition of Series Mania in Lille, France.
Pitching this year are Kelly-Eve Koopman (South Africa) with urban fantasy “Facing the Mountain”; Moreetsi Gabang (Botswana) with crime drama “Outreach”; Tiah Beye (Senegal/Côte d’Ivoire) with comedy-drama “Brouteure” (“The Yahoo Girl”); and Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya) with political satire “Serikali Saidia!”
The shows are under the aegis of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters from Realness Institute. The lab, now in its third year, supports the professional development of creators of serial content, designed in collaboration and presented in partnership with the StoryBoard Collective with support of Series Mania Forum, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Institute of South Africa (Ifas).
The projects presented in 2023 tasted success. “At the 2023 Series Mania, all four of the AuthenticA Series Lab writers’ stories were...
Pitching this year are Kelly-Eve Koopman (South Africa) with urban fantasy “Facing the Mountain”; Moreetsi Gabang (Botswana) with crime drama “Outreach”; Tiah Beye (Senegal/Côte d’Ivoire) with comedy-drama “Brouteure” (“The Yahoo Girl”); and Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya) with political satire “Serikali Saidia!”
The shows are under the aegis of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters from Realness Institute. The lab, now in its third year, supports the professional development of creators of serial content, designed in collaboration and presented in partnership with the StoryBoard Collective with support of Series Mania Forum, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Institute of South Africa (Ifas).
The projects presented in 2023 tasted success. “At the 2023 Series Mania, all four of the AuthenticA Series Lab writers’ stories were...
- 3/17/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Realness Institute collaborating with Brazil’s Projeto Paradiso on this year’s cohort.
African filmmaking agency Realness Institute has selected 15 film producers for the third edition of its Creative Producer Indaba (Cpi), a lab for developing entrepreneurial, leadership and creative skills among producers looking to work on the continent.
Ten of the selected producers are from Africa; five of them will attend the lab with projects, with the other five looking for next films and using the lab to network. The African participants include Tapiwa Chipufa from Zimbabwe, who is working on The Other Half Of The African Sky, billed...
African filmmaking agency Realness Institute has selected 15 film producers for the third edition of its Creative Producer Indaba (Cpi), a lab for developing entrepreneurial, leadership and creative skills among producers looking to work on the continent.
Ten of the selected producers are from Africa; five of them will attend the lab with projects, with the other five looking for next films and using the lab to network. The African participants include Tapiwa Chipufa from Zimbabwe, who is working on The Other Half Of The African Sky, billed...
- 10/30/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Four African screenwriters have been chosen for the second edition of the scheme.
Four African screenwriters have been selected for the second edition of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a development programme from South Africa-based Realness Institute.
The selected writers for the 2023 edition include Tiah Beye, a writer from Senegal and the Ivory Coast who is now based in France. Beye graduated from Kourtajme School, a free film school in Paris founded by French filmmaker Ladj Ly; she has also participated in Netflix’s Grow Creatives programme, which aims to improve diversity and inclusion in the international industry.
Kenyan writer Wanjiru Kairu...
Four African screenwriters have been selected for the second edition of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a development programme from South Africa-based Realness Institute.
The selected writers for the 2023 edition include Tiah Beye, a writer from Senegal and the Ivory Coast who is now based in France. Beye graduated from Kourtajme School, a free film school in Paris founded by French filmmaker Ladj Ly; she has also participated in Netflix’s Grow Creatives programme, which aims to improve diversity and inclusion in the international industry.
Kenyan writer Wanjiru Kairu...
- 9/12/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Africa-based filmmaker development organization Realness Institute has unveiled its next wave of initiatives as part of Mip Africa and Fame Week.
As part of the event, which is now in its second year in Cape Town, South Africa, alumni of six Realness Institute programs will pitch their films and television series to the market in The Film Pitch and The Episodic Pitch forums. Alongside this, the current cohort of the Institute’s Southern Africa Locarno Industry Academy (Salia) have programmed and co-organized the Fame Week Africa Short Film Festival.
Writer-directors from the seventh edition of the Realness African Screenwriters’ Residency program, which has nurtured films that have completed and been awarded at Sundance, Berlinale and Toronto among others, will be pitching. The residency has supported 48 feature films from 21 countries across the continent so far. This year’s cohort are from Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa and have just completed six weeks of creative incubation.
As part of the event, which is now in its second year in Cape Town, South Africa, alumni of six Realness Institute programs will pitch their films and television series to the market in The Film Pitch and The Episodic Pitch forums. Alongside this, the current cohort of the Institute’s Southern Africa Locarno Industry Academy (Salia) have programmed and co-organized the Fame Week Africa Short Film Festival.
Writer-directors from the seventh edition of the Realness African Screenwriters’ Residency program, which has nurtured films that have completed and been awarded at Sundance, Berlinale and Toronto among others, will be pitching. The residency has supported 48 feature films from 21 countries across the continent so far. This year’s cohort are from Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa and have just completed six weeks of creative incubation.
- 9/1/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Speakers include Guillermo del Toro, Ladj Ly, Nadine Labaki, Viggo Mortenson, Jeremy Thomas.
TIFF top brass have unveiled the bulk of the TIFF Industry Conference line-up with sessions and speakers including Spike Lee, Lucy Walker, AI and film, and African cinema and film industries.
The Conference is divided into six sections and encompasses Doc Day and the new Sloane science and technology project pitch initiative funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Public Understanding of Science and Technology programme.
Besides Lee and Walker, whose acquisition title Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa will premiere in TIFF Docs, speakers include Guillermo del Toro,...
TIFF top brass have unveiled the bulk of the TIFF Industry Conference line-up with sessions and speakers including Spike Lee, Lucy Walker, AI and film, and African cinema and film industries.
The Conference is divided into six sections and encompasses Doc Day and the new Sloane science and technology project pitch initiative funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Public Understanding of Science and Technology programme.
Besides Lee and Walker, whose acquisition title Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa will premiere in TIFF Docs, speakers include Guillermo del Toro,...
- 8/14/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Cannes Docs, the Marché du Film sidebar dedicated to documentary film, has unveiled the line-up of its Doc Day, which unspools on May 23, as the final event in at Cannes Docs.
Veteran U.S. cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, president of Cannes Festival’s Œil d’or Jury which hands out an award to the best doc in Cannes’ Official Selection, will open the morning session in a conversation with writer, director and producer Guetty Felin.
Entitled “Cinema and the Pleasures of the Impossible,” it will explore the many ways filmmaking creates possibilities to search for the invisible, to bring life to the dead and to time travel in their lives.
“It’s an exciting and side-stepping angle compared to usual industry talks,” explains the head of Cannes Docs Pierre-Alexis Chevit, “which we really like at Cannes Docs, because that is what we’re trying to do: Offer talks...
Veteran U.S. cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Kirsten Johnson, president of Cannes Festival’s Œil d’or Jury which hands out an award to the best doc in Cannes’ Official Selection, will open the morning session in a conversation with writer, director and producer Guetty Felin.
Entitled “Cinema and the Pleasures of the Impossible,” it will explore the many ways filmmaking creates possibilities to search for the invisible, to bring life to the dead and to time travel in their lives.
“It’s an exciting and side-stepping angle compared to usual industry talks,” explains the head of Cannes Docs Pierre-Alexis Chevit, “which we really like at Cannes Docs, because that is what we’re trying to do: Offer talks...
- 5/12/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
The Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy will be hosted with Fame Week in September.
Africa filmmaking agency Realness Institute is connecting two of its initiatives and launching a third in partnership with Fame Week Africa, a September market event for African creatives.
Realness’ Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, and the seventh edition of its Screenwriters’ Residency, will now be hosted at Fame Week Africa, which launched last year and holds its 2023 edition from September 3-9 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Institute has also launched Episodic Pitches, a pitching event for series that will look to unite the concepts developed across Realness...
Africa filmmaking agency Realness Institute is connecting two of its initiatives and launching a third in partnership with Fame Week Africa, a September market event for African creatives.
Realness’ Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, and the seventh edition of its Screenwriters’ Residency, will now be hosted at Fame Week Africa, which launched last year and holds its 2023 edition from September 3-9 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Institute has also launched Episodic Pitches, a pitching event for series that will look to unite the concepts developed across Realness...
- 4/18/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Four African episodic screenwriters will take the stage Tuesday at Series Mania to pitch the genre-flavored series they currently have in development, a crop of shows that reflect the rich and fertile landscape for African series creators looking to tap into the global TV market.
The shows are created by the first graduating class of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters launched last year by Realness Institute in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organization The StoryBoard Collective and Series Mania.
The four participants have spent the past six months in a collaborative environment that included both online workshops and residencies in South Africa and Switzerland, while attending masterclasses with leading industry professionals and working with a mentoring team comprised of creative producer Mehret Mandefro and story expert Selina Ukwuoma.
The four creators have each developed a bible and a pilot episode that they’ll be presenting...
The shows are created by the first graduating class of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters launched last year by Realness Institute in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organization The StoryBoard Collective and Series Mania.
The four participants have spent the past six months in a collaborative environment that included both online workshops and residencies in South Africa and Switzerland, while attending masterclasses with leading industry professionals and working with a mentoring team comprised of creative producer Mehret Mandefro and story expert Selina Ukwuoma.
The four creators have each developed a bible and a pilot episode that they’ll be presenting...
- 3/20/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Lab takes place at Marrakech, Rotterdam film festivals.
Africa filmmaking agency Realness Institute has selected 15 participants for its second Creative Producer Indaba, a lab for developing entrepreneurial, leadership and creative skills among producers looking to work on the continent.
The scheme is presented in partnership with European training body Eave, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s industry platform IFFR Pro, and Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops.
Scroll down for the list of selected producers
The 2022 lab will take place online from November 14-17 as part of the Atlas Workshops; then in person at IFFR in January and February 2023.
Its programme includes workshops,...
Africa filmmaking agency Realness Institute has selected 15 participants for its second Creative Producer Indaba, a lab for developing entrepreneurial, leadership and creative skills among producers looking to work on the continent.
The scheme is presented in partnership with European training body Eave, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s industry platform IFFR Pro, and Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops.
Scroll down for the list of selected producers
The 2022 lab will take place online from November 14-17 as part of the Atlas Workshops; then in person at IFFR in January and February 2023.
Its programme includes workshops,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Lab takes place at Marrakech, Rotterdam film festivals.
Africa filmmaking agency Realness Institute has selected 15 participants for its second Creative Producer Indaba, a lab for developing entrepreneurial, leadership and creative skills among producers looking to work on the continent.
The scheme is presented in partnership with European training body Eave, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s industry platform IFFR Pro, and Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops.
Scroll down for the list of selected producers
The 2022 lab will take place online from November 14-17 as part of the Atlas Workshops; then in person at IFFR in January and February 2023.
Its programme includes workshops,...
Africa filmmaking agency Realness Institute has selected 15 participants for its second Creative Producer Indaba, a lab for developing entrepreneurial, leadership and creative skills among producers looking to work on the continent.
The scheme is presented in partnership with European training body Eave, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s industry platform IFFR Pro, and Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops.
Scroll down for the list of selected producers
The 2022 lab will take place online from November 14-17 as part of the Atlas Workshops; then in person at IFFR in January and February 2023.
Its programme includes workshops,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Kenya’s Angela Wamai, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Ghana’s Jessica Hagan and Nigeria’s Tony Sebastian Ukpo have been selected.
Realness Institute, the African non-profit filmmaking organisation, has unveiled the four participants in AuthenticA Series Lab, a training programme for African episodic screenwriters.
The programme is run in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The StoryBoard Collective and French TV industry and festival event Series Mania.
The four participants are Kenya’s Angela Wamai, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Ghana’s Jessica Hagan and Nigeria’s Tony Sebastian Ukpo.
The six-month lab will start at the end of September,...
Realness Institute, the African non-profit filmmaking organisation, has unveiled the four participants in AuthenticA Series Lab, a training programme for African episodic screenwriters.
The programme is run in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The StoryBoard Collective and French TV industry and festival event Series Mania.
The four participants are Kenya’s Angela Wamai, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Ghana’s Jessica Hagan and Nigeria’s Tony Sebastian Ukpo.
The six-month lab will start at the end of September,...
- 9/6/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Kenya’s Angela Wamai, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Ghana’s Jessica Hagan and Nigeria’s Tony Sebastian Ukpo have been selected.
Realness Institute, the African non-profit filmmaking organisation, has unveiled the four participants in AuthenticA Series Lab, a training programme for African episodic screenwriters.
The programme is run in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The StoryBoard Collective and French TV industry and festival event Series Mania.
The four participants are Kenya’s Angela Wamai, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Ghana’s Jessica Hagan and Nigeria’s Tony Sebastian Ukpo.
The six-month lab will start at the end of September,...
Realness Institute, the African non-profit filmmaking organisation, has unveiled the four participants in AuthenticA Series Lab, a training programme for African episodic screenwriters.
The programme is run in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The StoryBoard Collective and French TV industry and festival event Series Mania.
The four participants are Kenya’s Angela Wamai, South Africa’s Chantel Clark, Ghana’s Jessica Hagan and Nigeria’s Tony Sebastian Ukpo.
The six-month lab will start at the end of September,...
- 9/6/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Six participants on each programme, receiving 2,000 monthly stipend.
African development organisation the Realness Institute has selected 12 participants for its 2022 Episodic Lab and Development Executive Traineeship, in partnership with Netflix.
The six writers selected for the Episodic Lab are: Hussein Kurji with Bushcamp (Kenya), Khanyo Mjamba with Byline (South Africa), Mlilo Mpondo with Bayeti-Visitors (South Africa), Neo Sibiya with Ukushona Kwelanga (The Setting of The Sun) (South Africa), Sandra Madu with From Lagos with Love (Nigeria) and Voline Ogutu with Dilemma (Kenya).
The 12 participants will each receive a monthly stipend of 2,000 from May through July, to cover personal expenses as they...
African development organisation the Realness Institute has selected 12 participants for its 2022 Episodic Lab and Development Executive Traineeship, in partnership with Netflix.
The six writers selected for the Episodic Lab are: Hussein Kurji with Bushcamp (Kenya), Khanyo Mjamba with Byline (South Africa), Mlilo Mpondo with Bayeti-Visitors (South Africa), Neo Sibiya with Ukushona Kwelanga (The Setting of The Sun) (South Africa), Sandra Madu with From Lagos with Love (Nigeria) and Voline Ogutu with Dilemma (Kenya).
The 12 participants will each receive a monthly stipend of 2,000 from May through July, to cover personal expenses as they...
- 5/3/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The six-month programme takes place in South Africa and Switzerland.
Realness Institute, the African non-profit filmmaking organisation, has opened submissions for a training programme for African episodic screenwriters titled AuthenticA Series Lab.
The programme is run in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The StoryBoard Collective and Series Mania.
AuthenticA is open to all African nationals. The six-month programme is set to take place between September 28 2022 and April 7 2023, and will consist of online and in-person sessions for four writers, with sessions taking place in South Africa and Switzerland. The participants will be able to pitch their projects at the Series Mania...
Realness Institute, the African non-profit filmmaking organisation, has opened submissions for a training programme for African episodic screenwriters titled AuthenticA Series Lab.
The programme is run in partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organisation The StoryBoard Collective and Series Mania.
AuthenticA is open to all African nationals. The six-month programme is set to take place between September 28 2022 and April 7 2023, and will consist of online and in-person sessions for four writers, with sessions taking place in South Africa and Switzerland. The participants will be able to pitch their projects at the Series Mania...
- 4/20/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films announced 12 filmmakers who will be in the next batch to receive support for their projects, along with eight films selected to receive unrestricted and non-recoupable grants totaling $255,000, through the Sandbox Fund.
The Sandbox Fund aims to elevate the voices of independent artists working in the realm of science and nonfiction storytelling as they produce and promote work and discourse the highlights that overlap science and art in the U.S. and abroad.
The filmmakers and projects receiving grants are Márton Vizkelety and Zoltán Moll’s “Give Love Create,” Lacey Schwartz Delgado and Mehret Mandefro’s “How Free People Think,” Tasha Van Zandt’s “A Life Illuminated” and Eleanor Mortimer’s Untitled Deep Sea Taxonomy Documentary. Also in the group are Leandro Listorti’s “Herbaria,” Francisco Forbes, Ferran Romeu and Matthew Barton’s “Science Fiction,” Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s “Space Is a Monstrous Animal” and Julie...
The Sandbox Fund aims to elevate the voices of independent artists working in the realm of science and nonfiction storytelling as they produce and promote work and discourse the highlights that overlap science and art in the U.S. and abroad.
The filmmakers and projects receiving grants are Márton Vizkelety and Zoltán Moll’s “Give Love Create,” Lacey Schwartz Delgado and Mehret Mandefro’s “How Free People Think,” Tasha Van Zandt’s “A Life Illuminated” and Eleanor Mortimer’s Untitled Deep Sea Taxonomy Documentary. Also in the group are Leandro Listorti’s “Herbaria,” Francisco Forbes, Ferran Romeu and Matthew Barton’s “Science Fiction,” Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s “Space Is a Monstrous Animal” and Julie...
- 9/17/2021
- by Jennifer Yuma
- Variety Film + TV
“All of us know a great deal about their music and the culture and the fashion and the films. But I didn’t realize how really groundbreaking they were in terms of their careers,” explains Dr. Mehret Mandefro, who is Emmy-nominated for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Series for the “American Masters” documentary “How it Feels to Be Free”; she produced it along with Michael Kantor, Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Elliott Halpern, Elizabeth Trojian, Julie Sacks and Grammy winner Alicia Keys. Based on the book of the same name by Ruth Feldstein, the film chronicles the art and activism of Lena Horne, Nina Simone, Pam Grier, Abbey Lincoln, Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson. Watch our exclusive video interview with Mandefro above.
SEESee chats with 5 Emmy-nominated TV showrunners: ‘The Boys,’ ‘Black-ish,’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked,’ ‘Mahalia,’ ‘Black Lady Sketch Show’
The six artists profiled in the film represent the progress made by...
SEESee chats with 5 Emmy-nominated TV showrunners: ‘The Boys,’ ‘Black-ish,’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked,’ ‘Mahalia,’ ‘Black Lady Sketch Show’
The six artists profiled in the film represent the progress made by...
- 8/13/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Locarno Industry Academy also runs in Mexico, Brazil, the US, Lebanon and Greece.
The Locarno Film Festival is joining forces with the Realness Institute of Africa to launch a new strand of its Industry Academy initiative aimed at emerging African professionals working in all types of film sales, distribution and exhibition.
Bannered the Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, its first edition will run online from September 26 to October 2, 2021, and will be open to participants from across Africa, with the application process opening on April 20.
The creation of the new African-focused Locarno Industry Academy follows in the wake of similar programmes in Mexico,...
The Locarno Film Festival is joining forces with the Realness Institute of Africa to launch a new strand of its Industry Academy initiative aimed at emerging African professionals working in all types of film sales, distribution and exhibition.
Bannered the Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, its first edition will run online from September 26 to October 2, 2021, and will be open to participants from across Africa, with the application process opening on April 20.
The creation of the new African-focused Locarno Industry Academy follows in the wake of similar programmes in Mexico,...
- 4/20/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The Locarno Film Festival’s Industry Academy workshop is extending its global reach to Africa.
The prominent Swiss festival’s formative initiative dedicated to training young professionals working in sales, traditional or online distribution, theatrical exhibition and programming for festivals – which is an intergral part of Locarno’s Locarno Pro industry side – has forged a new partnership with the Realness Institute, the South Africa-based non-profit that promotes cultural understanding, open exchange and intellectual and artistic development of filmmakers on the African continent.
The Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy will offer a tailored program featuring masterclasses and meetings with internationally established professionals. The aim is to enhance participants’ understanding of the challenges facing the film industry, at the same time allowing them to expand their personal network of contacts and develop their professional skill set, Locarno said in a statement.
The program’s first edition will run online from September 26 to October...
The prominent Swiss festival’s formative initiative dedicated to training young professionals working in sales, traditional or online distribution, theatrical exhibition and programming for festivals – which is an intergral part of Locarno’s Locarno Pro industry side – has forged a new partnership with the Realness Institute, the South Africa-based non-profit that promotes cultural understanding, open exchange and intellectual and artistic development of filmmakers on the African continent.
The Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy will offer a tailored program featuring masterclasses and meetings with internationally established professionals. The aim is to enhance participants’ understanding of the challenges facing the film industry, at the same time allowing them to expand their personal network of contacts and develop their professional skill set, Locarno said in a statement.
The program’s first edition will run online from September 26 to October...
- 4/20/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Editor’s note: Yoruba Richen is the director and Mehret Mandefro and Lacey Schwartz Delgado are executive producers of American Masters: How It Feels to Be Free, a documentary that looks at the historical importance and overlooked contributions of Black performers. Focusing on Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier, the docu — also executive produced by Alicia Keys — airs tonight on PBS in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Richen, Mandefro and Schwartz Delgado wrote this guest column for Deadline.
As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend and the nation prepares to inaugurate our 46th president, let us remember the Black women our Vice President-elect Kamala Harris described as “too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy.” Specifically, let’s consider the all-too-often overlooked Black female performers, who have long used their art to...
As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend and the nation prepares to inaugurate our 46th president, let us remember the Black women our Vice President-elect Kamala Harris described as “too often overlooked, but so often prove that they are the backbone of our democracy.” Specifically, let’s consider the all-too-often overlooked Black female performers, who have long used their art to...
- 1/18/2021
- by Yoruba Richen, Mehret Mandefro and Lacey Schwartz Delgado
- Deadline Film + TV
PBS’ American Masters documentary “How It Feels to Be Free” – which counts Alicia Keys among its roster of exec producers – salutes the careers of six Black female entertainers who used their celebrity to promote civil rights and challenge racists stereotypes.
The documentary – which premieres today on PBS and is set to become a market priority for its distributor Fremantle at NATPE this week – is directed by Yoruba Richen.
A Yap Films production in association with Itvs, Chicken & Egg pictures and Documentary Channel in Canada, it celebrates the careers of Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier.
While its premiere may seem timely in the wake of the Time’s Up and Black Lives Matters movements, PBS and Itvs first came on board five years ago – it just took years to raise the necessary finance, according to Richen.
It was only when two of the film...
The documentary – which premieres today on PBS and is set to become a market priority for its distributor Fremantle at NATPE this week – is directed by Yoruba Richen.
A Yap Films production in association with Itvs, Chicken & Egg pictures and Documentary Channel in Canada, it celebrates the careers of Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier.
While its premiere may seem timely in the wake of the Time’s Up and Black Lives Matters movements, PBS and Itvs first came on board five years ago – it just took years to raise the necessary finance, according to Richen.
It was only when two of the film...
- 1/18/2021
- by Ann-Marie Corvin
- Variety Film + TV
The episodic content lab is for writers in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.
Netflix is partnering with African filmmaking organisation Realness Institute on a development lab for writers of series content.
The Episodic Content Development Lab is for writers in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria and will open for submissions on November 30. It is open to writers with film and TV experience from the fictional and/or factual sectors, in any language.
Six writers will be selected from the submissions to work on projects that will be developed and commissioned by Netflix. The selected writers will be paid a stipend...
Netflix is partnering with African filmmaking organisation Realness Institute on a development lab for writers of series content.
The Episodic Content Development Lab is for writers in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria and will open for submissions on November 30. It is open to writers with film and TV experience from the fictional and/or factual sectors, in any language.
Six writers will be selected from the submissions to work on projects that will be developed and commissioned by Netflix. The selected writers will be paid a stipend...
- 11/17/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
New initiative aims to develop and empower African producers.
Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson has joined a new initiative that aims to develop and empower African producers.
Jackson will be one of several speakers at the inaugural Creative Producer Indaba training programme and will help build the leadership skills of participants.
Further speakers include Cara Mertes, project director of moving image strategies at the Ford Foundation, and Makhosazana Khanyile, CEO of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (Nfvf).
There will also be sessions with international producers and experts, including Iffr’s Hubert Bals fund manager Fay Breeman,...
Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson has joined a new initiative that aims to develop and empower African producers.
Jackson will be one of several speakers at the inaugural Creative Producer Indaba training programme and will help build the leadership skills of participants.
Further speakers include Cara Mertes, project director of moving image strategies at the Ford Foundation, and Makhosazana Khanyile, CEO of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (Nfvf).
There will also be sessions with international producers and experts, including Iffr’s Hubert Bals fund manager Fay Breeman,...
- 9/1/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
In today’s Global Bulletin, Constantin extends its deal with German hitmaker Bora Dagtekin, San Sebastian finalizes its Perlak section, upstart training program Creative Producer Indaba share details, Endemol Shine sells “Deadwater Fell” in France, and Channel 5 commissions eight new historical programs.
Content Deal
Constantin Film has extended its exclusive deal with Bora Dagtekin, one of Germany’s most prolific local filmmakers, to 2025.
The writer-director is responsible for several local-language hits in German-speaking territories such as “Suck me Shakespeer” (pictured), $77.6 million worldwide; “The Perfect Secret,” last year’s biggest local draw in Germany, where it grossed $52.3 million; and “Turkish for Beginners,” almost $24 million in 2012. In total, his films have grossed a quarter-billion in Germany, selling nearly 30 million tickets.
Under the deal, Constantin will get Dagtekin’s next three features, each to be produced by his long-time production partner Lena Schömann.
Festivals
San Sebastian announced that this year’s Perlak section,...
Content Deal
Constantin Film has extended its exclusive deal with Bora Dagtekin, one of Germany’s most prolific local filmmakers, to 2025.
The writer-director is responsible for several local-language hits in German-speaking territories such as “Suck me Shakespeer” (pictured), $77.6 million worldwide; “The Perfect Secret,” last year’s biggest local draw in Germany, where it grossed $52.3 million; and “Turkish for Beginners,” almost $24 million in 2012. In total, his films have grossed a quarter-billion in Germany, selling nearly 30 million tickets.
Under the deal, Constantin will get Dagtekin’s next three features, each to be produced by his long-time production partner Lena Schömann.
Festivals
San Sebastian announced that this year’s Perlak section,...
- 8/26/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Popstar Alicia Keys is to exec produce a feature-length documentary about six iconic African American female entertainers for PBS.
American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free will tell the story of Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier and how they challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.
The doc, which will air in early 2021 on PBS and the Documentary Channel in Canada, features interviews and archival performances with all six women, as well as original conversations with artists influenced by them, including Keys, Halle Berry, Lena Waithe, Meagan Good, Latanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as family members, including Horne’s daughter Gail Lumet Buckley.
It is based on the book How It Feels To Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein.
American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free will tell the story of Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier and how they challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.
The doc, which will air in early 2021 on PBS and the Documentary Channel in Canada, features interviews and archival performances with all six women, as well as original conversations with artists influenced by them, including Keys, Halle Berry, Lena Waithe, Meagan Good, Latanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as family members, including Horne’s daughter Gail Lumet Buckley.
It is based on the book How It Feels To Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein.
- 7/28/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The Rotterdam Film Festival’s facilitation and talent incubator wing Iffr Pro has teamed with the Sundance Institute, European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs and the Realness Institute for Creative Producer Indaba, a year-long professional development initiative aimed at supporting producers from Africa.
The inaugural batch of 17 emerging producers was announced Monday. They will participate in online workshops running Aug. 28-Sept. 11 that will cover project development and planning, project financing, PR and marketing, company strategic planning, leadership and advocacy.
A key aim of Indaba is to help African producers build financial instruments for co-production where they do not currently exist and forge new models of financing that could lead to the next wave of African cinema.
“The media landscape of Africa is swiftly changing and the importance of local producers that have the training to catalyze the growth of their local markets is paramount,” said Indaba African group leader and Realness Institute co-founder Mehret Mandefro.
The inaugural batch of 17 emerging producers was announced Monday. They will participate in online workshops running Aug. 28-Sept. 11 that will cover project development and planning, project financing, PR and marketing, company strategic planning, leadership and advocacy.
A key aim of Indaba is to help African producers build financial instruments for co-production where they do not currently exist and forge new models of financing that could lead to the next wave of African cinema.
“The media landscape of Africa is swiftly changing and the importance of local producers that have the training to catalyze the growth of their local markets is paramount,” said Indaba African group leader and Realness Institute co-founder Mehret Mandefro.
- 7/20/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sundance, Iffr and Eave are partners on the Realness Institute initiative.
A new initiative to develop and empower African producers has selected its first intake of talent.
Seventeen producers have been selected for the inaugural Creative Producer Indaba scheme, which has been developed by Realness Institute in partnership with Sundance Institute, International Film Festival Rotterdam and European training outfit Eave.
The year-long training programme will include masterclasses and one-on-one meetings with assigned mentors to address topics such as project development, financing, marketing and advocacy. The first workshop will run online for two weeks from August 28.
The scheme has also selected...
A new initiative to develop and empower African producers has selected its first intake of talent.
Seventeen producers have been selected for the inaugural Creative Producer Indaba scheme, which has been developed by Realness Institute in partnership with Sundance Institute, International Film Festival Rotterdam and European training outfit Eave.
The year-long training programme will include masterclasses and one-on-one meetings with assigned mentors to address topics such as project development, financing, marketing and advocacy. The first workshop will run online for two weeks from August 28.
The scheme has also selected...
- 7/20/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
For the past decade, Ethiopia has boasted the world’s fastest-growing economy, and its new reform-minded government seems determined to harness that growth to transform an already vibrant creative sector.
That was the takeaway from a presentation Sunday morning at the Berlinale Africa Hub, led by producer Mehret Mandefro (“Difret”) and director Abraham Gezahagne, who outlined the opportunities and challenges for the film and TV industry in Africa’s second-most populous nation.
Ethiopia’s production sector is booming, with roughly 175 films released in 2018 and fervid support from audiences hungry for local content. “A lot of our films don’t end up crossing over [into the international market], but it’s a really burgeoning scene,” said Mandefro.
The industry has begun to look outward in recent years, following the festival success of films like “Difret,” the 2014 Sundance audience award winner executive produced by Angelina Jolie and directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, and “Sweetness in the Belly,...
That was the takeaway from a presentation Sunday morning at the Berlinale Africa Hub, led by producer Mehret Mandefro (“Difret”) and director Abraham Gezahagne, who outlined the opportunities and challenges for the film and TV industry in Africa’s second-most populous nation.
Ethiopia’s production sector is booming, with roughly 175 films released in 2018 and fervid support from audiences hungry for local content. “A lot of our films don’t end up crossing over [into the international market], but it’s a really burgeoning scene,” said Mandefro.
The industry has begun to look outward in recent years, following the festival success of films like “Difret,” the 2014 Sundance audience award winner executive produced by Angelina Jolie and directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, and “Sweetness in the Belly,...
- 2/24/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Emerging African filmmakers triumph at project development event.
Ethiopian director Hiwot Admasu Getaneh’s Addis Ababa-set tale of self-discovery Sweet Annoyance scooped the top €10,000 development prize at the Marrakech International Film Festival’s second Atlas Workshops on Friday (Dec 6).
The four-day meeting drew some 270 international cinema professionals and presented 28 projects in development and post-production from Middle Eastern, North African and African filmmakers.
The jury for the 10 projects in the running for the Atlas Development Awards was composed of Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi, Lebanese producer Georges Schoucair and Juliette Schrameck, managing director of Paris-based mk2 Films.
Set against the nightlife of the Ethiopian capital,...
Ethiopian director Hiwot Admasu Getaneh’s Addis Ababa-set tale of self-discovery Sweet Annoyance scooped the top €10,000 development prize at the Marrakech International Film Festival’s second Atlas Workshops on Friday (Dec 6).
The four-day meeting drew some 270 international cinema professionals and presented 28 projects in development and post-production from Middle Eastern, North African and African filmmakers.
The jury for the 10 projects in the running for the Atlas Development Awards was composed of Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi, Lebanese producer Georges Schoucair and Juliette Schrameck, managing director of Paris-based mk2 Films.
Set against the nightlife of the Ethiopian capital,...
- 12/7/2019
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Djibouti’s “The Gravedigger,” Morocco’s “Zanka Contact” and Ethiopia’s “Sweet Annoyance” were among the major winners in the post-production and development categories of the second edition of the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops.
“The Gravedigger,” by Khadar Ahmed, and “Zanka Contact,” by Ismaël el Iraki, won the top awards – €20,000 and $11,000 respectively – in the post-production competition, and “The Gravedigger” also won the new $3,300 Naas prize for film circulation. Both pics are first features.
Ethiopia’s “Sweet Annoyance,” by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh, Morocco’s “The Original Lie,” by Asmae El Moudir, and Rwanda’s “Ikimanuka – Seasons of the Weary Kind,” by Samuel Ishimwe, were the winners in the development competition, and received $11,000, $5,500 and $5,500 respectively.
The new $6,660 Artekino prize attributed during the workshops was awarded to Morocco’s “Les Meutes” by Kamal Lazraq. This is the first time that French-German broadcaster Arte has attributed an award in an African film festival.
“The Gravedigger,” by Khadar Ahmed, and “Zanka Contact,” by Ismaël el Iraki, won the top awards – €20,000 and $11,000 respectively – in the post-production competition, and “The Gravedigger” also won the new $3,300 Naas prize for film circulation. Both pics are first features.
Ethiopia’s “Sweet Annoyance,” by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh, Morocco’s “The Original Lie,” by Asmae El Moudir, and Rwanda’s “Ikimanuka – Seasons of the Weary Kind,” by Samuel Ishimwe, were the winners in the development competition, and received $11,000, $5,500 and $5,500 respectively.
The new $6,660 Artekino prize attributed during the workshops was awarded to Morocco’s “Les Meutes” by Kamal Lazraq. This is the first time that French-German broadcaster Arte has attributed an award in an African film festival.
- 12/7/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
London-based sales agency HanWay Films has released the first-look image of Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s “Sweetness in the Belly,” which Variety has exclusively. The shot shows the film’s stars Dakota Fanning and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The cast also features Wunmi Mosaku, best-known for British crime series “Luther,” and a BAFTA winner for “Damilola, Our Loved Boy,” and “The Big Bang Theory” star Kunal Nayyar.
Fanning plays Lilly Abdal, a woman caught between two worlds. Orphaned in Africa as a child, she escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war.
“Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families,” according to HanWay. “But as her friend Amina (Mosaku) discovers, Lilly’s mission isn’t purely selfless: A passionate lost love affair is revealed between Lilly and Aziz, an idealistic doctor. But can Lilly let go of the past?...
The cast also features Wunmi Mosaku, best-known for British crime series “Luther,” and a BAFTA winner for “Damilola, Our Loved Boy,” and “The Big Bang Theory” star Kunal Nayyar.
Fanning plays Lilly Abdal, a woman caught between two worlds. Orphaned in Africa as a child, she escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war.
“Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families,” according to HanWay. “But as her friend Amina (Mosaku) discovers, Lilly’s mission isn’t purely selfless: A passionate lost love affair is revealed between Lilly and Aziz, an idealistic doctor. But can Lilly let go of the past?...
- 2/7/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is set to star opposite Dakota Fanning in the Zeresenay Berhane Mehari-directed Sweetness In The Belly based on the bestselling novel by Camilla Gibb.
Adapted for the screen by Laura Phillips, the film is a powerful love story that explores an immigrant’s life from a unique perspective. In a story that is relevant to today’s cultural landscape, Fanning stars Lilly Abdal (a role which Saoirse Ronan was originally attached), who was orphaned in Africa as a child and escaped to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war. Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families. However, Lilly’s mission isn’t purely selfless: A passionate lost love affair is revealed between Lilly and Aziz (Abdul-Mateen II), an idealistic doctor. But can Lilly let go of the past?...
Adapted for the screen by Laura Phillips, the film is a powerful love story that explores an immigrant’s life from a unique perspective. In a story that is relevant to today’s cultural landscape, Fanning stars Lilly Abdal (a role which Saoirse Ronan was originally attached), who was orphaned in Africa as a child and escaped to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war. Lost in this cold new world, Lilly embraces the immigrant community in London, attempting to reunite people with their scattered families. However, Lilly’s mission isn’t purely selfless: A passionate lost love affair is revealed between Lilly and Aziz (Abdul-Mateen II), an idealistic doctor. But can Lilly let go of the past?...
- 11/2/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Dakota Fanning is starring in the immigrant drama “Sweetness in the Belly,” which has begun shooting in Ireland and will continue in Ethiopia.
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari is directing from a script by Laura Phillips, adapted from Camilla Gibb’s bestselling novel that explores an immigrant’s life from the unique perspective of being orphaned in Africa as a child, escaping to England as a refugee, embracing the immigrant community in London, and attempting to reunite people with their scattered families — while dealing with a passionate lost love affair with a doctor.
Other cast members include Wunmi Mosaku and Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”). The project was unveiled at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival with Saoirse Ronan initially attached.
Berhane Mehari’s first feature film, “Difret,” was executive produced by Angelina Jolie and won the audience awards at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and in the panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival.
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari is directing from a script by Laura Phillips, adapted from Camilla Gibb’s bestselling novel that explores an immigrant’s life from the unique perspective of being orphaned in Africa as a child, escaping to England as a refugee, embracing the immigrant community in London, and attempting to reunite people with their scattered families — while dealing with a passionate lost love affair with a doctor.
Other cast members include Wunmi Mosaku and Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”). The project was unveiled at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival with Saoirse Ronan initially attached.
Berhane Mehari’s first feature film, “Difret,” was executive produced by Angelina Jolie and won the audience awards at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and in the panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival.
- 11/2/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari directing project. Entertainment One takes Canada rights.
Dakota Fanning has signed up to play the lead in refugee story Sweetness In The Belly for director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.
Principal photography gets underway this week in Dublin and will continue in Ethiopia including the Unesco world heritage site Harar Jugol. Further cast include Wunmi Mosaku and Kunal Nayyar.
The film will tell the story of a woman caught between two worlds. Orphaned in Africa as a child, and raised Muslim, Lilly Abdal (Fanning) escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war. Lost in a cold new world,...
Dakota Fanning has signed up to play the lead in refugee story Sweetness In The Belly for director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.
Principal photography gets underway this week in Dublin and will continue in Ethiopia including the Unesco world heritage site Harar Jugol. Further cast include Wunmi Mosaku and Kunal Nayyar.
The film will tell the story of a woman caught between two worlds. Orphaned in Africa as a child, and raised Muslim, Lilly Abdal (Fanning) escapes to England as a refugee, fleeing civil war. Lost in a cold new world,...
- 11/2/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Kayti Burt Feb 1, 2017
Saoirse Ronan has been cast in another immigration-themed romance based on a bestselling novel.
Saoirse Ronan is taking on another immigration-themed drama for her next project. According to Deadline, the Irish actress will be starring in Sweetness In The Belly, a film adaptation of the bestselling novel from Camilla Gibb. If Sweetness In The Belly is half as mesmerising as Brooklyn, then this film will be one to anticipate. (Not to mention, immigration is kind of a timely subject right now... you know, even more than it always is.)
Ronan will play Lily Abdal, a woman who was orphaned in Africa as a child only to return to her English homeland as an adult refugee, fleeing from a civil war. Once there, she is caught between the homeland of her birth parents and the home she grew up in. Lily quickly becomes the heart of a London community of disenfranchised immigrants,...
Saoirse Ronan has been cast in another immigration-themed romance based on a bestselling novel.
Saoirse Ronan is taking on another immigration-themed drama for her next project. According to Deadline, the Irish actress will be starring in Sweetness In The Belly, a film adaptation of the bestselling novel from Camilla Gibb. If Sweetness In The Belly is half as mesmerising as Brooklyn, then this film will be one to anticipate. (Not to mention, immigration is kind of a timely subject right now... you know, even more than it always is.)
Ronan will play Lily Abdal, a woman who was orphaned in Africa as a child only to return to her English homeland as an adult refugee, fleeing from a civil war. Once there, she is caught between the homeland of her birth parents and the home she grew up in. Lily quickly becomes the heart of a London community of disenfranchised immigrants,...
- 1/31/2017
- Den of Geek
Saoirse Ronan is set to star in the immigrant romance Sweetness in the Belly.
Zeresenay "Zee" Berhane Mehari will direct the adaptation of Camilla Gibb's best-seller, from a screenplay by Laura Phillips. Brooklyn producers Alan Moloney and Susan Mullen of Parallel Films are producing with Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Sienna Films, who optioned the novel and developed the screenplay. Mehret Mandefro and Adrian Sturges are executive producers. HanWay Films will shop the title to buyers at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
The two-time Oscar nominee will play Lilly, who was orphaned in Africa as a child and experiences her parents’ homeland of England for the first...
Zeresenay "Zee" Berhane Mehari will direct the adaptation of Camilla Gibb's best-seller, from a screenplay by Laura Phillips. Brooklyn producers Alan Moloney and Susan Mullen of Parallel Films are producing with Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Sienna Films, who optioned the novel and developed the screenplay. Mehret Mandefro and Adrian Sturges are executive producers. HanWay Films will shop the title to buyers at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
The two-time Oscar nominee will play Lilly, who was orphaned in Africa as a child and experiences her parents’ homeland of England for the first...
- 1/31/2017
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The San Francisco Film Society has announced that Ethiopian-American filmmaking team Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and Mehret Mandefro will be in San Francisco October 1 - 14 for the Film Society's eighth Artist in Residence program. Mehari and Mandefro's packed two-week schedule will include programs in each of the Film Society's core areas -- education, exhibition and filmmaker services -- including visits to Bay Area high school and college classrooms, a screening of their festival hit Difret (October 9), an artist talk (October 13) and various networking events with the local film community. The Fall 2014 Artist in Residence program...
- 9/16/2014
- by Press Release
- ShadowAndAct
Exclusive: Executive producer Angelina Jolie “can’t wait for the world to see” Ethiopian drama, which has been snapped up by distributors across Europe.
German sales outfit Films Boutique has concluded a series of distribution deals for Difret, an Ethiopian drama about a teenage girl who has to defend herself in court after killing her would-be husband during an attempt to abduct her into marriage. It is based on a true story.
The film, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and executive produced by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, has been acquired for the UK and Ireland (Soda Pictures), Italy (Satine Films) and Germany (Alamode Film).
Other deals have been agreed for Norway (Europa Film), Turkey (Filmarti), Middle East (Moving Turtle) and Japan (pictures dept.).
Previous deals include France (Ad Vitam), Spain (Golem), Benelux (Cineart) and Switzerland (Agora Films).
The announcement follows the recent Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict co-chaired by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and Jolie...
German sales outfit Films Boutique has concluded a series of distribution deals for Difret, an Ethiopian drama about a teenage girl who has to defend herself in court after killing her would-be husband during an attempt to abduct her into marriage. It is based on a true story.
The film, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and executive produced by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, has been acquired for the UK and Ireland (Soda Pictures), Italy (Satine Films) and Germany (Alamode Film).
Other deals have been agreed for Norway (Europa Film), Turkey (Filmarti), Middle East (Moving Turtle) and Japan (pictures dept.).
Previous deals include France (Ad Vitam), Spain (Golem), Benelux (Cineart) and Switzerland (Agora Films).
The announcement follows the recent Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict co-chaired by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and Jolie...
- 6/18/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: French distribution company picks up world rights, excluding North America.
French distribution company Ad Vitam has snapped up world rights excluding North America on the film Difret by Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.
Produced by Mehret Mandefro and executive produced by Angelina Jolie, the film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition in Sundance and will premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.
World sales will be handled by Films Distribution’s Berlin-based sister company Films Boutique.
Ad Vitam’s partner and head of acquisition, Gregory Gajos negotiated the deal with UTA’s independent Film Group.
“We totally fell in love with Difret. The film is a very touching pic and reaches to speak about the important topic of women’s rights in Africa but always staying on the moving side focusing on its characters and their feelings,” Gregory Gajos told ScreenDaily.
Jean-Christophe Simon, Films Boutique’s CEO, added: “Reactions...
French distribution company Ad Vitam has snapped up world rights excluding North America on the film Difret by Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.
Produced by Mehret Mandefro and executive produced by Angelina Jolie, the film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition in Sundance and will premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.
World sales will be handled by Films Distribution’s Berlin-based sister company Films Boutique.
Ad Vitam’s partner and head of acquisition, Gregory Gajos negotiated the deal with UTA’s independent Film Group.
“We totally fell in love with Difret. The film is a very touching pic and reaches to speak about the important topic of women’s rights in Africa but always staying on the moving side focusing on its characters and their feelings,” Gregory Gajos told ScreenDaily.
Jean-Christophe Simon, Films Boutique’s CEO, added: “Reactions...
- 2/7/2014
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: French distribution company picks up world rights, excluding North America.
French distribution company Ad Vitam has snapped up world rights excluding North America on the film Difret by Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.
Produced by Mehret Mandefro and executive produced by Angelina Jolie, the film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition in Sundance and will premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.
World sales will be handled by Films Distribution’s Berlin-based sister company Films Boutique.
Ad Vitam’s partner and head of acquisition, Gregory Gajos negotiated the deal with UTA’s independent Film Group.
“We totally fell in love with Difret. The film is a very touching pic and reaches to speak about the important topic of women’s rights in Africa but always staying on the moving side focusing on its characters and their feelings,” Gregory Gajos told ScreenDaily.
Jean-Christophe Simon, Films Boutique’s CEO, added: “Reactions...
French distribution company Ad Vitam has snapped up world rights excluding North America on the film Difret by Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.
Produced by Mehret Mandefro and executive produced by Angelina Jolie, the film won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition in Sundance and will premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.
World sales will be handled by Films Distribution’s Berlin-based sister company Films Boutique.
Ad Vitam’s partner and head of acquisition, Gregory Gajos negotiated the deal with UTA’s independent Film Group.
“We totally fell in love with Difret. The film is a very touching pic and reaches to speak about the important topic of women’s rights in Africa but always staying on the moving side focusing on its characters and their feelings,” Gregory Gajos told ScreenDaily.
Jean-Christophe Simon, Films Boutique’s CEO, added: “Reactions...
- 2/7/2014
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
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