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Marie Noëlle unterrichtet regelmäßig in der Abteilung „Regie Kino- und Fernsehfilm“ an der Hff München. Nun wurde die preisgekrönte Filmemacherin dort zur Honorarprofessorin ernannt.

Marie Noëlle ist zur Honorarprofessorin an der Hff München ernannt worden (Credit: Lukas Nicolaus)

Marie Noëlle ist von der Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München zur Honorarpressorin ernannt worden. Das teilt die Hff, wo die in Frankreich aufgewachsene Regisseurin, Drehbuchautorin und Produzentin regelmäßig in der Abteilung „Regie Kino- und Fernsehfilm“ unterrichtet, heute mit.

Die Leiter der Abteilung, Julia von Heinz, Marcus H. Rosenmüller und Nicolas Wackerbarth hatten Marie Noëlle für die Ernennung zur Honorarprofessorin vorgeschlagen und erklären: „Marie Noëlle leistet als Lehrende einen wichtigen Beitrag in unserer Abteilung und darüber hinaus. Ihre eigene künstlerische Kraft als Regisseurin gibt sie in wunderbarer Weise an unsere Studierenden weiter. Bereits seit viert Jahren prägt sie die komplette Betreuung der zweiten Übungsfilme, die Studierende im Rahmen ihres Studiums an der...

Soapy biopic of the Nobel prize-winning chemist which focuses more on her spicy personal life than her groundbreaking work

Director Marie Noelle’s biopic about Marie Curie, the Polish-born chemist who was the first woman to win the Nobel prize, is something of a tacky treat. Roughly 35% science talk and 65% soap opera, it has adulterous shenanigans and a strong-willed heroine (Polish actor Karolina Gruszka) defying sexism, xenophobia and antisemitism (even though she isn’t Jewish) to make it in a male profession.

The first part unfolds in a non-toxic soft-focus haze, all sun dapples and smiles, as Marie and her beloved hubby Pierre (Charles Berling) bask in acclaim after their crucial research on radiation is recognised by the Nobel committee.

Continue reading...

MaryAnn’s quick take… With more sexy baths than any movie about a male scientist has ever seen, this biopic undermines the battle Curie fought to be taken seriously that is depicted here. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m desperate for movies about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

You’ve heard of Marie Curie. She did something with radium and won some Nobel Prizes and stuff, right? But did you also know that she took lots of sexy baths and liked to lounge around naked contemplating her affair with her married lover? It’s true! We may presume that in all those movies about the lives of male scientists, they got down to their birthday suits once in a while, but only Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge, a joint French-Polish-German production, dares to tell the truth about...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– The Orchard has acquired the North American rights to Jordan Ross’s directorial debut “Thumper,” starring “Orange is the New Black’s” Pablo Schreiber. The gritty crime thriller debuted at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and was written and directed by Ross. The movie also stars Eliza Taylor, Lena Headey, Ben Feldman, Grant Harvey and Daniel Webber. Set in a town of low-income and fractured families, “Thumper” is centered around a group of teens that are lured into working for a dangerous drug dealer. A new girl arrives into town hiding a dangerous secret that will impact everybody and change their lives forever.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Mubi Buys Philippe Garrel’s ‘Lover for a Day,’ FilmRise...

Big World Pictures

Founded in 2013 and run almost single-handedly by Jonathan Howell, Big World Pictures is a non-profit distribution outfit dedicated to bringing the best in world cinema to film enthusiasts across the United States.

“As an expansion of the mission of our critically-acclaimed short film distribution wing, The World According to Shorts, Big World Pictures is dedicated to bringing the best in world cinema to film enthusiasts across the United States. We acquire only three to four feature films annually for theatrical release, in addition to several short films (to be released through The World According to Shorts), and ten to twelve feature films annually for video/VOD/TV release.”

Opening at Laemmle’s Royal in L.A. day and date with New York’s Lincoln Plaza Cinemas on June 23, Luc Bondy’s modern-day adaptation of the classic Marivaux play, “False Confessions”, starring Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel and Bulle Ogier...

Germany’s Oscar hopeful wins five major awards in Wroclaw at politically charged ceremony.

Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw.

More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.

Scroll down for full list of winners

The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).

The top prize for Toni Erdmann marked the first time in the EFAs’ 29-year history that the Best European Film award went to a female director as Maren Ade pointed out on accaccepting the evening’s final statuette with her partners Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski of their production company Komplizen Film.

Swedish comedy drama A Man Called Ove was voted best European comedy, while there were also wins for Fire At Sea...

Germany’s Oscar contender wins five major awards in Wroclaw

Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw. More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.

The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).

Swedish comedy drama, A Man Called Ove, was voted best European comedy.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Meanwhile, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won the first European University Film Award (Eufa), a collaboration between the Efa and Filmfest Hamburg. Students from 13 European countries came together in Hamburg this week and selected Loach’s film from five nominated titles.

On announcing the winner in Wroclaw, Filmfest director Albert Wiederspiel revealed that the initiative had been so popular that it was likely that universities...

Germany’s Oscar contender wins five major awards in Wroclaw

Toni Erdmann has been voted the best European film of 2016 at the European Film Awards in Wroclaw. More than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - voted at this year’s awards ceremony.

The comedy also picked up awards for best European Director (Maren Ade), European Actress (Sandra Hüller), European Actor (Peter Simonischek) and European Screenwriter (Maren Ade).

Swedish comedy drama, A Man Called Ove, was voted best European comedy.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Meanwhile, Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake won the first European University Film Award (Eufa), a collaboration between the Efa and Filmfest Hamburg. Students from 13 European countries came together in Hamburg this week and selected Loach’s film from five nominated titles.

On announcing the winner in Wroclaw, Filmfest director Albert Wiederspiel revealed that the initiative had been so popular that it was likely that universities...

Jodorowsky actor directorial debut to be presented at new co-production event; Reygadas curates for Filmfest Hamburg.

Argentinian actor Leandro Taub’s directorial debut The Dream of the Guest and Slovenian filmmaker Jan Cvitkovic’s new feature film Mercedes Fire Horse are among the projects to be presented at a new co-production event, the Matchbox Coproduction Lounge, during this year’s Oldenburg International Film Festival (Sept 14-18).

Matchbox’s inaugural edition will also present Buddy Giovinazzo’s Potsdamer Platz which had been the last project, which the late Tony Scott had optioned to direct.

Taub, who was a lead actor in veteran Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Cannes competition film Endless Poetry this year, wrote the screenplay for the comedy drama which centres on how a family’s life changes dramatically when a special guest, claiming to be building a space ship, moves into their home to “confront them” with his strong belief in the possibility of the...

Nigerian metropolis Lagos is the focus of the eighth City To City showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) as top brass anoint two international Rising Stars.

Tiff’s latest line-up announcement also featured extra selections in Galas and Special Presentations, among them Walter Hill’s (Re)Assignment, Philippe Falardeau’s The Bleeder, David Leveaux’ The Exception (pictured), Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake and Terry George’s drama The Promise.

A vibrant crop of Contemporary World Cinema entries includes Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, Marie Noëlle’s Marie Curie, The Courage Of Knowledge and Akin Omotoso’s Vaya.

Hirokazu Kore-eda brings After The Storm to the Masters showcase, alongside Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again.

Rounding out the...

Nigerian capital Lagos is the focus of the eighth City To City showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) as top brass anoint two international Rising Stars.

Tiff’s latest line-up announcement also featured extra selections in Galas and Special Presentations, among them Walter Hill’s (Re)Assignment, Philippe Falardeau’s The Bleeder, David Leveaux’ The Exception (pictured), Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake and Terry George’s drama The Promise.

A vibrant crop of Contemporary World Cinema entries includes Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, Marie Noëlle’s Marie Curie, The Courage Of Knowledge and Akin Omotoso’s Vaya.

Hirokazu Kore-eda brings After The Storm to the Masters showcase, alongside Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again.

Rounding out the...

The Toronto International Film Festival is mere weeks from kicking off, yet the annual fall fest is showing zero sign of slowing down when it comes to announcing the titles that will round out this year’s event. Today’s announcement brings with it a number of Cannes favorites, including Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or-winning “I, Daniel Blake,” Olivier Assayas’ divisive Kristen Stewart-starring “Personal Shopper” and Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta.”

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

The slate will also play home to the Dardenne Brothers’ latest, “The Unknown Girl,” which has reportedly been through an edit since it debuted at Cannes earlier this year. Other standouts from Cannes include Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Aquarius,” Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Graduation,” Brillante Ma Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa” and Cristi Puiu’s “Sieranevada.

2015 was a successful year regarding the quantity and quality of foreign productions shot in Poland. At the beginning of the year, Anne Fontaine (“Coco Before Chanel,” “Perfect Mothers”) filmed a French-Polish co-production “Agnus Dei” in Warmia, which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film features Polish and French actresses among others Lou de Laage, Agata Kulesza, Agata Buzek and Joanna Kulig.

In the spring, the crew of a Polish-German-French-Belgian co-production about the life of Maria Sklodowska-Curie (dir. Marie Noelle) spent 20 days on the set in among others Lodz, Leba and Krakow. The cast is international, and the film is made in French. The Polish Nobelist is portrayed by Karolina Gruszka (“Oxygen”).

The summer brought about increased activity of German producers. A Zdf TV show, “Ein Sommer in…” was filmed in two resort towns in the north-eastern Poland – Mikolajki and Mragowo. Ard and Tvp collaborated on the set of "Polizeiruf 110" ("Police Call 110"), which was filmed in July and August among others in a Polish border-town – Swiecko. Also in July began the shooting of a new part of detective TV series "Der Usedom-Krimi" filmed on both the Polish and German side of the Usedom island.

However, a true influx of foreign productions took place in the autumn. American-Polish thriller “Chronology” was filmed in Poznan. The cast includes William Baldwin (TV series "Gossip Girl," "Adrift in Manhattan") and Danny Trejo (“Machete,” “From Dusk till Dawn”).

The Goetz Palace in Brzesk, in Malopolska hosted filmmakers from India who for six days were shooting “Fitoor,” an Indian adaptation of Dickens's “Great Expectations.” The crew consisted of over 40 Indians and almost 80 Poles. Another crew from India – this time from the so-called Kollywood in the south of the country – spent twenty days on the set in various Polish locations (among others Zakopane, Walbrzych, Krakow, Leba). The film titled “24” features Surya, a Tamil superstar, in the main role.

The autumn months were also very intensive in Lodz with three simultaneous big film sets. Andrzej Wajda (“The Promised Land,” “Walesa. Man of Hope”) worked on his new film “Powidoki”; Opus Film, the producer of “Ida”, organized for an Israeli partner eleven-day shoot to a film set in 1970s – “Past Life,” directed by Avi Nesher; and American director Martha Coolidge (“The Prince and Me,” TV shows “Sex and the City,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Weeds”) filmed her project “Music, War and Love,” whose producer is among others Fred Roos known from such films as “Apocalypse Now,” “The Godfather” or “Lost in Translation.” The picture features Adelaide Clemens (“The Great Gatsby”), Connie Nielsen (“Gladiator”), Toby Sebastian (“Game of Thrones”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Nymphomaniac”).

The end of the year was also very successful for Malopolska and Krakow. Two movies were filmed in the region – an American-British biography of Martin Luther commissioned by PBS with Padraic Delaney (“The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” “The Tudors”) in the main role; and a feature titled “True Crimes” starring two-time winner of a Golden Globe – Jim Carrey (“The Truman Show,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Mask”) as the protagonist. The crew spent 32 days on the set in Krakow. The picture was directed by Greek Alexandros Avranas (“Miss Violence”), written by Jeremy Brock (“Brideshead Revisited,” “The Last King of Scotland”), and produced by Brett Ratner (“X-Men 3: the Last Stand,” TV series “Rush Hour”). Accompanying Jim Carrey were Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Nymphomaniac,” “Antichrist”); Marton Csokas (“The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”) and Polish actors Agata Kulesza (“Ida”) and Robert Wieckiewicz (“Walesa. Man of Hope”).

The first information about productions planned for 2016 has already been released. In January, Krakow will host the crew of French black comedy “Grand Froid,” Gérard Pautonnier's debut featuring Jean-Pierre Bacri (“The Taste of Others,” “Let It Rain”), Olivier Gourmet (“Rosetta,” “The Son”) and Arthur Dupond (“Bus Palladium”). The project won the first edition of the Krakow International Film Fund.

Iranian director Shirin Neshat to also receive support from German fund.

Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (Mbb) has allocated $3.7m (€3.3m) production support to 20 new projects ranging from Gore Verbinski’s horror film A Cure For Wellness to Iranian-born video artist Shirin Neshat’s Looking For Oum Kulthum.

Verbinski’s film, which was shooting at locations in Baden-Württemberg and at the Babelsberg Studios in the summer, received the highest single amount - $560,000 (€500,000) – at this funding session.

Neshat’s homage to the legendary Egyptian singer and musician Kulthum – a co-production between Berlin-based Razor Filmproduktion, Austria’s Coop 99, France’s Arsam International and Egypt’s Film Clinic Cairo - received $168,439 (€150,000) production backing.

Other projects supported by Mbb include:

Wim Wenders’ The Beautiful Days Of Aranjuez, which marks his fifth collaboration with the Austrian dramatist Peter Handke and is now his second fiction feature film to be made in 3D after Every Thing Will be Fine.

Roger Spottiswoode’s TV movie...

Polish Days constitutes the most important industry event at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival. There, more than 250 movers and shakers of the Polish and international film industry, from producers and film funds to buyers and festival programmers from Berlin, Semaine de la Critique, Rotterdam, Venice, Tribeca and New Directors/New Films, met to watch the latest Polish films at closed screenings. This year, the event took place from July 29 to 31 in the city of Wrocław, Poland.

The 2015 edition focused on funding and German producers. Polish and German film producers met at a conference organized by the Polish Film Institute, the Film Commission of Poland, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (Mdm), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, German regional funds and the Cottbus Film Festival.

A total of 26 films and projects by both first-time directors and well-established filmmakers were selected for the industry event.

In fact, among the works shown in full at closed screenings were Karlovy Vary competition titles "The Red Spider" by Marcin Koszalkaand "Chemo" by Bartosz Prokopowicz as well as the debut features by Wojciech Kasperski "The High Frontier," "Berlin Diaries" by Przemysław Wojcieszek, "My Sister" by Kinga Dębska and Krzysztof Łukaszewicz’s "Karbala."

As far as the work-in-progress section is concerned, it presented 10 films. These were "Baby Bump" by Kuba Czekaj, "Journals" by Wiktoria Szymańska, "Waves" by Grzegorz Zariczny, "Into the Spirale" by Konrad Aksinowicz, "All These Sleepless Nights" by Michał Marczak and two projects pitched at the festival last year - "Wild Roses" by Anna Jadowska and "Volhynia" by Wojtek Smarzowski. Two documentaries were also presented here: "21 x New York" by Piotr Stasik and "When You Return" by Anna Zamęcka.

Pitchings presented Polish films at an earlier stage of development and production included new works by Marcin Wrona ("Lili"), Dorota Kędzierzawska ("Speedway") and Marcin Dudziak ("Presence"), as well as the following debut features: "The Last Family" by Jan P. Matuszyński, "Tower" by Jagoda Szelc, "Forest" by Joanna Zastróżna and the Cinemart project "Hurrah, we're still alive!" by Agnieszka Polska. Moreover, three projects by foreign directors but developed in Poland were also pitched: "AA" by Jack Faber, "Marie Curie" by Marie Noelle and "People I'm Not" by Francesco Rizzi. Post-production awards from Toya Studios (sound) and Chimney Poland (image) went to "People I'm Not" by Francesco Rizzi, "Tower" by Jagoda Szelc and "Speedway" by Dorota Kędzierzawska.

In the case of "The Last Family," David Ogrodnik, one of the stars of the critically acclaimed hit "Ida," has been cast in the film as Tomek, the son of Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski, played by Andrzej Seweryn, a veteran film and theater actor.

According to Joanna Łapińska, the head of Polish Days and the artistic director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the program “contains, in equal measure, expressive, original works, along with interesting genre films, moving features, and courageous documentaries.” As far as Agnieszka Odorowicz, the general director of the Polish Film Institute, is concerned, Polish Days has become “one of the most interesting events dedicated to promoting Polish cinema and showcasing film projects in early stages of production. The importance of Polish Days for the international promotion of Polish cinema cannot be overstated. ” Łapińska was adamant on “making it clear” that “Poland is a place for interesting coproductions.”

Polish Days is co-organized with the Polish Film Institute. The event’s partners include the Film Commission of Poland, the Mazovia-Warsaw and Wrocław Film Commissions, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the National Audiovisual Institute and post-production studios Toya Studios and Chimney Poland.

Ewa Puszczynska, a producer on Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winning Ida, is preparing the first feature project of her own new company.

Speaking to ScreenDaily during this week’s Polish Days in Wroclaw, Puszczynska said Lodz-based Extreme Emotions is managed with her daughter Emilia and is in addition to her work as a producer and head of development at Opus Film (Ida).

Puszczynska was at the Polish Days’ pitching session on Thursday (July 30) with Aa, the planned feature film debut by the Israeli-born writer-director Jack Faber, which she has been accompanying in its development for the past 18 months

Based on actual events, the film centres on the last night of a heritage tour in Poland by a group of Israeli high-school students when a prank quickly spins out of control and exposes the violent nature of the young people’s present lives.

Faber had initially started working on the project during his studies at the Netherlands Film Academy...

Marcin Koszalka’s The Red Spider among 26 titles in local showcase.Scroll down for full list of films

Polish Days, the showcase of national films at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, has announced 26 titles this year.

Among six completed films are Karlovy Vary features The Red Spider and Chemo.

Ten films will be presented at the pitchings event - for projects in development and the early stages of production - while nine films will be presented in the work-in-progress strand.

This year’s Polish Days will have a focus on German producers and film funds, including a meeting of Polish and German film producers organised in co-operation with the East German film funds Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (Mdm) and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Cottbus Iff, the Polish Film Institute and Film Commission Poland.

170 guests from Poland and abroad are expected to attend the event in Wrocław, which will take place July 29-31.

Full list of selected...

Denmark’s Katja Adomeit and Germany’s Ingmar Trost among upcoming European producers set to be showcased at Cannes.Scroll down for full list

European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 20 emerging young European producers for the 16th edition of its Producers on the Move networking initiative, which will be held during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival from May 15-18.

The 2014 selection includes Danish producer Katja Adomeit, who produced and co-directed the hybrid film Not At Home with the Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat as well as co-producing Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure as a freelancer for the Copenhagen office of Philippe Bober’s The Coproduction Office.

Cologne-based Ingmar Trost of Sutor Kolonko has also been selected. His credits include Ilian Metev’s award-winniıng documentary Sofıa’s Last Ambulance, Latvian director Juris Kursietis’ Modrıs and Ingo Haeb’s The Chambermaid Lynn, and he has just completed production of his third feature, Isabelle Stever’s The Weather Inside.

Lithuania will be...

UK’s Tristan Goligher and Germany’s Henning Kamm among upcoming European producers set to be showcased at Cannes.Scroll down for the full list

European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 24 emerging young European producers for the 15th edition of its Producers on the Move networking initiative, which will be held during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival from May 17-19.

The 2014 selection includes the The Bureau Film Company’s Tristan Goligher, who is currently in production on Andrew Haigh’s new feature 45 Years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay and sold internationally by The Match Factory.

Also on the list is Hamberg-based Henning Kamm, who had two co-productions at this year’s Berlinale – Karim Ainouz’s Praia do Futuro and Kutlug Ataman’s The Lamb - and is now working on new films by Mohammad Rasoulof, Stéphane Robelin and Lili Horvath.

Georgian producer-director Tinatin Kajrishvili has also been selected. Kajrishvili’s feature debut Brides had its premiere...

Uberto Pasolini’s Still Life to open this year’s Warsaw Film Festival (Wff) tonight, which will close with Roman Polanski’s Venus In Fur on Oct 20.

The number of world, international and European premieres in the Wff line-up have never been as high as this year, with the selection of no less than 22 world premieres, 21 international premieres and 22 European premieres.

The world premieres include six titles in the festival’s main International competition:

Romanian film-maker Anca Damian’s English-language feature debut A Very Unsettled Summer, her first film since Crulic

Estonian Ilmar Raag’s unusual love story in a small village Love Is Blind

Zaza Urushadze’s Estonian-Georgian co-production Tangerines, which has also been invited to festivals in Mannheim-Heidelberg and Cottbus

Iranian director Amir Toodehroosta’s Paat where dogs go underground in Tehran

Zdeňek Tyc’s moving drama Like Never Before about an oddball painter approaching death in his country home

In addition, there will be...

Finalists for the 2009 Humanitas Prize, which honors writers whose work "affirms the dignity of the human person and reveals our common humanity" include the scribes behind "Slumdog Millionaire," "Milk," "The Secret Life of Bees," "Doubt" and "Wall-E."

Awarded by the non-profit, Human Family Educational and Cultural Institute, the winners, who will collect $95,000 in prize money, will be announced at the group's annual luncheon on Sept. 17 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The David & Lynn Angell Fellowship in Comedy Writing, worth $10,000, will be presented to Scott Rutherford for the pilot of "Venice Beach, G.E.D." The Humanitas Student Drama Fellowship, also worth $10,000, will be given to Joey Falco for the pilot of "Fortunate Sons."

The writers cited in the feature category, which carries a $10,000 prize, are Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog"), Dustin Lance Black ("Milk") and John Patrick Shanley ("Doubt") as well as Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, who were nominated for the...

First off, the best news, as I predicted (in private) Duncan Jones' Moon will be premiering, yay! The comedy Adventureland starring the talented Bill Hader is playing. The sweet kid soldier film Johnny Mad Dog is playing in the spectrum section, and the Jesco White story White Lightnin' which we reported on earlier is in the Park City at Midnight section.

But where the hell is Stingray Sam?

Full list after the break.

Premieres

* "Adventureland," directed and written by Greg Mottola, stars Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds and Bill Hader in the story of a college grad who gets a job at an amusement park. A Miramax release.

* "Brooklyn’s Finest," directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Michael C. Martin, a drama about three Brooklyn cops who come together at the same deadly location. With Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle and Ellen Barkin.

* "Earth Days," directed by Robert Stone,...

Premieres

To showcase the diversity of contemporary independent cinema, this section offers the latest work from American and international directors and world premieres of highly anticipated films.

Adventureland / U.S. (Director-screenwriter: Greg Mottola)

In 1987, a recent college graduate takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park and discovers the job is perfect preparation for the real world. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader. World premiere

Brooklyn's Finest / U.S. (Director: Antoine Fuqua; screenwriter: Michael C. Martin)

After enduring vastly different career paths, three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location. Cast: Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle, Ellen Barkin. World premiere

Earth Days / U.S. (Director: Robert Stone)

The history of our environmental undoing through the eyes of nine Americans whose work and actions launched the modern environmental movement. World premiere, closing-night film

Endgame / U.K. (Director: Pete Travis; screenwriter: Paula Milne)

A...

• Because the Dramatic Main Competition category can only hold so many titles, the Spectrum becomes a second option for Sundance staff to include so more dramatic fair. 12 of the 16 selected are world premieres (I caught Johnny Mad Dog at Cannes and missed out on Lymelife at Tiff) from returnee directors such as Sterlin Harjo, Jeff Lipsky and Bobcat Goldthwait. Dramatic films screening in Spectrum are: Against the Current / USA (Director and Screenwriter: Peter Callahan)—Facing the anniversary of his pregnant wife's tragic death, thirty-five-year old Paul Thompson enlists the help of two friends to help him swim the length of the Hudson River. Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Justin Kirk, Elizabeth Reaser, Mary Tyler Moore, Michelle Trachtenberg. World Premiere The Anarchist's Wife (La Mujer del Anarquista) / Germany/Spain (Directors: Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr; Screenwriters: Marie Noelle and Ray Loriga)—During the Spanish Civil War an idealistic young lawyer combating Franco's

...

San Sebastian, Spain -- Representatives from the German and Spanish film industries met here during the weekend to discuss how to boost co-productions between their two countries.

Despite having two of the largest film industries in Europe, the Teutonic-Iberian co-production remains a rare beast. Last year there were just two: the Spanish Civil War drama "The Anarchist's Wife" from Peter Sehr and Marie Noelle and the Norwegian-Spanish-German co-production "Das Orangenmadchen."

This initial meet was to highlight opportunities for producers looking to tap funding in both territories.

"Unlike some countries, neither Spain nor Germany ties subsidies and film funding to a particular language or requires that the entire production be shot in a certain region," said Peter Dinges, head of the Ffa, Germany's federal film commission. "So there's nothing standing in the way (of more Spanish-German co-productions). People just have to do it."

The ultimate goal, according to Stefan Schmitz of Madrid's Avalon productions,...

Russian director Valeriya Gai Germanika’s “Everybody Dies But Me” picked up the CineVision Award at the 25th edition of the Munich Film Festival. The coming-of-age drama follows three teenagers as they gear up for a party held at their high school.

The Young German Cinema Award for best director went to Timo Müller for “Morscholz,” a drama that follows the lives of seven people in a small German town. Heiko Martens was named best screenwriter for “Narrenspiel,” while Markus Tomczyk won best actor for his role in “Braams.” Susanne Wolff won best actress for “Das Fremde in Mir.”

The Arri-Zeiss Award, the festival’s new prize, went to Matteo Garrone’s “Gomorra,” a look at crime families operating out of Naples. The film also won the grand prize at Cannes last month.

Julie Christie received this year’s CineMerit Award, a prize honoring outstanding personalities in the international film community.

COLOGNE, Germany -- "The Anarchist's Wife", Peter Sehr and Marie Noelle's period drama starring Maria Valverde and Juan Diego Botto, has won the Munich Film Festival's Bernhard Wicki Prize.

The award, dubbed the Bridge in honor of Wicki's 1959 anti-war epic of the same name, comes with a grant of €10,000 ($15,600).

"Wife" is the story of a 1930s couple torn apart by the Spanish civil war. Manuela (Valverde) is left behind when her husband, Justo (Botto), is arrested for fighting the Franco regime and sent to a concentration camp.

The prize will be presented Thursday at a gala ceremony in Munich.

The festival runs through Saturday.

MUNICH -- German director-producer Peter Sehr will head the 58th Berlin International Film Festival's audience-based Dialogue en perspective jury, organizers said Thursday.

Sehr, who teaches at the University of Television and Film in Munich as well as the Film Academy of Baden-Wuerttemberg, is no stranger to German-French film relations. He directed the Franco-Teutonic co-production "Obsession" (1997), starring Daniel Craig, for which he was nominated for a German Film Prize and invited to Sundance.

His "Kaspar Hauser" (1993) won the German Film Prize, and he received a Silver Leopard in Locarno for 2001's "Love the Hard Way", with Adrien Brody. His latest film is a German-French-Spanish co-production titled "The Anarchist's Wife", which he directed with his wife, Marie Noelle.

The Dialogue en perspective award is presented to the director of a film in the Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar and is sponsored by the francophone TV channel TV5 Monde and the German-French Youth Office. The jury is made up of German and French applicants from the general public between the ages of 18 and 29.