The filmmaker, revealed with Land of Storms, is working on his second feature. A Uniofilm Entertainment production sold by Nfi World Sales. On 10 August, Ádám Császi began filming his second feature, Three Thousand Numbered Pieces (Ando Drom). Revealed in the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlinale with Land of Storms, the filmmaker brings together a cast including Franciska Farkas, Kristóf Horváth (already present in Land of Storms), Krisztofer Pászik (Brazilians), Rómeó Pápa, Edmond Oláh, Norbert Varga, Wieland Speck, Csaba Gerner and Ádám Varga. Written by Ádám Császi and Balázs Lengyel (Lajko: Gypsy in Space), the script centres on a white director working with a troupe of Romas with severely underprivileged backgrounds. The troupe members are former heroin addicts, ex-homeless people, juvenile delinquents, victims of rape and abuse. The play they make together, entitled Gypsy Hungarian, presents with genuine sincerity...
Company restructures staff as it enters 15th anniversary year.
Mathieu Delaunay has been promoted to head of sales at Paris-based company Memento Film International (Mfi), replacing Tanja Meissner who is stepping down from the role.
Former sales executive Alexandre Moreau has been promoted to VP of sales and marketing, taking the role previously held by Delaunay. The duo will oversee Mfi’s slate of films and marketing strategy, alongside company CEO and owner Emilie Georges.
The company is also expanding its sales team with the hiring of Derek Lui to lead sales in Asia,. Lui, who was named a Screen...
Mathieu Delaunay has been promoted to head of sales at Paris-based company Memento Film International (Mfi), replacing Tanja Meissner who is stepping down from the role.
Former sales executive Alexandre Moreau has been promoted to VP of sales and marketing, taking the role previously held by Delaunay. The duo will oversee Mfi’s slate of films and marketing strategy, alongside company CEO and owner Emilie Georges.
The company is also expanding its sales team with the hiring of Derek Lui to lead sales in Asia,. Lui, who was named a Screen...
- 1/16/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
New sounds stages were the talk of the festival.
Oliver Laxe’s Fire Will Come picked up two top prizes at the 60th Thessaloniki Film Festival (Oct 31-Nov 10) on Sunday, winning the Golden Alexander worth €15,000 for best film and a best actor award for Amador Arias.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The Spanish film, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes, centres on a convicted arsonist (Arias) who returns to his family home in rural Galicia. Pyramide International handles world sales.
Maya Da-Rin’s The Fever won the Silver Alexander special jury award, worth €8,000. The drama,...
Oliver Laxe’s Fire Will Come picked up two top prizes at the 60th Thessaloniki Film Festival (Oct 31-Nov 10) on Sunday, winning the Golden Alexander worth €15,000 for best film and a best actor award for Amador Arias.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The Spanish film, which won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes, centres on a convicted arsonist (Arias) who returns to his family home in rural Galicia. Pyramide International handles world sales.
Maya Da-Rin’s The Fever won the Silver Alexander special jury award, worth €8,000. The drama,...
- 11/11/2019
- by 307¦Alexis Grivas¦39¦
- ScreenDaily
Óliver Laxe’s powerful drama conquered the selection, while Maya Da-Rin and Melina León won the other main awards at the 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The third feature from French-born Galician film director, screenwriter and actor Óliver Laxe, Fire Will Come, has won the “Theo Angelopoulos” Golden Alexander for Best Feature Film at the 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, which ran from 31 October to 10 November. The prizes were given out yesterday at the closing-night ceremony, held in the Olympion Theatre. The international jury, comprising German director and festival programmer, Wieland Speck; Lithuanian director and visual artist, Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė; UK producer Jacqui Davies, Greek-French actress and director Ariane Labed; and Greek actress Angeliki Papoulia, handed the €15,000 prize to the Spanish-French drama, which through its austere and powerful narration about the forces of nature, follows a paria leaving prison and returning to his mother. For that performance, leading actor...
- 11/11/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Oliver Laxe’s “Fire Will Come” won the top prize, the Golden Alexander, at the 60th Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival on Sunday, as well as the best actor award for Amador Arias, playing an arsonist who returns to his family home in the mountains.
The film, described in its Variety review as “a rustically beautiful rural parable,” played in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar — where it won the runner-up Jury Prize.
The Special Jury Award, the Silver Alexander, went to Maya Da-Rin’s “The Fever,” which world premiered at Locarno Film Festival. The film explores the complex and tense relationship between indigenous communities in Brazil and Western civilization.
The special jury award for best director, the Bronze Alexander, went to Melina Leon for “Song Without a Name,” which dramatizes a true-life case of Peruvian baby trafficking. The film played in Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes.
Greta Fernandez took the best actress...
The film, described in its Variety review as “a rustically beautiful rural parable,” played in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar — where it won the runner-up Jury Prize.
The Special Jury Award, the Silver Alexander, went to Maya Da-Rin’s “The Fever,” which world premiered at Locarno Film Festival. The film explores the complex and tense relationship between indigenous communities in Brazil and Western civilization.
The special jury award for best director, the Bronze Alexander, went to Melina Leon for “Song Without a Name,” which dramatizes a true-life case of Peruvian baby trafficking. The film played in Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes.
Greta Fernandez took the best actress...
- 11/10/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Premio Maguey, the Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival’s Lgbtq sidebar, will pay tribute to late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Plans include the screening of “Mapplethorpe,” Ondi Timoner’s drama starring Matt Smith, on its March 9 opening night gala, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the death of the iconic artist.
Mexican photographers have also been invited to participate in a competition for the best Mapplethorpe-inspired photo. A selection of the entries will be exhibited alongside the winners during the inaugural fiesta.
This year’s 8th edition features a highly diverse lineup of international films from as far afield as Indonesia, Slovenia, Estonia and Singapore, director-programmer Pavel Cortes told Variety.
“Not only do some hail from remote parts of the world but also from territories that are not known for their queer-themed cinema,” he noted. In some cases, films come from largely-homophobic countries like Russia or Muslim-dominant Indonesia. “‘Memories...
Mexican photographers have also been invited to participate in a competition for the best Mapplethorpe-inspired photo. A selection of the entries will be exhibited alongside the winners during the inaugural fiesta.
This year’s 8th edition features a highly diverse lineup of international films from as far afield as Indonesia, Slovenia, Estonia and Singapore, director-programmer Pavel Cortes told Variety.
“Not only do some hail from remote parts of the world but also from territories that are not known for their queer-themed cinema,” he noted. In some cases, films come from largely-homophobic countries like Russia or Muslim-dominant Indonesia. “‘Memories...
- 2/14/2019
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The Marrakesh International Film Festival, a popular event among Hollywood A-listers and international industry, has appointed Christoph Terhechte as Artistic Director.
Terhechte chaired the Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival from 2001 to 2018 and will oversee the 17th edition of the Moroccan festival between November 30 – December 8, 2018, after it took a year off in 2017 due to a reported lack of sponsorship.
Recent Marrakesh jury presidents have included Francis Ford Coppola, Isabelle Huppert and John Malkovich while jury members have included Jessica Chastain, Sigourney Weaver, the late Alan Rickman and Susanne Bier.
Melita Toscan du Plantier, director of public relations for the festival in 2001 and 2002 and director of the festival from 2003 to 2016, has been appointed advisor to His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, President of the Marrakech Film Festival Foundation.
The programming team will comprise Ali Hajji, long-time Casablanca festival delegate director and former general coordinator of Marrakech; curator Rasha Salti; critic...
Terhechte chaired the Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival from 2001 to 2018 and will oversee the 17th edition of the Moroccan festival between November 30 – December 8, 2018, after it took a year off in 2017 due to a reported lack of sponsorship.
Recent Marrakesh jury presidents have included Francis Ford Coppola, Isabelle Huppert and John Malkovich while jury members have included Jessica Chastain, Sigourney Weaver, the late Alan Rickman and Susanne Bier.
Melita Toscan du Plantier, director of public relations for the festival in 2001 and 2002 and director of the festival from 2003 to 2016, has been appointed advisor to His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, President of the Marrakech Film Festival Foundation.
The programming team will comprise Ali Hajji, long-time Casablanca festival delegate director and former general coordinator of Marrakech; curator Rasha Salti; critic...
- 6/25/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Christoph Terhechte is to stand down as head of the Berlin Film Festival’s long-running Forum sidebar section. He will depart in July. The festival, aka Berlinale, did not immediately announce a replacement.
Forum was set up in 1971. Terhechte joined its selection committee in 1997 and took over as its director in 2001. “Terhechte now wishes to take on new career challenges,” the festival said in a statement.
The move comes amid numerous other managerial and editorial changes at the Berlinale. Festival head Dieter Kosslick has announced his departure after next year’s edition in February 2019. Wieland Speck stood down last year as long-standing head of the Panorama section.
Kosslick’s departure sparked fierce debate in the German industry, both about the direction of the festival, as well as about how representative its management is of women, racial and other minorities.
“Sincere thanks to Christoph Terhechte for his long-standing and great work at Forum.
Forum was set up in 1971. Terhechte joined its selection committee in 1997 and took over as its director in 2001. “Terhechte now wishes to take on new career challenges,” the festival said in a statement.
The move comes amid numerous other managerial and editorial changes at the Berlinale. Festival head Dieter Kosslick has announced his departure after next year’s edition in February 2019. Wieland Speck stood down last year as long-standing head of the Panorama section.
Kosslick’s departure sparked fierce debate in the German industry, both about the direction of the festival, as well as about how representative its management is of women, racial and other minorities.
“Sincere thanks to Christoph Terhechte for his long-standing and great work at Forum.
- 5/16/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Dieter Kosslick will not renew his contract, ending May 2019, as head of BerlinaleDieter Kosslick will not renew his contract, ending May 2019, as head of Berlinale
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick in response to a letter signed by a group of German directors concerning the future of the Berlinale:
I can understand that these directors want transparency when it comes to the process of reforming the Berlinale. Its future is a matter of great importance for all us. Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters will be in charge of any proceedings.My contract ends on May 31, 2019. The Supervisory Board has asked me to submit a proposal for the potential restructuring of the Berlinale. I will do so — and this proposal will be totally independent of me personally.
Seventy-nine German directors wrote a petition asking for transparency in the process, it was recently published in Der Spiegel.
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick in response to a letter signed by a group of German directors concerning the future of the Berlinale:
I can understand that these directors want transparency when it comes to the process of reforming the Berlinale. Its future is a matter of great importance for all us. Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters will be in charge of any proceedings.My contract ends on May 31, 2019. The Supervisory Board has asked me to submit a proposal for the potential restructuring of the Berlinale. I will do so — and this proposal will be totally independent of me personally.
Seventy-nine German directors wrote a petition asking for transparency in the process, it was recently published in Der Spiegel.
- 12/6/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Paz Lázaro will head up new-look Panorama team; Speck moves on after 25 years.
The Berlin Film Festival has reshuffled the team for its sidebar Panorama, with previous head Wieland Speck handing over his position as head after 25 years in the role.
Speck will take on a new role as consultant to the Berlinale’s Official Programme. In his time at Panorama, he curated more than 1,800 fiction, documentary and short films.
Dieter Kosslick revealed that the new-look team will be headed by Paz Lázaro, who has been programme manager of Panorama since 2006.
She will be joined by Michael Stütz, who will shape the section as programme manager and will be responsible for the Teddy Award, and Andreas Struck, who, alongside his current curatorial tasks, will be responsibility for editorial and communications work around the Panorama programme. Both Stütz and Struck were already working in different capacities for Panorama.
The Berlin Film Festival has reshuffled the team for its sidebar Panorama, with previous head Wieland Speck handing over his position as head after 25 years in the role.
Speck will take on a new role as consultant to the Berlinale’s Official Programme. In his time at Panorama, he curated more than 1,800 fiction, documentary and short films.
Dieter Kosslick revealed that the new-look team will be headed by Paz Lázaro, who has been programme manager of Panorama since 2006.
She will be joined by Michael Stütz, who will shape the section as programme manager and will be responsible for the Teddy Award, and Andreas Struck, who, alongside his current curatorial tasks, will be responsibility for editorial and communications work around the Panorama programme. Both Stütz and Struck were already working in different capacities for Panorama.
- 8/21/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has reshuffled the team for its Panorama sidebar, with longtime head Wieland Speck shifting to a consultant role and a new team, headed by current program manager Paz Lazaro, taking over the reins together with Michael Stutz and Andreas Struck.
Lazaro, who has been program manager at Panorama since 2006, will be the formal head of the section but will curate the sidebar together with Stutz and Struck. Stutz will take over Lazaro's title as program manager and oversee the section's Teddy Award, which honors excellence in gay cinema. Struck will also handle editorial and communications...
Lazaro, who has been program manager at Panorama since 2006, will be the formal head of the section but will curate the sidebar together with Stutz and Struck. Stutz will take over Lazaro's title as program manager and oversee the section's Teddy Award, which honors excellence in gay cinema. Struck will also handle editorial and communications...
- 8/21/2017
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Bones of Contention” by Andrea Weiss sets out to search for the lost bones of Federico García Lorca and uncovers the buried and deliberately repressed history of Spain.
Spain is today one of the most progressive countries when it comes to homosexuality, and yet the nation still refuses to account comprehensively for its dark past before a court of law.
There are 120,000 victims of Franco’s regime buried in the unmarked mass graves that line the country roads of Spain, masked by miles and miles of pine trees. One of these victims is the world-renowned Spanish author Federico García Lorca, who was shot and killed by the fascists during the early days of the Spanish Civil War. The mystery that surrounds the exact location of his remains has made him a symbol for both the historical memory and Lgbtiq movements. For those seeking to remember and disclose the hidden stories...
Spain is today one of the most progressive countries when it comes to homosexuality, and yet the nation still refuses to account comprehensively for its dark past before a court of law.
There are 120,000 victims of Franco’s regime buried in the unmarked mass graves that line the country roads of Spain, masked by miles and miles of pine trees. One of these victims is the world-renowned Spanish author Federico García Lorca, who was shot and killed by the fascists during the early days of the Spanish Civil War. The mystery that surrounds the exact location of his remains has made him a symbol for both the historical memory and Lgbtiq movements. For those seeking to remember and disclose the hidden stories...
- 3/30/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Gallery: Pictures from the closing night and awards ceremony of the 15th Transilvania film festival; festival hands out industry development prizes.
Romanian director Bogdan Mirică’s feature debut Dogs (Câini) was the winner of the Transilvania Trophy at the 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Tiff) which came to a close yesterday (June 5).
The thriller about a young man from the big city coming to a remote village to sell the land he inherited from his grandfather had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes last month and is being handled internationally by Bac Films International.
The co-production between Marcela Ursu’s 42 Km Film, French producer Elie Meirovitz’s Ez Films and Bulgaria’s Stephan Komanderev’s Argo Film is the fourth Romanian film to win the top prize in Cluj-Napoca after Cristian Mungiu’s Occident at the first edition of Tiff in 2002, followed by two films by Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East...
Romanian director Bogdan Mirică’s feature debut Dogs (Câini) was the winner of the Transilvania Trophy at the 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Tiff) which came to a close yesterday (June 5).
The thriller about a young man from the big city coming to a remote village to sell the land he inherited from his grandfather had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes last month and is being handled internationally by Bac Films International.
The co-production between Marcela Ursu’s 42 Km Film, French producer Elie Meirovitz’s Ez Films and Bulgaria’s Stephan Komanderev’s Argo Film is the fourth Romanian film to win the top prize in Cluj-Napoca after Cristian Mungiu’s Occident at the first edition of Tiff in 2002, followed by two films by Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East...
- 6/6/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The festival will also honour Mad Max: Fury Road producer Iain Smith.
Legendary Italian actress Sophia Loren and Mad Max: Fury Road producer Iain Smith will be guests of honour at the 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Tiff, May 27 – June 5).
The festival kicks off this evening with the world premiere of Romanian director Nae Caranfil’s comedy 6.9. On The Richter Scale.
The festival’s closing gala on June 4 will see Loren [pictured in 2014 short Human Voice] – who is visiting Romania for the first time - receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, while Smith – who came to Romania to produce Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain in 2003 - will be presented with the Transilvania Trophy for Special Contribution to World Cinema on the same evening in Cluj’s National Theatre.
Competition
This year’s 12-strong Competition includes nine first features such as Bogdan Mirică’s Balkan anti-Western Dogs, Iranian director Ali Abbasi’s horror film Shelley, and [link=nm...
Legendary Italian actress Sophia Loren and Mad Max: Fury Road producer Iain Smith will be guests of honour at the 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Tiff, May 27 – June 5).
The festival kicks off this evening with the world premiere of Romanian director Nae Caranfil’s comedy 6.9. On The Richter Scale.
The festival’s closing gala on June 4 will see Loren [pictured in 2014 short Human Voice] – who is visiting Romania for the first time - receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, while Smith – who came to Romania to produce Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain in 2003 - will be presented with the Transilvania Trophy for Special Contribution to World Cinema on the same evening in Cluj’s National Theatre.
Competition
This year’s 12-strong Competition includes nine first features such as Bogdan Mirică’s Balkan anti-Western Dogs, Iranian director Ali Abbasi’s horror film Shelley, and [link=nm...
- 5/27/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The festival’s works in progress sidebar (Aug 6-8) will this year be focusing on Polish cinema.
The 2016 Locarno International Film Festival (Aug 3-13) will spotlight Polish cinema at this year’s edition of its works in progress sidebar.
The initiative, which selects between five and seven films in post-production, will offer film-makers the opportunity to present their works to industry professionals with the aim of facilitating completion and potentially attracting distribution.
The films will be screened as works-in-progress to sales agents, buyers and programmers.
This year’s jury to award the First Look prize will be: Cameron Bailey (Toronto International Film Festival Artistic Director), Bero Beyer (Rotterdam International Film Festival Director) and Wieland Speck (Director of Panorama at the Berlinale).
The Polish Film Institute will be accepting submissions until May 1, while the festival will announce its line-up in July.
The sidebar has now been running for five years, the previous countries represented were: Israel (2015), Brazil (2014), Chile...
The 2016 Locarno International Film Festival (Aug 3-13) will spotlight Polish cinema at this year’s edition of its works in progress sidebar.
The initiative, which selects between five and seven films in post-production, will offer film-makers the opportunity to present their works to industry professionals with the aim of facilitating completion and potentially attracting distribution.
The films will be screened as works-in-progress to sales agents, buyers and programmers.
This year’s jury to award the First Look prize will be: Cameron Bailey (Toronto International Film Festival Artistic Director), Bero Beyer (Rotterdam International Film Festival Director) and Wieland Speck (Director of Panorama at the Berlinale).
The Polish Film Institute will be accepting submissions until May 1, while the festival will announce its line-up in July.
The sidebar has now been running for five years, the previous countries represented were: Israel (2015), Brazil (2014), Chile...
- 2/12/2016
- ScreenDaily
We present the winners of the 20th edition of the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) held in Busan, South Korea.
After ten days the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) have come to an end. The event ran from the 1st until the 10th of October in the beautiful city of Busan, South Korea. This year 302 films from 75 countries were screened in six venues. The catalogue presented 94 world premieres and 31 international premieres. The organizers are very happy as the total attendance reached a new record, during the ten days 227.377 persons assist the different screenings. There were a lot of GVs, outdoor screenings, various Forums and Talks that capture the interest of the people. Once again the festival establish itself as one of the most important film festivals in the region.
Biff Awards
New Currents Award
Immortal by Hadi Mohaghegh – Iran
Walnut Tree by Yerlan Nurmukhambetov – Kazakhstan
Biff Mecenat Award
Boys Run...
After ten days the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) have come to an end. The event ran from the 1st until the 10th of October in the beautiful city of Busan, South Korea. This year 302 films from 75 countries were screened in six venues. The catalogue presented 94 world premieres and 31 international premieres. The organizers are very happy as the total attendance reached a new record, during the ten days 227.377 persons assist the different screenings. There were a lot of GVs, outdoor screenings, various Forums and Talks that capture the interest of the people. Once again the festival establish itself as one of the most important film festivals in the region.
Biff Awards
New Currents Award
Immortal by Hadi Mohaghegh – Iran
Walnut Tree by Yerlan Nurmukhambetov – Kazakhstan
Biff Mecenat Award
Boys Run...
- 10/14/2015
- by Sebastian Nadilo
- AsianMoviePulse
Iranian filmmaker Hadi Mohaghegh’s Immortal and Walnut Tree from Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Nurmukhambetov were presented with the New Currents Awards at the close of the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Saturday night.
The jury described Immortal as “an extraordinary feat of visual storytelling, filled with emotion, that’s partly about how to die but mostly about how to live, and how to keep our dignity as human beings.” The film also picked up the Fipresci award.
Walnut Tree was described as: “A film that shows a way of life that’s unfamiliar to most of us but proves how humour, kindness and forgiveness connect us all.”
Taiwanese filmmaker Sylvia Chang headed the jury, which also included Indian director Anurag Kashyap, Korean filmmaker Kim Tae-young, actress Nastassja Kinski and Us critic Stephanie Zacharek.
Meanwhile, the Biff Mecenat Award for Korea went to Kang Seokpil’s Boys Run, while the Biff Mecenat Award for Asia went to...
The jury described Immortal as “an extraordinary feat of visual storytelling, filled with emotion, that’s partly about how to die but mostly about how to live, and how to keep our dignity as human beings.” The film also picked up the Fipresci award.
Walnut Tree was described as: “A film that shows a way of life that’s unfamiliar to most of us but proves how humour, kindness and forgiveness connect us all.”
Taiwanese filmmaker Sylvia Chang headed the jury, which also included Indian director Anurag Kashyap, Korean filmmaker Kim Tae-young, actress Nastassja Kinski and Us critic Stephanie Zacharek.
Meanwhile, the Biff Mecenat Award for Korea went to Kang Seokpil’s Boys Run, while the Biff Mecenat Award for Asia went to...
- 10/12/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Three-time emmy award winning documentary filmmaker Alan Berliner is set to speak at this year's Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney..
As part of DocTalk, delegates will hear from leading international documentary specialists, including festival programmers and funding experts, at the one-day series of masterclasses and panel discussion.
Acclaimed Us documentary filmmaker, Berliner; Wieland Speck and Maryanne Redpath from the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale); and Leah Biblin from Cinereach in New York will speak at DocTalk in Sydney on Wednesday 14 October 2015.
Berliner will deliver the Directing Documentary Masterclass at DocTalk.
Speck, the director of the Panorama section at Berlinale - a position that he.s held for more than 20 years - will provide insight into Berlinale and the European Film Market at DocTalk.
Redpath, the official Berlinale Delegate for Australia and New Zealand, head of the Generation section and head curator of the NATIVe series of Indigenous programming at Berlinale,...
As part of DocTalk, delegates will hear from leading international documentary specialists, including festival programmers and funding experts, at the one-day series of masterclasses and panel discussion.
Acclaimed Us documentary filmmaker, Berliner; Wieland Speck and Maryanne Redpath from the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale); and Leah Biblin from Cinereach in New York will speak at DocTalk in Sydney on Wednesday 14 October 2015.
Berliner will deliver the Directing Documentary Masterclass at DocTalk.
Speck, the director of the Panorama section at Berlinale - a position that he.s held for more than 20 years - will provide insight into Berlinale and the European Film Market at DocTalk.
Redpath, the official Berlinale Delegate for Australia and New Zealand, head of the Generation section and head curator of the NATIVe series of Indigenous programming at Berlinale,...
- 9/25/2015
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
South Korean film festival also announces Wide Angle juries.
The 20th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) (Oct 1-10) has announced that Berlinale Panorama director Wieland Speck is to receive this year’s Korean Cinema Award.
The award is annually awarded to individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Korean Cinema to worldwide audiences.
Biff decided to award it this year to Speck who has screened a total of 29 Korean films in his 23 years at his post.
Speck’s selections included Im Kwon-taek’s Seopyonje (1994), and films by Ryoo Seungwan, E J-Yong, Lee Songhee-il, and Kim Ki-duk.
Speck said: “Korean cinema remains ever surprising, a vivid mirror of its diverse societal developments - which makes selecting for the Berlin International Film Festival so exciting.”
Past winners of the Korean Cinema Award include Cannes’ Gilles Jacob, Tokyo Filmex’s Hayashi Kanako and Film Society of the Lincoln Center’s Richard Pena.
Wide Angle Juries...
The 20th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) (Oct 1-10) has announced that Berlinale Panorama director Wieland Speck is to receive this year’s Korean Cinema Award.
The award is annually awarded to individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Korean Cinema to worldwide audiences.
Biff decided to award it this year to Speck who has screened a total of 29 Korean films in his 23 years at his post.
Speck’s selections included Im Kwon-taek’s Seopyonje (1994), and films by Ryoo Seungwan, E J-Yong, Lee Songhee-il, and Kim Ki-duk.
Speck said: “Korean cinema remains ever surprising, a vivid mirror of its diverse societal developments - which makes selecting for the Berlin International Film Festival so exciting.”
Past winners of the Korean Cinema Award include Cannes’ Gilles Jacob, Tokyo Filmex’s Hayashi Kanako and Film Society of the Lincoln Center’s Richard Pena.
Wide Angle Juries...
- 8/19/2015
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The trial of the detained Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov is expected “not before the end of July”, according to his cousin Natalja Kaplan.
Speaking at the opening of Berlin’s first Ukrainian Film Days held in solidarity with the director, Kaplan said that Sentsov has been moved from the prison in Moscow to await his trial in Rostov on the Don, more than 14 months after his arrest by the Russian security services in Crimea in May 2014.
The trial date had been postponed on several occasions, most recently in May when it was said that the trial proceedings would begin by July 11 at the latest, two days before Sentsov’s birthday on July 13.
Kaplan, who is regularly in contact with her cousin and has attended his previous court appearances, said that Sentsov has “prepared himself for the fact that he will receive a sentence of 20 years, but this system will not survive the 20 years.”
She told an...
Speaking at the opening of Berlin’s first Ukrainian Film Days held in solidarity with the director, Kaplan said that Sentsov has been moved from the prison in Moscow to await his trial in Rostov on the Don, more than 14 months after his arrest by the Russian security services in Crimea in May 2014.
The trial date had been postponed on several occasions, most recently in May when it was said that the trial proceedings would begin by July 11 at the latest, two days before Sentsov’s birthday on July 13.
Kaplan, who is regularly in contact with her cousin and has attended his previous court appearances, said that Sentsov has “prepared himself for the fact that he will receive a sentence of 20 years, but this system will not survive the 20 years.”
She told an...
- 6/30/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Russian culture secretary calls collaboration “frozen” as industries strive to continue cross-border production.
The ongoing political tension between Russia and Ukraine was not forgotten during this week’s Moscow International Film Festival (Miff), which ends tomorrow (Friday).
At a meeting with representatives of two new Russian films Battle for Sevastopol and The Territory, Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky described collaboration between the Russian and Ukrainian film industries as currently being ¨frozen¨.
Signs of the instability were evident in the nationalities of some titles at the festival, including Sergey Mokritskiy’s Russian box office success Battle for Sevastopol [$8m (Rub 435m) since April 2], which had initially been made as a Russian-Ukrainian co-production.
The International Competition included world premieres of Alexander Mindadze’s Russian-uk-German co-production My Good Hans, which was largely shot on location in Ukraine’s Nikopol and had originally had a Ukrainian co-producer on board.
Other films to have shot in Ukraine and screen at the festival included Andrey Proshkin’s Orleans...
The ongoing political tension between Russia and Ukraine was not forgotten during this week’s Moscow International Film Festival (Miff), which ends tomorrow (Friday).
At a meeting with representatives of two new Russian films Battle for Sevastopol and The Territory, Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky described collaboration between the Russian and Ukrainian film industries as currently being ¨frozen¨.
Signs of the instability were evident in the nationalities of some titles at the festival, including Sergey Mokritskiy’s Russian box office success Battle for Sevastopol [$8m (Rub 435m) since April 2], which had initially been made as a Russian-Ukrainian co-production.
The International Competition included world premieres of Alexander Mindadze’s Russian-uk-German co-production My Good Hans, which was largely shot on location in Ukraine’s Nikopol and had originally had a Ukrainian co-producer on board.
Other films to have shot in Ukraine and screen at the festival included Andrey Proshkin’s Orleans...
- 6/25/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Feature about gender reassignment wins international documentary competition.
Karolina Bielawska’s Call Me Marianna was the big winner at this year’s Krakow Film Festival (May 31 - June 7) with four awards, including the International Documentary Competition’s main prize, the Golden Horn, and the Audience Award
Bielwaska’s film about a man’s decision to undergo gender reassignment also picked up the Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness, funded by the National Broadcasting Council; and Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce’s Award for the Best Short and Documentary Films Producer in Poland to producer Zbigniew Domagalski of Studio Filmowe Kalejdoskop.
The International Documentary Competition jury, headed by Wieland Speck of the Berlinale’s Panorama, remarked on the “sensitive, intense and complex portrayal of a brave approach to life”.
The jury also noted that “the journey through life from man to woman in a dualistically dominated culture, the transformation from being a family man to the...
Karolina Bielawska’s Call Me Marianna was the big winner at this year’s Krakow Film Festival (May 31 - June 7) with four awards, including the International Documentary Competition’s main prize, the Golden Horn, and the Audience Award
Bielwaska’s film about a man’s decision to undergo gender reassignment also picked up the Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness, funded by the National Broadcasting Council; and Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce’s Award for the Best Short and Documentary Films Producer in Poland to producer Zbigniew Domagalski of Studio Filmowe Kalejdoskop.
The International Documentary Competition jury, headed by Wieland Speck of the Berlinale’s Panorama, remarked on the “sensitive, intense and complex portrayal of a brave approach to life”.
The jury also noted that “the journey through life from man to woman in a dualistically dominated culture, the transformation from being a family man to the...
- 6/8/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Lithuanian documentaries will be in the spotlight at this year’s 55th Krakow Film Festival (May 31-June 7) which opens with Krzysztof Kopczynski’s The Dybbuk. A Tale Of Wandering Souls.
It marks is the fourth time Krakow has selected a guest country and will include a special screening of Giedrė Žickytė’s How We Played The Revolution, produced by Dagne Vildziunaite, one of Screen’s Future Leaders in Cannes last month.
Vildziunaite also has the latest film by Žickytė, Master And Tatjana, screening in the festival’s International Documentary Competition.
She will also be participating with such colleagues as the Lithuanian Film Centre’s chief Rolandas Kvietkauskas, filmmaker Audrius Stonys and broadcaster Izolda Keidosiute of Lrt in a conference during the festival to discuss the various strategies adopted by the documentary community in her country .
Other films shown in the “Focus on Lithuania” will include Linas Mikuta’s Dinner, Rimantas Gruodis’ Lucky Year, and Ričardas...
It marks is the fourth time Krakow has selected a guest country and will include a special screening of Giedrė Žickytė’s How We Played The Revolution, produced by Dagne Vildziunaite, one of Screen’s Future Leaders in Cannes last month.
Vildziunaite also has the latest film by Žickytė, Master And Tatjana, screening in the festival’s International Documentary Competition.
She will also be participating with such colleagues as the Lithuanian Film Centre’s chief Rolandas Kvietkauskas, filmmaker Audrius Stonys and broadcaster Izolda Keidosiute of Lrt in a conference during the festival to discuss the various strategies adopted by the documentary community in her country .
Other films shown in the “Focus on Lithuania” will include Linas Mikuta’s Dinner, Rimantas Gruodis’ Lucky Year, and Ričardas...
- 5/29/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Festival organisers presented the three inaugural awards on Monday (October 6) at Rio’s Ccbb cultural centre to films that tackled Lgbt themes.
The Felix winners at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival selected from 43 films were:
Best Fiction Film
Xenia, (Greece-France-Belgium), dir Panos H Koutras;
Best Documentary
Tie And Red Nail (De Gravata E Unha Vermelha) (Brazil), dir Miriam Chnaiderman; and
Special Jury Prize
52 Tuesdays (Australia), dir Sophie Hyde.
In previous editions of Festival do Rio, gay-themed films screened in the Gay World strand. This year organisers chose to screen films across the entire programme.
Wieland Speck, director of Berlin’s Panorama section and co-creator of the Teddy Award, served as jury president alongside Central Station screenwriter João Emanuel Carmeiro, Albertina Carri, the artistic director of *Asterisco – International Lgbtiq Film Festival of Buenos Aires, and Margaret Mee e a Flor Da Lua director Malu de Martino.
Presenting the awards were, among others...
The Felix winners at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival selected from 43 films were:
Best Fiction Film
Xenia, (Greece-France-Belgium), dir Panos H Koutras;
Best Documentary
Tie And Red Nail (De Gravata E Unha Vermelha) (Brazil), dir Miriam Chnaiderman; and
Special Jury Prize
52 Tuesdays (Australia), dir Sophie Hyde.
In previous editions of Festival do Rio, gay-themed films screened in the Gay World strand. This year organisers chose to screen films across the entire programme.
Wieland Speck, director of Berlin’s Panorama section and co-creator of the Teddy Award, served as jury president alongside Central Station screenwriter João Emanuel Carmeiro, Albertina Carri, the artistic director of *Asterisco – International Lgbtiq Film Festival of Buenos Aires, and Margaret Mee e a Flor Da Lua director Malu de Martino.
Presenting the awards were, among others...
- 10/7/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Norwegian director Ole Giaever’s Toronto title has become the first selection for the Panorama strand at the next Berlinale.
Norwegian director Ole Giaever’s Out of Nature (Mot naturen), which received its world premiere at Toronto earlier this month, has been revealed as the first title for the Panorama section at the next Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 5-15, 2015)
Giaever also plays the lead in the comic drama about the uncensored thoughts of a man on a solo hiking trip. His debut feature, The Mountain, screened in Berlin’s Panorama section in 2011.
Panorama curator Wieland Speck described the film as “a disarmingly modern tale of male self reflection” and called it “a brave take on integrity, emancipation and identity”.
The Panorama strand comprises 18 films intended to provide insight into new directions of art house cinema.
Co-directed by Marte Vold, Out of Nature co-stars Marte Magnusdotter Solem, Rebekka Nystabakk and Ellen Birgitte Winther.
It will be...
Norwegian director Ole Giaever’s Out of Nature (Mot naturen), which received its world premiere at Toronto earlier this month, has been revealed as the first title for the Panorama section at the next Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 5-15, 2015)
Giaever also plays the lead in the comic drama about the uncensored thoughts of a man on a solo hiking trip. His debut feature, The Mountain, screened in Berlin’s Panorama section in 2011.
Panorama curator Wieland Speck described the film as “a disarmingly modern tale of male self reflection” and called it “a brave take on integrity, emancipation and identity”.
The Panorama strand comprises 18 films intended to provide insight into new directions of art house cinema.
Co-directed by Marte Vold, Out of Nature co-stars Marte Magnusdotter Solem, Rebekka Nystabakk and Ellen Birgitte Winther.
It will be...
- 9/17/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Taking advantage of the impact that film has on modern society and aiming to promote a culture of tolerance and non- discrimination, the Guadalajara International Film Festival in ist 29th edition (FICG29) presents the Maguey Award (Premio Maguey) for the third consecutive year, an accolade to films whose narratives reveal an open sexuality, a cinema of acceptance towards sexual diversity in all its manifestations, cinema that gives a voice to "minorities" whom up to now have resisted oppression.
The Maguey Award favors Lgbttti cinema (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transvestite, Transgender, and Intersexual) that aims to eradicate homophobia and sexual discrimination around the world.
A total of 18 films from 14 countries form the Official Selection compete for the Maguey Award 03. The titles are Free Fall (Germany), Snails in the Rain (Israel), The Dune aka La Dune (France/ Israel), Test (U.S.), Sarah Prefers To Run (Canada), Off Road (Italy), Four Moons aka Cuatro Lunas (Mexico), Gerontophilia (Canada), Out in the Line Up (Australia), Tom at the Farm (Canada/ France), Floating Skyscrapers (Poland), Ignasi M (Spain), Land of Storms (Hungary/ Germany), Getting Go; the Go Doc Project (U.S.), Julia (Germany/ Italy), Dual (Slovenia), the Winner of the Teddy Award 2014 The Way He Looks aka Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (Brazil) ), and Bad Hair aka Pelo Malo (Venezuela).
As in in previous editions, this year five awards will be handed out: The Posthumous Homage Maguey Award, which will be dedicated to Divine, an eccentric personality who worked with director John Waters and whose irreverent personality transcended the big screen. Ruby Rich and Roberto Espejo will be awarded the Queer Icon Maguey Award for their work which dignifies and promotes a stance in favor of the Lgbttti community's rights. And Wieland Speck, founder of the Teddy Award and Director of the Panorama section at the Berlinale will be honored with the Trajectory Maguey Award.
The last award to be handed out -- and the most relevant -- is the Maguey Award for Best Film 2014, which will be determined by a team of outstanding personalities from the Queer cinematic landscape with internationally recognized careers: Benoît Arnulf, Artistic Director of In&Out, the queer film festival in Nice, France, Katharine Setzer, Director of Programming of image+nation in Canada; Michael Stütz, Programming Consultant for the Panorama section and Coordination of the Teddy Awards during the Berlinale, as well as Co-director of the Xposed Festival also in Berlin; David Ramón, Founder and Director of the Unam's Gay Film Festival and Kim Yutani, Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival and Artistic Director of Outfest Los Ángeles.
As part of the activities around the Maguey Award to secure its promise of breaking social paradigms, a curated selection by Jürgen Brüning, director of the Porn Film Festival Berlin of the best Porn cinema will be presented.
In collaboration with the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Sebastianese Award, the Winner of the Concha de Oro Award, Bad Hair (Pelo Malo) will be screened. Also, in an alliance with the Teddy Award, like in the two previous editions, the winner of such award during its recent 28th edition, The Way He Looks, will also be shown.
The Maguey Award favors Lgbttti cinema (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transvestite, Transgender, and Intersexual) that aims to eradicate homophobia and sexual discrimination around the world.
A total of 18 films from 14 countries form the Official Selection compete for the Maguey Award 03. The titles are Free Fall (Germany), Snails in the Rain (Israel), The Dune aka La Dune (France/ Israel), Test (U.S.), Sarah Prefers To Run (Canada), Off Road (Italy), Four Moons aka Cuatro Lunas (Mexico), Gerontophilia (Canada), Out in the Line Up (Australia), Tom at the Farm (Canada/ France), Floating Skyscrapers (Poland), Ignasi M (Spain), Land of Storms (Hungary/ Germany), Getting Go; the Go Doc Project (U.S.), Julia (Germany/ Italy), Dual (Slovenia), the Winner of the Teddy Award 2014 The Way He Looks aka Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (Brazil) ), and Bad Hair aka Pelo Malo (Venezuela).
As in in previous editions, this year five awards will be handed out: The Posthumous Homage Maguey Award, which will be dedicated to Divine, an eccentric personality who worked with director John Waters and whose irreverent personality transcended the big screen. Ruby Rich and Roberto Espejo will be awarded the Queer Icon Maguey Award for their work which dignifies and promotes a stance in favor of the Lgbttti community's rights. And Wieland Speck, founder of the Teddy Award and Director of the Panorama section at the Berlinale will be honored with the Trajectory Maguey Award.
The last award to be handed out -- and the most relevant -- is the Maguey Award for Best Film 2014, which will be determined by a team of outstanding personalities from the Queer cinematic landscape with internationally recognized careers: Benoît Arnulf, Artistic Director of In&Out, the queer film festival in Nice, France, Katharine Setzer, Director of Programming of image+nation in Canada; Michael Stütz, Programming Consultant for the Panorama section and Coordination of the Teddy Awards during the Berlinale, as well as Co-director of the Xposed Festival also in Berlin; David Ramón, Founder and Director of the Unam's Gay Film Festival and Kim Yutani, Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival and Artistic Director of Outfest Los Ángeles.
As part of the activities around the Maguey Award to secure its promise of breaking social paradigms, a curated selection by Jürgen Brüning, director of the Porn Film Festival Berlin of the best Porn cinema will be presented.
In collaboration with the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Sebastianese Award, the Winner of the Concha de Oro Award, Bad Hair (Pelo Malo) will be screened. Also, in an alliance with the Teddy Award, like in the two previous editions, the winner of such award during its recent 28th edition, The Way He Looks, will also be shown.
- 3/19/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Angelina Jolie exec produced film wins at Berlin Film Festival.Scroll down for full list of winners
Ethiopian film Difret, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, has won the best fiction film prize in the 16th Panorama Audience Awards, in which Swiss feature The Circle (Der Kreis), Stefan Haupt, has also been named best documentary.
Voted for by the public, the award is presented by the Berlinale’s Panorama section in collaboration with radioeins of Berlin-Brandenburg’s public radio and television station rbb, and tip Berlin, Berlin’s city magazine.
The official award ceremony will be held on Berlinale Kinotag - a day of screenings for the public - on Sunday (Feb 16).
Difret, executive produced by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, centres on a young teenage girl who has to defend herself in court after killing her would-be husband during an attempt to abduct her into marriage.
The film, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the...
Ethiopian film Difret, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, has won the best fiction film prize in the 16th Panorama Audience Awards, in which Swiss feature The Circle (Der Kreis), Stefan Haupt, has also been named best documentary.
Voted for by the public, the award is presented by the Berlinale’s Panorama section in collaboration with radioeins of Berlin-Brandenburg’s public radio and television station rbb, and tip Berlin, Berlin’s city magazine.
The official award ceremony will be held on Berlinale Kinotag - a day of screenings for the public - on Sunday (Feb 16).
Difret, executive produced by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, centres on a young teenage girl who has to defend herself in court after killing her would-be husband during an attempt to abduct her into marriage.
The film, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the...
- 2/15/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
During Afm I was privileged to interview Beki Probst, Director of the European Film Market, one of the three top international film markets in the world and Wieland Speck, Director of the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama. Both are innovators of what have become the standard features of film markets and festivals. Beki and Wieland speak about their roles live-on-video filmed during Afm by doc filmmaker Robert Ball.
The Berlin International Film Festival began in 1951 at the height of the Cold War as a signal to East Germany that West Berlin was still in the Avant Garde. It is now one of the world’s leading film festivals selling something more than 300,000 tickets to the public.
When the festival moved from West Berlin to Potsdamer Platz in time for its 50th anniversary in 2000, its name was changed and trademarked as the Berlinale.
The European Film Market (Efm) was created by the Berlin International Film Festival somewhere in the mid 1980s because those whose films were screening in the Festival also needed a place where distributors around the world could meet to acquire the rights to license the burgeoning home video rights along with the theatrical and TV rights. Other festivals scouting films to program also began attending in greater numbers. Today about 20,000 industry visitors attend along with some 4,000 journalists from a total of 130 countries. Trade alone purchases some 175,000 additional tickets to screenings.
Beki thus took a leading role in how markets operate, although hers was originally a market strictly for festival art films. This is in contrast to the American Film Market which had no affiliation to a festival and offered genre films as well which were being licensed for home video. At that time in the 80s, there was also the Cannes Market which ran alongside the Cannes Film Festival but was pretty chaotic. There was also the now defunct Mifed, a market in Milan Italy for international films.
When Mifed went out of existence, the Efm expanded its role by popular demand and became an equal on “The Film Circuit “ as a Must-Attend Market for most of the world’s 400 + international sales agents. In spite of its growth, Beki has retained the jewel-like quality of the market.
When the Berlin Wall fell and the wasteland which had been Potsdamer Platz was reclaimed and rebuilt by the united Germany, “Her Market” (she is still very much the elegant grand dame of the international film business), retained its artful demeanor by relocating to the Martin Gropius Bau.
It remains the unique trait of Efm that the Berlin Market was developed by the festival programmers. The festival programmers are still influential for the market offerings. The market and the festival are symbiotic and are also symbolic of more than the former cold war challenge it threw down to the Eastern European Soviet block. It remains a beacon for discussion of art, culture, politics and international coproductions which reflect countries’ unique points of views.
While the larger international sales agents like Im Global, The Weinstein Company, FilmNation and others are located in the nearby Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt or Marriot Hotels, the originators of the market, the German entities, the Italians, French, Latino, Spanish, Scandinavian and other international sales companies, along with some U.S. companies, are housed in the Martin Gropius Bau, one of Berlin’s top museums except for the 10 days of the Efm in February.
The Martin Gropius Bau was built by Martin Gropius who was the father of Walter Gropius, one of the original architects who gave Los Angeles, California its modern look.
Parenthetically, as I write this from Havana, I must remark on how the Walter Gropius signature seems to appear on many of the houses and apartment buildings here as well. Bauhaus architects brought their ideas to Cuba as well as to L.A. In Havana, I visited the Swiss Embassy which is in a house by Richard Neutra, another of the German/ Austrian modernists.
The Efm maintains its jewel museum quality even with the larger sales agents selling out their slates. As you enter the Martin Gropius Bau, you are greeted during the first days by guards, dressed in quite beautiful red and gold uniforms wearing white gloves. I get great pleasure from the gorgeous red carpet awards ceremony where I can see the sort of films winning the top awards which then go on to win Oscars like the Golden Bear winning A Separation which later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2011, or Child’s Pose which should have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Academy Award. On the last two days after the Awards, going to Friedrichs Palast, another jewel of a theater in the old East Berlin to see the best of the films I missed, seeing filmmakers there doing the same is a rare treat, one that I count on having every year.
Beki and Wieland present themselves as active but also the “memory” of the festival. Knowledge of the past is important even while they are choosing the best of new films. It is important for the market that the public audience of more than 300,000 (plus another 175,000 professionals) also attend the festival, unlike in Cannes where the public is not included at all, or Afm where there is no festival or public participation. Likewise, the market is important as part of support for the big city audiences in on the five continents as the buyers are encouraged to take films which will play well in big cities. Professionals need to experience public reactions to films and the public enjoys its ability to view with a critical eye the films selected for the festival.
Festival audiences are not exactly like normal year round moviegoers, even though Berliners are spoiled by cultural events galore and therefore are a very critical audience. Berlin is also a very historical city with its own special memories with a politicizing effect.
Afm, Efm and Cannes are all very collegial and each one is quite different. Afm’s nature is different – ocean, sun, it is in a beautiful setting. Efm is cold, it forces the people to watch movies — both art and mainstream. Small films still have a place in the sun. They get attention at Efm which is very important. Press is not allowed unless the producers want to Ok their presence in their screenings.
The Place of Documentaries
Beki recently developed The Doc Corner, but docs have a long history in Berlin. The Forum was begun in 1971 as a sort of counter-program to the Berlinale and from day one docs had a strong role. In 1980 the Panorama began as a different sort of counter programming, including Glbt programming and docs. Out the 50 films shown, ⅓ are docs. In 1990 the docs changed because television had shortened the doc form and the audiences wanted something more substantive to chew on. Cinema took over the documentaries with in depth subject being covered. Panorama Dokumente showed premieres during the festival at 5pm. Earlier in the day were market films, later in the evening were the larger gala and competitive films.
Beki saw the market as including docs of course since there are lots of docs in the festival sections. A woman at the Jerusalem Film Festival said to Beki it would be good if Berlin had a place doc producers, buyers and sellers could meet up, and so Beki set up The Doc Corner. This year in partnership with the Leipzig Doc Festival and Visions du Reel from Nyon, there will be a strong place for documentaries to attract attention.
A Place for First Timers
Last year an introductory session, “Shortcuts for First Timers” to the market was held in the Mirror Restaurant for some 300 to 400 newcomers. This year it will continue, perhaps with some changes. If I might suggest some changes, I would recommend that the names of those explaining how to navigate within the market and all its sidebars and attractions have their names posted visibly on the screen behind them, where maps and other graphics could also be displayed. It would helpful to know the audience makeup - are they filmmakers? journalists? actors? It was a surprise to hear such a question as “How do I meet financiers for my film?” asked last year. I would also love to post a replay of the panel to help my students learn about what to expect at a film market.
The new Berlinale Residency Program for writer/ directors to stay four months in Berlin working on their fiction, doc or cross-media projects with professional mentors in September to December, followed by the February presentations at the Co-Produciton Market was introduced last year.
The Talent Campus which has now changed its name to Berlin Talents and the tours I give are also briefly explained at the First Times event. This program was one of Dieter Kosslick’s best ideas when he took over the festival from Moritz de Hadlin so many years ago.
And the use of Wi-Fi and the password written on our badges needs a bit of explanation along with the red-lighted paths which direct participants to screening venues are other innovations. Also there is a new educational innovation called Making Waves in which five film schools participate by making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves includes the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia University Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman, Le Femis from France, the dffb from Germany and l’Escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University.
Structural Changes in 2014
This year will be remarkable in a shift back to West Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old market. The festival returns to the newly restored 800 seat Zoo Palast where the festival was originally held. Panorama Specials and Generations will show there along with market films in the smaller theaters.
This is a shift back to the west of Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old glamorous West. The Kempinski and Savoy Hotels are very hot there as well. So the Berlinale is regaining the past in some ways.
For more info on the European Film Market visit Here...
The Berlin International Film Festival began in 1951 at the height of the Cold War as a signal to East Germany that West Berlin was still in the Avant Garde. It is now one of the world’s leading film festivals selling something more than 300,000 tickets to the public.
When the festival moved from West Berlin to Potsdamer Platz in time for its 50th anniversary in 2000, its name was changed and trademarked as the Berlinale.
The European Film Market (Efm) was created by the Berlin International Film Festival somewhere in the mid 1980s because those whose films were screening in the Festival also needed a place where distributors around the world could meet to acquire the rights to license the burgeoning home video rights along with the theatrical and TV rights. Other festivals scouting films to program also began attending in greater numbers. Today about 20,000 industry visitors attend along with some 4,000 journalists from a total of 130 countries. Trade alone purchases some 175,000 additional tickets to screenings.
Beki thus took a leading role in how markets operate, although hers was originally a market strictly for festival art films. This is in contrast to the American Film Market which had no affiliation to a festival and offered genre films as well which were being licensed for home video. At that time in the 80s, there was also the Cannes Market which ran alongside the Cannes Film Festival but was pretty chaotic. There was also the now defunct Mifed, a market in Milan Italy for international films.
When Mifed went out of existence, the Efm expanded its role by popular demand and became an equal on “The Film Circuit “ as a Must-Attend Market for most of the world’s 400 + international sales agents. In spite of its growth, Beki has retained the jewel-like quality of the market.
When the Berlin Wall fell and the wasteland which had been Potsdamer Platz was reclaimed and rebuilt by the united Germany, “Her Market” (she is still very much the elegant grand dame of the international film business), retained its artful demeanor by relocating to the Martin Gropius Bau.
It remains the unique trait of Efm that the Berlin Market was developed by the festival programmers. The festival programmers are still influential for the market offerings. The market and the festival are symbiotic and are also symbolic of more than the former cold war challenge it threw down to the Eastern European Soviet block. It remains a beacon for discussion of art, culture, politics and international coproductions which reflect countries’ unique points of views.
While the larger international sales agents like Im Global, The Weinstein Company, FilmNation and others are located in the nearby Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt or Marriot Hotels, the originators of the market, the German entities, the Italians, French, Latino, Spanish, Scandinavian and other international sales companies, along with some U.S. companies, are housed in the Martin Gropius Bau, one of Berlin’s top museums except for the 10 days of the Efm in February.
The Martin Gropius Bau was built by Martin Gropius who was the father of Walter Gropius, one of the original architects who gave Los Angeles, California its modern look.
Parenthetically, as I write this from Havana, I must remark on how the Walter Gropius signature seems to appear on many of the houses and apartment buildings here as well. Bauhaus architects brought their ideas to Cuba as well as to L.A. In Havana, I visited the Swiss Embassy which is in a house by Richard Neutra, another of the German/ Austrian modernists.
The Efm maintains its jewel museum quality even with the larger sales agents selling out their slates. As you enter the Martin Gropius Bau, you are greeted during the first days by guards, dressed in quite beautiful red and gold uniforms wearing white gloves. I get great pleasure from the gorgeous red carpet awards ceremony where I can see the sort of films winning the top awards which then go on to win Oscars like the Golden Bear winning A Separation which later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2011, or Child’s Pose which should have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Academy Award. On the last two days after the Awards, going to Friedrichs Palast, another jewel of a theater in the old East Berlin to see the best of the films I missed, seeing filmmakers there doing the same is a rare treat, one that I count on having every year.
Beki and Wieland present themselves as active but also the “memory” of the festival. Knowledge of the past is important even while they are choosing the best of new films. It is important for the market that the public audience of more than 300,000 (plus another 175,000 professionals) also attend the festival, unlike in Cannes where the public is not included at all, or Afm where there is no festival or public participation. Likewise, the market is important as part of support for the big city audiences in on the five continents as the buyers are encouraged to take films which will play well in big cities. Professionals need to experience public reactions to films and the public enjoys its ability to view with a critical eye the films selected for the festival.
Festival audiences are not exactly like normal year round moviegoers, even though Berliners are spoiled by cultural events galore and therefore are a very critical audience. Berlin is also a very historical city with its own special memories with a politicizing effect.
Afm, Efm and Cannes are all very collegial and each one is quite different. Afm’s nature is different – ocean, sun, it is in a beautiful setting. Efm is cold, it forces the people to watch movies — both art and mainstream. Small films still have a place in the sun. They get attention at Efm which is very important. Press is not allowed unless the producers want to Ok their presence in their screenings.
The Place of Documentaries
Beki recently developed The Doc Corner, but docs have a long history in Berlin. The Forum was begun in 1971 as a sort of counter-program to the Berlinale and from day one docs had a strong role. In 1980 the Panorama began as a different sort of counter programming, including Glbt programming and docs. Out the 50 films shown, ⅓ are docs. In 1990 the docs changed because television had shortened the doc form and the audiences wanted something more substantive to chew on. Cinema took over the documentaries with in depth subject being covered. Panorama Dokumente showed premieres during the festival at 5pm. Earlier in the day were market films, later in the evening were the larger gala and competitive films.
Beki saw the market as including docs of course since there are lots of docs in the festival sections. A woman at the Jerusalem Film Festival said to Beki it would be good if Berlin had a place doc producers, buyers and sellers could meet up, and so Beki set up The Doc Corner. This year in partnership with the Leipzig Doc Festival and Visions du Reel from Nyon, there will be a strong place for documentaries to attract attention.
A Place for First Timers
Last year an introductory session, “Shortcuts for First Timers” to the market was held in the Mirror Restaurant for some 300 to 400 newcomers. This year it will continue, perhaps with some changes. If I might suggest some changes, I would recommend that the names of those explaining how to navigate within the market and all its sidebars and attractions have their names posted visibly on the screen behind them, where maps and other graphics could also be displayed. It would helpful to know the audience makeup - are they filmmakers? journalists? actors? It was a surprise to hear such a question as “How do I meet financiers for my film?” asked last year. I would also love to post a replay of the panel to help my students learn about what to expect at a film market.
The new Berlinale Residency Program for writer/ directors to stay four months in Berlin working on their fiction, doc or cross-media projects with professional mentors in September to December, followed by the February presentations at the Co-Produciton Market was introduced last year.
The Talent Campus which has now changed its name to Berlin Talents and the tours I give are also briefly explained at the First Times event. This program was one of Dieter Kosslick’s best ideas when he took over the festival from Moritz de Hadlin so many years ago.
And the use of Wi-Fi and the password written on our badges needs a bit of explanation along with the red-lighted paths which direct participants to screening venues are other innovations. Also there is a new educational innovation called Making Waves in which five film schools participate by making business plans for the sales and distribution of films in the market. Making Waves includes the London Film School under the leadership of Ben Gibson and Columbia University Film School under the leadership of Ira Deutchman, Le Femis from France, the dffb from Germany and l’Escac, the Romanian Film and Theatre University.
Structural Changes in 2014
This year will be remarkable in a shift back to West Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old market. The festival returns to the newly restored 800 seat Zoo Palast where the festival was originally held. Panorama Specials and Generations will show there along with market films in the smaller theaters.
This is a shift back to the west of Berlin which will evoke memories of those who recall the old glamorous West. The Kempinski and Savoy Hotels are very hot there as well. So the Berlinale is regaining the past in some ways.
For more info on the European Film Market visit Here...
- 1/2/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Brazilian producers’ growing interest in co-production was under the spotlight at this year’s RioMarket, held alongside the Rio International Film Festival.
Although a co-production treaty between Brazil and the Us is unlikely - the Americans don’t have a central regulatory agency for the audiovisual industry like in other countries - there are possibilities for collaboration between the two countries.
In one seminar at the RioMarket, New York-based media lawyer W. Wilder Knight II suggested that documentaries could be a field where producers could come together “if there is a subject of common interest”.
It was suggested that finance could be raised through crowd sourcing, although he admitted the culture of giving seems to have more of a tradition in the Us - where 80-90% of Americans give to charity at least once each year - compared to Brazil where culture has always been heavily subsidised. Direct investment in Brazil doesn’t have a long tradition...
Although a co-production treaty between Brazil and the Us is unlikely - the Americans don’t have a central regulatory agency for the audiovisual industry like in other countries - there are possibilities for collaboration between the two countries.
In one seminar at the RioMarket, New York-based media lawyer W. Wilder Knight II suggested that documentaries could be a field where producers could come together “if there is a subject of common interest”.
It was suggested that finance could be raised through crowd sourcing, although he admitted the culture of giving seems to have more of a tradition in the Us - where 80-90% of Americans give to charity at least once each year - compared to Brazil where culture has always been heavily subsidised. Direct investment in Brazil doesn’t have a long tradition...
- 10/7/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival has announced the first films programmed in its Panaorama section, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "Don Jon's Addiction," Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha," and Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's "Lovelace." "A third of the programme has already been selected,” said Panorama director Wieland Speck in a statement. “Alongside works by European filmmakers, such as Lars Kraume and Felix van Groeningen, films from Asia – and especially from Korea – have made a deep impression. This is also true of works from Latin America, which is alone contributing four directorial debuts... There are also films from the USA with such renowned names as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julianne Moore, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Amanda Seyfried, Juno Temple and Noah Baumbach.” The Panorama section with its Main Programme, Panorama Special and Panorama Dokumente series will screen...
- 12/18/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Best Actress award winner Liana Liberato
The 46th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2010) Award Winners Announced
Click Here for complete coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2010)
Russia, Mexico, Norway, Germany and USA win top awards in Chicago …
Chicago, October 16, 2010 – Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director of the
Chicago International Film Festival, Mimi Plauché, Head of Programming, and Associate
Programmers Joel Hoglund and Penny Bartlett proudly announce the winners of the 46th
Chicago International Film Festival competitions. The Festival’s highest honor is the
Gold Hugo, named after the mythological God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
Gold Hugo for Best Film to How I Ended The Summer (Russia) for the brilliantly
acted and dynamically staged exploration of human nature under pressure. Director:
Aleksei Popogrebsky
Special Jury Prize shared by:
Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize to A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) for a
hilarious and deeply serious adventure into crime and,...
The 46th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2010) Award Winners Announced
Click Here for complete coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2010)
Russia, Mexico, Norway, Germany and USA win top awards in Chicago …
Chicago, October 16, 2010 – Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director of the
Chicago International Film Festival, Mimi Plauché, Head of Programming, and Associate
Programmers Joel Hoglund and Penny Bartlett proudly announce the winners of the 46th
Chicago International Film Festival competitions. The Festival’s highest honor is the
Gold Hugo, named after the mythological God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
Gold Hugo for Best Film to How I Ended The Summer (Russia) for the brilliantly
acted and dynamically staged exploration of human nature under pressure. Director:
Aleksei Popogrebsky
Special Jury Prize shared by:
Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize to A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) for a
hilarious and deeply serious adventure into crime and,...
- 10/17/2010
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
Until women reach a 50-50 parity with men directors, my mission continues to count the women directors in upcoming and recent film festivals (and an occasional informal glance at what’s selling in the markets). Women’s films in Berlin reflect women’s place in the world both in content and in the numbers of women represented as directors, producers, writers, etc. John Cooper of Sundance stresses the increasing and possibly 50-50 parity of women producers, but I am looking at the directors. As March is Women’s History Month (and all the other months are Men’s History Month according to Gloria Steinem’s L.A. Times Article of March 4, 2010) this blog is in honor of all women everywhere.
Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow for winning the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. La Times puts into perspective the fact that the Best Director Oscar went to Kathryn Bigelow...
Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow for winning the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. La Times puts into perspective the fact that the Best Director Oscar went to Kathryn Bigelow...
- 3/8/2010
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
During the first five days of the Berlinale and Efm, I was hardly able to see a film, but I was happily busy the last three days catching up on whatever movies I could get tickets to and had been too busy to see earlier during the main events of the market.
From the well selling Arclight film Red Hill (I’m not a Western fan) to The Owls whose distribution through TheFilmCooperative.org bears watching, to Menemsha’s pickup of Kawasaki Rose the Czech Republic’s version of The Lives of Others, the Brazilian film produced by Hank Levine and directed by Lucy Walker, Waste Land, which deservedly won the Audience Award in the Panorama and has been called the breakout film of the of the Berlinale, Kyoto Story, a surprising and deeply satisfying sweetly bittersweet love story showing the real workers of Japanese society as doc with the...
From the well selling Arclight film Red Hill (I’m not a Western fan) to The Owls whose distribution through TheFilmCooperative.org bears watching, to Menemsha’s pickup of Kawasaki Rose the Czech Republic’s version of The Lives of Others, the Brazilian film produced by Hank Levine and directed by Lucy Walker, Waste Land, which deservedly won the Audience Award in the Panorama and has been called the breakout film of the of the Berlinale, Kyoto Story, a surprising and deeply satisfying sweetly bittersweet love story showing the real workers of Japanese society as doc with the...
- 3/7/2010
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
"Arekti Premer Golpo" (Just another love story) - a daring, sensitive, layered, gay love story - got full house at the ongoing Berlin International Film Festival. Its director Kaushik Ganguly says he always dreamt of coming here.
"Berlin is the Mecca of film and I always dreamed of coming here. But it was still a surprise when my film was selected," Ganguly, who earlier explored sexuality in his provocative film "Shunyo e Bukey" (Empty Canvas), told Ians here.
"Arekti Premer Golpo" is being shown in the Panorama section of the Berlin festival headed by Wieland Speck, which emphasises gay themes in cinema.
The film also marks filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh's debut as an actor and all heads turned when he came resplendent in a burgundy turban, velvet choker, salwar kameez, and lipstick and kohl'd eyes to present the film.
This is the third time Rituparno Ghosh is presenting a film in Berlin.
"Berlin is the Mecca of film and I always dreamed of coming here. But it was still a surprise when my film was selected," Ganguly, who earlier explored sexuality in his provocative film "Shunyo e Bukey" (Empty Canvas), told Ians here.
"Arekti Premer Golpo" is being shown in the Panorama section of the Berlin festival headed by Wieland Speck, which emphasises gay themes in cinema.
The film also marks filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh's debut as an actor and all heads turned when he came resplendent in a burgundy turban, velvet choker, salwar kameez, and lipstick and kohl'd eyes to present the film.
This is the third time Rituparno Ghosh is presenting a film in Berlin.
- 2/19/2010
- by IANS
- DearCinema.com
The Berlin Film Festival's renowned Golden Bear Award has a gay friend called the Teddy Award which is quickly becoming well-respected in its own right.Now in its 24th year, the Teddy Award honours excellence in gay filmmaking. The only gay film award associated with a major 'A-list' film festival, Teddy's previous winners have included Pedro Almodovar, Gus van Sant, Derek Jarman, Helmut Berger, Joe Dallesandro, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton.The Berlin Film Fest has been a gay-friendly event for decades. As early as in 1980 festival director Moritz de Hadeln gave tacit approval to the festival's selection panels to showcase homosexual-theme filmmaking from around the world.In the 1980s, the Berlin fest became well-known as the gayest festival outside the English-speaking world. Van Sant's 'My Private Idaho' was screened in Berlin when the director was far from well-known in Hollywood.When the Cuban gay-theme film 'Fresa y Chocolate' (Strawberry...
- 2/3/2010
- Filmicafe
We think that festivals need some rejuvenating and these speakers are all very actively doing just that. Personally, I've been rather skeptical of most other festivals acting as business conduits for filmmakers though they do act as filters which might make acquisitions jobs and perhaps digital exhibition a bit easier. I think there are too many festivals, and too many are "trying" to be markets. Here are questions addressed by this panel that all festivals should be answering as well. SydneyTIFF Hosts "Talks With" and The Changing Role of the International Film Festival. Speakers: John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival; Wieland Speck, Director Panorama and Member Selection Committee Competition, Berlin International Film Festival; Piers Handling, Director & CEO, Tiff; Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer, Tribeca Enterprises. Moderator Sean Farnel, Director of Hot Docs There’s no doubt the economic crisis has taken - or, more accurately, is about to take -...
- 9/12/2009
- by Sydney@SydneysBuzz.com (Sydney)
- Sydney's Buzz
We think that festivals need some rejuvenating and these speakers are all very actively doing just that with their festivals. Personally, I've been rather skeptical of other festivals acting as business conduit for filmmakers though they do act as filters which might make acquisitions jobs and perhaps digital exibition a bit easier. I think there are too many festivals, and too many are "trying" to be markets. Here are questions addressed by ths panel that all festivals should be answering as well. Sydney
Tiff Hosts "Talks With" and The Changing Role of the International Film Festival.
Speakers: John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival; Wieland Speck, Director Panorama and Member Selection Committee Competition, Berlin International Film Festival; Piers Handling, Director & CEO, Tiff; Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer, Tribeca Enterprises. Moderator Sean Farnel, Director of Hot Docs
There’s no doubt the economic crisis has taken - or, more accurately, is about...
Tiff Hosts "Talks With" and The Changing Role of the International Film Festival.
Speakers: John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival; Wieland Speck, Director Panorama and Member Selection Committee Competition, Berlin International Film Festival; Piers Handling, Director & CEO, Tiff; Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer, Tribeca Enterprises. Moderator Sean Farnel, Director of Hot Docs
There’s no doubt the economic crisis has taken - or, more accurately, is about...
- 9/9/2009
- by Sydney@SydneysBuzz.com (Sydney)
- Sydney's Buzz
Berlin Panorama remains loyal to its roots
COLOGNE, Germany -- With the rocket-propelled growth of the European Film Market attracting all the attention in Berlin, it's easy to forget among all the industry buzz and dealmaking that the EFM originally was formed as an extension of Berlin's Panorama sidebar.
"It wasn't originally about making money, it was about finding a platform to get our films seen," Panorama director Wieland Speck said. "It was about building awareness and an audience for films that don't come prepacked with the stars and marketing attached."
While the EFM has embraced the commercial as part of its expansion, Panorama remains true to its roots, with a 2007 lineup as edgy as any of its predecessors.
From Mitchell Lichtenstein's tale of vaginal dentata "Teeth" to Hal Hartley's story of state espionage and paranoia "Fay Grim" to the bizarre high school transsexual comedy of E. J-Yong'scq "Dasepo Naughty Girls", it is clear the Panorama is not your usual multiplex fare.
For most of the films screening, Berlin will be their first chance to test the reactions of an ordinary, that is nonindustry, audience. Unlike the Festival de Cannes or Venice, screenings of Panorama films are packed with regular, ticket-buying Berliners.
"It wasn't originally about making money, it was about finding a platform to get our films seen," Panorama director Wieland Speck said. "It was about building awareness and an audience for films that don't come prepacked with the stars and marketing attached."
While the EFM has embraced the commercial as part of its expansion, Panorama remains true to its roots, with a 2007 lineup as edgy as any of its predecessors.
From Mitchell Lichtenstein's tale of vaginal dentata "Teeth" to Hal Hartley's story of state espionage and paranoia "Fay Grim" to the bizarre high school transsexual comedy of E. J-Yong'scq "Dasepo Naughty Girls", it is clear the Panorama is not your usual multiplex fare.
For most of the films screening, Berlin will be their first chance to test the reactions of an ordinary, that is nonindustry, audience. Unlike the Festival de Cannes or Venice, screenings of Panorama films are packed with regular, ticket-buying Berliners.
- 2/7/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Tracey Fragments' to open Berlin Panorama
COLOGNE, Germany -- Canadian director Bruce McDonald will open the Berlin International Film Festival's Panorama section with "The Tracey Fragments", a look at an emotionally shattered teenager starring Ellen Page ("Hard Candy").
No stranger to Berlin, McDonald screened his last production, "The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess," in the Panorama in 2005.
Another Berlin regular, Japanese helmer Yoji Yamada, will open the Panorama Special program with his samurai epic "Love And Honor".
The film is the last in a Yamada samurai trilogy based on novels by Shuuhei Fujisawaa. The first two films -- "The Twilight Samurai" (2002) and "The Hidden Blade" (2004) -- screened in competition at Berlin.
In "Love and Honor", the focus is on a young samurai, played by Takyya Kimura, who serves as a food taster for his lord.
Panorama organizers also announced the 17 films that will make up this year's non-fiction section, the Panorama Dokumente.
Panorama director Wieland Speck characterized this year's lineup as a return to the "big names and themes relating to politics, music, art and fashion."
Politics is represented by such films as Lynn Hershman Leeson's "Strange Culture", a look at the FBI's terrorist investigation of biogenetics professor Steve Kurtz; Daniel Gordon's "Crossing the Line", about four U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea who defected to the North in 1962; and "Miss Gulag", a look at three women sent to Russia's notorious Siberian gulag UF91-9.
The two omnibus features screening in the Panorama Dokumente section also take a strong political stand.
No stranger to Berlin, McDonald screened his last production, "The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess," in the Panorama in 2005.
Another Berlin regular, Japanese helmer Yoji Yamada, will open the Panorama Special program with his samurai epic "Love And Honor".
The film is the last in a Yamada samurai trilogy based on novels by Shuuhei Fujisawaa. The first two films -- "The Twilight Samurai" (2002) and "The Hidden Blade" (2004) -- screened in competition at Berlin.
In "Love and Honor", the focus is on a young samurai, played by Takyya Kimura, who serves as a food taster for his lord.
Panorama organizers also announced the 17 films that will make up this year's non-fiction section, the Panorama Dokumente.
Panorama director Wieland Speck characterized this year's lineup as a return to the "big names and themes relating to politics, music, art and fashion."
Politics is represented by such films as Lynn Hershman Leeson's "Strange Culture", a look at the FBI's terrorist investigation of biogenetics professor Steve Kurtz; Daniel Gordon's "Crossing the Line", about four U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea who defected to the North in 1962; and "Miss Gulag", a look at three women sent to Russia's notorious Siberian gulag UF91-9.
The two omnibus features screening in the Panorama Dokumente section also take a strong political stand.
- 1/23/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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