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Netflix’s Melo Movie, at first glance, reads as an account of varied love stories. However, to proclaim it as a simple romantic comedy-drama is reductive and ignores the other forms of love that frequently sway the boat. Tucked in among the romantic stories of connection and disconnection, familial bonds, and friendships—a burgeoning subject matter of K-drama—is a meta-commentary on cinema and its acknowledgement as a singular cultural artifact. It periodically pauses to assess and draw conclusions on the deep influence of cinema on its own narrative anatomy.

Spoilers Ahead

What is the story all about?

Ko Gyeom grows up with the dream of watching every single film that has ever been made in the world. With his knowledge of and passion for films, he is easily someone who seems to be destined for a successful career in cinema. At 26, therefore, he turned up to audition for a film.

Chinese sales agent Rediance is expanding into distribution, attending EFM as a buyer for China for the first time, on the lookout for commercial auteur films, both new releases and library titles.

It has established a new Beijing-­based joint venture, in collaboration with Zhijiang Pictures Media (Zhejiang) and China Magic Film, for theatrical distribution and marketing in mainland China, aiming to handle six to eight films per year. Rediance will act as the international interface, responsible for acquisitions.

“Many international films such as Anatomy Of A Fall and How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies have done incredibly well in Chinese theatres,...

Known as the queen of Italian pop, Mina has sold over 150 million records worldwide and remains a music legend who’s been captivating fans since the ’60s. Her new album, Gassa d’Amante, drops on November 22, and its title — named after an essential sailing knot — represents the solid and yet easily untangled nature of love. Just like the knot, the album explores the twists and turns of love in all of its beauty and complexity. At 84, Mina is still going strong, and she’s as iconic as ever.

Mina, born Mina Anna Mazzini, is one of the most adored pop stars in Italy. She is a cult figure who can be compared to Liza Minelli and Bette Midler; a musical diva who is as great a superstar to the Italians as Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift today. Like a 21st century Greta Garbo, she lives in exile in Lugano, Switzerland,...

In a world dominated by Hollywood blockbusters, many films from beyond the English-speaking lands fly under the radar. From the most comforting and heartwarming films to awe-inspiring and thrilling movies are being made in different parts of the world. They fail to reach a widespread audience because of accessibility issues and because people are not welcoming to the idea of foreign-media consumption. With the boom of K-pop and Korean dramas, Korean media does not fall into the unwelcome category of things. However, many countries have made exceptional films.

Why Watch Non-English Movies?

When Hollywood as an entertainment industry churns out gems left, right, and center; American audiences are not very likely to tap into the international cinematic landscape. Frequently, foreign language cinema is passed up for pretentious people’s activity. This perception leads to many cinematic gems being undiscovered. As South Korean director Bong Joon Ho rightfully said in his...

Exclusive: Chinese producer-distributor Hishow Entertainment has been on an acquisitions spree, snapping up several prestige festival titles for distribution in mainland China, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, which it plans to give a wide theatrical outing before the end of the year.

The film, which premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes film festival, will first screen at China’s Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, taking place in Xiamen, November 13-16.

Hishow has also acquired French director Laetitia Dosch’s Dog On Trial, a highly-acclaimed debut feature that premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard; Rooney Mara starrer La Cocina, from Mexico’s Alonso Ruizpalacios, which premiered in Berlin; and Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano, a Venice 2023 competition title that was nominated in the Best International Feature category of this year’s Oscars.

Starting with Megalopolis, the company is planning to roll these titles out theatrically in...

Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso” is and will always be cherished by cinephiles. After all, it beautifully captures their deep love for cinema and the art of filmmaking in the most heartfelt way. It shows a child from a small Italian town falling in love with cinema, because of his friendship with a local film projectionist. He gets to watch all kinds of movies and experiences the madness and chaos it entails. “Cinema Paradiso” opens in an era when people exclusively used film reels to make movies. The child protagonist sees the film’s material change from flammable to fire-resistant as the art advances into different eras.

The kid, Toto, grows up witnessing the changes in censorship in cinema and builds a personal connection with both sublime and obscene. Back then, films were integral to the social fabric of a community. So, he learns cinema’s importance as a medium...

The 16th edition of the Lumière Film Festival kicked off in high style, with a glittering lineup of stars including Benicio del Toro, Tim Burton, Monica Bellucci and Vanessa Paradis plus high-profile directors Costa-Gavras and Giuseppe Tornatore gracing the red carpet in Lyon.

Bellucci, who’s in town to present a new documentary about the stage play in which she portrays Maria Callas, was among the last to take to the red carpet. After taking a few steps, she turned back with a playful gesture as if she had forgotten something, reached through the curtain, and drew out Tim Burton, to the delight of the 5,000-strong crowd: Burton’s unannounced appearance drew massive applause.

The pair famously met and fell in love in Lyon in 2022, when Burton was the recipient of the festival’s lifetime achievement Lumière Award, which was handed to him by Bellucci. The Italian actress has since...

Watching a restored version of “Cinema Paradiso” (1988) with the director, Giuseppe Tornatore present, was an event that baptized me into the experience of movies, what they mean, and what they can do. Set in the small Italian town of Giancaldo, the relationship between the two protagonists, Toto, a young boy, and Alfredo, the old projectionist in the only movie theatre in town called Cinema Paradiso, seems to follow a very familiar yet comforting template — the lost boy and the unexpected guardian. Salvatore ‘Toto’ Di Vitta is a vivacious young child of eight, full of energy he does not know where to direct it, thereby causing trouble for everyone around him.

Toto falls asleep at his job as the altar boy and pesters Alfredo to let him into the projection booth. He also begs Alfredo to give him some of the spliced-off reels of kissing scenes the priest had censored, and later,...

When rumors circulated that his planned films on Frank Sinatra and Jesus have been postponed, there was speculation that Martin Scorsese might retire. The legendary director has now put those rumors to rest: “I’m not saying goodbye to cinema at all,” he said during a press conference Monday at the Museum of Cinema in Turin, Italy. “I still have more films to make, and I hope God gives me the strength to make them.”

Scorsese is in Turin to receive the Museum of Cinema’s prestigious Stella della Mole award Monday night. Friends like Willem Dafoe, Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore and production designer Dante Ferretti will be on hand to honor him.

During a freewheeling conversation with journalists in Turin, Scorsese also shared his thoughts on the upcoming U.S. elections.

“When we filmed Gangs of New York at Cinecittà, we depicted a violent, bloody 19th century America, with...

Italy has selected “Vermiglio” as the country’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The movie written and directed by Maura Delpero won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and will make its stateside debut at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 10.

“Vermiglio” is set in 1944, in Vermiglio, a high mountain village of the Italian Alps where war looms as a distant but constant threat. The arrival of Pietro (Giuseppe De Domenico), a refugee soldier, disrupts the dynamics of the local teacher’s family, changing them forever. During the four seasons marking the end of World War II, Pietro and Lucia (Martina Scrinzi), the eldest daughter of the teacher, instantly drawn to each other, led to marriage and an unexpected fate. As the world emerges from its tragedy, the family will face its own.

Italy has won Best International...

The Oscars international feature film race got another strong competitor on Tuesday when Italy announced it would submit “Vermiglio” as its entry for the 97th Academy Awards. Written and directed by Maura Delpero, the film won the Silver Lion in Venice earlier this month.

Delpero’s drama is set in 1944 in the alpine village of the film’s title. When a young Sicilian soldier named Pietro (Giuseppe De Domenico) comes to town, his presence, according to the synopsis provided by Sideshow and Janus Films, “disrupts the dynamics of the local teacher’s family, changing them forever. During the four seasons marking the end of World War II, Pietro and Lucia, the eldest daughter of the teacher, instantly drawn to each other, led to marriage and an unexpected fate. As the world emerges from its tragedy, the family will face its own.”

Produced by Cinedora, Charades and Versus Productions, “Vermiglio” was...

Hungary has picked Lajos Koltai’s biopic Semmelweis as its contender for the 2025 Oscars in the best international feature category.

The feature traces the life of Hungarian doctor Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures who became known as “the savior of mothers” for his efforts in fighting deadly infections following childbirth. Set in 19th-century Vienna, it shows Semmelweis, played by Miklós H. Vecsei as a passionate, if short-tempered, doctor determined to find the cause of puerperal fever, a mysterious epidemic decimating patients after childbirth. Even after he discovers the cause of the infection and a means to prevent it, his peers and superiors work to discredit him.

Semmelweis was a commercial hit back home, selling more than 350,000 tickets and grossing more than $2 million on its theatrical release, becoming the most successful Hungarian movie of the past five years. Nfi World Sales is handling world sales on the title.

Venice Film Festival jury president Isabelle Huppert expressed support for Nicole Kidman after the actress was unable to accept her Best Actress prize for Babygirl in person, due to her mother’s death.

Kidman had traveled to Italy to receive the award but had to get back on a plane shortly after landing.

“I just wanted to express my compassion to Nicole Kidman, who can’t be here tonight, who had to go back unexpectedly, and I just want to tell her that we really miss her and we love her,” Huppert told the jury press conference.

Isabelle Huppert expresses condolences to Nicole Kidman following her mother’s passing.

Huppert says “we love you, Nicole” and explains why the jury awarded Kidman the Best Actress prize #Venezia81 pic.twitter.com/FKdn5YTIFU

— Deadline (@Deadline) September 7, 2024

Earlier at the awards ceremony, Babygirl director Halina Reijn had read out a message from...

While last year’s strikes created a somewhat subdued energy on the Lido with very few talent able to be present, this year’s 2024 Venice Film Festival proved to hot and steamy. And we’re not just talking about the excessive heat movie stars and fan alike were subjected to. Films like Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller “Babygirl” and Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of William S. Burrough’s short novel “Queer” aroused audience interest with career-best performances from Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig and highly revealing sexual interplay. However it was Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” that took home the coveted Golden Lion, marking the first time the filmmaker has won a top prize at any major festival throughout his career.

Brady Corbet returned to the Palazzo del Cinema with his four-hour post-wwii epic “The Brutalist,” which screened to rave reception and earned the director the Silver Lion,...

It has not been, it’s safe to say, an all-timer Venice Competition lineup. Despite that, rumor has it that the 81st edition’s jury, presided over by Isabelle Huppert and comprising filmmakers James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz and actress Zhang Ziyi, took some time to come to their decisions during a prolonged deliberation session yesterday.

Speculation was also rife that, insofar as festival juries pay much attention to precedent, due to the string of high-profile US films that have won Venice in recent years they might have been discouraged from awarding the top prize to another American, or even American-led movie.

That story shifted slightly in the days following the premiere of “The Brutalist,” as the 3h15m-long film, directed by Brady Corbet, starring Adrien Brody and described by Variety’s Owen Gleiberman as “paced with a pleasing...

James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli was one of the guests at a gala dinner hosted by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) and the Media City Qatar (McQ) on the fringes of the Venice Film Festival on Monday evening.

The veteran producer’s presence added fuel to recent reports that she is attempting to secure Qatari finance for ex-James Bond actor Daniel Craig’s big screen passion project Othello, with well-placed sources hinting on Monday night that talks were ongoing.

Related: ‘Russians At War’ Teaser: Anastasia Trofimova’s Doc Gives Rare Insight Into Life Of Russian Soldiers On The Frontline In Ukraine – Venice

Broccoli — who is co-head of James Bond producer Eon Productions with Michael G. Wilson — has reportedly been working with Craig for some time on the project, billed as a modern adaptation of the Shakespearean classic set in American army barracks in Iraq.

Related: ‘King Ivory’: Melissa Leo,...

French screen icon Isabelle Huppert, president of the 81st Venice Film Festival’s main competition jury, took the stage Wednesday afternoon to share her thoughts on how she will approach her role as the event’s de facto artistic judge-in-chief. The gathering was marked by a triumphant tone from Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera, who sat by Huppert’s side and noted that his glamorous Italian festival will feature more big-name stars on its red carpet over the coming week than in any year of recent memory. But there was also a palpable undercurrent of angst over the myriad tech-driven business challenges that continue to roil the global independent film business.

“I’m worried about the things everyone is worried about — whether cinema can continue to survive — because it’s very weak now,” Huppert remarked early in the sitdown. “It’s very difficult to make a film. A film is not just an individual effort.

French acting legend Isabelle Huppert, who is president of the Venice Film Festival jury this year, was joined by her panelists as artistic director Alberto Barbera hosted the opening press conference for the 81st running of the event this morning. It’s a different look this year, with no one sporting Writers Guild strike T-shirts à la 2023.

This morning’s session was brief but earnest, with many of the jury members speaking about the concerns around the state of contemporary cinema.

“I’m worried about the things everyone is worried about. Making sure that cinema continues to live because it is very weak now,” Huppert said during the session.

“It’s very difficult to make a film. A film is not just an individual effort. It’s really something we deliver to the world. So I am concerned about whether our world will still connect with people. That’s why...

Willem Dafoe, who stars in Tim Burton’s fest opener “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” along with jury members Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Bacurau”) and Giuseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”) turned up at the annual Venice Film Festival’s pre-opening party on the rooftop of the Danieli Hotel on Tuesday night.

Co-hosted by the Leone Film Group, Variety and the Danieli Hotel, the glamorous bash brought together a mix of stars, global industry movers and shakers, including hitmaking Italian director Paolo Genovese, Los Angeles-based producer Niels Juul (“Ferrari”) and Bárbara Paz, a Brazilian actor and filmmaker.

Photo by Victor Boyko/Variety via Getty Images

“Here we go again!” said Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera from the rooftop boasting a 180-degree view of the Venice Lagoon. “We are here once again to celebrate the pre-opening of the Venice Film Festival,” he continued, before noting that this year’s star-studded lineup is being praised as the strongest in years.

The Venice Film Festival is just over two weeks away, bringing starry talent back to the Lido in water taxis after a year off for many due to the strikes in 2023. The Biennale has unveiled its Conversations and Masterclasses lineup, with a richer program and in a new and larger (250 seats) location at the Match Point Arena, set up at the Tennis Club Venezia on the Lido.

Four Masterclasses will be held by directors and performers, including the actress Sigourney Weaver (recipient of the Golden Lion for Career) on Thursday, August, 29; filmmaker Peter Weir (Golden Lion for Career) on Sunday, September 1, and his 2003 film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” also screens during the festival; actor/filmmaker Ethan Hawke on Monday, September 2; and Pupi Avati, director of closing night film “L’orto Americano” on Friday, September 6. All can be followed via live stream at labiennale.org.

Organized by Cartier,...

Music Box Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Carson Lund’s comedy drama “Eephus,” which premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. The film was recently announced as an Official Selection of New York Film Festival, where it will have its North American premiere.

Music Box plans for a theatrical release nationwide followed by home entertainment. London- and Paris-based sales and production house Film Constellation handles worldwide sales and negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.

“Eephus” is set on a small-town New England baseball field called Soldiers Field. As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved baseball field, a pair of Sunday league teams face off for the last time over the course of a day. Tensions flare up and ceremonial laughs are shared as an era of camaraderie and escapism fades into an uncertain future.

Variety highlighted “Eephus” as one of the must-see films of the...

The lineup for the 81st Venice International Film Festival is here. Artistic director Alberto Barbera and Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco revealed the complete list of titles across sections early on Tuesday, July 23. Watch the live stream here or on YouTube.

Competition highlights included, as expected, Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” with Angelina Jolie, Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” with Daniel Craig, and Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, “The Room Next Door.” Other gems in the lineup include “April,” from Georgian “Beginning” director Dea Kulumbegashvili; Brady Corbet’s “Fountainhead”-inspired epic “The Brutalist,” which runs a whopping 215 minutes and will present in 70mm; Aussie auteur Justin Kurzel’s thriller “The Order”; “Chevalier” director Athina Rachel Tsangari’s “Harvest” with Caleb Landry Jones; and Halina Reijn’s psychosexual thriller for A24, “Babygirl,” starring Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson.

Out of competition across series and features, there’s new work from Harmony Korine,...

Buckle in, film buffs, we’re not done with festival season yet. The 2024 Venice Film Festival lineup was announced on Tuesday, and rest assured there will be plenty of glamorous movie stars waving from boats. The lineup includes expected entries like Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix...

Venice Film Festival has revealed the programme for its 81st edition, featuring a 21-strong Competition that includes new films from Todd Phillips, Pedro Almodovar, Luca Guadagino, Pablo Larrain, Brady Corbet and Justin Kurzel.

Scroll down for full line-up

The selection was unveiled by festival president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and artistic director Alberto Barbera. It marked Buttafuoco’s first time at the annual press conference, after replacing Roberto Cicutto in October 2023.

Further filmmakers in Competition include Wang Bing, Luis Ortega, Dea Kulumbegashvili, Dag Johan Haugerud, Athina Rachel Tsangari and Walter Salles.

The line-up also includes Jon Watt’s Wolfs, starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney,...

The line-up for the 81st Venice International Film Festival (August 28-September 7) will be unveiled today at 11:00 Cest (10:00 BST) by festival president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and artistic director Alberto Barbera.

The press conference will be live-streamed below, and this page will be updated with the films as they are announced.

It will be Buttafuoco’s first time at the annual press conference, after replacing Roberto Cicutto in October 2023.

The previously announced opening film is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Isabelle Huppert will preside over the jury, which also comprises James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako,...

Anthony (Tony) Cianciotta, a Canadian film industry veteran of 50 years, has died. The well-regarded distribution and exhibition executive passed away peacefully on June 26. He was 85.

Cianciotta started his career in the film industry in 1965, in Toronto, as a key film buyer for the J. Arthur Rank Organization, which ultimately became Cineplex Odeon in 1980.

Following that, Cianciotta held a variety of prominent executive positions, including Vice President and General Manager at 20th Century Fox, Canada and Senior Vice President, Film at Cineplex Odeon, among others. He is perhaps most recognized for his tenure as Senior Vice President and General Manager of theatrical distribution at Alliance Releasing from 1992 to 1997.

Cianciotta is remembered for his ability to establish theatrical release strategies in Canada with great precision. From platforming groundbreaking films like Cinema Paradiso, Mediterraneo, The English Patient, Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting, to working on blockbuster such as the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise,...

The Canadian industry is paying tribute to distribution veteran Tony Cianciotta, who died last month (June 26). He was 85.

Cianciotta began his career in 1965 in Toronto as a film buyer for J. Arthur Rank Organization, which became Cineplex Odeon in 1980.

He went on to work in senior executive roles such as vice president and general manager at 20th Century Fox, Canada, and senior vice president, film at Cineplex Odeon, among others, before becoming senior vice president and general manager at Alliance Releasing from 1992-97.

In this role he championed Cinema Paradiso, Mediterraneo, The English Patient, Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting and many others,...

In the Antico Teatro in the Sicilian town of Taormina, the 70th edition of the Taormina Film Festival got off to a lively start, with the Nastri d’Argento Awards ceremony, amid a mix of comedy and controversy.

The comedy was on hand with the loudest applause of the evening going to Carlo Verdone and Christian De Sica (above), two “pillars of Italian comedy” as they were introduced by Pilar Fogliati, star of “Confidenze,” and “Romeo Is Juliet.” Pilar herself was a recipient of her first Nastro d’Argento. The Nino Manfredi awards were given by the late actor’s son and film director Luca Manfredi to Emanuela Fanelli, last seen in Paola Cortellesi’s box office hit “There’s Always Tomorrow” as well as to Claudio Bisio, the actor-director who sent a video message of thanks.

Other absent awardees were Margherita Buy and Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore who received a special career prize.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Animal Kingdom (Thomas Cailley)

In The Animal Kingdom, an Un Certain Regard-selected science-fiction romp from France, human-animal mutations are the new norm. Director Thomas Cailley begins things in media res with a familiar disaster-movie scene: François (Romain Duris) and Émile (Paul Kircher)––father and son, respectively––are stuck in traffic, making chit-chat, when something slowly begins capturing the attention of other drivers. An ambulance across the way begins to rumble. Then a man with a large winged arm bursts out, causing some damage before scurrying down a tunnel. Only mildly ruffled, François exchanges a jaded aphorism with another driver over: “Strange times.” – Rory O. (full review)

Where to Stream: Hulu

The Bikeriders (Jeff Nichols)

Using photographer Danny Lyon’s iconic The...

The International Jury for this year’s Venice International Film Festival has been finalized after the previous confirmation of French actress Isabelle Huppert as its chair.

Now, American director and screenwriter James Gray, British director and screenwriter Andrew Haigh, Polish director, screenwriter, and producer Agnieszka Holland, and Brazilian director-screenwriter Kleber Mendonça Filho are the latest additions to the jury. They will join Mauritanian director, screenwriter and producer Abderrahmane Sissako, Italian director-screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore, German director-screenwriter Julia von Heinz and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.

The prestigious Golden Lion for best film and other awards will be revealed during the festival’s closing ceremony on Sept. 7.

Gray made his directorial debut in 1994 with Little Odessa, which received the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. His other projects include The Yards (2000), starring Joaquin Phoenix, Two Lovers (2008) and The Immigrant (2013). The Lost City of Z had its world premiere at the New York...

Filmmakers James Gray, Andrew Haigh and Agnieszka Holland have joined the main competition jury of the 81st Venice Film Festival (August 28-September 7).

They are joined by Brazilian director and screenwriter Kleber Mendonça Filho; Mauritanian director, screenwriter and producer Abderrahmane Sissako; Italian director and screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore; German director and screenwriter Julia von Heinz; and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.

As previously announced, the jury will be chaired by Isabelle Huppert, and award the Golden Lion for best film and the other official awards.

Gray’s Ad Astra screened in competition at Venice in 2019, and his directorial debut Little Odessa received the...

The full international jury for this year’s Venice Film Festival has been unveiled.

The lineup joining president Isabelle Huppert is director-heavy, consisting of James Gray (“Ad Astra”), Andrew Haigh (“All of Us Strangers”), Agnieszka Holland (“Green Border”), Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Bacurau”), Abderrahmane Sissako (“Bamako”), Giuseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”) and Julia von Heinz (“Treasure”). “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” star Zhang Ziyi rounds out the jury.

In addition to awarding the Golden Lion for best film, the jury will also be responsible for handing out the Silver Lion grand jury prize, Silver Lion for best director, Coppa Volpi for best actress, Coppa Volpi for best actor, special jury prize, best screenplay and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for new young actor or actress.

Revered French actor Huppert was revealed as the president of the jury in May. “Isabelle Huppert is an immense actress. Demanding, curious and of great generosity,...

The Venice Film Festival has unveiled the names that will join Isabelle Huppert on the main Competition jury of its 81st edition, running Aug 28 – Sept 7.

Jury members include James Gray, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Abderrahmane Sissako, Giuseppe Tornatore, Julia von Heinz, and Zhang Ziyi.

The jury will award the following official prizes to the feature films in Competition, with no joint awards allowed: Golden Lion for Best Film, Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Special Jury Prize, Award for Best Screenplay, and “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Jury head Huppert has a long relationship with the Venice Film Festival. She has won its Coppa Volpi for best actress twice with Story of Women (1988) and La Cérémonie (1995). In 2005, she was honored with a Special Golden Lion for the Overall...

The world premiere of Mitzi Peirone’s horror film “Saint Clare” will open the Taormina Film Festival, this year celebrating its 70th anniversary edition. The adaptation of Don Roff’s novel stars Bella Thorne, Ryan Phillippe, Frank Whaley and Rebecca De Mornay. It’s the first of four world premieres to screen at the outdoor Teatro Antico in the Sicilian town, which looks out towards Mount Etna, an active volcano, to the West.

Lee Isaac Chung’s highly anticipated remake/sequel “Twisters,” distributed by Warner Bros. in Italy, is blowing into town for its local premiere. Starring “Normal People’s” Daisy Edgar Jones and “Hitman” star Glen Powell, the “Minari” director’s film is a reupping of Jan de Bont’s mid-90s classic, with a James Cameron-esque title promising to multiply the mayhem.

Marco Mueller, who has taken over as the festival’s artistic director (see interview), commented...

This coming weekend, the Saxophone Museum in Fiumicino will become a focal point for music enthusiasts as it hosts two days dedicated to celebrating the rich sounds of one of the most revered wind instruments, the saxophone. The events, scheduled for Saturday, May 4th, and Sunday, May 5th, aim to blend music, education, and jazz history in a dynamic showcase.

The weekend kicks off on Saturday at 6:30 Pm with a performance by the Jam Session band, an exceptional ensemble comprised of thirteen young musicians. This free concert is open to the public and stands as a homage to the power of music as a universal language, a cultural bridge, and a tool for social integration. Featuring a vibrant and energetic repertoire that includes some of the most celebrated pieces by Duke Ellington, Robert Johnson, Joan Tizol, Dizzy Gillespie, Walter Donaldson, Kansas J McCoy, and Herbie Hancock, the performance is...

This is a stacked weekend for movies that could get awards attention but probably won’t, both in theaters and on digital platforms. First up is a lively ode to one of cinema’s musical masters.

The contender to watch this week: “Ennio”

Giuseppe Tornatore‘s documentary about influential composer Ennio Morricone has been a long time coming, and not only because Morricone’s career dates back to 1946. “Ennio” premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2021 and was released in Italy in 2022. But don’t take its delayed domestic debut as a bad omen: The movie is a spellbinding tribute to the two-time Oscar winner, who wrote the scores for “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Days of Heaven,” “The Untouchables,” “The Hateful Eight,” and Tornatore’s own “Cinema Paradiso.” The talking heads include Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Quincy Jones, and Bruce Springsteen. Following a theatrical run in February,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Billy (Zachary Epcar)

An emerging experimental filmmaker uses a series of 16mm close-ups to capture the textures and objects that characterize suburban life in this short horror film inspired by the ‘90s soap opera Melrose Place. Zachary Epcar’s approach to presenting household items––plastic Fiji water bottles, Nespresso pods, Amazon packages––using a combination of sharp visuals and eerie sounds produces a nightmarish thrill-ride through the suburbs that renders commodity culture itself as a movie monster.

Where to Stream: Le Cinéma Club

Blackout (Larry Fessenden)

As with Depraved, writer-director Larry Fessenden returns to the world of classic, Universal-inspired monsters in Blackout. Whereas that title brought the mythos of Frankenstein’s monster (and its ample room for social commentary) into the present-day,...

“The Return of the Projectionist,” which is running in the main competition at Swiss doc fest Visions du Réel, where it will have its world premiere, has been picked up by Paris-based doc specialist Cat&Docs.

The feature debut of Orkhan Aghazadeh, it tells the story of Samid, a former projectionist in Azerbaijan’s remote Talysh mountains, who is determined to bring cinema back to life in his village using his old Soviet film projector.

He encounters a number of hurdles along the way but he also finds an unexpected ally in 16-year-old Ayaz, a film fan who experiments with animation clips on his smartphone and is eager to learn from Samid.

Aghazadeh chanced upon the story when shooting his graduation short film “The Chairs.” Samid was to be the film’s main character but the relationship with Ayaz emerged as shooting started.

“It came as a surprise for us. We...

Brand new sales agency Neo Art International has picked up worldwide sales rights outside Italy to Claudio Amendola’s black comedy film trilogy “Cassamortari” (“Funeral Family”).

The film trilogy narrates the story of The Pasti Family, a Roman family who work in the funeral business.

The three titles of the saga are set up at Rome-based company Paco Cinematografica, and co-produced with Antonia Nava’s Neo Art Producciones in Barcelona.

“I Cassamortari,” the first title of the saga, was streamed in 2022 in Italy by Amazon Prime Video, described as an Amazon Exclusive production.

Written by Mary Estella Brugiati and Alessandro Bosi, “Ari-Cassamortari” (“Funeral Family 2”), the second delivery, is currently in post.

This time the film tells how the Pasti Brothers have created a name for themselves as VIP gravediggers, along with an eccentric half-sister they had no idea they had.

“Funeral Family 2” cast take in many of the stars of “I Cassamortari,...

The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea Iff) has confirmed the fourth edition of the festival will take place from the 5th to the 14th December 2024 in Jeddah, taking place in the brand-new headquarters in Al Balad.

The recently wrapped third edition showcased 125 films from 75 countries, with internationally renowned writer, director and producer Baz Luhrmann presiding as Head of the Jury, with 17 features and 25 short films in competition. The festival and industry Souk welcomed over 5,000 delegates attending screenings and panels, with 938 companies in attendance networking and dealmaking.

The festival, in its previous editions, also hosted masterclasses and ‘In Conversations with', providing audiences with intimate interviews and sessions in addition to notable A list attendees to date which included this year Oscar nominee Kaouther Ben Hania, Chris Hemsworth, Guy Ritchie, Luca Guadanino, Oliver Stone, Jason Statham, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Nadine Labaki, Spike Lee, Giuseppe Tornatore,...

The Taste Of Things, a meditation on turn-of-the-century French cooking — no chicken wings or nachos in sight — is stirring up a nice weekend for IFC Films with $126k and the best per-theater opening of the year so far on Super Bowl weekend.

Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days from Neon is looking at $100k on five screens. In wider release, Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness is at a solid $1 million on circa 900 screens. American Fiction and Poor Things are holding in the top ten.

The Taste Of Things, which premiered at Cannes, winning Best Director for Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tràn Anh Hùng, is seeing a $42k PTA from three screens. Originally The Pot-au-Feu, it stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin, longtime partners in love and in the kitchen of Dodin’s country villa.

It’s a weekend of well-reviewed indie openings with Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness, The Monk And The Gun (from the directors of Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom) and limited openings for The Taste Of Things, Perfect Days (Best International Feature nominated), Anthony Chen’s Drift, Bas Devos’ Here and Ennio by Giuseppe Tornatore, which premiered in Venice in 2021 and is finally getting a U.S. release.

Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Japan’s official Oscar submission that nabbed a nom, opened at six locations in New York and LA Wednesday, adding additional cities next week. The film written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki stars Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo who seems utterly content with his simple life until a series of unexpected encounters reveal more of his unearthed past. See Deadline review.

Neon had a qualifying run in November.

I suppose there’s a more interesting film to be made about the great composer Ennio Morricone, but watching Giuseppe Tornatore’s loving and comprehensive “Ennio” makes it almost impossible to care. An uncomplicated and reverent tribute that was shot before the late maestro’s death in 2020 (and would feel like a two-and-a-half-hour tribute reel if not for the fact that Morricone himself is the film’s most frequent talking head), this straightforward biodoc is almost perversely generic for a movie that’s meant to honor one of cinema’s greatest radicals.

And yet, do you really not want to see Clint Eastwood deadpanning that Morricone’s music “helped dramatize me, which is really hard to do”? Would a less conventional documentary have been able to squeeze Bruce Springsteen, Wong Kar-wai, and James Hetfield into the same film, or include so much of what Bernardo Bertolucci had to say about...

“Semmelweis,” which Nfi World Sales will be selling at the European Film Market in Berlin, has become the highest grossing Hungarian movie in local theaters in five years.

The film is directed by Lajos Koltai who was Oscar nominated as the cinematographer of Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Malena.” “Semmelweis” marks Koltai’s first return to directing since “Evening” in 2007.

“Semmelweis” is a period biopic about a Hungarian doctor who became known as the “saviour of mothers” for introducing antiseptic procedures at a Vienna maternity clinic.

The film has attracted more than 280,000 moviegoers since its premiere on Nov. 30, and was among the top three movies for nine weeks. It has grossed more than $1.7 million.

Set in 19th century Vienna, the film tells the story of Ignac Semmelweis, the short-tempered but passionate doctor, who delivers babies and also carries out autopsies on a daily basis while looking for the cause of puerperal fever,...

“A director can’t understand the final result from a description. You cannot describe music; it needs to be listened to.” So says Ennio Morricone in one of many talking-head sections that comprise Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary. But Ennio, as it’s aptly titled, can feel part-documentary, part-video essay, and, yes, part-talking head compilation. It’s 156 minutes, but even the first four hint at its simplicity. A barrage of musicians, producers, and filmmakers spout what the film quickly compresses into glorified soundbites. Morricone was a towering artist. Audiences already knew this. But Tornatore doesn’t fully unpack the composer’s impact; he does more to describe it.

So what else is there to listen to? Per Morricone himself, he wanted to be a doctor, but his father insisted he learn the trumpet. He took classes at the Saint Cecilia Conservatory at age 12 and studied under Goffredo Petrassi, later marrying Maria Travia.

After the cinematic doldrums of January, February brings surprisingly packed, varied offerings, from Oscar-contending international features to biographical documentaries of legendary film artists to some electrifying genre outings. Check out my picks to see below, and catch up with our Sundance coverage ahead of our Berlinale reviews here.

16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)

Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.

15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)

The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are emerging in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

This week we explore Italian movie hit There’s Still Tomorrow, which begins rolling out on cinema screens worldwide this spring with other key deals underway after a stellar release back home last fall, where it is now the ninth highest-grossing film in the history of the country’s box office.

Name: There’s Still Tomorrow

Country: Italy

Producer: Wildside

Seller: Vision Distribution

Where you can watch: In cinemas worldwide (see distributor list below)

For fans of: Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Ettore Scola’s A Special Day,...

The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician at the start of this decade when Ennio Morricone passed away at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore, who worked with the composer over a dozen times across his career, crafted a tribute with the documentary Ennio, which fittingly premiered at the Venice Film Festival and will now be arriving in the U.S. Featuring interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Dario Argento, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Wong Kar-wai, Oliver Stone, and more, the new trailer has now arrived ahead of a February 9 theatrical release from Music Box Films.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the beloved Cinema Paradiso, turns his camera on his longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone (1928 – 2020) in a moving and comprehensive profile of the indefatigable composer. Tornatore’s documentary portrait examines the breadth of the maestro’s career, from his early Italian...

The trailer for Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary on the famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone has been released ahead of its opening in select US theaters on February 9th, 2024. Watch it below.

Titled Ennio, the film traces Morricone’s career from his early work with Sergio Leone to his first Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino’s 2016 movie The Hateful Eight, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America; Days of Heaven; The Mission; and The Untouchables. It also offered the late composer, who died in 2020, an opportunity to tell his own story and break down his artistic process.

Adding to the portrait of Morricone are interviews with several of his collaborators and contemporaries, including Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, and Bruce Springsteen. Ennio also features appearances from Oliver Stone, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Joan Baez, and more.

“At first, I thought making music for the cinema was humiliating,” the late film composer Ennio Morricone once said. “By writing, I got my revenge.” That comeuppance came in the form of an Oscar for his score to Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, several previous Oscar nominations, and a great public appreciation for his scores to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Thing, and The Mission, among others.

Morricone’s full career, including his early Italian pop songs and his beloved scores, is the focus of Ennio,...