News

Exclusive: An Icelandic-Romanian comedy-drama series is set to launch internationally, as European countries continue to combine to get production rolling.

Hot Stuff comes from Reykjavik-based Glassriver and Romania’s Idea Film and is for Icelandic broadcaster SÝN’s Channel 2 (Stöð 2). Paris-based Oble has taken international distribution rights and will begin shopping the show.

The co-production has that distinctly European co-production flavor that underpinned Series Mania a few weeks back. With U.S. money seemingly gone from Euro production, countries are assemblies in intriguing ways to get productions lensing, making an Icelandic-Romania co-pro much more likely. Last month, we revealed details on Series Mania series Torna a Surriento, an Finnish-Italian drama series that Glassriver is working on with Finland’s Whatevergroup Italy’s Viola Films and Norway’s Rein Film.

Magnús Leifsson (Dovetail) is the director on Hot Staff, and Ragnar Bragson is the creator and co-writer. Known for The Shift TV series trilogy,...

Career achievement award, physical cinema sidebar and Slovakian collaboration planned for 2023.

Iceland’s Stockfish Film Festival has hired a new team to run the fest, led by artistic director Hrönn Kristinsdóttir and managing director Carolina Salas.

Kristinsdottir is best known as the producer of Lamb; Salas has worked at festivals as the head of industry at Reykjavik International Film Festival and also is an independent producer who recently served on the crew of Netflix’s Heart of Stone.

Nikolaj Nikitin, formerly of the Berlinale and currently a curator for Tallinn Black Nights and head of studies for Sofa – School of Film Advancement,...

Lecturers include filmmakers Ragnar Bragason and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir.

After years of lobbying, Iceland is opening its first university-level filmmaking degree programme today.

Iceland University of the Arts is adding a filmmaking BA, with classes starting yesterday (August 29) for the first group of students.

The first 12 students, equally split between men and women, are a diverse group of Icelanders who range in age from 19 to 39. Some of them have prior filmmaking experience but that’s not a requirement for admission.

Steven Meyers, who is appointed the first head of the film department, told Screen: “The Icelandic industry has been calling for this program for years,...

“Black Sands” producer Glassriver, one of Scandinavia’s fastest-growing production powerhouses, is teaming with a powerful writing duo, Ragnar Bragason and Snjolaug Ludviksdottir, to create “Magaluf.”

Currently in development, “Magaluf” marks a high-profile projects at late June’s Conecta Fiction in Spain, where it competes in the forum’s CoPro Series section.

One of Iceland’s most consistently prized top writers and directors and creator and head writer on “Magaluf,” Bragason’s credits include movie 2013’s “Metalhead,” which wonbest Nordic film at Göteborg, and in series, “The Night Shift,” part of a larger hit dramedy franchise, and the admired international sales hit “Prisoners.”

A stand-up comedian, Ludviksdottir co-writes. “She is a wonderful writer and writes three of the six episodes and on top of that ensuring that the female characters really come to life in a meaningful way,” said Glassriver co-owner Hörður Rúnarsson, a producer on the show with Arnbjorg...

Industry registration closes on September 2.

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) organisers on Tuesday (September 1) announced a selection of 30 global acquisition titles outside the Official Selection.

TIFF Industry Selects titles hail from 29 countries and have been hand-picked by TIFF’s industry and festival programming teams and will screen to accredited users on the festival’s dedicated press and industry platform, TIFF Digital Cinema Pro. Industry registration closes on September 2.

2020 TIFF Industry Selects Titles:

A Good Man (France) Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar

After Love (UK) Aleem Khan

And Tomorrow The Entire World (Germany/France) Julia Von Heinz

Apples (Greece) Christos Nikou

Baby Done (New...

New films by Thomas Vinterberg, Charlotte Blom and Jonas Poher Rasmussen will be presented at the Goteborg Film Festival’s Nordic Film Market. In total, 16 films in post-production will be presented to industry participants in at the Nordic Film Market as part of the Work-in-Progress section. Half of the lineup is made up of first features.

Cia Edström, the head of the Nordic Film Market, said the industry showcase is seeing a big increase in participation this year. As many as 381 attendees from 25 countries so far have signed up for the event, including 37 sales agents, 67 festival programmers and 47 buyers. Edström noted the breadth and diversity of films and projects in this year’s program.

Vinterberg’s next film, “Another Round” is a modern drama starring Mads Mikkelsen. Represented in international markets by TrustNordisk, the film follows a group of high school teachers who embark on an experiment to be intoxicated...

Madants is developing a slate of internationally-focused projects.

Polish production outfit Madants is set to produce the English-language Silent Twins alongside UK/Us management and production company 42.

Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczyńska is onboard to direct Silent Twins, her first stand-alone English language feature. She previously directed a segment of the anthology horror film, The Field Guide To Evil, as well as Polish-language Cannes Critics’ Week title Fugue.

Speaking to Screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Klaudia Smieja, co-owner of Madants, said Silent Twins will tell the story of twins who after spending 14 years in Broadmoor Psychiatric Institution speak to...

Madants is developing a slate of internationally-focused projects.

Polish production outfit Madants is set to produce the English-language Silent Twins the first standalone English-language feature of rising director Agnieszka Smoczyńska.

She previously directed a segment of the anthology horror film, The Field Guide To Evil, as well as Polish-language Cannes Critics’ Week title Fugue.

Speaking to Screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Klaudia Smieja, co-owner of Madants, said Silent Twins will tell the story of twins who after spending 14 years in Broadmoor Psychiatric Institution speak to each other only in a language of their own creation.

The film is...

The Eurimages Lab Award at Haugesund has gone to Norwegian director Guro Bruusgaard for Him.

Norwegian director Guro Bruusgaard has won the Eurimages Lab iAward at Haugesund for Him.

The award—which is only eligible for a select group of work-in-progress projects that are more experimental in form or content – comes with a grant worth $55,500.

Him looks at the roles of contemporary men in society through stories of a boy, a 30-year-old man and a 60-year old man during one day in Oslo. The jury said Him offered a “relevant discussion made in a witty, intelligent and compassionate style”. No sales company is attached yet.

Acclaimed actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, best known for “Woman at War,” is set to star in writer/director Ragnar Bragason’s dark comedy “The Garden.”

Currently in post-production and to be pitched at Haugesund’s New Nordic Films over Aug. 20-23, “The Garden” is Bragason’s sixth feature and his first one since the 2013 Toronto entry “Metalhead.”

“I did two plays in between and the TV series “Fangar” (“Prisoners” in English”),” said the director, known as well for his twin features “Children”/”Parents”, and the ‘Shift’ TV series. Based on Bragason’s own 2012 stage play “The Garden,” which ran for a year at the Reykjavik City Theatre to a sold-out crowd, the picture is a social realist satire set in Reykjavik in a large apartment block full of immigrants.

Sectarian Indiana Jónsdóttir lives off the public welfare state, and in her small private garden, tends to her award-winning laburnum tree. Johanna – her neighbor,...

The 25th New Nordic Films, unspooling Aug. 20-23 parallel to the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, will kick off with the critically-lauded “A White, White Day” by Hlynur Pálmason. The Icelandic drama which world premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week, is among 19 films set to screen, of which 13 are world market premieres such as Jesper W. Nielsen’s thriller “The Exception,” Venice Critics Week’s pick “Psychosia,”, Venice Days’ entry “Beware of Children”, Jens Jonsson’s “The Spy” and Jesper Ganslandt’s “438 Days”.

The hot Works in Progress session has 20 titles to be pitched to more than 300 attendees. Gauging this year’s crop, New Nordic Films’ managing director Gyda Velvin Myklebust underlines the large number of local films, genre-driven and reality-based stories, as well as the healthy gender balance -half the films are female directed. “There are many new female talents to watch out for,” says Myklebust, citing the...

Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-pro picks up seven awards including best film and best director.

Under The Tree and Prisoners were the big winners at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.

The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson), and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).

Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners took home the most gongs, with 10 awards including best TV series and most popular TV series, plus awards for sound, music, editing, cinematography, costumes, make-up, art direction and best supporting actress.

Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while best short film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.

Best children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.

Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice...

Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-pro picks up seven awards including best film and best director.

Under The Tree was the big winner at Iceland’s Edda Awards on Sunday.

The film won seven awards: best film, best director (Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson), best actress (Edda Björgvinsdóttir), best actor (Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson), supporting actor (Sigurður Sigurjónsson), best original screenplay (Huldar Breiðfjörð and Sigurðsson) and best special effects (The Gentlemen Broncos).

Baldvin Z won best documentary for Beyond Strength, about an Icelandic strongman, while Best Short Film went to Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir.

Best Children’s programme went to Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir’s Summer Children, which premiered in Tallinn Black Nights.

On the TV side, Ragnar Bragason’s Ruv series Prisoners won 10 prizes.

Under The Tree, an Iceland-Poland-Denmark-Germany co-production, premiered in Venice Orizzonti before going to Toronto; the film went on to win awards in the Hamptons, Zurich and Fantastic Fest, among others. The dark comedy/tragedy was Iceland’s submission for the foreign-language...

Exclusive: Lisa Forrell will direct the story of an Icelandic woman who moves to the UK during the Second World War.

Katheryn Winnick (of TV’s Vikings) will star in Icelandic production company Truenorth’s Journey Home, written and directed by Lisa Forrell.

The English-language love story follows an Icelandic woman who moves to the UK to become a chef during the Second World War. The drama will shoot in Iceland and England, with UK producers Alex Boden (Sense8) and Tracey Seaward (Philomena) on board.

In addition, Truenorth and Mystery, the Icelandic production companies behind Berlinale TV drama selection Prisoners, have optioned six books in Stefan Mani’s police novel series that starts with Black Magic, following a street cop who has clairvoyant premonitions about death.

The company plans on adapting into an Icelandic-language TV series, which would premiere in 2019 or 2020.

True North is also planning a shoot by the end of 2017 on its next TV show...

Hanne Palmquist talks plans for HBO Nordic and Sherlock Holmes heads to Finland.

Goteborg Film Festival’s first Nordic award for Best TV Drama Script, worth $23,000 (Sek 200,000) and funded by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, has been presented to Nobel screenwriters Mette M Bolstad and Stephen Uhlander.

Nrk’s Nobel is a Homeland-style drama about a Norwegian Lieutenant returning home from duty in Afghanistan who discovers a political conspiracy.

The prize’s jury included Lars Blomgren of Filmlance, producer Gudrun Giddings, consultant Isabelle Pechcou and critic Leena Virtanen.

They said of Nobel: “The script was precise, well-structured and solid. This is a strong, unpredictable drama with a sense of fresh realism. The story was thrilling and worked well also as a metaphor of the global instability between war and peace…This TV series has an impressive complexity in the scriptwriting, no loose ends and no inconsistency. There is no filter to the truth. It is so transparent...

World premieres include Fanny Ardant’s Stalin’s Couch [pictured], Elisabeth E. Schuch’s The Book Of Birdie, Erlingur Ottar Thoroddsen’s Rift, and Manuel Concha’s Blind Alley.

Goteborg Film Festival has announced its programme of nearly 450 films from 84 countries to screen during the festival’s 40th anniversary edition (Jan 27-Feb 6).

As reported earlier, the festival will kick off with Dome Karukoski’s Tom Of Finland.

The eight films (all world premieres) competing for the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film – with a prize of $110,500 (Sek 1m) — are as follows:

Tom Of Finland by Dome Karukoski (Finland/Sweden/Denmark/Germany/Us)Beyond Dreams by Rojda Sekersöz (Sweden)The Ex-wife by Katja Wik (Sweden)Heartstone by Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson (Iceland/Denmark)Sámi Blood by Amanda Kernell (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)Little Wing bySelma Vilhunen (Finland)The Man by Charlotte Sieling (Denmark)Handle With Care by Arild Andresen (Norway)

The Nordic documentary competition includes:

Citizen Schein by Maud Nycander, [link...

As both a musical genre and a subculture, heavy metal has always lent itself to exaggerated depictions. It’s easy to dismiss any art form that takes itself so seriously, and most of the reductive metal send-ups have been well deserved. But what’s also deserved is a more accurate, even affectionate portrayal that gets the smallest details right and comes from a place of good faith. That void has been filled at last by writer-director Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead. Set in Iceland in the early 1990s, just as the darkest, most genuinely violent strain of metal was taking hold elsewhere in Scandinavia, the film deftly marries the essence of the music to a moving coming-of-age framework.

In a prologue set on the family farm, teenaged Baldur’s long, flowing ...

Announced today are the projects selected for the new Nordic Genre Boost initiative, a Nordisk Film & TV Fond project which will grant Nok 200.000 in development funds for seven gestating genre movies from the likes of André Øvredal (Troll Hunter), Aleksander Nordaas (Thale), Ragnar Bragason (Metalhead) and Let the Right One In author John…

The post Genre Boost Initiative Previews Developing Nordic Horror appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Los Angeles based distributor Cinelicious Pics has been turning heads over the last few months. The brand-new company may have licensed only a few titles yet, but those include some Twitch favorites, like for example Ragnar Bragason's Metalhead, and Anurag Kashyap's epic Gangs of Wasseypur. This weekend, Cinelicious Pics announced they have licensed Yamamoto Eiichi's Japanese animated feature Belladonna of Sadness, with exclusive rights to restore and re-release the film. Made in 1973, Belladonna of Sadness is known for its fiercely erotic content and psychedelic images, which do not resemble what was typically seen in anime at the time. A mixture of the legend of Joan of Arc and Michelet's 1862 book La Sorcière, it tells the story of a young woman in medieval times...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Olivier Assayas’ Cloud of Sils Maria will open European Film Promotion’s (Efp) second edition of its WestWind showcase of European cinema in Moscow’s Formula Kino Horizont Cinema tonight.

German actor Lars Eidinger, who appears in the French-us co-production with Kristen Stewart and Juliette Binoche, will come from the shooting of Alexey Uchitel’s historical drama-thriller Mathilde (working title) to attend the screening for a Q&A.

Clouds of Sils Maria was shown at last week’s International Media Forum in St Petersburg and will be released theatrically in Russia by Cinema Prestige.

Running until Oct 19, Efp’s event will present 11 European films to Moscow audiences, including two Oscar candidates - Germany’s Beloved Sisters by Dominik Graf and the Czech Republic’s Fair Play by Andrea Sedlackova - as well as Rok Bicek’s Class Enemy, Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead and Petra Volpe’s Dreamland.

Other talent attending WestWind include Slovenian director Bicek, actresses [link=nm...

The 7th annual Arizona Underground Film Festival will screen a smorgasbord of cult flicks, horror movies, comedies and provocative documentaries on September 19-27 at The Screening Room in Tucson, Az.

Opening Night: The fest kicks off on the 19th with Killers, a dark thriller all the way from Japan and Indonesia about a psychopath and a journalist who forge an unlikely, hellish bond.

Other films to be on the look out for include documentaries like the powerful Who Took Johnny? by acclaimed filmmakers Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley and David Belinson that examines the legacy of the disappearance of young Johnny Gosch in 1982; Penny Vozniak’s Despite the Gods, about Jennifer Lynch’s struggles to make a Bollywood musical; and Gideon C. Kennedy and Marcus Rosentrater’s wild Limo Ride.

Then, there are horror movies like the Lovecraft-inspired The Call Girl of Cthulu by Chris Lamartina; the slasher flick Crazy Bitches...

Early predictions have emerged for most Academy Award categories. As the studios reveal their hopeful offers to be released in the final months of the year, the speculation increases. But despite all the information available on the centerpiece awards, other more obscure races remain a complete mystery at this point. Among these, the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is almost certainly the most complex to prognosticate. The lengthy process that precedes the announcement of the final nominees makes for a competition that begins months in advance in nations around the globe.Having the opportunity to submit only one film, each country must carry out its own selection process. Once these decisions have been made, their chosen works will compete to make it to the nine-film shortlist, and eventually into the final five slots. Although this procedure allows for a certain degree of democracy, it also excludes all those other films that were left behind in their homelands. This, in turn, gives us a narrow view of what is being produced abroad.

Therefore, after lots of research and arduous educated guessing to put it together, the list below offers a more insightful look at this race before the actual individual selections are announced. For the sake of time, the amount of films is limited to five per country, but in some cases the choices are scarcer and less films are listed. While trying to speculate is always an uncertain endeavor, the factors taken into account to determine which are some of this year’s most important films in each country and their prospects of being chosen as their representative at the Academy Awards, were varied. Festival exposure, release date, the country’s previous submissions, and even the thematic elements of a few of them were considered to create this piece.

Clearly nothing is definitive at this point, but at the very least, this compilation will provide a sense of what the film industries in these territories are putting out and sharing with the world.

Read More: Oscars 2015 : Best Foreign Language Film Contenders - The Americas

Here is the first part of the list on Europe (Albania -Lithuania)

Albania

Last year the Balkan state had one of its strongest contenders in recent history, Robert Budina’s “Agon,” a powerful drama dealing with the ethnic identity of the region. This time around, there are three films that qualify to be selected. The front-runner is “ Amsterdam Express, ” which has the highest international profile of the three being a co-production between Albania, U.K The Netherlands and Germany. The film explores the sociopolitical situation of the country through the eyes of an Albanian man who immigrates to Dutch territory illegally. Following along are two other dramas, “The Last Wish” (Amaneti) and “Ada.” Having three clearly viable options, it is almost certain that Albania will compete once again this year.

1. "Amsterdam Express" PC: F&Me

2. "The Last Wish" (Amaneti) PC: Media Vision

3. "Ada" PC: Concordia Pictures

Armenia

Having submitted only four times as an independent nation, it is difficult to predict whether Armenia will decide to participate this year. However, they do have a few films that could represent them at the Academy Awards. Even though the country’s film industry is still precarious and struggling, they have their own annual awards and consistently complete feature length works. Since many of them don’t fulfill the quality standards of major festivals, few of their offers ever get passed their border. The most feasible candidate this year is “Tevanik,” a film about the Karabakh war that screened at the Cannes film market and that has also screened theatrically in its home country. Another possible selection is dark comedy “The Romanticists,” which won the Best Screenplay award at the Hayak National Cinema Awards and had some international exposure. Drama “From Two Worlds as a Keepsake, ” could also be a good candidate as it premiered last year at the World Film Festival in Montreal. Less likely are comedy “The Heart in the House ,” a Russian co-production, and Hayak Best Film nominee “Caucho,” which might be a bit too avant-garde to be chosen.

1. "Tevanik" PC: Fish Eye Art

2. "The Romanticists" (Rromantiknery) PC: Aysor-Plus Film Productions

3. "From Two Worlds as a Keepsake" (Yerku ashkharhic i hishatak) PC: National Film Centr of Armenia

4. "The Heart in the House" (Domik v serdtse) PC: Berg Sound

5. "Caucho"

Austria

Since Austrian productions are heavily influenced by the German film industry and often intertwined with it, it is no surprise that the major winner at the German Film Awards was the co-production “The Dark Valley.” But given that the director Andreas Prochaska is Austrian, as well as most of the creative control and resources, the Germans couldn’t claim it as their own. This, and the fact that Sam Riley is in it, make it an ideal, high profile candidate to be Austria’s Oscar submission. Nominated for five awards in the past Austrian Film Awards, “October November” is also a descent candidate. A close third followed is “The Last Dance” the latest film by Houchang Allahyari, whose film “I Love Vienna” represented the country a couple decades ago. Then we have “ Soldier Jane,” which also nominated for Best Film at the National Awards. Lastly, “The Silent Mountain, “ an epic period piece about World War I is not entirely far fetched. Other films that have had positive receptions at festivals such as “Macondo,” or “Amour Fou” will be released closer to the end of the year.

1. "The Dark Valley" (Das Fisntere Tal) Isa: Films Distribution

2. "October November" (Oktober November) Isa: The Match Factory

3. "The Last Dance" (Der letzte Tanz) PC: Allahyari Filmproduktion

4. "Soldier Jane" (Soldate Jeannette) Isa: Premium Films

5. "The Silent Mountain" ( Der Stille Berg) Isa: Premiere Entertainment Group

Azerbaijan

It's always great to see a country like Azerbaijan submitting a film and making an attempt at getting exposure for their filmmakers and industry. Their films rarely make it to the world stage of glamorous festivals, thus they remain mostly obscure and inaccessible outside their homeland. Nevertheless, this year an Azerbaijani film, “Nabat,” could change that as it will screen at the Venice Film festival. This war film has already screened in the country at least at a special event, it is difficult to know if it will qualify this time around. If it does, it is their best bet. Should they decide to save it for next year, the country has another option of mild prestige. “Chameleon,” a small drama set in a remote village, screened last year at Locarno and that alone could help its chances. Lastly, there is “Down by the River,” which was part of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival selection. It will almost certainly be released until past the deadline, but might be a strong contender in the future. Two other dramas, one of epic proportions and a biopic could get in the mix but there is hardly any information available besides the fact that they have been screened in the capital city of Baku.

1. "Nabat" Isa: Dreamlab Films

2. "Chameleon" (Buqälämun) PC: Arizona Productions

3. "Down the River" (Axinla ashagi) PC: Azerbaijanfilm

Belarus

The small ex-Soviet state has been mostly producing documentaries for local viewing. Their output of material that can be successful abroad is minimal, and even when they have been presented with a great opportunity to participate at the Academy Awards, they simply don’t. This was the case of Sergey Loznitsa's “In the Fog” a couple years back, which could have represented them but was not entered. In fact, they have only participated on two occasions, the last one being in 1996. Although it is unlikely they will show interest, the country has a couple of promising choices. Belarus’ best bet would be the international coproduction “ The Role,” a solemn period piece that was nominated for five Nika Awards (the Russian Oscars) and actually won for Best Screenplay. Highly improbable, but given their small number of contenders, the country could also choose to send “BaBu,” an Azerbaijani coproduction about the kidnapping of a businessman’s daughter.

1. "The Role" (Rol) Isa: Reflexion Films

2. "BaBu"

Belgium

With the return to Cannes of the country’s most iconic filmmakers, the Dardenne Brothers, Belgium has an easy decision to make. Starring Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night” looks like the obvious favorite. Nevertheless, the Dardennes have been overlooked before, as it was the case two years ago when the Belgians decided to send “Bullhead” over the duo’s “The Kid with a Bike.” The only real threat could be “Marina” by Stijn Coninx, who was nominated for an Oscar in this category back in 1992 with “Daens.“ His latest work is a period piece about Rocco Granata’s life, an Italian singer who lived in Belgium in his youth. A more audacious decision, but not entirely impossible, would be to select the beautifully nightmarish “The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears,” which has had noticeable international presence. Two other titles, “ The Verdict” and “The Treatment” have been well received at home but since they are facing works by revered filmmakers, their chances are slight.

1. "Two Days, One Night" (Deux jours, une nuit) Isa: Wild Bunch

2. "Marina" Isa: Media Luna New Films

3. "The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears" (L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps) Isa: Bac Films International

4. "The Verdict" (Het Vonnis) Isa: Media Luna New Films

5. "The Treatment" (De Behandeling) Isa: Be for Films

Bosnia & Herzegovina

The last film by the poster child for Bosnian cinema, Danis Tanovic, managed to make it to the 9-film shortlist last December. This year, the country doesn’t have such a prominent candidate. Based on release date, festival exposure, and language, their safest selection would be the family drama “ With Mom.” Another title that could qualify is “Krivina,” which is technically a 2012 film, but did not premier in Bosnia until late last year. If eligible, it would definitively be a great runner-up. In third place is the incredibly small local film “ Krajina: Life or Death,” and it’s in that position simply because it meets all the minimum requirements to qualify - language included. The last two films mentioned here are longer shots not due to lack of quality, but because of their production details. One, “Bridges of Sarajevo,” is an anthology film created by over a dozen filmmakers from around the world. Even though one of the filmmakers is Bosnian and all sections are in a language other than English, it will be hard to consider it an actual Bosnian film. The other, “For Those Who Can Tell No Tales,” is a Bosnian production directed by Jasmila Zbanic, but the dialogue seems to be mostly in English, which would make it ineligible.

1. "With Mom" (Sa Mamom) PC: Scca/Pro.BA

2. "Krivina" Isa: Princ Films

3. "Krajina: Life and Death" (Ja sam iz Krajine, zemlje kestena) PC: Depo Production

4. "Bridges of Sarajevo" (Les Ponts de Sarajevo) Isa: Indie Sales

5."For Those Who Can Tell No Tales" (Za one koji ne mogu da govore) PC: Mpm

Bulgaria

In recent years the country has decided to send films that have won or have been nominated for their local film awards. This year the winner of the top award for Best Film was “Alienation,” seemingly making it the favorite to be submitted. This might actually not be the case. Premiering at Sundance earlier this year, “Viktoria,” an epic drama about a peculiar mother-daughter relationship, might actually be the frontrunner. The film has been rightfully hailed as the most important Bulgarian film of 2014 as it has been praised at several international festivals. The only concern was its release date, but that has been put to rest since the filmmakers have announced a one-week theatrical run of the film in Sofia this September. This might imply they are seriously considering the possibility of being chosen. Other less likely options are “Roseville,” another Best Film nominee at the local film awards, “Rat Poison,” which won Best Screenplay at those same awards, and the comedy “ Living Legends.” “The Judgement,” another important Bulgarian film that opened the Sofia International Film Festival in March, won’t opened theatrically until after the deadline.

1. "Viktoria" PC: Viktoria Films

2. "Alienation" PC: Red Carpet/ Bnt

3."Roseville" Isa: Wide

4. "Rat Poison" PC: Bulfilm Nfc

5. "Living Legends" PC: Euro Dialogue Productions

Croatia

Dominating last year’s Pula Film Festival with seven Golden Arena awards and presented at other international festivals, the drama “ A Stranger” is by far the most qualified choice. Bobo Jelcic’s film follows a man who returns to his hometown only to attend a funeral, but is forced to deal with several other issues from his past while there. Closely following is complex family drama “Hush…,” which also won several awards at the same festival. Other films that could come into play include “Vis-à-Vis,” a story about a film director and on his actor trying to write a screenplay, crime thriller “Not All About the Money, ”and the comedy “Handymen” by Dalibor Matanic, whose film “Fine Dead Girls” represented Croatia in 2002. It is important to note that three other relevant Croatian films, “The Bridge at the of the World,” "Number 55” and “The Reaper,” will probably be released in the next few months and will be in the running next year.

1. "A Stranger"(Obrana i zastita) Isa: Rendez-vous Pictures

2. "Hush..." (Šuti) PC: Kinorama

3. "Vis-a-Vis" PC: Copycat Production House

4. "Not All About the Money" (Nije sve u lovi) PC: Interfilm

5. "Handymen" (Majstori) PC: Hrvatska Radiotelevizija

Cyprus

As one of the few countries in Europe that has never submitted a film, it is likely they will continue on that path once again. Yet, if they decide otherwise, there is a film that could represent them. Crime drama “Stratos” directed by Cyprus-born Yannis Economides and produced with support from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture could actually be the island nation’s lucky charm. Another Cypriot production, the romantic comedy “ Committed,” would be listed here as a possibility if it wasn’t for the fact that it is entirely in English.

1. "Stratos" (To Mikro Psari) Isa: The Match Factory

Czech Republic

Last year was rough for the Czechs. The ambitious historical courtroom drama “Burning Bush” by acclaimed filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, was disqualified as their submission because it was originally conceived as a TV miniseries. They were forced to select another film “The Don Juans,” which that didn’t do much them. This time around things are looking up with a wide array of films to choose from. Playing at Karlovy Vary recently and opening theatrically just in time to qualify is “Fair Play,” a sports drama about a sprinter attempting to make it to the Olympic Games in 1980. Then there is “Clownwise, ” a quirky dramedy that was nominated for Best Film and won Best Supporting actor at the local Czech Lion Awards. In the third spot is “Hany,” a film conformed of a single continuous shot depicting the madness occurring during a night out in the city. “The Way Out, ” a drama that screened in the Acid sidebar at Cannes, could also be picked based on that notable international exposure. Lastly, “Delight,” another Czech Lion Best Film nominee, could be the surprise selection, but it will probably prove to be a tad too abstract for voters.

1. "Fair Play" Isa: Intramovies

2. "Clownwise" (Klauni) Isa: Latido

3. "Hany" PC: Barletta

4. "The Way Out" (Cesta Ven) Isa: Premium Films

5. "Delight" (Rozkos) PC: Cineart TV Prague

Denmark

These days Denmark is a powerhouse in this category. After almost tasting glory once again with Vinterberg’s “The Hunt, ” the Danish will return to seek their third consecutive nomination. In order to continue their great streak, they need to choose wisely. “Someone in Love,” about a musician in crisis, has garnered praise from critics internationally, and will seem like the obvious choice. On the other hand, there is the mystery flick “ The Keeper of Lost Causes,” which opened in Denmark late last yearand was nominated for 4 Bodil Awards. Then there is “Sorrow and Joy” another powerful drama from Nils Malmros, whose film “Barbara” represented Denmark in 1992. Unique coming-of-age tale ”Speed Walking” could also be a contender. On the final slot there is the romantic drama “The Miracle,” a film that did well at the Montreal World Film Festival, unlikely but not impossible. Whichever it is, it will certainly be something to watch out for throughout the race.

1. "Someone You Love" (En du elsker) Isa: TrustNordisk

2. "The Keeper of Lost Causes" (Kvinden i buret) Isa: TrustNordisk

3. "Sorrow and Joy" (Sorg og glæde) PC: Nordisk Film Production

4. "Speed Walking" (Kapgang) PC: Nordisk Film Production

5. "The Miracle" (Miraklet) PC: Film i Vast

Estonia

This Baltic country’s film industry has increasingly become more consistent at delivering interesting films. Winning awards across festivals, their absolute frontrunner is “Tangerines, ” a Georgian coproduction about a Estonian man caught up in the middle of a war. Its biggest competition is the black and white historical film “In the Crosswind,” “which is a viable choice given that it deals with a painful episode in the region's history: the mass deportation of Baltic people to Siberia by Russia. Though it looks beautifully done, its particular visual aesthetic might seem to unconventional to some voters. It is still really possible they decide to send it regardless. Finally there is “ Kertu” a romantic drama about an unlikely relationship.

1. "Tangerines" (Mandariinid) Isa: Cinemavault

2. "In the Crosswind" (Risttuules) PC: Allfilm

3. "Kertu, Love is Blind" (Kertu) Isa: Paul Thiltges Distribution Sarl

Finland

Despite the countries long filmmaking tradition, the Finnish have only been nominated once for Aki Kaurismäki's “The Man Without a Past” in 2002. Fortunately for them, they have several great eligible films that will make for a difficult decision. Black and white philosophical drama “ Concrete Night” from Pirjo Honkasalo earned 6 Jussi Awards, given by Finland’s film professionals. Such overwhelming recognition will make it hard to ignore despite the serious competition. The film also had a great festival run. Right behind it are two films by prolific Dome Karukoski, who has represented his country at the Oscar previously. The first one is “The Grump,” a comedy based on the character created by Tuomas Kyro. It will screen at Tiff and will open locally just in time to qualify. Karukoski’s other film “Heart of a Lion,” tells a more serious story about a Neo-Nazi who reconsiders his views after falling in love. Either one of them could be picked as a way to honor the consistently great work this filmmaker puts out. Yet another interesting possibility is “Korso,” about a young man with big basketball dreams. The film was partially produced by the same company that created last year’s Oscar nominated short “Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?” There are several other plausible films, but from all those, the one that seems to have the best prospects is the historical comedy “August Fools.”

1. "Concrete Night" (Betoniyö) Isa: Film Republic

2. "The Grump" (Mielensäpahoittaja) Isa: The Yellow Affair

3. "Heart of a Lion" (Leijonasydän) Isa: The Yellow Affair

4. "Korso" PC: Bufo/Tuffi Films

5. "August Fools" (Mieletön elokuu) Isa: Insomnia World Sales

France

Narrowing down France’s possible selection to five titles is by far one of the must uncertain and difficult tasks. The French film industry releases a vast number of films every year in a variety of genres and sizes. This gives them endless possibilities. Yet, there are some indicators that provide insight to what they might end up choosing. First off, the Cesar Awards. This year’s big winner was Guillaume Gallienne's “Me, Myself and Mum, ” which is a delightfully funny film that shines with originality. It was released last November and could definitely be their selected entry. On the other hand, they could choose to honor legendary filmmaker Alain Resnais- who past away earlier this year - by submitting his last film “Life of Riley.” The film received mixed reactions, but won the Fipresci Prize and the Alfred Bauer Award in Berlin. If they want to go with some fresh young talent, there is Cannes Directors' Fortnight Winner “Love at First Sight, ” the debut feature by Thomas Cailley. Another award winner that qualifies is Katell Quillévéré’s “Suzanne” about a woman that loses it all for the love a deviant man. Last but not least, Mathieu Amalric’s latest directorial effort “The Blue Room” could be a surprise player given the actor’s prestige and talent both in front and behind the camera. It is still up in the air.

1. "Me, Myself and Mum" (Les Garçons et Guillaume, à table!) Isa: Gaumont

2. "Life of Riley" (Aimer, boire et chanter) PC: F Comme Film

3. "Love at First Sight" (Les Conbattants) PC: Nord-Ouest Productions

4. "Suzanne" Isa: Films Distribution

5. "The Blue Room" (La Chambre Bleue) Isa: Alfama Films

Georgia

Impressively on the rise, the Georgian film industry keeps on delivering great works that often make waves across international festivals. Last year’s submission “In Bloom,” was a great success and managed to get U.S. distribution for a small theatrical release. On this occasion, they have three films that have done well internationally. Out of the batch, the most successful has been Levan Koguashvili’s “Blind Dates, ” a charming story of a unique quest for love. A second strong competitor is “Brides,” a drama that screened both at the Berlinale and Tribeca this year. Then, just fresh from winning at Karlovy Vary, there is “Corn Island,” a poetic vision of life from the perspective of rural Georgia. It appears like all three titles will release at home in time to qualify. If that’s the case, Georgia has a tough decision to make

1. "Blind Dates" (Shemtkhveviti paemnebi) Isa: Films Boutique

2. "Brides" (Patardzlebi) Isa: Rezo

3. "Corn Island" (Simindis kundzuli) PC: Arizona Productions

Germany

After releasing a 15-film shortlist, Germany’s prospects look clearer. There are several titles on the list that won’t merit a nomination, but the prominent film that remain will make for a competitive final selection. Winning two prizes in Berlin, “Stations of the Cross,” a look at fundamentalist Catholicism, sounds like a front-runner. However, its subject matter might play against it. Feo Aladag’s latest film “Inbetween Worlds,” about a German soldier in Afghanistan, seems to be a powerful drama on the vein of Susanne Bier’s “In a Better World.” On the third slot is “West,” a moving film about a woman and her son escaping socialist East Germany to discover the other side also has its darkness. Then there is “Beloved Sisters,” a costume drama that seems like a safer choice. It might be too familiar to be selected, but not at all improbable. Lastly, “Home from Home,” which won several national awards. It'ss possible, but its narrative style and extensive running time (225 min.) might make it a much more harder sell.

1. "Stations of the Cross" (Kreuzweg) Isa: Beta Cinema

2. "Inbetween Worlds" (Zwischen Welten) Isa: The Match Factory

3. "West" (Westen) Isa: Picture Tree International

4. "Beloved Sisters" (Die geliebten Schwestern) PC: Bavaria Film

5. "Home from Home - Chronicle of a Vision" (Die andere Heimat - Chronik einer Sehnsucht) Isa: Arri Worldsales

Greece

Even though it not an absolute rule, the Greeks tend to select the Hellenic Awards Best Film winner as their submission. Taking that into account, the clear favorite and almost certain choice is “Little England,” a period piece that won big locally. It’s biggest flaw; however, is the lack of international exposure. If for some reason they wanted to make a bold move and reward an impressive festival run, then Alexandros Avranas’s marvelously perverse “Miss Violence” would be ideal. Another great festival darling is Elina Psikou‘s feature debut “The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas,” a sardonic exploration on fame and identity. On the fourth spot, there is “ The Enemy Within,” a tense crime drama about a family in the aftermath of a home invasion. The film was also honored at the Hellenic Awards. Finally, “Standing Aside, Watching,” about corruption, sexism, and intimidation in a small village, could also be a great entry. Un Certain Regard film “Xenia” by Panos H. Koutras, won’t open in Greece until October, but will be a possible option next year.

1. "Little England" (Mikra Anglia) PC: Black Orange

2."Miss Violence" Isa: Elle Driver

3."The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas" (I Aionia Epistrofi tou Antoni Paraskeva) Isa: M-Appeal World Sales

4."The Enemy Within" (O Ehthros Mou) Isa: Patra Spanou

5. "Standing Aside, Watching" (Na kathesai kai na koitas) Isa: Patra Spanou

Hungary

Hungary’s last submission “The Notebook” managed to make it into the highly competitive 9-film shortlist. This year they have even brighter hopes with a slate of titles that have done very well around the world. Un Certain Regard winner “White God” is undoubtedly the one to beat. It is a rare occasion for the country to win such a high profile prize, thus making it almost impossible to ignore. Nevertheless, if that is not enough to convince the selection committee, “Free Fall” the latest film György Pálfi - whose films “ Hukkie” and “Taxidermia” have represented Hungary in the past - would be the next best choice. It also won several awards recently at Karlovy Vary, which could be of help. Less likely is Virág Zomborácz‘s “Afterlife” another drama that screened at the renowned Czech festival. Other possible titles include Lgbt romantic drama “Land of Storms, “ which screened in Berlin, and dark “ “Heavenly Shift,” which descent international presence.

1. "White God" (Fehér isten) Isa: The Match Factory

2. "Free Fall" (Szabadesés) PC: Jiff Project

3. "Afterlife" (Utóélet) Isa: Hungarian National Film Fund

4. "Land of Storms" (Viharsarok) Isa: M-Appeal World Sales

5. "Heavenly Shift" (Isteni müszak) Isa: Hungarian National Film Fund

Iceland

This small Scandinavian nation seems to have a very easy decision to make. The film “Life in a Fishbowl” has been dubbed by local critics as “the best Icelandic” film ever made” and it has also been an absolute box-office hit in its homeland. The multi-narrative film is by far the most likely to be submitted. However, its closest competitor is Ragnar Bragason‘s “ Metalhead,” a drama about a girl coping with her brother’s death. It was released late last year and won several Edda Awards. With far less possibilities given the two frontrunners is the dramedy “Paris of the North, ” which screened at Karlovy Vary, and comedy “ The Grandad,” which lacks exposure and buzz.

1. "Life in a Fishbowl" (Vonarstræti) Isa: Films Boutique

2. "Metalhead" (Málmhaus) Isa: Picture Tree International

3. "Paris of the North" (París Norðursins) PC: Arizona Productions

4. "The Grandad" (Afinn) PC: Thorsson Productions

Ireland

Since most of country’s releases are in English rather than in the Irish language, most years the country doesn’t have any candidates for this category. Ireland has only submitted to films for consideration as foreign language films. It is unlikely they’ll enter the race this year, but if it manages to be released in time, Irish director Johnny O'Reilly‘s Russian-language film “Moscow Never Sleeps” could be their selected candidate. The film was produced with the help of the Irish Film Funs, a fact that could help claim it as an Irish production. Another film in the Irish language, “An Bronntanas” (The Gift), would be a great choice, but it seems to be originally envisioned for TV as a five part miniseries. It’s hard to know if it will manage to qualify.

1. "Moscow Never Sleeps" (Москва никогда не спит) PC: Snapshot Films

Italy

Returning as current champion, Italy - which is the most successful nation ever in this category – has two main contenders and a couple other minor players. At the top of the list is “Human Capital,” which beat out “The Great Beauty” at the local David di Donatello Awards. Added to that, the film has won almost every award at home and several others abroad. It would be shocking to see the film be ignored. The biggest threat to its flawless run is Cannes Competition film “The Wonders.” It received mixed reviews but the Cannes pedigree could play a big role. Local success “The Mafia Only Kills in Summer” is less likely to have a chance. However, it also received tons of praise at home, so it shouldn’t be entirely disqualified. “Misunderstood,” by Asia Argento, played in the Un Certain Regard section but faces tough competition. Rounding up these five possibilities is “Those Happy Years, ” a personal film by Daniele Luchetti, which received very positive reviews internationally.

1. "Human Capital" (Il capitale umano) PC: Indiana Production Company

2. "The Wonders" (Le meraviglie) Isa: The Match Factory

3. "The Mafia Only Kills in Summer" (La mafia uccide solo d'estate) Isa: Rai Com

4. "Misunderstood" (Incompresa) Isa: Other Angle Pictures

5. "Those Happy Years" (Anni felici) Isa: Celluloid Dreams/Nightmares

Kosovo

The surprise submission could come from the recently independent, war-torn Balkan state. They have a promising feature film by Isa Qosja's “Three Windows and a Hanging,” which has been called “the best film from Kosovo to date.” Dealing with the forced silence and shame rape victims experience in a small village ruled by patriarchal norms, the film seems to be a perfect candidate to be their first submission. It recently premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival, so its biggest challenge would be qualifying based on its unknown release date at home.

1. "Three Windows and a Hanging"

Latvia

Unfortunately for Latvia, their possibilities are extremely limited this year. There are only two films that seem as possible candidates. One is the slasher horror film “The Man in the Orange Jacket.” It sports a great production value and might be an interesting offer, but it is hard to see it get far in the race. Nonetheless, it is still their best chance. The other film "Escaping Riga" is a documentary on historical figures Sergei Eisenstein and Sir Isaiah Berlin. Given its subject matter it wouldn’t be surprising if they chose to with this. Hopefully next year their output gives them more to pick from.

1. "The Man in the Orange Jacket" (M.O.Zh.) Isa: Wide

2. "Escaping Riga" PC: Mistrus Media

Lithuania

Opposite to its Baltic neighbor mentioned above, Lithuania has several notable films that could represent them. After winning the top prizes at the Lithuanian Silver Crane’ awards, “The Gambler” became the clear favorite. However, it is important to mention that despite having narrative features to choose from, Lithuania decided to send a small documentary to represent them last year. This curious fact could play in favor of “ Cenotaphs,” a doc focusing on the search for the remains of dead soldiers from World War II. The film won Best Documentary and was nominated in other categories at the local awards. Then there are three other Silver Crane nominated films. Coming-of-age flick “ Non-Present Time,” family drama “Santa,” and crime thriller “Name in the Dark.” The winner of several of these awards, “The Excursionist” was released too early last year to be considered this time around. Local financial success “Redirected” is mostly in English, thus ineligible.

1. "The Gambler" (Losejas) Isa: Wide

2. "Cenotaph" (Kenotafas) PC: Studio Uljana Kim

3. "Non-Present Time" (Nesamasis laikas) PC: Just a Moment

4. "Santa" PC: Artbox

5. "Name in the Dark" (Vardas tamsoje) PC: Fralita Films...

Following previous announcements of their film lineup, the Fantasia International Film Festival has released their full lineup of movies to be shown at the 18th Annual festival, starting July 17.

New additions to the lineup include 2014 Cannes Selection When Animals Dream, directed by Jonas Alexander Amby and the return of Fantasia’s showcase of animated films, Axis.

Tickets for the festival go on sale starting July 16, and the festival runs through August 5.

View the whole press release of additional announcements below:

Fantasia Celebrates Its 18th Birthday

With Over 160 Feature Films Montreal, Thursday July 10, 2014 – 2014 is the year that Fantasia turns 18. We can’t believe it either. Fantasia’s 18th birthday means over 160 features and something in the neighborhood of 300 shorts, many being shown for the first time on this continent, a good number screening here for the first time anywhere in the world.In addition to being stacked with a multitude of breathtaking debut filmmaker discoveries,...

Film restoration expert Paul Korver and former American Cinematheque head of programming Dennis Bartok have thrown their hat into the distribution arena with Cinelicious Pics.

The nascent company aims to release both new and restored art house and cult classics across the spectrum from theatrical to VOD, Blu-ray and DVD and TV, although the principals said the slate would not be genre or era-specific.

Rounding out the company’s leadership is head of business affairs, entertainment lawyer Kristine Blumensaadt, as well as a support team of marketers, publicists, and restoration talent.

The initial roster kicks off in autumn with Adam Rifkin’s documentary Giuseppe Makes A Movie, Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead and Elena Tikhonova and Dominik Spritzendorfer documentary Elektro Moskva.

“We’re huge film enthusiasts, first and foremost, and have a deep appreciation for how challenging it can be to bring a unique film to a wider audience,” said evp of acquisitions and distribution Bartok. “Our goal is...

The UK’s revived Icon Film Distribution is adding to its release slate with four pick-ups from Cannes. Ifd acquired Jc Chandor’s A Most Violent Year with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain; Equals by Drake Doremus with Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart; The Legend Of Barney Thompson starring Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone and Emma Thompson; and It Follows, the horror pic from David Robert Mitchell that ran in Critics’ Week. Ifd is showing itself a savvy buyer and recently released animated feature Postman Pat: The Movie which has grossed over $4M in its first 10 days. Icelandic producers Davíd Óskar Ólafsson and Árni Filippusson, exec producers on David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche, are moving forward with their first English-language drama, Autumn Lights. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Angad Aulakh who wrote the screenplay. Newcomer Guy Kent is starring as a young American photographer on assignment in...

World premiere of Dermaphoria, starring The Vampire Diaries’ Joseph Morgan and Ron Perlman, to open 13th edition of the London festival.

The line-up for the East End Film Festival (June 13-25) has been revealed.

The 13th edition of the festival - which runs for 13 days - will open on Friday 13th June with the world premiere of Dermaphoria. The Us film is the second feature from Ross Clarke, the east London-based filmmaker and DJ who directed homeless documentary Skid Row in 2007 and co-founded music festival Lovebox.

Based on a novel by Craid Clevenger, Dermaphoria follows an experimental chemist who wakes up in a New Orleans jail with amnesia, accused of arson and links to a drug-manufacturing ring. The cast includes Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Walton Goggins (The Shield), Anwan Glover (The Wire) and Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy).

Football focus

The festival, which coincides with the World Cup in Brazil, will welcome...

The East End Film Festival returns to the city of London this summer celebrating its thirteenth year, and running in the height of the World Cup, Director Alison Poltock says she’s determined to make it the festival’s best year ever.

Opening on Friday, 13th June, the festival will run in East London for thirteen days, playing host to over 100 feature narrative and documentary films, and close to 100 shorts, the majority of which will be either World, UK, or London premieres.

Ross Clarke’s sophomore feature, Dermaphormia, will kick events off as the Opening Night Gala selection. Clarke has lined up an impressive cast for his first narrative film, following his award-winning documentary Skid Row, led by Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries), Nicole Badaan, Walton Goggins (Django Unchained), Lucius Falick, Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Anwan Glover (The Wire), and Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy). The crime-thriller centres on an experimental...

Based on their outstanding careers forged on international co-productions, 24 up-and-coming players in the European film industry have been selected to take part in European Film Promotion's (Efp) networking platform Producers on the Move. Now in its 15th year, Efp spotlights emerging European producers at the Cannes Film Festival from May 17-19 and helps them embark on successful cooperation with their similarly ambitious Producers on the Move colleagues from all over Europe.

The programas been financially supported by the Media Program (2007-2013) of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations who each made a careful selection of their national participants according to specific criteria.

The schedule of Producers on the Move includes working sessions, one-to-one speed-dating meetings and various opportunities to exchange knowledge and follow up discussions on future projects. In addition, Efp will be teaming up with the European cultural channel Arte and the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages for Producers on the Move. For the first time, Eurimages has prepared a case study exclusively for Efp's program to be discussed under the direction of Eurimages Executive Director Roberto Olla.

He points out the importance of programs such as Producers on the Move:

“This is the 4th consecutive year that Eurimages is involved with this initiative which perfectly marries our objectives of encouraging co-operation between producers so as to stimulate cinematographic co-productions and of promoting their international distribution. Further to the success of the collaboration at the Cannes Festival, the Eurimages Fund has strengthened its partnership with European Film Promotion through other initiatives which also seek to unite professionals from the European film industry in order to participate in its development on an international level.”

Looking back at previous editions, Efp's programme results each year in several new trans-national co-productions and gives the producers a higher profile in Cannes. For 2013, almost all of the participants are still in contact with one another and 17 co-productions are in development.

One recent success story is the coming-of-age feature The Word, directed by Anna Kazejak and co-produced by two Producers on the Move from 2011, Lukasz Dzieciol(Opus Film, Poland) and Jesper Morthorst (Sf Film Production, Denmark). The film was released in Poland in March after its premiere at the Berlinale in the Generation sidebar.

Currently in post is Dirk Ohm - The Illusionist That Disappeared, directed by Bobbie Peers. The producer Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film As, Norway), joined forces for this film with her Producers on the Move colleague from 2011, Gian-Piero Ringel (Neue Road Movies, Germany) and the 2010 Producers on the Move, Lizette Jonjic (Migma Film, Sweden). Norway has scheduled the release for September 2014. Ekerhovd and Ringel also worked together for two further projects: Every Thing Will Be Fine by Wim Wenders and the six episodes for Cathedrals of Culture which have been presented at this year’s Berlinale.

The following producers were selected by the Efp member organizations:

Viktoria

Director: Maya Vitkova

Producer: Maya Vitkova

Viktoria Films, Bulgaria

selected by Bulgarian National Film Centre

Gangster of Love

Director: Nebojša Slijepcevic

Producer: Vanja Jambrović

Restart, Croatia

selected by Croation Audiovisual Centre

Burning Bush

Director: Agnieszka Holland

Producer: Tomáš Hrubỳ

Nutprodukce, Czech Republic

selected by Czech Film Center

Antboy

Director: Ask Hasselbalch

Producer: Eva Jakobsen

Nimbus Film, Denmark

selected by Danish Film Institute

Concrete Night

Director: Pirjo Honkasalo

Producer: Mark Lwoff

Bufo, Finland

selected by Finnish Film Foundation

Möbius

Director: Eric Rochant

Producer: Mathias Rubin

Récifilms, France

selected by UniFrance films

Brides

Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili

Producer: Tinatin Kajrishvili

Gemini, Georgia

selected by Georgian National Film Center

The Special Need

Director: Carlo Zoratti

Producer: Henning Kamm

Detailfilm, Germany

selected by German Films

Standing Aside, Watching

Director: Yorgos Servetas

Producer: Konstantin Kontovrakis

Heretic Creative Producer, Greece

selected by Greek Film Centre

Land of Storms

Director: Adam Csaszi

Producer: Eszter Gyárfás

Proton Cinema, Hungary

selected by Magyar Filmunió/ Hungarian National Film Fund

Metalhead

Director: Ragnar Bragason

Producer: Árni Filippusson

Mystery, Iceland

selected by Icelandic Fim Centre

You're Ugly Too

Director: Mark Noonan

Producer: John Keville

Sp Films, Ireland

selected by Irish Film Board

Black Souls

Director: Francesco Munzi

Producer: Olivia Musini

Cinemaundici, Italy

selected by Istituto Luce Cinecittà

Monument to Michael Jackson

Director: Darko Lungulov

Co-Producer: Ognen Antov

Dream Factory Macedonia, Fyr of Macedonia

selected by Macedonian Film Agency

The Ascent

Director: Nemanja Becanovic

Producer: Ivan Djurović

Artikulacija Production, Montenegro

selected by Ministry of Culture of Montenegro

Totally True Love

Director: Anne Sewitsky

Producer: Teréz Hollo-Klausen

Anna Kron Film, Norway

selected by Norwegian Film Institute

Fuck for Forest

Director: Michal Marczak

Producer: Mikołaj Pokromski

Pokromski Studio, Poland

selected by Polish Film Institute

Collider

Director: Jason Butler

Producer: Nuno Bernardo

beActive Entertainment, Portugal

selected by Ica I.P. / Portugal

Slovakia 2.0

Director: Iveta Grófová, Juraj Herz, Martin Šulík, Miro Jelok, Mišo Suchý, Ondrej Rudavský, Peter Kerekes, Peter Krištúfek, Viera Cákanyová, Zuzana Liová

Producer: Mátyás Prikler

MPhilms, Slovak Republic

selected by Slovak Film Institute

The Extraordinary Tale

Director: José F. Ortuño, Laura Alvea

Producer: Marta Velasco

Áralan Films, Spain

selected by Icaa / Spain

Beyond Beyond

Director: Esben Toft Jacobsen

Producer: Petter Lindblad

Snowcloud Films, Sweden

selected by Swedish Film Institute

Ate Ver La Luz

Director: Basil da Cunha

Producer: Elodie Brunner

Box Productions, Switzerland

selected by Swiss Films

Secrets of War

Director: Dennis Bots

Producer: David Bijker

Bijker Film & TV, The Netherlands

selected by Eye International

Weekend

Director: Andrew Haigh

Producer: Tristan Goligher

The Bureau Film Company, United Kingdom

selected by British Council...

Berlin’s Picture Tree International (Pti) has secured several deals with Us distributors, following its debut as an exhibitor at the European Film Market (Efm).

The Berlin-based production and sales outfit sold North American rights for Christian Schwochow’s West (Westen) to Mainstreet Films.

Schwochow’s East-West drama, which Senator will be releasing theatrically in Germany on March 27, was also sold to the UK (New Wave), France (Sophie Dulac), Spain (Savor Ediciones) and South Korea (Mediasoft), with Encore securing the global in-flight rights.

Pti also sold Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead to Cinelicious, marking the first acquisition made by the fledgling Us distributor. The heavy metal drama was also sold to Canada (Raven Banner).

Fack Ju goes international

The first sales of Fack Ju Göthe (Suck Me Shakespeer) have been secured with Océan Film (France), Cinemart (Czech Republic/Slovakia) and Sejong (South Korea).

Bora Dagtekin’s screwball romantic comedy is Germany’s latest blockbuster, where it has...

Berlin’s Picture Tree International (Pti) has secured several deals with Us distributors, following its debut as an exhibitor at the European Film Market (Efm).

The Berlin-based production and sales outfit sold North American rights for Christian Schwochow’s West (Westen) to Mainstreet Films.

Schwochow’s East-West drama, which Senator will be releasing theatrically in Germany on March 27, was also sold to the UK (New Wave), France (Sophie Dulac), Spain (Savor Ediciones) and South Korea (Mediasoft), with Encore securing the global in-flight rights.

Pti also sold Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason’s Metalhead to Cinelicious, marking the first acquisition made by the fledgling Us distributor. The heavy metal drama was also sold to Canada (Raven Banner).

Fack Ju goes international

The first sales of Fack Ju Göthe (Suck Me Shakespeer) have been secured with Océan Film (France), Cinemart (Czech Republic/Slovakia) and Sejong (South Korea).

Bora Dagtekin’s screwball romantic comedy is Germany’s latest blockbuster, where it has...

Russian feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot is on the poster and Russia is in focus at Sweden’s 37th Göteborg International Film Festival (Jan 24-Feb 3) – the largest showcase in the Nordic countries.

The selection of 20 films “is both artistically strong and takes up current subjects, such as freedom of speech and distribution of resources,” explained the festival’s artistic director Marit Kapla.

The focus includes Russian director Aleksej German’s Hard to Be a God (Trudno byt Bogom), completed by his wife Svetlana Karmelita and son after German’s death.

Taisija Krugovykh and Vasilij Bogatov’s Pussy versus Putin, about Pussy Riot’s action, will be introduced by the directors, as will Alexander Gentelev’s Putin’s Games.

Unspooling almost 500 films from 76 countries at 25 venues, adding seminars, concerts, talk-shows and exhibtions, the festival – which last year registered 132,447 admissions – will again honour Best Nordic Film with a Dragon Award and Sek 1 million ($150,000) cash, this year from...

Arab spring compilation wins Jihlava’s main award; Best Czech film for HBO-backed doc

Belgium-based Peter Snowdon’s The Uprising, a compilation of amateur footage from the Arab spring, was awarded the Opus Bonum - Best International Documentary Film Award at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in the Czech Republic last night (Oct 28).

The winner was picked by a single juror, Us director-curator Craig Baldwin who described The Uprising as “a film which, in turn, saddened me, frightened me, outraged me, inspired me, and ultimately made me truly proud to be a part of the democratic project and the struggle for human dignity.”

The Uprising, which was produced by Brussels-based Rien à voir production with the UK’s Third Films of Duane Hopkins and Samm Haillay as co-producers, had its world premiere in Jihlava.

In the Czech Joy sidebar competition, the Best Czech Documentary Film Award went to Petr Hátle’s The Great Night which was co-produced...

German sales agents have revealed a raft of market premieres to be presented at the forthcoming American Film Market (Afm) (Nov 6-13).

Ida Martins’ Cologne-based Media Luna will have screenings of five new titles as market premieres:

Stijn Coninx’s romantic feel-good drama Marina, based on the childhood memories of the Italian-Belgian singer Rocco Granata;

Menno Meyjes’ psychological drama-thriller The Dinner, based on Herman Koch’s eponymous international bestseller, which had its world premiere at last month’s Toronto International Film Festival;

Jan Verheyen’s courtroom drama The Verdict, which received the Best Award at the Montreal World Film Festival;

Julia von Heinz’s German-Israeli romantic comedy Hanna’s Journey which celebrates its German premiere on at this week’s Hof Film Days and is nominated for the Millbrook Authors Prize;

Bettina Blümner’s coming of age drama Broken Glass Park which was awarded the Goethe Institut’s Youth and Children’s Film Prize at the Schlingel...

Moodysson’s We Are The Best! wins audience award at Icelandic festival’s 10th anniversary.

Uberto Pasolini’s Still Life was awarded the Reykjavik International Film Festival’s top prize, The Golden Puffin, on Sunday night (Oct 6).

Screening in Riff’s 12-film New Visions competition for first and second films, Still Life also won the festival’s Fipresci Prize. Director Pasolini was in attendance to accept the award during the closing ceremony at the Icelandic capital’s historic Gamla Bio theatre.

The competition jury, which consisted of Wide Management founder Loïc Magneron, author and political activist Luciana Castellina and former Icelandic president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, said in a statement that it had unanimously agreed to give the first prize to Still Life “for its artistic quality, but also for the sensitivity and touching human message the director succeeds to underline”.

Two films in New Visions were also given special mentions by the jury: Alexandros Avranas’ Miss Violence and Yuval Adler...

Acclaimed Icelandic filmmaker Ragnar Bragason, best known for his films Börn (Children) and Foreldrar (Parents), directs this darkly comic drama that is billed as a story “about a girl, heavy metal and cows. It’s a story of a terrible loss and how we deal with our griefs, about community and a sense of family, dreams and nightmares, says the director. Teaming up with producers Árni Filippusson and Davíð Óskar Óskarsson (the prodcuers behind Either Way, which was recently remade as Prince Avalanche by David Gordon Green), Bragason’s Metalhead has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week. Tiff describes it as, “Tough, clear-eyed and compassionate, a touching film about a tortured soul who hasn’t been — and may never be — able to let herself off the hook”.

The full trailer for Metalhead (English subtitles included) has arrived online. Enjoy!

The post Tiff: Trailer for Ragnar Bragason...

A powerful portrait of grief never dealt with - of grief so powerful it likely never can or will be dealt with - Metalhead is the film that will very likely finally draw the sort of attention to Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason that he deserved to receive four films ago. The simplest way to put it would be to say that Bragason is the director most likely to follow in Baltasar Kormakur's footsteps and cross over into larger international success but while that's true it also somewhat diminishes Bragason's own unique voice.At the core of the film is Hera, a girl growing up in a remote rural area of Iceland on a dairy farm. As a girl Hera witnesses her beloved brother Baldur - a...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Once again the European Film Promotion’s (Efp) Film Sales Support (Fss) initiative will come to Toronto to link sales companies from all over Europe to a great array of buyers from across the globe. Supported by the Media Programme of the European Union, Fss has now been aiding the European film industry fro the last 10 years.

"Toronto has and is an important informal market and an important festival for European films, the distributors see the films in a different mood, more quietly, the public screenings are working well. It is a key place to launch a film or to complete previous sales on films that were in Cannes, Venice, Locarno...” (Loïc Magneron, Wide)

“Tiff is a major pillar of the annual festival calendar. Aside from a proliferation of North American buyers, it also attracts top tier international distributors so a favorable reception at Tiff can significantly increase a film's commercial prospects”. (Andrew Orr, Independent)

Due to the limited amount of resources, only 52 out of the 60 films submitted to the Efp will receive financial support to be marketed during the Tiff, which runs from September 5 to 15. This year alone, 372 films total, over 150 from Europe, will screen at the festival many of which will see their world or international premiers there.

Supported films and companies at Tiff 2013

Alpha Violet (France), rep. Virginie Devesa The Summer of Flying Fish (El Verano de los Peces Voladores) by Marcela Said, France, Chile, 2013

Arri Worldsales (Germany), rep. Moritz Hemminger Exit Marrakech by Caroline Link, Germany, 2013 Home from Home (Die Andere Heimat) by Edgar Reitz, Germany, France, 2013

Athens Filmmakers' Co-Operative (Greece), rep. Venia Vergou Wild Duck by Yannis Sakaridis, Greece, 2013

Bac Films Distribution (France), rep. Clémentine Hugot The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (L'Entrange Couleur Ded Larmes De Ton Corps) by Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, 2013

Beta Cinema (Germany), rep. Tassilo Hallbauer Le Grand-Cahier by János Szász, Germany, Hungary, Austria, France, 2013

Blonde S. A. (Greece), rep. Fenia Cossovitsa Standing Aside, Watching (Na Kathese Kai Na Kitas) by Yorgos Servetas, Greece, 2013

Capricci Films (France), rep. Julien Rejl Story of My Death (Historia De La Meva Mort) by Albert Serra, Spain, France, 2013 The Battle of Tabato (A Batalha De Tabato) by João Viana, Portugal, Guinea-Bissau, 2013

Celluloid Dreams (France), rep. Hengameh Panahi Those Happy Years (Anni Felici) by Daniele Luchetti, Italy, 2013

Cité Films (France), rep. Raphaël Berdugo Faith Connections (Faith Connections) by Pan Nalin, France, India, 2013

Doc & Film International (France), rep. Daniela Elstner, Alice Damiani Violette by Martin Provost, France, Belgium, 2013 South is Nothing (Il Sud E'Niente by Fabio Mollo, Italy, France, 2013

Dogwoof (United Kingdom), rep. Ana Vincente Inreallife by Beeban Kidron, UK, 2013

Ealing Metro International (United Kingdom), rep. Natalie Brenner, Will Machin Half of a Yellow Sun by Biyi Bandele, UK, 2013 The Stag by John Butler, Ireland, 2013

Embankment Films (United Kingdom), rep. Tim Haslam Le Week-End by Roger Michell, UK, 2013

Eyeworks Film & TV Drama (The Netherlands), rep. Maarten Swart The Dinner (Het Diner) by Menno Meyjes, The Netherlands, 2013

Fantasia Ltd (Greece), rep. Nicoletta Romeo The Daughter (I Kori) by Thanos Anastopoulos, Greece, Italy, 2013

Film Factory Entertainment (Spain), rep. Vicente Canales Cannibal (Canibal) by Manuel Martín Cuenca, Spain, 2013 Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang (Zipi & Zape y el Club de la Canica) by Oskar Santos, Spain, 2013

Films Boutique (Germany), rep. Jean-Christophe Simon Walesa. Man of Hope (Walesa) by Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 2013

Films Distribution (France), rep. Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, François Yon Eastern Boys by Robin Campillo, France, 2013 Under the Starry Sky (Des Etoiles) by Dyana Gaye, France, Senegal, 2013

Heretic (Greece), rep. Giorgos Karnavas The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas (I Aionia Epistrofi Tou Antoni Paraskeva) by Elina Psykou, Greece, 2013

Independent Film Sales (United Kingdom), rep. Karina Gechtman, Abigail Walsh The Sea by Stephen Brown, UK, Ireland, 2013 Starred Up by David Mackenzie, UK, 2013

Latido Films (Spain), rep. Miren Zamora Honeymoon (Libanky) by Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic/Slovak Republic, 2013

LevelK (Denmark), rep. Tine Klint Sex, Drugs & Taxation (Spies Og Glistrup) by Christoffer Boe, Denmark, 2013

Linel Films (United Kingdom), rep. Aran Hughes To The Wolf (Sto Lyko) by Aran Hughes & Christina Koutsospyrou, Greece, UK, France, 2013

Minds Meet (Belgium), rep. Tomas Leyers I'm The Same I'm An Other by Caroline Strubbe, Belgium, The Netherlands, 2013

MK2 (France), rep. Victoire Thevenin Hotel (Hotell) by Lisa Langseth, Sweden, Denmark, 2012

Mpm Film (France), rep. Pierre Menahem For Those Who Can Tell No Tales by Jasmila Žbanić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, 2013

Negativ s.r.o. (Czech Republic), rep. Zuzana Bielikova Miracle (Zazrak) by Juraj Lehotský, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2013

Pathé Distribution (France), rep. Muriel Sauzay The Finishers by Nils Tavernier, France, 2013 Quai d'Orsay by Bertrand Tavernier, France, 2013

Pausilypon Films (Greece), rep. Menelaos Karamaghiolis J.A.C.E. - Just Another Confused Elephant by Menelaos Karamaghiolis, Greece, Portugal, Macedonia, Turkey, 2012

Picture Tree International (Germany), rep. Andreas Rothbauer Mary Queen of Scots by Thomas Imbach, Switzerland, 2013 Metalhead (Malmhaus) by Ragnar Bragason, Iceland, Norway, 2013

PPProductions (Greece), rep. Thanassis Karathanos Septmeber by Penny Panayotopoulou, Greece, Germany, 2013

Pyramide International (France), rep. Agathe Mauruc Giraffada by Rani Massalha, France, Germany, Italy, 2013

Rezo (France), rep. Laurent Danielou, Sebastien Chesneau The Station (Blutgletscher) by Marvin Kren, Austria, 2013 Abuse of Weakness (Abus De Faibless) by Catherine Breillat, France, Belgium, Germany, 2013

The Match Factory (Germany), rep. Michael Weber, Thania Dimitrakopoulou The Police Officer's Wife (Die Frau Des Polizisten) by Philip Gröning, Germany, 2013 Qissa (Quissa) by Anup Singh, Germany, India, The Netherlands, France, 2013

The Yellow Affair (Sweden), rep. Miira Paasilinna Heart of a Lion (Leijonasydan) by Dome Karukoski, Finland, 2013

TrustNordisk (Denmark), rep. Susan Wendt, Nicolai Korsgaard Pioneer (Pioner) by Erik Skjoldbjaerg, Norway, 2013 We Are The Best (Vi Ar Bast!) by Lukas Moodysson, Sweden, 2013

Wide (France), rep. Loic Magneron Bobo by Ines Oliveira, Portugal, 2013

Wide House (France), rep. Garreau Geoffrey Ain't Misbehavin, A Marcel Ophuls Journey (Un Voyageur) by Marcel Ophuls, France, 2013

Wild Bunch (France), rep. Vicent Maraval, Gary Farkas Going Away (Un Beau Dimanche) by Nicole Garcia, France, 2013 A Promise (Une Promesse) by Patrice Leconte, France, Belgium, 2013...

Though scarcely known outside of Iceland director Ragnar Bragason is already a well treasured commodity within his nation's borders and after Toronto Film Festival audiences come across his dark drama Metalhead his name value elsewhere is sure to spike elsewhere as well. We've had the chance to see it already and here's an excerpt from the upcoming review:a powerful portrait of grief never dealt with - of grief so powerful it likely never can or will be dealt with - Metalhead is the film that will very likely finally draw the sort of attention to Icelandic director Ragnar Bragason that he deserved to receive four films ago. The simplest way to put it would be to say that Bragason is the director most likely to...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen but they're not always intertwined with a tale of loss and self discovery. Ragnar Bragason's new film Metalhead does exactly that, telling the story of Hera, an impressionable teen who witnessed the accidental death of her brother. As a way though the grief, she takes on some of his personality, dressing in his clothes and listening to the heavy metal music he loved so much. As Hera's highschool life comes to an end, just looking the part and listening to the music isn't enough and her acts of rebellion become larger and more destructive.

I was already looking forward to Bragason's new project, the subject matter and poster alone were enough to get me on board, but this trailer really nails it.

Metalhead is making it's world pr [Continued ...]...

Berlin-based sales agent Picture Tree International (Pti) has picked up two Toronto titles – Mary Queen Of Scots and Metalhead – for international distribution.

Swiss director Thomas Imbach’s historical drama Mary Queen Of Scots, which had its world premiere in Competition at Locarno earlier this month, will have its North American premiere as a Special Presentation at Toronto on Sept 9.

Based on Stefan Zweig’s Maria Stuart and starring the young French actress Camille Rutherford as the Scottish queen, Mary Queen Of Scots will be released in Switzerland by Pathé Films on Nov 7, 2013.

Review: Mary Queen of Scots

Icelandic film-maker Ragnar Bragason’s comic drama Metalhead about a teenage girl immersing herself in the world of heavy metal after experiencing a family tragedy will have its world premiere in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section on Sept 7.

Pti’s Toronto sales lineup will also include two ‘works in progress’: Jacques Ouaniche’s French-Israeli-Bulgarian co-production Victor “Young” Perez...

The 38th Toronto International Film Festival has released an incredible guest list of celebrated talent from around the globe. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Catherine Breillat, Nicole Garcia, Pawel Pawlikowski, Bertrand Tavernier, Steve McQueen, Godfrey Reggio, Denis Villeneuve, Bill Condon, Jean-Marc Vallée, John Wells, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Ayoade, Atom Egoyan, Matthew Weiner, John Carney, Jason Reitman, Jason Bateman, Yorgos Servetas, Liza Johnson, Megan Griffiths, Fernando Eimbcke, Alexey Uchitel, Johnny Ma, Biyi Bandele, Rashid Masharawi, Paul Haggis, Ron Howard, Eli Roth, Álex de la Iglesia, Bruce McDonald, Jennifer Baichwal, John Ridley, and Justin Chadwick.

The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.

The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:

Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...

Final batch of Tiff titles were announced today and among the international hodgepodge of items trickling we find Berlin (Golden Bear winner Child’s Pose), Cannes (The Selfish Giant – Europa Cinemas Label winner and Stranger by the Lake by Alain Guiraudie), Karlovy Vary (Crystal Globe winner Le Grand Cahier ) and Locarno (Corneliu Porumboiu’s When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism) Film Fest items added to the Toronto Int. Film Festival’s Contemporary World Cinema lineup. Alongside those that have already premiered elsewhere, the titles that have got our attention are world premiere offerings from the likes of award-winning Icelandic helmer Ragnar Bragason (Metalhead), Revanche‘s Götz Spielmann (October November – see pic above) and Mexican filmmaker Fernando Eimbcke’s Club Sandwich. Here’s the added titles to the section which already includes: Catherine Martin’s A Journey (Une Jeune Fille), Ingrid Veninger’s The Animal Project, Terry Miles’ Cinemanovels, Bruce Sweeney...

The titles just keep coming as we are now just over three weeks away from the start of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and they have gone and added 90 new feature length titles to the program and it's not as if they are titles you haven't heard of. New to the Galas selection is Guillaume Canet's Blood Ties which premiered at Cannes earlier this year (read my review here) and Words and Pictures starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. In the Special Presentations selection you find the bulk of the more noted titles including Alex Gibney's new documentary The Armstrong Lie about cyclist Lance Armstrong, Johnnie To's Blind Detective which also premiered at Cannes, James Franco's Child of God based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, John Turturro's Fading Gigolo which features Woody Allen in one of the roles, Kevin Macdonald's How I Live Now...

World premieres of Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now, Fred Schepisi’s Words And Pictures and John Turturro’s Fading Gigolo are among the Tiff line-up of galas and special presentations.

The Contemporary World Cinema strand includes first views of Jan Hrebejk’s Honeymoon, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Fernando Coimbra’s A Wolf At The Door.

The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept 5-15.

Wp = World premiere

IP = International premiere

Np = North American premiere

Cp = Canadian premiere

Tp = Toronto premiere

GALASBlood Ties Guillaume Canet (France-us) NAPBright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) Marion Vernoux (France) NAPWords & Pictures Fred Schepisi (Us) Wpspecial Presentationsa Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte (Belgium-France) NAPThe Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney (Us) NAPBlind Detective Johnnie To (Hong Kong) NAPChild Of God James Franco (Us) NAPThe Face Of Love Arie Posin (Us) WPFading Gigolo John Turturro (Us) WPThe Finishers Nils Tavernier (Belgium-France) WPHow I Live Now Kevin Macdonald (UK) WPThe...

World premieres of Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now, Fred Schepisi’s Words And Pictures and John Turturro’s Fading Gigolo are among the TIFF line-up of galas and special presentations announced on Tuesday [13].

The Contemporary World Cinema strand includes first views of Jan Hrebejk’s Honeymoon, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Fernando Coimbra’s A Wolf At The Door.

The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept 5-15.

Wp = World premiere

IP = International premiere

Np = North American premiere

Cp = Canadian premiere

Tp = Toronto premiere

GALASBlood Ties Guillaume Canet (France-us) NAPBright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) Marion Vernoux (France) NAPWords & Pictures Fred Schepisi (Us) Wpspecial Presentationsa Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte (Belgium-France) NAPThe Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney (Us) NAPBlind Detective Johnnie To (Hong Kong) NAPChild Of God James Franco (Us) NAPThe Face Of Love Arie Posin (Us) WPFading Gigolo John Turturro (Us) WPThe Finishers Nils Tavernier (Belgium-France) WPHow I Live Now [link...

One of the brightest lights in the Icelandic film scene, Ragnar Bragason - director of Children and Parents - is now deep into post production on his latest feature Metalhead.Known for his ability to balance drama with humor, Bragason here works with actors Þorbjörg Helga Dýrfjörð (Baltasar Kormakur's The Deep), Ingvar E. Sigurðsson (Jar City) and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir (Polite People) to tell a tale Bragason describes as being about "a girl, heavy metal and cows. Metalhead is a dramatic film, both tender and grim with moments of rebellious comedy. It's a story of a terrible loss and how we deal with our griefs, about community and a sense of family, dreams and nightmares."It's the year 1970 and as Black Sabbath record their first album and...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Children and Parents director Ragnar Bragason is gearing up another feature film after his smash hit Bjarnfreðarson a couple of years back, this time moving away from the core group of actors and writers that he has been working with almost exclusively since the hit TV series The Nightshift in 2007.Teaming up with producers Árni Filippusson and Davíð Óskar Óskarsson at Mystery - the company behind Either Way, which was recently remade as Prince Avalanche by David Gordon Green - they are beginning production for Metalhead which starts next month.Billed as a story "about a girl, heavy metal and cows, Metalhead is a dramatic film, both tender and grim with moments of rebellious comedy. It's a story of a terrible loss and how we deal...

Two nights ago, Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr was honored with the Reykjavik Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award at the home of the President of Iceland. Here the filmmaker converses with Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and Icelandic filmmaker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson. Icelandic filmmaker Ragnar Bragason introduced Béla Tarr and spoke of the distinctive style of Tarr's inspirational works. "It is a privilege to see the world through the eyes of ...

Lately Icelandic cinema has been making bigger strides in to the international market place but many of the older films have remained undiscovered for the rest of the world. To remedy that a group of producers and distributers have banded together and put some of Icelandic cinematic history online for the world to enjoy, feature films, shorts and documentaries. The website icelandiccinema.com is an on demand service and for a small fee you can take a gander at some of our classic flicks, like the Leone-esque Viking epic The Raven Flies (imo The best Viking movie ever made) , Noi the Albino, Ragnar Bragason's Parents and Children, geek comedy Astropia, punk rock documentary Rock in Reykjavik and the recent comedy hit Our Own Oslo with more...

Last saturday night the annual Edda Awards were handed out here in Iceland. These are our "Oscars" if you will and like the Oscars it's usually one project that has the most nominations. This year it was the box office behemoth Mr. Bjarnfredarson and the TV series that spawned it, The Prison Shift, that took home the most statues. Together Ragnar Bragason and Co won eight of the eleven nominations, Best Feature, Best TV series, Best Director, Best Male Lead and Male Supporting Role, Cinematography, Script and Costume Design.

Other winners were Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's Mamma Gogo for Best Music, Production Design and Female Lead. Dreamland for Best Documentary and The Big Rescue for Best Children Material.

You'll find trailers for these films below.