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The White Fortress (Tabija) Game Theory Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net, linked from Rotten Tomatoes by Harvey Karten Director: Igor Drlja?a Screenwriter: Igor Drljaca Cast: Pavle Cemerkic, Sumeja Dardagan, Jasmin Geljo, Kerim Cutuna, Alban Ukaj, Irena Mulamuhic Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 4/3/22 Opens: April 22, 2022 “The White Fortress,” is named for one of […]

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The CineLink Talks run August 14-19.

Screen International and Documentary Campus once again teamed up with the Sarajevo Film Festival (September 13-20) to host CineLink Talks, an online programme of panels for the festival’s 2021 industry strand.

The series of 60-minute CineLink Talks ran from August 15-19. Topics included filmmaking during the pandemic, working with streamers, female filmmaker quotas, mental health in the film industry and new models for distribution; and masterclasses with filmmakers Mads Brugger and Alexander Nanau.

The talks are available to watch in full below.

In conversation with filmmaker Mads Brugger

Moderator: Damir Šagolj

What have producers...

The 10 hour-long CineLink Talks will run from August 14-19.

Screen International and Documentary Campus have once again teamed up with the Sarajevo Film Festival to host CineLink Talks, an online programme of panels for the festival’s 2021 industry strand.

The 10 hour-long CineLink Talks will run from August 14-19. Topics include filmmaking during the pandemic, working with streamers, female filmmaker quotas, mental health in the film industry and new models for distribution. The line-up also includes masterclasses with filmmakers Mads Brugger and Alexander Nanau.

All of the webinars will run via Zoom and feature a live Q&a in which audience...

Spolight on the new projects from Rai Com, Latido, TrustNordisk and more.

Italy

Comedians, the new film by Gabriele Salvatores, headlines Rai Com’s market slate. The completed film is based on the play of the same name by Trevor Griffiths and is produced by Indiana with Rai Cinema. It features a cast of aspiring comedians preparing for their big night.

Intramovies is kickstarting sales on the Dutch drama Love In A Bottle, produced by Levitate Film and directed by Paula van der Oest, whose credits include Zus & Zo. It is a lockdown love story that unfolds over FaceTime. The...

Rome-based sales agency Tvco has acquired worldwide sales to Igor Drljaca’s fourth feature “The White Fortress,” which world premiered this week in the Generation 14Plus strand of this year’s Berlinale.

Drljaca’s previous credits include several award-winning shorts such as “Woman in Purple” (2010) and “The Archivists” (2020), as well as his critically-acclaimed debut feature “Krivina” (2012), his sophomore film “The Waiting Room” (2015) and his first documentary feature, “The Stone Speakers” (2018).

The film is set in a rundown Sarajevo suburb and follows Faruk, an orphan who lives with his ill grandmother and spends his days foraging for scrap metal and dabbling in petty crime. One day he meets Mona, a timid teen from a politically powerful and affluent family. As Mona dreams of escaping the overbearing toxicity of her home life, she seeks refuge and opens herself up to Faruk, a boy from a world entirely different than her own. The...

The line between fairy tale and horror proves a thin one in Igor Drljaca’s The White Fortress thanks to the differing perspectives of young love in Sarajevo. Whether Faruk (Pavle Cemerikic) and Mona (Sumeja Dardagan) believe a life together may yet be possible for them despite coming from opposite social and economic worlds doesn’t factor in because they’re just teenagers buckling under the pressure of outside forces that refuse to let them be free. So while the idea of a happily ever after is nice considering the alternatives (Mona is about to be shipped to Canada by her affluent and influential parents as Faruk teeters on the precipice of a life in crime threatening to destroy the morality his grandmother instilled), the darkness of despair slowly creeps in.

A walk through the woods is thus the scenario that brings up the two genres. Mona sees promise and...

Photo courtesy of Pablo Ocqueteau and Berlinale 2019Below you will find our favorite films of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as an index of our coverage.AwardsFAVORITE Filmsdaniel KASMANHeimat Is a Space in Time (Thomas Heise)Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream (Frank Beauvais)Fourteen (Dan Sallitt)I Was at Home, But... (Angela Schanelec)Synonyms (Nadav Lapid)The Plagiarists (Peter Parlow)Delphine and Carole (Callisto McNulty)Holy Beasts Years of Construction (Heinz Emigholz)Bait (Mark Jenkins)Giovanni Marchini CAMIASynonyms (Nadav Lapid)I Was at Home, But... (Angela Schanelec)The Plagiarists (Peter Parlow)Just Don't Think I'll Scream (Frank Beauvais)The Blue Flower of Novalis (Gustavo Vinagre & Rodrigo Carneiro)The Portuguese Woman (Rita Azevedo Gomes)The Last to See Them (Sara Summa)Earth (Nikolaus Geyrhalter)Heimat Is a Space in Time (Thomas Heise)Ms Slavic 7 (Sofia Bohdanowicz & Deragh Campbell)Jordan Cronki Was at Home, But... (Angela Schanelec...

Writer/director Igor Drljaca takes us on a contemplative tour through four towns in Bosnia-Herzegovinia with his documentary The Stone Speakers. We never hear him speak nor watch any of his subjects respond. All we hear are their disembodied words atop static portraits of them standing against the backdrop of their environment and all we see are the remnants of and creation from destruction post-World War II and civil ethnic unrest. There are the locals lamenting their dying land as its unable to support any sort of stable economy after the fall of communism led to both industry and youth leaving. And there are those excited about the influx of tourism their new capitalist mindset presents through the commoditization of their nation.

These disparate perspectives are intertwined throughout with nobody commenting on what others say nor allowing their thoughts to be impacted by it — each explains his/her viewpoint in...

M/M (Drew Lint).Nestled within the multifarious Canadian offerings of the 37th Vancouver International Film Festival—officially the “True North” stream—is Future//Present, the brainchild of critic and programmer Adam Cook, now in its third year. Consistently comprising eight features and a number of shorts, the program has since its inception been positioned as something of a haven for emerging Canadian filmmakers, directors working on the fringes of—or in some cases completely untethered from—state funding. (That five of this year's selections have at least one other listed country of origin is telling.) In other words, it offers a set of films that, without undue extrapolation, one could surmise would have previously been passed over, not necessarily for deficiencies in accomplishment or sensibility, but for their lack of adherence to established norms. This third edition offers as good a time as any to take stock of the...

My Happy Family also wins two awards at Wiesbaden festival.

Bojan Vuletic’s second feature Requiem For Mrs J. has become the first Serbian film in the history of the goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film’s 17 years to win the top award, the €10,000 Golden Lily, for best film in Wiesbaden’s competition.

The co-production between Serbia’s See Film Pro, Bulgaria’s Geopoly Film, Fyr Macedonia’s Skopje Film Studio, France’s Surprise Alley and Russia’s Non-Stop Production had had its world premiere at the Berlinale’s Panorama section in February and is in the sales line-up of Belgrade-based Soul Food Films.

Vuletic, who had attended his film’s screenings and last night’s awards ceremony with lead actress Mirjana Karanovic (both pictured, top, alongside filmmaker Hana Jusic and festival director Gaby Babic), is no stranger to goEast after his feature debut Practical Guide To Belgrade With Singing And Crying had its...

Mubi is showing Igor Drljaca's debut feature Krivina in most countries around the world from September 13 - October 12, 2016.An anxiety follows immigrants arriving from war zones, partially caused by the violent separation from their home country. This was something I experienced, as did many other émigrés from former Yugoslavia who fled the wars in the 1990s. In order to cope with this anxiety, some of us create and nurture fictions as we attempt to protect ourselves from either one’s active role in the war, one’s apathy towards it, or simply one’s helplessness. In one version of this fiction, the aggressor seeks to play the victim, searching for a more virtuous past, while hiding in plain sight.The anxiety is the result of (sometimes latent) trauma. It can be passed on, mutate, and impact families and communities many years after the war. Krivina is an attempt to...

Full line-up of the Stockholm film festival includes feature and documentary competition line-ups.Scroll down for full line-up

The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 11-22) has unveiled the line-up for its 26th edition, comprising more than 190 films from over 70 countries.

The Stockholm Xxvi Competition includes Marielle Heller’s Us title The Diary of a Teenage Girl and László Nemes’ Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.

It marks the first time Stockholm has a greater number of women than men competing for the Bronze Horse – the festival’s top prize.

The documentary competition includes Amy Berg’s An Open Secret, an investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry; and Cosima Spender’s Palio, centred on the annual horse race in Siena, Italy.

Announcing the programme, festival director Git Scheynius also revealed that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will visit Stockholm for the first time as chairman of the jury for the first Stockholm Impact Award, which...

The 44th edition of the Festival du Nouveau Cinema has just announced their entire lineup and it’s pretty insane! The festival which takes place in Montreal from October 7 to 18 is screening nearly 400 films and events in only 11 days. This includes 151 feature films and 203 short films from 68 countries – 49 world premieres, 38 North American premieres and 60 Canadian premieres. Give credit to the team of programmers: Claude Chamberlan, Dimitri Eipides Julien Fonfrède, Philippe Gajan, Karolewicz Daniel, Marie-Hélène Brousseau, Katayoun Dibamehr and Gabrielle Tougas-Frechette.

Below is the lineup. There’s a lot to process so take your sweet time!

Opening and closing

The whole New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero, Mr Nobody, The Eighth Day), will kick off this 44th edition.

After its world premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last May, the new opus unconventional Belgian director, starring Benoît Poelvoorde (Three Hearts, Ransom of Glory), Yolande Moreau (Mammuth,...

Toronto-based A71 Entertainment has picked up Canadian rights to the film ahead of its North American premiere in Toronto on Tuesday.

Igor Drljaca’s feature premiered in Locarno and centres on an actor from the former Yugoslavia living in Toronto who dreams of relaunching his career.

The story combines fiction with biographical elements based on the life of lead actor Jasmin Geljo

TimeLapse Pictures, Gearshift Films and Yn Films produced The Waiting Room.

Films set to show at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), updated as announcements are made in the run up to the event.

Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.

Tiff 40

Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.

GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPDisorder (Maryland) (France-Belgium), Alice Winocour NAPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPMan Down (Us), Dito Montiel NAPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPMiss You Already (UK), Catherine Hardwicke WPMississippi Grind (Us), Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden CPMr. Right (Us), Paco Cabezas WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall ([link...

Films set to show at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), updated as announcements are made in the run up to the event.

Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.

Tiff 40

Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.

GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall (Us), Roland Emmerich, Wpspecial PRESENTATIONSAnomalisa (Us), Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, CPBeasts of No Nation (Ghana), Cary Fukunaga, CPBlack Mass (Us), Scott Cooper, CPBorn To Be Blue (Canada-uk), Robert Budreau WPBrooklyn (UK-Ireland-Canada), John...

We're gathering reviews and dispatches from the 68th edition of the Locarno Film Festival and have notes on, for example, Josh Mond's James White, Sina Ataeian Dena's Paradise, Akiz's Der Nachtmahr, Igor Drljaca's The Waiting Room, Guillaume Senez's Keeper, Catherine Corsini's La Belle Saison, Barbet Schroeder’s Amnesia, Lionel Baier's La Vanité, Lars Kraume's Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer, Alex van Warmerdam's Schneider vs. Bax, Pascal Magontier’s The Final Passage, films by Sam Peckinpah, Marlen Khutsiev and many more. » - David Hudson...

We're gathering reviews and dispatches from the 68th edition of the Locarno Film Festival and have notes on, for example, Josh Mond's James White, Sina Ataeian Dena's Paradise, Akiz's Der Nachtmahr, Igor Drljaca's The Waiting Room, Guillaume Senez's Keeper, Catherine Corsini's La Belle Saison, Barbet Schroeder’s Amnesia, Lionel Baier's La Vanité, Lars Kraume's Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer, Alex van Warmerdam's Schneider vs. Bax, Pascal Magontier’s The Final Passage, films by Sam Peckinpah, Marlen Khutsiev and many more. » - David Hudson...

Read More: Locarno Film Festival Announces Lineup for Its 68th Year, Awards Edward Norton on Opening Night The gamble of any film about a struggling actor is that it demands two roles at once — the performer and his performances — which must convey separate qualities. Fortunately, Jasmin Geljo's sophisticated presence in Canadian-based Bosnian director Igor Drljaca's "The Waiting Room" offers just such depth, partly because it culls from real life. The movie follows a Bosnian immigrant 20 years after he fled his home country for Toronto, as he wanders from one dead-end audition to the next and struggles to support to his broken family. Jasmin himself is a Yugoslavian actor with 20 years of experience living in Toronto, a backdrop that speaks to the authenticity that carries each scene. But "The Waiting Room" derives an affecting quality from more than just its credible leading man. Drljaca's austere technique belies a complex narrative approach.

A selection of films from the 2015 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival have been unveiled, with films by Terrence Davies, Pablo Larraín, Deepa Mehta, Charlie Kaufman, and many more!GalasBeeba Boys (Deepa Mehta, Canada)Demolition (Jean-Marc Vallée, USA)The Dressmaker (Jocelyn Moorhouse, Australia)Eye in the Sky (Gavin Hood, United Kingdom)Forsaken (Jon Cassar, Canada)Freeheld (Peter Sollett, USA)Hyena Road (Paul Gross, Canada)Legend (Brian Helgeland, United Kingdom)Lolo (Julie Delpy, France)The Man Who Knew Infinity (Matthew Brown, United Kingdom)The Martian (Ridley Scott, USA)The Program (Stephen Frears, United Kingdom)Remember (Atom Egoyan, Canada)Septembers of Shiraz (Wayne Blair, USA)Stonewall (Roland Emmerich, USA)Special PresentationsAnomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, USA)Beasts of No Nation (Cary Fukunaga, USA/Ghana)Black Mass (Scott Cooper, USA)Born to be Blue (Robert Budreau, USA)Brooklyn (John Crowley, United Kingdom/Ireland/Canada)The Club (Pablo Larraín,...

One of the more notable aspects of the Toronto International Film Festival, due to its location, has been its emphasis on Canadian cinema. The festival’s popularity and prominence among film fans around the world has led to Tiff becoming a key platform for Canadian films and Canadian filmmakers to showcase their talents, with the festival’s opening film often coming from a Canadian. The 2015 incarnation is no different in this regard, with Jean-Marc Vallée’s newest feature Demolition set to open the event, and filmmakers like Deepa Mehta, Atom Egoyan, Jon Cassar, and Paul Gross showcasing their newest films at the festival. The Festival organisers, however, have now revealed the other Canadian features that will be playing at the event, across a variety of programs. The list can be seen below.

Special Presentations

Born to be Blue, directed by Robert Budreau, making its World Premiere Into the Forest, directed by Patricia Rozema,...

World premieres for Patricia Rozema, Guy Édoin and Stephen Dunn are among the selection scheduled to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).

”The festival is excited to showcase these distinctively Canadian voices,” said Tiff senior programmer Steve Gravestock.

“From compelling documentaries on pressing social issues and complex, affecting dramas to political satires, we are proud to share the impressive range and talent of Canada’s directors.”

“This year’s filmmakers represent the depth and diversity of Canadian storytelling,” said the festival’s film programmes manager Magali Simard.

“By presenting the strong perspectives of the best and brightest in the film industry from across the country, we share with audiences the unique ways Canadians view the world.”

The films will compete for the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, while the City Of Toronto Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film is also up for grabs.

This year’s Canadian awards jurors are director...

World premieres for new films by Athina Rachel Tsangari, Hong Sangsoo, Ben Rivers; Southpaw, Trainwreck among Piazza Grande titles.

The 68th Locarno Film Festival (August 5-15) will open with Jonathan Demme’s musical comedy-drama Ricki And The Flash, in which Meryl Streep stars as a musician who tries to make things right with her family after giving up everything to pursue her dream of rock-and-roll stardom.

Written by Diablo Cody, the film gets a Piazza Grande berth alongside Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, Catherine Corsini’s La Belle Saison and Antoine Fuqua’s Southpaw.

Also playing is Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter. Cimino is being honoured with a Pardo D’onore Swisscom and will be taking part in an onstage conversation.

14 of the 18 films competing in the festival’s International Competition section for the Golden Leopard Award are world premieres including Andrzej Zulawski’s Cosmos, Ben Rivers’ The Sky...

The 2015 Canadian Screen Awards--Canada's version of the Academy Awards-- feature film nominations are cool. Never in a million years would our Academy dream of nominating films like the Oscar-snubbed "Mommy," whose director Xavier Dolan is having a good day with 13 nominations, David Cronenberg's love-it-or-hate-it "Maps to the Stars" (11 nominations) or foreign gems "In Her Place" or "Tu Dors Nicole." CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Helga Stephenson unveiled film and television nominees today across 128 categories, including seven in digital media. Canucks, the 2015 Canadian Screen Awards will broadcast live on CBC from the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, on March 1, 2015, at 8pm. Head here for the TV nominees. Best Motion Picture | Meilleur filmCast No Shadow – Chris Agoston, Christian Sparkes, Allison WhiteFall - Mehernaz LentinIn Her Place - Igor Drljaca, Yoon Hyun Chan, Albert ShinMaps...

The Jason Statham action thriller also stars Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia and Dominik García-Lorido and will open theatrically and on VOD in a day-and-date pattern on January 30.

Anne Heche, Sofia Vergara, Jason Alexander, Hope Davis and Stanley Tucci also appear in the film.

Simon West directed from the novel Heat by William Goldman who also wrote the screenplay.

TimeLapse Pictures, Gearshift Films and Yn Films have started shooting Igor Drljaca’s sophomore feature, The Waiting Room. The Canadian production is currently shooting in and around Toronto. The film will be ready for delivery in summer 2015.Michael Worth’s romance Broken Memories has wrapped principal photography in southern California on the drama starring Ivan Sergei, Rance Howard, Cerina Vincent and Kelly Greyson.

The awards have all been handed out at this year's International Film Festival Rotterdam. Here is a list of the winners:

Canon Tiger Awards for Short Films:

La isla by Dominga Sotomayor and Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, Chile/Poland/Denmark

Giant by Salla Tykkä, Finland/Romania 

The Chimera of M. by Sebastian Buerkner, United Kingdom

 

Lions Film Award:

Love Steaks by Jakob Lass

 

Hubert Bals Fund Lions Film Award:

Los Hongos by Oscar Ruiz Navia

 

Hivos Tiger Awards:

Anatomy of a Paperclip by Ikeda Akira

Han Gong-Ju by Lee Su-Jin

Something Must Break by Ester Martin Bergsmark

 

MovieZone Award:

Jacky au royaume des filles by Riad Sattouf (France)

 

Netpac Award:

28 by Jayakody Prasanna (Sri Lanka)

 

Fipresci Award:

The Songs of Rice by Uruphong Raksasad (Thailand)

 

Knf Award:

To Kill a Man by Alejandro Fernández Almendras (Chile/France)

 

Big Screen Award:

Another Year by Oxana Bychkova (Russia)

 

Eurimages Co-Production Development Award:

Tabija by...

Rajesh Jala’s feature-film project Chingari (The Spark) won a Global Film Initiative (Gfi) Grant at Cinemart, the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The Global Film Initiative awarded three equal grants of 10,000 Us Dollar each at Cinemart this year.

Chingari will be produced by Jala’s company The Elements and French producer Cedomir Kolar of Asap Films who boarded the project at Nfdc Film Bazaar in Goa last year. The project also won the Incredible India Award at Nfdc Film Bazaar.

Chingari revolves around Kabir, a young photographer, who enters the city of Banaras with a camera and a troubled past. He encounters two individuals Gagan, a young cremator and Amma an old widow. Jala has previously made award-winning documentaries such as Children of the Pyre and At the Stairs.

The other two projects that received the Gfi grant are: Nervous Translation by Shireen Seno (The Philippines,...

Two projects awarded finance prizes; Global Film Initiative introduces new grants.

The 31st CineMart co-production market came to a close last night (Jan 29) with the awarding of prizes.

The ceremony, held at the Doelen as part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr), saw two projects rewarded.

The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €30,000 for the best CineMart 2014 project with a European partner was given to Tabija by Igor Drljaca from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a production of Scca/pro.ba.

The jury stated: “This is a project with great urgency developed by a young team, in an interesting form and style. This will be a film that portrays a generation of young people after a war we all know. We are very much looking forward to see this intense and modern film from a country, that hasn’t made such a film yet.”

Igor Drljaca fled with his parents from his homeland to Canada in 1993, where he graduated...

New projects from Peter Webber, Naomi Kawase [pictured], Alessandro Comodin, Eran Kolirin are in the 2014 selection.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam’s co-production market CineMart (26 – 29 January) has completed its selection for the 2014 edition.

The selection includes new projects from directors including Peter Webber, Naomi Kawase, Alessandro Comodin, Eran Kolirin, Alexis dos Santos and Alejandro Landes, Shereen Seno and Igor Drljaca.

Returning producers include Cedomir Kolar (Asap Films), Helena Danielsson (Hepp Films), and Piotr Kobus (Mañana).

Iffr and Cph:dox, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, combine forces at Iffr on the Art:Film initiative, which connects visual art to cinema. The three Art:Film projects presented at CineMart 2014 are Fierté nationale by Sven Augustijnen, Tarda Primavera by Michael Frammartino, and Invention by Mark Lewis.

The CineMart projects are eligible for two prizes: the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award (€30,000 for a European co-production) and the the Arte France Cinéma Award (€5,000).

CineMart’s Bianca Taal and Nienke Poelsma said about the selection: “We are...

In Bloom wins Heart of Sarajevo for best film and its two leads share the best actress award, A Stranger gets special jury prize and best actor

The 19th Sarajevo Film Festival wrapped last night [24] with In Bloom and A Stranger winning the main awards.

Georgian coming-of-age story In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß won the Heart of Sarajevo for best film in the feature competition worth €16,000 provided by the Council of Europe. The film’s two leads, first-timers Lika Babluani and Mariam Bokeria, shared the €2,500 best actress prize.

This adds to In Bloom’s series of awards which includes Cicae at Berlin and Fipresci and Golden Firebird in Hong Kong

Bobo Jelcic’s Croatia-Bosnia co-production A Stranger received the special jury prize and €10,000 provided by Agnes B. Living legend of Yugoslav cinema Bogdan Diklic won Heart of Sarajevo for best actor for his role in the film, also worth €2,500.

A...

The Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has selected twenty-five film projects that receive grants for script development, digital production, postproduction, distribution or workshops. In its Fall 2012 selection round, the Fund gave 330,000 Euro to projects from seventeen Asian, Eastern European, Latin-American and African countries. (See full list below)

From many strong applications for workshop initiatives, the Hubert Bals Fund chose to support the Naas Training Workshop (Egypt), the Digital Cinema Workshops Series (Morocco) and Cinema Land (Vietnam). The Naas workshop offers a training and networking program for art house and cine club managers in the Mena region. In Morocco, the Workshop Series aims to increase digital filming skills among young film professionals. Cinema Land offers filmmaking talents expertise and training in the Central-Vietnamese cities of Danang and Hue, where there are no such facilities as yet.

In the distribution category, the Hubert Bals Fund supports the plan to screen acclaimed director Riri Riza’s Atambua 39° Celsius (pictured top) during open air screenings – the region has no cinemas - within the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, where the film was shot.

Atambua 39° Celsius received Hubert Bals Fund support for digital production earlier this year, recently premiered in competition at the Tokyo Iff and will see its European premiere during Iffr 2013. The film offers a sensitive portrait of refugees from East Timor and of their scattered families.

One of the eleven projects selected in the script development category is Tarde para morir joven (Late To Die Young), second feature film project by Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor. Her very successful début feature film De jueves a domingo (Thursday Till Sunday), also supported in script stage by the Hubert Bals Fund, won a Hivos Tiger Award in Rotterdam and subsequently screened in many film festivals worldwide. Tarde para morir joven tells about members of an isolated community that see their existence threatened by a forest fire.

Also selected for script development support is Teboho Edkins, a promising new talent from South Africa, who prepares his first feature length film Days of Cannibalism. Edkins previously made The Gangster Project, a 55-minute documentary/fiction hybrid that was selected for Fid Marseille and Iffr 2012. In Days of Cannibalism, Edkins again uses a clever mix of documentary and fictional elements to focus on the expanding trade relations between China and the African continent.

Milagros Mumenthaler, Golden Leopard-winner for her Hubert Bals Fund-supported first feature film Abrir puertas y ventanas (Back to Stay), has been granted digital production support for Pozo de aire (Air Pocket). This second film, backed again by the ‘Abrir’-team in Argentina and Switzerland, is a more low budget and experimental take on female lead characters and the notion of absence.

When finished in time, the films receiving postproduction grants are expected to screen at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam. One of these is Yang Tidak Dibicarakan Ketika Membicarakan Cinta (What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love), second feature film project by Mouly Surya, one the most promising female directors in Indonesia. Her film is a both sensitive and sensual examination of the dynamics among a group of teenagers played by visually and aurally impaired actors.

The harvest of newly finished Hubert Bals Fund-supported films will be screened during the next International Film Festival Rotterdam (23 January – 3 February 2013). The next application deadline for Hubert Bals Fund support is 1 March 2013. All information about the Fund may be found here.

The line up of the Iffr’s Hubert Bals Fund Fall 2013 Selection Round in full:

Post-production & final-financing

Noche (Night) / Leonardo Brzezicki / Argentina

O Rio nos pretence (Rio Belongs to Us) / Ricardo Pretti / Brazil

O Uivo da Gaita (The Harmonica’s Howl) / Bruno Safadi / Brazil

On Mother’s Head / Kusuma Widjaja Putu / Indonesia

Yang Tidak Dibicarakan Ketika Membicarakan Cinta (What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love) / Mouly Surya / Indonesia

Larzanandeye Charbi (Fat Shaker) / Mohammad Shirvani / Iran

Something Necessary / Judy Kibinge / Kenya

Penumbra / Eduardo Villanueva / Mexico

Digital Production

A Corner of Heaven / Zhang Miaoyan / China

Pozo de aire (Air Pocket) / Milagros Mumenthaler / Argentina

Script and project development

Otra madre (Another Mother) / Mariano Luque / Argentina

Tabija / Igor Drljaca / Bosnia and Herzegovina

Elon Rabin Não Acredita na Morte (Elon Rabin Doesn’t Believe in Death) / Ricardo Alves Jr. / Brazil

Tarde para morir joven (Late To Die Young) / Dominga Sotomayor / Chile

Oscuro animal (Obscure Animal) / Felipe Guerrero / Colombia

Court / Chaitanya Tamhane / India

The Room on a Tree / Amit Dutta / India

Extraño pero verdadero (Strange But True) / Michel Lipkes / Mexico

Tempestad (Tempestuous) / John Torres / Philippines

Days of Cannibalism / Teboho Edkins / South Africa

Rüzgarli Bir Güne Agit (Requiem for a Windy Day) / Özcan Alper / Turkey

Distribution

Atambua 39° Celsius / Riri Riza / Indonesia

Workshops

Naas Training Workshop / Egypt

Digital Cinema Workshop Series / Morocco

Cinema Land / Vietnam

Profile of the Hubert Bals Fund

The Hubert Bals Fund (Hbf), along with the CineMart, is part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr). The 42nd Iffr will take place January 23 – February 3, 2013. Year-round news on Iffr, Hbf and CineMart can be found on www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com.

The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to bring remarkable or urgent feature films and feature-length creative documentaries by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries closer to completion. The Hubert Bals Fund provides grants that often turn out to play a crucial role in enabling these filmmakers to realize their projects. Although the Fund looks closely at the financial aspects of a project, the decisive factors remain its content and artistic value. Since the Fund started in 1989, hundreds of projects from independent filmmakers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe have received support. Approximately 80% of these projects have been realized or are currently in production. Every year, the Iffr screens completed films supported by the Fund.

The Hubert Bals Fund is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Media Mundus, Dutch non-governmental development organization Hivos Culture Foundation, the Doen Foundation and the Dioraphte Foundation and Lions Club Rotterdam: L’Esprit du Temps.

Grants and selection rounds

Annually, the Hubert Bals Fund is able to make individual grants of up to Euro 10,000 for script and project development, Euro 20,000 for digital production, Euro 30,000 for post-production, Euro 15,000 towards distribution costs in the country of origin or Euro 10,000 for special projects such as workshops. Selection rounds take place twice a year and have application deadlines on March 1 and August 1.

Hubert Bals Fund-supported films in Iffr and on DVD/VOD

Most of the films supported by the Hubert Bals Fund throughout the year are screened during the International Film Festival Rotterdam in attendance of the filmmaker. Subsequently, part of the Hbf-supported films is released by the Iffr on DVD or VOD, available on www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com (VOD for viewers in the Benelux only).

Court by Chaitanya Tamhane and The Room on a Tree by Amit Dutta have been selected for Script and Project Development of Hubert Bals Fund (Hbf) Fall 2012.

Post completion, the films will be made a part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam under the competition section or the main sections Bright Future, Spectrum or Signals.

Both these projects have also been selected for the National Film Development Corporation’s annual co-production market at Film Bazaar 2012.

Tamhane’s first short Six Strands was screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2011. It has toured many festivals including Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival 2011, Slamdance 2011and Edinburgh International Film Festival 2011.

Amit Dutta’s The Room on a Tree too has also been selected for New Cinema Network, the co-production market at Rome Film Festival.

Hubert Bal Fund was founded in 1988 to help independent film makers from developing countries complete their projects. So far the fund...

Ghosts Of Bosnian Past: Drljaca’s Tenuous Homecoming

First time full length helmer Igor Drljaca returns to the sparse aesthetics found in his previous shorts On A Lonely Drive and Woman in Purple with his hypnotic feature debut, Krivina, a journey of perceptual exploration and regional penance that borders on drowsy. His story revolves around a Bosnian expatriate returning home to his mother country, searching for former acquaintances that bear their own tales of woe, made up or not.

We follow Miro (Goran Slavkovic), a man who’s vague life story keeps him on the move, never staying in one place for long. He has made Toronto his current place of residence, but after hearing that his long lost friend Dado has been missing well over a decade, he decides to make his way back to Bosnia to try to track him down. Dado has a dark and murky past himself.

Krivina

Directed by Igor Drljaca

Written by Igor Drljaca

Canada/ Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2012

Krivina isn’t A Serbian Film. It’s Bosnian. There’s a difference.

One is sordid and luridly over-the-top for the purpose of ‘commenting’ about the depravity and moral decline of post-Milošević Serbia. The other is a fractured and fragmented personal journey that aims to shed light on the dilapidating state of post-war Bosnia.

Although wildly different in approach, both films suffer from a servile adherence to its technique, to make the viewer feel exactly what they’re trying to convey. As a result, Krivina, like A Serbian Film, is a picture that focuses too much on what it’s saying and not enough on how well it says it.

The story follows Miro (Goran Slavkovic), an expatriate from the former Yugoslavia now living in Canada. Uprooted from family and friends, and with no tangible connections to speak of,...

Krivina

Directed by Igor Drljaca

Canada / Bosnia / Herzegovina, 2012

Krivina is a film about the past that, refreshingly, does not take you there. I mean that phrase in the literal sense; the Bosnian War touches everything in this film, but the film never takes us back there. It offers no extended flashbacks to the war, no big reveals, and no straightforward explanations. Miro (Goran Slavkovic, Zone of Separation), an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia who lives in Toronto, can only attempt to make sense of the war with the tools of the present. The present seems inadequate to explain, and overwhelmed by, the past, but such is history in Krivina. It can be a bit like staring into a dark pool. An uncomfortably placid surface belies startling and terrifying depth.

Reporter Robert D. Kaplan titled his travelogue Balkan Ghosts, and whilst the book itself is not terribly insightful, the title certainly is.

Above: Ernie Gehr's Auto-Collider Xv.

The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.

Galas

A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)

Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)

The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)

Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)

Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)

English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)

Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)

Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)

Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)

Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)

Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)

Looper (Rian Johnson,...

After a string of announcements, it looks like the Toronto International Film Festival have locked down their line-up and it’s looking like a fantastic slate. Much of the additions today come in the form of previous Cannes premieres, including Michael Haneke‘s Amour (review), Cristian Mungiu‘s Beyond the Hills (review), Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love (review), Bernardo Bertolucci‘s Me and You (review), Hong Sang-soo‘s In Another Country and the Venice premiere Olivier Assayas‘ Something in the Air. Most notably missing is Leos Carax‘s Holy Motors, but we do get a new Michael Winterbottom film titled Everyday. Out of the Discovery section, the biggest film seems to be The Brass Teapot, and indie drama starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano and one can check out all the additions below.

Masters

Amour Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany North American Premiere Screen legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and...

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® today announced the Canadian features lineup including first-time feature filmmakers Jason Buxton, Brandon Cronenberg, Igor Drljaca and Kate Melville, as well as filmmakers returning...

In the last major update for the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 slate, they’ve announced their Canadian features. The line-up includes Sarah Polley’s upcoming documentary Stories We Tell, coming off her Take This Waltz this summer (which also premiered at Tiff). The other major films include two we’ve seen at Cannes,one being Brandon Cronenberg‘s Antiviral, which premiered alongside his father’s Cosmopolis. We disliked it (full review), saying it came off as an “an amateurish, high-budget student film.” The other major title is Xavier Dolan‘s Laurence Anyways, which we loved (full review), calling it a major step forward for the filmmaker. Check out the rest of the titles below, which I’m sure will include many discoveries.

Antiviral Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere

Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.

The Toronto International Film Festival announced the Canadian features lineup at a press conference in Toronto this afternoon. The lineup includes first-time feature filmmakers Jason Buxton, Brandon Cronenberg, Igor Drljaca and Kate Melville, as well as filmmakers returning to the Festival —including Bruce Sweeney, Sarah Polley, Xavier Dolan, Michael McGowan and Bernard Émond. A complete list of all announced films in every program can be found here. “Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the lineup present stories of youth and violence, coming of age, the environment, dysfunctional families, sex and celebrity,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, Tiff. “From intimate, affecting stories with big impact to films with global scope, the Canadian films in this year’s Festival will move audiences.” Some of the films announced will be eligible for the City of Toronto + Canada Goose Award for Best...

Robert G. Putka‘s Mouthful and Jared Varava‘s Tumbleweed! are two short films that have been selected to screen at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival, which will run in Austin, TX on March 9-17.

Mouthful is Putka’s second short film, a verbally raunchy comedy starring Eilis Cahill and Conor Casey as a young couple whose relationship becomes strained thanks to an overly frank discussion about their sexual histories. The film was recently reviewed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film saying “one shouldn’t assume too much how the premise of a young man and woman discussing [male] anatomy will play out.”

Putka has also mounted an IndieGoGo campaign to help fund his filmmaking team’s trip to SXSW and for marketing material, such as posters, T-shirts, press kits and such. If you want to help out, please visit the Mouthful IndieGoGo page.

Tumbleweed! is the latest collaboration between...

It’s been another fantastic year for Canadian cinema and there is a good chance a few films will crack our staff’s best of 2011 list (which we will be posting sometime between Christmas and New Years). Until than, you can also check out Tiff’s selections of the top 10 best features and top 10 best short films of 2011, as determined by a panel of industry professionals, during tonight’s 11th annual Canada’s Top Ten announcement.

Here is the press release:

Established in 2001, Canada’s Top Ten celebrates excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film. Taking place from January 5 to 15, 2012 at Tiff Bell Lightbox, the programme features a panel discussion and public screenings accompanied by introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers. Select films will tour major cities across the country, including Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque, Edmonton’s Metro Cinema and Ottawa’s ByTowne Cinema.

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: Brad Pitt, Keira Knightley, George Clooney, Carey Mulligan, Rachel Weisz, Gerard Butler and Ryan Gosling are heading to Toronto for the 36tht international film festival, which kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 8.

The fest today confirmed the hundreds of celebrities that will be attending the can’t-miss event, promoting films and making the rounds as the annual awards season starts to take shape.

Davis Guggenheim, Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Luc Besson, Oren Moverman, Malgoska Szumowska, Bennett Miller, Sarah Polley, Jessica Yu, Michael Winterbottom and Werner Herzog are just a few of the filmmakers who have confirmed their attendance.

Celebrities making the trek include Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling, Clive Owen, Jon Hamm, Shahid Kapoor, Michael Fassbender, Michelle Yeoh, Freida Pinto, Glenn Close, Matthew Goode, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Salma Hayek, Viggo Mortensen and Woody Harrelson. Musicians U2, Pearl Jam and Neil Young also are expected to...

Toronto - The 36th Toronto International Film Festival® welcomes hundreds of guests this year. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Davis Guggenheim, Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Agnieszka Holland, Guy Maddin, Luc Besson, Bill Duke, Oren Moverman, Malgoska Szumowska, Bennett Miller, Darrell Roodt, Sarah Polley, Jessica Yu, Michael Winterbottom and Werner Herzog.

Actors expected to attend include Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Clive Owen, Gerard Butler, Jeon Do-Yeon, Jon Hamm, Shahid Kapoor, Michael Fassbender, Michelle Yeoh, Freida Pinto, Glenn Close, Matthew Goode, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Ryan Gosling, Salma Hayek, Viggo Mortensen and Woody Harrelson. Musicians include: U2, Pearl Jam and Neil Young.

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

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

Adam Shaheen, Adam Wingard, Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr., Agnieszka Holland, Akin Omotoso,...