Eight-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close’s latest project, The Summer Book, had its US premiere at the AFI Film Festival. Robert Jones adapted the film based on Tove Jansson’s 1972 novel of the same name. Charlie McDowell directed the film that explores the process of grief and finding life after the loss of a loved one.
The Summer Book Movie Review
The Summer Book follows the story of a young girl named Sofia, who spends the summer with her grandmother on a small, uninhabited island. I love the idea and concept of exploring grief in a fresh and unique way. McDowell brought the script to life and showcased a raw and authentic look at grief through the eyes of two different generations of people.
Although McDowell captures the relationship well, the rest of The Summer Book is quite exhausting. Slow-burn movies aren’t for everyone, but when done right,...
The Summer Book Movie Review
The Summer Book follows the story of a young girl named Sofia, who spends the summer with her grandmother on a small, uninhabited island. I love the idea and concept of exploring grief in a fresh and unique way. McDowell brought the script to life and showcased a raw and authentic look at grief through the eyes of two different generations of people.
Although McDowell captures the relationship well, the rest of The Summer Book is quite exhausting. Slow-burn movies aren’t for everyone, but when done right,...
- 10/30/2024
- by Ricky Valero
- FandomWire
Denis Lavant, the iconic French actor of Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail” and Leos Carax’ “Holy Motors,” stars in “Redoubt,” the feature debut of rising contemporary artist-turned-director John Skoog.
Currently in post, the black-and-white film is produced by Plattform Produktion, the Goteborg-based banner run by two-time Palme d’Or winning director Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) and Erik Hemmendorff. Skoog previously directed the California-set documentary short “Shadowland” which completed for a Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
“Redoubt” (“Reduit”) is a narrative film that expands on Skoog’s video installation by the same name which won the prestigious Baloise Art Prize in 2014, and is also part of the artist’s exhibition “Walls.”
Lavant’s reclusive character in “Redoubt” is inspired by Karl-Göran Persson, a farmer known as a good samaritan on the verge of madness, who lived near Skoog’s home town Kvidinge during WWII. After receiving a warning by the Swedish...
Currently in post, the black-and-white film is produced by Plattform Produktion, the Goteborg-based banner run by two-time Palme d’Or winning director Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) and Erik Hemmendorff. Skoog previously directed the California-set documentary short “Shadowland” which completed for a Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
“Redoubt” (“Reduit”) is a narrative film that expands on Skoog’s video installation by the same name which won the prestigious Baloise Art Prize in 2014, and is also part of the artist’s exhibition “Walls.”
Lavant’s reclusive character in “Redoubt” is inspired by Karl-Göran Persson, a farmer known as a good samaritan on the verge of madness, who lived near Skoog’s home town Kvidinge during WWII. After receiving a warning by the Swedish...
- 2/4/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
LevelK has boarded “The Invisible Fight,” Estonian director Rainer Sarnet’s kung fu comedy set in an Orthodox monastery in the former Soviet Union. The film world premieres Aug. 11 in the main competition of the Locarno Film Festival.
“The Invisible Fight” is set in 1973 on the Soviet-Chinese border, where Private Rafael is on guard duty when his border post is attacked by a band of Chinese warriors schooled in the ancient art of kung fu. The only one to miraculously survive, Rafael, is fascinated by the long-haired, black-clad, kung fu hippies flying through the treetops while blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio. He’s suddenly struck by a revelation: he, too, wants to become a kung fu warrior.
Faith leads Rafael to an Orthodox monastery where the black-clad monks do their training, but his road to achieving the almighty power of humility required is long, winding and full of adventures.
“The Invisible Fight” is set in 1973 on the Soviet-Chinese border, where Private Rafael is on guard duty when his border post is attacked by a band of Chinese warriors schooled in the ancient art of kung fu. The only one to miraculously survive, Rafael, is fascinated by the long-haired, black-clad, kung fu hippies flying through the treetops while blasting forbidden Black Sabbath music from their portable radio. He’s suddenly struck by a revelation: he, too, wants to become a kung fu warrior.
Faith leads Rafael to an Orthodox monastery where the black-clad monks do their training, but his road to achieving the almighty power of humility required is long, winding and full of adventures.
- 8/9/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias and Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
LevelK has boarded Icelandic thriller “Natatorium,” directed by Helena Stefánsdóttir Magneudóttir. The film started shooting on Sept. 14, and is expected to bow locally next year.
Produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn Films, marking the company’s first feature film, it’s financed with the support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation. Scanbox, Sena and Ruv Yle are behind the project as well.
“I am mostly interested in working on films with female directors and/or scriptwriters, [projects] with high artistic integrity and universal appeal,” says Gudnadóttir, who previously worked on “A White, White Day,” and Iceland’s Oscar submission “Beautiful Beings.” She adds that “Natatorium” has three complex female leads, and 60 of the crew is female as well.
Currently being presented at the Helsinki-based industry event Finnish Film Affair, “Natatorium” zooms in on teenage Lilja who visits her estranged grandparents, Áróra and Grímur. She is supposed to...
Produced by Sunna Gudnadóttir for Bjarstýn Films, marking the company’s first feature film, it’s financed with the support from the Icelandic Film Center and the Finnish Film Foundation. Scanbox, Sena and Ruv Yle are behind the project as well.
“I am mostly interested in working on films with female directors and/or scriptwriters, [projects] with high artistic integrity and universal appeal,” says Gudnadóttir, who previously worked on “A White, White Day,” and Iceland’s Oscar submission “Beautiful Beings.” She adds that “Natatorium” has three complex female leads, and 60 of the crew is female as well.
Currently being presented at the Helsinki-based industry event Finnish Film Affair, “Natatorium” zooms in on teenage Lilja who visits her estranged grandparents, Áróra and Grímur. She is supposed to...
- 9/22/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Berlinale Talents Alumni Prepare to Shine in Cannes
It’s slowly edging towards summer here in Berlin and that means one thing: Cannes is close! And as the sun gets ever brighter, many of Berlinale’s former Talents are also preparing to dazzle on the Croisette!
Three alumni are starring in films in Competition; Sherwan Haji in Tarik Saleh’s Boy from Heaven, Sara Fazilat in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, which was produced by Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek, and finally Nadia Litz joins the glittering cast of David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. Also in Competition is Lukas Dhont’s Close, co-written by Angelo Tijssens. Un Certain Regard provides a stage for more Talents to shine, with 17 alumni involved in 9 films, including Ariel Escalante’s Domingo y la niebla, to name one example. The film was edited by Lorenzo Mora Salazar, music composed by Alberto Torres, with Nicolás Wong Díaz acting as both producer & cinematographer. Abinash Bikram Shah’s Lori screens in the Short Films Competition, alongside two films with Zuolong Shan as executive producer, Bi Gan’s A Short Story and Story Chen’s The Water Murmurs.
Critic’s Week features 11 former Talents who have contributed their creativity to 8 films in the selection. The Woodcutter Story was in fact developed at our Script Station by writer and director Mikko Myllylahti, edited by Jussi Rautaniemi and produced by Jussi Rantamäki, the short Cuerdas was shot by Lara Vilanova and there will also be a special screeing of Goutte d’Or, produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond.
Excitingly, the Director’s Fortnight will show the debut feature films of three Talents alumni: Manuela Martelli’s 1976, edited by Camila Mercadal and produced by Dominga Sotomayor, Elena López Riera’s El agua and Pamfir by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. Included in the selection is Un Varón by Fabian Hernández, which Louise Bellicaud produced.
To see the complete picture of all Berlinale Talents alumni at Cannes, including those selected for the Cinéfondation’s Atelier, Les cinémas du monde’s La Fabrique and the Acid programme, click here.
Reconnect in Cannes — Register now!
Building lasting relationships across all disciplines and editions is a crucial part of what we do. And since Cannes offers plenty of opportunities for long awaited informal encounters over a coffee or rosé, we’d love to build up the group again. If you are a Berlinale Talents alumni please register your attendance at the festival, market (or just on the beach) by clicking here. Who else is in Cannes? Find out here.
Dedicated to Discovery
The 17th edition of Talents Buenos Aires took place from April 19–23. Borrowing from Luis López Carrasco’s film of the same name, this year’s theme was ‘The Year of Discovery’. Drawing inspiration from the film’s exploration of Spain’s political and social crisis in the early 1990s, the programme’s aim was to promote critical and aesthetic thinking regarding recent world events and their influence on the film world. It was an engaging 5 days of events for the 55 Talents from all over South America, from workshops on non-traditional distribution with Maui Alena or on acting with Maria Laura Berch, to a dialogue on cinema as discovery with Darío Aguirre, and plenty of networking sessions. Welcome to the skilled film professionals who are now part of the Talents family, and congratulations to the team of Talents Buenos Aires on another great edition.
The preparations for Talents Guadalajara in June, Talents Durban in July and Talents Sarajevo in August are currently in full swing, and further out on the horizon, the 13th Talents Tokyo will be held from October 31 to November 5 within the Tokyo FILMeX Festival 2022.
Thanks for staying tuned and catching up!
The Berlinale Talents team
Upcoming Dates
May 6, 2022: Application deadline for Talents Guadalajara
May 31, 2022: Application deadline for Talents Sarajevo
May 31, 2022: Application deadline for Talents Tokyo
June 11–15, 2022: Talents Guadalajara takes place
Early July, 2022: Call for entries for Berlinale Talents 2023
July 22–26, 2022: Talents Durban Takes place
August 13–18, 2022: Talents Sarajevo takes place
October 31 — November 5, 2022: Talents Tokyo takes place
Photo credits:
1) Still from Close, co-written by Angelo Tijssens © Lukas Dhont / Diaphana Distribution
2) Talents Buenos Aires key visual 2022Berlinale Talents
Berlin International Film Festival
Potsdamer Platz 11, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 30 25920–515
www.berlinale-talents.de...
It’s slowly edging towards summer here in Berlin and that means one thing: Cannes is close! And as the sun gets ever brighter, many of Berlinale’s former Talents are also preparing to dazzle on the Croisette!
Three alumni are starring in films in Competition; Sherwan Haji in Tarik Saleh’s Boy from Heaven, Sara Fazilat in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, which was produced by Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek, and finally Nadia Litz joins the glittering cast of David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. Also in Competition is Lukas Dhont’s Close, co-written by Angelo Tijssens. Un Certain Regard provides a stage for more Talents to shine, with 17 alumni involved in 9 films, including Ariel Escalante’s Domingo y la niebla, to name one example. The film was edited by Lorenzo Mora Salazar, music composed by Alberto Torres, with Nicolás Wong Díaz acting as both producer & cinematographer. Abinash Bikram Shah’s Lori screens in the Short Films Competition, alongside two films with Zuolong Shan as executive producer, Bi Gan’s A Short Story and Story Chen’s The Water Murmurs.
Critic’s Week features 11 former Talents who have contributed their creativity to 8 films in the selection. The Woodcutter Story was in fact developed at our Script Station by writer and director Mikko Myllylahti, edited by Jussi Rautaniemi and produced by Jussi Rantamäki, the short Cuerdas was shot by Lara Vilanova and there will also be a special screeing of Goutte d’Or, produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond.
Excitingly, the Director’s Fortnight will show the debut feature films of three Talents alumni: Manuela Martelli’s 1976, edited by Camila Mercadal and produced by Dominga Sotomayor, Elena López Riera’s El agua and Pamfir by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. Included in the selection is Un Varón by Fabian Hernández, which Louise Bellicaud produced.
To see the complete picture of all Berlinale Talents alumni at Cannes, including those selected for the Cinéfondation’s Atelier, Les cinémas du monde’s La Fabrique and the Acid programme, click here.
Reconnect in Cannes — Register now!
Building lasting relationships across all disciplines and editions is a crucial part of what we do. And since Cannes offers plenty of opportunities for long awaited informal encounters over a coffee or rosé, we’d love to build up the group again. If you are a Berlinale Talents alumni please register your attendance at the festival, market (or just on the beach) by clicking here. Who else is in Cannes? Find out here.
Dedicated to Discovery
The 17th edition of Talents Buenos Aires took place from April 19–23. Borrowing from Luis López Carrasco’s film of the same name, this year’s theme was ‘The Year of Discovery’. Drawing inspiration from the film’s exploration of Spain’s political and social crisis in the early 1990s, the programme’s aim was to promote critical and aesthetic thinking regarding recent world events and their influence on the film world. It was an engaging 5 days of events for the 55 Talents from all over South America, from workshops on non-traditional distribution with Maui Alena or on acting with Maria Laura Berch, to a dialogue on cinema as discovery with Darío Aguirre, and plenty of networking sessions. Welcome to the skilled film professionals who are now part of the Talents family, and congratulations to the team of Talents Buenos Aires on another great edition.
The preparations for Talents Guadalajara in June, Talents Durban in July and Talents Sarajevo in August are currently in full swing, and further out on the horizon, the 13th Talents Tokyo will be held from October 31 to November 5 within the Tokyo FILMeX Festival 2022.
Thanks for staying tuned and catching up!
The Berlinale Talents team
Upcoming Dates
May 6, 2022: Application deadline for Talents Guadalajara
May 31, 2022: Application deadline for Talents Sarajevo
May 31, 2022: Application deadline for Talents Tokyo
June 11–15, 2022: Talents Guadalajara takes place
Early July, 2022: Call for entries for Berlinale Talents 2023
July 22–26, 2022: Talents Durban Takes place
August 13–18, 2022: Talents Sarajevo takes place
October 31 — November 5, 2022: Talents Tokyo takes place
Photo credits:
1) Still from Close, co-written by Angelo Tijssens © Lukas Dhont / Diaphana Distribution
2) Talents Buenos Aires key visual 2022Berlinale Talents
Berlin International Film Festival
Potsdamer Platz 11, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 30 25920–515
www.berlinale-talents.de...
- 5/10/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
With both title and central buddy dynamic tipping hat to “Superbad,” among other raunchy teen comedies, “Supercool” is not the kind of movie that wins prizes for originality. Nor is Finnish director Teppo Airaksinen’s first U.S.-shot, English-language project as outrageous as it thinks it is. Nonetheless, this energetic spin through high school antics redolent of everything since “Ferris Bueller” is colorful and amusing enough to entertain viewers looking for a familiar mix of bad-taste gags in a squeaky-clean suburban setting. Vertical Entertainment is releasing it to 20 U.S. theater screens as well as on-demand platforms Feb. 11.
Things commence with an over-the-top action sequence in which Neil (Jake Short) rescues classmate Summer (Madison Davenport) from the clutches of a masked maniac after she’s abducted from their school bus. But this turns out to be one more fantasy from Neil’s vivid imagination, which he channels into the...
Things commence with an over-the-top action sequence in which Neil (Jake Short) rescues classmate Summer (Madison Davenport) from the clutches of a masked maniac after she’s abducted from their school bus. But this turns out to be one more fantasy from Neil’s vivid imagination, which he channels into the...
- 2/11/2022
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Boxing drama wins eight prizes including best film.
Period boxing drama The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki dominated the field at Friday’s Jussi Awards (Mar 24), Finland’s primary national film awards.
The film, which debuted at Cannes Film Festival 2016 in Un Certain Regard and was Finland’s submission in last year’s foreign language Oscar race, scooped half of the 16 awards on the night, including best picture.
It also took best director for Juho Kuosmanen, best actor for Jarkko Lahti, best supporting actress for Oona Airola, best editing for Jussi Rautaniemi, costume design for Sari Suominen, cinematography for J-p Passi, and make-up for Salla Yli-Luopa.
Elsewhere, drama The Mine won best screenplay for Pekko Pesonen and best supporting actor for Jani Volanen. Best actress went to Linnea Skog for Little Wing, and best documentary was presented to Katja Gauriloff’s Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest.
Best production design went to Santtu Toivola for Flowers...
Period boxing drama The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki dominated the field at Friday’s Jussi Awards (Mar 24), Finland’s primary national film awards.
The film, which debuted at Cannes Film Festival 2016 in Un Certain Regard and was Finland’s submission in last year’s foreign language Oscar race, scooped half of the 16 awards on the night, including best picture.
It also took best director for Juho Kuosmanen, best actor for Jarkko Lahti, best supporting actress for Oona Airola, best editing for Jussi Rautaniemi, costume design for Sari Suominen, cinematography for J-p Passi, and make-up for Salla Yli-Luopa.
Elsewhere, drama The Mine won best screenplay for Pekko Pesonen and best supporting actor for Jani Volanen. Best actress went to Linnea Skog for Little Wing, and best documentary was presented to Katja Gauriloff’s Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest.
Best production design went to Santtu Toivola for Flowers...
- 3/27/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
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