News

Exclusive: Production has wrapped in Germany and Luxembourg on Objet a, the new feature from Piaffe director Ann Oren.

Aenne Schwarz, Louis Hofmann from Netflix series Dark, Simone Bucio and Georg Friedrich star in the German-language film, which completed its 33-day shoot on Friday, July 25.

Written by Oren, it follows two hand surgeons and fetishists whose seemingly controlled world unravels when their new assistant enters their lives.

Production companies are Germany’s Schuldenberg Films, Luxembourg’s Tarantula and Greece’s asterisk*. Backers include Creative Europe Media, Deutscher Filmforderfonds, Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung fur Kultur und Medien, Hessen Film & Medien,...

Production is underway in Kosovo on Hatixhe And Shaban, the new feature from Exile filmmaker Visar Morina.

The feature will shoot for 40 days in Kosovan capital Pristina and the village of Sllakofc. Astrit Kabashi and Flonja Kodheli lead the cast, alongside Alban Ukaj, Tristan Halilaj and Refet Abazi.

Morina wrote the film with Doruntina Basha. It follows a couple living in a village with their three daughters, who must move to the capital looking for work when a family member steals their 12 cows.

The film is produced by Morina’s company Vicky Bane that he runs with Pia Hellenthal, with Sophie Ahrens,...

First Hand Films has taken international sales rights to German director Julia Fuhr Mann’s documentary “Life Is Not a Competition But I Am Winning,” which will premiere in Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival. Variety is debuting its trailer exclusively.

The film is about gender in athletics – including the issue of transgender athletes banned from competition – and “subverts stereotypes that still seem to dominate Olympic disciplines today.”

“In a poetic-radical utopia, ‘Life Is Not a Competition, But I’m Winning’ shakes up the stereotypical gender relations in competitive sports,” according to a press statement. “The film goes in search of the queer-feminist potential in the Olympic disciplines of running and sketches a world beyond rigid gender images.”

“Julia Fuhr Mann’s oeuvre has so many layers, is so carefully drawn, and tells such a strong story – we are proud and honored to work with the film,” Esther van Messel...

Belarusian-set pic Mother Vera has picked up Locarno’s Creativity Media First Look Award, the biggest prize handed out by the festival’s industry section.

The award comes with a €50,000 cash prize that covers services towards the completion of films in post-production. Filmmakers Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson co-directed the pic with producer Laura Shacham.

Discussing their choice, the Locarno Pro jury — comprised of Ava Cahen, Gaia Furrer, and Eugene Hernandez — said: “From the opening moments of this film, we were immediately drawn to the strikingly photographed stark portrait of a fascinating nun in Belarus who makes a journey to France. We congratulate filmmakers Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson and wish them the best with this new film, Mother Vera.”

Embleton is a London-based filmmaker who has predominantly worked in docs. Her debut film,...

With echoes of Catherine Breillat, Lucille Hadzhihalillovic, and Peter Strickland, “Piaffe” rides a deep tail of sexual awakening.

The feature directorial debut of Berlin-based visual artist Ann Oren, “Piaffe” follows Eva (Simone Bucio), an introverted and unqualified woman who grows a horse’s tail while foleying sound for a commercial about an equine-inspired drug.

Per the synopsis, as Eva acclimates to the new job, her obsession with creating the perfect horse sounds grows into something more tangible. Eva harnesses this new physicality, becoming more confident and empowered, and lures an unassuming botanist into an intriguing game of submission.

“Piaffe” centers on Eva’s sexual awakening through a dominant-submissive relationship and through animal-centric affect. The film is shot on 16mm and originally debuted at the 2022 Locarno International Festival.

Sebastian Rudolph and Simon Jaikiriuma Paetau also star.

“Piaffe” is co-written by director Oren and Thais Guisaola, with Kristof Gerega, Sophie Ahrens, and Fabien Altenried producing.

“Prince Aden,” a new drama by Italian directing duo Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio, known internationally for their immigration-themed “Seven Acts of Mercy,” is among projects selected by Locarno’s Alliance for Development initiative.

The platform, now in its 8th year, is geared towards fostering co-productions between France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

Inspired by the book “Partigiani d’Oltremare,” by Italian historian Matteo Petracci, the De Serio twins’ new colonial-era film follows the vicissitudes of a 16-year-old Somali named Aden Sicré who in 1935 becomes a soldier in the Italian army that invaded Ethiopia on Mussolini’s orders. In an unexpected turn, he becomes hailed as a war hero by the Fascist regime. Then a few years later Aden and other African fighters play a pivotal role in the partisan struggle against fascism in Europe.

The Aug. 4-6 Alliance 4 Development goes beyond being a mere co-production platform since it allows for...

Includes projects by Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi.

New projects by directors Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative which runs from August 4-6.

The initiative is an integral part of Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro industry strand and is aimed at encouraging co-productions between Switzerland and France, Germany and Italy.

Scroll down for full list of projects

11 projects were chosen out of 74 submissions. During the three Alliance 4 Development programme, participants will meet with potential partners and attend panels and networking events.

Lorenz Merz will attend with Who/Man,...

11 projects selected for Locarno Film Festival’s industry strand.

New projects by directors Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative which runs from August 4-6.

The initiative is an integral part of Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro industry strand and is aimed at encouraging co-productions between Switzerland and France, Germany and Italy.

Scroll down for full list of projects

11 projects were chosen out of 74 submissions. During the three Alliance 4 Development programme, participants will meet with potential partners and attend panels and networking events.

Lorenz Merz will attend with Who/Man,...

‘Piaffe’ is produced by Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films.

Salzgeber & Co. Medien has acquired the German rights to visual artist Ann Oren’s Locarno title Piaffe from Rediance and is planning a theatrical release in summer 2023.

Oren’s feature film debut is about a woman who develops an obsession with foley-ing the perfect sound for a commercial featuring a horse.

Oscilloscope has North American rights to the film that debuted at Locarno earlier this year before going on to play in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera competition at San Sebastian last month.

Piaffe is now screening at Filmfest Hamburg where the film’s producers, Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films,...

‘Piaffe’ is produced by Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films.

Salzgeber & Co. Medien has acquired the German rights to visual artist Ann Oren’s Locarno title Piaffe from Rediance and is planning a theatrical release in summer 2023.

Oren’s feature film debut is about a woman who develops an obsession with foley-ing the perfect sound for a commercial featuring a horse.

Oscilloscope has North American rights to the film that debuted at Locarno earlier this year before going on to play in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera competition at San Sebastian last month.

Piaffe is now screening at Filmfest Hamburg where the film’s producers, Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films,...

Rediance has sold the film to Oscilloscope.

Oscilloscope has acquired North American rights to Ann Oren’s Piaffe, which debuted in Locarno this summer and is currently playing in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera competition at San Sebastian.

The company is planning a theatrical release in 2023; Rediance represents world sales on the title.

Piaffe is Oren’s fiction feature debut. It follows a woman who develops an obsession with foleying the perfect sound for a commercial featuring a horse.

The German- and English-language title was produced by Kristof Gerega, Sophie Ahrens and Fabian Altenried of Schuldenberg Films.

Oscilloscope head of acquisitions Aaron Katz...

The first feature by Berlin-based visual artist and filmmaker Ann Oren, which is titled “Piaffe,” is launching on Aug. 11 from the Locarno Film Festival’s Piazza Grande.

Described by the director as “a love letter to the less recognized magicians of cinema and a playful celebration of otherness,” this German film is produced by Kristof Gerega, Sophie Ahrens and Fabian Altenried of Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films.

Beijing-based Rediance, as previously announced, has taken international sales.

“When her sibling Zara suffers a nervous breakdown, the introvert Eva is forced to take on Zara’s job as a foley artist. She struggles to create sounds for a commercial featuring a horse, and then a horsetail starts growing out of her body,” reads the synopsis.

“Empowered by her tail, she lures a botanist into an affair through a game of submission.”

“Piaffe” is further described as “a visceral journey into control, gender, and artifice.

German feature will world premiere at Locarno.

Chinese sales agent Rediance has acquired sales rights to Locarno international competition title Piaffe, the first feature by Berlin-based visual artist and filmmaker Ann Oren.

The German film, which will receive its world premiere at Locarno in August, is produced by Kristof Gerega, Sophie Ahrens and Fabian Altenried of Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films.

Shot on 16mm, the story follows an introvert foley artist who becomes empowered when a horsetail starts growing out of her body while working on a commercial featuring a horse. Written by Oren and Thais Guisasola, the cast includes Simone Bucio,...