News

Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master, director Ivan Salatić’s sophomore feature, will be world premiering in the Tiger Competition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which runs Jan. 30-Feb. 9. THR can here present an exclusive trailer for the cinematic reflection on identity, displacement, and home.

Written and directed by Salatić, the movie stars Marko Pogačar, Croatia’s most translated contemporary poet in his debut film role, Luka Petrone, Jakov Zovko, and Vanja Matic.

The film is set in 19th-century Montenegro “where tribes led by a poet and a bishop named Morlak (Pogačar) are locked in an age-old struggle against a common enemy,” according to a synopsis. “When Morlak falls gravely ill, he sets out in search of a cure, leaving behind his war-torn homeland. Along with his daughter and two loyal servants, Morlak settles in a remote house in southern Italy, hoping for healing and peace.”

Torn between duty and homesickness,...

Greece-based Heretic has boarded world sales on Stefan Djordjevic’s feature debut Wind, Talk To Methat will make itsworld premiere in the Tiger Competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Inspired by Djordjevic’s own experiences, the film sees a man go on an introspective journey when reuniting with his family after his mother’s recent death.

Wind, Talk To Me is produced by Dragana Jovovic with Stefan Ivancic and Ognjen Glavonic for Serbia’s Non-Aligned Films, and Djordjevic’s Katunga. It is a co-production with Vanja Jambrovic for Croatia’s Restart, Josko Rutar for Slovenia’s Spok Films and Miha Cernec for Slovenia’s Staragara.

Greece-based sales company Heretic has boarded world sales on Stefan Djordjevic’s feature debut Wind, Talk To Me.

The film was today selected for its world premiere in the Tiger Competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Wind, Talk To Me is produced by Dragana Jovovic together with Stefan Ivancic and Ognjen Glavonic for Serbia’s Non-Aligned Films, and Djordjevic’s Katunga. It is made in co-production with Vanja Jambrovic for Croatia’s Restart, Josko Rutar for Slovenia’s Spok Films and Miha Cernec for Slovenia’s Staragara.

Inspired by Djordjevic’s own experiences, the film sees a man go on...

Serbian filmmaker Milica Tomović, whose sophomore feature, “Big Women,” was one of the big winners at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry awards on Thursday, thinks audiences are afraid of women behaving badly. “People are not that interested to watch movies with bad female characters who do bad things,” the director told Variety.

“Big Women,” which is produced by Dragana Jovović of Non-Aligned Films and Jelena Radenković for Big Time Production, won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award in Sarajevo. The film is pitched as a road-trip dramedy that follows two wild women who embark on an unexpected trip to the coast of Montenegro. There they’ll settle forgotten bills, rediscover their friendship and uncover long-buried secrets.

Describing the film as “a character-based story,” Tomović said it’s “based on the dynamics of this very strong friendship.” “This is the center of the story, between Mira and Tina,” she said of...

Some 18 producers from 17 countries will attend workshops throughout 2023 and 2024.

Eve Gabereau of the UK’s Modern Films and Denmark’s Monica Hellstrom are among 18 independent producers selected for Ace 33, the latest intake for the Ace Producers Network.

The 18 producers from 17 different countries will attend three workshops throughout 2023 and 2024 with independent feature projects. The workshops will take place in Norway in October, on content development; in Warsaw, Poland in November, on financing strategies; and finally in France, looking at business strategies.

Scroll down for the Ace 33 selection

The producers will then join the Ace Network following the 2024 Ace meeting in Bordeaux,...

18 producers from 17 countries will attend workshops throughout 2023 and 2024.

Eve Gabereau of UK company Modern Films and Danish producer Monica Hellstrom are among 18 independent producers selected for Ace 33, the latest intake for the Ace Producers Network.

The 18 producers from 17 different countries will attend three workshops throughout 2023 and 2024 with independent feature projects. The workshops will take place in Norway in October, on content development; in Warsaw, Poland in November, on financing strategies; and finally in France, looking at business strategies.

Scroll down for the Ace 33 selection

The producers will then join the Ace Network following the 2024 Ace meeting in Bordeaux, France.

London-based...

A growing list of 300 film professionals, including Martin Scorsese, Olivier Assayas, Joanna Hogg, and Radu Jude, have signed an open letter calling for the contract of outgoing Berlinale Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian to be reinstated and extended beyond 2024.

Late last week, Chatrian released a statement via the Berlinale website announcing his intention to step down following next year’s edition of the German festival. In his statement, Chatrian pointed to the German Ministry for Culture and Media’s decision to scrap the Berlinale’s dual management structure as the main catalyst for his departure.

Last month, German Culture Minister Claudia Roth announced that she wants the Berlinale to be placed back under the control of a single director. Roth is reported to have told a meeting on Thursday of the supervisory board of federal cultural events in Berlin (Kbb), which oversees the festival, that her conclusion was the film should be led by one person.

Martin Scorsese, Radu Jude, Joanna Hogg, Claire Denis, Bertrand Bonello, M. Night Shyamalan, Kristen Stewart, Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Margarethe von Trotta are among the international filmmakers and talents who have signed an open letter in support of Carlo Chatrian whose mandate as artistic director of the Berlinale will come to an end next year. The number of signatories has now exceeded 400 names and keeps growing.

As we reported last week, Chatrian had been expected to stay on beyond 2024, and was surprised to learn that the German body which oversees the festival, Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (Kbb), announced that it would no extend his contract. The org had previously said it would abandon the model of having an executive director and an artistic director and return instead to having a single director, following the next edition. The festival’s executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek will also be leaving her post after the next edition.

The Loads‘ Ognjen Glavonic, Autobiography‘s Makbul Mubarak & Medusa‘s Anita Rocha da Silveira are among the selected filmmakers for TorinoFilmLab’s ScriptLab Participants. Glavonic will be at the lab with In The Shadow Of The Horns – his sophomore fiction feature. Indonesian filmmaker Mubarak comes with Watch It Burn – his sophomore feature while Brazilian filmmaker Anita Rocha da Silveira will be workshopping her third feature in I Can’t Dance. The 20 projects come from 20 writer-directors and eight co-writers, and have been selected from 550 submissions. Here are the ScriptLab 2023 projects and participants:

A Perfect Family – Writer: Adriano Valerio / Co-writer: Aude Py

All The Crows In The World – Writer: Yi Tang

Alma – Writer: Laura Herrero Garvin / Co-writer: Jorge Gil

Amari – Writer: Domien Huyghe, Co-writer: Wendy Huyghe

Blind Spots – Writer: Ely Chevillot

Brilliant Melody – Writer: Carlo Francisco / Co-writer: Jeremie Dubois

Counting Cards With My Father – Writer: Lydia Rui

Detour – Writer: Jakub Piatek / Co-writer:...

There is a particular focus on comedies.

TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) has selected 20 projects for its ScriptLab 2023, plus five story editors, in what it describes as the first ‘fully international’ iteration of the annual development scheme.

The 20 projects come from 20 writer-directors and eight co-writers, and have been selected from 550 submissions.

Scroll down for the full list of participants

Those selected will take part in three week-long residential modules in April, June and November; with two online modules in September and October. The participants will be divided into five groups, and tutored by script consultants Philippe Barriere, Severine Cornamusaz, Aleksandra Swierk, Marietta von Hausswolff and Gino Ventriglia.

Festival

The second edition of the Ponta Lopud Festival (June 22-27) on the island of Lopud, near Dubrovnik, Croatia, will feature masterclasses from Oscar winners Frances McDormand and Joel Coen. “At this point in our professional lives, we can’t think of a better way to spend the warm days of summer than in conversation about the process of filmmaking and the love of film watching with a group of other filmmakers on an island in the Adriatic Sea,” said McDormand and Coen.

Participants at this year’s edition include filmmakers Tamara Kotevska (“Honeyland”), Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (“Murina), Una Gunjak (“Chicken”), and actor Gordan Bogdan (“Fargo”). There will also be lectures by director Juho Kuosmanen, producer Peter Spears and talent agent Brian Swardstrom and conversations between masters and participants moderated by special guests, directors Pawel Pawlikowski, Michel Franco, Lili Horvat, Danis Tanovic and Ognjen Glavonic.

The founders of the Ponta Lopud Festival are Miro Purivatra,...

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen are set to headline as ‘masters’ at the second edition of the Ponta Lopud Festival next month.

The U.S. duo will offer up a series of acting and directing masterclasses for the invite-only event which takes place on the Croatian island of Lopud.

The new festival, which was started last year by Sarajevo Film Festival former director and founder Miro Purivatra and Lopud’s Tilda Grossel Bogdanovic, is specifically tailored for directors, actors and cinematographers from southeast Europe.

This year, the festival will also host special lectures by director Juho Kuosmanen, producer Peter Spears and talent agent Brian Swardstrom. It will also host conversations between participants and special guests such as Pawel Pawlikowski, Michel Franco, Lili Horvat, Danis Tanovic and Ognjen Glavonic and Antonio Sanchez.

Among selected participants for the second edition of Ponta Lopud are: Honeyland director Tamara Kotevska; Murina helmer Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic,...

Lecturers include Finland’s Juho Kuosmanen, US producer Peter Spears.

US duo Frances McDormand and Joel Coen will be ‘masters’ for the second edition of Ponta Lopud Film Festival, on the island of Lopud near Dubrovnik, Croatia.

McDormand and Coen will give invite-only masterclasses to directors, actors and cinematographers from Southeast Europe, in the festival from June 22 to 27.

Ponta Lopud was started last year by Miro Purivatra, founder and long-time director of Sarajevo Film Festival; and Tilda Grossel Bogdanovic.

The festival will also host lectures from Juho Kuosmanen, Finnish director of Compartment No. 6; Peter Spears, US producer of titles including...

The award, chosen from across festival sections, will have a dedicated jury.

Thirteen debut features directed by women will be eligible for a new award at this month’s Sarajevo Film Festival (August 13-20).

The festival is debuting the ‘Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality’, which is open to all directorial debuts directed by women playing at the festival, across all sections.

Titles in the running for the award from the Kinoscope strand include Laura Wandel’s Playground, which debuted in Un Certain Regard at Cannes last month; and Prano Bailey-Bond’s UK horror Censor.

Seven of the 13 titles are in the feature compeittion programme,...

World preeming at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, Ognjen Glavonic certainly had the odds stacked against him to create his fiction debut and a lot of it had to do with history not wanting to be revisited. Naturally, it is not what is presumed to being carried that makes for the solid discourse, but what is not being said. The Load, would win the filmmaker the Best Director award at Marrakech, and I caught up with him a couple of days prior to the festival coming to and end with one of my more memorable screenings. We discussed his moving camera aesthetic, splintered portrait of youth and what the protagonist finds when he ends up at his final destination.…...

History, memory, and female-driven stories mark some of the main themes in the six Serbian films selected for Locarno’s First Look, a pix-in-post strand that represents one of the high points of the mid-summer festival on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

The competitive showcase this year highlights an industry that has become increasingly prolific in the past decade. Thanks in large part to an uptick in government funding, which has opened the door for more international collaborations, it’s also grown in scope and ambition. “The industry itself, in terms of production power, it’s growing,” said First Look project manager Markus Duffner. More importantly, he added, young Serbian producers are “rapidly growing in terms of international industry experience.”

As part of its partnership with Locarno, Film Center Serbia selected six projects – including five documentary features – with all but one in post-production. Four of the six films are helmed by female directors.

Lila Avilès, Aenne Schwarz, Sudabeh Mortezai, Nidhal Saadi and Ognjen Glavonić Photo: Courtesy of Marrakech Film Festival

Joy took home the Golden Star for best film as the 17th edition of the Marrakech Film Festival drew to a close last night.

The Austrian film, directed by Sudabeh Mortezai tells the story of a young Nigerian woman who becomes caught in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking. It continues a strong awards run for Joy, which was also named Best Film at London Film Festival.

Mortezai, who received the prize from Monica Bellucci, said that she hoped the award would help the untold story "get greater visibility".

The Jury Prize was given to The Chambermaid (La Camarista), directed by Lila Avilès - a character study of a hotel maid - and the Best Directing accolade was awarded to Serbian director Ognjen Glavonic for The Load (Teret), a drama set against the 1999 Nato bombing of Serbia.

During the gala closing ceremony of the 17th edition of the Marrakech Intl. Film Festival, the Golden Star for best film was awarded to Sudabeh Mortezai for her second feature, “Joy,” about a young Nigerian woman forced into prostitution, which recently won best film at the BFI London Film Festival.

Accepting the prize from actress Monica Bellucci, she said: “I’d like to thank all the people who helped me make the movie, especially all the women who talked to me and told me their stories and helped me write the film, and the actresses who made the film with me. I’m very happy that, with this prize, this untold story will get greater visibility.”

The jury prize went to Lila Avilés’ debut feature, “The Chambermaid,” about Eve, a maid in Mexico City’s Hotel Presidente Internacional, which Avilés describes as a “high-class prison.”

Avilés said: “I love Patti Smith.

Festival to kick off with Julian Schnabel’s At Eternity’s Gate.

The Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 30-Dec 8) has revealed its 2018 line-up, jury and honorary awards.

The Moroccan festival has been running since 2001, but took a year off in 2017 to “reflect on its editorial line”.

The competition line-up features 14 films from first or second-time directors. Six of the films competing for the Marrakech Etoile d’Or (or the Gold Star) are directed by women. Among the line-up is Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, Kent Jones’ Diane and Eva Trobisch’s All Good.

The festival opens with a gala screening of...

Sergey Dvortsevoy’s Russian drama Ayka wins best film.

Russian director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s Ayka, about a young woman attemping to survive after abandoning her baby in Moscow, was the big winner at Germany’s Filmfestival Cottbus (Nov 6-11), taking home the best film prize in the feature competition as well as prize of the ecumenical jury.

Ayka, which is Dvortsevoy’s second feature, premiered in competition at Cannes earlier this year and is Kazakhstan’s entry for the best foreign- language film Oscar category. The Match Factory is handling international sales.

Russian films regularly garner the main prize in...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teasers for Syllas Tzoumerkas’ female revenge story “The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea” – being sold at Afm by Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales.

Set in a small eel-farming town in the west of Greece it’s a story of two women, who live solitary lives while dreaming of getting away. One of them is Elisabeth, a once-ambitious policewoman forced to relocate from Athens 10 years ago and now living a joyless, hung over life; the other is Rita, a quiet, mysterious sister of a local music star. When a sudden suicide case upsets the town and turns the local community upside-down, the two women who have been ignoring each other’s existence so far begin drifting toward each other. As the secrets hidden in the swamps begin to surface, they will have a chance to become each other’s saviors.

Indian film “Soni,” directed by Ivan Iyer, was named as the best film at the second edition of the Pingyao International Film Festival. It wins a prize of $20,000, with half going to development of the director’s next project, and half provided to the film’s distributor in China.

Other Roberto Rossellini prizes went to Ognjen Glavonic as best director, for “The Load” (aka “Teret”) worth $10,000, and to Singaporean-Chinese film “A Land Imagined,” which collected the jury prize. The jury included China’s Dai Jinhua, and Wang Xiaoshuai, American actor Mason C. Lee, Iran’s Amir Naderi, and Georgia’s Ana Urushadze.

A separate prize series, the Fei Mu Awards was presented to Chinese-language films which are directorial debuts or second features and which showed in the festival’s New Generation China, Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons, or Best of Fest sections. “The Crossing” by Bai Xue was named best film...

Sameh Zoabi’s Tel Aviv On Fire wins top prize.

The 34th Haifa International Film Festival (September 22-October 1) came to a close with Sameh Zoabi’s Tel Aviv On Fire winning the Haifa Cultural Fund Award for the Best Feature Film in the Israeli feature competition. It comes with a $27,000 prize.

Zoabi’s third feature, a comic take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, made its debut at Venice Orizzonti strand.

This year’s jury comprised Julie Schlez, Philippe Le Guay, Salwa Nakkara, Yaron Scharf, Jordi Rediu

The full list of winners are below.

Best Israeli film

Tel Aviv on Fire (dir.

The Toronto International Film Festival has added Brady Corbet’s drama “Vox Lux,” starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, and Neil Jordan’s “Greta,” with Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert.

The festival also announced Tuesday a total of 46 titles in its Discovery program, which is devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers. The festival will screen 255 features and 88 shorts with 138 being world premieres, including “Greta.” The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival will begin on Sept. 6.

“Vox Lux” and “Greta” have been added to the Special Presentations program. “Vox Lux,” which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, is a musical drama about a woman who achieves success after a tragic childhood. The film also stars Jennifer Ehle, Stacy Martin and Raffey Cassidy. “Greta” stars Moretz as a young woman in New York who befriends a widow, played by Huppert, who has sinister intentions.

The Discovery program includes Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s ‘Girl,...

Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 6-16) has added a world premiere screening of Neil Jordan’s Greta and the North American premiere of Natalie Portman-starrer Vox Lux to its Special Presentations program, which now numbers 24 films.

Jordan’s Greta tells the story of a young New York woman named Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) who strikes up an unlikely friendship with an enigmatic widow named Greta (Isabelle Huppert). Co-written by Jordan and Ray Wright, pic also stars Colm Feore, Maika Monroe, and Stephen Rea.

In musical drama Vox Lux, Brady Corbet’s second feature as writer-director tracks its heroine’s path from childhood tragedy to a life of fame and fortune. Starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, the film begins with teenage sisters Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) and Eleanor (Stacy Martin) who survive a violent incident that changes their lives.

Tiff has also revealed the 46 movies taking part in its Discovery lineup for emerging filmmakers.

Brady Corbet’s “Vox Lux,” with Natalie Portman and Jude Law, and Neil Jordan’s “Greta,” with Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert, are among almost 50 films that have been added to the lineup of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Tiff organizers announced on Tuesday.

The two films have been added to the Special Presentations program, with “Greta” having its world premiere at Tiff and “Vox Lux” its Canadian premiere.

“Greta” features Moretz as a young woman in New York who befriends a widow who turns out to have sinister intentions; “Vox Lux” is a musical drama that encompasses the life of a woman who achieves success after a tragic childhood.

Also Read: Natalie Portman Is an Aspiring Pop Star in First-Look at Brady Corbet's 'Vox Lux' (Photo)

Toronto also announced its Discovery program, which is devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers. The 46 films in the lineup come from 37 different countries,...

Neil Jordan’s Greta, Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux added to Special Presentations.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s 1980’s set skinhead drama Farming and Rosanne Pel’s Poland-set relationship drama Light As Feathers are among a Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) Discovery selection that comprises 48% of films directed by women.

Tiff chiefs have also added Neil Jordan’s Greta and Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux to Special Presentations, and announced the International Rising Stars, details of the fifth annual Festival Street, and Speaker Series participants. In addition, Mira Nair has joined the Platform jury.

This year’s festival will present 343 films in total,...

The Sarajevo Film Festival, which was launched in 1995 during the four-year siege of the capital in the midst of the Bosnian War, has always relied on a mixture of self-sufficiency and smart alliances with international partners. It’s a combination that will be deployed again during its 24th edition, running Aug. 10-17.

The event is characterized by its director, Mirsad Purivatra, as an international festival with a focus on a region: Southeast Europe. Purivatra was inspired to adopt a regional focus for Sarajevo after he visited Sweden’s Goteborg Film Festival, with its focus on the Nordic region. This year, Sarajevo’s industry section, CineLink, will look to Scandinavia again for inspiration, this time centered on television drama, an area of growth for both regions.

Norway will be the focus of a panel event as an example of how a local TV industry can transform itself, says Jovan Marjanovic, Sarajevo’s head of industry.

Below you will find an index of our coverage from the Cannes Film Festival, Directors' Fortnight, and Critics' Week in 2018, as well as our favorite films.Awardstop 101. The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard)2. Ash Is Purest White (Jia Zhangke) & Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher)4. Burning (Lee Chang-dong)5. Asako I & II (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)6. Long Day's Journey Into Night (Bi Gan)7. Dead Souls (Wang Bing)8. In My Room (Ulrich Köhler)9. Climax (Gaspar Noé)10. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)(Contributors: Gustavo Beck, Annabel Ivy Brady-Brown, Giovanni Marchini Camia, Josh Cabrita, Jordan Cronk, Jesse Cumming, Lawrence Garcia, Daniel Kasman, Roger Koza, Richard Porton, Kurt Walker, Blake Williams)Correspondences#1 Daniel Kasman previews the festival | Read#2 Lawrence Garcia on Everybody Knows (Asghar Farhadi), Dead Souls (Wang Bing) | Read#3 Daniel Kasman on Birds of Passage (Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra), Donbass (Sergei Loznitsa) | Read#4 Lawrence Garcia on Leto (Kirill Serebrennikov), Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski) | Read#5 Daniel Kasman on The Image Book...

The Notebook is covering Cannes with an on-going correspondence between critics Lawrence Garcia and Daniel Kasman.Dear Lawrence,I also shared your experience of being welcomed by the calm of Jafar Panahi’s new picture after the all-out assault of Gaspar Noé’s nightmarish party film. 3 Faces, as you imply, uses a scintillating premise—the investigation of a possible suicide by an aspiring young actress, carried out personally by the filmmaker and star actress Behnaz Jafari who are morally blackmailed into being responsible—to make down-to-earth observations about the interaction between these famed city artists and the provincial village in which they search. Leaving cosmopolitan Tehran behind, the two find themselves facing the prejudices of the countryside against art-making: the young actress being heckled by her family and community for her aspirations, and, pointedly, a retired star from “before the Revolution” lives in seclusion on the outskirts. Most villagers (at...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Ognjen Glavonic’s “The Load,” which world premieres in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. New Europe Film Sales is handling international rights.

The film centers on Vlada, who works as a truck driver during the Nato bombing of Serbia in 1999. “Tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, trying to make his way in a country scarred by the war,” according to a statement. “He knows that once the job is over, he will need to return home and face the consequences of his actions.”

Throughout the film, we rarely leave the inside of the truck. “This truck is like a cocoon: it shields him from the rest of the world, but at the same time he is left all alone with his thoughts. It’s hard to understand what is...

It’s 1999 during the Nato bombings of what was then Yugoslavia. Vlada (Leon Lucev) is an ordinary man, earning money for his family by driving a truck from Kosovo to Belgrade. We don’t know what’s in his vehicle, but it’s soon apparent that the load is as symbolic as it is physical.

This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...

It’s 1999 during the Nato bombings of what was then Yugoslavia. Vlada (Leon Lucev) is an ordinary man, earning money for his family by driving a truck from Kosovo to Belgrade. We don’t know what’s in his vehicle, but it’s soon apparent that the load is as symbolic as it is physical.

This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...

The lineup for the 2018 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) at Cannes has been announced.

Opening Film:Birds of Passage (Ciro Guerra & Cristina Gallego)Closing Film:Troppa grazia (Gianni Zanasi)Feature Films Amin (Philippe Faucon)Climax (Gaspar Noe)Carmen y Lola (Arantxa Echevarria)Cómprame un revólver (Julio Hernández Cordón)Les Confins du monde (Guillaume Nicloux)El motoarrebatador (Agustín Toscano)En Liberté! (Pierre Salvadori)Joueurs (Marie Monge)Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)Los silencios (Beatriz Seigner)Ming wang xing shi ke de (Ming Zhang)Mandy (Panos Cosmatos)Mirai (Mamoru Hosoda)Le monde est à toi  (Romain Gavras)Petra (Jaime Rosales)Samouni Road (Stefano Savona)Teret (Ognjen Glavonic)Weldi (Mohamed Ben Attia)SHORTSBasses (Félix Imbert)Ce magnifique gâteau! (Emma De Swaef & Marc Roels)La lotta (Marco Bellocchio)Las cruces (Nicolas Boone)La Nuit des sacs plastiques (Gabriel Harel)O órfão (Carolina Markowicz)Our Song to War (Juanita Onzaga)Skip Day (Patrick Bresnan & Ivette Lucas)Le...

Following the first lineup announcement for the 71st Cannes Film Festival, yesterday Critics’ Week arrived, and now today we get two more sidebar reveals. First up, there’s Directors’ Fortnight, which opens with Birds of Passage, from Embrace of the Serpent director Ciro Guerra & Cristina Gallego. Also among the lineup is Gaspar Noé’s drug-fueled (of course) drama Climax, Mamoru Hosoda’s new animation Mirai, Romain Gavras’ Le monde est à toi, as well as Sundance favorites: Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy and Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace.

Check out the lineup below, followed by the Acid lineup, featuring Jim Cummings’ SXSW winner Thunder Road.

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Lineup

Opening Film:

Birds of Passage (Ciro Guerra & Cristina Gallego)

Closing Film:

Troppa grazia (Gianni Zanasi)

Feature Films

Amin (Philippe Faucon)

Climax (Gaspar Noé)

Carmen y Lola (Arantxa Echevarria)

Cómprame un revólver de (Julio Hernández Cordón)

Les Confins du monde (Guillaume Nicloux)

El motoarrebatador (Agustín Toscano)

En Liberté!

Debra Granik, Romain Gavras, Ciro Guerra and Gaspar Noe are among the directors whose films will be included in the 50th Directors’ Fortnight, an independent sidebar that will run concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Granik will go to Cannes with “Leave No Trace,” her first narrative film since the Oscar-nominated “Winter’s Bone” in 2010, and a film that received strong reviews when it premiered at Sundance in January.

Gavras, best known for his videos for M.I.A., Kanye West and Jay-z and others, will be there with “Le monde est a toi,” while Guerra and his co-director Cristina Gallego, who made the Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent,” will bring “Birds of Passage” to Directors’ Fortnight.

Also Read: Cannes Will Welcome Back Lars von Trier, Says Festival Director

The Argentinian provocateur Noe will bring “Climax” to the festival.

Also in the selection: Panos Cosmatos’ horror film “Mandy,” which features what is reportedly another wild performance from Nicolas Cage.

Of the 20 feature films in the section, 15 are directed by men and four by women, with “Birds of Passage” a collaboration between male and female directors.

Also Read: Majority of Cannes Critics' Week Competition Films Were Directed by Women

Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Realisateurs) was established in 1969, in the aftermath of a 1968 Cannes Film Festival that was canceled midway through in solidarity with the protests sweeping through France. It was set up to offer a more daring and experimental slate than the main festival, and over the years provided the first Cannes exposure for such directors as Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Michael Haneke and Spike Lee.

Directors’ Fortnight will open on May 9 and run through May 19.

The lineup:

“Pajaros de verano” (“Birds of Passage”), Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego (opening film)

“Amin,” Philippe Faucon

“Carmen Y Lola,” Arantxa Echevarria

“Climax,” Gaspar Noe

“Comprama un revolver” (“Buy Me a Gun”), Julio Hernandez Cordon

“Les Confins du Monde,” Guillaume Nicloux

“El motoarrebatador” (“The Snatch Thief”), Augustin Toscano

“En Liberte!,” Pierre Salvadori

“Joueurs” (“Treat Me Like Fire”), Marie Monge

“Leave No Trace,” Debra Granik

“Los Silencios,” Beatriz Seigner

“Ming wang xing shi ke” (“The Pluto Moment”), Ming Zhang

“Mandy,” Panos Cosmatos

“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda

“Le monde est a toi,” Romain Gavras

“Petra,” Jaime Rosales

“Samouni Road,” Stefano Savona

“Teret” (“The Load”), Ognjen Glavonic

“Weldi” (“Dear Son”), Mohamed Ben Attia

“Troppa Grazia,” Gianni Zanasi (closing film)

Also Read: Cannes Lineup Reaches From Spike Lee to Jean-Luc Godard

Short films:

“Basses,” Felix Imbert

“Ce Magnifique gateau!,” (“This Magnificent Cake!”), Emma De Swaef & Marc Roels

“La Chanson” (“The Song”), Tiphaine Raffier

“La Lotta,” Marco Belocchio

“Las Cruces,” Nicolas Boone

“La nuit des sacs plastiques” (“The Night of the Plastic Bags”), Gabriel Harel

“O orfao” (“The Orphan”), Carolina Markowicz

“Our Song to War,” Juanita Onzaga

“Skip Day,” Patrick Bresnan & Ivette Lucas

“Le Sujet” (“The Subject”), Patrick Bouchard

Read original story Debra Granik, Gaspar Noe Films Selected for Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight Lineup At TheWrap...

Update: Outgoing Directors’ Fortnight chief Edouard Waintrop revealed a 20-strong 50th anniversary lineup today that includes a return engagement for some, and a surprise inclusion for one of the most controversial filmmakers ever to hit the Croisette. Gaspar Noé will world premiere his Climax, appearing for the first time in the section after turns in Official Selection with such films as Love, Enter The Void and Irreversible. Climax has been kept close to the vest, with some conflicting information circulating (we will update when we know more).

The Fortnight will open with Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s Birds Of Passage. The 1970s-set film about the early days of the drug trade is a return to the section for Guerra whose 2015 Embrace Of The Serpent became Colombia’s first Foreign Language Oscar nominee.

Also notable on the roster are Guillaume Nicloux’s Les Confins Du Monde. His Valley Of Love...

Find out what made our top 10 films of 2016 - and which films feature on Team Screen’s overall top 10.Scroll down for Screen’s overall top 10

Screen’s esteemed critics have had their turn. Now, Screen staff, contributors and correspondents reveal their favourite films seen in 2016. Festival premieres and UK/Us theatrical releases are deemed eligible.

Matt Mueller (editor)

Moonlight (dir. Barry Jenkins)La La Land (dir. Damien Chazelle)Aquarius (dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho)Mustang (dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven)Hell Or High Water (dir. David Mackenzie)Embrace Of The Serpent (dir. Ciro Guerra)Little Men (dir. Ira Sachs)Suntan (dir. Argyris Papadimitropoulos)Love & Friendship (dir. Whit Stillman)Nocturnal Animals (dir Tom Ford)Jeremy Kay (Us editor)

Manchester By The Sea (dir. Kenneth Lonergan)Neruda (dir. Pablo Larrain)Aquarius (dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho)Deadpool (dir Tim Miller)Fire At Sea (dir. Gianfranco Rosi)Moonlight (dir. Barry Jenkins)Oj: Made In America (dir. Ezra Edelman)[link=tt...

The London-based documentary festival gives its emerging talent prize to Algerian director Hassan Ferhani.

Serbian director Ongjen Glavonic’s Depth Two won the grand jury award at the Open City Documentary Festival in London.

The film investigates the story behind a mass grave discovered in 2001 in a suburb of Belgrade.

Jury chair Penny Woolcock said: “It was a unanimous decision to give the grand jury award to Ognjen Glavonic for Depth Two, which tells a complex and horrifying story in a truly compelling way. It’s hard to describe the experience of watching this film — at one level it’s a forensic telling of a dreadful story that gradually reveals its secrets, while simultaneously creating a space for reflecting on universal themes of violence and complicity.”

Glavonic said: “My idea with this film was to uncover and give a voice to this case and the stories behind it which for years have been silenced. This award will...

Icelandic director Bendikt Erlingsson’s Of Horses And Men won the Golden Iris Award, the top prize at the 12th Brussels Film Festival.Scroll down for full list of winners

Of Horses And Men won €10,000 ($13,600) and beat out 11 other competitors at the festival, which ran from June 6-14.

The drama about the deep relationships between members of a small Icelandic community and their horses debuted in Iceland last August and has toured the festival circuit ever since, beginning with the San Sebastian Film Festival in September. It was released in the UK last weekend.

Other notable winners included Swedish director Anna Odell’s The Reunion, which won the White Iris Award for best first film, as well as €2,500 ($3,400).

Odell’s feature about her imagined high school reunion picked up two other prizes at the festival, the Fedex Cinephile Award and the Rtbf TV Prize of Best Film.

Another film that scooped multiple awards was Farewell To The...

Films from Russia, Kosovo and Serbia were the main winners at this year’s FilmFestival Cottbus and its parallel East-West co-production market Connecting Cottbus.

Russian director Aleksandr Veledinsky’s The Geographer Drank His Globe Away has continued its successful international festival career by picking up the Main Prize at Germany’s Cottbus festival with a cash award of €20,000.

The International Competition Jury praised Veledinsky’s “exquisite mastery of his craft and great playfulness” in its motivation.

Handled internationally by Moscow-based Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, The Geographer Drank His Globe Away was released theatrically on almost 500 screens in Russia last Thursday (Nov 7) as well as in the Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Forthcoming festival invitations include the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn and festivals in Tromsø and Göteborg.

Winning the festival’s Main Prize also gives Veledinsky and his producers the opportunity to return to Cottbus next year as part of Connecting Cottbus’ Special Pitch Award for them to...

Boost! is a cooperation between the Hubert Bals Fund, Iffr's CineMart, Binger Filmlab and Nfdc of India and supported by Media Mundus. Yearly five projects selected for Hubert Bals Fund Script and Project Development support are offered the opportunity to further develop their project at Binger Filmlab as part of the Binger On Demand programme. At Binger Filmlab, the filmmakers are offered coaching based on the specific needs of the project and filmmaker. Strange but True by Michel Lipkes (Mexico) and Days of Cannibalism by Teboho Edkins (South Africa) are the final two Hbf supported projects that will receive a special coaching trajectory from the Binger Filmlab.

Strange but True tells the love story of two young trash collectors working under the despotic direction of Mr.Clean. Tragedy ensues when they find a corpse of a wealthy man and Mr. Clean takes terrible decisions.

Days of Cannibalism is a three-part feature film in three parts, stylistically a Western, set in contemporary Africa. It is a film about man-eat-man, from the business of globalised trade in China, to a band of smugglers in Lesotho to the violence of a cattle raid deep in the high mountains.

Selected earlier this year were:

Silver Shadow by Pablo Stoll (Uruguay/Argentina)

The Load by Ognjen Glavonic (Serbia)

The Fourth Direction by Gurvinder Singh (India)

Their first coaching sessions already took place in Berlin, Amsterdam and Mumbai. All Boost! projects will be presented at CineMart during the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where they will be offered special pitching and project development sessions prior to taking one-to-one meetings at the co-production market.

Boost!-project taking part in Rotterdam Lab 2013:

- The Fourth Direction / Gurvinder Singh / India

Check out Boost! on the Web

Additional Binger Filmlab News:

Eurimages is supporting Land. by writer/director Jan-Willem van Ewijk with Eur 230.000! Current Lab participant Meikeminne Clinckspoor has won 7 prices in the Cinekid Festival edition of the 48 hour project with Gewoon Ongewoon. Milo, by Berend and Roel Boorsma, has taken another prize: MovieSquad Best International Children’s Movie at the Cinekid Festival. Miro Bilbrough's Being Venice developed in the 2006 Writers Lab, had it's international premiere at The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg. Writers and Creative Producers Lab participants Arno Dierickx & Joram Willink have received support from the Netherlands Film Fund for their current lab project The Circle. Raf Reyntjes also received support for Paradise Trips from the Netherlands Film Fund. Parts of a Family by Diego Gutierrez Coppe, developed in the Binger Doc Lab, premiered at the Morelia Iff in Mexico. Niles Atallah and Lucie Kalmar have been granted a Production Award of Eur 70.000 at the Torino Film Lab Meeting Event for Rey.

A first look into what’s ahead from some of our favorite auteurs, 2013′s CineMart (held during the Int. Film Festival Rotterdam) boosts an impressive selection of projects from the likes of Argentina’s Lucrecia Martel (The Headless Woman) who’ll be lensing Zama – the adaptation of a period piece about Don Diego de Zama, a 17th-century official for the Spanish crown based in Asuncion del Paraguay, who awaits his transfer to the city of Buenos Aires. We’ve got Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos from Dogtooth and Alps fame, who the last time we spoke to mentioned how he was looking to break into English language film territory and we think The Lobster might be that first foray. Among the other Cannes Film Festival introduced filmmakers who’ll be seeking coin in Rotterdam we have Michael Rowe (Leap Year) who brings Rest Home, Alice Rohrwacher (Corpo celeste) who tackles Le Meraviglie,...

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has announced the complete list of Boost programme of CineMart 2013. New projects by Michel Lipkes (Mexico) and Teboho Edkins (South Africa) have been added to those by Pablo Stoll (Uruguay), Ognjen Glavonic (Serbia) and Gurvinder Singh (India) selected earlier this year. The Boost! progarmme is organized by Hubert Bals Fund, CineMart, Binger Filmlab and Nfdc of India supported by Media Mundus. Yearly five projects Read More...

What will the next year's festivals be showing? Look at what the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has selected for a preview: nineteen film projects will receive grants for script development, digital production, postproduction or workshops. In its Spring 2012 selection round, the Fund gives 260,000 Euro to projects from fifteen Asian, African and Latin-American and Eastern European countries. (See full list below)

In this selection round, the Fund welcomes promising first or second time feature film projects by Song Fang, Huang Ji (both China), Gurvinder Singh (India), Caroline Kamya (Uganda), Ognjen Glavonic (Serbia), Sebastian Hofmann (Mexico) and Eduardo Nunes (Brazil).

Supporting more experienced filmmakers, the Fund has selected projects from, among others, Pablo Stoll (Uruguay), Aditya Assarat (Thailand) and Tariq Teguia (Algeria).

The selection round also awards 5,000 Euro prize money for the Hubert Bals Fund Award, to be handed out to the most promising fiction project at the upcoming Durban FilmMart (20-23 July 2012), and a grant for the next Colón Workshop for Latin American filmmakers, partner organization of the Rotterdam Lab.

Postproduction

When finished in time, the films receiving Hbf postproduction grants are expected to screen at the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam.

After her short film 'Goodbye' (2009, awarded at Cannes’ Cinefondation), Chinese filmmaker Song Fang makes her feature debut with 'Memories Look At Me', a strikingly observed portrait of her Chinese family life.

DoP or editor of films by among others Fernando Eimbcke, Carlos Reygadas and Gerardo Tort, Sebastian Hoffman (Mexico) writes and directs his first feature film 'Halley', a contemporary gothic story that casts a compassionate look at the life of a zombie.

After 'Rome Rather Than You' (which premiered 2006 in Venice) and 'Inland', Tariq Teguia (Algeria) is working on his third feature film, 'Ibn Battuta' which follows a journalist on his investigative journey throughout North Africa and the Middle East. The project previously received a script development grant from the Hubert Bals Fund.

Digital production

This round, digital production support goes to acclaimed filmmakers Yang Heng (China) and Riri Riza (Indonesia). Yang’s previous works are 'Betelnut' (New Currents Award in Busan and Hivos Tiger Award competitor in 2010) and 'Sun Spots' (also supported by the Hubert Bals Fund). In his 'Lake August' he continues to portrait young adults’ life in his home province. Experienced film maker, producer and writer Riza ('Eliana, Eliana' 2002) situates his new film 'Atambua 39° Celsius' among a family separated from their relatives following the independence of the state of Eastern Timor in 2002.

Script development

The ten grants for script development support both upcoming and experienced filmmakers. Huang Ji (China) works on 'Foolish Bird', the second installment of the trilogy she started with her feature debut and Hivos Tiger Award-winning 'Egg and Stone'.

Ognjen Glavonic (Serbia) writes his first feature film, 'The Load'. Set in Serbia during the Nato bombings in 1999, the film follows the driver of a freeze truck. He does not want to know what the load is, but the cargo slowly becomes his burden.

Alex Piperno (Mexico) prepares his first feature project 'Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine', in which a ship crew member discovers a solitary girl behind a mysterious door.

Caroline Kamya (Uganda) works on her second feature film, 'Hot Comb' in which two school girls from different backgrounds become close. Her debut feature 'Imani' premiered in Berlin.

Furthermore, the Fund supports the script development of new projects by two experienced filmmakers: Pablo Stoll (Uruguay) whose ‘3’ was launched at CineMart and received its premiere this year in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, writes and produces his next project 'Silver Shadow'; Aditya Assarat (Thailand), Hivos Tiger Award winner for 'Wonderful Town', prepares 'The White Buffalo' also presented at this year’s CineMart.

The line up of the Iffr’s Hubert Bals Fund Spring 2012 Selection Round in full:

Post-production funding or final-financing

Halley; Sebastian Hofmann; Mexico

Ibn Battuta; Tariq Teguia; Algeria

Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses; Yosep Anggi Noen; Indonesia

Poor Folk; Midi Z; Myanmar

Memories Look At Me; Song Fang; China

Digital production

Atambua 39° Celcius; Riri Riza; Indonesia

Lake August; Yang Heng; China

Script and projectdevelopment

Foolish Bird; Huang Ji; China

The Fourth Direction; Gurvinder Singh; India

A Happy Death; Eduardo Nunes; Brazil

Hot Comb; Caroline Kamya; Uganda

Leave It For Tomorrow, For Night Has Fallen; Jet Leyco; Philippines

The Load; Ognjen Glavonic; Serbia

The Sigbin Chronicles; Joanna Vasquez Arong; Philippines

Silver Shadow; Pablo Stoll; Uruguay

The White Buffalo; Aditya Assarat; Thailand

Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine; Alex Piperno; Uruguay

Workshops

Durban FilmMart; South Africa, Hubert Bals Fund Award

Xiii Colón Workshop for Latin American Filmmakers; Argentina

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 onwww.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/webshop (VOD for viewers in the Benelux only).

Gurvinder Singh

Gurvinder Singh, National Award winning director (Anhey Ghore Da Daan) has been selected to receive Hubert Bals Fund Spring 2012 for his next project ‘The Fourth Direction’.

The Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) has selected nineteen film projects that receive grants for script development, digital production, postproduction or workshops. In its Spring 2012 selection round, the Fund offers 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.

Gurvinder Singh will receive the fund in Script and Project development category.

‘The Fourth Direction’ combines two short stories by well-known Punjabi writer Waryam Singh Sandhu, in the backdrop of the movement for a Sikh separatist state in the 1980s.