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Exclusive: More partners have joined Ard’s German political thriller series Dangerous Truth (Das Zweite Attentat).

Munich-based distributor OneGate Media and Bravado Equity, a subsidiary of Eric Welbers’ Bravado Media, have boarded as global distributor and gap financier, respectively. They join co-production partners Eikon Media, Wdr and Ard Degeto Film along with Deal Productions in Luxembourg for Ard.

Inspired by true events that took place in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the six-part, German-language drama centers around 35-year-old Alexander Jaromin, who for 20 years has been living with his mother in Athens under assumed identities in the witness protection program of the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bka) after his father and sister were killed in a terrorist attack. Tormented by the unknown, Alexander begins a desperate search to uncover the truth and soon finds himself under the close watch of the Federal Intelligence Service, with his...

Exclusive: German actor Saralisa Volm makes her directorial debut with mystery thriller The Silent Forest, which is premiering tonight at the Berlin Film Festival in the Perspektive Deutsches section. Here’s an exclusive clip from the film.

The film is based on Wolfram Fleischhauer’s novel The Forest Stands Silent, about a trainee forester who sees parallels between a murder in the Upper Palatine Forest and the unsolved death of her father 20 years earlier. Fleischauer adapted the screenplay. It stars Henriette Confurius (Tribes Of Europa), Noah Saavedra, Robert Stadlober and August Zirner.

It’s produced by Volm’s Poison alongside Ingo Fliess’ if…Productions. Blue Fox is handling international sales for the title, excluding German-speaking Europe, where Arte will release.

Blue Fox’s US distribution arm plans late 2022 US release.

US sales outfit Blue Fox Entertainment has boarded German actress Saralisa Volm’s feature directorial debut The Silent Forest, a mystery thriller that is premiering in Perspektive Deutsches Kino at the Berlinale.

The Silent Forest is based on Wolfram Fleischhauer’s novel The Forest Stands Silent about a trainee forester who sees parallels between a murder in the Upper Palatine Forest and the unsolved death of her father 20 years earlier. Fleischhauer adapted the screenplay.

Henriette Confurius from the Netflix show Tribes Of Europa stars wth Noah Saavedra, Robert Stadlober and August Zirner.

Marten Persiel’s dystopian road movie from the year 2054, “Everything Will Change,” has debuted its trailer ahead of its world premiere Friday at the 24th edition of the Zurich Film Festival, where it plays as part of the Focus Competition. TF1 Studio is handling global sales on the film.

The film is set in a dystopian 2054, following the extinction of all wildlife. Three young mavericks go on a journey to find traces of the lost beauty of nature, hoping to discover what happened to their planet. The answer they discover lies in a decade – the 2020s – when a bright future was still possible, but everything changed. “In this unusual road movie, fiction meets scientific fact to explore the most urgent issue of our time: the extinction of wildlife. The future is ours to choose,” according to a statement.

The cast includes Noah Saavedra, Jessamine-Bliss Bell, Paul G. Raymond, Wim Wenders and Markus Imhoof.

An aspiring dancer is devastated by survivor’s guilt after a shooting in a gay bar, in a topical film that takes on too many big issues

Here’s yet another film that falls disappointingly flat when the film-makers are more preoccupied with delivering topical messages than outlining nuanced characters. Why Not You tries hard to comment on a mosaic of issues – homophobia, addiction, Ptsd, religious extremism – yet ends up hollow and emotionally vapid.

The debut feature from Evi Romen, a seasoned film editor, the film’s visual flair sometimes makes up for the jumbled plot, which follows Mario (Thomas Prenn), an aspiring queer dancer at odds with his conservative community in the primarily German-speaking South Tyrol, Italy. With a penchant for wigs and nail polish, he dreams of bigger cities and the personal freedom they promise. Tragedy strikes on a trip to a gay bar in Rome with Lenz...

Three friends living in a dystopian 2054 go in search of traces of the world before environmental disaster struck.

French sales outfit TF1 Studio is launching sales on German director Marten Persiel‘s hybrid environment-focused drama Everything Will Change.

Set in the dystopian world of 2054, it follows three friends who go on an adventure-filled road trip in search of long-lost traces of the 2020s, a time when the planet was still beautiful, but on the verge of an ecological drama.

Persiel is best known internationally for his award-winning documentary This Ain’t California, about skateboarding culture in the 1980s Gdr, which...

And Tomorrow The Entire World, the engaged latest film from writer-director Julia von Heinz, is something close to transfixing, as it zeroes in on the vital distinction between being a weekend radical and a truly committed game-changer. Germany’s Best International Feature Film Oscar entry made an impression at last year’s Venice Film Festival and should connect strongly with younger audiences in many parts of the world.

Although none the director’s previous four features (she’s also worked in television) have made a mark internationally, the sheer energy and sense of mission in this breathlessly-paced, intimate drama will pull audiences right along with it, as it intently addresses the extent of personal commitment necessary for those who might want to make a difference in implementing change and keeping authoritarianism at bay — issues on the rise in places around the globe.

Employing a fleet visual style that keeps things...

Germany has become the latest country to make its submission for the 2021 International Oscar race, choosing Julia von Heinz’s political drama And Tomorrow the Entire World.

The film premiered at Venice Film Festival in Competition. It stars Mala Emde, Noah Saavedra, Tonio Schneider, Luisa-Céline Gaffron, Andreas Lust.

When Germany is struck by a violent series of racist terror attacks, 20-year-old Luisa joins a subdivision of the Antifa to oppose the uprising neo-Nazi movement. With her reckless actions, she not only fights against the extreme right but also tries to impress Alfa, an Antifa activist she is secretly in love with. Soon, things escalate, and Luisa and her friends clash over the question if violence could ever be a legitimate political answer to fascism and hatred.

Producers are Fabian Gasmia and von Heinz for Seven Elephant and John Quester for Kings & Queens. Films Boutique handles sales.

Germany was last...

Chicago – The Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) is competitive, and the 56th edition presented its awards on October 23rd, 2020, as a live virtual and online event on the Ciff YouTube page. The winner of the Gold Hugo as Best International Film was “Sweat” (France), directed by Magnus von Horn.

The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates Day Ten of the movie extravaganza, with films available for 2020 virtually and online. Click here for a complete how-to guide on navigating the 2020 Ciff. Go to Page Two for the schedule of October 23rd, 2020.

The awards were presented by the various jury members in each film category, and were hosted by Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, Managing Director Vivian Teng, as well as programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.

International Feature Film Competition

‘Sweat’

Photo credit: Chicago International Film...

In her debut feature film, “Why Not You,” writer-director Evi Romen explores the tragic consequences of a deadly attack in a gay club in Rome and the ostracization of outsiders in a small South Tyrolean community in northern Italy.

The story follows Mario, a troubled but artistic young man, portrayed by Thomas Prenn (“Biohackers”), who longs to leave his provincial village for the wider world. When the opportunity arises, he takes off to Rome with his best friend Lenz, an aspiring actor, played by Noah Saavedra (“And Tomorrow the Entire World”). Their new life comes to an abrupt end, however, when armed men storm a gay club where they are celebrating and open fire on the unsuspecting crowd, killing Lenz and many others. Forced to return to his village, Mario is racked by survivor guilt and weary of the growing intolerance in his community but finds help from Nadim (Josef Mohamed...

“And Tomorrow the Entire World” is a taut, headlong dive into a student Antifa commune in Berlin, whose residents gradually splinter over how to fight a rising tide of white supremacy. It was, per its press notes, originally conceived as a period piece by director Julia von Heinz, before she concluded that there was no need to do so. That her film feels at once bristlingly current and easily tethered to other eras is its blunt power: It finds room for the perspective of both fervent Generation Z activists and their jaded elders, who may support the cause but are aggrieved that the fight hasn’t changed since their day, and fear it never will. Politically resonant but also solidly effective as straightforward youth-in-revolt drama, this Venice competition entry could make the international impression that von Heinz’s previous features have not.

Having never previously been in the official selection of a major festival,...

It’s not easy to grab hold of Julia von Heinz’s And Tomorrow the Entire World (Und morgen die ganze Welt), an attempt to describe what motivates a young political activist of the German nobility to embrace the warm chaos of a social commune, where she mulls over the use of violence in the class struggle with like-minded souls. But life is not all politics, and conflicting feelings arise when she finds herself attracted to the coolest guy in the house, Alfa (Austrian actor Noah Saavedra), who like her appears to be college-educated and bisexual.

Viewers of this Venice competition title are ...

It’s not easy to grab hold of Julia von Heinz’s And Tomorrow the Entire World (Und morgen die ganze Welt), an attempt to describe what motivates a young political activist of the German nobility to embrace the warm chaos of a social commune, where she mulls over the use of violence in the class struggle with like-minded souls. But life is not all politics, and conflicting feelings arise when she finds herself attracted to the coolest guy in the house, Alfa (Austrian actor Noah Saavedra), who like her appears to be college-educated and bisexual.

Viewers of this Venice competition title are ...

"Back then it was about the big picture. Not this small fry." An official festival promo trailer has debuted for a provocative German film titled And Tomorrow The Entire World, also known as Und Morgen die Ganze Welt. This will be premiering at the Venice Film Festival next week. The very timely film is about a German woman who joins the Antifa movement as a left-wing activist to fight Nazis. But she deals with the struggle of being non-violent, and starts to wonder "if violence could ever be a legitimate political answer to fascism and hatred." Starring Mala Emde, Noah Saavedra, Tonio Schneider, Luisa-Céline Gaffron, and Andreas Lust. "This is not only a story about the strong division running through Germany, but about the one running through our entire Western society." This is easily one of my most anticipated films that's premiering in Venice, and I'm very curious to see how the story plays out.

A young activist joins Antifa in And Tomorrow The Entire World, the new film from German director Julia von Heinz.

In the first international trailer for the film (see below), we meet Louisa (Mala Emde), a rich girl who falls in with a collective of Antifa activists. The group’s mission, to fight the rise of neo-Nazis across Germany, initially appeals to Louisa and she gets drawn deeper in. Not least because of her growing attraction to Alfa (Noah Saavedra), one of the group’s leaders. But as the group begins to carry more violent, and illegal, actions, Louisa has to ...

A young activist joins Antifa in And Tomorrow The Entire World, the new film from German director Julia von Heinz.

In the first international trailer for the film (see below), we meet Louisa (Mala Emde), a rich girl who falls in with a collective of Antifa activists. The group’s mission, to fight the rise of neo-Nazis across Germany, initially appeals to Louisa and she gets drawn deeper in. Not least because of her growing attraction to Alfa (Noah Saavedra), one of the group’s leaders. But as the group begins to carry more violent, and illegal, actions, Louisa has to ...

The late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson is set to return posthumously at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival with the world premiere of a project he directed himself, “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton. The movie is one of several titles announced for Berlinale 2020 ahead of the full lineup reveal later this month. Additional titles heading to Berlin in February include Matteo Garrone’s “Pinocchio,” Nanette Burstein’s “Hillary,” Agnieszka Holland’s “Charlatan,” and Jia Zhang-ke’s “Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue.” Television projects from Jason Segal and Damien Chazelle will also be screened in the Berlinale Series program.

Jóhannsson scored back to back Oscar nominations for Best Original Score in 2015 and 2016 thanks to his music for “The Theory of Everything” and “Sicario.” The latter was one of several collaborations between Jóhannsson and Denis Villeneuve. Jóhannsson’s other score credits include Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” and “Arrival,” plus “Mandy” and “The Mercy.

Eight international series to be showcased at the Efm at the Berlinale 2020.

The first two episodes of the Paris-set The Eddy, directed by Damien Chazelle for Netflix, UK romantic comedy Trigonometry, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari for the BBC and HBO, and Stateless, co-created by and starring Cate Blanchett for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, will all world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival’s 2020 Berlinale Series strand.

Formerly known as Drama Series Days, Berlinale Series is open to the public and runs from February 24-16. A further six international series are also being showcased. All are world premieres apart from...

The Berlin Film Festival’s sixth Berlinale Series lineup will include Damien Chazelle’s anticipated Paris-set musical-drama The Eddy for Netflix, Jason Segel’s starry AMC series Dispatches From Elswehere, buzzy Cate Blanchett project Stateless and BBC-HBO Max show Trigonometry.

Moonlight star André Holland leads cast in The Eddy, about a French club owner dealing with the everyday chaos of running a live music venue in the heart of Paris. The festival will show the world premiere of the show’s first two episodes.

The compact, high-quality lineup also includes German-language drama Freud. Scroll down for the lineup in full and details about each show.

This is the first program for new Berlinale Series head Julia Fidel who previously worked on the festival’s Panorama and Generation strands. The dramas will screen at the Zoo Palast cinema, which will also host the Berlinale Series Market, formerly known as Drama Series Days.

"If you can survive this, nothing can kill you." The Match Factory has debuted an official promo trailer for the German indie drama O Beautiful Night, which is premiering at the Berlin Film Festival this month. The film marks the feature debut of Xaver Böhm, and it's a highly saturated, neon-lit, poetic journey into the existential realm. The plot is about a guy named Juri who encounters Death one night, who takes him on an Alice in Wonderland-esque trip upon which he falls in love with a woman named Nina. Noah Saavedra stars as Juri, Vanessa Loibl as Nina, and Marko Mandic as Death. I've already been hearing good things about this film at the festival, and this trailer definitely shows some promise. It seems a bit over-stylized at first, but I dig the existential dread and the trippy footage they share in this tease. Keep an eye on this one.

Exclusive: Here’s an intriguing first trailer for Berlin Film Festival comedy-drama O Beautiful Night, which is produced by Toni Erdmann and Western outfit Komplizen Film and sold at the Efm by key European arthouse firm The Match Factory.

Xaver Böhm’s fun-looking feature debut, whose trailer has hints of Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismäki, follows angsty character Juri. Although he’s young, Juri lives in constant fear of dying. Nightly panic attacks for him are routine, but one night he meets a dark figure who claims to be Death incarnate. So begins a bizarro Faustian trip together through the night, during which Juri meets Nina and falls in love with her. But come dawn, one of them must die. Böhm scripts the German-language pic with Ariana Berndl.

Starring are Noah Saavedra (Egon Schiele: Death and the Maiden), Marko Mandic and Vanessa Loibl. Producers are Toni Erdmann writer-director Maren Ade...

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, “mid90s,” about a 13-year-old skateboarder’s coming of age, and a documentary on influential film critic Pauline Kael are among the works that will screen in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.

Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.

“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...

Swiss cinema is to be put in the spotlight in Mexico and Brazil over the next two years.

At the Locarno Film Festival (Aug 5-15), Swiss Films’ MD Catherine Ann Berger revealed details to ScreenDaily about how Switzerland will be a guest country at next year’s Guadalajara Film Festival (March 4-13) against the backdrop of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Switzerland.

“To begin with, we will have a historical retrospective of Swiss cinema in the Cineteca in Mexico City this December, and then in March, there will be a programme in Guadalajara of Swiss films from the past two, three years,” Berger explained.

“In addition, there will be an industry dimension with co-production meetings and the opportunities for professionals from both countries to meet and discuss partnerships,” she added, pointing out that the focus in Mexico will be the first major project of its kind that she is preparing since coming to Swiss...