News

A lawsuit brought by Nicola Adams’ mother over her Prime Video documentary “Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story” has been tossed out of court after the judge found it had “no real prospect” of success.

Adams’ mother Denver Sorsetra Adams, known as Dee, filed the suit in London’s High Court against Prime Video U.K. owner Amazon Digital U.K., alleging libel and misuse of private information, two years ago.

The documentary about Adams, who was the first woman ever to win a boxing Olympic gold and the first “Strictly Come Dancing” contestant to participate as part of a same-sex couple, was released on Prime Video in Nov. 2021. It was directed by Helena Coan and produced by Salon Pictures and Rep Productions.

Earlier this year Amazon applied to have the suit dismissed without trial. On Friday Deputy High Court Judge Susie Alegre handed down her judgment agreeing that both facets...

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution has acquired worldwide sales rights for six features including footballer documentary Defoe.

Directed by James Ross, Defoe follows now-retired football star Jermain Defoe as he re-evaluates his roots, career and controversies, and explores future ambitions.

The completed film includes interviews with Defoe’s colleagues including manager Harry Redknapp and teammates Peter Crouch and Joe Cole. Kaleidoscope will conduct a single-day theatrical release in the UK on February 29.

Sales are underway on Defoe at this week’s EFM where Kaleidoscope is screening three completed acquisitions.

Andrew Gallimore’s One Night In Millstreet revisits the 1990s boxing match that...

As readers know, I'm a champion of the unsung gems of any film festival - the shorts. It's not just about filmmakers' calling cards, it's a film form too often forgotten. Given how we're inundated more with shorter forms via platforms such as Youtube and TikTok, maybe we need to all take more time with shorts - it's arguably harder to make a story work in a shorter time, when you need to get your ideas across faster. This can spark great ingenuity and creativity. The Slash filmfestival is on now in Austria; the Méliès Competition highlights some of the best short films in Europe, and below you'll find reveiws of the festival's selections for 2022. Blood Rites (UK). Directed by Helena Coan. Three teenage...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"She told me she wanted to be world champion - I didn't tell her she couldn't." Gravitas has unveiled the official US trailer for an indie documentary called Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story, telling the story of Olympic Gold Medalist Nicola Adams OBE. This is arriving in the US on VOD starting this April, for those interested in learning more about her story. Adams became the first woman ever to win an Olympic Gold medal for boxing - initially at the London 2012 Olympics, then again at Rio 2016. Lioness is a feature-length biographical documentary of Nicola Adams OBE, the double Olympic and Wbo female boxing champion, and the first woman to ever represent England in boxing. She also became the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, after her win at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Quite a story! Looks good. Official trailer (+ poster) for Helena Coan's doc Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story,...

Lionsgate and Salon Pictures, the BAFTA-nominated production company behind films including “Audrey” and “Stardust,” are teaming to make a biopic of legendary female boxer Nicola Adams.

Billed as a coming of age story, “Hear Me Roar” will tell the rise of Adams, an undefeated Wbo champion and double Olympic gold medallist. Overcoming personal struggles, she ended up becoming the first woman to hold the Commonwealth, European, World, and Olympic boxing titles.

Helena Coan (“Audrey”) will direct the feature based on a screenplay by Charlie Josephine (“Bitch Boxer”). The project has Adams’ full participation.

Coan recently directed “Lionness,” a documentary about Adams, in collaboration with Salon Pictures, which was snapped up by Amazon Prime Video.

“We really enjoyed making the Amazon Original documentary of Nicola, and were keen to make a scripted dramatization of Nicola’s story,” Salon Pictures’ Nick Taussig said: “It feels extraordinarily timely – she battles childhood hardship and adversity,...

Austria Selects Great Freedom For Oscars

Austria has selected Sebastian Meise’s Great Freedom as its official submission for Best International Feature Film for the 94th Academy Awards. Set in post-war Germany, the movie tells the story of Hans who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer. The film stars Franz Rogowski (Victoria) and Berlinale Silver Bear awardee Georg Friedrich (The Piano Teacher) in leading roles, with a screenplay by Thomas Reider and Meise. Producers are Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. The 2021 Cannes entry and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner will be released by Mubi theatrically in the U.S. and UK on March 4, 2022. Meanwhile, per the Japanese Filmmakers Federation, Japan has...

Exclusive: Lioness, the feature documentary about Olympic boxing champions Nicola Adams that Deadline first revealed in February, will be launched by Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland this summer.

The project will chart Adams’ rise from the streets of Leeds to being a boxing champion as well as a notably rare LGBT sports figure. Adams has been a full participant. It comes from producers Salon Pictures, the company behind McQueen, and director Helena Coan, whose credits include Audrey. Nick Taussig and Annabel Wigoder are producing with Laure Vaysse of Rep Productions (Billie). Film Constellation is handling international sales.

“Nicola is a trailblazer and her story is one that will inspire audiences of all backgrounds,” said Martin Backlund, Head of Content, UK Prime Video. “Lioness examines Nicola’s life spent fighting fierce competitors, prejudice and adversity and her determination to never give up. We couldn’t be happier to share her story,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg)

Superlatives are fatuous, but Mads Mikkelsen’s final dance in Another Round was possibly one of the finest scenes of the year. It is here that Thomas Vinterberg tips his hand: in turns devastating and rambunctious, his latest neither glorifies nor condemns the magic––and sorrows––of day-drinking, but conjures a surprisingly sober study of a midlife crisis, climaxing in this moment of blissful catharsis. As a character-defining moment, it’s up there with Denis Lavant’s pirouettes at the end of Claire Denis’ Beau Travail. – Leonardo G.

Where to Stream: Hulu

Audrey (Helena Coan)

Despite her status as one of the most iconic movie stars in history,...

Exclusive: Nicola Adams, the Olympic boxing champion and LGBT icon, will be the subject of feature documentary Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story.

The project comes from Salon Pictures, the producers of the BAFTA nominated fashion doc McQueen, and director Helena Coan, whose credits include Audrey, about the screen icon. Salon’s Nick Taussig and Annabel Wigoder are producing with Laure Vaysse of Rep Productions (Billie).

The movie is now in production and Film Constellation has boarded sales ahead of the European Film Market, with UK rights already having been snapped up.

The film will chart Adams’ rise from the streets of Leeds to being a boxing champion as well as a notably rare LGBT sports figure. Adams has been a full participant in the project.

“I hope this documentary will help inspire young people to realise that whatever adversities life might throw at you, you can overcome them,” said Adams.

My fascination with Audrey Hepburn began in my late childhood. Although I was intrigued by the lithe beauty I had seen in My Fair Lady (a staple in my household growing up) I had never approved of the way that man yelled at her. But one day I went to the video rental store and saw her decked in bright diamonds, holding the longest cigarette holder I had ever seen. No one better yell at her in this one, I hoped. After watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s I devoured Hepburn’s filmography quickly. I couldn’t explain what was this strange hold she had on me, but it remains, to the point where I have a tattoo of her as Holly Golightly on my left upper arm.

The spell she cast on film lovers is evident in her work, but the spell has never been better dissected than in Audrey, the documentary by Helena Coan,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Audrey (Helena Coan)

Despite her status as one of the most iconic movie stars in history, one can’t help but root for the girl at the center of Audrey, who dreams of nothing more than to find peace and love. The girl is, of course, Audrey Hepburn, a movie star from a time when pictures were made around personas, and a change of hairstyle could easily turn into a global phenomenon. Hepburn’s name conjures visions of diamonds, sophistication, and effortless grace. Perhaps even the girl who had it all if we want to navigate in tropes, but what Helena Coan’s documentary achieves is that it doesn...

Unlike many of the leading lights from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Audrey Hepburn’s star shines as brightly now as it did during her heyday in the 1950s and 60s. Not only did she win an Oscar at 24 for her first major Hollywood movie, 1953’s “Roman Holiday,” she was also nominated for 1954’s “Sabrina,” 1959’s “The Nun’s Story,” 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and 1967’s “Wait Until Dark.” The lithe, lanky Hepburn, who died in 1993 at the age of 63, was also a fashion icon and muse of Givenchy. She was a beloved humanitarian, who was a Goodwill Ambassador to Unicef and traveled tirelessly worldwide to call attention to the organization’s lifesaving programs.

She is the subject of a new documentary “Audrey,” currently on DVD and available on digital and VOD on Jan. 5. Besides clips from her films and vintage interviews with Hepburn, the documentary includes interviews with her son...

New Indie

The critically-acclaimed “Aviva” (Outsider/Strand) casts both male and female dancers as both of the romantic leads, throwing out conventions of gender and sexuality in a love story that features some gorgeous choreography. Boaz Yakin’s film was programmed at the 2020 SXSW festival, and the Blu-ray features behind-the-scenes footage of dance rehearsals.

Also available: Stand-up Steve Byrne wrote and directed the comics-on-the-road saga “The Opening Act” (Rlje Films), featuring such industry vets as Jimmy O. Yang, Alex Moffat, Cedric the Entertainer, Bill Burr, and Whitney Cummings; “Buddy Games” (Saban/Paramount) stars Josh Duhamel and Dax Shepard in an ensemble comedy about estranged friends enduring a ridiculous competition for a $150,000 prize; a newly sober carpenter tries to build a home and establish a life in “Major Arcana” (Gde/Kino Lorber).

New Foreign

Melina León’s Cannes fave “Song Without a Name” (Film Movement), about an indigenous woman trying to...

Despite her status as one of the most iconic movie stars in history, one can’t help but root for the girl at the center of Audrey, who dreams of nothing more than to find peace and love. The girl is, of course, Audrey Hepburn, a movie star from a time when pictures were made around personas, and a change of hairstyle could easily turn into a global phenomenon. Hepburn’s name conjures visions of diamonds, sophistication, and effortless grace. Perhaps even the girl who had it all if we want to navigate in tropes, but what Helena Coan’s documentary achieves is that it doesn’t need sensationalism or shock to make us recognize ourselves in a figure who was truly larger than life. On the screen perhaps.

With a height of 5’7 and weighing a little over 100 lbs. Hepburn’s waifish look defied what Hollywood considered the ideal female heroine.

Her delicate beauty and starring roles made her seem fragile. But having endured an unloving mother and a perilous childhood under Nazi occupation, such an impression belied Hepburn’s remarkable strength, compassion and resolve

“Very alert, very smart, very talented, very ambitious.” That was the director William Wyler’s verdict after watching a screen test for Roman Holiday by a young chorus girl called Audrey Hepburn in 1951. She got the part, won an Oscar and the rest is history. For decades, Hepburn has been adored for her graceful beauty and style. But somehow, the “smart”, “talented” and “ambitious” woman Wyler described never makes it into the books about her enduring charm with titles such as How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way. Now a new documentary, Audrey, gives us a more complex picture of the woman.

Directed by Helena Coan, the film features never-before-seen archive footage of Hepburn alongside...

Unseen footage in new documentary reveals the private pain that lay behind a public image that came to epitomise grace and beauty

She was once the most publicly adored woman in the world, yet felt a deep lack of love in her private life. Now a new film about Audrey Hepburn, the first made with the consent of her family, reveals her extraordinary sadness and pain as she candidly discusses the traumas inflicted by her father, her marriages and her miscarriages.

Audrey, a documentary by 26-year-old British film-maker Helena Coan, comes from the producers of the Bafta-nominated McQueen, about the life of fashion designer Alexander McQueen, and is packed with revelations about one of the most enduring of all Hollywood’s stars.

Audrey Hepburn, the legendary actress and Unicef ambassador seemed to be born to be a star, first dazzling audiences in her Oscar-winning debut Roman Holiday, but there was something hidden beneath the surface of her ethereal visage. Director Helena Coan explores Hepburn’s eventful life in the new documentary Audrey, the first trailer for which has arrived today ahead of a December release.

Audrey conveys the life story of the movie star and survivor of Nazi occupation of Holland, which shaped her worldview to always strive to be kind to everyone regardless of social standing, race, and creed. The film traces her parents’ separation, her inability to become a ballet dancer, to the disintegration of both of her marriages, and much more.

The film includes interviews from many members of her family, including her son Sean Hepburn-Ferrer, her granddaughter Emma Ferrer, and with the artistic director of Givenchy, Clare Waight Keller,...

Jury and finalists selected for 16 Days 16 Films initiative.

The jury and finalists have been revealed for 16 Days 16 Films, the European short film initiative aimed at addressing issues around gender, equality and discrimination.

Bafta-winning actress Thandie Newton, Mustang writer-director Alice Winocour and Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker are among the jury members who will award one winner and two runners-up with cash and filmmaking support prizes.

The 16 selected films (see below) will each stream for one day from November 25 to December 10 through the social channels of Modern Films and the Kering Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Kering group, chaired...

Exclusive: Good Deed Entertainment has taken U.S. rights to a new feature documentary about screen icon Audrey Hepburn. Audrey, which is produced by Salon Pictures and distributed by Xyz Films’ documentary division, has also been picked up by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group internationally.

The documentary, slated for a 2020 North American theatrical release, is directed by Helena Coan, who recently directed Chasing Perfect, the feature doc about car designer Frank Stephenson.

Audrey tells the story of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady star who went from being a malnourished child, estranged from her father, growing up in war-torn Europe to a Hollywood superstar. It tells of her many heartbreaks, concealed by her picture-perfect image and how she left Hollywood to follow her heart, finding her passion in humanitarian work, and meeting the man she would spend the rest of her life with.

The film will...

"It's very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve perfection." 1091 Media has unveiled the official trailer for an indie documentary titled Chasing Perfect, a profile of the famous car designer Frank Stephenson. Not everyone knows his name, but you probably do know the cars he has designed: the Mini Cooper, Ferrari F430, Fiat 500, and a number of slick McLaren cars (that none of us can afford to own). In 2008, Autoblog called Stephenson "one of most influential automotive designers of our time". The doc is a retrospective of his work and life, giving us an inside look at his techniques, while also showing us the life he lives which influences him and his career. This looks like a fun doc. The trailer ends with a big twist, too! Check this out. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Helena Coan's doc Chasing Perfect, direct from YouTube: A singular, charming portrait of Frank Stephenson,...