News

Usman Riaz’s Annecy selection “The Glassworker” has unveiled its first trailer. The film will also screen at the Cannes Film Market and has set a date for theatrical release in Pakistan.

The animated film will debut in Annecy’s Contrechamp strand. Targeting family audiences, the film is set in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan, telling the story of young Vincent and his father Tomas, who run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young talented, violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son. It is is the first hand-drawn animated feature from Pakistan.

The voice cast includes Art Malik (“Man Like Mobeen”), Sacha Dhawan (“Wolf”), Anjli Mohindra (“The Lazarus Project”) and Tony Jayawardena (“Ackley Bridge”). It...

So the book today is all kinds of things – source of an animated romantic comedy , compared to Seinfeld, a new 2023 collection of the work of the cartoonist behind Wrinkles and The House . What it isn’t, though, is a single thing.

Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas doesn’t explain itself. But it collects Paco Roca comics in three sections and has three copyright dates – 2011, 2014, 2017 – which three sections are somewhat different in style and format and concerns. And it says, here and there, that these comics originally appeared in Spanish publications, I think always weekly, at those times.

I’ll note, here, that all of the reviews I’ve seen of it focus most tightly on that first section, making me wonder if Publishers Weekly and all the rest only flipped through the back half of the book.

The strips here feature a cartoonist, happy with his life as he...

This is a 2004 graphic novel – should I say bande dessinée? Roca is Spanish, but my sense is the term is used generally across Europe – that the creator’s afterword notes was tweaked a bit for subsequent publications, finalized in 2009. This English translation – which Roca might have kibitzed on, as his afterword talks a lot about kibitzing on the French and Spanish and other editions in the first years – was done by Jeff Whitman for a 2017 American publication.

So it’s older that it might look, but maybe not entirely so. The original work is about two decades ago now, but I’m not sure Roca didn’t touch it, one last time, before this edition.

The Lighthouse is one of Paco Roca’s earliest works, I think, but that picture is muddy. He’s been translated out of sequence here in North America, with The House from 2005 only arriving in...

Exclusive: Emmy award-winning Indian producer Apoorva Bakshi (Delhi Crime) has boarded The Glassworker, Pakistan’s first ever Hayao Miyazaki-style animated feature, as an executive producer.

Bakshi, who is producing through her Awedacious Originals banner, joins a growing team of supporters of the ground-breaking 2D hand-drawn project, directed by Pakistan’s Usman Riaz and produced through his Karachi-based Mano Animation Studios.

Spanish animation producer Manuel Cristobal is also on board the project, while Paris-based sales agency Charades picked up international rights after it was presented as a work-in-progress at Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year. The film is currently in post-production and scheduled for delivery in August.

Set in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan, the film revolves around a father and son who run the finest glass workshop in the country but find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part.

A long-time...

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it’s often scarier as well. After all, it’s not unusual for real life mysteries and deaths to leave Hollywood in the dust when it comes to producing genuine fear. With that in mind, we’ve previously published a couple of lists celebrating some of the scariest documentaries ever made.

However, there’s no shortage of authentic scares when it comes to filmmaking, and that’s why we’re back with another list recommending six more scary documentaries that horror fans might enjoy. After all, whether you’re into true crime or paranormal investigations, there’s something for everyone when it comes to non-fiction thrills.

As usual, we’ll be abiding by a couple of rules when selecting our movies. First of all, no docs that have been previously featured on any of our lists. Second, we’ll be excluding mockumentaries like...

“Winnipeg, the Seed of Hope,” the Quirino Awards winner of a special call for projects made by La Liga – a joint venture of Argentina’s Animation!, Mexico’s Pixelatl and Spain’s Quirinos – will form part of a La Liga Annecy showcase featuring a bevy of the most anticipated animation titles from Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

One of Annecy’s Mifa market territory focuses, the La Liga spread bows Wednesday, June 17, online for delegates at Annecy, the world’s biggest animation event.

Adapting a graphic novel by Spain’s Laura Martel, “Winnipeg, Neruda’s Ship,” the project was initially created by Toni Marín, an executive producer on Ignacio Ferreras’ Annecy special distinction winner “Wrinkles,” based out of Barcelona’s La Ballesta.

Chile’s El Otro Film, France’s Marmitafilms and Spain’s 3 Doubles Producciones have boarded the project.

“Winnipeg, the Seed of Hope” tells a largely unknown true story — the odyssey of 2,200 Spanish refugees,...

While 2019’s home media releases ended on a quiet note, taking off the week of Christmas and New Year’s, this first Tuesday of 2020 is more than making up for it with an array of titles that should delight horror and sci-fi fans of all tastes. In terms of recent films, both Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, Travis Stevens’ Girl on the Third Floor are making their way to Blu-ray and DVD this week, Michael Beach Nichols' documentary Wrinkles the Clown is coming to DVD from Magnet Releasing, and Scream Factory is releasing Larry Fessenden’s take on Frankenstein—Depraved—as well.

Kino is showing some love to the sci-fi classic Doctor Cyclops, and Rlje Films is keeping busy with both The Shed and The Nightshifter this Tuesday. Other notable releases for January 7th include Trespassers, Cosmos, Dark Encounter, Mermaid Down, Savage Creatures, and Dark Light.

Depraved

The legend of Frankenstein...

One of my favorite films out of Fantastic Feast 2019 was the documentary Wrinkles the Clown. As opposed to Pennywise, Art the Clown, and the legion of grease-painted villains haunting the horror genre, Wrinkles is real. No seriously. You can call him right now at 407-734-0254 (although you’ll most likely get his voicemail). Wrinkles offers […]

The post Exclusive Interview with Wrinkles The Clown Director/Documentarian Michael Beach Nichols appeared first on Dread Central.

If two’s company then Navarre’s animation sector has officially become crowded with last week’s news that until-now Madrid-based animation production company The Thinklab will relocate their operations to the northern Spanish territory, joining already-established companies Apolo Films and Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat.

The region has started to attract animation and post-production firms in the past three years, with a 40% tax deduction for R&d investment.

“Animation really became part of our strategy in 2015, and in 2018 we really started seeing the results of that push,” Javier Lacunza, general manager of Navarre Culture, Sports and Leisure, explained to Variety.

“In the audiovisual sector, animation provides more stable employment, has longer production periods, and requires a fully digital competent workforce, making it an ideal infrastructure for employing young and highly skilled workers,” he went on.

Apolo Films animation studio is dedicated to the production, distribution and marketing of animated feature films based on well-known,...

Horror lovers looking for new scares after the release of It: Chapter 2 are in luck.

The trailer for the documentary Wrinkles the Clown was recently released, and it features a real-life clown eerily similar to It‘s Pennywise.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the story of Wrinkles went viral in 2015. The clown was featured in a Washington Post story that year, which reported that parents in Naples, Florida would pay him to scare their misbehaving children.

Wrinkles was then spotted at multiple points along the western coast of Florida, according to the Times, and went viral on social media...

Heads up on what's newly available to you this week. Links go to previous coverage / reviews here at Tfe.

DVD/Blu-Ray

• Bel Canto -Julianne Moore as an opera singer. It was barely released

• BlacKkKlansman - Spike Lee's best in ages. We think it might be competitive for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing nominations. Do you?

• Christopher Robin - Ewan McGregor stars as the boy all grown up revisited by Pooh, Tigger, and the Hundred Acre Woods gang.

• Incredibles 2 - The year's fourth biggest hit globally with 1.2 billion in the bank

• Loving Pablo - Penelope Cruz & Javier Bardem star in this drama about a journalist and a drug lord.

• Papillon - Rami Malek and Charlie Hunnam remake the Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen prison drama

• Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood - a salacious documentary about a man who allegedly secured same-sex sex for the movie stars of Old Hollywood.

Annecy, France—Much awaited, “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles” is produced by prominent Spanish animation producer Manuel Cristobal, producer of Ignacio Ferreras’ “Wrinkles,” at Sygnatia in co-production with The Glow Animation Studio and Dutch outfit Submarine. Producer and director Salvador Simó will unveil excerpts and diverse material illustrating the process of conception and production of this singular movie at Annecy’s Wip showcase.

“Buñuel” chronicles the days that surrealist Luis Buñuel spent in Spain’s remote mountains of Las Hurdes, shooting documentary “Land Without Bread,” regarded as one of his masterpieces, about the hardships of one of the poorest parts of Europe. The movie is an origins tale: a personal approach on Buñuel the man and artist,as he found his own voice, and social conscience and about his friendship with sculptor Ramón Acín who was able to finance “Land” after winning a lottery prize.

Simó is also developing his second solo feature,...

“I am so happy,” said Guillermo del Toro as he left the Academy Governors Ball clutching his Oscar, accepting hug after hug. The warmth in the room at Hollywood & Highland was palpable as he won the Oscar for Best Director, the fifth Latin American to do so, and celebrated four Oscar wins for the outsider fairy tale, the first fantasy film to win the Best Picture Oscar since “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” in 2004.

In 2007, Academy recognized the artistry and craftsmanship of the beloved Mexican transplant’s Spanish-language nominee “Pan’s Labyrinth” with six nominations and three wins. This year, voters responded to his English-language masterwork “The Shape of Water” with 13 nominations, leading the field, and four Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Production Design and Score.

It also helps that Fox Searchlight knows how to win Oscars. “Shape” marks their fourth Best Picture, including “Slumdog Millionaire,...

“I am so happy,” said Guillermo del Toro as he left the Academy Governors Ball clutching his Oscar, accepting hug after hug. The warmth in the room at Hollywood & Highland was palpable as he won the Oscar for Best Director, the fifth Latin American to do so, and celebrated four Oscar wins for the outsider fairy tale, the first fantasy film to win the Best Picture Oscar since “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” in 2004.

In 2007, Academy recognized the artistry and craftsmanship of the beloved Mexican transplant’s Spanish-language nominee “Pan’s Labyrinth” with six nominations and three wins. This year, voters responded to his English-language masterwork “The Shape of Water” with 13 nominations, leading the field, and four Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Production Design and Score.

Read More:It’s ‘The Shape of Water’ vs. ‘Get Out’ for Three Top Oscars, and Jordan Peele Will Win...

Peter Bradshaw recommends you head to the cinema to watch the Spanish animation Arrugas (Wrinkles). The English language version has Martin Sheen voicing Emilio, a retired bank manager who has been shuffled off to an elderly care home after developing Alzheimer's. Wrinkles, which is out in the UK on Friday, is a touching film that plays like the gentlest of prison dramas, says Peter Continue reading...

The Spanish Institute for Film and Audiovisual Arts (Icaa) a part of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, together with the American Cinematheque and Egeda (Audio-Visual Producers’ Rights Management Association) announce the 18th edition of Recent Spanish Cinema series that will showcase the most outstanding recent Spanish films at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, October 11 – 14, 2012.

This 2012 series will be kicked off with the special opening premiere of the official Spanish Entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards 2013, Blancanieves (Snow White) directed by Pablo Berger and starring Maribel Verdú, Inma Cuesta & Macarena García.

This edition is honored with the attendance of directors Pablo Berger (Blancanieves), Benito Zambrano (The Sleeping Voice) and Patricia Ferreira (The Wild Ones).

Join us for our 18th annual showcase of the wildest, sexiest new films from Spain - on the big screen at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Included in this year's lineup are the 2012 Goya Best Film winner No Rest For The Wicked, a searing neo-noir from director Enrique Urbizu, starring Jose Coronado; Alberto Rodriguez's crime drama Unit 7 and Fernando Gonzalez Molina's coming of age drama and romance I Want You (the sequel to Three Steps Above Heaven, a selection from last year's Recent Spanish Cinema), both starring Spanish star Mario Casas. Also included are Ignacio Ferreras' stunning animated feature Wrinkles, based on Paco Roca’s comic of the same title; The Wild Ones, an elegant triptych of coming-of-age tales and winner of four awards at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival; and 2011’s much-lauded, multiple-Goya winner The Sleeping Voice, starring Maria Leon, Inma Cuesta, from director Benito Zambrano.

In addition to the lineup, the series will screen the short film Wings by José Villalobos, the winning entry from the New Filmmakers from Spain short film contest, a competition for Spanish film students living in USA.

For further details on the schedule, please check the Recent Spanish Cinema website

Venue: 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Tickets: www.Fandango.com

Blancanieves (Snow White)

2012| Mama Films, Arcadia Motion Pictures, Motion Investment Group, Noodles Production|104 min.

Dir. Pablo Berger.

Cast: Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina, Inma Cuesta, Macarena García.

The Sleeping Voice (La Voz Dormida)

2011|Maestranza Films, Mirada Sur|128 min.

Dir. Benito Zambrano.

Cast: Inma Cuesta, María Leon, Marc Clotet, Daniel Holguín.

Unit 7 (Grupo 7)

2012|Atípica films, La Zanfoña Producciones, Sacromonte Films|96 min.

Dir. Alberto Rodríguez.

Cast: Mario Casas, Antonio de la Torre, Inma Cuesta.

Wrinkles (Arrugas)

2011|Perro Verde Films, Cromosoma |89 min.

Dir. Ignacio Ferreras

I Want You (Tengo Ganas De Ti)

2012|Zeta Audiovisual, Antena 3 Films|124 min.

Dir. Fernando González Molina.

Cast: Mario Casas, Clara Lago, María Valverde.

The Wild Ones (Els Nens Salvatges)

2012| Distinto Films, Aralan Films, La Femme Endormie Sarl |100 min.

Dir. Patricia Ferreira.

Cast: Marina Comas, Álex Monner, Albert Baró.

European Film Awards 2012: Best Animated Feature Film nominees announced The European Film Academy has announced the three nominees for the 2012 European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film. They are Tomáš Lu?ák’s Alois Nebel (Czech Republic / Germany / Slovakia), Ignacio Ferreras’ Arrugas / Wrinkles (Spain), and Peter Lord’s The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (UK / Us). (Image: Train in the darkness from Alois Nebel.) The black-and-white Alois Nebel, the Czech Republic’s entry for the 2012 Academy Awards, is described as a "tale about the hallucinations of a lonely train dispatcher at the Czechoslovak border." The Spanish Academy’s Goya Award [...]...

The July 19th start of Montreal's 16th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is drawing closer (it runs through August 7th), and the powers-that-be have announced the second wave of films along with a few selections from the new Axis section of the event.

Fantasia Announces The Satoshi Kon Award For Achievement In Animation + A New Section Dedicated To International Animation Cinema + Second Wave Title Announcements

The art of animation in its many forms and disciplines has always had a strong place at Fantasia. This year, the festival has decided to give the form its own permanent section: Axis. From social realism to mind-bending fantasy, all styles and sensibilities will be showcased, now on a greater scale than ever. Further, the festival is proud to be rechristening its animation jury prize as The Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation, named after the dear, departed visionary whose feature debut, Perfect Blue,...

No Rest for the Wicked (No habrá paz para los malvados) and the other winners for the 2012 Goya Awards (Premios Goyas) have been announced. The 26th Annual Goya Awards (Premios Goyas), presented by the Academia de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de España (Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences), is “Spain’s main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards.”

The full listing of the 2012 Goya Awards (Premios Goyas) winners is below.

Film

No habrá paz para los malvados (No Rest for the Wicked), Enrique Urbizu

Director

Enrique Urbizu, No habrá paz para los malvados (No Rest for the Wicked)

New Director

Kike Maillo, Eva

Original Screenplay

Enrique Urbizu and Michel Gaztambide, No habrá paz para los malvados (No Rest for the Wicked)

Adapted Screenplay

Angel de la Cruz, Ignacio Ferreras, Paco Roca and Rosanna Cecchini,...

Fernando Tejero, Salma Hayek, As Luck Would Have It No Rest For The Wicked, The Artist, Un Cuento Chino: Goya Award Winners Pt.1 Best Actor Daniel Brühl, Eva Antonio Banderas, The Skin I Live In Luis Tosar, Mientras duermes * José Coronado, No Rest for the Wicked Best Actress Verónica Echegui, Katmandu: un espejo en el cielo * Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In Inma Cuesta, The Sleeping Voice Salma Hayek, La Chispa de la vida / As Luck Would Have It Best Supporting Actor Juan Diego, 23-f: la película * Lluís Homar, Eva Juanjo Artero, No Rest for the Wicked Raúl Arévalo, Cousins Best Supporting Actress Goya Toledo, Maktub Maribel Verdú, De tu ventana a la mía Pilar López de Ayala, Intruders * Ana Wagener, The Sleeping Voice Best New Actor José Mota, As Luck Would Have It * Jan Cornet, The Skin I Live In Adrián Lastra, Cousins Marc Clotet, The Sleeping...

Elena Anaya, Antonio Banderas, The Skin I Live In No Rest For The Wicked Tops, Pedro Almodóvar Empty-Handed: Goyas 2012 Winners Best Film La Piel que habito / The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodóvar * No habrá paz para los malvados / No Rest for the Wicked, Enrique Urbizu La Voz dormida / The Sleeping Voice, Benito Zambrano Blackthorn. Sin destino / Blackthorn, Mateo Gil Best Foreign Film in the Spanish Language Boleto al paraíso (Cuba), Gerardo Chijona Miss Bala (Mexico), Gerardo Naranjo * Un cuento chino / Chinese Take-Away (Argentina), Sebastián Borensztein Violeta se fue a los cielos (Chile), Andrés Wood Best European Film Jane Eyre (United Kingdom), Cary Fukunaga Melancholia (Germany / Denmark / France), Lars von Trier * The Artist (France), Michel Hazanavicius Carnage (France), Roman Polanski Best Director Pedro Almodóvar, The Skin I Live In Benito Zambrano, The Sleeping Voice * Enrique Urbizu, No Rest for the Wicked Mateo Gil, Blackthorn Best New Director Paula Ortiz, De tu ventana a la mía...

The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito) and the other nominations for the 2012 Goya Awards (Premios Goyas) have been announced. The 26th Annual Goya Awards (Premios Goyas), presented by the Academia de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de España (Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences), is “Spain’s main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards.” The awards will be handed out on February 19, 2012 in Madrid, Spain.

The full listing of the 2012 Goya Awards (Premios Goyas) nominations is below.

Film

La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In), Pedro Almodovar

No habrá paz para los malvados (No Rest for the Wicked), Enrique Urbizu

La voz dormida (The Sleeping Voice), Benito Zambrano

Blackthorn. Sin destino (Blackthorn), Mateo Gil

Director

Pedro Almodovar, La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In)

Benito Zambrano, La voz dormida...

Let's be honest, the Best Animated Feature Film category is impossible to predict at this moment. Yes, a lot of critics enjoyed Rango, Rio and Puss in Boots and The Adventures of Tintin has already amassed $125.3 million overseas. They are definite contenders. Then you have those in-betweeners such as Winnie the Pooh and Kung Fu Panda 2. One notch lower and you have Cars 2. Even further down you have Gnomeo and Juliet, The Smurfs, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil and Mars Needs Moms!. But with all these films do we really have a film we can consider a front-runner? One that stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of the Oscar race? We must also consider we have the upcoming Aardman animated feature Arthur Christmas, Happy Feet Two, which is a sequel to a previous Best Animated Oscar winner and then the complete unknowns in foreign language contenders Alois Nebel,...

The big question was whether or not Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, Happy Feet Two and Mars Needs Moms were going to be accepted by the Academy for Best Animated Feature film contention considering all three are motion capture titles, and today that question has been answered as all three are among the eighteen features submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 84th Academy Awards.

The list is exactly as I currently have laid out in my Best Animated Feature predictions with the one exception being the previously unknown addition of a film titled Wrinkles (Arrugas), a Spanish-language animated film directed by Ignacio Ferreras and based on Paco Roca's name-sake graphic novel, published by Editions Delcourt. The Hollywood Reporter reviewed the film earlier this year at the San Sebastian Film Festival and opened their review saying it "imaginatively and sensitively explore one of...

Last week we broke out news about the international lineup for the official section of the 59th San Sebastian Film Festival. Today we receive word on the Spanish titles that would be showcased at this year's edition including the latest from Enrique Urbizu, Isaki Lacuesta and Nacho Vigalondo (see pic). Competing for the Golden Shell award at the official section we find: “No HABRÁ Paz Para Los Malvados (No Rest For The Wicked)” from Enrique Urbizu, starring José Coronado, Rodolfo Sancho, Helena Miquel and Juanjo Artero. The comeback of one of the most gripping Spanish film noir directors after an eight year absence.“Los Pasos Dobles (The Double Steps)” from Isaki Lacuesta, a fictional documentary taking its inspiration from the biography of French artist and author François Augiéras. The artist painted every inch of the walls of a military bunker in the desert and let it sink into the sand...