Foster took part in the Reykjavik festival’s panel discussion about women’s progress in the film industry.
Iceland’s ninth Stockfish Film Festival got a high-profile boost with Jodie Foster participating in the Reykjavik festival’s panel discussion about women’s progress in the film industry.
Foster, the US actress, producer and director, is in Iceland shooting the fourth season of True Detective, and she joined producer Marianne Slot and actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir in the discussion, led by the new artistic director of Stockfish, Lamb producer Hrönn Kristinsdóttir. Kristinsdóttir started the panel started by stating, “In year 2000 a study...
Iceland’s ninth Stockfish Film Festival got a high-profile boost with Jodie Foster participating in the Reykjavik festival’s panel discussion about women’s progress in the film industry.
Foster, the US actress, producer and director, is in Iceland shooting the fourth season of True Detective, and she joined producer Marianne Slot and actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir in the discussion, led by the new artistic director of Stockfish, Lamb producer Hrönn Kristinsdóttir. Kristinsdóttir started the panel started by stating, “In year 2000 a study...
- 4/4/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/21/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The Icelandic Film and Television Academy has selected Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s Beautiful Beings as Iceland’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 2023 Academy Awards.
The coming-of-age drama world premiered in Berlin Panorama this year, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label and then went on to play over 30 festivals, winning eight awards to date. It is currently selected for the European Film Awards’ longlist.
The feature is Guðmundsson’s second film after his award-winning debut feature Heartstone.
Set in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, the drama follows Addi, a teenage boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, who adopts a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits.
When the boys’ own aggressive behavior escalates toward life-threatening situations, Addi starts to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Will his newfound intuition guide him and his friends toward a safer path, or will they dive further into violence?...
The coming-of-age drama world premiered in Berlin Panorama this year, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label and then went on to play over 30 festivals, winning eight awards to date. It is currently selected for the European Film Awards’ longlist.
The feature is Guðmundsson’s second film after his award-winning debut feature Heartstone.
Set in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, the drama follows Addi, a teenage boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, who adopts a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits.
When the boys’ own aggressive behavior escalates toward life-threatening situations, Addi starts to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Will his newfound intuition guide him and his friends toward a safer path, or will they dive further into violence?...
- 9/20/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Lecturers include filmmakers Ragnar Bragason and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir.
After years of lobbying, Iceland is opening its first university-level filmmaking degree programme today.
Iceland University of the Arts is adding a filmmaking BA, with classes starting yesterday (August 29) for the first group of students.
The first 12 students, equally split between men and women, are a diverse group of Icelanders who range in age from 19 to 39. Some of them have prior filmmaking experience but that’s not a requirement for admission.
Steven Meyers, who is appointed the first head of the film department, told Screen: “The Icelandic industry has been calling for this program for years,...
After years of lobbying, Iceland is opening its first university-level filmmaking degree programme today.
Iceland University of the Arts is adding a filmmaking BA, with classes starting yesterday (August 29) for the first group of students.
The first 12 students, equally split between men and women, are a diverse group of Icelanders who range in age from 19 to 39. Some of them have prior filmmaking experience but that’s not a requirement for admission.
Steven Meyers, who is appointed the first head of the film department, told Screen: “The Icelandic industry has been calling for this program for years,...
- 8/30/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
After 25 years, Toronto International Film Festival Senior Programmer Steve Gravestock has decided to retire at the end of 2022.
Gravestock has overseen the organization’s Canadian programming initiatives, including the Canada’s Top Ten film selection and the year-round See the North program, a free showcase of homegrown classics. As a programmer for the festival, he has selected Canadian feature films since 2004 and was responsible for selections from the Nordic Region.
Many of the films he has programmed have been nominated for Academy Awards, including Petter Næss’s Elling, Mikael Håfström’s Evil, Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar, Susanne Bier’s In a Better World — which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011 — and Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World.
Gravestock has also overseen TIFF’s series of monographs on Canadian films in partnership with the University of Toronto Press. In 2005 he...
Gravestock has overseen the organization’s Canadian programming initiatives, including the Canada’s Top Ten film selection and the year-round See the North program, a free showcase of homegrown classics. As a programmer for the festival, he has selected Canadian feature films since 2004 and was responsible for selections from the Nordic Region.
Many of the films he has programmed have been nominated for Academy Awards, including Petter Næss’s Elling, Mikael Håfström’s Evil, Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar, Susanne Bier’s In a Better World — which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011 — and Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World.
Gravestock has also overseen TIFF’s series of monographs on Canadian films in partnership with the University of Toronto Press. In 2005 he...
- 6/6/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Valdimar Jóhannsson’s Lamb has been selected as Iceland’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2022 Academy Awards. Lamb, which debuted in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section and won its Prize of Originality is Jóhannsson’s first feature and is released domestically by A24. This past weekend, it hit the Top 10 for the second frame running at the North American box office, surging past $2M.
Jóhannsson co-wrote the screenplay with celebrated Icelandic poet Sjón. Noomi Rapace, who is also an executive producer, stars in the dark and malevolent folktale about a childless couple in rural Iceland who make an alarming discovery one day in their sheep barn and soon face the consequences of defying the will of nature.
Prior to its U.S. debut, Lamb took prizes at the Sitges Catalonian International Film Festival. Panda, the sheepdog in the movie, also shared the Palm Dog Awards’ Jury Prize in Cannes.
Jóhannsson co-wrote the screenplay with celebrated Icelandic poet Sjón. Noomi Rapace, who is also an executive producer, stars in the dark and malevolent folktale about a childless couple in rural Iceland who make an alarming discovery one day in their sheep barn and soon face the consequences of defying the will of nature.
Prior to its U.S. debut, Lamb took prizes at the Sitges Catalonian International Film Festival. Panda, the sheepdog in the movie, also shared the Palm Dog Awards’ Jury Prize in Cannes.
- 10/18/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
Scroll down for the full list
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.
- 11/26/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Only seven women have been nominated in the original score categories at the Oscars: Lynn Ahrens, Marilyn Bergman, Anne Dudley, Micachu, Angela Morley and Rachel Portman. Three — Bergman, Dudley and Portman — turned those nominations into victories. Bergman won in the now-defunct Original Song Score category back in 1984 for “Yentl,” sharing the prize with lyricist-husband Alan Bergman and composer Michael Legrand. Portman prevailed in 1997 for “Emma,” while Dudley won the following year for “The Full Monty.”
“Joker” composer Hildur Guðnadóttir could well be the first female contender for Best Original Score since Micachu, who was nominated in 2016 for “Jackie.” Before that, it was Portman who was last nominated – in 2000 for “Chocolat.” Guðnadóttir just won an Emmy for her score to the limited series “Chernobyl.” Portman picked up this same prize in 2015 for “Bessie.”
Guðnadóttir would be the fifth-ever Icelandic Oscar nominee. Friðrik Þór Friðriksson was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film...
“Joker” composer Hildur Guðnadóttir could well be the first female contender for Best Original Score since Micachu, who was nominated in 2016 for “Jackie.” Before that, it was Portman who was last nominated – in 2000 for “Chocolat.” Guðnadóttir just won an Emmy for her score to the limited series “Chernobyl.” Portman picked up this same prize in 2015 for “Bessie.”
Guðnadóttir would be the fifth-ever Icelandic Oscar nominee. Friðrik Þór Friðriksson was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film...
- 11/28/2019
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Hlynur Pálmason’s second feature has claimed the competition’s main prize, while Rúnar Rúnarsson was the recipient of the prestigious Interfilm Church Prize for Echo. “The Ndr Film Prize jury honours a film that explores the despair of a great loss with almost playful ease. In unusual, precise scenes, the characters interact as equals, displaying enormous strength and comedic elements. This is brave filmmaking, bolstered by breathtakingly inventive skill and powerful imagery.” This was the jury statement accompanying the Ndr Film Prize at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck, which was bestowed upon Hlynur Pálmason’s A White, White Day. The Nordic Film Days, held annually in November since 1956, is one of the few European festivals devoted entirely to presenting Nordic and Baltic films. Many directors whose features were presented in Lübeck have seen their careers skyrocket – names such as Bille August, Aki Kaurismäki and Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, among others.
Which film will follow on from ‘Roma’ in winning the prize?
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
- 9/25/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Which film will follow on from ‘Roma’ in winning the prize?
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
- 9/25/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir is brilliant in this jet-black comedy about a woman fighting to save the planet and adopt a child at the same time
To describe Benedikt Erlingsson’s sense of humour as “dry” is a bit like saying that things can get “chilly” as we get up towards the Arctic circle. Having conquered the theatre stages and TV screens of Iceland as a writer, director and performer, Erlingsson turned to feature films in 2013, where his brand of deadpan tragicomic humour once again struck a national nerve. His directorial feature debut, Of Horses and Men, earned several Icelandic academy Edda awards as it veered from quirky observation to bleak contemplation via a string of arrestingly surreal vignettes including an accidental human/equine three-way, and the sight of someone being pulled out of the body of a frozen horse.
Like its dramatic predecessor, Erlingsson’s latest offering was Iceland’s official...
To describe Benedikt Erlingsson’s sense of humour as “dry” is a bit like saying that things can get “chilly” as we get up towards the Arctic circle. Having conquered the theatre stages and TV screens of Iceland as a writer, director and performer, Erlingsson turned to feature films in 2013, where his brand of deadpan tragicomic humour once again struck a national nerve. His directorial feature debut, Of Horses and Men, earned several Icelandic academy Edda awards as it veered from quirky observation to bleak contemplation via a string of arrestingly surreal vignettes including an accidental human/equine three-way, and the sight of someone being pulled out of the body of a frozen horse.
Like its dramatic predecessor, Erlingsson’s latest offering was Iceland’s official...
- 5/5/2019
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.
Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.
Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.
Submitted films must be released theatrically...
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.
Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.
Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.
Submitted films must be released theatrically...
- 9/20/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Seven projects presented at Reykjavik-based film festival.
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the next film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the next film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
- 3/7/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Seven projects presented at Reykjavik-based film festival.
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
- 3/7/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Seven projects presented at Reykjavik-based film festival.
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
Seven forthcoming Icelandic film and TV projects were previewed at last week’s Stockfish Film Festival as short works-in-progress presentations.
They included feature debuts from two Columbia University film school graduates, Isold Uggadottir and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir; the fiction feature debut of documentarian Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (produced by Oscar nominated Fridrik Thor Fridriksson); and the new film from Rams producer Grimar Jonsson.
The seven projects presented were:
And Breathe Normally
Dir Isold Uggadottir, prod Skuli Malmquest of Zik Zak Filmworks
Uggadottir makes her feature debut with this drama about “two very different women from different countries and continents – a border patrol officer at airport and a migrant.” Set in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the story follows the women whose lives intersect briefly while they are trapped in unforeseen circumstances. The film is now finalizing sound and colour grading. Uggadottir met with African migrants living at a facility in [link...
- 3/7/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival or in native Estonian — PÖFF — winners were announced in one of the largest and most distinctive film events in Northern Europe.
The festival is a long one from November 11 to 27, 2016 to accomodate the public and it embraces a cluster of events, accommodating three full-blown sub-festivals (Animated Dreams, Just Film, Sleepwalkers) as well as international industry events bringing together filmmakers from all over the world.
The festival includes two international competition programs (Main Competition and First Features Competition), a traditional film festival program with documentaries and feature films as well as programs for short films, retrospectives and film related special events (concerts, exhibitions, talks and more).
The winners of this year’s festival are:
Main Competition Jury Members: Uberto Pasolini, Steen Bille, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Laura Birn, Kang Soo-Yeon, William Goldstei
Grand Prix for the Best Film (Bronze wolf statuette and a grant of 10,000 Euros, equally...
The festival is a long one from November 11 to 27, 2016 to accomodate the public and it embraces a cluster of events, accommodating three full-blown sub-festivals (Animated Dreams, Just Film, Sleepwalkers) as well as international industry events bringing together filmmakers from all over the world.
The festival includes two international competition programs (Main Competition and First Features Competition), a traditional film festival program with documentaries and feature films as well as programs for short films, retrospectives and film related special events (concerts, exhibitions, talks and more).
The winners of this year’s festival are:
Main Competition Jury Members: Uberto Pasolini, Steen Bille, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Laura Birn, Kang Soo-Yeon, William Goldstei
Grand Prix for the Best Film (Bronze wolf statuette and a grant of 10,000 Euros, equally...
- 11/29/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Iran’s Narges Abyar takes best director for Breath, Kadri Kõusaar’s Mother scoops best Estonian film.
Israeli feature A Quiet Heart has been awarded the grand prix for best film at this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 11-27).
The drama receives a prize of €10,000, which is shared between director Eitan Anner (Love & Dance) and producer Gal Greenspan, who made the film under his banner Green Productions.
The Jerusalem-set film follows a secular young woman who seeks refuge from her life as a concert pianist. Star Ania Bukstein took the best actress prize.
A jury comprised of Uberto Pasolini, Steen Bille, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Laura Birn, Kang Soo–Youn and William Goldstein issued a statement saying that the film was “an inspiring journey towards hope and courage”.
The event’s best director prize went to Iran’s Narges Abyar for her feature Breath, which tells the story of a family living in Iran in...
Israeli feature A Quiet Heart has been awarded the grand prix for best film at this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 11-27).
The drama receives a prize of €10,000, which is shared between director Eitan Anner (Love & Dance) and producer Gal Greenspan, who made the film under his banner Green Productions.
The Jerusalem-set film follows a secular young woman who seeks refuge from her life as a concert pianist. Star Ania Bukstein took the best actress prize.
A jury comprised of Uberto Pasolini, Steen Bille, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Laura Birn, Kang Soo–Youn and William Goldstein issued a statement saying that the film was “an inspiring journey towards hope and courage”.
The event’s best director prize went to Iran’s Narges Abyar for her feature Breath, which tells the story of a family living in Iran in...
- 11/28/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Rúnar Rúnarsson‘s drama premiered at last year‘s San Sebastian.
Members of Iceland’s Film and TV Academy have selected Rúnar Rúnarsson‘s Sparrows as its candidate for the 2017 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
The drama, about a 16-year-old boy whose big city lifestyle is disrupted when he is sent to live with his father in a small fishing village, premiered at San Sebastian Film Festival in 2015, winning the event‘s main prize, the Golden Shell.
The Iceland-Denmark-Croatia co-production was also nominated for 12 Edda Awards, Iceland‘s primary film awards.
Director Rúnarsson was previously Oscar-nominated in 2008 for his short film The Last Farm. His feature debut Volcano played at Cannes Film Festival‘s Directors‘ Fortnight in 2011.
Last year, Iceland submitted Grímur Hákonarson’s Rams to the Oscars, though the film did not receive a nomination.
Iceland has previously had one Oscar-nominated film in the Best Foreign Language category, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson‘s Children Of Nature in 1992.
Members of Iceland’s Film and TV Academy have selected Rúnar Rúnarsson‘s Sparrows as its candidate for the 2017 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
The drama, about a 16-year-old boy whose big city lifestyle is disrupted when he is sent to live with his father in a small fishing village, premiered at San Sebastian Film Festival in 2015, winning the event‘s main prize, the Golden Shell.
The Iceland-Denmark-Croatia co-production was also nominated for 12 Edda Awards, Iceland‘s primary film awards.
Director Rúnarsson was previously Oscar-nominated in 2008 for his short film The Last Farm. His feature debut Volcano played at Cannes Film Festival‘s Directors‘ Fortnight in 2011.
Last year, Iceland submitted Grímur Hákonarson’s Rams to the Oscars, though the film did not receive a nomination.
Iceland has previously had one Oscar-nominated film in the Best Foreign Language category, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson‘s Children Of Nature in 1992.
- 9/21/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
The company has added Oskar Jonasson’s The Malaga Prisoner and Michael G Kehoe’s Keflavik to its production slate.
Iceland’s Truenorth continues to expand its own production slate with two new English-language projects, directed by Oskar Jonasson [pictured] and Us-based Michael G Kehoe.
The Malaga Prisoner is a comedy thriller about two Icelandic police officers who go to Malaga to pick up a petty thief. Jonasson wrote the script with crime author Arnaldur Indridason. The pair previously collaborated on hit Reykjavik-Rotterdam.
The film, to shoot in Magala, Spain in August 2017, is mostly in the English language with some dialogue in Icelandic and Spanish. Truenorth is talking to potential Spanish co-producers for what is believed to be the first Iceland-Spain film collaboration. The film is budgeted at up to $5m.
Keflavik, budgeted at up to $3m, is about an alien life force discovered in an abandoned Nato base in Iceland, which an international...
Iceland’s Truenorth continues to expand its own production slate with two new English-language projects, directed by Oskar Jonasson [pictured] and Us-based Michael G Kehoe.
The Malaga Prisoner is a comedy thriller about two Icelandic police officers who go to Malaga to pick up a petty thief. Jonasson wrote the script with crime author Arnaldur Indridason. The pair previously collaborated on hit Reykjavik-Rotterdam.
The film, to shoot in Magala, Spain in August 2017, is mostly in the English language with some dialogue in Icelandic and Spanish. Truenorth is talking to potential Spanish co-producers for what is believed to be the first Iceland-Spain film collaboration. The film is budgeted at up to $5m.
Keflavik, budgeted at up to $3m, is about an alien life force discovered in an abandoned Nato base in Iceland, which an international...
- 5/18/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Turkey’s longest-running film festival will host its 52nd edition of the Antalya International Film Festival this year from November 29 – December 6 in the culture capital on the Turkish Riviera. This year’s festival dates were adapted to accommodate the G20 Summit that took place in Antalya on November 15 &16.
Festival Director Elif Dağdeviren is returning for a second time to run the event, under the auspice of the Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality’s Menderes Türel. Iaff whose sponsors include Turkish Airlines attracted over 40,000 guests last year and brings together renowned international and national film industry leaders and artistic talent to this historic city on the Mediterranean.
This year’s festivities offer a strong line-up focusing on socially conscious fare and strong female stories from women filmmakers from across the globe. The program will also present insightful panel discussions, film forums as well as national and international competition sections vying for the Euro €50,000 Grand Prize Jury Award for Best International Film; and Try 100,000 (Turkish Lira) to the Best National Feature Film. Icelandic Film Corporation’s Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, who earned a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination for his film “Children of Nature,” will preside over the International Jury. Fridriksson is also well-known internationally for his co-production partnerships with Lars von Triers’ Zentropa and Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope. Turkish filmmaker Ömer Vargı, who revitalized Turkish cinema in the 1990’s with his blockbuster films Şerif Gören’s “Amerikalı” and Yavuz Turgul’s “Eşkiya” (“The Bandit”) is President of the National Feature Film Jury.
“This has been a particularly challenging year to secure these new dates but it is more important that the festival go ahead and provide a platform for the artist to be heard,” Festival Director Elif Dağdeviren commented. “In these difficult times, it is essential filmmakers have an opportunity to present universal stories, discerning human narratives, behind-the-scene accounts to share their unique experiences to bring about a greater understanding to so many complex issues prevalent in the world today.”
Mayor Türel returns to his post after an absence of 4 years to pick up the reins of the festival and retain his bold step to offer a diversity of content to address global perspectives at Iaff and to claim its rightful place as a part of the world film festival circuit. In announcing the new dates for the 52 nd festival Türel stated, “In a time where we are going through a difficult period globally, we wish the breath of the arts will allow us to rise again and sound of music and the light of cinema will illuminate the darkness. We extend our gratitude to all lovers of the arts who contributed towards this cause.”...
Festival Director Elif Dağdeviren is returning for a second time to run the event, under the auspice of the Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality’s Menderes Türel. Iaff whose sponsors include Turkish Airlines attracted over 40,000 guests last year and brings together renowned international and national film industry leaders and artistic talent to this historic city on the Mediterranean.
This year’s festivities offer a strong line-up focusing on socially conscious fare and strong female stories from women filmmakers from across the globe. The program will also present insightful panel discussions, film forums as well as national and international competition sections vying for the Euro €50,000 Grand Prize Jury Award for Best International Film; and Try 100,000 (Turkish Lira) to the Best National Feature Film. Icelandic Film Corporation’s Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, who earned a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination for his film “Children of Nature,” will preside over the International Jury. Fridriksson is also well-known internationally for his co-production partnerships with Lars von Triers’ Zentropa and Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope. Turkish filmmaker Ömer Vargı, who revitalized Turkish cinema in the 1990’s with his blockbuster films Şerif Gören’s “Amerikalı” and Yavuz Turgul’s “Eşkiya” (“The Bandit”) is President of the National Feature Film Jury.
“This has been a particularly challenging year to secure these new dates but it is more important that the festival go ahead and provide a platform for the artist to be heard,” Festival Director Elif Dağdeviren commented. “In these difficult times, it is essential filmmakers have an opportunity to present universal stories, discerning human narratives, behind-the-scene accounts to share their unique experiences to bring about a greater understanding to so many complex issues prevalent in the world today.”
Mayor Türel returns to his post after an absence of 4 years to pick up the reins of the festival and retain his bold step to offer a diversity of content to address global perspectives at Iaff and to claim its rightful place as a part of the world film festival circuit. In announcing the new dates for the 52 nd festival Türel stated, “In a time where we are going through a difficult period globally, we wish the breath of the arts will allow us to rise again and sound of music and the light of cinema will illuminate the darkness. We extend our gratitude to all lovers of the arts who contributed towards this cause.”...
- 11/28/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The German festival will screen Grimur Hákonarson’s Rams, Tobias Lindholm’s A War and Klaus Harö’s The Fencer in its 2015 programme.
Denmark and Iceland dominate the main competition line-up at Germany’s 57th Nordic Film Days Lübeck, which will open on November 4 with Icelandic director Grimur Hákonarson’s Rams.
Speaking about the choice of opening film, featival director Linde Fröhlich described Rams as “a human drama filled with empathy for the protagonists as well as odd situations and comic moments, all set in a spectacular landscape.”
Denmark is represented in the Feature Film Competition with five titles, including Tobias Lindholm’s A War - Denmark’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar - Martin Peter Zandvliet’s Land Of Mine, Chrisitina Rosendahl’s The Idealist and Frederikke Aspöck’s Rosita.
Three Icelandic titles have been selected: Rúnar Rúnarsson’s coming of age drama Sparrows, made as a co-production with Denmark and Croatia, and Dágur Kari...
Denmark and Iceland dominate the main competition line-up at Germany’s 57th Nordic Film Days Lübeck, which will open on November 4 with Icelandic director Grimur Hákonarson’s Rams.
Speaking about the choice of opening film, featival director Linde Fröhlich described Rams as “a human drama filled with empathy for the protagonists as well as odd situations and comic moments, all set in a spectacular landscape.”
Denmark is represented in the Feature Film Competition with five titles, including Tobias Lindholm’s A War - Denmark’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar - Martin Peter Zandvliet’s Land Of Mine, Chrisitina Rosendahl’s The Idealist and Frederikke Aspöck’s Rosita.
Three Icelandic titles have been selected: Rúnar Rúnarsson’s coming of age drama Sparrows, made as a co-production with Denmark and Croatia, and Dágur Kari...
- 10/14/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Icelandic filmmaking veteran Fridrik Thor Fridriksson has revealed his next feature will be an adaptation of Gunar Gunarsson’s The Black Cliffs.
The 1928 novel, which has been an international bestseller, was a favourite of Ernest Hemingway. The story is inspired by a true crime in 1802 in remote Iceland.
The plot follows two couples who live on an isolated farm. When one of the husbands disappears, and the wife of the other dies, the survivors are arrested and tried for murder.
The project, which is set on the remote West Coast of Iceland, will reunite him with his Angels Of The Universe actor Ingvar Sigurðsson (Jar City, Of Horses and Men). The female lead has yet-to-be announced.
“I love crime stories,” Oscar nominee Fridriksson told Screen. “This story is really how much you are willing to sacrifice for love.”
He has a further six scripts ready for future productions and is also awaiting financing on True North...
The 1928 novel, which has been an international bestseller, was a favourite of Ernest Hemingway. The story is inspired by a true crime in 1802 in remote Iceland.
The plot follows two couples who live on an isolated farm. When one of the husbands disappears, and the wife of the other dies, the survivors are arrested and tried for murder.
The project, which is set on the remote West Coast of Iceland, will reunite him with his Angels Of The Universe actor Ingvar Sigurðsson (Jar City, Of Horses and Men). The female lead has yet-to-be announced.
“I love crime stories,” Oscar nominee Fridriksson told Screen. “This story is really how much you are willing to sacrifice for love.”
He has a further six scripts ready for future productions and is also awaiting financing on True North...
- 9/15/2015
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Films set to show at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), updated as announcements are made in the run up to the event.
Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.
Tiff 40
Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.
GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPDisorder (Maryland) (France-Belgium), Alice Winocour NAPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPMan Down (Us), Dito Montiel NAPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPMiss You Already (UK), Catherine Hardwicke WPMississippi Grind (Us), Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden CPMr. Right (Us), Paco Cabezas WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall ([link...
Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.
Tiff 40
Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.
GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPDisorder (Maryland) (France-Belgium), Alice Winocour NAPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPMan Down (Us), Dito Montiel NAPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPMiss You Already (UK), Catherine Hardwicke WPMississippi Grind (Us), Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden CPMr. Right (Us), Paco Cabezas WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall ([link...
- 8/25/2015
- ScreenDaily
European Film Promotion (Efp) has unveiled the list of titles it will support at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (Oct 1-10) in South Korea.
It marks the 18th year that Efp has supported cultural exchange between European filmmakers and Korean audiences as well as helping European films find their way onto Asia’s screens.
Efp’s programme, Opening Doors, is backed by the Creative Europe – Media Programme of the European Union and participating Efp member organisations.
A total of 13 mostly young European film artists will travel to Busan with the support of Efp to present their titles at the Asian film showcase.
Several of the films have already been recognised this year on the film festival circuit.
Babai, the feature debut of Kosovo-born, Germany-based filmmaker Visar Morina won best director at Karlovy Vary in July. The film tells a father-and-son-story of unwanted economic migrants.
Adriano Valerio’s debut film, Banat, about...
It marks the 18th year that Efp has supported cultural exchange between European filmmakers and Korean audiences as well as helping European films find their way onto Asia’s screens.
Efp’s programme, Opening Doors, is backed by the Creative Europe – Media Programme of the European Union and participating Efp member organisations.
A total of 13 mostly young European film artists will travel to Busan with the support of Efp to present their titles at the Asian film showcase.
Several of the films have already been recognised this year on the film festival circuit.
Babai, the feature debut of Kosovo-born, Germany-based filmmaker Visar Morina won best director at Karlovy Vary in July. The film tells a father-and-son-story of unwanted economic migrants.
Adriano Valerio’s debut film, Banat, about...
- 8/25/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The UK’s Hanan Kattan, Germany’s Peter Rommel and Canada’s Chantelle Kadyschuk are among those selected for this year’s Producers Lab Toronto (Plt).
The 24 producers from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will participate in the sixth edition of the networking platform, which will run Sept 9-12 during the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 10-20).
Plt is targeted at producers who have had previous experience in working on international co-productions and now have projects in the pipeline that could be interesting for the international market.
European producers
The ten European producers were selected by European Film Promotion’s member organisations from previous participants of its Cannes-based initiative Producers on the Move.
Together with her partner Shamim Sarif, Hanan Kattan has a presence in the UK and Canada with their Enlightenment Group of companies. Hattan produced Sarif’s three features, including Despite The Falling Snow, starring Charles Dance and Rebecca Ferguson, as well as...
The 24 producers from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will participate in the sixth edition of the networking platform, which will run Sept 9-12 during the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 10-20).
Plt is targeted at producers who have had previous experience in working on international co-productions and now have projects in the pipeline that could be interesting for the international market.
European producers
The ten European producers were selected by European Film Promotion’s member organisations from previous participants of its Cannes-based initiative Producers on the Move.
Together with her partner Shamim Sarif, Hanan Kattan has a presence in the UK and Canada with their Enlightenment Group of companies. Hattan produced Sarif’s three features, including Despite The Falling Snow, starring Charles Dance and Rebecca Ferguson, as well as...
- 8/24/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Jennifer Peedom.s Sherpa and Gillian Armstrong.s Women He.s Undressed will screen at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival next month.
They are among 26 titles selected for the Tiff Docs section of the fest, which runs from September 10 to 20, enhancing Australia.s profile at the event where Jocelyn Moorhouse.s The Dressmaker will have its world premiere in Gala Presentations and Simon Stone.s The Daughter will have its North American premiere in Special Presentations.
Produced by Bridget Ikin and John Smithson, Peedom.s film chronicles how Sherpas united in grief and anger to reclaim Mount Everest after an icefall killed 15 of their members on Mount Everest.. It will open in Australia in February, co-distributed by John Maynard's Footprint Films and Transmission.
It will be the international premiere of Armstrong.s doc which profiles Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly, who won three Academy Awards.
Among the world premieres...
They are among 26 titles selected for the Tiff Docs section of the fest, which runs from September 10 to 20, enhancing Australia.s profile at the event where Jocelyn Moorhouse.s The Dressmaker will have its world premiere in Gala Presentations and Simon Stone.s The Daughter will have its North American premiere in Special Presentations.
Produced by Bridget Ikin and John Smithson, Peedom.s film chronicles how Sherpas united in grief and anger to reclaim Mount Everest after an icefall killed 15 of their members on Mount Everest.. It will open in Australia in February, co-distributed by John Maynard's Footprint Films and Transmission.
It will be the international premiere of Armstrong.s doc which profiles Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly, who won three Academy Awards.
Among the world premieres...
- 8/11/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
The Toronto International Film Festival’s prominence on the festival circuit has only grown over the years, with films from numerous different fields having gone on to critical and commercial acclaim. Among the festival’s different categories are Tiff Docs and Vanguard. Tiff Docs allows documentaries to get their own spotlight at the festival, giving acclaimed documentarians such as Michael Moore and Frederick Wiseman a platform for their films. The Vanguard section, on the other hand, showcases films that aren’t easily categorisable into a specific genre. With the Canadian Films lineup announcement having revealed the first set of films playing in each group, Tiff today revealed more of the lineup in each section. The list of newly announced films, with their official synopses, is as follows.
Tiff Docs
Amazing Grace, directed by Sydney Pollack, making its International Premiere
Sydney Pollack’s film of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace.’ Filmed...
Tiff Docs
Amazing Grace, directed by Sydney Pollack, making its International Premiere
Sydney Pollack’s film of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace.’ Filmed...
- 8/11/2015
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
Films set to show at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), updated as announcements are made in the run up to the event.
Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.
Tiff 40
Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.
GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall (Us), Roland Emmerich, Wpspecial PRESENTATIONSAnomalisa (Us), Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, CPBeasts of No Nation (Ghana), Cary Fukunaga, CPBlack Mass (Us), Scott Cooper, CPBorn To Be Blue (Canada-uk), Robert Budreau WPBrooklyn (UK-Ireland-Canada), John...
Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.
Tiff 40
Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.
GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall (Us), Roland Emmerich, Wpspecial PRESENTATIONSAnomalisa (Us), Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, CPBeasts of No Nation (Ghana), Cary Fukunaga, CPBlack Mass (Us), Scott Cooper, CPBorn To Be Blue (Canada-uk), Robert Budreau WPBrooklyn (UK-Ireland-Canada), John...
- 8/11/2015
- ScreenDaily
Organisers unleashed their latest volley of programming, an embarrassment of riches featuring new non-fiction work about education activist Malala Yousafzai, Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre, the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the iconic tango pairing of María Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes.
Midnight Madness brings a Turkish glimpse of hell, new work from the directors of Almost Human and The Loved Ones, a cyborg Pov story and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, which premiered in Cannes and backer Broad Green Pictures recently made available for Us distribution after electing not to self-release.
Vanguard entries include Gaspar Noé’s Love, Alex de la Iglesia’s My Big Night and Ryoo Seung-wan’s South Korean cop thriller Veteran.
The Masters Of Cinema programme features Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Our Little Sister, while the Tiff Cinematheque selection of restored classics includes Luchino Viconti’s Rocco And His Brothers and Marcel Ophüls...
Midnight Madness brings a Turkish glimpse of hell, new work from the directors of Almost Human and The Loved Ones, a cyborg Pov story and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, which premiered in Cannes and backer Broad Green Pictures recently made available for Us distribution after electing not to self-release.
Vanguard entries include Gaspar Noé’s Love, Alex de la Iglesia’s My Big Night and Ryoo Seung-wan’s South Korean cop thriller Veteran.
The Masters Of Cinema programme features Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Our Little Sister, while the Tiff Cinematheque selection of restored classics includes Luchino Viconti’s Rocco And His Brothers and Marcel Ophüls...
- 8/11/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
All week our writers will debate: Which was the greatest film year of the past half century. Click here for a complete list of our essays. When I picked this year, it was under the mistaken assumption that we were writing on the best film of a year, and not the best film year in general. But having realized the mistake, I stand by my choice. 1995 is still the best! Straight up: 1995 wins, because Todd Haynes’s “[Safe]" is still my favorite film to have come out since, Idk, I’ve been alive. It’s deeply self-conscious about genre, while still managing to not really resemble anything I’ve ever seen. It’s the perfect film about L.A.; about how space is mobilized in cinema; about the environment; about Gothic horror; about white femininity; about film bodies; about falling in love in the movies. It’s Todd Motherf*#@$^ Haynes’s best film.
- 4/30/2015
- by Jane Hu
- Hitfix
Inaugural festival wrapped this weekend screening more than 30 European arthouse films.
Reykjavik’s inaugural Stockfish European Film Festival wrapped this weekend after welcoming international guests such as Rachid Bouchareb, Brenda Blethyn [pictured] and Christine Vachon.
More than 30 European arthouse films were screened at the Bio Paradis in downtown Reykjavik.
Local filmmakers attended seminars, workshops and a masterclass by Pavel Jech, dean of Czech film school Famu.
The festival paid tribute to Icelandic cinematographer Sigurður Sverrir Pálsson and included a retrospective of some of his short films.
Sweden’s Blowfly Park (Flugparken) opened the festival, with actor Sverrir Gudnason and director Jens Östberg in attendance. The film will also be a part of Stockfish on Wheels, an upcoming tour across Iceland with several films from the festival.
The festival’s short film award went to Mikel Gurren’s London-set father-son story Foxes, produced by Eva Sigurðardóttir.
The jury said Foxes is “a solid and sincere work that is particularly...
Reykjavik’s inaugural Stockfish European Film Festival wrapped this weekend after welcoming international guests such as Rachid Bouchareb, Brenda Blethyn [pictured] and Christine Vachon.
More than 30 European arthouse films were screened at the Bio Paradis in downtown Reykjavik.
Local filmmakers attended seminars, workshops and a masterclass by Pavel Jech, dean of Czech film school Famu.
The festival paid tribute to Icelandic cinematographer Sigurður Sverrir Pálsson and included a retrospective of some of his short films.
Sweden’s Blowfly Park (Flugparken) opened the festival, with actor Sverrir Gudnason and director Jens Östberg in attendance. The film will also be a part of Stockfish on Wheels, an upcoming tour across Iceland with several films from the festival.
The festival’s short film award went to Mikel Gurren’s London-set father-son story Foxes, produced by Eva Sigurðardóttir.
The jury said Foxes is “a solid and sincere work that is particularly...
- 3/3/2015
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
First edition of the new Icelandic film festival to open with award-winning actor Sverrir Gudnason in attendance.
The inaugural Stockfish Film Festival (Feb 19-March 1), launched by a group of industry veterans, is to kick off in Iceland with Jens Östberg’s crime thriller Blowfly Park (Flugparken).
The film’s star, Sverrir Gudnason, will be in attendance as an honorary guest of the festival. The crime thriller saw Gudnason pick up the best actor award at Sweden’s Guldbagge awards last month.
Director Östberg will also attend the festival to present the film.
Blowfly Park will also be a part of the Stockfish on Wheels initiative, where a select few films from the festival will tour Iceland afterthe festival. Amongst other films screening at Stockfish are Party Girl, Black Coal, Thin Ice, Goodbye to Language 3D and The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq.
Stockfisheffectively revives the Reykjavik Film Festival (Rff), which ran from 1978 to 2001.
The organisers, led by Oscar-nominated...
The inaugural Stockfish Film Festival (Feb 19-March 1), launched by a group of industry veterans, is to kick off in Iceland with Jens Östberg’s crime thriller Blowfly Park (Flugparken).
The film’s star, Sverrir Gudnason, will be in attendance as an honorary guest of the festival. The crime thriller saw Gudnason pick up the best actor award at Sweden’s Guldbagge awards last month.
Director Östberg will also attend the festival to present the film.
Blowfly Park will also be a part of the Stockfish on Wheels initiative, where a select few films from the festival will tour Iceland afterthe festival. Amongst other films screening at Stockfish are Party Girl, Black Coal, Thin Ice, Goodbye to Language 3D and The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq.
Stockfisheffectively revives the Reykjavik Film Festival (Rff), which ran from 1978 to 2001.
The organisers, led by Oscar-nominated...
- 2/19/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Iceland’s Truenorth attends Afm with slate of original productions.
Sturlungar: The Viking Clan is being pitched as a 13th century Godfather-esque story, being developed as either a trilogy of feature films or a Netflix-style series.
The project is now in development from Truenorth, which is well known as a production services company working on major studio fare like Noah, Oblivion and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in Iceland. The outfit launched its own production division last year under Kristinn Thordarson [pictured] and attends Afm for the first time.
Oscar nominee Fridrik Thor Fridriksson is also on board as producer.
Truenorth is in talks with writers for the first script from the four-part Sturlungar book series.
“The Sturlungar presentation has gained a lot of interest, it is still sitting with one of the studios, and a big-name Us producer could come on board,” said Truenorth founding partner Leifur B. Dagfinnsson. Other Scandinavian...
Sturlungar: The Viking Clan is being pitched as a 13th century Godfather-esque story, being developed as either a trilogy of feature films or a Netflix-style series.
The project is now in development from Truenorth, which is well known as a production services company working on major studio fare like Noah, Oblivion and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in Iceland. The outfit launched its own production division last year under Kristinn Thordarson [pictured] and attends Afm for the first time.
Oscar nominee Fridrik Thor Fridriksson is also on board as producer.
Truenorth is in talks with writers for the first script from the four-part Sturlungar book series.
“The Sturlungar presentation has gained a lot of interest, it is still sitting with one of the studios, and a big-name Us producer could come on board,” said Truenorth founding partner Leifur B. Dagfinnsson. Other Scandinavian...
- 11/9/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Icelandic writer-director Benedikt Erlingsson and producer Fridrik Thor Fridriksson have won lucrative The Nordic Council Film Prize for Of Horses and Men.
The prize, worth about $59,000 (DKK350,000) was presented at Stockholm City Hall last night.
The committee said: “Of Horses and Men, a strikingly original film with its roots in the laconic humour of the Icelandic saga tradition, deals with the strong bonds connecting humankind and nature. At the heart of the film’s interconnected tales is humankind’s eternal attempts to control nature and pathetic failure to do so, often with disastrous consequences.
“The director demonstrates a profound understanding of the primal side of both horses and humans. Using the animal’s point of view to depict tragicomic human behaviour endows Of Horses and Men with a distinctive lyricism as well as a darkly comic tone.
“Director Benedikt Erlingsson combines powerful visuals, editing and music in a way that makes the film itself stand out as...
The prize, worth about $59,000 (DKK350,000) was presented at Stockholm City Hall last night.
The committee said: “Of Horses and Men, a strikingly original film with its roots in the laconic humour of the Icelandic saga tradition, deals with the strong bonds connecting humankind and nature. At the heart of the film’s interconnected tales is humankind’s eternal attempts to control nature and pathetic failure to do so, often with disastrous consequences.
“The director demonstrates a profound understanding of the primal side of both horses and humans. Using the animal’s point of view to depict tragicomic human behaviour endows Of Horses and Men with a distinctive lyricism as well as a darkly comic tone.
“Director Benedikt Erlingsson combines powerful visuals, editing and music in a way that makes the film itself stand out as...
- 10/30/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Iceland has selected Baldvin Zophoníasson’s Life in a Fishbowl as its entry for the 2015 Best Foreign Language Oscar.
Life in a Fishbowl, is directed by Baldvin Zophoníasson, who also writes along with Birgir Örn Steinarsson, and is produced by Júlíus Kemp and Ingvar Thordarsson of The Icelandic Film Company.
The film premiered in Reykjavik in May and has been enjoying a local box office success. It had its international debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September and will play at Zurich Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 5).
Q&A: Baldvin Zophoníasson
The multiple-narrative drama tells three distinct stories of people living in pre-crisis Iceland; a struggling single mother, an ex-footballer fast-tracking in the accelerating banking world and a troubled writer who has turned full time drunk.
Iceland has previously had two nominated films in the Oscar race: Children of Nature by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson was nominated as the Best Foreign Language Film in 1992; and...
Life in a Fishbowl, is directed by Baldvin Zophoníasson, who also writes along with Birgir Örn Steinarsson, and is produced by Júlíus Kemp and Ingvar Thordarsson of The Icelandic Film Company.
The film premiered in Reykjavik in May and has been enjoying a local box office success. It had its international debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September and will play at Zurich Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 5).
Q&A: Baldvin Zophoníasson
The multiple-narrative drama tells three distinct stories of people living in pre-crisis Iceland; a struggling single mother, an ex-footballer fast-tracking in the accelerating banking world and a troubled writer who has turned full time drunk.
Iceland has previously had two nominated films in the Oscar race: Children of Nature by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson was nominated as the Best Foreign Language Film in 1992; and...
- 9/23/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
A group of film industry veterans is launching a new film festival in Iceland, Stockfish Film Festival.
The inaugural festival is planned for Feb 19-March 1.
The organisers, led by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, say they want the event to focus on “a focus on industry networking, showcasing home-grown talent and Iceland’s fabled locations and attractive tax rebate.”
Stockfish is created by Iceland’s industry guilds to run at the country’s only arthouse cinema, Bio Paradis, which is located in downtown Reykjavik and backed by the guilds.
In addition to Fridriksson, the board also inclues Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson (Fk - The Icelandic Film Makers Association); Guðrún Edda Þórhannesdóttir (SÍK - Association of Icelandic Film Producers); Birna Hafstein (FÍL - The Icelandic Actors Association); Dögg Mósesdóttir (Wift - Women in Film and Television) and Sjón (The Icelandic Playwrights and Screenwriters Association).
The national Edda awards will be held during the festival and there is also cooperation with Kosmorama...
The inaugural festival is planned for Feb 19-March 1.
The organisers, led by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, say they want the event to focus on “a focus on industry networking, showcasing home-grown talent and Iceland’s fabled locations and attractive tax rebate.”
Stockfish is created by Iceland’s industry guilds to run at the country’s only arthouse cinema, Bio Paradis, which is located in downtown Reykjavik and backed by the guilds.
In addition to Fridriksson, the board also inclues Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson (Fk - The Icelandic Film Makers Association); Guðrún Edda Þórhannesdóttir (SÍK - Association of Icelandic Film Producers); Birna Hafstein (FÍL - The Icelandic Actors Association); Dögg Mósesdóttir (Wift - Women in Film and Television) and Sjón (The Icelandic Playwrights and Screenwriters Association).
The national Edda awards will be held during the festival and there is also cooperation with Kosmorama...
- 9/18/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
This year’s European Film Awards are officially out of the gates with a not so lean 50 film submissions to select from. The 27th edition collects titles that date back to last year’s Venice and Toronto Int. Film Festivals moving into Sundance-Rotterdam-Berlin and finally Cannes of ’14. Among the 31 European countries represented, we’ve got likes of the Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan leading the huge pack of contenders including Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida. Here’s the complete list of 50!:
Alienation
ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)
Bulgaria
Directed By: Milko Lazarov
Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev
Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova
Amour Fou
Austria/Luxembourg/Germany
Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner
Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober
Beautiful Youth
Hermosa Juventud
Spain/France
Directed By: Jaime Rosales
Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas
Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...
Alienation
ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)
Bulgaria
Directed By: Milko Lazarov
Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev
Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova
Amour Fou
Austria/Luxembourg/Germany
Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner
Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober
Beautiful Youth
Hermosa Juventud
Spain/France
Directed By: Jaime Rosales
Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas
Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...
- 9/16/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Top Croatian winners are Number 55, The Reaper and Happy Endings; Concrete Night wins international competition.
The 61st Pula Film Festival handed out its awards in the city’s stunning amphitheatre last night (July 26), with Kristijan Milić’s Number 55 winning best Croatian Film.
The jury said its award went to “the film produced according to highest professional standards and the film that achieves an authentic and emotional presentation of a true event from the Croatian War of Independence.”
The winning packages includes €10,000 worth of post production services from Teleking.
The film swept a number of prizes in the Croatian competition, including best screenplay and best director.
Set in 1991, Number 55 is based on a true story of a small group of Croatian soldiers who are ambushed while on patrol and have to hide from rebel Serbs, the Yugoslav Army and Serbian Special Forces.
The Reaper, about a lonely man coming to terms with his past crimes, won the two...
The 61st Pula Film Festival handed out its awards in the city’s stunning amphitheatre last night (July 26), with Kristijan Milić’s Number 55 winning best Croatian Film.
The jury said its award went to “the film produced according to highest professional standards and the film that achieves an authentic and emotional presentation of a true event from the Croatian War of Independence.”
The winning packages includes €10,000 worth of post production services from Teleking.
The film swept a number of prizes in the Croatian competition, including best screenplay and best director.
Set in 1991, Number 55 is based on a true story of a small group of Croatian soldiers who are ambushed while on patrol and have to hide from rebel Serbs, the Yugoslav Army and Serbian Special Forces.
The Reaper, about a lonely man coming to terms with his past crimes, won the two...
- 7/27/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Top Croatian winners are Number 55, The Reaper and Happy Endings; Concrete Night wins international competition.
The 61st Pula Film Festival handed out its awards in the city’s stunning amphitheatre last night, with Kristijan Milić’s Number 55 winning best Croatian Film. The jury said its award went to “the film produced according to highest professional standards and the film that achieves an authentic and emotional presentation of a true event from the Croatian War of Independence.” The winning packages includes €10,000 worth of post production services from Teleking.
The film swept a number of prizes in the Croatian competition, including best screenplay and best director.
Number 55 is based on a true story in 1991, when a small group of Croatian soldiers on patrol are ambushed and have to hide from rebel Serbs, the Yugoslav Army and Serbian Special Forces.
The Reaper, about a lonely man coming to terms with his past crimes, won the two...
The 61st Pula Film Festival handed out its awards in the city’s stunning amphitheatre last night, with Kristijan Milić’s Number 55 winning best Croatian Film. The jury said its award went to “the film produced according to highest professional standards and the film that achieves an authentic and emotional presentation of a true event from the Croatian War of Independence.” The winning packages includes €10,000 worth of post production services from Teleking.
The film swept a number of prizes in the Croatian competition, including best screenplay and best director.
Number 55 is based on a true story in 1991, when a small group of Croatian soldiers on patrol are ambushed and have to hide from rebel Serbs, the Yugoslav Army and Serbian Special Forces.
The Reaper, about a lonely man coming to terms with his past crimes, won the two...
- 7/27/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
This year’s edition of the Pula Film Festival, which will be held in Pula, Croatia, from July 12–26, will honor Icelandic director Friðrik Thór Friðriksson with a special retrospective of his work. The films to be screened in the retrospective are "Rock in Reykjavik," "Children of Nature," "Devil’s Island," "Angels of the Universe" and "Falcons."
In its announcement of the event, the festival said, “This year’s festival retrospective is dedicated to Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, one of the most important filmmakers in Northern Europe. He is a complete author who has tried his hand at a number of film aspects (director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor) and this is how we made a selection of his films.”
Fridriksson will also be a member of the jury for the festival’s international program.
For more information about the retrospective visit Here .
In its announcement of the event, the festival said, “This year’s festival retrospective is dedicated to Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, one of the most important filmmakers in Northern Europe. He is a complete author who has tried his hand at a number of film aspects (director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor) and this is how we made a selection of his films.”
Fridriksson will also be a member of the jury for the festival’s international program.
For more information about the retrospective visit Here .
- 7/10/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
A re-energised Pula Film Festival, the biggest film festival in Croatia, will welcome top guests including Roger Michell, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Gyorgi Palfi, Tudor Giurgiu and Mike Cahill.
Fridriksson [pictured] will serve on a jury and be the subject of a retrospective including his films Rock in Reykjavik, Children of Nature, Devil’s Island, Angels Of The Universe, and Falcons.
The Pula Pro Industry section will include masterclasses from PR expert Charles MacDonald, marketing veteran John Durie, sound expert Ray Gillon of G-Minor and Nik Powell of the UK’s National Film and Television School (Nfts).
The festival boasts a new artistic team of Mike Downey, Hrvoje Puksec and Tanja Milicic, who took over in April.
The Pula Cinematheque section, under special advistor Rajko Grlic, will focus on the year 1965.
One new strand at the festival will be Dizalica, aimed at cinephiles aged 16-21; selections include We Are The Best! and Bitch Hug. This is added...
Fridriksson [pictured] will serve on a jury and be the subject of a retrospective including his films Rock in Reykjavik, Children of Nature, Devil’s Island, Angels Of The Universe, and Falcons.
The Pula Pro Industry section will include masterclasses from PR expert Charles MacDonald, marketing veteran John Durie, sound expert Ray Gillon of G-Minor and Nik Powell of the UK’s National Film and Television School (Nfts).
The festival boasts a new artistic team of Mike Downey, Hrvoje Puksec and Tanja Milicic, who took over in April.
The Pula Cinematheque section, under special advistor Rajko Grlic, will focus on the year 1965.
One new strand at the festival will be Dizalica, aimed at cinephiles aged 16-21; selections include We Are The Best! and Bitch Hug. This is added...
- 7/2/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Benedikt Erlingsson’s San Sebastian and Tokyo winner inks multiple deals.
Guido Rud’s Buenos-Aires-based FilmSharks International has closed deals on Benedikt Erlingsson’s San Sebastian and Tokyo winner Of Horses And Men.
Fridrik Thor Fridriksson produced the ensemble country romance set in a horse-riding community, which was Iceland’s foreign language Oscar submission last season.
Deals have closed with Magic Hour for Japan, Maywin Films for Cis and Baltics, Alfaville for Mexico, Demiurg for former Yugoslavia and Film Europe for Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Rights have also gone to Little Big for Sweden, Angel for Denmark, Europa film for Norway.
FilmSharks previously licensed to Axiom for the UK, Bodega And Carlotta for France and Filmcoopi for Switzerland.
Guido Rud’s Buenos-Aires-based FilmSharks International has closed deals on Benedikt Erlingsson’s San Sebastian and Tokyo winner Of Horses And Men.
Fridrik Thor Fridriksson produced the ensemble country romance set in a horse-riding community, which was Iceland’s foreign language Oscar submission last season.
Deals have closed with Magic Hour for Japan, Maywin Films for Cis and Baltics, Alfaville for Mexico, Demiurg for former Yugoslavia and Film Europe for Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Rights have also gone to Little Big for Sweden, Angel for Denmark, Europa film for Norway.
FilmSharks previously licensed to Axiom for the UK, Bodega And Carlotta for France and Filmcoopi for Switzerland.
- 5/16/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Icelandic film may be riding high creatively (it gets a special focus at this year’s Gothenburg Film Festival), but business is tough, according to Oscar nominee Fridrik Thor Fridriksson.
“We’ve only been making films for three decades, it’s getting worse and worse,” he said at a public conversation about Icelandic cinema in Gothenburg today.
He continued: “The Icelandic Film Centre’s film funding has a 40% cut for next year, it’s the second time [the government] has done that in four years. So the situation is really, really tough now. Especially for directors who are making their first films, it’s almost impossible. They don’t get funding from Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Eurimages. For old guys like me, it’s much easier. I think the government is trying to pull together a new concept about how Icelandic films will be produced in the future.”
Fridriksson bemoaned that sometimes only 1,500 people buy tickets to see...
“We’ve only been making films for three decades, it’s getting worse and worse,” he said at a public conversation about Icelandic cinema in Gothenburg today.
He continued: “The Icelandic Film Centre’s film funding has a 40% cut for next year, it’s the second time [the government] has done that in four years. So the situation is really, really tough now. Especially for directors who are making their first films, it’s almost impossible. They don’t get funding from Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Eurimages. For old guys like me, it’s much easier. I think the government is trying to pull together a new concept about how Icelandic films will be produced in the future.”
Fridriksson bemoaned that sometimes only 1,500 people buy tickets to see...
- 1/30/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks International has picked up sales rights to Iceland’s foreign-language Oscar submission Of Horses And Men.
Actor and theatre director Benedikt Erlingsson’s feature directorial debut is an ensemble country romance set in a horseriding community.
Ingvar E Sigurdsson, Charlotte Boving, Steinn Armann Magnusson, Kjartan Ragnarsson, Helgi Bjoernsson, Sigridur Maria Egilsdottir and Juan Camillo Roman Estrada star and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson served as producer.
Of Horses And Men screened recently at San Sebastian.
FilmSharks International handles world sales and is at the Afm to introduce the project to buyers.
Actor and theatre director Benedikt Erlingsson’s feature directorial debut is an ensemble country romance set in a horseriding community.
Ingvar E Sigurdsson, Charlotte Boving, Steinn Armann Magnusson, Kjartan Ragnarsson, Helgi Bjoernsson, Sigridur Maria Egilsdottir and Juan Camillo Roman Estrada star and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson served as producer.
Of Horses And Men screened recently at San Sebastian.
FilmSharks International handles world sales and is at the Afm to introduce the project to buyers.
- 11/7/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Iceland has selected Of Horses and Men as its entry for the 2014 Best Foreign Language Oscar.
Of Horses and Men, by director Benedikt Erlingsson, was elected electronically by members of the Icelandic Film and TV Academy to represent the country at the Academy Awards.
Click here for Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award submissions 2013
The film is a country romance about “the human streak in the horse and the horse in the human, an ensemble film that tells stories of love and death. The struggles in the life of men and horses are often shown from the horses’ point of view and in the end all is tied together in the annual autumn round-up of the horses.”
It is the first feature from Erlingsson, an Icelandic award-winning actor and theatre director who also wrote the film’s script.
Producer Fridrik Thor Fridriksson is also a director and his feature Children of Nature was nominated as the Best Foreign...
Of Horses and Men, by director Benedikt Erlingsson, was elected electronically by members of the Icelandic Film and TV Academy to represent the country at the Academy Awards.
Click here for Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award submissions 2013
The film is a country romance about “the human streak in the horse and the horse in the human, an ensemble film that tells stories of love and death. The struggles in the life of men and horses are often shown from the horses’ point of view and in the end all is tied together in the annual autumn round-up of the horses.”
It is the first feature from Erlingsson, an Icelandic award-winning actor and theatre director who also wrote the film’s script.
Producer Fridrik Thor Fridriksson is also a director and his feature Children of Nature was nominated as the Best Foreign...
- 9/24/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Baltasar Kormákur is one of Iceland’s most celebrated filmmakers, having been chosen four times to represent Iceland in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. This year Iceland’s entry is his new film “The Deep,” based on the real life tale of a fisherman who becomes a local hero after surviving in the freezing ocean against all odds after his boat capsizes off the country's south coast. -Insertgroups:11- Iceland has only been nominated once before at the Oscars, for Fridrik Thor Fridriksson’s “Children of Nature” in 1991 (which lost to the Italian film “Mediterraneo”). However, Kormákur is as determined as ever. “I’ll just keep on trying until I get that nomination!” he says with a laugh. Like most small budget foreign language films, the exposure that follows Oscar recognition is the main reason for why a nomination is so highly prized. “Apart from ...
- 12/8/2012
- Gold Derby
Spellbound Productions and Cap Horn Film are teaming for film adaptations of Icelandic author Jon Kalman Stefansson's critically acclaimed "Heaven and Hell" novel trilogy.
The three books - "Heaven and Hell," "The Sorrow of Angels" and "The Heart of Man" - all follow the struggles of an Icelandic man living in a small fishing village at the turn of the 19th century.
Fridrik Thor Fridriksson ("Children of Nature") will direct and adapt the novels with "Let the Right One In" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" producer Gunner Carlsson.
Shooting kicks off next year with the first film to debut in late 2014.
Source: THR...
The three books - "Heaven and Hell," "The Sorrow of Angels" and "The Heart of Man" - all follow the struggles of an Icelandic man living in a small fishing village at the turn of the 19th century.
Fridrik Thor Fridriksson ("Children of Nature") will direct and adapt the novels with "Let the Right One In" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" producer Gunner Carlsson.
Shooting kicks off next year with the first film to debut in late 2014.
Source: THR...
- 11/28/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
It's sincerely mind blowing that a country of just over 300,000 people can have the creative output that Iceland does. That's about half the amount of people that reside in Wyoming, the least populated state in America. But despite its size, Iceland has an incredible amount of internationally renowned visual artists, architects, musicians and, yes, filmmakers. From Fridrik Thor Fridriksson (whose "Children of Nature" was nominated for a foreign language film Oscar in 1992) to Dagur Kári Petursson (who recently made his English language debut with the Brian Cox-Paul Dano starrer "The Good Heart") to Baltasar Kormákur (who made "Jar City" and is Iceland's Oscar hope this year with "The Deep"), Iceland has no shortage of cinematic minds. All three of those noted filmmakers were among those with upcoming work being presented at a special event thrown by the Icelandic Film Centre in Reykjavik last Friday. In...
- 10/8/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
by Nick Schager
[This week's "Retro Active" pick is inspired by Mikkel Norgaard's bizarrely outrageous Danish comedy Klown.]
Lars von Trier shoots The Boss of it All with a camera system dubbed "Automavision" that allows him to select camera set-ups and then let the camera itself (via computer) decide when to move, adjust and edit—a system that's as random and chaotic as its bonkers story itself. Operating as both a straightforward workplace comedy and an off-kilter deconstruction of that genre, von Trier's film concerns an unnamed Danish company run by Ravn (Peter Gantzler), a monotonous milieu that's thrown into deadpan turmoil thanks to Ravn's decision to sell the company to gruff, profane Icelandic businessman Finnur (Fridrik Thor Fridriksson). The catch is that, for years, Ravn has operated as a tyrant, while passing the buck for his callous decisions to an imaginary superior, and when it comes time to sign the firm away, he hires a floundering actor named Kristoffer (Jens Albinus) to pose as...
[This week's "Retro Active" pick is inspired by Mikkel Norgaard's bizarrely outrageous Danish comedy Klown.]
Lars von Trier shoots The Boss of it All with a camera system dubbed "Automavision" that allows him to select camera set-ups and then let the camera itself (via computer) decide when to move, adjust and edit—a system that's as random and chaotic as its bonkers story itself. Operating as both a straightforward workplace comedy and an off-kilter deconstruction of that genre, von Trier's film concerns an unnamed Danish company run by Ravn (Peter Gantzler), a monotonous milieu that's thrown into deadpan turmoil thanks to Ravn's decision to sell the company to gruff, profane Icelandic businessman Finnur (Fridrik Thor Fridriksson). The catch is that, for years, Ravn has operated as a tyrant, while passing the buck for his callous decisions to an imaginary superior, and when it comes time to sign the firm away, he hires a floundering actor named Kristoffer (Jens Albinus) to pose as...
- 7/30/2012
- GreenCine Daily
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