Country’s second-ever Oscar entry.
Tanzania has made its second-ever entry to the best international feature award at the Oscars, and first for 21 years, with Amil Shivji’s romantic drama Tug Of War.
Tug Of War had its world premiere in the Discovery section of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), becoming the first Tanzanian film ever selected for the festival.
It now follows Maangamizi: The Ancient One, Tanzania’s entry to the 2002 awards, in representing the East African nation.
After TIFF, Tug Of War went on to play Seattle International Film Festival, where it won a special...
Tanzania has made its second-ever entry to the best international feature award at the Oscars, and first for 21 years, with Amil Shivji’s romantic drama Tug Of War.
Tug Of War had its world premiere in the Discovery section of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), becoming the first Tanzanian film ever selected for the festival.
It now follows Maangamizi: The Ancient One, Tanzania’s entry to the 2002 awards, in representing the East African nation.
After TIFF, Tug Of War went on to play Seattle International Film Festival, where it won a special...
- 9/20/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Marrakech International Film Festival’s project incubator showcased 15 projects in development and nine projects.
Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother Of All Lies and Tunisian-French director Erige Sehiri’s Under The Fig Trees have won the top post-production prizes at the Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops talent and project incubator.
The films were among 15 projects in development and nine projects in post-production presented in the fourth edition of the workshops, running online from November 22 to 25 and attended by more than 300 international film professionals.
The post-production jury comprised Nuha Eltayeb, director of content acquisitions for the Middle East,...
Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother Of All Lies and Tunisian-French director Erige Sehiri’s Under The Fig Trees have won the top post-production prizes at the Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops talent and project incubator.
The films were among 15 projects in development and nine projects in post-production presented in the fourth edition of the workshops, running online from November 22 to 25 and attended by more than 300 international film professionals.
The post-production jury comprised Nuha Eltayeb, director of content acquisitions for the Middle East,...
- 11/25/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
For the first time in its 46-year history, a Tanzanian film is part of the official selection of the Toronto Film Festival, as Amil Shivji’s “Vuta N’Kuvute” (Tug of War) prepares to bow at the Canadian fest on Sept. 13.
Set in colonial-era Zanzibar, “Tug of War” is the story of a young freedom fighter and a runaway bride whose romance blossoms against the backdrop of a political uprising in the final years of British colonial rule.
The film is produced by Steven Markovitz (Big World Cinema) and Shivji, who co-wrote with South African director Jenna Bass, who also debuts her latest feature, “Mlungu Wam” (Good Madam), in Toronto’s Platform section.
Based on the Swahili novel by Shafi Adam Shafi, “Tug of War” is a story that captivated the director when he first laid his hands on it. “I picked it up and couldn’t put it down,...
Set in colonial-era Zanzibar, “Tug of War” is the story of a young freedom fighter and a runaway bride whose romance blossoms against the backdrop of a political uprising in the final years of British colonial rule.
The film is produced by Steven Markovitz (Big World Cinema) and Shivji, who co-wrote with South African director Jenna Bass, who also debuts her latest feature, “Mlungu Wam” (Good Madam), in Toronto’s Platform section.
Based on the Swahili novel by Shafi Adam Shafi, “Tug of War” is a story that captivated the director when he first laid his hands on it. “I picked it up and couldn’t put it down,...
- 9/12/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The unexpected Academy Award run of “My Octopus Teacher,” Netflix’s hit, heartfelt documentary about a filmmaker’s unlikely relationship with an octopus living off the coast of South Africa, marks a rare Oscar nomination for an African documentary. But perhaps it should come as no surprise.
These are widely hailed as boom times for documentary filmmaking, driven in part by streaming platforms’ relentless appetite for content, as the coronavirus pandemic has left millions of homebound viewers across the globe glued to their screens. Despite the hurdles they face, it stands to reason that African filmmakers would also reap some rewards.
For the continent’s documentary filmmakers, however, it’s a movement a long time in the making. Recent years have seen the emergence of grassroots efforts to grow the African documentary community, such as the Nairobi-based DocuBox film fund, the Ouaga Film Lab, in Burkina Faso, and the pan-African DocA initiative.
These are widely hailed as boom times for documentary filmmaking, driven in part by streaming platforms’ relentless appetite for content, as the coronavirus pandemic has left millions of homebound viewers across the globe glued to their screens. Despite the hurdles they face, it stands to reason that African filmmakers would also reap some rewards.
For the continent’s documentary filmmakers, however, it’s a movement a long time in the making. Recent years have seen the emergence of grassroots efforts to grow the African documentary community, such as the Nairobi-based DocuBox film fund, the Ouaga Film Lab, in Burkina Faso, and the pan-African DocA initiative.
- 4/24/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Kuka, a well-known figure on the international festival circuit, was imprisoned on charges of causing a public nuisance while participating in a theatre workshop.
Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and four other artists have been released from jail in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, two weeks after they were imprisoned on charges of causing a public nuisance while participating in a theatre workshop.
South African producer Steven Markovitz, who produced Kuka’s award-winning documentary Beats Of The Antonov and debut fiction film aKasha, announced the news on Twitter on Thursday evening.
“Great news! Hajooj and the four artists have just been released.
Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and four other artists have been released from jail in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, two weeks after they were imprisoned on charges of causing a public nuisance while participating in a theatre workshop.
South African producer Steven Markovitz, who produced Kuka’s award-winning documentary Beats Of The Antonov and debut fiction film aKasha, announced the news on Twitter on Thursday evening.
“Great news! Hajooj and the four artists have just been released.
- 10/2/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
In today’s Global Bulletin, the global film community calls for the release of Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, Jana Bennett is announced as Congress ’20 closing speaker, PBS Masterpiece heads to Amazon in Canada, Leonine gets Oliver Vogel for W&b Television role, the Production Guild of Great Britain opens nominations for 2020 Innovation Awards and The Story Lab sells “Game of Clones” format in Brazil.
Call For Release
Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, whose films “Beats of the Antonov” and “aKasha” have played the Venice and Toronto film festivals, was among five artists sentenced to two months in prison on Thursday on charges of “public annoyance.”
The artists were involved in an altercation in Khartoum in August, after authorities reportedly responded to noise complaints from neighbors during a theater rehearsal.
Steven Markovitz, who produced both of Kuka’s films, decried what he described as “trumped-up charges” against the director, who was admitted into...
Call For Release
Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, whose films “Beats of the Antonov” and “aKasha” have played the Venice and Toronto film festivals, was among five artists sentenced to two months in prison on Thursday on charges of “public annoyance.”
The artists were involved in an altercation in Khartoum in August, after authorities reportedly responded to noise complaints from neighbors during a theater rehearsal.
Steven Markovitz, who produced both of Kuka’s films, decried what he described as “trumped-up charges” against the director, who was admitted into...
- 9/18/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute revealed the last batch of programming for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival — minus a few last-minute additions to its feature lineup, still to come — by announcing its New Frontier section, which this time around include not only augmented and virtual reality, but also SMS-based text messaging, biotech and artificial intelligence.
Like the innovative work it encompasses, Sundance’s New Frontier program has been evolving in recent years, as the festival aims to bring greater attention to the fields of Vr, artificial intelligence, and outside-the-box new media. During the 11-day event — which takes place from Jan. 23 through Feb. 2, 2020 in Park City, Utah — this work will have a dedicated home at two venues, the New Frontier at The Ray and New Frontier Central.
Some of the more unconventional pieces include “Anti-Gone” (pictured above), an installation that imagines the world post-climate change; “Spaced Out” from French artist Pierre Friquet a.k.
Like the innovative work it encompasses, Sundance’s New Frontier program has been evolving in recent years, as the festival aims to bring greater attention to the fields of Vr, artificial intelligence, and outside-the-box new media. During the 11-day event — which takes place from Jan. 23 through Feb. 2, 2020 in Park City, Utah — this work will have a dedicated home at two venues, the New Frontier at The Ray and New Frontier Central.
Some of the more unconventional pieces include “Anti-Gone” (pictured above), an installation that imagines the world post-climate change; “Spaced Out” from French artist Pierre Friquet a.k.
- 12/12/2019
- by Janko Roettgers and Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Second edition of project platform will showcase 28 feature projects.
Upcoming feature films by Egyptian director Tamer el Said and Moroccan Bafta nominee Ismaël Ferroukhi are among the 28 projects to be showcased at the second edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, running December 3 to 6.
“We got off to a good start in the first edition,” says Remi Bonhomme, who has spearheaded the meeting.
He notes the winner of the last year’s main post-production prize– Hassen Ferhani’s documentary 143 Sahara Street – went on to enjoy a successful festival career, clinching the best emerging director prize in...
Upcoming feature films by Egyptian director Tamer el Said and Moroccan Bafta nominee Ismaël Ferroukhi are among the 28 projects to be showcased at the second edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival’s Atlas Workshops, running December 3 to 6.
“We got off to a good start in the first edition,” says Remi Bonhomme, who has spearheaded the meeting.
He notes the winner of the last year’s main post-production prize– Hassen Ferhani’s documentary 143 Sahara Street – went on to enjoy a successful festival career, clinching the best emerging director prize in...
- 11/29/2019
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The International Emerging Film Talent Association (Iefta) in Collaboration with Marché Du Film-Festival De Cannes Announces A 10,000€ Prize For Documentary Works-In-Progress At The Marché’s Doc CornerIefta’s Global Film Expression Initiative hosts filmmakers from emerging economies at the Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film, enabling them to learn the business, participate in workshops , develop their careers and build their networks.The Monaco-based International Emerging Film Talent Association (Iefta) returns to this year’s 72nd Cannes Film Festival (14–27 May) with a sensational new collaboration with the Marché du Film-Festival de Cannes. An award of 10,000€, sponsored by Iefta, will be given to one of the 24 docs-in-progress from 6 countries participating in the Marché’s ‘Docs-in-Progress Showcases at the Doc Corner’ program.Directed by
Steven Markovitz and Khalid ShamisThe Colonel’s Stray DogsThe Award provides invaluable recognition and concrete support to filmmakers eager to finish their films. The contributing countries are Argentina,...
Steven Markovitz and Khalid ShamisThe Colonel’s Stray DogsThe Award provides invaluable recognition and concrete support to filmmakers eager to finish their films. The contributing countries are Argentina,...
- 5/3/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Mandisa Ralane ran the event from 2007 to 2012.
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival has appointmented Mandisa Ralane as festival director for its 21st edition.
Ralane returns to the festival having previously been director from 2007 to 2012. During that time she acted as an international ambassador for the South African film industry. This included setting up partnerships with Sichuan TV Festival in China; with the French Embassy in South Africa, where she coordinated the first Afriadoc Sa documentary writing residency; and with Al Jazeera English, in which 20 African documentaries were pitched to the global broadcaster.
She has recently been in management in the academic and government sector.
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival has appointmented Mandisa Ralane as festival director for its 21st edition.
Ralane returns to the festival having previously been director from 2007 to 2012. During that time she acted as an international ambassador for the South African film industry. This included setting up partnerships with Sichuan TV Festival in China; with the French Embassy in South Africa, where she coordinated the first Afriadoc Sa documentary writing residency; and with Al Jazeera English, in which 20 African documentaries were pitched to the global broadcaster.
She has recently been in management in the academic and government sector.
- 4/4/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Rotterdam, Call to Action: Support for Filmmakers at Risk and The Freedom Lecture took place during one day at the Iffr. The two events converged in subject matter as they both concern today’s great changes which are threatening the rights of just about everyone, whether artist, writer, immigrant, homeless, sick or just a normal human being living on Planet Earth.
Freedom of speech is on the horizon all over the world; filmmakers are increasingly confronted with attacks on their work. In recent years, a growing number of filmmakers have been threatened, arrested, imprisoned and even killed in an attempt to silence them. In these precarious situations, the international film community could make a difference by supporting these filmmakers, campaigning for their freedom or putting the authorities under pressure for their release. Because the reaction of the film community is often deeply fragmented, there seems to be a growing need for more coordinated action.
Freedom of speech is on the horizon all over the world; filmmakers are increasingly confronted with attacks on their work. In recent years, a growing number of filmmakers have been threatened, arrested, imprisoned and even killed in an attempt to silence them. In these precarious situations, the international film community could make a difference by supporting these filmmakers, campaigning for their freedom or putting the authorities under pressure for their release. Because the reaction of the film community is often deeply fragmented, there seems to be a growing need for more coordinated action.
- 2/4/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Kirill Serebrennikov, Oleg Sentsov and Wanuri Kahn are just a few of the filmmakers who have been threatened, censored or blacklisted over the last two years.
Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov has been on trial in Russia, accused of embezzling. Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov is still in prison (where he is said recently to have completed a novel).
Director Alankrita Shrivastova was attacked by censors in India because her film, Lipstick Under My Burkha, initially banned in the country, was considered too “lady oriented.”
Wanuri Kahn’s Rafiki, the hit Kenyan drama screening in Iffr’s Voices, fell foul of the...
Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov has been on trial in Russia, accused of embezzling. Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov is still in prison (where he is said recently to have completed a novel).
Director Alankrita Shrivastova was attacked by censors in India because her film, Lipstick Under My Burkha, initially banned in the country, was considered too “lady oriented.”
Wanuri Kahn’s Rafiki, the hit Kenyan drama screening in Iffr’s Voices, fell foul of the...
- 1/31/2019
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Kamal Ramadan and Mohamed Chakado, the stars of Venice Critics’ Week entry aKasha, have been refused departure from Uganda and will be unable to attend the world premiere screening of the debut feature here today, and possibly not at Tiff on September 9. The Sudan nationals arrived in Kampala on April 30 and applied for refugee status on June 11, we are told by representatives of the movie, but have not been granted the necessary papers. We are also told the producer of the film, Steven Markovitz (Rafiki), has written to the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, Unhcr, and is waiting for a reply.
Sudanese director Hajooj Kuka is the founder of Refugee Club. His last film, 2014’s Beats Of The Antonov, won the Documentary People’s Choice Award in Toronto that year.
AKasha is described as an offbeat love story set in a time of civil war that explores life and ideology in rebel-held areas of Sudan.
Sudanese director Hajooj Kuka is the founder of Refugee Club. His last film, 2014’s Beats Of The Antonov, won the Documentary People’s Choice Award in Toronto that year.
AKasha is described as an offbeat love story set in a time of civil war that explores life and ideology in rebel-held areas of Sudan.
- 8/31/2018
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Two stars of an offbeat Sudanese love story won’t be attending the movie’s world premiere in Venice Critics’ Week on Friday, with the duo stuck in Uganda awaiting word on their applications for refugee status.
Mohamed Chakado and Kamal Ramadan, who portray young conscripts on the run from the army in Hajooj Kuka’s feature debut “aKasha” (“The Roundup”), arrived in Uganda earlier this year after fleeing their native Sudan. They applied for refugee status in June, but their applications remain in limbo, and the two are unable to leave Uganda.
Producer Steven Markovitz has petitioned the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr) on behalf of the actors but has yet to receive a response. “We don’t know how long it’s going to take…so we don’t have any timeline yet,” he said.
Chakado and Ramadan are from the Nuba Mountains, the volatile Sudanese region where “aKasha” was filmed.
Mohamed Chakado and Kamal Ramadan, who portray young conscripts on the run from the army in Hajooj Kuka’s feature debut “aKasha” (“The Roundup”), arrived in Uganda earlier this year after fleeing their native Sudan. They applied for refugee status in June, but their applications remain in limbo, and the two are unable to leave Uganda.
Producer Steven Markovitz has petitioned the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr) on behalf of the actors but has yet to receive a response. “We don’t know how long it’s going to take…so we don’t have any timeline yet,” he said.
Chakado and Ramadan are from the Nuba Mountains, the volatile Sudanese region where “aKasha” was filmed.
- 8/29/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Durban — “The Reports on Sarah and Saleem,” directed by Muayad Alayan, scooped best picture at the 39th Durban Intl. Film Festival, which wrapped Saturday night with an award ceremony at the Suncoast Cine Center complex.
The film tells the story of the political ramifications of an extra-marital affair between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman. Variety described it as a “taut psychosocial drama.”
In a pre-recorded message from Jerusalem, Alayan offered thanks to the audience in South Africa – a country, he said, “which we as Palestinians hold in a very special place in our hearts” – while dedicating the award to “all the filmmakers out there in this world who are fighting all forms of injustice with their films and their art.”
The award punctuated a Diff whose 2018 edition “had a very special focus on hearing and seeing the marginal voices, with a focus on celebrating diversity,” according to Lliane Loots,...
The film tells the story of the political ramifications of an extra-marital affair between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman. Variety described it as a “taut psychosocial drama.”
In a pre-recorded message from Jerusalem, Alayan offered thanks to the audience in South Africa – a country, he said, “which we as Palestinians hold in a very special place in our hearts” – while dedicating the award to “all the filmmakers out there in this world who are fighting all forms of injustice with their films and their art.”
The award punctuated a Diff whose 2018 edition “had a very special focus on hearing and seeing the marginal voices, with a focus on celebrating diversity,” according to Lliane Loots,...
- 7/29/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
On Monday September 18th 2017 the 2nd edition of the Ouaga Film Lab , organized by Generation Films began. Launched in 2016 this development and coproduction residency aims to strengthen the competitiveness of West African directors and producers within major international labs, as well as to facilitate their access to local funds, international co-productions and closer collaborations with experienced mentors from around the continent.
10 feature projects (narrative and documentary) were selected this year:
A l’ombre d’Elimane, a documentary film project by Hamedine Kane (Senegal), produced by Rama Thiaw from Boul Fallé Images (Senegal)Agoodjie, a fiction film project by Félicien M. Assogba (Benin), produced by Fredy Boris Agblo from F-media (Benin)Bori Bana, a fiction film project by Joël Akafou (Côte d’Ivoire), produced by Floriane Zoundi (Burkina Faso) from Merveilles Production (Benin)Dia, a fiction film project by Achille Ronaïmou (Chad), produced by Faissol Gnonlonfin (Benin)Duba, Les charognards, a...
10 feature projects (narrative and documentary) were selected this year:
A l’ombre d’Elimane, a documentary film project by Hamedine Kane (Senegal), produced by Rama Thiaw from Boul Fallé Images (Senegal)Agoodjie, a fiction film project by Félicien M. Assogba (Benin), produced by Fredy Boris Agblo from F-media (Benin)Bori Bana, a fiction film project by Joël Akafou (Côte d’Ivoire), produced by Floriane Zoundi (Burkina Faso) from Merveilles Production (Benin)Dia, a fiction film project by Achille Ronaïmou (Chad), produced by Faissol Gnonlonfin (Benin)Duba, Les charognards, a...
- 9/22/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
While we eat “doubles” we talk one on one with selected filmmakers…
Great to be back for my fourth year at the Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival.
Jamaicans going to watch Jamaican shorts. Photo by actor director Tony Hendricks
My first night, I went with my new favorite delegation, whom I already wrote about in my Tiff It’s a Wrap blog, the group of Jamaican filmmakers to see their five shorts showing here at ttff as part of the Jafta Propella initiative to put money into the production and distribution of shorts (rather than in yet-another film festival). The range of stories and storytelling styles was a tasting menu of hors d’oevres for the festival.
Great to be back for my fourth year at the Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival.
Jamaicans going to watch Jamaican shorts. Photo by actor director Tony Hendricks
My first night, I went with my new favorite delegation, whom I already wrote about in my Tiff It’s a Wrap blog, the group of Jamaican filmmakers to see their five shorts showing here at ttff as part of the Jafta Propella initiative to put money into the production and distribution of shorts (rather than in yet-another film festival). The range of stories and storytelling styles was a tasting menu of hors d’oevres for the festival.
- 9/29/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...
- 8/7/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The premiere post-tiff destination (September 20-25th) in the film community and a major leg up for narrative and non-fiction films in development, the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) announced a whopping 140 projects selected for the Project Forum at the upcoming Ifp Independent Film Week. Made up of several sections (Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program, No Borders International Co-Production Market and Spotlight on Documentaries), we find latest updates from the likes of docu-helmers Doug Block (112 Weddings) and Lana Wilson (After Tiller), and among the narrative items we find headliners in Andrew Haigh (coming off the well received 45 Years), Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls and Madame Bovary), Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty), Lawrence Michael Levine (Wild Canaries), Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal (Stranger Things) and new faces in Sundance’s large family in Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again) and Olivia Newman (First Match). Here...
- 7/22/2015
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.
- 7/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man, Simon Stone.s The Daughter, Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Jen Peedom.s feature doc Sherpa will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival.
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
- 5/6/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
It should come as no surprise that Cannes Film Festival will play host to Kent Jones’s doc on the touchstone of filmmaking interview tomes, Hitchcock/Truffaut (see photo above). The film has been floating near the top of this list since it was announced last year as in development, while Jones himself has a history with the festival, having co-written both Arnaud Desplechin’s Jimmy P. and Martin Scorsese’s My Voyage To Italy, both of which premiered in Cannes. The film is scheduled to screen as part of the Cannes Classics sidebar alongside the likes of Stig Björkman’s Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words, which will play as part of the festival’s tribute to the late starlet, and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna’s Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (see trailer below). As someone who grew up watching road races with my dad in Watkins Glen,...
- 5/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
'Beats of the Antonov' Tells Story of Blue Nile & Nuba Mountains People in Sudan - Watch 1st Trailer
Screening at the upcoming 39th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) in its Docs lineup, among the always impressive slate of high-profile films making their world premieres at the festival, is "Beats of the Antonov," a feature documentary that tells the story of the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan, showing how they deal with civil war, and, more specifically, how the fear of the Russian-made Antonov planes that bomb these areas has had an unexpected result. Thanks to remarkable access, the film - directed by Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, and produced by Sarah Abunama-Elgadi and Steven Markovitz for Big World Cinema -...
- 9/2/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Congratulations to Kenyan director Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar and South African producer Steven Markovitz on their feature documentary project, Logs Of War, being selected for the 2014 Hot Docs Forum, regarded as the most effective international documentary market in North America - a dynamic pitching event that stimulates international co-production financing for projects at various levels of completion. It's a two-day, focused on a slate of pre-selected international project presentations showcased in front of a round table of commissioning editors, programming executives and delegates from around the globe. The South African/Kenyan production, Logs Of War, follows a...
- 3/12/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The 14th edition of the Rotterdam Lab kicks off tomorrow as part of CineMart.
The Lab is for emerging producers, who are nominated by international training bodies and funding agencies that are partners on the scheme. This year there are 57 producers participating.
This year’s new partners are Curious Film, One Fine Day Workshop, Tribeca Film Institute and Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival.
In addition to case studies, panels, speed-dating, talks and networking, the Lab allows producers to present their companies and projects. Expert speakers include Marleen Slot of Viking Film in the Netherlands, Steven Markovitz of South Africa’s Big World Cinema, Ido Abram of Eye Film Institute Netherlands, Katriel Schory of the Israel Film Fund, and Diana Elbaum of Entre Chien et Loup, among others.
The participants are:
Jaime Barrios, ColombiaEva Blondiau, GermanyRosan Boersma, NetherlandsNicholas Bruckman, USLiz Burke, AustraliaJessica Caldwell, USDiana Camargo, ColombiaGilles Chanial, LuxembourgSarah Cook, New ZealandIsabel de la Serna, BelgiumIsabel Delpierre...
The Lab is for emerging producers, who are nominated by international training bodies and funding agencies that are partners on the scheme. This year there are 57 producers participating.
This year’s new partners are Curious Film, One Fine Day Workshop, Tribeca Film Institute and Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival.
In addition to case studies, panels, speed-dating, talks and networking, the Lab allows producers to present their companies and projects. Expert speakers include Marleen Slot of Viking Film in the Netherlands, Steven Markovitz of South Africa’s Big World Cinema, Ido Abram of Eye Film Institute Netherlands, Katriel Schory of the Israel Film Fund, and Diana Elbaum of Entre Chien et Loup, among others.
The participants are:
Jaime Barrios, ColombiaEva Blondiau, GermanyRosan Boersma, NetherlandsNicholas Bruckman, USLiz Burke, AustraliaJessica Caldwell, USDiana Camargo, ColombiaGilles Chanial, LuxembourgSarah Cook, New ZealandIsabel de la Serna, BelgiumIsabel Delpierre...
- 1/24/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The 14th edition of the Rotterdam Lab kicks off tomorrow as part of CineMart.
The Lab is for emerging producers, who are nominated by international training bodies and funding agencies that are partners on the scheme. This year there are 57 producers participating.
This year’s new partners are Curious Film, One Fine Day Workshop, Tribeca Film Institute and Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival.
In addition to case studies, panels, speed-dating, talks and networking, the Lab allows producers to present their companies and projects. Expert speakers include Marleen Slot of Viking Film in the Netherlands, Steven Markovitz of South Africa’s Big World Cinema, Ido Abram of Eye Film Institute Netherlands, Katriel Schory of the Israel Film Fund, and Diana Elbaum of Entre Chien et Loup, among others.
The participants are:
Jaime Barrios, ColombiaEva Blondiau, GermanyRosan Boersma, NetherlandsNicholas Bruckman, USLiz Burke, AustraliaJessica Caldwell, USDiana Camargo, ColombiaGilles Chanial, LuxembourgSarah Cook, New ZealandIsabel de la Serna, BelgiumIsabel Delpierre...
The Lab is for emerging producers, who are nominated by international training bodies and funding agencies that are partners on the scheme. This year there are 57 producers participating.
This year’s new partners are Curious Film, One Fine Day Workshop, Tribeca Film Institute and Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival.
In addition to case studies, panels, speed-dating, talks and networking, the Lab allows producers to present their companies and projects. Expert speakers include Marleen Slot of Viking Film in the Netherlands, Steven Markovitz of South Africa’s Big World Cinema, Ido Abram of Eye Film Institute Netherlands, Katriel Schory of the Israel Film Fund, and Diana Elbaum of Entre Chien et Loup, among others.
The participants are:
Jaime Barrios, ColombiaEva Blondiau, GermanyRosan Boersma, NetherlandsNicholas Bruckman, USLiz Burke, AustraliaJessica Caldwell, USDiana Camargo, ColombiaGilles Chanial, LuxembourgSarah Cook, New ZealandIsabel de la Serna, BelgiumIsabel Delpierre...
- 1/24/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Movement on the African Metropolis initiative we announced last summer - July. First a quick recap... in short, selected from among 40 entries, 7 African directors will each explore their own "African Metropolis" on film - Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, and Nairobi. The initiative is presented by executive producer Steven Markovitz and the Goethe-Institut South Africa, with further support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria is also a partner. The filmmakers are Jim Chuchu of Kenya, Egyptian director Ahmed Ghoneimy, Folasakin...
- 7/22/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Movement on the African Metropolis initiative we announced last summer - July. First a quick recap... in short, selected from among 40 entries, 7 African directors will each explore their own "African Metropolis" on film - Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, and Nairobi. The initiative is presented by executive producer Steven Markovitz and the Goethe-Institut South Africa, with further support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria is also a partner. The filmmakers are Jim Chuchu of Kenya, Egyptian director Ahmed Ghoneimy, Folasakin...
- 7/17/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Movement on the African Metropolis initiative we announced last summer - July. In short, selected from among 40 entries, 7 African directors will each explore their own "African Metropolis" on film - Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, and Nairobi. The initiative is presented by executive producer Steven Markovitz and the Goethe-Institut South Africa, with further support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. The filmmakers are Jim Chuchu of Kenya, Egyptian director Ahmed Ghoneimy, Folasakin Iwajomo of Nigeria, Marie Ka, who is Senegalese/Martiniquan, Philippe Lacote of the Ivory Coast, Yohan Lengole of the Democratic...
- 3/11/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Directed by Eddie Edwards, and produced by Steven Markovitz (he also produced Viva Riva!, will produce Djo Munga's next feature, as well as Wanuri Kahiu's, and is behind initiatives like ImagiNations, and African Metropolis), Rollaball is a feature-length documentary, currently in production, about Ghana’s skate soccer team, the Rolling Rockets, who play a skateboard-inspired version of soccer adapted to suit their disability. To help make the completed documentary possible, the filmmakers set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise $35,000 in 30 days, and ended up raising over $38,000 instead; with the funds raised, they will be able to return to Ghana to...
- 10/1/2012
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
Directed by Eddie Edwards, and produced by Steven Markovitz (he also produced Viva Riva!, will produce Djo Munga's next feature, as well as Wanuri Kahiu's, and is behind initiatives like ImagiNations, and African Metropolis), Rollaball is a feature-length documentary, currently in production, about Ghana’s skate soccer team, the Rolling Rockets, who play a skateboard-inspired version of soccer adapted to suit their disability. To help make the completed documentary possible, your assistance is needed. The filmmakers want to raise $35,000 in 30 days. The currently have a 28-minute rough cut of the film, and with the funds raised, will be able to...
- 9/7/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Produced by Steven Markovitz (he also produced Viva Riva!), and directed by Eddie Edwards, Rollaball is a feature-length documentary, currently in production, about Ghana’s skate soccer team, the Rolling Rockets, who play a skateboard-inspired version of soccer adapted to suit their disability. To help make the completed documentary possible, your assistance is needed. Read on... The filmmakers want to raise $35,000 in 30 days. The currently have a 28-minute rough cut of the film, and with the funds raised, will be able to return to Ghana to complete principal photography. The film has already received production funding from The National Film and Video...
- 8/24/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The third Durban FilmMart wrapped with a host of monetary awards given to documentary and feature film projects by African filmmakers. Durban Film Office head Toni Monty, addressing more than 400 delegates Monday on the market's closing night, said that its growth over the past three years is "a major indication that we are addressing the needs and challenges relevant to African cinema." One of those awards came from Arte France, and went to Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu (Pumzi) and producer Steven Markovitz (Viva Riva! and more) for a feature film project titled Jambula Tree - a South African-Kenya co-production. Plot details...
- 7/25/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The award-winning thriller Viva Riva! could fire an interest in home-grown African productions rather than foreign imports
Its gritty portrayal of sex, violence and gangsters in Kinshasa will come as little surprise to people who live there. The unknown quantity is how Congolese film Viva Riva! will play from Kenya to Senegal, from Zimbabwe to Burkina Faso.
The award-winning thriller is set for release in an unprecedented 18 African countries, its producers say, signalling hopes that a new generation of African cinema-goers will watch home-grown productions instead of foreign imports.
Viva Riva! is the first film shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the industry was shut down by President Mobutu Sese Seko 25 years ago.
Along with special screenings in Kinshasa, it has gone on release in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda, with more states in central and west Africa to come.
"We want to...
Its gritty portrayal of sex, violence and gangsters in Kinshasa will come as little surprise to people who live there. The unknown quantity is how Congolese film Viva Riva! will play from Kenya to Senegal, from Zimbabwe to Burkina Faso.
The award-winning thriller is set for release in an unprecedented 18 African countries, its producers say, signalling hopes that a new generation of African cinema-goers will watch home-grown productions instead of foreign imports.
Viva Riva! is the first film shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the industry was shut down by President Mobutu Sese Seko 25 years ago.
Along with special screenings in Kinshasa, it has gone on release in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda, with more states in central and west Africa to come.
"We want to...
- 10/19/2011
- by David Smith
- The Guardian - Film News
And the beat goes on… lots and lots of good news for this film and filmmaker in recent weeks.
Announced earlier today, it picked up 6 trophies at the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards; also director Djo Tunda Wa Munga is already prepping his next film, a Chinese cop thriller, set in Congo-Kinshasa. And I certainly can’t forget all the glowing reviews the film has received since its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, including my own, which you can read Here.
And now comes this piece of news I learned just earlier today, from one of the films’ executive producers, Steven Markovitz, who told me that Viva Riva does have a stateside distributor, and the film will be released theatrical in the USA this June. He didn’t give me a specific calendar day however.
The distributor, Music Box Films, is known for the smaller, non-American, critically-acclaimed,...
Announced earlier today, it picked up 6 trophies at the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards; also director Djo Tunda Wa Munga is already prepping his next film, a Chinese cop thriller, set in Congo-Kinshasa. And I certainly can’t forget all the glowing reviews the film has received since its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, including my own, which you can read Here.
And now comes this piece of news I learned just earlier today, from one of the films’ executive producers, Steven Markovitz, who told me that Viva Riva does have a stateside distributor, and the film will be released theatrical in the USA this June. He didn’t give me a specific calendar day however.
The distributor, Music Box Films, is known for the smaller, non-American, critically-acclaimed,...
- 3/28/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
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