Johnson stars in David Leitch’s Bullet Train, which opened the festival.
This year’s edition of the Locarno Film Festival (August 3-13), the second one under the artistic direction of Giona Nazzaro, kicked off Wednesday evening with the presentation of the Davide Campari excellence award to the UK actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson before the screening of his latest film, David Leitch’s Bullet Train, which sees him starring opposite Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.
In his speech, the 32-year-old Kick-Ass, Anna Karenina and Nocturnal Animals star said that he was “incredibly grateful for this opportunity and the acknowledgment of what...
This year’s edition of the Locarno Film Festival (August 3-13), the second one under the artistic direction of Giona Nazzaro, kicked off Wednesday evening with the presentation of the Davide Campari excellence award to the UK actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson before the screening of his latest film, David Leitch’s Bullet Train, which sees him starring opposite Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.
In his speech, the 32-year-old Kick-Ass, Anna Karenina and Nocturnal Animals star said that he was “incredibly grateful for this opportunity and the acknowledgment of what...
- 8/4/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Ceremony took place remotely, after festival shifted online week before opening.
Psychological thriller Exile has won the best film prize at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival, which took place online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of winners
In a virtual awards ceremony, streamed on the festival’s VoD platform, Kosovo-born writer-director Visar Morina accepted the Heart of Sarajevo prize via a video message after jury president Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) made the announcement from his own home in France. The award includes a prize of €16,000.
Exile, first seen at Sundance and in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand,...
Psychological thriller Exile has won the best film prize at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival, which took place online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of winners
In a virtual awards ceremony, streamed on the festival’s VoD platform, Kosovo-born writer-director Visar Morina accepted the Heart of Sarajevo prize via a video message after jury president Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) made the announcement from his own home in France. The award includes a prize of €16,000.
Exile, first seen at Sundance and in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand,...
- 8/21/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Festival will world premiere 12 features across its dramatic and documentary competitions.
Eight features have been selected for the main competition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which is taking place as a physical event from August 14-21.
They include the world premieres of More Raça’s Andromeda Galaxy; Fatih Özcan’s Mavzer; Ruxandra Ghițescu’s Otto The Barbarian; and Ru Hasanov’s The Island Within. A further three films played in the Berlinale’s Panorama section earlier this year: Visar Morina’s Exile; Andrea Staka’s Mare; and Georgis Grigorakis’ Digger, which won the strand’s Cicae Award.
Scroll down for...
Eight features have been selected for the main competition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which is taking place as a physical event from August 14-21.
They include the world premieres of More Raça’s Andromeda Galaxy; Fatih Özcan’s Mavzer; Ruxandra Ghițescu’s Otto The Barbarian; and Ru Hasanov’s The Island Within. A further three films played in the Berlinale’s Panorama section earlier this year: Visar Morina’s Exile; Andrea Staka’s Mare; and Georgis Grigorakis’ Digger, which won the strand’s Cicae Award.
Scroll down for...
- 7/23/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
In Dubrovnik, as everywhere, the wealthy do not live near the airport — so much noise, so much traffic, so many planes overhead stealing sections of cloudless blue sky. Instead, the airport’s depressed, cracked-concrete environs are occupied by blue-collar families like the one at the heart of Andrea Staka’s third feature (after “Cure” and 2008’s Locarno-winning “Fraulein”), which gives “Mare,” as specific and intimate a portrait of female midlife dissatisfaction as you’ll find, its more universal striations of class and social awareness.
The contrast inherent in a narrow, proscribed life lived right next to a portal to the wide world is deftly reinforced. But “Mare” feels grounded in both senses: It is authentically rooted in its very specific locale, but as a story it is also overcautiously constrained, the narrative equivalent of being confined to quarters.
This sense of claustrophobia is of course part of the point. Mare is the capable,...
The contrast inherent in a narrow, proscribed life lived right next to a portal to the wide world is deftly reinforced. But “Mare” feels grounded in both senses: It is authentically rooted in its very specific locale, but as a story it is also overcautiously constrained, the narrative equivalent of being confined to quarters.
This sense of claustrophobia is of course part of the point. Mare is the capable,...
- 3/31/2020
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Andrea Štaka, who won a Locarno Golden Leopard in 2006 with “Fraulein,” unveils her latest film “Mare” in the Panorama section of this year’s Berlin Festival.
Telling the story of a middle age mom, Marija Škaričić (“The Priest’s Children”) and Goran Navojec (“All the Best”) were cast to tell the story of a family in Dubrovnik.
Although Mare, her husband, and their three children live together in their home near the airport, she often feels like something is missing, and a stranger to those around her. When an outsider appears in her life, she will struggle to feel satisfied with what she has already.
Be For Films, the Belgium wing of France’s Playtime, handle sales on the co-production between Okofilm Productions and Dinaridi, co-produced by broadcaster Srf and Srg Ssr in Switzerland, Zdf in Germany and Arte in France. The film received financial backing from a host of public funds in various countries.
Telling the story of a middle age mom, Marija Škaričić (“The Priest’s Children”) and Goran Navojec (“All the Best”) were cast to tell the story of a family in Dubrovnik.
Although Mare, her husband, and their three children live together in their home near the airport, she often feels like something is missing, and a stranger to those around her. When an outsider appears in her life, she will struggle to feel satisfied with what she has already.
Be For Films, the Belgium wing of France’s Playtime, handle sales on the co-production between Okofilm Productions and Dinaridi, co-produced by broadcaster Srf and Srg Ssr in Switzerland, Zdf in Germany and Arte in France. The film received financial backing from a host of public funds in various countries.
- 2/24/2020
- by Pablo Sandoval and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“Charlatan”
Director: Agnieszka Holland
The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor.
Sales: Films Boutique
Berlinale Special Gala
“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in
this documentary.
Sales: Cat&Docs
Generation 14plus
“The Exit of the Trains”
Directors: Radu Jude,
Adrian Cioflanca
This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian.
Sales: MicroFilm
Forum
“Frem”
Director: Viera Cakanyova
This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking.
Sales: Hypermarket Film
Forum
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
Director: Mariusz Wilczynski
A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings,...
Director: Agnieszka Holland
The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor.
Sales: Films Boutique
Berlinale Special Gala
“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in
this documentary.
Sales: Cat&Docs
Generation 14plus
“The Exit of the Trains”
Directors: Radu Jude,
Adrian Cioflanca
This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian.
Sales: MicroFilm
Forum
“Frem”
Director: Viera Cakanyova
This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking.
Sales: Hypermarket Film
Forum
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
Director: Mariusz Wilczynski
A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings,...
- 2/23/2020
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin International Film Festival is around the corner, kicking off next week, and it’s shaping up to be one of their finest line-ups. Now headed up by Carlo Chatrian, coming from Locarno Film Festival, the lineup features some of our most-anticipated films of the year. For those not headed to Germany, we’ve rounded up the most notable trailers thus far for films set to debut there–as well as a few recent festival favorites playing in competition.
Featuring Christian Petzold’s Undine, Hong Sang-soo’s The Woman Who Ran, Tsai Ming-Liang’s Rizi, Matías Piñero’s Isabella, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan, and more, one can check back soon for our reviews as well as more trailers as they become available. The 70th edition of the festival takes place February 20 through March 1.
Bad Tales (Damiano D’Innocenzo & Fabio D’Innocenzo)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Burhan Qurbani)
Charlatan (Agnieszka Holland)
First Cow (Kelly Reichardt...
Featuring Christian Petzold’s Undine, Hong Sang-soo’s The Woman Who Ran, Tsai Ming-Liang’s Rizi, Matías Piñero’s Isabella, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan, and more, one can check back soon for our reviews as well as more trailers as they become available. The 70th edition of the festival takes place February 20 through March 1.
Bad Tales (Damiano D’Innocenzo & Fabio D’Innocenzo)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Burhan Qurbani)
Charlatan (Agnieszka Holland)
First Cow (Kelly Reichardt...
- 2/13/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Swiss/Croatian feature film “Mare,” written and directed by Andrea Staka, which will have its world premiere in the Panorama Section of the Berlin Film Festival.
The film, which is being sold by Pamela Leu at Be For Films, centers on Mare. She has never flown, although she lives right next to the airport with her husband and three teenagers. She loves her family, cares for them, but sometimes almost feels like a stranger in her own home.
Mare finds herself gazing at the planes overhead, longing for change and the unknown. When one day a young man moves into the house next door, she puts her life to the test.
The cast includes Marija Škaričić, Goran Navojec, Mateusz Kościukiewicz and Mirjana Karanović. The film is produced by Thomas Imbach, Štaka and Tena Gojić for Okofilm Productions and Dinaridi. Frenetic...
The film, which is being sold by Pamela Leu at Be For Films, centers on Mare. She has never flown, although she lives right next to the airport with her husband and three teenagers. She loves her family, cares for them, but sometimes almost feels like a stranger in her own home.
Mare finds herself gazing at the planes overhead, longing for change and the unknown. When one day a young man moves into the house next door, she puts her life to the test.
The cast includes Marija Škaričić, Goran Navojec, Mateusz Kościukiewicz and Mirjana Karanović. The film is produced by Thomas Imbach, Štaka and Tena Gojić for Okofilm Productions and Dinaridi. Frenetic...
- 1/29/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary projects from Georgia, Chile and Serbia were amongst the winners.
Documentary projects from Georgia, Chile and Serbia were amongst the winners at the 16th edition of Visions du Réel Industry programme held at the same time as the Visions du Réel International Film Festival in Switzerland’s Nyon on Lake Geneva.
Georgian-born Salomé Jashi’s latest documentary Trees Floating, which was one of 15 projects presented at the two-day Pitching du Réel closed session to invited broadcasters, distributors, sales agents and producers, received the Head - Genève Postproduction Award which will provide all the facilities for colour grading and the creation of files for broadcast.
Documentary projects from Georgia, Chile and Serbia were amongst the winners at the 16th edition of Visions du Réel Industry programme held at the same time as the Visions du Réel International Film Festival in Switzerland’s Nyon on Lake Geneva.
Georgian-born Salomé Jashi’s latest documentary Trees Floating, which was one of 15 projects presented at the two-day Pitching du Réel closed session to invited broadcasters, distributors, sales agents and producers, received the Head - Genève Postproduction Award which will provide all the facilities for colour grading and the creation of files for broadcast.
- 4/20/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
€5m funding is shared between 17 fiction, 2 animation and 1 documentary films.
Following its 150th meeting in Yerevan, Armenia from March 13-16, European cinema body Eurimages has awarded funding to 20 film projects.
Of the supported titles, 17 are fiction, two are animated and one is a documentary. 30% of those receiving support have female directors, who cumulatively receive 34% of the total money awarded.
See below for the full list of projects
Among the projects are Bergman Island, the next film from French director Mia Hansen-Løve (Things To Come). Launched at Cannes last year, the story centres on an American filmmaking couple who find the...
Following its 150th meeting in Yerevan, Armenia from March 13-16, European cinema body Eurimages has awarded funding to 20 film projects.
Of the supported titles, 17 are fiction, two are animated and one is a documentary. 30% of those receiving support have female directors, who cumulatively receive 34% of the total money awarded.
See below for the full list of projects
Among the projects are Bergman Island, the next film from French director Mia Hansen-Løve (Things To Come). Launched at Cannes last year, the story centres on an American filmmaking couple who find the...
- 3/19/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
A total of 21 projects will be presented at the development and financing platform.
Caroline Deruas, Jonathan Nossiter and David Verbeek will be among the directors presenting their upcoming projects at the eighth edition of the Les Arcs Coproduction Village (Dec 10-13).
A total of 24 projects will presented at the three-day event unfolding within the Les Arcs European Film Festival (10-17) which announced the bulk of its programme last week.
Verbeek will present his long-gestating vampire project Dead & Beautiful.
Jonathan Nossiter will be at the market with The Last Words, his big screen adaptation of France-based Argentine writer Santiago Amigorena’s novel Mes derniers mots revolving around the last two members of the human race as they contemplate a world destroyed by mankind.
Deruas will present her second feature Sad Liza after Daydreams which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival over the summer.
Two animation projects have also made it into this year’s selection, Dutch experimental...
Caroline Deruas, Jonathan Nossiter and David Verbeek will be among the directors presenting their upcoming projects at the eighth edition of the Les Arcs Coproduction Village (Dec 10-13).
A total of 24 projects will presented at the three-day event unfolding within the Les Arcs European Film Festival (10-17) which announced the bulk of its programme last week.
Verbeek will present his long-gestating vampire project Dead & Beautiful.
Jonathan Nossiter will be at the market with The Last Words, his big screen adaptation of France-based Argentine writer Santiago Amigorena’s novel Mes derniers mots revolving around the last two members of the human race as they contemplate a world destroyed by mankind.
Deruas will present her second feature Sad Liza after Daydreams which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival over the summer.
Two animation projects have also made it into this year’s selection, Dutch experimental...
- 11/17/2016
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Interview with Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick.
The Berlinale’s greater emphasis on television this year should not be interpreted as the first step towards a German Mip, according to festival director Dieter Kosslick.
In an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily, Kosslick said: ¨We don’t want to make a Mip TV or Mipcom, that’s as sure as day follows night and anything more would overstretch us.¨
He pointed out that that the Berlinale had had successful screenings of quality TV in the past with such productions as Dominik Graf’s Im Namen des Verbrechens, Jane Campion’s Top Of The Lake and Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz.
“We have now been working for the past two years on this programme which is composed of two parts: a series of discussions on new trends at the Efm and two days of drama series integrated into the festival programme and shown at Haus der Berliner [link=tt...
The Berlinale’s greater emphasis on television this year should not be interpreted as the first step towards a German Mip, according to festival director Dieter Kosslick.
In an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily, Kosslick said: ¨We don’t want to make a Mip TV or Mipcom, that’s as sure as day follows night and anything more would overstretch us.¨
He pointed out that that the Berlinale had had successful screenings of quality TV in the past with such productions as Dominik Graf’s Im Namen des Verbrechens, Jane Campion’s Top Of The Lake and Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz.
“We have now been working for the past two years on this programme which is composed of two parts: a series of discussions on new trends at the Efm and two days of drama series integrated into the festival programme and shown at Haus der Berliner [link=tt...
- 1/27/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Locarno’s Golden Leopard has been awarded to Filipino director Lav Diaz’s five-and-a-half-hour epic From What Is Before.Scroll down for full list of winners
The film, which has the Filipino title Mula sa kung ano ang noon, also picked up the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Environment is Quality of Life Prize, and the International Federation of Film Societies’ (Iffs) Don Quixote Prize.
On learning that he had won Locarno’s top honour, Diaz said that he wanted to dedicate the award to his father.
“He brought me cinema, he’s a cinema addict, and he started this passion in me,” said Diaz.
“For the Filipino people, it’s for them, for their struggle, and then I would like to dedicate it to all serious filmmakers in the world, to Pedro Costa, he’s my brother and I love his work, to Matias Pineiro, and to the makers of all the other films in the...
The film, which has the Filipino title Mula sa kung ano ang noon, also picked up the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Environment is Quality of Life Prize, and the International Federation of Film Societies’ (Iffs) Don Quixote Prize.
On learning that he had won Locarno’s top honour, Diaz said that he wanted to dedicate the award to his father.
“He brought me cinema, he’s a cinema addict, and he started this passion in me,” said Diaz.
“For the Filipino people, it’s for them, for their struggle, and then I would like to dedicate it to all serious filmmakers in the world, to Pedro Costa, he’s my brother and I love his work, to Matias Pineiro, and to the makers of all the other films in the...
- 8/16/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Above: Pedro Costa's Horse Money
The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...
"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director
Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France
Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)
A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)
Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...
The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...
"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director
Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France
Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)
A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)
Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...
- 7/25/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Pula, Croatia – New Croatian films are poised for recognition at international festivals this fall as funding reforms and tax incentives introduced in the Eastern European country over the past few years begin to have an impact. The small, former Yugoslav country's first film in more than 15 year at Venice, Ognjen Svilicic's These Are the Rules, is due to screen in the festival's Horizons section next month. In addition, two movies are heading to the annual festival in Locarno – Andrea Staka's Cure, which screens in international competition, and Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic's co-production Love Island, which is
read more...
read more...
- 7/24/2014
- by Nick Holdsworth
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 20th edition which runs August 15-23.
The 20th Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) has announced its official selection. Among nine films in the feature competition, there are three world premieres, including the new film by Kosovo veteran Isa Qosja, Three Windows And A Hanging. Qosja won the Special Jury Award at Sff with Kukumi in 2005.
Two other world premieres in competition are first feature films: Georgian director Lasha Tskvitinidze’s I Am Beso, and Song Of My Mother by Turkey’s Erol Mintas.
The list of debuts in the competition is completed with Berlinale titles Brides by Georgia’s Tinatin Kajrishvili, Land Of Storms by Hungary’s Ádám Császi, and Macondo by Sudabeh Mortezai from Austria.
Cure - The Life Of Another, the new film by Andrea Staka who won Heart of Sarajevo for best film in 2006 with Das Fräulein, will have its...
The 20th Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 15-23) has announced its official selection. Among nine films in the feature competition, there are three world premieres, including the new film by Kosovo veteran Isa Qosja, Three Windows And A Hanging. Qosja won the Special Jury Award at Sff with Kukumi in 2005.
Two other world premieres in competition are first feature films: Georgian director Lasha Tskvitinidze’s I Am Beso, and Song Of My Mother by Turkey’s Erol Mintas.
The list of debuts in the competition is completed with Berlinale titles Brides by Georgia’s Tinatin Kajrishvili, Land Of Storms by Hungary’s Ádám Császi, and Macondo by Sudabeh Mortezai from Austria.
Cure - The Life Of Another, the new film by Andrea Staka who won Heart of Sarajevo for best film in 2006 with Das Fräulein, will have its...
- 7/17/2014
- ScreenDaily
Swiss Films promotional agency to restructure in 2014.
The new head of national promotion agency Swiss Films says filmmakers should start thinking about how their film will be promoted from the minute they start working on it. “We’re trying to find out what the story will be at the beginning…promotion should be starting from day 1,” says Swiss Films director Catherine Ann Berger.
She wants Swiss Films to be able to work with directors and producers as they are making films, and in the editing room. “It’s trusting the experience of many people who have worked in the field for a long, long time.” She says getting world sales companies on board for Swiss films earlier can also help landing slots at major festivals.
It’s a change in attitude from how European arthouse filmmakers are accustomed to working. “It’s a different approach to European auteur filmmaking. They want to keep the reins as long...
The new head of national promotion agency Swiss Films says filmmakers should start thinking about how their film will be promoted from the minute they start working on it. “We’re trying to find out what the story will be at the beginning…promotion should be starting from day 1,” says Swiss Films director Catherine Ann Berger.
She wants Swiss Films to be able to work with directors and producers as they are making films, and in the editing room. “It’s trusting the experience of many people who have worked in the field for a long, long time.” She says getting world sales companies on board for Swiss films earlier can also help landing slots at major festivals.
It’s a change in attitude from how European arthouse filmmakers are accustomed to working. “It’s a different approach to European auteur filmmaking. They want to keep the reins as long...
- 10/1/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
My heartfelt thanks to Michael Hawley for sharing his preview of the current Sffs Screen lineup with Twitch.
* * * 2008 was a wildly ambitious year for the San Francisco Film Society (Sffs). In addition to presenting a stellar 51st Sf International Film Festival and launching two successful new mini-festivals—French Cinema Now and Québec Film Week—they also assumed stewardship of the 32-year-old Film Arts Foundation and its broad range of services for Bay Area filmmakers. And as if that wasn’t a plateful, they also jumped into the film exhibition business with the Sffs Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.
Inaugurated last June as a venue for week-long runs of films with limited distribution, the Sffs Screen played host for three of my favorite films of 2008: Yang Li’s Blind Mountain, Andrea Staka’s Fraulein and Khuat Akhmetov’s Wind Man. I would have attended with greater frequency, but often...
* * * 2008 was a wildly ambitious year for the San Francisco Film Society (Sffs). In addition to presenting a stellar 51st Sf International Film Festival and launching two successful new mini-festivals—French Cinema Now and Québec Film Week—they also assumed stewardship of the 32-year-old Film Arts Foundation and its broad range of services for Bay Area filmmakers. And as if that wasn’t a plateful, they also jumped into the film exhibition business with the Sffs Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.
Inaugurated last June as a venue for week-long runs of films with limited distribution, the Sffs Screen played host for three of my favorite films of 2008: Yang Li’s Blind Mountain, Andrea Staka’s Fraulein and Khuat Akhmetov’s Wind Man. I would have attended with greater frequency, but often...
- 2/4/2009
- by Michael Guillen
- Screen Anarchy
COLOGNE, Germany -- Fredi M. Murer's "Vitus", the story of a young music prodigy who leads a double life as a high-stakes Internet day trader, won best film at the Swiss Film Awards, Switzerland's top film honors, organizers announced Thursday.
"Vitus" was Switzerland's official entry for the foreign-language Oscar but failed to gain a nomination.
Jean-Luc Bideau won the best actor prize for "Mon frere se marie", while Heidi Specogna earned the documentary nod for "The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez," the story of the first U.S. solider to lose his life in the Iraq war.
Stina Werenfels' "Nachbeben", a drama set in the world of Swiss investment banking, won the Jury Grand Prix for its acting ensemble and Andrea Staka won the inaugural best screenplay award for the script for her directorial debut, "Das Fraeulein".
"Vitus" was Switzerland's official entry for the foreign-language Oscar but failed to gain a nomination.
Jean-Luc Bideau won the best actor prize for "Mon frere se marie", while Heidi Specogna earned the documentary nod for "The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez," the story of the first U.S. solider to lose his life in the Iraq war.
Stina Werenfels' "Nachbeben", a drama set in the world of Swiss investment banking, won the Jury Grand Prix for its acting ensemble and Andrea Staka won the inaugural best screenplay award for the script for her directorial debut, "Das Fraeulein".
- 1/25/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- A Swiss-German-Bosnian co-production, Das Fraulein, Andrea Staka's debut about the lives of two very different Yugoslav women living in Zurich, Switzerland, won the 25,000 Heart of Sarajevo award for best film Saturday as the 12th annual Sarajevo Film Festival came to a close. The film, judged by a jury headed by Jasmina Zbanic -- the young Bosnian filmmaker whose Grbavica won this year's Golden Bear at Berlin -- was lauded for the way in which the director combined "in an impressive way acting, editing and visual style," the jury said in a statement issued by festival organizers. A special 10,000 jury award went to another Bosnian debut director, Faruk Loncarevic. Jurors called the helmer's Mum 'N' Dad, a tale of an elderly couple played out against the background of a television reality show, a "truly original first film."...
- 8/28/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- The heartache that accompanies reluctant exile as experienced by three women from the former Yugoslavia underpins Andrea Staka's poignant drama "Das Fraulein", which won the Golden Leopard for best film in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival.
The film is set in Zurich, where one woman from Belgrade, in what is now Serbia, and another from a seaside town in what is now Croatia have spent about 25 years acclimating to life in Switzerland. Their carefully constructed lives are shaken by the arrival of a vivacious young woman from Sarajevo, in what is now Bosnia, who spurns the older pair's cautious way of life. The clash of viewpoints is explored in touching scenes as the three find their assumptions about survival challenged by a jolting reminder of life's unfairness.
Making her feature debut, Swiss-born writer-director Staka, whose parents were Yugoslavian exiles, uses the Zurich locations evocatively, writes in-sightful dialogue and draws naturalistic acting from the principals. The result is a picture that should thrive in Europe and at art houses and suggests a bright future for the filmmaker.
The contrasts be-tween the two older women are established quickly with Ruza (Mirjana Karanovic), the stern and disciplined unmarried owner of a charmless but busy diner, and Mila (Ljubica Jovic), a jovial and happily married waitress.
Both long exiled, Ruza has put Belgrade behind her and is focused on being totally efficient both in her business and her joyless single life, while Mila dreams of retiring to a house on the Adriatic in Croatia.
Into the diner one day comes Ana (Marija Skaricic), who drifts contentedly but proves helpful at the restaurant and is offered a job. Her high spirits and engaging willingness to break the rules, even Ruza's, endear her not only to the others in the place but also to its chilly owner.
Ana brings a refreshing indifference to flags and borders, and her ability to enjoy life proves infectious. All three women begin to embrace life more until fate deals another bad hand.
The scenes of expatriates torn by nostalgic yearning yet determined to make new lives are well drawn, and the sequences in which Ana helps Ruza shake off her inhibitions also have a keen edge.
Skaricic and Jovic show how wisdom and joy are not determined by age. And Karanovic is moving as a woman who has buried both her emotions and any ability to connect with life beyond work until suddenly freed by youthful exuberance.
DAS FRAULEIN
Dschoint Ventschr FilmProduktion
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Andrea Staka
Producers: Susann Rudlinger, Samir, Mirjam Quinte, Davor Pusic
Director of photography: Igor Martinovic
Production designer: Sue Erdt
Editor: Gion-Reto Killias
Music: Peter von Siebenthal, Till Wyler, Daniel Jakob
Cast:
Ruza: Mirjana Karanovic
Ana: Marija Skaricic
Mila: Ljubica Jovic
Franz: Andrea Zogg
Ante: Zdenko Jelcic
Fredi: Pablo Aguilar
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 81 minutes...
The film is set in Zurich, where one woman from Belgrade, in what is now Serbia, and another from a seaside town in what is now Croatia have spent about 25 years acclimating to life in Switzerland. Their carefully constructed lives are shaken by the arrival of a vivacious young woman from Sarajevo, in what is now Bosnia, who spurns the older pair's cautious way of life. The clash of viewpoints is explored in touching scenes as the three find their assumptions about survival challenged by a jolting reminder of life's unfairness.
Making her feature debut, Swiss-born writer-director Staka, whose parents were Yugoslavian exiles, uses the Zurich locations evocatively, writes in-sightful dialogue and draws naturalistic acting from the principals. The result is a picture that should thrive in Europe and at art houses and suggests a bright future for the filmmaker.
The contrasts be-tween the two older women are established quickly with Ruza (Mirjana Karanovic), the stern and disciplined unmarried owner of a charmless but busy diner, and Mila (Ljubica Jovic), a jovial and happily married waitress.
Both long exiled, Ruza has put Belgrade behind her and is focused on being totally efficient both in her business and her joyless single life, while Mila dreams of retiring to a house on the Adriatic in Croatia.
Into the diner one day comes Ana (Marija Skaricic), who drifts contentedly but proves helpful at the restaurant and is offered a job. Her high spirits and engaging willingness to break the rules, even Ruza's, endear her not only to the others in the place but also to its chilly owner.
Ana brings a refreshing indifference to flags and borders, and her ability to enjoy life proves infectious. All three women begin to embrace life more until fate deals another bad hand.
The scenes of expatriates torn by nostalgic yearning yet determined to make new lives are well drawn, and the sequences in which Ana helps Ruza shake off her inhibitions also have a keen edge.
Skaricic and Jovic show how wisdom and joy are not determined by age. And Karanovic is moving as a woman who has buried both her emotions and any ability to connect with life beyond work until suddenly freed by youthful exuberance.
DAS FRAULEIN
Dschoint Ventschr FilmProduktion
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Andrea Staka
Producers: Susann Rudlinger, Samir, Mirjam Quinte, Davor Pusic
Director of photography: Igor Martinovic
Production designer: Sue Erdt
Editor: Gion-Reto Killias
Music: Peter von Siebenthal, Till Wyler, Daniel Jakob
Cast:
Ruza: Mirjana Karanovic
Ana: Marija Skaricic
Mila: Ljubica Jovic
Franz: Andrea Zogg
Ante: Zdenko Jelcic
Fredi: Pablo Aguilar
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 81 minutes...
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