Film reunites writer/director Polak with British actor Vicky Knight.
BFI Distribution has acquired Berlinale Panorama title Silver Haze from New Europe Film Sales for theatrical release in the UK and Ireland.
The film reunites its Dutch writer/director Sacha Polak with British actor Vicky Knight who previously worked together on Dirty God in 2019.
Knight’s performance won the Teddy Jury Award in the Panorama strand at Berlin. Earlier this week the film had its North American premiere in competition at the Tribeca Festival.
The film has also sold to Dark Star for the US, Caramel Films for Spain, Lucky Red for Italy,...
BFI Distribution has acquired Berlinale Panorama title Silver Haze from New Europe Film Sales for theatrical release in the UK and Ireland.
The film reunites its Dutch writer/director Sacha Polak with British actor Vicky Knight who previously worked together on Dirty God in 2019.
Knight’s performance won the Teddy Jury Award in the Panorama strand at Berlin. Earlier this week the film had its North American premiere in competition at the Tribeca Festival.
The film has also sold to Dark Star for the US, Caramel Films for Spain, Lucky Red for Italy,...
- 6/13/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
“Silver Haze,” directed by Sacha Polak, has debuted its trailer (below) ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. Polak’s last film, “Dirty God,” was in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition, and was the opening film of Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam in 2019.
“Silver Haze,” starring Vicky Knight and Esme Creed Miles, is being sold by New Europe Film Sales. French distribution is being handled by The Jokers, and Cinéart is looking after Benelux distribution.
The film centers on 23-year-old Franky, a nurse who lives with her large family in an East London borough. Obsessed with a thirst for revenge and a need to assign guilt for a traumatic event that happened 15 years before, she is unable to build any meaningful relationship until she falls in love with one of her patients – Florence.
They escape to the coast where Florence lives with her more open-minded patchwork family.
“Silver Haze,” starring Vicky Knight and Esme Creed Miles, is being sold by New Europe Film Sales. French distribution is being handled by The Jokers, and Cinéart is looking after Benelux distribution.
The film centers on 23-year-old Franky, a nurse who lives with her large family in an East London borough. Obsessed with a thirst for revenge and a need to assign guilt for a traumatic event that happened 15 years before, she is unable to build any meaningful relationship until she falls in love with one of her patients – Florence.
They escape to the coast where Florence lives with her more open-minded patchwork family.
- 2/6/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Swedish-Iranian filmmaker Milad Alami’s “Opponent,” Sasha Polak’s “Silver Haze” and Sophia Mocorrea’s “Marriage by Abduction” have won the top awards at Les Arcs Festival‘s popular industry village.
Curated by Frederic Boyer, Tribeca and Les Arcs’ artistic director, the Work-In-Progress presentation is part of the festival’s industry sidebar, which also includes the Coproduction Village, Talent Village and Music Village. Nearly 500 guests, including sales agents, distributors and festival programmers, flocked to the 11th edition of the event in spite of the ongoing pandemic.
“Opponent” won the TitraFilm Award which consists of €10,000 worth of post-production services for image and/or sound. One of the 14 projects presented at the Work-in-Progress event, “Opponent” marks Alami’s sophomore outing after “The Charmer” which won prizes at San Sebastian and Palm Springs, among other festivals. “Opponent” follows Iman, a professional wrestler, and his family who are forced to flee Iran in the...
Curated by Frederic Boyer, Tribeca and Les Arcs’ artistic director, the Work-In-Progress presentation is part of the festival’s industry sidebar, which also includes the Coproduction Village, Talent Village and Music Village. Nearly 500 guests, including sales agents, distributors and festival programmers, flocked to the 11th edition of the event in spite of the ongoing pandemic.
“Opponent” won the TitraFilm Award which consists of €10,000 worth of post-production services for image and/or sound. One of the 14 projects presented at the Work-in-Progress event, “Opponent” marks Alami’s sophomore outing after “The Charmer” which won prizes at San Sebastian and Palm Springs, among other festivals. “Opponent” follows Iman, a professional wrestler, and his family who are forced to flee Iran in the...
- 12/14/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Dutch filmmaker Paula van der Oest, director of Oscar-nominated “Zus & Zo,” has wrapped production on “Love in a Bottle,” starring James Krishna Floyd (“No Man’s Land”) and Hannah Hoekstra (“Hemel”).
The film follows two people in two different countries — both in quarantine during lockdown — who have a love affair through Facetime. Floyd plays a damaged British man who lives mainly through his computer who falls for a charismatic Dutch perfume maker (Hoekstra) whom he met at an airport just before the pandemic struck.
“Love in a Bottle” was shot in two locations in Amsterdam during lockdown, and is one of the few films to shoot two locations simultaneously with two crews, in order to come together for one resulting film. Levitate Film (“The Forgotten Battle”) produced.
Van der Oest’s regular cinematographer Guido van Gennep lensed the film and employed new techniques in order to complete the project.
“We were literally shooting with these iPhones,...
The film follows two people in two different countries — both in quarantine during lockdown — who have a love affair through Facetime. Floyd plays a damaged British man who lives mainly through his computer who falls for a charismatic Dutch perfume maker (Hoekstra) whom he met at an airport just before the pandemic struck.
“Love in a Bottle” was shot in two locations in Amsterdam during lockdown, and is one of the few films to shoot two locations simultaneously with two crews, in order to come together for one resulting film. Levitate Film (“The Forgotten Battle”) produced.
Van der Oest’s regular cinematographer Guido van Gennep lensed the film and employed new techniques in order to complete the project.
“We were literally shooting with these iPhones,...
- 12/18/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
A Woman’s Face: Polak’s Tender Melodrama Explores Struggle for Self-Love
With her third narrative feature, Dirty God, which also stands as her English language debut, Dutch director Sacha Polak continues to explore how women are conditioned to define themselves through their bodies. Following her award winning 2012 debut Hemel, a graphic exploration of young woman embracing her sexuality, and the 2013 self-portrait doc New Boobs, which details options she’s faced with upon discovering she carries the BRCA1 gene, her latest is a more drastic melodrama concerning how a woman’s worth is determined solely by how attractive she’s considered.…...
With her third narrative feature, Dirty God, which also stands as her English language debut, Dutch director Sacha Polak continues to explore how women are conditioned to define themselves through their bodies. Following her award winning 2012 debut Hemel, a graphic exploration of young woman embracing her sexuality, and the 2013 self-portrait doc New Boobs, which details options she’s faced with upon discovering she carries the BRCA1 gene, her latest is a more drastic melodrama concerning how a woman’s worth is determined solely by how attractive she’s considered.…...
- 11/9/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Magic Mountains
Poland’s Urszula Antoniak embarks on a Dutch production for her fifth film, Magic Mountains, starring Flemish actor Thomas Ryckewaert, Polish actor Marcin Dorocinski and Dutch actor Hannah Hoekstra (a breakout in Sacha Polack’s 2012 Hemel who also had a minor role in Elizabeth Banks’ reboot of Charlie’s Angels). Antoniak reunites with her Beyond Words (read review) P Lennert Hillege, with Floor Onrust serving as producer. Antoniak’s breakout was her 2009 debut Nothing Personal, which competed in Locarno and won a handful of awards.…...
Poland’s Urszula Antoniak embarks on a Dutch production for her fifth film, Magic Mountains, starring Flemish actor Thomas Ryckewaert, Polish actor Marcin Dorocinski and Dutch actor Hannah Hoekstra (a breakout in Sacha Polack’s 2012 Hemel who also had a minor role in Elizabeth Banks’ reboot of Charlie’s Angels). Antoniak reunites with her Beyond Words (read review) P Lennert Hillege, with Floor Onrust serving as producer. Antoniak’s breakout was her 2009 debut Nothing Personal, which competed in Locarno and won a handful of awards.…...
- 12/30/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
A young working-class woman in London barely has the mechanisms to cope with a horrific acid attack that’s left her face permanently scarred in “Dirty God,” the first English-language feature from Dutch director Sacha Polak. Neatly fitting into Polak’s liberatingly frank takes on female sexuality, the film boasts a stand-out performance from newcomer Vicky Knight and an unflinching portrait of a strong-willed yet immature protagonist facing a radical change in how the world looks at her as well as how she sees herself. While the script’s insistence on transforming the character from victim to resolute survivor doesn’t fully wash, its bold treatment of an unapologetic woman from the projects will play well on independent screens.
Never one to shy away from images traditionally considered unsettling, Polak opens with widescreen close-ups of acid-damaged flesh, the camera capturing the mass of ravaged, puckered tissue covered in shallow dendrite-like ridges.
Never one to shy away from images traditionally considered unsettling, Polak opens with widescreen close-ups of acid-damaged flesh, the camera capturing the mass of ravaged, puckered tissue covered in shallow dendrite-like ridges.
- 1/28/2019
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
Title is first-ever Dutch film to be selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance.
The world premiere of Dirty God by Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak will open the 2019 edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) on Jan 23.
Polak is the first Dutch director to be selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance, where it will screen following its Rotterdam premiere.
The film revolves around a young woman (a debut role for Vicky Knight) dealing with motherhood in contemporary London. Producers are the UK’s Mike Elliott of Emu Films with Belgium’s A Private View and Dutch outfit Viking.
The world premiere of Dirty God by Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak will open the 2019 edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) on Jan 23.
Polak is the first Dutch director to be selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance, where it will screen following its Rotterdam premiere.
The film revolves around a young woman (a debut role for Vicky Knight) dealing with motherhood in contemporary London. Producers are the UK’s Mike Elliott of Emu Films with Belgium’s A Private View and Dutch outfit Viking.
- 12/13/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: UK sales outfit bolsters Cannes slate.
UK sales outfit Independent Film Company has added a host of projects to its Cannes slate.
Among them is The Secret Of The Universe, the second feature from Guy Myhill, whose debut The Goob premiered in Venice Days. Produced by Mike Elliott of Emu Films, the circus-set feature follows a clown who tries to keep his heart cold but finds himself plunged into the depths of life.
Also on Independent’s slate is The Lemon Grove, the second feature from writer-director Helen Walsh, whose debut The Violators [pictured] played at Edinburgh and Karlovy Vary. Adapted from her own novel, her next film follows a husband and wife who return to the island of Mallorca annually for a summer holiday. One year, the arrival of the wife’s stepdaughter and her new boyfriend threatens to upset their equilibrium. Producers are David Moores, Dave Hughes and Kevin Sampson of Red Union Films.
The...
UK sales outfit Independent Film Company has added a host of projects to its Cannes slate.
Among them is The Secret Of The Universe, the second feature from Guy Myhill, whose debut The Goob premiered in Venice Days. Produced by Mike Elliott of Emu Films, the circus-set feature follows a clown who tries to keep his heart cold but finds himself plunged into the depths of life.
Also on Independent’s slate is The Lemon Grove, the second feature from writer-director Helen Walsh, whose debut The Violators [pictured] played at Edinburgh and Karlovy Vary. Adapted from her own novel, her next film follows a husband and wife who return to the island of Mallorca annually for a summer holiday. One year, the arrival of the wife’s stepdaughter and her new boyfriend threatens to upset their equilibrium. Producers are David Moores, Dave Hughes and Kevin Sampson of Red Union Films.
The...
- 5/19/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Ali Jaberansari’s Tehran, City Of Love also received an award at the industry event.
This year’s Holland Film Meeting in Utrecht awarded The Religion Of Night Walks from Serbian director Nikola Ležaić with the Cam-a-lot & Filmmore Cinema Emerging Talent Prize for Best Project (valued at €10,000 in camera and post-production facilities). Already backed by Film Center Serbia and Propeler Film (Croatia), the film is about a Yugoslavian engineer working on the construction of the first wind farm in Iran in the early 1980s.
Ali Jaberansari’s Tehran, City Of Love - a BoostNL 2016 selection - picked up the WarnierPosta Prize (€5,000 towards use of audio post-production facilities). The story follows three characters, a religious singer, an office singer and a personal trainer, looking for love in Tehran. Babak Jalali is producer of the film, which is being made through Here & There Productions (UK), Viking Film (Netherlands) and Mandra Films (France.)
Meanwhile, the Hfm...
This year’s Holland Film Meeting in Utrecht awarded The Religion Of Night Walks from Serbian director Nikola Ležaić with the Cam-a-lot & Filmmore Cinema Emerging Talent Prize for Best Project (valued at €10,000 in camera and post-production facilities). Already backed by Film Center Serbia and Propeler Film (Croatia), the film is about a Yugoslavian engineer working on the construction of the first wind farm in Iran in the early 1980s.
Ali Jaberansari’s Tehran, City Of Love - a BoostNL 2016 selection - picked up the WarnierPosta Prize (€5,000 towards use of audio post-production facilities). The story follows three characters, a religious singer, an office singer and a personal trainer, looking for love in Tehran. Babak Jalali is producer of the film, which is being made through Here & There Productions (UK), Viking Film (Netherlands) and Mandra Films (France.)
Meanwhile, the Hfm...
- 9/26/2016
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Dutch director Sacha Polak has revealed further details of her first English-language project, Vita and Virginia.
The film, based on the play by Eileen Atkins, tells the story of the passionate love affair between writers Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Both women were members of the free thinking Bloomsbury set but their lesbian affair scandalised parts of British society. Sackville-West was married to the celebrated politician and diarist, Harold Nicholson.
Romola Garai has come on board to play Sackville-West.
“She (Garai) is so interesting and sexy. She will be the perfect Vita,” said Polak, who was at this year’s Berlinale with new film Zurich, sold by Beta.
The part of Woolf will be cast shortly. Polak insists that her film’s Woolf won’t be the “gloomy” and “depressing” figure with the prosthetic nose played by Nicole Kidman in The Hours.
“We are keen on showing another Virginia Woolf, a funny one...
The film, based on the play by Eileen Atkins, tells the story of the passionate love affair between writers Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Both women were members of the free thinking Bloomsbury set but their lesbian affair scandalised parts of British society. Sackville-West was married to the celebrated politician and diarist, Harold Nicholson.
Romola Garai has come on board to play Sackville-West.
“She (Garai) is so interesting and sexy. She will be the perfect Vita,” said Polak, who was at this year’s Berlinale with new film Zurich, sold by Beta.
The part of Woolf will be cast shortly. Polak insists that her film’s Woolf won’t be the “gloomy” and “depressing” figure with the prosthetic nose played by Nicole Kidman in The Hours.
“We are keen on showing another Virginia Woolf, a funny one...
- 2/13/2015
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Beta wins My Special Prize for the Best Berlin Lineup of all the International Sales Agents
From the producer of 2013 Golden Bear winner “Child’s Pose” comes “Aferim!” playing in Berlinale Competition. Policeman Costandin, a charismatic mixture of a funny Stalin and a somewhat more pragmatic Don Quixote, and his shy and introverted son ride through the rural countryside In search of a fugitive Gypsy slave. Meeting hundreds of characters, delivering a surprise in every scene, this is an ingenious Western in a very wild East of 19th century Romania directed by Radu Jude (“Everybody in our Family”) and produced by HiFilm’s Ada Solomon, Klas, Endorfilm and Mulberry Development, and stars Teodor Corban (“Child’s Pose”, “Beyond the Hills”), Mihai Comãnoiu and Cuzin Toma.
Forum entry “Zurich," Oliver Hirschbiegel’s "13 Minutes" (Competition - Out of Competition) plus this year’s Sundance Audience Award winner “Umrika” and the new Sky Italia series “1992" kicking off the Berlinale Special Series section make this a banner Berlin for Beta Cinema.
In official selection/out of competition bows Nazi resistance drama "13 Minutes" about failed Hitler assassin Georg Elser. Oliver Hirschbiegel, whose Academy Award nominated “Downfall” is one of the most successful Beta Cinema titles ever with 145 sold territories, presents a stunning, emotional portrait of the resistance fighter and his attack on the Munich Bürgerbräukeller on November 8th 1939. Georg Elser was a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives, but his bomb, built to tear Adolf Hitler apart, exploded 13 minutes late. Produced by Lucky Bird’s Oliver Schündler and Boris Ausserer, who just recently won the Bavarian Film Award for "13 Minutes", and written by Fred Breinersdorfer (“Sophie Scholl”), the feature stars Christian Friedel (“The White Ribbon”), Katharina Schüttler (“Generation of War” ) and Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”).
Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak, who received the prestigious Fipresci-award at the 2012 Berlinale for Hemel, presents with "Zurich" her second feature film, a road movie starring famous Dutch singer and performance artist Wende Snijders. "Zurich" (Viking Film/Rohfilm/Private View/Nrt/Zdf/arte) revolves around Nina, who is wandering along Europe’s motorways in a desperate attempt to leave the past behind. Slowly it becomes clear that Nina’s drive to hang around in the truckers’ scene is a result of the pain caused by the ultimate betrayal that has befallen her. Sacha Polak developed the script by author Helena van der Meulen during last year’s Berlinale Residency program.
Kicking off the Berlinale Special Series, designated to promote outstanding international TV-series, is the political thriller "1992" from Sky Italia ("Gomorrah"), La 7 and Wildside. Over 20 years ago, on February 17th 1992, the first arrest within the so-called Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) maxi-investigation was made in Italy. It was the symbolic start of a revolution. "1992" revolves around six ordinary people whose lives are intertwined with the country's political, civil and social earthquake. The 10xone hour series stars Stefano Accorsi (idea), Guido Caprino and Miriam Leone; director is Giuseppe Gagliardi.
Celebrating its Berlin Market Premiere is Prashant Nair’s Indian drama "Umrika," which just recently received the Audience Award at Sundance, starring world-renowned, up-and-coming young actors Suraj Sharma ("Life of Pi") and Tony Revolori ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Dope"). "Umrika" (Hindi for America) is about a small village in India that is invigorated when one of their own travels to America, sharing his adventures and inspiring hope through letters home. But when the letters mysteriously stop coming, his brother sets out on a journey to find him.
Also premiering at the market is the fourth adventure of "The Famous Five" (Sam Film/Constantin), in which Enid Blyton’s teenager gang venture thousands of miles and thousands of years back in time to solve yet another nail-biting mystery. Prolific maverick filmmaker Detlev Buck ("Hands off Mississippi") presents as international market premiere "Bibi & Tina 2," an inventive live-action adaptation of the teen-adventure and romance in the beloved “Bibi & Tina” universe.
Amongst the upcoming titles, "Colonia" is heading the slate, starring Emma Watson in her first lead role since "Harry Potter" alongside Daniel Brühl ("Rush") as her abducted boyfriend and opposite a very sinister Mikael Nykvist ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"). The $15 million production wrapped shooting mid-January and is being presold at the European Film Market.
"Ghosthunters: On Icy Trails" marks another English-language presales highlight for the Efm. This witty and charming Family Entertainment movie sees Milo Parker ("Robot Overlords") team up with the animated Asg, the “Averagely Spooky Ghost” Hugo, to save the world from the “Ancient Ice Ghost”. A promo will be made available for buyers.
From the producer of 2013 Golden Bear winner “Child’s Pose” comes “Aferim!” playing in Berlinale Competition. Policeman Costandin, a charismatic mixture of a funny Stalin and a somewhat more pragmatic Don Quixote, and his shy and introverted son ride through the rural countryside In search of a fugitive Gypsy slave. Meeting hundreds of characters, delivering a surprise in every scene, this is an ingenious Western in a very wild East of 19th century Romania directed by Radu Jude (“Everybody in our Family”) and produced by HiFilm’s Ada Solomon, Klas, Endorfilm and Mulberry Development, and stars Teodor Corban (“Child’s Pose”, “Beyond the Hills”), Mihai Comãnoiu and Cuzin Toma.
Forum entry “Zurich," Oliver Hirschbiegel’s "13 Minutes" (Competition - Out of Competition) plus this year’s Sundance Audience Award winner “Umrika” and the new Sky Italia series “1992" kicking off the Berlinale Special Series section make this a banner Berlin for Beta Cinema.
In official selection/out of competition bows Nazi resistance drama "13 Minutes" about failed Hitler assassin Georg Elser. Oliver Hirschbiegel, whose Academy Award nominated “Downfall” is one of the most successful Beta Cinema titles ever with 145 sold territories, presents a stunning, emotional portrait of the resistance fighter and his attack on the Munich Bürgerbräukeller on November 8th 1939. Georg Elser was a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives, but his bomb, built to tear Adolf Hitler apart, exploded 13 minutes late. Produced by Lucky Bird’s Oliver Schündler and Boris Ausserer, who just recently won the Bavarian Film Award for "13 Minutes", and written by Fred Breinersdorfer (“Sophie Scholl”), the feature stars Christian Friedel (“The White Ribbon”), Katharina Schüttler (“Generation of War” ) and Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”).
Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak, who received the prestigious Fipresci-award at the 2012 Berlinale for Hemel, presents with "Zurich" her second feature film, a road movie starring famous Dutch singer and performance artist Wende Snijders. "Zurich" (Viking Film/Rohfilm/Private View/Nrt/Zdf/arte) revolves around Nina, who is wandering along Europe’s motorways in a desperate attempt to leave the past behind. Slowly it becomes clear that Nina’s drive to hang around in the truckers’ scene is a result of the pain caused by the ultimate betrayal that has befallen her. Sacha Polak developed the script by author Helena van der Meulen during last year’s Berlinale Residency program.
Kicking off the Berlinale Special Series, designated to promote outstanding international TV-series, is the political thriller "1992" from Sky Italia ("Gomorrah"), La 7 and Wildside. Over 20 years ago, on February 17th 1992, the first arrest within the so-called Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) maxi-investigation was made in Italy. It was the symbolic start of a revolution. "1992" revolves around six ordinary people whose lives are intertwined with the country's political, civil and social earthquake. The 10xone hour series stars Stefano Accorsi (idea), Guido Caprino and Miriam Leone; director is Giuseppe Gagliardi.
Celebrating its Berlin Market Premiere is Prashant Nair’s Indian drama "Umrika," which just recently received the Audience Award at Sundance, starring world-renowned, up-and-coming young actors Suraj Sharma ("Life of Pi") and Tony Revolori ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Dope"). "Umrika" (Hindi for America) is about a small village in India that is invigorated when one of their own travels to America, sharing his adventures and inspiring hope through letters home. But when the letters mysteriously stop coming, his brother sets out on a journey to find him.
Also premiering at the market is the fourth adventure of "The Famous Five" (Sam Film/Constantin), in which Enid Blyton’s teenager gang venture thousands of miles and thousands of years back in time to solve yet another nail-biting mystery. Prolific maverick filmmaker Detlev Buck ("Hands off Mississippi") presents as international market premiere "Bibi & Tina 2," an inventive live-action adaptation of the teen-adventure and romance in the beloved “Bibi & Tina” universe.
Amongst the upcoming titles, "Colonia" is heading the slate, starring Emma Watson in her first lead role since "Harry Potter" alongside Daniel Brühl ("Rush") as her abducted boyfriend and opposite a very sinister Mikael Nykvist ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"). The $15 million production wrapped shooting mid-January and is being presold at the European Film Market.
"Ghosthunters: On Icy Trails" marks another English-language presales highlight for the Efm. This witty and charming Family Entertainment movie sees Milo Parker ("Robot Overlords") team up with the animated Asg, the “Averagely Spooky Ghost” Hugo, to save the world from the “Ancient Ice Ghost”. A promo will be made available for buyers.
- 2/8/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Receiving a healthy domestic release in native Netherlands and released stateside by Ram Releasing last May, with limited festival play before it (it did show at the neighboring Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival Bruges) this is a film that will indubitably be remembered as a quaint first-wave exercise in an increased integration of modern technology and cinematic streamlining as a way to increase audience participation. Dutch filmmaker Bobby Boerman’s sophomore film, App, is presented as little more than any number of dressed up J-horror narratives. That’s not to say there isn’t any fun to be had in what serves as the first film to utilize second screen technology, but it’s cheap and shallow fun, to be sure. The rather superficial mystery at the heart of the narrative takes a considerable back seat to the excitement of messages you may receive on your cell phone from the film’s app,...
- 12/30/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Co-production market has three prizes including new Wouter Barendrecht Award in conjunction with Fortissimo Films.
A host of global auteurs, along with new voices, have been selected for The International FIlm Festival Rotterdam’s famed CineMart co-production market.
Filmmakers who have projects selected include Miss Lovely director Ashim Ahluwalia from India; Ukranian director of multi-award-winning The Tribe Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy; Argentina’s Benjamin Naishtat (History of Fear); Fellipe Barbosa (Casa Grande); American duo Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, whose previous film Now, Forager played at Rotterdam; Dutch director Nanouk Leopold [pictured]; and Sacha Polak (Hemel). Full list of selected projects below.
CineMart is one of the industry’s first co-production markets, now in its 32nd edition. There are three awards — The Eurimages Co-production Development Award of €20,000, The Arte International Price of €7,000 and the inaugural Wouter Barendrecht Award of €5,000 which is awarded by CineMart in conjunction with Fortissimo Films.
CineMart runs Jan 25-28 as part of Iffr which runs Jan...
A host of global auteurs, along with new voices, have been selected for The International FIlm Festival Rotterdam’s famed CineMart co-production market.
Filmmakers who have projects selected include Miss Lovely director Ashim Ahluwalia from India; Ukranian director of multi-award-winning The Tribe Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy; Argentina’s Benjamin Naishtat (History of Fear); Fellipe Barbosa (Casa Grande); American duo Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, whose previous film Now, Forager played at Rotterdam; Dutch director Nanouk Leopold [pictured]; and Sacha Polak (Hemel). Full list of selected projects below.
CineMart is one of the industry’s first co-production markets, now in its 32nd edition. There are three awards — The Eurimages Co-production Development Award of €20,000, The Arte International Price of €7,000 and the inaugural Wouter Barendrecht Award of €5,000 which is awarded by CineMart in conjunction with Fortissimo Films.
CineMart runs Jan 25-28 as part of Iffr which runs Jan...
- 12/16/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
App of My Eye: Second Screen Technology Gets Double Dutch in Gimmicky Thriller
A film that will indubitably be remembered as a quaint first-wave exercise in an increased integration of modern technology and cinematic streamlining as a way to increase audience participation, Dutch filmmaker Bobby Boerman’s sophomore film, App, is presented as little more than any number of dressed up J-horror narratives. That’s not to say there isn’t any fun to be had in what serves as the first film to utilize second screen technology, but it’s cheap and shallow fun, to be sure. The rather superficial mystery at the heart of the narrative takes a considerable back seat to the excitement of messages you may receive on your cell phone from the film’s app, tuned to receive audio cues as the film plays and display extra content that those without the app are unable to see.
A film that will indubitably be remembered as a quaint first-wave exercise in an increased integration of modern technology and cinematic streamlining as a way to increase audience participation, Dutch filmmaker Bobby Boerman’s sophomore film, App, is presented as little more than any number of dressed up J-horror narratives. That’s not to say there isn’t any fun to be had in what serves as the first film to utilize second screen technology, but it’s cheap and shallow fun, to be sure. The rather superficial mystery at the heart of the narrative takes a considerable back seat to the excitement of messages you may receive on your cell phone from the film’s app, tuned to receive audio cues as the film plays and display extra content that those without the app are unable to see.
- 5/7/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Dutch director Sacha Polak is now attached to Mirror Productions’ Vita and Virginia.
The feature centres on the love affair between Virginia Woolf and lover Vita Sackville-West.
Eileen Atkins wrote the screenplay based on her play of the same name.
Polak’s first feature was the award-winning Hemel, and she is now in post on follow-up Zurich.
Vita and Virginia is being produced by Mirror Productions founding partner Evangelo Kioussis with Bill Shepherd of Bill Shepherd Productions.
The script is now going out to cast, with production slated for early spring 2015.
Mirror is also in production now, shooting in South Wales, on black comedy Petroleum Spirit.
The feature centres on the love affair between Virginia Woolf and lover Vita Sackville-West.
Eileen Atkins wrote the screenplay based on her play of the same name.
Polak’s first feature was the award-winning Hemel, and she is now in post on follow-up Zurich.
Vita and Virginia is being produced by Mirror Productions founding partner Evangelo Kioussis with Bill Shepherd of Bill Shepherd Productions.
The script is now going out to cast, with production slated for early spring 2015.
Mirror is also in production now, shooting in South Wales, on black comedy Petroleum Spirit.
- 4/16/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Steve Oram to star in directorial debut alongside Julian Barratt, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Hannah Hoekstra and Tom Meeten.
Sightseers star and co-writer Steve Oram is to make his directorial debut on comedy Aaaaaaaah!, a film full of “sex and indiscriminate violence” in which actors will play monkeys and talk mostly “gibberish”.
Oram has assembled a comedy cast including The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt, Green Wing’s Julian Rhind-Tutt (most recently seen in Rush), regular collaborator Tom Meeten, and Hannah Hoekstra, star of App and sexually explicit Dutch arthouse film Hemel.
Speaking to ScreenDaily, Oram said: “The script is in ‘human dialogue’ but the actors will throw the script away once they’ve learnt it.
“We’ll mainly use noises. It will be a combination of gibberish and monkey talk and it will be about expressing things physically. We’ve already done a bit - it has been really funny and gone very well.”
The self-financed...
Sightseers star and co-writer Steve Oram is to make his directorial debut on comedy Aaaaaaaah!, a film full of “sex and indiscriminate violence” in which actors will play monkeys and talk mostly “gibberish”.
Oram has assembled a comedy cast including The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt, Green Wing’s Julian Rhind-Tutt (most recently seen in Rush), regular collaborator Tom Meeten, and Hannah Hoekstra, star of App and sexually explicit Dutch arthouse film Hemel.
Speaking to ScreenDaily, Oram said: “The script is in ‘human dialogue’ but the actors will throw the script away once they’ve learnt it.
“We’ll mainly use noises. It will be a combination of gibberish and monkey talk and it will be about expressing things physically. We’ve already done a bit - it has been really funny and gone very well.”
The self-financed...
- 1/17/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Here's a little something odd for fans of British comedy:Word is out that Sightseers star Steve Oram will be making his directorial debut with Aaaaaaaah! - eight 'a's and proper punctuation a vital part of the title, thanks - a film that he describes as Romeo And Juliet meets The Planet Of The Apes. What on earth does that mean? It means no dialogue - not in any recognizable language, anyway - but with all of the actors grunting and otherwise behaving like monkeys.And, yeah, that sounds crazy on paper and it sounds crazy brilliant once you learn who else is involved. The Mighty Boosh's Julian Barrett and Green Wing's Julian Rhind-Tutt will play the rival clan leaders with Hannah Hoekstra (Hemel) and Oram's regular...
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[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 1/9/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Playing sort of like the female version of Steve McQueen’s Shame comes Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak’s film debut, Hemel, a provocative and, more significantly, non-exploitative exploration of a young woman’s confused search for intimacy through (more often than not) hollow casual sexual encounters. A 2012 Berlin International Film Festival selection, Polak’s film also captures an emotionally potent performance from newcomer Hannah Hoekstra, creating a fascinating and realistic portrait of sexuality, a rare phenomenon even in the heterosexual realm.
We meet the twenty three year old Hemel (Hannah Hoekstra), which means Heaven, in the midst of a hook-up with a man she seems to have little in common with. Exchanging hostile observations supporting hostile gender stereotypes, their banter evolves into a discussion of women shaving pubic hair, which Hemel is opposed to but let’s herself be sheared anyhow. She equates a lack of hair with pre pubescence...
We meet the twenty three year old Hemel (Hannah Hoekstra), which means Heaven, in the midst of a hook-up with a man she seems to have little in common with. Exchanging hostile observations supporting hostile gender stereotypes, their banter evolves into a discussion of women shaving pubic hair, which Hemel is opposed to but let’s herself be sheared anyhow. She equates a lack of hair with pre pubescence...
- 3/19/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Berlinale Residency, Berlin International Film Festival’s new international fellowship programme, is inviting six filmmakers with their latest projects to Berlin for four months, beginning in September 2012.
The selected participants can finalize their scripts, and develop production and distribution strategies at the Residency. Mentors will advise participants on developing and revising their scripts. In a “Script to Market” seminar with market experts, the producers and directors will explore the audience potential of their works.
The selected projects will be presented at the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 10-12, 2013) and/or at the Guadalajara Ibero-American Co-production Meeting in March 2013.
Selected projects
Matías Bize, Chile: The Memory of Water
Screenwriters: Matías Bize and Julio Rojas
Producers: Adrian Solar, Ceneca Producciones, Chile, and Nicole Gerhards, NiKo Film, Germany
Born in 1979, this director and screenwriter first attracted international attention in 2003 with his feature film debut, Sábado, una película en tiempo real. In 2005 his drama En la cama,...
The selected participants can finalize their scripts, and develop production and distribution strategies at the Residency. Mentors will advise participants on developing and revising their scripts. In a “Script to Market” seminar with market experts, the producers and directors will explore the audience potential of their works.
The selected projects will be presented at the Berlinale Co-Production Market (February 10-12, 2013) and/or at the Guadalajara Ibero-American Co-production Meeting in March 2013.
Selected projects
Matías Bize, Chile: The Memory of Water
Screenwriters: Matías Bize and Julio Rojas
Producers: Adrian Solar, Ceneca Producciones, Chile, and Nicole Gerhards, NiKo Film, Germany
Born in 1979, this director and screenwriter first attracted international attention in 2003 with his feature film debut, Sábado, una película en tiempo real. In 2005 his drama En la cama,...
- 6/12/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.
- 4/27/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Media Luna's Fipresci awarded Hemel, whose world premiere was at this year's Berlin Film Festival, just had the North American premiere at the New Directors/New Films Festival!
Hemel was directed by Sacha Polak ♀, written by Helena van der Meulen ♀ and produced by Stienette Bosklopper.
Hemel is fighting a guerrilla war with every man in town. Her father is the only man that really counts. When he falls in love with young Sophie, Hemel has to find the difference between sex and love herself. (read more!)
hemel by azmovies
"Beautifully lensed look at the moment just before a daughter has to let go of her father should travel extensively and turn Polak into a name to watch." (click here to read more!) --Variety.
For more information on Media Luna’s titles, please visit their website www.medialuna.biz, or just contact them:
media luna new films
Ida Martins (mobile: +49 170 9667900)
Aachener Strasse 24 | D-50674 Cologne - Germany
Tel.: +49 221 51091891 | Fax: +49 221 51091899
idamartins@medialuna.biz | Skype: idamartins...
Hemel was directed by Sacha Polak ♀, written by Helena van der Meulen ♀ and produced by Stienette Bosklopper.
Hemel is fighting a guerrilla war with every man in town. Her father is the only man that really counts. When he falls in love with young Sophie, Hemel has to find the difference between sex and love herself. (read more!)
hemel by azmovies
"Beautifully lensed look at the moment just before a daughter has to let go of her father should travel extensively and turn Polak into a name to watch." (click here to read more!) --Variety.
For more information on Media Luna’s titles, please visit their website www.medialuna.biz, or just contact them:
media luna new films
Ida Martins (mobile: +49 170 9667900)
Aachener Strasse 24 | D-50674 Cologne - Germany
Tel.: +49 221 51091891 | Fax: +49 221 51091899
idamartins@medialuna.biz | Skype: idamartins...
- 3/28/2012
- by SydneyLevine
- Sydney's Buzz
Within the very first moments of "Hemel," a couple writhe naked in bed. Their playful banter and back-and-forth focuses on the unsubstantial equipment, which he laughs off with only a slightly bruised ego. It's only when he starts to rag on her pubic hair that she begins to unravel, disappointed that her lover would complain about tasting her hair. Within moments, he's lathering her with shaving cream, lovingly running the blade up and down between her legs. As he walks off to wash, she lies on her back, completely barren. She's fine being nude, but it's clear she hates being vulnerable.
In Dutch helmer Sacha Polak's film, which screened over the weekend as part of New Directors/New Films, the striking Hanna Hoekstra plays the title character of "Hemel," which translates to "Heaven." Her name already suggests a closeness to her parents, though it's eventually learned that she knows little of her mother,...
In Dutch helmer Sacha Polak's film, which screened over the weekend as part of New Directors/New Films, the striking Hanna Hoekstra plays the title character of "Hemel," which translates to "Heaven." Her name already suggests a closeness to her parents, though it's eventually learned that she knows little of her mother,...
- 3/26/2012
- by Gabe Toro
- The Playlist
Rounding up a bit of what the critics have been saying about the work screening at the New Directions/New Films festival tomorrow, we begin with Adam Leon's Gimme the Loot, winner of the Grand Jury's award for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW just a last week. In his latest entry at Artinfo, J Hoberman, who was on that jury, calls it "a funny, smart-mouthed, high-energy comedy about Bronx graffiti writers that's less a remake of the 80s indie hit Wild Style than a movie in the doomed caper tradition of Big Deal on Madonna Street. Not without some dubious stereotypes, the movie transcends them thanks to Leon's adroit direction and infectious self-enjoyment of its ensemble cast."
At GreenCine Daily, Steve Dollar agrees that it "has the run-and-gun mobility and funky vibe of a 1980s downtown comedy, evoking in various ways a kinship with the likes of Susan Seidelman,...
At GreenCine Daily, Steve Dollar agrees that it "has the run-and-gun mobility and funky vibe of a 1980s downtown comedy, evoking in various ways a kinship with the likes of Susan Seidelman,...
- 3/22/2012
- MUBI
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art have announced that they'll be presenting 29 features and 12 shorts in the 41st edition of New Directors/New Films, running March 21 through April 1). The series, dedicated to "the discovery of new works by emerging and dynamic filmmaking talent," opens with Nadine Labaki's Where Do We Go Now? (see the Cannes roundup). A few notes on the other features:
The Ambassador (Mads Brügger). The La Weekly's Karina Longworth suggests that Brügger is "sort of the Vice magazine version of Sacha Baron Cohen, as financed by Lars von Trier. His last film was The Red Chapel, an exercise in hidden camera comedy with unusual socio-political stakes, which I put on my top 10 list for 2010." In "his hilarious, troubling new film," Brügger poses as "a diplomat in Africa, a decadent Westerner plundering a third-world nation…. For a six-figure outlay, Brugger is promised a Liberian passport,...
The Ambassador (Mads Brügger). The La Weekly's Karina Longworth suggests that Brügger is "sort of the Vice magazine version of Sacha Baron Cohen, as financed by Lars von Trier. His last film was The Red Chapel, an exercise in hidden camera comedy with unusual socio-political stakes, which I put on my top 10 list for 2010." In "his hilarious, troubling new film," Brügger poses as "a diplomat in Africa, a decadent Westerner plundering a third-world nation…. For a six-figure outlay, Brugger is promised a Liberian passport,...
- 2/26/2012
- MUBI
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die has won the Golden Bear at this year's Berlinale. The other awards, presented by Mike Leigh and his International Jury (Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa):
The first Silver Bear, the Jury Grand Prix, goes to Bence Fliegauf's Just the Wind. (Last year, this prize went to a Hungarian as well, to Béla Tarr for The Turin Horse.)
Silver Bear for Best Director: Christian Petzold for Barbara.
Silver Bear for Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza for her performance in War Witch.
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Mikkel Følsgaard for A Royal Affair.
The Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution goes to Director of Photography Lutz Reitemeier for his work on White Deer Plain.
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg for A Royal Affair.
The Alfred Bauer Award...
The first Silver Bear, the Jury Grand Prix, goes to Bence Fliegauf's Just the Wind. (Last year, this prize went to a Hungarian as well, to Béla Tarr for The Turin Horse.)
Silver Bear for Best Director: Christian Petzold for Barbara.
Silver Bear for Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza for her performance in War Witch.
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Mikkel Følsgaard for A Royal Affair.
The Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution goes to Director of Photography Lutz Reitemeier for his work on White Deer Plain.
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg for A Royal Affair.
The Alfred Bauer Award...
- 2/18/2012
- MUBI
Finally! It took a ski-stealing kid to raise the bar for films selected to be in competition. Ursula Meier’s L’enfant D’en Haut (Sister) tells an intriguing story with well-composed twists, starring brilliant actors Kacey Mottet Klein and Léa Seydoux (who really gets to show how talented she is) as Simon and Louise. Twelve year old Simon spends the winter days up on the mountain snatching skis and other sports equipment to sell in order to make a living. When asked about the whereabouts of his parents, he explains how they died in a car accident and that he now lives with his sister. Simon and Louise’s relationship constantly shifts between battle and tenderness. Meier captures her story full of contradictions and struggle with a narrative and visual ease going into great depth. (I purposefully choose to be a little cryptic with this description, as spoiling too...
- 2/15/2012
- by Merle Fischer
- SoundOnSight
The festival circus of Germany‘s big A-film festival is little less then a week away and it‘s been four days since the whole programme of this year‘s Berlinale was released. With almost 400 films the list of title‘s comprises of about as many films as the studio system blasted out annually during its golden age. For ten days Berlin‘s movie theatres will host films from around the globe, and since it is an absolute impossibility to get a grip on everything that will be shown I‘ve decided to be more than happy if by the end of the festival I‘ve gotten the gist of this list.
While some might welcome the sudden start of winter in Berlin I am already dreading the freezing cold while waiting in line at the accreditation’s counter only to find out that the films I‘ve carefully selected to watch are already out.
While some might welcome the sudden start of winter in Berlin I am already dreading the freezing cold while waiting in line at the accreditation’s counter only to find out that the films I‘ve carefully selected to watch are already out.
- 2/5/2012
- by Merle Fischer
- SoundOnSight
Die Lage (Condition)
For many, myself included, this is the Berlinale lineup we anticipate most each year: "The 42nd Berlinale Forum will be showing 38 films in its main program, including 26 world premieres and 8 international premieres." There'll be special screenings, too, which we'll be hearing about later, but for now, the main program with synopses from the festival:
Al Juma Al Akheira (The Last Friday) by Yahya Alabdallah, Jordan/United Arab Emirates - International Premiere. "Taxi driver Yousef is forced to bring some order into his failed existence. This lovingly photographed film casts a laconic and occasionally humorous gaze on daily life in the Jordanian capital Amman."
Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) by Marlon N Rivera, the Philippines. "In this biting satire, three young filmmakers do everything in their power to obtain international fame. They are all too aware of foreign audiences' expectations of Philippine cinema: prostitution,...
For many, myself included, this is the Berlinale lineup we anticipate most each year: "The 42nd Berlinale Forum will be showing 38 films in its main program, including 26 world premieres and 8 international premieres." There'll be special screenings, too, which we'll be hearing about later, but for now, the main program with synopses from the festival:
Al Juma Al Akheira (The Last Friday) by Yahya Alabdallah, Jordan/United Arab Emirates - International Premiere. "Taxi driver Yousef is forced to bring some order into his failed existence. This lovingly photographed film casts a laconic and occasionally humorous gaze on daily life in the Jordanian capital Amman."
Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) by Marlon N Rivera, the Philippines. "In this biting satire, three young filmmakers do everything in their power to obtain international fame. They are all too aware of foreign audiences' expectations of Philippine cinema: prostitution,...
- 1/20/2012
- MUBI
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