Freedom Finds Favor
ITN Distribution has picked up distribution rights in North and Latin America for the live action fantasy epic, “Fight For Freedom” from Incredible Film.
The completed film, which is also available as a 5×30 mins. mini-series, is a live action fantasy epic about Friesland’s greatest hero known as Grutte Pier. Fabled Frisian freedom fighter, Peer Gerlofs Donia, is a gentle giant who turns into a blood-thirsty, revenge-driven killer when his family is brutally murdered. His quest for revenge forges him into a beacon for his people as he becomes their leader in a fight for independence. The film is directed by Steven de Jong.
The film’s cast is headed by Milan van Weelden alongside songwriter and actress Elske DeWall (“Grutte Pier”) and composer and actor Syb van der Ploeg (“Bak”).
“ ‘Fight for Freedom’ is a fascinating story that needs to be shared […] It will be dubbed into English,...
ITN Distribution has picked up distribution rights in North and Latin America for the live action fantasy epic, “Fight For Freedom” from Incredible Film.
The completed film, which is also available as a 5×30 mins. mini-series, is a live action fantasy epic about Friesland’s greatest hero known as Grutte Pier. Fabled Frisian freedom fighter, Peer Gerlofs Donia, is a gentle giant who turns into a blood-thirsty, revenge-driven killer when his family is brutally murdered. His quest for revenge forges him into a beacon for his people as he becomes their leader in a fight for independence. The film is directed by Steven de Jong.
The film’s cast is headed by Milan van Weelden alongside songwriter and actress Elske DeWall (“Grutte Pier”) and composer and actor Syb van der Ploeg (“Bak”).
“ ‘Fight for Freedom’ is a fascinating story that needs to be shared […] It will be dubbed into English,...
- 7/12/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
More than 50% of the Awards won by female directors
The Australian Directors’ Guild announced the winners of the 2020 Adg Awards last month via a virtual ceremony hosted from Sydney.
The Awards were notable for the number of female directors to win Adg Awards – 10 of the 19 Awards were won by women, a reflection of the industry’s move towards gender parity.
The Adg thanks its sponsors for their support in making the Awards such as great success.
Principal Partner
1. Asdacs
Major Partners
1. Media Super
2. Kaleidoscope
Major Government Partners
1. Screen Australia
2. Create Nsw/City of Sydney
Gold
1. ABC
2. Panavision
3. The Post Lounge
4. Dockland Studios Melbourne
5. Animal Logic
6. Screenrights
7. Aftrs
8. Fremantle
9. Actf
Silver
1. Seven
Bronze
1. Shanahan
2. Photoplay
Supporters
1. Hla
2. Rgm
3. Creative Content Australia
Ben Lawrence has took out the Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget $1M or over) Award for Hearts & Bones.
Amongst the many female directors to be applauded this year,...
The Australian Directors’ Guild announced the winners of the 2020 Adg Awards last month via a virtual ceremony hosted from Sydney.
The Awards were notable for the number of female directors to win Adg Awards – 10 of the 19 Awards were won by women, a reflection of the industry’s move towards gender parity.
The Adg thanks its sponsors for their support in making the Awards such as great success.
Principal Partner
1. Asdacs
Major Partners
1. Media Super
2. Kaleidoscope
Major Government Partners
1. Screen Australia
2. Create Nsw/City of Sydney
Gold
1. ABC
2. Panavision
3. The Post Lounge
4. Dockland Studios Melbourne
5. Animal Logic
6. Screenrights
7. Aftrs
8. Fremantle
9. Actf
Silver
1. Seven
Bronze
1. Shanahan
2. Photoplay
Supporters
1. Hla
2. Rgm
3. Creative Content Australia
Ben Lawrence has took out the Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget $1M or over) Award for Hearts & Bones.
Amongst the many female directors to be applauded this year,...
- 11/10/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
France, Italy have shut cinemas already with Germany to follow.
Screen has been covering the films opening in key European territories since July. However, this past week saw cinemas in Italy and France shut down for the coming month; with Germany to follow suit from Monday, November 2.
Below is the current situation for the respective territories.
UK, opening Friday October 30
With other European territories closing, UK releases plough ahead this weekend, albeit with cinemas in Wales and Northern Ireland currently closed under short-term lockdowns, and cinemas in Ireland closed until at least December 2. Scotland will also close its cinemas from...
Screen has been covering the films opening in key European territories since July. However, this past week saw cinemas in Italy and France shut down for the coming month; with Germany to follow suit from Monday, November 2.
Below is the current situation for the respective territories.
UK, opening Friday October 30
With other European territories closing, UK releases plough ahead this weekend, albeit with cinemas in Wales and Northern Ireland currently closed under short-term lockdowns, and cinemas in Ireland closed until at least December 2. Scotland will also close its cinemas from...
- 10/30/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Entertainment One U.K.’s animated kids title “Two by Two: Overboard!,” released to coincide with the school half-term holidays, debuted at the top of the U.K./Ireland box office with £329,265, according to final numbers from Comscore.
The film is a sequel to 2015 hit “All Creatures Big and Small,” and is also known by the title “Ooops – The Adventure Continues.”
Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” moved down to fourth position with £134,968 in its ninth weekend, after eight consecutive weeks atop the box office. The Warner Bros. release now has a running total of £17,122,299 in the territory.
In a market starved of Hollywood films due to big ticket releases being postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, now in its second wave, action crime drama “Honest Thief,” starring Liam Neeson, bowed in second place. The Signature Entertainment release collected £254,267.
Debuting in third place was another family title, “The Secret Garden,” from Sky Cinema.
The film is a sequel to 2015 hit “All Creatures Big and Small,” and is also known by the title “Ooops – The Adventure Continues.”
Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” moved down to fourth position with £134,968 in its ninth weekend, after eight consecutive weeks atop the box office. The Warner Bros. release now has a running total of £17,122,299 in the territory.
In a market starved of Hollywood films due to big ticket releases being postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, now in its second wave, action crime drama “Honest Thief,” starring Liam Neeson, bowed in second place. The Signature Entertainment release collected £254,267.
Debuting in third place was another family title, “The Secret Garden,” from Sky Cinema.
- 10/27/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Ben Lawrence took home the main prize – Best Direction in a Feature Film (Budget $1M+) – at last night’s Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Awards, for his debut narrative feature Hearts and Bones.
Held virtually and hosted by Greta Lee Jackson and Nina Oyama, this year’s Adg Awards also saw female directors take home 10 of the 19 prizes – marking the first time ever that women have made up more than 50 per cent of winners.
Among them were Josephine Mackerras, who took home Best Direction of A Feature Film (Budget under $1M) for the French-language Alice; Maya Newell whose In My Blood It Runs saw her win Best Direction of a Documentary Feature, and Emma Freeman, who won Best Direction of a TV or SVOD Mini-Series for Stateless: Episode 3.
The guild suggests this reflects the push for gender parity in the industry. Traditionally, women have been extremely underrepresented in director roles, and last week,...
Held virtually and hosted by Greta Lee Jackson and Nina Oyama, this year’s Adg Awards also saw female directors take home 10 of the 19 prizes – marking the first time ever that women have made up more than 50 per cent of winners.
Among them were Josephine Mackerras, who took home Best Direction of A Feature Film (Budget under $1M) for the French-language Alice; Maya Newell whose In My Blood It Runs saw her win Best Direction of a Documentary Feature, and Emma Freeman, who won Best Direction of a TV or SVOD Mini-Series for Stateless: Episode 3.
The guild suggests this reflects the push for gender parity in the industry. Traditionally, women have been extremely underrepresented in director roles, and last week,...
- 10/19/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
By Glenn Dunks
It can be so good to see a filmmaker take a significant leap in their talents. Such a thrilling moment to realize that a director isn’t just capable of making good films, but great ones. I must say, I didn’t expect a film like In My Blood It Runs from Maya Newell. The Japanese-Australian filmmaker had previously made the cutely affecting Gayby Baby about the children of same-sex parents (Newell herself is a ‘gayby baby’), but nothing there would suggest a film of such cultural specificity as this.
It’s the sort of film that makes me so glad I watch Australian cinema more regularly than most (including my fellow nationals). I feel like I can easily say it’s one of the best documentaries this country has produced in recent years. A work of emphatic poignancy that speaks so much to this country’s...
It can be so good to see a filmmaker take a significant leap in their talents. Such a thrilling moment to realize that a director isn’t just capable of making good films, but great ones. I must say, I didn’t expect a film like In My Blood It Runs from Maya Newell. The Japanese-Australian filmmaker had previously made the cutely affecting Gayby Baby about the children of same-sex parents (Newell herself is a ‘gayby baby’), but nothing there would suggest a film of such cultural specificity as this.
It’s the sort of film that makes me so glad I watch Australian cinema more regularly than most (including my fellow nationals). I feel like I can easily say it’s one of the best documentaries this country has produced in recent years. A work of emphatic poignancy that speaks so much to this country’s...
- 9/17/2020
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Sophie Hyde, pictured here on the set of ‘Animals’, has been nominated for two Adg Awards.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright (Acute Misfortune), John Sheedy (H is for Happiness), Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) and Natalie Erika James (Relic) will vie for the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).
Up in the $1 million or under category are Josephine Mackerras for Alice, Imogen Thomas for Emu Runner, Lucy Colman for Hot Mess, Luke Sullivan for Reflections In The Dust and Samuel Van Grinsven for Sequin In A Blue Room.
The Adg announced nominees for its annual awards today, with winners to be announced in Sydney at a ceremony October 19. A record 202 entries were received this year, up from 117 in 2019.
“At these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we come...
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright (Acute Misfortune), John Sheedy (H is for Happiness), Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) and Natalie Erika James (Relic) will vie for the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).
Up in the $1 million or under category are Josephine Mackerras for Alice, Imogen Thomas for Emu Runner, Lucy Colman for Hot Mess, Luke Sullivan for Reflections In The Dust and Samuel Van Grinsven for Sequin In A Blue Room.
The Adg announced nominees for its annual awards today, with winners to be announced in Sydney at a ceremony October 19. A record 202 entries were received this year, up from 117 in 2019.
“At these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we come...
- 7/14/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
David Anderson.
Over the next five years the ABC aims to become more culturally diverse in its staff and programming, more local and to make its services more personalised.
ABC MD David Anderson made that commitment today in a speech to the National Press Club as he also emphasized the ways in which the broadcaster is providing practical support to help Australians during the pandemic.
Referring to the fragmentation in the media landscape, he observed: “The big global streaming platforms are looking to grow stronger, while smaller players aim to snatch slices of the market.
“The danger is that our Australian stories get lost in the mix, or don’t get told at all, and that our sense of shared national identity is thereby diminished.
“Meanwhile across the world there are more extreme voices, and more cries of ‘fake’ news. There has been a worrying decline in public confidence in democratic institutions,...
Over the next five years the ABC aims to become more culturally diverse in its staff and programming, more local and to make its services more personalised.
ABC MD David Anderson made that commitment today in a speech to the National Press Club as he also emphasized the ways in which the broadcaster is providing practical support to help Australians during the pandemic.
Referring to the fragmentation in the media landscape, he observed: “The big global streaming platforms are looking to grow stronger, while smaller players aim to snatch slices of the market.
“The danger is that our Australian stories get lost in the mix, or don’t get told at all, and that our sense of shared national identity is thereby diminished.
“Meanwhile across the world there are more extreme voices, and more cries of ‘fake’ news. There has been a worrying decline in public confidence in democratic institutions,...
- 7/8/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘The Assistant.’
As more cinemas around Australia opened their doors, ticket sales improved last weekend from a low base as several art house titles led by Kitty Green’s The Assistant entered the market.
Exhibitors blame the lack of new mainstream releases rather than any discernible reticence to return to cinemas.
“Business is incredibly quiet, with no new films in the market,” says Geoff Chard, national programming manager at Village Cinemas, which re-opened eight complexes last week with another six to follow this Thursday and the remainder later in July.
“Titanic, released 23 years ago, was number four for the weekend. That makes perfect sense as the films released in February and March are still the top films, albeit on very low grosses.”
At Cinema Nova, where The Assistant was the most popular title, ticket sales were spread fairly evenly among the retro releases. CEO Kristian Connelly says: “For many moviegoers...
As more cinemas around Australia opened their doors, ticket sales improved last weekend from a low base as several art house titles led by Kitty Green’s The Assistant entered the market.
Exhibitors blame the lack of new mainstream releases rather than any discernible reticence to return to cinemas.
“Business is incredibly quiet, with no new films in the market,” says Geoff Chard, national programming manager at Village Cinemas, which re-opened eight complexes last week with another six to follow this Thursday and the remainder later in July.
“Titanic, released 23 years ago, was number four for the weekend. That makes perfect sense as the films released in February and March are still the top films, albeit on very low grosses.”
At Cinema Nova, where The Assistant was the most popular title, ticket sales were spread fairly evenly among the retro releases. CEO Kristian Connelly says: “For many moviegoers...
- 6/29/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Bluey’ will be among the shows on the ABC to be audio described.
Following long-standing advocacy efforts, the ABC and Sbs will officially launch audio description (Ad) services this week, making their programs more accessible to the more than 450,000 Australians who are blind or vision-impaired.
Ad is an additional verbal commentary of important visual elements in a film or television show, delivered between lines of dialogue. This may include movements, gestures, settings and costumes. It can be turned on and off as required, similar to closed captions.
As flagged last December, the broadcasters will each receive $2 million in Federal Government funding over the 2020-21 financial year to provide the service across an average of 14 hours of weekly programming.
Both broadcasters have been running Ad trials over recent months, and there have been previous trials on the ABC in 2012 and ABC iview in 2015-2016.
Prior to this, Australia was the only...
Following long-standing advocacy efforts, the ABC and Sbs will officially launch audio description (Ad) services this week, making their programs more accessible to the more than 450,000 Australians who are blind or vision-impaired.
Ad is an additional verbal commentary of important visual elements in a film or television show, delivered between lines of dialogue. This may include movements, gestures, settings and costumes. It can be turned on and off as required, similar to closed captions.
As flagged last December, the broadcasters will each receive $2 million in Federal Government funding over the 2020-21 financial year to provide the service across an average of 14 hours of weekly programming.
Both broadcasters have been running Ad trials over recent months, and there have been previous trials on the ABC in 2012 and ABC iview in 2015-2016.
Prior to this, Australia was the only...
- 6/22/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘The Invisible Man.’
Universal’s The Invisible Man is getting a second lease of theatrical life thanks to drive-ins and newly re-opened cinemas in Western Australia, Adelaide and Alice Springs.
Leigh Whannell’s psychological thriller was the top grosser last weekend as the top 20 titles rang up $456,000, a whopping 148 per cent up on the previous frame, according to Numero.
Including the Queen’s Birthday holiday in most states, nationwide takings totaled $514,000.
Whannell’s film starring Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer and Michael Dorman earned $66,000 on 10 screens over those five days in week 15, lifting the total to $8.06 million.
That means the movie co-produced by Blumhouse Productions’ Jasom Blum and Goalpost Pictures’ Kylie du Fresne has grossed $160,000 since cinemas shuttered in March, although it was released on Premium VOD on April 1.
Seven drive-in cinemas in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Heddon Greta near Newcastle and Yatala in South-East Queensland are generating tidy sums.
Universal’s The Invisible Man is getting a second lease of theatrical life thanks to drive-ins and newly re-opened cinemas in Western Australia, Adelaide and Alice Springs.
Leigh Whannell’s psychological thriller was the top grosser last weekend as the top 20 titles rang up $456,000, a whopping 148 per cent up on the previous frame, according to Numero.
Including the Queen’s Birthday holiday in most states, nationwide takings totaled $514,000.
Whannell’s film starring Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer and Michael Dorman earned $66,000 on 10 screens over those five days in week 15, lifting the total to $8.06 million.
That means the movie co-produced by Blumhouse Productions’ Jasom Blum and Goalpost Pictures’ Kylie du Fresne has grossed $160,000 since cinemas shuttered in March, although it was released on Premium VOD on April 1.
Seven drive-in cinemas in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Heddon Greta near Newcastle and Yatala in South-East Queensland are generating tidy sums.
- 6/8/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Shane Warne.
Fourteen documentary projects – spanning a feature film about Shane Warne, a Vr project that traverses the historical expedition of Ernest Shackleton, to a short about Australia’s femme and butch scene in the 1950s – will share in $2.1 million of production funding from Screen Australia.
Twelve projects funded through the Producer Program, and two through the Commissioned Program.
Screen Australia head of documentary Bernadine Lim said,:“This is an exciting lineup of projects telling uniquely Australian stories across science, social issues, modern legends and even big cats, through different formats and media. It’s fantastic to support three co-productions which open up the teams to international opportunities in financing as well as audience reach.”
“The past few months have presented several challenges for the sector but it’s been great to see that many documentary projects have been able to continue production in some form, and we’re...
Fourteen documentary projects – spanning a feature film about Shane Warne, a Vr project that traverses the historical expedition of Ernest Shackleton, to a short about Australia’s femme and butch scene in the 1950s – will share in $2.1 million of production funding from Screen Australia.
Twelve projects funded through the Producer Program, and two through the Commissioned Program.
Screen Australia head of documentary Bernadine Lim said,:“This is an exciting lineup of projects telling uniquely Australian stories across science, social issues, modern legends and even big cats, through different formats and media. It’s fantastic to support three co-productions which open up the teams to international opportunities in financing as well as audience reach.”
“The past few months have presented several challenges for the sector but it’s been great to see that many documentary projects have been able to continue production in some form, and we’re...
- 6/3/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Distributor and cinema-on-demand platform FanForce has launched streaming service FanForce TV, with a focus on community-led viewing and online discussion of films.
With cinemas around the world shuttered in response to coronavirus, the aim of the platform is to bring the shared theatrical experience to the living room with a pay-per-view model that includes live-streamed Q&As and live chat.
“Community has always been at the heart of what we do at FanForce with our cinema-on-demand releases, but with the arrival of the coronavirus we were forced to reschedule over 250 cinema screenings with Q&As across 37 countries. So, we moved them online instead and rallied the directors and panelists to livestream their scheduled Q&As and take questions from the audience via live chat,” says founder Danny Lachevre.
“We’re hoping it will bring together audiences in a more intimate way than traditional streaming and video-on-demand platforms, especially those who...
With cinemas around the world shuttered in response to coronavirus, the aim of the platform is to bring the shared theatrical experience to the living room with a pay-per-view model that includes live-streamed Q&As and live chat.
“Community has always been at the heart of what we do at FanForce with our cinema-on-demand releases, but with the arrival of the coronavirus we were forced to reschedule over 250 cinema screenings with Q&As across 37 countries. So, we moved them online instead and rallied the directors and panelists to livestream their scheduled Q&As and take questions from the audience via live chat,” says founder Danny Lachevre.
“We’re hoping it will bring together audiences in a more intimate way than traditional streaming and video-on-demand platforms, especially those who...
- 4/6/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘In My Blood It Runs.’
Maya Newell’s feature documentary In My Blood It Runs has been winning hearts and minds since the world premiere in competition at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival last year.
The biopic of 10-year-old Dujuan Hoosan, a child healer and hunter in the Northern Territory who was struggling at school and facing increasing scrutiny from welfare and the police, is resonating with both festival and commercial audiences.
Developed via GoodPitch Australia, the film grossed an impressive $127,000 from the Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Brisbane, CinefestOZ and Screenwave film festivals and, earlier this month, the Perth Festival.
Co-distributed by Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films and the filmmakers, the doc launched on six screens in the capital cities last Thursday, sold out multiple Q&a sessions and rang up $55,000.
It was among the top titles at Cinema Nova, where CEO Kristian Connelly observes: “In My Blood It Runs surpassed all expectations,...
Maya Newell’s feature documentary In My Blood It Runs has been winning hearts and minds since the world premiere in competition at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival last year.
The biopic of 10-year-old Dujuan Hoosan, a child healer and hunter in the Northern Territory who was struggling at school and facing increasing scrutiny from welfare and the police, is resonating with both festival and commercial audiences.
Developed via GoodPitch Australia, the film grossed an impressive $127,000 from the Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Brisbane, CinefestOZ and Screenwave film festivals and, earlier this month, the Perth Festival.
Co-distributed by Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films and the filmmakers, the doc launched on six screens in the capital cities last Thursday, sold out multiple Q&a sessions and rang up $55,000.
It was among the top titles at Cinema Nova, where CEO Kristian Connelly observes: “In My Blood It Runs surpassed all expectations,...
- 2/24/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
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