Exclusive: French sales and production company Totem Films has boarded international sales on Somalia-set drama The Village Next To Paradise by Mo Harawe.
The movie was among 14 titles announced for the Un Certain Section of the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival at the event’s press conference in Paris on Thursday.
Set in a remote Somali village, the feature revolves around a newly assembled family as its members navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Only love, trust and resilience will power them through their life paths.
“It is a privilege to afford to dream, let alone to become a filmmaker,” said Harawe. following the news. “The Village Next to Paradise serves as a metaphor for a country that holds the potential for paradise, were it not for the circumstances that make such a reality impossible.”
The film stars Somalian actors Ahmed Ali Farah,...
The movie was among 14 titles announced for the Un Certain Section of the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival at the event’s press conference in Paris on Thursday.
Set in a remote Somali village, the feature revolves around a newly assembled family as its members navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Only love, trust and resilience will power them through their life paths.
“It is a privilege to afford to dream, let alone to become a filmmaker,” said Harawe. following the news. “The Village Next to Paradise serves as a metaphor for a country that holds the potential for paradise, were it not for the circumstances that make such a reality impossible.”
The film stars Somalian actors Ahmed Ali Farah,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Meryam Joobeur’s “Motherhood,” Mo Harawe’s “The Village Next to Paradise” and Mia Bendrimia’s “The Magma” claimed a trio of post-production prizes at this year’s Atlas Workshops, which ran from Nov. 27 – 30 as part of the Marrakech Film Festival.
Winner of the top award, “Motherhood” walked away with a €30,000 post-production grant. Produced by Sarra Ben Hassan, the film builds on themes director Joobeur explored in her Oscar-nominated 2018 short “Brotherhood,” once again tracking family tensions when a young Isis combatant returns to his Tunisian home. With her feature debut, Joobeur will now explore the story through a lens of maternal guilt, incorporating touches of magical realism and psychological horror for good measure.
Set for delivery early next year, the film is touted for a splashy festival launch.
In fact, Joobeur had already left Marrakech and was already headed back into the rush of post-production by the time the prizes...
Winner of the top award, “Motherhood” walked away with a €30,000 post-production grant. Produced by Sarra Ben Hassan, the film builds on themes director Joobeur explored in her Oscar-nominated 2018 short “Brotherhood,” once again tracking family tensions when a young Isis combatant returns to his Tunisian home. With her feature debut, Joobeur will now explore the story through a lens of maternal guilt, incorporating touches of magical realism and psychological horror for good measure.
Set for delivery early next year, the film is touted for a splashy festival launch.
In fact, Joobeur had already left Marrakech and was already headed back into the rush of post-production by the time the prizes...
- 12/1/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
‘Motherhood’ is directed by Tunisa’s Meryam Joobeur while ‘Amnesia’ is by Palestine’s Dima Hamdam.
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
- 12/1/2023
- by E. Nina Rothe
- ScreenDaily
‘Motherhood’ is directed by Tunisa’s Meryam Joobeur while ‘Amnesia’ is by Palestine’s Dima Hamdam.
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
- 12/1/2023
- by E. Nina Rothe
- ScreenDaily
Olivér Rudolf’s “My Mother, the Monster” has won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink, its industry section that featured projects from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Hungarian feature film project, which is produced by Genovéva Petrovits at Kino Alfa, received a cash prize of €20,000.
The film focuses on Éva, a mother in her forties who is disappointed with her life and tired of feeling insignificant. She finds a new identity behind a scary monster mask which liberates her.
The Post Republic Award, in the CineLink Work in Progress section, went to “One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies,” directed by Murat Fıratoğlu. The project, which is produced by Nefes Polat at Turkey’s Nefes Films, receives post-production services worth €30,000.
The film shows one day in the life of Eyüp, a poor guy in the city, working hard drying and salting tomatoes under the summer sun.
The Hungarian feature film project, which is produced by Genovéva Petrovits at Kino Alfa, received a cash prize of €20,000.
The film focuses on Éva, a mother in her forties who is disappointed with her life and tired of feeling insignificant. She finds a new identity behind a scary monster mask which liberates her.
The Post Republic Award, in the CineLink Work in Progress section, went to “One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies,” directed by Murat Fıratoğlu. The project, which is produced by Nefes Polat at Turkey’s Nefes Films, receives post-production services worth €30,000.
The film shows one day in the life of Eyüp, a poor guy in the city, working hard drying and salting tomatoes under the summer sun.
- 8/17/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Jerusalem Film Fest Unveils 2023 Industry Program
Nir Bergman and Yona Rozenkier will be among the Israeli filmmakers presenting new projects at the Jerusalem Film Fest’s Pitch Point event this year. The annual meeting connecting Israeli directors with international partners is one pole of the festival’s Jerusalem Industry Days, running July 13 to 15. Jurors will be Olivier Père (Arte Cinema France), Thorsten Ritter (Beta Cinema), Kevin Chan (Mubi) and Claudia Solano (The Match Factory), alongside Helge Albers and producer Yael Fogiel (Les Films du Poisson). The Industry Days will also host the final pitching session for the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab. Other highlights include a focus on Austria, accompanied by Austrian Films’ Anne Laurent-Delage and Emilie Dauptain and producers Antonin Svoboda (coop99), Oliver Neumann (FreibeuterFilm), Sabine Gruber (Golden Girls) and Barbara Pichler (Kgp Filmproduktion). Filmmakers Sebastian Meise,...
Nir Bergman and Yona Rozenkier will be among the Israeli filmmakers presenting new projects at the Jerusalem Film Fest’s Pitch Point event this year. The annual meeting connecting Israeli directors with international partners is one pole of the festival’s Jerusalem Industry Days, running July 13 to 15. Jurors will be Olivier Père (Arte Cinema France), Thorsten Ritter (Beta Cinema), Kevin Chan (Mubi) and Claudia Solano (The Match Factory), alongside Helge Albers and producer Yael Fogiel (Les Films du Poisson). The Industry Days will also host the final pitching session for the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab. Other highlights include a focus on Austria, accompanied by Austrian Films’ Anne Laurent-Delage and Emilie Dauptain and producers Antonin Svoboda (coop99), Oliver Neumann (FreibeuterFilm), Sabine Gruber (Golden Girls) and Barbara Pichler (Kgp Filmproduktion). Filmmakers Sebastian Meise,...
- 7/3/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“Prince Aden,” a new drama by Italian directing duo Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio, known internationally for their immigration-themed “Seven Acts of Mercy,” is among projects selected by Locarno’s Alliance for Development initiative.
The platform, now in its 8th year, is geared towards fostering co-productions between France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Inspired by the book “Partigiani d’Oltremare,” by Italian historian Matteo Petracci, the De Serio twins’ new colonial-era film follows the vicissitudes of a 16-year-old Somali named Aden Sicré who in 1935 becomes a soldier in the Italian army that invaded Ethiopia on Mussolini’s orders. In an unexpected turn, he becomes hailed as a war hero by the Fascist regime. Then a few years later Aden and other African fighters play a pivotal role in the partisan struggle against fascism in Europe.
The Aug. 4-6 Alliance 4 Development goes beyond being a mere co-production platform since it allows for...
The platform, now in its 8th year, is geared towards fostering co-productions between France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Inspired by the book “Partigiani d’Oltremare,” by Italian historian Matteo Petracci, the De Serio twins’ new colonial-era film follows the vicissitudes of a 16-year-old Somali named Aden Sicré who in 1935 becomes a soldier in the Italian army that invaded Ethiopia on Mussolini’s orders. In an unexpected turn, he becomes hailed as a war hero by the Fascist regime. Then a few years later Aden and other African fighters play a pivotal role in the partisan struggle against fascism in Europe.
The Aug. 4-6 Alliance 4 Development goes beyond being a mere co-production platform since it allows for...
- 6/22/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Includes projects by Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi.
New projects by directors Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative which runs from August 4-6.
The initiative is an integral part of Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro industry strand and is aimed at encouraging co-productions between Switzerland and France, Germany and Italy.
Scroll down for full list of projects
11 projects were chosen out of 74 submissions. During the three Alliance 4 Development programme, participants will meet with potential partners and attend panels and networking events.
Lorenz Merz will attend with Who/Man,...
New projects by directors Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative which runs from August 4-6.
The initiative is an integral part of Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro industry strand and is aimed at encouraging co-productions between Switzerland and France, Germany and Italy.
Scroll down for full list of projects
11 projects were chosen out of 74 submissions. During the three Alliance 4 Development programme, participants will meet with potential partners and attend panels and networking events.
Lorenz Merz will attend with Who/Man,...
- 6/22/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
11 projects selected for Locarno Film Festival’s industry strand.
New projects by directors Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative which runs from August 4-6.
The initiative is an integral part of Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro industry strand and is aimed at encouraging co-productions between Switzerland and France, Germany and Italy.
Scroll down for full list of projects
11 projects were chosen out of 74 submissions. During the three Alliance 4 Development programme, participants will meet with potential partners and attend panels and networking events.
Lorenz Merz will attend with Who/Man,...
New projects by directors Lorenz Merz, Ann Oren and Sara Fattahi are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative which runs from August 4-6.
The initiative is an integral part of Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro industry strand and is aimed at encouraging co-productions between Switzerland and France, Germany and Italy.
Scroll down for full list of projects
11 projects were chosen out of 74 submissions. During the three Alliance 4 Development programme, participants will meet with potential partners and attend panels and networking events.
Lorenz Merz will attend with Who/Man,...
- 6/22/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
Three new German dramas have scooped up top honors at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival’s First Look awards, an industry prize that backs works-in-progress.
Lukas Nathrath’s One Last Evening, a scathing dramedy that skewers success-obsessed society, took the Cinegrell First Look Award, which comes with a 51,000 (50,000 euro) bursary in postproduction services from German/Swiss post-house Cinegrell.
Arthur & Diana, a road movie from director Sara Summa, won the Le Film Français Award and the accompanying 5,700 (5,600 euro) in advertising services for the yet-to-be-released feature. Summa, director of the Italian-set 2019 horror title The Last to See Them, stars in the documentary-style Arthur & Diana with her real-life brother. The feature follows the two siblings as they travel from Berlin to South Tyrol re-enacting the road trips of their childhood.
Locarno Pro’s Kaiju Cinema Diffusion Prize, which includes 5,100 (5,000 euro) to go toward the design of an international poster for the film,...
Three new German dramas have scooped up top honors at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival’s First Look awards, an industry prize that backs works-in-progress.
Lukas Nathrath’s One Last Evening, a scathing dramedy that skewers success-obsessed society, took the Cinegrell First Look Award, which comes with a 51,000 (50,000 euro) bursary in postproduction services from German/Swiss post-house Cinegrell.
Arthur & Diana, a road movie from director Sara Summa, won the Le Film Français Award and the accompanying 5,700 (5,600 euro) in advertising services for the yet-to-be-released feature. Summa, director of the Italian-set 2019 horror title The Last to See Them, stars in the documentary-style Arthur & Diana with her real-life brother. The feature follows the two siblings as they travel from Berlin to South Tyrol re-enacting the road trips of their childhood.
Locarno Pro’s Kaiju Cinema Diffusion Prize, which includes 5,100 (5,000 euro) to go toward the design of an international poster for the film,...
- 8/8/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lukas Nathrath’s “One Last Evening,” an often excruciating tragedy-laced dramedy set around a couple’s farewell dinner for friends, won big at Locarno’s First Look on Sunday, scooping the Cinegrell First Look Award.
The award consists in €50,000 in post-production services from Cinegrell, a Switzerland and Germany based services house.
The biggest prize at this year’s Locarno Pro First Look, a pix-in-post showcase dedicated six new movies from Germany, went to a first feature which delivers a scathing portrait of a success-obsessed society whose members mostly don’t live up to their promise, especially in their own estimation.
Sebastian Jakob Doppelbauer plays Clemens, a once budding singer-songwriter but now pitied depressive whose girlfriend is now shaping up as the partner with a future as an on-the-rise doctor. Clemens in contrast doesn’t do shit.
Starting off afresh, moving from Hanover to Berlin, the couple stage a farewell dinner that spirals out of control,...
The award consists in €50,000 in post-production services from Cinegrell, a Switzerland and Germany based services house.
The biggest prize at this year’s Locarno Pro First Look, a pix-in-post showcase dedicated six new movies from Germany, went to a first feature which delivers a scathing portrait of a success-obsessed society whose members mostly don’t live up to their promise, especially in their own estimation.
Sebastian Jakob Doppelbauer plays Clemens, a once budding singer-songwriter but now pitied depressive whose girlfriend is now shaping up as the partner with a future as an on-the-rise doctor. Clemens in contrast doesn’t do shit.
Starting off afresh, moving from Hanover to Berlin, the couple stage a farewell dinner that spirals out of control,...
- 8/7/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The buzzy regional event attrracted festival programmers from Cannes, Berlin and around the world.
Croatian director Sonja Tarokić’s debut feature The Staffroom was the big winner at the 69th edition of the Pula Film Festival when it received nine awards at the closing ceremony at the weekend in the port’s 2,000 year-old Roman amphitheatre.
The Croatian Programme Jury, headed by Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, presented the film with the festival’s main award, the Grand Golden Arena for best festival film, as well as Golden Arenas for best director, best actor for Stojan Matavulj , best supporting actress, and best editing.
Croatian director Sonja Tarokić’s debut feature The Staffroom was the big winner at the 69th edition of the Pula Film Festival when it received nine awards at the closing ceremony at the weekend in the port’s 2,000 year-old Roman amphitheatre.
The Croatian Programme Jury, headed by Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, presented the film with the festival’s main award, the Grand Golden Arena for best festival film, as well as Golden Arenas for best director, best actor for Stojan Matavulj , best supporting actress, and best editing.
- 7/25/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Leading arthouse sales agency The Match Factory has debuted the international trailer (see below) for the gripping, tender-hearted prison drama “Great Freedom,” which won the Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, and has revealed the latest list of international distributors. Sebastian Meise’s film was selected recently as Austria’s candidate in the Best International Feature Film Oscars race.
“Great Freedom” has sold to the following territories: Ex-Yugo (McF Megacom), Australia/New Zealand (Madman), Benelux (Imagine Film), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Baltics (A-One), France (Paname), Greece (Ama Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), U.S./U.K./Eire/Latam/Turkey/India (Mubi), Mexico (Cine Canibal), Sweden (Lucky Dogs), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Spain (Vertigo Films), and Poland (Tongariro).
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The...
“Great Freedom” has sold to the following territories: Ex-Yugo (McF Megacom), Australia/New Zealand (Madman), Benelux (Imagine Film), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Baltics (A-One), France (Paname), Greece (Ama Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), U.S./U.K./Eire/Latam/Turkey/India (Mubi), Mexico (Cine Canibal), Sweden (Lucky Dogs), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Spain (Vertigo Films), and Poland (Tongariro).
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The...
- 10/18/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Austria Selects Great Freedom For Oscars
Austria has selected Sebastian Meise’s Great Freedom as its official submission for Best International Feature Film for the 94th Academy Awards. Set in post-war Germany, the movie tells the story of Hans who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer. The film stars Franz Rogowski (Victoria) and Berlinale Silver Bear awardee Georg Friedrich (The Piano Teacher) in leading roles, with a screenplay by Thomas Reider and Meise. Producers are Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. The 2021 Cannes entry and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner will be released by Mubi theatrically in the U.S. and UK on March 4, 2022. Meanwhile, per the Japanese Filmmakers Federation, Japan has...
Austria has selected Sebastian Meise’s Great Freedom as its official submission for Best International Feature Film for the 94th Academy Awards. Set in post-war Germany, the movie tells the story of Hans who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer. The film stars Franz Rogowski (Victoria) and Berlinale Silver Bear awardee Georg Friedrich (The Piano Teacher) in leading roles, with a screenplay by Thomas Reider and Meise. Producers are Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. The 2021 Cannes entry and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner will be released by Mubi theatrically in the U.S. and UK on March 4, 2022. Meanwhile, per the Japanese Filmmakers Federation, Japan has...
- 10/12/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman and Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Streamer and theatrical distributor Mubi has closed its first on-the-ground Cannes business, signing a multi-territory deal for Sebastian Meise’s second feature Great Freedom, which premiered here in Un Certain Regard.
The deal was struck with sales outfit The Match Factory and covers North America, UK, Ireland, Latam (excluding Mexico), Turkey and India.
The film, written by Thomas Reider and Meise, is set in post-war Germany and tells the story of Hans (Franz Rogowski) who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer.
Pic was produced by Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. Anton Von Lucke and Thomas Prenn star alongside Rogowski and Fredrich
Mubi is having a busy 2021 Cannes, striking deals for a host of titles pre-market,...
The deal was struck with sales outfit The Match Factory and covers North America, UK, Ireland, Latam (excluding Mexico), Turkey and India.
The film, written by Thomas Reider and Meise, is set in post-war Germany and tells the story of Hans (Franz Rogowski) who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer.
Pic was produced by Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. Anton Von Lucke and Thomas Prenn star alongside Rogowski and Fredrich
Mubi is having a busy 2021 Cannes, striking deals for a host of titles pre-market,...
- 7/12/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Leading arthouse sales company The Match Factory has pre-sold Austrian director and screenwriter Sebastian Meise’s second feature “Great Freedom,” which plays in Un Certain Regard at Cannes on Thursday, to Paname Distribution in France. The Match Factory has debuted the teaser and the poster for the film, which was created by Vasilis Marmatakis, the designer of the artwork for Yorgos Lanthimos’ films.
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. What starts as revulsion grows into something called love.
“Great Freedom” stars Franz Rogowski (“A Hidden Life”) and Berlinale Silver bear awardee Georg Friedrich (“Helle Nächte”) in the leading roles.
In his director’s statement, Meise said: “Imagine a world...
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. What starts as revulsion grows into something called love.
“Great Freedom” stars Franz Rogowski (“A Hidden Life”) and Berlinale Silver bear awardee Georg Friedrich (“Helle Nächte”) in the leading roles.
In his director’s statement, Meise said: “Imagine a world...
- 7/7/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
On Monday, after the International Feature Film Oscar committee disqualified the Austrian entry, Sudabeh Mortezai’s “Joy,” the film’s producer and director went over the film and did their own calculations again. “It was a nasty surprise and quite a shock of course,” said Martin Schweighofer, Executive Director of Austrian Films, who sent a protest letter to the Academy on Thursday signed by Mortezai and producer Oliver Neumann.
According to their math, characters speaking subtitled Bini, German, and Pidgin (which uses different grammar and is not intelligible to English speakers) add up to more than 53 percent.
Clearly the languages flow in and out of each other in a way that is tough to count for everyone involved, but the Academy’s six “testers” –including a Pidgin expert–independently calculated the percentages of the languages in the film and came to the conclusion that the English, even without Pidgin, was...
According to their math, characters speaking subtitled Bini, German, and Pidgin (which uses different grammar and is not intelligible to English speakers) add up to more than 53 percent.
Clearly the languages flow in and out of each other in a way that is tough to count for everyone involved, but the Academy’s six “testers” –including a Pidgin expert–independently calculated the percentages of the languages in the film and came to the conclusion that the English, even without Pidgin, was...
- 11/15/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
On Monday, after the International Feature Film Oscar committee disqualified the Austrian entry, Sudabeh Mortezai’s “Joy,” the film’s producer and director went over the film and did their own calculations again. “It was a nasty surprise and quite a shock of course,” said Martin Schweighofer, Executive Director of Austrian Films, who sent a protest letter to the Academy on Thursday signed by Mortezai and producer Oliver Neumann.
According to their math, characters speaking subtitled Bini, German, and Pidgin (which uses different grammar and is not intelligible to English speakers) add up to more than 53 percent.
Clearly the languages flow in and out of each other in a way that is tough to count for everyone involved, but the Academy’s six “testers” –including a Pidgin expert–independently calculated the percentages of the languages in the film and came to the conclusion that the English, even without Pidgin, was...
According to their math, characters speaking subtitled Bini, German, and Pidgin (which uses different grammar and is not intelligible to English speakers) add up to more than 53 percent.
Clearly the languages flow in and out of each other in a way that is tough to count for everyone involved, but the Academy’s six “testers” –including a Pidgin expert–independently calculated the percentages of the languages in the film and came to the conclusion that the English, even without Pidgin, was...
- 11/15/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Austrian sex-trafficking drama was disqualified for having too much English dialogue.
The producer and writer-director of Austria’s contender for the international feature Oscar have hit back at the Academy following the disqualification of their film.
Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, which centres on Nigerian sex workers in Vienna, was taken out of the race earlier this week after the Academy’s review process concluded that two-thirds of the dialogue is in English.
But in a letter to the Academy, producer Oliver Neumann of Freibeuter Film and writer-director Mortezai urged the selection committee to reconsider the decision and claimed their “calculation is not correct.
The producer and writer-director of Austria’s contender for the international feature Oscar have hit back at the Academy following the disqualification of their film.
Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, which centres on Nigerian sex workers in Vienna, was taken out of the race earlier this week after the Academy’s review process concluded that two-thirds of the dialogue is in English.
But in a letter to the Academy, producer Oliver Neumann of Freibeuter Film and writer-director Mortezai urged the selection committee to reconsider the decision and claimed their “calculation is not correct.
- 11/15/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Here’s the first trailer for gritty-looking psychological drama To The Night, starring Three Billboards and X-Men: First Class actor Caleb Landry Jones as an artist suffering from Ptsd.
Written and directed by rising Austrian director Peter Brunner, a protege of The White Ribbon and Amour filmmaker Michael Haneke (who was a consultant on the film), the English-language feature also stars Eléonore Hendricks (Heaven Knows What) and Abbey Lee (The Neon Demon).
Jones plays an artist who suffers from Ptsd after losing his parents in a fire when he was a child. When his memories of the event are reignited one night, he sets off on a quest to face his past and build the family he never had.
The film will premiere next week in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where Brunner’s previous feature, Those Who Fall Have Wings, won the special jury prize...
Written and directed by rising Austrian director Peter Brunner, a protege of The White Ribbon and Amour filmmaker Michael Haneke (who was a consultant on the film), the English-language feature also stars Eléonore Hendricks (Heaven Knows What) and Abbey Lee (The Neon Demon).
Jones plays an artist who suffers from Ptsd after losing his parents in a fire when he was a child. When his memories of the event are reignited one night, he sets off on a quest to face his past and build the family he never had.
The film will premiere next week in competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where Brunner’s previous feature, Those Who Fall Have Wings, won the special jury prize...
- 6/28/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Looking for a visionary and poetic film with something relevant to say about the ongoing personal tech revolution? Brilliant vintage film clips, many from experimental films, show how our desire for 'connectivity' reached critical mass. With brilliant editing, evocative music and a stirring narration read by Tilda Swinton. And it even has a sense of humor... Dreams Rewired DVD Icarus Films Home Video 2015 / B&W (and a little color) / 1:78 enhanced widescreen (variable, actually) / 85 min. / Street Date March 22, 2016 / available through Icarus Films / 29.98 Narrated by Tilda Swinton Animation Hanna Nordholt, Fritz Steingrobe Film Editor Oliver Neumann Original Music Siegfried Friedrich Written by Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode, Muku Patel Produced by Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Bady Minck Directed by Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, Thomas Tode
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In writing about science fiction I've seen the technological advances of the 20th century organized into fantasies about militarism, the invasion of privacy,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In writing about science fiction I've seen the technological advances of the 20th century organized into fantasies about militarism, the invasion of privacy,...
- 3/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This year’s European Film Awards are officially out of the gates with a not so lean 50 film submissions to select from. The 27th edition collects titles that date back to last year’s Venice and Toronto Int. Film Festivals moving into Sundance-Rotterdam-Berlin and finally Cannes of ’14. Among the 31 European countries represented, we’ve got likes of the Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan leading the huge pack of contenders including Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida. Here’s the complete list of 50!:
Alienation
ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)
Bulgaria
Directed By: Milko Lazarov
Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev
Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova
Amour Fou
Austria/Luxembourg/Germany
Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner
Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober
Beautiful Youth
Hermosa Juventud
Spain/France
Directed By: Jaime Rosales
Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas
Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...
Alienation
ОТЧУЖДЕНИЕ (Otchujdenie)
Bulgaria
Directed By: Milko Lazarov
Written By: Milko Lazarov, Kitodar Todorov & Georgi Tenev
Produced By: Veselka Kiryakova
Amour Fou
Austria/Luxembourg/Germany
Written & Directed By: Jessica Hausner
Produced By: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu & Philippe Bober
Beautiful Youth
Hermosa Juventud
Spain/France
Directed By: Jaime Rosales
Written By: Jaime Rosales & Enric Rufas
Produced By: Jaime Rosales,...
- 9/16/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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