“The Outrun,” the adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s deeply raw and lyrical 2016 memoir about addiction, recovery and nature, premiered in Sundance this year to stellar reviews, with many awards prophets already suggesting that the film could take Saoirse Ronan — who stars in and produces the film — back to the Oscars in 2025.
For producer Sarah Brocklehurst, the Sundance premiere also marked something of an enjoyable full circle, landing almost five years to the day after the Sundance 2019 debut of “Animals.” The film, which screens at the Berlin Film Festival, also marks the first feature from her Brock Media banner.
“Animals,” based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel about hedonism and friendship (described as a “Withnail for Girls”) and starring Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, may not have been Brocklehurst’s debut film (that was 2012’s “Black Pond”), but she claims it was a career game-changer. “It proved to myself and probably...
For producer Sarah Brocklehurst, the Sundance premiere also marked something of an enjoyable full circle, landing almost five years to the day after the Sundance 2019 debut of “Animals.” The film, which screens at the Berlin Film Festival, also marks the first feature from her Brock Media banner.
“Animals,” based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel about hedonism and friendship (described as a “Withnail for Girls”) and starring Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, may not have been Brocklehurst’s debut film (that was 2012’s “Black Pond”), but she claims it was a career game-changer. “It proved to myself and probably...
- 2/16/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Lesley Land Scholarship Launches
The UK’s National Film and Television School has launched a scholarship in memory of the late publicist Lesley Land, who passed away unexpected last year aged 41. The Lesley Land Scholarship, in association with Land’s parents and Channel 4, will support an annual scholarship to study the Nfts’s Marketing, Distribution, Sales and Exhibition Ma course. Land’s parents, agent Anita and Brook Land, will fund it. Land, considered one of UK television’s smartest and wittiest publicists, passed away in December 2022. She had roles at Sky, The Outside Organisation, Taylor Herring and Planet Hollywood, and had a long spell at Channel 4 promoting shows such as Gogglebox. At last night’s BAFTA TV Awards, Land was featured in the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, which recognizes influential figures in the British entertainment industry who have passed away. Applications for the scholarship are now open, with the recipient...
The UK’s National Film and Television School has launched a scholarship in memory of the late publicist Lesley Land, who passed away unexpected last year aged 41. The Lesley Land Scholarship, in association with Land’s parents and Channel 4, will support an annual scholarship to study the Nfts’s Marketing, Distribution, Sales and Exhibition Ma course. Land’s parents, agent Anita and Brook Land, will fund it. Land, considered one of UK television’s smartest and wittiest publicists, passed away in December 2022. She had roles at Sky, The Outside Organisation, Taylor Herring and Planet Hollywood, and had a long spell at Channel 4 promoting shows such as Gogglebox. At last night’s BAFTA TV Awards, Land was featured in the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, which recognizes influential figures in the British entertainment industry who have passed away. Applications for the scholarship are now open, with the recipient...
- 5/15/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Brock Media, the TV and Film production company backed by BBC Studios, is making its first venture into the audio space. The podcast, Never Told, is an anthology series featuring eight stories written and performed by acclaimed writers, artists and filmmakers including Harry Trevaldwyn, Joanne Lau, Emma Jane Unsworth, Deborah Haywood, Thaddea Graham, Esther Smith, Zing Tsjeng and Caleb Azumah Nelson.
- 5/15/2023
- by PodcastingToday
- Podcastingtoday
Animals producer Sarah Brocklehurst’s Brock Media has optioned the rights to award-winning author Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Small Worlds.
Brock Media, which has a partnership deal with BBC Studios, will develop the novel into a TV show having fought off “multiple bidders”, according to BBC Studios.
Set in London and Ghana, the novel, which is due for release in May and is Nelson’s second following Costa Award-winning Open Water, follows protagonist Stephen over three summers and is about fathers, sons, faith and friendship.
Brock Media will work closely with Nelson, who will write the script.
“Small Worlds is a contemporary masterpiece: thrilling, urgent and full of heart,” said Brocklehurst. “I had such a strong emotional response to the book so it’s an honour to have been entrusted with bringing it to the screen.”
Brock Media was set up a year ago with a development, production and distribution deal with BBC Studios.
Brock Media, which has a partnership deal with BBC Studios, will develop the novel into a TV show having fought off “multiple bidders”, according to BBC Studios.
Set in London and Ghana, the novel, which is due for release in May and is Nelson’s second following Costa Award-winning Open Water, follows protagonist Stephen over three summers and is about fathers, sons, faith and friendship.
Brock Media will work closely with Nelson, who will write the script.
“Small Worlds is a contemporary masterpiece: thrilling, urgent and full of heart,” said Brocklehurst. “I had such a strong emotional response to the book so it’s an honour to have been entrusted with bringing it to the screen.”
Brock Media was set up a year ago with a development, production and distribution deal with BBC Studios.
- 1/10/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Freema Agyeman, known for her roles in New Amsterdam and Doctor Who, is joining singer Lily Allen in the new original comedy Dreamland, based on Sharon Horgan‘s (Bad Sisters) BAFTA-winning short of the same name. According to Variety, Dreamland is about the secrets, lies, loves, and aspirations within a family of four sisters and is set in the British seaside town of Margate. It is described as “a dark comedic exploration of multi-generational female relationships, and their (somewhat dysfunctional) family dynamics.” In addition to Agyeman and Allen, the cast includes Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Stath Lets Flats), Gabby Best (Pls Like), Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Peaky Blinders), Frances Barber (Doctor Who), and Sheila Reid (Benidorm). Downton Abbey star Samantha Bond is also set to make a guest appearance. The six-episode series has already started filming in Margate. It is produced by Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s production company Merman, with Emma Jane Unsworth...
- 7/15/2022
- TV Insider
British pop icon Lily Allen is making her TV debut, joining Doctor Who star Freema Agyeman in Sky comedy Dreamland from Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s Merman.
Dreamland is based on Sky’s BAFTA-winning 2018 short of the same name and is set in Margate, following lead Trish (Agyeman), who is pregnant for the third time with her partner Spence (Kiell Smith- Bynoe) and the rest of their family.
Allen plays Mel, her other sister, who makes an unexpected reappearance back into the family’s lives.
The Alfie and Smile singer featured in Caitlin Moran film How to Build a Girl but Dreamland is her first TV project.
Dreamland was commissioned by Jon Mountague, Director of Comedy, Sky Studios and Alex Moody, Commissioning Editor, Sky Studios, for Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content, Sky UK.
The series is executive produced by Clelia Mountford, Horgan for Merman with Jane Bell as...
Dreamland is based on Sky’s BAFTA-winning 2018 short of the same name and is set in Margate, following lead Trish (Agyeman), who is pregnant for the third time with her partner Spence (Kiell Smith- Bynoe) and the rest of their family.
Allen plays Mel, her other sister, who makes an unexpected reappearance back into the family’s lives.
The Alfie and Smile singer featured in Caitlin Moran film How to Build a Girl but Dreamland is her first TV project.
Dreamland was commissioned by Jon Mountague, Director of Comedy, Sky Studios and Alex Moody, Commissioning Editor, Sky Studios, for Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content, Sky UK.
The series is executive produced by Clelia Mountford, Horgan for Merman with Jane Bell as...
- 7/15/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Lily Allen (“How to Build a Girl”) and Freema Agyeman (“Doctor Who”) are set to star in Sky Original comedy “Dreamland.”
“Dreamland” is based on Sharon Horgan’s BAFTA-winning short of the same name about “secrets, lies, loves and aspirations within a family of four sisters.”
“Set in the sun-drenched British seaside town of Margate, it is a dark comedic exploration of multi-generational female relationships, and their (somewhat dysfunctional) family dynamics,” reads the logline.
Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Gabby Best, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Frances Barber and Sheila Reid round out the cast. Samantha Bond also makes a guest appearance.
Filming has already kicked off for “Dreamland” in the seaside town of Margate in Kent.
The six-episode series is produced by Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s production company Merman, in association with Sky Studios.
Jon Mountague, director of comedy at Sky Studios and Alex Moody, commissioning editor at Sky Studios commissioned the show for Zai Bennett,...
“Dreamland” is based on Sharon Horgan’s BAFTA-winning short of the same name about “secrets, lies, loves and aspirations within a family of four sisters.”
“Set in the sun-drenched British seaside town of Margate, it is a dark comedic exploration of multi-generational female relationships, and their (somewhat dysfunctional) family dynamics,” reads the logline.
Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Gabby Best, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Frances Barber and Sheila Reid round out the cast. Samantha Bond also makes a guest appearance.
Filming has already kicked off for “Dreamland” in the seaside town of Margate in Kent.
The six-episode series is produced by Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s production company Merman, in association with Sky Studios.
Jon Mountague, director of comedy at Sky Studios and Alex Moody, commissioning editor at Sky Studios commissioned the show for Zai Bennett,...
- 7/15/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Deal will encompass development, production and distribution.
BBC Studios has struck a development, production and distribution partnership with UK producer Sarah Brocklehurst for her new company Brock Media.
The company’s ambitions are to “develop and produce television and films for global audiences, working with leading talent from the UK, as well as world-renowned international filmmakers and artists”.
Brocklehurst was nominated for a Bafta for outstanding debut by a British producer for micro-budget feature Black Pond in 2012. She was named a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2014 and then scored a hit with Sophie Hyde’s 2019 comedy-drama Animals, which debuted at...
BBC Studios has struck a development, production and distribution partnership with UK producer Sarah Brocklehurst for her new company Brock Media.
The company’s ambitions are to “develop and produce television and films for global audiences, working with leading talent from the UK, as well as world-renowned international filmmakers and artists”.
Brocklehurst was nominated for a Bafta for outstanding debut by a British producer for micro-budget feature Black Pond in 2012. She was named a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2014 and then scored a hit with Sophie Hyde’s 2019 comedy-drama Animals, which debuted at...
- 1/20/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Jury members include ‘Animals’ producer Sarah Brocklehurst.
Wild Rose director Tom Harper and Animals producer Sarah Brocklehurst are among the jurors of this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).
Brocklehurst will preside over the main jury that includes The Last Tree actor Samuel Adewunmi; Daphne and Rialto director Peter Mackie Burns; writer and actor Mark O’Halloran; Blue Story producer Joy Gharoro Akpojotor; Only You filmmaker Harry Wootliff; writer-director Reggie Yates; Anthony Andrews, co-founder of exhibitor We Are Parable; and broadcaster Yinka Bokinni
The new talent jury will be chaired by film critic Amon Warmann and includes Harper, whose Wild Rose...
Wild Rose director Tom Harper and Animals producer Sarah Brocklehurst are among the jurors of this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).
Brocklehurst will preside over the main jury that includes The Last Tree actor Samuel Adewunmi; Daphne and Rialto director Peter Mackie Burns; writer and actor Mark O’Halloran; Blue Story producer Joy Gharoro Akpojotor; Only You filmmaker Harry Wootliff; writer-director Reggie Yates; Anthony Andrews, co-founder of exhibitor We Are Parable; and broadcaster Yinka Bokinni
The new talent jury will be chaired by film critic Amon Warmann and includes Harper, whose Wild Rose...
- 12/21/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
After premiering at Sundance Film Festival back in 2019, and shown in various other film festivals around the world, Sophie Hyde’s debut feature Animals has finally nabbed a North American release for digital and VOD courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media. Ahead of the November 10 bow, the first trailer and poster have arrived.
Adapted from the novel by Emma Jane Unsworth, the film tracks the hardships of a decade-long friendship between Laura (Holliday Grainger) and Tyler (Alia Shawkat) as the roaring antics that solidified their relationship in their twenties is not as healthy or acceptable as they age into their thirties if they both wish to secure stable relationships and careers.
Clarisse Loughrey praised the film in her review for The Independent, in particular the acting, “When Grainger and Shawkat are onscreen together, it’s like watching an electrical storm brew before our eyes. When they’re apart, they’re less confident in their gestures.
Adapted from the novel by Emma Jane Unsworth, the film tracks the hardships of a decade-long friendship between Laura (Holliday Grainger) and Tyler (Alia Shawkat) as the roaring antics that solidified their relationship in their twenties is not as healthy or acceptable as they age into their thirties if they both wish to secure stable relationships and careers.
Clarisse Loughrey praised the film in her review for The Independent, in particular the acting, “When Grainger and Shawkat are onscreen together, it’s like watching an electrical storm brew before our eyes. When they’re apart, they’re less confident in their gestures.
- 10/15/2020
- by Margaret Rasberry
- The Film Stage
"Sooner or later the party has to end." "Why?!" Freestyle Digital Media has released the official US trailer for Animals, an indie dramedy about two wild young women wrestling with the ways of the world. This originally premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and it was released in the UK last year (here's the first trailer). Made by Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde, the film is based on Emma Jane Unsworth's novel of the same name about two best friends living in Dublin who will never not be best friends. Described as "wild, outrageous and utterly hilarious," Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat star as best friends who often get drunk, party hard, and live the good life. Until one of them meets a guy and life begins to change - unless they hold onto their old ways. Also starring Fra Fee, Dermot Murphy, Amy Molloy, Pat Shortt, Olwen Fouéré, and Kwaku Fortune.
- 10/14/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 and screening around the world at other fests, including Adelaide, Galway, Melbourne, and Stockholm, Sophie Hyde’s “Animals” has locked in a permanent North American home. The dramedy, starring Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger as a pair of long-time best friends at a crossroads, has been snapped up for a fall digital and VOD release by Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios.
Written by author and screenwriter Emma Jane Unsworth and based on her novel of the same name, “Animals” is billed as “a fierce and unapologetic celebration of female friendship — an intimate, funny and bittersweet examination of the challenges of turning talent into action and being a modern woman — with faults, longings, and competing desires.”
The film picks up 10 years into the steadfast friendship of Laura (Grainger) and Tyler (Shawkat), as they are faced with some tough choices,...
Written by author and screenwriter Emma Jane Unsworth and based on her novel of the same name, “Animals” is billed as “a fierce and unapologetic celebration of female friendship — an intimate, funny and bittersweet examination of the challenges of turning talent into action and being a modern woman — with faults, longings, and competing desires.”
The film picks up 10 years into the steadfast friendship of Laura (Grainger) and Tyler (Shawkat), as they are faced with some tough choices,...
- 10/14/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Adults, Emma Jane Unsworth’s follow-up novel to Animals, is set to be adapted for television after Playground and wiip partnered to option the screen rights.
The Howards End and Wolf Hall producer, run by Colin Callender, and the Dickinson studio, run by Paul Lee, are to adapt the series with Unsworth, Callender, Lee and Nne Ebong exec producing.
Unsworth will adapt her own book, which was published in the UK via Harper Collins in January and will be released in the U.S. in May via Simon and Schuster.
This comes after Unsworth adapted her first book Animals with Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat starring, directed by Sophie Hyde and produced by Sarah Brocklehurst. The feature film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
Adults follows Jenny, a woman in her thirties who has completely lost touch with herself. She’s just been dumped, she’s failing at work, losing...
The Howards End and Wolf Hall producer, run by Colin Callender, and the Dickinson studio, run by Paul Lee, are to adapt the series with Unsworth, Callender, Lee and Nne Ebong exec producing.
Unsworth will adapt her own book, which was published in the UK via Harper Collins in January and will be released in the U.S. in May via Simon and Schuster.
This comes after Unsworth adapted her first book Animals with Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat starring, directed by Sophie Hyde and produced by Sarah Brocklehurst. The feature film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
Adults follows Jenny, a woman in her thirties who has completely lost touch with herself. She’s just been dumped, she’s failing at work, losing...
- 4/28/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Story centres on woman in her thirties forced to reevaluate her life.
Playground, Colin Callender’s New York- and London-based production company, has secured screen rights to UK author and Bifa winner Emma Jane Unsworth’s new novel Adults and is partnering with Us television studio Wiip to develop a TV version.
Unsworth is attached to adapt the novel which was published in the UK in January and is set for a Us launch next month.
Adults centres on a woman in her thirties who has lost touch with herself and is forced to reevaluate her life.
Unsworth adapted her first novel,...
Playground, Colin Callender’s New York- and London-based production company, has secured screen rights to UK author and Bifa winner Emma Jane Unsworth’s new novel Adults and is partnering with Us television studio Wiip to develop a TV version.
Unsworth is attached to adapt the novel which was published in the UK in January and is set for a Us launch next month.
Adults centres on a woman in her thirties who has lost touch with herself and is forced to reevaluate her life.
Unsworth adapted her first novel,...
- 4/28/2020
- by 31¦John Hazelton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Ahead of its full slate of nominations next month, BAFTA has unveiled the 10 short-listed films that will compete in the category of outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer.
The nominated works include “For Sama,” a portrait of a Syrian mother’s experience of her country’s civil war, and “Blue Story,” the story of two youths caught up in a South London gang war. “For Sama,” co-directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts, recently cleaned up at the British Independent Film Awards, winning the prize for best British independent film, while “Blue Story,” the directorial debut of YouTube rap star Rapman, has been in the news because of some theaters’ temporary decision to yank the film because of violence surrounding its screenings.
Other short-listed titles include “Maiden,” director Alex Holmes’ documentary about an all-female crew on an around-the-world yacht race, and “The Party’s Just Beginning” from writer-director Karen Gillan,...
The nominated works include “For Sama,” a portrait of a Syrian mother’s experience of her country’s civil war, and “Blue Story,” the story of two youths caught up in a South London gang war. “For Sama,” co-directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts, recently cleaned up at the British Independent Film Awards, winning the prize for best British independent film, while “Blue Story,” the directorial debut of YouTube rap star Rapman, has been in the news because of some theaters’ temporary decision to yank the film because of violence surrounding its screenings.
Other short-listed titles include “Maiden,” director Alex Holmes’ documentary about an all-female crew on an around-the-world yacht race, and “The Party’s Just Beginning” from writer-director Karen Gillan,...
- 12/9/2019
- by Henry Chu
- Variety Film + TV
It is the first time Bafta has publicly announced the shortlist.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has unveiled the 10-strong shortlist for the films in the running for outstanding debut by a British writer, director, or producer category. The shortlist, five nominations and final winner are all decided by a jury.
They are:
Animals
Writer: Emma Jane Unsworth
Bait
Writer/Director: Mark Jenkin, Producers: Kate Byers, Linn Waite
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story
Director/Producer: Steve Sullivan
Blue Story
Writer/Director: Rapman, Producer: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
(also produced by Damien Jones)
For Sama
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab,...
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has unveiled the 10-strong shortlist for the films in the running for outstanding debut by a British writer, director, or producer category. The shortlist, five nominations and final winner are all decided by a jury.
They are:
Animals
Writer: Emma Jane Unsworth
Bait
Writer/Director: Mark Jenkin, Producers: Kate Byers, Linn Waite
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story
Director/Producer: Steve Sullivan
Blue Story
Writer/Director: Rapman, Producer: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
(also produced by Damien Jones)
For Sama
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab,...
- 12/9/2019
- by 88¦Louise Tutt¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
It is the first time Bafta has publically announced the shortlist.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has unveiled the 10-strong shortlist for the films in the running for outstanding debut by a British writer, director, or producer category. The shortlist, five nominations and final winner are all decided by a jury.
They are:
Animals
Writer: Emma Jane Unsworth
Bait
Writer/Director: Mark Jenkin, Producers: Kate Byers, Linn Waite
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story
Director/Producer: Steve Sullivan
Blue Story
Writer/Director: Rapman, Producer: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
(also produced by Damien Jones)
For Sama
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab,...
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has unveiled the 10-strong shortlist for the films in the running for outstanding debut by a British writer, director, or producer category. The shortlist, five nominations and final winner are all decided by a jury.
They are:
Animals
Writer: Emma Jane Unsworth
Bait
Writer/Director: Mark Jenkin, Producers: Kate Byers, Linn Waite
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story
Director/Producer: Steve Sullivan
Blue Story
Writer/Director: Rapman, Producer: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
(also produced by Damien Jones)
For Sama
Director/Producer: Waad al-Kateab,...
- 12/9/2019
- by 88¦Louise Tutt¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
BAFTA has revealed the shortlisted films in the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer category. Lauded documentary For Sama and gang drama Blue Story make the cut. Scroll down for the full list.
The award was previously known as the Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Writer, Director or Producer in their First Feature Film. The winners is chosen by a jury.
The shortlist for the two other BAFTA jury categories – British Short Film and British Short Animation – will be announced tomorrow.
Marc Samuelson, Chair of BAFTA’s Film Committee said, “New talent is the lifeblood of the British film industry. This shortlist of ten films shines a light on a diverse group of talented debut British filmmakers who demonstrate that the future of British film is in good hands.”
Nominations for all categories will be announced on Tuesday 7, January 2020, with the Ee Rising...
The award was previously known as the Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Writer, Director or Producer in their First Feature Film. The winners is chosen by a jury.
The shortlist for the two other BAFTA jury categories – British Short Film and British Short Animation – will be announced tomorrow.
Marc Samuelson, Chair of BAFTA’s Film Committee said, “New talent is the lifeblood of the British film industry. This shortlist of ten films shines a light on a diverse group of talented debut British filmmakers who demonstrate that the future of British film is in good hands.”
Nominations for all categories will be announced on Tuesday 7, January 2020, with the Ee Rising...
- 12/9/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Waad al-Kateab filming the ruins of a building destroyed by bombing in besieged east Aleppo, October 2016. Photo: courtesy of PBS Distribution, copyright Waad al-Kateab Documentary For Sama was named Best British Independent Film at the Bifa awards this weekend. The film, which charts a young mum's life in the midst of the Syrian conflict, also saw Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts take home the Best Directing prize and Best Documentary gong, along with additional technical awards.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield, which won three awards in the craft categories earlier in the week, saw Hugh Laurie named Best Supporting Actor and writer/director Armando Iannucci and his co-writer Simon Blackwell win the Best Screenplay award. The Best Debut Screenwriter award went ot Emma Jane Unsworth for Animals.
The Best Actor gong went to Josh O'Connor for his role in Harry Wootliff's two-hander about the evolution of a relationship,...
The Personal History Of David Copperfield, which won three awards in the craft categories earlier in the week, saw Hugh Laurie named Best Supporting Actor and writer/director Armando Iannucci and his co-writer Simon Blackwell win the Best Screenplay award. The Best Debut Screenwriter award went ot Emma Jane Unsworth for Animals.
The Best Actor gong went to Josh O'Connor for his role in Harry Wootliff's two-hander about the evolution of a relationship,...
- 12/2/2019
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Syrian documentary “For Sama” was the big winner at the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday, taking home four awards for its sobering portrayal of how the ongoing war in Syria affects the women who live there.
“For Sama,” directed by Aleppo resident Waad al-Kateab with Edward Watts, follows al-Kateab through five years of her life as she gets married and gives birth to her daughter, Sama, all while the city crumbles around her. The film won BIFAs for Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Documentary, and Best Film Editing, adding to an awards list that includes The Golden Eye for Best Documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the SXSW Film Festival.
Other winners include Best Actress Oscar contender Renee Zellweger, who won a BIFA for her performance as Judy Garland in the biopic “Judy.”...
“For Sama,” directed by Aleppo resident Waad al-Kateab with Edward Watts, follows al-Kateab through five years of her life as she gets married and gives birth to her daughter, Sama, all while the city crumbles around her. The film won BIFAs for Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Documentary, and Best Film Editing, adding to an awards list that includes The Golden Eye for Best Documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the SXSW Film Festival.
Other winners include Best Actress Oscar contender Renee Zellweger, who won a BIFA for her performance as Judy Garland in the biopic “Judy.”...
- 12/1/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
“The Personal History of David Copperfield” won five awards Sunday at the British Independent Film Awards while Renee Zellweger walked away with the best actress prize for her star turn as Judy Garland in “Judy.” David Livingstone of “Judy” producer Calamity Films accepted it on her behalf.
Feature documentary “For Sama” scooped four awards, including the night’s biggest honor, best British independent film. An intimate portrait of a young mother’s experience of the Syrian civil war, it also won best director for the duo of Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts and for best documentary. It had already taken best editing in the previously announced craft awards.
“The Personal History of David Copperfield” had also already scored three wins in the craft categories. It added two more awards on Sunday night: best supporting actor for Hugh Laurie, who plays Mr. Dick in Armando Iannucci’s adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic novel,...
Feature documentary “For Sama” scooped four awards, including the night’s biggest honor, best British independent film. An intimate portrait of a young mother’s experience of the Syrian civil war, it also won best director for the duo of Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts and for best documentary. It had already taken best editing in the previously announced craft awards.
“The Personal History of David Copperfield” had also already scored three wins in the craft categories. It added two more awards on Sunday night: best supporting actor for Hugh Laurie, who plays Mr. Dick in Armando Iannucci’s adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic novel,...
- 12/1/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Bifa Winners: ‘For Sama’, ‘The Personal History Of David Copperfield’, Renée Zellweger Among Victors
Documentary For Sama, the intimate and scarring portrait of a young mother’s experience of the Syrian civil war, has scored Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Documentary at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards ceremony in London. Scroll down for a full list of winners.
The film’s three awards announced this evening were added to the previously announced win for Best Editing. Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts direct the Channel4 and PBS Frontline feature, which has played at festivals the world over.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield won two awards on the night: Best Supporting Actor for Hugh Laurie, who plays Mr Dick in Armando Iannucci’s adaptation of the Dickens classic, and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films for writers Armando Iannucci and Simon Blackwell. Previously announced had been the film’s awards for Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America and Spotlight, Best Costume Design,...
The film’s three awards announced this evening were added to the previously announced win for Best Editing. Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts direct the Channel4 and PBS Frontline feature, which has played at festivals the world over.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield won two awards on the night: Best Supporting Actor for Hugh Laurie, who plays Mr Dick in Armando Iannucci’s adaptation of the Dickens classic, and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films for writers Armando Iannucci and Simon Blackwell. Previously announced had been the film’s awards for Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America and Spotlight, Best Costume Design,...
- 12/1/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
’The Personal History Of David Copperfield’ finished with five awards, the highest of the night, from 11 nominations.
For Sama and The Personal History Of David Copperfield were the big winners at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).
The ceremony was hosted by actress and comedian Aisling Bea and held at London’s Old Billingsgate tonight (Dec 1).
Syrian civil war documentary For Sama scooped the night’s top prize, best British independent film, as well as best director for Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts, best documentary, and best editing at the previously announced craft awards last month.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield...
For Sama and The Personal History Of David Copperfield were the big winners at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).
The ceremony was hosted by actress and comedian Aisling Bea and held at London’s Old Billingsgate tonight (Dec 1).
Syrian civil war documentary For Sama scooped the night’s top prize, best British independent film, as well as best director for Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts, best documentary, and best editing at the previously announced craft awards last month.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield...
- 12/1/2019
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
Armando Iannucci’s take on the Charles Dickens classic “David Copperfield” is a strong front-runner in the British Independent Film Awards, scoring 11 nominations.
Dev Patel is up for best actor for his starring role in “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” and his co-stars, Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie, compete in their respective supporting categories.
“Wild Rose,” featuring Jessie Buckley as a rising singer, is also a major contender, with 10 nominations. Horror thriller “In Fabric” follows with nine, and Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” with eight. Dance music feature “Beats,” biopic “Judy,” and documentaries “For Sama” and “Diego Maradona” landed five nods apiece.
British actors Naomi Ackie and Joe Cole unveiled the 2019 nominations in London on Wednesday.
Renee Zellweger gets a best actress nom for her turn as late-career Judy Garland. She will vie with Buckley, Holliday Grainger, Sally Hawkins and Vicky Knight for the award.
For the best actor prize,...
Dev Patel is up for best actor for his starring role in “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” and his co-stars, Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie, compete in their respective supporting categories.
“Wild Rose,” featuring Jessie Buckley as a rising singer, is also a major contender, with 10 nominations. Horror thriller “In Fabric” follows with nine, and Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” with eight. Dance music feature “Beats,” biopic “Judy,” and documentaries “For Sama” and “Diego Maradona” landed five nods apiece.
British actors Naomi Ackie and Joe Cole unveiled the 2019 nominations in London on Wednesday.
Renee Zellweger gets a best actress nom for her turn as late-career Judy Garland. She will vie with Buckley, Holliday Grainger, Sally Hawkins and Vicky Knight for the award.
For the best actor prize,...
- 10/30/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
‘Super Gran’ and ‘The Outrun’ will be adapted through Sarah Brocklehurst Productions.
UK producer Sarah Brocklehurst has optioned two new books, following the recent release of literary adaptation and Sundance hit Animals.
Sarah Brocklehurst Productions has picked up Forrest Wilson’s Super Gran, about a witty Scottish grandmother who gains superpowers and defends her grandson and elderly friends from a dangerous criminal.
The book sold 750,000 copies when first published in 1978 and was turned into an Emmy-winning TV series in the 1980s, which sold worldwide.
The feature is being scripted by filmmaker Keri Collins, who won a Bafta Cymru in 2014 for feature debut Convenience.
UK producer Sarah Brocklehurst has optioned two new books, following the recent release of literary adaptation and Sundance hit Animals.
Sarah Brocklehurst Productions has picked up Forrest Wilson’s Super Gran, about a witty Scottish grandmother who gains superpowers and defends her grandson and elderly friends from a dangerous criminal.
The book sold 750,000 copies when first published in 1978 and was turned into an Emmy-winning TV series in the 1980s, which sold worldwide.
The feature is being scripted by filmmaker Keri Collins, who won a Bafta Cymru in 2014 for feature debut Convenience.
- 10/9/2019
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Sophie Hyde (right) on the set of ‘Animals’. (Photo: Tamara Hardman)
Sophie Hyde’s Animals drew warm response from critics after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and positive box office numbers following its UK release last month.
Bonsai Films launched the film in Australia yesterday, but the director has “no idea” if local audiences will come out to see it, noting the difficulty smaller films have in getting cut through and remaining on cinema screens long enough to garner word-of-mouth.
“People have been really warm, excellent audiences so far. But it’s a limited release. I don’t know if there’s a young audience for arthouse in Australia… it’s just hard to get people into the cinemas,” Hyde told If earlier this week.
“My hopes are that it gets enough time for people to be able to find their way to it, because...
Sophie Hyde’s Animals drew warm response from critics after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and positive box office numbers following its UK release last month.
Bonsai Films launched the film in Australia yesterday, but the director has “no idea” if local audiences will come out to see it, noting the difficulty smaller films have in getting cut through and remaining on cinema screens long enough to garner word-of-mouth.
“People have been really warm, excellent audiences so far. But it’s a limited release. I don’t know if there’s a young audience for arthouse in Australia… it’s just hard to get people into the cinemas,” Hyde told If earlier this week.
“My hopes are that it gets enough time for people to be able to find their way to it, because...
- 9/13/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
To celebrate the cinema release of Sophie Hyde’s Animals we are thrilled to be hosting a competition for some amazing goodies! Amongst the prizes we have a signed poster, a lovely themed bookmark to keep your place in a signed book, and many more!
Based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth, Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat star as best friends Laura and Tyler. A celebration of female friendship and the choices we make, Animals is an honest, unconventional and very funny snapshot of two very modern women.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
Enter here for your chance to win our fantastic prizes. Animals is out in cinemas today – go see it!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Small Print
Open to UK residents only The competition will close 15th August 2019 at 23.59 GMT The winner will be picked at random from entries...
Based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth, Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat star as best friends Laura and Tyler. A celebration of female friendship and the choices we make, Animals is an honest, unconventional and very funny snapshot of two very modern women.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
Enter here for your chance to win our fantastic prizes. Animals is out in cinemas today – go see it!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Small Print
Open to UK residents only The competition will close 15th August 2019 at 23.59 GMT The winner will be picked at random from entries...
- 8/5/2019
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
‘Animals’ (Photo credit: Bernard Walsh).
Sophie Hyde’s Animals opened in UK cinemas last weekend, its first territory, winning plaudits from the critics and sizable audiences.
Picturehouse Entertainment launched the female relationships dramedy adapted from the Emma Jane Unsworth novel, which stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, on 73 locations: 38 in greater London and 35 in the regions.
The weekend total including Q&a screenings hosted by Unsworth and a National Girlfriends’ Day promotion was £107,000.
Closer Productions’ Rebecca Summerton, who produced the Irish-Australian co-production with Hyde, Sarah Brocklehurst and Vico Films’ Cormac Fox, tells If she is very pleased with the UK opening and Picturehouse’s marketing campaign.
That augurs well for the September 12 release via Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films. Page has booked nine screens and aims to have 15 on board at launch.
“It is hard to stand out but I think our uber-cool cast of Alia Shawkat and Holliday...
Sophie Hyde’s Animals opened in UK cinemas last weekend, its first territory, winning plaudits from the critics and sizable audiences.
Picturehouse Entertainment launched the female relationships dramedy adapted from the Emma Jane Unsworth novel, which stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, on 73 locations: 38 in greater London and 35 in the regions.
The weekend total including Q&a screenings hosted by Unsworth and a National Girlfriends’ Day promotion was £107,000.
Closer Productions’ Rebecca Summerton, who produced the Irish-Australian co-production with Hyde, Sarah Brocklehurst and Vico Films’ Cormac Fox, tells If she is very pleased with the UK opening and Picturehouse’s marketing campaign.
That augurs well for the September 12 release via Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films. Page has booked nine screens and aims to have 15 on board at launch.
“It is hard to stand out but I think our uber-cool cast of Alia Shawkat and Holliday...
- 8/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Other openers include ‘Animals’ and ‘Holiday’.
Franchise titles Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw and The Angry Birds Movie 2 are aiming for different audiences in their opening weekends at the UK box office, with The Lion King looking to hold its top spot for a third week.
Universal’s Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw is a spin-off from the Fast & Furious franchise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham as a special agent and mercenary who team up to stop a genetically-enhanced villain played by Idris Elba.
As the below chart shows, the franchise has steadily grown since...
Franchise titles Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw and The Angry Birds Movie 2 are aiming for different audiences in their opening weekends at the UK box office, with The Lion King looking to hold its top spot for a third week.
Universal’s Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw is a spin-off from the Fast & Furious franchise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham as a special agent and mercenary who team up to stop a genetically-enhanced villain played by Idris Elba.
As the below chart shows, the franchise has steadily grown since...
- 8/2/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
A handsome newcomer triggers fallout and existential crisis in this wisecracking adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel
Emma Jane Unsworth has adapted her 2014 novel for the screen and the resulting movie, directed by the Australian film-maker Sophie Hyde, is flawed but interesting, kept upright by the steely core of Holliday Grainger’s performance. It’s an unexpectedly subdued film about the mortality of friendships and relationships, and there is also, as with so many other semi-autobiographical fictions, a subsidiary pleasure in wondering which elements are based on truth.
Laura (Grainger) and Tyler are best friends who live in Dublin; they’re single, they love going out for cocktails and have developed a kind of sub-Holly Golightly private language about the ironic sophistication of it all. Laura is a would-be writer who has been working on a novel for almost 10 years and Tyler has a dead-end job. The approaching...
Emma Jane Unsworth has adapted her 2014 novel for the screen and the resulting movie, directed by the Australian film-maker Sophie Hyde, is flawed but interesting, kept upright by the steely core of Holliday Grainger’s performance. It’s an unexpectedly subdued film about the mortality of friendships and relationships, and there is also, as with so many other semi-autobiographical fictions, a subsidiary pleasure in wondering which elements are based on truth.
Laura (Grainger) and Tyler are best friends who live in Dublin; they’re single, they love going out for cocktails and have developed a kind of sub-Holly Golightly private language about the ironic sophistication of it all. Laura is a would-be writer who has been working on a novel for almost 10 years and Tyler has a dead-end job. The approaching...
- 8/1/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s a funny old time in your life when you’re approaching 30. Young enough not to care, but old enough to know better. It’s a tumultuous, complex time and one captured to perfection in Sophie Hyde’s Sundance hit, Animals – based on the novel by Emma Jane Unsworth, who also penned the screenplay.
We sat down with these two immensely talented women, as they discuss the themes in the film, as well as their joy that actresses Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat both signed up to play the leading two roles. Unsworth tells us whether she had always visualised a film adaptation of her words, and the pair also go on to talk about their exciting, upcoming projects.
Watch the full interview below:
Synopsis
Long-time friends and party-lovers Laura and Tyler navigate life and love in Dublin, Ireland. However, the girls find themselves drifting apart when Laura becomes engaged.
We sat down with these two immensely talented women, as they discuss the themes in the film, as well as their joy that actresses Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat both signed up to play the leading two roles. Unsworth tells us whether she had always visualised a film adaptation of her words, and the pair also go on to talk about their exciting, upcoming projects.
Watch the full interview below:
Synopsis
Long-time friends and party-lovers Laura and Tyler navigate life and love in Dublin, Ireland. However, the girls find themselves drifting apart when Laura becomes engaged.
- 7/29/2019
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
James Schamus to deliver keynote address at the Fleadh Forum.
The full programme for the 31st Galway Film Fleadh has been unveiled, with Sophie Hyde’s Animals and French actress Sandrine Dumas’ directorial debut Sing Me Back Home among the latest additions to the programme.
Sing Me Back Home, about a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, will open the Fleadh on July 9.
Ivan Kavanagh’s Never Grow Old, a dark western about an Irish undertaker on the American frontier, starring Emile Hirsch and John Cusack, will close the festival on July 14.
Of the 84 new local and international features,...
The full programme for the 31st Galway Film Fleadh has been unveiled, with Sophie Hyde’s Animals and French actress Sandrine Dumas’ directorial debut Sing Me Back Home among the latest additions to the programme.
Sing Me Back Home, about a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, will open the Fleadh on July 9.
Ivan Kavanagh’s Never Grow Old, a dark western about an Irish undertaker on the American frontier, starring Emile Hirsch and John Cusack, will close the festival on July 14.
Of the 84 new local and international features,...
- 6/26/2019
- by Esther McCarthy
- ScreenDaily
James Schamus to deliver keynote address at the Fleadh Forum.
The full programme for the 31st Galway Film Fleadh has been unveiled, with Sophie Hyde’s Animals and French actress Sandrine Dumas’ directorial debut Sing Me Back Home among the latest additions to the programme.
Sing Me Back Home, about a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, will open the Fleadh on July 9.
Ivan Kavanagh’s Never Grow Old, a dark western about an Irish undertaker on the American frontier, starring Emile Hirsch and John Cusack, will close the festival on July 14.
Of the 95 local and international feature films...
The full programme for the 31st Galway Film Fleadh has been unveiled, with Sophie Hyde’s Animals and French actress Sandrine Dumas’ directorial debut Sing Me Back Home among the latest additions to the programme.
Sing Me Back Home, about a young woman’s relationship with her grandmother, will open the Fleadh on July 9.
Ivan Kavanagh’s Never Grow Old, a dark western about an Irish undertaker on the American frontier, starring Emile Hirsch and John Cusack, will close the festival on July 14.
Of the 95 local and international feature films...
- 6/26/2019
- by Esther McCarthy
- ScreenDaily
"Sooner or later the party has to end..." "Why?!" Picturehouse in the UK has debuted the first official UK trailer for the indie dramedy Animals, which initially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is playing at Sundance London coming up this week. Made by Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde, the film is based on Emma Jane Unsworth's novel of the same name about two best friends living in Dublin. Described as "wild, outrageous and utterly hilarious," Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat star as best friends who often get drunk, party hard, and live the good life. Until one of them meets a guy and life begins to change - unless they hold onto their old ways. Also starring Fra Fee, Dermot Murphy, Amy Molloy, Pat Shortt, Olwen Fouéré, and Kwaku Fortune. This is a quirky, fun, wild film that was made because Hyde felt a need...
- 5/30/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The U.K. production scene has been dominated by a phalanx of successful producers for many years. A fresh wave of U.K.-based producers is now also getting international attention. The producers are navigating a business that offers unparalleled opportunity, and facing fundamental challenges. With the key funders putting an emphasis on inclusion and diversity, female producers have risen to the fore and the new faces also reflects modern, multicultural Britain.
“There is a great old guard we can look up to, but also such excitement about debut British filmmakers,” says Julia Nottingham, who produced Lucy Cohen’s “Kingdom of Us” and “Xy Chelsea,” which premiered at Tribeca. “If you look at the BIFAs [British Independent Film Awards] and BAFTA debuts, the films are so exciting, and the good thing is that financiers are up for taking those risks and finding new talent.”
Nottingham set up Julia Street Pictures last year and Great...
“There is a great old guard we can look up to, but also such excitement about debut British filmmakers,” says Julia Nottingham, who produced Lucy Cohen’s “Kingdom of Us” and “Xy Chelsea,” which premiered at Tribeca. “If you look at the BIFAs [British Independent Film Awards] and BAFTA debuts, the films are so exciting, and the good thing is that financiers are up for taking those risks and finding new talent.”
Nottingham set up Julia Street Pictures last year and Great...
- 5/17/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Variety profiles a selection of upcoming film projects by younger British producers
Untitled Irish-Set Gothic Drama
Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly’s next project is an as-yet-untitled gothic psychological drama. U.S. directing duo Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis will direct the Screen Ireland-backed project. It will be set in and shot in Ireland.
“Retreat”
Written and directed by deaf filmmaker Ted Evans, “Retreat” follow a college dropout who joins a deaf-only commune. It will be subtitled. Escape Films’ Michelle Stein hopes to shoot the BFI, BBC Films and Creative England-backed project in 2020. She is producing with 104 Films and Alex Usbourne.
“Three Weeks”
Julia Nottingham is producing the BBC Films-backed romantic-comedy-drama, written by and starring BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Susan Wokoma (pictured). She will play a woman who is dumped by her boyfriend and rebounds into a new relationship only to find she is pregnant by her ex-. She...
Untitled Irish-Set Gothic Drama
Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly’s next project is an as-yet-untitled gothic psychological drama. U.S. directing duo Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis will direct the Screen Ireland-backed project. It will be set in and shot in Ireland.
“Retreat”
Written and directed by deaf filmmaker Ted Evans, “Retreat” follow a college dropout who joins a deaf-only commune. It will be subtitled. Escape Films’ Michelle Stein hopes to shoot the BFI, BBC Films and Creative England-backed project in 2020. She is producing with 104 Films and Alex Usbourne.
“Three Weeks”
Julia Nottingham is producing the BBC Films-backed romantic-comedy-drama, written by and starring BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Susan Wokoma (pictured). She will play a woman who is dumped by her boyfriend and rebounds into a new relationship only to find she is pregnant by her ex-. She...
- 5/17/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired U.K. rights to Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde’s “Animals,” which world premiered at Sundance. The feelgood female friendship drama stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat.
The film, which is based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth, centers on two young Dublin women, Laura and Tyler, whose careers and lives remain on hold while they devote their time to partying hard. As they drift into their thirties, reality begins to bite, but the rebels will not be tamed so easily.
Variety’s review said: “Sophie Hyde’s generous, freewheeling film is a pleasingly disorderly addition to the still-underpopulated ranks of female friendship studies — eschewing both strict moral judgment and greeting-card sentimentality in its portrayal of two women with a firmer idea of what they don’t want in life than what they do.”
Clare Binns, joint M.D. of Picturehouse, said: “[The film] is fresh,...
The film, which is based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth, centers on two young Dublin women, Laura and Tyler, whose careers and lives remain on hold while they devote their time to partying hard. As they drift into their thirties, reality begins to bite, but the rebels will not be tamed so easily.
Variety’s review said: “Sophie Hyde’s generous, freewheeling film is a pleasingly disorderly addition to the still-underpopulated ranks of female friendship studies — eschewing both strict moral judgment and greeting-card sentimentality in its portrayal of two women with a firmer idea of what they don’t want in life than what they do.”
Clare Binns, joint M.D. of Picturehouse, said: “[The film] is fresh,...
- 5/7/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The new Berlinale director duo – artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariette Rissenbeek – have introduced a new competitive section to sit alongside the Competition and Berlinale Shorts programs.
According to the festival, Encounters will look to “foster aesthetically and structurally daring works from independent, innovative filmmakers. Its goal is to support new voices in cinema and to give more room to diverse narrative and documentary forms in the official selection.”
The lineup will comprise a maximum of 15 works – world or international premieres of fiction or documentary films at least 60 minutes in length. A three-member jury will choose winners for best film, best director and a special jury award.
Also announced today, the festival will be discontinuing sections NATIVe and Culinary Cinema.
“The 21st century with its technological and economical shifts has changed film production in many ways, making boundaries between fiction and documentary, film essay and genre, less stable and more porous.
According to the festival, Encounters will look to “foster aesthetically and structurally daring works from independent, innovative filmmakers. Its goal is to support new voices in cinema and to give more room to diverse narrative and documentary forms in the official selection.”
The lineup will comprise a maximum of 15 works – world or international premieres of fiction or documentary films at least 60 minutes in length. A three-member jury will choose winners for best film, best director and a special jury award.
Also announced today, the festival will be discontinuing sections NATIVe and Culinary Cinema.
“The 21st century with its technological and economical shifts has changed film production in many ways, making boundaries between fiction and documentary, film essay and genre, less stable and more porous.
- 5/7/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Film premiered at Sundance this year.
Picturehouse Entertainment has picked up UK rights to Sophie Hyde’s Animals from Cornerstone Films.
Animals premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January and will have its European premiere at Sundance Film Festival London, an event run with Picturehouse, on May 31.
Based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth, Animals stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat as two outrageously-behaved female friends who refuse to settle as they arrive at their thirties.
Sarah Brocklehurst produced with Rebecca Summerton and Sophie Hyde for Closer Productions and Cormac Fox for Vico Films. Backing...
Picturehouse Entertainment has picked up UK rights to Sophie Hyde’s Animals from Cornerstone Films.
Animals premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January and will have its European premiere at Sundance Film Festival London, an event run with Picturehouse, on May 31.
Based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth, Animals stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat as two outrageously-behaved female friends who refuse to settle as they arrive at their thirties.
Sarah Brocklehurst produced with Rebecca Summerton and Sophie Hyde for Closer Productions and Cormac Fox for Vico Films. Backing...
- 5/7/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Sundance Institute and Picturehouse announced today the programme of feature films, short films and panel discussions to take place at ‘Sundance Film Festival’ London between 30 May – 2 June at Picturehouse Central.
The festival will present 12 feature films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., selected for London by the Sundance Institute programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse. The festival will open with the European premiere of Late Night (Nisha Ganatra), written by and starring Mindy Kaling alongside Emma Thompson. The festival will close four days later with the UK premiere of Penny Lane’s Hail Satan?.
Alongside the opening and closing night films, the festival will present a selection of fearless filmmaking: The Nightingale, a striking revenge drama starring Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin, marks Jennifer Kent’s anticipated follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut, The Babadook.
Time Out gala film, Animals (dir. Sophie Hyde,...
The festival will present 12 feature films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., selected for London by the Sundance Institute programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse. The festival will open with the European premiere of Late Night (Nisha Ganatra), written by and starring Mindy Kaling alongside Emma Thompson. The festival will close four days later with the UK premiere of Penny Lane’s Hail Satan?.
Alongside the opening and closing night films, the festival will present a selection of fearless filmmaking: The Nightingale, a striking revenge drama starring Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin, marks Jennifer Kent’s anticipated follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut, The Babadook.
Time Out gala film, Animals (dir. Sophie Hyde,...
- 4/16/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
‘Animals’.
Adelaide Film Festival will hold pop up screenings of Top End Wedding and Animals in early April, marking each film’s official Australian premiere.
Both films – which each made their world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January to critical acclaim – were made with the support of the Adelaide Film Festival investment fund. Each will premiere with a red carpet gala screening and after party, with a screening and Q&A the following day.
Adelaide Film Festival CEO and creative director Mat Kesting said: “Adelaide Film Festival is thrilled to present the Australian premieres of Sophie Hyde’s Animals and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, giving audiences the chance to be among the first in the world to see these fine works. Diverse in their nature, both films are immensely compelling and entertaining films we encourage Adelaide audiences to embrace at the Adl Film Fest April Pop Up.
Adelaide Film Festival will hold pop up screenings of Top End Wedding and Animals in early April, marking each film’s official Australian premiere.
Both films – which each made their world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January to critical acclaim – were made with the support of the Adelaide Film Festival investment fund. Each will premiere with a red carpet gala screening and after party, with a screening and Q&A the following day.
Adelaide Film Festival CEO and creative director Mat Kesting said: “Adelaide Film Festival is thrilled to present the Australian premieres of Sophie Hyde’s Animals and Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, giving audiences the chance to be among the first in the world to see these fine works. Diverse in their nature, both films are immensely compelling and entertaining films we encourage Adelaide audiences to embrace at the Adl Film Fest April Pop Up.
- 2/26/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Animals’ (Photo credit: Bernard Walsh)
The overseas sales prospects for Sophie Hyde’s Animals look bright following rave reviews for the female-led comedy at the Sundance Film Festival.
Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her acclaimed 2014 novel of the same name, the film stars English actress Holliday Grainger and American Alia Shawkat as Laura and Tyler, best friends and roommates in Dublin.
When Tyler’s younger sister Jean (Amy Molloy) announces that she and her partner are expecting a baby, Laura is plunged into a funk that Tyler finds perplexing.
Their hedonistic existence is further disrupted when Laura gets engaged to Jim (Irishman Fra Free), an ambitious pianist who decides to go teetotal.
The Irish-Australian co-production was produced by Hyde and Rebecca Summerton for Closer Productions and Sarah Brocklehurst and Cormac Fox for Vico Films.
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland enthused: “Grainger and Shawkat are wonderful together, conveying the depth of...
The overseas sales prospects for Sophie Hyde’s Animals look bright following rave reviews for the female-led comedy at the Sundance Film Festival.
Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her acclaimed 2014 novel of the same name, the film stars English actress Holliday Grainger and American Alia Shawkat as Laura and Tyler, best friends and roommates in Dublin.
When Tyler’s younger sister Jean (Amy Molloy) announces that she and her partner are expecting a baby, Laura is plunged into a funk that Tyler finds perplexing.
Their hedonistic existence is further disrupted when Laura gets engaged to Jim (Irishman Fra Free), an ambitious pianist who decides to go teetotal.
The Irish-Australian co-production was produced by Hyde and Rebecca Summerton for Closer Productions and Sarah Brocklehurst and Cormac Fox for Vico Films.
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland enthused: “Grainger and Shawkat are wonderful together, conveying the depth of...
- 1/29/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Australian editor and cinematographer Bryan Mason has collaborated with director Sophie Hyde before; their first was 52 Tuesdays, a mother-daughter drama in which the latter is transitioning genders. Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her novel, Animals examines another kind of relationship at a moment of change, tracking two Dublin friends in their early 30s whose years of boozing and companionship are starting to be too much to handle. Also serving as the project’s Dp, via email Mason discussed the challenges of editing a project with input coming from Australia, the UK and Ireland, getting lost in early edits, and reshaping the […]...
- 1/29/2019
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Australian editor and cinematographer Bryan Mason has collaborated with director Sophie Hyde before; their first was 52 Tuesdays, a mother-daughter drama in which the latter is transitioning genders. Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her novel, Animals examines another kind of relationship at a moment of change, tracking two Dublin friends in their early 30s whose years of boozing and companionship are starting to be too much to handle. Also serving as the project’s Dp, via email Mason discussed the challenges of editing a project with input coming from Australia, the UK and Ireland, getting lost in early edits, and reshaping the […]...
- 1/29/2019
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Thirty is a curious age, at once unsettling and perilously close to settled: the first point at which you can see another adult version of yourself in the rearview mirror, and wonder what’s gone right or wrong. Its onset has a different effect on the two hard-partying Dublin girlfriends at the center of “Animals,” as their once watertight bond starts to leak boozily at the seams. For Laura, a self-styled, self-doubting 32-year-old writer, that rearview glance is one she’d rather not take, as she senses herself sliding out of sync with the world around her; for Tyler, her proudly feckless Bff, looking back only emboldens her to carry on as before.
Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her own 2014 novel, Sophie Hyde’s generous, freewheeling film is a pleasingly disorderly addition to the still-underpopulated ranks of female friendship studies — eschewing both strict moral judgment and greeting-card sentimentality in...
Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her own 2014 novel, Sophie Hyde’s generous, freewheeling film is a pleasingly disorderly addition to the still-underpopulated ranks of female friendship studies — eschewing both strict moral judgment and greeting-card sentimentality in...
- 1/29/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a delightful gag in the final act of Jamie Travis’ 2012 comedy “For a Good Time, Call” — incidentally, a former Sundance entry — in which the leading ladies profess their platonic affection for each other in ways most closely associated with romantic proclamations. Sophie Hyde’s “Animals” takes that idea and slingshots it a decade into the future, centering her film around the seemingly unbreakable bond between Laura (Holliday Grainger) and Tyler (Alia Shawkat), best friends who probably made similar promises in the early days of their own friendship. The film even opens with Laura lovingly reciting the story of how they first met, a tale that’s both sweet and indicative of the pains to come.
Based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel of the same name — the novelist has also penned the screenplay, and her affection for her characters shows — “Animals” picks up ten years into Laura and Tyler’s friendship,...
Based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel of the same name — the novelist has also penned the screenplay, and her affection for her characters shows — “Animals” picks up ten years into Laura and Tyler’s friendship,...
- 1/29/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Sundance: Watch Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger Debate Marriage and Feminism in ‘Animals’ (Video)
Modern female friendship — and feminism — is top of mind in Sophie Hyde’s Sundance player “Animals.”
Variety has an exclusive first look at the film, which sees Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger as roommates who have torn up the streets of Dublin for a decade with drunken shenanigans and artistic ambition.
When Grainger’s Laura discovers her younger sister is starting a family, panic sets in. Shawkat’s Tyler rolls her eyes at the archaic pressure to settle down.
Temptation to do just that isn’t far around the corner, when Laura meets a devoted artist who inspires her to finish her book, winning her heart in the process. Laura’s own love story causes distress for Tyler, who finds her friend’s traditional path unsettling.
Australian writer/producer/director Hyde helmed the film, which was adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her 2014 novel of the same name. Hyde’s first feature,...
Variety has an exclusive first look at the film, which sees Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger as roommates who have torn up the streets of Dublin for a decade with drunken shenanigans and artistic ambition.
When Grainger’s Laura discovers her younger sister is starting a family, panic sets in. Shawkat’s Tyler rolls her eyes at the archaic pressure to settle down.
Temptation to do just that isn’t far around the corner, when Laura meets a devoted artist who inspires her to finish her book, winning her heart in the process. Laura’s own love story causes distress for Tyler, who finds her friend’s traditional path unsettling.
Australian writer/producer/director Hyde helmed the film, which was adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her 2014 novel of the same name. Hyde’s first feature,...
- 1/27/2019
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Mia Wasikowska in ‘Judy and Punch’ (Photo: Ben King)
A record six Australian feature films will screen at the Sundance Film Festival, with Animals, Judy and Punch, Little Monsters, Top End Wedding and I Am Mother having their world premieres in the Utah-based festival, which runs from January 24 – February 3.
In addition, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale will have its North American premiere after winning the special jury prize and the Marcello Mastroianni award for best new young performer for Baykali Ganambar at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
That surpasses the previous record of five in 1997. Sundance has been a great launching pad for Australian productions including David Michod’s Animal Kingdom in 2010 (World Cinema Jury Prize), Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek in 2005, Scott Hicks’ Shine in 1996, Kitty Green’s Casting JonBenet (2017) and Nash Edgerton’s Mr Inbetween (2018).
“The six films selected by Sundance display the array of stories Australians...
A record six Australian feature films will screen at the Sundance Film Festival, with Animals, Judy and Punch, Little Monsters, Top End Wedding and I Am Mother having their world premieres in the Utah-based festival, which runs from January 24 – February 3.
In addition, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale will have its North American premiere after winning the special jury prize and the Marcello Mastroianni award for best new young performer for Baykali Ganambar at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
That surpasses the previous record of five in 1997. Sundance has been a great launching pad for Australian productions including David Michod’s Animal Kingdom in 2010 (World Cinema Jury Prize), Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek in 2005, Scott Hicks’ Shine in 1996, Kitty Green’s Casting JonBenet (2017) and Nash Edgerton’s Mr Inbetween (2018).
“The six films selected by Sundance display the array of stories Australians...
- 11/28/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival has announced its entire feature film lineup for the January gathering. The festival has revealed its high-profile Premieres and Documentary Premieres selections in addition to the full list of films screening in four different competition sections, plus the forward-thinking Next section, the Kids lineup, and the Midnight list.
The 2019 feature film lineup includes a number of highly anticipated titles, including the Shia Labeouf-penned and Alma Har’el-directed “Honey Boy,” Joe Berlinger’s Zac Efron-starring Ted Bundy feature, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s feature directorial debut “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” Nanfu Wang’s latest documentary “One Child Nation,” the prescient doc “Knock Down the House,” and Alice Waddington’s wild-looking Nacho Vigalondo-written “Paradise Hills.” Plenty of Sundance alums are returning to debut new work, including Anne Sewitsky, Alex Gibney, Nick Broomfield, Justin Chon, Matt Tyrnauer, and Veronika Franz.
As is the festival’s tradition,...
The 2019 feature film lineup includes a number of highly anticipated titles, including the Shia Labeouf-penned and Alma Har’el-directed “Honey Boy,” Joe Berlinger’s Zac Efron-starring Ted Bundy feature, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s feature directorial debut “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” Nanfu Wang’s latest documentary “One Child Nation,” the prescient doc “Knock Down the House,” and Alice Waddington’s wild-looking Nacho Vigalondo-written “Paradise Hills.” Plenty of Sundance alums are returning to debut new work, including Anne Sewitsky, Alex Gibney, Nick Broomfield, Justin Chon, Matt Tyrnauer, and Veronika Franz.
As is the festival’s tradition,...
- 11/28/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Amanda Duthie.
This year’s Adelaide Film Festival marks CEO and artistic director Amanda Duthie’s last – she is moving on to take up a new role as the South Australian Film Corporation’s head of production, development, attraction and studios.
Due to start at Safc in November, Duthie will be responsible for the agency’s production and development investment, as well as attracting both national and international production.
Duthie has helmed the Adelaide Film Festival since 2012, curating some five festivals despite it being officially a biennial event. Her tenure has also seen her run two Hybrid World Adelaide events and the 2013 Adelaide Festival of Ideas.
Duthie’s role also saw her responsible for the Adelaide Film Festival Fund, and she has led the commissioning of 58 projects, including 15 features and nine documentary features, as well as a variety of animation, Vr and installation works. Among them has been Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale,...
This year’s Adelaide Film Festival marks CEO and artistic director Amanda Duthie’s last – she is moving on to take up a new role as the South Australian Film Corporation’s head of production, development, attraction and studios.
Due to start at Safc in November, Duthie will be responsible for the agency’s production and development investment, as well as attracting both national and international production.
Duthie has helmed the Adelaide Film Festival since 2012, curating some five festivals despite it being officially a biennial event. Her tenure has also seen her run two Hybrid World Adelaide events and the 2013 Adelaide Festival of Ideas.
Duthie’s role also saw her responsible for the Adelaide Film Festival Fund, and she has led the commissioning of 58 projects, including 15 features and nine documentary features, as well as a variety of animation, Vr and installation works. Among them has been Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale,...
- 9/19/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
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