Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled Iran last week after being given an 8-year prison sentence, will be in Cannes for the world premiere of his new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Representatives of Rasoulof confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rasoulof will attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Tree in Cannes on Friday, May 24, and will do press events and promotion for the movie.
The director escaped Iran by ditching all his trackable electronic devices and fleeing by foot over the mountains out of the country. He has found shelter in Germany. In an interview with The Guardian, Rasoulof said he expects he will soon return to his home country and sit out his prison sentence, but that he had “no choice” but to flee the country because he was determined to continue to make movies about his people and the real situation in Iran.
Representatives of Rasoulof confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rasoulof will attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Tree in Cannes on Friday, May 24, and will do press events and promotion for the movie.
The director escaped Iran by ditching all his trackable electronic devices and fleeing by foot over the mountains out of the country. He has found shelter in Germany. In an interview with The Guardian, Rasoulof said he expects he will soon return to his home country and sit out his prison sentence, but that he had “no choice” but to flee the country because he was determined to continue to make movies about his people and the real situation in Iran.
- 5/22/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is set to attend the Cannes premiere of his latest feature, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, after receiving an eight-year prison sentence from Iranian authorities and fleeing his home country.
Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.
“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).
Our joy will be that of...
Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.
“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).
Our joy will be that of...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
International filmmakers are calling for solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof and persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter, shared with Variety.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
- 5/22/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Christian Petzold’s anticipated Miroirs No.3 and Kaouther Ben Hania’s epic love story Mimesi are among the 19 projects awarded a total funding of almost €3.5m by Germany’s Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (Mbb) at the second funding session of 2024.
Miroirs No.3 will star Paula Beer in her fourth collaboration with Petzold after Transit, Undine and Afire. She will play a young music student who has to restructure her life when her boyfriend dies in a car crash in the countryside.
The film, which is being produced by Petzold’s production company Schramm Film Koerner Weber Kaiser, received €500,000 in production funding from Mbb.
Miroirs No.3 will star Paula Beer in her fourth collaboration with Petzold after Transit, Undine and Afire. She will play a young music student who has to restructure her life when her boyfriend dies in a car crash in the countryside.
The film, which is being produced by Petzold’s production company Schramm Film Koerner Weber Kaiser, received €500,000 in production funding from Mbb.
- 4/30/2024
- ScreenDaily
Pictures: Netflix – Illustration by What’s on Netflix
It’s time for another slate preview, and today we’ll look through all the upcoming German-language movies and series we know are in development at Netflix for release in 2024 and beyond.
2023 was a big year for new German-language Netflix Originals, with a dozen releases in total. Dear Child was perhaps the biggest, spending six weeks in the global top 10s in total. As a reminder, all the new German titles included:
1899 (Multilingual) Big Mäck: Gangsters and Gold Blood & Gold Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld Dear Child Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate Hard Feelings Making All Quiet on the Western Front Paradise Sleeping Dog Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom Too Hot to Handle: Germany Woman of the Dead
This list is everything currently announced and Netflix De (or Netflix Europe) has yet to put out an...
It’s time for another slate preview, and today we’ll look through all the upcoming German-language movies and series we know are in development at Netflix for release in 2024 and beyond.
2023 was a big year for new German-language Netflix Originals, with a dozen releases in total. Dear Child was perhaps the biggest, spending six weeks in the global top 10s in total. As a reminder, all the new German titles included:
1899 (Multilingual) Big Mäck: Gangsters and Gold Blood & Gold Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld Dear Child Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate Hard Feelings Making All Quiet on the Western Front Paradise Sleeping Dog Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom Too Hot to Handle: Germany Woman of the Dead
This list is everything currently announced and Netflix De (or Netflix Europe) has yet to put out an...
- 1/2/2024
- by Kasey Moore
- Whats-on-Netflix
The founders are producers Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh and Jorgo Narje.
Netflix and Amazon Studios are among the backers of a new German programme entitled NewMotion to promote greater diversity in the nation’s film industry. It was officially launched at the Explorer Conference at Filmfest Hamburg this month.
The programme is the brainchild of producers Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh (Port au Prince Film und Kultur Produktion) and Jorgo Narjes (X Filme Creative Pool) in cooperation with the Producers Alliance Initiative for Qualification (Paiq).
“A central element of this initiative is a shadowing programme giving on-the-job training where you follow one person...
Netflix and Amazon Studios are among the backers of a new German programme entitled NewMotion to promote greater diversity in the nation’s film industry. It was officially launched at the Explorer Conference at Filmfest Hamburg this month.
The programme is the brainchild of producers Roshanak “Rosh” Khodabakhsh (Port au Prince Film und Kultur Produktion) and Jorgo Narjes (X Filme Creative Pool) in cooperation with the Producers Alliance Initiative for Qualification (Paiq).
“A central element of this initiative is a shadowing programme giving on-the-job training where you follow one person...
- 10/9/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The European Film Academy (Efa) has unveiled 462 film professionals as new members in an announcement timed to coincide with Europe Day on May 9.
The new arrivals will be eligible to vote in the academy’s European Film Awards, the region’s equivalent to the Academy Awards, as well as contribute to its other initiatives across the year.
The Efa said a record number of professionals had accepted to join the organization this year, adding that 50% were female, 49%, were male, and 1% defined as non-binary.
The bigger intake comes amid a drive to revamp the academy which recently announced it would be moving the Efa ceremony to January in 2026, from its traditional December slot, to make it more relevant in the annual film awards season culminating with the Oscars.
The Efa currently now counts 4,600 members based in 52 countries.
The new members mainly hailed from Germany (68), France (38), Switzerland (37), Poland (36), Italy (33), Spain (24), UK (28) and...
The new arrivals will be eligible to vote in the academy’s European Film Awards, the region’s equivalent to the Academy Awards, as well as contribute to its other initiatives across the year.
The Efa said a record number of professionals had accepted to join the organization this year, adding that 50% were female, 49%, were male, and 1% defined as non-binary.
The bigger intake comes amid a drive to revamp the academy which recently announced it would be moving the Efa ceremony to January in 2026, from its traditional December slot, to make it more relevant in the annual film awards season culminating with the Oscars.
The Efa currently now counts 4,600 members based in 52 countries.
The new members mainly hailed from Germany (68), France (38), Switzerland (37), Poland (36), Italy (33), Spain (24), UK (28) and...
- 5/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Berlin-based X Filme Creative Pool will adapt one of the most successful German-language podcasts, “Zeit Crime” (“Zeit Verbrechen”) into an anthology series for Paramount +.
Awarded the German Podcast Prize, “Zeit Crime” is based on the criminal investigations of Sabine Rückert and Andreas Sentker. According to producer Jorgo Narjes, it currently boasts 5 million streams per month and an average of 1.5 million listeners per episode, “most of them female and in their late twenties.” So far, the podcast consists of more than 100 episodes.
Filming started this month and will continue until the end of June 2023.
The show is helmed by four directors, making four separate 60-minute-long films, each one inspired by a specific story from the podcast. Faraz Shariat, also behind HBO/Sky show “The Baby,” Helene Hegemann (“Axolotl Overkill”), Jan Bonny (Netflix’s “King of Stonks”) and Mariko Minoguchi, who recently brought sci-fi “Element” to Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development,...
Awarded the German Podcast Prize, “Zeit Crime” is based on the criminal investigations of Sabine Rückert and Andreas Sentker. According to producer Jorgo Narjes, it currently boasts 5 million streams per month and an average of 1.5 million listeners per episode, “most of them female and in their late twenties.” So far, the podcast consists of more than 100 episodes.
Filming started this month and will continue until the end of June 2023.
The show is helmed by four directors, making four separate 60-minute-long films, each one inspired by a specific story from the podcast. Faraz Shariat, also behind HBO/Sky show “The Baby,” Helene Hegemann (“Axolotl Overkill”), Jan Bonny (Netflix’s “King of Stonks”) and Mariko Minoguchi, who recently brought sci-fi “Element” to Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development,...
- 2/21/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
All of the projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Award.
New films from Oleg Sentsov, County Lines director Henry Blake and Austria’s Sandra Wollner are among the projects selected for the 14th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Co-Production Village.
All of the projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Award.
Ukraine’s Sentsov participates with new project Kai. The filmmaker was in Venice in 2021 with Rhino, before fighting on the front line following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Blake is attending with The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, a 1919-set romance co-written by Xiao Tang...
New films from Oleg Sentsov, County Lines director Henry Blake and Austria’s Sandra Wollner are among the projects selected for the 14th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Co-Production Village.
All of the projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Award.
Ukraine’s Sentsov participates with new project Kai. The filmmaker was in Venice in 2021 with Rhino, before fighting on the front line following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Blake is attending with The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, a 1919-set romance co-written by Xiao Tang...
- 11/15/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
France’s Les Arcs Film Festival has unveiled the 18 European feature film projects due to be presented in the 14th edition of its Les Arcs Coproduction Village, running December 10 to 13 against the backdrop of the French Alps.
The meeting, aimed at connecting projects with co-producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors, received 311 submissions this year, 40 more than in 2021.
Hailing from 13 territories, seven of the projects are helmed by female filmmakers, and 11 by men, a proportion equal to the applications received for the Coproduction Village.
Nine of them are first features, six are second features and three are by more established filmmakers.
They include U.K. director Henry Blake’s The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, his second feature after buzzy debut County Lines. The 1919-set drama follows an English woman who falls in love with a Chinese docker and then morphs into a beetle due to societal hatred.
Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov will attend with Kai,...
The meeting, aimed at connecting projects with co-producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors, received 311 submissions this year, 40 more than in 2021.
Hailing from 13 territories, seven of the projects are helmed by female filmmakers, and 11 by men, a proportion equal to the applications received for the Coproduction Village.
Nine of them are first features, six are second features and three are by more established filmmakers.
They include U.K. director Henry Blake’s The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, his second feature after buzzy debut County Lines. The 1919-set drama follows an English woman who falls in love with a Chinese docker and then morphs into a beetle due to societal hatred.
Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov will attend with Kai,...
- 11/15/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
A mother falls from a cliff, tumbling to her death, but her baby lands in the arms of a childless Natasha (Michelle de Swarte), who never wanted kids.
HBO horror-comedy “The Baby” keeps it simple: Motherhood is a mess, especially if you add in murder. The HBO Original eight-episode limited series premieres Sunday, April 24, with episodes being available to stream on HBO Max. “The Baby” is created by Siân Robins-Grace and Lucy Gaymer and produced by Sister and Proverbial Pictures. Check out the trailer below.
Per an official synopsis, Natasha (De Swarte) grapples with her newfound, and wholly unexpected, parenthood, as the baby manipulates, controls, and yes, even kills those around her. As Natasha discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature, she makes increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of it. She doesn’t want a baby. But the baby definitely wants her.
Amira Ghazalla also stars as Mrs.
HBO horror-comedy “The Baby” keeps it simple: Motherhood is a mess, especially if you add in murder. The HBO Original eight-episode limited series premieres Sunday, April 24, with episodes being available to stream on HBO Max. “The Baby” is created by Siân Robins-Grace and Lucy Gaymer and produced by Sister and Proverbial Pictures. Check out the trailer below.
Per an official synopsis, Natasha (De Swarte) grapples with her newfound, and wholly unexpected, parenthood, as the baby manipulates, controls, and yes, even kills those around her. As Natasha discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature, she makes increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of it. She doesn’t want a baby. But the baby definitely wants her.
Amira Ghazalla also stars as Mrs.
- 4/6/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
International feature film and commercial content group Iconoclast and Berlin-based StickUp Films have established a new joint venture to produce feature films and series for the domestic and international markets.
Represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the new shingle, Iconoclast Films Germany, is aiming to produce a minimum of three film or series projects annually within a five-year ramp-up period.
The company is headed by Luis Singer and Dennis Schanz of StickUp Films – the creators and co-producers of Netflix’s award-winning series “Skylines” — as well as Iconoclast executive producer Swantje Rummel.
Iconoclast sees the new venture as part of its international content strategy and a logical extension of its brand. In addition to producing recent works by the likes of Gus Van Sant, Julian Schnabel (“At Eternity’s Gate”), Harmony Korine (“The Beach Bum”) and Romain Gavras (“The World Is Yours”) through its companies in the U.S. and France, Iconoclast...
Represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the new shingle, Iconoclast Films Germany, is aiming to produce a minimum of three film or series projects annually within a five-year ramp-up period.
The company is headed by Luis Singer and Dennis Schanz of StickUp Films – the creators and co-producers of Netflix’s award-winning series “Skylines” — as well as Iconoclast executive producer Swantje Rummel.
Iconoclast sees the new venture as part of its international content strategy and a logical extension of its brand. In addition to producing recent works by the likes of Gus Van Sant, Julian Schnabel (“At Eternity’s Gate”), Harmony Korine (“The Beach Bum”) and Romain Gavras (“The World Is Yours”) through its companies in the U.S. and France, Iconoclast...
- 3/15/2022
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The Baby: "The HBO original eight-episode limited series The Baby, from creators Siân Robins-Grace and Lucy Gaymer, debuts on Sunday, April 24 (10:30-11:00 p.m. Et/Pt) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. A horror comedy co-production with Sky, and produced by Sister and Proverbial Pictures, The Baby presents a darkly funny, raw examination of motherhood, from the perspective of a woman who doesn’t want to be one.
Michelle De Swarte (“The Duchess”) stars as 38-year-old Natasha, who is furious that her closest friends are all having babies. But when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby of her own, her life dramatically implodes. Controlling, manipulative, but incredibly cute, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a surreal horror show. As she discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature, Natasha makes increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of it.
Michelle De Swarte (“The Duchess”) stars as 38-year-old Natasha, who is furious that her closest friends are all having babies. But when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby of her own, her life dramatically implodes. Controlling, manipulative, but incredibly cute, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a surreal horror show. As she discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature, Natasha makes increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of it.
- 3/4/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
HBO has set an April premiere date for horror comedy series The Baby, a co-production with Sky. The eight-episode series will debut Sunday, April 24 at 10:30 Pm on HBO and will stream on HBO Max.
We’re also getting a first look at the series in a teaser trailer (which appropriately begins with a crying baby).
The Baby, from debut screenwriter Siân Robins-Grace, Lucy Gaymer and Cherynobyl producer Sister, is a darkly funny, raw examination of motherhood, from the perspective of a woman who doesn’t want to be one.
It stars Michelle De Swarte as 38-year-old Natasha, who is furious that her closest friends are all having babies. But when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby of her own, her life dramatically implodes. Controlling, manipulative, but incredibly cute, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a surreal horror show. As she discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature,...
We’re also getting a first look at the series in a teaser trailer (which appropriately begins with a crying baby).
The Baby, from debut screenwriter Siân Robins-Grace, Lucy Gaymer and Cherynobyl producer Sister, is a darkly funny, raw examination of motherhood, from the perspective of a woman who doesn’t want to be one.
It stars Michelle De Swarte as 38-year-old Natasha, who is furious that her closest friends are all having babies. But when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby of her own, her life dramatically implodes. Controlling, manipulative, but incredibly cute, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a surreal horror show. As she discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature,...
- 2/28/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Berlin-based distributor Salzgeber has bought Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux rights to Adam Kalderon’s Israeli titleThe Swimmer from M-Appeal. The completed film is screening in the Cannes market.
Set in a summer training camp where young athletes compete to qualify for the Olympics, The Swimmer follows a sportsman as he learns how to accept and love himself despite the discriminative tendencies of the high-performance sports environment against LGBTQ sportspeoople.
Salzgeber has a traditional focus on queer and documentary cinema and has handled titles such as And Then We Danced by Levan Akin and No Hard Feelings by Faraz Shariat.
Set in a summer training camp where young athletes compete to qualify for the Olympics, The Swimmer follows a sportsman as he learns how to accept and love himself despite the discriminative tendencies of the high-performance sports environment against LGBTQ sportspeoople.
Salzgeber has a traditional focus on queer and documentary cinema and has handled titles such as And Then We Danced by Levan Akin and No Hard Feelings by Faraz Shariat.
- 7/12/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Michelle De Swarte (The Duchess) is set as the lead in HBO/Sky’s horror comedy The Baby. Amira Ghazalla (Riviera) and newcomer Amber Grappy also have been cast as series regulars in the eight-episode series from debut screenwriter Siân Robins-Grace, Lucy Gaymer and Cherynobyl producer Sister. The series is a co-production of HBO and Sky and is currently in production in the UK.
Questioning who gets to choose “motherhood” and who doesn’t, The Baby, is co-created and written by Robins-Grace and Gaymer. It is a funny, raw examination of motherhood as an institution: a set of unspoken and often horrifying rules that affect women differently depending on how they’re viewed by society. If you’re not scared by that, you should be.
De Swarte plays 38-year-old Natasha, the friend who’s never made long-term plans. So when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby, her life of doing what she wants,...
Questioning who gets to choose “motherhood” and who doesn’t, The Baby, is co-created and written by Robins-Grace and Gaymer. It is a funny, raw examination of motherhood as an institution: a set of unspoken and often horrifying rules that affect women differently depending on how they’re viewed by society. If you’re not scared by that, you should be.
De Swarte plays 38-year-old Natasha, the friend who’s never made long-term plans. So when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby, her life of doing what she wants,...
- 6/7/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
A young German-Iranian worker befriends two siblings facing deportation in an urgent, uncompromising tale of modern Europe
The winner of the Berlin film festival’s Teddy award for best queer-themed film begins as shuffling character study, then broadens out to resemble Jules et Jim or The Dreamers yanked brusquely into an urgent multicultural present. Its focal point is Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), a gay twentysomething German of Iranian descent obliged to assume greater responsibility after community service carries him into a refugee shelter; there he gravitates towards Amon (Eidin Jalali) and Banafshe (Banafshe Hourmazdi), Iranian siblings facing imminent deportation.
Any trace of piousness in the setup is dispelled by an early, frenzied burst of man-on-man face-sitting: from the off, it’s a film caught between worlds, juggling Parvis’s casual hook-ups with his growing bond to contemporaries living more precariously. Presented in Academy ratio, with Andrea Arnold-like dreamy interludes, Faraz Shariat...
The winner of the Berlin film festival’s Teddy award for best queer-themed film begins as shuffling character study, then broadens out to resemble Jules et Jim or The Dreamers yanked brusquely into an urgent multicultural present. Its focal point is Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), a gay twentysomething German of Iranian descent obliged to assume greater responsibility after community service carries him into a refugee shelter; there he gravitates towards Amon (Eidin Jalali) and Banafshe (Banafshe Hourmazdi), Iranian siblings facing imminent deportation.
Any trace of piousness in the setup is dispelled by an early, frenzied burst of man-on-man face-sitting: from the off, it’s a film caught between worlds, juggling Parvis’s casual hook-ups with his growing bond to contemporaries living more precariously. Presented in Academy ratio, with Andrea Arnold-like dreamy interludes, Faraz Shariat...
- 12/7/2020
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
The Inside Out LGBT Film Festival unveiled its juried winners today. The top accolades went to Faraz Shariat’s No Hard Feelings for Best First Feature and Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt’s No Ordinary Man for Best Canadian Feature. The winners were announced by Inside Out’s Executive Director Andria Wilson and the festival’s Director of Programming Andrew Murphy. The fest continues through October 11.
For the first time in the festival’s history, the awards were announced on opening weekend, allowing audiences the opportunity to view the films throughout the digital festival’s dates. Audience winners will be unveiled on October 12.
Read the full list of winners below.
Canadian Juried Awards
The jurors for the 2020 Canadian jury were Toronto-based Cinematographer Ashley Iris Gill, Canadian Screen Award-Winning actress Natasha Negovanlis, and writer, musician and educator Scott Jones.
Emerging Canadian Artist
Body So Fluorescent – Director, David Di Giovanni
Best Canadian Short
Swimmers – Director,...
For the first time in the festival’s history, the awards were announced on opening weekend, allowing audiences the opportunity to view the films throughout the digital festival’s dates. Audience winners will be unveiled on October 12.
Read the full list of winners below.
Canadian Juried Awards
The jurors for the 2020 Canadian jury were Toronto-based Cinematographer Ashley Iris Gill, Canadian Screen Award-Winning actress Natasha Negovanlis, and writer, musician and educator Scott Jones.
Emerging Canadian Artist
Body So Fluorescent – Director, David Di Giovanni
Best Canadian Short
Swimmers – Director,...
- 10/5/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinemas are looking to bounce back from a week of bad news.
France, opening Wednesday September 23
UFO Distribution and Potemkine Films joined forces this week for a rare general release of a medium-length film to launch Gaspar Noé’s 51-minute work Lux Æterna on 47 prints. Co-starring Beatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a director and actress locked in a hellish shoot, the work debuted Out of Competition in Cannes in 2019.
Noé’s cult status at home ensured plenty of press and according to France’s Cbo Box Office the picture came in fifth out of 15 new releases on its first day in cinemas,...
France, opening Wednesday September 23
UFO Distribution and Potemkine Films joined forces this week for a rare general release of a medium-length film to launch Gaspar Noé’s 51-minute work Lux Æterna on 47 prints. Co-starring Beatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a director and actress locked in a hellish shoot, the work debuted Out of Competition in Cannes in 2019.
Noé’s cult status at home ensured plenty of press and according to France’s Cbo Box Office the picture came in fifth out of 15 new releases on its first day in cinemas,...
- 9/25/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Martin Blaney¬Melanie Goodfellow¬Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
New York LGBTQ Film Festival to Open With Francis Lee’s ‘Ammonite,’ Screen Alan Ball’s ‘Uncle Frank’
NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ film and media organization, has announced its program for the 32nd New York LGBTQ Film Festival. This year’s event will feature virtual events, as well as drive-in screenings at the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The festival will open on Oct. 16 with the New York City premiere of Francis Lee’s “Ammonite,” a romantic drama starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. Winslet will present Lee with the festival’s inaugural world queer visionary award ahead of the screening. On Oct. 27, the event will close with a virtual screening of Faraz Shariat’s German drama, “No Hard Feelings.”
“With the presidential election right around the corner and a Supreme Court seat now open, it is more urgent than ever that queer stories be told and celebrated,” said executive director David Hatkoff. “We have created an 11-day event that will meet and speak to this moment,...
The festival will open on Oct. 16 with the New York City premiere of Francis Lee’s “Ammonite,” a romantic drama starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. Winslet will present Lee with the festival’s inaugural world queer visionary award ahead of the screening. On Oct. 27, the event will close with a virtual screening of Faraz Shariat’s German drama, “No Hard Feelings.”
“With the presidential election right around the corner and a Supreme Court seat now open, it is more urgent than ever that queer stories be told and celebrated,” said executive director David Hatkoff. “We have created an 11-day event that will meet and speak to this moment,...
- 9/24/2020
- by Janet W. Lee
- Variety Film + TV
The 32nd annual NewFest — the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival — is headed online amid the coronavirus pandemic as it opens with Francis Lee’s Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet, and closes with Faraz Shariat’s Berlinale award-winning film No Hard Feelings.
The fest opener Ammonite, also starring Saoirse Ronan, will receive a drive-in screening at the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. NewFest also plans a special sneak drive-in preview of Oscar winner Alan Ball’s road trip comedy Uncle Frank.
Elsewhere, the festival’s lineup of around 120 films will be available virtually to ticket holders ...
The fest opener Ammonite, also starring Saoirse Ronan, will receive a drive-in screening at the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. NewFest also plans a special sneak drive-in preview of Oscar winner Alan Ball’s road trip comedy Uncle Frank.
Elsewhere, the festival’s lineup of around 120 films will be available virtually to ticket holders ...
- 9/23/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The 32nd annual NewFest — the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival — is headed online amid the coronavirus pandemic as it opens with Francis Lee’s Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet, and closes with Faraz Shariat’s Berlinale award-winning film No Hard Feelings.
The fest opener Ammonite, also starring Saoirse Ronan, will receive a drive-in screening at the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. NewFest also plans a special sneak drive-in preview of Oscar winner Alan Ball’s road trip comedy Uncle Frank.
Elsewhere, the festival’s lineup of around 120 films will be available virtually to ticket holders ...
The fest opener Ammonite, also starring Saoirse Ronan, will receive a drive-in screening at the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. NewFest also plans a special sneak drive-in preview of Oscar winner Alan Ball’s road trip comedy Uncle Frank.
Elsewhere, the festival’s lineup of around 120 films will be available virtually to ticket holders ...
- 9/23/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While independent filmmakers have taken a hit with all the festival postponements, cancelations, and re-imaginings, there is a silver lining to upending business as usual. In the past, LGBTQ cinephiles hungry for quality films that represent the breadth and depth of queer life would have to go to a queer film festival to see the international titles or small comedies that may never make their way to Netflix. This year, they can stream some of the freshest films from all across the globe at home.
Which is why the 2020 Outfest Film Festival is more exciting than ever, with drive-ins, a streaming platform, and plenty of world premieres. In this year’s lineup, 70 percent of the films are directed by women or filmmakers of color. Beginning August 20 and lasting for 11 days, the films will be available to stream via Vimeo’s Ott platform. In addition, the festival will host six nights...
Which is why the 2020 Outfest Film Festival is more exciting than ever, with drive-ins, a streaming platform, and plenty of world premieres. In this year’s lineup, 70 percent of the films are directed by women or filmmakers of color. Beginning August 20 and lasting for 11 days, the films will be available to stream via Vimeo’s Ott platform. In addition, the festival will host six nights...
- 8/21/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Aside from the Golden Bear Award going to the Iranian film, ‘There Is No Evil’ by Mohammad Rasoulof, other films from Mena won prizes as well.
In March 2010 Rasoulof was arrested on set at a filming location together with Jafar Panahi while they were directing a film together.
As punishment for his cinematic oeuvre, viewed by the judiciary as constituting “propaganda against the system”, Rasoulof had already been sentenced in 2019 to six years which was commuted to one year in prison and a two-year ban on practicing his profession. Since then, he has not been permitted to leave Iran. Accordingly, he was unable to personally accept his Golden Bear at the Berlinale. The sentence had not yet been carried out. On March 4, however, Mohammad Rasoulof was ordered by the presiding appellate judge in Tehran to begin his period of incarceration.
The Berlinale is fundamentally committed to the freedom of expression...
In March 2010 Rasoulof was arrested on set at a filming location together with Jafar Panahi while they were directing a film together.
As punishment for his cinematic oeuvre, viewed by the judiciary as constituting “propaganda against the system”, Rasoulof had already been sentenced in 2019 to six years which was commuted to one year in prison and a two-year ban on practicing his profession. Since then, he has not been permitted to leave Iran. Accordingly, he was unable to personally accept his Golden Bear at the Berlinale. The sentence had not yet been carried out. On March 4, however, Mohammad Rasoulof was ordered by the presiding appellate judge in Tehran to begin his period of incarceration.
The Berlinale is fundamentally committed to the freedom of expression...
- 5/1/2020
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Futur Drei (No Hard Feelings), the feature debut of German director Faraz Shariat, won the Teddy Award as best queer film at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
Shariat's partly autobiographical drama centers on Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), a German-born son of Iranian exiles who is also out and proud, living a life of Grindr hookups and near-constant partying. But when Parvis is sentenced to community service for a minor infraction and put to work at a nearby refugee detention center, he meets Amon (Eidin Jalali), a new arrival from Iran. It's love at first sight. The film screened ...
Shariat's partly autobiographical drama centers on Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), a German-born son of Iranian exiles who is also out and proud, living a life of Grindr hookups and near-constant partying. But when Parvis is sentenced to community service for a minor infraction and put to work at a nearby refugee detention center, he meets Amon (Eidin Jalali), a new arrival from Iran. It's love at first sight. The film screened ...
Futur Drei (No Hard Feelings), the feature debut of German director Faraz Shariat, won the Teddy Award as best queer film at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
Shariat's partly autobiographical drama centers on Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), a German-born son of Iranian exiles who is also out and proud, living a life of Grindr hookups and near-constant partying. But when Parvis is sentenced to community service for a minor infraction and put to work at a nearby refugee detention center, he meets Amon (Eidin Jalali), a new arrival from Iran. It's love at first sight. The film screened ...
Shariat's partly autobiographical drama centers on Parvis (Benjamin Radjaipour), a German-born son of Iranian exiles who is also out and proud, living a life of Grindr hookups and near-constant partying. But when Parvis is sentenced to community service for a minor infraction and put to work at a nearby refugee detention center, he meets Amon (Eidin Jalali), a new arrival from Iran. It's love at first sight. The film screened ...
Berlinale 2020: Father and Welcome to Chechnya got the Audience Awards in the Panorama section, while Digger received the Cicae Art Cinema Award. The parallel juries have handed out their trophies ahead of the awards ceremony of the 70th Berlin Film Festival. The Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film in the Panorama section was given to Hope by Norwegian filmmaker Maria Sødahl, while the Cicae Art Cinema Award went to by Digger, the first feature by Greek director Georgis Grigorakis, in the Panorama section, and to Chinese film Ping jing (The Calming) by Song Fang, in the Forum section. The Audience Awards in the Panorama section went to the new film by Serbian director Srdan Golubović, Father, and to Us documentary Welcome to Chechnya, directed by David France, in the documentaries section. Lastly, the Teddy Award went to German title No Hard Feelings, directed by Faraz Shariat, selected in.
At dawn in an orderly, middle-class suburb in regional Germany, three young people — a girl and two guys — stagger home from a night out. Two of them are siblings, two of them friends and two of them are falling in love. One of them is very drunk and tripping over the long blond wig he wore all night, but in the flat light of early morning, it all seems somehow hilarious and easy because this is how it is to be young, even when there are asylum applications, cultural misunderstandings and language barriers hanging over your head.
The characters in Faraz Shariat’s buzzy, bright-eyed “No Hard Feelings” may grapple with overlapping aspects of their sexual and ethnic identities in their search for somewhere to belong — legally, socially, culturally and emotionally — but the vibrant, observant film they’re in, by contrast, knows exactly what it is: an immigrant love song...
The characters in Faraz Shariat’s buzzy, bright-eyed “No Hard Feelings” may grapple with overlapping aspects of their sexual and ethnic identities in their search for somewhere to belong — legally, socially, culturally and emotionally — but the vibrant, observant film they’re in, by contrast, knows exactly what it is: an immigrant love song...
- 2/24/2020
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
‘Fidelity’ is making its Euroepean debut at the Rotterdam festival.
Fidelity, Russian director Nigina Sayfullaeva’s steamy drama about female sexuality, has sold to multiple territories worldwide. The deals were confirmed this weekend by the film’s Berlin-based sales agent, M-Appeal.
It has sold the film to Capelight Pictures for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; to At Entertainment for Japan; to Entermode Corp for South Korea and to MovieCloud for Taiwan.
Fidelity is making its European premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, screening first on Monday January 27,
M-Appeal said it has received further multiple bids on Fidelity, about a...
Fidelity, Russian director Nigina Sayfullaeva’s steamy drama about female sexuality, has sold to multiple territories worldwide. The deals were confirmed this weekend by the film’s Berlin-based sales agent, M-Appeal.
It has sold the film to Capelight Pictures for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; to At Entertainment for Japan; to Entermode Corp for South Korea and to MovieCloud for Taiwan.
Fidelity is making its European premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, screening first on Monday January 27,
M-Appeal said it has received further multiple bids on Fidelity, about a...
- 1/26/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Sales agent M-Appeal has picked up Leonie Krippendorff’s lesbian love story “Cocoon,” which world premieres in the Generation section of the Berlin Film Festival.
Krippendorff’s debut fiction feature, set in Berlin’s multicultural Kreuzberg neighborhood, follows Nora, a shy 14-year-old girl as she makes her way into adulthood: she falls in love with another girl, learns to stand up for herself, and gets her heart broken for the first time.
The cast includes Jella Haase, one of the stars of hit comedy “Fack Ju Göhte” and Burhan Qurbani’s “Alexanderplatz,” Lena Klenke, star of Netflix series “How to Sell Drugs Online,” Lena Urzendowsky and Elina Vildanova. The film is produced by Jost Hering Filme.
Berlin native Krippendorff studied directing at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Konrad Wolf. Her graduation film “Looping” was nominated for numerous national and international film awards and received several awards. In 2018 Krippendorff took...
Krippendorff’s debut fiction feature, set in Berlin’s multicultural Kreuzberg neighborhood, follows Nora, a shy 14-year-old girl as she makes her way into adulthood: she falls in love with another girl, learns to stand up for herself, and gets her heart broken for the first time.
The cast includes Jella Haase, one of the stars of hit comedy “Fack Ju Göhte” and Burhan Qurbani’s “Alexanderplatz,” Lena Klenke, star of Netflix series “How to Sell Drugs Online,” Lena Urzendowsky and Elina Vildanova. The film is produced by Jost Hering Filme.
Berlin native Krippendorff studied directing at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Konrad Wolf. Her graduation film “Looping” was nominated for numerous national and international film awards and received several awards. In 2018 Krippendorff took...
- 12/17/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Matteo Garrone to present ‘Pinocchio’ as the first Berlinale Special Gala.
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
- 12/17/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Matteo Garrone to present ‘Pinocchio’ as the first Berlinale Special Gala.
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
- 12/17/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Matteo Garrone’s “Pinocchio,” starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the 70th Berlin Film Festival the event announced Tuesday as new artistic director Carlo Chatrian unveiled the first titles for his debut edition.
“Pinocchio” will play as part of the Berlinale Special Gala section, which replaces the Out of Competition category.
Chatrian, who co-heads the Berlinale with executive director Mariette Rissenbeek, said: “Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before.”
The first films selected for the Panorama, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Generation and Forum Expanded sections were also announced (links attached).
Among other titles, Michael Stütz, the new head of the Panorama section, has picked films by Faraz Shariat (“No Hard Feelings”), Uisenma Borchu (“Black...
“Pinocchio” will play as part of the Berlinale Special Gala section, which replaces the Out of Competition category.
Chatrian, who co-heads the Berlinale with executive director Mariette Rissenbeek, said: “Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before.”
The first films selected for the Panorama, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Generation and Forum Expanded sections were also announced (links attached).
Among other titles, Michael Stütz, the new head of the Panorama section, has picked films by Faraz Shariat (“No Hard Feelings”), Uisenma Borchu (“Black...
- 12/17/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The German production is the feature debut of Faraz Shariat.
Berlin-based M-Appeal has acquired world sales rights to Faraz Shariat’s No Hard Feelings and will present the project to buyers at next week’s Cannes Film Festival.
The German production follows Parvis, the son of exiled Iranians, who copes with life in his small hometown by indulging himself with pop culture, Grindr dates, and raves. After being caught shoplifting, he is sentenced to community service at a refugee shelter where he meets siblings Banafshe and Amon, who have fled Iran. As a romantic attraction between Parvis and Amon grows,...
Berlin-based M-Appeal has acquired world sales rights to Faraz Shariat’s No Hard Feelings and will present the project to buyers at next week’s Cannes Film Festival.
The German production follows Parvis, the son of exiled Iranians, who copes with life in his small hometown by indulging himself with pop culture, Grindr dates, and raves. After being caught shoplifting, he is sentenced to community service at a refugee shelter where he meets siblings Banafshe and Amon, who have fled Iran. As a romantic attraction between Parvis and Amon grows,...
- 5/10/2019
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
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