Released in 1978, George A. Romero's "Martin" follows a young man, played by John Amplas, who thinks he is a vampire. Martin doesn't have any vampiric powers, so instead, he stalks around drugging women, cutting them with a razor blade, and then drinking their blood. Eventually, Martin decides to start preying on criminals – but his lifestyle is further complicated when he falls in love with a housewife. Second Sight Films is restoring "Martin" for a new 4K release, but that's not the only "Martin" news. Michael Gornick, the film's cinematographer, has revealed on social media that Romero's rarely-seen three-and-a-half-hour director's cut of the film has just...
The post The Director's Cut of George Romero's Vampire Movie Martin Has Been Found appeared first on /Film.
The post The Director's Cut of George Romero's Vampire Movie Martin Has Been Found appeared first on /Film.
- 11/4/2021
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
By Ernie Magnotta
The world of horror films lost two of its most important and influential figures recently with the passing of filmmaking geniuses George Romero and Tobe Hooper. Although the careers of these two great artists can fill (and have filled) entire books, I’d like to briefly mention their most important works and pay my respects to them both.
When I was around ten or eleven-years-old, I had snuck out of bed late one night to watch some old movie on TV; a Tarzan flick I think it was. In order to avoid waking my parents, I had to keep the volume on the television set very low, but sit close to the set so that I could hear. As I sat alone in my parents’ dark living room waiting patiently for the commercials to end, a bunch of zombies appeared on the screen and quickly lurched forward with their arms outstretched!
The world of horror films lost two of its most important and influential figures recently with the passing of filmmaking geniuses George Romero and Tobe Hooper. Although the careers of these two great artists can fill (and have filled) entire books, I’d like to briefly mention their most important works and pay my respects to them both.
When I was around ten or eleven-years-old, I had snuck out of bed late one night to watch some old movie on TV; a Tarzan flick I think it was. In order to avoid waking my parents, I had to keep the volume on the television set very low, but sit close to the set so that I could hear. As I sat alone in my parents’ dark living room waiting patiently for the commercials to end, a bunch of zombies appeared on the screen and quickly lurched forward with their arms outstretched!
- 10/31/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
A cornerstone and true gentleman of the horror genre who is unfortunately no longer with us, George A. Romero's legacy will live on forever through his seminal work and infectious good nature, and those priceless traits will be commemorated today when the late Master of Horror receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Updated: We've now been provided with official details on the Walk of Fame ceremony, which will include guest speakers Edgar Wright and Greg Nicotero, as well as a statement from Romero's manager and friend, Chris Roe, who was instrumental in ensuring that Romero received the star that he truly deserves.
Here's what Roe, who is the director of the Romero Star Campaign, had to say about the ceremony:
"It has been a very long journey to make this day happen and so many have given their support. With George’s star ceremony on Hollywood Blvd.
Updated: We've now been provided with official details on the Walk of Fame ceremony, which will include guest speakers Edgar Wright and Greg Nicotero, as well as a statement from Romero's manager and friend, Chris Roe, who was instrumental in ensuring that Romero received the star that he truly deserves.
Here's what Roe, who is the director of the Romero Star Campaign, had to say about the ceremony:
"It has been a very long journey to make this day happen and so many have given their support. With George’s star ceremony on Hollywood Blvd.
- 10/25/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn started his career working in the horror genre. A couple of the films you're probably familiar with are Dawn of the Dead (2004), which he wrote, and, of course, Slither (2006), which he wrote and directed.
As you'd imagine, Gunn was obviously influenced by certain films in the horror genre. Well, now we know what kind of horror films that James Gunn likes because he recently shared his 50 favorite horror films of all time on his Facebook page:
It's actually a pretty great list of films! There are films that you'd expect to see on a favorite horror film list and a few unexpected films. Look through the list below and let us know how many of the films on the list you've seen.
As for the films you haven't seen, it's the Halloween season and the perfect time to watch some good horror films that you've never seen!
As you'd imagine, Gunn was obviously influenced by certain films in the horror genre. Well, now we know what kind of horror films that James Gunn likes because he recently shared his 50 favorite horror films of all time on his Facebook page:
It's actually a pretty great list of films! There are films that you'd expect to see on a favorite horror film list and a few unexpected films. Look through the list below and let us know how many of the films on the list you've seen.
As for the films you haven't seen, it's the Halloween season and the perfect time to watch some good horror films that you've never seen!
- 10/25/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
For years, Ship To Shore PhonoCo have helped spotlight the soundtracks to cult horror movies, including George A. Romero's Martin, and this October they're presenting a live performance of the iconic score to Lucio Fulci's The Beyond, performed by the composer himself, Fabio Frizzi:
On October 29th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Frizzi and his band will perform his Composer's Cut of The Beyond score, followed by an October 30th performance of selected score excerpts from several of Fulci's films. We have official details and a score excerpt that you can listen to below, and to learn more, visit the Music Hall of Williamsburg online.
"Ship to Shore are presenting the New York City debut of legendary Italian horror film soundtrack composer, Fabio Frizzi and his 8-piece band on October 29 and October 30 at Music Hall of Williamsburg.
Ship to Shore will offer a limited edition 45 on two variants of color vinyl.
On October 29th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Frizzi and his band will perform his Composer's Cut of The Beyond score, followed by an October 30th performance of selected score excerpts from several of Fulci's films. We have official details and a score excerpt that you can listen to below, and to learn more, visit the Music Hall of Williamsburg online.
"Ship to Shore are presenting the New York City debut of legendary Italian horror film soundtrack composer, Fabio Frizzi and his 8-piece band on October 29 and October 30 at Music Hall of Williamsburg.
Ship to Shore will offer a limited edition 45 on two variants of color vinyl.
- 7/27/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
George A. Romero rarely had it easy. From the beginning, he faced obstacles to getting his vision on screen and condemnation once he succeeded in doing so. It took him 20 years to make his way into the big leagues, yet faced frustrating interference once he did. Yet today, the work endures. He never abandoned his vision, even when it prevented him from having an easier time of the process, and his movies, once attacked as grotesque exploitation, are now properly celebrated as landmarks of cinematic horror.
Indeed, Romero not invented more than a new and enduring kind of zombie movie when he directed “Night of the Living Dead” 50 years ago; in many ways, he invented independent horror cinema as we know it. There had been lots of off-Hollywood fright films before “Night” hit screens in 1968, of course—even some showcasing graphic if cheaply executed gore, like the Herschell Gordon Lewis flicks.
Indeed, Romero not invented more than a new and enduring kind of zombie movie when he directed “Night of the Living Dead” 50 years ago; in many ways, he invented independent horror cinema as we know it. There had been lots of off-Hollywood fright films before “Night” hit screens in 1968, of course—even some showcasing graphic if cheaply executed gore, like the Herschell Gordon Lewis flicks.
- 7/19/2017
- by Michael Gingold
- Indiewire
Ryan Lambie Jul 19, 2017
Filmmaker and collaborator Mark Birman has vowed to bring the late George Romero's unfilmed screenplays to the screen...
On the 16th July, genre cinema lost one of its great pioneers: writer-director George Romero, who brought us such classics as Night Of The Living Dead, Martin and Dawn Of The Dead. Well into his 70s, the filmmaker was still working at a prolific rate; he was reportedly gearing up to find the financing for another horror satire project, Road Of The Dead, about zombies forced to drive cars for the entertainment of the wealthy.
See related Fantastic Four 2 still alive Fargo season 4 could be three years away Legion season 2: Saïd Taghmaoui to play Shadow King
Romero may be gone, but Matt Birman, a filmmaker and stunt coordinator who worked on a number of the late auteur's movies, has vowed to get Road Of The Dead made...
Filmmaker and collaborator Mark Birman has vowed to bring the late George Romero's unfilmed screenplays to the screen...
On the 16th July, genre cinema lost one of its great pioneers: writer-director George Romero, who brought us such classics as Night Of The Living Dead, Martin and Dawn Of The Dead. Well into his 70s, the filmmaker was still working at a prolific rate; he was reportedly gearing up to find the financing for another horror satire project, Road Of The Dead, about zombies forced to drive cars for the entertainment of the wealthy.
See related Fantastic Four 2 still alive Fargo season 4 could be three years away Legion season 2: Saïd Taghmaoui to play Shadow King
Romero may be gone, but Matt Birman, a filmmaker and stunt coordinator who worked on a number of the late auteur's movies, has vowed to get Road Of The Dead made...
- 7/19/2017
- Den of Geek
By Jason Lees
MoreHorror.com
The magic’s gone. We lost George Romero.
I know I’m supposed to be positive through the tears, to remember his films and his legacy and celebrate one of our best, but right now, I just can’t. I don’t know why, but the world seems smaller today. Colder.
That’s bullshit. I know why. George Romero passed away. Of all the Masters of Horror, he was My master. He was the one that scared the hell out of my when I first picked up a Fangoria. I love all of his movies, even the not-so-great ones. I was a defender of George. Most anyone reading this probably was, too. We’re the ones who bragged up “Bruiser” alongside “Martin,” the ones who loved “Monkey Shines” as much as “Creepshow.”
The magic’s gone.
I’ve seen his “Night of the Living Dead” easily twenty times,...
MoreHorror.com
The magic’s gone. We lost George Romero.
I know I’m supposed to be positive through the tears, to remember his films and his legacy and celebrate one of our best, but right now, I just can’t. I don’t know why, but the world seems smaller today. Colder.
That’s bullshit. I know why. George Romero passed away. Of all the Masters of Horror, he was My master. He was the one that scared the hell out of my when I first picked up a Fangoria. I love all of his movies, even the not-so-great ones. I was a defender of George. Most anyone reading this probably was, too. We’re the ones who bragged up “Bruiser” alongside “Martin,” the ones who loved “Monkey Shines” as much as “Creepshow.”
The magic’s gone.
I’ve seen his “Night of the Living Dead” easily twenty times,...
- 7/19/2017
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Chicago – The man that practically invented the modern Zombie film genre had met his own demise. Director George A. Romero passed away on July 16th, 2017, in Los Angeles. He was 77. Romero launched a whole new wave of horror with “Night of the Living Dead” in 1968, and put Pittsburgh (Pa) on the film location map.
George A. Romero Shoots a Scene for ‘Night of the Living Dead’
Photo credit: Spectra Filmworks
He was born in the Bronx, New York, and graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which began his Pittsburgh connection. He stayed there afterwards, and formed Image Ten Productions, which shot commercials and (famously) a segment for the broadcast-from-Pittsburgh “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” On a shoestring budget and using local settings, “Night of the Living Dead” was released in 1968. Directed and co-written (with John Russo) by Romero, it would immediately cause a sensation in the horror genre. After some cult...
George A. Romero Shoots a Scene for ‘Night of the Living Dead’
Photo credit: Spectra Filmworks
He was born in the Bronx, New York, and graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which began his Pittsburgh connection. He stayed there afterwards, and formed Image Ten Productions, which shot commercials and (famously) a segment for the broadcast-from-Pittsburgh “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” On a shoestring budget and using local settings, “Night of the Living Dead” was released in 1968. Directed and co-written (with John Russo) by Romero, it would immediately cause a sensation in the horror genre. After some cult...
- 7/18/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Predictably, most of the memorials for the late great horror director George A. Romero focused on his influence on the zombie and wider horror genre. Yes, he was important and influential in that area. But his legacy is much wider. More than any other filmmaker, Romero changed the course of independent film making in America.
Independent films have been around as long as movies existed. Indeed, in their infancy all early features from around 1912 were basically independent, before the Hollywood studio system rapidly evolved in the late teens.
Though the majors dominated moviemaking and distribution from their hub in Southern California, many independent filmmakers such as Edgar G. Ulmer, the idiosyncratic Edward Wood, African-American pioneer Oscar Micheaux and various ethnic cinemas flourished on the side. In 1955 Robert Altman was making industrial films in Kansas City when he was hired by a local businessman to make his first feature, the low-budget...
Independent films have been around as long as movies existed. Indeed, in their infancy all early features from around 1912 were basically independent, before the Hollywood studio system rapidly evolved in the late teens.
Though the majors dominated moviemaking and distribution from their hub in Southern California, many independent filmmakers such as Edgar G. Ulmer, the idiosyncratic Edward Wood, African-American pioneer Oscar Micheaux and various ethnic cinemas flourished on the side. In 1955 Robert Altman was making industrial films in Kansas City when he was hired by a local businessman to make his first feature, the low-budget...
- 7/17/2017
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Ryan Lambie Jul 18, 2017
As George A Romero sadly passes, we pay tribute to Night Of The Living Dead, and the meaning behind the writer-director's zombies...
In April 1968, director George A Romero threw some reels of film in the trunk of his car and took a long drive from Pittsburgh to New York. The grainy, black-and-white footage stored on those reels was little short of incendiary: then called Night Of The Flesh Eaters, Romero's film would, in time, change horror cinema forever.
See related Cloak And Dagger director discusses the show's diversity The Defenders: snazzy new poster Jessica Jones season 2: Leah Gibson joins the cast
Shot on a budget of just $114,000, Night Of The Living Dead (as it was later renamed) was aggressively lo-fi: its producer, Russell Streiner, also played one of the film's first victims - he gets the immortal line, "They're coming to get you, Barbara" before...
As George A Romero sadly passes, we pay tribute to Night Of The Living Dead, and the meaning behind the writer-director's zombies...
In April 1968, director George A Romero threw some reels of film in the trunk of his car and took a long drive from Pittsburgh to New York. The grainy, black-and-white footage stored on those reels was little short of incendiary: then called Night Of The Flesh Eaters, Romero's film would, in time, change horror cinema forever.
See related Cloak And Dagger director discusses the show's diversity The Defenders: snazzy new poster Jessica Jones season 2: Leah Gibson joins the cast
Shot on a budget of just $114,000, Night Of The Living Dead (as it was later renamed) was aggressively lo-fi: its producer, Russell Streiner, also played one of the film's first victims - he gets the immortal line, "They're coming to get you, Barbara" before...
- 7/17/2017
- Den of Geek
On Sunday, horror movie icon George A. Romero died after a battle with lung cancer, surrounded by his family.
Now, With his creative flame extinguished, many of his friends, colleagues and admirers are paying tribute to the beloved director, and sharing the ways in which his career and legacy impacted their own lives.
Horror author Stephen King -- who worked with Romero several times over the years, including their collaboration on the cult classic Creepshow in 1982 and The Dark Half in 1993 -- took to Twitter to share a few words of love for his friend.
"Sad to hear my favorite collaborator--and good old friend--George Romero has died," King wrote. "George, there will never be another like you."...
Now, With his creative flame extinguished, many of his friends, colleagues and admirers are paying tribute to the beloved director, and sharing the ways in which his career and legacy impacted their own lives.
Horror author Stephen King -- who worked with Romero several times over the years, including their collaboration on the cult classic Creepshow in 1982 and The Dark Half in 1993 -- took to Twitter to share a few words of love for his friend.
"Sad to hear my favorite collaborator--and good old friend--George Romero has died," King wrote. "George, there will never be another like you."...
- 7/17/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
What a horrible weekend as we’ve not only lost the great George A. Romero but TMZ is reporting that Martin Landau has passed away as well. Martin died at 1:30 Pm Pt Saturday at UCLA Medical Center after a short hospitalization where he suffered unexpected complications. He was 89. Landau had been a cartoonist before […]...
- 7/17/2017
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Martin Landau, a screen giant who brought his one-of-a-kind talents to Hollywood for more than 60 years, has died at 89. TMZ first reported the news, stating that the actor died yesterday of “unexpected complications” after briefly being hospitalized at UCLA Medical Center.
Read MoreGeorge Romero, Horror Icon and ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Director, Dies at 77
Landau won a richly deserved Academy Award for his role as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood,” having previously been nominated for both “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”; he also had three Golden Globes, six Emmy nominations, a BAFTA nod and several lifetime achievement awards to his name. More than that, though, he had an inimitable screen presence that both delighted and, when called for, unsettled.
Landau first came to wide attention for his performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” going on to appear in “Cleopatra,...
Read MoreGeorge Romero, Horror Icon and ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Director, Dies at 77
Landau won a richly deserved Academy Award for his role as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood,” having previously been nominated for both “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”; he also had three Golden Globes, six Emmy nominations, a BAFTA nod and several lifetime achievement awards to his name. More than that, though, he had an inimitable screen presence that both delighted and, when called for, unsettled.
Landau first came to wide attention for his performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” going on to appear in “Cleopatra,...
- 7/17/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
When George Romero died at the age of 77, he was in the process of developing more zombie movies with the insightful Diy ethos that first put him on the map nearly 50 years ago with “Night of the Living Dead.” The horror community has embraced Romero over the years, and as the decades wore on, he went from being one of the genre’s most exciting contributors to its preeminent guru. Here’s an overview of the factors that contributed his legacy.
The Modern Zombie Movie
While the initial concept of zombies dates back to a mix of African and Haitian folklore, George A. Romero cemented the modern vision with his seminal 1968 classic “Night of the Living Dead.” While the word “zombie” is never uttered in the film, his spin on the lurching undead forever changed pop culture. The director cemented this legacy with five more films in the “Night of the Living Dead” series,...
The Modern Zombie Movie
While the initial concept of zombies dates back to a mix of African and Haitian folklore, George A. Romero cemented the modern vision with his seminal 1968 classic “Night of the Living Dead.” While the word “zombie” is never uttered in the film, his spin on the lurching undead forever changed pop culture. The director cemented this legacy with five more films in the “Night of the Living Dead” series,...
- 7/17/2017
- by Eric Kohn and William Earl
- Indiewire
George Romero’s passing has left an especially deep void in the world of film. One of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time, the “Night of the Living Dead,” “Martin” and “The Crazies” director appears to have been beloved by everybody who knew him, worked with him or simply grew up watching “Dawn of the Dead” on repeat.
Read MoreGeorge Romero, Horror Icon and ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Director, Dies at 77
The likes of Stephen King, Jordan Peele and Eli Roth have all taken to social media to memorialize Romero:
Romero started it. pic.twitter.com/i4dnxi8EFV
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 16, 2017
Sad to hear my favorite collaborator–and good old friend–George Romero has died. George, there will never be another like you.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 16, 2017
Romero has passed away. Hard to find words right now. The loss is so enormous.
— Guillermo del Toro...
Read MoreGeorge Romero, Horror Icon and ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Director, Dies at 77
The likes of Stephen King, Jordan Peele and Eli Roth have all taken to social media to memorialize Romero:
Romero started it. pic.twitter.com/i4dnxi8EFV
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 16, 2017
Sad to hear my favorite collaborator–and good old friend–George Romero has died. George, there will never be another like you.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 16, 2017
Romero has passed away. Hard to find words right now. The loss is so enormous.
— Guillermo del Toro...
- 7/16/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
George Romero speaking to fans
George Romero, creator of the world's most influential zombie films and one of the horror genre's greatest creative talents, has passed away at the age of 77 after a short battle with lung cancer. The legendary director, who burst onto the scene in 1968 with Night Of The Living Dead, was admired both for his innovation and for the socio-political depth of his films, which helped to change public expectations of horror.
John Amplas and George Romero in Martin
As well as his zombie films, Romero won critical acclaim for Martin, about a young man whose obsession with vampires leads to deadly violence. He stepped outside the bounds of the genre for 1981's Knightriders, about the leader of a Medieval reenactment troupe who gradually loses his mind, and made a documentary about the young Oj Simpson. In a 2008 interview with Eye For Film with Tony Sullivan, he told us: "Martin and.
George Romero, creator of the world's most influential zombie films and one of the horror genre's greatest creative talents, has passed away at the age of 77 after a short battle with lung cancer. The legendary director, who burst onto the scene in 1968 with Night Of The Living Dead, was admired both for his innovation and for the socio-political depth of his films, which helped to change public expectations of horror.
John Amplas and George Romero in Martin
As well as his zombie films, Romero won critical acclaim for Martin, about a young man whose obsession with vampires leads to deadly violence. He stepped outside the bounds of the genre for 1981's Knightriders, about the leader of a Medieval reenactment troupe who gradually loses his mind, and made a documentary about the young Oj Simpson. In a 2008 interview with Eye For Film with Tony Sullivan, he told us: "Martin and.
- 7/16/2017
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Tony Sokol Jul 17, 2017
Director George A Romero, who changed horror films forever, has died at the age of 77.
The legendary director George A Romero, who changed the landscape of horror films with his low-budget, independent black and white 1968 zombie masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, has died at the age of 77.
According to a statement from his longtime producing partner, Peter Grunwald, Romero died Sunday in his sleep while listening to the soundtrack of one his favorite films, The Quiet Man from 1952, following a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer.” Romero was surrounded by family, his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero.
What a body of work he leaves behind.
Night Of The Living Dead was made by Romero and his friends in Pittsburgh on a budget of $114,000 and went on to become an iconic statement of horror, pulling in $30 million. The movie was based on Richard Matheson...
Director George A Romero, who changed horror films forever, has died at the age of 77.
The legendary director George A Romero, who changed the landscape of horror films with his low-budget, independent black and white 1968 zombie masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, has died at the age of 77.
According to a statement from his longtime producing partner, Peter Grunwald, Romero died Sunday in his sleep while listening to the soundtrack of one his favorite films, The Quiet Man from 1952, following a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer.” Romero was surrounded by family, his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero.
What a body of work he leaves behind.
Night Of The Living Dead was made by Romero and his friends in Pittsburgh on a budget of $114,000 and went on to become an iconic statement of horror, pulling in $30 million. The movie was based on Richard Matheson...
- 7/16/2017
- Den of Geek
Legendary director George A. Romero, who changed the face of modern horror with the iconic “Night Of The Living Dead,” has passed away at the age of 77.
Responsible for the creation of the modern movie zombie, a genre staple that has lasted decades and continues to be a beloved horror conceit, Romero may have been copied but few ever beat the original. While he was best known for his franchise focusing on the undead, Romero made his mark with other scary flicks including “The Crazies,” “Martin,” “Creepshow” (which became its own series) and “Monkey Shines.” However, few of his efforts stood out from under the shadow of his zombie flicks.
Continue reading R.I.P. George A. Romero (1940-2017) at The Playlist.
Responsible for the creation of the modern movie zombie, a genre staple that has lasted decades and continues to be a beloved horror conceit, Romero may have been copied but few ever beat the original. While he was best known for his franchise focusing on the undead, Romero made his mark with other scary flicks including “The Crazies,” “Martin,” “Creepshow” (which became its own series) and “Monkey Shines.” However, few of his efforts stood out from under the shadow of his zombie flicks.
Continue reading R.I.P. George A. Romero (1940-2017) at The Playlist.
- 7/16/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The iconic filmmaker was the father of the modern zombie film.
Director George Romero, creator of the Night Of The Living Dead films, has died aged 77.
According to a statement released to The L.A. Times by his producing partner Peter Grunwald, Romero died following a “brief but aggressive” battle with lung cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero.
Romero’s low budget 1968 film Night Of The Living Dead was hugely profitable and became a cult hit. By re-defining what a “zombie” was in the horror genre, it influenced countless future films and TV shows.
The film also spawned several official sequels directed by Romero, including Dawn Of The Dead, Day Of The Dead and Land Of The Dead.
Romero’s other films included The Crazies (1973), Knightriders (1981), Monkey Shines (1988) and Bruiser (2000).
It was announced in May that he was working on the upcoming George A. Romero Presents:...
Director George Romero, creator of the Night Of The Living Dead films, has died aged 77.
According to a statement released to The L.A. Times by his producing partner Peter Grunwald, Romero died following a “brief but aggressive” battle with lung cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter, Tina Romero.
Romero’s low budget 1968 film Night Of The Living Dead was hugely profitable and became a cult hit. By re-defining what a “zombie” was in the horror genre, it influenced countless future films and TV shows.
The film also spawned several official sequels directed by Romero, including Dawn Of The Dead, Day Of The Dead and Land Of The Dead.
Romero’s other films included The Crazies (1973), Knightriders (1981), Monkey Shines (1988) and Bruiser (2000).
It was announced in May that he was working on the upcoming George A. Romero Presents:...
- 7/16/2017
- ScreenDaily
George A. Romero, the Night of the Living Dead director who helped turn zombies into a pop culture phenomenon, died Sunday. He was 77.
The horror filmmaker died following a "brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer" while listening to the score of the 1952 film The Quiet Man, his producing partner Peter Grunwald told the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to Romero's revered, influential Zombie Trilogy – 1968's Night of the Living Dead, 1978's Dawn of the Dead and 1985's Day of the Dead – the director also helmed horror films like The Crazies,...
The horror filmmaker died following a "brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer" while listening to the score of the 1952 film The Quiet Man, his producing partner Peter Grunwald told the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to Romero's revered, influential Zombie Trilogy – 1968's Night of the Living Dead, 1978's Dawn of the Dead and 1985's Day of the Dead – the director also helmed horror films like The Crazies,...
- 7/16/2017
- Rollingstone.com
George A. Romero has died at age 77 after a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer,” according to a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times. Almost singlehandedly responsible for the zombie genre in its current form, Romero directed “Night of the Living Dead” and its many sequels, most notably the consumerism allegory “Dawn of the Dead” and “Day of the Dead,” the underrated entry he considered his favorite.
Read MoreGeorge Romero Talks ‘Road of the Dead,’ His Disdain for ‘World War Z’ and Why He Liked ‘La La Land’ More Than ‘Moonlight’
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Romero discussed his latest project in great detail: “Road of the Dead,” a sort of “Mad Max”–inspired tale of automotive zombies that he was producing but not directing. Romero and director Matt Birman were headed to the Fantasia International Film Festival to secure financing. “I’ve had a terrific run,...
Read MoreGeorge Romero Talks ‘Road of the Dead,’ His Disdain for ‘World War Z’ and Why He Liked ‘La La Land’ More Than ‘Moonlight’
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Romero discussed his latest project in great detail: “Road of the Dead,” a sort of “Mad Max”–inspired tale of automotive zombies that he was producing but not directing. Romero and director Matt Birman were headed to the Fantasia International Film Festival to secure financing. “I’ve had a terrific run,...
- 7/16/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Horror Channel has eight prime-time weekend film premieres in June including the UK premieres of Retreat, Carl Tibbets’ ‘ménage a trois of terror’ starring Thandie Newton, Cillian Murphy and Jamie Bell and R.D. Braunstein’s smartly gripping I Spit On Your Grave 3: Vengeance Is Mine – widely seen as the best of the series.
There are also network premieres for Jennifer Lynch’s uncompromising and dark chiller Chained, William Malone’s gruesome cyber thriller Feardotcom, starring Stephen Dorff and Natascha McElhone and Michael Reeves’s highly acclaimed Witchfinder General, starring Vincent Price.
In a deadly virus catching month, other highlights are first channel showings for John Pogue’s [Rec] inspired scareline Quarantine 2: Terminal, Breck Eisner’s critically-acclaimed remake of George Romero’s 1973 movie, The Crazies and James Cameron’s directorial debut Piranha 2: The Spawning starring Lance Henriksen and plenty of flying killer fish.
Fri 2 June @ 21:00 – Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011) *Network Premiere*
A bizarre disease,...
There are also network premieres for Jennifer Lynch’s uncompromising and dark chiller Chained, William Malone’s gruesome cyber thriller Feardotcom, starring Stephen Dorff and Natascha McElhone and Michael Reeves’s highly acclaimed Witchfinder General, starring Vincent Price.
In a deadly virus catching month, other highlights are first channel showings for John Pogue’s [Rec] inspired scareline Quarantine 2: Terminal, Breck Eisner’s critically-acclaimed remake of George Romero’s 1973 movie, The Crazies and James Cameron’s directorial debut Piranha 2: The Spawning starring Lance Henriksen and plenty of flying killer fish.
Fri 2 June @ 21:00 – Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011) *Network Premiere*
A bizarre disease,...
- 5/18/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Author: Daniel Goodwin
Along with Colin Minihan’s zombie redux It Stains the Sands Red, the vampire subgenre has also been given a makeover by writer/ director Michael O’Shea, in his debut feature The Transfiguration. This social-realist, coming of age tale of a teenage blood-sucker premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category. O’Shea’s feature imbues loss, love and life within broken communities but before horror fans hiss and hold up crucifixes to such maudlin slush, The Transfiguration is neither mawkish Twilight silage, ostentatious renovation nor is it a love letter to the films that inspired it. It’s a potent horror masterpiece with harrowing drama, diverse characters and requisite bloodletting/sucking to quench the thirst of the gore hounds.
Fourteen year old Milo (Eric Ruffin) is a browbeaten introvert in crime-rife New York. Milo believes he is a vampire which remains open to interpretation.
Along with Colin Minihan’s zombie redux It Stains the Sands Red, the vampire subgenre has also been given a makeover by writer/ director Michael O’Shea, in his debut feature The Transfiguration. This social-realist, coming of age tale of a teenage blood-sucker premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category. O’Shea’s feature imbues loss, love and life within broken communities but before horror fans hiss and hold up crucifixes to such maudlin slush, The Transfiguration is neither mawkish Twilight silage, ostentatious renovation nor is it a love letter to the films that inspired it. It’s a potent horror masterpiece with harrowing drama, diverse characters and requisite bloodletting/sucking to quench the thirst of the gore hounds.
Fourteen year old Milo (Eric Ruffin) is a browbeaten introvert in crime-rife New York. Milo believes he is a vampire which remains open to interpretation.
- 3/2/2017
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In a world crawling with vampiric creatures, Mister helps equalize the fight between the living and the undead. Nick Damici’s memorable character returns for a new journey fueled by Martin’s (Connor Paolo) desire for revenge in Stake Land II. With the sequel out now on digital platforms and hitting Blu-ray and DVD on February 14th from Dark Sky Films, Daily Dead had the pleasure of speaking with Damici about reprising the role of Mister and much more.
Read on for our discussion with Damici, in which he talks about his plans for a third Stake Land film and shares his thoughts on the Stake Land TV series that he had once been developing. He also talks about the response to Bushwick (a movie he co-wrote) following the film’s Sundance screenings, what to expect in the upcoming season of Hap and Leonard, and an interesting conversation he once...
Read on for our discussion with Damici, in which he talks about his plans for a third Stake Land film and shares his thoughts on the Stake Land TV series that he had once been developing. He also talks about the response to Bushwick (a movie he co-wrote) following the film’s Sundance screenings, what to expect in the upcoming season of Hap and Leonard, and an interesting conversation he once...
- 2/7/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Evoking the ghost of Donnie Darko, this weird horror hybrid is a darkly funny trip through the mind of a would-be killer
“Fear is a really weird thing,” says the antihero of this scalpel-sharp, blackly comic adaptation of Dan Wells’s 2009 Ya bestseller. “People are afraid of things, but they’re never afraid of their own actions.” Not so John Wayne Cleaver, the serial killer-obsessed teenager whose therapist agrees that he exhibits all three of the “Macdonald triad” predictors of violent sociopathy. “But you’re in control of your own destiny,” Karl Geary’s Dr Neblin assures John hollowly. “You’re a good person.”
Yet death is close at hand, stalking the streets of the miserable midwest town of Clayton, where an animalistic killer is stealing people’s organs and leaving a trail of sticky black goo. John, whose name evokes the real-life Illinois “Killer Clown” John Wayne Gacy, is fascinated by the murders,...
“Fear is a really weird thing,” says the antihero of this scalpel-sharp, blackly comic adaptation of Dan Wells’s 2009 Ya bestseller. “People are afraid of things, but they’re never afraid of their own actions.” Not so John Wayne Cleaver, the serial killer-obsessed teenager whose therapist agrees that he exhibits all three of the “Macdonald triad” predictors of violent sociopathy. “But you’re in control of your own destiny,” Karl Geary’s Dr Neblin assures John hollowly. “You’re a good person.”
Yet death is close at hand, stalking the streets of the miserable midwest town of Clayton, where an animalistic killer is stealing people’s organs and leaving a trail of sticky black goo. John, whose name evokes the real-life Illinois “Killer Clown” John Wayne Gacy, is fascinated by the murders,...
- 12/11/2016
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: Bankside boards sales on UK horror film backed by Ingenious, Creative England.
‘71 and Prometheus star Sean Harris is to lead the cast in UK horror Possum, which Bankside is to launch at the Afm.
The film marks the directorial debut of British actor and writer-director Matthew Holness, who is best known for co-creating the Channel 4 comedy series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.
Shooting will kick off on November 28 in Norfolk with additional cast members yet to be announced.
Producers are James Harris, Mark Lane, Robert Jones and Wayne Marc Godfrey of The Fyzz Facility with production finance from Ingenious and The Fyzz Facility.
Creative England and Bankside Films development of the screenplay.
The story is about a disgraced children’s puppeteer who returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have tortured him his entire life.
Holness said: “Possum is a supernatural horror combining the stark psycho-drama...
‘71 and Prometheus star Sean Harris is to lead the cast in UK horror Possum, which Bankside is to launch at the Afm.
The film marks the directorial debut of British actor and writer-director Matthew Holness, who is best known for co-creating the Channel 4 comedy series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.
Shooting will kick off on November 28 in Norfolk with additional cast members yet to be announced.
Producers are James Harris, Mark Lane, Robert Jones and Wayne Marc Godfrey of The Fyzz Facility with production finance from Ingenious and The Fyzz Facility.
Creative England and Bankside Films development of the screenplay.
The story is about a disgraced children’s puppeteer who returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have tortured him his entire life.
Holness said: “Possum is a supernatural horror combining the stark psycho-drama...
- 11/3/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Yesterday, amid a crush of sweaty people desperate for last-minute props, I visited a local Halloween superstore with my daughter, looking for a Pikachu mask. Well, there wasn’t much to choose from in the Cute Kid Division. But this particular hall of Halloween hell definitely had the adult sensibility covered. Of course there were the usual skimpy or otherwise outrageous costumes for purchase —ladies, you can dress up like a sexy Kim Kardashian-esque vampire out for a night of Hollywood clubbing, and gents, how about impressing all the sexy Kim Kardashian vampires at your party by dressing up like a walking, talking matched set of cock and balls! It’s been a while since I’ve shopped for fake tools of terror, but it seems there’s been a real advance in sophistication in the market for “Leatherface-approved” (I swear) chainsaws with moving parts and authentic revving noises,...
- 10/30/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Beyond Fest must have their check in the mail, because ol' Jack Burton himself is coming to the festival for a 30th anniversary screening of Big Trouble in Little China. Filmmaker James Gunn will be on hand to discuss the cult John Carpenter movie with the beloved actor, and that's only one of many events fans will want to mark on their fall calendars.
Taking place September 30th–October 11th at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, Beyond Fest 2016 will also feature screenings of Phantasm: Ravager, Phantasm: Remastered, George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead in 3-D, Martin, In a Valley of Violence, The Wolf Man (1941), The Bad Batch, Raw, and City of the Living Dead.
A 4K restoration screening of Romero's The Crazies will also take place, as well as a live performance by composer Fabio Frizzi and his orchestra during a showing of The Beyond: Composer's Cut.
Taking place September 30th–October 11th at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, Beyond Fest 2016 will also feature screenings of Phantasm: Ravager, Phantasm: Remastered, George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead in 3-D, Martin, In a Valley of Violence, The Wolf Man (1941), The Bad Batch, Raw, and City of the Living Dead.
A 4K restoration screening of Romero's The Crazies will also take place, as well as a live performance by composer Fabio Frizzi and his orchestra during a showing of The Beyond: Composer's Cut.
- 9/8/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Ryan Lambie Aug 9, 2016
From 2001 and Metropolis, to The Wicker Man and Event Horizon: a look at nine films with scenes we may never see...
There are some movies whose images and ideas are so indelible, it's difficult to imagine a world without them. Yet films are by their nature delicate things; they're the end-product of months or even years of craftsmanship, and whether they're stored on celluloid or captured digitally, they're as vulnerable to the ravages of time or acts of god as any other artform.
Cinema history is littered with stories of lost and damaged movies. Back in the 1920s, eminent director Erich von Stroheim made Greed, an expensive, nine-and-a-half hour epic that was repeatedly cut until only 140 minutes of its original footage remained. Legend has it that a janitor accidentally threw out the removed footage and, just like that, years of work were gone - seemingly forever.
From 2001 and Metropolis, to The Wicker Man and Event Horizon: a look at nine films with scenes we may never see...
There are some movies whose images and ideas are so indelible, it's difficult to imagine a world without them. Yet films are by their nature delicate things; they're the end-product of months or even years of craftsmanship, and whether they're stored on celluloid or captured digitally, they're as vulnerable to the ravages of time or acts of god as any other artform.
Cinema history is littered with stories of lost and damaged movies. Back in the 1920s, eminent director Erich von Stroheim made Greed, an expensive, nine-and-a-half hour epic that was repeatedly cut until only 140 minutes of its original footage remained. Legend has it that a janitor accidentally threw out the removed footage and, just like that, years of work were gone - seemingly forever.
- 8/2/2016
- Den of Geek
Two hot TV projects, an environmental zombie and an unhinged park ranger were among highlights at the eighth edition of the horror market.
Frontières International Co-Production Market continued to showcase its growth at Fantasia International Film Festival as it kicked off its eighth edition on Thursday [July 21].
Earlier this year, the genre market announced a new partnership with the Marché du Film at Cannes, and the popularity of its pitching session at Fantasia meant that it moved to the festival’s bigger venue to accommodate the growing industry interest.
This edition’s 20 projects also saw the market’s remit expand to include two television projects for the first time.
House Of Psychotic Women from Rook Films, behind the likes of Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers and Peter Strickland’s The Duke Of Burgundy, is based on horror critic Kier-La Janisse’s acclaimed memoir.
Centred on 15-year-old Carly as she navigates Winnipeg’s child welfare system, each episode...
Frontières International Co-Production Market continued to showcase its growth at Fantasia International Film Festival as it kicked off its eighth edition on Thursday [July 21].
Earlier this year, the genre market announced a new partnership with the Marché du Film at Cannes, and the popularity of its pitching session at Fantasia meant that it moved to the festival’s bigger venue to accommodate the growing industry interest.
This edition’s 20 projects also saw the market’s remit expand to include two television projects for the first time.
House Of Psychotic Women from Rook Films, behind the likes of Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers and Peter Strickland’s The Duke Of Burgundy, is based on horror critic Kier-La Janisse’s acclaimed memoir.
Centred on 15-year-old Carly as she navigates Winnipeg’s child welfare system, each episode...
- 7/22/2016
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
We have a busy week of horror and sci-fi entertainment releases to look forward to, especially for those of you cult and indie horror fans out there. Grindhouse Releasing is bringing Lucio Fulci’s insane Cat in the Brain to Blu-ray, and the recent indie thriller Road Games is getting a release on July 12th as well, courtesy of Scream Factory. One of my personal favorites from 2016, Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room arrives on both formats this Tuesday via Lionsgate, and Synapse Films is releasing the recent Creepshow documentary Just Desserts.
Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for July 12th include Model Hunger, Slasher: Season One, 13 Cameras, the Steelbook edition of Blood and Black Lace, and Pop Art editions of The Birds, Psycho, and King Kong.
Cat in the Brain (Grindhouse Releasing, Blu/CD Combo)
The most Violent movie ever made! Acclaimed Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci, director of Zombie and The Beyond,...
Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for July 12th include Model Hunger, Slasher: Season One, 13 Cameras, the Steelbook edition of Blood and Black Lace, and Pop Art editions of The Birds, Psycho, and King Kong.
Cat in the Brain (Grindhouse Releasing, Blu/CD Combo)
The most Violent movie ever made! Acclaimed Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci, director of Zombie and The Beyond,...
- 7/12/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Michael O’Shea’s debut chomps countless other vampire films. Unfortunately, they’re all superior to this middling, self-conscious effort
Milo, the black teen vampire at the heart of The Transfiguration, likes his tales about the undead told with a fair amount of grit.
The same could no doubt be said for Brooklyn-born writer/director Michael O’Shea, who laces his first feature with references to George A Romero’s Martin, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In, and most boldly, Fw Murnau’s Nosferatu. Unfortunately for O’Shea, he does his film no favours by biting these genre classics. Even Twilight - a series Milo (Eric Ruffin) refuses to engage with (“it seems unrealistic”), and one O’Shea probably doesn’t care for - has more going for it.
Continue reading...
Milo, the black teen vampire at the heart of The Transfiguration, likes his tales about the undead told with a fair amount of grit.
The same could no doubt be said for Brooklyn-born writer/director Michael O’Shea, who laces his first feature with references to George A Romero’s Martin, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In, and most boldly, Fw Murnau’s Nosferatu. Unfortunately for O’Shea, he does his film no favours by biting these genre classics. Even Twilight - a series Milo (Eric Ruffin) refuses to engage with (“it seems unrealistic”), and one O’Shea probably doesn’t care for - has more going for it.
Continue reading...
- 5/15/2016
- by Nigel M Smith
- The Guardian - Film News
Hell hath no fury like a... demon scorned? In this round-up, we have a look at the official poster for Fury of the Demon. Also: an I'm Dreaming of a White Doomsday poster, a new Alienween trailer, details on the screening of Romero's vampire film, Martin, Frankenstein on Blu-ray / DVD, and Director's Cut.
Fury of the Demon: "An investigation that takes us on the traces of violent riots having taken place throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, caused by a rare, fascinating and dangerous film: Fury of the Demon (La Rage du Démon), attributed to French cineaste Georges Méliès. Through conversations with journalists, filmmakers, historians, experts and psychologists, this documentary pulls back the veil on the most cursed and disturbing movie ever made. From mysteries to mysteries, from questioning to questioning, discover the truth about the lost movie that has been shaking the film world for over a century!
Fury of the Demon: "An investigation that takes us on the traces of violent riots having taken place throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, caused by a rare, fascinating and dangerous film: Fury of the Demon (La Rage du Démon), attributed to French cineaste Georges Méliès. Through conversations with journalists, filmmakers, historians, experts and psychologists, this documentary pulls back the veil on the most cursed and disturbing movie ever made. From mysteries to mysteries, from questioning to questioning, discover the truth about the lost movie that has been shaking the film world for over a century!
- 1/19/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
** New Update: Two more American films have come to my attention through readers of the blog:
Alison Klayman wrote to say "I know you said at least two films, but I wanted specifically to alert you to the fact that my film "The 100 Years Show" is also playing in the Panorama Documental sections (same as Pj Letofsky's film). "The 100 Years Show" is about 100-year old Cuban-American artist Carmen Herrera, and was produced with RatPac (Brett Ratner) Documentary Films. I'll be attending the festival too.
Alex Mallis wrote in to say: "Our short narrative, "La Noche buena" (the first American-directed since the embargo) is also screening at the festival.
Original Blog:
At least two films by American filmmakers will screen this year at the Havana Film Festival, whose official name is Festival de Cine Nuevo Latinamericano. As the Centerpiece Film, Bob Yari, producer of almost 50 films, will screen his second directed film “Papa” about Ernest Hemingway. It can be called “the first [official or legal] American film made in Havana in the last fifty years”, though underground films have been made (e.g., “Love & Suicide”). “Papa” is being sold at Afm by Elias Axume’s Premiere Entertainment.
Doc filmmaker Pj Letofsky will also be screening his film “ Tarkovsky: Time Within Time” which just premiered at the Sao Paolo Film Festival.
Many U.S. citizens are now interested in going to Havana. To give an in-depth look at Cuba’s film business, I am publishing a [long] chapter of what I hope will soon be published, my book on Iberoamerican film business. I will also be publishing another [shorter] interview here soon with Havana Film Festival Director, Ivan Giroud.
Cuba (Chapter Seven)
Officially the Republic of Cuba, or in Spanish, República de Cuba, the nation is comprised of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. To the north of Cuba lies the United States; the Bahamas are to the northeast, México to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and with over 11 million inhabitants.
Cuba is undergoing a transition into a market, entrepreneurial economy under the Presidency of Raul Castro. With this transition, the cinema industry is also undergoing great changes. The state mandated organization, Icaic, which has been running the cinema industry, is now under scrutiny. New legislation concerning the film industry is slowly underway as a result of discussions ongoing within the film community. Hopefully the establishment of diplomatic relations will the U.S. last October will propel changes, though without lifting the embargo, it may not.
History of Cinema of Cuba
Cuba’s elite has always stayed in touch with the latest in culture as it developed in Europe during the Spanish colonial era. Cuba’s tradition of cinema dates back to 1897 when the Lumiére Brothers representative from France stopped in Havana to show their films on a tour of the Antilles Islands, México, Venezuela, and the Guineas. Cuba’s particular style of cinema, called the “Cinema of the Greater Antilles”, evolved from the theater of melodrama and comedy and from the radio dramas of Felix B. Caignet, all of which formed the popular melodramas and comedies we still see today.
Mexican coproductions and U.S. filmmakers escaping the monopolistic Edison came to Cuba as well as to California in the early days of film. Federico Garcia Lorca arrived in Cuba in 1930 with a screenplay, “Voyage of the Moon”, and a print of “Un Chien Andalou” hoping to break from the Paris-Berlin monopoly, but his plans never took shape. Many films from Spain, México, Argentina and Uruguay also played in Cuba. Some leading Cuban actors had a strong presence in México and Argentina. Musicians such as Ernesto Lecuona, Bola de Nieve and Rita Montaner performed in movies in several countries.
Cuba, along with Mexico and Argentina, has the most developed cinema culture of Latin America. At its most prosperous, it had the third largest number of theaters in Latin America until the special period when Ussr withdrew its support. Today it has 39 movie theaters. Three of them, including the Yara in Havana, had been built especially for 3D in the 1950s.
Movie going is one of Cuba’s national pastimes, rating perhaps as high as baseball. The average Cuban sees one and a half films a year. However, the lack of international appeal for most of its comedies and melodramas has held its international growth in check up to today. That is now changing.
The international nature of Cuban cinema was consciously defined after the Revolution of 1959 when the Institute for Cuban Art and Industry Cinematography (Icaic) was created by Fidel Castro and entrusted to his university classmate, Alfredo Guevara. The law creating Icaic was incorporated into the Cuban Constitution itself just three months after the Revolution and was an important part of the Nuevo Cine Latinoamerico, a movement throughout Latin America as the Latin American nations threw off their dictatorships. Film, according to this law, is "the most powerful and provocative form of artistic expression, and the most direct and widespread vehicle for education and bringing ideas to the public.”
Cinema was created for theatrical exhibition, for individuals and groups to share in smaller collectives, and for television.
The law ordaining Icaic to control every cinematographic activity created no further rules about financing, about submitting, reading and approving project proposals or regarding any required time frames. Icaic functions very internally with no outside surveillance.
Actually it is possible to make films without Icaic participation, the point is that without Icaic a film cannot get national distribution.
Over the past decade Icaic has loosened its monopolistic administration. Every sector and every level of cinema is discussing the concept of a new Law of Cinema with the government’s interest in formalizing as law a more inclusive infrastructure with more transparent rules and regulations.
Under the leadership of Raul Castro, the island has been undergoing a gradual economic reform process allowing entrepreneurs to license their own businesses after decades of state monopoly. The measures include the authorization of self-employment in more than 200 small trades and activities. According to the government, there are currently 442,000 registered as “self-employed”. The Castro administration hopes for this emerging sector to absorb over a million state workers to be laid off in the coming years.[ii]
In October 2014, the state closed down many private cinemas which had emerged avowing to the love of cinema of the people. Many were 3D “salons” in homes or in separate rooms in restaurants. Authorities pressed for "order, discipline and obedience" in the growing small business sector. Needless to say, the films shown were pirated and not licensed by the rights holders. Nor was there ever any official licensing to privately owned theaters (yet).
However, these could provide a good source of taxation. It needs to be decided what shall be taxed, how tax monies should be apportioned for film funding, film education, what tax incentives the government might offer, how distribution will be subsidized, how archives may be maintained and presented, how to regulate screenings, dvd, TV and online platforms, what cash incentives might bring in production from the outside, what joint ventures within the Caribbean might be developed and how Icaic is approaching and incorporating the changing environment. The Director of Icaic, Robert Smith de Castro. is facing more challenges than its previous longtime Director, Alfredo Guevera, ever faced when the government provided everything. Now it must find answers from its neighbors and its own internal producers and procedures.
In general, funding a film, renting equipment and shooting in Cuba all need to be approved by Icaic. This has changed somewhat as other players have come to take a role, like Rtv Commercial, which is in fact the production company of Cuban National Television.
Rtv Commercial coproduced the newest Cuban hit, “Conducta” (“Behavior”) with Icaic. It premiered at Ficg 2014 (Guadalajara International Film Festival) and played at Tiff 2014 and other festivals such as the Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2014 where it won five awards.
New Developments in Cuban Cinema
In 2014 there were 14 productions and coproductions made, compared to seven in 2009 and 4 in 2000 according to FnCl and Ocal, databases of Latin American film.
At Cannes’ Cinema du Monde in May 2014 and in San Sebastian’s Coproduction Forum, “ August” (“Agosto”) was one of 15 projects selected to be seen and discussed by the international community of sales, distribution and financial executives. Directed by Armando Capó Ramos and produced by La Feria Producciones’ Marcella Esquivel, it is a coproduction between Costa Rica and Cuba. It will shoot next year in Havana and is now raising funds through crowdfunding. Also featured among the 15 in San Sebastian was “Wolfdog” (“Hombre entre perro y lobo”) directed by Irene Gutiérrez and produced by El Viaje Films, a Spain-Cuba coproduction.
Seeking modes of financing outside of government funding began in 2002 with the Festival of New Filmmakers showcasing projects was created by young people outside the Icaic system. As a result of the 2002 event, five years later, a funding mechanism called Hacienda Cine was created by pulling productions from Icaic Cuban television into centers and foundations that have other areas for audiovisual production. Pitch sessions for each selected entity were set up. The prize for production services worth 20,000 Convertible Cuban Pesos (equivalent to Us $20,000) was set up by Icaic Production. There are currently also smaller groups creating smaller formats, scientific or otherwise who are fomenting alternative forms of financing as well.
Lia Rodriguez Nieto is an attorney who was mentored by and worked fourteen years, until his death, with Camilo Vives, Icaic’s head of production, first as an attorney and then as a producer. She has now taken charge of the industry section at the Havana Film Festival which Vives began in 2009. She and Antonio López, recently produced a Cuba-Panama-France coproduction “ El Acompañante” (“The Companion”) directed by Pavel Giroud. She states that over the last five to seven years, private (not state institutional) productions have co-existed with institutional production. However, it would be important for independent producers to have a more regulated and confident relationship with Icaic in a more normalized fashion in order to have easier access to filming permits, forms of financing, banking relations, coproduction treaties, and a number of other elements which are essential to film production.
Rebeca Chávez is a director and a member of one of the groups pushing for a new cinema law which will, in principle, establish a new system incorporating the democratic participation of all people in the business, including techs, writers, directors, producers, actors, etc. and where all will have a democratically designed access to funds. In1984 she began her career as documentary director and her work has been given different national and international awards. She is the second woman in Cuba who has made feature films. She has taught several seminars on theory and practice of documentary cinema and on the Cuban experience in the genre in different institutions in the United States, Puerto Rico, England and Spain. She has worked as advisor for scripts of documentaries and feature films.
It is most important that the state has the will to make these changes, and it has stated it is open to changing the laws. Omar González who succeeded Alfredo Guevara as the head of the Icaic was replaced in 2013 by 30 year Icaic employee Roberto Smith de Castro who is now faced with reorganizing Icaic and implementing new laws which are yet to be formulated. He is considered to be a patient and attentive man who listens and will work to incorporate the diverse opinions into a new working reality.
The son of the famed director Daniel Diaz Torres whose controversial film “Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas” (“Alice in the City of Wonders”) in 1991 was so critical of the bureaucracy of the government at the time of the Soviet collapse that it caused the resignation of Icaic’s director Espinosa, independent producer Daniel Diaz Ravelo points out that the independent producer is neither legal nor illegal but exists in a sort of limbo, free to produce whatever he or she wants but needing legal sanctions to access necessary permits, equipment, etc. And a filmmaker has no bank account so fiscal responsibility is difficult. One must get a certificate from Icaic but there is no registration rule on how this is to be done.
And it gets more complicated. It is difficult to raise a Us$400,000 budget without networking with filmmakers from other countries and yet travel is not easy for Cubans. They can travel -- Cuba no longer has a problem with that -– but often they cannot get the visa required from the country they want or need to travel to. Daniel’s father had a problem in traveling to find financing for his last film, “La Pelicula de Ana” (“Ana's Movie”), from former producers of his films. It did receive some funding from Icaic and from former funding friend, Icestorm in Germany, and a loan from Ibermedia. Unfortunately Daniel Diaz Torres, Sr. recently died an early death and did not see the fruits of his labor in the 2013 Havana premiere.
The new generation today in Cuba is highly independent; it knows that diversity of film subjects and of filmmakers is key to Cuban cinema today and it is finding diverse sources of financing and distribution. It needs more information as well because everything depends upon contacts. Cineastes traveling to Cuba will find a vibrant group open to coproducing.
2015 marks the eighth year of the Havana Film Festival’s Works in Progress. The Post Production Award, Nuestra América Primera Copia, is an international competition for films from Latin America and from Cuba, with no restrictions; films can be produced by Icaic or independently. For example, in 2013 awards went to four films, one from Chile, “I’m Not Lorena” (“No Soy Lorena”), which premiered at Tiff 2014; one from Argentina, “La Salada”, which premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 2014 and Tiff 2014; and two from Cuba -- one Icaic film, “His Wedding Dress” (“Vestido de novia”), and the independent, “Venice” which was also Tiff 2014.
Thanks to an initiative by La Muestra, a group of Cuban production companies (including several independent ones), once a year support is awarded to four or five projects by young filmmakers. The independent film “Melaza” by Carlos Lechuga with the 5ta Avenida Productions premiered on October 3, 2013.
Rubén Padrón Astorga, writing for On Cuba [iii], November-December 2013 [1] writes:
The best prospects for our cinema today emerged like an earthquake in late April of this year, when Kiki Álvarez, the director of “Jirafas”, “La ola” and “Marina” and “Venezia”, initiated a debate on the problems that the country has with two vital filmmaking processes (production and distribution). Close to 60 audiovisual makers responded with a meeting where they formed a Filmmakers Committee to represent the rest of the country’s professionals.
Soon after its creation, the Committee announced that its objectives included ensuring the active participation of Cuban filmmakers in every decision that was made about [our] cinema, and protecting and developing its production at the industrial and independent levels. At this time, they are working together with Icaic and the Ministry of Culture to pass a decree-law defining the autonomous audiovisual creator, which would legitimize filmmakers as a legal concept, with full rights to exercise their profession. However, the decree-law, which was drafted seven years ago and ratified by the most recent Uneac Congress, was rewritten by the Filmmakers Committee so that it is not limited to recognizing audiovisual practice as individual work, but as collective, and so that it legally protects independent producers.
This committee, together with the so-called Ministry of Culture Temporary Working Group for the Transformation of Icaic, is actively participating in drawing up a diagnosis of Cuban cinema’s problems, which will be followed with the drafting of policies and actions for solving those problems. This step will clear the way for the long-term creation of a comprehensive film law. This law, which would involve widening the scope of the law passed in 1959 for Icaic’s founding, or drafting a new one, would include the creation of a film commission that would support production and make it viable; a promotion fund that would be governed by an arts council, and to which all independent and institutional artists could aspire; financial incentives that would promote the support of private and state companies and sponsors; and a general legal framework that conceives of cinema systemically, inspired by the useful experiences that have taken place in other countries in the region, such as Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
A convocation of cinema directors was held May 4, 2013 in Strawberry and Chocolate Cultural Center, Havana to address the need to participate in all plans and activities planned for Cuban cinema. The meeting chose a working group composed of Enrique Kiki Álvarez, Enrique Colina, Rebeca Chávez Lourdes de los Santos, Daniel Diaz Ravelo, Pavel Giroud, Magda González Grau, Inti Herrera, Senel Paz, Fernando Perez, Manuel Perez and Pedro L. Rodríguez.
The main objective of this group is to represent the filmmakers at all levels and events, promote and ensure the active participation of the same in all decisions and projects that relate to Cuban cinema, and strive for the protection and development of these arts and industries and their makers, which is our right and duty as protagonists of this art. At its first meeting, the group reached the following conclusions and agreements (verbatim):
1 -. We recognize the Cuban Film Institute and the Film Industry (Icaic) as the rector of the Cuban film industry state agency; born with the revolution and its long history is a legacy that belongs to all filmmakers. At the same time, we believe that the problems and projections of Cuban cinema today do not concern only the Icaic, but also other institutions and institutional groups or independently involved in their production, without whose help and commitment is not possible to achieve meaningful and lasting solutions. For that reason, its reorganization and promotion can not be done only in the context of this organism.
2 -. We understand the Cuban film produced through institutional, independent mechanisms, co-production with third or mixed formulas, and as filmmakers to all creators, technicians and Cuban specialists of these arts and industries that do their work inside or outside the institutions , whatever they may be aesthetic, content or affinity group. Consequently, it is imperative the adoption of Decree Law Media Creator recognition. This decree should be enriched with all additional legal supplements necessary.
3 -. We consider essential enacting a Film Law, whose production and given all participate and to be the legal body to order and protect the artistic and economic activity in the country.
4 -. We consider it important to study and implement a Film Development Fund, to which all authors in accessing equal rights and conditions, and open call to an independent jury whose selection parameter is the quality and feasibility of the whole project.
5 -. At this stage, the filmmakers give priority to the organization and remodeling of the methods of production and realization of works, the concept that these are, first and last instance being essentially the way we express ourselves and connect with the public. Similarly, we propose a systemic boost our activity covering the organization and remodeling of the forms of production, distribution, exhibition and national and international projection of Cuban cinema.
6 -. Start work, reviewing and updating the document "Proposals for a renewal of Cuban cinema", adopted at the Seventh Congress of the Uneac in 2008. As progress is made, they will be sharing all the proposals with the filmmakers.
7 -. Exchanging proposals and views with the State Commission working on the development of proposals for the transformation of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry.
8 -. To express our deep concern for all matters concerning international relations and Cuban cinema projection, which was a revolutionary vanguard movement in the Latin American and global context. We strive for a quick recovery and exchange relationships with filmmakers from Latin America and the world, and the continuity of the Festival of New Latin American Cinema, in its next edition turns 35.
9 -. This representation group performed their work in ongoing dialogue and communication with all filmmakers through regular meetings, which shall have the power to ratify or renew the group members, making decisions of common interest and to identify priorities and lines of job.
Filmmakers Group in the Assembly elected Cuban Filmmakers Saturday May 4 at the Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate, after its first meeting on May 8.
Havana, May 8, 2013. This was a verbatim article in Cubarte Magazine. [iv]
Festivals/ Markets
In 1979 Icaic created the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema aka Havana Film Festival as a way to disseminate its ethical convictions about developing film that was nonconformist, irreverent, critical of social injustice and rebellious against the pressures of the market across the continent. The event hosted over 600 filmmakers from Latin America and had as presidents of juries Gabriel García Márquez (Fiction ) and Santiago Álvarez (Documentaries and Cartoons.) The Coral Grand Prize winners were Geraldo Sarno (“Colonel Delmiro Gouveia”, Brazil) and Sergio Giral (“Maluala”, Cuba), in Fiction, Patricio Guzmán (“The Battle of Chile: the Struggle a People Without Arms”, Chile), Documentary, and Juan Padrón (“Elpidio Valdés”, Cuba) in Animation.
However, the contradiction of Icaic’s exercising a central control over maverick innovations is obvious since it controlled the production criteria and the right to decide what type of film was convenient to make and what was not.
An official competition of unpublished scripts for feature films is held by International Festival of New Latin American Cinema for authors from Latin America and the Caribbean for original scripts (no literary adaptations), written in Spanish and with Latin American themes. Scripts whose production rights have been transferred to third parties are not eligible. [v]
Icaic also supports the Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre de Humberto Solas[vi] for low budget films and Festival Internacional de Documentales “Santiago Alvarez in Memoriam”[vii].
Muestra Joven is a festival for Cuban youth with premiere fiction, doc and animated films. It has collateral activities of debates about the films in the festivals, master classes, meetings about contemporary issues and themes in the audiovisual community, workshps and onferences, poster exhibitions and homages.
In April 2014 the Mediateque of Women Directors, based in Cuba formally affiliated with The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in creating the the Caribbean Film Market. The project is also in association with The Foundation for Global Democracy and Development of the Dominican Republic, The Association for The Development of Art and Commercial Cinematography of Guadalupe, The Foundation for New Latinamerican Cinema, The Regional and International Film Festival of Guadalupe and the Mediateque of Women Directors.
Education
Icaic was in charge of training and promotion of talented young people not only in cinema but in other arts like music for which it created the Experimental Sound Group.
Isa
Most of the new independent filmmakers are young graduates of the Higher Art Institute’s (Isa) Faculty of Audiovisual Communication Media and its provincial affiliates. The University of Arts of Cuba - (Isa), Instituto Superior de Arte - was established on September 1, 1976 by the Cuban government as a school for the arts. Its original structure had three schools: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. At present the Isa has four schools, the previous three and the one for Arts and Audiovisual Communication Media. There are also four teaching schools in the provinces, one in Camagüey, two in Holguín and one in Santiago de Cuba. Isa offers pre-degree and post-degree courses, as well as a wide spectrum of brief and extension courses, including preparation for Cuban and foreign professors for a degree of Doctor on Sciences in Art. Predegree education has increased to five careers: Music, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, Dance Arts and Arts and Audiovisual Communication Media. In 1996, the Isa established the National Award of Artistic Teaching, conceived for recognizing a lifework devoted to arts teaching.
Eictv
Eictv, the International School of Cinema and Television was founded December 15, 1986 at the Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana with the support of then-President Fidel Castro on the initiative of Latin American cultural figures such as Argentine director, “Father of the New Latin American Cinema”, Fernando Birri, Julio and Gabo and Colombian Nobel Prize winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez who donated his prize money to establish the school.. It is located in San Antonio de los Baños near Havana, on land donated by the Cuban government.
Hundreds of young students from all over Latin America have studied direction, script, photography and edition. Since its founding , 810 students have graduated and it has become one of the region’s most important and well-grounded cultural projects.
Students pay 15,000 euros (about $19,700) to attend for the full three-year program. The fee includes food, lodging and equipment. Tuition income accounts for just 15 percent of the school's budget. Funding comes from international agencies such as Ibermedia; countries including Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama; and regional organizations like the Alba alliance of leftist Latin American nations.
For the past eight years, Nuevas Miradas, organized by the Eictv Production Department has held its presentations at the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema for bringing new projects to the attention of international professionals.
Also in the late 1980s, Cuba created the Third World Film School to train students from various third world countries in the art of filmmaking.
Film Funding
Icaic has been the only body to fund films. How the selection of what films would receive funding has never been a public matter.
There are no instruments for private companies or individuals to contribute to film production in Cuba yet. There are however, international funds that may help finance films, such as Hubert Bals Fund from The Netherlands, World Cinema Fund from Germany, Fonds Sud from France, the Norwegian Fund, Sor Fond, Acp, etc. The best actively kept lists are found in Ocal[viii] and Online Film Financing [ix].
Coproduction with Cuba
As early as 1948 coproductions were common between Cuba and México. During the 70s and 80s Russian coproductions included Mikhail Kalatozov’s classic 1964 film “I Am Cuba” (“Soy Cuba”). Spain has played a role in coproducing Latin American and Cuban films since the 30s but in the 1990s it began to invest more heavily. In 1997 Ibermedia was created for the purpose of promoting coproduction between Spain and Latin American countries. Cuba is one of the fourteen countries involved in this organization.
In addition, Cuba has bilateral coproduction treaties with Italy, Canada, Venezuela, Spain and Chile. So far nothing has resulted from the Chile accord.
Two examples of Cuban coproduced films are Humberto Solás’ 1982 film “Cecilia” (Cuba - Spain) and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío’s 1992 Academy Award-nominated “Strawberry and Chocolate” (“Fresa y chocolate”) (Cuba – México – Spain - U.S.).
In September 2013 at San Sebastian International Film Festival’s 2nd Europe-Latin America Coproduction Forum, “The Companion”/ "El Acompañante" won the Best Project Award sponsored by Spain’s Audiovisual Producers’ Rights Management Association Egeda and carrying a 10,000 Euros (Us$13,000) cash award.
This is the third feature of Giroud after “The Silly Age” and “Omerta”. It is a coproduction of Cuba, Venezuela’s NativaPro Cinematográfica and France’s Tu Vas Voir owned by Edgard Tenembaum who produced Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries”. The film also obtained the collaboration of Programa Ibermedia and was selected for Cinemas du Monde.
Pavel Giroud is one of the most promising of young Cuban filmmakers today. “The Companion”/ "El Acompañante" is set in 1988 Havana and tells the story of the friendship which develops between Horacio Romero, a Cuban boxer who fails a drug test and a defiant patient at an AIDS center under military rule for whom Romero must serve as a warden or, in Cuban government parlance, a “companion”. Playing the role of Horacio is Yotuel Romero (Latin Grammy Award-winning and founding member of Cuban rap group Orishas). Orishas is one of the world’s most critically hailed Latin-urban artists. The co-protagonist is Cuban actor Armando Miguel Gómez who has received international recognition for his role in the recent films "Behavior”/ “Conducta" and “Melaza”. International sales are handled by the Brazil-based international sales agency, Habanero, which, coincidently is owned by Cuban Alfredo Calvino and Brazilian Patricial Martin who handle such outstanding films as “Juan on the Dead”, Carlos Lechuga’s “Melaza”, Sebastian Cordero’s “Pescador” and Francisco Franco’s “Last Call”. Habanero also sponsors distribution awards at Ficg and Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte, a showcase for pictures in post-production. All the updated information about these films, including festivals and awards is available at: www.habanerofilmsales.com.
Case Study of the Producer, Inti Hererra
Cuba’s first English language film, “Eating the Sun”, a coproduction with Canada, is being produced by Inti Herrera who also is heading the new night spot of avant garde popular entertainment, La Fabrica de Arte Cubano.
Inti Herrera, formerly of 5ta Avenida Productions and I first met in 2003 through the international sales agent Alfredo Calvino whose then-company Latinofusion was selling Inti’s first fiction feature, “Viva Cuba”, a road movie of two kids traveling across Cuba in search of one’s father.
Inti graduated Eictv and worked for a long time as an independent producer of documentaries.
In 2009, when Camilo Vives, Icaic’s head of production created the Industry Sector of the Havana Film Festival Inti became its director and managed it until 2010. In 2010 when he was still running the industry space he invited me to speak about New Media, and I spoke of Peter Broderick who was then invited to do a workshop at Eictv.
As an executive producer, Inti must raise financing from the development through the completion of film projects. Each project is of course different from the last. He and Alejandro Brugués were originally discussing working on a different sort of film, “Melaza”, but put it on hold and in 2010 and 2011 he worked instead on the commercial film, “Juan of the Dead”, which is the most exhibited film of Cuba.
“Juan of the Dead”, Cuba’s first truly independent movie, a zombie horror comedy was coproduced in 2011 by Spain's La Zanfoña Producciones, where it was post-produced, and Cuba's first independent production company Producciones de la 5ta Avenida which also produced “Personal Belongings” in 2006 and “Melaza” in 2012. The film was written and directed by Alejandro Brugués (“Personal Belongings”). It was executive produced by Inti Herrera, Claudia Calviño and Gervasio Iglesias.
The film was represented for international sales by Latinofusion, a Guadalajara based company sponsored by Universidad de Guadalajara and managed by Alfredo Calvino. It was shown in more than 50 festivals worldwide, winning 10 audience awards and the Spanish Film Academy’s Goya Award of the for best Iberoamerican film. It sold to 42 territories.
“Juan of the Dead” distributors:
Argentina (Condor/ Mirada), Bolivia (Londra Films P&D), Brazil (Imovision), Canada (A-z Films), Chile (Arcadia Films), Germany (Pandastorm Pictures), Hong Kong and Macau (Sundream Motion Pictures), Hungary (Ads Service), Italy ( Moviemax Media Group Spa), Japan (Fine Films), Latin American Pay TV (HBO Latin America), México and Central America (Canana), Netherlands (Filmfreak), Norway (Tromso International Film Festival), Puerto Rico (Wiesner), Russia and Cis territories (Cinema Prestige), Spain (Avalon), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), U.K and Ireland (Metrodome), U.S.(Theatrical Distributor Outsider Pictures, all other rights Focus World)
Today Inti is working with a new director, Alfredo Ureta on the Canadian coproduction and the first Cuban film in English. “Eating the Sun” is about a Canadian-Cuban couple who decides to live in Cuba. Before settling in they make a tour of the country and become involved in a psychological thriller. The Canadian producer is Gordon Weiske of Canwood Entertainment. They are discussing the male lead role with Kris Holden-Ried. The goal is to find new markets for this film, markets which Cuba has not targeted before.
Top 10 Films of Cuba is a selection of my own:
1. “Memorias del subdesarrollo” (“Memories of Underdevelopment”) (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968)
2. “Lucia” (Humberto Solás, 1969)
3. “Vampiros en La Habana” (“Vampires in Havana”) (Juan Padrón, 1983)
4. “Soy Cuba” (“I am Cuba”) ( Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964)
5. “La bella del Alhambra” (“The beauty of the Alhambra”) (Enrique Pineda Barnet, 1989)
6. “Fresa y Chocolate” (“Strawberry and Chocolate”) (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, 1993)
7. “Lista de Espera” (“The waiting list”) (Juan Carlos Tabío, 2000)
8. “Havana Suite” (“Suite Havana”) (Fernando Pérez, 2003)
9. “Juan of the Dead” (Alejandro Brugués, 2011)
10. “Melaza” (Carlos Lechuga, 2013)
[1] http://www.oncubamagazine.com/magazine/for-independent-and-industrial-cuban-cinema/
Cubacine. El Portal del Cine Cubano. http://www.cubacine.cu/index.html.
[ii] http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=99785#sthash.yCWbyCcU.dpuf
[iii] http://oncubamagazine.com/magazine-articles/for-independent-and-industrial-cuban-cinema/ Cubacine. El Portal del Cine Cubano. http://www.cubacine.cu/index.html.
[iv] http://www.cubarte.cult.cu/periodico/opinion/cineastas-cubanos-por-el-cine-cubano/24423.html
[v] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/direct.aspx?cod=1234
[vi] www.festivalcinepobre.org , www.cubacine.cu/cinepobre
[vii] www.cubacine.cu/festivalsantiagoalvarez/index.html
[viii] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/directorios.aspx?cod=8&par=2
[ix] www.olffi.com/...
Alison Klayman wrote to say "I know you said at least two films, but I wanted specifically to alert you to the fact that my film "The 100 Years Show" is also playing in the Panorama Documental sections (same as Pj Letofsky's film). "The 100 Years Show" is about 100-year old Cuban-American artist Carmen Herrera, and was produced with RatPac (Brett Ratner) Documentary Films. I'll be attending the festival too.
Alex Mallis wrote in to say: "Our short narrative, "La Noche buena" (the first American-directed since the embargo) is also screening at the festival.
Original Blog:
At least two films by American filmmakers will screen this year at the Havana Film Festival, whose official name is Festival de Cine Nuevo Latinamericano. As the Centerpiece Film, Bob Yari, producer of almost 50 films, will screen his second directed film “Papa” about Ernest Hemingway. It can be called “the first [official or legal] American film made in Havana in the last fifty years”, though underground films have been made (e.g., “Love & Suicide”). “Papa” is being sold at Afm by Elias Axume’s Premiere Entertainment.
Doc filmmaker Pj Letofsky will also be screening his film “ Tarkovsky: Time Within Time” which just premiered at the Sao Paolo Film Festival.
Many U.S. citizens are now interested in going to Havana. To give an in-depth look at Cuba’s film business, I am publishing a [long] chapter of what I hope will soon be published, my book on Iberoamerican film business. I will also be publishing another [shorter] interview here soon with Havana Film Festival Director, Ivan Giroud.
Cuba (Chapter Seven)
Officially the Republic of Cuba, or in Spanish, República de Cuba, the nation is comprised of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. To the north of Cuba lies the United States; the Bahamas are to the northeast, México to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and with over 11 million inhabitants.
Cuba is undergoing a transition into a market, entrepreneurial economy under the Presidency of Raul Castro. With this transition, the cinema industry is also undergoing great changes. The state mandated organization, Icaic, which has been running the cinema industry, is now under scrutiny. New legislation concerning the film industry is slowly underway as a result of discussions ongoing within the film community. Hopefully the establishment of diplomatic relations will the U.S. last October will propel changes, though without lifting the embargo, it may not.
History of Cinema of Cuba
Cuba’s elite has always stayed in touch with the latest in culture as it developed in Europe during the Spanish colonial era. Cuba’s tradition of cinema dates back to 1897 when the Lumiére Brothers representative from France stopped in Havana to show their films on a tour of the Antilles Islands, México, Venezuela, and the Guineas. Cuba’s particular style of cinema, called the “Cinema of the Greater Antilles”, evolved from the theater of melodrama and comedy and from the radio dramas of Felix B. Caignet, all of which formed the popular melodramas and comedies we still see today.
Mexican coproductions and U.S. filmmakers escaping the monopolistic Edison came to Cuba as well as to California in the early days of film. Federico Garcia Lorca arrived in Cuba in 1930 with a screenplay, “Voyage of the Moon”, and a print of “Un Chien Andalou” hoping to break from the Paris-Berlin monopoly, but his plans never took shape. Many films from Spain, México, Argentina and Uruguay also played in Cuba. Some leading Cuban actors had a strong presence in México and Argentina. Musicians such as Ernesto Lecuona, Bola de Nieve and Rita Montaner performed in movies in several countries.
Cuba, along with Mexico and Argentina, has the most developed cinema culture of Latin America. At its most prosperous, it had the third largest number of theaters in Latin America until the special period when Ussr withdrew its support. Today it has 39 movie theaters. Three of them, including the Yara in Havana, had been built especially for 3D in the 1950s.
Movie going is one of Cuba’s national pastimes, rating perhaps as high as baseball. The average Cuban sees one and a half films a year. However, the lack of international appeal for most of its comedies and melodramas has held its international growth in check up to today. That is now changing.
The international nature of Cuban cinema was consciously defined after the Revolution of 1959 when the Institute for Cuban Art and Industry Cinematography (Icaic) was created by Fidel Castro and entrusted to his university classmate, Alfredo Guevara. The law creating Icaic was incorporated into the Cuban Constitution itself just three months after the Revolution and was an important part of the Nuevo Cine Latinoamerico, a movement throughout Latin America as the Latin American nations threw off their dictatorships. Film, according to this law, is "the most powerful and provocative form of artistic expression, and the most direct and widespread vehicle for education and bringing ideas to the public.”
Cinema was created for theatrical exhibition, for individuals and groups to share in smaller collectives, and for television.
The law ordaining Icaic to control every cinematographic activity created no further rules about financing, about submitting, reading and approving project proposals or regarding any required time frames. Icaic functions very internally with no outside surveillance.
Actually it is possible to make films without Icaic participation, the point is that without Icaic a film cannot get national distribution.
Over the past decade Icaic has loosened its monopolistic administration. Every sector and every level of cinema is discussing the concept of a new Law of Cinema with the government’s interest in formalizing as law a more inclusive infrastructure with more transparent rules and regulations.
Under the leadership of Raul Castro, the island has been undergoing a gradual economic reform process allowing entrepreneurs to license their own businesses after decades of state monopoly. The measures include the authorization of self-employment in more than 200 small trades and activities. According to the government, there are currently 442,000 registered as “self-employed”. The Castro administration hopes for this emerging sector to absorb over a million state workers to be laid off in the coming years.[ii]
In October 2014, the state closed down many private cinemas which had emerged avowing to the love of cinema of the people. Many were 3D “salons” in homes or in separate rooms in restaurants. Authorities pressed for "order, discipline and obedience" in the growing small business sector. Needless to say, the films shown were pirated and not licensed by the rights holders. Nor was there ever any official licensing to privately owned theaters (yet).
However, these could provide a good source of taxation. It needs to be decided what shall be taxed, how tax monies should be apportioned for film funding, film education, what tax incentives the government might offer, how distribution will be subsidized, how archives may be maintained and presented, how to regulate screenings, dvd, TV and online platforms, what cash incentives might bring in production from the outside, what joint ventures within the Caribbean might be developed and how Icaic is approaching and incorporating the changing environment. The Director of Icaic, Robert Smith de Castro. is facing more challenges than its previous longtime Director, Alfredo Guevera, ever faced when the government provided everything. Now it must find answers from its neighbors and its own internal producers and procedures.
In general, funding a film, renting equipment and shooting in Cuba all need to be approved by Icaic. This has changed somewhat as other players have come to take a role, like Rtv Commercial, which is in fact the production company of Cuban National Television.
Rtv Commercial coproduced the newest Cuban hit, “Conducta” (“Behavior”) with Icaic. It premiered at Ficg 2014 (Guadalajara International Film Festival) and played at Tiff 2014 and other festivals such as the Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2014 where it won five awards.
New Developments in Cuban Cinema
In 2014 there were 14 productions and coproductions made, compared to seven in 2009 and 4 in 2000 according to FnCl and Ocal, databases of Latin American film.
At Cannes’ Cinema du Monde in May 2014 and in San Sebastian’s Coproduction Forum, “ August” (“Agosto”) was one of 15 projects selected to be seen and discussed by the international community of sales, distribution and financial executives. Directed by Armando Capó Ramos and produced by La Feria Producciones’ Marcella Esquivel, it is a coproduction between Costa Rica and Cuba. It will shoot next year in Havana and is now raising funds through crowdfunding. Also featured among the 15 in San Sebastian was “Wolfdog” (“Hombre entre perro y lobo”) directed by Irene Gutiérrez and produced by El Viaje Films, a Spain-Cuba coproduction.
Seeking modes of financing outside of government funding began in 2002 with the Festival of New Filmmakers showcasing projects was created by young people outside the Icaic system. As a result of the 2002 event, five years later, a funding mechanism called Hacienda Cine was created by pulling productions from Icaic Cuban television into centers and foundations that have other areas for audiovisual production. Pitch sessions for each selected entity were set up. The prize for production services worth 20,000 Convertible Cuban Pesos (equivalent to Us $20,000) was set up by Icaic Production. There are currently also smaller groups creating smaller formats, scientific or otherwise who are fomenting alternative forms of financing as well.
Lia Rodriguez Nieto is an attorney who was mentored by and worked fourteen years, until his death, with Camilo Vives, Icaic’s head of production, first as an attorney and then as a producer. She has now taken charge of the industry section at the Havana Film Festival which Vives began in 2009. She and Antonio López, recently produced a Cuba-Panama-France coproduction “ El Acompañante” (“The Companion”) directed by Pavel Giroud. She states that over the last five to seven years, private (not state institutional) productions have co-existed with institutional production. However, it would be important for independent producers to have a more regulated and confident relationship with Icaic in a more normalized fashion in order to have easier access to filming permits, forms of financing, banking relations, coproduction treaties, and a number of other elements which are essential to film production.
Rebeca Chávez is a director and a member of one of the groups pushing for a new cinema law which will, in principle, establish a new system incorporating the democratic participation of all people in the business, including techs, writers, directors, producers, actors, etc. and where all will have a democratically designed access to funds. In1984 she began her career as documentary director and her work has been given different national and international awards. She is the second woman in Cuba who has made feature films. She has taught several seminars on theory and practice of documentary cinema and on the Cuban experience in the genre in different institutions in the United States, Puerto Rico, England and Spain. She has worked as advisor for scripts of documentaries and feature films.
It is most important that the state has the will to make these changes, and it has stated it is open to changing the laws. Omar González who succeeded Alfredo Guevara as the head of the Icaic was replaced in 2013 by 30 year Icaic employee Roberto Smith de Castro who is now faced with reorganizing Icaic and implementing new laws which are yet to be formulated. He is considered to be a patient and attentive man who listens and will work to incorporate the diverse opinions into a new working reality.
The son of the famed director Daniel Diaz Torres whose controversial film “Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas” (“Alice in the City of Wonders”) in 1991 was so critical of the bureaucracy of the government at the time of the Soviet collapse that it caused the resignation of Icaic’s director Espinosa, independent producer Daniel Diaz Ravelo points out that the independent producer is neither legal nor illegal but exists in a sort of limbo, free to produce whatever he or she wants but needing legal sanctions to access necessary permits, equipment, etc. And a filmmaker has no bank account so fiscal responsibility is difficult. One must get a certificate from Icaic but there is no registration rule on how this is to be done.
And it gets more complicated. It is difficult to raise a Us$400,000 budget without networking with filmmakers from other countries and yet travel is not easy for Cubans. They can travel -- Cuba no longer has a problem with that -– but often they cannot get the visa required from the country they want or need to travel to. Daniel’s father had a problem in traveling to find financing for his last film, “La Pelicula de Ana” (“Ana's Movie”), from former producers of his films. It did receive some funding from Icaic and from former funding friend, Icestorm in Germany, and a loan from Ibermedia. Unfortunately Daniel Diaz Torres, Sr. recently died an early death and did not see the fruits of his labor in the 2013 Havana premiere.
The new generation today in Cuba is highly independent; it knows that diversity of film subjects and of filmmakers is key to Cuban cinema today and it is finding diverse sources of financing and distribution. It needs more information as well because everything depends upon contacts. Cineastes traveling to Cuba will find a vibrant group open to coproducing.
2015 marks the eighth year of the Havana Film Festival’s Works in Progress. The Post Production Award, Nuestra América Primera Copia, is an international competition for films from Latin America and from Cuba, with no restrictions; films can be produced by Icaic or independently. For example, in 2013 awards went to four films, one from Chile, “I’m Not Lorena” (“No Soy Lorena”), which premiered at Tiff 2014; one from Argentina, “La Salada”, which premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 2014 and Tiff 2014; and two from Cuba -- one Icaic film, “His Wedding Dress” (“Vestido de novia”), and the independent, “Venice” which was also Tiff 2014.
Thanks to an initiative by La Muestra, a group of Cuban production companies (including several independent ones), once a year support is awarded to four or five projects by young filmmakers. The independent film “Melaza” by Carlos Lechuga with the 5ta Avenida Productions premiered on October 3, 2013.
Rubén Padrón Astorga, writing for On Cuba [iii], November-December 2013 [1] writes:
The best prospects for our cinema today emerged like an earthquake in late April of this year, when Kiki Álvarez, the director of “Jirafas”, “La ola” and “Marina” and “Venezia”, initiated a debate on the problems that the country has with two vital filmmaking processes (production and distribution). Close to 60 audiovisual makers responded with a meeting where they formed a Filmmakers Committee to represent the rest of the country’s professionals.
Soon after its creation, the Committee announced that its objectives included ensuring the active participation of Cuban filmmakers in every decision that was made about [our] cinema, and protecting and developing its production at the industrial and independent levels. At this time, they are working together with Icaic and the Ministry of Culture to pass a decree-law defining the autonomous audiovisual creator, which would legitimize filmmakers as a legal concept, with full rights to exercise their profession. However, the decree-law, which was drafted seven years ago and ratified by the most recent Uneac Congress, was rewritten by the Filmmakers Committee so that it is not limited to recognizing audiovisual practice as individual work, but as collective, and so that it legally protects independent producers.
This committee, together with the so-called Ministry of Culture Temporary Working Group for the Transformation of Icaic, is actively participating in drawing up a diagnosis of Cuban cinema’s problems, which will be followed with the drafting of policies and actions for solving those problems. This step will clear the way for the long-term creation of a comprehensive film law. This law, which would involve widening the scope of the law passed in 1959 for Icaic’s founding, or drafting a new one, would include the creation of a film commission that would support production and make it viable; a promotion fund that would be governed by an arts council, and to which all independent and institutional artists could aspire; financial incentives that would promote the support of private and state companies and sponsors; and a general legal framework that conceives of cinema systemically, inspired by the useful experiences that have taken place in other countries in the region, such as Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.
A convocation of cinema directors was held May 4, 2013 in Strawberry and Chocolate Cultural Center, Havana to address the need to participate in all plans and activities planned for Cuban cinema. The meeting chose a working group composed of Enrique Kiki Álvarez, Enrique Colina, Rebeca Chávez Lourdes de los Santos, Daniel Diaz Ravelo, Pavel Giroud, Magda González Grau, Inti Herrera, Senel Paz, Fernando Perez, Manuel Perez and Pedro L. Rodríguez.
The main objective of this group is to represent the filmmakers at all levels and events, promote and ensure the active participation of the same in all decisions and projects that relate to Cuban cinema, and strive for the protection and development of these arts and industries and their makers, which is our right and duty as protagonists of this art. At its first meeting, the group reached the following conclusions and agreements (verbatim):
1 -. We recognize the Cuban Film Institute and the Film Industry (Icaic) as the rector of the Cuban film industry state agency; born with the revolution and its long history is a legacy that belongs to all filmmakers. At the same time, we believe that the problems and projections of Cuban cinema today do not concern only the Icaic, but also other institutions and institutional groups or independently involved in their production, without whose help and commitment is not possible to achieve meaningful and lasting solutions. For that reason, its reorganization and promotion can not be done only in the context of this organism.
2 -. We understand the Cuban film produced through institutional, independent mechanisms, co-production with third or mixed formulas, and as filmmakers to all creators, technicians and Cuban specialists of these arts and industries that do their work inside or outside the institutions , whatever they may be aesthetic, content or affinity group. Consequently, it is imperative the adoption of Decree Law Media Creator recognition. This decree should be enriched with all additional legal supplements necessary.
3 -. We consider essential enacting a Film Law, whose production and given all participate and to be the legal body to order and protect the artistic and economic activity in the country.
4 -. We consider it important to study and implement a Film Development Fund, to which all authors in accessing equal rights and conditions, and open call to an independent jury whose selection parameter is the quality and feasibility of the whole project.
5 -. At this stage, the filmmakers give priority to the organization and remodeling of the methods of production and realization of works, the concept that these are, first and last instance being essentially the way we express ourselves and connect with the public. Similarly, we propose a systemic boost our activity covering the organization and remodeling of the forms of production, distribution, exhibition and national and international projection of Cuban cinema.
6 -. Start work, reviewing and updating the document "Proposals for a renewal of Cuban cinema", adopted at the Seventh Congress of the Uneac in 2008. As progress is made, they will be sharing all the proposals with the filmmakers.
7 -. Exchanging proposals and views with the State Commission working on the development of proposals for the transformation of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry.
8 -. To express our deep concern for all matters concerning international relations and Cuban cinema projection, which was a revolutionary vanguard movement in the Latin American and global context. We strive for a quick recovery and exchange relationships with filmmakers from Latin America and the world, and the continuity of the Festival of New Latin American Cinema, in its next edition turns 35.
9 -. This representation group performed their work in ongoing dialogue and communication with all filmmakers through regular meetings, which shall have the power to ratify or renew the group members, making decisions of common interest and to identify priorities and lines of job.
Filmmakers Group in the Assembly elected Cuban Filmmakers Saturday May 4 at the Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate, after its first meeting on May 8.
Havana, May 8, 2013. This was a verbatim article in Cubarte Magazine. [iv]
Festivals/ Markets
In 1979 Icaic created the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema aka Havana Film Festival as a way to disseminate its ethical convictions about developing film that was nonconformist, irreverent, critical of social injustice and rebellious against the pressures of the market across the continent. The event hosted over 600 filmmakers from Latin America and had as presidents of juries Gabriel García Márquez (Fiction ) and Santiago Álvarez (Documentaries and Cartoons.) The Coral Grand Prize winners were Geraldo Sarno (“Colonel Delmiro Gouveia”, Brazil) and Sergio Giral (“Maluala”, Cuba), in Fiction, Patricio Guzmán (“The Battle of Chile: the Struggle a People Without Arms”, Chile), Documentary, and Juan Padrón (“Elpidio Valdés”, Cuba) in Animation.
However, the contradiction of Icaic’s exercising a central control over maverick innovations is obvious since it controlled the production criteria and the right to decide what type of film was convenient to make and what was not.
An official competition of unpublished scripts for feature films is held by International Festival of New Latin American Cinema for authors from Latin America and the Caribbean for original scripts (no literary adaptations), written in Spanish and with Latin American themes. Scripts whose production rights have been transferred to third parties are not eligible. [v]
Icaic also supports the Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre de Humberto Solas[vi] for low budget films and Festival Internacional de Documentales “Santiago Alvarez in Memoriam”[vii].
Muestra Joven is a festival for Cuban youth with premiere fiction, doc and animated films. It has collateral activities of debates about the films in the festivals, master classes, meetings about contemporary issues and themes in the audiovisual community, workshps and onferences, poster exhibitions and homages.
In April 2014 the Mediateque of Women Directors, based in Cuba formally affiliated with The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in creating the the Caribbean Film Market. The project is also in association with The Foundation for Global Democracy and Development of the Dominican Republic, The Association for The Development of Art and Commercial Cinematography of Guadalupe, The Foundation for New Latinamerican Cinema, The Regional and International Film Festival of Guadalupe and the Mediateque of Women Directors.
Education
Icaic was in charge of training and promotion of talented young people not only in cinema but in other arts like music for which it created the Experimental Sound Group.
Isa
Most of the new independent filmmakers are young graduates of the Higher Art Institute’s (Isa) Faculty of Audiovisual Communication Media and its provincial affiliates. The University of Arts of Cuba - (Isa), Instituto Superior de Arte - was established on September 1, 1976 by the Cuban government as a school for the arts. Its original structure had three schools: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. At present the Isa has four schools, the previous three and the one for Arts and Audiovisual Communication Media. There are also four teaching schools in the provinces, one in Camagüey, two in Holguín and one in Santiago de Cuba. Isa offers pre-degree and post-degree courses, as well as a wide spectrum of brief and extension courses, including preparation for Cuban and foreign professors for a degree of Doctor on Sciences in Art. Predegree education has increased to five careers: Music, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, Dance Arts and Arts and Audiovisual Communication Media. In 1996, the Isa established the National Award of Artistic Teaching, conceived for recognizing a lifework devoted to arts teaching.
Eictv
Eictv, the International School of Cinema and Television was founded December 15, 1986 at the Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana with the support of then-President Fidel Castro on the initiative of Latin American cultural figures such as Argentine director, “Father of the New Latin American Cinema”, Fernando Birri, Julio and Gabo and Colombian Nobel Prize winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez who donated his prize money to establish the school.. It is located in San Antonio de los Baños near Havana, on land donated by the Cuban government.
Hundreds of young students from all over Latin America have studied direction, script, photography and edition. Since its founding , 810 students have graduated and it has become one of the region’s most important and well-grounded cultural projects.
Students pay 15,000 euros (about $19,700) to attend for the full three-year program. The fee includes food, lodging and equipment. Tuition income accounts for just 15 percent of the school's budget. Funding comes from international agencies such as Ibermedia; countries including Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama; and regional organizations like the Alba alliance of leftist Latin American nations.
For the past eight years, Nuevas Miradas, organized by the Eictv Production Department has held its presentations at the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema for bringing new projects to the attention of international professionals.
Also in the late 1980s, Cuba created the Third World Film School to train students from various third world countries in the art of filmmaking.
Film Funding
Icaic has been the only body to fund films. How the selection of what films would receive funding has never been a public matter.
There are no instruments for private companies or individuals to contribute to film production in Cuba yet. There are however, international funds that may help finance films, such as Hubert Bals Fund from The Netherlands, World Cinema Fund from Germany, Fonds Sud from France, the Norwegian Fund, Sor Fond, Acp, etc. The best actively kept lists are found in Ocal[viii] and Online Film Financing [ix].
Coproduction with Cuba
As early as 1948 coproductions were common between Cuba and México. During the 70s and 80s Russian coproductions included Mikhail Kalatozov’s classic 1964 film “I Am Cuba” (“Soy Cuba”). Spain has played a role in coproducing Latin American and Cuban films since the 30s but in the 1990s it began to invest more heavily. In 1997 Ibermedia was created for the purpose of promoting coproduction between Spain and Latin American countries. Cuba is one of the fourteen countries involved in this organization.
In addition, Cuba has bilateral coproduction treaties with Italy, Canada, Venezuela, Spain and Chile. So far nothing has resulted from the Chile accord.
Two examples of Cuban coproduced films are Humberto Solás’ 1982 film “Cecilia” (Cuba - Spain) and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío’s 1992 Academy Award-nominated “Strawberry and Chocolate” (“Fresa y chocolate”) (Cuba – México – Spain - U.S.).
In September 2013 at San Sebastian International Film Festival’s 2nd Europe-Latin America Coproduction Forum, “The Companion”/ "El Acompañante" won the Best Project Award sponsored by Spain’s Audiovisual Producers’ Rights Management Association Egeda and carrying a 10,000 Euros (Us$13,000) cash award.
This is the third feature of Giroud after “The Silly Age” and “Omerta”. It is a coproduction of Cuba, Venezuela’s NativaPro Cinematográfica and France’s Tu Vas Voir owned by Edgard Tenembaum who produced Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries”. The film also obtained the collaboration of Programa Ibermedia and was selected for Cinemas du Monde.
Pavel Giroud is one of the most promising of young Cuban filmmakers today. “The Companion”/ "El Acompañante" is set in 1988 Havana and tells the story of the friendship which develops between Horacio Romero, a Cuban boxer who fails a drug test and a defiant patient at an AIDS center under military rule for whom Romero must serve as a warden or, in Cuban government parlance, a “companion”. Playing the role of Horacio is Yotuel Romero (Latin Grammy Award-winning and founding member of Cuban rap group Orishas). Orishas is one of the world’s most critically hailed Latin-urban artists. The co-protagonist is Cuban actor Armando Miguel Gómez who has received international recognition for his role in the recent films "Behavior”/ “Conducta" and “Melaza”. International sales are handled by the Brazil-based international sales agency, Habanero, which, coincidently is owned by Cuban Alfredo Calvino and Brazilian Patricial Martin who handle such outstanding films as “Juan on the Dead”, Carlos Lechuga’s “Melaza”, Sebastian Cordero’s “Pescador” and Francisco Franco’s “Last Call”. Habanero also sponsors distribution awards at Ficg and Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte, a showcase for pictures in post-production. All the updated information about these films, including festivals and awards is available at: www.habanerofilmsales.com.
Case Study of the Producer, Inti Hererra
Cuba’s first English language film, “Eating the Sun”, a coproduction with Canada, is being produced by Inti Herrera who also is heading the new night spot of avant garde popular entertainment, La Fabrica de Arte Cubano.
Inti Herrera, formerly of 5ta Avenida Productions and I first met in 2003 through the international sales agent Alfredo Calvino whose then-company Latinofusion was selling Inti’s first fiction feature, “Viva Cuba”, a road movie of two kids traveling across Cuba in search of one’s father.
Inti graduated Eictv and worked for a long time as an independent producer of documentaries.
In 2009, when Camilo Vives, Icaic’s head of production created the Industry Sector of the Havana Film Festival Inti became its director and managed it until 2010. In 2010 when he was still running the industry space he invited me to speak about New Media, and I spoke of Peter Broderick who was then invited to do a workshop at Eictv.
As an executive producer, Inti must raise financing from the development through the completion of film projects. Each project is of course different from the last. He and Alejandro Brugués were originally discussing working on a different sort of film, “Melaza”, but put it on hold and in 2010 and 2011 he worked instead on the commercial film, “Juan of the Dead”, which is the most exhibited film of Cuba.
“Juan of the Dead”, Cuba’s first truly independent movie, a zombie horror comedy was coproduced in 2011 by Spain's La Zanfoña Producciones, where it was post-produced, and Cuba's first independent production company Producciones de la 5ta Avenida which also produced “Personal Belongings” in 2006 and “Melaza” in 2012. The film was written and directed by Alejandro Brugués (“Personal Belongings”). It was executive produced by Inti Herrera, Claudia Calviño and Gervasio Iglesias.
The film was represented for international sales by Latinofusion, a Guadalajara based company sponsored by Universidad de Guadalajara and managed by Alfredo Calvino. It was shown in more than 50 festivals worldwide, winning 10 audience awards and the Spanish Film Academy’s Goya Award of the for best Iberoamerican film. It sold to 42 territories.
“Juan of the Dead” distributors:
Argentina (Condor/ Mirada), Bolivia (Londra Films P&D), Brazil (Imovision), Canada (A-z Films), Chile (Arcadia Films), Germany (Pandastorm Pictures), Hong Kong and Macau (Sundream Motion Pictures), Hungary (Ads Service), Italy ( Moviemax Media Group Spa), Japan (Fine Films), Latin American Pay TV (HBO Latin America), México and Central America (Canana), Netherlands (Filmfreak), Norway (Tromso International Film Festival), Puerto Rico (Wiesner), Russia and Cis territories (Cinema Prestige), Spain (Avalon), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), U.K and Ireland (Metrodome), U.S.(Theatrical Distributor Outsider Pictures, all other rights Focus World)
Today Inti is working with a new director, Alfredo Ureta on the Canadian coproduction and the first Cuban film in English. “Eating the Sun” is about a Canadian-Cuban couple who decides to live in Cuba. Before settling in they make a tour of the country and become involved in a psychological thriller. The Canadian producer is Gordon Weiske of Canwood Entertainment. They are discussing the male lead role with Kris Holden-Ried. The goal is to find new markets for this film, markets which Cuba has not targeted before.
Top 10 Films of Cuba is a selection of my own:
1. “Memorias del subdesarrollo” (“Memories of Underdevelopment”) (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968)
2. “Lucia” (Humberto Solás, 1969)
3. “Vampiros en La Habana” (“Vampires in Havana”) (Juan Padrón, 1983)
4. “Soy Cuba” (“I am Cuba”) ( Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964)
5. “La bella del Alhambra” (“The beauty of the Alhambra”) (Enrique Pineda Barnet, 1989)
6. “Fresa y Chocolate” (“Strawberry and Chocolate”) (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, 1993)
7. “Lista de Espera” (“The waiting list”) (Juan Carlos Tabío, 2000)
8. “Havana Suite” (“Suite Havana”) (Fernando Pérez, 2003)
9. “Juan of the Dead” (Alejandro Brugués, 2011)
10. “Melaza” (Carlos Lechuga, 2013)
[1] http://www.oncubamagazine.com/magazine/for-independent-and-industrial-cuban-cinema/
Cubacine. El Portal del Cine Cubano. http://www.cubacine.cu/index.html.
[ii] http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=99785#sthash.yCWbyCcU.dpuf
[iii] http://oncubamagazine.com/magazine-articles/for-independent-and-industrial-cuban-cinema/ Cubacine. El Portal del Cine Cubano. http://www.cubacine.cu/index.html.
[iv] http://www.cubarte.cult.cu/periodico/opinion/cineastas-cubanos-por-el-cine-cubano/24423.html
[v] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/direct.aspx?cod=1234
[vi] www.festivalcinepobre.org , www.cubacine.cu/cinepobre
[vii] www.cubacine.cu/festivalsantiagoalvarez/index.html
[viii] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/directorios.aspx?cod=8&par=2
[ix] www.olffi.com/...
- 11/19/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Special Mention: Misery
Directed by Rob Reiner
Screenplay by William Goldman
1990, USA
Genre: Thriller
Elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, Misery remains one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date. Director Rob Reiner is clearly more interested in the dark humour and humanity than the gory detail in King’s novel, but make no mistake about it, Misery is a tough watch soaked in sharp dialogue, a brooding atmosphere, and disturbing bodily harm inflicted on James Caan by sweet old Kathy Bates. I can still feel his pain.
129. Black Sabbath (Three Faces of Fear)
Mario Bava and Salvatore Billitteri
Written by Ennio De Concini and Mario Serandrei
Italy 1960 / Italy 1963
Genre: Horror Anthology
Not to be confused with Black Sunday, Black Sabbath is a horror anthology composed of three atmospheric tales. “The Drop of Water” concerns a nurse who steals a ring off a corpse, only...
Directed by Rob Reiner
Screenplay by William Goldman
1990, USA
Genre: Thriller
Elevated by standout performances from James Caan and Kathy Bates, Misery remains one of the best Stephen King adaptations to date. Director Rob Reiner is clearly more interested in the dark humour and humanity than the gory detail in King’s novel, but make no mistake about it, Misery is a tough watch soaked in sharp dialogue, a brooding atmosphere, and disturbing bodily harm inflicted on James Caan by sweet old Kathy Bates. I can still feel his pain.
129. Black Sabbath (Three Faces of Fear)
Mario Bava and Salvatore Billitteri
Written by Ennio De Concini and Mario Serandrei
Italy 1960 / Italy 1963
Genre: Horror Anthology
Not to be confused with Black Sunday, Black Sabbath is a horror anthology composed of three atmospheric tales. “The Drop of Water” concerns a nurse who steals a ring off a corpse, only...
- 10/17/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "your own worst enemy", supernatural thriller When Animals Dream hits theaters on August 28th. Also: release details on the vinyl soundtrack from George A. Romero's Martin and a Hellboy emoji keyboard.
When Animals Dream: Originally called Når Dyrene Drømmer, Danish horror film When Animals Dream was directed by Jonas Alexander Arnby and written by Rasmus Birch.
"Directed by: Jonas Alexander Arnby.
Starring: Sonia Suhl, Lars Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter, Jakob Oftebro, Stig Hoffmeyer, Mads Rissom, Esben Dalgaard Andersen, Gustav Dyekjær Giese, Benjamin Boe Rasmussen, and Tina Gylling Mortensen
In theaters and On Demand from RADiUS August 28th.
Synopsis: A teenage girl's sexual awakening unleashes something primal within, revealing a dark family secret. On the run and in mortal danger, embracing a century’s old curse will be her only way to survive.
MPAA Rating: R. Runtime: 85 min."
---------
George A. Romero's Martin...
When Animals Dream: Originally called Når Dyrene Drømmer, Danish horror film When Animals Dream was directed by Jonas Alexander Arnby and written by Rasmus Birch.
"Directed by: Jonas Alexander Arnby.
Starring: Sonia Suhl, Lars Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter, Jakob Oftebro, Stig Hoffmeyer, Mads Rissom, Esben Dalgaard Andersen, Gustav Dyekjær Giese, Benjamin Boe Rasmussen, and Tina Gylling Mortensen
In theaters and On Demand from RADiUS August 28th.
Synopsis: A teenage girl's sexual awakening unleashes something primal within, revealing a dark family secret. On the run and in mortal danger, embracing a century’s old curse will be her only way to survive.
MPAA Rating: R. Runtime: 85 min."
---------
George A. Romero's Martin...
- 7/16/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Cinema’s Hidden Pearls – Part I
By Alex Simon
One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.
Here are a few of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:
1. Night Moves (1975)
Director Arthur Penn hit three home runs in a row with the trifecta of Bonnie & Clyde, Alice’s Restaurant and Little Big Man,...
By Alex Simon
One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.
Here are a few of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:
1. Night Moves (1975)
Director Arthur Penn hit three home runs in a row with the trifecta of Bonnie & Clyde, Alice’s Restaurant and Little Big Man,...
- 6/28/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Stars: Tom Sizemore, B.J. Hendricks, Ian Hutton, Madeline Merritt, Eli Jane, Matt Mercer, Ace Marrero, Hannah Dawson, Lucy Dawson, Elina Loukas, Val Mulligan, L. Stephen Phelan | Written by James Cullen Bressack, Jd Fairman, Michael Sean Gomez | Directed by Cameron Romero
Filmmaker baggage doesn’t come much heavier than having a world famous dad in the business. As horror names go, George A. Romero is about as big as they get, being director of the iconic Night of the Living Dead, Dawn and Day of the Dead, plus underrated gems like Monkey Shines, Martin and Land of the Dead too. Son of the great man, director Cameron Romero attempts to step out of his shadow with Auteur, a found footage film-about-a-film in which an aspiring documentary maker attempts to track down an elusive, now-missing horror director.
It’s a more promising concept than Romero Jr.’s clichéd, forgettable Staunton Hill – done well,...
Filmmaker baggage doesn’t come much heavier than having a world famous dad in the business. As horror names go, George A. Romero is about as big as they get, being director of the iconic Night of the Living Dead, Dawn and Day of the Dead, plus underrated gems like Monkey Shines, Martin and Land of the Dead too. Son of the great man, director Cameron Romero attempts to step out of his shadow with Auteur, a found footage film-about-a-film in which an aspiring documentary maker attempts to track down an elusive, now-missing horror director.
It’s a more promising concept than Romero Jr.’s clichéd, forgettable Staunton Hill – done well,...
- 2/14/2015
- by Joel Harley
- Nerdly
Though he’s most well-known for revolutionizing the zombie genre with 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero also filmed a unique take on vampires with 1977’s Martin. Following the titular character’s vampire-like serial killer streak in Pittsburgh, the movie features a memorable soundtrack that’s now being released on a limited edition vinyl with new artwork and liner notes:
Press Release - “February 2nd 2015, NYC, NY – Ship to Shore PhonoCo. announced today that the score from George A. Romero’s Martin, once named “one of the top 100 coolest soundtracks of all time” by Mojo Magazine, will be available on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1978.
“Donald Rubinstein contributes a haunting, melancholy score punctuated with sudden, passionate riffs. It is the perfect accompaniment to this tale of lost souls in a barren, nearly post-apocalyptic environment.” – Roy Frumkes, producer of Street Trash and director of Document of the Dead.
Press Release - “February 2nd 2015, NYC, NY – Ship to Shore PhonoCo. announced today that the score from George A. Romero’s Martin, once named “one of the top 100 coolest soundtracks of all time” by Mojo Magazine, will be available on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1978.
“Donald Rubinstein contributes a haunting, melancholy score punctuated with sudden, passionate riffs. It is the perfect accompaniment to this tale of lost souls in a barren, nearly post-apocalyptic environment.” – Roy Frumkes, producer of Street Trash and director of Document of the Dead.
- 2/2/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a new poster from Psychophonia, casting and production details from Tales of Halloween, a trailer for The Sugar Skull Girls, and more:
Psychophonia First Details and Poster: “Lony Ruhmann, Blanc/Biehn Productions and Give & Take Productions have announced the new thriller Psychophonia. With a story from Lony Ruhmann and screenplay by Nicholl Fellowship winner Barbara Stepansky, the new film will be helmed by Brianne Davis, who earlier this year directed The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story.
Psychophonia stars Vedette Lim (Chicago Fire, True Blood) in the lead role of Lilly Tarver. Rounding out the cast; Andrew W. Walker (The Torturer, 2 Bedroom One Bath), Kellee Stewart (Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, The Soul Man) Adam Rose (Up In The Air, The Bounty Hunter), Daniel Quinn (Fetish Factory, Wrong Cops...
Psychophonia First Details and Poster: “Lony Ruhmann, Blanc/Biehn Productions and Give & Take Productions have announced the new thriller Psychophonia. With a story from Lony Ruhmann and screenplay by Nicholl Fellowship winner Barbara Stepansky, the new film will be helmed by Brianne Davis, who earlier this year directed The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story.
Psychophonia stars Vedette Lim (Chicago Fire, True Blood) in the lead role of Lilly Tarver. Rounding out the cast; Andrew W. Walker (The Torturer, 2 Bedroom One Bath), Kellee Stewart (Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, The Soul Man) Adam Rose (Up In The Air, The Bounty Hunter), Daniel Quinn (Fetish Factory, Wrong Cops...
- 12/7/2014
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
The First sneak peak trailer at Potent Media’s up coming Kids/Horror series The Sugar Skull Girls. The Sugar Skull Girls has a who’s who of horror with Leslie Easterbrook (The Devil’s Rejects), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), John Amplas (Day of the Dead, Martin) Addy Miller (The Walking Dead) and Carmela Hayslett (Apocalypse Kiss).
Potent Media writer/director pushes the cheesy fun with this tongue in cheek homage to 80’s kids movies like Gremlins, Hocus … Continue reading →
Horrornews.net...
Potent Media writer/director pushes the cheesy fun with this tongue in cheek homage to 80’s kids movies like Gremlins, Hocus … Continue reading →
Horrornews.net...
- 12/3/2014
- by Horrornews.net
- Horror News
Treehouse screens Sunday November 16th at 8:30pm at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Boulevard) as part of The St. Louis International Film Festival. Tickets can be purchased Here
Britsih-born director Michael Bartlett made a name for himself in horror circles with The Zombie Diaries, its sequel, The Zombie Diaries 2. and The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill. His latest shocker is Treehouse. When a young girl and her little brother are the latest to go missing without a trace, their hometown imposes a curfew, and no one is allowed to go out after dark. But two brothers break the rules, and when they unwittingly stumble across an old treehouse deep in the woods, they find themselves in the middle of an unimaginable nightmare. Inside the treehouse, the brothers discover the missing girl, terrified and hiding, but her brother has vanished. Together, the trio will soon face a fight for survival against an unexpected and bone-chilling evil.
Britsih-born director Michael Bartlett made a name for himself in horror circles with The Zombie Diaries, its sequel, The Zombie Diaries 2. and The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill. His latest shocker is Treehouse. When a young girl and her little brother are the latest to go missing without a trace, their hometown imposes a curfew, and no one is allowed to go out after dark. But two brothers break the rules, and when they unwittingly stumble across an old treehouse deep in the woods, they find themselves in the middle of an unimaginable nightmare. Inside the treehouse, the brothers discover the missing girl, terrified and hiding, but her brother has vanished. Together, the trio will soon face a fight for survival against an unexpected and bone-chilling evil.
- 11/14/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Top 100 horror movies of all time: Chicago Film Critics' choices (photo: Sigourney Weaver and Alien creature show us that life is less horrific if you don't hold grudges) See previous post: A look at the Chicago Film Critics Association's Scariest Movies Ever Made. Below is the list of the Chicago Film Critics's Top 100 Horror Movies of All Time, including their directors and key cast members. Note: this list was first published in October 2006. (See also: Fay Wray, Lee Patrick, and Mary Philbin among the "Top Ten Scream Queens.") 1. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock; with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. 2. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin; with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow (and the voice of Mercedes McCambridge). 3. Halloween (1978) John Carpenter; with Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Tony Moran. 4. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott; with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. 5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero; with Marilyn Eastman,...
- 10/31/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Scariest movies ever made: The top 100 horror films according to the Chicago Film Critics (photo: Janet Leigh, John Gavin and Vera Miles in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho') I tend to ignore lists featuring the Top 100 Movies (or Top 10 Movies or Top 20 Movies, etc.), no matter the category or criteria, because these lists are almost invariably compiled by people who know little about films beyond mainstream Hollywood stuff released in the last decade or two. But the Chicago Film Critics Association's list of the 100 Scariest Movies Ever Made, which came out in October 2006, does include several oldies — e.g., James Whale's Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein — in addition to, gasp, a handful of non-American horror films such as Dario Argento's Suspiria, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, and F.W. Murnau's brilliant Dracula rip-off Nosferatu. (Check out the full list of the Chicago Film Critics' top 100 horror movies of all time.
- 10/31/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The 1988 Dutch thriller The Vanishing hit Blu-ray this week, thanks to the good folks at Criterion. Without a drop of gore, it’s the perfect centerpiece for an All Saints’ Eve frightfest that shivers the soul but doesn’t turn the stomach. And why not round out that scare-a-thon with four more examples of great, relatively bloodless movies that go for your soul instead of your jugular? Here's a list of suggestions. (And if you're looking for more traditional horror flicks, consider perusing our carefully-curated Horror Quintessentials lists.) The Vanishing (1988) The horror genre tends to be about as subtle as...
- 10/30/2014
- by Keith Staskiewicz
- EW - Inside Movies
Dracula Untold bites the UK box office this week, but are we reaching vampire overload, James wonders...
Drac is back (in, erm, black, but we're not going to crank AC/DC because it's cliché, it's anachronistic in this medieval setting and it might be mistaken as a reference to Iron Man). If you go to your local cinema this weekend you can see Dracula Untold which has Luke Evans vamping it up as the latest incarnation of the most infamous bloodsucker in cultural history.
Once the movie has been seen the title should be changed to 'Dracula Told' because then it won't be a story 'Untold' but, ah, I digress. The important thing to know is that audiences are going to get to enjoy a new movie expanding the Dracula mythos and this one has a lot to offer cinemagoers getting into the horror mindset in the Halloween month.
We're...
Drac is back (in, erm, black, but we're not going to crank AC/DC because it's cliché, it's anachronistic in this medieval setting and it might be mistaken as a reference to Iron Man). If you go to your local cinema this weekend you can see Dracula Untold which has Luke Evans vamping it up as the latest incarnation of the most infamous bloodsucker in cultural history.
Once the movie has been seen the title should be changed to 'Dracula Told' because then it won't be a story 'Untold' but, ah, I digress. The important thing to know is that audiences are going to get to enjoy a new movie expanding the Dracula mythos and this one has a lot to offer cinemagoers getting into the horror mindset in the Halloween month.
We're...
- 10/2/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
For at least the past few years, we have covered the Toronto After Dark Film Festival annually. Jeff Konopka attends the festival every year, and he usually brings some really good coverage back with him. I am always jealous when he’s there, because I’m listening to the footage that he has recorded, hanging out in a crowded bar talking with filmmakers, as well as other journalists attending the event. It sounds like a lot of fund, and I’d love to make the trip one year. Some of my favorite recent films were shown at Toronto After Dark. Cheap Thrills, Motivational Growth, The Machine, We Are What We Are, Resolution, The Battery, one of my all-time favorite films, Some Guy Who Kills People, and much, much more. Recently, the first 10 films for the 2014 festival were announced, and among them were some highly anticipated films. I will list them all below,...
- 10/1/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
Before reading any further, please understand that you’re following a reviewer who gave Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters a positive review – not glowing, but still a fresh tomato. Why do I admit to such blasphemy? Because that’s how much I respect Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, so now when I start gushing about Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead, you’ll have the proper background.
With that said, Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead is too much zombie-killin’ fun for one horror movie. I walked away from Dead Snow admiring Wirkola’s ability to marry genre lovin’ with a serious, graphically visual bite, and his goose-stepping sequel ups the ante in almost every way. Besides showing a twisted obsession with ripping out character’s intestines, Wirkola doesn’t hold anything back as far as “safety” may be concerned. If you thought Nazis were evil enough, these Nazi Zombies show the mercy of Adolf Hitler,...
With that said, Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead is too much zombie-killin’ fun for one horror movie. I walked away from Dead Snow admiring Wirkola’s ability to marry genre lovin’ with a serious, graphically visual bite, and his goose-stepping sequel ups the ante in almost every way. Besides showing a twisted obsession with ripping out character’s intestines, Wirkola doesn’t hold anything back as far as “safety” may be concerned. If you thought Nazis were evil enough, these Nazi Zombies show the mercy of Adolf Hitler,...
- 8/28/2014
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
With his 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, horror director George A. Romero effectively re-invented not merely the zombie mythos but the horror genre as we know it today. Since that movie came out, zombies have become ubiquitous in pop culture, seeing a resurgence in the past decade with the smash TV hit The Walking Dead along with not only self-aware “zom coms” like Shaun of the Dead and World War Z, but also Romero's own work. Read on to learn more about his indelible contribution to the horror genre.
Night of the Living Dead is largely considered one of the most frightening films of all time. Made with just $114,000, it went on to gross more than $30 million worldwide, becoming a bonafide classic that is preserved in the National Film Registry, and it’s been imitated countless times. Beyond its introduction of the concept of “modern zombies” (though the film...
Night of the Living Dead is largely considered one of the most frightening films of all time. Made with just $114,000, it went on to gross more than $30 million worldwide, becoming a bonafide classic that is preserved in the National Film Registry, and it’s been imitated countless times. Beyond its introduction of the concept of “modern zombies” (though the film...
- 8/18/2014
- Shadowlocked
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.