The experience of Jewish people in Germany after the Holocaust is the backdrop for the latest feature from director Sam Garbarski (Irina Palm).
Bye Bye Germany stars Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run, Woman in Gold) as David, a Jewish Holocaust survivor who starts up a linen business with other former concentration camp inmates, exploiting the guilt of their German customers to raise money to emigrate to America.
But U.S. officer Sara Simon (Antje Traue) is asking uncomfortable questions about David's wartime past, even suggesting he may have been a Nazi collaborator.
Bye Bye Germany will have its world premiere as a...
Bye Bye Germany stars Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run, Woman in Gold) as David, a Jewish Holocaust survivor who starts up a linen business with other former concentration camp inmates, exploiting the guilt of their German customers to raise money to emigrate to America.
But U.S. officer Sara Simon (Antje Traue) is asking uncomfortable questions about David's wartime past, even suggesting he may have been a Nazi collaborator.
Bye Bye Germany will have its world premiere as a...
- 2/3/2017
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After an initial line-up that included Aki Kaurismäki‘s The Other Side of Hope, Oren Moverman‘s Richard Gere-led The Dinner, Sally Potter‘s The Party, and Agnieszka Holland‘s Spoor, the Berlin International Film Festival have added more anticipated premieres. Highlights include one of two (maybe three) new Hong Sang-soo films this year, On the Beach at Night Alone, along with Volker Schlöndorff‘s Return to Montauk with Stellan Skarsgård and Nina Hoss, as well as the high-profile world premiere of James Mangold‘s Logan and the international premiere of Danny Boyle‘s T2: Trainspotting.
With Paul Verhoeven serving as jury president for the 67th edition of the festival, check out the new additions below.
Competition
Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone)
South Korea
By Hong Sangsoo (Nobody’s Daughter Haewon, Right Now, Wrong Then)
With Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Jung Jaeyoung, Moon Sungkeun,...
With Paul Verhoeven serving as jury president for the 67th edition of the festival, check out the new additions below.
Competition
Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone)
South Korea
By Hong Sangsoo (Nobody’s Daughter Haewon, Right Now, Wrong Then)
With Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Jung Jaeyoung, Moon Sungkeun,...
- 1/10/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Irish famine drama also stars Stephen Rea, Freddie Fox.
Production has commenced on Irish famine drama Black 47 starring Hugo Weaving (Hacksaw Ridge) and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent (Iris).
The eight-week shoot will take place in Connemara, Kildara and Wicklow.
Black 47 is directed by Lance Daly, whose previous films include Life’s A Breeze and Kisses. Daly teamed with Pj Dillon (Rewind), Pierce Ryan (Standby) and Eugene O’Brien (The Flag) to write the screenplay.
Set in Ireland during the Great Famine, the drama follows an Irish Ranger named Feeney, who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, as he abandons his post to reunite with his family. Despite experiencing the horrors of war, Feeney is shocked by the famine’s destruction of his homeland and the brutalisation of his people and his family.
When Feeney sets on a destructive path to avenge his kin, an ageing British soldier is sent to stop him before...
Production has commenced on Irish famine drama Black 47 starring Hugo Weaving (Hacksaw Ridge) and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent (Iris).
The eight-week shoot will take place in Connemara, Kildara and Wicklow.
Black 47 is directed by Lance Daly, whose previous films include Life’s A Breeze and Kisses. Daly teamed with Pj Dillon (Rewind), Pierce Ryan (Standby) and Eugene O’Brien (The Flag) to write the screenplay.
Set in Ireland during the Great Famine, the drama follows an Irish Ranger named Feeney, who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, as he abandons his post to reunite with his family. Despite experiencing the horrors of war, Feeney is shocked by the famine’s destruction of his homeland and the brutalisation of his people and his family.
When Feeney sets on a destructive path to avenge his kin, an ageing British soldier is sent to stop him before...
- 11/29/2016
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The Match Factory is working again with Belgian director Sam Garbarski on international sales for his new feature film, starring Moritz Bleibtreu and Alba Rohrwacher.
Described by Garbarski as “a historical comedy, a comedy of life, more moving than humorous because it’s true”, Bye-Bye Germany (working title) reunites with the Cologne-based sales company after their previous collaboration on the Locarno 2013 title Vijay And I.
The film will also see him reunited with German actor Moritz Bleibtreu, the star of Vijay and I, as a Holocaust survivor with a remarkable secret.
The international cast includes Alba Rohrwacher as an Italian Jew with a Harvard degree who hunts down Nazis, Hungarian actor Pal Macsai (‘Terapia’), Anatole Taubmann (Quantum Of Solace), La-based Israeli actor Mark Ivanir (Schindler’s List, ‘Homeland’), the German Film Award-winning Swiss actor Joel Basman (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) and Berlin-based, Turkish-born Tim Seyfi (‘Spiral’).
Adapted by Michel Bergmann from his own novel...
Described by Garbarski as “a historical comedy, a comedy of life, more moving than humorous because it’s true”, Bye-Bye Germany (working title) reunites with the Cologne-based sales company after their previous collaboration on the Locarno 2013 title Vijay And I.
The film will also see him reunited with German actor Moritz Bleibtreu, the star of Vijay and I, as a Holocaust survivor with a remarkable secret.
The international cast includes Alba Rohrwacher as an Italian Jew with a Harvard degree who hunts down Nazis, Hungarian actor Pal Macsai (‘Terapia’), Anatole Taubmann (Quantum Of Solace), La-based Israeli actor Mark Ivanir (Schindler’s List, ‘Homeland’), the German Film Award-winning Swiss actor Joel Basman (We Are Young. We Are Strong.) and Berlin-based, Turkish-born Tim Seyfi (‘Spiral’).
Adapted by Michel Bergmann from his own novel...
- 9/4/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Funds Mdm and Fff Bayern are providing more than $9.4m (€8.6m).
New films by Gore Verbinski, Steve Barron and Margarethe von Trotta are among the projects backed with more than $9.4m (€8.6m) by two German regional funds, Mdm and Fff Bayern, in their latest funding sessions.
Mdm stumped up $437,000 (€400,000) production support for Verbinski’s horror film A Cure For Wellness, which wraps shooting today (July 24) at the Hohenzollern Castle in Baden-Württemberg’s Hechingen, the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern.
The cast for the production by Blind Wink Productions, New Regency and Studio Babelsberg includes Dane deHaan, Mia Goth and Jason Isaacs, and 20th Century Fox is planning a Us theatrical release in September 2016.
A Cure For Wellness is the third major international project co-produced by Studio Babelsberg this year after serving as a partner on Eddie The Eagle, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, and for the fifth season of the Us series Homeland...
New films by Gore Verbinski, Steve Barron and Margarethe von Trotta are among the projects backed with more than $9.4m (€8.6m) by two German regional funds, Mdm and Fff Bayern, in their latest funding sessions.
Mdm stumped up $437,000 (€400,000) production support for Verbinski’s horror film A Cure For Wellness, which wraps shooting today (July 24) at the Hohenzollern Castle in Baden-Württemberg’s Hechingen, the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern.
The cast for the production by Blind Wink Productions, New Regency and Studio Babelsberg includes Dane deHaan, Mia Goth and Jason Isaacs, and 20th Century Fox is planning a Us theatrical release in September 2016.
A Cure For Wellness is the third major international project co-produced by Studio Babelsberg this year after serving as a partner on Eddie The Eagle, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman, and for the fifth season of the Us series Homeland...
- 7/24/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Pioneering woman director Lois Weber socially conscious drama 'Shoes' among Library of Congress' Packard Theater movies (photo: Mary MacLaren in 'Shoes') In February 2015, National Film Registry titles will be showcased at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater – aka the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation – in Culpeper, Virginia. These range from pioneering woman director Lois Weber's socially conscious 1916 drama Shoes to Robert Zemeckis' 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. Another Packard Theater highlight next month is Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent Western The Wild Bunch (1969), starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. Also, Howard Hawks' "anti-High Noon" Western Rio Bravo (1959), toplining John Wayne and Dean Martin. And George Cukor's costly remake of A Star Is Born (1954), featuring Academy Award nominees Judy Garland and James Mason in the old Janet Gaynor and Fredric March roles. There's more: Jeff Bridges delivers a colorful performance in...
- 1/24/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
International co-production and co-production markets around the globe will not be the same now following the news that the internationally respected German producer-distributor Karl Baumgartner has died at the age of 65.
Known affectionately by friends and colleagues alike as ¨Baumi¨, Baumgartner hailed from the South Tyrol, but was ¨ at home¨ in different countries and cultures, working with film-makers on projects located in some of the seemingly most inaccessible or logistically nightmarish parts of the planet.
Hearing him recount the making of Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov’s Luna Papa at one of the countless co-production panels with his tales of the shooting being stopped by floods washing the set away, the outbreak of civil war and being evacuated by the Red Cross floods, one often wondered whether he purposely looked for such challenges.
Not to speak of the challenge of putting such delicate and time-consuming co-production structures together involving tried-and-tested production partners, public funders and broadcasters from across Europe and beyond...
Known affectionately by friends and colleagues alike as ¨Baumi¨, Baumgartner hailed from the South Tyrol, but was ¨ at home¨ in different countries and cultures, working with film-makers on projects located in some of the seemingly most inaccessible or logistically nightmarish parts of the planet.
Hearing him recount the making of Bakhtiar Khudojnazarov’s Luna Papa at one of the countless co-production panels with his tales of the shooting being stopped by floods washing the set away, the outbreak of civil war and being evacuated by the Red Cross floods, one often wondered whether he purposely looked for such challenges.
Not to speak of the challenge of putting such delicate and time-consuming co-production structures together involving tried-and-tested production partners, public funders and broadcasters from across Europe and beyond...
- 3/19/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Beginning in 1986, the Berlin International Film Festival has presented the Berlinale Camera to film personalities or institutions to which it feels particularly indebted and wishes to express its thanks. This year, during the 64th edition of the festival, producer and distributor Karl “Baumi” Baumgartner will be awarded the prestigious Berlinale Camera.
Karl Baumgartner is one of Germany’s leading producers and independent distributors. In his capacity as producer, he has brought world cinema to German audiences expanding their horizons in terms of what cinema from abroad can provide.
In 1982, together with Reinhard Brundig, he launched Pandora Film Distribution and it developed into one of the most important companies in the field of art house cinema. Pandora Film discovered filmmakers such as Andrej Tarkovsky, Jim Jarmusch, Sally Potter, Kim Ki Duk, and Aki Kaurismäki, as well as many others. With Jane Campion’s The Piano in 1993, Karl Baumgartner celebrated his first great success as distributor. It was followed by Emir Kusturica’s Palme d’Or winning Underground (1995), executively produced by Pandora Film.
As a producer, Karl Baumgartner has participated several times in the Berlin International Film Festival – in the Competition with the films Super 8 Stories by Emir Kusturica (out of competition, 2001), My Sweet Home by Filippos Tsitos (2001), Sam Garbarski’s Irina Palm (2007), and Jasmila Žbanić’s Na putu (On the Path, 2010). His most recent contribution to the Berlinale Competition was as co-producer of Kebun binatang (Postcards from the Zoo, 2012) by Edwin and Layla Fourie (2013) by Pia Marais.
The Berlinale Camera will be awarded to Karl Baumgartner at 4.00 pm on February 8, 2014 at the CinemaxX 9. It will be followed by the film Boheemielämää (La vie de bohème, 1992) by Aki Kaurismäki who, together with Festival Director Dieter Kosslick, will give a speech in Karl Baumgartner’s honor.
The Berlinale Camera has been awarded since 1986. Until 2003, it was donated by Berlin-based jeweller David Goldberg. From 2004 through 2013, Georg Hornemann Objects, a Dusseldorf-based atelier, sponsored the trophy, which goldsmith Hornemann redesigned for the Berlinale in 2008: Modelled on a real camera, the Berlinale Camera now has 128 finely crafted components. Many of these silver and titanium parts, such as the swivel head and tripod, are movable.
Karl Baumgartner is one of Germany’s leading producers and independent distributors. In his capacity as producer, he has brought world cinema to German audiences expanding their horizons in terms of what cinema from abroad can provide.
In 1982, together with Reinhard Brundig, he launched Pandora Film Distribution and it developed into one of the most important companies in the field of art house cinema. Pandora Film discovered filmmakers such as Andrej Tarkovsky, Jim Jarmusch, Sally Potter, Kim Ki Duk, and Aki Kaurismäki, as well as many others. With Jane Campion’s The Piano in 1993, Karl Baumgartner celebrated his first great success as distributor. It was followed by Emir Kusturica’s Palme d’Or winning Underground (1995), executively produced by Pandora Film.
As a producer, Karl Baumgartner has participated several times in the Berlin International Film Festival – in the Competition with the films Super 8 Stories by Emir Kusturica (out of competition, 2001), My Sweet Home by Filippos Tsitos (2001), Sam Garbarski’s Irina Palm (2007), and Jasmila Žbanić’s Na putu (On the Path, 2010). His most recent contribution to the Berlinale Competition was as co-producer of Kebun binatang (Postcards from the Zoo, 2012) by Edwin and Layla Fourie (2013) by Pia Marais.
The Berlinale Camera will be awarded to Karl Baumgartner at 4.00 pm on February 8, 2014 at the CinemaxX 9. It will be followed by the film Boheemielämää (La vie de bohème, 1992) by Aki Kaurismäki who, together with Festival Director Dieter Kosslick, will give a speech in Karl Baumgartner’s honor.
The Berlinale Camera has been awarded since 1986. Until 2003, it was donated by Berlin-based jeweller David Goldberg. From 2004 through 2013, Georg Hornemann Objects, a Dusseldorf-based atelier, sponsored the trophy, which goldsmith Hornemann redesigned for the Berlinale in 2008: Modelled on a real camera, the Berlinale Camera now has 128 finely crafted components. Many of these silver and titanium parts, such as the swivel head and tripod, are movable.
- 2/10/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
In more Berlinale news, two new episodes of House of Cards to be shown on festival closing day.
The award will be presented to Baumgartner after laudatory speeches by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick and Aki Kaurismäki on Feb 8 before a screening of Kaurismäki’s 1991 film La Vie de Bohème.
In 1982, Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig founded the distrubution company Pandora Filmverleih in Frankfurt, which became one of the leading players in the world of interational arthouse cinema, discovering such talents as Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurimäki, Sally Potter, Andrei Tarkovsky and Kim Ki Duk.
Pandora’s move into production has seen the company backing films by Emir Kusturica (Underground), Sam Garbarski (Irina Palm), Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre), Sergey Dvorstevoy (Tulpan), Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive), Claire Denis (Bastards), and, most recently, Fatih Akin (The Cut), to mention just a handful.
Apart from Cologne-based Pandora Filmproduktion, Baumgartner is also a partner with Thanassis Karathanos in Pallas Film, which...
The award will be presented to Baumgartner after laudatory speeches by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick and Aki Kaurismäki on Feb 8 before a screening of Kaurismäki’s 1991 film La Vie de Bohème.
In 1982, Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig founded the distrubution company Pandora Filmverleih in Frankfurt, which became one of the leading players in the world of interational arthouse cinema, discovering such talents as Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurimäki, Sally Potter, Andrei Tarkovsky and Kim Ki Duk.
Pandora’s move into production has seen the company backing films by Emir Kusturica (Underground), Sam Garbarski (Irina Palm), Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre), Sergey Dvorstevoy (Tulpan), Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive), Claire Denis (Bastards), and, most recently, Fatih Akin (The Cut), to mention just a handful.
Apart from Cologne-based Pandora Filmproduktion, Baumgartner is also a partner with Thanassis Karathanos in Pallas Film, which...
- 1/28/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
In more Berlinale news, two new episodes of House of Cards to be shown on festival closing day.
The award will be presented to Baumgartner after laudatory speeches by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick and Aki Kaurismäki on Feb 8 before a screening of Kaurismäki’s 1991 film La Vie de Bohème.
In 1982, Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig founded the distrubution company Pandora Filmverleih in Frankfurt, which became one of the leading players in the world of interational arthouse cinema, discovering such talents as Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurimäki, Sally Potter, Andrei Tarkovsky and Kim Ki Duk.
Pandora’s move into production has seen the company backing films by Emir Kusturica (Underground), Sam Garbarski (Irina Palm), Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre), Sergey Dvorstevoy (Tulpan), Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive), Claire Denis (Bastards), and, most recently, Fatih Akin (The Cut), to mention just a handful.
Apart from Cologne-based Pandora Filmproduktion, Baumgartner is also a partner with Thanassis Karathanos in Pallas Film, which...
The award will be presented to Baumgartner after laudatory speeches by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick and Aki Kaurismäki on Feb 8 before a screening of Kaurismäki’s 1991 film La Vie de Bohème.
In 1982, Baumgartner and Reinhard Brundig founded the distrubution company Pandora Filmverleih in Frankfurt, which became one of the leading players in the world of interational arthouse cinema, discovering such talents as Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurimäki, Sally Potter, Andrei Tarkovsky and Kim Ki Duk.
Pandora’s move into production has seen the company backing films by Emir Kusturica (Underground), Sam Garbarski (Irina Palm), Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre), Sergey Dvorstevoy (Tulpan), Jim Jarmusch (Only Lovers Left Alive), Claire Denis (Bastards), and, most recently, Fatih Akin (The Cut), to mention just a handful.
Apart from Cologne-based Pandora Filmproduktion, Baumgartner is also a partner with Thanassis Karathanos in Pallas Film, which...
- 1/28/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Known as Hummingbird on our shores, and Redemption across the Atlantic, the latest movie led by Jason Statham is just a few weeks from heading into cinemas, arriving at the end of this month.
The latest trailer we saw back in the spring suggested that the film will see Statham taking on a slightly darker role. And now a new clip has been released via MSN, giving us a look at Statham’s character, Joey, haunted by his past as he tries to drown his sorrows.
Living on the streets after going on the run from a military court-martial, Joey (Statham) is a damaged ex-special forces soldier trapped in London’s criminal underworld. But when opportunity enables him to assume another man’s identity, he is transformed into an avenging angel.
Statham is joined by Vicky McClure (This Is England, Broadchurch), Agata Buzek (The Reverse), Siobhan Hewlett (Irina Palm), and...
The latest trailer we saw back in the spring suggested that the film will see Statham taking on a slightly darker role. And now a new clip has been released via MSN, giving us a look at Statham’s character, Joey, haunted by his past as he tries to drown his sorrows.
Living on the streets after going on the run from a military court-martial, Joey (Statham) is a damaged ex-special forces soldier trapped in London’s criminal underworld. But when opportunity enables him to assume another man’s identity, he is transformed into an avenging angel.
Statham is joined by Vicky McClure (This Is England, Broadchurch), Agata Buzek (The Reverse), Siobhan Hewlett (Irina Palm), and...
- 6/6/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
If you’ve been looking forward to Jason Statham’s return to British action-thriller territory this year, it looks like you’re going to have a slightly longer wait than expected, with Lionsgate confirming that Hummingbird is now set for release in June.
Steven Knight’s anticipated film was originally to be released on our shores in mid-May, but the studio have released a newly revised trailer and quad poster, confirming that its new release date will be 28th June here in the UK.
Living on the streets after going on the run from a military court-martial, Joey (Statham) is a damaged ex-special forces soldier trapped in London’s criminal underworld. But when opportunity enables him to assume another man’s identity, he is transformed into an avenging angel.
Statham is joined by Vicky McClure (This Is England, Broadchurch), Agata Buzek (The Reverse), Siobhan Hewlett (Irina Palm), and Benedict Wong...
Steven Knight’s anticipated film was originally to be released on our shores in mid-May, but the studio have released a newly revised trailer and quad poster, confirming that its new release date will be 28th June here in the UK.
Living on the streets after going on the run from a military court-martial, Joey (Statham) is a damaged ex-special forces soldier trapped in London’s criminal underworld. But when opportunity enables him to assume another man’s identity, he is transformed into an avenging angel.
Statham is joined by Vicky McClure (This Is England, Broadchurch), Agata Buzek (The Reverse), Siobhan Hewlett (Irina Palm), and Benedict Wong...
- 4/25/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
This Week’s New Instant Releases… Title: Black Heaven (2010)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud, Pauline Etienne, Pierre Niney, Ali Marhyar, Patrick Descamps, Pierre Vittet, Swann Arlaud, Francesco Merenda
Director: Gilles Marchand
Synopsis: While searching for the owner of a missing mobile phone with his girlfriend, Marion (Pauline Etienne), Gaspard (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) falls for the mysterious Sam (Louise Bourgoin), who draws him into a dangerous virtual-reality video game, where she provokes unsuspecting victims into killing themselves. Directed by Gilles Marchand, this intense French drama alternates between real-life events and those within the simulated computer world. Title: Heartless (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy , Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Justin Salinger,...
This Week’s New Instant Releases… Title: Black Heaven (2010)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud, Pauline Etienne, Pierre Niney, Ali Marhyar, Patrick Descamps, Pierre Vittet, Swann Arlaud, Francesco Merenda
Director: Gilles Marchand
Synopsis: While searching for the owner of a missing mobile phone with his girlfriend, Marion (Pauline Etienne), Gaspard (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) falls for the mysterious Sam (Louise Bourgoin), who draws him into a dangerous virtual-reality video game, where she provokes unsuspecting victims into killing themselves. Directed by Gilles Marchand, this intense French drama alternates between real-life events and those within the simulated computer world. Title: Heartless (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/12/2011
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Clémence Poésy , Noel Clarke, Luke Treadaway, Justin Salinger,...
- 4/11/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In the week in which Harry Potter broke five UK box office records, we bring you all the stats, and any other film-related news we can, as relief from wall-to-wall wizardry
The big story
The trouble with Harry is that he's just everywhere. The seventh instalment in the boy wizard's adventures, the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, finally hit cinemas last Friday. By Monday it was clear writers the world over were going to have to dust off that "audiences have fallen under his spell" cliche yet again. So, let's keep this brief: it broke five records this side of the pond, another couple in the States. For more details, try Charles Gant's UK box office analysis and Jeremy Kay's Hollywood report. And if you want to discuss whether or not it revives the sequel as a format, check out David Cox's blog. Last Friday, too, James Russell wrote a...
The big story
The trouble with Harry is that he's just everywhere. The seventh instalment in the boy wizard's adventures, the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, finally hit cinemas last Friday. By Monday it was clear writers the world over were going to have to dust off that "audiences have fallen under his spell" cliche yet again. So, let's keep this brief: it broke five records this side of the pond, another couple in the States. For more details, try Charles Gant's UK box office analysis and Jeremy Kay's Hollywood report. And if you want to discuss whether or not it revives the sequel as a format, check out David Cox's blog. Last Friday, too, James Russell wrote a...
- 11/26/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Berlin -- Diana Elbaum and Jani Thiltges -- veteran producers from two of Europe's tiniest countries -- are the joint winners of this year's Prix Eurimages.
The prize, now in its third year, honors excellence in European co-production and takes its name from the European Council's Euroimages co-production subsidy fund.
Through her Entre Chein et Loup production house in Belgium Elbaum has co-produced European art house fare ranging from Marina de Van's psychodrama "Don't Look Back" starring Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci to the Pierre Paul Renders' comedy "Mr. Average" (2006) to the period drama "Saint-Cyr" (2000) featuring Isabelle Huppert. From his base in Luxembourg, Thiltges and his Samsa Film operation have delivered some 40 features, among them Ben Sombogaart's Oscar-nominee "Twin Sisters" (2002) and action comedy "Jcvd" starring Mr. Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Elbaum and Thiltges also helped form, together with Patrick Quinet, Sebastien Delloye and Claude Waringo,...
The prize, now in its third year, honors excellence in European co-production and takes its name from the European Council's Euroimages co-production subsidy fund.
Through her Entre Chein et Loup production house in Belgium Elbaum has co-produced European art house fare ranging from Marina de Van's psychodrama "Don't Look Back" starring Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci to the Pierre Paul Renders' comedy "Mr. Average" (2006) to the period drama "Saint-Cyr" (2000) featuring Isabelle Huppert. From his base in Luxembourg, Thiltges and his Samsa Film operation have delivered some 40 features, among them Ben Sombogaart's Oscar-nominee "Twin Sisters" (2002) and action comedy "Jcvd" starring Mr. Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Elbaum and Thiltges also helped form, together with Patrick Quinet, Sebastien Delloye and Claude Waringo,...
- 10/19/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Daratt (top); Kevin Bishop, Siobhan Hewlett, Marianne Faithfull in Irina Palm (middle); Nadja Uhl, Thekla Reuten in Twin Sisters (bottom) The European Film Academy has announced that the winners of the 2009 Prix Eurimages, an award "acknowledging the decisive role of co-productions in the European film industry," will go to two producers "who have combined their efforts to develop and promote European cinema": Diana Elbaum and Jani Thiltges, heads of, respectively, Entre Chien et Loup in Belgium and Samsa Film in Luxemburg. Additionally, they have joined forces with Patrick Quinet, Sébastien Delloye and Claude Waringo to create Liaison Cinématographique, a production company based in Paris. Under [...]...
- 10/19/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Eastern European Distributors at the San Sebastian Film Festival
The European Film Promotion (EFP) and the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 18-27) launched a new promotion initiative entitled "European Distributors: Up Next".
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
- 10/11/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
In the 9/21 edition of The NY Times Magazine, Randy Cohen, a.k.a. “The Ethicist,” responding to a writer inquiring about the morality of a professor patronizing a strip club, offered this little admonishment, “Nobody should attend strip clubs, those purveyors of sexism as entertainment. Strip shows are to gender what minstrel shows are to race. But while I endorse your conclusion about these sad displays…” To which I respond, Oh, brother. (Yes, who better an expert on female strippers than a gay guy who pens a column for The Grey Lady?) Between this sweeping, condescending – not to mention unethical – judgment of “gentlemen’s clubs,” and the latest crackdown on NYC’s houses of domination (which sent the NY Post into a “slap-happy” tizzy) I ...
- 10/1/2008
- by Lauren Wissot
- Spout
- The 2007 AFI Fest ended with the screening of Love in the Time of Cholera and the announcement of this year's winners with the politically correct choice of Munyurangabo, an uneven drama set in Rwanda by a Korean-American director was a surprise given the strong line up this year. The tie between Operation Filmmaker and Afghan Muscles was justified, both were evocative and timely, dealing with an Iraqi film student and the other about Afghan body builders. Winners pictured above are: From left to Right: Jenny Lund (Munyurangabo), Nash Edgerton (Spider), Lauren Greenfield (Kids + Money), Jeffrey Schwarz (Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story), Andreas Mol Dalsgaard (Afghan Muscles), Micheal Addis (Heckler). The line up was one of the strongest in years including many films from Cannes (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Persepolis, Silent Light, Jellyfish, Caramel, Secret Sunshine and others) and Berlin (Irina Palm, The
- 11/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
European Film Academy unveils noms
COLOGNE, Germany -- Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or-winning abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Paul Verhoeven's WWII thriller Black Book and Sam Garbarski's dark comedy Irina Palm are among the titles the European Film Academy has selected in its initial list of nominees for this year's European Film Prize.
The 1,800 members of the EFA will use the list of 42 films to select the official nominees in seven main categories. The nominations will be announced Nov. 3 at the Sevilla Film Festival.
The 2007 EFA long list is a typical catch-all of the critically acclaimed and/or financially successful European productions of the past year.
Opulent big-budget productions including Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biography La Vie en Rose and Tom Tykwer's literary adaptation Perfume: The Story of a Murderer butt up against art house fare exemplified by Austrian director Ulrich Seidl's Import/Export or The Banishment from Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev.
Unlike in previous years, there is no consensus frontrunner, despite the presence of Oscar winners The Queen and The Last King of Scotland in the nominations list.
And in another departure, no one European country dominates the nominations. No nation, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. -- which produce the bulk of films in Europe -- has more than three films in the nominations list.
Another interesting development is the rise of Central and Eastern Europe. Some of the most talked-about films come from the EU's newest members, including Mungiu's 4 Months, Serbian thriller The Trap by director Srdan Golubovic and Jiri Menzel's Czech-language drama I Served the King of England.
The winners of the 20th annual European Film Awards will be announced Dec. 1 in Berlin.
The 1,800 members of the EFA will use the list of 42 films to select the official nominees in seven main categories. The nominations will be announced Nov. 3 at the Sevilla Film Festival.
The 2007 EFA long list is a typical catch-all of the critically acclaimed and/or financially successful European productions of the past year.
Opulent big-budget productions including Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biography La Vie en Rose and Tom Tykwer's literary adaptation Perfume: The Story of a Murderer butt up against art house fare exemplified by Austrian director Ulrich Seidl's Import/Export or The Banishment from Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev.
Unlike in previous years, there is no consensus frontrunner, despite the presence of Oscar winners The Queen and The Last King of Scotland in the nominations list.
And in another departure, no one European country dominates the nominations. No nation, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. -- which produce the bulk of films in Europe -- has more than three films in the nominations list.
Another interesting development is the rise of Central and Eastern Europe. Some of the most talked-about films come from the EU's newest members, including Mungiu's 4 Months, Serbian thriller The Trap by director Srdan Golubovic and Jiri Menzel's Czech-language drama I Served the King of England.
The winners of the 20th annual European Film Awards will be announced Dec. 1 in Berlin.
- 9/5/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Tuya's Marriage' wins Berlin fest Golden Bear
BERLIN -- Tuya's Marriage, by Chinese director Wang Quan'an, was the surprise winner of this year's Golden Bear for Best Film at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival.
The Golden and Silver Bears were presented Saturday night at a gala ceremony at the Berlinale Palast.
The story of a Mongolian shepherd forced by encroaching industrialization to abandon the steeps for the city, Marriage stars Yu Nan. It was picked from among 22 In Competition films in what most observers called the best Berlinale lineup in years.
Accepting the trophy from jury president Paul Schrader, Wang said he couldn't imagine a better gift for Chinese New Year.
"When I started making films, my teacher said film should show people's dreams." he said. "This film made my dreams come true."
German actress Nina Hoss won the Best Actress Silver Bear for her bravura performance as an East German woman trying to escape unemployment and a violent husband by fleeing to the West in Christian Petzold's well-received Yella.
"I was sure it was going to go to Marianne Faithfull," said a clearly surprised Hoss, referring to the British pop icon who was widely tipped to win for her performance in Irina Palm as a woman who turns to a job in a sex club to pay her grandson's hospital bills.
Another surprise was the Best Actor Silver Bear, which went to Argentina's Julio Chavez for his role in Ariel Rotter's The Other.
Chavez's subdued performance as a man who takes on a new identity after his father dies and his wife becomes pregnant won over this year's jury, which included actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Hiam Abbass and Mario Adorf, producer Nansun Shi and film editor Molly Malene Stensgaard.
Other also won the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix.
The Best Directing Silver Bear went to Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar for his drama Beaufort, about the last Israeli military unit to leave Lebanon in 2000.
American films didn't go home entirely empty-handed, with Robert De Niro's CIA drama The Good Shepherd winning a special Silver Bear for the performance of the film's ensemble, which included De Niro, Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.
The Golden and Silver Bears were presented Saturday night at a gala ceremony at the Berlinale Palast.
The story of a Mongolian shepherd forced by encroaching industrialization to abandon the steeps for the city, Marriage stars Yu Nan. It was picked from among 22 In Competition films in what most observers called the best Berlinale lineup in years.
Accepting the trophy from jury president Paul Schrader, Wang said he couldn't imagine a better gift for Chinese New Year.
"When I started making films, my teacher said film should show people's dreams." he said. "This film made my dreams come true."
German actress Nina Hoss won the Best Actress Silver Bear for her bravura performance as an East German woman trying to escape unemployment and a violent husband by fleeing to the West in Christian Petzold's well-received Yella.
"I was sure it was going to go to Marianne Faithfull," said a clearly surprised Hoss, referring to the British pop icon who was widely tipped to win for her performance in Irina Palm as a woman who turns to a job in a sex club to pay her grandson's hospital bills.
Another surprise was the Best Actor Silver Bear, which went to Argentina's Julio Chavez for his role in Ariel Rotter's The Other.
Chavez's subdued performance as a man who takes on a new identity after his father dies and his wife becomes pregnant won over this year's jury, which included actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Hiam Abbass and Mario Adorf, producer Nansun Shi and film editor Molly Malene Stensgaard.
Other also won the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix.
The Best Directing Silver Bear went to Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar for his drama Beaufort, about the last Israeli military unit to leave Lebanon in 2000.
American films didn't go home entirely empty-handed, with Robert De Niro's CIA drama The Good Shepherd winning a special Silver Bear for the performance of the film's ensemble, which included De Niro, Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.
- 2/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Tuya's Marriage' wins Berlin fest Golden Bear
BERLIN -- Tuya's Marriage, by Chinese director Wang Quan'an is the surprise winner of this year's Golden Bear for best film at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival.
The story of a Mongolian sheepherder forced by encroaching industrialization to abandon the steeps for the city, the film stars Yu Nan. It was picked from among 22 In Competition films in what most observers called the best Berlinale lineup in years.
Accepting the golden statuette from jury president Paul Schrader, Wang Quan'an said he could not imagine a better gift for Chinese New Year.
"When I started making films, my teacher said film should show people's dreams." he said. "This film made my dreams come true."
German actress Nina Hoss won the best actress Silver Bear for her bravura performance as an East German woman trying to escape unemployment and a violent husband by fleeing to the West in Christian Petzold's well-received Yella.
"I was sure it was going to go to Marianne Faithfull," said a clearly surprised Hoss, referring to the British pop icon who was widely tipped to win for her performance in Irina Palm as a woman who turns to a job in a sex club to pay her grandson's hospital bills.
Another surprise was the best actor Silver Bear, which went to Argentina's Julio Chavez for his role in Ariel Rotter's The Other.
Chavez's subdued performance as a man who takes on a new identity after his father dies and his wife becomes pregnant, won over this year's jury which included actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass, Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi, veteran German actor Mario Adorf and Danish film editor Molly Malene Stensgaard.
The Other also won the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix.
The best directing Silver Bear went to Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar for his drama Beaufort, about the last Israeli military unit to leave Lebanon in 2000.
U.S. films didn't go home entirely empty-handed, with Robert DeNiro's CIA drama The Good Shepherd winning a special Silver Bear for the film's ensemble performance, which included DeNiro, Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.
David Mackenzie won a Silver Bear for the use of music in his film Hallam Foe, the story of a young boy investigating the suspicious nature of his mother's death.
The story of a Mongolian sheepherder forced by encroaching industrialization to abandon the steeps for the city, the film stars Yu Nan. It was picked from among 22 In Competition films in what most observers called the best Berlinale lineup in years.
Accepting the golden statuette from jury president Paul Schrader, Wang Quan'an said he could not imagine a better gift for Chinese New Year.
"When I started making films, my teacher said film should show people's dreams." he said. "This film made my dreams come true."
German actress Nina Hoss won the best actress Silver Bear for her bravura performance as an East German woman trying to escape unemployment and a violent husband by fleeing to the West in Christian Petzold's well-received Yella.
"I was sure it was going to go to Marianne Faithfull," said a clearly surprised Hoss, referring to the British pop icon who was widely tipped to win for her performance in Irina Palm as a woman who turns to a job in a sex club to pay her grandson's hospital bills.
Another surprise was the best actor Silver Bear, which went to Argentina's Julio Chavez for his role in Ariel Rotter's The Other.
Chavez's subdued performance as a man who takes on a new identity after his father dies and his wife becomes pregnant, won over this year's jury which included actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass, Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi, veteran German actor Mario Adorf and Danish film editor Molly Malene Stensgaard.
The Other also won the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix.
The best directing Silver Bear went to Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar for his drama Beaufort, about the last Israeli military unit to leave Lebanon in 2000.
U.S. films didn't go home entirely empty-handed, with Robert DeNiro's CIA drama The Good Shepherd winning a special Silver Bear for the film's ensemble performance, which included DeNiro, Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.
David Mackenzie won a Silver Bear for the use of music in his film Hallam Foe, the story of a young boy investigating the suspicious nature of his mother's death.
- 2/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Irina Palm
BERLIN -- Marianne Faithfull is unforgettable as a middle-class, middle-aged frump who takes a job at a sex club in order to raise enough money for her grandson's life-saving operation in Sam Garbarski's crowd-pleasing comedy-drama "Irina Palm".
Cheers and applause erupted following the Berlinale press screening Tuesday, and that reaction should accompany this competition film on the way to awards and audiences everywhere.
Mixing pathos and comedy expertly, with many funny lines, the screenplay by Martin Herron and Philippe Blasband, based on an original script by Blasband, shows a knowing hand in scenes involving stuffy Little England villagers and the cynical operators of the sex business in London's Soho.
The situation is established quickly. Maggie's small grandson Olly (Corey Burke) will die unless he gets to Australia for an operation that's only available in Melbourne. The treatment is free, but it will take £6,000 for Maggie's son Tom Kevin Bishop) and his wife Sarah (Siobhan Hewlett) to get him there.
The boy's parents are broke and Maggie, a widow, already has sold her home to pay for Olly's treatment. Turned down by her bank and employment agencies, Maggie spots a job offer for a hostess in a Soho doorway.
Full of trepidation, she enters a world she has never experienced and of which she has not the slightest knowledge. In a very funny scene, the world-weary Eastern European club owner, Miki (Miki Manojlovic), patiently explains that "hostess" is a euphemism for "whore." He examines her smooth hands and says she could make a lot of money by masturbating men that she wouldn't see as they placed their organs through a hole in the wall.
Outraged, Maggie flees. But seeing once again how distraught her family is, she returns and takes the job. Another sex worker, Luisa (Dorka Gryllus), patiently instructs her in the techniques of the job. "The first time is embarrassing, but after that you'll wank for England," Luisa says.
Miki gives Maggie her own booth and the professional name Irina Palm, and soon men are lining up for her exceptional ministrations. She even decorates her little booth with pictures and knickknacks from home. With the promise of making a lot of money, Maggie decides to keep doing it though she is desperate to make sure no one in her family or her village finds out what she's doing.
That, of course, is where the tension lies as both her son and the prissy members of her bridge foursome become ever more curious about her daily activities in the city. The inevitable revelation and the various reactions to it are hilarious, sad and warming. The only discordant note in the picture is in Tom's behavior when learning of his mother's sacrifice, but it does serve to heighten the response of Sarah and the other women.
The film's guitar score by Ghinzu does much to amplify Maggie's path from obeying conventional mores to casting away worries about what people will think. Garbarski does not shrink from the harsh realities of the sex industry, but he also takes time to develop an unlikely romance between Maggie and Miki.
Manojlovic deserves high praise for his handling of the club owner's reluctant corruption, but it is Faithfull's compassionate and knowing performance that will leave audiences smiling.
IRINA PALM
Entre Chien et Loup, Pyramide International
Credits:
Director: Sam Garbarski
Screenwriters: Martin Herron, Philippe Blasband
Based on an original script by: Philippe Blasband
Producer: Sebastien Delloye
Cinematographer: Christophe Beaucarne
Editor: Ludo Troch
Music: Ghinzu
Production designer: Veronique Sacrez
Costume designer: Anushia Nieradzik
Cast:
Maggie: Marianne Faithfull
Miki: Miki Manojlovic
Tom: Kevin Bishop
Sarah: Siobhan Hewlett
Luisa: Dorka Gryllus
Jane: Jenny Agutter
Olly: Corey Burke
Julia: Meg Wynn-Owen
Beth: Susan Hitch
Edith: Flip Webster
Shopkeeper: Tony O'Brien
Art: Jules Werner
Old Women: Ann Queensberry, June Bailer
Dave: Jonathan Coyne
Franck: Tim Plester
Dunia: Malina Ebert
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Cheers and applause erupted following the Berlinale press screening Tuesday, and that reaction should accompany this competition film on the way to awards and audiences everywhere.
Mixing pathos and comedy expertly, with many funny lines, the screenplay by Martin Herron and Philippe Blasband, based on an original script by Blasband, shows a knowing hand in scenes involving stuffy Little England villagers and the cynical operators of the sex business in London's Soho.
The situation is established quickly. Maggie's small grandson Olly (Corey Burke) will die unless he gets to Australia for an operation that's only available in Melbourne. The treatment is free, but it will take £6,000 for Maggie's son Tom Kevin Bishop) and his wife Sarah (Siobhan Hewlett) to get him there.
The boy's parents are broke and Maggie, a widow, already has sold her home to pay for Olly's treatment. Turned down by her bank and employment agencies, Maggie spots a job offer for a hostess in a Soho doorway.
Full of trepidation, she enters a world she has never experienced and of which she has not the slightest knowledge. In a very funny scene, the world-weary Eastern European club owner, Miki (Miki Manojlovic), patiently explains that "hostess" is a euphemism for "whore." He examines her smooth hands and says she could make a lot of money by masturbating men that she wouldn't see as they placed their organs through a hole in the wall.
Outraged, Maggie flees. But seeing once again how distraught her family is, she returns and takes the job. Another sex worker, Luisa (Dorka Gryllus), patiently instructs her in the techniques of the job. "The first time is embarrassing, but after that you'll wank for England," Luisa says.
Miki gives Maggie her own booth and the professional name Irina Palm, and soon men are lining up for her exceptional ministrations. She even decorates her little booth with pictures and knickknacks from home. With the promise of making a lot of money, Maggie decides to keep doing it though she is desperate to make sure no one in her family or her village finds out what she's doing.
That, of course, is where the tension lies as both her son and the prissy members of her bridge foursome become ever more curious about her daily activities in the city. The inevitable revelation and the various reactions to it are hilarious, sad and warming. The only discordant note in the picture is in Tom's behavior when learning of his mother's sacrifice, but it does serve to heighten the response of Sarah and the other women.
The film's guitar score by Ghinzu does much to amplify Maggie's path from obeying conventional mores to casting away worries about what people will think. Garbarski does not shrink from the harsh realities of the sex industry, but he also takes time to develop an unlikely romance between Maggie and Miki.
Manojlovic deserves high praise for his handling of the club owner's reluctant corruption, but it is Faithfull's compassionate and knowing performance that will leave audiences smiling.
IRINA PALM
Entre Chien et Loup, Pyramide International
Credits:
Director: Sam Garbarski
Screenwriters: Martin Herron, Philippe Blasband
Based on an original script by: Philippe Blasband
Producer: Sebastien Delloye
Cinematographer: Christophe Beaucarne
Editor: Ludo Troch
Music: Ghinzu
Production designer: Veronique Sacrez
Costume designer: Anushia Nieradzik
Cast:
Maggie: Marianne Faithfull
Miki: Miki Manojlovic
Tom: Kevin Bishop
Sarah: Siobhan Hewlett
Luisa: Dorka Gryllus
Jane: Jenny Agutter
Olly: Corey Burke
Julia: Meg Wynn-Owen
Beth: Susan Hitch
Edith: Flip Webster
Shopkeeper: Tony O'Brien
Art: Jules Werner
Old Women: Ann Queensberry, June Bailer
Dave: Jonathan Coyne
Franck: Tim Plester
Dunia: Malina Ebert
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Faithfull Film a Hit at Berlin Film Festival
Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull is stunning movie fans at the Berlin Film Festival in Germany with her portrayal of a grandmother who becomes a London sex worker. Faithfull's starring role in Irina Palm has become the hit of the festival so far. In the movie, the 1960s icon plays a grandma so desperate to raise funds for her sick grandson's medical treatment she signs up to pleasure men through a hole in a wall. Faithfull received a standing ovation at a press screening of the film yesterday. Earlier, at a press conference, she dedicated her performance to friends in the sex industry. She said, "I've had friends who have worked in the sex trade, really good friends, and they're now dead. Our film doesn't glamorize it. We try to make it as real as it possibly could be. It's the sex trade. It's not fun for women."...
- 2/14/2007
- WENN
- 57th Berlin Film FestivalFebruary 8 to 18, 2007Countdown: updateCountdownClock('February 8, 2007'); Berlin, Germany Festival LinkOn February 8 the curtain will rise in Berlinale Palast for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. Throughout the following ten days, the festival will show 373 films on some 50 cinema screens all over the city. At the growing European Film Market, the festival's business fair, more than 700 films will be presented to the industry. International guests, stars on the red carpet, packed theaters, hot debates, and wild parties - the Berlinale will play Berlin like no other event on the calendar does. Yet, it is a festival not only of the masses, but also of the many: of the many who in months of hard work organized the programme and provided the infrastructure, and of the many who are busy behind the scenes to keep the festival buzzing. Of course, it will again be a festival of stars,
- 2/7/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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