Rojek, writer-director Zaynê Akyol’s documentary that attempts to trace the beginning, rise and fall of the Islamic State through the personal stories of its members and their wives incarcerated in prison camps, was selected Thursday by Canada to represent the country in the 2024 Oscar Best International Feature Film race.
A total of 28 films were submitted for consideration, with Rojek emerging today in a vote determined by a pan-Canadian committee of industry organizations and guilds, as well as filmmakers and industry professionals appointed to represent organizations. Telefilm Canada organizes the committee.
Rojek, which features a mix of Arabic, English, French, and Kurdish languages, opened in Canadian theatres on January 20 after making the rounds at festivals including winning a special jury prize at Hot Docs. It is produced by Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre, Sylvain Corbeil, and Akyol of Métafilms. Icarus Films distributes the film in the U.S.
“In what may have been...
A total of 28 films were submitted for consideration, with Rojek emerging today in a vote determined by a pan-Canadian committee of industry organizations and guilds, as well as filmmakers and industry professionals appointed to represent organizations. Telefilm Canada organizes the committee.
Rojek, which features a mix of Arabic, English, French, and Kurdish languages, opened in Canadian theatres on January 20 after making the rounds at festivals including winning a special jury prize at Hot Docs. It is produced by Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre, Sylvain Corbeil, and Akyol of Métafilms. Icarus Films distributes the film in the U.S.
“In what may have been...
- 8/24/2023
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Hybrid doc to open in Canada on September 23.
Jason Loftus’s hybrid documentary Eternal Spring has been selected from a pool of 16 films to represent Canada at the 2023 Oscars.
Lofty Sky Entertainment produced and Sideways Film handles international sales on the film, which marks the 20th anniversary of a hack of Chinese state TV in March 2002 by outlawed Chinese religious group Falun Gong’s
Comic book illustrator Daxiong was a member of Falun Gong and fled the country after the hack triggered police raids. Arriving in North America, his views on the incident changed when he met the sole lone...
Jason Loftus’s hybrid documentary Eternal Spring has been selected from a pool of 16 films to represent Canada at the 2023 Oscars.
Lofty Sky Entertainment produced and Sideways Film handles international sales on the film, which marks the 20th anniversary of a hack of Chinese state TV in March 2002 by outlawed Chinese religious group Falun Gong’s
Comic book illustrator Daxiong was a member of Falun Gong and fled the country after the hack triggered police raids. Arriving in North America, his views on the incident changed when he met the sole lone...
- 8/24/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The pan-Canadian Selection Committee has chosen director Jason Loftus’ Eternal Spring as its entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.
The animated documentary highlights the work of internationally renowned comic book illustrator Daxiong who, as a member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group, was forced to flee China after police raids in the city of Changchun.
Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring retraces the events that precipitated the crackdown on their 20th anniversary, with eyewitness accounts of persecution and details of the fight for political and religious freedoms.
Eight Canadian films have been official nominees in the Best Foreign Language Film category: in 2013, Rebelle by Kim Nguyen; in 2012, Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau and In Darkness by Agnieszka Holland (a minority co-production with Poland and Germany); in 2011, Incendies by Denis Villeneuve; and in 2007, Water by Deepa Mehta.
The animated documentary highlights the work of internationally renowned comic book illustrator Daxiong who, as a member of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group, was forced to flee China after police raids in the city of Changchun.
Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring retraces the events that precipitated the crackdown on their 20th anniversary, with eyewitness accounts of persecution and details of the fight for political and religious freedoms.
Eight Canadian films have been official nominees in the Best Foreign Language Film category: in 2013, Rebelle by Kim Nguyen; in 2012, Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau and In Darkness by Agnieszka Holland (a minority co-production with Poland and Germany); in 2011, Incendies by Denis Villeneuve; and in 2007, Water by Deepa Mehta.
- 8/24/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
The stakes at the center of “Mondocane” aren’t without importance or tragedy: two boys search in the rubble of civilization for wealth, safety, and friendship. Owing to the lineage began by “Lord of the Flies,” this dreary and distant tale, backgrounded by glittering seas and abandoned buildings, should follow in the footsteps of Kim Nguyen’s harrowing film “War Witch” or Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s shocking “Johnny Mad Dog” — two movies about wayward children navigating harsh environments rendered harsher due to their age. But
In his narrative debut feature, Celli and co-writer Antonio Leotti have clearly taken all of the notes: The messianic leader who’s far less virtuous than he appears to be is there, as are the common initiations requiring children to lose their humanity and innocence to harden them. There’s even the girl who comes between two friends. Those familiar pieces, however, are shaken up and jumbled,...
In his narrative debut feature, Celli and co-writer Antonio Leotti have clearly taken all of the notes: The messianic leader who’s far less virtuous than he appears to be is there, as are the common initiations requiring children to lose their humanity and innocence to harden them. There’s even the girl who comes between two friends. Those familiar pieces, however, are shaken up and jumbled,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
Roster includes Lantern’s Lane, Flee The Light.
Montreal-based WaZabi Films will launch sales on Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) world premiere selections Maria Chapdelaine from Sébastien Pilote and Ivan Grbovic’s Drunken Birds (Les Oiseaux Ivres).
Maria Chapdelaine will screen in Contemporary World Cinema and takes place in rural Quebec in the early 20th century where a teenage girl must choose one of three suitors. Pilote adapted the screenplay from Louis Hémon’s 1913 novel. WaZabi represents worldwide rights excluding Canada, where MK2|Mile End will distribute.
Pierre Even (War Witch) of Item 7 and Sylvain Proulx produced the film, which...
Montreal-based WaZabi Films will launch sales on Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) world premiere selections Maria Chapdelaine from Sébastien Pilote and Ivan Grbovic’s Drunken Birds (Les Oiseaux Ivres).
Maria Chapdelaine will screen in Contemporary World Cinema and takes place in rural Quebec in the early 20th century where a teenage girl must choose one of three suitors. Pilote adapted the screenplay from Louis Hémon’s 1913 novel. WaZabi represents worldwide rights excluding Canada, where MK2|Mile End will distribute.
Pierre Even (War Witch) of Item 7 and Sylvain Proulx produced the film, which...
- 8/25/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Tammie Rosen, a longtime Tribeca Enterprises executive who helped Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal build its centerpiece festival and several complementary businesses, is resigning her post.
After stepping down as Evp, Communications and Programming, Rosen later this summer will take on several consulting projects for companies including Tribeca. Her focus will primarily be on film, media and live events.
In a 12-year run in-house at Tribeca, which followed three years of leading its communications efforts via her former post at Rubenstein Communications, Rosen has worn many hats. The affable exec oversaw communications on a corporate and festival level, coordinating the agendas and schedules of hundreds of filmmakers, executives and sponsors in a given year. As Tribeca grew into a fixture in a booming 21st century city, Rosen was at the center of its efforts to help filmmakers and other creators connect with audiences.
Tribeca has expanded in many...
After stepping down as Evp, Communications and Programming, Rosen later this summer will take on several consulting projects for companies including Tribeca. Her focus will primarily be on film, media and live events.
In a 12-year run in-house at Tribeca, which followed three years of leading its communications efforts via her former post at Rubenstein Communications, Rosen has worn many hats. The affable exec oversaw communications on a corporate and festival level, coordinating the agendas and schedules of hundreds of filmmakers, executives and sponsors in a given year. As Tribeca grew into a fixture in a booming 21st century city, Rosen was at the center of its efforts to help filmmakers and other creators connect with audiences.
Tribeca has expanded in many...
- 7/26/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine will star in Best Sellers, the directorial feature debut of Lina Roessler.
Pic follows a has-been author, played by Caine, who is on a wild book tour with a young editor trying to save his boutique publishing house. Caine’s author is miserable and sharp-witted and just wants to live out his days in peace with a bottle of scotch, a cigar, and his orange Tabby cat.
The project is based on Anthony Grieco’s original screenplay which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting award, and will be an official Canada-uk co-production, produced by Arielle Elwes (Braid), Cassian Elwes, Petr Jákl and Wayne Marc Godfrey on the UK side and Jonathan Vanger (Wishing Tree Productions: Miss Sloane) and Pierre Even on the Canadian side.
Pic follows a has-been author, played by Caine, who is on a wild book tour with a young editor trying to save his boutique publishing house. Caine’s author is miserable and sharp-witted and just wants to live out his days in peace with a bottle of scotch, a cigar, and his orange Tabby cat.
The project is based on Anthony Grieco’s original screenplay which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting award, and will be an official Canada-uk co-production, produced by Arielle Elwes (Braid), Cassian Elwes, Petr Jákl and Wayne Marc Godfrey on the UK side and Jonathan Vanger (Wishing Tree Productions: Miss Sloane) and Pierre Even on the Canadian side.
- 5/15/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Ever wonder where the phrase Stockholm syndrome came from? The answer can more or less be found in Robert Budreau’s bank-heist biopic “Stockholm.” The film announces its intentions from the start, boldly declaring itself “Based on an absurd but true story.” Neither claim — the absurdity, nor the truth — is entirely accurate, leading to a movie that is both intermittently compelling and consistently uneven.
Budreau certainly has enough to work with, having adapted a lengthy 1974 New Yorker story about a still-infamous robbery in Sweden. Though the names and, as it turns out, some crucial details have been changed, the script hews fairly close to the basic event. An impish Hawke blasts things off as Lars Nystrom, the Swedish-born, American-raised troublemaker who announces his arrival at Stockholm’s biggest bank by blaring Bob Dylan on the radio while simultaneously brandishing a machine gun.
The first person to notice his softer side...
Budreau certainly has enough to work with, having adapted a lengthy 1974 New Yorker story about a still-infamous robbery in Sweden. Though the names and, as it turns out, some crucial details have been changed, the script hews fairly close to the basic event. An impish Hawke blasts things off as Lars Nystrom, the Swedish-born, American-raised troublemaker who announces his arrival at Stockholm’s biggest bank by blaring Bob Dylan on the radio while simultaneously brandishing a machine gun.
The first person to notice his softer side...
- 4/10/2019
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
One millisecond is a nearly infinitesimal fraction of time. Heck, it just took you about a thousand milliseconds to read the words: “one millisecond.” So telling a story about a high-stakes race to convey information one measly millisecond faster than anybody else sounds like an exercise in making a heck of a lot of ado over, quite literally, almost nothing.
Thankfully, Kim Nguyen’s “The Hummingbird Project” is in on the joke. It’s a dryly humorous caper about a pair of cousins, Vincent (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgård), who scheme to build a fiber-optic pipeline from Kansas City to New Jersey under the nose of their wealthy ex-employer, Eva Torres (Salma Hayek). Once built, their connection to the stock exchange will be one millisecond faster than anyone else’s, and that’s all the time they need to make a fortune.
Yes, that’s it; that’s their whole plan.
Thankfully, Kim Nguyen’s “The Hummingbird Project” is in on the joke. It’s a dryly humorous caper about a pair of cousins, Vincent (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgård), who scheme to build a fiber-optic pipeline from Kansas City to New Jersey under the nose of their wealthy ex-employer, Eva Torres (Salma Hayek). Once built, their connection to the stock exchange will be one millisecond faster than anyone else’s, and that’s all the time they need to make a fortune.
Yes, that’s it; that’s their whole plan.
- 3/15/2019
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Joseph Baxter Jan 18, 2019
Fiber-optic cable line is the method by which Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard cheat the stock market in The Hummingbird Project.
The Hummingbird Project presents itself as a quasi-comedic modern-age heist drama of sorts. The film follows the quixotic quest of two ne’er-do-wells played by Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård in their attempt to gain an (obviously-illegal) advantage in the stock market by secretly laying high-speed fiber-optic cable halfway across the country, which would yield a valuable millisecond chronological edge in the day-trading arena.
The film, the written and directorial creation of indie auteur Kim Nguyen, premiered at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival, and is gearing up for its wide release debut, distributed by The Orchard.
The Hummingbird Project Trailer Video of The Hummingbird Project (2019) | Official Us Trailer HD
The trailer for The Hummingbird Project showcases a levity-laced tale that spotlights a rarely-acknowledged dirt-covered aspect of the Internet,...
Fiber-optic cable line is the method by which Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard cheat the stock market in The Hummingbird Project.
The Hummingbird Project presents itself as a quasi-comedic modern-age heist drama of sorts. The film follows the quixotic quest of two ne’er-do-wells played by Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård in their attempt to gain an (obviously-illegal) advantage in the stock market by secretly laying high-speed fiber-optic cable halfway across the country, which would yield a valuable millisecond chronological edge in the day-trading arena.
The film, the written and directorial creation of indie auteur Kim Nguyen, premiered at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival, and is gearing up for its wide release debut, distributed by The Orchard.
The Hummingbird Project Trailer Video of The Hummingbird Project (2019) | Official Us Trailer HD
The trailer for The Hummingbird Project showcases a levity-laced tale that spotlights a rarely-acknowledged dirt-covered aspect of the Internet,...
- 1/18/2019
- Den of Geek
However you slice the foreign-language film Oscar, it remains bound by rules and regulations that ensure it can never be fully representative of world cinema: in 2018, as global film production grows ever more complex and multinational, the one-film-per-country submission system looks a little quaint, excluding numerous outstanding titles that fall both within and beyond the borders of their ostensible places of origin.
To the Academy’s credit, it hasn’t turned a blind eye to the imperfections of its eligibility requirements — and one relatively recent tweak to the rules, in particular, has dramatically broadened countries’ submission options, dragging the category at least partially into the age of globalization.
Up until 2005, antiquated Academy rules stipulated that a film had to be in the official language of the country submitting it — a snag that kept many strong films from traveling filmmakers out of the running, and reached a head when Michael Haneke...
To the Academy’s credit, it hasn’t turned a blind eye to the imperfections of its eligibility requirements — and one relatively recent tweak to the rules, in particular, has dramatically broadened countries’ submission options, dragging the category at least partially into the age of globalization.
Up until 2005, antiquated Academy rules stipulated that a film had to be in the official language of the country submitting it — a snag that kept many strong films from traveling filmmakers out of the running, and reached a head when Michael Haneke...
- 12/6/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Portocabo TV, Ficción Producciones and Zenit TV figure among the five companies receiving Galician government moneys to develop audiovisual projects aimed at promoting the cultural values of St. James Way.
Ideas pitched by Agallas Films and Diez Caminos have also made the cut.
The five proposals, four TV series and a feature film, will share a total €75,000 to help finance their respective pre-production.
Set in the north-west of Spain, the region of Galicia channelling the support through the Galician Agency of Cultural Industries (Agadic), looking for a high-quality production with strong international distribution potential to celebrate Xacobeo 2021, a St. James’ Holy Year.
The companies have four months to develop their proposals. The awarded project will tap $1.64 million in the case of a TV series and $1.16 million if the prize goes to a feature film.
Alfonso Blanco’s Portocabo TV, producer of Movistar + original series “Hierro,” has presented “El Camino,” a...
Ideas pitched by Agallas Films and Diez Caminos have also made the cut.
The five proposals, four TV series and a feature film, will share a total €75,000 to help finance their respective pre-production.
Set in the north-west of Spain, the region of Galicia channelling the support through the Galician Agency of Cultural Industries (Agadic), looking for a high-quality production with strong international distribution potential to celebrate Xacobeo 2021, a St. James’ Holy Year.
The companies have four months to develop their proposals. The awarded project will tap $1.64 million in the case of a TV series and $1.16 million if the prize goes to a feature film.
Alfonso Blanco’s Portocabo TV, producer of Movistar + original series “Hierro,” has presented “El Camino,” a...
- 10/15/2018
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
Drama earned three Iris Prizes at recent Gala Québec Cinéma.
Sophie Dupuis’ Chien de garde will represent Canada in the contest for the 2019 best foreign language film Oscar.
The Québecoise filmmaker’s narrative feature directorial debut centres on a man who tries to balance the demands of a needy family, the collections work he does with his brother, and the father figure / uncle who runs a drug cartel.
Jean-Simon Leduc, Théodore Pellerin, Claudel Laberge, Maude Guérin, and Paul Ahmarani star.
Etienne Hansez of Bravo Charlie produced Chien de Garde, which Axia Films distributed in Quebec. Telefilm Canada and others funded the feature,...
Sophie Dupuis’ Chien de garde will represent Canada in the contest for the 2019 best foreign language film Oscar.
The Québecoise filmmaker’s narrative feature directorial debut centres on a man who tries to balance the demands of a needy family, the collections work he does with his brother, and the father figure / uncle who runs a drug cartel.
Jean-Simon Leduc, Théodore Pellerin, Claudel Laberge, Maude Guérin, and Paul Ahmarani star.
Etienne Hansez of Bravo Charlie produced Chien de Garde, which Axia Films distributed in Quebec. Telefilm Canada and others funded the feature,...
- 9/19/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
There are any number of movies that would be hard to believe if they weren’t based on a true story. Much less common is something like “War Witch” director Kim Nguyen’s “The Hummingbird Project,” which is so mundanely quixotic that it’s hard to believe it’s not based on a true story. We’re talking about a financial thriller that stars Jesse Eisenberg and a bald Alexander Skarsgård as two Wall Street nerds who try to build a four-inch tunnel that stretches from Kansas to New Jersey. Their hope, we learn, is to run a fiber-optic cable across the eastern half of the United States that will allow their computers to react to the markets a few milliseconds faster than the competition, netting them millions of dollars in the process.
Welcome to the dumb and ultra-lucrative world of high-frequency trading, where automated systems execute millions of stock...
Welcome to the dumb and ultra-lucrative world of high-frequency trading, where automated systems execute millions of stock...
- 9/11/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Orchard has bought “The Hummingbird Project,” a drama about two scheming cousins that stars Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard, Variety has confirmed. The deal is for U.S. rights.
“The Hummingbird Project” premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and attracted some attention from studios because of its cast and subject matter. The film finds Eisenberg and Skarsgard (unrecognizable with a shaved head) attempting to build a thousand-mile-long tunnel from Kansas to New Jersey that will give them a one-millisecond edge on stock transactions. Kim Nguyen (“War Witch”) directs.
The Orchard plans to release the film in 2019. The indie studio’s upcoming releases include two foreign language film awards contenders, “Birds of Passage” and “El Angel,” as well as the comedy “The Unicorn.”
It has been a relatively slow market at this year’s Toronto. Neon, another indie studio, has been active, buying “Vox Lux” and “Wild Rose,...
“The Hummingbird Project” premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and attracted some attention from studios because of its cast and subject matter. The film finds Eisenberg and Skarsgard (unrecognizable with a shaved head) attempting to build a thousand-mile-long tunnel from Kansas to New Jersey that will give them a one-millisecond edge on stock transactions. Kim Nguyen (“War Witch”) directs.
The Orchard plans to release the film in 2019. The indie studio’s upcoming releases include two foreign language film awards contenders, “Birds of Passage” and “El Angel,” as well as the comedy “The Unicorn.”
It has been a relatively slow market at this year’s Toronto. Neon, another indie studio, has been active, buying “Vox Lux” and “Wild Rose,...
- 9/11/2018
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: War Witch and Two Lovers And A Bear director Kim Nguyen is prepping his follow-up, The Hummingbird Project, with Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard set to star in the high-speed drama. Written by Nguyen and produced by Pierre Even of Item 7 in Montreal, the project is exec produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Loving) and Fred Berger (La La Land) of Automatik. Production is slated to begin in Montreal in October with HanWay handling international sales. CAA…...
- 5/8/2017
- Deadline
Eye on Juliet
Director: Kim Nguyen
Writer: Kim Nguyen
Quebecois helmer Kim Nguyen reached an international breakthrough with his 2012 film War Witch (aka Rebelle), which won Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca and a Special Mention in competition at Berlin.
Continue reading...
Director: Kim Nguyen
Writer: Kim Nguyen
Quebecois helmer Kim Nguyen reached an international breakthrough with his 2012 film War Witch (aka Rebelle), which won Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca and a Special Mention in competition at Berlin.
Continue reading...
- 1/4/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Security people aside (I recognized one gentlemen who is part of my daily/yearly Cannes experience), part of the well-oiled machine of the fest is the entire PR personnel. The relaxed, non-rushed, non-competitive setting is a blessing for journalists — it means we’re fortunate to have dibs on all talent attending the fest. Among the folks that were part of the Canadian delegation, I was most interested in speaking to a pair of French Canadian talents who’ve reached far beyond the confines of Quebec.
The sit-downs took place in an epic lieu — the as far as the eye can see La Mamounia garden. I spoke with Oscar nominated War Witch (internationally known as Rebelle) helmer Kim Nguyen and C.R.A.Z.Y producer Pierre Even about their previous international successes and the immediate future. Prior to this, it was a stone’s throw away from my pad to...
The sit-downs took place in an epic lieu — the as far as the eye can see La Mamounia garden. I spoke with Oscar nominated War Witch (internationally known as Rebelle) helmer Kim Nguyen and C.R.A.Z.Y producer Pierre Even about their previous international successes and the immediate future. Prior to this, it was a stone’s throw away from my pad to...
- 12/15/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The falling leaves are a sure sign it’s now the beginning of awards season, with Oscar short lists starting to leak out, Ida Awards prepping their program and the Emmy’s already handing out golden statues. Also, on the festival circuit this month we have a whole host of big lineup announcements coming from a hefty set of acronym loving non-fiction fests the world over, from Cph:dox and Doc NYC, to Idfa and Ridm. Best of Fests Docs is a monthly snapshot of the films and filmmakers that are the make-up of the docu film festival and awards circuit. Check out the full rundown below:
Cph:dox - Denmark – November 6th-16th
The festival, also known as Copenhagen International Documentary Festival , has announced its 2014 lineup, which was guest curated this year by Citizenfour director Laura Poitras. Over 200 films (with the likes of Robert Greene’s Actress, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence,...
Cph:dox - Denmark – November 6th-16th
The festival, also known as Copenhagen International Documentary Festival , has announced its 2014 lineup, which was guest curated this year by Citizenfour director Laura Poitras. Over 200 films (with the likes of Robert Greene’s Actress, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence,...
- 10/28/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Montreal–based producers Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin are back in business with Kim Nguyen after their collaboration on this year’s Canadian Oscar nominee War Witch.
The Item 7 principals are putting together Origin Of The World as an international co-production and are out to casting with an eye on a first quarter 2014 start.
French-Canadian Nguyen will direct from his screenplay, which is conceived as a triptych and centres on the plight of women in India, the Middle East and North America.
Congo-set War Witch (Rebelle) earned a best foreign language Oscar nomination earlier this year and won 10 Canadian Genie awards including best film, director and screenplay as well as actress for Rachel Mwanza.
Films Distribution handled international sales and Mongrel Media distributed in Canada.
The Item 7 principals are putting together Origin Of The World as an international co-production and are out to casting with an eye on a first quarter 2014 start.
French-Canadian Nguyen will direct from his screenplay, which is conceived as a triptych and centres on the plight of women in India, the Middle East and North America.
Congo-set War Witch (Rebelle) earned a best foreign language Oscar nomination earlier this year and won 10 Canadian Genie awards including best film, director and screenplay as well as actress for Rachel Mwanza.
Films Distribution handled international sales and Mongrel Media distributed in Canada.
- 9/3/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
- 7/4/2013
- by Laura Larson
- Moviefone
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...
- 6/28/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
War Witch
Directed by Kim Nguyen
Written by Kim Nguyen
Canada, 2012
The new film War Witch, Canada’s submission into the Best Foreign Language Film category in this past year’s Oscars (and one of the eventual nominees, though it lost to Amour), sidesteps a number of the pitfalls that crop up when any filmmaker tackles a difficult social issue. Over the last decade, the Western world has become more aware of the epidemic in Third World countries of child soldiers, the backdrop of War Witch, otherwise known as Rebelle in its native Quebec. What writer/director Kim Nguyen is able to achieve is a simple, effective, powerful, yet never preachy tale of what it’s like to be one of those soldiers. This film is unflinching, unwilling to look away from the day-to-day atrocities taking place in Africa.
Rachel Mwanza plays Komona, a 12-year old girl who, one day,...
Directed by Kim Nguyen
Written by Kim Nguyen
Canada, 2012
The new film War Witch, Canada’s submission into the Best Foreign Language Film category in this past year’s Oscars (and one of the eventual nominees, though it lost to Amour), sidesteps a number of the pitfalls that crop up when any filmmaker tackles a difficult social issue. Over the last decade, the Western world has become more aware of the epidemic in Third World countries of child soldiers, the backdrop of War Witch, otherwise known as Rebelle in its native Quebec. What writer/director Kim Nguyen is able to achieve is a simple, effective, powerful, yet never preachy tale of what it’s like to be one of those soldiers. This film is unflinching, unwilling to look away from the day-to-day atrocities taking place in Africa.
Rachel Mwanza plays Komona, a 12-year old girl who, one day,...
- 3/22/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
This Berlin flew by! A good overview is that of Screen Daily and if we're lucky, you can read it here without subscribing. My own activities flowed from two sources:
1) Education: I taught and led tours of the market for Berlinale's Talent Campus Meet the Experts, for Deutsche Welle Akademie Film Festival Workshop, and for Ina Sup, a TV, film and new media school based in France and linked to the French National Audiovisual Institute (Ina). This is the most rewarding work, seeing what talent is coming up in our world, seeing ideas take hold as the students learn about the market.
2) Our Consulting: Another pillar of our company, aside from blogging and professional education, is strategic planning with filmmakers. This Berlinale was very intense and very energizing for my partner Peter Belsito and me, with Beyond the Moonwalk having found a berth for international sales representation with Steve Arroyave's Arrow Entertainment and a U.S. distribution commitment, and more actively involving, with Donna Deitch's The Catcher, where a series of meetings with top German and Canadian producers and sales agents gave the project the momentum of a race horse bound for first place!
What follows are my impressions of various other Berlin events as they passed by -- ever so quickly -- but still with enough eye-catching power to capture my attention in the first place.
I was happy to see Jeff Lipsky and Adopt Films' co-managing executive Tim Grady cleaning up with 3 acquisitions; no time to waste anymore as the third Bingham Ray memorial pointed out to those who have the mind to realize the message. Sister (L'enfant d'en haut) by Ursula Maier (Isa: Memento, Swiss rights with FilmCoopi), I hear is A+, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire) (Isa: Rai Trade) won the Golden Bear, and Chris Petzold's Barbara, all in Competition.
American indie works-in-progress have been granted a second chance to screen for European indie distributors (EuropaDistribution) at the upcoming Paris Film Festival in June. I have been invited to be on the jury of "U.S. in Progress" and am thrilled at the prospect. I was honored to have been invited to be on the jury in Wroclaw at the American Film Festival in November as well, for the first edition of this chance for U.S. filmmakers to win post-production and cash prizes. This is where the film Now, Forager was picked up by fledgling international sales agent, the only international sales agent in Poland, New Europe Sales founded by Jan Naszewski [jnaszewski At gmail.com] and Anja Sosic [anja At NewEuropeFilmSales.com]. The film went on to screen at Rotterdam Film Festival. Even hotter news will be forthcoming from Moma and The New York Film Society's New Directors/ New Films about one of the films at the Aff's "U.S. in Progress". If you missed it in Poland you will be able to see it in New York this April!
I was lucky to see two films during the market and after the market closed, this last Saturday and Sunday, when I caught some more films I was unable to see earlier due to my "real" work. Of the films I saw here in Berlin, here are my unique :) comments for what they're worth.
Children of Srikandi (Panorama) is a very personal account by a female filmmaker collective in Indonesia on what it means to be a lesbian in their society. The sweet intimacy of the film overrides its non-professional veneer (the "filmmakers" were all non-professionals). In fact, this could serve as a template for other non-professionals who want to tell their stories. Schools come to mind as possible candidates for this sort of filmmaking, as does my own pet project, The Literacy Project. The Indonesian contingent here in Berlin was interesting and sociable as they met their audience and fans. They were hosted by Berlin based producers Laura Coppens who is a doctorate student in ethnological studies in Zurich and Angelika Levi, doc filmmaker (My Life, Part 2 about growing up Jewish in Berlin).
Bergman & Magnani: The War of the Volcanos. This invitation-only work in progress with Wide House uses a unique way to show the emotion filled and the biggest jet-set love scandal of all times, the story of Roberto Rossellini, Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman as Rosellini and the volcanic Anna Magnani ended their relationship after making Volcano (1950) and the married Ingrid Bergman and Rossellini began theirs with the filming of Stromboli (1950), the name of the second volcano on this Aeolian Island which has been in almost continuous eruption for 2,000 years. The visuals of their stories are illustrated entirely with the scenes from movies starring them as they enact the real life emotions and the commentary of the doc. I am most interested to see how well this technique succeeds.
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die (Isa: Rai Trade) is a moving illustration of the transformative power of art as hardened criminals in an Italian prison rehearse and perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The the 80 + year old Brothers Taviani deserve recognition for their artistic excellence. I can't argue with Mike Leigh and the jury's judgement except that on my emotional meter, Rebelle (War Witch) was the real winner.
Rebelle (War Witch) by Kim Nguyen (Isa: Films Distribution) should have won the Golden Bear. The Silver Bear for Best Actress was awarded to Rachel Mwanza, but this film is so deeply moving on the most primal levels, maintaining its African roots while touching our most sensitive emotions of parents, love, rape, pregnancy and infants as they are experienced by a female child soldier from ages 12 to 14. It should also win Best Foreign Language Film in next year's Academy Awards. Produced by the industry vets Marie-Claude Poulin and Pierre Even, it is yet another feather in the cap of the the Canadian film industry.
Dieter Kosslick observed that with 15 Competition titles confirmed at the time Screen International interviewed him, “both thematically and geographically, we have many films coming this year from Asia, and particularly China and Indonesia. There is also an interesting focus on France this year, beginning with the opening film Farewell My Queen (Les adieux a la reine) (Isa: Elle Driver) and going through all of the festival’s sections. Moreover, we have two French jury members [Francois Ozon and Charlotte Gainsbourg] in the International Jury.“ Eight titles selected to date have German majority or minority participation, so German filmmakers and (co-)producers will again enjoy a record presence in the Competition on a par with 2011’s tally of eight films involving German directors or German production partners." He also notes Competition films' trending toward "times of upheaval and new departures... with many films coming from Africa and Arab countries". My observation of the 23 Competition films finally selected is that the nostalgic look back at European aristocracy and top social tiers (A Royal Affair, Bel Ami, Farewell My Queen) and its mores stands in stark contrast to today's upheavals of families and children (Childish Games, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Postcards from the Zoo, Just the Wind, Mercy, Shadow Dancer, Sister, Rebelle, Home for the Weekend, Jayne Mansfield's Car, Coming Home). Seven other films continue the theme of social upheavals: Tey - which deal with childhood memories of Senegal experienced by an American, Captive about Phillipine hostages, Barbara an Eastern German looking to move to the West, Caesar Must Die about prisoners finding art in their sequestered lives, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate about upheavel during the Ming Dynasty, White Deer Plain about upheavel towards the end of Imperial China, The Flowers of War about the upheavel of China by the Japanese in World War II. The exceptions, Tabu and Meteora, deal with love, the Saving Grace.
Two major disappointments were Steven Soderberg's Haywire (Isa: Mandate) and Stephen Elliott's Cherry. Both about women, they left me puzzled with what the plot was about. Pretty, well done and negligible.
This Berlin Diary Part 2 will continue after I work on my new and soon-to-be launched website! I have spent an entire day on this blog and I still have much more to write!
1) Education: I taught and led tours of the market for Berlinale's Talent Campus Meet the Experts, for Deutsche Welle Akademie Film Festival Workshop, and for Ina Sup, a TV, film and new media school based in France and linked to the French National Audiovisual Institute (Ina). This is the most rewarding work, seeing what talent is coming up in our world, seeing ideas take hold as the students learn about the market.
2) Our Consulting: Another pillar of our company, aside from blogging and professional education, is strategic planning with filmmakers. This Berlinale was very intense and very energizing for my partner Peter Belsito and me, with Beyond the Moonwalk having found a berth for international sales representation with Steve Arroyave's Arrow Entertainment and a U.S. distribution commitment, and more actively involving, with Donna Deitch's The Catcher, where a series of meetings with top German and Canadian producers and sales agents gave the project the momentum of a race horse bound for first place!
What follows are my impressions of various other Berlin events as they passed by -- ever so quickly -- but still with enough eye-catching power to capture my attention in the first place.
I was happy to see Jeff Lipsky and Adopt Films' co-managing executive Tim Grady cleaning up with 3 acquisitions; no time to waste anymore as the third Bingham Ray memorial pointed out to those who have the mind to realize the message. Sister (L'enfant d'en haut) by Ursula Maier (Isa: Memento, Swiss rights with FilmCoopi), I hear is A+, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die (Cesare deve morire) (Isa: Rai Trade) won the Golden Bear, and Chris Petzold's Barbara, all in Competition.
American indie works-in-progress have been granted a second chance to screen for European indie distributors (EuropaDistribution) at the upcoming Paris Film Festival in June. I have been invited to be on the jury of "U.S. in Progress" and am thrilled at the prospect. I was honored to have been invited to be on the jury in Wroclaw at the American Film Festival in November as well, for the first edition of this chance for U.S. filmmakers to win post-production and cash prizes. This is where the film Now, Forager was picked up by fledgling international sales agent, the only international sales agent in Poland, New Europe Sales founded by Jan Naszewski [jnaszewski At gmail.com] and Anja Sosic [anja At NewEuropeFilmSales.com]. The film went on to screen at Rotterdam Film Festival. Even hotter news will be forthcoming from Moma and The New York Film Society's New Directors/ New Films about one of the films at the Aff's "U.S. in Progress". If you missed it in Poland you will be able to see it in New York this April!
I was lucky to see two films during the market and after the market closed, this last Saturday and Sunday, when I caught some more films I was unable to see earlier due to my "real" work. Of the films I saw here in Berlin, here are my unique :) comments for what they're worth.
Children of Srikandi (Panorama) is a very personal account by a female filmmaker collective in Indonesia on what it means to be a lesbian in their society. The sweet intimacy of the film overrides its non-professional veneer (the "filmmakers" were all non-professionals). In fact, this could serve as a template for other non-professionals who want to tell their stories. Schools come to mind as possible candidates for this sort of filmmaking, as does my own pet project, The Literacy Project. The Indonesian contingent here in Berlin was interesting and sociable as they met their audience and fans. They were hosted by Berlin based producers Laura Coppens who is a doctorate student in ethnological studies in Zurich and Angelika Levi, doc filmmaker (My Life, Part 2 about growing up Jewish in Berlin).
Bergman & Magnani: The War of the Volcanos. This invitation-only work in progress with Wide House uses a unique way to show the emotion filled and the biggest jet-set love scandal of all times, the story of Roberto Rossellini, Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman as Rosellini and the volcanic Anna Magnani ended their relationship after making Volcano (1950) and the married Ingrid Bergman and Rossellini began theirs with the filming of Stromboli (1950), the name of the second volcano on this Aeolian Island which has been in almost continuous eruption for 2,000 years. The visuals of their stories are illustrated entirely with the scenes from movies starring them as they enact the real life emotions and the commentary of the doc. I am most interested to see how well this technique succeeds.
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die (Isa: Rai Trade) is a moving illustration of the transformative power of art as hardened criminals in an Italian prison rehearse and perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The the 80 + year old Brothers Taviani deserve recognition for their artistic excellence. I can't argue with Mike Leigh and the jury's judgement except that on my emotional meter, Rebelle (War Witch) was the real winner.
Rebelle (War Witch) by Kim Nguyen (Isa: Films Distribution) should have won the Golden Bear. The Silver Bear for Best Actress was awarded to Rachel Mwanza, but this film is so deeply moving on the most primal levels, maintaining its African roots while touching our most sensitive emotions of parents, love, rape, pregnancy and infants as they are experienced by a female child soldier from ages 12 to 14. It should also win Best Foreign Language Film in next year's Academy Awards. Produced by the industry vets Marie-Claude Poulin and Pierre Even, it is yet another feather in the cap of the the Canadian film industry.
Dieter Kosslick observed that with 15 Competition titles confirmed at the time Screen International interviewed him, “both thematically and geographically, we have many films coming this year from Asia, and particularly China and Indonesia. There is also an interesting focus on France this year, beginning with the opening film Farewell My Queen (Les adieux a la reine) (Isa: Elle Driver) and going through all of the festival’s sections. Moreover, we have two French jury members [Francois Ozon and Charlotte Gainsbourg] in the International Jury.“ Eight titles selected to date have German majority or minority participation, so German filmmakers and (co-)producers will again enjoy a record presence in the Competition on a par with 2011’s tally of eight films involving German directors or German production partners." He also notes Competition films' trending toward "times of upheaval and new departures... with many films coming from Africa and Arab countries". My observation of the 23 Competition films finally selected is that the nostalgic look back at European aristocracy and top social tiers (A Royal Affair, Bel Ami, Farewell My Queen) and its mores stands in stark contrast to today's upheavals of families and children (Childish Games, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Postcards from the Zoo, Just the Wind, Mercy, Shadow Dancer, Sister, Rebelle, Home for the Weekend, Jayne Mansfield's Car, Coming Home). Seven other films continue the theme of social upheavals: Tey - which deal with childhood memories of Senegal experienced by an American, Captive about Phillipine hostages, Barbara an Eastern German looking to move to the West, Caesar Must Die about prisoners finding art in their sequestered lives, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate about upheavel during the Ming Dynasty, White Deer Plain about upheavel towards the end of Imperial China, The Flowers of War about the upheavel of China by the Japanese in World War II. The exceptions, Tabu and Meteora, deal with love, the Saving Grace.
Two major disappointments were Steven Soderberg's Haywire (Isa: Mandate) and Stephen Elliott's Cherry. Both about women, they left me puzzled with what the plot was about. Pretty, well done and negligible.
This Berlin Diary Part 2 will continue after I work on my new and soon-to-be launched website! I have spent an entire day on this blog and I still have much more to write!
- 3/10/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
A flying Martin Short descended onto the stage with the help of some harnesses and Vegas-esque showgirls to host the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto last night. His opening song-and-dance number gave Seth MacFarlane's Oscar hosting gig a run for the money with its cleverly Canadian lyrics and theatricality. The newly created awards are an amalgam of the Genie Awards which celebrated the best in Canadian film, and the Gemini Awards which honour the best in Canadian television. Since we’ve been mixing up the similarly-hounding Geminis and Genies for years, the Canadian Screen Awards are a welcome change.
The new-found awards are bigger and showier than their forerunners and featured presenters like Sandra Oh, Jay Baruchel, James Cromwell, Genevieve Bujold, and Adam Beach, just to name a few of the stars who graced the stage in the televised and non-televised portions of the show. The awards recognize...
The new-found awards are bigger and showier than their forerunners and featured presenters like Sandra Oh, Jay Baruchel, James Cromwell, Genevieve Bujold, and Adam Beach, just to name a few of the stars who graced the stage in the televised and non-televised portions of the show. The awards recognize...
- 3/4/2013
- by Rachel West
- Cineplex
Congratulations to director Kim Nguyen, star Rachel Mwanza, and the rest of the crew and cast that made War Witch (Rebelle) possible! The film picked up 10 trophies at the The Canadian Screen Awards (Les prix Écrans Canadiens) this evening - awards given annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television recognizing excellence in Canadian film, TV, and digital media productions. What's even more impressive is that the War Witch (which lost the Best Foreign Language Oscar to Austria’s Amour last week) was nominated in 12 categories. So while it wasn't quite a clean sweep, 10 out of 12 certainly isn't anything to sneeze at! The 10 wins include nods in major categories like best...
- 3/4/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
We've got official theatrical playdates for Kim Nguyen's Oscar-nominated (Best Foreign Language Film) Congo-set drama War Witch or Rebelle, an S&A 2012 Highlight selection, which stars Rachel Mwanza. The film is about a young Congolese girl and child soldier named Komona (played by Mwanza, who won a Best Actress Award at Berlin for her performance), her fight for survival and struggle to find some normalcy and peace in her life. The multi-award-winning film is now finally get a theatrical release through Tribeca Film, starting, today, March 1, in New York, and expanding to other markets through June. It's a film...
- 3/1/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Best Foreign Language Film nominee War Witch (aka Rebelle) is the story of a young girl kidnapped by a rebel army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and forced into becoming a child soldier. Yet, despite the moral simplicity we often expect from the Oscars, it is not a film designed to make you weep and rally around a cause. I would argue that that film doesn’t exist, hasn’t existed, but that’s a conversation for another day. War Witch is not the long form cinematic equivalent of “Kony 2012” either. It is, rather, a beautifully wrought tale of humanity that is much more focused on its own characters than it is on your tears. If anything, Kim Nguyen’s Oscar-nominated feature has more in common with an adventure novel than any human rights campaign video. War Witch is three years in the life of a young girl, whose...
- 2/28/2013
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Kim Nguyen's Oscar-nominated (Best Foreign Language Film) Congo-set drama War Witch or Rebelle, an S&A 2012 Highlight selection, which stars Rachel Mwanza, will see a theatrical release through Tribeca Film, starting in New York this Friday, March 1 2013, and expanding to other markets through June. The film is about a young Congolese girl and child soldier named Komona (played by Mwanza, who won a Best Actress Award at Berlin for her performance), her fight for survival and struggle to find some normalcy and peace in her life. As director Nguyen describes it, the film is essentially a love story set in a time of war. ...
- 2/28/2013
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
On the heels of this week's announcement that Rachel Mwanza, star of Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, War Witch (Rebelle), was granted a visa to come to the USA and attend the Oscars event, comes this piece of news for another Oscar-nominated film centered around a story about black Africans... by the way, the film, Asad is currently available on iTunes if you'd like to see it: 22 February 2013: After narrowly winning a race against time to get extended refugee status, passports and visas, brothers Harun and Ali Mohammed are flying from Cape Town to Hollywood today for Sunday’s Academy Awards, where their film Asad will compete in the Best Short Film...
- 2/22/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Congolese actress Rachel Mwanza has been granted a Us visa to attend this year's Academy Awards.
The 16-year-old is the main star of War Witch, a film about child soldiers in Africa, which is the Canadian submission in the foreign language film category.
She was cast by Montreal director Kim Nguyen despite no previous acting experience.
Mwanza was later named 'Best Actress' at the Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals for her role of Komona in the film, also known under its French title Rebelle.
"Abandoned by her family and living on the streets as a child, her life has been transformed by the making of the film," Nguyen said in a statement.
"To have her journey end on the red carpet is beyond anything she could have dreamed of."
The producers of War Witch are also attempting to arrange a meeting between Mwanza and her idol Beyoncé, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The 16-year-old is the main star of War Witch, a film about child soldiers in Africa, which is the Canadian submission in the foreign language film category.
She was cast by Montreal director Kim Nguyen despite no previous acting experience.
Mwanza was later named 'Best Actress' at the Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals for her role of Komona in the film, also known under its French title Rebelle.
"Abandoned by her family and living on the streets as a child, her life has been transformed by the making of the film," Nguyen said in a statement.
"To have her journey end on the red carpet is beyond anything she could have dreamed of."
The producers of War Witch are also attempting to arrange a meeting between Mwanza and her idol Beyoncé, according to the Los Angeles Times.
- 2/21/2013
- Digital Spy
Following up on Tambays January post on the efforts by theproducers of the Academy Award nominated (for Best Foreign Language Film) Congolese drama Rebelle (War Witch), to bring the star of the acclaimed film, Rachel Mwanza, to Hollywood for Academy Awards night, since the film is nominated. As Tambay noted in his post, there were some issues with getting Mwanza a USA visa, because American authorities were concerned that she'd remain in the USA illegally, and not return to the Drc, to summarize the entire piece. The Canadia Press (who first reported on the story about Mwanza's visa matters last month) are reporting today that Mwanza will indeed...
- 2/20/2013
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
Kim Nguyen's Oscar-nominated (Best Foreign Language Film) Congo-set drama War Witch or Rebelle, an S&A 2012 Highlight selection, which stars Rachel Mwanza, will see a theatrical release through Tribeca Film, starting in New York on March 1 2013, and expanding to other markets through June. The film is about a young Congolese girl and child soldier named Komona (played by Mwanza, who won a Best Actress Award at Berlin for her performance), her fight for survival and struggle to find some normalcy and peace in her life. As director Nguyen describes it, the film is essentially a love story set in a time of war. The...
- 2/15/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
We've got official theatrical playdates, hot off the presses, for Kim Nguyen's Oscar-nominated (Best Foreign Language Film) Congo-set drama War Witch or Rebelle, an S&A 2012 Highlight selection, which stars Rachel Mwanza. The film is about a young Congolese girl and child soldier named Komona (played by Mwanza, who won a Best Actress Award at Berlin for her performance), her fight for survival and struggle to find some normalcy and peace in her life. The multi-award-winning film has already won some film awards this year, and will now finally get a theatrical release through Tribeca Film, starting in New York...
- 2/12/2013
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
You might recall my piece on director Kim Nguyen's struggles in getting financing and distribution for his dream-like, now Academy Award nominated (for Best Foreign Language Film) Congolese drama Rebelle (War Witch), because it stars an urecognizable black lead in young Rachel Mwanza, who gives a wonderfully naturalistic performance (she's a non-professional actor, and was practically living in the streets before she got the part) as 12 year old Komona. And further, with the film enjoying success internationally throughout last year, some wondered whether Mwanza, who returned to the Drc, was seeing any of the rewards that her work in the...
- 1/30/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
(thanks to alan of montreal) Best Motion Picture “L’Affaire Dumont” Nicole Robert “Inch’Allah” Luc Déry, Kim McCraw “Laurence Anyways” Lyse Lafontaine “Midnight’s Children” David Hamilton “Rebelle / War Witch” Pierre Even,...
- 1/17/2013
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
Canadian Screen Awards 2013 nominations: War Witch rules The Genie Awards are dead, long live the Canadian Screen Awards! Well, in truth, the Genie Awards aren’t exactly dead; they’ve just been transmogrified, along with Canadian television’s Gemini Awards, into the aforementioned Canadian Screen Awards, organized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. But Genie or Canadian Screen, once again a Québécois production dominates the nominations roster. (Photo: Rachel Mwanza in Kim Nguyen’s War Witch.) Kim Nguyen’s Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award nominee Rebelle / War Witch, the story of a (very) young African rebel fighter, received a total of 12 Canadian Screen Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Berlin Film Festival’s Best Actress Rachel Mwanza), Best Supporting Actor (Serge Kanyinda), and Best Original Screenplay (Nguyen). War Witch follows in the heels of recent Quebec-made Genie Award powerhouses and eventual Best Picture winners such...
- 1/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Still from Midnight’s Children
Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children has been nominated under eight categories at the Canadian Screen Awards including Best Motion Picture.
The nominations are: Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Direction, Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role, Achievement In Overall Sound, Adapted Screenplay and Achievement In Visual Effects.
Other films with more than eight nominations are Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle (12 nominations) and Xavier Dolan’s Laurence Anyways (10 nominations).
An adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s novel by the same name, Midnight’s Children premiered out of competition at Toronto International Film Festival 2012 and screened at the London Film Festival 2012. Amid controversies surrounding its content on Indira Gandhi, the film is scheduled to release in India on 1st February, 2013.
Canadian Screen Awards is organised by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, a non-profit organisation aimed to promote Canadian film,...
Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children has been nominated under eight categories at the Canadian Screen Awards including Best Motion Picture.
The nominations are: Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Direction, Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role, Achievement In Overall Sound, Adapted Screenplay and Achievement In Visual Effects.
Other films with more than eight nominations are Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle (12 nominations) and Xavier Dolan’s Laurence Anyways (10 nominations).
An adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s novel by the same name, Midnight’s Children premiered out of competition at Toronto International Film Festival 2012 and screened at the London Film Festival 2012. Amid controversies surrounding its content on Indira Gandhi, the film is scheduled to release in India on 1st February, 2013.
Canadian Screen Awards is organised by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, a non-profit organisation aimed to promote Canadian film,...
- 1/16/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee "War Witch" could, I think, have been a real contender for the win in another year; the African-set child soldier drama delivers an emotional punch that's hard to argue with. As it is, it'll likely remain nobly content with the nomination, but it stands to dominate at its local answer to the Oscars, the Canadian Screen Awards. With 12 nominations, the film leads the field for the inaugural awards, which have assimilated the formerly separate Genie and Gemini Awards. Close on its heels is 23-year-old Xavier Dolan's third feature, the visually and sonically startling transsexual...
- 1/15/2013
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
London — "Amour," a searing portrait of old age from Austria's Michael Haneke, was lauded by Hollywood's movie elite Thursday, receiving five Academy Award nominations including best foreign film and – unexpectedly – best picture.
The film stars octogenarian French acting greats Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant as a loving Parisian couple whose world is devastated by the wife's serious illness.
Unflinching and in French, it was a surprise best-picture nominee, and also received nominations for Haneke's direction, for original screenplay and for the performance of 85-year-old Riva.
Austria also scored an acting nomination, with Christoph Waltz up for best supporting actor for Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained." Waltz won the supporting actor prize for his turn as a loquacious Nazi in Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."
The other foreign-language nominees are 18th-century court saga "A Royal Affair" by Denmark's Nikolaj Arcel; child soldier drama "War Witch" by Canada's Kim Nguyen; seafaring adventure "Kon-Tiki" by...
The film stars octogenarian French acting greats Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant as a loving Parisian couple whose world is devastated by the wife's serious illness.
Unflinching and in French, it was a surprise best-picture nominee, and also received nominations for Haneke's direction, for original screenplay and for the performance of 85-year-old Riva.
Austria also scored an acting nomination, with Christoph Waltz up for best supporting actor for Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained." Waltz won the supporting actor prize for his turn as a loquacious Nazi in Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."
The other foreign-language nominees are 18th-century court saga "A Royal Affair" by Denmark's Nikolaj Arcel; child soldier drama "War Witch" by Canada's Kim Nguyen; seafaring adventure "Kon-Tiki" by...
- 1/10/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Ok, let's see. First, a huge congrats to Quvenzhané Wallis who, as the title of this post states, has made history, becoming the youngest actress ever to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actress category. She's just 9 years old. The previous record holder in that category was Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was nominated for Whale Rider in 2003. She was 14. Congrats are also in order for Rebelle (aka War Witch), which is nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category - a film that was on our best of 2012 list. Hat-tip to director Kim Nguyen, and star Rachel Mwanza, whom I would have loved to see get a Best Actress nomination. As...
- 1/10/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Who’s in, who’s out?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally settled the debate with its announcement of nominees for the 85th Academy Awards. Lincoln leads the pack with 12 nominations, followed by Life of Pi with 11.
Analysis is to come, but below are the contenders for the ceremony, which will take place Feb. 24.
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington,...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally settled the debate with its announcement of nominees for the 85th Academy Awards. Lincoln leads the pack with 12 nominations, followed by Life of Pi with 11.
Analysis is to come, but below are the contenders for the ceremony, which will take place Feb. 24.
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington,...
- 1/10/2013
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
To say that none of the 40 + films on our staff-voted list is universally beloved is putting it mildly; but then, that’s the nature of polls like these. Every year we’ve run this poll, there’s been a runaway winner; this year, the top film crossed the three-hundred-point threshold, a first here at Sound On Sight. Not since Inglourious Basterds has a film run away so clearly with the number one spot. Our top choice received unbelievable love and support from everyone, nearly doubling the amount of points of our second place pick.
Nobody will agree on each entry, but keep in mind, Sound On Sight has always been a place that bridges the gap between mainstream and independent cinema. We love foreign films but we also love genre pics and documentaries. In other words, we cover it all, or at least we try.
With more movies in limited...
Nobody will agree on each entry, but keep in mind, Sound On Sight has always been a place that bridges the gap between mainstream and independent cinema. We love foreign films but we also love genre pics and documentaries. In other words, we cover it all, or at least we try.
With more movies in limited...
- 12/29/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Oscar's short list for the Best Foreign Language Film has been narrowed to nine titles, a list heavily focused on Europe and including exactly zero titles from Asia. Which means, in a surprising move, Kim Ki-duk's Venice winner Pieta is out of the running. The final nomination list of five will be culled from these titles:Amour - Michael Haneke - AustriaA Royal Affair - Nikolaj Arcel - DenmarkThe Untouchables - Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano - FranceThe Deep - Baltasar Kormákur - IcelandKon-Tiki - Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg - NorwayBeyond the Hills - Cristian Mungiu - RomaniaSister - Ursula Meier - SwitzerlandWar Witch (Rebelle) - Kim Nguyen - CanadaNo - Pablo Larraín - ChileWhat do you think of the list? Any obvious omissions? Favorites...
- 12/24/2012
- Screen Anarchy
25: The Dark Knight Rises
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
2012, USA
The Dark Knight Rises feels as if it was made up of two equal halves, with the most critical moment of the film breaking the movie in half, almost literally. While the second half may have been a let down, the first half is incredibly ambitious to say the least. The opening sequence, a gravity-defying skyjacking, is a tour de force – wildly choreographed, vivid, visceral, and chock full of suspense. That aerial extraction alone is worth the price of admission. Production-wise, effects-wise, Nolan’s movie (with sequences shot with Imax cameras) is staggering. There was an opportunity here for Nolan to stretch the boundaries of what is possible in the genre, alas, the final act becomes a little too conventional – complete with a doomsday device and a ticking-clock countdown. But for every quibble,...
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
2012, USA
The Dark Knight Rises feels as if it was made up of two equal halves, with the most critical moment of the film breaking the movie in half, almost literally. While the second half may have been a let down, the first half is incredibly ambitious to say the least. The opening sequence, a gravity-defying skyjacking, is a tour de force – wildly choreographed, vivid, visceral, and chock full of suspense. That aerial extraction alone is worth the price of admission. Production-wise, effects-wise, Nolan’s movie (with sequences shot with Imax cameras) is staggering. There was an opportunity here for Nolan to stretch the boundaries of what is possible in the genre, alas, the final act becomes a little too conventional – complete with a doomsday device and a ticking-clock countdown. But for every quibble,...
- 12/23/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
What makes the Oscar foreign language film category so special, though unfortunately less publicized than big ticket acting, directing, and best picture categories, is its gloriously wide range and inclusion of stories American moviegoers don’t usually get to see.
Whittled down from 71 films that qualified as official entries from countries all over the globe, the Oscar foreign film shortlist of nine movies announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday showcases different cultures, approaches and people, albeit with a general focus on Europeans.
Ranging from an already award-winning drama about an aging couple (Amour) to...
Whittled down from 71 films that qualified as official entries from countries all over the globe, the Oscar foreign film shortlist of nine movies announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday showcases different cultures, approaches and people, albeit with a general focus on Europeans.
Ranging from an already award-winning drama about an aging couple (Amour) to...
- 12/22/2012
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
We're so glad to see a film that was one of our twenty-six 2012 black film highlights (read that post Here if you missed it yesterday), make the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar shortlist of nine. I'm referring to Kim Nguyen's harrowing yet hypnotic Congo-set drama War Witch or Rebelle. Several of us loved it, and its star, Rachel Mwanza, captivates. A film that didn't quite make our highlight short list, but gets an honorable mention, The Intouchables, also made the Oscar short list. Kudos to Omar Sy, who is also in the running for the Best Actor Oscar, according to some *experts* anyway. But the fight is not over; these 9 films advance to the next...
- 12/21/2012
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
I don’t’ share the popular opinion that 2012 has been a terrible year in film. It hasn’t been as strong as previous years but 2012 gave us such gems as Holy Motors, The Master, Berberian Sound Studio, Tabu, Skyfall and Moonrise Kingdom, to name a few. As with every year, I thought it appropriate to highlight some of the year’s most memorable individual moments, scenes, and sequences, from movies that may or may not have made our individual year-end lists. Which is no small feat considering just how insane the release calendar has become.
We are keeping out credit sequences since we feel it is an art form in itself.
Honourable Mentions:
The Deep Blue Sea – The underground flashback.
Oslo, August 31st – The cafe scene.
Miss Bala – The extended take during the shoot out .
Universal Solider 4 – The opening shotgun sequence.
Universal Solider 4 – The fight in the sport retail store.
We are keeping out credit sequences since we feel it is an art form in itself.
Honourable Mentions:
The Deep Blue Sea – The underground flashback.
Oslo, August 31st – The cafe scene.
Miss Bala – The extended take during the shoot out .
Universal Solider 4 – The opening shotgun sequence.
Universal Solider 4 – The fight in the sport retail store.
- 12/18/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
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