Locarno: Film Republic has secured world rights to Paraguayan-Swiss co-production El Tiempo Nublado by Arami Ullon.
One of the first acquisitions to be confirmed from this year’s Locarno Film Festival line-up, feature doc El Tiempo Nublado first launched at Visions du Reel where it received the Section Regard Neuf award.
The deal was negotiated between Film Republic’s Xavier Henry-Rashid and producer-distributor Pascal Traeschlin at Karlovy Vary where it received its international premiere last month.
Film Republic previously picked up Fuori Concorso selection Cherry Pie by Lorenz Merz in Locarno in 2013 where they also signed Rosie by Marcel Gisler, with veteran production house Cobra Film helmed by Susann Ruedlinger.
“Locarno is already a major, but also increasingly important stepping stone in the festival calendar,” said Xavier.
“Its repertoire of art-house and mid-level buyers, as well as extremely supportive selection of, maybe sometimes less obvious development or post stage titles [this year’s Open Doors focuses on the African continent, with the Carte Blanche on Brazilian cinema] offers a good balance between a business...
One of the first acquisitions to be confirmed from this year’s Locarno Film Festival line-up, feature doc El Tiempo Nublado first launched at Visions du Reel where it received the Section Regard Neuf award.
The deal was negotiated between Film Republic’s Xavier Henry-Rashid and producer-distributor Pascal Traeschlin at Karlovy Vary where it received its international premiere last month.
Film Republic previously picked up Fuori Concorso selection Cherry Pie by Lorenz Merz in Locarno in 2013 where they also signed Rosie by Marcel Gisler, with veteran production house Cobra Film helmed by Susann Ruedlinger.
“Locarno is already a major, but also increasingly important stepping stone in the festival calendar,” said Xavier.
“Its repertoire of art-house and mid-level buyers, as well as extremely supportive selection of, maybe sometimes less obvious development or post stage titles [this year’s Open Doors focuses on the African continent, with the Carte Blanche on Brazilian cinema] offers a good balance between a business...
- 8/8/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Our International Sales Agent (Isa) of the Day coverage is back again for this year's Cannes Film Festival. We will feature successful, upcoming, innovative and trailblazing agents from around the world, and cover the latest trends in sales and distribution. Beyond the numbers and deals, this segment will also share inspirational and unique stories of how these individuals have evolved and paved their way in the industry, and what they envision for the new waves in global cinema.
If you're not in film sales, you may not think it's fascinating or exciting at all. Well, think again and meet the talented and energetic Xavier Henry-Rashid of Film Republic. He has cornered the niche of art house films in the UK where sales agents with their sole focus on art house previously didn't exist. His enthusiasm and passion for the craft of visual storytelling is refreshing. Buyers take note; Xavier is one to watch.
Not only does he understand the importance of sharing artists' voices in the world through beautiful storytelling, but he also values films of social consciousness - like Pine Ridge, a documentary about the current state of native Americans and the sorry state of reservation life.
Xavier explains how he went from a 16-year-old paparazzo to being an up and coming trailblazer in the film sales world:
How did your company start?
I've programmed for festivals. I ran a festival. I did sponsorship for Sundance London and programming for Sheffield. I help run a festival in Texas called Victoria TX Independent Film Festival and I was always connecting filmmakers to films and with distributors. After doing seven years of that, I decided I could just do it as a job.
I setup two years ago. I like art house specifically and felt they weren't being represented enough. I've always loved introducing filmmakers with the marketplace. I was doing that quite a lot, so this was kind of my transition to sales.
Another thing is that the UK is a very big market, and in reality, it's one of the most difficult territories in Europe to release art house and foreign language titles - and by that I mean non 'auteur' main festival winners. In other parts of Europe, I feel there's a lot more variety and choice and I kind of hope that by osmosis others will pick up on this back in London.
One thing we do very differently than other companies is that we work non-exclusively on our films and take costs off the top (not commission first). This really means that filmmakers see a fair return on all deals; this is important for small or niche art house, which cumulatively benefits from lots of small to medium sized deals. I've worked with a lot of companies, which took commissions first, including screening fees. This meant they would make vastly more money than filmmakers. I've also worked with enough festivals to know their funding mechanism. Festivals make solid incomes from the box office and sponsorship. A long-term festival or non-theatrical strategy can reap solid rewards, but the partition of income all the way down the chain is what I try to protect.
How did you get into the business?
When I was 16, I was actually a paparazzo. When I was in school, I used to teach photography to kids who were a few years younger. I used to shoot a bit of wildlife and I used to do red carpets, like premiers and award ceremonies. I had accreditation for everything. I was the youngest person with a press pass: sixteen with a ladder like the guys here (on the red carpet in Cannes) standing on the stairs. I did that for a couple of years, and I used to shoot the festivals. Then one day, a PR guy said, "Hey, if you want, you can come watch the films", and then I began meeting people and took to writing. I used to do reviews and features for Yahoo Movies when they had original content, so I was photographing, going to screenings, then covering the press junkets. I started working with festivals, and that's how it began. I was seventeen when I really fell into it.
What are some of your highlights?
We have El Limpiador, one of the biggest Latino films of the last year. It was the foreign Oscar entry for Peru in 2013. We have a film by Marcel Gisler called Rosie, which was pretty sold out in Berlin; it made it to most of the major territories.
We also have a really great documentary called Pine Ridge, also the Dragon Award winner at Goterborg, about the native American Indians in South Dakota living in pretty awful poverty, and also Concrete Night by one of the most established Scandinavian filmmakers Pirjo Honkasalo.
We mainly go for unique films and intelligent stories, and we look for strong visual storytelling. It's a mix between some very established production companies and first time filmmakers.
How are sales going?
Every sales agent will tell you everything is great! Our joke between us is 'sold out'! As a new company, starting in mid recession, the first two years we operated on minimal cash flow. We had very few films and needed to build up momentum and the brand. One thing I didn't appreciate at the time is that we needed more volume to break into package or TV deals. In retrospect, maybe I'd have taken on catalogue titles to do this.
Now we have films coming out on all four corners. We've built a pretty great profile of high quality and intelligent art house titles, by both first time filmmakers and some of the most respected production houses. I think they both complement each other. I'm quite careful to not take more than we can handle, and so we take our time before we hit up major festival sections. What I don't want is to grow too fast. I think we have a niche, and being the only UK sales agency that understands and does art house distribution is an advantage.
Learn about Film Republic's Catalog.
More About Film Republic:
Launched in 2012 at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Film Republic is a London based world sales agency specialising in art house fiction and creative documentaries. Our lineup includes titles from veteran production houses as well as emerging and first time filmmakers, with a focus on intelligent, cinematic and non-mainstream titles. Film Republic has quickly established itself as one of Europe’s leading art house agencies, due to its commitment to embracing new windows of distribution and for taking on risky and daring titles by the next generation of master filmmakers.
If you're not in film sales, you may not think it's fascinating or exciting at all. Well, think again and meet the talented and energetic Xavier Henry-Rashid of Film Republic. He has cornered the niche of art house films in the UK where sales agents with their sole focus on art house previously didn't exist. His enthusiasm and passion for the craft of visual storytelling is refreshing. Buyers take note; Xavier is one to watch.
Not only does he understand the importance of sharing artists' voices in the world through beautiful storytelling, but he also values films of social consciousness - like Pine Ridge, a documentary about the current state of native Americans and the sorry state of reservation life.
Xavier explains how he went from a 16-year-old paparazzo to being an up and coming trailblazer in the film sales world:
How did your company start?
I've programmed for festivals. I ran a festival. I did sponsorship for Sundance London and programming for Sheffield. I help run a festival in Texas called Victoria TX Independent Film Festival and I was always connecting filmmakers to films and with distributors. After doing seven years of that, I decided I could just do it as a job.
I setup two years ago. I like art house specifically and felt they weren't being represented enough. I've always loved introducing filmmakers with the marketplace. I was doing that quite a lot, so this was kind of my transition to sales.
Another thing is that the UK is a very big market, and in reality, it's one of the most difficult territories in Europe to release art house and foreign language titles - and by that I mean non 'auteur' main festival winners. In other parts of Europe, I feel there's a lot more variety and choice and I kind of hope that by osmosis others will pick up on this back in London.
One thing we do very differently than other companies is that we work non-exclusively on our films and take costs off the top (not commission first). This really means that filmmakers see a fair return on all deals; this is important for small or niche art house, which cumulatively benefits from lots of small to medium sized deals. I've worked with a lot of companies, which took commissions first, including screening fees. This meant they would make vastly more money than filmmakers. I've also worked with enough festivals to know their funding mechanism. Festivals make solid incomes from the box office and sponsorship. A long-term festival or non-theatrical strategy can reap solid rewards, but the partition of income all the way down the chain is what I try to protect.
How did you get into the business?
When I was 16, I was actually a paparazzo. When I was in school, I used to teach photography to kids who were a few years younger. I used to shoot a bit of wildlife and I used to do red carpets, like premiers and award ceremonies. I had accreditation for everything. I was the youngest person with a press pass: sixteen with a ladder like the guys here (on the red carpet in Cannes) standing on the stairs. I did that for a couple of years, and I used to shoot the festivals. Then one day, a PR guy said, "Hey, if you want, you can come watch the films", and then I began meeting people and took to writing. I used to do reviews and features for Yahoo Movies when they had original content, so I was photographing, going to screenings, then covering the press junkets. I started working with festivals, and that's how it began. I was seventeen when I really fell into it.
What are some of your highlights?
We have El Limpiador, one of the biggest Latino films of the last year. It was the foreign Oscar entry for Peru in 2013. We have a film by Marcel Gisler called Rosie, which was pretty sold out in Berlin; it made it to most of the major territories.
We also have a really great documentary called Pine Ridge, also the Dragon Award winner at Goterborg, about the native American Indians in South Dakota living in pretty awful poverty, and also Concrete Night by one of the most established Scandinavian filmmakers Pirjo Honkasalo.
We mainly go for unique films and intelligent stories, and we look for strong visual storytelling. It's a mix between some very established production companies and first time filmmakers.
How are sales going?
Every sales agent will tell you everything is great! Our joke between us is 'sold out'! As a new company, starting in mid recession, the first two years we operated on minimal cash flow. We had very few films and needed to build up momentum and the brand. One thing I didn't appreciate at the time is that we needed more volume to break into package or TV deals. In retrospect, maybe I'd have taken on catalogue titles to do this.
Now we have films coming out on all four corners. We've built a pretty great profile of high quality and intelligent art house titles, by both first time filmmakers and some of the most respected production houses. I think they both complement each other. I'm quite careful to not take more than we can handle, and so we take our time before we hit up major festival sections. What I don't want is to grow too fast. I think we have a niche, and being the only UK sales agency that understands and does art house distribution is an advantage.
Learn about Film Republic's Catalog.
More About Film Republic:
Launched in 2012 at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Film Republic is a London based world sales agency specialising in art house fiction and creative documentaries. Our lineup includes titles from veteran production houses as well as emerging and first time filmmakers, with a focus on intelligent, cinematic and non-mainstream titles. Film Republic has quickly established itself as one of Europe’s leading art house agencies, due to its commitment to embracing new windows of distribution and for taking on risky and daring titles by the next generation of master filmmakers.
- 5/17/2014
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
European Film Academy reveals titles of the films on this year’s selection list.Scroll down for full list
The European Film Academy and Efa Productions have announced the titles of the 46 films on this year’s selection list - the list of films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2013.
A total of 32 European countries are represented. In the 20 countries with the most Efa Members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. To complete the list, a selection committee consisting of Efa Board Members and invited experts have included further films.
In the coming weeks, the 2,900 Efa members will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter. The nominations will then be announced on Nov 9 at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain.
A seven-member jury will decide on the awards recipients in the categories European Cinematographer, Editor, Production...
The European Film Academy and Efa Productions have announced the titles of the 46 films on this year’s selection list - the list of films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2013.
A total of 32 European countries are represented. In the 20 countries with the most Efa Members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. To complete the list, a selection committee consisting of Efa Board Members and invited experts have included further films.
In the coming weeks, the 2,900 Efa members will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter. The nominations will then be announced on Nov 9 at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain.
A seven-member jury will decide on the awards recipients in the categories European Cinematographer, Editor, Production...
- 9/9/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
As this year’s Moscow International Film Festival readies for launch, Germany’s Media Luna New Films has picked up international distribution rights to a title in competition at the 35th edition.
The Cologne-based sales agent has secured teenage drama The Kids From The Port, the second feature from Spanish director Alberto Morais.
It will see Morais return to Moscow’s main competition, having won the Golden George and the Fipresci International Critics’ Prize at the Russian festival two years ago for his feature debut Las Olas, which also received the Silver George for actor Carlos Álvarez-Nóvia.
Media Luna has also secured the rights to Slovenian director Nejc Gazvoda’s Dual, which will have its world premiere in Karlovy Vary’s East of the West Competition on July 3.
The love story between two young women is Gazvoda’s second feature after his internationally acclaimed debut A Trip.
Media Luna will also have the international premiere of [link...
The Cologne-based sales agent has secured teenage drama The Kids From The Port, the second feature from Spanish director Alberto Morais.
It will see Morais return to Moscow’s main competition, having won the Golden George and the Fipresci International Critics’ Prize at the Russian festival two years ago for his feature debut Las Olas, which also received the Silver George for actor Carlos Álvarez-Nóvia.
Media Luna has also secured the rights to Slovenian director Nejc Gazvoda’s Dual, which will have its world premiere in Karlovy Vary’s East of the West Competition on July 3.
The love story between two young women is Gazvoda’s second feature after his internationally acclaimed debut A Trip.
Media Luna will also have the international premiere of [link...
- 6/19/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.