French director Laurent Cantet, who won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2008 for The Class, has died at the age of 63.
Based on the semi-autobiographical book by writer François Bégaudeau about his experiences working as a literature teacher in an inner city school in Paris, The Class featured a mainly unprofessional cast including the author.
Cantet had been due to shoot his next film Enzo, with Elodie Bouchez and Pierfrancesco Favino in the cast, this August
His second collaboration with Anatomy of a Fall producer Marie-Angle Luciani, after 2021 film Arthur Rambo, it revolved around a teenager who embarks on a mason apprenticeship in the South of France to escape a controlling father.
Cantet studied film at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques (Idhec) in Paris in the mid-1980s, where his contemporaries were Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand and Robin Campillo.
They would continue to collaborate on one another’s projects throughout their careers,...
Based on the semi-autobiographical book by writer François Bégaudeau about his experiences working as a literature teacher in an inner city school in Paris, The Class featured a mainly unprofessional cast including the author.
Cantet had been due to shoot his next film Enzo, with Elodie Bouchez and Pierfrancesco Favino in the cast, this August
His second collaboration with Anatomy of a Fall producer Marie-Angle Luciani, after 2021 film Arthur Rambo, it revolved around a teenager who embarks on a mason apprenticeship in the South of France to escape a controlling father.
Cantet studied film at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques (Idhec) in Paris in the mid-1980s, where his contemporaries were Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand and Robin Campillo.
They would continue to collaborate on one another’s projects throughout their careers,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
US composer Elliot Goldenthal will receive a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming 24th World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa), Film Fest Gent’s annual film music awards ceremony.
Goldenthal is most renowned for his Oscar, Golden Globe and Wsa-winning score for Frida, as well as scoring Interview With The Vampire, Heat, Batman Forever, Michael Collins, Titus and Across The Universe across his accomplished career.
He will be presented with his award on October 16 at the Wsa ceremony and concert in Ghent, in which a selection of Goldenthal’s work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé.
Goldenthal,...
Goldenthal is most renowned for his Oscar, Golden Globe and Wsa-winning score for Frida, as well as scoring Interview With The Vampire, Heat, Batman Forever, Michael Collins, Titus and Across The Universe across his accomplished career.
He will be presented with his award on October 16 at the Wsa ceremony and concert in Ghent, in which a selection of Goldenthal’s work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé.
Goldenthal,...
- 4/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sarajevo Film Festival will honour Palestinian director Elia Suleiman with its Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award, and will screen a retrospective of selected works by the filmmaker.
The award will be presented to Suleiman at the 30th edition of the festival, which takes place from August 16-23.
Suleiman was a guest at the festival in 2019, where his film It Must Be Heaven was screened in the Open Air programme. He also served as the president of the jury at the festival in 2016.
Suleiman’s first feature Chronicle of a Disappearance won the Best First Film Prize at Venice in 1996. In...
The award will be presented to Suleiman at the 30th edition of the festival, which takes place from August 16-23.
Suleiman was a guest at the festival in 2019, where his film It Must Be Heaven was screened in the Open Air programme. He also served as the president of the jury at the festival in 2016.
Suleiman’s first feature Chronicle of a Disappearance won the Best First Film Prize at Venice in 1996. In...
- 4/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 30th Sarajevo Film Festival will pay tribute to Palestinian director Elia Suleiman in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to the art of film.” The filmmaker will be presented with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award and honored with a retrospective of his selected works in the festival’s “Tribute to” program.
Suleiman was a guest at Sarajevo in 2019, where his film “It Must Be Heaven” was screened in the Open Air program. The film had received the special jury mention at Cannes the same year. He also served as the president of the jury at Sarajevo in 2016, and was a guest at the festival in 2013.
Jovan Marjanović, the festival’s director, said Suleiman’s “universal language of cinema speaks to fundamental human values and emotions: fear and hope, home and homeland.”
He added, “With his trademark wit, humor and profound insight, he navigates the complexities of our existence, shedding...
Suleiman was a guest at Sarajevo in 2019, where his film “It Must Be Heaven” was screened in the Open Air program. The film had received the special jury mention at Cannes the same year. He also served as the president of the jury at Sarajevo in 2016, and was a guest at the festival in 2013.
Jovan Marjanović, the festival’s director, said Suleiman’s “universal language of cinema speaks to fundamental human values and emotions: fear and hope, home and homeland.”
He added, “With his trademark wit, humor and profound insight, he navigates the complexities of our existence, shedding...
- 4/24/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Anthony Scaramucci To Host U.S. Edition Of ‘The Rest Is Politics’
Anthony Scaramucci is getting into podcasting. The former White House Director of Communications will host an American edition of British podcast The Rest is Politics alongside Katty Kay, U.S. Special Correspondent for BBC Studios. Starting Friday (April 26) The pair will look to uncover secrets from inside Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s inner circles, and take a wider look at the intricacies of U.S. society and how they shape the world’s most important economy. New episodes will be released every Friday. Produced by football veteran Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger Films, The Rest is Politics launched in the UK in 2022, with former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy Alastair Campbell and former Cabinet Minister Rory Stewart at the helm. This week, hosts Campbell and Stewart were announced to be presenting UK network Channel 4’s...
Anthony Scaramucci is getting into podcasting. The former White House Director of Communications will host an American edition of British podcast The Rest is Politics alongside Katty Kay, U.S. Special Correspondent for BBC Studios. Starting Friday (April 26) The pair will look to uncover secrets from inside Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s inner circles, and take a wider look at the intricacies of U.S. society and how they shape the world’s most important economy. New episodes will be released every Friday. Produced by football veteran Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger Films, The Rest is Politics launched in the UK in 2022, with former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy Alastair Campbell and former Cabinet Minister Rory Stewart at the helm. This week, hosts Campbell and Stewart were announced to be presenting UK network Channel 4’s...
- 4/24/2024
- by Hannah Abraham and Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-nominated Mexican sound designer Martin Hernandez has given new details about his latest project, Netflix documentary series The Master Of Monarchs [working title], which will launch on the platform later this year.
The series takes flight with the story of the Monarch butterfly and its journey from Canada to El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve, a nature reserve in Mexico. The keeper of the reserve, environmental activist Homero Gomez, was murdered in 2020. It is believed he was killed because he stood up against organised crime groups.
The Master Of Monarchs will feature interviews with Gomez’s wife and children.
“It’s a great documentary.
The series takes flight with the story of the Monarch butterfly and its journey from Canada to El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve, a nature reserve in Mexico. The keeper of the reserve, environmental activist Homero Gomez, was murdered in 2020. It is believed he was killed because he stood up against organised crime groups.
The Master Of Monarchs will feature interviews with Gomez’s wife and children.
“It’s a great documentary.
- 3/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off its 10th Qumra talent and project incubator meeting on a somber note on Friday as its organizers spoke out about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Some 200 international industry professionals are due to attend the Qatari event, running from March 1 to 6, to nurture 40 projects by emerging filmmakers. The event is a cornerstone of the Dfi’s activities.
“While we celebrate the progress that we have made in nurturing new voices in cinema, we are also confronted with the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing attempts to silence the voices crying out against it,” said Dfi CEO Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi.
“This cultural genocide is a profound reminder of our responsibility as a global community to ensure that all voices are heard, and all lives are treated with dignity and respect.”
Hassan Al Remaihi was speaking the day after Gaza authorities accused Israeli soldiers...
Some 200 international industry professionals are due to attend the Qatari event, running from March 1 to 6, to nurture 40 projects by emerging filmmakers. The event is a cornerstone of the Dfi’s activities.
“While we celebrate the progress that we have made in nurturing new voices in cinema, we are also confronted with the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing attempts to silence the voices crying out against it,” said Dfi CEO Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi.
“This cultural genocide is a profound reminder of our responsibility as a global community to ensure that all voices are heard, and all lives are treated with dignity and respect.”
Hassan Al Remaihi was speaking the day after Gaza authorities accused Israeli soldiers...
- 3/1/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Fatma Al-Remaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute (Dfi), has today called for a ceasefire to bring an end to the “genocide in Gaza”, in her speech to open Qumra, the Dfi’s project and talent lab.
Addressing the 200 Qumra attendees at Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art, Al-Remaihi said, “While we celebrate the progress we have made, we are also confronted with a genocide in Gaza; and the ongoing attempts in silencing the voices crying out against it.
“It’s extremely frustrating and disappointing to see creative spaces, once considered safe havens for free expression, become oppressive. This cultural...
Addressing the 200 Qumra attendees at Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art, Al-Remaihi said, “While we celebrate the progress we have made, we are also confronted with a genocide in Gaza; and the ongoing attempts in silencing the voices crying out against it.
“It’s extremely frustrating and disappointing to see creative spaces, once considered safe havens for free expression, become oppressive. This cultural...
- 3/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Qatar’s Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicks off the 10th edition of its Qumra project and talent incubator event meeting this Friday.
Running from March 1 to 6 in downtown Doha and the lofty surroundings of the city’s I. M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, the event will welcome the filmmakers and producers of 40 projects across all formats for six days of masterclasses, workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions.
Participants include UK director Ana Naomi de Sousa with Naseem, Fight With Grace about boxing star Naseem Hamed; Moroccan filmmaker Alaa Eddine Aljem with Eldorado, The Taste of the South, his second feature after Cannes Critics’ Week title The Unknown Saint; Tunisian director Mehdi Barsaoui with Aïcha, which follows 2019 drama A Son for which Sami Bouajila won Best Actor in the Venice’s Horizons sidebar, and Palestinian director Saleh Saadi with TV series Dyouf, about a young man who returns to his...
Running from March 1 to 6 in downtown Doha and the lofty surroundings of the city’s I. M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, the event will welcome the filmmakers and producers of 40 projects across all formats for six days of masterclasses, workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions.
Participants include UK director Ana Naomi de Sousa with Naseem, Fight With Grace about boxing star Naseem Hamed; Moroccan filmmaker Alaa Eddine Aljem with Eldorado, The Taste of the South, his second feature after Cannes Critics’ Week title The Unknown Saint; Tunisian director Mehdi Barsaoui with Aïcha, which follows 2019 drama A Son for which Sami Bouajila won Best Actor in the Venice’s Horizons sidebar, and Palestinian director Saleh Saadi with TV series Dyouf, about a young man who returns to his...
- 2/28/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Doha Film Institute has recruited Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, French auteurs Claire Denis and Leos Carax, Canada’s Atom Egoyan and Oscar-nominated Mexican sound editor Martín Hernández to hold master classes and act as mentors during its upcoming Qumra Arab industry incubator.
The event, now celebrating its 10th edition, will run March 1-6 in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market and festival elements. It was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors, and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.
Egoyan will be making the trek to Doha segueing from Berlin, where he is internationally launching drama “Seven Veils” with Amanda Seyfried in tow. Sheridan is currently working on the docu-drama “Re-creation” about the murder of French film and TV producer...
The event, now celebrating its 10th edition, will run March 1-6 in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market and festival elements. It was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors, and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.
Egoyan will be making the trek to Doha segueing from Berlin, where he is internationally launching drama “Seven Veils” with Amanda Seyfried in tow. Sheridan is currently working on the docu-drama “Re-creation” about the murder of French film and TV producer...
- 2/5/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Qatar’s Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has announced that Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Martín Hernández and Jim Sheridan will serve as Qumra Masters at the 10th edition of its respected talent incubator event, running from March 1 to 6.
They join a long list of top professionals to have participated in the Qumra meeting since its launch in 2014, which has included James Schamus, Naomi Kawase, Asghar Farhadi, Gael Garcia Bernal and Tilda Swinton.
Under the Qumra format, a select group of Mena and international filmmakers and producers of projects supported by the Dfi’s grants program attend the six-day talent and project incubator meeting in Doha.
The Qumra Masters give a masterclass and then provide one-on-one mentorship to the partipants alongside a host of other industry professionals in attendance.
French director Carax is currently working on post-production for his personal work It’s Not Me, which follows his award-winning pop-rock melodrama Annette,...
They join a long list of top professionals to have participated in the Qumra meeting since its launch in 2014, which has included James Schamus, Naomi Kawase, Asghar Farhadi, Gael Garcia Bernal and Tilda Swinton.
Under the Qumra format, a select group of Mena and international filmmakers and producers of projects supported by the Dfi’s grants program attend the six-day talent and project incubator meeting in Doha.
The Qumra Masters give a masterclass and then provide one-on-one mentorship to the partipants alongside a host of other industry professionals in attendance.
French director Carax is currently working on post-production for his personal work It’s Not Me, which follows his award-winning pop-rock melodrama Annette,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Claire Denis, Leox Carax, Jim Sheridan, Atom Egoyan and Martin Hernandez will be the Masters for the 10th edition of Qumra, the Doha Film Institute’s annual incubator event.
The four directors plus sound designer and editor Hernandez will discuss their careers in individual talks with the Qumra delegates.
This year’s Qumra will run from March 1-6, with the 10th edition a key milestone for a Middle Eastern film event.
“As the Arab world’s first-of-its-kind talent incubator, Qumra has served as the preeminent platform for emerging talents to give their projects a distinct advantage through invaluable networking sessions with leading industry professionals,...
The four directors plus sound designer and editor Hernandez will discuss their careers in individual talks with the Qumra delegates.
This year’s Qumra will run from March 1-6, with the 10th edition a key milestone for a Middle Eastern film event.
“As the Arab world’s first-of-its-kind talent incubator, Qumra has served as the preeminent platform for emerging talents to give their projects a distinct advantage through invaluable networking sessions with leading industry professionals,...
- 2/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
Rotterdam Film Festival Sets ‘Head South’ As Opening Film
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
- 11/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Victor Erice’s “Close Your Eyes” won best film at the 17th edition of Leffest Lisboa Film Festival, which announced awards Saturday night.
Marking Erice’s first feature film since his 1992 docudrama “The Quince Tree Sun” and garnering almost universal positive reviews – Variety called it “an aching ode to film, time and memory” – following its world premiere at Cannes, “Close Your Eyes” has screened at Toronto, Busan, BFI London and New York.
During Leffest, in a session moderated by Paulo Branco, 83-year old Erice took part in a conversation with preeminent 64-year old Portuguese helmer, Pedro Costa, whose short “The Daughters of Fire,” was a Cannes Special Screening and also had its Portuguese premiere at the fest.
Erice remarked during the event, one fest highlight, that both he and Costa are working in the shadow of two great filmmakers – “Don Luis Buñuel” and “Don Manoel de Oliveira” – and he added...
Marking Erice’s first feature film since his 1992 docudrama “The Quince Tree Sun” and garnering almost universal positive reviews – Variety called it “an aching ode to film, time and memory” – following its world premiere at Cannes, “Close Your Eyes” has screened at Toronto, Busan, BFI London and New York.
During Leffest, in a session moderated by Paulo Branco, 83-year old Erice took part in a conversation with preeminent 64-year old Portuguese helmer, Pedro Costa, whose short “The Daughters of Fire,” was a Cannes Special Screening and also had its Portuguese premiere at the fest.
Erice remarked during the event, one fest highlight, that both he and Costa are working in the shadow of two great filmmakers – “Don Luis Buñuel” and “Don Manoel de Oliveira” – and he added...
- 11/19/2023
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
The Spanish director will receive the European achievement to world cinema award.
The European Film Academy will honour Spanish director Isabel Coixet with the award in European achievement to world cinema at the European Film Awards.
The director will be the guest of honour at the ceremony on December 9 in Berlin.
Coixet made her debut in 1989 with Demasiado Viejo Para Morir Joven, which was nominated for best new director at Spain’s Goya awards.
She went on to become the most decorated female filmmaker at the Goyas with nine wins for films including 2003’s My Life Without Me, 2017’s The Bookshop...
The European Film Academy will honour Spanish director Isabel Coixet with the award in European achievement to world cinema at the European Film Awards.
The director will be the guest of honour at the ceremony on December 9 in Berlin.
Coixet made her debut in 1989 with Demasiado Viejo Para Morir Joven, which was nominated for best new director at Spain’s Goya awards.
She went on to become the most decorated female filmmaker at the Goyas with nine wins for films including 2003’s My Life Without Me, 2017’s The Bookshop...
- 11/15/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Updated with Carthage Cinema Days cancellation… Tunisia’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs has cancelled the upcoming 34th Carthage Film Days (Carthage Film Festival), which was due to run from October 28 to November 4.
It is the fourth Middle East and North African film festival to be cancelled in the last 48 hours, after Cairo, El Gouna and Qatar’s Ajyal.
The cancellations come amid growing turmoil in the region sparked by deadly Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, which in turn unleashed a retaliatory Israeli blockade and bombing campaign on Gaza. Tunisia said the decision to shelve Carthage had been made out of solidarity for the Palestinian people.
The fall is traditionally a busy period for film festivals across Mena. These events may not enjoy the same fame as Cannes or Venice, but they are the life blood of the region’s indie film industry, showcasing its latest work as well...
It is the fourth Middle East and North African film festival to be cancelled in the last 48 hours, after Cairo, El Gouna and Qatar’s Ajyal.
The cancellations come amid growing turmoil in the region sparked by deadly Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, which in turn unleashed a retaliatory Israeli blockade and bombing campaign on Gaza. Tunisia said the decision to shelve Carthage had been made out of solidarity for the Palestinian people.
The fall is traditionally a busy period for film festivals across Mena. These events may not enjoy the same fame as Cannes or Venice, but they are the life blood of the region’s indie film industry, showcasing its latest work as well...
- 10/19/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Middle East and North Africa region’s cinema star is rising across every aspect of the chain from production to exhibition to streaming.
Fresh energy has been injected into the sector by the arrival of Saudi Arabia on the scene following the lifting of its cinema ban in 2017 as part of its 2030 Vision diversifying the country’s economy away from oil.
Neighboring Qatar, one of the only stable major sources of funding for film in the region for more than a decade, also continues to play a vital role via the Doha Film Institute.
Its grants program, year-round training initiatives and springtime talent incubator Qumra have supported more than 750 short, features and series projects from 78 countries over the past decade.
The body was out in force at Cannes this year having supported films across Official Selection and the parallel sections, including Palme d’Or contenders About Dry Grasses, Club Zero...
Fresh energy has been injected into the sector by the arrival of Saudi Arabia on the scene following the lifting of its cinema ban in 2017 as part of its 2030 Vision diversifying the country’s economy away from oil.
Neighboring Qatar, one of the only stable major sources of funding for film in the region for more than a decade, also continues to play a vital role via the Doha Film Institute.
Its grants program, year-round training initiatives and springtime talent incubator Qumra have supported more than 750 short, features and series projects from 78 countries over the past decade.
The body was out in force at Cannes this year having supported films across Official Selection and the parallel sections, including Palme d’Or contenders About Dry Grasses, Club Zero...
- 5/31/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent and project incubator event returned as a 100% in-person event last week, bringing participants together face-to-face in Doha for the first time since it was forced online in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s been great to have everyone back gain. I keep pinching myself that it’s still happening. I could not be happier with how it has gone,” said Dfi CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi.
The ninth edition, running from March 10 to 15, gathered 44 Dfi grantee projects across all formats and in various stages of development and production, accompanied by their first, second and third-time directors and producers.
The Dfi is one of the main sources of funding for independent cinema in the Middle East and North Africa, a region with very little state support for independent film.
“We have between 400 to 500 submissions per cycle, and we have two cycles a year. It...
“It’s been great to have everyone back gain. I keep pinching myself that it’s still happening. I could not be happier with how it has gone,” said Dfi CEO Fatma Hassan Alremaihi.
The ninth edition, running from March 10 to 15, gathered 44 Dfi grantee projects across all formats and in various stages of development and production, accompanied by their first, second and third-time directors and producers.
The Dfi is one of the main sources of funding for independent cinema in the Middle East and North Africa, a region with very little state support for independent film.
“We have between 400 to 500 submissions per cycle, and we have two cycles a year. It...
- 3/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Three months ago, Doha’s new Downtown Msheireb district was the throbbing heart of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as one of its main fan zones.
Quiz any local on the street or in its cafes and shops about what it was like, and their faces light up as they recount how packed it was and the magical atmosphere.
Billed as the world’s first sustainable downtown regeneration project, the pedestrianized neighborhood is now acting as the backdrop to the Doha Film Institute’s annual Qumra talent incubator, alongside the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art (Mia).
The event, which kicked off on Friday, aims to hothouse 44 film and series projects in various formats and stages of production. All the projects are recipients of the Dfi’s generous grant program
The focus is on Middle East and North African filmmakers but there are also projects from further afield...
Quiz any local on the street or in its cafes and shops about what it was like, and their faces light up as they recount how packed it was and the magical atmosphere.
Billed as the world’s first sustainable downtown regeneration project, the pedestrianized neighborhood is now acting as the backdrop to the Doha Film Institute’s annual Qumra talent incubator, alongside the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art (Mia).
The event, which kicked off on Friday, aims to hothouse 44 film and series projects in various formats and stages of production. All the projects are recipients of the Dfi’s generous grant program
The focus is on Middle East and North African filmmakers but there are also projects from further afield...
- 3/10/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Christopher Hampton, Michael Winterbottom also among speakers at the Doha incubator.
Lynne Ramsay, David Parfitt and Christopher Hampton are among the Masters for Qumra 2023 – the first in-person edition of the Doha Film Institute’s industry incubator since 2019.
The trio will be joined by director Michael Winterbottom and costume designer Jacqueline West. All five will give individual masterclasses to aspiring filmmakers from the region and around the world, offering creative development and mentorship opportunities.
Qumra 2023 will run on a hybrid format, with in-person events from March 10-15, and virtual sessions from March 19-21.
Four of the five Masters are British, with West,...
Lynne Ramsay, David Parfitt and Christopher Hampton are among the Masters for Qumra 2023 – the first in-person edition of the Doha Film Institute’s industry incubator since 2019.
The trio will be joined by director Michael Winterbottom and costume designer Jacqueline West. All five will give individual masterclasses to aspiring filmmakers from the region and around the world, offering creative development and mentorship opportunities.
Qumra 2023 will run on a hybrid format, with in-person events from March 10-15, and virtual sessions from March 19-21.
Four of the five Masters are British, with West,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Doha Film Institute has recruited an impressive mix of film directors and talents comprising Christopher Hampton, David Parfitt, Jacqueline West, Lynne Ramsay, and Michael Winterbottom who will hold master classes and act as mentors during its upcoming Qumra Arab industry incubator.
The event, which is back in person after a two-year hiatus, will run physically March 10-15 in the Qatari capital of Doha, followed by an online program March 19-21. Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market, and festival elements. The event, now at its ninth edition, was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.
“The latest edition of Qumra will continue its presence as a unique and important platform for important voices and compelling stories in Arab and world cinema,...
The event, which is back in person after a two-year hiatus, will run physically March 10-15 in the Qatari capital of Doha, followed by an online program March 19-21. Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market, and festival elements. The event, now at its ninth edition, was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.
“The latest edition of Qumra will continue its presence as a unique and important platform for important voices and compelling stories in Arab and world cinema,...
- 2/19/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Playwright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton, producer David Parfitt, Dune costume designer Jacqueline West and directors Lynne Ramsay and Michael Winterbottom are to set attend the Qatari Doha Film Institute’s ninth talent incubator event Qumra in March.
The meeting, which returns as an in-person event for the first time in four years from March 10-15 after a Covid-19 pandemic hiatus, focuses on nurturing first and second-time filmmakers.
They attend with their projects that have received funding from the Doha Film Institute (Dfi), a major backer of indie cinema in the Middle East and North Africa.
Hampton, Parfitt, West, Ramsay and Winterbottom are participating in the role of the event’s so-called Qumra Masters.
They will give a masterclass and mentor some of the filmmakers in attendance. The full list of attendees and projects will be announced next week.
Oscar-winner Hampton’s participation follows in the wake of The Father, for...
The meeting, which returns as an in-person event for the first time in four years from March 10-15 after a Covid-19 pandemic hiatus, focuses on nurturing first and second-time filmmakers.
They attend with their projects that have received funding from the Doha Film Institute (Dfi), a major backer of indie cinema in the Middle East and North Africa.
Hampton, Parfitt, West, Ramsay and Winterbottom are participating in the role of the event’s so-called Qumra Masters.
They will give a masterclass and mentor some of the filmmakers in attendance. The full list of attendees and projects will be announced next week.
Oscar-winner Hampton’s participation follows in the wake of The Father, for...
- 2/19/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The 35th European Film Awards took place amid the uncanny beauty of Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik. While it was possible to take a boat from the marina to gaze up at the aurora borealis dancing across the sky, the northern light on Saturday, December 10 came from Sweden and was named Ruben Östlund. The EFAs have a habit of decorating the same film across all major categories, so when his broad eat-the-rich satire “Triangle of Sadness” picked up an early award for Best European Director, it was clear which way the weather was going.
Östlund barely flinched when his name was announced as the winner in this early category — perhaps two Palme d’Ors in five years does that to a man. He first thanked the actress Sunnyi Melles (who was present) for her “great vomiting performance” and then had the grace to pay respects to Charlbi Dean, the South...
Östlund barely flinched when his name was announced as the winner in this early category — perhaps two Palme d’Ors in five years does that to a man. He first thanked the actress Sunnyi Melles (who was present) for her “great vomiting performance” and then had the grace to pay respects to Charlbi Dean, the South...
- 12/11/2022
- by Sophie Monks Kaufman
- Indiewire
Ruben Östlund’s latest satire, Triangle of Sadness, dominated the European Film Awards with four wins, including Best Film, the evening’s top prize.
Östlund also picked up the Best Screenplay and Best Director Awards for his work on the film, and Zlatko Burić nabbed Best Actor for his leading role.
The film, which picked up this year’s Palme d’Or, follows Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), a celebrity model couple who are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting to stay alive.
In other top prizes, Vicky Krieps won the Best Actress award for the well-received period drama Corsage, and the Javier Bardem starrer, The Good Boss, won Best Comedy.
The awards ceremony, overseen by the European Film Academy, took place...
Östlund also picked up the Best Screenplay and Best Director Awards for his work on the film, and Zlatko Burić nabbed Best Actor for his leading role.
The film, which picked up this year’s Palme d’Or, follows Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), a celebrity model couple who are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting to stay alive.
In other top prizes, Vicky Krieps won the Best Actress award for the well-received period drama Corsage, and the Javier Bardem starrer, The Good Boss, won Best Comedy.
The awards ceremony, overseen by the European Film Academy, took place...
- 12/10/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The 35th European Film Awards are underway at the Harpa concert hall in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík. The awards have been voted on by the 4,400 members of the European Film Academy. (Watch the ceremony here.)
“Close,” “Holy Spider” and “Triangle of Sadness” lead the nominations tally, with four apiece, followed by “Corsage” with three.
Icelandic actor, screenwriter and politician Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir and Icelandic artist, author and stand-up comedian Hugleikur Dagsson are the masters of ceremony at the event, which is being attended by around 1,200 guests.
Presenters during the evening include Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Bulgarian actor Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), Italian actor Lorenzo Zurzolo (“Eo”), Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, German actor Nina Hoss, French-Algerian actor Dali Benssalah and German actor Albrecht Schuch.
Honorees include directors Marco Bellocchio, who will receive the award for European innovative storytelling, Elia Suleiman, the European achievement in world cinema award-winner, and Margarethe von Trotta,...
“Close,” “Holy Spider” and “Triangle of Sadness” lead the nominations tally, with four apiece, followed by “Corsage” with three.
Icelandic actor, screenwriter and politician Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir and Icelandic artist, author and stand-up comedian Hugleikur Dagsson are the masters of ceremony at the event, which is being attended by around 1,200 guests.
Presenters during the evening include Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Bulgarian actor Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), Italian actor Lorenzo Zurzolo (“Eo”), Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, German actor Nina Hoss, French-Algerian actor Dali Benssalah and German actor Albrecht Schuch.
Honorees include directors Marco Bellocchio, who will receive the award for European innovative storytelling, Elia Suleiman, the European achievement in world cinema award-winner, and Margarethe von Trotta,...
- 12/10/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
At this year’s FIFA World Cup, all political displays — even ones as innocuous as a rainbow-colored armband showing solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community — have been banned. Host nation Qatar has spent an estimated 200 billion to stage the biggest show in global sports and any on-air references to its questionable human rights record, treatment of women, migrant workers, etc. would just spoil the vibe.
But this Saturday, as fans sit down to watch the sanitized World Cup quarterfinals, another show will be taking place, one where the organizers like to wear their politics on their sleeves. Reykjavik, Iceland, some 5,500 miles, and truly a world, away from Doha, will host the 35th European Film Awards (EFAs).
TV ratings — the show will be broadcast in 10 countries and live-streamed in 24 — are unlikely to match the soccer tournament. But the European Film Academy is determined to use...
At this year’s FIFA World Cup, all political displays — even ones as innocuous as a rainbow-colored armband showing solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community — have been banned. Host nation Qatar has spent an estimated 200 billion to stage the biggest show in global sports and any on-air references to its questionable human rights record, treatment of women, migrant workers, etc. would just spoil the vibe.
But this Saturday, as fans sit down to watch the sanitized World Cup quarterfinals, another show will be taking place, one where the organizers like to wear their politics on their sleeves. Reykjavik, Iceland, some 5,500 miles, and truly a world, away from Doha, will host the 35th European Film Awards (EFAs).
TV ratings — the show will be broadcast in 10 countries and live-streamed in 24 — are unlikely to match the soccer tournament. But the European Film Academy is determined to use...
- 12/9/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Fipresci Jury Award-winning “A Gaza Weekend” made a splash at Toronto International Film Festival last week. Public and press alike flocked towards theaters for this film’s premiere weekend; each screening was packed. The film’s release could not have been more timely. Written during the swine flu and released after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, British-Palestinian Basil Khalil pokes fun at plague paranoia in his narrative feature debut. In this punchy family-friendly comedy of the Gaza Strip, any and all traditional power hierarchies are out the window for the sake of survival.
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Red Sea International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak...
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Red Sea International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak...
- 12/3/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Ameer Fakher Eldin’s “The Stranger” (Al Garib) will play as one of the last screenings of this year’s Arab Film Festival, the largest of its kind in North America. Though this is only Eldin’s first feature, his movie has reaped international accolades. “The Stranger” premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori last year, where it took home the Edipo Re Award. At the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Dp Niklas Landschau walked away for his Achievement in Cinematography. Now, “The Stranger” is up to bat next year as Palestine’s nomination for Best International Feature for the 94th Academy Awards.
The Stranger is screening at the Arab Film Festival
“The Stranger” revolves around Adnan (Ashraf Barhom), who has been dealt an unlucky hand in life. His father (Mohammad Bakri), for one, despises him. He arbitrarily writes Adnan off his will,...
The Stranger is screening at the Arab Film Festival
“The Stranger” revolves around Adnan (Ashraf Barhom), who has been dealt an unlucky hand in life. His father (Mohammad Bakri), for one, despises him. He arbitrarily writes Adnan off his will,...
- 11/22/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The 35th European Film Awards have officially unveiled this year’s nominations.
Lukas Dhont’s queer coming-of-age drama “Close,” Ali Abbasi’s serial-killer thriller “Holy Spider,” and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning “Triangle of Sadness” lead the 2022 nominations, with each film garnering nods in top categories: Best European Film, Best Director, and Screenwriter.
Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” lands three nominations, including Best Actress for Vicky Krieps. “Alcarràs” has two nominations, while Venice Golden Lion winner “Saint Omer” picked up one nod for Best European Director for Alice Diop.
The European Film Academy hosts the award ceremony on December 10 in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík.
German director Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with the European Lifetime Achievement award, and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman is set to be celebrated with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award. Italian director Marco Bellocchio will receive the Award for European Innovative Storytelling for the limited series “Exterior Night.
Lukas Dhont’s queer coming-of-age drama “Close,” Ali Abbasi’s serial-killer thriller “Holy Spider,” and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning “Triangle of Sadness” lead the 2022 nominations, with each film garnering nods in top categories: Best European Film, Best Director, and Screenwriter.
Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” lands three nominations, including Best Actress for Vicky Krieps. “Alcarràs” has two nominations, while Venice Golden Lion winner “Saint Omer” picked up one nod for Best European Director for Alice Diop.
The European Film Academy hosts the award ceremony on December 10 in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík.
German director Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with the European Lifetime Achievement award, and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman is set to be celebrated with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award. Italian director Marco Bellocchio will receive the Award for European Innovative Storytelling for the limited series “Exterior Night.
- 11/8/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s Close, Danish director Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider and Swedish director Ruben Ôstlund’s Triangle Of Sadness lead the nominations for the 35th European Film Awards, which were unveiled today.
The films have each made it into four categories including best European Film, Best Director and Screenwriter.
All three films debuted at Cannes this year, where Triangle Of Sadness clinched the Palme d’Or; Close, the Grand Prize (in ex-aequo with Claire Denis’s Stars At Noon); and Holy Spider, best actress for Zar Amir-Ebrahimi.
Close and Holy Spider are also the entries for their respective countries of Belgium and Denmark in the Academy Awards Best International Film category this year.
Further hot contenders include Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, with three nominations, including best actress for Vicky Krieps, and Berlinale Berlinale Golden Lion Alcarràs with two nominations. Venice 2022 Grand Jury and best first...
The films have each made it into four categories including best European Film, Best Director and Screenwriter.
All three films debuted at Cannes this year, where Triangle Of Sadness clinched the Palme d’Or; Close, the Grand Prize (in ex-aequo with Claire Denis’s Stars At Noon); and Holy Spider, best actress for Zar Amir-Ebrahimi.
Close and Holy Spider are also the entries for their respective countries of Belgium and Denmark in the Academy Awards Best International Film category this year.
Further hot contenders include Austrian director Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, with three nominations, including best actress for Vicky Krieps, and Berlinale Berlinale Golden Lion Alcarràs with two nominations. Venice 2022 Grand Jury and best first...
- 11/8/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Fipresci Jury Award-winning “A Gaza Weekend” made a splash at Toronto International Film Festival last week. Public and press alike flocked towards theaters for this film’s premiere weekend; each screening was packed. The film’s release could not have been more timely. Written during the swine flu and released after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, British-Palestinian Basil Khalil pokes fun at plague paranoia in his narrative feature debut. In this punchy family-friendly comedy of the Gaza Strip, any and all traditional power hierarchies are out the window for the sake of survival.
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Toronto International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak of a new deadly Ars virus.
A Gaza Weekend is screening at Toronto International Film Festival
Like many films about Palestine, “A Gaza Weekend” follows the trajectory of a refugee couple – though this time, they’re from Israel. Englishman Michael (Stephen Mangan) and his Israeli partner Keren (Mouna Hawa) are desperate to leave the country after the outbreak of a new deadly Ars virus.
- 9/20/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Pearl, second entry in series, gets TIFF North American premiere today.
Ahead of the North American premiere of Ti West’s Pearl at TIFF later today (September 13), A24 and the filmmaker have announced MaXXXine, the third entry in their X horror franchise.
West writes and directs the feature which sees franchise lead Mia Goth star again as Maxine, the sole survivor of the bloody events of X, who continues her journey towards fame and sets out to make it as an actress in 1980’s Los Angeles.
MaXXXine is produced by A24, Jacob Jaffke, West, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss, with...
Ahead of the North American premiere of Ti West’s Pearl at TIFF later today (September 13), A24 and the filmmaker have announced MaXXXine, the third entry in their X horror franchise.
West writes and directs the feature which sees franchise lead Mia Goth star again as Maxine, the sole survivor of the bloody events of X, who continues her journey towards fame and sets out to make it as an actress in 1980’s Los Angeles.
MaXXXine is produced by A24, Jacob Jaffke, West, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss, with...
- 9/13/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
He will be presented with the European achievement in world cinema award on December 10.
The European Film Academy will present Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman with the European achievement in world cinema award at this year’s European Film Awards in Reykjavik on December 10.
He is the first Palestinian director to receive the honour.
Suleiman wrote, directed and starred in his debut feature Chronicle Of A Disappearance in 1996. The film detailed his experiences returning to Israel and picked the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for debut feature at Venice.
Divine Intervention was the first of many of Suleiman’s films to screen at Cannes.
The European Film Academy will present Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman with the European achievement in world cinema award at this year’s European Film Awards in Reykjavik on December 10.
He is the first Palestinian director to receive the honour.
Suleiman wrote, directed and starred in his debut feature Chronicle Of A Disappearance in 1996. The film detailed his experiences returning to Israel and picked the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for debut feature at Venice.
Divine Intervention was the first of many of Suleiman’s films to screen at Cannes.
- 9/13/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The European Film Academy will honor Palestinian auteur Elia Suleiman with its European Achievement in World Cinema Award.
The Paris-based Suleiman, whose most recent work “It Must Be Heaven” premiered in 2019 at Cannes, is the first Palestinian director to win this prestigious prize.
Suleiman will be an honorary guest at the 35th European Film Awards ceremony to be held on Dec. 10 in Reykjavik.
Born in Nazareth, Suleiman started his career in New York where in the early 1990s he shot two short films, “Introduction to the End of an Argument” and “Homage by Assassination” which won several prizes.
Suleiman’s debut feature film, “Chronicle of a Disappearance,” on the loss of national identity in Israel’s Arab population, won the first film prize at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. In 2002, his “Divine Intervention” won the jury prize and the Fipresci Intl. Critics Prize of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as...
The Paris-based Suleiman, whose most recent work “It Must Be Heaven” premiered in 2019 at Cannes, is the first Palestinian director to win this prestigious prize.
Suleiman will be an honorary guest at the 35th European Film Awards ceremony to be held on Dec. 10 in Reykjavik.
Born in Nazareth, Suleiman started his career in New York where in the early 1990s he shot two short films, “Introduction to the End of an Argument” and “Homage by Assassination” which won several prizes.
Suleiman’s debut feature film, “Chronicle of a Disappearance,” on the loss of national identity in Israel’s Arab population, won the first film prize at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. In 2002, his “Divine Intervention” won the jury prize and the Fipresci Intl. Critics Prize of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as...
- 9/13/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Zeynep Atakan, the producer of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep,” has come on board to co-produce and handle international sales for “Hilal, Feza and Other Planets,” director Kutluğ Ataman’s follow-up to his 2014 Berlin Film Festival player, “The Lamb.”
The film begins soon after Turkey’s September 1997 coup, when Hilal and Fatma leave their Muslim town near the Turkish capital, Ankara, to study at the state university in Istanbul. A new law bars Fatma from entering the campus if she wears her religious head scarf. Meanwhile, their downstairs neighbor, Feza, has fled her own village where she was cruelly bullied for being a transgender woman. Hilal chooses to help Feza and Fatma, and against all odds, they’re brought together in the struggle for their rights.
“Hilal, Feza and Other Planets,” which Ataman shot on his smart phone, took part in Cannes’ Cinefondation Atelier in 2015. Currently in post-production,...
The film begins soon after Turkey’s September 1997 coup, when Hilal and Fatma leave their Muslim town near the Turkish capital, Ankara, to study at the state university in Istanbul. A new law bars Fatma from entering the campus if she wears her religious head scarf. Meanwhile, their downstairs neighbor, Feza, has fled her own village where she was cruelly bullied for being a transgender woman. Hilal chooses to help Feza and Fatma, and against all odds, they’re brought together in the struggle for their rights.
“Hilal, Feza and Other Planets,” which Ataman shot on his smart phone, took part in Cannes’ Cinefondation Atelier in 2015. Currently in post-production,...
- 5/26/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Snd is teaming up with Easy Riders Films to develop a premium limited series loosely based on “The Family,” Suzanne Privat’s best-selling investigative book on a French cult which has existed for more than 200 years.
“The Family” is penned by rising French screenwriter Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat, whose recent credits include “Nona and Her Daughters,” as well as the Amazon Original show “Mixte.” She led the writing team for season 2 of “In Treatment.”
Set in Paris’s underworld, the thriller series will shed right on the rites and customs of this enigmatic religious sect from diverse perspectives, focusing on the experiences of those inside and outside the community. The book, whose French title is “La Famille, itinéraires d’un secret,” was published by Les Avrils editions in 2021.
Madeleine-Perdrillat said “The Family” “offers the incredible opportunity to untangle the torments, paradoxes and quiet loyalties at the root of all families — all in...
“The Family” is penned by rising French screenwriter Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat, whose recent credits include “Nona and Her Daughters,” as well as the Amazon Original show “Mixte.” She led the writing team for season 2 of “In Treatment.”
Set in Paris’s underworld, the thriller series will shed right on the rites and customs of this enigmatic religious sect from diverse perspectives, focusing on the experiences of those inside and outside the community. The book, whose French title is “La Famille, itinéraires d’un secret,” was published by Les Avrils editions in 2021.
Madeleine-Perdrillat said “The Family” “offers the incredible opportunity to untangle the torments, paradoxes and quiet loyalties at the root of all families — all in...
- 3/22/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Edouard Weil and Alice Girard, the producers of Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening” and Valerie Lemercier’s Celine Dion movie “Aline,” won the Toscan du Plantier Award at a fancy Paris ceremony hosted by the Cesar Academie.
Weil and Girard, who run the Paris-based production banner Rectangle Productions, were selected by 1,557 voters, including all the artists and crew members who have been nominated at the Cesar Awards since 2008, as well as the 164 members of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema.
Besides “Happening” and “Aline,” Rectangle Productions delivered several other critically acclaimed films within the last year, including Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s “Bloody Oranges” and Gaspar Noé’s “Vortex” which played at Cannes.
Since being created by Weil in 2003, the company has also produced films by international auteurs, including Elia Suleiman. Girard, an industry veteran who previously held a senior executive position at French broadcasting group France Televisions, joined...
Weil and Girard, who run the Paris-based production banner Rectangle Productions, were selected by 1,557 voters, including all the artists and crew members who have been nominated at the Cesar Awards since 2008, as well as the 164 members of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema.
Besides “Happening” and “Aline,” Rectangle Productions delivered several other critically acclaimed films within the last year, including Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s “Bloody Oranges” and Gaspar Noé’s “Vortex” which played at Cannes.
Since being created by Weil in 2003, the company has also produced films by international auteurs, including Elia Suleiman. Girard, an industry veteran who previously held a senior executive position at French broadcasting group France Televisions, joined...
- 2/16/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
by Fahmidul Haq
Tareque Masud’s “Matir Moina” (2002) was the first film from Bangladesh that was screened in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight section and won the Fipresci award jointly with Elia Suleiman’s “Divine Intervention”. But it is Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s second feature “Rehana Maryam Noor”, the first film from the South Asian cinephile nation to be officially selected at Cannes, competing in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ category. The director of the film also bagged the Jury Grand Prize from Asia-Pacific Screen Award where the lead actress Azmeri Haque Badhon earned the award of the Best Performance by an Actress. Badhon was also included in the short list of ‘Variety’s International Breakout Stars of 2021’. Bangladeshi actors Chanchal Chowdhury, Mosharraf Karim and Badhon have expanded their stardom in 2021 by acting in web series released in Indian OTTs. Jaya Ahsan continued her already established acting career both in Dhaka and Kolkata-based Indian industry.
Tareque Masud’s “Matir Moina” (2002) was the first film from Bangladesh that was screened in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight section and won the Fipresci award jointly with Elia Suleiman’s “Divine Intervention”. But it is Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s second feature “Rehana Maryam Noor”, the first film from the South Asian cinephile nation to be officially selected at Cannes, competing in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ category. The director of the film also bagged the Jury Grand Prize from Asia-Pacific Screen Award where the lead actress Azmeri Haque Badhon earned the award of the Best Performance by an Actress. Badhon was also included in the short list of ‘Variety’s International Breakout Stars of 2021’. Bangladeshi actors Chanchal Chowdhury, Mosharraf Karim and Badhon have expanded their stardom in 2021 by acting in web series released in Indian OTTs. Jaya Ahsan continued her already established acting career both in Dhaka and Kolkata-based Indian industry.
- 1/31/2022
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Eric Lagesse, the CEO/president of Paris-based arthouse distributor and world sales outfit Pyramide Films, received the Industry Tribute Award at Cairo Film Festival on Friday. Variety spoke with him about his relationship with Arab cinema, and the state of the independent film business in France.
How do you feel about receiving this tribute?
It’s great, but I have had a year to get used to it. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t receive it last year, as planned. Nothing major has changed in the meantime. I am still very fond of Arab and Egyptian films. We are now working with a new generation of films and filmmakers like “Amira” (pictured), which played in the Horizons Competition at the Venice Film Festival this year.
What is your connection to the Arab film world?
We have been collaborating with the Arab world since the beginning of Pyramide. The first...
How do you feel about receiving this tribute?
It’s great, but I have had a year to get used to it. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t receive it last year, as planned. Nothing major has changed in the meantime. I am still very fond of Arab and Egyptian films. We are now working with a new generation of films and filmmakers like “Amira” (pictured), which played in the Horizons Competition at the Venice Film Festival this year.
What is your connection to the Arab film world?
We have been collaborating with the Arab world since the beginning of Pyramide. The first...
- 12/5/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Ben Sharrock's Limbo is exclusively showing on Mubi in the United Kingdom and Ireland starting September 23, 2021 in the series The New Auteurs.An urgent yet deliberately quirky film, Ben Sharrock’s brilliant Limbo is superficially another fish out of water story. Set in a remote part of Scotland, it resembles the old Ealing Comedies, like Whisky Galore!, but with incredibly dark social realism running through it. The fish is Syrian asylum-seeker Omar who, along with fellow refugees from different countries, has been sent to a place so unwelcoming and bleak—a local place for local people—that desperation quickly sets in. Omar has his trusty instrument, his grandfather’s oud, for company and a determination and outlook that sustains him, but it’s definitely not a rose-tinted story. The cherry on the top of this drama is casting Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen) as the woman helping them learn customs and language.
- 10/8/2021
- MUBI
“There is a preconception that Palestinians don’t laugh” – Elia Suleiman on satire It Must Be Heaven
It Must be Heaven played at the London Film Festival back in 2019, and while showing, we had the pleasure of speaking to its director Elia Suleiman. The film, which takes a sardonic, satirical view on the world, and displays, through sharp and subtle comedy, that no matter where you live, no matter who you are, deep down we’re really just the same. He discusses this themes with us as we sat over a coffee, and also tells us what it is like being a Palestinian filmmaker, and how so many misjudge and underestimate his work given his nationality, and struggle to understand that comedically inclined films can come from anywhere.
Hi Elia, I really enjoyed the film. Where did this idea first come from?
This answer will take up our entire twelve minutes. It’s actually coming from the same position as you saying you enjoyed the film. The fact is,...
Hi Elia, I really enjoyed the film. Where did this idea first come from?
This answer will take up our entire twelve minutes. It’s actually coming from the same position as you saying you enjoyed the film. The fact is,...
- 6/22/2021
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
‘In The Heights’ opens at number two of UK-Ireland box office as ‘Peter Rabbit 2’ surges back to top
Several titles got just past the £1m mark across the weekend.
Rank Film (Distributor) Three-day gross (Jun 18-20) Total gross to date Week 1 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Sony) £1.1m £15.3m 5 2 In The Heights (Warner Bros) £1.1m £1.1m 1 3 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (Lionsgate) £1m £1.6m 1 4 A Quiet Place Part II (Paramount) £1m £8.3m 3 5 Cruella (Disney) £731,639 £7m 4
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.39
Warner Bros’ musical In The Heights reached second place on its opening weekend at the UK-Ireland box office, as Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway surged back to the top spot with a 38% weekend-on-weekend rise.
The family sequel added...
Rank Film (Distributor) Three-day gross (Jun 18-20) Total gross to date Week 1 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Sony) £1.1m £15.3m 5 2 In The Heights (Warner Bros) £1.1m £1.1m 1 3 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (Lionsgate) £1m £1.6m 1 4 A Quiet Place Part II (Paramount) £1m £8.3m 3 5 Cruella (Disney) £731,639 £7m 4
Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.39
Warner Bros’ musical In The Heights reached second place on its opening weekend at the UK-Ireland box office, as Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway surged back to the top spot with a 38% weekend-on-weekend rise.
The family sequel added...
- 6/21/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
New releases also include ‘In The Earth’, ‘The Reason I Jump’.
Warner Bros’ long-awaited musical In The Heights arrived in cinemas across the UK and Ireland this weekend, as one of several wide-release titles looking to benefit from the National Lottery Cinema Weekend campaign.
Set up by the BFI Film Audience Network, the campaign has made 200,000 free cinemas tickets available to National Lottery players, at over 500 UK venues.
With wetter weather forecast for much of the UK, distributors are hoping to see audiences seek shelter in the cinema. However this will be offset by interest in the ongoing football Euros...
Warner Bros’ long-awaited musical In The Heights arrived in cinemas across the UK and Ireland this weekend, as one of several wide-release titles looking to benefit from the National Lottery Cinema Weekend campaign.
Set up by the BFI Film Audience Network, the campaign has made 200,000 free cinemas tickets available to National Lottery players, at over 500 UK venues.
With wetter weather forecast for much of the UK, distributors are hoping to see audiences seek shelter in the cinema. However this will be offset by interest in the ongoing football Euros...
- 6/18/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Elia Suleiman returned in 2019 to Cannes with his long-awaited fourth feature: It Must Be Heaven, an existentialist comedy which sees the director travel from his native Nazareth to New York via Paris on an existential(ist) journey peppered with surrealistic, mostly hilarious micro-encounters in the vein of the auteur’s previous works. Often central in Suleiman’s cinema is his own image, which in itself is largely based on his own persona and biography—acting as a concrete instance of a witness (onto which the spectator can project or latch themselves), caught in the fray of actions other than his own. He’s a silent yet nonetheless reactive observer of the oddities of quotidian life (thus inspiring comparisons with the work of the legendary Jacques Tati), which draw upon everything from a neighbor who gets territorial around an orange tree to French policemen zooming the streets on Segways, which he...
- 5/20/2021
- MUBI
After 10 consecutive days of violence, the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict is already considered the worst clash since 2014. For a film community known to be fiercely opposed to the politics led by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers and producers fear the escalation of violence will cause irreparable damage. There have been countless fallouts between Israelis and Palestinians in the region over the last 70 years, but industry executives indicate that the proliferation of social media is taking commentary on the conflict to unprecedented levels.
“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.
“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...
“Today, because of social media, hatred is spreading much quicker. This is a nightmare, and it will affect relationships in the medium to long term,” predicts Rani Massalha, the Paris-based French-Palestinian producer of Tarzan and Arab Nasser’s “Gaza Mon Amour” which opened at Venice and represented Palestine in the Oscar race this year.
“When I started my career as a director with ‘Girafada,...
- 5/19/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Charles Grodin in Beethoven's 2nd (1993)Beloved actor Charles Grodin, known for his roles in The Heartbreak Kid, Midnight Run, as well as the Beethoven films and The Great Muppet Caper, has died. Paul Schrader's The Card Counter has been slated for a release by Focus Features on September 10, after an extended delay during the early months of the pandemic. Written and directed by Schrader, the film follows a gambler who assists a young man in his revenge against a military colonel. Robert Eggers has also managed to complete his Viking epic The Northman after a long pause in 2020 due to the pandemic. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke, and Björk, the film will be released on April 8, 2022. Meanwhile, Wes Anderson, whose film The French Dispatch will be premiering at Cannes this July,...
- 5/19/2021
- MUBI
Often compared to Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati, Palestinian director Elia Suleiman has developed during the years in both his short and feature films, a very original cinematic language, using rather few words and lots of sense of humour to observe and comment on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. The 2002 “Divine Intervention” is the film that fine tunes his trademark style, initiated in “Chronicle of a Disappearance” (1996) and that will evolve in “The Time That Remains” (2009) – a film based in part on his father’s diaries – and in his latest “It Must Be Heaven” (2019) a work about, in the director’s own words, the “Palestinisation of the Globe”. “Divine Intervention” is also the work that brought Suleiman under the international spotlight as it was nominated for the Palme d’Or award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and was also considered for the 2003 Academy Awards. Unfortunately, in a twist of fate that ironically...
- 4/23/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The seventh edition nurtured 48 short and feature-length projects across some 700 online meetings.
The Doha Film Institute’s annual talent and project development event Qumra usually culminates in a lively outdoor party amid the dunes of Qatar’s Sealine Desert.
With this year’s seventh edition moving online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it wrapped very differently.
Participants simply logged off the dedicated Qumra online platform and returned to their locked-down realities in cities as geographically diverse as Beirut, Tunis, Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, New York, Los Angeles, Dar es Salem, Manila, Phnom Penh and, for the participating Qatari filmmakers,...
The Doha Film Institute’s annual talent and project development event Qumra usually culminates in a lively outdoor party amid the dunes of Qatar’s Sealine Desert.
With this year’s seventh edition moving online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it wrapped very differently.
Participants simply logged off the dedicated Qumra online platform and returned to their locked-down realities in cities as geographically diverse as Beirut, Tunis, Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, New York, Los Angeles, Dar es Salem, Manila, Phnom Penh and, for the participating Qatari filmmakers,...
- 3/19/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The director hopes to shoot Armageddon Times starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Oscar Isaac and Cate Blanchett latet this year.
James Gray has revealed he is setting his sights on an autumn start for his aptly titled project Armageddon Times, set to star Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Oscar Isaac and Cate Blanchett.
The New York-based filmmaker’s everyday existence has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns but he remains confident his cast will be vaccinated and ready to hit the set.
Written and directed by Gray, the feature is produced by his Ad Astra partner,...
James Gray has revealed he is setting his sights on an autumn start for his aptly titled project Armageddon Times, set to star Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Oscar Isaac and Cate Blanchett.
The New York-based filmmaker’s everyday existence has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns but he remains confident his cast will be vaccinated and ready to hit the set.
Written and directed by Gray, the feature is produced by his Ad Astra partner,...
- 3/17/2021
- by Stuart Kemp
- ScreenDaily
The seventh edition will nurture 48 projects by first and second-time directors hailing mainly from the Arab world.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off the online edition of its seventh annual talent and project development meeting Qumra on Friday.
Unfolding from March 12-17, the event will nurture 48 short and feature-length films at different stages of their creation from 41 countries, that have previously received the support of the Dfi grants programme.
They range from in-development projects such as Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s Casablanca-set kidnap caper Hounds to projects in post-production including Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava Lebanon,...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off the online edition of its seventh annual talent and project development meeting Qumra on Friday.
Unfolding from March 12-17, the event will nurture 48 short and feature-length films at different stages of their creation from 41 countries, that have previously received the support of the Dfi grants programme.
They range from in-development projects such as Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s Casablanca-set kidnap caper Hounds to projects in post-production including Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava Lebanon,...
- 3/12/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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