Variety has been given exclusive access to a first-look clip (below) from Simon Ennis’ documentary “The Hobby,” which world premieres at SXSW on Friday. International sales are being handled by Vortex Media.
“The Hobby” is an affectionate, character-driven portrait of the subculture of board games, covering the World Series of Board Games in Las Vegas and reaching back to Ancient Mesopotamia.
The characters portrayed – who include the “Roger Ebert of board games,” a rock-climbing board-game philosopher and a birdwatcher who created an unlikely smash hit – share personal stories of competition, compulsion, creativity and connection.
Ennis says: “One of the most fun and exciting events we visited was the first ever World Series of Board Games held in Las Vegas in 2022. In this clip, one of our main subjects, Dan Corbett is up all night in his hotel room getting ready for his final shot at winning in the [contest]. We then...
“The Hobby” is an affectionate, character-driven portrait of the subculture of board games, covering the World Series of Board Games in Las Vegas and reaching back to Ancient Mesopotamia.
The characters portrayed – who include the “Roger Ebert of board games,” a rock-climbing board-game philosopher and a birdwatcher who created an unlikely smash hit – share personal stories of competition, compulsion, creativity and connection.
Ennis says: “One of the most fun and exciting events we visited was the first ever World Series of Board Games held in Las Vegas in 2022. In this clip, one of our main subjects, Dan Corbett is up all night in his hotel room getting ready for his final shot at winning in the [contest]. We then...
- 3/7/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk in ‘Murder in a Small Town’ (Photo Credit: Fox)
Beauty and the Beast‘s Kristin Kreuk and Catastrophe‘s Rossif Sutherland are on board to star in Murder in a Small Town, a crime drama based on L.R. Wright’s award-winning “Karl Alberg” book series. The series is an international co-production with Canada’s Sepia Films and will shoot in British Columbia.
Fox is targeting a 2024-2025 primetime season premiere for the psychological drama.
“Murder in a Small Town follows Karl Alberg (Sutherland), who moves to a quiet coastal town to soothe a psyche that has been battered by big-city police work. But this gentle paradise has more than its share of secrets, and Karl will need to call upon all the skills that made him a world-class detective in solving the murders that, even in this seemingly idyllic setting, continue to wash up on his shore,...
Beauty and the Beast‘s Kristin Kreuk and Catastrophe‘s Rossif Sutherland are on board to star in Murder in a Small Town, a crime drama based on L.R. Wright’s award-winning “Karl Alberg” book series. The series is an international co-production with Canada’s Sepia Films and will shoot in British Columbia.
Fox is targeting a 2024-2025 primetime season premiere for the psychological drama.
“Murder in a Small Town follows Karl Alberg (Sutherland), who moves to a quiet coastal town to soothe a psyche that has been battered by big-city police work. But this gentle paradise has more than its share of secrets, and Karl will need to call upon all the skills that made him a world-class detective in solving the murders that, even in this seemingly idyllic setting, continue to wash up on his shore,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Dominic Cooper (“Mamma Mia”) and Sarah Gadon (“A Dangerous Method”) are co-starring in “Cry From The Sea,” a Canadian-Irish movie directed by cinematographer-turned-helmer Vic Sarin (“Cold Comfort”).
The movie, which is currently shooting, is represented in international markets by Cinema Management Group, with WME and Laura Rister handling U.S. rights and Level Film on board as the Canadian distributor.
Penned by Ciaran Creagh (“Parked”), “Cry From The Sea” is set in the aftermath of World War I and the Irish Civil War. It revolves around Seamus Óg Mac Grianna (Cooper), an Irish lighthouse keeper who has created a life of isolation and ritual in penance for a tragedy he feels he should have prevented. Seamus’s only company is Maire (Bolger), his housekeeper and protector, who enables him to remain closed off from the world while quietly waiting for him to see her. His meticulously structured world begins to...
The movie, which is currently shooting, is represented in international markets by Cinema Management Group, with WME and Laura Rister handling U.S. rights and Level Film on board as the Canadian distributor.
Penned by Ciaran Creagh (“Parked”), “Cry From The Sea” is set in the aftermath of World War I and the Irish Civil War. It revolves around Seamus Óg Mac Grianna (Cooper), an Irish lighthouse keeper who has created a life of isolation and ritual in penance for a tragedy he feels he should have prevented. Seamus’s only company is Maire (Bolger), his housekeeper and protector, who enables him to remain closed off from the world while quietly waiting for him to see her. His meticulously structured world begins to...
- 9/19/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Lifetime has set premiere dates for its fall movie slate, including its Highway to Heaven reboot with Jill Scott and Barry Watson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with Heather Locklear and EP Meghan McCain, and List of a Lifetime, with Shannen Doherty and Kelly Hu, among others. As we previously reported., the anticipated Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace debuts on Labor Day, September 6 and the rest follow every weekend through November 6.
Full Fall schedule and descriptions below. All times at 8pm/7c.
Sept 6: Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace
(Sydney Morton, Jordan Dean)
Sept 18: Imperfect High
(Sherri Shepherd, Nia Sioux)
Sept 24: Dying to Marry Him
(Only on Lifetime Movie Club)
Oct 2: The Good Father: The Martin MacNeill Story
(Tom Everett Scott, Anwen O’ Driscoll, Charisma Carpenter, EP Nancy Grace)
Oct 9: Dying to Belong
(Shannen Doherty, Favour Onwuka, Jenika Rose)
Oct 10: List of a Lifetime
(Kelly Hu,...
Full Fall schedule and descriptions below. All times at 8pm/7c.
Sept 6: Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace
(Sydney Morton, Jordan Dean)
Sept 18: Imperfect High
(Sherri Shepherd, Nia Sioux)
Sept 24: Dying to Marry Him
(Only on Lifetime Movie Club)
Oct 2: The Good Father: The Martin MacNeill Story
(Tom Everett Scott, Anwen O’ Driscoll, Charisma Carpenter, EP Nancy Grace)
Oct 9: Dying to Belong
(Shannen Doherty, Favour Onwuka, Jenika Rose)
Oct 10: List of a Lifetime
(Kelly Hu,...
- 8/26/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Telefilm Canada and Screen Ireland have boarded “Cry From the Sea,” a co-production between Canada’s Sepia Films and Ireland’s ShinAwil, which has been greenlit to shoot in the Fall.
To be directed by Vic Sarin, the romantic drama centers on Edith, an enigmatic American widow who visits an Irish island to be near the spot where her childhood boyfriend drowned during World War I. She meets Seamus, a solitary lighthouse keeper who is at loggerheads with the island locals because of a personal tragedy he blames on them. He bonds with Edith, much to the chagrin of his loyal housekeeper who has silently loved him for years. The resulting love triangle brings unexpected changes that impact all their lives.
Los Angeles and Paris-based Cinema Management Group (Cmg) handles worldwide sales rights. “‘Cry From the Sea’ has been well received in Cannes this year and we’re thrilled for...
To be directed by Vic Sarin, the romantic drama centers on Edith, an enigmatic American widow who visits an Irish island to be near the spot where her childhood boyfriend drowned during World War I. She meets Seamus, a solitary lighthouse keeper who is at loggerheads with the island locals because of a personal tragedy he blames on them. He bonds with Edith, much to the chagrin of his loyal housekeeper who has silently loved him for years. The resulting love triangle brings unexpected changes that impact all their lives.
Los Angeles and Paris-based Cinema Management Group (Cmg) handles worldwide sales rights. “‘Cry From the Sea’ has been well received in Cannes this year and we’re thrilled for...
- 7/10/2021
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Thriller film, “Kidnapped” is close to wrapping up one of the latest movies into production in Australia, following the disruption caused by the coronavirus and stay-at-home restrictions.
Production is now under way in and around Port Douglas in the far North of Australia’s Queensland state, with a shoot that runs Aug. 17 to Sept. 9. The operation is following Covid-safe protocols established at national level and also those devised by the Queensland government.
Written by Shanrah Wakefield and directed by Vic Sarin, the film’s story is told through the eyes of woman living with her family in a tropical paradise. It is idyllic until their four-year-old daughter goes missing. Solving the mystery of her disappearance reveals previously hidden information about the family.
The cast is headed by Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance.
The film is structured as an unofficial Australia-Canada co-production, involving Brisbane-based Steve Jaggi Company and Canada’s Sepia Films.
Production is now under way in and around Port Douglas in the far North of Australia’s Queensland state, with a shoot that runs Aug. 17 to Sept. 9. The operation is following Covid-safe protocols established at national level and also those devised by the Queensland government.
Written by Shanrah Wakefield and directed by Vic Sarin, the film’s story is told through the eyes of woman living with her family in a tropical paradise. It is idyllic until their four-year-old daughter goes missing. Solving the mystery of her disappearance reveals previously hidden information about the family.
The cast is headed by Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance.
The film is structured as an unofficial Australia-Canada co-production, involving Brisbane-based Steve Jaggi Company and Canada’s Sepia Films.
- 9/7/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance with director Vic Sarin.
Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance are playing a US-based couple whose young daughter is abducted while they are on holiday at an Australian resort in Kidnapped, an unofficial Australian-Canadian co-production.
Produced by the Steve Jaggi Company and directed by Canadian Vic Sarin, the thriller is mid-way through a four-week shoot at Port Douglas.
The screenplay by Shanrah Wakefield follows Savannah Morgan (van der Boom) and her US husband Brad (Lasance), who go to the resort with their four-year-old daughter Aria (Molly Wright).
When Aria goes missing from the resort’s Kidz Club, a heart-pounding race to find her daughter leads Savannah to a shocking discovery about her family.
“I feel very lucky to be shooting here in Far North Queensland; It’s an idyllic, tropical setting that brings a contrast to the story of my character searching for her kidnapped daughter,...
Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance are playing a US-based couple whose young daughter is abducted while they are on holiday at an Australian resort in Kidnapped, an unofficial Australian-Canadian co-production.
Produced by the Steve Jaggi Company and directed by Canadian Vic Sarin, the thriller is mid-way through a four-week shoot at Port Douglas.
The screenplay by Shanrah Wakefield follows Savannah Morgan (van der Boom) and her US husband Brad (Lasance), who go to the resort with their four-year-old daughter Aria (Molly Wright).
When Aria goes missing from the resort’s Kidz Club, a heart-pounding race to find her daughter leads Savannah to a shocking discovery about her family.
“I feel very lucky to be shooting here in Far North Queensland; It’s an idyllic, tropical setting that brings a contrast to the story of my character searching for her kidnapped daughter,...
- 9/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Production on Canada-Ireland co-production is scheduled to begin in October.
Emily Beecham, winner of the Cannes 2019 best actress award for her role in Little Joe, has been cast in the lead of Cry From The Sea, which Cinema Management Group is selling at the virtual Cannes market.
Production on the Canada-Ireland co-production is scheduled to begin in October.
The romance centres on a mysterious young American widow who travels to an Irish island to be near the place where her childhood sweetheart drowned on a First World War troop carrier.
There she makes an unlikely alliance with Seamus, the lighthouse...
Emily Beecham, winner of the Cannes 2019 best actress award for her role in Little Joe, has been cast in the lead of Cry From The Sea, which Cinema Management Group is selling at the virtual Cannes market.
Production on the Canada-Ireland co-production is scheduled to begin in October.
The romance centres on a mysterious young American widow who travels to an Irish island to be near the place where her childhood sweetheart drowned on a First World War troop carrier.
There she makes an unlikely alliance with Seamus, the lighthouse...
- 6/25/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: U.S. sales firm Cmg, which recently found success with Oscar-nominated box office hit Loving Vincent, has boarded world sales rights to upcoming Ireland-Canada co-production Cry From The Sea.
The deal was inked with Vancouver-based production company Sepia Films and Dublin-based outfit ShinAwiL. Cmg will handle sales in all markets outside of Canada, where LevelFILM is distributing, and Ireland, where Wildcard will release.
The feature is scheduled to begin shooting in Donegal and County Mayo, Ireland in October 2019. Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts of Sepia Films and Larry Bass, Mary Callery, and Aaron Farrell of ShinAwiL are producing.
Canadian director and cinematographer Vic Sarin (A Shine Of Rainbows) will direct the screenplay penned by Irish screenwriter Ciaran Creagh (Parked). The film is being cast by Hubbard Casting, Ros and John Hubbard Csa out of the UK in association with Paul Weber Csa in the U.S.
Set in the...
The deal was inked with Vancouver-based production company Sepia Films and Dublin-based outfit ShinAwiL. Cmg will handle sales in all markets outside of Canada, where LevelFILM is distributing, and Ireland, where Wildcard will release.
The feature is scheduled to begin shooting in Donegal and County Mayo, Ireland in October 2019. Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts of Sepia Films and Larry Bass, Mary Callery, and Aaron Farrell of ShinAwiL are producing.
Canadian director and cinematographer Vic Sarin (A Shine Of Rainbows) will direct the screenplay penned by Irish screenwriter Ciaran Creagh (Parked). The film is being cast by Hubbard Casting, Ros and John Hubbard Csa out of the UK in association with Paul Weber Csa in the U.S.
Set in the...
- 6/27/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Sp Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Anthem of a Teenage Prophet, a supernatural coming-of-age drama starring Shameless‘ Cameron Monaghan, Disney Channel regular Peyton List and Juliette Lewis. A day-and-date theatrical release is set for January 11.
Based on Joanne Proulx’s Ya novel and directed by first-time feature helmer Robin Hays, the story set in 1997 Michigan follows Luke (Monaghan), a teenager who foresees the death of his best friend. When this premonition becomes reality, he must deal with the trials and tribulations of being dubbed “The Prophet of Death” and a freak around town. It doesn’t help that he’s fallen in love with Faith (List), his best friend’s girlfriend. Lewis plays Luke’s mother who helps him navigate his unique challenges.
Grayson Gabriel, Danny Woodburn, Alex MacNicoll and Spencer List co-star. Sepia Films’ Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts are producers, and Handpicked Ventures’ Michel Shane executive produced with Darren Benning.
Based on Joanne Proulx’s Ya novel and directed by first-time feature helmer Robin Hays, the story set in 1997 Michigan follows Luke (Monaghan), a teenager who foresees the death of his best friend. When this premonition becomes reality, he must deal with the trials and tribulations of being dubbed “The Prophet of Death” and a freak around town. It doesn’t help that he’s fallen in love with Faith (List), his best friend’s girlfriend. Lewis plays Luke’s mother who helps him navigate his unique challenges.
Grayson Gabriel, Danny Woodburn, Alex MacNicoll and Spencer List co-star. Sepia Films’ Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts are producers, and Handpicked Ventures’ Michel Shane executive produced with Darren Benning.
- 12/21/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for November 2017 including "Siren", "The Exorcist", "Purple Harvest" and a whole lot more:
Features:
A Dogs Way HOMELocal Production Company: Singularity Productions
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Producer: Gavin Polone
Oct 16/17 - Dec 15/17
Noelle
Local Production Company: True Meaning Productions
Director: Marc Lawrence
Producer: Heather Meehan
Oct 23/17 - Jan 19/18
Purple Harvest
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions
Director: Drew Goddard
Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18
Skyscraper
Local Production Company: Main Mast Production - Can, Inc
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurter, J. J. Perry
Aug 14/17 - Nov 17/17
Two/One
Local Production Company: Khai Productions
Director: Juan Cabral
Producer: Dave Valleau
Nov 15/17 - Dec 03/17
TV Pilots:
Deadly Class
Local Production Company: Pico Productions (BC) Limited
Director: Lee Toland Krieger
Producer: John Lenic
Nov 15/17 - Dec 05/17
TV Series:
A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2
Local Production Company: Olaf II Productions Inc
Director: Loni Peristere, Jonathan Teplitzky
Apr...
Features:
A Dogs Way HOMELocal Production Company: Singularity Productions
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Producer: Gavin Polone
Oct 16/17 - Dec 15/17
Noelle
Local Production Company: True Meaning Productions
Director: Marc Lawrence
Producer: Heather Meehan
Oct 23/17 - Jan 19/18
Purple Harvest
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions
Director: Drew Goddard
Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18
Skyscraper
Local Production Company: Main Mast Production - Can, Inc
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurter, J. J. Perry
Aug 14/17 - Nov 17/17
Two/One
Local Production Company: Khai Productions
Director: Juan Cabral
Producer: Dave Valleau
Nov 15/17 - Dec 03/17
TV Pilots:
Deadly Class
Local Production Company: Pico Productions (BC) Limited
Director: Lee Toland Krieger
Producer: John Lenic
Nov 15/17 - Dec 05/17
TV Series:
A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2
Local Production Company: Olaf II Productions Inc
Director: Loni Peristere, Jonathan Teplitzky
Apr...
- 11/2/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Thanks to VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for April 2017, including "Game Over Man", "Hardpowder", "Love Machine" and a whole lot more:
Anthem
Feature
Local Production Company: Gandy's Rock Productions Inc
Director: Robin Hays
Producer: Tina Pehme, Kim Roberts
Mar 27/17 - Apr 15/17
Game Over, Man
Feature
Local Production Company: Lumberjackson Productions Inc.
Director: Kyle Newcheck
Exec. Producer(s): Ted Gidlow
Producer: Seth Rogan, Scott Rudin
Line Producer: Ted Gidlow
Apr 12/17 - Jun 05/17
Hardpowder
Feature
Local Production Company: Hardpowder Canada Inc
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Exec. Producer(s): Ameet Shukla, Michael Dreyer
Mar 20/17 - May 24/17
Love Machine
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouve Productions Ltd
Director: David Leitch
Exec. Producer(s): Ethan Smith, Kelly McCormick
Jun 19/17 - Sep 18/17
Ollie (aka The Predator)
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions Ltd.
Director: Shane Black
Exec. Producer(s): Bill Bannerman, John Davis
Sep 30/16 - May 15/17
Stingray...
Anthem
Feature
Local Production Company: Gandy's Rock Productions Inc
Director: Robin Hays
Producer: Tina Pehme, Kim Roberts
Mar 27/17 - Apr 15/17
Game Over, Man
Feature
Local Production Company: Lumberjackson Productions Inc.
Director: Kyle Newcheck
Exec. Producer(s): Ted Gidlow
Producer: Seth Rogan, Scott Rudin
Line Producer: Ted Gidlow
Apr 12/17 - Jun 05/17
Hardpowder
Feature
Local Production Company: Hardpowder Canada Inc
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Exec. Producer(s): Ameet Shukla, Michael Dreyer
Mar 20/17 - May 24/17
Love Machine
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouve Productions Ltd
Director: David Leitch
Exec. Producer(s): Ethan Smith, Kelly McCormick
Jun 19/17 - Sep 18/17
Ollie (aka The Predator)
Feature
Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions Ltd.
Director: Shane Black
Exec. Producer(s): Bill Bannerman, John Davis
Sep 30/16 - May 15/17
Stingray...
- 3/28/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Exclusive: Canada’s Sepia Films and Germany’s San Cinema are co-producing the project.
Vancouver-based Sepia Films and Stuttgart-based san cinema have signed a deal in Cannes to co-produce a documentary on board games.
Elizabeth Yake (producer of It’s All Gone Pete Tong) will direct and Sepia Films’ Tina Pehme and Kim C. Roberts are producing alongside Sven Schnell of san cinema.
Meyer Shwarzstein of Brainstorm Media will serve as executive producer on the project, which is lined up for an August start and will take a light-hearted look at the surge in popularity of the games.
Films We Like holds Canadian rights and Canadian pay-tv network Super Channel provided development support.
San Cinema’s Sven Schnell said: “I am happy to be part of this great Canadian project not only because of my personal passion for board games but also because Germany has been responsible for the development of many world-renowned games such Settlers of Catan...
Vancouver-based Sepia Films and Stuttgart-based san cinema have signed a deal in Cannes to co-produce a documentary on board games.
Elizabeth Yake (producer of It’s All Gone Pete Tong) will direct and Sepia Films’ Tina Pehme and Kim C. Roberts are producing alongside Sven Schnell of san cinema.
Meyer Shwarzstein of Brainstorm Media will serve as executive producer on the project, which is lined up for an August start and will take a light-hearted look at the surge in popularity of the games.
Films We Like holds Canadian rights and Canadian pay-tv network Super Channel provided development support.
San Cinema’s Sven Schnell said: “I am happy to be part of this great Canadian project not only because of my personal passion for board games but also because Germany has been responsible for the development of many world-renowned games such Settlers of Catan...
- 5/16/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
My experience last November at Los Cabos International Film Festival was fabulous! Set up to promote film coproduction and financing among Mexico, U.S., and Canada, the festival allowed all of us to be very close and connected to our peers in the business – international sales agents, writers of all kinds, programmers and filmmakers. There we met the bright new talent, so idealistic and yet so knowledgeable and educated about film in the world. To be able to see films, concentrate on creating business and still have time to mingle -- this is what makes a festival a happy experience.
Among the many people I met there, was Ben Odell, partner at 3Pas Studios, the newly launched production company that he and Mexico’s most beloved and renowned comic star and director, Eugenio Derbez, founded on the strength and success of the $100 million dollar grossing comedy, "Instructions Not Included".
The success of this film also allowed the film’s producer Monica Lozano to establish Alebrije Distribución a new distribution company which will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets.
Monica has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". Her most recent success was "Instructions Not Included", the Us$ 5.5 million film that became the highest grossing Spanish language film of all time in the U.S., and the second highest grossing film in any language in Mexico.
But to return to Ben and his new company, the subject of this blog: 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Tres Pas sounds like tripas, which in English means guts, or tripe. Personally, I too love tripas. Deliciosas!
I Finally met Ben at Los Cabos Film Festival. I say I "finally" met him, because we have so many friends in common and ever since I have been following Latino films and writing my book on Latin America and the film business, I had often heard of Ben as the head of production for Pantelion, U.S.'s only sustained and successful Latino film distributor.
Last September, when Strategic Partners’ Laura Mackenzie in Halifax invited me to moderate a panel on “The Games Maker”, an Argentinean-Canadian-Italian coproduction, Ben’s name was prominent as the one who made the match between Argentina’s Juan Pablo Buscarini and Canada’s Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts.
I always had him pictured as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him.
I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latino side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said, "I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben's connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the "U.S. Latino market" per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality -- that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth ,Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world's emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
The society is totally feudal. Workers labor for the companies for 28 days of the month and on the last two days they are allowed to keep whatever they find. Victor Carranza ran everything. He was The Don, violent and scary. A small man, about 5'2". He died in prison worth over a billion dollars.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like "The Fugitive".
There is a drug, called Burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. He once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can't get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was "Fuego verde", like the 1954 Hollywood movie, “ Green Fire” starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including “Fuego Verde” -- the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, “ Golpe de estadio”, which was nominated for Spain's Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia's nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, "Golpe de estadio", (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d'état”but it also could mean “Coup d’ Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers. The two sides declare a sort of truce so that they can all watch the match between Colombia and Argentina on the only working TV in the town. Colombia wins the game, 5 to 0, (a victory, in real life, infamous in the annals of world cup) and of course the Colombian police and guerrilla find themselves cheering for the same team.
"Golpe" was released in theaters in 1999 while the drug wars and war between the guerrillas and the government were moving into peace talks. It came out during the war, and Ben naively believed it could make tangible impact on the country. Instead they received death threats. It was a very volatile time.
He left Colombia and put together a business plan to make movies for Latino audiences. He was too green and he was way ahead of his time so instead he went to film school at Columbia University.
He went to film school thinking it was only to network and realized he knew nothing about film writing or production. "Going to film school's more valuable if a student already has some experience," Ben says.
"Confess", a feature length film he produced in his second year of film school (2005) was one of his thesis projects. It was made for a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Ali Larter and Melissa Leo starred in it (way before she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Role in “The Fighter”). The movie was about a disgruntled computer hacker of mixed race, who struggles to adjust to life after a jaunt in prison. He takes his anger online forcing confessions out of those who slighted him. Eventually his focus becomes political. “It had all the trappings of a first time filmmaker. But conceptually it was scratching the surface of trends that wouldn’t appear online until years later. This was several years before YouTube took hold, which is a lifetime in human years.”
"For my second film, we had Scorsese as an executive producer. When we started preproduction we quickly discovered that one of our two investors really didn’t have the money. He signed a contract to invest while he was still trying to raise the funds“
At this point in our discussion Ben and I went off on a tangent...Money that falls out at the last minute is such a common story. Do these guys think the money will come just because they have "bet" on it, using the film as collateral?... Do they just want to go for the ride, as far as they can go?... are they sociopaths, liars, gamblers, on drugs or what? I remember when I worked at Ifa (until it became ICM); at the Motion Picture Division's meetings that Mike Medavoy held every week, agents would sometimes report on someone wanting to invest in film, and once Mike said "No. Not him. He has a very bad reputation, and his money is not good. We don't want that kind of money." But young producers know very little about vetting financial prospects.
This digression is only to illustrate the fact that that in this person-to-person business it is important to know who you are dealing with.
But Odell’s luck was going to change. Just a few weeks after the implosion of the film, he got an email from Jim McNamara. NBC had bought McNamara's Telemundo for Us$ 3 billion . McNamara had been CEO of New World, a position once held by Harry Sloan and Jon Feltheimer. Feltheimer went off to Sony TV which had a majority stake in Telemundo. McNamara, who had just been president of Universal TV worldwide, was brought in to run Telemundo
After leaving Telemundo, he went back to Feltheimer, in the early days of building Lionsgate, to discuss his new idea. At the time -- this was 2006 -- there were two Spanish language networks, 600 Spanish language radio stations, 2,000 Spanish language newspapers, and no one was making movies in Spanish. Felt liked it and they made a deal. Panamax was born.
McNamara knew of Odell when he was buying TV series for Telemundo. He bought a lot of the TV shows Odell had written.
Panamax’ made a six picture deal with Lionsgate. Odell became President of Production at Panamax Films and produced many feature films and TV movies both in Spanish and in English for the Hispanic market.
On one of their first scouting trips, Odell and McNamara went to see a play called “Latinologues” written by Rick Najera. In it, there was a Mexican actor named Eugenio Derbez. Derbez was known only for Spanish language TV at the time. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own shows for Televisa. These shows also played on Univision in the U.S. and were building a huge fan base in both countries as well as much of the Spanish-speaking world.
Latinologues was made up of multiple monologues from different actors playing roles as Latino archetypes. Derbez did three or four different characters. “When he came on stage,” recalls Odell, “He was electrifying, hilarious, magnetic. And then I met him afterwards. He was the humblest man, quiet, and a bit shy. I realized what an amazing talent he was, he had that ‘it factor’ – when he turned it on, it turned on the room.”
At the time Odell and McNamara were packaging a project called "Under the Same Moon" and suggested Derbez for a role. They flew the director, Patricia Riggen, to N.Y. to meet him. While Lionsgate ended up not financing the project, Derbez stayed in the picture. “Looking back, I think a significant part of why that movie did $20 million in box office between U.S. and Mexico, was Eugenio. He was already a mega star. No one really knew it in the general market because they weren’t paying attention to the success of his shows. Hollywood tends to ignore the Spanish speaking market, but the U.S. is the second biggest Spanish speaking country in the world and Eugenio has built a huge following there.”
Ben also made the art house Spanish language thriller, "Padre Nuestro" in 2007 which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. IFC changed the title to “Sangre de mi Sangre” for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay. Odell also produced “Un Cuento Chino” aka “Chinese Take-Out” (a Spanish/ Argentinean co-production), starring Argentina’s most popular actor, Ricardo Darin (“El Secreto de los Ojos”), written and directed by Sebastián Borensztein. In Spanish, referring to a story as a cuento chino is equivalent to calling it a tall tale.
“Chino” was the top grossing Argentinean film of 2011 and one of the highest grossing Argentinean films of all times. In its international release it has broken box office records for Latin American films in both Latin America and Europe. It won the Argentinean Academy Award for best feature and the Goya, the Spanish Academy Award, for Best Latin American Film. It won numerous festivals including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Rome Film Festival.
When Odell was developing the script with Borensztein in 2009, he sent the script to Derbez, who immediately expressed interested in remaking it. “I loved the original story and movie,” Derbez said. “There is a heartfelt relationship that develops between these two very different people set around a whimsical, comical and magical world.”
Odell was also an executive producer on the English language 3D family thriller, “ The Games Maker”, starring Joseph Fiennes and Ed Asner. Made as a coproduction with Disney Latin America, the movie was produced in Argentina by Pampa Films and directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini, one of the producers of “Un Cuento Chino”. It was released widely across Latin America in the summer of 2014 and continues its theatrical release around the world.
Several years into Panamax’s deal with Lionsgate, a joint venture was created between Panamax, Televisa and Lionsgate called Pantelion Films. McNamara became chairman of Pantelion and Ben became President of Production.
Under the new deal he produced the 2012 coming of age comedy “Girl in Progress”, directed by “Under the Same Moon” director Patricia Riggen and staring Eva Mendes, Eugenio Derbez, Mathew Modine and Patricia Arquette
His most recent film was the inspirational true story, “Spare Parts”, starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei which was released in January 2015.
While Eugenio was making his breakout film "Instructions not Included” neither he nor Ben had any idea it would be so big. “Instructions Not Included,” was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
The two realized, this was The One Time In A Career To Capitalize, and they decided to go together, to focus on brand-building, based on Eugenio's popularity and to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. Together they formed 3pas Studios which signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014.
They are in development on many feature films including “Un Cuento Chino”, a remake of the French comedy, “The Valet” and an untitled original script about an aging Latin lover from writers Chris Spain and Jon Zack (“The Perfect Storm”) which Derbez will star in and produce with Ben.
“We are developing multiple projects with an eye to shooting one at the end of 2015,” Odell said.
Meantime, Eugenio Derbez just filmed roles in Warner Brothers’ “Geostorm” with Gerard Butler and Sony Pictures “ Miracles from Heaven” with Jennifer Garner, and Queen Latifah. The latter was directed by Patricia Riggen who directed Derbez in both “Under the Same Moon” and “Girl in Progress”.
Ben is sure that his producing partner will go way beyond his current core Latino market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”...
Among the many people I met there, was Ben Odell, partner at 3Pas Studios, the newly launched production company that he and Mexico’s most beloved and renowned comic star and director, Eugenio Derbez, founded on the strength and success of the $100 million dollar grossing comedy, "Instructions Not Included".
The success of this film also allowed the film’s producer Monica Lozano to establish Alebrije Distribución a new distribution company which will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets.
Monica has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". Her most recent success was "Instructions Not Included", the Us$ 5.5 million film that became the highest grossing Spanish language film of all time in the U.S., and the second highest grossing film in any language in Mexico.
But to return to Ben and his new company, the subject of this blog: 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Tres Pas sounds like tripas, which in English means guts, or tripe. Personally, I too love tripas. Deliciosas!
I Finally met Ben at Los Cabos Film Festival. I say I "finally" met him, because we have so many friends in common and ever since I have been following Latino films and writing my book on Latin America and the film business, I had often heard of Ben as the head of production for Pantelion, U.S.'s only sustained and successful Latino film distributor.
Last September, when Strategic Partners’ Laura Mackenzie in Halifax invited me to moderate a panel on “The Games Maker”, an Argentinean-Canadian-Italian coproduction, Ben’s name was prominent as the one who made the match between Argentina’s Juan Pablo Buscarini and Canada’s Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts.
I always had him pictured as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him.
I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latino side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said, "I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben's connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the "U.S. Latino market" per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality -- that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth ,Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world's emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
The society is totally feudal. Workers labor for the companies for 28 days of the month and on the last two days they are allowed to keep whatever they find. Victor Carranza ran everything. He was The Don, violent and scary. A small man, about 5'2". He died in prison worth over a billion dollars.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like "The Fugitive".
There is a drug, called Burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. He once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can't get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was "Fuego verde", like the 1954 Hollywood movie, “ Green Fire” starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including “Fuego Verde” -- the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, “ Golpe de estadio”, which was nominated for Spain's Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia's nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, "Golpe de estadio", (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d'état”but it also could mean “Coup d’ Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers. The two sides declare a sort of truce so that they can all watch the match between Colombia and Argentina on the only working TV in the town. Colombia wins the game, 5 to 0, (a victory, in real life, infamous in the annals of world cup) and of course the Colombian police and guerrilla find themselves cheering for the same team.
"Golpe" was released in theaters in 1999 while the drug wars and war between the guerrillas and the government were moving into peace talks. It came out during the war, and Ben naively believed it could make tangible impact on the country. Instead they received death threats. It was a very volatile time.
He left Colombia and put together a business plan to make movies for Latino audiences. He was too green and he was way ahead of his time so instead he went to film school at Columbia University.
He went to film school thinking it was only to network and realized he knew nothing about film writing or production. "Going to film school's more valuable if a student already has some experience," Ben says.
"Confess", a feature length film he produced in his second year of film school (2005) was one of his thesis projects. It was made for a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Ali Larter and Melissa Leo starred in it (way before she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Role in “The Fighter”). The movie was about a disgruntled computer hacker of mixed race, who struggles to adjust to life after a jaunt in prison. He takes his anger online forcing confessions out of those who slighted him. Eventually his focus becomes political. “It had all the trappings of a first time filmmaker. But conceptually it was scratching the surface of trends that wouldn’t appear online until years later. This was several years before YouTube took hold, which is a lifetime in human years.”
"For my second film, we had Scorsese as an executive producer. When we started preproduction we quickly discovered that one of our two investors really didn’t have the money. He signed a contract to invest while he was still trying to raise the funds“
At this point in our discussion Ben and I went off on a tangent...Money that falls out at the last minute is such a common story. Do these guys think the money will come just because they have "bet" on it, using the film as collateral?... Do they just want to go for the ride, as far as they can go?... are they sociopaths, liars, gamblers, on drugs or what? I remember when I worked at Ifa (until it became ICM); at the Motion Picture Division's meetings that Mike Medavoy held every week, agents would sometimes report on someone wanting to invest in film, and once Mike said "No. Not him. He has a very bad reputation, and his money is not good. We don't want that kind of money." But young producers know very little about vetting financial prospects.
This digression is only to illustrate the fact that that in this person-to-person business it is important to know who you are dealing with.
But Odell’s luck was going to change. Just a few weeks after the implosion of the film, he got an email from Jim McNamara. NBC had bought McNamara's Telemundo for Us$ 3 billion . McNamara had been CEO of New World, a position once held by Harry Sloan and Jon Feltheimer. Feltheimer went off to Sony TV which had a majority stake in Telemundo. McNamara, who had just been president of Universal TV worldwide, was brought in to run Telemundo
After leaving Telemundo, he went back to Feltheimer, in the early days of building Lionsgate, to discuss his new idea. At the time -- this was 2006 -- there were two Spanish language networks, 600 Spanish language radio stations, 2,000 Spanish language newspapers, and no one was making movies in Spanish. Felt liked it and they made a deal. Panamax was born.
McNamara knew of Odell when he was buying TV series for Telemundo. He bought a lot of the TV shows Odell had written.
Panamax’ made a six picture deal with Lionsgate. Odell became President of Production at Panamax Films and produced many feature films and TV movies both in Spanish and in English for the Hispanic market.
On one of their first scouting trips, Odell and McNamara went to see a play called “Latinologues” written by Rick Najera. In it, there was a Mexican actor named Eugenio Derbez. Derbez was known only for Spanish language TV at the time. He wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own shows for Televisa. These shows also played on Univision in the U.S. and were building a huge fan base in both countries as well as much of the Spanish-speaking world.
Latinologues was made up of multiple monologues from different actors playing roles as Latino archetypes. Derbez did three or four different characters. “When he came on stage,” recalls Odell, “He was electrifying, hilarious, magnetic. And then I met him afterwards. He was the humblest man, quiet, and a bit shy. I realized what an amazing talent he was, he had that ‘it factor’ – when he turned it on, it turned on the room.”
At the time Odell and McNamara were packaging a project called "Under the Same Moon" and suggested Derbez for a role. They flew the director, Patricia Riggen, to N.Y. to meet him. While Lionsgate ended up not financing the project, Derbez stayed in the picture. “Looking back, I think a significant part of why that movie did $20 million in box office between U.S. and Mexico, was Eugenio. He was already a mega star. No one really knew it in the general market because they weren’t paying attention to the success of his shows. Hollywood tends to ignore the Spanish speaking market, but the U.S. is the second biggest Spanish speaking country in the world and Eugenio has built a huge following there.”
Ben also made the art house Spanish language thriller, "Padre Nuestro" in 2007 which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. IFC changed the title to “Sangre de mi Sangre” for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay. Odell also produced “Un Cuento Chino” aka “Chinese Take-Out” (a Spanish/ Argentinean co-production), starring Argentina’s most popular actor, Ricardo Darin (“El Secreto de los Ojos”), written and directed by Sebastián Borensztein. In Spanish, referring to a story as a cuento chino is equivalent to calling it a tall tale.
“Chino” was the top grossing Argentinean film of 2011 and one of the highest grossing Argentinean films of all times. In its international release it has broken box office records for Latin American films in both Latin America and Europe. It won the Argentinean Academy Award for best feature and the Goya, the Spanish Academy Award, for Best Latin American Film. It won numerous festivals including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Rome Film Festival.
When Odell was developing the script with Borensztein in 2009, he sent the script to Derbez, who immediately expressed interested in remaking it. “I loved the original story and movie,” Derbez said. “There is a heartfelt relationship that develops between these two very different people set around a whimsical, comical and magical world.”
Odell was also an executive producer on the English language 3D family thriller, “ The Games Maker”, starring Joseph Fiennes and Ed Asner. Made as a coproduction with Disney Latin America, the movie was produced in Argentina by Pampa Films and directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini, one of the producers of “Un Cuento Chino”. It was released widely across Latin America in the summer of 2014 and continues its theatrical release around the world.
Several years into Panamax’s deal with Lionsgate, a joint venture was created between Panamax, Televisa and Lionsgate called Pantelion Films. McNamara became chairman of Pantelion and Ben became President of Production.
Under the new deal he produced the 2012 coming of age comedy “Girl in Progress”, directed by “Under the Same Moon” director Patricia Riggen and staring Eva Mendes, Eugenio Derbez, Mathew Modine and Patricia Arquette
His most recent film was the inspirational true story, “Spare Parts”, starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei which was released in January 2015.
While Eugenio was making his breakout film "Instructions not Included” neither he nor Ben had any idea it would be so big. “Instructions Not Included,” was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
The two realized, this was The One Time In A Career To Capitalize, and they decided to go together, to focus on brand-building, based on Eugenio's popularity and to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. Together they formed 3pas Studios which signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014.
They are in development on many feature films including “Un Cuento Chino”, a remake of the French comedy, “The Valet” and an untitled original script about an aging Latin lover from writers Chris Spain and Jon Zack (“The Perfect Storm”) which Derbez will star in and produce with Ben.
“We are developing multiple projects with an eye to shooting one at the end of 2015,” Odell said.
Meantime, Eugenio Derbez just filmed roles in Warner Brothers’ “Geostorm” with Gerard Butler and Sony Pictures “ Miracles from Heaven” with Jennifer Garner, and Queen Latifah. The latter was directed by Patricia Riggen who directed Derbez in both “Under the Same Moon” and “Girl in Progress”.
Ben is sure that his producing partner will go way beyond his current core Latino market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”...
- 8/5/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Edward Noeltner has come on board to handle international sales excluding Latin America to the children’s fantasy, set to receive its Us premiere in Sundance next week.
The Games Maker has already generated more than $5m at the box office in Latin America, where Disney controls rights.
Joseph Fiennes, David Mazouz and Ed Asner star in the 3D story of a young boy whose love of board games catapaults him into a quest to find his missing parents, save the city of Zyl and overthrow the evil inventor in charge of the mysterious “games maker” competition.
Juan Pablo Buscarini directed The Games Maker from the children’s novel by Pablo De Santis. The film shot in Argentina and completed post-production in Canada. Tom Cavanagh, Valentina Lodovini and Megan Charpentier also star.
The film screens in the Sundance Kids programme on January 25 and 31.
Buscarini produced via his company Pampa Films Argentina alongside Kim C Roberts and [link...
The Games Maker has already generated more than $5m at the box office in Latin America, where Disney controls rights.
Joseph Fiennes, David Mazouz and Ed Asner star in the 3D story of a young boy whose love of board games catapaults him into a quest to find his missing parents, save the city of Zyl and overthrow the evil inventor in charge of the mysterious “games maker” competition.
Juan Pablo Buscarini directed The Games Maker from the children’s novel by Pablo De Santis. The film shot in Argentina and completed post-production in Canada. Tom Cavanagh, Valentina Lodovini and Megan Charpentier also star.
The film screens in the Sundance Kids programme on January 25 and 31.
Buscarini produced via his company Pampa Films Argentina alongside Kim C Roberts and [link...
- 1/20/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Edward Noeltner has come on board to handle international sales excluding Latin America to the children’s fantasy, set to receive its Us premiere in Sundance next week.
The Games Maker has already generated more than $5m at the box office in Latin America, where Disney controls rights.
Joseph Fiennes, David Mazouz and Ed Asner star in the 3D story of a young boy whose love of board games catapaults him into a quest to find his missing parents, save the city of Zyl and overthrow the evil inventor in charge of the mysterious “games maker” competition.
Juan Pablo Buscarini directed The Games Maker from the children’s novel by Pablo De Santis. The film shot in Argentina and completed post-production in Canada. Tom Cavanagh, Valentina Lodovini and Megan Charpentier also star.
The film screens in the Sundance Kids programme on January 25 and 31.
Buscarini produced via his company Pampa Films Argentina alongside Kim C Roberts and [link...
The Games Maker has already generated more than $5m at the box office in Latin America, where Disney controls rights.
Joseph Fiennes, David Mazouz and Ed Asner star in the 3D story of a young boy whose love of board games catapaults him into a quest to find his missing parents, save the city of Zyl and overthrow the evil inventor in charge of the mysterious “games maker” competition.
Juan Pablo Buscarini directed The Games Maker from the children’s novel by Pablo De Santis. The film shot in Argentina and completed post-production in Canada. Tom Cavanagh, Valentina Lodovini and Megan Charpentier also star.
The film screens in the Sundance Kids programme on January 25 and 31.
Buscarini produced via his company Pampa Films Argentina alongside Kim C Roberts and [link...
- 1/19/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Closely followed by Los Cabos International Film Festival in early November, and soon to be followed by the Academy Awards, the Fénix Iberoamerican Film Awards, highlighting and celebrating cinema made in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal as well as applauding the professionals involved was inaugurated by Cinema 23 this October 30th. This event's importance goes beyond bringing together hundreds of figures from the Iberoamerican film community to celebrate the well-deserved recognition to their work and strengthening relationships among the diverse industries as it forges the region's identity.
It offers proof of the region's vitality to the rest of the world based on the films' impact upon the rest of the world. This award ceremony shows the final product of coproductions. The world film industry agrees that coproductions are the engine driving production today. Regarding Latin America, Ibermedia of Spain first initiated coproductions with Latin America in 1998, but in the sixteen years of its activity, coproductions with Latin America have proliferated beyond Spain and beyond Europe to include Asia, Arab Middle East, Israel, Canada and the U.S.
Asia
So. Korea's Finecut was involved in Pedro Trapero's 2008 film "Lion's Den" and in his 2010 film,"Carancho," a coproduction between Argentinian producers Matanza Cine, Patagonik Film Group and South Korea's Finecut as well as French distributor Ad Vitam as investor and local distributor. Finecut handled world rights sales outside Latin America and France.) Independent coproductions are now embracing North America as well and the place to discover this is the Los Cabos International Film Festival. CAA has literally established a beachhead in this Mexican town so recently battered by hurricane Odile.
Arab Middle East
The supernatural thriller "Out of the Dark" ("Aguas Rojas") is a coproduction with Colombian production house Dynamo ("Undertow" aka "Contracorriente") and Imagenation of Abu Dhabi, cofinanced with Participant Panamerica who also cofinanced Canana’s "Chávez" and Fabula’s "No", the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language film which Canana distributed in México.
Canada
Strategic Film Partners is devoting two years to Latin American coproductions. This year we presented a case study of "The Games Maker" ("El inventor de juegos"), a Canadian-Argentinian-Italian coproduction in English whose producers Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts were in Cabo looking or their next project at the Coproduction Forum.
For those who were at the Cabo International Film Festival this November 12 - 16, and who attended the Financing Panel to hear Variety's John Hopewell moderate the stellar participants which included Jonathan King from Participant, Mark Musselman from 10x2yinc, CAA's Micah Green, UTA's Rena Ronson and Raul Del Alto of Mexico's Ag Studios or heard Reese Witherspoon, whose film "Wild" opened the festival and whose agent, coincidentally is CAA, know that Mexico and by extension, Latin America, are registering high on the scale for U.S. and Canada investment. The unique positioning of the festival as the uniting force between U.S., Canada and Mexico ensures that the fourth edition's growth will be huge next year. Some are also calling it the Cannes of Latin America.
Recognition of the Exhibition Sector, awarded by the leading exhibitors in the region went to Mexican actor and producer, Eugenio Derbez, for "No se aceptan devoluciones" ("Instructions Not Included"). The resurgence of Mexican films which began in 2001 with the all-time hit "Amores Perros" by Alejandro González Iñárritu and which also introduced Gael Garcia Bernal to the public (U.S. box office $5,408,467, worldwide $20,908,467) and "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" in 2002 (U.S. box office $5,717,044, worldwide: $26,996,738) up until the hits, "Nosotros los Nobles" (The Nobel Family") and "No se aceptan devoluciones" had the highest number admissions than any other Mexican film. Twelve years later, in six weeks "No se aceptan devolucions" outgrossed both "Amores" and "El crimen" combined. México Televisa’s Videocine Mexican box office was Us $44,882,061 and U.S. box office was $44,143,000. This is truly an exhibitor's dream movie.
No sooner had "Los Nobles" swept the Mexican box-office off its feet than another Mexican movie, independently produced by Monica Lozano’s México City-based Alebrije Cine y Video, "Instructions Not Included" was released -- first in the U.S. by Pantelion on August 30, 2013, almost three weeks before its Mexican release on September 20, 2013. The two countries grossed an equal amount. Moreover, Videocine released the film on 1,500 prints similar to a major release of a film such as "Batman". Through the Cinepolis chain’s use of satellite, these 1,500 prints were able to show on 2,500 screens. This represents both a new release pattern and a new type of Mexican film.
Previously Mexican films which were meant for the Mexican and Mexican-American audience (as opposed to those targeted to the art house audiences) were perceived as too Mexican by their U.S. target and they were released in the U.S. only after the Mexican release, and by that time, piracy had done its work in the U.S. and the film lacked the prestige of an "American" film. This film and the previous film, "The Noble Family", are not typically Mexican. Their storyline could be transposed anywhere, and in fact "The Noble Family" remake rights have been sold to U.S. In addition, releasing the film first in the U.S. changes the perception of the film in México. Being such a success in U.S. paves the way for its success in México as if it were validated as a "good" film. Added to these two elements is the third key to success, Eugenio Derbez, the director and star of "Instructions", is a major TV comedy star in México and is known by all Mexicans wherever they reside. Mexican TV is quite powerful, it has a duopoly made by Televisa and TV Azteca. Derbez comes from Televisa. The film was also shot in English and Spanish and takes place in the U.S. Finally, Derbez himself and former head of production at Pantelion, Ben Odell, have now established a production company, 3 Spas, pronounced "Tres Paz" which funnily enough sounds like "tripas" or "guts".
When Reese Witherspoon, whose film "Wild" opened the festival, said that she had asked Eugenio Derbez to be in a picture, the audience at the press conference was visibly moved. What a great worldwide success a comedy starring these two would be.
While all films cannot reach the heights of "Instruction Not Included", the benefits such a successful film bestows upon the industry is encouraging to other producers and distributors looking for fertile ground to till and harvest. Los Cabos and the Fenix Awards are witness to this phenomena which has been gaining ground for the past decade and is no longer below the radar.
It offers proof of the region's vitality to the rest of the world based on the films' impact upon the rest of the world. This award ceremony shows the final product of coproductions. The world film industry agrees that coproductions are the engine driving production today. Regarding Latin America, Ibermedia of Spain first initiated coproductions with Latin America in 1998, but in the sixteen years of its activity, coproductions with Latin America have proliferated beyond Spain and beyond Europe to include Asia, Arab Middle East, Israel, Canada and the U.S.
Asia
So. Korea's Finecut was involved in Pedro Trapero's 2008 film "Lion's Den" and in his 2010 film,"Carancho," a coproduction between Argentinian producers Matanza Cine, Patagonik Film Group and South Korea's Finecut as well as French distributor Ad Vitam as investor and local distributor. Finecut handled world rights sales outside Latin America and France.) Independent coproductions are now embracing North America as well and the place to discover this is the Los Cabos International Film Festival. CAA has literally established a beachhead in this Mexican town so recently battered by hurricane Odile.
Arab Middle East
The supernatural thriller "Out of the Dark" ("Aguas Rojas") is a coproduction with Colombian production house Dynamo ("Undertow" aka "Contracorriente") and Imagenation of Abu Dhabi, cofinanced with Participant Panamerica who also cofinanced Canana’s "Chávez" and Fabula’s "No", the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language film which Canana distributed in México.
Canada
Strategic Film Partners is devoting two years to Latin American coproductions. This year we presented a case study of "The Games Maker" ("El inventor de juegos"), a Canadian-Argentinian-Italian coproduction in English whose producers Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts were in Cabo looking or their next project at the Coproduction Forum.
For those who were at the Cabo International Film Festival this November 12 - 16, and who attended the Financing Panel to hear Variety's John Hopewell moderate the stellar participants which included Jonathan King from Participant, Mark Musselman from 10x2yinc, CAA's Micah Green, UTA's Rena Ronson and Raul Del Alto of Mexico's Ag Studios or heard Reese Witherspoon, whose film "Wild" opened the festival and whose agent, coincidentally is CAA, know that Mexico and by extension, Latin America, are registering high on the scale for U.S. and Canada investment. The unique positioning of the festival as the uniting force between U.S., Canada and Mexico ensures that the fourth edition's growth will be huge next year. Some are also calling it the Cannes of Latin America.
Recognition of the Exhibition Sector, awarded by the leading exhibitors in the region went to Mexican actor and producer, Eugenio Derbez, for "No se aceptan devoluciones" ("Instructions Not Included"). The resurgence of Mexican films which began in 2001 with the all-time hit "Amores Perros" by Alejandro González Iñárritu and which also introduced Gael Garcia Bernal to the public (U.S. box office $5,408,467, worldwide $20,908,467) and "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" in 2002 (U.S. box office $5,717,044, worldwide: $26,996,738) up until the hits, "Nosotros los Nobles" (The Nobel Family") and "No se aceptan devoluciones" had the highest number admissions than any other Mexican film. Twelve years later, in six weeks "No se aceptan devolucions" outgrossed both "Amores" and "El crimen" combined. México Televisa’s Videocine Mexican box office was Us $44,882,061 and U.S. box office was $44,143,000. This is truly an exhibitor's dream movie.
No sooner had "Los Nobles" swept the Mexican box-office off its feet than another Mexican movie, independently produced by Monica Lozano’s México City-based Alebrije Cine y Video, "Instructions Not Included" was released -- first in the U.S. by Pantelion on August 30, 2013, almost three weeks before its Mexican release on September 20, 2013. The two countries grossed an equal amount. Moreover, Videocine released the film on 1,500 prints similar to a major release of a film such as "Batman". Through the Cinepolis chain’s use of satellite, these 1,500 prints were able to show on 2,500 screens. This represents both a new release pattern and a new type of Mexican film.
Previously Mexican films which were meant for the Mexican and Mexican-American audience (as opposed to those targeted to the art house audiences) were perceived as too Mexican by their U.S. target and they were released in the U.S. only after the Mexican release, and by that time, piracy had done its work in the U.S. and the film lacked the prestige of an "American" film. This film and the previous film, "The Noble Family", are not typically Mexican. Their storyline could be transposed anywhere, and in fact "The Noble Family" remake rights have been sold to U.S. In addition, releasing the film first in the U.S. changes the perception of the film in México. Being such a success in U.S. paves the way for its success in México as if it were validated as a "good" film. Added to these two elements is the third key to success, Eugenio Derbez, the director and star of "Instructions", is a major TV comedy star in México and is known by all Mexicans wherever they reside. Mexican TV is quite powerful, it has a duopoly made by Televisa and TV Azteca. Derbez comes from Televisa. The film was also shot in English and Spanish and takes place in the U.S. Finally, Derbez himself and former head of production at Pantelion, Ben Odell, have now established a production company, 3 Spas, pronounced "Tres Paz" which funnily enough sounds like "tripas" or "guts".
When Reese Witherspoon, whose film "Wild" opened the festival, said that she had asked Eugenio Derbez to be in a picture, the audience at the press conference was visibly moved. What a great worldwide success a comedy starring these two would be.
While all films cannot reach the heights of "Instruction Not Included", the benefits such a successful film bestows upon the industry is encouraging to other producers and distributors looking for fertile ground to till and harvest. Los Cabos and the Fenix Awards are witness to this phenomena which has been gaining ground for the past decade and is no longer below the radar.
- 11/21/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: The Toronto-based distributor has acquired worldwide rights to the Sepia Films documentary.
Vic Sarin directed and Tina Pehme and Kim C Roberts of Vancouver-based Sepia Films produced The Boy From Geita, which premiered at Hot Docs earlier in the year.
108 Media plans to the release in North America the film about the young albino victim of a vicious attack in Tanzania who forms a strong bond with a Canadian man who is also an albino. According to the filmmakers, approximately 151 people with albinism have been subjected to attacks in Tanzania since 2006.
Jordan Nutson of 108 Media brokered the deal with Pehme and Roberts.
“With this issue being so current, it is vital that audiences around the world become educated and aware of the brutalities committed against albinos in Tanzania,” said Nutson. “108 Media is passionate about bringing this eye-opening documentary to the marketplace, creating the necessary call to action.”
“Through telling Adam’s story, I hope to...
Vic Sarin directed and Tina Pehme and Kim C Roberts of Vancouver-based Sepia Films produced The Boy From Geita, which premiered at Hot Docs earlier in the year.
108 Media plans to the release in North America the film about the young albino victim of a vicious attack in Tanzania who forms a strong bond with a Canadian man who is also an albino. According to the filmmakers, approximately 151 people with albinism have been subjected to attacks in Tanzania since 2006.
Jordan Nutson of 108 Media brokered the deal with Pehme and Roberts.
“With this issue being so current, it is vital that audiences around the world become educated and aware of the brutalities committed against albinos in Tanzania,” said Nutson. “108 Media is passionate about bringing this eye-opening documentary to the marketplace, creating the necessary call to action.”
“Through telling Adam’s story, I hope to...
- 10/13/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The leading international film, television and digital co-production market in Canada is less than one month away. Strategic Partners, a presentation of the Atlantic Film Festival, unveils a line-up of cutting-edge panels and esteemed panelists not-to-be missed at this year’s event, September 11 - 14 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“We have put together a fantastic itinerary of panel discussions for this year’s program. Some of the world’s top trendsetters will descend upon Halifax to deliver the very latest news on topics such as financing and distribution of digital first content and exploring why producers should consider producing series for the web as part of their business model,” said Strategic Partners Director, Laura Mackenzie. “We are extremely excited to welcome the Argentinean Producers and Director as well as the Canadian Producers of The Games Maker to present a Case Study on this Argentinean/ Canadian/ Italian co-production. We always aim to provide the most progressive and up-to-the-minute information available and I'm very proud to announce this year’s line-up!”
I will be moderating the panel on the film "The Game Maker" on September 12th. See the full line up below.
Strategic Partners has announced the following program and panelists for 2014:
A Case Study of "The Games Maker"
When: September 12th, 1:20 Pm
Where: Imperial Room, Lord Nelson Hotel
A complex Argentinian-Canadian-Italian co-production, "The Games Maker" is a true international success story, from script to screen. Released in early July 2014 in Latin America, this family adventure film with universal appeal has dazzled at the box office.
Moderator Sydney Levine (SydneysBuzz) will lead an in-depth discussion with the stellar team behind the feature film. The discussion will shed light on the project’s origination, the obstacles they overcame during production, how financing was achieved and how distribution and international sales were determined and executed.
Panelists include: Argentinean Director, Juan Pablo Buscarini, Pampa Films ("Chinese Take-Away"); Argentinean Producer, Verónica Cura, Utopica Group ("The Headless Woman"); Canadian Producers, Kim Roberts and Tina Pehme, Sepia Films ("In Their Skin")
Web Series Wizards Weigh In – the magic behind creating successful online content
When: September 13th, 1:45 Pm
Where: Imperial Room, Lord Nelson Hotel
Original web series appeared on the market with such landmark properties as Red vs Blue and The Guild, busting open the belief that short-form web content would be YouTubers on skateboards and kittens in cardboard. Web series have since matured into their own art form and are recognized as a legitimate format of content for mobile and internet audiences. But how are producers financing web hits like Video Game High School or Epic Mealtimeand is it a viable format for independents?
Traditional and new media companies are racing to 'videofy' their internet magazines and newspapers (think Vice, The Guardian, and Conde Nast publications) as are many brands (think Red Bull, Amex and Ge.)
Panel moderator, Catherine Tait, Producer/ Distributor at iThentic, will explore with her panel of web series wizards who the new buyers are now and whether or not this is an avenue for independent producers to explore.
Panelists will include: Matthew Graham, Senior Director, PBS Digital Studios; Chris Skinner, Head of Digital, CTV; Ben Waller, Partner, RocketJump Studios
Beyond Broadcast — original programming in an increasingly digital-first world
When: September 14th, 11:20 Am
Where: Imperial Room, Lord Nelson
Today's media landscape is arguably one of the most innovative periods in media history, and yet one that is fraught with confusion and possibly disillusion, some of the best indicators of large-scale change. Currently, most online platforms are fully committed to commissioning original programming, and many media companies are producing original content for online and mobile platforms. In response, many new and traditional broadcast players are now commissioning original ‘digital first’ series, creating an ever increasingly symbiotic relationship.
How exactly are traditional broadcasters responding and what are the opportunities for their defense? How can broadcasters capitalize off this growing trend and work together with creators to further develop their online offerings?
Panel moderator, Producer Damon D'Oliveira ("What We Have," "The Book of Negroes") will examine how the concept of 'Content Everywhere’ is now imperative for all media companies, and panelists will take an in-depth look at the burgeoning marketplace for ‘digital-first’ original content.
Panelists will include: Stephen Finney, Production Executive, Original Drama Content, Shaw Media; Fay Wells, Distribution Consultant; Sam Harowitz, Director, Television Acquisitions & Development, Global Content, FreemantleMedia International
Each year, top Canadian and international industry players, including producers, investors, sales agents, funding agencies, broadcasters and distributors are selected to attend Strategic Partners. Offering over 1,000 pre-scheduled 1-2-1 meetings, co-production focused roundtable sessions, cutting edge panels, visionary keynote speakers, and screenings and receptions – Strategic Partners is a convergence of talent and innovation, producing tangible results.
For program updates and information on all things co-production, you can now follow Strategic Partners on social media:
Twitter: [At}SPcopromarket #spcopro2014
Facebook: www.facebook.com/atlanticfilmfestivalstrategicpartners
Youtube: www.youtube.com/atlanticfilmdotcom
About Strategic Partners: An International Film, Television and Digital Co-Production Market
The Atlantic Film Festival’s Strategic Partners is one of the world’s preeminent co-production/co-financing markets focusing on feature film, TV and web based fiction. Strategic Partners offers an intimate, organized forum for projects looking for financing as well as those still at an early stage, looking for the right partner.
Over the past 17 years, Strategic Partners has established itself not only as a one of a kind co-production market, but also as a cutting edge, intimate environment that delivers solutions to existing and foreseeable industry challenges. The intelligence and program offered at Strategic Partners is developed over many months of research into current global issues. However, this information is only a complement to Strategic Partners’ primary function – to build, establish and nurture relationships between producers and their partners.
Strategic Partners is a part of the Atlantic Film Festival family of programs. Today’s Atlantic Film Festival is now a year-round celebration, growing beyond our eight-day cornerstone event in September to include: ViewFinders: Atlantic Film Festival for Youth, the Aff Outdoor Film Experience, and Strategic Partners.
Learn more about the Atlantic Film Festival through the links below
Website : atlanticfilm.com , atlanticfilm.com/sp
Facebook pages: /atlanticfilmfestival , /atlanticfilmfestivalstrategicpartners
Youtube channel: youtube.com/atlanticfilmdotcom...
“We have put together a fantastic itinerary of panel discussions for this year’s program. Some of the world’s top trendsetters will descend upon Halifax to deliver the very latest news on topics such as financing and distribution of digital first content and exploring why producers should consider producing series for the web as part of their business model,” said Strategic Partners Director, Laura Mackenzie. “We are extremely excited to welcome the Argentinean Producers and Director as well as the Canadian Producers of The Games Maker to present a Case Study on this Argentinean/ Canadian/ Italian co-production. We always aim to provide the most progressive and up-to-the-minute information available and I'm very proud to announce this year’s line-up!”
I will be moderating the panel on the film "The Game Maker" on September 12th. See the full line up below.
Strategic Partners has announced the following program and panelists for 2014:
A Case Study of "The Games Maker"
When: September 12th, 1:20 Pm
Where: Imperial Room, Lord Nelson Hotel
A complex Argentinian-Canadian-Italian co-production, "The Games Maker" is a true international success story, from script to screen. Released in early July 2014 in Latin America, this family adventure film with universal appeal has dazzled at the box office.
Moderator Sydney Levine (SydneysBuzz) will lead an in-depth discussion with the stellar team behind the feature film. The discussion will shed light on the project’s origination, the obstacles they overcame during production, how financing was achieved and how distribution and international sales were determined and executed.
Panelists include: Argentinean Director, Juan Pablo Buscarini, Pampa Films ("Chinese Take-Away"); Argentinean Producer, Verónica Cura, Utopica Group ("The Headless Woman"); Canadian Producers, Kim Roberts and Tina Pehme, Sepia Films ("In Their Skin")
Web Series Wizards Weigh In – the magic behind creating successful online content
When: September 13th, 1:45 Pm
Where: Imperial Room, Lord Nelson Hotel
Original web series appeared on the market with such landmark properties as Red vs Blue and The Guild, busting open the belief that short-form web content would be YouTubers on skateboards and kittens in cardboard. Web series have since matured into their own art form and are recognized as a legitimate format of content for mobile and internet audiences. But how are producers financing web hits like Video Game High School or Epic Mealtimeand is it a viable format for independents?
Traditional and new media companies are racing to 'videofy' their internet magazines and newspapers (think Vice, The Guardian, and Conde Nast publications) as are many brands (think Red Bull, Amex and Ge.)
Panel moderator, Catherine Tait, Producer/ Distributor at iThentic, will explore with her panel of web series wizards who the new buyers are now and whether or not this is an avenue for independent producers to explore.
Panelists will include: Matthew Graham, Senior Director, PBS Digital Studios; Chris Skinner, Head of Digital, CTV; Ben Waller, Partner, RocketJump Studios
Beyond Broadcast — original programming in an increasingly digital-first world
When: September 14th, 11:20 Am
Where: Imperial Room, Lord Nelson
Today's media landscape is arguably one of the most innovative periods in media history, and yet one that is fraught with confusion and possibly disillusion, some of the best indicators of large-scale change. Currently, most online platforms are fully committed to commissioning original programming, and many media companies are producing original content for online and mobile platforms. In response, many new and traditional broadcast players are now commissioning original ‘digital first’ series, creating an ever increasingly symbiotic relationship.
How exactly are traditional broadcasters responding and what are the opportunities for their defense? How can broadcasters capitalize off this growing trend and work together with creators to further develop their online offerings?
Panel moderator, Producer Damon D'Oliveira ("What We Have," "The Book of Negroes") will examine how the concept of 'Content Everywhere’ is now imperative for all media companies, and panelists will take an in-depth look at the burgeoning marketplace for ‘digital-first’ original content.
Panelists will include: Stephen Finney, Production Executive, Original Drama Content, Shaw Media; Fay Wells, Distribution Consultant; Sam Harowitz, Director, Television Acquisitions & Development, Global Content, FreemantleMedia International
Each year, top Canadian and international industry players, including producers, investors, sales agents, funding agencies, broadcasters and distributors are selected to attend Strategic Partners. Offering over 1,000 pre-scheduled 1-2-1 meetings, co-production focused roundtable sessions, cutting edge panels, visionary keynote speakers, and screenings and receptions – Strategic Partners is a convergence of talent and innovation, producing tangible results.
For program updates and information on all things co-production, you can now follow Strategic Partners on social media:
Twitter: [At}SPcopromarket #spcopro2014
Facebook: www.facebook.com/atlanticfilmfestivalstrategicpartners
Youtube: www.youtube.com/atlanticfilmdotcom
About Strategic Partners: An International Film, Television and Digital Co-Production Market
The Atlantic Film Festival’s Strategic Partners is one of the world’s preeminent co-production/co-financing markets focusing on feature film, TV and web based fiction. Strategic Partners offers an intimate, organized forum for projects looking for financing as well as those still at an early stage, looking for the right partner.
Over the past 17 years, Strategic Partners has established itself not only as a one of a kind co-production market, but also as a cutting edge, intimate environment that delivers solutions to existing and foreseeable industry challenges. The intelligence and program offered at Strategic Partners is developed over many months of research into current global issues. However, this information is only a complement to Strategic Partners’ primary function – to build, establish and nurture relationships between producers and their partners.
Strategic Partners is a part of the Atlantic Film Festival family of programs. Today’s Atlantic Film Festival is now a year-round celebration, growing beyond our eight-day cornerstone event in September to include: ViewFinders: Atlantic Film Festival for Youth, the Aff Outdoor Film Experience, and Strategic Partners.
Learn more about the Atlantic Film Festival through the links below
Website : atlanticfilm.com , atlanticfilm.com/sp
Facebook pages: /atlanticfilmfestival , /atlanticfilmfestivalstrategicpartners
Youtube channel: youtube.com/atlanticfilmdotcom...
- 8/25/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Jeremy Power Regimbal's Tribeca thriller Replicas has found a distributor in IFC Midnight. The Selma Blair, Joshua Close, James D'Arcy, and Rachel Miner starring film will see a 2013 theatrical and VOD release. Check out our review of the film from Tribeca. More from the Press Release: IFC Midnight is acquiring all Us rights to Replicas, the acclaimed thriller from director Jeremy Power Regimbal, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Starring Selma Blair (Hellboy), Joshua Close (The Pacific), James D'Arcy (W.E.), and Rachel Miner (Bully), the film was produced by Regimbal and Justin Tyler Close, and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts and Susan Jackson. Celluloid Nightmares has all foreign rights. Following a tragic incident,...
- 6/6/2012
- Screen Anarchy
IFC Midnight announced that they have acquired Us distribution rights to Replicas, a home invasion thriller starring Selma Blair, Joshua Close, James D’Arcy and Rachel Miner:
“IFC Midnight is acquiring all Us rights to Replicas, the acclaimed thriller from director Jeremy Power Regimbal, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Starring Selma Blair (Hellboy), Joshua Close (The Pacific), James D’Arcy (W.E.), and Rachel Miner (Bully), the film was produced by Regimbal and Justin Tyler Close, and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts and Susan Jackson. Celluloid Nightmares has all foreign rights.
Following a tragic incident, the Hughes family escapes their busy, upscale suburban life in order to spend some quality time at their isolated country home. An evening with friendly neighbors is suddenly interrupted when one man’s obsession with perfection escalates into a violent struggle, forcing all...
“IFC Midnight is acquiring all Us rights to Replicas, the acclaimed thriller from director Jeremy Power Regimbal, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Starring Selma Blair (Hellboy), Joshua Close (The Pacific), James D’Arcy (W.E.), and Rachel Miner (Bully), the film was produced by Regimbal and Justin Tyler Close, and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts and Susan Jackson. Celluloid Nightmares has all foreign rights.
Following a tragic incident, the Hughes family escapes their busy, upscale suburban life in order to spend some quality time at their isolated country home. An evening with friendly neighbors is suddenly interrupted when one man’s obsession with perfection escalates into a violent struggle, forcing all...
- 6/6/2012
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
IFC Midnight is acquiring all Us rights to Replicas, the acclaimed thriller from director Jeremy Power Regimbal, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Starring Selma Blair (Hellboy), Joshua Close (The Pacific), James D’Arcy (W.E.), and Rachel Miner (Bully), the film was produced by Regimbal and Justin Tyler Close, and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts and Susan Jackson. Celluloid Nightmares has all foreign rights.
Following a tragic incident, the Hughes family escapes their busy, upscale suburban life in order to spend some quality time at their isolated country home. An evening with friendly neighbors is suddenly interrupted when one man.s obsession with perfection escalates into a violent struggle, forcing all to go beyond anything they ever thought they were capable of in order to survive.
Jackson, of North American sales agent Turtles Crossing LLC, negotiated the sale with Jeff Deutchman,...
Following a tragic incident, the Hughes family escapes their busy, upscale suburban life in order to spend some quality time at their isolated country home. An evening with friendly neighbors is suddenly interrupted when one man.s obsession with perfection escalates into a violent struggle, forcing all to go beyond anything they ever thought they were capable of in order to survive.
Jackson, of North American sales agent Turtles Crossing LLC, negotiated the sale with Jeff Deutchman,...
- 6/6/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
IFC Midnight has picked up all Us distribution rights to Jeremy Power Regimbal's "Replicas" starring Selma Blair, Joshua Close, James D'Arcy and Rachel Miner. The film made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts and Susan Jackson. IFC plans to release the film to theaters and VOD next year, date Tba. In "Replicas," co-written by cast member Joshua Close, following a tragic incident, the Hughes family escapes their busy, upscale suburban life in order to spend some quality time at their isolated country home. An evening with friendly neighbors is suddenly interrupted when one man’s obsession with perfection escalates into a violent struggle, forcing all to go beyond anything they ever thought they were capable of in order to survive.
- 6/6/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
One of the bigger films at this year's Tribeca Film Festival was the new flick Replicas, and word has just broken that one of the horror genre's best friends has picked it up for distro! Read on for all the details.
From the Press Release
IFC Midnight is acquiring all Us rights to Replicas, the acclaimed thriller from director Jeremy Power Regimbal, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Starring Selma Blair (Hellboy), Joshua Close (The Pacific), James D'Arcy (W.E.), and Rachel Miner (Bully), the film was produced by Regimbal and Justin Tyler Close and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts, and Susan Jackson. Celluloid Nightmares has all foreign rights.
Jackson, of North American sales agent Turtles Crossing LLC, negotiated the sale with Jeff Deutchman, Director, Acquisitions & Productions, Sundance Selects/IFC Films.
Replicas is Jeremy Power Regimbal’s first feature after helming...
From the Press Release
IFC Midnight is acquiring all Us rights to Replicas, the acclaimed thriller from director Jeremy Power Regimbal, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Starring Selma Blair (Hellboy), Joshua Close (The Pacific), James D'Arcy (W.E.), and Rachel Miner (Bully), the film was produced by Regimbal and Justin Tyler Close and was executive produced by Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts, and Susan Jackson. Celluloid Nightmares has all foreign rights.
Jackson, of North American sales agent Turtles Crossing LLC, negotiated the sale with Jeff Deutchman, Director, Acquisitions & Productions, Sundance Selects/IFC Films.
Replicas is Jeremy Power Regimbal’s first feature after helming...
- 6/5/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
IFC Midnight has acquired all U.S. rights to the thriller “Replicas” from director Jeremy Power Regimbal. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Selma Blair, Joshua Close, James D'Arcy and Rachel Miner star in the story of a family that heads to their country home after a tragic accident only to find themselves victims of violence during an evening with the neighbors. Close wrote the screenplay. Regimbal produced with Justin Tyler Close; Tina Pehme, Kim C. Roberts and Susan Jackson are executive producers. Sundance Selects/IFC Films exec Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal with Jackson of Turtles Crossing LLC. Celluloid Nightmares reps foreign rights. Sundance Selects grabbed North American rights to Tribeca fest premiere "Una Noche" in May.
- 6/5/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
Josh Close, James D'Arcy, Selma Blair and Rachel Miner have joined the cast of the thriller "The Replicas." According to The Hollywood Reporter, music video director Jeremy Regimbal will make his feature directorial debut on the film.Production is underway.Close also wrote the screenplay, which centers on a grieving couple that heads with their family to a vacation cottage after the death of their youngest child. They are visited by a couple with a deadly agenda.Kim Roberts and Tina Pehme of Sepia Films are producing along with Justin Close of The Studio Movement.Josh Close has appeared in "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Diary of the Dead."D'Arcy has appeared in "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" and "An...
- 12/7/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Irish/Canadian co-production 'A Shine of Rainbows' beings to seven the number of Irish features to be screened at this years Toronto International Film Festival which runs 10 - 20 September 2009. Directed by Emmy award winning Indian Filmmaker/Dop Vic Sarin (Partition, Cold Comfort), the film stars Irish/American actor Aidan Quinn (32A, Legends of the Fall) and Danish actress Connie Nielson (Gladiator, One Hour Photo). With a budget of approximately €3.5 million, 'A Shine of Rainbows' was produced by Tina Pehme (Sepia Films), Kim Roberts and James Flynn (Octagon).
- 8/17/2009
- IFTN
NEW YORK -- A compelling psychological thriller that well taps into our current national paranoia about terrorism, Civic Duty offers a powerful performance by Peter Krause as a man who becomes obsessed with his suspicious Islamic neighbor. While the film doesn't fully succeed in its striving for a Hitchcock-style ambiguity in its storytelling, it is consistently engrossing in its exploration of the fine line between civic duty and vigilantism.
Duty recently was showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Krause, who demonstrated in Six Feet Under that he is particularly skillful at conveying the darkness underlying a handsome facade, plays Terry Allen, an accountant with an obvious short fuse who has just lost his job. Reduced to spending his time puttering around at home while sending out resumes, he becomes increasingly suspicious of the young graduate student who has just moved into his apartment complex.
The man in question, Gabe Hassan Khaled Abol Naga), acts in a rather suspicious manner, including taking out his garbage in the middle of the night and receiving visits from a variety of Muslim men. Although his otherwise supportive fiancee (Kari Matchett) is deeply skeptical of his fears, Terry reports his apprehensions to a clearly overworked and disinterested FBI agent (Richard Schiff).
Terry becomes obsessed with proving the man's guilt, at one point even illegally entering his apartment in search of evidence. Eventually, he takes matters into his own hands, leading to a tense and violent showdown with the police.
Andrew Joiner's taut screenplay mainly succeeds in its goal of keeping us guessing as to Gabe's guilt and Terry's sanity. Although it lapses into melodrama towards the end, along the way it provides a harrowingly suspenseful depiction of a situation that has universal implications.
Director Jeff Renfroe provides a superbly modulated tension, especially in his use of camera and editing effects to convey the main character's inner turmoil.
Onscreen nearly every minute, Krause delivers a tour-de-force performance. He is well matched by his charismatic co-star, who must constantly keep us guessing as to whether his character is an innocent victim or a deadly terrorist.
Civic Duty
Landslide Films, in association with Sepia Films
Credits:
Director-editor: Jeff Renfroe
Screenwriter: Andrew Joiner
Producers: Andrew Lanter, Tina Pehme, Kim Roberts, Peter Krause, Andrew Joiner
Executive producers: Elisha Rothman, David Boim
Director of photography: Dylan MacLeod
Production designer: Rick Willoughby
Costume designer: Angelina Kekich
Cast:
Terry Allen: Peter Krause
Marla: Kari Matchett
Agent Tom Hillary: Richard Schiff
Gabe Hassan: Khaled Abol Naga
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 100 minutes...
Duty recently was showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Krause, who demonstrated in Six Feet Under that he is particularly skillful at conveying the darkness underlying a handsome facade, plays Terry Allen, an accountant with an obvious short fuse who has just lost his job. Reduced to spending his time puttering around at home while sending out resumes, he becomes increasingly suspicious of the young graduate student who has just moved into his apartment complex.
The man in question, Gabe Hassan Khaled Abol Naga), acts in a rather suspicious manner, including taking out his garbage in the middle of the night and receiving visits from a variety of Muslim men. Although his otherwise supportive fiancee (Kari Matchett) is deeply skeptical of his fears, Terry reports his apprehensions to a clearly overworked and disinterested FBI agent (Richard Schiff).
Terry becomes obsessed with proving the man's guilt, at one point even illegally entering his apartment in search of evidence. Eventually, he takes matters into his own hands, leading to a tense and violent showdown with the police.
Andrew Joiner's taut screenplay mainly succeeds in its goal of keeping us guessing as to Gabe's guilt and Terry's sanity. Although it lapses into melodrama towards the end, along the way it provides a harrowingly suspenseful depiction of a situation that has universal implications.
Director Jeff Renfroe provides a superbly modulated tension, especially in his use of camera and editing effects to convey the main character's inner turmoil.
Onscreen nearly every minute, Krause delivers a tour-de-force performance. He is well matched by his charismatic co-star, who must constantly keep us guessing as to whether his character is an innocent victim or a deadly terrorist.
Civic Duty
Landslide Films, in association with Sepia Films
Credits:
Director-editor: Jeff Renfroe
Screenwriter: Andrew Joiner
Producers: Andrew Lanter, Tina Pehme, Kim Roberts, Peter Krause, Andrew Joiner
Executive producers: Elisha Rothman, David Boim
Director of photography: Dylan MacLeod
Production designer: Rick Willoughby
Costume designer: Angelina Kekich
Cast:
Terry Allen: Peter Krause
Marla: Kari Matchett
Agent Tom Hillary: Richard Schiff
Gabe Hassan: Khaled Abol Naga
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 100 minutes...
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