The official website for the upcoming 48th Annecy International Animation Film Festival has revealed 12 films to compete in this year's official selection of feature films. The lineup includes four Japanese film — Ghost Cat Anzu (French-Japanese co-production) directed by Yoko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita, The Colors Within directed by Naoko Yamada, Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window directed by Shinnosuke Yakuwa, and The Imaginary by Yoshiyuki Momose. The 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival Official Selection - Feature films Into the Wonderwoods by Vincent Paronnaud, Alexis Ducard / France, Luxembourg Flow by Gints Zilbalodis / Latvia, Belgium, France Ghost Cat Anzu by Yoko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita / Japan, France The Colors Within by Naoko Yamada / Japan The Most Precious of Cargoes by Michel Hazanavicius / Belgium, France Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Shinnosuke Yakuwa / Japan Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot / Australia Rock Bottom by María Trénor / Spain, Poland Sauvages by Claude Barras / Switzerland,...
- 4/27/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) has added a rendez-vouz with Italian actor and filmmaker Valeria Golino to its programme as well as two animated features and the first Cinema de la Plage titles.
Golino, whose credits include Rain Man and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, will premiere the first episode of her new series The Art Of Joy followed by an in conversation event. The series, which will screen in Italian cinemas in July, stars Jasmine Trinca, Tecla Insolia and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and follows a Sicilian woman in the early 1900s who dreams of a better life.
The actor...
Golino, whose credits include Rain Man and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, will premiere the first episode of her new series The Art Of Joy followed by an in conversation event. The series, which will screen in Italian cinemas in July, stars Jasmine Trinca, Tecla Insolia and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and follows a Sicilian woman in the early 1900s who dreams of a better life.
The actor...
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled fresh news details about its 77th edition (May 14-25), including a Rendez-vous with…Valeria Golino event.
The Italian actress and director, whose 40-year career spans more than 100 acting credits, broke into directing just over a decade ago and has been invited to Cannes Official Selection twice with films Miele (2013) and Euforia (2018).
She has recently completed The Art of Joy. The adaptation of Goliarda Sapienza’s novel L’arte della gioia, was shot as a series but there is also feature-length cut which will release in cinemas in Italy later this year. The cast features Jasmine Trinca, Tecla Insolia and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.
The first episode of the series will be previewed, followed by a dialogue between Valeria Golino and the audience.
The festival also announced the first titles selected for its free Cinéma de la Plage screenings: Daniel Burman’s Transmitzvah, Jul’s Silex and the City,...
The Italian actress and director, whose 40-year career spans more than 100 acting credits, broke into directing just over a decade ago and has been invited to Cannes Official Selection twice with films Miele (2013) and Euforia (2018).
She has recently completed The Art of Joy. The adaptation of Goliarda Sapienza’s novel L’arte della gioia, was shot as a series but there is also feature-length cut which will release in cinemas in Italy later this year. The cast features Jasmine Trinca, Tecla Insolia and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.
The first episode of the series will be previewed, followed by a dialogue between Valeria Golino and the audience.
The festival also announced the first titles selected for its free Cinéma de la Plage screenings: Daniel Burman’s Transmitzvah, Jul’s Silex and the City,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its 2024 edition, including the Competition line-up and a programme of previews from the major studios.
The 12-strong Official Competition includes Adam Elliot’s Australian feature Memoir Of A Snail, in which Succession star Sarah Snook voices a lonely hoarder of ornamental snails; and stop-motion Savages!, director Claude Barras’ first feature since his Bafta- and Oscar-nominated My Life As A Courgette.
Scroll down for the full Competition line-up
The festival will open with Michel Hazanavicius’ Competition title The Most Precious Of Cargoes, heading to Annecy from its debut in Cannes Competition.
The 12-strong Official Competition includes Adam Elliot’s Australian feature Memoir Of A Snail, in which Succession star Sarah Snook voices a lonely hoarder of ornamental snails; and stop-motion Savages!, director Claude Barras’ first feature since his Bafta- and Oscar-nominated My Life As A Courgette.
Scroll down for the full Competition line-up
The festival will open with Michel Hazanavicius’ Competition title The Most Precious Of Cargoes, heading to Annecy from its debut in Cannes Competition.
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Most Precious of Cargoes, the first animated feature from Oscar-winning French director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), will open this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The feature is a 2D animated adaptation of the best-selling book by French author Jean-Claude Grumberg. Set during World War II, it tells the story of a French Jewish family deported to Auschwitz. On the train to the death camp, in a desperate gesture, the father throws one of his baby twins out into the snow, where he’s discovered by a childless Polish couple living deep in the forest.
Hazanavicius presented the film as a work-in-progress at Annecy two years ago. French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant narrates the film with voice acting from Dominique Blanc, Denis Podalydès, and Grégory Gadebois. Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water) composed the score. Animation is from 3.0 Studio – formerly Prima Linea — the group behind the...
The feature is a 2D animated adaptation of the best-selling book by French author Jean-Claude Grumberg. Set during World War II, it tells the story of a French Jewish family deported to Auschwitz. On the train to the death camp, in a desperate gesture, the father throws one of his baby twins out into the snow, where he’s discovered by a childless Polish couple living deep in the forest.
Hazanavicius presented the film as a work-in-progress at Annecy two years ago. French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant narrates the film with voice acting from Dominique Blanc, Denis Podalydès, and Grégory Gadebois. Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water) composed the score. Animation is from 3.0 Studio – formerly Prima Linea — the group behind the...
- 4/25/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired Jean-Claude Monod’s queer period drama Girl For A Day and Jul and Jean-Paul Guigue’s hybrid animation Silex And The City and is launching sales for both films at Unifrance’s Paris Rendez-Vous next week,
Set in the 18th century, Girl For A Day is Monod’s debut feature and is based on the true story of a person called Anne Grandjean who was urged to dress as a man and change her name due to her attraction to women, and was then brought to trial. Marie Toscan stars alongside Call My Agent’s Thibault de Montalembert,...
Set in the 18th century, Girl For A Day is Monod’s debut feature and is based on the true story of a person called Anne Grandjean who was urged to dress as a man and change her name due to her attraction to women, and was then brought to trial. Marie Toscan stars alongside Call My Agent’s Thibault de Montalembert,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
“Decorado,” the awaited next animated feature film from Alberto Vázquez, director of 2015’s “Birdboy: The Forgotten Children” and last year’s “Unicorn Wars,” has been boarded by Le Pacte.
One of France’s most important independent film companies, a distributor in France of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” and Ken Loach’s “I: Daniel Blake” among its biggest foreign hits, Le Pacte, headed by Jean and Alice Labadie, has acquired rights to “Decorado” for distribution in France and international sales.
“We picked up ‘Decorado’ because we were in love with ‘Unicorn Wars’ and ‘Decorado is even crazier,” said Jean Labadie. “We love animation and bold projects which are out of boundaries.”
The “Decorado” feature was presented at Cartoon Movie in March where its producers met Le Pacte and initiated discussions after Le Pacte’s expressions of enthusiasm for the story and the project.
Vázquez’s follow-up to “Unicorn Wars,” a Gkids U.
One of France’s most important independent film companies, a distributor in France of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” and Ken Loach’s “I: Daniel Blake” among its biggest foreign hits, Le Pacte, headed by Jean and Alice Labadie, has acquired rights to “Decorado” for distribution in France and international sales.
“We picked up ‘Decorado’ because we were in love with ‘Unicorn Wars’ and ‘Decorado is even crazier,” said Jean Labadie. “We love animation and bold projects which are out of boundaries.”
The “Decorado” feature was presented at Cartoon Movie in March where its producers met Le Pacte and initiated discussions after Le Pacte’s expressions of enthusiasm for the story and the project.
Vázquez’s follow-up to “Unicorn Wars,” a Gkids U.
- 7/20/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The revenge story stars Nicolas Duvauchelle, Finnegan Oldfield, Denis Lavant and Florent Hill-Chouaki.
Georgian-French director Akaki Popkhadze’s mafia thriller In the Name of Blood has joined the Urban Sales family with the Paris-based sales company headed by Frédéric Corvez acquiring global rights to the France-set feature ahead of the Cannes market.
In the Name of Blood (Brûle le Sang) stars Nicolas Duvauchelle, Finnegan Oldfield, Denis Lavant and Florent Hill-Chouaki. Set in a working-class neighbourhood in Nice, the film follows an aspiring orthodox priest whose father, a pillar in the local Georgian community, is murdered and his older brother with...
Georgian-French director Akaki Popkhadze’s mafia thriller In the Name of Blood has joined the Urban Sales family with the Paris-based sales company headed by Frédéric Corvez acquiring global rights to the France-set feature ahead of the Cannes market.
In the Name of Blood (Brûle le Sang) stars Nicolas Duvauchelle, Finnegan Oldfield, Denis Lavant and Florent Hill-Chouaki. Set in a working-class neighbourhood in Nice, the film follows an aspiring orthodox priest whose father, a pillar in the local Georgian community, is murdered and his older brother with...
- 5/12/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Firm has hired Eric Mabillon as head of business and legal affairs
Paris-based Urban Group has hired Eric Mabillon as head of business and legal affairs and has made a number of key appointments across its sales, distribution and production divisions.
Urban Group is home to sales companies Urban Sales and Reservoir Docs, French distributor Urban Distribution and production arm Urban Factory.
Mabillon has joined Urban Group as head of business and legal affairs. He has previously been head of business and legal affairs at Paradis Films and Celluloid Dreams as well as in charge of legal affairs for Le Pacte...
Paris-based Urban Group has hired Eric Mabillon as head of business and legal affairs and has made a number of key appointments across its sales, distribution and production divisions.
Urban Group is home to sales companies Urban Sales and Reservoir Docs, French distributor Urban Distribution and production arm Urban Factory.
Mabillon has joined Urban Group as head of business and legal affairs. He has previously been head of business and legal affairs at Paradis Films and Celluloid Dreams as well as in charge of legal affairs for Le Pacte...
- 5/3/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 2023 edition, running from June 11 to 17.
More than 13,000 animation professionals are set to descend on the French festival’s lakeside setting for its traditional mix of screenings programs across all formats, Work-in-Progress and First-Look sneak peeks, and presentations going behind the scenes of upcoming animation productions.
Competition title Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Winds by French director Benoît Chieux opens the festival. The fantasy follows the adventures of two young sisters as they try to make their way home after getting trapped in the world of their favorite book.
A Cat In Paris and Phantom Boy director Alain Gagnol co-wrote the screenplay for the feature lead produced by Paris-based Sacrebleu Productions.
The film, which world premieres in Annecy, is among 11 titles competing for the festival’s Crystal award.
Another three French productions debut in Competition: Chiara Malta and...
More than 13,000 animation professionals are set to descend on the French festival’s lakeside setting for its traditional mix of screenings programs across all formats, Work-in-Progress and First-Look sneak peeks, and presentations going behind the scenes of upcoming animation productions.
Competition title Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Winds by French director Benoît Chieux opens the festival. The fantasy follows the adventures of two young sisters as they try to make their way home after getting trapped in the world of their favorite book.
A Cat In Paris and Phantom Boy director Alain Gagnol co-wrote the screenplay for the feature lead produced by Paris-based Sacrebleu Productions.
The film, which world premieres in Annecy, is among 11 titles competing for the festival’s Crystal award.
Another three French productions debut in Competition: Chiara Malta and...
- 4/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Frédéric Corvez’s Paris-based Urban Sales has boarded “Pictures of Ghosts”, the latest film of renowned Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho.
The movie, which marks Mendonça Filho’s fifth feature film, will world premiere at Cannes in the Special Screenings section.
“Pictures of Ghosts” will mark the director’s third film to bow at Cannes, following two competition entries, “Bacurau” (co-directed by Juliano Dornelles) which won the Jury Prize n 2019, and “Aquarius” in 2016.
“Pictures of Ghosts” combines archive documentary, mystery, film clips and personal memories. The film is produced by Emilie Lesclaux at CinemaScópio Produções and co-produced by Silvia Cruz and Felipe Lopes’ Vitrine Filmes.
Described as a multidimensional journey through time, sound, architecture and filmmaking, “Pictures of Ghosts” is set in the urban landscape of Recife, located in the Brazilian coastal capital of Pernambuco. Having hosted dreams and progress, these places have also embodied a major transformation on social practices.
The movie, which marks Mendonça Filho’s fifth feature film, will world premiere at Cannes in the Special Screenings section.
“Pictures of Ghosts” will mark the director’s third film to bow at Cannes, following two competition entries, “Bacurau” (co-directed by Juliano Dornelles) which won the Jury Prize n 2019, and “Aquarius” in 2016.
“Pictures of Ghosts” combines archive documentary, mystery, film clips and personal memories. The film is produced by Emilie Lesclaux at CinemaScópio Produções and co-produced by Silvia Cruz and Felipe Lopes’ Vitrine Filmes.
Described as a multidimensional journey through time, sound, architecture and filmmaking, “Pictures of Ghosts” is set in the urban landscape of Recife, located in the Brazilian coastal capital of Pernambuco. Having hosted dreams and progress, these places have also embodied a major transformation on social practices.
- 4/27/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Film is first Mongolian feature to play in Official Selection at Cannes.
Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired If Only I Could Hibernate, the debut feature from Mongolian director Zoljargal (Zoro) Purevdash that will world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
If Only I Could Hibernate is the first Mongolian film to play in Official Selection at Cannes. It is a co-production between Purevdash’s Mongolian production house Amygdala Films and Paris-based Urban Factory, headed by producers Frédéric Corvez and Maeva Savinien.
Amel Lacombe’s Eurozoom signed a deal for French distribution ahead of the film’s selection for Cannes.
Set in Ulaanbaatar,...
Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired If Only I Could Hibernate, the debut feature from Mongolian director Zoljargal (Zoro) Purevdash that will world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
If Only I Could Hibernate is the first Mongolian film to play in Official Selection at Cannes. It is a co-production between Purevdash’s Mongolian production house Amygdala Films and Paris-based Urban Factory, headed by producers Frédéric Corvez and Maeva Savinien.
Amel Lacombe’s Eurozoom signed a deal for French distribution ahead of the film’s selection for Cannes.
Set in Ulaanbaatar,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
(Welcome to Animation Celebration, a recurring feature where we explore the limitless possibilities of animation as a medium. In this edition: "Persepolis.")
I was a sophomore in college taking my first Women's Literature class when I was first introduced to Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, "Persepolis." My professor was an adventurous woman who was clearly tired of rehashing Emily Brontë and Jane Austen year after year and wanted to try something new with our class. In addition to the so-called classics, she gave us the graphic novel "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel (of The Bechdel Test fame) and "Persepolis." I distinctly remember one of my classmates scoffing at the book, dismissing graphic novels as "glorified picture books" and refusing to read the material. My professor had zero patience for someone disparaging the good word of graphic novels and held up "Persepolis" in her hand like a televangelist with a bible.
I was a sophomore in college taking my first Women's Literature class when I was first introduced to Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, "Persepolis." My professor was an adventurous woman who was clearly tired of rehashing Emily Brontë and Jane Austen year after year and wanted to try something new with our class. In addition to the so-called classics, she gave us the graphic novel "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel (of The Bechdel Test fame) and "Persepolis." I distinctly remember one of my classmates scoffing at the book, dismissing graphic novels as "glorified picture books" and refusing to read the material. My professor had zero patience for someone disparaging the good word of graphic novels and held up "Persepolis" in her hand like a televangelist with a bible.
- 11/22/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Urban Sales has boarded a pair of 3D animated features, “Fox & Hare Save the Forest” and “Into the Wonderwoods” in time for the American Film Market.
Vincent Paronnaud, who directed the prize-winning “Persepolis,” helms “Into the Wonderwoods” alongside Alexis Ducord (“Zombilennium”). Pic is produced by animation banners Je Suis Bien Content (“Persepolis”) and Gaoshan Pictures.
Budgeted at 10 million, “Into the Wonderwoods” is based on a comic book that Paronnaud created under the pseudonym Winshluss.
The family film (pictured) follows 10-year-old Angelo, who dreams of becoming an explorer and a zoologist. When he hits the road with his family to visit his beloved granny, his distracted parents leave him behind at a rest stop. Left to his own devices, Angelo decides to cut through the forest in search of his family. He enters a dark and mysterious world inhabited by strange creatures, some friendlier than others.
Set to premiere in 2024, “Into...
Vincent Paronnaud, who directed the prize-winning “Persepolis,” helms “Into the Wonderwoods” alongside Alexis Ducord (“Zombilennium”). Pic is produced by animation banners Je Suis Bien Content (“Persepolis”) and Gaoshan Pictures.
Budgeted at 10 million, “Into the Wonderwoods” is based on a comic book that Paronnaud created under the pseudonym Winshluss.
The family film (pictured) follows 10-year-old Angelo, who dreams of becoming an explorer and a zoologist. When he hits the road with his family to visit his beloved granny, his distracted parents leave him behind at a rest stop. Left to his own devices, Angelo decides to cut through the forest in search of his family. He enters a dark and mysterious world inhabited by strange creatures, some friendlier than others.
Set to premiere in 2024, “Into...
- 11/2/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
It’s not unusual for a film to be nominated in multiple categories at the Oscars — a big movie like, say, Dune is up for 10 awards this year, ranging from Best Picture to a slew of technical categories (how many or how much of those likely wins we’ll actually get to watch during the broadcast, however, remains to be seen). It’s a hell of a lot rarer for something to get nominated in a trio of disparate major categories like Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary and Best International Feature.
- 3/20/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
France has been a supreme force in the Oscars’ international feature race for decades. This year, three acclaimed films from women directors — Céline Sciamma, Audrey Diwan and Julia Ducournau — are believed to be at the top of the list to represent the country for the upcoming 94th ceremony, set to take place on March 27. Though France is the most-nominated country in the history of the category, it hasn’t walked away with the prize in nearly 30 years. Can that change this year?
The French submission is decided annually by the National Cinema Center. The committee will hold its first meeting on Thursday to pre-select a shortlist of films, with the producers being “auditioned” by the committee on Oct. 12, before the final choice is made. Sciamma’s “Petite Maman,” Ducournau’s “Titane” and Diwan’s “Happening” are believed to be the favorites for consideration. “Happening” was just acquired by IFC Films...
The French submission is decided annually by the National Cinema Center. The committee will hold its first meeting on Thursday to pre-select a shortlist of films, with the producers being “auditioned” by the committee on Oct. 12, before the final choice is made. Sciamma’s “Petite Maman,” Ducournau’s “Titane” and Diwan’s “Happening” are believed to be the favorites for consideration. “Happening” was just acquired by IFC Films...
- 10/7/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Criterion Channel’s July 2021 Lineup Includes Wong Kar Wai, Neo-Noir, Art-House Animation & More
The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Once Upon a Time in Belgium: Paronnaud Goes into the Woods for Violent Retro-Fairytale
The notion of the wolf in sheep’s clothing busts into blurred territory with Hunted, the latest offering from director Vincent Paronnaud, an effort which attempts to shake-up the familiar woman-in-peril through the lens of fairytale tropes. Revered for his co-directed efforts with Marjane Satrapi, including 2007’s animated Persepolis and their hybrid follow-up Chicken with Plums (2011), the noted French comic book writer and artist makes his first solo effort since 2009’s Villemolle 81 (under his pseudonym Winshluss).
Co-written by Lea Pernollet and rooted in unspecified Euro climes (though it was shot in Belgium), a hodge-podge of Belgian and Irish actors speaking accented English instills a sense of timelessness and disorientation, like a parallel universe where violence against women, of course, continues to be a given.…...
The notion of the wolf in sheep’s clothing busts into blurred territory with Hunted, the latest offering from director Vincent Paronnaud, an effort which attempts to shake-up the familiar woman-in-peril through the lens of fairytale tropes. Revered for his co-directed efforts with Marjane Satrapi, including 2007’s animated Persepolis and their hybrid follow-up Chicken with Plums (2011), the noted French comic book writer and artist makes his first solo effort since 2009’s Villemolle 81 (under his pseudonym Winshluss).
Co-written by Lea Pernollet and rooted in unspecified Euro climes (though it was shot in Belgium), a hodge-podge of Belgian and Irish actors speaking accented English instills a sense of timelessness and disorientation, like a parallel universe where violence against women, of course, continues to be a given.…...
- 1/18/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
If you thought last year's Shudder releases were impressive, wait until you see what they have in store for 2021, including eleven weeks of movie premieres. Here's the official press release, detailing all of their upcoming releases that include The Dark and the Wicked, Violation, and many more:
New York, NY – January 14, 2021 – Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, today announced its unbeatable lineup of eleven new Shudder Original and Shudder Exclusive films set to premiere on the service over the next eleven weeks: Hunted, The Queen of Black Magic, A Nightmare Wakes, After Midnight, Shook, The Dark & the Wicked, Lucky, Stay Out of the F**king Attic, Slaxx, Koko-di Koko-da and Violation that together span five countries on three continents and range from dark comedy to survival horror to period psychological thrillers. The eleven films represent vibrant, creative passion driving independent and international genre cinema today,...
New York, NY – January 14, 2021 – Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, today announced its unbeatable lineup of eleven new Shudder Original and Shudder Exclusive films set to premiere on the service over the next eleven weeks: Hunted, The Queen of Black Magic, A Nightmare Wakes, After Midnight, Shook, The Dark & the Wicked, Lucky, Stay Out of the F**king Attic, Slaxx, Koko-di Koko-da and Violation that together span five countries on three continents and range from dark comedy to survival horror to period psychological thrillers. The eleven films represent vibrant, creative passion driving independent and international genre cinema today,...
- 1/15/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Vincent Paronnaud takes a well-trodden path with this modern fairytale but adds smart meta-commentary and edgy menace
Cinematic rethinks of classic fairytales, especially Red Riding Hood, are a micro-genre about as exasperating and banal as the “year X called and it wants its Y back” joke. In Hunted’s case insert, 1985 for X and “postmodern feminist trope” for Y. Nevertheless, this uncomfortable but adroitly executed horror version in which a young woman is chased through the woods by toxic male monsters is pretty good stuff: unnerving in the right ways and flecked with colourful, unexpected specks of wit.
Related: The scariest horror films ever – ranked!
Cinematic rethinks of classic fairytales, especially Red Riding Hood, are a micro-genre about as exasperating and banal as the “year X called and it wants its Y back” joke. In Hunted’s case insert, 1985 for X and “postmodern feminist trope” for Y. Nevertheless, this uncomfortable but adroitly executed horror version in which a young woman is chased through the woods by toxic male monsters is pretty good stuff: unnerving in the right ways and flecked with colourful, unexpected specks of wit.
Related: The scariest horror films ever – ranked!
- 1/12/2021
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Shudder kicks off 2021 with two thrilling Shudder Originals, Hunted from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Vincent Paronnaud and The Queen of Black Magic, from two giants of modern Indonesian horror, Kimo Stamboel and Joko Anwar; the much anticipated second season of original series A Discovery of Witches with new episodes weekly; a binge release of season one of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, […]...
- 12/17/2020
- by Josh Millican
- DreadCentral.com
Shudder is looking to kick off a new year with a jam-packed January release schedule that includes the Peter Cushing collection, Hunted, The Queen of Black Magic, Super Dark Times, Clive Barker's Nightbreed, the entire first season of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and more!
Below, you can check out the full list of titles coming to Shudder in the U.S. in January, and be sure to visit Shudder's website to learn more about the streaming service and their scary good lineup!
New Shudder Original/Exclusive Movies
Hunted — January 14
What started as a flirtatious encounter at a bar turns into a life-or-death struggle as Eve becomes the unknowing target of a misogynistic plot against her. Forced to flee as two men pursue her through the forest, she’s pushed to her extremes while fighting to survive—but survival isn’t enough for Eve. She will have revenge. A...
Below, you can check out the full list of titles coming to Shudder in the U.S. in January, and be sure to visit Shudder's website to learn more about the streaming service and their scary good lineup!
New Shudder Original/Exclusive Movies
Hunted — January 14
What started as a flirtatious encounter at a bar turns into a life-or-death struggle as Eve becomes the unknowing target of a misogynistic plot against her. Forced to flee as two men pursue her through the forest, she’s pushed to her extremes while fighting to survive—but survival isn’t enough for Eve. She will have revenge. A...
- 12/17/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
"The company of wolves is better than that of man." Shudder has debuted an official US trailer for an indie French horror thriller titled Hunted, which originally premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival earlier this year. The film is the first solo directorial gig for filmmaker Vincent Paronnaud following work co-directing Persepolis and Chicken with Plums with Marjane Satrapi before. Described as a "modern and radical take on the Little Red Riding Hood fable, Hunted is an exhilarating, transcendent, and frequently brutal survival tale that elevates itself with the power of myth and magic, while still holding an exacting mirror to present-day society." Lucie Debay stars as a woman forced on the run into a forest pursued by two men. The cast includes Arieh Worthalter, Ciaran O'Brien, and Jean-Mathias Pondant. Hot damn this looks gnarly! Nothing original in terms of horror, but it does look like a killer revenge tale.
- 12/9/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Presents A New Shudder Original Hunted Vincent Paronnaud’s Fevered Survival Horror Coming Exclusively to AMC Networks’ Shudder January 14th New Poster & Trailer Released! Don’t miss the new feature from the co-director of the Cannes award-winning and Academy nominated Persepolis! Starring Lucie Debay (The Confession) and Arieh Worthalter (Girl) Synopsis: What started as a flirtatious …
The post New Trailer & Poster Released for Hunted, a film by Vincent Paronnaud – Fevered Survival Thriller Coming to Shudder January 14th...
The post New Trailer & Poster Released for Hunted, a film by Vincent Paronnaud – Fevered Survival Thriller Coming to Shudder January 14th...
- 12/4/2020
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
A contemporary take on "Little Red Riding Hood," Vincent Paronnaud's Hunted is coming to Shudder on January 14th, and its official trailer has been unleashed ahead of its streaming release:
Synopsis: "What started as a flirtatious encounter at a bar turns into a life-or-death struggle as Eve (Lucie Debay) becomes the unknowing target of a misogynistic plot against her. Forced to flee as two men pursue her through the forest, she’s pushed to her extremes while fighting to survive in the wilderness—but survival isn’t enough for Eve. She will have revenge.
A modern and radical take on the Little Red Riding Hood fable, Hunted is an exhilarating, transcendent, and frequently brutal survival tale that elevates itself with the power of myth and magic, while still holding an exacting mirror to present-day society."
The live-action, English-language, and solo directorial debut for acclaimed French filmmaker and comic artist Vincent Paronnaud,...
Synopsis: "What started as a flirtatious encounter at a bar turns into a life-or-death struggle as Eve (Lucie Debay) becomes the unknowing target of a misogynistic plot against her. Forced to flee as two men pursue her through the forest, she’s pushed to her extremes while fighting to survive in the wilderness—but survival isn’t enough for Eve. She will have revenge.
A modern and radical take on the Little Red Riding Hood fable, Hunted is an exhilarating, transcendent, and frequently brutal survival tale that elevates itself with the power of myth and magic, while still holding an exacting mirror to present-day society."
The live-action, English-language, and solo directorial debut for acclaimed French filmmaker and comic artist Vincent Paronnaud,...
- 12/4/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Don’t miss Hunt, the new feature from the co-director of the Cannes award-winning and Academy nominated Persepolis! Starring Lucie Debay (The Confession) and Arieh Worthalter (Girl). Check out the terrifying trailer:
What started as a flirtatious encounter at a bar turns into a life-or-death struggle as Eve (Lucie Debay) becomes the unknowing target of a misogynistic plot against her. Forced to flee as two men pursue her through the forest, she’s pushed to her extremes while fighting to survive in the wilderness—but survival isn’t enough for Eve. She will have revenge.
A modern and radical take on the Little Red Riding Hood fable, Hunted is an exhilarating, transcendent, and frequently brutal survival tale that elevates itself with the power of myth and magic, while still holding an exacting mirror to present-day society.
The live-action, English-language, and solo directorial debut for acclaimed French filmmaker and comic artist Vincent Paronnaud,...
What started as a flirtatious encounter at a bar turns into a life-or-death struggle as Eve (Lucie Debay) becomes the unknowing target of a misogynistic plot against her. Forced to flee as two men pursue her through the forest, she’s pushed to her extremes while fighting to survive in the wilderness—but survival isn’t enough for Eve. She will have revenge.
A modern and radical take on the Little Red Riding Hood fable, Hunted is an exhilarating, transcendent, and frequently brutal survival tale that elevates itself with the power of myth and magic, while still holding an exacting mirror to present-day society.
The live-action, English-language, and solo directorial debut for acclaimed French filmmaker and comic artist Vincent Paronnaud,...
- 12/4/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Abduction horror-thriller screens in competition in Sitges International Film Festival this week.
Paris-based sales company Charades has unveiled a slew of international sales on French director Vincent Paronnaud’s horror-thriller Hunted, ahead of its screening in competition at the Sitges International Film Festival today (October 15).
AMC Network’s genre-focused streaming service Shudder has acquired the title for the UK, US, Canada and Australia. In another multi-territory deal Berlin-based Pandastorm has taken rights for Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
Other regional deals include all of Scandinavia (Njuta); the Baltics and Cis (World Pictures) and Lebanon and the Gulf (Gulf Film). It has...
Paris-based sales company Charades has unveiled a slew of international sales on French director Vincent Paronnaud’s horror-thriller Hunted, ahead of its screening in competition at the Sitges International Film Festival today (October 15).
AMC Network’s genre-focused streaming service Shudder has acquired the title for the UK, US, Canada and Australia. In another multi-territory deal Berlin-based Pandastorm has taken rights for Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
Other regional deals include all of Scandinavia (Njuta); the Baltics and Cis (World Pictures) and Lebanon and the Gulf (Gulf Film). It has...
- 10/15/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Eve (Lucie Debay) is a stranger in town. She's there to supervise a construction site and she's being bullied by her boss for not being aggressive enough with the contractors. He would like to send a man in to take care of it. Tired, she goes for a drink in a local bar to get a bit of time to herself. There she meets a man (Arieh Worthalter) who seems to understand her frustration. He's funny and charming. It's only after they leave, after she gets into a car with him and the man he claimed was his brother, that the mood changes. Before she knows it, she's fighting for her life.
This may not be an unusual scenario in cinema. It's something that many women have to consider on a frequent basis in day to day life. If you think you've seen it all before, though, Vincent Paronnaud's thriller will.
This may not be an unusual scenario in cinema. It's something that many women have to consider on a frequent basis in day to day life. If you think you've seen it all before, though, Vincent Paronnaud's thriller will.
- 8/26/2020
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
*full disclosure: online access to the film was provided by the fine folks of Fantasia. Director: Vincent Paronnaud. Writers: Vincent Paronnaud, Léa Pernollet. Cast: Lucie Debay, Ciaran O'Brien, Arieh Worthalter. This year's Fantasia Film Festival has kicked off as of August 20th. This event takes place in Montreal, Quebec every year, but is online only in the time of CV19. Several World Premieres are taking place at Fantasia including Vincent Paronnaud's (Asylum: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales) story of shock-and-awe, Hunted. In the film, one woman is chased by the Big Bad Wolf, in Paronnaud's rendition of "Little Red Riding Hood." But, in this film, the heroine has an enchanted forest to back her up and her own inner hunter. A child's tale is updated for adults as Hunted offers a few surprises along the way, including Little Red aka Eve (Lucie Debay) losing her mind, some place in Act II.
- 8/22/2020
- by noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
The Canadian virtual festival will include more than 100 features and 200 shorts.
Canada’s Fantasia Film Festival has announced a third and final wave of feature films, as well as details of its panels, talks, tributes and special events.
This year’s virtual edition of the Montreal-based festival, running from August 20 to September 2, will include more than 100 features and more than 200 shorts.
Among the latest titles added to the line-up are Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, getting its world premiere, Jorge Michel Grau’s Perdida, getting its international premiere, and Kiel McNaughton’s Indigenous action-comedy The Legend Of Baron To’A, which will be the closing night film.
Canada’s Fantasia Film Festival has announced a third and final wave of feature films, as well as details of its panels, talks, tributes and special events.
This year’s virtual edition of the Montreal-based festival, running from August 20 to September 2, will include more than 100 features and more than 200 shorts.
Among the latest titles added to the line-up are Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, getting its world premiere, Jorge Michel Grau’s Perdida, getting its international premiere, and Kiel McNaughton’s Indigenous action-comedy The Legend Of Baron To’A, which will be the closing night film.
- 8/6/2020
- by 31¦John Hazelton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
In the social distancing era of Covid-19, Fantasia International Film Festival is coming online with a virtual edition taking place August 20th–September 2nd, and their final wave of programming includes a massive wave of films, a plethora of panels, and a masterclass and lifetime achievement award for the Master of Horror himself, John Carpenter.
To learn more, visit Fantasia's website and check out the full final wave announcement below:
6 August 2020 // Montreal, Quebec – The Fantasia Film Festival announces today a massive new assortment of feature films for its 24th edition, along with details on scheduled panels, talks, tributes, and special events.
Fantasia 2020 To Present A Lifetime Achievement Award To Filmmaker John Carpenter, Close With Kiwi Action Comedy The Legend Of Baron To’A
Johnnie To’s Chasing Dream, Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, Jorge Michel Grau’s Perdida, Daria Woszek’s Marygoround, and Tran Thanh Huy’s Rom are among...
To learn more, visit Fantasia's website and check out the full final wave announcement below:
6 August 2020 // Montreal, Quebec – The Fantasia Film Festival announces today a massive new assortment of feature films for its 24th edition, along with details on scheduled panels, talks, tributes, and special events.
Fantasia 2020 To Present A Lifetime Achievement Award To Filmmaker John Carpenter, Close With Kiwi Action Comedy The Legend Of Baron To’A
Johnnie To’s Chasing Dream, Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, Jorge Michel Grau’s Perdida, Daria Woszek’s Marygoround, and Tran Thanh Huy’s Rom are among...
- 8/6/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, which runs August 20-September 2 and is being held digitally this year due to the pandemic, has unveiled its final lineup.
The fest has also announced that revered genre filmmaker John Carpenter will be the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award and will host an online masterclass as part of its virtual events.
New pics selected include Kiel McNaughton’s Indigenous action-comedy The Legend Of Baron To’a, which closes the fest, the world premiere of Persepolis co-director Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, Johnnie To’s Chasing Dream, and Finn Wolfhard’s directorial debut short Night Shifts.
Further events will include talks with Mike Flanagan and Mick Garris, Simon Barrett, and Dennison Ramalho with José Mojica Marins aka Coffin Joe.
As reported previously, this year’s fest will open with Neil Marshall’s horror The Reckoning. The online screenings, which will run via Festival Scope and Shift72’s virtual screening platform,...
The fest has also announced that revered genre filmmaker John Carpenter will be the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award and will host an online masterclass as part of its virtual events.
New pics selected include Kiel McNaughton’s Indigenous action-comedy The Legend Of Baron To’a, which closes the fest, the world premiere of Persepolis co-director Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, Johnnie To’s Chasing Dream, and Finn Wolfhard’s directorial debut short Night Shifts.
Further events will include talks with Mike Flanagan and Mick Garris, Simon Barrett, and Dennison Ramalho with José Mojica Marins aka Coffin Joe.
As reported previously, this year’s fest will open with Neil Marshall’s horror The Reckoning. The online screenings, which will run via Festival Scope and Shift72’s virtual screening platform,...
- 8/6/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Director Marjane Satrapi’s “Radioactive” starts by trotting out an old biopic staple: a famous person approaching death and remembering life in a series of beautifully lit flashbacks. But by the time the film ends almost two hours later, Satrapi has pretty much abandoned the premise she started with, because the “memories” of Marie Curie have come to include flashbacks nestled inside other flashbacks, memories of events that Curie didn’t see and trips into a future that took place decades after her death.
In a way, demolishing your own premise as the movie goes on makes for a more adventurous and interesting trip than a typical biopic, but “Radioactive” is a curious beast from the director best known for her graphic novel “Persepolis,” and the Oscar-nominated film adaptation she directed with Vincent Paronnaud. Its boldest strokes also seem to be its most random ones, and its default mode is a certain melodrama and overstatement,...
In a way, demolishing your own premise as the movie goes on makes for a more adventurous and interesting trip than a typical biopic, but “Radioactive” is a curious beast from the director best known for her graphic novel “Persepolis,” and the Oscar-nominated film adaptation she directed with Vincent Paronnaud. Its boldest strokes also seem to be its most random ones, and its default mode is a certain melodrama and overstatement,...
- 7/23/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Bloody Disgusting has learned ahead of the Cannes market that Shudder is in talks to acquire Cosmogony, a psychological thriller directed by Vincent Paronnaud (Persepolis). “The film follows Eve (Lucie Debay), who meets what she thinks is a charming guy (Arieh Worthalter) in a bar. Yet things go terribly wrong once she realizes she has come across a psychopath and […]...
- 6/11/2020
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Charades, the sales firm launched three years ago by former execs at Wild Bunch, Gaumont and Studiocanal, will roll into the Berlinale’s European Film Market with a raft of pre-sales on anticipated French projects, including “The Rosemaker” with Catherine Frot and Laurent Tirard’s “The Speech.”
Charades will unveil the promos of both films, as well as “Madeleine Collins,” Antoine Barraud’s psychological drama headlined by Virginie Efira, and will be hosting the market premieres of Sebastien Demoustier’s “The Girl With a Bracelet” which is generating strong box office returns in France, where it opened last week, and Bruno Merle’s “Felicita.”
A psychological drama, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Roschdy Zem, “The Girl With a Bracelet,” has already attracted 100,000 admissions in five days. The film follows a 16-year-old who stands trial for the murder of her best friend and begins to confess to a secret life that she kept from her parents.
Charades will unveil the promos of both films, as well as “Madeleine Collins,” Antoine Barraud’s psychological drama headlined by Virginie Efira, and will be hosting the market premieres of Sebastien Demoustier’s “The Girl With a Bracelet” which is generating strong box office returns in France, where it opened last week, and Bruno Merle’s “Felicita.”
A psychological drama, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Roschdy Zem, “The Girl With a Bracelet,” has already attracted 100,000 admissions in five days. The film follows a 16-year-old who stands trial for the murder of her best friend and begins to confess to a secret life that she kept from her parents.
- 2/18/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French director Vincent Paronnaud is best known as an animator, having co-directed two films with Marjane Satrapi. The two parted ways following 2011’s Chicken with Plums and Paronnaud returns with his solo, live-action effort, Cosmogony (his 2009 title Villemolle 81 was released under the pseudonym Winshluss). Paronnaud’s latest features Lucie Debay and Arieh Worthalter, produced by Alexandre Perrier and Benoit Roland, and is lensed by Joachim Philippe. Paronnaud competed in Cannes with Persepolis, which took home the Jury Prize in 2007. 2011’s Chicken with Plums competed in Venice.…...
- 12/31/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Charades, the Paris-based sales banner, has boarded a pair of stylish English-language genre films: Steven Kostanski’s science fiction comedy “Psycho Goreman” (pictured), and “Cosmogony,” a psychological thriller directed by Vincent Paronnaud (“Persepolis”).
“Cosmogony” follows Eve, who meets what she thinks is a charming guy in a bar. Yet things go terribly wrong once she realizes she has come across a psychopath and his accomplice. They engage in a death chase until she decides to fight back with the forest as her only ally.
Starring Arieh Worthalter (“Girl”) and Lucie Debay (“Lola Pater), “Cosmogony” is produced by France’s Kidam, Belgium’s Wrong Men and Ireland’s Savage Prods. The film is now in post and Charades is showing a promo of it at the Afm.
“Psycho Goreman,” meanwhile, is produced by Peter Kuplowsky, the programmer of the Toronto film festival’s Midnight Madness section. The movie takes place in...
“Cosmogony” follows Eve, who meets what she thinks is a charming guy in a bar. Yet things go terribly wrong once she realizes she has come across a psychopath and his accomplice. They engage in a death chase until she decides to fight back with the forest as her only ally.
Starring Arieh Worthalter (“Girl”) and Lucie Debay (“Lola Pater), “Cosmogony” is produced by France’s Kidam, Belgium’s Wrong Men and Ireland’s Savage Prods. The film is now in post and Charades is showing a promo of it at the Afm.
“Psycho Goreman,” meanwhile, is produced by Peter Kuplowsky, the programmer of the Toronto film festival’s Midnight Madness section. The movie takes place in...
- 11/6/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour)
It might feature a skate-boarding, hijab-wearing bloodsucker, but A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is much more than a hipster horror film. Set in a mythical landscape that feels like Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton took a gig art-directing Iran, Girl establishes a raw and seductive edge that is also dreamy and wistful, enamored of Old Hollywood’s visual legacy, inspired by a rich independent heritage, and completely in love with its characters. Turning the tropes of Universal horror films on their head — one scene features a tawdry pimp discovering he’s the classic damsel...
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour)
It might feature a skate-boarding, hijab-wearing bloodsucker, but A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is much more than a hipster horror film. Set in a mythical landscape that feels like Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton took a gig art-directing Iran, Girl establishes a raw and seductive edge that is also dreamy and wistful, enamored of Old Hollywood’s visual legacy, inspired by a rich independent heritage, and completely in love with its characters. Turning the tropes of Universal horror films on their head — one scene features a tawdry pimp discovering he’s the classic damsel...
- 11/1/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Madrid — Over Oct. 4-7, the city of Segovia will host 3D Wire, Spain’s premier platforms for upcoming animation, video games, 3D and Ar content produced on the Iberian Peninsula, across Latin America and beyond.
This year’s market will see more than 1,000 industry professionals visit the historical Roman city best known for its extremely well preserved aqueducts. Segovia seems an ideal place to host an animation festival; the Alcazar de Segovia Castle is said to have inspired Walt Disney and the logo that accompanies so many of the artform’s most iconic productions.
Attendees will be invited to participate in presentations, screenings, round tables and conferences; a number of prizes will be awarded to upcoming projects; there will be a competition for animated short films. The official competition is broken up into domestic and international sections with the former featuring seven animated shorts, while the rest of the world contributes 26 – five from the U.
This year’s market will see more than 1,000 industry professionals visit the historical Roman city best known for its extremely well preserved aqueducts. Segovia seems an ideal place to host an animation festival; the Alcazar de Segovia Castle is said to have inspired Walt Disney and the logo that accompanies so many of the artform’s most iconic productions.
Attendees will be invited to participate in presentations, screenings, round tables and conferences; a number of prizes will be awarded to upcoming projects; there will be a competition for animated short films. The official competition is broken up into domestic and international sections with the former featuring seven animated shorts, while the rest of the world contributes 26 – five from the U.
- 9/21/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
One of 2018’s first notable debuts, Ava concerns a young girl’s coming-of-age via rebellion — a not-unfamiliar idea that writer-director Sadaf Foroughi makes unusually crucial by placing the story in the strict environment of contemporary Tehran, transforming normal concerns into a high-stakes battle between the self and the system. After nabbing the Discovery Award and Best First Feature prize at last year’s Tiff and this year’s Canadian Screen Awards, respectively, as well as a slot in this year’s New Directors/New Films, it’s headed towards theatrical release.
Thus, naturally, we have a trailer. Ava is perhaps too complex for a quick breakdown, but much — from Foroughi’s rigid, perspective-obsessed formal choices to the roiling narrative tensions to Mahour Jabbari’s breakout performance — comes through herein. Either way, keep your eye out; as we said in our review, “Sadaf Foroughi’s fulminating debut feature, Ava, may strike...
Thus, naturally, we have a trailer. Ava is perhaps too complex for a quick breakdown, but much — from Foroughi’s rigid, perspective-obsessed formal choices to the roiling narrative tensions to Mahour Jabbari’s breakout performance — comes through herein. Either way, keep your eye out; as we said in our review, “Sadaf Foroughi’s fulminating debut feature, Ava, may strike...
- 4/4/2018
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Sadaf Foroughi’s fulminating debut feature, Ava, may strike a few chords among Persepolis enthusiasts. A role-model schoolgirl turned rebel, its eponymous teenage girl is a rollicking blend between Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s black-and-white punk teen and The 400 Blows‘ Antoine Doinel – a heroine fighting to reassert her freedom in the face of an ultra-conservative environment. Tehran-born, Montreal-based writer-director Foroughi draws from her childhood memories to conjure up a gripping coming-of-age story where the claustrophobic relationship between an overprotective mother and her teenage daughter acts as a synecdoche to expose a patriarchal society eager to chastise whatever falls outside its rigidly policed norms.
Premiered at Tiff in September 2017, where it nabbed the Discovery Award, Ava follows its titular 17-year-old (Mahour Jabbari), an impeccable student and promising violinist from an upper-middle-class Tehran family, whose life starts crumbling after her mistrustful mother (Bahar Nouhian) subjects her to a revoltingly humiliating...
Premiered at Tiff in September 2017, where it nabbed the Discovery Award, Ava follows its titular 17-year-old (Mahour Jabbari), an impeccable student and promising violinist from an upper-middle-class Tehran family, whose life starts crumbling after her mistrustful mother (Bahar Nouhian) subjects her to a revoltingly humiliating...
- 3/29/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: In honor of Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird,” what is the best coming-of-age movie ever made?
Siddhant Adlakha (@SidizenKane), Birth.Movies.Death.
While it may not fit the western paradigm of a traditional coming of age film (neither a high school setting nor teenage angst or confusion find themselves the focus), “Lion” holds the distinction of being a rare modern movie that gets to the root of key questions of dual identity, questions that will only become more prominent in the age of globalism. It’s the most extreme version of having your feet in two cultures; Saroo Brierley (Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel) finds himself...
This week’s question: In honor of Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird,” what is the best coming-of-age movie ever made?
Siddhant Adlakha (@SidizenKane), Birth.Movies.Death.
While it may not fit the western paradigm of a traditional coming of age film (neither a high school setting nor teenage angst or confusion find themselves the focus), “Lion” holds the distinction of being a rare modern movie that gets to the root of key questions of dual identity, questions that will only become more prominent in the age of globalism. It’s the most extreme version of having your feet in two cultures; Saroo Brierley (Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel) finds himself...
- 11/6/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Animation proves a cunning technical choice in the German-Austrian production Tehran Taboo, a first feature written and directed by Ali Soozandeh. Like Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's 2007 Persepolis, it offers just enough distance to explore the highly charged theme of sexual and personal freedom in Iran without salaciousness. Women are the main victims here, whether married, divorced or single, and their lives are depicted as pure tragedy.
Every scene makes a political point about the religious and political repression of personal life in Iran so that at times it feels that the screenplay is built around opportunities to tick off...
Every scene makes a political point about the religious and political repression of personal life in Iran so that at times it feels that the screenplay is built around opportunities to tick off...
- 5/20/2017
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Big Sick and more true stories written by the subject for the big screenThe Big Sick and more true stories written by the subject for the big screenAdriana Floridia5/15/2017 10:35:00 Am
Films based on a true story tend to hit a little harder.
Watching a story unfold and knowing that it's not a work of fiction, but the real life experience of an actual human being, makes everything that occurs that much more impactful. It's incredibly common for films to be based on true life for that reason; it is an instant emotional investment beyond what most fiction can provide. It doesn't happen incredibly often, but sometimes we get the treat of not just watching a work of art, but someone's personal life story being displayed in their own words.
This summer, we are seeing one of these instances with The Big Sick, a film co-written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon,...
Films based on a true story tend to hit a little harder.
Watching a story unfold and knowing that it's not a work of fiction, but the real life experience of an actual human being, makes everything that occurs that much more impactful. It's incredibly common for films to be based on true life for that reason; it is an instant emotional investment beyond what most fiction can provide. It doesn't happen incredibly often, but sometimes we get the treat of not just watching a work of art, but someone's personal life story being displayed in their own words.
This summer, we are seeing one of these instances with The Big Sick, a film co-written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon,...
- 5/15/2017
- by Adriana Floridia
- Cineplex
Remember, remember the fifth of November.
We first heard these words upon the opening of a little film called V for Vendetta, that was released ten years ago today. Based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd and Tony Weare, the premise centers on an anarchist named V, who sets out to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and train his protégé Evey—all while sporting a Guy Fawkes mask.
The film starred Natalie Portman with her famously shaved head, and Hugo Weaving as V. Together, they made this graphic novel adaptation into a cult classic, and a film that still resonates, maybe even stronger than ever, today.
Graphic novels are extremely popular, and they’re the perfect source for a film adaptation. The story and the visuals are essentially laid out for the filmmaker, and these adaptations are often incredibly true to the original work.
We first heard these words upon the opening of a little film called V for Vendetta, that was released ten years ago today. Based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd and Tony Weare, the premise centers on an anarchist named V, who sets out to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and train his protégé Evey—all while sporting a Guy Fawkes mask.
The film starred Natalie Portman with her famously shaved head, and Hugo Weaving as V. Together, they made this graphic novel adaptation into a cult classic, and a film that still resonates, maybe even stronger than ever, today.
Graphic novels are extremely popular, and they’re the perfect source for a film adaptation. The story and the visuals are essentially laid out for the filmmaker, and these adaptations are often incredibly true to the original work.
- 3/17/2016
- by Adriana Floridia
- Cineplex
30. Lady Snowblood Part 1 and Part 2
While American comic books have struggled for legitimacy as adult entertainment for decades, their Japanese counterparts have long enjoyed acceptance as legitimate elements of mainstream culture. So while the American comic book movie only properly took off in the last fifteen years, jidaigeki adaptations of popular manga have been a staple of Japanese pulp cinema since the early 1970s. The best of these remains Lady Snowblood, director Toshiya Fujita’s two part revenge opera of a woman checking off a kill list of the gangsters who killed her family and left her for dead. Any familiarity to Kill Bill is entirely intentional, with multiple visuals, soundtrack elements and plot points lifted whole cloth by Tarantino. But even for those only familiar with the update, Fujita’s films remain feats of hard edged efficiency, actress Meiko Kaji a goddess of death in a world of opposing colors and sudden violence.
While American comic books have struggled for legitimacy as adult entertainment for decades, their Japanese counterparts have long enjoyed acceptance as legitimate elements of mainstream culture. So while the American comic book movie only properly took off in the last fifteen years, jidaigeki adaptations of popular manga have been a staple of Japanese pulp cinema since the early 1970s. The best of these remains Lady Snowblood, director Toshiya Fujita’s two part revenge opera of a woman checking off a kill list of the gangsters who killed her family and left her for dead. Any familiarity to Kill Bill is entirely intentional, with multiple visuals, soundtrack elements and plot points lifted whole cloth by Tarantino. But even for those only familiar with the update, Fujita’s films remain feats of hard edged efficiency, actress Meiko Kaji a goddess of death in a world of opposing colors and sudden violence.
- 9/2/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Michael Moore and Todd Haynes will appear on stage for conversations during the 53rd New York Film Festival (September 25 through October 11). Also just added to the lineup are shorts from, among many others, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez and Daniel Claridge, Ricky D’Ambrose, Joanna Arnow, Dustin Guy Defa, Zia Anger, Andrei Cretulescu, Helen O’Hanlon, Percival Argüero Mendoza, Stephen Dunn, Vincent Paronnaud, Agostina Gálvez and Francisco Lezama, David Easteal and Rafael Haider. » - David Hudson...
- 8/26/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Michael Moore and Todd Haynes will appear on stage for conversations during the 53rd New York Film Festival (September 25 through October 11). Also just added to the lineup are shorts from, among many others, Nathan Silver, Pacho Velez and Daniel Claridge, Ricky D’Ambrose, Joanna Arnow, Dustin Guy Defa, Zia Anger, Andrei Cretulescu, Helen O’Hanlon, Percival Argüero Mendoza, Stephen Dunn, Vincent Paronnaud, Agostina Gálvez and Francisco Lezama, David Easteal and Rafael Haider. » - David Hudson...
- 8/26/2015
- Keyframe
Though Chicken with Plums and The Gang of the Jotas missed my radar, Marjane Satrapi proved herself to me as a distinct and vibrant filmmaker with a vision and voice to watch thanks to both Persepolis and this year's The Voices, the former co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud. Still with earnest hopes to stretch her potential, the graphic novelist-turned-filmmaker now signs on to adapt Romain Puertolas's best-selling and mouthful-of-a-title novel "The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe" as her fifth feature. The upcoming film, Satrapi's second English-languge feature, follows Ajatashatru Oghash Rathoda, a New Delhi trickster, who ends up in France and eventually falls in love with a Parisian woman, only to be deported accidentally with African refugees to the far corners of Europe. Indian star Dhanush is in talks to play the titular Fakir, while the director searches for three English-speaking actors to fill in three other pivotal roles.
- 5/20/2015
- by Will Ashton
- Rope of Silicon
In the political discourse, when a country addresses another, whether in positive or negative terms, such statements often fail to differentiate between said country’s government and its people, between the government’s policies and the people’s unheard sentiment towards these.
While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.
On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.
The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.
Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.
There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.
Special Mentions:
-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.
-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.
-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.
-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.
Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.
“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012
1. "About Elly" (2009)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.
*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015
2. "Baran" (2001)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate
4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)
Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi
In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
5. "Close-Up" (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion
6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
7. "The Cow" (1969)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.
*Available on DVD from Facets
9. "Gabbeh" (1996)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
10. "The Green Wave" (2010)
Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.
*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing
11. "Hamoun" (1990)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
12. "Kandahar" (2001)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
13. "Leila" (1997)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.
*Available on DVD from Wellspring
16. "My Tehran for Sale"
Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.
*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video
18. "Offside" (2006)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
19. "Persepolis" (2007)
Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
20. "A Separation" (2011)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)
Dir. Majid Majidi
When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.
*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment
22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
*Available on DVD from Criterion
23. "Ten" (2002)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.
*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films
24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)
Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi
In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan
25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
27. "The White Balloon" (1995)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.
*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.
28. "The White Meadows" (2009)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)
Dir. Majid Majidi
A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films
30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.
*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...
While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.
On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.
The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.
Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.
There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.
Special Mentions:
-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.
-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.
-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.
-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.
Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.
“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012
1. "About Elly" (2009)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.
*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015
2. "Baran" (2001)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate
4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)
Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi
In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
5. "Close-Up" (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion
6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
7. "The Cow" (1969)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.
*Available on DVD from Facets
9. "Gabbeh" (1996)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
10. "The Green Wave" (2010)
Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.
*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing
11. "Hamoun" (1990)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
12. "Kandahar" (2001)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
13. "Leila" (1997)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.
*Available on DVD from Wellspring
16. "My Tehran for Sale"
Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.
*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video
18. "Offside" (2006)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
19. "Persepolis" (2007)
Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
20. "A Separation" (2011)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)
Dir. Majid Majidi
When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.
*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment
22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
*Available on DVD from Criterion
23. "Ten" (2002)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.
*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films
24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)
Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi
In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan
25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
27. "The White Balloon" (1995)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.
*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.
28. "The White Meadows" (2009)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)
Dir. Majid Majidi
A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films
30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.
*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...
- 3/23/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
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