Pro-tip: as our current leap year turns the page into February, it’s a good idea to stock up on artificial tears at the Cvs. Why? Because this is an exceptionally intense month for movie-watching. In addition to your 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards screeners, there’s also an exciting collection of Don’t-Miss Indies hitting theaters and streamers, from combat-heavy martial arts action sagas to gentle culinary dramas. So put on some more tea, snuggle up with your kitty, puppy, snake or waifu body pillow of choice, and get to watchin’!
True Detective: Night Country
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: HBO, Max
Director: Issa López
Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw
Why We’re Excited: The fourth season of HBO’s anthology crime drama is the first one for which creator Nic Pizzolatto does not serve as the showrunner or writer; those responsibilities now fall to Mexican filmmaker Issa López,...
True Detective: Night Country
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: HBO, Max
Director: Issa López
Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw
Why We’re Excited: The fourth season of HBO’s anthology crime drama is the first one for which creator Nic Pizzolatto does not serve as the showrunner or writer; those responsibilities now fall to Mexican filmmaker Issa López,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Su Fang Tham
- Film Independent News & More
Alone at dusk in his Brussels apartment, Stefan, a gentle Romanian construction worker, speaks a few words as if to try them on for size. “This is my home,” he says, unconvinced and unconvincing. In Stefan Gota’s subdued and graceful performance, the character’s forlorn ache is unspecified and fully felt. There are sleepless nights, long walks, bowls of homemade soup and heartfelt conversations, rich in silence, with people he knows and others he’s just met. And there’s the visual conversation that frames Stefan’s story, the interplay of windblown greenery and the sharp angles of urban high-rises.
Here is writer-director Bas Devos’ fourth feature (after Violet, Hellhole and Ghost Tropic), named best film in Berlin’s Encounters section and taking its stateside bow at the New York Film Festival. It’s a modestly proportioned movie of quiet magnificence, one that feels spun of gossamer summer light and rooted in unshakeable depths.
Here is writer-director Bas Devos’ fourth feature (after Violet, Hellhole and Ghost Tropic), named best film in Berlin’s Encounters section and taking its stateside bow at the New York Film Festival. It’s a modestly proportioned movie of quiet magnificence, one that feels spun of gossamer summer light and rooted in unshakeable depths.
- 10/9/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The word “here” is what linguists call deictic expression, for having little meaning or use outside of the context in which it’s uttered, whether we use it to refer to a place or as a kind of verbal gesture when we offer somebody a gift. Bas Devos’s new film thinks of the word in both of those contexts, as it tells a story that’s equally about environs and giving. It’s as if Devos conceptualizes the camera as an extension not just of the eye, but of the finger, a mechanism for pointing at things and saying, “here,” in both senses of the word.
Here is as delicate and unobtrusive a film as Devos’s previous cinematic journey through Brussels, Ghost Tropic. The story gently, elliptically slides from setting to setting as Stefan (Stefan Gota), a Romanian construction worker on the cusp of his summer vacation, delivers...
Here is as delicate and unobtrusive a film as Devos’s previous cinematic journey through Brussels, Ghost Tropic. The story gently, elliptically slides from setting to setting as Stefan (Stefan Gota), a Romanian construction worker on the cusp of his summer vacation, delivers...
- 9/7/2023
- by Pat Brown
- Slant Magazine
Pray the Lord My Soul To Take: Sandulescu’s Poignant and Witty Meditation on Mortality
Liviu Săndulescu’s Carturan is a tale about bribery, the uncaring bureaucratic system, blasphemy and unavoidable death – at least on the surface. At the same time, it’s also a tender, surprisingly funny film, devoid of unnecessary melodramatics or fatalism. Carturan’s (Teodor Corban) calm life in sunny rural Romania is upended by sudden and horrifying news – the quiet old man has terminal stomach cancer. This means that he needs to sort his affairs as soon as possible – and that includes finding a new home for Cristi (Vlad Popescu), his 13-year-old grandson.…...
Liviu Săndulescu’s Carturan is a tale about bribery, the uncaring bureaucratic system, blasphemy and unavoidable death – at least on the surface. At the same time, it’s also a tender, surprisingly funny film, devoid of unnecessary melodramatics or fatalism. Carturan’s (Teodor Corban) calm life in sunny rural Romania is upended by sudden and horrifying news – the quiet old man has terminal stomach cancer. This means that he needs to sort his affairs as soon as possible – and that includes finding a new home for Cristi (Vlad Popescu), his 13-year-old grandson.…...
- 10/17/2019
- by Oleksandra Povoroznyk
- IONCINEMA.com
There are a multitude of reasons why any film may get unfairly overlooked. It could be a lack of marketing resources to provide a substantial push, or, due to a minuscule roll-out, not enough critics and audiences to be the champions it might require. It could simply be the timing of the picture itself; even in the world of studio filmmaking, some features take time to get their due. With an increasingly crowded marketplace, there are more reasons than ever that something might not find an audience and, as with last year, we’ve rounded up the releases that deserved more attention.
Note that all of the below films made less than $1 million at the domestic box office at the time of posting — VOD figures are not accounted for, as they normally aren’t made public — and are, for the most part, left out of most year-end conversations. Sadly, most...
Note that all of the below films made less than $1 million at the domestic box office at the time of posting — VOD figures are not accounted for, as they normally aren’t made public — and are, for the most part, left out of most year-end conversations. Sadly, most...
- 12/29/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Aferim! (Radu Jude)
Leave it to a Romanian director to make a movie that best expresses the dangers of the dyed-in-the-wool mindset of modern America. Culled partly from historical documents, Aferim! is a twisted history lesson whose messages transcend its insular time period of 19th-century Romania. Its story concerns Constable Costandin (Teodor Corban) and his son, Ionita (Mihai Comanoiu), who chase after a wanted Gypsy slave...
Aferim! (Radu Jude)
Leave it to a Romanian director to make a movie that best expresses the dangers of the dyed-in-the-wool mindset of modern America. Culled partly from historical documents, Aferim! is a twisted history lesson whose messages transcend its insular time period of 19th-century Romania. Its story concerns Constable Costandin (Teodor Corban) and his son, Ionita (Mihai Comanoiu), who chase after a wanted Gypsy slave...
- 6/24/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Leave it to a Romanian director to make a movie that best expresses the dangers of the dyed-in-the-wool mindset of modern America. Culled partly from historical documents, Aferim! is a twisted history lesson whose messages transcend its insular time period of 19th-century Romania. Its story concerns Constable Costandin (Teodor Corban) and his son, Ionita (Mihai Comanoiu), who chase after a wanted Gypsy slave for a large bounty offered by Boyar Iordache Cîndescu (Alexandru Dabija), a local noble. But even embedded in a timeline that’s centuries away, the story is strikingly relevant in showing how people maintain blinders in the face of inhumanity.
Directed by Radu Jude and shot in a stark black-and-white, Aferim! is at once playful and searingly serious with its snapshot of slavery and eye-for-eye justice. Jude has a wry, acidic wit not unlike Roy Andersson. But more often, the film’s roundabout musings on justice recall...
Directed by Radu Jude and shot in a stark black-and-white, Aferim! is at once playful and searingly serious with its snapshot of slavery and eye-for-eye justice. Jude has a wry, acidic wit not unlike Roy Andersson. But more often, the film’s roundabout musings on justice recall...
- 1/27/2016
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
Set in 1830s Wallachia, this shaggy drama is rife with foul behaviour but also contains tenderness and a gallows humour reminiscent of Robert Altman’s best work
Aferim is a Turkish loan word Romanians use for “bravo”, but with a slight sarcastic edge. (Think “Oh, braaaaavo.”) It is repeated by pretty much every character in this shaggy manhunt through 1830s Wallachia, as if the movie itself is winking its awareness that these characters, while still sympathetic, are all wretched and deplorable. Aferim! is rife with foul behaviour, vulgar racism, sexism and a general low opinion of human life. A moral peak is, for example, when a lead character suggests perhaps a prisoner shouldn’t be summarily executed, just beaten to the point of near-death in the most humiliating fashion. (Heartwarming!) And yet, as with so many Romanian films, Radu Jude’s approach is one of deadpan humour, born from a...
Aferim is a Turkish loan word Romanians use for “bravo”, but with a slight sarcastic edge. (Think “Oh, braaaaavo.”) It is repeated by pretty much every character in this shaggy manhunt through 1830s Wallachia, as if the movie itself is winking its awareness that these characters, while still sympathetic, are all wretched and deplorable. Aferim! is rife with foul behaviour, vulgar racism, sexism and a general low opinion of human life. A moral peak is, for example, when a lead character suggests perhaps a prisoner shouldn’t be summarily executed, just beaten to the point of near-death in the most humiliating fashion. (Heartwarming!) And yet, as with so many Romanian films, Radu Jude’s approach is one of deadpan humour, born from a...
- 1/20/2016
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
Radu Jude: 'Almost 90 per cent of what the characters are saying in the film is taken directly from historical documents or obscure written sources from the 19th century' Photo: Silviu Ghetie Radu Jude's Aferim! is a road trip by horseback set in the Romanian countryside of the 1930s. Drawing on documentation from the period, the director uses the language of the time to tell the story of a policeman (Teodor Corban) and his son (Mihai Comanoiu) hunting a runaway 'gypsy' slave (Cuzin Toma). Although it is set in a very specific time period, the film reflects on the ideas of prejudices being passed down the generations. Ahead of the film's release on Studiocanal DVD on December 7, I caught up with the director to talk about his Berlin Silver Bear winning film.
Could you tell me a bit about the generational aspect of the film. There is a father...
Could you tell me a bit about the generational aspect of the film. There is a father...
- 12/4/2015
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The American Film Institute announced today the films that will screen in the World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema’s Legacy programs at AFI Fest 2015 presented by Audi.
AFI Fest will take place November 5 – 12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award®consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo,...
AFI Fest will take place November 5 – 12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award®consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo,...
- 10/22/2015
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Radu Muntean has spent the last 13 years making films that examine the stranger undercurrents in Romanian society, particularly the way in which ordinary people react in extraordinary situations. He's regarded as having been one of the leading lights of the Romanian New Wave although he'd probably grit his teeth at any mention of that. His latest film, One Floor Below (2015), screened in this year's Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar as well as Toronto. The story follows an average middle-class Romanian dad named Patrascu (played by New Wave heavyweight Teodor Corban) who must grapple with his own moral passivity when he overhears a domestic quarrel in a neighbour's apartment. The woman is found dead. He fails to act. The murderer becomes his tormentor.
Rory O'Connor: How did the idea for One Floor Below first come to you?
Radu Muntean: The starting point was actually something I read in a...
Rory O'Connor: How did the idea for One Floor Below first come to you?
Radu Muntean: The starting point was actually something I read in a...
- 9/11/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
★★★☆☆ The subject of guilt is one that cinema often returns to for its potential to be expressed in inventive and thought-provoking ways. In Radu Muntean's pared-down and naturalistic One Floor Below (2015), he and co-screenwriters Alexandru Baciu and Razvan Radulescu choose to take a similar route to Michael Haneke's highly-regarded Hidden (2005) by giving corporeal form to the externalised spectre of remorse. "We need to lose some weight," says Sandu Patrascu (Teodor Corban) to his equally paunch dog Jerry as they jog around a park. His conscience is soon a far greater burden, however, in this absorbing investigation into the culpability of inaction.
Returning home with Jerry, Patrascu happens upon two of his neighbours in a heated argument but carries on up to the apartment he shares with his wife Olga (Oxana Moravec) and son Matei (Ionut Bora). The next day, the young woman from downstairs, Laura, is found dead,...
Returning home with Jerry, Patrascu happens upon two of his neighbours in a heated argument but carries on up to the apartment he shares with his wife Olga (Oxana Moravec) and son Matei (Ionut Bora). The next day, the young woman from downstairs, Laura, is found dead,...
- 9/11/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Down the couture-chain outdoor mall of the Croisette, the Directors' Fortnight opened with French intimist Philippe Garrel's In the Shadow of Women, of which Marie-Pierre has already written. It is one of a set of films by major filmmakers, the others being Arnaud Deplechin and Miguel Gomes, seemingly passed over by the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes and promptly scooped up by the festival's unpredictable and often more rewarding younger brother. As if to underscore the difference between these two strands—in fact, separate festivals in the same city at the same time—the Fortnight preceded Garrel's new feature with an old short of his, a moving, on-the-ground actuality from the May '68 protests in Paris. Actua 1 is, in the director's words, a kind of "revenge on the news," that is, on the conservative newsreels seen in cinema's at the time. The prescience of the images, the danger they contain,...
- 5/15/2015
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
Radu Muntean Updates Rear Window to the Modern Age
Radu Muntean’s One Floor Below, the latest entry in the Romanian New Wave, has a bone to pick with technology–and other hazily-drawn issues that may be difficult to suss out. Coming in five years after his festival circuit breakout hit, Tuesday, After Christmas, Muntean now veers toward the mystery genre by ostensibly reworking Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Rear Window (1954) to accommodate Romanian middle-class life and 21st century perks and paranoias regarding Facebook status updates, motion-sensing video games, Fitbits, login passwords, and ominous neighbors. Fascinating and ultimately deeply mysterious, this is a film that presents seemingly illogical fragments from a murder case to thwart audience desires for procedural problem-solving, cruising along on an escalating sense of foreboding and cryptic ellipses.
After getting some exercise with his dog in the park, protagonist Sandu Patrascu (Teodor Corban) returns home to his apartment complex only to hear alluring,...
Radu Muntean’s One Floor Below, the latest entry in the Romanian New Wave, has a bone to pick with technology–and other hazily-drawn issues that may be difficult to suss out. Coming in five years after his festival circuit breakout hit, Tuesday, After Christmas, Muntean now veers toward the mystery genre by ostensibly reworking Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Rear Window (1954) to accommodate Romanian middle-class life and 21st century perks and paranoias regarding Facebook status updates, motion-sensing video games, Fitbits, login passwords, and ominous neighbors. Fascinating and ultimately deeply mysterious, this is a film that presents seemingly illogical fragments from a murder case to thwart audience desires for procedural problem-solving, cruising along on an escalating sense of foreboding and cryptic ellipses.
After getting some exercise with his dog in the park, protagonist Sandu Patrascu (Teodor Corban) returns home to his apartment complex only to hear alluring,...
- 5/15/2015
- by Blake Williams
- IONCINEMA.com
Radu Muntean’s study of inner-city ennui and possible murder keeps the audience at a taut, cool distance right until final reel
There’s slow burn, and there’s wondering if the thing is even lit. One Floor Below, the latest from Romanian director Radu Muntean is an exercise in frustration and disorientation. No wonder its protagonist is a professional freelance bureaucrat. Though figuring out just what exactly our closed-lipped middle-aged protagonist does all day is just one mystery in this odd and, eventually, very satisfying film.
Patrascu (Teodor Corban) spends a lot of time caring for his happy golden retriever. His son is so consumed with videogames he mumbles about passcodes in his sleep. Everything about his life is mundane to the point that, as an audience member, you begin projecting great importance onto every strangely front-and-centre detail. Oh, I should point out that Patrescu probably knows there’s a murder in his building.
There’s slow burn, and there’s wondering if the thing is even lit. One Floor Below, the latest from Romanian director Radu Muntean is an exercise in frustration and disorientation. No wonder its protagonist is a professional freelance bureaucrat. Though figuring out just what exactly our closed-lipped middle-aged protagonist does all day is just one mystery in this odd and, eventually, very satisfying film.
Patrascu (Teodor Corban) spends a lot of time caring for his happy golden retriever. His son is so consumed with videogames he mumbles about passcodes in his sleep. Everything about his life is mundane to the point that, as an audience member, you begin projecting great importance onto every strangely front-and-centre detail. Oh, I should point out that Patrescu probably knows there’s a murder in his building.
- 5/15/2015
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man, Simon Stone.s The Daughter, Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Jen Peedom.s feature doc Sherpa will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival.
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
- 5/6/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Radu Muntean will be sojourning on the Croisette again, more precisely the Debussy Theatre, home of the Un Certain Regard section. Joining fellow Romanian filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu (The Treasure) in the same competing section, half a decade after preeming Tuesday, After Christmas, Muntean will make his third trip to Cannes with one of our most anticipated films in One Floor Below.
Starring popular Romanian new wave figure Teo Corban (see his memorable debut in 12:08 East of Bucharest), Iulian Postelnicu, Oxana Moravec, Ionuț Bora, Ioana Flora, Tatiana Iekel and Adrian Văncică, after being the sole unfortunate witness to a domestic quarrel that ends up in murder, Pătrașcu finds himself at odds with two very close neighbors: one is the bizarre murderer. The other is his conscience. Here’s the trailer for One Floor Below:...
Starring popular Romanian new wave figure Teo Corban (see his memorable debut in 12:08 East of Bucharest), Iulian Postelnicu, Oxana Moravec, Ionuț Bora, Ioana Flora, Tatiana Iekel and Adrian Văncică, after being the sole unfortunate witness to a domestic quarrel that ends up in murder, Pătrașcu finds himself at odds with two very close neighbors: one is the bizarre murderer. The other is his conscience. Here’s the trailer for One Floor Below:...
- 4/16/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Beta wins My Special Prize for the Best Berlin Lineup of all the International Sales Agents
From the producer of 2013 Golden Bear winner “Child’s Pose” comes “Aferim!” playing in Berlinale Competition. Policeman Costandin, a charismatic mixture of a funny Stalin and a somewhat more pragmatic Don Quixote, and his shy and introverted son ride through the rural countryside In search of a fugitive Gypsy slave. Meeting hundreds of characters, delivering a surprise in every scene, this is an ingenious Western in a very wild East of 19th century Romania directed by Radu Jude (“Everybody in our Family”) and produced by HiFilm’s Ada Solomon, Klas, Endorfilm and Mulberry Development, and stars Teodor Corban (“Child’s Pose”, “Beyond the Hills”), Mihai Comãnoiu and Cuzin Toma.
Forum entry “Zurich," Oliver Hirschbiegel’s "13 Minutes" (Competition - Out of Competition) plus this year’s Sundance Audience Award winner “Umrika” and the new Sky Italia series “1992" kicking off the Berlinale Special Series section make this a banner Berlin for Beta Cinema.
In official selection/out of competition bows Nazi resistance drama "13 Minutes" about failed Hitler assassin Georg Elser. Oliver Hirschbiegel, whose Academy Award nominated “Downfall” is one of the most successful Beta Cinema titles ever with 145 sold territories, presents a stunning, emotional portrait of the resistance fighter and his attack on the Munich Bürgerbräukeller on November 8th 1939. Georg Elser was a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives, but his bomb, built to tear Adolf Hitler apart, exploded 13 minutes late. Produced by Lucky Bird’s Oliver Schündler and Boris Ausserer, who just recently won the Bavarian Film Award for "13 Minutes", and written by Fred Breinersdorfer (“Sophie Scholl”), the feature stars Christian Friedel (“The White Ribbon”), Katharina Schüttler (“Generation of War” ) and Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”).
Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak, who received the prestigious Fipresci-award at the 2012 Berlinale for Hemel, presents with "Zurich" her second feature film, a road movie starring famous Dutch singer and performance artist Wende Snijders. "Zurich" (Viking Film/Rohfilm/Private View/Nrt/Zdf/arte) revolves around Nina, who is wandering along Europe’s motorways in a desperate attempt to leave the past behind. Slowly it becomes clear that Nina’s drive to hang around in the truckers’ scene is a result of the pain caused by the ultimate betrayal that has befallen her. Sacha Polak developed the script by author Helena van der Meulen during last year’s Berlinale Residency program.
Kicking off the Berlinale Special Series, designated to promote outstanding international TV-series, is the political thriller "1992" from Sky Italia ("Gomorrah"), La 7 and Wildside. Over 20 years ago, on February 17th 1992, the first arrest within the so-called Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) maxi-investigation was made in Italy. It was the symbolic start of a revolution. "1992" revolves around six ordinary people whose lives are intertwined with the country's political, civil and social earthquake. The 10xone hour series stars Stefano Accorsi (idea), Guido Caprino and Miriam Leone; director is Giuseppe Gagliardi.
Celebrating its Berlin Market Premiere is Prashant Nair’s Indian drama "Umrika," which just recently received the Audience Award at Sundance, starring world-renowned, up-and-coming young actors Suraj Sharma ("Life of Pi") and Tony Revolori ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Dope"). "Umrika" (Hindi for America) is about a small village in India that is invigorated when one of their own travels to America, sharing his adventures and inspiring hope through letters home. But when the letters mysteriously stop coming, his brother sets out on a journey to find him.
Also premiering at the market is the fourth adventure of "The Famous Five" (Sam Film/Constantin), in which Enid Blyton’s teenager gang venture thousands of miles and thousands of years back in time to solve yet another nail-biting mystery. Prolific maverick filmmaker Detlev Buck ("Hands off Mississippi") presents as international market premiere "Bibi & Tina 2," an inventive live-action adaptation of the teen-adventure and romance in the beloved “Bibi & Tina” universe.
Amongst the upcoming titles, "Colonia" is heading the slate, starring Emma Watson in her first lead role since "Harry Potter" alongside Daniel Brühl ("Rush") as her abducted boyfriend and opposite a very sinister Mikael Nykvist ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"). The $15 million production wrapped shooting mid-January and is being presold at the European Film Market.
"Ghosthunters: On Icy Trails" marks another English-language presales highlight for the Efm. This witty and charming Family Entertainment movie sees Milo Parker ("Robot Overlords") team up with the animated Asg, the “Averagely Spooky Ghost” Hugo, to save the world from the “Ancient Ice Ghost”. A promo will be made available for buyers.
From the producer of 2013 Golden Bear winner “Child’s Pose” comes “Aferim!” playing in Berlinale Competition. Policeman Costandin, a charismatic mixture of a funny Stalin and a somewhat more pragmatic Don Quixote, and his shy and introverted son ride through the rural countryside In search of a fugitive Gypsy slave. Meeting hundreds of characters, delivering a surprise in every scene, this is an ingenious Western in a very wild East of 19th century Romania directed by Radu Jude (“Everybody in our Family”) and produced by HiFilm’s Ada Solomon, Klas, Endorfilm and Mulberry Development, and stars Teodor Corban (“Child’s Pose”, “Beyond the Hills”), Mihai Comãnoiu and Cuzin Toma.
Forum entry “Zurich," Oliver Hirschbiegel’s "13 Minutes" (Competition - Out of Competition) plus this year’s Sundance Audience Award winner “Umrika” and the new Sky Italia series “1992" kicking off the Berlinale Special Series section make this a banner Berlin for Beta Cinema.
In official selection/out of competition bows Nazi resistance drama "13 Minutes" about failed Hitler assassin Georg Elser. Oliver Hirschbiegel, whose Academy Award nominated “Downfall” is one of the most successful Beta Cinema titles ever with 145 sold territories, presents a stunning, emotional portrait of the resistance fighter and his attack on the Munich Bürgerbräukeller on November 8th 1939. Georg Elser was a man who could have changed world history and saved millions of human lives, but his bomb, built to tear Adolf Hitler apart, exploded 13 minutes late. Produced by Lucky Bird’s Oliver Schündler and Boris Ausserer, who just recently won the Bavarian Film Award for "13 Minutes", and written by Fred Breinersdorfer (“Sophie Scholl”), the feature stars Christian Friedel (“The White Ribbon”), Katharina Schüttler (“Generation of War” ) and Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”).
Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak, who received the prestigious Fipresci-award at the 2012 Berlinale for Hemel, presents with "Zurich" her second feature film, a road movie starring famous Dutch singer and performance artist Wende Snijders. "Zurich" (Viking Film/Rohfilm/Private View/Nrt/Zdf/arte) revolves around Nina, who is wandering along Europe’s motorways in a desperate attempt to leave the past behind. Slowly it becomes clear that Nina’s drive to hang around in the truckers’ scene is a result of the pain caused by the ultimate betrayal that has befallen her. Sacha Polak developed the script by author Helena van der Meulen during last year’s Berlinale Residency program.
Kicking off the Berlinale Special Series, designated to promote outstanding international TV-series, is the political thriller "1992" from Sky Italia ("Gomorrah"), La 7 and Wildside. Over 20 years ago, on February 17th 1992, the first arrest within the so-called Mani Pulite (Clean Hands) maxi-investigation was made in Italy. It was the symbolic start of a revolution. "1992" revolves around six ordinary people whose lives are intertwined with the country's political, civil and social earthquake. The 10xone hour series stars Stefano Accorsi (idea), Guido Caprino and Miriam Leone; director is Giuseppe Gagliardi.
Celebrating its Berlin Market Premiere is Prashant Nair’s Indian drama "Umrika," which just recently received the Audience Award at Sundance, starring world-renowned, up-and-coming young actors Suraj Sharma ("Life of Pi") and Tony Revolori ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Dope"). "Umrika" (Hindi for America) is about a small village in India that is invigorated when one of their own travels to America, sharing his adventures and inspiring hope through letters home. But when the letters mysteriously stop coming, his brother sets out on a journey to find him.
Also premiering at the market is the fourth adventure of "The Famous Five" (Sam Film/Constantin), in which Enid Blyton’s teenager gang venture thousands of miles and thousands of years back in time to solve yet another nail-biting mystery. Prolific maverick filmmaker Detlev Buck ("Hands off Mississippi") presents as international market premiere "Bibi & Tina 2," an inventive live-action adaptation of the teen-adventure and romance in the beloved “Bibi & Tina” universe.
Amongst the upcoming titles, "Colonia" is heading the slate, starring Emma Watson in her first lead role since "Harry Potter" alongside Daniel Brühl ("Rush") as her abducted boyfriend and opposite a very sinister Mikael Nykvist ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"). The $15 million production wrapped shooting mid-January and is being presold at the European Film Market.
"Ghosthunters: On Icy Trails" marks another English-language presales highlight for the Efm. This witty and charming Family Entertainment movie sees Milo Parker ("Robot Overlords") team up with the animated Asg, the “Averagely Spooky Ghost” Hugo, to save the world from the “Ancient Ice Ghost”. A promo will be made available for buyers.
- 2/8/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
This long anticipated 3D redemption drama (and Wenders' second use of the format after "Pina") centers on a writer (Franco) who, after causing the accidental death of a child, spends the next 12 years examining the tragedy's effect on his life and the life of the child's mother. As previously announced, Wenders will also be receiving an honorary Golden Bear at the festival, with 10 of his films screening as tribute, including 1984 Palme d'Or winner "Paris, Texas" and his latest documentary, the Oscar-nominated "The Salt of the Earth." The following films round out the Berlinale competition lineup including, notably, films from "No" director Pablo Larrain, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Andrew Haigh, Terrence Malick, Werner Herzog and, screening out-of-competition, Kenneth Branagh's "Cinderella." “Aferim!” Romania/Bulgaria/Czech Republic By Radu Jude (“Everybody in Our Family”) With Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Cuzin Toma, Alexandru...
- 1/19/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
World premieres of Wim Wenders’ Every Thing Will Be Fine, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Elser (13 Minutes) and Pablo Larraín’s The Club added to programme.
The 65th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 5-15) has unveiled its full Competition line-up.
Some 21 of the 23 titles will be world premieres, and 19 features from across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia will compete for Golden and Silver Bears.
New additions include Wim Wenders’ Every Thing Will Be Fine, which will play out of competition. The film, shot in 3D, stars James Franco as a writer who accidentally hits and kills a child while out driving. Co-stars include Charlotte Gainsbourg and Rachel McAdams.
As previously announced, Wenders will be awarded an Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement and will have ten of his films screened as part of the Homage strand.
Also playing out of competition will be the world premiere of Elser (13 Minutes) from Oliver Hirschbiegel, the German...
The 65th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 5-15) has unveiled its full Competition line-up.
Some 21 of the 23 titles will be world premieres, and 19 features from across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia will compete for Golden and Silver Bears.
New additions include Wim Wenders’ Every Thing Will Be Fine, which will play out of competition. The film, shot in 3D, stars James Franco as a writer who accidentally hits and kills a child while out driving. Co-stars include Charlotte Gainsbourg and Rachel McAdams.
As previously announced, Wenders will be awarded an Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement and will have ten of his films screened as part of the Homage strand.
Also playing out of competition will be the world premiere of Elser (13 Minutes) from Oliver Hirschbiegel, the German...
- 1/19/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Aferim!
Director: Radu Jude // Writers: Radu Jude, Florin Lazarescu
Romanian director Radu Jude’s 2012 sophomore film, Everybody in Our Family was a tense, hysterical familial drama that immediately confirmed his place as one of the country’s most promising new voices. His latest is an ambitious period piece, titled Aferim! (which means, Bravo!) and tackles the subject of Gypsy slavery in the 19th century. The film is headlined by Teodor Corban, a performer who has appeared in some of Romania’s most noted titled, including 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, 12:08 East of Bucharest, and Child’s Pose. We’ve been highly anticipating Jude’s next feature, which apparently filmed last summer.
Cast: Teodor Corban, Toma Cuzin, Mihaela Surbu
Producers: HiFilm’ Productions’ Ada Solomon, Klas Film, EndorFilm.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
Release Date: While The Happiest Girl in the World and Everybody in Our Family landed in Berlin, based on...
Director: Radu Jude // Writers: Radu Jude, Florin Lazarescu
Romanian director Radu Jude’s 2012 sophomore film, Everybody in Our Family was a tense, hysterical familial drama that immediately confirmed his place as one of the country’s most promising new voices. His latest is an ambitious period piece, titled Aferim! (which means, Bravo!) and tackles the subject of Gypsy slavery in the 19th century. The film is headlined by Teodor Corban, a performer who has appeared in some of Romania’s most noted titled, including 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, 12:08 East of Bucharest, and Child’s Pose. We’ve been highly anticipating Jude’s next feature, which apparently filmed last summer.
Cast: Teodor Corban, Toma Cuzin, Mihaela Surbu
Producers: HiFilm’ Productions’ Ada Solomon, Klas Film, EndorFilm.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
Release Date: While The Happiest Girl in the World and Everybody in Our Family landed in Berlin, based on...
- 1/5/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
One Floor Below
Director: Radu Muntean // Writers: Radu Muntean, Rãzvan Rãdulescu, Alexandru Baciu.
With his four previous features, this Romanian director was flying under the shadow of some of the more notable New Romanian Wave names until the premiere of his last title, 2010’s Tuesday, After Christmas, (we interviewed him here) unveiled in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. While it went home empty handed, its slow international roll out snagged Muntean an increased reputation, eclipsing the solid reception of previous titles like Summer Holiday (2008), The Paper Will Be Blue (2006) and Furia (2002). His latest, One Floor Below, stars Teodor Corban (from 12:08 East of Bucharest) and concerns a middle-aged man who is the sole witness to a domestic quarrel that ends in murder.
Cast: Teodor Corban, Iulian Postelnicu
Producers: Multimedia East’s Dragos Valcu (Tuesday, After Christmas), Les Films de l’Apres-midi’s Francois D’Artemare (Children of Sarajevo), Beck Film...
Director: Radu Muntean // Writers: Radu Muntean, Rãzvan Rãdulescu, Alexandru Baciu.
With his four previous features, this Romanian director was flying under the shadow of some of the more notable New Romanian Wave names until the premiere of his last title, 2010’s Tuesday, After Christmas, (we interviewed him here) unveiled in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. While it went home empty handed, its slow international roll out snagged Muntean an increased reputation, eclipsing the solid reception of previous titles like Summer Holiday (2008), The Paper Will Be Blue (2006) and Furia (2002). His latest, One Floor Below, stars Teodor Corban (from 12:08 East of Bucharest) and concerns a middle-aged man who is the sole witness to a domestic quarrel that ends in murder.
Cast: Teodor Corban, Iulian Postelnicu
Producers: Multimedia East’s Dragos Valcu (Tuesday, After Christmas), Les Films de l’Apres-midi’s Francois D’Artemare (Children of Sarajevo), Beck Film...
- 1/5/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – Five years after revitalizing the Romanian film industry with his 2007 Palme d’Or winner, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” filmmaker Cristian Mungiu returned to the Cannes Film Festival with his eagerly awaited follow-up, “Beyond the Hills.” Mungiu won the screenplay prize while his leading ladies, newcomers Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, each received acting accolades.
Art house audiences in Chicago will have the chance to catch Mungiu’s chilling drama when it opens Friday at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema. The fact-based tale centers on two old friends, Voichita (Stratan) and Alina (Flutur), who reconnect at an isolated monastery that appears to have been frozen in time. Though Alina expects her friend (and former lover) to leave with her, Voichita opts for a life of devout worship with the nuns rather than embrace mortal pleasures. Alina’s enraged acts of rebellion are interpreted by Voichita’s fellow nuns as demonic possession,...
Art house audiences in Chicago will have the chance to catch Mungiu’s chilling drama when it opens Friday at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema. The fact-based tale centers on two old friends, Voichita (Stratan) and Alina (Flutur), who reconnect at an isolated monastery that appears to have been frozen in time. Though Alina expects her friend (and former lover) to leave with her, Voichita opts for a life of devout worship with the nuns rather than embrace mortal pleasures. Alina’s enraged acts of rebellion are interpreted by Voichita’s fellow nuns as demonic possession,...
- 3/12/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Once again I bring you the best round-up of all the movie updates announced in this past week's trade reports. Why read a Ton of articles when you can read just one? This week you have a lot to get excited about with new films from Woody Allen, Werner Herzog, Michael Winterbottom, John Madden, James Mangold and even Ralph Fiennes taking a stab at a directorial debut and that's only the first ten new productions listed. Check out the full list and links are available if the film is in the database already, and remember you can keep up with all new films added and updated on the site right here all week long. Title: Guardians of Ga'Hoole
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: John Orloff, John Collee
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Taylor, David Wenham
Storyline: An animated feature film based...
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: John Orloff, John Collee
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Taylor, David Wenham
Storyline: An animated feature film based...
- 2/13/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
In 2007 Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It was then promptly ignored outright by the Academy for Foreign Language Oscar consideration, but was at least nominated for a Golden Globe. I try to bring it up as often as I can simply because I think it is a great film, even though it is quite disturbing and something I have no intention of ever watching again. The main thing that appealed to me was the way Mungiu used the camera and it has me instantly hoping his next film, Tales From The Golden Age is just as good as I have just received word on the new feature as he brings back several of his 4 Months cast members to tell yet another historical story from Romania along with four other Romanian directors -- Ioana Uricaru, Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu,...
- 2/11/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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