Programme includes ‘top 10’ films selected by director Wang Bing and selection of Peter Greenaway films.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has revealed the first 50 titles for this year’s edition, running Nov 8 to Nov 19.
As part of a previously announced Wang Bing retrospective, the director has been invited to programme his “top 10”. The films he has selected are all Chinese and all date from 1999 or later.
They are: Before the Flood (2005) directed by Yifan Li, Yu YanBing’ai (2007) by Yan Feng; Born in Beijing (2011) by Li Ma; Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan; The Next Life (2011) by Jian Fan...
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has revealed the first 50 titles for this year’s edition, running Nov 8 to Nov 19.
As part of a previously announced Wang Bing retrospective, the director has been invited to programme his “top 10”. The films he has selected are all Chinese and all date from 1999 or later.
They are: Before the Flood (2005) directed by Yifan Li, Yu YanBing’ai (2007) by Yan Feng; Born in Beijing (2011) by Li Ma; Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan; The Next Life (2011) by Jian Fan...
- 9/20/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Documentary festival IDFA, which runs Nov. 8 to 19 in Amsterdam, has revealed its first 50 titles, including the top 10 Chinese films selected by Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing, IDFA’s Guest of Honor.
The festival has also revealed the films playing in two of the three Focus programs: Fabrications, which probes the difference between reality and realism, and 16 Worlds on 16, an homage to 16mm film.
Wang’s selection will take the viewer “on a contemplative journey into contemporary Chinese cinema,” according to the festival. “The films and their politics are subtle in their film language, representing a wave of filmmaking rarely shown internationally.”
The selection (see below), which covers films produced since 1999, includes Lixin Fan’s 2009 film “Last Train Home,” which was supported by IDFA’s Bertha Fund. The film documents the millions of migrant factory workers that travel home for Spring Festival each year.
Fabrications explores the relationship of trust between documentary film and audiences,...
The festival has also revealed the films playing in two of the three Focus programs: Fabrications, which probes the difference between reality and realism, and 16 Worlds on 16, an homage to 16mm film.
Wang’s selection will take the viewer “on a contemplative journey into contemporary Chinese cinema,” according to the festival. “The films and their politics are subtle in their film language, representing a wave of filmmaking rarely shown internationally.”
The selection (see below), which covers films produced since 1999, includes Lixin Fan’s 2009 film “Last Train Home,” which was supported by IDFA’s Bertha Fund. The film documents the millions of migrant factory workers that travel home for Spring Festival each year.
Fabrications explores the relationship of trust between documentary film and audiences,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Acclaimed director Wang Bing, this year’s guest of honor at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, will be using his IDFA platform to highlight nonfiction cinema of his native China.
The festival, which runs from Nov. 8-19, announced the 10 films Bing has selected to be screened at IDFA – one of the perquisites of being named guest of honor. Among the documentaries he’s choosing to highlight are Old Men (1999), directed by Lina Yang; Wheat Harvest (2008), directed by Tong Xu, and IDFA Bertha Fund-supported Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan, “documenting the millions of migrant factory workers that travel home for Spring Festival each year.” (Scroll to see Bing’s full top 10 list).
Director Wang Bing attends the Cannes Film Festival May 19, 2023.
The documentaries chosen by Bing “and their politics are subtle in their film language,” IDFA noted in a release, “representing a wave of filmmaking rarely shown internationally.
The festival, which runs from Nov. 8-19, announced the 10 films Bing has selected to be screened at IDFA – one of the perquisites of being named guest of honor. Among the documentaries he’s choosing to highlight are Old Men (1999), directed by Lina Yang; Wheat Harvest (2008), directed by Tong Xu, and IDFA Bertha Fund-supported Last Train Home (2009) by Lixin Fan, “documenting the millions of migrant factory workers that travel home for Spring Festival each year.” (Scroll to see Bing’s full top 10 list).
Director Wang Bing attends the Cannes Film Festival May 19, 2023.
The documentaries chosen by Bing “and their politics are subtle in their film language,” IDFA noted in a release, “representing a wave of filmmaking rarely shown internationally.
- 9/19/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
2020 will go down in history for many things. The pandemic. The US elections. Rat-filled sinkholes. But 2020 will also go down in history as the year of Asian cinema: when Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019) became the first non-English language film to win the coveted Academy Award for Best Picture; when Ann Hui was recognized with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Festival; when Mohammad Rasoulof’s Iranian drama “There Is No Evil” (2020) won Berlinale’s Golden Bear. And this is not even to mention the stellar achievements we’ve had at Asian Movie Pulse as well – including a new partnership with Mubi, a curated arthouse streaming service, and 1000 followers on Instagram. Now, we just want to take a step back to reflect on this year.
Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah — arguably the first major event to kick off the film festival circuit — gave us a...
Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah — arguably the first major event to kick off the film festival circuit — gave us a...
- 12/21/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021.
Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s debut feature Two Of Us leads the nominations in the 26th edition of France’s Lumière awards, which were unveiled online today (December 14).
The awards, which are voted on by some 130 international correspondents hailing from 40 countries, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has delayed numerous releases this year, they have retained their traditional time slot and the awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021, in line with previous years.
Meneghetti’s Two Of Us is also France’s submission...
Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s debut feature Two Of Us leads the nominations in the 26th edition of France’s Lumière awards, which were unveiled online today (December 14).
The awards, which are voted on by some 130 international correspondents hailing from 40 countries, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has delayed numerous releases this year, they have retained their traditional time slot and the awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021, in line with previous years.
Meneghetti’s Two Of Us is also France’s submission...
- 12/14/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Killer Ratings: Bakhshi Brings Reality Television Gimmickry to Morbid, Potential Levels
To err is human, to forgive divine—or so we’ve come to accept as a given. But the privilege and erstwhile sanctimonious hue of forgiveness is examined at fever pitch in Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi’s sophomore production Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, a co-production with France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg which took home the Grand Jury Prize in Sundance’s 2020 World Dramatic Competition. Reality television makes for cerebral gladiatorial sport in this troubling, entirely feasible conception, and promises to elevate the profile of Bakhshi, whose well-received 2012 debut, A Respectable Family, premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.…...
To err is human, to forgive divine—or so we’ve come to accept as a given. But the privilege and erstwhile sanctimonious hue of forgiveness is examined at fever pitch in Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi’s sophomore production Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, a co-production with France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg which took home the Grand Jury Prize in Sundance’s 2020 World Dramatic Competition. Reality television makes for cerebral gladiatorial sport in this troubling, entirely feasible conception, and promises to elevate the profile of Bakhshi, whose well-received 2012 debut, A Respectable Family, premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.…...
- 12/9/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness Film Movement Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Massoud Bakhshi Writer: Massoud Bakhshi Cast: Sadaf Asgari, Behnaz Jafari, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Babak Karimi, Faghiheh Soltani, Arman Darvish Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 11/6/20 Opens: December 11, 2020 If you think that the United […]
The post Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/6/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
The initiative is a good pointer to next year’s festival favourites.
International festival directors, sales agents, distributors and producers tuned in online to the Coming Soon pitch event at the auspicious TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) this week.
Of the eight feature projects, six were unfinished, in post-production or never seen before.
Unusually for Coming Soon and due to unprecedented circumstances of this year, a further two had already played at festivals: El Father Plays Himself (Visions du Réel) and The Salt In Our Water (Busan and London).
Previous Coming Soon selections of recent years have included Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda...
International festival directors, sales agents, distributors and producers tuned in online to the Coming Soon pitch event at the auspicious TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) this week.
Of the eight feature projects, six were unfinished, in post-production or never seen before.
Unusually for Coming Soon and due to unprecedented circumstances of this year, a further two had already played at festivals: El Father Plays Himself (Visions du Réel) and The Salt In Our Water (Busan and London).
Previous Coming Soon selections of recent years have included Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda...
- 11/20/2020
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
The initiative is a good pointer to next year’s festival favourites.
International festival directors, sales agents, distributors and producers tuned in online to the Coming Soon pitch event at the auspicious Torino Film Lab this week.
Of the eight feature projects, six were unfinished, in post-production or never seen before. Unusually for Coming Soon and due to unprecedented circumstances of this year, a further two had already played at festivals: El Father Plays Himself ( Visions du Réel) and The Salt in Our Water ( Busan and London).
Previous Coming Soon selections of recent years have included Massoud Bakhshi’s...
International festival directors, sales agents, distributors and producers tuned in online to the Coming Soon pitch event at the auspicious Torino Film Lab this week.
Of the eight feature projects, six were unfinished, in post-production or never seen before. Unusually for Coming Soon and due to unprecedented circumstances of this year, a further two had already played at festivals: El Father Plays Himself ( Visions du Réel) and The Salt in Our Water ( Busan and London).
Previous Coming Soon selections of recent years have included Massoud Bakhshi’s...
- 11/20/2020
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Iranian multi-hyphenate Babak Karimi is an actor, film editor, and academic who won the Berlin Silver Bear in 2011 for playing the judge in “A Separation,” one of several films in which he stars directed by his friend Asghar Farhadi.
Karimi also appears in the drama “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” by Massoud Bakhshi, which has circulated widely after winning a prize at Sundance earlier this year, and in Shahram Mokri’s “Careless Crime,” which since launching from Venice has sold to several countries including Germany and Italy. He recently also performed with Sophia Loren in “The Life Ahead,” an experience that Karimi “never imagined fate would have me live,” he says.
Karimi, who has close ties to Italy, is being honored with a lifetime achievement award by Rome’s MedFilm Festival. He spoke exclusively to Variety from Tehran about how Iran’s film community is reacting to Donald Trump’s...
Karimi also appears in the drama “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” by Massoud Bakhshi, which has circulated widely after winning a prize at Sundance earlier this year, and in Shahram Mokri’s “Careless Crime,” which since launching from Venice has sold to several countries including Germany and Italy. He recently also performed with Sophia Loren in “The Life Ahead,” an experience that Karimi “never imagined fate would have me live,” he says.
Karimi, who has close ties to Italy, is being honored with a lifetime achievement award by Rome’s MedFilm Festival. He spoke exclusively to Variety from Tehran about how Iran’s film community is reacting to Donald Trump’s...
- 11/16/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The writing mentoring and residency scheme for Francophone filmmakers is organising a Zoom call on 3 November, revealing details of its 2020 session and candidates’ prospects for selection next year. Every year, the Groupe Ouest’s Annual Selection lends its support to eight fiction projects proposed by Francophone screenwriters and filmmakers. The quality of the scheme has been widely demonstrated, as notably testified by the presence of the project Angel by Belgium’s Lukas Dhont and that of Paris 8 by Daouda Coulibaly within the scheme’s 2020 selection (read our article), not to mention the inclusion in previous years of Maïmouna Doucouré’s Cuties, Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness and Divines by Houda Benyamina,...
- 10/29/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
The 9th edition of the Dharamshala Film Festival is going online for the first time. Its highlights include the Indian premiere of Massoud Bakhshi’s Sundance grand jury prize winner “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness,” and a conversation with Oscar-winner Asif Kapadia (“Amy”).
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959. The festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam are filmmakers in their own right. Their chronicles of the Tibetan condition like 2005’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” 2010’s “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and 2018’s “The Sweet Requiem” have received considerable festival play, including at Toronto and Manila.
The Dharamshala festival directors will be in conversation with Kapadia and also with Chaitanya Tamhane, director of this year’s Venice and Toronto award-winning title “The Disciple.
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959. The festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam are filmmakers in their own right. Their chronicles of the Tibetan condition like 2005’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” 2010’s “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and 2018’s “The Sweet Requiem” have received considerable festival play, including at Toronto and Manila.
The Dharamshala festival directors will be in conversation with Kapadia and also with Chaitanya Tamhane, director of this year’s Venice and Toronto award-winning title “The Disciple.
- 10/15/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Jasmila Žbanić’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” and Azra Deniz Okyay’s “Ghosts” won best film in the international and national competitions, respectively, at Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, the 57th edition of which concluded on Saturday.
Unable to attend the festival due to the pandemic, Žbanić sent a video message in which she said: “This film came about through the collaboration of nine different countries. I emphasize this because I think now, more than ever, we need to show that we’re trying to understand each other better by telling our different stories together. This award will help the film to be watched by more people, as well as bringing us together through our love of cinema and for each other.”
Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi won best director for “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness.” Natasa Stork won best actress for “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time.
Unable to attend the festival due to the pandemic, Žbanić sent a video message in which she said: “This film came about through the collaboration of nine different countries. I emphasize this because I think now, more than ever, we need to show that we’re trying to understand each other better by telling our different stories together. This award will help the film to be watched by more people, as well as bringing us together through our love of cinema and for each other.”
Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi won best director for “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness.” Natasa Stork won best actress for “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time.
- 10/12/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Read about all the leading titles coming to cinemas.
France, opening Wednesday October 7
Mainstream French comedies and dramas topped the release schedule in France once again this week, in the absence of US studio titles.
The biggest release of the week was romantic comedy The ABCs Of Love for Ugc Distribution on some 480 prints. Rising star Vincent Dedienne plays a thirtysomething babysitter, who unwittingly gets entangled in the parent teacher association of the school that his nine-year-old charge attends but finds love along the way.
Other local features included long triangle drama Dreamchild, starring Jalil Lespert, Louise Bourgoin and Mélanie Doutey...
France, opening Wednesday October 7
Mainstream French comedies and dramas topped the release schedule in France once again this week, in the absence of US studio titles.
The biggest release of the week was romantic comedy The ABCs Of Love for Ugc Distribution on some 480 prints. Rising star Vincent Dedienne plays a thirtysomething babysitter, who unwittingly gets entangled in the parent teacher association of the school that his nine-year-old charge attends but finds love along the way.
Other local features included long triangle drama Dreamchild, starring Jalil Lespert, Louise Bourgoin and Mélanie Doutey...
- 10/9/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Melanie Goodfellow¬Gabriele Niola¬Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The Pingyao International Film Festival, founded by Chinese helmer Jia Zhangke and former Venice head Marco Muller, has released its full lineup of global and local films. The selections in the two main sections focus on first or second features.
The festival is set to take place from Oct. 10-19 in the ancient city of Pingyao in central Shanxi province, not far from Jia’s own hometown. Few foreigners will be present, as China continues to maintain travel and quarantine restrictions for those entering the country, despite lifting some measures.
A dozen films are set to compete in the international “Crouching Tigers” section. They include a number of titles that first bowed at Venice: “Residue,” from American director Merawi Gerima, which debuted to a special mention earlier this month in the independent Venice Days section before being picked up by Ava DuVernay’s film company and released on Netflix; “The Book of Vision,...
The festival is set to take place from Oct. 10-19 in the ancient city of Pingyao in central Shanxi province, not far from Jia’s own hometown. Few foreigners will be present, as China continues to maintain travel and quarantine restrictions for those entering the country, despite lifting some measures.
A dozen films are set to compete in the international “Crouching Tigers” section. They include a number of titles that first bowed at Venice: “Residue,” from American director Merawi Gerima, which debuted to a special mention earlier this month in the independent Venice Days section before being picked up by Ava DuVernay’s film company and released on Netflix; “The Book of Vision,...
- 10/6/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Turkey’s 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival is forging ahead with a hybrid edition this year that will feature a mix of the best new Turkish features and cherry-picked international titles.
The storied event being held Oct. 3-10 in the bustling resort city on Turkey’s Southern coast has been through a spell of politically-prompted turbulence that led to the appointment last year of new fest chief Ahmet Boyacıoğlu and artistic director Başak Emre, who both stated that “Return to Roots” would be their mantra as they took the helm.
That’s because the 2017 and 2018 editions, headed by British-Irish producer Mike Downey, had done away with the national competition, historically the backbone of Turkey’s oldest and most prominent film event.
Therefore lots of locals during those two years “boycotted the festival” since Turkish cinema, which had been folded into the international lineup, “was practically out,” says Boyacıoğlu, who...
The storied event being held Oct. 3-10 in the bustling resort city on Turkey’s Southern coast has been through a spell of politically-prompted turbulence that led to the appointment last year of new fest chief Ahmet Boyacıoğlu and artistic director Başak Emre, who both stated that “Return to Roots” would be their mantra as they took the helm.
That’s because the 2017 and 2018 editions, headed by British-Irish producer Mike Downey, had done away with the national competition, historically the backbone of Turkey’s oldest and most prominent film event.
Therefore lots of locals during those two years “boycotted the festival” since Turkish cinema, which had been folded into the international lineup, “was practically out,” says Boyacıoğlu, who...
- 10/5/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The festival will open with Sun Hong’s This Is Life, while Zhang Yang’s So Far So Close will screen as the Special Presentation.
Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff) has unveiled the full line-up for its fourth edition (October 10-19), which like many Asian festivals during the Covid-19 pandemic is taking place as a physical event without international guests.
The festival’s opening film and Special Presentation are both world premieres of Chinese productions – Sun Hong’s This Is Life will open the festival, while Zhang Yang’s So Far So Close will screen as the Special Presentation title...
Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff) has unveiled the full line-up for its fourth edition (October 10-19), which like many Asian festivals during the Covid-19 pandemic is taking place as a physical event without international guests.
The festival’s opening film and Special Presentation are both world premieres of Chinese productions – Sun Hong’s This Is Life will open the festival, while Zhang Yang’s So Far So Close will screen as the Special Presentation title...
- 10/1/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Massoud Bakhshi was born in Tehran in 1972. Before he rose to international fame with his first feature “A Respectable Family” (2012), he had already made a name for himself as the director of many short features as well as documentaries. In his stories, he tackles themes of Iranian life and society.
In his 2019 feature “Yalda” he tells the story of two women, one convicted of murder and the other one the daughter of her victim, put in an unusual situation when the case is re-opened during the broadcast of a live TV show, in which the victim may be forgiven.
On the occasion of “Yalda” cinematic release in Germany, we talked with the director about the inspiration of the film, how it reflects the Iranian society, the casting process and other topics.
To begin with, could you tell us something about Shab-e Yalda and its significance for your film?
Shab-e Yalda is a pre-Islamic celebration,...
In his 2019 feature “Yalda” he tells the story of two women, one convicted of murder and the other one the daughter of her victim, put in an unusual situation when the case is re-opened during the broadcast of a live TV show, in which the victim may be forgiven.
On the occasion of “Yalda” cinematic release in Germany, we talked with the director about the inspiration of the film, how it reflects the Iranian society, the casting process and other topics.
To begin with, could you tell us something about Shab-e Yalda and its significance for your film?
Shab-e Yalda is a pre-Islamic celebration,...
- 9/3/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Shab-e Yalda or Shab-e Chelleh takes place in the night of winter solstice and is an old traditional festivity, practiced in Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan. It is a time to celebrate with the family, to get together, read traditional poetry and connect to the lighting of a big fire which should resemble light and hope in this night which is supposed to be the longest and darkest. According to Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi, the custom has always held a certain fascination for him, rooting back to his childhood when he celebrated Shab-e Yalda with his family in Tehran. The idea of hope as symbolized by the event was also a main inspiration for his 2019 feature “Yalda”, a story about forgiveness, but also how tradition creates a front for repression, antiquated concepts of gender and revenge as well as the exploitation of misery performed by the media.
On the night of...
On the night of...
- 8/29/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
With ‘Tenet’ opening in multiple territories, this is a key weekend for European cinemas.
France, opening Wednesday August 26
As the population gears up for the country’s traditional September Rentrée, marking the return to work and school after the summer, a number of films that were held back due to the Covid-19 pandemic are finally being released this week in addition to Tenet which Warner Bros France has opened on 800 prints.
They included Benoit Delépine and Gustave Kervern’s Silver Bear-winning comedy Delete History for Ad Vitam, which was originally scheduled for the spring and was one of the hits of the Berlinale this year,...
France, opening Wednesday August 26
As the population gears up for the country’s traditional September Rentrée, marking the return to work and school after the summer, a number of films that were held back due to the Covid-19 pandemic are finally being released this week in addition to Tenet which Warner Bros France has opened on 800 prints.
They included Benoit Delépine and Gustave Kervern’s Silver Bear-winning comedy Delete History for Ad Vitam, which was originally scheduled for the spring and was one of the hits of the Berlinale this year,...
- 8/28/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦¬1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦¬158¦Martin Blaney¦40¦¬1101325¦Gabriele Niola¦35¦
- ScreenDaily
On this occasion, the country’s film agency will back 21 new audiovisual projects and invest over €11 million. Film Fund Luxembourg’s selection committee has announced the recipients of its latest slate of funding. The panel evaluated 57 applications, and greenlit development and production support for 21 new projects. On this occasion, the agency will invest a total of €11,003,985 in the making of 12 fiction features, two animated features, one documentary feature, two TV series, one transmedia documentary, one docufiction series, one animated series and one VR project. In detail, the projects in receipt of development grants are Cyrus Neshvad’s thriller Le refuge, Christophe Wagner’s drama The Believers, Christian Neuman’s horror Stargazer, Margarethe Von Trotta’s drama Bachmann & Frisch, Massoud Bakhshi’s drama Quartet (€30,000, also produced by Amour Fou...
Drama also nominated for Generation 14-plus Crystal Bear in Berlin.
Film Movement has picked up all Us rights from Pyramide International to Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness, winner of this year’s world cinema dramatic competition grand jury prize at Sundance.
The distributor plans to release Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi’s second dramatic feature theatrically in the fourth quarter of this year, followed by home entertainment and digital launches.
Yalda was also nominated for the Generation 14-plus Crystal Bear at the Berlinale and takes place almost entirely within the studio of Iran’s most popular reality TV show, Joy Of Forgiveness.
Film Movement has picked up all Us rights from Pyramide International to Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness, winner of this year’s world cinema dramatic competition grand jury prize at Sundance.
The distributor plans to release Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi’s second dramatic feature theatrically in the fourth quarter of this year, followed by home entertainment and digital launches.
Yalda was also nominated for the Generation 14-plus Crystal Bear at the Berlinale and takes place almost entirely within the studio of Iran’s most popular reality TV show, Joy Of Forgiveness.
- 6/17/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Festival to screen 16 films at nearly 100 theatres across the Czech Republic.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) is to screen 16 films at 96 cinemas across the Czech Republic as an alternative to its annual event, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The selection, titled Kviff at Your Cinema, comprises features that have debuted at festivals since last autumn and include the European premieres of three titles: Zeina Durra’s Luxor, Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features, and Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent.
The films will screen from July 3-11, the original dates of the festival. Each of the...
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) is to screen 16 films at 96 cinemas across the Czech Republic as an alternative to its annual event, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The selection, titled Kviff at Your Cinema, comprises features that have debuted at festivals since last autumn and include the European premieres of three titles: Zeina Durra’s Luxor, Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features, and Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent.
The films will screen from July 3-11, the original dates of the festival. Each of the...
- 5/26/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
“We finished the shoot for Ely Dagher’s Harvest just as the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Lebanon.”
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s coming-of-age drama 1982, which was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week; and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
Schortcut Films, which he...
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s coming-of-age drama 1982, which was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week; and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
Schortcut Films, which he...
- 4/15/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
“We finished the shoot for Ely Dagher’s film Harvest just as the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Lebanon.”
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s bittersweet coming-of-age drama 1982, which premiered at Toronto and was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week, winning three awards, and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s bittersweet coming-of-age drama 1982, which premiered at Toronto and was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week, winning three awards, and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
- 4/15/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Less Is More, the program launched by Le Group Ouest to help young helmers such as Maimouna Doucouré (“Cuties”), has unveiled the trailer of Daria Woszek’s “Marygoround” which will have its world premiere at South By Southwest.
The film, which was developed within the framework of Less Is More, revolves around Mary, a lonely grocery store worker who lives a rather dull life in a small town. On the eve of her 50th birthday, Mary’s life soon begins to take on a totally unexpected turn when she overdoses on the hormone patches prescribed by her doctor and receives the visit of a free-spirited niece. Mary’s senses and imagination suddenly come alive.
“The film is a quirky, darkly comic tale starring a stunning screen newcomer Grażyna Misiorowska, (and it tells the) story of a woman reclaiming her own body,” said South By Southwest in its presentation of “Marygoround...
The film, which was developed within the framework of Less Is More, revolves around Mary, a lonely grocery store worker who lives a rather dull life in a small town. On the eve of her 50th birthday, Mary’s life soon begins to take on a totally unexpected turn when she overdoses on the hormone patches prescribed by her doctor and receives the visit of a free-spirited niece. Mary’s senses and imagination suddenly come alive.
“The film is a quirky, darkly comic tale starring a stunning screen newcomer Grażyna Misiorowska, (and it tells the) story of a woman reclaiming her own body,” said South By Southwest in its presentation of “Marygoround...
- 2/27/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The title, from Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi, won the grand jury prize in Sundance.
Pyramide International has unveiled early sales on Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi’s Sundance grand jury prize winner Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness.
The drama, which received its European premiere in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section on Sunday, has sold to Spain (Avalon), Greece (Weird Wave), Turkey (Mars) and Brazil (Imovision) at the Efm and it pre-sold to Italy (Teodora) last year in Berlin.
Agathe Maurac, sales chief at Paris-based Pyramide, revealed that deals are in the works for former Yugoslavia, Benelux and the Us.
Set...
Pyramide International has unveiled early sales on Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi’s Sundance grand jury prize winner Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness.
The drama, which received its European premiere in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section on Sunday, has sold to Spain (Avalon), Greece (Weird Wave), Turkey (Mars) and Brazil (Imovision) at the Efm and it pre-sold to Italy (Teodora) last year in Berlin.
Agathe Maurac, sales chief at Paris-based Pyramide, revealed that deals are in the works for former Yugoslavia, Benelux and the Us.
Set...
- 2/25/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The firm’s line-up boasts 13 films, including four new, forthcoming titles, plus the Sundance winner Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness and Sow the Wind in the selection. Always in a very strong position when it comes to quality arthouse films, French international sales agent Pyramide International (headed up by Eric Lagesse) will have myriad trump cards to negotiate deals for at the European Film Market of the 70th Berlinale (20 February-1 March). Standing out among them are two films selected for the festival programme itself, particularly the captivating Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness by Iran’s Massoud Bakhshi, a mostly European production that was recently crowned with the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival and which will be screened as part of the Berlinale’s Generation programme. Pyramide will also be pinning its hopes on a title that will be world-premiered in Panorama: Sow.
The way religious law penetrates every aspect of Iranian life, from a murder case to how a TV show is run, is probably the most striking aspect of Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness. The perverse logic of temporary marriage, inheritance laws favoring boys and homicide laws stacked against wives, not to mention the practice of paying one’s way out of a hanging with “blood money” to the victim’s relatives, become casual plot elements in this well-shot, cleverly scripted melodrama. Filmmaker Massoud Bakhshi (A Respectable Family), who wrote and directed, took home the Grand Jury Prize in the World ...
The way religious law penetrates every aspect of Iranian life, from a murder case to how a TV show is run, is probably the most striking aspect of Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness. The perverse logic of temporary marriage, inheritance laws favoring boys and homicide laws stacked against wives, not to mention the practice of paying one’s way out of a hanging with “blood money” to the victim’s relatives, become casual plot elements in this well-shot, cleverly scripted melodrama. Filmmaker Massoud Bakhshi (A Respectable Family), who wrote and directed, took home the Grand Jury Prize in the World ...
On a night when 28 feature-film awards were handed out, the gathering also announced the appointment of British-born Tabitha Jackson to the role of festival director. The four Grand Jury Prizes are the top gongs at the Sundance Film Festival, which has just come to a close. There are two dramatic and two documentary Grand Jury trophies, further split between Us and world cinema productions. There were many happy flights back across the Atlantic for European executives, who can now say that their films were victorious at the prestigious gathering. The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was awarded to Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness, Massoud Bakhshi’s drama about a woman sentenced to death in Iran for killing her husband. The film received support from France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Epicentro, Hubert Sauper’s affectionate look at Cuba, its people and its history, won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
With the first Sundance Film Festival of the new decade wrapping up today, the award winners have been announced. Leading the pack is Minari, which picked up U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, and Boys State, which was awarded U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. It was also announced that Tabitha Jackson will be the new director of the festival, following John Cooper’s departure.
Check out the full winner list below, along with links to our reviews where available, and return for our wrap-up. See our complete coverage here.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to: Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, for Boys State / U.S.A. — In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to: Lee Isaac Chung,...
Check out the full winner list below, along with links to our reviews where available, and return for our wrap-up. See our complete coverage here.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to: Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, for Boys State / U.S.A. — In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to: Lee Isaac Chung,...
- 2/2/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
MinariU.S. – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeMinari (Lee Isaac Chung)Directing PrizeRadha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version) Audience Award Minari (Lee Isaac Chung) Special Jury Award for Ensemble CastCharm City Kings (Angel Manuel Soto) Special Jury Award for Auteur FilmmakingShirley (Josephine Decker)Special Jury Award for Neo-RealismNever Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman)Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardEdson Oda (Nine Days)U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Boys State (Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine) Directing Prize Garrett Bradley (Time) Audience Award Crip Camp (Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht)Special Jury Award for EditingTyler H. Walk (Welcome to Chechnya)Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction StorytellingDick Johnson Is Dead (Kirsten Johnson)Special Jury Award for Emerging FilmmakerFeels Good Man (Arthur Jones)Special Jury Award for Social Impact FilmmakingThe FightWorld Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness (Massoud Bakhshi) Directing Prize Maïmouna Doucouré (Cuties) Audience Award Identifying Features (Fernanda Valadez)Special Jury Award for...
- 2/2/2020
- MUBI
World Cinema Dramatic entries Surge, Cuties among winners.
Mexican missing persons drama Identifying Features has won the World Cinema Dramatic audience award and the section’s juried screenplay prize for director Fernanda Valadez and co-writer Astrid Rondero at the Sundance awards ceremony.
Saturday’s (February 1) event in Park City, Utah, also honoured the UK’s Ben Whishaw with the World Cinema Dramatic special jury award for acting for Aneil Karia’s Surge, which Protagonist Pictures sells internationally, while Cuties on the Netflix slate from director Maïmouna Doucouré won the World Cinema Dramatic directing award.
Kino Lorber acquired North American rights...
Mexican missing persons drama Identifying Features has won the World Cinema Dramatic audience award and the section’s juried screenplay prize for director Fernanda Valadez and co-writer Astrid Rondero at the Sundance awards ceremony.
Saturday’s (February 1) event in Park City, Utah, also honoured the UK’s Ben Whishaw with the World Cinema Dramatic special jury award for acting for Aneil Karia’s Surge, which Protagonist Pictures sells internationally, while Cuties on the Netflix slate from director Maïmouna Doucouré won the World Cinema Dramatic directing award.
Kino Lorber acquired North American rights...
- 2/2/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
The narrative feature “Minari” and the documentary “Boys State” have won the top prizes from the U.S. jury at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, which announced its winners at an awards ceremony on Saturday night. “Minari,” director Lee Isaac Chung’s coming-of-age story about a Korean-American boy, also won the festival’s audience award.
The only other films to win more than one award were “Identifying Features” (“Sin Senas Particulares”), Fernanda Valadez’s drama about a Mexican woman searching for a son who disappeared while attempting to cross the border; and “I Carry You With Me,” in which documentary director Heidi Ewing makes her narrative feature debut about an aspiring Mexican chef whose life changes when his sexuality becomes public. “Identifying Features” won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic section and a jury award for its screenplay, while “I Carry You With Me” won the audience award in...
The only other films to win more than one award were “Identifying Features” (“Sin Senas Particulares”), Fernanda Valadez’s drama about a Mexican woman searching for a son who disappeared while attempting to cross the border; and “I Carry You With Me,” in which documentary director Heidi Ewing makes her narrative feature debut about an aspiring Mexican chef whose life changes when his sexuality becomes public. “Identifying Features” won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic section and a jury award for its screenplay, while “I Carry You With Me” won the audience award in...
- 2/2/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Sundance Film Festival had its share of big deals this year, from the record-setting $17,500,000.69 that Neon and Hulu paid for Palm Springs to a pair of $12 million deals for The Night House (Searchlight) and Uncle Frank (Amazon).
With the powder still settling, the 2020 fest handed out its annual awards Saturday night in a ceremony at Basin Fieldhouse in Park City, where it also revealed that Tabitha Jackson has been named the new Director, succeeding the retiring John Cooper.
Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari was the big winner tonight, taking both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Based on Chung’s real life, the drama follows a Korean-American family that moves from L.A. to Arkansas to chase the American Dream.
Other films that have managed to take the top two awards at the fest recently include Birth of a Nation in...
With the powder still settling, the 2020 fest handed out its annual awards Saturday night in a ceremony at Basin Fieldhouse in Park City, where it also revealed that Tabitha Jackson has been named the new Director, succeeding the retiring John Cooper.
Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari was the big winner tonight, taking both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Based on Chung’s real life, the drama follows a Korean-American family that moves from L.A. to Arkansas to chase the American Dream.
Other films that have managed to take the top two awards at the fest recently include Birth of a Nation in...
- 2/2/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival is coming to a close in Park City, and that means that this year’s award winners have been announced. The awards spotlight standout films across the festival’s various categories, including U.S. films spanning fiction and documentary, as well as foreign-made films, and Next and Midnight selections.
This year’s fest brought a bounty of riches that are continuing to attract buyers, including high-profile pickups from Neon and Hulu (“Palm Springs”), Sony Pictures Classics, Searchlight Pictures (“The Night House”), and more. The 2020 Sundance Film Festival broke a number of records, from diversity in its programming to sales. Culled from 15,000 submissions, the 2020 edition offered up a range of timely, boundary-pushing documentary and narrative storytelling, promising new voices and satisfying new heights from established filmmakers. (Check out IndieWire’s roundup of the best 15 films out of Sundance here.)
Netflix, which owned this year’s Academy Awards nominations,...
This year’s fest brought a bounty of riches that are continuing to attract buyers, including high-profile pickups from Neon and Hulu (“Palm Springs”), Sony Pictures Classics, Searchlight Pictures (“The Night House”), and more. The 2020 Sundance Film Festival broke a number of records, from diversity in its programming to sales. Culled from 15,000 submissions, the 2020 edition offered up a range of timely, boundary-pushing documentary and narrative storytelling, promising new voices and satisfying new heights from established filmmakers. (Check out IndieWire’s roundup of the best 15 films out of Sundance here.)
Netflix, which owned this year’s Academy Awards nominations,...
- 2/2/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Imagine a high-ratings, high-stakes game show that trivializes a convict’s life-or-death fate for public consumption. As wild as it sounds, a version of this reality TV entertainment apparently really exists in modern-day Iran, where writer-director Massoud Bakhshi’s “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” is set, and where a wildly popular edition of it has been airing for nearly a decade. Using that as an inspiration, Bakhshi unfolds “Yalda” entirely within one such controversial televised program, while navigating concepts like male entitlement, social order and media exploitation with mixed results. Even though there are multifarious ideas here around penitence and forgiveness as linchpins of Islam, “Yalda” eventually neglects the darker avenues of these themes wrapped inside an eye-for-an-eye justice model, guided by a firm religious code.
It’s a shame, since “Yalda” gets off to an absorbing start with the story of Maryam (Sadaf Asgari), a vulnerable young woman on...
It’s a shame, since “Yalda” gets off to an absorbing start with the story of Maryam (Sadaf Asgari), a vulnerable young woman on...
- 1/27/2020
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Final titles revealed for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus strands.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has revealed the final raft of titles that will comprise its Generation strand and confirmed that 58% of the features and shorts in the youth section are directed by women.
Scroll down for full list of titles
It follows a recent announcement that more than 50% of the films in the official project selection of the Berlinale Co-Production Market are from female directors.
The 43rd edition of Berlin’s Generation sidebar will comprise 59 competition entries from 34 countries, including 29 world premieres.
After revealing 20 films in the strand last month,...
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has revealed the final raft of titles that will comprise its Generation strand and confirmed that 58% of the features and shorts in the youth section are directed by women.
Scroll down for full list of titles
It follows a recent announcement that more than 50% of the films in the official project selection of the Berlinale Co-Production Market are from female directors.
The 43rd edition of Berlin’s Generation sidebar will comprise 59 competition entries from 34 countries, including 29 world premieres.
After revealing 20 films in the strand last month,...
- 1/22/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Massoud Bakhshi’s second feature, “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness,” has its world premiere in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, to be screened without the director.
The pic’s production company, Jba Production, and sales outfit, Pyramide International, issued a joint statement on Jan. 14 explaining that the director won’t be attending due to the U.S.-Iran crisis, adding that Bakhshi’s “position is delicate, given the current tensions between the two countries.”
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Jba Production’s Jacques Bidou and Marianne Dumoulin, chronicled the complex task of producing Bakhshi’s second feature. They also produced his 2012 Cannes-player, “A Respectable Family,” about corruption in his country, which is still banned in Iran.
Bidou and Dumoulin have been working together for 27 years and as joint producers at Jba Production for the past 20 years. They have produced 44 feature films, shot in 22 countries, and have enjoyed a...
The pic’s production company, Jba Production, and sales outfit, Pyramide International, issued a joint statement on Jan. 14 explaining that the director won’t be attending due to the U.S.-Iran crisis, adding that Bakhshi’s “position is delicate, given the current tensions between the two countries.”
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Jba Production’s Jacques Bidou and Marianne Dumoulin, chronicled the complex task of producing Bakhshi’s second feature. They also produced his 2012 Cannes-player, “A Respectable Family,” about corruption in his country, which is still banned in Iran.
Bidou and Dumoulin have been working together for 27 years and as joint producers at Jba Production for the past 20 years. They have produced 44 feature films, shot in 22 countries, and have enjoyed a...
- 1/20/2020
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Starting next week, the 2020 Sundance Film Festival gives us a first glimpse at the year in cinema, but even if you won’t be at Park City, we’re rounding up an initial glimpse at the premieres.
Ahead of our coverage, bookmark this page for a continually-updated round-up of trailers and clips, kicking off with Sergio, Charm City Kings, Impetigore, Wendy, Downhill, Promising Young Woman, and more.
Check out the trailers (and clips) below thus far in alphabetical order and we’ll be posting reviews from Park City soon, so follow along here.
And Then We Danced (Levan Akin)
The Assistant (Kitty Green)
Charm City Kings (Angel Manuel Soto)
The Climb (Michael Angelo Covino)
Downhill (Nat Faxon & Jim Rash)
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (Iryna Tsilyk)
Ema (Pablo Larraín)
Hillary (Nanette Burstein)
Horse Girl (Jeff Baena)
Impetigore (Joko Anwar)
La Llorona (Jayro Bustamante)
Lost Girls (Liz Garbus)
Never Rarely Sometimes Always...
Ahead of our coverage, bookmark this page for a continually-updated round-up of trailers and clips, kicking off with Sergio, Charm City Kings, Impetigore, Wendy, Downhill, Promising Young Woman, and more.
Check out the trailers (and clips) below thus far in alphabetical order and we’ll be posting reviews from Park City soon, so follow along here.
And Then We Danced (Levan Akin)
The Assistant (Kitty Green)
Charm City Kings (Angel Manuel Soto)
The Climb (Michael Angelo Covino)
Downhill (Nat Faxon & Jim Rash)
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (Iryna Tsilyk)
Ema (Pablo Larraín)
Hillary (Nanette Burstein)
Horse Girl (Jeff Baena)
Impetigore (Joko Anwar)
La Llorona (Jayro Bustamante)
Lost Girls (Liz Garbus)
Never Rarely Sometimes Always...
- 1/16/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
U.S.-Iran tensions have put Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi whose daring drama “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness,” is set to premiere at Sundance, in a tough spot.
The film’s production and sales companies issued a joint statement on Tuesday announcing that Bakhshi will not personally be attending Sundance due to the current U.S.-Iran crisis. But they also denied recent Iranian media reports claiming that the director had pulled “Yalda” from the festival.
“Massoud Bakhshi is proud that his film has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival and happy that it will be screened in public there,” the statement said. “He never thought of asking that it be pulled. On the contrary,” it added.
The statement went on to note that Bakhshi’s “position is delicate, given the current tensions between the two countries.”
“Besides the difficulties of obtaining a Visa, traveling to the U.S.
The film’s production and sales companies issued a joint statement on Tuesday announcing that Bakhshi will not personally be attending Sundance due to the current U.S.-Iran crisis. But they also denied recent Iranian media reports claiming that the director had pulled “Yalda” from the festival.
“Massoud Bakhshi is proud that his film has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival and happy that it will be screened in public there,” the statement said. “He never thought of asking that it be pulled. On the contrary,” it added.
The statement went on to note that Bakhshi’s “position is delicate, given the current tensions between the two countries.”
“Besides the difficulties of obtaining a Visa, traveling to the U.S.
- 1/14/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Director will not attend festival due to flare-up in tensions between Us and Iran.
Iranian drama Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness will premiere in Sundance as planned even if director Massoud Bakhshi will not attend due to the flare-up in tensions between the Us and Iran, its French producers and sales agent have confirmed.
“Massoud Bakhshi is proud the film was selected by Sundance and is happy for it to be screened in public there,” Paris-based Jba Production company and sales company Pyramide International said in a statement. “He has never considered asking for it to be withdrawn, on the contrary,...
Iranian drama Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness will premiere in Sundance as planned even if director Massoud Bakhshi will not attend due to the flare-up in tensions between the Us and Iran, its French producers and sales agent have confirmed.
“Massoud Bakhshi is proud the film was selected by Sundance and is happy for it to be screened in public there,” Paris-based Jba Production company and sales company Pyramide International said in a statement. “He has never considered asking for it to be withdrawn, on the contrary,...
- 1/14/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The film by Iran’s Massoud Bakhshi, a French majority production staged by Jba and sold by Pyramide, will have its international premiere at Park City as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Having risen to fame in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2012 with A Respectable Family, Iranian filmmaker Massoud Bakhshi is due to unveil the international premiere of his second feature, Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness – produced by France together with Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lebanon and Iran – in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition of the 36th Sundance Film Festival (23 January-2 February 2020).The story, written by the director himself, is set in Iran in the present day. Maryam (22) accidentally kills her husband Nasser (65) and is sentenced to death. The only person who can save her is Mona, Nasser's daughter. All Mona has to do is appear on a popular live TV show and forgive...
18 European co-productions will be debuting in competition at the Us gathering, including movies by Zeina Durra, Amanda Kernell and Visar Morina. Three UK co-productions – Zeina Durra’s romance Luxor, Aneil Karia’s robbery yarn Surge and Brandon Cronenberg’s avatar thriller Possessor – make up a quarter of the films selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival (23 January-2 February 2020). They shall be competing against the Swedish divorce drama Charter by Amanda Kernell; writer-director Maïmouna Doucouré’s Cuties, about young French dancers; writer-director Zoé Wittock’s Jumbo, a French-Luxembourgish-Belgian tale set in an amusement park; and the German-Belgian-Kosovar co-production about bullying in the workplace Exil, written and directed by Visar Morina. There is also Italian involvement in Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s African-set story This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection, and French, German and Swiss involvement in Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness. Ten of the.
Films presented last year include Golden Bear wiunner Touch Me Not and Critics’ Week winner Diamantino.
This year’s Torino Film Lab (Tfl) will once again showcase 10 films developed within its programmes at the upcoming Meeting Event (23-24 November).
The projects, to be presented at the Coming Soon night, are all works in progress in their final stages of completion, half of which are still looking for a sales agent.
2018 has been an important year for many of the films previewed at last year’s Coming Soon event. Adina Pintilie Touch Me Not went on to win the Golden Bear at the Berlinale,...
This year’s Torino Film Lab (Tfl) will once again showcase 10 films developed within its programmes at the upcoming Meeting Event (23-24 November).
The projects, to be presented at the Coming Soon night, are all works in progress in their final stages of completion, half of which are still looking for a sales agent.
2018 has been an important year for many of the films previewed at last year’s Coming Soon event. Adina Pintilie Touch Me Not went on to win the Golden Bear at the Berlinale,...
- 10/25/2018
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
The Paris-based company has sealed deals to Greece, Turkey and Germany amongst others.
Sergei Loznitsa’s new drama Donbass, reflecting on the bloody conflict in Eastern Ukraine, has secured a number of theatrical deals ahead of opening Un Certain Regard today (May 9).
Paris-based Pyramide International has sold the film to Greece (Ama Film), Turkey (Fabula Films), Germany (Salzgeber & Co), Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic), Poland (Against Gravity) and Benelux (Imagine Films). Sister company Pyramide Distribution will release the film in France.
The Ukrainian filmmaker returns to Cannes for a sixth time with Donbass, having previously premiered in Competition with A Gentle Creature,...
Sergei Loznitsa’s new drama Donbass, reflecting on the bloody conflict in Eastern Ukraine, has secured a number of theatrical deals ahead of opening Un Certain Regard today (May 9).
Paris-based Pyramide International has sold the film to Greece (Ama Film), Turkey (Fabula Films), Germany (Salzgeber & Co), Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic), Poland (Against Gravity) and Benelux (Imagine Films). Sister company Pyramide Distribution will release the film in France.
The Ukrainian filmmaker returns to Cannes for a sixth time with Donbass, having previously premiered in Competition with A Gentle Creature,...
- 5/9/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
After working in film criticism and commencing his filmography in the docu form, Massoud Bakhshi saw his feature debut land a spot at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight with 2012’s A Respectable Family. The Tehran-born filmmaker came to the labs with his second narrative feature. Known primarily for American indie, Sundance Institute has been supporting global cinema including this project Yalda – a drama based on true events. Supported by the Torino Film Lab, and landing the Global Filmmaking Award from Sundance, filming on this co-production is expected to begin in 2018. Here is my sit-down with Bakhshi.… Read the rest
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- 4/3/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
€5m funding is shared between 17 fiction, 2 animation and 1 documentary films.
Following its 150th meeting in Yerevan, Armenia from March 13-16, European cinema body Eurimages has awarded funding to 20 film projects.
Of the supported titles, 17 are fiction, two are animated and one is a documentary. 30% of those receiving support have female directors, who cumulatively receive 34% of the total money awarded.
See below for the full list of projects
Among the projects are Bergman Island, the next film from French director Mia Hansen-Løve (Things To Come). Launched at Cannes last year, the story centres on an American filmmaking couple who find the...
Following its 150th meeting in Yerevan, Armenia from March 13-16, European cinema body Eurimages has awarded funding to 20 film projects.
Of the supported titles, 17 are fiction, two are animated and one is a documentary. 30% of those receiving support have female directors, who cumulatively receive 34% of the total money awarded.
See below for the full list of projects
Among the projects are Bergman Island, the next film from French director Mia Hansen-Løve (Things To Come). Launched at Cannes last year, the story centres on an American filmmaking couple who find the...
- 3/19/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance 2017 juries and audiences unveiled their picks on Saturday night.
In the grand jury prizes, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore claimed the Us dramatic award and Dina by Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini won U.S. documentary.
Tarik Saleh’s The Nile Hilton Incident won world dramatic and Last Men In Aleppo by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen prevailed in the world documentary category.
In the audience awards, Matt Ruski’s Crown Heights and Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral were the favourites in the Us dramatic and documentary strands.
World cinema selections I Dream In Another Language by Ernesto Contreras and Joe Piscatella’s Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower emerged victorious in the dramatic and documentary sections.
“This has been one of the wildest, wackiest and most rewarding festivals in recent memory,” said festival director John Cooper. “From a new government to the independently organised Women’s March On Main...
In the grand jury prizes, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore claimed the Us dramatic award and Dina by Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini won U.S. documentary.
Tarik Saleh’s The Nile Hilton Incident won world dramatic and Last Men In Aleppo by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen prevailed in the world documentary category.
In the audience awards, Matt Ruski’s Crown Heights and Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral were the favourites in the Us dramatic and documentary strands.
World cinema selections I Dream In Another Language by Ernesto Contreras and Joe Piscatella’s Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower emerged victorious in the dramatic and documentary sections.
“This has been one of the wildest, wackiest and most rewarding festivals in recent memory,” said festival director John Cooper. “From a new government to the independently organised Women’s March On Main...
- 1/29/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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