French film promotional organization Unifrance put talent in the spotlight at this year’s Rendez-Vous in Paris, where the 10 actors and filmmakers selected as 2024’s Talents to Watch were fêted with flutes of champagne at France’s Ministry of Culture before being introduced to the international press at a dedicated event.
For more than a decade, the 10 to Watch program has pinpointed the creative talents breathing modernity and vitality into contemporary French cinema. Think of a Gallic artist that’s made international waves over the past decade, and chances are they made this list. Here are the voices taking the industry forward in the years to come.
Sofia Alaoui
Sofia Alaoui
Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease.
The upcoming film will follow Meryam, a 40-something...
For more than a decade, the 10 to Watch program has pinpointed the creative talents breathing modernity and vitality into contemporary French cinema. Think of a Gallic artist that’s made international waves over the past decade, and chances are they made this list. Here are the voices taking the industry forward in the years to come.
Sofia Alaoui
Sofia Alaoui
Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease.
The upcoming film will follow Meryam, a 40-something...
- 1/23/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Recently honored as one of Unifrance’s 10 to Watch, Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease.
Named for (and inspired by) a remote, coastal town on the country’s Saharan border, “Tarfaya” imagines a not-too-distant world of extreme atmospheric swings, of severe heat giving way to more intense storms, all while daily life trudges on. The film will follow Meryam, a forty-something nurse working at a secluded hospital beset by a mysterious new plague linked to the destabilizing environment.
“At first, the patients become delirious, falling into delusions,” Alaoui explains. “Later they fall into a deep sleep, as if they’re disconnecting from the world in which they live. The film builds from this wistful tone where the characters become accustomed to a form of apocalypse.
Named for (and inspired by) a remote, coastal town on the country’s Saharan border, “Tarfaya” imagines a not-too-distant world of extreme atmospheric swings, of severe heat giving way to more intense storms, all while daily life trudges on. The film will follow Meryam, a forty-something nurse working at a secluded hospital beset by a mysterious new plague linked to the destabilizing environment.
“At first, the patients become delirious, falling into delusions,” Alaoui explains. “Later they fall into a deep sleep, as if they’re disconnecting from the world in which they live. The film builds from this wistful tone where the characters become accustomed to a form of apocalypse.
- 1/20/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
When the balance of the universe is disturbed, the hierarchy of nature’s totem can be reconfigured. If the earth’s creatures are more closely attuned to possible upheaval, the less fortunate to deal with chaos theory might actually be those who believe they own the space. Grounded in naturalism with a sprinkling of sci-fi, Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui‘s feature debut challenges the eco-systems of class divide and co-habitation with a compass that points in all directions. With ambiguous forces that are undefined, Animalia reminds us that when the rapture is close that social currency carries more weight than technology or bank account balances.…...
- 1/10/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Karim Debbagh‘s leading Tangier-based line producer Kasbah Films has secured a raft of U.S. and U.K. projects that will lense in Morocco, including “Lords of War,” the sequel to “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage as the world’s most notorious arms dealer.
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work on “Lords of War,” which is expected to start shooting in March for approximately 40 days and is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, alongside Cage’s Saturn Films. Debbagh is currently scouting locations across Morocco.
“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” said the veteran producer, who seemed overjoyed to restart scouting after having been forced to pause for eight months due to the...
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work on “Lords of War,” which is expected to start shooting in March for approximately 40 days and is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, alongside Cage’s Saturn Films. Debbagh is currently scouting locations across Morocco.
“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” said the veteran producer, who seemed overjoyed to restart scouting after having been forced to pause for eight months due to the...
- 12/3/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
The Marrakech Film Festival’s sixth Atlas Workshops kicks off today under the fresh curation of former indie film sales agent and publicist Hédi Zardi.
Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.
Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.
Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.
After eight years on the sales circuit,...
Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.
Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.
Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.
After eight years on the sales circuit,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Now entering its sixth edition, the Marrakech Film Festival’s industry-focused Atlas Workshops can expect its busiest year to date. Showcasing rising talents from the Mena world, the production spotlight will welcome more than 200 industry delegates — among them 15 sales companies — and will co-ordinate 460 professional meetings as part of its co-production market.
And though artistic patron Martin Scorsese had to cancel his trip at the last minute, this year’s workshop will still see a wider U.S. presence, hosting a delegation of producers brought over through Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program, and, for the first time, welcoming acquisition execs from A24.
Atlas Workshops director Hedi Zardi tells Variety that his program received more than 600 professional requests, and will organize 100 more meetings than they did last year. And given the Workshops’ stellar track record — with Atlas supported projects premiering and winning prizes in Berlin, Cannes and Venice just this...
And though artistic patron Martin Scorsese had to cancel his trip at the last minute, this year’s workshop will still see a wider U.S. presence, hosting a delegation of producers brought over through Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program, and, for the first time, welcoming acquisition execs from A24.
Atlas Workshops director Hedi Zardi tells Variety that his program received more than 600 professional requests, and will organize 100 more meetings than they did last year. And given the Workshops’ stellar track record — with Atlas supported projects premiering and winning prizes in Berlin, Cannes and Venice just this...
- 11/25/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Film Clinic is set to dominate the lineup of the highly anticipated third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival — which is scheduled to run from Nov 30, 2023 – Sat, Dec 9, 2023 — with the prolific production and distribution shingle boasting four of its titles in the festival. Coming in first in Arab Spectacular section titles Hajjan and Four Daughters. In Competition — Backstage and showcasing in the Festival Favourites section — Animalia.
Hajjan
Abu Bakr Shawky's latest Hajjan, produced by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) & Film Clinic. It had its World Premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival.– It is also produced by Mohamed Hefzy and Majed Zuhair Samman, co-produced by The
Imaginarium Films' Rula Nasser, and distributed by Film Clinic Indie Distribution in the Arab world while Film Constellation has the
worldwide rights. It revolves around brothers Matar and Ghanim, who live in the endless desert of Saudi Arabia.
Hajjan
Abu Bakr Shawky's latest Hajjan, produced by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) & Film Clinic. It had its World Premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival.– It is also produced by Mohamed Hefzy and Majed Zuhair Samman, co-produced by The
Imaginarium Films' Rula Nasser, and distributed by Film Clinic Indie Distribution in the Arab world while Film Constellation has the
worldwide rights. It revolves around brothers Matar and Ghanim, who live in the endless desert of Saudi Arabia.
- 11/12/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has announced a new batch of mostly international titles set to launch in its Festival Favorites and Treasures strands, including the international premiere of U.S. actor-turned-director Jennifer Esposito’s New York City mob drama “Fresh Kills.”
Inspired by Esposito’s upbringing in Staten Island, “Fresh Kills” – in which Esposito co-stars with Annabella Sciorra – bowed stateside at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Other international talents peppered throughout the Red Sea sections likely to be making the trek to Saudi include Anna Kendrick with her period crime drama “Woman of the Hour”; David Oyelowo, producer of high-profile soccer doc “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story”; Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn for Swedish director Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch”; Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers of “Copa 71,” the story of the groundbreaking 1971 Women’s World Cup; and French writer-director Laetitia Colombani with her drama “The Braid.
Inspired by Esposito’s upbringing in Staten Island, “Fresh Kills” – in which Esposito co-stars with Annabella Sciorra – bowed stateside at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Other international talents peppered throughout the Red Sea sections likely to be making the trek to Saudi include Anna Kendrick with her period crime drama “Woman of the Hour”; David Oyelowo, producer of high-profile soccer doc “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story”; Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn for Swedish director Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch”; Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers of “Copa 71,” the story of the groundbreaking 1971 Women’s World Cup; and French writer-director Laetitia Colombani with her drama “The Braid.
- 11/9/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
‘Slow’ and ‘Animalia’ both world premiered to acclaim at Sundance while ’The Hypnosis’ picked up prizes at Karlovy Vary.
Paris-based Totem Films has agreed a slew of deals for acclaimed Sundance premieres Slow and Animalia as well as Karlovy Vary-winning feature The Hypnosis.
Marija Kavtaradze’s second feature Slow has sold to KimStim for theatrical distribution in North America and to Conic Film for the UK and Ireland. It was also scooped up by Salzgeber in Germany, Filmin in Spain, Falcon for Indonesia, New Horizons in Poland and HBO for Eastern Europe.
Slow world premiered at Sundance this year in...
Paris-based Totem Films has agreed a slew of deals for acclaimed Sundance premieres Slow and Animalia as well as Karlovy Vary-winning feature The Hypnosis.
Marija Kavtaradze’s second feature Slow has sold to KimStim for theatrical distribution in North America and to Conic Film for the UK and Ireland. It was also scooped up by Salzgeber in Germany, Filmin in Spain, Falcon for Indonesia, New Horizons in Poland and HBO for Eastern Europe.
Slow world premiered at Sundance this year in...
- 11/8/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 25 projects selected for the sixth edition of its industry-focused Atlas Workshops, aimed at nurturing emerging Moroccan, Arab and African talent.
Running from November 27 to 30, the event will present 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries, selected from among the 320 applications received from the Arab world and African continent.
In a reflection of the growing diversity of the stories being told by Arab and African independent filmmakers, the selection spans a diverse range of film genres, from Lebanese director Sandra Tabet’s horror picture Rabies to Moroccan filmmaker Hind Bensari’s humanist documentary Out of School and Adnane Baraka’s poetic work We Don’t Forget.
Moroccan filmmaker Baraka made waves with his documentary Fragments from Heaven, about a nomad living in a tent in a remote part of Morocco who goes in search of meteorite fragments to boost the family fortunes.
Running from November 27 to 30, the event will present 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries, selected from among the 320 applications received from the Arab world and African continent.
In a reflection of the growing diversity of the stories being told by Arab and African independent filmmakers, the selection spans a diverse range of film genres, from Lebanese director Sandra Tabet’s horror picture Rabies to Moroccan filmmaker Hind Bensari’s humanist documentary Out of School and Adnane Baraka’s poetic work We Don’t Forget.
Moroccan filmmaker Baraka made waves with his documentary Fragments from Heaven, about a nomad living in a tent in a remote part of Morocco who goes in search of meteorite fragments to boost the family fortunes.
- 11/3/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Festival has programmed 75 films from 36 countries.
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which runs from November 24-December 2.
The festival is opening with Richard Linklater’s action comedy Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, and is screening 75 films in total from 36 countries.
Marrakech’s official competition, which comprises first and second feature films, includes Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes Competition title Banel & Adama, Lina Soualem’s Venice Giornate degli Autori documentary Bye Bye Tiberias and Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s feature debut Hounds, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Scroll down for full line-up
Johnny Barrington,...
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which runs from November 24-December 2.
The festival is opening with Richard Linklater’s action comedy Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, and is screening 75 films in total from 36 countries.
Marrakech’s official competition, which comprises first and second feature films, includes Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes Competition title Banel & Adama, Lina Soualem’s Venice Giornate degli Autori documentary Bye Bye Tiberias and Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s feature debut Hounds, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Scroll down for full line-up
Johnny Barrington,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Richard Linklater’s action comedy “Hit Man” is set to open the Marrakech International Film Festival, which has announced its lineup of more than 70 films mixing known titles and fresh fare.
The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov. 24- Dec.2 in the ancient Moroccan city despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.
“Hit Man,” for which organizers declined to specify whether talent will attend, will screen as part of Marrakech’s red carpet gala screenings. Italian director Matteo Garrone is expected to make the trek for the gala of his Venice prizewinning immigration drama “Io Capitano” and Michel Franco will be coming to present another Venice prizewinner, “Memory,” starring Jessica Chastain, who is presiding over the fest’s main jury.
Also expected on hand for...
The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov. 24- Dec.2 in the ancient Moroccan city despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.
“Hit Man,” for which organizers declined to specify whether talent will attend, will screen as part of Marrakech’s red carpet gala screenings. Italian director Matteo Garrone is expected to make the trek for the gala of his Venice prizewinning immigration drama “Io Capitano” and Michel Franco will be coming to present another Venice prizewinner, “Memory,” starring Jessica Chastain, who is presiding over the fest’s main jury.
Also expected on hand for...
- 11/2/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Fantastic Fest is currently winding down in Austin, Texas, with two more days of blood-splattered programming unfurling at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.
But before the festival concludes (with a closing-night screening of Nahnatchka Khan’s “Totally Killer”), TheWrap can exclusively reveal the winners from this year’s festival – in all of their gore-drenched glory.
“We were graced with wonderful films from around the world this year,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest, in an official statement. “Curating this diverse showcase of cinema for our esteemed jurors was a real privilege. With so many incredible perspectives represented, their job reviewing these fantastic movies was undeniably challenging. Their thoughtful and professional critiques of each work embody the cinematic excellence we love to champion at Fantastic Fest.”
Choosing the very best films of this year’s festival must have been though; not only were there a ton of...
But before the festival concludes (with a closing-night screening of Nahnatchka Khan’s “Totally Killer”), TheWrap can exclusively reveal the winners from this year’s festival – in all of their gore-drenched glory.
“We were graced with wonderful films from around the world this year,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest, in an official statement. “Curating this diverse showcase of cinema for our esteemed jurors was a real privilege. With so many incredible perspectives represented, their job reviewing these fantastic movies was undeniably challenging. Their thoughtful and professional critiques of each work embody the cinematic excellence we love to champion at Fantastic Fest.”
Choosing the very best films of this year’s festival must have been though; not only were there a ton of...
- 9/26/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Director and screenwriter Sofia Alaoui has signed with WME for representation in all areas. She continues to be represented by Jerome Duboz of Ithaka Media.
Born in Casablanca and raised in China, Alaoui is a French-Moroccan artist with an aim to create cinema that spans across borders and bends genres in new ways. After premiering her feature directorial debut, “Animalia” at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Alaoui won a special jury prize for creative vision. The film is a science fiction film that’s rooted in realism with political themes.
Her short film “So What If The Goats Die,” which tells the story of an extraterrestrial invasion in Imilchil (a Berber village located in the Atlas Mountains), won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and the César Award for Best Short Film in 2021.
Alaoui has since redirected her talents to TV and is now developing the series, “Let...
Born in Casablanca and raised in China, Alaoui is a French-Moroccan artist with an aim to create cinema that spans across borders and bends genres in new ways. After premiering her feature directorial debut, “Animalia” at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Alaoui won a special jury prize for creative vision. The film is a science fiction film that’s rooted in realism with political themes.
Her short film “So What If The Goats Die,” which tells the story of an extraterrestrial invasion in Imilchil (a Berber village located in the Atlas Mountains), won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and the César Award for Best Short Film in 2021.
Alaoui has since redirected her talents to TV and is now developing the series, “Let...
- 8/28/2023
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Mubi has snagged all rights for the film in Germany and Austria and will release it theatrically in those territories.
Paris-based international sales and production house Totem Films has sold Anna Roller’s road movie Dead Girls Dancing to Mubi for Germany and Austria following the film’s parallel Tribeca and Munich premieres in June, and has boarded the German writer-director’s second feature Manatee, which they will also co-produce.
Mubi has snagged all rights for the film and will release it theatrically in those territories.
Dead Girls Dancing, Roller’s debut feature, is produced by the company’s production...
Paris-based international sales and production house Totem Films has sold Anna Roller’s road movie Dead Girls Dancing to Mubi for Germany and Austria following the film’s parallel Tribeca and Munich premieres in June, and has boarded the German writer-director’s second feature Manatee, which they will also co-produce.
Mubi has snagged all rights for the film and will release it theatrically in those territories.
Dead Girls Dancing, Roller’s debut feature, is produced by the company’s production...
- 8/21/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The Melbourne International Film Festival has confirmed that it will provide $202,000 will go to the winner of its Bright Horizons competition for features by first- and second-time directors. Bragging rights to being the richest film competition in the country previously belonged to the smaller CinefestOZ festival in West Australia, which follows later in August.
The Melbourne festival (in cinemas Aug. 3-20) has this year added two significant prizes: the inaugural First Nations Film Creative Award in collaboration with Kearney Group, and the return of the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, worth $47,500 recognizing an outstanding Australian creative within a film playing in the Melbourne 2023 program.
Winners across long-form awards categories will be announced at Melbourne’s closing night gala on Aug. 19, These will include the juried prizes and the Miff Audience Award.
The First Nations Film Creative Award supports First Nations talent and storytelling with the recipient awarded a $13,500 cash prize and $16,900 worth of financial services.
The Melbourne festival (in cinemas Aug. 3-20) has this year added two significant prizes: the inaugural First Nations Film Creative Award in collaboration with Kearney Group, and the return of the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, worth $47,500 recognizing an outstanding Australian creative within a film playing in the Melbourne 2023 program.
Winners across long-form awards categories will be announced at Melbourne’s closing night gala on Aug. 19, These will include the juried prizes and the Miff Audience Award.
The First Nations Film Creative Award supports First Nations talent and storytelling with the recipient awarded a $13,500 cash prize and $16,900 worth of financial services.
- 7/27/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes titles and debut features make strong appearances throughout the programme.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
- 7/11/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Cannes titles and debut features make strong appearances throughout the programme.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
- 7/11/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
The Melbourne International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 2023 edition, with “Shayda,” by Iranian-Australian director Noora Niasari, set as the opening title.
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the Covid pandemic and Miff found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.
International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,...
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the Covid pandemic and Miff found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.
International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,...
- 7/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
For more than two decades, the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff) has been a draw for genre filmmakers from across the globe and a pull for Swiss youth. Heading into its 22nd edition, which runs June 30 – July 8, the lakeside event will once again showcase the kind outré and audacious fare that Neuchatel’s reliable and devoted young public has come to expect, while continuing to bridge outward, welcoming more unfamiliar faces into the fold.
“By instinct, influence, and mutual attraction, genre cinema will always appeal to the young,” says Nifff director Pierre-Yves Walder. “In fact, Nifff attracts one of the youngest publics of any Swiss festival, but I’d like to convert different audiences of perhaps different ages as well. And not just for commercial reasons; I find it so interesting and essential to mix things up.”
Showcasing 124 films, including eight world premieres and seven international launches, this year...
“By instinct, influence, and mutual attraction, genre cinema will always appeal to the young,” says Nifff director Pierre-Yves Walder. “In fact, Nifff attracts one of the youngest publics of any Swiss festival, but I’d like to convert different audiences of perhaps different ages as well. And not just for commercial reasons; I find it so interesting and essential to mix things up.”
Showcasing 124 films, including eight world premieres and seven international launches, this year...
- 6/23/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Pape Boye’s Black Mic Mac, a recently launched banner championing African and Middle Eastern talent, is kicking off a strong first roster of projects including “Let the Earth Burn” from Sundance-prizewinning Sofia Alaoui and “The Bridge” creator Måns Mårlind.
“Let the Earth Burn” is a six-part series following Kenza, a recent graduate of the police academy working in a remote station nestled in the Atlas Mountains. Surrounded by misogynistic colleagues, she starts investigating on the disappearance of some shepherds’ children.
Alaoui’s credits include “So What if the Goats Die,” which won best short film at Cannes and Sundance in 2021, and “Animalia,” which won the Grand Jury prize at this year’s Sundance. Mårlind is one Europe’s best-known series’ creator with credits including “Midnight Sun” and “The Bridge” and “Shadowplay.” The film is produced by Barney Prods. and co-produced by Black Mic Mac. Other projects on the outfit...
“Let the Earth Burn” is a six-part series following Kenza, a recent graduate of the police academy working in a remote station nestled in the Atlas Mountains. Surrounded by misogynistic colleagues, she starts investigating on the disappearance of some shepherds’ children.
Alaoui’s credits include “So What if the Goats Die,” which won best short film at Cannes and Sundance in 2021, and “Animalia,” which won the Grand Jury prize at this year’s Sundance. Mårlind is one Europe’s best-known series’ creator with credits including “Midnight Sun” and “The Bridge” and “Shadowplay.” The film is produced by Barney Prods. and co-produced by Black Mic Mac. Other projects on the outfit...
- 5/20/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After receiving some Cnc Coin back in March of ’22, French filmmaker Lucie Prost is to begin production on what sounds like if you were to mix echo-drama Haynes’ Dark Water merged with Nichols’ Take Shelter. She has been able to lasso Finnegan Oldfield (Final Cut), Daphné Patakia (Benedetta) and Florent Loiret Caille for Les truites – the French word for trout. Production is set for June and July with cinematographer Noé Bach whose recent films include A-list film festival preemed Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s Anaïs in Love (2021), Guillaume Gouix’s Amore mio (2022) and Sofia Alaoui’s Animalia (2023) is onboard here.…...
- 4/20/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
A careful camera takes note of the placid symmetries of a gated house in a desert location. A fountain flows in the courtyard. A chandelier hangs in the hallway. Rococo chairs share plush rooms with Middle Eastern mosaics under elaborate wooden ceilings — a clash of aesthetic influences that signify wealth even above geography or culture. In the kitchen, Itto (an excellent Oumaïma Barid) — beautiful, young, heavily pregnant — chats cheerfully with the staff, relaxed and easy. Until, that is, her mother-in-law enters and a frosty hush settles. Director Sofia Alaoui sets up “Animalia” as an intimate dissection of the foibles and hypocrisies of Morocco’s moneyed classes. But Amine Bouhafa’s fine score, all ominous cello and somber bass, suggests that something more profound and destabilizing than the class divide is lying in wait, just beyond the hazy horizon.
Alaoui’s award-winning short film “So What If the Goats Die,” which was also gorgeously,...
Alaoui’s award-winning short film “So What If the Goats Die,” which was also gorgeously,...
- 1/21/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
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