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Russian filmmakers had been doing their best to build up new international cultural relations and embed our country into a global art world. Vladimir Putin has unearthed the hatchet and buried all these efforts by our national talents.
On Feb. 24, President Putin declared war on Ukraine in all but name. But war has been waged inside Russia for years. Culture — cinema to be exact — has become a battlefield. We now have to stand up for the right to talk about issues we have been discussing for decades.
The so-called “gay propaganda” law, the infamous anti-gay legislation, has prevented LGBTQ filmmakers like me from representing my community without demeaning euphemisms. It was impossible, for example, in my country to shoot and release a series about a 15-year-old transgender girl. I’ve seen such stories seep into pitching sessions, only to be killed before getting the green light.
Russian filmmakers had been doing their best to build up new international cultural relations and embed our country into a global art world. Vladimir Putin has unearthed the hatchet and buried all these efforts by our national talents.
On Feb. 24, President Putin declared war on Ukraine in all but name. But war has been waged inside Russia for years. Culture — cinema to be exact — has become a battlefield. We now have to stand up for the right to talk about issues we have been discussing for decades.
The so-called “gay propaganda” law, the infamous anti-gay legislation, has prevented LGBTQ filmmakers like me from representing my community without demeaning euphemisms. It was impossible, for example, in my country to shoot and release a series about a 15-year-old transgender girl. I’ve seen such stories seep into pitching sessions, only to be killed before getting the green light.
- 8/3/2022
- by Dima Barch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Russian theatre and film director was first spotted in Paris.
Russian film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov has left Russia following the lifting of a travel ban and suspended prison sentence linked to a contested embezzlement case.
News of his departure from Russia emerged on social networks on Tuesday evening (March 29) after Joël Chapron, who oversees Central and Eastern Europe for promotional body Unifrance, posted a picture on his Facebook account of Serebrennikov in Paris, with its historic Place de la Bastille in the background.
The move was confirmed by Ilya Stewart, Serebrennikov’s long-time film producer, of Moscow-based film company Hype.
Russian film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov has left Russia following the lifting of a travel ban and suspended prison sentence linked to a contested embezzlement case.
News of his departure from Russia emerged on social networks on Tuesday evening (March 29) after Joël Chapron, who oversees Central and Eastern Europe for promotional body Unifrance, posted a picture on his Facebook account of Serebrennikov in Paris, with its historic Place de la Bastille in the background.
The move was confirmed by Ilya Stewart, Serebrennikov’s long-time film producer, of Moscow-based film company Hype.
- 3/30/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Top Russian producer Alexander Rodnyansky, who was Oscar nominated for Andrey Zvyagintsev’s films “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” is reteaming with Zvyagintsev for his first English-language film, and with Kantemir Balagov, who directed “Beanpole,” best director winner in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2019. Rodnyansky will also co-produce a documentary by Godfrey Reggio alongside Steven Soderbergh.
Rodnyansky has two films in Cannes Festival this year: Oscar nominated Ari Folman’s Out of Competition title “Where Is Anne Frank,” and Kira Kovalenko’s Un Certain Regard selected “Unclenching the Fists.”
Zvyagintsev’s “What Happens,” which will be shot in the U.S., is written by Oleg Negin. It is a contemplation on the nature of human relationships, the state of modern man, and the fragility of human life. Rodnyansky and Zvyagintsev collaborated on “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” both of which were nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
“After Andrey finished working on ‘Loveless,...
Rodnyansky has two films in Cannes Festival this year: Oscar nominated Ari Folman’s Out of Competition title “Where Is Anne Frank,” and Kira Kovalenko’s Un Certain Regard selected “Unclenching the Fists.”
Zvyagintsev’s “What Happens,” which will be shot in the U.S., is written by Oleg Negin. It is a contemplation on the nature of human relationships, the state of modern man, and the fragility of human life. Rodnyansky and Zvyagintsev collaborated on “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” both of which were nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
“After Andrey finished working on ‘Loveless,...
- 7/7/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
HBO has tapped Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov to direct the pilot episode of HBO’s upcoming drama series The Last of Us, the adaptation of the PlayStation video game, from Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, game creator Neil Druckmann and Game of Thrones exec producer Carolyn Strauss.
Written by Druckmann and Mazin based on the acclaimed video game, the story takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, the Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog produce.
2020-21 HBO Pilots & Series Orders
Druckmann and Mazin executive produce alongside Strauss, Naughty Dog’s...
Written by Druckmann and Mazin based on the acclaimed video game, the story takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, the Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog produce.
2020-21 HBO Pilots & Series Orders
Druckmann and Mazin executive produce alongside Strauss, Naughty Dog’s...
- 1/16/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
The more that comes out about the HBO series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us, the more exciting this project sounds. The game, as well as its sequel, are landmarks for video games, telling moving and serious stories in a way any film would be jealous of. Now, the television series won’t just be show-run and written by Craig Mazin, alongside the game’s Neil Druckmann, but the pilot now has a top notch director attached. Who, you might ask? Well, none other than Kantemir Balagov, the filmmaker who emerged on the scene with Beanpole. A young up and comer, it’s a sure sign that HBO has very high hopes for this show. Read on for more… Here’s a bit from the story in The Hollywood Reporter: HBO’s The Last of Us has found a new director. Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov, the Cannes darling behind drama Beanpole,...
- 1/15/2021
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
HBO Max, Peacock, Quibi, Disney+! The wealth of streaming services new or upcoming this year is enough to keep your eyeballs glued to the screen indefinitely. But for classic and indie cinephiles stuck indoors right now, there are plenty of indie alternatives (which IndieWire covers in the weekly Streaming Wars: Indie Edition column). Along with virtual cinemas popping up left and right, and of course the stalwart Criterion Channel, there’s a new indie offering in town via Mubi.
The over-the-top distribution service has just debuted Library, which, if you remember the old days of Mubi, is very similar to the platform’s original conceit. Library is now a filmgoer’s dream warehouse filled with tons of independent and classic movies, black-and-white favorites as far back as 1922’s “Nosferatu,” and more recent fare like “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” Luca Guadagnino’s lavish short film “The Staggering Girl,” starring Julianne Moore, plus “Bruce Lee and the Outlaw,...
The over-the-top distribution service has just debuted Library, which, if you remember the old days of Mubi, is very similar to the platform’s original conceit. Library is now a filmgoer’s dream warehouse filled with tons of independent and classic movies, black-and-white favorites as far back as 1922’s “Nosferatu,” and more recent fare like “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda,” Luca Guadagnino’s lavish short film “The Staggering Girl,” starring Julianne Moore, plus “Bruce Lee and the Outlaw,...
- 5/23/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
We sat down with director Kantemir Balagov at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival following the premiere of his sophomore film Beanpole in Un Certain Regard. The director speaks of the process of re-creating post-wwii Leningrad as well as the process of casting unknown lead roles. Although Balagov didn’t concoct his film as a direct homage, we discussed noted influences on the construction of the narrative, including Aleksey German and Larisa Shepitko. While Balagov doesn’t provide any exact details of future projects, he plans on his next film being a contemporary narrative after his two period pieces, which includes his 1999 set debut Closeness (Tesnota).…...
- 2/10/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
28-year-old Kantemir Balagov’s second film “Beanpole” has sickness in its marrow. Russia’s shortlisted entry for the 2019 Best International Feature Film Academy Award centers on a sometimes-toxic symbiosis shared by two women in post-wwii Leningrad, damaged by their experiences on the battle lines and eking out what remains of an existence working in a veterans hospital — a rust-colored hovel in the ruins of the city.
This slow-motion twist of the gut features impressive first-time performances from two actors Balagov plucked from obscurity in a country-wide casting call. Viktoria Miroshnichenko plays the long-limbed, ghostlike, sickly Iya, aka Beanpole, who’s rattled by a Ptsd condition that causes sudden spells of shortness of breath. Vasilisa Perelygina plays Masha, prone to her own flights of mania, and the two women are locked in a folie a deux that careens from tenderness to freaky, vampiric obsession.
In taking a look at the breakdown...
This slow-motion twist of the gut features impressive first-time performances from two actors Balagov plucked from obscurity in a country-wide casting call. Viktoria Miroshnichenko plays the long-limbed, ghostlike, sickly Iya, aka Beanpole, who’s rattled by a Ptsd condition that causes sudden spells of shortness of breath. Vasilisa Perelygina plays Masha, prone to her own flights of mania, and the two women are locked in a folie a deux that careens from tenderness to freaky, vampiric obsession.
In taking a look at the breakdown...
- 1/7/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
‘Beanpole’ Director Kantemir Balagov on Female Loss, Russian History, and the Title’s Deeper Meaning
Photo by Richard Jopson
Having hailed from Alexander Sokurov’s directing school, Russian auteur Kantemir Balagov made a name for himself on the international film stage with his 2017 debut feature Closeness, which screened as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, and took home the Fipresci prize. Beanpole, his second feature film and one that also premiered at this year’s Un Certain Regard, is set in 1945 Leningrad in the immediate aftermath of WWII. The film tells the story of Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) and Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), two former combat pilots who attempt to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives amidst the devastating wreckage of war. As Iya and Masha grapple with the personal and national trauma left in its wake, Beanpole examines the ebb and flow of their knotty and at times toxic friendship—testing the strength of their bond, the weight of loneliness,...
Having hailed from Alexander Sokurov’s directing school, Russian auteur Kantemir Balagov made a name for himself on the international film stage with his 2017 debut feature Closeness, which screened as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, and took home the Fipresci prize. Beanpole, his second feature film and one that also premiered at this year’s Un Certain Regard, is set in 1945 Leningrad in the immediate aftermath of WWII. The film tells the story of Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) and Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), two former combat pilots who attempt to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives amidst the devastating wreckage of war. As Iya and Masha grapple with the personal and national trauma left in its wake, Beanpole examines the ebb and flow of their knotty and at times toxic friendship—testing the strength of their bond, the weight of loneliness,...
- 10/17/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Which film will follow on from ‘Roma’ in winning the prize?
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2020 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
This is the first year the award will be given under the new name of ‘best international feature film’, after a change in April from ‘foreign-language film’.
Scroll down for latest entries
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the Us with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
- 9/25/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Oscar-nominated producer Alexander Rodnyansky of Ar Content produced postwar drama.
In the run-up to the Canadian premiere in Tiff, Kino Lorber has acquired Us rights to Kantemir Balagov’s Cannes Un Certain Regard best director prize-winner and festival favourite Beanpole.
The postwar Leningrad-set drama just received its North American premiere in Telluride and screens in Tiff Contemporary World Cinema on Monday (9). After that it plays New York Film Festival and San Sebastian prior to a January 29, 2020, launch at New York’s Film Forum followed by nationwide rollout, and VOD and home video in spring.
Oscar-nominated producer Alexander Rodnyansky of Ar...
In the run-up to the Canadian premiere in Tiff, Kino Lorber has acquired Us rights to Kantemir Balagov’s Cannes Un Certain Regard best director prize-winner and festival favourite Beanpole.
The postwar Leningrad-set drama just received its North American premiere in Telluride and screens in Tiff Contemporary World Cinema on Monday (9). After that it plays New York Film Festival and San Sebastian prior to a January 29, 2020, launch at New York’s Film Forum followed by nationwide rollout, and VOD and home video in spring.
Oscar-nominated producer Alexander Rodnyansky of Ar...
- 9/5/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSJia Zhangke on the set of So Close to My LandThe latest from Jia Zhangke film is entitled So Close to My Land, an eight-chapter documentary that follows "esteemed Chinese writers Jia Pingwa, Yu Hua and Liang Hong" across four provinces. Jia also notes that the film is "an Eisenstein-styled film, with great subjective influence." Russian Ark filmmaker Aleksandr Sokurov has announced that he is shutting down his film foundation Primer Inotnatsii, which supports young Russian filmmakers, in response to pressure from Russia's culture ministry and a lack of funding. The organization helped producer Kantemir Balagov's Closeness, which Mubi premiered in May.Recommended VIEWINGThe first trailer for Takashi Miike's First Love, which follows an orphaned boxer caught in a turf war between Japanese yakuza and Chinese gangs. Read editor Daniel Kasman's review of the film here.
- 7/31/2019
- MUBI
The Cannes Film Festival may be one of the great celebrations for cinema on Earth, but even the best lineup doesn’t guarantee a strong market. Yes, movies sold at the 2019 edition: Highlights such as “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Neon/Hulu), “Les Miserables” (Amazon), “The Climb” (Sony Pictures Classics), and “Atlantics” (Netflix) found homes at the festival and will likely continue to generate buzz throughout the year. But the international context of the festival makes it hard to gauge how films that play in the cinephile-friendly gathering can find success in release. Needless to say, there were several Cannes highlights that ended the festival without North American distribution in place. Here are a few of them. If distributors are reading this, take note: We know you can do this.
“Bacurau”
Nothing in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Sonia Braga drama “Aquarius” could have prepared audiences for this unclassifiable dystopian Western fever dream,...
“Bacurau”
Nothing in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Sonia Braga drama “Aquarius” could have prepared audiences for this unclassifiable dystopian Western fever dream,...
- 5/26/2019
- by Eric Kohn and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
28-year-old writer-director Kantemir Balagov shocked and astonished many at Cannes just two years ago with his startlingly assured debut feature, “Closeness,” which won a Fipresci prize in the Un Certain Regard section. He returns in Ucr selection again, with another challenging and bleak statement set in his native Russia, and has earned the section’s Best Director prize for his efforts.
Read More: 2019 Cannes Film Festival: The 21 Most Anticipated Movies
In “Beanpole,” Balagov focuses his vision on a post-wwii world where two female friends, fresh off the battlefield where they fought as soldiers, try to cope with the severe Ptsd inflicted on them by the war.
Continue reading ‘Beanpole’: Kantemir Balagov’s WWII Drama Is Bleak, But A Deserving Ucr Best Director Winner [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
Read More: 2019 Cannes Film Festival: The 21 Most Anticipated Movies
In “Beanpole,” Balagov focuses his vision on a post-wwii world where two female friends, fresh off the battlefield where they fought as soldiers, try to cope with the severe Ptsd inflicted on them by the war.
Continue reading ‘Beanpole’: Kantemir Balagov’s WWII Drama Is Bleak, But A Deserving Ucr Best Director Winner [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
- 5/25/2019
- by Jordan Ruimy
- The Playlist
The Cannes Film Festival’s companion competition section, Un Certain Regard, unveiled its winners Friday night with the top prize going to tropical melodrama The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao from director Karim Ainouz.
Set in 1950 Rio de Janeiro, it centers on inseparable sisters Euridice and Guida who each have a dream: becoming a renowned pianist, or finding true love. Separated, they take control of their destiny, while never giving up on their hope of being reunited.
The Best Director Prize went to Kantemir Balagov for Beanpole which follows two young women as they search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives among the post-siege ruins of World War II-devastated Leningrad. Balagov previously won a Fipresci Prize with 2017’s Closeness.
The Jury Prize was awarded to Fire Will Come by Oliver Laxe. The Spanish film is about a man who is released from prison after a...
Set in 1950 Rio de Janeiro, it centers on inseparable sisters Euridice and Guida who each have a dream: becoming a renowned pianist, or finding true love. Separated, they take control of their destiny, while never giving up on their hope of being reunited.
The Best Director Prize went to Kantemir Balagov for Beanpole which follows two young women as they search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives among the post-siege ruins of World War II-devastated Leningrad. Balagov previously won a Fipresci Prize with 2017’s Closeness.
The Jury Prize was awarded to Fire Will Come by Oliver Laxe. The Spanish film is about a man who is released from prison after a...
- 5/24/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes–A poet, a romantic, and a stranger in a strange land, Adrian is a Romanian immigrant working as a night watchman at a car dealership in Cordoba. After leaving his old life behind, he falls in love with a Spanish singer who offers him a shot at reinvention. But when a money-making scheme by his shifty boss goes awry, Adrian himself has to face the consequences, threatening to put his very life in jeopardy.
“Parking” is the latest feature from Tudor Giurgiu, the veteran Romanian director and founder of the Transylvania Intl. Film Festival. Inspired by Marin Mălaicu-Hondrari’s “Apropierea” (Closeness), which was a bestseller after its 2010 release in Romania, it stars Mihai Smarandache, along with rising Spanish star Belén Cuesta, Ariadna Gil (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), and two-time Goya Award winner Luis Bermejo. “Parking” will open the 18th edition of the Transilvania fest, which bows May 31 in Cluj, Romania.
“Parking” is the latest feature from Tudor Giurgiu, the veteran Romanian director and founder of the Transylvania Intl. Film Festival. Inspired by Marin Mălaicu-Hondrari’s “Apropierea” (Closeness), which was a bestseller after its 2010 release in Romania, it stars Mihai Smarandache, along with rising Spanish star Belén Cuesta, Ariadna Gil (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), and two-time Goya Award winner Luis Bermejo. “Parking” will open the 18th edition of the Transilvania fest, which bows May 31 in Cluj, Romania.
- 5/22/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes — Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s $100 million private film fund Kinoprime is ready for business, the fund’s CEO, Anton Malyshev, said in Cannes this week.
Financed to the tune of $100 million over the next three years, the fund can provide up to 50% of a film’s production budget, with a $2 million cap per project. Its first investment, “Fairy,” the new feature from Berlinale prize winner Anna Melikyan (“Mars”), is currently in post-production and will be released in Russia later this year.
The former managing director of the Russian State Film Fund, Malyshev said Kinoprime would meet a need currently unaddressed by the state funding mechanism. “The Russian cinema fund has just one aim: to make Russian films more box office in Russia. It’s about blockbusters,” said Malyshev. “We need quality movies—not only blockbusters. Very good art projects are good for us.”
He added that for an industry...
Financed to the tune of $100 million over the next three years, the fund can provide up to 50% of a film’s production budget, with a $2 million cap per project. Its first investment, “Fairy,” the new feature from Berlinale prize winner Anna Melikyan (“Mars”), is currently in post-production and will be released in Russia later this year.
The former managing director of the Russian State Film Fund, Malyshev said Kinoprime would meet a need currently unaddressed by the state funding mechanism. “The Russian cinema fund has just one aim: to make Russian films more box office in Russia. It’s about blockbusters,” said Malyshev. “We need quality movies—not only blockbusters. Very good art projects are good for us.”
He added that for an industry...
- 5/19/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The first sounds, over the black of the opening titles, are of tiny, gasping breaths catching in a throat. It could be a death rattle or an asthma attack or the last throes of a strangulation, but it is undoubtedly a human in distress. And it’s a very close analog for how “Beanpole,” the slow, ferocious, and extraordinary second film from blazing 27-year-old Russian talent Kantemir Balagov can make you feel. You quite often have to remind yourself to breathe.
These noises are coming from Iya (Viktoria Mironshnichenko), also known as Beanpole due to the almost freakishly tall figure she cuts, with her skin so pale, hair so fair, and eyes so huge under vanishing white eyelashes. She is experiencing one of her regular Ptsd-related fits, frozen in place and dissociated, in the laundry of the overworked Leningrad veterans hospital in which she works as a nurse, in the...
These noises are coming from Iya (Viktoria Mironshnichenko), also known as Beanpole due to the almost freakishly tall figure she cuts, with her skin so pale, hair so fair, and eyes so huge under vanishing white eyelashes. She is experiencing one of her regular Ptsd-related fits, frozen in place and dissociated, in the laundry of the overworked Leningrad veterans hospital in which she works as a nurse, in the...
- 5/18/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) suffers from post-concussion syndrome after fighting on the frontlines during the Siege. Now a nurse in a musty Leningrad hospital that heaves with the dead and dying, she’s prone to sudden fits of paralysis; her muscles freeze, her voice is swallowed by a feeble croak, and her long alabaster body is no longer under her control. In these vulnerable moments, Iya truly earns the nickname that gives “Beanpole” its title: The crane-like twenty-something — whose white eyebrows make it seem as though the cold she experienced in the army may have altered her on a genetic level — goes stiff as a stick, and would tip right over at the slightest touch.
Iya’s condition may be unique, but she’s far from the only character in Kantemir Balagov’s stolid yet achingly sympathetic post-war drama who’s struggling to regain a hold on themselves. Many of the...
Iya’s condition may be unique, but she’s far from the only character in Kantemir Balagov’s stolid yet achingly sympathetic post-war drama who’s struggling to regain a hold on themselves. Many of the...
- 5/16/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Exclusive: After winning the Fipresci prize for Tesnota (Closeness) two years ago at Cannes, Russian director Kantemir Balagov returns with Beanpole a story about the plight of two women in a devastated post WWII Leningrad.
Iya and Masha search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins. The film premieres tonight at 7:15 pm in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. You can watch an early clip above in which some war survivors goad a young child to bark like a dog, for their own entertainment. Beanpole is produced by Leviathan and Loveless producers Alexander Rodnyansky and Sergey Melkumov. Leviathan won best screenplay at Cannes in 2014 while Loveless took the Jury Prize in 2017. Both pics were nominated in the best foreign film category at the Oscars and were Russia’s submissions. Wild Bunch is handling overseas sales.
Says Balagov in a statement:...
Iya and Masha search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins. The film premieres tonight at 7:15 pm in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. You can watch an early clip above in which some war survivors goad a young child to bark like a dog, for their own entertainment. Beanpole is produced by Leviathan and Loveless producers Alexander Rodnyansky and Sergey Melkumov. Leviathan won best screenplay at Cannes in 2014 while Loveless took the Jury Prize in 2017. Both pics were nominated in the best foreign film category at the Oscars and were Russia’s submissions. Wild Bunch is handling overseas sales.
Says Balagov in a statement:...
- 5/16/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Kantemir Balagov comes from Kabardino-Balkaria, a region in the Russian Caucasus that is very poor and has a high level of youth unemployment. Balagov studied under Russian director Alexander Sokurov for three years, and made his debut feature with “Closeness,” which was in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2017, and won the Fipresci prize. “Beanpole,” his second feature, plays in Un Certain Regard this year. Set in 1945 in Leningrad, which was devastated in World War II, the film centers on two young women, Iya and Masha, who are struggling to rebuild their lives.
What impact did Alexander Sokurov have on you as a filmmaker?
Other than giving me an understanding of the profession of the director, he helped me to achieve self-consciousness and taught me how to love literature. To me these two things are interconnected, because consciousness feeds on literature.
How do you describe your approach to directing?
I am...
What impact did Alexander Sokurov have on you as a filmmaker?
Other than giving me an understanding of the profession of the director, he helped me to achieve self-consciousness and taught me how to love literature. To me these two things are interconnected, because consciousness feeds on literature.
How do you describe your approach to directing?
I am...
- 5/16/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
While Kantemir Balagov’s “Beanpole” and Larisa Sadilova’s “Once in Trubchevsk,” both screening in Un Certain Regard, fly the flag for Russian arthouse filmmaking at the Cannes Film Festival this year, the Russian pics in the market reflect the wide diversity of genres being produced in the country.
The 27-year-old Balagov took a Fipresci prize in the same section at Cannes in 2017 for his feature debut “Closeness,” a ’90s-set story of a small-town kidnapping. With the film, Balagov, a protégé of Alexander Sokurov, established a reputation for thoughtful, atmospheric studies of complex characters facing dire struggles.
His second feature, produced by Alexander Rodnyansky, the man behind Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated films “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” is the tale of two female soldiers looking for hope and meaning in the aftermath of the WWII siege of Leningrad.
The film, being sold by Wild Bunch, offers a more nuanced look at war...
The 27-year-old Balagov took a Fipresci prize in the same section at Cannes in 2017 for his feature debut “Closeness,” a ’90s-set story of a small-town kidnapping. With the film, Balagov, a protégé of Alexander Sokurov, established a reputation for thoughtful, atmospheric studies of complex characters facing dire struggles.
His second feature, produced by Alexander Rodnyansky, the man behind Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated films “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” is the tale of two female soldiers looking for hope and meaning in the aftermath of the WWII siege of Leningrad.
The film, being sold by Wild Bunch, offers a more nuanced look at war...
- 5/14/2019
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Proxima
French director Alice Winocour makes her English language debut with her third feature, the French-German co-pro Proxima. Eva Green headlines an impressive international cast as an astronaut set to embark on a year-long space mission on the International Space Station, supported by the likes of Matt Dillon, Lars Eidinger, and Russian actor Aleksey Fateev. Isabelle Madelaine, who produced both of Winocour’s previous films, is on board with Dharamsala as well as Emilie Tisne for Darius Films while the project is co-produced by France 3 Cinema, Pathe, and Germany’s Pandora. Winocour’s 2012 debut Augustine, which starred Vincent Lindon and Soko, premiered as a Special Screening in the Cannes Critics’ Week and was nominated for a Best First Feature Cesar.…...
French director Alice Winocour makes her English language debut with her third feature, the French-German co-pro Proxima. Eva Green headlines an impressive international cast as an astronaut set to embark on a year-long space mission on the International Space Station, supported by the likes of Matt Dillon, Lars Eidinger, and Russian actor Aleksey Fateev. Isabelle Madelaine, who produced both of Winocour’s previous films, is on board with Dharamsala as well as Emilie Tisne for Darius Films while the project is co-produced by France 3 Cinema, Pathe, and Germany’s Pandora. Winocour’s 2012 debut Augustine, which starred Vincent Lindon and Soko, premiered as a Special Screening in the Cannes Critics’ Week and was nominated for a Best First Feature Cesar.…...
- 1/7/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Alexander Rodnyansky, the producer who in the past unveiled Leviathan and Loveless here, is back at the Cannes Film Festival to launch a new company. Ar Content is designed to invest in strong scripts and source material, aimed to exploit the demand for global-minded commercial content.
“Everybody wants great material, but nobody wants to investing in developing it, and so that is why I decided that will be my focus,” Rodnyansky told Deadline. “Developing great material, and not simply financing packages. It was obvious to me the priority is to make films that are global because that is where the business is going, and I am sensitive to it, coming from a different part of the world.
“Ar Content is a sister company to Ar Films, which produced both Leviathan and Loveless,” he said. “This is a response to a growing demand for premium quality, particularly as streaming distribution...
“Everybody wants great material, but nobody wants to investing in developing it, and so that is why I decided that will be my focus,” Rodnyansky told Deadline. “Developing great material, and not simply financing packages. It was obvious to me the priority is to make films that are global because that is where the business is going, and I am sensitive to it, coming from a different part of the world.
“Ar Content is a sister company to Ar Films, which produced both Leviathan and Loveless,” he said. “This is a response to a growing demand for premium quality, particularly as streaming distribution...
- 5/11/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Psychological drama takes the Grand Prix plus best actor for Elliott Crosset Hove.
Hlynur Pálmason’s psychological drama Winter Brothers won the Grand Prix at the 23rd Vilnius Film Festival ’Kino Pavasaris’.
The international jury for the newly created European Debut Competition declared the film “heralds a new voice in arthouse cinema”.
The Danish-Icelandic co-production, which premiered at Locarno last summer, also picked up the best actor award for Elliott Crosset Hove.
Winter Brothers is being handled internationally by New Europe Film Sales.
The jury gave the best actress award to Darya Zhovner for her role in Kantemir Balagov’s coming of age drama Closeness,...
Hlynur Pálmason’s psychological drama Winter Brothers won the Grand Prix at the 23rd Vilnius Film Festival ’Kino Pavasaris’.
The international jury for the newly created European Debut Competition declared the film “heralds a new voice in arthouse cinema”.
The Danish-Icelandic co-production, which premiered at Locarno last summer, also picked up the best actor award for Elliott Crosset Hove.
Winter Brothers is being handled internationally by New Europe Film Sales.
The jury gave the best actress award to Darya Zhovner for her role in Kantemir Balagov’s coming of age drama Closeness,...
- 4/3/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Darya Zhovner as Ila in Closeness
Closeness in all its forms comes under scrutiny in Kantemir Balagov's debut film, which tells the story of a Jewish family against the rise of violence that would become the Second Chechen War. The film focuses on the often-stifling relationship tomboy Ila (Darya Zhovner) has with her family and the consequences an abduction has on their entire community. Balagov is one of a number of young Russian filmmmakers to have benefited from a mentoring programme by Alexander Sokurov at the Kabardino-Balkarian University in the North Caucasus, which allowed youngsters with no previous experience to learn how to make their voices heard. Featuring a commanding performance form Zhovner in the lead and some excellent framing that heightens the sense of her characters' claustrophobia, many will find the inclusion of an actual tape of a killing from the period very hard to stomach, especially as it comes without warning.
Closeness in all its forms comes under scrutiny in Kantemir Balagov's debut film, which tells the story of a Jewish family against the rise of violence that would become the Second Chechen War. The film focuses on the often-stifling relationship tomboy Ila (Darya Zhovner) has with her family and the consequences an abduction has on their entire community. Balagov is one of a number of young Russian filmmmakers to have benefited from a mentoring programme by Alexander Sokurov at the Kabardino-Balkarian University in the North Caucasus, which allowed youngsters with no previous experience to learn how to make their voices heard. Featuring a commanding performance form Zhovner in the lead and some excellent framing that heightens the sense of her characters' claustrophobia, many will find the inclusion of an actual tape of a killing from the period very hard to stomach, especially as it comes without warning.
- 11/23/2017
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
What makes AFI Fest different from other high-profile festivals is also what makes it essential: Its programmers don’t care about premiere status. Each edition of the annual gathering tends to feature just a few, often on the first and last nights of the weeklong event, though there have been exceptions — 2014 saw back-to-back surprise debuts of both “American Sniper” and “Selma” on the same night.
Read More:afi Fest Adds 13 Foreign Language Oscar Contenders, Including ‘Foxtrot,’ ‘Thelma,’ and ‘A Fantastic Woman’
Barring any last-minute additions, this year leans in the opposite direction. The only world premiere scheduled was Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World,” which initially received pride of place as the closing-night gala; because the film starred Kevin Spacey before he was replaced with Christopher Plummer at the last minute, it’s since been pulled from the schedule. Opening night, meanwhile, begins with a movie that premiered...
Read More:afi Fest Adds 13 Foreign Language Oscar Contenders, Including ‘Foxtrot,’ ‘Thelma,’ and ‘A Fantastic Woman’
Barring any last-minute additions, this year leans in the opposite direction. The only world premiere scheduled was Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World,” which initially received pride of place as the closing-night gala; because the film starred Kevin Spacey before he was replaced with Christopher Plummer at the last minute, it’s since been pulled from the schedule. Opening night, meanwhile, begins with a movie that premiered...
- 11/9/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the films that will be featured in their New Auteurs and American Independents sections at the upcoming AFI Fest 2017 presented by Audi. Selections include a number of lauded features from around the festival circuit, including Cannes offerings like “I Am Not a Witch,” SXSW favorites like “Gemini” and “Mr. Roosevelt,” the Sundance breakout “Thoroughbreds,” and Joseph Kahn’s Toronto Midnight Madness favorite “Bodied,” among others.
Highlighting first- and second-time feature film directors, New Auteurs is designed as the festival’s platform for upcoming filmmakers from all over the world to showcase their new films. This year, the section includes 11 films, nine of which come from female directors. Similarly, AFI Fest’s American Independents section aims to represent the best of this year’s independent filmmaking. Pushing boundaries of form and content across narrative and documentary cinema, this section includes 11 films from both fresh...
Highlighting first- and second-time feature film directors, New Auteurs is designed as the festival’s platform for upcoming filmmakers from all over the world to showcase their new films. This year, the section includes 11 films, nine of which come from female directors. Similarly, AFI Fest’s American Independents section aims to represent the best of this year’s independent filmmaking. Pushing boundaries of form and content across narrative and documentary cinema, this section includes 11 films from both fresh...
- 10/16/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The RiderThe lineup for the 2017 Telluride Film Festival (September 1st - 4th) has been announced:
Arthur Miller: Writer (Rebecca Miller, U.S.)Battle of the Sexes (Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton, U.S.)Darkest Hour (Joe Wright, U.K.)Downsizing (Alexander Payne, U.S.)Eating Animals (Christopher Quinn, U.S.)Faces Places (Agnès Varda & Jr, France)A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, Chile/U.S./Germany/Spain)Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (Paul McGuigan, U.K.)First Reformed (Paul Schrader, U.S.)First They Killed My Father (Angelina Jolie, U.S./Cambodia)Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz, Israel)Hostages (Rezo Gigineishvili, Georgia/Russia/Poland)Hostiles (Scott Cooper, U.S.)Human Flow (Ai Weiwei, U.S./Germany)The Insult (Ziad Doueiri, France-Lebanon)Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, U.S.)Land of the Free (Camilla Magid, Denmark-Finland)Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh, U.K./U.S)Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia/France/Belgium/Germany)Love,...
Arthur Miller: Writer (Rebecca Miller, U.S.)Battle of the Sexes (Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton, U.S.)Darkest Hour (Joe Wright, U.K.)Downsizing (Alexander Payne, U.S.)Eating Animals (Christopher Quinn, U.S.)Faces Places (Agnès Varda & Jr, France)A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, Chile/U.S./Germany/Spain)Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (Paul McGuigan, U.K.)First Reformed (Paul Schrader, U.S.)First They Killed My Father (Angelina Jolie, U.S./Cambodia)Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz, Israel)Hostages (Rezo Gigineishvili, Georgia/Russia/Poland)Hostiles (Scott Cooper, U.S.)Human Flow (Ai Weiwei, U.S./Germany)The Insult (Ziad Doueiri, France-Lebanon)Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, U.S.)Land of the Free (Camilla Magid, Denmark-Finland)Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh, U.K./U.S)Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia/France/Belgium/Germany)Love,...
- 8/31/2017
- MUBI
Now in its 44th year, Telluride Film Festival provides the launching pad for many of the fall’s biggest films and, as usual, we don’t know the line-up until right before it kicks off. Beginning this Friday, they’ve now unveiled the full slate, which features much of the expected players — new films from Guillermo del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Alexander Payne, Joe Wright, and Todd Haynes — as well as the latest work from Paul Schrader, Andrew Haigh, Agnes Varda, Ken Burns, Errol Morris, and more.
Check out the line-up below.
Arthur Miller: Writer (d. Rebecca Miller, U.S., 2017)
Battle Of The Sexes (d. Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton, U.S., 2017)
Darkest Hour (d. Joe Wright, U.K., 2017)
Downsizing (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2017)
Eating Animals (d. Christopher Quinn, U.S., 2017)
Faces Places (d. Agnes Varda, Jr, France, 2017)
A Fantastic Woman (d. Sebastián Lelio, Chile-u.S.-Germany-Spain, 2017)
Film Stars Don’T Die In Liverpool (d.
Check out the line-up below.
Arthur Miller: Writer (d. Rebecca Miller, U.S., 2017)
Battle Of The Sexes (d. Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton, U.S., 2017)
Darkest Hour (d. Joe Wright, U.K., 2017)
Downsizing (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2017)
Eating Animals (d. Christopher Quinn, U.S., 2017)
Faces Places (d. Agnes Varda, Jr, France, 2017)
A Fantastic Woman (d. Sebastián Lelio, Chile-u.S.-Germany-Spain, 2017)
Film Stars Don’T Die In Liverpool (d.
- 8/31/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Telluride Film Festival has announced its 2017 lineup. As usual, the exclusive Colorado gathering features a range of buzzy fall season movies, including many films also premiering in Venice and Toronto as well as others resurfacing from earlier in the year, just in time for awards season. Filmmakers in this year’s program range from Alexander Payne to Angelina Jolie. The festival will also honor cinematographer Ed Lachman, actor Christian Bale, and screen a new cut of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1984 Harlem musical “The Cotton Club.”
One of the bigger films to make the cut in this year’s lineup should take no one by surprise: “Downsizing” (12/22, Paramount), Payne’s long-gestating near-future workplace satire starring Matt Damon, will screen at the festival where Payne has been a regular for years (both as a filmmaker and audience member). The movie opened the Venice Film Festival earlier this week, and was followed...
One of the bigger films to make the cut in this year’s lineup should take no one by surprise: “Downsizing” (12/22, Paramount), Payne’s long-gestating near-future workplace satire starring Matt Damon, will screen at the festival where Payne has been a regular for years (both as a filmmaker and audience member). The movie opened the Venice Film Festival earlier this week, and was followed...
- 8/31/2017
- by Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
While Kantemir Balagov’s Closeness counted as my revelation of Cannes 2017 and would have been my personal frontrunner for the Camera d’Or and Un Certain Regard section prizes, the jury composed of Uma Thurman, Mohamed Diab, Reda Kateb, Joachim Lafosse and Karel Och (from the Karlovy Vary Film Fest) awarded Mohammad Rasoulof’s A Man of Integrity with the highest honors.
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- 8/21/2017
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Spanish festival will screen The Square and On Body And Soul.
The winning films from this year’s Cannes and Berlin film festivals have been added to the line-up for the San Sebastian Film Festival (22-30 September).
Ilkidó Enyedi’s On Body And Soul, winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, will compete for the audience award in the Pearls section.
It’s up against Cannes competition titles Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev, Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck, and Grand Jury Prize winner Bpm (Beats Per Minute) by Robin Campillo.
Michael Showalter’s Sundance title The Big Sick and Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, which first screened in Sundance also compete in the strand.
Ruben Östlund’s The Square, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, opens the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.
Also screening are Philippe Garrel’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Lover For A Day and Kantemir Balagov’s Un Certain Regard contender Closeness.
For the first...
The winning films from this year’s Cannes and Berlin film festivals have been added to the line-up for the San Sebastian Film Festival (22-30 September).
Ilkidó Enyedi’s On Body And Soul, winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, will compete for the audience award in the Pearls section.
It’s up against Cannes competition titles Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev, Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck, and Grand Jury Prize winner Bpm (Beats Per Minute) by Robin Campillo.
Michael Showalter’s Sundance title The Big Sick and Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, which first screened in Sundance also compete in the strand.
Ruben Östlund’s The Square, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, opens the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.
Also screening are Philippe Garrel’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Lover For A Day and Kantemir Balagov’s Un Certain Regard contender Closeness.
For the first...
- 8/3/2017
- by orlando.parfitt@screendaily.com (Orlando Parfitt)
- ScreenDaily
'Good Time' with Robert Pattinson: All but completely bypassed at the Cannes Film Festival, Ben and Joshua Safdie's crime thriller – co-written by Joshua Safdie and Ronald Bronstein – may turn out to be a key contender in various categories next awards season. Bypassed Palme d'Or contenders (See previous post re: Cannes winners Diane Kruger & Sofia Coppola's Oscar chances.) The Cannes Film Festival has historically been both U.S.- and eurocentric. In other words, filmmaking from other countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific tend to be ignored either at the awards ceremony or at the very outset – in other words, they don't even get the chance to compete for the Palme d'Or. This year was no different, with a mere two non-u.S., non-European productions (or co-productions) among the 19 films in the Official Competition: Naomi Kawase's Japanese romantic drama Radiance and Hong Sang-soo's South Korean romantic drama The Day After. Both came out empty-handed. Among the other movies that failed to win any of the Official Competition awards, several may have a shot in some category or other come Oscar time. Notably: The socially conscious family drama Happy End, produced by veteran Margaret Ménégoz (Pauline at the Beach, Europa Europa) and a Sony Pictures Classics release in North America. Dir.: Michael Haneke. Cast: Isabelle Huppert. Jean-Louis Trintignant. Mathieu Kassovitz. The mix of time-bending mystery and family drama Wonderstruck, a Roadside Attractions / Amazon Studios release (on Oct. 20) in the U.S. Dir.: Todd Haynes. Cast: Julianne Moore. Millicent Simmonds. Cory Michael Smith. The crime drama Good Time, an A24 release (on Aug. 11) in the U.S. Dir.: Ben and Joshua Safdie. Cast: Robert Pattinson. Jennifer Jason Leigh. Barkhad Abdi. Cannes non-win doesn't mean weaker Oscar chances It's good to remember that the lack of a Cannes Film Festival win doesn't necessarily reduce a film's, a director's, a screenwriter's, or a performer's Oscar chances. Case in point: last year's Cannes Best Actress “loser” Isabelle Huppert for Elle. Here are a few other recent examples of Cannes non-winners in specific categories that went on to receive Oscar nods: Carol (2015), Best Actress (Cate Blanchett) nominee. Two Days, One Night / Deux jours, une nuit (2014), Best Actress (Marion Cotillard) nominee. The Great Beauty / La grande bellezza (2013), Best Foreign Language Film winner. The Hunt / Jagten (2012), Best Foreign Language Film nominee (at the 2013 Academy Awards). The Artist (2011), Best Picture and Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) Oscar winner. And here's a special case: Amour leading lady and 2012 Best Actress Oscar nominee Emmanuelle Riva could not have won the Best Actress Award at Cannes, as current festival rules prevent Palme d'Or winners from taking home any other Official Competition awards. In other words, Isabelle Huppert (again), Julianne Moore, and Robert Pattinson – and their respective films – could theoretically remain strong Oscar contenders despite the absence of Cannes Film Festival Official Competition victories. Mohammad Rasoulof and Leslie Caron among other notable Cannes winners Besides those already mentioned in this article, notable winners at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival include: Mohammad Rasoulof's A Man of Integrity. Having infuriated Iran's theocracy, in 2010 Rasoulof was sentenced to a year in prison following accusations of “filming without a permit.” He has been out on bail. In 2011, Rasoulof won the Un Certain Regard sidebar's Best Director Award for Goodbye. Two years later, his Un Certain Regard entry Manuscripts Don't Burn won the International Film Critics' Fipresci Prize. Veteran Leslie Caron and her 17-year-old pet rescue dog Tchi Tchi shared the Palm DogManitarian Award for their work in the British television series The Durrells in Corfu / The Durrells. Caron, who will be turning 86 on July 1, made her film debut in Vincente Minnelli's 1951 musical An American in Paris – that year's Best Picture Academy Award winner. She would be shortlisted twice for the Best Actress Oscar: Lili (1953) and The L-Shaped Room (1963). Last year, she was the subject of Larry Weinstein's documentary Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star and will next be seen in Thomas Brunot's short The Perfect Age. Faces Places / Visages, villages, which offers a tour of the French countryside, won Cannes' Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary. The directors are veteran Agnès Varda (Cléo from 5 to 7, Vagabond), who turned 89 on May 30, and photographer/muralist Jr. Faces Places is supposed to be Varda's swan song, following a career spanning more than six decades. Her 2008 César-winning documentary The Beaches of Agnès was one of the 15 semi-finalists for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. See below a comprehensive list of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival winners. Leslie Caron in 'The Durrells in Corfu.' TV series a.k.a. 'The Durrells' earned the veteran two-time Best Actress Oscar nominee ('Lili,' 1953; 'The L-Shaped Room,' 1963) and her dog companion Tchi Tchi this year's Palm DogManitarian Award at the Cannes Film Festival. 2017 Cannes Film Festival winners Official Competition Palme d'Or: The Square (dir.: Ruben Östlund). Grand Prix: 120 Beats per Minute (dir.: Robin Campillo). Jury Prize: Loveless (dir.: Andrey Zvyagintsev). Best Screenplay (tie): The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthymis Filippou. You Were Never Really Here, Lynne Ramsay. Best Actress: Diane Kruger, In the Fade. Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here. Best Director: Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled. Best Short Film: A Gentle Night (dir.: Qiu Yang). Short Film Special Mention: Katto (dir.: Teppo Airaksinen). Un Certain Regard Un Certain Regard Award: A Man of Integrity (dir.: Mohammad Rasoulof). Jury Prize: April's Daughter / Las hijas de abril (dir.: Michel Franco). Best Director: Taylor Sheridan, Wind River. Best Actress / Best Performance: Jasmine Trinca, Fortunata. Prize for Best Poetic Narrative: Barbara (dir.: Mathieu Amalric). International Film Critics' Fipresci Prize Official Competition: 120 Beats per Minute. Un Certain Regard: Closeness (dir.: Kantemir Balagov). Directors' Fortnight: The Nothing Factory / A Fábrica de Nada (dir.: Pedro Pinho). Directors' Fortnight / Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Prix Sacd (Société des Auteurs Compositeurs Dramatiques) (tie): Lover for a Day / L'amant d'un jour (dir.: Philippe Garrel). Let the Sunshine In / Un beau soleil intérieur (dir.: Claire Denis). C.I.C.A.E. Art Cinema Award: The Rider (dir.: Chloe Zhao). Europa Cinemas Label: A Ciambra (dir.: Jonas Carpignano). Prix Illy for Best Short Film: Back to Genoa City / Retour à Genoa City (dir.: Benoît Grimalt). Critics' Week Grand Prize: Makala (dir.: Emmanuel Gras). Visionary Award: Gabriel and the Mountain / Gabriel e a Montanha (dir.: Fellipe Barbosa). Gan Foundation Award for Distribution: Version Originale Condor, French distributor of Gabriel and the Mountain. Sacd Award: Léa Mysius, Ava. Discovery Award for Best Short Film: Los desheredados (dir.: Laura Ferrés). Canal+ Award for Best Short Film: The Best Fireworks Ever / Najpienkniejsze Fajerwerki Ever (dir.: Aleksandra Terpinska). Other Cannes Film Festival 2017 Awards 70th Anniversary prize: Nicole Kidman. Caméra d'Or for Best First Film: Montparnasse Bienvenue / Jeune femme (dir.: Léonor Serraille). Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary: Faces Places / Visages, Villages (dir.: Agnès Varda, Jr). Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Radiance (dir.: Naomi Kawase). Queer Palm: 120 Beats per Minute. Queer Palm for Best Short Film: Islands / Les îles (dir.: Yann Gonzalez). Cannes Soundtrack Award for Best Composer: Daniel Lopatin, Good Time. Vulcan Prize for Artist Technicians: Josefin Åsberg, The Square. Kering Women in Motion Award: Isabelle Huppert. Palm Dog: Einstein the Dog for The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). Palm DogManitarian Award: Leslie Caron and the dog Tchi Tchi for The Durrells in Corfu. Chopard Trophy for Male/Female Revelation: George MacKay and Anya Taylor-Joy. This article was originally published at Alt Film Guide (http://www.altfg.com/).
- 6/21/2017
- by Steph Mont.
- Alt Film Guide
Boris Khlebnikov’s Aritmiya (Arrhythmia) took home the Grand Prix at Russia’s main national film festival Kinotavr, which drew to a close Wednesday in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi.
Focused on the breakdown of a marriage between two doctors, the drama will have its international premiere later this month in the official selection of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Rezo Gigineishvili was named best director for Zalozhniki (Hostages), a retro thriller which premiered in the Panorama Special section of this year's Berlinale. The film's director of photography, Vladislav Opelyants, received best cinematography honors.
Kantemir Balagov's Tesnota (Closeness), which premiered...
Focused on the breakdown of a marriage between two doctors, the drama will have its international premiere later this month in the official selection of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Rezo Gigineishvili was named best director for Zalozhniki (Hostages), a retro thriller which premiered in the Panorama Special section of this year's Berlinale. The film's director of photography, Vladislav Opelyants, received best cinematography honors.
Kantemir Balagov's Tesnota (Closeness), which premiered...
- 6/14/2017
- by Vladimir Kozlov
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A mix of rigid religious traditions and grim political realities takes a toxic personal toll in Closeness, a vivid and depressing snapshot of dire lives in a dismal backwater of the crumbled Soviet empire two decades ago. Held together by a riveting central performance by Darya Zhovner, this first feature by Kantemir Balagov, which won the Fipresci Award in the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard sidebar, possesses an erratic power and will be a welcome presence on the festival scene. But persuading paying audiences to submit to the drama's all-encompassing miserablism, which includes the jarring presence of...
- 6/5/2017
- by Todd McCarthy
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Let the Sunshine InBelow you will find our favorite films of Cannes 2017, as well as a complete index of our coverage. Awardstop Picksdaniel Kasman(1) Western (2) Jeanette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (3) Closeness (4) The Day After (5) Lover for a Day (6) The Nothing Factory (7) Before We Vanish (8) The Florida Project (9) Claire's Camera (10) Blade of the Immortal (11) Good Time (12) Farpões, baldios (13) I Am Not a Witch (14) You Were Never Really Here (15) Napalm (?) Let the Sunshine InLAWRENCE Garcia(1) The Square (2) 120 Beats Per Minute (3) Closeness (4) Good Time (5) 24 Frames (6) You Were Never Really Here (7) Let the Sunshine In (8) The Summit (9)Western (10) I Am Not a WitchKURT Walker(1) Let the Sunshine In (2) Twin Peaks, S03E01 & S03E02 (3) Radiance (5) I Am Not a Witch (5) The Beguiled and Closeness***Coveragedaniel KASMANLoveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev)Wonderstruck (Todd Haynes)Western (Valeska Grisebach)Blade of the Immortal (Takashi Miike)Lover for a Day (Philippe Garrel)Claire's Camera (Hong Sang-soo)The Day...
- 6/5/2017
- MUBI
Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov employs an unusual device near the beginning of his debut film, “Closeness,” one of the Un Certain Regard selections of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The director inserts himself into the proceedings via a handful of subtitles that clarify his identity (“My name is”) and say that what is to follow is ripped from the reality of the North Caucasus region of Russia in 1998.
Continue reading ‘Closeness’ Is An Arresting Debut From Director Kantemir Balagov [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Closeness’ Is An Arresting Debut From Director Kantemir Balagov [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
- 6/4/2017
- by Bradley Warren
- The Playlist
Headed by Pedro Almodóvar, the 2017 Cannes Film Festival jury — also featuring Maren Ade, Jessica Chastain, Fan Bingbing, Agnès Jaoui, Park Chan-wook, Will Smith, Paolo Sorrentino, and Gabriel Yared — handed out their winners for the films in competition. Leading the pack is Ruben Östlund‘s Force Majeure follow-up The Square, which picked up the Palme d’Or, while Sofia Coppola earned Best Director — the first woman to do so since 1961, when Yuliya Solntseva won for Chronicle of Flaming Years, and only the second in Cannes history. Joaquin Phoenix and Diane Kruger picked up the top acting awards, while Nicole Kidman was given a special prize for the four projects she brought to Cannes.
Ahead of our picks for our favorite films (update: see them here), check out the complete list of winners below, along with other sections, as well as the jury’s discussion of their picks, as well as separate...
Ahead of our picks for our favorite films (update: see them here), check out the complete list of winners below, along with other sections, as well as the jury’s discussion of their picks, as well as separate...
- 5/29/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Often the most exciting films at festivals are the complete unknowns, the wildcards that immediately grab the viewer by surprise and don't let go. Such is the case with Kantemir Balagov’s Closeness, playing in the festival's Un Certain Regard section. It’s the best kind of debut feature—raw and undisciplined, but vibrating with life, the kind of bolt from the blue that turns an unknown into a director to watch. Turning his lens to his hometown of Nalchik, a small town in the North Caucasus, an area not usually put to screen, Balagov draws from the history of the region ca. 1998, specifically the kidnappings fairly common at the time. Here, a young Jewish couple, David (Veniamin Kac) and Lea, are taken the night of their engagement and held for ransom. Going to the police is not an option, so the families look to their “tribe” for help. There's enough money to rescue Lea,...
- 5/28/2017
- MUBI
The International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) awarded its prizes Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival.
Robin Campillo’s 120 Beats Per Minute took home the top honors among the official selection competition films. The drama documenting the Act Up AIDS activists in the 1980s has been getting strong reviews.
In the Un Certain Regard competition, Kantemir Balagov’s Closeness (Tesnota) took to the honor. The story set in a Jewish family in late-nineties Russia that is torn apart by a kidnapping.
The prize for a first or second film in the Directors’ Fortnight or Critics’ Week...
Robin Campillo’s 120 Beats Per Minute took home the top honors among the official selection competition films. The drama documenting the Act Up AIDS activists in the 1980s has been getting strong reviews.
In the Un Certain Regard competition, Kantemir Balagov’s Closeness (Tesnota) took to the honor. The story set in a Jewish family in late-nineties Russia that is torn apart by a kidnapping.
The prize for a first or second film in the Directors’ Fortnight or Critics’ Week...
- 5/27/2017
- by Rhonda Richford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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