Rarely in recent decades has the festival circuit been as disrupted as it has in the past 12 months. A confluence of local and global issues — from war to inflation, political unrest to societal shifts — have created a perfect storm for many of these vital cultural platforms, leading to funding shortfalls, staff losses, major PR headaches and in some cases cancellation. Amid shifts in consumer and industry behavior, there are also broader existential questions being asked about the role and potency of festivals.
Since last year’s Cannes, we’ve seen flashpoints or upheaval at Sundance, Berlin, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki, IDFA, El Gouna, Cairo, Busan, Odessa and others. Questions have been hanging over the likes of Venice and Toronto but both have made positive announcements in recent weeks: the former by re-upping Alberto Barbera, the latter by confirming a cash injection to bolster its market.
During this year’s turbulent Berlin Film Festival,...
Since last year’s Cannes, we’ve seen flashpoints or upheaval at Sundance, Berlin, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki, IDFA, El Gouna, Cairo, Busan, Odessa and others. Questions have been hanging over the likes of Venice and Toronto but both have made positive announcements in recent weeks: the former by re-upping Alberto Barbera, the latter by confirming a cash injection to bolster its market.
During this year’s turbulent Berlin Film Festival,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman and Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has announced its first wave of program details for its upcoming 58th edition, which is set to take place from June 28 through July 6, 2024. The Czech festival, widely considered to be the most prestigious film festival in Eastern Europe, is set to honor one of the nation’s most famous writers with a new retrospective titled “Franz Kafka and the Cinema.”
The series is set to feature screenings of a wide range of films inspired by the Czech novelist, who famously wove themes of alienation and existential angst into cryptic novels that often flirted with surrealism. Some films, like Orson Welles’ “The Trial” are direct adaptations of Kafka’s writings; but the series also includes movies about Kafka’s life, and films like Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” that were influenced by Kafka’s ideas.
“For decades, Kafka’s oeuvre has functioned as a continuing provocation to filmmakers,...
The series is set to feature screenings of a wide range of films inspired by the Czech novelist, who famously wove themes of alienation and existential angst into cryptic novels that often flirted with surrealism. Some films, like Orson Welles’ “The Trial” are direct adaptations of Kafka’s writings; but the series also includes movies about Kafka’s life, and films like Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” that were influenced by Kafka’s ideas.
“For decades, Kafka’s oeuvre has functioned as a continuing provocation to filmmakers,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival and Variety have teamed up to honor Francine Maisler, one of the world’s most respected casting directors, whose recent credits include “Dune: Part Two,” “The Bikeriders,” “Challengers,” “Civil War” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
Maisler has worked on more than 70 feature films and is a recipient of 15 Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America, including for “Marriage Story” in 2020 and “Don’t Look Up” in 2021. As well as working with director Denis Villeneuve on “Dune: Part Two,” “Dune,” “Arrival” and “Sicario,” her other films include Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and “Knight of Cups,” and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” and “Birdman.” In 2022, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on HBO’s “Succession.”
As part of its homage, Karlovy Vary will hold a special screening of one of the films which Maisler worked on. Maisler will also give a public master class,...
Maisler has worked on more than 70 feature films and is a recipient of 15 Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America, including for “Marriage Story” in 2020 and “Don’t Look Up” in 2021. As well as working with director Denis Villeneuve on “Dune: Part Two,” “Dune,” “Arrival” and “Sicario,” her other films include Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and “Knight of Cups,” and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” and “Birdman.” In 2022, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on HBO’s “Succession.”
As part of its homage, Karlovy Vary will hold a special screening of one of the films which Maisler worked on. Maisler will also give a public master class,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Karlovy Vary Festival will pay tribute to one of the Czech Republic’s most famous sons with a retrospective of film adaptations of the work of Franz Kafka from some of the greatest names in cinema. To mark the centenary of Kafka’s death, the festival will screen a series of films directly adapted from, or inspired by, the literary master of angst.
The retrospective will include such classics as Orson Welles’s The Trial (1962), Martin Scorsese’s Kafkaesque New York dramedy After Hours (1985) and Federico Fellini’s Intervista; Steven Soderbergh’s Kafka (1991) and its 2021 re-edit Mr. Kneff — both starring Jeremy Irons as a set-upon insurance man and writer — alongside lesser-known adaptations, including Jan Němec’s Metamorphosis, a German TV movie version of Kafka’s famous short story. Other highlights include Ousmane Sembene’s Senegalese feature The Money Order (1968) and Kôji Yamamura’s animated short Franz Kafka’s a Country Doctor (2007).
“For decades,...
The retrospective will include such classics as Orson Welles’s The Trial (1962), Martin Scorsese’s Kafkaesque New York dramedy After Hours (1985) and Federico Fellini’s Intervista; Steven Soderbergh’s Kafka (1991) and its 2021 re-edit Mr. Kneff — both starring Jeremy Irons as a set-upon insurance man and writer — alongside lesser-known adaptations, including Jan Němec’s Metamorphosis, a German TV movie version of Kafka’s famous short story. Other highlights include Ousmane Sembene’s Senegalese feature The Money Order (1968) and Kôji Yamamura’s animated short Franz Kafka’s a Country Doctor (2007).
“For decades,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which takes place in an elegant spa resort in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, is set to get political during its 57th edition, but in a subtle way.
“I am not sure if you can even use the word ‘subtle’ when talking about politics, but it doesn’t always have to be in your face. You can be political by showing the existential struggles of an elderly lady who gets framed by some crooks,” says artistic director Karel Och, mentioning Stephan Komandarev’s “Blaga’s Lessons,” which will vie for the Crystal Globe.
While the main competition features many stories about people trying to return home or simply find their place in the world, he adds, the festival will also celebrate Iran with a separate section “Another Birth. Iranian Cinema Here and Now.” “Before our consultant Lorenzo Esposito came up with this name,...
“I am not sure if you can even use the word ‘subtle’ when talking about politics, but it doesn’t always have to be in your face. You can be political by showing the existential struggles of an elderly lady who gets framed by some crooks,” says artistic director Karel Och, mentioning Stephan Komandarev’s “Blaga’s Lessons,” which will vie for the Crystal Globe.
While the main competition features many stories about people trying to return home or simply find their place in the world, he adds, the festival will also celebrate Iran with a separate section “Another Birth. Iranian Cinema Here and Now.” “Before our consultant Lorenzo Esposito came up with this name,...
- 6/30/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The 57th edition of Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, which runs June 30-July 8, has planned a retrospective program focused on Iranian cinema with a selection of films made in the past four years. The festival will also celebrate the work of Japanese filmmaker Yasuzo Masumura.
Commenting on the Iranian cinema program, the festival said in a statement: “Collectively these works offer an insightful testimony of the burning creativity of Iran’s artists in face of the challenging reality. Nine mostly young filmmakers – urgent, unheard voices – who palpably bear a spiritual connection to the previous generations of their country’s greats, tackle the current reality with a remarkable sensitivity and great inventiveness.
“Melancholic dramas, comedies, war movies, sci-fis…films about love, and films within films. Together, these nine unique and intensely personal testimonies form a multi-dimensional mosaic that reflect the collective spirit and openness of Iran’s young cinema of today.
Commenting on the Iranian cinema program, the festival said in a statement: “Collectively these works offer an insightful testimony of the burning creativity of Iran’s artists in face of the challenging reality. Nine mostly young filmmakers – urgent, unheard voices – who palpably bear a spiritual connection to the previous generations of their country’s greats, tackle the current reality with a remarkable sensitivity and great inventiveness.
“Melancholic dramas, comedies, war movies, sci-fis…films about love, and films within films. Together, these nine unique and intensely personal testimonies form a multi-dimensional mosaic that reflect the collective spirit and openness of Iran’s young cinema of today.
- 4/25/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin’s new seven-member selection committee — four women and three men — comprises the core of new director Carlo Chatrian’s programming staff, which is led Canadian critic Mark Peranson. Peranson was the Locarno Film Festival’s chief of programming when Chatrian headed that Swiss festival. This year, Berlin is opening with “My Salinger Year,” starring Sigourney Weaver (above).
But Chatrian is quick to point out that his Berlin team is not a Locarno redux. Of the Berlin official selection gatekeepers, “four are people I worked with in Locarno and three are new,” he says. “On the one hand it was important for me to have people who know my tastes, and whom I know,” Chatrian notes. “On the other, it was just as important not to duplicate, not to copy, the Locarno model.”
That’s why the new Berlin programmers Chatrian is working with, former Panorama chief Pat Lazzaro, Verena Von Stackelberg,...
But Chatrian is quick to point out that his Berlin team is not a Locarno redux. Of the Berlin official selection gatekeepers, “four are people I worked with in Locarno and three are new,” he says. “On the one hand it was important for me to have people who know my tastes, and whom I know,” Chatrian notes. “On the other, it was just as important not to duplicate, not to copy, the Locarno model.”
That’s why the new Berlin programmers Chatrian is working with, former Panorama chief Pat Lazzaro, Verena Von Stackelberg,...
- 2/17/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Documentaries Telenovela Greyscale in Color and Resisting Landscapes were also awarded at the work-in-progress section that this year was dedicated to Serbian cinema. Celts, directed by Milica Tomović, has emerged as the big winner at the ninth edition of First Look, one of Locarno Pro’s best-established initiatives. Running for three days (9-11 August), this year, First Look showcased six films from Serbia that are currently in post-production and were presented by their producers and directors to sales agents, programmers and industry professionals. Supported by the Film Center Serbia, the project was managed by Markus Duffner. The awards were announced on Sunday afternoon by the international jury, comprising the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival’s artistic director Tiina Lokk, the Torino Film Festival’s artistic director, Emanuela Martini, and Berlinale’s programmer, Lorenzo Esposito. The jury awarded the debut feature film Celts — by writer-director Milica Tomović, produced by the filmmaker and by Vladimir.
Three winners were announced on Sunday evening for the ninth edition of Locarno’s First Look, the festival’s initiative to showcase films in post-production: Milica Tomović’s “Celts,” Filip Martinović’s “Telenovela Greyscale in Color” and Marta Popivoda’s “Resisting Landscapes.”
First Look offers a potential springboard onto the international market, having previously hosted breakout projects such as Alejandro Fernandez Almendras’ “To Kill A Man,” an eventual Sundance World Cinema grand jury winner; Mantas Kvedaravicius “Parthenon,” premiering at Venice’s Critics’ Week this year; and Vicente Alves do Ó’s “Sunburn,” later picked up by international sales, distribution and production company The Open Reel.
This year the section hosted six works in progress – five documentaries and one fiction – from Serbia selected by Film Center Serbia. Four of the six were directed by helmed by women directors. Each work in progress was introduced by its producer to world sales agents...
First Look offers a potential springboard onto the international market, having previously hosted breakout projects such as Alejandro Fernandez Almendras’ “To Kill A Man,” an eventual Sundance World Cinema grand jury winner; Mantas Kvedaravicius “Parthenon,” premiering at Venice’s Critics’ Week this year; and Vicente Alves do Ó’s “Sunburn,” later picked up by international sales, distribution and production company The Open Reel.
This year the section hosted six works in progress – five documentaries and one fiction – from Serbia selected by Film Center Serbia. Four of the six were directed by helmed by women directors. Each work in progress was introduced by its producer to world sales agents...
- 8/11/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Pictured: Peter Herrmann, chairman of German Films, Michael Weber of The Match Factory, and Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films.
Simone Baumann, the managing director of German Films, celebrated the many German co-productions screening in the Cannes Film Festival at the promotional agency’s cocktail party Saturday at Villa Rothschild in Cannes.
“Germany is one of the strongest and most attractive countries for co-productions, worldwide,” Baumann said. “There are 11 German-international co-productions in this year’s official selections here in Cannes at the festival, five of which are in Competition. That’s quite impressive and we are proud of this.”
The German co-productions in Competition were Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven,” Jessica Hausner’s “Little Joe,” Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor” and Corneliu Porumboiu’s “The Whistlers.” In Un Certain Regard, the Teutonic co-pros were Albert Serra’s “Liberté” and Karim Aïnouz...
Simone Baumann, the managing director of German Films, celebrated the many German co-productions screening in the Cannes Film Festival at the promotional agency’s cocktail party Saturday at Villa Rothschild in Cannes.
“Germany is one of the strongest and most attractive countries for co-productions, worldwide,” Baumann said. “There are 11 German-international co-productions in this year’s official selections here in Cannes at the festival, five of which are in Competition. That’s quite impressive and we are proud of this.”
The German co-productions in Competition were Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven,” Jessica Hausner’s “Little Joe,” Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor” and Corneliu Porumboiu’s “The Whistlers.” In Un Certain Regard, the Teutonic co-pros were Albert Serra’s “Liberté” and Karim Aïnouz...
- 5/20/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Selection committee appointed / New heads for Panorama and Berlinale Shorts / Outlook onto 70th anniversary February 20–29, 2020Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek
Carlo Chatrian as Artistic Director and Mariette Rissenbeek as Executive Director will officially take office on June 1, 2019. The future director duo have already been in contact with festival sections, initiatives and departments for some time now, learning about workflows and structures, and had the opportunity to gain further insights on location at the festival in February. They started working in their offices at Potsdamer Platz in March and can now present a first look onto the 2020 Berlinale.
“We have different tasks, but the same goal: to successfully lead the festival into the future! We inherit a festival which is not only recognized as one of the biggest in the world but also plays a significant role in the international film industry; we are aware of the huge task we have...
Carlo Chatrian as Artistic Director and Mariette Rissenbeek as Executive Director will officially take office on June 1, 2019. The future director duo have already been in contact with festival sections, initiatives and departments for some time now, learning about workflows and structures, and had the opportunity to gain further insights on location at the festival in February. They started working in their offices at Potsdamer Platz in March and can now present a first look onto the 2020 Berlinale.
“We have different tasks, but the same goal: to successfully lead the festival into the future! We inherit a festival which is not only recognized as one of the biggest in the world but also plays a significant role in the international film industry; we are aware of the huge task we have...
- 4/1/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Berlin Film Festival‘s new leadership duo of Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek have revealed some of their new programming team. As anticipated there is a strong Locarno (Chatrian’s former festival) flavour. Chatrian has appointed a seven-member selection committee. Locarno’s former head of programming, Marc Peranson, will serve as head of programming and chair of the selection committee, which will also include three former Locarno selectors in the shape of Lorenzo Esposito, Sergio Fant, and Aurelie Godet. Also joining the committee will be programmer Verena von Stackelberg and author and curator Barbara Wurm. The new chief for the festival’s Panorama section will be Michael Stutz, a former Panorama curator. He takes over from Paz Lázaro, who will also be joining the selection committee.
Artistic director Chatrian and executive director Rissenbeek officially take office from outgoing boss Dieter Kosslick on June 1, 2019. They said, “We have different tasks,...
Artistic director Chatrian and executive director Rissenbeek officially take office from outgoing boss Dieter Kosslick on June 1, 2019. They said, “We have different tasks,...
- 3/28/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Also appoints new section heads for Panorama, Berlinale Shorts.
The Berlin International Film Festival has announced a new seven-member gender-balanced selection committee, appointed by incoming artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
Chatrian, who officially takes up his role alongside new executive director Mariette Rissenbeek on June 1, 2019, has brought four colleagues with him from the Locarno Film Festival, where he served as artistic director from 2012 to 2018.
They include new Berlinale head of programming Mark Peranson, who was head of programming at Locarno from 2013 to 2018, and a member of the selection committee from 2010 to 2012. A native of Toronto, Canada, Peranson was a programming associate...
The Berlin International Film Festival has announced a new seven-member gender-balanced selection committee, appointed by incoming artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
Chatrian, who officially takes up his role alongside new executive director Mariette Rissenbeek on June 1, 2019, has brought four colleagues with him from the Locarno Film Festival, where he served as artistic director from 2012 to 2018.
They include new Berlinale head of programming Mark Peranson, who was head of programming at Locarno from 2013 to 2018, and a member of the selection committee from 2010 to 2012. A native of Toronto, Canada, Peranson was a programming associate...
- 3/28/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Even before officially taking office June 1, incoming Berlinale co-chiefs Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek have unveiled a new team that includes the core of Chatrian’s programming staff when he headed the Locarno Film Festival.
Berlin’s new seven-member selection committee includes Locarno’s former head of programming, Marc Peranson – who takes on the same post in Berlin – and three Locarno selection committee members: Lorenzo Esposito, Sergio Fant, and Aurelie Godet. Variety reported exclusively last month that Peranson, Esposito and Fant would be among those making the move with Chatrian from Locarno to Berlin.
Rounding out the new selection committee are Paz Lazaro, who is stepping down as head of the Berlinale’s Panorama section; Verena Von Stackelberg, founder and managing director of Berlin’s Wolf Kino arthouse cinema; and Barbara Wurm, an expert on Eastern European film.
“I’m responsible for the festival’s artistic profile. In looking after the programming work,...
Berlin’s new seven-member selection committee includes Locarno’s former head of programming, Marc Peranson – who takes on the same post in Berlin – and three Locarno selection committee members: Lorenzo Esposito, Sergio Fant, and Aurelie Godet. Variety reported exclusively last month that Peranson, Esposito and Fant would be among those making the move with Chatrian from Locarno to Berlin.
Rounding out the new selection committee are Paz Lazaro, who is stepping down as head of the Berlinale’s Panorama section; Verena Von Stackelberg, founder and managing director of Berlin’s Wolf Kino arthouse cinema; and Barbara Wurm, an expert on Eastern European film.
“I’m responsible for the festival’s artistic profile. In looking after the programming work,...
- 3/28/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Carlo Chatrian, the incoming artistic director of the Berlin Film Festival, is bringing the core of his Locarno fest programming team with him when he takes up his new post in the German capital in June, Variety has learned.
Set to be part of Chatrian’s Berlinale team are the Locarno Film Festival’s outgoing head of programming, Marc Peranson, and two Locarno selection committee members, Lorenzo Esposito and Sergio Fant, a source close to the situation said. It is not clear whether another of Chatrian’s Locarno colleagues, programmer Aurelie Godet, will also join the team in Berlin.
Chatrian, an Italian film critic and curator who has served as artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival since 2013, declined to comment. The Berlin Film Festival press office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Chatrian takes up his new post June 1, after longtime Berlin chief Dieter Kosslick steps down.
Set to be part of Chatrian’s Berlinale team are the Locarno Film Festival’s outgoing head of programming, Marc Peranson, and two Locarno selection committee members, Lorenzo Esposito and Sergio Fant, a source close to the situation said. It is not clear whether another of Chatrian’s Locarno colleagues, programmer Aurelie Godet, will also join the team in Berlin.
Chatrian, an Italian film critic and curator who has served as artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival since 2013, declined to comment. The Berlin Film Festival press office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Chatrian takes up his new post June 1, after longtime Berlin chief Dieter Kosslick steps down.
- 2/11/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.