Fisher King, the leading Finnish company behind some of Scandinavia’s biggest scripted hits including “Bordertown” and “The Helsinki Syndrome,” has gone bankrupt amid challenges that have thrown the Scandinavian TV industry into turmoil.
Beta Film, which acquired Fisher King in 2019 and subsequently launched the umbrella banner Beta Nordic Studios, said the company was declared bankrupt on Dec. 23.
Fisher King was founded in 2013 by executive producer Matti Halonen and chief visual officer Miikko Oikkonen. Over the years, the outfit was able to produce some of the region’s most ambitious drama series through international co-productions. The company’s recent titles include “Estonia,” a limited series directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä, about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster which killed over 850 people in 1994. Oikkonen was a showrunner and co-wrote the show.
Speaking to Variety, Beta Nordic Studios’ executive chairman Justus Riesenkampff said that in spite of its stellar track record,...
Beta Film, which acquired Fisher King in 2019 and subsequently launched the umbrella banner Beta Nordic Studios, said the company was declared bankrupt on Dec. 23.
Fisher King was founded in 2013 by executive producer Matti Halonen and chief visual officer Miikko Oikkonen. Over the years, the outfit was able to produce some of the region’s most ambitious drama series through international co-productions. The company’s recent titles include “Estonia,” a limited series directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä, about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster which killed over 850 people in 1994. Oikkonen was a showrunner and co-wrote the show.
Speaking to Variety, Beta Nordic Studios’ executive chairman Justus Riesenkampff said that in spite of its stellar track record,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Big-budget disaster series “Estonia,” Canneseries winner “Power Play” and “Painkiller,” the TV drama debut of Göteborg victor Gabriela Pilcher (“Amateur”) feature among the five contenders for next year’s Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize which serves to underscore the robust breadth of current Nordic scripted series.
Also in the running is “Prisoner,” a second admired Canneseries main competition contender featuring “The Killing” star Sofie Gråbøl, and “Descendants,” the showrunning debut of famed Icelandic thesp Tinna Hrafnsdóttir.
Backed by the Göteborg Film Festival and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the 8th edition of the Prize, awarded to series’ main writers, pits Beta Film, the sales agent on “Estonia” and owner of its producer, “Bordertown’s” Fisher King, against Fremantle, owner of “Power Play” producer Motlys/Novemberfilm and Red Arrow Studios International, the sales agent on “Descendants.” REinvent International Sales handles sales on “Painkiller” and “Power Play.”
The Nordic drama series...
Also in the running is “Prisoner,” a second admired Canneseries main competition contender featuring “The Killing” star Sofie Gråbøl, and “Descendants,” the showrunning debut of famed Icelandic thesp Tinna Hrafnsdóttir.
Backed by the Göteborg Film Festival and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the 8th edition of the Prize, awarded to series’ main writers, pits Beta Film, the sales agent on “Estonia” and owner of its producer, “Bordertown’s” Fisher King, against Fremantle, owner of “Power Play” producer Motlys/Novemberfilm and Red Arrow Studios International, the sales agent on “Descendants.” REinvent International Sales handles sales on “Painkiller” and “Power Play.”
The Nordic drama series...
- 12/15/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has released a moving trailer for the Ukrainian war drama “In Her Car,” a gripping series about the ongoing crisis told through the eyes of those who are living it, the company announced ahead of Mipcom.
“In Her Car” (10 x 30’) is produced by Starlight Media and Gaumont in co-production with France Télévisions, Zdf (Germany) and Swiss public broadcaster Srf. The show was also boarded in its early stages by Nordic public broadcasters Svt (Sweden), Dr (Denmark), Yle (Finland), Nrk TV (Norway) and RÚV (Iceland). Showrunner and creator Eugen Tunick directs alongside Arkadiy Nepytaliuk.
The story begins with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Lydia, played by Anastasia Karpenko, (“How is Katia?”), is a seasoned therapist who alongside her practice fields questions and concerns from her followers on social media. Privately, her life is in disarray, as she tries to divorce a husband who not only cheated on...
“In Her Car” (10 x 30’) is produced by Starlight Media and Gaumont in co-production with France Télévisions, Zdf (Germany) and Swiss public broadcaster Srf. The show was also boarded in its early stages by Nordic public broadcasters Svt (Sweden), Dr (Denmark), Yle (Finland), Nrk TV (Norway) and RÚV (Iceland). Showrunner and creator Eugen Tunick directs alongside Arkadiy Nepytaliuk.
The story begins with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Lydia, played by Anastasia Karpenko, (“How is Katia?”), is a seasoned therapist who alongside her practice fields questions and concerns from her followers on social media. Privately, her life is in disarray, as she tries to divorce a husband who not only cheated on...
- 10/13/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has acquired international sales rights to the Greek drama series “The Beach,” a primetime sensation for Greek public broadcaster Ert, the Munich-based production and distribution powerhouse announced on the eve of Mipcom.
The 24-part one hour series begins on an idyllic commune on the shores of Crete in 1969, where love and freedom intertwine, until a murder exposes the messy entanglements spurred on by the hippie residents. Yet even the straightlaced police officer assigned to investigate the crime finds he can’t resist the temptations of paradise.
Stefanos Blatsos (“Love After”) directs the hit drama set at Matala Beach in Crete with scripts from George Chrysovitsanos and Kostas Gerampinis. The cast includes Danai Michalaki (“Wild Bees”), starring as Hypatia, a London-based doctor coming back to her hometown, where she meets Harry, played by Dimitris Mothonaios (“A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear”).
Since launching on Ert in early September,...
The 24-part one hour series begins on an idyllic commune on the shores of Crete in 1969, where love and freedom intertwine, until a murder exposes the messy entanglements spurred on by the hippie residents. Yet even the straightlaced police officer assigned to investigate the crime finds he can’t resist the temptations of paradise.
Stefanos Blatsos (“Love After”) directs the hit drama set at Matala Beach in Crete with scripts from George Chrysovitsanos and Kostas Gerampinis. The cast includes Danai Michalaki (“Wild Bees”), starring as Hypatia, a London-based doctor coming back to her hometown, where she meets Harry, played by Dimitris Mothonaios (“A Day in the Life of a Teddy Bear”).
Since launching on Ert in early September,...
- 10/12/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best television being sold at Mipcom next week. Our editorial team has done extensive research in the run-up to the 2023 market and handpicked what we think are sure to be the shows that will be big talking points at this year’s event in Cannes. In between meetings and cocktail parties, you’re sure to hear whispers about the next potential global hit and The Hot Ones is here to guide you. Here’s our pick of top scripted titles headed for the Croisette.
Bargain From left: Jeon Jong-Seo and Jin Sun-kyu in Bargain.
Distributor: Paramount Global Content Distribution
Length: 6×35 minutes
Producers: Sll, Climax Studio
Bargain’s star has been ascending all year, following the Korean drama’s Best Screenplay win at Canneseries in April and the Critics’ Choice gong at Germany’s Seriencamp in Cologne a few months later.
Bargain From left: Jeon Jong-Seo and Jin Sun-kyu in Bargain.
Distributor: Paramount Global Content Distribution
Length: 6×35 minutes
Producers: Sll, Climax Studio
Bargain’s star has been ascending all year, following the Korean drama’s Best Screenplay win at Canneseries in April and the Critics’ Choice gong at Germany’s Seriencamp in Cologne a few months later.
- 10/11/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Creatives behind Estonia – one of Scandinavia’s most expensive drama series of all time – have opened up about the ethical issues surrounding a show spotlighting a tragedy that claimed the lives of 850 people.
Director Måns Månsson, whose past credits include Chernobyl and Snabba Cash, described the cruiseferry’s sinking as a “total national trauma” that needed to be approached with the utmost sensibility, given that authorities are still investigating 30 years on.
“We Scandinavians tend not to be involved with wars so rarely have loss of life on this scale,” he told Deadline, as the show distributed by Beta Film and made by several indies for a number of European networks prepares for launch at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Primetime program.
With budget estimated at around €15M ($16.4M) across eight episodes, Estonia (see an exclusive clip below) charts what happened after midnight on September 28 1994 when a catastrophic storm...
Director Måns Månsson, whose past credits include Chernobyl and Snabba Cash, described the cruiseferry’s sinking as a “total national trauma” that needed to be approached with the utmost sensibility, given that authorities are still investigating 30 years on.
“We Scandinavians tend not to be involved with wars so rarely have loss of life on this scale,” he told Deadline, as the show distributed by Beta Film and made by several indies for a number of European networks prepares for launch at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Primetime program.
With budget estimated at around €15M ($16.4M) across eight episodes, Estonia (see an exclusive clip below) charts what happened after midnight on September 28 1994 when a catastrophic storm...
- 9/7/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Beta Film has dropped the trailer for “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster.
The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people.
The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä. While the sinking of the ship is an important part of the show, “Estonia” also spotlights the tentacular probe launched in the aftermath of the tragedy by the Joint Accident Investigation Committee established by Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
Showrunner Miikko Oikkonen, who co-wrote the series with Olli Suitiala and Tuomas Hakola, said that when he “started to read the final report and went through the material, (he) realized the investigation itself was even more interesting than the accident.”
“It was a power play, a political game...
The eight-part cinematic show, which is represented in international markets by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”), charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people.
The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä. While the sinking of the ship is an important part of the show, “Estonia” also spotlights the tentacular probe launched in the aftermath of the tragedy by the Joint Accident Investigation Committee established by Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
Showrunner Miikko Oikkonen, who co-wrote the series with Olli Suitiala and Tuomas Hakola, said that when he “started to read the final report and went through the material, (he) realized the investigation itself was even more interesting than the accident.”
“It was a power play, a political game...
- 8/31/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Venice Gap-Financing Market (September 1-3), part of the Venice Production Bridge, will present 34 fiction and documentary projects.
The Venice Gap-Financing Market (September 1-3), part of the Venice Production Bridge, will present 34 fiction and documentary projects at the 80th Venice International Film Festival (August 30-Septmber 9), including a new project from Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, All Before You.
All Before You offers a retelling of the 1963 farner-led revolt against British colonial rule in Palestine. Jacir’s previous director credits include The Oblivion Theory, which won the top prize at the Berlinale co-production market in 2021, Salt Of This Sea, Wajib and When I Saw You,...
The Venice Gap-Financing Market (September 1-3), part of the Venice Production Bridge, will present 34 fiction and documentary projects at the 80th Venice International Film Festival (August 30-Septmber 9), including a new project from Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, All Before You.
All Before You offers a retelling of the 1963 farner-led revolt against British colonial rule in Palestine. Jacir’s previous director credits include The Oblivion Theory, which won the top prize at the Berlinale co-production market in 2021, Salt Of This Sea, Wajib and When I Saw You,...
- 7/3/2023
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The 10th edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market, organized as part of the Venice Film Festival’s industry program Venice Production Bridge, has selected 62 projects in the final stages of development and funding.
Filmmakers taking projects to Venice include Jim Sheridan, an Oscar nominee with “In America,” “In the Name of the Father” and “My Left Foot”; Annemarie Jacir, whose credits include Cannes’ “Salt of This Sea,” Berlin’s “When I Saw You” and Locarno’s “Wajib”; Aisling Walsh, who directed “Maudie” with Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, and “Elizabeth Is Missing” with Glenda Jackson; and Kim Mordaunt, who won best debut at Berlin with “The Rocket.”
Also selected are Roberto Minervini, who directed Cannes’ “The Other Side” and Venice’s “What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?”; Laurynas Bareisa, who won the Venice Horizons Award for “Pilgrims”; Måns Månsson, who was in Berlin competition with “The Real Estate”; György Pálfi,...
Filmmakers taking projects to Venice include Jim Sheridan, an Oscar nominee with “In America,” “In the Name of the Father” and “My Left Foot”; Annemarie Jacir, whose credits include Cannes’ “Salt of This Sea,” Berlin’s “When I Saw You” and Locarno’s “Wajib”; Aisling Walsh, who directed “Maudie” with Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, and “Elizabeth Is Missing” with Glenda Jackson; and Kim Mordaunt, who won best debut at Berlin with “The Rocket.”
Also selected are Roberto Minervini, who directed Cannes’ “The Other Side” and Venice’s “What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?”; Laurynas Bareisa, who won the Venice Horizons Award for “Pilgrims”; Måns Månsson, who was in Berlin competition with “The Real Estate”; György Pálfi,...
- 7/3/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
New Feature projects by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir, Ireland’s Aisling Walsh and Jim Sheridan as well as Romanian filmmaker Anca Damian have been selected for the upcoming edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market.
The 10th edition of the co-financing meeting will run from Sept. 1 to 3 as part as of the Venice Production Bridge, which is the industry component of the Venice Film Festival (Aug 30 to Sept. 9)
The market will present 62 projects in the final stages of development and funding, selected from 280 submissions.
The selection spans 34 feature-length fiction Film and documentary projects, 14 Immersive projects, 11 Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality projects and three Biennale College Cinema projects.
To be eligible for inclusion, the fiction films must have at least 70% of funding in place and be looking for minority partners only.
Full List of Feature Film Projects:
After The Evil (doc) by Tamara Erde, Gloria Films Production All Before You (fiction), by Annemarie Jacir,...
The 10th edition of the co-financing meeting will run from Sept. 1 to 3 as part as of the Venice Production Bridge, which is the industry component of the Venice Film Festival (Aug 30 to Sept. 9)
The market will present 62 projects in the final stages of development and funding, selected from 280 submissions.
The selection spans 34 feature-length fiction Film and documentary projects, 14 Immersive projects, 11 Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality projects and three Biennale College Cinema projects.
To be eligible for inclusion, the fiction films must have at least 70% of funding in place and be looking for minority partners only.
Full List of Feature Film Projects:
After The Evil (doc) by Tamara Erde, Gloria Films Production All Before You (fiction), by Annemarie Jacir,...
- 7/3/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Season 6 of Canadian cop show “Hudson & Rex,” one of the world’s most successful television brands, has been given the greenlight. The new season has been added to the sales slate of Beta Film at next week’s MipTV television conference and market in Cannes.
The canine star of the police procedural, German Shepherd Diesel, who plays Rex, will walk the pink carpet on Sunday at TV series festival Canneseries, which runs in parallel with MipTV. He will be joined by John Reardon, who plays detective Charlie Hudson. The crime fighting duo are presenting the French premiere of the first episode of Season 4, followed by a Q&a with the talent.
“Hudson & Rex,” which is produced by Shaftesbury and Pope Productions for Citytv, was first unleashed in Austria in the 1990s under the title “Rex, the Cop’s Best Friend.” It is one of Beta’s most successful series,...
The canine star of the police procedural, German Shepherd Diesel, who plays Rex, will walk the pink carpet on Sunday at TV series festival Canneseries, which runs in parallel with MipTV. He will be joined by John Reardon, who plays detective Charlie Hudson. The crime fighting duo are presenting the French premiere of the first episode of Season 4, followed by a Q&a with the talent.
“Hudson & Rex,” which is produced by Shaftesbury and Pope Productions for Citytv, was first unleashed in Austria in the 1990s under the title “Rex, the Cop’s Best Friend.” It is one of Beta’s most successful series,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
It’s pitch dark and stormy and Pelle Heikkilä, one of Finland’s biggest stars, is getting slammed by massive waves in a 10-meter-deep water tank.
The shoot of “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster, is underway in Belgium at an indoor water stage. The eight-part cinematic show, which is budgeted at €15 million (14.7 million) and is being shopped by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”) at Mipcom, charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people.
The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä, who are polar opposites, one coming from festival-friendly auteur filmmaking, the other coming from high-end commercials.
Like the cast and crew of the series, the tragedy itself involved multiple countries, including Estonia, because it was an Estonian ship and departed from Tallinn; Sweden, because nearly half of the people...
The shoot of “Estonia,” a Scandinavian limited series about Europe’s deadliest civil maritime disaster, is underway in Belgium at an indoor water stage. The eight-part cinematic show, which is budgeted at €15 million (14.7 million) and is being shopped by Jan Mojto’s Beta Film (“Babylon Berlin”) at Mipcom, charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on Sept. 28, 1994, which killed over 850 people.
The series is directed by Swedish director Måns Månsson and Finnish director Juuso Syrjä, who are polar opposites, one coming from festival-friendly auteur filmmaking, the other coming from high-end commercials.
Like the cast and crew of the series, the tragedy itself involved multiple countries, including Estonia, because it was an Estonian ship and departed from Tallinn; Sweden, because nearly half of the people...
- 10/19/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Everyone is looking over their shoulders in “Snabba Cash.” It’s never for more than a moment or two. But once you start tracking when and how and where the people in this Netflix drama series do it, it’s hard to ignore. “Snabba Cash” is the kind of show that continuously convinces you that doom could be lurking around any corner.
It’s also the kind of show that would be a no-brainer hit with even the slightest push from a streaming service in need of one right now. For a corner of the viewing audience looking for a show to take the TV crime show mantle, “Snabba Cash” has all the tension, patience, and craft that have run through all comparable recent faves. A cross-generational look at big business in Stockholm, drenched in danger and laser-focused on everyone caught in its wake, it’s the kind of show...
It’s also the kind of show that would be a no-brainer hit with even the slightest push from a streaming service in need of one right now. For a corner of the viewing audience looking for a show to take the TV crime show mantle, “Snabba Cash” has all the tension, patience, and craft that have run through all comparable recent faves. A cross-generational look at big business in Stockholm, drenched in danger and laser-focused on everyone caught in its wake, it’s the kind of show...
- 9/22/2022
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
BT And Warner Bros Discovery UK Sports Joint Venture Approved
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given approval for BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery to form a 50-50 sports joint venture for the UK & Ireland. Both companies sports assets will now combine over coming weeks. BT Sport and Wbd’s Eurosport will initially retain their brand propositions before uniting under a single brand name in the future. BT’s Consumer division CEO Marc Allera, who has been named Chairman of the Jv, said the approval marked a “milestone.” The chair will rotate between the two shareholders, with management of the Jv going to board member Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe. The CMA had initially decided too investigate the merger more than six weeks ago.
Netflix Ties With ‘Descendants Of The Sun’ Team For K-Drama
Netflix has greenlit a Korean series from...
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given approval for BT Group and Warner Bros. Discovery to form a 50-50 sports joint venture for the UK & Ireland. Both companies sports assets will now combine over coming weeks. BT Sport and Wbd’s Eurosport will initially retain their brand propositions before uniting under a single brand name in the future. BT’s Consumer division CEO Marc Allera, who has been named Chairman of the Jv, said the approval marked a “milestone.” The chair will rotate between the two shareholders, with management of the Jv going to board member Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe. The CMA had initially decided too investigate the merger more than six weeks ago.
Netflix Ties With ‘Descendants Of The Sun’ Team For K-Drama
Netflix has greenlit a Korean series from...
- 7/22/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Beta has pre-sold sprawling Finnish drama series “Estonia” to Germany’s broadcaster Seven.One Entertainment Group, the parent company of ProSieben. This acquisition marks the start of a collaboration between Beta and Seven.One Entertainment.
The eight-hour drama, about the deadliest civil maritime disaster in recent European history, is now in its third week of shooting.
Produced by Fisher King, a subsidiary of Beta Nordic Studio, the drama charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on September 28, 1994 which claimed the lives of over 850 people. The series also chronicles the tentacular investigation launched in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Miikko Oikkonen created the series based on numerous testimonies of survivors, which were classified until recently. The story is told though the perspectives of survivors, investigators and journalists.
“Estonia” reunites the creative team behind “Chernobyl,” including award-winning Swedish director Måns Månsson (“Snabba Cash”), cinematographer Jani-Petteri Passi and the VFX company Dneg.
The series...
The eight-hour drama, about the deadliest civil maritime disaster in recent European history, is now in its third week of shooting.
Produced by Fisher King, a subsidiary of Beta Nordic Studio, the drama charts the sinking of the Ms Estonia on September 28, 1994 which claimed the lives of over 850 people. The series also chronicles the tentacular investigation launched in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Miikko Oikkonen created the series based on numerous testimonies of survivors, which were classified until recently. The story is told though the perspectives of survivors, investigators and journalists.
“Estonia” reunites the creative team behind “Chernobyl,” including award-winning Swedish director Måns Månsson (“Snabba Cash”), cinematographer Jani-Petteri Passi and the VFX company Dneg.
The series...
- 7/22/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Georgian director Ana Kvichidze is in production with her first feature documentary, the Georgian/French coproduction “Heart, Don’t Be Afraid.” The film is supported by the Georgian National Film Center and France’s Cnc, Film New Europe reports.
Vardo lives alone and unlike the witches from the fairytales, she is a kind character. She was a popular “magician” years ago, but now her livelihood is mainly pension money and food brought by neighbors. With the help of her spells, the film examines the lives of everyone in the village and witnesses their plight, from young women who have reproductive problems to families who are losing the last of their livelihood.
“I fell in love with witchcraft because of my grandmother, who was a spellcaster in our village. People came for spells and healing to her. I inherited spells and recipes from her,” Ana Kvichidze told Fne. “I want to...
Vardo lives alone and unlike the witches from the fairytales, she is a kind character. She was a popular “magician” years ago, but now her livelihood is mainly pension money and food brought by neighbors. With the help of her spells, the film examines the lives of everyone in the village and witnesses their plight, from young women who have reproductive problems to families who are losing the last of their livelihood.
“I fell in love with witchcraft because of my grandmother, who was a spellcaster in our village. People came for spells and healing to her. I inherited spells and recipes from her,” Ana Kvichidze told Fne. “I want to...
- 6/24/2022
- by Alexander Gabelia
- Variety Film + TV
€2m invested in 11 films and TV series.
Gerrit Bekers’ Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures, a series of six animated stories by the UK illustrator and storyteller, has received backing from Screen Flanders in the latest tranche of funding that sees €2m invested in 11 films and TV series
It is produced by Walter Iuzzolino’s UK outfit Eagle Eye with Belgium’s Creative Conspiracy. The main animation studio is Spicy Acorn in Ghent. Aardman will sell the series internationally. BBC, Vrt and France Télé are also on board.
Screen Flanders is also backing Dorien Goertzen’s musical Just Like In...
Gerrit Bekers’ Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures, a series of six animated stories by the UK illustrator and storyteller, has received backing from Screen Flanders in the latest tranche of funding that sees €2m invested in 11 films and TV series
It is produced by Walter Iuzzolino’s UK outfit Eagle Eye with Belgium’s Creative Conspiracy. The main animation studio is Spicy Acorn in Ghent. Aardman will sell the series internationally. BBC, Vrt and France Télé are also on board.
Screen Flanders is also backing Dorien Goertzen’s musical Just Like In...
- 5/23/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Beta Film has acquired world sales rights to “Estonia,” an ambitious Finnish series telling the true story of Europe’s deadliest maritime disaster of the 20th century. The eight-part event drama will reteam “Bordertown” creator Miikko Oikkonen and helmer Juuso Syrjä (Bordertown), who will split directing duties with Måns Månsson (“Snabba Cash”).
Finland’s biggest drama project to date, “Estonia” is produced by Beta Nordic Studio’s Finnish banner Fisher King, and co-produced by Swedish Kärnfilm Ab, Panache Production Belgium and the Estonian Amrion Oü. Also co-producing are streaming service C More Finland and Sweden, along with the broadcaster TV4 and MTV Finland, in collaboration with Beta Film.
The character-driven series, whose shoot is due to start in the spring, will captures the true event of the sinking of the Ms Estonia, the country’s largest ship, in September 1994. The cruise ferry was hit by a major storm, which led to uncontrolled tilting.
Finland’s biggest drama project to date, “Estonia” is produced by Beta Nordic Studio’s Finnish banner Fisher King, and co-produced by Swedish Kärnfilm Ab, Panache Production Belgium and the Estonian Amrion Oü. Also co-producing are streaming service C More Finland and Sweden, along with the broadcaster TV4 and MTV Finland, in collaboration with Beta Film.
The character-driven series, whose shoot is due to start in the spring, will captures the true event of the sinking of the Ms Estonia, the country’s largest ship, in September 1994. The cruise ferry was hit by a major storm, which led to uncontrolled tilting.
- 2/1/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Captivated by the seemingly many personas of late actor Omar Sharif, Egyptian filmmaker Mark Lotfy and Swedish director Axel Petersén delved into the legendary star’s eventful career, tracing how the politics of 1950s Egypt formed the international star’s complex character.
Their new documentary, “The Life and Times of Omar Sharif,” shows in particular how the policies of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the political climate of the time led him to change his name and convert to Islam, and later to become a cosmopolitan individual who was equally at home in Cairo, Paris or Los Angeles.
Sharif’s life and career are described as a “dramatic balancing act, set on an East-West axis, illustrated by the hundreds of characters he played, on and off screen, in the changing political landscapes of Hollywood and the Middle East.”
Produced by Sigrid Helleday’s Stockholm-based Fedra in co-production with Lotfy’s...
Their new documentary, “The Life and Times of Omar Sharif,” shows in particular how the policies of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the political climate of the time led him to change his name and convert to Islam, and later to become a cosmopolitan individual who was equally at home in Cairo, Paris or Los Angeles.
Sharif’s life and career are described as a “dramatic balancing act, set on an East-West axis, illustrated by the hundreds of characters he played, on and off screen, in the changing political landscapes of Hollywood and the Middle East.”
Produced by Sigrid Helleday’s Stockholm-based Fedra in co-production with Lotfy’s...
- 4/28/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin International Film Festival’s European Film Market (EFM) has confirmed details for how its online incarnation will work March 1-5.
As Deadline revealed, Dennis Ruh took the reins at the EFM in September 2020 and faces an unconventional first edition.
“International sales agents have filled their lineups for the start of the year and have an attractive variety of films on offer. Many films are also currently in production and ready for pre-sales. We want the digital EFM in 2021 to be an impulse for a new beginning in the international film industry,” said Ruh today. “Since the EFM is an integral part of an international convention calendar, and therefore part of an economic system that includes events such as the Marché du Film in Cannes and the American Film Market in Los Angeles, a later date is not an option.”
The Efm will condense the industry sessions from its...
As Deadline revealed, Dennis Ruh took the reins at the EFM in September 2020 and faces an unconventional first edition.
“International sales agents have filled their lineups for the start of the year and have an attractive variety of films on offer. Many films are also currently in production and ready for pre-sales. We want the digital EFM in 2021 to be an impulse for a new beginning in the international film industry,” said Ruh today. “Since the EFM is an integral part of an international convention calendar, and therefore part of an economic system that includes events such as the Marché du Film in Cannes and the American Film Market in Los Angeles, a later date is not an option.”
The Efm will condense the industry sessions from its...
- 1/15/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The Co-Productions Village will unspool on 17 and 18 January in the French capital and online, with 18 projects in the offing, including works by Måns Månsson, Basil Da Cunha and Nathalie Biancheri. The health crisis and current state of lockdown in France have left the team of the Les Arcs Film Festival with no choice but to reinvent the celebration. As such, the 12th edition of the festival (whose programme will be revealed at a later date) will unspool online between 12 and 19 December 2020 (with screenings set to take place in the Bourg-Saint-Maurice Valley as soon as French cinemas reopen). The professional Industry Village segment, meanwhile, will unfold in two forms: both in person, in Paris, on 17 and 18 January and online, immediately afterwards, on 20 and 21 January. 18 projects in development (including 12...
- 11/10/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
The award-winning filmmaker is directing the first episode of a new female-driven show, whilst Mattias J Skoglund and Måns Månsson will co-direct the others. Swedish filmmaker Levan Akin is now working on his new project, an eight-part TV series entitled Dough. The show, co-written with Mattias J Skoglund and Sara Bergmark Elfgren, has just begun filming in Stockholm and is commissioned by Swedish pubcaster Svt. Akin is set to direct the opening episode, whilst Skoglund and Måns Månsson will co-direct the others. The news was reported by nordiskfilmogtvfond.com and other Swedish outlets. The plot revolves around two women from opposite ends of society. Malou (Helena af Sandeberg) is a business woman from Lidingö, obsessed with social status, but whose latest venture has gone wrong. When she comes across a bag containing 47 million Swedish crowns from a robbery, she opens a bakery to launder...
The programme will screen 17 titles from around the world.
Sarajevo Film Festival (August 10-18) has revealed the 17 titles that will play in its Kinoscope programme, with China, Brazil and the Us all represented.
The Kinoscope section is open to films from around the world, excluding the Southeastern European territories which comprise the festival’s competition strand.
On the list is a special screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in May this year. Screen’s review described it as ‘a masterful ensemble piece about a ‘family’ living on its wits’.
Also appearing after...
Sarajevo Film Festival (August 10-18) has revealed the 17 titles that will play in its Kinoscope programme, with China, Brazil and the Us all represented.
The Kinoscope section is open to films from around the world, excluding the Southeastern European territories which comprise the festival’s competition strand.
On the list is a special screening of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in May this year. Screen’s review described it as ‘a masterful ensemble piece about a ‘family’ living on its wits’.
Also appearing after...
- 7/25/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
It's been hard to find something truly worth writing home about since opening night of this year's 68th Berlinale programme, but thankfully Swedish film The Real Estate (Toppen av ingenting) has finally exploded onto the scene. Like a cinematic pipe bomb that directors Axel Petersén and Måns Månsson have slyly left in the midst of the (occasionally mediocre, sometimes truly terrible) Official Competition strand this year, The Real Estate has sincerely blown audiences to polar opposites of opinion. But in terms of the viewer experience it achieves, I think it's a form of fire that is well worth playing with. The movie itself seems to open pretty benignly, with a close‐up snapshot of something as harmless as a trip to the hairdressers. We fade in...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/19/2018
- Screen Anarchy
"Your options... you have two right now. Either you keep the building..." The Match Factory has debuted the first international trailer for an indie drama titled The Real Estate, premiering at the Berlin Film Festival in-competition this month. This Swedish film from directors Måns Månsson and Axel Petersén is about an aging wealthy woman who inherits an apartment building, and doesn't know how to handle it, and all the various tenants, properly. Léonore Ekstrand stars as Nojet, the woman at the center, and the cast includes Christer Levin, Christian Saldert, Olof Rhodin, Carl Johan Merner, and Don Bennechi. This looks way crazier than it seems from the description, but that's part of the appeal, I guess. This seems like an ideal film for the Berlin Film Festival, hopefully it's a worthy film. For now, give this trailer a watch. First international trailer (+ poster) for Måns Månsson & Axel Petersén's The Real Estate,...
- 2/8/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Beki Probst, Katriel Schory and Jiri Menzel will also receive Berlinale Cameras.
Source: Murray Pictures/Berlin Film Festival
‘Songwriter’
Erik Poppe’s Anders Breivik drama ‘U - July 22’ has been added to the competition line-up for 2018 Berlin Film Festival, it was announced today (6 Feb) at the official programme press conference.
Dieter Kosslick, in his penultimate year as festival director, also revealed that the final Berlinale Special title will be Ed Sheeran documentary Songwriter, directed by Murray Cummings. Both films will have their world premieres in Berlin.
It was announced that Willem Dafoe, Beki Probst, Katriel Schory and Jiri Menzel will be honoured at the event, which runs from 15 Feb-25 Feb.
Dafoe, nominated for an Oscar this year for The Florida Project, will be presented with an Honorary Golden Bear on February 20 before a screening of Daniel Nettheim’s 2011 film The Hunter. The festival will screen 10 of his films, including Antichrist, Mississipi Burning and [link...
Source: Murray Pictures/Berlin Film Festival
‘Songwriter’
Erik Poppe’s Anders Breivik drama ‘U - July 22’ has been added to the competition line-up for 2018 Berlin Film Festival, it was announced today (6 Feb) at the official programme press conference.
Dieter Kosslick, in his penultimate year as festival director, also revealed that the final Berlinale Special title will be Ed Sheeran documentary Songwriter, directed by Murray Cummings. Both films will have their world premieres in Berlin.
It was announced that Willem Dafoe, Beki Probst, Katriel Schory and Jiri Menzel will be honoured at the event, which runs from 15 Feb-25 Feb.
Dafoe, nominated for an Oscar this year for The Florida Project, will be presented with an Honorary Golden Bear on February 20 before a screening of Daniel Nettheim’s 2011 film The Hunter. The festival will screen 10 of his films, including Antichrist, Mississipi Burning and [link...
- 2/6/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin International Film Festival is just a couple of weeks away, and as always, it will provide a terrific window on some of the best world cinema has to offer. In the Main Competition programme, Sweden will be represented with “The Real Estate,” and today we’re excited to debut the compelling trailer for the film.
Directed by Måns Månsson & Axel Petersen, and starring Léonore Ekstrand, the story follows a 68 year woman who inherits an apartment building after her father passes away.
Continue reading ‘The Real Estate’ Trailer: A Blessing Turns Into A Curse [Berlin Exclusive] at The Playlist.
Directed by Måns Månsson & Axel Petersen, and starring Léonore Ekstrand, the story follows a 68 year woman who inherits an apartment building after her father passes away.
Continue reading ‘The Real Estate’ Trailer: A Blessing Turns Into A Curse [Berlin Exclusive] at The Playlist.
- 1/31/2018
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Christian Petzold, Emily Atef, Lance Daly join Berlinale.
Source: Great Point Media
‘Damsel’
Another ten films have joined the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 15 - 25). Three more have also been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.
Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong - China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.
Joining the main competition are Barbara and Phoenix director Christian Petzold’s new drama Transit, a contemporary reworking of Anna Seghers’ 1944 novel about refugees attempting to flee through Marseille after the Nazi invasion of France in 1940. The film stars Frantz breakout Paula Beer.
Also new to competition is David and Nathan Zellner’s Damsel, the western about a Us businessman who travels to join his fiancée...
Source: Great Point Media
‘Damsel’
Another ten films have joined the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 15 - 25). Three more have also been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.
Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong - China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.
Joining the main competition are Barbara and Phoenix director Christian Petzold’s new drama Transit, a contemporary reworking of Anna Seghers’ 1944 novel about refugees attempting to flee through Marseille after the Nazi invasion of France in 1940. The film stars Frantz breakout Paula Beer.
Also new to competition is David and Nathan Zellner’s Damsel, the western about a Us businessman who travels to join his fiancée...
- 1/15/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- ScreenDaily
Christian Petzold, Emily Atef, Lance Daly join Berlinale.
Source: Great Point Media
‘Damsel’
Another ten films have joined the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Three more have also been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.
Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong - China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.
Additional films for both categories are due to be revealed soon. Films announced today are:
Competition
3 Tage in Quiberon (3 Days in Quiberon)
Germany / Austria / France
By Emily Atef (Molly’s Way, The Stranger In Me)
With Marie Bäumer, Birgit Minichmayr, Charly Hübner, Robert Gwisdek, Denis Lavant
World premiere
Black 47
Ireland / Luxembourg
By Lance Daly (Kisses, The Good Doctor)
With Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, [link...
Source: Great Point Media
‘Damsel’
Another ten films have joined the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Three more have also been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.
Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong - China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.
Additional films for both categories are due to be revealed soon. Films announced today are:
Competition
3 Tage in Quiberon (3 Days in Quiberon)
Germany / Austria / France
By Emily Atef (Molly’s Way, The Stranger In Me)
With Marie Bäumer, Birgit Minichmayr, Charly Hübner, Robert Gwisdek, Denis Lavant
World premiere
Black 47
Ireland / Luxembourg
By Lance Daly (Kisses, The Good Doctor)
With Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, [link...
- 1/15/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- ScreenDaily
A total of 18 work in progress projects will participate in this year’s Nordic Film Market.Scroll down for full line up
The works in progress titles set to take part in this year’s Nordic Film Market (Feb 2-5) at the Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 27 – Feb 6) have been revealed.
Among them is Borg vs McEnroe, Jans Metz’s tennis biopic starring Shia Labeouf as John McEnroe and rising Swedish talent Sverrir Gudnason as his rival Bjorn Borg.
Sf International is handling international sales and has already tied up multiple deals including Curzon Artificial Eye for the UK and Nordisk Film for Scandinavia.
Also featuring as a work in progress is The Square, the latest feature from director Ruben Östlund, whose credits include Bafta-nominated avalanche comedy-drama Force Majeure.
The Swedish filmmaker’s English-language debut stars Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West in the story of an artist who installs an unusual exhibition in a public square. The Coproduction...
The works in progress titles set to take part in this year’s Nordic Film Market (Feb 2-5) at the Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 27 – Feb 6) have been revealed.
Among them is Borg vs McEnroe, Jans Metz’s tennis biopic starring Shia Labeouf as John McEnroe and rising Swedish talent Sverrir Gudnason as his rival Bjorn Borg.
Sf International is handling international sales and has already tied up multiple deals including Curzon Artificial Eye for the UK and Nordisk Film for Scandinavia.
Also featuring as a work in progress is The Square, the latest feature from director Ruben Östlund, whose credits include Bafta-nominated avalanche comedy-drama Force Majeure.
The Swedish filmmaker’s English-language debut stars Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West in the story of an artist who installs an unusual exhibition in a public square. The Coproduction...
- 1/26/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Les Arcs unveils 16 projects due to be presented in the work-in-progress selection.
Upcoming films by the UK’s Rungano Nyoni, the Czech Republic’s Olmo Omerzu and Sweden’s Johannes Nyholm are among 16 works-in-progress projects due to be presented at the eighth edition of the Les Arcs Coproduction village (Dec 10-13).
Footage from the films, which are all in post-production, will be shown on Dec 11. The festival’s artistic director Frédéric Boyer made the selection.
British-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni will show first footage from her debut satire I Am Not A Witch [pictured top] about a nine-year-old girl who is a victim of a witch-hunt, which is shot by Embrace Of The Serpent’s DoP David Gallego.
Nyholm will present his second feature Koko-di Koko-da - after The Giant which premiered at Tiff this year - revolving around a couple whose camping trip takes a strange turn when a circus troupe turns up.
Two awards...
Upcoming films by the UK’s Rungano Nyoni, the Czech Republic’s Olmo Omerzu and Sweden’s Johannes Nyholm are among 16 works-in-progress projects due to be presented at the eighth edition of the Les Arcs Coproduction village (Dec 10-13).
Footage from the films, which are all in post-production, will be shown on Dec 11. The festival’s artistic director Frédéric Boyer made the selection.
British-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni will show first footage from her debut satire I Am Not A Witch [pictured top] about a nine-year-old girl who is a victim of a witch-hunt, which is shot by Embrace Of The Serpent’s DoP David Gallego.
Nyholm will present his second feature Koko-di Koko-da - after The Giant which premiered at Tiff this year - revolving around a couple whose camping trip takes a strange turn when a circus troupe turns up.
Two awards...
- 11/25/2016
- ScreenDaily
Venice Production Bridge will incorporate Gap Financing Market and Final Cut events.
The Venice Film Festival (Aug 31 - Sept 10) has revealed the line-ups for its 2016 market events, newly renamed the Venice Production Bridge (Sept 1 - 5).
The Production Bridge will host features, TV, web-series and Vr projects.
Venice’s two-day Gap-Financing Market event (September 2-3, 2016) will host 40 selected European and International projects looking to close their international financing.
The market’s Final Cut strand will award prizes to selected in-the-works projects from Africa and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, while the inaugural Book Adaptation Rights Area will see publishers pitch books ripe for film or TV adaptation.
The European Commission organises two workshops, one on access to finance (Sept 3) and the other on the future of cinemas (Sept 4). The second event, which will be opened by European Commissioner Oettinger, will focus on how cinemas can fully reap the benefits of digital technologies.
Gap Financing...
The Venice Film Festival (Aug 31 - Sept 10) has revealed the line-ups for its 2016 market events, newly renamed the Venice Production Bridge (Sept 1 - 5).
The Production Bridge will host features, TV, web-series and Vr projects.
Venice’s two-day Gap-Financing Market event (September 2-3, 2016) will host 40 selected European and International projects looking to close their international financing.
The market’s Final Cut strand will award prizes to selected in-the-works projects from Africa and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, while the inaugural Book Adaptation Rights Area will see publishers pitch books ripe for film or TV adaptation.
The European Commission organises two workshops, one on access to finance (Sept 3) and the other on the future of cinemas (Sept 4). The second event, which will be opened by European Commissioner Oettinger, will focus on how cinemas can fully reap the benefits of digital technologies.
Gap Financing...
- 7/29/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Confirmed titles include Måns Månsson’s Yarden [pictured] and Eiji Uchida’s Lowlife Love.
Film Fest Gent’s 43rd edition (Oct 11-21) is planning a focus on Nordic cinema and a spotlight on Japan.
Titles showing in the Nordic Focus include The Yard (Yarden) by Måns Månsson from Sweden, the Swedish/Norwegian/Danish drama A Serious Game by Pernilla August and Norwegian children’s film Solan & Ludwig: The Big Cheese Race by Rasmus A. Sivertsen.
“By dedicating our film programme to Nordic Cinema, we aim to show that strong, intelligent and moving drama from the countries of the Northern Lights is not restricted to crime literature and popular TV series, but can also be found in the present-day film production of the area,” said festival artistic director Patrick Duynslaegher.
“With movies that are not as heavy and dark as one might expect, filled with deadpan humor, psychological finesse, tantalizing sensuality, weird comedy and a heavy portion of social...
Film Fest Gent’s 43rd edition (Oct 11-21) is planning a focus on Nordic cinema and a spotlight on Japan.
Titles showing in the Nordic Focus include The Yard (Yarden) by Måns Månsson from Sweden, the Swedish/Norwegian/Danish drama A Serious Game by Pernilla August and Norwegian children’s film Solan & Ludwig: The Big Cheese Race by Rasmus A. Sivertsen.
“By dedicating our film programme to Nordic Cinema, we aim to show that strong, intelligent and moving drama from the countries of the Northern Lights is not restricted to crime literature and popular TV series, but can also be found in the present-day film production of the area,” said festival artistic director Patrick Duynslaegher.
“With movies that are not as heavy and dark as one might expect, filled with deadpan humor, psychological finesse, tantalizing sensuality, weird comedy and a heavy portion of social...
- 6/29/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Seven Croatian features comprise the main competition, while Independence Day: Resurgence and Ghostbusters play in the international strand.Scroll down for the full list of titles
Croatia’s Pula Film Festival has revealed the line-up for its 63rd edition, which will take place July 9-16.
Croatian titles
Receiving 105 submissions from Croatian film-makers, festival president Hrvoje Pukšec and artistic directors Mike Downey and Tanja Miličić have selected 16 features and 18 shorts for the Croatian programme.
In competition will be Ivan–Goran Vitez’s second feature Shooting Stars [pictured], after his debut Forest Creatures premiered in Pula in 2010, and Berlinale premiere On The Other Side, the latest feature from Zrinko Ogresta, who has received multiple accolades at Pula for previous features including 1995’s Washed Out and 1999’s Red Dust.
The festival will also host the out-of-competition world premiere of Rade and Danilo Šerbedžija’s Second World War drama The Liberation Of Skopje.
Minority Croatia co-pros selected to play include Mirjana Karanović...
Croatia’s Pula Film Festival has revealed the line-up for its 63rd edition, which will take place July 9-16.
Croatian titles
Receiving 105 submissions from Croatian film-makers, festival president Hrvoje Pukšec and artistic directors Mike Downey and Tanja Miličić have selected 16 features and 18 shorts for the Croatian programme.
In competition will be Ivan–Goran Vitez’s second feature Shooting Stars [pictured], after his debut Forest Creatures premiered in Pula in 2010, and Berlinale premiere On The Other Side, the latest feature from Zrinko Ogresta, who has received multiple accolades at Pula for previous features including 1995’s Washed Out and 1999’s Red Dust.
The festival will also host the out-of-competition world premiere of Rade and Danilo Šerbedžija’s Second World War drama The Liberation Of Skopje.
Minority Croatia co-pros selected to play include Mirjana Karanović...
- 6/1/2016
- ScreenDaily
Programme includes 34 world premieres.
The line-up for the 46th Berlinale Forum has been announced and will feature a total of 44 films in its main programme, of which 34 are world premieres and nine international premieres.
One focus of this year’s programme is the Arab region, with films shot by mainly young directors from an area that stretches between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, exploring both the past and present of their homelands.
In A Magical Substance Flows into Me, artist Jumana Manna sets out in search of the musical diversity of the Palestinian region.
Tamer El Said’s feature In the Last Days of the City (Akher ayam el madina) sends his alter-ego Khalid through the director’s home city of Cairo, which is in a state of uproar.
Maher Abi Samra’s documentary A Maid for Each (Makhdoumin) grapples with the employment of maids from the Global South in middle-class Lebanese households, a practice...
The line-up for the 46th Berlinale Forum has been announced and will feature a total of 44 films in its main programme, of which 34 are world premieres and nine international premieres.
One focus of this year’s programme is the Arab region, with films shot by mainly young directors from an area that stretches between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, exploring both the past and present of their homelands.
In A Magical Substance Flows into Me, artist Jumana Manna sets out in search of the musical diversity of the Palestinian region.
Tamer El Said’s feature In the Last Days of the City (Akher ayam el madina) sends his alter-ego Khalid through the director’s home city of Cairo, which is in a state of uproar.
Maher Abi Samra’s documentary A Maid for Each (Makhdoumin) grapples with the employment of maids from the Global South in middle-class Lebanese households, a practice...
- 1/19/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Notable world premieres include Mads Matthiesen’s Teddy Bear follow-up The Model and Avalon director Axel Petersén’s Under the Pyramid.
Måns Månsson’s The Yard will open the 2016 Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 29 - Feb 8), which will screen some 450 films from 84 countries.
The film, which will have its world premiere at the Swedish festival’s Jan 29 opening, is adapted from Kristian Lundberg’s autobiographical novel about moving from cultural work to becoming a day laborer in Malmo harbour. Anders Mossling stars.
The festival’s closing film will be Henrik Ruben Genz’s Satisfaction 1720, Erlend Loe has written the manuscript for the film, about the post-war exploits of the “rock star of his day”, Vice-Admiral Tordenskjold.
Goteborg, the largest film festival in the Nordics and running for 11 days, is devoting special programmes to Italian cinema, Nigeria’s Nollywood and a new section on TV drama.
The eight films competing for the Dragon Award for Best Nordic film (which...
Måns Månsson’s The Yard will open the 2016 Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 29 - Feb 8), which will screen some 450 films from 84 countries.
The film, which will have its world premiere at the Swedish festival’s Jan 29 opening, is adapted from Kristian Lundberg’s autobiographical novel about moving from cultural work to becoming a day laborer in Malmo harbour. Anders Mossling stars.
The festival’s closing film will be Henrik Ruben Genz’s Satisfaction 1720, Erlend Loe has written the manuscript for the film, about the post-war exploits of the “rock star of his day”, Vice-Admiral Tordenskjold.
Goteborg, the largest film festival in the Nordics and running for 11 days, is devoting special programmes to Italian cinema, Nigeria’s Nollywood and a new section on TV drama.
The eight films competing for the Dragon Award for Best Nordic film (which...
- 1/12/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Festival’s world premieres include Roxette Diaries, Taikon, Odödliga and Drottninglandet.Scroll down for full line-up
Sweden’s Way Out West Festival (Aug 13-15) will include the world premiere of Jonas Akerlund’s Roxette Diaries, about one of Sweden’s most popular bands.
“They are one of the biggest bands to come out of Sweden, and this film shows them in a new light. It was filmed during their tours from 1988 to 1995, and of course with Jonas Akerlund directing, it has a real art feel to it, he’s very brave with this material,” Svante Tidholm, Way Out West’s Head of Film Programming told Screen.
Another world premiere at the Gothenburg-based film and music festival will be Taikon, a documentary about civil rights activist and author Katarina Taikon. “She was one of the pioneers of human rights for the Romany community. It’s an amazing story and she’s an amazing character,” Tidholm added.
There...
Sweden’s Way Out West Festival (Aug 13-15) will include the world premiere of Jonas Akerlund’s Roxette Diaries, about one of Sweden’s most popular bands.
“They are one of the biggest bands to come out of Sweden, and this film shows them in a new light. It was filmed during their tours from 1988 to 1995, and of course with Jonas Akerlund directing, it has a real art feel to it, he’s very brave with this material,” Svante Tidholm, Way Out West’s Head of Film Programming told Screen.
Another world premiere at the Gothenburg-based film and music festival will be Taikon, a documentary about civil rights activist and author Katarina Taikon. “She was one of the pioneers of human rights for the Romany community. It’s an amazing story and she’s an amazing character,” Tidholm added.
There...
- 7/23/2015
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Locarno Film Festival is to host the 8th Doc Alliance Selection (Das) Award, after being announced during Cannes for the past seven years .
The seven European documentary festivals that make up Doc Alliance decided to make the move to Locarno in order to give the Das Award a higher profile away from the packed schedules of Cannes.
The winner of the $5,700 (€5,000) prize will be announced at a ceremony during Locarno’s Industry Days on August 8 by a jury of European film critics, including Switzerland’s Christian Jungen, Poland’s Piotr Czerkawski, Germany’s Annette Walter, and the Czech Republic’s Tomáš Stejskal.
Homeland (Iraq Year Zero); Abbas Fahdel (Iq)
nominated by Visions du Réel
Walking Under Water; Eliza Kubarska (UK/Pl/De)
nominated by Docs Against Gravity Ff
Stranded in Canton; Måns Månsson (Se/Dk/Cn)
nominated by Cph:dox
Illusion; Sofia Marques (Pt)
nominated by Doclisboa
I Am the People; Anna Roussillon (Fr)
nominated by Jihlava Idff[p...
The seven European documentary festivals that make up Doc Alliance decided to make the move to Locarno in order to give the Das Award a higher profile away from the packed schedules of Cannes.
The winner of the $5,700 (€5,000) prize will be announced at a ceremony during Locarno’s Industry Days on August 8 by a jury of European film critics, including Switzerland’s Christian Jungen, Poland’s Piotr Czerkawski, Germany’s Annette Walter, and the Czech Republic’s Tomáš Stejskal.
Homeland (Iraq Year Zero); Abbas Fahdel (Iq)
nominated by Visions du Réel
Walking Under Water; Eliza Kubarska (UK/Pl/De)
nominated by Docs Against Gravity Ff
Stranded in Canton; Måns Månsson (Se/Dk/Cn)
nominated by Cph:dox
Illusion; Sofia Marques (Pt)
nominated by Doclisboa
I Am the People; Anna Roussillon (Fr)
nominated by Jihlava Idff[p...
- 5/17/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Aferim!This year, Tribeca moved back home, swapping out the East Village’s AMC Loew’s 7 for the venue they once used, the nearly invisible Regal Battery Park Stadium 11 as one of the festival’s main theater locations. Whether it is coincidence or just one of the festival’s grand themes, the finest films I saw were about movement. Characters search high and low for someone or something. While carrying strange cargo, they journey to the West, to the East, wherever, going from point A to point B. If not travelling, then characters are stuck, stranded, or even trapped in a spot, but desiring to move, move, move. There’s a whole lotta riding and talking going on in Radu Jude’s Aferim! Shot on black-and-white film (Kodak Double-x), the film is set in 1855 Wallachia, a time in which the Romani people had subhuman status, being slaves to landowning Boyars,...
- 5/4/2015
- by Tanner Tafelski
- MUBI
Andrew Renzi‘s directorial debut about a third wheel starring Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning and Theo James, Reed Morano‘s relationship testing drama featuring Olivia Wilde and Luke Wilson, Onur Tukel‘s secret unleashed on the airwaves and Gregory Kohn‘s hallucinatory tale with Eléonore Hendricks topling are part of the American independent offerings at the 14th Tribeca Film Festival. Renzi’s Franny and Morano’s Meadowland will be competing in the dozen selected in the World Narrative Competition while Tukel’s Applesauce and Kohn’s Come Down Molly are among the in the Viewpoints sidebar. Here are the selected titles below sans synopsis.
World Narrative Feature Competition (12)
The Adderall Diaries, directed and written by Pamela Romanowsky. (USA) – World Premiere.
Bridgend, directed by Jeppe Rønde, co-written by Jeppe Rønde, Torben Bech, and Peter Asmussen. (Denmark) – North American Premiere.
Dixieland, directed and written by Hank Bedford. (USA) – World Premiere
Franny, directed and written by Andrew Renzi.
World Narrative Feature Competition (12)
The Adderall Diaries, directed and written by Pamela Romanowsky. (USA) – World Premiere.
Bridgend, directed by Jeppe Rønde, co-written by Jeppe Rønde, Torben Bech, and Peter Asmussen. (Denmark) – North American Premiere.
Dixieland, directed and written by Hank Bedford. (USA) – World Premiere
Franny, directed and written by Andrew Renzi.
- 3/3/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Top brass at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff) presented by At&T have announced the World Narrative and Documentary Competition and Viewpoints selections.
Organisers also said that At&T’s Film For All Friday will return with free screenings on April 24. The festival is set to run in New York City from April 15-26 and the festival hub is Spring Studios.
Tuesday’s announcement covers 51 films out of a total 97 features at the upcoming 14th edition. As previously announced, Tribeca will open with the documentary Live From New York!
The line-up includes world premieres of Andrew Renzi’s Franny starring Richard Gere, Pamela Romanowsky’s The Adderall Diaries with James Franco, Amber Heard, Ed Harris and Cynthia Nixon and documentaries In My Father’s House by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg and In Transit from Albert Maysles and four co-directors.
Thirty of the festival’s feature film directors are women –the highest percentage in Tribeca history. Nine of...
Organisers also said that At&T’s Film For All Friday will return with free screenings on April 24. The festival is set to run in New York City from April 15-26 and the festival hub is Spring Studios.
Tuesday’s announcement covers 51 films out of a total 97 features at the upcoming 14th edition. As previously announced, Tribeca will open with the documentary Live From New York!
The line-up includes world premieres of Andrew Renzi’s Franny starring Richard Gere, Pamela Romanowsky’s The Adderall Diaries with James Franco, Amber Heard, Ed Harris and Cynthia Nixon and documentaries In My Father’s House by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg and In Transit from Albert Maysles and four co-directors.
Thirty of the festival’s feature film directors are women –the highest percentage in Tribeca history. Nine of...
- 3/3/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Goteborg: Docu-drama competing in Swedish Premieres Section at the Gothenburg Film Festival.
Antipode Sales & Distribution has picked up world sales on Swedish filmmaker Måns Månsson’s documentary drama Stranded in Canton, which screens in Goteborg after playing at International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) this week.
“We looked at the film thanks to the mediation of the industry department of Iffr,” said Antipode president Anton Mazurov.
“We liked the movie and despite the fact that we usually look for pictures in post-production and rough cut, we decided to work with the picture.”
The hybrid work revolves around a Congolese man who travels to the Chinese city of Guangzhou to buy cheap t-shirts, who gets stuck after the goods are delayed and his visa expires.
Rather than working from a fixed script, Månsson placed a fictional character in a real-life setting and watched the drama unfold.
After premiering at Cph:dox last year and screening in Iffr, the film is...
Antipode Sales & Distribution has picked up world sales on Swedish filmmaker Måns Månsson’s documentary drama Stranded in Canton, which screens in Goteborg after playing at International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) this week.
“We looked at the film thanks to the mediation of the industry department of Iffr,” said Antipode president Anton Mazurov.
“We liked the movie and despite the fact that we usually look for pictures in post-production and rough cut, we decided to work with the picture.”
The hybrid work revolves around a Congolese man who travels to the Chinese city of Guangzhou to buy cheap t-shirts, who gets stuck after the goods are delayed and his visa expires.
Rather than working from a fixed script, Månsson placed a fictional character in a real-life setting and watched the drama unfold.
After premiering at Cph:dox last year and screening in Iffr, the film is...
- 1/29/2015
- ScreenDaily
Iffr reveals Big Screen Awards nominees and the complete line-up for its Bright Future and Spectrum strands, including world premieres from the Us, China and the Netherlands.
Second Coming, starring Idris Elba and Nadine Marshall, has been named as one of 10 films up for the Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (Jan 21 - Feb 1).
The UK film, written and directed by Debbie Tucker Green, will be vying for a prize of €10,000 ($12,000) awarded specifically to support theatrical distribution of the film in The Netherlands
The 10 nominees are from Iffr’s Bright Future and Spectrum programmes with the winner chosen by a specially selected audience jury. Other titles include Lisandro Alonso’s Cannes Fipresci winner Jauja and Carlos Vermut’s San Sebastian winner Magical Girl.
The nominees are:
I Swear I’ll Leave This Town, Danial AragãoJauja, Lisandro AlonsoKey House Mirror, Michael NoerThe Lesson, Kristina Grozeva, Petar ValchanovMagical Girl, Carlos VermutA...
Second Coming, starring Idris Elba and Nadine Marshall, has been named as one of 10 films up for the Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (Jan 21 - Feb 1).
The UK film, written and directed by Debbie Tucker Green, will be vying for a prize of €10,000 ($12,000) awarded specifically to support theatrical distribution of the film in The Netherlands
The 10 nominees are from Iffr’s Bright Future and Spectrum programmes with the winner chosen by a specially selected audience jury. Other titles include Lisandro Alonso’s Cannes Fipresci winner Jauja and Carlos Vermut’s San Sebastian winner Magical Girl.
The nominees are:
I Swear I’ll Leave This Town, Danial AragãoJauja, Lisandro AlonsoKey House Mirror, Michael NoerThe Lesson, Kristina Grozeva, Petar ValchanovMagical Girl, Carlos VermutA...
- 1/7/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Cph:dox has announced its 2014 programme including more than 200 documentaries from around the world.
Laura Poitras will serve as guest curator, working on the surveillance-themed programme Astro Noise, who will also screen (in competition) her new film Citizenfour about Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden.
There are four world premieres in the main Dox:award competition (full list at end of story).
An art film programme will include a special focus on Keren Cytter.
This year the festival launches a new festival format called Megatrends, which includes the surveillance programme as well as focuses on technology, the economy, inequality, and Africa.
The festival’s new ambitions this year also include screenings in the whole capital region, with Dox:on:tour. As previously reported, the festival’s opening film 1989 by Anders Østergaard will not only be screened in the Dr Concert Hall in Copenhagen, but also simultaneously in theatres across the country, and in more than ten different countries in Europe.
The investigative...
Laura Poitras will serve as guest curator, working on the surveillance-themed programme Astro Noise, who will also screen (in competition) her new film Citizenfour about Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden.
There are four world premieres in the main Dox:award competition (full list at end of story).
An art film programme will include a special focus on Keren Cytter.
This year the festival launches a new festival format called Megatrends, which includes the surveillance programme as well as focuses on technology, the economy, inequality, and Africa.
The festival’s new ambitions this year also include screenings in the whole capital region, with Dox:on:tour. As previously reported, the festival’s opening film 1989 by Anders Østergaard will not only be screened in the Dr Concert Hall in Copenhagen, but also simultaneously in theatres across the country, and in more than ten different countries in Europe.
The investigative...
- 10/16/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
★★☆☆☆ UK audiences have acquired quite the taste for Scandinavian crime drama, with shows like The Killing, Borgen and Wallander all received with open arms. However, despite this Scandi-crime obsession, the name 'Roland Hassel' still remains unknown - and judging by Måns Månsson's arduous debut, it's going to stay that way. A popular 1980s television detective, Hassel now lives on in Månsson's new quasi-docudrama, but audiences expecting a gloomy suspense thriller should probably take a step back; Hassel - Privatspanarna (2012) has very little in common with films like Insomnia or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
An example of form surpassing function, this stripped-back hybrid piece sees the now retired Roland Hassel (played by the original Hassel - Lars-Erik Berenett) attempting to uncover the identity of the assassin who murdered real-life former Swedish prime minister Olof Palme (Roland Eriksson). Without access to any formal police records, Hassel must gather what...
An example of form surpassing function, this stripped-back hybrid piece sees the now retired Roland Hassel (played by the original Hassel - Lars-Erik Berenett) attempting to uncover the identity of the assassin who murdered real-life former Swedish prime minister Olof Palme (Roland Eriksson). Without access to any formal police records, Hassel must gather what...
- 6/24/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Swedish Film Institute today announced 8 international co-productions and documentaries, that will benefit from the Institutes latest support package of €600,000 ($789,000). Amongst the 8 are two projects that S&A readers will want to know about: 1 - First is Chocolate City from directors Måns Månsson and Li Hongqui. The documentary received about $30,000 from the fund and its synopsis follows: Every year tens of thousands of African supercargoes meet in Canton, China, to tie up business transactions with the local manufacturing industry. We follow businessman Lebrun on his quest for the deal that will take him home to the Congo. It sounds like a film that...
- 6/21/2013
- by Natasha Greeves
- ShadowAndAct
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