Scotland’s Sands International Film Festival Of St Andrews will open on April 19 with a double-bill screening of British writer-director Naqqash Khalid’s debut feature In Camera and Harry Holland’s short film Last Call, starring Tom Holland.
The titles make up the lineup of the festival’s third edition, which runs April 19-21. The festival will close with Maggie Contreras’ debut feature documentary Maestra, in which five female conductors from across the globe prepare for and compete in La Maestra – the world’s only competition for female conductors.
Elsewhere, Scottish actress and filmmaker Karen Gillan will take part in a talk on April 21 about her career, moderated by actor, playwright, and director Adura Onashile. Gillan is best known for working with the Russo brothers on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers Endgame. Her other film credits include Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, in which she starred alongside Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black,...
The titles make up the lineup of the festival’s third edition, which runs April 19-21. The festival will close with Maggie Contreras’ debut feature documentary Maestra, in which five female conductors from across the globe prepare for and compete in La Maestra – the world’s only competition for female conductors.
Elsewhere, Scottish actress and filmmaker Karen Gillan will take part in a talk on April 21 about her career, moderated by actor, playwright, and director Adura Onashile. Gillan is best known for working with the Russo brothers on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers Endgame. Her other film credits include Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, in which she starred alongside Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Mubi has unveiled next’s streaming lineup, featuring notable new releases, including Felipe Gálvez’s The Settlers, Éric Gravel’s Full Time, C.J. Obasi’s Mami Wata, and Benjamin Mullinkosson’s The Last Year of Darkness.
This March also brings Elaine May’s Ishtar, four features by Mia Hansen-Løve, and a collection of films shot by women cinematographers, with Claire Denis’ Bastards, shot by Agnès Godard, and more. Next month’s collection also features retrospectives of radical German director Margarethe Von Trotta, experimental animator Suzan Pitt, and additions to their continuing retrospective of Takeshi Kitano.
Check out the lineup below, and get 30 days free here.
March 1st
The German Sisters, directed by Margarethe von Trotta | Radical Intimacy: Three by Margarethe von Trotta
The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, directed by Margarethe von Trotta | Radical Intimacy: Three by Margarethe von Trotta
The Promise, directed by Margarethe von Trotta | Radical Intimacy: Three...
This March also brings Elaine May’s Ishtar, four features by Mia Hansen-Løve, and a collection of films shot by women cinematographers, with Claire Denis’ Bastards, shot by Agnès Godard, and more. Next month’s collection also features retrospectives of radical German director Margarethe Von Trotta, experimental animator Suzan Pitt, and additions to their continuing retrospective of Takeshi Kitano.
Check out the lineup below, and get 30 days free here.
March 1st
The German Sisters, directed by Margarethe von Trotta | Radical Intimacy: Three by Margarethe von Trotta
The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, directed by Margarethe von Trotta | Radical Intimacy: Three by Margarethe von Trotta
The Promise, directed by Margarethe von Trotta | Radical Intimacy: Three...
- 2/22/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Gordon Main’s apartheid-era documentary “London Recruits” has been tapped as the opening film at the sixth Joburg Film Festival, which takes place Feb. 27 – March 3 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The film sheds light on a pivotal moment in South Africa‘s history, when the struggle against the apartheid government in South Africa developed a new secret weapon. Oliver Tambo hatched a plan to infiltrate young British activists into the country, posing as tourists. Their mission, in the face of brutal lockdown by the racist regime, was to help inspire ordinary South Africans to join a liberation movement that would never give up till freedom was won.
The film is produced by Jacintha de Nobrega (“Deep End”), Robyn Slovo, Geoff Arbourne, Colin Charles (“The Surveyor”), James Barrett (“A Change in the Weather”) and Felix Gill (“78/52″). As Variety previously reported, XYZ Films is repping the doc’s North American sales.
Earlier this week,...
The film sheds light on a pivotal moment in South Africa‘s history, when the struggle against the apartheid government in South Africa developed a new secret weapon. Oliver Tambo hatched a plan to infiltrate young British activists into the country, posing as tourists. Their mission, in the face of brutal lockdown by the racist regime, was to help inspire ordinary South Africans to join a liberation movement that would never give up till freedom was won.
The film is produced by Jacintha de Nobrega (“Deep End”), Robyn Slovo, Geoff Arbourne, Colin Charles (“The Surveyor”), James Barrett (“A Change in the Weather”) and Felix Gill (“78/52″). As Variety previously reported, XYZ Films is repping the doc’s North American sales.
Earlier this week,...
- 2/14/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Dublin International Film Festival has unveiled its full programme for the upcoming edition, opening with the world premiere of Irish filmmaker Marian Quinn’s anti-war epic Twig.
This re-telling of Greek tragedy Antigone stars Sade Malone in the titular role and Brían F. O’Byrne, and is set in Dublin’s inner city, where an ancient city wall cordons off a neighbourhood which is rife with drugs. It is produced by Ireland’s Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films and Tommy Weir for Janey Pictures.
Further Irish filmmaking talent showcased includes the previously announced closing night film, Pat Collins’ adaptation of...
This re-telling of Greek tragedy Antigone stars Sade Malone in the titular role and Brían F. O’Byrne, and is set in Dublin’s inner city, where an ancient city wall cordons off a neighbourhood which is rife with drugs. It is produced by Ireland’s Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films and Tommy Weir for Janey Pictures.
Further Irish filmmaking talent showcased includes the previously announced closing night film, Pat Collins’ adaptation of...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Hollywood management and production company The Gotham Group has launched a new international division and appointed long-time manager and producer Justin Littman as its head.
The appointment see Littman join The Gotham Group partners roster alongside Peter McHugh, Julie Kane-Ritsch, Lindsay Williams, Jeremy Bell, Eric Robinson, Lee Stollman, Rich Green, and Matt Shichtman.
“We’re thrilled to have Justin leading The Gotham’s Group’s surging international client roster,” said The Gotham Group Founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein.
“This initiative underscores our ability and intention to expand the boundaries of our business, to tap into the creative minds of artists around the globe to create entertainment for audiences everywhere,” said Goldsmith-Vein.
Littman said the time was ripe for such a move.
“International voices are driving a huge part of the conversation in film and TV,” he said. “The Gotham Group is excited to launch a dedicated department to focus on these artists,...
The appointment see Littman join The Gotham Group partners roster alongside Peter McHugh, Julie Kane-Ritsch, Lindsay Williams, Jeremy Bell, Eric Robinson, Lee Stollman, Rich Green, and Matt Shichtman.
“We’re thrilled to have Justin leading The Gotham’s Group’s surging international client roster,” said The Gotham Group Founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein.
“This initiative underscores our ability and intention to expand the boundaries of our business, to tap into the creative minds of artists around the globe to create entertainment for audiences everywhere,” said Goldsmith-Vein.
Littman said the time was ripe for such a move.
“International voices are driving a huge part of the conversation in film and TV,” he said. “The Gotham Group is excited to launch a dedicated department to focus on these artists,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Post-pandemic audiences are much more open to different cultures, thanks to streaming and exposure to new types of content, but some of the world’s biggest film industries are still figuring out how to adapt in a rapidly changing landscape, said speakers on the ‘Cinematic Crossovers’ panel in Red Sea Souk.
Leading producers from three industries with an international footprint – Woo-sik Seo from Korea’s Barunson C&c, a subsidiary of Barunson E&a (Parasite), Dheer Momaya from India’s Jugaad Motion Pictures (Last Film Show) and Jadesola Osiberu, founder of Nigeria’s Greoh Studios (Gangs Of Lagos) – compared their business and funding models with the old world system set up by France’s Cnc and the nascent film industry in Saudi Arabia.
But they concluded by saying that, despite their success in achieving global impact, the current systems face some challenges – particularly in terms of censorship and IP ownership.
Korean reality check
Seo,...
Leading producers from three industries with an international footprint – Woo-sik Seo from Korea’s Barunson C&c, a subsidiary of Barunson E&a (Parasite), Dheer Momaya from India’s Jugaad Motion Pictures (Last Film Show) and Jadesola Osiberu, founder of Nigeria’s Greoh Studios (Gangs Of Lagos) – compared their business and funding models with the old world system set up by France’s Cnc and the nascent film industry in Saudi Arabia.
But they concluded by saying that, despite their success in achieving global impact, the current systems face some challenges – particularly in terms of censorship and IP ownership.
Korean reality check
Seo,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...
The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and there were three for All Of Us Strangers – winner of seven Bifas at the weekend – as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All Of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are...
- 12/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.
The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.
The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.
The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.
Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.
- 12/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The Gotham Group has signed Nigerian filmmaker C.J. Obasi, whose latest feature Mami Wata is Nigeria’s entry for Best International Feature Oscar in the 96th Academy Awards.
Mami Wata world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in its World Cinema – Dramatic section, where it won the cinematography prize.
Award-winning filmmaker Obasi’s previous credits include Ojuju (2014) and O-Town (2015), which screened at various festivals, including Gothenburg and Fantasia.
His short film, Hello, Rain (2018) premiered at Oberhausen and over 40 festivals, winning a Jury Prize at Fantasia, and the BFI Short Film Award nomination. Juju Stories (2021), an anthology film directed by the Surreal1 Collective, won the Boccalino D’oro Award for Best Film at Locarno.
Set in a remote West African village, Mami Wata follows the villagers who worship the Mermaid-deity Mami Wata and look for guidance from their healer Mama Efe (Rita Edochie), her daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and protégé...
Mami Wata world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in its World Cinema – Dramatic section, where it won the cinematography prize.
Award-winning filmmaker Obasi’s previous credits include Ojuju (2014) and O-Town (2015), which screened at various festivals, including Gothenburg and Fantasia.
His short film, Hello, Rain (2018) premiered at Oberhausen and over 40 festivals, winning a Jury Prize at Fantasia, and the BFI Short Film Award nomination. Juju Stories (2021), an anthology film directed by the Surreal1 Collective, won the Boccalino D’oro Award for Best Film at Locarno.
Set in a remote West African village, Mami Wata follows the villagers who worship the Mermaid-deity Mami Wata and look for guidance from their healer Mama Efe (Rita Edochie), her daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and protégé...
- 11/14/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
West Hollywood-based indie distribution outfit Indican Pictures (“Gossamer Folds”) has secured North American rights for Santiago Fillol’s political thriller “Matadero” (“Slaughterhouse”).
The debut fiction feature from the Argentine director saw its world premiere in competition at Locarno in 2022, with further festival bows at Mar Del Plata and Seville before December theatrical runs in Argentina and Spain via Cinetren and Begin Again Films, respectively.
Negotiations were handled by Randolph Kret of Indican Pictures alongside Brett Walker and partner Miguel Angel Govea at Alief (“Driving Mum”), who handle world sales on behalf of the filmmakers outside of Argentina, France, Spain and Switzerland.
“Indican Pictures is pleased to acquire the Argentinian film “Matadero”– it’s a compelling story that will have viewers on the edge of their seat,” Indican co-founder Randolph Kret told Variety.
Set up in the Argentine pampas, 1970, the narrative nods to the shocking, hyper-realistic cinema of the era and follows U.
The debut fiction feature from the Argentine director saw its world premiere in competition at Locarno in 2022, with further festival bows at Mar Del Plata and Seville before December theatrical runs in Argentina and Spain via Cinetren and Begin Again Films, respectively.
Negotiations were handled by Randolph Kret of Indican Pictures alongside Brett Walker and partner Miguel Angel Govea at Alief (“Driving Mum”), who handle world sales on behalf of the filmmakers outside of Argentina, France, Spain and Switzerland.
“Indican Pictures is pleased to acquire the Argentinian film “Matadero”– it’s a compelling story that will have viewers on the edge of their seat,” Indican co-founder Randolph Kret told Variety.
Set up in the Argentine pampas, 1970, the narrative nods to the shocking, hyper-realistic cinema of the era and follows U.
- 11/5/2023
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar voters in the Best International Feature Film category have received their group assignments for this year’s initial round of voting, with 89 films included on the seven lists that the Academy has sent to members.
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
- 10/31/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Pakistan: “In Flames”
Zarrar Kahn’s horror film “In Flames” is Pakistan’s entry for the international feature Oscar. The film debuted at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
“‘In Flames’ has resonated profoundly with our committee members, as it beautifully encapsulates the essence of our culture, art, and cinematic craftsmanship. We believe that the narrative, performances, direction, and every element that went into...
Zarrar Kahn’s horror film “In Flames” is Pakistan’s entry for the international feature Oscar. The film debuted at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
“‘In Flames’ has resonated profoundly with our committee members, as it beautifully encapsulates the essence of our culture, art, and cinematic craftsmanship. We believe that the narrative, performances, direction, and every element that went into...
- 10/28/2023
- by Patrick Frater, Leo Barraclough, Ellise Shafer, Elsa Keslassy, John Hopewell, Naman Ramachandran, Nick Vivarelli, K.J. Yossman and Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Nigeria has submitted Cj Obasi’s Sundance title Mami Wata as its candidate for the Best International Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards.
Inspired by West African mermaid folklore and mythology, the black-and-white features stars Rita Edochie as a goddess facing waning influence in a remote struggling village.
Uzoamaka Aniunoh stars as her devoted daughter and Evelyne Ily Juhen as a skeptical protégé.
The deadline for submissions for Best International Feature Film was on October 2, but a number of countries are only announcing their selection now.
Home to Nollywood, Nigeria boasts Africa’s biggest film industry, but the country has yet to enjoy Oscar glory.
The fact that many of its films are in the country’s official language of English has made it difficult for the country to submit films for Best International Film Festival.
Its first-ever entry Lionheart in 2019 was disqualified because of the high percentage of English in the film.
Inspired by West African mermaid folklore and mythology, the black-and-white features stars Rita Edochie as a goddess facing waning influence in a remote struggling village.
Uzoamaka Aniunoh stars as her devoted daughter and Evelyne Ily Juhen as a skeptical protégé.
The deadline for submissions for Best International Feature Film was on October 2, but a number of countries are only announcing their selection now.
Home to Nollywood, Nigeria boasts Africa’s biggest film industry, but the country has yet to enjoy Oscar glory.
The fact that many of its films are in the country’s official language of English has made it difficult for the country to submit films for Best International Film Festival.
Its first-ever entry Lionheart in 2019 was disqualified because of the high percentage of English in the film.
- 10/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 10/17/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
by Cláudio Alves
As if dipped in ink, the screen is a void, shadows so thick they seem to swallow the light. Gravity-pulling like a black hole, this emptiness must be broken. So, it is with water leading the way, that eternal life-giver, life-taker. And even before we see its tide, we feel an ocean calling. It emerges in white lines, foam on cresting waves, their back-and-forth movement an Atlantic embrace. No character has invoked her yet, but we already sense the immensity of Mami Wata, the mother-like water deity that appears across African myth and the diaspora. In a feat of miraculous cinema, Nigerian director C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi has used his third feature to summon the spirit, inviting us to commune with her.
That's not to say Mami Wata – now in theaters – is a film aiming solely at religious ecstasy. If possible, it has even greater ambitions. Its tale...
As if dipped in ink, the screen is a void, shadows so thick they seem to swallow the light. Gravity-pulling like a black hole, this emptiness must be broken. So, it is with water leading the way, that eternal life-giver, life-taker. And even before we see its tide, we feel an ocean calling. It emerges in white lines, foam on cresting waves, their back-and-forth movement an Atlantic embrace. No character has invoked her yet, but we already sense the immensity of Mami Wata, the mother-like water deity that appears across African myth and the diaspora. In a feat of miraculous cinema, Nigerian director C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi has used his third feature to summon the spirit, inviting us to commune with her.
That's not to say Mami Wata – now in theaters – is a film aiming solely at religious ecstasy. If possible, it has even greater ambitions. Its tale...
- 9/30/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Cinemalovers has acquired all rights in Germany and Austria for “Mami Wata,” which world premiered in the World Cinema – Dramatic section of the Sundance Film Festival, and won the cinematography award.
The film, written and directed by C.J. “Fiery” Obasi, with cinematography by Lílis Soares, is based on West African mermaid folklore and mythology. The producer is Oge Obasi for Fiery Film Company. International sales rights are being handled by Alief, and CAA handled North American rights.
It is set in the remote West African village of Iyi, where the villagers worship the Mermaid-deity Mami Wata, and look for guidance from their healer Mama Efe, the intermediary between them and Mami Wata, and Mama Efe’s daughter Zinwe and protégé Prisca.
But when children begin to die and disappear, Jabi, a local, begins to sow doubt amongst the people, while Zinwe runs away propelled by her own anguish. Soon,...
The film, written and directed by C.J. “Fiery” Obasi, with cinematography by Lílis Soares, is based on West African mermaid folklore and mythology. The producer is Oge Obasi for Fiery Film Company. International sales rights are being handled by Alief, and CAA handled North American rights.
It is set in the remote West African village of Iyi, where the villagers worship the Mermaid-deity Mami Wata, and look for guidance from their healer Mama Efe, the intermediary between them and Mami Wata, and Mama Efe’s daughter Zinwe and protégé Prisca.
But when children begin to die and disappear, Jabi, a local, begins to sow doubt amongst the people, while Zinwe runs away propelled by her own anguish. Soon,...
- 9/7/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The last few cycles of Oscar season provided a jolt to the kind of filmmaking made on the margins of Hollywood, or outside of its boundaries altogether. If a Korean-language social thriller (“Parasite”), a poetic road-trip movie mostly populated by non-actors (“Nomadland”), and a zany comedy about an estranged Asian American (you know the one) can all win Best Picture, prior assumptions about movies with limited appeal have no foundation in reality.
Yet one stigma continues to linger. Black-and-white movies remain the aesthetic decision the market continues to reject.
I gravitated toward this issue while eying the lineup for the Museum of Moving Image’s First Look festival in Queens, which surveys a daring selection of recent sleeper hits from the festival circuit. While many of the bigger Sundance movies failed to sell because they cost too much, First Look illustrates the other end of the equation: These lower-profile selections,...
Yet one stigma continues to linger. Black-and-white movies remain the aesthetic decision the market continues to reject.
I gravitated toward this issue while eying the lineup for the Museum of Moving Image’s First Look festival in Queens, which surveys a daring selection of recent sleeper hits from the festival circuit. While many of the bigger Sundance movies failed to sell because they cost too much, First Look illustrates the other end of the equation: These lower-profile selections,...
- 3/18/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Hot on the tail of a recent slew of pickups and sales, Paris-based sales-producer-distributor Alief has snapped up international rights to the West African folktale “Mami Wata.”
North America rights to the film are represented by Marissa Frobes at CAA Media Finance. Alief is presenting the film to buyers and festival programmers at this week’s European Film Market in Berlin.
The first film from a Nigerian-based director to play (and win an award) at Sundance, this visually striking feature took home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography for Brazilian Dp Lílis Soares.
Nigerian director C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s film tells the story of two sisters who fight to save their people and restore to the land a water deity. According to West African folklore, ‘Mami Wata’ is a terrifying mermaid goddess.
This black-and-white film is set in a beach town where a community must question previously...
North America rights to the film are represented by Marissa Frobes at CAA Media Finance. Alief is presenting the film to buyers and festival programmers at this week’s European Film Market in Berlin.
The first film from a Nigerian-based director to play (and win an award) at Sundance, this visually striking feature took home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography for Brazilian Dp Lílis Soares.
Nigerian director C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s film tells the story of two sisters who fight to save their people and restore to the land a water deity. According to West African folklore, ‘Mami Wata’ is a terrifying mermaid goddess.
This black-and-white film is set in a beach town where a community must question previously...
- 2/19/2023
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
In West African folklore, Mami Wata (“Mother Water”) represents a water-based deity of relatively recent vintage to the continent. Traditionally a life-giver and life-bringer, Mami Wata isn’t without her ambiguities, however. She can take as well as give in equal measure, often balancing scales of life and death that — at least on the outside looking in — can appear cruel, if not outright arbitrary or capricious. She also represents a strong, nurturing matriarchal force in some West African cultures, opposing the masculine, patriarchal energy, often in tension, rarely in balance. For the West African, seaside village at the center of Nigerian-born writer-director C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi’s third feature-length film, Mami Wata: A West African Folktale, the invisible title character dictates the rules, rhythms,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/7/2023
- Screen Anarchy
The event takes place March 29 and 30 at Rich Mix, London
The New Black Film Collective (Tnbfc), a UK-based network of film exhibitors, educators and programmers of Black representation on screen, is to host a second edition of its annual convention showcasing Black film and high-end TV talent.
The two-day event, titled Tnb Xpo, will take place from March 29-30 at Rich Mix in London.
Hundreds of people working in the film industry are expected to attend and the focus will be on amplifying both UK and international Black cinema.
There will be screenings of films from Black creators of African descent as well as talks,...
The New Black Film Collective (Tnbfc), a UK-based network of film exhibitors, educators and programmers of Black representation on screen, is to host a second edition of its annual convention showcasing Black film and high-end TV talent.
The two-day event, titled Tnb Xpo, will take place from March 29-30 at Rich Mix in London.
Hundreds of people working in the film industry are expected to attend and the focus will be on amplifying both UK and international Black cinema.
There will be screenings of films from Black creators of African descent as well as talks,...
- 2/6/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Returning to Johannesburg cinemas for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Joburg Film Festival kicked off its 5th edition with a joyful relaunch on Tuesday night, as local luminaries walked a gold carpet in Nelson Mandela Square in honor of the festival’s slogan, “Our Stories. Our Gold,” and the crowd was serenaded with a soaring performance from South African soprano Zandile Mzazi and singer Thandiswa Mazwai.
The event, which runs Jan. 31 – Feb. 5, bowed with the African premiere of “Xalé” (pictured), from veteran Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa, a story of female subjugation and self-liberation that opened last year’s BFI Film Festival and was the West African nation’s entry in the 2023 international feature film Oscar race.
The festival wraps with “The Umbrella Men,” by local helmer John Barker (“Wonder Boy for President”), a caper comedy about first-time bank robbers pulling a heist...
The event, which runs Jan. 31 – Feb. 5, bowed with the African premiere of “Xalé” (pictured), from veteran Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa, a story of female subjugation and self-liberation that opened last year’s BFI Film Festival and was the West African nation’s entry in the 2023 international feature film Oscar race.
The festival wraps with “The Umbrella Men,” by local helmer John Barker (“Wonder Boy for President”), a caper comedy about first-time bank robbers pulling a heist...
- 2/1/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Seven years before its Jan. 23 world premiere in Park City — the first-time that a homegrown Nigerian feature has scored a coveted slot in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance — C.J. Obasi’s “Mami Wata” began with a vision.
The director was sitting on a West African beach, in between projects and contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an apparition came to him: A mermaid standing on the ocean’s shore, beckoning to a mysterious young woman behind him.
“It was really vivid,” Obasi says. “It was in black and white. In the vision, the goddess’ eyes are red, but also very soft. There was a kindness to her eyes. When I came to, I said, Ok, so my next movie is ‘Mami Wata.’”
What followed was a personal and professional journey to understand that moment on the beach, and to breathe life into a movie about the titular mermaid-deity of West African folklore.
The director was sitting on a West African beach, in between projects and contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an apparition came to him: A mermaid standing on the ocean’s shore, beckoning to a mysterious young woman behind him.
“It was really vivid,” Obasi says. “It was in black and white. In the vision, the goddess’ eyes are red, but also very soft. There was a kindness to her eyes. When I came to, I said, Ok, so my next movie is ‘Mami Wata.’”
What followed was a personal and professional journey to understand that moment on the beach, and to breathe life into a movie about the titular mermaid-deity of West African folklore.
- 1/24/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? The biggest challenge we faced came at the very beginning of our shoot. The cast and crew had all arrived at the camp, and we were smack in the middle of rehearsals, building sets, finalizing costumes, etc. Then our equipment partner pulled out of the project with no explanation. So here we are, in a remote community in the Republic […]
The post “Our Equipment Partner Pulled Out of the Project With No Explanation” | C.J. Obasi, Mami Wata first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Our Equipment Partner Pulled Out of the Project With No Explanation” | C.J. Obasi, Mami Wata first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/23/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? The biggest challenge we faced came at the very beginning of our shoot. The cast and crew had all arrived at the camp, and we were smack in the middle of rehearsals, building sets, finalizing costumes, etc. Then our equipment partner pulled out of the project with no explanation. So here we are, in a remote community in the Republic […]
The post “Our Equipment Partner Pulled Out of the Project With No Explanation” | C.J. Obasi, Mami Wata first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Our Equipment Partner Pulled Out of the Project With No Explanation” | C.J. Obasi, Mami Wata first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/23/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Year after year a site par excellence for the most innovative premieres—in that respect an antithesis to the ensuing fall circuit—the Locarno Film Festival returns triumphant next month. Their 2021 lineup, per usual, mixes iconic names with complete unknowns and, admittedly, a head-scratcher or two. Abel Ferrara’s much-anticipated Zeros and Ones, sure. Gaspar Noé’s Vortex—makes sense. A new film from The Wild Boys director Bertrand Mandico? Great! But Shawn Levy and a Jennifer Hudson Aretha Franklin biopic?
However, new festival head Giona A. Nazzaro sees it as part of a steady influx, telling Variety “A festival can be quite highbrow and also entertaining at the same time. That is why for this year’s lineup we have selected several comedies and also some genre movies, as well as straightforward auteur films.” By that metric it’s more inclusive than almost any other major competition on the European circuit.
However, new festival head Giona A. Nazzaro sees it as part of a steady influx, telling Variety “A festival can be quite highbrow and also entertaining at the same time. That is why for this year’s lineup we have selected several comedies and also some genre movies, as well as straightforward auteur films.” By that metric it’s more inclusive than almost any other major competition on the European circuit.
- 7/1/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
With Cannes right around the corner, two more prominent European film festivals announced their official lineups for 2021 this week. The 2021 Locarno Film Festival (the 74th edition of the event) is taking place August 4-14 and will feature the world premiere of Abel Ferrara’s “Zeroes and Ones,” plus the Melissa Leo-Frank Grillo starring thriller “Ida Red” from director John Swab. Perhaps the most prominent U.S. title in the Locarno lineup is “Respect,” the Jennifer Hudson-starring Aretha Franklin biopic that has already caught the eye of Oscar pundits here in the states. The film will screen out of competition, as will Ryan Reynolds’ long-delayed Disney-Fox tentpole “Free Guy.”
“A festival can be quite highbrow and also entertaining at the same time,” Nazzaro told Variety in a statement. “That is why for this year’s lineup we have selected several comedies and also some genre movies, as well as straightforward auteur films.
“A festival can be quite highbrow and also entertaining at the same time,” Nazzaro told Variety in a statement. “That is why for this year’s lineup we have selected several comedies and also some genre movies, as well as straightforward auteur films.
- 7/1/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
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