Sex is politics and politics is sex in Kirill Serebrennikov’s recklessly beautiful, wildly entertaining English-language debut “Limonov: The Ballad.” This punk rock epic moves at the pace of a train coming off its tracks across Moscow, New York, Paris, and back to Russia again, starring Ben Whishaw in a career-crowning lead performance as the self-styled alternative poet and political dissident Eduard Limonov (who died in 2020). Based on French writer and journalist Emmanuel Carrère’s biographical novel, “Limonov” spans the 1960s to near present-day Siberia to tell with orgiastic excess the life story of the eventual founder of the National Bolshevik Party, which married a far-left youth movement to far-right fascist ideology. But while Limonov’s politics are inextricable from the libertine hedonist he was, Serebrennikov’s film is more a purely pleasurable romantic odyssey than political deep dive, radiating a countercultural energy that smacks of freewheeling ‘70s cinema more...
- 5/19/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Disney+ is moving into originals in the Central and Eastern Europe region with a green light for Polish drama Breslau (working title). The drama will follow a police officer investigating an horrific killing and production is underway, Deadline has learned.
The cast includes Tomasz Schuchardt (You are God), Agata Kulesza (Ida), and Sandra Drzymalska (Filip). Leszek Dawid (My Name Is Ki) directs from Bartosz Janiszewski and Magdalena Żakowska’s script.
The eight-part crime drama is set in 1936 in Breslau (the German name for the Polish city of Wrocław). It will tell the story of a commissioner Franz Podolsky, who investigates a brutal murder. Because of the upcoming Olympic Games, the pressure is on to catch the murderer.
“This is an important moment for Disney+ in Poland,” said Magdalena Cieslak, Director Original Productions Disney+ in Cee. “It’s our first Original production in Central and Eastern Europe and we are excited that such talented,...
The cast includes Tomasz Schuchardt (You are God), Agata Kulesza (Ida), and Sandra Drzymalska (Filip). Leszek Dawid (My Name Is Ki) directs from Bartosz Janiszewski and Magdalena Żakowska’s script.
The eight-part crime drama is set in 1936 in Breslau (the German name for the Polish city of Wrocław). It will tell the story of a commissioner Franz Podolsky, who investigates a brutal murder. Because of the upcoming Olympic Games, the pressure is on to catch the murderer.
“This is an important moment for Disney+ in Poland,” said Magdalena Cieslak, Director Original Productions Disney+ in Cee. “It’s our first Original production in Central and Eastern Europe and we are excited that such talented,...
- 5/13/2024
- by Stewart Clarke
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jewish streamer ChaiFlicks has licensed Oscar-winning Paweł Pawlikowski movie Ida and a wealth of other titles following a deal with Music Box Films.
The SVoD platform that specializes in Jewish storytelling has licensed 15 titles from the Chicago-based outfit, including Golden Globe-nominated Gett: The Trial of Vivane Amsalem. Other titles include Memoir of War, Golden Voices and Aida’s Secrets.
The main draw is Pawlikowski’s Ida, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2015 and follows a young Polish woman (Agata Trzebuchowska) as she prepares to take vows as a Catholic nun. The orphaned protagonist then discovers that her parents were Jewish, and joins her only surviving relative on a road trip to learn the fate of their families.
ChaiFlicks has more than 3,000 hours of Jewish films, TV series, and documentaries, and plans to launch Ida and the other new titles on its platform later this year.
The SVoD platform that specializes in Jewish storytelling has licensed 15 titles from the Chicago-based outfit, including Golden Globe-nominated Gett: The Trial of Vivane Amsalem. Other titles include Memoir of War, Golden Voices and Aida’s Secrets.
The main draw is Pawlikowski’s Ida, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2015 and follows a young Polish woman (Agata Trzebuchowska) as she prepares to take vows as a Catholic nun. The orphaned protagonist then discovers that her parents were Jewish, and joins her only surviving relative on a road trip to learn the fate of their families.
ChaiFlicks has more than 3,000 hours of Jewish films, TV series, and documentaries, and plans to launch Ida and the other new titles on its platform later this year.
- 4/17/2024
- by Hannah Abraham
- Deadline Film + TV
After several years working in German TV and locally-oriented film projects, Julia von Heinz had a significant breakthrough with “And Tomorrow the Entire World” — a taut, punchy political thriller with a youthful spirit of anti-fascist revolt, vigorous enough to land a Venice competition slot. Its success evidently raised the status of the director’s long-held passion project, an adaptation of Australian novelist Lily Brett’s semi-autobiographical 2001 title “Too Many Men,” which reckoned thoughtfully with her parents’ experience as Auschwitz survivors, and the hereditary nature of trauma. It emerges here, in somewhat simplified form, as “Treasure,” a watchably meandering vehicle for Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry to wrestle out father-daughter conflicts both trivially universal and hauntingly specific to history. The urgency and dynamism that marked von Heinz’s last feature are largely absent; for a story of such particular and searing sorrow, it feels rather mild.
Premiering in an out-of-competition Berlinale slot,...
Premiering in an out-of-competition Berlinale slot,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Ok, we’ve been through this one before, but let’s recap. In late fall of 2022, an incredible project was announced worth of our Most Anticipated Films Of The Year list, but perhaps more for 2025. Renowned Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, known for critically acclaimed and celebrated dramas like “Ida” and “Cold War” was teaming up with Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara for a movie titled, “The Island.
Continue reading Rooney Mara & Joaquin Phoenix Remain “Committed” To Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘The Island,” But Unsure About A Production Start at The Playlist.
Continue reading Rooney Mara & Joaquin Phoenix Remain “Committed” To Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘The Island,” But Unsure About A Production Start at The Playlist.
- 2/16/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Sigh, just when you thought there was another project that might top our next Most Anticipated Films Of The Year list, in this case, 2025? Maybe it’s not going to happen at all?
In late fall of 2022, an incredible project was announced. Renowned Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, known for critically acclaimed and celebrated dramas like “Ida” and “Cold War” was teaming up with Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara for a movie titled, “The Island.”
Read More: Joaquin Phoenix & Rooney Mara Join Pawel Pawlikowski’s New Drama ‘The Island’
A period film and dramatic thriller that Pawlikowski would write, “The Island,” would be loosely based on real events and will focus on an attractive American couple in the 1930s who escaped to their own private paradise on a deserted island and lived off the land.
Continue reading Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘The Island’ With Joaquin Phoenix & Rooney Mara May Be In Financial...
In late fall of 2022, an incredible project was announced. Renowned Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, known for critically acclaimed and celebrated dramas like “Ida” and “Cold War” was teaming up with Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara for a movie titled, “The Island.”
Read More: Joaquin Phoenix & Rooney Mara Join Pawel Pawlikowski’s New Drama ‘The Island’
A period film and dramatic thriller that Pawlikowski would write, “The Island,” would be loosely based on real events and will focus on an attractive American couple in the 1930s who escaped to their own private paradise on a deserted island and lived off the land.
Continue reading Pawel Pawlikowski’s ‘The Island’ With Joaquin Phoenix & Rooney Mara May Be In Financial...
- 12/15/2023
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Winners for the 39th annual International Documentary Association (IDA) awards were announced on Tuesday, December 12 in a virtual ceremony. The big winner of the night was “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” which took home the prize for Best Feature Documentary. The award for Best Short Documentary went to “Incident.”
Other major winners with the IDA include Best Director to Asmae ElMoudir for “The Mother of All Lies” and Best Writing to Kaouther Ben Hania for “Four Daughters.” The award for Best Music Documentary went to “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes,” Best Cinematography to “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Best Editing to “The Eternal Memory,” and Best Original Music Score to “Anselm.”
Earlier this season, “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” screened at the Doc NYC film festival, an annual taste-making event for non-fiction Oscar hopefuls. Though the film was not recognized by other awards groups with a nomination this season, its win...
Other major winners with the IDA include Best Director to Asmae ElMoudir for “The Mother of All Lies” and Best Writing to Kaouther Ben Hania for “Four Daughters.” The award for Best Music Documentary went to “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes,” Best Cinematography to “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Best Editing to “The Eternal Memory,” and Best Original Music Score to “Anselm.”
Earlier this season, “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” screened at the Doc NYC film festival, an annual taste-making event for non-fiction Oscar hopefuls. Though the film was not recognized by other awards groups with a nomination this season, its win...
- 12/13/2023
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
If not already apparent, the Covid-19 pandemic of recent years—and its subsequent global economic impact—has shone a spotlight on just how precarious most American lives actually are, whether publicly or behind closed doors.
It’s debatable whether anyone truly works a billion dollars hard or smart, yet wealth continues to amass in the hands of an obnoxious mega-rich elite, leaving most of us one bad day away from complete financial ruin. That is, if we don’t already exist in a chronic state of economic depression to begin with. But our democracy (and tax dollars!) provides guardrails against such dire domestic predicaments, right? Well, in theory…
In practice, however, the US welfare system is under constant threat from within—the kneecapping of government assistance programs becoming a reliable wedge issue for compounding generations of conservative politics.
Then again, there’s an equally influential history of civil rights advocates...
It’s debatable whether anyone truly works a billion dollars hard or smart, yet wealth continues to amass in the hands of an obnoxious mega-rich elite, leaving most of us one bad day away from complete financial ruin. That is, if we don’t already exist in a chronic state of economic depression to begin with. But our democracy (and tax dollars!) provides guardrails against such dire domestic predicaments, right? Well, in theory…
In practice, however, the US welfare system is under constant threat from within—the kneecapping of government assistance programs becoming a reliable wedge issue for compounding generations of conservative politics.
Then again, there’s an equally influential history of civil rights advocates...
- 12/13/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
Updated with quotes from winners and IDA’s incoming executive director. Bobi Wine: The People’s President earned the top award at the 39th IDA Documentary Awards, presented in a virtual ceremony tonight.
The film directed by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp was named Best Feature Documentary, winning over nine other Oscar-contending documentaries, a list that included Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, In the Rearview, The Mother of All Lies, and Apolonia, Apolonia. Scroll for the complete winners list.
Bobi Wine: The People’s President tells the story of the titular Ugandan pop singer-turned politician, who dared to challenge his country’s dictator for leadership of Uganda.
Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine.
“The awareness this film has brought to world audiences has arguably kept Bobi Wine alive and out of prison for now,” Bwayo commented in his acceptance speech. “This film is a testament to the courage and determination of Bobi Wine,...
The film directed by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp was named Best Feature Documentary, winning over nine other Oscar-contending documentaries, a list that included Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, In the Rearview, The Mother of All Lies, and Apolonia, Apolonia. Scroll for the complete winners list.
Bobi Wine: The People’s President tells the story of the titular Ugandan pop singer-turned politician, who dared to challenge his country’s dictator for leadership of Uganda.
Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine.
“The awareness this film has brought to world audiences has arguably kept Bobi Wine alive and out of prison for now,” Bwayo commented in his acceptance speech. “This film is a testament to the courage and determination of Bobi Wine,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
White Bird.The repeatedly delayed film White Bird, based on the 2019 graphic novel by R.J. Palacio, follows an elderly Jewish woman looking back on her youth in France during World War II, particularly the time she spent hiding from the Nazis. The framing is odd: She is telling this tale to impart a lesson to her grandson, a bully character from a different, earlier novel by Palacio, Wonder. Both stories are part of a wider fictive universe authored by Palacio, the “World of Wonder,” which comprises spinoff books, film adaptations, and merchandise, all branded with the poptimistic slogan/hashtag “Choose Kind.” A friendly schoolmate refusing to persecute White Bird’s protagonist for being Jewish is implicitly an example of “choosing kind,” divorced from any historically based understanding of solidarity or resistance to fascism. More problematically, White Bird has as its epigraph George Santayama’s famous quote “Those who can’t...
- 11/28/2023
- MUBI
The New Boy — the story of a young Aboriginal Australian orphan boy that was written, directed and lensed by Warwick Thornton — collected the Golden Frog in the main competition of the 31st EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival, which closed Saturday night in Torún, Poland.
Cinematographer Ed Lachman received the Silver Frog for Pablo Larraín’s El Conde, which positions Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. Robbie Ryan’s lensing of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, the story of a young woman (Emma Stone) brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, claimed the Bronze Frog as well as the Audience Award. (Ryan collected the Golden Frog two years ago, for Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon, and Lachman won the Golden Frog in 2015, for Todd Haynes’ Carol.).
The Fipresci Prize was awarded to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, a chilling look at the life of Auschwitz concentration camp commander Rudolf Höss and his family,...
Cinematographer Ed Lachman received the Silver Frog for Pablo Larraín’s El Conde, which positions Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. Robbie Ryan’s lensing of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, the story of a young woman (Emma Stone) brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, claimed the Bronze Frog as well as the Audience Award. (Ryan collected the Golden Frog two years ago, for Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon, and Lachman won the Golden Frog in 2015, for Todd Haynes’ Carol.).
The Fipresci Prize was awarded to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, a chilling look at the life of Auschwitz concentration camp commander Rudolf Höss and his family,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
To work on The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s harrowing Holocaust drama about the domestic life of an Auschwitz commandant and his family, Polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal had to “forget everything I was taught” about making “beautiful images.”
Glazer’s film, loosely adapted from the 2014 novel of the same name by Martin Amis, follows the seemingly mundane activities of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, played by Christian Friedl and Sandra Hüller, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in their house and garden next to the camp. The smooth, stunning monochrome aesthetic Zal perfected on his (Oscar-nominated) lensing of Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida and Cold War would not do for Glazer’s story, which aimed to evoke the banality of evil by refusing to show Höss and Hedwig as anything but what they were: Ordinary, even boring, people who carried out unspeakable evil.
Glazer’s film, loosely adapted from the 2014 novel of the same name by Martin Amis, follows the seemingly mundane activities of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, played by Christian Friedl and Sandra Hüller, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in their house and garden next to the camp. The smooth, stunning monochrome aesthetic Zal perfected on his (Oscar-nominated) lensing of Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida and Cold War would not do for Glazer’s story, which aimed to evoke the banality of evil by refusing to show Höss and Hedwig as anything but what they were: Ordinary, even boring, people who carried out unspeakable evil.
- 11/15/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Disney Branded Television has acquired first-generation Taiwanese American filmmaker Sean Wang’s award-winning documentary short, “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó.”
“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” features dialogue in both Mandarin and English and is a “multigenerational story” that celebrates Sean Wang’s two grandmothers, one on his father’s side and the other on his mother’s side. The film premiered at the SXSW film festival, where it took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Since then, it has gone on to receive Grand Jury Awards at AFI Fest and Siff 2023, a slot on the IDA Shortlist and Special Jury Recognition at Laapff 2023, among other accolades.
“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” will be in the first installment of Disney’s “People and Places” relaunch, a revival of Walt Disney’s documentary film series in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The collection of short documentary films will feature a mix...
“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” features dialogue in both Mandarin and English and is a “multigenerational story” that celebrates Sean Wang’s two grandmothers, one on his father’s side and the other on his mother’s side. The film premiered at the SXSW film festival, where it took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Since then, it has gone on to receive Grand Jury Awards at AFI Fest and Siff 2023, a slot on the IDA Shortlist and Special Jury Recognition at Laapff 2023, among other accolades.
“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” will be in the first installment of Disney’s “People and Places” relaunch, a revival of Walt Disney’s documentary film series in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The collection of short documentary films will feature a mix...
- 11/10/2023
- by Valerie Wu
- Variety Film + TV
Jonathan Glazer’s first film in a decade is also his second film with A24. Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” stars Christian Friedel as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and Sandra Hüller as his wife and accomplice Hedwig Höss in a loose adaptation of Martin Amis’ 2014 novel. Glazer’s last feature was the 2013 A24 film “Under the Skin.”
In the film, the Höss couple strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden directly adjacent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Höss was the longest-serving chief commander. But Jews are being exterminated on the other side of the wall as Höss and his wife turn a blind eye to atrocity.
Max Beck, Ralph Herforth, Stephanie Petrowitz, Sascha Maaz, Marie Rosa Tietjen, and Lilli Falk also star. “The Zone of Interest” lead actress Hüller additionally appears in Justine Triet’s buzzy Palme d’Or-winning thriller “Anatomy of a Fall,...
In the film, the Höss couple strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden directly adjacent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Höss was the longest-serving chief commander. But Jews are being exterminated on the other side of the wall as Höss and his wife turn a blind eye to atrocity.
Max Beck, Ralph Herforth, Stephanie Petrowitz, Sascha Maaz, Marie Rosa Tietjen, and Lilli Falk also star. “The Zone of Interest” lead actress Hüller additionally appears in Justine Triet’s buzzy Palme d’Or-winning thriller “Anatomy of a Fall,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Spike Lee blasted critics who suggested that “Do The Right Thing” would spark riots when it opened in 1989, while honoring one of the reviewers who came to the film’s defense. The remarks came as Lee received the Ebert Director Award, named for the late film critic Roger Ebert, at the Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Awards on Sunday.
“Your husband got behind me when those mother f–kers in the press were saying that ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to incite Black people to riot,” Lee said, as he accepted his prize from Chaz Ebert, the late critic’s wife. “That this film should not be shown in the United States.”
Lee cited David Denby and Joe Klein as two of the most prominent critical voices against the film, which has gone to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. The pair wrote, Lee recalled, that...
“Your husband got behind me when those mother f–kers in the press were saying that ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to incite Black people to riot,” Lee said, as he accepted his prize from Chaz Ebert, the late critic’s wife. “That this film should not be shown in the United States.”
Lee cited David Denby and Joe Klein as two of the most prominent critical voices against the film, which has gone to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. The pair wrote, Lee recalled, that...
- 9/11/2023
- by Brent Lang and Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Fest runs September 7-17.
TIFF has announced additional TIFF Tribute Award recipients, with Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz, Polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal, and Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau joining the roster.
Markowicz will receive the TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by MGM Studios. The award is in the spirit of Torontonian Mary Pickford, the groundbreaking actor, producer, and co-founder of United Artists.
Markowicz will present the world premiere of her second feature Toll on September 9. The film centres on a Brazilian mother who falls in with a gang of thieves in an attempt to keep her family afloat. Her first film...
TIFF has announced additional TIFF Tribute Award recipients, with Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz, Polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal, and Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau joining the roster.
Markowicz will receive the TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by MGM Studios. The award is in the spirit of Torontonian Mary Pickford, the groundbreaking actor, producer, and co-founder of United Artists.
Markowicz will present the world premiere of her second feature Toll on September 9. The film centres on a Brazilian mother who falls in with a gang of thieves in an attempt to keep her family afloat. Her first film...
- 8/22/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau, Brazilian director Carolina Markowicz and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lukasz Zal will be honored at the Toronto Film Festival, including as part of the fifth annual TIFF Tribute Awards on Sept. 10, organizers said on Tuesday.
On Sept. 15, Lau, who sits atop China’s A-list as both an actor and a pop performer, will receive a special tribute award ahead of the world premiere of Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, where he plays a movie star seeking relevance via a film festival–baiting art-house role.
And during the TIFF Tribute Awards, Markowicz will be honored with the TIFF Emerging Talent Award, while Poland’s Zal will be feted with a TIFF Artisan Award. Markowicz is headed to Toronto for the world premiere of her second feature, Toll, on Sept. 9.
Zal is best known for his cinematography in Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War and Ida and returns to...
On Sept. 15, Lau, who sits atop China’s A-list as both an actor and a pop performer, will receive a special tribute award ahead of the world premiere of Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, where he plays a movie star seeking relevance via a film festival–baiting art-house role.
And during the TIFF Tribute Awards, Markowicz will be honored with the TIFF Emerging Talent Award, while Poland’s Zal will be feted with a TIFF Artisan Award. Markowicz is headed to Toronto for the world premiere of her second feature, Toll, on Sept. 9.
Zal is best known for his cinematography in Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War and Ida and returns to...
- 8/22/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Tuesday, TIFF announced additional honorees who will be receiving a TIFF Tribute Award at this year’s Festival. Recipients include award-winning Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz who will be honoured with the TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by MGM. This award is in the spirit of Torontonian Mary Pickford, the groundbreaking actor, producer, and co-founder of United Artists, whose impact continues today. Two-time Academy Award–nominated Polish cinematographer Łukasz Żal will receive the TIFF Variety Artisan Award, which recognizes a distinguished creative who has excelled at their craft and made an outstanding contribution to cinema and entertainment. Both Markowicz and Żal will be honoured on Sept. 10 at the fifth annual TIFF Tribute Awards gala fundraiser at Fairmont Royal York Hotel, presented by Bulgari.
On Sept. 15, TIFF will be honouring Andy Lau, the multi-hyphenate Hong Kong artist with a Special Tribute Award at the World Premiere Gala presentation of Ning Hao’s “The Movie Emperor,...
On Sept. 15, TIFF will be honouring Andy Lau, the multi-hyphenate Hong Kong artist with a Special Tribute Award at the World Premiere Gala presentation of Ning Hao’s “The Movie Emperor,...
- 8/22/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Jonathan Glazer’s chilling Holocaust portrait “The Zone of Interest” received a six-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival this year — and eventually its Grand Jury Prize.
IndieWire now exclusively shares the A24 film’s release date, set for a limited opening on December 8 in time for awards season. A24 also shares two new images from the film featuring Christian Friedel as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and Sandra Hüller as his wife and accomplice Hewdig Höss. At that same Cannes, Hüller also starred in Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall.”
The film’s official synopsis belies what’s going on under the surface, as Rudolf and Hedwig “strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden” directly adjacent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Höss was the longest-serving chief commander.
This is Glazer’s first feature since 2013’s cult...
IndieWire now exclusively shares the A24 film’s release date, set for a limited opening on December 8 in time for awards season. A24 also shares two new images from the film featuring Christian Friedel as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and Sandra Hüller as his wife and accomplice Hewdig Höss. At that same Cannes, Hüller also starred in Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall.”
The film’s official synopsis belies what’s going on under the surface, as Rudolf and Hedwig “strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden” directly adjacent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Höss was the longest-serving chief commander.
This is Glazer’s first feature since 2013’s cult...
- 8/2/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: After being forced to halt production with the launch of the SAG-AFTRA strike, the crime drama King Ivory from writer-director John Swab (Ida Red) is back up and running once again, in and around Tulsa, Ok, having been named just recently as one of 39 productions that will benefit from a SAG Interim Agreement.
Previously unannounced actors who have been able to return to set, pursuant to the agreement, include James Badge Dale (The Departed), Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), Rory Cochrane (Black Mass), Ritchie Coster (The Dark Knight), George Carroll (The Town), Sam Quartin (Candy Land), Academy Award nominee Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) and Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter).
While production on the majority of studio projects has been shuttered, amidst a dual strike by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, the actors guild is offering interim agreements to the projects of “truly independent producers,...
Previously unannounced actors who have been able to return to set, pursuant to the agreement, include James Badge Dale (The Departed), Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), Rory Cochrane (Black Mass), Ritchie Coster (The Dark Knight), George Carroll (The Town), Sam Quartin (Candy Land), Academy Award nominee Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) and Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter).
While production on the majority of studio projects has been shuttered, amidst a dual strike by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, the actors guild is offering interim agreements to the projects of “truly independent producers,...
- 7/19/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ Director Peter Webber Joins Wartime Thriller ‘Irena Sendler’ (Exclusive)
Peter Webber has signed on to direct the wartime thriller “Irena Sendler.” It tells the true story of Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who defied the Nazis and organized a team of young women to smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Casting is currently underway and production is expected to start in Poland later this year or early in 2024.
The script was penned by Agatha Dominik, Brian Pittman & Rachel Long, Stuart Hazeldine, and Jeff Most. The film will be produced by Most (“The Crow”), BAFTA Award winning and Academy Award winning producer Ewa Puszczyńska, Jeff Rice, Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros, and Golden Globe winning producer Gareth Wiley of Phoenix Wiley.
“Irene Sendler was an icon, an inspiration, an incredibly brave young woman who risked her own life to save hundreds of young children in the Warsaw Ghetto from certain death at...
The script was penned by Agatha Dominik, Brian Pittman & Rachel Long, Stuart Hazeldine, and Jeff Most. The film will be produced by Most (“The Crow”), BAFTA Award winning and Academy Award winning producer Ewa Puszczyńska, Jeff Rice, Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros, and Golden Globe winning producer Gareth Wiley of Phoenix Wiley.
“Irene Sendler was an icon, an inspiration, an incredibly brave young woman who risked her own life to save hundreds of young children in the Warsaw Ghetto from certain death at...
- 7/11/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Over the 24 hours since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it will be expanding the theatrical release requirements for a film to be eligible for the best picture Oscar starting with 2024 releases, much of Hollywood has been abuzz about the news.
The conclusion that most seem to be arriving at can best be summed up by a comment shared with me by one of the many awards strategists in attendance at Wednesday night’s West Hollywood celebration of the Telluride Film Festival: “It’s like the inclusion standards [which the Academy now requires a film to meet in order to be eligible for best picture] — it gives everyone something to be upset about for a while, but it doesn’t actually change anything [because the requirements are so easily met].”
By requiring films to screen in more markets and for longer periods of time, the Academy appears to be trying to prop up movie theaters and emphasize the difference between films made for the big screen and the small screen.
The conclusion that most seem to be arriving at can best be summed up by a comment shared with me by one of the many awards strategists in attendance at Wednesday night’s West Hollywood celebration of the Telluride Film Festival: “It’s like the inclusion standards [which the Academy now requires a film to meet in order to be eligible for best picture] — it gives everyone something to be upset about for a while, but it doesn’t actually change anything [because the requirements are so easily met].”
By requiring films to screen in more markets and for longer periods of time, the Academy appears to be trying to prop up movie theaters and emphasize the difference between films made for the big screen and the small screen.
- 6/23/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Brett Morgen has signed with Entertainment 360.
Morgen is is considered one of the most influential and acclaimed nonfiction filmmakers of the past 25 years, with credits that include Moonage Daydream, Jane, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Crossfire Hurricane and The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Moonage Daydream premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and went on to become the highest-grossing nonfiction film this decade. The film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and received WGA, Cas, Mpse and Critics Choice awards.
In 2018, Morgen won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Director for his work on Jane. In addition, he has been awarded DGA, PGA, Ace, Mpse, WGA and IDA awards for Outstanding Documentary. In addition, he has received eight individual Emmy nominations, two Peabody Awards, two BAFTA nominations, three Ace Eddie nominations, and an Oscar nomination in 2000 for the documentary On the Ropes. ...
Morgen is is considered one of the most influential and acclaimed nonfiction filmmakers of the past 25 years, with credits that include Moonage Daydream, Jane, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Crossfire Hurricane and The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Moonage Daydream premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and went on to become the highest-grossing nonfiction film this decade. The film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and received WGA, Cas, Mpse and Critics Choice awards.
In 2018, Morgen won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Director for his work on Jane. In addition, he has been awarded DGA, PGA, Ace, Mpse, WGA and IDA awards for Outstanding Documentary. In addition, he has received eight individual Emmy nominations, two Peabody Awards, two BAFTA nominations, three Ace Eddie nominations, and an Oscar nomination in 2000 for the documentary On the Ropes. ...
- 6/8/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
A24 has unveiled a raft of key territory deals for Jonathan Glazer’s hotly tipped Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or frontrunner The Zone Of Interest ahead of the awards ceremony on Saturday.
The film has sold to Austria and Germany (Leonine), Benelux (Cineart), France (Bac), Greece (Spentzos), Italy (I Wonder), Japan (Happinet Phantom Studios), Scandinavia (Sf Studios), Spain (Elastica and Wanda) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi).
Other distributors include Poland’s Gutek, which pre-bought the film in a deal not brokered by A24.
The holocaust drama stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
The film is Glazer’s first feature in a decade – since the Scarlett Johansson-starring sci-fi drama Under The Skin – as well as his first film to premiere in Cannes.
The film has sold to Austria and Germany (Leonine), Benelux (Cineart), France (Bac), Greece (Spentzos), Italy (I Wonder), Japan (Happinet Phantom Studios), Scandinavia (Sf Studios), Spain (Elastica and Wanda) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi).
Other distributors include Poland’s Gutek, which pre-bought the film in a deal not brokered by A24.
The holocaust drama stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
The film is Glazer’s first feature in a decade – since the Scarlett Johansson-starring sci-fi drama Under The Skin – as well as his first film to premiere in Cannes.
- 5/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: In a seismic development for the indie film sector, which could have ripple effects across the whole film and TV ecosystem, bond companies are refusing to insure movies ahead of a potential SAG-AFTRA strike on July 1.
This eventuality has been bubbling behind the scenes for a little while, but its first known casualty is a high-profile case. Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski’s The Island, set to star Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Oscar nominee Rooney Mara (Carol), was due to get underway this month with the actors on location in Spain and ready to roll.
However, we understand the threat of a potential SAG-AFTRA strike — on top of the ongoing WGA strike and potential DGA action — has spooked bond companies and The Island filmmakers were told on the eve of shoot that the movie couldn’t be bonded, leading to their two stars (both SAG-AFTRA members) having to...
This eventuality has been bubbling behind the scenes for a little while, but its first known casualty is a high-profile case. Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski’s The Island, set to star Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Oscar nominee Rooney Mara (Carol), was due to get underway this month with the actors on location in Spain and ready to roll.
However, we understand the threat of a potential SAG-AFTRA strike — on top of the ongoing WGA strike and potential DGA action — has spooked bond companies and The Island filmmakers were told on the eve of shoot that the movie couldn’t be bonded, leading to their two stars (both SAG-AFTRA members) having to...
- 5/23/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
At this point it doesn’t seem a stretch to say that Jonathan Glazer is incapable of making a movie that’s anything less than bracingly original. His 2000 feature debut, Sexy Beast, elevated the British gangster thriller. Four years later, his reincarnation mystery, Birth, got a cool response from most critics but has since been steadily re-evaluated as a spellbinding heir to Rosemary’s Baby. Almost a decade later, he returned with the hypnotically austere sci-fi chiller Under the Skin, about an alien succubus preying on Scottish men and discovering empathy during her killing spree.
Glazer’s new German-language film, The Zone of Interest, which comes after another 10-year absence from features, is a devastating Holocaust drama like no other, which demonstrates with startling effectiveness the British formalist’s unerring control of tonal and visual storytelling. The worst thing you could say about the director is that for such a singular talent,...
Glazer’s new German-language film, The Zone of Interest, which comes after another 10-year absence from features, is a devastating Holocaust drama like no other, which demonstrates with startling effectiveness the British formalist’s unerring control of tonal and visual storytelling. The worst thing you could say about the director is that for such a singular talent,...
- 5/19/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Emma Mackey Joins Vicky Krieps, Fiona Shaw in ‘Hot Milk,’ HanWay Films Selling in Cannes (Exclusive)
“Emily” star Emma Mackey has joined the cast of “Hot Milk,” the adaptation of the bestselling novel by Deborah Levy.
The BAFTA winner will lead the cast alongside Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”), Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”), Vincent Perez (“Shantaram”) and Patsy Ferran (“Living”). HanWay Films has worldwide sales rights and will shop the pic to buyers in Cannes next week.
“Hot Milk” marks the directorial debut of award-winning writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz. It will start shooting in July in Greece in co-production with Heretic Films.
The film explores the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship against the hot and atmospheric backdrop of Almería in Spain.
The story centers on Rose (Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Mackey), who travel to a seaside resort in Spain, to consult with the shamanic Dr Gomez (Perez), a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair.
The BAFTA winner will lead the cast alongside Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”), Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”), Vincent Perez (“Shantaram”) and Patsy Ferran (“Living”). HanWay Films has worldwide sales rights and will shop the pic to buyers in Cannes next week.
“Hot Milk” marks the directorial debut of award-winning writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz. It will start shooting in July in Greece in co-production with Heretic Films.
The film explores the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship against the hot and atmospheric backdrop of Almería in Spain.
The story centers on Rose (Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Mackey), who travel to a seaside resort in Spain, to consult with the shamanic Dr Gomez (Perez), a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair.
- 5/10/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Zone of Interest’ First Look: Jonathan Glazer Returns with First Feature Since ‘Under the Skin’
Jonathan Glazer is back on the big screen.
The “Under the Skin” director returns for his first feature in 10 years with “The Zone of Interest,” based on Martin Amis’ 2014 novel. The period piece follows Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), the commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) who both strive to build a dream life for their family in the garden next to the concentration camp. The novel charts a love triangle with a Nazi officer who falls in love with Hedwig; the story is told from the perspective of three characters, one being a Jewish Sonderkommando.
Max Beck, Ralph Herforth, Stephanie Petrowitz, Sascha Maaz, Marie Rosa Tietjen, and Lilli Falk also star.
Łukasz Żal, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida” and “Cold War,” serves as the director of photography, with Paul Watts editing. The A24 film will be scored by composer Mica Levi. Glazer and Levi...
The “Under the Skin” director returns for his first feature in 10 years with “The Zone of Interest,” based on Martin Amis’ 2014 novel. The period piece follows Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), the commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) who both strive to build a dream life for their family in the garden next to the concentration camp. The novel charts a love triangle with a Nazi officer who falls in love with Hedwig; the story is told from the perspective of three characters, one being a Jewish Sonderkommando.
Max Beck, Ralph Herforth, Stephanie Petrowitz, Sascha Maaz, Marie Rosa Tietjen, and Lilli Falk also star.
Łukasz Żal, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Ida” and “Cold War,” serves as the director of photography, with Paul Watts editing. The A24 film will be scored by composer Mica Levi. Glazer and Levi...
- 5/8/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
David Hammons has been one of the most influential creatives in the world of fine arts for the past half-century, but his elusive persona has turned him into an enigma. Working in a variety of mediums ranging from sculpture to prints of his own body to elaborate museum installations, he has found consistent success without limiting himself to an easily defined visual style. And he virtually never grants interviews or public appearances, allowing his work to speak for itself.
That combination of talent and evasiveness has caused many an artist to be deified throughout human history, so it’s hardly surprising that Hammons has taken on larger-than-life status among some art aficionados. Now, a new documentary is attempting to shed light on Hammons’ provocative career at the top of the art world. “The Melt Goes on Forever: The Art & Times of David Hammon” examines the stylistic evolutions that Hammons has...
That combination of talent and evasiveness has caused many an artist to be deified throughout human history, so it’s hardly surprising that Hammons has taken on larger-than-life status among some art aficionados. Now, a new documentary is attempting to shed light on Hammons’ provocative career at the top of the art world. “The Melt Goes on Forever: The Art & Times of David Hammon” examines the stylistic evolutions that Hammons has...
- 4/28/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Scream Factory sure loves director Kevin Connor’s 1980 oddball horror classic Motel Hell (which you can watch Here). They gave the film a special edition Blu-ray release from back in 2014, then a steelbook release with a 4K transfer back in 2020. Now they have announced that they’ll be giving Motel Hell a 4K Uhd release on June 27th – and copies are available for pre-order at This Link! While supplies last, fans who order the 4K Uhd release through the Scream Factory site will also receive an exclusive 18″ X 24″ rolled poster featuring the original theatrical artwork.
Written by Robert Jaffe and Steven-Charles Jaffe, Motel Hell stars Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack, Elaine Joyce, and John Ratzenberger. The synopsis: It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters! You really are what you eat with Farmer Vincent’s smoked meat in this creepy horror...
Written by Robert Jaffe and Steven-Charles Jaffe, Motel Hell stars Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack, Elaine Joyce, and John Ratzenberger. The synopsis: It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s fritters! You really are what you eat with Farmer Vincent’s smoked meat in this creepy horror...
- 4/11/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Stars: Tymoteusz Bies, Jacek Bies | Written by Damian Kocur, Marta Konarzewska | Directed by Damian Kocur
While studying at the Warsaw Academy of Music, Tymoteusz (Tymoteusz Bies) returns to his hometown for a visit. Surrounded by his friends and younger brother Jacek (Jacek Bies), his group makes a beeline for the new kebab shop opened up by two Arabic immigrants. As tensions rise throughout the summer, Tymoteusz assesses where he stands in the gap between a familiar past and an ever-changing present.
It’s possibly fair to say that those rocking up to a mid-month film festival without much idea of what’s on the schedule might not be too au fait with Polish cinema. Classics such as Ida and Interrogation are heralded as worthy watches, yet the visual imagery of Polish culture instead often comes from BBC News clips of homophobic policies and immigrants who are despised by the Brits.
While studying at the Warsaw Academy of Music, Tymoteusz (Tymoteusz Bies) returns to his hometown for a visit. Surrounded by his friends and younger brother Jacek (Jacek Bies), his group makes a beeline for the new kebab shop opened up by two Arabic immigrants. As tensions rise throughout the summer, Tymoteusz assesses where he stands in the gap between a familiar past and an ever-changing present.
It’s possibly fair to say that those rocking up to a mid-month film festival without much idea of what’s on the schedule might not be too au fait with Polish cinema. Classics such as Ida and Interrogation are heralded as worthy watches, yet the visual imagery of Polish culture instead often comes from BBC News clips of homophobic policies and immigrants who are despised by the Brits.
- 3/30/2023
- by Jasmine Valentine
- Nerdly
Previous recipients include Barry Jenkins, Dustin Lance Black, Susannah Grant, Liz Hannah.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz will receive Writers Guild of America West’s (WGA) 2023 Paul Selvin Award in recognition of her adapted screenplay She Said at the Guild’s awards ceremony in Los Angeles on March 5.
She Said recounts the story of the investigation by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, reporters at The New York Times, who exposed decades of sexual abuse by then-Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and in so doing ignited the #MeToo movement. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star.
Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Los Angeles court today.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz will receive Writers Guild of America West’s (WGA) 2023 Paul Selvin Award in recognition of her adapted screenplay She Said at the Guild’s awards ceremony in Los Angeles on March 5.
She Said recounts the story of the investigation by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, reporters at The New York Times, who exposed decades of sexual abuse by then-Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and in so doing ignited the #MeToo movement. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star.
Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Los Angeles court today.
- 2/23/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based sales outlet New Europe Film Sales has sold North American distribution rights for its Berlinale-selected drama “Delegation” to Greenwich Entertainment.
“Delegation” is a story of three Israeli high school friends who take part in a class trip visiting Holocaust sites in Poland – their last time together before going to the army. During the trip, shy boy Frisch, aspiring artist Nitzan and class heartthrob Ido deal with issues of love, friendship and politics against the backdrop of concentration camps and memorial sites. The journey will change them forever.
The deal for the film, which had its premiere in the Generation 14Plus competition, was negotiated by Naszewski and Greenwich co-president Edward Arentz.
“While it appeared in Gen14 and its main characters are teenagers, this is not what you would think of as a typical YA film or typical YA filmmaking, nor will the audience be limited to young adults.
“Delegation” is a story of three Israeli high school friends who take part in a class trip visiting Holocaust sites in Poland – their last time together before going to the army. During the trip, shy boy Frisch, aspiring artist Nitzan and class heartthrob Ido deal with issues of love, friendship and politics against the backdrop of concentration camps and memorial sites. The journey will change them forever.
The deal for the film, which had its premiere in the Generation 14Plus competition, was negotiated by Naszewski and Greenwich co-president Edward Arentz.
“While it appeared in Gen14 and its main characters are teenagers, this is not what you would think of as a typical YA film or typical YA filmmaking, nor will the audience be limited to young adults.
- 2/23/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Polish film industry is embracing variety and high-profile international collaborations, with a slew of new co-productions already generating buzz among buyers and festival programmers. “More and more established filmmakers, who used to look for collaborators in Romania or Hungary, are now coming to Poland — mostly because we are backed by concrete institutions and because there is money,” says producer Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska of Madants, heading to Berlinale’s European Film Market with “Ultima Thule” and Goran Stolevski’s “Housekeeping for Beginners.”
“Our crews speak English and work abroad. We are visible internationally,” she adds.
Madants is also behind James Napier Robertson’s upcoming Polish-Kiwi title “Joika,” one of six international co-productions backed by the Polish Film Institute in 2022. The shingle’s slate includes Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s “Let Me Out” and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s follow-up to “The Silent Twins,” “Hot Spot.”
“Foreign producers and buyers are actively looking...
“Our crews speak English and work abroad. We are visible internationally,” she adds.
Madants is also behind James Napier Robertson’s upcoming Polish-Kiwi title “Joika,” one of six international co-productions backed by the Polish Film Institute in 2022. The shingle’s slate includes Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s “Let Me Out” and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s follow-up to “The Silent Twins,” “Hot Spot.”
“Foreign producers and buyers are actively looking...
- 2/19/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
We will update these predictions throughout awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks. Final voting is March 2 through 7, 2023. The 95th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 12 and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.
See IndieWire’s previous Oscars Predictions for this category and more here.
State of the Race
Because the much-enlarged documentary branch sees all fifteen shortlisted films when they pick their nominees for Best Documentary Feature, it wasn’t a surprise that a film that was not widely lauded on the awards circuit would sneak into the final five. Danish filmmaker Simon Lerent Wilmont’s Sundance World Cinema directing winner “A House Made of Splinters” was the surprise on Oscar nominations morning. Produced by Joshua Oppenheimer’s team behind “Flee,” the touching film goes inside a home for neglected children anxiously awaiting court custody decisions,...
See IndieWire’s previous Oscars Predictions for this category and more here.
State of the Race
Because the much-enlarged documentary branch sees all fifteen shortlisted films when they pick their nominees for Best Documentary Feature, it wasn’t a surprise that a film that was not widely lauded on the awards circuit would sneak into the final five. Danish filmmaker Simon Lerent Wilmont’s Sundance World Cinema directing winner “A House Made of Splinters” was the surprise on Oscar nominations morning. Produced by Joshua Oppenheimer’s team behind “Flee,” the touching film goes inside a home for neglected children anxiously awaiting court custody decisions,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Before we highlight this week’s picks, I want to give a special shout-out to our newly-launched Twitter account for Michael Snydel’s podcast Intermission. He’s sharing daily, well-curated streaming recommendations, so be sure to give it a follow!
Burial (Ben Parker)
From Tarantino to Mann to Marvel, mining Word War II for fictional storytelling purposes is nothing new in cinema. The latest to take the leap is Ben Parker’s Burial, a staid action thriller following Russian soldiers who are transporting the corpse of Hitler back to their homeland, per Stalin’s request. While Parker suggests some interesting ideas about conflicted nationalism at the end of a war, and he gets the table-setting right when it comes to mood, Burial...
Before we highlight this week’s picks, I want to give a special shout-out to our newly-launched Twitter account for Michael Snydel’s podcast Intermission. He’s sharing daily, well-curated streaming recommendations, so be sure to give it a follow!
Burial (Ben Parker)
From Tarantino to Mann to Marvel, mining Word War II for fictional storytelling purposes is nothing new in cinema. The latest to take the leap is Ben Parker’s Burial, a staid action thriller following Russian soldiers who are transporting the corpse of Hitler back to their homeland, per Stalin’s request. While Parker suggests some interesting ideas about conflicted nationalism at the end of a war, and he gets the table-setting right when it comes to mood, Burial...
- 9/2/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture 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 January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture 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 January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/2/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture 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 January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture 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 January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/1/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
Polish auteur’s Jerzy Skolimowski’s latest film, Eo, which follows the adventures of a mule who is stubborn and wise and free-spirited, has been chosen by Poland as its contender for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Eo debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Soundtrack Award. The Polish film will also have a North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, before going onto to the New York Film Festival.
Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directed the drama about a nomadic gray donkey named Eo. After leaving a traveling circus, Eo begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure.
On those travels, the donkey meets a cast of characters played by Lorenzo Zurzolo and Isabelle Huppert, among others. Ewa Piaskowska and Skolimowski wrote and produced the movie.
Polish auteur’s Jerzy Skolimowski’s latest film, Eo, which follows the adventures of a mule who is stubborn and wise and free-spirited, has been chosen by Poland as its contender for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Eo debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Soundtrack Award. The Polish film will also have a North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, before going onto to the New York Film Festival.
Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directed the drama about a nomadic gray donkey named Eo. After leaving a traveling circus, Eo begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure.
On those travels, the donkey meets a cast of characters played by Lorenzo Zurzolo and Isabelle Huppert, among others. Ewa Piaskowska and Skolimowski wrote and produced the movie.
- 8/30/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
by Nathaniel R
Poland won their first Oscar in the Best International Feature Film category for Ida (2014) eight years ago and surely came closer than expected to a second win four years ago with a late surge for the brilliant Cold War (2018) which also scored Best Director and Best Cinematography nominations. In fact, Poland has had a major comeback with the Oscars in the past 15 years, racking of nearly half of their nomination total after a quarter century drought from the last time the Academy couldn't get enough of their cinema back in the mid seventies to early eighties. Can they keep their hot streak going with the buzzy donkey point-of-view feature, Eo... ...
Poland won their first Oscar in the Best International Feature Film category for Ida (2014) eight years ago and surely came closer than expected to a second win four years ago with a late surge for the brilliant Cold War (2018) which also scored Best Director and Best Cinematography nominations. In fact, Poland has had a major comeback with the Oscars in the past 15 years, racking of nearly half of their nomination total after a quarter century drought from the last time the Academy couldn't get enough of their cinema back in the mid seventies to early eighties. Can they keep their hot streak going with the buzzy donkey point-of-view feature, Eo... ...
- 8/30/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced the full program for its annual screening series, including the 10 films that have been chosen for its Awards Campaign Access Initiative (Acai).
The program will open with Netflix’s “Descendant,” a film produced by the Obamas’ company Higher Ground Productions. The documentary sees director Margaret Brown return to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States, illegally carrying enslaved Africans, and the ramifications its discovery has on the community.
What will follow is a showcase of 43 feature-length documentary films that are eligible for consideration for the upcoming Academy Awards; 20 films will be screened both in-person and online, and 35 will be available for virtual viewing only.
The films selected for the Acai, a program meant to support independent filmmakers from historically excluded communities currently pursuing a film awards campaign, are:
Beba | Dir.
The program will open with Netflix’s “Descendant,” a film produced by the Obamas’ company Higher Ground Productions. The documentary sees director Margaret Brown return to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States, illegally carrying enslaved Africans, and the ramifications its discovery has on the community.
What will follow is a showcase of 43 feature-length documentary films that are eligible for consideration for the upcoming Academy Awards; 20 films will be screened both in-person and online, and 35 will be available for virtual viewing only.
The films selected for the Acai, a program meant to support independent filmmakers from historically excluded communities currently pursuing a film awards campaign, are:
Beba | Dir.
- 8/30/2022
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture 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 January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture 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 January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 8/30/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Robert and Michelle King’s supernatural procedural series “Evil” has long been one of the most terrifying shows on television and streaming (it premiered on CBS before migrating to its current home on Paramount+), as well as one of the most profoundly philosophical.
The two aspects are inextricably linked, as the questions the series asks about faith, reason and whether evil comes from outside of us or within are explored via stories showcasing monsters both paranormal and human. Finding a visual corollary for the show’s ongoing tension between the pragmatic and the spiritual while sustaining its eerie, dread-inducing atmosphere is the job of cinematographers Fred Murphy and Petr Hlinomaz, whose bold approach to lenses and composition has turned “Evil” into not only one of the most thoughtful and frightening series on the air but one of the most visually striking.
One thing that immediately sets “Evil” apart from most...
The two aspects are inextricably linked, as the questions the series asks about faith, reason and whether evil comes from outside of us or within are explored via stories showcasing monsters both paranormal and human. Finding a visual corollary for the show’s ongoing tension between the pragmatic and the spiritual while sustaining its eerie, dread-inducing atmosphere is the job of cinematographers Fred Murphy and Petr Hlinomaz, whose bold approach to lenses and composition has turned “Evil” into not only one of the most thoughtful and frightening series on the air but one of the most visually striking.
One thing that immediately sets “Evil” apart from most...
- 8/12/2022
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
After a year of pandemic delays, the upcoming Oscar season is coming into focus as a return to normal. The Oscars are on March 27, 2022, one month earlier than this year’s delayed Oscars and six weeks later than last year’s. The Academy is staying away from both Super Bowl Lvi on February 13 as well as the Winter Olympics in Beijing (February 4 through February 20), while leaving plenty of time for Oscar-show planning after the nominations announcement on February 8. And as theaters reopen, with many movies postponed from last year, including rival New York musicals from Jon M. Chu (“In the Heights”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”), the Academy is staying flexible about eligibility requirements.
One thing missing from the upcoming awards lineup: January’s Golden Globes, which has been canceled as the Hollywood Foreign Press institutes long overdue reforms. Looking to fill that gap are beefed-up iterations of the Gotham,...
One thing missing from the upcoming awards lineup: January’s Golden Globes, which has been canceled as the Hollywood Foreign Press institutes long overdue reforms. Looking to fill that gap are beefed-up iterations of the Gotham,...
- 8/11/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Submissions from Cambodia, Ecuador, Morocco, Poland and Switzerland have been announced so far.
Entries for the 2022 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
Submissions from Cambodia, Ecuador, Morocco, Poland and Switzerland have been announced so far.
The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 1, 2022 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This is the first time since 2018 that the ceremony will take place in March, having moved to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international...
Entries for the 2022 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
Submissions from Cambodia, Ecuador, Morocco, Poland and Switzerland have been announced so far.
The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 1, 2022 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This is the first time since 2018 that the ceremony will take place in March, having moved to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.
The eligibility rules remain the same: an international...
- 9/7/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Andre Braugher has joined the cast of the Harvey Weinstein investigation film “She Said,” and he will portray New York Times editor Dean Baquet in the film.
The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star joins a cast that includes Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who broke the Weinstein scandal and helped usher in the #MeToo movement. Patricia Clarkson also stars in the film.
The film is specifically based on the book “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement,” and Oscar winner Rebecca Lenkiewicz (“Ida”) adapted the screenplay. “She Said” is being directed by Maria Schrader, an Emmy winner for Netflix’s “Unorthodox.”
“She Said” is being released by Universal and comes from Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment, which optioned the rights to Twohey and Kantor’s book in 2018 under their co-production deal.
Megan Ellison is executive producing for Annapurna with Sue Naegle,...
The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star joins a cast that includes Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who broke the Weinstein scandal and helped usher in the #MeToo movement. Patricia Clarkson also stars in the film.
The film is specifically based on the book “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement,” and Oscar winner Rebecca Lenkiewicz (“Ida”) adapted the screenplay. “She Said” is being directed by Maria Schrader, an Emmy winner for Netflix’s “Unorthodox.”
“She Said” is being released by Universal and comes from Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment, which optioned the rights to Twohey and Kantor’s book in 2018 under their co-production deal.
Megan Ellison is executive producing for Annapurna with Sue Naegle,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
When she was a student at the prestigious Lodz Film School in Poland, Jagoda Szelc was offered the chance to shoot a feature film. It was an unexpected opportunity for the aspiring filmmaker, who was then in her third year. But after it was produced on a shoestring budget, “Tower. A Bright Day” would go on to play the Berlin Film Festival and win a host of awards in Poland, unexpectedly catapulting Szelc into the limelight.
It was not an easy place for a first-time filmmaker to be. “I was very lost,” Szelc admits. Critics compared “Tower” to the works of male directors and seemed flummoxed that a young woman could helm such an auspicious debut. In one TV segment that left a lasting mark, two male presenters argued that Szelc was too young to understand what she was doing behind the camera. “There was a lot of patronizing [behavior toward] me,...
It was not an easy place for a first-time filmmaker to be. “I was very lost,” Szelc admits. Critics compared “Tower” to the works of male directors and seemed flummoxed that a young woman could helm such an auspicious debut. In one TV segment that left a lasting mark, two male presenters argued that Szelc was too young to understand what she was doing behind the camera. “There was a lot of patronizing [behavior toward] me,...
- 7/10/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
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
Switzerland’s Locarno Film festival has unveiled its line-up ahead of a physical 2021 edition running August 4-14. Scroll down for a list of titles.
As previously announced, Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s Beckett, starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, will open the festival with its world premiere on August 4.
Joining the movie for a screening at the fest’s main venue, the Piazza Grande, will be titles including John Swab’s Ida Red starring Frank Grillo, which will world premiere, Shawn Levy’s Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds, and several U.S. classics including Michael Mann’s Heat and James Cameron’s The Terminator.
Back in November last year, Deadline interviewed new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who told us about his love for popular cinema and American movies. This will mark his debut edition at the helm.
Screening in the Concorso Internazionale strand, which features international works from around the world,...
As previously announced, Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s Beckett, starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, will open the festival with its world premiere on August 4.
Joining the movie for a screening at the fest’s main venue, the Piazza Grande, will be titles including John Swab’s Ida Red starring Frank Grillo, which will world premiere, Shawn Levy’s Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds, and several U.S. classics including Michael Mann’s Heat and James Cameron’s The Terminator.
Back in November last year, Deadline interviewed new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who told us about his love for popular cinema and American movies. This will mark his debut edition at the helm.
Screening in the Concorso Internazionale strand, which features international works from around the world,...
- 7/1/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Anne Hathaway, Tahar Rahim, Marisa Tomei, Joanna Kulig and Matthew Broderick are set to star in “She Came to Me,” a romantic comedy from writer and director Rebecca Miller.
The film will be presented to international buyers by Protagonist Pictures at the Cannes Film Market later this month, and CAA Media Finance is handling North American rights.
“She Came to Me” is set in New York and follows a string of characters, including a composer suffering from writer’s block who rediscovers his passion after an adventurous one-night stand; a couple of gifted teenagers who fight to prove to their parents that their young love is something that can last forever; and a woman who seemingly has it all who has love arrive in the most unexpected places.
Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler are producing alongside Miller and Damon Cardasis from Round Films.
Filming hopes to begin this fall in New York.
The film will be presented to international buyers by Protagonist Pictures at the Cannes Film Market later this month, and CAA Media Finance is handling North American rights.
“She Came to Me” is set in New York and follows a string of characters, including a composer suffering from writer’s block who rediscovers his passion after an adventurous one-night stand; a couple of gifted teenagers who fight to prove to their parents that their young love is something that can last forever; and a woman who seemingly has it all who has love arrive in the most unexpected places.
Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler are producing alongside Miller and Damon Cardasis from Round Films.
Filming hopes to begin this fall in New York.
- 6/8/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
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