Picture Tree Intl. has picked up global sales rights to “Gina” (working title), by Ulrike Kofler, which follows her Netflix debut “What We Wanted.”
“Gina” tells the story of a 9-year-old girl longing for a home and family while having to take care of her younger siblings and mother, who is too overwhelmed to take care of herself, let alone her children.
The film, produced by Film Ag, is the second feature by Kofler, who is a long-time editor for Austrian director Marie Kreutzer. Kofler’s editing work includes “Corsage,” which won best film at the London Film Festival and three nominations for the European Film Awards in 2022, “The Ground Beneath My Feet”, and Josef Hader’s “Wild Mouse”.
Kolfer’s directorial debut “What We Wanted,” starring Elyas M’Barek and Lavinia Wilson, was sold by Pti exclusively to Netflix, and was Austria’s official entry for the Academy Awards in...
“Gina” tells the story of a 9-year-old girl longing for a home and family while having to take care of her younger siblings and mother, who is too overwhelmed to take care of herself, let alone her children.
The film, produced by Film Ag, is the second feature by Kofler, who is a long-time editor for Austrian director Marie Kreutzer. Kofler’s editing work includes “Corsage,” which won best film at the London Film Festival and three nominations for the European Film Awards in 2022, “The Ground Beneath My Feet”, and Josef Hader’s “Wild Mouse”.
Kolfer’s directorial debut “What We Wanted,” starring Elyas M’Barek and Lavinia Wilson, was sold by Pti exclusively to Netflix, and was Austria’s official entry for the Academy Awards in...
- 5/10/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
German director Robert Schwentke’s directorial career has swung in a few directions; he has made Hollywood actioners like Flightplan with Jodie Foster, the adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife and a film that almost defines the idea of a personal movie, based on his own diagnosis with testicular cancer. He has both written and directed Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes, an eccentric competition choice, even by the inclusive standards of the Berlinale – starring John Malkovich as the eponymous Stoic philosopher. Over two hours, he delivers what is largely a monologue: as a performance, it has at least the strength of dogged determination. As a film, however, Seneca is almost unendurable.
Shot in and around an open colonnaded pavilion constructed in the Moroccan desert, Seneca draws on Roman historian Tacitus’ account of the great thinker’s reluctant suicide in Ad 65. A celebrated public figure, Seneca is also on...
Shot in and around an open colonnaded pavilion constructed in the Moroccan desert, Seneca draws on Roman historian Tacitus’ account of the great thinker’s reluctant suicide in Ad 65. A celebrated public figure, Seneca is also on...
- 2/20/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor John Malkovich is in Berlin to debut his latest pic Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes, and during a press conference Monday, he spoke to reporters about his relationship with his co-star, Julian Sands, who has been missing since January.
“Julian and I were very, very close,” Malkovich told reporters in Berlin.
“I’m a godfather to his first son from his first marriage to Sarah, who I know very well. I introduced him to his second wife, and we have been close since we met in 1983 on the set of The Killing Fields. It’s a very sad event.”
Related: Deadline’s Berlin Film Festival Coverage
Sands was reported missing on January 13 after he failed to return from a hiking expedition in California. Several searches by public and private parties have already been carried out. The actor is also an experienced hiker.
John Malkovich, Julian Sands, ‘The Killing...
“Julian and I were very, very close,” Malkovich told reporters in Berlin.
“I’m a godfather to his first son from his first marriage to Sarah, who I know very well. I introduced him to his second wife, and we have been close since we met in 1983 on the set of The Killing Fields. It’s a very sad event.”
Related: Deadline’s Berlin Film Festival Coverage
Sands was reported missing on January 13 after he failed to return from a hiking expedition in California. Several searches by public and private parties have already been carried out. The actor is also an experienced hiker.
John Malkovich, Julian Sands, ‘The Killing...
- 2/20/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The audiences at Berlin International Film Festival tend to be respectful and engaged. But at the press screening of “Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes,” which plays as part of the Berlinale Specials strand at this year’s festival edition, several people cried “Just die!” at the screen.
Read More: ‘Disco Boy’ Review: A Great Performance From Franz Rogowski Cannot Save A Derivative Debut [Berlin]
Written and directed by Robert Schwentke, a journeyman director behind thrillers like “Flight Plan,” action fare “Red” and “R.I.P.D.,” two entries into the “Divergent” series and “The Time Traveller’s Wife,” this could be interpreted as a passion project.
The sparse plot concerns the death of the Roman philosopher Seneca (John Malkovich), first tutor and then advisor to Emperor Nero (Tom Xander), a vile and murderous ruler, shown here as an overgrown bully with a taste for violence and mommy issues (down...
Read More: ‘Disco Boy’ Review: A Great Performance From Franz Rogowski Cannot Save A Derivative Debut [Berlin]
Written and directed by Robert Schwentke, a journeyman director behind thrillers like “Flight Plan,” action fare “Red” and “R.I.P.D.,” two entries into the “Divergent” series and “The Time Traveller’s Wife,” this could be interpreted as a passion project.
The sparse plot concerns the death of the Roman philosopher Seneca (John Malkovich), first tutor and then advisor to Emperor Nero (Tom Xander), a vile and murderous ruler, shown here as an overgrown bully with a taste for violence and mommy issues (down...
- 2/20/2023
- by Anna Bogutskaya
- The Playlist
In his dark historical comedy “Seneca,” Robert Schwentke explores themes of power, corruption and hypocrisy as he traces the fateful final days of the Roman philosopher and dramatist that followed his souring relationship with the despotic Emperor Nero.
The film stars John Malkovich in the title role, Tom Xander as Nero and an ensemble cast that includes Geraldine Chaplin, Louis Hofmann, Mary-Louise Parker and Julian Sands.
The story of a morally conflicted, opportunistic character grappling with tyranny run amok can be seen as a continuation of the subject matter at the heart of his acclaimed 2017 World War II drama “The Captain,” says Schwentke. Both “are concerned with individual choice within a totalitarian system. They both deal with the theme of collaboration, opportunism and survival and how tainted one can become.”
Schwentke says he was most intrigued by the stark contradictions of Seneca, who he describes as a “complex character and a paradox.
The film stars John Malkovich in the title role, Tom Xander as Nero and an ensemble cast that includes Geraldine Chaplin, Louis Hofmann, Mary-Louise Parker and Julian Sands.
The story of a morally conflicted, opportunistic character grappling with tyranny run amok can be seen as a continuation of the subject matter at the heart of his acclaimed 2017 World War II drama “The Captain,” says Schwentke. Both “are concerned with individual choice within a totalitarian system. They both deal with the theme of collaboration, opportunism and survival and how tainted one can become.”
Schwentke says he was most intrigued by the stark contradictions of Seneca, who he describes as a “complex character and a paradox.
- 2/20/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
German cinema looks set for a major boom this year with a strong lineup of diverse works that span historical dramas, coming-of-age tales, high-octane nostalgia, animation and sci-fi fun.
The Berlin Film Festival is bowing a muscular selection of local titles, among them “Afire,” by Berlinale mainstay Christian Petzold (“Undine”), screening in competition. The films centers on a group of young people staying at a holiday house near the Baltic Sea during a hot, dry summer, exploring volatile emotions that start to sizzle when a wildfire spreads through the surrounding forest.
Likewise vying for the Golden Bear is Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic “Ingeborg Bachmann: Journey Into the Desert,” starring Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”) as the radical Austrian author. The film examines her relationship with Swiss writer Max Frisch and her 1964 journey of self-discovery through the Egyptian desert.
“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything,” by Emily Atef (“More Than Ever”) and...
The Berlin Film Festival is bowing a muscular selection of local titles, among them “Afire,” by Berlinale mainstay Christian Petzold (“Undine”), screening in competition. The films centers on a group of young people staying at a holiday house near the Baltic Sea during a hot, dry summer, exploring volatile emotions that start to sizzle when a wildfire spreads through the surrounding forest.
Likewise vying for the Golden Bear is Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic “Ingeborg Bachmann: Journey Into the Desert,” starring Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”) as the radical Austrian author. The film examines her relationship with Swiss writer Max Frisch and her 1964 journey of self-discovery through the Egyptian desert.
“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything,” by Emily Atef (“More Than Ever”) and...
- 2/19/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
"Aim for virtue, happiness will follow." German distributor Weltkino Filmverleih has revealed two official trailers for the film Seneca, the latest from director Robert Schwentke who has been working in Hollywood for years (he last made Snake Eyes). The full title is actually Seneca - On the Creation of Earthquakes, and this is premiering at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival later this month, with a German release set in March. A look at the relationship between Seneca and Nero, the infamous Emperor he mentored since childhood and who accused him of plotting his assassination. The plot revolves around Nero telling him to kill himself, and how Seneca then responds. "Schwentke has made a pyrotechnic display of a film that is almost peerless in its use of over-the-top punchlines, splatter-sarcasm and love of verbal precocity. Stunning and incredibly topical, Seneca asks: is the educated elite a victim of tyranny or an opportunistic collaborator?...
- 2/8/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The full programme will be revealed in January 2023.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 16-26) has announced six titles for its Berlinale Special Galas, including the world premieres of John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary.
The festival has also unveiled eight Forum titles, including world premieres of Fiona Tan’s Dearest Fiona and Vincent Dieutre’s This Is The End.
In addition, the festival has named the first title to play in Berlinale Series, the eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm) – based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing.
Robert Schwentke...
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 16-26) has announced six titles for its Berlinale Special Galas, including the world premieres of John Malkovich starrer Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes and Alex Gibney’s untitled Boris Becker documentary.
The festival has also unveiled eight Forum titles, including world premieres of Fiona Tan’s Dearest Fiona and Vincent Dieutre’s This Is The End.
In addition, the festival has named the first title to play in Berlinale Series, the eco-thriller The Swarm (Der Schwarm) – based on the eponymous bestseller by Frank Schätzing.
Robert Schwentke...
- 12/20/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based sales company Picture Tree Intl. has boarded Robert Schwentke’s historical drama “Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes,” which has its world premiere in the Berlinale Special Gala section of the Berlin Film Festival. The teaser (below) for the film, which stars John Malkovich, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Xander, “Dark’s” Louis Hofmann and Mary-Louise Parker, has been released.
The movie is a look at the relationship between Seneca and Nero, the infamous Roman Emperor he mentored since childhood, and who accused him of plotting his assassination.
As the foster father and mastermind of Nero, Seneca is instrumental in the rise of the self-indulgent young tyrant. The philosopher, known for his great speeches on renunciation and clemency, is himself one of the richest men in ancient Rome. But when one day the student tires of his teacher, Nero orders Seneca to kill himself. Is the latter ready for an honorable suicide,...
The movie is a look at the relationship between Seneca and Nero, the infamous Roman Emperor he mentored since childhood, and who accused him of plotting his assassination.
As the foster father and mastermind of Nero, Seneca is instrumental in the rise of the self-indulgent young tyrant. The philosopher, known for his great speeches on renunciation and clemency, is himself one of the richest men in ancient Rome. But when one day the student tires of his teacher, Nero orders Seneca to kill himself. Is the latter ready for an honorable suicide,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The film stars John Malkovich
UK actors Tom Xander and Andrew Koji have joined John Malkovich, Geraldine Chaplin and Julian Sands, in the cast of German director Robert Schwentke’s English-language feature Seneca – On The Creation of Earthquakes which began filming on location in the southern Moroccan city of Ouarzazate at the weekend.
Xander plays Emperor Nero who is beginning to weary of the famous Roman philosopher Seneca, played by Malkovich, his teacher, mentor and close advisor since childhood, while the casting of Koji, whose credits include Peaky Blinders and Warrior TV series, marks his second collaboration with Schwentke after...
UK actors Tom Xander and Andrew Koji have joined John Malkovich, Geraldine Chaplin and Julian Sands, in the cast of German director Robert Schwentke’s English-language feature Seneca – On The Creation of Earthquakes which began filming on location in the southern Moroccan city of Ouarzazate at the weekend.
Xander plays Emperor Nero who is beginning to weary of the famous Roman philosopher Seneca, played by Malkovich, his teacher, mentor and close advisor since childhood, while the casting of Koji, whose credits include Peaky Blinders and Warrior TV series, marks his second collaboration with Schwentke after...
- 9/27/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
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