Marking his leap to feature filmmaking, award-winning director Ali Asgari and his cowriter and life partner Farnoosh Samadi are dealing with an issue which is not discussed in Iran, but occurs often enough to be brought to light in this story about young love and loss of innocence in Iranian society today. Disappearance had its North American premiere in Toronto after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Emerging with teenage temerity out of a dark alleyway, Sara reaches out for help at one of the many Tehran hospitals that she will visit over the course of the night. Doe-eyed and withdrawn, Sara is reluctant to divulge the details of her delicate injury, or any personal information, and this renders the medics unable to help. Even when her boyfriend, Hamed, shows up, posing as her brother, the urgent procedure cannot begin until her parents give their authorization.
So begins...
Emerging with teenage temerity out of a dark alleyway, Sara reaches out for help at one of the many Tehran hospitals that she will visit over the course of the night. Doe-eyed and withdrawn, Sara is reluctant to divulge the details of her delicate injury, or any personal information, and this renders the medics unable to help. Even when her boyfriend, Hamed, shows up, posing as her brother, the urgent procedure cannot begin until her parents give their authorization.
So begins...
- 9/18/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Trump Tower climber of August 10 will go down as an important moment in media history, as 14 million people watched the event go viral in real time via Facebook Live. More than 80 news organizations used Facebook Live to cover the breaking event and 2.5 million unique viewers in the U.S. watched at least one minute, according to a blog post by Facebook execs Beth Loyd and Peter Roybal. More than two hours after a man began scaling the south side of New York’s Trump Tower using suction cups, police successfully intercepted him with a risky maneuver witnessed by millions with.
- 8/26/2016
- by Brian Flood
- The Wrap
“Ninety-nine out of a hundred times, the missing kid is with a parent or relative. What about the other time?”
Netflix plans to answer this question in their new eight-episode series, “Stranger Things,” which will stream in full on July 15.
Read More: Netflix’s Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Viewers Watch for More Than Two Hours at a Time
According to the official description, “A love letter to the supernatural classics of the ’80s, ‘Stranger Things’ is the story of a young boy named Will who vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.”
In the new trailer, Will’s loved ones search for him and grow increasingly frustrated with what seems to be some sort of governmental cover-up involving paranormal events. The discovery of Eleven,...
Netflix plans to answer this question in their new eight-episode series, “Stranger Things,” which will stream in full on July 15.
Read More: Netflix’s Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Viewers Watch for More Than Two Hours at a Time
According to the official description, “A love letter to the supernatural classics of the ’80s, ‘Stranger Things’ is the story of a young boy named Will who vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.”
In the new trailer, Will’s loved ones search for him and grow increasingly frustrated with what seems to be some sort of governmental cover-up involving paranormal events. The discovery of Eleven,...
- 6/30/2016
- by Kate Halliwell
- Indiewire
Netflix’s ever-expanding slate of original movies continues to grow with “Xoxo,” the story of six strangers whose lives intersect at at an electronic-music festival. (Timely!) With Dylan Meyer and Christopher Louie already announced as writer and director, respectively, the Edm drama has just tapped Pete Tong to oversee the music lest the bass not get dropped properly. Where was he when “We Are Your Friends” needed him?
Read More: Netflix’s Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Viewers Watch for More Than Two Hours at a Time
A multi-multi-hyphenate — DJ, artist, BBC1 radio host, founder of the Ffrr record label, executive, co-founder of the International Music Summit, MBE — Tong is also co-producing “Xoxo.” His previous credits in capacity of music supervisor include “Harry Brown,” “The Beach,” “24 Hour Party People” and “It’s All Gone Pete Tong.”
Read More: How First-Time Director Max Joseph Got Zac Efron to Star in ‘We Are Your Friends...
Read More: Netflix’s Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Viewers Watch for More Than Two Hours at a Time
A multi-multi-hyphenate — DJ, artist, BBC1 radio host, founder of the Ffrr record label, executive, co-founder of the International Music Summit, MBE — Tong is also co-producing “Xoxo.” His previous credits in capacity of music supervisor include “Harry Brown,” “The Beach,” “24 Hour Party People” and “It’s All Gone Pete Tong.”
Read More: How First-Time Director Max Joseph Got Zac Efron to Star in ‘We Are Your Friends...
- 6/20/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
One of the first powerhouse original Netflix series is back for its fourth season. “Orange is the New Black,” following the individual and collective stories of prison inmates at the minimum-security women’s federal prison Litchfield Penitentiary, has been consistently praised as one of the better dramas and few black comedies out there. But can it keep its holding come season 4?
Read More: Laverne Cox On How ‘There’s A Little Performance in Gender,’ From ‘Orange is the New Black’ to ‘Rocky Horror’
The show’s 13 episodes were released last night on the streaming site: IndieWire’s TV Editor Liz Shannon Miller, in her A- review, pointed out that “There are so few shows on television that really examine humanity in such a direct way,” saying Oitnb “doesn’t hide behind metaphor or high-concept premises — it simply asks that you look these women in the eye, and remember that they’re looking back.
Read More: Laverne Cox On How ‘There’s A Little Performance in Gender,’ From ‘Orange is the New Black’ to ‘Rocky Horror’
The show’s 13 episodes were released last night on the streaming site: IndieWire’s TV Editor Liz Shannon Miller, in her A- review, pointed out that “There are so few shows on television that really examine humanity in such a direct way,” saying Oitnb “doesn’t hide behind metaphor or high-concept premises — it simply asks that you look these women in the eye, and remember that they’re looking back.
- 6/17/2016
- by Kyle Kizu
- Indiewire
Online streaming outfit Netflix is getting into the Nick Kroll business (and, also apparently the animated puberty comedy business). Deadline reports that Netflix has picked up “Big Mouth, ” a 10-epsiode, half-hour comedy from Kroll and his real-life Bff Andrew Goldberg (best known for his writing work on “Family Guy”) that follows the wild world of “teenaged adventures in puberty.”
The duo created the series alongside screenwriters/directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, and all four will serve as executive producers on the series.
Read More: How ‘Kroll Show’ Celebrates Dumb Television
Kroll and comedian pal John Mulaney will voice the main characters (Nick and Andrew, of course) in what is described as an “edgy surreal comedy.” They will be joined by Maya Rudolph, Jason Mantzoukas, Jordan Peele, Fred Armisen, Jenny Slate and Jessi Klein, who will also contribute their voice talents to the show.
“There are few things that keep me up at night…Nick Kroll’s adventures in puberty is one of them, so we greenlit this series with very few questions asked,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix VP of original content of the news to pick up “Big Mouth.”
Read More: Springboard: How ‘My Blind Brother’ Filmmaker Sophie Goodhart Found the Right Tone For Her Off-Beat Comedy
Kroll added, “Andrew and I have been best friends since 1st grade, so this show is over 30 years in the making. I can’t wait to tell all the stories that make up the glorious nightmare of puberty.”
Incidentally, Kroll will soon appear in another raucous animated outing, “Sausage Party,” in which he is voicing an actual douche.
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Related stories'The League': Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll Pull One Final Prank in Exclusive Video'Stranger Things' Trailer: Winona Ryder Battles Supernatural Forces To Find Her Missing SonNetflix's Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Viewers Watch for More Than Two Hours at a Time...
The duo created the series alongside screenwriters/directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, and all four will serve as executive producers on the series.
Read More: How ‘Kroll Show’ Celebrates Dumb Television
Kroll and comedian pal John Mulaney will voice the main characters (Nick and Andrew, of course) in what is described as an “edgy surreal comedy.” They will be joined by Maya Rudolph, Jason Mantzoukas, Jordan Peele, Fred Armisen, Jenny Slate and Jessi Klein, who will also contribute their voice talents to the show.
“There are few things that keep me up at night…Nick Kroll’s adventures in puberty is one of them, so we greenlit this series with very few questions asked,” said Cindy Holland, Netflix VP of original content of the news to pick up “Big Mouth.”
Read More: Springboard: How ‘My Blind Brother’ Filmmaker Sophie Goodhart Found the Right Tone For Her Off-Beat Comedy
Kroll added, “Andrew and I have been best friends since 1st grade, so this show is over 30 years in the making. I can’t wait to tell all the stories that make up the glorious nightmare of puberty.”
Incidentally, Kroll will soon appear in another raucous animated outing, “Sausage Party,” in which he is voicing an actual douche.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
Related stories'The League': Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll Pull One Final Prank in Exclusive Video'Stranger Things' Trailer: Winona Ryder Battles Supernatural Forces To Find Her Missing SonNetflix's Binge Scale Reveals Which Shows Viewers Watch for More Than Two Hours at a Time...
- 6/13/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Great Scott! In 1985 Director Robert Zemeckis, Executive Producer Steven Spielberg and Producer/Screenwriter Bob Gale embarked on a three-part journey through time that broke box office records worldwide and catapulted Back to the Future into one of the most beloved trilogies in motion picture history.
In 1989, the filmmakers gave us a glimpse of the future in Back To The Future Part II as Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to 2015…or, if our calculations are correct, October 21, 2015, to be exact. “The Future” has finally arrived.
Now, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment celebrates this once-in-a-lifetime date, as well as the 30th Anniversary of the groundbreaking first film, with three new releases debuting on October 20, 2015.
In the clip above, at the 1:03 mark, Marty is about to be consumed by a holographic shark at the Holomax theater.
The marquee reads, “This time, it’s really, really personal” – directed by Max Spielberg.
Universal Home Entertainment...
In 1989, the filmmakers gave us a glimpse of the future in Back To The Future Part II as Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled to 2015…or, if our calculations are correct, October 21, 2015, to be exact. “The Future” has finally arrived.
Now, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment celebrates this once-in-a-lifetime date, as well as the 30th Anniversary of the groundbreaking first film, with three new releases debuting on October 20, 2015.
In the clip above, at the 1:03 mark, Marty is about to be consumed by a holographic shark at the Holomax theater.
The marquee reads, “This time, it’s really, really personal” – directed by Max Spielberg.
Universal Home Entertainment...
- 10/5/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
To celebrate Back To The Future's 30th anniversary, three commemorative box sets are coming out in October. Here are all the details...
Thirty years after the release of the original Back To The Future, the series remains evergreen. And to commemorate its original appearance back in 1985, Universal's preparing to bring out a new Blu-ray and DVD box set, which will come with a booklet and a bonus disc full of extras.
In addition to that set, there'll also be a DVD release of Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series. But for those who want both the movies and the animated series, a third release will package everything together in a special edition modelled after the Flux Capacitor in Doc Brown's DeLorean. It lights up and everything.
From the press release, here's what you'll find on each disc. Note that the Animated Series is DVD only. All...
Thirty years after the release of the original Back To The Future, the series remains evergreen. And to commemorate its original appearance back in 1985, Universal's preparing to bring out a new Blu-ray and DVD box set, which will come with a booklet and a bonus disc full of extras.
In addition to that set, there'll also be a DVD release of Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series. But for those who want both the movies and the animated series, a third release will package everything together in a special edition modelled after the Flux Capacitor in Doc Brown's DeLorean. It lights up and everything.
From the press release, here's what you'll find on each disc. Note that the Animated Series is DVD only. All...
- 7/16/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Mubi is excited to announce a collaboration with the Cannes Court Métrage (Short Film Corner) to exclusively screen during the Festival de Cannes (May 14-25) a collection of short films previously shown in the Official Competition.
The retrospective varies from country to country, but highlights include: Cannes Jury President Jane Campion's Peel (1982), a short from 2013 Camera d'Or winner Anthony Chen, Ah Ma, Chef de meute from Un Certain Regard alum Chloé Robichaud (Sarah Prefers to Run), Your Face (1987), a hand-drawn animation from Bill Plympton, and Waiting for P.O. Box, the first Syrian film to screen in Competition at the festival.
Retrospective lineup (depending on your country):
Ah Ma (Anthony Chen, Singapore, 2007)
Yardbird (Michael Spiccia, Australia, 2012)
Maya (Pedro Pio, Cuba, 2010)
Arena (João Salaviza, Portugal, 2009)
Chef de meute (Chloé Robichaud, Canada, 2012)
More than Two Hours (Ali Asgari, Iran, 2013)
Cross (Maryna Vroda, France, 2011)
Waiting for P.O. Box (Bassam Chekhes,...
The retrospective varies from country to country, but highlights include: Cannes Jury President Jane Campion's Peel (1982), a short from 2013 Camera d'Or winner Anthony Chen, Ah Ma, Chef de meute from Un Certain Regard alum Chloé Robichaud (Sarah Prefers to Run), Your Face (1987), a hand-drawn animation from Bill Plympton, and Waiting for P.O. Box, the first Syrian film to screen in Competition at the festival.
Retrospective lineup (depending on your country):
Ah Ma (Anthony Chen, Singapore, 2007)
Yardbird (Michael Spiccia, Australia, 2012)
Maya (Pedro Pio, Cuba, 2010)
Arena (João Salaviza, Portugal, 2009)
Chef de meute (Chloé Robichaud, Canada, 2012)
More than Two Hours (Ali Asgari, Iran, 2013)
Cross (Maryna Vroda, France, 2011)
Waiting for P.O. Box (Bassam Chekhes,...
- 5/14/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
The odds of having your short film included in this year’s Sundance Film Festival are .008 percent. Out of the 66 short film line-up (selected among 8,161 submissions) we find actress Rose McGowan move behind the camera for her directing debut (Dawn), we have Ain’t Them Bodies Saints producer Toby Halbrooks shovel out Dig (see pic above) and Todd Rohal (The Guatemalan Handshake) returns to the fest in between features with Rat Pack Rat. Filmmaker Magazine New Faces of Independent Film director Dean Fleischer-Camp rolls up his shirt sleeves with Catherine, Matthew Lessner returns to Park City with the helping hand Chapel Perilous while The Strange Ones (’11 accepted short) co-helmer Christopher Radcliff won’t be making a dissappearing act with Jonathan’s Chest. Finally docu feature-film helmer Lucy Walker moves into The Lion’s Mouth Opens. I’ll of course be covering several of these – look out for our coverage.
Here...
Here...
- 12/10/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Short films can go a long way. Especially when they’re showcased at the Sundance Film Festival. The festival’s Shorts program, which was announced today, has a tradition of identifying remarkable filmmakers as well as introducing stories that ultimately make it to the big-screen as features. For example, David O. Russell brought his first film, a short titled Bingo Inferno to Sundance in 1987, while Half Nelson, which earned Ryan Gosling his first Oscar nomination, grew out of Ryan Fleck’s 2004 Sundance short titled, Gowanus, Brooklyn. “If you look back at the directors who got their start by having a short at Sundance,...
- 12/10/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Doha’s youth festival to showcase Qatari filmmakers; unveils competition titles.
Films shot by Qatari nationals and those who call Qatar their home are to be showcased at the inaugural Ajyal Youth Film Festival (Nov 26-30), presented by the Doha Film Institute, in a Made in Qatar strand.
The programme will highglight the works of filmmakers across three segments.
The first will feature the works of winners from the Doha Film Institute’s 48-Hour online Family Film Challenge; the second from the 7-Day Filmmaking Challenge, both of which were open to filmmakers from across Qatar; and the third which will include the screening of Batal Wa Resalah (The Hero and the Message), from Al Rayyan Productions.
Ajyal festival director Fatma Al Remaihi said the Qatar strand would “honour the dedication, creativity and unique voice of our homegrown talent in front of a wide audience”.
She added that the festival is “dedicated to supporting local filmmakers and to...
Films shot by Qatari nationals and those who call Qatar their home are to be showcased at the inaugural Ajyal Youth Film Festival (Nov 26-30), presented by the Doha Film Institute, in a Made in Qatar strand.
The programme will highglight the works of filmmakers across three segments.
The first will feature the works of winners from the Doha Film Institute’s 48-Hour online Family Film Challenge; the second from the 7-Day Filmmaking Challenge, both of which were open to filmmakers from across Qatar; and the third which will include the screening of Batal Wa Resalah (The Hero and the Message), from Al Rayyan Productions.
Ajyal festival director Fatma Al Remaihi said the Qatar strand would “honour the dedication, creativity and unique voice of our homegrown talent in front of a wide audience”.
She added that the festival is “dedicated to supporting local filmmakers and to...
- 11/11/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open festival; director Peter Greenaway to receive Visionary Award.Scroll down for full line-up
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
- 10/22/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
This morning the official 2013 Cannes Film Festival line-up was announced from Paris, France. The committee saw 1,858 films submitted this year and while additional titles will continue to be announced, this morning we got the full Competition and Un Certain Regard lineup and it looks amazing so far. Among the films announced In Competition so far, many were expected including Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives, Steven Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, Roman Polanski's Venus in Fur, Asghar Farhadi's The Past and Joel and Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis. Additionally James Gray's once titled Lowlife starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner will play, but under the name The Immigrant and Takashi Miike's cop thriller Wara No Tate (Straw Shield) has also made the competition list. However, the biggest "surprise" is the inclusion of Alexander Payne's black-and-white film Nebraska, which is sure to be a big attention getter,...
- 4/18/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Cannes Film Festival has announced which short films have made it to the festival competition.
For the first time, a Palestinian film is included in the competition, with a film called Condom Lead, by Mohammed and Ahmad Abou Nasser.
The other competition short films are Ali Asgari’s More Than Two Hours (Iran), Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Whale Valley (Iceland, Denmark), Omoi Sasaki’s The Metorite and Impotence (Japan), Gilles Coulier’s Mont Blanc (Belgium), Elzbieta Benkowska’s Olena (Poland), Annarita Zambrano’s Ophelia (France), Byounggon Moon’s Safe (South Korea) and Adriano Valerio’s 37º 4 S (France).
Over 3,500 short films were submitted,...
For the first time, a Palestinian film is included in the competition, with a film called Condom Lead, by Mohammed and Ahmad Abou Nasser.
The other competition short films are Ali Asgari’s More Than Two Hours (Iran), Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Whale Valley (Iceland, Denmark), Omoi Sasaki’s The Metorite and Impotence (Japan), Gilles Coulier’s Mont Blanc (Belgium), Elzbieta Benkowska’s Olena (Poland), Annarita Zambrano’s Ophelia (France), Byounggon Moon’s Safe (South Korea) and Adriano Valerio’s 37º 4 S (France).
Over 3,500 short films were submitted,...
- 4/16/2013
- by Amanda Taylor
- EW - Inside Movies
The full program will be revealed on Thursday but the Cannes Film Festival has just given us our first look at this year's lineup by revealing its Shorts Competition and Cinefondation Selection for next month's 66th festival. The 2013 Shorts program features its first ever Palestinian film and at least one filmmaker has competed in Cannes before (Moon Byoung-gon with Finis Operis in the International Critics' Weeks Shorts section in 2011).Can't wait to see the full lineup! Short Films In Competition:9 shorts were selected out of 3,500 (yikes!) and will compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or, which will be awarded by jury head Jane Campion. Ali Asgari Bishtar Az Do Saat (More than two Hours) 15' Iran Mohammed Abou Nasser, Ahmad Abou Nasser Condom Lead...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 4/16/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Short Films In Competition: Ali Asgari Bishtar Az Do Saat (More than two Hours) 15’ Iran Mohammed Abou Nasser, Ahmad Abou Nasser Condom Lead 14’ Palestine, Jordan Gudmundur Gudmundsson Hvalfjordur (Whale Valley) 15’ Iceland,...
- 4/16/2013
- by Ryan Adams
- AwardsDaily.com
Just two days before Thierry Fremaux is to reveal the competition slate for this year's Cannes Film Festival, the organization released the short film and Cinefondation selections late Tuesday. The short film committee made their selections out of 3,500 submissions from 132 countries this year. The nine films will compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or, which will be awarded by jury president Jane Campion at the closing ceremony on May 26. Story: Cannes: Which Films Won't Make It to the French Riviera This Year? Ali Asgari’s More Than Two Hours (Iran), Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s Whale Valley (Iceland, Denmark),
read more...
read more...
- 4/16/2013
- by Rhonda Richford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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