End of an era, end of a business model, end of a gravy train, end of the world. There were plenty of mixed emotions this week in response to the closure of Oscar-winning production company Participant, and at the very least the industry has agreed something has come to an end.
When Variety broke the news Tuesday that billionaire Jeff Skoll’s 20-year-old company will shut down — after fetching 21 Oscars and introducing a business model that prioritized social impact a bit more than profits – many in the industry were rattled. Not just that mid-level, standalone financier and producer had left the market, but what that means for the viability of movies and TV shows that ask vital questions about justice and the humanity’s future.
“The end of Participant Media is devastating news to anyone who cares about documentaries,” director Julie Cohen wrote bluntly on X. She’s the co-director...
When Variety broke the news Tuesday that billionaire Jeff Skoll’s 20-year-old company will shut down — after fetching 21 Oscars and introducing a business model that prioritized social impact a bit more than profits – many in the industry were rattled. Not just that mid-level, standalone financier and producer had left the market, but what that means for the viability of movies and TV shows that ask vital questions about justice and the humanity’s future.
“The end of Participant Media is devastating news to anyone who cares about documentaries,” director Julie Cohen wrote bluntly on X. She’s the co-director...
- 4/19/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Jeff Skoll, the billionaire philanthropist who launched Participant 20 years ago to champion socially conscious films, is closing down the impact producer-financier behind Spotlight, Roma, and Green Book.
In a memo to staff on Tuesday morning eBay co-founder Skoll said, ”I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
The statement hinted at what may have driven the Canadian’s “very difficult decision”. Studios and streamers are scrutinising their spend more than ever,...
In a memo to staff on Tuesday morning eBay co-founder Skoll said, ”I founded Participant with the mission of creating world-class content that inspires positive social change, prioritizing impact alongside commercial sustainability. Since then, the entertainment industry has seen revolutionary changes in how content is created, distributed and consumed.”
The statement hinted at what may have driven the Canadian’s “very difficult decision”. Studios and streamers are scrutinising their spend more than ever,...
- 4/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
Financier and producer Participant is shuttering after 20 years. Founder Jeff Skoll alerted staff at 10:30Am, Deadline has confirmed.
The production’s m.o. was to bring content to the world that was socially conscious, read their Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Universal’s Green Book, as well as DreamWorks’ Oscar winner Lincoln. All in Participant counts 135 films, five series, 21 Oscars including two Best Pictures, four Best Documentaries and two Best International Features, 18 Primetime Emmys and north of $3.3 billion in global box office.
Skoll told staffers, as you can read below, that it was a “very difficult decision” and stems from it being “the right time for me to evaluate my next chapter and approach to tackling the pressing issues of our time.” He also mentioned that he hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day management of the studio.
Skoll is a Canadian engineer, billionaire who was the first president of eBay.
The production’s m.o. was to bring content to the world that was socially conscious, read their Oscar Best Picture winners Spotlight and Universal’s Green Book, as well as DreamWorks’ Oscar winner Lincoln. All in Participant counts 135 films, five series, 21 Oscars including two Best Pictures, four Best Documentaries and two Best International Features, 18 Primetime Emmys and north of $3.3 billion in global box office.
Skoll told staffers, as you can read below, that it was a “very difficult decision” and stems from it being “the right time for me to evaluate my next chapter and approach to tackling the pressing issues of our time.” He also mentioned that he hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day management of the studio.
Skoll is a Canadian engineer, billionaire who was the first president of eBay.
- 4/16/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
U.S. content management, financing and sales banner Cinetic Media has secured world rights to the life affirming doc “Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other,” about legendary photographer Joel Meyerowitz and artist and author Maggie Barrett, his wife.
Rising filmmaking duo Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter of London-based Manon et Jacob are making their documentary debut, with Ouimet serving as producer alongside multi-Oscar nominated Danish producer Signe Byrge Sørensen of Final Cut Four Real.
“Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other” is having its world premiere March 16 in the Dox:award main competition at Copenhagen’s leading documentary festival Cph:dox, and also screen in the international competition section of Thessaloniki Documentary Festival on the same day.
Pedigree co-producing partners attached include Fremantle-owned doc label Undeniable, helmed by Mandy Chang, and long-time Final Cut for Real U.S. partners Louverture Films.
The character-driven documentary chronicles the loving yet...
Rising filmmaking duo Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter of London-based Manon et Jacob are making their documentary debut, with Ouimet serving as producer alongside multi-Oscar nominated Danish producer Signe Byrge Sørensen of Final Cut Four Real.
“Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other” is having its world premiere March 16 in the Dox:award main competition at Copenhagen’s leading documentary festival Cph:dox, and also screen in the international competition section of Thessaloniki Documentary Festival on the same day.
Pedigree co-producing partners attached include Fremantle-owned doc label Undeniable, helmed by Mandy Chang, and long-time Final Cut for Real U.S. partners Louverture Films.
The character-driven documentary chronicles the loving yet...
- 3/7/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The annual NBC TV Writers Program from NBCU Launch is welcoming its 2024-25 class selected from a pool of 2,100 applicants: Bryce Cracknell, Domonic Diaz-Smith, Bixby Elliott, Helen Fernandez, Maia Henkin, Neda Jebelli, David Loong and Sebastián Rea.
NBCU Launch is the umbrella brand that houses the comprehensive inclusion efforts across NBCUniversal’s entertainment TV portfolio. The program was created to help develop emerging episodic TV writers whose distinct points of view and lived experiences provide unique perspectives to the writers’ room. It prepares writers to be staffed on scripted series with the long-term goal of developing the next generation of showrunners.
The NBC TV Writers Program includes talent from various socio-economic backgrounds, geographic locations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community and veterans, among other communities.
The new class will develop an original pilot under the mentorship and guidance of NBCU programming executives. They will participate...
NBCU Launch is the umbrella brand that houses the comprehensive inclusion efforts across NBCUniversal’s entertainment TV portfolio. The program was created to help develop emerging episodic TV writers whose distinct points of view and lived experiences provide unique perspectives to the writers’ room. It prepares writers to be staffed on scripted series with the long-term goal of developing the next generation of showrunners.
The NBC TV Writers Program includes talent from various socio-economic backgrounds, geographic locations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community and veterans, among other communities.
The new class will develop an original pilot under the mentorship and guidance of NBCU programming executives. They will participate...
- 2/29/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Copenhagen-based LevelK has pounced on world sales rights to the Swedish suspense drama “Hunters on a White Field,” toplining stellar acting trio Jens Hultén, Magnus Krepper and Ardalan Esmaili.
The pic will bow as an exclusive market screening at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market, running Jan. 31-Feb 2.
Making her feature debut as writer-director is Sarah Gyllenstierna, a former assistant producer and director to artists including Spike Lee and Matthew Barney.
The suspense drama, based on a novel by Mats Wägeus, follows three men – Alex, Greger and Henrik – who get together a weekend to go hunting in the woods. The novice Alex learns how to hunt from his experienced partners. An initial spell of hunting success sharpens their instincts and stirs a sense of rivalry. One day, all animals vanish and the forest turns eerily quiet, yet for the men-the hunt must go on.
“I started developing this film in 2020 when...
The pic will bow as an exclusive market screening at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market, running Jan. 31-Feb 2.
Making her feature debut as writer-director is Sarah Gyllenstierna, a former assistant producer and director to artists including Spike Lee and Matthew Barney.
The suspense drama, based on a novel by Mats Wägeus, follows three men – Alex, Greger and Henrik – who get together a weekend to go hunting in the woods. The novice Alex learns how to hunt from his experienced partners. An initial spell of hunting success sharpens their instincts and stirs a sense of rivalry. One day, all animals vanish and the forest turns eerily quiet, yet for the men-the hunt must go on.
“I started developing this film in 2020 when...
- 1/29/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival winners are in, with films like “In the Summers,” “Didi,” and “Daughters” dominating across the categories. “In the Summers” filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza, whose film centers on a fractured family in New Mexico, also won the Directing prize in U.S. Dramatic.
On Friday, January 26, the winners of juried prizes were shared out of the competition sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup.
The 2024 Sundance jury consisted of 16 filmmakers and artists across all sections, with the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury made up of “Winter’s Bone” director/co-writer Debra Granik, “Shortcomings” screenwriter Adrian Tomine, and “Master of None” producer Lena Waithe.
“Navalny” producer Shane Boris, “The Disappearance of Shere Hite” director Nicole Newnham, and “The Sentence” director Rudy Valdez serve on the U.S. Documentary Competition jury, with “The Babadook” director Jennifer Kent,...
On Friday, January 26, the winners of juried prizes were shared out of the competition sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the Next lineup.
The 2024 Sundance jury consisted of 16 filmmakers and artists across all sections, with the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury made up of “Winter’s Bone” director/co-writer Debra Granik, “Shortcomings” screenwriter Adrian Tomine, and “Master of None” producer Lena Waithe.
“Navalny” producer Shane Boris, “The Disappearance of Shere Hite” director Nicole Newnham, and “The Sentence” director Rudy Valdez serve on the U.S. Documentary Competition jury, with “The Babadook” director Jennifer Kent,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
With final voting complete, the 96th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 10 and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt. We update predictions through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2024 Oscar picks.
The State of the Race
With a fragile theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers, many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. Last year, three Sundance grads — eventual Oscar nominees “Fire of Love” (Neon), “All that Breathes” (HBO), and the winner, “Navalny” (CNN) — were actively campaigning.
One Sundance World Cinema entry that built a following during the year was Pulitzer Prize winner Mstyslav Chernov...
The State of the Race
With a fragile theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers, many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. Last year, three Sundance grads — eventual Oscar nominees “Fire of Love” (Neon), “All that Breathes” (HBO), and the winner, “Navalny” (CNN) — were actively campaigning.
One Sundance World Cinema entry that built a following during the year was Pulitzer Prize winner Mstyslav Chernov...
- 1/23/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
To mark the festival’s fortieth anniversary all 16 of this year’s jurors are festival alumni.
Lena Waithe, Mira Nair and Shaunak Sen are among the 16 jurors who will choose award winners in six competitive sections at this month’s Sundance Film Festival.
To mark the fortieth edition of the US festival, which runs January 18-28 in Park City and Salt Lake City, all 16 jurors are festival alumni. In addition to serving on juries they will participate in talks, panels and other events to mark the festival milestone.
Awards for feature films in five competition sections of the festival will...
Lena Waithe, Mira Nair and Shaunak Sen are among the 16 jurors who will choose award winners in six competitive sections at this month’s Sundance Film Festival.
To mark the fortieth edition of the US festival, which runs January 18-28 in Park City and Salt Lake City, all 16 jurors are festival alumni. In addition to serving on juries they will participate in talks, panels and other events to mark the festival milestone.
Awards for feature films in five competition sections of the festival will...
- 1/3/2024
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival jury has officially been unveiled, with 16 filmmakers and artists on the juries across sections.
Multi-hyphenate producer Lena Waithe, actor Danny Pudi, and directors Debra Granik, Nicole Newnham, Jennifer Kent, Christina Oh, and Charlotte Regan are just a sampling of filmmakers who have had projects at prior Sundance festivals. All of this year’s jury members are Sundance alums to mark the festival’s 40th anniversary.
The 2024 Festival will take place January 18 through 28 in-person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah along with a selection of films available online across the country from January 25 through 28. Many of the jurors will participate in 2024 festival programming, including announcing the awards on January 26. Awards across five categories will be honored at an intimate award ceremony held at The Ray Theatre in Park City; the short film jury winners will be announced at the Shorts Awards & Party presented by Argo...
Multi-hyphenate producer Lena Waithe, actor Danny Pudi, and directors Debra Granik, Nicole Newnham, Jennifer Kent, Christina Oh, and Charlotte Regan are just a sampling of filmmakers who have had projects at prior Sundance festivals. All of this year’s jury members are Sundance alums to mark the festival’s 40th anniversary.
The 2024 Festival will take place January 18 through 28 in-person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah along with a selection of films available online across the country from January 25 through 28. Many of the jurors will participate in 2024 festival programming, including announcing the awards on January 26. Awards across five categories will be honored at an intimate award ceremony held at The Ray Theatre in Park City; the short film jury winners will be announced at the Shorts Awards & Party presented by Argo...
- 1/3/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
In the snowy hills of Park City this year, North Korea refugee documentary “Beyond Utopia” made a splash. This 115-minute feature keeps its viewers at the edge of their seats. In follows the harrowing defection journeys for the Roh family, which includes two children and an octogenarian, and records the brutal capture and torture of Soyeon Lee's son at the North Korean border.
Throughout the course of the film, the proximity to the subject material is quite jarring. The American film crew witnesses the Roh family and Pastor Kim, their South Korean guardian, through the Yalu River, China, the jungles of Laos, and eventually reaching the Thai shores of the Mekong River.
Now, in light of awards season, we revisit our own close encounter with the team – an in-person interview with producers Sue Mi Terry, Rachel Cohen, and documentary subjects Pastor Kim and Soyeon Lee – at the Larsen office in San Francisco.
Throughout the course of the film, the proximity to the subject material is quite jarring. The American film crew witnesses the Roh family and Pastor Kim, their South Korean guardian, through the Yalu River, China, the jungles of Laos, and eventually reaching the Thai shores of the Mekong River.
Now, in light of awards season, we revisit our own close encounter with the team – an in-person interview with producers Sue Mi Terry, Rachel Cohen, and documentary subjects Pastor Kim and Soyeon Lee – at the Larsen office in San Francisco.
- 12/21/2023
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s fun to throw out old assumptions. It used to be understood that the Critics Choice Award nominations were a better predictor of future Oscar nominations than the stodgy 90-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). That may no longer be true.
Fact is, the new 300-member Golden Globes boasts more critics and is more international than the 608-member Critics Choice Association (Cca). Of this group of mostly entertainment reporters, 73 are international, and most of them live in the United States, and according to the press release sharing today’s winners, they still tout themselves as historically “the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.” (Disclaimer: I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association.)
This year, it’s likely that Neon’s popular French-language courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” and Jonathan Glazer’s U.K. German-language Oscar entry “The Zone of Interest” will both earn multiple Oscar nominations.
Fact is, the new 300-member Golden Globes boasts more critics and is more international than the 608-member Critics Choice Association (Cca). Of this group of mostly entertainment reporters, 73 are international, and most of them live in the United States, and according to the press release sharing today’s winners, they still tout themselves as historically “the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.” (Disclaimer: I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association.)
This year, it’s likely that Neon’s popular French-language courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall” and Jonathan Glazer’s U.K. German-language Oscar entry “The Zone of Interest” will both earn multiple Oscar nominations.
- 12/13/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
In just a few weeks, the 18th recipient of the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature will be revealed. While it is highly likely that the new winner will share a 3D visual style in common with nearly all of its predecessors, voters may instead decide to finally honor a fully hand-drawn movie for the first time. Fittingly, this monumental distinction would be credited to the legendary Studio Ghibli and its esteemed cofounder, Hayao Miyazaki, who suspended his brief retirement in order to make his dozenth film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
With an original plot that pointedly references the classic Japanese novel “How Do You Live?,” “The Boy and the Heron” is the 25th entry in Studio Ghibli’s animated canon and the company’s 10th film released after the creation of this Golden Globe category. Although four of its post-2005 productions earned Oscar notices for Best Animated Feature,...
With an original plot that pointedly references the classic Japanese novel “How Do You Live?,” “The Boy and the Heron” is the 25th entry in Studio Ghibli’s animated canon and the company’s 10th film released after the creation of this Golden Globe category. Although four of its post-2005 productions earned Oscar notices for Best Animated Feature,...
- 12/8/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Every few years, the Academy tweaks the rules for its animated feature category, with the net result that the nominees tend to skew ever more mainstream. That makes it tough for most of this year’s hopefuls: A record-setting number of animated features submitted. Those who pick the noms are required to watch roughly a third before ranking their top five, which can include additional titles they might have seen on their own. Blockbusters naturally benefit, though “Flee” and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” earned nominations in 2022 and 2023, respectively, suggesting that artful indies still stand a chance.
The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Distributor: GKids
Rumors of Miyazaki’s retirement were greatly exaggerated, as the unstoppable creative force (who won an Oscar for “Spirited Away” in 2003) returns with a story inspired by his childhood memories during wartime. More fanciful than “The Wind Rises,...
The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Distributor: GKids
Rumors of Miyazaki’s retirement were greatly exaggerated, as the unstoppable creative force (who won an Oscar for “Spirited Away” in 2003) returns with a story inspired by his childhood memories during wartime. More fanciful than “The Wind Rises,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The Gotham Awards brought the usual array of surprises this year, and it wasn’t only about who walked away with the trophies.
Aside from the uproar over Robert De Niro’s speech (which is unlikely to have much bearing on the awards campaign for “Killers of the Flower Moon”), some of the other top contenders gained significant traction leading up to a crucial week ahead. New York Film Critics Circle’s announcement of the year’s best films and performances unfurls Thursday, while Golden Globes voting in the film categories started Tuesday.
At the forefront of Gothams buzz-boosters is breakout sensation Charles Melton, earning the best supporting performance award for his role in Netflix’s “May December.” In Todd Haynes’ black comedy, Melton portrays Joe Yoo, a young man navigating his marriage to an older woman, a role that stands out alongside Oscar winners Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”) and...
Aside from the uproar over Robert De Niro’s speech (which is unlikely to have much bearing on the awards campaign for “Killers of the Flower Moon”), some of the other top contenders gained significant traction leading up to a crucial week ahead. New York Film Critics Circle’s announcement of the year’s best films and performances unfurls Thursday, while Golden Globes voting in the film categories started Tuesday.
At the forefront of Gothams buzz-boosters is breakout sensation Charles Melton, earning the best supporting performance award for his role in Netflix’s “May December.” In Todd Haynes’ black comedy, Melton portrays Joe Yoo, a young man navigating his marriage to an older woman, a role that stands out alongside Oscar winners Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”) and...
- 11/29/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Riz Ahmed and his Left Handed Films have come aboard the 2023 SXSW Audience Award winner Mustache, marking the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of Imran J. Khan, as executive producers.
In addition to Ahmed and Left-Handed’s Allie Moore, exec producers on the project include The Bear creator Christopher Storer, as well as Tyson Bidner and Josh Senior. Christina Won and Jessica Sittig produced, with Parker Mays co-producing alongside Cooper Wehde of American Light & Fixture. UTA Independent Film Group is handling worldwide sales.
Khan comes to the partnership with Ahmed and Left Handed a year after being named one of the inaugural participants of the Pillars Artist Fellowship, their filmmaker program created with Pillars, as a means of mentoring and championing rising Muslim talents.
An homage to coming-of-age films, ’90s nostalgia, and awkward teenage transitions, Mustache takes place in mid-’90s Northern California, where 13-year-old Pakistani American Ilyas...
In addition to Ahmed and Left-Handed’s Allie Moore, exec producers on the project include The Bear creator Christopher Storer, as well as Tyson Bidner and Josh Senior. Christina Won and Jessica Sittig produced, with Parker Mays co-producing alongside Cooper Wehde of American Light & Fixture. UTA Independent Film Group is handling worldwide sales.
Khan comes to the partnership with Ahmed and Left Handed a year after being named one of the inaugural participants of the Pillars Artist Fellowship, their filmmaker program created with Pillars, as a means of mentoring and championing rising Muslim talents.
An homage to coming-of-age films, ’90s nostalgia, and awkward teenage transitions, Mustache takes place in mid-’90s Northern California, where 13-year-old Pakistani American Ilyas...
- 11/14/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The award was handed out tonight during a ceremony at Oslo’s Opera House.
Danish drama Empire (Viften) has won the lucrative Nordic Council Film Prize for 2023.
The prize, worth $45,000, is split between director Frederikke Aspöck, screenwriter Anna Neye and producers Pernille Munk Skydsgaard, Nina Leidersdorff and Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen.
The award was handed out tonight during a ceremony at Oslo’s Opera House.
Empire celebrated its world premiere in Göteborg and opened in Danish cinemas in April via Sf Studios. REinvent handles international sales.
The film was selected among six Nordic candidates by a jury consisting...
Danish drama Empire (Viften) has won the lucrative Nordic Council Film Prize for 2023.
The prize, worth $45,000, is split between director Frederikke Aspöck, screenwriter Anna Neye and producers Pernille Munk Skydsgaard, Nina Leidersdorff and Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen.
The award was handed out tonight during a ceremony at Oslo’s Opera House.
Empire celebrated its world premiere in Göteborg and opened in Danish cinemas in April via Sf Studios. REinvent handles international sales.
The film was selected among six Nordic candidates by a jury consisting...
- 10/31/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Last year, two animated documentaries kicked off the festival year: Jonas Poher-Rahmussen’s “Flee” at Sundance, and Lei Lei’s “Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish” (2022) a week later, at Rotterdam. It is hard to tell why exactly “Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish” faded to the background so much, however. Perhaps it was the linear storytelling of “Flee”; perhaps it was the timeliness of an Afghan refugee narrative; or, perhaps, it was simply because Sundance happened to premiere their work one week earlier than Rotterdam. Either way, “Silver Bird” has been quietly making its way around the film festival circuit since. After a series of premieres at animation festivals like Annecy and Ottawa, Lei Lei’s latest feature film touched down at Seoul’s Indie-Anifest last month, where it won the Jury Special Prize.
“Silver Bird & Rainbow Fish” screened at Indie-Anifest
“Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish” develops as an inquiry into...
“Silver Bird & Rainbow Fish” screened at Indie-Anifest
“Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish” develops as an inquiry into...
- 10/18/2023
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Five films have been nominated and will be shown in universities across Europe
Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border is one of five films nominated for the European University Film Award (Eufa) as announced by the European Film Academy at Filmfest Hamburg today (October 5).
Holland’s refugee drama has been the subject of political attacks from Poland’s right-wing government and recently topped the country’s box office for the second week in a row.
The film, along with the five other nominees, will be shown in 25 universities across 25 European countries including the University of Lodz in Poland.
The other nominees...
Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border is one of five films nominated for the European University Film Award (Eufa) as announced by the European Film Academy at Filmfest Hamburg today (October 5).
Holland’s refugee drama has been the subject of political attacks from Poland’s right-wing government and recently topped the country’s box office for the second week in a row.
The film, along with the five other nominees, will be shown in 25 universities across 25 European countries including the University of Lodz in Poland.
The other nominees...
- 10/5/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
by Nathaniel R
The Peasants
Do you remember that painted animation film Loving Vincent (2017)? It was billed as the world's first fully painted feature film and it went on to an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category (eventually losing to Pixar's Coco). The married filmmaking team behind that picture have done it again with The Peasants, which is an adaptation of a novel about a peasant girl who causes a scandal by marrying a rich older man. Only three animated films have ever been nominated for Best International Feature Film -- Waltz With Bashir, Flee, and The Missing Picture (sort of) -- and interestingly enough all three of them can be classified as documentaries in addition to being animated. The same isn't true of The Peasants but Poland is submitting this one for the Oscar race...
The Peasants
Do you remember that painted animation film Loving Vincent (2017)? It was billed as the world's first fully painted feature film and it went on to an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category (eventually losing to Pixar's Coco). The married filmmaking team behind that picture have done it again with The Peasants, which is an adaptation of a novel about a peasant girl who causes a scandal by marrying a rich older man. Only three animated films have ever been nominated for Best International Feature Film -- Waltz With Bashir, Flee, and The Missing Picture (sort of) -- and interestingly enough all three of them can be classified as documentaries in addition to being animated. The same isn't true of The Peasants but Poland is submitting this one for the Oscar race...
- 9/26/2023
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
"Life, Liberty and the Struggle for America." Gravitas has unveiled an official trailer for a documentary film called Garden City, Kansas, about the town of the same name. This first premiered at Cinequest and it also played at a few other film fests earlier this year. On the High Plains of the USA, a small city, sustained & grown for decades by continual immigration, struggles to cope with threats to its way of life – in the form of violent white supremacists, and the convulsive politics of the last three years. The film profiles a local man who infiltrates them, partnering with the FBI and risking his life to bring the domestic terrorists to justice. Props to this guy. The film is half animation, half real footage of the town; it reminds me of the other Oscar-nominated animated doc Flee from a few years ago, also about refugees. This one also looks like a harrowing true story,...
- 9/25/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Using animation as the medium for feature-length documentaries is a fairly novel development, Waltz with Bashir and Flee being notable examples of international acclaim and incredible awards-season success. They Shot The Piano Player––Spanish duo Fernando Trueba & Javier Mariscal’s second animated offering after the fictional Chico and Rita––is the most recent addition to this burgeoning subgenre. Not without its fictional elements either, the film sets up an elaborate frame narrative for the story it really wants to tell: Brazilian pianist Francisco Tenório Júnior, who disappeared in Argentina circa 1976 under mysterious circumstances.
To get to that point, the filmmakers invent an American writer, Jeff Harris (Jeff Goldblum), who is contracted to write a book about the Bossa Nova music movement that originated in the 1950s in Rio de Janeiro. Partway through his research, Harris switches the subject to focus exclusively on Tenório Jr., unanimously acknowledged as the most influential pianist of his generation,...
To get to that point, the filmmakers invent an American writer, Jeff Harris (Jeff Goldblum), who is contracted to write a book about the Bossa Nova music movement that originated in the 1950s in Rio de Janeiro. Partway through his research, Harris switches the subject to focus exclusively on Tenório Jr., unanimously acknowledged as the most influential pianist of his generation,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
Some 18 producers from 17 countries will attend workshops throughout 2023 and 2024.
Eve Gabereau of the UK’s Modern Films and Denmark’s Monica Hellstrom are among 18 independent producers selected for Ace 33, the latest intake for the Ace Producers Network.
The 18 producers from 17 different countries will attend three workshops throughout 2023 and 2024 with independent feature projects. The workshops will take place in Norway in October, on content development; in Warsaw, Poland in November, on financing strategies; and finally in France, looking at business strategies.
Scroll down for the Ace 33 selection
The producers will then join the Ace Network following the 2024 Ace meeting in Bordeaux,...
Eve Gabereau of the UK’s Modern Films and Denmark’s Monica Hellstrom are among 18 independent producers selected for Ace 33, the latest intake for the Ace Producers Network.
The 18 producers from 17 different countries will attend three workshops throughout 2023 and 2024 with independent feature projects. The workshops will take place in Norway in October, on content development; in Warsaw, Poland in November, on financing strategies; and finally in France, looking at business strategies.
Scroll down for the Ace 33 selection
The producers will then join the Ace Network following the 2024 Ace meeting in Bordeaux,...
- 9/12/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
18 producers from 17 countries will attend workshops throughout 2023 and 2024.
Eve Gabereau of UK company Modern Films and Danish producer Monica Hellstrom are among 18 independent producers selected for Ace 33, the latest intake for the Ace Producers Network.
The 18 producers from 17 different countries will attend three workshops throughout 2023 and 2024 with independent feature projects. The workshops will take place in Norway in October, on content development; in Warsaw, Poland in November, on financing strategies; and finally in France, looking at business strategies.
Scroll down for the Ace 33 selection
The producers will then join the Ace Network following the 2024 Ace meeting in Bordeaux, France.
London-based...
Eve Gabereau of UK company Modern Films and Danish producer Monica Hellstrom are among 18 independent producers selected for Ace 33, the latest intake for the Ace Producers Network.
The 18 producers from 17 different countries will attend three workshops throughout 2023 and 2024 with independent feature projects. The workshops will take place in Norway in October, on content development; in Warsaw, Poland in November, on financing strategies; and finally in France, looking at business strategies.
Scroll down for the Ace 33 selection
The producers will then join the Ace Network following the 2024 Ace meeting in Bordeaux, France.
London-based...
- 9/12/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
When Hayao Miyazaki’s semi-autobiographical fantasy “The Boy and the Heron” had its international premiere Sept. 7, it wasn’t just the first animated film to open TIFF, or the master director’s first in a decade. It is also part of an unexpected resurgence of animated work at major international festivals.
“When we started doing [2017’s] ‘Loving Vincent,’ only one adult animated film every five years got any kind of recognition,” says Hugh Welchman, who directed ”Vincent” and “The Peasants,” which premiered Sept. 8 at TIFF, with wife D.K. Welchman. “Now it seems that every year one kind of breaks out.”
Their Oscar-nominated Vincent van Gogh biopic helped inspire this trend, earning $42.2 million worldwide on a $5.5 million budget. “Heron” is already continuing arthouse animation’s successful run, taking in $50.6 million since July in Japan alone. And prominent fests are increasing their support: in 2019, Cannes launched an Animation Day in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
“When we started doing [2017’s] ‘Loving Vincent,’ only one adult animated film every five years got any kind of recognition,” says Hugh Welchman, who directed ”Vincent” and “The Peasants,” which premiered Sept. 8 at TIFF, with wife D.K. Welchman. “Now it seems that every year one kind of breaks out.”
Their Oscar-nominated Vincent van Gogh biopic helped inspire this trend, earning $42.2 million worldwide on a $5.5 million budget. “Heron” is already continuing arthouse animation’s successful run, taking in $50.6 million since July in Japan alone. And prominent fests are increasing their support: in 2019, Cannes launched an Animation Day in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
- 9/8/2023
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
How much longer will the Oscars wait? That is, wait to embrace the quality and sheer brilliance of documentary filmmaking in a significant way, meaning nominating one in the best picture category? Matthew Heineman’s deeply moving “American Symphony,” which follows Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Jon Batiste as he prepares for his performance at Carnegie Hall, is yet another home run for the filmmaker behind “Cartel Land” and “City of Ghosts,” not to mention a singular love story.
Batiste’s larger-than-life personality was on full display following the Telluride screening of the documentary, when he led a band down to the main street of Telluride.
The film doesn’t just follow Batiste in his musical element, such as his work as band leader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” or when he led the 2022 Grammy nominations and won album of the year. Instead, it’s an intimate portrait of...
Batiste’s larger-than-life personality was on full display following the Telluride screening of the documentary, when he led a band down to the main street of Telluride.
The film doesn’t just follow Batiste in his musical element, such as his work as band leader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” or when he led the 2022 Grammy nominations and won album of the year. Instead, it’s an intimate portrait of...
- 9/1/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Queer movies and TV shows are all well and good, but arguably even more important is the existence of great LGBTQ documentaries. Fiction can help provide great representation and tell moving queer stories, but documentary does something else entirely: it preserves entire communities’ stories as snapshots in humanity’s kaleidoscopic history.
Documentary filmmaking has (almost) always been a relative safe haven for LGBTQ cinema, particularly smaller, experimental docs created by independent filmmakers. For years, mainstream films largely sanitized and ignored the LGBTQ community — but the documentary format allowed queer people to capture the truths of their lives that went otherwise undepicted. Great LGBTQ documentaries stretch back as far as 1967, with “Portrait of Jason”: a fascinating profile of a gay nightclub performer. Other early greats provided the first mainstream depictions of vibrant gay subcultures, like 1991 ballroom doc “Paris Is Burning” or 1967’s drag film “The Queen.” And still others provided...
Documentary filmmaking has (almost) always been a relative safe haven for LGBTQ cinema, particularly smaller, experimental docs created by independent filmmakers. For years, mainstream films largely sanitized and ignored the LGBTQ community — but the documentary format allowed queer people to capture the truths of their lives that went otherwise undepicted. Great LGBTQ documentaries stretch back as far as 1967, with “Portrait of Jason”: a fascinating profile of a gay nightclub performer. Other early greats provided the first mainstream depictions of vibrant gay subcultures, like 1991 ballroom doc “Paris Is Burning” or 1967’s drag film “The Queen.” And still others provided...
- 7/27/2023
- by Wilson Chapman and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
A24’s “The Zone of Interest” is spoken in German, but was filmed in Poland and is written and directed by a British auteur. So what does that mean for its prospects for best international feature at the Oscars?
Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest” premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival where it emerged as an early favorite for the coveted Palme d’Or after receiving widespread acclaim.
The film tells the story of a commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) who strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp that was one of the sites where six million Jews were murdered.
In the past few years, it seems as if more non-English language features are being submitted that aren’t spoken in the country’s native tongue.
Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest” premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival where it emerged as an early favorite for the coveted Palme d’Or after receiving widespread acclaim.
The film tells the story of a commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) who strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp that was one of the sites where six million Jews were murdered.
In the past few years, it seems as if more non-English language features are being submitted that aren’t spoken in the country’s native tongue.
- 5/24/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Six upcoming projects selected for development platform.
Upcoming projects from Golden Bear-winning producer Celine Loiseau and Charlotte de la Gournerie of Oscar-nominated Flee are among six titles selected for the Full Circle Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine workshop programme.
The third edition of the lab, organised by France’s Tatino Films, will host four projects at script stage and two in the editing stage, offering support through the development phase, as well as during the post-production and promotion of their features.
Scroll down for full list
Projects include documentary La Détention by Guillaume Massart, produced by Loiseau of France’s Ts Production, who...
Upcoming projects from Golden Bear-winning producer Celine Loiseau and Charlotte de la Gournerie of Oscar-nominated Flee are among six titles selected for the Full Circle Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine workshop programme.
The third edition of the lab, organised by France’s Tatino Films, will host four projects at script stage and two in the editing stage, offering support through the development phase, as well as during the post-production and promotion of their features.
Scroll down for full list
Projects include documentary La Détention by Guillaume Massart, produced by Loiseau of France’s Ts Production, who...
- 5/21/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Belgium’s Panique!, and Chile’s Pájaro have joined Oscar-nominated Vivemant Lundi! and Spanish collective Terremoto Aie to round out the co-production force behind the animated feature, “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake.”
Filmax will handle distribution in Spain. Kmbo will handle its domestic release in France. The Gallic distributor is on a roll with strong animation box office performances in France for “Amazing Maurice” and current Ukrainian hit “Mavka: The Forest Song,”
Spearheading the production is Terremoto Aie, which includes Citoplasmas Stop Motion studio, Cornelius Films, and Bígaro Films, all contributing to the feature.
Directed by Irene Iborra, who founded Citoplasmas with Eduard Puertas and Adrian Iborra, the film brings to life the children’s book, “La Pelicula de la vida,” by Maite Carranza. The title sold over 24,000 copies in Spain and has been translated into seven languages. Adding a dash of French talent, artist Morgan Navarro has crafted the character designs.
Filmax will handle distribution in Spain. Kmbo will handle its domestic release in France. The Gallic distributor is on a roll with strong animation box office performances in France for “Amazing Maurice” and current Ukrainian hit “Mavka: The Forest Song,”
Spearheading the production is Terremoto Aie, which includes Citoplasmas Stop Motion studio, Cornelius Films, and Bígaro Films, all contributing to the feature.
Directed by Irene Iborra, who founded Citoplasmas with Eduard Puertas and Adrian Iborra, the film brings to life the children’s book, “La Pelicula de la vida,” by Maite Carranza. The title sold over 24,000 copies in Spain and has been translated into seven languages. Adding a dash of French talent, artist Morgan Navarro has crafted the character designs.
- 5/15/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
There have been many documentaries about the dangerous journeys many refugees face as they flee their homeland but fewer about the limbo state that many of them end up in. Sometimes the waiting game is played out in camps - as documented in the likes of Tiny Souls and sometimes, as with Flee, we see how people can end up waiting in a second state until they get access to a third.
This is what has happened to the Ibrahim family, who are the focal point of this film. They find themselves in Bangkok trying to avoid the attention of the Thai government, while their asylum visas for Canada are processed. Although the family have Un refugee status, it’s a grey area in Thailand - which has not signed up to the 1951 Refugee Convention - meaning that even though they can access certain services they also run the constant.
This is what has happened to the Ibrahim family, who are the focal point of this film. They find themselves in Bangkok trying to avoid the attention of the Thai government, while their asylum visas for Canada are processed. Although the family have Un refugee status, it’s a grey area in Thailand - which has not signed up to the 1951 Refugee Convention - meaning that even though they can access certain services they also run the constant.
- 5/11/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
When “Summer of Soul” sold for $15 million out of the 2021 pandemic-virtual Sundance Film Festival, we saw the peak of the documentary boom. Questlove’s feature debut was a Sundance record, but it wasn’t alone; other Sundance docs like “Fire of Love” and “Flee” sold for high-seven figures.
Today, Sundance 2023 premiere “It’s Only Life After All,” which included its subjects the Indigo Girls performing at the festival’s Opening Night fundraiser, has yet to find a buyer. Ditto “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” “The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” or Doug Liman’s Brett Kavanaugh doc “Justice.”
Sundance also had documentaries that came with distribution, like Hulu’s “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” Amazon’s “Judy Blume Forever,” and Apple’s “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.” However, if you’re looking for documentaries that aren’t based on high-recognition IP, or concepts that can’t be parceled into irresistible, cliff-hanging episodes — well,...
Today, Sundance 2023 premiere “It’s Only Life After All,” which included its subjects the Indigo Girls performing at the festival’s Opening Night fundraiser, has yet to find a buyer. Ditto “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” “The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” or Doug Liman’s Brett Kavanaugh doc “Justice.”
Sundance also had documentaries that came with distribution, like Hulu’s “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” Amazon’s “Judy Blume Forever,” and Apple’s “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.” However, if you’re looking for documentaries that aren’t based on high-recognition IP, or concepts that can’t be parceled into irresistible, cliff-hanging episodes — well,...
- 4/11/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Cph:dox, the international nonfiction film festival in Copenhagen, isn’t shy about stating its ambitions.
“The long-term goal is to be the most important documentary festival in the world,” says artistic director Niklas Engström.
The 20th edition of the festival, which wrapped on Sunday, saw considerable progress toward that objective, Engström tells Deadline.
“It really feels like this is the year where the festival is taking off as an industry event,” the artistic director observes. “It’s been going in that direction for years. It’s been building and building, but it’s like some kind of next level that we reached this year.”
Evidence of that came with the number of documentary world premieres at the festival – more than 100 of them.
“We have a competition 100 percent consisting of world premieres. And I think that’s the next level, coming from where we were the European launching pad for Sundance titles — and still are,...
“The long-term goal is to be the most important documentary festival in the world,” says artistic director Niklas Engström.
The 20th edition of the festival, which wrapped on Sunday, saw considerable progress toward that objective, Engström tells Deadline.
“It really feels like this is the year where the festival is taking off as an industry event,” the artistic director observes. “It’s been going in that direction for years. It’s been building and building, but it’s like some kind of next level that we reached this year.”
Evidence of that came with the number of documentary world premieres at the festival – more than 100 of them.
“We have a competition 100 percent consisting of world premieres. And I think that’s the next level, coming from where we were the European launching pad for Sundance titles — and still are,...
- 3/27/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Cartoon Movie, the European animation sector’s flagship co-production and pitch forum, closed out its 25th edition besting pre-pandemic attendance numbers, welcoming just below 900 industry participant and noting a 40% increase in buyers. Overall, 58 feature projects were presented (and 16 countries encompassed), and — in a testament to France’s robust animation ecosystem — Gallic outfits had a hand in nearly half of them. The forum also reflected the enduring strength of the family market, with 59% of all projects aimed at that demographic.
Here are four takeaways from this year’s session, which ran from March 7 – 9 in Bordeaux.
A Marquee Event
No film drew greater buzz than “Julián” (pictured above). Led by Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon and listing Sun Creature (Denmark), Folivari (France), Aircraft Pictures (Canada) and Wychwood Media (U.K.) as co-producers, the family title benefits from the accrued pedigree of titles like “Flee,” “The Breadwinner” and “Ernest and Celestine.” Throw in Wychwood...
Here are four takeaways from this year’s session, which ran from March 7 – 9 in Bordeaux.
A Marquee Event
No film drew greater buzz than “Julián” (pictured above). Led by Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon and listing Sun Creature (Denmark), Folivari (France), Aircraft Pictures (Canada) and Wychwood Media (U.K.) as co-producers, the family title benefits from the accrued pedigree of titles like “Flee,” “The Breadwinner” and “Ernest and Celestine.” Throw in Wychwood...
- 3/14/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Leading documentary sales agent Philippa Kowarsky – who handled Oscar nominees “The Act of Killing,” “Collective” and “Flee” – gave a masterclass at the Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival this week.
Kowarsky recently returned to Cinephil, the documentary sales company she founded, as executive chair, after a brief stint at BBC’s doc strand Storyville. Cinephil’s current lineup includes Oscar nominee “A House Made of Splinters.”
Cinephil’s previous experience on “Flee” helped pave the way for “A House Made of Splinters,” but obstacles emerged she said. “The film had won best directing at Sundance and no one wanted it. We’ve been everywhere with this film – no one wanted it, or there were distributors that wanted it for deals that were so unattractive, we weren’t going to do it. But we had more and more festivals and we were winning more and more awards around the globe, and nothing in America.
Kowarsky recently returned to Cinephil, the documentary sales company she founded, as executive chair, after a brief stint at BBC’s doc strand Storyville. Cinephil’s current lineup includes Oscar nominee “A House Made of Splinters.”
Cinephil’s previous experience on “Flee” helped pave the way for “A House Made of Splinters,” but obstacles emerged she said. “The film had won best directing at Sundance and no one wanted it. We’ve been everywhere with this film – no one wanted it, or there were distributors that wanted it for deals that were so unattractive, we weren’t going to do it. But we had more and more festivals and we were winning more and more awards around the globe, and nothing in America.
- 3/11/2023
- by Tara Karajica
- Variety Film + TV
The 2022 Oscars were quite the ride.
In a dramatic ceremony that saw Will Smith hit Chris Rock on stage, sci-fi epic Dune swept the board with the most prizes.
Apple TV+ movie Coda was the surprise Best Film winner, beating off competition from former favourite, Netflix’s The Power of the Dog.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye’s Jessica Chastain took home the gong for Best Actress, and Smith won for King Richard. Watch his tearful acceptance speech here.
Ahead of the 2023 ceremony, find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners below.
Best Picture
Belfast
Coda Winner
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye Winner
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Best Actor...
In a dramatic ceremony that saw Will Smith hit Chris Rock on stage, sci-fi epic Dune swept the board with the most prizes.
Apple TV+ movie Coda was the surprise Best Film winner, beating off competition from former favourite, Netflix’s The Power of the Dog.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye’s Jessica Chastain took home the gong for Best Actress, and Smith won for King Richard. Watch his tearful acceptance speech here.
Ahead of the 2023 ceremony, find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners below.
Best Picture
Belfast
Coda Winner
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye Winner
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Best Actor...
- 3/8/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
For a festival traditionally not keen on animation, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” has surprisingly garnered remarkable accolades. The Danish-French-Swedish-Norwegian production marked the first acquisition of Sundance (sold to Neon for seven figures!), and eventually closed out as the winner of this year’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. At the same time, however, maybe this is to be expected. Out of ten entries, three this year in the World Cinema: Documentary section concerned the plight of refugees. “Flee” truly stands out here, as it tells a story beyond refugee status.
“Flee” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
“Flee” recounts the years-long journey of an anonymous gay Afghan refugee (hereon referred to as Amin Nawabi). Nawabi seems to have it all. He is an accomplished academic with a postdoc waiting for him at Princeton University; his significant other is madly in love with him; and now,...
“Flee” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
“Flee” recounts the years-long journey of an anonymous gay Afghan refugee (hereon referred to as Amin Nawabi). Nawabi seems to have it all. He is an accomplished academic with a postdoc waiting for him at Princeton University; his significant other is madly in love with him; and now,...
- 3/4/2023
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The first few minutes of White Plastic Sky, the animated feature from Hungarian directors Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó that debuted at the Berlin Film Festival 2023, sketch a future world with echoes of past cinematic dystopias.
The world has been stripped of life, the soil poisoned, and all animals driven to extinction. Humanity survives under a huge geodesic dome (the plastic sky of the title) and has learned to feed on itself. At the age of 50, every citizen gets a special implant that turns them into a food source for the next generation. In a scene resembling the pod farms of the Matrix films, we see how implanted humans are transmogrified into a hybrid plant species, becoming trees that provide oxygen and food for those under the dome.
“There are similarities in our story to Soylent Green or Logan’s Run, similar motifs to other high-concept, or hardcore science fiction,” admits Bánóczki,...
The world has been stripped of life, the soil poisoned, and all animals driven to extinction. Humanity survives under a huge geodesic dome (the plastic sky of the title) and has learned to feed on itself. At the age of 50, every citizen gets a special implant that turns them into a food source for the next generation. In a scene resembling the pod farms of the Matrix films, we see how implanted humans are transmogrified into a hybrid plant species, becoming trees that provide oxygen and food for those under the dome.
“There are similarities in our story to Soylent Green or Logan’s Run, similar motifs to other high-concept, or hardcore science fiction,” admits Bánóczki,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Among the Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature are four films that received acclaim across the major nonfiction precursors this year and a fifth that earned its spot after flying under the radar for much of the season. One of these five films will become the documentary branch’s next Oscar winner when the 95th Academy Awards air on March 12. Let’s take a look the road to the ballot for the five nominees and consider which could end up with the statue.
During the season there are four major groups that signal where the documentary feature race is headed. The International Documentary Association (IDA), Cinema Eye Honors (Ceh), the Doc NYC festival shortlist, and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda) have the strongest recent history of indicating which films will earn a nomination from the academy’s branch. Their track record at matching the academy’s winner is less of a sure thing.
During the season there are four major groups that signal where the documentary feature race is headed. The International Documentary Association (IDA), Cinema Eye Honors (Ceh), the Doc NYC festival shortlist, and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda) have the strongest recent history of indicating which films will earn a nomination from the academy’s branch. Their track record at matching the academy’s winner is less of a sure thing.
- 2/10/2023
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
This year, women directors – and their women-centric subjects – swept the awards at Sundance Film Festival. Three women directors – Madeleine Gavin, Maryam Keshavarz, and Noora Niasari – won Audience Awards for their films on North Korea (“Beyond Utopia”), intergenerational motherhood (“The Persian Version”), and custody in diaspora (“Shayda”). Portraits of masculinity were also celebrated as well. First-time feature filmmaker Sing J. Lee won the Directing Award for his touching portrait of masculinity and fatherhood in “The Accidental Getaway Driver,” while Sauvnik Kaur’s intimate documentary on brotherhood “Against The Tide” took home a Special Jury Award. After two years of isolation and virtual festival-ing, it seems that stories of tenderness appealed over aggressive storytelling at Park City this year.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film.
“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film.
- 2/1/2023
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The Sundance Film Festival has often been called one of the world’s most important documentary marketplaces, with 39 of the past 65 Best Documentary Feature contenders (60) either beginning or continuing their road to the Oscars in Park City. Examples include “Summer of Soul,” “Flee,” “Writing With Fire,” “Honeyland,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “American Factory,” “Time,” “The Mole Agent,” “Crip Camp,” “Rbg,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “Minding the Gap,” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.”
See 2023 Sundance Film Festival concludes: Highlights and studio acquisitions include ‘Past Lives,’ ‘A Little Prayer,’ ‘Flora and Son’
Two of those–Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” and Netflix’s joint venture with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, “American Factory”–won the award. Four of this season’s honorees —“All That Breathes,” “Fire of Love,” “Navalny,” and “A House Made of Splinters”—played the festival in 2022. Climate change, human rights violations, competitive mariachi, and...
See 2023 Sundance Film Festival concludes: Highlights and studio acquisitions include ‘Past Lives,’ ‘A Little Prayer,’ ‘Flora and Son’
Two of those–Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” and Netflix’s joint venture with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, “American Factory”–won the award. Four of this season’s honorees —“All That Breathes,” “Fire of Love,” “Navalny,” and “A House Made of Splinters”—played the festival in 2022. Climate change, human rights violations, competitive mariachi, and...
- 1/31/2023
- by Ronald Meyer and Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
The Sundance Film Festival has often been called one of the world’s most important documentary marketplaces, with 39 of the past 65 Best Documentary Feature contenders (60) either beginning or continuing their road to the Oscars in Park City, Utah. Examples include “Summer of Soul,” “Flee,” “Writing With Fire,” “Honeyland,” “The Edge of Democracy,” “American Factory,” “Time,” “The Mole Agent,” “Crip Camp,” “Rbg,” “Of Fathers and Sons,” “Minding the Gap,” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.”
Two of those–Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” and Netflix’s joint venture with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, “American Factory”–won the award. Four of this season’s nominees —“All That Breathes,” “Fire of Love,” “Navalny,” and “A House Made of Splinters”—played the festival in 2022. Climate change, human rights violations, competitive mariachi, and manned flight to Mars are only a few of the subjects addressed by this year’s eclectic non-fiction slate.
Two of those–Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” and Netflix’s joint venture with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, “American Factory”–won the award. Four of this season’s nominees —“All That Breathes,” “Fire of Love,” “Navalny,” and “A House Made of Splinters”—played the festival in 2022. Climate change, human rights violations, competitive mariachi, and manned flight to Mars are only a few of the subjects addressed by this year’s eclectic non-fiction slate.
- 1/31/2023
- by Ronald Meyer and Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
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
The film about the Sámi minority is now screening in competition at Goteborg.
German sales outfit Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights outside Scandinavia to Ole Giaever’s Let The River Flow, about the Sámi minority standing up for its rights. It recently won the audience award at Tromsø International Film Festival and is screening in the Nordic Competition at Goteborg this week.
It is produced by Norwegian outfit Mer Film, also behind War Sailor and Flee.
Let The River Flow is set in the summer of 1979 as its young protagonist moves to Alta in Northern Norway to teach at an elementary school.
German sales outfit Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights outside Scandinavia to Ole Giaever’s Let The River Flow, about the Sámi minority standing up for its rights. It recently won the audience award at Tromsø International Film Festival and is screening in the Nordic Competition at Goteborg this week.
It is produced by Norwegian outfit Mer Film, also behind War Sailor and Flee.
Let The River Flow is set in the summer of 1979 as its young protagonist moves to Alta in Northern Norway to teach at an elementary school.
- 1/30/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The film about the Sámi minority is now screening in competition at Goteborg.
German sales outfit Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights outside Scandinavia to Ole Giaever’s Let The River Flow, about the Sámi minority standing up for its rights. It recently won the audience award at Tromsø International Film Festival and is screening in the Nordic Competition at Goteborg this week.
It is produced by Norwegian outfit Mer Film, also behind War Sailor and Flee.
Let The River Flow is set in the summer of 1979 as its young protagonist moves to Alta in Northern Norway to teach at an elementary school.
German sales outfit Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights outside Scandinavia to Ole Giaever’s Let The River Flow, about the Sámi minority standing up for its rights. It recently won the audience award at Tromsø International Film Festival and is screening in the Nordic Competition at Goteborg this week.
It is produced by Norwegian outfit Mer Film, also behind War Sailor and Flee.
Let The River Flow is set in the summer of 1979 as its young protagonist moves to Alta in Northern Norway to teach at an elementary school.
- 1/30/2023
- ScreenDaily
The film about the Sámi minority is now screening in competition at Goteborg.
German sales outfit Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights outside Scandinavia to Ole Giaever’s Let The River Flow, about the Sámi minority standing up for its rights. It recently won the audience award at Tromsø International Film Festival and is screening in the Nordic Competition at Goteborg this week.
It is produced by Norwegian outfit Mer Film, also behind War Sailor and Flee.
Let The River Flow is set in the summer of 1979 as its young protagonist moves to Alta in Northern Norway to teach at an elementary school.
German sales outfit Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights outside Scandinavia to Ole Giaever’s Let The River Flow, about the Sámi minority standing up for its rights. It recently won the audience award at Tromsø International Film Festival and is screening in the Nordic Competition at Goteborg this week.
It is produced by Norwegian outfit Mer Film, also behind War Sailor and Flee.
Let The River Flow is set in the summer of 1979 as its young protagonist moves to Alta in Northern Norway to teach at an elementary school.
- 1/30/2023
- ScreenDaily
Pov has snapped up Sundance-winning doc “A House Made of Splinters,” helmed by Simon Lereng Wilmont and produced by Oscar nominee Monica Hellström (“Flee”). Shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards, the acclaimed doc will have its broadcast premiere on pubcaster PBS as part of Pov’s 36th season starting in the summer.
A co-production involving Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Ukraine, “A House Made of Splinters” follows three children awaiting their fate in a temporary shelter in war-torn Eastern Ukraine.
As described by Variety’s Guy Lodge in his review: “Neglect and abandonment is what unites the young residents of the Lysychansk Center in Eastern Ukraine, where the children of unfit parents are sheltered for up to nine months while their next steps are decided.”
He added, “The camera waits with them, quietly observing a fragile limbo period from which life can go in any number of directions — including, for the least fortunate,...
A co-production involving Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Ukraine, “A House Made of Splinters” follows three children awaiting their fate in a temporary shelter in war-torn Eastern Ukraine.
As described by Variety’s Guy Lodge in his review: “Neglect and abandonment is what unites the young residents of the Lysychansk Center in Eastern Ukraine, where the children of unfit parents are sheltered for up to nine months while their next steps are decided.”
He added, “The camera waits with them, quietly observing a fragile limbo period from which life can go in any number of directions — including, for the least fortunate,...
- 1/13/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The Cinema Eye Honors (Ceh) held its 16th annual awards on Thursday, January 12, honoring some of this year’s best documentary feature films and the hottest contenders in the ongoing Oscar race. Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” and Alex Pritz’ “The Territory” entered the night with a leading seven bids apiece, but it was Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” that took home the top honor for Best Nonfiction Feature. Check out the full list of feature film winners below.
Sen’s film about two brothers – Nadeem and Saud – who have devoted their lives to the care and protection of the black kite, a bird of prey local to New Delhi, was the winner of two Ceh awards in total – Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Cinematography. Dosa’s “Fire of Love,” about the decades-long partnership between renowned volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, won the most prizes of the night with three – Outstanding Editing,...
Sen’s film about two brothers – Nadeem and Saud – who have devoted their lives to the care and protection of the black kite, a bird of prey local to New Delhi, was the winner of two Ceh awards in total – Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Cinematography. Dosa’s “Fire of Love,” about the decades-long partnership between renowned volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, won the most prizes of the night with three – Outstanding Editing,...
- 1/13/2023
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
This article contains IndieWire’s preliminary Best International Feature predictions for the 2023 Oscars. We regularly update our predictions throughout awards season, and republish previous versions (like this one) for readers to track changes in how the Oscar race has changed. For the latest update on the frontrunners for the 95th Academy Awards, see our 2023 Oscars predictions hub.
Nominations voting is from January 12-17, 2023, with official Oscar nominations announced January 24, 2023. Final voting is March 2-7, 2023. And finally, 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. We update predictions through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks.
The Oscar submission deadline (October 3) has returned to its pre-pandemic place on the awards calendar, with the Best International Feature Film shortlist announced on December 21.
As always, film festivals are the gatekeepers for the Best International Feature Oscar race,...
Nominations voting is from January 12-17, 2023, with official Oscar nominations announced January 24, 2023. Final voting is March 2-7, 2023. And finally, 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. We update predictions through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks.
The Oscar submission deadline (October 3) has returned to its pre-pandemic place on the awards calendar, with the Best International Feature Film shortlist announced on December 21.
As always, film festivals are the gatekeepers for the Best International Feature Oscar race,...
- 9/24/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Kate Ward, Vice Studios Global President and the boss of Pulse Films, has joined BBC Studios to oversee factual.
The signature hire was unveiled this afternoon and will see Ward take over from Tom McDonald, who departed to Nat Geo earlier this year.
Ward will oversee a portfolio that includes the prolific Natural History Unit, which recently opened an LA office, along with the Docs, Science and Factual Units. She will also look after the factual indies BBC Studios has stakes in, such as Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse Productions and Rogan Productions.
BBC Studios Productions CEO Ralph Lee hailed her “infectious passion for great documentary storytelling and a deep understanding of the content market.”
“Our Factual portfolio, with the Natural History, Docs and Science units at its heart and a range of brilliant indie partners, is critical to our success and growth,” he added.
Ward has been president of Vice Studios...
The signature hire was unveiled this afternoon and will see Ward take over from Tom McDonald, who departed to Nat Geo earlier this year.
Ward will oversee a portfolio that includes the prolific Natural History Unit, which recently opened an LA office, along with the Docs, Science and Factual Units. She will also look after the factual indies BBC Studios has stakes in, such as Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse Productions and Rogan Productions.
BBC Studios Productions CEO Ralph Lee hailed her “infectious passion for great documentary storytelling and a deep understanding of the content market.”
“Our Factual portfolio, with the Natural History, Docs and Science units at its heart and a range of brilliant indie partners, is critical to our success and growth,” he added.
Ward has been president of Vice Studios...
- 9/22/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
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