News

All the News.

Turkish Film Beyond The Hill Wins Top Prize at Sixth Asia Pacific Screen Awards

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 23: Actor Tamer Levent, director/producer Emin Alper and producer Enis Kostepen accept the award for Best Feature Film, Beyond the Hill at the the sixth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards on November 23, 2012 in the Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Image.net)

Read more
Jewish Film HAVA NAGILA (The Movie) – opens in NYC on March 1 and in LA on March 15

Hava Nagila (The Movie), directed by Roberta Grossman and produced by Marta Kauffman (Friends) will open in theaters in NYC, LA and Miami in February 2013. The film had its World Premiere at a sold-out screening at the Castro Theater for the Opening Night of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and will open and close dozens of upcoming Jewish film festivals around the world. A national release will follow.

Featuring interviews with Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, Leonard Nimoy, Regina Spektor and others, Hava Nagila (The Movie) follows the song from the shtetls of Eastern Europe to the kibbutzim of Palestine to the cul‐de-sacs of America. It excavates the layers of cultural complexity with humor, depth and heart – traveling the distance between the Holocaust to Dick Dale and his surf guitar, sometimes in the same sentence. It stops at key places—Ukraine, Israel, the Catskills and Greenwich Village, where Belafonte performed a hopeful version in the late 1950s, only to be countered by Bob Dylan, who butchers the song in his version Talkin’ Hava Negiliah Blues. The film covers Allan Sherman’s parody Harvey and Sheila, and Lena Horne’s civil rights anthem Now—both set to the tune of Hava Nagila. The film spotlights Italian-American crooner Connie Francis, who made the song the first track on her famous album of Jewish favorites; and Glen Campbell, who released an instrumental version of Hava on the B-‐side of his theme song from True Grit. It also dissects the proliferation of pop culture references to Hava Nagila in film and TV and brings the song up to the present, where it’s a rallying tune at sports games, a hot dance number in nightclubs and a global hit online.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQC3twmjSzw
Read more
Steve McQueen SHAME Leads Nominations for the 25th European Film Awards

[caption id="attachment_2914" align="alignnone" width="550"]Steve McQueen SHAME[/caption]

At the Seville European Film Festival the European Film Academy announced the nominations for the European Film Awards 2012.

Nominated are:

EUROPEAN FILM 2012:

AMOUR (Love)

Austria/France/Germany, 127 min

Written & directed by Michael Haneke

Produced by Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz

BARBARA

Germany, 105 min

Written & directed by Christian Petzold

Produced by Florian Koerner von Gustorf & Michael Weber

CESARE DEVE MORIRE (Caesar Must Die)

Italy, 76 min

Directed by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani

Written by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, in collaboration with Fabio Cavalli

Produced by Grazia Volpi

INTOUCHABLES (Untouchable)

France, 108 min

Written & directed by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano

Produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou & Laurent Zeitoun

JAGTEN (The Hunt)

Denmark, 111 min

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg

Written by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm

Produced by Morten Kaufmann & Sisse Graum Jørgensen

SHAME

UK, 96 min

Directed by Steve McQueen

Written by Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan

Produced by Iain Canning & Emile Sherman

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2012:

Nuri Bilge Ceylan for BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)

Michael Haneke for AMOUR (Love)

Steve McQueen for SHAME

Paolo & Vittorio Taviani for CESARE DEVE MORIRE (Caesar Must Die)

Thomas Vinterberg for JAGTEN (The Hunt)

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2012:

Emilie Dequenne in A PERDRE LA RAISON (Our Children)

Nina Hoss in BARBARA

Emmanuelle Riva in AMOUR (Love)

Margarethe Tiesel in PARADIES: LIEBE (Paradise: Love)

Kate Winslet in CARNAGE

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2012:

François Cluzet & Omar Sy in INTOUCHABLES (Untouchable)

Michael Fassbender in SHAME

Mads Mikkelsen in JAGTEN (The Hunt)

Gary Oldman in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Jean-Louis Trintignant in AMOUR (Love)

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2012:

Michael Haneke for AMOUR (Love)

Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg for JAGTEN (The Hunt)

Cristian Mungiu for DUPA DEALURI (Beyond the Hills)

Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano for INTOUCHABLES (Untouchable)

Roman Polanski & Yasmina Reza for CARNAGE

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2012:

Sean Bobbitt for SHAME

Bruno Delbonnel for FAUST

Darius Khondji for AMOUR (Love)

Gökhan Tiryaki for BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)

Hoyte Van Hoytema for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

EUROPEAN EDITOR 2012:

Janus Billeskov Jansen & Anne Østerud for JAGTEN (The Hunt)

Roberto Perpignani for CESARE DEVE MORIRE (Caesar Must Die)

Joe Walker for SHAME

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2012:

Maria Djurkovic for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Niels Sejer for EN KONGELIG AFFÆRE (A Royal Affair)

Elena Zhukova for FAUST

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2012:

Cyrille Aufort & Gabriel Yared for EN KONGELIG AFFÆRE (A Royal Affair)

François Couturier for IO SONO LI (Shun Li and the Poet)

George Fenton for THE ANGELS’ SHARE

Alberto Iglesias for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Read more
Any Day Now Starring Alan Cumming Opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 14th

Music Box Films will release “Any Day Now” in New York and Los Angeles on December 14th.

Directed by Travis Fine, and starring Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, Isaac Leyva, Frances Fisher, Gregg Henry, Chris Mulkey, Any Day Now tells a story of love, acceptance, and creating your own family.

In the late 1970s, when Marco (Isaac Leyva), a teenager with down syndrome who’s been abandoned by his mother, is taken in by committed couple Rudy (Alan Cumming) and Paul (Garret Dillahunt), he finds in them the family he’s never had. However, when their unconventional living arrangement is discovered by the authorities, Rudy and Paul must fight a biased legal system to adopt the child they have come to love as their own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fblnjKPqrdc
Read more
21 Animated Features Submitted For 2012 Oscar Race

[caption id="attachment_2910" align="alignnone" width="550"]A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman[/caption]

Twenty-one features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

The 21 submitted features, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

    “Adventures in Zambezia”
    “Brave”
    “Delhi Safari”
    “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”
    “Frankenweenie”
    “From Up on Poppy Hill”
    “Hey Krishna”
    “Hotel Transylvania”
    “Ice Age Continental Drift”
    “A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman”
    “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted”
    “The Mystical Laws”
    “The Painting”
    “ParaNorman”
    “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
    “The Rabbi’s Cat”
    “Rise of the Guardians”
    “Secret of the Wings”
    “Walter & Tandoori’s Christmas”
    “Wreck-It Ralph”
    “Zarafa”

Several of the films listed have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying runs. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process. At least eight eligible animated features must be theatrically released in Los Angeles County within the calendar year for this category to be activated.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
Read more
10 Animated Shorts Move Ahead in 2012 Oscar Race

[caption id="attachment_2904" align="alignnone" width="550"] Tram – Michaela Pavlátová[/caption]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 10 animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 85th Academy Awards®. Fifty-six pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

Adam and Dog,” Minkyu Lee, director (Lodge Films)

“Combustible,” Katsuhiro Otomo, director (Sunrise Inc.)

“Dripped,” Léo Verrier, director (ChezEddy)

“The Eagleman Stag,” Mikey Please, director, and Benedict Please, music scores and sound design (Royal College of Art)

“The Fall of the House of Usher,” Raul Garcia, director, and Stephan Roelants, producer (Melusine Productions, R&R Communications Inc., Les Armateurs, The Big Farm)

“Fresh Guacamole,” PES, director (PES)

“Head over Heels,” Timothy Reckart, director, and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, producer (National Film and Television School)

“Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”,” David Silverman, director (Gracie Films)

“Paperman,” John Kahrs, director (Disney Animation Studios)

“Tram,” Michaela Pavlátová, director, and Ron Dyens, producer (Sacrebleu Productions)

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013.
Read more
Korean Film Nameless Gangster Among Nominees for 2012 Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Bumchoiwaui Junjaeng (Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, Republic of Korea)

Nominees in the sixth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) were announced with 34 films from 18 Asia Pacific countries and areas nominated in the region’s highest accolade in film.

Read more
8 Doc Shorts on Oscar’s 2012 Shortlist

[caption id="attachment_2896" align="alignnone" width="550"]Open Heart[/caption]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 85th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“The Education of Mohammad Hussein,” Loki Films

“Inocente,” Shine Global, Inc.

“Kings Point,” Kings Point Documentary, Inc.

“Mondays at Racine,” Cynthia Wade Productions

“Open Heart,” Urban Landscapes Inc.

“ParaÍso,” The Strangebird Company

“The Perfect Fit,” SDI Productions Ltd.

“Redemption,” Downtown Docs

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
Read more
Three Documentaries Nominated for European Film Awards

[caption id="attachment_2894" align="alignnone" width="550"]HIVER NOMADE (Winter Nomads) [/caption]

The European Film Academy announced the three films nominated in the category EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2012.

HIVER NOMADE (Winter Nomads)
Switzerland, 90 min
DIRECTED BY: Manuel von Stürler
WRITTEN BY: Claude Muret & Manuel von Stürler
PRODUCED BY: Elisabeth Garbar & Heinz Dill

LONDON – THE MODERN BABYLON
UK, 128 min
DIRECTED BY: Julien Temple
PRODUCED BY: Amanda Temple & Stephen Malit

LE THÉ OU L‘ELECTRICITÉ
(Tea or Electricity)
Belgium / France / Morocco, 93 min
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Jérôme le Maire
PRODUCED BY: Isabelle Truc, Isabelle Mathy & Khadija Alami

The winner will be announced at the 25th European Film Awards on December 1, 2012, in Malta.
Read more
Five Debut Films Nominated for EFA Discovery Award

[caption id="attachment_2332" align="alignnone" width="553"]10 TIMER TIL PARADIS (Teddy Bear)[/caption]

The European Film Academy announced the nominees for the EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2012 – Prix FIPRESCI, an award presented annually as part of the European Film Awards to a young and upcoming director for a first full-length feature film.

NOMINATED ARE:

10 TIMER TIL PARADIS (Teddy Bear)
Denmark, 92 min
DIRECTED BY: Mads Matthiesen
WRITTEN BY: Mads Matthiesen & Martin Pieter Zandvliet
PRODUCED BY: Morten Kjems Juhl

BROKEN
UK, 90 min
DIRECTED BY: Rufus Norris
WRITTEN BY: Mark O’Rowe
PRODUCED BY: Dixie Linder, Tally Garner, Nick Marston &
Bill Kenwright

KAUWBOY
The Netherlands, 81 min
DIRECTED BY: Boudewijn Koole
WRITTEN BY: Boudewijn Koole & Jolein Laarman
PRODUCED BY: Jan van der Zanden & Wilant Boekelman

ПОРТРЕТ В СУМЕРКАХ / PORTRET V SUMERKHAK
(Twilight Portrait)
Russia, 105 min
DIRECTED BY: Angelina Nikonova
WRITTEN BY: Angelina Nikonova & Olga Dihovichnaya
PRODUCED BY: Leonid Ogaryov, Angelina Nikonova &
Olga Dihovichnaya

DIE VERMISSTEN (Reported Missing)
Germany, 86 min
DIRECTED BY: Jan Speckenbach
WRITTEN BY: Jan Speckenbach & Melanie Rohde
PRODUCED BY: Anke Hartwig
Read more
Starlet from SXSW Festival to Open in NY and LA on November 9th

Starlet, directed by Sean Baker, and official selections at SXSW Film Festival 2012 and Locarno Film Festival 2012, will open in New York and Los Angeles on November 9th.

Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21-year-old Jane played by Dree Hemingway, and 85-year-old Sadie played by Besedka Johnson. Besedka Johnson is the winner of the OUTSTANDING ACTING award at SXSW Film Festival 2012.

[ Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21-year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway), and 85-year-old Sadie (Besedka Johnson), two women whose worlds collide in California’s San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates, Melissa and Mikey, while taking care of her Chihuahua, Starlet. Sadie, an elderly widow, passes her days alone, tending to her flower garden.

After a confrontation between the two women at Sadie’s yard sale, Jane uncovers a hidden stash of money inside a relic from Sadie’s past. Jane attempts to befriend the caustic older woman in an effort to solve her dilemma and secrets emerge as their relationship grows.

Starlet is Sean Baker’s follow-up to the acclaimed Prince of Broadway, winner of the Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival. ]
Read more
71 Countries Vie for 2012 Foreign Language Film Oscar

[caption id="attachment_2889" align="alignnone" width="550"]After Lucia[/caption]

A record 71 countries, including first-time entrant Kenya, have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 85th Academy Awards®.

The 2012 submissions are:

Afghanistan, “The Patience Stone,” Atiq Rahimi, director;
Albania, “Pharmakon,” Joni Shanaj, director;
Algeria, “Zabana!” Said Ould Khelifa, director;
Argentina, “Clandestine Childhood,” Benjamín Ávila, director;
Armenia, “If Only Everyone,” Natalia Belyauskene, director;
Australia, “Lore,” Cate Shortland, director;
Austria, “Amour,” Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, “Buta,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, “Pleasure Boy Komola,” Humayun Ahmed, director;
Belgium, “Our Children,” Joachim Lafosse, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Children of Sarajevo,” Aida Begic, director;
Brazil, “The Clown,” Selton Mello, director;
Bulgaria, “Sneakers,” Valeri Yordanov and Ivan Vladimirov, directors;
Cambodia, “Lost Loves,” Chhay Bora, director;
Canada, “War Witch,” Kim Nguyen, director;
Chile, “No,” Pablo Larraín, director;
China, “Caught in the Web,” Chen Kaige, director;
Colombia, “The Snitch Cartel,” Carlos Moreno, director;
Croatia, “Vegetarian Cannibal,” Branko Schmidt, director;
Czech Republic, “In the Shadow,” David Ondrícek, director;
Denmark, “A Royal Affair,” Nikolaj Arcel, director;
Dominican Republic, “Jaque Mate,” José María Cabral, director;
Estonia, “Mushrooming,” Toomas Hussar, director;
Finland, “Purge,” Antti J. Jokinen, director;
France, “The Intouchables,” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, directors;
Georgia, “Keep Smiling,” Rusudan Chkonia, director;
Germany, “Barbara,” Christian Petzold, director;
Greece, “Unfair World,” Filippos Tsitos, director;
Greenland, “Inuk,” Mike Magidson, director;
Hong Kong, “Life without Principle,” Johnnie To, director;
Hungary, “Just the Wind,” Bence Fliegauf, director;
Iceland, “The Deep,” Baltasar Kormákur, director;
India, “Barfi!” Anurag Basu, director;
Indonesia, “The Dancer,” Ifa Isfansyah, director;
Israel, “Fill the Void,” Rama Burshtein, director;
Italy, “Caesar Must Die,” Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, directors;
Japan, “Our Homeland,” Yang Yonghi, director;
Kazakhstan, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe,” Akan Satayev, director;
Kenya, “Nairobi Half Life,” David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “The Empty Home,” Nurbek Egen, director;
Latvia, “Gulf Stream under the Iceberg,” Yevgeny Pashkevich, director;
Lithuania, “Ramin,” Audrius Stonys, director;
Macedonia, “The Third Half,” Darko Mitrevski, director;
Malaysia, “Bunohan,” Dain Iskandar Said, director;
Mexico, “After Lucia,” Michel Franco, director;
Morocco, “Death for Sale,” Faouzi Bensaïdi, director;
Netherlands, “Kauwboy,” Boudewijn Koole, director;
Norway, “Kon-Tiki,” Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, directors;
Palestine, “When I Saw You,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Peru, “The Bad Intentions,” Rosario García-Montero, director;
Philippines, “Bwakaw,” Jun Robles Lana, director;
Poland, “80 Million,” Waldemar Krzystek, director;
Portugal, “Blood of My Blood,” João Canijo, director;
Romania, “Beyond the Hills,” Cristian Mungiu, director;
Russia, “White Tiger,” Karen Shakhnazarov, director;
Serbia, “When Day Breaks,” Goran Paskaljevic, director;
Singapore, “Already Famous,” Michelle Chong, director;
Slovak Republic, “Made in Ash,” Iveta Grófová, director;
Slovenia, “A Trip,” Nejc Gazvoda, director;
South Africa, “Little One,” Darrell James Roodt, director;
South Korea, “Pieta,” Kim Ki-duk, director;
Spain, “Blancanieves,” Pablo Berger, director;
Sweden, “The Hypnotist,” Lasse Hallström, director;
Switzerland, “Sister,” Ursula Meier, director;
Taiwan, “Touch of the Light,” Chang Jung-Chi, director;
Thailand, “Headshot,” Pen-ek Ratanaruang, director;
Turkey, “Where the Fire Burns,” Ismail Gunes, director;
Ukraine, “The Firecrosser,” Mykhailo Illienko, director;
Uruguay, “The Delay,” Rodrigo Plá, director;
Venezuela, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Hernán Jabes, director;
Vietnam, “The Scent of Burning Grass,” Nguyen Huu Muoi, director.

The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
Read more