Rupert Everett in The Happy Prince[/caption]
The Happy Prince, written and directed by, and starring Rupert Everett, which has its European premiere this weekend at the Berlin International Film Festival as a Special Gala, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for release in the US. Sony Pictures Classics is planning a 2018 release.
The film which also stars Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Colin Firth, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
The last days of Oscar Wilde—and the ghosts that haunted them—are vividly evoked in Rupert Everett’s directorial debut. Everett gives a career defining performance as Wilde, physically and emotionally embodying the literary genius as he lives out his last days in exile in Europe. His body ailing and heavy, his mind spinning, he survives by falling back on the flamboyant irony and brilliant wit that defined him. As the film travels through Wilde’s final act and journeys through England, France and Italy, desire and loyalty face off, the transience of lust is laid bare, and the true riches of love are revealed.
“I am absolutely thrilled, particularly because Michael and Tom distributed my first film Another Country,” said Everett.-
Sony Pictures Classics to Release Rupert Everett’s THE HAPPY PRINCE
[caption id="attachment_27070" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Rupert Everett in The Happy Prince[/caption]
The Happy Prince, written and directed by, and starring Rupert Everett, which has its European premiere this weekend at the Berlin International Film Festival as a Special Gala, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for release in the US. Sony Pictures Classics is planning a 2018 release.
The film which also stars Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Colin Firth, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
The last days of Oscar Wilde—and the ghosts that haunted them—are vividly evoked in Rupert Everett’s directorial debut. Everett gives a career defining performance as Wilde, physically and emotionally embodying the literary genius as he lives out his last days in exile in Europe. His body ailing and heavy, his mind spinning, he survives by falling back on the flamboyant irony and brilliant wit that defined him. As the film travels through Wilde’s final act and journeys through England, France and Italy, desire and loyalty face off, the transience of lust is laid bare, and the true riches of love are revealed.
“I am absolutely thrilled, particularly because Michael and Tom distributed my first film Another Country,” said Everett.
-
VIDEOS: Watch 2 New Clips from Raoul Peck’s THE YOUNG KARL MARX
[caption id="attachment_18956" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Young Karl Marx (Le jeune Karl Marx)[/caption]
The Orchard has released two new clips from THE YOUNG KARL MARX, celebrated Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck’s first film since the Oscar®-nominated documentary I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO. A fervently intelligent chronicling of the blood, sweat and debate that went into the creation of a manifesto and a movement, the film premiered at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.
Timed to the anniversary of the original publishing date of The Communist Manifesto, The Orchard will open THE YOUNG KARL MARX theatrically on Friday, February 23rd in New York and Los Angeles, with a national rollout to follow.
At the age of 26, Karl Marx (August Diehl; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, THE COUNTERFEITERS) embarks with his wife Jenny (Vicky Krieps; PHANTOM THREAD) on the road to exile. In 1844 Paris they meet young Friedrich Engels (Stefan Konarske), son of a factory owner and an astute student of the English proletariat class. Engels brings Marx the missing piece to the puzzle that composes his new vision of the world. Together, between censorship and police raids, riots and political upheavals, they will preside over the birth of the labor movement, which until then had been mostly makeshift and unorganized. This will grow into the most complete theoretical and political transformation of the world since the Renaissance – driven, against all expectations, by two brilliant, insolent and sharp-witted young men.
The Meeting
Critical Critique
-
COMING SOON: Josh Hutcherson, Suki Waterhouse and Tilda Cobham-Hervey to Star in Mike Gan’s PLUME
[caption id="attachment_27062" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
JOSH HUTCHERSON, SUKI WATERHOUSE AND TILDA COBHAM-HERVEY[/caption]
Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise) , Suki Waterhouse (Assassination Nation, The Bad Batch) and Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai, 52 Tuesdays) will star in the upcoming film, Plume, written and directed by Mike Gan.
A contained thriller reminiscent of Compliance mixed with a female-centric Nightcrawler, PLUME follows a lonely, unstable gas station attendant Melinda (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), tired of being overshadowed by her more confident, outgoing co-worker Sheila (Suki Waterhouse). When the gas station is held at gunpoint by Billy (Josh Hutcherson), a desperate man in need of quick cash, Melinda finds an opportunity to make a connection with the robber, regardless of who gets hurt.
The film marks the feature debut for writer/director Mike Gan. Gan previously gained recognition in the genre filmmaking community for his acclaimed short No Evil, which premiered at festivals around the world including TIFF Creative Minds and Palm Springs ShortFest.
“I am beyond ecstatic for the opportunity to work with such a talented trio of actors in Josh, Suki and Tilda,” commented Mike Gan. “I’m a huge fan of their work, and feel they’re perfectly suited to bring the characters of Melinda, Billy, and Sheila to life.”
Josh Hutcherson is known for his lead roles in The Hunger Games franchise, The Disaster Artist and Hulu Original Series Future Man. Suki Waterhouse next stars in several anticipated upcoming films including Sundance hit Assassination Nation, Detective Pikachu with Ryan Reynolds, and Jonathan with Ansel Elgort, and is also known for her roles in The Bad Batch and Insurgent. Rising star Tilda Cobham-Hervey is most known for her roles in 52 Tuesdays and The Kettering Incident, and next stars in Hotel Mumbai opposite Armie Hammer and Dev Patel.
Production of Plume will commence later this month.
-
Film Society of Lincoln Center Announces Lineup for 23rd Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
Barbara Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, the celebrated annual series showcasing the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking, returns to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for the 23rd edition, from March 8 to 18, 2018, with 24 diverse films on display.
-
Sarasota Film Festival Unveils 20th Anniversary Edition Poster
The Sarasota Film Festival unveiled the special edition 20th Anniversary poster for the upcoming 2018 festival designed by local designer, Kelsey Hunt-Dolan. This year the festival will take place April 13th through the 22nd, 2018.
This year’s artwork represents the 20th celebration of the Sarasota Film Festival and the lasting impact from various artists. The Roman numerals “XX” on the poster commemorate the historic 20 year anniversary for the festival. John Ringling’s David statue, a replica of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s original masterpiece, is known as the symbol of Sarasota and resides in The Ringling Museum courtyard. John Ringling carved this statue between the mid-19th to early 20th century as a momentum for local artists. He had hoped to open a school of art prior to his demise, but left this statue behind to inspire future artists.
“We are very pleased with this year’s collaborative effort at designing our twentieth anniversary poster containing Michelangelo’s Statue of David, one of the most beautiful pieces of art known to man and a symbol of our great city,” said Mark Famiglio, President of the Sarasota Film Festival. “In these last 20 years, we have watched the festival evolve into a captivating and engaging showcase of diverse films, highlighting the unique and distinct voice from artists nationally and internationally. We look forward to the next 20 years as we salute our community and film lovers from around the world.”
-
See Trailer and Poster for Tunisian Film BEAUTY AND THE DOGS. Opens in Theaters on March 23rd
Oscilloscope Laboratories has dropped the trailer and poster for BEAUTY AND THE DOGS from Tunisian director and screenwriter, Kaouther Ben Hania. The film which world premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival will open theatrically on March 23rd, in NYC at Landmark 57 West; in LA at the Nuart.
When Mariam, a young Tunisian woman, is raped by police officers after leaving a party, she is propelled into a harrowing night in which she must fight for her rights even though justice lies on the side of her tormentors. Employing impressive cinematic techniques and anchored by a tour-de-force performance from newcomer Mariam Al Ferjani, Kaouther Ben Hania’s BEAUTY AND THE DOGS tells an urgent, unapologetic, and important story head-on. A rare, startling film from a female Tunisian director, it’s a striking critique on a repressive society and a forcefully feminist rallying cry.
Director and screenwriter Kaouther Ben Hania was born in Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia). Following film studies at the Ecole des Arts et du Cinéma in Tunis, she studied scriptwriting at La Fémis in Paris. She has a Research Masters in Film and Audiovisual Studies from the Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdAGBnOyGyo
-
MY DAYS OF MERCY to Open, POSTCARDS FROM LONDON to Close 2018 BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_27012" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
MY DAYS OF MERCY[/caption]
The 32nd edition of BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival which takes place from March 21st to April 1st, 2018, announced the Opening and Closing Night Galas films. MY DAYS OF MERCY opens the Festival on Wednesday March 21, with POSTCARDS FROM LONDON closing the Festival on Saturday March 31.
Tali Shalom-Ezer’s MY DAYS OF MERCY will open the Festival on Wednesday March 21st . Powered by stirring performances from Ellen Page and Kate Mara , Shalom-Ezer’s follow up to PRINCESS is a poignant love story between two women from vastly different backgrounds and opposing political views.
[caption id="attachment_27014" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
POSTCARDS FROM LONDON[/caption]
The European Premiere of Steve McLean’s stylish and sexy POSTCARDS FROM LONDON will feature as the Closing Night Gala. The film tells the story of beautiful teenager Jim (Harris Dickinson, BEACH RATS) who, having travelled from the suburbs, finds himself in Soho where he falls in with a gang of unusual high class male escorts ‘The Raconteurs’. Set in a vibrant, neon-lit, imaginary vision of Soho, this morality tale manages to be both a beautifully shot homage to the spirit of Derek Jarman and a celebration of the homo-erotic in Baroque art.
MY DAYS OF MERCY is written by BAFTA nominated British writer Joe Barton (THE RITUAL & IBOY) and the film is produced by Ellen Page, Kate Mara, Christine Vachon & David Hinojosa. POSTCARDS FROM LONDON is Steve McLean’s long-awaited follow-up to his 1994 Sundance and Indie Spirit-nominated drama POSTCARDS FROM AMERICA.
-
See the Stunning Trailer and Poster for Tribeca-Winning Medieval Fantasy NOVEMBER
November, the black metal-inspired medieval fantasy and Estonia’s official entry to the 90th Academy Awards, has released the stunning surreal trailer and poster. The film which won the award for Best Cinematography at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival will open theatrically in New York City on February 23rd, and in Los Angeles on March 2nd.
In this tale of love and survival in 19th century Estonia, peasant girl Liina longs for village boy Hans, but Hans is inexplicably infatuated by the visiting German baroness that possesses all that he longs for. For Liina, winning Hans’ requited love proves incredibly complicated in this dark, harsh landscape where spirits, werewolves, plagues, and the devil himself converge, where thievery is rampant, and where souls are highly regarded, but come quite cheap.
With alluring black and white cinematography, director Rainer Sarnet vividly captures these motley lives as they toil to exist – but is existence worth anything if it lacks a soul?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19QZy1YHL50
-
2018 MidWest WeirdFest Announces Full Program, Opens with Wisconsin Premiere of PICKINGS
[caption id="attachment_26992" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
PICKINGS[/caption]
The MidWest WeirdFest today announced the full program for its second annual film festival – a cinematic celebration of of all things fantastic, frightening, offbeat, and just plain weird – which will take place March 9-11, 2018 at the Micon Cinemas Downtown in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Opening the festival is the Wisconsin premiere of PICKINGS from director Usher Morgan. In this neo-noir, western, thriller a short-tempered mobster and his gang of thugs try to shake down a neighborhood bar. But they’re soon confronted with the wrath of its owner: a mysterious southern mother with a dangerous past. PICKINGS is a twisting, blood-drenched, super-stylized, thrill ride, sure to delight fans of Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL and Robert Rodriguez’s SIN CITY.
And for closing night, MidWest WeirdFest presents director Amara Cash’s DADDY ISSUES. A compelling and at times confronting film that tracks a bizarre love triangle: Maya, a desperate young artist, is unaware that her new girlfriend is involved in an emotionally charged, co-dependent, fetish relationship with a neurotic and drug-addicted sugar daddy: a man who is also Maya’s biological father. All three lovers are oblivious to the dark secret of their entanglement, and revelation will change them, forever…
“This year’s festival program runs a weird and wonderful gamut, ranging from the boldest and bloodiest in sci-fi and horror, through documentaries of the strange and macabre, to twisting thrillers and erotic underground dramas” says festival director Dean Bertram, an Australian expatriate and veteran of the international film festival scene. “Whether you want to be thrilled, terrified, mesmerized or titillated you’re going to find an abundance of entertaining films in this unique cinematic smorgasbord.”
Some other fantastic titles the festival announces today include:
CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS (Dr: James Bushe) A ragtag group of carpet layers are sent on a job to an old English country house in the middle of nowhere. They soon discover it’s a trap set up by a savage cannibalistic family. The carpet fitters must fight for their lives or risk ending up as the evening’s dinner. Horrific delights abound in this gore filled dish of a horror comedy, that tastes like a wickedly decadent blend of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
IMPOSSIBLE HORROR (Dr: Justin Decloux) Lily, an insomniac filmmaker, hears a sinister scream outside her window every night. Determined to help the screaming person, she heads into the darkness of her neighbourhood. There she meets Hannah, a veteran “scream hunter”, obsessed with putting a stop to the nightly occurrence. The young women join forces to solve the bloodcurdling mystery, and quickly discover that its source may be an otherworldly threat that drives its victims into madness – and Lily and Hannah are next.
THE MILWAUKEE MAFIA: FRANK BALISTRIERI (Director: Jason Love)
Frank Peter Balistrieri (AKA “Mr. Big”, “Big Frank”, “Mr. Slick”, and “Mad Bomber”) was the most notorious and dangerous Mob Boss in Milwaukee’s history. In this documentary, learn about the secret world of organized crime through the lens of the most dangerous man in Milwaukee. Known for using car bombs to murder his enemies, Frank Balistrieri was willing to do anything to keep his power over the city.
OFFICER PIGSLEY (Director: Kevin Losani, Michael J. Widger) In a a city full of superheroes and monstrous villains, a clumsy police officer stumbles upon an evil conspiracy. He has to decide whether it’s worth taking the law into his own hands – and risking his life – to save a city that despises him. An indie epic, that bats miles above its meager budget, and delivers laughs, gasps, and feels.
-
See Trailer + Poster for LA Set Neo-Noir Thriller LOS ANGELES OVERNIGHT
Here is the the trailer and poster for Los Angeles Overnight, the directorial debut of filmmaker Michael Chrisoulakis which will launch a limited national, theatrical release on March 9 driven by Arena Cinelounge to be followed by a digital release through Freestyle Digital Media on March 20, 2018.
Inspired by the L.A. Modern Noir genre and populated with distinct and dynamic characters, Arielle Brachfeld (Consumption) stars in Los Angeles Overnight as Priscilla, a struggling actress who inherits a bevy of colorful villains after desperation drives her and her gullible boyfriend, a lovelorn mechanic (Azim Rizk, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk), to steal big from the Los Angeles underworld. No amount of preparation could ever prepare this actress for a blood-soaked role filled with seedy criminals and “hot loot.” Entirely shot in Los Angeles, the cast is appropriately peppered with titans of the Hollywood scene including Peter Bogdanovich, Sally Kirkland and recent CineAsia Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Lin Shaye.
-
Architecture & Design Film Festival Returns to LA in Spring 2018, Opens with BIG TIME
[caption id="attachment_25103" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
BIG TIME[/caption]
The Architecture & Design Film Festival returns to Los Angeles this Spring, from March 14 to 18, 2018, at the historic Los Angeles Theatre Center, providing the film capital of the world a unique lens to explore architecture and design. ADFF: LA will bring a selection of 30+ compelling short length and feature films. The screenings will explore the life and work of revered architects and designers such as desert modernist Albert Frey, contemporary starchitect Bjarke Ingels, and fashion designer Dries van Noten. Films will also cover timely topics such as the power of design to instill positive change and the building of a model city to solve urban problems.
Kicking off with the Short Films Walk (SFW: LA) on March 10, design aficionados are invited to explore the Helms Bakery District, where six showrooms including Arcana Books, Harbour Outdoor, H.D. Buttercup, Scandinavian Designs, Room & Board and Vitra will open their doors and screen over 24 short film documentaries throughout the day from 10am-7pm. The event will conclude with a public screening of Building Hope: The Maggie’s Centres, a beautifully shot film by award-winning director Sarah Howitt that tells the story of Maggie’s, their approach to cancer care, and the role that great design plays in the cancer support they offer. The film will be followed by a talk with Frances Anderton, host of KCRW’s DnA.
ADFF: LA opens on Thursday, March 14 with BIG TIME, a documentary by Kaspar Astrup Schröder that follows Bjarke Ingels during the course of seven years while he struggles to finish his biggest project yet, letting viewers into his creative process and compromises along the way. The following evening, Liam Young of SCI-Arc’s M.A. in Fiction and Entertainment program will curate a selection of experimental films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK0mGdMKMW4
Other film highlights include:
Albert Frey: Part 1 – The Architectural Envoy, directed by Jake Gorst, is about the unpretentious Swiss-born mid-20th century architect. The first of a two-part film series produced by Design Onscreen, this film explores Albert’s early life and work in Europe to his New York architectural accomplishments in the 1930s, including the famed Aluminaire House, the Canvas Weekend House, features of the New York Museum of Modern Art, as well as his Kocher-Samson Building in Palm Springs.
The Experimental City explores the story of Athelstan Spilhaus, a visionary scientist and futurist comic-strip writer in the 1960s. Frustrated by the growing problem of urban pollution, he assembled a team of experts to develop a bold experiment: the Minnesota Experimental City (MXC). MXC would be the city of the future, a domed metropolis for 250,000 pioneering residents, built from scratch using cutting-edge technology to prevent urban sprawl and pollution. Things didn’t quite go as planned, as explored in Chad Friedrichs’ fascinating look back at the would-be city of tomorrow.
DRIES, a film about the notoriously private fashion designer Dries Van Noten, who allows a filmmaker to accompany him in his creative process and rich home life for the first time. The film offers an insight into the life, mind and creative heart of a master fashion designer who, for more than 25 years, has remained independent in a landscape of fashion consolidation and globalization.
Other festival highlights include Breakpoint, a short mockumentary that follows the founder of LASVIT, a company that revived the Czech glass making craft; Made in Ilima, a film about MASS Design’s conservation-focused primary school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; REM, a film by Tomas Koolhaas; and for St. Patrick’s Day, a screening of Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect.
Additionally, ADFF will transform the Los Angeles Theatre Center lobby into an immersive lounge area for attendees to enjoy between screenings. The lounge will include VR films including one by Gary Hustwit and Sam Green that explores the work of architect and futurist Buckminster Fuller; an exhibition called “The Original Comes from Vitra” that focuses on authenticity in the design and manufacturing process; short films displayed on the Sony Ultra-Short Throw 4K HDR Home Theater Projector; furniture supplied by Vitra and Poliform; and a pop-up book store.
-
Tsai Ming-Liang’s VR Film THE DESERTED to Hong Kong Premiere at 2018 Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) will introduce the future of cinema to audiences – the Hong Kong premiere of Tsai Ming-Liang’s The Deserted, HTC’s first virtual reality (VR) Chinese language film. World-renowned Taiwanese master TSAI Ming-Liang and Golden Horse Award Best Leading Actor LEE Kang-Sheng will lead the Hong Kong audience through an unparalleled eye-opening VR experience, and share their thoughts and visions of this cinematic innovation in a Master Class.
Winner of the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival with Vive L’amour (1994), TSAI Ming-Liang has established himself as one of contemporary cinema’s most accomplished auteurs. In addition to bringing films into the art world, he has been constantly exploring multi-media and new technology in filmmaking. The Deserted, his debut VR work, is an attempt to break the established dichotomy of traditional cinema, and create an interactive film experience that blurs the lines between reality and creative expression.
The work is an elliptical tale of love, death and memory, starring LEE Kang-Sheng as a man recuperating from an illness in the mountains. Unable to communicate with his late mother or the female ghost next door, his only companion is a lone fish who swims with him in the bathtub. The Deserted offers a dreamlike 3D experience which immerses viewers in the construction of the scenes, and the characters’ personal journeys.
The 55-min piece is a milestone in Chinese language cinema and selected for the first-ever Virtual Reality competition at the Venice Film Festival. It received overwhelming response at the Golden Horse Festival, selling out all 13 sessions within seconds. The Deserted is supported by HTC VIVE, ZOTAC and the Academy of Film of Hong Kong Baptist University.