46th 

This weekend, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) closed its 46th edition with the European première of 20th Century Women by filmmaker Mike Mills. The festival screened 484 films this year, of which 105 world premières, and attracted more than 314,000 visits. IFFR welcomed 316 filmmakers and 1,910 film professionals from all over the world. A record number of 63 feature films were rated at an average of 4 (out of 5) or higher in the audience award.

The festival opened on 25 January with the international première of Lemon, in the presence of filmmaker Janicza Bravo, actors Brett Gelman and Judy Greer. On Friday, 27 January, IFFR welcomed King Willem-Alexander onto the red carpet for the world première of Double Play by filmmaker Ernest Dickerson. Many of the international cast and crew were also present. On Monday 30 January Rotterdam received dignitaries from all over Europe, who together with Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker put their signatures to the revised Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production – spontaneously christened the ‘Rotterdam Treaty’. Barry Jenkins chose IFFR as the platform for the Dutch première of his film Moonlight, which has received eight Oscar nominations. The filmmaker also gave a well-attended masterclass in KINO, the livestream of which also attracted many views on IFFR’s Facebook page. The many international guests praised the hospitable, lively and remarkably relaxed atmosphere both in the city of Rotterdam and at the festival.

“It is exceptionally good to see our challenging programme being so well received by the audience. Not only did people find the films that were right for them, but they were also moved by the attractive masterclasses, talks and workshops that were not afraid to tackle the themes of the day”, according to festival director Bero Beyer.

The recent developments in exhibition technologies and formats, VR storytelling, and the abundance of filmed content for film and television are three topics discussed in the new Nostradamus Screen Visions report, presented today at Nordic Film Market.

The aim of the Nostradamus project, launched by Göteborg Film Festival and Lindholmen Science Park in 2014, is to analyse the near future of the screen industries and identify key trends and developments to keep an eye on. The annual report is based on interviews with international industry experts, and presented at the film festival.

For the 2017 report, writer Johanna Koljonen has interviewed Bobby Allen, VP of Content, MUBI; Catharine Des Forges, Director, Independent Cinema Office; Tomas Eskilsson, Head of Strategy, FilmVäst; Domenico La Porta, Director, R/O Institute; Joëlle Levie, Director of Operations, Olffi; Fredrik af Malmborg, Managing Director, Eccho Rights; Roberto Olla, Executive Director, Eurimages.


At the seminar today, Johanna Koljonen presented the report and led a discussion about how the fast changes in the industry impact the creative output, with panelists Rikke Ennis, CEO TrustNordisk; Roberto Olla, Executive Director, Eurimages; Charlotte Sieling, director; and Mattias Nohrborg, Producer at B-Reel Films and Head of Acquisitions at TriArt Film. The seminar will be available to watch on www.nostradamusproject.org.

The report can be downloaded here>>

For more info and getting in touch with Johanna Koljonen, please contact the press office:

Ulrika Grönérus
Communications Manager Göteborg Film Festival
+46-708-643736
ulrika.gronerus@giff.se

Nostradamus is founded and run by Göteborg Film Festival in collaboration with Lindholmen Science Park and with additional support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Västra Götalandsregionen and Göteborgs stad.

 19^th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

3-12 March, 2017

LET’S TALK ABOUT DOCUMENTARIES

               “Sometimes you have to lie to tell the truth” - Robert J. Flaherty 

“In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director” - Alfred Hitchcock

What is documentary?

The question is always there, as long as there are documentary films. And every time the answer keeps changing. There is a worldwide debate about documentaries. The genre keeps expanding and new forms emerge. It is indeed difficult to classify documentary films or measure their impact, because they evolve as rapidly as their driving force: reality itself.

So, what is documentary today? The answer lies in the films. The 19^th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (3-12 March, 2017) invites us to talk about documentaries and watch some of the most powerful offerings of the latest international documentary production that will be screened in this year’s edition.

History animated: Tower by Keith Maitland (USA)

A haunting, fascinating study about the worst and best of human nature, the Tower blends rotoscopic animation, archival footage and testimonies of witnesses and survivors to chronicle one of America’s first mass school shootings. In 1966 a sniper opened fire from the top floor of the University of Texas Tower in Austin. After holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes, he killed 16 people and injured more than 30, leaving a nation in a state of shock.

Changing the world: The Chocolate Case by Benthe Forrer (Netherlands)

Activism, journalism and the planet’s most delicious treat set the tone in this revealing documentary that sheds light on child slavery in the global chocolate industry. A group of Dutch journalists fight to uncover the tragic dimensions of the issue, as well as to launch the first “slave-free” chocolate bar, proving that some documentaries can really make a difference.  

The art of observation: Austerlitz by Sergei Loznitsa (Germany)

Set in former concentration camps in Germany, the latest work of the renowned Ukrainian filmmaker is a simple yet poignant critique on Holocaust tourism. The film manages to expose the commercialization of horror and comment on morality, naivety and painful memories by observing the hordes of tourists who visit these sites of martyrdom and death.

Treasures from the past: Dawson City: Frozen Timeby Bill Morrison (USA)

The inspired use of archive material in documentary filmmaking leads to powerful storytelling and such is the case in Dawson City: Frozen Time. The film shares with us a laconic journey in time by bringing together the discovery of a valuable collection of films from 1910s - 1920s, as well as the story of the gold rush in Alaska.

Challenging the audience: Safari by Ulrich Seidl (Austria)

Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl likes to dare spectators with deeply provocative images, both in fiction and documentary. In Safari he highlights once more the brutal and grotesque side of humans, this time by focusing on hunting tourism in Africa; European tourists who kill wild animals for fun and proudly decorate their homes with the trophies.

People have the power: Transitioning: Transgender Children by Roser Oliver & Lluís Montserrat (Spain)

“I’m David. I’m 6. When I was born, they thought I was a girl, but the doctors were wrong and I was a boy”. David is part of the new trans generation of people assigned the wrong sex at birth who chose to make the transition very early. The documentary tackles with prejudice, diversity and understanding, through the stories of children, adolescents and young adults who speak candidly about their sexuality and identity.

The 19^th TDF is financed by the European Union - European Regional Development Fund under the ROP of Central Macedonia 2014-2020.

Co-financed by Greece and the European Union

A major revamp of the Fingal Film Festival’s annual event is underway with a summer weekend packed with film, comedy and live music. Taking place on the 11th & 12th August, the new summer festival format

will be hosted in the open air venue at Swords Castle Co Dublin with outdoor screenings, live music, stand-up comedy and

late night DJ’s.

As the preparations get underway for the 2017 Fingal Film Festival, the team have decided to revamp its annual format to raise a greater awareness of independent films, by attracting other festival goers that are usually drawn to music or comedy events.

Although the festival has seen a significant audience growth over the last few years, we believe it is our responsibility as festival organisers to ensure we reinvent ourselves, by attracting larger audiences with a bigger venue this year , ensuring our participating filmmakers’ work is exposed to a wider demographic, says Festival Founder Liz Kenny.

It is imperative we make the festival more appealing to non-filmgoers by holding an event that resonates with all ages. We believe the “Film Festival” themed event on its own alienates an audience, as they feel it’s for experienced filmmakers and filmgoers alike, says Creative Director Dave Byrne. In fact, it’s the opposite. Everybody loves film and our aim is to expose audiences to the Independent film concept, whilst offering a fun packed weekend. A full schedule of events will be rolled out in the coming months and promises to attract audiences from all over Ireland and abroad.As the festival is now open for submissions, the organisers are encouraging filmmakers from Fingal and beyond to submit their films for consideration, as this year will be one of the biggest Independent Film Festival events of 2017.

For more information on how to submit your film, for the following categories – Best Fingal Newcomer – Best Animation – Best Short Film – Best Student – Best Documentary – Best International - Scannan Gaeilge Is Fearr – Outstanding Achievement in Media. Please visit www.fingalfilmfest.com and subscribe for updates Submit directly go to http://www.fingalfilmfest.com/2017-submissions/ or email pr@fingalfilmfest.com

Open Doors Activity 2016 © Festival del film Locarno

A new three-year formula was introduced in 2016 for Open Doors, the Festival del film di Locarno sidebar in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The sidebar’s brief is to foster independent cinema and offer visibility to directors and filmmakers from countries in the South and East of the world, and in 2017 it is set to build on the success of the new formula by continuing its three-year research pathway on eight Southern Asian nations, with a special focus on Afghanistan, Maldives Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

This will be the fifteenth edition of an initiative, which from the outset has enjoyed the collaboration of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The main features are Screenings for the public, the Lab (dedicated workshop for emerging producers and filmmaker-producers) and the Hub, an international platform bundling eight selected projects from the region in focus, with a view to fostering partnerships and sourcing international funding for completion.

In line with the new formula established for 2016 to 2018, Open Doors is dedicating its program to a single global region for three consecutive years, further expanding the scope for partnership and exchange between industry players in the sector. The current three-year focus of the sidebar is on eight nations in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of the Festival: “The new concept for Open Doors addresses a twofold challenge: to investigate what is still a young world region in film industry terms, and to pursue an in-depth project with film professionals over a three-year period. Early results point to the first challenge having been faced with great success, not just because of the range and variety of the projects and talents involved, but also in terms of the interest generated with audiences by the Open Doors Screenings. With a view to the next edition, we look forward eagerly to seeing how the debates and contacts which emerged this year will progress, and to following the response from interested industry players in respect of the coming year’s specific focus, which will deal with countries undergoing political and social instability. At all events, experience has shown that difficult situations of the kind can sometimes give artists a sense of urgency that leads to even bolder and more exciting work.” 

The program for Open Doors 2017 comprises three initiatives:

The Open Doors Hub (2 – 9 August 2017) will offer an international platform to 8 projects from throughout the region, enabling participating filmmakers and producers to meet potential co-producers, sales and distribution agents, with a view to fostering partnerships and obtaining completion funding for their projects. At the end of the initiative the Open Doors jury will award the Open Doors prize worth 50,000 Swiss francs, offered by the Swiss film production fund visions sud est (also supported by SDC) and by the City of Bellinzona. 

The Open Doors Lab (2 – 9 August 2017) will provide a program specially tailored for a select group of emerging producers and filmmaker-producers who aspire to gain a foothold on the international scene. These participants will be offered both individual and group sessions, together with networking opportunities with guests from the European and international film industry, with a view to developing their professional profile as well as their individual projects. Following on from the 2016 focus on Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal, the Open Doors Lab will next turn the spotlight on Afghanistan, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

These four countries will also be at the heart of the program of Open Doors Screenings, which will present to the Locarno audience a selection of films that are particularly representative of their respective film worlds.

Applications for the 2017 Open Doors Hub and Open Doors Lab will be received from 10 November 2016 to 7 February 2017, c/o www.pardo.ch/opendoors

Open Doors also extends its outreach program to assist industry players in the nations in focus by organizing seminars and workshops in the region concerned, thanks to partnerships with local festivals such as Beskop Tshechu (Bhutan), Ekadeshma International Film Festival (Nepal), MEMORY ! International Film Heritage Festival (Myanmar) and Human Rights Film Festival Colombo (Sri Lanka).

The Open Doors initiative is organized in close collaboration with the Industry Office of Festival del film Locarno and enjoys support from numerous European bodies, including ARTE, CNC, EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs), Producers Network – Le Marché du Film (Cannes Film Festival), TorinoFilmLab and Festival Scope.

Open Doors 2016 on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eer7wYou69k

The 70th Festival del film Locarno will run from 2 to 12 August 2017.

Tomorrow, Saturday 21th January, at the 52nd Solothurn Film Festival, Festival President Marco Solari and his team will be holding the first of many special events planned for #Locarno70. An important step along the way to this year’s event, which will be held under the new brand: Locarno Festival.

Looking forward to the future and celebrating its first seven decades not so much as an achievement in itself but as a starting point, the Festival will be emerging from a process of deep renewal, extending its scope and expanding its infrastructures as it morphs into what can only be described as a City of the Audiovisual. While the open-air theatre in Piazza Grande will continue to be at the heart of the Festival, the event’s geography will embrace several new features: from the inauguration of the Palazzo del Cinema– bringing with it three state-of-the-art movie theatres with it – to the re-opening of the historic Ex Rex, fully refurbished and now renamed GranRex as it returns to its former splendour. #Locarno70 also aims to address new audience segments through three distinct initiatives: #movieofmylife, PardoKids and the Youth Advisory Board. The first, due to launch in March, is a project based on user-generated content: a digital platform open to all and showcasing personal stories about movies which changed people’s lives. The second, PardoKids, will see the introduction of new programming for younger audiences, with a series of dedicated screenings concentrated during the closing weekend of the festival. The Youth Advisory Board is an initiative aimed at young people aged from 16 to 23 who will be able to engage actively in the issues closest to them by serving on a consultative committee. The seven young members of the committee will be selected from applicants from all over Switzerland and abroad (to learn more, visit www.pardo.ch/yab).

The 70th edition of the Locarno Festival will begin with a series of initiatives branded #Locarno70, already kicking off from the month of February, and will reach its conclusion during the event held from 2 to 12 August 2017.

www.pardo.ch/Locarno70

The 18th Havana Film Festival New York (HFFNY) opens with the NY premiere of Cuban drama Esteban (dir. Jonal Cosculluela)- the story of a young boy who, with no resources but his talents, insists on being a pianist. The film, featuring original music by Afro-Latin Jazz legend Chucho Valdés, has won the hearts of both audiences and judges at festivals around the world, winning the Jury Award and the Audience Award at the Huelva International Film Festival, Spain and the UNICEF Award at the International Festival for New Latin American Cinema in Havana, Cuba. Stay tuned after the screening for a Q&A session with Jonal Cosculluela and Chucho Valdés.

HFFNY also announces new venues for its main slate of screenings. After opening at the Directors Guild of America Theater (DGA)- 110 W 57th St the Festival travels to the School of Visual Arts (SVA)- 333 W 23rd St, the New York Film Academy- 17 Battery Place, the AMC Loews 34th Street- 312 W 34th St, and the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI)- 36-01 35th Ave, Queens.

HFFNY has established itself as an integral site of cultural celebration for and of the Latino community of NYC, as well as one of the most prominent Latino international film festivals in the U.S. Annually, the Festival promotes the richness and diversity of Latino voices with programs that feature an international variety of award-winning films, Q&A sessions, retrospectives, and panel discussions with notable local and international directors, actors, and producers. As a platform for artistic and cultural exchange, HFFNY celebrates the work of existing and emerging Latino talent while creating bridges between filmmakers and the people of NYC. 

For more information, please visit us at  www.hffny.com.

CONTACT: Sage Anderson or Alyssa Goldenberg - press@hffny.com / 212.687.2146 Please RSVP if you would like to cover the Red Carpet and/or Opening Night Event.

Wishing you all much success in Berlin!

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Animaze wants your animation Let us meet up in Berlin

August 17th - 20st, 2017 To unite and converge animation film, gaming, digital arts and related industries in the vibrant international city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada   Animaze is an international film festival and conference exploring the world of animation in all its diversity. Filmmakers and professionals from over 65 countries will converge on Montreal from August 17-20. Over the course of four days Animaze celebrates animation with: Screenings ...

 

CLICK TO SUBMIT A FILM I SUGGEST A TIME TO MEET TO DISCUSS YOUR TITLES DURING BERLIN I INTERESTED IN ANIMATION DAY IN CANNES

> FOCUS ON EFM AND BERLINALE

TOYFA : Is EVIL real or just in our minds?

TOYFA: DEVIL 2.0 is an independent full length feature film being produced in the Okanagan Valley. It is a Horror film written and being directed by local actor and filmmaker Stacy Williamson. See the trailer and stills below!  Synopsis:  A psychological, fantasy thriller, Toyfa is the story of one man's journey through his Psychotic Break.   What he sees and the world he creates reveals to us the complex and very terrifying reality he experiences. &nbs...

 

Ready for the beautiful and magical adventure with the "Sugar Skull Girls"?

  Meet with Summer Hill Films (and TomCat Films) at Marriott Hotel Ballroom, stand #117 from February 9th to 16th.    Take a closer look at our new film "Sugar Skull Girls"! This teenage fantasy/horror/comedy captures attention immediately with its high quality and perfect balance of comedy and fantasy - entertainment guaranteed for you and your territory! Read more and see the trailer below!  Three demonic siste...

I  Contact Ted Chalmers I www.tomcatfilmsllc.com I www.summerhillfilms.com/

New Action Pix From Vision Films!

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Exclusive presentation by OLIVIER MEGATON of his new doc "ROC: The World's Greatest Con Artist"

- SUNDAY 12th - 11:10AM - CinemaxX 12     ...

 

BELOW THE SURFACE by Kaspar Barfoed World Premiere in Berlin

 

Produced by SAM Productions for Kanal 5, Discovery Networks Denmark, in coproduction with ZDFneo and in association with STUDIOCANAL:  Based on an idea by Adam Price (“Borgen“) and Søren Sveistrup (“The Killing“). With i.a. Johannes Lassen, Paprika Steen, Sara Hort Ditlevsen, Dar Salim, Tommy Kenter, Alexandre Willaume     BERLINALE SCREENING  Wednesday, February 15th, 3:00 pm, Haus der Berliner Festspiele, ...

 

Event Preview: EFM’s Drama Series Days

By Kristin Brzoznowski
Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the European Film Market (EFM), talks to World Screen Newsflash about this year's Drama Series Days, which is a joint initiative by the EFM, the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents. Now in its third year, Drama Series Days—a joint initiative by the European Film Market (EFM), the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents—will see an expanded program and new venue for its 2017 edition....

 

TIFF Residency Exchange programme with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

 

TIFF announced today the launch of a new Residency Exchange programme that will offer one Canadian and one German filmmaker the opportunity to live, work, and find inspiration in two countries. The initiative is in collaboration with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and will begin in 2017.   The international exchange programme will expand the creative reach and opportunities for the participants of TIFF’s Len Blum Residency in Toronto and Medienboard’s Artist-in-Residence in ...

 

The Berlinale Remembers John Hurt

The Berlin International Film Festival is presenting a special screening to commemorate the recently deceased actor John Hurt. Since the 1990s he had attended the Berlinale with regularity and starred in twelve films presented at the festival.   The British actor is considered one of the most brilliant performers of the stage and screen in the last 50 years. Early in his career he gained international acclaim as a character actor. His roles in Midnight Express (dir: Alan Parker, 1978) a...

 

TIME TRAP. Created by Mark Dennis and Ben Foster.

TIME TRAP   Lost in the depths of the unknown and trapped in a time warp while trying to rescue their mentor Professor Hopper, a group of brave archeology students must survive the guardians of the fountain of youth and defy the laws of time to survive and escape in this sci-fi action adventure thrill ride reminiscent of Goonies, Lost in Space and Journey To the Center of the Earth.    GENRE:  Action/Sci-Fi DIRECTOR:  Mark Dennis, Ben Foster PRODUCERS:&...

 

Catalan Films & TV Line-up!

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"INCONTROL" EFM Film Market Debut from Devilworks

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Discussion with Oscar Nominee Lone Scherfig on new ways for audience engagement

Do not miss the public discussion with Oscar Nominee Lone Scherfig on Sat 11th February at 10AM at the Meistersaal, between Potsdamer Platz and Martin Gropius Bau: HOW TO ATTRACT AUDIENCES IN A CHANGING CINEMA LANDSCAPE - FRESH IDEAS FOR STORYTELLING AND OUTREACH. A discussion with Lone Scherfig, Julie Bergeron and Katja Eichinger. In the face of continually changing viewing habits, sticking to the existing standards of cinema is not enough. Instead, we need to profoundly challenge the ways w...

 

Panorama World Premiere - DISCREET - psychosexual drama by Travis Matthews (Interior.Leather.Bar)

2017 Berlinale / Panorama Section World Premiere DISCREET A film by Travis Mathews  USA / 2017 / 80 min  / Drama / Color / English The only U.S. narrative film in Panorama at this year's Berlinale, DISCREET (World Premiere) is a searing, Texas-set psychosexual thriller from filmmaking provocateur Travis Mathews (Interior.Leather Bar, I Want Your Love). A startling and  complex work, DISCREET is a study of one man's d...

 

THE EXCHANGE acquired international sales rights for the movie WE'RE JUST MARRIED and attached Chris Messina

Brian O'Shea, The Exchange CEO, announced today that THE EXCHANGE acquired international sales rights for the movie WE'RE JUST MARRIED and attached Chris Messina (ARGO, VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA) as one of the leads, joining Lily Rabe (American Horror Story).   Messina is represented by WME and Gendler & Kelly. The Exchange will be introducing the title at the upcoming 2017 European Film Market in Berlin, February 9-17, 2017.   WME Global is handling domestic rights....

 

Timothy Olyphant joins the movie BEEF.

 

Brian O'Shea, The Exchange CEO, announced today that THE EXCHANGE attached Timothy Olyphant (Justified, The Santa Clarita Diet) to co-star with Thomas Mann (ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, KONG: SKULL ISLAND) to the movie BEEF.   WME Global is handling domestic rights. Olyphant is currently starring in and serves as an Executive Producer on Netflix's new dark comedy series "Santa Clarita Diet" which launched on Friday, February 3rd, 2...

 

PATRIOT by Steve Conrad world premiere as Berlinale Special Series

(USA / Czech Republic 2016) English 98 min - colour     John is a capable, by no means squeamish undercover agent with an insidious disinclination for his job. His latest assignment takes him into the maze of international diplomacy. And yet he’d much rather pursue a career as a singer of morbid folk songs.   With: Michael Dorman - John Tavner Kurtwood Smith - Mr. Claret Michael Chernus - Edward Tavner Kathleen Munroe - Alice Taylor Aliette Opheim - Agathe Albans...

 

1945 by Ferenc Török - International Premiere @ PANORAMA

1945 by Ferenc Török On a sweltering August day in 1945, villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk’s son. Meanwhile, two Orthodox Jews arrive at the village train station with mysterious boxes labelled "fragrances." The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village’s deported Jews and expects them to demand their unjustly acquired property back, originally lost during the second World War. Other villagers are afraid more survivo...

 

The Matadors by George Pan Andreas from GPA INTERNATIONAL

 

"THE MATADORS" - Trailer to watch now: THE MATADORS MOTION PICTURE TRAILER We have the most exciting Motion Picture of the year and the first BULL FIGHTING big Film since the last 25 years entitled “THE MATADORS” an original story. This Story is about three boys from around the world all following their dreams and become world famous Matadors. A real story. El Pana the Worlds most famous Matador (Starring) has been AWARDED from the President of MEXICO the &ldquo...

 

Tiger Girl: A Martial Arthouse story about two girls Opening film of the Panorama Special

WORLD PREMIERE     Director: Jacob Lass, Germany, 2017, 90 Minutes, Color, 5.1   Tiger Girl (Germany, 2017) the FOGMA-style feature film pictures the story of two girls, the wild outcast Tiger and the quiet Vanilla. In Tiger Girl the actors clash with a documentary style real work environment and choreographed martial arts light up the screen with energizing tension. The second film of German filmmaker Jakob Lass will celebrate its world premiere as co-opening film in the Pano...

 

 

Mike Ott's California Dreams World premiering at Berlin Critics' Week

CALIFORNIA DREAMS World Premiere (USA) / Documentary Comedy Berlin Critics Week | 85 min Director: Mike Ott (ACTOR MARTINEZ, LAKE LOS ANGELES) Subjects: Cory Zacharia, Kevin ‘K-NINE’ Gilger, Neil Harley, Patrick Llaguno Synopsis: From acclaimed director Mike Ott (LAKE LOS ANGELES, ACTOR MARTINEZ) comes the new comedy documentary feature CALIFORNIA DREAMS, presenting five unique individuals in pursuit of a big life change. Through audit...

 

Akin Omotoso’s ‘Vaya' selected for Berlin

Akin Omotoso is making his mark in the film world with well received films like God is African, Man on Ground and the award winning romantic comedy Tell Me Sweet Something, his latest film Vaya has been selected alongside some of Hollywood’s greatest, for the Toronto International Film Festival. Based on real stories, Vaya weaves three separate plots that intersect in a gripping, edgy and deeply moving story about coming to the city and struggling to survive. It’s about strangers w...

 

Flanders Films at EFM

Join us at EFM booth G4  Discover some of the most exciting fiction made in Flanders and Brussels, Belgium shown at this year's European Film Market in Berlin!   ...

 

Russian World Vision line up at EFM 2017

OIL PAINTING Action/Adventure 80 min., Russia, USA, 2016     Nikolay is a middle-aged retired army officer working as a security guard. He’s honest, principled and experienced, and having a ha...

 

Eye on Films at EFM Berlin 2017, Line Up

 

 

EFA celebrates its 30th anniversary and campaigns for Oleg Sentsov’s release with a screening of THE TRIAL

Solidarity Instead of Flowers: European Film Academy Turns 30   As part of the section Berlinale Special, the Berlinale and the European Film Academy present THE TRIAL: THE STATE OF RUSSIA VS OLEG SENTSOV Premiere at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in the presence of Imprisoned Director’s Cousin, Lawyer, Producers and Friends    In May 2014, the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was in..

 

Awarded Cuban director Fernando Pérez will present his new film ULTIMOS DIAS EN LA HABANA in Berlinale Special

ICAIC and Wanda Vision are proud to announce the selection of Fernando Pérez’s film, ÚLTIMOS DÍAS EN LA HABANA (Last days in Havana) at the forthcoming BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL which takes place from 9 to 19 February 2017. The film received the Special Jury Award and Best Soundtrack Award last December at the Havana Film Festival and will be screened in the Berlinale Special section.   Downtown Havana. The heart of Havana today. Miguel (45 ...

 

Cine Argentino at Berlinale 2017

PANORAMA PENDULAR | PENDULAR Julia Murat An old abandoned factory with a large industrial warehouse. An orange strip, glued to the floor, splits the area in half. On the right, a sculpture atelier; on the left, a dance studio. The factory also includes a small living area for the two resident artists. The division of this space is the driving force behind Pendular’s narrative. Initially, the two characters get along fine but, as the narrative advances, their pasts rise to the...

 

 

A LOOK AT PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS

First Focus on EFM 2017

Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters, the Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller, Jury President Paul Verhoeven and Festival Director Dieter Kosslick will open the 67th Berlin International Film Festival at the Berlinale Palast at 7.30 pm on February 9. During the Opening Gala, the International Jury will be introduced. In addition to Paul Verhoeven (director, screenwriter, The Netherlands), Dora Bouchoucha Fourati (producer, Tunisia), Olafur Eliasson (artist, Iceland), Maggie Gyllenhaal (actress, USA), Julia Jentsch (actress, Germany), Diego Luna (actor, director, Mexico) und Wang Quan’an (director, screenwriter, People’s Republic of China). Anke Engelke will host the evening. The event will be broadcasted live on television by ZDF/3sat and via www.berlinale.de.

Following the Opening Gala Django by Etienne Comar will have its world premiere. The director and his film team, including the actors Alex Brendemühl, Cécile de France, Reda Kateb, Bim Bam Merstein, Beáta Palya and Jan Henrik Stahlberg will present the film in the Berlinale Palast.

The members of the International Jury and the GWFF Best First Feature Award Jury, director Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala), French actress Clotilde Courau and director and producer Mahmoud Sabbagh (Saudi Arabia) are all expected on the Red Carpet. Also the Jury members of the Glashütte Original Dokumentarfilmpeis, Daniela Michel (Mexico), Laura Poitras (USA) und Samir (Iraq / Swiss), will be there. A number of prominent German politicians and ambassadors have also announced their attendance.

Other international and national guests are also anticipated: Mario Adorf, Fatih Akin, Thomas Arslan, Hartmut Becker, Iris Berben, Senta Berger, Anne Zohra Berrached, Sebastian Blomberg, Can Dündar, August Diehl, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Andreas Dresen, Katja Eichinger, Alexander Fehling, Veronica Ferres, Inka Friedrich, Liv Lisa Fries, Maria Furtwängler, Martina Gedeck, Jan Ole Gerster, Michael Gwisdek, Jella Haase, Fritzi Haberlandt, Monika Hansen-Sander, Corinna Harfouch, Leander Haußmann, André M. Hennicke, Hannah Herzsprung, Jutta Hoffmann, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Louis Hofmann, Henry Hübchen, Sandra Hüller, Hannes Jaenicke, Christian Jankowski, Odine Johne, Sibel Kekilli, Friederike Kempter, Burghart Klaußner, Herbert Knaup, Hanno Koffler, Juliane Köhler, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Thomas Kretschmann, David Kross, Frederick Lau, Alina Levshin, Enrico Lo Verso, Heike Makatsch, Jacob Matschenz, Ulrich Matthes, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Ursela Monn, Antoine Monot, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Nele Mueller-Stöfen, Wanja Mues, Jannis Niewöhner, Ulrich Noethen, Christiane Paul, Christian Petzold, Max Riemelt, Oskar Roehler, Andrea Sawatzki, James Schamus, Clemens Schick, Tom Schilling, Jenny Schily, Sebastian Schipper, Volker Schlöndorff, Maria Schrader, Emilia Schüle, Jannik Schümann, Marie-Lou Sellem, Robert Stadlober, Lilith Stangenberg, Jasmin Tabatabai, Aylin Tezel, Anna Thalbach, Rosalie Thomass, Antje Traue, Ludwig Trepte, Jördis Triebel, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Tom Tykwer, Justus von Dohnányi, Rosa von Praunheim, Nora von Waldstätten, Franziska Weisz, Wim Wenders, Lavinia Wilson, Ai Weiwei, Johanna Wokalek, Roland Zehrfeld, as well as many others.

Since it was founded in October 2004, the World Cinema Fund (WCF) has been committed to the development and support of cinema in regions with a weak filmmaking infrastructure, as well as for cultural diversity in German cinemas.

The goal is to support films that surprise with an unusual aesthetic approach, tell powerful stories and convey an authentic picture of their cultural heritage. Subsidies are available for both narrative and documentary films.

Three WCF-funded films are in this year‘s official Berlinale programme:
Competition: Félicité by Alain Gomis (France / Senegal / Belgium / Germany / Lebanon)
Panorama Opening Film: The Wound by John Trengove (South Africa / Germany / The Netherlands / France)

Panorama: Pendular by Julia Murat (Brazil / Argentina / France)

The WCF is active year round and traditionally holds a WCF Day during the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2017, that day is dedicated to the documentary universe and is called WCF DOC DAY.

Why a WCF DOC DAY? WCF provides production subsidies to both narrative and documentary film projects - and everything in-between. Does that make sense? It does - now more than ever. The WCF DOC DAY aims to tackle both theoretical and practical issues. To what extent does a documentary film reflect reality?  How do we define a documentary film? And how does the WCF deal with them? Our desire is to focus specifically, and with greater intensity, on exciting non-fiction film projects from the WCF regions.

Wednesday, February 15, 11.00 am – 2.00 pm
Filmmuseum Berlin - Deutsche Kinemathek, Potsdamer Str. 2, 4th floor

WORLD CINEMA FUND DOC DAY - The Challenge of the Real: What is Documentary?
Questioning the Meaning and the Interpretation of Reality
 

Welcome

Berlinale: Dieter Kosslick (Festival Director, tbc), Vincenzo Bugno (Project Manager WCF)

Federal Foreign Office: Dr Andreas Görgen (Director General of the Department for Culture and Communication)

German Federal Cultural Foundation: Dr Lutz Nitsche (Assistant to the Executive Board)

WCF documentary funding opportunities

Including:

• Keynote speech by Marta Andreu, director/producer (Barcelona): “The Documentary Gesture and the Sense of Beauty”
• Discussion with Raed Andoni, director (Ramallah / Paris)
• Keynote speech by Viola Shafik, director / film scholar / curator (Berlin / Cairo): “Dissecting the Arab Documentary”
• Discussion with Dieudo Hamadi, director (Kinshasa)

Moderating will be Vincenzo Bugno, Project Manager WCF
In English / Free admittance, priority for accredited festival guests

Berlinale World Cinema Fund since 2004

In the last twelve years, the WCF has awarded production or distribution subsidies to a total of 160 projects chosen from 2,888 submissions, from Africa, Latin America, the Mideast, Central and Southeast Asia and the Caucasus. Additional initiatives have been launched to complement the traditional WCF subsidy programme. Among these are WCF Europe, started in 2015 thanks to the support of Creative Europe / MEDIA Programme of the European Union, and in 2016, funding from the German Foreign Office enabled the launch of WCF Africa, providing support for production from sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival, in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office, with further support by the Goethe-Institut.

The special WCF Europe programme was launched with the support of the European Commission’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

Thanks to additional funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, the special programme WCF Africa was started in 2016.

The distinguished International Film Festival- Berlinale - opens today with it's 67 edition.

This year’s Jury President is veteran Dutch director and screenwriter, Paul Verhoeven, known for Basic Instinct, and his latest film Elle, which received an oscar nomination for best actress Isabelle Huppert.

Jury President and Festival Director Dieter Kosslick will open the 67th Berlin International Film Festival Festival at the Berlinale Palast at 7.30 pm on February 9. During the Opening Gala, the International Jury will be introduced. Anke Engelke will host the evening in addition to Paul Verhoeven, Dora Bouchoucha Fourati (producer, Tunisia), Olafur Eliasson (artist, Iceland), Maggie Gyllenhaal (actress, USA), Julia Jentsch (actress, Germany), Diego Luna (actor, director, Mexico) and Wang Quan’an (director, screenwriter, People’s Republic of China).

Opening film will be Django, by Etienne Comar; the film focuses on famous guitarist Django Reinhardt’s flight from German- occupied Paris. 18 of the 24 films selected for Competition will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival. Anticipated  international premieres include Danny Boyle’s very anticipated “Trainspotting: T2,” sequence and the world premiere of James Mangold’s "Logan" starring Hugh Jackman. Both films will play out of competition.

As usual, the festival will have the Berlinale Shorts, Forum, Generation, Retrospective, Panorama, art exhibitions, with several more programs in collaboration with the European Film Market (EFM), Co-Production market and World Fund.

Three personalities will be awarded at the Berlinale Camera: film producer and distributor Nansun Shi (Hong Kong, China), actor Geoffrey Rush (Australia), and film critic and author Samir Farid (Egypt).

The event will be broadcasted live on television by the German channels ZDF/3sat.

FilmFestivals will attend the renown festival to cover it all.

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review by Lia Fietz

by Martin I. Petrov 

One of the films premiering on the Berlinale red carpet today is The Dinner starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Hall. The film is directed by Oren Moverman and based on the novel by Herman Koch. 

Initially the film had been developed for Cate Blanchett, who had expressed interest in having her directorial debut, but was later attached to Moverman. 

A lot of interesting facts were mentioned during the official press conference this afternoon, among which Richard Gere referred to working with one of the best directors of his career. “Never felt pressure working with him. Quite short in terms of time but felt so easy.” And he continued, “If you don't trust your colleagues there's no way to build anything. But the director is responsible for creating this atmosphere, and that’s where projects fail or succeed.” 

The actor also admitted that Oren Moverman told him not to read the book. “My challenge was to keep the character alive throughout and to take over the story at certain point.” 

Moverman answered a question about the challenges of adapting a noel of this kind for the cinema saying that “When there is a theatrical aspect to a film it is always better to open it up a bit. That's why I chose to work a lot with flashbacks.” explaining that he didn’t limit the film to the dinner table but used a social background to tie the story. 

Richard Gere closed the press conference with an openly political message, after being referred to as an activist and humanitarian from the audience. “The number of hate crimes  in the US increased significantly when Donald Trump started running for president. We have to be very careful with how we talk to each other; Refugee and terrorist have now the same meaning in the US thanks to Mr. Trump; we are afraid of helping and giving someone a refuge. We have to embrace each other.” 

Loic escaped briefly for Sushi leaving the floor to his team and the DJ...The party was live till very late (early)!

Animation Day in Cannes colleagues Laurie Gordon and Martin Petrov (Animaze and WOFF Festivals)

EFA colleagues Mike Downey and Bruno Chatelin

Oren Moverman (Director, Screenwriter)
Richard Gere (Actor) 
Laura Linney (Actress) 
Steve Coogan (Actor) 
Moderation: Jenni Zylka

Full version: http://bit.ly/2lxD6zm

Some impressions of the opening ceremony of the Berlinale 2017.

Full version: http://bit.ly/2kdsrZy