"These are not just worthwhile films to see. These are the instances of forgotten films which truly belong within the highest echelon that the art has to offer. This is a celebration of cinema." There is always more to watch! Always. But have you seen these films? Probably not. While every movie website prides itself on finding & highlighting the best films you haven't seen, there's always more. Lost in the mix, forgotten by most, but not by everyone. The Greatest Films You Don't Know is a video essay made by "The Cinema Cartography". They highlight nine great films, and includes a brief intro and discussion about each one (and why they're so special). Out of all of these, I've only ever heard of one before: The Cremator, directed by Czech filmmaker Juraj Herz. I actually was lucky to see this one at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival a few years back during a retrospective.
- 11/9/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Bouncing back in live form after two cancellations caused by Covid safety measures last year, the 55th edition of the Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival has kept its core values intact but with significant new formatting.
Kviff’s most radical departure from long tradition — ending its dedicated documentary section and blending non-fiction films into the Crystal Globe and East of the West competition sections — was “a serious decision, which took us a few years to make,” says artistic director Karel Och.
But, he says, the fest is satisfied that the documentaries now being weighed by the two juries are worthy of their new role.
“Considering the types of documentaries we aim to highlight, the ambition, the level of script and directing,” says Och, they are “absolutely comparable with the non-docs. The distinction and a separate doc ‘ghetto’ was no longer necessary.”
Another challenge in a year full of them was...
Kviff’s most radical departure from long tradition — ending its dedicated documentary section and blending non-fiction films into the Crystal Globe and East of the West competition sections — was “a serious decision, which took us a few years to make,” says artistic director Karel Och.
But, he says, the fest is satisfied that the documentaries now being weighed by the two juries are worthy of their new role.
“Considering the types of documentaries we aim to highlight, the ambition, the level of script and directing,” says Och, they are “absolutely comparable with the non-docs. The distinction and a separate doc ‘ghetto’ was no longer necessary.”
Another challenge in a year full of them was...
- 8/18/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Sweden’s Plattform Produktion is teaming up with Dutch production group Lemming Film on director Ena Sendijarević’s colonial drama “Sweet Dreams.”
The film, which is set to shoot on location in Southeast Asia next year, follows tumultuous events triggered by the death of a Dutch sugar plantation owner who ends up leaving his Indian Ocean island estate to his young illegitimate son – the child of his Indonesian housemaid – upending not only his Dutch family’s plans but also established hierarchies in a single stroke.
Plattform, whose credits include “The Square” and “Force Majeure,” joins fellow co-producers A Private View from Belgium and Dutch pubcaster Vpro.
For Sendijarević, the film represents her contribution to the movement that is critically examining the past and the relationship between the West and the rest of the world and its continuing impact.
Following the death of the plantation owner and family patriarch, “everyone’s...
The film, which is set to shoot on location in Southeast Asia next year, follows tumultuous events triggered by the death of a Dutch sugar plantation owner who ends up leaving his Indian Ocean island estate to his young illegitimate son – the child of his Indonesian housemaid – upending not only his Dutch family’s plans but also established hierarchies in a single stroke.
Plattform, whose credits include “The Square” and “Force Majeure,” joins fellow co-producers A Private View from Belgium and Dutch pubcaster Vpro.
For Sendijarević, the film represents her contribution to the movement that is critically examining the past and the relationship between the West and the rest of the world and its continuing impact.
Following the death of the plantation owner and family patriarch, “everyone’s...
- 9/8/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Bungalow (Ulrich Köhler)
Ulrich Köhler remains underseen—even by the standards of Berlin School brethren Christian Petzold and Maren Ade—and a 4K restoration of his 2002 debut Bungalow comes at the right time: its story of isolation, frayed connections, and romantic infatuation foreground an only idyllic-seeming summer getaway. 18 years on, not a shred of it feels dated or resolved, down to a conclusion that puts one in mind of ’70s American classics.
Where to Stream: Grasshopper Film
Czechoslovak New Wave
A period of creative fervor and political deconstruction like few others in cinema, Czechoslovak New Wave is now getting a spotlight on The Criterion Channel. Selections includes Black Peter (Miloš Forman,...
Bungalow (Ulrich Köhler)
Ulrich Köhler remains underseen—even by the standards of Berlin School brethren Christian Petzold and Maren Ade—and a 4K restoration of his 2002 debut Bungalow comes at the right time: its story of isolation, frayed connections, and romantic infatuation foreground an only idyllic-seeming summer getaway. 18 years on, not a shred of it feels dated or resolved, down to a conclusion that puts one in mind of ’70s American classics.
Where to Stream: Grasshopper Film
Czechoslovak New Wave
A period of creative fervor and political deconstruction like few others in cinema, Czechoslovak New Wave is now getting a spotlight on The Criterion Channel. Selections includes Black Peter (Miloš Forman,...
- 7/3/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Criterion restores a cornerstone of the Czech New Wave with Juraj Herz’s classic The Cremator, a chilly dark comedy set in 1930s Prague which features a morbid, fanatical crematorium manager who embraces the rise of Nazism. Featuring an eerie performance from Rudolf Hrusinsky, its paralleling of totalitarian ideology aligns with the rising nationalistic fervor spanning the globe today.
Shot and edited with striking, idiosyncratic frames by editor Jaromir Janacek and cinematographer Stanislav Milota, it’s an exercise in elegant morbidity, a Kafkaesque classic on the cyclical formations of dangerous regimes.
Based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks, crematorium manager Karel Kopfrkingl (Hrusinsky) finds himself swept up by the radicalization beginning to sweep Europe.…...
Shot and edited with striking, idiosyncratic frames by editor Jaromir Janacek and cinematographer Stanislav Milota, it’s an exercise in elegant morbidity, a Kafkaesque classic on the cyclical formations of dangerous regimes.
Based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks, crematorium manager Karel Kopfrkingl (Hrusinsky) finds himself swept up by the radicalization beginning to sweep Europe.…...
- 5/12/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Horror films aren’t only about vampires and goblins — Czech director Juraj Herz’s mind-chilling study of a Fascist opportunist communicates truths about aberrant psychology and Fascists, that audiences would never read in print. A bourgeois burner of cadavers leverages his Reich-useful trade into his own little warped empire of evil. Karl Kopfringl’s modus operandi hardly needs to change, to conform to Nazi standards — the elitist hypocrite already has both his family and employees passively accepting his sick ideas about cremation as the solution to all human ills. Cinematically brilliant, this late picture from the Czech New Wave is one of the best movies ever about conformists, collaborators, and assorted other ghouls.
The Cremator
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1023
1969 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / Spalovač mrtvol / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date April 21, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová, Miloš Vognič, Zora Božinavá.
Cinematography: Stanislav Milota
Film Editor:...
The Cremator
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1023
1969 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / Spalovač mrtvol / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date April 21, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová, Miloš Vognič, Zora Božinavá.
Cinematography: Stanislav Milota
Film Editor:...
- 4/28/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
For the most part, films take many years to create, marinate, produce, and release upon the world, in varying steps. Filmed in 1968 and released in 1970, The Cremator was Czechoslovakia's submission to the 1970 Academy Awards (Foreign Film) before winning Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography at Sitges in 1972. This film was adaptated from the novel of the same title by Ladislav Fuks. A bit more background, which may help one understand this film: The Cremator was helmed by Czech New Wave director Juraj Herz, who was a Holocaust survivor. The film itself centers on the... antihero and titular cremator, Kopfrkingl (Rudolf Hrusinsky,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/17/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Film at Lincoln Center
“Another Country: Outsider Visions of America” offers films by Demy, Resnais, Antonioni, Varda and more.
IFC Center
The rather staggering Abbas Kiarostami retrospective continues, with screenings of the Koker trilogy and more.
Quad Cinema
Jacques Rivette’s masterpiece Joan the Maid has begun screening in a fantastic-looking 4K restoration.
Metrograph
Written by Paul and Leonard Schrader,...
Film at Lincoln Center
“Another Country: Outsider Visions of America” offers films by Demy, Resnais, Antonioni, Varda and more.
IFC Center
The rather staggering Abbas Kiarostami retrospective continues, with screenings of the Koker trilogy and more.
Quad Cinema
Jacques Rivette’s masterpiece Joan the Maid has begun screening in a fantastic-looking 4K restoration.
Metrograph
Written by Paul and Leonard Schrader,...
- 8/2/2019
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Cinematographer Vladimír Smutný Photo: Courtesy of Kviff/Ludek Hudec Karlovy Vary Film Festival has made its first programme announcements this week - including tributes to Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine and Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný.
The Czech festival - which runs from June 28 to July 6 - will also commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution by screening a selection of films shot between 1989 and 1992. It will also hold a premiere screening of restored Czech classic The Cremator, directed by Czechoslovak New Wave filmmaker Juraj Herz, which describes the transformation of an ordinary man into a psychopathic killer.
Smutný will receive the President's Award for his contribution to cinema, with his work on films including Encounter With The Shadows (1982), End Of The Lonely Farm Berghof (1983) and Kolya (1996) as well as more recent work Dark Blue World (2001), Barefoot (2017) and Golden Sting (2018).
The retrospective dedicated to Chahine, who died in 2008, will feature...
The Czech festival - which runs from June 28 to July 6 - will also commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution by screening a selection of films shot between 1989 and 1992. It will also hold a premiere screening of restored Czech classic The Cremator, directed by Czechoslovak New Wave filmmaker Juraj Herz, which describes the transformation of an ordinary man into a psychopathic killer.
Smutný will receive the President's Award for his contribution to cinema, with his work on films including Encounter With The Shadows (1982), End Of The Lonely Farm Berghof (1983) and Kolya (1996) as well as more recent work Dark Blue World (2001), Barefoot (2017) and Golden Sting (2018).
The retrospective dedicated to Chahine, who died in 2008, will feature...
- 4/18/2019
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Festival will also pay tribute to Velvet Revolution, unveils industry strands.
The 54th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 28-July 6) will honour Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný and Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.
Smutný, a seven-time winner of the Czech Lion for best cinematography, will receive the Kviff President’s Award. His best-known work includes films with Jiří Svoboda and Jan and Zdeněk Svěrák.
Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1926-2008), a five-time Palme d’Or nominee and Silver Bear winner (for Alexandria Why? in 1979), will be honoured at Kviff with a retrospective of 11 remastered films, comprising early lesser-known works and internationally recognised classics.
The...
The 54th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 28-July 6) will honour Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný and Egyptian director Youssef Chahine.
Smutný, a seven-time winner of the Czech Lion for best cinematography, will receive the Kviff President’s Award. His best-known work includes films with Jiří Svoboda and Jan and Zdeněk Svěrák.
Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1926-2008), a five-time Palme d’Or nominee and Silver Bear winner (for Alexandria Why? in 1979), will be honoured at Kviff with a retrospective of 11 remastered films, comprising early lesser-known works and internationally recognised classics.
The...
- 4/17/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
The 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicked off what will be a string of announcements about the annual Cannes-follow up fest this morning highlighted by the news a restored version of the classic Czech film “The Cremator” will be part of the program.
Juraj Herz’s 1969 drama is a seminal work of the Czech New Wave and drew the ire of the communist government of that era.
Continue reading 2019 Karlovy Vary Film Fest Reveals Tributes & ‘The Cremator’ Restoration at The Playlist.
Juraj Herz’s 1969 drama is a seminal work of the Czech New Wave and drew the ire of the communist government of that era.
Continue reading 2019 Karlovy Vary Film Fest Reveals Tributes & ‘The Cremator’ Restoration at The Playlist.
- 4/16/2019
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival is to honor Czech cinematographer Vladimír Smutný, whose credits include Jan Svěrák’s Oscar-winning “Kolya.” The festival will also pay tribute to the career of the late Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine.
Smutný will receive the festival’s President’s Award. He started his career in the 1980s working with directors Jiří Svoboda, on films like “End of the Lonely Farm Berghof” (1983), winner of the jury prize at Karlovy Vary, and Karel Kachyňa.
As well as “Kolya” (1996), he worked with Svěrák on “Dark Blue World” (2001), “Empties” (2007), “Kooky” (2010), “Three Brothers” (2014), and “Barefoot” (2017).
Other directors he worked with include Ivan Fíla, Jiří Vejdělek and Václav Marhoul.
A Chahine retrospective at Karlovy Vary will feature 11 films restored by the director’s production house, Misr International Films, along with other institutions such as La Cinémathèque française and Cineteca di Bologna.
“A thorough look at the work of Youssef Chahine has...
Smutný will receive the festival’s President’s Award. He started his career in the 1980s working with directors Jiří Svoboda, on films like “End of the Lonely Farm Berghof” (1983), winner of the jury prize at Karlovy Vary, and Karel Kachyňa.
As well as “Kolya” (1996), he worked with Svěrák on “Dark Blue World” (2001), “Empties” (2007), “Kooky” (2010), “Three Brothers” (2014), and “Barefoot” (2017).
Other directors he worked with include Ivan Fíla, Jiří Vejdělek and Václav Marhoul.
A Chahine retrospective at Karlovy Vary will feature 11 films restored by the director’s production house, Misr International Films, along with other institutions such as La Cinémathèque française and Cineteca di Bologna.
“A thorough look at the work of Youssef Chahine has...
- 4/16/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Věra Chytilová shooting Time Is RelentlessIn Something Different (1963), housewife Vera has had it with her emotionally unavailable husband, exhausting chores, and child-rearing, so she starts an affair. A broken woman, she bursts into sporadic fits of giggling, scaring both men in her life. Prefiguring to some extent Alain Tanner's La salamandre, this laughter lifts the veil over the heroine's existential crisis, one so reluctant to be put into words and yet occasionally susceptible to movie images. Over the almost 50-year span of her career, we've heard Věra Chytilová's laugh so many times that it deserves to be catalogued. Daisies (1966) gave the censors plenty of reasons to ban it, but the derisive cackling of two girls at war with common sense would've sufficed. You can hear the sound as early as her student film Caterwauling (1960), made at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Famu). There,...
- 3/8/2019
- MUBI
Juraj Herz, the great Czech filmmaker who died Monday, is best known for 1969's The Cremator, and had a long association with black comedy, horror, and dark fantasy. His work deserves to be better known: certainly The Night Overtakes Me deserves to be seen in something better than the fuzzy off-air recording I was able to see.Like many of his peers, Herz had a shaky relationship with the government censors under communist rule, and had been formally banned from making films in the mid-eighties. Then he heard that a project was in the pipeline dealing with the communist teacher Jožka Jabůrková, who perished in Ravensbrück. Herz had been trying for years to make a film about this notorious Nazi concentration camp, on account of his own imprisonment there as a child of ten. His original desire had been to make a kind of black comedy: whenever he got together with fellow survivors,...
- 4/12/2018
- MUBI
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSWith Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina in Pierrot le fou on the official poster for the 71st Cannes Film Festival, all signs point to Jean-Luc Godard's new film, Le livre d'image, premiering there this May.Isao Takahata—the master filmmaker, animator, and co-founder of Studio Ghibli—has sadly left us. Jasper Sharp has penned a thoughtful, thorough obituary for The Guardian.The Czech New Wave director Juraj Herz has also died, reports Czech Journal.Hirokazu Kore-eda's highly productive filmmaking pace continues with a new project, and The Playlist reports that Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve, and perhaps even Ethan Hawke, are aboard.Recommended VIEWINGTerry Gilliam's decades-in-the-making dream project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, is finally near. Above is the raucous first trailer led by the aptly paired duo of Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver.
- 4/11/2018
- MUBI
Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode features panel conversations and 1:1 interviews offering insights on movies that premiered in a particular season of a year in the past, which were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this episode, David is joined by Martin Kessler, Jordan Essoe, Doug McCambridge, Jason Beamish and Trevor Berrett to discuss six titles from the Winter of 1969: Jaromil Jires’s The Joke, Juraj Herz’s The Cremator, Wim Winders’s Silver City Revisited, Fellini: A Director’s Notebook, Luis Bunuel’s The Milky Way and Pierre Etaix’s Le Grand Amour.
Episode Time Markers: Introduction: 0:00:00 – 0:09:47 The Joke: 0:09:48 – 0:36:30 Silver City Revisited: 0:36:31 – 0:54:30 The Cremator: 0:54:31 – 1:17:...
Episode Time Markers: Introduction: 0:00:00 – 0:09:47 The Joke: 0:09:48 – 0:36:30 Silver City Revisited: 0:36:31 – 0:54:30 The Cremator: 0:54:31 – 1:17:...
- 9/20/2017
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Hi there, readers and listeners! This post is just a quick update to let you know about the plans I have to take my blogging and podcasting hobby in a new direction. Since 2009 I’ve been working my way through the films of the Criterion Collection in the chronological order of their release in my Criterion Reflections blog, which I started on Blogspot and transitioned over to this site last year. I’ve also had more than a few side projects and diversions along the way, like The Eclipse Viewer podcast and dozens of review essays I’ve written for CriterionCast.
Now that I’ve run out of Eclipse Series movies to talk about, I need a new task to throw myself into. So I’ve decided to transform my blog into a podcast, where I will pick up right where I left off in my most recent Criterion Reflections review of Mr. Freedom,...
Now that I’ve run out of Eclipse Series movies to talk about, I need a new task to throw myself into. So I’ve decided to transform my blog into a podcast, where I will pick up right where I left off in my most recent Criterion Reflections review of Mr. Freedom,...
- 8/6/2017
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Above: 1965 Czech poster for Three Fables of Love (Blasetti, Bromberger, Clair, Berlanga, Italy/Spain, 1962). Designer: Karel Teissig.Two events provoked this article. First of all, last week I saw the wonderful 1963 Czech fable The Cassandra Cat (a.k.a. When the Cat Comes) at New York’s newest cinephile hotspot, the Metrograph. In this charming New Wave satire a cat wearing dark glasses is brought into a small town by a circus troupe and, when his glasses are removed, the townspeople are revealed in their true colors: namely neon shades of purple, yellow and pink, each representing their vices or virtues. The highlight of the film for me, aside from a psychedelic freak-out dance party in the middle of the film, comes when all the children of the town march through the street bearing large drawings of cats. Chris Marker would have loved this film.The second event was the...
- 3/30/2016
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Horror films form a very niche and minor part of Czech cinema. Despite boasting a small list of interesting horror films, such as Juraj Herz famous The Cremator or his gothic tale Morgiana, contemporary endeavours failed to please audiences and critics alike. Leaving the debate about the state of genre production in small countries aside, recently two films hit the dark rooms across the country; one armed with a heavy advertising campaign, while the other appeared seemingly out of the blue. This latter film follows a group of students investigating an abandoned -- and naturally haunted -- asylum, Saint Nicolas (the asylum and title of the film), and was done with almost no budget after a failed crowdfunding campaign, by a director lacking vocational training....
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 3/16/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Based on their outstanding careers forged on international co-productions, 24 up-and-coming players in the European film industry have been selected to take part in European Film Promotion's (Efp) networking platform Producers on the Move. Now in its 15th year, Efp spotlights emerging European producers at the Cannes Film Festival from May 17-19 and helps them embark on successful cooperation with their similarly ambitious Producers on the Move colleagues from all over Europe.
The programas been financially supported by the Media Program (2007-2013) of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations who each made a careful selection of their national participants according to specific criteria.
The schedule of Producers on the Move includes working sessions, one-to-one speed-dating meetings and various opportunities to exchange knowledge and follow up discussions on future projects. In addition, Efp will be teaming up with the European cultural channel Arte and the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages for Producers on the Move. For the first time, Eurimages has prepared a case study exclusively for Efp's program to be discussed under the direction of Eurimages Executive Director Roberto Olla.
He points out the importance of programs such as Producers on the Move:
“This is the 4th consecutive year that Eurimages is involved with this initiative which perfectly marries our objectives of encouraging co-operation between producers so as to stimulate cinematographic co-productions and of promoting their international distribution. Further to the success of the collaboration at the Cannes Festival, the Eurimages Fund has strengthened its partnership with European Film Promotion through other initiatives which also seek to unite professionals from the European film industry in order to participate in its development on an international level.”
Looking back at previous editions, Efp's programme results each year in several new trans-national co-productions and gives the producers a higher profile in Cannes. For 2013, almost all of the participants are still in contact with one another and 17 co-productions are in development.
One recent success story is the coming-of-age feature The Word, directed by Anna Kazejak and co-produced by two Producers on the Move from 2011, Lukasz Dzieciol(Opus Film, Poland) and Jesper Morthorst (Sf Film Production, Denmark). The film was released in Poland in March after its premiere at the Berlinale in the Generation sidebar.
Currently in post is Dirk Ohm - The Illusionist That Disappeared, directed by Bobbie Peers. The producer Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film As, Norway), joined forces for this film with her Producers on the Move colleague from 2011, Gian-Piero Ringel (Neue Road Movies, Germany) and the 2010 Producers on the Move, Lizette Jonjic (Migma Film, Sweden). Norway has scheduled the release for September 2014. Ekerhovd and Ringel also worked together for two further projects: Every Thing Will Be Fine by Wim Wenders and the six episodes for Cathedrals of Culture which have been presented at this year’s Berlinale.
The following producers were selected by the Efp member organizations:
Viktoria
Director: Maya Vitkova
Producer: Maya Vitkova
Viktoria Films, Bulgaria
selected by Bulgarian National Film Centre
Gangster of Love
Director: Nebojša Slijepcevic
Producer: Vanja Jambrović
Restart, Croatia
selected by Croation Audiovisual Centre
Burning Bush
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Producer: Tomáš Hrubỳ
Nutprodukce, Czech Republic
selected by Czech Film Center
Antboy
Director: Ask Hasselbalch
Producer: Eva Jakobsen
Nimbus Film, Denmark
selected by Danish Film Institute
Concrete Night
Director: Pirjo Honkasalo
Producer: Mark Lwoff
Bufo, Finland
selected by Finnish Film Foundation
Möbius
Director: Eric Rochant
Producer: Mathias Rubin
Récifilms, France
selected by UniFrance films
Brides
Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili
Producer: Tinatin Kajrishvili
Gemini, Georgia
selected by Georgian National Film Center
The Special Need
Director: Carlo Zoratti
Producer: Henning Kamm
Detailfilm, Germany
selected by German Films
Standing Aside, Watching
Director: Yorgos Servetas
Producer: Konstantin Kontovrakis
Heretic Creative Producer, Greece
selected by Greek Film Centre
Land of Storms
Director: Adam Csaszi
Producer: Eszter Gyárfás
Proton Cinema, Hungary
selected by Magyar Filmunió/ Hungarian National Film Fund
Metalhead
Director: Ragnar Bragason
Producer: Árni Filippusson
Mystery, Iceland
selected by Icelandic Fim Centre
You're Ugly Too
Director: Mark Noonan
Producer: John Keville
Sp Films, Ireland
selected by Irish Film Board
Black Souls
Director: Francesco Munzi
Producer: Olivia Musini
Cinemaundici, Italy
selected by Istituto Luce Cinecittà
Monument to Michael Jackson
Director: Darko Lungulov
Co-Producer: Ognen Antov
Dream Factory Macedonia, Fyr of Macedonia
selected by Macedonian Film Agency
The Ascent
Director: Nemanja Becanovic
Producer: Ivan Djurović
Artikulacija Production, Montenegro
selected by Ministry of Culture of Montenegro
Totally True Love
Director: Anne Sewitsky
Producer: Teréz Hollo-Klausen
Anna Kron Film, Norway
selected by Norwegian Film Institute
Fuck for Forest
Director: Michal Marczak
Producer: Mikołaj Pokromski
Pokromski Studio, Poland
selected by Polish Film Institute
Collider
Director: Jason Butler
Producer: Nuno Bernardo
beActive Entertainment, Portugal
selected by Ica I.P. / Portugal
Slovakia 2.0
Director: Iveta Grófová, Juraj Herz, Martin Šulík, Miro Jelok, Mišo Suchý, Ondrej Rudavský, Peter Kerekes, Peter Krištúfek, Viera Cákanyová, Zuzana Liová
Producer: Mátyás Prikler
MPhilms, Slovak Republic
selected by Slovak Film Institute
The Extraordinary Tale
Director: José F. Ortuño, Laura Alvea
Producer: Marta Velasco
Áralan Films, Spain
selected by Icaa / Spain
Beyond Beyond
Director: Esben Toft Jacobsen
Producer: Petter Lindblad
Snowcloud Films, Sweden
selected by Swedish Film Institute
Ate Ver La Luz
Director: Basil da Cunha
Producer: Elodie Brunner
Box Productions, Switzerland
selected by Swiss Films
Secrets of War
Director: Dennis Bots
Producer: David Bijker
Bijker Film & TV, The Netherlands
selected by Eye International
Weekend
Director: Andrew Haigh
Producer: Tristan Goligher
The Bureau Film Company, United Kingdom
selected by British Council...
The programas been financially supported by the Media Program (2007-2013) of the European Union and the participating Efp member organizations who each made a careful selection of their national participants according to specific criteria.
The schedule of Producers on the Move includes working sessions, one-to-one speed-dating meetings and various opportunities to exchange knowledge and follow up discussions on future projects. In addition, Efp will be teaming up with the European cultural channel Arte and the pan-European co-production fund Eurimages for Producers on the Move. For the first time, Eurimages has prepared a case study exclusively for Efp's program to be discussed under the direction of Eurimages Executive Director Roberto Olla.
He points out the importance of programs such as Producers on the Move:
“This is the 4th consecutive year that Eurimages is involved with this initiative which perfectly marries our objectives of encouraging co-operation between producers so as to stimulate cinematographic co-productions and of promoting their international distribution. Further to the success of the collaboration at the Cannes Festival, the Eurimages Fund has strengthened its partnership with European Film Promotion through other initiatives which also seek to unite professionals from the European film industry in order to participate in its development on an international level.”
Looking back at previous editions, Efp's programme results each year in several new trans-national co-productions and gives the producers a higher profile in Cannes. For 2013, almost all of the participants are still in contact with one another and 17 co-productions are in development.
One recent success story is the coming-of-age feature The Word, directed by Anna Kazejak and co-produced by two Producers on the Move from 2011, Lukasz Dzieciol(Opus Film, Poland) and Jesper Morthorst (Sf Film Production, Denmark). The film was released in Poland in March after its premiere at the Berlinale in the Generation sidebar.
Currently in post is Dirk Ohm - The Illusionist That Disappeared, directed by Bobbie Peers. The producer Maria Ekerhovd (Mer Film As, Norway), joined forces for this film with her Producers on the Move colleague from 2011, Gian-Piero Ringel (Neue Road Movies, Germany) and the 2010 Producers on the Move, Lizette Jonjic (Migma Film, Sweden). Norway has scheduled the release for September 2014. Ekerhovd and Ringel also worked together for two further projects: Every Thing Will Be Fine by Wim Wenders and the six episodes for Cathedrals of Culture which have been presented at this year’s Berlinale.
The following producers were selected by the Efp member organizations:
Viktoria
Director: Maya Vitkova
Producer: Maya Vitkova
Viktoria Films, Bulgaria
selected by Bulgarian National Film Centre
Gangster of Love
Director: Nebojša Slijepcevic
Producer: Vanja Jambrović
Restart, Croatia
selected by Croation Audiovisual Centre
Burning Bush
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Producer: Tomáš Hrubỳ
Nutprodukce, Czech Republic
selected by Czech Film Center
Antboy
Director: Ask Hasselbalch
Producer: Eva Jakobsen
Nimbus Film, Denmark
selected by Danish Film Institute
Concrete Night
Director: Pirjo Honkasalo
Producer: Mark Lwoff
Bufo, Finland
selected by Finnish Film Foundation
Möbius
Director: Eric Rochant
Producer: Mathias Rubin
Récifilms, France
selected by UniFrance films
Brides
Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili
Producer: Tinatin Kajrishvili
Gemini, Georgia
selected by Georgian National Film Center
The Special Need
Director: Carlo Zoratti
Producer: Henning Kamm
Detailfilm, Germany
selected by German Films
Standing Aside, Watching
Director: Yorgos Servetas
Producer: Konstantin Kontovrakis
Heretic Creative Producer, Greece
selected by Greek Film Centre
Land of Storms
Director: Adam Csaszi
Producer: Eszter Gyárfás
Proton Cinema, Hungary
selected by Magyar Filmunió/ Hungarian National Film Fund
Metalhead
Director: Ragnar Bragason
Producer: Árni Filippusson
Mystery, Iceland
selected by Icelandic Fim Centre
You're Ugly Too
Director: Mark Noonan
Producer: John Keville
Sp Films, Ireland
selected by Irish Film Board
Black Souls
Director: Francesco Munzi
Producer: Olivia Musini
Cinemaundici, Italy
selected by Istituto Luce Cinecittà
Monument to Michael Jackson
Director: Darko Lungulov
Co-Producer: Ognen Antov
Dream Factory Macedonia, Fyr of Macedonia
selected by Macedonian Film Agency
The Ascent
Director: Nemanja Becanovic
Producer: Ivan Djurović
Artikulacija Production, Montenegro
selected by Ministry of Culture of Montenegro
Totally True Love
Director: Anne Sewitsky
Producer: Teréz Hollo-Klausen
Anna Kron Film, Norway
selected by Norwegian Film Institute
Fuck for Forest
Director: Michal Marczak
Producer: Mikołaj Pokromski
Pokromski Studio, Poland
selected by Polish Film Institute
Collider
Director: Jason Butler
Producer: Nuno Bernardo
beActive Entertainment, Portugal
selected by Ica I.P. / Portugal
Slovakia 2.0
Director: Iveta Grófová, Juraj Herz, Martin Šulík, Miro Jelok, Mišo Suchý, Ondrej Rudavský, Peter Kerekes, Peter Krištúfek, Viera Cákanyová, Zuzana Liová
Producer: Mátyás Prikler
MPhilms, Slovak Republic
selected by Slovak Film Institute
The Extraordinary Tale
Director: José F. Ortuño, Laura Alvea
Producer: Marta Velasco
Áralan Films, Spain
selected by Icaa / Spain
Beyond Beyond
Director: Esben Toft Jacobsen
Producer: Petter Lindblad
Snowcloud Films, Sweden
selected by Swedish Film Institute
Ate Ver La Luz
Director: Basil da Cunha
Producer: Elodie Brunner
Box Productions, Switzerland
selected by Swiss Films
Secrets of War
Director: Dennis Bots
Producer: David Bijker
Bijker Film & TV, The Netherlands
selected by Eye International
Weekend
Director: Andrew Haigh
Producer: Tristan Goligher
The Bureau Film Company, United Kingdom
selected by British Council...
- 5/3/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
T.M.A. (Darkness)
Screenplay by Martin Nemec
Directed by Juraj Herz
Czech Republic, 2009
A story isn’t always just a story. As one becomes more and more of a horror aficionado this becomes abundantly clear. Horror, perhaps moreso than any other genre, relies heavily on atmosphere and emotion in lieu of story. T.M.A. fits in with this method, but it does something in its final half that is often the bane of a haphazardly made horror film. The film builds itself up as entirely about emotion and atmosphere and then shoehorns in a story. Any movie can have story together with atmosphere and emotion; it’s foolish to suggest otherwise. It’s just as foolish to think your film needs a story and to put one together piecemeal style so that said story makes no sense.
It’s not hyperbole to say that T.M.A.’s story doesn’t make any sense.
Screenplay by Martin Nemec
Directed by Juraj Herz
Czech Republic, 2009
A story isn’t always just a story. As one becomes more and more of a horror aficionado this becomes abundantly clear. Horror, perhaps moreso than any other genre, relies heavily on atmosphere and emotion in lieu of story. T.M.A. fits in with this method, but it does something in its final half that is often the bane of a haphazardly made horror film. The film builds itself up as entirely about emotion and atmosphere and then shoehorns in a story. Any movie can have story together with atmosphere and emotion; it’s foolish to suggest otherwise. It’s just as foolish to think your film needs a story and to put one together piecemeal style so that said story makes no sense.
It’s not hyperbole to say that T.M.A.’s story doesn’t make any sense.
- 4/17/2014
- by Bill Thompson
- SoundOnSight
Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida received the Skoda Film Prize for Best Film at Wiesbaden’s goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, which ended with the awards ceremony on Tuesday evening (April 15).
Ida, which had taken the prize for Best Narrative Film a day before at the Sarasota Film Festival in the Us, was released by Arsenal Film on 26 prints in German cinemas last Thursday (April 10) after opening goEast the previous evening.
The International Jury, headed by German-born producer Jan Harlan and including Russian actor Ivan Shvedoff, Ukrainian producer Dmytro Tiazhlov and Georgian film-maker Nana Ekvtimishvili and Hungarian film critic Ivan Forgacs, praised “a precise screenplay and the outstanding direction” of Pawlikowski’s Polish-language debut.
On announcing the winner, Harlan said that the whole jury was ¨agreed¨ and ¨elated¨ about giving the top honour to Pawlikowski’s film which includes a cash prize of € 10,000 for the producers.
Opus Film’s Ewa Puszczynska, the film’s...
Ida, which had taken the prize for Best Narrative Film a day before at the Sarasota Film Festival in the Us, was released by Arsenal Film on 26 prints in German cinemas last Thursday (April 10) after opening goEast the previous evening.
The International Jury, headed by German-born producer Jan Harlan and including Russian actor Ivan Shvedoff, Ukrainian producer Dmytro Tiazhlov and Georgian film-maker Nana Ekvtimishvili and Hungarian film critic Ivan Forgacs, praised “a precise screenplay and the outstanding direction” of Pawlikowski’s Polish-language debut.
On announcing the winner, Harlan said that the whole jury was ¨agreed¨ and ¨elated¨ about giving the top honour to Pawlikowski’s film which includes a cash prize of € 10,000 for the producers.
Opus Film’s Ewa Puszczynska, the film’s...
- 4/16/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Maximilian Schell dead at 83: Best Actor Oscar winner for ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ (photo: Maximilian Schell ca. 1960) Actor and filmmaker Maximilian Schell, best known for his Oscar-winning performance as the defense attorney in Stanley Kramer’s 1961 political drama Judgment at Nuremberg died at a hospital in Innsbruck, Austria, on February 1, 2014. According to his agent, Patricia Baumbauer, Schell died overnight following a "sudden and serious illness." Maximilian Schell was 83. Born on December 8, 1930, in Vienna, Maximilian Schell was the younger brother of future actor Carl Schell and Maria Schell, who would become an international film star in the 1950s (The Last Bridge, Gervaise, The Hanging Tree). Immy Schell, who would be featured in several television and film productions from the mid-’50s to the early ’90s, was born in 1935. Following Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, Schell’s parents, Swiss playwright Hermann Ferdinand Schell and Austrian stage actress Margarete Schell Noé,...
- 2/2/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Above: Eva Švankmajerová’s poster for Alice (Jan Švankmajer, Czechoslovakia, 1988).
The adage that behind every great man stands a great woman was rarely truer than in the case of the incomparable Czech animator/filmmaker Jan Švankmajer and his wife, the painter, ceramicist and writer Eva Švankmajerová (1940-2005). Eva Dvoráková met Švankmajer when she was 20 (he was 26 and working in experimental theater) and just out of college (she had studied drama at the music academy of Prague), married him the following year and for the next 45 years they were inseparable artistic collaborators. The director of a 2001 documentary about the Švankmajers, entitled Les chimères des Svankmajer, has said “The more I worked with Jan, the more I realised that the influence of Eva was essential. Their whole life is dedicated to their work, which takes on gigantic proportions, without separation.” (You can see Eva at work in this trailer for the film.
The adage that behind every great man stands a great woman was rarely truer than in the case of the incomparable Czech animator/filmmaker Jan Švankmajer and his wife, the painter, ceramicist and writer Eva Švankmajerová (1940-2005). Eva Dvoráková met Švankmajer when she was 20 (he was 26 and working in experimental theater) and just out of college (she had studied drama at the music academy of Prague), married him the following year and for the next 45 years they were inseparable artistic collaborators. The director of a 2001 documentary about the Švankmajers, entitled Les chimères des Svankmajer, has said “The more I worked with Jan, the more I realised that the influence of Eva was essential. Their whole life is dedicated to their work, which takes on gigantic proportions, without separation.” (You can see Eva at work in this trailer for the film.
- 11/9/2013
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Jiri Menzel (L) with Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (R)
While Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s first documentary Celluloid Man continues a successful run in international film festivals (upcoming screenings include Edinburgh and Shanghai), the filmmaker is neck deep into his second. This time, the ambitious subject of his documentary is the celebrated Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel.
It wasn’t easy for Dungarpur to convince the maverick director-who is known for speaking very little on his works-for a documentary. “A lot of friends from the Czech film industry asked me how I had managed to get him to agree to this,” says Dungarpur.
The story goes like this: he wrote to Menzel over several months before he agreed for a meeting in a café in Prague. The meeting that took so much of persuasion proved to be a success. Menzel was intrigued that an Indian filmmaker wanted to come all the way to...
While Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s first documentary Celluloid Man continues a successful run in international film festivals (upcoming screenings include Edinburgh and Shanghai), the filmmaker is neck deep into his second. This time, the ambitious subject of his documentary is the celebrated Czech filmmaker Jiri Menzel.
It wasn’t easy for Dungarpur to convince the maverick director-who is known for speaking very little on his works-for a documentary. “A lot of friends from the Czech film industry asked me how I had managed to get him to agree to this,” says Dungarpur.
The story goes like this: he wrote to Menzel over several months before he agreed for a meeting in a café in Prague. The meeting that took so much of persuasion proved to be a success. Menzel was intrigued that an Indian filmmaker wanted to come all the way to...
- 6/4/2013
- by Nandita Dutta
- DearCinema.com
★★★★☆ Many a film fan may have gone through life thus far without lavishing an abundance of attention on the cinema of Czechoslovakia - or even, for that matter, being aware of the Czech New Wave. This movement saw films of previously unseen quality coming from the country in the 1960s, including highly regarded work from directors such as the acclaimed Miloš Forman. Now, esteemed UK world cinema distributors Second Run are releasing a collection of three titles from this period: Diamonds of the Night (1964) directed by Jan Němec; Ivan Passer's Intimate Lighting (1965); and The Cremator (1969) by Juraj Herz.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 11/27/2012
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The 11th annual Lausanne Underground Film Festival is packed to the gills with outrageous cinema from all over the world, featuring several filmmaker retrospectives and movies screening in competition at several locations on Oct. 17-21.
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
- 10/18/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
A bar-slash-cinema offering an eclectic mix of arthouse and grindhouse
• Check out our Google map and flickr group
Every week we invite our readers to tell us about where they go to watch films. This week it's the turn of London-based blogger Matthew Thrift, who edits the film site Cinephile.
Location
In the heart of London, a short stroll from London Bridge station and Borough Market.
Building
Although not strictly a cinema, the Roxy boasts a top-notch HD projection set-up and ferocious sound system at the rear of the premises, where its film club is in residence most nights. The entrance on Borough High Street leads directly into the bar area, perfect for grabbing an ace mojito prior to settling in for the evening's entertainment. One of London's best-kept secrets and with something of the speakeasy feel about it, the screening room behind the thick red curtains features a higgledy-piggledy...
• Check out our Google map and flickr group
Every week we invite our readers to tell us about where they go to watch films. This week it's the turn of London-based blogger Matthew Thrift, who edits the film site Cinephile.
Location
In the heart of London, a short stroll from London Bridge station and Borough Market.
Building
Although not strictly a cinema, the Roxy boasts a top-notch HD projection set-up and ferocious sound system at the rear of the premises, where its film club is in residence most nights. The entrance on Borough High Street leads directly into the bar area, perfect for grabbing an ace mojito prior to settling in for the evening's entertainment. One of London's best-kept secrets and with something of the speakeasy feel about it, the screening room behind the thick red curtains features a higgledy-piggledy...
- 2/29/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
The Twitch-curated Attack The Bloc series of Cold War era science fiction films from the Eastern Bloc continues Friday with a 9:30 pm screening of Czech oddity Ferat Vampire at the Tiff Bell Lightbox.Ambulance medic Dr. Marek (Jirí Menzel, director of the classic Closely Watched Trains) is shocked and dismayed when his beloved nurse and driver Mima (Dagmar Veskrnová) is lured away to become a rally-car driver for car manufacturer Ferat. He's even more shocked (and rightly!) when a fellow doctor tells him that Ferat's much-hyped new sports car is fuelled by the blood of its driver, and becomes determined to free Mima from the clutches of the evil corporation. Brilliant and prolific Slovak director Juraj Herz -- whose darkly funny and supremely creepy...
- 1/25/2012
- Screen Anarchy
This year London’s Czech Film Festival, ‘Made in Prague’ celebrated its 15th edition (10-27 November). The theme for 2011 was ‘Film and Literature’, and included hard-to-find retro delights such as the 1959 adaptation of Jaroslav Hašek’s comic novel, The Good Soldier Švejk, and Czech New Wave classics like Jiří Menzel’s Capricious Summer (1967), adapted from a novel by Vladislav Vančura. More recent productions included A Walk Worthwhile (2009), directed by Miloš Forman and his son Petr Forman, based on a jazz opera by Suchý and Šlitr, and Of Parents and Children (2008), an adaptation of a novel by prize-winning contemporary writer Emil Hakl.
Czech New Wave director Juraj Herz attended the festival to present his famously dark The Cremator (1968), as well as his most recent film, Habermann (2010). Based on a story by Josef Urban, it joins an increasingly long list of films examining the mass deportation of Germans from Czechoslovakia following World War II.
Czech New Wave director Juraj Herz attended the festival to present his famously dark The Cremator (1968), as well as his most recent film, Habermann (2010). Based on a story by Josef Urban, it joins an increasingly long list of films examining the mass deportation of Germans from Czechoslovakia following World War II.
- 11/29/2011
- by Alison Frank
- The Moving Arts Journal
Errol Morris, London
The esteem in which this documentarian is held can be judged by the people interviewing him on stage: BBC Storyville producer Nick Fraser, Adam Curtis, Franny Armstrong and the Guardian's Xan Brooks. Each Q&A is preceded by a screening of Morris's latest, Tabloid, which marks a return to his eccentric terrain after recent films on Abu Ghraib (Standard Operating Procedure) and the Vietnam war (The Fog Of War). Tabloid revisits the very British scandal of Joyce McKinney, a Wyoming beauty queen who allegedly kidnapped and sexually enslaved her beau – or did she rescue him from the Mormons? Morris gives us the story from all sides.
Brixton Ritzy, SW2, Sat; Bafta, W1, Sun; Gate Notting Hill, W11; Screen On The Green, N1, Tue
French Film Festival, On tour
There's a tinge of nostalgia to the festival's big draws this year. Special guest Daniel Auteuil harks back to...
The esteem in which this documentarian is held can be judged by the people interviewing him on stage: BBC Storyville producer Nick Fraser, Adam Curtis, Franny Armstrong and the Guardian's Xan Brooks. Each Q&A is preceded by a screening of Morris's latest, Tabloid, which marks a return to his eccentric terrain after recent films on Abu Ghraib (Standard Operating Procedure) and the Vietnam war (The Fog Of War). Tabloid revisits the very British scandal of Joyce McKinney, a Wyoming beauty queen who allegedly kidnapped and sexually enslaved her beau – or did she rescue him from the Mormons? Morris gives us the story from all sides.
Brixton Ritzy, SW2, Sat; Bafta, W1, Sun; Gate Notting Hill, W11; Screen On The Green, N1, Tue
French Film Festival, On tour
There's a tinge of nostalgia to the festival's big draws this year. Special guest Daniel Auteuil harks back to...
- 11/5/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
New Czech Cinema 2010, London
Strangeness never seems to be far away when it comes to Czech cinema. It's as if their film-makers have to pass some eccentricity test before they're entrusted with a camera. All of which makes this annual round-up more intriguing than your average national jolly. Jan Svankmajer, for example, is on agreeably surreal form in his latest live-action/animation oddity, Surviving Life, while a double bill of unsung 1960s/70s gothic horrors, The Cremator and Morgiana, recognises the unique vision of Juraj Herz. Even the historical dramas have a twist. Nazi-era Protektor benefits from retro cinematic stylings, while Three Seasons In Hell examines the impact of Communist occupation on an unrepentant bohemian poet.
Various venues, Sat to 26 Nov
Encounters Short Film Festival, Bristol
The films are short, so there are more of them, which means more film-makers. Therefore, Bristol's harbourside becomes a seething mass of film people,...
Strangeness never seems to be far away when it comes to Czech cinema. It's as if their film-makers have to pass some eccentricity test before they're entrusted with a camera. All of which makes this annual round-up more intriguing than your average national jolly. Jan Svankmajer, for example, is on agreeably surreal form in his latest live-action/animation oddity, Surviving Life, while a double bill of unsung 1960s/70s gothic horrors, The Cremator and Morgiana, recognises the unique vision of Juraj Herz. Even the historical dramas have a twist. Nazi-era Protektor benefits from retro cinematic stylings, while Three Seasons In Hell examines the impact of Communist occupation on an unrepentant bohemian poet.
Various venues, Sat to 26 Nov
Encounters Short Film Festival, Bristol
The films are short, so there are more of them, which means more film-makers. Therefore, Bristol's harbourside becomes a seething mass of film people,...
- 11/13/2010
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Juraj Herz is best known for The Cremator (1968), a grim Kafkaesque tale about the rise of fascism in 1930s Czechoslovakia. In 1972, Herz went in a completely different direction with Morgiana. The film -- now available from Second Run DVD in R2 Pal format -- is a weird take on 19th century gothic horror. Morgiana lacks the narrative or symbolic depth of The Cremator, but its visual richness and dramatic excesses make for a grand viewing experience.
Klára and Viktoria -- both parts are played by Iva Janžurová -- are sisters. Their father dies, leaving most of his property to Klára. To add insult to injury, Klára becomes involved with a man with whom Viktoria is smitten. Eventually Viktoria decides to eliminate Klára. Her murder plot does not go smoothly.
Morgiana is based on novel by Russian author Alexansder Grin and plays with psychological themes of duality and madness. Klára and...
Klára and Viktoria -- both parts are played by Iva Janžurová -- are sisters. Their father dies, leaving most of his property to Klára. To add insult to injury, Klára becomes involved with a man with whom Viktoria is smitten. Eventually Viktoria decides to eliminate Klára. Her murder plot does not go smoothly.
Morgiana is based on novel by Russian author Alexansder Grin and plays with psychological themes of duality and madness. Klára and...
- 10/14/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Second Run DVD is a boutique label out of the U.K. that has built an extremely interesting catalog of world cinema titles. Their releases, many of which are Region 0, are immediately identifiable by their uniform packaging -- clean minimalistic covers with the title and director's name at the top in a sans serif font -- and attention to detail in transfers and supplements.
Much of the label's output has been focused on classic 60-70s films from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. This includes the upcoming release of Morgiana, a 1971 film from Czech filmmaker Juraj Herz. This is the second Juraj Herz film that Second Run has released; The Cremator from 1968 was the first.
Morgiana is described as "a twisted Czech take on Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" The story is as follows:
Morgiana, based on a short story by Aleksandr Grin, (the 'Russian Poe'), is the story of two sisters,...
Much of the label's output has been focused on classic 60-70s films from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. This includes the upcoming release of Morgiana, a 1971 film from Czech filmmaker Juraj Herz. This is the second Juraj Herz film that Second Run has released; The Cremator from 1968 was the first.
Morgiana is described as "a twisted Czech take on Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" The story is as follows:
Morgiana, based on a short story by Aleksandr Grin, (the 'Russian Poe'), is the story of two sisters,...
- 9/21/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Cologne, Germany – Germany has kicked off its campaign for best Foreign Language Oscar with a nine-film shortlist.
The contenders to be Germany's official 2011 Oscar candidate include, not surprisingly, three Nazi-era dramas: Ludi Boekens "Saviors in the Night," "Habermann" from director Juraj Herz and Oskar Roehler's controversial Nazi melodrama "Jew Suss – Rise and Fall."
The other titles picked by local promotion body German Films Service + Marketing include Matti Geschonneck's "Boxhagener Platz," a period drama set in East Berlin in 1968; Feo Aladag's honor killing drama "When We Leave;" Jo Baier's historic epic "Henry of Navarre;" The family drama "The Coming Days" from Lars Kraume and cross-cultural romance "Same Same But Different" from director Detlev Buck.
A nine-member jury of German industry professionals will pick the official nominee on Sept. 17. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film on Jan.
The contenders to be Germany's official 2011 Oscar candidate include, not surprisingly, three Nazi-era dramas: Ludi Boekens "Saviors in the Night," "Habermann" from director Juraj Herz and Oskar Roehler's controversial Nazi melodrama "Jew Suss – Rise and Fall."
The other titles picked by local promotion body German Films Service + Marketing include Matti Geschonneck's "Boxhagener Platz," a period drama set in East Berlin in 1968; Feo Aladag's honor killing drama "When We Leave;" Jo Baier's historic epic "Henry of Navarre;" The family drama "The Coming Days" from Lars Kraume and cross-cultural romance "Same Same But Different" from director Detlev Buck.
A nine-member jury of German industry professionals will pick the official nominee on Sept. 17. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film on Jan.
- 9/8/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Darkness DVD ArtDirector: Juraj Herz.
Writer: Martin Nemec.
Breaking Glass Pictures is a film distribution company from Richard Wolff and Richard Ross. This label releases twelve titles a year and one of their upcoming releases is the Czech Republic shot horror feature Darkness. The film will be available September 7th on DVD and the film could easily be categorized as a haunted house themed picture. However putting creativity in to little boxes is not always this simple. Darkness transcends this genre by adding in traumatic childhood memories, a historical reference to the Nazi occupation of the Czech Republic, and a troubled character surrounded by even more troubled female characters. The film is simply a delight to watch.
The film centers on the musician Marek, who is played by the prolific actor Ivan Franek. Marek retires to his childhood home in order to escape the fast life of the rockstar lifestyle.
Writer: Martin Nemec.
Breaking Glass Pictures is a film distribution company from Richard Wolff and Richard Ross. This label releases twelve titles a year and one of their upcoming releases is the Czech Republic shot horror feature Darkness. The film will be available September 7th on DVD and the film could easily be categorized as a haunted house themed picture. However putting creativity in to little boxes is not always this simple. Darkness transcends this genre by adding in traumatic childhood memories, a historical reference to the Nazi occupation of the Czech Republic, and a troubled character surrounded by even more troubled female characters. The film is simply a delight to watch.
The film centers on the musician Marek, who is played by the prolific actor Ivan Franek. Marek retires to his childhood home in order to escape the fast life of the rockstar lifestyle.
- 8/21/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Ross Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Prague, July 11 (Dpa) ‘The Mosquito Net’, a film by Spanish director Augusti Vila, won Saturday the top prize, the Crystal Globe, at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival held for the 45th time in a Czech spa town of the same name.
The top award at the festival, which is known for its festive mood and youthful backpacking crowds, carries prize money of $30,000.
The Karlovy Vary event, which belongs to the A category just like festivals in Cannes, Berlin and Toronto, also awarded Crystal Globes to Russian director Nikita Michalkov and Slovak-born director Juraj Herz for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.
<p.
The top award at the festival, which is known for its festive mood and youthful backpacking crowds, carries prize money of $30,000.
The Karlovy Vary event, which belongs to the A category just like festivals in Cannes, Berlin and Toronto, also awarded Crystal Globes to Russian director Nikita Michalkov and Slovak-born director Juraj Herz for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.
<p.
- 7/11/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Berlin -- Sherry Horman's fashion biopic "Desert Flower" and the political drama "Der Grosse Kater" (The Big Tom-Cat) from director Wolfgang Panzer tied for the top prize as Best Film at the Bavarian Film Awards this weekend.
"Flower" producers Peter Herrmann and Dietmar Guntsche and "Kater" producer Wolfgang Behr will share the €200,000 ($287,000) award that comes with the honor, cash that has to be invested in new film projects.
Acting legend Barbara Sukowa added a Bavarian best actress trophy to her trophy cabinet, taking the honor for her portrayal of Medieval nun and proto-feminist Hildegard von Bingen in "Vision" from Magarethe von Trotta.
Best director went to Juraj Herz for his period drama "Habermann," with lead Mark Waschke taking the best actor prize for his role as a mill owner whose life is transformed with the onset of World War II.
Benjamin Heisenberg received the best newcomer nod for his sophomore effort,...
"Flower" producers Peter Herrmann and Dietmar Guntsche and "Kater" producer Wolfgang Behr will share the €200,000 ($287,000) award that comes with the honor, cash that has to be invested in new film projects.
Acting legend Barbara Sukowa added a Bavarian best actress trophy to her trophy cabinet, taking the honor for her portrayal of Medieval nun and proto-feminist Hildegard von Bingen in "Vision" from Magarethe von Trotta.
Best director went to Juraj Herz for his period drama "Habermann," with lead Mark Waschke taking the best actor prize for his role as a mill owner whose life is transformed with the onset of World War II.
Benjamin Heisenberg received the best newcomer nod for his sophomore effort,...
- 1/18/2010
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Federico Fellini, arguing with a diehard neo-realist about the ending of Il bidone (What, it was demanded, was a troupe of seemingly medieval peasants, doing in this post-war crime story?), received the backing of his assistant director—"You should keep it because it's beautiful!"—he rejected the supportive comment. "No—not because it's beautiful, but because it's meaningful beauty."
What I've been wrestling with recently is the question of whether meaningful beauty is to be found in the works of Slovak filmmaker Juraj Herz. I think it can, but not in a straightforward way. Since Herz started life as an art director, it's of course tempting to see the pictorial charms of his films as essentially decorative, prettifying. But there's more going on. Maybe not consistently, but interestingly.
The first Herz I saw was The Virgin and the Monster (1978), which is a straight re-telling of the Beauty and the Beast...
What I've been wrestling with recently is the question of whether meaningful beauty is to be found in the works of Slovak filmmaker Juraj Herz. I think it can, but not in a straightforward way. Since Herz started life as an art director, it's of course tempting to see the pictorial charms of his films as essentially decorative, prettifying. But there's more going on. Maybe not consistently, but interestingly.
The first Herz I saw was The Virgin and the Monster (1978), which is a straight re-telling of the Beauty and the Beast...
- 1/7/2010
- MUBI
It’s time for another update on horror-film screenings for the Halloween 2009 season and beyond; you can track back through our previous items starting here. The most exciting news is the addition of a very special show to the Scary Movies 3 series currently unspooling at New York City’s Lincoln Center: Trick ’R Treat with Michael Dougherty (pictured) in attendance!
The All Hallow’s anthology feature unspools at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street, upper level) this Wednesday, October 21 at 8:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A with Dougherty. Trust us: You want to see this one on the big screen. Full details on Scary Movies 3 can be found here. In addition, adventurous genre fans will want to check out Juraj Herz’s The Cremator when it shows as part of Lincoln Center’s The Ironic Curtain: Czech Cinema series on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 9 p.m. This black...
The All Hallow’s anthology feature unspools at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street, upper level) this Wednesday, October 21 at 8:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A with Dougherty. Trust us: You want to see this one on the big screen. Full details on Scary Movies 3 can be found here. In addition, adventurous genre fans will want to check out Juraj Herz’s The Cremator when it shows as part of Lincoln Center’s The Ironic Curtain: Czech Cinema series on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 9 p.m. This black...
- 10/19/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Michael Gingold)
- Fangoria
We reported on the teaser for Tma at the end of April, with its weird comical music and all, and I wasn't too sure about this one. But after seeing this trailer (which is Nsfw), I can now easily say it looks utterly fascinating and brutal as hell. Juraj Herz did the fantastic flick The Cremator and has a lot of stuff to his name, so be sure to check this out.
Mark, a young man from Prague, decides to quit his hectic and superficial town life and moves to the countryside, to the house where he spent his childhood, but was forced to leave under bizarre circumstances. His intention to start a new life and devote his time to the painting is constantly disturbed by odd events and happenings. A lost girl, tacit apprehensions and uneasiness of the village people, legends about burial place, death of his parents in...
Mark, a young man from Prague, decides to quit his hectic and superficial town life and moves to the countryside, to the house where he spent his childhood, but was forced to leave under bizarre circumstances. His intention to start a new life and devote his time to the painting is constantly disturbed by odd events and happenings. A lost girl, tacit apprehensions and uneasiness of the village people, legends about burial place, death of his parents in...
- 5/18/2009
- QuietEarth.us
My first introduction to Czech filmmaker Juraj Herz was the recent R1 dvd release of The Cremator an I've been keeping an eye on his next, Darkness. Apparently he had 5 other screenplays written but had to go with this one because those were political in nature. Written by Martin Nemec the story is one of a very popular nature lately, a family retreating to a house out in the middle of nowhere where supernatural troubles ensue.
Mark, a young man from Prague, decides to quit his hectic and superficial town life and moves to the countryside, to the house where he spent his childhood, but was forced to leave under bizarre circumstances. His intention to start a new life and devote his time to the painting is constantly disturbed by odd events and happenings. A lost girl, tacit apprehensions and uneasiness of the village people, legends about burial place, death...
Mark, a young man from Prague, decides to quit his hectic and superficial town life and moves to the countryside, to the house where he spent his childhood, but was forced to leave under bizarre circumstances. His intention to start a new life and devote his time to the painting is constantly disturbed by odd events and happenings. A lost girl, tacit apprehensions and uneasiness of the village people, legends about burial place, death...
- 4/28/2009
- QuietEarth.us
I get lots of lovely lurid stuff in the mail that sometimes I just don’t have the time to write about and the stacks of sick flicks are starting to pile up. So just to ensure that these occasionally spectacular new release/ reissue titles don’t slip through the creepy cracks, allow me to insert this little dark entry in ye old Bloode Spattered Blogge and lay some love on a slew of pictures that recently rocked my world.
Ready? Here we go…
The Centerfold Girls
I first sort of picked up on the myth of Andrew Prine back in the late 80’s, when I caught a screening of Charles Band’s ho-hum sci-fi action cheapie Eliminators on late night TV. His presence failed to register, but the name for some reason seemed to stick in my skull. The deeper I sunk into my never ending obsession with grittier strains of horror cinema,...
Ready? Here we go…
The Centerfold Girls
I first sort of picked up on the myth of Andrew Prine back in the late 80’s, when I caught a screening of Charles Band’s ho-hum sci-fi action cheapie Eliminators on late night TV. His presence failed to register, but the name for some reason seemed to stick in my skull. The deeper I sunk into my never ending obsession with grittier strains of horror cinema,...
- 4/13/2009
- Fangoria
We watch a lot of films here at Quiet Earth and, as you know, we even review some...actually, kind of a lot of them. Our correspondents are always hard at work taking time out of their real lives to attend some fest or another and bring us the good (or bad) word on cool genre movies and we wanted to make sure that their hard work got a little extra attention. They deserve it. So, until we develop a full-fledged review database (something that's slowly but surely becoming less of a twinkle in out eyes) we decided to do a "review roundup" post at the end of every month, listing the films we saw and linking to their reviews. This one for March comes a bit later than expected but better late than never.
Full list of films reviewed in March after the break.
Films we saw in March:...
Full list of films reviewed in March after the break.
Films we saw in March:...
- 4/8/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Just a few days ago we gave you a review of the recently R1 released cult classic The Cremator by Juraj Herz who continued to pump out film after that, that is until 1997. His latest will be his first feature since then and it's titled Tma. The story revolves around a man escaping city life for the countryside but can he face his past or the lost girl who shows up? Admittedly the stills don't really show anything but they give me an excuse to share news of the project with you.
Mark, a young man from Prague, decides to quit his hectic and superficial town life and moves to the countryside, to the house where he spent his childhood, but was forced to leave under bizarre circumstances. His intention to start a new life and devote his time to the painting is constantly disturbed by odd events and happenings.
Mark, a young man from Prague, decides to quit his hectic and superficial town life and moves to the countryside, to the house where he spent his childhood, but was forced to leave under bizarre circumstances. His intention to start a new life and devote his time to the painting is constantly disturbed by odd events and happenings.
- 4/3/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Year: 1969
Directors: Juraj Herz
Writers: Juraj Herz & Ladislav Fuks
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The Cremator is not for your average horror fan. It's for cinephiles and those who love weird films as it doesn't fit into the horror category directly, it takes a much longer and more existential route. First appearances belie the very nature of the film, that our very creepy main character Kopfrkingl has something going on right from the beginning, and he may, but not in the way that is obliquely suggested. For the long ride taken with Kopfrkingl and the countless devious deviations, this film works out like a cross between Hitchcock and the kind of Twilight Zone they wouldn't let Rod Serling air. It's a little hard to follow and confusing at points, but if you pay attention and are patient, you will be rewarded.
I say the film is confusing for many reasons,...
Directors: Juraj Herz
Writers: Juraj Herz & Ladislav Fuks
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The Cremator is not for your average horror fan. It's for cinephiles and those who love weird films as it doesn't fit into the horror category directly, it takes a much longer and more existential route. First appearances belie the very nature of the film, that our very creepy main character Kopfrkingl has something going on right from the beginning, and he may, but not in the way that is obliquely suggested. For the long ride taken with Kopfrkingl and the countless devious deviations, this film works out like a cross between Hitchcock and the kind of Twilight Zone they wouldn't let Rod Serling air. It's a little hard to follow and confusing at points, but if you pay attention and are patient, you will be rewarded.
I say the film is confusing for many reasons,...
- 3/31/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Juraj Herz's The Cremator is coming to DVD courtesy of the fiends at Dark Sky. Released in 1969, it went on to win Best Actor and Best Cinematography at the 1972 Sitges Film Festival. The Cremator tells the tale of Karl Kopfrkingl (Rudolf Hrusinsky), who works at a stately crematorium in Prague. Obsessed with his duties, he believes he is liberating the souls of the departed. With Nazi forces gathering at the Czech border, Karl descends into a mania that allows him to wholly enact his disturbed beliefs. No one is safe from his quest for salvation, not even his own family. The disc streets on March 31st.
- 2/26/2009
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Dark Sky Films just announced the release of a movie I honestly never expected to see in the United States. Not because it’s overly violent or bizarre, but just because it’s so damn obscure.
The film is Juraj Herz’ 1969 film The Cremator, the story of a man named Karl whose profession is to cremate the bodies of the recently deceased in Prague. He believes wholeheartedly that the only true path to salvation is by releasing the soul through cremation; if you don’t your soul is stuck inside your body until it eventually turns to dust of its own accord.
As Nazi forces approach the Czech border, Karl descends into a madness that forces him to do some pretty horrible things to his friends and family for the sake of their salvation. I reviewed a Region 2 release of The Cremator a while back and liked it quite a bit,...
The film is Juraj Herz’ 1969 film The Cremator, the story of a man named Karl whose profession is to cremate the bodies of the recently deceased in Prague. He believes wholeheartedly that the only true path to salvation is by releasing the soul through cremation; if you don’t your soul is stuck inside your body until it eventually turns to dust of its own accord.
As Nazi forces approach the Czech border, Karl descends into a madness that forces him to do some pretty horrible things to his friends and family for the sake of their salvation. I reviewed a Region 2 release of The Cremator a while back and liked it quite a bit,...
- 12/12/2008
- by Johnny Butane
- DreadCentral.com
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