Even with a steady supply of eye-opening documentaries coming out of Syria, we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of the human stories emerging from the country’s ongoing crisis. Two years after his multi-award-winning “Last Men In Aleppo” — co-directed by Steen Johannessen and following a trio from the selfless volunteer rescue collective “The White Helmets” — writer-director Feras Fayyad plunges inside another astonishing account of bravery with the female-driven “The Cave.” Beneath the surface of the besieged Eastern Ghouta, a region where some 400,000 people remain trapped, he takes us through the dimly lit hallways and limited means of a miraculously operational subterranean hospital, the Cave, managed by a patriarchy-defying female pediatrician.
Unsurprisingly, this is both an immensely humanist film, and a tough, heartbreaking watch — “The Cave” doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to graphic images, many of them involving severely wounded children. In one scene, “Please be honest with me,...
Unsurprisingly, this is both an immensely humanist film, and a tough, heartbreaking watch — “The Cave” doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to graphic images, many of them involving severely wounded children. In one scene, “Please be honest with me,...
- 9/6/2019
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Simon Lereng Wilmont on Oleg Afanasyev and his grandmother Alexandra Ryabichkina in The Distant Barking Of Dogs: "It has been a cinematic blessing to be let into Oleg and Alexandra's life from the very beginning." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Last Thursday night at the Cinema Eye Awards, Simon Lereng Wilmont, director/cinematographer of the Oscar-shortlisted The Distant Barking Of Dogs was presented with the Spotlight Prize by Bing Liu, Sandi Tan (who won with Lucas Celler in the Graphic Design or Animation for Shirkers), and RaMell Ross
Simon Lereng Wilmont with Oleg Afanasyev and his grandmother Alexandra Ryabichkina Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
I spoke with Simon about the score by Uno Helmersson (Elvira Lind's Bobbi Jene) and Erik Enocksson (Paul Wright's For Those in Peril) with additional music by Karsten Fundal (Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen's Last Men In Aleppo), the sound design, editing with Michael Aaglund, the...
Last Thursday night at the Cinema Eye Awards, Simon Lereng Wilmont, director/cinematographer of the Oscar-shortlisted The Distant Barking Of Dogs was presented with the Spotlight Prize by Bing Liu, Sandi Tan (who won with Lucas Celler in the Graphic Design or Animation for Shirkers), and RaMell Ross
Simon Lereng Wilmont with Oleg Afanasyev and his grandmother Alexandra Ryabichkina Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
I spoke with Simon about the score by Uno Helmersson (Elvira Lind's Bobbi Jene) and Erik Enocksson (Paul Wright's For Those in Peril) with additional music by Karsten Fundal (Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen's Last Men In Aleppo), the sound design, editing with Michael Aaglund, the...
- 1/14/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The social justice organisation has supported the Idfa fund since 2013.
The Idfa Bertha Fund, which supports documentaries made by filmmakers from developing countries, has secured €1.2m ($1.4m) in funding over the next three years (2019-2021) from the global social justice organisation the Bertha Foundation.
The Idfa Bertha Fund, previously, known as the Jan Vrijman Fund, was set up in 1998 and has long been an essential part of the activities of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa). This year’s festival takes place Nov 14-25 and the opening film - Aboozar Amini’s Kabul, City In The Wind – was backed by the fund.
The Idfa Bertha Fund, which supports documentaries made by filmmakers from developing countries, has secured €1.2m ($1.4m) in funding over the next three years (2019-2021) from the global social justice organisation the Bertha Foundation.
The Idfa Bertha Fund, previously, known as the Jan Vrijman Fund, was set up in 1998 and has long been an essential part of the activities of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa). This year’s festival takes place Nov 14-25 and the opening film - Aboozar Amini’s Kabul, City In The Wind – was backed by the fund.
- 11/8/2018
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Getting out early can be an advantage in the documentary race, which is often front loaded at January’s Sundance Film Festival. While a raft of movies made their mark, the question is which ones can sustain support through the end of the year.
Among that festival’s breakouts were three Syria documentaries. Daring and timely “City of Ghosts” (July 14, A & E/Amazon Studios), which is Matthew Heineman’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated border drug war thriller “Cartel Land,” will get a major push. Any footage from Syria came from the fearless Raqqa journalists he tracked through Turkey and Germany, where they discover that they are not necessarily safe — anywhere.
It remains to be seen if there will be room for more than one Syrian documentary. HBO Documentary Films is forgoing Emmy consideration for “Winter on Fire” nominee Evgeny Afineevsky’s harrowing “Cries From Syria” (March 10, HBO), planning an Oscar push this fall.
Among that festival’s breakouts were three Syria documentaries. Daring and timely “City of Ghosts” (July 14, A & E/Amazon Studios), which is Matthew Heineman’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated border drug war thriller “Cartel Land,” will get a major push. Any footage from Syria came from the fearless Raqqa journalists he tracked through Turkey and Germany, where they discover that they are not necessarily safe — anywhere.
It remains to be seen if there will be room for more than one Syrian documentary. HBO Documentary Films is forgoing Emmy consideration for “Winter on Fire” nominee Evgeny Afineevsky’s harrowing “Cries From Syria” (March 10, HBO), planning an Oscar push this fall.
- 7/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Fox Searchlight has bought the rights to “The Spy With No Name,” an ebook written by Jeff Maysh and published by Amazon Kindle Single, Deadline reports. Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert of Emjag Productions will produce alongside “Argo” executive producer David Klawans.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Grasshopper Film Gets ‘Escapes,’ Amazon and IFC Films Date ‘City of Ghosts’ and More
The true story centers on Erwin van Haarlem, a Cold War secret agent who stole the identity of a Dutch man whose mother had given him up for adoption. The Communist spy pretended to be Johanna van Haarlem’s long lost son for 11 years before being caught.
– FilmRise has acquired the U.S. rights to Michael Almereyda’s “Marjorie Prime,...
– Fox Searchlight has bought the rights to “The Spy With No Name,” an ebook written by Jeff Maysh and published by Amazon Kindle Single, Deadline reports. Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert of Emjag Productions will produce alongside “Argo” executive producer David Klawans.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Grasshopper Film Gets ‘Escapes,’ Amazon and IFC Films Date ‘City of Ghosts’ and More
The true story centers on Erwin van Haarlem, a Cold War secret agent who stole the identity of a Dutch man whose mother had given him up for adoption. The Communist spy pretended to be Johanna van Haarlem’s long lost son for 11 years before being caught.
– FilmRise has acquired the U.S. rights to Michael Almereyda’s “Marjorie Prime,...
- 3/31/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Breaking Glass, O-Scope, Big World Pictures, Factory 25 also cut deals.
Grasshopper has pounced on Us rights to Feras Fayyad’s documentary and recent Sundance world premiere Last Men In Aleppo.
The film, co-directed by Steen Johannesen, won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize in Park City and went on to open Cph:dox, where it won the Dox: Award.
The filmmakers followed rescue workers The White Helmets from September 2015 to autumn 2016 as they help citizens during the Battle of Aleppo.
Larm Film and the Aleppo Media Center produced in co-production with Kloos & Co Medien with support from the Danish Film Institute & Dr and Imr.
Grasshopper plans to release the film theatrically in May followed by VOD release. Pov holds Us broadcast rights. Cinetic represented the filmmakers.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the historical drama The Long Night Of Francisco Sanctis by Argentinian directors Francisco Márquez and Andrea Test and plans a limited theatrical release...
Grasshopper has pounced on Us rights to Feras Fayyad’s documentary and recent Sundance world premiere Last Men In Aleppo.
The film, co-directed by Steen Johannesen, won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize in Park City and went on to open Cph:dox, where it won the Dox: Award.
The filmmakers followed rescue workers The White Helmets from September 2015 to autumn 2016 as they help citizens during the Battle of Aleppo.
Larm Film and the Aleppo Media Center produced in co-production with Kloos & Co Medien with support from the Danish Film Institute & Dr and Imr.
Grasshopper plans to release the film theatrically in May followed by VOD release. Pov holds Us broadcast rights. Cinetic represented the filmmakers.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the historical drama The Long Night Of Francisco Sanctis by Argentinian directors Francisco Márquez and Andrea Test and plans a limited theatrical release...
- 3/30/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Distribution Round-up: Breaking Glass, O-Scope, Big World Pictures, Factory 25 also in action.
Grasshopper has pounced on Us rights to Feras Fayyad’s documentary and recent Sundance world premiere Last Men In Aleppo.
The film, co-directed by Steen Johannesen, won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize in Park City and went on to open Cph:dox, where it won the Dox: Award.
The filmmakers followed rescue workers The White Helmets from September 2015 to autumn 2016 as they help citizens during the Battle of Aleppo.
Larm Film and the Aleppo Media Center produced in co-production with Kloos & Co Medien with support from the Danish Film Institute & Dr and Imr.
Grasshopper plans to release the film theatrically in May followed by VOD release. Pov holds Us broadcast rights. Cinetic represented the filmmakers.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the historical drama The Long Night Of Francisco Sanctis by Argentinian directors Francisco Márquez and Andrea Test and plans a limited...
Grasshopper has pounced on Us rights to Feras Fayyad’s documentary and recent Sundance world premiere Last Men In Aleppo.
The film, co-directed by Steen Johannesen, won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize in Park City and went on to open Cph:dox, where it won the Dox: Award.
The filmmakers followed rescue workers The White Helmets from September 2015 to autumn 2016 as they help citizens during the Battle of Aleppo.
Larm Film and the Aleppo Media Center produced in co-production with Kloos & Co Medien with support from the Danish Film Institute & Dr and Imr.
Grasshopper plans to release the film theatrically in May followed by VOD release. Pov holds Us broadcast rights. Cinetic represented the filmmakers.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the historical drama The Long Night Of Francisco Sanctis by Argentinian directors Francisco Márquez and Andrea Test and plans a limited...
- 3/30/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Grasshopper Films has taken U.S. rights to Last Men in Aleppo.
The film takes place from September 2015 to the fall of 2016 and follows Khalid, Subhi and Mahmoud, volunteers from the White Helmets as they search through the rubble of bombed-out buildings in the Syrian capital.
Directed by Feras Fayyad and co-directed and edited by Steen Johannesen, the doc had its world premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize.
The film was produced by Larm Film and the Aleppo Media Center in co-production with Kloos & Co Medien, with support...
The film takes place from September 2015 to the fall of 2016 and follows Khalid, Subhi and Mahmoud, volunteers from the White Helmets as they search through the rubble of bombed-out buildings in the Syrian capital.
Directed by Feras Fayyad and co-directed and edited by Steen Johannesen, the doc had its world premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize.
The film was produced by Larm Film and the Aleppo Media Center in co-production with Kloos & Co Medien, with support...
- 3/30/2017
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New initiatives at Cph:dox include Britdoc’s Good Pitch event, a cultural summit and tech innovation pitches at Propeller Springboard.
Cph:dox has awarded its Dox:award to Last Men in Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad and co-directed by Steen Johannessen.
The jury said the film, about volunteers in the war-torn Syrian city, is “a film whose devastating emotional immediacy plunges us into a Shakespearean tragedy of a people striving to retain their humanity in the face of impossible realities.”
The film previously won the grand jury prize in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary competition.
Special mentions went to Gray House by Austin Lynch and Matthew Booth and The John Dalli Mystery by Jeppe Rønde.
The F:act Award, for a film involving in-depth journalistic investigation, went to Reber Dosky’s Radio Kobani, about a young woman’s struggle to run a local radio station in war-torn northern Syria.
A special mention went to Trophy by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau...
Cph:dox has awarded its Dox:award to Last Men in Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad and co-directed by Steen Johannessen.
The jury said the film, about volunteers in the war-torn Syrian city, is “a film whose devastating emotional immediacy plunges us into a Shakespearean tragedy of a people striving to retain their humanity in the face of impossible realities.”
The film previously won the grand jury prize in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary competition.
Special mentions went to Gray House by Austin Lynch and Matthew Booth and The John Dalli Mystery by Jeppe Rønde.
The F:act Award, for a film involving in-depth journalistic investigation, went to Reber Dosky’s Radio Kobani, about a young woman’s struggle to run a local radio station in war-torn northern Syria.
A special mention went to Trophy by Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau...
- 3/25/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Syria doc Last Men In Aleppo will open the Copenhagen documentary festival.
Cph:dox has announced the full programme for its first spring edition (March 16-26), boasting 200 films including 75 world premieres.
The festival will open with Last Men In Aleppo [pictured], which was directed by Firas Fayyad and co-directed by Steen Johannessen.
Other highlights include a new cultural summit Cph:meetings – about the political and social role of art in society; a Vr cinema; a new children’s programme; a new science section; a focus on the rise of populism; and an 11-film programme curated by musician Anohni.
Themes to be explored include the rise of populism and a “talk show” about the alternative facts of Donald Trump and Steve Bannon.
The children’s programme will include titles such as Obscure about kids with Ptsd; Childhood about a Norwegian kindergarten in the forest, and a film about Chinese children whose parents are in prison, Waiting For The...
Cph:dox has announced the full programme for its first spring edition (March 16-26), boasting 200 films including 75 world premieres.
The festival will open with Last Men In Aleppo [pictured], which was directed by Firas Fayyad and co-directed by Steen Johannessen.
Other highlights include a new cultural summit Cph:meetings – about the political and social role of art in society; a Vr cinema; a new children’s programme; a new science section; a focus on the rise of populism; and an 11-film programme curated by musician Anohni.
Themes to be explored include the rise of populism and a “talk show” about the alternative facts of Donald Trump and Steve Bannon.
The children’s programme will include titles such as Obscure about kids with Ptsd; Childhood about a Norwegian kindergarten in the forest, and a film about Chinese children whose parents are in prison, Waiting For The...
- 3/1/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Fares Fares and Hania Amar in The Nile Hilton Incident - in Cairo, weeks before the 2011 revolution, Police Detective Noredin is working in the infamous Kasr el-Nil Police Station when he is handed the case of a murdered singer. He soon realizes that the investigation concerns the power elite, close to the President’s inner circle. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival drew to a close last night at an awards ceremony in Park City, Utah, that was dominated by talk of Donald Trump's executive order to ban Muslims travelling from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia, including refugees, from entering the Us for the next 90 days.
The big winners included Syrian documentary The Last Men In Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen, Macon Blair's drama I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore, Dina, direted by DAn Sickles and Antonio Santini...
Sundance Film Festival drew to a close last night at an awards ceremony in Park City, Utah, that was dominated by talk of Donald Trump's executive order to ban Muslims travelling from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia, including refugees, from entering the Us for the next 90 days.
The big winners included Syrian documentary The Last Men In Aleppo, directed by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen, Macon Blair's drama I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore, Dina, direted by DAn Sickles and Antonio Santini...
- 1/29/2017
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Sundance 2017 juries and audiences unveiled their picks on Saturday night.
In the grand jury prizes, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore claimed the Us dramatic award and Dina by Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini won U.S. documentary.
Tarik Saleh’s The Nile Hilton Incident won world dramatic and Last Men In Aleppo by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen prevailed in the world documentary category.
In the audience awards, Matt Ruski’s Crown Heights and Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral were the favourites in the Us dramatic and documentary strands.
World cinema selections I Dream In Another Language by Ernesto Contreras and Joe Piscatella’s Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower emerged victorious in the dramatic and documentary sections.
“This has been one of the wildest, wackiest and most rewarding festivals in recent memory,” said festival director John Cooper. “From a new government to the independently organised Women’s March On Main...
In the grand jury prizes, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore claimed the Us dramatic award and Dina by Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini won U.S. documentary.
Tarik Saleh’s The Nile Hilton Incident won world dramatic and Last Men In Aleppo by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen prevailed in the world documentary category.
In the audience awards, Matt Ruski’s Crown Heights and Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral were the favourites in the Us dramatic and documentary strands.
World cinema selections I Dream In Another Language by Ernesto Contreras and Joe Piscatella’s Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower emerged victorious in the dramatic and documentary sections.
“This has been one of the wildest, wackiest and most rewarding festivals in recent memory,” said festival director John Cooper. “From a new government to the independently organised Women’s March On Main...
- 1/29/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
In case Gary “What Is Aleppo?” Johnson is still wondering why it is important that (potential) world leaders and the world at large pay attention to what is happening in the city, the documentary Last Men in Aleppo would be a good starting point. Directed by Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad and co-directed and co-edited by Danish cutter Steen Johannessen, this harrowingly immediate feature follows two Syrian members of the White Helmets, the organization that goes in after each bombing from the air to try and rescue victims from under the resulting rubble and ruins.
Frequently heartbreaking and hard to watch...
Frequently heartbreaking and hard to watch...
- 1/20/2017
- by Boyd van Hoeij
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
2016 is nearly over and most people can’t wait to reach the finish line, so the Sundance Film Festival lineup couldn’t arrive at a better moment to give us something to anticipate for the new year.
Read More: Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and Next Lineups, Including Returning Favorites and Major Contenders
With the announcement of the U.S. and World Competition sections as well as the ever-tantalizing Next category of edgier fare, the first set of Sundance announcements kick off a wave of expectations from new talent and veterans alike. There will be much to dig through, from potential sales titles to breakthrough talent, and more announcements to come (the midnight section, short films, and forward-thinking New Frontiers section are all around the corner). In the meantime, we’ve dug through the initial Sundance blast to unearth a few standouts worthy of anticipation.
David Lowery’s Secret Movie Isn’t...
Read More: Sundance 2017 Announces Competition and Next Lineups, Including Returning Favorites and Major Contenders
With the announcement of the U.S. and World Competition sections as well as the ever-tantalizing Next category of edgier fare, the first set of Sundance announcements kick off a wave of expectations from new talent and veterans alike. There will be much to dig through, from potential sales titles to breakthrough talent, and more announcements to come (the midnight section, short films, and forward-thinking New Frontiers section are all around the corner). In the meantime, we’ve dug through the initial Sundance blast to unearth a few standouts worthy of anticipation.
David Lowery’s Secret Movie Isn’t...
- 11/30/2016
- by Eric Kohn and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Projects include The Distant Barking of Dogs, from The Act of Killing production company Final Cut For Real.
The Nordisk Panorama Forum for Co-financing of Documentaries, to be held in Malmo, Sweden from Sept 18-20, has selected 24 documentary projects to be pitched to industry professionals.
They include Johan Von Sydow’s Swedish documentary about American musician Tiny Tim; Lea Glob’s Danish documentary about a female painter’s coming of age in Paris; Emil Trier’s feature debut about Norwegian con man Waleed Ahmed; and The Act of Killing production company Final Cut For Real’s new Ukraine-set project The Distant Barking of Dogs [pictured], directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont.
The full list of projects being pitched16, dir Kenneth Elvebaak, Fuglene (Norway)Adil and the Spy, dirs Randi Mossige-Norheim & Johan Palmgren, Mantaray Film (Sweden)Apolonia, Apolonia, dir Lea Glob, Danish Documentary (Denmark)Confessions of a Military Dictatorship, dir Karen Stokkendal Poulsen, Bullitt Film (Denmark...
The Nordisk Panorama Forum for Co-financing of Documentaries, to be held in Malmo, Sweden from Sept 18-20, has selected 24 documentary projects to be pitched to industry professionals.
They include Johan Von Sydow’s Swedish documentary about American musician Tiny Tim; Lea Glob’s Danish documentary about a female painter’s coming of age in Paris; Emil Trier’s feature debut about Norwegian con man Waleed Ahmed; and The Act of Killing production company Final Cut For Real’s new Ukraine-set project The Distant Barking of Dogs [pictured], directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont.
The full list of projects being pitched16, dir Kenneth Elvebaak, Fuglene (Norway)Adil and the Spy, dirs Randi Mossige-Norheim & Johan Palmgren, Mantaray Film (Sweden)Apolonia, Apolonia, dir Lea Glob, Danish Documentary (Denmark)Confessions of a Military Dictatorship, dir Karen Stokkendal Poulsen, Bullitt Film (Denmark...
- 7/29/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
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