From writer/director Bastian Günther, and starring Carrie Preston, Callie Hernandez, Joe Cole, and Cullen Moss (Outer Banks), One of These Days is available on demand and digital now, in the US, from Gravitas Ventures.
In a small town in Texas, an annual endurance contest (Hands On) to win a pickup truck promises thrilling entertainment to spectators and the chance of a lifetime to participants, but ends in real tragedy.
In a small town in Texas, an annual endurance contest (Hands On) to win a pickup truck promises thrilling entertainment to spectators and the chance of a lifetime to participants, but ends in real tragedy.
- 4/20/2023
- by Kevin Haldon
- Nerdly
Based on a real-life event about an endurance competition to win a pickup, Bastian Günther’s watchable story is told with conviction
This psychological drama from German director Bastian Günther is based on a real-life event. A 1997 documentary by Sr Bindler called Hands on a Hardbody was about the annual sleep-deprivation endurance contest run by an East Texas auto dealership, where 24 people compete to win a brand-new Nissan Hardbody pickup truck by keeping at least one hand on it for the longest continuous time. They are allowed brief hourly breaks but cannot sleep, or lean their weight against the vehicle, and if they take their hands off it for any reason, they’re out.
US festival audiences found something sympathetic and humorous about these stoic hopefuls and there was even a stage musical version with a happy ending. Robert Altman was apparently developing a feature version just before he died,...
This psychological drama from German director Bastian Günther is based on a real-life event. A 1997 documentary by Sr Bindler called Hands on a Hardbody was about the annual sleep-deprivation endurance contest run by an East Texas auto dealership, where 24 people compete to win a brand-new Nissan Hardbody pickup truck by keeping at least one hand on it for the longest continuous time. They are allowed brief hourly breaks but cannot sleep, or lean their weight against the vehicle, and if they take their hands off it for any reason, they’re out.
US festival audiences found something sympathetic and humorous about these stoic hopefuls and there was even a stage musical version with a happy ending. Robert Altman was apparently developing a feature version just before he died,...
- 3/29/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
"I'm not taking my hands off the truck, man." BritFlicks has revealed an official UK trailer for an indie film titled One of These Days, set in a small town in America, made by a German filmmaker named Bastian Günther. This first premiered in 2020 at the Berlin Film Festival but has never been released since then and still doesn't have a US release set yet. One of These Days follows competitors at one of these "Hands On" events where people have to keep their hand on a car to win it, which is a crazy thing to do but people are really desperate and "need" that truck. In a town in Texas, an annual endurance contest to win a pickup truck promises thrilling entertainment to spectators and the chance of a lifetime to participants, but ends in real tragedy. This stars Carrie Preston, Joe Cole, Callie Hernandez, Lucy Faust, Devyn A. Tyler,...
- 3/2/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Studio Soho has debuted the trailer for Berlinale Panorama entry ‘One of These Days’, a compelling and psychologically charged drama starring Joe Cole.
In a small southern town in the US, twenty volunteers compete to win a brand-new pick-up truck, in the annual ‘Hands On’ contest, a prize that might finally tip the scales of life in their favour. Each contestant has their own reasons for joining the contest, and as the blisteringly hot days and long nights add up, their humanity is laid bare.
Car dealership employee Joan provides fervent enthusiasm to the contestants, including the young family man Kyle, who wants to win the car at all costs, but who will hold on and win – and at what cost?
Written and directed by Bastian Günther, the film stars Joe Cole, Carrie Preston, Callie Hernandez, Cullen Moss.
Also in trailers – New trailer lands for ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore...
In a small southern town in the US, twenty volunteers compete to win a brand-new pick-up truck, in the annual ‘Hands On’ contest, a prize that might finally tip the scales of life in their favour. Each contestant has their own reasons for joining the contest, and as the blisteringly hot days and long nights add up, their humanity is laid bare.
Car dealership employee Joan provides fervent enthusiasm to the contestants, including the young family man Kyle, who wants to win the car at all costs, but who will hold on and win – and at what cost?
Written and directed by Bastian Günther, the film stars Joe Cole, Carrie Preston, Callie Hernandez, Cullen Moss.
Also in trailers – New trailer lands for ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore...
- 3/1/2022
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Newen Group, the TF1-owned French production and distribution outfit, has acquired a 51% stake in the German production company Flare Film, whose slate includes the upcoming Sky Original show “Paradiso” and Ildikó Enyedi’s “Balaton Brigade.”
Launched in 2008 by Martin Heisler, the Berlin-based company has been focusing on director-driven documentaries and films that have been showcased on the international festival circuit. The banner’s recent film credits include Simón Mesa Soto’s “Amparo,” which world premiered in Cannes’ Critics Week; Dietrich Brüggemann’s “No,” which bowed at Karlovy Vary; and Bastian Günther’s “One of These Days,” which opened the Berlinale’s Panorama program. The company’s documentary slate includes Janna Ji Wonders’ “Walchensee Forever,” which won the Berlinale’s Compass Perspektive Award, and is nominated for two German Film Awards, along with “One of These Day,” which is nominated for best cinematography.
The acquisition by Newen coincides with the...
Launched in 2008 by Martin Heisler, the Berlin-based company has been focusing on director-driven documentaries and films that have been showcased on the international festival circuit. The banner’s recent film credits include Simón Mesa Soto’s “Amparo,” which world premiered in Cannes’ Critics Week; Dietrich Brüggemann’s “No,” which bowed at Karlovy Vary; and Bastian Günther’s “One of These Days,” which opened the Berlinale’s Panorama program. The company’s documentary slate includes Janna Ji Wonders’ “Walchensee Forever,” which won the Berlinale’s Compass Perspektive Award, and is nominated for two German Film Awards, along with “One of These Day,” which is nominated for best cinematography.
The acquisition by Newen coincides with the...
- 9/15/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Tunisian drama debuted at Venice and is nominated for best international feature.
Studio Soho Distribution has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s drama The Man Who Sold His Skin, which is up for the best international feature at the Oscars this weekend.
The drama, sold by Paris-based Bac Films, premiered in Venice’s Horizons strand last September, where it won Yahya Mahayni best actor and the film the Edipo Re Award. Studio Soho is planning to release the feature theatrically in August.
Inspired by true events, it follows a young Syrian refugee in...
Studio Soho Distribution has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s drama The Man Who Sold His Skin, which is up for the best international feature at the Oscars this weekend.
The drama, sold by Paris-based Bac Films, premiered in Venice’s Horizons strand last September, where it won Yahya Mahayni best actor and the film the Edipo Re Award. Studio Soho is planning to release the feature theatrically in August.
Inspired by true events, it follows a young Syrian refugee in...
- 4/23/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
More than half of all competition titles directed by women.
Switzerland’s Zurich Film Festival (Zff) has unveiled the full programme for its 2020 edition, which is set to go ahead as a physical event from September 24 to October 4.
Scroll down for list of competition titles
The 16th edition of the festival will comprise 165 films, of which 23 are world premieres and more than half of the competition titles are directed by women. Zff also revealed that Oscar-winning UK actress Olivia Colman will receive an honorary award and Johnny Depp is set to attend the festival with a new documentary.
The feature...
Switzerland’s Zurich Film Festival (Zff) has unveiled the full programme for its 2020 edition, which is set to go ahead as a physical event from September 24 to October 4.
Scroll down for list of competition titles
The 16th edition of the festival will comprise 165 films, of which 23 are world premieres and more than half of the competition titles are directed by women. Zff also revealed that Oscar-winning UK actress Olivia Colman will receive an honorary award and Johnny Depp is set to attend the festival with a new documentary.
The feature...
- 9/10/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
There’s a town in East Texas where the local Nissan dealership gives away a new pickup to whoever can hold on to it the longest. The event starts with 20 contestants, who take their places around the vehicle, keeping one hand on the vehicle at all times until their sanity snaps or their legs give out. The publicity stunt repeated every year for two decades straight, until the 2005 edition took a horrible turn. But before it turned tragic, the “hands on” competition was the stuff of legend — the modern-day equivalent of the desperate Depression-era dance marathons depicted in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” — giving ordinary folks an opportunity to change their lives: All you had to do was outlast everyone else, and the truck was yours.
In 1997, S.R. Bindler made a legendary documentary about the peculiar Texas tradition, a feisty cult favorite called “Hands on a Hard Body,” and Robert Altman...
In 1997, S.R. Bindler made a legendary documentary about the peculiar Texas tradition, a feisty cult favorite called “Hands on a Hard Body,” and Robert Altman...
- 4/2/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The company has also secured deals on Berlin titles ‘Bad Tales’ and ‘Father’.
German sales firm The Match Factory has racked up sales on several Berlinale films, led by Christian Petzold’s competition title Undine.
The film, which won the Fipresci prize and Silver Bear for actress Paula Beer, has been sold to Spain (Golem), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Italy (Europictures), Scandinavia (Future Film), Portugal (Leopardo), Austria (Polyfilm), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), ex-Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Greece (Ama), Hungary (Vertigo), Poland (Aurora), Romania (Independenta) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi).
IFC Films acquired Us rights to the film during the festival.
The drama, in...
German sales firm The Match Factory has racked up sales on several Berlinale films, led by Christian Petzold’s competition title Undine.
The film, which won the Fipresci prize and Silver Bear for actress Paula Beer, has been sold to Spain (Golem), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Italy (Europictures), Scandinavia (Future Film), Portugal (Leopardo), Austria (Polyfilm), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), ex-Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Greece (Ama), Hungary (Vertigo), Poland (Aurora), Romania (Independenta) and Switzerland (Filmcoopi).
IFC Films acquired Us rights to the film during the festival.
The drama, in...
- 3/10/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Variety’s “10 Europeans to Watch” were feted Saturday night at a party held by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg at Berlin’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Co-hosting the evening were Kirsten Niehuus and Helge Jürgens, managing directors of Medienboard, the regional film, TV and digital-media funding body.
Pictured above are U.K. filmmaker and rapper Andrew Onwubolu, known by his alias Rapman, Irish producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Italian director Carlo Sironi (“Sole”), German director Leonie Krippendorff (“Cocoon”), Estonian director Tanel Toom, Germany-based Kosovan director Visar Morina (“Exile”), and Hungarian actor Abigél Szõke (“Those Who Remained”).
Before welcoming to the stage some of Europe’s most promising stars of tomorrow, Variety executive VP of content Steven Gaydos noted: “Variety is celebrating our 115th year covering international entertainment, before people were watching movies.”
He also shared the story of local producer Sol Bondy, who met Russian producers Ilya Stewart and Murad Osmann at Variety’s “10 Producers to...
Pictured above are U.K. filmmaker and rapper Andrew Onwubolu, known by his alias Rapman, Irish producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Italian director Carlo Sironi (“Sole”), German director Leonie Krippendorff (“Cocoon”), Estonian director Tanel Toom, Germany-based Kosovan director Visar Morina (“Exile”), and Hungarian actor Abigél Szõke (“Those Who Remained”).
Before welcoming to the stage some of Europe’s most promising stars of tomorrow, Variety executive VP of content Steven Gaydos noted: “Variety is celebrating our 115th year covering international entertainment, before people were watching movies.”
He also shared the story of local producer Sol Bondy, who met Russian producers Ilya Stewart and Murad Osmann at Variety’s “10 Producers to...
- 2/23/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Hands of Fate: Gunther Paints Compelling Portrait of Pride and Poverty
German born director Bastian Günther returns to the other side of his dual citizenship in Texas with his fourth feature One of These Days. Like his 2013 title Houston, Gunther focuses on desperate people in desperate times with a reenactment of an annual “Hands on a Hardbody” competition in a small Texas town. A fine cast of noted character actors and various up-and-comers assists the title’s unfussy descent into an inevitable tragedy in an agonizing slow burn.
Joan (Carrie Preston) is in charge of organizing an annual competition at her car dealership where local contestants are selected at random and allowed the chance to win a new hardbody pick-up truck if they are the last one standing with one hand on the car.…...
German born director Bastian Günther returns to the other side of his dual citizenship in Texas with his fourth feature One of These Days. Like his 2013 title Houston, Gunther focuses on desperate people in desperate times with a reenactment of an annual “Hands on a Hardbody” competition in a small Texas town. A fine cast of noted character actors and various up-and-comers assists the title’s unfussy descent into an inevitable tragedy in an agonizing slow burn.
Joan (Carrie Preston) is in charge of organizing an annual competition at her car dealership where local contestants are selected at random and allowed the chance to win a new hardbody pick-up truck if they are the last one standing with one hand on the car.…...
- 2/22/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Berlin International Film Festival (February 20 – March 1) continues to add to its 2020 line-up, with new titles today unveiled for its Panorama and Berlinale Special programs.
Joining the Panorama line-up is Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously Mughal Mowgli), starring Riz Ahmed as a young Brit rapper who is about to start his first world tour when a crippling illness strikes him down. Ahmed also co-wrote the screenplay and is producing.
Also new in Panorama are the world premieres of Eric Steel’s Us pic Minyan – set in New York in the 1980s and following a 17-year-old who questions the strict rules of his Jewish community while beginning to live out his homosexuality in the East Village gay scene – and Bastian Günther’s Germany-us co-pro One Of These Days, featuring Carrie Preston and Joe Cole and depicting a Texan ‘Hands on a Hardbody’ competition.
Aneil Karia’s Surge, staring Ben Whishaw,...
Joining the Panorama line-up is Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously Mughal Mowgli), starring Riz Ahmed as a young Brit rapper who is about to start his first world tour when a crippling illness strikes him down. Ahmed also co-wrote the screenplay and is producing.
Also new in Panorama are the world premieres of Eric Steel’s Us pic Minyan – set in New York in the 1980s and following a 17-year-old who questions the strict rules of his Jewish community while beginning to live out his homosexuality in the East Village gay scene – and Bastian Günther’s Germany-us co-pro One Of These Days, featuring Carrie Preston and Joe Cole and depicting a Texan ‘Hands on a Hardbody’ competition.
Aneil Karia’s Surge, staring Ben Whishaw,...
- 1/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The section will also showcase the world premiere of Srdan Golubović’s Father
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has completed the line-up of its Panorama strand with a further 15 world premieres.
The newly announced titles take the Panorama total to 35, after a first wave of features for the strand were announced last month.
They include the world premiere of Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously titlted Mughal Mowgli), which stars Riz Ahmed as a UK rapper on the verge of international stardom when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has completed the line-up of its Panorama strand with a further 15 world premieres.
The newly announced titles take the Panorama total to 35, after a first wave of features for the strand were announced last month.
They include the world premiere of Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously titlted Mughal Mowgli), which stars Riz Ahmed as a UK rapper on the verge of international stardom when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family.
- 1/21/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based Flare Film is continuing its focus on international productions with German filmmaker Bastian Günther’s “Avalanche,” which just wrapped principal photography in Louisiana.
The timely social drama, which stars Carrie Preston (“Claws”) and British thesp Joe Cole (“A Prayer Before Dawn”), is set in America’s troubled social and cultural environment and explores the caustic repercussions of extreme capitalism that exploits underprivileged people for profit and entertainment.
The story follows the marketing manager of a small-town car dealership, played by Preston, who organizes an endurance contest in which 20 down-on-their-luck contenders compete to win a new pickup truck, and a young contestant (Cole) hoping for a better life.
The drama marks producer and Flare Film managing director Martin Heisler’s third collaboration with Günther after his debut feature, “Autopilots,” and his 2013 Sundance screener “Houston,” which was likewise set in the U.S.
“Avalanche” is produced by Heisler and Los Angeles-based co-producer Peter Veverka,...
The timely social drama, which stars Carrie Preston (“Claws”) and British thesp Joe Cole (“A Prayer Before Dawn”), is set in America’s troubled social and cultural environment and explores the caustic repercussions of extreme capitalism that exploits underprivileged people for profit and entertainment.
The story follows the marketing manager of a small-town car dealership, played by Preston, who organizes an endurance contest in which 20 down-on-their-luck contenders compete to win a new pickup truck, and a young contestant (Cole) hoping for a better life.
The drama marks producer and Flare Film managing director Martin Heisler’s third collaboration with Günther after his debut feature, “Autopilots,” and his 2013 Sundance screener “Houston,” which was likewise set in the U.S.
“Avalanche” is produced by Heisler and Los Angeles-based co-producer Peter Veverka,...
- 11/3/2018
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Here is a complete listing of the films that were shown/covered by the Ioncinema.com team comprised of Nicholas Bell (Nb), Jordan M. Smith (Js) and Eric Lavallee (El). We’ll be populating this page up until March.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Afternoon Delight – Jill Soloway: Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Ain’T Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery: El (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review // Interview
Austenland- Jerusha Hess: Nb (★): Review
C.O.G.- Kyle Patrick Alvarez: Js (★★ 1/2), Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Concussion – Stacie Passon: El (★★★), Js (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★): Review // Interview
Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes – Francesca Gregorini: Js (★★★), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review
Fruitvale – Ryan Coogler: El (★★★), Js (★★★★★), Nb (★★★★): Review // Interview // Video
In A World… – Lake Bell: El (★★★): Review
Kill Your Darlings – John Krokidas: El (★★★), Nb (★★★): Review
The Lifeguard – Liz W. Garcia: El (★★ 1/2): Review
May In The Summer...
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Afternoon Delight – Jill Soloway: Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Ain’T Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery: El (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review // Interview
Austenland- Jerusha Hess: Nb (★): Review
C.O.G.- Kyle Patrick Alvarez: Js (★★ 1/2), Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Concussion – Stacie Passon: El (★★★), Js (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★): Review // Interview
Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes – Francesca Gregorini: Js (★★★), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review
Fruitvale – Ryan Coogler: El (★★★), Js (★★★★★), Nb (★★★★): Review // Interview // Video
In A World… – Lake Bell: El (★★★): Review
Kill Your Darlings – John Krokidas: El (★★★), Nb (★★★): Review
The Lifeguard – Liz W. Garcia: El (★★ 1/2): Review
May In The Summer...
- 1/29/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Berlin and Austin-based filmmaker Bastian Günther had a big festival hit with his film "Autopilots," which premiered at the Berlinale. He's come to the Sundance for the first time with his World Dramatic title "Houston." What It's About: Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. On the hunt for a top CEO in Houston, Texas, his addiction takes him on a haunting journey into his own darkness. And so it's really about: It's about how we live today and about how we get wrapped up and lost in systems of our own creation that are organized around short-term goals and short-term satisfactions. On the individual level, this comes in the form of rampant consumerism or addiction, and on the societal level, in extreme capitalism and global corporations. These systems do not offer enduring solutions or meaning.
- 1/22/2013
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Bastian Günther’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition entry “Houston” follows a corporate headhunter visiting the titular Texas town to look for a CEO candidate as his alcoholism increasingly corrupts his reality. The film, which is mostly English-language, stars Ulrich Tukur and Garret Dillahunt. “Houston” will have its premiere Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 5:30 pm at the Prospector Square Theatre in Park City. Check out this exclusive clip, which, while uneventful, points to the lead character's intense disorientation.
- 1/3/2013
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
Berlinale Co-Production Market
Thirty-eight film projects from twenty-five countries have been selected for the eighth Berlinale Co-Production Market which will run from February 13 to 15, 2011. The producers and directors of these projects will meet with 450 potential co-production and financing partners during the event. No Indian project has found a place in the 38 projects that have been chosen out of 352 entries.
Three projects have also been chosen for the “Rotterdam-Berlinale Express”, in collaboration with CineMart Rotterdam. These projects will participate in both the CineMart and the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
In cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus, eleven projects by newcomers have been selected from 270 additional entries for the “Talent Project Market”.
The official selection of projects for the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2011:
Love Isreal (dir: Julia von Heinz), 2Pilots Filmproduction, Germany
They Are All Dead (dir: Beatriz Sanchis), Avalon P.C., Spain
Saints (dir: Seyfi Teoman), Bulut Film, Turkey
Darkness by Day (dir: Martin Desalvo), Doménica Films,...
Thirty-eight film projects from twenty-five countries have been selected for the eighth Berlinale Co-Production Market which will run from February 13 to 15, 2011. The producers and directors of these projects will meet with 450 potential co-production and financing partners during the event. No Indian project has found a place in the 38 projects that have been chosen out of 352 entries.
Three projects have also been chosen for the “Rotterdam-Berlinale Express”, in collaboration with CineMart Rotterdam. These projects will participate in both the CineMart and the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
In cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus, eleven projects by newcomers have been selected from 270 additional entries for the “Talent Project Market”.
The official selection of projects for the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2011:
Love Isreal (dir: Julia von Heinz), 2Pilots Filmproduction, Germany
They Are All Dead (dir: Beatriz Sanchis), Avalon P.C., Spain
Saints (dir: Seyfi Teoman), Bulut Film, Turkey
Darkness by Day (dir: Martin Desalvo), Doménica Films,...
- 1/14/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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