Exclusive: The Arab Film Club, a popular monthly film club on Arab cinema based in London, is expanding.
Actress and presenter Sarah Agha, the club’s founder and curator, is launching The Arab Film Club Podcast, debuting Wednesday, May 1, with an initial five-episode season. Episodes will drop on Podbean, Apple, and Spotify every second Wednesday after that.
The pod’s first season will be dedicated to Palestinian cinema and highlight five different Palestinian filmmakers through intimate interviews. Featured filmmakers will include Darin J. Sallam, best known for her breakout feature Farha, which was Jordan’s Best International Film Oscar in 2022. Agha will also sit down with Bye Bye Tiberias director Lina Soualem. Scroll down to see the full season one lineup.
Agha, an actress, writer, presenter, and film curator is of Palestinian and Irish heritage. She is perhaps best known for presenting the acclaimed BBC doc The Holy Land And...
Actress and presenter Sarah Agha, the club’s founder and curator, is launching The Arab Film Club Podcast, debuting Wednesday, May 1, with an initial five-episode season. Episodes will drop on Podbean, Apple, and Spotify every second Wednesday after that.
The pod’s first season will be dedicated to Palestinian cinema and highlight five different Palestinian filmmakers through intimate interviews. Featured filmmakers will include Darin J. Sallam, best known for her breakout feature Farha, which was Jordan’s Best International Film Oscar in 2022. Agha will also sit down with Bye Bye Tiberias director Lina Soualem. Scroll down to see the full season one lineup.
Agha, an actress, writer, presenter, and film curator is of Palestinian and Irish heritage. She is perhaps best known for presenting the acclaimed BBC doc The Holy Land And...
- 4/17/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Aflamuna Connection, formerly known as Beirut Cinema Platform, has selected 14 feature film projects to participate in its eighth edition, which will be the first edition to be held under the new name Aflamuna (Our films).
Reflecting emerging Arab filmmaker voices, the 14 projects range between fiction, docu-fiction and documentaries, and feature 11 projects in development and three in post-production. The selected projects come from Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
Titles include Moondove, Lebanese filmmaker Karim Kassem’s docu-fiction about a female artist returning to a village outside Beirut after living abroad. Kassem’s documentary Octopus won...
Reflecting emerging Arab filmmaker voices, the 14 projects range between fiction, docu-fiction and documentaries, and feature 11 projects in development and three in post-production. The selected projects come from Sudan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
Titles include Moondove, Lebanese filmmaker Karim Kassem’s docu-fiction about a female artist returning to a village outside Beirut after living abroad. Kassem’s documentary Octopus won...
- 3/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Saudi event has become a magnet for international execs and talent
As the third edition Red Sea International Film Festival kicks off today, the fledgling Saudi event has fast become a magnet for an international industry looking to access funding, talent and stories from the Middle East.
A significant number of international sales agents, distributors, financiers, producers and festival chiefs are travelling to Jeddah for Red Sea for the first time this year, making the trip despite regional tensions caused by Israel-Hamas war and an anticipated post-strike scaling up of production in the US and Europe.
At a time...
As the third edition Red Sea International Film Festival kicks off today, the fledgling Saudi event has fast become a magnet for an international industry looking to access funding, talent and stories from the Middle East.
A significant number of international sales agents, distributors, financiers, producers and festival chiefs are travelling to Jeddah for Red Sea for the first time this year, making the trip despite regional tensions caused by Israel-Hamas war and an anticipated post-strike scaling up of production in the US and Europe.
At a time...
- 11/30/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Jordan has submitted Amjad Al-Rasheed’s female inheritance rights drama Inshallah A Boy for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The picture made history earlier this year when it became the first Jordanian feature film to premiere in Cannes, when it was selected for parallel section Cannes Critics’ Week.
It won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, putting $21,000 towards distribution costs in France.
Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film ahead of its North American premiere at TIFF earlier this month.
The Amman-set drama stars Muna Hawa as a newly widowed young woman, who is in danger of losing the home that she helped pay for with her late husband due to Jordan’s anachronistic inheritance laws.
In the face of pressure from her in-laws and with little support from her the wealthy household where she works as a carer for the ageing grandmother,...
The picture made history earlier this year when it became the first Jordanian feature film to premiere in Cannes, when it was selected for parallel section Cannes Critics’ Week.
It won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, putting $21,000 towards distribution costs in France.
Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film ahead of its North American premiere at TIFF earlier this month.
The Amman-set drama stars Muna Hawa as a newly widowed young woman, who is in danger of losing the home that she helped pay for with her late husband due to Jordan’s anachronistic inheritance laws.
In the face of pressure from her in-laws and with little support from her the wealthy household where she works as a carer for the ageing grandmother,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Preparing for an upcoming flight isn’t just limited to packing your clothes and toiletries — have you thought about how you’re going to keep yourself entertained? The idealist in all of us might say we’re gonna read that book we’ve been putting off, but depending on the length of your flight, that may be easier said than done. If it’s on the longer side, it can be easy to get distracted and start to really feel the minutes crawling by.
The good news is that in recent years,...
The good news is that in recent years,...
- 8/19/2022
- by Jon Adams
- Rollingstone.com
Dubai-based distribution and production outfit Front Row Filmed Entertainment has boarded Arab-language comedy “Abdelinho,” directed by Morocco’s Hicham Ayouch and toplined by Ali Suliman (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”).
The move comes as Front Row, which is a prominent Mena region indie distributor, ramps up its production side following its Arabic adaptation of Italian dramedy “Perfect Strangers” that it produced in tandem with Egypt’s Film Clinic. The redo was recently acquired by Netflix and is being touted as a local hit.
“Abdelinho” is a coming-of-age-comedy set in a small town in Morocco. It’s centered around its titular character, a gentle-spirited dreamer who has a strong fascination with Brazil. Accordingly, Abdelinho speaks Portuguese and dances the samba.
His life is turned upside-down by the arrival of a televangelist played by Suliman, the prominent Palestinian thesp who broke out in Hany Abu Assad’s Oscar-nominated 2005 film “Paradise Now” and...
The move comes as Front Row, which is a prominent Mena region indie distributor, ramps up its production side following its Arabic adaptation of Italian dramedy “Perfect Strangers” that it produced in tandem with Egypt’s Film Clinic. The redo was recently acquired by Netflix and is being touted as a local hit.
“Abdelinho” is a coming-of-age-comedy set in a small town in Morocco. It’s centered around its titular character, a gentle-spirited dreamer who has a strong fascination with Brazil. Accordingly, Abdelinho speaks Portuguese and dances the samba.
His life is turned upside-down by the arrival of a televangelist played by Suliman, the prominent Palestinian thesp who broke out in Hany Abu Assad’s Oscar-nominated 2005 film “Paradise Now” and...
- 5/10/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival has returned, again in a virtual format, March 6 -13 but shifted to a new spring season instead of its previous summer slot. Being virtual means all the exciting lineup of films, including documentaries on an array of subjects plus comedy and drama narrative films, are available to view anytime during the festival, through March 13, from the comfort of your own home. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.
The 27th annual festival, which is virtual like the last two, has an array of 13 international and U.S. films with Jewish themes, with five outstanding documentaries on varied topics, and eight engrossing narrative features including dramas, comedies, historical films and thrillers, plus a trio of enticing discussions and a pre-festival bonus short film, “Touch the Sky,” which is available to stream starting Jan. 17.
Countries represented include Israel, France,...
The 27th annual festival, which is virtual like the last two, has an array of 13 international and U.S. films with Jewish themes, with five outstanding documentaries on varied topics, and eight engrossing narrative features including dramas, comedies, historical films and thrillers, plus a trio of enticing discussions and a pre-festival bonus short film, “Touch the Sky,” which is available to stream starting Jan. 17.
Countries represented include Israel, France,...
- 3/12/2022
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cannes 2019 discoveries Mounia Meddour and Maryam Touzani are among the Mena filmmakers with works in post-production.
Middle Eastern and North African cinema enjoyed a high profile on the 2021 festival scene thanks to a raft of works from the region including Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s Casablanca Beats, Egyptian Cannes Critics’ Week winner Feathers, Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava, Lebanon, and Tribeca selection Souad by Egyptian filmmaker Ayten Amin.
Will this trend continue into 2022? Screen rounds up key titles from the Middle East and North Africa that are likely to excite festival programmers this year.
Am-Bi-Gu-i-Ty (Tun)
Dir. Nada Mezni Hafaiedh...
Middle Eastern and North African cinema enjoyed a high profile on the 2021 festival scene thanks to a raft of works from the region including Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s Casablanca Beats, Egyptian Cannes Critics’ Week winner Feathers, Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava, Lebanon, and Tribeca selection Souad by Egyptian filmmaker Ayten Amin.
Will this trend continue into 2022? Screen rounds up key titles from the Middle East and North Africa that are likely to excite festival programmers this year.
Am-Bi-Gu-i-Ty (Tun)
Dir. Nada Mezni Hafaiedh...
- 1/26/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
When the Torino Short Film Market kicked off its inaugural edition in November 2016, the young event already set a clear intention: To catapult new talents into the wider film industry.
“The short film world is kind of detached from the feature and docs markets,” Tsfm artistic director Enrico Vannucci tells Variety. “Our job is to find these new talents that critics or audiences will later discover. The short film world is kind of apart, so we’re trying to bring these talents closer [into the fold,] because 99% of shorts filmmakers want to make features.”
To do so, the young event put into a place what would become one its flagship initiatives – a feature pitch session called Oltrecorto (or Beyond the Short). Since 2016, event coordinators have spotlighted five shorts per year that could serve as proof-of-concepts for eventual features, presenting the finished film followed by a five-minute feature pitch before potential co-production partners.
In recent years,...
“The short film world is kind of detached from the feature and docs markets,” Tsfm artistic director Enrico Vannucci tells Variety. “Our job is to find these new talents that critics or audiences will later discover. The short film world is kind of apart, so we’re trying to bring these talents closer [into the fold,] because 99% of shorts filmmakers want to make features.”
To do so, the young event put into a place what would become one its flagship initiatives – a feature pitch session called Oltrecorto (or Beyond the Short). Since 2016, event coordinators have spotlighted five shorts per year that could serve as proof-of-concepts for eventual features, presenting the finished film followed by a five-minute feature pitch before potential co-production partners.
In recent years,...
- 12/4/2021
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
200 Meters Odeh Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Ameen Nayfeh Writer: Ameen Nayfeh Cast: Ali Suliman, Anna Unterberger, Lana Zreik, Gassan Abbas, Nabil Al Raee, Motaz Malhees, Mahmoud Abu Eita, Samia Bakri Qazmuz Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 5/14/21 Opens: May 19-27, 2021 at the Human […]
The post 200 Meters Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post 200 Meters Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 11/20/2021
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Marco Orsini, president of the not-for-profit International Emerging Film Talent Association (Iefta), is firmly in favor of a back to basics distribution approach for independent films from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, the Horn of Africa and some parts of South Asia.
Orsini says that quality independent films would most likely be selected at some high-end film festivals and attract sales agents, but Covid-19 shut down many of the potential theatrical markets for these films. Many went straight to VOD platforms instead.
“I think a lot of the VOD platforms have begun to put a sting into how sales agents work, they become diminished,” Orsini told Variety in an interview conducted at the recent El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. “But at the same time, filmmakers, I feel, have been brainwashed to believe that the golden carrot is Netflix.”
“I think that would be a great end game…...
Orsini says that quality independent films would most likely be selected at some high-end film festivals and attract sales agents, but Covid-19 shut down many of the potential theatrical markets for these films. Many went straight to VOD platforms instead.
“I think a lot of the VOD platforms have begun to put a sting into how sales agents work, they become diminished,” Orsini told Variety in an interview conducted at the recent El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. “But at the same time, filmmakers, I feel, have been brainwashed to believe that the golden carrot is Netflix.”
“I think that would be a great end game…...
- 11/1/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Intl. Emerging Film Talent Assn. (Iefta) returns to El Gouna, Egypt, with two ongoing partnerships at the fifth film festival, running Oct. 14-22.
For the fifth year, Iefta and its Global Film Expression Mentorship program will participate in the CineGouna Platform, which enables Arab film directors and producers with projects in development or films in post-production to find creative and financial support.
And for the third year in El Gouna (after two years in Cannes), Iefta and the U.N. High Commission for Refugees are presenting Refugee Voices in Film. This year’s program explores how filmmakers use different film formats, including narrative, documentary and animation, to depict stories of refugees around the globe.
The fest at the Egyptian resort town of El Gouna, on the Red Sea, has a longtime mandate of “cinema for humanity,” and the programs and films selected reflect this.
Established in 2006, Iefta has driven...
For the fifth year, Iefta and its Global Film Expression Mentorship program will participate in the CineGouna Platform, which enables Arab film directors and producers with projects in development or films in post-production to find creative and financial support.
And for the third year in El Gouna (after two years in Cannes), Iefta and the U.N. High Commission for Refugees are presenting Refugee Voices in Film. This year’s program explores how filmmakers use different film formats, including narrative, documentary and animation, to depict stories of refugees around the globe.
The fest at the Egyptian resort town of El Gouna, on the Red Sea, has a longtime mandate of “cinema for humanity,” and the programs and films selected reflect this.
Established in 2006, Iefta has driven...
- 10/13/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Amid ongoing disruption in the Arab world’s unstable fest landscape, Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival is staying the course and increasingly proving its mettle in promoting the cream of the region’s cinematic crop while also providing key support in nurturing new works.
El Gouna chief Intishal Al Timimi proudly points out that the fifth edition of the Oct. 14-22 event has secured eight high-profile features from Arab directors, most of which will be having their Middle Eastern premieres in the Egyptian Red Sea resort after bowing in Cannes and Venice.
They comprise French-Moroccan veteran Nabil Ayouch’s high-energy hip-hop drama “Casablanca Beats”; and two works from Lebanon: Mounia Akl’s dramedy “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” which targets Lebanon’s political malaise; and Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” about a young woman who returns from Paris to Beirut and reconnects with the life she had left behind. There...
El Gouna chief Intishal Al Timimi proudly points out that the fifth edition of the Oct. 14-22 event has secured eight high-profile features from Arab directors, most of which will be having their Middle Eastern premieres in the Egyptian Red Sea resort after bowing in Cannes and Venice.
They comprise French-Moroccan veteran Nabil Ayouch’s high-energy hip-hop drama “Casablanca Beats”; and two works from Lebanon: Mounia Akl’s dramedy “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” which targets Lebanon’s political malaise; and Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” about a young woman who returns from Paris to Beirut and reconnects with the life she had left behind. There...
- 10/13/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Film Movement has acquired North American rights to Olivia Peace’s “Tahara,” a coming-of-age starring Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Baby”) which played at Slamdance and TIFF Next Wave.
The film will be released theatrically in North America in 2022, followed by a roll out on home video and digital services. “Tahara” follows Carrie Lowstein (DeFreece) and Hannah Rosen (Sennott) who are best friends. When their former Hebrew school classmate, Samantha Goldstein, commits suicide, the two girls go to her funeral as well as the “Teen Talk-back” session designed to be an opportunity for them to understand grief through their faith. But, after an innocent kissing exercise turns Carrie’s world inside out, the pair finds themselves distracted by teenage complications.
On top of playing at Slamdance and TIFF Next Wave, the film won the Grand Jury Special Mention at Outfest as well as the best feature debut award by a Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker at NewFest.
The film will be released theatrically in North America in 2022, followed by a roll out on home video and digital services. “Tahara” follows Carrie Lowstein (DeFreece) and Hannah Rosen (Sennott) who are best friends. When their former Hebrew school classmate, Samantha Goldstein, commits suicide, the two girls go to her funeral as well as the “Teen Talk-back” session designed to be an opportunity for them to understand grief through their faith. But, after an innocent kissing exercise turns Carrie’s world inside out, the pair finds themselves distracted by teenage complications.
On top of playing at Slamdance and TIFF Next Wave, the film won the Grand Jury Special Mention at Outfest as well as the best feature debut award by a Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker at NewFest.
- 9/17/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Salim Dau and Hiam Abbas in Gaza Mon Amour Gaza Mon Amour has be named the best film at the fifth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
The film, directed by twin Palestinian brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, sees a fisherman (Salim Daw) attempt to woo a seamstress, played by Hiam Abbass, who picked up the best actress accolade in the awards, which are voted on by 160 critics from 63 countries.
200 Meters Ameen Nayfeh won the best director award for 200 Meters, about a man who is separated from his family by Israel's West Bank Barrier, and his lead, Ali Suliman, was named best actor.
The best screenplay gong went to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania for his Oscar-nominated The Man Who Sold His Skin, which considers the "commodification of a Syrian refugee.
Lift Like A Girl, a fly-on-the-wall study of an Egyptian weightlifting training gym, directed by Mayye Zayed won best documentary.
The film, directed by twin Palestinian brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, sees a fisherman (Salim Daw) attempt to woo a seamstress, played by Hiam Abbass, who picked up the best actress accolade in the awards, which are voted on by 160 critics from 63 countries.
200 Meters Ameen Nayfeh won the best director award for 200 Meters, about a man who is separated from his family by Israel's West Bank Barrier, and his lead, Ali Suliman, was named best actor.
The best screenplay gong went to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania for his Oscar-nominated The Man Who Sold His Skin, which considers the "commodification of a Syrian refugee.
Lift Like A Girl, a fly-on-the-wall study of an Egyptian weightlifting training gym, directed by Mayye Zayed won best documentary.
- 7/11/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Annual award voted on by 160 critics from 63 territories.
Palestinian fraternal directorial duo Arab and Tarzan Nasser’s romantic drama Gaza Mon Amour has won best film at the fifth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Palestine’s Hiam Abbass also won best actress for her role in the film as a seamstress who is courted by a local fisherman, played by Salim Daw.
The Gaza Strip-set romance is inspired by the real-life discovery of an ancient statue of Apollo in the waters off the territory.
Speared by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), the awards are voted on by 160 film critics from 63 countries.
Palestinian fraternal directorial duo Arab and Tarzan Nasser’s romantic drama Gaza Mon Amour has won best film at the fifth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Palestine’s Hiam Abbass also won best actress for her role in the film as a seamstress who is courted by a local fisherman, played by Salim Daw.
The Gaza Strip-set romance is inspired by the real-life discovery of an ancient statue of Apollo in the waters off the territory.
Speared by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), the awards are voted on by 160 film critics from 63 countries.
- 7/11/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Salim Dau and Hiam Abbas in Gaza Mon Amour Gaza Mon Amour leads the nominations for this year's Arab Cinema Center's Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Arab and Tarzen Nasser's quirky drama received five nominations, followed by Ameen Nayfeh's family drama 200 Meters with four. The films were shortlisted by an international jury panel of 160 film critics from 63 countries. The winners will be revealed during this year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which is scheduled to run form July 6 to 17.
Deborah Young, manager of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, commented: “Although last year was hard on everyone, the Arab cinema provided a recognisably high-quality level of fiction and documentary films; making it hard to pick the nominees for this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films. I was also heartened to see a growing number of women directors among the nominees, a trend I hope will continue.
Arab and Tarzen Nasser's quirky drama received five nominations, followed by Ameen Nayfeh's family drama 200 Meters with four. The films were shortlisted by an international jury panel of 160 film critics from 63 countries. The winners will be revealed during this year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which is scheduled to run form July 6 to 17.
Deborah Young, manager of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, commented: “Although last year was hard on everyone, the Arab cinema provided a recognisably high-quality level of fiction and documentary films; making it hard to pick the nominees for this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films. I was also heartened to see a growing number of women directors among the nominees, a trend I hope will continue.
- 6/14/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
This number will increase as Cannes, Venice and other summer festival titles are added to the mix alongside studio releases.
French cinemas reopen this Wednesday (May 19) after lying dark for six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the country’s 100-plus distributors rushing to set theatrical dates for an estimated backlog of 400 stalled films.
As a result, French cinemagoers will have access to the richest and most diverse offering of films in the world over the coming months, spanning festival titles, local mainstream comedies and dramas, world cinema and studio blockbuster fare, as the summer advances.
As of May...
French cinemas reopen this Wednesday (May 19) after lying dark for six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the country’s 100-plus distributors rushing to set theatrical dates for an estimated backlog of 400 stalled films.
As a result, French cinemagoers will have access to the richest and most diverse offering of films in the world over the coming months, spanning festival titles, local mainstream comedies and dramas, world cinema and studio blockbuster fare, as the summer advances.
As of May...
- 5/17/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
You could say it is a road movie as the three Palestinians and a German tourist drive illegally across the wall dividing Jewish Israel from Palestine so that Mustafa can visit his wife and family who live 200 meters away in a separated Palestinian village. Or you could say this film is an absurd example of the unnecessary burden put upon normal people during normal times because governments flex their powerful muscles and by that actually destroy the human dignity of everyone.…
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
- 5/12/2021
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Black and white Bulgarian drama to receive North American premiere at Santa Barbara Film Festival
Film Movement has snapped up North American rights from Films2C to Ivaylo Hristov’s 2020 Tallinn Black Nights grand prize winner Fear.
Svetlana Yancheva stars as a strong-willed widow in Bulgaria who enrages her village when she takes in an African refugee (Michael Fleming) who she finds in the woods while hunting.
The black and white Bulgarian drama will receive its North American premiere at Santa Barbara Film Festival in early April.
Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg negotiated the deal with Chantal Chauzy of Films2C.
Film Movement has snapped up North American rights from Films2C to Ivaylo Hristov’s 2020 Tallinn Black Nights grand prize winner Fear.
Svetlana Yancheva stars as a strong-willed widow in Bulgaria who enrages her village when she takes in an African refugee (Michael Fleming) who she finds in the woods while hunting.
The black and white Bulgarian drama will receive its North American premiere at Santa Barbara Film Festival in early April.
Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg negotiated the deal with Chantal Chauzy of Films2C.
- 3/24/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The seventh edition will nurture 48 projects by first and second-time directors hailing mainly from the Arab world.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off the online edition of its seventh annual talent and project development meeting Qumra on Friday.
Unfolding from March 12-17, the event will nurture 48 short and feature-length films at different stages of their creation from 41 countries, that have previously received the support of the Dfi grants programme.
They range from in-development projects such as Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s Casablanca-set kidnap caper Hounds to projects in post-production including Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava Lebanon,...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off the online edition of its seventh annual talent and project development meeting Qumra on Friday.
Unfolding from March 12-17, the event will nurture 48 short and feature-length films at different stages of their creation from 41 countries, that have previously received the support of the Dfi grants programme.
They range from in-development projects such as Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s Casablanca-set kidnap caper Hounds to projects in post-production including Lebanese filmmaker Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava Lebanon,...
- 3/12/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
U.S indie distributor Film Movement has acquired North American rights from Italian sales company True Colours to Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh’s drama “200 Meters,” about a Palestinian construction worker who takes huge risks to cross the West Bank wall to reach his hospitalized son.
In September, “200 Meters,” which marks Nayfeh’s debut, launched from the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days section, where it won the audience award. The pic was praised by Variety critic Jay Weissberg for “drawing out how one man’s story is a reflection of a collective experience.” “200 Meters” subsequently scooped the best actor prize at Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange fest for protagonist Ali Suliman and other awards at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
Suliman (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) plays the Palestinian construction worker named Mustafa, who is separated from his family on the other side of the wall in the West Bank.
In September, “200 Meters,” which marks Nayfeh’s debut, launched from the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days section, where it won the audience award. The pic was praised by Variety critic Jay Weissberg for “drawing out how one man’s story is a reflection of a collective experience.” “200 Meters” subsequently scooped the best actor prize at Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange fest for protagonist Ali Suliman and other awards at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
Suliman (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) plays the Palestinian construction worker named Mustafa, who is separated from his family on the other side of the wall in the West Bank.
- 3/9/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Although this year’s Middle Eastern/North African Oscar submissions have yet to generate a strong buzz, there are titles among the 10 films that could be contenders for the international feature short list.
Chief among them is “Sun Children” from veteran Iranian helmer Majid Majidi, whose 1997 “Children of Heaven” landed a foreign-language film nomination. This gripping drama about exploited urban street kids is cast with charismatic, non-pro performers and earned an acting award at the Venice fest for its resilient young protagonist. Strand Films will release.
A possible dark horse is “Broken Keys,” the feature debut of Lebanese multi-hyphenate Jimmy Keyrouz. It marks an expansion of his 2016 Student Academy Award-winner “Nocturne in Black” about a musician in a Syrian town controlled by Isis. Sporting the Cannes Label, this tense drama, with a score by Keyrouz’s famous compatriot Gabriel Yared, shares the combination of real-life crisis and sweeping emotion that characterizes some past nominees.
Chief among them is “Sun Children” from veteran Iranian helmer Majid Majidi, whose 1997 “Children of Heaven” landed a foreign-language film nomination. This gripping drama about exploited urban street kids is cast with charismatic, non-pro performers and earned an acting award at the Venice fest for its resilient young protagonist. Strand Films will release.
A possible dark horse is “Broken Keys,” the feature debut of Lebanese multi-hyphenate Jimmy Keyrouz. It marks an expansion of his 2016 Student Academy Award-winner “Nocturne in Black” about a musician in a Syrian town controlled by Isis. Sporting the Cannes Label, this tense drama, with a score by Keyrouz’s famous compatriot Gabriel Yared, shares the combination of real-life crisis and sweeping emotion that characterizes some past nominees.
- 1/27/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Anders Refn’s WWII saga “Into the Darkness” (Denmark) and Ko Chen-Nien’s abuse drama “The Silent Forest” (Taiwan) won the major prizes at the 51st International Film Festival of India in Goa.
“Into The Darkness” won the Golden Peacock for best film. The award carries a cash prize of Inr 4 million. The Silver Peacock for best director went to Ko, for “The Silent Forest.” The award comes with a cash prize of Inr 1.5 million.
Liu Tzu-Chuan won best actor, male, for “The Silent Forest,” while Zofia Stafiej won best actor, female, for her role in Piotr Domalewski’s comedy-drama “I Never Cry” (Poland).
Kamin Kalev won the special jury award for drama “February” (Bulgaria/France). Cassio Pereira dos Santos won best debut for trans coming-of-age film “Valentina” (Brazil). Indian director Kripal Kalita was given a special mention for for Assamese-language film “Bridge.”
The International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication Unesco Gandhi Award,...
“Into The Darkness” won the Golden Peacock for best film. The award carries a cash prize of Inr 4 million. The Silver Peacock for best director went to Ko, for “The Silent Forest.” The award comes with a cash prize of Inr 1.5 million.
Liu Tzu-Chuan won best actor, male, for “The Silent Forest,” while Zofia Stafiej won best actor, female, for her role in Piotr Domalewski’s comedy-drama “I Never Cry” (Poland).
Kamin Kalev won the special jury award for drama “February” (Bulgaria/France). Cassio Pereira dos Santos won best debut for trans coming-of-age film “Valentina” (Brazil). Indian director Kripal Kalita was given a special mention for for Assamese-language film “Bridge.”
The International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication Unesco Gandhi Award,...
- 1/26/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
While it may seem impossible to separate politics from any story about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the director of “200 Meters” Ameen Nayfeh explained why his drama needed to strip away the politics and focus more closely on the relatable, human conflict.
“200 Meters” stars Ali Suliman and is the story of a Palestinian father separated from his family on the other side of the wall in the West Bank, and though he’s just 200 meters away from them, he winds up traveling 200 kilometers in a desperate attempt to reach his son after an accident.
Nayfeh told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman as part of the Awards and International Screening series that in earlier drafts of his screenplay, he had included a lot of political discussion, but he was advised over time to stick to the story of this father.
“I discovered that I don’t need to talk about the political situation.
“200 Meters” stars Ali Suliman and is the story of a Palestinian father separated from his family on the other side of the wall in the West Bank, and though he’s just 200 meters away from them, he winds up traveling 200 kilometers in a desperate attempt to reach his son after an accident.
Nayfeh told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman as part of the Awards and International Screening series that in earlier drafts of his screenplay, he had included a lot of political discussion, but he was advised over time to stick to the story of this father.
“I discovered that I don’t need to talk about the political situation.
- 1/19/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue and that was released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 October 2019 and 31 December 2020.
Here are the Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film. There are some excellent movies in this bunch and we have seen and reviewed already some of them.
Armenia
“Songs of Solomon” by Arman Nshanian
Bangladesh
“Sincerely Yours, Dhaka” by eleven different directors
Bhutan
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom“ by Pawo Choyning Dorji
Cambodia
“Fathers” by Huy Yaleng
China
“Leap” by Peter Chan
Georgia
“Beginnin” by Dea Kulumbegashvili
Hong Kong
“Better Days” by Derek Tsang
India
“Jallikattu...
Here are the Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film. There are some excellent movies in this bunch and we have seen and reviewed already some of them.
Armenia
“Songs of Solomon” by Arman Nshanian
Bangladesh
“Sincerely Yours, Dhaka” by eleven different directors
Bhutan
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom“ by Pawo Choyning Dorji
Cambodia
“Fathers” by Huy Yaleng
China
“Leap” by Peter Chan
Georgia
“Beginnin” by Dea Kulumbegashvili
Hong Kong
“Better Days” by Derek Tsang
India
“Jallikattu...
- 1/6/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Hatem Ali, the influential Syrian multi-hyphenate whose hit historical TV dramas provided collective insight across the Arab world on the roots and complexities of the region’s turbulence, died on Tuesday at 58.
The cause of death, which took place in a Cairo hotel, was a heart attack, according to multiple Middle East news reports.
Born in 1962 in Syria’s Golan Heights, the strategic region occupied by Israel in 1967, Ali started out writing short stories and plays in which he also performed. In 1986 he graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus with an acting degree.
After starting out in showbiz as an actor, Ali segued into directing during the 1990s helming several made-for-tv feature films, including “The Long Night,” a potent drama about the lives of three dissidents released from a Syrian prison after 20 years of incarceration that in 2009 won the top prize at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival.
The cause of death, which took place in a Cairo hotel, was a heart attack, according to multiple Middle East news reports.
Born in 1962 in Syria’s Golan Heights, the strategic region occupied by Israel in 1967, Ali started out writing short stories and plays in which he also performed. In 1986 he graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus with an acting degree.
After starting out in showbiz as an actor, Ali segued into directing during the 1990s helming several made-for-tv feature films, including “The Long Night,” a potent drama about the lives of three dissidents released from a Syrian prison after 20 years of incarceration that in 2009 won the top prize at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival.
- 12/30/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
After highlighting the most overlooked films of 2020, today we’re putting a spotlight on the films that need a home to be seen in the first place: the 40 or so films (and honorable mentions) that we loved on the festival circuit that are still seeking U.S. distribution.
Acting also as a 2020 preview, we hope that highlighting these titles spurs some distributor interests and a release in the next twelve months. Featuring favorites from Berlinale, SXSW, Sundance, TIFF, NYFF, Rotterdam, and beyond, make sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest distribution updates. As we move into 2021, one can also track all of our upcoming festival coverage here.
200 Meters (Ameen Nayfeh)
In a time where the Israeli occupation of Palestine is still causing the deaths of children, the separation of families, and the oppression of Palestinian citizens, a film like 200 Meters becomes even more necessary and relevant.
Acting also as a 2020 preview, we hope that highlighting these titles spurs some distributor interests and a release in the next twelve months. Featuring favorites from Berlinale, SXSW, Sundance, TIFF, NYFF, Rotterdam, and beyond, make sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest distribution updates. As we move into 2021, one can also track all of our upcoming festival coverage here.
200 Meters (Ameen Nayfeh)
In a time where the Israeli occupation of Palestine is still causing the deaths of children, the separation of families, and the oppression of Palestinian citizens, a film like 200 Meters becomes even more necessary and relevant.
- 12/29/2020
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Simu Liu has landed his first project after wrapping Marvel Studios’ forthcoming Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The actor is attached to join Mark Wahlberg in Arthur the King, directed by Simon Cellan Jones, who is stepping in to helm the adventure pic after Baltasar Kormakur exited due to scheduling conflicts.
The film from Entertainment One and Tucker Tooley Entertainment is based on the 2017 book Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home by Mikael Lindnord. Michael Brandt adapted the book, and production is set to begin in January in the Dominican Republic.
Ali Suliman and Rob Collins also have joined the cast.
Sierra/Affinity launched sales for Arthur the King at the virtual Cannes market this year, when Lionsgate was set to handle the film on a domestic front. Lionsgate took over the reins after Paramount Players bowed out. Deadline also...
The film from Entertainment One and Tucker Tooley Entertainment is based on the 2017 book Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home by Mikael Lindnord. Michael Brandt adapted the book, and production is set to begin in January in the Dominican Republic.
Ali Suliman and Rob Collins also have joined the cast.
Sierra/Affinity launched sales for Arthur the King at the virtual Cannes market this year, when Lionsgate was set to handle the film on a domestic front. Lionsgate took over the reins after Paramount Players bowed out. Deadline also...
- 12/16/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Egypt’s Film Clinic, the prominent indie shingle headed by Cairo Film Festival president Mohammed Hefzy, has scored the rare distinction of being the Middle East and North Africa region distributor of a trio of Arabic films that are in the running for the 2021 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Film Clinic, which since 2006 has been producing a wide range of Arabic film and TV fare – most recently Netflix Arabic Original series “Paranormal” – in 2016 branched out and launched Film Clinic Indie Distribution and since then has been gradually stepping up activity.
Film Clinic’s distribution arm is now set to soon release “When We’re Born” by Egypt’s Tamer Ezzat; “200 Meters” by Palestinian/Jordanian auteur Ameen Nayfeh, which is representing Jordan; and “You Will Die at Twenty,” by Amjad Abu Alala, which marks Sudan’s first submission to the Oscars.
The titles are all recent festival circuit standouts.
Film Clinic, which since 2006 has been producing a wide range of Arabic film and TV fare – most recently Netflix Arabic Original series “Paranormal” – in 2016 branched out and launched Film Clinic Indie Distribution and since then has been gradually stepping up activity.
Film Clinic’s distribution arm is now set to soon release “When We’re Born” by Egypt’s Tamer Ezzat; “200 Meters” by Palestinian/Jordanian auteur Ameen Nayfeh, which is representing Jordan; and “You Will Die at Twenty,” by Amjad Abu Alala, which marks Sudan’s first submission to the Oscars.
The titles are all recent festival circuit standouts.
- 12/6/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Majid Majidi’s Venice prize winner Sun Children opened the festival on Wednesday evening.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off a hybrid eighth edition of its youth-focused Ajyal Film Festival on Wednesday with the Mena premiere of Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Venice prize winner Sun Children.
Running under the banner of “The show goes on” from November 18-23, the festival is showing 22 features and 58 shorts hailing from 46 countries, with a mix of socially-distanced physical and online screenings as well as a drive-in venue.
Majidi’s Tehran-set feature, which explores the topic of child labour through the adventures of four poor but resourceful boys,...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off a hybrid eighth edition of its youth-focused Ajyal Film Festival on Wednesday with the Mena premiere of Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Venice prize winner Sun Children.
Running under the banner of “The show goes on” from November 18-23, the festival is showing 22 features and 58 shorts hailing from 46 countries, with a mix of socially-distanced physical and online screenings as well as a drive-in venue.
Majidi’s Tehran-set feature, which explores the topic of child labour through the adventures of four poor but resourceful boys,...
- 11/19/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Majid Majidi’s Venice prize winner Sun Children opened the festival on Wednesday evening.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off a hybrid eighth edition of its youth-focused Ajyal Film Festival on Wednesday with the Mena premiere of Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Venice prize winner Sun Children.
Running under the banner of “The show goes on” from November 18-23, the festival is showing 22 features and 58 shorts hailing from 46 countries, with a mix of socially-distanced physical and online screenings as well as at Qatar’s first-ever drive-in venue.
Majidi’s Tehran-set feature, which explores the topic of child labour through...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) kicked off a hybrid eighth edition of its youth-focused Ajyal Film Festival on Wednesday with the Mena premiere of Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Venice prize winner Sun Children.
Running under the banner of “The show goes on” from November 18-23, the festival is showing 22 features and 58 shorts hailing from 46 countries, with a mix of socially-distanced physical and online screenings as well as at Qatar’s first-ever drive-in venue.
Majidi’s Tehran-set feature, which explores the topic of child labour through...
- 11/19/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The drama is directed by Mexico’s Fernandez Valadez
Mexican director Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features has won the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos for best film at Greece’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) which took place entirely online from November 5-15. The award is a cash prize of £15,000.
The Mexico–Spain co-production previously won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Award at Sundance earlier this year followed by more trophies at San Sebastian, Zurich and Morelia. The film is about on a mother searching for her missing son who tried to emigrate illegally to the US. Alpha Violet handles world sales.
Mexican director Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features has won the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos for best film at Greece’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) which took place entirely online from November 5-15. The award is a cash prize of £15,000.
The Mexico–Spain co-production previously won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Award at Sundance earlier this year followed by more trophies at San Sebastian, Zurich and Morelia. The film is about on a mother searching for her missing son who tried to emigrate illegally to the US. Alpha Violet handles world sales.
- 11/16/2020
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Since True Colours launched in 2015, it has rapidly doubled the size of its lineups to roughly 20 titles per year, while continuing to carefully curate distribution strategies for each film and made lots of global inroads.
The company is known among Italian producers for transparency and providing rapid sales reports, while foreign buyers like working with execs “because they always make things easy,” says Nicolas Zumaglini, head of content at prominent Latin American distributor Telefilms, who notes that “they have definitely helped spread Italian cinema in the region.” As for True Colours giving cinema Italiano more global reach, the most poignant recent example is “Il Testimone Invisibile” (“The Invisible Witness”), a remake of Spanish thriller (“Contratiempo”), directed by Italy’s Stefano Mordini. “Invisible Witness” is the European title that’s scored the highest gross at the Chinese box office, roughly $5 million, since movie theaters re-opened in China post-pandemic.
The True Colours...
The company is known among Italian producers for transparency and providing rapid sales reports, while foreign buyers like working with execs “because they always make things easy,” says Nicolas Zumaglini, head of content at prominent Latin American distributor Telefilms, who notes that “they have definitely helped spread Italian cinema in the region.” As for True Colours giving cinema Italiano more global reach, the most poignant recent example is “Il Testimone Invisibile” (“The Invisible Witness”), a remake of Spanish thriller (“Contratiempo”), directed by Italy’s Stefano Mordini. “Invisible Witness” is the European title that’s scored the highest gross at the Chinese box office, roughly $5 million, since movie theaters re-opened in China post-pandemic.
The True Colours...
- 11/9/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The coronavirus pandemic might have shut down film and television production across the globe, with many industries still struggling to relaunch with the latest health and safety protocols, but Yianna Sarri, who heads the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, knew there would be an upside for the annual Crossroads Co-Production Forum.
“During the lockdown everywhere, people had the opportunity to stay at home and write scripts,” she said. “It was in our mind that we were going to have many submissions.”
Now in its 16th year, Agora has emerged as a leading forum for filmmakers from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and the wider Mediterranean region, reflecting the ancient heritage of Thessaloniki as a cultural crossroads—a meeting point of East and West.
To that end, the Crossroads Co-Production Forum has gradually evolved into a de facto launching pad for films from Greece and neighboring countries. “Every year,...
“During the lockdown everywhere, people had the opportunity to stay at home and write scripts,” she said. “It was in our mind that we were going to have many submissions.”
Now in its 16th year, Agora has emerged as a leading forum for filmmakers from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and the wider Mediterranean region, reflecting the ancient heritage of Thessaloniki as a cultural crossroads—a meeting point of East and West.
To that end, the Crossroads Co-Production Forum has gradually evolved into a de facto launching pad for films from Greece and neighboring countries. “Every year,...
- 11/4/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
With their Athens offices shuttered by the pandemic in the weeks leading up to this year’s Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival, industry head Yianna Sarri and her brain trust began holding weekly meetings at cafés in the Greek capital, social-distancing and trying to make the most of an increasingly fluid and unpredictable situation.
Despite the uncertainty about whether or not the festival would move forward with a physical edition—a plan that was ultimately scrapped just days before the opening night on Nov. 5—Sarri and her team knew that Agora, the festival’s industry arm, would be an online affair. “We took this decision from the beginning,” she told Variety.
The group might have felt an uncanny sense of déjà vu: this spring, TIFF’s sister event, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, was among the first international film fests to go virtual, live-streaming the pitching forum of its annual Agora Doc...
Despite the uncertainty about whether or not the festival would move forward with a physical edition—a plan that was ultimately scrapped just days before the opening night on Nov. 5—Sarri and her team knew that Agora, the festival’s industry arm, would be an online affair. “We took this decision from the beginning,” she told Variety.
The group might have felt an uncanny sense of déjà vu: this spring, TIFF’s sister event, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, was among the first international film fests to go virtual, live-streaming the pitching forum of its annual Agora Doc...
- 11/4/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival Goes Online. Here the Asian Films in the Programme
Cinema no matter what, festival no matter what. The 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival is back in online business, from 5 to 15 November 2020, with indie cinema from all over the world, the best movies of the recent Greek film production, breathtaking tributes, and subversive films that will carry us to the four corners of the horizon, amidst these unforeseeable and unprecedented days we’re living in.
Welcome at www.filmfestival.gr, where 177 movies are in store for you to watch. We have picked all the Asian Titles in the programme for you:
International Competition
Main programme
Ghosts – Azra Deniz Okyay, Turkey-France-Qatar, 2020 (Pictured)
Prophecies From Another World: Ski-fi And Cli-fi (1950-1990)
King Kong Vs. Godzilla – Ishiro HŌNDA, Japan, 1962
Yongari, Monster From The Deep – Kim Kee-duk, South Korea, 1967
Meet The Neighbors
Main programme
200 Meters – Ameen Nayfeh, Palestine-Jordan-Qatar-Italy-Sweden, 2020
The Death Of Cinema And My Father Too – Dani Rosenberg, Israel, 2020
Out of Competition
Asia – Ruthy Pribar,...
Welcome at www.filmfestival.gr, where 177 movies are in store for you to watch. We have picked all the Asian Titles in the programme for you:
International Competition
Main programme
Ghosts – Azra Deniz Okyay, Turkey-France-Qatar, 2020 (Pictured)
Prophecies From Another World: Ski-fi And Cli-fi (1950-1990)
King Kong Vs. Godzilla – Ishiro HŌNDA, Japan, 1962
Yongari, Monster From The Deep – Kim Kee-duk, South Korea, 1967
Meet The Neighbors
Main programme
200 Meters – Ameen Nayfeh, Palestine-Jordan-Qatar-Italy-Sweden, 2020
The Death Of Cinema And My Father Too – Dani Rosenberg, Israel, 2020
Out of Competition
Asia – Ruthy Pribar,...
- 11/4/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Jasmila Žbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” won the El Gouna Star for best narrative film at the El Gouna Film Festival, carrying a $50,000 prize. The film’s star, Jasna Duricic, also took home the best actress award, for her startling eponymous turn. Based on a true story, the 1995-set drama tells the story of a Un translator attempting to save the lives of her husband and son after the Army of Republic Srpska takes over the city of Srebrenica.
Other winners announced by jury president Peter Webber at the striking new open-air Festival Plaza included Ali Suliman as best actor for his turn as a Palestinian trying to reunite with his family in Ameen Nayfeh’s “200 Meters,” a film which also won the Cinema for Humanity Audience Award. Hilal Baydarov’s “In Between Dying” won the Netpac Award for best Asian film.
Other big winners on the night included...
Other winners announced by jury president Peter Webber at the striking new open-air Festival Plaza included Ali Suliman as best actor for his turn as a Palestinian trying to reunite with his family in Ameen Nayfeh’s “200 Meters,” a film which also won the Cinema for Humanity Audience Award. Hilal Baydarov’s “In Between Dying” won the Netpac Award for best Asian film.
Other big winners on the night included...
- 10/31/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Despite the challenging context, the Italian international sales agent struck a number of deals with international buyers at Rome’s Mia market. The Italian international sales agent True Colours has left the Mia clutching a series of distribution agreements for the titles it has presented at the Rome-based market, starting with the Palestinian film 200 Meters, which was screened in a market premiere after scooping Venice’s Giornate degli Autori Audience Award. This first work by Ameen Nayfeh was sold to Shellac for France and to Filmarti for Turkey, while the Italian co-producer MeMo Film sealed a deal for domestic distribution with I Wonder Pictures. Another market premiere to meet with success was the Austrian-Belgian co-production Why Not You by the South Tyrolean director Evi Romen, which bagged the trophy for Best Film in the Zurich International Film Festival’s Focus Competition section. The film was bought by Salzgeber for Germany,...
- 10/30/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
“For people living in Palestine, everything is absurd,” says “200 Meters” director Ameen Nayfeh. “Every aspect of our life doesn’t make sense.”
“200 Meters” debuted as part of the Venice Days competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Bnl People’s Choice Audience Award. It’s currently playing in the Feature Narrative Competition at the El Gouna Film Festival, where earlier this week, the film’s Palestinian producer May Odeh picked up the Variety Mena Award.
The absurd situation in “200 Meters” is that a Palestinian construction worker Mustafa (Ali Suliman) lives just 200 meters away from his wife Salwa (Lana Zreik) and children. Yet, on the day his son is taken into hospital, he has to travel 200 kilometers to visit. That’s because he has to cross the Israel West Bank Wall that separates their homes, and the work permit allowing him to cross the Green Line has expired.
“200 Meters” debuted as part of the Venice Days competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Bnl People’s Choice Audience Award. It’s currently playing in the Feature Narrative Competition at the El Gouna Film Festival, where earlier this week, the film’s Palestinian producer May Odeh picked up the Variety Mena Award.
The absurd situation in “200 Meters” is that a Palestinian construction worker Mustafa (Ali Suliman) lives just 200 meters away from his wife Salwa (Lana Zreik) and children. Yet, on the day his son is taken into hospital, he has to travel 200 kilometers to visit. That’s because he has to cross the Israel West Bank Wall that separates their homes, and the work permit allowing him to cross the Green Line has expired.
- 10/28/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Among the market premieres were Venice Days winner 200 Meters and Evi Romen’s Why Not You.
Italian sales outfit True Colours has closed a number of sales for its autumn slate at this year’s Mia Market (October 16-20) in Rome.
Among the market premieres were Venice Days audience award winner 200 Meters by Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh, which was acquired for French-speaking territories by Shellac and for Turkey by Filmarti. Italian distribution rights for the film have been secured by I Wonder.
Also premiering at Mia was Evi Romen’s Why Not You, winner of best picture in...
Italian sales outfit True Colours has closed a number of sales for its autumn slate at this year’s Mia Market (October 16-20) in Rome.
Among the market premieres were Venice Days audience award winner 200 Meters by Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh, which was acquired for French-speaking territories by Shellac and for Turkey by Filmarti. Italian distribution rights for the film have been secured by I Wonder.
Also premiering at Mia was Evi Romen’s Why Not You, winner of best picture in...
- 10/28/2020
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
May Odeh, whose first feature film as producer “200 Meters” debuted in the Venice Days Competition of the Venice Film Festival, received the Variety Middle East and North African Region Talent Award at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt Monday in a ceremony presided over by festival director Intishal Al Timimi and festival co-founder and chief of operations Bushra Rozza.
Odeh is the first producer and first female recipient of the award, now in its fourth year. “To get the award from Variety is a huge accomplishment because no one really appreciates the job of the producer,” said Odeh. “So, this prize is also dedicated to all the producers in the Arab world, particularly in Palestine, because it’s a fight, it’s a miracle to make a film.”
The prize is recognition of the seven years of endeavors it took to bring “200 Meters” to the screen. “200 Meters...
Odeh is the first producer and first female recipient of the award, now in its fourth year. “To get the award from Variety is a huge accomplishment because no one really appreciates the job of the producer,” said Odeh. “So, this prize is also dedicated to all the producers in the Arab world, particularly in Palestine, because it’s a fight, it’s a miracle to make a film.”
The prize is recognition of the seven years of endeavors it took to bring “200 Meters” to the screen. “200 Meters...
- 10/27/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market has gone wholly online this year, but European producers remain actively involved. At least two European support organizations are participating, helping sales companies and facilitating East-West production meetings.
The European Film Promotion organization is operating a virtual umbrella stand (Oct. 26 -28) that is host to 14 European film sales companies: Best Friend Forever from Belgium; LevelK from Denmark; Films Boutique, M-Appeal, Picture Tree International, Pluto Film and Sola Media from Germany; Intramovies, Fandango and True Colours from Italy; Media Move from Poland/Germany; Filmax and Latido from Spain; and WestEnd Films from the UK.
Companies and their contents are displayed on the Acfm home page. And, ahead of the market, on Oct. 22, Efp and Unifrance held a warm-up event with online presentations by 20 sellers from Europe. More than 30 Asia-based distributors were in attendance.
The companies offerings include several films selected for the, largely virtual, Busan...
The European Film Promotion organization is operating a virtual umbrella stand (Oct. 26 -28) that is host to 14 European film sales companies: Best Friend Forever from Belgium; LevelK from Denmark; Films Boutique, M-Appeal, Picture Tree International, Pluto Film and Sola Media from Germany; Intramovies, Fandango and True Colours from Italy; Media Move from Poland/Germany; Filmax and Latido from Spain; and WestEnd Films from the UK.
Companies and their contents are displayed on the Acfm home page. And, ahead of the market, on Oct. 22, Efp and Unifrance held a warm-up event with online presentations by 20 sellers from Europe. More than 30 Asia-based distributors were in attendance.
The companies offerings include several films selected for the, largely virtual, Busan...
- 10/27/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which shifted its dates from September to an October slot, will mark a moment of post Covid-19 restart for the Arab film industry, while also seeking to reinvigorate the region’s international ties after the pandemic.
Barring complications, the ambitious event, now in its fourth edition, “will be the first festival in the region that will happen physically” after the pandemic, says its chief Intishal Al Timimi. He points out that El Gouna organizers have taken their cue from Venice and will have lots of sanitary measures in place for the Oct. 23-31 event held in a Red Sea resort where socially-distanced screenings will take place in open-air theaters.
Social distancing and other factors have caused El Gouna to reduce the lineup from 80 to roughly 65 entries, though its structure remains unchanged.
As always, the competition is a mix of titles picked from the year’s festival circuit crop,...
Barring complications, the ambitious event, now in its fourth edition, “will be the first festival in the region that will happen physically” after the pandemic, says its chief Intishal Al Timimi. He points out that El Gouna organizers have taken their cue from Venice and will have lots of sanitary measures in place for the Oct. 23-31 event held in a Red Sea resort where socially-distanced screenings will take place in open-air theaters.
Social distancing and other factors have caused El Gouna to reduce the lineup from 80 to roughly 65 entries, though its structure remains unchanged.
As always, the competition is a mix of titles picked from the year’s festival circuit crop,...
- 10/20/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Jasmila Žbanić’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” and Azra Deniz Okyay’s “Ghosts” won best film in the international and national competitions, respectively, at Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, the 57th edition of which concluded on Saturday.
Unable to attend the festival due to the pandemic, Žbanić sent a video message in which she said: “This film came about through the collaboration of nine different countries. I emphasize this because I think now, more than ever, we need to show that we’re trying to understand each other better by telling our different stories together. This award will help the film to be watched by more people, as well as bringing us together through our love of cinema and for each other.”
Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi won best director for “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness.” Natasa Stork won best actress for “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time.
Unable to attend the festival due to the pandemic, Žbanić sent a video message in which she said: “This film came about through the collaboration of nine different countries. I emphasize this because I think now, more than ever, we need to show that we’re trying to understand each other better by telling our different stories together. This award will help the film to be watched by more people, as well as bringing us together through our love of cinema and for each other.”
Iranian director Massoud Bakhshi won best director for “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness.” Natasa Stork won best actress for “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time.
- 10/12/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The title 200 Meters refers to the stretch of wall across the West Bank separating Palestine from Israel. Much more than that though it separates Palestinian worker Mustafa from work, from his family and from the prospect of a more whole life.
The film follows Mustafa as he tries to make this difficult situation work. Calling his family every night to signal them by light, an attempt to remain a presence in their lives despite the divide. However, when his son is involved in a car crash Mustafa must race across the boarder as quickly as possible. Which means entrusting his safety and freedom in the hands of less-than-reliable smugglers. As their journey gets closer and closer to the wall complications arise, the travellers are abandoned and are increasingly forced to improvise as the danger increases.
Before all of this though there’s a significant amount of preamble, establishing Mustafa’s life.
The film follows Mustafa as he tries to make this difficult situation work. Calling his family every night to signal them by light, an attempt to remain a presence in their lives despite the divide. However, when his son is involved in a car crash Mustafa must race across the boarder as quickly as possible. Which means entrusting his safety and freedom in the hands of less-than-reliable smugglers. As their journey gets closer and closer to the wall complications arise, the travellers are abandoned and are increasingly forced to improvise as the danger increases.
Before all of this though there’s a significant amount of preamble, establishing Mustafa’s life.
- 10/12/2020
- by Liam Macleod
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Italian sales company True Colours has taken international sales on two spanking new Cinema Italiano titles with strong cast elements in the leadup to Rome’s Mia market: “Fortuna – The Girl and the Giants,” a dark fable starring Valeria Golino, and Rome-set psychological thriller “The Guest Room,” toplining International Emmy-nominated Guido Caprino.
True Colours chief Gaetano Maiorino said his company has booked physical screenings for five of its films set for market premieres at the Mia mart – the acronym stands for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, or International Audiovisual Market – that will take place as a hybrid physical and online event Oct. 14-18 in Rome.
“It looks like buyers are coming, and those who won’t be physically present will be attending online,” said Maiorino. He noted that Mia will be “the first real bona-fide market” taking place physically since Berlin in February, prior to the pandemic.
Directed by Neapolitan first-timer Nicolangelo Gelormini,...
True Colours chief Gaetano Maiorino said his company has booked physical screenings for five of its films set for market premieres at the Mia mart – the acronym stands for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, or International Audiovisual Market – that will take place as a hybrid physical and online event Oct. 14-18 in Rome.
“It looks like buyers are coming, and those who won’t be physically present will be attending online,” said Maiorino. He noted that Mia will be “the first real bona-fide market” taking place physically since Berlin in February, prior to the pandemic.
Directed by Neapolitan first-timer Nicolangelo Gelormini,...
- 10/8/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Faraway, So Close: Nayfeh Showcases Absurdity’s Segue to Tragedy in Meaningful Debut
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of several contemporary global situations between two neighboring cultures in what feels like an eternal impasse, with the Palestinians continually subjected to various bureaucratic roadblocks as ongoing peace processes are still, purportedly, a goal. The checkpoint between Israel and Palestine is a necessary and unfortunately normalized fixture in depictions of life from this region, the frantic stress it causes and time-consuming processes a modern depiction of the Kafkaesque. Countless narratives have showcased how the formidable divisions lead to constant conflict and demeaning instances, and director Ameen Nayfeh continues to explore the ripple effects of such realities with his directorial debut, 200 Meters, building what amounts to an ethical dilemma exacerbated by extreme rigidity and unyielding cultural conflicts.…...
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of several contemporary global situations between two neighboring cultures in what feels like an eternal impasse, with the Palestinians continually subjected to various bureaucratic roadblocks as ongoing peace processes are still, purportedly, a goal. The checkpoint between Israel and Palestine is a necessary and unfortunately normalized fixture in depictions of life from this region, the frantic stress it causes and time-consuming processes a modern depiction of the Kafkaesque. Countless narratives have showcased how the formidable divisions lead to constant conflict and demeaning instances, and director Ameen Nayfeh continues to explore the ripple effects of such realities with his directorial debut, 200 Meters, building what amounts to an ethical dilemma exacerbated by extreme rigidity and unyielding cultural conflicts.…...
- 9/17/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
While the coronavirus pandemic has canceled major festivals such as Cannes and Telluride, the 2020 Venice Film Festival is moving ahead as planned and will be the world’s first major film festival since Sundance and Berlin at the start of the year. Venice 2020’s main selection will be split into three sections: Venezia 77 (aka the main competition), Out of Competition, and Horizons. The titles selected for the main competition will compete for the Golden Lion, which was awarded last year to Todd Phillips’ “Joker.”
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
As previously announced, Daniele Luchetti’s drama “Lacci” will open the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 2. The movie is the first Italian title to open Venice in 11 years. The last Italian opener was Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa” at the 2009 festival. “Lacci” is included in this year’s Out of Competition section. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” follow-up “Nomadland” was also confirmed for a world premiere...
- 7/28/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
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