Prominent local producer Jeremy Chua has been appointed as general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival. He takes up the post from Jan. 1, 2024.
Emily J. Hoe, who led the festival for the past four years as its executive director, is stepping down and is understood to be relocating to Australia.
Thong Kay Wee will remain in place as the Sgiff’s programming director.
Chua is the founder of production firm Potocol and is among a small group of Singaporean producers who are using Asia’s burgeoning project market and development labs and dollops of grant in aid funding from Singapore authorities to turn the wealthy Southeast Asian state into a hub for regional co-productions.
Potocol was co-producer of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the Vietnamese debut feature that won the best film prize at Sgiff’s closing event on Sunday. Earlier, the film won the Camera d’Or for...
Emily J. Hoe, who led the festival for the past four years as its executive director, is stepping down and is understood to be relocating to Australia.
Thong Kay Wee will remain in place as the Sgiff’s programming director.
Chua is the founder of production firm Potocol and is among a small group of Singaporean producers who are using Asia’s burgeoning project market and development labs and dollops of grant in aid funding from Singapore authorities to turn the wealthy Southeast Asian state into a hub for regional co-productions.
Potocol was co-producer of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the Vietnamese debut feature that won the best film prize at Sgiff’s closing event on Sunday. Earlier, the film won the Camera d’Or for...
- 12/13/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Co-production Protocol
Dynamic Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua is to receive the Fiapf Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) on Nov. 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast. In the nine years since founding his company Potocol, Chua has focused on international co-production of Asian films and telling Asia stories.
Two of his most recent films, Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” and Vietnamese feature debutant Thien An Pham’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” are their country’s respective Oscar contenders. In 2021 Chua produced Bangladesh’s first film in Cannes “Rehana,” while at the most recent Busan International Film Festival he premiered Singapore-Japan co-venture “Last Shadow at First Light” and Thailand’s “Doi Boy.” At Busan’s Asian Project Market, his Philippines-set “Filipinana” was the outstanding development work, walking away with three prizes.
At Apsa, Chua will take part in a producers’ round...
Dynamic Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua is to receive the Fiapf Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) on Nov. 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast. In the nine years since founding his company Potocol, Chua has focused on international co-production of Asian films and telling Asia stories.
Two of his most recent films, Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” and Vietnamese feature debutant Thien An Pham’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” are their country’s respective Oscar contenders. In 2021 Chua produced Bangladesh’s first film in Cannes “Rehana,” while at the most recent Busan International Film Festival he premiered Singapore-Japan co-venture “Last Shadow at First Light” and Thailand’s “Doi Boy.” At Busan’s Asian Project Market, his Philippines-set “Filipinana” was the outstanding development work, walking away with three prizes.
At Apsa, Chua will take part in a producers’ round...
- 10/17/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Recently-established Philippines-based production and financing company, Fire and Ice, has deals to provide completion funding to two films being produced by prolific Singapore-based independent producer Potocol. Under a related agreement, Fire and Ice has also struck a multi-faceted first-look deal with Potocol.
The completion funding, which gives Fire and Ice a share of the film’s equity, will permit the completion of post-production of upcoming Potocol titles: “Pierce,” a sports drama by Nelicia Low, and “Last Shadow at First Light,” by Nicole Midori Woodford. Both films were recently showcased at Focus Asia’s Far East In Progress, part of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, and are expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The first-look agreement covers titles on Potocol’s slate including a project by Rafael Manuel, winner of a Silver Bear in Berlin in 2020 for his short film “Filipinana,” and another by cinematographer...
The completion funding, which gives Fire and Ice a share of the film’s equity, will permit the completion of post-production of upcoming Potocol titles: “Pierce,” a sports drama by Nelicia Low, and “Last Shadow at First Light,” by Nicole Midori Woodford. Both films were recently showcased at Focus Asia’s Far East In Progress, part of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, and are expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The first-look agreement covers titles on Potocol’s slate including a project by Rafael Manuel, winner of a Silver Bear in Berlin in 2020 for his short film “Filipinana,” and another by cinematographer...
- 5/24/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Bhutanese filmmaker Dechen Roder’s new film, “I, The Song,” which is selected at the Venice Production Bridge’s gap financing market, will commence principal photography in December.
Roder’s debut feature “Honeygiver Among the Dogs” premiered at Busan in 2016, and went on to have a successful festival run including at Berlin, Locarno, Hong Kong, Taipei and Fribourg, where it won three major awards.
“I, The Song” was born when two friends of Roder experienced the horror of being in non-consensual pornographic videos and photos in Bhutan, where in both cases it was recorded and shared without their knowledge or consent.
Roder also wanted to make a film to explore the story where a remote community in Bhutan claimed that the capital city Thimphu had stolen a sacred song of theirs, performing it on TV, over the radio, on stage, and for entertainment. The community felt that this song was sung out of context,...
Roder’s debut feature “Honeygiver Among the Dogs” premiered at Busan in 2016, and went on to have a successful festival run including at Berlin, Locarno, Hong Kong, Taipei and Fribourg, where it won three major awards.
“I, The Song” was born when two friends of Roder experienced the horror of being in non-consensual pornographic videos and photos in Bhutan, where in both cases it was recorded and shared without their knowledge or consent.
Roder also wanted to make a film to explore the story where a remote community in Bhutan claimed that the capital city Thimphu had stolen a sacred song of theirs, performing it on TV, over the radio, on stage, and for entertainment. The community felt that this song was sung out of context,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Production is underway in Taiwan on multi-national art house film “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” that stars acclaimed Leon Dai.
The confinement and claustrophobia of urban life have long been recurring themes in Asian cinema from Wong Kar-wai and Fruit Chan in Hong Kong to Taiwan-based Ho Wi Ding. Another Taiwan director Chung Mong Hong most recently gave the theme a Covid-era touch in his award-winning “The Falls.”
Though not specifically a pandemic era production, the story of “Tomorrow” is that of a middle-aged widower whose relationship with his sensitive teenage son slowly becomes unbearable in the densely-packed spaces of contemporary Singapore.
The English- and Mandarin-language drama film is the feature debut of Singaporean filmmaker Jow Zhi Wei (“After the Winter”). Production started in November in Singapore and has now relocated to Taiwan. Filming is expected to wrap by the end of the month, with the completed picture hitting the...
The confinement and claustrophobia of urban life have long been recurring themes in Asian cinema from Wong Kar-wai and Fruit Chan in Hong Kong to Taiwan-based Ho Wi Ding. Another Taiwan director Chung Mong Hong most recently gave the theme a Covid-era touch in his award-winning “The Falls.”
Though not specifically a pandemic era production, the story of “Tomorrow” is that of a middle-aged widower whose relationship with his sensitive teenage son slowly becomes unbearable in the densely-packed spaces of contemporary Singapore.
The English- and Mandarin-language drama film is the feature debut of Singaporean filmmaker Jow Zhi Wei (“After the Winter”). Production started in November in Singapore and has now relocated to Taiwan. Filming is expected to wrap by the end of the month, with the completed picture hitting the...
- 1/14/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Drive My Car,” Japan’s entry to the Academy Awards’ international category, looks to be the odds on favorite from Asia to win the category.
The drama with a theater world backdrop follows the trajectory of South Korean four-statuette winner “Parasite” in that it began its winning ways at Cannes and is festooned with awards en route to the Oscars. “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, which “Drive My Car” did not, with that honor this year going to Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which became France’s entry to the category. It also recently won at the New York Film Critics Circle.
Nevertheless, “Drive My Car” won three awards at Cannes and has the added advantage of U.S. distribution, where it is currently on theatrical release.
The 2008 win for Takita Yojiro’s “Departures” remains Japan’s only win since the category was made competitive in 1956.
While...
The drama with a theater world backdrop follows the trajectory of South Korean four-statuette winner “Parasite” in that it began its winning ways at Cannes and is festooned with awards en route to the Oscars. “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, which “Drive My Car” did not, with that honor this year going to Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which became France’s entry to the category. It also recently won at the New York Film Critics Circle.
Nevertheless, “Drive My Car” won three awards at Cannes and has the added advantage of U.S. distribution, where it is currently on theatrical release.
The 2008 win for Takita Yojiro’s “Departures” remains Japan’s only win since the category was made competitive in 1956.
While...
- 12/12/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Female rage is powerfully distilled and expertly distributed in “Rehana Maryam Noor,” a riveting social drama about a female doctor who demands justice in a case of sexual assault at a Dhaka medical school. The second feature by Abdullah Mohammad Saad (“Live From Dhaka”) f Still going strong in local cinemas four weeks after its Nov. 12 release, this provocative portrait of a complex and increasingly unstable woman is Bangladesh’s Oscar submission, with an early 2022 U.S. theatrical release planned under the abbreviated title of “Rehana.”
The first Bangladeshi feature selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes, “Rehana” has since notched significant festival mileage and picked up Best Actress and Grand Jury prizes at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Playing more and more like a thriller as events unfold, “Rehana” packs a seething “enough is enough” message into every twist of a snowballing tale that asks viewers to consider whether...
The first Bangladeshi feature selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes, “Rehana” has since notched significant festival mileage and picked up Best Actress and Grand Jury prizes at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Playing more and more like a thriller as events unfold, “Rehana” packs a seething “enough is enough” message into every twist of a snowballing tale that asks viewers to consider whether...
- 12/8/2021
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
Prolific Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua and compatriot Nicole Midori Woodford were among the many filmmakers affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The duo were prepping “Last Shadow at First Light,” the debut feature from Woodford who had made several acclaimed shorts including Clermont Ferrand selection “Permanent Resident” and Busan selection “For We Are Strangers,” when the pandemic struck.
The film follows teenager Ami, who lives with her father in Singapore, struggling to cope with the chasm left behind by her mother, Satomi, who returned to Japan years ago. Ami, who has an ability to communicate with spirits, sees a premonition of disaster befalling Satomi’s coastal hometown, she journeys to warn her mother.
The project was developed at Seafic, Tokyo Talents and the Torino Film Lab over 2017-18 and found a mentor in veteran Japanese producer Shozo Ichiyama (“Ash Is Purest White”).
Woodford had locked the casting in Feb. 2020, with...
The duo were prepping “Last Shadow at First Light,” the debut feature from Woodford who had made several acclaimed shorts including Clermont Ferrand selection “Permanent Resident” and Busan selection “For We Are Strangers,” when the pandemic struck.
The film follows teenager Ami, who lives with her father in Singapore, struggling to cope with the chasm left behind by her mother, Satomi, who returned to Japan years ago. Ami, who has an ability to communicate with spirits, sees a premonition of disaster befalling Satomi’s coastal hometown, she journeys to warn her mother.
The project was developed at Seafic, Tokyo Talents and the Torino Film Lab over 2017-18 and found a mentor in veteran Japanese producer Shozo Ichiyama (“Ash Is Purest White”).
Woodford had locked the casting in Feb. 2020, with...
- 12/3/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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 January 2021 and 31 December 2021. The shortlist of fifteen finalists is scheduled to be announced on 21 December 2021. The final five nominees are scheduled to be announced on 8 February 2022.
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
“Should the Wind Drop” by Nora Martirosyan
Azerbaijan
“The Island Within” by Ru Hasanov
Bangladesh
“Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad
Bhutan
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom...
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
“Should the Wind Drop” by Nora Martirosyan
Azerbaijan
“The Island Within” by Ru Hasanov
Bangladesh
“Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad
Bhutan
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom...
- 11/28/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Writer-Director Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ (aka ‘Rehana’) premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard. It is the first Bangladesh feature film to make it to Cannes’ official selection — 19 years after Tareque Masud’s Matir Moina (The Clay Bird) was in Directors’ Fortnight, a parallel section, in 2002. It is also Bangladesh’s official submission for Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature.
‘Rehana’, A Feminist Tale as Told by a Man
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
‘Rehana’, A Feminist Tale as Told by a Man
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
- 11/27/2021
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Back in 2016, Abdullah Mohammad Saad made quite an impact with his debut feature, “Live from Dhaka”, which ended up screening in festivals all over the world, and winning Best Director and Best Performance awards for Mostafa Monwar, from Singapore International Film Festival. Five years later, Saad returns with a film that is easy to say that is even better. “Rehana Maryam Noor” is the first Bangladeshi film to screen in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, and also the Bangladeshi entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards
“Rehana Maryam Noor” is screening at Five Flavours
Rehana is a 37-years old woman who is working as an assistant professor at the Medical Academy in Dhaka. She is tough, strict and not particularly sociable, something that has given her something of a “fame” among the students. At the same time, she has to...
“Rehana Maryam Noor” is screening at Five Flavours
Rehana is a 37-years old woman who is working as an assistant professor at the Medical Academy in Dhaka. She is tough, strict and not particularly sociable, something that has given her something of a “fame” among the students. At the same time, she has to...
- 11/19/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Japan’s Hamaguchi Ryusuke earned double honors on Thursday at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. His “Drive My Car” was named best film, while he shared the best screenplay award with the film’s co-writer Oe Takamasa.
The 14th Apsa ceremony was held at the Home of the Arts in Queensland, Australia and gave prizes to ten films from eleven territories. The event also marked the official opening of the third Asia Pacific Screen Forum conference series.
The second place or Jury Grand Prizes were awarded jointly to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Bangladesh drama “Rehana” (aka “Rehana Maryam Noor”) and to Leah Purcell for her debut feature “The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.” “Rehana” lead Azmeri Haque Badhon was awarded the prize for the best performance by an actress.
Iran’s Asghar Farhadi was awarded achievement in directing prize for “A Hero” (aka “Ghahreman”) which the Apsa jury called “an intimate epic.
The 14th Apsa ceremony was held at the Home of the Arts in Queensland, Australia and gave prizes to ten films from eleven territories. The event also marked the official opening of the third Asia Pacific Screen Forum conference series.
The second place or Jury Grand Prizes were awarded jointly to Abdullah Mohammad Saad, director of Bangladesh drama “Rehana” (aka “Rehana Maryam Noor”) and to Leah Purcell for her debut feature “The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.” “Rehana” lead Azmeri Haque Badhon was awarded the prize for the best performance by an actress.
Iran’s Asghar Farhadi was awarded achievement in directing prize for “A Hero” (aka “Ghahreman”) which the Apsa jury called “an intimate epic.
- 11/11/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg (Iffmh) has very much captured the social, cultural and political zeitgeist with this year’s film selections, exploring such themes as female empowerment, HIV/AIDS and the post-Soviet collapse of Ukraine.
“The festival doesn’t work in topics, we are trying to show the best films, but the interesting thing is that the topics come to us through the films,” says Iffmh director Sascha Keilholz. “Obviously we are sensitive to the whole range and diversity that can be had in cinema.”
Indeed, this year’s films in the On the Rise competition section and supplemental Pushing the Boundaries sidebar, which showcases cutting-edge works by young and established filmmakers, ended up sharing unmistakable themes. Many new female voices are putting their mark in Eastern European film with stories of women rebelling against patriarchy and male structures, for example, Keilholz points out. “That was quite striking for us.
“The festival doesn’t work in topics, we are trying to show the best films, but the interesting thing is that the topics come to us through the films,” says Iffmh director Sascha Keilholz. “Obviously we are sensitive to the whole range and diversity that can be had in cinema.”
Indeed, this year’s films in the On the Rise competition section and supplemental Pushing the Boundaries sidebar, which showcases cutting-edge works by young and established filmmakers, ended up sharing unmistakable themes. Many new female voices are putting their mark in Eastern European film with stories of women rebelling against patriarchy and male structures, for example, Keilholz points out. “That was quite striking for us.
- 11/9/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The Singapore International Film Festival is to be held as an in-person event this year, after operating as an online-offline hybrid in 2020. It will open with Indonesian filmmaker Edwin’s “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” and run Nov. 25- Dec. 5, 2021.
With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.
The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...
With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.
The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...
- 10/26/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
China’s Pingyao International Film Festival got under way on Tuesday with the gala screening of Zhang Lu’s new drama film “Yanagawa.” The festival will unspool Oct. 12-19 with a familiar package of competition screenings a work in progress section, a film lab, a project market and a tribute section dedicated to Tsui Hark.
Organizers announced an ambitious twelve-title competition section (“Crouching Tigers”) for first second and third films from around the world.
These include: “Amparo,” directed by Simón Mesa Soto; “As Far As I Can Walk,” directed by Strahinja Banovic; “Feathers,” directed by Omar El Zohairy; “Mama, I’m Home” directed by Vladimir Bitokov (Russia); “Pedro” directed by Natesh Hegde (India); “Playground” (Un Monde) directed by Laura Wandel (Belgium); “Prayers for the Stolen” (Noche de Fuego) directed by Tatiana Huezo; “Rehana” (Rehana Maryam Noor) directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “The Tale of King Crab” (Re Granchio) directed by...
Organizers announced an ambitious twelve-title competition section (“Crouching Tigers”) for first second and third films from around the world.
These include: “Amparo,” directed by Simón Mesa Soto; “As Far As I Can Walk,” directed by Strahinja Banovic; “Feathers,” directed by Omar El Zohairy; “Mama, I’m Home” directed by Vladimir Bitokov (Russia); “Pedro” directed by Natesh Hegde (India); “Playground” (Un Monde) directed by Laura Wandel (Belgium); “Prayers for the Stolen” (Noche de Fuego) directed by Tatiana Huezo; “Rehana” (Rehana Maryam Noor) directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “The Tale of King Crab” (Re Granchio) directed by...
- 10/13/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
New York-based distribution company Grasshopper Film and Gratitude Films have jointly acquired U.S. distribution rights to Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino’s Venice Special Jury Prize winner “Il Buco,” about a group of speleologists who in 1961 discover Europe’s deepest cave.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film with Nadine Rothschild of Paris and Berlin-based Coproduction Office on the eve of the U.S. premiere of “Il Buco” at the New York Film Festival.
Gratitude, which is based in Los Angeles and Mumbai, is headed by Anu Rangachar, a producer and the former programmer for the Mumbai Film Festival.
With “Il Buco” Frammartino, whose dialogue-free “Le Quattro Volte” made a global splash in 2010, has segued with another similarly eclectic pic that has no dialogue or music.
His latest work reconstructs the young cave scientists’ journey to explore the depth of the Bifurto Abyss, 700 meters below Earth in the pristine Calabrian hinterland.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film with Nadine Rothschild of Paris and Berlin-based Coproduction Office on the eve of the U.S. premiere of “Il Buco” at the New York Film Festival.
Gratitude, which is based in Los Angeles and Mumbai, is headed by Anu Rangachar, a producer and the former programmer for the Mumbai Film Festival.
With “Il Buco” Frammartino, whose dialogue-free “Le Quattro Volte” made a global splash in 2010, has segued with another similarly eclectic pic that has no dialogue or music.
His latest work reconstructs the young cave scientists’ journey to explore the depth of the Bifurto Abyss, 700 meters below Earth in the pristine Calabrian hinterland.
- 10/10/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The 65 British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival has unveiled its full program and the headline galas include several films that have been gaining fame recently.
Among the galas are Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” with Kristen Stewart; Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” with Benedict Cumberbatch; Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard,” with Will Smith; and Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” featuring a host of stars including Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton and Léa Seydoux.
The galas also include Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” Eva Husson’s “Mothering Sunday,” Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir: Part II” and Sarah Smith and Jean Philippe-Vine’s “Ron’s Gone Wrong.”
Special presentations include Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District,...
Among the galas are Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” with Kristen Stewart; Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” with Benedict Cumberbatch; Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard,” with Will Smith; and Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” featuring a host of stars including Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton and Léa Seydoux.
The galas also include Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” Eva Husson’s “Mothering Sunday,” Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir: Part II” and Sarah Smith and Jean Philippe-Vine’s “Ron’s Gone Wrong.”
Special presentations include Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District,...
- 9/7/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Australian city’s sixth lockdown has been extended until at least August 19.
The Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has cancelled its in-person screenings, following the extension of the Australian city’s lockdown until at least August 19, amid growing numbers of Covid-19 cases.
The announcement comes following Sydney Film Festival’s decision to delay its festival from August to November 3-14, due to Sydney’s lockdown extension.
Miff’s in-cinema component was planned to run from August 12-22.
The festival will remain online, with streaming platform Miff Play available to audiences across Australia – alongside the extended reality programme, which will be available to audiences,...
The Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has cancelled its in-person screenings, following the extension of the Australian city’s lockdown until at least August 19, amid growing numbers of Covid-19 cases.
The announcement comes following Sydney Film Festival’s decision to delay its festival from August to November 3-14, due to Sydney’s lockdown extension.
Miff’s in-cinema component was planned to run from August 12-22.
The festival will remain online, with streaming platform Miff Play available to audiences across Australia – alongside the extended reality programme, which will be available to audiences,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
The Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia has canceled its in-person screening component, due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the city.
After a fully online edition in 2020, the 2021 festival was scheduled to run Aug. 12-22 as a hybrid combining online and real-world elements. But on Wednesday, the premier of Victoria state Daniel Andrews announced that Melbourne will spend a further week in lockdown. The current restrictions were scheduled to end on Thursday evening, but are now extended until at least Aug. 19, 2021.
Following the cancelation of the in-person screenings Miff will operate its online streaming platform – which has been operational since last week and is available to viewers across Australia since last week, and its Extended Reality program, which is available to audiences, free, globally. Some in-person screenings that made up Miff’s regional cinema season will continue.
On Tuesday, Victoria recorded 20 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases out...
After a fully online edition in 2020, the 2021 festival was scheduled to run Aug. 12-22 as a hybrid combining online and real-world elements. But on Wednesday, the premier of Victoria state Daniel Andrews announced that Melbourne will spend a further week in lockdown. The current restrictions were scheduled to end on Thursday evening, but are now extended until at least Aug. 19, 2021.
Following the cancelation of the in-person screenings Miff will operate its online streaming platform – which has been operational since last week and is available to viewers across Australia since last week, and its Extended Reality program, which is available to audiences, free, globally. Some in-person screenings that made up Miff’s regional cinema season will continue.
On Tuesday, Victoria recorded 20 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases out...
- 8/11/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
In a sad blow, the Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has announced it will cancel its in-cinema screenings given the current Covid situation in the city.
The festival, always designed as a hybrid event, will continue nationally on Miff Play, with the festival securing an additional 30 titles for the platform. These include some direct-from-Cannes titles such as The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, La Civil, Rehana Maryam Noor and Babi Yar, and Australian films Ablaze, Chef Antonio’s Recipes for Revolution, Little Tornadoes and Paper City.
However, some of the festival most anticipated films, including local films such as Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, intended as the Opening Night Gala, and Justin Kurzel’s Nitram are not available on the service.
As regional Victoria is no longer in lockdown, the festival’s regional season will proceed, with required changes to the line-up to be advised through local operators.
The festival, always designed as a hybrid event, will continue nationally on Miff Play, with the festival securing an additional 30 titles for the platform. These include some direct-from-Cannes titles such as The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, La Civil, Rehana Maryam Noor and Babi Yar, and Australian films Ablaze, Chef Antonio’s Recipes for Revolution, Little Tornadoes and Paper City.
However, some of the festival most anticipated films, including local films such as Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, intended as the Opening Night Gala, and Justin Kurzel’s Nitram are not available on the service.
As regional Victoria is no longer in lockdown, the festival’s regional season will proceed, with required changes to the line-up to be advised through local operators.
- 8/10/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Grasshopper Film and Gratitude Films have jointly acquired U.S. distribution rights to Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard selection “Rehana” from sales agent Films Boutique.
The film will open in cinemas in early 2022 followed by digital, home video, and non-theatrical releases.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film with Julien Razafindranaly of Films Boutique.
The film follows Rehana, played by Azmeri Haque Badhon, an assistant professor at a medical college, who struggles to keep the harmony between work and family, as she has to play all the complex roles of a teacher, doctor, sister, daughter, and mother. One evening, she witnesses a student storming out of a professor’s office, crying. Deeply affected by this event, Rehana’s descends into obsession, seeking retribution, just as she receives a complaint from the school about her six-year-old daughter’s unusual behavior. Her quest...
The film will open in cinemas in early 2022 followed by digital, home video, and non-theatrical releases.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of Grasshopper Film with Julien Razafindranaly of Films Boutique.
The film follows Rehana, played by Azmeri Haque Badhon, an assistant professor at a medical college, who struggles to keep the harmony between work and family, as she has to play all the complex roles of a teacher, doctor, sister, daughter, and mother. One evening, she witnesses a student storming out of a professor’s office, crying. Deeply affected by this event, Rehana’s descends into obsession, seeking retribution, just as she receives a complaint from the school about her six-year-old daughter’s unusual behavior. Her quest...
- 7/15/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Award-winning Bangladeshi filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s “Rehana” premieres in the Un Certain Regard strand of the Cannes Film Festival and Variety has access to an exclusive clip from the film.
The film follows Rehana (Azmeri Haque Badhon), an assistant professor at a medical college, who struggles to keep the harmony between work and family, as she has to play all the complex roles of a teacher, doctor, sister, daughter, and mother. One evening, she witnesses a student storming out of a professor’s office, crying. Deeply impacted by this event, Rehana’s life starts to spiral out of control. She gradually descends into obsession, seeking retribution, just as she receives a complaint from the school about her six-year-old daughter’s unusual behavior.
Rehana refuses to accept the madness of the patriarchal society she lives in and will put everything at stake, in order to find justice for her student and her daughter.
The film follows Rehana (Azmeri Haque Badhon), an assistant professor at a medical college, who struggles to keep the harmony between work and family, as she has to play all the complex roles of a teacher, doctor, sister, daughter, and mother. One evening, she witnesses a student storming out of a professor’s office, crying. Deeply impacted by this event, Rehana’s life starts to spiral out of control. She gradually descends into obsession, seeking retribution, just as she receives a complaint from the school about her six-year-old daughter’s unusual behavior.
Rehana refuses to accept the madness of the patriarchal society she lives in and will put everything at stake, in order to find justice for her student and her daughter.
- 7/2/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes' Official Selection for its 74th edition, running July 6-17.
In Competition
Annette, Leos Carax (France) - Opening Film
The Story of My Wife, Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary)
Benedetta, Paul Verhoeven (Netherlands)
Bergman Island, Mia-Hansen-Love (France)
Drive My Car, Rysuke Hamaguchi (Japan)
Ha’Berech (Ahed’s Knee), Nadav Lapid
Casablanca Beats, Nabil Ayouch (Morocco)
Compartment No. 6, Juho Kuosmanen (Finland)
The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier (Norway)
La Fracture, Catherine Corsini (France)
The Restless, Joachim Lafosse (Belgium)
Paris 13th District, Jacques Audiard (France)
Lingui, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad)
Memoria, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)
Nitram, Justin Kurzel (Australia)
France, Bruno Dumont (France)
Petrov’s Flu, Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia)
Red Rocket, Sean Baker (USA)
Flag Day, Sean Penn (USA)
The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson (USA)
Titane, Julia Ducournau (France)
Tre Piani, Nanni Moretti (Italy)
Tout s'est Bien Passé, François Ozon (France)
A Hero, Asghar Farhadi (Iran)
Un Certain Regard
Moneyboys, C.B. Yi (Austria)
Blue Bayou, Justin Chon (USA)
Freda, Gessica Geneus (Haiti)
Delo (House Arrest), Alexey German Jr. (Russia)
Bonne Mere, Hafsia Herzi (France)
Noche de Fuego, Tatiana Huezo (Mexico)
Lamb, Valdimar Johansson (Iceland)
Commitment Hasan, Hasan Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey)
After Yang, Kogonada (USA)
Let There Be Morning, Eran Kolirin (Israel)
Unclenching the Fists, Kira Kovalenko (Russia)
Women Do Cry, Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria)
Rehana Maryam Noor, Abdullah Mohammad Saad (Bangladesh)
Great Freedom, Sebastian Meise (Austria)
La Civil, Teodora Ana Mihai (Romania / Belgium)
Gaey’s Wa’r, Na Jiazuo (China)
The Innocents, Eskil Vogt (Norway)
Un Monde, Laura Wandel (Belgium)
Out of Competition
De Son Vivant, Emmanuelle Bercot (France)
Emergency Declaration, Han Jae-Rim (Korea)
The Velvet Underground, Todd Haynes (USA)
Bac Nord, Cédric Jimenez (France)
Aline, The Voice of Love, Valérie Lemercier (France)
Stillwater, Tom McCarthy (USA)...
In Competition
Annette, Leos Carax (France) - Opening Film
The Story of My Wife, Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary)
Benedetta, Paul Verhoeven (Netherlands)
Bergman Island, Mia-Hansen-Love (France)
Drive My Car, Rysuke Hamaguchi (Japan)
Ha’Berech (Ahed’s Knee), Nadav Lapid
Casablanca Beats, Nabil Ayouch (Morocco)
Compartment No. 6, Juho Kuosmanen (Finland)
The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier (Norway)
La Fracture, Catherine Corsini (France)
The Restless, Joachim Lafosse (Belgium)
Paris 13th District, Jacques Audiard (France)
Lingui, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad)
Memoria, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)
Nitram, Justin Kurzel (Australia)
France, Bruno Dumont (France)
Petrov’s Flu, Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia)
Red Rocket, Sean Baker (USA)
Flag Day, Sean Penn (USA)
The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson (USA)
Titane, Julia Ducournau (France)
Tre Piani, Nanni Moretti (Italy)
Tout s'est Bien Passé, François Ozon (France)
A Hero, Asghar Farhadi (Iran)
Un Certain Regard
Moneyboys, C.B. Yi (Austria)
Blue Bayou, Justin Chon (USA)
Freda, Gessica Geneus (Haiti)
Delo (House Arrest), Alexey German Jr. (Russia)
Bonne Mere, Hafsia Herzi (France)
Noche de Fuego, Tatiana Huezo (Mexico)
Lamb, Valdimar Johansson (Iceland)
Commitment Hasan, Hasan Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey)
After Yang, Kogonada (USA)
Let There Be Morning, Eran Kolirin (Israel)
Unclenching the Fists, Kira Kovalenko (Russia)
Women Do Cry, Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria)
Rehana Maryam Noor, Abdullah Mohammad Saad (Bangladesh)
Great Freedom, Sebastian Meise (Austria)
La Civil, Teodora Ana Mihai (Romania / Belgium)
Gaey’s Wa’r, Na Jiazuo (China)
The Innocents, Eskil Vogt (Norway)
Un Monde, Laura Wandel (Belgium)
Out of Competition
De Son Vivant, Emmanuelle Bercot (France)
Emergency Declaration, Han Jae-Rim (Korea)
The Velvet Underground, Todd Haynes (USA)
Bac Nord, Cédric Jimenez (France)
Aline, The Voice of Love, Valérie Lemercier (France)
Stillwater, Tom McCarthy (USA)...
- 6/3/2021
- IMDbPro News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.