★★★☆☆ Seen as Russia's "secret weapon" by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, is it possible that the Bolshoi Ballet, a towering pillar of the nation's culture, be justly compared to an ancient civilisation synonymous with oppression, corruption and vacuous luxury? Given its inextricable link to national identity and location a mere stone's throw from the Kremlin, what would a vicious assault on its artistic director mean for Mother Russia as a whole? A partially successful affair, there is much to ponder over the course of British filmmaker Nick Read's Bolshoi Babylon. Co-directed by Mark Franchetti, the film oscillates around the January 2013 acid attack on Sergei Filin, perpetrated by an aggrieved fellow dancer.
- 1/10/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Peter Bradshaw and Benjamin Lee join Xan Brooks for our regular weekly look at the big film releases.
Peter Bradshaw and Benjamin Lee join Xan Brooks for our regular weekly look at the big film releases. In this first edition of 2016, the team set their sights on Quentin Tarantino’s new western, The Hateful Eight; go on patrol with the Danish-made Afghan-conflict drama A War, and take a leap with Bolshoi Babylon, the documentary about Russia’s crisis-torn ballet company.
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Peter Bradshaw and Benjamin Lee join Xan Brooks for our regular weekly look at the big film releases. In this first edition of 2016, the team set their sights on Quentin Tarantino’s new western, The Hateful Eight; go on patrol with the Danish-made Afghan-conflict drama A War, and take a leap with Bolshoi Babylon, the documentary about Russia’s crisis-torn ballet company.
Continue reading...
- 1/8/2016
- by Presented by Xan Brookswith Peter Bradshaw and Benjamin Lee produced by Rowan Slaney
- The Guardian - Film News
The Hateful Eight | A War | Partisan | Bolshoi Babylon | Sanam Teri Kasam
There are epic, snowy vistas to admire, but at heart this is a one-room, almost three-hour chamber piece. It’s a storytelling test for any film-maker, one that Tarantino passes with flying colours (mostly red). As the title suggests, there are no discernible good guys – or gals – here; only eight vividly rendered shades of bad. They’re a gallery of old west archetypes: bounty hunters, civil war veterans, lawmen, “cowpunchers” and, almost stealing the show, Leigh’s demented murderer. Holed up together in an isolated cabin by a blizzard with a mystery to thrash out, they engage in a delectable game of lies, threats, interrogations, reveals, reverses and, of course, eloquent, Tarantino-spun yarns. It’s like some unholy fusion of Agatha Christie, Bonanza and Reservoir Dogs, with the escalating distrust and plentiful weaponry leading inevitably to a violent climax.
There are epic, snowy vistas to admire, but at heart this is a one-room, almost three-hour chamber piece. It’s a storytelling test for any film-maker, one that Tarantino passes with flying colours (mostly red). As the title suggests, there are no discernible good guys – or gals – here; only eight vividly rendered shades of bad. They’re a gallery of old west archetypes: bounty hunters, civil war veterans, lawmen, “cowpunchers” and, almost stealing the show, Leigh’s demented murderer. Holed up together in an isolated cabin by a blizzard with a mystery to thrash out, they engage in a delectable game of lies, threats, interrogations, reveals, reverses and, of course, eloquent, Tarantino-spun yarns. It’s like some unholy fusion of Agatha Christie, Bonanza and Reservoir Dogs, with the escalating distrust and plentiful weaponry leading inevitably to a violent climax.
- 1/8/2016
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
When dealing with a feature film about Bolshoi, expectation can go either way. For some, eyes will roll at the thought of enduring classical Ballet for two hours, but many will leap at the chance to be consumed by the magic of some of the most skilled and talented dancers of this 200 year old company. Like
The post Bolshoi Babylon Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Bolshoi Babylon Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 1/8/2016
- by Gloria Daniels-Moss
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Peter Bradshaw and Benjamin Lee join Xan Brooks for our regular weekly look at the big film releases. In this first edition of 2016, the team set their sights on Quentin Tarantino’s new western, The Hateful Eight; go on patrol with the Danish-made Afghan-conflict drama A War, and take a leap with Bolshoi Babylon, the documentary about Russia’s crisis-torn ballet company.
The Hateful Eight, A War and Bolshoi Babylon are released in the UK on 8 January Continue reading...
The Hateful Eight, A War and Bolshoi Babylon are released in the UK on 8 January Continue reading...
- 1/7/2016
- by Xan Brooks, Peter Bradshaw, Benjamin Lee, Henry Barnes, Mat Heywood
- The Guardian - Film News
Xan Brooks, Peter Bradshaw and Benjamin Lee review Bolshoi Babylon, the documentary about Russia’s celebrated ballet company. Directed by Nick Read and Mark Franchetti, Bolshoi Babylon examines the notorious incident that saw artistic director Sergei Filin attacked with acid, and the effect that the revelation that a jealous dancer may be to blame has on the rest of the company. Bolshoi Babylon is released in the UK on 8 January
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Continue reading...
- 1/7/2016
- by Xan Brooks, Peter Bradshaw, Benjamin Lee, Henry Barnes, Mat Heywood
- The Guardian - Film News
Watch the trailer for Bolshoi Babylon, which follows a year in the life of the famed Russian institution. The 2013-14 season the film covers is, however, no ordinary year: the Bolshoi’s ballet director Sergei Filin was recovering after an acid attack, and dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko was arrested for the crime, with the suggestion it had been organised after Filin failed to cast Dmitrichenko’s girlfriend in a key role. Directed by Nick Read, Bolshoi Babylon focuses on the backstage intrigue and political in-fighting that dominated the company’s year.
• Bolshoi Babylon is released on 27 November in the Us and 8 January in the UK.
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• Bolshoi Babylon is released on 27 November in the Us and 8 January in the UK.
Continue reading...
- 11/9/2015
- by Guardian Staff
- The Guardian - Film News
Full line-up of the Stockholm film festival includes feature and documentary competition line-ups.Scroll down for full line-up
The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 11-22) has unveiled the line-up for its 26th edition, comprising more than 190 films from over 70 countries.
The Stockholm Xxvi Competition includes Marielle Heller’s Us title The Diary of a Teenage Girl and László Nemes’ Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.
It marks the first time Stockholm has a greater number of women than men competing for the Bronze Horse – the festival’s top prize.
The documentary competition includes Amy Berg’s An Open Secret, an investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry; and Cosima Spender’s Palio, centred on the annual horse race in Siena, Italy.
Announcing the programme, festival director Git Scheynius also revealed that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will visit Stockholm for the first time as chairman of the jury for the first Stockholm Impact Award, which...
The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 11-22) has unveiled the line-up for its 26th edition, comprising more than 190 films from over 70 countries.
The Stockholm Xxvi Competition includes Marielle Heller’s Us title The Diary of a Teenage Girl and László Nemes’ Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.
It marks the first time Stockholm has a greater number of women than men competing for the Bronze Horse – the festival’s top prize.
The documentary competition includes Amy Berg’s An Open Secret, an investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry; and Cosima Spender’s Palio, centred on the annual horse race in Siena, Italy.
Announcing the programme, festival director Git Scheynius also revealed that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will visit Stockholm for the first time as chairman of the jury for the first Stockholm Impact Award, which...
- 10/20/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
George Gittoes. Snow Monkey and Bill Guttentag and Michael Ware.s Only the Dead will screen at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa).
Filmed in Afghanistan in 2014 when foreign forces leave and an internal power struggle begins, Snow Monkey will screen in official competition at the festival which runs November 18-29.
Produced by Lizzette Atkins and Gittoes, the final film in his What the World Needs Now! trilogy premiered at Miff this year and followed the lives of those living in the Yellow House at Jalalabad, a collective of artists, film makers and social revolutionaries as they again face the threat of a Taliban-ruled society. It was funded through Screen Australia's Signature Documentary program.
Only the Dead, which follows Ware, an Australian journalist for CNN and Time Magazine as he journeys through the deepest recesses of the Iraq War, will unspool in the Best of Fests section. Patrick McDonald produced with Ware.
Filmed in Afghanistan in 2014 when foreign forces leave and an internal power struggle begins, Snow Monkey will screen in official competition at the festival which runs November 18-29.
Produced by Lizzette Atkins and Gittoes, the final film in his What the World Needs Now! trilogy premiered at Miff this year and followed the lives of those living in the Yellow House at Jalalabad, a collective of artists, film makers and social revolutionaries as they again face the threat of a Taliban-ruled society. It was funded through Screen Australia's Signature Documentary program.
Only the Dead, which follows Ware, an Australian journalist for CNN and Time Magazine as he journeys through the deepest recesses of the Iraq War, will unspool in the Best of Fests section. Patrick McDonald produced with Ware.
- 10/13/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
George Gittoes’s Snow Monkey (pictured) and Nick Read’s Bolshoi Babylon among the 15 titles in competition.
The 28th Idfa (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) has unveiled its line-up, including its main competition.
The festival, which runs Nov 18-29, will comprise 319 titles (from 3,425 submissions), 78 of which receive their world premieres at Idfa. A total of 50 Dutch productions are included in the program, spread across the various strands.
A total of 15 films will compete in the Idfa Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, including Tom Fassaert’s A Family Affair, which opens the festival on Nov 18.
The jury, made up of Laurent Bécue-Renard (France), Mahamat Saleh Haroun (Chad), Hanna Polak (Poland), Jonathan Rosenbaum (USA) and Barbara Visser (the Netherlands) will present the Vpro Idfa Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, a cash prize of €12,500 ($14,000) and the Idfa Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary worth €2,500 ($2,800).
The titles include (synopses provided by Idfa):
Bolshoi Babylon by Nick Read (Russia / UK)
A revealing...
The 28th Idfa (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) has unveiled its line-up, including its main competition.
The festival, which runs Nov 18-29, will comprise 319 titles (from 3,425 submissions), 78 of which receive their world premieres at Idfa. A total of 50 Dutch productions are included in the program, spread across the various strands.
A total of 15 films will compete in the Idfa Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, including Tom Fassaert’s A Family Affair, which opens the festival on Nov 18.
The jury, made up of Laurent Bécue-Renard (France), Mahamat Saleh Haroun (Chad), Hanna Polak (Poland), Jonathan Rosenbaum (USA) and Barbara Visser (the Netherlands) will present the Vpro Idfa Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary, a cash prize of €12,500 ($14,000) and the Idfa Special Jury Award for Feature-Length Documentary worth €2,500 ($2,800).
The titles include (synopses provided by Idfa):
Bolshoi Babylon by Nick Read (Russia / UK)
A revealing...
- 10/9/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Jennifer Peedom.s Sherpa and Gillian Armstrong.s Women He.s Undressed will screen at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival next month.
They are among 26 titles selected for the Tiff Docs section of the fest, which runs from September 10 to 20, enhancing Australia.s profile at the event where Jocelyn Moorhouse.s The Dressmaker will have its world premiere in Gala Presentations and Simon Stone.s The Daughter will have its North American premiere in Special Presentations.
Produced by Bridget Ikin and John Smithson, Peedom.s film chronicles how Sherpas united in grief and anger to reclaim Mount Everest after an icefall killed 15 of their members on Mount Everest.. It will open in Australia in February, co-distributed by John Maynard's Footprint Films and Transmission.
It will be the international premiere of Armstrong.s doc which profiles Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly, who won three Academy Awards.
Among the world premieres...
They are among 26 titles selected for the Tiff Docs section of the fest, which runs from September 10 to 20, enhancing Australia.s profile at the event where Jocelyn Moorhouse.s The Dressmaker will have its world premiere in Gala Presentations and Simon Stone.s The Daughter will have its North American premiere in Special Presentations.
Produced by Bridget Ikin and John Smithson, Peedom.s film chronicles how Sherpas united in grief and anger to reclaim Mount Everest after an icefall killed 15 of their members on Mount Everest.. It will open in Australia in February, co-distributed by John Maynard's Footprint Films and Transmission.
It will be the international premiere of Armstrong.s doc which profiles Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly, who won three Academy Awards.
Among the world premieres...
- 8/11/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
The Toronto International Film Festival’s prominence on the festival circuit has only grown over the years, with films from numerous different fields having gone on to critical and commercial acclaim. Among the festival’s different categories are Tiff Docs and Vanguard. Tiff Docs allows documentaries to get their own spotlight at the festival, giving acclaimed documentarians such as Michael Moore and Frederick Wiseman a platform for their films. The Vanguard section, on the other hand, showcases films that aren’t easily categorisable into a specific genre. With the Canadian Films lineup announcement having revealed the first set of films playing in each group, Tiff today revealed more of the lineup in each section. The list of newly announced films, with their official synopses, is as follows.
Tiff Docs
Amazing Grace, directed by Sydney Pollack, making its International Premiere
Sydney Pollack’s film of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace.’ Filmed...
Tiff Docs
Amazing Grace, directed by Sydney Pollack, making its International Premiere
Sydney Pollack’s film of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace.’ Filmed...
- 8/11/2015
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
Organisers unleashed their latest volley of programming, an embarrassment of riches featuring new non-fiction work about education activist Malala Yousafzai, Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre, the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the iconic tango pairing of María Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes.
Midnight Madness brings a Turkish glimpse of hell, new work from the directors of Almost Human and The Loved Ones, a cyborg Pov story and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, which premiered in Cannes and backer Broad Green Pictures recently made available for Us distribution after electing not to self-release.
Vanguard entries include Gaspar Noé’s Love, Alex de la Iglesia’s My Big Night and Ryoo Seung-wan’s South Korean cop thriller Veteran.
The Masters Of Cinema programme features Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Our Little Sister, while the Tiff Cinematheque selection of restored classics includes Luchino Viconti’s Rocco And His Brothers and Marcel Ophüls...
Midnight Madness brings a Turkish glimpse of hell, new work from the directors of Almost Human and The Loved Ones, a cyborg Pov story and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, which premiered in Cannes and backer Broad Green Pictures recently made available for Us distribution after electing not to self-release.
Vanguard entries include Gaspar Noé’s Love, Alex de la Iglesia’s My Big Night and Ryoo Seung-wan’s South Korean cop thriller Veteran.
The Masters Of Cinema programme features Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Our Little Sister, while the Tiff Cinematheque selection of restored classics includes Luchino Viconti’s Rocco And His Brothers and Marcel Ophüls...
- 8/11/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Feature documentary interviews sons of high ranking Nazi officials.
Altitude Film Distribution has acquired the UK rights for feature documentary A Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did ahead of its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday (April 19).
The film follows eminent human rights lawyer and author Philippe Sands and two sons of high-ranking Nazi officials, Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter.
For Frank and Von Wachter, the journey involves a confrontation with the acts of their Nazi fathers. For Sands, it means visiting the places where much of his own Jewish family was killed under orders of the fathers of the two men he has come to know.
The film is directed by David Evans, Emmy-nominated for his work on drama series Downton Abbey. It is edited by David Charap (Virunga;) and produced by Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey (Brooklyn) from Wildgaze Films in association with the BFI and BBC Storyville.
The film includes...
Altitude Film Distribution has acquired the UK rights for feature documentary A Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did ahead of its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday (April 19).
The film follows eminent human rights lawyer and author Philippe Sands and two sons of high-ranking Nazi officials, Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter.
For Frank and Von Wachter, the journey involves a confrontation with the acts of their Nazi fathers. For Sands, it means visiting the places where much of his own Jewish family was killed under orders of the fathers of the two men he has come to know.
The film is directed by David Evans, Emmy-nominated for his work on drama series Downton Abbey. It is edited by David Charap (Virunga;) and produced by Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey (Brooklyn) from Wildgaze Films in association with the BFI and BBC Storyville.
The film includes...
- 4/16/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Scandi distributor’s pick-ups include Palo Alto [pictured] and Kristen Stewart drama Camp X-Ray.
Recently launched Scandinavian distributor Edge Entertainment acquired three films in the Cannes marche: Gia Coppola’s debut Palo Alto, doc Bolshoi Babylon and Kristen Stewart drama Camp X-Ray.
Documentary Bolshoi Babylon, from producer Simon Chinn and director Nick Read, reveals life behind the curtain of the Bolshoi Ballet, the cultural institute increasingly marred by stories of corruption and backstabbing.
Edge acquired the film for Scandinavia and Iceland from Altitude Films.
From Rezo Films, Edge picked up rights in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland to drama Camp X-Ray, the Sundance premiere that stars Kristen Stewart as a young woman guard at a notorious military detention centre.
From Pathe International the company picked up Scandinavian and Icelandic rights to Palo Alto, the Us drama about a group of rebellious high school kids, based on the short story collection by James Franco - who also appears...
Recently launched Scandinavian distributor Edge Entertainment acquired three films in the Cannes marche: Gia Coppola’s debut Palo Alto, doc Bolshoi Babylon and Kristen Stewart drama Camp X-Ray.
Documentary Bolshoi Babylon, from producer Simon Chinn and director Nick Read, reveals life behind the curtain of the Bolshoi Ballet, the cultural institute increasingly marred by stories of corruption and backstabbing.
Edge acquired the film for Scandinavia and Iceland from Altitude Films.
From Rezo Films, Edge picked up rights in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland to drama Camp X-Ray, the Sundance premiere that stars Kristen Stewart as a young woman guard at a notorious military detention centre.
From Pathe International the company picked up Scandinavian and Icelandic rights to Palo Alto, the Us drama about a group of rebellious high school kids, based on the short story collection by James Franco - who also appears...
- 5/27/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
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