Cologne-based Augenschein Filmproduktion, producer of “7500,” which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is moving increasingly into English-language production while also branching out as a financing partner for international projects.
In a move reflecting those changes, the company has hired industry vet Rusta Mizani, currently head of business affairs at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin, as its new CFO. Mizani, a former producer and administrative director of regional funder Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, will assist Augenschein managing directors Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo in business development as the company moves into financing.
Augenschein is next re-teaming with “7500” director Patrick Vollrath and Glen Basner’s FilmNation, which handled international sales on the airplane thriller, on a Cold War drama set in 1961 Berlin during the building of the Berlin Wall.
The company is also partnering again with Los Angeles-based Xyz Films on an historical action pic set to shoot in Germany in 2020. The companies, along with Berlin-based Rise Pictures,...
In a move reflecting those changes, the company has hired industry vet Rusta Mizani, currently head of business affairs at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin, as its new CFO. Mizani, a former producer and administrative director of regional funder Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, will assist Augenschein managing directors Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo in business development as the company moves into financing.
Augenschein is next re-teaming with “7500” director Patrick Vollrath and Glen Basner’s FilmNation, which handled international sales on the airplane thriller, on a Cold War drama set in 1961 Berlin during the building of the Berlin Wall.
The company is also partnering again with Los Angeles-based Xyz Films on an historical action pic set to shoot in Germany in 2020. The companies, along with Berlin-based Rise Pictures,...
- 9/8/2019
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Panama City — Paul Federbush, international director, Sundance Feature Film Program, andLaura Michalchyshyn, at Sundance Productions, delivered a presentation at Iff Panama, moderated by Diana Sanchez, focusing on how the changing media landscape has created new opportunities for filmmakers, in particular in regions such as Latin America.
“I’m very interested in this part of the world and the talent here,” said Michalchyshyn.
The rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and new entrants such as Disney Plus and WarnerMedia has radically transformed the business, with a shift of the center of gravity from movies to TV series and with increasing potential for non-u.S. content to circulate internationally.
Federbush explained that this new environment was one of the factors that stimulated the Sundance Institute to reinforce its international strategy.
Both Federbush and Michalchyshyn underlined the potential of the Latin American market and Spanish-language films and series in particular,...
“I’m very interested in this part of the world and the talent here,” said Michalchyshyn.
The rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and new entrants such as Disney Plus and WarnerMedia has radically transformed the business, with a shift of the center of gravity from movies to TV series and with increasing potential for non-u.S. content to circulate internationally.
Federbush explained that this new environment was one of the factors that stimulated the Sundance Institute to reinforce its international strategy.
Both Federbush and Michalchyshyn underlined the potential of the Latin American market and Spanish-language films and series in particular,...
- 4/7/2019
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
Guadalajara, Mexico — This week, Mexico’s Guadalajara Festival will honor Chile as its guest country. That serves as further recognition of an extraordinary 15 years after the so-called Newest Chilean Cinema broke out at 2005’s Valparaíso Festival with Matías Bize, Sebastián Lelio and Alicia Scherson bowing first features.
During that stretch, Chile, just the seventh-largest country in Latin America with an 18 million population, has punched in international terms far above its weight, winning major prizes at Cannes, Sundance, Berlin and Venice, and breaking out to sizable box office on select titles abroad. Last year Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” won him and producers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín an Oscar.
Now, however, Chile’s top talent is crossing over into TV, as TV producers return to cinema. The wall between both is fast coming down.
Chile certainly isn’t abandoning cinema. It has six or seven titles which could...
During that stretch, Chile, just the seventh-largest country in Latin America with an 18 million population, has punched in international terms far above its weight, winning major prizes at Cannes, Sundance, Berlin and Venice, and breaking out to sizable box office on select titles abroad. Last year Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” won him and producers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín an Oscar.
Now, however, Chile’s top talent is crossing over into TV, as TV producers return to cinema. The wall between both is fast coming down.
Chile certainly isn’t abandoning cinema. It has six or seven titles which could...
- 3/11/2019
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Chile’s Storyboard Media, a leader in production and distribution in that country, have given Variety exclusive access to the heartwarming first trailer for the sophomore feature from director Shawn Garry, “After Elena.”
The film tells the story of Roberto, a man in his 70s who has just lost the love of his life, Elena. The typically stoic character breaks down when forced to sell his business which stands in the way of the development of a new shopping center. To get away, Roberto plans a trip which is interrupted before it has the chance to begin when his children, now in their 30s with kids of their own, return home.
In the trailer we see Roberto, clearly out of sorts, as he tries to cope with the now overflowing house and mundane issues that confront large families with children, issues he hasn’t had to deal with for 15 years.
The film tells the story of Roberto, a man in his 70s who has just lost the love of his life, Elena. The typically stoic character breaks down when forced to sell his business which stands in the way of the development of a new shopping center. To get away, Roberto plans a trip which is interrupted before it has the chance to begin when his children, now in their 30s with kids of their own, return home.
In the trailer we see Roberto, clearly out of sorts, as he tries to cope with the now overflowing house and mundane issues that confront large families with children, issues he hasn’t had to deal with for 15 years.
- 10/19/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Leading Chilean film Company Jirafa, which has re-launched its distribution operations under returning founder-managing director Bruno Bettati, has tapped Matias de Bourguignon as an executive producer, starting in August.
Among his credits, De Bourguignon, a former portfolio manager, produced acclaimed short “The Summer of the Electric Lion,” winner of the First Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival’s 21st Cinéfondation Selection, a showcase for film school shorts.
De Bourguignon will oversee Alejandro Fernandez Almendras’ Czech Republic-set “Hra”(“The Play”), now in post, and screening at Sanfic’s Latin American Works in Progress, as well as current projects in development: Francisca Alegría’s much-anticipated feature debut “The Cow that Sang a Song About the Future” and Fernandez’s dystopian sci-fi thriller “The Gray Beyond.”
“The Cow that Sang…” is Alegria’s follow-up to her Sundance-winning 2016 short “And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye,” hailed for its stunning use of magical realism.
Among his credits, De Bourguignon, a former portfolio manager, produced acclaimed short “The Summer of the Electric Lion,” winner of the First Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival’s 21st Cinéfondation Selection, a showcase for film school shorts.
De Bourguignon will oversee Alejandro Fernandez Almendras’ Czech Republic-set “Hra”(“The Play”), now in post, and screening at Sanfic’s Latin American Works in Progress, as well as current projects in development: Francisca Alegría’s much-anticipated feature debut “The Cow that Sang a Song About the Future” and Fernandez’s dystopian sci-fi thriller “The Gray Beyond.”
“The Cow that Sang…” is Alegria’s follow-up to her Sundance-winning 2016 short “And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye,” hailed for its stunning use of magical realism.
- 8/16/2018
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid — Swooping in on a just-announced San Sebastian main competition title, Paris-based Luxbox has picked up world sales rights to the noirish retro drama-thriller “Rojo,” from Benjamin Naishtat, one of Argentina’s most highly-rated on-the-rise auteurs.
Also one of the biggest titles now coming out of Argentina and a Naishtat passion project developed over years, “Rojo” is set in an Argentine province in 1975 against a expanding wave of political violence, often perpetrated by illegal police squads.
Its prologue kicks off with Dr. Claudio Mora, an upstanding lawyer being attacked outside a restaurant by a stranger who pulls a gun, shoots himself but doesn’t die. In a fateful decision, Mora abandons the still-living stranger in the nearby desert. Consumed by guilt, he begins to discover a whole world of subterfuge, corruption and violence beneath the placid surface of provincial Argentina….
Naishtat’s follow-up to his debut, “History of Fear,” which...
Also one of the biggest titles now coming out of Argentina and a Naishtat passion project developed over years, “Rojo” is set in an Argentine province in 1975 against a expanding wave of political violence, often perpetrated by illegal police squads.
Its prologue kicks off with Dr. Claudio Mora, an upstanding lawyer being attacked outside a restaurant by a stranger who pulls a gun, shoots himself but doesn’t die. In a fateful decision, Mora abandons the still-living stranger in the nearby desert. Consumed by guilt, he begins to discover a whole world of subterfuge, corruption and violence beneath the placid surface of provincial Argentina….
Naishtat’s follow-up to his debut, “History of Fear,” which...
- 7/13/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Riviera Maya, Mexico — As widely predicted, Sebastian Lelio’s “A Fantastic Woman” swept the 5th Platino Ibero-American Film Awards Sunday, held at the Xcaret Riviera Maya resort in Mexico.
This is the second time Lelio has snagged the best picture Platino Award. His poignant drama about a divorcee, “Gloria,” won at the inaugural edition of the four-year old annual event.
The Platino Awards sweep is another feather in the cap for Lelio who took home the foreign language Oscar for Chile this year for “A Fantastic Woman.”
“Those of us who make movies play with perception and reality; those who watch our films are responsible for making sense of it,” said Lelio upon receiving his best director prize.
In industry terms, Spain was a producer or very often co-producer of virtually all the winning projects, both TV and film.
The glittering event featured a bevy of actors from across Ibero-America...
This is the second time Lelio has snagged the best picture Platino Award. His poignant drama about a divorcee, “Gloria,” won at the inaugural edition of the four-year old annual event.
The Platino Awards sweep is another feather in the cap for Lelio who took home the foreign language Oscar for Chile this year for “A Fantastic Woman.”
“Those of us who make movies play with perception and reality; those who watch our films are responsible for making sense of it,” said Lelio upon receiving his best director prize.
In industry terms, Spain was a producer or very often co-producer of virtually all the winning projects, both TV and film.
The glittering event featured a bevy of actors from across Ibero-America...
- 4/30/2018
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The men are all dogs, all right, but the woman at the center of things is a complex and compelling figure in Los Perros, in which the brutal legacy of the Pinochet era continues to infect modern Chileans on an intergenerational basis. The operative concern of decades-old crimes and transgressions still plaguing a society won’t play urgently with young modern audiences preoccupied with other contemporary problems, but the flawed and vibrant character around which the film spins provides a strong pulse of dramatic energy. International commercial prospects are limited.
After working in documentaries for a decade, writer-director Marcela Said made...
After working in documentaries for a decade, writer-director Marcela Said made...
- 5/18/2017
- by Todd McCarthy
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 56th edition of the Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar has announced its main program, including seven films screening in competition. The sidebar is dedicated to films coming from first- and second-time filmmakers, and always promises a fertile ground for discovering new and emerging talent. Last year’s breakout title was Julia Ducournau’s horror film “Raw,” which sold to Focus World.
Read More: Cannes 2017 Announces Directors Fortnight Lineup, Including Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Patti Cake$’
The section will open with Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s latest feature, “Sicilian Ghost Story,” which combines the myths of Romeo and Juliet with the present day Sicilian mafia. Dave McCary’s debut “Brigsby Bear,” the Sundance comedy that sold to Sony Pictures Classics, will close out the section.
For the first time in its history, both a documentary and an animated film will screen in competition. Ali Soozandeh’s animated...
Read More: Cannes 2017 Announces Directors Fortnight Lineup, Including Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Patti Cake$’
The section will open with Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s latest feature, “Sicilian Ghost Story,” which combines the myths of Romeo and Juliet with the present day Sicilian mafia. Dave McCary’s debut “Brigsby Bear,” the Sundance comedy that sold to Sony Pictures Classics, will close out the section.
For the first time in its history, both a documentary and an animated film will screen in competition. Ali Soozandeh’s animated...
- 4/21/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Mafia tale Sicilian Ghost Story to open sidebar, Sundance hit Brigsby Bear selected as closer.
Cannes Critics’ Week, devoted to first and second features as well as shorts, has unveiled the line-up of its 56th edition, running May 18-26.
Italian directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza will open the selection with their second feature Sicilian Ghost Story, a genre-mixing work following a teenage girl as she searches for the boy she loves after he is kidnapped by the Mafia.
It is inspired by the real-life tale of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a former Mafia hitman-turned-informant, who was abducted in 1993.
Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson described it as a “staggering crossover between cinema genres, combining politics, fantasy and terrible teen love.”
The directorial duo premiered their debut feature Salvo in competition in Critics’ Week in 2013, winning the €15,000 Nespresso Grand Prize.
The screenplay for Sicilian Ghost Story was developed at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and went...
Cannes Critics’ Week, devoted to first and second features as well as shorts, has unveiled the line-up of its 56th edition, running May 18-26.
Italian directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza will open the selection with their second feature Sicilian Ghost Story, a genre-mixing work following a teenage girl as she searches for the boy she loves after he is kidnapped by the Mafia.
It is inspired by the real-life tale of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a former Mafia hitman-turned-informant, who was abducted in 1993.
Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson described it as a “staggering crossover between cinema genres, combining politics, fantasy and terrible teen love.”
The directorial duo premiered their debut feature Salvo in competition in Critics’ Week in 2013, winning the €15,000 Nespresso Grand Prize.
The screenplay for Sicilian Ghost Story was developed at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and went...
- 4/21/2017
- ScreenDaily
Screen investigates which films from around the world could launch on the Croisette, including on opening night.
With just over a month to go before the line-up for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is unveiled in Paris, Croisette predictions and wish lists are hitting the web thick and fast.
Screen’s network of correspondents and contributors around the world have been putting out feelers to get a sense of what might or might not make it to the Palais du Cinéma or one of the parallel sections.
Just like the Oscars, this year’s festival is likely to unfold amid a politically-charged atmosphere. Beyond Trump and the rise of populism across the globe, France will be digesting the result of its own presidential election on May 7. Against this background, the festival will be feting its 70th edition.
Below, Screen reveals which titles might - and might not - be in the running for a place at the...
With just over a month to go before the line-up for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is unveiled in Paris, Croisette predictions and wish lists are hitting the web thick and fast.
Screen’s network of correspondents and contributors around the world have been putting out feelers to get a sense of what might or might not make it to the Palais du Cinéma or one of the parallel sections.
Just like the Oscars, this year’s festival is likely to unfold amid a politically-charged atmosphere. Beyond Trump and the rise of populism across the globe, France will be digesting the result of its own presidential election on May 7. Against this background, the festival will be feting its 70th edition.
Below, Screen reveals which titles might - and might not - be in the running for a place at the...
- 3/13/2017
- ScreenDaily
Joint initiative between San Sebastián and Cinélatino-Rencontres de Toulouse has selected six films from 198 applications.
Six films have been selected for the 31st edition of Films in Progress (March 23-24), the works in progress initiative between Cinélatino-Rencontres de Toulouse and the San Sebastián Film Festival.
Scroll down for selection
The selection includes Los Perros, by Chilean director Marcela Said whose fiction debut The Summer of the Flying Fish [pictured] premiered in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in 2013.
A Latin American and European co-production (Chile-France-Argentina-Portugal-Germany), Los Perros stars Pablo Larraín regulars Alfredo Castro and Antonia Zegers. The story revolves around a bourgeois married woman who feels attracted to her horse-riding instructor, a former military man with a dark past who was involved with Chile’s Pinochet regime.
Alongside Marcela Said, a number of other women directors are involved in this year selection.
Making their feature debut are Argentinian filmmakers Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato, who will co-direct...
Six films have been selected for the 31st edition of Films in Progress (March 23-24), the works in progress initiative between Cinélatino-Rencontres de Toulouse and the San Sebastián Film Festival.
Scroll down for selection
The selection includes Los Perros, by Chilean director Marcela Said whose fiction debut The Summer of the Flying Fish [pictured] premiered in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in 2013.
A Latin American and European co-production (Chile-France-Argentina-Portugal-Germany), Los Perros stars Pablo Larraín regulars Alfredo Castro and Antonia Zegers. The story revolves around a bourgeois married woman who feels attracted to her horse-riding instructor, a former military man with a dark past who was involved with Chile’s Pinochet regime.
Alongside Marcela Said, a number of other women directors are involved in this year selection.
Making their feature debut are Argentinian filmmakers Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato, who will co-direct...
- 3/7/2017
- ScreenDaily
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