Edinburgh International Film Festival
EDINBURGH -- The "14 Kilometers" in Gerardo Olivares' ambitious tale of African refugees seeking a better life in Europe is the stretch of water that separates the northern tip of Africa from Spain. To reach it, the central characters of two brothers from Niger and a young woman from Mail must traverse the enormous and pitiless Tenere Desert, often at the mercy of people interested only in their money.
Their desperate plight is often at odds with and not informed by the gorgeous desert scenery, which is photographed in all its contoured glory. A winner at the Valladolid film festival in Spain, the film will continue to entertain festival audiences but is unlikely to go much beyond that.
Olivares wrote the screenplay and is one of the cinematographers along with Alberto Moro, but the two elements of the film clash in ways that undermine the story's power. Adoum Moussa, as a talented soccer player, Illiassou Mahamadou Alzouma as his doting brother and Aminata Kanta as a young woman desperate to flee an unwanted marriage, are appealing but the script doesn't get under their skin.
Production: Wanda Vision, Explora Films, with participation of TVE. Cast: Adoum Moussa, Aminata Kanta, Illiassou Mahamadou Alzouma. Screenwriter/Director: Gerardo Olivares. Producer: Jose Maria Morales. Directors of Photography: Alberto Moro, Gerardo Olivares. Music: Santi Vega. Editor: Raquel Torres. Sales Agent: Wanda Vision. No rating, 95 minutes.
EDINBURGH -- The "14 Kilometers" in Gerardo Olivares' ambitious tale of African refugees seeking a better life in Europe is the stretch of water that separates the northern tip of Africa from Spain. To reach it, the central characters of two brothers from Niger and a young woman from Mail must traverse the enormous and pitiless Tenere Desert, often at the mercy of people interested only in their money.
Their desperate plight is often at odds with and not informed by the gorgeous desert scenery, which is photographed in all its contoured glory. A winner at the Valladolid film festival in Spain, the film will continue to entertain festival audiences but is unlikely to go much beyond that.
Olivares wrote the screenplay and is one of the cinematographers along with Alberto Moro, but the two elements of the film clash in ways that undermine the story's power. Adoum Moussa, as a talented soccer player, Illiassou Mahamadou Alzouma as his doting brother and Aminata Kanta as a young woman desperate to flee an unwanted marriage, are appealing but the script doesn't get under their skin.
Production: Wanda Vision, Explora Films, with participation of TVE. Cast: Adoum Moussa, Aminata Kanta, Illiassou Mahamadou Alzouma. Screenwriter/Director: Gerardo Olivares. Producer: Jose Maria Morales. Directors of Photography: Alberto Moro, Gerardo Olivares. Music: Santi Vega. Editor: Raquel Torres. Sales Agent: Wanda Vision. No rating, 95 minutes.
- 6/26/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A new documentary has claimed that Sir Cliff Richard lost out in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest because of a fix.
Producer Montse Fernandez Vila alleged that Spanish dictator Francisco Franco bought votes to ensure the Spanish entrant Massiel won the competition with the track 'La La La'.
Richard's song 'Congratulations', the favourite to win the music contest, came second.
Vila quotes Spanish TV presenter Jose Maria Inigo as saying: "It was a fix. Massiel won Eurovision with bought votes."
He claimed that . . .
Producer Montse Fernandez Vila alleged that Spanish dictator Francisco Franco bought votes to ensure the Spanish entrant Massiel won the competition with the track 'La La La'.
Richard's song 'Congratulations', the favourite to win the music contest, came second.
Vila quotes Spanish TV presenter Jose Maria Inigo as saying: "It was a fix. Massiel won Eurovision with bought votes."
He claimed that . . .
- 5/6/2008
- by Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
New Directors, New Films Festival
NEW YORK -- XXY, an Argentinean film by debuting director Lucia Puenzo, rises to the challenge of its difficult sexual subject matter. The story of a young hermaphrodite who's not sure if she's emotionally a boy or a girl manages to be both raw-edged and moving. The centerpiece of "XXY" is a feral performance by Ines Efron as the confused youth. But supporting characters are all thoroughly nuanced, and this injects a powerful humanism. The result is a tough, engaging, extremely touching work of cinema.
"XXY" has already performed well at festivals, picking up the Critics' Week Grand Prize at Cannes and a well-deserved New Directors Award at Edinburgh. Critical praise should boost chances in upscale art-house cinemas. Film Movement is handling the stateside release May 2.
Alex (Efron), 15, looks like a girl, but was born with both male and female genitalia. Her parents have brought her up as a girl, and her mother has mooted an operation to remove the offending muscle. Alex is starting to believe that she's actually a boy, and her father (Ricardo Darin) is coming around to that conclusion, too. When some family friends arrive at the house, 16-year-old Alvaro (Martin Piroyanski), a teenager with sexual anxieties of his own, forces the issue of Alex's sexual identity.
The creative decision to have Efron play Alex as wild and angry rather than anxious and introspective gives the film dynamism. Alex confronts her problems with her fists, and isn't afraid to externalize her emotions. She doesn't say very much, so her problems and internal conflicts are demonstrated in a very cinematic manner. Rarely has a teenager played a challenging role with such panache and credibility. Piroyanski also performs well as the nerdy, nervous, but emotionally honest foil to Alex's emotions.
Director Puenzo visualizes the fact that Alex is leaning towards male rather than female by showing her taking the masculine role in a sex scene with Alvaro. A nasty attempted rape scene illustrates Alex's vulnerability underneath her tough exterior. But the quiet compassion of friends and family ensures that the film is uplifting rather than depressing.
XXY
Film Movement
A Wanda Vision, Pyramide Prods., and Historias Cinematogrficas production
Sales: Pyramide International
Credits:
Director: Lucia Puenzo
Writer: Lucia Puenzo
Based on a story by: Sergio Bizzo
Producers: Luis Puenzo, Jose Maria Morales
Executive producers: Fernando Sirianni and Miguel Morales
Director of photography: Natashah Braier
Production designer: Roberto Samuelle
Music: Daniel Tarrab
Editors: Alex Zito, Hugo Primero
Cast:
Kraken: Ricardo Darin
Suli: Valeria Bertuccelli
Ramiro: German Palacios
Erika: Carolina Peleritti
Alvaro: Martin Piroyansky
Alex: Ines Efron
Running time -- 91 minutes
No MPAA rating...
NEW YORK -- XXY, an Argentinean film by debuting director Lucia Puenzo, rises to the challenge of its difficult sexual subject matter. The story of a young hermaphrodite who's not sure if she's emotionally a boy or a girl manages to be both raw-edged and moving. The centerpiece of "XXY" is a feral performance by Ines Efron as the confused youth. But supporting characters are all thoroughly nuanced, and this injects a powerful humanism. The result is a tough, engaging, extremely touching work of cinema.
"XXY" has already performed well at festivals, picking up the Critics' Week Grand Prize at Cannes and a well-deserved New Directors Award at Edinburgh. Critical praise should boost chances in upscale art-house cinemas. Film Movement is handling the stateside release May 2.
Alex (Efron), 15, looks like a girl, but was born with both male and female genitalia. Her parents have brought her up as a girl, and her mother has mooted an operation to remove the offending muscle. Alex is starting to believe that she's actually a boy, and her father (Ricardo Darin) is coming around to that conclusion, too. When some family friends arrive at the house, 16-year-old Alvaro (Martin Piroyanski), a teenager with sexual anxieties of his own, forces the issue of Alex's sexual identity.
The creative decision to have Efron play Alex as wild and angry rather than anxious and introspective gives the film dynamism. Alex confronts her problems with her fists, and isn't afraid to externalize her emotions. She doesn't say very much, so her problems and internal conflicts are demonstrated in a very cinematic manner. Rarely has a teenager played a challenging role with such panache and credibility. Piroyanski also performs well as the nerdy, nervous, but emotionally honest foil to Alex's emotions.
Director Puenzo visualizes the fact that Alex is leaning towards male rather than female by showing her taking the masculine role in a sex scene with Alvaro. A nasty attempted rape scene illustrates Alex's vulnerability underneath her tough exterior. But the quiet compassion of friends and family ensures that the film is uplifting rather than depressing.
XXY
Film Movement
A Wanda Vision, Pyramide Prods., and Historias Cinematogrficas production
Sales: Pyramide International
Credits:
Director: Lucia Puenzo
Writer: Lucia Puenzo
Based on a story by: Sergio Bizzo
Producers: Luis Puenzo, Jose Maria Morales
Executive producers: Fernando Sirianni and Miguel Morales
Director of photography: Natashah Braier
Production designer: Roberto Samuelle
Music: Daniel Tarrab
Editors: Alex Zito, Hugo Primero
Cast:
Kraken: Ricardo Darin
Suli: Valeria Bertuccelli
Ramiro: German Palacios
Erika: Carolina Peleritti
Alvaro: Martin Piroyansky
Alex: Ines Efron
Running time -- 91 minutes
No MPAA rating...
MADRID -- Jaime Rosales' Festival de Cannes entry La Soledad walked away from the Spanish Film Academy's Goya Awards ceremony with the top honors, but the night undoubtedly belonged to Juan Antonio Bayona's directorial debut, The Orphanage.
Rosales took home the Goya for director, beating Gracia Querejeta for Siete mesas de billar frances, Emilio Martinez-Lazaro for 13 roses and Iciar Bollain for Mataharis.
"We live in a frenetic society, and that is time that we are stealing from our children," Rosales said.
His film focusing on loneliness and what he called "polyvision" triumphed over Roses, Seven Billiards Tables and Orphanage for Spain's top honor of the night.
"The richness of our cinema is in its diversity, and I dedicate this award to the people that are just starting out in cinema," said Wanda Vision president Jose Maria Morales, producer of Soledad.
But Bayona's haunting tale of a woman's return to the orphanage where she lived as a child -- distributed in the U.S. by Picturehouse -- crowned its winning trot around the globe throughout 2007's festival season with seven statues, including best new director, original screenplay, production design, artistic director, makeup and hair, sound and special effects.
Querejeta's Billiards was hands-down the winner in actress performances, giving Maribel Verdu her first acting Goya after four previous unsuccessful nominations -- including for last year's for Pan's Labyrinth.
The lead actor nod went to Alberto San Juan for his part in Bajo las Estrellas, which also gave Felix Viscarret the adapted screenply award.
Rosales took home the Goya for director, beating Gracia Querejeta for Siete mesas de billar frances, Emilio Martinez-Lazaro for 13 roses and Iciar Bollain for Mataharis.
"We live in a frenetic society, and that is time that we are stealing from our children," Rosales said.
His film focusing on loneliness and what he called "polyvision" triumphed over Roses, Seven Billiards Tables and Orphanage for Spain's top honor of the night.
"The richness of our cinema is in its diversity, and I dedicate this award to the people that are just starting out in cinema," said Wanda Vision president Jose Maria Morales, producer of Soledad.
But Bayona's haunting tale of a woman's return to the orphanage where she lived as a child -- distributed in the U.S. by Picturehouse -- crowned its winning trot around the globe throughout 2007's festival season with seven statues, including best new director, original screenplay, production design, artistic director, makeup and hair, sound and special effects.
Querejeta's Billiards was hands-down the winner in actress performances, giving Maribel Verdu her first acting Goya after four previous unsuccessful nominations -- including for last year's for Pan's Labyrinth.
The lead actor nod went to Alberto San Juan for his part in Bajo las Estrellas, which also gave Felix Viscarret the adapted screenply award.
MADRID -- Spanish content and service provider Vertice 360 announced Thursday the acquisition of Barcelona-based post-production company Apuntolapospo, one week after Vertice's public listing on the Spanish continuous market stock exchange.
The move strengthens the group's hand in the post-production sector as Apuntolapospo offers digital sound and image post-production services for television and complements Vertice's Madrid-based post-production studio, Telson.
A capital increase -- to be approved at the next Vertice board meeting -- will foot the bill for the 5.6 million euros ($8.2 million) purchase. The Barcelona-based company posted 5.3 million euros ($7.74 million) in revenue last year, with an EBITDA of 1.2 million euros ($1.75 million).
The move, which also brings industry veterans Jose Maria Aragones and Maria Rosa Fuste on board at Vertice, looks to bring in-house the 7.2 million euros ($10.5 million) in revenue forecast for Apuntolapospo in the coming year.
"The integration of Apuntolapospo makes clear our strategy to grow by incorporating companies that include business value and, above all, professional talent," Vertice president Jose Maria Irisarri said.
The move strengthens the group's hand in the post-production sector as Apuntolapospo offers digital sound and image post-production services for television and complements Vertice's Madrid-based post-production studio, Telson.
A capital increase -- to be approved at the next Vertice board meeting -- will foot the bill for the 5.6 million euros ($8.2 million) purchase. The Barcelona-based company posted 5.3 million euros ($7.74 million) in revenue last year, with an EBITDA of 1.2 million euros ($1.75 million).
The move, which also brings industry veterans Jose Maria Aragones and Maria Rosa Fuste on board at Vertice, looks to bring in-house the 7.2 million euros ($10.5 million) in revenue forecast for Apuntolapospo in the coming year.
"The integration of Apuntolapospo makes clear our strategy to grow by incorporating companies that include business value and, above all, professional talent," Vertice president Jose Maria Irisarri said.
- 12/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MADRID -- Spanish content and service provider Vertice 360 saw its shares close at 2.65 euros on its first day of trading Wednesday, marking a 28.02% rise over the stock authorities reference price for the listing of 2.07 euros per share.
"We are satisfied with the evolution of the value of the first day of trading," Vertice president Jose Maria Irisarri said. "We think that the share offers an important run for those investors that have trusted the company today."
More than 6.7 million shares traded worth some 19 million euros on the Spanish continuous market in the company's public listing, without a previous public offer of sale or public subscription period.
Vertice's parent company, high-tech group Avanzit, divvied up 18% of the company among its shareholders for free in August.
Vertice employs 600 people and owns a chain of content producers, including TV content producer Notro Films, production house Telespan 2000, production and post-production services via Telson, logo and corporate imaging, sound tracks.
"We are satisfied with the evolution of the value of the first day of trading," Vertice president Jose Maria Irisarri said. "We think that the share offers an important run for those investors that have trusted the company today."
More than 6.7 million shares traded worth some 19 million euros on the Spanish continuous market in the company's public listing, without a previous public offer of sale or public subscription period.
Vertice's parent company, high-tech group Avanzit, divvied up 18% of the company among its shareholders for free in August.
Vertice employs 600 people and owns a chain of content producers, including TV content producer Notro Films, production house Telespan 2000, production and post-production services via Telson, logo and corporate imaging, sound tracks.
- 12/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MADRID -- Spanish content powerhouse Vertice 360 is primed for a public listing Wednesday on Spain's continuous market exchange, becoming the first Spanish content provider company to float on the public bourse in Spain.
Vertice, the audiovisual branch of high-tech group Avanzit, is credited with having the muscle of a solid parent company and being in a unique position as Spain's only major content group independent of a broadcaster or political group.
"We are planning to be the leader in a sector in transformation," Vertice president Jose Maria Irisarri said. "We are innovators in a changing field, and what distinguishes us is the talent of our team and the fact that we are independent. We don't compete with our clients. We are their partners."
The group's activities have multiplied in the lead-up to Wednesday's listing, with the past 12 months seeing the integration of about 27 companies, with revenue jumping 53% from 80 million euros ($115.2 million) in 2006 to an expected 124 million euros ($178.6 million) for 2007.
Vertice, the audiovisual branch of high-tech group Avanzit, is credited with having the muscle of a solid parent company and being in a unique position as Spain's only major content group independent of a broadcaster or political group.
"We are planning to be the leader in a sector in transformation," Vertice president Jose Maria Irisarri said. "We are innovators in a changing field, and what distinguishes us is the talent of our team and the fact that we are independent. We don't compete with our clients. We are their partners."
The group's activities have multiplied in the lead-up to Wednesday's listing, with the past 12 months seeing the integration of about 27 companies, with revenue jumping 53% from 80 million euros ($115.2 million) in 2006 to an expected 124 million euros ($178.6 million) for 2007.
- 12/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
San Sebastian International Film Festival
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- Tackling the uneasy topic of Alzheimer's in And Who Are You?, Spanish director Antonio Mercero's chooses to approach this with cutesy affection and humor to lighten the load. This movie could work in Spanish-speaking markets, but may seem too overly sentimental to audiences elsewhere.
"And Who Are You?" tells the story of grandfather Ricardo (Manuel Alexandre), who is not included in a family holiday because he is forgetful. Instead is sent to a rest home, where a doctor diagnoses Alzheimer's Disease. His granddaughter Ana (Cristina Brondo) decides to give up three years of law studies to care for Ricardo and in the process strikes up a romance with the handsome doctor (Monti Castineira).
The closeness of family life in Spain makes the grandfather a much-loved figure. So packing him off to a rest home seems drastic. Mercero plays on this for dramatic pathos, but before the movie becomes a tearjerker, the joker Andres (Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez) is introduced to bring in a few laughs. His collection of condoms and propensity for light farts are pure slapstick.
Throughout Mercero juggles laughs with the dark reality of a man losing his faculties. One minute Ricardo is lost in the city, has wet himself and does not know his own name. The next he is singing in a bar and everyone's laughing. So the question arises: Is Mercero trying to raise our awareness of Alzheimer's or simply exploiting the disease to make a sentimental film?
AND WHO ARE YOU?
A Mono Films/Irusoin/Buena Vista International co-production
Credits:
Director: Antonio Mercero
Writer: Antonio Mercero
Producer: Menendez de Zubillaga
Director of photography: Gonzalo Berridi
Music: Manuel Villata
Editor: Jose Maria Biurrun
Cast:
Ricardo: Manuel Alexandre
Andres: Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez
Ana: Cristina Brondo
Padre: Alvaro de Luna, Doctor: Monti Castineira
Nurse: Amparo Moreno
Mother: Angeles Macua
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- Tackling the uneasy topic of Alzheimer's in And Who Are You?, Spanish director Antonio Mercero's chooses to approach this with cutesy affection and humor to lighten the load. This movie could work in Spanish-speaking markets, but may seem too overly sentimental to audiences elsewhere.
"And Who Are You?" tells the story of grandfather Ricardo (Manuel Alexandre), who is not included in a family holiday because he is forgetful. Instead is sent to a rest home, where a doctor diagnoses Alzheimer's Disease. His granddaughter Ana (Cristina Brondo) decides to give up three years of law studies to care for Ricardo and in the process strikes up a romance with the handsome doctor (Monti Castineira).
The closeness of family life in Spain makes the grandfather a much-loved figure. So packing him off to a rest home seems drastic. Mercero plays on this for dramatic pathos, but before the movie becomes a tearjerker, the joker Andres (Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez) is introduced to bring in a few laughs. His collection of condoms and propensity for light farts are pure slapstick.
Throughout Mercero juggles laughs with the dark reality of a man losing his faculties. One minute Ricardo is lost in the city, has wet himself and does not know his own name. The next he is singing in a bar and everyone's laughing. So the question arises: Is Mercero trying to raise our awareness of Alzheimer's or simply exploiting the disease to make a sentimental film?
AND WHO ARE YOU?
A Mono Films/Irusoin/Buena Vista International co-production
Credits:
Director: Antonio Mercero
Writer: Antonio Mercero
Producer: Menendez de Zubillaga
Director of photography: Gonzalo Berridi
Music: Manuel Villata
Editor: Jose Maria Biurrun
Cast:
Ricardo: Manuel Alexandre
Andres: Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez
Ana: Cristina Brondo
Padre: Alvaro de Luna, Doctor: Monti Castineira
Nurse: Amparo Moreno
Mother: Angeles Macua
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/11/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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