The Mediterrane Film Festival kickstarted its second edition with the international premiere of Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte’s “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
The film, shown at the heart of Malta’s capital of Valletta on Saturday night, was followed by a reception at the historic Mdina Ditch Gardens, in which Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech highlighted the importance of the festival as an event to “unite the nations of the Mediterranean through film.”
The sentiment echoes this year’s festival theme of Unity Through Film, with Grech adding that he hopes the festival will bring nations together to “share stories that celebrate not only our diversity but also our shared outlook.” The film commissioner emphasised the success of the festival’s first edition, claiming the return to the local economy “far exceeded our investment, showing once again what a force for good film is in our country.
The film, shown at the heart of Malta’s capital of Valletta on Saturday night, was followed by a reception at the historic Mdina Ditch Gardens, in which Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech highlighted the importance of the festival as an event to “unite the nations of the Mediterranean through film.”
The sentiment echoes this year’s festival theme of Unity Through Film, with Grech adding that he hopes the festival will bring nations together to “share stories that celebrate not only our diversity but also our shared outlook.” The film commissioner emphasised the success of the festival’s first edition, claiming the return to the local economy “far exceeded our investment, showing once again what a force for good film is in our country.
- 6/23/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
The Mediterrane Film Festival announced its complete program ahead of its second edition, taking place in Malta’s capital of Valetta from June 22-30. New titles selected include recent Cannes highlights in Coralie Fargeat’s Demi Moore-led body horror “The Substance” and Roberto Minvervini’s “The Damned,” which join previously announced films like Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” and Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw The TV Glow.”
Further program additions include Mahdi Fleifel’s Directors’ Fortnight standout “To a Land Unknown,” which Variety labeled “a confident, angry, fully-realized drama,” and Truong Minh Quy’s Un Certain Regard breakout “Viet and Nam.” An extended version of the Malta-shot “Jurassic World: Dominion” will play as part of the Malta Expanded strand, while on the retrospective end of the program, the festival will honor David Bowie with screenings of Nicolas Roeg’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and Lisa Azuelos’s “My Way,...
Further program additions include Mahdi Fleifel’s Directors’ Fortnight standout “To a Land Unknown,” which Variety labeled “a confident, angry, fully-realized drama,” and Truong Minh Quy’s Un Certain Regard breakout “Viet and Nam.” An extended version of the Malta-shot “Jurassic World: Dominion” will play as part of the Malta Expanded strand, while on the retrospective end of the program, the festival will honor David Bowie with screenings of Nicolas Roeg’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and Lisa Azuelos’s “My Way,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
The Mediterrane Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its second edition (June 22-30), with Cannes premiere The Count Of Monte Cristo set to open the event.
Scroll down for the full line-up
Directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, the film is among seven titles in the out of competition strand, which also includes Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance title I Saw The TV Glow and Tarsem Singh’s Dear Jassi.
The 15-strong competition section features Cannes competition titles Kinds Of Kindness and The Substance, and Berlin premiere The Strangers case starring Omar Sy,
Seven films compete in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section,...
Scroll down for the full line-up
Directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, the film is among seven titles in the out of competition strand, which also includes Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance title I Saw The TV Glow and Tarsem Singh’s Dear Jassi.
The 15-strong competition section features Cannes competition titles Kinds Of Kindness and The Substance, and Berlin premiere The Strangers case starring Omar Sy,
Seven films compete in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section,...
- 6/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has set the full competition and industry lineup for its second edition, which runs June 22 to 30 in the country’s capital, Valletta.
The programme includes 15 films in competition, seven out-of-competition, and seven films competing in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section, topped up by 14 immersive projects.
Select competition titles include Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest Kinds of Kindness, Coralie Fargeat’s body horror The Substance, and The Damned by Italian filmmaker Roberto Minvervini. All three films debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Scroll down to see the full lineup. Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller will serve on the competition jury.
The festival has also set its industry lineup, featuring a series of masterclass sessions. Speakers include editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis, production designer Nathan Crowley, casting director Margery Simkin, and composer Simon Franglen...
The programme includes 15 films in competition, seven out-of-competition, and seven films competing in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section, topped up by 14 immersive projects.
Select competition titles include Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest Kinds of Kindness, Coralie Fargeat’s body horror The Substance, and The Damned by Italian filmmaker Roberto Minvervini. All three films debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Scroll down to see the full lineup. Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller will serve on the competition jury.
The festival has also set its industry lineup, featuring a series of masterclass sessions. Speakers include editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis, production designer Nathan Crowley, casting director Margery Simkin, and composer Simon Franglen...
- 6/12/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Fresh out of its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” is one of the titles headed to this year’s Mediterrane Film Festival, taking place in Malta between June 22-30.
Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of programming include Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance breakout “I Saw the TV Glow” and Meryam Joobeur’s Berlinale competition entry “Who Do I Belong To.”
The festival’s sophomore edition marks the first under the curatorial guise of Artistic Director Teresa Cavina, appointed earlier in the year. Cavina reorganized the festival’s program into four strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, showcasing films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions, focusing on experimental VR projects.
In a statement, Cavina said that this...
Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of programming include Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance breakout “I Saw the TV Glow” and Meryam Joobeur’s Berlinale competition entry “Who Do I Belong To.”
The festival’s sophomore edition marks the first under the curatorial guise of Artistic Director Teresa Cavina, appointed earlier in the year. Cavina reorganized the festival’s program into four strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, showcasing films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions, focusing on experimental VR projects.
In a statement, Cavina said that this...
- 5/20/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Malaysian drama Snow In Midsummer and Danish feature Sons have won the top prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s (Hkiff) Firebird Awards.
Snow In Midsummer, directed by Chong Keat-aun, won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. The film, which premiered in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori section last September, revisits the tragic race riots that occurred in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969.
Gustav Moller’s Sons won the top Firebird Award in the World category. The Denmark-Sweden co-production, about a prison officer who is faced with a dilemma when a young man...
Snow In Midsummer, directed by Chong Keat-aun, won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. The film, which premiered in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori section last September, revisits the tragic race riots that occurred in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969.
Gustav Moller’s Sons won the top Firebird Award in the World category. The Denmark-Sweden co-production, about a prison officer who is faced with a dilemma when a young man...
- 4/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Bright Sparks In Hong Kong
“Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award. Jason King won the best actor award for his performance in “A Journey in Spring.”
In the equivalent competition for non-Chinese films Gustav Moeller’s “Sons” was named the Firebird winner. Meryam Joobeur won the best director award for her “Who Do I Belong To.” The best actor award went to Vangelis Mourikis for his role in “Arcadia.” Minna Wuendrich was named best actress for her performance in “Ivo.” The jury also gave a special mention to “Pepe,” directed by Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias.
In the documentary competition,...
“Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award. Jason King won the best actor award for his performance in “A Journey in Spring.”
In the equivalent competition for non-Chinese films Gustav Moeller’s “Sons” was named the Firebird winner. Meryam Joobeur won the best director award for her “Who Do I Belong To.” The best actor award went to Vangelis Mourikis for his role in “Arcadia.” Minna Wuendrich was named best actress for her performance in “Ivo.” The jury also gave a special mention to “Pepe,” directed by Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias.
In the documentary competition,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Malaysia-Singapore-Taiwan co-production Snow in Midsummer and Swedish title Sons took top prizes in the Young Cinema Competition at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff).
Winners of the festival’s 15 Firebird Awards and Fipresci Prize were announced at an awards gala held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Directed by Malaysian filmmaker Chong Keat-aun, Snow in Midsummer was named Best Film (Chinese Language) in the Young Cinema Competition, with the jury commending the director for “demonstrating extraordinary courage in recounting the traumatic experiences of Malaysian travelling players.”
The feature revolves around a Cantonese street opera troupe during a turbulent period in Malaysia’s political history in the late 1960s. Cast includes Wan Fang, Pearlly Chua, Rexen Cheng, Pauline Tan, Peter Yu and Alvin Wong.
Other winners in the Chinese-language category included the Best Director award for Chinese filmmaker Liang Ming for his film Carefree Days, while the film’s female lead,...
Winners of the festival’s 15 Firebird Awards and Fipresci Prize were announced at an awards gala held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Directed by Malaysian filmmaker Chong Keat-aun, Snow in Midsummer was named Best Film (Chinese Language) in the Young Cinema Competition, with the jury commending the director for “demonstrating extraordinary courage in recounting the traumatic experiences of Malaysian travelling players.”
The feature revolves around a Cantonese street opera troupe during a turbulent period in Malaysia’s political history in the late 1960s. Cast includes Wan Fang, Pearlly Chua, Rexen Cheng, Pauline Tan, Peter Yu and Alvin Wong.
Other winners in the Chinese-language category included the Best Director award for Chinese filmmaker Liang Ming for his film Carefree Days, while the film’s female lead,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Sara Merican
- Deadline Film + TV
Kaouther Ben Hania will make history for her native Tunisia on Sunday with its first Academy Award if her hotly tipped nominated work Four Daughters triumphs in the Best Documentary category on Sunday.
The director belongs to a generation of Tunisian filmmakers who emerged in the wake of their country’s so-called Jasmine Revolution, which ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011.
Habib Attia, who is one of the original producers on Four Daughters, has been an integral part of this movement too.
The Tunis-based producer has cinema in his blood as the son of late producer Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia, whose credits included Moufida Tlatli’s 1994 breakout The Silences of the Palace, starring Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry in her first major big screen role.
On finishing his high school studies, Attia headed to his mother’s native Italy to study engineering in Milan, rather than immediately following in his father’s footsteps.
The director belongs to a generation of Tunisian filmmakers who emerged in the wake of their country’s so-called Jasmine Revolution, which ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011.
Habib Attia, who is one of the original producers on Four Daughters, has been an integral part of this movement too.
The Tunis-based producer has cinema in his blood as the son of late producer Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia, whose credits included Moufida Tlatli’s 1994 breakout The Silences of the Palace, starring Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry in her first major big screen role.
On finishing his high school studies, Attia headed to his mother’s native Italy to study engineering in Milan, rather than immediately following in his father’s footsteps.
- 3/10/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well has been set as the opening film of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which has unveiled its full lineup today.
It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.
Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...
It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.
Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...
- 3/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
In her debut film Who Do I Belong To, Tunisian-born, Canada-based filmmaker Meryam Joober explores the poignant narrative of Aicha, a mother faced with the daunting reality of her sons' association with Isis. The film is set in the tranquil yet secluded northern landscape of Tunisia. Joober examines themes of identity, maternal affection, and the pervasive impact of conflict on both a family and a small rural community. Central to the narrative is Aicha's complex journey as she attempts to reconcile her love for her son, Mehdi, who unexpectedly returns home with a pregnant wife from Syria, leading to a series of enigmatic disappearances that shroud the village. The inception of Meryam Joober's first film originated from an impromptu road trip across Tunisia with her...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/6/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Devil’s Bath and Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s My Favourite Cake have jointly topped Screen’s 2024 Berlin jury grid with an average score of 3.1.
See the final 2024 grid below.
The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.
Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...
See the final 2024 grid below.
The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.
Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Montreal-based filmmaker Meryam Joobeur made an international splash with her Oscar-nominated “Brotherhood,” winning considerable acclaim for a 2018 short about a rural Tunisian family wracked with heartache once the eldest son returns home after fighting for Isis. Premiering in competition in Berlin, Joobeur’s feature debut “Who Do I Belong To” builds on the same premise and keeps the same cast, but the filmmaker does not see her latest film as an extension or reimagining.
Instead, “Who Do I Belong To” reframes the narrative around a more female perspective, focusing on the family matriarch Aisha (Salha Nasraoui) who is torn between relief, grief and guilt when only one of her two escaped sons comes home. What’s more, he returns with a pregnant Syrian bride, unspeaking and unsettled beneath a full-body niqab. The feature also works in new tones, playing with magical realism and full-blown horror to better explore the story’s darkest corners.
Instead, “Who Do I Belong To” reframes the narrative around a more female perspective, focusing on the family matriarch Aisha (Salha Nasraoui) who is torn between relief, grief and guilt when only one of her two escaped sons comes home. What’s more, he returns with a pregnant Syrian bride, unspeaking and unsettled beneath a full-body niqab. The feature also works in new tones, playing with magical realism and full-blown horror to better explore the story’s darkest corners.
- 2/23/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Through evocative imagery and simmering emotion, director Meryam Joobeur crafts a mesmerising story of fractured relationships and vengeful violence. Focusing on the repercussions of two sons abandoning their rural home to engage in war, her feature debut increasingly becomes more visceral. Starting as a refined drama about a broken Tunisian family, the narrative becomes a complex meditation on attachment and motherhood, all encompassed by a remarkable female lead.
The gruelling burden of a broken family is felt from the very first minutes we see Aïcha (Salha Nasraoui), who aches for the safe return of her sons. Telling close-ups of her dispirited expression mark a deep internal struggle, Joobeur focusing on a motherly love which brims on obsession and outweighs the worry of the other family members. Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa), burying his conflicting emotions in farm work, can't begin to fathom what will happen if his older sons return, especially after.
The gruelling burden of a broken family is felt from the very first minutes we see Aïcha (Salha Nasraoui), who aches for the safe return of her sons. Telling close-ups of her dispirited expression mark a deep internal struggle, Joobeur focusing on a motherly love which brims on obsession and outweighs the worry of the other family members. Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa), burying his conflicting emotions in farm work, can't begin to fathom what will happen if his older sons return, especially after.
- 2/23/2024
- by Sergiu Inizian
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Return of the Soldier: Joobeur Explores Ghosts of War
Matriarchs confronted by their radicalized children have slowly and painstaking formed a cinematic subgenre of their own in the past twenty years since the emergence of The Islamic State. Adding to this conversation is Who Do I Belong To (Mé el Aïn), a graceful, haunting ghost story by Tunisian-born filmmaker Meryam Joobeur, her narrative feature debut. Unspooling in three chapters, a Tunisian mother is conflicted when one of her prodigal sons returns from war, a presence which throws a dark shadow over their small community as she struggles to understand what has happened.…...
Matriarchs confronted by their radicalized children have slowly and painstaking formed a cinematic subgenre of their own in the past twenty years since the emergence of The Islamic State. Adding to this conversation is Who Do I Belong To (Mé el Aïn), a graceful, haunting ghost story by Tunisian-born filmmaker Meryam Joobeur, her narrative feature debut. Unspooling in three chapters, a Tunisian mother is conflicted when one of her prodigal sons returns from war, a presence which throws a dark shadow over their small community as she struggles to understand what has happened.…...
- 2/22/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Aïcha (Salha Nasraoui) and her husband Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa) live on a farm in northern Tunisia. It’s a modern rural environment of goats, trucks, home cooking and tight-knit families. In Meryam Joobeur’s feature-length debut “Who Do I Belong To,” an early sequence of Aïcha shaving Brahim’s face — an act of intimacy and trust — introduces a key part of the director’s aesthetic strategy: Dp Vincent Gonneville’s frequent use of extreme close-ups on the actors’ faces. At times, the camera hovers so close that they almost stop looking like faces at all; there’s a landscape quality to facial features observed from this kind of intense proximity. In the shaving scene, Grayaa’s cheeks, lathered with shaving foam, call to mind mountains buried under drifts of snow.
You might expect from this introduction that Brahim, this monumental patriarch, will play a bigger part in the subsequently unfolding events,...
You might expect from this introduction that Brahim, this monumental patriarch, will play a bigger part in the subsequently unfolding events,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Catherine Bray
- Variety Film + TV
Psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath has scored an average of 3.1 from critics on Screen’s Berlin jury grid, meaning it is now the joint leader alongside My Favourite Cake.
The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received two four stars (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita) and Paolo Bertolin cinematografo.it while five critics gave it three (good). Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) was less in favour of the film, following a newly married woman in 1750 who commits a shocking act of violence, awarding it just one star (poor).
Click on the...
The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received two four stars (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita) and Paolo Bertolin cinematografo.it while five critics gave it three (good). Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) was less in favour of the film, following a newly married woman in 1750 who commits a shocking act of violence, awarding it just one star (poor).
Click on the...
- 2/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath has snapped up second place on Screen’s Berlin jury grid after scoring an average of 3.0 from the critics.
The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received one four (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita), followed by six threes (good) while Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) gave it a one (poor). Set in 1750, the thriller follows a newly married woman who commits a shocking act of violence.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Receiving a 1.9 average was Black Tea from Mauritania-born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.
The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received one four (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita), followed by six threes (good) while Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) gave it a one (poor). Set in 1750, the thriller follows a newly married woman who commits a shocking act of violence.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Receiving a 1.9 average was Black Tea from Mauritania-born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.
- 2/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath has snapped up second place on Screen’s Berlin jury grid after scoring an average of 3.0 from the critics.
The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received one four (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita), followed by six threes (good) while Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) gave it a one (poor). Set in 1750, the thriller follows a newly married woman who commits a shocking act of violence.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Receiving a 1.9 average was Black Tea from Mauritania-born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.
The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received one four (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita), followed by six threes (good) while Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) gave it a one (poor). Set in 1750, the thriller follows a newly married woman who commits a shocking act of violence.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Receiving a 1.9 average was Black Tea from Mauritania-born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.
- 2/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (Gea) has launched a new film fund called Big Time Investment to boost production of quality Arabic movies and announced a slate of Egyptian feature films toplined by a biopic of Egyptian icon Umm Kulthum who is considered the Arab world’s greatest singer.
Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation, is recent hit, will direct the film titled “El Set.” Egyptian star Mona Zaki will play Kulthum who from the late 1920s onwards became the first prominent Arab singer to disseminate her work to the masses via the new technologies of the times: radio, the phonograph, cinema and television.
The fund was announced in Cairo by Gea chairman Turki Alalshikh who said Gea will serve as the roughly $130 million fund’s primary sponsor with the Ministry of Culture acting as a co-sponsor, according...
Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation, is recent hit, will direct the film titled “El Set.” Egyptian star Mona Zaki will play Kulthum who from the late 1920s onwards became the first prominent Arab singer to disseminate her work to the masses via the new technologies of the times: radio, the phonograph, cinema and television.
The fund was announced in Cairo by Gea chairman Turki Alalshikh who said Gea will serve as the roughly $130 million fund’s primary sponsor with the Ministry of Culture acting as a co-sponsor, according...
- 2/19/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To (Mé el Aïn) offers a timely perspective on war in the Middle East as her Arabic language Isis drama about a family in turmoil premieres in competition at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.
The Canadian-Tunisian director deftly threads the themes of conflict, family and identity in a fantastical drama that centers on Aicha, a Tunisian mother played by Salha Nasraoui and greatly relieved to see her eldest son Mehdi (Malek Mechergui) unexpectedly return from fighting for the Islamic State in Syria.
But Aicha must deal with her husband Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa) feeling anger over their son’s betrayal for leaving their rural farm in Tunisia to embrace a violent war and return without his brother Amine and with a mysterious pregnant wife at his side. Soon, the presence of Mehdi and his niqab-clad wife casts a dark shadow that threatens to consume a tiny Tunisian village.
The Canadian-Tunisian director deftly threads the themes of conflict, family and identity in a fantastical drama that centers on Aicha, a Tunisian mother played by Salha Nasraoui and greatly relieved to see her eldest son Mehdi (Malek Mechergui) unexpectedly return from fighting for the Islamic State in Syria.
But Aicha must deal with her husband Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa) feeling anger over their son’s betrayal for leaving their rural farm in Tunisia to embrace a violent war and return without his brother Amine and with a mysterious pregnant wife at his side. Soon, the presence of Mehdi and his niqab-clad wife casts a dark shadow that threatens to consume a tiny Tunisian village.
- 2/15/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Doha Film Institute has recruited Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, French auteurs Claire Denis and Leos Carax, Canada’s Atom Egoyan and Oscar-nominated Mexican sound editor Martín Hernández to hold master classes and act as mentors during its upcoming Qumra Arab industry incubator.
The event, now celebrating its 10th edition, will run March 1-6 in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market and festival elements. It was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors, and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.
Egoyan will be making the trek to Doha segueing from Berlin, where he is internationally launching drama “Seven Veils” with Amanda Seyfried in tow. Sheridan is currently working on the docu-drama “Re-creation” about the murder of French film and TV producer...
The event, now celebrating its 10th edition, will run March 1-6 in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market and festival elements. It was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors, and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.
Egoyan will be making the trek to Doha segueing from Berlin, where he is internationally launching drama “Seven Veils” with Amanda Seyfried in tow. Sheridan is currently working on the docu-drama “Re-creation” about the murder of French film and TV producer...
- 2/5/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
A Different Man.The Berlinale have begun to announce the first few titles selected for the 74th edition of their festival, set to take place from February 15 through 21, 2024. This page will be updated as further sections are announced.COMPETITIONAnother End (Piero Messina)Architecton (Victor Kossakovsky)Black Tea (Abderrahmane Sissako)La Cocina (Alonso Ruiz Palacios) Dahomey (Mati Diop)A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg)The Empire (Bruno Dumont)Gloria! (Margherita Vicario)Suspended Time (Olivier Assayas)From Hilde, With Love (Andreas Dresen)My Favourite CakeLangue Etrangère (Claire Berger)Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)Who Do I Belong To (Meryam Joobeur)Pepe (Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias)Shambhala (Min Bahadur Bham)Sterben (Matthias Glasner)Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)A Traveler’s Needs (Hong Sang-soo)Sleep With Your Eyes Open. ENCOUNTERSArcadia (Yorgos Zois)Cidade; Campo (Juliana Rojas)Demba (Mamadou Dia)Direct ActionSleep With Your Eyes Open (Nele Wohlatz)The Fable (Raam Reddy...
- 1/23/2024
- MUBI
For his fifth and final edition, outgoing Berlin Film Festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian has assembled a promising lineup, rich in prestige, star-driven titles as well as more eclectic films containing the political elements intrinsic to the fest’s DNA.
“I am very happy and proud of this year’s lineup,” Chatrian tells Variety. “I think it achieved the balance between highly anticipated titles by filmmakers who are relevant in cinema history and, as always, films that you don’t expect to find in competition. At the same time I know that expectations can be a double-edged sword.”
The 74th annual Berlinale, held Feb. 15-25, will feature such films as “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara; sci-fi drama “Another End” with Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve; and the historical drama “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy.
Chatrian spoke with Variety to break down the lineup that looks...
“I am very happy and proud of this year’s lineup,” Chatrian tells Variety. “I think it achieved the balance between highly anticipated titles by filmmakers who are relevant in cinema history and, as always, films that you don’t expect to find in competition. At the same time I know that expectations can be a double-edged sword.”
The 74th annual Berlinale, held Feb. 15-25, will feature such films as “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara; sci-fi drama “Another End” with Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve; and the historical drama “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy.
Chatrian spoke with Variety to break down the lineup that looks...
- 1/22/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Berlinale co-directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek are going out with a bang in their final year, with a lineup unveiled today featuring the latest works by Olivier Assayas, Bruno Dumont, Mati Diop, Hong Sang-soo, Abderrahmane Sissako, Jane Schoenbrun, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Matias Pineiro, Travis Wilkerson, Kazik Radwanski, Annie Baker, and more.
When the co-directors were asked by Screen Daily about their departure, Chatrian said, “It’s quite simple. Mariette and I had a mandate of five years. It is true that at the beginning I said that I was willing to go on because there was a shared will with the [German] Ministry [of Culture] to go on. But then the people who have the responsibility to see the future of the Berlinale thought this structure of two leaders was not the right one and I don’t consider myself able to run the festival alone. And that was the decision of the Ministry.
When the co-directors were asked by Screen Daily about their departure, Chatrian said, “It’s quite simple. Mariette and I had a mandate of five years. It is true that at the beginning I said that I was willing to go on because there was a shared will with the [German] Ministry [of Culture] to go on. But then the people who have the responsibility to see the future of the Berlinale thought this structure of two leaders was not the right one and I don’t consider myself able to run the festival alone. And that was the decision of the Ministry.
- 1/22/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Berlin Film Festival on Monday unveiled the titles selected for its official competition and its sidebar Encounters competitive section.
A total of 20 films have been selected for the international competition, with highlights including La Cocina, directed by Alonso Ruiz Palacios and starring Rooney Mara. The pic is described as a “kinetic and cinematic love story” set over a single day in a Times Square kitchen. French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop returns with Dahomey, a 60-minute doc about art repatriation and Hong Sangsoo plays in competition with A Traveler’s Needs, starring Isabelle Huppert. Scroll down for the full lineup.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 15-25.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon...
A total of 20 films have been selected for the international competition, with highlights including La Cocina, directed by Alonso Ruiz Palacios and starring Rooney Mara. The pic is described as a “kinetic and cinematic love story” set over a single day in a Times Square kitchen. French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop returns with Dahomey, a 60-minute doc about art repatriation and Hong Sangsoo plays in competition with A Traveler’s Needs, starring Isabelle Huppert. Scroll down for the full lineup.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 15-25.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon...
- 1/22/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Meryam Joobeur’s “Motherhood,” Mo Harawe’s “The Village Next to Paradise” and Mia Bendrimia’s “The Magma” claimed a trio of post-production prizes at this year’s Atlas Workshops, which ran from Nov. 27 – 30 as part of the Marrakech Film Festival.
Winner of the top award, “Motherhood” walked away with a €30,000 post-production grant. Produced by Sarra Ben Hassan, the film builds on themes director Joobeur explored in her Oscar-nominated 2018 short “Brotherhood,” once again tracking family tensions when a young Isis combatant returns to his Tunisian home. With her feature debut, Joobeur will now explore the story through a lens of maternal guilt, incorporating touches of magical realism and psychological horror for good measure.
Set for delivery early next year, the film is touted for a splashy festival launch.
In fact, Joobeur had already left Marrakech and was already headed back into the rush of post-production by the time the prizes...
Winner of the top award, “Motherhood” walked away with a €30,000 post-production grant. Produced by Sarra Ben Hassan, the film builds on themes director Joobeur explored in her Oscar-nominated 2018 short “Brotherhood,” once again tracking family tensions when a young Isis combatant returns to his Tunisian home. With her feature debut, Joobeur will now explore the story through a lens of maternal guilt, incorporating touches of magical realism and psychological horror for good measure.
Set for delivery early next year, the film is touted for a splashy festival launch.
In fact, Joobeur had already left Marrakech and was already headed back into the rush of post-production by the time the prizes...
- 12/1/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
‘Motherhood’ is directed by Tunisa’s Meryam Joobeur while ‘Amnesia’ is by Palestine’s Dima Hamdam.
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
- 12/1/2023
- by E. Nina Rothe
- ScreenDaily
‘Motherhood’ is directed by Tunisa’s Meryam Joobeur while ‘Amnesia’ is by Palestine’s Dima Hamdam.
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000
The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.
Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.
Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...
- 12/1/2023
- by E. Nina Rothe
- ScreenDaily
The Marrakech Film Festival’s sixth Atlas Workshops kicks off today under the fresh curation of former indie film sales agent and publicist Hédi Zardi.
Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.
Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.
Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.
After eight years on the sales circuit,...
Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.
Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.
Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.
After eight years on the sales circuit,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
After thinking Motherhood might drop at a major film festival in 2023, we are now inclined to think that Meryam Joobeur might actually go back to the Sundance family who helped back the project. The Tunisian-American filmmaker’s breakout short Brotherhood premiered at the fest, and Motherhood received support via the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab (2021) — it also landed the Sundance Institute/Nhk Award. Production took place in Tunisia in 2022. It is now heading to the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Ateliers for films in production (or post).
Gist: Salha, a mother gifted with prophetic dreams and visions, lives in an isolated village in Tunisia.…...
Gist: Salha, a mother gifted with prophetic dreams and visions, lives in an isolated village in Tunisia.…...
- 11/15/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Tunisian Youssef Chebbi’s “Plague,” Moroccan Adnane Baraka’s “We Don’t Forget” and Meryam Joobeur’s “Motherhood” feature among buzz titles at this year’s Marrakech Festival Atlas Workshops, which will have Martin Scorsese as their official patron.
Consolidated as a key platform for Moroccan, Arab and African projects and pix in production made by a new generation of filmmakers and created by Marrakech Festival artistic director Remi Bonhomme, the Atlas Workshops unspool Nov. 27-30. They take place alongside the 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 24-Dec. 2.
In a definite potential highlight of the Atlas Workshops, Meryjam Joubeur, whose “Brotherhood” was Oscar nominated for best live action short, will present 10 minutes of “Motherhood,” one of the awaited feature debuts of 2023. It is sure to spark major festival interest.
“Plague” marks Chebbi’s second feature after acclaimed Cannes Directors’ Fortnight genre blender “Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation,...
Consolidated as a key platform for Moroccan, Arab and African projects and pix in production made by a new generation of filmmakers and created by Marrakech Festival artistic director Remi Bonhomme, the Atlas Workshops unspool Nov. 27-30. They take place alongside the 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 24-Dec. 2.
In a definite potential highlight of the Atlas Workshops, Meryjam Joubeur, whose “Brotherhood” was Oscar nominated for best live action short, will present 10 minutes of “Motherhood,” one of the awaited feature debuts of 2023. It is sure to spark major festival interest.
“Plague” marks Chebbi’s second feature after acclaimed Cannes Directors’ Fortnight genre blender “Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation,...
- 11/3/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Projects come from 11 different countries across the Arab world and African continent.
The Atlas Workshops, the industry platform of the Marrakech International Film Festival, has unveiled 25 projects for its sixth edition, which runs from November 27-30.
Atlas Workshops has lined up 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries across the Arab world and African continent.
The line-up includes projects from Tunisian directors Youssef Chebbi and Erige Sehiri. Chebbi’s feature Ashkal played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last year, as did Sehiri’s Under The Fig Trees.
Also coming to The Atlas Workshops is Somalia...
The Atlas Workshops, the industry platform of the Marrakech International Film Festival, has unveiled 25 projects for its sixth edition, which runs from November 27-30.
Atlas Workshops has lined up 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries across the Arab world and African continent.
The line-up includes projects from Tunisian directors Youssef Chebbi and Erige Sehiri. Chebbi’s feature Ashkal played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last year, as did Sehiri’s Under The Fig Trees.
Also coming to The Atlas Workshops is Somalia...
- 11/3/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 25 projects selected for the sixth edition of its industry-focused Atlas Workshops, aimed at nurturing emerging Moroccan, Arab and African talent.
Running from November 27 to 30, the event will present 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries, selected from among the 320 applications received from the Arab world and African continent.
In a reflection of the growing diversity of the stories being told by Arab and African independent filmmakers, the selection spans a diverse range of film genres, from Lebanese director Sandra Tabet’s horror picture Rabies to Moroccan filmmaker Hind Bensari’s humanist documentary Out of School and Adnane Baraka’s poetic work We Don’t Forget.
Moroccan filmmaker Baraka made waves with his documentary Fragments from Heaven, about a nomad living in a tent in a remote part of Morocco who goes in search of meteorite fragments to boost the family fortunes.
Running from November 27 to 30, the event will present 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries, selected from among the 320 applications received from the Arab world and African continent.
In a reflection of the growing diversity of the stories being told by Arab and African independent filmmakers, the selection spans a diverse range of film genres, from Lebanese director Sandra Tabet’s horror picture Rabies to Moroccan filmmaker Hind Bensari’s humanist documentary Out of School and Adnane Baraka’s poetic work We Don’t Forget.
Moroccan filmmaker Baraka made waves with his documentary Fragments from Heaven, about a nomad living in a tent in a remote part of Morocco who goes in search of meteorite fragments to boost the family fortunes.
- 11/3/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s edition takes place in-person March 10-15 and online March 19-21.
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has revealed the 44 projects that will participate in the ninth edition of its annual talent incubator Qumra which takes place in-person March 10-15 and online March 19-21.
The selected projects come from 23 different countries and comprise 14 feature narratives, 12 feature documentaries, seven series and 11 shorts.
Two feature debuts from Oscar-nominated filmmakers are among the participants. Motherhood from Meryam Joobeur, whose Ikhwène was nominated for best live-action short in 2020, and The Station from Sara Ishaq, whose Karma Has No Walls was nominated for best...
The Doha Film Institute (Dfi) has revealed the 44 projects that will participate in the ninth edition of its annual talent incubator Qumra which takes place in-person March 10-15 and online March 19-21.
The selected projects come from 23 different countries and comprise 14 feature narratives, 12 feature documentaries, seven series and 11 shorts.
Two feature debuts from Oscar-nominated filmmakers are among the participants. Motherhood from Meryam Joobeur, whose Ikhwène was nominated for best live-action short in 2020, and The Station from Sara Ishaq, whose Karma Has No Walls was nominated for best...
- 3/1/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Motherhood
Tunisian Canadian filmmaker Meryam Joobeur‘s fourth short film Brotherhood put her on the map (a Sundance-Clermont selection and Oscar-nominated short) and when the industry took notice Motherhood was put into the development landing coin and support through various organizations including the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where she was awarded the Sundance Institute/Nhk Award. The project also landed some Eurimages Fund money. Production would have taken place last year back in Tunisia. This was produced by Leona Films and Tanit Films.
Gist: Salha, a mother gifted with prophetic dreams and visions, lives in an isolated village in Tunisia.…...
Tunisian Canadian filmmaker Meryam Joobeur‘s fourth short film Brotherhood put her on the map (a Sundance-Clermont selection and Oscar-nominated short) and when the industry took notice Motherhood was put into the development landing coin and support through various organizations including the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where she was awarded the Sundance Institute/Nhk Award. The project also landed some Eurimages Fund money. Production would have taken place last year back in Tunisia. This was produced by Leona Films and Tanit Films.
Gist: Salha, a mother gifted with prophetic dreams and visions, lives in an isolated village in Tunisia.…...
- 1/16/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Telefilm Canada announces has committed almost 13 million dollars to 21 feature-length films (English market). Almost 300 projects were submitted. At the top of the list is one of our most anticipated feature film debuts in Meryam Joobeur‘s Motherhood. We also find Murmur (2019) Nova Scotian filmmaker Heather Young moving into her sophomore feature drama titled There, There. Former Ioncinema.com contributing writer Jesse Noah Klein moves into a thriller (Best Boy) with his third feature. He previously directed We’re Still Here (2016) and Like a House on Fire (2020). And Winnipegger Matthew Rankin (2019’s The Twentieth Century) is hard at work with Une langue universelle.…...
- 7/27/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Year-round support, coaching and 6,250 cash grant.
Sundance Institute has announced the incoming group of eight Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellows working in fiction, documentary, and episodic.
The Fellows will receive year-round mentorship from Sundance Institute and Adobe executives and benefit from two skill-building workshops, referrals to career development opportunities, coaching, a 6,250 cash grant, introductions to industry contacts and advisors, a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and a one-year membership to Sundance Collab.
The Fellows, each of whom has participated in a Sundance Institute Lab or programme relevant to their career path, are: Elizabeth Ai, a filmmaker, show creator, and fellow of Berlinale Talents,...
Sundance Institute has announced the incoming group of eight Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellows working in fiction, documentary, and episodic.
The Fellows will receive year-round mentorship from Sundance Institute and Adobe executives and benefit from two skill-building workshops, referrals to career development opportunities, coaching, a 6,250 cash grant, introductions to industry contacts and advisors, a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and a one-year membership to Sundance Collab.
The Fellows, each of whom has participated in a Sundance Institute Lab or programme relevant to their career path, are: Elizabeth Ai, a filmmaker, show creator, and fellow of Berlinale Talents,...
- 6/21/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute has announced details about the incoming group of Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellows. The eight recipients of the fellowship work across disciplines and stood out for their boundary-pushing work in fiction, documentary, and episodic.
All eight fellows will receive bespoke support throughout the year, including mentorship from the Sundance Institute and Adobe executives, two skill-building workshops, referrals to career development opportunities, coaching, a 6,250 cash grant, introductions to industry contacts and advisors, a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and a one-year membership to Sundance Collab. Each of the fellows has already participated in a Sundance Institute Lab or program relevant to their career path.
Created in 2020, the fellowship was formed by the Institute and Adobe around a shared commitment to champion underrepresented voices. Filmmakers are nominated from across Sundance Artist Programs including the Documentary Film Program, the Episodic Program, the Feature Film Program, the Indigenous Program, and Women at Sundance.
All eight fellows will receive bespoke support throughout the year, including mentorship from the Sundance Institute and Adobe executives, two skill-building workshops, referrals to career development opportunities, coaching, a 6,250 cash grant, introductions to industry contacts and advisors, a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and a one-year membership to Sundance Collab. Each of the fellows has already participated in a Sundance Institute Lab or program relevant to their career path.
Created in 2020, the fellowship was formed by the Institute and Adobe around a shared commitment to champion underrepresented voices. Filmmakers are nominated from across Sundance Artist Programs including the Documentary Film Program, the Episodic Program, the Feature Film Program, the Indigenous Program, and Women at Sundance.
- 6/21/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Pretty much a done deal for a major film festival launch in 2023 and sitting high up on our most anticipated list of directorial debuts, we can confirm that Meryam Joobeur‘s Motherhood is now in post and will get started on the editing this summer. Thanks to the Cineuropa folks we have a fresh batch of updates on the project.
We’ve learned that there was a mix of professional (the film’s matriarch) and non-professional actors; that the LuxBox Films folks will be repping the film and the film which we expected to be a full on drama will actually include some other genre elements deviating from basis of the short film “Brotherhood.” …...
We’ve learned that there was a mix of professional (the film’s matriarch) and non-professional actors; that the LuxBox Films folks will be repping the film and the film which we expected to be a full on drama will actually include some other genre elements deviating from basis of the short film “Brotherhood.” …...
- 6/20/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sundance Institute, the nonprofit arm of the organization that puts on the annual Sundance Film Festival, has announced the recipients of its 2021 Women at Sundance Adobe Fellowship.
The annual program will spotlight eight artists working across disciplines, and was designed to support women doing bold work in film and media. The fellowship prioritizes filmmakers from underrepresented communities.
“We’re excited to announce our new group of cross-disciplinary artists, supporting storytellers working in documentary, fiction and episodic formats. This year-long fellowship will provide bespoke professional and creative development designed to advance their singular projects and burgeoning careers,” said Michelle Satter, founding senior director of artist programs at the institute.
The fellowship offers a year of mentorship from the Sundance Institute and Adobe executives, as well as workshops, coaching, a $6,250 cash grant and a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud.
Fellows will also receive introductions to industry contacts and advisers, referrals...
The annual program will spotlight eight artists working across disciplines, and was designed to support women doing bold work in film and media. The fellowship prioritizes filmmakers from underrepresented communities.
“We’re excited to announce our new group of cross-disciplinary artists, supporting storytellers working in documentary, fiction and episodic formats. This year-long fellowship will provide bespoke professional and creative development designed to advance their singular projects and burgeoning careers,” said Michelle Satter, founding senior director of artist programs at the institute.
The fellowship offers a year of mentorship from the Sundance Institute and Adobe executives, as well as workshops, coaching, a $6,250 cash grant and a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud.
Fellows will also receive introductions to industry contacts and advisers, referrals...
- 11/1/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
You’re still in financing mode and yet got the wind in the sails. You just need a bit more coin help to complete the financing puzzle. In comes some much appreciated support. Today the Board of Management of the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund will support 49 feature film projects from the likes of established auteurs in Margarethe Von Trotta and Fernando Trueba to relatively new voices in Pietro Marcello, Lukas Dhont, Teona Strugar Mitevska and Brandon Cronenberg to filmmakers embarking on their feature debuts in Meryam Joobeur (she directed the Academy Award-nominated short Brotherhood). Pietro Marcello’s Scarlet (L’envol) would be his third fiction feature and is set to star Louis Garrel and Noémie Lvovsky.…...
- 6/28/2021
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Christine D’Souza Gelb, the veteran independent film financing and sales executive, has launched a new production and management venture with Killer Films executive David Hinojosa and Kevin Rowe as founding partners.
Named 2Am, the venue brings together a trio of considerable indie film players and boasts backing from one of the space’s most premium brands: A24.
The Oscar-winning studio behind titles like “Moonlight” and “Room,” as well as the TV hit “Euphoria,” has invested in the full-service company at an undisclosed share. 2Am will operate independently, insiders said, with no exclusive first look deal with the distributor.
Gelb left Endeavor Content last summer, where she had risen to partner and served as a fixture in brokering some of the most exciting films of the past decade and a half — including titles like Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Ari Aster’s “Midsommar,” Kenneth Lonergan’s Oscar winner “Manchester by the Sea,...
Named 2Am, the venue brings together a trio of considerable indie film players and boasts backing from one of the space’s most premium brands: A24.
The Oscar-winning studio behind titles like “Moonlight” and “Room,” as well as the TV hit “Euphoria,” has invested in the full-service company at an undisclosed share. 2Am will operate independently, insiders said, with no exclusive first look deal with the distributor.
Gelb left Endeavor Content last summer, where she had risen to partner and served as a fixture in brokering some of the most exciting films of the past decade and a half — including titles like Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Ari Aster’s “Midsommar,” Kenneth Lonergan’s Oscar winner “Manchester by the Sea,...
- 2/24/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Former Endeavor Content partner Christine D’Souza Gelb has teamed with Killer Films production exec David Hinojosa and manager Kevin Rowe to launch 2Am, a new production and management venture that gets off the ground with backing from A24.
The company launches with designs on managing filmmaker clients, and producing projects primarily in the film and television space. For indie studio A24, this is its first foray in investing in a management concern. Sources said there will be an arms length relationship between the two companies with no first look deal.
The catalyst for the new company is D’Souza Gelb, who spent 15 years at a top agent in film financing and sales as a partner at Endeavor Content, before surprising colleagues last May with an internal note that she would stop being an agent. She wanted to take some time and plot a course change, and early this fall she began putting together 2Am.
The company launches with designs on managing filmmaker clients, and producing projects primarily in the film and television space. For indie studio A24, this is its first foray in investing in a management concern. Sources said there will be an arms length relationship between the two companies with no first look deal.
The catalyst for the new company is D’Souza Gelb, who spent 15 years at a top agent in film financing and sales as a partner at Endeavor Content, before surprising colleagues last May with an internal note that she would stop being an agent. She wanted to take some time and plot a course change, and early this fall she began putting together 2Am.
- 2/23/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
CodaU.S. – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeCoda (Siân Heder)Directing PrizeSiân Heder (Coda) Audience Award Coda (Siân Heder) Special Jury Award for Ensemble CastCoda (Siân Heder) Special Jury Award for Best ActorClifton Collins Jr. (Jockey)Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardAri Katcher and Ryan Welch (On the Count of Three)Summer Of SoulU.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Summer Of Soul (Questlove) Directing Prize Natalia Almada (Users) Audience Award Summer Of Soul (Questlove)Special Jury Award for EditingKristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno (Homeroom)Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction ExperimentationTheo AnthonySpecial Jury Award for Emerging FilmmakerParker Hill, Isabel Bethencourt (Cusp)HiveWORLD Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Hive (Blerta Basholli) Directing Prize Blerta Basholli (Hive) Audience Award Hive (Blerta Basholli)Special Jury Award for ActingJesmark Scicluna (Luzzu)Special Jury Award for Creative VisionBaz Poonpiriya (One for the Road)Writing With FireWORLD Cinema – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize Writing With Fire (Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh)Directing Prize Hogir Hiror...
- 2/3/2021
- MUBI
Celebrated Lab graduates include Chloé Zhao, Radha Blank, Eliza Hittman.
Fifteen emerging storytellers from Chile, India, Kenya, Tunisia and the US have been selected to participate in Sundance Institute’s January Screenwriters Lab starting today (January 11).
The fellows will develop 12 original projects in collaboration with creative advisors from the industry, under the leadership of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program founding director Michelle Satter.
The projects and fellow/s include: Black Comic-Con (USA), Natasha Rothwell (writer/director); The Catch Rishi Chandna (writer/director); Chariot (USA), Alyssa Loh; Fancy Dance (USA), Erica Tremblay (co-writer/director), Miciana Alise (co-writer) ; forward (USA), Mary Ann Anane...
Fifteen emerging storytellers from Chile, India, Kenya, Tunisia and the US have been selected to participate in Sundance Institute’s January Screenwriters Lab starting today (January 11).
The fellows will develop 12 original projects in collaboration with creative advisors from the industry, under the leadership of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program founding director Michelle Satter.
The projects and fellow/s include: Black Comic-Con (USA), Natasha Rothwell (writer/director); The Catch Rishi Chandna (writer/director); Chariot (USA), Alyssa Loh; Fancy Dance (USA), Erica Tremblay (co-writer/director), Miciana Alise (co-writer) ; forward (USA), Mary Ann Anane...
- 1/11/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Six countries feature across this year’s Sørfond fund projects.
The Norwegian Film Institute has awarded Nok 3m to six international co-productions with Norwegian minority producers.
The six projects were chosen from 45 applications to the Sørfond fund, which exists to support film production in developing countries where it is limited for political or economic reasons.
They were selected by a jury composed of editor and Norwegian Film School professor Sophie Hesselberg; producer and director Sebastián Peña Escobar; and Films From The South Festival project manager Per Eirik Gilsvik.
The jury held its discussions remotely, with Hesselberg and Gilsvik joining from Oslo,...
The Norwegian Film Institute has awarded Nok 3m to six international co-productions with Norwegian minority producers.
The six projects were chosen from 45 applications to the Sørfond fund, which exists to support film production in developing countries where it is limited for political or economic reasons.
They were selected by a jury composed of editor and Norwegian Film School professor Sophie Hesselberg; producer and director Sebastián Peña Escobar; and Films From The South Festival project manager Per Eirik Gilsvik.
The jury held its discussions remotely, with Hesselberg and Gilsvik joining from Oslo,...
- 5/26/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Awards season officially comes to a close on Oscar Sunday.
The 92nd Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Feb. 9 and air live on ABC at 5 p.m. Pt/8 p.m. Et. Red carpet coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pt/6:30 p.m. Et. Viewers will be able to live-stream the awards show on abc.com or on the ABC app via DirecTV Now, Hulu, PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV.
The ceremony, which is going hostless again, will include appearances from this year’s nominees, as well as presenters Salma Hayek, Brie Larson, James Corden, Regina King, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. Additionally, the show will feature performances from Cynthia Erivo, Idina Menzel, Elton John, Chrissy Metz, Randy Newman and five-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish.
A special tribute for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna is scheduled to take place during the ceremony. The pair,...
The 92nd Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Feb. 9 and air live on ABC at 5 p.m. Pt/8 p.m. Et. Red carpet coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. Pt/6:30 p.m. Et. Viewers will be able to live-stream the awards show on abc.com or on the ABC app via DirecTV Now, Hulu, PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV.
The ceremony, which is going hostless again, will include appearances from this year’s nominees, as well as presenters Salma Hayek, Brie Larson, James Corden, Regina King, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. Additionally, the show will feature performances from Cynthia Erivo, Idina Menzel, Elton John, Chrissy Metz, Randy Newman and five-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish.
A special tribute for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna is scheduled to take place during the ceremony. The pair,...
- 2/9/2020
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
by Eric Blume
The Live Action Short category offers a much more diverse slate for this category than last year, when almost every short film centered around young boys in danger. There’s some fine filmmaking here, all witness to the talent of their directors who should all have bright futures ahead of them.
Brotherhood comes to us from production companies across four countries and deals with a Tunisian family. The son returns from fighting in Syria with a young new wife, much to the consternation of his father. Director Meryam Joobeur delivers a nice twist on the “sins of the father” genre here, and she has an excellent sense of how to use the camera. The actors are often taking up 80% of the frame, and she creates an ambiguous sense of location and wonderful sense of dislocation with this smart framing...
The Live Action Short category offers a much more diverse slate for this category than last year, when almost every short film centered around young boys in danger. There’s some fine filmmaking here, all witness to the talent of their directors who should all have bright futures ahead of them.
Brotherhood comes to us from production companies across four countries and deals with a Tunisian family. The son returns from fighting in Syria with a young new wife, much to the consternation of his father. Director Meryam Joobeur delivers a nice twist on the “sins of the father” genre here, and she has an excellent sense of how to use the camera. The actors are often taking up 80% of the frame, and she creates an ambiguous sense of location and wonderful sense of dislocation with this smart framing...
- 2/7/2020
- by Eric Blume
- FilmExperience
At the Golden Globes, “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho challenged audiences by saying, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” That obstacle may exist in most of the feature categories (where only “Parasite” and Pedro Almódovar’s “Pain & Glory” managed to clear the hurdle), but when it comes to shorts, the Academy doesn’t have quite the same hang-ups about whom to nominate. Sadly, that open-mindedness doesn’t seem to translate to voting. Just three foreign-language entries have earned the prize in the last decade, which should make voting in your Oscar pool relatively easy: It’s not the best, but “The Neighbors’ Window” is the only 2020 contender filmed in English. Now, , and easy to access via ShortsTV, which topped its own box office record with this latest batch.
Director Delphine Girard’s “A Sister” is driven largely by dialogue,...
Director Delphine Girard’s “A Sister” is driven largely by dialogue,...
- 2/7/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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