Austrian documentary sales outfit Autlook has racked up sales on No Other Land, the Palestinian-Israeli documentary that won the documentary award and Panorama audience award at this year’s Berlinale.
Deals for theatrical distribution have been closed with Dogwoof (UK/Ireland), Filmin (Spain/Portugal), L’Atelier Distribution (France), Cherry Pickers (Benelux), Hi Gloss Entertainment, Transformer (Japan), Restart Label (ex-Yugoslavian countries). The releases are scheduled from late autumn 2024.
Autlook is also reporting strong international interest, and is in negotiations with partners in Italy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Cinetic Media is handling North American sales for the film.
Directed by the Palestinian-Israeli team of Basel Adra,...
Deals for theatrical distribution have been closed with Dogwoof (UK/Ireland), Filmin (Spain/Portugal), L’Atelier Distribution (France), Cherry Pickers (Benelux), Hi Gloss Entertainment, Transformer (Japan), Restart Label (ex-Yugoslavian countries). The releases are scheduled from late autumn 2024.
Autlook is also reporting strong international interest, and is in negotiations with partners in Italy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Cinetic Media is handling North American sales for the film.
Directed by the Palestinian-Israeli team of Basel Adra,...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
This is not the documentary renaissance we hoped for. Despite its 2023 Oscar win for “Navalny,” CNN pulled back on non-fiction production. Non-fiction programming at Showtime Networks, which produced Oscar-nominated “Attica” in 2022, is no more.
“The New York Times Presents” series, which produced titles like “The Killing of Breonna Taylor” and “Framing Britney Spears,” is being phased out in favor of integrating non-fiction video into the media brand. Hot Docs is on the ropes; Participant, which produced documentaries like “An Inconvenient Truth,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” and “American Factory,” closed last month.
And then there’s Netflix, which is still very much in the documentary game under Adam Del Deo, Netflix VP of original documentary films and limited series — and can afford to be with nearly 270 million global subscribers. However, it’s a specific sort of gameplay: For tight, high-quality nonfiction work that’s heartwarming, or thrilling, or stars a celebrity,...
“The New York Times Presents” series, which produced titles like “The Killing of Breonna Taylor” and “Framing Britney Spears,” is being phased out in favor of integrating non-fiction video into the media brand. Hot Docs is on the ropes; Participant, which produced documentaries like “An Inconvenient Truth,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” and “American Factory,” closed last month.
And then there’s Netflix, which is still very much in the documentary game under Adam Del Deo, Netflix VP of original documentary films and limited series — and can afford to be with nearly 270 million global subscribers. However, it’s a specific sort of gameplay: For tight, high-quality nonfiction work that’s heartwarming, or thrilling, or stars a celebrity,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
In a competitive situation, Vendôme Pictures, the Oscar-winning banner behind “Coda,” has optioned the film and television rights to John Vaillant’s nonfiction book about climate change “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.”
It comes after the book was released to much acclaim in June 2023 and went on to win the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. It was also a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award, and was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Financial Times and The Guardian, among many other prominent publications.
Vaillant took readers halfway through the hottest year of the hottest decade in recorded history, as a new kind of fire introduced itself to the world. The author examines the multi-billion-dollar disaster in Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada’s oil industry and America’s biggest foreign supplier, which melted vehicles, turned houses...
It comes after the book was released to much acclaim in June 2023 and went on to win the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. It was also a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award, and was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Financial Times and The Guardian, among many other prominent publications.
Vaillant took readers halfway through the hottest year of the hottest decade in recorded history, as a new kind of fire introduced itself to the world. The author examines the multi-billion-dollar disaster in Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada’s oil industry and America’s biggest foreign supplier, which melted vehicles, turned houses...
- 4/4/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
After six-days of intense pitching and networking from 2,023 accredited docu industry guests, Copenhagen’s Cph:dox industry showcase wrapped Thursday with an awards ceremony, where two urgent projects tackling the current war in Ukraine and the complex Israeli and Palestinian conflict were handed out prizes.
The Ukrainian documentary “Timestamp” by Kateryna Gornostai scooped the biggest cash prize of €30,000 associated to the new Eurimages Outreach Award. The project, to be delivered later this year, chronicles the wartime school years 2023-24, through the everyday lives of kids and their teachers during martial law. Ukraine’s 2Brave Productions is producing, together with Dutch outfit Rinkel Film & Docs.
Praising the film’s “highly cinematic film that avoids traditional narrative structures, the jury said in its motivation statement: “This war movie takes place far from the frontline where soldiers, mostly men, fight for their country. It is the story of teachers, mostly women, who fight to...
The Ukrainian documentary “Timestamp” by Kateryna Gornostai scooped the biggest cash prize of €30,000 associated to the new Eurimages Outreach Award. The project, to be delivered later this year, chronicles the wartime school years 2023-24, through the everyday lives of kids and their teachers during martial law. Ukraine’s 2Brave Productions is producing, together with Dutch outfit Rinkel Film & Docs.
Praising the film’s “highly cinematic film that avoids traditional narrative structures, the jury said in its motivation statement: “This war movie takes place far from the frontline where soldiers, mostly men, fight for their country. It is the story of teachers, mostly women, who fight to...
- 3/21/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Austrian documentary sales powerhouse Autlook has been racking up sales on Ruth Beckermann’s Favoriten, which premiered in the Berlinale Encounters programme last month. It will also screen at the upcoming Cph:Dox in the Artists & Auteurs section.
Autlook has now closed deals for theatrical distribution with FilmIn (Spain), Against Gravity (Poland), Grand Film (Germany), Vertigo, Discovery (former Yugoslavia), Cinema Delicatessen (Benelux) in collaboration with Dalton, Ost For Paradis (Denmark), Lev (Israel), Ambulante (Mexico), and Filmladen in Austria.
Autlook is also reporting strong interest from Taiwan, Japan, and the USA.
The fly-on-the-wall film follows a class of kids aged seven...
Autlook has now closed deals for theatrical distribution with FilmIn (Spain), Against Gravity (Poland), Grand Film (Germany), Vertigo, Discovery (former Yugoslavia), Cinema Delicatessen (Benelux) in collaboration with Dalton, Ost For Paradis (Denmark), Lev (Israel), Ambulante (Mexico), and Filmladen in Austria.
Autlook is also reporting strong interest from Taiwan, Japan, and the USA.
The fly-on-the-wall film follows a class of kids aged seven...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Doc specialist house Autlook Film Sales has picked up world sales on the Finnish film “Once Upon a Time in a Forest,” ahead of its world premiere in the main competition of Copenhagen’s Cph:dox festival. Variety is premiering its trailer (below).
The film, directed and produced by Virpi Suutari, scooped the $15,000 Al Jazeera Documentary Pitch Award at the last Cannes Marché du Film.
“We are proud to follow Virpi Suutari’s body of work,” says Salma Abdalla, CEO of Vienna-based Autlook Film Sales, attached to the director’s previous films “Aalto” and “Garden Lovers.” “With her distinctive cinematic language, Virpi creates a timely portrait of a generation that builds the most beautiful and responsible relationship to our economy, nature and other human beings.”
The film is indeed both an ode to nature, the wonders of Finnish old-growth coniferous forests and woodland animals, and to the passionate youths fighting to protect them.
The film, directed and produced by Virpi Suutari, scooped the $15,000 Al Jazeera Documentary Pitch Award at the last Cannes Marché du Film.
“We are proud to follow Virpi Suutari’s body of work,” says Salma Abdalla, CEO of Vienna-based Autlook Film Sales, attached to the director’s previous films “Aalto” and “Garden Lovers.” “With her distinctive cinematic language, Virpi creates a timely portrait of a generation that builds the most beautiful and responsible relationship to our economy, nature and other human beings.”
The film is indeed both an ode to nature, the wonders of Finnish old-growth coniferous forests and woodland animals, and to the passionate youths fighting to protect them.
- 3/2/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has acquired the Oscar-nominated documentary feature “To Kill a Tiger.”
The film, about a father’s pursuit of justice in rural India, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was awarded best documentary at the 2023 Palm Springs International Film Festival. “To Kill a Tiger” was, up until now, the only film this year to be nominated for the best feature doc Oscar without distribution.
Directed and written by New Delhi-born director Nisha Pahuja (“The World Before Her”), the 127-minute film charts the emotional journey of Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, who forces a social reckoning after his 13-year-old daughter is the victim of a gang rape.
Variety‘s film critic Siddhant Adlakha wrote in his “To Kill a Tiger” review that the docu “is a powerful and risky example of the vitality of modern nonfiction filmed in South Asia. It joins recent films like “All That Breathes,...
The film, about a father’s pursuit of justice in rural India, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was awarded best documentary at the 2023 Palm Springs International Film Festival. “To Kill a Tiger” was, up until now, the only film this year to be nominated for the best feature doc Oscar without distribution.
Directed and written by New Delhi-born director Nisha Pahuja (“The World Before Her”), the 127-minute film charts the emotional journey of Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, who forces a social reckoning after his 13-year-old daughter is the victim of a gang rape.
Variety‘s film critic Siddhant Adlakha wrote in his “To Kill a Tiger” review that the docu “is a powerful and risky example of the vitality of modern nonfiction filmed in South Asia. It joins recent films like “All That Breathes,...
- 2/24/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Sugarcane has become the latest big documentary deal out of the Sundance Film Festival.
Nat Geo has snapped up the doc, an investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school which ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Deadline understands that the Disney-owned factual brand has struck a deal in the low seven-figures. The doc comes from filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.
National Geographic Documentary Films will roll out Sugarcane at global festivals throughout the rest of the year and release it in theaters before its streaming debut on Disney+.
It is the latest deal out of Sundance for National Geographic Documentary Films; the company picked up Fire Of Love, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, out of the festival in 2022 as well as The Territory, which came from director Alex Pritz.
There were numerous documentary deals out of...
Nat Geo has snapped up the doc, an investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school which ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Deadline understands that the Disney-owned factual brand has struck a deal in the low seven-figures. The doc comes from filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.
National Geographic Documentary Films will roll out Sugarcane at global festivals throughout the rest of the year and release it in theaters before its streaming debut on Disney+.
It is the latest deal out of Sundance for National Geographic Documentary Films; the company picked up Fire Of Love, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars, out of the festival in 2022 as well as The Territory, which came from director Alex Pritz.
There were numerous documentary deals out of...
- 2/21/2024
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Over 60 films came into this year’s Sundance Film Festival looking for buyers, but many of the key players on the indie film market already had movies premiering in the festival, with many of those among the most commercial and star-studded movies making their debuts.
Last year’s market was slow, especially for documentaries, but this year’s festival market was nothing but robust in 2024. We’re tracking everything that already has a home and will update this space throughout the month with every sale that comes in.
“Good One”
Section: U.S. Dramatic
Director: India Donaldson
Buyer: Metrograph Pictures
Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy
Release Plans: Theatrical in Summer 2024
Buzz: India Donaldson’s “Good One” will be the first title acquired by Metrograph Pictures, as the company known for its film restorations and SVOD platform is now getting into theatrical distribution. And they picked a good one too.
Last year’s market was slow, especially for documentaries, but this year’s festival market was nothing but robust in 2024. We’re tracking everything that already has a home and will update this space throughout the month with every sale that comes in.
“Good One”
Section: U.S. Dramatic
Director: India Donaldson
Buyer: Metrograph Pictures
Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy
Release Plans: Theatrical in Summer 2024
Buzz: India Donaldson’s “Good One” will be the first title acquired by Metrograph Pictures, as the company known for its film restorations and SVOD platform is now getting into theatrical distribution. And they picked a good one too.
- 2/13/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Mother, Couch, the Niclas Larsson-directed film, took the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at the Göteborg Film Festival. The film was awarded Sek 400,000, which is about $38,000.
The film stars Ewan McGregor, who had also received an honorary Dragon Award during 47th edition of the festival.
Mother, Couch made its debut at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. The debut film by Larsson is based on Swedish author Jerker Virdborg’s novel Mamma i soffa, a story of three children who are brought together when their mother refuses to move from a couch in a furniture store.
Other winners at Göteborg included Oona Airola’s Best Acting award for The Missile, with Juan Sarmiento G. taking the award for cinematography and Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land taking the Audience Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film.
Full list of winners Best Nordic Film
Mother, Couch
Best Acting
Oona Airola...
The film stars Ewan McGregor, who had also received an honorary Dragon Award during 47th edition of the festival.
Mother, Couch made its debut at last year’s Toronto Film Festival. The debut film by Larsson is based on Swedish author Jerker Virdborg’s novel Mamma i soffa, a story of three children who are brought together when their mother refuses to move from a couch in a furniture store.
Other winners at Göteborg included Oona Airola’s Best Acting award for The Missile, with Juan Sarmiento G. taking the award for cinematography and Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land taking the Audience Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film.
Full list of winners Best Nordic Film
Mother, Couch
Best Acting
Oona Airola...
- 2/4/2024
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch” was awarded the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at Goteborg, taking home the considerable amount of Sek 400,000.
Led by Ewan McGregor – this year’s recipient of the Honorary Dragon Award – the U.S.-Swedish-Danish co-production also features Ellen Burstyn and “Bones and All” breakout Taylor Russell, making it one of the starriest Goteborg winners in recent years.
“My therapist was wrong! I pitched him this idea a few years ago and he said: ‘Don’t do it.’ I am from here and this festival has meant the world to me. Standing on this stage is a bit surreal,” said Larsson.
Jurors Lena Endre, Ramata-Toulaye Sy, William Spetz, Tonia Noyabrova and Anna Novion appreciated the way it shows “how difficult it is to let go of the past, accept loss and finally embrace the future.” They praised “original and bold storytelling, with a lot of humor,...
Led by Ewan McGregor – this year’s recipient of the Honorary Dragon Award – the U.S.-Swedish-Danish co-production also features Ellen Burstyn and “Bones and All” breakout Taylor Russell, making it one of the starriest Goteborg winners in recent years.
“My therapist was wrong! I pitched him this idea a few years ago and he said: ‘Don’t do it.’ I am from here and this festival has meant the world to me. Standing on this stage is a bit surreal,” said Larsson.
Jurors Lena Endre, Ramata-Toulaye Sy, William Spetz, Tonia Noyabrova and Anna Novion appreciated the way it shows “how difficult it is to let go of the past, accept loss and finally embrace the future.” They praised “original and bold storytelling, with a lot of humor,...
- 2/3/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has acquired Sundance documentary Will & Harper, in which Will Ferrell embarks on a road trip with his longtime friend Harper who is coming out as a trans woman.
Josh Greenbaum’s film played in Premieres and earned a strong reception at its world premiere at The Eccles Theatre.
Ferrell produced with Rafael Marmor, Jessica Elbaum, Greenbaum, and Christopher Leggett
Netflix previously acquired It’s What’s Inside in the marquee deal of the festival at a reported $17m, as well as Daughters, and Ibelin.
More to follow…...
Josh Greenbaum’s film played in Premieres and earned a strong reception at its world premiere at The Eccles Theatre.
Ferrell produced with Rafael Marmor, Jessica Elbaum, Greenbaum, and Christopher Leggett
Netflix previously acquired It’s What’s Inside in the marquee deal of the festival at a reported $17m, as well as Daughters, and Ibelin.
More to follow…...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
“Will & Harper,” a heartfelt and heartbreaking documentary about Will Ferrell’s cross-country road trip with his best friend Harper Steele, who recently came out as transgender, sold to Netflix after its Sundance Film Festival debut. Financial terms of the pact were not disclosed, but “Will & Harper” was drawing interest from several buyers.
The film, directed by “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” filmmaker Josh Greenbaum, was warmly embraced in Park City with two standing ovations after the credits rolled.
“We are thrilled about how audiences received the movie with open arms at Sundance,” the filmmakers said in a statement. “It’s a movie about the power of friendship and acceptance, that we hope can help shift the culture, and so we are excited to have a partner in Netflix that has the ability to reach the largest possible audience worldwide.”
Ferrell and Steele were hired at...
The film, directed by “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” filmmaker Josh Greenbaum, was warmly embraced in Park City with two standing ovations after the credits rolled.
“We are thrilled about how audiences received the movie with open arms at Sundance,” the filmmakers said in a statement. “It’s a movie about the power of friendship and acceptance, that we hope can help shift the culture, and so we are excited to have a partner in Netflix that has the ability to reach the largest possible audience worldwide.”
Ferrell and Steele were hired at...
- 2/1/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Rob Peace and Ibelin premiered at Sundance, showcasing stories about two exceptional individuals with tragic stories.
As far as entries at Sundance, both of these titles were impactful in their own ways.
Ibelin is an uplifting story about a person with limitations who finds his true self in an unlikely realm.
In comparison, Rob Peace is a cautionary tale about making the right decisions.
Should readers see these films?
Here are our capsule reviews of Rob Peace and Ibelin out of Sundance 2024.
Ibelin
Those who have followed this reviewer’s writing are aware of the disability perspective. It’s a minority viewpoint that most people have issues relating to until they are older.
The experience can feel very isolating, especially when a condition is degenerative. Ibelin is a wondrous documentary about an individual who found a community in one of the most unlikeliest places.
Benjamin Ree’s heartwarming documentary...
As far as entries at Sundance, both of these titles were impactful in their own ways.
Ibelin is an uplifting story about a person with limitations who finds his true self in an unlikely realm.
In comparison, Rob Peace is a cautionary tale about making the right decisions.
Should readers see these films?
Here are our capsule reviews of Rob Peace and Ibelin out of Sundance 2024.
Ibelin
Those who have followed this reviewer’s writing are aware of the disability perspective. It’s a minority viewpoint that most people have issues relating to until they are older.
The experience can feel very isolating, especially when a condition is degenerative. Ibelin is a wondrous documentary about an individual who found a community in one of the most unlikeliest places.
Benjamin Ree’s heartwarming documentary...
- 1/31/2024
- by John Dotson
- Monsters and Critics
Sundance documentaries are alive and well. And it looks like there’s some acquisition action this year, too. Which Sundance documentaries have the best shot at landing in Oscar contention this year? It helps to get bought early or to have an international footprint.
A rickety theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers meant that many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution, or met serious delays before companies came through. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. But last year, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which was rumored to be an HBO Documentary Films pickup for months, wasn’t announced until August 29, when other Sundance grads had been campaigning all summer.
One...
A rickety theatrical market for non-fiction features and a dwindling number of active documentary buyers meant that many Sundance 2023 films did not get picked up for distribution, or met serious delays before companies came through. As the top American film festival for docs, Sundance usually supplies as many as four out of the final five Oscar nominees each year.
And usually, by late summer, Oscar promotion is well underway. But last year, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which was rumored to be an HBO Documentary Films pickup for months, wasn’t announced until August 29, when other Sundance grads had been campaigning all summer.
One...
- 1/31/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Last year may have been the official return of the Sundance Film Festival to an in-person experience, but the just-concluded 2024 edition felt even more lively: This wasn’t just back to business, this was a full-on coming-out party, with A-list talent on-hand even beyond what you could have expected from the festival in its last couple pre-covid years.
The best movies of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, as determined by IndieWire’s annual critics survey, are an eclectic mix, full of starpower and starmaking turns. And undoubtedly, having all the competition titles screen virtually in the last five days of the fest buoyed the visibility of some — if the celebrities all descended on Park City, Utah, this year, some journalists who used to be in-person regulars opted instead for just the online experience.
If the journalists who responded to IndieWire’s survey, 166 in total, are fewer in number than the past,...
The best movies of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, as determined by IndieWire’s annual critics survey, are an eclectic mix, full of starpower and starmaking turns. And undoubtedly, having all the competition titles screen virtually in the last five days of the fest buoyed the visibility of some — if the celebrities all descended on Park City, Utah, this year, some journalists who used to be in-person regulars opted instead for just the online experience.
If the journalists who responded to IndieWire’s survey, 166 in total, are fewer in number than the past,...
- 1/31/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
As a gamer for most of my life, and a computer nerd, and a big-time web geek, I've always been considerably aware of how important digital connections can be. These kind of connections have been a major part of my life already for most of my life - and will continue to be. It's rare that I ever come across a film that depicts this important truth in an earnest and accurate way that isn't cheesy or saccharine. The documentary film Ibelin breaks out of those conventions to tell an emotional story about how meaningful online relationships are. Norwegian documentary filmmaker Benjamin Ree's latest film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it won an Audience Award as well as the Directing Award in the World Cinema Documentary section. There is no one who will watch this and not be emotionally affected, with tears in their eyes, at this...
- 1/30/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s “Daughters,” an acclaimed documentary about a program that allows young girls to participate in a special dance with their incarcerated fathers, is finalizing a sale to Netflix. If the deal closes, it is expected to be in the seven-figure range. It was a competitive situation with at least three companies circling the picture.
“Daughters” premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award in Documentary Competition and was named overall Festival Favorite. The film took eight years to produce.
In a rave review in Variety, Lisa Kennedy praised “Daughters,” writing that the film adds “depth and dimension to stories of incarceration.” Kennedy added: “The film is rife with visually lyrical moments that connect viewers with the young ones’ sorrows, fears, insights and hopes. In the hands of the directors, cinematographer Michael Cambio Fernandez and editors Troy Lewis and Adelina Bichis,...
“Daughters” premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award in Documentary Competition and was named overall Festival Favorite. The film took eight years to produce.
In a rave review in Variety, Lisa Kennedy praised “Daughters,” writing that the film adds “depth and dimension to stories of incarceration.” Kennedy added: “The film is rife with visually lyrical moments that connect viewers with the young ones’ sorrows, fears, insights and hopes. In the hands of the directors, cinematographer Michael Cambio Fernandez and editors Troy Lewis and Adelina Bichis,...
- 1/30/2024
- by Brent Lang and Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Benjamin Ree’s Ibelin relates a heartbreaking story in its first 10 minutes. Mats Steen, a young boy from Norway, lived a mostly happy life until being diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that prevents muscles from working correctly. He would grow up solitary and confined to a wheelchair, with his computer the only connection to the world outside his home, before eventually passing away at 25. Mats’s parents, Robert and Trude, mourn the life that their son never got to have, but it’s not until they gain access to his computer and use his blog to announce his passing that they realize their son had an online life they never knew, all stemming from his dedication to World of Warcraft.
There are people for whom what happens in the subsequent 90 minutes of the documentary will come as a surprise, and Ree plays it like it is, but...
There are people for whom what happens in the subsequent 90 minutes of the documentary will come as a surprise, and Ree plays it like it is, but...
- 1/29/2024
- by Justin Clark
- Slant Magazine
There are a few silver linings of covering Sundance remotely, which — as a critic with two young children and a marriage that I would still like to have at the end of the month — I elected to do for the fourth consecutive year. You don’t have to wait in lines, sit through the same ads about “the power of storytelling” before every screening, or stare longingly at nearby ski slopes as you take a deep breath and head into a high school auditorium to watch a documentary that will be on Netflix three days later.
More significantly, “doing Sundance” from the relative comforts of Eric Adams’ New York City has a way of unburdening the films you watch from the pressure forced upon them in Park City, where each premiere is attended by some of the most generous audiences on the planet…and also the unreasonable expectation that what...
More significantly, “doing Sundance” from the relative comforts of Eric Adams’ New York City has a way of unburdening the films you watch from the pressure forced upon them in Park City, where each premiere is attended by some of the most generous audiences on the planet…and also the unreasonable expectation that what...
- 1/29/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18-28 and, after a sluggish start, there were deals (click here for the latest), celebrity sightings, and a protest.
Christopher Nolan turned up to collect an honourary award at the festival’s opening night gala fundraiser and called the occasion a “full circle moment” 23 years after premeiring his breakout thriller Memento there back in 2001.
Kristen Stewart also attended the gala and starred in two films this year, while celebrity guests included Robert Downey Jr., Will Ferrell, and Malia Obama, who managed to attend somewhat under the radar with her short film The Heart credited to Malia Ann.
Christopher Nolan turned up to collect an honourary award at the festival’s opening night gala fundraiser and called the occasion a “full circle moment” 23 years after premeiring his breakout thriller Memento there back in 2001.
Kristen Stewart also attended the gala and starred in two films this year, while celebrity guests included Robert Downey Jr., Will Ferrell, and Malia Obama, who managed to attend somewhat under the radar with her short film The Heart credited to Malia Ann.
- 1/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
This year, Sundance saw big deals go down for “A Real Pain”, “It’s What’s Inside”, “Presence” (Neon), and “My Old Ass” as well as smaller acquisitions for “Kneecap” (Sony Pictures Classics), “Ghostlight” (IFC Films), and “Ibelin”(Netflix).
It’s not the same bull market as the old days, but we’ll take it. And while streamers made their presence felt with the two largest acquisitions to date, it’s clear that for most of these films theatrical will be part of their lifecycles. But is that a smart move?
Based on last year’s results, the answer is: Could be. Domestic box office from all Sundance 2023 films was the best for any year since Covid. At around $100 million, it quadrupled the take from 2022 Festival titles (around $25 million). All told, about two thirds of the 2023 films have some sort of domestic distribution, including streaming outlets. Of these, about a dozen films have yet to open.
It’s not the same bull market as the old days, but we’ll take it. And while streamers made their presence felt with the two largest acquisitions to date, it’s clear that for most of these films theatrical will be part of their lifecycles. But is that a smart move?
Based on last year’s results, the answer is: Could be. Domestic box office from all Sundance 2023 films was the best for any year since Covid. At around $100 million, it quadrupled the take from 2022 Festival titles (around $25 million). All told, about two thirds of the 2023 films have some sort of domestic distribution, including streaming outlets. Of these, about a dozen films have yet to open.
- 1/27/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
On a busy Saturday for two of the biggest Sundance documentaries Netflix confirmed it had picked up worldwide rights to Skywalkers: A Love Story, while Warner Bros was in exclusive negotiations for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.
Jeff Zimbalist’s Skywalkers tells of a pair of Russian “rooftoppers” who attempt to perform an acrobatic stunt atop the Merdeka 118 super skyscraper under construction in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in a bid to save their relationship and their careers.
The US Documentary Competition selection took seven years to make and Zimablist and his team accompanied Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus on their mission for much of the ride,...
Jeff Zimbalist’s Skywalkers tells of a pair of Russian “rooftoppers” who attempt to perform an acrobatic stunt atop the Merdeka 118 super skyscraper under construction in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in a bid to save their relationship and their careers.
The US Documentary Competition selection took seven years to make and Zimablist and his team accompanied Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus on their mission for much of the ride,...
- 1/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has picked up worldwide rights for Sundance documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story from XYZ Films.
On a busy Saturday morning it also emerged that Warner Bros is in exclusive negotiations with no deal in place yet to acquire worldwide rights for around $15m to Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story which Cinetic is selling after fielding intense interest since the January 21 premiere.
Sources had not confirmed the stated $15m deal amount, at time of writing, which would be a huge number for a Sundance documentary sale.
The studio makes sense for Super/Man,...
On a busy Saturday morning it also emerged that Warner Bros is in exclusive negotiations with no deal in place yet to acquire worldwide rights for around $15m to Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story which Cinetic is selling after fielding intense interest since the January 21 premiere.
Sources had not confirmed the stated $15m deal amount, at time of writing, which would be a huge number for a Sundance documentary sale.
The studio makes sense for Super/Man,...
- 1/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has picked up worldwide rights for Sundance documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story from XYZ Films.
A busy Saturday morning also brought reports that Warner Bros is in advanced talks to acquire Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story which Cinetic is selling after fielding intense interest since the January 21 premiere.
Sources had not confirmed the reports, nor the stated $15m deal amount, at time of writing, which would be a huge amount for a Sundance documentary sale.
Jeff Zimbalist’s Skywalkers tells of a pair of Russian “rootoppers” who attempt to scale the Merdeka...
A busy Saturday morning also brought reports that Warner Bros is in advanced talks to acquire Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story which Cinetic is selling after fielding intense interest since the January 21 premiere.
Sources had not confirmed the reports, nor the stated $15m deal amount, at time of writing, which would be a huge amount for a Sundance documentary sale.
Jeff Zimbalist’s Skywalkers tells of a pair of Russian “rootoppers” who attempt to scale the Merdeka...
- 1/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
Media representation of disabled people is challenging to get right — too saccharine, and you’re veering towards inspiration porn, too maudlin, and you’re implying that a disabled life might not be a life worth living. “Ibelin,” the newest documentary from “The Painter and the Thief” filmmaker Benjamin Ree, strikes a poignant balance, acknowledging the ways that physical disability can limit a life while showing how one complex man expanded his world nonetheless.
Continue reading ‘Ibelin’ Review: Finding Freedom, Friendship And Secrecy In Online Gaming [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Ibelin’ Review: Finding Freedom, Friendship And Secrecy In Online Gaming [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/27/2024
- by Lena Wilson
- The Playlist
The Sundance Film Festival announced its 2024 winners on January 26, two days before the festival’s end date. The Awards Ceremony took place at The Ray Theater in Park City, Utah. This year marks its 40th annual festival run taking place from January 18 to January 28.
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
In the Summer, a film director Alessandra Lacorazza, won the top honor, U.S. Grand Jury Prize, starring Lio Mehiel.
Last year, Mehiel told uInterview exclusively about the importance of trans representation.
“Whenever there is an uptick of queer or trans representation in the media, there is an equal and perhaps greater response from the other side … that are looking to suppress trans rights, trans agency [and] queer liberation,” Mehiel told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “While in Hollywood we are seeing trans representation and this film is able to be part of that movement, this film is more important now than ever because even just in Utah,...
- 1/27/2024
- by Ann Hoang
- Uinterview
The 40th edition of Sundance proved that despite corporate consolidation, there is still a market for independently made documentaries. While there haven’t been many sales so far, there has been strong buyer interest in two celeb-focused docs — “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” and “Will & Harper,” featuring Will Ferrell — and healthy interest in others.
“The market didn’t have a pulse six months ago,” says Submarine Entertainment sales agent Josh Braun, who came to the festival with nine documentaries seeking distribution, including “Daughters,” “Gaucho Gaucho” and “Union.” “So there was a reason to be a little bit fearful coming into Sundance. But now we are feeling a pulse. We are heading in a good direction. The patient still needs some treatment, but we are no longer in a Doa situation.”
While Submarine has not yet closed deals for any of the titles, Braun is optimistic, given the fact a...
“The market didn’t have a pulse six months ago,” says Submarine Entertainment sales agent Josh Braun, who came to the festival with nine documentaries seeking distribution, including “Daughters,” “Gaucho Gaucho” and “Union.” “So there was a reason to be a little bit fearful coming into Sundance. But now we are feeling a pulse. We are heading in a good direction. The patient still needs some treatment, but we are no longer in a Doa situation.”
While Submarine has not yet closed deals for any of the titles, Braun is optimistic, given the fact a...
- 1/27/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Sundance announced its winners on Friday morning, with Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary.
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind Of Wilderness won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, while Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez earned the corresponding world cinema dramatic prize for Sujo.
The pair collaborated as writers on the 2020 World Cinema – Dramatic prize winner Identifying Features directed by Valadez.
The Festival Favorite Award went to Daughters by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, whose film also...
- 1/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival awards were announced today at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
See the list of 2024 winners below, and congrats to all the winners.
Festival Favorite Award
Daughters (USA) – Angela Patton and Natalie Rae
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Grand Jury Prize
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
Directing Award
In the Summers (USA) – Alessandra Lacorazza
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance
Suncoast (USA) – Nico Parker
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble
Dìdi – Sean Wang
Audience Award
Dìdi – Sean Wang
U.S. Documentary Competition
Grand Jury Prize
Porcelain War – Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev
Directing Award
Sugarcane – Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Special Jury Award for Sound
Gaucho Gaucho (USA, Argentina) – Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
Special Jury Award for The Art of Change
Union (USA) – Stephen Maing and Brett Story
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Frida...
- 1/26/2024
- by Prem
- Talking Films
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed a new class of indie film stars on Friday, handing out its annual awards in Park City, Utah.
Taking the festival’s grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition was “In the Summers” from writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio. The film tells of two daughters who come of age navigating a turbulent but loving father during yearly visits to his home in New Mexico. “Porcelain War” won the U.S. Documentary competition, for its portrait of artists-turned-soldiers in the Ukraine.
Top prizes in the world cinematic category went to “A New Kind of Wilderness” for documentary, the tale of a wild-living family who must return to the modern world after an untimely death; “Sujo” won for narrative feature, about a 4-year-old orphan who may find it impossible to escape a future working for a drug cartel.
Incoming Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez began...
Taking the festival’s grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition was “In the Summers” from writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio. The film tells of two daughters who come of age navigating a turbulent but loving father during yearly visits to his home in New Mexico. “Porcelain War” won the U.S. Documentary competition, for its portrait of artists-turned-soldiers in the Ukraine.
Top prizes in the world cinematic category went to “A New Kind of Wilderness” for documentary, the tale of a wild-living family who must return to the modern world after an untimely death; “Sujo” won for narrative feature, about a 4-year-old orphan who may find it impossible to escape a future working for a drug cartel.
Incoming Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez began...
- 1/26/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
2024 Sundance Film Festival
Through Sunday, one can experience the 2024 Sundance Film Festival from the comfort of their own home, if it’s in the United States. Having seen over 50 titles in the lineup, in terms of films with tickets still available I can highly recommend Good One, Between the Temples, Tendaberry, Black Box Diaries, Ibelin, Kneecap, Didi, Brief History of a Family, Porcelain War, Sugarcane, Sujo, Seeking Mavis Beacon, Skywalkers: A Love Story, Union, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, and Realm of Satan. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Official Site (through Sunday only)
Amanda (Carolina Cavalli)
Sofia Coppola’s eighth feature doesn’t hit theaters for another few months, but you’d be forgiven if you thought it was actually Amanda, writer-director Carolina Cavalli’s darkly humorous,...
2024 Sundance Film Festival
Through Sunday, one can experience the 2024 Sundance Film Festival from the comfort of their own home, if it’s in the United States. Having seen over 50 titles in the lineup, in terms of films with tickets still available I can highly recommend Good One, Between the Temples, Tendaberry, Black Box Diaries, Ibelin, Kneecap, Didi, Brief History of a Family, Porcelain War, Sugarcane, Sujo, Seeking Mavis Beacon, Skywalkers: A Love Story, Union, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, and Realm of Satan. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Official Site (through Sunday only)
Amanda (Carolina Cavalli)
Sofia Coppola’s eighth feature doesn’t hit theaters for another few months, but you’d be forgiven if you thought it was actually Amanda, writer-director Carolina Cavalli’s darkly humorous,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“It’s What’s Inside,” a horror movie that premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, has sold to Netflix for $17 million.
The film isn’t playing in theaters and will land directly on the streamer at a yet-to-be-determined date.
First-time filmmaker Greg Jardin directed “It’s What’s Inside,” which is set at a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase. The cast includes Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden and David Thompson.
“On behalf of the cast, crew, and entire production team, we are absolutely thrilled that ‘It’s What’s Inside’ landed at Netflix,” said producer William Rosenfeld of Such, which financed and oversaw production. “Their commitment to championing bold and groundbreaking filmmakers like Greg Jardin remains unparalleled.”
Variety’s Guy Lodge teased that the film “doesn’t unfold exactly as you’d expect.” He wrote in his review,...
The film isn’t playing in theaters and will land directly on the streamer at a yet-to-be-determined date.
First-time filmmaker Greg Jardin directed “It’s What’s Inside,” which is set at a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase. The cast includes Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden and David Thompson.
“On behalf of the cast, crew, and entire production team, we are absolutely thrilled that ‘It’s What’s Inside’ landed at Netflix,” said producer William Rosenfeld of Such, which financed and oversaw production. “Their commitment to championing bold and groundbreaking filmmakers like Greg Jardin remains unparalleled.”
Variety’s Guy Lodge teased that the film “doesn’t unfold exactly as you’d expect.” He wrote in his review,...
- 1/22/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Between fascist propaganda, harassment campaigns, AI-generated Google results, and the collapse of digital publishing, it’s hard not to think of the internet as a wasteland. “Ibelin,” however, is a defining film about the positive side of the modern web experience, and connections forged online.
Directed by “The Painter and the Thief” helmer Benjamin Ree, the documentary marries form with function in stunning fashion, bringing to life the sprawling digital identity of its subject Mats Steen — a quadriplegic gamer who died at 25 from a degenerative disease — via his personal blog and his World of Warcraft campaigns. The resultant film is a moving, multifaceted masterwork that doubles as a cinematic epitaph to a vibrant (if secretive) young man.
Using thoughtfully engineered animation, “Ibelin” explores not only Mats’ complications, but a lifetime of personal experiences that remained a secret from his parents until they began grieving him. Though they believed him to be isolated and lonely,...
Directed by “The Painter and the Thief” helmer Benjamin Ree, the documentary marries form with function in stunning fashion, bringing to life the sprawling digital identity of its subject Mats Steen — a quadriplegic gamer who died at 25 from a degenerative disease — via his personal blog and his World of Warcraft campaigns. The resultant film is a moving, multifaceted masterwork that doubles as a cinematic epitaph to a vibrant (if secretive) young man.
Using thoughtfully engineered animation, “Ibelin” explores not only Mats’ complications, but a lifetime of personal experiences that remained a secret from his parents until they began grieving him. Though they believed him to be isolated and lonely,...
- 1/20/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
Benjamin Ree’s Ibelin tells a sad and inspiring story on a level that can be summarized in two sentences.
That doesn’t make it less sad or less inspiring, and it doesn’t make its core message any less important. But if you’re already aware that the virtual spaces created by networked gaming are, indeed, valid and even valuable ways of forging social relationships, there isn’t much additional insight.
Are there still people who think that networked games are just games, and that a guild of pixelated players has no ties in real life? Of course. It’s just hard to imagine that audience wanting a documentary to teach them — much less at Sundance, where similar topics are bog standard, and especially not with the excessively straightforward, if sometimes slightly (but not hugely) visually innovative, approach that Ree takes to Mats Steen’s story.
The two sentences:...
That doesn’t make it less sad or less inspiring, and it doesn’t make its core message any less important. But if you’re already aware that the virtual spaces created by networked gaming are, indeed, valid and even valuable ways of forging social relationships, there isn’t much additional insight.
Are there still people who think that networked games are just games, and that a guild of pixelated players has no ties in real life? Of course. It’s just hard to imagine that audience wanting a documentary to teach them — much less at Sundance, where similar topics are bog standard, and especially not with the excessively straightforward, if sometimes slightly (but not hugely) visually innovative, approach that Ree takes to Mats Steen’s story.
The two sentences:...
- 1/20/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix has acquired Benjamin Ree’s Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition selection Ibelin, the streamer confirmed on Friday morning.
‘Ibelin’: Sundance Review
The Norwegian documentary premiered on Thursday opening day and tells the story of Mats Steen, a gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease at age 25.
His parents believed Mats led a solitary life without love and friendships, however after he died they learned he in fact led a rich digital life through the game World Of Warcraft which left a profound impact on a community of fellow gamers.
Ree (The Painter And The Thief) and his...
‘Ibelin’: Sundance Review
The Norwegian documentary premiered on Thursday opening day and tells the story of Mats Steen, a gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease at age 25.
His parents believed Mats led a solitary life without love and friendships, however after he died they learned he in fact led a rich digital life through the game World Of Warcraft which left a profound impact on a community of fellow gamers.
Ree (The Painter And The Thief) and his...
- 1/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has acquired “Ibelin,” a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Benjamin Ree (“The Painter and the Thief”) directed the film, which centers on a Norwegian gamer named Mats Steen, who died of a degenerative muscle disease at the age of 25. According to the official logline, “his parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.”
“Many of my favorite documentary films and series of all time have been distributed by Netflix,” Ree said in a statement. “It’s a huge honor that Ibelin will now be on Netflix and Mats Steen’s story will be available to so many millions of people across the world. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Before the film’s premiere, Ree told Variety he hopes that “Ibelin” portrays the video game community in a positive light.
“This...
Benjamin Ree (“The Painter and the Thief”) directed the film, which centers on a Norwegian gamer named Mats Steen, who died of a degenerative muscle disease at the age of 25. According to the official logline, “his parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.”
“Many of my favorite documentary films and series of all time have been distributed by Netflix,” Ree said in a statement. “It’s a huge honor that Ibelin will now be on Netflix and Mats Steen’s story will be available to so many millions of people across the world. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Before the film’s premiere, Ree told Variety he hopes that “Ibelin” portrays the video game community in a positive light.
“This...
- 1/19/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
In “Ibelin” Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree focuses on Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who died in 2014 of a degenerative muscular disease at age 25. Ree, who as a child was family friends with the Steen family, conceived of the project after reading a 2019 BBC article. The piece explains that after Mats’ death his parents discovered that they were all wrong about their son’s social life. Instead of a lonely, isolated existence in a wheelchair, they found out that Mats had been leading a vibrant digital life as Lord Ibelin Redmoore, an avatar, in the popular video game “World of Warcraft.” After his death, people from all over Europe, who had never physically met Mats, sent his parents condolence letters expressing how their son had profoundly impacted their lives.
Variety spoke with Ree ahead of the Sundance world premiere of “Ibelin” on Jan. 18.
After reading the BBC article in 2019 did you...
Variety spoke with Ree ahead of the Sundance world premiere of “Ibelin” on Jan. 18.
After reading the BBC article in 2019 did you...
- 1/18/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Actors Ewan McGregor, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, directors Ruben Östlund, Ernst de Geer, Ramata-Toulaye Sy and Cannes Film Festival honcho Thierry Frémaux are some of the stellar guests set to walk the red carpet at the 47th edition of Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival.
This year’s Göteborg Fest unspools from Jan. 26 to Feb. 4.
For his last run as artistic director of Scandinavia’s biggest film festival, Jonas Holmberg has selected 240 films from 82 countries, and what he calls “one of the strongest lineups ever” for Göteborg’s main Nordic competition strand. Among the highly anticipated titles vying for the coveted Best Nordic Film Dragon Award worth Sek 400,000, is Norway’s “Handling the Undead” by Thea Hvistendahl, set to kickstart the festival on the heels of its Sundance world premiere.
“This will be the first time we open with a zombie horror,” notes Holmberg, who looks forward...
This year’s Göteborg Fest unspools from Jan. 26 to Feb. 4.
For his last run as artistic director of Scandinavia’s biggest film festival, Jonas Holmberg has selected 240 films from 82 countries, and what he calls “one of the strongest lineups ever” for Göteborg’s main Nordic competition strand. Among the highly anticipated titles vying for the coveted Best Nordic Film Dragon Award worth Sek 400,000, is Norway’s “Handling the Undead” by Thea Hvistendahl, set to kickstart the festival on the heels of its Sundance world premiere.
“This will be the first time we open with a zombie horror,” notes Holmberg, who looks forward...
- 1/9/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
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