Delving into the disturbing underbelly of an already corrupt society, Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev crafts a gripping thriller focused on Blaga (Eli Skorcheva), a retired teacher who falls prey to a telephone scam. As she attempts to economically and socially recover, the narrative's inclination for overt bleakness slowly reveals itself. While there's measure in how the cinematic eye crafts the protagonist's story and the dreary image of a post-communist town, the message feels forced. Beneath the intense lead performance and the minimalist but effective camera work, there is a rigid moral waiting to be unearthed. A message of hopelessness reiterated with bad timing, to the detriment of a well-thought-out character study.
Having just lost her husband, 70-year-old Blaga is determined to purchase an expensive gravesite and tombstone for him. The graveyard manager (Stefan Denolyubov) promises to keep the spot and fulfil the order at a premium price. The woman is content.
Having just lost her husband, 70-year-old Blaga is determined to purchase an expensive gravesite and tombstone for him. The graveyard manager (Stefan Denolyubov) promises to keep the spot and fulfil the order at a premium price. The woman is content.
- 4/8/2024
- by Sergiu Inizian
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Heretic has acquired world sales right to Iranian director Aliyar Rasti’s “The Great Yawn of History,” a debut feature that premieres this month in the competitive Encounters strand of the Berlin Film Festival.
The film tells the story of a man who dreams of a box of gold waiting for him at the end of a cave. Curbed by his religious belief that it’s not permissible to go after it himself, he employs the assistance of a non-believer. Together they embark on a long journey across the Iranian landscape in pursuit of a miracle. But their treasure hunt soon turns tempting also for those they meet along the way.
Heretic’s head of sales and acquisitions, Ioanna Stais, praised the first-time director’s film for how it deftly transforms into an intricate game of hide-and-seek between faith and human frailty.
“From road trip to allegory, Aliyar’s poetic...
The film tells the story of a man who dreams of a box of gold waiting for him at the end of a cave. Curbed by his religious belief that it’s not permissible to go after it himself, he employs the assistance of a non-believer. Together they embark on a long journey across the Iranian landscape in pursuit of a miracle. But their treasure hunt soon turns tempting also for those they meet along the way.
Heretic’s head of sales and acquisitions, Ioanna Stais, praised the first-time director’s film for how it deftly transforms into an intricate game of hide-and-seek between faith and human frailty.
“From road trip to allegory, Aliyar’s poetic...
- 2/5/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Festival selection includes Nikolaj Arcel’s ‘The Promised Land’ and Ernst De Geer’s ‘The Hypnosis’.
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
- 1/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline on Monday launched the streaming site for its Contenders Film: International, featuring the full panel videos from Saturday’s award-season showcase of 12 movies submitted by their countries to this year’s Oscar International Feature race.
Click here to launch the streaming site.
Actors who took part in the discussions included South Korean entry Concrete Utopia‘s Lee Byung-hun, Renée Soutendijk from Netherlands’ Sweet Dreams, Eli Skorcheva from Bulgaria’s Blaga’s Lessons and Eliane Umuhire from Belgium’s Omen.
They were joined among others by directors including J.A. Bayona from Netflix’s Society of the Snow, Hugh Welchman from Poland’s The Peasants, Noora Niasari from Australia’s Shayda, llker Çatak from Germany’s The Teachers’ Lounge, Concrete Utopia‘s Um Tae-hwa, Ena Sendijarević from Sweet Dreams, Stephan Komandarev from Blaga’s Lessons, Omar Hilal from Egypt’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, Jude Anthany Joseph from India’s 2018 – Everyone Is a Hero,...
Click here to launch the streaming site.
Actors who took part in the discussions included South Korean entry Concrete Utopia‘s Lee Byung-hun, Renée Soutendijk from Netherlands’ Sweet Dreams, Eli Skorcheva from Bulgaria’s Blaga’s Lessons and Eliane Umuhire from Belgium’s Omen.
They were joined among others by directors including J.A. Bayona from Netflix’s Society of the Snow, Hugh Welchman from Poland’s The Peasants, Noora Niasari from Australia’s Shayda, llker Çatak from Germany’s The Teachers’ Lounge, Concrete Utopia‘s Um Tae-hwa, Ena Sendijarević from Sweet Dreams, Stephan Komandarev from Blaga’s Lessons, Omar Hilal from Egypt’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, Jude Anthany Joseph from India’s 2018 – Everyone Is a Hero,...
- 12/11/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Filmmaker Stephan Komandarev, whose credits include two previous Bulgarian Oscar entries including the shortlisted The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner, wrapped a movie trilogy about the social ills of post-communist society with Blaga’s Lessons, about the harrowing journey of a retired teacher through the dangerous world of phone scams.
Taking care of his elderly parents over the past decade inspired Komandarev to take a closer look at the plight of retirees.
“This is the generation of our parents, and they became the biggest victim of the process of transition (from communism to democracy) that is already 30 years; somehow they lost the dignity of their last years,” he said during an interview for the Argo Films movie at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International.
He hopes the film and its shocking ending will provoke discussion about “the chronic problem” of how society treats its elderly and help bring in a positive change.
Taking care of his elderly parents over the past decade inspired Komandarev to take a closer look at the plight of retirees.
“This is the generation of our parents, and they became the biggest victim of the process of transition (from communism to democracy) that is already 30 years; somehow they lost the dignity of their last years,” he said during an interview for the Argo Films movie at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International.
He hopes the film and its shocking ending will provoke discussion about “the chronic problem” of how society treats its elderly and help bring in a positive change.
- 12/9/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event launches Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Pt, the latest in our series of showcases that this time turns the focus toward global cinema via discussions with the casts and creatives of 12 movies submitted by their countries for the 2024 Academy Awards’ International Feature race.
Click to sign up for and watch today’s livestream.
The 2023 Oscar ceremony was a triumph for international film. Going into the ceremony, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was a winner already, having earned a spectacular seven nominations. If that wasn’t enough, it came away with four statuettes: one for International Feature, and three for Cinematography, Music and Production Design. Clearly this can’t happen every year, but, like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite before it, Berger’s World War I epic proved that boundaries are being broken down, and international film, once synonymous with arthouse,...
Click to sign up for and watch today’s livestream.
The 2023 Oscar ceremony was a triumph for international film. Going into the ceremony, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was a winner already, having earned a spectacular seven nominations. If that wasn’t enough, it came away with four statuettes: one for International Feature, and three for Cinematography, Music and Production Design. Clearly this can’t happen every year, but, like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite before it, Berger’s World War I epic proved that boundaries are being broken down, and international film, once synonymous with arthouse,...
- 12/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The 54th edition of India’s Goa Film Festival concluded Tuesday evening with a tribute to Michael Douglas, who picked up the fest’s Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema.
Previous winners of the award — which organizers say celebrates individuals whose unparalleled contributions have enriched the cinematic landscape — include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi, and Wong Kar-wai.
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award. It’s a career life achievement. When I heard about the award, my family and I were elated,” Douglas said. The veteran Basic Instinct actor was joined by his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and son Dylan Douglas.
Later, during his acceptance speech, Douglas touched on world affairs, highlighting the role he believes cinema can play in bringing people together. Douglas also gave a shoutout to what he described as some of his favorite Indian films, including Rrr,...
Previous winners of the award — which organizers say celebrates individuals whose unparalleled contributions have enriched the cinematic landscape — include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi, and Wong Kar-wai.
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award. It’s a career life achievement. When I heard about the award, my family and I were elated,” Douglas said. The veteran Basic Instinct actor was joined by his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and son Dylan Douglas.
Later, during his acceptance speech, Douglas touched on world affairs, highlighting the role he believes cinema can play in bringing people together. Douglas also gave a shoutout to what he described as some of his favorite Indian films, including Rrr,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The 54th International Film Festival of India (Iffi), Goa, concluded on Tuesday with Hollywood veteran Michael Douglas accepting the Satyajit Ray lifetime achievement award for excellence in cinema.
Previous winners of the award include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi and Wong Kar-wai.
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award, a career life achievement. When I heard about the award, my family and I were elated,” said Douglas, who was accompanied by wife Catherine Zeta Jones and their son Dylan Douglas. The two-time Oscar winning actor said that his favorite Indian films are “Rrr,” “Om Shanti Om” and “The Lunchbox.” The award was conferred during the festival’s closing ceremony by Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana and Pramod Sawant, chief minister of Goa.
At the festival’s international competition, the jury, presided over by veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, awarded best film to Abbas Amini’s Rotterdam-winning Iranian film “Endless Borders.
Previous winners of the award include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi and Wong Kar-wai.
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award, a career life achievement. When I heard about the award, my family and I were elated,” said Douglas, who was accompanied by wife Catherine Zeta Jones and their son Dylan Douglas. The two-time Oscar winning actor said that his favorite Indian films are “Rrr,” “Om Shanti Om” and “The Lunchbox.” The award was conferred during the festival’s closing ceremony by Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana and Pramod Sawant, chief minister of Goa.
At the festival’s international competition, the jury, presided over by veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, awarded best film to Abbas Amini’s Rotterdam-winning Iranian film “Endless Borders.
- 11/29/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Iffi 2023: Endless Borders Wins Best Film, Panchayat Season 2 Awarded Best Web Series Honor! ( Photo Credit – IMDb )
The 54th edition of the acclaimed International Film Festival of India (Iffi) honored groundbreaking performances from the world of cinema and Ott during the closing ceremony on Tuesday (November 28). Abbas Amini’s Endless Borders bagged the Best Film honor, while Rishabh Shetty, who has swept the majority of awards this year for Kantara, took home the Special Jury Award for his film, which has now become a cultural phenomenon. Panchayat Season 2 was at the forefront of scripting history by winning the first-ever Best Web Series (Ott) Award. Hollywood legend Michael Douglas, meanwhile, received the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.
Endless Borders Wins Best Film
The Persian film Endless Borders, directed by Abbas Amini, took home the award for Best Film at Iffi 2023. The film, follows an exiled Iranian teacher, Ahmad, living in...
The 54th edition of the acclaimed International Film Festival of India (Iffi) honored groundbreaking performances from the world of cinema and Ott during the closing ceremony on Tuesday (November 28). Abbas Amini’s Endless Borders bagged the Best Film honor, while Rishabh Shetty, who has swept the majority of awards this year for Kantara, took home the Special Jury Award for his film, which has now become a cultural phenomenon. Panchayat Season 2 was at the forefront of scripting history by winning the first-ever Best Web Series (Ott) Award. Hollywood legend Michael Douglas, meanwhile, received the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.
Endless Borders Wins Best Film
The Persian film Endless Borders, directed by Abbas Amini, took home the award for Best Film at Iffi 2023. The film, follows an exiled Iranian teacher, Ahmad, living in...
- 11/28/2023
- by Shivani Negi
- KoiMoi
Persian film ‘Endless Borders’ by Abbas Amini has bagged the Golden Peacock for Best Film at the 54th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) that concluded here on Tuesday. An emotionally charged narrative set against the backdrop of an Iranian teacher’s odyssey amid the turmoil ignited by the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the film intricately delves into the complexities of prejudice, moral dilemmas, and forbidden love.
The jury praised the film’s ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini’s courageous storytelling.
In a citation, the jury said, “The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom.
The jury praised the film’s ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini’s courageous storytelling.
In a citation, the jury said, “The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom.
- 11/28/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Persian film ‘Endless Borders’ by Abbas Amini has bagged the Golden Peacock for Best Film at the 54th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) that concluded here on Tuesday. An emotionally charged narrative set against the backdrop of an Iranian teacher’s odyssey amid the turmoil ignited by the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the film intricately delves into the complexities of prejudice, moral dilemmas, and forbidden love.
The jury praised the film’s ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini’s courageous storytelling.
In a citation, the jury said, “The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom.
The jury praised the film’s ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini’s courageous storytelling.
In a citation, the jury said, “The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom.
- 11/28/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
“Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World,” from Romania’s Radu Jude, added to its ever larger silverware collection, winning the top Albar Award at Spain’s Gijón Festival.
Gijón’s big win join not only a Special Jury Prize at August’s Locarno Film Festival, where the film was the most talked about – one of Jude’s aims– and lauded of competition titles among reviewers, plus a Chicago Silver Hugo best performance nod (Ilinca Manolache) in October and a Lisbon Fest Jury Prize late last month.
Over 61 editions, and most especially when José Luis Cienfuegos, now Valladolid chief, took over its reins in 1995, the Gijón-Xijón Film Festival (Ficx) has carved out an identity as highlighting edgier international auteurs and indie fare, moving into promoting often more singular movies from a burgeoning new generation of Spanish filmmakers, greeted with enthusiasm by discerning and predominantly YA audiences...
Gijón’s big win join not only a Special Jury Prize at August’s Locarno Film Festival, where the film was the most talked about – one of Jude’s aims– and lauded of competition titles among reviewers, plus a Chicago Silver Hugo best performance nod (Ilinca Manolache) in October and a Lisbon Fest Jury Prize late last month.
Over 61 editions, and most especially when José Luis Cienfuegos, now Valladolid chief, took over its reins in 1995, the Gijón-Xijón Film Festival (Ficx) has carved out an identity as highlighting edgier international auteurs and indie fare, moving into promoting often more singular movies from a burgeoning new generation of Spanish filmmakers, greeted with enthusiasm by discerning and predominantly YA audiences...
- 11/27/2023
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Blaga’s Lessons, Bulgaria’s International Film Oscar submission, has set a release in multiple countries.
The film. written and directed by Stephan Komandarev, will hit theaters in Germany in January through distributor Jip Film. Following an October 20 limited release, Blaga’s Lessons will go wide in Bulgaria on Dec. 15th. Its domestic distributor is A Plus Films.
Additionally, the film is premiering in Spring 2023 in Sweden with distributor November, January 2023 in Taiwan with Swallow Wings, with releases also planned in Spain with Filmin, Greece with Danaos, and Slovakia with Association of Slovak Film Clubs.
Blaga’s Lessons also will be carried by Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO/Max and Cinemax in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Albania, Bulgaria and Adriatic countries.
The movie world premiered in July at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix for Best Film as well as Best Actress...
The film. written and directed by Stephan Komandarev, will hit theaters in Germany in January through distributor Jip Film. Following an October 20 limited release, Blaga’s Lessons will go wide in Bulgaria on Dec. 15th. Its domestic distributor is A Plus Films.
Additionally, the film is premiering in Spring 2023 in Sweden with distributor November, January 2023 in Taiwan with Swallow Wings, with releases also planned in Spain with Filmin, Greece with Danaos, and Slovakia with Association of Slovak Film Clubs.
Blaga’s Lessons also will be carried by Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO/Max and Cinemax in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Albania, Bulgaria and Adriatic countries.
The movie world premiered in July at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix for Best Film as well as Best Actress...
- 11/16/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
This may be the comeback of the decade. In her first film role in almost 30 years, Bulgarian actress Eli Skorcheva — who had gone into self-exile from cinema, changing careers and working odd jobs including as a cleaning lady – stars in Blaga’s Lessons, which earned her the Best Actress Award at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival and is Bulgaria’s 2024 International Film Oscar submission.
The movie by Stephan Komandarev also won the Grand Prix Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary and just added the Grand Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival.
Like Skorcheva’s accidental first foray into movies in the late 1970s with a lead role that made her a star, her successful return was not planned; it came courtesy of her dog. (More on that later.) Her triumph with Blaga’s Lessons also may have been foreshadowed by Baba Vanga, the famous Bulgarian blind mystic credited with predicting...
The movie by Stephan Komandarev also won the Grand Prix Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary and just added the Grand Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival.
Like Skorcheva’s accidental first foray into movies in the late 1970s with a lead role that made her a star, her successful return was not planned; it came courtesy of her dog. (More on that later.) Her triumph with Blaga’s Lessons also may have been foreshadowed by Baba Vanga, the famous Bulgarian blind mystic credited with predicting...
- 11/2/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar voters in the Best International Feature Film category have received their group assignments for this year’s initial round of voting, with 89 films included on the seven lists that the Academy has sent to members.
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
- 10/31/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Iranian drama film “Empty Nets” was Monday named winner of the Aff Feature Fiction Award at the Adelaide Film Festival. Directed by Behrooz Karamizade, it collected an A$10,000 cash prize.
The festival’s competition section is one of the oldest in Australia and seeks to reward bold filmmaking. This year’s competition mostly comprised films by directors making their feature debuts. They included “Blaga’s Lessons,” from Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev; “Embryo Larva Butterfly,” by Greek-Cypriot writer-director Kyros Papavassiliou; “On The Go,” from directors Julia de Castro and Maria Gisele Royo; “Sahela,” directed by Australia’s Raghuvir Joshi; and “You’ll Never Find Me,” from Adelaide-based duo Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell.
“’Empty Nets’ is a searing portrait of the bleak socioeconomic reality for young people without family money in contemporary Iran, distinguished by atmospheric visuals, an evocative sense of place, stirring lead performances and a powerful grasp of the sea as...
The festival’s competition section is one of the oldest in Australia and seeks to reward bold filmmaking. This year’s competition mostly comprised films by directors making their feature debuts. They included “Blaga’s Lessons,” from Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev; “Embryo Larva Butterfly,” by Greek-Cypriot writer-director Kyros Papavassiliou; “On The Go,” from directors Julia de Castro and Maria Gisele Royo; “Sahela,” directed by Australia’s Raghuvir Joshi; and “You’ll Never Find Me,” from Adelaide-based duo Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell.
“’Empty Nets’ is a searing portrait of the bleak socioeconomic reality for young people without family money in contemporary Iran, distinguished by atmospheric visuals, an evocative sense of place, stirring lead performances and a powerful grasp of the sea as...
- 10/23/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The jury included ‘The Royal Hotel’ director Kitty Green.
Behrooz Karamizade’s Empty Nets and Ibrahim Nash’at’s documentary Hollywoodgate have scooped the top prizes at Adelaide Film Festival (Aff)
Empty Nets received the Aff Feature Fiction Award, with Iranian-born German filmmaker Karamizade winning a cash prize of $6,300.
The Germany-Iran co-production centres on a young couple fighting for the survival of their relationship in the forbidding world of contemporary Iran. The film previously won the special jury prize at Karlovy Vary and premiered at Filmfest München.
The five-strong jury, which included filmmakers Kitty Green and Goran Stolevski, described the film...
Behrooz Karamizade’s Empty Nets and Ibrahim Nash’at’s documentary Hollywoodgate have scooped the top prizes at Adelaide Film Festival (Aff)
Empty Nets received the Aff Feature Fiction Award, with Iranian-born German filmmaker Karamizade winning a cash prize of $6,300.
The Germany-Iran co-production centres on a young couple fighting for the survival of their relationship in the forbidding world of contemporary Iran. The film previously won the special jury prize at Karlovy Vary and premiered at Filmfest München.
The five-strong jury, which included filmmakers Kitty Green and Goran Stolevski, described the film...
- 10/23/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Three festival-goers will choose the winner of the international series competition.
Switzerland’s Geneva International Film Festival (Giff) has unveiled the programme for its 29th edition, with festival hits including Polite Society and The Sweet East, and a new format for its international series competition.
The festival includes 110 works, of which 53 are films, 27 are series, 28 are immersive experiences and two are installations.
Scroll down for the feature and series competition titles
Giff includes four competition sections: international feature, international series, international immersive and the convergent competition – the latter section featuring projects from all three formats.
All 12 titles in the international...
Switzerland’s Geneva International Film Festival (Giff) has unveiled the programme for its 29th edition, with festival hits including Polite Society and The Sweet East, and a new format for its international series competition.
The festival includes 110 works, of which 53 are films, 27 are series, 28 are immersive experiences and two are installations.
Scroll down for the feature and series competition titles
Giff includes four competition sections: international feature, international series, international immersive and the convergent competition – the latter section featuring projects from all three formats.
All 12 titles in the international...
- 10/12/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
A pair of noteworthy Cannes titles in Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest and Tran Anh Hung’s The Pot-au-Feu, some Locarno items such as Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World but with a major slew of Venice-preemed films are part of the 21 newly added titles to be considered for a whole bunch of prizes for the upcoming European Film Awards. The European Film Academy have now set their 4600 members with a batch of 40 films competing for various prizes at the ceremony that will be set for December 9th in Berlin. Here are the added films:
Animal – Sofia Exarchou (Greece/Austria/Bulgaria/Romania/Cyprus)
Blaga’s Lessons – Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria/Germany)
Club Zero – Jessica Hausner (Austria/UK/Germany/France/Denmark/Qatar)
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World – Radu Jude (Romania/Luxembourg/France/Croatia)
Excursion – Una Gunjak (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia...
Animal – Sofia Exarchou (Greece/Austria/Bulgaria/Romania/Cyprus)
Blaga’s Lessons – Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria/Germany)
Club Zero – Jessica Hausner (Austria/UK/Germany/France/Denmark/Qatar)
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World – Radu Jude (Romania/Luxembourg/France/Croatia)
Excursion – Una Gunjak (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia...
- 9/27/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
40 feature films now selected for Academy’s 2023 shortlist.
The European Film Academy has added a further 21 features to its shortlist for the 2023 European Film Awards, including Cannes premieres The Zone of Interest and Club Zero and Venice competition titles The Green Border and Io Capitano.
The shortlist for the European Film Awards now comprises 40 features. The first 19 titles titles in the running for the 2023 European Film Awards were unveiled in August and included Anatomy Of A Fall, How To Have Sex, The Old Oak and Firebrand.
The European Film Academy said that more than 40% of all selected films are directed by women.
The European Film Academy has added a further 21 features to its shortlist for the 2023 European Film Awards, including Cannes premieres The Zone of Interest and Club Zero and Venice competition titles The Green Border and Io Capitano.
The shortlist for the European Film Awards now comprises 40 features. The first 19 titles titles in the running for the 2023 European Film Awards were unveiled in August and included Anatomy Of A Fall, How To Have Sex, The Old Oak and Firebrand.
The European Film Academy said that more than 40% of all selected films are directed by women.
- 9/27/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Predicting the eventual five Oscar nominees for Best International Feature is made difficult by the three-step process that begins after the October 2, 2023 deadline for countries to submit entries. To be part of the selection process for this category, which was called Best Foreign Language Film before 2020, requires a great deal of dedication. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscars Best International Feature predictions.)
In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.
These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...
In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.
These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...
- 9/25/2023
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
The Oscars Best International Feature Film race landed two major frontrunners on the same day on Thursday, with the United Kingdom submitting Jonathan Glazer’s chilling World War II drama “The Zone of Interest” and France following with Tran Anh Hung’s rapturous “The Taste of Things” in the one-film-per-country competition.
“The Zone of Interest,” set among German families who live on the outskirts of Auschwitz, won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and won raves as one of the most original and unnerving films to deal with the Holocaust since “Son of Saul,” which won the Oscar in this category eight years ago. It was considered the obvious choice for the U.K. to submit.
France, on the other hand, had an extremely difficult choice between Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” starring Sandra Huller as a woman on trial for murdering her husband,...
“The Zone of Interest,” set among German families who live on the outskirts of Auschwitz, won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and won raves as one of the most original and unnerving films to deal with the Holocaust since “Son of Saul,” which won the Oscar in this category eight years ago. It was considered the obvious choice for the U.K. to submit.
France, on the other hand, had an extremely difficult choice between Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” starring Sandra Huller as a woman on trial for murdering her husband,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Stars Acting Up At Busan
Oscar-winning Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung will headline the Actors’ House section of the upcoming Busan International Film Festival, it was announced on Thursday.
Introduced in 2021, Actors’ House is a special series that connects audiences and film enthusiasts with iconic actors from the current generation through its in-depth discussions. “There’s much anticipation to hear her words of wisdom, as she’s known for her insightful observations,” said the festival.
Others this year include: Han Hyo-joo, Song Joong-ki and Korean-American actor and author John Cho. Han is known for performances in 2015’s “The Beauty Inside,” “W” (2016), “Happiness (2021), and last year’s “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure.” She will be in Busan with Netflix-backed “Believer 2” and recently appeared in the Disney+ original series, “Moving.”
Song, who hosted the 2021 Busan festival’s opening ceremony, was recently seen in “Hopeless,” one of the handful of Korean films in Cannes this year.
Oscar-winning Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung will headline the Actors’ House section of the upcoming Busan International Film Festival, it was announced on Thursday.
Introduced in 2021, Actors’ House is a special series that connects audiences and film enthusiasts with iconic actors from the current generation through its in-depth discussions. “There’s much anticipation to hear her words of wisdom, as she’s known for her insightful observations,” said the festival.
Others this year include: Han Hyo-joo, Song Joong-ki and Korean-American actor and author John Cho. Han is known for performances in 2015’s “The Beauty Inside,” “W” (2016), “Happiness (2021), and last year’s “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure.” She will be in Busan with Netflix-backed “Believer 2” and recently appeared in the Disney+ original series, “Moving.”
Song, who hosted the 2021 Busan festival’s opening ceremony, was recently seen in “Hopeless,” one of the handful of Korean films in Cannes this year.
- 9/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/11/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Stephan Komandarev’s Blaga’s Lessons (Уроците на Блага), which took the Grand Prix in the Crystal Globe Competition at 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as well as the Best Actress Award for its star Eli Skorcheva, will be Bulgaria’s International Film submission for the 2024 Academy Awards.
The country’s selection committee picked the dark contemporary drama by an unanimous decision Thursday. The choice makes Komandarev the Bulgarian director with the most Foreign Language/International Film Oscar entries, three.
You can watch a trailer below.
He holds the distinction of directing the only Bulgarian submission to make the category’s short list with the crowd pleaser The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner in 2009. His migrant drama The Judgement competed in 2015.
Blaga’s Lessons, a Bulgarian-German co-production, is the third film in Komandarev’s trilogy about his country’s social ills which he embarked on following The Judgement.
The country’s selection committee picked the dark contemporary drama by an unanimous decision Thursday. The choice makes Komandarev the Bulgarian director with the most Foreign Language/International Film Oscar entries, three.
You can watch a trailer below.
He holds the distinction of directing the only Bulgarian submission to make the category’s short list with the crowd pleaser The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner in 2009. His migrant drama The Judgement competed in 2015.
Blaga’s Lessons, a Bulgarian-German co-production, is the third film in Komandarev’s trilogy about his country’s social ills which he embarked on following The Judgement.
- 9/8/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a welcome sight for any longtime visitors returning to Sarajevo, the white-jacketed waiters circling the terrace of the majestic, Austro-Hungarian-built Hotel Europe as film and TV industry professionals parse scripts and close deals amid the espresso-fueled chatter. Around them a haze of cigarette smoke hovers like the mist that settles each morning over the green hills that ring this scenic Bosnian city.
Each summer hundreds of industry guests from around the globe descend on the historic, 140-year-old Hotel Europe, which survived two World Wars and the shelling that razed Sarajevo in the 1990s and serves as the de facto hub of industry events during the Sarajevo Film Festival. Twenty years after its launch in a city still emerging from the rubble of a brutal, four-year siege, CineLink Industry Days has grown into the leading film and TV industry event in the Balkan region — a success story as improbable...
Each summer hundreds of industry guests from around the globe descend on the historic, 140-year-old Hotel Europe, which survived two World Wars and the shelling that razed Sarajevo in the 1990s and serves as the de facto hub of industry events during the Sarajevo Film Festival. Twenty years after its launch in a city still emerging from the rubble of a brutal, four-year siege, CineLink Industry Days has grown into the leading film and TV industry event in the Balkan region — a success story as improbable...
- 8/12/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The lessons learned in this pitch-black German-Bulgarian co-production are very grim indeed, a social-realist drama that takes an unexpectedly shocking turn at its harrowing climax. The film’s recent win at Karlovy Vary, where it took the Grand Prix in the Crystal Globe Competition, should give it a welcome boost on the arthouse circuit, but the unwary are warned that Stephan Komandarev’s latest feature packs a punch not seen since Lars von Trier or Michael Haneke in their provocative prime.
Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a widow, grieving after the recent death of her beloved husband Hristo, a former policeman. After saving up, she plans to buy a plot of land to bury him in, 40 days after his passing, with a custom-made double gravestone for them both. Hristo “believed in Lenin more than Jesus,” but Blaga’s desire to substitute a cross for a red star is expressly forbidden in Bulgarian law.
Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a widow, grieving after the recent death of her beloved husband Hristo, a former policeman. After saving up, she plans to buy a plot of land to bury him in, 40 days after his passing, with a custom-made double gravestone for them both. Hristo “believed in Lenin more than Jesus,” but Blaga’s desire to substitute a cross for a red star is expressly forbidden in Bulgarian law.
- 7/18/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Russell Crowe is standing on a stage, playing an electric guitar. He’s singing “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, accompanied by a trumpetist, a drummer, someone at a keyboard, another guitarist, and even four backing singers. He starts rocking out to the instrumental section. The crowd, full of Czech film industry insiders, international critics, and fans, is undoubtedly entertained.
This is not yet another remake of “A Star Is Born,” but simply the kind of event you can expect to witness at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, taking place every summer in the Czech city and welcoming talent from all over the world.
First established in 1946, Kviff went through a transformation in the early 1990s following the fall of communism. Karel Och, working at the festival since 2001 and its artistic director since 2011, thinks this shift explains how spectators themselves have changed.
“They didn’t really react at Q&a’s,...
This is not yet another remake of “A Star Is Born,” but simply the kind of event you can expect to witness at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, taking place every summer in the Czech city and welcoming talent from all over the world.
First established in 1946, Kviff went through a transformation in the early 1990s following the fall of communism. Karel Och, working at the festival since 2001 and its artistic director since 2011, thinks this shift explains how spectators themselves have changed.
“They didn’t really react at Q&a’s,...
- 7/12/2023
- by Manuela Lazic
- Indiewire
Blaga's Lessons Photo: Courtesy of Kviff The main prize at the 57th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has been awarded to a Bulgarian-German production Blaga’s Lessons, directed by Stephan Komandarev.
The film, a riveting social thriller in which a widow takes matters into her own hands after falling victim to a telephone scammer, received Grand Prix Crystal Globe. Eli Skorcheva was named best actress for her role in the film.
Blaga’s Lessons was also the choice of the Ecumenical Jury who have it their grand prize.
The special jury prize has won by Empty Nets, directed by Behrooz Karamizade, and is an Iranian-German co-production.The powerful drama deals with the economic realities of life for young people in Iran through the tale of a waiter who loses his job and his forced to take an arduous alternative as a fisherman.
Fremont Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute...
The film, a riveting social thriller in which a widow takes matters into her own hands after falling victim to a telephone scammer, received Grand Prix Crystal Globe. Eli Skorcheva was named best actress for her role in the film.
Blaga’s Lessons was also the choice of the Ecumenical Jury who have it their grand prize.
The special jury prize has won by Empty Nets, directed by Behrooz Karamizade, and is an Iranian-German co-production.The powerful drama deals with the economic realities of life for young people in Iran through the tale of a waiter who loses his job and his forced to take an arduous alternative as a fisherman.
Fremont Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute...
- 7/8/2023
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival organization has announced winners from the 2023 event, with the Bulgaria/Germany co-production “Blaga’s Lessons” (“Urotcite na Blaga”) and the Germany/Iran co-production “Empty Nets” (“Toorhaye khali”) taking home top honors.
“Blaga’s lessons” won the Grand Prix Award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize for director Stephan Komandarev, to be split with the film’s producer.
Meanwhile, “Empty Nets” won the Special Jury Prize, securing a $15,00 prize for its director, Behrooz Karamizade, also to be split with the film’s producer.
Other winners include Best Director for Babak Jalali for the American production “Fremont,” and the French entry, “The Edge of the Blade,” directed by Vincent Perez, which won the The Pravo Audience Award.
Read on for the complete winner’s list.
Also Read:
‘We Have Never Been Modern’ Review: Czech Drama Looks at Sexuality Through the Lens of 1937
Crystal Globe Competition
Jury members:
Dora Bouchoucha,...
“Blaga’s lessons” won the Grand Prix Award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize for director Stephan Komandarev, to be split with the film’s producer.
Meanwhile, “Empty Nets” won the Special Jury Prize, securing a $15,00 prize for its director, Behrooz Karamizade, also to be split with the film’s producer.
Other winners include Best Director for Babak Jalali for the American production “Fremont,” and the French entry, “The Edge of the Blade,” directed by Vincent Perez, which won the The Pravo Audience Award.
Read on for the complete winner’s list.
Also Read:
‘We Have Never Been Modern’ Review: Czech Drama Looks at Sexuality Through the Lens of 1937
Crystal Globe Competition
Jury members:
Dora Bouchoucha,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 30 – July 8) came to a close this evening with an awards ceremony that bestowed two key prizes to contemporary Bulgarian drama Blaga’s Lessons (Urotcite Na Blaga) by director Stephan Komandarev.
The third film in the director’s trilogy about his country’s social ills focuses on an old woman duped by a telephone scam.
Also among winners on the night were Vincent Perez’s The Edge of the Blade (Une Affaire D’honneur), which took home the audience award, and filmmaker Babak Jalali, who took home the best director prize for the film Fremont.
There were two prizes on the night for Ernst De Geer’s The Hypnosis (Hypnosen) while the top industry award of 90,000 euros went to Czech film I’m Not Everything I Want to Be, which is currently in post.
As previously revealed, Russell Crowe...
The third film in the director’s trilogy about his country’s social ills focuses on an old woman duped by a telephone scam.
Also among winners on the night were Vincent Perez’s The Edge of the Blade (Une Affaire D’honneur), which took home the audience award, and filmmaker Babak Jalali, who took home the best director prize for the film Fremont.
There were two prizes on the night for Ernst De Geer’s The Hypnosis (Hypnosen) while the top industry award of 90,000 euros went to Czech film I’m Not Everything I Want to Be, which is currently in post.
As previously revealed, Russell Crowe...
- 7/8/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Stephan Komandarev’s Blaga’s Lessons, a Bulgarian/German co-production, has been chosen as the winner of the top prize — the Crystal Globe, which comes with a $25,000 prize — of the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The festival announced the winners during its closing ceremony on Saturday. The film’s star, Eli Skorcheva, was named best actress. (See THR‘s review of the film here.)
Meanwhile, the top Czech festival’s special jury prize, which comes with a $15,000 check, was awarded to Behrooz Karamizade’s German-Iranian co-production Empty Nets (see THR’s review). Its audience award went to Vincent Perez’s The Edge of the Blade, a French film (see THR’s interview with Perez), and a special jury mention was designated for Cyril Aris’ Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano, a German-Lebanese entry (see THR’s review).
Babak Jalali was honored as best director for the American film Fremont,...
Meanwhile, the top Czech festival’s special jury prize, which comes with a $15,000 check, was awarded to Behrooz Karamizade’s German-Iranian co-production Empty Nets (see THR’s review). Its audience award went to Vincent Perez’s The Edge of the Blade, a French film (see THR’s interview with Perez), and a special jury mention was designated for Cyril Aris’ Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano, a German-Lebanese entry (see THR’s review).
Babak Jalali was honored as best director for the American film Fremont,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Georg Szalai and Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Prizes also for ‘The Hypnosis’, ‘Fremont’.
Stephan Komandarev’s Bulgarian-German drama Blaga’s Lessons led the winners at the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff), taking three prizes including the Crystal Globe Grand Prix.
The eighth feature from Bulgarian filmmaker Komandarev also received the best actress prize, for Eli Skorcheva; and a non-statutory Grand Prize from the ecumenical jury.
The main Grand Prix from the Crystal Globe jury consists of $25,000, to be shared equally between the director and producers, the latter of which are Komandarev and Katya Trichkova.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Blaga’s Lessons...
Stephan Komandarev’s Bulgarian-German drama Blaga’s Lessons led the winners at the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff), taking three prizes including the Crystal Globe Grand Prix.
The eighth feature from Bulgarian filmmaker Komandarev also received the best actress prize, for Eli Skorcheva; and a non-statutory Grand Prize from the ecumenical jury.
The main Grand Prix from the Crystal Globe jury consists of $25,000, to be shared equally between the director and producers, the latter of which are Komandarev and Katya Trichkova.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Blaga’s Lessons...
- 7/8/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Bulgarian crime story “Blaga’s Lessons” by Stephan Komandarev scored the top prize and $25,000 at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Saturday, capping a week of celebrating art film, stars and bold global work.
Calling his film a tribute to his parents’ generation, many of whom have become victims of the rough transition to capitalism, Komandarev accepted his Crystal Globe from actor Robin Wright and fest president Jiri Bartoska.
Wright, on winning the fest president’s prize moments earlier, said festgoers in the Czech spa town have shown a love for experiencing cinemas onscreen, urging them to keep up that passion as streaming platforms erode cinema audiences that have still not fully rebounded from pandemic days. “I thank all of you for supporting cinema. Let’s bring it back – Covid put a bit of downer on that.”
With sold out screenings ranging from Russell Crowe introducing “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
Calling his film a tribute to his parents’ generation, many of whom have become victims of the rough transition to capitalism, Komandarev accepted his Crystal Globe from actor Robin Wright and fest president Jiri Bartoska.
Wright, on winning the fest president’s prize moments earlier, said festgoers in the Czech spa town have shown a love for experiencing cinemas onscreen, urging them to keep up that passion as streaming platforms erode cinema audiences that have still not fully rebounded from pandemic days. “I thank all of you for supporting cinema. Let’s bring it back – Covid put a bit of downer on that.”
With sold out screenings ranging from Russell Crowe introducing “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
- 7/8/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
In one fell swoop, 70-year-old widow Blaga Naumova goes from being cash-strapped to cash-stripped. All her life, she’s carefully pinched pennies to accumulate a modest cushion of life savings that she’s nonetheless never been sensible enough to put in the bank; decades of scrimping amount to naught when, in a moment of terrorized madness, she caves to the threats of a phone scammer and quite literally throws her very small fortune out the window. How could you be so stupid, everyone asks her, and many in the audience are likely to echo them. But Stephan Komandarev’s damning, despairing, riveting thriller “Blaga’s Lessons” sees things another way: In a post-communist Bulgaria where women like Blaga are legally bled dry by cowboys and corrupt institutions on all sides, how is she supposed to see the difference?
Premiering in the main competition at Karlovy Vary, this is tense, tough-minded...
Premiering in the main competition at Karlovy Vary, this is tense, tough-minded...
- 7/5/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
In the opening scene of Stephan Komandarev’s harrowing drama, Blaga’s Lessons, an elderly Bulgarian woman is making a down payment on a burial plot for her recently deceased husband, a former police officer. She promises the somewhat sleazy cemetery salesman that she’ll get the rest of the money to him shortly. Since she’s a retired teacher living on a meager pension, it’s no small purchase, especially since this particular gravesite is apparently in hot demand.
But before she can finalize the deal, the 70-year-old Blaga (Eli Skorcheva, delivering a magnificent turn) falls victim to a terrible telephone scam. In a traumatic sequence, she receives a call from a man saying he’s a police officer and that she’s being targeted by a gang of thieves. He instructs her to place all her cash and even her wedding ring in a plastic bag and throw...
But before she can finalize the deal, the 70-year-old Blaga (Eli Skorcheva, delivering a magnificent turn) falls victim to a terrible telephone scam. In a traumatic sequence, she receives a call from a man saying he’s a police officer and that she’s being targeted by a gang of thieves. He instructs her to place all her cash and even her wedding ring in a plastic bag and throw...
- 7/4/2023
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film about a pensioner who is victim of a phone scam world premieres in Karlovy Vary’s Crystal Globe Competition.
Gaining international prominence with his 2008 festival hit The World Is Big And Salvation Lurks Around The Corner, director Stephan Komandarev has continued to make both fiction and documentary features that address inequality and injustice in his native Bulgaria.
His 2017 film Directions – a drama about the experiences of various taxi drivers over the course of one night – premiered in Un Certain Regard, while 2019’s Rounds examined the work of the police over the course of a day and a night. The...
Gaining international prominence with his 2008 festival hit The World Is Big And Salvation Lurks Around The Corner, director Stephan Komandarev has continued to make both fiction and documentary features that address inequality and injustice in his native Bulgaria.
His 2017 film Directions – a drama about the experiences of various taxi drivers over the course of one night – premiered in Un Certain Regard, while 2019’s Rounds examined the work of the police over the course of a day and a night. The...
- 7/2/2023
- by Laurence Boyce
- ScreenDaily
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which takes place in an elegant spa resort in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, is set to get political during its 57th edition, but in a subtle way.
“I am not sure if you can even use the word ‘subtle’ when talking about politics, but it doesn’t always have to be in your face. You can be political by showing the existential struggles of an elderly lady who gets framed by some crooks,” says artistic director Karel Och, mentioning Stephan Komandarev’s “Blaga’s Lessons,” which will vie for the Crystal Globe.
While the main competition features many stories about people trying to return home or simply find their place in the world, he adds, the festival will also celebrate Iran with a separate section “Another Birth. Iranian Cinema Here and Now.” “Before our consultant Lorenzo Esposito came up with this name,...
“I am not sure if you can even use the word ‘subtle’ when talking about politics, but it doesn’t always have to be in your face. You can be political by showing the existential struggles of an elderly lady who gets framed by some crooks,” says artistic director Karel Och, mentioning Stephan Komandarev’s “Blaga’s Lessons,” which will vie for the Crystal Globe.
While the main competition features many stories about people trying to return home or simply find their place in the world, he adds, the festival will also celebrate Iran with a separate section “Another Birth. Iranian Cinema Here and Now.” “Before our consultant Lorenzo Esposito came up with this name,...
- 6/30/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Bulgarian multi-hyphenate Stephan Komandarev completes his trilogy on social problems and moral ills in contemporary Bulgaria with “Blaga’s Lessons,” world premiering in Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Crystal Globe competition. Heretic is the sales agent.
After “Directions” (2017), which centers on tough times for some Sofia taxi drivers over a long and eventful night, and “Rounds” (2019), about police officers patrolling the capital, Komandarev and his co-writer Simeon Ventsislavov use an older woman duped by a telephone scam to look at issues afflicting their parents’ generation. Komandarev says: “The Bulgarian pensioners turned out to be the real victims of the so-called ‘transition’ (the time from 1989 to today.) These people, who have worked and created persistently all their lives, have lost basic safety and security, normal food, adequate medical care, heating, etc.”
The protagonist Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a retired Bulgarian language and literature teacher. A recent widow, she’s worried about how...
After “Directions” (2017), which centers on tough times for some Sofia taxi drivers over a long and eventful night, and “Rounds” (2019), about police officers patrolling the capital, Komandarev and his co-writer Simeon Ventsislavov use an older woman duped by a telephone scam to look at issues afflicting their parents’ generation. Komandarev says: “The Bulgarian pensioners turned out to be the real victims of the so-called ‘transition’ (the time from 1989 to today.) These people, who have worked and created persistently all their lives, have lost basic safety and security, normal food, adequate medical care, heating, etc.”
The protagonist Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a retired Bulgarian language and literature teacher. A recent widow, she’s worried about how...
- 6/28/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Komandarev’s 2017 feature Directions premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Heretic has acquired world sales rights to Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s suspense drama Blaga’s Lessons which world premieres next month at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Komandarev’s 2017 feature Directions premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. His film The Judgement was Bulgaria’s official entry for the 2016 Oscars, while The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner was shortlisted for the Oscar’s best foreign language film category in 2010.
Blaga’s Lessons is the story of a retired, recently widowed teacher, played by Elie Skorcheva,...
Heretic has acquired world sales rights to Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s suspense drama Blaga’s Lessons which world premieres next month at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Komandarev’s 2017 feature Directions premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. His film The Judgement was Bulgaria’s official entry for the 2016 Oscars, while The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner was shortlisted for the Oscar’s best foreign language film category in 2010.
Blaga’s Lessons is the story of a retired, recently widowed teacher, played by Elie Skorcheva,...
- 6/8/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Komandarev’s 2017 feature Directions premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Heretic has acquired world sales rights to Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s suspense drama Blaga’s Lessons which world premieres next month at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Komandarev’s 2017 feature Directions premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. His film The Judgement was Bulgaria’s official entry for the 2016 Oscars, while The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner was shortlisted for the Oscar’s best foreign language film category in 2010.
Blaga’s Lessons is the story of a retired, recently widowed teacher, played by Elie Skorcheva,...
Heretic has acquired world sales rights to Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s suspense drama Blaga’s Lessons which world premieres next month at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Komandarev’s 2017 feature Directions premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. His film The Judgement was Bulgaria’s official entry for the 2016 Oscars, while The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner was shortlisted for the Oscar’s best foreign language film category in 2010.
Blaga’s Lessons is the story of a retired, recently widowed teacher, played by Elie Skorcheva,...
- 6/8/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Spanish actress and writer Itaso Irano with her first feature as a director, The Girls Are Alright in Crystal Globe Competition at Karlovy Vary Photo: Courtesy of Kviff Patricia Clarkson will be on the Crystal Globe Jury in Karlovy Vary Photo: Courtesy of Kviff As a pointer to the way world cinema production is bouncing back after the pandemic the selectors at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival were deluged with more than 2000 submissions for the 57th edition in the Czech spa town.
Karel Och, Kviff’s artistic director, said: “It has been an incredible adventure for the programming team to get acquainted with this year’s state of the arthouse cinema via almost 2000 submissions. We are proud of the selection and simply cannot wait to share it with the audience.”
The main Crystal Globe competition has new features from a varied range of countries and directors including the thriller...
Karel Och, Kviff’s artistic director, said: “It has been an incredible adventure for the programming team to get acquainted with this year’s state of the arthouse cinema via almost 2000 submissions. We are proud of the selection and simply cannot wait to share it with the audience.”
The main Crystal Globe competition has new features from a varied range of countries and directors including the thriller...
- 5/30/2023
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 57th edition includes new films by directors Pascal Plante, Stephan Komandarev, Tinatin Kajrishvili and Babak Jalali.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has unveiled the official selection for its 57th edition, including new features by Pascal Plante, Stephan Komandarev and Tinatin Kajrishvili.
The festival, which runs from June 30-July 8 in the Czech spa town, has nine world premieres and two international premieres in its main Crystal Globe Competition.
Canadian director Plante, whose Nadia Butterfly was in Cannes’ Official Selection in 2020 and Fake Tattoos played in the Berlinale’s Generation strand in 2018, world premieres arthouse thriller Red Rooms about a woman...
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has unveiled the official selection for its 57th edition, including new features by Pascal Plante, Stephan Komandarev and Tinatin Kajrishvili.
The festival, which runs from June 30-July 8 in the Czech spa town, has nine world premieres and two international premieres in its main Crystal Globe Competition.
Canadian director Plante, whose Nadia Butterfly was in Cannes’ Official Selection in 2020 and Fake Tattoos played in the Berlinale’s Generation strand in 2018, world premieres arthouse thriller Red Rooms about a woman...
- 5/30/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, Eastern and Central Europe’s leading cinema event, has unveiled its lineup, which includes new works by Pascal Plante, Stephan Komandarev, Tinatin Kajrishvili and Babak Jalali in the Crystal Globes Competition. They will vie against films by up-and-comers Ernst De Geer, Itsaso Arana and Cyril Aris. The section has nine world and two international premieres. Oscar-nominated actor Patricia Clarkson is one of the jury members.
The Proxima Competition, which made its debut at last year’s Kviff, presents what the festival defines as “bold works,” directed by young filmmakers and renowned auteurs alike. The section comprises of 10 world and two international premieres. The festival says “playfulness, courage and freshness can be found” in the new films by Swiss auteur Thomas Imbach, Poland’s Olga Chajdas, Cyprus-born Kyros Papavassiliou, French filmmaker Émilie Brisavoine and Romanian documentarist Alexandru Solomon, among others.
Eight films will play in the Special Screenings section,...
The Proxima Competition, which made its debut at last year’s Kviff, presents what the festival defines as “bold works,” directed by young filmmakers and renowned auteurs alike. The section comprises of 10 world and two international premieres. The festival says “playfulness, courage and freshness can be found” in the new films by Swiss auteur Thomas Imbach, Poland’s Olga Chajdas, Cyprus-born Kyros Papavassiliou, French filmmaker Émilie Brisavoine and Romanian documentarist Alexandru Solomon, among others.
Eight films will play in the Special Screenings section,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival has unveiled its competition lineup for its 57th edition, set to run in the bucolic Czech spa town from June 30 to July 8.
Among this year’s competition highlights are Fremont, from Iranian-born, London-based director Babak Jalali, a dramedy based around Donya, a former Afghan translator for U.S. troops who now works in a fortune cookie factory in Fremont, USA. Empty Nets, from Iranian filmmaker Behrooz Karamizade, a love story set in a small fishing village in contemporary Iran, is also in the running for the festival’s Crystal Globe honor for best competition film.
Outside the competition, Karlovy Vary this year has put a focus on independent Iranian cinema, with a selection of recent works by directors working outside the Tehran regime.
Other 2023 competition highlights include Red Rooms, a Canadian darknet thriller from director Pascal Plante, Itsaso Arana’s Spanish drama The Girls Are Alright...
Among this year’s competition highlights are Fremont, from Iranian-born, London-based director Babak Jalali, a dramedy based around Donya, a former Afghan translator for U.S. troops who now works in a fortune cookie factory in Fremont, USA. Empty Nets, from Iranian filmmaker Behrooz Karamizade, a love story set in a small fishing village in contemporary Iran, is also in the running for the festival’s Crystal Globe honor for best competition film.
Outside the competition, Karlovy Vary this year has put a focus on independent Iranian cinema, with a selection of recent works by directors working outside the Tehran regime.
Other 2023 competition highlights include Red Rooms, a Canadian darknet thriller from director Pascal Plante, Itsaso Arana’s Spanish drama The Girls Are Alright...
- 5/30/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/26/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Projects from Greece and Ukraine lead co-production awards.
Ukrainian drama Cherry Blossoms from director Marysia Nikitiuk has picked up one of the top prizes at Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry platform CineLink, which handed out its awards last night (August 18).
See below for full list of winners
The project was among 12 presented at the CineLink Co-Production Market and won the Eurimages Special Co-Production Development Award of €20,000.
Cherry Blossoms centres on a man and girl who escape territories in Ukraine occupied by Russia and meet a Bosnian woman who survived the Balkan wars as a child. Nikitiuk’s first feature, When The Trees Fall,...
Ukrainian drama Cherry Blossoms from director Marysia Nikitiuk has picked up one of the top prizes at Sarajevo Film Festival’s industry platform CineLink, which handed out its awards last night (August 18).
See below for full list of winners
The project was among 12 presented at the CineLink Co-Production Market and won the Eurimages Special Co-Production Development Award of €20,000.
Cherry Blossoms centres on a man and girl who escape territories in Ukraine occupied by Russia and meet a Bosnian woman who survived the Balkan wars as a child. Nikitiuk’s first feature, When The Trees Fall,...
- 8/19/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Festival to close with Pjer Zalica’s ‘May Labor Day’.
New film projects from Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev and Renen Schorr, the former head of Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel School for Film and Television, are among the 12 features selected for Sarajevo’s CineLink Work In Progress section.
The festival has also programmed the world premiere of Bosnian-Herzegovinian director Pjer Zalica’s May Labor Day as its closing film, on August 19.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
The Work In Progress strand consists of 10 fiction and two documentary projects, which will be presented to industry professionals including funders, sales agents,...
New film projects from Bulgarian filmmaker Stephan Komandarev and Renen Schorr, the former head of Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel School for Film and Television, are among the 12 features selected for Sarajevo’s CineLink Work In Progress section.
The festival has also programmed the world premiere of Bosnian-Herzegovinian director Pjer Zalica’s May Labor Day as its closing film, on August 19.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
The Work In Progress strand consists of 10 fiction and two documentary projects, which will be presented to industry professionals including funders, sales agents,...
- 7/29/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Full list of 15 projects from emerging filmmakers seeking completion funding revealed.
Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s drama project Made In EU and Egyptian Ahmed Fawzi Saleh’s Hamlet From The Slums are among 15 projects selected for the 2022 L’Atelier co-production forum, set to be held during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Part of Cannes’ Cinefondation film development initiative, L’Atelier was launched in 2005 to support emerging filmmakers, from newcomers to high-profile names, who are offered expert advice and the opportunity to meet potential co-production partners and funding sources during the festival.
This year’s projects include Made In EU, a...
Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s drama project Made In EU and Egyptian Ahmed Fawzi Saleh’s Hamlet From The Slums are among 15 projects selected for the 2022 L’Atelier co-production forum, set to be held during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Part of Cannes’ Cinefondation film development initiative, L’Atelier was launched in 2005 to support emerging filmmakers, from newcomers to high-profile names, who are offered expert advice and the opportunity to meet potential co-production partners and funding sources during the festival.
This year’s projects include Made In EU, a...
- 3/22/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
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