The film set in the 1890s shows that the Russian influence on the region has not changed in the last 130 years. Bulgarian director Svetoslav Ovcharov, who has made a name for himself by directing both period dramas and historical documentaries, as well as by writing recent Bulgarian successes such as Thirst, Sister and Irina, is currently in early post-production with the period drama The Bet. The project is being staged by Bulgaria’s Omega Films, represented by producer Svetla Tsotsorkova, and by Romanian outfit Avva Mmix Studio, represented by Andreea Dumitrescu. The screenplay, written by Ovcharov, is set in Sofia in the 1890s. The story centres on the power struggle between the Bulgarian prime minister (Zachary Baharov) and a major (Assen Blatechki), who conspires with Russian forces against the Pm. The major gets a Romanian woman (Romanian actress Ofelia Popii) involved in this conspiracy, a lady whom both he and.
The drama is directed by Mexico’s Fernandez Valadez
Mexican director Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features has won the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos for best film at Greece’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) which took place entirely online from November 5-15. The award is a cash prize of £15,000.
The Mexico–Spain co-production previously won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Award at Sundance earlier this year followed by more trophies at San Sebastian, Zurich and Morelia. The film is about on a mother searching for her missing son who tried to emigrate illegally to the US. Alpha Violet handles world sales.
Mexican director Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features has won the Golden Alexander-Theo Angelopoulos for best film at Greece’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) which took place entirely online from November 5-15. The award is a cash prize of £15,000.
The Mexico–Spain co-production previously won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Award at Sundance earlier this year followed by more trophies at San Sebastian, Zurich and Morelia. The film is about on a mother searching for her missing son who tried to emigrate illegally to the US. Alpha Violet handles world sales.
- 11/16/2020
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
The 21st European Film Festival also awarded trophies to Disco, Scandinavian Silence, Sister and Lara, while the Cineuropa Prize went to Open Door. The French title Twelve Thousand has been crowned Best Film at the 21st Lecce European Film Festival, an event which unfolded entirely online this year, between 31 October and 7 November, in full compliance with anti-Covid health regulations. Awarding the Golden Olive Tree to Nadège Trebal’s film, the jury presided over by Katriel Schory and composed of Beatrice Fiorentino, Mathilde Henrot, Antonio Saura and Mira Staleva also honoured Disco by Jorunn Myklebust Syversen for its screenplay and Scandinavian Silence by Martti Helde for its photography. Meanwhile, Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Sister and Jan-Ole Gerster’s Lara found themselves joint winners of the Special Jury Prize. The latter also claimed the Sngci Award for Best European Actor, courtesy of Corinna Harfouch. For its part, the Mario Verdone Award, which is now.
The other Golden Dolphins were shared between In the Shadows and Mavzer in the National Competition, while Ordinary People and Kodokushi won in the International Competition. Ferit Karol’s debut feature, Penny Bank, and Bulgarian director Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Sister emerged as the big winners of the Best National and International Film Awards, respectively, at the closing ceremony of the eighth Bosphorus Film Festival, which ran from 23-30 October while following all necessary measures to ensure social distancing. Emrah Kılıç, the artistic director of the Istanbul-based gathering, which screened a total of 60 films, stated that it was very important to organise the event physically and thanked the guests who attended. The National Feature Film Competition jury, led by Turkish writer-scriptwriter-producer Tarik Tufan, and also comprising director Ramin Matin, cinematographer Taner Tokgöz, and actresses Ipek Türktan Kaynak and Ecem Uzun, handed the 100,000 Tl Golden Dolphin to the director of Penny...
Projects in development include new films by Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina.
New films by Russia’s Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina, whose credits include Waterdrop, are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus (coco).
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in...
New films by Russia’s Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina, whose credits include Waterdrop, are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus (coco).
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in...
- 10/19/2020
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Projects in development include new films by Roman Bondarchuk and Robert Budina.
New films by Roman Bondarchuk (The Editorial Office) and Robert Budina (Waterdrop) are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus.
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in 2018.
Among the other...
New films by Roman Bondarchuk (The Editorial Office) and Robert Budina (Waterdrop) are among 13 projects in development to be presented at this year’s east-west co-production market connecting cottbus.
The event is normally held as part of FilmFestival Cottbus in Germany (November 3-8), but will run online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bondarchuk’s previous feature was Karlovy Vary 2018 East of the West title Volcano, whilst Budina’s last film A Shelter Among The Clouds premiered in competition at Tallinn, also in 2018.
Among the other...
- 10/19/2020
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Read about all the leading titles coming to cinemas.
France, opening Wednesday October 7
Mainstream French comedies and dramas topped the release schedule in France once again this week, in the absence of US studio titles.
The biggest release of the week was romantic comedy The ABCs Of Love for Ugc Distribution on some 480 prints. Rising star Vincent Dedienne plays a thirtysomething babysitter, who unwittingly gets entangled in the parent teacher association of the school that his nine-year-old charge attends but finds love along the way.
Other local features included long triangle drama Dreamchild, starring Jalil Lespert, Louise Bourgoin and Mélanie Doutey...
France, opening Wednesday October 7
Mainstream French comedies and dramas topped the release schedule in France once again this week, in the absence of US studio titles.
The biggest release of the week was romantic comedy The ABCs Of Love for Ugc Distribution on some 480 prints. Rising star Vincent Dedienne plays a thirtysomething babysitter, who unwittingly gets entangled in the parent teacher association of the school that his nine-year-old charge attends but finds love along the way.
Other local features included long triangle drama Dreamchild, starring Jalil Lespert, Louise Bourgoin and Mélanie Doutey...
- 10/9/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Melanie Goodfellow¬Gabriele Niola¬Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The 22nd edition of the co-production market is inviting 13 projects in development and six works in progress from Eastern Europe. The 22nd edition of the connecting cottbus co-production market once again confirms that creativity continues to blossom in the Eastern European film industry. Taking place online from 4-6 November, during FilmFestival Cottbus, the East-West co-production market has selected 13 new projects in development and six works in progress, hailing from 13 countries in Eastern Europe. Among the projects selected for cocoPITCH, which are mostly by first-time directors, are the upcoming works by Svetla Tsotsorkova (Sister), who also received the Special Pitch Award at FilmFestival Cottbus 2019; Gjorche Stavreski (Secret Ingredient); Roman Bondarchuk (Volcano); and Robert Budina (A Shelter Among Clouds). Furthermore, two projects were selected at coco’s partner events, and they are the debut features by Romanian filmmaker Paul Cioran, the winner of the Transilvania Pitch Stop - coco...
In today’s Global Bulletin, Poland makes its Oscars pick, Vis gets a new VP, Transilvania closes its ceremonies, the Barbican plans to reopen its doors, BlackBox Multimedia supports suicide prevention Npo Calm, and Studio 100 readies “SeaBelievers” for Mipcom.
Oscars
Poland has submitted Malgorzata Szumowska’s “Never Gonna Snow Again” as the country’s 2021 Oscar submission, making it the first country out the gate in this year’s Academy Awards race.
Set to premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, the comedy stars “Stranger Things” alum Alec Utgoff and “Ida” actress Agata Kulesza in the story of a Ukrainian masseuse in Poland who rises to cult-like status among wealthy clientele amassed while working in a gated community.
Szumowska, Polish cinematic royalty with several Berlin, European Film and Locarno awards — to list just a few — to her name, co-wrote the script with long-time collaborator Michal Englert. The two also produce along with Lava Films,...
Oscars
Poland has submitted Malgorzata Szumowska’s “Never Gonna Snow Again” as the country’s 2021 Oscar submission, making it the first country out the gate in this year’s Academy Awards race.
Set to premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, the comedy stars “Stranger Things” alum Alec Utgoff and “Ida” actress Agata Kulesza in the story of a Ukrainian masseuse in Poland who rises to cult-like status among wealthy clientele amassed while working in a gated community.
Szumowska, Polish cinematic royalty with several Berlin, European Film and Locarno awards — to list just a few — to her name, co-wrote the script with long-time collaborator Michal Englert. The two also produce along with Lava Films,...
- 8/10/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Attendance figures remained steady year-on-year despite virus crisis.
Australian comedy-drama Babyteeth was awarded the top prize at the 19th Transylvania International Film Festival, which went ahead as physical event with Covid-19 safety measures in place.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The film, which marks the debut feature of Australian theatre and TV director Shannon Murphy, won the Transilvania Trophy and €10,000. First seen in competition at Venice last year, the bittersweet comedy also picked up the audience award at the festival in the Romanian city of Cluj, which ran from July 31 to August 9.
TIFF marks the first major film...
Australian comedy-drama Babyteeth was awarded the top prize at the 19th Transylvania International Film Festival, which went ahead as physical event with Covid-19 safety measures in place.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The film, which marks the debut feature of Australian theatre and TV director Shannon Murphy, won the Transilvania Trophy and €10,000. First seen in competition at Venice last year, the bittersweet comedy also picked up the audience award at the festival in the Romanian city of Cluj, which ran from July 31 to August 9.
TIFF marks the first major film...
- 8/10/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Films from Bulgaria, Switzerland, Spain, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have shared the prizes at this year’s online edition. Postponed from March, the 17th edition of Sofia Meetings, the co-production platform of the Sofia International Film Festival, was organised exclusively online from 3-8 July. A total of 37 feature projects were pitched or presented to an audience of interested producers. You can find the entire list of selected projects here. The winner of the most valuable award at this edition, €25,000 in post-production services offered by Romania’s top post-production services company, Cinelab, was Svetla Tsotsorkova’s third feature-length project, Fortune-Teller (Bulgaria). The story follows a young Roma mother of three who becomes a popular (albeit fake) fortune-teller. The jury praised the project for “the way it tackles specific social practices and stereotypes from within the culture it portrays, while also proposing their universality”. The Focusfox Award went...
Films from Belgium, Hungary and Romania were also among the winners at the Bulgarian gathering. After being postponed indefinitely only days before it was supposed to kick off in March, Bulgaria’s biggest film event, the Sofia International Film Festival, came back at the end of June with a summer edition (see the news). The event ended yesterday with an outdoor gala, where Sister (Bulgaria/Qatar), the second feature by Bulgarian director Svetla Tsotsorkova, received the festival’s top prize, the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix. The jury, led by British director Peter Webber and consisting of American producer Jim Stark, Bulgarian actress Irmena Chichkova and Mexican producer Nicolás Celis, handed the Special Jury Award to Nathalie Biancheri’s Nocturnal (UK). The summer edition of the festival presented a total of 111 films from 48 countries. Fifty-five titles were screened in one indoor venue and several open-air venues over the course of ten.
Feature roster launches on June 2 weekly selection of films that have not received Us theatrical release.
Streaming platform Filmatique has launched the second edition of its Talents online programme featuring prize winners from San Sebastian and Sarajevo.
Starting on June 2 and continuing with a new film each week for the rest of the month, the New York-based online platform will showcase a noteworthy first or second feature by an emerging global filmmaker that has not yet received a Us theatrical release.
Films screen alongside shorts from directors of all experience levels, and each release will be paired with an exclusive interview with the director.
Streaming platform Filmatique has launched the second edition of its Talents online programme featuring prize winners from San Sebastian and Sarajevo.
Starting on June 2 and continuing with a new film each week for the rest of the month, the New York-based online platform will showcase a noteworthy first or second feature by an emerging global filmmaker that has not yet received a Us theatrical release.
Films screen alongside shorts from directors of all experience levels, and each release will be paired with an exclusive interview with the director.
- 6/1/2020
- ScreenDaily
Films will be available to stream for free in 45 European countries.
Danish political thriller Sons of Denmark and Serbian stolen child drama Stiches are among the ten European features due to be showcased in the fourth edition of the competitive Artekino Festival, running December 1 to 31, its organisers have announced.
The online festival - which is a joint venture between Franco-German broadcaster Arte and Paris-based digital platform Festival Scope – will be available for free in 45 countries across Europe.
Under the initiative, aimed at promoting the circulation of European films that have not found wide theatrical distribution - 5,000 virtual seats are made...
Danish political thriller Sons of Denmark and Serbian stolen child drama Stiches are among the ten European features due to be showcased in the fourth edition of the competitive Artekino Festival, running December 1 to 31, its organisers have announced.
The online festival - which is a joint venture between Franco-German broadcaster Arte and Paris-based digital platform Festival Scope – will be available for free in 45 countries across Europe.
Under the initiative, aimed at promoting the circulation of European films that have not found wide theatrical distribution - 5,000 virtual seats are made...
- 11/29/2019
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Svetla Tsotsorkova’s film has left the competition in the dust, followed by By a Sharp Knife and Full Moon, with The Sun Above Me Never Sets emerging as a surprising crowd-pleaser. Bulgarian director Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Sister, about a mother and two sisters struggling to survive, has bewitched the jury of the 29th edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus, winning the Best Film Award and €25,000. “If a film gives the cinema what the cinema loves most, then the enthusiasm of the audience matches that of the jury: it’s about magical portraits, social and personal conflicts, and lots of small inventions that the main character continuously brings into the film,” went the statement by Sergey Dvortsevoy, Luli Bitri, Péter Muszatics, Marija Perović and Peter Badel. “In an extraordinary way, an everyday story emerges that is magnificently photographed, intensively invites the viewer to experience it and gives each character its own cinematic space.
- 11/12/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
The 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival invites audience and filmmakers to the large celebration of global independent cinema from October 31 to November 10, 2019, showcasing the best films from all over the world, important guests and tributes, cinematic surprises, as well as a series of parallel events in the city of Thessaloniki.
Here are all the Asian Films in the Official Programme:
International Competition
“Wet Season” by Anthony Chen – Singapore, Taiwan – 2019
Out Of Competition
“Beanpole” by Kantemir Balagov – Russia, 2019
”Abou Leila” – by Amin Sidi-boumediene – Algeria, France, Qatar – 2019
“Sister”
Balkan Survey
“Noah Land” by Cenk Erturk – Germany, Turkey, USA – 2019
”Sister” by Svetla Tsotsorkova – Bulgaria, Qatar – 2019
Film Forward
“From Tomorrow On, I Will” by Ivan Markovic, Wu Linfeng – Germany, China, Serbia – 2019
”Krabi 2562” by Anocha Suwichakornpong, Ben Rivers – United Kingdom, Thailand – 2019
“Africa”
Meet The Neighbors
”Africa” by Oren Gerner – Israel – 2019
“The Criminal Man” by Dmitry Mamuliya – Georgia, Russia – 2019
Special Screenings
”Chained” by Yaron Shani – Israel,...
Here are all the Asian Films in the Official Programme:
International Competition
“Wet Season” by Anthony Chen – Singapore, Taiwan – 2019
Out Of Competition
“Beanpole” by Kantemir Balagov – Russia, 2019
”Abou Leila” – by Amin Sidi-boumediene – Algeria, France, Qatar – 2019
“Sister”
Balkan Survey
“Noah Land” by Cenk Erturk – Germany, Turkey, USA – 2019
”Sister” by Svetla Tsotsorkova – Bulgaria, Qatar – 2019
Film Forward
“From Tomorrow On, I Will” by Ivan Markovic, Wu Linfeng – Germany, China, Serbia – 2019
”Krabi 2562” by Anocha Suwichakornpong, Ben Rivers – United Kingdom, Thailand – 2019
“Africa”
Meet The Neighbors
”Africa” by Oren Gerner – Israel – 2019
“The Criminal Man” by Dmitry Mamuliya – Georgia, Russia – 2019
Special Screenings
”Chained” by Yaron Shani – Israel,...
- 10/22/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Little Women: Tsotsorkova Poetic Study of Female Solidarity
Svetla Tsotsorkova’s assured sophomore feature proves that the Bulgarian filmmaker has an unparalleled eye for the raw, tactile and emotional female experience. A tender, thought-provoking piece that brings up difficult topics, Sister displays how society shames promiscuity among women to jealousy between siblings.
Teenager Rayana lives with her mother and older sister, spending her days toiling over the clay figurines that her family sells to make a living. As the heroine sells her humble creations to passerby tourists, she tells the customers harmless and hilarious lies about her miserable existence, persuading them to give her more money.…...
Svetla Tsotsorkova’s assured sophomore feature proves that the Bulgarian filmmaker has an unparalleled eye for the raw, tactile and emotional female experience. A tender, thought-provoking piece that brings up difficult topics, Sister displays how society shames promiscuity among women to jealousy between siblings.
Teenager Rayana lives with her mother and older sister, spending her days toiling over the clay figurines that her family sells to make a living. As the heroine sells her humble creations to passerby tourists, she tells the customers harmless and hilarious lies about her miserable existence, persuading them to give her more money.…...
- 10/21/2019
- by Oleksandra Povoroznyk
- IONCINEMA.com
Svetla Tsotsorkova’s second feature film “Sister,” which played at the San Sebastian and London film festivals, has been picked up by Hualu in China and Tamasa in France. World sales are handled by Xavier Henry-Rashid’s Film Republic.
The film, set in a small town in present-day Bulgaria, centers on a mother and her two daughters, who are struggling to survive. The dreamy and distracted younger daughter often invents stories in order to make life more interesting. Unwittingly, she eventually gets caught in the trap of her own lies and destroys her older sister’s well-ordered materialistic world. While struggling to get to the truth, the two sisters find out the truth about their mother.
The film was written and produced by Svetoslav Ovcharov and Tsotsorkova for Omega Films in Bulgaria, and was supported by the Doha Film Institute. It stars Monika Naydenova, Svetlana Yancheva, Elena Zamyarkova and Assen Blatechky.
The film, set in a small town in present-day Bulgaria, centers on a mother and her two daughters, who are struggling to survive. The dreamy and distracted younger daughter often invents stories in order to make life more interesting. Unwittingly, she eventually gets caught in the trap of her own lies and destroys her older sister’s well-ordered materialistic world. While struggling to get to the truth, the two sisters find out the truth about their mother.
The film was written and produced by Svetoslav Ovcharov and Tsotsorkova for Omega Films in Bulgaria, and was supported by the Doha Film Institute. It stars Monika Naydenova, Svetlana Yancheva, Elena Zamyarkova and Assen Blatechky.
- 10/18/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Rounds, The Pig, Sister and Cat in the Wall were also among the winners of this year’s edition. After winning the Crystal Globe at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov's The Father has picked up several awards at the 37th edition of the Golden Rose Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor (for Ivan Barnev and Ivan Savov). With one exception, all of the awards and Special Mentions were given to films that have already been seen at international film festivals, such as Stephan Komandarev’s Rounds, Dragomir Sholev’s The Pig, Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Sister, and Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova’s Cat in the Wall. The international jury was led by Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov. Thirteen features and 17 short films competed at this edition of the festival, which was organised by the country's National Film Center. Many of.
‘The Endless Trench’ picked up four prizes.
Brazilian production Pacified (Pacificado) by Us director Paxton Winters won the top award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, at the ceremony held on Saturday, September 28.
With Darren Aronofsky as a producer, the film is set in a favela in Rio de Janeiro.
The jury, led by Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan, also awarded Pacified the Silver Shell for best actor to Bukassa Kabengele and the Jury prize for best cinematography to Laura Merians.
Paxton Winters, a reporter and filmmaker, got to know life in the favelas he portrays living there before he tackled Pacified.
Brazilian production Pacified (Pacificado) by Us director Paxton Winters won the top award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, at the ceremony held on Saturday, September 28.
With Darren Aronofsky as a producer, the film is set in a favela in Rio de Janeiro.
The jury, led by Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan, also awarded Pacified the Silver Shell for best actor to Bukassa Kabengele and the Jury prize for best cinematography to Laura Merians.
Paxton Winters, a reporter and filmmaker, got to know life in the favelas he portrays living there before he tackled Pacified.
- 9/30/2019
- by Elisabet Cabeza
- ScreenDaily
13 Bulgarian productions and co-productions are about to compete for the festival's awards. Thirteen features and 17 short films will screen in the official competition of the 37th edition of the Golden Rose Film Festival, a true who's who of Bulgarian cinema organised by the country's National Film Center. The competing features are Svetla Tsotsorkova's Sister (Bulgaria/Qatar), Lachezar Avramov's A Picture with Yuki (Bulgaria/Japan), Stanislav Donchev's Letters from Antarctica (Bulgaria), Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov's The Father (Bulgaria/Greece), Dragomir Sholev's The Pig (Bulgaria/Romania), Marian Valev's Bad Girl (Bulgaria), Borislav Mihailovski's Love, Boyden (Bulgaria), Stephan Komandarev's Rounds (Bulgaria/Serbia), Radoslav Iliev's Action (Bulgaria), Anri Koulev's Once Upon a War (Bulgaria/Monaco), Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova's Cat in the Wall (Bulgaria/UK/France), Iliya Kostov's A Travelling Cinema (Bulgaria) and one minority co-production, Mahmut Fazil Coşkun's The Announcement...
Madrid — London-based Film Republic has swooped on world rights to Bulgaria’s Svetla Tsotsorkova’s second feature, “Sister,” set to world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival in its prestigious New Directors competition for first and second features.
Also playing New Directors, Tsotsorkova’s feature debut, 2015’s ”Thirst,” a character-driven coming of age tale with a strong sense of rural place, also bowed in New Directors, sparking upbeat reviews which established Tsotsorkova as a director to track.
“Rarely does a debut feature come along with the visual and narrative confidence of ‘Thirst,’ a beautifully crafted, subtly told story of two very different teens hesitantly coming together in Bulgaria’s rural southwest,” Jay Weissberg write in his Variety review.
Off the back of strong reviews, “Thirst” sold 15 territories for sales gent Alpha Violet and garnered strong festival play and prizes.
Produced and co-written by Tsotsorkova and Svetoslav Ovcharov, also the producer of “Thirst,...
Also playing New Directors, Tsotsorkova’s feature debut, 2015’s ”Thirst,” a character-driven coming of age tale with a strong sense of rural place, also bowed in New Directors, sparking upbeat reviews which established Tsotsorkova as a director to track.
“Rarely does a debut feature come along with the visual and narrative confidence of ‘Thirst,’ a beautifully crafted, subtly told story of two very different teens hesitantly coming together in Bulgaria’s rural southwest,” Jay Weissberg write in his Variety review.
Off the back of strong reviews, “Thirst” sold 15 territories for sales gent Alpha Violet and garnered strong festival play and prizes.
Produced and co-written by Tsotsorkova and Svetoslav Ovcharov, also the producer of “Thirst,...
- 9/9/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Strand includes Fyzal Boulifa’s Lynn + Lucy and Beyond The Horizon starring Laetitia Casta and Clémence Poésy.
The 2019 San Sebastian Film Festival (September 20-28) has revealed the 14 first and second films set to compete for its New Directors award.
Among the titles are UK director Fyzal Boulifa’s feature debut Lynn + Lucy about two best friends whose relationship is tested after a tragedy. The project, backed by BBC Films, was part of the Great 8 showcase at Cannes this year.
Titles from second- time directors include Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s Disco, with Skam star Josefine Frida Pettersen, and Delphine Lehericey’s...
The 2019 San Sebastian Film Festival (September 20-28) has revealed the 14 first and second films set to compete for its New Directors award.
Among the titles are UK director Fyzal Boulifa’s feature debut Lynn + Lucy about two best friends whose relationship is tested after a tragedy. The project, backed by BBC Films, was part of the Great 8 showcase at Cannes this year.
Titles from second- time directors include Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s Disco, with Skam star Josefine Frida Pettersen, and Delphine Lehericey’s...
- 7/30/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Eight feature debuts stand out in the Basque festival’s parallel section, while directors such as Ignas Jonynas, Svetla Tsotsorkova and Delphine Lehericey are making a welcome return to New Directors. Fourteen first or second films by European, American and Asian filmmakers will be going head to head in the New Directors section of the 67th San Sebastián Film Festival (20-28 September), according to an announcement made in the Basque city earlier today by the director of the event, José Luis Rebordinos, and Kutxabank representative Idoia Elurbe. The festival’s most prominent parallel section, which over the course of its existence has given a huge boost to the debut works by filmmakers of the likes of Olivier Assayas, Isabel Coixet, Jaco Van Dormael, Nicolas Winding Refn, Laurent Cantet and Jonathan Glazer, will continue to invest in strengthening its commitment to discovering new talents who are bound to change the face of cinema.
Madrid — The San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival announced at a press conference on Tuesday morning the fourteen projects selected to participate in this year’s Kutxabank New Directors section at the northern Spanish festival.
Of the participating films, eight are debuts and six are second works, three of the latter from semi-new filmmakers who previously participated in New Directors with their debut features. Notably, this year’s selection includes eight films from nine women filmmakers, a statistic which challenges the selections made by other, similarly-profiled festivals in their competition selections.
The number of returning directors suggests a usefulness of participating in the section. New Directors consolidated as the festival’s major sidebar, whose world premieres often go on to have a vigorous festival circuit career and break out at times to notable foreign territory sales.
Typically, the New Directors sidebar also provides a look at the themes and styles that...
Of the participating films, eight are debuts and six are second works, three of the latter from semi-new filmmakers who previously participated in New Directors with their debut features. Notably, this year’s selection includes eight films from nine women filmmakers, a statistic which challenges the selections made by other, similarly-profiled festivals in their competition selections.
The number of returning directors suggests a usefulness of participating in the section. New Directors consolidated as the festival’s major sidebar, whose world premieres often go on to have a vigorous festival circuit career and break out at times to notable foreign territory sales.
Typically, the New Directors sidebar also provides a look at the themes and styles that...
- 7/30/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Doha Film Institute’s unique Qumra workshop wrapped its fifth edition on Wednesday following six days of masterclasses, labs and mentoring sessions that bolstered the Dfi’s status as the prime entity fostering Arab filmmaking and connecting directors from most of the region with the rest of the world.
Programmers from Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin and many other major festivals were in attendance, as has become customary, as well as a select group of industry execs from more than 30 countries including a high-caliber U.S. contingent. They came to provide their input on 36 Dfi-backed projects, most of which by Arab directors, and to hobnob in a relaxed informal setting.
“It’s a very intimate structure that doesn’t just offer support or critique, but also real dialogue,” said Iraqi-Moroccan director Tala Hadid (pictured) one of this year’s Qumra mentors. “They choose and curate very carefully who should go with which project,...
Programmers from Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin and many other major festivals were in attendance, as has become customary, as well as a select group of industry execs from more than 30 countries including a high-caliber U.S. contingent. They came to provide their input on 36 Dfi-backed projects, most of which by Arab directors, and to hobnob in a relaxed informal setting.
“It’s a very intimate structure that doesn’t just offer support or critique, but also real dialogue,” said Iraqi-Moroccan director Tala Hadid (pictured) one of this year’s Qumra mentors. “They choose and curate very carefully who should go with which project,...
- 3/21/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Haf Award for a Hong Kong project goes to Love In The Valley Of Daughters.
The award winners from the 2018 Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) have been announced.
Yuen Han-yan’s documentary Love In The Valley Of Daughters won the Haf Award for a Hong Kong project at the close of this year’s event (March 14-16).
Czech film Saving One Who Was Dead, to be directed by Václav Kadrnka and produced by Sirius Films s.r.o., won the Haf Award for a non-Hong Kong project. Both awards come with a cash prize of $19,000 (Hk$150,000).
11 award winners...
The award winners from the 2018 Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) have been announced.
Yuen Han-yan’s documentary Love In The Valley Of Daughters won the Haf Award for a Hong Kong project at the close of this year’s event (March 14-16).
Czech film Saving One Who Was Dead, to be directed by Václav Kadrnka and produced by Sirius Films s.r.o., won the Haf Award for a non-Hong Kong project. Both awards come with a cash prize of $19,000 (Hk$150,000).
11 award winners...
- 3/21/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
The nominations for the 29th European Film Awards were announced this Saturday in Seville. Four films which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival are included in the race for Best European Film, including the Palme d’Or winner “I, Daniel Blake” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle.”
Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” leads the pack with six nominations including Best Film and Best Director. Among the Best Actress and Actor nominees this year are Isabelle Huppert for her critically acclaimed role in “Elle” and Hugh Grant for his charming performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins.”
Read More: British Independent Film Award Nominations: ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Leads with 7
The Efa, in collaboration with the European Film Academy and Efa Productions, honor the greatest achievements in European cinema.
The 2016 European Film Awards will take place on December 10 in Wroclaw, Poland.
Read More: 2016 Ida Documentary Awards Nominations Include ‘13th,’ ‘The White Helmets’ and ‘Fire At...
Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” leads the pack with six nominations including Best Film and Best Director. Among the Best Actress and Actor nominees this year are Isabelle Huppert for her critically acclaimed role in “Elle” and Hugh Grant for his charming performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins.”
Read More: British Independent Film Award Nominations: ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Leads with 7
The Efa, in collaboration with the European Film Academy and Efa Productions, honor the greatest achievements in European cinema.
The 2016 European Film Awards will take place on December 10 in Wroclaw, Poland.
Read More: 2016 Ida Documentary Awards Nominations Include ‘13th,’ ‘The White Helmets’ and ‘Fire At...
- 11/5/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Finnish boxing drama will compete at the European Film Awards later this year.
Cannes Un Certain Regard prize-winner The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki, is one of five titles set to compete for this year’s European Discovery prize at the European Film Awards (Dec 10).
Juho Kuosmanen’s black-and-white boxing drama tells the true story of the titular famus Finnish boxer who had a shot at the World Featherweight title in 1962. Screen sat down with director Kuosmanen in Cannes. The film is Finland’s submission for best foreign-language drama at this year’s Oscars.
The other four nominees are: Bogdan Mirica’s Romania-France-Bulgaria-Qatar co-pro drama Dogs (Caini), which debuted in Cannes Un Certain Regard, Jules Herrmann’s German drama Liebmann, which premiered in Berlin, Elite Zexer’s Israel-France Sundance premiere Sand Storm (Sufat Chol), and Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Bulgarian drama Thirst, which debuted at Sundance 2015.
The nominations were selected by the following Efa Board...
Cannes Un Certain Regard prize-winner The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Maki, is one of five titles set to compete for this year’s European Discovery prize at the European Film Awards (Dec 10).
Juho Kuosmanen’s black-and-white boxing drama tells the true story of the titular famus Finnish boxer who had a shot at the World Featherweight title in 1962. Screen sat down with director Kuosmanen in Cannes. The film is Finland’s submission for best foreign-language drama at this year’s Oscars.
The other four nominees are: Bogdan Mirica’s Romania-France-Bulgaria-Qatar co-pro drama Dogs (Caini), which debuted in Cannes Un Certain Regard, Jules Herrmann’s German drama Liebmann, which premiered in Berlin, Elite Zexer’s Israel-France Sundance premiere Sand Storm (Sufat Chol), and Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Bulgarian drama Thirst, which debuted at Sundance 2015.
The nominations were selected by the following Efa Board...
- 9/19/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Gallery: Pictures from the closing night and awards ceremony of the 15th Transilvania film festival; festival hands out industry development prizes.
Romanian director Bogdan Mirică’s feature debut Dogs (Câini) was the winner of the Transilvania Trophy at the 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Tiff) which came to a close yesterday (June 5).
The thriller about a young man from the big city coming to a remote village to sell the land he inherited from his grandfather had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes last month and is being handled internationally by Bac Films International.
The co-production between Marcela Ursu’s 42 Km Film, French producer Elie Meirovitz’s Ez Films and Bulgaria’s Stephan Komanderev’s Argo Film is the fourth Romanian film to win the top prize in Cluj-Napoca after Cristian Mungiu’s Occident at the first edition of Tiff in 2002, followed by two films by Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East...
Romanian director Bogdan Mirică’s feature debut Dogs (Câini) was the winner of the Transilvania Trophy at the 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Tiff) which came to a close yesterday (June 5).
The thriller about a young man from the big city coming to a remote village to sell the land he inherited from his grandfather had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes last month and is being handled internationally by Bac Films International.
The co-production between Marcela Ursu’s 42 Km Film, French producer Elie Meirovitz’s Ez Films and Bulgaria’s Stephan Komanderev’s Argo Film is the fourth Romanian film to win the top prize in Cluj-Napoca after Cristian Mungiu’s Occident at the first edition of Tiff in 2002, followed by two films by Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East...
- 6/6/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The festival’s industry event featured 20 work-in-progress projects.
Bulgarian filmmaker Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Thirst and the Czech directorial duo Petr Kazda and Tomás Weinreb’s I, Olga Hepnarova [pictured] were declared joint winners of the Best Film in the New Europe - New Names competition at this year’s Vilnius International Film Festival (March 31 - April 14).
Speaking at the awards ceremony in the Lithuanian capital’s historic National Philharmonic Hall, International Jury member and Chilean film critic Pamela Biénzobas explained that the splitting of the top prize was “to acknowledge the diversity of cinematographic styles.”
Other awards included best acting prizes to Thirst’s Monika Naydenova and Our Everyday Life’s Uliks Fehmiu, and Best Director to Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczynska for her feature debut The Lure.
Meanwhile, the Best Film honour in the Baltic Gaze competition was won this year by Vitaly Mansky’s documentary Under The Sun ahead of such titles as Tomasz Wasilewski’s United...
Bulgarian filmmaker Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Thirst and the Czech directorial duo Petr Kazda and Tomás Weinreb’s I, Olga Hepnarova [pictured] were declared joint winners of the Best Film in the New Europe - New Names competition at this year’s Vilnius International Film Festival (March 31 - April 14).
Speaking at the awards ceremony in the Lithuanian capital’s historic National Philharmonic Hall, International Jury member and Chilean film critic Pamela Biénzobas explained that the splitting of the top prize was “to acknowledge the diversity of cinematographic styles.”
Other awards included best acting prizes to Thirst’s Monika Naydenova and Our Everyday Life’s Uliks Fehmiu, and Best Director to Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczynska for her feature debut The Lure.
Meanwhile, the Best Film honour in the Baltic Gaze competition was won this year by Vitaly Mansky’s documentary Under The Sun ahead of such titles as Tomasz Wasilewski’s United...
- 4/15/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Lined up for the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Bright Future program this year are works by Ana Cristina Barragán, Samuele Sestieri, Kaweh Modiri, Lee Seung-won, Jonas Rothlaender, Bernardo Britto, Yi Cui, Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito, Fernanda Romandía, Arun Karthick, Emiliano Rocha Minter, Yosuke Okuda, Pimpaka Towira, Uchida Eiji, Vlado Skafar, Penny Lane, Matt Johnson, Elisa Miller, Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Tsubota Yoshifumi, Lucile Hadžihalilovic, Simon Stone, Pietro Marcello, Bi Gan, João Salaviza, Pascale Breton, Svetla Tsotsorkova, Avishai Sivan, Jony Perel, Alex Santiago Pérez and many others. » - David Hudson...
- 1/6/2016
- Keyframe
Lined up for the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Bright Future program this year are works by Ana Cristina Barragán, Samuele Sestieri, Kaweh Modiri, Lee Seung-won, Jonas Rothlaender, Bernardo Britto, Yi Cui, Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito, Fernanda Romandía, Arun Karthick, Emiliano Rocha Minter, Yosuke Okuda, Pimpaka Towira, Uchida Eiji, Vlado Skafar, Penny Lane, Matt Johnson, Elisa Miller, Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Tsubota Yoshifumi, Lucile Hadžihalilovic, Simon Stone, Pietro Marcello, Bi Gan, João Salaviza, Pascale Breton, Svetla Tsotsorkova, Avishai Sivan, Jony Perel, Alex Santiago Pérez and many others. » - David Hudson...
- 1/6/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
From exotic fairytales to innovative storytelling, The Calvert Journal picks highlights from this year’s programme
If 2014 was the year of Leviathan – the brooding, black comic epic that won best film in London and prompted controversy in Russia and beyond – then 2015’s BFI London film festival sees other new east nations come to the fore.
Kosovo is represented for the first time (in Visar Morina’s Babai), and rising Bulgarian star Svetla Tsotsorkova will screen her debut feature Thirst. Elsewhere, Romanian crime dramas jostle for space with Polish black comedy and magical camels from Russia’s remote Kalmyk region.
If the geographical range represented at the festival is as broad as ever, there are still threads linking these multifarious movies together. Many of these films bring to life characters who are isolated, outcast or lost in the world. Using humour, tragedy and absurdity they turn our eyes and ears in new and challenging directions.
If 2014 was the year of Leviathan – the brooding, black comic epic that won best film in London and prompted controversy in Russia and beyond – then 2015’s BFI London film festival sees other new east nations come to the fore.
Kosovo is represented for the first time (in Visar Morina’s Babai), and rising Bulgarian star Svetla Tsotsorkova will screen her debut feature Thirst. Elsewhere, Romanian crime dramas jostle for space with Polish black comedy and magical camels from Russia’s remote Kalmyk region.
If the geographical range represented at the festival is as broad as ever, there are still threads linking these multifarious movies together. Many of these films bring to life characters who are isolated, outcast or lost in the world. Using humour, tragedy and absurdity they turn our eyes and ears in new and challenging directions.
- 10/9/2015
- by Samuel Goff for the Calvert Journal, part of the New East network
- The Guardian - Film News
Thirst
Directed by Svetla Tsotsorkova
Written by Svetoslav Ovtcharov, Svetla Tsotsorkova, and Ventsislav Vasilev
Bulgaria, 2015
Thirst, Bulgarian actress Svetla Tsotsorkova’s feature debut just premiered in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival and is currently screening at the Haifa International Film Festival. It stars teenage newcomers Monika Naydenova and Alexander Benev alongside Bulgarian screen and theatre veterans Vasil Mihailov, Ivaylo Hristov, Svetla Yancheva and Stefan Mavrodiev.
Thirst is a minimalist countryside drama set in rural southwest Bulgaria, in a region affected by chronic summer drought where a nameless family of three urban transplants, a teenage son (Alxander Benev), a father living with the aftereffects of two heart attacks (Ivaylo Hristov) and a mother who supports the family as a laundry contractor for the region’s hotels, live in a hilltop house overlooking a mountain valley. The drought affecting the area renders the laundry business unreliable and...
Directed by Svetla Tsotsorkova
Written by Svetoslav Ovtcharov, Svetla Tsotsorkova, and Ventsislav Vasilev
Bulgaria, 2015
Thirst, Bulgarian actress Svetla Tsotsorkova’s feature debut just premiered in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival and is currently screening at the Haifa International Film Festival. It stars teenage newcomers Monika Naydenova and Alexander Benev alongside Bulgarian screen and theatre veterans Vasil Mihailov, Ivaylo Hristov, Svetla Yancheva and Stefan Mavrodiev.
Thirst is a minimalist countryside drama set in rural southwest Bulgaria, in a region affected by chronic summer drought where a nameless family of three urban transplants, a teenage son (Alxander Benev), a father living with the aftereffects of two heart attacks (Ivaylo Hristov) and a mother who supports the family as a laundry contractor for the region’s hotels, live in a hilltop house overlooking a mountain valley. The drought affecting the area renders the laundry business unreliable and...
- 10/3/2015
- by Zornitsa Staneva
- SoundOnSight
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