Breaking out of traditional, male, Rio de Janeiro/São Paulo strongholds to finally embrace regional, Black and Indigenous writer-directors, Brazil’s next generation of cinematic talent tackles a huge gamut of themes, styles and concern about social issues. Variety profiles 10 figures who look set to help shape the future of Brazilian filmmaking.
Caru Alves de Souza
Alves de Souza has such films as 2020 Berlin Generation winner “My Name Is Baghdad,” a plucky tale of adolescence on the fringes of society, and 2013’s San Sebastian Horizontes Latinos debut “Underage,” a riveting look at juvenile justice under her belt. She shreds ignorance with her belief “in the power of a cinema that questions established norms but also offers some alternative.”
At this year’s Berlin Co-Production Market, her “Lonely Hearts” deals with the fate of a family porn theater business, its characters “contradictory, flawed, idiosyncratic, and on the other hand, extremely empathetic,...
Caru Alves de Souza
Alves de Souza has such films as 2020 Berlin Generation winner “My Name Is Baghdad,” a plucky tale of adolescence on the fringes of society, and 2013’s San Sebastian Horizontes Latinos debut “Underage,” a riveting look at juvenile justice under her belt. She shreds ignorance with her belief “in the power of a cinema that questions established norms but also offers some alternative.”
At this year’s Berlin Co-Production Market, her “Lonely Hearts” deals with the fate of a family porn theater business, its characters “contradictory, flawed, idiosyncratic, and on the other hand, extremely empathetic,...
- 2/18/2023
- by John Hopewell, Callum McLennan, Anna Marie de la Fuente and Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Air Doll (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Despite coming from one of international cinema’s foremost working filmmakers, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2009 film Air Doll had never seen a release in the U.S. Adapted by Kore-eda from Yoshiie Gōda’s manga series Kuuki Ningyo, it’s a modern retelling of the Galatea myth—in which the king Pygmalion fell in love with his ivory statue and the goddess Aphrodite brought the statue to life. For a 21st-century spin on the tale, Kore-eda naturally updated the statue to a blow-up sex doll, played by Bae Doona. – Mitchell B. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi)
The logistics behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes are mind-boggling to fathom; time-travel stories are...
Air Doll (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Despite coming from one of international cinema’s foremost working filmmakers, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2009 film Air Doll had never seen a release in the U.S. Adapted by Kore-eda from Yoshiie Gōda’s manga series Kuuki Ningyo, it’s a modern retelling of the Galatea myth—in which the king Pygmalion fell in love with his ivory statue and the goddess Aphrodite brought the statue to life. For a 21st-century spin on the tale, Kore-eda naturally updated the statue to a blow-up sex doll, played by Bae Doona. – Mitchell B. (full review)
Where to Stream: VOD
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi)
The logistics behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes are mind-boggling to fathom; time-travel stories are...
- 2/4/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Paraguayan filmmaker Paz Encina’s “Eami” – being sold by MPM Premium – has won the top Tiger Award and a €40,000 cash prize at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the festival announced Wednesday. The 51st edition of the Dutch event, forced online due to the Omicron wave, will wrap on Sunday.
The jury, made up of Zsuzsi Bankuti, Gust Van den Berghe, Tatiana Leite, Thekla Reuten and Farid Tabarki, was impressed with her complex, magical realist take on the suffering of the indigenous tribes, calling it a “powerful film.” “It gave us the opportunity to dream and, at the same time, a chance to wake up,” they stated.
Inspired by the stories of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode people, as well as their mythology, Encina created a tale about a young girl who embarks on a journey after her village is destroyed.
“All my films deal with an issue of exile, of the diaspora,...
The jury, made up of Zsuzsi Bankuti, Gust Van den Berghe, Tatiana Leite, Thekla Reuten and Farid Tabarki, was impressed with her complex, magical realist take on the suffering of the indigenous tribes, calling it a “powerful film.” “It gave us the opportunity to dream and, at the same time, a chance to wake up,” they stated.
Inspired by the stories of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode people, as well as their mythology, Encina created a tale about a young girl who embarks on a journey after her village is destroyed.
“All my films deal with an issue of exile, of the diaspora,...
- 2/2/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The top prize went to a family drama set entirely in an Ikea.
Croatian family drama Leave The Door Open has won the Eurimages Co-production Award, worth €20,000, at the closing of International Film Festival Rotterdam’s IFFR Pro Days and CineMart co-production market.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Judita Gamulin and is set entirely in an Ikea furniture store in Zagreb.
With early backing from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (Havc), the production aims to close financing in 2023 and shoot in 2024. Leave The Door Open is produced by Rea Rajcic, who is producing through her Zagreb-based film and TV outfit Eclectica.
Croatian family drama Leave The Door Open has won the Eurimages Co-production Award, worth €20,000, at the closing of International Film Festival Rotterdam’s IFFR Pro Days and CineMart co-production market.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Judita Gamulin and is set entirely in an Ikea furniture store in Zagreb.
With early backing from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (Havc), the production aims to close financing in 2023 and shoot in 2024. Leave The Door Open is produced by Rea Rajcic, who is producing through her Zagreb-based film and TV outfit Eclectica.
- 2/2/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Portugal’s Matiné Mines for ‘Gold’ in Rotterdam With Brazilian Director Madiano Marcheti (Exclusive)
Luis Campos’ Portuguese label Matiné has boarded “Mother of Gold,” the sophomore feature from Brazilian director Madiano Marcheti, which was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival’s CineMart co-production market.
Set in a rural town in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest, the film tells the story of a troubled woman trying to overcome her past and reconnect with her estranged son, who was kicked out of the house when his father refused to accept his sexuality.
After a group of prospectors invades the neighboring hillside in search of gold, the woman starts to have mysterious dreams. As the visions intensify, she slowly comes to realize that the hill itself appears to be calling her.
Speaking to Variety ahead of CineMart, Marcheti described “Mother of Gold” as a deeply personal film inspired by the difficult process of coming out to his family, as well as the connection he has...
Set in a rural town in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest, the film tells the story of a troubled woman trying to overcome her past and reconnect with her estranged son, who was kicked out of the house when his father refused to accept his sexuality.
After a group of prospectors invades the neighboring hillside in search of gold, the woman starts to have mysterious dreams. As the visions intensify, she slowly comes to realize that the hill itself appears to be calling her.
Speaking to Variety ahead of CineMart, Marcheti described “Mother of Gold” as a deeply personal film inspired by the difficult process of coming out to his family, as well as the connection he has...
- 1/27/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Next month’s Mubi lineup for the U.S. has been unveiled and a number of our recent festival favorites that were awaiting distribution will be coming to the service, including Mr. Bachmann and His Class, Ballad of a White Cow, Madalena, Taste, The Monopoly of Violence, and For Lucio.
One of last year’s great films, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, will also be arriving, alongside Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, the Safdies’ Heaven Knows What, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, and Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, with the latter two pairing for a Valentine’s Day double feature.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
February 1 | The Monopoly of Violence | David Dufresne | From France with Love
February 2 | Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 3 | Madalena | Madiano Marcheti | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 4 | Honey Cigar | Kamir Aïnouz | From France with Love
February 5 | …and...
One of last year’s great films, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, will also be arriving, alongside Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, the Safdies’ Heaven Knows What, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, and Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, with the latter two pairing for a Valentine’s Day double feature.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
February 1 | The Monopoly of Violence | David Dufresne | From France with Love
February 2 | Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 3 | Madalena | Madiano Marcheti | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 4 | Honey Cigar | Kamir Aïnouz | From France with Love
February 5 | …and...
- 1/20/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
UK Global Screen Fund Awards
The UK Global Screen Fund, backed by Dcms and administered by the BFI, has awarded a further £2.1M ($2.8M) to UK companies through its £7M ($9.3M) International Business Development strand. The financial support will provide companies from around the UK with funding for business strategies to create, acquire and exploit Intellectual Property (IP) for increased international revenue, activities and profile.d The awards come in the form of non-repayable grants and range between £50,000 and £117,600 in total over a three-year period. Companies to benefit from this round include Number 9 Films (Mothering Sunday), The Ink Factory (The Night Manager), Warp Films (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) and Good Chaos. Further awards went to: Alphablocks Limited; Avanti Media; The Black Camel Picture Company; Blazing Griffin; Bohemia Club; Cantilever Media; Digital Media Distribution; Dog Ears; Dorothy Street Pictures; Ida Rose; Ie Ie Productions Little Door Productions; Outsider Games...
The UK Global Screen Fund, backed by Dcms and administered by the BFI, has awarded a further £2.1M ($2.8M) to UK companies through its £7M ($9.3M) International Business Development strand. The financial support will provide companies from around the UK with funding for business strategies to create, acquire and exploit Intellectual Property (IP) for increased international revenue, activities and profile.d The awards come in the form of non-repayable grants and range between £50,000 and £117,600 in total over a three-year period. Companies to benefit from this round include Number 9 Films (Mothering Sunday), The Ink Factory (The Night Manager), Warp Films (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) and Good Chaos. Further awards went to: Alphablocks Limited; Avanti Media; The Black Camel Picture Company; Blazing Griffin; Bohemia Club; Cantilever Media; Digital Media Distribution; Dog Ears; Dorothy Street Pictures; Ida Rose; Ie Ie Productions Little Door Productions; Outsider Games...
- 12/16/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Madalena is never just a name in Madalena, Madiano Marcheti’s haunting debut film about the murder of a trans woman set in rural Brazil. For some she’s a source of income and friendship, and for others panic and loss. The film follows a trio of characters whose disparate lives all somehow overlapped with the lifeless person now lying in a vast field of green soy crops. In doing so, Marcheti’s film presents varying reactions to trauma that ripple outward, revealing the subtle nuances of societal intolerance and personal grief.
As noted in the closing credits, “Brazil has the highest number of transsexual murders in the world.” So the opening shot of rheas (flightless birds that are relatives of the ostrich) dipping their heads up from rows of lush crops becomes an apt symbol for potential awakening. But the first two segments of the triptych address Madalena in...
As noted in the closing credits, “Brazil has the highest number of transsexual murders in the world.” So the opening shot of rheas (flightless birds that are relatives of the ostrich) dipping their heads up from rows of lush crops becomes an apt symbol for potential awakening. But the first two segments of the triptych address Madalena in...
- 4/30/2021
- by Glenn Heath Jr.
- The Film Stage
The Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center Thursday announces the complete lineup for the 50th anniversary edition of New Directors/New Films rolling out April 28 – May 8. The films will screen both virtually and at the Flc theater through May 13, making it the first NYC fest to return to the big screen.
Opening night will feature Amalia Ulman’s El Planeta, a portrait of a mother and daughter barely scraping by in Spain’s northwestern seaside town of Gijón. The event will close with All Light, Everywhere, director Theo Anthony’s winner of a Sundance Jury Prize for Experimentation in Nonfiction. Anthony’s follow-up to Rat Film, All Light, Everywhere uses U.S. law enforcement bodycam footage as a treatise on perception, power, and policing.
The fest will showcase 27 films and 11 shorts.
A free virtual retrospective celebrating 50 years of Nd/Nf will be available from April 16-28.
“From intimate,...
Opening night will feature Amalia Ulman’s El Planeta, a portrait of a mother and daughter barely scraping by in Spain’s northwestern seaside town of Gijón. The event will close with All Light, Everywhere, director Theo Anthony’s winner of a Sundance Jury Prize for Experimentation in Nonfiction. Anthony’s follow-up to Rat Film, All Light, Everywhere uses U.S. law enforcement bodycam footage as a treatise on perception, power, and policing.
The fest will showcase 27 films and 11 shorts.
A free virtual retrospective celebrating 50 years of Nd/Nf will be available from April 16-28.
“From intimate,...
- 4/1/2021
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center have today announced the 50th anniversary edition of New Directors/New Films (Nd/Nf), this year available in both virtual and in-theater settings, marking it as the first New York City festival to return to live screenings since the pandemic began. This year’s festival will introduce 27 features and 11 shorts to audiences nationwide in the MoMA and Flc virtual cinemas, and to New Yorkers at Film at Lincoln Center. The festival will open with Amalia Ulman’s “El Planeta” and close with Theo Anthony’s “All Light, Everywhere,” both of which premiered at Sundance in January.
This year’s edition will mark the second time the festival has offered a virtual arm: the festival’s original March 2020 dates were postponed when pandemic shutdowns took hold, with the series eventually opting to go virtual for its 49th edition, rolling out last December.
This year’s edition will mark the second time the festival has offered a virtual arm: the festival’s original March 2020 dates were postponed when pandemic shutdowns took hold, with the series eventually opting to go virtual for its 49th edition, rolling out last December.
- 4/1/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center have announced the 50th anniversary edition of New Directors/ New Films.
The annual program will be held virtually on April 28 through May 8, with in-person screening extending through May 14 at Film at Lincoln Center.
This year’s festival is introducing 27 features and 11 short films. Unique to the 2021 edition, there will be a free virtual retrospective to celebrate the past 50 years of New Directors/ New Films running from April 16 through April 28.
“From intimate, personal tales to political, metaphysical, and spiritual inquiries, the films in the 50th edition of New Directors/New Films embody an inexhaustible curiosity and a fearless desire for adventure,” said La Frances Hui, curator of Film at The Museum of Modern Art and 2021 New Directors/New Films co-chair. “They prove that cinema will continue to illuminate and inspire the way we live, and make art.”
Writer and director Amalia Ulman...
The annual program will be held virtually on April 28 through May 8, with in-person screening extending through May 14 at Film at Lincoln Center.
This year’s festival is introducing 27 features and 11 short films. Unique to the 2021 edition, there will be a free virtual retrospective to celebrate the past 50 years of New Directors/ New Films running from April 16 through April 28.
“From intimate, personal tales to political, metaphysical, and spiritual inquiries, the films in the 50th edition of New Directors/New Films embody an inexhaustible curiosity and a fearless desire for adventure,” said La Frances Hui, curator of Film at The Museum of Modern Art and 2021 New Directors/New Films co-chair. “They prove that cinema will continue to illuminate and inspire the way we live, and make art.”
Writer and director Amalia Ulman...
- 4/1/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Four international filmmakers spoke with Lorna Tee and Vanja Kaludjercic.
“The bigger the better,” said four Tiger competition filmmakers of how they hope online festival audiences watch their films.
“Try to watch it on a big screen,” said Dutch filmmaker and Rotterdam native Tim Leyendekker. “The bigger the better; especially, in my film, for the more abstract sequences.”
Leyendekker, James Vaughan, Queena Li and Madiano Marcheti were taking part in the second press conference as part of the online International FIlm Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) this week. It was hosted by The panel event was hosted by producer Lorna Tee and IFFR festival director Vanja Kaludjercic.
“The bigger the better,” said four Tiger competition filmmakers of how they hope online festival audiences watch their films.
“Try to watch it on a big screen,” said Dutch filmmaker and Rotterdam native Tim Leyendekker. “The bigger the better; especially, in my film, for the more abstract sequences.”
Leyendekker, James Vaughan, Queena Li and Madiano Marcheti were taking part in the second press conference as part of the online International FIlm Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) this week. It was hosted by The panel event was hosted by producer Lorna Tee and IFFR festival director Vanja Kaludjercic.
- 2/3/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Looking for VeneraThe first titles for the International Film Festival Rotterdam's hybrid multi-part 50th edition program have been revealed. Under new festival director Vanja Kaludjercic, the newly-organized and extended IFFR 2021 will feature a new program structure, with competition sections to be presented between 1 – 7 February. The festival will resume again between 2 – 6 June with Bright Future (the festival's existing section dedicated to emerging film talent) and what will be the festival's latest and largest section, Harbour. In February the festival will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of Amsterdam's Eye Filmmusuem, while in June IFFR's own 50th year will be celebrated with a special anniversary program. Tiger COMPETITIONAgate mousse (Selim Mourad)Bebia, à mon seul désir (Juja Dobrachkous)Bipolar (Queena Li)Black MedusaA Corsican Summer (Pascal Tagnati)The Edge of Daybreak (Taiki Sakpisit)Feast (Tim Leyendekker)Friends and Strangers (James Vaughan)Gritt (Itonje Søimer Guttormsen)Landscapes of Resistance (Marta Popivoda)Liborio (Nino Martínez Sosa...
- 12/22/2020
- MUBI
The Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR) has unveiled the line-up for its 50th edition, with the Mads Mikkelsen-starring Riders Of Justice set to open the fest.
You can see the full line-up below. The event has had to change its traditional format for 2021 due to ongoing pandemic disruption. It will now run as a two-stage event, initially with a hybrid showcase of films February 1-7, followed by a physical event June 2-6.
The flagship Tiger Competition has confirmed 16 titles, 14 of which are world premieres. There are a further 15 titles in the Big Screen competition, which looks to bridge the gap between popular and arthouse cinema, while the non-competitive Limelight section will feature 13 titles, most of which have played other festivals, such as Magnus von Horn’s Sweat and Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?.
Anders Thomas Jensen’s dark comedy Riders Of Justice will be having its international premiere...
You can see the full line-up below. The event has had to change its traditional format for 2021 due to ongoing pandemic disruption. It will now run as a two-stage event, initially with a hybrid showcase of films February 1-7, followed by a physical event June 2-6.
The flagship Tiger Competition has confirmed 16 titles, 14 of which are world premieres. There are a further 15 titles in the Big Screen competition, which looks to bridge the gap between popular and arthouse cinema, while the non-competitive Limelight section will feature 13 titles, most of which have played other festivals, such as Magnus von Horn’s Sweat and Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida?.
Anders Thomas Jensen’s dark comedy Riders Of Justice will be having its international premiere...
- 12/22/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The 50th anniversary event will take place in February and June.
Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen’s comedy Riders Of Justice starring Mads Mikkelsen will open the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The festival is taking place as multi-part event from February to June 2021, with the first part running as hybrid festival from February 1-7. Organisers hope it will culminate in a physical event from June 2-6, 2021.
Some 60 titles spanning the Tiger Competition, Big Screen Competition and its Ammodo Tiger Shorts and Limelight sections are screening in February.
The festival’s flagship Tiger Competition will showcase 16 titles, which will...
Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen’s comedy Riders Of Justice starring Mads Mikkelsen will open the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The festival is taking place as multi-part event from February to June 2021, with the first part running as hybrid festival from February 1-7. Organisers hope it will culminate in a physical event from June 2-6, 2021.
Some 60 titles spanning the Tiger Competition, Big Screen Competition and its Ammodo Tiger Shorts and Limelight sections are screening in February.
The festival’s flagship Tiger Competition will showcase 16 titles, which will...
- 12/22/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Anders Thomas Jensen’s action comedy “Riders of Justice,” starring Mads Mikkelsen, will open the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. The festival will be staged in two parts this year: the first, in a hybrid format, running Feb. 1-7, and the second, hopefully a physical event, June 2-6. The awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 7.
In “Riders of Justice,” Mikkelsen plays Markus, a military man who returns home to look after his daughter Mathilde following his wife’s death in a train accident. At first it looks like she was the victim of a tragic piece of bad luck, but then mathematics geek Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a fellow passenger on the train, shows up with his two eccentric colleagues, Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro), and floats the theory of a possible murder conspiracy. The film plays in the Limelight section.
Jensen is Denmark’s top screenwriter,...
In “Riders of Justice,” Mikkelsen plays Markus, a military man who returns home to look after his daughter Mathilde following his wife’s death in a train accident. At first it looks like she was the victim of a tragic piece of bad luck, but then mathematics geek Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a fellow passenger on the train, shows up with his two eccentric colleagues, Lennart (Lars Brygmann) and Emmenthaler (Nicolas Bro), and floats the theory of a possible murder conspiracy. The film plays in the Limelight section.
Jensen is Denmark’s top screenwriter,...
- 12/22/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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