Filmmaker Raoul Peck’s next documentary will delve into the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise. The film, tentatively titled “The Hands That Held the Knives,” has been in production for over two years.
The documentary will be a thriller “in the tradition of Graham Greene or John Le Carré,” according to a press release. It will offer access to people involved in the murder of Moise, who was shot inside his home in July 2021. It will also feature secret footage from Haiti’s prisons and an encounter with a fugitive who witnessed the killing.
“The Hands That Held the Knives” will attempt to unpack Haiti’s politics, its relationship with the United States, as well as corrupt business empires and criminal organizations that deal drugs and contraband throughout the Caribbean. Per the official announcement, “the film will take us right up to the present moment, as ruthless gangs backed...
The documentary will be a thriller “in the tradition of Graham Greene or John Le Carré,” according to a press release. It will offer access to people involved in the murder of Moise, who was shot inside his home in July 2021. It will also feature secret footage from Haiti’s prisons and an encounter with a fugitive who witnessed the killing.
“The Hands That Held the Knives” will attempt to unpack Haiti’s politics, its relationship with the United States, as well as corrupt business empires and criminal organizations that deal drugs and contraband throughout the Caribbean. Per the official announcement, “the film will take us right up to the present moment, as ruthless gangs backed...
- 3/18/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Tatami, the groundbreaking Iranian drama co-directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Tatami,” the Iranian drama from co-directors Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, where both lip-synched English and original language versions will be released later this year.
The feature, which bowed in Venice 2023 where it won the Brian Award, made history by becoming the first film to be jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Starring Arienne Mandi, Amir, Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh, and written by Nattiv — an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin” — and Elham Erfani, “Tatami” is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Midway through the competition, Iranian female judo fighter Leila (Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Amir ) receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake,...
The feature, which bowed in Venice 2023 where it won the Brian Award, made history by becoming the first film to be jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Starring Arienne Mandi, Amir, Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh, and written by Nattiv — an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin” — and Elham Erfani, “Tatami” is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Midway through the competition, Iranian female judo fighter Leila (Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Amir ) receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Quiver Distribution announced today that they have acquired North American rights for the family crime drama Fresh Kills written and directed by Jennifer Esposito in her feature film debut. The film stars Esposito, Emily Bader, Odessa A’zion, Domenick Lombardozzi, and Annabella Sciorra. Quiver will release the film in theaters on May 17th.
Fresh Kills brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of Rose Larusso (Bader), an inquisitive young girl who discovers her father (Lombardozzi) is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her closest allies: her mother Francine (Esposito), her sister Connie (A’zion), and her aunt Christine (Sciorra).
“Fresh Kills is a brand new take on the classic mob movie” said Quiver Distribution Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman, who...
Fresh Kills brings late 1980s Staten Island to vivid life through the lens of Rose Larusso (Bader), an inquisitive young girl who discovers her father (Lombardozzi) is an emerging mafia kingpin. Rose’s growing desire to break free from the path set before her soon threatens her existence and alienates her from her closest allies: her mother Francine (Esposito), her sister Connie (A’zion), and her aunt Christine (Sciorra).
“Fresh Kills is a brand new take on the classic mob movie” said Quiver Distribution Co-Presidents Berry Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman, who...
- 2/6/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Documentarian Nancy Buirski has died at age 78, as IndieWire can confirm with Augusta Films.
Buirski founded the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and her most recent film, “Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of the Midnight Cowboy” premiered at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in 2022.
“It is with great sadness that Augusta Films announces the death of award-winning documentary filmmaker Nancy Buirski,” the official statement reads. “Nancy’s extensive and rich body of work delved into a wide range of social, cultural and historical issues with keen insight, humanity and above all, artistry. The film and creative community mourns this great loss and will remember her indefatigable energy, optimism, passion, and her devotion to her art, family, friends, and collaborators.”
Buirski began her career as a photographer and editor at The New York Times and Magnum. Her 1994 photography collection “Earth Angels: Migrant Children in America” was critically acclaimed...
Buirski founded the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and her most recent film, “Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of the Midnight Cowboy” premiered at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in 2022.
“It is with great sadness that Augusta Films announces the death of award-winning documentary filmmaker Nancy Buirski,” the official statement reads. “Nancy’s extensive and rich body of work delved into a wide range of social, cultural and historical issues with keen insight, humanity and above all, artistry. The film and creative community mourns this great loss and will remember her indefatigable energy, optimism, passion, and her devotion to her art, family, friends, and collaborators.”
Buirski began her career as a photographer and editor at The New York Times and Magnum. Her 1994 photography collection “Earth Angels: Migrant Children in America” was critically acclaimed...
- 8/31/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The public-facing festival runs September 8-18.
For the first time since 2019, the international industry is looking forward to getting back to a fully in-person TIFF where there will be plenty to discuss with old friends besides the invigorating roster of premieres.
Scroll down for acquisition titles
The public-facing festival (September 8-18) is many things and one of them is a conveyor belt of awards season premieres. These get scrutinised by the many awards strategists, buyers and sellers in attendance, who will want to know can these films survive at the box office, and can they sustain box office at times...
For the first time since 2019, the international industry is looking forward to getting back to a fully in-person TIFF where there will be plenty to discuss with old friends besides the invigorating roster of premieres.
Scroll down for acquisition titles
The public-facing festival (September 8-18) is many things and one of them is a conveyor belt of awards season premieres. These get scrutinised by the many awards strategists, buyers and sellers in attendance, who will want to know can these films survive at the box office, and can they sustain box office at times...
- 9/8/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Bart Walker will join Gersh as Senior Partner in the New York office. The longtime ICM agent, who decided not to stay when CAA acquired that agency, will continue to represent his esteemed clients in film, television and theatre including Oscar nominees/winners such as David Byrne, Lisa Cholodenko, Sofia Coppola, Tamara Jenkins, Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Oliver Stone and Thomas Vinterberg; Cannes, Venice and Sundance prize winners such as Mati Diop, Michel Franco, Mia Hansen-Love, Jim Jarmusch, The Kloster Brothers, and Lorenzo Vigas: and multi-hyphenate artists such as Benoit Delhomme, Iram Haq, Sally Potter, Richard Press, and Olmo Schnabel.
Walker, along with ICM indie film head Jessica Lacy, have been fixtures of the film festivals and the independent filmmaking sphere for as long as I can remember. Lacy recently left to join Range Media Partners. He had been talking with agencies and management companies and landing Walker is a coup for Gersh.
Walker, along with ICM indie film head Jessica Lacy, have been fixtures of the film festivals and the independent filmmaking sphere for as long as I can remember. Lacy recently left to join Range Media Partners. He had been talking with agencies and management companies and landing Walker is a coup for Gersh.
- 8/4/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: One of the most prominent ex-ICM agents still in play, Jessica Lacy, has landed at Range Media Partners as Partner and head of management company’s newly minted division, Range Select. In her role, Lacy will oversee structuring and arranging financing, packaging, and securing distribution for select independent films. She is joined by her former ICM colleague Oliver Wheeler who also will work in the Range Select unit as a manager.
Lacy spent the last two decades combined at ICM Partners — where she was a partner and head of the Independent Film Department for the past 10 years — and Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency (before its 2006 acquisition by ICM). Throughout her career, Lacy has brokered distribution deals for many of the many acclaimed films coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
She was part of...
Lacy spent the last two decades combined at ICM Partners — where she was a partner and head of the Independent Film Department for the past 10 years — and Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency (before its 2006 acquisition by ICM). Throughout her career, Lacy has brokered distribution deals for many of the many acclaimed films coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
She was part of...
- 7/26/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.
Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).
Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.
Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).
Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...
- 7/25/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Institute, the nonprofit organization that puts on the yearly film festival in Park City, has announced the entrants for its Producers Lab and Producers Summit.
Both events, the former taking place from July 25 to 28 and the latter from July 29 to 31, will be held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Institute picked six fiction film and five non-fiction film producers and their projects. Producers Lab and Producers Summit, which counts more than 40 industry leaders and 26 independent filmmakers among its participants, supports up-and-coming producers through year-round mentorship, granting, educational resources, strategic introductions, and networking opportunities with the industry.
“It has been three years since we have been able to gather in person, and over this time, the landscape for independent storytelling has shifted dramatically. It’s never been more critical to work to create a sustainable future for independent producers, a key priority for the Lab and Summit,...
Both events, the former taking place from July 25 to 28 and the latter from July 29 to 31, will be held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Institute picked six fiction film and five non-fiction film producers and their projects. Producers Lab and Producers Summit, which counts more than 40 industry leaders and 26 independent filmmakers among its participants, supports up-and-coming producers through year-round mentorship, granting, educational resources, strategic introductions, and networking opportunities with the industry.
“It has been three years since we have been able to gather in person, and over this time, the landscape for independent storytelling has shifted dramatically. It’s never been more critical to work to create a sustainable future for independent producers, a key priority for the Lab and Summit,...
- 7/25/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Events to run this month in Utah,
Sundance Institute has unveiled participants for its Producers Lab taking place July 25–28 and Producers Summit running July 29–31. Both events take place in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.
The six fiction film producers and their projects under the auspices of the Producers Lab are: The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper; The President’s Cake; Starfuckers; Sales Per Hour; and Huella.
The five documentary film producers and projects are: Untitled Dwarfism Project; Untitled Sura Mallouh Project; Untitled Baltimore Project; Bartolo; and Queendom.
Producers and projects participating in the Producers Summit include: Jade Jackson with...
Sundance Institute has unveiled participants for its Producers Lab taking place July 25–28 and Producers Summit running July 29–31. Both events take place in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.
The six fiction film producers and their projects under the auspices of the Producers Lab are: The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper; The President’s Cake; Starfuckers; Sales Per Hour; and Huella.
The five documentary film producers and projects are: Untitled Dwarfism Project; Untitled Sura Mallouh Project; Untitled Baltimore Project; Bartolo; and Queendom.
Producers and projects participating in the Producers Summit include: Jade Jackson with...
- 7/25/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute has named the participants for its 2022 Producers Lab and Summit, both of which are set to take place in person this year at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.
The Fellows and projects selected for the Lab’s Feature Film Program are Apoorva Guru Charan (The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper), Leah Chen Baker (The President’s Cake), Eli Raskin (Starfuckers), Chloe Sabin (Sales Per Hour), and the duo of Helena Sardinha and Doménica Castro (Huella). Those set for the Lab’s Documentary Film Program are Lindsey Dryden (Untitled Dwarfism Project), Yoni Golijov (Untitled Sura Mallouh Project), Dawne Langford (Untitled Baltimore Project), Neyda Martinez (Bartolo) and Igor Myakotin (Queendom).
Jade Jackson (Losa), Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Forward), Fox Maxy (Water Tight), Albert Tholen and Aiko Masubuchi (Earthquake), and Séverine Tibi (Birthday) will participate in the Producers Summit on the Fiction Features side, with Nonfiction Feature participants to include Jude Chehab...
The Fellows and projects selected for the Lab’s Feature Film Program are Apoorva Guru Charan (The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper), Leah Chen Baker (The President’s Cake), Eli Raskin (Starfuckers), Chloe Sabin (Sales Per Hour), and the duo of Helena Sardinha and Doménica Castro (Huella). Those set for the Lab’s Documentary Film Program are Lindsey Dryden (Untitled Dwarfism Project), Yoni Golijov (Untitled Sura Mallouh Project), Dawne Langford (Untitled Baltimore Project), Neyda Martinez (Bartolo) and Igor Myakotin (Queendom).
Jade Jackson (Losa), Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Forward), Fox Maxy (Water Tight), Albert Tholen and Aiko Masubuchi (Earthquake), and Séverine Tibi (Birthday) will participate in the Producers Summit on the Fiction Features side, with Nonfiction Feature participants to include Jude Chehab...
- 7/25/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
With the dust settled and CAA finally closing its 750 million deal to acquire ICM Partners on Tuesday after a wait of nearly 10 months, a picture is becoming clear of just how much CAA is gaining from its acquisition — and how much of ICM is being left behind. Entire ICM departments will be significantly shaved or eliminated as part of the acquisition, including branding, independent film, unscripted TV and a solid chunk of the music department — with a total of 105 staffers expected to be pink-slipped, all from ICM. Exiting agents include the head of ICM’s unscripted TV department Michael Kagan and independent and international film head Jessica Lacy, insiders said. The branding department in particular had roughly 15 to 18 agents at the beginning of the acquisition, an individual with knowledge of the inner workings of the talent agent industry said, but now only three or four remain in the building after...
- 6/28/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Almost nine months to the day after the surprise Deadline scoop that CAA would acquire ICM Partners, the deal finally got government approval and closed. This creates a mega agency in the biggest linkup in the space since the Wma-Endeavor merger. Sources close to the situation said the Department of Justice finally approved the deal late last night or this morning, and it closed. It is valued around 750 million, and a combined enterprise value around 5 billion. The merged company’s leadership is expected to address staff at a town hall Thursday, with the newly combined departments set to begin their integration process with get-togethers on July 11, we hear.
First, though, comes the pain.
Around 105 positions will be eliminated, all from ICM, and coming from all areas. There will be 425 ICM agents and staffers from the agency joining CAA, meaning around 80 will be retained by CAA. These conversations will happen quickly.
First, though, comes the pain.
Around 105 positions will be eliminated, all from ICM, and coming from all areas. There will be 425 ICM agents and staffers from the agency joining CAA, meaning around 80 will be retained by CAA. These conversations will happen quickly.
- 6/28/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva and Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The steady trickle of agents leaving ICM Partners over the past nine months has grown into a stream in the last week, with dozens of reps making inquiries to other agencies and management companies as they mull their future ahead of the pending Department of Justice ruling on ICM’s proposed acquisition by CAA.
With the merger decision expected in the next couple of weeks, the prospect of ICM staff moving to CAA has become real, and so have the invites to join the combined agency after months of hints and winks. While no hiring/layoff decisions can be made while the regulatory approval process is ongoing, by now everyone knows where they stand. Staff reductions are an inevitable byproduct of any merger, and with the proceedings dragging on for so long, a number of ICM agents already left for other jobs ahead of the deal close — either because they...
With the merger decision expected in the next couple of weeks, the prospect of ICM staff moving to CAA has become real, and so have the invites to join the combined agency after months of hints and winks. While no hiring/layoff decisions can be made while the regulatory approval process is ongoing, by now everyone knows where they stand. Staff reductions are an inevitable byproduct of any merger, and with the proceedings dragging on for so long, a number of ICM agents already left for other jobs ahead of the deal close — either because they...
- 6/17/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Films Boutique and ICM Partners have launched sales on Jake Paltrow’s upcoming drama June Zero, with Films Boutique handling international rights and ICM overseeing distribution in North America.
Paltrow’s first foreign-language production explores true stories surrounding the execution of Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann in 1962 Israel, through three characters intimately involved in the nation-defining event: David, a precocious 13-year-old Libyan factory worker looking to belong; Haim, Eichmann’s main prison guard, tasked with protecting this dead man walking; and the Police Investigative officer of the Eichmann trial, Micha, on his first trip back to Poland since surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he tries to make sense of the future of the Jewish homeland’s soul post-execution.
Shot on Super-16mm film in Israel and Ukraine under strict Covid regulations, June Zero was written by Paltrow and Tom Shoval. Miranda Bailey (God’s Country), David Silber (Incitement) and Emmy winner Oren Moverman (Bad Education) produced,...
Paltrow’s first foreign-language production explores true stories surrounding the execution of Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann in 1962 Israel, through three characters intimately involved in the nation-defining event: David, a precocious 13-year-old Libyan factory worker looking to belong; Haim, Eichmann’s main prison guard, tasked with protecting this dead man walking; and the Police Investigative officer of the Eichmann trial, Micha, on his first trip back to Poland since surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he tries to make sense of the future of the Jewish homeland’s soul post-execution.
Shot on Super-16mm film in Israel and Ukraine under strict Covid regulations, June Zero was written by Paltrow and Tom Shoval. Miranda Bailey (God’s Country), David Silber (Incitement) and Emmy winner Oren Moverman (Bad Education) produced,...
- 3/9/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Jake Paltrow’s forthcoming feature film “June Zero” has been picked up for sales by ICM Partners in North America and Films Boutique for the rest of world.
Written by Paltrow and Tom Shoval, “June Zero” explores true stories surrounding the 1962 execution of Adolf Eichmann — one of the key architects of the Holocaust — in Israel through three characters intimately involved in the nation-defining event: David, a precocious thirteen-year-old Libyan factory worker looking to belong; Haim, Eichmann’s main prison guard, tasked with protecting this dead man walking; and the Police Investigative officer of the Eichmann trial, Micha, on his first trip back to Poland since surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau — where he tries to make sense of the future of the Jewish homeland’s soul post-execution.
“June Zero” was shot on Super-16mm film in Israel and Ukraine under strict Covid-19 regulations, and represents writer-director Paltrow’s first foreign language production. The filmmaker...
Written by Paltrow and Tom Shoval, “June Zero” explores true stories surrounding the 1962 execution of Adolf Eichmann — one of the key architects of the Holocaust — in Israel through three characters intimately involved in the nation-defining event: David, a precocious thirteen-year-old Libyan factory worker looking to belong; Haim, Eichmann’s main prison guard, tasked with protecting this dead man walking; and the Police Investigative officer of the Eichmann trial, Micha, on his first trip back to Poland since surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau — where he tries to make sense of the future of the Jewish homeland’s soul post-execution.
“June Zero” was shot on Super-16mm film in Israel and Ukraine under strict Covid-19 regulations, and represents writer-director Paltrow’s first foreign language production. The filmmaker...
- 3/9/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Screenplay based on short story by renowned crime writer James Lee Burke.
IFC Films has picked up North American rights to Julian Higgins’ feature debut God’s Country starring Thandiwe Newton following its world premiere at virtual Sundance 2022 last month.
Newton plays a troubled Black professor living and working in a rural college town in the American West who gets into an escalating feud when local hunters use her land to enter a forest.
Rounding out the key cast are Jeremy Bobb, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Kai Lennox and Tanaya Beatty.
Higgins adapted the screenplay with Shaye Ogbonna from the short...
IFC Films has picked up North American rights to Julian Higgins’ feature debut God’s Country starring Thandiwe Newton following its world premiere at virtual Sundance 2022 last month.
Newton plays a troubled Black professor living and working in a rural college town in the American West who gets into an escalating feud when local hunters use her land to enter a forest.
Rounding out the key cast are Jeremy Bobb, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Kai Lennox and Tanaya Beatty.
Higgins adapted the screenplay with Shaye Ogbonna from the short...
- 2/12/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to “God’s Country,” a thriller and modern-day Western starring Thandiwe Newton that premiered at this year’s Sundance.
Julian Higgins directed the film that stars Newton as a reclusive college professor living in a small, Western town who gets into an escalating battle of wills with two locals who insist upon parking their truck and trespassing onto her land.
IFC Films plans to release “God’s Country” theatrically in fall 2022.
“God’s Country” is based on a short story called “Winter Light” by author James Lee Burke. Higgins and writer Shaye Ogbonna first adapted the story as a short film before expanding it as a feature, but this time turning the character into a Black woman and expanding the part and character’s backstory significantly.
While the film has the trappings of a thriller and Western, it’s far more of an intimate, slow-burn...
Julian Higgins directed the film that stars Newton as a reclusive college professor living in a small, Western town who gets into an escalating battle of wills with two locals who insist upon parking their truck and trespassing onto her land.
IFC Films plans to release “God’s Country” theatrically in fall 2022.
“God’s Country” is based on a short story called “Winter Light” by author James Lee Burke. Higgins and writer Shaye Ogbonna first adapted the story as a short film before expanding it as a feature, but this time turning the character into a Black woman and expanding the part and character’s backstory significantly.
While the film has the trappings of a thriller and Western, it’s far more of an intimate, slow-burn...
- 2/11/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
While this year’s Sundance Film Festival didn’t see a jaw-dropping sale on par with last year’s bank-busting “Coda” buy, sales were brisk both before and during the event, with crowdpleasers like “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” “Fire of Love,” and “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” finding homes at the festival, and other winners like “Fresh,” “Speak No Evil,” and “Master” arriving at Sundance with distribution already in hand.
And yet many of the best films of the fest are still looking for homes, and thus comes our annual plea: buy these films! We really love them and we think your audience will, too! The year ahead is certainly going to be an unpredictable one for distribution companies as the future of exhibition remains an open, ever-changing question. But the quality of these movies is not up for debate, nor is their potential to resonate with audiences well beyond Sundance.
And yet many of the best films of the fest are still looking for homes, and thus comes our annual plea: buy these films! We really love them and we think your audience will, too! The year ahead is certainly going to be an unpredictable one for distribution companies as the future of exhibition remains an open, ever-changing question. But the quality of these movies is not up for debate, nor is their potential to resonate with audiences well beyond Sundance.
- 1/31/2022
- by Kate Erbland and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck has signed with Anonymous Content. The move comes after the I Am Not Your Negro director most recently wrote, directed and executive produced the four-part series Exterminate All the Brutes. The docuseries, which premiered in April on HBO and HBO Max, pushes the boundaries of traditional documentary filmmaking, offering an expansive exploration of the exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism.
Peck is also the founder of production company Velvet Film through which he has produced or co-produced all his films in the U.S. and Europe. He now join the ranks of Anonymous Content’s film and television division which boasts sevearl commercially successful and critically acclaimed works and has up next the Apple TV+ film Swan Song.
The signing also comes as Peck tonight will receive the 2021 Doc NYC Visionaries Tribute Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Peck’s 2016 I Am Not Your Negro was...
Peck is also the founder of production company Velvet Film through which he has produced or co-produced all his films in the U.S. and Europe. He now join the ranks of Anonymous Content’s film and television division which boasts sevearl commercially successful and critically acclaimed works and has up next the Apple TV+ film Swan Song.
The signing also comes as Peck tonight will receive the 2021 Doc NYC Visionaries Tribute Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Peck’s 2016 I Am Not Your Negro was...
- 11/10/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: European arthouse sales force The Match Factory and ICM Partners are teaming up to jointly represent four films playing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The Match Factory and ICM Partners will co-rep North American rights on Nanni Moretti’s Competition film Tre Piani (Three Floors), and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Competition entry Drive My Car, based on Haruki Murakami’s short story.
Additionally, they will co-rep North American rights on two films in Un Certain Regard: Sebastian Meise’s film Great Freedom starring Franz Rogowski and Georg Friedrich, and Eran Kolirin’s film Let It Be Morning, which marks the director’s return to Cannes where his well-received film The Band’s Visit won an award in Un Certain Regard in 2007.
As previously announced, The Match Factory reps international sales on all four of the titles.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy won Best Director at this year’s Berlinale.
The Match Factory and ICM Partners will co-rep North American rights on Nanni Moretti’s Competition film Tre Piani (Three Floors), and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Competition entry Drive My Car, based on Haruki Murakami’s short story.
Additionally, they will co-rep North American rights on two films in Un Certain Regard: Sebastian Meise’s film Great Freedom starring Franz Rogowski and Georg Friedrich, and Eran Kolirin’s film Let It Be Morning, which marks the director’s return to Cannes where his well-received film The Band’s Visit won an award in Un Certain Regard in 2007.
As previously announced, The Match Factory reps international sales on all four of the titles.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy won Best Director at this year’s Berlinale.
- 7/7/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Shout! Studios has acquired North American rights to the platonic love story “Language Lessons” from Duplass Brothers Productions, following a competitive bidding situation. The news comes on the heels of the movie’s world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and its Audience Award win at the SXSW Film Festival.
“Language Lessons” marks the feature directorial debut of Natalie Morales. It stars and was written by Mark Duplass and Morales, and was produced by Mel Eslyn.
The film follows Adam (Duplass), whose husband surprises him with a gift of a year’s worth of weekly Spanish lessons. But when tragedy strikes, his teacher, Cariño (Morales), becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed and the two develop an unexpected and complicated emotional bond.
Shot in secret during the pandemic with a skeleton crew in Los Angeles and Costa Rica, “Language Lessons’ ” exploration of long-distance connection is both of its time and timeless.
“Language Lessons” marks the feature directorial debut of Natalie Morales. It stars and was written by Mark Duplass and Morales, and was produced by Mel Eslyn.
The film follows Adam (Duplass), whose husband surprises him with a gift of a year’s worth of weekly Spanish lessons. But when tragedy strikes, his teacher, Cariño (Morales), becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed and the two develop an unexpected and complicated emotional bond.
Shot in secret during the pandemic with a skeleton crew in Los Angeles and Costa Rica, “Language Lessons’ ” exploration of long-distance connection is both of its time and timeless.
- 4/6/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Shout! Studios has acquired North American rights to Language Lessons, the drama that marks the feature directing debut of Natalie Morales. She co-stars with Mark Duplass, who also penned the script. The pic, which had its world premiere at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and won an audience award at SXSW, will now hit theaters and additional platforms later this year as part of the deal that includes digital, VOD, broadcast, and home entertainment rights.
The film centers on Adam (Duplass), whose husband surprises him with a gift of a year’s worth of weekly Spanish lessons. But when tragedy strikes, his teacher, Cariño (Morales), becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed and the two develop an unexpected and complicated emotional bond.
The Duplass Brothers Productions pic was shot with a small crew during the pandemic in Los Angeles and Costa Rica. Mel Eslyn produced it, and Morales,...
The film centers on Adam (Duplass), whose husband surprises him with a gift of a year’s worth of weekly Spanish lessons. But when tragedy strikes, his teacher, Cariño (Morales), becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed and the two develop an unexpected and complicated emotional bond.
The Duplass Brothers Productions pic was shot with a small crew during the pandemic in Los Angeles and Costa Rica. Mel Eslyn produced it, and Morales,...
- 4/6/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Shout! Studios has acquired worldwide rights to Emmy-winning director Nancy Buirski’s documentary A Crime on the Bayou, the third in her trilogy of films that explore vital stories from the Civil Rights era.
Shout! Studios, the distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, plans a theatrical release for A Crime on the Bayou later this year, followed by a rollout on VOD, digital, broadcast and home entertainment. Egot-winner John Legend is an executive producer of the film that revisits the case of Gary Duncan, who as a Black teenager in 1966 was arrested in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in a racially-charged incident.
Duncan’s “crime” was to break up a fight between white and Black youths outside a newly-integrated school, during which he “gently [laid] his hand on a white boy’s arm,” setting in motion a prosecution for assault on a minor. Duncan was defended by Richard Sobol, a young Jewish attorney,...
Shout! Studios, the distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, plans a theatrical release for A Crime on the Bayou later this year, followed by a rollout on VOD, digital, broadcast and home entertainment. Egot-winner John Legend is an executive producer of the film that revisits the case of Gary Duncan, who as a Black teenager in 1966 was arrested in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in a racially-charged incident.
Duncan’s “crime” was to break up a fight between white and Black youths outside a newly-integrated school, during which he “gently [laid] his hand on a white boy’s arm,” setting in motion a prosecution for assault on a minor. Duncan was defended by Richard Sobol, a young Jewish attorney,...
- 4/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to “Holler,” a coming-of-age drama starring Jessica Barden (“End of the F***ing World”) that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020.
Nicole Riegel made her directorial debut on “Holler,” which also stars Gus Halper, Pamela Adlon, Becky Ann Baker and Austin Amelio and is executive produced by Paul Feig.
IFC Films plans to release “Holler” in June 2021. Here’s the synopsis:
Riegel also wrote the film, which centers on Barden as a young woman from a small Southern Ohio town where manufacturing and opportunities have tried up. After winning acceptance to college, she joins her older brother on a dangerous scrap metal crew seeking to pay her tuition. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the aging factories at night.
The producers are Katie McNeill and Jamie Patricof of Hunting Lane Films,...
Nicole Riegel made her directorial debut on “Holler,” which also stars Gus Halper, Pamela Adlon, Becky Ann Baker and Austin Amelio and is executive produced by Paul Feig.
IFC Films plans to release “Holler” in June 2021. Here’s the synopsis:
Riegel also wrote the film, which centers on Barden as a young woman from a small Southern Ohio town where manufacturing and opportunities have tried up. After winning acceptance to college, she joins her older brother on a dangerous scrap metal crew seeking to pay her tuition. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the aging factories at night.
The producers are Katie McNeill and Jamie Patricof of Hunting Lane Films,...
- 2/4/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
IFC Films has acquired “Holler,” a drama about a woman who joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay for her college education.
The deal is for North American right. IFC will release the film in June 2021. “Holler” received critical claim both for Nicole Riegel’s work behind the camera and for the lead performance of Jessica Barden. Variety’s Peter Debruge praised the movie’s grit, writing, “‘Holler’ is honest, which is not always what people want from movies, but it isn’t your typical poverty porn. Riegel avoids the melodramatic gimmicks that tellers of such working-class stories love to pull, trusting that audiences understand that the only happy ending — the only hopeful ending — is one that sees Ruth on her way out of Jackson.”
Riegel wrote the screenplay for the movie and is making her directorial debut. Barden starred in “End of the F*cking World...
The deal is for North American right. IFC will release the film in June 2021. “Holler” received critical claim both for Nicole Riegel’s work behind the camera and for the lead performance of Jessica Barden. Variety’s Peter Debruge praised the movie’s grit, writing, “‘Holler’ is honest, which is not always what people want from movies, but it isn’t your typical poverty porn. Riegel avoids the melodramatic gimmicks that tellers of such working-class stories love to pull, trusting that audiences understand that the only happy ending — the only hopeful ending — is one that sees Ruth on her way out of Jackson.”
Riegel wrote the screenplay for the movie and is making her directorial debut. Barden starred in “End of the F*cking World...
- 2/4/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“It’s very much a movie in the Michael Bay mould but it’s also a love story.”
Production on pandemic thriller Songbird began in Los Angeles on Wednesday (July 8), marking the first shoot in the city since the lockdown as British director Adam Mason hailed “a real spirit of camaraderie” among his cast and crew.
In full compliance with health guidelines, Mason told Screen he and producers Michael Bay and Adam Goodman were raring to go after overcoming administrative hurdles including a temporary stop by the Screen Actors Guild that was resolved swiftly.
Songbird is expected to shoot for...
Production on pandemic thriller Songbird began in Los Angeles on Wednesday (July 8), marking the first shoot in the city since the lockdown as British director Adam Mason hailed “a real spirit of camaraderie” among his cast and crew.
In full compliance with health guidelines, Mason told Screen he and producers Michael Bay and Adam Goodman were raring to go after overcoming administrative hurdles including a temporary stop by the Screen Actors Guild that was resolved swiftly.
Songbird is expected to shoot for...
- 7/8/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Us distributor released Mohammad Rasoulof’s 2013 thriller Manuscripts Don’t Burn.
Kino Lorber, a frequent buyer of Berlin Golden Bear winners, has acquired the most recent one, taking Us rights to Iranian auteur’s Mohammad Rasoulof’s drama There is No Evil.
There is No Evil is an anthology feature comprising four stories of executioners who are each thrown into a moral dilemma when the Islamic Republic orders them to enforce the death penalty upon others. The film shot in secret in Iran.
Kino Lorber plans an autumn theatrical release followed by VOD and home video release.
Rasoulof was unable...
Kino Lorber, a frequent buyer of Berlin Golden Bear winners, has acquired the most recent one, taking Us rights to Iranian auteur’s Mohammad Rasoulof’s drama There is No Evil.
There is No Evil is an anthology feature comprising four stories of executioners who are each thrown into a moral dilemma when the Islamic Republic orders them to enforce the death penalty upon others. The film shot in secret in Iran.
Kino Lorber plans an autumn theatrical release followed by VOD and home video release.
Rasoulof was unable...
- 4/10/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
“People are under a lot of pressure, so an award like this is extremely important.”
After winning the top two grand jury awards at the cancelled SXSW, the directors of An Elephant In The Room and Shithouse are now embarking on the next phase amid unprecedented times as their sales agents work out how to get the films seen by as many people as possible.
Danish filmmaker Katrine Philp’s An Elephant In The Room won the documentary feature competition after she and her fellow contenders opted in to have their films judged online when SXSW got cancelled at the...
After winning the top two grand jury awards at the cancelled SXSW, the directors of An Elephant In The Room and Shithouse are now embarking on the next phase amid unprecedented times as their sales agents work out how to get the films seen by as many people as possible.
Danish filmmaker Katrine Philp’s An Elephant In The Room won the documentary feature competition after she and her fellow contenders opted in to have their films judged online when SXSW got cancelled at the...
- 3/25/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Ryan Kampe screening all three in the market.
Visit Films heads to the Efm in Berlin this week with a slate bolstered by Sundance acquisitions The Last Shift and Feels Good Man, and Berlin Panorama selection Minyan.
Ryan Kampe and his team will screen all three in Berlin, alongside previously announced punk rock documentary and Generations selection White Riot, Park City premieres Summer White and Dinner In America, and Toronto title Hearts And Bones starring Hugo Weaving.
The Last Shift stars Richard Jenkins and Shane Paul McGhie and screened in the Premieres section. Jenkins plays a fast food worker about...
Visit Films heads to the Efm in Berlin this week with a slate bolstered by Sundance acquisitions The Last Shift and Feels Good Man, and Berlin Panorama selection Minyan.
Ryan Kampe and his team will screen all three in Berlin, alongside previously announced punk rock documentary and Generations selection White Riot, Park City premieres Summer White and Dinner In America, and Toronto title Hearts And Bones starring Hugo Weaving.
The Last Shift stars Richard Jenkins and Shane Paul McGhie and screened in the Premieres section. Jenkins plays a fast food worker about...
- 2/17/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Sundance 2019 brings tempered expectations after a quiet 2018 market, when big-spenders Netflix and Amazon withdrew from the fray. As distributors can no longer rely on output deals with Netflix, they are looking to Starz and Hulu to make up the shortfall. And with Amazon Video Direct’s Film Festival Stars program gone, there’s no artificial bottom to the market, which gives everyone more room to maneuver, but also risks leaving the least commercial indies with no distribution at all. And some companies are changing their deals so that theatrical distribution is no longer guaranteed.
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
- 1/24/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Sundance 2019 brings tempered expectations after a quiet 2018 market, when big-spenders Netflix and Amazon withdrew from the fray. As distributors can no longer rely on output deals with Netflix, they are looking to Starz and Hulu to make up the shortfall. And with Amazon Video Direct’s Film Festival Stars program gone, there’s no artificial bottom to the market, which gives everyone more room to maneuver, but also risks leaving the least commercial indies with no distribution at all. And some companies are changing their deals so that theatrical distribution is no longer guaranteed.
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “Rbg” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
Read...
- 1/24/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
As Hollywood gears up to head to Park City, Utah, for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, one of the questions on everyone’s mind is how busy prominent streamers like Netflix and burgeoning platforms like Apple and Disney+ will be on Main Street.
Two years ago, Netflix and Amazon Studios dominated the indie marketplace with big-dollar acquisitions like “Mudbound” and “The Big Sick.” Last year, however, they had a quieter festival. Netflix picked up a handful of films like “The Kindergarten Teacher,” and acquired others well after the festival, while Amazon bought zilch.
Many indie film buyers and sellers believe that Netflix and Amazon have shifted their focus to their own production as opposed to acquiring titles, but that doesn’t mean the big streamers won’t pounce on a title or two that catches its team’s fancy.
“We go into every festival with our eyes open,” Chan Phung, Netflix’s director of independent film,...
Two years ago, Netflix and Amazon Studios dominated the indie marketplace with big-dollar acquisitions like “Mudbound” and “The Big Sick.” Last year, however, they had a quieter festival. Netflix picked up a handful of films like “The Kindergarten Teacher,” and acquired others well after the festival, while Amazon bought zilch.
Many indie film buyers and sellers believe that Netflix and Amazon have shifted their focus to their own production as opposed to acquiring titles, but that doesn’t mean the big streamers won’t pounce on a title or two that catches its team’s fancy.
“We go into every festival with our eyes open,” Chan Phung, Netflix’s director of independent film,...
- 1/23/2019
- by Beatrice Verhoeven and Trey Williams
- The Wrap
On paper, the titles available for purchase at Tiff this year appear to include fewer potential awards season vehicles (like last year's I, Tonya). Even sellers acknowledge that most top-shelf product already has sold.
"More and more of our films are getting set up with distributors at earlier stages as these distributors focus on in-house production," says ICM Partners' Jessica Lacy.
The acquisitions market may be further dampened by the loss of past buyers, including Global Road, The Weinstein Co. and Broad Green. "The market feels a bit anemic to me," says Byron Allen's ...
"More and more of our films are getting set up with distributors at earlier stages as these distributors focus on in-house production," says ICM Partners' Jessica Lacy.
The acquisitions market may be further dampened by the loss of past buyers, including Global Road, The Weinstein Co. and Broad Green. "The market feels a bit anemic to me," says Byron Allen's ...
On paper, the titles available for purchase at Tiff this year appear to include fewer potential awards season vehicles (like last year's I, Tonya). Even sellers acknowledge that most top-shelf product already has sold.
"More and more of our films are getting set up with distributors at earlier stages as these distributors focus on in-house production," says ICM Partners' Jessica Lacy.
The acquisitions market may be further dampened by the loss of past buyers, including Global Road, The Weinstein Co. and Broad Green. "The market feels a bit anemic to me," says Byron Allen's ...
"More and more of our films are getting set up with distributors at earlier stages as these distributors focus on in-house production," says ICM Partners' Jessica Lacy.
The acquisitions market may be further dampened by the loss of past buyers, including Global Road, The Weinstein Co. and Broad Green. "The market feels a bit anemic to me," says Byron Allen's ...
Hollywood needs to offer audiences more diversity in movies if the industry is to stay in business, several key independent film executives asserted at Saturday’s Produced By Conference.
“The marketplace is more receptive to diverse content,” said “Mudbound” producer Charles King at the event on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. He appeared on a panel titled “Financing Your Film: How to Find the Right Partners” at the Paramount Theatre.
“Mudbound” wound up receiving four Oscar nominations in a major triumph for streaming service Netflix, which has profoundly disrupted the movie business. King, who also produced “Fences” through his Macro company, praised Netflix’s awards season campaign as “above and beyond.”
He noted that Netflix presented an offer for “Mudbound” at the Sundance Film Festival that far exceeded the others, including a commitment for an Academy Award campaign. “To be honest, they were an incredible partner,” King said.
Pandemonium chief Bill Mechanic,...
“The marketplace is more receptive to diverse content,” said “Mudbound” producer Charles King at the event on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles. He appeared on a panel titled “Financing Your Film: How to Find the Right Partners” at the Paramount Theatre.
“Mudbound” wound up receiving four Oscar nominations in a major triumph for streaming service Netflix, which has profoundly disrupted the movie business. King, who also produced “Fences” through his Macro company, praised Netflix’s awards season campaign as “above and beyond.”
He noted that Netflix presented an offer for “Mudbound” at the Sundance Film Festival that far exceeded the others, including a commitment for an Academy Award campaign. “To be honest, they were an incredible partner,” King said.
Pandemonium chief Bill Mechanic,...
- 6/10/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
One prominent film agent says Netflix, which for years provided an outlet for independent films that otherwise might have struggled to find distribution at movie theaters, is gravitating to splashier cinematic fare as it ramps its movie production.
“The problem is, now they’re not buying those movies,” said Jessica Lacy, Head of International & Independent Film for ICM Partners. “So, they’ve really hurt my business.”
To be sure, Netflix secured the rights earlier this year to the next four films from the Duplass Brothers, the veteran independent American filmmakers behind The One I Love, Creep and The Overnight. But these days, Lacy says, Netflix is focused on producing originals in-house or acquiring films that will make a huge splash, like the $100 million fantasy movie Bright starring Will Smith, which attracted 11 million views in the first three days.
Participants in the film financing panel at today’s Produced By Conference...
“The problem is, now they’re not buying those movies,” said Jessica Lacy, Head of International & Independent Film for ICM Partners. “So, they’ve really hurt my business.”
To be sure, Netflix secured the rights earlier this year to the next four films from the Duplass Brothers, the veteran independent American filmmakers behind The One I Love, Creep and The Overnight. But these days, Lacy says, Netflix is focused on producing originals in-house or acquiring films that will make a huge splash, like the $100 million fantasy movie Bright starring Will Smith, which attracted 11 million views in the first three days.
Participants in the film financing panel at today’s Produced By Conference...
- 6/10/2018
- by Dawn C. Chmielewski
- Deadline Film + TV
In 2015, around the same time Jessica Lacy was named partner at ICM, she surveyed her indie film finance group and noticed that something was missing. “It was heavily populated with men, and I realized there was no reason for that, so I made a great effort to build a team that was reflective of our goals here at the agency,” she says. That was more than two years before ICM made its “50-50 by 2020” pledge. “I’m proud to say that my department is now 50-50,” she adds. Equally important is supporting female filmmakers, and Lacy says women represented...
- 5/9/2018
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In 2015, around the same time Jessica Lacy was named partner at ICM, she surveyed her indie film finance group and noticed that something was missing. “It was heavily populated with men, and I realized there was no reason for that, so I made a great effort to build a team that was reflective of our goals here at the agency,” she says. That was more than two years before ICM made its “50-50 by 2020” pledge. “I’m proud to say that my department is now 50-50,” she adds. Equally important is supporting female ...
Sales to commence in Cannes on SXSW selection.
Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Becca Gleason’s SXSW selection Summer ’03, a coming of age story that Blue Fox International will screen for buyers in Cannes.
Joey King, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Jack Kilmer, Erin Darke, and June Squib star in the story of a 16-year-old who, confronted with a string of family secrets from her dying grandmother, is forced to navigate relationships amid the family crisis.
Blue Fox’s domestic distribution unit will release Summer ’03 in the Us in autumn.
Tadmor produced and financed the feature in association with Big Cat Productions.
Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Becca Gleason’s SXSW selection Summer ’03, a coming of age story that Blue Fox International will screen for buyers in Cannes.
Joey King, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Jack Kilmer, Erin Darke, and June Squib star in the story of a 16-year-old who, confronted with a string of family secrets from her dying grandmother, is forced to navigate relationships amid the family crisis.
Blue Fox’s domestic distribution unit will release Summer ’03 in the Us in autumn.
Tadmor produced and financed the feature in association with Big Cat Productions.
- 5/4/2018
- by Jenn Sherman
- ScreenDaily
Samuel Goldwyn Films has obtained the North American distribution rights to Sundance Next Innovator Prize-winning film, Night Comes On, which will hit theaters sometime in the summer of this year. Ozark actress Jordana Spiro made her directorial debut with this film as well as co-wrote the script with Angelica Nwandu, founder of the popular blog The Shade Room.
Starring Dominque Fishback (HBO’s The Deuce) and 10-year-old tyro Tatum Marilyn Hall, the story follows Angel Lamere who is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, Angel embarks on a journey with her little sister to avenge her mother’s death.
Producers are Alvaro R. Valente, Jonathan Montepare, and Danielle Renfrew Behrens. Spiro also served as an executive producer along with Bill Harnisch, Ruth Ann Harnisch, David Stone, David Boies III, Donna Gruneich, Kevin Gruneich, Jenifer Westphal, Patty Quillin, Larry Taube, and Matthew Spitzer.
Starring Dominque Fishback (HBO’s The Deuce) and 10-year-old tyro Tatum Marilyn Hall, the story follows Angel Lamere who is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, Angel embarks on a journey with her little sister to avenge her mother’s death.
Producers are Alvaro R. Valente, Jonathan Montepare, and Danielle Renfrew Behrens. Spiro also served as an executive producer along with Bill Harnisch, Ruth Ann Harnisch, David Stone, David Boies III, Donna Gruneich, Kevin Gruneich, Jenifer Westphal, Patty Quillin, Larry Taube, and Matthew Spitzer.
- 5/1/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Two of Mexico’s most respected women film executives Alejandra Paulín and Maru Garzón, have been named joint heads of the country’s Los Cabos Intl. Film Festival, one of Latin America’s fastest-growing film events. Paulín will serve as executive director and Garzón as artistic director.
The appointments were announced Thursday by Los Cabos president Eduardo Sánchez Navarro and Alfonso Pasquel, president of Los Cabos Arte y Cultura A.C.
Paulín and Garzón replace Hugo Villa, Los Cabos Festival director at last year’s edition but named in February as director of Mexico’s Unam Filmoteca, a key national cinematheque.
Garzón and Paulín’s new joint leadership recognizes their role in the build of Los Cabos, launched as recently as 2012, as a key – as well as highly enjoyable – event working an ever more dynamic U.S.-Mexico-Canada movie axis. Both already held top jobs at Los Cabos, Garzón as programming director,...
The appointments were announced Thursday by Los Cabos president Eduardo Sánchez Navarro and Alfonso Pasquel, president of Los Cabos Arte y Cultura A.C.
Paulín and Garzón replace Hugo Villa, Los Cabos Festival director at last year’s edition but named in February as director of Mexico’s Unam Filmoteca, a key national cinematheque.
Garzón and Paulín’s new joint leadership recognizes their role in the build of Los Cabos, launched as recently as 2012, as a key – as well as highly enjoyable – event working an ever more dynamic U.S.-Mexico-Canada movie axis. Both already held top jobs at Los Cabos, Garzón as programming director,...
- 4/26/2018
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Event runs June 9-10 at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles.
The Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss and ICM Partners independent and international film department head Jessica Lacy are among speakers lined up for the Producers Guild of America’s 10th Produced By Conference in Los Angeles in June.
Speakers Include documentarian Errol Morris, Grace & Frankie creator Marta Kauffman, MacRo founder Charles D. King, The Handmaid’s Tale executive producer Warren Littlefield and showrunner Bruce Miller, industry veteran Bill Mechanic, and showrunners Justin Simien and Lena Waithe.
The conference will take place from June 9-10 at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles.
The Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss and ICM Partners independent and international film department head Jessica Lacy are among speakers lined up for the Producers Guild of America’s 10th Produced By Conference in Los Angeles in June.
Speakers Include documentarian Errol Morris, Grace & Frankie creator Marta Kauffman, MacRo founder Charles D. King, The Handmaid’s Tale executive producer Warren Littlefield and showrunner Bruce Miller, industry veteran Bill Mechanic, and showrunners Justin Simien and Lena Waithe.
The conference will take place from June 9-10 at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles.
- 3/8/2018
- by Jenn Sherman
- ScreenDaily
ICM Partners announced two additions to its Independent and International Film Department on Monday, with Kristen Konvitz hired as an agent for the division and Oliver Wheeler promoted to the same position. Both will report to department head Jessica Lacy. Kravitz joins ICM from Stay Gold Features, where she was Head of Production. She was involved with the Sundance hit “Patti Cake$,” which was bought by Fox Searchlight for $9.5 million, as well as A24’s “Under The Silver Lake” and SXSW award winner “The Strange Ones. She also worked as Director of Film for the crowdfunding site Indiegogo and also worked.
- 7/10/2017
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
ICM Partners today has hired Stay Gold Features exec Kristen Konvitz and promoted Oliver Wheeler to agent, both at the agency's Independent and International Film Department. The ramp-up comes after department head Jessica Lacy has seen a strong year that includes the recent sale to A24 of Sean Baker's The Florida Project at Cannes in addition to repping Raoul’s Peck’s Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro among others. Konvitz was most recently the New…...
- 7/10/2017
- Deadline
New arrival worked at Stay Gold, Wild Bunch, The Weinstein Company
ICM Partners on Monday announced the hire of Kristen Konvitz at the agency’s independent and international film department.
Konvitz, who most recently served as head of production at Stay Gold Features, will be based in the Los Angeles office and reports to department head Jessica Lacy.
At Stay Gold Features, Konvitz was involved in Sundance breakout Patti Cake$ that sold to Fox Searchlight, as well as A24’s upcoming Under The Silver Lake from David Robert Mitchell, and SXSW award winner The Strange Ones.
The hire comes as Lacy’s division enjoys a purple patch, having recently sold Cannes Director’s Fortnight hit The Florida Project to A24, Cory Finley’s Sundance selection Thoroughbred to Focus Features, and Charlie McDowell’s The Discovery to Netflix.
“Our department is in the midst of a banner year, and we want to continue to grow our team with...
ICM Partners on Monday announced the hire of Kristen Konvitz at the agency’s independent and international film department.
Konvitz, who most recently served as head of production at Stay Gold Features, will be based in the Los Angeles office and reports to department head Jessica Lacy.
At Stay Gold Features, Konvitz was involved in Sundance breakout Patti Cake$ that sold to Fox Searchlight, as well as A24’s upcoming Under The Silver Lake from David Robert Mitchell, and SXSW award winner The Strange Ones.
The hire comes as Lacy’s division enjoys a purple patch, having recently sold Cannes Director’s Fortnight hit The Florida Project to A24, Cory Finley’s Sundance selection Thoroughbred to Focus Features, and Charlie McDowell’s The Discovery to Netflix.
“Our department is in the midst of a banner year, and we want to continue to grow our team with...
- 7/10/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
On the eve of the market, Afm executives said the number of registered UK exhibitors will reach its highest level since 2009 despite concerns over a punishing exchange rate in light of the Brexit vote.
Thirty-eight registered companies represents a year-on-year climb of nearly 16%.
Market chiefs also reported increased attendance from China and Hong Kong, with more than 200 registrants from mainland China and a further 75 or so from Hong Kong on behalf of 90 companies.
Overall 367 exhibiting companies and more than 7,500 attendees from more than 80 countries are expected to arrive in Santa Monica.
A total of 305 films are set to screen with 252 market premieres and 71 world premieres.
The industry programming that runs from November 3-8 will hear from ICM Partners head of international and independent division Jessica Lacy, The Weinstein Company COO David Glasser, Cca co-head of finance Micah Green, Wme Global’s Mark Ankner, Foresight Unlimited president and COO Tamara Birkemoe, Echo Lake’s [link...
Thirty-eight registered companies represents a year-on-year climb of nearly 16%.
Market chiefs also reported increased attendance from China and Hong Kong, with more than 200 registrants from mainland China and a further 75 or so from Hong Kong on behalf of 90 companies.
Overall 367 exhibiting companies and more than 7,500 attendees from more than 80 countries are expected to arrive in Santa Monica.
A total of 305 films are set to screen with 252 market premieres and 71 world premieres.
The industry programming that runs from November 3-8 will hear from ICM Partners head of international and independent division Jessica Lacy, The Weinstein Company COO David Glasser, Cca co-head of finance Micah Green, Wme Global’s Mark Ankner, Foresight Unlimited president and COO Tamara Birkemoe, Echo Lake’s [link...
- 11/1/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Plus: Paul Haggis keynore set for Script To Screen summit in Toronto; Cartagena Film Festival announces 2017 dates; and more…
Ellen Shanman will adapt Tiger & Bunny for Imagine Entertainment, All Nippon Entertainment Works (Anew) and Bandai Namco Pictures.
The live-action English-language feature is based on the Japanese anime series and feature films set in a near-futuristic city where professional superheroes known fight crime.
Shanman is the author of the novels Right Before Your Eyes and Everything Nice, which she adapted for Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah Productions.
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Anew CEO Sandy Climan and Annmarie Bailey will produce with Masayuki Ozaki on behalf of Bandai Namco Pictures.
Paul Haggis will deliver the keynote address at Winston Baker’s Script To Screen Summit in Toronto on September 9. Panel participants include Telefilm Canada feature film executive Stephanie Azam, ICM Partners head of international and independent film Jessica Lacy, Elevation Pictures head Laurie May, Covert Media founder...
Ellen Shanman will adapt Tiger & Bunny for Imagine Entertainment, All Nippon Entertainment Works (Anew) and Bandai Namco Pictures.
The live-action English-language feature is based on the Japanese anime series and feature films set in a near-futuristic city where professional superheroes known fight crime.
Shanman is the author of the novels Right Before Your Eyes and Everything Nice, which she adapted for Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah Productions.
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Anew CEO Sandy Climan and Annmarie Bailey will produce with Masayuki Ozaki on behalf of Bandai Namco Pictures.
Paul Haggis will deliver the keynote address at Winston Baker’s Script To Screen Summit in Toronto on September 9. Panel participants include Telefilm Canada feature film executive Stephanie Azam, ICM Partners head of international and independent film Jessica Lacy, Elevation Pictures head Laurie May, Covert Media founder...
- 8/11/2016
- by govi2016@lawnet.ucla.edu (Alec Govi)
- ScreenDaily
Head of international and independent film Jessica Lacy is among a group of nine agents in Los Angeles and New York who have been promoted to partner.
Also being promoted are: Dennis Ashley and Robert Gibbs, who have co-headed the west coast urban music division, publishing agent Alexandra Machinist, television literary agents Erik Horine, Dan Norton and Pete Stone, co-head of television production Sean Freidin, and motion picture literary agent Doug Johnson.
Lacy was promoted to her current role in 2012. Among many other packaging and acquisition coups, she recently brokered the deal for Amazon to acquire Woody Allen’s upcoming Cannes Film Festival opening night selection Café Society starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg.
“We founded ICM Partners on the principle of rewarding success and providing an opportunity for growth for our agents,” said the partnership in a joint statement. “The spirit of teamwork and collegiality that we envisioned is embodied by this outstanding group of agents...
Also being promoted are: Dennis Ashley and Robert Gibbs, who have co-headed the west coast urban music division, publishing agent Alexandra Machinist, television literary agents Erik Horine, Dan Norton and Pete Stone, co-head of television production Sean Freidin, and motion picture literary agent Doug Johnson.
Lacy was promoted to her current role in 2012. Among many other packaging and acquisition coups, she recently brokered the deal for Amazon to acquire Woody Allen’s upcoming Cannes Film Festival opening night selection Café Society starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg.
“We founded ICM Partners on the principle of rewarding success and providing an opportunity for growth for our agents,” said the partnership in a joint statement. “The spirit of teamwork and collegiality that we envisioned is embodied by this outstanding group of agents...
- 3/29/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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