Board has greater representation of filmmakers from North- and Southeastern Europe.
Eight people have been voted onto the board of the European Film Academy following a restructure to improve representation from across Europe.
They include Giorgos Karnavas, co-founder of Athens- based production company and sales firm Heretic; Tine Klint, founder of Copenhagen sales company LevelK; and Hanka Kastelicová, HBO Max’s VP documentaries for Emea, from the Czech Republic.
Also joining the board are Lithuanian producer Marija Razgutė, whose most recent film Slow world premiered at Karlovy Vary this year; Turkish producer and festival director Başak Emre; Spain’s Paz Lázaro,...
Eight people have been voted onto the board of the European Film Academy following a restructure to improve representation from across Europe.
They include Giorgos Karnavas, co-founder of Athens- based production company and sales firm Heretic; Tine Klint, founder of Copenhagen sales company LevelK; and Hanka Kastelicová, HBO Max’s VP documentaries for Emea, from the Czech Republic.
Also joining the board are Lithuanian producer Marija Razgutė, whose most recent film Slow world premiered at Karlovy Vary this year; Turkish producer and festival director Başak Emre; Spain’s Paz Lázaro,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The German film industry is eagerly awaiting the appointment of the Berlin Film Festival’s new director, expected to be announced tomorrow, and as the guessing game surrounding the choice shifts into high gear, one thing looks increasingly clear: the new head will face considerable financial and political challenges at the Berlinale.
Speculation in the local industry has been rife with likely candidates to succeed Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek, who have co-led the Berlinale as artistic and executive directors since 2020 and will step down after this year’s edition when their respective mandates end.
A number of potential contenders have now quashed those rumors, among them Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy, who made it clear to Variety that he was not in the running and was very content in his current post; Kirsten Niehuus, head of funding org Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, who said she...
Speculation in the local industry has been rife with likely candidates to succeed Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek, who have co-led the Berlinale as artistic and executive directors since 2020 and will step down after this year’s edition when their respective mandates end.
A number of potential contenders have now quashed those rumors, among them Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy, who made it clear to Variety that he was not in the running and was very content in his current post; Kirsten Niehuus, head of funding org Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, who said she...
- 12/11/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Luis Ortega has wrapped production in Argentina on “Kill the Jockey,” starring Úrsula Corberó, “Money Heist’s” Tokyo, and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (“120 Bpm”), which is shaping up as one of the biggest upcoming movies from Latin America.
Ortega’s follow-up to 2018 Un Certain Regard hit “El Angel,” which sold worldwide and set a box office record in Argentina, “Kill the Jockey” has been snapped up for overseas sales by Vicente Canales’ Film Factory Entertainment, which also sold “El Angel.”
TelevisaUnivision VOD service ViX will roll out “Kill the Jockey” in the U.S. and Latin America. Scanbox handles distribution in Scandinavia.
“Kill the Jockey’s” top-notch cast also features Daniel Giménez Cacho, Mariana Di Girólamo, Daniel Fanego (“El Ángel”) and Roly Serrano (“Youth”).
It turns on Remo (Pérez Biscayart), the best jockey of his generation, whose addictions, however, have gradually cast a shadow over his glory. Like Abril (Corberó), another jockey,...
Ortega’s follow-up to 2018 Un Certain Regard hit “El Angel,” which sold worldwide and set a box office record in Argentina, “Kill the Jockey” has been snapped up for overseas sales by Vicente Canales’ Film Factory Entertainment, which also sold “El Angel.”
TelevisaUnivision VOD service ViX will roll out “Kill the Jockey” in the U.S. and Latin America. Scanbox handles distribution in Scandinavia.
“Kill the Jockey’s” top-notch cast also features Daniel Giménez Cacho, Mariana Di Girólamo, Daniel Fanego (“El Ángel”) and Roly Serrano (“Youth”).
It turns on Remo (Pérez Biscayart), the best jockey of his generation, whose addictions, however, have gradually cast a shadow over his glory. Like Abril (Corberó), another jockey,...
- 5/17/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Exile Content Studio, the Los Angeles and Miami-based production house founded by former Univision chief content officer Isaac Lee, has appointed the highly regarded Berlinale programmer Paz Lázaro as content director and head of Spain.
At Exile, which Lázaro joined at the beginning of January, Lázaro is overseeing development processes, relationships with talent and buyers, intellectual property searches, and packaging in Spain. She reports to Daniel Eilemberg, Exile Content Studios president of content.
Exile Content Studio launching in 2018 with a focus on acquiring and developing premium original content for audiences across the U.S. and Latin America. Given that, with Lázaro Exile has landed an executive with near unparalleled talent relations in Spain and Latin America, accumulated over 15 years of work at the Berlin Film Festival, where she has served as a senior advisor and selection committee member. Lázaro won special fame for directing and curating the Berlinale’s Panorama section,...
At Exile, which Lázaro joined at the beginning of January, Lázaro is overseeing development processes, relationships with talent and buyers, intellectual property searches, and packaging in Spain. She reports to Daniel Eilemberg, Exile Content Studios president of content.
Exile Content Studio launching in 2018 with a focus on acquiring and developing premium original content for audiences across the U.S. and Latin America. Given that, with Lázaro Exile has landed an executive with near unparalleled talent relations in Spain and Latin America, accumulated over 15 years of work at the Berlin Film Festival, where she has served as a senior advisor and selection committee member. Lázaro won special fame for directing and curating the Berlinale’s Panorama section,...
- 1/19/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Producer-director Kristina Konrad’s Berlin-based Weltfilm has boarded “Amateur,” the feature debut of Spaniard Martin Gutiérrez which won the top Malaga Festival Prize for best Spanish film at this Spring’s Malaga Wip pix in post competition.
Konrad, one of the jury members for Spanish titles at Malaga Wip, along with Berlin Panorama director Paz Lázaro and Gijón Film Festival programer Ricardo Apilánez, signed up to co-produce “Amateur” after the Malaga Wip showcase.
Written by Gutierrez, “Amateur” also won the Abycine Prize from Spain’s Albacete Independent Film Festival and shared the Fidba Award, granted by the Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival, with Marta Lallana’s “Muyeres.”
Described as an gesture of intimate love and justice towards the people and places that suggest home for the director, “Amateur” shows how time goes by at varying speeds as perceived by different people in the village Gutierrez grew up in, Echo,...
Konrad, one of the jury members for Spanish titles at Malaga Wip, along with Berlin Panorama director Paz Lázaro and Gijón Film Festival programer Ricardo Apilánez, signed up to co-produce “Amateur” after the Malaga Wip showcase.
Written by Gutierrez, “Amateur” also won the Abycine Prize from Spain’s Albacete Independent Film Festival and shared the Fidba Award, granted by the Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival, with Marta Lallana’s “Muyeres.”
Described as an gesture of intimate love and justice towards the people and places that suggest home for the director, “Amateur” shows how time goes by at varying speeds as perceived by different people in the village Gutierrez grew up in, Echo,...
- 11/20/2020
- by Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Madrid – Like so many industry events meant to take place from March, this year’s Mafiz, the Malaga Film Festival’s industry section, was forced online, while the festival has elected to postpone until later in the year.
On Tuesday, winners of the 3rd Malaga Works in Progress sections were announced, with local drama “Ane” boasting a day’s best three awards – – while each of the event’s three sidebars – LatAm Wip, Wip Doc and Spanish Wip – had films scoop prizes. Spanish feature “Amateurs” and Argentine doc “Adiós a la memoria” were selected as the event’s best Spanish and Latin American projects, each receiving a cash prize of €5,000
In the end, three domestic features from the Malaga Spanish Wip were rewarded.
“Ane,” from first-timer David Pérez Sañudo, is produced by Amania Films and stars one of the Spanish industry’s hottest film and TV actors in Patricia López Arnáiz,...
On Tuesday, winners of the 3rd Malaga Works in Progress sections were announced, with local drama “Ane” boasting a day’s best three awards – – while each of the event’s three sidebars – LatAm Wip, Wip Doc and Spanish Wip – had films scoop prizes. Spanish feature “Amateurs” and Argentine doc “Adiós a la memoria” were selected as the event’s best Spanish and Latin American projects, each receiving a cash prize of €5,000
In the end, three domestic features from the Malaga Spanish Wip were rewarded.
“Ane,” from first-timer David Pérez Sañudo, is produced by Amania Films and stars one of the Spanish industry’s hottest film and TV actors in Patricia López Arnáiz,...
- 4/28/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin’s new seven-member selection committee — four women and three men — comprises the core of new director Carlo Chatrian’s programming staff, which is led Canadian critic Mark Peranson. Peranson was the Locarno Film Festival’s chief of programming when Chatrian headed that Swiss festival. This year, Berlin is opening with “My Salinger Year,” starring Sigourney Weaver (above).
But Chatrian is quick to point out that his Berlin team is not a Locarno redux. Of the Berlin official selection gatekeepers, “four are people I worked with in Locarno and three are new,” he says. “On the one hand it was important for me to have people who know my tastes, and whom I know,” Chatrian notes. “On the other, it was just as important not to duplicate, not to copy, the Locarno model.”
That’s why the new Berlin programmers Chatrian is working with, former Panorama chief Pat Lazzaro, Verena Von Stackelberg,...
But Chatrian is quick to point out that his Berlin team is not a Locarno redux. Of the Berlin official selection gatekeepers, “four are people I worked with in Locarno and three are new,” he says. “On the one hand it was important for me to have people who know my tastes, and whom I know,” Chatrian notes. “On the other, it was just as important not to duplicate, not to copy, the Locarno model.”
That’s why the new Berlin programmers Chatrian is working with, former Panorama chief Pat Lazzaro, Verena Von Stackelberg,...
- 2/17/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Giona Nazzaro and Ed Guiney among those selected to preside over funding.
TorinoFilmLab has named the juries presiding over its various production and co-production grants to be announced later this month.
Venice Critics’ Week head Giona Nazzaro, Isabelle Glachant, founder of Hong Kong-based production company Chinese Shadows, Julia Oh, commissioning executive at the UK’s Film4, Golden Bear-winning Romanian director Adina Pintilie; and former Israel Film Fund chief Katriel Schory will preside over the Tfl Production and Co-Production Awards.
Projects eligible for grants of up to €50,000 include the 11 titles selected for the FeatureLab training programme.
A separate jury will...
TorinoFilmLab has named the juries presiding over its various production and co-production grants to be announced later this month.
Venice Critics’ Week head Giona Nazzaro, Isabelle Glachant, founder of Hong Kong-based production company Chinese Shadows, Julia Oh, commissioning executive at the UK’s Film4, Golden Bear-winning Romanian director Adina Pintilie; and former Israel Film Fund chief Katriel Schory will preside over the Tfl Production and Co-Production Awards.
Projects eligible for grants of up to €50,000 include the 11 titles selected for the FeatureLab training programme.
A separate jury will...
- 11/7/2019
- by 1101325¦Gabriele Niola¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Selection committee appointed / New heads for Panorama and Berlinale Shorts / Outlook onto 70th anniversary February 20–29, 2020Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek
Carlo Chatrian as Artistic Director and Mariette Rissenbeek as Executive Director will officially take office on June 1, 2019. The future director duo have already been in contact with festival sections, initiatives and departments for some time now, learning about workflows and structures, and had the opportunity to gain further insights on location at the festival in February. They started working in their offices at Potsdamer Platz in March and can now present a first look onto the 2020 Berlinale.
“We have different tasks, but the same goal: to successfully lead the festival into the future! We inherit a festival which is not only recognized as one of the biggest in the world but also plays a significant role in the international film industry; we are aware of the huge task we have...
Carlo Chatrian as Artistic Director and Mariette Rissenbeek as Executive Director will officially take office on June 1, 2019. The future director duo have already been in contact with festival sections, initiatives and departments for some time now, learning about workflows and structures, and had the opportunity to gain further insights on location at the festival in February. They started working in their offices at Potsdamer Platz in March and can now present a first look onto the 2020 Berlinale.
“We have different tasks, but the same goal: to successfully lead the festival into the future! We inherit a festival which is not only recognized as one of the biggest in the world but also plays a significant role in the international film industry; we are aware of the huge task we have...
- 4/1/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Berlin Film Festival‘s new leadership duo of Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek have revealed some of their new programming team. As anticipated there is a strong Locarno (Chatrian’s former festival) flavour. Chatrian has appointed a seven-member selection committee. Locarno’s former head of programming, Marc Peranson, will serve as head of programming and chair of the selection committee, which will also include three former Locarno selectors in the shape of Lorenzo Esposito, Sergio Fant, and Aurelie Godet. Also joining the committee will be programmer Verena von Stackelberg and author and curator Barbara Wurm. The new chief for the festival’s Panorama section will be Michael Stutz, a former Panorama curator. He takes over from Paz Lázaro, who will also be joining the selection committee.
Artistic director Chatrian and executive director Rissenbeek officially take office from outgoing boss Dieter Kosslick on June 1, 2019. They said, “We have different tasks,...
Artistic director Chatrian and executive director Rissenbeek officially take office from outgoing boss Dieter Kosslick on June 1, 2019. They said, “We have different tasks,...
- 3/28/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Also appoints new section heads for Panorama, Berlinale Shorts.
The Berlin International Film Festival has announced a new seven-member gender-balanced selection committee, appointed by incoming artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
Chatrian, who officially takes up his role alongside new executive director Mariette Rissenbeek on June 1, 2019, has brought four colleagues with him from the Locarno Film Festival, where he served as artistic director from 2012 to 2018.
They include new Berlinale head of programming Mark Peranson, who was head of programming at Locarno from 2013 to 2018, and a member of the selection committee from 2010 to 2012. A native of Toronto, Canada, Peranson was a programming associate...
The Berlin International Film Festival has announced a new seven-member gender-balanced selection committee, appointed by incoming artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
Chatrian, who officially takes up his role alongside new executive director Mariette Rissenbeek on June 1, 2019, has brought four colleagues with him from the Locarno Film Festival, where he served as artistic director from 2012 to 2018.
They include new Berlinale head of programming Mark Peranson, who was head of programming at Locarno from 2013 to 2018, and a member of the selection committee from 2010 to 2012. A native of Toronto, Canada, Peranson was a programming associate...
- 3/28/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has revealed a large selection of movies for its Panorama strand. Section head Paz Lázaro and co-curator and programme manager Michael Stütz have revealed 22 titles, 14 of which will be world premieres.
Among highlights are Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s; Jamie Bell starrer Skin, about the USA’s neo-Nazi scene; Tilda Swinton drama The Souvenir; and What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, about the legendary film critic.
Panorama Films:
37 Seconds – Japan
by Hikari (Mitsuyo Miyazaki)
with Mei Kayama, Misuzu Kanno, Makiko Watanabe, Shunsuke Daitō, Yuka Itaya
World premiere – Debut film
Director Hikari, aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki, tells the story of Yuma, a young Japanese woman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Torn between her obligations towards her family and her dream to become a manga artist, Yuma struggles to lead a self-determined life.
Dafne – Italy
by Federico Bondi
with Carolina Raspanti, Antonio Piovanelli,...
Among highlights are Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s; Jamie Bell starrer Skin, about the USA’s neo-Nazi scene; Tilda Swinton drama The Souvenir; and What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, about the legendary film critic.
Panorama Films:
37 Seconds – Japan
by Hikari (Mitsuyo Miyazaki)
with Mei Kayama, Misuzu Kanno, Makiko Watanabe, Shunsuke Daitō, Yuka Itaya
World premiere – Debut film
Director Hikari, aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki, tells the story of Yuma, a young Japanese woman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Torn between her obligations towards her family and her dream to become a manga artist, Yuma struggles to lead a self-determined life.
Dafne – Italy
by Federico Bondi
with Carolina Raspanti, Antonio Piovanelli,...
- 12/18/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, “mid90s,” about a 13-year-old skateboarder’s coming of age, and a documentary on influential film critic Pauline Kael are among the works that will screen in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.
“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...
Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.
“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...
- 12/18/2018
- by Henry Chu
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first titles in its Panorama sidebar. The festival has confirmed 11 films, put together for the first time by new section head Paz Lázaro together with Michael Stütz and Andreas Struck. Highlights include Timur Bekmambetov's Us fiction film Profile, which follows a British journalist who goes undercover and infiltrates the digital propaganda channels of the so-called Islamic State, German documentary Zentralflughafen Thf (Central…...
- 12/15/2017
- Deadline
Dieter Kosslick will not renew his contract, ending May 2019, as head of BerlinaleDieter Kosslick will not renew his contract, ending May 2019, as head of Berlinale
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick in response to a letter signed by a group of German directors concerning the future of the Berlinale:
I can understand that these directors want transparency when it comes to the process of reforming the Berlinale. Its future is a matter of great importance for all us. Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters will be in charge of any proceedings.My contract ends on May 31, 2019. The Supervisory Board has asked me to submit a proposal for the potential restructuring of the Berlinale. I will do so — and this proposal will be totally independent of me personally.
Seventy-nine German directors wrote a petition asking for transparency in the process, it was recently published in Der Spiegel.
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick in response to a letter signed by a group of German directors concerning the future of the Berlinale:
I can understand that these directors want transparency when it comes to the process of reforming the Berlinale. Its future is a matter of great importance for all us. Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters will be in charge of any proceedings.My contract ends on May 31, 2019. The Supervisory Board has asked me to submit a proposal for the potential restructuring of the Berlinale. I will do so — and this proposal will be totally independent of me personally.
Seventy-nine German directors wrote a petition asking for transparency in the process, it was recently published in Der Spiegel.
- 12/6/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Paz Lázaro will head up new-look Panorama team; Speck moves on after 25 years.
The Berlin Film Festival has reshuffled the team for its sidebar Panorama, with previous head Wieland Speck handing over his position as head after 25 years in the role.
Speck will take on a new role as consultant to the Berlinale’s Official Programme. In his time at Panorama, he curated more than 1,800 fiction, documentary and short films.
Dieter Kosslick revealed that the new-look team will be headed by Paz Lázaro, who has been programme manager of Panorama since 2006.
She will be joined by Michael Stütz, who will shape the section as programme manager and will be responsible for the Teddy Award, and Andreas Struck, who, alongside his current curatorial tasks, will be responsibility for editorial and communications work around the Panorama programme. Both Stütz and Struck were already working in different capacities for Panorama.
The Berlin Film Festival has reshuffled the team for its sidebar Panorama, with previous head Wieland Speck handing over his position as head after 25 years in the role.
Speck will take on a new role as consultant to the Berlinale’s Official Programme. In his time at Panorama, he curated more than 1,800 fiction, documentary and short films.
Dieter Kosslick revealed that the new-look team will be headed by Paz Lázaro, who has been programme manager of Panorama since 2006.
She will be joined by Michael Stütz, who will shape the section as programme manager and will be responsible for the Teddy Award, and Andreas Struck, who, alongside his current curatorial tasks, will be responsibility for editorial and communications work around the Panorama programme. Both Stütz and Struck were already working in different capacities for Panorama.
- 8/21/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has reshuffled the team for its Panorama sidebar, with longtime head Wieland Speck shifting to a consultant role and a new team, headed by current program manager Paz Lazaro, taking over the reins together with Michael Stutz and Andreas Struck.
Lazaro, who has been program manager at Panorama since 2006, will be the formal head of the section but will curate the sidebar together with Stutz and Struck. Stutz will take over Lazaro's title as program manager and oversee the section's Teddy Award, which honors excellence in gay cinema. Struck will also handle editorial and communications...
Lazaro, who has been program manager at Panorama since 2006, will be the formal head of the section but will curate the sidebar together with Stutz and Struck. Stutz will take over Lazaro's title as program manager and oversee the section's Teddy Award, which honors excellence in gay cinema. Struck will also handle editorial and communications...
- 8/21/2017
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Israeli title Fig Tree among selection.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 11-18) has revealed its line-up of Work in Progress titles set to participate at the event’s industry strand CineLink.
The 10 titles include Balkan projects, as well as several from further afield, such as Alamork Davidian’s Fig Tree, which recently won an award at Jerusalem Film Festival’s Pitch Point competition, and Reem Saleh’s Lebanon-Egypt doc What Comes Around.
The projects will be presented to around 40 industry delegates, and a jury consisting of Paolo Bertolin (Venice Film Festival), Paz Lazaro (Berlin International Film Festival), Hedi Zardi (LuxBox), Petra Gobel (The Post Republic) and Serkan Yildirim (Trt) will award three prizes: the Post Republic Award (€50,000 in kind), the CineLink Restart Award (€20,000 in kind), and the Turkish National Radio Television Award (€30,000 in cash).
Sarajevo’s head of industry Jovan Marjanovic commented: “The CineLink Work in Progress strand has proved to be incredibly effective for both the...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 11-18) has revealed its line-up of Work in Progress titles set to participate at the event’s industry strand CineLink.
The 10 titles include Balkan projects, as well as several from further afield, such as Alamork Davidian’s Fig Tree, which recently won an award at Jerusalem Film Festival’s Pitch Point competition, and Reem Saleh’s Lebanon-Egypt doc What Comes Around.
The projects will be presented to around 40 industry delegates, and a jury consisting of Paolo Bertolin (Venice Film Festival), Paz Lazaro (Berlin International Film Festival), Hedi Zardi (LuxBox), Petra Gobel (The Post Republic) and Serkan Yildirim (Trt) will award three prizes: the Post Republic Award (€50,000 in kind), the CineLink Restart Award (€20,000 in kind), and the Turkish National Radio Television Award (€30,000 in cash).
Sarajevo’s head of industry Jovan Marjanovic commented: “The CineLink Work in Progress strand has proved to be incredibly effective for both the...
- 7/26/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
“Road to La Paz” is a quiet, understated film about brotherhood and kinship between two very different Argentinians during the 2001 economic meltdown of the country, one a young man at a loss about how to live with his new wife and one an old man, a Muslim who has lived his life with his wife in Argentina and now wants to begin his pilgrimage, first to La Paz and then onward to Mecca.
What better way to transition from Qatar where I attended Qumra, a support program for upcoming filmmakers from Mena (Middle East, North Africa) to Latin America where I saw at Ficg, the Guadalajara Film Festival. “Road to La Paz” is a coproduction of Qatar, Argentina, Netherlands and Germany.
As I write this, it is screening at Iff Panama as well. Below is my interview with first time filmmaker, Francisco Varone. This interview was actually conducted in the foyer of the multiplex in Guadalajara before he went in for its premiere screening, just after I had seen it at the press and industry screening in Ficg.
This road movie starring Rodrigo de la Serna (“Motorcycle Diaries”) and one of Argentina’s leading stage actors, Ernesto Suárez, takes us on a trip of over 1,800 miles, from Buenos Aires, Argentina to La Paz, Bolivia.
Sebastian, whose passions are the rock band Vox Dei and his old Peugeot 505 is married and short of cash. Sebas decides to start working as a limo driver with his Peugeot. Among his frequent passengers is Jalil, an old unkind Muslim who one day offers Sebas a large amount of money to drive him to La Paz, Bolivia. Sebas reluctantly accepts. Jalil and Sebas don't agree on anything, not even on what music to play, Sebas likes Vox Dei, a progressive rock band from the 1970s, and Jalil brings along his traditional Arabic music tapes.
The road and Jalil's deteriorated health, make them surmount obstacles and become good fellow travelers. Jalil confesses that in La Paz he'll meet his brother Nazim and peregrinate along to Mecca. Jalil's health worsens and Sebastian knows he has little time left. After a long and winding road, Jalil arrives very weak to La Paz. There, after forty years, he meets his brother again. Sebas heads back home, his mission accomplished, his life changed.
The financing of this film was quite straight forward according to Francisco.
Francisco Varone: In 2012 we submitted the project the film to Visions Sud Est in Switzerland. I was almost working by myself on the film at this time and then started working with a larger Argentinean production company, Concreto Films owned by Juan Taratuto, a big film director who was directing TV commercials and said he’d help. They had a tough time finding investors so he introduced me to Gema Juarez Allen (whose recent film “Invasion” is the story of the U.S. invasion of Panama in the 1980s), a well known documentary producer with experience in coproductions who knew how to find money and understood the value of going to festivals. She said she would do it as her first fiction film and went to San Sebastian Film Festival’s Foro de Coproduccion in 2013. There she had lots of one-on-one meetings and met Julius Ponten our Dutch coproducer who got funding from the Netherlands Film Fonds and Gunter Hanfgarn that applied to Ezef, an Evangelistic Fund for films from the south (one of the backers of “Timbuktu”).
We already had the support from Incaa in their “Opera Prima” (First Works) section. Out of 100 script submissions, they chose three and I got 50% of the production budget.
We shot the movie in 2014 and then after we had a first rough cut, we went to 2015 Cartagena where we won in Colombia’s first Ficci PuertoLAB (consisting of five films by first, second or third time filmmakers from Latam, Spain or Portugal). This post-production money was awarded by a three-woman jury composed of producer Christina Gallego (“The Wind Journeys”, “Embrace of the Serpent”), Gaelle Mareschi of Kinology, the international sales agent and Paz Lazaro.
Then Doha added post-production funding for $25,000.
FiGa saw the film in Ventana Sur and picked it up for international sales.
Sl:What was your festival strategy?
Francisco Varone: Francisco Varone: The first festival it played in was Busan Film Festival 2015 in So. Korea. We wanted to play some festivals before its release in January in Argentina. There were many Latin American directors in Busan and it’s really good for making Asian sales.
From Busan it went on to Chicago, Sao Paolo, Mar del Plata where Ernesto Suárez won the Sagai Prize for New Actor, at Thessaloniki Ff 2015 where it won the Bronze Alexander, Palm Springs, London Argentinean Film Festival, Ficci, Ficg and Iff Panama. We also went to Palm Springs, Glasgow, Cartagena, Guadalajara (where I saw it) and Panama (where it is now playing). FiGa sells it at these festivals.
It was released in Argentina in January with 20 prints. So far it has 35,000 admissions and it is still playing, now in its fourth month!
Sl: How did you find your sales agent?
Francisco Varone: FiGa picked it up in Ventana Sur in December 2014 where they saw the first cut.
FiGa discussed playing it in more festivals but we needed the Argentinian release now, this year. Finding a commercial release date is hard so when you have it, you take it! There are not many options.
It was finished in 2015. At its premiere in Busan, FiGa it sold to Filmarti for Turkey. FiGa has sold to Danaos for Greece, Spain, Central America, Germany, France and Brazil. U.S. rights are still available.
Sl: Now that FiGa has it, what are you doing?
Francisco Varone: Four years ago when I quit commercials I became a professional scriptwriter and I’m also a script doctor, a rarity in Argentina. I conduct short-term one week-to-ten day workshops. Now I have written two scripts for two other directors and am working on my own script. I have lots of ideas…
Sl: What was the reaction to this film?
Francisco Varone: Most people have not seen Muslim films so audiences don’t recognize Sufi as something special.
In Sao Paolo, some young Muslims saw it and one told me that it was the first time in his life he saw Muslims without guns in a movie. He was surprised also that it came from Latin America.
Sl: What was the origin of the film?
Francisco Varone: In 2001 there was a huge economic crisis in Argentina. All savings in the banks disappeared. I was just finishing film school and there were no jobs. My best friend got married and his wife worked. He was a “house-husband”. This was a strange role conversion for me, but my friend was happy. I liked this character and wrote a half page of notes.
In 2008 I started a script about him. I also met an old film school friend and found out he had converted to Islam. These elements all went into the screenplay.
I am from a Catholic family but have always been interested in Buddhism and I practice martial arts; I’ve traveled to China and I like the East. So my friend introduced me to the Islam community. Like in the movie, I was in a ceremony called Dikhr, a Sufi ritual that takes one to two hours. It is a deeply moving experience.
I discovered something here in Argentina. How such Middle Eastern religions could be so organically a part of general society. I wanted to show this.
At the same time, I was into Zen Buddhism. Regarding how they express “truth”, I find the Buddhists and the Koran use the same words. We are all talking about the same thing.
The movie is not propaganda, it is simply depicting one possibility, one road…
Sl: How did you cast the film?
Francisco Varone: It as great for the film to have a huge star in such an indie film. The young actor, Rodrigo de la Serna, is very famous and he was very generous to trust in a debutant director and producer in fiction.
We had held a casting search in theaters in Cordoba, Uruguay, and other places and could not find an actor for the role of the Sufi. We had a casting director who called other casting directors and Eugenia Levin who had cast many important movies said on the phone she had the perfect actor and hd offered him this great part, but he had said no. She put us in touch with the older actor, Ernesto Suárez. He is very famous as a stage actor in Mendoza, a province in Argentina, but this is his first film. He lives a very modest life, drives a 1980 Renault, has a small house, a few clothes. He was not sure he wanted to do it, though we wanted him because he has such a natural quality.
He was not really interested in acting in a movie and I took a plane to talk to him. His two sons told him to do it, and so he accepted the part.
We found him three weeks before we started shooting. We were thinking of cancelling the shoot because we could not find the right actor.
What better way to transition from Qatar where I attended Qumra, a support program for upcoming filmmakers from Mena (Middle East, North Africa) to Latin America where I saw at Ficg, the Guadalajara Film Festival. “Road to La Paz” is a coproduction of Qatar, Argentina, Netherlands and Germany.
As I write this, it is screening at Iff Panama as well. Below is my interview with first time filmmaker, Francisco Varone. This interview was actually conducted in the foyer of the multiplex in Guadalajara before he went in for its premiere screening, just after I had seen it at the press and industry screening in Ficg.
This road movie starring Rodrigo de la Serna (“Motorcycle Diaries”) and one of Argentina’s leading stage actors, Ernesto Suárez, takes us on a trip of over 1,800 miles, from Buenos Aires, Argentina to La Paz, Bolivia.
Sebastian, whose passions are the rock band Vox Dei and his old Peugeot 505 is married and short of cash. Sebas decides to start working as a limo driver with his Peugeot. Among his frequent passengers is Jalil, an old unkind Muslim who one day offers Sebas a large amount of money to drive him to La Paz, Bolivia. Sebas reluctantly accepts. Jalil and Sebas don't agree on anything, not even on what music to play, Sebas likes Vox Dei, a progressive rock band from the 1970s, and Jalil brings along his traditional Arabic music tapes.
The road and Jalil's deteriorated health, make them surmount obstacles and become good fellow travelers. Jalil confesses that in La Paz he'll meet his brother Nazim and peregrinate along to Mecca. Jalil's health worsens and Sebastian knows he has little time left. After a long and winding road, Jalil arrives very weak to La Paz. There, after forty years, he meets his brother again. Sebas heads back home, his mission accomplished, his life changed.
The financing of this film was quite straight forward according to Francisco.
Francisco Varone: In 2012 we submitted the project the film to Visions Sud Est in Switzerland. I was almost working by myself on the film at this time and then started working with a larger Argentinean production company, Concreto Films owned by Juan Taratuto, a big film director who was directing TV commercials and said he’d help. They had a tough time finding investors so he introduced me to Gema Juarez Allen (whose recent film “Invasion” is the story of the U.S. invasion of Panama in the 1980s), a well known documentary producer with experience in coproductions who knew how to find money and understood the value of going to festivals. She said she would do it as her first fiction film and went to San Sebastian Film Festival’s Foro de Coproduccion in 2013. There she had lots of one-on-one meetings and met Julius Ponten our Dutch coproducer who got funding from the Netherlands Film Fonds and Gunter Hanfgarn that applied to Ezef, an Evangelistic Fund for films from the south (one of the backers of “Timbuktu”).
We already had the support from Incaa in their “Opera Prima” (First Works) section. Out of 100 script submissions, they chose three and I got 50% of the production budget.
We shot the movie in 2014 and then after we had a first rough cut, we went to 2015 Cartagena where we won in Colombia’s first Ficci PuertoLAB (consisting of five films by first, second or third time filmmakers from Latam, Spain or Portugal). This post-production money was awarded by a three-woman jury composed of producer Christina Gallego (“The Wind Journeys”, “Embrace of the Serpent”), Gaelle Mareschi of Kinology, the international sales agent and Paz Lazaro.
Then Doha added post-production funding for $25,000.
FiGa saw the film in Ventana Sur and picked it up for international sales.
Sl:What was your festival strategy?
Francisco Varone: Francisco Varone: The first festival it played in was Busan Film Festival 2015 in So. Korea. We wanted to play some festivals before its release in January in Argentina. There were many Latin American directors in Busan and it’s really good for making Asian sales.
From Busan it went on to Chicago, Sao Paolo, Mar del Plata where Ernesto Suárez won the Sagai Prize for New Actor, at Thessaloniki Ff 2015 where it won the Bronze Alexander, Palm Springs, London Argentinean Film Festival, Ficci, Ficg and Iff Panama. We also went to Palm Springs, Glasgow, Cartagena, Guadalajara (where I saw it) and Panama (where it is now playing). FiGa sells it at these festivals.
It was released in Argentina in January with 20 prints. So far it has 35,000 admissions and it is still playing, now in its fourth month!
Sl: How did you find your sales agent?
Francisco Varone: FiGa picked it up in Ventana Sur in December 2014 where they saw the first cut.
FiGa discussed playing it in more festivals but we needed the Argentinian release now, this year. Finding a commercial release date is hard so when you have it, you take it! There are not many options.
It was finished in 2015. At its premiere in Busan, FiGa it sold to Filmarti for Turkey. FiGa has sold to Danaos for Greece, Spain, Central America, Germany, France and Brazil. U.S. rights are still available.
Sl: Now that FiGa has it, what are you doing?
Francisco Varone: Four years ago when I quit commercials I became a professional scriptwriter and I’m also a script doctor, a rarity in Argentina. I conduct short-term one week-to-ten day workshops. Now I have written two scripts for two other directors and am working on my own script. I have lots of ideas…
Sl: What was the reaction to this film?
Francisco Varone: Most people have not seen Muslim films so audiences don’t recognize Sufi as something special.
In Sao Paolo, some young Muslims saw it and one told me that it was the first time in his life he saw Muslims without guns in a movie. He was surprised also that it came from Latin America.
Sl: What was the origin of the film?
Francisco Varone: In 2001 there was a huge economic crisis in Argentina. All savings in the banks disappeared. I was just finishing film school and there were no jobs. My best friend got married and his wife worked. He was a “house-husband”. This was a strange role conversion for me, but my friend was happy. I liked this character and wrote a half page of notes.
In 2008 I started a script about him. I also met an old film school friend and found out he had converted to Islam. These elements all went into the screenplay.
I am from a Catholic family but have always been interested in Buddhism and I practice martial arts; I’ve traveled to China and I like the East. So my friend introduced me to the Islam community. Like in the movie, I was in a ceremony called Dikhr, a Sufi ritual that takes one to two hours. It is a deeply moving experience.
I discovered something here in Argentina. How such Middle Eastern religions could be so organically a part of general society. I wanted to show this.
At the same time, I was into Zen Buddhism. Regarding how they express “truth”, I find the Buddhists and the Koran use the same words. We are all talking about the same thing.
The movie is not propaganda, it is simply depicting one possibility, one road…
Sl: How did you cast the film?
Francisco Varone: It as great for the film to have a huge star in such an indie film. The young actor, Rodrigo de la Serna, is very famous and he was very generous to trust in a debutant director and producer in fiction.
We had held a casting search in theaters in Cordoba, Uruguay, and other places and could not find an actor for the role of the Sufi. We had a casting director who called other casting directors and Eugenia Levin who had cast many important movies said on the phone she had the perfect actor and hd offered him this great part, but he had said no. She put us in touch with the older actor, Ernesto Suárez. He is very famous as a stage actor in Mendoza, a province in Argentina, but this is his first film. He lives a very modest life, drives a 1980 Renault, has a small house, a few clothes. He was not sure he wanted to do it, though we wanted him because he has such a natural quality.
He was not really interested in acting in a movie and I took a plane to talk to him. His two sons told him to do it, and so he accepted the part.
We found him three weeks before we started shooting. We were thinking of cancelling the shoot because we could not find the right actor.
- 4/18/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Drama set in a decaying contemporary Greece wins prize.
Sofia Exarchou’s feature debut Park, a Greek-language drama about disaffected youth in a decaying contemporary Greece, has won the Works in Progress prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) (July 3-11).
The film was previously selected for both the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and Director’s Lab, the only European project in the line-ups.
Park will receive an award of €10,000 in services from the event’s partner, Barrandov Studios.
It was one of 15 projects - selected out of 57 - showcased at Kviff’s Works in Progress event.
Selecting the most promising project, the international jury said of Park: “Set in the ruins of past glory, this film takes us to the bottom of society and ignites a firework of raw energy. A portrayal of a young generation that has been betrayed and deprived of its future.”
The jury comprised the Berlinale’s Paz Lázaro, [link...
Sofia Exarchou’s feature debut Park, a Greek-language drama about disaffected youth in a decaying contemporary Greece, has won the Works in Progress prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) (July 3-11).
The film was previously selected for both the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and Director’s Lab, the only European project in the line-ups.
Park will receive an award of €10,000 in services from the event’s partner, Barrandov Studios.
It was one of 15 projects - selected out of 57 - showcased at Kviff’s Works in Progress event.
Selecting the most promising project, the international jury said of Park: “Set in the ruins of past glory, this film takes us to the bottom of society and ignites a firework of raw energy. A portrayal of a young generation that has been betrayed and deprived of its future.”
The jury comprised the Berlinale’s Paz Lázaro, [link...
- 7/8/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Central and Eastern European projects seeking finance, distribution and festival partners have been presented to industry at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff).
Among the 15 projects vying for the $11,000 (€10,000) funding prize is writer-director Marian Crisan’s low-key thriller Orizont, about a family who get more than they bargained for when they set up a guest house in a remote part of Romania.
Crisan’s third film, which was among the more intriguing presentations, is produced by Mandragora Movies and Solar Pictures Film Group founder Bobby Paunescu.
The director’s debut, Morgen, won the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010.
Sofia Exarchou’s feature debut Park, a Greek-language drama about disaffected youth in a decaying contemporary Greece, was selected for both the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and Director’s Lab last year, the only European project in the lineups.
Turkish director Ana Yurdu’s debut Motherland, which also caught the eye, is a portrait...
Among the 15 projects vying for the $11,000 (€10,000) funding prize is writer-director Marian Crisan’s low-key thriller Orizont, about a family who get more than they bargained for when they set up a guest house in a remote part of Romania.
Crisan’s third film, which was among the more intriguing presentations, is produced by Mandragora Movies and Solar Pictures Film Group founder Bobby Paunescu.
The director’s debut, Morgen, won the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010.
Sofia Exarchou’s feature debut Park, a Greek-language drama about disaffected youth in a decaying contemporary Greece, was selected for both the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and Director’s Lab last year, the only European project in the lineups.
Turkish director Ana Yurdu’s debut Motherland, which also caught the eye, is a portrait...
- 7/7/2015
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The drumbeat of wins builds momentum for any film, from Cannes and the fall festivals to each country's submission for the Oscars--which are often influenced by perceived strength from outside critics and juries. The European Film Awards move from capital to capital--this year the 27th European Film Academy awards will be presented on December 13 in Riga, Latvia, where the Efa announced that 50 films representing 31 countries are eligible for 2014 nominations. Twenty countries with the most Efa Members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. Then a selection committee of Efa Board Members and invited experts --Mark Adams (UK), Marit Kapla (Sweden), Stefan Kitanov (Bulgaria), Paz Lázaro (Spain), Christophe Leparc (France) and Elma Tataragic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) filled out the list of eligible films. Then more than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for nominations in the following categories: European Film, Director, Actor, Actress...
- 9/16/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The drumbeat of wins builds momentum for any film, from Cannes and the fall festivals to each country's submission for the Oscars--which are often influenced by perceived strength from outside critics and juries. The European Film Awards move from capital to capital--this year the 27th European Film Academy awards will be presented on December 13 in Riga, Latvia, where the Efa announced that 50 films representing 31 countries are eligible for 2014 nominations. Twenty countries with the most Efa Members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. Then a selection committee of Efa Board Members and invited experts --Mark Adams (UK), Marit Kapla (Sweden), Stefan Kitanov (Bulgaria), Paz Lázaro (Spain), Christophe Leparc (France) and Elma Tataragic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) filled out the list of eligible films. Then more than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for nominations in the following categories: European Film, Director, Actor, Actress...
- 9/16/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
More than 30 European countries represented in the line-up.Scroll down for list in full
The 50 films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards (EFAs) have been unveiled.
The European Film Academy and Efa Productions revealed the titles at a press conference in Riga, Latvia where this year’s 27th EFAs will take place on Dec 13.
A total of 31 European countries are represented. In the 20 countries with the most Efa members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list.
To complete the list, a selection committee consisting of Efa Board Members and invited experts have included further films. Those experts include Screen International chief film critic and reviews editor Mark Adams (UK), Marit Kapla (Sweden), Stefan Kitanov (Bulgaria), Paz Lázaro (Spain), Christophe Leparc (France) and Elma Tataragic (Bosnia & Herzegovina).
In the coming weeks, more than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director...
The 50 films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards (EFAs) have been unveiled.
The European Film Academy and Efa Productions revealed the titles at a press conference in Riga, Latvia where this year’s 27th EFAs will take place on Dec 13.
A total of 31 European countries are represented. In the 20 countries with the most Efa members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list.
To complete the list, a selection committee consisting of Efa Board Members and invited experts have included further films. Those experts include Screen International chief film critic and reviews editor Mark Adams (UK), Marit Kapla (Sweden), Stefan Kitanov (Bulgaria), Paz Lázaro (Spain), Christophe Leparc (France) and Elma Tataragic (Bosnia & Herzegovina).
In the coming weeks, more than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director...
- 9/16/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The juries for the feature film, short film, documentary film and Efa categories of the 19th Sarajevo Film Festival have been revealed.
As previously announced, Bosnian director Danis Tanovic will be president of the feature film jury. He will be joined by:
Uliks Fehmiu, actor (Serbia)Christine A. Maier, director of photography (Germany)Charles Tesson, artistic director, Cannes’ Critic’s Week (France)Mirela Oprisor, actress (Romania)
The competition programme jury in the short film category is:
Paz Lázaro, programme manager, Berlinale Panorama (Spain, Germany)Mladen Miljanović, artist (B&H)Paul Negoescu, director (Romania)
Selecting the best documentary film in the competition programme will be:
Joslyn Barnes, writer/producer (Us)Jasmin Basic, film historian/curator (Switzerland)Vibeke Bryld, director/writer (Denmark)
The jury that will select the Sarajevo short film nominee for the European Film Awards 2013 includes:
Hagar Ben-Asher, director/screenwriter/actress (Israel)Miguel Dias, director/selector of Curtas Vila do Conde Iff (Portugal)Leona Paraminski, actress (Croatia...
As previously announced, Bosnian director Danis Tanovic will be president of the feature film jury. He will be joined by:
Uliks Fehmiu, actor (Serbia)Christine A. Maier, director of photography (Germany)Charles Tesson, artistic director, Cannes’ Critic’s Week (France)Mirela Oprisor, actress (Romania)
The competition programme jury in the short film category is:
Paz Lázaro, programme manager, Berlinale Panorama (Spain, Germany)Mladen Miljanović, artist (B&H)Paul Negoescu, director (Romania)
Selecting the best documentary film in the competition programme will be:
Joslyn Barnes, writer/producer (Us)Jasmin Basic, film historian/curator (Switzerland)Vibeke Bryld, director/writer (Denmark)
The jury that will select the Sarajevo short film nominee for the European Film Awards 2013 includes:
Hagar Ben-Asher, director/screenwriter/actress (Israel)Miguel Dias, director/selector of Curtas Vila do Conde Iff (Portugal)Leona Paraminski, actress (Croatia...
- 8/5/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The European Film Academy announces the forty-seven films recommended for a nomination for the 2012 European Film Awards. Hailing from thirty-one countries, the films are listed below. Among them are some of last year's Oscar contenders, including "In Darkness" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," plus some of the 2012 festival favorites - "Rust and Bone," "The Hunt" and "Amour." The twenty countries with the most Efa members voted one national film onto the list, while the rest were chosen by a committee of Efa board membders and experts (Pierre-Henri Deleau - France, Marit Kapla - Sweden, Stefan Kitanov - Bulgaria, Paz Lázaro - Spain, Derek Malcolm - UK, and Elma Tataragic - Bosnia & Herzegovina). The membership of the Efa - consisting of 2,700 - will vote for the nominations in various categories. These will be announced November 3 at the Seville European Film Festival. On December 1, the 25th awards presendation...
- 9/11/2012
- by Sophia Savage
- Thompson on Hollywood
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