Mubi has taken László Nemes’ Orphan on board in a multi-territory deal on the post- World War II Hungarian family drama; Le Pacte will release the film in France.
Charades and New Europe Film Sales are handling sales on the film.
Mubi has acquired all rights in the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey.
The Hungarian-language film is the third film by Nemes following Son Of Saul and Sunset. Set in Budapest in 1957 after the uprising against the Communist regime, Orphan follows a young Jewish boy raised by his mother whose world turns upside down...
Charades and New Europe Film Sales are handling sales on the film.
Mubi has acquired all rights in the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Latin America and Turkey.
The Hungarian-language film is the third film by Nemes following Son Of Saul and Sunset. Set in Budapest in 1957 after the uprising against the Communist regime, Orphan follows a young Jewish boy raised by his mother whose world turns upside down...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Danish actor Pilou Asbæk, star of Game Of Thrones, Aquaman and Borgen, has joined the cast of Ugla Hauksdóttir’s feature debut, Icelandic thriller The Fires, as Bankside locks in pre-sales in key territories.
Ingvar Sigurdsson and Borys Szyc also join the previously announced cast of Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir, Guðmundur Ólafsson, Þór Tulinius, Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir and Jörundur Ragnarsson.
Sales have landed in Germany (Wild Bunch), Eastern Europe (HBO), Former Yugoslavia (McF), Middle East (Front Row) and Switzerland (Praesens).
The Fires is about a volcanologist, responsible for predicting the volcanic activity and ensuring public safety, who finds herself caught between...
Ingvar Sigurdsson and Borys Szyc also join the previously announced cast of Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir, Guðmundur Ólafsson, Þór Tulinius, Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir and Jörundur Ragnarsson.
Sales have landed in Germany (Wild Bunch), Eastern Europe (HBO), Former Yugoslavia (McF), Middle East (Front Row) and Switzerland (Praesens).
The Fires is about a volcanologist, responsible for predicting the volcanic activity and ensuring public safety, who finds herself caught between...
- 5/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
Iceland-based producers Sara Nassim (Lamb) and Grimar Jonsson (Rams) are joining forces with a new production outfit, Sarimar Films.
Each will continue to run their own independent production companies as well, for projects outside the new partnership – Nassim at S101 (which she runs alongside Hronn Kristinsdottir) and Jonsson at Netop Films. They will agree project-by-project which films are best to go through Sarimar.
They said: “Our ideology is rather simple: together we stand strong and in this way form an umbrella for our companies and the projects we are working on together and separately. Sarimar Films is not just a...
Each will continue to run their own independent production companies as well, for projects outside the new partnership – Nassim at S101 (which she runs alongside Hronn Kristinsdottir) and Jonsson at Netop Films. They will agree project-by-project which films are best to go through Sarimar.
They said: “Our ideology is rather simple: together we stand strong and in this way form an umbrella for our companies and the projects we are working on together and separately. Sarimar Films is not just a...
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Charades and New Europe Films are joining forces to co-sell Oscar-winning Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes’ long-awaited new feature Orphan, as the production gears up to commence shooting in and around Budapest this June.
Orphan will be Nemes’ third film after Sunset, which world premiered in Venice in 2018, and his Oscar-winning breakthrough Son of Saul, which debuted in Cannes in 2015, winning the Grand Prize of the Jury before clinching Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards the following year.
The new film is set in Budapest in 1957, twelve years after the end of WWII and one year after the uprising against the Communist regime.
The story follows a young Jewish boy whose mother has raised him in the hope that his father will return from the camps. These hopes are shattered when a brutish stranger appears on the doorstep to take his family back.
Nemes co-wrote the screenplay with Clara Royer,...
Orphan will be Nemes’ third film after Sunset, which world premiered in Venice in 2018, and his Oscar-winning breakthrough Son of Saul, which debuted in Cannes in 2015, winning the Grand Prize of the Jury before clinching Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards the following year.
The new film is set in Budapest in 1957, twelve years after the end of WWII and one year after the uprising against the Communist regime.
The story follows a young Jewish boy whose mother has raised him in the hope that his father will return from the camps. These hopes are shattered when a brutish stranger appears on the doorstep to take his family back.
Nemes co-wrote the screenplay with Clara Royer,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
After shooting in countries such as Norway and his native Mexico, we can confirm that the Poland segment is now complete for Carlos Reygadas‘ sixth feature. Additionally, we’ve gathered that the Wake of Umbra (Estela de sombra) revolves around four friends traversing time and space, encountering one another in various incarnations, settings, and social roles. Polish producers include Beata Rzeźniczek, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska and Ewa Puszczyńska. It also looks like that this won’t be rushed for a possible Venice showcase and instead opt for a 2025 premiere and a possible return to Cannes? His first films recently got re-stored and will be made available via the Criterion folks.…...
- 4/4/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
UK sales outfit Bankside Films has boarded world sales for Ugla Hauksdóttir’s volcano thriller The Fires.
The Fires is about a volcanologist, responsible for predicting the volcanic activity and ensuring public safety, who finds herself caught between a love affair that may destroy her family and an eruption that threatens the capital city.
It is the debut feature of Hauksdóttir and will shoot in Iceland this summer with a local cast led by Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir (pictured left in concept art materials), Guðmundur Ólafsson, Þór Tulinius, Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir and Jörundur Ragnarsson.
Written by Hauksdóttir and Markus Englmair, the...
The Fires is about a volcanologist, responsible for predicting the volcanic activity and ensuring public safety, who finds herself caught between a love affair that may destroy her family and an eruption that threatens the capital city.
It is the debut feature of Hauksdóttir and will shoot in Iceland this summer with a local cast led by Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir (pictured left in concept art materials), Guðmundur Ólafsson, Þór Tulinius, Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir and Jörundur Ragnarsson.
Written by Hauksdóttir and Markus Englmair, the...
- 2/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
The official trailer for Housekeeping For Beginners has officially been released. The film will be in theaters on Friday, January 26, 2024!
Synopsis: Housekeeping For Beginners explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. The narrative revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.
About The Film
Genre: Comedy, Drama Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Alina Șerban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Džada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, Ajse Useini Director: Goran Stolevski Screenplay: Goran Stolevski Producer: Marija Dimitrova, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska, Ankica Jurić Tilić, Beata Rzeźniczek, Milan Stojanović and Blerta Basholli
Housekeeping For Beginners is in select theaters on January 26, 2024!
For More Information, Please Visit:...
Synopsis: Housekeeping For Beginners explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. The narrative revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.
About The Film
Genre: Comedy, Drama Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Alina Șerban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Džada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, Ajse Useini Director: Goran Stolevski Screenplay: Goran Stolevski Producer: Marija Dimitrova, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska, Ankica Jurić Tilić, Beata Rzeźniczek, Milan Stojanović and Blerta Basholli
Housekeeping For Beginners is in select theaters on January 26, 2024!
For More Information, Please Visit:...
- 12/14/2023
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
Focus Features has set a Jan. 26, 2024 theatrical release date for Goran Stolevski’s latest, Housekeeping For Beginners.
It premiered in Venice as part of the official “Orizzonti” (Horizons) competitive section, securing the prestigious Queer Lion Award. See Deadline review. It was selected shortly after as North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission.
The film explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. The narrative revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.
Stars Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Dzada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, and Ajse Useini.
This is Focus Features’ third collaboration with Stolevski, a rising original voice,...
It premiered in Venice as part of the official “Orizzonti” (Horizons) competitive section, securing the prestigious Queer Lion Award. See Deadline review. It was selected shortly after as North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission.
The film explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. The narrative revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.
Stars Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Dzada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, and Ajse Useini.
This is Focus Features’ third collaboration with Stolevski, a rising original voice,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Focus Features’ upcoming title “Housekeeping for Beginners” is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on Jan. 26 and will expand to more theaters in subsequent weeks.
Per the film’s synopsis, Goran Stolevski’s latest feature “revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters — Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.”
“Housekeeping for Beginners” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the official “Orrizonti” (Horizons) section, taking home the Queer Lion Award. It has also been selected as North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission.
In Guy Lodge’s review for Variety, he wrote, “This study of domestic, romantic and generational conflicts in a crowded queer household (instead) embraces a spirit of antic chaos, both in subject matter and jagged,...
Per the film’s synopsis, Goran Stolevski’s latest feature “revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters — Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.”
“Housekeeping for Beginners” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the official “Orrizonti” (Horizons) section, taking home the Queer Lion Award. It has also been selected as North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission.
In Guy Lodge’s review for Variety, he wrote, “This study of domestic, romantic and generational conflicts in a crowded queer household (instead) embraces a spirit of antic chaos, both in subject matter and jagged,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
The fall festival circuit features a powerhouse lineup of Polish cinema that showcases an industry in full stride, with hard-hitting topical dramas, award-season hopefuls and potential box-office breakouts highlighting the strength and diversity of filmmaking in a country with a storied cinematic history.
Among the hotly anticipated premieres at this week’s Toronto Film Festival is “The Peasants,” a lavish, hand-painted animated feature from the filmmaking team behind Oscar nominee and box-office sensation “Loving Vincent.” Meanwhile, three-time Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland will be on hand for the North American premiere of “Green Border,” her searing portrayal of Europe’s refugee crisis that just bowed in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Also on the Lido, two-time Berlin Silver Bear winner Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert are vying for the Golden Lion with “Woman Of,” their decades-spanning portrait of a transgender Polish woman on a journey of self-discovery.
Producer Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska,...
Among the hotly anticipated premieres at this week’s Toronto Film Festival is “The Peasants,” a lavish, hand-painted animated feature from the filmmaking team behind Oscar nominee and box-office sensation “Loving Vincent.” Meanwhile, three-time Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland will be on hand for the North American premiere of “Green Border,” her searing portrayal of Europe’s refugee crisis that just bowed in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Also on the Lido, two-time Berlin Silver Bear winner Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert are vying for the Golden Lion with “Woman Of,” their decades-spanning portrait of a transgender Polish woman on a journey of self-discovery.
Producer Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Anonymous Content’s sales and finance division AC Independent and France’s Goodfellas are joining forces to handle global sales on Burhan Qurbani’s upcoming feature No Beast. So Fierce.
The drama is described as a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare’s play Richard III, with a present-day female Arabic gangster boss in a role inspired by the scheming, power-hungry king.
Shooting is underway with Germany-based Syrian actress Kenda Hmeidan, whose credits include the refugee boat drama mini-series Liberame : Nach dem Sturm, in the lead role.
Further cast members include Verena Altenberger, Hiam Abbass, Mona Zarreh Hoshyari Khah, Mehdi Nebbou, Meriam Abbas and Banafshe Hourmazdi.
No Beast. So Fierce will be the fifth feature of German-born Qurbani, who is the son of political refugees from Afghanistan, and follows his Berlinale 2020 Golden Bear contender Berlin Alexanderplatz.
His other credits include 20xBrandenburg (2010), and We Are Young, We Are Strong (2014).
The German-Polish-French...
The drama is described as a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare’s play Richard III, with a present-day female Arabic gangster boss in a role inspired by the scheming, power-hungry king.
Shooting is underway with Germany-based Syrian actress Kenda Hmeidan, whose credits include the refugee boat drama mini-series Liberame : Nach dem Sturm, in the lead role.
Further cast members include Verena Altenberger, Hiam Abbass, Mona Zarreh Hoshyari Khah, Mehdi Nebbou, Meriam Abbas and Banafshe Hourmazdi.
No Beast. So Fierce will be the fifth feature of German-born Qurbani, who is the son of political refugees from Afghanistan, and follows his Berlinale 2020 Golden Bear contender Berlin Alexanderplatz.
His other credits include 20xBrandenburg (2010), and We Are Young, We Are Strong (2014).
The German-Polish-French...
- 9/7/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Memento International and Anonymous Content have boarded “Woman Of,” a bold Venice competition entry written and directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert. The film is a pioneering trans drama set in against the landscape of the Polish transformation from communism to capitalism.
“Woman Of” stars Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik as Aniela Wesoły, who lived more than half of her adult life in a provincial Polish town as a man. “Woman Of…” spans 45 years of the life of Aniela as she aspires to find personal liberty as a trans woman and faces hardships in marriage and parenthood, strained family relations and complicated attitudes in her environment.
“‘Woman Of’ is the result of many years of work, a film that tells a story of a mature trans woman living in Poland, who does not fit the social norms of a traditional family,” said Szumowska and Englert, who have been working on movies together for over 20 years.
“Woman Of” stars Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik as Aniela Wesoły, who lived more than half of her adult life in a provincial Polish town as a man. “Woman Of…” spans 45 years of the life of Aniela as she aspires to find personal liberty as a trans woman and faces hardships in marriage and parenthood, strained family relations and complicated attitudes in her environment.
“‘Woman Of’ is the result of many years of work, a film that tells a story of a mature trans woman living in Poland, who does not fit the social norms of a traditional family,” said Szumowska and Englert, who have been working on movies together for over 20 years.
- 8/25/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Focus Features has boarded Goran Stolevski’s anticipated next project, “Housekeeping for Beginners,” ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section.
Focus will be distributing the film in the U.S. with Universal Pictures handling international distribution (excluding Eastern Europe). “Housekeeping for Beginners” reteams Focus Features with the critically acclaimed Macedonian-Australian director following his first two films: “You Won’t Be Alone,” which premiered at Sundance in 2022 and represented Australia in the Oscar race, and his sophomore outing “Of an Age,” which kicked off Melbourne festival.
Stolevski, who was born and raised in North Macedonia before migrating to Australia as a teenager, was featured in Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch list earlier this year.
Represented internationally by New Europe Film Sales, “Housekeeping for Beginners” stars Anamaria Marinca as Dita, a queer woman who never wanted to be a mother and finds herself forced to...
Focus will be distributing the film in the U.S. with Universal Pictures handling international distribution (excluding Eastern Europe). “Housekeeping for Beginners” reteams Focus Features with the critically acclaimed Macedonian-Australian director following his first two films: “You Won’t Be Alone,” which premiered at Sundance in 2022 and represented Australia in the Oscar race, and his sophomore outing “Of an Age,” which kicked off Melbourne festival.
Stolevski, who was born and raised in North Macedonia before migrating to Australia as a teenager, was featured in Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch list earlier this year.
Represented internationally by New Europe Film Sales, “Housekeeping for Beginners” stars Anamaria Marinca as Dita, a queer woman who never wanted to be a mother and finds herself forced to...
- 8/15/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczyńska‘s feature debut, the horror mermaid musical The Lure, dazzled upon release in 2017. While her English-language debut Silent Twins starring Letitia Wright is set to debut this Fall, the filmmaker’s current project, Hot Spot, has our attention.
The filmmaker spoke with Variety today about her work, teasing Hot Spot‘s premise “about a disillusioned private eye Djonny, investigating a murder at a refugee camp and confronting a cyber witch who takes control of his life.”
Smoczyńska had us at “cyber witch.”
“In Europe, it’s good to have co-productions. It’s better for arthouse films, especially nowadays. On this sci-fi film, based somewhere in the future, we will have Greece, France and Poland on board,” the filmmaker said of Hot Spot‘s production. In other words, don’t expect a fully English-language feature in Hot Spot.
Hot Spot will also reunite Smoczyńska with screenwriter Robert Bolesto,...
The filmmaker spoke with Variety today about her work, teasing Hot Spot‘s premise “about a disillusioned private eye Djonny, investigating a murder at a refugee camp and confronting a cyber witch who takes control of his life.”
Smoczyńska had us at “cyber witch.”
“In Europe, it’s good to have co-productions. It’s better for arthouse films, especially nowadays. On this sci-fi film, based somewhere in the future, we will have Greece, France and Poland on board,” the filmmaker said of Hot Spot‘s production. In other words, don’t expect a fully English-language feature in Hot Spot.
Hot Spot will also reunite Smoczyńska with screenwriter Robert Bolesto,...
- 7/7/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Aimee Lou Wood and Matt Dillon have signed on to play Anna and Fyodor Dostoevsky in Małgorzata Szumowska’s ‘The Gambler Wife.’
Written by Szumowska and Kasper Bajon adapted from Andrew D. Kaufman’s book The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky, is a dark comedy about one of literature’s most towering figures.
The project follows Fyodor, or Fyedya to his intimates, and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates Fyedya’s gambling addiction as this will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyedya’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.
Also in news – First look image revealed for Sky original film ‘Arthur’s Whisky’
Szumowska describes the feature as...
Written by Szumowska and Kasper Bajon adapted from Andrew D. Kaufman’s book The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky, is a dark comedy about one of literature’s most towering figures.
The project follows Fyodor, or Fyedya to his intimates, and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates Fyedya’s gambling addiction as this will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyedya’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.
Also in news – First look image revealed for Sky original film ‘Arthur’s Whisky’
Szumowska describes the feature as...
- 5/18/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
BAFTA-winning “Sex Education” star Aimee Lou Wood and Oscar-nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) have been tapped to star as Anna and Fyodor Dostoyevsky in “The Gambler Wife,” a dark comedy about one of world literature’s most towering figures, by two-time Berlinale prize winner Małgorzata Szumowska.
“The Gambler Wife” follows the Russian novelist and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates her husband’s gambling addiction, which will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyodor’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.
“This dark comedy explores the patriarchal, nationalistic Russian identity which keeps on waging war between the West and the East, which is as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago,” said Szumowska.
Pic is produced...
“The Gambler Wife” follows the Russian novelist and his much younger, pregnant wife, Anna, as they travel to Switzerland for their honeymoon. Anna tolerates her husband’s gambling addiction, which will serve as inspiration for his burgeoning literary career. However, Fyodor’s compulsive roulette playing continues to cause problems for the couple until they are forced to return to a Russia that is not quite as they remember.
“This dark comedy explores the patriarchal, nationalistic Russian identity which keeps on waging war between the West and the East, which is as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago,” said Szumowska.
Pic is produced...
- 5/18/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Foster took part in the Reykjavik festival’s panel discussion about women’s progress in the film industry.
Iceland’s ninth Stockfish Film Festival got a high-profile boost with Jodie Foster participating in the Reykjavik festival’s panel discussion about women’s progress in the film industry.
Foster, the US actress, producer and director, is in Iceland shooting the fourth season of True Detective, and she joined producer Marianne Slot and actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir in the discussion, led by the new artistic director of Stockfish, Lamb producer Hrönn Kristinsdóttir. Kristinsdóttir started the panel started by stating, “In year 2000 a study...
Iceland’s ninth Stockfish Film Festival got a high-profile boost with Jodie Foster participating in the Reykjavik festival’s panel discussion about women’s progress in the film industry.
Foster, the US actress, producer and director, is in Iceland shooting the fourth season of True Detective, and she joined producer Marianne Slot and actress Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir in the discussion, led by the new artistic director of Stockfish, Lamb producer Hrönn Kristinsdóttir. Kristinsdóttir started the panel started by stating, “In year 2000 a study...
- 4/4/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Danger Zone
Director: Vita Maria Drygas
Producer: Vita Żelakeviciute
Production companies: Drygas Film Production
Sales: Dogwoof
Documentary is a journey to places devastated by military conflicts, seen through the eyes of thrill-seeking tourists.
Delegation
(Generation 14plus)
Director: Asaf Saban
Cast: Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy
Producers: Agnieszka Dziedzic, Yoav Roeh, Aurit Zamir, Roshanak Behesht Nedjad
Production companies: Koi Studio, Gum Films, In Good Co.
Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Three Israeli friends visit Holocaust sites in Poland before their stints in the army, and deal with love, friendship and politics.
Disco Boy
(Competition)
Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Cast: Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laëtitia Ky, Leon Lučev
Producers: Lionel Massol, Pauline Seigland
Production companies: Films Grand Huit, Dugong Films, Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinématographique, Donten & Lacroix, Division
Sales: Charades
Aleksei reaches Paris to enlist in the French Foreign Legion, which allows any foreigner, even undocumented, to be granted a French passport.
Director: Vita Maria Drygas
Producer: Vita Żelakeviciute
Production companies: Drygas Film Production
Sales: Dogwoof
Documentary is a journey to places devastated by military conflicts, seen through the eyes of thrill-seeking tourists.
Delegation
(Generation 14plus)
Director: Asaf Saban
Cast: Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy
Producers: Agnieszka Dziedzic, Yoav Roeh, Aurit Zamir, Roshanak Behesht Nedjad
Production companies: Koi Studio, Gum Films, In Good Co.
Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Three Israeli friends visit Holocaust sites in Poland before their stints in the army, and deal with love, friendship and politics.
Disco Boy
(Competition)
Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Cast: Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laëtitia Ky, Leon Lučev
Producers: Lionel Massol, Pauline Seigland
Production companies: Films Grand Huit, Dugong Films, Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinématographique, Donten & Lacroix, Division
Sales: Charades
Aleksei reaches Paris to enlist in the French Foreign Legion, which allows any foreigner, even undocumented, to be granted a French passport.
- 2/19/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The Polish film industry is embracing variety and high-profile international collaborations, with a slew of new co-productions already generating buzz among buyers and festival programmers. “More and more established filmmakers, who used to look for collaborators in Romania or Hungary, are now coming to Poland — mostly because we are backed by concrete institutions and because there is money,” says producer Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska of Madants, heading to Berlinale’s European Film Market with “Ultima Thule” and Goran Stolevski’s “Housekeeping for Beginners.”
“Our crews speak English and work abroad. We are visible internationally,” she adds.
Madants is also behind James Napier Robertson’s upcoming Polish-Kiwi title “Joika,” one of six international co-productions backed by the Polish Film Institute in 2022. The shingle’s slate includes Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s “Let Me Out” and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s follow-up to “The Silent Twins,” “Hot Spot.”
“Foreign producers and buyers are actively looking...
“Our crews speak English and work abroad. We are visible internationally,” she adds.
Madants is also behind James Napier Robertson’s upcoming Polish-Kiwi title “Joika,” one of six international co-productions backed by the Polish Film Institute in 2022. The shingle’s slate includes Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s “Let Me Out” and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s follow-up to “The Silent Twins,” “Hot Spot.”
“Foreign producers and buyers are actively looking...
- 2/19/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Polish directorial duo Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert have set drama “Let Me Out” as their next film.
Spanning 45 years, the film will focus on Adam, trying to be a good husband and father in a small town in Poland. But Adam starts to feel increasingly uncomfortable in his body, one that doesn’t reflect his true identity — as a woman, Aniela.
Produced by No-Mad Films — a collaboration of Madants and Nowhere — it stars Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik and “Cold War” breakout Joanna Kulig, recently seen in Berlinale opener “She Came to Me.”
Both actors have collaborated with Szumowska before, on her films “Body,” for which Szumowska won a Berlinale Silver Bear, and “Elles.”
“People’s knowledge of that subject is still very limited — old stereotypes persist. It will be a difficult film and a sensitive subject, but therefore very important,” says Szumowska, admitting the duo has been thinking about the story...
Spanning 45 years, the film will focus on Adam, trying to be a good husband and father in a small town in Poland. But Adam starts to feel increasingly uncomfortable in his body, one that doesn’t reflect his true identity — as a woman, Aniela.
Produced by No-Mad Films — a collaboration of Madants and Nowhere — it stars Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik and “Cold War” breakout Joanna Kulig, recently seen in Berlinale opener “She Came to Me.”
Both actors have collaborated with Szumowska before, on her films “Body,” for which Szumowska won a Berlinale Silver Bear, and “Elles.”
“People’s knowledge of that subject is still very limited — old stereotypes persist. It will be a difficult film and a sensitive subject, but therefore very important,” says Szumowska, admitting the duo has been thinking about the story...
- 2/16/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has boarded international sales on Goran Stolevski’s Housekeeping For Beginners starring top Romanian actress Anamaria Marinca as an unmaternal, gay woman who suddenly finds herself responsible for her partner’s two young daughters.
The drama is one of the buzziest productions to come out of Southeastern Europe this year and brings together a host of hot indie producers from three continents.
Australian-Macedonian director Stolevski’s star has been rising ever since Focus Features pre-acquired world rights to his debut feature, the Serbian mountains-shot horror You Won’t Be Alone, featuring Marinca, Noomi Rapace and Alice Englert in the cast.
After a Sundance debut, the film launched theatrically in the US in April 2022, via Universal. Focus Features also pre-acquired Stolevski’s Australia-set second feature Of An Age which opens in the U.S. on February 17.
Marinca plays the character of Dita, whose mansion in the...
The drama is one of the buzziest productions to come out of Southeastern Europe this year and brings together a host of hot indie producers from three continents.
Australian-Macedonian director Stolevski’s star has been rising ever since Focus Features pre-acquired world rights to his debut feature, the Serbian mountains-shot horror You Won’t Be Alone, featuring Marinca, Noomi Rapace and Alice Englert in the cast.
After a Sundance debut, the film launched theatrically in the US in April 2022, via Universal. Focus Features also pre-acquired Stolevski’s Australia-set second feature Of An Age which opens in the U.S. on February 17.
Marinca plays the character of Dita, whose mansion in the...
- 2/13/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobtchuk’s debut feature also unveils theatrical trailer.
Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight title Pamfir, the debut feature from Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobtchuk, has sold to several major territories via Paris-based sales company Indie Sales and has unveiled its theatrical trailer.
The film has sold to France’s Condor, Canada’s FunFilms, Italy’s Movies Inspired, Poland’s Gutek Film, Switzerland’s Trigon, Greece’s Ama Films, Indonesia’s Falcon Pictures, Slovakia’s Asfk and to A-One Films for the Baltic states.
Condor will release the film in France on November 2 after an ambitious tour with the director throughout the country.
Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight title Pamfir, the debut feature from Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobtchuk, has sold to several major territories via Paris-based sales company Indie Sales and has unveiled its theatrical trailer.
The film has sold to France’s Condor, Canada’s FunFilms, Italy’s Movies Inspired, Poland’s Gutek Film, Switzerland’s Trigon, Greece’s Ama Films, Indonesia’s Falcon Pictures, Slovakia’s Asfk and to A-One Films for the Baltic states.
Condor will release the film in France on November 2 after an ambitious tour with the director throughout the country.
- 10/11/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for Andor, Blonde, Do Revenge and Silent Twins.
Blonde Los Angeles premiere
Following Blonde‘s Venice debut, Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody and director Andrew Dominik brought their Netflix film to Los Angeles on Tuesday, premiering at the Tcl Chinese Theatre.
From left: Andrew Dominik, Ana de Armas and Adrien Brody From left: Ted Sarandos, Ana de Armas and Scott Stuber
Silent Twins special screening
Director Agnieszka Smoczyńska and star Letitia Wright attended a special New York City screening for their film Silent Twins on Tuesday at Metrograph.
From left: Kiska Higgs, Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska, Letitia Wright, Agnieszka Smoczynska and Ben Pugh Danai Gurira (left) and Letitia Wright
Do Revenge special screening
Stars Maya Hawke, Camila Mendes, Sophie Turner and Sarah Michelle Gellar...
Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for Andor, Blonde, Do Revenge and Silent Twins.
Blonde Los Angeles premiere
Following Blonde‘s Venice debut, Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody and director Andrew Dominik brought their Netflix film to Los Angeles on Tuesday, premiering at the Tcl Chinese Theatre.
From left: Andrew Dominik, Ana de Armas and Adrien Brody From left: Ted Sarandos, Ana de Armas and Scott Stuber
Silent Twins special screening
Director Agnieszka Smoczyńska and star Letitia Wright attended a special New York City screening for their film Silent Twins on Tuesday at Metrograph.
From left: Kiska Higgs, Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska, Letitia Wright, Agnieszka Smoczynska and Ben Pugh Danai Gurira (left) and Letitia Wright
Do Revenge special screening
Stars Maya Hawke, Camila Mendes, Sophie Turner and Sarah Michelle Gellar...
- 9/16/2022
- by Kirsten Chuba
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dark comedy-drama “My Neighbor Adolf,” which will world premiere in Piazza Grande at the Locarno Film Festival, has debuted its trailer. The film stars David Hayman, Udo Kier and Olivia Silhavy, and is directed by Israeli helmer Leon Prudovsky. Beta Cinema is handling world sales.
The film, which Hayman has described as a cross between “Rear Window” and “Grumpy Old Men,” is set in Colombia in May 1960, just after Israel’s abduction of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. Polsky, a lonely Holocaust survivor, lives in the remote Colombian countryside. He spends his days playing chess and tending his beloved rose bushes. One day, when a mysterious old German man moves in next-door, he suspects that his new neighbor is… Adolf Hitler. Since nobody believes him, he embarks on a detective mission to find the evidence. But, in order to gather evidence, he will need to be closer to his neighbor than he would like.
The film, which Hayman has described as a cross between “Rear Window” and “Grumpy Old Men,” is set in Colombia in May 1960, just after Israel’s abduction of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. Polsky, a lonely Holocaust survivor, lives in the remote Colombian countryside. He spends his days playing chess and tending his beloved rose bushes. One day, when a mysterious old German man moves in next-door, he suspects that his new neighbor is… Adolf Hitler. Since nobody believes him, he embarks on a detective mission to find the evidence. But, in order to gather evidence, he will need to be closer to his neighbor than he would like.
- 7/7/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Public funding for Ukrainian filmmakers has dried up.
Ukrainian producer Aleksandra Kostina of Bosonfilm, in Cannes with Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s Directors’ Fortnight title Pamfir, has made an impassioned plea for European support.
Public funding for Ukrainian filmmakers via the Ukrainian State Film Agency which backed Pamfir, as well as other organisations, has dried up as the Russian invasion continues.
“I would be very grateful if international funds would have some initiatives for Ukrainian filmmakers, however tiny, that we can apply for,” said Kostina.
The Polish Film Institute is allowing Ukrainian filmmakers with Polish partners to apply for development support. Kostina...
Ukrainian producer Aleksandra Kostina of Bosonfilm, in Cannes with Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s Directors’ Fortnight title Pamfir, has made an impassioned plea for European support.
Public funding for Ukrainian filmmakers via the Ukrainian State Film Agency which backed Pamfir, as well as other organisations, has dried up as the Russian invasion continues.
“I would be very grateful if international funds would have some initiatives for Ukrainian filmmakers, however tiny, that we can apply for,” said Kostina.
The Polish Film Institute is allowing Ukrainian filmmakers with Polish partners to apply for development support. Kostina...
- 5/21/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Madants is developing a slate of internationally-focused projects.
Polish production outfit Madants is set to produce the English-language Silent Twins alongside UK/Us management and production company 42.
Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczyńska is onboard to direct Silent Twins, her first stand-alone English language feature. She previously directed a segment of the anthology horror film, The Field Guide To Evil, as well as Polish-language Cannes Critics’ Week title Fugue.
Speaking to Screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Klaudia Smieja, co-owner of Madants, said Silent Twins will tell the story of twins who after spending 14 years in Broadmoor Psychiatric Institution speak to...
Polish production outfit Madants is set to produce the English-language Silent Twins alongside UK/Us management and production company 42.
Poland’s Agnieszka Smoczyńska is onboard to direct Silent Twins, her first stand-alone English language feature. She previously directed a segment of the anthology horror film, The Field Guide To Evil, as well as Polish-language Cannes Critics’ Week title Fugue.
Speaking to Screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Klaudia Smieja, co-owner of Madants, said Silent Twins will tell the story of twins who after spending 14 years in Broadmoor Psychiatric Institution speak to...
- 9/24/2019
- by Chris Evans
- ScreenDaily
San Sebastian — In San Sebastian with two high-profile films, Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s “Disco” and Mariko Bobrik’s “The Taste of Pho,” Polish sales agent New Europe Film Sales has announced the acquisition of world sales rights on upcoming Chile-Poland co-production “Blanquita,” from director Fernando Guzzoni (“Jesus”).
It’s the first time that Chile and Poland have exclusively co-produced a feature together.
Having previously participated at the Berlinale’s Co-Production Market and Venice’s Financing Gap Market and backed by support from Hubert Bals and the Chilean National Production Fund, the buzzed-up production will shoot in Chile, Spring 2020.
Giancarlo Nasi at Rampante Films, one of Chile’s foremost film producers, produces out of Chile with Klaudia Smieja’s Madants from Poland. Rampante comes to San Sebastian hot off the success of its Venice Orizzonti Award-winning “Blanco en blanco” from director Théo Court. Madants recently backed Claire Denis’ 2018 science fiction hit “High Life.
It’s the first time that Chile and Poland have exclusively co-produced a feature together.
Having previously participated at the Berlinale’s Co-Production Market and Venice’s Financing Gap Market and backed by support from Hubert Bals and the Chilean National Production Fund, the buzzed-up production will shoot in Chile, Spring 2020.
Giancarlo Nasi at Rampante Films, one of Chile’s foremost film producers, produces out of Chile with Klaudia Smieja’s Madants from Poland. Rampante comes to San Sebastian hot off the success of its Venice Orizzonti Award-winning “Blanco en blanco” from director Théo Court. Madants recently backed Claire Denis’ 2018 science fiction hit “High Life.
- 9/24/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Madants is developing a slate of internationally-focused projects.
Polish production outfit Madants is set to produce the English-language Silent Twins the first standalone English-language feature of rising director Agnieszka Smoczyńska.
She previously directed a segment of the anthology horror film, The Field Guide To Evil, as well as Polish-language Cannes Critics’ Week title Fugue.
Speaking to Screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Klaudia Smieja, co-owner of Madants, said Silent Twins will tell the story of twins who after spending 14 years in Broadmoor Psychiatric Institution speak to each other only in a language of their own creation.
The film is...
Polish production outfit Madants is set to produce the English-language Silent Twins the first standalone English-language feature of rising director Agnieszka Smoczyńska.
She previously directed a segment of the anthology horror film, The Field Guide To Evil, as well as Polish-language Cannes Critics’ Week title Fugue.
Speaking to Screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Klaudia Smieja, co-owner of Madants, said Silent Twins will tell the story of twins who after spending 14 years in Broadmoor Psychiatric Institution speak to each other only in a language of their own creation.
The film is...
- 9/23/2019
- by Chris Evans
- ScreenDaily
Samuel Goldwyn Films has taken North American rights to Agnieszka Holland’s “Mr. Jones.” The period thriller debuted in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
Set on the eve of World War II, “Mr. Jones” stars James Norton as Gareth Jones, an ambitious young journalist who travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind the Soviet propaganda machine. There he receives a tip, about a deadly famine in Ukraine, that could expose an international conspiracy and cost him his life. Vanessa Kirby and Peter Sarsgaard co-star.
“‘Mr. Jones’ is a masterful historical thriller which transported me to a time and place seldom seen on the screen,” said Peter Goldwyn, who negotiated the deal with sales company WestEnd Films on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films and Endeavor Content. “The film tells of a past that eerily echoes the present.”
Written by Andrea Chalupa, the film was produced by Poland...
Set on the eve of World War II, “Mr. Jones” stars James Norton as Gareth Jones, an ambitious young journalist who travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind the Soviet propaganda machine. There he receives a tip, about a deadly famine in Ukraine, that could expose an international conspiracy and cost him his life. Vanessa Kirby and Peter Sarsgaard co-star.
“‘Mr. Jones’ is a masterful historical thriller which transported me to a time and place seldom seen on the screen,” said Peter Goldwyn, who negotiated the deal with sales company WestEnd Films on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films and Endeavor Content. “The film tells of a past that eerily echoes the present.”
Written by Andrea Chalupa, the film was produced by Poland...
- 8/22/2019
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
Film premiered in competition at this year’s Berlinale.
Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones, her drama starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, has had its North American rights bought by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
The film premiered at the Berlinale this year in competition. Peter Sarsgaard also stars in the feature, which follows an ambitious young journalist (Norton) who travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind the propaganda machine pushed by Stalin’s Soviet Union.
London-based sales agent WestEnd Films handles world sales and struck the deal alongside Endeavor Content, which co-represented North America on the title.
WestEnd has also...
Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones, her drama starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, has had its North American rights bought by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
The film premiered at the Berlinale this year in competition. Peter Sarsgaard also stars in the feature, which follows an ambitious young journalist (Norton) who travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind the propaganda machine pushed by Stalin’s Soviet Union.
London-based sales agent WestEnd Films handles world sales and struck the deal alongside Endeavor Content, which co-represented North America on the title.
WestEnd has also...
- 8/22/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
After 38 days of filming, the final clapperboard has been snapped shut on “Charlatan,” Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s latest film, and it’s a wrap. The film will premiere on Feb. 20, 2020, which offers the possibility of a launch at the Berlin Film Festival (Feb. 20-March 1).
“Charlatan” was shot in several locations in the Czech Rep. in April and June. Holland, producer Sarka Cimbalova of Czech Rep.’s Marlene Film Production and the Czech screenwriter, Marek Epstein, will attend the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Wednesday to present the project live on Czech Television, which backed the movie.
The film is inspired by the true story of healer Jan Mikolasek, who dedicated himself to caring for the sick, in spite of the huge obstacles he faced in his private and public life.
“From the moment I read the script I thought the story was quite strong, full of a certain mystery,...
“Charlatan” was shot in several locations in the Czech Rep. in April and June. Holland, producer Sarka Cimbalova of Czech Rep.’s Marlene Film Production and the Czech screenwriter, Marek Epstein, will attend the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Wednesday to present the project live on Czech Television, which backed the movie.
The film is inspired by the true story of healer Jan Mikolasek, who dedicated himself to caring for the sick, in spite of the huge obstacles he faced in his private and public life.
“From the moment I read the script I thought the story was quite strong, full of a certain mystery,...
- 7/3/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Alcatraz Films, the Paris-based production company behind such features as Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or winner “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” has come on board to co-produce “Other People,” Polish director Aleksandra Terpinska’s feature debut, produced by Klaudia Smieja (“Mr. Jones”) and Beata Rzezniczek for Madants.
“Other People” is an urban musical set in modern-day Warsaw featuring a small-time delinquent and wannabe rapper and a nouveau-riche, pill-popping trophy wife. The two fall into an unconventional relationship based on sex, as they desperately try to run away from loneliness. The film is based on the best-selling book by Polish writer Dorota Maslowska, who’s been hailed by critics as a leading voice of the millennial generation. Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2020.
“Other People” was one of two winners of the inaugural Arte Kino International Prize at Les Arcs Film Festival’s Co-Production Village last year. Terpinska’s last short,...
“Other People” is an urban musical set in modern-day Warsaw featuring a small-time delinquent and wannabe rapper and a nouveau-riche, pill-popping trophy wife. The two fall into an unconventional relationship based on sex, as they desperately try to run away from loneliness. The film is based on the best-selling book by Polish writer Dorota Maslowska, who’s been hailed by critics as a leading voice of the millennial generation. Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2020.
“Other People” was one of two winners of the inaugural Arte Kino International Prize at Les Arcs Film Festival’s Co-Production Village last year. Terpinska’s last short,...
- 5/18/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Radoslaw Śmigulski(left), general director of the Polish Film Institute, hosted Friday’s Polish Party at Plage du Goéland in Cannes, where the guests included Marche du Film director Jérôme Paillard.
“It was a pleasure to host great filmmakers and film industry representatives at the Polish Party in Cannes, which was one of the many events promoting the talents, locations and the funding possibilities in Poland, including the 30% cash rebate,” said the Pfi’s Smigulski.
Among those in attendance were Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian, Locarno Film Festival programming head Mark Peranson, and Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival program coordinator Anna Purkrabkova, programmer Martin Horyna, and programmer Lenka Tyrpakova.
“There is a lot of interest in Polish cinema right now,” said producer Klaudia Smieja of Madants, gesturing around the packed terrace where guests huddled, danced and downed Polish vodka to stay warm on a cold, soggy night.
Smieja, who produced...
“It was a pleasure to host great filmmakers and film industry representatives at the Polish Party in Cannes, which was one of the many events promoting the talents, locations and the funding possibilities in Poland, including the 30% cash rebate,” said the Pfi’s Smigulski.
Among those in attendance were Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian, Locarno Film Festival programming head Mark Peranson, and Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival program coordinator Anna Purkrabkova, programmer Martin Horyna, and programmer Lenka Tyrpakova.
“There is a lot of interest in Polish cinema right now,” said producer Klaudia Smieja of Madants, gesturing around the packed terrace where guests huddled, danced and downed Polish vodka to stay warm on a cold, soggy night.
Smieja, who produced...
- 5/18/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
A few years ago, when she was still an up-and-coming producer in Warsaw, Klaudia Smieja met skeptics who thought she’d bit off more than she could chew with “Mr. Jones”: an ambitious, 1930s-set drama directed by Academy Award nominee Agnieszka Holland, with a €10 million ($11.3 million) budget that dwarfed the typical ask for a Polish feature film.
But Smieja set her sights beyond Poland. Selected as one of European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move in 2016 — a group that’s feted annually on the Croisette during the Cannes Film Festival — she joined a network of ambitious young talents from around the continent. Like her, many were emerging producers touting risky projects while learning to finesse complicated financing structures.
“It really gave me power to push ‘Mr. Jones,’” says Smieja, who was lead producer on a Poland-Ukraine-u.K. co-production that world premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival this year.
But Smieja set her sights beyond Poland. Selected as one of European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move in 2016 — a group that’s feted annually on the Croisette during the Cannes Film Festival — she joined a network of ambitious young talents from around the continent. Like her, many were emerging producers touting risky projects while learning to finesse complicated financing structures.
“It really gave me power to push ‘Mr. Jones,’” says Smieja, who was lead producer on a Poland-Ukraine-u.K. co-production that world premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival this year.
- 5/16/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Babis Makridis’ film expected to be Greek Oscars entry.
The Greek-Polish co-production Pity, an existential drama by Babis Makridis, was crowned best film at the Iris Hellenic Film Academy (Helfiac) awards on Tuesday evening (April 23).
Steve Krikris’ debut feature The Waiter won four awards, whilst Her Job by Nikos Labot, and Angelos Frantzis’ Still River won three each, including best director for Frantzis and best first film for Her Job.
Pity arrived at the awards after appearing at festivals including Sundance, Rotterdam, Odessa (best film and direction), Valetta (best director) and Montenegro (best film). It also won best sound for...
The Greek-Polish co-production Pity, an existential drama by Babis Makridis, was crowned best film at the Iris Hellenic Film Academy (Helfiac) awards on Tuesday evening (April 23).
Steve Krikris’ debut feature The Waiter won four awards, whilst Her Job by Nikos Labot, and Angelos Frantzis’ Still River won three each, including best director for Frantzis and best first film for Her Job.
Pity arrived at the awards after appearing at festivals including Sundance, Rotterdam, Odessa (best film and direction), Valetta (best director) and Montenegro (best film). It also won best sound for...
- 4/25/2019
- by Alexis Grivas
- ScreenDaily
Agnieszka Holland, the director of Oscar nominated films “Europa Europa” and “In Darkness,” has begun shooting her latest pic, “Charlatan.” Films Boutique is handling foreign sales.
The Polish director, whose last film “Mr. Jones” premiered in competition at Berlin Film Festival in February, started to lens the pic Monday in Mladá Boleslav prison in the Czech Republic. The crew will spend most of this month on location in the Central Bohemia region of the country.
The pic, about an herbalist who devotes his life to caring for the sick despite many difficulties, is inspired by the real-life figure of Jan Mikolášek, whose story was adapted for the screen by Marek Epstein. Ivan Trojan, six-time winner of the Czech Lion award, plays Mikolášek.
In a statement, Holland said: “I have always been interested in healing… the fact somebody is able to look so deep into the body and soul of another person,...
The Polish director, whose last film “Mr. Jones” premiered in competition at Berlin Film Festival in February, started to lens the pic Monday in Mladá Boleslav prison in the Czech Republic. The crew will spend most of this month on location in the Central Bohemia region of the country.
The pic, about an herbalist who devotes his life to caring for the sick despite many difficulties, is inspired by the real-life figure of Jan Mikolášek, whose story was adapted for the screen by Marek Epstein. Ivan Trojan, six-time winner of the Czech Lion award, plays Mikolášek.
In a statement, Holland said: “I have always been interested in healing… the fact somebody is able to look so deep into the body and soul of another person,...
- 4/3/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Variety has been given exclusive access to first-look footage from Academy Award nominee Agnieszka Holland’s “Mr. Jones,” which world premieres in Official Competition at the Berlin Film Festival. The film stars James Norton, Vanessa Kirby and Peter Sarsgaard.
“Mr. Jones” tells the little-known story of Gareth Jones, an ambitious young Welsh journalist who travelled to the Soviet Union in 1933, and discovered the appalling reality behind the myth of a communist “utopia.” What started out as a regular news investigation, soon turned into a life-or-death quest to uncover the truth about a government-induced famine in Ukraine. His efforts are frustrated not just by Soviet censors but other Western journalists who enjoy the patronage of Stalin’s regime, most notably Walter Duranty, the Moscow bureau chief of the New York Times. Jones’ story helped inspire George Orwell’s allegorical dystopian novel “Animal Farm.”
In a statement, Holland said: “We wanted to...
“Mr. Jones” tells the little-known story of Gareth Jones, an ambitious young Welsh journalist who travelled to the Soviet Union in 1933, and discovered the appalling reality behind the myth of a communist “utopia.” What started out as a regular news investigation, soon turned into a life-or-death quest to uncover the truth about a government-induced famine in Ukraine. His efforts are frustrated not just by Soviet censors but other Western journalists who enjoy the patronage of Stalin’s regime, most notably Walter Duranty, the Moscow bureau chief of the New York Times. Jones’ story helped inspire George Orwell’s allegorical dystopian novel “Animal Farm.”
In a statement, Holland said: “We wanted to...
- 1/28/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Gareth Jones
Director Agnieszka Holland returns to English language filmmaking with her latest, Gareth Jones, a British-Polish-Ukrainian co-production. The ever busy Holland, who has worked on multiple television projects over the past decade, hasn’t presented an English language feature since 2006’s Copying Beethoven. Her latest is produced by the film’s scribe Andrea Serdaru-Barbul along with Klaudia Smieja and Stanislaw Dziedzic of Film Produkcja, Angus Lamont of Crab Apple Films, and Egor Olesov of Kinorob. James Norton stars as Jones, with a supporting cast including Peter Sarsgaard, Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Mawle. Polish Dp Tomasz Naumiuk (recently of Claire Denis’ High Life) lensed the film.…...
Director Agnieszka Holland returns to English language filmmaking with her latest, Gareth Jones, a British-Polish-Ukrainian co-production. The ever busy Holland, who has worked on multiple television projects over the past decade, hasn’t presented an English language feature since 2006’s Copying Beethoven. Her latest is produced by the film’s scribe Andrea Serdaru-Barbul along with Klaudia Smieja and Stanislaw Dziedzic of Film Produkcja, Angus Lamont of Crab Apple Films, and Egor Olesov of Kinorob. James Norton stars as Jones, with a supporting cast including Peter Sarsgaard, Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Mawle. Polish Dp Tomasz Naumiuk (recently of Claire Denis’ High Life) lensed the film.…...
- 1/3/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Nora Fingscheidt’s “System Crasher” and Theo Court’s “White on White” won the top prizes at Les Arcs Film Festival’s Work-in-Progress session. Both titles were among the 18 films in post-production pitched during the 10th edition of the Work-in-Progress showcase which is spearheaded by Frederic Boyer, the artistic director of Les Arcs and Tribeca festivals.
“System Crasher,” which won the TitraFilm Award, follows the wild journey of a 9-year-old girl through all possible stations of Child Protective Services. “System Crasher” is produced by Weydemann Bros and Kineo Filmprodudktion, and co-produced by Oma Inge Film.
The jury, which included Gaia Furrer, the head of programming for Venice Days, Trevor Groth from 30West and Alex Traila, the head of Romanian international affairs Sarajevo Cinelink, praised “System Crasher” for its “electrifying portrait of an issue that affects cultures around the world.” “(It) isn’t of ten shown, and is done so through...
“System Crasher,” which won the TitraFilm Award, follows the wild journey of a 9-year-old girl through all possible stations of Child Protective Services. “System Crasher” is produced by Weydemann Bros and Kineo Filmprodudktion, and co-produced by Oma Inge Film.
The jury, which included Gaia Furrer, the head of programming for Venice Days, Trevor Groth from 30West and Alex Traila, the head of Romanian international affairs Sarajevo Cinelink, praised “System Crasher” for its “electrifying portrait of an issue that affects cultures around the world.” “(It) isn’t of ten shown, and is done so through...
- 12/18/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, Les Arcs Industry Village is launching the Talent Village, a new development workshop and platform for emerging talents which will be under the patronage of Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (“The Hunt”).
Kicking off on Dec. 12 and hosted at the Cinéfabrique Film school in Lyon, the workshop will take place over three days — right before the start of Les Arcs Film Festival.
The participants include Poland’s Dawid Bodzak whose short “Tremors” won Grand Prize at Clermont Ferrand;
Israel’s Miki Polonski whose short “Ten Buildings Away” was selected for Cannes’s Cinéfondation; Spain’s Joan Vives Lozano whose short “El Escarabajo al Final de la Calle played at Clermont Ferrand. All eight filmmakers have just started developing their first film and some of them don’t have a producer yet.
The other participants are Alexandra Brodski from U.K./Russia, Monica Lima from Portugal,...
Kicking off on Dec. 12 and hosted at the Cinéfabrique Film school in Lyon, the workshop will take place over three days — right before the start of Les Arcs Film Festival.
The participants include Poland’s Dawid Bodzak whose short “Tremors” won Grand Prize at Clermont Ferrand;
Israel’s Miki Polonski whose short “Ten Buildings Away” was selected for Cannes’s Cinéfondation; Spain’s Joan Vives Lozano whose short “El Escarabajo al Final de la Calle played at Clermont Ferrand. All eight filmmakers have just started developing their first film and some of them don’t have a producer yet.
The other participants are Alexandra Brodski from U.K./Russia, Monica Lima from Portugal,...
- 12/11/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Wild Bunch represents international sales.
A24 has snapped up North American rights to Claire Denis’ English-language debut High Life starring Pattinson following its world premiere in Tiff.
The distributor plans a 2019 theatrical release for the film about criminals on board an imperilled spaceship that stars Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth and André Benjamin.
Rounding out the cast are Lars Eidinger, Agata Buzek, Claire Tran, Ewan Mitchell, Gloria Obianyo, Scarlett Lindsey, Jessie Ross, and Victor Banerjee. Denis wrote the screenplay with Jean-Pol Fargeau and Geoff Cox
High Life premiered in Gala Presentations and screens again to the public on Thursday and Friday.
A24 has snapped up North American rights to Claire Denis’ English-language debut High Life starring Pattinson following its world premiere in Tiff.
The distributor plans a 2019 theatrical release for the film about criminals on board an imperilled spaceship that stars Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth and André Benjamin.
Rounding out the cast are Lars Eidinger, Agata Buzek, Claire Tran, Ewan Mitchell, Gloria Obianyo, Scarlett Lindsey, Jessie Ross, and Victor Banerjee. Denis wrote the screenplay with Jean-Pol Fargeau and Geoff Cox
High Life premiered in Gala Presentations and screens again to the public on Thursday and Friday.
- 9/12/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
James Norton (“McMafia”) can be seen playing intrepid Welsh journalist Gareth Jones in this exclusive first-look image from the much-anticipated movie. “Gareth Jones” is Agnieszka Holland’s upcoming politically charged film about the journalist and his reporting of the Holodomor, a manmade famine in 1930s Ukraine, which claimed millions of lives.
Norton will star alongside Vanessa Kirby (“The Crown”) in the movie, which WestEnd Films is pre-selling at Cannes. He plays Jones as the writer finds evidence of the genocide and breaks the story. Kirby plays Ada Brooks, a New York Times reporter who helps him uncover Russian government-led oppression. Having broken the story, Jones then has to fight subsequent attempts to cover up the horrors he saw in Ukraine, meeting a young George Orwell in the process.
Oscar-nominated Holland directs. The film is produced by Andrea Serdaru-Barbul, who also wrote the script, alongside Polish filmmaker Klaudia Smieja, Stanislaw Dziedzic of Film Produkcja,...
Norton will star alongside Vanessa Kirby (“The Crown”) in the movie, which WestEnd Films is pre-selling at Cannes. He plays Jones as the writer finds evidence of the genocide and breaks the story. Kirby plays Ada Brooks, a New York Times reporter who helps him uncover Russian government-led oppression. Having broken the story, Jones then has to fight subsequent attempts to cover up the horrors he saw in Ukraine, meeting a young George Orwell in the process.
Oscar-nominated Holland directs. The film is produced by Andrea Serdaru-Barbul, who also wrote the script, alongside Polish filmmaker Klaudia Smieja, Stanislaw Dziedzic of Film Produkcja,...
- 5/10/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Titles both score Benelux deals.
New Europe Film Sales has closed early deals on two of its titles playing this week at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr).
Source: Iffr
Loveling / Pity
Brazil-Uruguay drama Loveling, which premiered as the opening film of Sundance’s World Cinema Competition and had its European premiere in Iffr’s Voices strand, has been picked up for France (Condor/Version Original) and Benelux (September Film Distribution).
The film follows a mother, played by Karine Teles, who struggles to let go of her 17-year-old son after he signs up for a sporting contract in Germany. Gustavo Pizzi directed, Tatiana Leite produced and executive producers were Leo Ribeiro and Rodrigo Leite.
Screen’s review called it a “charming drama” and an “audience-pleaser” that is “destined for healthy festival exposure”.
New Europe has also struck a Benelux deal (Filmfreak) alongside an agreement for Turkey (Bir) on its title Pity. The film also premiered...
New Europe Film Sales has closed early deals on two of its titles playing this week at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr).
Source: Iffr
Loveling / Pity
Brazil-Uruguay drama Loveling, which premiered as the opening film of Sundance’s World Cinema Competition and had its European premiere in Iffr’s Voices strand, has been picked up for France (Condor/Version Original) and Benelux (September Film Distribution).
The film follows a mother, played by Karine Teles, who struggles to let go of her 17-year-old son after he signs up for a sporting contract in Germany. Gustavo Pizzi directed, Tatiana Leite produced and executive producers were Leo Ribeiro and Rodrigo Leite.
Screen’s review called it a “charming drama” and an “audience-pleaser” that is “destined for healthy festival exposure”.
New Europe has also struck a Benelux deal (Filmfreak) alongside an agreement for Turkey (Bir) on its title Pity. The film also premiered...
- 1/31/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
goEast winners in Wiesbaden; Polish Film Institute backs Ida producers; Berlin-based A Company launches Ukrainian distributor.
Russian director Aleksandr Kott’s Insight was named Best Film at this year’s goEast Festival of Central and European Cinema (20-26 April) in Wiesbaden, Germany.
The intimate drama charting a love affair between a blind man and his nurse premiered at last year’s Kinotavr festival in Sochi and was also shown at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn.
During the festival, Kott, whose previous films include the 2010 war drama The Brest Fortress and 2014’s Test, confirmed to Screen that his next feature project, Soyuz Spaseniya (Union Of Salvation), will begin shooting from next year for a release date at the end of 2018.
The $10.7m (RUB700m) production from Direktsiya Kino with Russia’s Channel One Television is a historical drama set at the beginning of the 19th century about the founding of secret political society the Decembrists.
This...
Russian director Aleksandr Kott’s Insight was named Best Film at this year’s goEast Festival of Central and European Cinema (20-26 April) in Wiesbaden, Germany.
The intimate drama charting a love affair between a blind man and his nurse premiered at last year’s Kinotavr festival in Sochi and was also shown at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn.
During the festival, Kott, whose previous films include the 2010 war drama The Brest Fortress and 2014’s Test, confirmed to Screen that his next feature project, Soyuz Spaseniya (Union Of Salvation), will begin shooting from next year for a release date at the end of 2018.
The $10.7m (RUB700m) production from Direktsiya Kino with Russia’s Channel One Television is a historical drama set at the beginning of the 19th century about the founding of secret political society the Decembrists.
This...
- 4/27/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The UK’s Lucas Ochoa and Poland’s Klaudia Smieja are among upcoming European producers set for neworking initiative in Cannes.Scroll down for the full list
European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 20 emerging European producers for the 17th edition of its Producers on the Move networking initiative, which will be held during the Cannes Film Festival between May 14-17.
The participating producers will take part in a programme of round-table project presentations, one-on-one speed dating pitches and case studies of successful projects.
The 2016 selection includes the UK’s Lucas Ochoa, producer on Andrea Arnold’s Cannes competition entry American Honey. Ochoa has had winning films at the Sundance Film Festival for four years in a row including Robert Egger’s multi-award winning The Witch and this year’s Michal Marczak documentary All These Sleepless Night.
Poland’s Klaudia Smieja, an executive producer on Icelandic hit Rams, has also been selected. Her additional...
European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 20 emerging European producers for the 17th edition of its Producers on the Move networking initiative, which will be held during the Cannes Film Festival between May 14-17.
The participating producers will take part in a programme of round-table project presentations, one-on-one speed dating pitches and case studies of successful projects.
The 2016 selection includes the UK’s Lucas Ochoa, producer on Andrea Arnold’s Cannes competition entry American Honey. Ochoa has had winning films at the Sundance Film Festival for four years in a row including Robert Egger’s multi-award winning The Witch and this year’s Michal Marczak documentary All These Sleepless Night.
Poland’s Klaudia Smieja, an executive producer on Icelandic hit Rams, has also been selected. Her additional...
- 4/21/2016
- ScreenDaily
Re-titled Anne Fontaine drama Agnus Dei premiered at Sundance.
Picturehouse has taken UK distribution rights to Anne Fontaine’s post-WW2 drama Agnus Dei and has retitled the film The Innocents for its theatrical run.
Starring Lou de Laâge (Respire) and Agata Kulesza (Ida), the French-Polish drama is set in Poland in 1945, following a young Red Cross doctor who is sent to help war survivors.
The Innocents premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival where Screen’s review called it “heart-tugging”.
Produced by Eric and Nicolas Altmayer (In The House), Eliza Oczkowska and Klaudia Smieja are co-producers, while Sabrina B. Karine, Alice Vial, Pascal Bonitzer and Anne Fontaine combined on the screenplay.
The deal was negotiated between Picturehouse Entertainment’s Clare Binns and Sébastien Beffa of Films Distribution, who are handling international sales.
Picturehouse has taken UK distribution rights to Anne Fontaine’s post-WW2 drama Agnus Dei and has retitled the film The Innocents for its theatrical run.
Starring Lou de Laâge (Respire) and Agata Kulesza (Ida), the French-Polish drama is set in Poland in 1945, following a young Red Cross doctor who is sent to help war survivors.
The Innocents premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival where Screen’s review called it “heart-tugging”.
Produced by Eric and Nicolas Altmayer (In The House), Eliza Oczkowska and Klaudia Smieja are co-producers, while Sabrina B. Karine, Alice Vial, Pascal Bonitzer and Anne Fontaine combined on the screenplay.
The deal was negotiated between Picturehouse Entertainment’s Clare Binns and Sébastien Beffa of Films Distribution, who are handling international sales.
- 2/16/2016
- ScreenDaily
Bohemia Group is expanding into New Zealand. The Hollywood-based international management firm has consolidated its yearlong collaboration with Gail Cowan of Gail Cowan Management, who will spearhead the new offices for Bohemia Australasia. Cowan, a longtime talent manager based in Auckland, will bring to the agency a pool of high-profile New Zealand actors, many of whom have had roles in the Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings franchises. CEO Susan Ferris says: “I would like to think that we are leading the charge with this global way of doing business in management, and that you really don’t have to be trapped by geography anymore. Even though we are continuously building and expanding Bohemia, we will always keep our actors’ feet firmly planted on the ground, while they keep their heads in the clouds. Now we can do it without borders.” Ferris also has brought in two new La-based managers: Zach James,...
- 1/22/2015
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.