Mohamed Kordofani’s Sudanese title previously opened strongly in Egypt.
Mohamed Kordofani’s Goodbye Julia, which became the first Sudanese feature to ever play at Cannes earlier this year, has achieved another first following its release across the Gulf.
The film has recorded box office of $349,000 from 27,000 admissions following its release by Mad Solutions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain on December 7 and in the UAE on December 14 across a total of 84 screens. This is a record for a non-Egyptian or non-Saudi arthouse film in the Gcc.
Saudi accounted for 40% of total takings from 37 screens while the UAE represented 30% of revenues from 27 screens.
Mohamed Kordofani’s Goodbye Julia, which became the first Sudanese feature to ever play at Cannes earlier this year, has achieved another first following its release across the Gulf.
The film has recorded box office of $349,000 from 27,000 admissions following its release by Mad Solutions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain on December 7 and in the UAE on December 14 across a total of 84 screens. This is a record for a non-Egyptian or non-Saudi arthouse film in the Gcc.
Saudi accounted for 40% of total takings from 37 screens while the UAE represented 30% of revenues from 27 screens.
- 12/22/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
To make a film critical of oneself and the values instilled in you by family and society is not an easy task. But that’s exactly what Mohamed Kordofani set out to do with Goodbye Julia. “I wanted this to be a mirror for Sudanese people. I think we, as a community, care too much about how people view us but we don’t care at all about what the people we oppress think.”
The film–screening for free this Tuesday, December 12 as part of Film Independent Presents!–tackles the macro issues of racism, colorism and prejudice within Sudan while concentrating on the growing friendship between two women in Khartoum. The first Mona (Eiman Yousef) is a privileged Sudanese housewife of Arab descent. The other, Julia (Siran Riak), is a poor woman originally from South Sudan and of African descent who ends up being her maid.
Like an Asghar Farhadi...
The film–screening for free this Tuesday, December 12 as part of Film Independent Presents!–tackles the macro issues of racism, colorism and prejudice within Sudan while concentrating on the growing friendship between two women in Khartoum. The first Mona (Eiman Yousef) is a privileged Sudanese housewife of Arab descent. The other, Julia (Siran Riak), is a poor woman originally from South Sudan and of African descent who ends up being her maid.
Like an Asghar Farhadi...
- 12/7/2023
- by Murtada Elfadl
- Film Independent News & More
Mad Solutions — the Middle East and North Africa region’s leading sales agent and distributor of Arabic-language films — has acquired the world sales rights for Tunisian director Nada Mezni Hafaiedh’s debut feature “Take My Breath,” which world premiered in the International Competition of the Warsaw Film Festival this fall.
Hafaiedh’s film, which has found great success in Tunisian cinemas over the past month, follows the life of a young seamstress named Shams, whose tranquil life unravels when their intersex identity is exposed. Engaged in a steamy love triangle and targeted by an obsessive attacker, Shams escapes to the capital city.
Taking refuge with their lover’s mystic cousin, Shams grapples with their complex sense of self. The evocative tale explores the clash between desire and identity.
In creating “Take My Breath,” Hafaiedh says she aimed to “highlight overlooked struggles and spark discussion about avoided subjects” in her native Tunisia,...
Hafaiedh’s film, which has found great success in Tunisian cinemas over the past month, follows the life of a young seamstress named Shams, whose tranquil life unravels when their intersex identity is exposed. Engaged in a steamy love triangle and targeted by an obsessive attacker, Shams escapes to the capital city.
Taking refuge with their lover’s mystic cousin, Shams grapples with their complex sense of self. The evocative tale explores the clash between desire and identity.
In creating “Take My Breath,” Hafaiedh says she aimed to “highlight overlooked struggles and spark discussion about avoided subjects” in her native Tunisia,...
- 11/30/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o is stepping into an executive producer role to support Sudan’s second-ever Academy Award international feature film submission, “Goodbye Julia.”
The timely film, directed by Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes.
“‘Goodbye Julia’ is a powerful representation of the conflict happening in Sudan right now, which affects millions of lives across Eastern Africa,” Nyong’o said in a statement. “Mohamed Kordofani and the filmmakers present the issues in a beautiful, deeply personal way. I’m honored to lend my voice to help bring this film’s message to the world.”
Nyong’o, who played played Nakia in Marvel’s “Black Panther” franchise, will next be seen starring in Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” horror franchise spinoff “A Quiet Place: Day One,” written and directed by Michael Sarnoski.
The timely film, directed by Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani, takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes.
“‘Goodbye Julia’ is a powerful representation of the conflict happening in Sudan right now, which affects millions of lives across Eastern Africa,” Nyong’o said in a statement. “Mohamed Kordofani and the filmmakers present the issues in a beautiful, deeply personal way. I’m honored to lend my voice to help bring this film’s message to the world.”
Nyong’o, who played played Nakia in Marvel’s “Black Panther” franchise, will next be seen starring in Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” horror franchise spinoff “A Quiet Place: Day One,” written and directed by Michael Sarnoski.
- 11/9/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Mohamed Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia made history at Cannes earlier this year as the first Sudanese feature to play in the festival across its 76 editions.
Six months on, the film is achieving a new first at the Egyptian box office.
The drama took the top slot on its opening day on October 25 on just nine screens, ahead of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which was on its second week on release on around 25 screens.
Widening out to some 25 screens, Goodbye Julia drew 13,135 spectators for a gross of $33,650 in its first week, according to locally collated figures.
By comparison, Killers of the Flower Moon went on to take $41,000 in the same week, for a total Egyptian gross of $102,000 by the end of its second week on release.
As of November 6, Goodbye Julia had grossed $56,637 in total.
Exploring the events leading up the 2011 schism between Sudan’s southern and northern populations,...
Six months on, the film is achieving a new first at the Egyptian box office.
The drama took the top slot on its opening day on October 25 on just nine screens, ahead of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which was on its second week on release on around 25 screens.
Widening out to some 25 screens, Goodbye Julia drew 13,135 spectators for a gross of $33,650 in its first week, according to locally collated figures.
By comparison, Killers of the Flower Moon went on to take $41,000 in the same week, for a total Egyptian gross of $102,000 by the end of its second week on release.
As of November 6, Goodbye Julia had grossed $56,637 in total.
Exploring the events leading up the 2011 schism between Sudan’s southern and northern populations,...
- 11/6/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/29/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/29/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/28/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Sudan has submitted Mohamed Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The film made history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard.
Its premiere took place just weeks after fighting broke out in Khartoum due to a clash between rival generals, which has led to the deaths of 5,000 people and uprooted seven million people.
Since Cannes, the film has also played at Karlovy Vary in its Horizons section and will make its Mena premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival in October ahead of a theatrical release in the country on October 25. It has also been selected for the BFI London Film Festival.
The selection was made by the Sudanese National Committee which is operating in exile.
Alaa Karkouti at Mad Solutions, which is handling world sales,...
The film made history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard.
Its premiere took place just weeks after fighting broke out in Khartoum due to a clash between rival generals, which has led to the deaths of 5,000 people and uprooted seven million people.
Since Cannes, the film has also played at Karlovy Vary in its Horizons section and will make its Mena premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival in October ahead of a theatrical release in the country on October 25. It has also been selected for the BFI London Film Festival.
The selection was made by the Sudanese National Committee which is operating in exile.
Alaa Karkouti at Mad Solutions, which is handling world sales,...
- 9/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
A trio of international co-productions from South Asia that are participating at the Venice Production Bridge’s gap-financing market are exploring burning topics from the region.
From Nepal, Abinash Bikram Shah, whose short “Lori” (2022) won a special mention at Cannes and who previously co-wrote Venice winner “The Black Hen” (2015), is prepping his feature directorial debut “Elephants in the Fog.” Set in a small Nepalese village nestled in the heart of a forest populated by wild elephants, the film follows Pirati, the matriarch of a community of transgender women. She aspires to a normal life with Master, the man she loves. But when one of her wards disappears, she must choose between love and responsibility to her community.
The film is produced by Anup Poudel for Underground Talkies Nepal. It is co-produced by Justin Pechberty and Damien Megherbi for France’s Les Valseurs (Venice 2023 title “Heartless”) and Michael Henrichs for Germany...
From Nepal, Abinash Bikram Shah, whose short “Lori” (2022) won a special mention at Cannes and who previously co-wrote Venice winner “The Black Hen” (2015), is prepping his feature directorial debut “Elephants in the Fog.” Set in a small Nepalese village nestled in the heart of a forest populated by wild elephants, the film follows Pirati, the matriarch of a community of transgender women. She aspires to a normal life with Master, the man she loves. But when one of her wards disappears, she must choose between love and responsibility to her community.
The film is produced by Anup Poudel for Underground Talkies Nepal. It is co-produced by Justin Pechberty and Damien Megherbi for France’s Les Valseurs (Venice 2023 title “Heartless”) and Michael Henrichs for Germany...
- 8/31/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut “Goodbye Julia,” a timely morality tale that takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes, has scored a raft of sales following its launch.
The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes official selection, “Goodbye Julia” is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.
After being picked up by Arp Sélection for France just ahead of its Cannes world premiere in May, the well-received drama has now been sold by pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions – which moved into international distribution with this title – to the following territories: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (September Film...
The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes official selection, “Goodbye Julia” is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.
After being picked up by Arp Sélection for France just ahead of its Cannes world premiere in May, the well-received drama has now been sold by pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions – which moved into international distribution with this title – to the following territories: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (September Film...
- 6/16/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
CAA Media Finance has come on board to handle sales in North America on Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia,” the first film from Sudan to launch from the Cannes Film Festival.
CAA will be working in tandem with Egypt-based producer Ali El Arabi’s Ambient Light Films, which holds North American rights for the timely drama that premiered on May 21 in Un Certain Regard.
“Goodbye Julia” takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. It revolves around two women, one from the north, the other from the south, that are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.
in an interview with Variety, Kordofani expressed the hope that his film “can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people” in the war-ravaged country.
Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,...
CAA will be working in tandem with Egypt-based producer Ali El Arabi’s Ambient Light Films, which holds North American rights for the timely drama that premiered on May 21 in Un Certain Regard.
“Goodbye Julia” takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. It revolves around two women, one from the north, the other from the south, that are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.
in an interview with Variety, Kordofani expressed the hope that his film “can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people” in the war-ravaged country.
Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,...
- 5/21/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based distributor Arp Sélection has snapped up the timely Sudanese drama “Goodbye Julia” for French distribution ahead of its Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere next week.
The film, which is Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut, marks the first feature from Sudan to bow from the Croisette and takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. In “Goodbye Julia,” two women — one from the North, the other from the South — are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.
in an interview with Variety, Kordofani expressed the hope that his film “Can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people” in the war-ravaged country.
The two central roles are played respectively by Eiman Yousif and Sudanese supermodel Siran Riak (pictured above), making her big-screen acting debut. The cast also includes Nazar Goma and Ger Duany,...
The film, which is Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut, marks the first feature from Sudan to bow from the Croisette and takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. In “Goodbye Julia,” two women — one from the North, the other from the South — are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.
in an interview with Variety, Kordofani expressed the hope that his film “Can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people” in the war-ravaged country.
The two central roles are played respectively by Eiman Yousif and Sudanese supermodel Siran Riak (pictured above), making her big-screen acting debut. The cast also includes Nazar Goma and Ger Duany,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani will soon be in Cannes with “Goodbye Julia,” a drama that he says reflects the “systematic racism” that led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and is, albeit indirectly, closely connected with the conflict that erupted in the country in April.
The powerful film, which is premiering in Un Certain Regard, marks the first Sudanese feature to bow from the Croisette. But there is an even greater historic significance to “Goodbye Julia,” in which two women – one from the North, the other from the South – are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. It’s the hope that “it can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people,” Kordofani says.
Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,” which became Sudan...
The powerful film, which is premiering in Un Certain Regard, marks the first Sudanese feature to bow from the Croisette. But there is an even greater historic significance to “Goodbye Julia,” in which two women – one from the North, the other from the South – are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. It’s the hope that “it can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people,” Kordofani says.
Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,” which became Sudan...
- 5/8/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
On April 14, just hours after the Cannes Film Festival unveiled the full line-up of its 76th edition, Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani took to Facebook to express his gratitude for the well wishes pouring in. His debut feature, “Goodbye Julia,” had been selected to world premiere in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section, marking the first time a Sudanese film will bow on the Croisette.
“I do not know if faith and hard work alone make dreams come true,” he wrote, describing the challenge of making movies in Sudan as an “almost impossible” task. “One needs a little luck and a lot of people’s support and faith.”
One day later, those dreams were dashed as violence erupted in the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The conflict between factions loyal to two rival generals, who together engineered a military coup in 2021, has pushed Sudan to the brink of civil war.
“I do not know if faith and hard work alone make dreams come true,” he wrote, describing the challenge of making movies in Sudan as an “almost impossible” task. “One needs a little luck and a lot of people’s support and faith.”
One day later, those dreams were dashed as violence erupted in the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The conflict between factions loyal to two rival generals, who together engineered a military coup in 2021, has pushed Sudan to the brink of civil war.
- 5/5/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature will premiere in Un Certain Regard.
Pan-Arab outfit Mad Solutions is moving into international sales and has acquired worldwide rights to Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature Goodbye Julia, the first Sudanese film ever to be selected by the Cannes Film Festival.
The film will receive its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival, which announced its lineup today.
Set in Khartoum ahead of Sudan’s division into two separate countries in 2011, the drama explores the differences between their two populations through two women hailing from the north and south of the country.
Pan-Arab outfit Mad Solutions is moving into international sales and has acquired worldwide rights to Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature Goodbye Julia, the first Sudanese film ever to be selected by the Cannes Film Festival.
The film will receive its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival, which announced its lineup today.
Set in Khartoum ahead of Sudan’s division into two separate countries in 2011, the drama explores the differences between their two populations through two women hailing from the north and south of the country.
- 4/13/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Amr Gamal‘s The Burdened added another accolade to its trophy shelf on Saturday, February 25th, winning the Amnesty International Film Award — which comes with a cash prize of €5,000 — during the Independent Juries Award Ceremony that was held as part of the activities of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
The film’s crew was present at the ceremony, including the director, who received the award. The Berlinale also announced on the same day that The Burdened placed second in the running for the Panorama Section‘s Audience Award, which Gamal will be honored for in a second ceremony that will be held on February 26th.
“I am truly humbled by the audience’s positive reception to the film. The Burdened was a labor of love, dedication, and persistence to shed light on one story of many in a country under fire. I’m glad that the...
The film’s crew was present at the ceremony, including the director, who received the award. The Berlinale also announced on the same day that The Burdened placed second in the running for the Panorama Section‘s Audience Award, which Gamal will be honored for in a second ceremony that will be held on February 26th.
“I am truly humbled by the audience’s positive reception to the film. The Burdened was a labor of love, dedication, and persistence to shed light on one story of many in a country under fire. I’m glad that the...
- 3/1/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Amr Gamal’s Yemeni film “The Burdened” (Al Murhaqoon) is set to hold its world premiere at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival’s Panorama Section on February 20th at 4 pm at Kino International in the presence of the film’s director, producer, and cast.
The film is also set to have a screening for media accreditation on Saturday, February 18th at 6:30 pm at Cubix 2, along with four more screenings for the public during the festival, which is running from February 16th to the 26th:
Tuesday, February 21st at 10 pm at Cubix 7 Wednesday, February 22nd at 4 pm at Cubix 5 Thursday, February 23rd at 6:30 pm at Cubix 9 Sunday, February 26th at 4 pm at Cubix 5
“The Burdened” is based on a true story set in Aden, Yemen. The film follows Ahmed, Isra’a, and their three children after they both lose their jobs as a result of an economic crisis.
The film is also set to have a screening for media accreditation on Saturday, February 18th at 6:30 pm at Cubix 2, along with four more screenings for the public during the festival, which is running from February 16th to the 26th:
Tuesday, February 21st at 10 pm at Cubix 7 Wednesday, February 22nd at 4 pm at Cubix 5 Thursday, February 23rd at 6:30 pm at Cubix 9 Sunday, February 26th at 4 pm at Cubix 5
“The Burdened” is based on a true story set in Aden, Yemen. The film follows Ahmed, Isra’a, and their three children after they both lose their jobs as a result of an economic crisis.
- 2/14/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
This fall, Arab filmmakers will be out in force at such prestigious international fests as Venice and Toronto. Venice alone boasts six features from first- and second-time Arab directors in its official sections, plus an additional six works-in-progress at its Final Cut Production Bridge. Meanwhile, Toronto opens with “The Swimmers,” a drama from U.K. helmer Sally El Hosaini based on the journey of Syrian sisters and Olympic hopefuls Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled the war in their home country for Germany. Yusra competed in the 2016 and 2021 Summer Olympics. An additional six Arab films will screen at the Canadian fest.
Dek: Arab filmmakers embrace genres and issues as festivals and distributors take notice
By Alissa Simon
This fall, Arab filmmakers will be out in force at such prestigious international fests as Venice and Toronto. Venice alone boasts six features from first- and second-time Arab directors in its official sections,...
Dek: Arab filmmakers embrace genres and issues as festivals and distributors take notice
By Alissa Simon
This fall, Arab filmmakers will be out in force at such prestigious international fests as Venice and Toronto. Venice alone boasts six features from first- and second-time Arab directors in its official sections,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Four previously backed films are screening at Venice this year.
The Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (Wcf) is to provide a combined €344,000 in finance to seven international projects.
In its latest funding round, the Wcf has recommended production funding for six projects from Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Colombia. The fund has also recommened providing distribution funding for the August 25 German release of Sudanese film You Will Die At Twenty.
The Berlinale’s funding initiative was set up in 2004 to help diversify German cinema and support projects from areas of the world with less filmmaking infrastructure.
The Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (Wcf) is to provide a combined €344,000 in finance to seven international projects.
In its latest funding round, the Wcf has recommended production funding for six projects from Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Colombia. The fund has also recommened providing distribution funding for the August 25 German release of Sudanese film You Will Die At Twenty.
The Berlinale’s funding initiative was set up in 2004 to help diversify German cinema and support projects from areas of the world with less filmmaking infrastructure.
- 8/16/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Arab cinema is going from strength to strength with a run of really good, successful, films from across the region telling authentic and compelling stories that have captured the hearts and minds of global audiences. During Cannes, filmmakers from the region will come together on May 21 at 10 am at the Marina Stage in the Riviera to discuss the future of Arab cinema and discuss the opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed in order to build a robust industry that will elevate Arab cinema and command the attention it deserves.
This year there are nine films in the Festival Competition, Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week plus four projects in L’Atelier. They are listed below.
Saudi Film Commission will host a Conference and a panel on the State of Arabia with Lotfy Nathan, producer, director, writer whose work in progress Harka won the US 30,000 award at the 2021 Red Sea Film Festival and is now premiering in Un Certain Regard. Also on the panel is Mohammed Hefzy, producer, writer and Aymebn Khoja, producer, director, writer and to be moderated by Liz Shackelton, Screen International Asia Editor
My Choices for Feature Film: ‘Europa’, Selected Documentary Film: ‘Republic Of Silence’, Selected Actor: Adam Ali, Selected Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi, Selected Director: Ayten Amin, Selected Screenplay: Ayten Amin — Mahmoud Ezzat
Panelist #1 Lotfy Nathan is the recipient of The Red Sea Fund cash prize awarded in 2021 by the Red Sea Souk Jury. The Red Sea Souk Award grant of US 30,000 was presented for his film Harka aka Contra aka Before the Spring, a “simple, tragic parable” as described by Nathan, about Ali, a young Tunisian making a precarious living selling contraband gas as he faces an impending eviction and is forced to take care of his two younger sisters, who, in real life, precipitated the Arab Spring with his act of defiance demanding dignity. His choice became the symbol of a silenced generation trying to be heard. His film Harka is in Un Certain Regard in the Cannes Film Festival 2022! The international sales agent is Constellation.
Harka
Nathan is an American filmmaker of Egyptian descent. His first feature film, the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys, for which he received the HBO Emerging Artist Award, was selected in over 50 international festivals, including SXSW, Sundance LA, Lincoln Center, Viennale, Hot Docs, London and Copenhagen. It is distributed in the United States by Oscilloscope and has been purchased by Showtime and Amazon as well as being optioned by Will Smith’s company, Overbrook Entrertainement to adapt into a drama. In 2015, Lotfy was a recipient of the Creative Capital and participated in a Cinereach Foundation director’s residency. He had previously been a recipient of the Garrett Scott Fund, the Peter Reed Foundation, the Grainger Marburg Fund, and the IFP Fellowship. This, his first feature film, was developed in the Sundance Film Institute’s Screenwriting Lab in 2016 and is now in post-production.
The film’s producer Julie Viez started her career in the film industry at Warner Bros Emea (Europe Middle East Asia). She then focused on independent film production, working for companies such as Pan-Européenne, The Film, and CG Cinema. She works on an international scale and produces a wide range of budgets. In 2019 Julie shot La Salamandre , the debut feature of director Alex Carvalho which premiered at Venice’s Settimana in 2021. She is developing several ambitious features and series, among which the next features by Cannes-nominated directors Abu Bakr Shawky, Jonathan Littell, Morgan Simon, and Marie Monge.
The third partner are the producers of The Man Who Sold His Skin, Academy Award Nomination 2020 — see my previous blog on that film — whose director, Kaouther Ben Hania, is now President of the Jury for Critics Week.).
Panelist #2 is the prolific Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mohamed Hefzy, with a constantly growing filmography of 30 feature films including worldwide acclaimed titles such as Huda’s Salon (2021) Feathers (2021), Souad (2021) You Will Die at Twenty (2019), Youmeddine (2018), and Clash (2016). He has served as a jury member in various international festivals including the 75th Venice International Film Festival. As of its 40th edition and for four consecutive years; Mohamed Hefzy was the appointed President of the Cairo International Film Festival.
In 2005, He founded Film Clinic; the now pioneer production house in the Mena region with a variety of commercial blockbusters and arthouse films that have participated in major film festivals worldwide including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca with more than 80 international awards under its belt. Later Hefzy founded Film Clinic Indie Distribution, with a mission to create opportunities for Arab independent films within and beyond festival circuits & Co- founded Meem Creative Circle which produced Netflix’s first Egyptian original series Paranormal.
Hefzy was cited among 30 future leaders in film production by Screen International, headed Variety’s list of Ten Names You Need to Know in the Arab Film Industry and was among Variety’s 500 list of the most influential people in the media industry worldwide. He was granted the Arab Cinema Personality of the Year award by the Hollywood Reporter & Arab Cinema Center. Hefzy is an official member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences in the producers’ branch. In recognition of his significant contribution to the Arab film scene, He was honored as a “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres” from France.
Panelist #3 is Aymen Khoja, a film producer-director committed to bold voices and innovative forms to bridge cultures and to clear up any misunderstandings.
Over six years of experience producing and directing with international studios and production companies, such as Mbc Studios the biggest broadcaster in the Middle East and Viu, the No1 streaming platform east of Asia. Aymen has filmed in different cities all over the world from Los Angeles, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, Bucharest, Cairo, to Jeddah. He successfully delivers high-quality films and series on time within budget.
In 2016 Aymen co-founded Khoja Brothers Productions and managed to fund, direct, co-produce, co-write his first feature film Shoot Aka The Arabian Warrior, and successfully released it theatrically then sold it to Sony Pictures, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple, and lastly Shahid. Aymen’s debut making ultra-low-budget films made him emphasize story quality, maximize creativity, and carefully spend every dollar.
Aymen received his Master’s degree in film with honors from the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles where he produced and directed many short films that have been played in different film festivals around the world. Aymen received his Bachelor’s in Business and Management from King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. This background helped him to be at the top of his organizing game, networking, and career growth.
Born and raised in the east of Saudi Arabia until the age of 11, Khoja then traveled back with his parents to the west, Makkah where he stayed until he was 23 when he traveled to the US to pursue his dream of making films. Aymen had the passion and drive to make movies in a time there were no theaters in his home country. Being a pioneer, he had to push and fight traditions to achieve what he believes is his mission in life: to bridge and close gaps between cultures through the form of cinema by telling the right stories.
Nine Mena Films to see in the Festival:
Cannes Ff Competition Leila’s Brothers directed by Saeed Roustayi from IranCannes Ff Competition Holy Spider directed by Iranian Ali Abbasi but funded by France, Germany, Sweden, DenmarkUn Certain Regard Harka directed by Lotfy Nathan from TunisiaUn Certain Regard The Blue Caftan directed by Maryam Touzani from MoroccoUn Certain Regard Mediterranean Fever directed by Maha Haj from PalestineUn Certain Regard Domingo And The Mist directed by Ariel Escalante from Costa Rica with support from QatarDirectors’ Fortnight Under the Fig Trees directed by Eriga Sehiri from TunisiaDirectors’ Fortnight Ashkal directed by Youssef Chebbi from TunisiaCritics’ Week in Competition Imagine directed by Ali Behrad from IranL’Atelier project: Hamlet From The Slums from Egypt, directed by Ahmed Fawzi SalehL’Atelier project: The Blind Ferryman from Iraq and Switzerland, directed by Ali Al-FatlawiL’Atelier project: You Are My Everything from Israel, directed by Michal VinikdL’Atelier project: The Doubt from Palestine and Israel, directed by Ihab Jadallah...
This year there are nine films in the Festival Competition, Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week plus four projects in L’Atelier. They are listed below.
Saudi Film Commission will host a Conference and a panel on the State of Arabia with Lotfy Nathan, producer, director, writer whose work in progress Harka won the US 30,000 award at the 2021 Red Sea Film Festival and is now premiering in Un Certain Regard. Also on the panel is Mohammed Hefzy, producer, writer and Aymebn Khoja, producer, director, writer and to be moderated by Liz Shackelton, Screen International Asia Editor
My Choices for Feature Film: ‘Europa’, Selected Documentary Film: ‘Republic Of Silence’, Selected Actor: Adam Ali, Selected Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi, Selected Director: Ayten Amin, Selected Screenplay: Ayten Amin — Mahmoud Ezzat
Panelist #1 Lotfy Nathan is the recipient of The Red Sea Fund cash prize awarded in 2021 by the Red Sea Souk Jury. The Red Sea Souk Award grant of US 30,000 was presented for his film Harka aka Contra aka Before the Spring, a “simple, tragic parable” as described by Nathan, about Ali, a young Tunisian making a precarious living selling contraband gas as he faces an impending eviction and is forced to take care of his two younger sisters, who, in real life, precipitated the Arab Spring with his act of defiance demanding dignity. His choice became the symbol of a silenced generation trying to be heard. His film Harka is in Un Certain Regard in the Cannes Film Festival 2022! The international sales agent is Constellation.
Harka
Nathan is an American filmmaker of Egyptian descent. His first feature film, the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys, for which he received the HBO Emerging Artist Award, was selected in over 50 international festivals, including SXSW, Sundance LA, Lincoln Center, Viennale, Hot Docs, London and Copenhagen. It is distributed in the United States by Oscilloscope and has been purchased by Showtime and Amazon as well as being optioned by Will Smith’s company, Overbrook Entrertainement to adapt into a drama. In 2015, Lotfy was a recipient of the Creative Capital and participated in a Cinereach Foundation director’s residency. He had previously been a recipient of the Garrett Scott Fund, the Peter Reed Foundation, the Grainger Marburg Fund, and the IFP Fellowship. This, his first feature film, was developed in the Sundance Film Institute’s Screenwriting Lab in 2016 and is now in post-production.
The film’s producer Julie Viez started her career in the film industry at Warner Bros Emea (Europe Middle East Asia). She then focused on independent film production, working for companies such as Pan-Européenne, The Film, and CG Cinema. She works on an international scale and produces a wide range of budgets. In 2019 Julie shot La Salamandre , the debut feature of director Alex Carvalho which premiered at Venice’s Settimana in 2021. She is developing several ambitious features and series, among which the next features by Cannes-nominated directors Abu Bakr Shawky, Jonathan Littell, Morgan Simon, and Marie Monge.
The third partner are the producers of The Man Who Sold His Skin, Academy Award Nomination 2020 — see my previous blog on that film — whose director, Kaouther Ben Hania, is now President of the Jury for Critics Week.).
Panelist #2 is the prolific Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mohamed Hefzy, with a constantly growing filmography of 30 feature films including worldwide acclaimed titles such as Huda’s Salon (2021) Feathers (2021), Souad (2021) You Will Die at Twenty (2019), Youmeddine (2018), and Clash (2016). He has served as a jury member in various international festivals including the 75th Venice International Film Festival. As of its 40th edition and for four consecutive years; Mohamed Hefzy was the appointed President of the Cairo International Film Festival.
In 2005, He founded Film Clinic; the now pioneer production house in the Mena region with a variety of commercial blockbusters and arthouse films that have participated in major film festivals worldwide including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca with more than 80 international awards under its belt. Later Hefzy founded Film Clinic Indie Distribution, with a mission to create opportunities for Arab independent films within and beyond festival circuits & Co- founded Meem Creative Circle which produced Netflix’s first Egyptian original series Paranormal.
Hefzy was cited among 30 future leaders in film production by Screen International, headed Variety’s list of Ten Names You Need to Know in the Arab Film Industry and was among Variety’s 500 list of the most influential people in the media industry worldwide. He was granted the Arab Cinema Personality of the Year award by the Hollywood Reporter & Arab Cinema Center. Hefzy is an official member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences in the producers’ branch. In recognition of his significant contribution to the Arab film scene, He was honored as a “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres” from France.
Panelist #3 is Aymen Khoja, a film producer-director committed to bold voices and innovative forms to bridge cultures and to clear up any misunderstandings.
Over six years of experience producing and directing with international studios and production companies, such as Mbc Studios the biggest broadcaster in the Middle East and Viu, the No1 streaming platform east of Asia. Aymen has filmed in different cities all over the world from Los Angeles, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, Bucharest, Cairo, to Jeddah. He successfully delivers high-quality films and series on time within budget.
In 2016 Aymen co-founded Khoja Brothers Productions and managed to fund, direct, co-produce, co-write his first feature film Shoot Aka The Arabian Warrior, and successfully released it theatrically then sold it to Sony Pictures, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple, and lastly Shahid. Aymen’s debut making ultra-low-budget films made him emphasize story quality, maximize creativity, and carefully spend every dollar.
Aymen received his Master’s degree in film with honors from the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles where he produced and directed many short films that have been played in different film festivals around the world. Aymen received his Bachelor’s in Business and Management from King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. This background helped him to be at the top of his organizing game, networking, and career growth.
Born and raised in the east of Saudi Arabia until the age of 11, Khoja then traveled back with his parents to the west, Makkah where he stayed until he was 23 when he traveled to the US to pursue his dream of making films. Aymen had the passion and drive to make movies in a time there were no theaters in his home country. Being a pioneer, he had to push and fight traditions to achieve what he believes is his mission in life: to bridge and close gaps between cultures through the form of cinema by telling the right stories.
Nine Mena Films to see in the Festival:
Cannes Ff Competition Leila’s Brothers directed by Saeed Roustayi from IranCannes Ff Competition Holy Spider directed by Iranian Ali Abbasi but funded by France, Germany, Sweden, DenmarkUn Certain Regard Harka directed by Lotfy Nathan from TunisiaUn Certain Regard The Blue Caftan directed by Maryam Touzani from MoroccoUn Certain Regard Mediterranean Fever directed by Maha Haj from PalestineUn Certain Regard Domingo And The Mist directed by Ariel Escalante from Costa Rica with support from QatarDirectors’ Fortnight Under the Fig Trees directed by Eriga Sehiri from TunisiaDirectors’ Fortnight Ashkal directed by Youssef Chebbi from TunisiaCritics’ Week in Competition Imagine directed by Ali Behrad from IranL’Atelier project: Hamlet From The Slums from Egypt, directed by Ahmed Fawzi SalehL’Atelier project: The Blind Ferryman from Iraq and Switzerland, directed by Ali Al-FatlawiL’Atelier project: You Are My Everything from Israel, directed by Michal VinikdL’Atelier project: The Doubt from Palestine and Israel, directed by Ihab Jadallah...
- 5/8/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Eric Lagesse, the CEO/president of Paris-based arthouse distributor and world sales outfit Pyramide Films, received the Industry Tribute Award at Cairo Film Festival on Friday. Variety spoke with him about his relationship with Arab cinema, and the state of the independent film business in France.
How do you feel about receiving this tribute?
It’s great, but I have had a year to get used to it. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t receive it last year, as planned. Nothing major has changed in the meantime. I am still very fond of Arab and Egyptian films. We are now working with a new generation of films and filmmakers like “Amira” (pictured), which played in the Horizons Competition at the Venice Film Festival this year.
What is your connection to the Arab film world?
We have been collaborating with the Arab world since the beginning of Pyramide. The first...
How do you feel about receiving this tribute?
It’s great, but I have had a year to get used to it. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t receive it last year, as planned. Nothing major has changed in the meantime. I am still very fond of Arab and Egyptian films. We are now working with a new generation of films and filmmakers like “Amira” (pictured), which played in the Horizons Competition at the Venice Film Festival this year.
What is your connection to the Arab film world?
We have been collaborating with the Arab world since the beginning of Pyramide. The first...
- 12/5/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
‘Tick, Tick…Boom!’ and foreign-language titles ‘Wesele’ and ‘Kurup’ are also new.
Holdovers from the major studios look set to dominate the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, with Chloe Zhao’s Marvel epic Eternals aiming to build upon its debut last week, where it made £5.5m from 642 locations.
Universal’s No Time To Die has enjoyed six weekends in the top two with its total standing at £89.9m. Matching Spectre’s £95.2m is still possible, but Skyfall’s £103.2m now seems out of reach. Another strong contender for the top five is Warner Bros’ Dune, which took £1.6m in its...
Holdovers from the major studios look set to dominate the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, with Chloe Zhao’s Marvel epic Eternals aiming to build upon its debut last week, where it made £5.5m from 642 locations.
Universal’s No Time To Die has enjoyed six weekends in the top two with its total standing at £89.9m. Matching Spectre’s £95.2m is still possible, but Skyfall’s £103.2m now seems out of reach. Another strong contender for the top five is Warner Bros’ Dune, which took £1.6m in its...
- 11/12/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
New Indie
“Zola” (Lionsgate) is the first film based on a viral Twitter thread (and probably won’t be the last), but it’s compelling viewing for reasons that have nothing to do with its provenance. Taylour Paige (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) stars as A’Ziah “Zola” King, a waitress and sometimes stripper whose epic road trip to Florida hits one bump after another. It really is about the company you keep, and Zola is hanging out with a trouble-making dancer (Riley Keough), her hapless boyfriend (Nicholas Braun), and her enigmatic “manager” (Colman Domingo), and the twists are unpredictable, off-putting, and darkly hilarious in Janicza Bravo’s comedy.
Also available: Altered Innocence, one of the best-curated boutique labels around, delivers festival fave “A Dim Valley,” which asks the question, “What if a film about a cabin in the woods was a comedic meditation on love and not a horror movie?...
“Zola” (Lionsgate) is the first film based on a viral Twitter thread (and probably won’t be the last), but it’s compelling viewing for reasons that have nothing to do with its provenance. Taylour Paige (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) stars as A’Ziah “Zola” King, a waitress and sometimes stripper whose epic road trip to Florida hits one bump after another. It really is about the company you keep, and Zola is hanging out with a trouble-making dancer (Riley Keough), her hapless boyfriend (Nicholas Braun), and her enigmatic “manager” (Colman Domingo), and the twists are unpredictable, off-putting, and darkly hilarious in Janicza Bravo’s comedy.
Also available: Altered Innocence, one of the best-curated boutique labels around, delivers festival fave “A Dim Valley,” which asks the question, “What if a film about a cabin in the woods was a comedic meditation on love and not a horror movie?...
- 9/14/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
The Criterion Channel’s July 2021 Lineup Includes Wong Kar Wai, Neo-Noir, Art-House Animation & More
The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Eligibility controversies. Category name changes. Executive committee “saves” allowed. Executive committee “saves” disallowed. The introduction of a nine-entry shortlist. The expansion to 10. Then to 15…and so on. There has been no Academy Award category more frequently and fitfully tinkered with than best international feature film (formerly best foreign language feature).
And so to the overriding question coming out of yesterday’s shortlist of 15 titles (formerly 10; née 9): have all the tinkerings been worth it? Have we finally — maybe even just randomly — hit on the precise combination of variables that will make the selection bulletproof? For the 93rd Academy Awards, with its numerological kismet of 93 international film submissions (equalling last year’s record-setting tally), and its reigning champ “Parasite” being, for the first time in history, also the best picture winner, it sure would be a great time to declare this most broken of categories “fixed.”
Let’s not be hasty,...
And so to the overriding question coming out of yesterday’s shortlist of 15 titles (formerly 10; née 9): have all the tinkerings been worth it? Have we finally — maybe even just randomly — hit on the precise combination of variables that will make the selection bulletproof? For the 93rd Academy Awards, with its numerological kismet of 93 international film submissions (equalling last year’s record-setting tally), and its reigning champ “Parasite” being, for the first time in history, also the best picture winner, it sure would be a great time to declare this most broken of categories “fixed.”
Let’s not be hasty,...
- 2/10/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: CAA has signed Amjad Abu Alala and will represent the You Will Die At 20 filmmaker in all areas.
The Sudanese screenwriter, director and producer made his film debut at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, where he won the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut Film. Only the eighth narrative feature produced in Sudan, You Will Die At 20 follows a young man named Muzamil whose death at age 20 is prophesied on the day of his birth by a traveling sheik. The award-winning film played at several other festivals and is set to represent Sudan in the Best International Feature Film race at the 2021 Academy Awards.
Alala is currently developing Queendom, a premium series for Middle Eastern studio Genomedia Studios. He also co-produced the documentary Ali El Arabi’s Captains of Zaatari, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The Sudanese screenwriter, director and producer made his film debut at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, where he won the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut Film. Only the eighth narrative feature produced in Sudan, You Will Die At 20 follows a young man named Muzamil whose death at age 20 is prophesied on the day of his birth by a traveling sheik. The award-winning film played at several other festivals and is set to represent Sudan in the Best International Feature Film race at the 2021 Academy Awards.
Alala is currently developing Queendom, a premium series for Middle Eastern studio Genomedia Studios. He also co-produced the documentary Ali El Arabi’s Captains of Zaatari, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
- 2/2/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Shortlists to be announced on February 9.
The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.
Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.
There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.
The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...
The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.
Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.
There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.
The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...
- 1/28/2021
- ScreenDaily
The motion picture academy has announced the animated, documentary and international features eligible for Oscar consideration. Some of the animated and documentary contenders have not yet had their required qualifying release. Each of them must fulfill the requirement to advance in the voting process.
In the documentary feature realm, a record 238 docs are among the contenders, crushing the record of 170 submissions from 2017. Among the pics is Amazon Studios’ “Time,” which won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle awards for best documentary. It’s the first film since Sarah Polley’s “Stories We Tell” (2012) to win the big three critics’ prizes. However, Polley’s movie failed to get an Academy Awards nomination. This also begs the question raised in our most recent round of documentary feature predictions. Is it time for the branch to expand its nominations from five to 10, as...
In the documentary feature realm, a record 238 docs are among the contenders, crushing the record of 170 submissions from 2017. Among the pics is Amazon Studios’ “Time,” which won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle awards for best documentary. It’s the first film since Sarah Polley’s “Stories We Tell” (2012) to win the big three critics’ prizes. However, Polley’s movie failed to get an Academy Awards nomination. This also begs the question raised in our most recent round of documentary feature predictions. Is it time for the branch to expand its nominations from five to 10, as...
- 1/28/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The first film ever submitted to the Academy by Sudan ‘You Will Die at 20’ premiered in Venice in 2019 where it won the Lion of The Future…
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
- 1/27/2021
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Although this year’s Middle Eastern/North African Oscar submissions have yet to generate a strong buzz, there are titles among the 10 films that could be contenders for the international feature short list.
Chief among them is “Sun Children” from veteran Iranian helmer Majid Majidi, whose 1997 “Children of Heaven” landed a foreign-language film nomination. This gripping drama about exploited urban street kids is cast with charismatic, non-pro performers and earned an acting award at the Venice fest for its resilient young protagonist. Strand Films will release.
A possible dark horse is “Broken Keys,” the feature debut of Lebanese multi-hyphenate Jimmy Keyrouz. It marks an expansion of his 2016 Student Academy Award-winner “Nocturne in Black” about a musician in a Syrian town controlled by Isis. Sporting the Cannes Label, this tense drama, with a score by Keyrouz’s famous compatriot Gabriel Yared, shares the combination of real-life crisis and sweeping emotion that characterizes some past nominees.
Chief among them is “Sun Children” from veteran Iranian helmer Majid Majidi, whose 1997 “Children of Heaven” landed a foreign-language film nomination. This gripping drama about exploited urban street kids is cast with charismatic, non-pro performers and earned an acting award at the Venice fest for its resilient young protagonist. Strand Films will release.
A possible dark horse is “Broken Keys,” the feature debut of Lebanese multi-hyphenate Jimmy Keyrouz. It marks an expansion of his 2016 Student Academy Award-winner “Nocturne in Black” about a musician in a Syrian town controlled by Isis. Sporting the Cannes Label, this tense drama, with a score by Keyrouz’s famous compatriot Gabriel Yared, shares the combination of real-life crisis and sweeping emotion that characterizes some past nominees.
- 1/27/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
With the Sundance Film Festival less than a week away (and available to anyone in the U.S. willing to buy tickets to a Covid-safe 2021 virtual edition), late January sees more streaming options than virtually any week since the pandemic began. That doesn’t necessarily mean big movies for home viewers, but at least it offers a raft of new options.
For those seeking diversion with familiar faces, genre movies such as “Brothers by Blood” (featuring Matthias Schoenaerts and Joel Kinnaman), “No Man’s Land” (with George Lopez) and “Born a Champion” (starring Sean Patrick Flanery). Jason Segel plays a family friend who helps a couple (played by Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson) through the ugliness of cancer in “Our Friend,” based on a true story. If that sounds too serious, try “Psycho Goreman,” in which resourceful low-budget horror director Steven Kostanski makes a deliberately schlocky family film.
On the foreign language front,...
For those seeking diversion with familiar faces, genre movies such as “Brothers by Blood” (featuring Matthias Schoenaerts and Joel Kinnaman), “No Man’s Land” (with George Lopez) and “Born a Champion” (starring Sean Patrick Flanery). Jason Segel plays a family friend who helps a couple (played by Casey Affleck and Dakota Johnson) through the ugliness of cancer in “Our Friend,” based on a true story. If that sounds too serious, try “Psycho Goreman,” in which resourceful low-budget horror director Steven Kostanski makes a deliberately schlocky family film.
On the foreign language front,...
- 1/22/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
If you are looking to stir emotions and grab some tissues this weekend Our Friend has got you covered.
Based on Matthew Teague’s book The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word, Gabriela Cowperthwaite directs this heartfelt drama adapted by Brad Ingelsby that follows journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and their two young daughters as their lives are turned upside down when Nicole is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Matt becomes overwhelmed with being a caretaker and a parent so he calls on the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) to help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life decision changes all of their lives in the most profound way.
Our Friend is based on the true story of the Teague family and went by the title The Friend when it made...
Based on Matthew Teague’s book The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word, Gabriela Cowperthwaite directs this heartfelt drama adapted by Brad Ingelsby that follows journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and their two young daughters as their lives are turned upside down when Nicole is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Matt becomes overwhelmed with being a caretaker and a parent so he calls on the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) to help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life decision changes all of their lives in the most profound way.
Our Friend is based on the true story of the Teague family and went by the title The Friend when it made...
- 1/22/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Set in a remote Sudanese village where religion and prophecy are valuable currencies, You Will Die at Twenty beautifully examines misguided notions of faith. After giving birth to her first baby, Sakina (Islam Mubarak) visits the local Sheikh for a formal blessing. Instead of hearing promising words about the child’s bright future, she receives a dire omen: the boy will die on his 20th birthday.
Shockwaves of gossip spread as the entire village mints this premonition as tragic inevitability. Sensing the coming stress of their cursed family situation, her weak husband decides to leave and work abroad, promising to send money back as if that were appropriate compensation to excuse his betrayal. Almost immediately, Sakina’s sense of loss doubles, pushing her into a state of prolonged mourning for someone who has not yet died. She realizes rather quickly that raising her son alone will mean enduring years of isolation and alienation.
Shockwaves of gossip spread as the entire village mints this premonition as tragic inevitability. Sensing the coming stress of their cursed family situation, her weak husband decides to leave and work abroad, promising to send money back as if that were appropriate compensation to excuse his betrayal. Almost immediately, Sakina’s sense of loss doubles, pushing her into a state of prolonged mourning for someone who has not yet died. She realizes rather quickly that raising her son alone will mean enduring years of isolation and alienation.
- 1/21/2021
- by Glenn Heath Jr.
- The Film Stage
Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg, Loco Films head of sales Arnaud Godard announce acquisitions.
Film Movement has acquired US rights to Philipp Yuryev’s Venice Giornate degli Autori Director’s Award winner The Whaler Boy and Ivan Ostrochovsky’s Berlinale selection Servants (exclusive).
Both films are in the pipeline for 2021 theatrical releases followed by roll-out on home entertainment and digital platforms.
The Whaler Boy stars Vladimir Onokhov as Leshka, a 15-year-old whale hunter in the north eastern region of Russia who contemplates a perilous voyage across the on the Bering Strait to meet a girl he encounters on a webcam site.
Film Movement has acquired US rights to Philipp Yuryev’s Venice Giornate degli Autori Director’s Award winner The Whaler Boy and Ivan Ostrochovsky’s Berlinale selection Servants (exclusive).
Both films are in the pipeline for 2021 theatrical releases followed by roll-out on home entertainment and digital platforms.
The Whaler Boy stars Vladimir Onokhov as Leshka, a 15-year-old whale hunter in the north eastern region of Russia who contemplates a perilous voyage across the on the Bering Strait to meet a girl he encounters on a webcam site.
- 1/19/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
In what has been the strangest year on recent record for myriad reasons, the International Feature Film Oscar race is not immune to the impact of Covid. Along with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tweaking submission deadlines, many films vying for recognition in the International Feature category have experienced a lack of physical festival exposure and the customary resultant buzz, as so many events were canceled or moved online throughout the past nine months. In several cases, films selected by their respective countries actually debuted way back in the 2019 festival season.
This comes at a particularly interesting time for non-English language movies, given the incredible 2019 run of Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. After beginning its career in Cannes, it went on not only to scoop the International Feature trophy, but also Best Director and Best Film — the latter a first for a foreign-language movie.
For the moment, there...
This comes at a particularly interesting time for non-English language movies, given the incredible 2019 run of Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. After beginning its career in Cannes, it went on not only to scoop the International Feature trophy, but also Best Director and Best Film — the latter a first for a foreign-language movie.
For the moment, there...
- 1/14/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Submissions from Sudan, Latvia, Switzerland and Japan will premiere in January.
Film Movement is to premiere four of this year’s submissions for the best international feature film Oscar on its virtual cinema platform in January.
Films being made available by the North American distributor include Amjad Abu Alal’s You Will Die At Twenty, the first Oscar submission ever from Sudan and winner of a Lion of the Future Award for a debut film at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
The contemporary drama will premiere on January 22 and tells of a young man raised to believe that will...
Film Movement is to premiere four of this year’s submissions for the best international feature film Oscar on its virtual cinema platform in January.
Films being made available by the North American distributor include Amjad Abu Alal’s You Will Die At Twenty, the first Oscar submission ever from Sudan and winner of a Lion of the Future Award for a debut film at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
The contemporary drama will premiere on January 22 and tells of a young man raised to believe that will...
- 12/29/2020
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Film Movement has acquired North American rights to Amjad Abu Alala’s feature debut “You Will Die at Twenty,” which marks Sudan’s first official Oscar submission.
As part of the deal, Film Movement will give “You Will Die at Twenty” a theatrical rollout via virtual cinema in 2021, followed by a release on home entertainment and digital platforms.
The film, which is only the eighth narrative feature film to be made in Sudan, follows Muzamil, whose death at age 20 is prophesied on the day of his birth by a traveling sheik. Growing up with his mother, Sakina, in a small village under the constant loom of death, the young boy becomes increasingly curious about what it means to live beyond his mother’s confines.
Represented worldwide by Pyramide International, the film won several awards on the festival circuit, including the Lion of the Future for best debut film at the...
As part of the deal, Film Movement will give “You Will Die at Twenty” a theatrical rollout via virtual cinema in 2021, followed by a release on home entertainment and digital platforms.
The film, which is only the eighth narrative feature film to be made in Sudan, follows Muzamil, whose death at age 20 is prophesied on the day of his birth by a traveling sheik. Growing up with his mother, Sakina, in a small village under the constant loom of death, the young boy becomes increasingly curious about what it means to live beyond his mother’s confines.
Represented worldwide by Pyramide International, the film won several awards on the festival circuit, including the Lion of the Future for best debut film at the...
- 12/23/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021.
Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s debut feature Two Of Us leads the nominations in the 26th edition of France’s Lumière awards, which were unveiled online today (December 14).
The awards, which are voted on by some 130 international correspondents hailing from 40 countries, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has delayed numerous releases this year, they have retained their traditional time slot and the awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021, in line with previous years.
Meneghetti’s Two Of Us is also France’s submission...
Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s debut feature Two Of Us leads the nominations in the 26th edition of France’s Lumière awards, which were unveiled online today (December 14).
The awards, which are voted on by some 130 international correspondents hailing from 40 countries, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has delayed numerous releases this year, they have retained their traditional time slot and the awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021, in line with previous years.
Meneghetti’s Two Of Us is also France’s submission...
- 12/14/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Egypt’s Film Clinic, the prominent indie shingle headed by Cairo Film Festival president Mohammed Hefzy, has scored the rare distinction of being the Middle East and North Africa region distributor of a trio of Arabic films that are in the running for the 2021 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Film Clinic, which since 2006 has been producing a wide range of Arabic film and TV fare – most recently Netflix Arabic Original series “Paranormal” – in 2016 branched out and launched Film Clinic Indie Distribution and since then has been gradually stepping up activity.
Film Clinic’s distribution arm is now set to soon release “When We’re Born” by Egypt’s Tamer Ezzat; “200 Meters” by Palestinian/Jordanian auteur Ameen Nayfeh, which is representing Jordan; and “You Will Die at Twenty,” by Amjad Abu Alala, which marks Sudan’s first submission to the Oscars.
The titles are all recent festival circuit standouts.
Film Clinic, which since 2006 has been producing a wide range of Arabic film and TV fare – most recently Netflix Arabic Original series “Paranormal” – in 2016 branched out and launched Film Clinic Indie Distribution and since then has been gradually stepping up activity.
Film Clinic’s distribution arm is now set to soon release “When We’re Born” by Egypt’s Tamer Ezzat; “200 Meters” by Palestinian/Jordanian auteur Ameen Nayfeh, which is representing Jordan; and “You Will Die at Twenty,” by Amjad Abu Alala, which marks Sudan’s first submission to the Oscars.
The titles are all recent festival circuit standouts.
- 12/6/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
With less than two weeks to go until the Academy’s Dec. 1 deadline for submissions, the Oscars race in the Best International Feature Film category doesn’t appear to be suffering any slowdown because of the coronavirus.
As of Thursday, more than 60 different countries had announced their Oscar submissions in the category. That’s more than the 58 that had announced last year at the same point in the Oscar calendar.
Last year’s field was initially announced as a record 93 submissions, though two subsequent disqualifications lowered the final total to 91.
While this year’s race does not have any prohibitive favorites like last year’s “Parasite” or 2018’s “Roma,” a number of the most recent submissions appear to be serious contenders. Denmark’s “Another Round,” for instance, stars Mads Mikkelsen and is directed by Thomas Vinterberg, whose 2013 film “The Hunt” was a nominee in this category. Mexico’s “I’m No Longer Here,...
As of Thursday, more than 60 different countries had announced their Oscar submissions in the category. That’s more than the 58 that had announced last year at the same point in the Oscar calendar.
Last year’s field was initially announced as a record 93 submissions, though two subsequent disqualifications lowered the final total to 91.
While this year’s race does not have any prohibitive favorites like last year’s “Parasite” or 2018’s “Roma,” a number of the most recent submissions appear to be serious contenders. Denmark’s “Another Round,” for instance, stars Mads Mikkelsen and is directed by Thomas Vinterberg, whose 2013 film “The Hunt” was a nominee in this category. Mexico’s “I’m No Longer Here,...
- 11/19/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
South Africa, Portugal and debutant Sudan are among the latest countries to make submissions to the 2021 International Oscar race.
South Africa is putting forward Rene van Rooyen’s Toorbos. The film, which is in Afrikaans, explores the uprooting of a young forest woman and her community during the time of the last inhabitants of South Africa’s Knysna forest of the 1930s.
Portugal has submitted Listen from actress and director Ana Rocha de Sousa. The film debuted at Venice this year. Set in the London suburbs, it follows a couple who face serious difficulties when social services raise concerns about the safety of their three children.
Montenegro has put forward Marija Perović’s Grudi (Beasts). It chronicles a 20-year high school reunion that brings together four friends. One of them is gravely ill, the rest want to help her, but to do that they firstly have to find out who they really are.
South Africa is putting forward Rene van Rooyen’s Toorbos. The film, which is in Afrikaans, explores the uprooting of a young forest woman and her community during the time of the last inhabitants of South Africa’s Knysna forest of the 1930s.
Portugal has submitted Listen from actress and director Ana Rocha de Sousa. The film debuted at Venice this year. Set in the London suburbs, it follows a couple who face serious difficulties when social services raise concerns about the safety of their three children.
Montenegro has put forward Marija Perović’s Grudi (Beasts). It chronicles a 20-year high school reunion that brings together four friends. One of them is gravely ill, the rest want to help her, but to do that they firstly have to find out who they really are.
- 11/17/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Jasmila Žbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” won the El Gouna Star for best narrative film at the El Gouna Film Festival, carrying a $50,000 prize. The film’s star, Jasna Duricic, also took home the best actress award, for her startling eponymous turn. Based on a true story, the 1995-set drama tells the story of a Un translator attempting to save the lives of her husband and son after the Army of Republic Srpska takes over the city of Srebrenica.
Other winners announced by jury president Peter Webber at the striking new open-air Festival Plaza included Ali Suliman as best actor for his turn as a Palestinian trying to reunite with his family in Ameen Nayfeh’s “200 Meters,” a film which also won the Cinema for Humanity Audience Award. Hilal Baydarov’s “In Between Dying” won the Netpac Award for best Asian film.
Other big winners on the night included...
Other winners announced by jury president Peter Webber at the striking new open-air Festival Plaza included Ali Suliman as best actor for his turn as a Palestinian trying to reunite with his family in Ameen Nayfeh’s “200 Meters,” a film which also won the Cinema for Humanity Audience Award. Hilal Baydarov’s “In Between Dying” won the Netpac Award for best Asian film.
Other big winners on the night included...
- 10/31/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
CineGouna project development event metes out $250,000-worth of awards.
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, running October 23 to 31 in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna, has unveiled the winners of the fourth edition of its CineGouna SpringBoard platform aimed at supporting projects and talents from the Arab world.
Running October 25 to 29, the meeting featured 12 projects in development - nine of them narrative features and three of them documentaries – and six works in post-production, chosen from 99 submissions.
The jury consisted of Clément Chautant, head of sales at Paris-based sales company Indie Sales, Lebanese director and producer Dima Al-Joundi and Jordanian writer,...
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, running October 23 to 31 in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna, has unveiled the winners of the fourth edition of its CineGouna SpringBoard platform aimed at supporting projects and talents from the Arab world.
Running October 25 to 29, the meeting featured 12 projects in development - nine of them narrative features and three of them documentaries – and six works in post-production, chosen from 99 submissions.
The jury consisted of Clément Chautant, head of sales at Paris-based sales company Indie Sales, Lebanese director and producer Dima Al-Joundi and Jordanian writer,...
- 10/30/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
“I have been hiding behind producing,” says “You Will Die at 20” director Amjad Abu Alala. “I wanted to do that. I remember, last year, after my film won the Lion of the Future Award for best debut film at the Venice Film Festival, I got on the plane to the Toronto Film Festival and the very first question a journalist asked was what are you doing next? I didn’t even have time to breathe.”
A week after the Toronto screening, Alala was at El Gouna Film Festival, where “You Will Die at 20” won the El Gouna Golden Star for best narrative film. “That helped spread the word a lot,” says Alala. “A lot of people in Sudan, they don’t know Venice, but they know about Egypt because they have been raised on Egyptian cinema and stars for 100 years.”
This year, Alala has returned wearing two hats.
A week after the Toronto screening, Alala was at El Gouna Film Festival, where “You Will Die at 20” won the El Gouna Golden Star for best narrative film. “That helped spread the word a lot,” says Alala. “A lot of people in Sudan, they don’t know Venice, but they know about Egypt because they have been raised on Egyptian cinema and stars for 100 years.”
This year, Alala has returned wearing two hats.
- 10/28/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Director Peter Webber is preparing a six-part series sequel to his Colombia-set teen drama “Pickpockets” (“Maestros del robo”), which Netflix launched globally in 2018. The film tells the story of aspiring teenage thieves learning how to be successful pickpockets.
“Apparently, it did really well amongst teenagers,” Webber told Variety. “They asked us to do a sequel, so at the moment we are working on six one-hour episodes following up the main characters.”
Netflix is not believed to be officially attached to the sequel, which is still in development stages.
It’s understood that the project will have a broader scope than the film. “As the series develops, the locations change,” Webber said. “It’s a bit more international than the last one.”
British native Webber is currently at the El Gouna Film Festival, where he is serving as jury president of the Feature Narrative Competition section. The jury also comprises iconic Egyptian actor Asser Yassin,...
“Apparently, it did really well amongst teenagers,” Webber told Variety. “They asked us to do a sequel, so at the moment we are working on six one-hour episodes following up the main characters.”
Netflix is not believed to be officially attached to the sequel, which is still in development stages.
It’s understood that the project will have a broader scope than the film. “As the series develops, the locations change,” Webber said. “It’s a bit more international than the last one.”
British native Webber is currently at the El Gouna Film Festival, where he is serving as jury president of the Feature Narrative Competition section. The jury also comprises iconic Egyptian actor Asser Yassin,...
- 10/26/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Votes were cast by 141 Arab and international critics from 57 territories.
Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven has scooped best film and director in the fourth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
The comedy originally premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, garnering a special mention, and was Palestine’s submission for the 2020 Academy Awards.
In other awards, Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabry was feted with best actress for her performance in Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s Noura’s Dream as a woman trying to escape the clutches of a violent husband.
French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila was named best actor...
Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven has scooped best film and director in the fourth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
The comedy originally premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, garnering a special mention, and was Palestine’s submission for the 2020 Academy Awards.
In other awards, Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabry was feted with best actress for her performance in Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s Noura’s Dream as a woman trying to escape the clutches of a violent husband.
French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila was named best actor...
- 6/26/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Fourth edition is based on votes of 142 Arab and international critics hailing from 57 countries.
Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven and Maryam Touzani’s Adam received four nominations each in the first round of voting in this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films.
A total of 142 Arab and international film critics from 57 countries are participating in the fourth edition of the awards, organised by the Arab Cinema Centre (Acc).
Suleiman’s comedy-drama It Must Be Heaven, which premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, has been nominated for best film, director, actor (Suleiman) and screenplay.
Moroccan filmmaker Touzani’s feature directorial debut Adam,...
Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven and Maryam Touzani’s Adam received four nominations each in the first round of voting in this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films.
A total of 142 Arab and international film critics from 57 countries are participating in the fourth edition of the awards, organised by the Arab Cinema Centre (Acc).
Suleiman’s comedy-drama It Must Be Heaven, which premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, has been nominated for best film, director, actor (Suleiman) and screenplay.
Moroccan filmmaker Touzani’s feature directorial debut Adam,...
- 6/17/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Woody Harrelson, Agnieszka Holland and Hirokazu Kore-eda are among the industry figures headlining the 27th edition of the Prague International Film Festival, which is set to go ahead despite fears around the coronavirus.
Harrelson will appear alongside Oren Moverman, who is receiving a Kristián award for his contributions to global cinema, to present the L.A. cop drama “Rampart” in Prague. The duo were both nominated for Academy Awards for Moverman’s Iraqi war pic “The Messenger.”
Kore-eda, Slovak actor Milan Lasica and Czech actress Iva Janžurová will also be receiving lifetime achievement awards.
The festival unspools March 19-27 in the Czech capital, against a backdrop of growing uncertainty as the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival and Greece’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival announced they were postponing this year’s editions, while the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event in Qatar was canceled.
Harrelson will appear alongside Oren Moverman, who is receiving a Kristián award for his contributions to global cinema, to present the L.A. cop drama “Rampart” in Prague. The duo were both nominated for Academy Awards for Moverman’s Iraqi war pic “The Messenger.”
Kore-eda, Slovak actor Milan Lasica and Czech actress Iva Janžurová will also be receiving lifetime achievement awards.
The festival unspools March 19-27 in the Czech capital, against a backdrop of growing uncertainty as the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival and Greece’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival announced they were postponing this year’s editions, while the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event in Qatar was canceled.
- 3/4/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The dearth of African contenders in the main competition at this year’s Berlinale might come as no surprise to the continent’s perennially disappointed filmmakers. One could argue — not unfairly — that Africa is still underrepresented at the world’s top film festivals.
But you wouldn’t have to look hard to find emerging African voices in festival strands like Berlin’s Panorama, Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema, or Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. That many of these films are from first- and second-time directors bodes well for a continent still grappling to reclaim its own narrative.
Three years after Senegal’s Alain Gomis won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for his Kinshasa-set drama “Félicité,” other kudos for African filmmakers have followed. The past 12 months alone have seen Sudanese director Suhaib Gasmelbari’s documentary “Talking About Trees” scoop a pair of prizes in last year’s Berlinale; Sudan’s Amjad Abu Alala...
But you wouldn’t have to look hard to find emerging African voices in festival strands like Berlin’s Panorama, Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema, or Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. That many of these films are from first- and second-time directors bodes well for a continent still grappling to reclaim its own narrative.
Three years after Senegal’s Alain Gomis won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for his Kinshasa-set drama “Félicité,” other kudos for African filmmakers have followed. The past 12 months alone have seen Sudanese director Suhaib Gasmelbari’s documentary “Talking About Trees” scoop a pair of prizes in last year’s Berlinale; Sudan’s Amjad Abu Alala...
- 2/20/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
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