News

Exclusive: Bankside has inked a slew of sales on Ido Fluk’s Köln 75 following its Special Gala premiere at the Berlinale this month.

The largely well-received film has sold to Bulgaria (Beta), Canada (Level Film), Czech/Slovak (Aqs), Eastern Europe excluding Poland (HBO), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery), France (Metopolitan), Hungary (Budapest Film), Israel (Naschon/Red Cape), Italy (Lucky Red), Middle East (Front Row), Scandinavia (Sf Studios), South Korea (The Coup) and Spain (Selecta Vision).

Alamode Film holds distribution rights for German-speaking Europe and will be releasing the film in March on more than 200 screens, September Film for Benelux and Madness for Poland. Discussions are ongoing for distribution in both UK and U.S.

The English and German-language pic tells the story behind one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert, how it almost didn’t happen, and how one formidable German teenager, Vera Brandes,...

On January 24, 1975, Keith Jarrett gave a solo piano performance at the Opera House in Cologne, Germany. The concert lasted a little over an hour, it was entirely improvised, and it was recorded and turned into a double album, “The Köln Concert,” released later that year. It became the best-selling solo album in jazz history, as well as the best-selling piano album. And when you listen to it you can hear why.

The 1970s were a piano-man age. Think Billy Joel and Elton John, and also Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock and Jan Hammer and Jarrett. There are Keith Jarrett albums that have more pyrotechnical dazzle than “The Köln Concert”. But “The Köln Concert,” for all its joyful tumult, exudes a vibe that’s very much of its mellowed-out era. It’s exultant but soothing. At times it evokes the pastoral moods that would make the New Age pianist George Winston so popular,...

Wildly unpredictable, visually gorgeous, and occasionally gruesome, the German animated feature Felidae is a surreal amalgam of gothic horror and noir-tinged mystery that’s definitely not for the kiddies. The film is rife with delirious dream imagery and unrestrained depictions of sadistic medical experiments, murder, and mutilation. Not to mention that, per its feline-centric title, all the central characters are cats. Felidae is the result of what might happen if a giallo director like Dario Argento took a whack at directing The Secret of Nimh.

No sooner has the urbane Francis (Ulrich Tukur), accompanied by his feckless human “can opener,” a romance writer named Gustav Löbel (Manfred Steffen), moved into new digs in a new part of town, than he meets the grizzled Bluebeard (Mario Adorf), who supplies the profanely wise-cracking buddy component for the twisty mystery that follows. Bluebeard’s idea of a housewarming present turns out to be...

War and conflict have affected every corner of the globe in one way or another, so it’s only natural that filmmakers worldwide have made incredible movies depicting warfare from their perspective. While big-budget American war movies often dominate the conversation when it comes to this genre, it’s important not to forget all the astounding non-English-language war movies that have left their mark on cinema. From global conflicts to lesser-known national crises, war movies have the power to educate and inform viewers about historical conflicts.

Many of the best war movies ever made were foreign films that shone a light on different countries' experiences of war. Some of these were all-time classics like Roberto Benigni’s Oscar-winning triumph Life is Beautiful, while others were not as well known but are equally deserving of attention and praise. The greatest war movies leave their mark on viewers long after the credits...

In a career spanning several decades, George Clooney has appeared in plenty of massive blockbusters, but he also has some underrated gems. Clooney's most popular movies include the Ocean's trilogy, O Brother, Where Art Thou, Gravity and many more. His good looks and charisma have made him a bankable leading man in a variety of genres, but not all his movies get the love they deserve.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are set to team up once more for Apple TV's new action-comedy Wolfs, in which they play two combative fixers forced to work together. While Wolfs is already generating plenty of excitement, some of Clooney's movies have managed to fly under the radar in his career. Looking back at Clooney's career, there are plenty of underrated comedies, sci-fi movies and actioners which deserve a second chance.

Solaris (2002) Kelvin

Solaris

Director Steven SoderberghRelease Date November 27, 2002Cast Ulrich Tukur, Jeremy Davies,...

UK sales outfit Bankside Films has unveiled a first look image of Mala Emde in the role of Vera Brandes in Ido Fluk’s The Girl From Köln, as well as a slew of key deals on the film as the company heads into the European Film Market (EFM).

The feature, currently in post-production, tells the little-known story of one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, US pianist Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert, and how one formidable German teenager, Vera Brandes, was instrumental in its creation. Bankside will be showing a sales promo to buyers at the EFM.

Exclusive: New indie film financier Mizzel Media is launching in Cannes with what we understand to be a healthy six-figure investment in feature The Girl From Köln, the next film from Holy Spider and The Tale outfit One Two Films.

The movie, which is due to shoot later this year, will star Mala Emde (And Tomorrow The Entire World) and John Magaro (Past Lives) in the lead roles.

Bankside is handling world sales in Cannes on the project, which will tell the little-known backstory of how a maverick German teenager named Vera Brandes was instrumental in the creation of the best-selling solo piano record of all time, U.S. pianist Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert. Ido Fluk (The Ticket) directs from his own script.

The investment is U.S. outfit Mizzel’s first to date. The New York-based company is run by producer and veteran manager Lillian Lasalle, whose clients...

I have been tracking producer Sol Bondy since 2016 when co-production The Happiest Day in the Life of Ölli Mäki won the Un Certain Regard Grand Prize and the European Film Award for Best Debut. He and Fred Burle have been developing The Girl from Köln (aka Köln 75) with writer-director Ido Fluk, the filmmaker behind 2016 Tribeca selection The Ticket since 2019. "This project has been very close to our hearts in the last few years and we're very excited with the way it's been shaped so far," said Bondy, a Variety Producer to Watch in 2018. "It's been such a joy working with Ido on this exciting story and we're thrilled to have put an amazing team together," added Burle, Brazilian born producer who was just made a partner in One Two Films, alongside co-founders Sol Bondy and Christoph Lange. Burle joined One Two in January 2017, having graduated from the German Film and Television Academy (dffb) the previous year. He has previously worked as a film critic, at The Match Factory, and as curator of the inaugural dffb film festival. One Two Films has produced and co-produced award-winning films such as Holy Spider (Read my blog about it here), Vadim Perelman's Persian Lessons (Read my blog about it here), Jennifer Fox's Sundance breakout The Tale, Isabel Coixet's The Bookshop and Juho Kuosmanen's The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.Other titles in the pipeline include Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson's dark comedy Northern Comfort, which premieres in SXSW later this month, Annemarie Jacir's survival drama The Oblivion Theory, Sarah Arnold's debut feature Wild Encounters and Michiel ten Horn's romantic comedy Any Other Night. In Berlin this year it was announced that Bankside would be The Girl from Köln's international sales agent and was launching sales. Alamode Film already has German-speaking territories and is a coproducer, who have very recently secured funding through the Fff, the local fund in Bavaria. It is in early pre-production and will shoot this year in Poland and Germany. The Girl from Köln tells the little-known story of Vera Brandes, who, in 1975, at the age of 17, staged the famous Köln Concert by jazz musician Keith Jarrett, which became the top-selling jazz solo album of all time. With Polish Film Institute backing, Oscar-winning Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska (Ida, Cold War) of Extreme Emotions is co-producing along with Annegret Weitkämper-Krug of Germany's Gretchenfilm (Seneca). Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Oren Moverman (Love & Mercy, Bad Education) serves as executive producer. Moverman also produced Fluk's previous feature, The Ticket. The Tale writer-director Jennifer Fox also serves as executive producer. Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green executive produce for Bankside. It stars Mala Emde (Skin Deep, And Tomorrow the Entire World) in the lead role, alongside John Magaro (Past Lives) as Jarrett. Magaro was also in Cannes last year with Kelly Reichardt's competition title Showing Up.Other cast attached include Alexander Scheer (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush), Ulrich Tukur (The Life of Others), Susanne Wolff (Sisi & I, Styx), Jördis Triebel (Dark), Jan Bülow (Lindenberg) and Marie-Lou Sellem (Tar, Exit Marrakesh). The NYU-graduate Fluk was dubbed "a talent to watch" by Variety following his feature debut Never Too Late, the first crowd-sourced Israeli film ever made. His American debut, the Tribeca competition selection, The Ticket, starred Dan Stevens and Malin Akerman. Upcoming projects include 24 Hours in June, a retelling of the final day in the life of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union, to be produced by Academy Award winner James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain) and Joe Pirro (Driveways). Fluk is repped by Amotz Zakai, Amy Schiffman, and Kegan Schell at Echo Lake Entertainment. He is also created the recently-announced HBO series Empty Mansions for Fremantle with director Joe Wright (Atonement, Darkest Hour) attached to direct the pilot. "From the moment I heard Vera's story, about how as a high school teenager she organized one of the greatest concerts in history, I knew her story had to be told," said Fluk. "We were immediately exhilarated by Vera Brandes' remarkable female empowerment story. Her strength, courage and sheer belief in herself and the music of Keith Jarrett will entertain and inspire audiences around the world," added Kelliher.

Germany’s Mala Emde and US actor John Magaro are set to star.

UK sales outfit Bankside Films has boarded worldwide sales on director Ido Fluk’s feature Köln 75, that tells the little-known story of one of the best-selling jazz records of all time, US pianist Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln Concert, and how one maverick German teenager was instrumental in its creation.

The film meets teenager Vera Brandes while she is still in high school and starts producing and promoting music concerts in Cologne, and risks everything to put on what will become Jarrett’s legendary show.

German star of...

Alamode to co-produce Ido Fluk’s jazz feature ’Köln 75’

Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.

The feature by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.

She has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.

Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at Holy Spider...

Alamode to co-produce Ido Fluk’s jazz feature ’Köln 75’

Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.

The feature, by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk, centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.

Since then, she has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.

Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at...

Berlin-based One Two Films, in Cannes this week with Ali Abbasi’s competition title “Holy Spider,” is prepping a new feature from writer-director Ido Fluk, the filmmaker behind 2016 Tribeca selection “The Ticket.”

“Köln 75” tells the true story of Vera Brandes, who, in 1975 and at the age of 17, staged the famous Köln Concert by jazz musician Keith Jarrett, which became the top-selling jazz solo album of all time. It stars Mala Emde (“And Tomorrow the Entire World”) in the lead role, alongside John Magaro (“First Cow”) as Jarrett. Magaro is also in Cannes with Kelly Reichardt’s competition title “Showing Up.”

Oscar-winning Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska of Extreme Emotions will co-produce, with Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Oren Moverman serving as executive producer. Moverman also produced Fluk’s previous feature, “The Ticket.”

Other cast attached include Alexander Scheer (“Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush”), Ulrich Tukur (“The Life of Others”), Susanne Wolff...

Florian Gallenberger, the director behind “John Rabe,” a historical drama about the Nanking Massacre in China, and “Colonia,” a political thriller set in Chile against the backdrop of the 1973 military coup, has made his first comedy.

“It’s Just a Phase, Honey,” which had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, offers a hilarious look at a married couple, played by Christoph Maria Herbst and Christiane Paul, who, in the midst of a mid-life crisis, attempt a trial separation.

The film is an adaptation of Maxim Leo and Jochen-Martin Gutsch’s bestseller, which comprises 25 short, unconnected anecdotes. Gallenberger and co-writer Malte Welding had to create a major plotline that included the various scenes of the book.

“We had to and did take some liberties with the novel in order to make it into one story instead of 25 little funny moments,” Gallenberger explains.

Poking fun at the near-50 crowd, the...

A series of ironic and satiric videos from some of Germany’s most prominent film and television actors criticizing and mocking new government lockdown measures have sparked a furious online debate, and support from an unlikely source.

Many in the media here have sharply criticized the videos, but members of the far right are applauding

Around 50 well-known German and German-speaking actors, including Vicky Kriebs (The Phantom Thread), Ulrich Tukur (The Lives of Others), Volker Bruch (Babylon Berlin), Heike Makatsch (Love, Actually), and TV stars such as Jan Josef Liefers, Meret Becker and Ulrike Folkerts, all posted short videos in which ...

A series of ironic and satiric videos from some of Germany’s most prominent film and television actors criticizing and mocking new government lockdown measures have sparked a furious online debate, and support from an unlikely source.

Many in the media here have sharply criticized the videos, but members of the far right are applauding

Around 50 well-known German and German-speaking actors, including Vicky Kriebs (The Phantom Thread), Ulrich Tukur (The Lives of Others), Volker Bruch (Babylon Berlin), Heike Makatsch (Love, Actually), and TV stars such as Jan Josef Liefers, Meret Becker and Ulrike Folkerts, all posted short videos in which ...

German director Uli Edel (“The Baader Meinhof Complex”) is set to direct “Heisenberg,” an adaptation of Richard von Schirach’s historical book “The Night of the Physicists: Operation Epsilon: Heisenberg, Hahn, Weizsäcker and the German Bomb,” about the team of German physicists who tried to develop the atom bomb for Germany during World War II.

Munich-based companies Kj Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment are teaming up with Film Manufacturers Inc. (Fmi) in New York to co-produce “Heisenberg” from a script by Marco Wiersch (“Der Fall Barschel”).

Published in Germany in 2012, von Schirach’s book traces the efforts of Germany’s top physicists to develop an atomic bomb for the Nazi government during the war. Arrested by the Allies in the spring of 1945, the scientists first hear of the U.S. attack on Hiroshima while detained in a country house near Cambridge.

“The Night of the Physicists” is described as “the story...

Far too many adults, in far too many rooms, have far too many repetitive conversations about the arcane ins-and-outs of EU policymaking in Costa-Gavras’ maddeningly unfocused “Adults in the Room.” Amounting as much to a hagiography of erstwhile Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (solidly played by Christos Loulis) as a very long-exposure snapshot of the closed-door 2015 negotiations when Greece attempted to revisit the disastrous terms of its EU debt repayment program, the film is worthily intended, meticulously researched and very dull. “I know you’re tired of this Greek drama — so are we Greeks!” quips Yanis at one point and if the play on “Greek drama” is as close as the movie gets to a bona fide joke, it is also a wild overstatement. Events here barely feel dramatized at all, let alone to the point that anyone kills his father or sleeps with his mother.

Apart from Yanis, whose...

Costa-Gavras, the Greek-born France-based director of some of the most famed movies of political cinema, from 1969’s “Z” to 1981’s “Missing,” will receive a career achievement Donostia Award at this September’s 67th San Sebastian Film Festival.

The filmmaker will collect his prize on Sept. 21 at a ceremony held at San Sebastian’s Victoria Eugenia, where his latest film, “Adults in the Room,” will screen.

The feature is the cinematic adaptation of the book of the same title written by former Greek minister of finance Yanis Varoufakis.According the film’s synopsis, it marks a portrayal of a group of politicians “trapped in an inhuman network of power” in a “brutal circle of Eurogroup meetings which imposed on Greece a dictatorship of austerity.” It’s described as a modern-day tragedy which chronicles the brief six months Varoufakis served in his position.

Costa-Gavras’ was last in San Sebastian in 2012 when his...

Acclaimed political filmmaker Costa-Gavras will receive the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker award at this year's Venice International Film Festival.

A woke director decades before the term was used, the Greek-born Costa-Gavras is best-known for such politically activist features as 1970's Z, which earned him Oscar nominations for best directing and best adapted screenplay, and Missing, winner of the best adapted screenplay Oscar in 1982.

Costa-Gavras' latest feature, Adults in the Room — a look at the Greek financial crisis — will have its world premiere out of competition in Venice on Aug. 31. Christos Loulis, Alexandros Bourdoumis and Ulrich Tukur ...

Acclaimed political filmmaker Costa-Gavras will receive the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker award at this year's Venice International Film Festival.

A woke director decades before the term was used, the Greek-born Costa-Gavras is best-known for such politically activist features as 1970's Z, which earned him Oscar nominations for best directing and best adapted screenplay, and Missing, winner of the best adapted screenplay Oscar in 1982.

Costa-Gavras' latest feature, Adults in the Room — a look at the Greek financial crisis — will have its world premiere out of competition in Venice on Aug. 31. Christos Loulis, Alexandros Bourdoumis and Ulrich Tukur ...

Beta Film and Oscar-winning director Florian Gallenberger are continuing their partnership with WWII drama, The Turncoat. Described as being in the tradition of International Emmy winner Generation War, the limited series is based on the novel by Siegfried Lenz that centers on a young Wehrmacht soldier who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests, surrounded by partisans, questioning the meaning of duty, conscience, friendship and love. Jannis Niewöhner (Maximilian And Marie De Bourgogne) stars alongside Malgorzata Mikolajczak, Sebastian Urzendowsky (The Counterfeiters), Rainer Bock (Never Look Away) and Ulrich Tukur (The Lives Of Others). Gallenberger is helming from a script by Bernd Lange (The Vanishing). Shooting is underway in Poland and Germany on the Dreamtool production for public broadcaster Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Beta Film handles world sales and will present first images at Mipcom in Cannes this fall.

Four-hour Second World War series is shooting now in Poland and Germany.

Beta Film and producers Dreamtool have started shooting Second World War drama series The Turncoat, directed by Oscar-winner Florian Gallenberger.

Bernd Lange (The Vanishing) adapts the script from the novel by Siegfried Lenz about Walter, a young Wehrmacht soldier in the summer of 1944 who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests, surrounded by partisans, questioning the meaning of duty, conscience, friendship and love.

Broadcast partners are Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Backers also include the Polish Film Institute, the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, and the Mfg Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg.

Following “Colonia,”Beta Film and Oscar-winning director Florian Gallenberger are set to re-team on “The Turncoat,” a WW2 mini-series based on Siegfried Lenz’s bestselling novel by the same name.

Currently shooting in Poland and Germany, “The Turncoat” will boast a high-profile German cast including Jannis Niewöhner (“Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne”), Malgorzata Mikolajczak, Sebastian Urzendowsky (“The Counterfeiters”), Rainer Bock (“Never Look Away”) and Ulrich Tukur (“The Lives of Others”).

Dreamtool is producing “The Turncoat” for public broadcaster Ndr, Ard Degeto and Swr. Written by Gallenberger and Bernd Lange (“The Vanishing”), “The Turncoat” depicts the story of young Wehrmacht soldier Walter who is stranded in the no man’s land of the Polish forests starts questioning the meaning of duty, friendship and love.

“These are stormy times, even though we are the generation which has everything – peace, freedom and prosperity. We want to create a touching film that shows us...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Sven Taddicken’s “The Most Beautiful Couple,” which has its world premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto Film Festival.

In the film Liv and Malte are forced to revisit their past when Malte spots the man who sexually assaulted Liv two years ago. While Liv yearns for acceptance and healing, Malte is trying to fight the urge for revenge. But will their love survive?

Taddicken says: “The premise of ‘The Most Beautiful Couple’ felt like a worst-case scenario for any loving couple. It was like a nightmare that kept haunting my thoughts. So I finally sat down and started to think it through, while wondering if there is a cure for that couple. I guess it’s that same energy that kept me writing that also keeps the audience tied to the film.”

Taddicken’s first feature,...

Sneak Peek footage, plus images from director Fatih Akin's award-winning dramatic feature "In the Fade" (aka "Aus dem Nichts"), starring Diane Kruger ("Inglourious Basterds"):

"...'Katja', married to 'Nuri Sekerci' has a 5-year-old son, living in Hamburg, Germany.

"She first met Nuri when she was a student and bought hash from him, then marrying him when he was serving time in prison for drug trafficking.

"Studying while in prison, Nuri is released, to work at a translation and tax office.

"She drops their son off at her husband’s office in the afternoon. When Katja returns for him in the evening, she finds the road blocked. A policeman tells her that a man and a child have been killed in an attack, that they say is not terrorism, but revenge from drug traffickers.

"Katja is so despndent she sees no reason to continue living...until she decides on taking revenge.

"They'll be punished, I promise you." Magnolia has unveiled an official Us trailer for Fatih Akin's In the Fade, a dramatic thriller starring Diane Kruger. Kruger won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival this year, where the film played in competition. She stars as a German woman named Katja, who goes for revenge after a bombing that kills her husband and son. The cast includes Numan Acar, Ulrich Tukur, Johannes Krisch, Siir Eloglu, Denis Moschitto, Jessica McIntyre, and Ulrich Brandhoff. This is going to be a very divisive, likely controversial film - because of what it addresses and what happens and how it all plays out. It's a fascinating, emotion-fueled film worth discussing. I saw this in Cannes and I think it's an impressive film with a hell of a performance by Kruger. This trailer gives away a lot, watch out. Here's the new official Us...

Awards run, early 2018 theatrical release planned.

Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Faith Akin’s revenge drama In the Fade starring Cannes best actress winner Diane Kruger.

The film will navigate an awards-qualifying run this autumn ahead of a theatrical release in early 2018.

Kruger plays a German mother seeking revenge for the murder of her family at the hands of Neo-Nazis. Denis Moschitto, Johannes Krisch, Ulrich Tukur, Samia Chancrin, and Numan Acar also star.

“In the Fade is my own reflection of current developments in the world,” Akin, who wrote and directed, said. “On different layers it is a very personal film for me. I am honored that Magnolia will bring the movie to American audiences and I am very excited about this.” Hark Bohm co-wrote the screenplay.

Nurhan Şekerci-Porst, Akin, and Herman Weigel produced. The film is a Warner Bros Pictures presentation of a Bombero International, Warner Bros Film Productions Germany production, in co-production...

Get a glimpse at one of the films playing at Cannes. A French teaser trailer has debuted for the German film titled In the Fade, directed by German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin. This just premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday, to mostly positive reviews from critics. Prominent German actress Diane Kruger stars in what is apparently her very first German role playing a woman named Katja, who goes for revenge after a bombing that kills her husband and son. The cast includes Numan Acar, Ulrich Tukur, Johannes Krisch, Siir Eloglu, Denis Moschitto, Jessica McIntyre, and Ulrich Brandhoff. I saw this film at Cannes and I think it's a great film, playing strong on emotions but also providing much to think about. I always appreciate films that can inspire good discussions, and this is definitely one that will. Here's the first international teaser trailer (+ poster) for Fatih Akin's In the Fade,...

Picture Tree International line-up also includes Jakob Lass’ Tiger Girl.

Picture Tree International (Pti) has confirmed its line-up for the upcoming edition of Efm at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival (February 9 - 19, 2017).

In its fourth year, the Berlin-based sales and distribution company returns with a slate including Jakob Lass’ Tiger Girl, which will receive its world premiere as a Panorama Special in Berlin; action-comedy Hot Dog, starring Til Schweiger and Matthias Schweighöfer; and Zaza Urushadze’s (Oscar nominated for 2013 drama Tangerines) The Confession.

Tiger Girl, for which Pti has acquired international rights, is Lass’ second feature, following Love Steaks (2013).

In Hot Dog, Schweiger and Schweighöfer will play two friends who make it their mission to free the daughter of the Moldovan ambassador from her kidnappers.

The film is currently being shot in Berlin and is expected to be released in autumn 2017 by Warner Bros. Pictures Germany.

The Confession (formerly titled Monk) centres on a former film director...

Long Love Death screens Friday, Nov. 11 at 9:00pm at The Hi-Pointe Backlot as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found Here

In “Long Live Death,” a serial killer sedates his female victims and makes their murders look like suicides. When the body of another woman is found, Lt. Murot finally catches the culprit, appearing to end the deadly spree. But even after his arrest, the killer still exerts terrifying control over the situation, and Murot seems to play an unwitting part in his master plan. As detective and criminal play a cat-and-mouse game with the highest of stakes — a person’s life — Murot is forced to confront his own past and inner demons. A tense thriller, “Long Live Death” is a quasi-sequel to the same director’s “At the End of the Street” (2015 Sliff), with both films inspired by the long-running...

Festival reveals guests headed to Karlovy Vary next month.

Us actor Willem Dafoe and writer-director Charlie Kaufman are to be honoured at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) (July 1-9) on its opening night .

Dafoe is to receive the Crystal Globe for outstanding contribution to world cinema and the festival will screen his performances in Abel Ferrara’s Pasolini and Martin Scorese’s The Last Temptation of Christ.

Kaufman, who won an Oscar for his script for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, will receive the president’s award and the festival will screen animation Anomalisa, which he co-directed with Duke Johnson.

As previously announced, the festival set in the Czech Republic spa town will open with the world premiere of Second World War thriller Anthropoid, with actors Jamie Dornan and Toby Jones, Aňa Geislerová, Alena Mihulová, Václav Neužil and Marcin Dorocinski in attendence alongside writer-director Sean Ellis.

Guests

Other...

The final film of Jan Nemec, who died in March, to play in the main competition.Scroll down for competition line-ups

The 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9) has unveiled the competition titles in its Official Selection, East of the West and Documentary sections.

The 12-strong main competition will comprise eight world premieres and four international premieres, including the last film from renowned Czech director Jan Nemec, who died in March.

The Czech filmmaker was a notable voice of the country’s New Wave movement of the 1960s with titles such as Diamonds Of The Night (1964). His final film, The Wolf From Royal Vineyard Street, will world premiere at Kviff and is an adaptation of his own quasi-autobiographical short stories.

Other titles include Slovak-Czech drama The Teacher from Jan Hrebejk while Roberto Andò is returning to Kviff with The Confessions, three years after his hit Viva la Libertà.

Debut features...

The Cohen Film Collection announced recently that two major films by acclaimed director Costa-Gavras – Capital, the Oscar winner’s most recent feature, and Amen, his César-winning historical drama from 2002 – have been digitally remastered and will be released in deluxe Blu-ray and DVD editions on June 10, 2014. The Blu-rays will have SRPs of $34.98 each and the DVDs will have SRPs of $24.98 each.

Wamg invites you to enter to win one of 3 Prize Packs containing the two films on Blu-ray.

Enter Your Name And E-mail In Our Comments Section Below. We Will Contact You If You Are A Winner.

Official Rules:

1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.

2. Winners Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries. No Purchase Necessary. Prizes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.

Contest Ends – Tuesday, June 24th, 11:59p est.

Since his debut in 1965, the Greek-born,...

3D animation sells to Poland, Estonia, Russia and Cis, among others.

Munich-based Global Screen has announced a raft of deals on its new 3D animation feature, the fairytale comedy The 7th Dwarf.

In advance to its market premiere, the film has gone to Poland (Kino Swiat), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Cis (all Rekiston Enterprises), and Croatia and the other ex-Yugoslavian states (all Karantinja).

Other new deals also include Latin America (Swen), Portugal (Pris), India (Pictureworks) and Asian-Pacific territories including Malaysia and the Philippines (Suraya Filem).

With the earlier deals in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Aqs), Israel (Five Stars), Indonesia (Pt Media Bermutu), Korea (Sane Company), Middle East (Italia Film) and Turkey (Medyavizyon), The 7th Dwarf has been sold everywhere from Eastern Europe to the Asian-Pacific regions to Latin America.

The German release is being handled by Universal.

Global Screen is launching several other new projects in the market. Among these is...

New films by actor-director Matthias Schweighofer, Marco Kreuzpaintner, Robert Glinski, and Bettina Oberli are among the titles being lined up by German sales agents Global Screen and Picture Tree International (Pti) for the Marché du Film in Cannes next month.

Munich-based Global Screen will be unveiling five market premieres:

actor-director/producer Schweighofer’s third directorial outing, the romantic comedy Joy Of Fatherhood (Vaterfreuden), adapted from Murmel Clausen’s novel Frettsack, was released by Warner Bros. Pictures Germany in February, has been seen by more than 2.3 million cinemagoers and taken more than €17.7m ($24.5m) to date.

the 2D and 3D versions of the English-language animated feature The Seventh Dwarf (Der 7bte Zwerg), directed by Harald Siepermann and actor Boris Aljinovic, to be released by Universal Pictures in Germany this autumn.The film was also presold to many territories, including

Christian Bach’s feature debut, the coming of age/family drama Flights Of Fancy (Hirngespinster), which received Bavarian Film Awards...

Frauke Finsterwalder’s tragicomic Finsterworld and a new screen adaptation of the children’s classic Pinocchio are among five market premieres being unveiled by Munich-based Global Screen at next month’s Efm in Berlin.

Head of Theatrical Sales Julia Weber and her team will be showing Nadav Schirman’s The Green Prince in Berlin fresh from its world premiere as the opening film of Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Competition last week.

The first deals on this Red Box/Passion Pictures production were concluded on Sundance’s first weekend with Curzon for the UK and Madman Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand.

In addition, the Munich-based sales agent will have premieres at the Efm of:

Arne Birkenstock’s documentary Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery, about Wolfgang Beltracchi, one of the biggest art forgers of all time. Birkenstock came into contact with Beltracchi through his father Reinhard Birkenstock who was one of the defence lawyers for the...

Frauke Finsterwalder’s tragicomic Finsterworld and a new screen adaptation of the children’s classic Pinocchio are among five market premieres being unveiled by Munich-based Global Screen at next month’s Efm in Berlin.

Head of Theatrical Sales Julia Weber and her team will be showing Nadav Schirman’s The Green Prince in Berlin fresh from its world premiere as the opening film of Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Competition last week.

The first deals on this Red Box/Passion Pictures production were concluded on Sundance’s first weekend with Curzon for the UK and Madman Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand.

In addition, the Munich-based sales agent will have premieres at the Efm of:

Arne Birkenstock’s documentary Beltracchi - The Art of Forgery, about Wolfgang Beltracchi, one of the biggest art forgers of all time. Birkenstock came into contact with Beltracchi through his father Reinhard Birkenstock who was one of the defence lawyers for the...

Turkish director Erdem Tepegöz’s social drama The Particle (Zerre) has won the Golden George for Best Film at the 35th Moscow International Film Festival (Miff).

The film’s lead actress, Jale Arikan, also picked up the Best Actress Silver George for her performance as Zeynep, trying to make ends meet in the dusty and dim atmosphere of abandoned apartments evacuated for clearance.

The International Jury under the presidency of Iranian film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf awarded the Silver George for Best Director to South Korea’s Jung Young-Heon for Lebanon Emotion (Le-Ba-Non Kam-Jeong).

The Best Actor prize went to Russia’s Alexey Shevchenkov for his title role as Judas in Andrey Bogatyryov’s Judas (Iuda).

The Special Jury award went to The Ravine Of Goodbye (Sayonara Keikoku) by Japan’s Tatsushi Omori.

The Documentary Competition jury - which included Claas Danielsen, director of Dok Leipzig - gave its award to Poland’s Pawel Lozinski for Father And Son (Ojciec...

The Berlin International Film Festival is celebrating its opening today, on February 7, 2013 at 7.30 pm. After a few words of greeting from Minister of State for Cultural and Media Affairs Bernd Neumann and Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit, the Festival will be officially opened by Jury President Wong Kar Wai (Hong Kong, China) and Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick. The International Jury – whose other members are Susanne Bier (Denmark), Andreas Dresen (Germany), Ellen Kuras (USA), Shirin Neshat (Iran), Tim Robbins (USA) and Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece) – will also be introduced during the gala. Anke Engelke will again host the evening. This year’s music will be provided by Ulrich Tukur & Die Rhythmus Boys. 3sat will be broadcasting the opening live. Ziyi Zhang in Yi dai zong shi (The Grandmaster) by Wong Kar Wai Following the gala, Wong Kar Wai’s epic martial-arts drama The Grandmaster will have its international premiere. The director and his leading actors,...

Bastian Günther’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition entry “Houston” follows a corporate headhunter visiting the titular Texas town to look for a CEO candidate as his alcoholism increasingly corrupts his reality. The film, which is mostly English-language, stars Ulrich Tukur and Garret Dillahunt. “Houston” will have its premiere Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 5:30 pm at the Prospector Square Theatre in Park City. Check out this exclusive clip, which, while uneventful, points to the lead character's intense disorientation.

Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “Every great film starts with an idea, and it is a testament to artists that they continually find new ideas, new stories, new points of view and new ways of sharing them, year after year. We look forward to hearing from these artists not just through their words and images onscreen but also through the larger dialogue they create with audiences at our Festival and beyond.”

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films, both documentary and narrative, selected for our 2013 Festival have a particular immediacy and fearlessness to them showing us that independent film is as vibrant, creative and relevant as ever. Filmmakers are telling raw, powerful stories that are sure to create new energy in audiences and communities across the globe in the months to come.”

For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, representing 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. These films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), including 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.

In addition, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections. Those announcements, as well as selections for the Short Film section, are forthcoming.

On Day One, January 17, 2013, the Festival will screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.

A selection of films from the 2013 Festival will also be presented at the second Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-28 at The O2.

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Each year at this time we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to the discovery of new voices at the Sundance Film Festival. The Festival continues to reflect the spirit of innovation and creativity in independent cinema, not only in the stories themselves but also in how the films are produced and making their way to audiences.”

U.S. Dramatic Competition

The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.

Afternoon Delight/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine.

Austenland/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined.Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.

C.O.G./ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris' work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario.

Concussion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can't do it anymore. Her life just can't be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor.Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O'Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.

Fruitvale/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.

In a World.../ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.

Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen.

The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert.

May in the Summer/ U.S.A., Qatar, Jordan (Director and screenwriter: Cherien Dabis) — A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf, Alexander Siddig. Day One Film

Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage.Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.

The Spectacular Now/ U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to "save." As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and "saving" and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler.

Touchy Feely/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.”Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais.

Toy's House/ U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.

Upstream Color/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins.

U.S. Documentary Competition

The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.

99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film/ U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.

After Tiller/ U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.

American Promise / U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.

Blackfish/ U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer.Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

Blood Brother/ U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.

Citizen Koch/ U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.

Cutie and the Boxer/ U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

Dirty Wars/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.

Gideon's Army / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.

God Loves Uganda/ U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.

The Good Life/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from Progeria, a rare and fatal disease for which there is no treatment or cure. In less than a decade, their work has led to significant advances.

Inequality for All/ U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.

Manhunt/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.

Narco Cultura / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.

Twenty Feet From Stardom/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. Day One Film

Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

Circles/ Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs? Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic. World Premiere

Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film

The Future/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere

Houston/ Germany (Director and screenwriter: Bastian Günther) — Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. While searching for a CEO candidate in Houston, his addiction submerges him into his own darkness. Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Garret Dillahunt, Wolfram Koch, Jenny Schily, Jason Douglas, Jens Münchow. World Premiere

Jiseul / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Muel O) — In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain. Cast: Min-chul Sung, Jung-won Yang, Young-soon Oh, Soon-dong Park, Suk-bum Moon, Kyung-sub Jang. International Premiere

Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere

Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere

Shopping / New Zealand (Directors: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland, Screenwriters: Louis Sutherland, Mark Albiston) — New Zealand, 1981: Seduced by a charismatic career criminal, teenager Willie must choose where his loyalty lies – with a family of shoplifters or his own blood. Cast: Kevin Paulo, Julian Dennison, Jacek Koman, Alistair Browning. World Premiere

Soldate Jeannette/ Austria (Director: Daniel Hoesl) — Fanni has had enough of money and leaves to buy a tent. Anna has had enough of pigs and leaves a needle in the hay. Cars crash and money burns to shape their mutual journey toward a rising liberty. Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst, Aurelia Burckhardt, Julia Schranz, Ines Rössl. World Premiere

There Will Come a Day/ Italy, France (Director: Giorgio Diritti, Screenwriters: Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla, Tania Pedroni) — Painful issues push Augusta, a young Italian woman, to doubt the certainties on which she has built her existence. On a small boat in the immensity of the Amazon rain forest, she faces the adventure of searching for herself. Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Anne Alvaro, Pia Engleberth. World Premiere

Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)/ Afghanistan (Director and screenwriter: Barmak Akram) — A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice. Cast: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar. World Premiere

What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love/ Indonesia (Director and screenwriter: Mouly Surya) — Mouly Surya’s film explores the odds of love and deception among the blind, the deaf and the unlucky sighted people at a high school for the visually impaired. Cast: Nicholas Saputra, Ayushita Nugraha, Karina Salim, Anggun Priambodo, Lupita Jennifer. World Premiere

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.

Fallen City / China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere

Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere

Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet, Google has been scanning the world's books for 10 years. They said the intention was to build a giant digital library, but that involved scanning millions of copyrighted works. World Premiere

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere

The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere

Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere

A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere

Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere

The Square (El Midan) / Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere

The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere

The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive.International Premiere

Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film

Next <=>

Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity proves the films selected in this section will inform a “greater” next wave in American cinema.

Blue Caprice/ U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.

Computer Chess /U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.

Escape from Tomorrow/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.

I Used to Be Darker/ U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.

It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.

Milkshake/ U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.

Newlyweeds/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.

Pit Stop/ U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn't quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.

A Teacher/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.

This is Martin Bonner/ U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse.

The Sundance Film Festival®

A program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, Trouble the Water, and Napoleon Dynamite, and through its New Frontier initiative, has showcased the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julien, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival® sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Hp, Acura, Sundance Channel and Chase Sapphire PreferredSM; Leadership Sponsors – Directv, Entertainment Weekly, Focus Forward, a partnership between Ge and Cinelan, Southwest Airlines, Sprint and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – Adobe, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., CÎRoc Ultra Premium Vodka, FilterForGood®, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, Hilton HHonors and Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Intel Corporation, L'Oréal Paris, Recycled Paper Greetings, Stella Artois® and Time Warner Inc. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations will defray costs associated with the 10-day Festival and the nonprofit Sundance Institute's year-round programs for independent film and theatre artists. www.sundance.org/festival

Sundance Institute

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

GeekTyrant will once again be excitedly attending the Sundance Film Festival in 2013! They've released their full line up of competition films for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary, as well as the out-of-competition Next <=> section.

It looks like there's a lot of great films for us, and anyone who is attending, to check out this year. I love going up to Sundance, it's always a great mix of different movies... some great, some good, some bad, and some that are completely awful. I'm always looking forward to seeing them though! There's kind of rush going in to watch a movie I hardly know anything about. It's a rare thing for me these days to be able to do that.

Below you'll find the full Press Release that includes all of the films that have been announced. Please look them over and let us know which ones interest...

Sixteen films are set to compete in the dramatic category at next year's Sundance Film Festival in January, with exactly half of those films directed by women - a new record for the festival which will be in its 29th year.

Approximately 113 feature-length films representing 32 countries were selected for Sundance for next year including 27 films in competition and 51 films from first-time directors. Many of the key categories were announced today.

While the Utah-based film festival only occasionally showcases films that have true mainstream crossover potential, this year sees more audience friendly fare in competition even it is still specifically targeting the art house crowd.

The fest in January this year was dominated by the rave reviews for its Grand Jury Prize winner "Beasts of the Southern Wild" which, upon moving to a more mainstream release, scored many accolades but just $13 million in worldwide box-office.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Afternoon Delight...

If you ever managed to see Shane Carruth‘s Primer, you’re probably a very confused person. That’s to say, the 2004 time-travel flick strove to be as realistic as possible, and by realistic, we mean completely mind-boggling. Saying that, Primer remains one of the most intriguing movies of the past decade (even if we still can’t figure it out), which means that the promise of a second movie from writer/director Curruth is something to be excited about.

Though it was rumored that the poor guy couldn’t get funding sorted for a second feature, it appears he finally got it made: Upstream Color will premier at Sundance 2013, presumably to grant everybody another headache with a bizarre-sounding story about two people who become a single organism.

Sundance, of course, exists to showcase the best and brightest in indie film. Next year’s festival takes place from January 17-27 in Park City,...

Mostly populated by unknowns filmakers (at least to us), among the dozen titles in Sundance’s World Dramatic Comp we do find some familair auteurs such as Sean Ellis’ (from Cashback fame) who returns with Metro Manila, we have Srdan Golubovic’s Circles (see still above – a drama we thought might end up playing in Cannes earlier this year) and finally, Sebastián Silva whose latest Crystal Fairy (not to be confused with Magic Magic which also stars Michael Cera) will open the fest. Here are the twelve selections of which eleven are world preems.

Circles / Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs?...

Every year, the festival circuit kicks off with a huge bang – Sundance.

It’s one of the biggest festivals for independent films around the world, taking over Park City, Ut every January, to bring together some of the biggest and finest names in the independent filmmaking world.

The line-up has now been announced for the Us and World Competition categories, along with Next, giving us a great first look at what we have to look forward to in January – and, looking ahead, at some of the films that will be coming to Sundance London in April 2013.

The first slew of films show incredible promise, with David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely leading the Us Dramatic category with so much potential.

Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints features an all-star cast, headed up by Rooney Mara,...

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17-27 and today the fest unveiled their competition slates including film in the Dramatic, Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, Word Cinema Documentary and Next competitions. As always, these lineups are incredibly hard to predict, but amid this group there are a few interesting titles. The Dramatic competition includes Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight, a dark comedy starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch that centers on a L.A. housewife who hires a stripper as a live-in nanny. I had not heard of David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, but a cast that includes Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker and Keith Carradine is immediately appealing, while the plot compares itself to Terrence Malick's Badlands and Bonnie & Clyde telling a story of Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie, two young outlaws who are brought down by the authorities in the hills of Texas.

Family of respected second world war general Erwin Rommel object to his portrayal in German TV film

A German film about second world war general Erwin Rommel has been criticised by members of the soldier's family, who say it depicts him as a Nazi criminal who was in thrall to Hitler.

A famed military tactician, Rommel was known as the Desert Fox for his victories with the Afrika Korps over the British 8th Army in north Africa. Widely respected in Britain and Germany during and after the war, he was implicated in the July 1944 plot to kill Hitler and often refused orders to murder Jews and other minorities captured during battle. But the new film, produced for the German TV channel Swr, suggests Rommel's attitude to the Nazis was ambiguous at best and has prompted an angry reaction from the general's family. They say advance publicity for the film depicts Rommel as "an upstart,...

"Being Michael Madsen" (2010)

Directed by Michael Mongillo

Released by Midnight Releasing

While not as distinguished or meta as "Being John Malkovich," expect this mockumentary about the "Reservoir Dogs" star to be equally surreal as Madsen recruits sister Virginia and "Kill Bill" co-stars Daryl Hannah and the late David Carradine to co-star in this film that sees him accused of murder. Rather than sit idly by, Madsen turns the table on the paparazzi photographer fueling the allegations by hiring a trio of filmmakers to follow his every move.

"Beneath Clouds" (2002)

Directed by Ivan Sen

Released by Cinema Epoch

This Australian drama stars Dannielle Hall and the late Damian Pitt as Lena and Vaughn, a pair of strangers thrown together by circumstance to travel across the country to Sydney where Lena hopes to learn more about her long-absent father and Vaughn hope to leave behind his criminal past and see his ailing mother.

Chicago – Michael Haneke is one of our best living filmmakers, having already delivered at least one masterpiece in the amazing “Cache” and a few other notable works like “Funny Games,” “The Piano Teacher,” and “Code Unknown.” Those familiar with the quality of his filmography may be stunned to learn that “The White Ribbon” is arguably his best.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

The writer/director has reportedly claimed that “The White Ribbon” is about the rise of any kind of terrorism but there is a clear biographical through line between the story of the film and the rise of the Nazi party during World War II. This is a film about the development of Evil (with a capital E). But it is also a personal, relatable story about a community in crisis. However one reads it, the film is a powerful, searing work about the darkness kept hidden not behind just closed doors...