Exclusive: Bleecker Street is teaming with Fathom Entertainment on the re-release of Rob Reiner’s big hair rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap which will play theaters nationwide July 5-7.
Created by Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, This Is Spinal Tap chronicles England’s loudest and most punctual band on their disaster-filled U.S. tour. The reissue is remastered, remixed, and in definitive 4k restoration.
All of this is ahead of Bleecker Street’s Sept. 12 release of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
Box office domestic for This Is Spinal Tap was under $5M unadjusted for inflation per Box Office Mojo, however, this was a big 1980s video title for the Gen X bunch. In 2002, the movie was deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
This Is Spinal Tap marks Bleecker Street and Fathom Entertainment’s third partnership,...
Created by Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, This Is Spinal Tap chronicles England’s loudest and most punctual band on their disaster-filled U.S. tour. The reissue is remastered, remixed, and in definitive 4k restoration.
All of this is ahead of Bleecker Street’s Sept. 12 release of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
Box office domestic for This Is Spinal Tap was under $5M unadjusted for inflation per Box Office Mojo, however, this was a big 1980s video title for the Gen X bunch. In 2002, the movie was deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
This Is Spinal Tap marks Bleecker Street and Fathom Entertainment’s third partnership,...
- 3/27/2025
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Arienne Mandi (The Night Agent) has been cast as the female lead opposite the previously announced William Moseley and Mark Valley in Luca Elmi’s Hostage, a thriller due to complete principal photography this week in Kentucky.
Written by Drew Ingram and produced by his Stagmoor Studios, Hostage follows Logan Marshall (Moseley), a charismatic politician on the road to the governor’s office as it takes an unexpected twist when he becomes embroiled in a high-stakes hostage situation that forces him to confront his past and threatens to derail his path to power.
Mandi’s character, ‘Angela Robinson,’ works closely alongside Logan and Valley’s character ‘Jon Lewis,’ Logan’s ruthless campaign manager. Angela is a rising star in Logan Marshall’s campaign team.
Elmi is a director and producer from Milan, Italy. His production company Roman Citizen has co-produced several features, including Succede, produced by Indigo Film and The First King,...
Written by Drew Ingram and produced by his Stagmoor Studios, Hostage follows Logan Marshall (Moseley), a charismatic politician on the road to the governor’s office as it takes an unexpected twist when he becomes embroiled in a high-stakes hostage situation that forces him to confront his past and threatens to derail his path to power.
Mandi’s character, ‘Angela Robinson,’ works closely alongside Logan and Valley’s character ‘Jon Lewis,’ Logan’s ruthless campaign manager. Angela is a rising star in Logan Marshall’s campaign team.
Elmi is a director and producer from Milan, Italy. His production company Roman Citizen has co-produced several features, including Succede, produced by Indigo Film and The First King,...
- 3/27/2025
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Berlin Film Festival opening film The Light – which touches on the implications of the digital age for humanity – will be released in English in North America using visual translation technology from Flawless.
Flawless announced it had acquired the drama in conjunction with XYZ Films, which is making the film available to U.S. buyers at the EFM.
The acquisition is the result of a partnership with XYZ, first announced in Cannes, under which they co-acquire rights to foreign-language films to convert them to English for distribution in English-speaking territories using Flawless’ TrueSync technology.
German director Tom Tykwer’s third movie to open the Berlinale, The Light revolves around a middle-class Berlin family nearing collapse as it faces an increasingly unstable world.
When a mysterious, Syrian housekeeper enters their lives, the family’s secrets and emotions are brought to light, while the housekeeper’s hidden agenda threatens to reshape their world forever.
Flawless announced it had acquired the drama in conjunction with XYZ Films, which is making the film available to U.S. buyers at the EFM.
The acquisition is the result of a partnership with XYZ, first announced in Cannes, under which they co-acquire rights to foreign-language films to convert them to English for distribution in English-speaking territories using Flawless’ TrueSync technology.
German director Tom Tykwer’s third movie to open the Berlinale, The Light revolves around a middle-class Berlin family nearing collapse as it faces an increasingly unstable world.
When a mysterious, Syrian housekeeper enters their lives, the family’s secrets and emotions are brought to light, while the housekeeper’s hidden agenda threatens to reshape their world forever.
- 2/13/2025
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Flawless has partnered with XYZ Films to sell US rights at EFM on an English-language version of Tom Tykwer’s Berlinale opening night film The Light that used the AI company’s immersive dubbing technology.
The process involves Flawless’s visual translation tool TrusSync, which has been praised by SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and matches up manipulated lip movements of consenting original actors to a dubbed dialogue track in another language.
The Light is the latest in a growing pipeline of international films to undergo this process that Flawless and XYZ Films have acquired and, in some cases,...
The process involves Flawless’s visual translation tool TrusSync, which has been praised by SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and matches up manipulated lip movements of consenting original actors to a dubbed dialogue track in another language.
The Light is the latest in a growing pipeline of international films to undergo this process that Flawless and XYZ Films have acquired and, in some cases,...
- 2/13/2025
- ScreenDaily
Flawless has partnered with XYZ Films to sell US rights at EFM on an English-language version of Tom Tykwer’s Berlinale opening night film The Light that used the AI company’s immersive dubbing technology.
The process involves Flawless’s visual translation tool TrusSync, which has been praised by SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and matches up manipulated lip movements of consenting original actors to a dubbed dialogue track in another language.
The Light is the latest in a growing pipeline of international films to undergo this process that Flawless and XYZ Films have acquired and, in some cases,...
The process involves Flawless’s visual translation tool TrusSync, which has been praised by SAG-AFTRA’s top negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and matches up manipulated lip movements of consenting original actors to a dubbed dialogue track in another language.
The Light is the latest in a growing pipeline of international films to undergo this process that Flawless and XYZ Films have acquired and, in some cases,...
- 2/13/2025
- ScreenDaily
Iranian actress and director Zar Amir (Holy Spider, Tatami) is set to play Lady Macbeth in Lili, a new interactive video game being produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in collaboration with New York indie video game studio iNK Stories. Amir’s Paris-based Alambic Production will co-produce. Lili marks the RSC’s video game debut.
The interactive take on Shakespeare’s iconic play will see Zar Amir play Lady Macbeth, aka Lili. The game is set in a stylized, neo-noir version of modern Iran, where everyone is under surveillance and the authoritarian state reaches into daily life. The gameplay will mix live-action cinema with an interactive format, giving players the chance to make the choices that will shake Lili’s destiny. Macbeth’s witches are reimagined as hackers and surveillance cameras and cyber-infiltration tools will allow players to immerse themselves in the game world.
“Lili takes up Shakespeare’s character-based exploration of political ambition,...
The interactive take on Shakespeare’s iconic play will see Zar Amir play Lady Macbeth, aka Lili. The game is set in a stylized, neo-noir version of modern Iran, where everyone is under surveillance and the authoritarian state reaches into daily life. The gameplay will mix live-action cinema with an interactive format, giving players the chance to make the choices that will shake Lili’s destiny. Macbeth’s witches are reimagined as hackers and surveillance cameras and cyber-infiltration tools will allow players to immerse themselves in the game world.
“Lili takes up Shakespeare’s character-based exploration of political ambition,...
- 1/23/2025
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Best International Feature Film award went to the Brazilian film “I’m Still Here,” which was the festival’s surprise winner. The festival, which took place from January 2 to 13, 2025, featured 165 films from 71 countries, including 35 films competing for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category.
“I’m Still Here,” directed by Walter Salles, gives a touching view of life as a regime takes hold. The international jury applauded the film for its strong story, which highlighted its intimate portrayal of a mother’s fight to keep her family safe and maintain her dignity during a crucial historical moment. The jury noted that Salles shows this truth clearly and effectively without being overly dramatic.
Zoe Saldaña won the Fipresci Prize for Best Actress for her strong performance in the movie Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. Even though her part was meant to be supportive, the jury recognized her impressive acting skills. They...
“I’m Still Here,” directed by Walter Salles, gives a touching view of life as a regime takes hold. The international jury applauded the film for its strong story, which highlighted its intimate portrayal of a mother’s fight to keep her family safe and maintain her dignity during a crucial historical moment. The jury noted that Salles shows this truth clearly and effectively without being overly dramatic.
Zoe Saldaña won the Fipresci Prize for Best Actress for her strong performance in the movie Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. Even though her part was meant to be supportive, the jury recognized her impressive acting skills. They...
- 1/13/2025
- by Naser Nahandian
- Gazettely
Walter Salles’ Brazilian drama “I’m Still Here” was named the best of the 35 Oscar-contending international films at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, Psiff announced on Sunday.
The award given out by a jury from the international film critics association Fipresci was open to 35 of the 85 eligible films in the category, including all 15 of the Oscars shortlisted titles. “I’m Still Here” won in a field that also included Golden Globes winner “Emilia Pérez,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” “Flow,” “Vermiglio,” “Kneecap” and others.
Italy’s “Vermiglio” won the award for screenplay, while acting awards went to Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez” and the trio of Irish hip-hop musicians Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provái for “Kneecap.”
The documentary award was open to 10 nonfiction films that screened at the festival. The Palestinian/Israeli film “No Other Land,” was the only eligible film that also made the Oscars Best Documentary Feature shortlist.
The award given out by a jury from the international film critics association Fipresci was open to 35 of the 85 eligible films in the category, including all 15 of the Oscars shortlisted titles. “I’m Still Here” won in a field that also included Golden Globes winner “Emilia Pérez,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” “Flow,” “Vermiglio,” “Kneecap” and others.
Italy’s “Vermiglio” won the award for screenplay, while acting awards went to Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez” and the trio of Irish hip-hop musicians Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provái for “Kneecap.”
The documentary award was open to 10 nonfiction films that screened at the festival. The Palestinian/Israeli film “No Other Land,” was the only eligible film that also made the Oscars Best Documentary Feature shortlist.
- 1/12/2025
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Following Fernanda Torres’ surprise Golden Globe win last Sunday, Walter Salles’ political bio-drama “I’m Still Here” is picking up steam going into Oscars voting as it has now also received the Fipresci Prize for Best International Feature Film at the 36th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Salles’ film is based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir of the same name and follows a mother and activist as she comes to terms with the forced disappearance of her husband, a dissident politician fighting against the dictatorship in Brazil at the time.
Of the film, the Palm Springs jury said in a statement, “To ‘I’m Still Here,’ for conveying the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not just her family of five, but her dignity. Evoking the severity of the violence without resorting to melodrama, director Walter Salles captures a critical moment of history in scrupulous and compelling detail.
Of the film, the Palm Springs jury said in a statement, “To ‘I’m Still Here,’ for conveying the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not just her family of five, but her dignity. Evoking the severity of the violence without resorting to melodrama, director Walter Salles captures a critical moment of history in scrupulous and compelling detail.
- 1/12/2025
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Polish-born cinematographer Michal Dymek has won Golden Frog — the main compeition prize — at this year’s Camerimage Film Festival.
Dymek was handed the award this evening at the festival’s closing ceremony by the Camerimage competition jury, which was headed by Cate Blanchett. She was joined by Anna Higgs, Sandy Powell, Anthony Dod Mantle, Rodrigo Prieto, Lukasz Zal, and Jolanta Dylewska.
Directed by Magnus von Horn, The Girl with the Needle debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as Denmark’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.
The film follows Karoline (Sonne), a young factory worker, who is struggling to survive in post-World War I Copenhagen. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned, and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn,...
Dymek was handed the award this evening at the festival’s closing ceremony by the Camerimage competition jury, which was headed by Cate Blanchett. She was joined by Anna Higgs, Sandy Powell, Anthony Dod Mantle, Rodrigo Prieto, Lukasz Zal, and Jolanta Dylewska.
Directed by Magnus von Horn, The Girl with the Needle debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as Denmark’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.
The film follows Karoline (Sonne), a young factory worker, who is struggling to survive in post-World War I Copenhagen. When she finds herself unemployed, abandoned, and pregnant, she meets Dagmar (Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn,...
- 11/23/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The acclaimed Danish period horror drama The Girl with the Needle, shot by cinematographer Michal Dymek, took home the Camerimage Film Festival’s Golden Frog Saturday night in Toruń, Poland. The winner was selected by a jury led by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
Camerimage famously celebrates the art of cinematography, so its honors are extended to the directors of photography behind the movies exhibited in its main competition. But this year’s jury made a point of adding a “special mention” for The Girl with the Needle‘s 40-year-old director, Magnus von Horn.
The masterfully realized period thriller is loosely based on the true story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye, who helped impoverished women kill their unwanted children in 1910s Copenhagen.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s contributing film critic, Leslie Felperin, summed up the film as “a dark, urgently timely Danish drama” that’s “like one of those fiendish...
Camerimage famously celebrates the art of cinematography, so its honors are extended to the directors of photography behind the movies exhibited in its main competition. But this year’s jury made a point of adding a “special mention” for The Girl with the Needle‘s 40-year-old director, Magnus von Horn.
The masterfully realized period thriller is loosely based on the true story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye, who helped impoverished women kill their unwanted children in 1910s Copenhagen.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s contributing film critic, Leslie Felperin, summed up the film as “a dark, urgently timely Danish drama” that’s “like one of those fiendish...
- 11/23/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Oct. 1, as Iran was firing a fusillade of missiles on his country, Israeli director Eran Riklis was in Tel Aviv “trying to cling on to the fact” that he would hopefully soon be premiering his new film “Reading Lolita in Tehran” — which he calls “an iconic Iranian story, featuring iconic Iranian actresses” — at the Rome Film Festival.
On Oct. 27, one day after Israel launched retaliatory missile strikes on Iran, Rikils beamed on stage as he accepted the Rome event’s audience award and special jury prize alongside most of the film’s ensemble female cast that includes Golshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani, Lara Wolf, Isabella Nefar and Raha Rahbari.
At a time when tensions between Israel and Iran are soaring, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” – an adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s bestselling autobiographical novel about a fearless literature teacher in post-revolution Tehran – stands as a powerful symbol of...
On Oct. 27, one day after Israel launched retaliatory missile strikes on Iran, Rikils beamed on stage as he accepted the Rome event’s audience award and special jury prize alongside most of the film’s ensemble female cast that includes Golshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani, Lara Wolf, Isabella Nefar and Raha Rahbari.
At a time when tensions between Israel and Iran are soaring, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” – an adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s bestselling autobiographical novel about a fearless literature teacher in post-revolution Tehran – stands as a powerful symbol of...
- 10/28/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The political situation in the Middle East has been tense for many years, as up to this day, some countries still refuse to recognize the state of Israel, established in 1948. This attitude results, among others, in boycotts of Israel in sports. During international tournaments, some Arab and Muslim athletes deliberately avoid competing against Israelis, as it’s prohibited by the Islamic clergy and mosque leaders. Certain countries, most notably Iran, even go so far as to mandate that their athletes do not compete against Israelis or in Israel. In this context, it’s important to mention that “Tatami” is the first feature movie co-directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker – Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv. It premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Venice Horizons Award, and won the Brian Award. It was also awarded the Special Jury Prize, and the...
- 9/1/2024
- by Tobiasz Dunin
- AsianMoviePulse
Boris Lojkine’s drama The Story Of Souleymane has won Best International Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival.
The feature, which was feted with the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in May, revolves around a young man rehearsing his lines ahead of an asylum application interview as he cycles around Paris delivering food.
Romania’s Emanuel Parvu won best director for Three Kilometers to the End of the World about a young gay man who is brutally attacked when he returns to his conservative village in the Danube Delta wetlands region for the summer.
The jury International Feature competition jury consisting of Michel Franco, Guy Nattiv and Maria Choustova also awarded Hu Guan’s Black Dog with a Special Mention.
UK-Indian director Sandhya Suri’s rape drama Santosh won Best Film in the First Feature Competition, with Block Pass by French director Antoine Chevrollier scoring a Special Mention.
Bedouin...
The feature, which was feted with the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in May, revolves around a young man rehearsing his lines ahead of an asylum application interview as he cycles around Paris delivering food.
Romania’s Emanuel Parvu won best director for Three Kilometers to the End of the World about a young gay man who is brutally attacked when he returns to his conservative village in the Danube Delta wetlands region for the summer.
The jury International Feature competition jury consisting of Michel Franco, Guy Nattiv and Maria Choustova also awarded Hu Guan’s Black Dog with a Special Mention.
UK-Indian director Sandhya Suri’s rape drama Santosh won Best Film in the First Feature Competition, with Block Pass by French director Antoine Chevrollier scoring a Special Mention.
Bedouin...
- 7/25/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Mahdi Fleifel’s To A Land Unknown, Gábor Reisz’s Explanation for Everything, Federico Luis’ Simon Of The Mountain and Minh Quý Trương’s Viet And Nam, were the winners of the four main competitive strands of this year’s Munich International Film Festival (Miff) which closed on Saturday July 6.
The festival’s biggest award, the €100,000 CineCoPro award, provided by Fff Bayern to be invested in a future co-production, was presented to François Morisset’s company Salaud Morisset, the German co-producer of To A Land Unknown.
The first narrative feature by Palestinian filmmaker Fleifel is a refugee drama about two Palestinians stranded in Athens.
The festival’s biggest award, the €100,000 CineCoPro award, provided by Fff Bayern to be invested in a future co-production, was presented to François Morisset’s company Salaud Morisset, the German co-producer of To A Land Unknown.
The first narrative feature by Palestinian filmmaker Fleifel is a refugee drama about two Palestinians stranded in Athens.
- 7/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Munich International Film Festival will screen 150 films from 53 countries during its 41st edition, which runs from June 28 to July 6.
Titles set for the fest include Cannes breakouts like the Demi Moore body The Substance by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, Payal Kapadia’s Grand Pix-winning All We Imagine As Light, and Karim Aïnouz’s Motel Destino.
World premieres announced today include the Brazillian horror drama Continente and Noaz Deshe’s Xoftex, a joint world premiere with the Karlovy Vary Festival. Other titles on offer include Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Isabelle Huppert pic Sidonie in Japan, and Zar Amir and Guy Nattiv’s Tatami. The festival’s closing film is Baltasar Kormákur’s Touch.
Munich has already announced the European premiere of Kate Winslet’s Lee. Winslet will be in attendance and will be feted with the Festival’s CineMerit honor, alongside Jessica Lange, who also receives the accolade.
Titles set for the fest include Cannes breakouts like the Demi Moore body The Substance by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, Payal Kapadia’s Grand Pix-winning All We Imagine As Light, and Karim Aïnouz’s Motel Destino.
World premieres announced today include the Brazillian horror drama Continente and Noaz Deshe’s Xoftex, a joint world premiere with the Karlovy Vary Festival. Other titles on offer include Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Isabelle Huppert pic Sidonie in Japan, and Zar Amir and Guy Nattiv’s Tatami. The festival’s closing film is Baltasar Kormákur’s Touch.
Munich has already announced the European premiere of Kate Winslet’s Lee. Winslet will be in attendance and will be feted with the Festival’s CineMerit honor, alongside Jessica Lange, who also receives the accolade.
- 6/18/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: AI firm Flawless, distributor-financier XYZ Films (Mandy), and producer Tea Shop Productions (The Fall) have acquired Michel Gondry’s 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight movie The Book Of Solutions for all English-speaking territories.
Directed and written by Gondry, the French-language comedy is the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep filmmaker.
It will be releases simultaneously in the original French language and converted to a director-approved English-language version using Flawless’ TrueSync AI technology, which became known after movies like The Fall. You can read about Flawless’ “visual translation” techniques and acquisitions strategy in our story here.
Pic stars Pierre Niney, Blanche Gardin, Francoise Lebrun and Vincent Elbaz and was produced by George Bermann at Partizan.
In the film, Marc (Niney), a bipolar and paranoid filmmaker, is having trouble with his latest project. With his editor as an accomplice, he manages...
Directed and written by Gondry, the French-language comedy is the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep filmmaker.
It will be releases simultaneously in the original French language and converted to a director-approved English-language version using Flawless’ TrueSync AI technology, which became known after movies like The Fall. You can read about Flawless’ “visual translation” techniques and acquisitions strategy in our story here.
Pic stars Pierre Niney, Blanche Gardin, Francoise Lebrun and Vincent Elbaz and was produced by George Bermann at Partizan.
In the film, Marc (Niney), a bipolar and paranoid filmmaker, is having trouble with his latest project. With his editor as an accomplice, he manages...
- 5/23/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Bleecker Street and ShivHans have partnered to take U.S. rights to the cosmic love story “Love Me,” written and directed by Sam and Andy Zuchero, and starring Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun. Bleecker Street will co-release the film with ShivHans Pictures, with a U.S. nationwide theatrical release planned for early 2025.
WME Independent has come on board to represent the international rights to the film, beginning in Cannes this week.
“Love Me” made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it was also awarded the festival’s Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, presented to an outstanding title focusing on science or technology.
In the film, a buoy and a satellite meet online long after humanity’s extinction. As they learn what life was like on Earth, they discover who they are and what it means to be alive and in love. Blending live-action and animation,...
WME Independent has come on board to represent the international rights to the film, beginning in Cannes this week.
“Love Me” made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it was also awarded the festival’s Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, presented to an outstanding title focusing on science or technology.
In the film, a buoy and a satellite meet online long after humanity’s extinction. As they learn what life was like on Earth, they discover who they are and what it means to be alive and in love. Blending live-action and animation,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
Record Intake
The European Film Academy has added a record 709 new members in its 2024 annual intake. New members include Cate Blanchett (Australia/U.K.), Jovan Marjanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Maria Bakalova (Bulgaria), Juraj Lerotić (Croatia), Anna Hints (Estonia), Ariane Toscan du Plantier (France), Stéphan Castang (France), David Thion (France), Marie-Ange Luciani (France), Latifa Saïd (France), Rebecca Houzel (France), Thomas Hakim (France), Sami Mustafa (France/Kosovo), Mohamed Siam (France), Hanna Bergholm (Finland), Hamze Bytyçi (Germany) and Christian M. Goldbeck (Germany).
The intake also includes Behrooz Karamizade (Germany), Jerry Hoffmann (Germany), Aylin Tezel (Germany), Jasmin Tabatabai (Germany), Sofia Exarchou (Greece), Phedon Papamichael (Greece), Kate McCullough (Ireland), Matteo Garrone (Italy), Enzo d’Alò (Italy), Francesco Montagner (Italy), Uljana Kim (Lithuania), Cindy Jansen (Netherlands), Fatih Rağbet (Netherlands), Cristi Puiu (Romania), Anca Puiu (Romania), Elene Naveriani (Switzerland), Selahattin Paşalı (Turkey), Molly Manning Walker (U.K.), Melanie Hoyes (U.K.), Lizzie Francke (U.K.), Charles Newland (UK), Jad Salfiti (U.
The European Film Academy has added a record 709 new members in its 2024 annual intake. New members include Cate Blanchett (Australia/U.K.), Jovan Marjanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Maria Bakalova (Bulgaria), Juraj Lerotić (Croatia), Anna Hints (Estonia), Ariane Toscan du Plantier (France), Stéphan Castang (France), David Thion (France), Marie-Ange Luciani (France), Latifa Saïd (France), Rebecca Houzel (France), Thomas Hakim (France), Sami Mustafa (France/Kosovo), Mohamed Siam (France), Hanna Bergholm (Finland), Hamze Bytyçi (Germany) and Christian M. Goldbeck (Germany).
The intake also includes Behrooz Karamizade (Germany), Jerry Hoffmann (Germany), Aylin Tezel (Germany), Jasmin Tabatabai (Germany), Sofia Exarchou (Greece), Phedon Papamichael (Greece), Kate McCullough (Ireland), Matteo Garrone (Italy), Enzo d’Alò (Italy), Francesco Montagner (Italy), Uljana Kim (Lithuania), Cindy Jansen (Netherlands), Fatih Rağbet (Netherlands), Cristi Puiu (Romania), Anca Puiu (Romania), Elene Naveriani (Switzerland), Selahattin Paşalı (Turkey), Molly Manning Walker (U.K.), Melanie Hoyes (U.K.), Lizzie Francke (U.K.), Charles Newland (UK), Jad Salfiti (U.
- 5/9/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Guy Nattiv’s “Harmonia” has cast Naomi Watts, Vicky Krieps, Bella Ramsey and Odessa Young as Embankment Films, Range Media Partners and CAA Media Finance launch pre-sales ahead of Cannes.
Inspired by a real-life events, the film is based on Nattiv’s grandmother and her involvement in an insidious cult.
The synopsis reads: “Set in the 1980s, Rita (Watts) is entranced by the mesmeric leader (Krieps) and renounces her family to embrace the world of the enigmatic Harmonia commune. Her daughters, Ella (Ramsey), and Jo (Young), put everything on the line to infiltrate the cult and bring their mother back home. Yet, once immersed in the commune, they find themselves inexorably drawn into the leader’s labyrinthine web of psycho-spiritual manipulation.”
Producers for the film are Julia Lebedev and Eddie Vaisman for Sight Unseen, Jaime Ray Newman for New Native Pictures, and Oren Moverman.
In a statement, Nattiv said, “I...
Inspired by a real-life events, the film is based on Nattiv’s grandmother and her involvement in an insidious cult.
The synopsis reads: “Set in the 1980s, Rita (Watts) is entranced by the mesmeric leader (Krieps) and renounces her family to embrace the world of the enigmatic Harmonia commune. Her daughters, Ella (Ramsey), and Jo (Young), put everything on the line to infiltrate the cult and bring their mother back home. Yet, once immersed in the commune, they find themselves inexorably drawn into the leader’s labyrinthine web of psycho-spiritual manipulation.”
Producers for the film are Julia Lebedev and Eddie Vaisman for Sight Unseen, Jaime Ray Newman for New Native Pictures, and Oren Moverman.
In a statement, Nattiv said, “I...
- 5/8/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Italy, where debate over violence against women is currently raging, is celebrating International Women’s Day by becoming the first country to theatrically release “Tatami,” a female empowerment thriller about an Iranian judo fighter that made a splash in Venice and marks the first collaboration by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers.
Italy’s Bim Distribuzione is bowing “Tatami” – which is co-helmed by Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider) and Israeli director Guy Nattiv – on 90 local movie screens on Friday as an International Women’s Day special preview at a discounted €3.50 ($3.80) ticket price. The film will officially release locally on April 4.
“Tatami” reconstructs the tale of a young judo champion named Leila, played by Arienne Mandi, who Iranian authorities wanted to force to withdraw from a competition in order to keep her from competing against an Israeli athlete.
In an interview with Variety, Ebrahimi, who also stars, said that depicting the...
Italy’s Bim Distribuzione is bowing “Tatami” – which is co-helmed by Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider) and Israeli director Guy Nattiv – on 90 local movie screens on Friday as an International Women’s Day special preview at a discounted €3.50 ($3.80) ticket price. The film will officially release locally on April 4.
“Tatami” reconstructs the tale of a young judo champion named Leila, played by Arienne Mandi, who Iranian authorities wanted to force to withdraw from a competition in order to keep her from competing against an Israeli athlete.
In an interview with Variety, Ebrahimi, who also stars, said that depicting the...
- 3/8/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Hillary Clinton and Sharon Stone shared the stage at the annual Cinema for Peace funder raiser in Berlin on Monday night with the latter presenting the former U.S. secretary of state with the Ngo’s Cinema for Peace Award.
Stone described Clinton as an inspirational figure in her life: “The things you’ve said have changed my life, changed the direction and changed the course of the things I’ve chosen to do.”
Clinton gently ribbed Stone about her gala gown, a tie at the front robe covered in mauve spots.
“To my friend Sharon Stone who can look amazingly beautiful in anything. When she walked in, I was like, ‘Wow, who besides Sharon Stone could wear a gigantic bath robe and look stunning… you are one of a kind my friend, one of kind,” she said.
Further honorees included Pope Francis, who was seen receiving the award on taped recording,...
Stone described Clinton as an inspirational figure in her life: “The things you’ve said have changed my life, changed the direction and changed the course of the things I’ve chosen to do.”
Clinton gently ribbed Stone about her gala gown, a tie at the front robe covered in mauve spots.
“To my friend Sharon Stone who can look amazingly beautiful in anything. When she walked in, I was like, ‘Wow, who besides Sharon Stone could wear a gigantic bath robe and look stunning… you are one of a kind my friend, one of kind,” she said.
Further honorees included Pope Francis, who was seen receiving the award on taped recording,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Tatami, the groundbreaking Iranian drama co-directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv (Golda) and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
Based on real-life stories, the Farsi-language drama sees Arienne Mandi play Leila, an Iranian female judo athlete who travels to a world championship with her coach, played by Ebrahimi. Midway through the competition, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state.
With her own freedom as well as her family’s at stake, she’s faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach implores her to do, or fight on for the gold.
Tatami is the first feature film to have Iranian and Israeli filmmakers as co-directors. Nattiv directed the 2023 film Golda,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Tatami,” the Iranian drama from co-directors Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir, has been picked up by XYZ Films for North America, where both lip-synched English and original language versions will be released later this year.
The feature, which bowed in Venice 2023 where it won the Brian Award, made history by becoming the first film to be jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Starring Arienne Mandi, Amir, Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh, and written by Nattiv — an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin” — and Elham Erfani, “Tatami” is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Midway through the competition, Iranian female judo fighter Leila (Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Amir ) receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake,...
The feature, which bowed in Venice 2023 where it won the Brian Award, made history by becoming the first film to be jointly directed by an Iranian and an Israeli filmmaker.
Starring Arienne Mandi, Amir, Jaime Ray Newman and Ash Goldeh, and written by Nattiv — an Oscar winner for his short film “Skin” — and Elham Erfani, “Tatami” is set during the Judo World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Midway through the competition, Iranian female judo fighter Leila (Mandi) and her coach Maryam (Amir ) receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, lest she be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Pope Francis, Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Un chief Ban Ki-Moon will be honored at the upcoming Cinema for Peace gala in Berlin on February 19.
The long-running gala run by the Cinema for Peace Foundation will be accompanied by the inaugural World Forum on the Future Of Democracy, Tech and Humankind.
The latter event will run from February 18 to 19 at the Allianz Forum next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with the aim of promoting the renewal of democracy and freedom at a time when both are under threat.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation was created in 2008 as an international non-profit organization with the goal to foster change through film. Over the years it has worked with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
Clinton and Ban will attend the February 19 gala in person while Pope Francis will be shown receiving his award in a recorded video.
The long-running gala run by the Cinema for Peace Foundation will be accompanied by the inaugural World Forum on the Future Of Democracy, Tech and Humankind.
The latter event will run from February 18 to 19 at the Allianz Forum next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with the aim of promoting the renewal of democracy and freedom at a time when both are under threat.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation was created in 2008 as an international non-profit organization with the goal to foster change through film. Over the years it has worked with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
Clinton and Ban will attend the February 19 gala in person while Pope Francis will be shown receiving his award in a recorded video.
- 2/12/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival.
Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), McF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).
The banner will pursue sales on the film at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase this week and is already in advanced negotiations to secure deals for the U.K., Germany and Benelux.
Zagreb Film Festival will release the film in Croatia, and Obala Art Centar will distribute in Bosnia. Previously announced deals include France (Jhr Films) and Sweden (Buff Distribution), as well as a multi-territory, SVOD/Pay-tv deal with HBO Europe for Central and Eastern Europe.
Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution (Hungary), Hakka Distribution (Tunisia), Fivia (Slovenia), McF MegaCom (Montenegro & North Macedonia), No Blink Film (Bulgaria) and Silver Screen (Romania).
The banner will pursue sales on the film at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous showcase this week and is already in advanced negotiations to secure deals for the U.K., Germany and Benelux.
Zagreb Film Festival will release the film in Croatia, and Obala Art Centar will distribute in Bosnia. Previously announced deals include France (Jhr Films) and Sweden (Buff Distribution), as well as a multi-territory, SVOD/Pay-tv deal with HBO Europe for Central and Eastern Europe.
- 1/17/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: As Netflix’s The Night Agent gears up to begin production on Season 2, a new list of recruits joining Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan and Amanda Warren is being released.
Berto Colon, Louis Herthum (Westworld) and Arienne Mandi (Tatami) are set as series regulars with Brittany Snow and Teddy Sears joining in recurring roles.
Colon plays Solomon, a former Marine turned right-hand man/fixer for a powerful businessman; Herthum plays Jacob Monroe, an international businessman with powerful global connections that he uses to obtain valuable information; and Mandi plays Noor, a low-level aide in the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York who is looking to leverage her access to top secret information into a better life for her and her family.
Snow plays Alice, Peter’s (Basso) partner...
Berto Colon, Louis Herthum (Westworld) and Arienne Mandi (Tatami) are set as series regulars with Brittany Snow and Teddy Sears joining in recurring roles.
Colon plays Solomon, a former Marine turned right-hand man/fixer for a powerful businessman; Herthum plays Jacob Monroe, an international businessman with powerful global connections that he uses to obtain valuable information; and Mandi plays Noor, a low-level aide in the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York who is looking to leverage her access to top secret information into a better life for her and her family.
Snow plays Alice, Peter’s (Basso) partner...
- 1/11/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, his producing partner at HyperObject Industries, have come aboard the Oscar-shortlisted animated short Wild Summon as executive producers. Joining them are Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman of New Native Pictures, who won an Oscar for their 2019 live-action short Skin and went on to adapt it into a feature starring Jamie Bell.
An eco-film also recently longlisted for the BAFTA Film Awards, Wild Summon hails from filmmakers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed and their independent animation studio Sulkybunny. The film narrated by Marianne Faithful blends elements of natural history and fantasy to follow the dramatic life cycle of the wild salmon in human form. It world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was produced with support from the British Film Institute, which awarded National Lottery funding.
When Messick, McKay and the HyperObject Industries team caught Wild Summon at Cannes,...
An eco-film also recently longlisted for the BAFTA Film Awards, Wild Summon hails from filmmakers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed and their independent animation studio Sulkybunny. The film narrated by Marianne Faithful blends elements of natural history and fantasy to follow the dramatic life cycle of the wild salmon in human form. It world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was produced with support from the British Film Institute, which awarded National Lottery funding.
When Messick, McKay and the HyperObject Industries team caught Wild Summon at Cannes,...
- 1/8/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
When we woke up on October 7 to the stories of the barbarity of Hamas, when we heard about the hostages, when we saw the footage of the obliterated homes on various kibbutzim, when we were told the massive death toll and saw kidnappings before our very eyes, when we heard about grotesque snuff videos on Facebook, it all seemed so surreal – an outlier even for a nightmare.
Last month I was in Israel, which is my homeland. I withstood a rocket attack. I stood in the ruins, in rooms and homes that were melted by the incendiary devices and thermobaric bombs, all of them charred to the darkest possible blacks. Some of the floors and walls still had blood spattered about them. If you looked up at the ceilings, you saw hundreds of holes created by the shrapnel of grenades. Many homes were leveled, save for the “safe rooms” which seemed to withstand the cataclysms.
Last month I was in Israel, which is my homeland. I withstood a rocket attack. I stood in the ruins, in rooms and homes that were melted by the incendiary devices and thermobaric bombs, all of them charred to the darkest possible blacks. Some of the floors and walls still had blood spattered about them. If you looked up at the ceilings, you saw hundreds of holes created by the shrapnel of grenades. Many homes were leveled, save for the “safe rooms” which seemed to withstand the cataclysms.
- 1/5/2024
- by Rod Lurie
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ali Abbasi brought her on as a casting director and as fate would have it Zar Amir Ebrahimi would go onto land the role that was originally not meant for her and win the Best Actress award (see here) at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. Holy Spider would catapult the actress to international recognition but as we learned, Ebrahimi was already making inroads onto significant contributions that premiered in 2023 with Shayda (a Sundance selection and Audience Award winner) and Venice preemed Tatami (a film that allowed her to cut her teeth as a director alongside Guy Nattiv).…...
- 12/30/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Actor Lior Ashkenazi has boarded Israeli-American filmmaker Matthew Mishory’s Mosolov’s Suitcase, exploring the life and legacy of Ukrainian, early Soviet era, avant-garde composer Alexander Mosolov.
Ashkenazi, who is Israel’s biggest acting star, is known for his award-winning performances in Israeli features Late Marriage, Footnote, Foxtrot, Walk On Water and Karaoke as well as HBO series Our Boys.
He is currently appearing opposite Helen Mirren in Guy Nattiv’s Golda Meir bio-pic Golda.
Mosolov’s Suitcase is a joint production between Alvaro Fernandez at L.A.-based Monolithic Films; Gidi Avivi at Vice Versa Films in Tel Aviv, and Rubber Ring Films, the joint Santa Monica-based company of Mishory and Bradford L. Schlei.
The upcoming picture is described as a hybrid, black-and-white meditation on the titular’s subject’s controversial life, told through three stories about creation and individualism in the face of state power.
In the first of three intersecting plotlines,...
Ashkenazi, who is Israel’s biggest acting star, is known for his award-winning performances in Israeli features Late Marriage, Footnote, Foxtrot, Walk On Water and Karaoke as well as HBO series Our Boys.
He is currently appearing opposite Helen Mirren in Guy Nattiv’s Golda Meir bio-pic Golda.
Mosolov’s Suitcase is a joint production between Alvaro Fernandez at L.A.-based Monolithic Films; Gidi Avivi at Vice Versa Films in Tel Aviv, and Rubber Ring Films, the joint Santa Monica-based company of Mishory and Bradford L. Schlei.
The upcoming picture is described as a hybrid, black-and-white meditation on the titular’s subject’s controversial life, told through three stories about creation and individualism in the face of state power.
In the first of three intersecting plotlines,...
- 12/22/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Oscar shortlists were released December 21 ahead of the nominations on January 23, 2024, and here we’re covering the crafts of makeup and hairstyling, original score, sound, and visual effects.
The big winners — appearing on three lists — were Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon”, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,”, and J.A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow”.
In fact, “Napoleon,” “Poor Things,” and “Society of the Snow” have the potential to be late-season craft juggernauts in competition with “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster “Barbie,” which scored on two lists (original score and sound).
Also making two lists were Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” (makeup and hairstyling and sound), James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (score and visual effects), Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” (makeup and hairstyling and sound), Christopher McQuarrie’s “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One...
The big winners — appearing on three lists — were Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”, Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon”, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,”, and J.A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow”.
In fact, “Napoleon,” “Poor Things,” and “Society of the Snow” have the potential to be late-season craft juggernauts in competition with “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster “Barbie,” which scored on two lists (original score and sound).
Also making two lists were Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” (makeup and hairstyling and sound), James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (score and visual effects), Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” (makeup and hairstyling and sound), Christopher McQuarrie’s “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One...
- 12/21/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“I didn’t really know a lot about her,” reveals “Golda” star Dame Helen Mirren while discussing her role of Golda Meir, the first female prime minister of Israel. “All I knew is when she came to power it was an incredibly important moment for me as a woman to realize that women could be prime ministers. It was an unknown thing in those days. Now it’s completely accepted. But it was completely unaccepted in the era when Golda came to power. It was absolutely revelatory. It was an important moment for me to realize what women could do.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
The Bleecker Street film is directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv and focuses on the intensely dramatic and high-stakes responsibilities and decisions that Meir, also known as the “Iron Lady of Israel,” faced during the Yom Kippur War.
See Karen Hartley-Thomas (‘Golda’ hair and...
The Bleecker Street film is directed by Oscar winner Guy Nattiv and focuses on the intensely dramatic and high-stakes responsibilities and decisions that Meir, also known as the “Iron Lady of Israel,” faced during the Yom Kippur War.
See Karen Hartley-Thomas (‘Golda’ hair and...
- 12/14/2023
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
How much does a film’s director impact your work as a makeup and hairstylist? What were each of your Oscar-winning or Oscar-nominated directors like to work with? What made you want to get into the film and television business? Was there a film you saw that inspired you to go into this field?
These were some of the secrets revealed by seven of today’s top hair and makeup artists when they joined Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023/2024 awards contenders: Karen Hartley-Thomas (“Golda”), Thomas Nellen (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Lori McCoy-Bell (“Maestro”), Jana Carboni and Francesco Pegoretti (“Napoleon”) and Luisa Abel and Jaime Leigh McIntosh (“Oppenheimer”). Watch our captivating group discussion above and click on each name to view their solo chat.
See Film editing roundtable: ‘Air,’ ‘American Fiction,’ ‘Saltburn,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ and ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’
“After...
These were some of the secrets revealed by seven of today’s top hair and makeup artists when they joined Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023/2024 awards contenders: Karen Hartley-Thomas (“Golda”), Thomas Nellen (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Lori McCoy-Bell (“Maestro”), Jana Carboni and Francesco Pegoretti (“Napoleon”) and Luisa Abel and Jaime Leigh McIntosh (“Oppenheimer”). Watch our captivating group discussion above and click on each name to view their solo chat.
See Film editing roundtable: ‘Air,’ ‘American Fiction,’ ‘Saltburn,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ and ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’
“After...
- 12/10/2023
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Hair and makeup designer Karen Hartley-Thomas met with director Guy Nattiv just six weeks before he began shooting his film “Golda” starring Helen Mirren. “I desperately wanted to do the job,” she reveals. “I had just worked with Helen on a film called ‘The Duke,’ so when he offered it to me I thought, ‘Alright, we’re going to have to start immediately.’ So I found my usual prosthetics people who said, ‘No thanks.'”
We talked with Hartley-Thomas as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023/2024 awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
See SAG Awards: 5 reasons why Helen Mirren could be going for the gold for ‘Golda’
“Golda” focuses on the intensely dramatic and high-stakes responsibilities that Golda Meir (Mirren), also known as the “Iron Lady of Israel,” faced during the Yom Kippur War. She was Israel’s first and only...
We talked with Hartley-Thomas as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2023/2024 awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
See SAG Awards: 5 reasons why Helen Mirren could be going for the gold for ‘Golda’
“Golda” focuses on the intensely dramatic and high-stakes responsibilities that Golda Meir (Mirren), also known as the “Iron Lady of Israel,” faced during the Yom Kippur War. She was Israel’s first and only...
- 12/10/2023
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
As pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups of demonstrators waved flags and vied for support from passing motorists at a busy Los Angeles intersection on Wednesday night, an audience of around 200 people filed through a security checkpoint into the city’s Museum of Tolerance.
Attendees, the protesters chanting outside, and scores of police officers had shown up because of a video collage titled Bearing Witness, compiled by a unit of the Israel Defense Forces from raw footage of the deadly attack by Hamas militants against Israel on Oct. 7, in which 1,400 people were...
Attendees, the protesters chanting outside, and scores of police officers had shown up because of a video collage titled Bearing Witness, compiled by a unit of the Israel Defense Forces from raw footage of the deadly attack by Hamas militants against Israel on Oct. 7, in which 1,400 people were...
- 11/9/2023
- by Miles Klee
- Rollingstone.com
On Wednesday evening, while most of Hollywood was cheering the news that the months-long actors strike had just come to an end, some 200 invited members of the industry — most of them avowed supporters of Israel — convened at the Museum of Tolerance in West L.A. for a screening of a film unlike any other: Bearing Witness, which comprises 43 minutes of footage of atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens on Oct. 7.
The somber gathering took place under heavy guard. Another media outlet leaked the location at which it would be taking place, resulting in threats against the museum and necessitating an FBI advance team in the days leading up to it. On Wednesday, a considerable number of LAPD officers were stationed inside the museum’s theater, out on the surrounding streets and in a helicopter overhead. But in the end, there appeared to be no more than a few...
The somber gathering took place under heavy guard. Another media outlet leaked the location at which it would be taking place, resulting in threats against the museum and necessitating an FBI advance team in the days leading up to it. On Wednesday, a considerable number of LAPD officers were stationed inside the museum’s theater, out on the surrounding streets and in a helicopter overhead. But in the end, there appeared to be no more than a few...
- 11/9/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tuesday night, on the one-month anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern and central Israel that sparked the nation’s biggest conflict in 50 years, an audience gathered at the Linwood Dunn Theater of the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Studies in Hollywood for a packed industry screening of – and panel discussion following – the powerful biopic “Golda” starring Helen Mirren in the title role as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The eerie timeliness of the film couldn’t have been known when it was released in the United States on August 25, nor in the UK on October 6 (the day before the conflict was launched).
“Golda” tells the story of how Meir, ill with malignant lymphoma, runs interference during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in ’73. Mirren, thanks to a masterful make-up job by the Bleecker Street movie’s hair, makeup and prosthetics designer Karen Hartley-Thomas, is transformed...
“Golda” tells the story of how Meir, ill with malignant lymphoma, runs interference during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in ’73. Mirren, thanks to a masterful make-up job by the Bleecker Street movie’s hair, makeup and prosthetics designer Karen Hartley-Thomas, is transformed...
- 11/8/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Private audiences in Los Angeles and New York City will this week view Bearing Witness, a 43-minute montage of graphic videos images assembled by the Israeli Defense Forces from the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on southern Israel.
Golda director Guy Nattiv on Instagram pointed to the upcoming screenings for the graphic video footage — including from Hamas body cams and dashboard cams. The film account of atrocities from the terrorist attacks on southern Israel was first shown to visiting politicians and other dignitaries in Israel and select audiences at the U.S. Consulate in New York City.
“We are holding a private screening of footage documenting the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Warning: The footage is extremely graphic and violent, including videos of murdered filmed by Hamas terrorists,” Nattiv said on his Instagram page.
The location and times for the private screenings have been withheld for security reasons.
Widening screenings...
Golda director Guy Nattiv on Instagram pointed to the upcoming screenings for the graphic video footage — including from Hamas body cams and dashboard cams. The film account of atrocities from the terrorist attacks on southern Israel was first shown to visiting politicians and other dignitaries in Israel and select audiences at the U.S. Consulate in New York City.
“We are holding a private screening of footage documenting the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Warning: The footage is extremely graphic and violent, including videos of murdered filmed by Hamas terrorists,” Nattiv said on his Instagram page.
The location and times for the private screenings have been withheld for security reasons.
Widening screenings...
- 11/6/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed up Iranian-French actress, director, producer, and casting director Zar Amir.
Amir, best known for her breakout turn in Ali Abbasi’s 2022 Cannes competition title Holy Spider, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas and will continue to be represented by Untitled Entertainment, Das Imperium in Berlin, Adequat in Paris, and Alh PR.
With Holy Spider, Amir picked up the best actress award at Cannes. She also served as an associate producer and casting director on the pic, which was Denmark’s submission for the Academy Awards. As an actor, she can next be seen in the Cate Blanchett-produced Shayda, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The pic, directed by Noora Niasari, took the audience award in the World Cinema competition at Sundance and has since been chosen as Australia’s submission for the best international feature race at this year’s Oscars.
Amir, best known for her breakout turn in Ali Abbasi’s 2022 Cannes competition title Holy Spider, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas and will continue to be represented by Untitled Entertainment, Das Imperium in Berlin, Adequat in Paris, and Alh PR.
With Holy Spider, Amir picked up the best actress award at Cannes. She also served as an associate producer and casting director on the pic, which was Denmark’s submission for the Academy Awards. As an actor, she can next be seen in the Cate Blanchett-produced Shayda, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The pic, directed by Noora Niasari, took the audience award in the World Cinema competition at Sundance and has since been chosen as Australia’s submission for the best international feature race at this year’s Oscars.
- 11/6/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
When skepticism about the savagery of attacks by Hamas terrorists against Jews in Israel first surfaced, the Israel Defense Forces put together 45 minutes of gruesome imagery — most of it shot by the perpetrators — of murder, beheadings, rapes and other atrocities against Jewish adults and children. Initially shown to world leaders, ambassadors and journalists covering the attack and the ensuing response by Israel military forces, that footage will be shown this week in screenings organized in Hollywood and New York.
Several in Hollywood who are Jewish spoke with me to see if I’d been among those who were torn over whether they needed to subject themselves to footage which will be presented without narration, and the only sounds coming from terrorists committing the atrocities, and the victims who believed something like this could never happen again. Right now, there is only the screenings this week — Deadline agreed to not divulge...
Several in Hollywood who are Jewish spoke with me to see if I’d been among those who were torn over whether they needed to subject themselves to footage which will be presented without narration, and the only sounds coming from terrorists committing the atrocities, and the victims who believed something like this could never happen again. Right now, there is only the screenings this week — Deadline agreed to not divulge...
- 11/5/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Films and talent from China and Iran dominated the winners.
Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden has won the Grand Prix at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on a night dominated by Chinese and Iranian cinema.
The Tibetan-language drama centres on an argument between a father and son after a snow leopard breaks into a sheep pen and kills nine rams. It was completed before the filmmaker died in May and premiered out-of-competition at Venice before going on to screen at Toronto.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who presided over the international jury, announced the winner at the festival’s closing ceremony today.
Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden has won the Grand Prix at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on a night dominated by Chinese and Iranian cinema.
The Tibetan-language drama centres on an argument between a father and son after a snow leopard breaks into a sheep pen and kills nine rams. It was completed before the filmmaker died in May and premiered out-of-competition at Venice before going on to screen at Toronto.
German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who presided over the international jury, announced the winner at the festival’s closing ceremony today.
- 11/1/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
“Snow Leopard,” the last film by Tibetan director Pema Tseden prior to his death in May, was awarded the Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday. Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and later screening at Toronto, the film depicts the argument between a father and his adult son of how to deal with the title beast, which has descended from the mountains to kill sheep in their village.
Winner of the second-place Special Jury Prize was “Tatami,” a drama co-directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir about an Iranian judoka (Arienne Mandi), who is ordered by her government to withdraw from a match to avoid facing an Israeli opponent and is subjected to increasingly desperate pleadings from her coach (Amir). Premiering at Venice, “Tatami” is the first feature film to be co-directed by an Israeli (Nattiv...
Winner of the second-place Special Jury Prize was “Tatami,” a drama co-directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir about an Iranian judoka (Arienne Mandi), who is ordered by her government to withdraw from a match to avoid facing an Israeli opponent and is subjected to increasingly desperate pleadings from her coach (Amir). Premiering at Venice, “Tatami” is the first feature film to be co-directed by an Israeli (Nattiv...
- 11/1/2023
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Family drama Snow Leopard, directed by the late Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden, has won the Tokyo Grand Prix, the top prize at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
The film, which is also nominated for three Asia Pacific Screen Awards, follows a rural family who debate whether they should kill a snow leopard that broke into their home and killed nine sheep. The full synopsis reads: In a mountain village where white leopards live, the film explores the symbiosis of humans and animals through the fantastical interaction of a young Tibetan monk and a leopard.
Snow Leopard is one of two films Tseden, who had Chinese citizenship, had been working on when he died in May, aged 53. His death was reported by Chinese media. No cause of death was given, but unverified Chinese media reports said he had a heart attack.
The film, which is also nominated for three Asia Pacific Screen Awards, follows a rural family who debate whether they should kill a snow leopard that broke into their home and killed nine sheep. The full synopsis reads: In a mountain village where white leopards live, the film explores the symbiosis of humans and animals through the fantastical interaction of a young Tibetan monk and a leopard.
Snow Leopard is one of two films Tseden, who had Chinese citizenship, had been working on when he died in May, aged 53. His death was reported by Chinese media. No cause of death was given, but unverified Chinese media reports said he had a heart attack.
- 11/1/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
No hostage left behind.
So many of your favorite stars have come together to thank President Biden for his efforts in working to peace amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Amid the news that two American hostages and two Israeli hostages have been released from captivity, Hollywood heavyweights are hoping for the safe return of the 220 innocent people who are still being held hostage by Hamas.
“We are heartened by Friday’s release of the two American hostages, Judith Ranaan and her daughter Natalie Ranaan and by today’s release of two Israelis, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husbands remain in captivity,” the letter read.
The letter continued, “But our relief is tempered by our overwhelming concern that 220 innocent people, including 30 children, remain captive by terrorists, threatened with torture and death. They were taken by Hamas in the savage massacre of October 7, where over 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered – women raped, families burned alive,...
So many of your favorite stars have come together to thank President Biden for his efforts in working to peace amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Amid the news that two American hostages and two Israeli hostages have been released from captivity, Hollywood heavyweights are hoping for the safe return of the 220 innocent people who are still being held hostage by Hamas.
“We are heartened by Friday’s release of the two American hostages, Judith Ranaan and her daughter Natalie Ranaan and by today’s release of two Israelis, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husbands remain in captivity,” the letter read.
The letter continued, “But our relief is tempered by our overwhelming concern that 220 innocent people, including 30 children, remain captive by terrorists, threatened with torture and death. They were taken by Hamas in the savage massacre of October 7, where over 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered – women raped, families burned alive,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
At a moment of war and deep division in the Middle East, a film co-directed by an Israeli and an Iranian is already a victory in and of itself. But the gripping sports drama Tatami, which follows a female judo champ whose career is severely jeopardized by Iran’s government during an international tournament, is more than just a promising collaboration between two filmmakers hailing from opposing sides of the conflict.
Set during one nail-biting day at the world championship in Tbilisi, Tatami — whose title refers to the mat where judoka fighters engage in combat — is both a riveting story of an athlete trying to achieve gold for the first time, and a searing political thriller where Iranian women are subjected to persecution, intimidation and possibly kidnapping at the hands of their country’s far-reaching authoritarian regime. Vibrantly helmed and performed, with co-director and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi...
Set during one nail-biting day at the world championship in Tbilisi, Tatami — whose title refers to the mat where judoka fighters engage in combat — is both a riveting story of an athlete trying to achieve gold for the first time, and a searing political thriller where Iranian women are subjected to persecution, intimidation and possibly kidnapping at the hands of their country’s far-reaching authoritarian regime. Vibrantly helmed and performed, with co-director and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi...
- 10/22/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Gal Gadot, Jerry Seinfeld, Antoine Fuqua, Michael Douglas, Liev Schreiber, Amy Schumer among signatories.
Gal Gadot, Jerry Seinfeld, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Hamill, and American Fiction producer Ram Bergman are among 700 Hollywood figures who have signed an open letter condemning Hamas and pledging support for Israel.
The letter, released by the non-profit Creative Community For Peace, calls on the entertainment community to speak out against Hamas after the Islamist militant group’s deadly attacks on Israel over the weekend, support Israel, agree not to share misinformation about the war, and urge the return of Israeli hostages currently being held in the Gaza Strip.
Gal Gadot, Jerry Seinfeld, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Hamill, and American Fiction producer Ram Bergman are among 700 Hollywood figures who have signed an open letter condemning Hamas and pledging support for Israel.
The letter, released by the non-profit Creative Community For Peace, calls on the entertainment community to speak out against Hamas after the Islamist militant group’s deadly attacks on Israel over the weekend, support Israel, agree not to share misinformation about the war, and urge the return of Israeli hostages currently being held in the Gaza Strip.
- 10/12/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“God, it’s fucking crazy,” Guy Nattiv said with exasperation when we connected by phone this week, in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel that has resulted in the deaths and hostage-taking of hundreds of Israelis. “This is a holocaust.”
Nattiv, the first Israeli filmmaker to ever win an Oscar — he won best live action short for 2018’s Skin — and the director of the 2023 film Golda, which chronicles Golda Meir’s response to the 1973 surprise attack on Israel that resulted in the Yom Kippur War, has lived in the United States for the past decade, since he met the woman who would become his wife, the actress-filmmaker Jaime Ray Newman. But he remains deeply connected to Israel, where many of his family members and friends still reside. And when Hamas attacked Israel last week, he instinctively decided that he should use his Instagram platform as a “shofar” — a horn,...
Nattiv, the first Israeli filmmaker to ever win an Oscar — he won best live action short for 2018’s Skin — and the director of the 2023 film Golda, which chronicles Golda Meir’s response to the 1973 surprise attack on Israel that resulted in the Yom Kippur War, has lived in the United States for the past decade, since he met the woman who would become his wife, the actress-filmmaker Jaime Ray Newman. But he remains deeply connected to Israel, where many of his family members and friends still reside. And when Hamas attacked Israel last week, he instinctively decided that he should use his Instagram platform as a “shofar” — a horn,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. rights to TIFF standout One Life, the James Hawes-directed drama that stars Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Marthe Keller, with Jonathan Pryce and Helena Bonham Carter. Scripted by Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake, the film is a production of See-Saw Films, which developed it alongside BBC Film. Bleecker Street is planning a 2024 theatrical release.
Based on the Barbara Winton book If It’s Not Impossible…: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, One Life tells the true story of Nicholas “Nicky” Winton (Flynn), a young London broker who visits Prague in December 1938. In a race against time, Winton convinces Trevor Chadwick (Sharp) and Doreen Warriner (Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to rescue as many children as possible before the Nazis close the borders. Fifty years later, Nicky (Hopkins) is haunted by the...
Based on the Barbara Winton book If It’s Not Impossible…: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, One Life tells the true story of Nicholas “Nicky” Winton (Flynn), a young London broker who visits Prague in December 1938. In a race against time, Winton convinces Trevor Chadwick (Sharp) and Doreen Warriner (Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to rescue as many children as possible before the Nazis close the borders. Fifty years later, Nicky (Hopkins) is haunted by the...
- 10/9/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
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