Bent Hamer’s films are known for their deadpan humour but nothing funny – nor sad, nor plausible – happens in this film about a man whose job is to break the news to those whose relations have been killed
Bent Hamer is a Norwegian film-maker who began his career with quirky absurdist movies in the 00s such as Kitchen Stories and O’Horten, and also his rather tougher film Factotum from 2005 – a fictionalised study of Charles Bukowski starring Matt Dillon. Perhaps Hamer’s career benefited a good deal from international festival juries having a soft spot for his kind of goofy deadpan humour, but I was never entirely sure exactly how funny or meaningful his creations ultimately were. However, his film-making had a certain rigour and poise.
The same, sadly, can’t be said for his new film, set in some featureless anytown in North America, in which a bland young guy...
Bent Hamer is a Norwegian film-maker who began his career with quirky absurdist movies in the 00s such as Kitchen Stories and O’Horten, and also his rather tougher film Factotum from 2005 – a fictionalised study of Charles Bukowski starring Matt Dillon. Perhaps Hamer’s career benefited a good deal from international festival juries having a soft spot for his kind of goofy deadpan humour, but I was never entirely sure exactly how funny or meaningful his creations ultimately were. However, his film-making had a certain rigour and poise.
The same, sadly, can’t be said for his new film, set in some featureless anytown in North America, in which a bland young guy...
- 3/7/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
"Death is a hard way to make a living." LevelFilm has revealed an official trailer for the indie dark comedy The Middle Man, the latest film made by an award-winning Norwegian filmmaker named Bent Hamer - one of his biggest hits was the indie Factotum from 2005 with Matt Dillon. This new one already premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, but it hasn't made its way down to the US yet despite taking place in the US. The film is set in Karmack, a small town in the American Midwest that is so economically depressed that it hires Frank Farrelli as a middle man to deliver bad news to people because none of the residents can bear to do it themselves anymore. Norwegian actor Pål Sverre Hagen stars as Frank, with a cast including Don McKellar, Kenneth Welsh, Paul Gross, Trond Fausa, Aksel Hennie, and Bill Lake. This looks like a very strange,...
- 5/18/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
It’s summer, everyone! And with its relatively sparse list of new releases for July 2021, Hulu seems to be subtlety imploring its subscribers to go outside.
Don’t get us wrong: Hulu’s library offerings get a big upgrade this month. July 1 sees the arrival of great films like Galaxy Quest, Fargo, and Caddyshack. Bill and Ted Face the Music premieres on July 2 and its followed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on July 9. Not bad stuff! It’s just that, outside of the library titles, there isn’t much to go off of.
Hulu’s only major original release this month is the FX on Hulu production American Horror Stories on July 15. As its name implies, the show is a spinoff of American Horror Story and will feature self-contained horror episodes rather than a season-long arc. If you’ll allow this geriatric millennial to deploy one truly ancient meme: “Yo dawg,...
Don’t get us wrong: Hulu’s library offerings get a big upgrade this month. July 1 sees the arrival of great films like Galaxy Quest, Fargo, and Caddyshack. Bill and Ted Face the Music premieres on July 2 and its followed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on July 9. Not bad stuff! It’s just that, outside of the library titles, there isn’t much to go off of.
Hulu’s only major original release this month is the FX on Hulu production American Horror Stories on July 15. As its name implies, the show is a spinoff of American Horror Story and will feature self-contained horror episodes rather than a season-long arc. If you’ll allow this geriatric millennial to deploy one truly ancient meme: “Yo dawg,...
- 7/1/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Picturehouse Entertainment will kick off the reopening of U.K. cinemas with the theatrical release of Alice Winocour’s “Proxima” from July 10.
Cinemas across the U.K. closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Picturehouse and Cineworld cinemas are confirmed to reopen from July 10, subject to government guidelines.
“Proxima” opened this year’s Glasgow Film Festival on Feb. 26, after playing 2019 festivals such as Tiff and San Sebastian, where it won awards, and Macau. Lead Eva Green was nominated for best actress at the Cesars in France.
“After an extremely challenging few months for everyone, we’re thrilled to be bringing back independent cinema to the big screen with a beautiful and truly cinematic new film by a director I greatly admire, Alice Winocour,” said Clare Binns, joint managing director of Picturehouse Entertainment.
“A safe environment is the priority for cinemas right now and we have every confidence that all...
Cinemas across the U.K. closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Picturehouse and Cineworld cinemas are confirmed to reopen from July 10, subject to government guidelines.
“Proxima” opened this year’s Glasgow Film Festival on Feb. 26, after playing 2019 festivals such as Tiff and San Sebastian, where it won awards, and Macau. Lead Eva Green was nominated for best actress at the Cesars in France.
“After an extremely challenging few months for everyone, we’re thrilled to be bringing back independent cinema to the big screen with a beautiful and truly cinematic new film by a director I greatly admire, Alice Winocour,” said Clare Binns, joint managing director of Picturehouse Entertainment.
“A safe environment is the priority for cinemas right now and we have every confidence that all...
- 6/17/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Middle Man
2020 should see the premiere of Norwegian auteur Bent Hamer’s long-awaited eighth film The Middle Man, which will star actor/director Tuva Novotny and Pal Sverre Hagen. John Christian Rosenlund serves as Dp on the Norwegian-Canadian-German co-production. Hamer has become one of Norway’s most noted art-house auteurs, thanks partially to his programming at Cannes, where his 1995 debut Eggs played in Directors’ Fortnight, as did his 2005 English language debut Factotum. His 2007 title O’Horten played in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.…...
2020 should see the premiere of Norwegian auteur Bent Hamer’s long-awaited eighth film The Middle Man, which will star actor/director Tuva Novotny and Pal Sverre Hagen. John Christian Rosenlund serves as Dp on the Norwegian-Canadian-German co-production. Hamer has become one of Norway’s most noted art-house auteurs, thanks partially to his programming at Cannes, where his 1995 debut Eggs played in Directors’ Fortnight, as did his 2005 English language debut Factotum. His 2007 title O’Horten played in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.…...
- 1/1/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
It will be the Norwegian filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with Cologne-based Pandora Film Production.
The Match Factory has boarded Bent Hamer’s new feature The Middle Man as international sales agent. It will be the Norwegian filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with Cologne-based Pandora Film Production after O’Horten, Factotum, Kitchen Stories and 1001 Grams.
Pandora Film’s Claudia Steffen, one of the co-producers of Berlin Competition title The Heiresses, revealed that the English-language film will be a co-production between Hamer’s BulBul Film, Pandora Film and Canada’s The Film Farm, with principal photography planned for this summer on location in Manitoba and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pandora Verleih will release the film theatrically in Germany in 2019.
Based in part on a 2012 novel by Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen and described as “a bizarre and absurd look at Trump’s USA”, the €3.4m production is set in Karmack, a small town in the Midwest with a declining population and a wrecked...
The Match Factory has boarded Bent Hamer’s new feature The Middle Man as international sales agent. It will be the Norwegian filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with Cologne-based Pandora Film Production after O’Horten, Factotum, Kitchen Stories and 1001 Grams.
Pandora Film’s Claudia Steffen, one of the co-producers of Berlin Competition title The Heiresses, revealed that the English-language film will be a co-production between Hamer’s BulBul Film, Pandora Film and Canada’s The Film Farm, with principal photography planned for this summer on location in Manitoba and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pandora Verleih will release the film theatrically in Germany in 2019.
Based in part on a 2012 novel by Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen and described as “a bizarre and absurd look at Trump’s USA”, the €3.4m production is set in Karmack, a small town in the Midwest with a declining population and a wrecked...
- 2/17/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
It will be the Norwegian filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with Cologne-based Pandora Film Production.
The Match Factory has boarded Bent Hamer’s new feature The Middle Man as international sales agent. It will be the Norwegian filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with Cologne-based Pandora Film Production after O’Horten, Factotum, Kitchen Stories and 1001 Grams.
Pandora Film’s Claudia Steffen, one of the co-producers of Berlin Competition title The Heiresses, revealed that the English-language film will be a co-production between Hamer’s BulBul Film, Pandora Film and Canada’s The Film Farm, with principal photography planned for this summer on location in Manitoba and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pandora Verleih will release the film theatrically in Germany in 2019.
Based in part on a 2012 novel by Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen and described as “a bizarre and absurd look at Trump’s USA”, the €3.4m production is set in Karmack, a small town in the Midwest with a declining population and a wrecked...
The Match Factory has boarded Bent Hamer’s new feature The Middle Man as international sales agent. It will be the Norwegian filmmaker’s fifth collaboration with Cologne-based Pandora Film Production after O’Horten, Factotum, Kitchen Stories and 1001 Grams.
Pandora Film’s Claudia Steffen, one of the co-producers of Berlin Competition title The Heiresses, revealed that the English-language film will be a co-production between Hamer’s BulBul Film, Pandora Film and Canada’s The Film Farm, with principal photography planned for this summer on location in Manitoba and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pandora Verleih will release the film theatrically in Germany in 2019.
Based in part on a 2012 novel by Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen and described as “a bizarre and absurd look at Trump’s USA”, the €3.4m production is set in Karmack, a small town in the Midwest with a declining population and a wrecked...
- 2/17/2018
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
This first feature of Kirsten Tan premiered in Sundance ‘17 World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Its provenance is Singapore but it takes place in Thailand. It continued onward to the Hivos Tiger Competition at Iffr (R’dam).
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
- 2/7/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Semi-autobigraphical tale will follow other Bukowski adaptations including 1987’s Barfly, 1983’s Tales of Ordinary Madness and 2005’s Factotum
Charles Bukowski’s semi-autobiographical novel Women is to be adapted for the big screen by the production company behind The Hurt Locker, reports The Tracking Board.
Voltage Pictures, also known for indie hits such as William Friedkin’s Killer Joe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon, has obtained screen rights to the 1978 book. Women features Bukowski’s regular alter-ego Hank Chinaski, a booze-soaked La writer juggling the many women who admire him for his literary genius. The film will be based on a screenplay by Ethan Furman.
Continue reading...
Charles Bukowski’s semi-autobiographical novel Women is to be adapted for the big screen by the production company behind The Hurt Locker, reports The Tracking Board.
Voltage Pictures, also known for indie hits such as William Friedkin’s Killer Joe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon, has obtained screen rights to the 1978 book. Women features Bukowski’s regular alter-ego Hank Chinaski, a booze-soaked La writer juggling the many women who admire him for his literary genius. The film will be based on a screenplay by Ethan Furman.
Continue reading...
- 6/19/2015
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Bent Hamer is easily Norway's Wes Anderson. Like Anderson, the Norwegian director's immaculate frames, with highly coordinated color palettes and obsessive symmetry, tell stories of off-beat characters through the lens of the comic absurd. The difference, though, is that while Anderson chooses fantasy, Hamer chooses to depict reality — albeit a reality bathed in such absurdity that it feels like fantasy. This is Hamer's particular form of magic. In the vein of his previous films "Kitchen Stories," about Swedish efficiency researchers, and "Factotum," a close reading of enigmatic Charles Bukowski, "1001 Grams" is another idiosyncratic character study in which Hamer dissects his protagonist's rigidly defined world. Thirty-something Marie (Ane Dahl Torp) works for the Norwegian Institute of Weights and Measures, where Norway's prototype of the kilo is harbored like a national treasure. Under the tutelage of her father, a revered scientist in the field,...
- 5/8/2015
- by Emily Buder
- Indiewire
Feeding our curiosity for what a major transgressive adonis in future literary world might look like in the pre stench of cigarettes and booze era, I’m imagining something akin to Kill Your Darlings in term of look and feel, and a perfect drinking partner to Bent Hamer’s Factotum. Quite frankly it’s got everything you’d want in a Park City indie biopic – hence why I originally circled Bukowski as a possible 2014 Sundance selection. Little did I know that production would be tied up in legal troubles. The good news is, as of last month, whatever woes existed between right holders of “Ham on Rye” and this project have been resolved. Moving forward, we can expect to see a transformative performance from Josh Peck and peak into the man behind the method, and the madness. Shannen Doherty, Alex Kingston, Keegan Allen (see set pic above) and Tim Blake Nelson support the titular player.
- 11/11/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Right after he wrapped up his ’13 Sundance experience, Franco, the movie industry’s poetry geek, hit the brinks and commenced lensing in Los Angeles with Josh Peck, Shannen Doherty, Alex Kingston, Keegan Allen and Tim Blake Nelson. Set in the 20′s-30′s, simply titled Bukowski and not Ham on Rye, Franco’s fascination for the subject joins about a half dozen previous other films on the writer most recently Factotum. Production wrapped in March and as he recently professed to Charlie Rose, hopes that it’ll make the Sundance cut and we hope to see just how much of a range Peck has.
Gist: Written by Dave and James Franco, this is the story of writer Charles Bukowski’s formative years from childhood to high school and his struggles with an abusive father, disfiguring acne, alcohol abuse, and his initial attempts at writing.
Production Co./Producers: Jay Davis, Vince Jolivette,...
Gist: Written by Dave and James Franco, this is the story of writer Charles Bukowski’s formative years from childhood to high school and his struggles with an abusive father, disfiguring acne, alcohol abuse, and his initial attempts at writing.
Production Co./Producers: Jay Davis, Vince Jolivette,...
- 11/18/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Ira Sachs has found the third piece in his acting puzzle in the rarely used, under-appreciated actress who since Bent Hamer’s Factotum has become a fixture of sorts for supporting roles in quality indie fare items (we loved her take in Cyrus as well). Marisa Tomei (replaces a once attached Kelly Reilly) in Love is Strange, landing the role of Kate, a novelist who is married to Ben’s (John Lithgow) nephew. The couple agrees to let Ben move in after he’s forced to sell his apartment. Production is set for the end of the month and will be produced by Parts & Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, Lucas Joaquin (producer on Sach’s brilliant Keep the Lights On – read our 4-star review) and Jayne Baron Sherman.
Gist: This follows a newlywed gay couple (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) who are forced to live apart.
Worth...
Gist: This follows a newlywed gay couple (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) who are forced to live apart.
Worth...
- 8/7/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Review by Sam Moffitt
Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting on a bar stool, in a bar, and when I say bar I don’t mean some uptown fancy bistro with little foo-foo umbrellas in the drinks and ferns hanging from the ceiling. I’m talking about a bar man, a dive, a saloon, a watering hole, like you find in south St. Louis where the doors stay open in the summer so neighborhood dogs can run in and out and drunks can stagger out and get some fresh air without having to try and work a door knob, so they can stagger out and get a grip before they heave up all that beer they’ve been drinking and paid for out of money they should have spent on the rent.
So anyway you’re sitting in this low class joint, drinking beer, and the occasional...
Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting on a bar stool, in a bar, and when I say bar I don’t mean some uptown fancy bistro with little foo-foo umbrellas in the drinks and ferns hanging from the ceiling. I’m talking about a bar man, a dive, a saloon, a watering hole, like you find in south St. Louis where the doors stay open in the summer so neighborhood dogs can run in and out and drunks can stagger out and get some fresh air without having to try and work a door knob, so they can stagger out and get a grip before they heave up all that beer they’ve been drinking and paid for out of money they should have spent on the rent.
So anyway you’re sitting in this low class joint, drinking beer, and the occasional...
- 6/6/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
He’s one of those 27 percenters, an actor who makes movies better even when he just crops up for a couple of scenes. Now Tim Blake Nelson has nabbed two new acting gigs, playing Henry Bukowski in James Franco’s biopic of Charles Bukowski and a womanising type in Tommy Lee Jones’ next directorial outing, The Homesman.Franco wrote the script and is directing Bukowski, another cinema adaptation of the life of the German-born American writer most famous for works such as Pulp, Factotum and Post Office. The film will chronicle his early years, as a shy young man frequently beaten by his father, who eventually defended himself and channelled the emotional trauma into his later works.He’ll then work on The Homesman for Jones, who co-wrote that script with Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley A. Oliver. He’ll be calling the shots for a story about a claim jumper...
- 1/28/2013
- EmpireOnline
Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we offer alternatives to Wrath of the Titans, Mirror Mirror and Goon.
Sam Worthington reprises his role as the mythical Greek hero Perseus in this action-packed sequel to 2010′s Clash of the Titans. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes co-star.
Revel in Greek greats:
Hercules (1983) The Incredible Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno stars in this cult classic as the Greece’s most legendary hero. Here Hercules is on quest to save the beautiful Princess Cassiopeia from the cruel clutches of the sorcerer Minos. Ingrid Anderson co-stars.
Jason and the Argonauts (2000) Jason London (Dazed & Confused) stars in this 2-part TV miniseries as the titular noble warrior who leads his brave ranks to battle the terrors of Poseidon, vicious harpies and a fearsome dragon, all in search for the Golden Fleece.
Sam Worthington reprises his role as the mythical Greek hero Perseus in this action-packed sequel to 2010′s Clash of the Titans. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes co-star.
Revel in Greek greats:
Hercules (1983) The Incredible Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno stars in this cult classic as the Greece’s most legendary hero. Here Hercules is on quest to save the beautiful Princess Cassiopeia from the cruel clutches of the sorcerer Minos. Ingrid Anderson co-stars.
Jason and the Argonauts (2000) Jason London (Dazed & Confused) stars in this 2-part TV miniseries as the titular noble warrior who leads his brave ranks to battle the terrors of Poseidon, vicious harpies and a fearsome dragon, all in search for the Golden Fleece.
- 3/29/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
After being attached to direct the book to film adaptation of Matthew F. Jones' A Single Shot, Dahmer helmer David Jacobson has instead pulled out another Jones novel in Boot Tracks and will direct that instead. Presented at the Efm, the dramatic thriller should see the combo of the rarely cast Matt Dillon and Michelle Monaghan. The Tracking Board reports a mid 2011 start date. Gist: Based on the novel “Boot Tracks” by Matthew F. Jones, fresh out of prison, Charlie Rankin is out of prison but not out of danger. Indebted to the man who saved his life behind bars, Charlie must now carry out a murder to settle the score. Unexpectedly he meets Florence, a mysterious and beautiful lost soul who sees the good within Charlie's dark shell. When the hit goes bad, Charlie soon finds himself in over his head and must figure out how to settle his debts,...
- 2/24/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
In the midst of our recessionary times, it might be comforting to read these great novels about people losing their jobs. Novelist Jess Walter recommends his favorites, from Saul Bellow to Bukowski.
Seize the Day By Saul Bellow
Related story on The Daily Beast: This Week's Hot Reads
"Everyone was supposed to have money" -at least that's how it seems to Tommy Wilhelm, the divorced, unemployed salesman in Bellow's fevered story of ambition and regret. Living in an Upper West Side hotel with his father (who pesters Tommy to find a job where he'll make "five figures" ), Tommy has given his entire savings to a possible con man, and over a single, frenetic day, must hustle to avert disaster. Overheated and desperate, by turns despairing and determined, Tommy is one of Bellow's most affecting characters, a powerful refutation of the myth of the self-made American. As Bellow writes: "You...
Seize the Day By Saul Bellow
Related story on The Daily Beast: This Week's Hot Reads
"Everyone was supposed to have money" -at least that's how it seems to Tommy Wilhelm, the divorced, unemployed salesman in Bellow's fevered story of ambition and regret. Living in an Upper West Side hotel with his father (who pesters Tommy to find a job where he'll make "five figures" ), Tommy has given his entire savings to a possible con man, and over a single, frenetic day, must hustle to avert disaster. Overheated and desperate, by turns despairing and determined, Tommy is one of Bellow's most affecting characters, a powerful refutation of the myth of the self-made American. As Bellow writes: "You...
- 11/30/2010
- by Jess Walter
- The Daily Beast
In a word, disappointing. In three words, that fucking sucked. In seven words, Matt Dillon deserves to go to hell (and yes I did count those out on my fingers to make sure I had the correct digits).
I cannot begin to describe to you the joy and excitement that I felt when I first learned that there was a movie version of Factotum in the pipeline courtesy of IFC Films. Seriously, I love Henry Charles Bukowski. I’ve devoured his novels and a good chunk of his poetry. Hell, I even have a Bukowski quote tattooed on my right forearm:
It reads, “As the Spirit wanes, the Form appears.” For an explanation of this quote, check out the amazing documentary Bukowski: Born Into This. While you’re watching it, also pay close attention to good ole Hank himself and notice how Matt Dillon’s performance in Factotum doesn’t...
I cannot begin to describe to you the joy and excitement that I felt when I first learned that there was a movie version of Factotum in the pipeline courtesy of IFC Films. Seriously, I love Henry Charles Bukowski. I’ve devoured his novels and a good chunk of his poetry. Hell, I even have a Bukowski quote tattooed on my right forearm:
It reads, “As the Spirit wanes, the Form appears.” For an explanation of this quote, check out the amazing documentary Bukowski: Born Into This. While you’re watching it, also pay close attention to good ole Hank himself and notice how Matt Dillon’s performance in Factotum doesn’t...
- 6/7/2010
- by Will Melton
- FusedFilm
Literary biopics cater not to the boring truth, but to the illusion that writers are drunk, mad, sex-obsessed geniuses
"Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough?" Julian Barnes poses these questions in Flaubert's Parrot, his fictional biography of Gustave Flaubert. Perhaps, as readers, we enjoy the amateur detective work that literary biographies offer. We like to excavate the lives of famous authors and uncover the experiences that might have shaped their stories.
The problem is, writers' lives don't always make for great cinema. If writers are any good, it's usually because they spend weeks alone, in a room, with a computer (or paper if they're old-school).
Literary biopics usually cater to the fantasy that writers are drunk, mad, sex-obsessed geniuses inspired by the holy spirit (50% proof). Think Henry Miller (Henry and June), William Burroughs (Naked Lunch...
"Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough?" Julian Barnes poses these questions in Flaubert's Parrot, his fictional biography of Gustave Flaubert. Perhaps, as readers, we enjoy the amateur detective work that literary biographies offer. We like to excavate the lives of famous authors and uncover the experiences that might have shaped their stories.
The problem is, writers' lives don't always make for great cinema. If writers are any good, it's usually because they spend weeks alone, in a room, with a computer (or paper if they're old-school).
Literary biopics usually cater to the fantasy that writers are drunk, mad, sex-obsessed geniuses inspired by the holy spirit (50% proof). Think Henry Miller (Henry and June), William Burroughs (Naked Lunch...
- 2/16/2010
- by Evan Maloney
- The Guardian - Film News
I first discovered Bent Hamer not with his Director's Fortnight 1995 film Eggs, but with a smallish offering called Kitchen Stories (03). I thought the tale about Norwegians studying the domestic habits of Swedes was the best thing since sliced bread. - I first discovered Bent Hamer not with his Director's Fortnight 1995 film Eggs, but with a smallish offering called Kitchen Stories (03). I thought the tale about Norwegians studying the domestic habits of Swedes was the best thing since sliced bread. For his next project he'll be taking on the holidays, normally I have an immense dislike for Xmas branded movies, but we can confidently say that this cup of eggnog will have a strong "Scandi" humor flavor. Those who've seen Factotum or O'Horten, know that Hamer has a distinct tone not unlike Sweden's Roy Andersson and Finland's Aki Kaurismäki. Home for Christmas is...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
by Terry Keefe
Bent Hamer's O'Horten arrives on DVD today, complete with Interviews with Hamer and composer John Erik Kaada. Below is my talk with Hamer, who I had interviewed previously for his 2004 film Kitchen Stories. This article previously appeared in Venice Magazine.
(Actor Bard Owe in O'Horten, above, and director Bent Hamer, below.)
Norwegian director Bent Hamer has just come back from a walk around the beach in Venice and eagerly relates, “I just saw this house on the beach and it had a sign which said, ‘Hippies, please use kitchen entrance!’” Hamer then laughs, captivated by this little glimmer of absurdity he has discovered. The sign in question actually wouldn’t be out of place in a Bent Hamer film, which are known for mixing visual oddities of the everyday with characters and plots which keep the overall film grounded in reality, somewhat anyway. We last spoke...
Bent Hamer's O'Horten arrives on DVD today, complete with Interviews with Hamer and composer John Erik Kaada. Below is my talk with Hamer, who I had interviewed previously for his 2004 film Kitchen Stories. This article previously appeared in Venice Magazine.
(Actor Bard Owe in O'Horten, above, and director Bent Hamer, below.)
Norwegian director Bent Hamer has just come back from a walk around the beach in Venice and eagerly relates, “I just saw this house on the beach and it had a sign which said, ‘Hippies, please use kitchen entrance!’” Hamer then laughs, captivated by this little glimmer of absurdity he has discovered. The sign in question actually wouldn’t be out of place in a Bent Hamer film, which are known for mixing visual oddities of the everyday with characters and plots which keep the overall film grounded in reality, somewhat anyway. We last spoke...
- 9/22/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
In O’Horten, Bent Hamer’s writing and directing follow-up to 2005’s surprisingly solid Charles Bukowski adaptation Factotum, the clothes make the man. The impeccably groomed Bård Owe strolls confidently through his job as a railroad engineer, resplendent in his sharp leather jacket and dapper uniform. For Owe, “engineer” isn’t a job so much as an identity. His job gives him purpose, direction, and security. O’Horten explores what happens when this quintessential company man loses his company. As O’Horten begins, Owe is being pushed out of his job because he’s reached mandatory retirement age ...
- 6/4/2009
- avclub.com
Release Date: May 15
Director/Writer: Bent Hamer
Cinematographer: John Christian RosenlundStarring: Baard Owe, Espen Skjønberg, Githa Nørby
Studio/Run Time: Sony Pictures Classics, 90 mins.
Arresting cinematography fuels quirky character study
Mainstream cinema has experienced a noteworthy decline in starring roles for seasoned actors since the ’60s and ’70s. In beautifully shot character analysis O’Horten, Norwegian director Bent Hamer (Factotum) shows there’s still vibrant intrigue to be mined from our golden years. The film trails a stoic locomotive engineer (Baard Owe) who succumbs to retirement, wishing his life could remain as frozen as the icy mountains he crossed in years past. Lost and reborn, Horten embarks on a series of random misadventures that charmingly illustrate the miracle of spontaneity. The film’s environmental cinematography provides a lonely mirror of whitewashed desolation for the title character’s odyssey, reflecting as much splendor as melancholy in the fairytale streets of Oslo.
Director/Writer: Bent Hamer
Cinematographer: John Christian RosenlundStarring: Baard Owe, Espen Skjønberg, Githa Nørby
Studio/Run Time: Sony Pictures Classics, 90 mins.
Arresting cinematography fuels quirky character study
Mainstream cinema has experienced a noteworthy decline in starring roles for seasoned actors since the ’60s and ’70s. In beautifully shot character analysis O’Horten, Norwegian director Bent Hamer (Factotum) shows there’s still vibrant intrigue to be mined from our golden years. The film trails a stoic locomotive engineer (Baard Owe) who succumbs to retirement, wishing his life could remain as frozen as the icy mountains he crossed in years past. Lost and reborn, Horten embarks on a series of random misadventures that charmingly illustrate the miracle of spontaneity. The film’s environmental cinematography provides a lonely mirror of whitewashed desolation for the title character’s odyssey, reflecting as much splendor as melancholy in the fairytale streets of Oslo.
- 5/14/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
(Actor Bard Owe in O'Horten, above, and director Bent Hamer, below.)
by Terry Keefe
Note: This article is currently appearing in this month's Venice Magazine.
Norwegian director Bent Hamer has just come back from a walk around the beach in Venice and eagerly relates, “I just saw this house on the beach and it had a sign which said, ‘Hippies, please use kitchen entrance!’” Hamer then laughs, captivated by this little glimmer of absurdity he has discovered. The sign in question actually wouldn’t be out of place in a Bent Hamer film, which are known for mixing visual oddities of the everyday with characters and plots which keep the overall film grounded in reality, somewhat anyway. We last spoke when he was releasing Kitchen Stories in 2004, the story of which was inspired by the real-life studies done by a Swedish kitchen appliance company in the late 1940s, specifically centering...
by Terry Keefe
Note: This article is currently appearing in this month's Venice Magazine.
Norwegian director Bent Hamer has just come back from a walk around the beach in Venice and eagerly relates, “I just saw this house on the beach and it had a sign which said, ‘Hippies, please use kitchen entrance!’” Hamer then laughs, captivated by this little glimmer of absurdity he has discovered. The sign in question actually wouldn’t be out of place in a Bent Hamer film, which are known for mixing visual oddities of the everyday with characters and plots which keep the overall film grounded in reality, somewhat anyway. We last spoke when he was releasing Kitchen Stories in 2004, the story of which was inspired by the real-life studies done by a Swedish kitchen appliance company in the late 1940s, specifically centering...
- 5/8/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
We're all for getting out in the summertime, but there might not be anything more refreshing than cooling off in a movie theater... or seeing a movie in the comfort of your air-conditioned home on demand, on DVD, or online... or better yet catching a classic on the big screen at a nearby repertory theater. With literally hundreds of films to choose from this summer, we humbly present this guide to the season's most exciting offerings.
May 1
"Eldorado"
The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy
Director: Bouli Lanners
Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,
The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.
May 1
"Eldorado"
The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy
Director: Bouli Lanners
Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,
The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.
- 5/6/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
The European Film Promotion (EFP) and the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 18-27) launched a new promotion initiative entitled "European Distributors: Up Next".
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
Ten independent distributors from Central and Eastern Europe attending the festival discussed the possibilities of theatrical distribution on a European level. Since the majority of European producers do not cross national borders, the meetings in San Sebastian were aimed to create possible platform and networking opportunities to improve the circulation of European productions.
• From Slovenia, Natasa Bucar, project manager of the cultural center Cankarjev Dom, a public institution that organizes many events promoting film, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival has been in art film distribution for the last 15 years. They distribute five to six titles every year to fill the gap in theatrical distribution of European high-profile films in Slovenia. Priority is given to established and not always well-known European and other international filmmakers. Their last distributed titles were Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’, Tony Gatlif’s ‘Transylvania’, Bent Hamer’s ‘Factotum’, Dagur Kari’s ‘Dark Horse’, Corneliu Porumboiu’s ‘12:08 East of Bucharest’, Roy Andersson’s ‘You, the Living’, Pascale Ferran’s ‘Lady Chatterley’, Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ and Shane Meadows’ ‘This Is England’.
Besides Cankarjev Dom, there are only four arthouse cinemas in Slovenia. They need more along with arthouse cinema networks to enable better film promotion. In Slovenia, like everywhere in Europe, the number of cinema viewers has fallen drastically. Audiences focus on fewer films, the top 20 films take up to almost 50% of the market in Slovenia.
• From Hungary, Rita Linda Potyondi of Cirko Film - Másképp Foundation, the only Hungarian distributor to operate as a non-profit-foundation, they also own one theater in Budapest. Working on a showstring budget, they are guided by personal tastes and focus on international and particularly European ‘difficult’ auteur films with targeted or limited audiences, especially those that explore themes related to discriminated groups: homosexuals, handicapped people, ethnic or religious minorities and victims of family abuse. Their last releases include films by Robert Guédiguian, Bruno Dumont, Fernando Leon de Aranoa, Baltasar Kormakur, Alain Corneau, Bruno Podalydès, Bertrand Bonello, Claire Denis, Ferzan Ozpetek, Catalin Mitulescu and Oskar Roehler. A recent surprise success was Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘Adam's Apples’ which became a sort of cult film. They also did well with Palme d’Or-winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, and ‘Persepolis’, Susanne Bier’s ‘After the Wedding, ‘Red Road’, ‘My Brother Is An Only Child’, ‘A Soap’, ‘Our Daily Bread’. Upcoming are the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's ‘Lorna’s Silence’, Gustave de Kervern and Benoit Belepine’s ‘Louise Michel’, Nic Balthazar’s ‘Ben X’, Simon Staho’s ‘Heaven’s Heart’, Ole Christian Madsen’s ‘Kira’s Reason’, Josef Fares’ ‘Leo’, Anders Thomas Jensen’s ‘The Green Butchers’ and ‘Flickering Lights’, and Ole Bornedal’s ‘Just Another Love Story’.
• Czech distributor Artcam’s Managing Director Premysl Martinek knows he is fighting an uphill battle. In 2007 combined total admissions for Artcam's films were under 50,000 — 0.4 percent of the national total. By comparison, leading distributor Falcon drew more than 4,000,000 viewers with its films, nearly a third of the market. However Martinek is convinced there is room in the market for small distributors and is interested in the shared challenges, from the opportunities offered by digital distribution and video-on-demand to how to negotiate with producers on minimum guarantees. The main problem is cultivating an audience. “It's very different from in Holland or Germany, where there are audiences for arthouse films,” he says.
Most of Artcam's target market is in Prague, home to roughly 1,000,000 people where European film is largely restricted to a handful of single-screen theatres, while the city's 14 multiplexes focus primarily on Hollywood imports and successful local films.
Artcam has distributed some of the most widely heralded European films of recent years, including Ole Madsen's drama ‘Prague’, ‘Persepolis’ and ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’. The international success of such films has attracted the attention of larger distributors who are now crowding the arena. This year in Cannes when they tried to acquire ‘Waltz with Bashir’, there was greater competition. Martinek says arthouse is an important part of any film culture, and lack of access to European films is hurting Czech cinema because if they lack exposure to the cinema of other countries, from new ways of narration, they cannot develop their own cinema. The Czech Ministry of Education has introduced media studies to secondary school curricula to show young people that film is “not just fun and popcorn. It's also art.”
• Polish distribution company Gutek’s Jakub Duszyński, artistic director and head of programming (along with Roman Gutek) at the Muranow movie theater also programs for the different festivals held at the theatre and for Poland’s largest film event, the Era New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. A lawyer by training and a fan of Asian genre films, Duszynski has also set up a distribution company (Blink) specializing in this type of film.
Gutek Film has always been a launching pad for auteur films and has released films by Lars Von Trier, Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmush and Wong Kar-Wai. Every year, they distribute two or three films not aimed solely at auteur film enthusiasts, but also at multiplex audiences. Among such titles are Tom Tykwer’s ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ and ‘Control’. Coming up are Polish features including Jerzy Skolimowski’s ‘Four Nights With Anna’, Piotr Lazarkiewicz’s ‘0_1_0’ and Katarzyna Adamik’s ‘Boisko bezdomnych’. They distribute almost exclusively European films. The box office is certainly dominated by US films, but by only a few titles which often have, interestingly, something European about them, for example they may be inspired by European literature.
• Slovakia’s Michal Drobny is marketing manager for Slovak distributor Continental Film. Slovakia sees 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 admissions in a year. A successful film for Continental is 10,000 to 15,000 admissions, as compared to one of the Harry Potter films which will have 200,000 admissions.
Continental releases 30 to 40 films a year and, thanks largely to its partnership with Warner Bros, enjoys a market share of 20%–30%. Continental also serve as Slovak distribution partners for Hollywood Classic Entertainment, which often buys rights to European and arthouse titles for several Eastern European territories at once. Continental acquires other titles through direct negotiation with the producers, usually from the Czech Republic. Drobny seldom attends festivals other than Berlin. This year is his first visit to San Sebastian.
Margins are tight for Continental, which is the second or third largest distributor in Slovakia. Continental is also a 30% shareholder in Slovak multiplex chain Cinemax, which owns nine cinemas countrywide. Continental also operated Bratislava's only arthouse cinema until it was turned into a congress hall.
Continental counts on public money for a small portion of its operating budget. The Slovak Ministry of Culture gives support up to a maximum of SKK 160,000 (€5,500) for the distribution of European films which covers the cost of two or three prints. Continental also receives funding through the MEDIA automatic support scheme, typically receiving 40 to 60 cents per admission for European films.
Drobny says this public support is welcome but it's seldom enough to make a real difference to distributors. “A print for a US title costs $300 [€210]. For a European title, the cost is $1,000–1500 [€700–1,000] for the print, plus I still need to pay for the all the marketing materials and the cost of subtitles,” he says. “We can't be surprised that American films are everywhere.”
Not surprisingly few European films secure distribution in Slovakia. Cinemax promotes European and arthouse film through its Artmax program and screens independent films once a week, sometimes for free. Current titles in the selection include ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’, ‘The Secret Life of Words’, ‘The Science of Sleep’, ‘Volver’ and ‘Angel’. In cooperation with the Embassy of Spain, Continental and Cinemax are creating a Spanish Days celebration of Spanish cinema at Cinemax locations in November.
Drobny has hopes that digital cinema will help small distributors, but believes it will be five to ten years before the major studios settle on a common format. Even then, the costs of converting screens will be challenging for the private sector. “To install one 2K digital system costs SKK 3m–4m [€100,000–132,000] and we have 37 screens, so it's a lot of money,” he says. “We'd like to invest but it will take a long time to see a return on that investment.”
• From Romania, Transilvania Film, founded by Tudor Giurgiu and currently run by Stefan Bradea is one of the successful pioneers of arthouse film distribution in Romania. At first they distributed mainly British, German and Scandinavian features but gradually turned to quality Romanian films, genre pictures, even some mainstream American movies. Their eclectic selection is targeted to the highly educated public, basically university graduates under 35. Their latest premiere was ‘Non pensarci’ by Gianni Zanasi, an Italian comedy. Coming up are Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ and a few Romanian films: Horatiu Malaele’s ‘Silent Wedding’, Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’ and Anca Damian’s debut, ‘Crossing Dates’. Their most profitable film was Tudor Giurgiu’s ‘Love Sick’ with 20,800 admissions and a box office gross of over €50,000. Other successful features were Neil Burger’s ‘The Illusionist’, with 11,500 admissions, and ‘Paris Je T’Aime’, with 9,715 admissions.
Film distribution business in Romania is rather unstable. There are eight active distributors bringing 150-160 features every year to 40-50 screens around the country. The number of distributors is growing and it is becoming a overserved field.
The Romanian mainstream public has little interest in European arthouse film and there are very few available screens, no arthouse cinemas and a poor DVD and TV arthouse market. And there is competition among distributors.
• Stefan Kitanov is the founder of the most important annual film event in Bulgaria, the Sofia International Film Festival. In 2001 he founded ART FEST Ltd., the company behind Sofia IFF. The same company is one of the key European film distributors in Bulgaria. ART FEST Ltd. has three components: production, distribution and exhibition.
Most recent releases include Fatih Akin’s ‘The Edge of Heaven’, ‘The Palermo Shooting ‘by Wim Wenders and ‘Delta’ by Kornel Mundruczo. The most successful releases were Francois Ozon’s ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Crossing the Bridge’ by Fatih Akin with 8,000 to 10,000 admissions.
Such a distribution business is not profitable. Festival audiences like European films but the general audience likes Hollywood films. Festival audiences don’t go to regular cinemas. The general audience goes to regular cinemas, therefore European films don’t go regularly to mainstream cinemas. There need to be events around the distribution of European films so that they be seen, such as a traveling package going to different towns, whether it is with 35mm or video screenings. There are less than 30 towns in Bulgaria with cinemas.
• From Estonia, Katrin Rajaare of Tallinnfilm, a state-owned company that used to produce the majority of Estonian films during the Soviet era has stopped production and sold its studio and now focuses on restoration of its archives. In 2004, Tallinnfilm began operating as an arthouse cinema and a year later started a distribution operation to ensure continuous programming for the cinema. Tallinnfilm acquires the rights to 12-16 films a year, mostly European films, with some titles from Asia and the US. As a state-owned company, Tallinnfilm buys mostly Estonian theatrical rights only. It is the second largest distribution company in Estonia, with a market share of 2.6%. In the Baltic countries, all rights are acquired for smaller films and shared with Lithuania’s Skalvija and Latvia’s Kino Riga. Their biggest hit in 2007 was ‘La Vie en Rose’ with 9,606 paid admissions. This film was number 43 in the 2007 national box office chart. Only US and Estonian films were at the top of the chart. Recent acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ and ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’ to be released around Christmas and the beginning of 2009.
There is a small, steady market for arthouse titles in the capital city of Tallinn, but the recent opening of a five-screen miniplex in the second city, Tartu (96,000 inhabitants), has brought hope from the outskirts as well. There are very few towns where you can screen European films, although the cinemas have received public support for technical equipment and should screen arthouse titles, but the reality is that you can’t force cinemas to screen certain films that won’t bring in audiences.
• From Lithuania Skalvija, an exhibitor since 1962 under the name of Planeta became the only arthouse in Lithuania in 1992. It has only one screen and 88 seats and is subsidized by the Vilnius Municipality. Located in the city center; it promotes quality cinema and pays special attention to young audiences and education. Its market share as an exhibitor is 1.11%. Two major multiplex theatres share 70 % of the entire Lithuanian exhibition market. Greta Akcijonaite heads its recent arthouse film distribution activity. Over the last two years they have released 10 films theatrically, and another 5 have been acquired for Lithuania and/or all the Baltic States. As a very small and specialized distributor, Skalvija has a market share of 0.64%. Most recent releases were the Danish film ‘Adam's Apples’, with almost 8,000 admissions and the Spanish film ‘Dark Blue Almost Black’ with over 6000 admissions. Recent acquisitions include Sam Garbarski’s ‘Irina Palm’ (Belgium/UK), Kornel Mundruczo’s ‘Delta’ (Hungary), the Palme d’Or winner ‘The Class’ (France) by Laurent Cantet, Thomas Clay’s ‘Soy Cowboy’ (Thailand/UK), Ruben Östlund’s’ Involuntary’ (Sweden), and Ilmar Raag’s ‘The Class’ (Estonia).
The market share of the European films released theatrically was 25% in 2007 although the share of admissions to European films was only 11%. There is definitely a lack of venues for screening European and quality films.
• Latvia’s Oskars Killo heads Acme Film Sia the leading independent film distributor in Latvia, established in 2004 and owned by Acme, a Lithuanian based company. The rights for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are bought by the mother company in Lithuania. In 2007, Acme Film had 62 theatrical releases and a 25% market share. In 2008, the number of films released will be the same, but the revenue is expected to be higher. In 2008, Acme Film has had such European successes as French films ‘99 Francs’ and ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, and Spain’s ‘The Orphanage’. The last European hit was ‘2 Days in Paris’, released on one print on July 4, 2008 and still in release with 12,500 admissions thus far. ‘Cash’ was released on one print on August 1 and has 8,500 admissions so far. The results for ‘2 Days in Paris’ and ‘Cash’ are comparable to recent US releases in Latvia such as ‘The X-Files 2’, and ‘Disaster Movie’. Recent European acquisitions include ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, ‘Paris’, ‘JCVD’, ‘The Duchess’, ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, ‘Vinyan’, ‘Ne te retourne pas’ among others.
In 2007, European films had a 18.3% market share, US films a 66% market share, the rest of the world 10.1% and national films a 5.5% market share.
- 10/11/2008
- Sydney's Buzz
This week's indie film focus is on Sony Pictures Classics' "O'Horten." Showing recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, "O'Horten" is helmed, produced and written by Bent Hamer, a talented Norwegian filmmaker blending in the comedy and drama genres. His English language notable comes in the form of the acclaimed "Factotum" starring Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor. Hamer won the Fipresci Prize at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival for his work on "Eggs"...
- 9/23/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
This week's indie film focus is on Sony Pictures Classics' "O'Horten." Showing recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, "O'Horten" is helmed, produced and written by Bent Hamer, a talented Norwegian filmmaker blending in the comedy and drama genres. His English language notable comes in the form of the acclaimed "Factotum" starring Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor. Hamer won the Fipresci Prize at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival for his work on "Eggs"...
- 9/23/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
This week's indie film focus is on Sony Pictures Classics' "O'Horten." Showing recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, "O'Horten" is helmed, produced and written by Bent Hamer, a talented Norwegian filmmaker blending in the comedy and drama genres. His English language notable comes in the form of the acclaimed "Factotum" starring Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor. Hamer won the Fipresci Prize at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival for his work on "Eggs" See new images added to the gallery. So what's this film about? The moment the train leaves the station without engineer Odd Horten (Bard Owe) aboard, he realizes that the path ahead is a journey without printed timetables and well-known stations. Horten has been forced to retire after 40 years of traveling a very stable rail, and the platform does not feel like a safe place anymore. His orderly, solitary existence is about to give way to a...
- 9/23/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
This week's indie film focus is on Sony Pictures Classics' "O'Horten." Showing recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, "O'Horten" is helmed, produced and written by Bent Hamer, a talented Norwegian filmmaker blending in the comedy and drama genres. His English language notable comes in the form of the acclaimed "Factotum" starring Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor. Hamer won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival for his work on "Eggs"...
- 9/23/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Spout's Paul Moore loved Bent Hamer's newest film O'Horten at the Telluride Film Festival, and I got a chance to sit down with him in Toronto where his film was also playing. Besides having a name made for a heavy metal guitarslinger, Hamer is already a very accomplished director, having previously directed movies like Eggs, Kitchen Stories, and Factotum, and O'Horten is his fifth film to come to play in States.
Besides being a director, Hamer is al ...
Besides being a director, Hamer is al ...
- 9/14/2008
- by Kevin Kelly
- Spout
Werc Werk Works is all set to take up the job of funding Todd Solondz new movie that is going to be a sequel to his critically acclaimed Happiness. The film circles over several quirky characters taking a more realistic take of pedophiles, perverts and fiends with no moral comment whatsoever.
The production company was founded by Christine Kunewa Walker (“American Splendor,” “Factotum”), The company will produce three or four films.
The screenplay is filled with struggling individuals trying to find a place for them in a struggling volatile world. The narrative...
(more...)...
The production company was founded by Christine Kunewa Walker (“American Splendor,” “Factotum”), The company will produce three or four films.
The screenplay is filled with struggling individuals trying to find a place for them in a struggling volatile world. The narrative...
(more...)...
- 8/31/2008
- by John
- ReelSuave.com
There just aren't enough movies about old people. O'Horten is a Norwegian film about the title character coming of age, but this coming of age story takes place when he's 67 years old, on the eve of retiring. Directed by Bent Hamer (Factotum), it's a revealing movie about the quietly tumultuous transition in life with a soft name: Retirement. The movie opens with Odd Horten (Bard Owe), a 40 year veteran train engineer, waking up to his morning routine, which is just as mechanical as the train station he reports to each day. Helming the engine, he drives his train in and out of dark mountain passages opening to the stark landscape of Norway in winter. <span i ...
- 8/31/2008
- by Paul Moore
- Spout
The new indie production company Werc Werk Works has stepped in to fully finance and produce writer-director Todd Solondz’s next film, an untitled part-sequel, part-companion piece to his controversial dark comedy “Happiness," says Variety. Founded by Elizabeth Redleaf and producer Christine Kunewa Walker ("American Splendor,” “Factotum"), the company will initially produce three to four films a year. Solondz wrote the screenplay, which revolves around a group of struggling individuals. struggling to find a place for themselves in an unpredictable and volatile world. The narrative is told through a series of intersecting love stories.; the past haunts the present and imperils the future: ghosts circle and loom, trouble and console. The project has been incubating for years, with Emma Thompson, Demi Moore and Paul Reubens rumored to be attached. “Happiness," which featured themes of child molestation and rape, initially received an Nc-17 from the MPAA board but was eventually released unrated.
- 8/29/2008
- UGO Movies
- I’m guessing that with one third of the films representing first time efforts, this year’s Un Certain Regard section will be a crapshoot for buyers and critics alike. Those that stick out among the pack come from promising directors with sophomore features such as…: Milh Hadha Al-Bahr (Salt of this Sea) (Annemarie Jacir)We often see stories about the immigrant struggle in a country that is not theirs…this is the flipside Pov a former Palestinian finding it difficult to find her footing in her native land. Jacir’s debut looks like a sure bet for a healthy film festival circuit. Los Bastardos (Amat Esclante)Crossing the line for a pair of Mexican immigrants appears to take on a whole new meaning with Amat Esclante’s 2nd feature. His debut, Sangre belongs to the contemporary, art-house bunch of films that portrays a dismal life. Los Bastardos
- 5/14/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- Merge together her recent roles in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and Factotum and you might get the byproduct of what Marisa Tomei has just signed up to play. Variety reports that the actress is getting the female lead in Darren Aronofsky's indie drama - the film is currently shooting in New York and New Jersey. Written by Robert Siegel, The Wrestler centers on Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke), a 1980s-era star pro wrestler who has become a burnt-out shell of his former self. After he has a heart attack during a small-time match, a doctor tells him he could die if he fights again. In an effort to build a new life, Robinson takes a job at a deli, moves in with an aging stripper (Tomei) and tries to build a relationship with her son. But the prospect of a rematch with his old nemesis the
- 2/12/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
- She got to have a good piece of news before her untimely murder – she had learned that she had got accepted in Sundance – if she was here to find out yesterday’s news she would have been even more pleased. Adrienne Shelly's film was picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures for a very cool $5 million.Waitress tells the story of Jenna (Keri Russell) who is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. She meets a newcomer to her town and falls into an unlikely relationship as a last attempt at happiness. Recently, we last saw Shelly in front of the camera in Factotum and the film community remembers her for The Unbelievable Truth & Trust. ...
- 1/23/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
Matt Dillon has signed with CAA for representation. Until recently, the actor had been repped by Endeavor. Dillon was nominated for an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe last year for his turn as a racist cop in the Oscar-winning Crash. The role netted him an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting male actor. Dillon also starred in You, Me and Dupree and Factotum and co-wrote, starred in and directed 2002's City of Ghosts. He continues to be repped by managers Vic Ramos and Sandy Erickson.
ICM speaks up
ICM, seeking to expand its existing lecture service, is entering into a strategic alliance with American Program Bureau, one of the largest international speakers bureaus with a 40-year history in the field. As part of the agreement, APB will secure speaking engagements for ICM clients as well as work to develop other creative opportunities, while ICM in turn will get access to APB's staff of agents, client resources and position as one of the innovators of the lecture industry.
ICM speaks up
ICM, seeking to expand its existing lecture service, is entering into a strategic alliance with American Program Bureau, one of the largest international speakers bureaus with a 40-year history in the field. As part of the agreement, APB will secure speaking engagements for ICM clients as well as work to develop other creative opportunities, while ICM in turn will get access to APB's staff of agents, client resources and position as one of the innovators of the lecture industry.
- 1/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Available as of yesterday on DVD is Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer’s adaptation of Charles Bukowski’s 1975 novel, Factotum. Factotum follows Bukowski’s literary alter ego, Henry Chinaski, as he drifts from one short term employment to the next (pickle factory worker, ice delivery truck driver, janitor, professional gambler), all the while drinking heavily and writing constantly. Lili Taylor (The Notorious Bettie Page, I Shot Andy Warhol, next year’s Quebec) stars as Jan, a fellow alcoholic who becomes the closest thing to true love Henry finds along the way. Not included on the Factotum DVD is the following interview with Lili Taylor, which I was fortunate to participate in earlier this year, just prior to the theatrical release of the film. Lili Taylor Question: You’re great at playing these characters who throw caution to the wind, do you ever see yourself playing a princess? Lili Taylor: Princess…. If she was complicated.
- 12/27/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
- Charles Bukowski once wrote a story titled “My Beerdrunk Soul is Sadder than all the Dead Christmas Trees in the World,” so it is somewhat appropriate that Factotum, director Bent Hamer’s adaptation of Bukowski’s 1975 novel of the same name, is arriving on DVD just after Christmas. Matt Dillon (Drugstore Cowboy, Crash, You, Me and Dupree) takes the lead role of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski’s literary alter-ego, who works a series of dead end jobs to keep himself alive and drunk while he concentrates on writing – a pursuit Chinaski approaches with passion, discipline, and brilliant insight to the world around him. Not included on the DVD’s extra features is the following interview with Matt Dillon, which I participated in earlier this year in New York City, prior to the theatrical release of Factotum. Question: How did you change yourself physically to play the character?
- 12/26/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
- The San Diego critics might have picked a familiar pic for their best film of the year, but they’ve indeed bucked the trend with at least 3 of their 4 choices for acting awards – finally The Proposition is remembered and Dick Pope gets a worthy kudos for Best Cinematography for The Illusionist. Here are San Diego Film Critics Society top choices of the year. Best Film: Letters From Iwo Jima Best Director: Clint Eastwood Best Actor: Ken Takakura - Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles Best Actress: Helen Mirren - The Queen Best Supporting Actor: Ray Winstone - The Proposition Best Supporting Actress: Lili Taylor - Factotum Best Ensemble Performance: Babel Best Original Screenplay: Karen Moncrieff - The Dead Girl Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman Thank You for Smoking Best Non-Fiction Film: Shut Up & Sing Best Animated Film: Cars Best Cinematography: Dick Pope The Illusionist Best Editing: Christopher Rouse,
- 12/21/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
- Quick Links > Bent Hamer > Factotum> Matt Dillon> Lili TaylorThere is a mark of pride among artists, writers in particular, who could fill multiple volumes with their employment histories. I remember reading a novel by a sci-fi/fantasy/pulp author named Steve Perry (The Man Who Never Missed -- highly recommended, think Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha in outer space with guns and kung-fu), who, in the bio at the end of one his novels listed the variety of jobs he’d held previous to becoming a professional writer. At least a dozen were listed, everything from hospital gift show cashier to martial arts instructor. C.J. Henderson, a New York based hard-boiled horror author and film critic (and an acquaintance of mine), lists nearly thirty different jobs he’s held on the bio section of his website. The thing about writing is that it usually doesn’t pay very well,
- 8/27/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
- Midway point There’s plenty of famous people to bump into and a great spirit that runs throughout Park City – taking the bus is actually fun!? As I’m writing this I’m sitting on a couch at the press headquarters with director Hany Abu-Assad of Paradise Now) and Luca Matrundola (middle) from DViant Films who’ll be producing his next picture – (look for his next film to be just as controversial as his Berlin winner). Dude pointing finger = Idiot. So far my favorite films have been The Science of Sleep for sheer brilliance, followed by the true gem so far is found in the teacher and student pairing found in Half Nelson, with great marks going to House of Sand for its visual poetry and surprising use of actresses, to Factotum just because Bent Hamer knows how to make me laugh (apparently the folks at IFC
- 1/24/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
- This year Ioncinema.com is covering the 2006 edition of the Sundance Film Festival Live from Park City, Utah. Weâ.ll be on hand to cover the festival, and while we wonâ.t be able to cover everything from A to Z: here is a comprehensive beforehand look at the selections in each of the festivalâ.s sections. (Note: To access individual preview pages, simply click on the links below) January 19th to the 29th, 2006Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 19, 2006'); A Matter of Degrees - Davis Guggenheim Adam's Apples - Anders Thomas Jensen All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise - Shari Cookson Battle in Heaven - Carlos Reygadas Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs In On Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture - Byron Hurt Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon - Peter Richardson Dreamland - Jason Matzner Ev Confidential: Who Killed the Electric Car? - Chris Paine Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out
- 1/16/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
COLOGNE, Germany -- German police have searched the offices and home of producer Rainer Mockert as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud and document falsification at private-investment film fund MBP, the Munich prosecutors office said in an interview. MBP shareholders are meeting Thursday in Munich and is expected to vote to dismiss Mockert (Last Orders, Taking Sides) as managing director. MBP, which helped back such indie features as Last Orders, Factotum and the upcoming Mee-Shee: The Water Giant, is the latest German fund to come under legal scrutiny. Last month, VIP, Germany's largest private-investment film fund, was shuttered, and VIP managing director Andreas Schmid was arrested (HR 10/5).
- 11/11/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- German police have searched the offices and home of producer Rainer Mockert as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud and document falsification at private-investment film fund MBP, the Munich prosecutors office said in an interview. The MBP executive board is meeting Wednesday in Munich and is expected to vote to dismiss Mockert (Last Orders, Taking Sides) as managing director. MBP, which helped back such indie features as Last Orders, Factotum and the upcoming Mee-Shee: The Water Giant, is the latest German fund to come under legal scrutiny. Last month, VIP, Germany's largest private-investment film fund, was shuttered, and VIP managing director Andreas Schmid was arrested (HR 10/5).
- 11/9/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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