Chernobyl director Johan Renck and production partner Michael Parets will adapt Andrew O’Hagan’s new epic British novel Caledonian Road for TV.
Recently published by Faber to rave reviews, Caledonian Road is a Dickensian tale of the rise and fall of Campbell Flynn, an art historian and celebrity intellectual, told against the backdrop of modern-day Britain and the deep-set corruption at the heart of the ruling class. O’Hagan is a three-time Booker Prize nominee (for Our Fathers, Be Near Me and The Illuminations). His last novel, Mayflies, was adapted as a drama series by BBC in 2022 starring Martin Compston, Tony Curran and Ashley Jensen.
Parets and Renck will produce Caledonian Road through their Fremantle-backed production company Sinestra, with Renck set to direct. Emmy-winning showrunner Will Smith (Veep, The Think of It, Slow Horses) will adapt the book for the screen. O’Hagan will serve as executive producer.
“We’ve...
Recently published by Faber to rave reviews, Caledonian Road is a Dickensian tale of the rise and fall of Campbell Flynn, an art historian and celebrity intellectual, told against the backdrop of modern-day Britain and the deep-set corruption at the heart of the ruling class. O’Hagan is a three-time Booker Prize nominee (for Our Fathers, Be Near Me and The Illuminations). His last novel, Mayflies, was adapted as a drama series by BBC in 2022 starring Martin Compston, Tony Curran and Ashley Jensen.
Parets and Renck will produce Caledonian Road through their Fremantle-backed production company Sinestra, with Renck set to direct. Emmy-winning showrunner Will Smith (Veep, The Think of It, Slow Horses) will adapt the book for the screen. O’Hagan will serve as executive producer.
“We’ve...
- 4/8/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actor Raj Arjun, who is receiving a lot of positive response for his work in Telugu film ‘Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad’, has said that his character in the film is a barbarian without any emotions, and has similarities with Hitler and Saddam Hussein.
In the film, he essays the role of Kasim Razvi, a politician in the then princely state of Hyderabad. He was the president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party from December 1946 till the state’s liberation in 1948. He was also the founder of the Razakar militia in the state.
About his character, he said: “When you get into the psychology of the character, you cannot be away from the impression or impact it leaves on you, and so has Kasim Razvi’s portrayal in ‘Razakar’ done to me. I’m slowly breaking from the aura that Kasim Razvi has instilled in me. I believe this is...
In the film, he essays the role of Kasim Razvi, a politician in the then princely state of Hyderabad. He was the president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party from December 1946 till the state’s liberation in 1948. He was also the founder of the Razakar militia in the state.
About his character, he said: “When you get into the psychology of the character, you cannot be away from the impression or impact it leaves on you, and so has Kasim Razvi’s portrayal in ‘Razakar’ done to me. I’m slowly breaking from the aura that Kasim Razvi has instilled in me. I believe this is...
- 3/20/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
In Spaceman, Adam Sandler joins a long line of lonely men lost in space, a proud cinematic tradition going back past Ryan Gosling’s First Man, Brad Pitt in Ad Astra, Sam Rockwell in Moon, and Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar to the crew in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris.
The latest in this sci-fi linage, adapted from Jaroslav Kalfar’s novel Spaceman of Bohemia, is set in an alternative future where the Czechs are frontrunners in the space race and their national hero is Jakub (Sandler), a cosmonaut on a solo mission to investigate a mysterious dust cloud on the edge of Jupiter that might just hold the secrets of the universe.
But millions of miles away from home, and from his pregnant wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), Jakub is consumed by loneliness and existential angst. Enter a huge, telepathic and empathetic space spider, voiced by Paul Dano, who promises to help...
The latest in this sci-fi linage, adapted from Jaroslav Kalfar’s novel Spaceman of Bohemia, is set in an alternative future where the Czechs are frontrunners in the space race and their national hero is Jakub (Sandler), a cosmonaut on a solo mission to investigate a mysterious dust cloud on the edge of Jupiter that might just hold the secrets of the universe.
But millions of miles away from home, and from his pregnant wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), Jakub is consumed by loneliness and existential angst. Enter a huge, telepathic and empathetic space spider, voiced by Paul Dano, who promises to help...
- 2/18/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Barry Keoghan is staying booked and busy!
Fresh off the success of Saltburn and Masters of the Air, the 31-year-old actor has lined up his next big role: He’ll be playing an American soldier in the new movie Amo Saddam.
From director Johan Renck, the movie will chart follow Saddam Hussein and the American guards who watched him in the time leading up to his execution. It is based on Will Bardenwerper‘s best-seller The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid.
While the book will cover a time of war, Johan explained that it will not be a stereotypical war movie.
Keep reading to find out more…
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news and revealed Barry‘s casting.
Johan told the outlet that the movie will be set in 2006 and will take place at Camp Victory, which was right outside Baghdad.
Fresh off the success of Saltburn and Masters of the Air, the 31-year-old actor has lined up his next big role: He’ll be playing an American soldier in the new movie Amo Saddam.
From director Johan Renck, the movie will chart follow Saddam Hussein and the American guards who watched him in the time leading up to his execution. It is based on Will Bardenwerper‘s best-seller The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid.
While the book will cover a time of war, Johan explained that it will not be a stereotypical war movie.
Keep reading to find out more…
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news and revealed Barry‘s casting.
Johan told the outlet that the movie will be set in 2006 and will take place at Camp Victory, which was right outside Baghdad.
- 2/15/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Add another one to it-actor Barry Keoghan‘s upcoming film list. THR reports that the “Saltburn” actor will star in the latest movie from “Chernobyl” director Johan Renck, “Amo Saddam.” Keoghan will star as an American soldier tasked with guardian the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the months before his trial and execution. No word yet on who will be play Hussein.
Continue reading ‘Amo Saddam’: Barry Keoghan To Star In ‘Chernboyl’ Director Johan Renck’s Movie About The Final Days Of Saddam Hussein at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Amo Saddam’: Barry Keoghan To Star In ‘Chernboyl’ Director Johan Renck’s Movie About The Final Days Of Saddam Hussein at The Playlist.
- 2/15/2024
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
The Banshees of Inisherin actor Barry Keoghan is set to star in Amo Saddam, the new film from Chernobyl director Johan Renck about the final days of Saddam Hussein.
Keoghan will play an American soldier tasked with guarding the ousted Iraqi dictator in the months before his trial and execution. The film is based on Will Bardenwerper’s bestselling book The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, an account of the 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded Hussein through his trial for crimes against humanity.
“In the six months preceding Saddam’s execution, our soldier grows close to Saddam, sharing the stale air of a bombed-out palace turned into a high-security prison whilst navigating the fine line separating fact and fiction,” reads the blurb for the project. “Amo Saddam attempts to reckon with the American imperial machine that has come to define the 21st century.
Keoghan will play an American soldier tasked with guarding the ousted Iraqi dictator in the months before his trial and execution. The film is based on Will Bardenwerper’s bestselling book The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, an account of the 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded Hussein through his trial for crimes against humanity.
“In the six months preceding Saddam’s execution, our soldier grows close to Saddam, sharing the stale air of a bombed-out palace turned into a high-security prison whilst navigating the fine line separating fact and fiction,” reads the blurb for the project. “Amo Saddam attempts to reckon with the American imperial machine that has come to define the 21st century.
- 2/15/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Back in 2002, Toby Keith appeared on the very first episode of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling to perform his song “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)” — only to be interrupted midway through by the dastardly wrestler Jeff Jarrett. There is maybe no better metaphor for the kitschy nationalist spectacle of the era. A few years before, a heel in wrestling might have incited boos and jeers from the crowd by burning an American flag. But in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, you make them hate you by interrupting a Toby Keith concert.
- 2/7/2024
- by Nadine Smith
- Rollingstone.com
Winner of Best Feature Film in last years Red Sea International Film Festival and one of the 20 Best West-Central Asian Films of 2022 in our list in Asian Movie Pulse, “Hanging Gardens” continues its effort to be included in the nominations for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, as Iraq's official selection.
Film Review: Hanging Gardens (2022) by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
As Panos Kotzathanasis wrote about the film last year, Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji creates a film that retains an excellent balance between a coming-of-age movie and a commentary about life in present Iraq, all the while entertaining his audience through both humor and drama. Evidently, the concept of the two young ‘pimps' of a sex doll is what sets the story apart through its uniqueness, but this is just the top of the iceberg of a rather layered narrative that “hides” many of its comments inside its details.
Film Review: Hanging Gardens (2022) by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
As Panos Kotzathanasis wrote about the film last year, Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji creates a film that retains an excellent balance between a coming-of-age movie and a commentary about life in present Iraq, all the while entertaining his audience through both humor and drama. Evidently, the concept of the two young ‘pimps' of a sex doll is what sets the story apart through its uniqueness, but this is just the top of the iceberg of a rather layered narrative that “hides” many of its comments inside its details.
- 12/9/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Iraqi director Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji — who in 2022 won the Red Sea Film Festival’s top prize with “Hanging Gardens” — will next direct black comedy ”Madness and Honey Days,” in which an audacious theatre director offends Saddam Hussein on stage and winds up in a psychiatric hospital to avoid a punishment of tongue-cutting followed by the death sentence.
Segueing from “Hanging Gardens,” Iraq’s international Oscar contender, in which a 12-year-old boy finds a discarded American sex doll amid the Baghdad trash and then becomes caught in military crossfire, Al-Daradji is continuing to work with tropes that stem from the absurdities and atrocities of his home country’s recent past.
Speaking on the sidelines of this year’s Red Sea Fest, the director recalled how the story for “Madness and Honey Days” came to him.
“When I was in Baghdad not long ago, I remembered one of my aunts who lost...
Segueing from “Hanging Gardens,” Iraq’s international Oscar contender, in which a 12-year-old boy finds a discarded American sex doll amid the Baghdad trash and then becomes caught in military crossfire, Al-Daradji is continuing to work with tropes that stem from the absurdities and atrocities of his home country’s recent past.
Speaking on the sidelines of this year’s Red Sea Fest, the director recalled how the story for “Madness and Honey Days” came to him.
“When I was in Baghdad not long ago, I remembered one of my aunts who lost...
- 12/7/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
As with all the middle-Eastern dictators (or whichever other terms you deem proper) Saddam Hussein was an enigmatic figure whose endeavors resulted in both till-death followers and sworn enemies. Halkawt Mustafa manages to shed light to the man probably more than ever, by documenting the words of Alaa Namiq, now 50, who hid Saddam for a staggering 235 days before the Americans tracked him down in 2003, executing him three years later. Halkawt Mustafa persuaded Namiq to tell his story for the first time in this startling documentary, which took 10 years to make and was necessarily shrouded in so much secrecy that even the crew did not know the real subject of the film they were making.
Hiding Saddam Hussein is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
Halkawt Mustafa creates an amalgam of a documentary, including a number of different elements, in an approach that works quite well for the film. Of course,...
Hiding Saddam Hussein is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
Halkawt Mustafa creates an amalgam of a documentary, including a number of different elements, in an approach that works quite well for the film. Of course,...
- 12/3/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s a busy year for the Red Sea Souk, the market arm of the Red Sea Film Festival dedicated to discovering new Arab and African talent. The same could have been said of every year of the market’s three-year history, however, with Saudi Arabia’s lightning-fast film industry solidifying the Souk as the principal film market for the Middle East and North Africa.
The third edition of the Souk, taking place between Dec. 2-5, marks the first time the market held an open call for submissions. Previously, selection happened directly or through the Red Sea Fund. According to Red Sea Souk manager Zain Zedan, the response to the open call was overwhelmingly positive.
“We had over 300 submissions, a great number for our first call. It also gives us an indication that there is a lot of interest as people are seeing what the Souk has done in the previous two years.
The third edition of the Souk, taking place between Dec. 2-5, marks the first time the market held an open call for submissions. Previously, selection happened directly or through the Red Sea Fund. According to Red Sea Souk manager Zain Zedan, the response to the open call was overwhelmingly positive.
“We had over 300 submissions, a great number for our first call. It also gives us an indication that there is a lot of interest as people are seeing what the Souk has done in the previous two years.
- 12/2/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
It was one of the largest manhunts in history. Having been ousted from power following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, the country’s once all-powerful and ruthless leader, went into hiding as an estimated 150,000 troops scoured the land for the individual known as “High-Value Target Number One.”
Incredibly, Hussein evaded capture for almost eight months, famously emerging disheveled and bearded from a tiny purpose-built hole under a flower bed near the town of Tikrit. Three years later, he was hanged.
But who dug the hole for Hussein? Who helped keep him hidden from the U.S. army despite a $25 million reward? In Halkawt Mustafa’s feature doc Hiding Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish/Norwegian filmmaker lets Alaa Namiq tell his incredible story on camera for the first time, explaining how the toppled dictator turned up at his farm unannounced and then spent an incredible 235 days there before he was found.
Incredibly, Hussein evaded capture for almost eight months, famously emerging disheveled and bearded from a tiny purpose-built hole under a flower bed near the town of Tikrit. Three years later, he was hanged.
But who dug the hole for Hussein? Who helped keep him hidden from the U.S. army despite a $25 million reward? In Halkawt Mustafa’s feature doc Hiding Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish/Norwegian filmmaker lets Alaa Namiq tell his incredible story on camera for the first time, explaining how the toppled dictator turned up at his farm unannounced and then spent an incredible 235 days there before he was found.
- 12/1/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
South Park is not what you would consider a sentimental show. Yet, for the many years the animated classic has been on the air, it’s proven that it has a soft spot for holiday joy. Sure, that soft spot just happens to include a sentient Christmas turd but that’s just the closest you’re going to get to ooey-gooey feelings with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
In its earlier seasons, South Park‘s schedule often ran through December and the show was happy to provide viewers with an accompanying Christmas special. Christmas episodes have become rarer for the series since but there are still at least 10 distinct holiday installments in the show’s canon…and that’s not even including “The Spirit of Christmas” short from 1995 that would eventually become South Park.
In the spirit of the season, we decided to go ahead and rank all of the South Park Christmas specials!
In its earlier seasons, South Park‘s schedule often ran through December and the show was happy to provide viewers with an accompanying Christmas special. Christmas episodes have become rarer for the series since but there are still at least 10 distinct holiday installments in the show’s canon…and that’s not even including “The Spirit of Christmas” short from 1995 that would eventually become South Park.
In the spirit of the season, we decided to go ahead and rank all of the South Park Christmas specials!
- 11/13/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Maysoon Pachachi’s debut fiction film explores the lives of intertwined characters living in Baghdad during the US occupation in 2006
By the time Saddam Hussein was executed in December 2006, Iraq had experienced the “most intense” year of sectarian violence since the US-led invasion three years earlier.
It’s why the Iraqi filmmaker Maysoon Pachachi chose that year in which to set her fictional film about Baghdad under the US occupation. There’s no main character but instead an ensemble of people, residents of one neighbourhood whose lives are intertwined in one way or another, and punctuated by violence and curfews.
By the time Saddam Hussein was executed in December 2006, Iraq had experienced the “most intense” year of sectarian violence since the US-led invasion three years earlier.
It’s why the Iraqi filmmaker Maysoon Pachachi chose that year in which to set her fictional film about Baghdad under the US occupation. There’s no main character but instead an ensemble of people, residents of one neighbourhood whose lives are intertwined in one way or another, and punctuated by violence and curfews.
- 10/24/2023
- by Saeed Kamali Dehghan
- The Guardian - Film News
Maysoon Pachachi’s fiction debut, set in Baghdad in 2006, focuses on individuals behind the headlines, with the river Tigris a recurring symbol
After the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the images of the country that circulated in mainstream media were of destruction and violence, and a sensationalised visual landscape that robbed locals of their individuality. Shot on location in Iraq, this compelling fiction debut from seasoned documentary-maker Maysoon Pachachi paints a slice-of-life portrait of a mixed Baghdad neighbourhood during the tumultuous final week of 2006, a year memorably ended by the execution of Saddam Hussein.
Save for a scene where a bargeman fishes out of the water the body of a woman presumably killed for her association with foreign forces, Our River … Our Sky alludes to the horrors of war and sectarian violence in subtle and non-explicit terms. Booming over the ordinary activities of children playing or family meals are the...
After the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the images of the country that circulated in mainstream media were of destruction and violence, and a sensationalised visual landscape that robbed locals of their individuality. Shot on location in Iraq, this compelling fiction debut from seasoned documentary-maker Maysoon Pachachi paints a slice-of-life portrait of a mixed Baghdad neighbourhood during the tumultuous final week of 2006, a year memorably ended by the execution of Saddam Hussein.
Save for a scene where a bargeman fishes out of the water the body of a woman presumably killed for her association with foreign forces, Our River … Our Sky alludes to the horrors of war and sectarian violence in subtle and non-explicit terms. Booming over the ordinary activities of children playing or family meals are the...
- 10/16/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Also programmes IDFA on Stage events, plus Paradocs and queer programme.
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has selected 35 feature films across its Luminous and Frontlight sections, including new films from Albania, South Africa and Panama.
The Luminous section includes non-fiction titles with a range of styles and formalistic approaches, and consists of 23 films, 22 of which are world or international premieres and 20 of which are features.
Titles include Zikethiwe Ngcobo and Chloe White’s South Africa-uk co-production 1001 Days, about the young mothers struggling to raise their children amid unemployment, poverty, disease and domestic violence in Johannesburg. The film, with Zulu and English-language dialogue,...
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has selected 35 feature films across its Luminous and Frontlight sections, including new films from Albania, South Africa and Panama.
The Luminous section includes non-fiction titles with a range of styles and formalistic approaches, and consists of 23 films, 22 of which are world or international premieres and 20 of which are features.
Titles include Zikethiwe Ngcobo and Chloe White’s South Africa-uk co-production 1001 Days, about the young mothers struggling to raise their children amid unemployment, poverty, disease and domestic violence in Johannesburg. The film, with Zulu and English-language dialogue,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
“Madness and Honey Days,” to be directed by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji, was Tuesday named the winner of the top-ranking Busan Award at the Asian Project Market, an offshoot of the Busan International Film Festival. But “Filipinana” was the numerical winner. To be directed by Rafael Manuel, the project won three prizes.
Other projects to claim multiple awards were: “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” to be directed by Japan’s Hirose Nanako; and “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” to be directed by mainland China’s Jiang Xiaoxuan.
Seeking a $1.1 million budget, “Madness and Honey Days” is a tragicomedy in which a man, after unintentionally cursing at President Saddam Hussein, must convince a Baathist court that he is insane if he hopes to escape the death penalty. During the last months before the fall of Saddam, he must live in a Baghdad psychiatric hospital and struggle to maintain his sanity,...
Other projects to claim multiple awards were: “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” to be directed by Japan’s Hirose Nanako; and “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” to be directed by mainland China’s Jiang Xiaoxuan.
Seeking a $1.1 million budget, “Madness and Honey Days” is a tragicomedy in which a man, after unintentionally cursing at President Saddam Hussein, must convince a Baathist court that he is insane if he hopes to escape the death penalty. During the last months before the fall of Saddam, he must live in a Baghdad psychiatric hospital and struggle to maintain his sanity,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival is back after a one-year hiatus with a rich mix of Arabic and international titles launching into the Middle East and plenty of promising projects from Arab countries set to be unveiled to prospective partners at its CineGouna industry side.
The event launched in 2017 by Egyptian telecom billionaire Naguib Sawiris – whose brother Samih built the El Gouna resort in a swathe of desert near the tourist town of Hurghada 250 miles south of Cairo – was put on pause in 2022 ostensibly due to the country’s economic crisis following five editions during which fest co-founder Amr Mansi and chief Intishal Al Timimi had managed to rapidly put El Gouna on the international festival map while also making it a favourite with the local crowd.
“If there is a positive from the fact that we were forced to skip a year it’s that we were sorely...
The event launched in 2017 by Egyptian telecom billionaire Naguib Sawiris – whose brother Samih built the El Gouna resort in a swathe of desert near the tourist town of Hurghada 250 miles south of Cairo – was put on pause in 2022 ostensibly due to the country’s economic crisis following five editions during which fest co-founder Amr Mansi and chief Intishal Al Timimi had managed to rapidly put El Gouna on the international festival map while also making it a favourite with the local crowd.
“If there is a positive from the fact that we were forced to skip a year it’s that we were sorely...
- 10/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The ExorcistPhoto: Bettmann (Getty Images)
Nosferatu, the original vampire movie, set in motion the cinematic tropes of the subgenre, and since then many subsequent movies have done great things with its concepts, from Universal’s Dracula to Fright Night. John Carpenter’s Halloween crystallized everything we now associate with the slasher subgenre,...
Nosferatu, the original vampire movie, set in motion the cinematic tropes of the subgenre, and since then many subsequent movies have done great things with its concepts, from Universal’s Dracula to Fright Night. John Carpenter’s Halloween crystallized everything we now associate with the slasher subgenre,...
- 10/2/2023
- by Luke Y. Thompson
- avclub.com
Since his breakthrough 1994 feature Once Were Warriors, a troubling and fiery coming-of-age story indie set in New Zealand’s Maōri community, Lee Tamahori has almost exclusively resided in the realm of pulpy B-grade action cinema. From directing Pierce Brosnan’s final Bond in Die Another Day to Ice Cube in XXX: State of the Union to making a Guy Ritchie-lite actioner about Saddam Hussein’s son (The Devil’s Double), Tamahori has a strong familiarity with cheesy espionage plotlines and passable entertainment. Both sides of Tamahori’s filmography come together in his latest historical epic The Convert––results are expectedly mixed.
Presented in a decidedly prestige manner with sweeping camerawork and a plotline that decides to burn slow in building the relationships of its characters, The Convert tells of John Munro (Guy Pearce), a British preacher who is brought to the settlement of Epworth to help serve the community of settlers there.
Presented in a decidedly prestige manner with sweeping camerawork and a plotline that decides to burn slow in building the relationships of its characters, The Convert tells of John Munro (Guy Pearce), a British preacher who is brought to the settlement of Epworth to help serve the community of settlers there.
- 9/25/2023
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic will preside over the main jury of the 6th edition of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which has announced its full lineup, featuring a rich mix of Arabic and international titles making their Middle East premieres as they compete for top prizes.
Following a one-year hiatus, the Oct. 13-20 event held in the Red Sea resort about 250 miles south of Cairo is back in full swing with founder and director Intishal Al Timimi firmly at the helm bolstered by widely respected Egyptian producer-director Marianne Khoury in the artistic director chair.
Alongside a roster of previously announced international festival circuit standouts competing for El Gouna awards, such as Justine Triet’s Cannes Palm d’Or-winning “Anatomy of a Fall,” Todd Haynes’ “May December” and Luc Besson’s “Dogman,” which was announced today, the new Arabic additions to El Gouna’s competition selection comprise the world premiere...
Following a one-year hiatus, the Oct. 13-20 event held in the Red Sea resort about 250 miles south of Cairo is back in full swing with founder and director Intishal Al Timimi firmly at the helm bolstered by widely respected Egyptian producer-director Marianne Khoury in the artistic director chair.
Alongside a roster of previously announced international festival circuit standouts competing for El Gouna awards, such as Justine Triet’s Cannes Palm d’Or-winning “Anatomy of a Fall,” Todd Haynes’ “May December” and Luc Besson’s “Dogman,” which was announced today, the new Arabic additions to El Gouna’s competition selection comprise the world premiere...
- 9/18/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Story of expert who knew Saddam Hussein had no chemical weapons, but was ousted to give Bush and Blair a pretext for invading Iraq, plays out like a real-life version of George Clooney’s Syriana
‘Power is power” is the send-off lament of this Brazilian documentary, which looks back at a nearly forgotten episode in the long preamble to the second Iraq war, of 2003-11, one of breathtaking cynicism. The film centres on Brazilian diplomat José Bustani, who in 1997 was made director general of the intergovernmental Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (Opcw). In the flush of 90s global village optimism, it was a utopian attempt to abolish this sadistic category of armaments once and for all.
After early success bringing many countries into the fold, Bustani attempted to get Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to accede to the organisation’s Chemical Weapons Convention. The Opcw knew that the first...
‘Power is power” is the send-off lament of this Brazilian documentary, which looks back at a nearly forgotten episode in the long preamble to the second Iraq war, of 2003-11, one of breathtaking cynicism. The film centres on Brazilian diplomat José Bustani, who in 1997 was made director general of the intergovernmental Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (Opcw). In the flush of 90s global village optimism, it was a utopian attempt to abolish this sadistic category of armaments once and for all.
After early success bringing many countries into the fold, Bustani attempted to get Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to accede to the organisation’s Chemical Weapons Convention. The Opcw knew that the first...
- 9/13/2023
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Spy Ops Episode 6 ended with Israel and Palestine finally coming to terms and recognizing each other as independent states. Tensions had risen since the assassination of Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the last members of Black September to be neutralized by the Mossad. Thankfully, by the year 1993, both countries had seen better times. Spy Ops Episode 7 is about how rebuilding Afghanistan was a crucial task for the CIA. This episode can very well be treated as an extension of the first episode, Operation Jawbreaker.
What Happened After Taliban’s Fall?
Spy Ops Episode 7 begins with many experts coming forward to talk about how Afghanistan was completely ruined by the Taliban. They managed to leave Afghanistan centuries behind because they followed medieval laws, which have no place in the current century. The members who joined and were trained by the Taliban were completely brainwashed to follow a set of rules without questioning their validity.
What Happened After Taliban’s Fall?
Spy Ops Episode 7 begins with many experts coming forward to talk about how Afghanistan was completely ruined by the Taliban. They managed to leave Afghanistan centuries behind because they followed medieval laws, which have no place in the current century. The members who joined and were trained by the Taliban were completely brainwashed to follow a set of rules without questioning their validity.
- 9/11/2023
- by Smriti Kannan
- Film Fugitives
Once you’ve spent six episodes snarking on the likes of Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, the idea of wringing wry laughter out of a few cult leaders must not seem intimidating.
At the same time, once you’ve spent six episodes snarking on the likes of Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, how much challenge is there in poking fun at colorfully outsize personalities and their devoted followers when they’ve already been the butt of jokes for, in some cases, generations?
Those two statements are, respectively, the principle behind and the primary limitation to Netflix’s new six-episode documentary-comedy How to Become a Cult Leader, a follow-up in tone, style and structure to 2021’s How to Become a Tyrant.
Boasting a common production team led by Jake Laufer, Jonas Bell Pasht and Jonah Bekhor, as well as the invaluable support of narrator and executive producer Peter Dinklage,...
At the same time, once you’ve spent six episodes snarking on the likes of Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, how much challenge is there in poking fun at colorfully outsize personalities and their devoted followers when they’ve already been the butt of jokes for, in some cases, generations?
Those two statements are, respectively, the principle behind and the primary limitation to Netflix’s new six-episode documentary-comedy How to Become a Cult Leader, a follow-up in tone, style and structure to 2021’s How to Become a Tyrant.
Boasting a common production team led by Jake Laufer, Jonas Bell Pasht and Jonah Bekhor, as well as the invaluable support of narrator and executive producer Peter Dinklage,...
- 7/27/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
George Alagiah, one of the BBC’s longest serving journalists and a fixture on U.K. TV news for more than three decades, has died. He was 67.
The BBC confirmed that Alagiah — who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014 — passed away on Monday, July 24.
“Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time,” said BBC director-general Tim Davie.
“George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly. He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss him enormously.”
Born in Sri Lanka before moving to Ghana and then England in childhood, Alagiah joined the BBC as a foreign affairs correspondent in 1989 and then became Africa correspondent.
The BBC confirmed that Alagiah — who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014 — passed away on Monday, July 24.
“Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time,” said BBC director-general Tim Davie.
“George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly. He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss him enormously.”
Born in Sri Lanka before moving to Ghana and then England in childhood, Alagiah joined the BBC as a foreign affairs correspondent in 1989 and then became Africa correspondent.
- 7/24/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Respected BBC journalist and presenter George Alagiah died of bowel cancer on July 24. He was 67.
BBC director general Tim Davie said: “Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time. George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly. He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss him enormously.”
Alagiah reported and presented for the BBC for more than three decades, presenting the BBC “News at Six” for the past 20 years. He was an award-winning foreign correspondent previously.
Born in Sri Lanka before moving to Ghana and then England in childhood, Alagiah joined the BBC as a foreign affairs correspondent in...
BBC director general Tim Davie said: “Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time. George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly. He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss him enormously.”
Alagiah reported and presented for the BBC for more than three decades, presenting the BBC “News at Six” for the past 20 years. He was an award-winning foreign correspondent previously.
Born in Sri Lanka before moving to Ghana and then England in childhood, Alagiah joined the BBC as a foreign affairs correspondent in...
- 7/24/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Latif al-Ani has been documenting his country since the 1950s, with many of his subjects now destroyed. Sadly, not too much is excavated here
Known as “the father of Iraqi photography”, Latif al-Ani began his career in the 1950s while employed by the British-run Iraq Petroleum Company. Working for its in-house publication, al-Ani fixed his lens on a nation in transition; as his camera took in the new industrial infrastructures and a robust cosmopolitan culture, the 1958 Iraqi military coup occurred, the first of many regime changes that would for ever alter the look of the country.
Now in his late 80s, al-Ani returns to some of the locations from his photographs of a bygone Iraq for Sahim Omar Kalifa and Jurgen Buedts’s documentary. During his time at the ministry of culture and his post as the official photographer for various presidents – including Saddam Hussein – his body of work was journalistic,...
Known as “the father of Iraqi photography”, Latif al-Ani began his career in the 1950s while employed by the British-run Iraq Petroleum Company. Working for its in-house publication, al-Ani fixed his lens on a nation in transition; as his camera took in the new industrial infrastructures and a robust cosmopolitan culture, the 1958 Iraqi military coup occurred, the first of many regime changes that would for ever alter the look of the country.
Now in his late 80s, al-Ani returns to some of the locations from his photographs of a bygone Iraq for Sahim Omar Kalifa and Jurgen Buedts’s documentary. During his time at the ministry of culture and his post as the official photographer for various presidents – including Saddam Hussein – his body of work was journalistic,...
- 7/18/2023
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Iraqi film director and writer Amer Alwan, whose moving drama “Zaman, the Man From the Reeds” was shot right before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and had its North-American premiere at Tribeca in 2004, has died at 66.
Alwan, who had long been living in France, died surrounded by family at the Simone Veil Hospital in the French town of Eaubonne on July 4 after battling an unspecified form of cancer for a year, his daughter, Camille Alwan, said by email. He was buried at Saint-Ouen Cemetery in Paris.
Born in Babylon-Hills, Iraq, in 1957, Alwan graduated from Iraq’s National School of Drama and Arts and continued his studies at the Audio Visual School of Baghdad, which led to him doing TV work in Iraq. Then in 1980, he left Iraq to earn an advanced degree in philosophy of art and society from Paris’ prestigious Sorbonne university.
After making several shorts, Alwan...
Alwan, who had long been living in France, died surrounded by family at the Simone Veil Hospital in the French town of Eaubonne on July 4 after battling an unspecified form of cancer for a year, his daughter, Camille Alwan, said by email. He was buried at Saint-Ouen Cemetery in Paris.
Born in Babylon-Hills, Iraq, in 1957, Alwan graduated from Iraq’s National School of Drama and Arts and continued his studies at the Audio Visual School of Baghdad, which led to him doing TV work in Iraq. Then in 1980, he left Iraq to earn an advanced degree in philosophy of art and society from Paris’ prestigious Sorbonne university.
After making several shorts, Alwan...
- 7/14/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
It is, unignorably, right there in the title: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical. The 1996 American movie adaptation of Dahl’s 1988 children’s book might have snuck by under the unassuming name of just plain Matilda, but the 2022 film version came with a warning: this is a Roald Dahl tale; expect pain.
Dahl stories don’t shield young readers from danger, they delight in showing it off from every angle. His imaginary worlds aren’t places of safety where adults are uniformly kind and kids are adored, they’re places where cruelty thrives… until it’s made to stop. Sadistic teachers, nasty grandmothers, giant bullies and abusive aunts all operate with impunity, right up until the point that they’re dealt with. Ejected with telekinesis, shrunk by a magical potion, trapped in a massive pit, crushed to death by a giant peach… Goodness wins out, but first, it has a fight on its hands.
Dahl stories don’t shield young readers from danger, they delight in showing it off from every angle. His imaginary worlds aren’t places of safety where adults are uniformly kind and kids are adored, they’re places where cruelty thrives… until it’s made to stop. Sadistic teachers, nasty grandmothers, giant bullies and abusive aunts all operate with impunity, right up until the point that they’re dealt with. Ejected with telekinesis, shrunk by a magical potion, trapped in a massive pit, crushed to death by a giant peach… Goodness wins out, but first, it has a fight on its hands.
- 6/28/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Hossein Khosrow Vaziri, the Iran-born wrestler known as the Iron Sheik, who channeled America’s hatred of his homeland to build a career as one of the most despised ring villains of his era, died Wednesday. He was 81.
“Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling,” read a statement posted to the Iron Sheik’s Twitter account announcing his death. The WWE also paid tribute on Twitter; a cause of death was not disclosed.
A former bodyguard for the Shah of Iran, Vaziri came to the U.S. in the late 1960s. For his wrestling persona, he shaved his head, grew a mustache, sported a ghutra headdress and curled-toe boots, and swung a pair of 75-pound Persian meels above his head as a demonstration of his strength.
“Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling,” read a statement posted to the Iron Sheik’s Twitter account announcing his death. The WWE also paid tribute on Twitter; a cause of death was not disclosed.
A former bodyguard for the Shah of Iran, Vaziri came to the U.S. in the late 1960s. For his wrestling persona, he shaved his head, grew a mustache, sported a ghutra headdress and curled-toe boots, and swung a pair of 75-pound Persian meels above his head as a demonstration of his strength.
- 6/7/2023
- by Rhett Bartlett
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sinestra, the production banner launched by Chernobyl director Johan Renck and producer Michael Parets, has teamed with entertainment giant Fremantle to option Rouge, the upcoming novel from bestselling Canadian author Mona Awad, for film following a competitive auction.
Described as “Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut,” Rouge is a horror-tinted gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Set in California, the story explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry — as well as “the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze.”
Set to be published in September this year by Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books, Rouge is the latest novel from Awad, behind All’s Well, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Bunny, which was listed among the best book of 2019 by Time, Vogue and the New York Public Library.
Described as “Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut,” Rouge is a horror-tinted gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Set in California, the story explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry — as well as “the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze.”
Set to be published in September this year by Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books, Rouge is the latest novel from Awad, behind All’s Well, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Bunny, which was listed among the best book of 2019 by Time, Vogue and the New York Public Library.
- 4/14/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Husband-and-wife duo the War and Treaty stopped by the Jennifer Hudson Show Thursday to perform their “Have You a Heart,” the closing track on their recently released major label debut Lover’s Game.
Prior to the performance, Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter sat down with J-Hud, who revealed that Tanya had a small part in the Whoopi Goldberg comedy Sister Act 2. As Tanya explained, the role came down to her and Lauryn Hill, and while the future Fugees singer ultimately got the part, Goldberg made sure Tanya appeared in...
Prior to the performance, Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter sat down with J-Hud, who revealed that Tanya had a small part in the Whoopi Goldberg comedy Sister Act 2. As Tanya explained, the role came down to her and Lauryn Hill, and while the future Fugees singer ultimately got the part, Goldberg made sure Tanya appeared in...
- 4/6/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
’The Prisoner in His Palace’ is based on accounts of the US soldiers who guarded Iraqi ruler before his execution.
Chernobyl director Johan Renck is planning a feature film about the last days of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Renck and producer Michael Parets’ Fremantle-backed production outfit Sinestra is adapting Will Bardenwerper’s book, The Prisoner in His Palace, an account of the 12 US soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months before his execution.
The Prisoner in His Palace will be produced by Parets and Renck for Sinestra in partnership with Fremantle and is being developed for Renck to direct.
Chernobyl director Johan Renck is planning a feature film about the last days of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Renck and producer Michael Parets’ Fremantle-backed production outfit Sinestra is adapting Will Bardenwerper’s book, The Prisoner in His Palace, an account of the 12 US soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months before his execution.
The Prisoner in His Palace will be produced by Parets and Renck for Sinestra in partnership with Fremantle and is being developed for Renck to direct.
- 3/31/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Fremantle and Sinestra, the production outfit from director Johan Renck and producer Michael Parets, are in development on feature film “The Prisoner in His Palace.”
The film will be based on Will Bardenwerper’s bestselling book “The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid” that tells the story of 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months leading up to his execution. It explores the two distinct sides of Saddam Hussein: the cruel tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools and the contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection, dignity, and courage in the face of death. The book delves into the guards’ experiences and shows how Saddam’s presence affected them on a personal level.
Renck, the Emmy-winning director of “Chernobyl,” will helm the project while Parets produces. Author Will Bardenwerper, a former Airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer, will serve as executive producer.
The film will be based on Will Bardenwerper’s bestselling book “The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid” that tells the story of 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein in the months leading up to his execution. It explores the two distinct sides of Saddam Hussein: the cruel tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools and the contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection, dignity, and courage in the face of death. The book delves into the guards’ experiences and shows how Saddam’s presence affected them on a personal level.
Renck, the Emmy-winning director of “Chernobyl,” will helm the project while Parets produces. Author Will Bardenwerper, a former Airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer, will serve as executive producer.
- 3/31/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
From nuclear fallout to the fall of a dictator.
Johan Renck, the Swedish director who won an Emmy for his work on hit miniseries Chernobyl, is to turn his attention to the final days of Saddam Hussein for the feature film The Prisoner in His Palace. Based on Will Bardenwerper’s best-selling book, The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, the story is an account of the 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded the ousted former Iraqi leader in the months before his execution.
The feature is one of a number of projects under a new partnership between Fremantle and Sinestra, the production banner launched by Renck and producer Michael Parets (Spaceman).
The Prisoner in His Palace will be produced by Parets and Renck for Sinestra in partnership with Fremantle and is being developed for Renck to direct. Bardenwerper, a former Airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer,...
Johan Renck, the Swedish director who won an Emmy for his work on hit miniseries Chernobyl, is to turn his attention to the final days of Saddam Hussein for the feature film The Prisoner in His Palace. Based on Will Bardenwerper’s best-selling book, The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, the story is an account of the 12 U.S. soldiers who guarded the ousted former Iraqi leader in the months before his execution.
The feature is one of a number of projects under a new partnership between Fremantle and Sinestra, the production banner launched by Renck and producer Michael Parets (Spaceman).
The Prisoner in His Palace will be produced by Parets and Renck for Sinestra in partnership with Fremantle and is being developed for Renck to direct. Bardenwerper, a former Airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer,...
- 3/31/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The story of the last months of Saddam Hussein’s life is to be told via a feature film from Fremantle and Sinestra.
The Prisoner in His Palace is one of the first projects to emerge from the first-look deal between Fremantle and Sinestra, the latter of which was launched late last year by Chernobyl director Johan Renck and Netflix’s upcoming Spaceman producer Michael Parets.
Based on Will Bardenwerper’s The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, the movie tells the story of the last months of the former Iraqi dictator’s life, in an account from a dozen U.S. soldiers who were guarding him.
The book was woven from multiple first-hand accounts and explores the two very different Husseins coexisting in one person: the defiant tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools, and a shrewd but contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection,...
The Prisoner in His Palace is one of the first projects to emerge from the first-look deal between Fremantle and Sinestra, the latter of which was launched late last year by Chernobyl director Johan Renck and Netflix’s upcoming Spaceman producer Michael Parets.
Based on Will Bardenwerper’s The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, the movie tells the story of the last months of the former Iraqi dictator’s life, in an account from a dozen U.S. soldiers who were guarding him.
The book was woven from multiple first-hand accounts and explores the two very different Husseins coexisting in one person: the defiant tyrant who uses torture and murder as tools, and a shrewd but contemplative prisoner who exhibits surprising affection,...
- 3/31/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Cph:dox will reflect on the repercussions of the war, which ousted Saddam Hussein, but never led to the discovery of weapons of mass destruction, by screening two documentaries: Greta Stocklassa’s “Blix Not Bombs” and Karrar Al-Azzawi’s “Baghdad on Fire.”
“(The invasion) was an event that has shaped international politics over the course of the last two decades in unpredictable and often devastating ways,” says Cph:dox head of program Mads Mikkelsen. “Not least inside Iraq itself. (‘Blix Not Bombs’ and ‘Baghdad on Fire’) provide two different takes – a shot and reverse shot – on the course of events back in 2003 and on the current situation in Iraq as seen from the inside and through the eyes of the young.”
“Blix Not Bombs” follows Hans Blix, the former head of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission,...
“(The invasion) was an event that has shaped international politics over the course of the last two decades in unpredictable and often devastating ways,” says Cph:dox head of program Mads Mikkelsen. “Not least inside Iraq itself. (‘Blix Not Bombs’ and ‘Baghdad on Fire’) provide two different takes – a shot and reverse shot – on the course of events back in 2003 and on the current situation in Iraq as seen from the inside and through the eyes of the young.”
“Blix Not Bombs” follows Hans Blix, the former head of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission,...
- 3/19/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Two decades on from the beginning of the war, a handful of films have tried various ways to show the conflict with audiences mostly choosing to stay away
When The Hurt Locker, perhaps the most significant film about the Iraq war, won best picture, it also made a dubious kind of history, posting the worst box office of any previous winner. It had only made $11m at the time – and then several more millions after the Oscar bump – despite the pleadings of critics who insisted, correctly, that director Kathryn Bigelow and her screenwriter, Mark Boal, had made a studiously apolitical thriller about an army bomb squad that spends its days defusing improvised explosive devices. And what could be more exciting than that? How many hit movies and TV shows have been built around the tick-tick-ticking of bombs that are about to go off? Too many to count.
And yet, five years into the war,...
When The Hurt Locker, perhaps the most significant film about the Iraq war, won best picture, it also made a dubious kind of history, posting the worst box office of any previous winner. It had only made $11m at the time – and then several more millions after the Oscar bump – despite the pleadings of critics who insisted, correctly, that director Kathryn Bigelow and her screenwriter, Mark Boal, had made a studiously apolitical thriller about an army bomb squad that spends its days defusing improvised explosive devices. And what could be more exciting than that? How many hit movies and TV shows have been built around the tick-tick-ticking of bombs that are about to go off? Too many to count.
And yet, five years into the war,...
- 3/17/2023
- by Scott Tobias
- The Guardian - Film News
Tull Stories has acquired the BIFA-winning feature film “Our River…Our Sky,” which will be released in U.K. cinemas in September.
The film won Best Ensemble Performance at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for two other BIFA awards, including Best Casting (Leila Bertrand) and Best Supporting Performance (Zainab Joda).
“Our River…Our Sky” features intersecting individual stories set in Baghdad, Iraq, at a time of intense sectarian violence and nightly curfews, unfolding over the last week of 2006 and culminating in the sudden execution of Saddam Hussein.
Dedicated to the youth of Iraq, Maysoon Pachachi’s film offers a glance at the realities of ordinary life in Baghdad, presenting a stark contrast to Western media portrayals of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and its aftermath. The film explores how people find the courage to resist the damage and renew a fragile sense of hope every day. Through the chaos and destruction,...
The film won Best Ensemble Performance at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for two other BIFA awards, including Best Casting (Leila Bertrand) and Best Supporting Performance (Zainab Joda).
“Our River…Our Sky” features intersecting individual stories set in Baghdad, Iraq, at a time of intense sectarian violence and nightly curfews, unfolding over the last week of 2006 and culminating in the sudden execution of Saddam Hussein.
Dedicated to the youth of Iraq, Maysoon Pachachi’s film offers a glance at the realities of ordinary life in Baghdad, presenting a stark contrast to Western media portrayals of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and its aftermath. The film explores how people find the courage to resist the damage and renew a fragile sense of hope every day. Through the chaos and destruction,...
- 3/14/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
It's a small moment, but it's really the moment that puts the Coen Bros.' 1998 film "The Big Lebowski" -- celebrating its 25th anniversary this week -- into perspective. Near the film's end, after its central kidnapping plot has largely been resolved and the German nihilists have been dispatched, the none-too-bright character Donny (Steve Buscemi) unexpectedly suffers a heart attack and dies. He is cremated, and his best friends Walter (John Goodman) and Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski cannot afford the expensive urn required to transport his cremains away from the mortuary. They, instead, pack Donny up in a coffee can.
Walter and the Dude go up to a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Walter mentions that Donny liked to surf (an interest heretofore unknown about Donny) and that his death could be compared to all his buddies who died in Vietnam. Walter, throughout "The Big Lebowski," repeatedly evokes the Vietnam War,...
Walter and the Dude go up to a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Walter mentions that Donny liked to surf (an interest heretofore unknown about Donny) and that his death could be compared to all his buddies who died in Vietnam. Walter, throughout "The Big Lebowski," repeatedly evokes the Vietnam War,...
- 3/6/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The quote that would secure Jim Mattis’ reputation as the most celebrated Marine general of his generation came during meetings he hadn’t wanted to attend. It was April 2004, a half-mile east of the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which had exploded in an insurrection that threatened to doom the American occupation after barely a year. Mattis hadn’t wanted to take Fallujah, recognizing that flattening the City of Mosques would throw gasoline on a smoldering nationwide insurrection. But he followed White House-pushed orders to invade, and after roughly a week...
- 3/5/2023
- by Spencer Ackerman
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: The Killing and Suicide Squad alum Joel Kinnaman is set to star in Ar Content’s adaptation of John Nixon’s Debriefing the President. Kinnaman will star as former CIA analyst Nixon who wrote the non-fiction book about his experience of being the first American to identify and interrogate Saddam Hussein following his 2003 capture.
The project, which is produced by Alexander Rodnyansky, had previously attached Ziad Doueiri to direct as a feature film but due to scheduling reasons he’s dropped out and the project will go forward as a limited series.
Nixon was a senior leadership analyst with the CIA from 1998-2011 who regularly wrote for and briefed those at the most senior levels of the U.S. government and later taught leadership analysis to the new generation of analysts coming at the Sherman Kent School, the agency’s in-house analytic training center.
After confirming the prisoner was indeed Hussein,...
The project, which is produced by Alexander Rodnyansky, had previously attached Ziad Doueiri to direct as a feature film but due to scheduling reasons he’s dropped out and the project will go forward as a limited series.
Nixon was a senior leadership analyst with the CIA from 1998-2011 who regularly wrote for and briefed those at the most senior levels of the U.S. government and later taught leadership analysis to the new generation of analysts coming at the Sherman Kent School, the agency’s in-house analytic training center.
After confirming the prisoner was indeed Hussein,...
- 2/15/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
The Exchange is a series directed by Jasem Al-Muhanna and Karim Elshenawy starring Rawan Mahdi and Mona Hussain.
The Exchange reaches us from Kuwait with an interesting premise about women´s liberation in the masculina world of finances.
As far as the premise is concerned… good. After that, what we find inside… and each person will see whether they like it or not.
This is not The Wolf of Wall Street, nor is it a comedy or have a wild rhythm nor anything like that. The Exchange portrays the financial world of Kuwait in the Eighties and how two talented young ladies try to impose themselves on the system.
This is not the series of the year nor does it excell in its filming, you just need to watch it or not.
Storyline
Set in Kuwait in 1988, two women making their way in the boys club of the Kuwait Stock Exchange,...
The Exchange reaches us from Kuwait with an interesting premise about women´s liberation in the masculina world of finances.
As far as the premise is concerned… good. After that, what we find inside… and each person will see whether they like it or not.
This is not The Wolf of Wall Street, nor is it a comedy or have a wild rhythm nor anything like that. The Exchange portrays the financial world of Kuwait in the Eighties and how two talented young ladies try to impose themselves on the system.
This is not the series of the year nor does it excell in its filming, you just need to watch it or not.
Storyline
Set in Kuwait in 1988, two women making their way in the boys club of the Kuwait Stock Exchange,...
- 2/8/2023
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid - TV
Barbara Walters, America’s first female anchor on an evening news broadcast, has died at age 93, her longtime ABC home network said.
She died on Friday at her home in New York, Robert Iger, chief executive of ABC’s corporate parent, the Walt Disney Co, said on Twitter. No more details have been shared yet.
“She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline,” Mr Iger said in a statement.
In a career that spanned five decades, Walters became one of television’s most prominent interviewers and shattered several glass ceilings in an industry once dominated by men.
She interviewed some of the biggest names in the world, including Fidel Castro, Margaret Thatcher, Saddam Hussein and every US president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon.
Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female...
She died on Friday at her home in New York, Robert Iger, chief executive of ABC’s corporate parent, the Walt Disney Co, said on Twitter. No more details have been shared yet.
“She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline,” Mr Iger said in a statement.
In a career that spanned five decades, Walters became one of television’s most prominent interviewers and shattered several glass ceilings in an industry once dominated by men.
She interviewed some of the biggest names in the world, including Fidel Castro, Margaret Thatcher, Saddam Hussein and every US president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon.
Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female...
- 12/31/2022
- by Stuti Mishra
- The Independent - TV
This article is presented by Plex
The holiday season is officially here! If the visions of sugar plums dancing in your head aren’t quite cutting it in the entertainment department, allow Plex TV to keep you entertained this December. Our December picks were chosen with counterprogramming in mind; if you’re a bit burnt out on the typical holiday classics, these picks will get you out of the yuletide funk.
Plex offers a one-stop-shop streaming service offering 50,000+ free titles and 200+ of free-to-stream live TV channels, from the biggest names in entertainment, including Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Lionsgate, Legendary, AMC, A+E, Crackle, and Reuters. Plex is always overflowing with thousands of new and familiar favorites on its platform and we’re here to happily select the cream of the crop.
Jingle all the way over to Plex TV now for the best free entertainment...
The holiday season is officially here! If the visions of sugar plums dancing in your head aren’t quite cutting it in the entertainment department, allow Plex TV to keep you entertained this December. Our December picks were chosen with counterprogramming in mind; if you’re a bit burnt out on the typical holiday classics, these picks will get you out of the yuletide funk.
Plex offers a one-stop-shop streaming service offering 50,000+ free titles and 200+ of free-to-stream live TV channels, from the biggest names in entertainment, including Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Lionsgate, Legendary, AMC, A+E, Crackle, and Reuters. Plex is always overflowing with thousands of new and familiar favorites on its platform and we’re here to happily select the cream of the crop.
Jingle all the way over to Plex TV now for the best free entertainment...
- 12/2/2022
- by Nick Harley
- Den of Geek
Netflix has previewed a selection of upcoming films and shows aimed at the Arab world and hailing from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.
The global platform has been steadily making inroads into the Middle East and North Africa since 2015, in the face of fierce competition from local players such as Mbc’s Shahid VIP and Starzplay.
The new productions, mainly due to launch in 2023, include Saudi Arabian feature Alkhallat+, a satirical suspense film based on the hit online show Alkhallat, which was first released in 2017 and received more than 1.5 billion views across YouTube and social media.
The feature is one of the first productions to come down the pipeline under an eight-picture deal with burgeoning Saudi Arabian studio Telfaz11, signed in November 2020.
“The film will feature four exciting comeback stories of social deception and trickery in four unlikely places, bringing the best of this beloved Saudi show to life,...
The global platform has been steadily making inroads into the Middle East and North Africa since 2015, in the face of fierce competition from local players such as Mbc’s Shahid VIP and Starzplay.
The new productions, mainly due to launch in 2023, include Saudi Arabian feature Alkhallat+, a satirical suspense film based on the hit online show Alkhallat, which was first released in 2017 and received more than 1.5 billion views across YouTube and social media.
The feature is one of the first productions to come down the pipeline under an eight-picture deal with burgeoning Saudi Arabian studio Telfaz11, signed in November 2020.
“The film will feature four exciting comeback stories of social deception and trickery in four unlikely places, bringing the best of this beloved Saudi show to life,...
- 10/6/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Antonio Inoki, whose most famous moment on the world stage was an unorthodox exhibition match against boxing champion Muhammad Ali that aimed to settle which sport could beat the other, died Friday in Japan. He was 79 and no cause of death was released.
Inoki was considered a combat sports trailblazer, but also was a successful entrepreneur and politician in his native Japan, where he was one of the country’s most famous people.
In wrestling-mad Japan, Inoki was considered its most important star, selling out countless arenas and stadiums from the 1970s and on. He was also the first Japanese wrestler to win the WWF championship and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
But all that was a prelude to the Ali exhibition on June 26, 1976, when Inoki took on the champion in a bout that was a precursor to today’s mixed martial arts matches.
In addition...
Inoki was considered a combat sports trailblazer, but also was a successful entrepreneur and politician in his native Japan, where he was one of the country’s most famous people.
In wrestling-mad Japan, Inoki was considered its most important star, selling out countless arenas and stadiums from the 1970s and on. He was also the first Japanese wrestler to win the WWF championship and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
But all that was a prelude to the Ali exhibition on June 26, 1976, when Inoki took on the champion in a bout that was a precursor to today’s mixed martial arts matches.
In addition...
- 10/1/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Kurdistan paid heavily – in terms of human casualties and economic resources – which ultimately led to major successes like the capture and execution of former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein in Decemeber 2006, the pinpointed killing of the terror group Al-Qaeda’ chief Osama Bin Laden in May 2011, besides eliminating the dreaded Isis operatives.
As peace once again reigns in Kurdistan Region, the government headquartered in Erbil invited prominent Mumbai scientist, Dr. Pradeep V. Mahajan to study and advise on the country’s health network with specific reference to the Peshmerga Army veterans.
"Of the 300,000 soldiers in the Peshmerga Army, more than 20,000 have suffered different types of ‘war injuries’, serious or of permanent nature, though not fatal. My work is to prepare a master-plan on how to rehabilitate these 20,000 war heroes and help them lead near-normal lives," Dr. Mahajan told Ians from Erbil.
He found that the soldiers suffered from partial or total loss/amputation of limbs,...
As peace once again reigns in Kurdistan Region, the government headquartered in Erbil invited prominent Mumbai scientist, Dr. Pradeep V. Mahajan to study and advise on the country’s health network with specific reference to the Peshmerga Army veterans.
"Of the 300,000 soldiers in the Peshmerga Army, more than 20,000 have suffered different types of ‘war injuries’, serious or of permanent nature, though not fatal. My work is to prepare a master-plan on how to rehabilitate these 20,000 war heroes and help them lead near-normal lives," Dr. Mahajan told Ians from Erbil.
He found that the soldiers suffered from partial or total loss/amputation of limbs,...
- 9/4/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Click here to read the full article.
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.
Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).
Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.
Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).
Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...
- 7/25/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director James Marsh is set to direct a new hybrid animated documentary feature for Submarine and Sandpaper Films.
“Oasis, Saving the Baghdad Zoo” (working title), is a feature-length animated documentary partly based on “Babylon’s Ark,” the book about a year-long rescue mission of animals abandoned across Baghdad by Saddam Hussein and his son Uday.
Billed as a 21st century Noah’s Ark, the film will show how a team of American soldiers, Iraqi zookeepers, and international volunteers tended to lions, camels, bears, exotic birds, monkeys, pigs and even an ocelot in the middle of a brutal war, risking their own lives in the process.
The zoo was first abandoned during 2003’s Battle of Baghdad, when Hussein’s troops battled the U.S. military. Amid the chaos and violence, a team of compassionate volunteers set out to find the zoo’s missing inhabitants, including a pride of lions tracked down...
“Oasis, Saving the Baghdad Zoo” (working title), is a feature-length animated documentary partly based on “Babylon’s Ark,” the book about a year-long rescue mission of animals abandoned across Baghdad by Saddam Hussein and his son Uday.
Billed as a 21st century Noah’s Ark, the film will show how a team of American soldiers, Iraqi zookeepers, and international volunteers tended to lions, camels, bears, exotic birds, monkeys, pigs and even an ocelot in the middle of a brutal war, risking their own lives in the process.
The zoo was first abandoned during 2003’s Battle of Baghdad, when Hussein’s troops battled the U.S. military. Amid the chaos and violence, a team of compassionate volunteers set out to find the zoo’s missing inhabitants, including a pride of lions tracked down...
- 6/21/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
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