Rezo Gigineishvili’s “Patient #1” is the 2023 winner of the annual Werner Herzog Film Award.
Set at the end of the Soviet era, the film focuses on the decline in power of Konstantin Chernenko, a Russian leader with failing health who is surrounded by a large medical team. He is old and frail, but has a tight grip on power. He is waging a war in Afghanistan, has a nuclear button and can take the entire world to the grave with him. It is convenient for both the elites and the secret services to keep the leader alive and various groups are scoring political points.
The cast includes Aleksandr Filippenko, Olga Makeeva, Inna Churikova, Igor Chernevich and Sergey Gilev. The film is produced by Archil Gelovani, Sergey Yahontov for Georgian outfit Independent Film Project.
Gigineishvili previously directed “Hostages” (2017) which premiered at the Berlinale and participated in more than 30 international film festivals including Telluride,...
Set at the end of the Soviet era, the film focuses on the decline in power of Konstantin Chernenko, a Russian leader with failing health who is surrounded by a large medical team. He is old and frail, but has a tight grip on power. He is waging a war in Afghanistan, has a nuclear button and can take the entire world to the grave with him. It is convenient for both the elites and the secret services to keep the leader alive and various groups are scoring political points.
The cast includes Aleksandr Filippenko, Olga Makeeva, Inna Churikova, Igor Chernevich and Sergey Gilev. The film is produced by Archil Gelovani, Sergey Yahontov for Georgian outfit Independent Film Project.
Gigineishvili previously directed “Hostages” (2017) which premiered at the Berlinale and participated in more than 30 international film festivals including Telluride,...
- 9/27/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
European Shooting Stars 2021
This year’s ten European Shooting Star actors are Seidi Haarla (Finland), Nicolas Maury (France), Albrecht Schuch (Germany), Natasa Stork (Hungary), Fionn O’Shea (Ireland), Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė (Lithuania), Martijn Lakemeier (The Netherlands), Sara Klimoska (North Macedonia), Alba Baptista (Portugal) and Gustav Lindh (Sweden). The selection jury included U.S. casting director Cassandra Han, Kosovan director Antoneta Kastrati and Danish producer René Ezra. European Film Promotion’s 24th edition of the program will take place digitally, from 23 to 25 February 2021. Previous Shooting Stars have included Carey Mulligan, Alba Rohrwacher, Alicia Vikander, Maisie Williams and Riz Ahmed.
Nent Group Chair
Nent Group Chair David Chance has decided not to stand for re-election this year. The Nent Group Nomination Committee has proposes the election of Pernille Erenbjerg as the new Chair of the Board. Erenbjerg has served as member of the Nent Group Board since May 2020, and was previously President and CEO of Tdc,...
This year’s ten European Shooting Star actors are Seidi Haarla (Finland), Nicolas Maury (France), Albrecht Schuch (Germany), Natasa Stork (Hungary), Fionn O’Shea (Ireland), Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė (Lithuania), Martijn Lakemeier (The Netherlands), Sara Klimoska (North Macedonia), Alba Baptista (Portugal) and Gustav Lindh (Sweden). The selection jury included U.S. casting director Cassandra Han, Kosovan director Antoneta Kastrati and Danish producer René Ezra. European Film Promotion’s 24th edition of the program will take place digitally, from 23 to 25 February 2021. Previous Shooting Stars have included Carey Mulligan, Alba Rohrwacher, Alicia Vikander, Maisie Williams and Riz Ahmed.
Nent Group Chair
Nent Group Chair David Chance has decided not to stand for re-election this year. The Nent Group Nomination Committee has proposes the election of Pernille Erenbjerg as the new Chair of the Board. Erenbjerg has served as member of the Nent Group Board since May 2020, and was previously President and CEO of Tdc,...
- 1/12/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman, Tom Grater and Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Inspiration can strike at any time, but for first-time director Natalija Yefimkina it came from an unlikely source. “In the garage, I found everything,” says the 37-year-old, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian now based in Germany. Presented in IDFA’s Best of Fests strand, following its debut at the Berlin Film Festival and more recent AFM screening, her film “Garage People” looks at the different ways in which Russian people use their garage spaces for personal expression.
The idea to make a film about such an esoteric subject came to her while working as a crew member on a feature film shot in Russia. Although she has never been to film school, Yefimkina has worked on many TV and film sets since the age of 19, and a feature shoot in the Kolar peninsular area saw her taking charge of the extras. Exploring the local eco-system, she realized that everything she needed—props,...
The idea to make a film about such an esoteric subject came to her while working as a crew member on a feature film shot in Russia. Although she has never been to film school, Yefimkina has worked on many TV and film sets since the age of 19, and a feature shoot in the Kolar peninsular area saw her taking charge of the extras. Exploring the local eco-system, she realized that everything she needed—props,...
- 11/27/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
The Amsterdan event is planned as a hybrid physical-digital edition.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) has unveiled the first titles selected for edition, which is set to go ahead as a mix of physical and virtual events from November 18-29.
The festival will screen 30 documentaries first selected for the Berlinale, Sundance and Cannes under the banner Best of Fests.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The titles include The Truffle Hunters by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, which debuted at Sundance before being being selected for both Cannes and Telluride (although neither took place); and Elizabeth Lo’s Stray,...
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) has unveiled the first titles selected for edition, which is set to go ahead as a mix of physical and virtual events from November 18-29.
The festival will screen 30 documentaries first selected for the Berlinale, Sundance and Cannes under the banner Best of Fests.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The titles include The Truffle Hunters by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, which debuted at Sundance before being being selected for both Cannes and Telluride (although neither took place); and Elizabeth Lo’s Stray,...
- 9/29/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Ceremony took place remotely, after festival shifted online week before opening.
Psychological thriller Exile has won the best film prize at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival, which took place online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of winners
In a virtual awards ceremony, streamed on the festival’s VoD platform, Kosovo-born writer-director Visar Morina accepted the Heart of Sarajevo prize via a video message after jury president Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) made the announcement from his own home in France. The award includes a prize of €16,000.
Exile, first seen at Sundance and in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand,...
Psychological thriller Exile has won the best film prize at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival, which took place online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scroll down for full list of winners
In a virtual awards ceremony, streamed on the festival’s VoD platform, Kosovo-born writer-director Visar Morina accepted the Heart of Sarajevo prize via a video message after jury president Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) made the announcement from his own home in France. The award includes a prize of €16,000.
Exile, first seen at Sundance and in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand,...
- 8/21/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Visar Morina’s “Exile,” a tense psychodrama about a Kosovan pharmacologist in Germany who becomes increasingly paranoid over a series of menacing events, won the top prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival, earning the Kosovo-born German director the Heart of Sarajevo.
The award ceremony took place online Thursday night, with Morina winning top honors from a jury led by Academy Award-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”) and comprised of Carlo Chatrian, artistic director of the Berlin Intl. Film Festival; Croatian actress Jadranka Đokić; Serbian director Srdan Golubović; and Andrea Stavenhagen, head of industry and training projects at the Morelia Film Festival.
Director Michel Franco and actor Mads Mikkelsen were given honorary Heart of Sarajevo awards.
The timely drama from Morina, who was named one of Variety‘s 10 Europeans to Watch earlier this year, is a poignant study of identity and belonging at a time of ongoing uncertainty in Europe over...
The award ceremony took place online Thursday night, with Morina winning top honors from a jury led by Academy Award-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”) and comprised of Carlo Chatrian, artistic director of the Berlin Intl. Film Festival; Croatian actress Jadranka Đokić; Serbian director Srdan Golubović; and Andrea Stavenhagen, head of industry and training projects at the Morelia Film Festival.
Director Michel Franco and actor Mads Mikkelsen were given honorary Heart of Sarajevo awards.
The timely drama from Morina, who was named one of Variety‘s 10 Europeans to Watch earlier this year, is a poignant study of identity and belonging at a time of ongoing uncertainty in Europe over...
- 8/20/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Taking place online and at drive-ins from 3 to 12 September, the 22nd edition of Israel's biggest documentary festival will include a new competition strand and an award fund of €84,700. The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival Docaviv, set to take place 3-12 September in a hybrid form, combining online and drive-in screenings, has revealed its full programme, after announcing the Israeli Competition line-up back in June (read the news). The International Competition includes 11 films: Radu Ciorniciuc's Acasă – My Home (Romania/Finland/Germany), Alexander Nanau's Collective (Romania/Luxembourg), Teboho Edkins' Days of Cannibalism (France/South Africa/Netherlands), Valentina Pedicini's Faith (Italy), Natalija Yefimkina's Garage People (Germany), Laura Herrero Garvin's La Mami (Mexico/Spain), Maite Alberdi's The Mole Agent (Chile/USA/Germany/Netherlands/Spain), Anabel Rodríguez Ríos' Once Upon a Time in Venezuela (Venezuela/UK/Brazil/Austria), Benjamin Ree's The Painter and the Thief (Norway), Paloma Sermon-Daï's...
Selection includes Sundance, Berlinale and Rotterdam award-winners.
The Sarajevo Film Festival (August 14-21) has revealed the 15 features selected for its Kinoscope strand, including award-winners from Sundance, the Berlinale and Rotterdam.
Scroll down for full lineup
Titles include South Korea’s The Woman Who Ran, which won the Silver Bear in Berlin for director Hong Sangsoo, and Shirley, starring Elisabeth Moss, which won the Auteur Filmmaking award at Sundance for director Josephine Decker.
Cannes 2020 label title Garagine, which proved one of the buzziest arthouse titles at the virtual Marche du Film, has also been selected as well as South Korea’s Beasts Clawing At Straws,...
The Sarajevo Film Festival (August 14-21) has revealed the 15 features selected for its Kinoscope strand, including award-winners from Sundance, the Berlinale and Rotterdam.
Scroll down for full lineup
Titles include South Korea’s The Woman Who Ran, which won the Silver Bear in Berlin for director Hong Sangsoo, and Shirley, starring Elisabeth Moss, which won the Auteur Filmmaking award at Sundance for director Josephine Decker.
Cannes 2020 label title Garagine, which proved one of the buzziest arthouse titles at the virtual Marche du Film, has also been selected as well as South Korea’s Beasts Clawing At Straws,...
- 8/3/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “There Is No Evil,” a drama about the impact of capital punishment on society and the human condition, won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival on Saturday.
The seven-person festival jury, headed by Jeremy Irons, spread the prizes far and wide, with no single filmmaker dominating the awards.
American writer-director Eliza Hittman won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” a drama about teen pregnancy, while the Silver Bear for best director went to South Korea’s Hong Sang Soo for his Seoul-set drama “The Woman Who Ran.”
Rasoulof, who is unable to leave Iran due to a travel ban, faces a one-year prison sentence for “spreading propaganda.” The filmmaker released a statement on Friday expressing his sorrow at missing the premiere of “There Is No Evil”: “I am sorry that I will not be able...
The seven-person festival jury, headed by Jeremy Irons, spread the prizes far and wide, with no single filmmaker dominating the awards.
American writer-director Eliza Hittman won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” a drama about teen pregnancy, while the Silver Bear for best director went to South Korea’s Hong Sang Soo for his Seoul-set drama “The Woman Who Ran.”
Rasoulof, who is unable to leave Iran due to a travel ban, faces a one-year prison sentence for “spreading propaganda.” The filmmaker released a statement on Friday expressing his sorrow at missing the premiere of “There Is No Evil”: “I am sorry that I will not be able...
- 2/29/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Natalija Yefimkina's first feature-length documentary is poised to world-premiere in the Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino. Garage People, the first feature-length documentary by Kiev-born, Berlin-based director Natalija Yefimkina, will have its world premiere in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section of the 70th Berlinale (20 February-1 March). According to the official synopsis, in post-Soviet Russia, there is a phenomenon besides ice fishing, matryoshkas and vodka: the garage settlement. Tin huts, appearing inhospitable from the outside, provide a refuge for a large number of Russians – mainly men. In accordance with the occupants’ own taste and without adhering to any rules, alternative habitats are created with ingenuity and tenacity on nothing but a few square meters. Scrap collector Ilya uses the garage as a production facility, Roman uses it for his quail breeding, Pavel skilfully carves figures of saints, and Viktor has added four underground floors to his space over the decades. Everything...
Matteo Garrone to present ‘Pinocchio’ as the first Berlinale Special Gala.
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
- 12/17/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Matteo Garrone to present ‘Pinocchio’ as the first Berlinale Special Gala.
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
The Berlinale has revealed the first films set to be screened at the 70th edition of the festival.
They include the live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, from Italian director Matteo Garrone, which is the first Berlinale Special Gala to be announced – a category that replaces ‘out of competition’. It will mark the international premiere of the film, starring Roberto Benigni, which is released in Italy this weekend.
Scroll down for full list of titles
The first 18 films selected for the Panorama strand have also been named, including 11 world premieres.
Among...
- 12/17/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
The 2020 Berlin Film Festival, the first edition under new artistic director Carlo Chatrian, has unveiled its first wave of titles.
Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio, starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the festival as a Berlinale Special Gala. The team have removed the ‘out of competition’ classification this year and those films will now play as Special Galas. Pinocchio is released theatrically in Italy this weekend and Berlin will mark its festival premiere.
“Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before,” commented Carlo Chatrian on the selection.
Also announced today were four films in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program, which presents debut features. The section will open with Kids Run from Barbara Ott, whose graduation...
Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio, starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the festival as a Berlinale Special Gala. The team have removed the ‘out of competition’ classification this year and those films will now play as Special Galas. Pinocchio is released theatrically in Italy this weekend and Berlin will mark its festival premiere.
“Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before,” commented Carlo Chatrian on the selection.
Also announced today were four films in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program, which presents debut features. The section will open with Kids Run from Barbara Ott, whose graduation...
- 12/17/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
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