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For his sophomore feature film, Icelandic filmmaker Elfar Adalsteins adapts from Icelandic author Jon Kalman Stefansson’s novel. This comes after 2019’s End of Sentence – the shot in Ireland drama starring John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger, Summerlight… and Then Comes the Night had stops at Reykjavik International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Juno Films are releasing the film in New York September 20th at IFC Center and in Los Angeles September 27th at Laemmle Monica followed by a nationwide release. Here is a clip:

After dreaming in Latin, a successful manager decides to ditch his career and glamorous wife, in exchange for books and stargazing, while the beautiful seamstress Elisabet cuts a surprisingly svelte path.…...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) announced its winning films at a ceremony this morning in Santa Barbara.

“This 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival drew filmmakers from as far as Turkey, India, Israel, and Sierra Leone, half of whom were women,” said Sbiff’s Programming Director, Claudia Puig. “We were delighted with the enthusiastic reception to our diverse program of 200 films from 43 countries. Cinema is one of the most powerful vehicles for empathy, providing a window of understanding to all who seek to look through it. We thank the filmmakers in attendance and our avid Santa Barbara audience for so heartily embracing the festival experience. Several films prompted standing ovations and packed theaters, marking 2023 a full-throttled return to celebrating cinema from around the globe.”

The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival took place February 8 – February 18. Official events included screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes,...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced its prizewinners Saturday morning, with “26.2 to Life,” directed by Christine Yoo, winning the audience choice award. The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema went to “I Like Movies,” directed by Chandler Levack, while the international feature film award went to “A Man (Aru Otoko),” directed by Kei Ishikawa. “A Bunch of Amateurs,” directed by Kim Hopkins, won the documentary award.

See more winners here:

Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema: Manuela Directed by Clara Cullen

Best Middle Eastern/Israeli Film Award: The Taste Of Apples Is Red Directed by Ehab Tarabieh

Best Nordic Film Award: Summerlight And Then Comes The Night (SUMARLJÓS Og Svo Kemur NÓTTIN) Directed by Elfar Aðalsteins

Social Justice Award for Documentary Film: Black Mambas Directed by Lena Karbe

Adl Stand Up Award, sponsored by Adl Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties, the Skinner Social Impact Fund, and Steve & Cindy Lyons...

Adding to its slate of auteurs from all over the world, Raphael Berdugo’s Cité Films has boarded “The Fire Doll,” from Chilean director-to-track Niles Atallah (“Rey”) and “Left Over,” from San Sebastian Gold Shell winning Turkish director Yesim Ustaoglu (“Pandora’s Box”).

Produced by Catalina Vergara at Chile’s Globo Rojo Films, “The Fire Doll” (“La muñeca de fuego”) is one of the 14 projects to be pitched at this month’s San Sebastian Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, one of the Spanish festival’s centerpiece industry events.

Atallah, whose second film, “Rey,” won a Rotterdam Special Jury Prize in 2017, turns in “The Fire Doll” to the transformation process experienced by a 9-year-old girl, Aurora, who loses part of her memory and goes to her the countryside to spend Easter wither father, an alcoholic in remission.

He lives in a mysterious house partially destroyed by fire decades ago. Aurora discovers a terrible...

Nisan Dağ wins best director for ‘When I’m Done Dying’.

Director Ivaylo Hristov and producer Assen Vladimirov have won the Grand Prix for best film, for Bulgarian drama Fear, at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).

The event presented its awards in Tallinn, Estonia this evening. Hristov and Vladimirov share the €10,000 grant that comes with the win.

Scroll down for the full list of awards

They were awarded the prize by a jury consisting of Mark Adams, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Izabela Kiszka-Hoflik and Ester Kuntu.

The jury praised “a beautifully-made film that astutely balances dry humour with important contemporary drama.

Gap financing event to present 56 feature film and Vr projects.

UK director Steve McQueen’s upcoming documentary The Occupied City is among 56 projects selected for the Venice Production Bridge, the gap financing event of the Venice Film Festival, which is due to take place from September 2-12.

The three-day industry event, running September 4-6, will unveil 28 feature-length fiction and documentary projects and 12 immersive story projects.

It will also present 13 Vr projects and three cinema projects developed under the auspices of the Biennale College Cinema programme aimed at supporting emerging talents.

More than 270 project were submitted in total.

The event, involving pitches and one-on-one meetings,...

‘Rebel’ to be directed by Belgian duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.

A new feature from the Belgian directing duo behind Bad Boys For Life is among 10 projects to secure €1.47m ($1.67m) from Screen Flanders.

Rebel is to be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, whose Bad Boys sequel grossed $419m worldwide when it was released in January.

The new feature has received €170,000 from the Belgian audiovisual fund and will be produced by Belgium’s Caviar Antwerp. It will also reunite the directing duo with Dop Robrecht Heyvaert, who shot Bad Boys For Life and their 2018 crime thriller Gangsta.

Initially embarking on a physical trip for materialistic gain can ultimately lead to an emotional oddessy that offers clear insight into where their life paths and relationships should go for many people. That’s certainly the case for the estranged father and son protagonists in the new drama, ‘End of Sentence.’ The two characters must learn […]

The post Interview: Elfar Adalsteins Talks End of Sentence (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

At first glance, there’s nothing original about the new father-son movie “End of Sentence.” We’ve seen estranged father/sons before—here the two are played by Logan Lerman and John Hawkes, displaying tough exteriors you couldn’t even crack with a hammer. But as the movie and its characters open up, “End of Sentence” reveals a tenderness hiding under its thick, clichéd exterior.

As directed by Elfar Adalsteins, “End of Sentence” isn’t in the same league as father-son classics “Bicycle Thieves” or “Kramer vs.

Continue reading ‘End Of Sentence’: John Hawkes & Logan Lerman Are Great In This Tender Family Drama [Review] at The Playlist.

The pairing of John Hawkes and Logan Lerman as father and son was always going to be an interesting one. Unfortunately, it’s a shame that End of Sentence doesn’t do more with that duo. While both are somewhat playing against type, the film surrounding them is so slight and so slack with its storytelling that it’s hard to appreciate them. A mix of narrative stumbling blocks and lack of notable dramatic conflict make it far too easy to see every turn of the road here. There are some very nice moments, but they don’t add up to make a flick that I can recommend today. The movie is a drama about a father and son attempting (at least on one end) to reconnect while on a road trip in Ireland. Frank Fogle (Hawkes) has always has a tough relationship with his troublemaking son Sean (Lerman). A genial and even withdrawn man,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.

HBO Max

The latest streaming service has arrived with HBO Max, which pulls together what was offered on the HBO platform with quite an expanded library. While the WarnerMedia platform is certainly the most scattered of its competitors in terms of the range of content, if you dig deeper, there’s plenty of worthwhile offerings. Led by the Studio Ghibli catalog, they also have a Turner Classic Movies channel, featuring Criterion Collection classics, a Charlie Chaplin collection, landmark westerns, all of the A Star is Borns, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Abyss, and more. Happy watching.

Where to Stream: HBO Max

End of Sentence (Elfar Adalsteins)

To...

The Focus Features musical dramedy The High Note is looking to hit exactly that as it lands on-demand starting today. Directed by Late Night‘s Nisha Ganatra from a script by Flora Greeson, the film was originally set to hit theaters on May 8 but, like many films, the film adapted and shifted to a digital. However, with theaters slowly opening their doors, the film will be singing its way to approximately 100 theaters — most of the drive-in theaters.

Set in the world of the Los Angeles music scene, The High Note follows singing superstar diva Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) and her overworked personal assistant Maggie (Dakota Johnson) who has dreams of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager (Ice Cube) presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.

As it...

The phrase “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey,” which has often (and perhaps erroneously) been attributed to American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, was a familiar saying by about 1920. And it makes perfect sense that the phrase roughly coincides with the dawn of cinema, because filmmakers have been cinematically paraphrasing it for much of the last 100 years.

The latest example is “End of Sentence,” a road movie from first-time Icelandic feature director Elfar Adalsteins. The film drops John Hawkes and Logan Lerman in the northwest of Ireland for a father-son adventure that suggests that it’s not the journey or the destination – it’s the travelers who are on that road.

That’s because Hawkes and Lerman are subtle, naturalistic performers who spin gold out of settings that could easily seem clichéd. You pretty much know that these guys are on the road to understanding, acceptance and reconciliation,...

To look at Frank (John Hawkes) and Sean Fogle (Logan Lerman) is to see two very different men. The former is a loving husband with a perpetual smile and the latter is his surly, incarcerated son. If not for the woman connecting them, they’d have gone their separate ways long ago without any room for reconciliation. Nothing will therefore be left once the Fogle matriarch (Andrea Irvine’s Anna) succumbs to cancer. Frank will become a widower trying (and faltering) to survive on his own while Sean will be released from prison to head west and not look back. To spend some time with them, however, is to realize they’re actually quite similar. One retreats emotionally while the other lashes out, but anger and shame rules both.

Writer Michael Armbruster and director Elfar Adalsteins concoct a “last wish” road trip in order for us to spend this time getting to know them.

John Hawkes and Logan Lerman hit the road in End of Sentence, an indie road trip drama that follows an estranged father and son following the son’s release from prison. End of Sentence marks the feature directorial debut of Icelandic filmmaker Elfar Adalsteins, but is set in Ireland and features two American leads. Watch the End of Sentence trailer […]

The post ‘End of Sentence’ Trailer: Logan Lerman and John Hawkes Go on a Life-Changing Road Trip appeared first on /Film.

"You know, they say it's inevitable that you turn into your father." Gravitas has debuted an official trailer for an indie road trip drama titled End of Sentence, which first premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year. The film marks the feature directorial debut of an Icelandic filmmaker named Elfar Adalsteins, but is set mostly in Ireland. After his wife dies, Frank reluctantly embarks on a journey to honor his wife's last wish of spreading her ashes in a remote lake in her native Ireland and a promise of taking his estranged son, Sean, along for the trip. With plenty of unresolved issues, the journey becomes a little more than father and son bargained for. Starring John Hawkes and Logan Lerman, with Sarah Bolger and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. This looks good, thanks to the cast. It seems like a kind-hearted film about letting go of the past. Here's the...

Vertical Entertainment has landed the North American distribution rights to Ron Perlman and Michael Pitt-starrer Run With The Hunted, written and directed by John Swab. Vertical, which previously secured the U.K. distribution rights, will release the noir crime thriller in limited theatrical and VOD release this summer. The plot centers on Oscar, a young boy who defends his best friend, Loux, and kills her abusive father in the process, forcing him to run away from his rural hometown. Fifteen years later, he has all but forgotten his past and become the leader of a band of lost children. Stumbling upon Oscar’s antiquated missing child report, Loux takes it upon herself to find the boy who saved her life. William Forsythe, Dree Hemingway, Mark Boone Junior, Kylie Rogers, Slaine, Sam Quartin, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. co-star. The deal...

There is no family rift so great that it can’t be bridged with a road trip. So the movies tell us, over and over again, and if it’s not necessarily true, the best examples of this subgenre — call it the road-to-reconciliation movie — take enough of a scenic route that we come to believe it. A deliberate, gentle, genuinely caring debut feature from Icelandic director Elfar Adalsteins, “End of Sentence” is built on a premise of sweet, creamed corn: a wayward youth and his estranged, retiring father rebuild their bond as they journey to Ireland to scatter the ashes of their mother and wife. Yet if the vehicle feels familiar, the passengers make it credible: John Hawkes and Logan Lerman, both on very fine form, work enough worn human damage into proceedings that we invest in their joint healing.

Recently premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival, this Irish-Icelandic-American co-production...

Buyers reveal the films to receive an enthusiastic response.

International delegates have given a positive response to Film London’s new-look London Screenings, which took place at Picturehouse Central in London’s West End from June 24-27.

Some of the films that received a particularly enthusiastic response by distributors included François Girard’s The Song Of Names, starring Tim Roth and Clive Owen and sold by HanWay Films; Hong Khaou’s Karlovy Vary premiere Monsoon, handled by Protagonist and described by one distributor in London as “absolutely charming”, and Elfar Adalsteins’ tragicomic road movie End Of Sentence, about a newly...

The festival has assembled a strong programme for local audiences.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), proudly proclaiming its status as the world’s longest continually-running film festival (running since 1947) wrapped on Sunday with the world premiere of Adrian Noble’s Mrs Lowry & Son, starring Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave.

The festival opened 10 days earlier with the scrappily entertaining Boyz In The Wood by Scottish director Ninian Dorff, setting the tone for the fifth edition under artistic director Mark Adams.

An eclectic range of features was dotted with the UK premieres of significant homegrown films in 2019 so far – Joanna Hogg’s Sundance-winner The Souvenir,...

A newly widowed father and his ex-con son share a fractious journey across Ireland in End of Sentence, a tragicomic road movie from Icelandic producer-turned-director Elfar Adalsteins. Serving as a fine showcase for the craggy, soulful, hangdog screen presence of veteran Oscar nominee John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), with solid support from former child actor Logan Lerman (star of the Percy Jackson fantasy films), this bittersweet Iceland-Ireland-u.S. co-production has some of the character-rich tone and novelistic texture of an Alexander Payne movie. World premiered in Edinburgh, it has ample potential for turning festival buzz into box office returns.

End of Sentence opens ...

A newly widowed father and his ex-con son share a fractious journey across Ireland in End of Sentence, a tragicomic road movie from Icelandic producer-turned-director Elfar Adalsteins. Serving as a fine showcase for the craggy, soulful, hangdog screen presence of veteran Oscar nominee John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), with solid support from former child actor Logan Lerman (star of the Percy Jackson fantasy films), this bittersweet Iceland-Ireland-u.S. co-production has some of the character-rich tone and novelistic texture of an Alexander Payne movie. World premiered in Edinburgh, it has ample potential for turning festival buzz into box office returns.

End of Sentence opens ...

John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger are set to star in End of Sentence, the feature debut from director Elfar Adalsteins. Story, which is written by Beautiful Boy's Michael Armbruster, follows a father and son reluctantly embarking on an eventful and emotionally fraught road-trip to Ireland, honoring the request of their late wife and mother. Adalsteins produces through his production banner Berserk Films, alongside Samson Films' David Collins, Palomar Pictures'…...

Rocket Science to commence world sales in Cannes.

John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger will star in the road trip project End Of Sentence.

Rocket Science will launch worldwide sales on the Crosette on the story of an uptight widower who embarks on a journey to Ireland with his ex-con son to scatter his wife’s ashes.

The awkward pair must endure an Irish wake, the resurfacing of an old flame, an intriguing hitchhiker played by Bolger, and plenty of other unresolved issues.

Michael Armbruster, whose credits include the 2010 drama Beautiful Boy, wrote the screenplay to End Of Sentence, which is scheduled to begin production this month on location in Ireland. Elfar Adalsteins makes his feature directorial debut.

Adalsteins directed the short film Sailcloth and will produce through his Berserk Films, alongside David Collins of Samson Films, Joni Sighvatsson of Palomar Pictures, and Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdottir of Berserk Films.

Eva Maria Daniels and [link...

Rocket Science to commence world sales in Cannes.

John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger will star in the road trip project End Of Sentence.

Rocket Science will launch worldwide sales on the Crosette on the story of an uptight widower who embarks on a journey to Ireland with his ex-con son to scatter his wife’s ashes.

The awkward pair must endure an Irish wake, the resurfacing of an old flame, an intriguing hitchhiker played by Bolger, and plenty of other unresolved issues.

Michael Armbruster, whose credits include the 2010 drama Beautiful Boy, wrote the screenplay to End Of Sentence, which is scheduled to begin production this month on location in Ireland. Elfar Adalsteins makes his feature directorial debut.

Adalsteins directed the short film Sailcloth and will produce through his Berserk Films, alongside David Collins of Samson Films, Joni Sighvatsson of Palomar Pictures, and Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdottir of Berserk Films.

Eva Maria Daniels and [link...

John Hurt's heartbreaking new film about a pensioner who takes his life at sea after escaping a home for the elderly is a tribute to the filmmaker's late grandfather.

Elfar Adalsteins' Sailcloth is among the short films tipped to land an Oscar nomination next month and the Icelandic director reveals the movie was inspired by his granddad's death.

He explains, "I was raised by my grandparents in a small fishing village on the East Coast of Iceland, as far away from the capital as you can get. My grandfather passed away in 2008 and the idea came to me a year later and I gradually built it up in my head. He withered away in a nursing home where he spent his last seven years. So, possibly I just wrote him an alternative exit."

Hurt is also very proud of the short, adding, "It's a glorious exit, I think. That’s what I love about the film. It’s about suicide so everybody thinks that it's got to be gloomy, it's got to be miserable. But I don't think it is. I think it's a fantastic celebration."...

John Hurt in ‘Sailcloth.’

“Sailcloth” is one of the live action short films selected for this year’s Oscar shortlist, that stars British actor John Hurt as a man who decides one day to leave his nursing home with his belongings, and take to the sea.

The 17-minute short, directed by newcomer Elfar Adalsteins, was filmed for five days in St. Mawes, Cornwall. In the film, Hurt doesn’t speak. The only interaction he has with another person is a...

Yesterday the finalist list for short films was announced. This is, of course, much bigger news for the filmmakers in question than the general public who rarely gets the chance to see their work, but it's very much worth noting. In order to qualify to begin with a film must pass numerous gauntlets and be an awards magnet. Who knows. We could all be obsessed with one or three of these filmmakers in 5 to 10 years time if their careers bloom.

The Ten Finalists

Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother) (19 min)

Trailer • France • Directed and produced by Bernard Tanguy

Official Synopsis: "A young business lawyer finds that the old Rumanian homeless person, in front of his flat, looks like his grandmother. One night, he makes her a cardboard card: I could be your grandmother. The passers-by become suddenly very generous. Other homeless people ask him a cardboard card.

Out of 107 qualified submissions, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 10 finalists that will advance to the next round of voting for the Best Live-Action Short Film Oscar. Out of these, three to five will ultimately be nominated for the Academy Award.

Ironically, actor John Hurt stars in two of the finalists: the British shorts Love at First Sight and Sailcloth. Also among the finalists is The Shore, written and directed by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) and starring Ciarán Hinds.

The 10 finalists (with links to trailers when available) are:

Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 10 live action short films are advancing in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards. This is list has been cut down from the original 107 films that qualified in this category. Three to five nominees will be chosen out of these 10 films. The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 5:30am.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

"Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother)," Bernard Tanguy, director-producer (Rézina Productions)

"Love at First Sight," Michael Davies, director and Sandra Gorel, producer (Spellbound Films)

"Pentecost," Peter McDonald, director (Emu Productions)

"Raju," Max Zähle, director and Stefan Gieren, producer (Hamburg Media School/Filmwerkstatt)

"The Road Home," Rahul Gandotra, director-producer and Ameenah Ayub, producer (London Film School)

"The Roar of the Sea," Ana Rocha Fernandes and Torsten Truscheit,...

Today the Academy announced the ten films that will advance in the voting process for the 2012 Oscars for Live Action Short out of the 107 films that qualified in the category. Of the ten I was unable to find anything on only one of them as I have trailers for eight of the others and an image for one more. Of the bunch Love at First Sight and Sailcloth are sure to gain attention as both star John Hurt and The Shore features Hurt's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy co-star, Ciaran Hinds, Hotel Rwanda helmer Terry George directing. I didn't watch the trailers before posting, but the plot for Time Freak sounds a little fun as a neurotic inventor creates a time machine only to get lost trying to make yesterday perfect. Last year I didn't watch the animated or live-action shorts, but this year I hope to do that and include...

HollywoodNews.com:The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards®. One hundred seven pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

“Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother),” Bernard Tanguy, director-producer (Rézina Productions)

“Love at First Sight,” Michael Davies, director and Sandra Gorel, producer (Spellbound Films)

“Pentecost,” Peter McDonald, director (Emu Productions)

“Raju,” Max Zähle, director and Stefan Gieren, producer (Hamburg Media School/Filmwerkstatt)

“The Road Home,” Rahul Gandotra, director-producer and Ameenah Ayub, producer (London Film School)

“The Roar of the Sea,” Ana Rocha Fernandes and Torsten Truscheit, directors (Niama Filmproduktion GmbH)

“Sailcloth,” Elfar Adalsteins, director-producer (Berserk Films)

“The Shore,” Terry George, director-producer (All Ashore Productions Limited)

“Time Freak,” Andrew Bowler, director and Gigi Causey, producer (Team Toad)

“Tuba Atlantic,...

We’ve seen some fantastic short films over the last year, with Terry Gilliam’s The Wholly Family being a particularly delightful way to spend twenty minutes, and I found watching Elfar Adalsteins’ Sailcloth a completely captivating experience.

Not to wander too far into spoiler territory but the dialogue free short tells the story of a day in the life of a hospital bound widower making an important decision to break free from his surrounds. Adalsteins has enormous good fortune in his leading man as John Hurt delivers a powerful and soulful performance.

I was able to speak with John Hurt this week about the film, his support for the short film format and the difficulties of films being tied to the source material.

We inevitably touch on spoilers for the film, which is being considered for an Oscar and will hopefully be available to watch online at some point.

Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival (Riiff), August 9-14, announced the lineup for its 15th annual fest. This is the only Academy Awards-qualifying festival in New England. This year's 195 films include 18 world and 21 North American premieres. The fest will kick off with an opening-night ceremony and screening of the following short films: "Henry," directed by Yan England; "Sailcloth" directed by Elfar Adalsteins; "Tooty’s Wedding" directed by Frederic ...