France’s Wrong Films, behind Sofia Alaoui’s Sundance Jury Prize winner “Animalia,” a sci-fi drama, is prepping another Arabic-language genre movie, David Arslanian’s feature debut “Thaoura,” which is set in Lebanon’s 2019 public protests against its worst economic crisis since 1850.
“Thaoura” will be introduced by Wrong Films’ Mathilde Warisse to potential partners at the Locarno Film Festival’s Match Me!, which runs Aug. 9-11 at the Swiss film festival. Arslanian is currently writing the screenplay with Thomas Desenne, a scribe on Arte series “Le Somnambuliste,” who co-wrote Arslanian’s latest short, “Underdog” (“Charbon”), showcased at Unifrance’s MyFrenchFilmFestival in January with Arslanian and Ed Waguette. Desenne focused on the short’s narrative drive.
Wrong Films also produced “Bolero,” by France’s Nans Laborde-Jourdáa, which walked off with a Queer Palm, and Morad Mostafa’s “I Promise You Paradise,” which scooped a Cannes Festival Nikon Discovery Prize.
Aloui was...
“Thaoura” will be introduced by Wrong Films’ Mathilde Warisse to potential partners at the Locarno Film Festival’s Match Me!, which runs Aug. 9-11 at the Swiss film festival. Arslanian is currently writing the screenplay with Thomas Desenne, a scribe on Arte series “Le Somnambuliste,” who co-wrote Arslanian’s latest short, “Underdog” (“Charbon”), showcased at Unifrance’s MyFrenchFilmFestival in January with Arslanian and Ed Waguette. Desenne focused on the short’s narrative drive.
Wrong Films also produced “Bolero,” by France’s Nans Laborde-Jourdáa, which walked off with a Queer Palm, and Morad Mostafa’s “I Promise You Paradise,” which scooped a Cannes Festival Nikon Discovery Prize.
Aloui was...
- 7/24/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Oumaima Barid in Animalia Photo: Wrong Films & Srab Films
A big hit on the festival circuit and now in cinemas in the US, Sofia Alaoui’s Animalia is an extraordinary feature début which promises a still more extraordinary future career. I was delighted when the director agreed to discuss it, and although we had no translator to assist, she had plenty to say.
The film follows a young, pregnant woman who has married into a wealthy family. When she’s alone in their remote mansion, a strange incident occurs, with military units rushing to surround the nearby lake. It’s just the start of an extraterrestrial engagement that will plunge her world into chaos, but the journey that follows has unexpected consequences, leading her to reevaluate her life and the society she’s part of.
Animalia Photo: Wrong Films & Srab Films
I fell in love with the film, I tell Sofia,...
A big hit on the festival circuit and now in cinemas in the US, Sofia Alaoui’s Animalia is an extraordinary feature début which promises a still more extraordinary future career. I was delighted when the director agreed to discuss it, and although we had no translator to assist, she had plenty to say.
The film follows a young, pregnant woman who has married into a wealthy family. When she’s alone in their remote mansion, a strange incident occurs, with military units rushing to surround the nearby lake. It’s just the start of an extraterrestrial engagement that will plunge her world into chaos, but the journey that follows has unexpected consequences, leading her to reevaluate her life and the society she’s part of.
Animalia Photo: Wrong Films & Srab Films
I fell in love with the film, I tell Sofia,...
- 6/30/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
When the balance of the universe is disturbed, the hierarchy of nature’s totem can be reconfigured. If the earth’s creatures are more closely attuned to possible upheaval, the less fortunate to deal with chaos theory might actually be those who believe they own the space. Grounded in naturalism with a sprinkling of sci-fi, Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui‘s feature debut challenges the eco-systems of class divide and co-habitation with a compass that points in all directions. With ambiguous forces that are undefined, Animalia reminds us that when the rapture is close that social currency carries more weight than technology or bank account balances.…...
- 6/17/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
A powerful statement of intent from first time feature director Sofia Alaoui, and deserving winner of the New Visions award at Sundance, Animalia opens with a series of gorgeously framed symmetrical shots, exterior and then interior, which recall the work of Stanley Kubrick. They’re beautiful partly because of the house they depict, an elegant lakeside Moroccan mansion, but as we’ll soon see, they provide only a taster of what Alaoui can do. They depict a life not only wealthy but perfectly ordered, every detail where it is intended to be. Only Itto (Oumaima Barid) is out of place, attracting scowls from her mother in law when she is caught in the kitchen, chatting to the servants, getting raw meat on the sleeves of her orange silk robe.
“She wanted you to marry a rich girl, not a hick, a nobody’s daughter,” she later laments to her husband,...
“She wanted you to marry a rich girl, not a hick, a nobody’s daughter,” she later laments to her husband,...
- 6/14/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
"Don't let fear stop you." Dark Star Pictures has revealed the official US trailer for an impressive indie sci-fi mystery thriller titled Animalia, a French-Moroccan production about a pregnant woman in Morocco. This initially premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival last year and it also played at plenty of other major festivals throughout 2023, including Vancouver and London. The film won a Sundance New Vision award and brings "the arrival of a new, freshly original cinematic voice" in French-Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui. As she nears the end of her pregnancy, Itto and her in-laws find their lives changed by a supernatural event. A story about a woman who discoverers emancipation when aliens arrive in Morocco. That's the big pitch, though there's also an intriguing psychological thriller angle to this story as well. Starring Oumaïma Barid as Itto, Mehdi Dehbi, Fouad Oughaou, and Souad Khouyi. It's arriving on VOD to watch next...
- 6/14/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Dubai-based sales company Mad World has taken global rights to feminist drama “The Wound,” which marks the directorial debut of Morocco’s Seloua El Gouni, who has experience as a production manager on Hollywood titles such as “A Hologram for the King” and “Men in Black: International.”
“The Wound” (“La Plaie”) stars rising Arab talent Oumaïma Barid, who gained global notice in Sofia Alaoui’s 2023 Sundance title “Animalia.” Barid plays a young woman named Leila who is trying to pursue her passions and ambitions while contending with Morocco’s societal constraints and becomes pregnant in an extramarital love affair.
The promising drama’s Moroccan A-list cast also comprises rising star Brice Bexter; Amal Ayouch (“Eye on Juliet”); Mansour Badri (“Ghosts of Beirut”); Soraya Azzabi (“Billie’s Magic World”); Abdelhak Saleh (“Hounds”); and Sami Fekkak (“Testament: Story of Moses”).
“The Wound” is being produced by El Gouni and Taha Benghalem through their Marrakech-based company Pink Sheep Productions,...
“The Wound” (“La Plaie”) stars rising Arab talent Oumaïma Barid, who gained global notice in Sofia Alaoui’s 2023 Sundance title “Animalia.” Barid plays a young woman named Leila who is trying to pursue her passions and ambitions while contending with Morocco’s societal constraints and becomes pregnant in an extramarital love affair.
The promising drama’s Moroccan A-list cast also comprises rising star Brice Bexter; Amal Ayouch (“Eye on Juliet”); Mansour Badri (“Ghosts of Beirut”); Soraya Azzabi (“Billie’s Magic World”); Abdelhak Saleh (“Hounds”); and Sami Fekkak (“Testament: Story of Moses”).
“The Wound” is being produced by El Gouni and Taha Benghalem through their Marrakech-based company Pink Sheep Productions,...
- 6/14/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Unifrance and Screen International held a dinner to celebrate up-and-coming French talent on May 22 at the Terrasse Unifrance, during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Unifrance’s 10 to Watch have been selected for the excellence of their work by international journalists Rebecca Leffler (Screen International), Fabien Lemercier (Cineuropa), Elsa Keslassy (Variety), Christine Masson (France Inter), and Jordan Mintzer (The Hollywood Reporter). The talents epitomise a reinvigoration of French cinema through the freedom and singularity of their artistic choices, their ambition, their audacity, and their unique perspectives of the world.
In Cannes, the 10 To Watch were also put in the spotlight through a...
Unifrance’s 10 to Watch have been selected for the excellence of their work by international journalists Rebecca Leffler (Screen International), Fabien Lemercier (Cineuropa), Elsa Keslassy (Variety), Christine Masson (France Inter), and Jordan Mintzer (The Hollywood Reporter). The talents epitomise a reinvigoration of French cinema through the freedom and singularity of their artistic choices, their ambition, their audacity, and their unique perspectives of the world.
In Cannes, the 10 To Watch were also put in the spotlight through a...
- 5/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
Logical Pictures is launching a new Africa venture that will see the production, financing and distribution outfit expand its global footprint into the fast-growing African market.
According to the group’s head, Frédéric Fiore, the move will help position Logical Pictures as the preferred financing partner on the continent for the international industry and the leading production company of African content with global ambitions.
“Logical Pictures has now established in Europe a uniquely positioned group that can finance, distribute and produce content internationally with outstanding talents,” said Fiore. “With Logical Pictures Africa, we want to emulate a similar ecosystem in one of the most creative places in the world, dovetailing our approach to the specificities of each part of the world.”
Launched in 2016, the Logical Pictures Group has become a leading player in film and TV equity, producing, financing and distributing a range of content in France and internationally through...
According to the group’s head, Frédéric Fiore, the move will help position Logical Pictures as the preferred financing partner on the continent for the international industry and the leading production company of African content with global ambitions.
“Logical Pictures has now established in Europe a uniquely positioned group that can finance, distribute and produce content internationally with outstanding talents,” said Fiore. “With Logical Pictures Africa, we want to emulate a similar ecosystem in one of the most creative places in the world, dovetailing our approach to the specificities of each part of the world.”
Launched in 2016, the Logical Pictures Group has become a leading player in film and TV equity, producing, financing and distributing a range of content in France and internationally through...
- 5/17/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
French film promotional organization Unifrance put talent in the spotlight at this year’s Rendez-Vous in Paris, where the 10 actors and filmmakers selected as 2024’s Talents to Watch were fêted with flutes of champagne at France’s Ministry of Culture before being introduced to the international press at a dedicated event.
For more than a decade, the 10 to Watch program has pinpointed the creative talents breathing modernity and vitality into contemporary French cinema. Think of a Gallic artist that’s made international waves over the past decade, and chances are they made this list. Here are the voices taking the industry forward in the years to come.
Sofia Alaoui
Sofia Alaoui
Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease.
The upcoming film will follow Meryam, a 40-something...
For more than a decade, the 10 to Watch program has pinpointed the creative talents breathing modernity and vitality into contemporary French cinema. Think of a Gallic artist that’s made international waves over the past decade, and chances are they made this list. Here are the voices taking the industry forward in the years to come.
Sofia Alaoui
Sofia Alaoui
Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease.
The upcoming film will follow Meryam, a 40-something...
- 1/23/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Recently honored as one of Unifrance’s 10 to Watch, Franco-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui will build on the rugged eeriness of her 2023 Sundance jury prize winner “Animalia” with “Tarfaya” – a slow-burn thriller that mines Morocco’s sweeping landscapes for ambient unease.
Named for (and inspired by) a remote, coastal town on the country’s Saharan border, “Tarfaya” imagines a not-too-distant world of extreme atmospheric swings, of severe heat giving way to more intense storms, all while daily life trudges on. The film will follow Meryam, a forty-something nurse working at a secluded hospital beset by a mysterious new plague linked to the destabilizing environment.
“At first, the patients become delirious, falling into delusions,” Alaoui explains. “Later they fall into a deep sleep, as if they’re disconnecting from the world in which they live. The film builds from this wistful tone where the characters become accustomed to a form of apocalypse.
Named for (and inspired by) a remote, coastal town on the country’s Saharan border, “Tarfaya” imagines a not-too-distant world of extreme atmospheric swings, of severe heat giving way to more intense storms, all while daily life trudges on. The film will follow Meryam, a forty-something nurse working at a secluded hospital beset by a mysterious new plague linked to the destabilizing environment.
“At first, the patients become delirious, falling into delusions,” Alaoui explains. “Later they fall into a deep sleep, as if they’re disconnecting from the world in which they live. The film builds from this wistful tone where the characters become accustomed to a form of apocalypse.
- 1/20/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Karim Debbagh‘s leading Tangier-based line producer Kasbah Films has secured a raft of U.S. and U.K. projects that will lense in Morocco, including “Lords of War,” the sequel to “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage as the world’s most notorious arms dealer.
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work on “Lords of War,” which is expected to start shooting in March for approximately 40 days and is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, alongside Cage’s Saturn Films. Debbagh is currently scouting locations across Morocco.
“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” said the veteran producer, who seemed overjoyed to restart scouting after having been forced to pause for eight months due to the...
While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work on “Lords of War,” which is expected to start shooting in March for approximately 40 days and is being produced by Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, alongside Cage’s Saturn Films. Debbagh is currently scouting locations across Morocco.
“We’re trying to cover four or five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali and several countries in the Middle East, and we’ve almost found everything in Morocco,” said the veteran producer, who seemed overjoyed to restart scouting after having been forced to pause for eight months due to the...
- 12/3/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
The Marrakech Film Festival celebrated its 20th edition this year, arriving at the landmark some 22 years after its 2001 launch due to the missed years of the pandemic.
Like its first year, which took place in the aftermath of the terror attacks of 9/11, the 2023 edition has unfolded in a geopolitically tense time due to the Israel-Hamas war.
The conflict, which prompted a number of Mena festivals to cancel or postpone their fall editions, came on top of the deadly earthquake in September in the nearby Atlas Mountains, which cast doubt on whether the festival would happen.
Festival director Mélita Toscan du Plantier says that once Morocco had taken the decision to continue with festival in the wake of the quake there was never any question of cancelling or postponing due to the conflict.
“I couldn’t sleep for days after October 7 and this is now a horrible war for both sides,...
Like its first year, which took place in the aftermath of the terror attacks of 9/11, the 2023 edition has unfolded in a geopolitically tense time due to the Israel-Hamas war.
The conflict, which prompted a number of Mena festivals to cancel or postpone their fall editions, came on top of the deadly earthquake in September in the nearby Atlas Mountains, which cast doubt on whether the festival would happen.
Festival director Mélita Toscan du Plantier says that once Morocco had taken the decision to continue with festival in the wake of the quake there was never any question of cancelling or postponing due to the conflict.
“I couldn’t sleep for days after October 7 and this is now a horrible war for both sides,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Marrakech Film Festival’s sixth Atlas Workshops kicks off today under the fresh curation of former indie film sales agent and publicist Hédi Zardi.
Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.
Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.
Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.
After eight years on the sales circuit,...
Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.
Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.
Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.
After eight years on the sales circuit,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Now entering its sixth edition, the Marrakech Film Festival’s industry-focused Atlas Workshops can expect its busiest year to date. Showcasing rising talents from the Mena world, the production spotlight will welcome more than 200 industry delegates — among them 15 sales companies — and will co-ordinate 460 professional meetings as part of its co-production market.
And though artistic patron Martin Scorsese had to cancel his trip at the last minute, this year’s workshop will still see a wider U.S. presence, hosting a delegation of producers brought over through Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program, and, for the first time, welcoming acquisition execs from A24.
Atlas Workshops director Hedi Zardi tells Variety that his program received more than 600 professional requests, and will organize 100 more meetings than they did last year. And given the Workshops’ stellar track record — with Atlas supported projects premiering and winning prizes in Berlin, Cannes and Venice just this...
And though artistic patron Martin Scorsese had to cancel his trip at the last minute, this year’s workshop will still see a wider U.S. presence, hosting a delegation of producers brought over through Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program, and, for the first time, welcoming acquisition execs from A24.
Atlas Workshops director Hedi Zardi tells Variety that his program received more than 600 professional requests, and will organize 100 more meetings than they did last year. And given the Workshops’ stellar track record — with Atlas supported projects premiering and winning prizes in Berlin, Cannes and Venice just this...
- 11/25/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard and Jacques Audiard are among 500 French cinema professionals to have signed an open letter in support of a silent march for peace in Paris this Sunday.
The initiative – created in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and its ongoing reverberations around the world – is being spearheaded by the newly launched Une Autre Voix (Another Voice) collective.
“This fratricidal war affects us all, and regardless of our reasons or affinities on each side of the wall, we want it to cease and that both peoples finally live in peace,” reads the letter.
“This is why we are organizing a silent, united, humanist and peaceful march that will open with a single long white banner. No political claims nor slogans. White flags, white handkerchiefs are welcome.”
Belgian-Moroccan actress Lubna Azabal presides over the Une Autre Voix collective which also features French...
The initiative – created in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and its ongoing reverberations around the world – is being spearheaded by the newly launched Une Autre Voix (Another Voice) collective.
“This fratricidal war affects us all, and regardless of our reasons or affinities on each side of the wall, we want it to cease and that both peoples finally live in peace,” reads the letter.
“This is why we are organizing a silent, united, humanist and peaceful march that will open with a single long white banner. No political claims nor slogans. White flags, white handkerchiefs are welcome.”
Belgian-Moroccan actress Lubna Azabal presides over the Une Autre Voix collective which also features French...
- 11/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Film Clinic is set to dominate the lineup of the highly anticipated third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival — which is scheduled to run from Nov 30, 2023 – Sat, Dec 9, 2023 — with the prolific production and distribution shingle boasting four of its titles in the festival. Coming in first in Arab Spectacular section titles Hajjan and Four Daughters. In Competition — Backstage and showcasing in the Festival Favourites section — Animalia.
Hajjan
Abu Bakr Shawky's latest Hajjan, produced by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) & Film Clinic. It had its World Premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival.– It is also produced by Mohamed Hefzy and Majed Zuhair Samman, co-produced by The
Imaginarium Films' Rula Nasser, and distributed by Film Clinic Indie Distribution in the Arab world while Film Constellation has the
worldwide rights. It revolves around brothers Matar and Ghanim, who live in the endless desert of Saudi Arabia.
Hajjan
Abu Bakr Shawky's latest Hajjan, produced by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) & Film Clinic. It had its World Premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival.– It is also produced by Mohamed Hefzy and Majed Zuhair Samman, co-produced by The
Imaginarium Films' Rula Nasser, and distributed by Film Clinic Indie Distribution in the Arab world while Film Constellation has the
worldwide rights. It revolves around brothers Matar and Ghanim, who live in the endless desert of Saudi Arabia.
- 11/12/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has announced a new batch of mostly international titles set to launch in its Festival Favorites and Treasures strands, including the international premiere of U.S. actor-turned-director Jennifer Esposito’s New York City mob drama “Fresh Kills.”
Inspired by Esposito’s upbringing in Staten Island, “Fresh Kills” – in which Esposito co-stars with Annabella Sciorra – bowed stateside at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Other international talents peppered throughout the Red Sea sections likely to be making the trek to Saudi include Anna Kendrick with her period crime drama “Woman of the Hour”; David Oyelowo, producer of high-profile soccer doc “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story”; Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn for Swedish director Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch”; Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers of “Copa 71,” the story of the groundbreaking 1971 Women’s World Cup; and French writer-director Laetitia Colombani with her drama “The Braid.
Inspired by Esposito’s upbringing in Staten Island, “Fresh Kills” – in which Esposito co-stars with Annabella Sciorra – bowed stateside at the Tribeca Festival in June.
Other international talents peppered throughout the Red Sea sections likely to be making the trek to Saudi include Anna Kendrick with her period crime drama “Woman of the Hour”; David Oyelowo, producer of high-profile soccer doc “Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story”; Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn for Swedish director Niclas Larsson’s “Mother, Couch”; Serena and Venus Williams as executive producers of “Copa 71,” the story of the groundbreaking 1971 Women’s World Cup; and French writer-director Laetitia Colombani with her drama “The Braid.
- 11/9/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman Of The Hour and family drama Mother Couch, starring Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn, are headed to the third edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, running from November 30 to December 9 in the port city of Jeddah.
The titles will play in the Festival Favorites sidebar which was announced on Thursday alongside the event’s Red Sea: Treasures strand.
Kendrick directs and stars in Netflix-acquired drama Woman Of The Hour as a woman whose path crosses notorious serial killer Rodney Alcala, whilst in Niclas Larsson’s first film Mother Couch, McGregor plays a man whose mother squats the family furniture store.
Further films in the line-up – showcasing 21 buzzy festival titles from the last 12 months – include the David Oyelowo produced documentary Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story; Women’s World Cup doc Copa 71, executive produced by Serena and Venus Williams, Jennifer Esposito’s Fresh Kills,...
The titles will play in the Festival Favorites sidebar which was announced on Thursday alongside the event’s Red Sea: Treasures strand.
Kendrick directs and stars in Netflix-acquired drama Woman Of The Hour as a woman whose path crosses notorious serial killer Rodney Alcala, whilst in Niclas Larsson’s first film Mother Couch, McGregor plays a man whose mother squats the family furniture store.
Further films in the line-up – showcasing 21 buzzy festival titles from the last 12 months – include the David Oyelowo produced documentary Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story; Women’s World Cup doc Copa 71, executive produced by Serena and Venus Williams, Jennifer Esposito’s Fresh Kills,...
- 11/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Slow’ and ‘Animalia’ both world premiered to acclaim at Sundance while ’The Hypnosis’ picked up prizes at Karlovy Vary.
Paris-based Totem Films has agreed a slew of deals for acclaimed Sundance premieres Slow and Animalia as well as Karlovy Vary-winning feature The Hypnosis.
Marija Kavtaradze’s second feature Slow has sold to KimStim for theatrical distribution in North America and to Conic Film for the UK and Ireland. It was also scooped up by Salzgeber in Germany, Filmin in Spain, Falcon for Indonesia, New Horizons in Poland and HBO for Eastern Europe.
Slow world premiered at Sundance this year in...
Paris-based Totem Films has agreed a slew of deals for acclaimed Sundance premieres Slow and Animalia as well as Karlovy Vary-winning feature The Hypnosis.
Marija Kavtaradze’s second feature Slow has sold to KimStim for theatrical distribution in North America and to Conic Film for the UK and Ireland. It was also scooped up by Salzgeber in Germany, Filmin in Spain, Falcon for Indonesia, New Horizons in Poland and HBO for Eastern Europe.
Slow world premiered at Sundance this year in...
- 11/8/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the 25 projects selected for the sixth edition of its industry-focused Atlas Workshops, aimed at nurturing emerging Moroccan, Arab and African talent.
Running from November 27 to 30, the event will present 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries, selected from among the 320 applications received from the Arab world and African continent.
In a reflection of the growing diversity of the stories being told by Arab and African independent filmmakers, the selection spans a diverse range of film genres, from Lebanese director Sandra Tabet’s horror picture Rabies to Moroccan filmmaker Hind Bensari’s humanist documentary Out of School and Adnane Baraka’s poetic work We Don’t Forget.
Moroccan filmmaker Baraka made waves with his documentary Fragments from Heaven, about a nomad living in a tent in a remote part of Morocco who goes in search of meteorite fragments to boost the family fortunes.
Running from November 27 to 30, the event will present 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries, selected from among the 320 applications received from the Arab world and African continent.
In a reflection of the growing diversity of the stories being told by Arab and African independent filmmakers, the selection spans a diverse range of film genres, from Lebanese director Sandra Tabet’s horror picture Rabies to Moroccan filmmaker Hind Bensari’s humanist documentary Out of School and Adnane Baraka’s poetic work We Don’t Forget.
Moroccan filmmaker Baraka made waves with his documentary Fragments from Heaven, about a nomad living in a tent in a remote part of Morocco who goes in search of meteorite fragments to boost the family fortunes.
- 11/3/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Festival has programmed 75 films from 36 countries.
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which runs from November 24-December 2.
The festival is opening with Richard Linklater’s action comedy Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, and is screening 75 films in total from 36 countries.
Marrakech’s official competition, which comprises first and second feature films, includes Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes Competition title Banel & Adama, Lina Soualem’s Venice Giornate degli Autori documentary Bye Bye Tiberias and Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s feature debut Hounds, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Scroll down for full line-up
Johnny Barrington,...
The Marrakech International Film Festival has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which runs from November 24-December 2.
The festival is opening with Richard Linklater’s action comedy Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, and is screening 75 films in total from 36 countries.
Marrakech’s official competition, which comprises first and second feature films, includes Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s Cannes Competition title Banel & Adama, Lina Soualem’s Venice Giornate degli Autori documentary Bye Bye Tiberias and Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq’s feature debut Hounds, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Scroll down for full line-up
Johnny Barrington,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Richard Linklater’s action comedy “Hit Man” is set to open the Marrakech International Film Festival, which has announced its lineup of more than 70 films mixing known titles and fresh fare.
The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov. 24- Dec.2 in the ancient Moroccan city despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.
“Hit Man,” for which organizers declined to specify whether talent will attend, will screen as part of Marrakech’s red carpet gala screenings. Italian director Matteo Garrone is expected to make the trek for the gala of his Venice prizewinning immigration drama “Io Capitano” and Michel Franco will be coming to present another Venice prizewinner, “Memory,” starring Jessica Chastain, who is presiding over the fest’s main jury.
Also expected on hand for...
The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov. 24- Dec.2 in the ancient Moroccan city despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region, as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.
“Hit Man,” for which organizers declined to specify whether talent will attend, will screen as part of Marrakech’s red carpet gala screenings. Italian director Matteo Garrone is expected to make the trek for the gala of his Venice prizewinning immigration drama “Io Capitano” and Michel Franco will be coming to present another Venice prizewinner, “Memory,” starring Jessica Chastain, who is presiding over the fest’s main jury.
Also expected on hand for...
- 11/2/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival has announced its selection, opening with Richard Linklater’s comedy Hit Man.
The event, running from November 24 to December 24, will unfold two months after the devastating earthquake in the nearby Atlas Mountains in September, which killed more than 2,000 people.
The management team has decided to push on with the event to support Marrakech, which suffered very little damage and relies heavily on tourism for its livelihood.
Hit Man will play as part of the festival’s six picture red carpet Gala selection which also includes Matteo Garrone’s Italian Oscar entry Me Captain and Michel Franco’s Memory.
Previously announced high-profile guests due to attend this year include Martin Scorsese, who will act as a mentor to emerging filmmakers attending the industry-focused Atlas Workshops, and Jessica Chastain as president of the jury.
She will be joined by Iranian actress and director Zar Amir,...
The event, running from November 24 to December 24, will unfold two months after the devastating earthquake in the nearby Atlas Mountains in September, which killed more than 2,000 people.
The management team has decided to push on with the event to support Marrakech, which suffered very little damage and relies heavily on tourism for its livelihood.
Hit Man will play as part of the festival’s six picture red carpet Gala selection which also includes Matteo Garrone’s Italian Oscar entry Me Captain and Michel Franco’s Memory.
Previously announced high-profile guests due to attend this year include Martin Scorsese, who will act as a mentor to emerging filmmakers attending the industry-focused Atlas Workshops, and Jessica Chastain as president of the jury.
She will be joined by Iranian actress and director Zar Amir,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
A scene from ‘Property’ – Fantastic Fest 2023
Director Daniel Bandeire’s Property starring Malu Galli took home top honors at the 2023 Fantastic Fest held in Austin, Texas. This year’s festival kicked off on September 21st and wraps up on September 28th.
“We were graced with wonderful films from around the world this year,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest. “Curating this diverse showcase of cinema for our esteemed jurors was a real privilege. With so many incredible perspectives represented, their job reviewing these fantastic movies was undeniably challenging. Their thoughtful and professional critiques of each work embody the cinematic excellence we love to champion at Fantastic Fest.”
2023 Fantastic Fest Winners
“Main Competition” Features
Best Picture: Property, directed by Daniel Bandeire
Best Director: Robert Morgan – Stopmotion
Honorable Mention: Animalia, directed by Sofia Alaoui
“Next Wave” Features
Best Picture: Sri Asih, directed by Upi Avianto
Best Directors: David Kapac...
Director Daniel Bandeire’s Property starring Malu Galli took home top honors at the 2023 Fantastic Fest held in Austin, Texas. This year’s festival kicked off on September 21st and wraps up on September 28th.
“We were graced with wonderful films from around the world this year,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest. “Curating this diverse showcase of cinema for our esteemed jurors was a real privilege. With so many incredible perspectives represented, their job reviewing these fantastic movies was undeniably challenging. Their thoughtful and professional critiques of each work embody the cinematic excellence we love to champion at Fantastic Fest.”
2023 Fantastic Fest Winners
“Main Competition” Features
Best Picture: Property, directed by Daniel Bandeire
Best Director: Robert Morgan – Stopmotion
Honorable Mention: Animalia, directed by Sofia Alaoui
“Next Wave” Features
Best Picture: Sri Asih, directed by Upi Avianto
Best Directors: David Kapac...
- 9/26/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Fantastic Fest is currently winding down in Austin, Texas, with two more days of blood-splattered programming unfurling at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.
But before the festival concludes (with a closing-night screening of Nahnatchka Khan’s “Totally Killer”), TheWrap can exclusively reveal the winners from this year’s festival – in all of their gore-drenched glory.
“We were graced with wonderful films from around the world this year,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest, in an official statement. “Curating this diverse showcase of cinema for our esteemed jurors was a real privilege. With so many incredible perspectives represented, their job reviewing these fantastic movies was undeniably challenging. Their thoughtful and professional critiques of each work embody the cinematic excellence we love to champion at Fantastic Fest.”
Choosing the very best films of this year’s festival must have been though; not only were there a ton of...
But before the festival concludes (with a closing-night screening of Nahnatchka Khan’s “Totally Killer”), TheWrap can exclusively reveal the winners from this year’s festival – in all of their gore-drenched glory.
“We were graced with wonderful films from around the world this year,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest, in an official statement. “Curating this diverse showcase of cinema for our esteemed jurors was a real privilege. With so many incredible perspectives represented, their job reviewing these fantastic movies was undeniably challenging. Their thoughtful and professional critiques of each work embody the cinematic excellence we love to champion at Fantastic Fest.”
Choosing the very best films of this year’s festival must have been though; not only were there a ton of...
- 9/26/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Director and screenwriter Sofia Alaoui has signed with WME for representation in all areas. She continues to be represented by Jerome Duboz of Ithaka Media.
Born in Casablanca and raised in China, Alaoui is a French-Moroccan artist with an aim to create cinema that spans across borders and bends genres in new ways. After premiering her feature directorial debut, “Animalia” at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Alaoui won a special jury prize for creative vision. The film is a science fiction film that’s rooted in realism with political themes.
Her short film “So What If The Goats Die,” which tells the story of an extraterrestrial invasion in Imilchil (a Berber village located in the Atlas Mountains), won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and the César Award for Best Short Film in 2021.
Alaoui has since redirected her talents to TV and is now developing the series, “Let...
Born in Casablanca and raised in China, Alaoui is a French-Moroccan artist with an aim to create cinema that spans across borders and bends genres in new ways. After premiering her feature directorial debut, “Animalia” at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Alaoui won a special jury prize for creative vision. The film is a science fiction film that’s rooted in realism with political themes.
Her short film “So What If The Goats Die,” which tells the story of an extraterrestrial invasion in Imilchil (a Berber village located in the Atlas Mountains), won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and the César Award for Best Short Film in 2021.
Alaoui has since redirected her talents to TV and is now developing the series, “Let...
- 8/28/2023
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Mubi has snagged all rights for the film in Germany and Austria and will release it theatrically in those territories.
Paris-based international sales and production house Totem Films has sold Anna Roller’s road movie Dead Girls Dancing to Mubi for Germany and Austria following the film’s parallel Tribeca and Munich premieres in June, and has boarded the German writer-director’s second feature Manatee, which they will also co-produce.
Mubi has snagged all rights for the film and will release it theatrically in those territories.
Dead Girls Dancing, Roller’s debut feature, is produced by the company’s production...
Paris-based international sales and production house Totem Films has sold Anna Roller’s road movie Dead Girls Dancing to Mubi for Germany and Austria following the film’s parallel Tribeca and Munich premieres in June, and has boarded the German writer-director’s second feature Manatee, which they will also co-produce.
Mubi has snagged all rights for the film and will release it theatrically in those territories.
Dead Girls Dancing, Roller’s debut feature, is produced by the company’s production...
- 8/21/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The eighteenth edition of the genre festival Fantastic Fest is set to be held at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas from September 21st – 28th (badges are available now at FantasticFest.com), and this time around the festival is going to feature 29 world premieres, 24 North American premieres, and 18 U.S. premieres! Among the films in the lineup, which you can look over below, are The Toxic Avenger remake and the Pet Sematary prequel Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. The first two episodes of the Mike Flanagan Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher will also be screened at the festival.
Festival Director Lisa Dreyer had this to say: “The Fantastic Fest team is ready to take you on a journey you won’t ever forget. We’ve taken the best week of the year and supercharged it: more movies, more parties, more fun. If you want to see...
Festival Director Lisa Dreyer had this to say: “The Fantastic Fest team is ready to take you on a journey you won’t ever forget. We’ve taken the best week of the year and supercharged it: more movies, more parties, more fun. If you want to see...
- 8/15/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
It's the most fantastic time of the year once again, when the fans of the creepy, the weird, the fun, and the bizarre gather in Austin Texas to celebrate a whole week of the best genre cinema has to offer during another iteration of Fantastic Fest.
The ongoing double strike of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, and the studios' stupid refusal to negotiate already, put all the fall film festivals in doubt. Still, the lineup for this year's Fantastic Fest seems to maintain the expected balance of big genre premieres, international titles, small indies, and all-around weird stuff.
Possibly the biggest announcement is the triumphant return of Mike Flanagan to Austin with the first two episodes of his last Netflix show, "The Fall of the House of Usher," which boasts the most impressive cast for a Flanagan joint yet. The last time the filmmaker was at the festival was with...
The ongoing double strike of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, and the studios' stupid refusal to negotiate already, put all the fall film festivals in doubt. Still, the lineup for this year's Fantastic Fest seems to maintain the expected balance of big genre premieres, international titles, small indies, and all-around weird stuff.
Possibly the biggest announcement is the triumphant return of Mike Flanagan to Austin with the first two episodes of his last Netflix show, "The Fall of the House of Usher," which boasts the most impressive cast for a Flanagan joint yet. The last time the filmmaker was at the festival was with...
- 8/15/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Fantastic Fest, the genre film festival that takes place in Austin, Texas every fall, has unveiled its 2023 lineup, which includes a new take on Troma’s classic “The Toxic Avenger” from Blumhouse, Prime Video’s time travel slasher “Totally Killer,” episodes of Mike Flanagan’s new Netflix series “The Fall of the House of Usher” and the latest film by South Korean auteur Kim Jee-woon (“Cobweb”) as the festival’s reputation for bringing film fans the most adventurous offerings remains unchallenged.
The opening night movie for the festival is the new “Toxic Avenger,” produced by Legendary alongside Troma, and written and directed by the great Macon Blair (recently seen as Oppenheimer’s put-upon lawyer in Christopher Nolan’s film). Peter Dinklage plays the title character with a supporting cast that includes Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon.
Other highlights include “Always Be My Maybe” director Nahnatchka Khan...
The opening night movie for the festival is the new “Toxic Avenger,” produced by Legendary alongside Troma, and written and directed by the great Macon Blair (recently seen as Oppenheimer’s put-upon lawyer in Christopher Nolan’s film). Peter Dinklage plays the title character with a supporting cast that includes Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon.
Other highlights include “Always Be My Maybe” director Nahnatchka Khan...
- 8/15/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
The Melbourne International Film Festival has confirmed that it will provide $202,000 will go to the winner of its Bright Horizons competition for features by first- and second-time directors. Bragging rights to being the richest film competition in the country previously belonged to the smaller CinefestOZ festival in West Australia, which follows later in August.
The Melbourne festival (in cinemas Aug. 3-20) has this year added two significant prizes: the inaugural First Nations Film Creative Award in collaboration with Kearney Group, and the return of the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, worth $47,500 recognizing an outstanding Australian creative within a film playing in the Melbourne 2023 program.
Winners across long-form awards categories will be announced at Melbourne’s closing night gala on Aug. 19, These will include the juried prizes and the Miff Audience Award.
The First Nations Film Creative Award supports First Nations talent and storytelling with the recipient awarded a $13,500 cash prize and $16,900 worth of financial services.
The Melbourne festival (in cinemas Aug. 3-20) has this year added two significant prizes: the inaugural First Nations Film Creative Award in collaboration with Kearney Group, and the return of the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award, worth $47,500 recognizing an outstanding Australian creative within a film playing in the Melbourne 2023 program.
Winners across long-form awards categories will be announced at Melbourne’s closing night gala on Aug. 19, These will include the juried prizes and the Miff Audience Award.
The First Nations Film Creative Award supports First Nations talent and storytelling with the recipient awarded a $13,500 cash prize and $16,900 worth of financial services.
- 7/27/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes titles and debut features make strong appearances throughout the programme.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
- 7/11/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Cannes titles and debut features make strong appearances throughout the programme.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) has revealed the 11 titles in the running for its $93,400 competition prize, and will open with Shayda by Australian-Iranian director Noora Niasari.
The festival, which runs August 3-20, unveiled the titles at a programme launch this evening (July 11). Debut and second features are eligible for the Bright Horizons competition, which was introduced last year for the 70th edition, but debuts undoubtedly dominate this year.
Scroll down for full list of competition titles
In fact, the only undeniably second film is Mexican director Lila Avilés’ Tótem.
- 7/11/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
The Melbourne International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 2023 edition, with “Shayda,” by Iranian-Australian director Noora Niasari, set as the opening title.
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the Covid pandemic and Miff found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.
International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,...
The festival will run as a live event August 3-20, at venues around the city and its suburbs, and online Aug 18 – 27. The hybrid format was developed during the Covid pandemic and Miff found it useful as a tool to reach further away audiences and wider demographics than a strictly in-theater edition.
The ‘Bright Horizons’ competition section open to films by first- or second-time feature directors contains an 11-title mix of new and recently-debuted works.
As well as opening the festival, “Shayda” will play in competition. The competition’s other Australian-made title was announced as “The Rooster,” from actor turned writer-director Mark Leonard Winter.
International titles in competition include “Banel & Adama,” by Franco-Senegalese director Ramata-Toulaye Sy, which played in competition in Cannes; “How to Have Sex,...
- 7/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
For more than two decades, the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff) has been a draw for genre filmmakers from across the globe and a pull for Swiss youth. Heading into its 22nd edition, which runs June 30 – July 8, the lakeside event will once again showcase the kind outré and audacious fare that Neuchatel’s reliable and devoted young public has come to expect, while continuing to bridge outward, welcoming more unfamiliar faces into the fold.
“By instinct, influence, and mutual attraction, genre cinema will always appeal to the young,” says Nifff director Pierre-Yves Walder. “In fact, Nifff attracts one of the youngest publics of any Swiss festival, but I’d like to convert different audiences of perhaps different ages as well. And not just for commercial reasons; I find it so interesting and essential to mix things up.”
Showcasing 124 films, including eight world premieres and seven international launches, this year...
“By instinct, influence, and mutual attraction, genre cinema will always appeal to the young,” says Nifff director Pierre-Yves Walder. “In fact, Nifff attracts one of the youngest publics of any Swiss festival, but I’d like to convert different audiences of perhaps different ages as well. And not just for commercial reasons; I find it so interesting and essential to mix things up.”
Showcasing 124 films, including eight world premieres and seven international launches, this year...
- 6/23/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Pape Boye’s Black Mic Mac, a recently launched banner championing African and Middle Eastern talent, is kicking off a strong first roster of projects including “Let the Earth Burn” from Sundance-prizewinning Sofia Alaoui and “The Bridge” creator Måns Mårlind.
“Let the Earth Burn” is a six-part series following Kenza, a recent graduate of the police academy working in a remote station nestled in the Atlas Mountains. Surrounded by misogynistic colleagues, she starts investigating on the disappearance of some shepherds’ children.
Alaoui’s credits include “So What if the Goats Die,” which won best short film at Cannes and Sundance in 2021, and “Animalia,” which won the Grand Jury prize at this year’s Sundance. Mårlind is one Europe’s best-known series’ creator with credits including “Midnight Sun” and “The Bridge” and “Shadowplay.” The film is produced by Barney Prods. and co-produced by Black Mic Mac. Other projects on the outfit...
“Let the Earth Burn” is a six-part series following Kenza, a recent graduate of the police academy working in a remote station nestled in the Atlas Mountains. Surrounded by misogynistic colleagues, she starts investigating on the disappearance of some shepherds’ children.
Alaoui’s credits include “So What if the Goats Die,” which won best short film at Cannes and Sundance in 2021, and “Animalia,” which won the Grand Jury prize at this year’s Sundance. Mårlind is one Europe’s best-known series’ creator with credits including “Midnight Sun” and “The Bridge” and “Shadowplay.” The film is produced by Barney Prods. and co-produced by Black Mic Mac. Other projects on the outfit...
- 5/20/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After receiving some Cnc Coin back in March of ’22, French filmmaker Lucie Prost is to begin production on what sounds like if you were to mix echo-drama Haynes’ Dark Water merged with Nichols’ Take Shelter. She has been able to lasso Finnegan Oldfield (Final Cut), Daphné Patakia (Benedetta) and Florent Loiret Caille for Les truites – the French word for trout. Production is set for June and July with cinematographer Noé Bach whose recent films include A-list film festival preemed Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s Anaïs in Love (2021), Guillaume Gouix’s Amore mio (2022) and Sofia Alaoui’s Animalia (2023) is onboard here.…...
- 4/20/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance documentary “Stephen Curry: Underrated” and SXSW television premiere “I’m a Virgo” will open and close Sffilm, the 66th annual San Francisco International Film Festival.
Sffilm unveiled the full lineup for the fest along with the openers and closers. The Bay Area film festival, which screens in theaters across San Francisco as well as Oakland and Berkeley, will host 50 feature film programs (includes Workshop and “mid-lengths”), 46 shorts, and one TV screening (“I’m a Virgo”). Both directors behind “I’m a Virgo” and “Underrated” — Boots Riley and Peter Nicks — grew up in the Bay Area, more specifically in Oakland. Other films from Bay Area filmmakers whose projects will screen include W. Kamau Bell’s “1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed,” Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama,” and Babak Jalali’s “Fremont.”
“It is Sffilm Festival season once again and I cannot wait to share this year’s program with local audiences,” Jessie Fairbanks, Sffilm’s director of programming,...
Sffilm unveiled the full lineup for the fest along with the openers and closers. The Bay Area film festival, which screens in theaters across San Francisco as well as Oakland and Berkeley, will host 50 feature film programs (includes Workshop and “mid-lengths”), 46 shorts, and one TV screening (“I’m a Virgo”). Both directors behind “I’m a Virgo” and “Underrated” — Boots Riley and Peter Nicks — grew up in the Bay Area, more specifically in Oakland. Other films from Bay Area filmmakers whose projects will screen include W. Kamau Bell’s “1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed,” Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama,” and Babak Jalali’s “Fremont.”
“It is Sffilm Festival season once again and I cannot wait to share this year’s program with local audiences,” Jessie Fairbanks, Sffilm’s director of programming,...
- 3/22/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
French-Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui made a splash at Sundance with her sci-fi thriller “Animalia,” which used genre to explore dark sides of Moroccan society. The filmmaker is now employing similar tropes on a TV series in early stages titled “Let the Earth Burn.”
“Animalia,” winner of the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision within Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, is about a pregnant young woman from a rural Berber background who winds up emancipating herself as aliens land in Morocco.
“Let the Earth Burn,” unveiled during the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra Arab film and TV series projects incubator this week, takes its cue from real abductions and slayings in remote areas of Morocco of kids known as “Zouhri” whom the kidnappers believe have supernatural powers.
“I read about these kidnappings in the newspaper, and I thought, ‘This is crazy!'” Alaoui told Variety. “The [medieval] practice is that they...
“Animalia,” winner of the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision within Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, is about a pregnant young woman from a rural Berber background who winds up emancipating herself as aliens land in Morocco.
“Let the Earth Burn,” unveiled during the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra Arab film and TV series projects incubator this week, takes its cue from real abductions and slayings in remote areas of Morocco of kids known as “Zouhri” whom the kidnappers believe have supernatural powers.
“I read about these kidnappings in the newspaper, and I thought, ‘This is crazy!'” Alaoui told Variety. “The [medieval] practice is that they...
- 3/17/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Sundance prize winner Sofia Alaoui, Yemeni-Scottish Oscar-nominee Sara Ishaq and Emmy-feted Egyptian cinematographer Muhammad Hamdy will be among filmmakers presenting projects at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event, unfolding in Qatar March 10-15.
The nine edition of the talent incubator aimed at Dfi grantee filmmakers will showcase 44 projects from 23 countries as it returns as a physical event for the first time since 2019.
Moroccan-French director Alaoui, who won Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision for her fantasy drama Animalia in January, attends with a new series which is in development.
Titled Let The Earth Burn, it revolves around a police academy graduate who is posted to a remote town in the Atlas Mountains despite coming top of her year.
Ishaq, who was Oscar-nominated for short film Karama Has No Walls, will present her second feature project The Station set against a women-only gas station in a gender-segregated village in war-torn Yemen.
The nine edition of the talent incubator aimed at Dfi grantee filmmakers will showcase 44 projects from 23 countries as it returns as a physical event for the first time since 2019.
Moroccan-French director Alaoui, who won Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision for her fantasy drama Animalia in January, attends with a new series which is in development.
Titled Let The Earth Burn, it revolves around a police academy graduate who is posted to a remote town in the Atlas Mountains despite coming top of her year.
Ishaq, who was Oscar-nominated for short film Karama Has No Walls, will present her second feature project The Station set against a women-only gas station in a gender-segregated village in war-torn Yemen.
- 3/1/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Sundance standout film “Animalia,” by French-Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui, has been acquired for distribution across the Middle East and North Africa by Egypt’s Film Clinic, the shingle headed by producer Mohamed Hefzy.
Film Clinic, a top film and TV production company that branched out into theatrical distribution in 2016, picked up “Animalia” from Paris-based sales company Totem Films.
Alaoui’s genre-bending pic is the tale of a pregnant young woman in Morocco whose life is upended by an alien invasion. In her review, Variety review critic Jessica Kiang praised “Animalia” as “a compellingly different cultural and social perspective on a classic sci-fi premise.” “Alaoui, working from her own taut, confidently ambiguous script, also gets to comment on the position of women in Muslim societies and the limits of wealth and organized faith, as well as elegantly outlining the eerie experience that is suddenly finding yourself startlingly alone during a time of shared global panic,...
Film Clinic, a top film and TV production company that branched out into theatrical distribution in 2016, picked up “Animalia” from Paris-based sales company Totem Films.
Alaoui’s genre-bending pic is the tale of a pregnant young woman in Morocco whose life is upended by an alien invasion. In her review, Variety review critic Jessica Kiang praised “Animalia” as “a compellingly different cultural and social perspective on a classic sci-fi premise.” “Alaoui, working from her own taut, confidently ambiguous script, also gets to comment on the position of women in Muslim societies and the limits of wealth and organized faith, as well as elegantly outlining the eerie experience that is suddenly finding yourself startlingly alone during a time of shared global panic,...
- 2/18/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
For writer-director Sofia Alaoui, winning the Short Film Grand Jury Prize for Qu’importe si les bêtes meurent (So What If the Goats Die) at the Sundance Film Festival and the Best Short Film at the César Awards three years ago opened literal doors. Those wins raised Alaoui’s international profile and gave her the opportunity to get her first, feature-length script, Animalia, a science-fiction drama set in contemporary Morocco, into production. By turns esoteric, enigmatic, and hermetic, Animalia marks the arrival of a new, freshly original cinematic voice, albeit an atypical, idiosyncratic, unorthodox one. When we first meet Animalia’s central character, Itto (Oumaima Barid), a heavily pregnant woman in her late 20s, she’s breaking the inflexible, unspoken rules of her adopted home and the wealthy family...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/7/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Animalia Review — Animalia (2023) Film Review from the 46th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Sofia Alaoui and starring Oumaïma Barid, Mehdi Dehbi, Souad Khouyi and Fouad Oughaou. Filmmaker Sofia Alaoui’s new film, Animalia, is a work of great complexity but there’s a lack of depth to the film’s ambiguous [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Animalia: Sofia Alaoui’s Film is Compelling but its Mysterious Plot Needs More of a Resolve [Sundance 2023]...
Continue reading: Film Review: Animalia: Sofia Alaoui’s Film is Compelling but its Mysterious Plot Needs More of a Resolve [Sundance 2023]...
- 1/31/2023
- by Thomas Duffy
- Film-Book
Paris-based international sales and production company Totem Films have boarded debutant Malika Musaeva’s “The Cage is Looking for a Bird,” which will receive its world premiere in the Encounters strand of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
The film focuses on a group of Chechen women living in a remote rural village and their struggles to defend their right for freedom and the choice to live their own lives. At the centre is a friendship between two teenage girls, on the verge of adulthood, who seek refuge in each other as they navigate decisions around their future.
Musaeva was born in Grozny, Chechnya, in 1992. During the Second Chechen War in 1999 her family fled and lived in Ingushetia and Ukraine, before settling in Germany. In 2003 her family returned to Russia and lived in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. In 2010, she enrolled in the Kabardino-Balkarian State University and studied under the acclaimed film director Aleksandr Sokurov.
The film focuses on a group of Chechen women living in a remote rural village and their struggles to defend their right for freedom and the choice to live their own lives. At the centre is a friendship between two teenage girls, on the verge of adulthood, who seek refuge in each other as they navigate decisions around their future.
Musaeva was born in Grozny, Chechnya, in 1992. During the Second Chechen War in 1999 her family fled and lived in Ingushetia and Ukraine, before settling in Germany. In 2003 her family returned to Russia and lived in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. In 2010, she enrolled in the Kabardino-Balkarian State University and studied under the acclaimed film director Aleksandr Sokurov.
- 1/30/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the festival’s first in-person competition since 2020, has revealed its award winners.
The big winners included Maryam Keshavarz‘s The Persian Version, which earned both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the same category.
The Persian Version explores an Iranian-American family’s past as its patriarch gets a heart transplant while A Thousand and One centers around a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system in order to find a path toward redemption.
Other winners include Festival Favorite Radical directed by Christopher Zalla and Grand Jury Prize winner for U.S. Documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
The festival has highlighted 101 different features and 64 shorts. These films were selected from a total of 15,856 submissions. Most of...
The big winners included Maryam Keshavarz‘s The Persian Version, which earned both the Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and A.V. Rockwell‘s A Thousand and One, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the same category.
The Persian Version explores an Iranian-American family’s past as its patriarch gets a heart transplant while A Thousand and One centers around a mother who kidnaps her son from the foster care system in order to find a path toward redemption.
Other winners include Festival Favorite Radical directed by Christopher Zalla and Grand Jury Prize winner for U.S. Documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
The festival has highlighted 101 different features and 64 shorts. These films were selected from a total of 15,856 submissions. Most of...
- 1/28/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
Festival runs through January 29.
A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand And One took the 2023 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize and Charlotte Regan’s UK entry Scrapper earned the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance awards ceremony on Friday.
Audience award winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version in U.S. Dramatic Competition, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia in U.S. Documentary, Mstylav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol in World Cinema Documentary, and Noora Niasari’s Shayda in World Cinema Dramatic.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said the selection “demonstrated a sense of...
A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand And One took the 2023 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize and Charlotte Regan’s UK entry Scrapper earned the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance awards ceremony on Friday.
Audience award winners included Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version in U.S. Dramatic Competition, Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia in U.S. Documentary, Mstylav Chernov’s 20 Days In Mariupol in World Cinema Documentary, and Noora Niasari’s Shayda in World Cinema Dramatic.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said the selection “demonstrated a sense of...
- 1/27/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A Thousand and One took the jury prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, with Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project taking the top prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition section.
A Thousand and One is directed by A.V. Rockwell and follows a mother who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system, a secret that threatens their way of life as Terry gets older. The Focus Features title stars Teyana Taylor, Josiah Cross and Will Catlett.
“When I was writing this film, I was thinking about mother and son relationships. I was thinking about Black women and Black men relationships. I was thinking about marginalized people and their relationship to their homes,” said Rockwell, accepting the award. “Thank you to everyone for seeing all of those groups and for seeing me.” A tearful Jeremy O. Harris, who was a part of the dramatic jury,...
A Thousand and One is directed by A.V. Rockwell and follows a mother who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system, a secret that threatens their way of life as Terry gets older. The Focus Features title stars Teyana Taylor, Josiah Cross and Will Catlett.
“When I was writing this film, I was thinking about mother and son relationships. I was thinking about Black women and Black men relationships. I was thinking about marginalized people and their relationship to their homes,” said Rockwell, accepting the award. “Thank you to everyone for seeing all of those groups and for seeing me.” A tearful Jeremy O. Harris, who was a part of the dramatic jury,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Back in Park City, Utah, for the first time since 2020, the Sundance Film Festival concluded with an in-person awards show. The U.S. dramatic grand jury prize went to the Focus Features release “A Thousand and One,” from debut writer-director A.V. Rockwell, one of eight women in this year’s female-led competition.
Jeremy O. Harris, a member of the three-person U.S. dramatic jury at Sundance, choked back tears as he presented the award to Rockwell, admitting that he left the director’s premiere screening and cried on the street, as the film unearthed “all the feelings I’ve learned to mask in public spaces.”
Rockwell’s film is set in an unforgiving New York City in the late ’90s, where a single mother moving from shelter to shelter kidnaps her 6-year-old son from foster care. As they improbably forge a life and bond, their darkest secret threatens to disrupt what they’ve built.
Jeremy O. Harris, a member of the three-person U.S. dramatic jury at Sundance, choked back tears as he presented the award to Rockwell, admitting that he left the director’s premiere screening and cried on the street, as the film unearthed “all the feelings I’ve learned to mask in public spaces.”
Rockwell’s film is set in an unforgiving New York City in the late ’90s, where a single mother moving from shelter to shelter kidnaps her 6-year-old son from foster care. As they improbably forge a life and bond, their darkest secret threatens to disrupt what they’ve built.
- 1/27/2023
- by Matt Donnelly and Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
As the first in-person Sundance Film Festival since 2020 draws to a close, it’s time to see which films are taking home the festival’s most coveted awards. While there are many ways to measure success at Sundance — and many filmmakers are certainly more interested in a big sale than a trophy — the awards are nevertheless an important way of measuring which films resonated with the Park City crowd.
Friday’s award ceremony is the culmination of what has already been a very eventful festival. Despite the multitude of changes that the independent film world and the streaming industry are currently undergoing, this year’s festival still featured its share of buzzy premieres and splashy acquisitions. One of the most talked about movies in Park City has been Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for a reported price of 20 million. The festival also featured some...
Friday’s award ceremony is the culmination of what has already been a very eventful festival. Despite the multitude of changes that the independent film world and the streaming industry are currently undergoing, this year’s festival still featured its share of buzzy premieres and splashy acquisitions. One of the most talked about movies in Park City has been Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for a reported price of 20 million. The festival also featured some...
- 1/27/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Born to a French mother, a Moroccan father and raised for some years in China, filmmaker Sofia Alaoui grants that her upbringing had a more international expanse than most. The same could be said for her spiritual education, which pulled from Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Taoist traditions, giving the “Animalia” director a considerable leg-up on the comparative religion front.
But for all her varied influences, once Alaoui came-of-age and into adulthood she shared a familiar sense of a yearning, feeling no less stifled than those raised in more, shall we say, provincial circumstances.
“We’re all trapped by our own dogmas,” the filmmaker tells Variety. “And I didn’t want to stay locked in a set system. Be they religious or social, those values guide our existences as men and women. And I think the most beautiful path is to break free, to separate yourself order to clear your own way.
But for all her varied influences, once Alaoui came-of-age and into adulthood she shared a familiar sense of a yearning, feeling no less stifled than those raised in more, shall we say, provincial circumstances.
“We’re all trapped by our own dogmas,” the filmmaker tells Variety. “And I didn’t want to stay locked in a set system. Be they religious or social, those values guide our existences as men and women. And I think the most beautiful path is to break free, to separate yourself order to clear your own way.
- 1/26/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
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