News

Matteo Lovadina’s sales outfit Reel Suspects has reported brisk business on its Fantasia Film Festival titles.

During Fantasia, Reel Suspects has pre-sold French horror movie Fievre to Germany (Donau Film) and Us indie horror The Taking to Germany (Donau) and Australia (Accent Films).

Meanwhile, three films on Reel’s slate have been in competition in Fantasia.

Brendan Muldowney’s Love Eternal, produced by Fastnet Films, Red Lion, Rinkel Film, and T.O. Entertainment, received its international premiere at Fantasia having screened in Galway.

Giulia Brazzale & Luca Immesi’s Ritual – A Psychomagic Story, produced by Esperimento Cinema, has now been sold to Australia (Accent Film).

The Sinkholes, directed by Antoine Barraud and starring Mathieu Amalric, is to be released in France by Independencia.

Alongside its Fantasia titles, Reel Suspects has also recently picked up new erotic drama And They Call It Summer, directed by Paolo Franchi and starring Jean-Marc Barr and Isabella Ferrari.

Main Competition

Golden Marc.Aurelio for Best Film: "Marfa Girl" by Larry Clark

Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")

Special Jury Prize: "Ali Has Blue Eyes" ("Alì ha gli occhi azzurri") by Claudio Giovannesi

Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm, "Hand in Hand" ("Main dans la main")

Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrari, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")

Best Emerging Actor Award: Marilyne Fontaine, "A Child With You" ("Un enfant de toi")

Best Technical Contribution: Arnau Valls Colomer, for the cinematography of "Never Die" ("Mai morire")

Best Screenplay Award: Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue for "The Motel Life"

Cinemaxxi Competition

The International Jury, chaired by Douglas Gordon and composed of Hans Hurch, Ed Lachman, Andrea Lissoni and Emily Jacir, awarded:

CinemaXXI Award (for feature-length films): "Avanti Popolo" by Michael Wahrmann

Special Jury Prize . CinemaXXI (for feature-length films): "Picas...

Larry Clark's tale of wild teens in Texas crowned best film, with awards also going to Stephen Dorff-starring The Motel Life

The losers, boozers and casual users of Marfa Girl found a happy ending of sorts as Larry Clark's new picture took the top prize at the seventh Rome film festival. Marfa Girl, a tale of wild teens in small-town Texas, took the Golden Marc'Aurelio award, bringing the curtain down on an event that has faced criticism for both the quality of its films and a perceived lack of big-name guests.

Marfa Girl paints a portrait of a Texas melting-pot near the Mexican border, inhabited by Hispanics, working-class white families and hippie artists. It stars Adam Mediano as the mixed-up teenage hero, Drake Burnette as a libidinous art student and Jeremy St James as a border patrolman on the brink of a meltdown. Clark – whose previous films...

Larry Clark's "Marfa Girl" won the top prize at the Rome Film Festival, which came to an end this weekend. Read Indiewire's review of the film here. Full press release below. The Prizes Awarded To The Films In Competition The International Jury, chaired by Jeff Nichols and composed of Timur Bekmambetov, Valentina Cervi, Edgardo Cozarinsky, Chris Fujiwara, Leila Hatami and P.J.Hogan, has conferred the following awards: - Golden Marc’Aurelio for Best Film: Marfa Girl by Larry Clark - Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi for E la chiamano estate - Special Jury Prize: Alì ha gli occhi azzurri by Claudio Giovannesi - Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm by Main dans la main - Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrarifor E la chiamano estate - Best Emerging Actor or Actress Award: Marilyne Fontaine for Un enfant de toi - Best Technical Contribution: Arnau Valls Colomer, for the cinematography of Mai.

ROME -- RAI Trade, the film promotion arm of state broadcaster RAI, will promote 50 Italian films on an upcoming trade mission to India headed by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

It is the first time Italian film will play a significant role in a prominent Italian mission headed by Prodi, who took power last May. Prodi's predecessor, billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, more often included initiatives to promote Italian films on his trade missions.

The weeklong India visit will start Feb. 12.

The films, which were specially selected for the Indian market by RAI Trade, will include "Fuoco su di me" (Fire at My Heart) from director Lamberto Lambertini and starring Omar Sharif; Alessando D'Alatri's "La Febbre" (The Feaver); and Paolo Franchi's "La Spettatrice" (The Spectator).

"The goal is to get the first foothold for Italian film in India," Alba Calia, a RAI Trade vp, said in a statement.

The main goal of the trade mission will be to increase trade between Italy and India from its current level of $1.8 billion per year to more than $10 billion within a decade, Prodi's office said.