One of our most anticipated movies at the upcoming Tribeca Film Fest is Edgar Nito's thriller The Gasoline Thieves (aka Huachicolero). With the producing power of Joshua Sobel, Tom Davia, Annick Manhert, Pablo Guisa, Hugues Barbier, Victor Leycegui, and Mario Kenyon involved, this one is going to be great. Tribeca's description is below, but first check out the exclusive debut of Dan Petris's awesome poster in all its glory. Living with his mother and working as a farmhand in his hometown, fourteen-year-old Lalo (Eduardo Banda) sees buying a smartphone for his high-school crush the only surefire way into her heart. When his mother is forced to use his savings in order to pay for medical bills, Lalo decides to approach the local huachicoleros for help,...
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[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/16/2019
- Screen Anarchy
Guadalajara, Mexico — Chile came into this year’s Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival (Ficg) as the guest country of honor. Once here, Luis Alejandro Pérez García’s “Piola” stomped around the Guadalajara Construye Works in Progress section like it owned the place, snatching up six of a possible 13 prizes.
After the success of Juan Caceres’ “Perro Bomba” in the same competition last year – the film scored four awards – perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise that another Chilean feature would perform so well this time around.
“Piola” turns on the chance interaction between three young people in moments that would be recognizable to teenagers the world around. Martin’s family is moving and he can’t be bothered to involve himself. Sol is searching for her lost dog and dealing with an unrequited romance. And Charly can’t handle his miserable job and the stresses of teenage fatherhood.
The impressive...
After the success of Juan Caceres’ “Perro Bomba” in the same competition last year – the film scored four awards – perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise that another Chilean feature would perform so well this time around.
“Piola” turns on the chance interaction between three young people in moments that would be recognizable to teenagers the world around. Martin’s family is moving and he can’t be bothered to involve himself. Sol is searching for her lost dog and dealing with an unrequited romance. And Charly can’t handle his miserable job and the stresses of teenage fatherhood.
The impressive...
- 3/11/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired the North American rights to the Tribeca Film Festival entry “November.” Directed by Rainer Sarnet, the film is based on Andrus Kivirähk’s novel “Rehepapp,” about about a peasant girl in 19th century Estonia who longs for village boy. The story of requited love takes place in an incredibly complicated, dark landscape where spirits, werewolves, plagues, and the devil himself converge.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: The Orchard Picks Up ‘Thelma,’ Samuel Goldwyn Films Buys ‘Gook’ and More
“’November’ is one of the most unique and stunning films to come along in some time,” Oscilloscope president Dan Berger said in a statement. “It’s equal measures beautiful love story and balls-to-wall bonkers-ass folk tale.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired the North American rights to the Tribeca Film Festival entry “November.” Directed by Rainer Sarnet, the film is based on Andrus Kivirähk’s novel “Rehepapp,” about about a peasant girl in 19th century Estonia who longs for village boy. The story of requited love takes place in an incredibly complicated, dark landscape where spirits, werewolves, plagues, and the devil himself converge.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: The Orchard Picks Up ‘Thelma,’ Samuel Goldwyn Films Buys ‘Gook’ and More
“’November’ is one of the most unique and stunning films to come along in some time,” Oscilloscope president Dan Berger said in a statement. “It’s equal measures beautiful love story and balls-to-wall bonkers-ass folk tale.
- 4/28/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Puerto Rico-set story to open in limited theatrical release.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to La Granja (The Farm) from first-time Puerto Rican director Angel Manuel Soto.
The film centres on a promising young boxer, a barren midwife, and an overweight child with a bicycle. Their intersecting stories focus on the pursuit of happiness and its unanticipated consequences during the economic collapse in Puerto Rico.
Breaking Glass plans a limited theatrical release, followed by a VOD and DVD release in June.
La Granja premiered at Fantastic Fest 2016 and screened at Tribeca, Raindance and the Miami International Film Festival.
Breaking Glass CEO Wolff and Amanda Rae Simon negotiated the deal with executive producer Tom Davia.
“In a style similar to maestros González Iñárritu and Arriaga, La Granja presents multiple intersecting storylines about the pursuit of individual happiness and how often we are inevitably reduced to our most animalistic tendencies by our environment in an attempt...
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to La Granja (The Farm) from first-time Puerto Rican director Angel Manuel Soto.
The film centres on a promising young boxer, a barren midwife, and an overweight child with a bicycle. Their intersecting stories focus on the pursuit of happiness and its unanticipated consequences during the economic collapse in Puerto Rico.
Breaking Glass plans a limited theatrical release, followed by a VOD and DVD release in June.
La Granja premiered at Fantastic Fest 2016 and screened at Tribeca, Raindance and the Miami International Film Festival.
Breaking Glass CEO Wolff and Amanda Rae Simon negotiated the deal with executive producer Tom Davia.
“In a style similar to maestros González Iñárritu and Arriaga, La Granja presents multiple intersecting storylines about the pursuit of individual happiness and how often we are inevitably reduced to our most animalistic tendencies by our environment in an attempt...
- 4/24/2017
- ScreenDaily
The International Film Festival in Guadalajara (FICG31) celebrated its 31th anniversary this year and moved to the center of town, a move toward regaining its early luster within the galaxy of younger festivals now competing for resources in México. With its myriad of activities beyond the mere programming of films, its mentoring other festivals such as Puerto Vallarta and Oaxaca, I would give it two thumbs up.
On Friday, March 11, it announced its awards and officially announced next year’s Guest of Honor, Germany, closing with the German film, Doris Dörrie’s “Fukushima Mon Amour” (Isa: The Match Factory). This film is a deeply moving homage to the spirit of humanity, recovery and love as a German clown, played by Rosalie Thomass and her clown partners, the wonderful Moshe Cohen of San Francisco and Nami Kamata, visit the people remaining at the devastated town of Fukushima and Rosalie bonds with the last geisha of Fukushima played by the beautiful Aya Irizuki. It premiered at the Panorama of the Berlinale where Doris won the C.I.C.A.E. Award and the Heiner Carow Prize.
Official Competition Winners FICG31
Mezcal Award for Best Mexican Film to “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”
Mezcal jury
The jury consists of 30 students from related fields from universities or major schools of Mexico, Latin American, Europe and Canada. Serving as a sort of tutor, Jose Ramon Mikelajauregui, Director of Dis was responsible for the academic program held at FICG31.
The Mezcal Award consisting of 500,000 Mexican pesos went to the director, Joaquín del Paso for “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”, a portrait of an inefficient factory on the edge of Mexico City where the workers lock themselves in when the owner is found dead in the back of the warehouse and they discover he has been bankrolling the wages out of his own pocket for years.
A coproduction of Mantarraya Producciones, it also won the Fipresci Prize at its premiere in the Forum of the Berlinale. International sales agent (Isa) is the new Paris-based sales and co-production company Luxbox whose
co-ceo Fiorella Moretti was formerly head of sales at Ndm, the Mexico City-based sales company she set up with director Carlos Reygadas and producer Jaime Romandia of Mantarraya Productions in 2012 to sell “Post Tenebras Lux”.
Co-ceo Hédi Zardi previously worked in sales for Fortissimo and went on to Unifrance, the French cinema promotions agency and then to the PR and events company Le Public Systeme, where he was in charge of industry initiatives at Marrakesh and Deauville festivals.
The pair got to know one another through Gabriel Ripstein’s “600 Miles”, winner of the best first feature last year at the Berlinale, which Zardi associate produced and Moretti sold.
Special Mention went to “Margarita” directed by Bruno Santamaría Razo
Infinitum Aaward Grante dby the Public, consisting of 150,000 pesos, went to " El Charro de Toluquilla" (Isa: Imcine) by José Villalobos Romero, a doc about mariachi singer Jaime Garcia Dominguez who became fascinated by the recklessness and ladies´ man lifestyle of the classic Mexican movie characters with one difference: he´s got HIV. Jaime faces an inner maturing process as he decides between keeping this lifestyle or becoming a family man. It also won the award for Best Iberoamerican Documentary of 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director.
Best Latin American Fiction Film consisting of 250,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the production company of Felipe Guerrero’s film “ Oscuro animal”, about three women forced to flee their homes in a war torn region in Colombia. The film also won Best Actress Award (s) for Marleyda Soto, Luisa Galiano and Jocelyn Vides Meneses and Best Photography Award to Fernando Lockett.
A coproduction of Argentina, Greece, Netherlands, Germany and Colombia, it is being sold internationally by FiGa. It previously played in the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger Competition and Ficci Cartagena 2016’s Official Dramatic Competition. At the Berlinale’s Efm 2016 it was part of the World Cinema Fund’s First Look section. Financing for the film came from Colombia’s Proimágenes, Argentina’s Incaa, Netherlands’ Hubert Bals Fund, Fundación Typa, and Germany’s Nrw and World Cinema Fund.
It also won the award for Award for Best Iberoamerican Director consisting off 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, because “almost wordlessly it portrays a complex and painful situation in Colombia which is all too common in Latin America.”
Special Feature Film Jury Award Iberoamerican Fiction of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, went to the production company of “The 4th Company”/ ”La 4a Compañía” by Amir Galván Cervera and Mitzi Vanessa Arreola, based upon a true story about an underdog prison (American-style) football team that, against all odds, wins against the police force team. The jury stated that it “considers it a cinematic achievement about a shameful moment in the history of Mexico to be remembered and not to be repeated”. Adrian Thief also won for Best Actor, and he is that! There is no Isa of record, so those ISAs reading this should check it out on Cinando! It’s a seller!
Award for Best Latin American Film of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the superb debuting director from Puerto Rico, Angel Manuel Soto for“La Granja”/ “The Farm”. Also the first film produced independently by Tom Davia’s Cinemaven (but check out his credits!), this film is a full-circle “Crash”-style story that rivals “Gemorrah” in its look at the barrio called “The Farm” or “La Granja” in which the lives of a midwife, a young boxer, a janitor, a mute kid and a young couple collide in a story about the desperate pursuit of happiness on the mean streets of La Granja. Shot on a budget of $250,000, this film took four years to complete as the Puerto Rican government film establishment sought to block its production and release – and you can see why. It previously played in Fantastic Fest.
This is another discovery film with no Isa, and I am sure the agents have already locked their eyes upon writer-director Angel Manuel Soto. He lives in Los Angeles. “Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Son of a car salesman and a flight attendant. Studied architecture and advertising. Always loved films. Now he makes them. He is a cinephile. He travels all over the world doing it, including Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, France, USA, and Puerto Rico. He is not planning on stopping.”
Best Screenplay Award went to Marina Seresesky for “La Puerta Abierta”/ “Open Door” (pictured above). Marina also directed this first film. She has made two shorts previously. After Ficg it will play at Sofia Iff 2016 in International Competition, San Diego Latino 2016 and Chicago Latino 2016 Film Festivals.
Movies Recommended for Selection for the Golden Globes Awards 2017 are “The 4th Company” and “Ciudades Desiertas” / “Deserted Cities” by Roberto Sneider.
Documentary Jury Special Award of 100,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director Jorge Caballero for“Patient”/ "Paciente" Isa Rise and Shine, a new company in Germany, picked up the film at its world premiere in Competition at Idfa.
Best Iberoamerican Short Film Award D of 75,000 pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the directors Miguel de Olaso and Bruno Zacharias for the 10 minute short “ Los Angeles 1991”.
Special Mention went to “Juan's Sundown”/ "El Ocaso de Juan" by Omar Deneb Vargas Juárez
Rigo Mora Award for Best Mexican Animated Short Film of 100,000 Mexican pesos went to the director Alejandro Rios for “ The Cats”/"Los Gatos."
Maguey Award for best Lgbt film went to "Theo et Hugo dans le meme bateau"/ "Paris 05:59" of France, directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.
Special Mention went to “Neon Bull” of Brazil, directed by Gabriel Mascaro for its poetic and innovative illustrating of how traditional ideas of masculinity slowly have been made obsolete inviting us to question our own perspectives on gender bias.
After the Awards, Ficg gave a great closing night party. Lots of good people, new and old friends, great salsa band, danced til 3! Here’s me with my friend David Martinez of Raindance Film Festival. Coming from Guadalajara, living in London, this year he came home with Elliot Grove of Founder and Director of Raindance, and Aaron Wileman of Imaginative Exposure who gave a Master Class on Film Funds and Product Placement.
And of course I presented my own book in its abridged, Spanish language format, published by the University of Guadalajara Press, Cine Iberoamerican Industria y financiamiento por pais (Iberoamerican Cinema: Industry and Financing by Country). Read more about it here.
On Friday, March 11, it announced its awards and officially announced next year’s Guest of Honor, Germany, closing with the German film, Doris Dörrie’s “Fukushima Mon Amour” (Isa: The Match Factory). This film is a deeply moving homage to the spirit of humanity, recovery and love as a German clown, played by Rosalie Thomass and her clown partners, the wonderful Moshe Cohen of San Francisco and Nami Kamata, visit the people remaining at the devastated town of Fukushima and Rosalie bonds with the last geisha of Fukushima played by the beautiful Aya Irizuki. It premiered at the Panorama of the Berlinale where Doris won the C.I.C.A.E. Award and the Heiner Carow Prize.
Official Competition Winners FICG31
Mezcal Award for Best Mexican Film to “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”
Mezcal jury
The jury consists of 30 students from related fields from universities or major schools of Mexico, Latin American, Europe and Canada. Serving as a sort of tutor, Jose Ramon Mikelajauregui, Director of Dis was responsible for the academic program held at FICG31.
The Mezcal Award consisting of 500,000 Mexican pesos went to the director, Joaquín del Paso for “Maquinaria Panamericana”/ “Panamerican Machinery”, a portrait of an inefficient factory on the edge of Mexico City where the workers lock themselves in when the owner is found dead in the back of the warehouse and they discover he has been bankrolling the wages out of his own pocket for years.
A coproduction of Mantarraya Producciones, it also won the Fipresci Prize at its premiere in the Forum of the Berlinale. International sales agent (Isa) is the new Paris-based sales and co-production company Luxbox whose
co-ceo Fiorella Moretti was formerly head of sales at Ndm, the Mexico City-based sales company she set up with director Carlos Reygadas and producer Jaime Romandia of Mantarraya Productions in 2012 to sell “Post Tenebras Lux”.
Co-ceo Hédi Zardi previously worked in sales for Fortissimo and went on to Unifrance, the French cinema promotions agency and then to the PR and events company Le Public Systeme, where he was in charge of industry initiatives at Marrakesh and Deauville festivals.
The pair got to know one another through Gabriel Ripstein’s “600 Miles”, winner of the best first feature last year at the Berlinale, which Zardi associate produced and Moretti sold.
Special Mention went to “Margarita” directed by Bruno Santamaría Razo
Infinitum Aaward Grante dby the Public, consisting of 150,000 pesos, went to " El Charro de Toluquilla" (Isa: Imcine) by José Villalobos Romero, a doc about mariachi singer Jaime Garcia Dominguez who became fascinated by the recklessness and ladies´ man lifestyle of the classic Mexican movie characters with one difference: he´s got HIV. Jaime faces an inner maturing process as he decides between keeping this lifestyle or becoming a family man. It also won the award for Best Iberoamerican Documentary of 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director.
Best Latin American Fiction Film consisting of 250,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the production company of Felipe Guerrero’s film “ Oscuro animal”, about three women forced to flee their homes in a war torn region in Colombia. The film also won Best Actress Award (s) for Marleyda Soto, Luisa Galiano and Jocelyn Vides Meneses and Best Photography Award to Fernando Lockett.
A coproduction of Argentina, Greece, Netherlands, Germany and Colombia, it is being sold internationally by FiGa. It previously played in the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger Competition and Ficci Cartagena 2016’s Official Dramatic Competition. At the Berlinale’s Efm 2016 it was part of the World Cinema Fund’s First Look section. Financing for the film came from Colombia’s Proimágenes, Argentina’s Incaa, Netherlands’ Hubert Bals Fund, Fundación Typa, and Germany’s Nrw and World Cinema Fund.
It also won the award for Award for Best Iberoamerican Director consisting off 150,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, because “almost wordlessly it portrays a complex and painful situation in Colombia which is all too common in Latin America.”
Special Feature Film Jury Award Iberoamerican Fiction of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars, went to the production company of “The 4th Company”/ ”La 4a Compañía” by Amir Galván Cervera and Mitzi Vanessa Arreola, based upon a true story about an underdog prison (American-style) football team that, against all odds, wins against the police force team. The jury stated that it “considers it a cinematic achievement about a shameful moment in the history of Mexico to be remembered and not to be repeated”. Adrian Thief also won for Best Actor, and he is that! There is no Isa of record, so those ISAs reading this should check it out on Cinando! It’s a seller!
Award for Best Latin American Film of 125,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars went to the superb debuting director from Puerto Rico, Angel Manuel Soto for“La Granja”/ “The Farm”. Also the first film produced independently by Tom Davia’s Cinemaven (but check out his credits!), this film is a full-circle “Crash”-style story that rivals “Gemorrah” in its look at the barrio called “The Farm” or “La Granja” in which the lives of a midwife, a young boxer, a janitor, a mute kid and a young couple collide in a story about the desperate pursuit of happiness on the mean streets of La Granja. Shot on a budget of $250,000, this film took four years to complete as the Puerto Rican government film establishment sought to block its production and release – and you can see why. It previously played in Fantastic Fest.
This is another discovery film with no Isa, and I am sure the agents have already locked their eyes upon writer-director Angel Manuel Soto. He lives in Los Angeles. “Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Son of a car salesman and a flight attendant. Studied architecture and advertising. Always loved films. Now he makes them. He is a cinephile. He travels all over the world doing it, including Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, France, USA, and Puerto Rico. He is not planning on stopping.”
Best Screenplay Award went to Marina Seresesky for “La Puerta Abierta”/ “Open Door” (pictured above). Marina also directed this first film. She has made two shorts previously. After Ficg it will play at Sofia Iff 2016 in International Competition, San Diego Latino 2016 and Chicago Latino 2016 Film Festivals.
Movies Recommended for Selection for the Golden Globes Awards 2017 are “The 4th Company” and “Ciudades Desiertas” / “Deserted Cities” by Roberto Sneider.
Documentary Jury Special Award of 100,000 Mexican pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the director Jorge Caballero for“Patient”/ "Paciente" Isa Rise and Shine, a new company in Germany, picked up the film at its world premiere in Competition at Idfa.
Best Iberoamerican Short Film Award D of 75,000 pesos or its equivalent in dollars to the directors Miguel de Olaso and Bruno Zacharias for the 10 minute short “ Los Angeles 1991”.
Special Mention went to “Juan's Sundown”/ "El Ocaso de Juan" by Omar Deneb Vargas Juárez
Rigo Mora Award for Best Mexican Animated Short Film of 100,000 Mexican pesos went to the director Alejandro Rios for “ The Cats”/"Los Gatos."
Maguey Award for best Lgbt film went to "Theo et Hugo dans le meme bateau"/ "Paris 05:59" of France, directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.
Special Mention went to “Neon Bull” of Brazil, directed by Gabriel Mascaro for its poetic and innovative illustrating of how traditional ideas of masculinity slowly have been made obsolete inviting us to question our own perspectives on gender bias.
After the Awards, Ficg gave a great closing night party. Lots of good people, new and old friends, great salsa band, danced til 3! Here’s me with my friend David Martinez of Raindance Film Festival. Coming from Guadalajara, living in London, this year he came home with Elliot Grove of Founder and Director of Raindance, and Aaron Wileman of Imaginative Exposure who gave a Master Class on Film Funds and Product Placement.
And of course I presented my own book in its abridged, Spanish language format, published by the University of Guadalajara Press, Cine Iberoamerican Industria y financiamiento por pais (Iberoamerican Cinema: Industry and Financing by Country). Read more about it here.
- 3/17/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Gun Women: The Patriots scoops top award at Naff event.Scroll down for full awards list
The 19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) wrapped its 8th Network of Asian Fantastic Films (Naff) industry event with the top Bucheon Award - for post-production costs - going to project Gun Women: The Patriots.
A reboot of director Mitsutake Kurando’s Gun Woman, which screened in Sitges and Fantasia, the Japan-us co-production features an intelligence agent with gun parts implanted in her body who is on a secret mission to kill the president of Japan.
Kurando (Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf) and his producer Yanagimoto Chiaki (Gun Woman) accepted the award which comes with KW15m ($13,000 ) cash prize.
“This award means so much especially coming from such a distinguished jury. Thank you and to Bucheon. I love the people, love the city. Special thanks to Thomas-san for guiding us to the market,” said Kurando...
The 19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) wrapped its 8th Network of Asian Fantastic Films (Naff) industry event with the top Bucheon Award - for post-production costs - going to project Gun Women: The Patriots.
A reboot of director Mitsutake Kurando’s Gun Woman, which screened in Sitges and Fantasia, the Japan-us co-production features an intelligence agent with gun parts implanted in her body who is on a secret mission to kill the president of Japan.
Kurando (Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf) and his producer Yanagimoto Chiaki (Gun Woman) accepted the award which comes with KW15m ($13,000 ) cash prize.
“This award means so much especially coming from such a distinguished jury. Thank you and to Bucheon. I love the people, love the city. Special thanks to Thomas-san for guiding us to the market,” said Kurando...
- 7/22/2015
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Gun Women: The Patriots scoops top award at Naff event.Scroll down for full awards list
The 19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) wrapped its 8th Network of Asian Fantastic Films (Naff) industry event with the top Bucheon Award - for post-production costs - going to project Gun Women: The Patriots.
A reboot of director Mitsutake Kurando’s Gun Woman, which screened in Sitges and Fantasia, the Japan-us co-production features an intelligence agent with gun parts implanted in her body who is on a secret mission to kill the president of Japan.
Kurando (Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf) and his producer Yanagimoto Chiaki (Gun Woman) accepted the award which comes with KW15m ($13,000 ) cash prize.
“This award means so much especially coming from such a distinguished jury. Thank you and to Bucheon. I love the people, love the city. Special thanks to Thomas-san for guiding us to the market,” said Kurando...
The 19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) wrapped its 8th Network of Asian Fantastic Films (Naff) industry event with the top Bucheon Award - for post-production costs - going to project Gun Women: The Patriots.
A reboot of director Mitsutake Kurando’s Gun Woman, which screened in Sitges and Fantasia, the Japan-us co-production features an intelligence agent with gun parts implanted in her body who is on a secret mission to kill the president of Japan.
Kurando (Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf) and his producer Yanagimoto Chiaki (Gun Woman) accepted the award which comes with KW15m ($13,000 ) cash prize.
“This award means so much especially coming from such a distinguished jury. Thank you and to Bucheon. I love the people, love the city. Special thanks to Thomas-san for guiding us to the market,” said Kurando...
- 7/22/2015
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Palm Springs International Film Festival is the most accommodating to the industry, the easiest to get around with a frequent shuttle, the easiest to see great films, the best environment, the best audiences (all the shows are sold out) of festivals.
However, it is strange being surrounded by old people who are all my age. My prejudices against “old people” remains the same as when I considered them to be a part of my mother’s generation. However, some of these “old people” know so much more about the films, and their educated way of making choices of what to see are so much better than mine. I thought I knew everything...what a laugh. They know every director, all their past films, and they painstakingly plan with handwritten schedules and lots of discussion which films they will see.
I have been coming to the festival, almost “dropping in” on it since it is a mere 2 hour drive from L.A. for many years and everyone is always so helpful. It is totally familiar to me; it’s leisurely, very few restaurants (if any) are really great, there is a certain tackiness to the shops And there are always new film adventures and new folks to see.
This year I was happily hanging out the first weekend with Nancy Gerstman from Zeitgeist, and on the second weekend with Fortissimo’s Michael Werner and Tom Davia whose new company CineMaven (www.Cinemaven.com) sounds like a great company for festivals, filmmakers and companies needing acquisition help. We had a great dinner at Spencer’s where the Awards Luncheon was held.
On the recommendation of Mattijs Wouter Knol, the new head of the European Film Market at Berlin – on Facebook as he is now preparing the Efm and was not here – I watched “Clouds of Sils Maria” by Olivier Assayas. Opinions on this film as with most films by Assayas, vary, but mine is that this languid study on acting and real life and how aging and death fit into the mix was a major treat. Like Polanski’s “Venus in Fur”, the alternating currents of acting and real life flow electrically with shocks and illumination included. Rather than aging, let’s call ourselves “ageless” and have an end to confusion about the inevitable life processes.
Like “Winters Sleep," another of my favorite “intellectual cinema” choices, in “Sils Maria”, the interior processes of the protagonists are revealed only in the unfolding of the story.
Kirsten Stewart played an amazing role as the actress’s young assistant in this deeply felt, intellectually worked out study of aging vs. ageless.
By biting off what seems like more than she can chew in consenting to play opposite the great Juliette Binoche who is at the height of her career, a young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) gives Juliette Binoche the resolution to the unhappiness that has been nagging at her throughout the film.
Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years earlier. But back then, she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She doesn’t want to play this role but is coaxed by circumstances into playing it and when she discusses it with the young actress who blithely tells her it’s time to move on, she becomes the Eve of “All About Eve” and Juliette “gets” it.
Cinematography is by Yorick Le Saux (“Only Lovers Left Alive," “Potiche," “Carlos”). IFC has North American rights.
Moving on, I can’t wait to see Juliette Binoche in her next role, the Opening Night film of the Berlinale, Isabel Croixet's “Nobody Wants the Night ”. The film co-stars Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi (“Babel”) and Gabriel Byrne (as explorer Robert Peary) and takes place in 1908 in the Arctic and Greenland. (Isa: Elle Driver
The other film I saw that first weekend was “Dancing Arabs” (Isa: The Match Factory) by Eran Riklis who was there to discuss the film as well. He had been a soldier in Israel’s worst war. He witnessed Sadat making peace with Israel. However, when Perez was assassinated, he saw Israel declining into a violent nation as peace became more and more elusive.
Dancing Arabs is a very popular novel in Israel. It is an odd title for this film, but it derives from a saying, “you can't dance at two weddings at the same time”. The film is also loosely based on another novel...Second Person Singular. But after filming a while, the characters took on lives of their own and the novels were more or less forgotten in the process of making the movie.
Lots of questions are left open in this film because there are no answers. In a way, the film is experimental. It opens as a charming family film, but changes and actually becomes almost morbid. People however do change, and the young “genius” living in a small Arab town in Israel/ Palestine becomes a mature man living in Berlin at the end of the story.
This is the first film of the male lead, Tawfeek Barhom. Who plays Eyad. While casting, Riklis said that the young actor told him he had known him since he was ten when he saw him making the movie “The Syrian Bride” in his village. He went to set every day for three weeks, and he knew he wanted to be an actor. On screen he is playing himself, and a lot of the story was true...he lived too long with the Jews, his Arab was no longer good. This he said at a screening held in the north of Israel to an audience of mostly Arabs who do not go to many movies, but were invited by Israel to see the film.
In the film he gives up his education for love of girl and she gives up her love for him for the love of her country. This is how minority relationships often turn out.
Eyad’s father’s reaction to the relationship of his university student son with an Israeli Jewish student is unexpected, but he too is buried by tradition whereas the mother with her small smile gives a ray of hope.
The scriptwriter-novelist, Sayed Kashua is brilliant, and this is a part of his real life. Kashua and Riklis have a love-hate relationship: when Kashua, who based the novel on his own life, saw the fine cut...he fainted. His wife said, “What are you complaining about, did your mother look like that?”
Sayed said complained that his own kids don't speak Arabic anymore, and so he took a sabbatical and is now in Champaign-Urbana at the University of Illinois.
The audience in Israel, judging by the 20 to 30 Facebook comments, they get daily consists of 20% Arabs which is great because they don't normally go to movies. Even a right wing Israeli said he liked the movie. The goes beyond right and left.
It is not a blockbuster, but it doing well. The word “Arab” might keep some people away.
On the second weekend I went to see “Salt of the Earth” (Isa: Ndm), now nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the Academy Awards, and “Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” by her grandniece Michelle Boyaner.
Sebastião Salgado’s photographs are linked by his son and director Wim Wenders to his life. With his own voice and that of his son, Juliano, they discover the undiscovered in photography and in their own lives.
“Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” is the story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1925 and never heard from again. All her worldly possessions were packed into trunks and shipped to a relative in West Virginia where they sat in an attic for 40 years. Edith's great-niece, Emmy Award winning writer and director Jane Anderson, grew up surrounded by Edith's paintings, thanks to her mother who had gone poking through that dusty attic and rescued Edith's work. The film follows Jane in her decades-long journey to find the answers to the mystery of Edith's buried life, return the work to Provincetown and have Edith's contributions recognized by the larger art world.
Read More: Sydney Levine on "Finding Vivian Maier"
In many ways this is similar to “Finding Vivian Maier," which also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Feature Documentary category, in that both recover long lost and never acknowledged art which is astoundingly good art. This one goes further into the lesbian relationships of artists Edith and Jane and takes another unexpected step into the psychic world of a medium who actually solves the mystery of why Edith was committed and then forgotten. This is a must-see for art lovers and would make a great fiction film as well.
Another notable aspect of Psiff that is how, just before the Awards begin for Golden Globe and for the Academy, all the big name stars are here for two awards events. One, the opening night gala raises millions for the festival. The other, Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch brunch, brings more stars and that funny speech by Chris Rock (See Video Here).
Read More: Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev on his Oscar-Nominated "Leviathan"
Also remarkable is that, aside from the above Awards and then the final festival awards bestowed, the Golden Globes mirrored the Palm Springs Fest’s awards:
Actress in a drama: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (Isa: Memento) won Psiff’s Achievement Award
Actor in a drama: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” (Uip) also received the Psiff Desert Palm Achievement Award.
Supporting actor, drama: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (Isa: Sierra/ Affinity) received the Psiff Spotlight Award.
Director Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” (Uip/ Paramount) received the Sonny Bono Visionary Award.
Foreign Language Film: "Leviathan” (Isa: Pyramide) received the PSiFF Best Foreign Language Film.
Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman” (Fox Searchlight), Inarritu received Psiff Director of the Year Award which was bestowed by “Birdman” star Michael Keaton. And the Golden Globe Award for Actor, musical or comedy, went to Michael Keaton for “Birdman”...
However, it is strange being surrounded by old people who are all my age. My prejudices against “old people” remains the same as when I considered them to be a part of my mother’s generation. However, some of these “old people” know so much more about the films, and their educated way of making choices of what to see are so much better than mine. I thought I knew everything...what a laugh. They know every director, all their past films, and they painstakingly plan with handwritten schedules and lots of discussion which films they will see.
I have been coming to the festival, almost “dropping in” on it since it is a mere 2 hour drive from L.A. for many years and everyone is always so helpful. It is totally familiar to me; it’s leisurely, very few restaurants (if any) are really great, there is a certain tackiness to the shops And there are always new film adventures and new folks to see.
This year I was happily hanging out the first weekend with Nancy Gerstman from Zeitgeist, and on the second weekend with Fortissimo’s Michael Werner and Tom Davia whose new company CineMaven (www.Cinemaven.com) sounds like a great company for festivals, filmmakers and companies needing acquisition help. We had a great dinner at Spencer’s where the Awards Luncheon was held.
On the recommendation of Mattijs Wouter Knol, the new head of the European Film Market at Berlin – on Facebook as he is now preparing the Efm and was not here – I watched “Clouds of Sils Maria” by Olivier Assayas. Opinions on this film as with most films by Assayas, vary, but mine is that this languid study on acting and real life and how aging and death fit into the mix was a major treat. Like Polanski’s “Venus in Fur”, the alternating currents of acting and real life flow electrically with shocks and illumination included. Rather than aging, let’s call ourselves “ageless” and have an end to confusion about the inevitable life processes.
Like “Winters Sleep," another of my favorite “intellectual cinema” choices, in “Sils Maria”, the interior processes of the protagonists are revealed only in the unfolding of the story.
Kirsten Stewart played an amazing role as the actress’s young assistant in this deeply felt, intellectually worked out study of aging vs. ageless.
By biting off what seems like more than she can chew in consenting to play opposite the great Juliette Binoche who is at the height of her career, a young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal (Chloë Grace Moretz) gives Juliette Binoche the resolution to the unhappiness that has been nagging at her throughout the film.
Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous twenty years earlier. But back then, she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. She doesn’t want to play this role but is coaxed by circumstances into playing it and when she discusses it with the young actress who blithely tells her it’s time to move on, she becomes the Eve of “All About Eve” and Juliette “gets” it.
Cinematography is by Yorick Le Saux (“Only Lovers Left Alive," “Potiche," “Carlos”). IFC has North American rights.
Moving on, I can’t wait to see Juliette Binoche in her next role, the Opening Night film of the Berlinale, Isabel Croixet's “Nobody Wants the Night ”. The film co-stars Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi (“Babel”) and Gabriel Byrne (as explorer Robert Peary) and takes place in 1908 in the Arctic and Greenland. (Isa: Elle Driver
The other film I saw that first weekend was “Dancing Arabs” (Isa: The Match Factory) by Eran Riklis who was there to discuss the film as well. He had been a soldier in Israel’s worst war. He witnessed Sadat making peace with Israel. However, when Perez was assassinated, he saw Israel declining into a violent nation as peace became more and more elusive.
Dancing Arabs is a very popular novel in Israel. It is an odd title for this film, but it derives from a saying, “you can't dance at two weddings at the same time”. The film is also loosely based on another novel...Second Person Singular. But after filming a while, the characters took on lives of their own and the novels were more or less forgotten in the process of making the movie.
Lots of questions are left open in this film because there are no answers. In a way, the film is experimental. It opens as a charming family film, but changes and actually becomes almost morbid. People however do change, and the young “genius” living in a small Arab town in Israel/ Palestine becomes a mature man living in Berlin at the end of the story.
This is the first film of the male lead, Tawfeek Barhom. Who plays Eyad. While casting, Riklis said that the young actor told him he had known him since he was ten when he saw him making the movie “The Syrian Bride” in his village. He went to set every day for three weeks, and he knew he wanted to be an actor. On screen he is playing himself, and a lot of the story was true...he lived too long with the Jews, his Arab was no longer good. This he said at a screening held in the north of Israel to an audience of mostly Arabs who do not go to many movies, but were invited by Israel to see the film.
In the film he gives up his education for love of girl and she gives up her love for him for the love of her country. This is how minority relationships often turn out.
Eyad’s father’s reaction to the relationship of his university student son with an Israeli Jewish student is unexpected, but he too is buried by tradition whereas the mother with her small smile gives a ray of hope.
The scriptwriter-novelist, Sayed Kashua is brilliant, and this is a part of his real life. Kashua and Riklis have a love-hate relationship: when Kashua, who based the novel on his own life, saw the fine cut...he fainted. His wife said, “What are you complaining about, did your mother look like that?”
Sayed said complained that his own kids don't speak Arabic anymore, and so he took a sabbatical and is now in Champaign-Urbana at the University of Illinois.
The audience in Israel, judging by the 20 to 30 Facebook comments, they get daily consists of 20% Arabs which is great because they don't normally go to movies. Even a right wing Israeli said he liked the movie. The goes beyond right and left.
It is not a blockbuster, but it doing well. The word “Arab” might keep some people away.
On the second weekend I went to see “Salt of the Earth” (Isa: Ndm), now nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the Academy Awards, and “Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” by her grandniece Michelle Boyaner.
Sebastião Salgado’s photographs are linked by his son and director Wim Wenders to his life. With his own voice and that of his son, Juliano, they discover the undiscovered in photography and in their own lives.
“Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson” is the story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1925 and never heard from again. All her worldly possessions were packed into trunks and shipped to a relative in West Virginia where they sat in an attic for 40 years. Edith's great-niece, Emmy Award winning writer and director Jane Anderson, grew up surrounded by Edith's paintings, thanks to her mother who had gone poking through that dusty attic and rescued Edith's work. The film follows Jane in her decades-long journey to find the answers to the mystery of Edith's buried life, return the work to Provincetown and have Edith's contributions recognized by the larger art world.
Read More: Sydney Levine on "Finding Vivian Maier"
In many ways this is similar to “Finding Vivian Maier," which also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Feature Documentary category, in that both recover long lost and never acknowledged art which is astoundingly good art. This one goes further into the lesbian relationships of artists Edith and Jane and takes another unexpected step into the psychic world of a medium who actually solves the mystery of why Edith was committed and then forgotten. This is a must-see for art lovers and would make a great fiction film as well.
Another notable aspect of Psiff that is how, just before the Awards begin for Golden Globe and for the Academy, all the big name stars are here for two awards events. One, the opening night gala raises millions for the festival. The other, Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch brunch, brings more stars and that funny speech by Chris Rock (See Video Here).
Read More: Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev on his Oscar-Nominated "Leviathan"
Also remarkable is that, aside from the above Awards and then the final festival awards bestowed, the Golden Globes mirrored the Palm Springs Fest’s awards:
Actress in a drama: Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (Isa: Memento) won Psiff’s Achievement Award
Actor in a drama: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” (Uip) also received the Psiff Desert Palm Achievement Award.
Supporting actor, drama: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (Isa: Sierra/ Affinity) received the Psiff Spotlight Award.
Director Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” (Uip/ Paramount) received the Sonny Bono Visionary Award.
Foreign Language Film: "Leviathan” (Isa: Pyramide) received the PSiFF Best Foreign Language Film.
Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman” (Fox Searchlight), Inarritu received Psiff Director of the Year Award which was bestowed by “Birdman” star Michael Keaton. And the Golden Globe Award for Actor, musical or comedy, went to Michael Keaton for “Birdman”...
- 1/17/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
At the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) happening now, there are 27 films eligible for the Cine Latino Award, which will be presented to the best Ibero-American film screening at the Festival. Several of these films represented their respective countries at in the Best Foreign Language category for the upcoming Academy Awards. Sponsored by the Guadalajara International Film Festival (Ficg) and the University of Guadalajara Foundation/USA, the winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Read More: "Wild Tales" Business and Pleasure
“What does it mean to be Latino or Ibero-American? We often engage in the most intensely absurd discussions trying to find a definition that satisfies us all. I believe, however, that the best answer can be found in the movies: where the ordinary becomes extraordinary and unique stories become universal fables. The increasing power of visual language and an innovative spirit –this is what our film industries have in common! And once again, 2014 has proven to be one of the most exemplary years for Ibero-American cinema. The Palm Springs International Film Festival recognizes the talent and creativity of its makers both in front of and behind the camera with the Cine Latino Award. This year we celebrate the vitality of the region with a record 27 films. We are truly grateful to the vision and commitment of two of the leading cultural, social and educational organizations in Mexico and the United States -- the Guadalajara International Film Festival and the University of Guadalajara Foundation in USA -- for sponsoring this award and helping to strengthen the cultural and artistic bridges so fundamental to all of us,” said Hebe Tabachnik, Ibero-American Programmer for Psiff.
“For the third consecutive year, top caliber Latino films will compete in the Ibero American competition at the Palm Springs Film Festival from January 2 to the 12, 2015,” said Iván Trujillo, Festival Director for the Guadalajara International Film Festival. “Their stories, genres and production values have garnered these films both critical and audience recognition at the most important festivals all over the globe. This will be indeed a very competitive year for an award that is acquiring more and more prestige worldwide.”
Read More: Dir. Alberto Arvelo on Venezuelan Epic "The Liberator"
“We have reached an important milestone. When the Foundation of the University of Guadalajara in USA made an agreement to sponsor an award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, we made a commitment to increase the cash prize within three years up to $10,000 to recognize the ‘Best Ibero American Film’ in the festival. Our Foundation is extremely proud to have fulfilled this arrangement with the Festival. Achieving this goal is only part of a whole project for the future,” said Raúl Padilla, President for the University of Guadalajara Foundation in USA.
Jury members include Josep Parera (Entertainment Editor – La Opinión) Nacho Carballo (Festival Director, Gijón International Film Festival, Spain) and Tom Davia (Founder & Managing Partner of Cinemaven Media).
Read More: Actor Alfono Herrera on "The Perfect Dictatorship"
They will review 27 films to select the Cine Latino Award winner. This year’s eligible films are:
"10,000 Km" (Spain), Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet "August Winds" (Brazil), Director: Gabriel Mascaro "Behavior" (Cuba), Director: Ernesto Daranas Serrano "Ciudad Delirio" (Colombia, Spain), Director: Chus Gutiérrez "Flowers" (Spain), Directors: Jon Garaño, José Mari Goenaga "Futuro Beach" (Brazil), Director: Karim Ainouz "Gente de Bien" (Colombia, France), Director: Franco Lolli "Güeros" (Mexico), Director: Alonso Ruiz Palacios "Hawaii" (Argentina), Director: Marco Berger "The Hours With You" (Mexico), Director: Catalina Aguilar Mastretta "La Tirisia" (Mexico), Director: Jorge Pérez Solano "Lake Los Angeles" (USA), Director: Mike Ott "The Liberator" (Venezuela, Spain), Director: Alberto Arvelo "Magical Girl" (Spain), Director: Carlos Vermut "Mateo" (Colombia, France), Director: María Gamboa "A Moonless Night" (Uruguay, Argentina), Director: Germán Tejeira "Mother of the Lamb" (Chile), Directors: Rosario Espinosa Godoy, Enrique Farías "Mr. Kaplan" (Uruguay), Director: Álvaro Brechner "Natural Sciences" (Argentina), Director: Matías Lucchesi "Nn" (Peru, Colombia, France, Germany), Director: Héctor Galvez "Not All Is Vigil" (Spain, Colombia), Director: Hermes Paralluelo "One for the Road" (Mexico), Director: Jack Zagha Kababie "The Perfect Dictatorship" (Mexico), Director: Luis Estrada "Sand Dollars" (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina), Directors: Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán "To Kill a Man" (Chile), Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras "The Way He Looks" (Brazil), Director: Daniel Ribeiro "Wild Tales" (Argentina, Spain), Director: Damián Szifrón About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Kate Winslet.
The Awards Gala of the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Entertainment Tonight. The City of Palm Springs is the Title Sponsor of the Film Festival. Presenting Sponsors are Wells Fargo, The Desert Sun and Spencer’s. Major sponsors are Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Wessman Development, Bank of America, Wintec, Regal Entertainment Group, Ignition Creative, Desert Regional Medical Center, Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, Windermere Real Estate, Eisenhower Medical Center, Guthy-Renker, Integrated Wealth Management, VisitGreaterPalmSprings.com, Ocean Properties, Chihuly and Telefilm Canada.
For more information visit www.psfilmfest.org.
About The Guadalajara International Film Festival
Ficg was founded with support from the University of Guadalajara in 1985 by the Mexican filmmaker Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, with the tremendous help from young film students like Guillermo del Toro. It will celebrate its 30th edition next March 6-15, 2015. Ficg is the lead film festival in Latin America. It is a forum for the training, education, and creative exchange among industry professionals, film critics, and film students from all over Ibero-America.
About the Foundation of the University of Guadalajara in the U.S.
The University of Guadalajara Foundation in the United States of America is an extension of Fundación Universidad de Guadalajara, A.C., and is made up of a number of prominent academic and social leaders. The Foundation works to attain private support from individuals, foundations and corporations in order to fulfill the mission and vision of the University of Guadalajara in Los Angeles.
It seeks to improve the quality of life and social integration of migrants and hispanic nationals by increasing their access to education and enhancing their sense of belonging and identification with their environment by developing their skills and capabilities through educational services and relevant social research.
Read More: "Wild Tales" Business and Pleasure
“What does it mean to be Latino or Ibero-American? We often engage in the most intensely absurd discussions trying to find a definition that satisfies us all. I believe, however, that the best answer can be found in the movies: where the ordinary becomes extraordinary and unique stories become universal fables. The increasing power of visual language and an innovative spirit –this is what our film industries have in common! And once again, 2014 has proven to be one of the most exemplary years for Ibero-American cinema. The Palm Springs International Film Festival recognizes the talent and creativity of its makers both in front of and behind the camera with the Cine Latino Award. This year we celebrate the vitality of the region with a record 27 films. We are truly grateful to the vision and commitment of two of the leading cultural, social and educational organizations in Mexico and the United States -- the Guadalajara International Film Festival and the University of Guadalajara Foundation in USA -- for sponsoring this award and helping to strengthen the cultural and artistic bridges so fundamental to all of us,” said Hebe Tabachnik, Ibero-American Programmer for Psiff.
“For the third consecutive year, top caliber Latino films will compete in the Ibero American competition at the Palm Springs Film Festival from January 2 to the 12, 2015,” said Iván Trujillo, Festival Director for the Guadalajara International Film Festival. “Their stories, genres and production values have garnered these films both critical and audience recognition at the most important festivals all over the globe. This will be indeed a very competitive year for an award that is acquiring more and more prestige worldwide.”
Read More: Dir. Alberto Arvelo on Venezuelan Epic "The Liberator"
“We have reached an important milestone. When the Foundation of the University of Guadalajara in USA made an agreement to sponsor an award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, we made a commitment to increase the cash prize within three years up to $10,000 to recognize the ‘Best Ibero American Film’ in the festival. Our Foundation is extremely proud to have fulfilled this arrangement with the Festival. Achieving this goal is only part of a whole project for the future,” said Raúl Padilla, President for the University of Guadalajara Foundation in USA.
Jury members include Josep Parera (Entertainment Editor – La Opinión) Nacho Carballo (Festival Director, Gijón International Film Festival, Spain) and Tom Davia (Founder & Managing Partner of Cinemaven Media).
Read More: Actor Alfono Herrera on "The Perfect Dictatorship"
They will review 27 films to select the Cine Latino Award winner. This year’s eligible films are:
"10,000 Km" (Spain), Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet "August Winds" (Brazil), Director: Gabriel Mascaro "Behavior" (Cuba), Director: Ernesto Daranas Serrano "Ciudad Delirio" (Colombia, Spain), Director: Chus Gutiérrez "Flowers" (Spain), Directors: Jon Garaño, José Mari Goenaga "Futuro Beach" (Brazil), Director: Karim Ainouz "Gente de Bien" (Colombia, France), Director: Franco Lolli "Güeros" (Mexico), Director: Alonso Ruiz Palacios "Hawaii" (Argentina), Director: Marco Berger "The Hours With You" (Mexico), Director: Catalina Aguilar Mastretta "La Tirisia" (Mexico), Director: Jorge Pérez Solano "Lake Los Angeles" (USA), Director: Mike Ott "The Liberator" (Venezuela, Spain), Director: Alberto Arvelo "Magical Girl" (Spain), Director: Carlos Vermut "Mateo" (Colombia, France), Director: María Gamboa "A Moonless Night" (Uruguay, Argentina), Director: Germán Tejeira "Mother of the Lamb" (Chile), Directors: Rosario Espinosa Godoy, Enrique Farías "Mr. Kaplan" (Uruguay), Director: Álvaro Brechner "Natural Sciences" (Argentina), Director: Matías Lucchesi "Nn" (Peru, Colombia, France, Germany), Director: Héctor Galvez "Not All Is Vigil" (Spain, Colombia), Director: Hermes Paralluelo "One for the Road" (Mexico), Director: Jack Zagha Kababie "The Perfect Dictatorship" (Mexico), Director: Luis Estrada "Sand Dollars" (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina), Directors: Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán "To Kill a Man" (Chile), Director: Alejandro Fernández Almendras "The Way He Looks" (Brazil), Director: Daniel Ribeiro "Wild Tales" (Argentina, Spain), Director: Damián Szifrón About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Kate Winslet.
The Awards Gala of the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Entertainment Tonight. The City of Palm Springs is the Title Sponsor of the Film Festival. Presenting Sponsors are Wells Fargo, The Desert Sun and Spencer’s. Major sponsors are Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Wessman Development, Bank of America, Wintec, Regal Entertainment Group, Ignition Creative, Desert Regional Medical Center, Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, Windermere Real Estate, Eisenhower Medical Center, Guthy-Renker, Integrated Wealth Management, VisitGreaterPalmSprings.com, Ocean Properties, Chihuly and Telefilm Canada.
For more information visit www.psfilmfest.org.
About The Guadalajara International Film Festival
Ficg was founded with support from the University of Guadalajara in 1985 by the Mexican filmmaker Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, with the tremendous help from young film students like Guillermo del Toro. It will celebrate its 30th edition next March 6-15, 2015. Ficg is the lead film festival in Latin America. It is a forum for the training, education, and creative exchange among industry professionals, film critics, and film students from all over Ibero-America.
About the Foundation of the University of Guadalajara in the U.S.
The University of Guadalajara Foundation in the United States of America is an extension of Fundación Universidad de Guadalajara, A.C., and is made up of a number of prominent academic and social leaders. The Foundation works to attain private support from individuals, foundations and corporations in order to fulfill the mission and vision of the University of Guadalajara in Los Angeles.
It seeks to improve the quality of life and social integration of migrants and hispanic nationals by increasing their access to education and enhancing their sense of belonging and identification with their environment by developing their skills and capabilities through educational services and relevant social research.
- 1/9/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: Tom Davia and Diego Marambio have officially unveiled their Miami-based consultancy.
Cinemaven advises on acquisitions to sales agents and occasionally distributors in select territories, consults on festival and market management and programming and also on the sales, packaging and production of feature projects, with strong emphasis on Latin America.
Since the company soft-launched in June and hit the ground in Toronto it has assembled a considerable client roster.
Partners include the Guadalajara Film festival in Mexico, PÖFF/Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, the Animaze: Montreal Animation Film Festival and Cebu International Film Festival in the Philippines.
Cinemaven has served as production and packaging consultant to Brazil’s Urca Filmes and Mexico’s Mantarraya, Varios Lobos and Morbido Group/Ragnatela Societas.
Clients include Argentina’s 3C Films Group and El Dorado Contenidos, Puerto Rico’s La Que Te Hablé, Guatemala’s Mr. Music & Mr. Films, Chile’s Jirafa Cine and Paraguay’s Oima Films.
The...
Cinemaven advises on acquisitions to sales agents and occasionally distributors in select territories, consults on festival and market management and programming and also on the sales, packaging and production of feature projects, with strong emphasis on Latin America.
Since the company soft-launched in June and hit the ground in Toronto it has assembled a considerable client roster.
Partners include the Guadalajara Film festival in Mexico, PÖFF/Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, the Animaze: Montreal Animation Film Festival and Cebu International Film Festival in the Philippines.
Cinemaven has served as production and packaging consultant to Brazil’s Urca Filmes and Mexico’s Mantarraya, Varios Lobos and Morbido Group/Ragnatela Societas.
Clients include Argentina’s 3C Films Group and El Dorado Contenidos, Puerto Rico’s La Que Te Hablé, Guatemala’s Mr. Music & Mr. Films, Chile’s Jirafa Cine and Paraguay’s Oima Films.
The...
- 12/2/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
In Korea, the 18th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) wrapped with Andreas Prochaska’s Austria-Germany Alps cowboy co-production The Dark Valley picking up the Best of Puchon award.Scroll down for full list of awards
Tommy Wirkola’s Nazi zombie sequel from Norway, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, snapped up three awards – best director and actor as well as the Nh Nonghyup Citizen’s Choice award.
Best Actress went to Essie Davis for her performance in Australian horror film The Babadook, where a single mother and widow battling her son’s fears of monsters becomes possessed by an evil spirit.
Festival director Kim Young Bin said: “210 films from 48 countries have met with audiences during 11 days of the festival. As of July 24, 137 sessions out of 256 screenings were sold out successfully.
“You could say this is a significant result that we have reaped in an environment where all of society has been in a torpor.”
Puchon Choice:...
Tommy Wirkola’s Nazi zombie sequel from Norway, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, snapped up three awards – best director and actor as well as the Nh Nonghyup Citizen’s Choice award.
Best Actress went to Essie Davis for her performance in Australian horror film The Babadook, where a single mother and widow battling her son’s fears of monsters becomes possessed by an evil spirit.
Festival director Kim Young Bin said: “210 films from 48 countries have met with audiences during 11 days of the festival. As of July 24, 137 sessions out of 256 screenings were sold out successfully.
“You could say this is a significant result that we have reaped in an environment where all of society has been in a torpor.”
Puchon Choice:...
- 7/28/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
The 18th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) opens tonight (July 17) with German film Stereo; this year’s Producers’ Choice Awards going to actor Hyun Bin and actress Son Ye-jin.
The 18th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) opens tonight (July 17) with this year’s Producers’ Choice Awards going to actor Hyun Bin and actress Son Ye-jin.
Selected by PiFan and the Korean Film Producers Association (Kfpa), the Producers’ Choice Awards go to “the most recognized actors with outstanding careers in Korea” each year. The awards were started in 2012 and have guaranteed top stars on the PiFan opening night red carpet annually.
Previously seen in romances such as Lee Yoon-ki’s Come Rain, Come Shine and Kim Tae-yong’s Late Autumn, Hyun was most recently in historical thriller The Fatal Encounter.
Son’s credits include hits such as The Art Of Seduction, April Snow and My Wife Got Married. She also stars in the upcoming sea-faring adventure...
The 18th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) opens tonight (July 17) with this year’s Producers’ Choice Awards going to actor Hyun Bin and actress Son Ye-jin.
Selected by PiFan and the Korean Film Producers Association (Kfpa), the Producers’ Choice Awards go to “the most recognized actors with outstanding careers in Korea” each year. The awards were started in 2012 and have guaranteed top stars on the PiFan opening night red carpet annually.
Previously seen in romances such as Lee Yoon-ki’s Come Rain, Come Shine and Kim Tae-yong’s Late Autumn, Hyun was most recently in historical thriller The Fatal Encounter.
Son’s credits include hits such as The Art Of Seduction, April Snow and My Wife Got Married. She also stars in the upcoming sea-faring adventure...
- 7/17/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
International Sales Agents are the core of the current international film market system – i.e., the buying and selling of films worldwide. Half of the approximately 450 worldwide ISAs are based in La, the rest spread around the globe, but it matters little in a business sense where they are based. They gather together during the upcoming American Film Market November 6 in Santa Monica, California, in Berlin at the European Film Market February 6, 2014, and at the Cannes Marche in May as well as other events around the world to license rights to their films to distributors coming from every corner of the world. Their films also originate from every corner of the world.
Shoreline has been selling to the international film market since 1992. Morris Ruskin sat down last week for a chat with me here in La. I sum up our discussion as follows, after I add that Morris’ friendship and professionalism (and good taste!), is in general one of the principal reasons we like this film business. When we travel, which is frequent, it is people like Morris who light up the distant locations for us and, while both of us are L.A. based, we often only see each other throughout the year at various film business related events in remote places such as Cannes, Berlin, Bahamas., etc.
Morris Ruskin was born in South Africa to anti-Apartheid parents. He left there, along with parents and three older sisters, at age 9, to move to Boston where his Dad went to Harvard Business School. Then they moved to Bermuda for 3 years. When Morris was 15 his mother attended graduate school at UCLA School of Theater. There he met Athol Fugard, the South African playwright about whom his mother did her dissertation.
Many years later, Morris Executive Produced Master Harold & the Boys and dedicated the movie to his mother. He fell in love with L.A. and the movies in high school in L.A. His best friend lured him into filmmaking through Super 8 films which they recreated --movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Blues Brothers. Attending UCLA he wrote screenplays, some of which were optioned and he became an intern at MTV, an experience he considered at that time to be “the new frontier” of entertainment.
He soon became employed at Zupnik Entertainment Enterprises, staying for 6 years. He began as a script reader, then moved up to become the Director of Development and finally became a Vice President. His high water mark there was as a Co-Producer for the high profile very successful film, Glengarry Glen Ross.
He began Shoreline in 1992 on his own with a financial partner. It started as a production company. He then had operating money to run the company but No income. Projects were set up at New Line, Warner Brothers and various sales companies but they all got stuck in development. He figured out that there were two viable ways to make money in the business – selling movies worldwide and managing talent. Because he worked very closely with the sales company, New Line, on Glengarry Glen Ross, he decided to start a sales company. In 1995 he hired sales people to sell films and within six months he had three films in play. Morris says this meant “we were off to the races”. He then began to pick up / or acquire other films to sell.
He continues to branch out. In 2012 he formed a management company for directors, writers and writer / directors.
When we spoke he was intensely proud of a new film he served as Executive Producer on, Pablo, which was opening the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival this past October. This is a Spanish language feature documentary about graphic artist, trailer and title maker, Pablo Ferro, narrated by Jeff Bridges. Pablo was Kubrick’s title designer. Born in Cuba, he migrated as a teen to New York and had, as Morris expresses it, “a rags to riches and back to rags life”. The documentary is a representation for how difficult it can be to make it as an artist in the business. Perhaps it resonates with Morris as he has been able to successfully balance the art of filmmaking with the business side of selling movies.
For Morris Shoreline is a “purposely eclectic” company. His team acquires and sells feature narrative films and documentaries. They pick up “foreign language” (meaning – non English language) films and art house indies. On the commercial side they sell “genre” pictures, thrillers, horror.
Now that sales are successful, Morris now focuses his daily work on management, production, financing. He has produced approximately fifty films. Two of those films were directed by his high school friend who introduced him to filmmaking through Super 8 movies! Shoreline tends to be very loyal to the filmmakers it works with. If it picks up someone’s finished film, often Morris works with that filmmaker to produce the next film and perhaps even to manage him or her. As a producer Morris has had many award winning films and multiple films in Sundance and at The Toronto International Film Festival.
He has started a film financing company called Watermark. His partners here are the Swiss / London based Blue Pencil Investments. They will raise equity money for films, will give MGs (aka minimum guarantees) and sales advances. They will take all rights to world markets and license them to distributors through Shoreline.
A film he used to outline his way of working was the 2005 Sundance hit Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, a romantic film about a couple meeting in a charm school, starring Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman and a cameo from Danny DeVito. These elements gave it heat for sales – Sundance, good cast, mini majors involved and CAA. Lots of CAA talent were cast in film. CAA was also brought in to sell U.S. rights post and during Sundance. Goldwyn acquired the film for U.S. distribution. For this deal CAA was proof (to the market) that the film had “the best elements”.
Another successful film out of Sundance in 2007 was The Signal which had a Usd $50,000 budget and made over $3 million Usd from the U.S. alone.
Shoreline acquires and sells lots of Spanish language films now. Some recent titles are Rabbit Woman, The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas and 7 Boxes which has been to as many as seventy five film festivals.
Morris’ main philosophy for Shoreline films is, “get the films out in the biggest way possible”. Often these days this means going firstly to festivals as there is often no theatrical release. Festivals can lead to or even replace theatrical. Festivals spread the word, help marketing, get films seen and reviewed, and can even mean income when a festival will pay a screening fee.
Some recent titles he is proud of include A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber which will be released theatrically in North America by IFC on November 1st, A Farewell To Fools with Harvey Keitel and Gerard Depardieu which will be released theatrically in North America by Monterey Media in the Spring. (About Liev Schreiber Morris says “a good name really helps” and he says that sometimes the films with known cast sell best). Also The Geography Club, which premiered at OutFest and will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass on November 15th, the aforementioned 7 Boxes which will also be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February, and Baal Shem Tov, a Jewish film in clay animation which Morris says is a very rare film medium and because it belongs in a niche which has attracted much attention.
+++++++++++++
Shoreline’s website says the following about Morris’ work and career.
During the course of producing more than fifty films, Morris has structured deals that incorporate deferments, soft money and international co-productions in order to create financially-viable motion pictures. These productions focus on bankable genre content and star-driven projects that can secure success in a sometimes-uneven marketplace.
Notable amongst such productions are the modern classic Glengarry Glen Ross (Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin) which led to an Academy Award Nomination for Al Pacino; The Man from Elysian Fields (Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Angelica Huston); The Visit (nominated for four Spirit Awards) and Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (John Goodman, Marisa Tomei, Octavia Spencer, Robert Carlyle, Danny DeVito).
Morris is no stranger to the festival circuit having films in the most distinguished festivals worldwide such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Sundance, where The Signal was sold in a multi million dollar bidding war hours after the world premiere.
Morris’s productions have spanned a variety of genres and locations, from a stereoscopic RealD 3D-animated film based on a comic book being released by Anchor Bay (The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse) to a wartime dark comedy starring Harvey Keitel and Gérard Depardieu (A Farewell to Fools). A documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges (Pablo), a co-production shot on location in China ( Wushu Warrior) a comedy that was the opening night gala film at Slamdance (Weirdsville), an action thriller shot in India starring Harvey Keitel (Beeper), a heist crime caper starring
Timothy Olyphant that premiered in The Berlin International Film Festival (High Life) and a South African feature dedicated to Morris’s mother (Master Harold And the Boys).
By consistently developing and acquiring projects that are attractive to domestic and foreign markets alike, Morris has ensured for over twenty years that Shoreline remains a stable yet versatile and ever-evolving organization.
+++++++++++
The website describes Shoreline like this:
Established by Morris Ruskin in 1992, Shoreline Entertainment's Worldwide Sales, Production, and Management divisions comprise one of the longest-running and most-respected film companies in the industry.
Shoreline presents itself via its quality participation at more than 15 major media markets and festivals a year and positions itself to nourish continuous relationships with broadcasters, distributors and festival programmers.
Shoreline has represented numerous award-winning films that have premiered at high profile Festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, Tribeca, Rotterdam and San Sebastian, as well as films nominated for Spirit Awards and Golden Globes.
Such films include: The Man From Elysian Fields, 7 Boxes, Father’s Chair, Un Mundo Secreto, Freaky Deaky, Zona Sur, Undertow, Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, Weirdsville, High Life, The Signal, and The Maid.
Shoreline’s advertising presence includes a long-standing deal with the Hollywood Reporter for its back cover on the dailies during the Toronto International Film Festival, American Film Market, European Film Market (Berlinale), and Marche Du Film (Cannes).Moreover, Shoreline’s marketing efforts include sponsorship of the Buyers Lounge during the American Film Market. With more than 20 years of experience, Shoreline’s momentum is greater than ever.
++++++++++++
Lastly, some useful links to various that Shoreline supplied to us –
Here is a link to our website:
www.slefilms.com
Here is a link to an article Screen did on Watermark – which is the company we set up with Blue Pencil Investments to finance films -
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/Pdfs/screendaily-bluepencil.pdf
The number of festivals 7 Boxes has played in to date is 75. It will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February. It all started for 7 Boxes in San Sebastian. This year we had Rabbit Woman there, so we hope for the same success. Tom Davia is our director of festivals and alternative theatrical.
Here is a link to all the markets we attend:
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/markets.html
Here is a link to the YouTube Baby Panda Sneezing that went viral
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAcdvmnZ_GM
From this they made a family adventure film which we picked up. Here is a link to the film on our website:
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SneezingBabyPanda.html
We’ve had success with family films and this is a title that is attracting a lot of interest from buyers.
Other hot Afm titles include:
A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber who has heat from his new show Donavan.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/PerfectMan.html
A Farewell to Fools which stars Gerard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Ipu.html
The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse which was bought by Anchor Bay for North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Corpse.html
Sir Billi which is a family animated film with the voice of Sean Connery.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SirBilli.html
Freaky Deaky which is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and stars Billy Burke, Christian Slater, Michael Jai White and Crispin Glover.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/FreakyDeaky.html
The Geography Club which won the Audience Award at Outfest and will be released theatrically by Breaking Glass in November.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/GeographyClub.html
Hidden Moon which stars Wes Bentley
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/HiddenMoon.html
was nominated for Eight prestigious Silver Goddess Awards, given by the
Mexican Film Press and Critics / Pecime on their 42nd. edition in 2013. The Silver Goddess Award is the most prestigious film award in Mexico.
1) Best Film of the year: Producers Antonio Ruiz, Ray Diaz Gonzalez, Rodrigo Lobo & Pepe
Bojórquez.
2) Best Director: Pepe Bojórquez
3) Best Screenplay: Pepe Bojórquez / David Howard
4) Best Actress: Ana Serradilla Winner
5) Best Supporting Actress: Alejandra Ambrosi
6) Best Actor "Best upcoming Lead Actor": Osvaldo de León
7) Best Female Actress in a feature role: Angélica María
8) Best Original Song: Hidden Moon. Performed by Il Volo. Music by Luis Bacalov. Spanish Lyrics by
Edgar Cortázar / Tony Renis / Humberto Gatica / Massimo Guantini. Produced by Humberto Gatica /
Tony Renis / David Franco. Winner...
Shoreline has been selling to the international film market since 1992. Morris Ruskin sat down last week for a chat with me here in La. I sum up our discussion as follows, after I add that Morris’ friendship and professionalism (and good taste!), is in general one of the principal reasons we like this film business. When we travel, which is frequent, it is people like Morris who light up the distant locations for us and, while both of us are L.A. based, we often only see each other throughout the year at various film business related events in remote places such as Cannes, Berlin, Bahamas., etc.
Morris Ruskin was born in South Africa to anti-Apartheid parents. He left there, along with parents and three older sisters, at age 9, to move to Boston where his Dad went to Harvard Business School. Then they moved to Bermuda for 3 years. When Morris was 15 his mother attended graduate school at UCLA School of Theater. There he met Athol Fugard, the South African playwright about whom his mother did her dissertation.
Many years later, Morris Executive Produced Master Harold & the Boys and dedicated the movie to his mother. He fell in love with L.A. and the movies in high school in L.A. His best friend lured him into filmmaking through Super 8 films which they recreated --movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Blues Brothers. Attending UCLA he wrote screenplays, some of which were optioned and he became an intern at MTV, an experience he considered at that time to be “the new frontier” of entertainment.
He soon became employed at Zupnik Entertainment Enterprises, staying for 6 years. He began as a script reader, then moved up to become the Director of Development and finally became a Vice President. His high water mark there was as a Co-Producer for the high profile very successful film, Glengarry Glen Ross.
He began Shoreline in 1992 on his own with a financial partner. It started as a production company. He then had operating money to run the company but No income. Projects were set up at New Line, Warner Brothers and various sales companies but they all got stuck in development. He figured out that there were two viable ways to make money in the business – selling movies worldwide and managing talent. Because he worked very closely with the sales company, New Line, on Glengarry Glen Ross, he decided to start a sales company. In 1995 he hired sales people to sell films and within six months he had three films in play. Morris says this meant “we were off to the races”. He then began to pick up / or acquire other films to sell.
He continues to branch out. In 2012 he formed a management company for directors, writers and writer / directors.
When we spoke he was intensely proud of a new film he served as Executive Producer on, Pablo, which was opening the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival this past October. This is a Spanish language feature documentary about graphic artist, trailer and title maker, Pablo Ferro, narrated by Jeff Bridges. Pablo was Kubrick’s title designer. Born in Cuba, he migrated as a teen to New York and had, as Morris expresses it, “a rags to riches and back to rags life”. The documentary is a representation for how difficult it can be to make it as an artist in the business. Perhaps it resonates with Morris as he has been able to successfully balance the art of filmmaking with the business side of selling movies.
For Morris Shoreline is a “purposely eclectic” company. His team acquires and sells feature narrative films and documentaries. They pick up “foreign language” (meaning – non English language) films and art house indies. On the commercial side they sell “genre” pictures, thrillers, horror.
Now that sales are successful, Morris now focuses his daily work on management, production, financing. He has produced approximately fifty films. Two of those films were directed by his high school friend who introduced him to filmmaking through Super 8 movies! Shoreline tends to be very loyal to the filmmakers it works with. If it picks up someone’s finished film, often Morris works with that filmmaker to produce the next film and perhaps even to manage him or her. As a producer Morris has had many award winning films and multiple films in Sundance and at The Toronto International Film Festival.
He has started a film financing company called Watermark. His partners here are the Swiss / London based Blue Pencil Investments. They will raise equity money for films, will give MGs (aka minimum guarantees) and sales advances. They will take all rights to world markets and license them to distributors through Shoreline.
A film he used to outline his way of working was the 2005 Sundance hit Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, a romantic film about a couple meeting in a charm school, starring Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman and a cameo from Danny DeVito. These elements gave it heat for sales – Sundance, good cast, mini majors involved and CAA. Lots of CAA talent were cast in film. CAA was also brought in to sell U.S. rights post and during Sundance. Goldwyn acquired the film for U.S. distribution. For this deal CAA was proof (to the market) that the film had “the best elements”.
Another successful film out of Sundance in 2007 was The Signal which had a Usd $50,000 budget and made over $3 million Usd from the U.S. alone.
Shoreline acquires and sells lots of Spanish language films now. Some recent titles are Rabbit Woman, The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas and 7 Boxes which has been to as many as seventy five film festivals.
Morris’ main philosophy for Shoreline films is, “get the films out in the biggest way possible”. Often these days this means going firstly to festivals as there is often no theatrical release. Festivals can lead to or even replace theatrical. Festivals spread the word, help marketing, get films seen and reviewed, and can even mean income when a festival will pay a screening fee.
Some recent titles he is proud of include A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber which will be released theatrically in North America by IFC on November 1st, A Farewell To Fools with Harvey Keitel and Gerard Depardieu which will be released theatrically in North America by Monterey Media in the Spring. (About Liev Schreiber Morris says “a good name really helps” and he says that sometimes the films with known cast sell best). Also The Geography Club, which premiered at OutFest and will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass on November 15th, the aforementioned 7 Boxes which will also be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February, and Baal Shem Tov, a Jewish film in clay animation which Morris says is a very rare film medium and because it belongs in a niche which has attracted much attention.
+++++++++++++
Shoreline’s website says the following about Morris’ work and career.
During the course of producing more than fifty films, Morris has structured deals that incorporate deferments, soft money and international co-productions in order to create financially-viable motion pictures. These productions focus on bankable genre content and star-driven projects that can secure success in a sometimes-uneven marketplace.
Notable amongst such productions are the modern classic Glengarry Glen Ross (Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin) which led to an Academy Award Nomination for Al Pacino; The Man from Elysian Fields (Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Angelica Huston); The Visit (nominated for four Spirit Awards) and Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (John Goodman, Marisa Tomei, Octavia Spencer, Robert Carlyle, Danny DeVito).
Morris is no stranger to the festival circuit having films in the most distinguished festivals worldwide such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and Sundance, where The Signal was sold in a multi million dollar bidding war hours after the world premiere.
Morris’s productions have spanned a variety of genres and locations, from a stereoscopic RealD 3D-animated film based on a comic book being released by Anchor Bay (The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse) to a wartime dark comedy starring Harvey Keitel and Gérard Depardieu (A Farewell to Fools). A documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges (Pablo), a co-production shot on location in China ( Wushu Warrior) a comedy that was the opening night gala film at Slamdance (Weirdsville), an action thriller shot in India starring Harvey Keitel (Beeper), a heist crime caper starring
Timothy Olyphant that premiered in The Berlin International Film Festival (High Life) and a South African feature dedicated to Morris’s mother (Master Harold And the Boys).
By consistently developing and acquiring projects that are attractive to domestic and foreign markets alike, Morris has ensured for over twenty years that Shoreline remains a stable yet versatile and ever-evolving organization.
+++++++++++
The website describes Shoreline like this:
Established by Morris Ruskin in 1992, Shoreline Entertainment's Worldwide Sales, Production, and Management divisions comprise one of the longest-running and most-respected film companies in the industry.
Shoreline presents itself via its quality participation at more than 15 major media markets and festivals a year and positions itself to nourish continuous relationships with broadcasters, distributors and festival programmers.
Shoreline has represented numerous award-winning films that have premiered at high profile Festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, Tribeca, Rotterdam and San Sebastian, as well as films nominated for Spirit Awards and Golden Globes.
Such films include: The Man From Elysian Fields, 7 Boxes, Father’s Chair, Un Mundo Secreto, Freaky Deaky, Zona Sur, Undertow, Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, Weirdsville, High Life, The Signal, and The Maid.
Shoreline’s advertising presence includes a long-standing deal with the Hollywood Reporter for its back cover on the dailies during the Toronto International Film Festival, American Film Market, European Film Market (Berlinale), and Marche Du Film (Cannes).Moreover, Shoreline’s marketing efforts include sponsorship of the Buyers Lounge during the American Film Market. With more than 20 years of experience, Shoreline’s momentum is greater than ever.
++++++++++++
Lastly, some useful links to various that Shoreline supplied to us –
Here is a link to our website:
www.slefilms.com
Here is a link to an article Screen did on Watermark – which is the company we set up with Blue Pencil Investments to finance films -
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/Pdfs/screendaily-bluepencil.pdf
The number of festivals 7 Boxes has played in to date is 75. It will be released theatrically in North America by Breaking Glass in February. It all started for 7 Boxes in San Sebastian. This year we had Rabbit Woman there, so we hope for the same success. Tom Davia is our director of festivals and alternative theatrical.
Here is a link to all the markets we attend:
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/markets.html
Here is a link to the YouTube Baby Panda Sneezing that went viral
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAcdvmnZ_GM
From this they made a family adventure film which we picked up. Here is a link to the film on our website:
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SneezingBabyPanda.html
We’ve had success with family films and this is a title that is attracting a lot of interest from buyers.
Other hot Afm titles include:
A Perfect Man with Liev Schreiber who has heat from his new show Donavan.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/PerfectMan.html
A Farewell to Fools which stars Gerard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Ipu.html
The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse which was bought by Anchor Bay for North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/Corpse.html
Sir Billi which is a family animated film with the voice of Sean Connery.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/SirBilli.html
Freaky Deaky which is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and stars Billy Burke, Christian Slater, Michael Jai White and Crispin Glover.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/FreakyDeaky.html
The Geography Club which won the Audience Award at Outfest and will be released theatrically by Breaking Glass in November.
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/GeographyClub.html
Hidden Moon which stars Wes Bentley
http://www.shorelineentertainment.com/movies/HiddenMoon.html
was nominated for Eight prestigious Silver Goddess Awards, given by the
Mexican Film Press and Critics / Pecime on their 42nd. edition in 2013. The Silver Goddess Award is the most prestigious film award in Mexico.
1) Best Film of the year: Producers Antonio Ruiz, Ray Diaz Gonzalez, Rodrigo Lobo & Pepe
Bojórquez.
2) Best Director: Pepe Bojórquez
3) Best Screenplay: Pepe Bojórquez / David Howard
4) Best Actress: Ana Serradilla Winner
5) Best Supporting Actress: Alejandra Ambrosi
6) Best Actor "Best upcoming Lead Actor": Osvaldo de León
7) Best Female Actress in a feature role: Angélica María
8) Best Original Song: Hidden Moon. Performed by Il Volo. Music by Luis Bacalov. Spanish Lyrics by
Edgar Cortázar / Tony Renis / Humberto Gatica / Massimo Guantini. Produced by Humberto Gatica /
Tony Renis / David Franco. Winner...
- 11/5/2013
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
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