Film starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet started shooting this week in Northern France.
Snd, the film arm of French broadcaster M6, has teamed with prolific French production company Empreinte Cinema for Juan Carlos Medina’s upcoming race-against-the-clock cop thriller The Chase (Abime) starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet.
Snd has international rights for the film and will kick off sales at AFM for the murder mystery meets action film. Snd and Empreinte produce with Paris-based Once Upon A Time on board as co-producer.
The Chase stars Bouajila as a police officer who failed to find the murderer of a young girl 11 years earlier.
Snd, the film arm of French broadcaster M6, has teamed with prolific French production company Empreinte Cinema for Juan Carlos Medina’s upcoming race-against-the-clock cop thriller The Chase (Abime) starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet.
Snd has international rights for the film and will kick off sales at AFM for the murder mystery meets action film. Snd and Empreinte produce with Paris-based Once Upon A Time on board as co-producer.
The Chase stars Bouajila as a police officer who failed to find the murderer of a young girl 11 years earlier.
- 10/24/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
- 10/30/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
- 10/30/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
- 10/28/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
- 10/27/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September).
In another change to the eligibility rules,...
- 10/26/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
'The Doll' with Ossi Oswalda and Hermann Thimig: Early Ernst Lubitsch satirical fantasy starring 'the German Mary Pickford' has similar premise to that of the 1925 Buster Keaton comedy 'Seven Chances.' 'The Doll': San Francisco Silent Film Festival presented fast-paced Ernst Lubitsch comedy starring the German Mary Pickford – Ossi Oswalda Directed by Ernst Lubitsch (So This Is Paris, The Wedding March), the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival presentation The Doll / Die Puppe (1919) has one of the most amusing mise-en-scènes ever recorded. The set is created by cut-out figures that gradually come to life; then even more cleverly, they commence the fast-paced action. It all begins when a shy, confirmed bachelor, Lancelot (Hermann Thimig), is ordered by his rich uncle (Max Kronert), the Baron von Chanterelle, to marry for a large sum of money. As to be expected, mayhem ensues. Lancelot is forced to flee from the hordes of eligible maidens, eventually...
- 6/28/2017
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
'Amazing Tales from the Archives': Pioneering female documentarian Aloha Wanderwell Baker remembered at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival – along with the largely forgotten sound-on-cylinder technology and the Jean Desmet Collection. 'Amazing Tales from the Archives': San Francisco Silent Film Festival & the 'sound-on-cylinder' system Fans of the earliest sound films would have enjoyed the first presentation at the 2017 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, held June 1–4: “Amazing Tales from the Archives,” during which Library of Congress' Nitrate Film Vault Manager George Willeman used a wealth of enjoyable film clips to examine the Thomas Edison Kinetophone process. In the years 1913–1914, long before The Jazz Singer and Warner Bros.' sound-on-disc technology, the sound-on-cylinder system invaded the nascent film industry with a collection of “talkies.” The sound was scratchy and muffled, but “recognizable.” Notably, this system focused on dialogue, rather than music or sound effects. As with the making of other recordings at the time, the...
- 6/28/2017
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
Rachid Bouchareb directing multi-language project from Larry Gross screenplay.
Patrick Wachsberger and his Lionsgate International team have begun talks with buyers on Rachid Bouchareb’s multi-language action comedy Belleville Cop starring Omar Sy.
Production has begun in Paris on the story of Baaba, a police officer who has refused promotions so he can continue to work in his beloved working class neighbourhood.
When a childhood friend from Miami gets killed after he comes to warn of encroaching drug gangs, Baaba moves to Miami and teams up with a local officer to bring down the criminals.
Sy, who broke out in 2012 smash Intouchables, stars with Luis Guzman, Algerian actress Biyouna, Julie Ferrier, Franck Gastambide and Diem Ngyen. Another 48 Hrs. co-writer Larry Gross wrote the screenplay.
Davis Films’ Samuel Hadida will produce Belleville Cop with Tessalit Films, and Hadida’s Metropolitan FilmExport will distribute in France in late spring 2018 and holds Us rights.
“We are thrilled...
Patrick Wachsberger and his Lionsgate International team have begun talks with buyers on Rachid Bouchareb’s multi-language action comedy Belleville Cop starring Omar Sy.
Production has begun in Paris on the story of Baaba, a police officer who has refused promotions so he can continue to work in his beloved working class neighbourhood.
When a childhood friend from Miami gets killed after he comes to warn of encroaching drug gangs, Baaba moves to Miami and teams up with a local officer to bring down the criminals.
Sy, who broke out in 2012 smash Intouchables, stars with Luis Guzman, Algerian actress Biyouna, Julie Ferrier, Franck Gastambide and Diem Ngyen. Another 48 Hrs. co-writer Larry Gross wrote the screenplay.
Davis Films’ Samuel Hadida will produce Belleville Cop with Tessalit Films, and Hadida’s Metropolitan FilmExport will distribute in France in late spring 2018 and holds Us rights.
“We are thrilled...
- 5/18/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It’s an art film boom time in New York City. With more and more theaters cropping up than one could try and name off the top of their heads, citizens of The Big Apple have everything from the retrospective-centric programming of The Metrograph to their very own Alamo Drafthouse to give their money to in hopes of making a great cinematic discovery. However, don’t forget the museum scene.
As we make our way through the month of May, The Museum of Modern Art has scheduled two fantastic retrospective series, running back to back, that couldn’t be more different. Looking at the worlds of pre-Code Hollywood and African animation, May at MoMA is one of the most interesting repertory lineups seen yet this year.
Running May 5-16, MoMA follows-up their beloved 2016 series Universal Pictures: Restorations and Rediscoveries, 1928-1937 with a return to the studio, this time looking...
As we make our way through the month of May, The Museum of Modern Art has scheduled two fantastic retrospective series, running back to back, that couldn’t be more different. Looking at the worlds of pre-Code Hollywood and African animation, May at MoMA is one of the most interesting repertory lineups seen yet this year.
Running May 5-16, MoMA follows-up their beloved 2016 series Universal Pictures: Restorations and Rediscoveries, 1928-1937 with a return to the studio, this time looking...
- 5/8/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
In the annals of rich men who look to Hollywood to build a secondary empire, real estate billionaire Charles S. Cohen (Forbes net worth: $2.2 billion) is their Don Quixote. His Cohen Media Group is staking its claim in spaces renowned for their allergies to profit: He’s restoring classic films, releasing foreign-language titles, and moving into specialty exhibition.
One Oscar campaigner calls Cohen’s taste “older middle-of-the-road arthouse,” and that’s exactly the audience he wants. Three of Cohen’s French imports — “Outside the Law” (2010), “Timbuktu” (2014) and “Mustang” (2015) — received foreign-language Academy Award nominations. This year, Cohen (with partner Amazon Studios) took Iranian Cannes-prize-winner Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” all the way to the Oscar, much to the chagrin of established competitors Sony Pictures Classics (“Toni Erdmann”) and Music Box (“A Man Called Ove”).
However, where other billionaire businessmen have wanted to be studio moguls, or Harvey Weinstein, what Cohen really...
One Oscar campaigner calls Cohen’s taste “older middle-of-the-road arthouse,” and that’s exactly the audience he wants. Three of Cohen’s French imports — “Outside the Law” (2010), “Timbuktu” (2014) and “Mustang” (2015) — received foreign-language Academy Award nominations. This year, Cohen (with partner Amazon Studios) took Iranian Cannes-prize-winner Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” all the way to the Oscar, much to the chagrin of established competitors Sony Pictures Classics (“Toni Erdmann”) and Music Box (“A Man Called Ove”).
However, where other billionaire businessmen have wanted to be studio moguls, or Harvey Weinstein, what Cohen really...
- 4/11/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
In the annals of rich men who look to Hollywood to build a secondary empire, real estate billionaire Charles S. Cohen (Forbes net worth: $2.2 billion) is their Don Quixote. His Cohen Media Group is staking its claim in spaces renowned for their allergies to profit: He’s restoring classic films, releasing foreign-language titles, and moving into specialty exhibition.
One Oscar campaigner calls Cohen’s taste “older middle-of-the-road arthouse,” and that’s exactly the audience he wants. Three of Cohen’s French imports — “Outside the Law” (2010), “Timbuktu” (2014) and “Mustang” (2015) — received foreign-language Academy Award nominations. This year, Cohen (with partner Amazon Studios) took Iranian Cannes-prize-winner Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” all the way to the Oscar, much to the chagrin of established competitors Sony Pictures Classics (“Toni Erdmann”) and Music Box (“A Man Called Ove”).
However, where other billionaire businessmen have wanted to be studio moguls, or Harvey Weinstein, what Cohen really...
One Oscar campaigner calls Cohen’s taste “older middle-of-the-road arthouse,” and that’s exactly the audience he wants. Three of Cohen’s French imports — “Outside the Law” (2010), “Timbuktu” (2014) and “Mustang” (2015) — received foreign-language Academy Award nominations. This year, Cohen (with partner Amazon Studios) took Iranian Cannes-prize-winner Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” all the way to the Oscar, much to the chagrin of established competitors Sony Pictures Classics (“Toni Erdmann”) and Music Box (“A Man Called Ove”).
However, where other billionaire businessmen have wanted to be studio moguls, or Harvey Weinstein, what Cohen really...
- 4/11/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
A one-time golden boy and former Illinois prosecutor was found not guilty Friday following a retrial in connection with his first wife’s alleged suffocation murder, People confirms.
Curtis Lovelace — a former hometown football star and assistant state’s attorney in his native Quincy, Illinois — was arrested in August 2014, more than eight years after Curtis reported finding wife Cory dead in their bedroom on Valentine’s Day morning.
The development startled and captivated the Mississippi River community where Curtis and Cory, a 38-year-old gregarious former cheerleader and honors student from a prominent family, had grown up and raised four children.
Curtis Lovelace — a former hometown football star and assistant state’s attorney in his native Quincy, Illinois — was arrested in August 2014, more than eight years after Curtis reported finding wife Cory dead in their bedroom on Valentine’s Day morning.
The development startled and captivated the Mississippi River community where Curtis and Cory, a 38-year-old gregarious former cheerleader and honors student from a prominent family, had grown up and raised four children.
- 3/10/2017
- by Jeff Truesdell
- PEOPLE.com
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
The greatest thing about the best foreign-language film category is the recognition of works from all around the world. Throughout the years, movies made outside the United States of America have gotten the recognition they deserve thanks to the implementation of this specific award. With the 2017 Oscars right around the corner, let’s take a look back at the distribution of nominations and wins across the seven continents that make up this big world we inhabit.
This year’s best foreign-language film contenders are: Toni Erdmann (Germany), The Salesman (Iran), Land of Mine (Denmark), A Man Called Ove (Sweden), Paradise (Russia), The King’s Choice (Norway), My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland), It’s Only the End of the World (Canada), and Tanna (Australia). This site’s namesake, The Hollywood’s Scott Feinberg, lists the first five of those as frontrunners and the other four as major threats.
Managing Editor
The greatest thing about the best foreign-language film category is the recognition of works from all around the world. Throughout the years, movies made outside the United States of America have gotten the recognition they deserve thanks to the implementation of this specific award. With the 2017 Oscars right around the corner, let’s take a look back at the distribution of nominations and wins across the seven continents that make up this big world we inhabit.
This year’s best foreign-language film contenders are: Toni Erdmann (Germany), The Salesman (Iran), Land of Mine (Denmark), A Man Called Ove (Sweden), Paradise (Russia), The King’s Choice (Norway), My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland), It’s Only the End of the World (Canada), and Tanna (Australia). This site’s namesake, The Hollywood’s Scott Feinberg, lists the first five of those as frontrunners and the other four as major threats.
- 1/5/2017
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
French-born Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb's new film "Road to Istanbul" (La route des lacs) is premiering at this year's Berlinale in the Panorama section. This is a film that looks particularly interesting to me as it deals with a mother and her only daughter - a 20-year-old who has left Belgium to join Isis.
Bouchareb's artfully crafted films "Dust of Life," "Days of Glory," and "Outside the Law" were nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, making Algeria the African country with the most nominations in the category and solidifying the director as the most important figure in North African cinema today.
Intentional sales are being handled by Elle Driver.
The official synopsis for "Road to Istanbul" reads as follows:
When the police inform her that Elodie, her only daughter, 20, has left to join the Islamic State somewhere between Syria and Iraq, Elisabeth's life is thrown into turmoil. She is in shock and cannot understand this decision because the war does not concern them. Elisabeth manages to contact Elodie but finds herself at a loss faced with this young woman whom she no longer recognizes. Alone in her struggle, she decides to set off for Syria to look for her daughter and to convince her to return to Belgium with her. Will mother and daughter be able to reunite and understand each other?
Festival screenings:
February 15 at 9:30 Pm - Berliner Festspiele
February 16 at 10:00 Am - CinemaxX 7
February 17 at 2:30 Pm - Cubix 9
February 19 at 8:00 Pm - International
February 21 at 2:30 Pm - Zoo Palast 2...
Bouchareb's artfully crafted films "Dust of Life," "Days of Glory," and "Outside the Law" were nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, making Algeria the African country with the most nominations in the category and solidifying the director as the most important figure in North African cinema today.
Intentional sales are being handled by Elle Driver.
The official synopsis for "Road to Istanbul" reads as follows:
When the police inform her that Elodie, her only daughter, 20, has left to join the Islamic State somewhere between Syria and Iraq, Elisabeth's life is thrown into turmoil. She is in shock and cannot understand this decision because the war does not concern them. Elisabeth manages to contact Elodie but finds herself at a loss faced with this young woman whom she no longer recognizes. Alone in her struggle, she decides to set off for Syria to look for her daughter and to convince her to return to Belgium with her. Will mother and daughter be able to reunite and understand each other?
Festival screenings:
February 15 at 9:30 Pm - Berliner Festspiele
February 16 at 10:00 Am - CinemaxX 7
February 17 at 2:30 Pm - Cubix 9
February 19 at 8:00 Pm - International
February 21 at 2:30 Pm - Zoo Palast 2...
- 2/10/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Doha Film Institute flew me in via Istanbul to attend the Ajyal Youth Film Festival. My first time in Doha Qatar, I am stunned by the luxury of it all. The area is filled with large buildings, modern and yet very Arabic in style, from the huge gleaming glass and steel airport with its marble floors and empty, at least at 1:30 Am. Awaiting in the posh Al Mira Lounge for my drive to take me to the St. Regis Hotel -- again -- huge, with its arches and arabesque style towers, to the people, elegantly enshrouded women in black and men in gleaming white.
After a day to recuperate from my 24 hour flight, we, the press, had a welcome dinner and the next day was devoted to “The Idol” Opening Night Film’s press screening and press conference and to Opening Night itself with a lovely party and a band playing American movie tunes.
"Designed to inspire, and it works!" This Palestine/ UK/ Qatar/ Dubai/ Abu Dhabi/ Netherlands coproduction "The Idol" premiered at Toronto’s Tiff this September. After Doha, it won Antalya's Best Director Award before going on to Dubai Film Festival. This is a feel-good movie which gives a human voice to the Palestinian dilemma without being political or religious. It’s pure heart.
Read my interview with Hany Abu-Assad during Tiff.
“The Idol” was coproduced by Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, Enjaaz -- a Dubai Film Market initiative -- Doha Film institute with support from the Netherlands Film Fund. Mbc (Middle East Broadcasting Company) also coproduced and is handling the film’s release in the Middle East and North Africa. September’s Hans de Wolf was the Dutch coproducer and is distributing it in Benelux.
Speaking in Doha with producers Ali Jaafar, Amira Diab in the patio of Al Jazeera Press Center I was given an in-depth look at the origin of this production which will be seen across the Arab lands both theatrically and through Mbc. Mbc was the first to come on board when producer Ali pitched them the idea of making a movie of the phenomenal success story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza and whose voice became the voice of the nation when he won the Arab Idol contest in 2013.
Sydney Levine: Where did you come from? IMDb only lists one credit for you and that’s for “The Idol”.
Ali Jaafar: I was executive director of Tarak Ben Ammar’s Quinta Communications' film division for five years. The company co-produced Rachid Bouchareb’s Oscar Nominated “Outside The Law’”; Julian Schnabel’s “Miral”; Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Black Gold” aka “Day of the Falcon” starring Antonio Banderas, Tahar Rahim and Freida Pinto, which was distributed by Warner Bros and Universal Pictures and was Doha Film Institute’s first film investment and the first major film to shoot in Qatar. It was an attempt to tell an epic Arabian story for the international audience. Filming took place in Tunisia during the Jasmine Revolution that led to the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Filming finished on schedule and on budget with no interference, but it was a very difficult time for such a film to break out.
Quinta also co-produced “Where Do We Go Now” by Nadine Labaki known first for Caramel (2007) and more recently for Rio, I Love You(2014). “Where Do We Go Now” was the first Arabic film to win the prestigious Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Sl: How did you hook up with “The Idol”?
Ali: When the major pop TV show Arab Idol awarded its top prize to Mohammed Assaf, the next morning the media went wild. It was during the toughest time yet in the Arab world, with Tunisia’s Revolution igniting insurgencies in Libya, Egypt, Palestine. It was a great story. I spoke to Mbc suggesting they make a movie about it. They said yes and were onboard from the very beginning.
This was my first movie as a producer. I learned so much from Tarak. One of the things I learned was to have the best partners and Mbc was just that. They offered critical support, PR support all the way through filming, support in releasing and guidance in what works in the Middle East region.
Mbc helped with script development. Sameh Zoabi wrote the first two drafts of the film. With the Number One Media (Mbc) company on board, I was able to enlist others to help as well.
Sl: How did you get Hany on board as director?
Ali: Hany was my number one choice as director, but during my first year working on “The Idol”, he was busy promoting “Omar” and lining up a project with a big U.S. studio. He was a friend and I was hoping he might at least co-produce; he read the script and gradually, one year later we met in London. He said that the American movie had been pushed back one year so he was available, but he needed to start in January – which gave me three months to put it together.
Sl: Amira, so you’re Hany’s wife…where were you working before this film?
Amira: I had been living in London but we’re now living in L.A. My background is in financing.
Ali: Yes she brought in a major part of the financing on the film too.
Amira: I met Hany who said we need more women producers and the timing was right. When Ali called Hany, Hany brought me in to meet Ali. I spent a lot of time on the set with the line producer Baher Agbariya who became a coproducer. I also worked on the rewrite and worked with the kids.
Sl: And is it true that TV does not usually show movies? That is what I heard someone say during the Q&A.
Ali: This film is an important bridge in a very crowded marketplace. Cinema is more challenging for breaking out of borders. Usually what is Lebanese stays in Lebanon, what is Jordanian stays in Jordan, etc. Films do not easily cross borders – except for Egyptian films. And usually independent films are more arthouse rather than commercial. “The Idol” about a big pop star has breakout potential.
Sl: When Hany came on board, what did he do first?
Ali: He worked on the script, strengthening the relationship between the sister and brother, adding some elements.
Hany insisted on shooting on location in both Beirut and Cairo for the exterior scenes set in those cities so that the film would look and feel real. He was only given a three day permit to film in Gaza. Set in the devastated landscapes of a Gaza still reeling from the month-long bombardment in 2014, Abu-Assad and his crew were still able to find great moments of beauty and surprise. The Gaza Parkour Team, for example, supplies its amazing acrobatic display in the most surprising way in one moment, proving that art can thrive in even the most challenging of situations.
That desire for authenticity is also why Hany insisted on finding and employing real kids from Gaza to act in the film. The crew did a Gaza-wide search, holding casting sessions and rehearsals in schools across the area. Ultimately, the production was blessed to find four amazing Gazan children to star in the film, all first time actors, and all incredible natural performers.
The first half of the film takes place in a war-torn Gaza city which, for Mohammed Assaf, his sister Nour and their best friends Ahmad and Omar. is a playground where they freely ride their bikes, play music, football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on second hand, beat-up instruments but their ambitions are sky-high. Their ambition is to play at the world famous Cairo Opera Hall.
The world around Mohammed shatters. Through it all, however, he retains the hope that his voice will somehow deliver him from the pain that surrounds him and bring joy to others. He sings at weddings, he drives a taxi to pay for his university studies. Even as the siege around Gaza intensifies, the prison around them ever more forbidding, Mohammed knows he has a rare gift, the ability to make people smile and forget their anxieties about day to day living.
Sl: How did eOne become your international sales agent?
Ali: The international sales agent was critical for us as filmmakers. We had interest from a number of established European sales agents who would’ve done a good job but when EOne expressed their strong passion for the project it provided us with a great opportunity to position the film in a more commercial space in the marketplace.
EOne’s arthouse arm Seville took it to Afm and they presold almost all the territories, even China and Australia based on the powerful package of the script, Mbc, Hany and a great story.
Sl: I know international sales by Seville were made before Tiff to some 20 territories including Benelux (September Films -- the former Wild Bunch Benelux), France (TF1), Germany (Koch), Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edko), Hungary (Mtva), Australia (Umbrella), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Africa (Times Media) Switzerland (Praesens), China (Beijing Xiangjiang YiHua Films), India (PVR), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (Red Pictures), Taiwan (Spring International), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Romania (Independenta), South Korea (Kaon Contents & Media) and Airlines (Captive). eOne will directly release the film in Spain. Mbc will distribute throughout the Middle East, including Palestine and North Africa.
Ali: We filmed “The Idol” with no advance publicity outside of the Middle East. When it premiered at Tiff, we announced the sales. After it premiered in Toronto we sealed the American deal with Adopt Films which had released Hany’s film “Omar” and a U.K. deal. That concluded world sales to every territory.
Sl: Where will it play next?
Ali: After Toronto it played London, Warsaw and Torino Film Festivals. It will go on to play in Turkey and Dubai Film Festivals. Eagle will release the film on December 24th in the Gulf states (Gcc) and on January 14th in the Levant (Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan). On the 21st it opens in Egypt. Mbc will release on its pan-Arab television network.
Also in January Rotterdam Film Festival will screen it Its U.S. release by Adopt will be sometime between spring and summer.
After a day to recuperate from my 24 hour flight, we, the press, had a welcome dinner and the next day was devoted to “The Idol” Opening Night Film’s press screening and press conference and to Opening Night itself with a lovely party and a band playing American movie tunes.
"Designed to inspire, and it works!" This Palestine/ UK/ Qatar/ Dubai/ Abu Dhabi/ Netherlands coproduction "The Idol" premiered at Toronto’s Tiff this September. After Doha, it won Antalya's Best Director Award before going on to Dubai Film Festival. This is a feel-good movie which gives a human voice to the Palestinian dilemma without being political or religious. It’s pure heart.
Read my interview with Hany Abu-Assad during Tiff.
“The Idol” was coproduced by Image Nation of Abu Dhabi, Enjaaz -- a Dubai Film Market initiative -- Doha Film institute with support from the Netherlands Film Fund. Mbc (Middle East Broadcasting Company) also coproduced and is handling the film’s release in the Middle East and North Africa. September’s Hans de Wolf was the Dutch coproducer and is distributing it in Benelux.
Speaking in Doha with producers Ali Jaafar, Amira Diab in the patio of Al Jazeera Press Center I was given an in-depth look at the origin of this production which will be seen across the Arab lands both theatrically and through Mbc. Mbc was the first to come on board when producer Ali pitched them the idea of making a movie of the phenomenal success story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza and whose voice became the voice of the nation when he won the Arab Idol contest in 2013.
Sydney Levine: Where did you come from? IMDb only lists one credit for you and that’s for “The Idol”.
Ali Jaafar: I was executive director of Tarak Ben Ammar’s Quinta Communications' film division for five years. The company co-produced Rachid Bouchareb’s Oscar Nominated “Outside The Law’”; Julian Schnabel’s “Miral”; Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Black Gold” aka “Day of the Falcon” starring Antonio Banderas, Tahar Rahim and Freida Pinto, which was distributed by Warner Bros and Universal Pictures and was Doha Film Institute’s first film investment and the first major film to shoot in Qatar. It was an attempt to tell an epic Arabian story for the international audience. Filming took place in Tunisia during the Jasmine Revolution that led to the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Filming finished on schedule and on budget with no interference, but it was a very difficult time for such a film to break out.
Quinta also co-produced “Where Do We Go Now” by Nadine Labaki known first for Caramel (2007) and more recently for Rio, I Love You(2014). “Where Do We Go Now” was the first Arabic film to win the prestigious Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Sl: How did you hook up with “The Idol”?
Ali: When the major pop TV show Arab Idol awarded its top prize to Mohammed Assaf, the next morning the media went wild. It was during the toughest time yet in the Arab world, with Tunisia’s Revolution igniting insurgencies in Libya, Egypt, Palestine. It was a great story. I spoke to Mbc suggesting they make a movie about it. They said yes and were onboard from the very beginning.
This was my first movie as a producer. I learned so much from Tarak. One of the things I learned was to have the best partners and Mbc was just that. They offered critical support, PR support all the way through filming, support in releasing and guidance in what works in the Middle East region.
Mbc helped with script development. Sameh Zoabi wrote the first two drafts of the film. With the Number One Media (Mbc) company on board, I was able to enlist others to help as well.
Sl: How did you get Hany on board as director?
Ali: Hany was my number one choice as director, but during my first year working on “The Idol”, he was busy promoting “Omar” and lining up a project with a big U.S. studio. He was a friend and I was hoping he might at least co-produce; he read the script and gradually, one year later we met in London. He said that the American movie had been pushed back one year so he was available, but he needed to start in January – which gave me three months to put it together.
Sl: Amira, so you’re Hany’s wife…where were you working before this film?
Amira: I had been living in London but we’re now living in L.A. My background is in financing.
Ali: Yes she brought in a major part of the financing on the film too.
Amira: I met Hany who said we need more women producers and the timing was right. When Ali called Hany, Hany brought me in to meet Ali. I spent a lot of time on the set with the line producer Baher Agbariya who became a coproducer. I also worked on the rewrite and worked with the kids.
Sl: And is it true that TV does not usually show movies? That is what I heard someone say during the Q&A.
Ali: This film is an important bridge in a very crowded marketplace. Cinema is more challenging for breaking out of borders. Usually what is Lebanese stays in Lebanon, what is Jordanian stays in Jordan, etc. Films do not easily cross borders – except for Egyptian films. And usually independent films are more arthouse rather than commercial. “The Idol” about a big pop star has breakout potential.
Sl: When Hany came on board, what did he do first?
Ali: He worked on the script, strengthening the relationship between the sister and brother, adding some elements.
Hany insisted on shooting on location in both Beirut and Cairo for the exterior scenes set in those cities so that the film would look and feel real. He was only given a three day permit to film in Gaza. Set in the devastated landscapes of a Gaza still reeling from the month-long bombardment in 2014, Abu-Assad and his crew were still able to find great moments of beauty and surprise. The Gaza Parkour Team, for example, supplies its amazing acrobatic display in the most surprising way in one moment, proving that art can thrive in even the most challenging of situations.
That desire for authenticity is also why Hany insisted on finding and employing real kids from Gaza to act in the film. The crew did a Gaza-wide search, holding casting sessions and rehearsals in schools across the area. Ultimately, the production was blessed to find four amazing Gazan children to star in the film, all first time actors, and all incredible natural performers.
The first half of the film takes place in a war-torn Gaza city which, for Mohammed Assaf, his sister Nour and their best friends Ahmad and Omar. is a playground where they freely ride their bikes, play music, football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on second hand, beat-up instruments but their ambitions are sky-high. Their ambition is to play at the world famous Cairo Opera Hall.
The world around Mohammed shatters. Through it all, however, he retains the hope that his voice will somehow deliver him from the pain that surrounds him and bring joy to others. He sings at weddings, he drives a taxi to pay for his university studies. Even as the siege around Gaza intensifies, the prison around them ever more forbidding, Mohammed knows he has a rare gift, the ability to make people smile and forget their anxieties about day to day living.
Sl: How did eOne become your international sales agent?
Ali: The international sales agent was critical for us as filmmakers. We had interest from a number of established European sales agents who would’ve done a good job but when EOne expressed their strong passion for the project it provided us with a great opportunity to position the film in a more commercial space in the marketplace.
EOne’s arthouse arm Seville took it to Afm and they presold almost all the territories, even China and Australia based on the powerful package of the script, Mbc, Hany and a great story.
Sl: I know international sales by Seville were made before Tiff to some 20 territories including Benelux (September Films -- the former Wild Bunch Benelux), France (TF1), Germany (Koch), Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edko), Hungary (Mtva), Australia (Umbrella), Latin America (California Filmes), Portugal (Outsider Films), South Africa (Times Media) Switzerland (Praesens), China (Beijing Xiangjiang YiHua Films), India (PVR), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (Red Pictures), Taiwan (Spring International), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Romania (Independenta), South Korea (Kaon Contents & Media) and Airlines (Captive). eOne will directly release the film in Spain. Mbc will distribute throughout the Middle East, including Palestine and North Africa.
Ali: We filmed “The Idol” with no advance publicity outside of the Middle East. When it premiered at Tiff, we announced the sales. After it premiered in Toronto we sealed the American deal with Adopt Films which had released Hany’s film “Omar” and a U.K. deal. That concluded world sales to every territory.
Sl: Where will it play next?
Ali: After Toronto it played London, Warsaw and Torino Film Festivals. It will go on to play in Turkey and Dubai Film Festivals. Eagle will release the film on December 24th in the Gulf states (Gcc) and on January 14th in the Levant (Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan). On the 21st it opens in Egypt. Mbc will release on its pan-Arab television network.
Also in January Rotterdam Film Festival will screen it Its U.S. release by Adopt will be sometime between spring and summer.
- 12/3/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
"London River," directed by French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb ("Days of Glory," "Outside The Law"), is now on DVD and VOD in the USA. I was able to catch it via Amazon Instant Video. Aside from a few connection hiccups, I was able to fully appreciate this moving story of a market gardener from Guernsey, played by the magnificent Brenda Blethyn (1996 "Secrets and Lies"), and a Francophone African, the late Sotigui Kouyaté in a subdued yet superb performance, who arrive in London to search for their missing children in the aftermath of the 2005 train and bus terrorist bombings. Elisabeth (Blethyn) is a widow in the British Channel...
- 5/29/2015
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
Susanne Bier Oscar winner 'In a Better World' director Susanne Bier Susanne Bier, whose In a Better World won the 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, is seen above on the 83rd Academy Awards' Red Carpet, just outside the Kodak Theatre. The other 2011 Oscar nominees in the Best Foreign Language Film category were: Rachid Bouchareb's Outside the Law / Hors-la-loi (Algeria). Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful (Mexico). Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth (Greece). Denis Villeneuve's Incendies (Canada). As in previous years, several international favorites were left out of the 2011 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar competition. Among these were the following: Xavier Beauvois' French Academy César winner Of Gods and Men / Des hommes et des dieux (France). Semih Kaplanoglu's 2010 Berlin Film Festival winner Bal / Honey (Turkey). Apichatpong Weerasethakul's 2010 Cannes Film Festival winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives / Loong Boonmee raleuk chat (Thailand). Prior to In a Better World,...
- 5/16/2015
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
Hilary Swank Oscar dress Hilary Swank on Oscars' Red Carpet Pictured above is Hilary Swank, wearing an Oscar dress consisting of (what looks like) tons of frills and feathers, on the 2011 Academy Awards Red Carpet this past Sunday, Feb. 27. Swank wasn't nominated for anything, but she acted as a presenter of sorts at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. How so? Well, she introduced last year's Best Director winner, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), who then presented this year's Best Director Oscar to Tom Hooper for The King's Speech. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank has taken home two Best Actress Oscar statuettes. Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry (1999). Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby (2004). These were her only two nominations as well. Both times she beat Annette Bening, who was in the running this year once again for her role as a lesbian wife and mother in Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right,...
- 5/9/2015
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
It’s a shame that Algerian/French filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb’s films don’t get a wider release in the U.S. His 2006 film Days of Glory (Indigènes), about the North African soldiers who fought for the French Army during World War II is a marvelous, exciting and at the end genuinely poignant film that I wish more people had seen if it only gotten a proper release in the U.S. It’s the film that I wish Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna would have been. And his 2010 film Outside the Law, about the Algerian struggle for independence from France after WWII, is just as good and as powerful as Days of Glory and like that film was also barely released in the U.S. So it’s...
- 3/14/2015
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Cohen Media Group will release French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb's "Two Men in Town," which stars Forest Whitaker, simultaneously in Theaters & on iTunes, tomorrow, March 6th, 2015. Whitaker teams up with the Oscar-nominated filmmaker in what was said to be the first film in a trilogy of English-language films for the director, that will explore the complex relationship between the west and the Arab world. "The questions I'm asking in my movies here in America are 'Where are we?' and 'Where are we going?' and 'Why do we need to have hope in this relationship?'" said the director of "Hors la Loi" ("Outside the Law"), his...
- 3/5/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Oscar 2015 winners (photo: Chris Pratt during Oscar 2015 rehearsals) The complete list of Oscar 2015 winners and nominees can be found below. See also: Oscar 2015 presenters and performers. Now, a little Oscar 2015 trivia. If you know a bit about the history of the Academy Awards, you'll have noticed several little curiosities about this year's nominations. For instance, there are quite a few first-time nominees in the acting and directing categories. In fact, nine of the nominated actors and three of the nominated directors are Oscar newcomers. Here's the list in the acting categories: Eddie Redmayne. Michael Keaton. Steve Carell. Benedict Cumberbatch. Felicity Jones. Rosamund Pike. J.K. Simmons. Emma Stone. Patricia Arquette. The three directors are: Morten Tyldum. Richard Linklater. Wes Anderson. Oscar 2015 comebacks Oscar 2015 also marks the Academy Awards' "comeback" of several performers and directors last nominated years ago. Marion Cotillard and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress Oscars for, respectively, Olivier Dahan...
- 2/22/2015
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
The nine foreign-language films shortlisted by the Academy hail from three continents: South America, Europe and Africa. From South America, Argentina’s Wild Tales and Venezuela’s The Liberator made the list. From Africa, Mauritania’s Timbuktu did as well. From Europe, Estonia’s Tangerines, Georgia’s Corn Island, the Netherlands’ Accused, Poland’s Ida, Russia’s Leviathan and Sweden’s Force Majeure all made the top nine.
This year could mark the first Oscar nomination for Estonia, Georgia, Mauritania (whose film was the country’s first Oscar-submitted film) and Venezuela. Argentina, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden have each received two Oscar nominations in the past 14 years. Of those four countries, Argentina is the only one to win an Oscar, which it did in 2010 for The Secret in Their Eyes. If Russia lands a nomination, it will be the country’s second in the 21st century.
Managing Editor
The nine foreign-language films shortlisted by the Academy hail from three continents: South America, Europe and Africa. From South America, Argentina’s Wild Tales and Venezuela’s The Liberator made the list. From Africa, Mauritania’s Timbuktu did as well. From Europe, Estonia’s Tangerines, Georgia’s Corn Island, the Netherlands’ Accused, Poland’s Ida, Russia’s Leviathan and Sweden’s Force Majeure all made the top nine.
This year could mark the first Oscar nomination for Estonia, Georgia, Mauritania (whose film was the country’s first Oscar-submitted film) and Venezuela. Argentina, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden have each received two Oscar nominations in the past 14 years. Of those four countries, Argentina is the only one to win an Oscar, which it did in 2010 for The Secret in Their Eyes. If Russia lands a nomination, it will be the country’s second in the 21st century.
- 1/5/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
French-Algerian filmmaker and producer Rachid Bouchareb, who is being honoured with a career achievement award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, talked extensively about his career at a special ‘in conversation’ event.
Born to Algerian parents who moved to Paris just after the Second World War, twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb recounted how he was originally destined to work in manufacturing like his father.
“I was sitting at work one day when I decided to call the offices of a local broadcaster. I got through to a receptionist who I asked ‘how do people get into cinema’. She had more important things to do than talk to me but she gave me some names of schools nonetheless,” said Bouchareb, who would go onto make his first feature Bâton Rouge in 1985 with the support of the late producer Humbert Balsan.
The director, whose best known credits include Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law as well as...
Born to Algerian parents who moved to Paris just after the Second World War, twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb recounted how he was originally destined to work in manufacturing like his father.
“I was sitting at work one day when I decided to call the offices of a local broadcaster. I got through to a receptionist who I asked ‘how do people get into cinema’. She had more important things to do than talk to me but she gave me some names of schools nonetheless,” said Bouchareb, who would go onto make his first feature Bâton Rouge in 1985 with the support of the late producer Humbert Balsan.
The director, whose best known credits include Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law as well as...
- 10/25/2014
- ScreenDaily
French-Algerian filmmaker and producer Rachid Bouchareb, who is being honoured with a career achievement award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, talked extensively about his career at a special ‘in conversation’ event.
Born to Algerian parents who moved to Paris just after the Second World War, twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb recounted how he was originally destined to work in manufacturing like his father.
“I was sitting at work one day when I decided to call the offices of a local broadcaster. I got through to a receptionist who I asked ‘how do people get into cinema’. She had more important things to do than talk to me but she gave me some names of schools nonetheless,” said Bouchareb, who would go onto make his first feature Bâton Rouge in 1985 with the support of the late producer Humbert Balsan.
The director, whose best known credits include Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law as well as...
Born to Algerian parents who moved to Paris just after the Second World War, twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb recounted how he was originally destined to work in manufacturing like his father.
“I was sitting at work one day when I decided to call the offices of a local broadcaster. I got through to a receptionist who I asked ‘how do people get into cinema’. She had more important things to do than talk to me but she gave me some names of schools nonetheless,” said Bouchareb, who would go onto make his first feature Bâton Rouge in 1985 with the support of the late producer Humbert Balsan.
The director, whose best known credits include Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law as well as...
- 10/25/2014
- ScreenDaily
French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchereb, who is being honoured with a career achievement award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this year, talked extensively about his career at a special ‘in conversation’ event.
The director, whose credits include Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law as well as the more recent Two Men in Town starring Forest Whitaker and Harvey Keitel, revealed his love of cinema had unusual origins.
Referring to his childhood in the run-down Parisian suburb of Bobigny, Bouchareb recounted how he and his friends used to sneak into the local cinema for free.
“It was a game for us to see if we could get in… we’d get in through the toilet,” said Bouchareb. “We saw a lot of films without paying but it meant I never saw the beginning.”
Much of Bouchareb’s early filmography, capturing the experiences of immigrants in France and beyond, was inspired by his own experiences as the...
The director, whose credits include Oscar-nominated Days of Glory and Outside the Law as well as the more recent Two Men in Town starring Forest Whitaker and Harvey Keitel, revealed his love of cinema had unusual origins.
Referring to his childhood in the run-down Parisian suburb of Bobigny, Bouchareb recounted how he and his friends used to sneak into the local cinema for free.
“It was a game for us to see if we could get in… we’d get in through the toilet,” said Bouchareb. “We saw a lot of films without paying but it meant I never saw the beginning.”
Much of Bouchareb’s early filmography, capturing the experiences of immigrants in France and beyond, was inspired by his own experiences as the...
- 10/25/2014
- ScreenDaily
Days of Glory director and American Psycho producer to receive career achievement awards.
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff) (Oct 23-Nov 1) is to honour French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb and Us producer Edward Pressman with Career Achievement Awards for their outstanding contribution to world cinema.
Both awards will be presented at the festival’s opening event on Oct 23 at Emirates Palace.
Bouchareb is best known for directing Dust of Life (1995), Days of Glory (2006) and Outside the Law (2010), all of which were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film awards at the Oscars.
His latest feature, Two Men In Town starring Forest Whitaker as an ex-convict and a Muslim convert, will screen as part of the Adff Showcase.
The film played in competition at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Adff will also host a public conversation with Bouchareb on Oct 24, where he will discuss his life and career as a director and producer.
Us producer...
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff) (Oct 23-Nov 1) is to honour French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb and Us producer Edward Pressman with Career Achievement Awards for their outstanding contribution to world cinema.
Both awards will be presented at the festival’s opening event on Oct 23 at Emirates Palace.
Bouchareb is best known for directing Dust of Life (1995), Days of Glory (2006) and Outside the Law (2010), all of which were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film awards at the Oscars.
His latest feature, Two Men In Town starring Forest Whitaker as an ex-convict and a Muslim convert, will screen as part of the Adff Showcase.
The film played in competition at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Adff will also host a public conversation with Bouchareb on Oct 24, where he will discuss his life and career as a director and producer.
Us producer...
- 10/21/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Wall Street and American Psycho producer Ed Pressman is set to receive a career achievement award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which starts Thursday. Pressman will be honored alongside French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb, who has been nominated for the Academy Award for best foreign-language film three times, most recently with Outside the Law in 2010. Bouchareb comes to the festival with his latest work Two Men In Town, starring Forest Whitaker as an ex-convict and a Muslim convert. Whitaker was the special guest at last year’s event. Read more The 'Star Wars' Effect: Why Hollywood is
read more...
read more...
- 10/21/2014
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Event series to offer insights on film preservation and crowdfunding campaigns among others.
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff) has announced this year’s Adff Talks Film programme, comprising masterclasses and panel discussions on topics ranging from film preservation and crowdfunding campaigns to Arab diaspora filmmaking and international co-productions.
Adff Talks Film will kick off on Oct 24 with In conversation with Rachid Bouchareb, which will cover the life and career of the French-Algerian director and producer, who has been Oscar-nominated three times with Dust of Life (1995), Days of Glory (2006) and Outside the Law (2010).
The opening day will also host the director and producers of Adff’s opening film, From A to B. The session titled From A to B – The A to Z of Making an Emirati Feature Film, will cover the various stages of filmmaking, from concept to post-production.
Panel discussion Let’s Work Together on Oct 25 will include directors and producers from Europe, Canada and the...
Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff) has announced this year’s Adff Talks Film programme, comprising masterclasses and panel discussions on topics ranging from film preservation and crowdfunding campaigns to Arab diaspora filmmaking and international co-productions.
Adff Talks Film will kick off on Oct 24 with In conversation with Rachid Bouchareb, which will cover the life and career of the French-Algerian director and producer, who has been Oscar-nominated three times with Dust of Life (1995), Days of Glory (2006) and Outside the Law (2010).
The opening day will also host the director and producers of Adff’s opening film, From A to B. The session titled From A to B – The A to Z of Making an Emirati Feature Film, will cover the various stages of filmmaking, from concept to post-production.
Panel discussion Let’s Work Together on Oct 25 will include directors and producers from Europe, Canada and the...
- 10/14/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
At the moment of this typing 67 films have been announced by their home countries as Oscar submissions and our famous charts are all updated to tell you about them with posters, running times, languages spoken, official site links, synopsis and more. This year's race has three countries who've never submitted before (Kosovo, Mauritania, and Panama). That's not a record since that was also true last year. Can we attribute the continual growth of this category to the general democratization of film now that (nearly) everything is digital and filmmaking is (theoretically) more affordable? Or perhaps it's a sure sign that the Oscar is still one of the most significant icons around the world?
The most exciting news this past week was Russia daringly choosing Cannes hit Leviathan - not the kind of film they normally would send.Other new additions to the chart include Egypt's Factory Girl, India's Liar's Dice,...
The most exciting news this past week was Russia daringly choosing Cannes hit Leviathan - not the kind of film they normally would send.Other new additions to the chart include Egypt's Factory Girl, India's Liar's Dice,...
- 9/30/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Forest Whitaker seems to be drifting back into the spotlight. Last year, he led the hit "Lee Daniels' The Butler" and appeared in support in "Out Of The Furnace," and now he has a bonafide arthouse world film with the Berlin International Film Festival-approved “Two Men In Town.” Helmed by “Outside The Law” director Rachid Bouchareb, the film’s French trailer has arrived online ahead of its release in that country and you won’t need to know French to watch it. Despite being an English-language film and being set in New Mexico, the Whitaker-starring film—which includes Harvey Keitel, Ellen Burstyn, Brenda Blethyn and Luis Guzman— will be released by Cohen Media Group later this year. The Bouchareb-helmed film, based on Jose Giovanni’s 1973 film of the same name, falls neatly into the ex-con-trying-to-go-straight subgenre albeit with some stellar cinematography which you can glimpse in the newly released trailer.
- 4/8/2014
- by Cain Rodriguez
- The Playlist
After earning acclaim for his crime drama Outside the Law, director Rachid Bouchareb‘s latest effort finds him mining Alain Delon and Jean Gabin‘s 1973 drama Two Men in Town. Taking the role of a recently-freed inmate in this remake is Forest Whitaker, whose character clashes with Harvel Keitel‘s Sheriff of the New Mexico town where the former character now resides. [...]...
- 4/7/2014
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Finally, a trailer for a project we've been tracking since August 2011, when it was first announced. Forest Whitaker teams up with Oscar-nominated Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb to star in the first film in a trilogy of English-language films that will explore the complex relationship between the west and the Arab world. "The questions I'm asking in my movies here in America are 'Where are we?' and 'Where are we going?' and 'Why do we need to have hope in this relationship?'" the director of Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), his most recent work, and London River before that (both films we've covered on S&A) said. The film made its World Premiere at the Berlin...
- 4/2/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Finally, some footage from this project we've been tracking since August 2011, when it was first announced. Forest Whitaker teamed up with Oscar-nominated Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb to star in the first film in a trilogy of English-language films that will explore the complex relationship between the west and the Arab world. "The questions I'm asking in my movies here in America are 'Where are we?' and 'Where are we going?' and 'Why do we need to have hope in this relationship?'" the director of Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), his most recent work, and London River before that (both films we've covered on S&A) said. The film is making its World Premiere at...
- 2/11/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb has lately alternated between sweeping historical dramas (the WWII drama "Days of Glory," the Algerian War portrait "Outside the Law") and sentimental two-handers with quieter approaches ("London River," "Just Like a Woman"). In all cases, however, Bouchareb tends to deal in similar themes of contrasting political and personal relationships. "Two Men In Town," a loose remake of José Giovanni's 1973 tale of a paroled murderer trying to get his life back together, applies this tendency to the least-ideological of Bouchareb's movies, resulting in a thinly executed tale littered with uneven performances. Nevertheless, a committed turn by Forest Whitaker in the lead role, paired with "Holy Motors" and "My Life in Pink" cinematographer Yves Cape's evocative images of the spare western landscape, lead to an intriguing contrast between the half-baked material and a handful of stronger ingredients. It's a movie at war with its deficiencies. "Two Men.
- 2/8/2014
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
An update to a project we first profiled in August 2011 and have been following since. Forest Whitaker teamed up with Oscar-nominated Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb to star in the first film in a trilogy of English-language films that will explore the complex relationship between the west and the Arab world. "The questions I'm asking in my movies here in America are 'Where are we?' and 'Where are we going?' and 'Why do we need to have hope in this relationship?'" the director of Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), his most recent work, and London River before that (both films we've covered on S&A) said. I learned today that the film will make its World Premiere at...
- 1/15/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
An update to a project we first profiled in August 2011 and have been following since. Forest Whitaker has teamed up with Oscar-nominated Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb to star in the first film in a trilogy of English-language films that will explore the complex relationship between the west and the Arab world. "The questions I'm asking in my movies here in America are 'Where are we?' and 'Where are we going?' and 'Why do we need to have hope in this relationship?'" the director of Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), his most recent work, and London River before that (both films we've covered on S&A) said. Titled Enemy Way, in the film, Whitaker plays a Muslim...
- 12/11/2013
- by Natasha Greeves
- ShadowAndAct
French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb is close to completing post-production on his upcoming drama Enemy Way, starring Forest Whitaker and Harvey Keitel.
Whitaker plays a former prisoner and Islamic convert who is pursued by a vengeful police officer played by Keitel in the film which is a strong contender for Cannes selection in 2014. The picture was filmed in the Us state of New Mexico for nine weeks this spring.
Algeria’s Agence Algerienne pour le Rayonnement Culturel (Aarc) is also hoping the film will be a contender for the 2015 Academy Awards. Bouchareb’s Outside The Law was among the final five films nominated in the foreign-language category of the 2011 Oscars.
Paris-based Pathe International is handling sales on the film, co-produced by Aarc, Algerian Tassili Films, French Pathe Cinema, France 2 Cinema, Solenzara, Belgian Scope Invest and Taghit LLC and the Cohen Media Group in the Us.
Aarc has become a key player in the Algerian film industry following a 2012 law...
Whitaker plays a former prisoner and Islamic convert who is pursued by a vengeful police officer played by Keitel in the film which is a strong contender for Cannes selection in 2014. The picture was filmed in the Us state of New Mexico for nine weeks this spring.
Algeria’s Agence Algerienne pour le Rayonnement Culturel (Aarc) is also hoping the film will be a contender for the 2015 Academy Awards. Bouchareb’s Outside The Law was among the final five films nominated in the foreign-language category of the 2011 Oscars.
Paris-based Pathe International is handling sales on the film, co-produced by Aarc, Algerian Tassili Films, French Pathe Cinema, France 2 Cinema, Solenzara, Belgian Scope Invest and Taghit LLC and the Cohen Media Group in the Us.
Aarc has become a key player in the Algerian film industry following a 2012 law...
- 12/11/2013
- ScreenDaily
Lon Chaney didn't speak during early childhood, as his parents were deaf and mute, and he communicated with them via sign language. When silent movies came along, he was a natural. And at the end of his life, stricken with throat cancer, he lost his voice and again relied on pantomime to make himself understood. He came from silence and went back to silence.
Chaney was a unique kind of movie star, in that his success rested more on variety than reliability: if his audiences had any expectations going into a Chaney film, surely they must have been expectations of surprise, perhaps of an encounter with the unfamiliar and bizarre.
Outside the Law (1920) was Chaney's second film for director Tod Browning, whose concerns seemed to merge with his own in a particularly conducive way: separately and apart, both men pursued stories of humiliation, disfigurement, and revenge, featuring bizarre, displaced menageries and elaborate and uncomfortable disguises.
Chaney was a unique kind of movie star, in that his success rested more on variety than reliability: if his audiences had any expectations going into a Chaney film, surely they must have been expectations of surprise, perhaps of an encounter with the unfamiliar and bizarre.
Outside the Law (1920) was Chaney's second film for director Tod Browning, whose concerns seemed to merge with his own in a particularly conducive way: separately and apart, both men pursued stories of humiliation, disfigurement, and revenge, featuring bizarre, displaced menageries and elaborate and uncomfortable disguises.
- 10/3/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Female Trouble: Bouchareb’s Understated First Chapter in Arab-American Trilogy
Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb, perhaps most widely recognized for his films Outside the Law (2010) and Days of Glory (2006), depicting historical and divisive conflicts between Algeria and France, returns once again to the Us with Just Like a Woman, the first film of a planned trilogy depicting the transforming relationships between the Western and Arab world. A female centric road film born out of severe character conflicts created by their oppressive, male dominated existence ensures that the film will be rampantly compared to Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise (1991), even though it avoids an overtly melodramatic malaise. Shining through its formulaic setup and stereotypical antagonists are a pair of actresses that manage to fit perfectly with Bouchareb’s knack for uniting people despite of their socially constructed differences.
Down and out Chicago receptionist Marilyn (Sienna Miller) is struggling to make ends...
Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb, perhaps most widely recognized for his films Outside the Law (2010) and Days of Glory (2006), depicting historical and divisive conflicts between Algeria and France, returns once again to the Us with Just Like a Woman, the first film of a planned trilogy depicting the transforming relationships between the Western and Arab world. A female centric road film born out of severe character conflicts created by their oppressive, male dominated existence ensures that the film will be rampantly compared to Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise (1991), even though it avoids an overtly melodramatic malaise. Shining through its formulaic setup and stereotypical antagonists are a pair of actresses that manage to fit perfectly with Bouchareb’s knack for uniting people despite of their socially constructed differences.
Down and out Chicago receptionist Marilyn (Sienna Miller) is struggling to make ends...
- 7/5/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Title: Just Like a Woman Director: Rachid Bouchareb (‘Outside the Law,’ ‘Days of Glory’) Starring: Sienna Miller, Golshifteh Farahani (‘Chickens with Plums,’ ‘Body of Lies’), Tim Guinee (‘Iron Man,’ TV’s ‘Revolution’), Roschdy Zem (‘The Cold Light of Day‘)and Chafia Boudraa (‘Outside the Law’) Contending with the important issues of cultural differences and self-importance and identity can be a difficult process for many women in an ethnically diverse city. Finding their rightful place in society while also achieving their personal goals and dreams is the strong motivating factor that drives the two diverse female lead characters in the new drama ‘Just Like a Woman.’ While the two women, Marilyn and Mona, [ Read More ]
The post Just Like a Woman Movie Review 2 appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Just Like a Woman Movie Review 2 appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 7/2/2013
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Title: Just Like a Woman Director: Rachid Bouchareb Starring: Sienna Miller, Golshifteh Farahani, Roschdy Zem, Tim Guinee, Bahar Soomekh, Chafia Boudraa Themes of cultural identity and disunity figure prominently into the work of director Rachid Bouchareb, including 2006′s “Days of Glory” and 2011′s “Outside the Law,” both of which were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Awards. Bouchareb’s English language debut, “Just Like a Woman,” however, is a phony female fantasy — a minor chord variation on “Thelma & Louise” with none of that film’s panache, verve or insight. Instead tone-deaf and at times downright insufferable, this road trip flick in which bellydancing holds the key to feminine enlightenment [ Read More ]
The post Just Like a Woman Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Just Like a Woman Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 7/2/2013
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
A soldier is at war with himself in a taut colonial thriller that marks a stunning return to form for the director of La Haine
Mathieu Kassovitz made his name in 1995 as writer-director of the fluent, inventive La Haine, a story of 24 hours in the lives of three rebellious working-class youngsters – an explosive Jew, a mercurial, streetwise Arab and an a handsome black boxer – harassed by racist cops in Paris. A key example of the 90s genre dubbed les films de banlieues, it was screened for his cabinet by prime minister Alain Juppé. Kassovitz hasn't made much of interest since then (his last films shown here were the feeble American horror flick Gothika and the muddled sci-fi thriller Babylon Ad). His ruggedly handsome face, however, is familiar from his appearances in such films as Amélie and Spielberg's Munich, in which he played one of the Mossad agents pursuing the Black September terrorists.
Mathieu Kassovitz made his name in 1995 as writer-director of the fluent, inventive La Haine, a story of 24 hours in the lives of three rebellious working-class youngsters – an explosive Jew, a mercurial, streetwise Arab and an a handsome black boxer – harassed by racist cops in Paris. A key example of the 90s genre dubbed les films de banlieues, it was screened for his cabinet by prime minister Alain Juppé. Kassovitz hasn't made much of interest since then (his last films shown here were the feeble American horror flick Gothika and the muddled sci-fi thriller Babylon Ad). His ruggedly handsome face, however, is familiar from his appearances in such films as Amélie and Spielberg's Munich, in which he played one of the Mossad agents pursuing the Black September terrorists.
- 4/20/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
In Robert Wiene’s 1920 dreamlike horror classic, veteran German actor Werner Krauss plays the mysterious Dr. Caligari, the apparent force behind a creepy somnambulist named Cesare and played by Conrad Veidt, who abducts beautiful Lil Dagover. The finale in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has inspired tons of movies and television shows, from Fritz Lang's 1944 film noir The Woman in the Window to the last episode of the TV series St. Elsewhere. In addition, the film shares some key elements in common (suppposedly as a result of a mere coincidence) with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's 2011 thriller Shutter Island. The 1920 crime melodrama Outside the Law is not in any way related to Rachid Bouchareb's 2010 political drama. Instead, the Tod Browning-directed movie is a well-made entry in the gangster genre (long before the explosion a decade later). Browning, best known for his early '30s efforts Dracula and Freaks,...
- 4/1/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A project we first profiled in August 2011 is now, finally pushing ahead. Recapping... Forest Whitaker is teaming up with Oscar-nominated Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb to star in one of a trilogy of English-language films that will explore the complex relationship between the west and the Arab world. "The questions I'm asking in my movies here in America are 'Where are we?' and 'Where are we going?' and 'Why do we need to have hope in this relationship?'" the director of Hors la Loi (Outside the Law), his most recent work, and London River before that (both films we've covered on S&A) said. Whitaker will play a...
- 2/27/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
"I've been planning this for a long time."
Thus begins the creeptacular second episode of The Following, Kevin Williamson's action-packed, blood soaked cautionary meditation on the Internet, romantic literature, and the dangers of buying meat from street carts.
Jordy the crooked prison guard has no trouble convincing a sorority girl to let him into her house in the middle of the night, and before you can say "Lost in Your Eyes", she (along with several of her sleeping pals) has lost hers. I hope none of them was Sober Sister! Just another night at Bad Judgment University...
Meanwhile, Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and the Assorted Hunky Feds learn that Claire's apple-cheeked nanny Denise (Valorie Curry) is actually named Emma. Gasp! What's more, they have prison security footage of Emma and the gay neighbors Will and Billy (possibly the worst-named gay couple in television history, but more on that in...
Thus begins the creeptacular second episode of The Following, Kevin Williamson's action-packed, blood soaked cautionary meditation on the Internet, romantic literature, and the dangers of buying meat from street carts.
Jordy the crooked prison guard has no trouble convincing a sorority girl to let him into her house in the middle of the night, and before you can say "Lost in Your Eyes", she (along with several of her sleeping pals) has lost hers. I hope none of them was Sober Sister! Just another night at Bad Judgment University...
Meanwhile, Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and the Assorted Hunky Feds learn that Claire's apple-cheeked nanny Denise (Valorie Curry) is actually named Emma. Gasp! What's more, they have prison security footage of Emma and the gay neighbors Will and Billy (possibly the worst-named gay couple in television history, but more on that in...
- 1/29/2013
- by brian
- The Backlot
Inside The Mind. Outside The Law. Are you hypnotized yet? I'm liking all the UK-specific artwork that is being released for Danny Boyle's new art heist film Trance. It's unconventional, it's eye-catching (I could even say hypnotizing) and yet doesn't reveal too much or look too Hollywood cheesy. A few days back we featured the first trippy orange poster for Trance with James McAvoy hidden in the imagery, now we have a similar poster found via Yahoo UK but with Rosario Dawson in the background (and a new tagline for her character). There's also a nice new UK quad poster for the whole film to top things off. Check 'em out below! Here's the latest two posters for Trance. I'm sure we'll see a few more for the other characters in it as well. Be sure to watch the first UK trailer for Danny Boyle's Trance right here,...
- 1/27/2013
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
French-Moroccan actor Roschdy Zem (he's starred in a few films directed by French-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb, like Outside The Law, a film covered on this site in the past), stars in this Luc Besson-produced actioner set in the Sahara desert, titled Intersection. Witten and directed by David Marconi, Intersection follows a diverse group of survivors of a terrible crash in the Sahara, each with an interesting story, and in some case, shady pasts and motivations, who find themselves prisoners of the desert, as they fight to survive and hopefully escape. The film is set to open in France in January 2013. No word on whether it'll travel, although I won't be...
- 12/5/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Valiant has released a six-page preview of “Harbinger” #6, the first issue of a brand new story arc from New York Times best-selling author Joshua Dysart and artist Phil Briones. In addition to the new preview, Valiant has also released the solicitation for the Harbinger Vol. 1: Omega Rising trade paperback, which collects the first five issues of the critically acclaimed series!
Peter Stanchek has fought his first battle against Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation, but the war is just beginning. “Renegades” starts now!
Battered and broken after escaping the Harbinger Foundation, telekinetic teenager Peter Stanchek only has one option left: run. But he won’t have to go it alone. Crisscrossing America with the only two people he can trust, Peter will have to activate a new team of super-powered recruits before Toyo Harada and his Harbinger shock troops can reach them first. Peter Stanchek. Zephyr. Kris. Flamingo. Torque. Outside the law,...
Peter Stanchek has fought his first battle against Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation, but the war is just beginning. “Renegades” starts now!
Battered and broken after escaping the Harbinger Foundation, telekinetic teenager Peter Stanchek only has one option left: run. But he won’t have to go it alone. Crisscrossing America with the only two people he can trust, Peter will have to activate a new team of super-powered recruits before Toyo Harada and his Harbinger shock troops can reach them first. Peter Stanchek. Zephyr. Kris. Flamingo. Torque. Outside the law,...
- 11/16/2012
- by Adam B.
- GeekRest
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