European Film Promotion is playing host at the Cannes Film Festival to 20 up-and-coming European producers, selected for its Producers on the Move program. Variety invited the producers to share details of their upcoming projects.
Katharina Posch, Austria
“I’m Not Here to Make Friends”
Director: Julia Niemann
“I’m Not Here to Make Friends” is a sleek and sunny psycho thriller about a reality TV show set on a remote island. Playing with elements of horror and satire it asks the question: Why do we want to be seen so badly?
Elisa Heene, Belgium
“Nightshade”
Director: Leni Huyghe
“Nightshade” by Cinéfondation talent Leni Huyghe is a psychological thriller about Leanna, a chemist, who starts experimenting with the poisonous plant Nightshade and discovers its hallucinatory powers. Leana gets addicted and loses herself in a dreamlike world, where the midwife Marta is accused of witchcraft.
Kalin Kalinov, Bulgaria
“Axis of Life”
Director:...
Katharina Posch, Austria
“I’m Not Here to Make Friends”
Director: Julia Niemann
“I’m Not Here to Make Friends” is a sleek and sunny psycho thriller about a reality TV show set on a remote island. Playing with elements of horror and satire it asks the question: Why do we want to be seen so badly?
Elisa Heene, Belgium
“Nightshade”
Director: Leni Huyghe
“Nightshade” by Cinéfondation talent Leni Huyghe is a psychological thriller about Leanna, a chemist, who starts experimenting with the poisonous plant Nightshade and discovers its hallucinatory powers. Leana gets addicted and loses herself in a dreamlike world, where the midwife Marta is accused of witchcraft.
Kalin Kalinov, Bulgaria
“Axis of Life”
Director:...
- 5/15/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Iceland-based producers Sara Nassim (Lamb) and Grimar Jonsson (Rams) are joining forces with a new production outfit, Sarimar Films.
Each will continue to run their own independent production companies as well, for projects outside the new partnership – Nassim at S101 (which she runs alongside Hronn Kristinsdottir) and Jonsson at Netop Films. They will agree project-by-project which films are best to go through Sarimar.
They said: “Our ideology is rather simple: together we stand strong and in this way form an umbrella for our companies and the projects we are working on together and separately. Sarimar Films is not just a...
Each will continue to run their own independent production companies as well, for projects outside the new partnership – Nassim at S101 (which she runs alongside Hronn Kristinsdottir) and Jonsson at Netop Films. They will agree project-by-project which films are best to go through Sarimar.
They said: “Our ideology is rather simple: together we stand strong and in this way form an umbrella for our companies and the projects we are working on together and separately. Sarimar Films is not just a...
- 5/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Alamode to co-produce Ido Fluk’s jazz feature ’Köln 75’
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
She has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at Holy Spider...
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
She has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at Holy Spider...
- 10/10/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Alamode to co-produce Ido Fluk’s jazz feature ’Köln 75’
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature, by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk, centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
Since then, she has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at...
Munich-based distributor Alamode Film is set to make its first foray into production as a co-producer of Köln 75 with Holy Spider’s German producer One Two Films.
The feature, by New-York-based Israeli filmmaker Ido Fluk, centres on Vera Brandes who staged jazz musician Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert in 1975 at the tender age of 17.
Since then, she has subsequently run her own record label and become an award-winning music producer as well as one of the world’s leading authorities on music medicine research.
Speaking exclusively to Screen Daily at...
- 10/9/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month and amongst the highlights are Martine Syms’ The African Desperate, Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s Free Chol Soo Lee, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s Earwig, plus films from George A. Romero, Dario Argento, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Thomas Vinterberg, Nanni Moretti, and more.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
October 1 – Goodnight Mommy, directed by Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz | Thrills, Chills and Exquisite Horrors
October 2 – Van Gogh, directed by Maurice Pialat | I Don’t Like You Either: A Maurice Pialat Retrospective
October 3 – The Great Buster: A Celebration, directed by Peter Bogdanovich | Portrait of the Artist
October 4 – Invisible Demons, directed by Rahul Jain | Viewfinders
October 5 – Pulse, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Thrills, Chills and Exquisite Horrors
October 6 – Diary of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero | George A. Romero: Double of the Dead
October 7 – Free Chol Soo Lee, directed by Eugene Yi,...
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
October 1 – Goodnight Mommy, directed by Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz | Thrills, Chills and Exquisite Horrors
October 2 – Van Gogh, directed by Maurice Pialat | I Don’t Like You Either: A Maurice Pialat Retrospective
October 3 – The Great Buster: A Celebration, directed by Peter Bogdanovich | Portrait of the Artist
October 4 – Invisible Demons, directed by Rahul Jain | Viewfinders
October 5 – Pulse, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Thrills, Chills and Exquisite Horrors
October 6 – Diary of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero | George A. Romero: Double of the Dead
October 7 – Free Chol Soo Lee, directed by Eugene Yi,...
- 10/1/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer (below) for Danish horror film “Speak No Evil,” which has its world premiere at Sundance. Sales are being handled by TrustNordisk.
The film follows a Danish family on vacation in Tuscany, where they befriend a Dutch family. Months later the Danish couple receive an invitation to visit the Dutch and decide to go for the weekend. However, it doesn’t take long before the joy of reunion is replaced by misunderstandings. Things gradually get out of hand, as the Dutch turn out to be something different than what they have pretended to be.
The film was directed by Christian Tafdrup, and written by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.
Christian Tafdrup describes “Speak No Evil” as a satirical horror movie. “Satirical, because it revolves around ordinary people’s absurdly recognizable ways of behaving. A horror movie, because the film is dark, evil and willingly foul.
The film follows a Danish family on vacation in Tuscany, where they befriend a Dutch family. Months later the Danish couple receive an invitation to visit the Dutch and decide to go for the weekend. However, it doesn’t take long before the joy of reunion is replaced by misunderstandings. Things gradually get out of hand, as the Dutch turn out to be something different than what they have pretended to be.
The film was directed by Christian Tafdrup, and written by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup.
Christian Tafdrup describes “Speak No Evil” as a satirical horror movie. “Satirical, because it revolves around ordinary people’s absurdly recognizable ways of behaving. A horror movie, because the film is dark, evil and willingly foul.
- 1/13/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
A tribute to the Nordic film industry’s resilience, four Nordic titles have made it through to Cannes’ Official Selection. And unlike previous years, when Denmark or Sweden (Rüben Östlund) drew most of the worldwide attention, audiences should watch out for new and established voices from Norway, Finland and Iceland.
“Compartment No. 6”
Juho Kuosmanen’s sophomore feature marks Finland’s return to competition after a decade away (the previous Finnish film in competition was Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre”). The Finnish director won Un Certain Regard back in 2016 with his black-and- white debut, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.” The story of a young Finnish student and a misanthropic Russian miner who share a journey along the Soviet Union’s trans-Siberian railway in the late 1980s, “Compartment No. 6” stars Seidi Haarla, one of the Berlinale’s 10 Shooting Stars.
“The Gravedigger’s Wife”
Finland makes history this year...
“Compartment No. 6”
Juho Kuosmanen’s sophomore feature marks Finland’s return to competition after a decade away (the previous Finnish film in competition was Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre”). The Finnish director won Un Certain Regard back in 2016 with his black-and- white debut, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki.” The story of a young Finnish student and a misanthropic Russian miner who share a journey along the Soviet Union’s trans-Siberian railway in the late 1980s, “Compartment No. 6” stars Seidi Haarla, one of the Berlinale’s 10 Shooting Stars.
“The Gravedigger’s Wife”
Finland makes history this year...
- 7/9/2021
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)
Watch an exclusive clip for the film, which is also now in theaters.
“What should I do now that I have lost my faith?” is the question that animates About Endlessness; this being the new film by Roy Andersson, it is delivered in a doctor’s waiting room, over and over again, in a creaky voice, by a dumpy man in late middle age who continues his plaint even after the doctor and his receptionist gruntingly force him outside into the hallway, from whence they can hear him scratching at the door like a zombie. About Endlessness is Roy Andersson’s fourth film of this...
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)
Watch an exclusive clip for the film, which is also now in theaters.
“What should I do now that I have lost my faith?” is the question that animates About Endlessness; this being the new film by Roy Andersson, it is delivered in a doctor’s waiting room, over and over again, in a creaky voice, by a dumpy man in late middle age who continues his plaint even after the doctor and his receptionist gruntingly force him outside into the hallway, from whence they can hear him scratching at the door like a zombie. About Endlessness is Roy Andersson’s fourth film of this...
- 4/30/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Things that start off with the best of intentions often, over time, become the very thing they were fighting against (see the pigs in Animal Farm). And a waterfall begins with a single drop of water. So movements for change often begin with a single person, the one willing to speak that which others are only thinking, the one with either little or nothing left to lose, or simply no more time or patience to put up with ill treatment. How do the Davids triumph over the Goliaths, in a world that continually squashes the former and protects the latter? Icelandic filmmaker Grímur Hákonarson (Rams) returns to familiar territory in his recent feature The County. The plight of farmers, their vulnerability to both the natural...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/29/2021
- Screen Anarchy
The Sorrows of Milk: Hákonarson Returns for More Rural Retribution
Iceland’s Grímur Hákonarson heads to Norma Rae (1979) territory in the agricultural hinterlands with third narrative feature, The County, a grim predecessor to the redemptive irreverence of his 2015 international breakout Rams, which took home the top prize out of Un Certain Regard at Cannes (and has now been subjected to an English language remake).
Staking a claim as a notable contemporary amongst Iceland’s burgeoning film industry, Hákonarson’s latest, while featuring a likeable, unfussy lead performance from Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, is less dexterous than his previous feature in its delivery of an old-fashioned (wo)man against society melodrama which attempts to satisfy too many urges as the film is too realistically low-key to justify its attempts at violence or anarchy and too shortsighted in its character development to exculpate some of its heroine’s more outlandish decisions.…
Continue reading.
Iceland’s Grímur Hákonarson heads to Norma Rae (1979) territory in the agricultural hinterlands with third narrative feature, The County, a grim predecessor to the redemptive irreverence of his 2015 international breakout Rams, which took home the top prize out of Un Certain Regard at Cannes (and has now been subjected to an English language remake).
Staking a claim as a notable contemporary amongst Iceland’s burgeoning film industry, Hákonarson’s latest, while featuring a likeable, unfussy lead performance from Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, is less dexterous than his previous feature in its delivery of an old-fashioned (wo)man against society melodrama which attempts to satisfy too many urges as the film is too realistically low-key to justify its attempts at violence or anarchy and too shortsighted in its character development to exculpate some of its heroine’s more outlandish decisions.…
Continue reading.
- 4/27/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
After earning much acclaim with his Un Certain Regard Cannes winner Rams (which was recently remade with a Sam Neill-led project), director Grímur Hákonarson returned with The County, which follows an Icelandic woman who rises up against her local co-op and the old ways of life in her small village. Following a premiere back at TIFF in 2019, it’ll finally arrive in U.S. theaters and Virtual Cinemas this month, beginning on April 30, and a new trailer has landed from newly-launched distributor Dekanalog.
Jared Mobarak said in his TIFF review, “The County shows that it only takes one person to beat the drum for change to occur. But it also posits just how sinister the opposition can be when its livelihood of means is threatened in the process. I think Hákonarson could have gone further with this aspect of the film because there’s some real suspense built as...
Jared Mobarak said in his TIFF review, “The County shows that it only takes one person to beat the drum for change to occur. But it also posits just how sinister the opposition can be when its livelihood of means is threatened in the process. I think Hákonarson could have gone further with this aspect of the film because there’s some real suspense built as...
- 4/20/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Dekanalog Acquires Dachra: "Fresh off their national theatrical launch of Quentin Dupieux's acclaimed absurdist comedy Keep An Eye Out (Au Poste!), Gotham-based distributor Dekanalog has added three acclaimed festival favorites to their bustling 2021 slate, including the acclaimed horror thriller Dachra from writer/director Abdelhamid Bouchnak, per an announcement this morning at Deadline.
The acquisitions, which also include Paul Negoescu's Two Lottery Tickets and Mariam Ghani's What We Left Unfinished, join a stacked 2021 lineup for Dekanalog that currently includes theatrical and digital releases of Grímur Hákonarson's TIFF darling The County, Ena Sendijarević's Rotterdam Tiger Award-winning Take Me Somewhere Nice, and Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's Sundance-winning This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection - Lesotho's first-ever submission to The Academy Awards.
Dachra, which is based on a terrifying true story and made waves at the world's largest genre film festivals, follows a group of students who become...
The acquisitions, which also include Paul Negoescu's Two Lottery Tickets and Mariam Ghani's What We Left Unfinished, join a stacked 2021 lineup for Dekanalog that currently includes theatrical and digital releases of Grímur Hákonarson's TIFF darling The County, Ena Sendijarević's Rotterdam Tiger Award-winning Take Me Somewhere Nice, and Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's Sundance-winning This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection - Lesotho's first-ever submission to The Academy Awards.
Dachra, which is based on a terrifying true story and made waves at the world's largest genre film festivals, follows a group of students who become...
- 3/23/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t keep the farm — especially the dino ones — away from Sam Neill.
From the sheep of his new movie “Rams” to the bunnies of upcoming “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,” the Emmy-nominated New Zealand actor is entering his milestone 50th year of professional acting with projects incorporating his love for animals. However, it’s the not-so-farm-friendly dinosaurs of “Jurassic World: Dominion” that mark one of the largest-scale and most memorable projects of the 73-year-old Kiwi’s career.
Neill reprises his role as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the new film — partly filmed during the pandemic and due out in 2022 — and jokes that the cast excitably churned out what could become a six-hour movie.
“It’s going be a big film. [Director] Colin Trevorrow has that childlike sense of wonder, playfulness and inventiveness that [Steven] Spielberg has. We really shot a six-hour movie.
From the sheep of his new movie “Rams” to the bunnies of upcoming “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,” the Emmy-nominated New Zealand actor is entering his milestone 50th year of professional acting with projects incorporating his love for animals. However, it’s the not-so-farm-friendly dinosaurs of “Jurassic World: Dominion” that mark one of the largest-scale and most memorable projects of the 73-year-old Kiwi’s career.
Neill reprises his role as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the new film — partly filmed during the pandemic and due out in 2022 — and jokes that the cast excitably churned out what could become a six-hour movie.
“It’s going be a big film. [Director] Colin Trevorrow has that childlike sense of wonder, playfulness and inventiveness that [Steven] Spielberg has. We really shot a six-hour movie.
- 2/9/2021
- by Leena Tailor
- Variety Film + TV
February is shaping up to be something special. In response to a pandemic-extended awards season, the sort of films that used to crowd the release calendar just before New Year’s in an effort to Oscar-qualify while also still maintaining some measure of last-minute/latest-thing freshness are now arranging to come out over the coming weeks.
Think of that as a teaser of such upcoming films as “Minari” and “Nomadland” more than a reflection of this week’s lineup, although a couple of this week’s releases feature elements the marketing departments would be happy to hear described as “Oscar worthy.”
The first is Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, in which he plays a gay man dealing with his father’s dementia (featuring a raging performance by Lance Henriksen). The second is Sam Levinson’s resourceful two-hander “Malcolm & Marie,” made during the pandemic and featuring two terrific, on-fire performances...
Think of that as a teaser of such upcoming films as “Minari” and “Nomadland” more than a reflection of this week’s lineup, although a couple of this week’s releases feature elements the marketing departments would be happy to hear described as “Oscar worthy.”
The first is Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, in which he plays a gay man dealing with his father’s dementia (featuring a raging performance by Lance Henriksen). The second is Sam Levinson’s resourceful two-hander “Malcolm & Marie,” made during the pandemic and featuring two terrific, on-fire performances...
- 2/5/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
In 2015, Grímur Hákonarson's Rams made a splash on the festival circuit, winning international acclaim. Made five years later, Jeremy Sims' take is not so much a tribute as a reimagining, shifting the action to Western Australia and featuring Sam Neil and Michael Caton as the feuding brothers whose long lives as sheep farmers are thrown into turmoil when one of their rams is found to be carrying a deadly disease. Government officials insisting that every sheep in the valley must be slaughtered and the land kept empty for two years prompts Neil's character, Colin, to take desperate measures, whilst Caton's Les looks on with a mixture of resentment, envy and growing sympathy.
Events here are spiced up by the presence of Miranda Richardson as local vet Kat, who takes a more than professional interest in Colin, but she may not be the ideal love interest for him when he's.
Events here are spiced up by the presence of Miranda Richardson as local vet Kat, who takes a more than professional interest in Colin, but she may not be the ideal love interest for him when he's.
- 2/5/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Nearly six years ago, “Rams,” a touching humanist drama from Iceland directed and written by Grímur Hákonarson, won hearts — and prizes — at the Cannes Film Festival. Now, in trots “Rams,” an Australian remake, directed by Jeremy Sims (“Last Cab to Darwin”). Adapted with winning cultural specificity by former newsman Jules Duncan, it’s longer and more broadly comic than the Icelandic version and boasts a tacked on, feel-good ending. Beloved Antipodean stars Sam Neill and Michael Caton play the two estranged brothers who must pull together to save what is dearest to them: their sheep.
Although they have not spoken to one another for 40 years, Colin (Neill) and older brother Les (Caton) Grimurson live on neighboring stud farms in a valley near Mount Barker, Western Australia. The spectacularly scenic landscape with its nearby mountains and beaches as well as baking hot summers and bush fires becomes a fateful character in the action.
Although they have not spoken to one another for 40 years, Colin (Neill) and older brother Les (Caton) Grimurson live on neighboring stud farms in a valley near Mount Barker, Western Australia. The spectacularly scenic landscape with its nearby mountains and beaches as well as baking hot summers and bush fires becomes a fateful character in the action.
- 2/5/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
There are few more indelible images in film history than Sam Neill’s massacred face at the end of Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon: eyes gouged, skin filleted into mincemeat, and that horrific smile enjoying every hellish moment of the pain. Even for those viewers who had seen the New Zealand actor go bonkers in the still unclassifiable masterpiece Possession nearly two decades previous, this was a feat of next level mania.
But for every devil Neill has played there have been countless other good-natured grumps, perturbed scientists, low-key gents, and redeemable recluses. He’s an actor who quietly and humbly represses any lingering internal torment (Jurassic Park baby!). That’s just the case with his turn as sheep breeder Colin in Jeremy Sims’ Rams, an inoffensive but kind remake of the 2015 Icelandic film directed by Grímur Hákonarson.
In the coastal Australian town of Mount Barker, Kalgan Horn sheep are royalty.
But for every devil Neill has played there have been countless other good-natured grumps, perturbed scientists, low-key gents, and redeemable recluses. He’s an actor who quietly and humbly represses any lingering internal torment (Jurassic Park baby!). That’s just the case with his turn as sheep breeder Colin in Jeremy Sims’ Rams, an inoffensive but kind remake of the 2015 Icelandic film directed by Grímur Hákonarson.
In the coastal Australian town of Mount Barker, Kalgan Horn sheep are royalty.
- 2/4/2021
- by Glenn Heath Jr.
- The Film Stage
In 2016, Icelandic online newspaper Kjarninn voted Rams, released only the year before, as the second greatest film their country had ever produced. I doubt the same will be happening in Australia for this remake.
Writer Jules Duncan and Director Jeremy Sims faithfully transplant Grímur Hákonarson’s film to Western Australia, making appropriate contextual changes but otherwise preserving both the plot and the serio-comic tone of the story of brothers Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton), neighbouring sheep farmers who have barely spoken in years. When a disease is identified in one flock, authorities determine that all the sheep in the valley where Colin and Les live, including those of their friends and neighbours, must be destroyed. Colin, after killing his own flock before it could be done for him, hides a few of them away, hoping to preserve the rare breed he farms.
Sam Neill is enjoying something of a late career high,...
Writer Jules Duncan and Director Jeremy Sims faithfully transplant Grímur Hákonarson’s film to Western Australia, making appropriate contextual changes but otherwise preserving both the plot and the serio-comic tone of the story of brothers Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton), neighbouring sheep farmers who have barely spoken in years. When a disease is identified in one flock, authorities determine that all the sheep in the valley where Colin and Les live, including those of their friends and neighbours, must be destroyed. Colin, after killing his own flock before it could be done for him, hides a few of them away, hoping to preserve the rare breed he farms.
Sam Neill is enjoying something of a late career high,...
- 2/3/2021
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Dekanalog, a new theatrical and digital distribution company with an emphasis on presenting international titles for U.S. audiences, will launch in March with four films on its initial slate.
The company will release Keep an Eye Out, an absurdist comedy directed by Quentin Dupieux, online on March 5. The film played the festival circuit and received a commercial release in France, where Dupieux has garnered a following after receiving critical praise for previous films like Wrong and Rubber.
Festival prize winner This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection will have its virtual debut April 2 via Brooklyn Academy of Music and Museum of the Moving Image. Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, the drama is this year’s official Oscar submission from Lesotho, the first ever from the African nation.
Also on the Dekanalog slate, without release dates as of now, are Take Me Somewhere Nice and The County.
The company will release Keep an Eye Out, an absurdist comedy directed by Quentin Dupieux, online on March 5. The film played the festival circuit and received a commercial release in France, where Dupieux has garnered a following after receiving critical praise for previous films like Wrong and Rubber.
Festival prize winner This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection will have its virtual debut April 2 via Brooklyn Academy of Music and Museum of the Moving Image. Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, the drama is this year’s official Oscar submission from Lesotho, the first ever from the African nation.
Also on the Dekanalog slate, without release dates as of now, are Take Me Somewhere Nice and The County.
- 1/13/2021
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Check out US trailer for Rams, starring Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Miranda Richardson (Sleepy Hollow) & Michael Caton (Last Cab to Darwin).
The heartwarming drama will hit theaters & VOD on February 5th.
In remote Western Australia, two estranged brothers, Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton), are at war. Raising separate flocks of sheep descended from their family’s prized bloodline, the two men work side by side yet are worlds apart. When Les’s prize ram is diagnosed with a rare and lethal illness, authorities order a purge of every sheep in the valley.
While Colin attempts to stealthily outwit the powers that be, Les opts for angry defiance. But can the warring brothers set aside their differences and have a chance to reunite their family, save their herd, and bring their community back together?
From Samuel Goldwyn Films, Rams is directed by Jeremy Sims and written by Jules Duncan...
The heartwarming drama will hit theaters & VOD on February 5th.
In remote Western Australia, two estranged brothers, Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton), are at war. Raising separate flocks of sheep descended from their family’s prized bloodline, the two men work side by side yet are worlds apart. When Les’s prize ram is diagnosed with a rare and lethal illness, authorities order a purge of every sheep in the valley.
While Colin attempts to stealthily outwit the powers that be, Les opts for angry defiance. But can the warring brothers set aside their differences and have a chance to reunite their family, save their herd, and bring their community back together?
From Samuel Goldwyn Films, Rams is directed by Jeremy Sims and written by Jules Duncan...
- 12/21/2020
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley and William Hurt are set to star in a satirical film called “The Fence” about neighbors on both sides of the Democrat and Republican divide.
Grímur Hákonarson, an Icelandic filmmaker known for his 2015 film “Rams,” will direct “The Fence” and make his English-language debut on the project.
In the film, Teller and Woodley play a newlywed liberal couple who move in next door to an ultra-conservative neighbor and ex-marine played by Hurt. They soon become at odds with Hurt when he insists on building a 9-foot-tall fence that he believes will help him protect from terrorists.
Shane Danielsen wrote the screenplay based on a story by Hákonarson. Justin Nappi and Juliet Berman are producing for Treehouse Pictures.
ICM Partners and CAA Media Finance are handling worldwide distribution rights and are introducing “The Fence” to buyers at AFM this week. Filming is scheduled to begin in March.
Grímur Hákonarson, an Icelandic filmmaker known for his 2015 film “Rams,” will direct “The Fence” and make his English-language debut on the project.
In the film, Teller and Woodley play a newlywed liberal couple who move in next door to an ultra-conservative neighbor and ex-marine played by Hurt. They soon become at odds with Hurt when he insists on building a 9-foot-tall fence that he believes will help him protect from terrorists.
Shane Danielsen wrote the screenplay based on a story by Hákonarson. Justin Nappi and Juliet Berman are producing for Treehouse Pictures.
ICM Partners and CAA Media Finance are handling worldwide distribution rights and are introducing “The Fence” to buyers at AFM this week. Filming is scheduled to begin in March.
- 11/11/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Believe it or not, Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller have starred in four films together, with three from the “Divergent” franchise and the other one being “The Spectacular Now.” Well, now it’s time for a fifth, as the two young actors are expected to star in the new film, “The Fence.”
Read More: ‘Top Gun 2’ Director Says Maverick’s Relationship With Goose’s Son Is The “Emotional Core & Spine” Of The Sequel
According to Deadline, Woodley and Teller are set to star opposite William Hurt in “The Fence,” which is a new political satire from Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson.
Continue reading Shailene Woodley & Miles Teller Will Battle Their Conservative Neighbor In The New Satire, ‘The Fence’ at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Top Gun 2’ Director Says Maverick’s Relationship With Goose’s Son Is The “Emotional Core & Spine” Of The Sequel
According to Deadline, Woodley and Teller are set to star opposite William Hurt in “The Fence,” which is a new political satire from Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson.
Continue reading Shailene Woodley & Miles Teller Will Battle Their Conservative Neighbor In The New Satire, ‘The Fence’ at The Playlist.
- 11/11/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Exclusive: Miles Teller (Whiplash), Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) and Oscar-winner William Hurt (Kiss Of The Spider Woman) are set to star in political satire The Fence from in-demand Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson.
The film’s fun premise sees two liberal newlyweds increasingly at odds with their ultra-conservative ex-marine neighbor over a nine-foot-tall fence that he insists on building to keep his home safe from potential terrorists.
ICM Partners and CAA Media Finance are representing worldwide distribution rights and launching the project this week for the virtual AFM. Interestingly there’s no international sales firm attached. Filming is slated to get underway next March.
The film’s premise is fertile ground right now given the polarized political climate and the casting should make it an attractive prospect for buyers or financiers.
Screenplay was written by Shane Danielsen from a story by Hákonarson. Treehouse Pictures’ Justin Nappi (All Is Lost...
The film’s fun premise sees two liberal newlyweds increasingly at odds with their ultra-conservative ex-marine neighbor over a nine-foot-tall fence that he insists on building to keep his home safe from potential terrorists.
ICM Partners and CAA Media Finance are representing worldwide distribution rights and launching the project this week for the virtual AFM. Interestingly there’s no international sales firm attached. Filming is slated to get underway next March.
The film’s premise is fertile ground right now given the polarized political climate and the casting should make it an attractive prospect for buyers or financiers.
Screenplay was written by Shane Danielsen from a story by Hákonarson. Treehouse Pictures’ Justin Nappi (All Is Lost...
- 11/11/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Further deals include Germany, Italy, Russia, China.
UK-based WestEnd Films has sealed deals for multiple major territories on Rams, the English-language adaptation of the 2015 Icelandic feature.
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the film for North America, with Signature Entertainment taking the rights for the UK.
Further deals are set for Germany and Italy (Koch Media), Russia and the Baltics (Paradise), Poland (Canal+), Middle East (Phoenicia Pictures), China (Jetsen Huashi Media), former Yugoslavia (McF Megacom Film) and airlines (Encore).
Village Roadshow will release the Australian film in Australia and New Zealand on October 29, as the first major domestic release since cinemas reopened following the pandemic.
UK-based WestEnd Films has sealed deals for multiple major territories on Rams, the English-language adaptation of the 2015 Icelandic feature.
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the film for North America, with Signature Entertainment taking the rights for the UK.
Further deals are set for Germany and Italy (Koch Media), Russia and the Baltics (Paradise), Poland (Canal+), Middle East (Phoenicia Pictures), China (Jetsen Huashi Media), former Yugoslavia (McF Megacom Film) and airlines (Encore).
Village Roadshow will release the Australian film in Australia and New Zealand on October 29, as the first major domestic release since cinemas reopened following the pandemic.
- 10/21/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Premiering in 2015 at Cannes Film Festival, where it picked up the Prix Un Certain Regard, Grímur Hákonarson’s Rams is an emotional, formally striking look at estranged brothers surviving as sheep farmers in the harsh climate of Iceland. The country’s Oscar contender, the English-language remake rights quickly got snatched up and now it looks like the film is complete as it is on display for buyers on the Cannes market.
Directed by Jeremy Sims, the remake stars Sam Neill and Michael Caton, and the first trailer has now arrived. Seemingly taking on the same plot, the tone here seems to swing a little more upbeat and palatable, which isn’t necessarily a surprise considering the hope for a wider audience than the original.
Also starring Miranda Richardson, Asher Keddie, and Hayley McElhinney, see the first trailer below via ScreenDaily.
Rams (the remake) does not currently have U.S. distribution.
Directed by Jeremy Sims, the remake stars Sam Neill and Michael Caton, and the first trailer has now arrived. Seemingly taking on the same plot, the tone here seems to swing a little more upbeat and palatable, which isn’t necessarily a surprise considering the hope for a wider audience than the original.
Also starring Miranda Richardson, Asher Keddie, and Hayley McElhinney, see the first trailer below via ScreenDaily.
Rams (the remake) does not currently have U.S. distribution.
- 6/23/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Grímur Hákonarson finds more trouble brewing down on the farm in his follow-up to the Cannes Un Certain Regard-winning Rams. More of a low-key straight forward drama than his black comedy-inflected hit, The County tracks what happens to farmer Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) after the unexpected death of her husband Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson).
Suddenly in control of their farm, which was scraping by even with two of them working it, she finds herself locking horns with the local co-op after discovering the company has been strong-arming those who don't like its elevated prices in a move that cuts close to home.
Hákonarson's woman against corporate Mafia premise is solid enough but The County never manages to generate the emotional intensity that the feuding brothers brought to his previous film, perhaps because the bad guy, co-op chief Eyjólfur (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) gets less screentime than he might - although this does stop...
Suddenly in control of their farm, which was scraping by even with two of them working it, she finds herself locking horns with the local co-op after discovering the company has been strong-arming those who don't like its elevated prices in a move that cuts close to home.
Hákonarson's woman against corporate Mafia premise is solid enough but The County never manages to generate the emotional intensity that the feuding brothers brought to his previous film, perhaps because the bad guy, co-op chief Eyjólfur (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) gets less screentime than he might - although this does stop...
- 5/24/2020
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A farmer’s widow wages war against local power brokers in this bittersweet Icelandic drama
In his deadpan 2015 feature Rams, Icelandic film-maker Grímur Hákonarson breathed bittersweet life into a tale of feuding sheep-farming brothers facing a cull that risked destroying their ancestral stock and way of life. Here, he peels back another layer of dour Nordic culture, turning his attention to a woman finding her voice amid the often chilly silence of agrarian life, making her mark in a male-dominated industry. Like its predecessor, The County blends elements of heartfelt tragedy with absurdist comedy, conjuring a humanist portrait of life in which community and loneliness coexist in a landscape of contradictions – geographical, personal, and political.
In a scene that reminded me of the arresting opening of Andrew Kötting’s This Filthy Earth, we meet Inga (stage and TV veteran Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) pulling a newborn calf from its mother’s...
In his deadpan 2015 feature Rams, Icelandic film-maker Grímur Hákonarson breathed bittersweet life into a tale of feuding sheep-farming brothers facing a cull that risked destroying their ancestral stock and way of life. Here, he peels back another layer of dour Nordic culture, turning his attention to a woman finding her voice amid the often chilly silence of agrarian life, making her mark in a male-dominated industry. Like its predecessor, The County blends elements of heartfelt tragedy with absurdist comedy, conjuring a humanist portrait of life in which community and loneliness coexist in a landscape of contradictions – geographical, personal, and political.
In a scene that reminded me of the arresting opening of Andrew Kötting’s This Filthy Earth, we meet Inga (stage and TV veteran Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) pulling a newborn calf from its mother’s...
- 5/24/2020
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
His wry parable Rams won acclaim at Cannes, but for his new film The County, Grímur Hákonarson delves into a shady world of farming co-operatives
‘The majority of people there support the co-operative, and if they found out we were criticising it, there might have been more complications.” Iceland’s buzziest director, Grímur Hákonarson, is talking about how he decided where to shoot his new film, The County. The shady agricultural co-operative it depicts was not completely fictional, he admits, so filming in Skagafjördur, the area concerned on the country’s north coast, didn’t seem prudent.
“It allowed me to concentrate on the art and not worry about being stabbed.” Surely it never would have got that bad? “No, no,” Hákonarson says. “It’s just a metaphor.”...
‘The majority of people there support the co-operative, and if they found out we were criticising it, there might have been more complications.” Iceland’s buzziest director, Grímur Hákonarson, is talking about how he decided where to shoot his new film, The County. The shady agricultural co-operative it depicts was not completely fictional, he admits, so filming in Skagafjördur, the area concerned on the country’s north coast, didn’t seem prudent.
“It allowed me to concentrate on the art and not worry about being stabbed.” Surely it never would have got that bad? “No, no,” Hákonarson says. “It’s just a metaphor.”...
- 5/22/2020
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
A fiercely principled woman is rejuvenated by her battle against corruption in Grímur Hákonarson’s stirring drama
The spirit of Elia Kazan lives on in this tough community drama from Icelandic film-maker Grímur Hákonarson, who won golden plaudits for his 2015 picture Rams, about two sheep-farming brothers, which struck a clever tonal balance between comedy and tragedy.
The County is dourer than that, though from the same world of self-reliant and pugnacious souls who have made their way in life against tough odds, thriving in solitude and hardship amid a vast, remote, beautiful landscape. The action centres on farmers: Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) who is married to moody, careworn Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson).
The spirit of Elia Kazan lives on in this tough community drama from Icelandic film-maker Grímur Hákonarson, who won golden plaudits for his 2015 picture Rams, about two sheep-farming brothers, which struck a clever tonal balance between comedy and tragedy.
The County is dourer than that, though from the same world of self-reliant and pugnacious souls who have made their way in life against tough odds, thriving in solitude and hardship amid a vast, remote, beautiful landscape. The action centres on farmers: Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) who is married to moody, careworn Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson).
- 5/21/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
In The County, Rams writer/ director Grímur Hákonarson gives us another slice of rural Icelandic life in this stunning, heartbreaking and at times deliciously playful drama. Written by Hákonarson and with a stunning cinematography courtesy of Mart Taniel, the film tells the story of a woman’s solitary fight against corruption and injustice in her farming community.
Middle-aged couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run a small dairy fam in one of the most remote areas of Iceland. Recently, however, the couple have struggled to keep afloat amidst mounting debts and a powerful local cooperative breathing down their necks. For years the local farming co-op has had a say on where farmers can buy or sell their produce, leaving them almost with no profit ands unable to prosper.
When Reynir dies suddenly leaving huge debts and a lot of unanswered questions behind, Inga learns of the true...
Middle-aged couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run a small dairy fam in one of the most remote areas of Iceland. Recently, however, the couple have struggled to keep afloat amidst mounting debts and a powerful local cooperative breathing down their necks. For years the local farming co-op has had a say on where farmers can buy or sell their produce, leaving them almost with no profit ands unable to prosper.
When Reynir dies suddenly leaving huge debts and a lot of unanswered questions behind, Inga learns of the true...
- 5/18/2020
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This year’s festivities kicked off with with a bang with the opening night gala which presented Alice Winocour’s beautifully atmospheric drama Proxima. Winocour was also present after the main event for a Q&a session in which she talked about her experiences of working with a multi-national team of actors and technicians.
Day 2 was marked by the Scottish premier screening of Lorcan Finnegan’s brilliantly unsettling sci-fi drama Vivarium. Finnegan and star of the film Imogene Poots were also there to introduce the film.
The festival also welcomed Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson who was there to introduce his new film The County. Hákonarson also stayed afterwards for a short Q&a session. The County is part of a wider Icelandic strand at this year’s Gff. Other films in this strand also feature the brilliant A white, White Day by Hlynur Palmason.
Meanwhile 1917 star George MacKay was also...
Day 2 was marked by the Scottish premier screening of Lorcan Finnegan’s brilliantly unsettling sci-fi drama Vivarium. Finnegan and star of the film Imogene Poots were also there to introduce the film.
The festival also welcomed Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson who was there to introduce his new film The County. Hákonarson also stayed afterwards for a short Q&a session. The County is part of a wider Icelandic strand at this year’s Gff. Other films in this strand also feature the brilliant A white, White Day by Hlynur Palmason.
Meanwhile 1917 star George MacKay was also...
- 3/2/2020
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Fans of Icelandic cinema will be pleased to know that this year’s Glasgow Film Festival has a whole strand dedicated to the country and its cinema. This is Gff’s biggest ever country focus strand, offering up a chance to catch the very best Icelandic films of the past years. This programme includes the UK premiere of the eagerly awaited The County, from Rams director Grímur Hákonarson.
The Country
Set in a small Icelandic farming community, The County tells the story of Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) a recenstly widowed dairy farmer who rebels against the powerful and corrupt local cooperative.
A White, White Day
This is the second feature from Winter Brothers director Hlynur Pálmason. Police officer Ingrimundur (Ingvar Sigurðsson) is devoted and still grieving after the sudden death of his wife. He tries to carry on, but starts to suspect that the woman he thought loved him unconditionally had been unfaithful to him.
The Country
Set in a small Icelandic farming community, The County tells the story of Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) a recenstly widowed dairy farmer who rebels against the powerful and corrupt local cooperative.
A White, White Day
This is the second feature from Winter Brothers director Hlynur Pálmason. Police officer Ingrimundur (Ingvar Sigurðsson) is devoted and still grieving after the sudden death of his wife. He tries to carry on, but starts to suspect that the woman he thought loved him unconditionally had been unfaithful to him.
- 2/26/2020
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Prolific Paris-based producer-distributer Haut et Court, whose TV credits include The Returned, The Young Pope and The Last Panthers, has hired a UK-based development scout as the company’s search for international TV and film projects gathers pace.
Based in London, former Fremantle editorial assistant Juliette Carlton-Thoquenne will act as Haut et Court’s UK contact and first port of call for writers and agents, and will develop and script-edit on English-language projects.
The French-British dual national will report into producer Caroline Benjo and will travel between the company’s London and Paris office.
Haut et Court has grown its international TV slate in recent years. Latest co-productions emanating from Israel include English-language dramas Fertile Crescent from Hulu/Arte, and Canal + show Possessions. Both series are currently in post-production. The former, starring James Purefoy, is created by Maria Feldman, Eitan Mansuri, Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem and directed by...
Based in London, former Fremantle editorial assistant Juliette Carlton-Thoquenne will act as Haut et Court’s UK contact and first port of call for writers and agents, and will develop and script-edit on English-language projects.
The French-British dual national will report into producer Caroline Benjo and will travel between the company’s London and Paris office.
Haut et Court has grown its international TV slate in recent years. Latest co-productions emanating from Israel include English-language dramas Fertile Crescent from Hulu/Arte, and Canal + show Possessions. Both series are currently in post-production. The former, starring James Purefoy, is created by Maria Feldman, Eitan Mansuri, Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem and directed by...
- 1/28/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
50% of its programme will be comprised of films directed by women.
The world premiere of Maria Bäck’s Swedish drama Psychosis in Stockholm wil open the Goteborg Film Festival on January 24 as part of the festival’s Nordic Competition. Goteborg has promised that 50% of its programme will be comprised of films directed by women.
The film is inspired by an experience writer-director Bäck had when she was 15 and her mother developed a psychosis while they were on a trip to Stockholm. The filmmaker describes the project as a “surreal fiction drama”; Garagefilm produces what is Bäck’s second feature following I Remember When I Die.
The world premiere of Maria Bäck’s Swedish drama Psychosis in Stockholm wil open the Goteborg Film Festival on January 24 as part of the festival’s Nordic Competition. Goteborg has promised that 50% of its programme will be comprised of films directed by women.
The film is inspired by an experience writer-director Bäck had when she was 15 and her mother developed a psychosis while they were on a trip to Stockholm. The filmmaker describes the project as a “surreal fiction drama”; Garagefilm produces what is Bäck’s second feature following I Remember When I Die.
- 1/7/2020
- by 1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Goteborg Film Festival, the biggest showcase of local and international movies in the Nordics, will kick off its 43rd edition with Maria Bäck’s “”Psychosis,” and will close with actor-turned-director Mårten Klingberg’s “My Father Mary Anne.”
Both timely Swedish dramas dealing with trauma post-sexual abuse, and the experience of a transgender priest, respectively, “Psychosis” and “My Father Mary Anne” will have their world premiere at Goteborg.
Stellan Skarsgård, who just won a Golden Globe for his performance in the hit HBO series “Tchernobyl,” will receive the prestigious Nordic Honorary Dragon Award and will be honored with a retrospective of some of the greatest films of his career. As part of the tribute, the estival will also host the Nordic premiere of “The Painted Bird” which was recently shortlisted for the international feature film category at the Oscars. During the festival, Skarsgård will also having a masterclass.
In addition to opening the festival,...
Both timely Swedish dramas dealing with trauma post-sexual abuse, and the experience of a transgender priest, respectively, “Psychosis” and “My Father Mary Anne” will have their world premiere at Goteborg.
Stellan Skarsgård, who just won a Golden Globe for his performance in the hit HBO series “Tchernobyl,” will receive the prestigious Nordic Honorary Dragon Award and will be honored with a retrospective of some of the greatest films of his career. As part of the tribute, the estival will also host the Nordic premiere of “The Painted Bird” which was recently shortlisted for the international feature film category at the Oscars. During the festival, Skarsgård will also having a masterclass.
In addition to opening the festival,...
- 1/7/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Film Movement has picked up North American rights on Jan Komasa’s Polish drama Corpus Christi, which is the country’s entry to the 2020 International Oscar race.
Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg struck the deal at the recent Mia market, held during Rome Film Fest, with Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales.
The film has been a box office hit in its native Poland, attracting 488,000 admissions in just 10 days, equating to an impressive gross of $2.6m. It has sold to 30+ international territories.
Film Movement is lining up a release for 2020 and, alongside New Europe and the Polish Film Fund, is planning to give the film an awards season push – it will also feature as part of Deadline’s La Contenders event on November 2.
Corpus Christi stars Bartosz Bielenia as a 20-year-old who experiences a spiritual transformation in a youth detention centre. Though his previous crime denies him...
Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg struck the deal at the recent Mia market, held during Rome Film Fest, with Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales.
The film has been a box office hit in its native Poland, attracting 488,000 admissions in just 10 days, equating to an impressive gross of $2.6m. It has sold to 30+ international territories.
Film Movement is lining up a release for 2020 and, alongside New Europe and the Polish Film Fund, is planning to give the film an awards season push – it will also feature as part of Deadline’s La Contenders event on November 2.
Corpus Christi stars Bartosz Bielenia as a 20-year-old who experiences a spiritual transformation in a youth detention centre. Though his previous crime denies him...
- 10/23/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
After the death of her dairy farmer husband, a middle-aged woman courageously sacrifices her livelihood to speak out against the corruption and injustice at work in her community in the audience-pleasing, humanist drama “The County.” Like writer-director Grímur Hákonarson’s previous film “Rams,” . The yin to that film’s yang, “The County” is full of feisty female energy and imagery, and sprinkled with rousing “you go girl!” comic moments. Niche arthouse play is a given for this appealing and endearingly modest tale.
Hard-working couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run Dalsmynni, a mom-and-pop dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. With money tight and their hours long, they haven’t been able to take a vacation for three years. At night, they are so fatigued that they can barely manage to mumble, “Did you call the inseminator?” or “Did you order the fertilizer?” before collapsing into bed.
Hard-working couple Inga (Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir) and Reynir (Hinrik Ólafsson) run Dalsmynni, a mom-and-pop dairy farm that has been in his family for generations. With money tight and their hours long, they haven’t been able to take a vacation for three years. At night, they are so fatigued that they can barely manage to mumble, “Did you call the inseminator?” or “Did you order the fertilizer?” before collapsing into bed.
- 9/8/2019
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
The devolution of a worker-owned entity into that which it was formed to combat probably occurs much faster than you’d expect. Things initially work like they should with successful profits and happy members. The establishment itself is also pleased because it sees little threat of anyone going outside its economic reach when the whole point of forming it was to get out from under the exorbitant costs of external resources. Vote an incoming director with greed in his/her heart that sees how good things are, however, and they’ll start finding ways to personally capitalize on that implicit harmony. Executive salaries are slowly raised, prices are gradually increased, and a new monopoly is eventually formed. And when members finally catch on, they unfortunately realize they’re too late to escape.
It’s at this point in the lifespan of one such co-op that writer/director Grímur Hákonarson introduces...
It’s at this point in the lifespan of one such co-op that writer/director Grímur Hákonarson introduces...
- 9/7/2019
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
First Trailer and Exclusive Soundtrack Preview for Grímur Hákonarson’s Tiff-Bound Drama ‘The County’
Grímur Hákonarson landed on our radar with his last film, the heartfelt Un Certain Regard Cannes winner Rams. Four years later he’s now back with The County, which follows an Icelandic woman who rises up against her local co-op and the old ways of life in her small village. Described as David-and-Goliath story, we look forward to the specificity and splendor that Hákonarson will likely once again bring to screens in this chilly locale.
Ahead of an international premiere at Tiff starting this Friday, we’re pleased to debut an exclusive track from the soundtrack, from Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurdsson. Titled “Burial Ground,” it’s an eerily beautiful, scene-setting piece of music.
“I wanted to make a film about an individual who stands up to change society,” the director recently said. “Then I had the idea of Inga, a strong woman, working in a modern farm, fighting a patriarchal society.
Ahead of an international premiere at Tiff starting this Friday, we’re pleased to debut an exclusive track from the soundtrack, from Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurdsson. Titled “Burial Ground,” it’s an eerily beautiful, scene-setting piece of music.
“I wanted to make a film about an individual who stands up to change society,” the director recently said. “Then I had the idea of Inga, a strong woman, working in a modern farm, fighting a patriarchal society.
- 9/3/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The popular professional event will be expanded to unspool over one full day, on Monday 16 December; projects with no sales agent attached will rub shoulders with films that are already represented. For its ninth edition, Les Arcs' Work in Progress section is freshening up its image. In a market that is less and less predictable, the main goal of the industry team is to keep homing in on new talents. That said, the Wip team headed up by Frédéric Boyer felt the need to also showcase more established directors - mostly those who have a history with Work in Progress. That is why at the last edition, in addition to the competitive section, several scenes from eagerly awaited films by renowned helmers were screened with sales agents already...
After highlighting 50 anticipated titles confirmed to arrive in theaters this fall, we now turn our attention to the festival-bound films either without distribution or awaiting a release date. Looking over Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and New York Film Festival titles (as well as a few likely Telluride contenders), we’ve rounded up 20 movies–most of which we’ll be checking out over the next few weeks–that we can’t wait to see–and will hopefully land a U.S. release soon.
Check out our 20 most-anticipated festival premieres below, and return for our reviews.
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson) – Venice and Tiff
During the five-year wait since A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, the closing chapter of Roy Andersson’s Living trilogy, the filmmaker hasn’t exactly been resting on his laurels. Andersson began production as early as February 2017 on his newest work About Endlessness,...
Check out our 20 most-anticipated festival premieres below, and return for our reviews.
About Endlessness (Roy Andersson) – Venice and Tiff
During the five-year wait since A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, the closing chapter of Roy Andersson’s Living trilogy, the filmmaker hasn’t exactly been resting on his laurels. Andersson began production as early as February 2017 on his newest work About Endlessness,...
- 8/26/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
"It's time for us farmers to retake control." Yes! Fight the power! Screen Daily has debuted a festival promo trailer for the Icelandic drama titled The County, premiering at the Toronto Film Festival coming up next month. The film will screen in the Contemporary World Cinema section, after already opening in Icelandic cinemas this summer. From the acclaimed director of the film Rams, Grímur Hákonarson's The County is set in rural Iceland and follows Inga, a middle-aged cow farmer who loses her husband in an accident and must stand on her own two feet. She begins a new life on her own terms by fighting against corruption and injustice at the co-op in her community. Don't follow the herd! The film stars Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, and Sigurður Sigurjónsson. I'm really enjoying this outstanding trend of anti-corruption, power-to-the-people films from Iceland these days (see also: Woman at War). More of this.
- 8/22/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Oslo — New-York based distributor Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to critically-lauded Icelandic drama “A White, White Day,” today’s opening film at New Nordic Films in Haugesund.
In a separate deal, sales agent New Europe Film Sales has closed French-speaking Canada with Funfilm and English-speaking Canada with Game Theory.
Hlynur Pálmason’s sophomore pic, “A White, White Day” bowed at the Critics’ Week in Cannes where Icelandic heavyweight thesp Ingvar Sigurðsson won an acting prize for his solid performance as an off-duty police officer on an obsessive quest. The picture’s winning festival streak continued at the Transilvania and Motovun fests. After this week’s market screening at Haugesund confab New Nordic Films, the drama will have its North American premiere in the Toronto Festival’s Contemporary World Cinema program.
Film Movement’s president Michael Rosenberg said: “Hlynur put the international filmmaking community on notice with his feature film debut,...
In a separate deal, sales agent New Europe Film Sales has closed French-speaking Canada with Funfilm and English-speaking Canada with Game Theory.
Hlynur Pálmason’s sophomore pic, “A White, White Day” bowed at the Critics’ Week in Cannes where Icelandic heavyweight thesp Ingvar Sigurðsson won an acting prize for his solid performance as an off-duty police officer on an obsessive quest. The picture’s winning festival streak continued at the Transilvania and Motovun fests. After this week’s market screening at Haugesund confab New Nordic Films, the drama will have its North American premiere in the Toronto Festival’s Contemporary World Cinema program.
Film Movement’s president Michael Rosenberg said: “Hlynur put the international filmmaking community on notice with his feature film debut,...
- 8/20/2019
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its second batch of titles premiering in its Gala and Special Presentations programs next month, including two new Gala titles and a whopping 16 new Special Presentations, plus their star-studded Masters and Contemporary World Cinema sections.
Previously announced titles include “Joker,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Uncut Gems,” “Knives Out,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Just Mercy,” “The Laundromat,” “The Goldfinch,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” “Hustlers,” “Marriage Story,” and “Harriet.” That list has now been extended to include Noah Hawley’s “Lucy in the Sky,” the Kristen Stewart-starring “Seberg,” Kenny Leon’s adaptation of his hit play “American Son,” and Trey Edward Shults’ “Waves,” all showing in the Special Presentations section.
Among the new additions, “Waves” stands out as a surprise, as it had been unclear if the A24-produced followup from the director of “It Comes at Night” would surface this fall.
The Gala section...
Previously announced titles include “Joker,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Uncut Gems,” “Knives Out,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Just Mercy,” “The Laundromat,” “The Goldfinch,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” “Hustlers,” “Marriage Story,” and “Harriet.” That list has now been extended to include Noah Hawley’s “Lucy in the Sky,” the Kristen Stewart-starring “Seberg,” Kenny Leon’s adaptation of his hit play “American Son,” and Trey Edward Shults’ “Waves,” all showing in the Special Presentations section.
Among the new additions, “Waves” stands out as a surprise, as it had been unclear if the A24-produced followup from the director of “It Comes at Night” would surface this fall.
The Gala section...
- 8/13/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Tiff Co-Heads Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente added several more films in the Gala and Special Presentations sections of the 44th Toronto International Film Festival that runs September 5-15.
Here are the new ones:
Gala Premieres
The Tom Harper-directed Aeronauts will make its Canadian premiere, with Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne starring.
The Giuseppe Capotondi-directed Burnt Orange Heresy will make its North American premiere.
Special Presentations
The Kenny Leon-directed American Son makes its world premiere.
The Quentin Dupieux-directed Deerskin ( Le Daim ) makes its international premiere.
The Gregor Jordan-directed Dirt Music makes its world premiere.
The Geetu Mohandas-directed The Elder One makes its world premiere
Guns Akimbo, directed by Jason Lei Howden, makes its world premiere
Human Capital, directed by Marc Meyers, makes its world premiere;
Jungleland, directed by Max Winkler makes its world premiere;
Lucy in the Sky, directed by Noah Hawley, makes its world premiere;
Lyrebird, directed by Dan Friedkin,...
Here are the new ones:
Gala Premieres
The Tom Harper-directed Aeronauts will make its Canadian premiere, with Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne starring.
The Giuseppe Capotondi-directed Burnt Orange Heresy will make its North American premiere.
Special Presentations
The Kenny Leon-directed American Son makes its world premiere.
The Quentin Dupieux-directed Deerskin ( Le Daim ) makes its international premiere.
The Gregor Jordan-directed Dirt Music makes its world premiere.
The Geetu Mohandas-directed The Elder One makes its world premiere
Guns Akimbo, directed by Jason Lei Howden, makes its world premiere
Human Capital, directed by Marc Meyers, makes its world premiere;
Jungleland, directed by Max Winkler makes its world premiere;
Lucy in the Sky, directed by Noah Hawley, makes its world premiere;
Lyrebird, directed by Dan Friedkin,...
- 8/13/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The film is set in Iceland at Christmas time as a strange atmosphere falls on the country.
Screen can reveal the first trailer for Rúnar Rúnarsson’s third feature Echo, which has its world premiere in the International Competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 7-17).
Set at Christmastime in Iceland, the film uses 56 scenes to create a portrait of modern society. Settings include an abandoned farm on fire in the countryside; a children’s choir singing carols; and a young girl making her grandmother try a new virtual reality headset.
French sales agent Jour2Fête is handling sales on the film,...
Screen can reveal the first trailer for Rúnar Rúnarsson’s third feature Echo, which has its world premiere in the International Competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 7-17).
Set at Christmastime in Iceland, the film uses 56 scenes to create a portrait of modern society. Settings include an abandoned farm on fire in the countryside; a children’s choir singing carols; and a young girl making her grandmother try a new virtual reality headset.
French sales agent Jour2Fête is handling sales on the film,...
- 7/31/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
With more international co-productions in cinemas than ever before and a new crop of high-profile titles this year, Germany’s renown as fertile ground for foreign filmmakers continues to soar.
The number of German-backed cross-border titles in local theaters rose 30% last year to 98 — the most ever — and the trend looks set to continue. This year a slew of German co-productions are vying for Cannes’ Palme d’Or, among them Terrence Malick’s historical drama “A Hidden Life”; Jessica Hausner’s sci-fi thriller “Little Joe”; Marco Bellocchio’s mafia pic “The Traitor”; Corneliu Porumboiu’s “The Whistlers”; and Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven.”
Key to the country’s filmmaking allure is a generous system of federal and regional funding sources and a dynamic film industry geared toward international co-production.
Leading companies include Pallas Films, whose credits include “It Must Be Heaven” and Sergey Dvortsevoy’s “Ayka”; Pandora Film, co-producer...
The number of German-backed cross-border titles in local theaters rose 30% last year to 98 — the most ever — and the trend looks set to continue. This year a slew of German co-productions are vying for Cannes’ Palme d’Or, among them Terrence Malick’s historical drama “A Hidden Life”; Jessica Hausner’s sci-fi thriller “Little Joe”; Marco Bellocchio’s mafia pic “The Traitor”; Corneliu Porumboiu’s “The Whistlers”; and Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven.”
Key to the country’s filmmaking allure is a generous system of federal and regional funding sources and a dynamic film industry geared toward international co-production.
Leading companies include Pallas Films, whose credits include “It Must Be Heaven” and Sergey Dvortsevoy’s “Ayka”; Pandora Film, co-producer...
- 5/14/2019
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Urban Distribution has bought rights for France and Palace has taken rights for Australia to Hlynur Palmason’s “A White, White Day” from New Europe Film Sales, ahead of the film’s world premiere in Cannes this week, where it competes in Critics’ Week.
The film is Palmason’s second feature after “Winter Brothers,” which won four prizes at its world premiere in Locarno, and then played more than 60 festivals and won more than 30 prizes and was released in more than 10 territories.
“A White, White Day” is the story of an off-duty police chief from a remote Icelandic town, who begins to suspect a local man of having had an affair with his late wife, who died in a tragic accident two years earlier. Gradually his obsession with finding out the truth accumulates and inevitably begins to endanger himself and his loved ones. The film’s team calls it “a story of grief,...
The film is Palmason’s second feature after “Winter Brothers,” which won four prizes at its world premiere in Locarno, and then played more than 60 festivals and won more than 30 prizes and was released in more than 10 territories.
“A White, White Day” is the story of an off-duty police chief from a remote Icelandic town, who begins to suspect a local man of having had an affair with his late wife, who died in a tragic accident two years earlier. Gradually his obsession with finding out the truth accumulates and inevitably begins to endanger himself and his loved ones. The film’s team calls it “a story of grief,...
- 5/14/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Works-in-progress section featured a slew of English-language films.
The first footage from the English-language drama End Of Sentence, starring John Hawkes was unveiled during the works- in- progress presentations at Iceland’s Stockfish film festival in Reykjavik last week.
Us actor Hawkes, who was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Winter’s Bone in 2011, stars as a man trying to fulfill his late wife’s last wish, to go on a road trip with his son, played by Logan Lerman, to scatter her ashes in rural Ireland. The cast also includes Sarah Bolger, Andrea Irvine and Trapped’s Olafur Darri Olafsson.
The first footage from the English-language drama End Of Sentence, starring John Hawkes was unveiled during the works- in- progress presentations at Iceland’s Stockfish film festival in Reykjavik last week.
Us actor Hawkes, who was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for Winter’s Bone in 2011, stars as a man trying to fulfill his late wife’s last wish, to go on a road trip with his son, played by Logan Lerman, to scatter her ashes in rural Ireland. The cast also includes Sarah Bolger, Andrea Irvine and Trapped’s Olafur Darri Olafsson.
- 3/11/2019
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Nir Shelter and Jules Duncan.
Jules Duncan’s The Big Yarn and Nir Shelter’s Home won the Monte Miller Awards for the best unproduced scripts presented by the Australian Writers’ Guild in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
Duncan’s feature screenplay revolves around a small town journalist who, after surviving a bungled hit, teams up with a wannabe cop to find out which of the lame stories she’s been working on masks a broader conspiracy.
Home is a short film about a Palestinian who boards an Israeli bus, forcing an Israeli soldier to choose between risking the lives of the other passengers and a potentially innocent man.
Duncan wrote the action comedy as part of Screenwest’s Feature Navigator program; it also won the Bill Warnock Screenwriting award.
His first produced screenplay is Rams, an adaptation of writer-director Grímur Hákonarson’s Icelandic hit Hrútar. Now in post, Rams stars Miranda Richardson,...
Jules Duncan’s The Big Yarn and Nir Shelter’s Home won the Monte Miller Awards for the best unproduced scripts presented by the Australian Writers’ Guild in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
Duncan’s feature screenplay revolves around a small town journalist who, after surviving a bungled hit, teams up with a wannabe cop to find out which of the lame stories she’s been working on masks a broader conspiracy.
Home is a short film about a Palestinian who boards an Israeli bus, forcing an Israeli soldier to choose between risking the lives of the other passengers and a potentially innocent man.
Duncan wrote the action comedy as part of Screenwest’s Feature Navigator program; it also won the Bill Warnock Screenwriting award.
His first produced screenplay is Rams, an adaptation of writer-director Grímur Hákonarson’s Icelandic hit Hrútar. Now in post, Rams stars Miranda Richardson,...
- 2/26/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
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