After exploring the tumults of French politics in “Baron Noir,” Oscar-nominated French-Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri immerses audiences into the rough world of French Special Forces in Iraq in “Dark Hearts.”
Ordered by Amazon Prime Video in France, “Dark Hearts” is set on the eve of the battle for Mosul in October 2016 and follows the lives of men and women who are part of a commando group deployed in Iraq to fight Isis. They are tasked with exfiltrating the daughter and grandson of an important Isis leader who will only cooperate with them on this condition.
Doueiri, who started his career in Hollywood working as a first assistant camera on movies like Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” was always curious about war movies but thought of them as a genre pre-empted by American filmmakers. So when French producer Gilles de Verdière at Mandarin Télévision approached him with the pitch for “Dark Hearts,...
Ordered by Amazon Prime Video in France, “Dark Hearts” is set on the eve of the battle for Mosul in October 2016 and follows the lives of men and women who are part of a commando group deployed in Iraq to fight Isis. They are tasked with exfiltrating the daughter and grandson of an important Isis leader who will only cooperate with them on this condition.
Doueiri, who started his career in Hollywood working as a first assistant camera on movies like Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs,” was always curious about war movies but thought of them as a genre pre-empted by American filmmakers. So when French producer Gilles de Verdière at Mandarin Télévision approached him with the pitch for “Dark Hearts,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Totem Films has acquired international sales rights to Zeina Durra’s “Luxor,” which will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
CAA is representing North American rights. The film, which stars Andrea Riseborough (“Black Mirror”) and Karim Saleh (“Transparent”), marks Durra’s follow up to her 2010 feature debut “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!,” which also premiered at Sundance.
The drama romance follows Hana, a British aid worker who returns to the ancient city of Luxor where she comes across Sultan, a talented archaeologist and former lover. As she wanders, haunted by the familiar place, she struggles to reconcile the choices of the past with the uncertainty of the present.
Along with Durra, “Luxor” is produced by Mohamed Hefzy through his production company Film Clinic, Mamdouh Saba, and Gianluca Chakra of Front Row. Paul Webster and Front Row’s Hisham Al Ghanim are...
CAA is representing North American rights. The film, which stars Andrea Riseborough (“Black Mirror”) and Karim Saleh (“Transparent”), marks Durra’s follow up to her 2010 feature debut “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!,” which also premiered at Sundance.
The drama romance follows Hana, a British aid worker who returns to the ancient city of Luxor where she comes across Sultan, a talented archaeologist and former lover. As she wanders, haunted by the familiar place, she struggles to reconcile the choices of the past with the uncertainty of the present.
Along with Durra, “Luxor” is produced by Mohamed Hefzy through his production company Film Clinic, Mamdouh Saba, and Gianluca Chakra of Front Row. Paul Webster and Front Row’s Hisham Al Ghanim are...
- 12/5/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Alexander Rodnyansky’s Ar Content – in partnership with Kevin Macdonald, an Oscar winner with “One Day in September,” and Rosanne Korenberg – has tapped Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Rory Kennedy, best known for “Last Days in Vietnam,” to direct its untitled documentary centering on a little-known refugee crisis immediately preceding World War II.
The film will center on the voyage of the transatlantic liner St. Louis in 1939, which was carrying Jews fleeing Nazi but was turned away by Cuba and the U.S. and forced to return to Europe. Later, 254 of its passengers died in the Holocaust. The film will compare that episode with today’s global refugee crisis.
Alongside Rodnyansky – who was Oscar-nominated for “Leviathan” and “Loveless” – Macdonald and Korenberg, Kennedy and the documentary’s writer Mark Bailey, a WGA nominee for “Last Days in Vietnam” and a three-time Emmy nominee, will produce the film under their production banner Moxie Films.
The film will center on the voyage of the transatlantic liner St. Louis in 1939, which was carrying Jews fleeing Nazi but was turned away by Cuba and the U.S. and forced to return to Europe. Later, 254 of its passengers died in the Holocaust. The film will compare that episode with today’s global refugee crisis.
Alongside Rodnyansky – who was Oscar-nominated for “Leviathan” and “Loveless” – Macdonald and Korenberg, Kennedy and the documentary’s writer Mark Bailey, a WGA nominee for “Last Days in Vietnam” and a three-time Emmy nominee, will produce the film under their production banner Moxie Films.
- 10/22/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Production is under way on Israel’s biggest-budget TV drama series, Valley Of Tears, we can reveal.
The ambitious, under-the-radar project set against the 1973 Yom Kippur War, stars Israeli mega-star Lior Ashkenazi (Foxtrot) and comes from in-demand Israeli writers Ron Leshem (Euphoria) and Amit Cohen (False Flag).
Directed and co-created by Yaron Zilberman (A Late Quartet), and based on true events, the Hebrew-language, eight-part miniseries shepherded by WestEnd Films depicts the 1973 Yom Kippur War through the eyes of young combatants. It will follow the stories of three individuals swept away by the ravages of war, and culminates in a climactic battle. We understand each episode will cost in the region of $1M.
Valley of Tears stars Footnote and Big Bad Wolves actor Ashkenazi, Aviv Alush (The Shack), Lee Biran, Shahar Tavoch, Joy Rieger and Ofer Hayoun (Euphoria). A handful of Israel’s most prominent novelists reportedly took part in...
The ambitious, under-the-radar project set against the 1973 Yom Kippur War, stars Israeli mega-star Lior Ashkenazi (Foxtrot) and comes from in-demand Israeli writers Ron Leshem (Euphoria) and Amit Cohen (False Flag).
Directed and co-created by Yaron Zilberman (A Late Quartet), and based on true events, the Hebrew-language, eight-part miniseries shepherded by WestEnd Films depicts the 1973 Yom Kippur War through the eyes of young combatants. It will follow the stories of three individuals swept away by the ravages of war, and culminates in a climactic battle. We understand each episode will cost in the region of $1M.
Valley of Tears stars Footnote and Big Bad Wolves actor Ashkenazi, Aviv Alush (The Shack), Lee Biran, Shahar Tavoch, Joy Rieger and Ofer Hayoun (Euphoria). A handful of Israel’s most prominent novelists reportedly took part in...
- 7/25/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Russian producer Alexander Rodnyansky has set Ziad Doueiri to direct an adaptation of Debriefing the President. Daniel Stiepleman, who scripted the upcoming Ruth Bader Ginsburg drama On the Basis of Sex, will adapt former CIA analyst John Nixon’s non-fiction book about his experience being the first American to identify and interrogate Saddam Hussein following his 2003 capture. The Lebanese-born Doueiri’s The Insult was last year nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. His first film, West Beirut, won the Prix Francois Chalais at Cannes and he also directed The Attack.
Nixon was a senior leadership analyst with the CIA from 1998-2011 who regularly wrote for and briefed those at the most senior levels of the U.S. government and later taught leadership analysis to the new generation of analysts coming at the Sherman Kent School, the agency’s in-house analytic training center.
After confirming the prisoner was indeed the...
Nixon was a senior leadership analyst with the CIA from 1998-2011 who regularly wrote for and briefed those at the most senior levels of the U.S. government and later taught leadership analysis to the new generation of analysts coming at the Sherman Kent School, the agency’s in-house analytic training center.
After confirming the prisoner was indeed the...
- 9/28/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Five cult classics, including The House on Sorority Row, are being revived on the big screen by Bloody Disgusting for their "Retro Nightmares" cinema series kicking off on September 27th. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Travel Channel's "Ghostober" programming details, the latest addition to Mezco's Living Dead Dolls line, and the Indiegogo campaign for Masters of the Grind.
Bloody Disgusting's Retro Nightmares Film Series Details: Press Release: "Just in time to kick off the Halloween season, five HD digitally remastered cult horror classics--as voted online by fans--will be coming to the big screen as part of the “Bloody Disgusting Presents Retro Nightmares” Cinema Series this fall: The House on Sorority Row, Amityville: The Evil Escapes, Amityville: It’s About Time, Sweet Sixteen, and The Convent. Tickets are on sale now at www.Retronightmares.com for theaters nationwide.
Preeminent American horror genre website Bloody Disgusting, independent distribution company Multicom Entertainment Group,...
Bloody Disgusting's Retro Nightmares Film Series Details: Press Release: "Just in time to kick off the Halloween season, five HD digitally remastered cult horror classics--as voted online by fans--will be coming to the big screen as part of the “Bloody Disgusting Presents Retro Nightmares” Cinema Series this fall: The House on Sorority Row, Amityville: The Evil Escapes, Amityville: It’s About Time, Sweet Sixteen, and The Convent. Tickets are on sale now at www.Retronightmares.com for theaters nationwide.
Preeminent American horror genre website Bloody Disgusting, independent distribution company Multicom Entertainment Group,...
- 8/23/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
The idea for “The Insult” originated from a real life event much like the one that starts the film. While living in Beirut, Lebanon, director Ziad Doueiri was watering plants on his balcony when the broken gutter sprayed someone. Doueiri exchanged words with the stranger, but later apologized. “A couple of days later I started thinking this thing could’ve really gone out of control,” he recalls. “The thing could’ve become very, very dangerous.” So he thought, “What if I start my story in a similar way, where the film starts with a very similar incident, very insignificant, and instead of it getting fixed or resolved, it gets complicated?” But the conflicts weren’t limited to the action on-screen. The filmmaker faced political resistance off-screen as well. Watch our exclusive video interview with Doueiri above.
See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards nominees in all 24 categories
“The Insult...
See 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards nominees in all 24 categories
“The Insult...
- 2/13/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Adel Karam as Tony (left) and Kamel El Basha as Yasser (right) in The Insult, directed by Ziad Doueiri. Courtesy of the Cohen Media Group.
A personal dispute between two men in Beirut, one Christian Lebanese and the other Palestinian, escalates into a highly-charged and very public trial that unearths unresolved social and political issues throughout Lebanon that have been simmering since the civil war ended in 1990.
The Oscar-nominated The Insult was Lebanon’s entry for the Academy Awards, and is a strong contender for the award in the Best Foreign-Language film category. Director Ziad Doueiri’s courtroom drama spotlights the resentment of some Christian Lebanese towards the Palestinian refugees who poured over their border from Israel and played a role in their civil role. The immigration issue is a universal topic that will strike a familiar note in this country, but the well-crafted, nuanced drama brings out tensions still simmering in Lebanese society,...
A personal dispute between two men in Beirut, one Christian Lebanese and the other Palestinian, escalates into a highly-charged and very public trial that unearths unresolved social and political issues throughout Lebanon that have been simmering since the civil war ended in 1990.
The Oscar-nominated The Insult was Lebanon’s entry for the Academy Awards, and is a strong contender for the award in the Best Foreign-Language film category. Director Ziad Doueiri’s courtroom drama spotlights the resentment of some Christian Lebanese towards the Palestinian refugees who poured over their border from Israel and played a role in their civil role. The immigration issue is a universal topic that will strike a familiar note in this country, but the well-crafted, nuanced drama brings out tensions still simmering in Lebanese society,...
- 2/2/2018
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Its Oscar nomination this week as Best Foreign-Language Film isn't the only thing that makes The Insult a must-see – Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri's legal thriller fairly crackles with timely provocations. And don't be put off if the film's structure initially seems schematic to a fault. This is a director who's more than adept at filling in the spaces between feuding characters with insinuating nuance.
The conflict starts when Tony Hanna (Adel Karam), a Christian garage owner with a pregnant wife, Shirine (Rita Hayek), gets all up in the face...
The conflict starts when Tony Hanna (Adel Karam), a Christian garage owner with a pregnant wife, Shirine (Rita Hayek), gets all up in the face...
- 1/25/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Ziad Doueiri, whose Hollywood credentials include being a cameraman for most of Quentin Tarantino's earlier films (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown), has made several films in his native Lebanon (West Beirut, The Attack, Lila Says). With his new film The Insult opening stateside, I had a chance to talk with him. We didn't only talk about his terrific new film, but also the chaotic world we live in and his love of Train to Busan. The Insult opens New York and Los Angeles on 1/12. National roll out would follow. Please visit Cohen Media website for more info. Screen Anarchy: I had to do a little bit of research on Lebanese history before and after seeing The Insult. I find that Lebanon has...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/12/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Ziad Doueiri was near convinced The Insult, his fifth feature, wouldn’t be cleared for release in Lebanon, let alone be submitted as the country’s foreign-language Oscar entry.
It wasn’t anything to do with this particular film, a tense courtroom thriller in which a rift between a Palestinian Muslim and Lebanese Christian explodes into a cross examination of the sectarian grievances in Beirut society. It was his 2012 drama The Attack, which was banned in 22 Arab countries and saw Doueiri branded an Israeli collaborator and someone who was normalizing relations with Lebanon’s neighbor and long-standing foe. His crime: shooting several...
It wasn’t anything to do with this particular film, a tense courtroom thriller in which a rift between a Palestinian Muslim and Lebanese Christian explodes into a cross examination of the sectarian grievances in Beirut society. It was his 2012 drama The Attack, which was banned in 22 Arab countries and saw Doueiri branded an Israeli collaborator and someone who was normalizing relations with Lebanon’s neighbor and long-standing foe. His crime: shooting several...
- 1/12/2018
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although Ziad Doueiri’s punchy and history-shrouded drama “The Insult” theoretically turns on the saying and refusal to apologize for two simple words, there is so much guilt and fury riddled context behind those words that they quickly become irrelevant. A Lebanese filmmaker (“West Beirut,” “The Attack”) who frequently focuses his eye on the disputatious legacy of his region’s recent history, Doueiri uses a seemingly minor conflict between two men over a gutter to show how his country’s tangled legacy of religious strife and balkanized political landscape can turn almost any interaction into warfare.
Continue reading ‘The Insult’: Controversial & Riveting Drama Steps Into The Minefield Of Palestinian-Christian Animosity [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Insult’: Controversial & Riveting Drama Steps Into The Minefield Of Palestinian-Christian Animosity [Review] at The Playlist.
- 1/11/2018
- by Chris Barsanti
- The Playlist
He played iconic roles like Frankenstein's monster and Imhotep (aka The Mummy), but Boris Karloff also instilled life in so many other intriguing characters, including Morgan in The Old Dark House, coming to Blu-ray (in a 4K restoration), DVD, and digital platforms this October from the Cohen Film Collection:
Press Release: Charles S. Cohen, Chairman and CEO of Cohen Media Group, today announced that the landmark thriller The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff, will be released by the Cohen Film Collection on Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms on October 24, 2017. The home video release features the dazzling new 4K digital restoration that was screened to wide acclaim at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.
Based on J.B. Priestley's popular novel Benighted, this legendary classic was directed by James Whale in the fertile period between his Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. In The Old Dark House, Whale puts a surprising spin on...
Press Release: Charles S. Cohen, Chairman and CEO of Cohen Media Group, today announced that the landmark thriller The Old Dark House, starring Boris Karloff, will be released by the Cohen Film Collection on Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms on October 24, 2017. The home video release features the dazzling new 4K digital restoration that was screened to wide acclaim at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.
Based on J.B. Priestley's popular novel Benighted, this legendary classic was directed by James Whale in the fertile period between his Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. In The Old Dark House, Whale puts a surprising spin on...
- 9/26/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Tiff has come and gone. Masses of Canadians attend the festival which is what gives it such a special atmosphere. In Cannes, only the industry attends the festival; the public sets up chairs and ladders to watch the red carpet galas and take pictures. But here the public is as much a part of the festival as the industry.Tiff Bell Lightbox
The industry action which consists of buying and selling of film rights takes place at the Hyatt Hotel on King Street West. The screenings for both public and industry are down the street at the Tiff Bell Lightbox and around the corner at the Scotia Multiplex. The dense mingling of public and industry at these venues and on the street itself which is closed to traffic for the first weekend but is open to pedestrians, photo-op spots, food trucks creates a festive bevvy of activity to the city.
The industry action which consists of buying and selling of film rights takes place at the Hyatt Hotel on King Street West. The screenings for both public and industry are down the street at the Tiff Bell Lightbox and around the corner at the Scotia Multiplex. The dense mingling of public and industry at these venues and on the street itself which is closed to traffic for the first weekend but is open to pedestrians, photo-op spots, food trucks creates a festive bevvy of activity to the city.
- 9/18/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Updated, 8:06 Am: Ziad Doueiri, the Franco-Lebanese filmmaker whose The Insult earned the Best Actor Volpi Cup for Kamel El Basha in Venice this weekend, has been released without charge by a military tribunal in Lebanon. This is after he was detained upon arrival at Beirut’s airport yesterday, saw his passports confiscated and was summoned abruptly to a hearing this morning. The incidents appear related to Doueiri's 2012 film The Attack, which he shot partly in Israel…...
- 9/11/2017
- Deadline
While the Toronto International Film Festival doesn’t boast a market as robust as other festivals, like Sundance or Cannes, the yearly event often plays home to some major buys of big contenders. Last year, films as diverse “I Am Not Your Negro,” “Salt and Fire,” and “A Quiet Passion” found a home at the festival, and this year will likely include a slate of picked-up offerings that are as wide-ranging as the festival itself. We will be tracking every buy below, so keep checking back to stay up to date.
Read More:tiff Adds More Titles, Including ‘The Florida Project,’ ‘Molly’s Game,’ New Films From Brie Larson and Louis C.K., and Many More
The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 7 – 17 in Toronto, Canada. Stay up to date on all of this year’s Tiff acquisitions below.
– In an early deal that was announced before the festival even kicked off,...
Read More:tiff Adds More Titles, Including ‘The Florida Project,’ ‘Molly’s Game,’ New Films From Brie Larson and Louis C.K., and Many More
The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 7 – 17 in Toronto, Canada. Stay up to date on all of this year’s Tiff acquisitions below.
– In an early deal that was announced before the festival even kicked off,...
- 9/7/2017
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
It sounds like the setting of a “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode: Two men from different cultural backgrounds exchange harsh words about an inconsequential issue that gets blown out of proportion, then deal with the fallout that just keeps coming. But Ziad Doueiri’s “The Insult” is anything but a cringe comedy. The Lebanese filmmaker’s followup to his masterful drama “The Attack” is a fascinating, parable-like exploration of the tension between two facets of Lebanon’s Arab community and the cross-cultural ramifications implied by their ridiculous feud. While it doesn’t quite justify the sprawling courtroom antics or the blunt metaphor they entail, the movie nevertheless provides a profound look at the effect of historical trauma on modern Lebanese society.
It doesn’t take long for the premise to take shape. Lebanese Christian Tony (Adel Karam) lives in an insular community where Palestinian refugee Yasser (Kamel El Basha) has been...
It doesn’t take long for the premise to take shape. Lebanese Christian Tony (Adel Karam) lives in an insular community where Palestinian refugee Yasser (Kamel El Basha) has been...
- 9/4/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
A single slur becomes the lightning rod for a court case that grips but also bitterly divides a nation in The Insult, the latest feature from Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri (The Attack). The film pits a Palestinian construction worker — and technically a refugee — against the owner of a balcony he did some work on, a car mechanic who is part of a Christian political party in Lebanon. Their spat over a gutter leads to words, then blows and then a trial that becomes less and less about the insult and subsequent bodily harm and more and more about...
- 8/31/2017
- by Boyd van Hoeij
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Wonder Woman,” the latest addition to DC’s blockbuster superhero universe, was scheduled to be released in Lebanon on May 31. The day of it was meant to open, the movie’s theatrical run was abruptly halted by the announcement that Lebanon’s interior ministry had banned the film because actor Gal Gadot (aka Wonder Woman) is an Israeli citizen.
This wasn’t a complete surprise: Lebanon and Israel have been in an official state of war for decades; Lebanese law boycotts Israeli products, and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with its citizens.
And it has happened before, albeit on a smaller scale. “The Attack,” Ziad Doueiri’s 2012 adaptation of Yasmina Khadra’s novel, was ultimately denied screening permission in Lebanon because the Lebanese-born filmmaker had shot the film in Israel and Palestine with an Israeli cast and crew. But unlike “The Attack,” “Wonder Woman” has nothing to do with Israel.
This wasn’t a complete surprise: Lebanon and Israel have been in an official state of war for decades; Lebanese law boycotts Israeli products, and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with its citizens.
And it has happened before, albeit on a smaller scale. “The Attack,” Ziad Doueiri’s 2012 adaptation of Yasmina Khadra’s novel, was ultimately denied screening permission in Lebanon because the Lebanese-born filmmaker had shot the film in Israel and Palestine with an Israeli cast and crew. But unlike “The Attack,” “Wonder Woman” has nothing to do with Israel.
- 6/3/2017
- by Jim Quilty
- Indiewire
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
In order to make accurate predictions about the potential Cannes Film Festival lineup, it’s first important to explore which films definitely won’t make the cut. The glamorous French gathering is notorious for waiting until the last minute before locking in every slot for its Official Selection. That includes competition titles, out of competition titles, a small midnight section and the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Cannes announces the bulk of its selections in Paris on April 13, but until then, there are plenty of ways to make educated guesses. Much of the reporting surrounding the upcoming festival selection is simply lists of films expected to come out this year. However, certain movies are definitely not going to the festival for various reasons.
That’s why our own list of potentials doesn’t include “Image Et Parole,” Jean-Luc Godard’s followup to “Goodbye to Language,” which sales agent Wild Bunch now anticipates as a 2018 title.
That’s why our own list of potentials doesn’t include “Image Et Parole,” Jean-Luc Godard’s followup to “Goodbye to Language,” which sales agent Wild Bunch now anticipates as a 2018 title.
- 3/31/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, Eric Kohn, Jude Dry, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The Insult
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Writer: Joelle Touma
After spending most of the 90s as an assistant cameraman on Quentin Tarantino films, Ziad Doueiri broke out on his own in 1998 with West Beirut, followed by Lila Says (2002), and breaking out in 2012 with the compelling The Attack.
Continue reading...
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Writer: Joelle Touma
After spending most of the 90s as an assistant cameraman on Quentin Tarantino films, Ziad Doueiri broke out on his own in 1998 with West Beirut, followed by Lila Says (2002), and breaking out in 2012 with the compelling The Attack.
Continue reading...
- 1/5/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Free Radicals: Bouchareb Explores a Mother’s Nightmare in Topical Treatment
French director Rachid Bouchareb is no stranger to exploring the actions radicalized children have on their bewildered parents, as evidenced in his eloquent 2008 feature, London River. Whereas his earlier film dealt with the aftermath of disastrous actions, Bouchareb returns to the topical issue of Western recruitment into contemporary terrorist cells, this time centered on drama as it unfolds in The Road to Istanbul. We’ve become accustomed to these types of narratives from the perspectives of perplexed loved ones, desperately searching for explanations as to why friends or family were coerced or brainwashed into such despicable acts of violence, both domestically and abroad. In many ways, this is another statistical composite of such grim realities, but features a performance perfectly administered by actress Astrid Whettnall, who succinctly captures the desperation of a woman caught up in an unexpected nightmare.
French director Rachid Bouchareb is no stranger to exploring the actions radicalized children have on their bewildered parents, as evidenced in his eloquent 2008 feature, London River. Whereas his earlier film dealt with the aftermath of disastrous actions, Bouchareb returns to the topical issue of Western recruitment into contemporary terrorist cells, this time centered on drama as it unfolds in The Road to Istanbul. We’ve become accustomed to these types of narratives from the perspectives of perplexed loved ones, desperately searching for explanations as to why friends or family were coerced or brainwashed into such despicable acts of violence, both domestically and abroad. In many ways, this is another statistical composite of such grim realities, but features a performance perfectly administered by actress Astrid Whettnall, who succinctly captures the desperation of a woman caught up in an unexpected nightmare.
- 2/19/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The sales outfit has also taken two other films for Efm: Yaniv Berman’s Land Of The Little People and Jan Speckenbach’s Freedom.
Berlin-based international sales outfit Pluto Film has acquired three new titles that it will introduce to buyers at the forthcoming Efm (Feb 11-19).
Mellow Mud, the feature debut of Latvian director Renārs Vimba, will premiere as part of the Generation strand’s official competition.
Vimba co-wrote the film with Miguel Machalski (A Wolf at the Door). The story follows a 17-year-old girl and her little brother who keep a big secret in an attempt not to lose their home.
Land Of The Little People, from Israeli director Yaniv Berman (Naked Laura) and Palestinian producer Tony Copti (The Attack), is a political drama that sees four children clash with two army deserters in a fight over territory.
Freedom is the second feature from Jan Speckenbach, whose debut Reported Missing premiered at the Berlinale in 2012 and...
Berlin-based international sales outfit Pluto Film has acquired three new titles that it will introduce to buyers at the forthcoming Efm (Feb 11-19).
Mellow Mud, the feature debut of Latvian director Renārs Vimba, will premiere as part of the Generation strand’s official competition.
Vimba co-wrote the film with Miguel Machalski (A Wolf at the Door). The story follows a 17-year-old girl and her little brother who keep a big secret in an attempt not to lose their home.
Land Of The Little People, from Israeli director Yaniv Berman (Naked Laura) and Palestinian producer Tony Copti (The Attack), is a political drama that sees four children clash with two army deserters in a fight over territory.
Freedom is the second feature from Jan Speckenbach, whose debut Reported Missing premiered at the Berlinale in 2012 and...
- 2/9/2016
- ScreenDaily
La route des lacs (Road to Istanbul)
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Writers: Rachid Bouchareb, Zoe Galeron, Yasmina Khadra, Olivier Lorelle
Franco-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb continues a prolific shooting schedule with his latest project, La route des lacs (Road to Istanbul), which tackles an extremely topical scenario regarding terrorist recruits and Isis when a mother discovers her child has joined the dangerous organization. Recently, Bouchareb has been navigating the Us Pacific Southwest with English language items Just Like a Woman (2012) and his 2014 remake of Two Men in Town. For this latest, he pairs with regular co-writers Lorelle, Galeron, and Yasmina Khadra (who penned the exceptional 2012 film The Attack for Ziad Doueiri, which Bouchareb produced), and the film will be headlined by Belgian actress Astrid Whettnall and rising star Pauline Burlet (who appeared in La Vie En Rose as well as Asghar Farhadi’s The Past in 2013). Thus far, this sounds similar to Bouchareb’s 2008 film,...
Director: Rachid Bouchareb
Writers: Rachid Bouchareb, Zoe Galeron, Yasmina Khadra, Olivier Lorelle
Franco-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb continues a prolific shooting schedule with his latest project, La route des lacs (Road to Istanbul), which tackles an extremely topical scenario regarding terrorist recruits and Isis when a mother discovers her child has joined the dangerous organization. Recently, Bouchareb has been navigating the Us Pacific Southwest with English language items Just Like a Woman (2012) and his 2014 remake of Two Men in Town. For this latest, he pairs with regular co-writers Lorelle, Galeron, and Yasmina Khadra (who penned the exceptional 2012 film The Attack for Ziad Doueiri, which Bouchareb produced), and the film will be headlined by Belgian actress Astrid Whettnall and rising star Pauline Burlet (who appeared in La Vie En Rose as well as Asghar Farhadi’s The Past in 2013). Thus far, this sounds similar to Bouchareb’s 2008 film,...
- 1/5/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated Bouchareb explores plight of parents who lose children to Isis.Elle Driver has boarded Jorge Michael Grau’s earthquake drama 7.19 am and Rachid Bouchareb’s Road to Istanbul [pictured], about a mother who goes in pursuit of her Isis recruit daughter, ahead of the American Film Market (Afm). The company also start pre-sales on Audrey Dana’s comedy If I Were a Boy, in which she stars as a woman who wakes up with a penis, and Harry Cleven’s fantasy romance Angel. Franco-Algerian Bouchareb’s Road to Istanbul stars Belgian actress Astrid Whettnall as a single mother on a quest to find her 18-year-old daughter after she leaves Belgium to join the Islamic State with a Jihadist boyfriend. “My goal is to film the incomprehension of a mother totally caught off guard by the changes in her daughter on reaching legal age… Alone, divorced and abandoned by the authorities, she must try...
- 11/3/2015
- ScreenDaily
• Julia Roberts has joined fellow Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and 12 Years A Slave nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor in the remake of the 2009 Argentinian film The Secret in Their Eyes. The original feature won the Best Foreign Language film Oscar in 2010. Billy Ray, who wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games and Captain Phillips, will write and direct the story about a former Mi-5 agent (Ejiofor) on a joint task force with the FBI, who thinks he’s finally found the man who murdered the daughter of his former partner and friend (Roberts). [Deadline]
• Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette will star in the relationship drama Miss You Already.
• Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette will star in the relationship drama Miss You Already.
- 9/5/2014
- by Jake Perlman
- EW - Inside Movies
German actress Veronica Ferres (Sans famille, Les Misérables, Schtonk) has joined the cast of Pay the Ghost, the Nicolas Cage supernatural thriller set to start lensing this week in Toronto. German helmer Uli Edel (The Baader Minhof Complex) is helming the pic, about a professor (Cage) who reunites with his estranged wife to track down the vengeful ghost who took their son years ago during a Halloween parade. Ferres will play a fellow professor and mentor to Cage who helps in the parents’ search for their child. The veteran actress has been making her way stateside in films like Adam Resurrected opposite Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe and the upcoming the Toronto title Hector and the Search for Happiness, opposite Simon Pegg. Script is by Dan Kay, based on the short story by novelist Tim Lebbon. Voltage will be selling the film at Tiff. Ferres is repped by Resolution.
Awkward...
Awkward...
- 9/4/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
Experimental filmmaker Nina Menkes is developing a new film examining the Israel-Palestinian conflict through the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur.
Nina Menkes is developing a new film examining the Israel-Palestinian conflict through a loose re-telling of the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur set against the backdrop of the Old City of Jerusalem in contemporary times.
Entitled simply Minotaur, the film revolves around a Christian Palestinian working with tourists in the Old City, who embodies both Theseus and the Minotaur, which manifests itself as a Hebrew-speaking beast that attacks visitors in the crypt of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He has a mother called Pasiphae and falls for the beautiful foreign waitress Ariadne.
“First and foremost it’s an emotional story about the process of confronting the self and not living in denial which I think is a big issue around here… but it’s also a political story about here the country...
Nina Menkes is developing a new film examining the Israel-Palestinian conflict through a loose re-telling of the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur set against the backdrop of the Old City of Jerusalem in contemporary times.
Entitled simply Minotaur, the film revolves around a Christian Palestinian working with tourists in the Old City, who embodies both Theseus and the Minotaur, which manifests itself as a Hebrew-speaking beast that attacks visitors in the crypt of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He has a mother called Pasiphae and falls for the beautiful foreign waitress Ariadne.
“First and foremost it’s an emotional story about the process of confronting the self and not living in denial which I think is a big issue around here… but it’s also a political story about here the country...
- 7/17/2014
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Previous investments include Clouds of Sils Maria and Under the Starry Sky.
Ezekiel Film Production, the fledgling film financing body set up by Lebanese financier Antoun Sehnaoui in association with French actress and producer Julie Gayet, has boarded compatriot filmmaker Ziad Doueiri’s upcoming L’Insulte.
The picture, produced by Jean Bréhat and Rachid Bouchareb at Paris-based 3B Productions, is due to shoot later this year. It revolves around a trivial dispute between a Palestinian Muslim man, living in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, and a Lebanese Christian which ends up in court and risks bringing Lebanon to the brink of war.
“The script is finished,” said Bréhat. “There’s no cast as yet but they will probably be Palestinian and Lebanese,” said Bréhat.
Doueiri’s last film The Attack, about an Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv whose life is shattered when his wife commits a suicide attack in the city, was banned...
Ezekiel Film Production, the fledgling film financing body set up by Lebanese financier Antoun Sehnaoui in association with French actress and producer Julie Gayet, has boarded compatriot filmmaker Ziad Doueiri’s upcoming L’Insulte.
The picture, produced by Jean Bréhat and Rachid Bouchareb at Paris-based 3B Productions, is due to shoot later this year. It revolves around a trivial dispute between a Palestinian Muslim man, living in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, and a Lebanese Christian which ends up in court and risks bringing Lebanon to the brink of war.
“The script is finished,” said Bréhat. “There’s no cast as yet but they will probably be Palestinian and Lebanese,” said Bréhat.
Doueiri’s last film The Attack, about an Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv whose life is shattered when his wife commits a suicide attack in the city, was banned...
- 5/17/2014
- ScreenDaily
Foreign Affairs
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Writers: Ziad Doueiri, Ghassan Salhab, Joelle Touma
Producers: Rachid Bouchareb, Jean Brehat
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Gerard Depardieu
If you’re familiar with his very controversial and well-made 2012 film, The Attack, then director Ziad Doueiri’s next feature probably sounds like a walk in the park, though don’t be surprised if it doesn’t end up playing that way. Co-written by Doueiri, Ghassan Salhan and Joelle Touma (who wrote The Attack as well as Rachid Bouchareb’s Just Like a Woman, who happens to be producing this title), the inclusion of Gerard Depardieu seems an interesting choice. We’re unsure at what stage of development the film is in, but it’s a project Doueiri has been developing for quite some time, and news broke of Depardieu’s casting in mid 2013.
Gist: 1991. Desert Storm. The first Gulf War has just ended, and...
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Writers: Ziad Doueiri, Ghassan Salhab, Joelle Touma
Producers: Rachid Bouchareb, Jean Brehat
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Gerard Depardieu
If you’re familiar with his very controversial and well-made 2012 film, The Attack, then director Ziad Doueiri’s next feature probably sounds like a walk in the park, though don’t be surprised if it doesn’t end up playing that way. Co-written by Doueiri, Ghassan Salhan and Joelle Touma (who wrote The Attack as well as Rachid Bouchareb’s Just Like a Woman, who happens to be producing this title), the inclusion of Gerard Depardieu seems an interesting choice. We’re unsure at what stage of development the film is in, but it’s a project Doueiri has been developing for quite some time, and news broke of Depardieu’s casting in mid 2013.
Gist: 1991. Desert Storm. The first Gulf War has just ended, and...
- 2/24/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Casualties of War: Berg’s Brutal Depiction of Failed Seals Op Career Best
For the purposes of context, one may be interested in noting that Lone Survivor is actor/director Peter Berg’s follow-up to his dismal 2012 board-game based effort, Battleship, though originally these projects were meant to be shot in reverse order. Clearly, this film was the labor of love, and while it’s not surprising to learn that leading stars took a major pay cut and Berg worked for the minimum salary allowed, it is fascinating to see the heightened quality on display from the same director, cinematographer, editor, composer, and one of the lead actors from the previous effort. Certainly, this film isn’t bound to be everyone’s cup of tea as Berg has taken pains to create a brutal, distressing, and unashamedly in-your-face depiction of the atrocities of war (and sans a definitive political agenda). He simply relays,...
For the purposes of context, one may be interested in noting that Lone Survivor is actor/director Peter Berg’s follow-up to his dismal 2012 board-game based effort, Battleship, though originally these projects were meant to be shot in reverse order. Clearly, this film was the labor of love, and while it’s not surprising to learn that leading stars took a major pay cut and Berg worked for the minimum salary allowed, it is fascinating to see the heightened quality on display from the same director, cinematographer, editor, composer, and one of the lead actors from the previous effort. Certainly, this film isn’t bound to be everyone’s cup of tea as Berg has taken pains to create a brutal, distressing, and unashamedly in-your-face depiction of the atrocities of war (and sans a definitive political agenda). He simply relays,...
- 12/26/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Golden Globes 2014 predictions (image: Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale in ‘American Hustle’ movie poster) They may be ridiculed, derided, and dismissed, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes ceremony remains the second most important awards-season event — in terms of international public awareness — trailing only the Academy Awards. The nominations for the 2014 Golden Globes ("2013 Golden Globes," if you want to be technical about it) will be announced by Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde, and Aziz Ansari (very, very early) on Thursday morning, December 12, 2013. Who will be the nominees? Which movies and performances will Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members want to check out after they hear the names and/or titles of this year’s nominees? Well, below are our 2014 Golden Globes predictions. Like the Academy Awards, Hollywood guilds, and most critics’ groups, quality is an important element in the HFPA members’ selections; but then again,...
- 12/12/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
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
Based on Yasmina Khadra’s international bestseller, The Attack is a patient, poetic glimmer of brilliance that serenely glides into the crashing tides of Middle Eastern terrorism. As small as one marriage and as sweeping as two countries relentlessly pitted against each other on the world stage, director Ziad Doueiri, originally from Beirut, Lebanon, maturely forgoes carnage for curiosity, slaughter for suspense, and rage for regret.
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- 12/11/2013
- by Kyle North
- JustPressPlay.net
Big Bad Wolves blends elements of the horror thriller and comedy genres. The ultimate premise is revenge but knowing Keshales and Papsuahdos work were in for a hearty multilayered visual treat. Honestly these two do not let down as filmmakers their willingness to take major risks yields some highly rewarding results. Magnet will release Big Bad Wolves on the Us on January 17 2014. Big Bad Wolves features the onscreen talents of Lior Ashkenazi (Rabies) Kais Nashif (Body of Lies) Dvir Benedek (The Attack) Menashe Noy (Rabies) Ami Weinberg (Munich) and Gur Bentvich (OffWhite Lies).
- 12/3/2013
- Best-Horror-Movies.com
Chicago – It’s kind of a light week at the Blu-ray and DVD store (do they still have those now that Blockbuster has closed?). As studios prep a lot of major releases for holiday season, a few titles have been released on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming services this week that we wanted to highlight, including a decent animated flick, a great foreign one, and a bunch of movies that may interest you but that you should probably avoid.
The Attack
Photo credit: Cohen Media Group
“The Attack”
The best new release of the week is this moving foreign film about a man shattered by the realization that his wife may not be who he’s always thought she was. The revelation brings to the surface the man’s own history and the piece becomes a moving meditation on the crisis in the Middle East and how the past and hidden conflicts are always there,...
The Attack
Photo credit: Cohen Media Group
“The Attack”
The best new release of the week is this moving foreign film about a man shattered by the realization that his wife may not be who he’s always thought she was. The revelation brings to the surface the man’s own history and the piece becomes a moving meditation on the crisis in the Middle East and how the past and hidden conflicts are always there,...
- 11/14/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Sneak Peek director Ziad Doueiri's political thriller "The Attack", adapted from author Yasmina Khadra’s international bestseller, available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack November 12, 2013:
"...surgeon 'Dr. Amin Jaafari' has a loving wife, exemplary career, and many friends.
"But his picture perfect life is suddenly turned upside down when a suicide bombing in a restaurant leaves nineteen dead, and the police inform him that his wife 'Siham', who also died in the explosion, was responsible.
" Convinced of her innocence, Amin abandons the relative security of his homeland in pursuit of the truth..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Attack"...
"...surgeon 'Dr. Amin Jaafari' has a loving wife, exemplary career, and many friends.
"But his picture perfect life is suddenly turned upside down when a suicide bombing in a restaurant leaves nineteen dead, and the police inform him that his wife 'Siham', who also died in the explosion, was responsible.
" Convinced of her innocence, Amin abandons the relative security of his homeland in pursuit of the truth..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Attack"...
- 11/13/2013
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Check out what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods Man of Steel (superhero action directed by Zack Snyder; Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe; also available in 3D; rated PG-13) The Attack (thriller; Ali Suliman, Avgenia Dodena; rated R) Blackfish (documentary about killer whales in captivity; rated PG-13) Frances Ha (comedy; Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner; rated R) Charlie Countryman (action; Shia LeBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood; available 11/15 on Mod and in theaters; rated...
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- 11/12/2013
- by Robert B. DeSalvo
- Movies.com
Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week:
"Man of Steel"
What's It About? In Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, "Man of Steel," the young Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) goes on a journey to discover his origin and to better understand his super-human powers. However, when the Kryptonian military leader, General Zod (Michael Shannon), threatens the fate of earth, Clark must face his past to save his planet.
Why We're In: "Man of Steel" is full of spectacular action sequences that will quench any superhero junkie or comic book fiend's appetite. However, Snyder's film was ranked as one of Moviefone's Best Movies of 2013 (So Far) primarily because it successfully rebooted the Superman story after previous failed attempts. It may be your typical Blockbuster fare, but it's undoubtedly a thrilling ride.
Watch: A special feature from the "Man of Steel" Blu-ray (Video)
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week:
"Noseferatu"
What's It About? F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent "Nosferatu,...
"Man of Steel"
What's It About? In Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, "Man of Steel," the young Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) goes on a journey to discover his origin and to better understand his super-human powers. However, when the Kryptonian military leader, General Zod (Michael Shannon), threatens the fate of earth, Clark must face his past to save his planet.
Why We're In: "Man of Steel" is full of spectacular action sequences that will quench any superhero junkie or comic book fiend's appetite. However, Snyder's film was ranked as one of Moviefone's Best Movies of 2013 (So Far) primarily because it successfully rebooted the Superman story after previous failed attempts. It may be your typical Blockbuster fare, but it's undoubtedly a thrilling ride.
Watch: A special feature from the "Man of Steel" Blu-ray (Video)
Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week:
"Noseferatu"
What's It About? F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent "Nosferatu,...
- 11/12/2013
- by Erin Whitney
- Moviefone
Welcome back to This Week In Discs! If you see something you like, click on the title to buy it from Amazon. I Declare War A group of pre-teen boys (and one girl), some friends and some not, gather for a game of war in the back woods. Using sticks, a simple set of rules, and their endless imagination, the battle grows to include M-16s, grenades, bazookas, and more, but while all of those are allowed things soon take a dark turn. Jealousy and insecurity fuel one boy’s rage to the point where the war stops being a game. This Canadian import starts off like the perfect encapsulation of a day in the life of a twelve year old boy with its mix of physical activity and imagination-fueled violence. It becomes something more though as one of the boys begins to crack, and some of the kids enter a Lord of the Flies-like scenario...
- 11/12/2013
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
On Demand DVD New Releases Nov. 11-17 Superman may be the headliner for this week’s releases, but a number of smaller films are making their debuts and are worth checking out. This might be a good opportunity to catch a foreign film or a documentary, too. The Attack An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing. (Hebrew and Arabic, subtitled in English) Ali Suliman, Evgenia Didena (R, 1;42) 11/12 Same day as DVD. Blackfish Tells the story of Tilikum, a notoriously aggressive orca that killed three people while in captivity. Shocking […]
The post On Demand DVD New Releases Nov. 11-17 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post On Demand DVD New Releases Nov. 11-17 appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 11/11/2013
- by Meredith Ennis
- ChannelGuideMag
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Nov. 12, 2013
Price: DVD $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98
Studio: Cohen Media Group
Highly acclaimed war movie The Attack takes a new look at the affect of suicide bombers.
The foreign film follows Amin Jaafari, a successful Israeli Palestinian surgeon. He’s fully assimilated into Tel Aviv society, with a loving wife (Reymonde Amsellem), exemplary career and many Jewish friends.
But his life is turned upside down after a suicide bombing in a restaurant leaves 17 people dead, and the Isreali police tell Amin that his wife not only died but was also the suicide bomber. Shattered, Amin leaves the security of his adopted homeland to enter the Palestinian territories to find the zealots who recruited his wife.
Based on the award-winning and best-selling novel by Yasmina Khadra, The Attack was adapted and directed by Ziad Doueiri (Lila Says).
The film was applauded by critics, who gave it 90% approval, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Price: DVD $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98
Studio: Cohen Media Group
Highly acclaimed war movie The Attack takes a new look at the affect of suicide bombers.
The foreign film follows Amin Jaafari, a successful Israeli Palestinian surgeon. He’s fully assimilated into Tel Aviv society, with a loving wife (Reymonde Amsellem), exemplary career and many Jewish friends.
But his life is turned upside down after a suicide bombing in a restaurant leaves 17 people dead, and the Isreali police tell Amin that his wife not only died but was also the suicide bomber. Shattered, Amin leaves the security of his adopted homeland to enter the Palestinian territories to find the zealots who recruited his wife.
Based on the award-winning and best-selling novel by Yasmina Khadra, The Attack was adapted and directed by Ziad Doueiri (Lila Says).
The film was applauded by critics, who gave it 90% approval, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
- 10/25/2013
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
The 18th annual City of Lights, City of Angels (Col*Coa) returns to L.A. and the Directors Guild Theater in 2014. A Week of French film premieres will unspool from April 21-18. Last year the festival screened Ziad Doueiri's “The Attack,” which scored three awards (Audience Award, Lafca Critics Special Mention and Coming Soon Award) and was released in the U.S. by Cohen Media Group to more than 1.7 million.
- 10/9/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Lebanese writer/director Ziad Doueiri (West Beirut – ’98, Lila Says- ’04) finally returns behind the camera for his third feature, an adaptation of the novel by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra. A successful Arab surgeon living in Israel finds his life shattered when he finds his wife was involved in a suicide bombing thus sending him on a journey full of unintentional discovery. A thoroughly profound, layered and complex film, the Israeli and Palestinian conflict provides the backdrop for what is essentially a thriller with a love story at its core. With Ali Suliman in a dramatically anchor-heavy lead role, and equally strong perfs from supporting players Reymond Amsalem and Uri Gavriel, according to our four-star review, “this is perhaps the most humanistic take on the never-ending conflict to ever be presented on the screen, definitely an important and compelling film.” The Attack [06.21 - NYC and Washington] received its world premiere showing at Tiff last fall where...
- 8/5/2013
- by Yama Rahimi
- IONCINEMA.com
Criminal or Heroine: A Terrible Marital Secret Makes Doueiri’s Return A Profound Statement
There is a scene in Ziad Doueiri’s latest film in which a priest and the film’s protagonist discuss two very disturbing realities about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One is a man for whom Israel has meant a place where his life has come to fruition, while the other is the voice of many more who live afflicted by the lack of national identity and tangible freedom. The Attack is a complex story that though it revolves around the well-known discrepancies between the two parties involved, is not a political film. It instead focuses on the emotional scarring and motivations of the people who have to live with the consequences of their leaders’ decisions.
Amin Jaafari (Ali Suliman) is a surgeon who saves Jewish and Arab lives alike everyday. His life in Tel Aviv as a...
There is a scene in Ziad Doueiri’s latest film in which a priest and the film’s protagonist discuss two very disturbing realities about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One is a man for whom Israel has meant a place where his life has come to fruition, while the other is the voice of many more who live afflicted by the lack of national identity and tangible freedom. The Attack is a complex story that though it revolves around the well-known discrepancies between the two parties involved, is not a political film. It instead focuses on the emotional scarring and motivations of the people who have to live with the consequences of their leaders’ decisions.
Amin Jaafari (Ali Suliman) is a surgeon who saves Jewish and Arab lives alike everyday. His life in Tel Aviv as a...
- 8/1/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – “The Attack,” opening this week at the Landmark Century in Chicago, is a melancholy, mournful piece about an unimaginable tragedy and a man faced with the realization that he may not know the truth about the woman he loved. It’s an accomplished drama anchored by an understated, captivating performance from an actor who fills nearly every frame of every scene.
It is about an attack not just on innocent lives but a man’s very understanding of his family. It’s a strong alternative to blockbuster fare this weekend.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Ali Suliman plays Amin Jaafari, a successful Palestinian doctor working and living in Tel Aviv. On the same night he accepts an award for his accomplishments, he is called into deal with a waking nightmare. A bomb has gone off, killing over a dozen people, many of them children, and this doctor has to deal with the bloody aftermath.
It is about an attack not just on innocent lives but a man’s very understanding of his family. It’s a strong alternative to blockbuster fare this weekend.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Ali Suliman plays Amin Jaafari, a successful Palestinian doctor working and living in Tel Aviv. On the same night he accepts an award for his accomplishments, he is called into deal with a waking nightmare. A bomb has gone off, killing over a dozen people, many of them children, and this doctor has to deal with the bloody aftermath.
- 7/24/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Canadian distribution: Remstar Films has acquired Parkland and Dark Places in a deal with Exclusive Media while separately D Films has struck a deal with Cohen Media Group for The Attack.
Remstar plans an autumn release for Parkland, which is produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and recounts the chaotic events at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated.
Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, Jacki Weaver and Billy Bob Thornton star and Peter Landesman directs from his screenplay.
Dark Places will star Charlize Theron as the survivors of a family massacre and is based on the thriller by Gillian Flynn. Production is set to commence in August in Louisiana. Gilles Paquet-Brenner wrote the screenplay and will direct. The film will open in 2014.
Remstar’s slate includes jOBS, Adore, Devil’s Knot and Dallas Buyers Club.
D Films will release The Attack [pictured] in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal on Aug 2 and roll out nationwide in the...
Remstar plans an autumn release for Parkland, which is produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and recounts the chaotic events at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated.
Zac Efron, Paul Giamatti, Jacki Weaver and Billy Bob Thornton star and Peter Landesman directs from his screenplay.
Dark Places will star Charlize Theron as the survivors of a family massacre and is based on the thriller by Gillian Flynn. Production is set to commence in August in Louisiana. Gilles Paquet-Brenner wrote the screenplay and will direct. The film will open in 2014.
Remstar’s slate includes jOBS, Adore, Devil’s Knot and Dallas Buyers Club.
D Films will release The Attack [pictured] in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal on Aug 2 and roll out nationwide in the...
- 7/17/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Review by Dane Marti
I needed to see this film. Recently, after taking relatives to see ‘The Man of Steel,’ I was seriously wondering why I still appreciated motion pictures. As an Art Form, are films dying a slow, miserable death– juvenile crap at the multiplex? Without a story, the latest Superman film, even with first-rate special effects, left me cold. I needed something to being me back from the edge of disillusionment.
However, right as I am about to throw in the towel, a foreign film comes along that, although low budget and without a single Computer-Generated piece of eye candy, arrives just in time to once again jump-start my aging soul.
“The Attack’ is an extremely mature film. It deals with a timely, controversial subject in a way that grabs hold of the viewer without ever appearing contrived or over the top. Many teenagers would find it boring.
I needed to see this film. Recently, after taking relatives to see ‘The Man of Steel,’ I was seriously wondering why I still appreciated motion pictures. As an Art Form, are films dying a slow, miserable death– juvenile crap at the multiplex? Without a story, the latest Superman film, even with first-rate special effects, left me cold. I needed something to being me back from the edge of disillusionment.
However, right as I am about to throw in the towel, a foreign film comes along that, although low budget and without a single Computer-Generated piece of eye candy, arrives just in time to once again jump-start my aging soul.
“The Attack’ is an extremely mature film. It deals with a timely, controversial subject in a way that grabs hold of the viewer without ever appearing contrived or over the top. Many teenagers would find it boring.
- 7/13/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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