Divergent PR has announced that veteran publicist Ryan Langrehr, former U.S. Head of Awards at Dda, will join the independent outlet and that Christine Richardson has been promoted to Vice President.
Richardson, a veteran film publicist at Divergent, has successfully managed Oscar-winning campaigns for Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” Her previous roles included working on documentary titles on Netflix, such as Yance Ford’s Oscar-nominated “Strong Island” and Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.” Before joining Divergent, she was the VP of National Publicity at Lionsgate, contributing to the campaign for Damien Chazelle’s best directing winner “La La Land.”
Langrehr is joining Divergent as director of publicity from Dda, where he was responsible for leading the U.S. awards team and managing the launches of films from both domestic and international film festivals. He has represented filmmakers globally and overseen...
Richardson, a veteran film publicist at Divergent, has successfully managed Oscar-winning campaigns for Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” Her previous roles included working on documentary titles on Netflix, such as Yance Ford’s Oscar-nominated “Strong Island” and Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.” Before joining Divergent, she was the VP of National Publicity at Lionsgate, contributing to the campaign for Damien Chazelle’s best directing winner “La La Land.”
Langrehr is joining Divergent as director of publicity from Dda, where he was responsible for leading the U.S. awards team and managing the launches of films from both domestic and international film festivals. He has represented filmmakers globally and overseen...
- 5/1/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Iranian authorities have rejected as “baseless” allegations that director Asghar Farhadi stole the idea for his acclaimed 2021 feature A Hero.
A former student of the two-time Oscar winner, director of A Separation and The Salesman, sued Farhadi for allegedly pilfering her premise for A Hero. Farhadi had always denied the allegations.
On Wednesday, a group of three professors at Tehran University specializing in copyright law, along with four official art experts, rejected the claims as invalid and baseless, clearing Farhadi of all blame.
The student, Azadeh Masihzadeh, claimed Farhadi plagiarized the story for A Hero from a documentary (titled All Winners, All Losers) she made for his class. Both the documentary and Farhadi’s fiction film share the same basic story of an inmate in debtors’ prison who, while on leave, finds a bag of gold coins and struggles with the decision to keep the money or return it. Masihzadeh...
A former student of the two-time Oscar winner, director of A Separation and The Salesman, sued Farhadi for allegedly pilfering her premise for A Hero. Farhadi had always denied the allegations.
On Wednesday, a group of three professors at Tehran University specializing in copyright law, along with four official art experts, rejected the claims as invalid and baseless, clearing Farhadi of all blame.
The student, Azadeh Masihzadeh, claimed Farhadi plagiarized the story for A Hero from a documentary (titled All Winners, All Losers) she made for his class. Both the documentary and Farhadi’s fiction film share the same basic story of an inmate in debtors’ prison who, while on leave, finds a bag of gold coins and struggles with the decision to keep the money or return it. Masihzadeh...
- 3/13/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Streamers narrowly avoided getting shut out at the 2024 Oscars: Netflix came away with just one trophy and Apple left empty-handed, after they garnered a total of 32 nominations.
Netflix collected its one win for Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, in the live action short film category. The 40-minute film, with a cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, is the first Oscar for Anderson (who wasn’t in attendance to receive the award).
Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.
Heading into Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, Netflix led all studios and platforms with 19 nominations across 11 films, including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” — which was shut out. Apple had picked up 13 nods, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which also drew a goose egg.
Since 2017, Netflix has now won 23 Oscars in all.
Netflix collected its one win for Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, in the live action short film category. The 40-minute film, with a cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, is the first Oscar for Anderson (who wasn’t in attendance to receive the award).
Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.
Heading into Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, Netflix led all studios and platforms with 19 nominations across 11 films, including seven for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” — which was shut out. Apple had picked up 13 nods, including 10 for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which also drew a goose egg.
Since 2017, Netflix has now won 23 Oscars in all.
- 3/11/2024
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best International Feature Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’
Weekly Commentary: The United Kingdom is poised to win its first Academy Award with Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and what a deserved win it will be.
But while I have the floor: it’s time for the...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best International Feature Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’
Weekly Commentary: The United Kingdom is poised to win its first Academy Award with Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and what a deserved win it will be.
But while I have the floor: it’s time for the...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: After a five-year run at the company and the recent acquisition of Oscar nominee Io Capitano, Robert Aaronson has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Cohen Media Group (Cmg).
Aaronson has been overseeing Cmg’s LA office since 2019, primarily responsible for theatrical acquisitions, digital and ancillary distribution, licensing of the company’s classic movie archive, and programming its SVOD platform. He will continue to report directly to company CEO and founder Charles S. Cohen.
Among recent acquisitions for Cmg is Matteo Garrone’s Best International Feature Film nominee Io Capitano. Cmg is also coming out of the Berlin Film Festival where they picked up Black Tea by Abderrahmane Sissako, and Martin Scorsese-narrated doc Made In England: The Films Of Powell and Pressburger.
Prior to joining Cmg, Aaronson held domestic and worldwide acquisitions, co-productions and distribution positions at Universal Pictures Content Group, Netflix, Fox and New Line Cinema,...
Aaronson has been overseeing Cmg’s LA office since 2019, primarily responsible for theatrical acquisitions, digital and ancillary distribution, licensing of the company’s classic movie archive, and programming its SVOD platform. He will continue to report directly to company CEO and founder Charles S. Cohen.
Among recent acquisitions for Cmg is Matteo Garrone’s Best International Feature Film nominee Io Capitano. Cmg is also coming out of the Berlin Film Festival where they picked up Black Tea by Abderrahmane Sissako, and Martin Scorsese-narrated doc Made In England: The Films Of Powell and Pressburger.
Prior to joining Cmg, Aaronson held domestic and worldwide acquisitions, co-productions and distribution positions at Universal Pictures Content Group, Netflix, Fox and New Line Cinema,...
- 3/5/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
A cross-country journey in search of a mysterious treasure puts the nature of faith to the test in “The Great Yawn of History,” the feature debut of Iranian director Aliyar Rasti, which premieres Feb. 22 in the competitive Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.
The film tells the story of a man of wavering religious conviction who dreams of a box of gold hidden in a cave. Convinced he’s forbidden by Islamic law to claim the treasure himself, he turns to a non-believer to assist him, setting into motion an arduous journey of both physical and spiritual dimensions as the two men grapple with notions of faith in their pursuit of a miracle.
Written and directed by Rasti, “The Great Yawn of History” stars Mohammad Aghebati and Amirhossein Hosseini and is produced by Tehran-based Para-Doxa. Heretic is handling world sales.
A visual artist with no formal film schooling, Rasti...
The film tells the story of a man of wavering religious conviction who dreams of a box of gold hidden in a cave. Convinced he’s forbidden by Islamic law to claim the treasure himself, he turns to a non-believer to assist him, setting into motion an arduous journey of both physical and spiritual dimensions as the two men grapple with notions of faith in their pursuit of a miracle.
Written and directed by Rasti, “The Great Yawn of History” stars Mohammad Aghebati and Amirhossein Hosseini and is produced by Tehran-based Para-Doxa. Heretic is handling world sales.
A visual artist with no formal film schooling, Rasti...
- 2/19/2024
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi first co-directed the short Solar Eclipse, and they have teamed up again for In the Land of Brothers, a feature debut for each. The film tells the story of three members of an Afghan family who flee to Iran as refugees and struggle to find acceptance and security. In The Land of Brothers‘ editor is Hayedeh Safiyari, who has edited many of contemporary Iran’s best-known filmmakers. Below, she discusses the novel challenges of editing a film with sharply delineated chapters and the importance of an editor connecting emotionally to the script. See […]
The post “The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi first co-directed the short Solar Eclipse, and they have teamed up again for In the Land of Brothers, a feature debut for each. The film tells the story of three members of an Afghan family who flee to Iran as refugees and struggle to find acceptance and security. In The Land of Brothers‘ editor is Hayedeh Safiyari, who has edited many of contemporary Iran’s best-known filmmakers. Below, she discusses the novel challenges of editing a film with sharply delineated chapters and the importance of an editor connecting emotionally to the script. See […]
The post “The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/22/2024
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Exclusive: Silver Lining Entertainment has signed Niousha Noor, the star of Maryam Keshavarz’s multiple prize-winning Sundance dramedy The Persian Version, for representation.
Currently in theaters via Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films, The Persian Version centers on Leila (Layla Mohammadi), an aspiring Iranian American filmmaker who reunites with her family in New York City amidst her father’s heart transplant, coming into conflict with her mother when a personal secret is revealed. Drawing strong reviews out of Sundance 2023, where it laid claim to the fest’s Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, the film has Noor portraying Leila’s conservative mother, Shireen.
Noor can also currently be seen starring alongside Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, Paz Vega, Jai Courtney and more in Kaleidoscope, Netflix’s heist show from creator Eric Garcia, which premiered in January. She was seen prior to that in IFC Midnight’s horror thriller The Night,...
Currently in theaters via Sony Pictures Classics and Stage 6 Films, The Persian Version centers on Leila (Layla Mohammadi), an aspiring Iranian American filmmaker who reunites with her family in New York City amidst her father’s heart transplant, coming into conflict with her mother when a personal secret is revealed. Drawing strong reviews out of Sundance 2023, where it laid claim to the fest’s Audience Award and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, the film has Noor portraying Leila’s conservative mother, Shireen.
Noor can also currently be seen starring alongside Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, Paz Vega, Jai Courtney and more in Kaleidoscope, Netflix’s heist show from creator Eric Garcia, which premiered in January. She was seen prior to that in IFC Midnight’s horror thriller The Night,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Top comic Nate Bargatze has announced the launch of The Nateland Company, a new family-friendly content company for audiences of all ages, through which he’ll produce stand-up comedy specials, showcases, sketches, scripted episodic content for film and television, podcasts, music and more.
Up first for release by the company, based out of Bargatze’s hometown of Nashville, is the series Nateland Presents: The Showcase, which debuts on YouTube today. The comic directed all six episodes, to roll out weekly, which place the spotlight on an expansive roster of up-and-coming comics. Among them are Mandal, Donnie Sengstack, Mr. Derick, Jim Flannigan, Renard Hirsch, Alex Velluto, Mal Hall, Jen Fulwiler, Jonnie W., Justin Smith, Mary Santora, Rahn Hortman, Caleb Elliot, Luca Ferro, Matt Taylor, Mike James, Karen Mills and Andrew Stanley.
Hosted by Dusty Slay, Aaron Weber and Brian Bates, The Showcase was taped at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville...
Up first for release by the company, based out of Bargatze’s hometown of Nashville, is the series Nateland Presents: The Showcase, which debuts on YouTube today. The comic directed all six episodes, to roll out weekly, which place the spotlight on an expansive roster of up-and-coming comics. Among them are Mandal, Donnie Sengstack, Mr. Derick, Jim Flannigan, Renard Hirsch, Alex Velluto, Mal Hall, Jen Fulwiler, Jonnie W., Justin Smith, Mary Santora, Rahn Hortman, Caleb Elliot, Luca Ferro, Matt Taylor, Mike James, Karen Mills and Andrew Stanley.
Hosted by Dusty Slay, Aaron Weber and Brian Bates, The Showcase was taped at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville...
- 10/3/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/21/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Dissident Iranian film professionals are calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to consider an alternative film to represent Iran in 2024 Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category rather than the one submitted this week as the country’s official entry.
Iran’s government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation said Tuesday that it had selected Reza Mirkarimi’s The Night Guardian as the country’s submission to the 96th Academy Awards.
The announcement comes just days after the first anniversary of the beginning of the Woman Life Freedom protests, provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, after her police detention for not wearing her veil correctly.
More than 500 protestors have been killed by Iranian security forces over the past year and thousands have been injured. A number of directors including Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and most recently Saeed Roustayi have wound up in jail in a related...
Iran’s government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation said Tuesday that it had selected Reza Mirkarimi’s The Night Guardian as the country’s submission to the 96th Academy Awards.
The announcement comes just days after the first anniversary of the beginning of the Woman Life Freedom protests, provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, after her police detention for not wearing her veil correctly.
More than 500 protestors have been killed by Iranian security forces over the past year and thousands have been injured. A number of directors including Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and most recently Saeed Roustayi have wound up in jail in a related...
- 9/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/20/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/20/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Iran has submitted Reza Mirkarimi’s The Night Guardian for Best International Film category at the 96th Academy Awards, in a move that will likely prompt pushback from the country’s dissident film community.
A press release announcing the selection said the film had been selected by the government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation from three short-listed titles which also included Omid Shams’s Conjugal Visit and Ali Hazrati’s The Town.
The drama stars Touraj Alvand as the story of a rural worker forced to move to the city where he ekes out a living on the streets.
The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Woman Life Freedom protests provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022 after being held in police custody for not wearing her veil correctly.
The country’s hardline Islamist regime ratcheted up a crackdown on the country’s creative community as well...
A press release announcing the selection said the film had been selected by the government-controlled Farabi Cinema Foundation from three short-listed titles which also included Omid Shams’s Conjugal Visit and Ali Hazrati’s The Town.
The drama stars Touraj Alvand as the story of a rural worker forced to move to the city where he ekes out a living on the streets.
The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Woman Life Freedom protests provoked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022 after being held in police custody for not wearing her veil correctly.
The country’s hardline Islamist regime ratcheted up a crackdown on the country’s creative community as well...
- 9/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Iranian director Saeed Roustaee has been sentenced to six months to prison for showing his latest film, “Leila’s Brothers,” at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, according to an Iranian report.
The Islamic Revolutionary Court convicted both Roustaee and Javad Noruzbegi for “contributing to the propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system,” according to the Iranian daily Etemad.
The nearly three-hour saga, which marked Roustaee’s debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars “The Salesman” actor Taraneh Alidoosti as one of five siblings fighting to find a way out of poverty in Tehran. The socially-minded movie was banned in Iran last year for “breaking the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation,” according to the Afp, which quoted Iranian authorities.
Roustaee and Noruzbegi will serve about nine days in prison, while the remainder of the sentence will be suspended over five years, during which...
The Islamic Revolutionary Court convicted both Roustaee and Javad Noruzbegi for “contributing to the propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system,” according to the Iranian daily Etemad.
The nearly three-hour saga, which marked Roustaee’s debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, stars “The Salesman” actor Taraneh Alidoosti as one of five siblings fighting to find a way out of poverty in Tehran. The socially-minded movie was banned in Iran last year for “breaking the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation,” according to the Afp, which quoted Iranian authorities.
Roustaee and Noruzbegi will serve about nine days in prison, while the remainder of the sentence will be suspended over five years, during which...
- 8/16/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Locarno can’t get enough of Ted Hope. Five years after receiving the festival’s Raimondo Rezzonico Award, the producer of modern indie classics such as “The Wedding Banquet” and “The Ice Storm” shook things up yesterday at Locarno’s StepIN think tank with an Out of the Box keynote, a sweeping blast on the state of the industry.
It resonated hugely with senior European industry executives who are often now battling the very same issues which Hope zeroed in on.
“It was an exercise in overload,” the former Amazon exec told Variety the day after he gave the 40-minute talk. He used 150 bullet points distilled from his Substack, and talked entertainingly at one and the same time. “It’s hard to engage people in this conversation, if you don’t do something like that. It gives me a lot of ammunition for my Gatling gun.”
On Friday, Hope delivered a masterclass.
It resonated hugely with senior European industry executives who are often now battling the very same issues which Hope zeroed in on.
“It was an exercise in overload,” the former Amazon exec told Variety the day after he gave the 40-minute talk. He used 150 bullet points distilled from his Substack, and talked entertainingly at one and the same time. “It’s hard to engage people in this conversation, if you don’t do something like that. It gives me a lot of ammunition for my Gatling gun.”
On Friday, Hope delivered a masterclass.
- 8/4/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
Christopher Nolan may be known for his aversion to CGI. But when it comes to bowing to the sensitivities of some countries, it would seem this is of little relevance.
In his historical epic Oppenheimer, a scene featuring a topless Florence Pugh fell foul of the censors in the Middle East and India, with the actress — who plays Jean Tatlock (who has an affair with Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer) — being covered up in a CGI black dress.
Some countries are censoring #Oppeneheimer by putting a CGI black dress on Florence Pugh...
In his historical epic Oppenheimer, a scene featuring a topless Florence Pugh fell foul of the censors in the Middle East and India, with the actress — who plays Jean Tatlock (who has an affair with Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer) — being covered up in a CGI black dress.
Some countries are censoring #Oppeneheimer by putting a CGI black dress on Florence Pugh...
- 7/25/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Mammoth Pictures has inked a deal out of Cannes with the Bulgarian production company Bazuka to exclusively develop and produce a narrative feature take on the cultural tradition spotlighted in Kukeri, their documentary short produced for The New Yorker which was just unveiled at the beginning of the month. (View it above.)
Set to direct the as-yet-untitled new film, described as a folkloric horror thriller, is Mammoth’s Kourosh Ahari (Parallel).
Helmed by Killian Lassablière, the Bazuka doc spotlights an enigmatic Bulgarian tradition known as “Surva” that has united small villages across the country once a year for centuries — a festival that has residents known as “Kukeri” dress up in otherworldly costumes in the hopes of driving away evil spirits. The animalistic costumes, covering most of the body, are often made from the fur and skins of goats or sheep, and can also include toothed wooden masks — sometimes, peppered with horns,...
Set to direct the as-yet-untitled new film, described as a folkloric horror thriller, is Mammoth’s Kourosh Ahari (Parallel).
Helmed by Killian Lassablière, the Bazuka doc spotlights an enigmatic Bulgarian tradition known as “Surva” that has united small villages across the country once a year for centuries — a festival that has residents known as “Kukeri” dress up in otherworldly costumes in the hopes of driving away evil spirits. The animalistic costumes, covering most of the body, are often made from the fur and skins of goats or sheep, and can also include toothed wooden masks — sometimes, peppered with horns,...
- 5/31/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Peter Simonischek, the Austrian actor who rose to international prominence late in life through Oscar-nominated feature Toni Erdmann, has died. He was 76.
He passed away surrounded by family in Vienna, according to a statement released by Austria’s national theater, the Burgtheater. No cause of death was given.
Simonischek was a well-known actor in the German-speaking world and performed at the Salzburg Festival. He played the title role in Austrian play Jedermann several times, appeared in TV movies such as Years of Love and features such as Franz Seitz Jr.’s Success.
He joined the Burgtheater in 1999, according to the institution, and was made an honorary member in 2019.
However, it was in 2016 when he played ageing prankster Winifred Conradi in the Austrian film Toni Erdmann that he gained international popularity. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Oscars,...
He passed away surrounded by family in Vienna, according to a statement released by Austria’s national theater, the Burgtheater. No cause of death was given.
Simonischek was a well-known actor in the German-speaking world and performed at the Salzburg Festival. He played the title role in Austrian play Jedermann several times, appeared in TV movies such as Years of Love and features such as Franz Seitz Jr.’s Success.
He joined the Burgtheater in 1999, according to the institution, and was made an honorary member in 2019.
However, it was in 2016 when he played ageing prankster Winifred Conradi in the Austrian film Toni Erdmann that he gained international popularity. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Oscars,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Production underway in Guadalajara.
Mira Sorvino and Joseph Sikora are attached to join Ruben Islas’ Atypical Pirate Movie, which is currently filming in Mexico and Grandave International has introduced to Cannes buyers.
The feature centres on a savant who gets caught up in the theft of a valuable thumb drive and is on the run from its owners in Guadalajara where he hooks up with the leader of a gang of thieves.
The cast includes previously announced Julio Macias, Danube Hermosillo, Emiliano Zurita, Herńan Mendoza, Gigi Guerrero, Casper Smart, and Mario Escalante.
Sorvino recently starred opposite Courteney Cox in Starz...
Mira Sorvino and Joseph Sikora are attached to join Ruben Islas’ Atypical Pirate Movie, which is currently filming in Mexico and Grandave International has introduced to Cannes buyers.
The feature centres on a savant who gets caught up in the theft of a valuable thumb drive and is on the run from its owners in Guadalajara where he hooks up with the leader of a gang of thieves.
The cast includes previously announced Julio Macias, Danube Hermosillo, Emiliano Zurita, Herńan Mendoza, Gigi Guerrero, Casper Smart, and Mario Escalante.
Sorvino recently starred opposite Courteney Cox in Starz...
- 5/19/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The injustices of Jordanian’s patriarchal power system are laid bare through this story of a widow, Nawal (Mouna Hawa), and her young daughter Nora (Seleena Rababah). Although this is the first film from Jordan to feature in Cannes, it is the latest of many films from the region - including the likes of The Perfect Candidate, The Salesman and Beauty And The Dogs - to highlight gender inequalities through social drama.
Nawal and her husband Ahmad (Mohammad Al Jizawi) are trying for a second child when disaster strikes and one morning he simply doesn’t wake up. Although everyone initially seems to be sympathetic, it’s not long before cracks begin to show in the concerned facade of Ahmad’s brother Rifqi (Haitham Omari), as he starts to badger Nawal for instalments he was owed by Ahmad for his pickup truck.
This is the thin end of the wedge of Nawal’s problems,...
Nawal and her husband Ahmad (Mohammad Al Jizawi) are trying for a second child when disaster strikes and one morning he simply doesn’t wake up. Although everyone initially seems to be sympathetic, it’s not long before cracks begin to show in the concerned facade of Ahmad’s brother Rifqi (Haitham Omari), as he starts to badger Nawal for instalments he was owed by Ahmad for his pickup truck.
This is the thin end of the wedge of Nawal’s problems,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Grandave Intl. has acquired worldwide sales rights for the drama mystery feature “Wild Berries,” starring Shahab Hosseini, best actor award winner at Cannes for “The Salesman,” and Sepideh Moafi, whose credits include “The Killing of Two Lovers” and “The L Word: Generation Q.”
In addition to his Cannes award, Hosseini received the Berlinale acting prize for his role in “A Separation.” Moafi stars in the Golden Globe nominated Apple TV+ series “Black Bird,” and the FX series “Class of 09.”
Grandave Intl. will be introducing “Wild Berries” to buyers at the Cannes Film Market, May 16-27.
The past, present, and future collide in this story of an immigrant Iranian couple’s annual road trip on their wedding anniversary, while a mysterious stranger is following them.
The screenplay, written and directed by Soudabeh Moradian, is adapted from “Language of Wild Berries,” written by the playwright Naghmeh Samini. The movie is being produced by Julie R. Snyder.
In addition to his Cannes award, Hosseini received the Berlinale acting prize for his role in “A Separation.” Moafi stars in the Golden Globe nominated Apple TV+ series “Black Bird,” and the FX series “Class of 09.”
Grandave Intl. will be introducing “Wild Berries” to buyers at the Cannes Film Market, May 16-27.
The past, present, and future collide in this story of an immigrant Iranian couple’s annual road trip on their wedding anniversary, while a mysterious stranger is following them.
The screenplay, written and directed by Soudabeh Moradian, is adapted from “Language of Wild Berries,” written by the playwright Naghmeh Samini. The movie is being produced by Julie R. Snyder.
- 5/10/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
ABC’s A Million Little Things concludes its five-season run with episode 13, “one big thing,” which is the perfect title for the series finale. Season five episode 13 will air on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“one big thing” Plot: A tight-knit circle of friends is reminded that friendship is a million little things.
Romany Malco and David Giuntoli in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 13 (ABC/Darko Sikman)
The Season 5 Plot:
As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.” And as the...
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“one big thing” Plot: A tight-knit circle of friends is reminded that friendship is a million little things.
Romany Malco and David Giuntoli in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 13 (ABC/Darko Sikman)
The Season 5 Plot:
As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.” And as the...
- 4/29/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, Iran’s best-known director, was at the Zurich Film Festival last September when protests following the death of Mahsa Amini erupted in his home country.
Since then, the auteur of “A Separation,” “The Salesman” and “A Hero” has not returned to Iran. He’s been working on a new film in Los Angeles and Europe. Interestingly, he says he plans to go back to his country before he shoots this film, even though he is not 100% sure they will let him out again. It’s clearly a risk that the enigmatic Farhadi is willing to take.
Farhadi was in Turin on Monday to give a masterclass at Italy’s National Museum of Cinema, where he also received a lifetime achievement award. In a rare interview, he took questions via e-mail from Variety.
Where are you living these days? I read that you are working on...
Since then, the auteur of “A Separation,” “The Salesman” and “A Hero” has not returned to Iran. He’s been working on a new film in Los Angeles and Europe. Interestingly, he says he plans to go back to his country before he shoots this film, even though he is not 100% sure they will let him out again. It’s clearly a risk that the enigmatic Farhadi is willing to take.
Farhadi was in Turin on Monday to give a masterclass at Italy’s National Museum of Cinema, where he also received a lifetime achievement award. In a rare interview, he took questions via e-mail from Variety.
Where are you living these days? I read that you are working on...
- 4/19/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Just look at all the happy, smiling faces in the photos from ABC’s A Million Little Things season five episode 11. “ironic” is a celebration of love and friendship. It’s also a reminder that only three new episodes remain in the season – and the series.
Episode 11 will air on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“ironic” Plot: Katherine and Greta celebrate their wedding in spite of several setbacks. Regina faces tough competition while Maggie and Gary navigate parenting decisions.
Grace Park, Sam Pancake, and Cameron Esposito in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode...
Episode 11 will air on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“ironic” Plot: Katherine and Greta celebrate their wedding in spite of several setbacks. Regina faces tough competition while Maggie and Gary navigate parenting decisions.
Grace Park, Sam Pancake, and Cameron Esposito in ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode...
- 4/13/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Series star Christina Moses takes the director’s chair for ABC’s A Million Little Things season five episode 10. “the salesman” will air on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 10pm Et/Pt.
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“the salesman” Plot: Delilah reminisces on the past as she closes a chapter, while Greta weighs an offer from Katherine’s mother. Sophie and Tyrell discuss the future.
Christina Moses on the set of ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 10 (ABC/Darko Sikman)
The Season 5 Plot:
As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.
The cast includes David Giuntoli as Eddie Saville, Romany Malco as Rome Howard, Allison Miller as Maggie Bloom, Christina Moses as Regina Howard, Grace Park as Katherine Kim, and James Roday Rodriguez as Gary Mendez. Stephanie Szostak is Delilah Dixon, Tristan Byon is Theo Saville, Lizzy Greene is Sophie Dixon, and Chance Hurstfield is Danny Dixon.
“the salesman” Plot: Delilah reminisces on the past as she closes a chapter, while Greta weighs an offer from Katherine’s mother. Sophie and Tyrell discuss the future.
Christina Moses on the set of ‘A Million Little Things’ season 5 episode 10 (ABC/Darko Sikman)
The Season 5 Plot:
As Rome Howard says, “Life isn’t just about the moments, it’s about who you share them with.
- 4/6/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
March is coming to an end and while Screambox‘s April line-up is absolutely jam-packed – stay tuned! – we’re first ending this month with a bang.
Now streaming on Screambox are several Dark Star Pictures classics, including the completely gonzo Bloody Disgusting collaboration Dementia: Part II, which delivers absurd gross-out humor and nonstop mayhem.
Here are some of the titles in addition to new Screambox arrivals Evil Little Things, Crispy’s Curse, Clownface, Clownado, and the previously released Killer Sofa and FeardotCom.
Achoura
Also called “Children’s Night,” Achoura is a religious celebration. In Morocco, children splash water on each other and gather around a bonfire.
In the film, four friends reconnect when one of them, who disappeared 25 years ago, suddenly comes back into their lives. Together, they will have to confront the terrifying events of their youth and fight a monstrous creature born of a horrible legend.
Patrick Bromley...
Now streaming on Screambox are several Dark Star Pictures classics, including the completely gonzo Bloody Disgusting collaboration Dementia: Part II, which delivers absurd gross-out humor and nonstop mayhem.
Here are some of the titles in addition to new Screambox arrivals Evil Little Things, Crispy’s Curse, Clownface, Clownado, and the previously released Killer Sofa and FeardotCom.
Achoura
Also called “Children’s Night,” Achoura is a religious celebration. In Morocco, children splash water on each other and gather around a bonfire.
In the film, four friends reconnect when one of them, who disappeared 25 years ago, suddenly comes back into their lives. Together, they will have to confront the terrifying events of their youth and fight a monstrous creature born of a horrible legend.
Patrick Bromley...
- 3/31/2023
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
An award belonging to director Asghar Farhadi goes missing in Iran in this slow-paced, heart-on-sleeve comedy about the curative magic of the movies
This film from British Iranian director Hassan Nazer was the British entry in the international feature section at this year’s Academy Awards; sadly it was not nominated. It is a likable, gentle comedy about two children in which an Oscar statuette plays a part: the ultimate MacGuffin, perhaps. It’s also a rather cinephile film which ponders the enormous prestige of Iranian cinema abroad.
The premise is that the great Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, having boycotted the 2017 Oscars in protest at Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban, cannot be there in person to pick up his Oscar for The Salesman. But the producer bringing it to Iran for him manages to lose it after a chaotic mishap involving a taxi (that key trope of contemporary Iranian cinema) and,...
This film from British Iranian director Hassan Nazer was the British entry in the international feature section at this year’s Academy Awards; sadly it was not nominated. It is a likable, gentle comedy about two children in which an Oscar statuette plays a part: the ultimate MacGuffin, perhaps. It’s also a rather cinephile film which ponders the enormous prestige of Iranian cinema abroad.
The premise is that the great Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, having boycotted the 2017 Oscars in protest at Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban, cannot be there in person to pick up his Oscar for The Salesman. But the producer bringing it to Iran for him manages to lose it after a chaotic mishap involving a taxi (that key trope of contemporary Iranian cinema) and,...
- 3/14/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
“Woman. Life. Freedom.”
“Zan. Zindagi. Azadi.”
These words have been chanted around the world for months in support of Iranian women who are demanding freedom of expression and an end to the country’s oppressive rules for women.
This inspiring female-led movement was sparked by the death of Jina “Mahsa” Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died while in custody of morality police for allegedly wearing a loose headscarf.
Iran is now experiencing its biggest wave of demonstrations in decades, with acts of protest by female demonstrators including publicly removing their hijab or cutting their hair. The cry for change has even won awards. Shervin Hajipour’s “Baraye” – Iran’s unofficial protest anthem – made history by becoming the first award-winner for a new Grammy Award category, “Best Song for Social Change.”
Iran’s security forces have responded with reportedly deadly force, with over 500 people killed since protests began, according...
“Zan. Zindagi. Azadi.”
These words have been chanted around the world for months in support of Iranian women who are demanding freedom of expression and an end to the country’s oppressive rules for women.
This inspiring female-led movement was sparked by the death of Jina “Mahsa” Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died while in custody of morality police for allegedly wearing a loose headscarf.
Iran is now experiencing its biggest wave of demonstrations in decades, with acts of protest by female demonstrators including publicly removing their hijab or cutting their hair. The cry for change has even won awards. Shervin Hajipour’s “Baraye” – Iran’s unofficial protest anthem – made history by becoming the first award-winner for a new Grammy Award category, “Best Song for Social Change.”
Iran’s security forces have responded with reportedly deadly force, with over 500 people killed since protests began, according...
- 3/1/2023
- by Sharareh Drury
- Variety Film + TV
Films Boutique has closed a flurry of deals on “Subtraction,” Mani Haghighi’s Iranian noir thriller which world premiered at Toronto in the competition Platform section.
The Berlin-based company has closed deals in France (Diaphana in association with Kinovista), Russia and Cis (A One), Canada (Films We Like), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), Middle East (Fron Row), Poland (Mayfly), Taiwan (Proview Ent.), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Switzerland (Trigon) and Benelux (September Films).
The movie is headlined by Taraneh Alidoosti, the Iranian star of “The Salesman” and “Leila’s Brothers” and Navid Mohammadzadeh (“Leila’s Brothers”). Both Haghighi and Alidoosti have recently been targeted by Iranian authorities. Alidoosti was temporarily arrested, while Haghighi had his passport confiscated as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival.
Set in downtown Tehran, the movie stars Farzaneh as a young driving instructor who spots her husband, Jalal, walking into a woman’s apartment.
The Berlin-based company has closed deals in France (Diaphana in association with Kinovista), Russia and Cis (A One), Canada (Films We Like), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), Middle East (Fron Row), Poland (Mayfly), Taiwan (Proview Ent.), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Switzerland (Trigon) and Benelux (September Films).
The movie is headlined by Taraneh Alidoosti, the Iranian star of “The Salesman” and “Leila’s Brothers” and Navid Mohammadzadeh (“Leila’s Brothers”). Both Haghighi and Alidoosti have recently been targeted by Iranian authorities. Alidoosti was temporarily arrested, while Haghighi had his passport confiscated as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival.
Set in downtown Tehran, the movie stars Farzaneh as a young driving instructor who spots her husband, Jalal, walking into a woman’s apartment.
- 2/15/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Good news for the Los Angeles arthouse scene: Landmark Theatres is taking over AMC’s Sunset 5 at 8000 W Sunset Boulevard. The Cohen Media Group-owned exhibitor will take over the venue in June. Until that time, the Sunset 5 will remain open and continue to be operated by AMC.
The news comes in the wake of the Landmark having to shutter its crown jewel Pico Boulevard location last May due to the lease running out and Google taking over that real estate area.
Once Landmark occupies the Sunset 5, it will begin adding new seating and various amenities as the venue remains open for business. Landmark inked a 10-year lease on the venue which was negotiated and secured by Michael Fant, Landmark’s EVP of Real Estate, and Kimco Realty on behalf of the Sunset Theatre landlord.
The venue going back to being the Sundance Cinemas has long been a multiplex for filmmaker Q&As,...
The news comes in the wake of the Landmark having to shutter its crown jewel Pico Boulevard location last May due to the lease running out and Google taking over that real estate area.
Once Landmark occupies the Sunset 5, it will begin adding new seating and various amenities as the venue remains open for business. Landmark inked a 10-year lease on the venue which was negotiated and secured by Michael Fant, Landmark’s EVP of Real Estate, and Kimco Realty on behalf of the Sunset Theatre landlord.
The venue going back to being the Sundance Cinemas has long been a multiplex for filmmaker Q&As,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been released from Tehran’s Evin prison, his wife Tahereh Saeidi has announced in an Instagram post.
The director was released on Friday two days after announcing he was going on a hunger strike to protest still being incarcerated after Iran’s supreme court last October had overturned a six-year sentence issued against the director in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” That sentence had become obsolete due to the country’s 10-year statute of limitations. But the directors’ wife and lawyers said that Iranian security services were forcing the judiciary to keep him behind bars.
“Although I am happy about Mr. Panahi’s release, it must be said that it should have taken place three months ago,” the director’s lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said in a statement on Friday. He noted that Panahi should have been released on bail last Oct. 18, the day his sentence was overturned.
The director was released on Friday two days after announcing he was going on a hunger strike to protest still being incarcerated after Iran’s supreme court last October had overturned a six-year sentence issued against the director in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” That sentence had become obsolete due to the country’s 10-year statute of limitations. But the directors’ wife and lawyers said that Iranian security services were forcing the judiciary to keep him behind bars.
“Although I am happy about Mr. Panahi’s release, it must be said that it should have taken place three months ago,” the director’s lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said in a statement on Friday. He noted that Panahi should have been released on bail last Oct. 18, the day his sentence was overturned.
- 2/3/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Jafar Panahi has gone on a hunger strike to protest being still held in Tehran’s Evin prison even though Iran’s supreme court has overturned the conviction that led to the dissident director’s detention.
Panani has issued a statement from prison saying that to protest against the “illegal and inhumane” treatment by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary and security forces and their “hostage-taking” he will stop eating, drinking, and taking his medications until “maybe my lifeless body would be released from this prison.”
The statement announcing Panahi’s decision to go on a hunger strike was posted by Panahi’s wife Tahereh Saeedi and son Panah Panahi on their Instagram accounts.
Panahi, 62, is known globally for prizewinning works such as “The Circle,” “Offside,” “This is Not a Film,” “Taxi,” and most recently “No Bears,” winner of last year’s Venice’s Special Jury Prize. He was arrested last...
Panani has issued a statement from prison saying that to protest against the “illegal and inhumane” treatment by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary and security forces and their “hostage-taking” he will stop eating, drinking, and taking his medications until “maybe my lifeless body would be released from this prison.”
The statement announcing Panahi’s decision to go on a hunger strike was posted by Panahi’s wife Tahereh Saeedi and son Panah Panahi on their Instagram accounts.
Panahi, 62, is known globally for prizewinning works such as “The Circle,” “Offside,” “This is Not a Film,” “Taxi,” and most recently “No Bears,” winner of last year’s Venice’s Special Jury Prize. He was arrested last...
- 2/2/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Many of the screenings at this year’s Göteborg International Film Festival have been preceded by a talk or introduction.
But none, so far, have witnessed a dignified protest. That all changed on Tuesday when audiences at the city’s Grand Theatre watched a 30-minute on-stage protest by Iranian actor and Nordic Competition jury head Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider”).
Amir Ebrahimi dedicated the protest to the Iranian people and the jailed artists of Iran. Joining her on stage were fellow jury members Sofie Gråbøl, Nahid Persson and Gizem Erdogan, as well as Swedish-Iranian filmmakers and Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the Göteborg Film Festival.
Following a speech critical of the Iranian regime and of the crackdown that has so far led to more than 500 deaths, she then read out the names of 173 jailed artists and cultural figures whose names were displayed on a screen on the stage.
But none, so far, have witnessed a dignified protest. That all changed on Tuesday when audiences at the city’s Grand Theatre watched a 30-minute on-stage protest by Iranian actor and Nordic Competition jury head Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider”).
Amir Ebrahimi dedicated the protest to the Iranian people and the jailed artists of Iran. Joining her on stage were fellow jury members Sofie Gråbøl, Nahid Persson and Gizem Erdogan, as well as Swedish-Iranian filmmakers and Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the Göteborg Film Festival.
Following a speech critical of the Iranian regime and of the crackdown that has so far led to more than 500 deaths, she then read out the names of 173 jailed artists and cultural figures whose names were displayed on a screen on the stage.
- 1/31/2023
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
A ruling on Jafar Panahi’s release from Tehran’s Evin prison is deemed imminent now that Iran’s supreme court has overturned the conviction that led to the incarceration last year of the auteur who is considered one of Iranian cinema’s greatest living masters.
Panahi’s wife, Tahereh Saeedi, has launched an appeal on Instagram stating that his lawyers have managed to successfully overturn the six-year sentence issued against the director in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” That sentence has become obsolete due to the country’s 10-year statute of limitations. Panahi’s case has now been sent to an Iranian court of appeals.
“Last week we were informed that Jafar will be out in a week,” Saeedi said in the appeal posted on Instagram this week. However, “a week passed by and Jafar is still not with us,” she went on to lament.
Panahi’s lawyer, Saleh Nikhbakht,...
Panahi’s wife, Tahereh Saeedi, has launched an appeal on Instagram stating that his lawyers have managed to successfully overturn the six-year sentence issued against the director in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” That sentence has become obsolete due to the country’s 10-year statute of limitations. Panahi’s case has now been sent to an Iranian court of appeals.
“Last week we were informed that Jafar will be out in a week,” Saeedi said in the appeal posted on Instagram this week. However, “a week passed by and Jafar is still not with us,” she went on to lament.
Panahi’s lawyer, Saleh Nikhbakht,...
- 1/28/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi took to social media to protest against the arrest of Taraneh Alidoosti, the beloved actor of his Oscar-winning film “The Salesman.”
Alidoosti, who starred in three other films directed by Farhadi, was jailed on Saturday after taking part in demonstrations to fight against the oppressive Iranian regime. She was also sanctioned for standing in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof.
“I have worked with Taraneh on four films and now she is in prison for her rightful support of her fellow countrymen and her opposition to the unjust sentences being issued,” Farhadi wrote on his Instagram account. “If showing such support is a crime, then tens of millions of people of this land are criminals,” he continued.
Farhadi said he “(stood) with Taraneh and (demanded) her release alongside that of his other fellow cineastes Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof and...
Alidoosti, who starred in three other films directed by Farhadi, was jailed on Saturday after taking part in demonstrations to fight against the oppressive Iranian regime. She was also sanctioned for standing in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof.
“I have worked with Taraneh on four films and now she is in prison for her rightful support of her fellow countrymen and her opposition to the unjust sentences being issued,” Farhadi wrote on his Instagram account. “If showing such support is a crime, then tens of millions of people of this land are criminals,” he continued.
Farhadi said he “(stood) with Taraneh and (demanded) her release alongside that of his other fellow cineastes Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof and...
- 12/20/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Marrakech – Compassion, understanding, not taking characters at face value. These are all philosophies that inform Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s sage, humanistic approach to drawing his characters, as discussed on stage Tuesday at the Atlas Workshops’ (14-17 November), the Marrakech Film Festival’s project, talent-and-mentoring forum.
For 75 minutes, Farhadi, the winner of this year’s Cannes Grand Prix for “A Hero” and one of Iran’s most acclaimed filmmakers, spoke about his what seems a unique approach to the art of script-writing; about how he draws characters, develops his scripts and whom he trusts to vet his ideas.
“I have a couple of people around me who are my first advisors. I share it with them. It’s not the advice they will give me but the look. The spark in their eyes,” he said.
A regular at top international festivals, Farhadi has won an Academy Award for international feature...
For 75 minutes, Farhadi, the winner of this year’s Cannes Grand Prix for “A Hero” and one of Iran’s most acclaimed filmmakers, spoke about his what seems a unique approach to the art of script-writing; about how he draws characters, develops his scripts and whom he trusts to vet his ideas.
“I have a couple of people around me who are my first advisors. I share it with them. It’s not the advice they will give me but the look. The spark in their eyes,” he said.
A regular at top international festivals, Farhadi has won an Academy Award for international feature...
- 11/15/2022
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.
A shortlist of 15 finalists is...
- 9/21/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Houman Seyyedi’s darkly comic drama World War III has been named as Iran’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, set for March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. See the full list of entries by country below.
The film chosen “unanimously” by Iran’s Oscars committee follows the day laborer Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh), who after being cast in a movie, must secretly shelter his lover on the set or risk losing her and all that movie stardom has promised him.
Seyyedi, Arian Vazirdaftari and Azad Jafarian scripted the pic, which world premiered in the Horizons section of this year’s Venice Film Festival and went on to win the section’s prizes for Best Film and Best Actor (Tanabandeh). Its cast also includes Neda Jebreili, Mahsa Hejazi and Navid Nosrati.
Parviz Sheikh Tadi, the speaker and a member of the committee in...
The film chosen “unanimously” by Iran’s Oscars committee follows the day laborer Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh), who after being cast in a movie, must secretly shelter his lover on the set or risk losing her and all that movie stardom has promised him.
Seyyedi, Arian Vazirdaftari and Azad Jafarian scripted the pic, which world premiered in the Horizons section of this year’s Venice Film Festival and went on to win the section’s prizes for Best Film and Best Actor (Tanabandeh). Its cast also includes Neda Jebreili, Mahsa Hejazi and Navid Nosrati.
Parviz Sheikh Tadi, the speaker and a member of the committee in...
- 9/19/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Iran has selected Houman Seyyedi’s Venice Festival award winner World War III to represent the country in the 2023 Oscar race in the best international feature category.
The absurdist drama stars Mohsen Tanabandeh as a day laborer who, after losing his wife in a horrible catastrophe, finds himself surprisingly cast to play Adolf Hitler in an Iranian-shot, German-set World War II film. World War III premiered in the Venice Horizons sidebar, where it won best film and best actor honors for Seyyedi and Tanabandeh.
Iran’s selection committee said the decision to pick Seyyedi’s film was “unanimous.” In a statement, the committee said they “salute the Persian cinema family” and wished “ever-increasing success for all artists in our beloved country.”
Iran has had considerable Oscar success, with five Oscar nominations and two wins: for Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011) and The Salesman...
Iran has selected Houman Seyyedi’s Venice Festival award winner World War III to represent the country in the 2023 Oscar race in the best international feature category.
The absurdist drama stars Mohsen Tanabandeh as a day laborer who, after losing his wife in a horrible catastrophe, finds himself surprisingly cast to play Adolf Hitler in an Iranian-shot, German-set World War II film. World War III premiered in the Venice Horizons sidebar, where it won best film and best actor honors for Seyyedi and Tanabandeh.
Iran’s selection committee said the decision to pick Seyyedi’s film was “unanimous.” In a statement, the committee said they “salute the Persian cinema family” and wished “ever-increasing success for all artists in our beloved country.”
Iran has had considerable Oscar success, with five Oscar nominations and two wins: for Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011) and The Salesman...
- 9/19/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, who directed the Oscar winners “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” U.S. producer Christine Vachon, whose credits includes Oscar winner “Boys Don’t Cry,” and Oscar nominees “Far from Heaven” and “Carol,” and Romania’s Alexander Nanau, the director of the Oscar nominated “Collective,” are among the jury members at the 18th edition of the Zurich Film Festival, which takes place from Sept. 22 to Oct. 2.
Farhadi will head the jury for the International Feature Film Competition. He is joined by the U.K.’s Clio Barnard, who directed the BAFTA nominated “The Arbor,” “The Selfish Giant” and “Ali & Ava”; L.A.-based Brazilian Daniel Dreifuss, a producer on the Oscar nominated “No” and “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Germany’s Oscar entry; Swiss/Italian screenwriter and director Petra Volpe, whose credits include Tribeca prizewinner “The Divine Order”; and Sweden’s Peter “Piodor” Gustafsson, the producer of Ali Abbassi’s “Border,...
Farhadi will head the jury for the International Feature Film Competition. He is joined by the U.K.’s Clio Barnard, who directed the BAFTA nominated “The Arbor,” “The Selfish Giant” and “Ali & Ava”; L.A.-based Brazilian Daniel Dreifuss, a producer on the Oscar nominated “No” and “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Germany’s Oscar entry; Swiss/Italian screenwriter and director Petra Volpe, whose credits include Tribeca prizewinner “The Divine Order”; and Sweden’s Peter “Piodor” Gustafsson, the producer of Ali Abbassi’s “Border,...
- 9/14/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Mammoth Pictures has announced that it’s bringing back its Mammoth Pictures Screenplay Competition, for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
Mammoth looks with its competition to discover and support emerging writers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. The competition is unique in that the Grand Prize-winning screenwriter will have their screenplay developed, financed and produced as a feature-length film by Mammoth Pictures, with the screenwriter receiving a standard pay scale. Mammoth Pictures has partnered with Coverfly for the first time this season to accept submissions for the competition on their platform, which can be entered now.
Mammoth’s new Head of Development Alexis Brontë is heading up this year’s competition, which is geared toward genre feature screenplays — particularly those under the speculative fiction umbrella in the categories of horror thriller, psychological thriller, mystery thriller, crime thriller, science fiction, dystopian and fantasy — though it remains...
Mammoth looks with its competition to discover and support emerging writers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. The competition is unique in that the Grand Prize-winning screenwriter will have their screenplay developed, financed and produced as a feature-length film by Mammoth Pictures, with the screenwriter receiving a standard pay scale. Mammoth Pictures has partnered with Coverfly for the first time this season to accept submissions for the competition on their platform, which can be entered now.
Mammoth’s new Head of Development Alexis Brontë is heading up this year’s competition, which is geared toward genre feature screenplays — particularly those under the speculative fiction umbrella in the categories of horror thriller, psychological thriller, mystery thriller, crime thriller, science fiction, dystopian and fantasy — though it remains...
- 9/1/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Adding to its slate of auteurs from all over the world, Raphael Berdugo’s Cité Films has boarded “The Fire Doll,” from Chilean director-to-track Niles Atallah (“Rey”) and “Left Over,” from San Sebastian Gold Shell winning Turkish director Yesim Ustaoglu (“Pandora’s Box”).
Produced by Catalina Vergara at Chile’s Globo Rojo Films, “The Fire Doll” (“La muñeca de fuego”) is one of the 14 projects to be pitched at this month’s San Sebastian Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, one of the Spanish festival’s centerpiece industry events.
Atallah, whose second film, “Rey,” won a Rotterdam Special Jury Prize in 2017, turns in “The Fire Doll” to the transformation process experienced by a 9-year-old girl, Aurora, who loses part of her memory and goes to her the countryside to spend Easter wither father, an alcoholic in remission.
He lives in a mysterious house partially destroyed by fire decades ago. Aurora discovers a terrible...
Produced by Catalina Vergara at Chile’s Globo Rojo Films, “The Fire Doll” (“La muñeca de fuego”) is one of the 14 projects to be pitched at this month’s San Sebastian Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum, one of the Spanish festival’s centerpiece industry events.
Atallah, whose second film, “Rey,” won a Rotterdam Special Jury Prize in 2017, turns in “The Fire Doll” to the transformation process experienced by a 9-year-old girl, Aurora, who loses part of her memory and goes to her the countryside to spend Easter wither father, an alcoholic in remission.
He lives in a mysterious house partially destroyed by fire decades ago. Aurora discovers a terrible...
- 9/1/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Dda is making a series of key hires and promotions. Ryan Langrehr recently joined the entertainment communications company as U.S. head of awards, based out of Los Angeles. He joins from Block-Korenbrot Public Relations and will work alongside Dda partner Dana Archer and awards strategist Mj Peckos, who formed an exclusive partnership with Dda in 2021 and collaborated on a slate of films in the international and documentary category. These included Spain’s “The Good Boss” and Germany’s “I’m Your Man,” both of which were shortlisted for international feature Oscars.
The Dda L.A. awards offering is a complement to the company’s existing U.K. awards business, which it says will offer studios and filmmakers a “cohesive strategy across both sides of the Atlantic.” The U.K. offering is led by Sam Ross in his newly upped role of director of awards, and his team works closely with Dda partner Neil Bhatt.
The Dda L.A. awards offering is a complement to the company’s existing U.K. awards business, which it says will offer studios and filmmakers a “cohesive strategy across both sides of the Atlantic.” The U.K. offering is led by Sam Ross in his newly upped role of director of awards, and his team works closely with Dda partner Neil Bhatt.
- 8/25/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
In its first full-on post-pandemic edition, Locarno roared back into action as an industry hub over Aug. 3-9, smashing attendance records with delegates at industry arm Locarno Pro soaring from 2019’s prior record of 1,040 to 1,300.
That reflects the year-round work of festival artistic director Giona Nazzaro and industry head Markus Duffner at Locarno Pro, building on foundations laid by Nadia Dresti over 2010-19. Sky rocketing attendance also says much about the state of the international film industry as it is is rocked by titanic sea change propelled by global, regional and local streaming platforms. Following, 10 takes on Locarno as its turns its final bend towards Aug. 13’s awards announcement.
Latest Deals
A score or more of new deals announced since Sunday in exclusivity to Variety:
*Germany’s Pluto Film has been in negotiations with several theatrical distributors on Locarno Piazza Grande title “Semret,” ahead of its world premiere on Aug.
That reflects the year-round work of festival artistic director Giona Nazzaro and industry head Markus Duffner at Locarno Pro, building on foundations laid by Nadia Dresti over 2010-19. Sky rocketing attendance also says much about the state of the international film industry as it is is rocked by titanic sea change propelled by global, regional and local streaming platforms. Following, 10 takes on Locarno as its turns its final bend towards Aug. 13’s awards announcement.
Latest Deals
A score or more of new deals announced since Sunday in exclusivity to Variety:
*Germany’s Pluto Film has been in negotiations with several theatrical distributors on Locarno Piazza Grande title “Semret,” ahead of its world premiere on Aug.
- 8/10/2022
- by John Hopewell, Marta Balaga and Pablo Sandoval
- Variety Film + TV
Shahab Hosseini, a Cannes best actor winner in 2016 for his layered, complex performance in Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “The Salesman,” is attached to star in “The Far Mountains,” from Mitra Tabrizian.
A nuanced coming-of-age tale with an allegorical undertow, “The Far Mountains” marks Tabrizian’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut feature “Gholam,” also starring Hosseini and selected by The Guardian/Observer’s Mark Kermode as Film of the Week on its release. “Gholam” was theatrically released in the U.K. and major VOD platforms internationally.
“Gholam” producer Zadoc Nava at London-based Stray Dog Films will be introducing “The Far Mountains” at Locarno’s Match Me! where it looks like one of its highlights. at the networking initiative.
Written by Tabrizian and Cyrus Massoudi, the co-scribes of “Gholam,” “The Far Mountains” turns on Ali, a 12-year-old boy living in a small town in Iran whose mother disappeared when he was very young.
A nuanced coming-of-age tale with an allegorical undertow, “The Far Mountains” marks Tabrizian’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut feature “Gholam,” also starring Hosseini and selected by The Guardian/Observer’s Mark Kermode as Film of the Week on its release. “Gholam” was theatrically released in the U.K. and major VOD platforms internationally.
“Gholam” producer Zadoc Nava at London-based Stray Dog Films will be introducing “The Far Mountains” at Locarno’s Match Me! where it looks like one of its highlights. at the networking initiative.
Written by Tabrizian and Cyrus Massoudi, the co-scribes of “Gholam,” “The Far Mountains” turns on Ali, a 12-year-old boy living in a small town in Iran whose mother disappeared when he was very young.
- 8/6/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Global arthouse movie streamer, producer and distributor Mubi has acquired all Turkish rights to Iranian director Saeed Roustaee’s timely Cannes title “Leila’s Brothers.”
A female empowerment drama set against the backdrop of a family crushed by debts linked to international economic sanctions, “Leila’s Brothers” won the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) prize for best film in Cannes’ main competition.
The film, which is Roustaee’s third feature, follows from his tense actioner “Just 6.5,” about a cop trying to pin down a drug lord. This hit film, which exposed Iran’s heroin addiction plague, made an international splash and this year was nominated for France’s César Award for best foreign film.
“Leila’s Brothers” sees the 40-year-old Leila, played by Taraneh Alidoosti (“The Salesman”), as the titular character who has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. She has a plan to...
A female empowerment drama set against the backdrop of a family crushed by debts linked to international economic sanctions, “Leila’s Brothers” won the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) prize for best film in Cannes’ main competition.
The film, which is Roustaee’s third feature, follows from his tense actioner “Just 6.5,” about a cop trying to pin down a drug lord. This hit film, which exposed Iran’s heroin addiction plague, made an international splash and this year was nominated for France’s César Award for best foreign film.
“Leila’s Brothers” sees the 40-year-old Leila, played by Taraneh Alidoosti (“The Salesman”), as the titular character who has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. She has a plan to...
- 6/8/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Just hours before this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or prize announcement, the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) has awarded “Leila’s Brothers” its International Critics’ Prize for best film inCannes main competition.
The title is pointed. Leila has four brothers, but it is Leila, played by Iranian star Taraneh Alidoosti (“The Salesman), who dominates proceedings, battling to save her family from ruin, to tragic consequences.
“Dense with overlapping dialogue, suffocating social situations and shifting point-of-view, Roustaee’s style is a stark departure from the straightforward, focused Iranian movies that have found their way into the world so far, whether the fable-like tales of Majidi or the intimate dramas of Farhadi, whose relative simplicity makes them uniquely suited to international consumption,” Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote in a review of the first film Cannes from Roustace, best known for 2019’s cop-thriller “Just 6.5.”
The Fipresci jury, led by Egypt’s Ahmed Shawky,...
The title is pointed. Leila has four brothers, but it is Leila, played by Iranian star Taraneh Alidoosti (“The Salesman), who dominates proceedings, battling to save her family from ruin, to tragic consequences.
“Dense with overlapping dialogue, suffocating social situations and shifting point-of-view, Roustaee’s style is a stark departure from the straightforward, focused Iranian movies that have found their way into the world so far, whether the fable-like tales of Majidi or the intimate dramas of Farhadi, whose relative simplicity makes them uniquely suited to international consumption,” Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote in a review of the first film Cannes from Roustace, best known for 2019’s cop-thriller “Just 6.5.”
The Fipresci jury, led by Egypt’s Ahmed Shawky,...
- 5/28/2022
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
In “Leila’s Brothers,” a once proud, now pathetic Persian family teeters on the brink of ruin, held together by the assertive sister who’s tired of relying on men to decide her fortune. Taking matters into her own hands may be empowering to watch — there’s no question that “The Salesman” alum Taraneh Alidoosti, who plays Leila, towers over this male-dominated ensemble — but it’s also a recipe for potential tragedy in Iranian writer-director Saeed Roustaee’s novelistic, nearly-three-hour saga, his first to be selected for Cannes.
Some audiences may recognize Roustaee from another turbulent family portrait, “Life and a Day” (2016), whereas it was his terrific cop thriller “Just 6.5” (2019) — the closest thing Iran has produced to “The French Connection,” still unreleased in the U.S. — that put the helmer on my radar. Born in 1989, Roustaee represents a new generation of Iranian auteurs, and one who’s sly enough to...
Some audiences may recognize Roustaee from another turbulent family portrait, “Life and a Day” (2016), whereas it was his terrific cop thriller “Just 6.5” (2019) — the closest thing Iran has produced to “The French Connection,” still unreleased in the U.S. — that put the helmer on my radar. Born in 1989, Roustaee represents a new generation of Iranian auteurs, and one who’s sly enough to...
- 5/25/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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