All Screen articles in 18 January 2005

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  • News

    Diagonale names Dummies as festival opener

    2005-01-20T04:00:00Z

    Joerg Kalt's Crash TestDummies will be the opening film at the first Diagonale - Festival ofAustrian Cinema (March 14-20) under new director Birgit Flos.Kalt's second feature, whichinterweaves the story of a Romanian couple who have come to Vienna to collect astolen car with a second story centring on a store ...

  • News

    Scalpel sells prize-winning trio to US buyers

    2005-01-20T04:00:00Z

    On the eve of Sundance, new Paris sales companyScalpel Films has sold a trio of pictures to the US. Launched in 2004 byformer Celluloid Dreams executive Pierre Menahem, Scalpel had success with Private,the hard-hitting Palestine-set drama by Saverio Costanzo, selling it to AvatarFilms. The film, which premiered in Locarno and ...

  • News

    International campaign pays off for Alexander

    2005-01-20T04:00:00Z

    Alexander is on course to take four times its North Americangross from international markets, according to Moritz Borman, head of thefilm's sales and production house Intermedia.Another strong week in Europe led by Italy's opening tally of $3.7m(Euros 2.8m) saw Oliver Stone's epic retain the international box office lead.Adding 16 new ...

  • News

    Adelaide festival sets Watt's Ways as opener

    2005-01-20T04:00:00Z

    The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) is to open with the worldpremiere of new Australian film Look Both Ways by director Sarah Watt.Festival director Katrina Sedgwick had previously scheduledthe film for the middle Saturday night of the two-week event starting onFebruary 18. But after seeing a final cut of the film, ...

  • News

    UK production spend plummets in 2004

    2005-01-20T04:00:00Z

    Spending by US productionsshooting in the UK plunged by more than 30% last year, according to annualfigures from support body the UK Film Council.The news follows this week'sfigures from Screen International showing that the number of local filmsshooting also slipped by around 40%. Counting all productions,the Council calculated that spending ...

  • Reviews

    Watermarks (Hakoach Liskhot)

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Dir/scr. Yaron Zilberman.Is-Fr-Us. 2004. 80mins.Science graduate YaronZilberman had never worked in film industry until he came across the story ofVienna's Jewish swimming team. The result is Watermarks, a lively andsurprisingly uplifting documentary set on the eve of World War Two.Having already takenaudience awards at festivals in Vienna, Boston and Washington, ...

  • News

    ITV renews NBC Universal film deal

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    UK broadcaster ITV and NBC Universal have extended theirexclusive licensing agreement for the terrestrial rights to NBC Universal'sfeature films and television series.ITV will have access to NBC Universal's 2004 - 2006theatrical titles, including product from Working Title Films. The agreement also includes titles from NBC Universal'sfilm and television libraries, as ...

  • Reviews

    This Charming Girl (Woman, Jeong-hae)

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Lee Yoon-ki. 2004. 99minsAny film that deals with subjects such as loneliness, boredom andself-loathing must run the risk of inflicting similar feelings on its audience.This Charming Girl flirts with these dangers as it slowly, slowlyscratches beneath the isolationist facade put up by a largely unremarkableyoung woman. Often minimalist in ...

  • News

    Kusturica to preside over Cannes jury

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Emir Kusturica will presideover the jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival organizers announcedWednesday.The director, who hails fromSarajevo, is no stranger to the festival. His first trip was in 1985 with WhenFather Was Away On Business which took the Palme d'Or that year. In 1989 he won best directorat the ...

  • News

    Berlinale unveils full competition programme

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    The Berlinale (Feb 10-20) has unveiled its completecompetition programme with 21 films set to compete for the festival's Goldenand Silver Bears. Five more films will play out of competition.Africa emerges as a key theme of the selection with RaoulPeck's Sometimes In April and Terry George's Hotel Rwanda bothaddressing the genocidal ...

  • Reviews

    Alla Luce Del Sole

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Dir/scr: Roberto Faenza.It. 2005. 92mins.A brave voice speaks outagainst the Mafia; the voice gets silenced, but its message remains. AllaLuce Del Sole is not the first committed Italian biopic to fit this pitchline, and is unlikely to be the last.The most obvious differencebetween Roberto Faenza's new film and other examples ...

  • News

    De Laurentiis, Cinecitta acquire Moroccan studio

    2005-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Legendary Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis and Rome's CinecittaStudios are teaming up as joint owners of a sprawling new studio facility inOuarzazate, in southern Morocco.Standing over 371 acres of land, the studio will be one of theworld's largest, with two shooting stages of 19,380 square feet each. The DinoDe Laurentiis-Cinecitta ...

  • News

    28 projects set for Hong Kong financing market

    2005-01-19T21:00:00Z

    The organisers ofHong Kong's first ever Entertainment Expo (March 22 - April 6) have unveiledthe 28 projects that will participate in the Hong Kong-Asia Film FinancingForum (HAF), one of eight events to take place during the 16-day film andentertainment mega event.Among thefilmmakers that will be presenting projects at the three-day ...

  • News

    Rosenberg leaves Serendipity Point to produce on her own

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    Julia Rosenberg (pictured), head ofproduction and development at Serendipity Point Films, is setting up her ownproduction outfit, January Films. A protege of Serendipitychief Robert Lantos, Rosenberg has amassed a number of co-producer andassociate producer credits on Serendipity projects such as Istvan Szabo'stitles Sunshine and the recent BeingJulia, Atom Egoyan's Ararat ...

  • News

    Huntsberry temporarily steps into Finkelstein's shoes at Universal

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    FrederickHuntsberry has been named interim president and chief operating officer atUniversal Pictures while Rick Finkelstein takes an undetermined leave ofabsence after sustaining injuries in a recent skiing accident.Huntsberry willreport to Universal chairman Stacey Snider and continues to oversee NBCUniversal Television Distribution in his role as executive vice president,reporting jointly to ...

  • News

    Keith named senior vp at Yari's Bull's Eye

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    Yari Film Group'sBull's Eye Entertainment has hired former DreamWorks executive Leah Keith tothe new position of senior vice president of development and production.Keith will focusprimarily on broadening Bull's Eye reach into studio films and will oversee asmall number of independent projects. The company has a first-look deal atParamount.She arrives atBull's ...

  • News

    Buerling gets senior job at LA's Filmmates Co

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    Veteran producerJeanette Buerling has been appointed executive vice-president of production anddistribution at Los Angeles-based Filmmates Corporation.Buerling hasworked with Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros, Germany's Leo Kirch Network DSFand the Bertelsman Group, among others.Prior to herappointment with Filmmates she served as executive director of HollywoodInternational Finance, a film investment fund that ...

  • News

    European Film Promotion boosts Sales Support budget

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    European Film Promotioninitiative Film Sales Support is entering its second year with increasedfunding and additional festivals.After a successful trialphase in 2004, the MEDIA Plus Programme increased the scheme's budget to Euros400,000 in 2005, giving the initiative extra clout to allow more salesrepresentatives to promote their films outside of Europe. Two ...

  • News

    Bocco gets new independent role at Gersh

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    US talent agencyGersh Agency has hired former Miramax Films senior vice president ofacquisitions Arianna Bocco (pictured) to head up its new Independent Feature Packagingdivision.Based in NewYork, the division will seek to assemble financing for independent features andsell them in the global marketplace, while broadening Gersh's existing rosterof directing and producing ...

  • News

    UK study reveals Ethnic filmmakers facing barriers

    2005-01-19T04:00:00Z

    Minority ethnic led (MEL) UKindependent production companies face particular barriers to success in thefilm and television sector. This is the finding of new research conducted bythe Institute for Employment Studies (IES) for Pact and the UK Film Council. The study found the mostsignificant barriers for such companies included the initial ...