All articles by Fionnuala Halligan – Page 48
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Reviews
I Am Cuba, The Siberian Mammoth (Soy Cuba, O Mamute Siberiano)
Dir: Vicente Ferraz.Brazil. 2004. 90mins.Saddled with an unhelpfuland slightly repellent title, I Am Cuba, The Siberian Mammoth isn'tactually a wildlife film but an intelligent making-of documentary which alsomanages to examine a particularly-interesting slice of Cold War history.And although it can getbogged down in its own minutae, Mammoth is fascinating enough ...
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News
Grupo Novo hatches South American release plan
Brazilianproducer-distributor Grupo Novo de Cinema e TV has entered into a joint venturewith Argentina's Artikino Pictures to release Brazilian films throughout SouthAmerica.The joint venture, to benamed Group Novo Latinoamerica, will be based in Buenos Aires and plans todistribute between six and 10 Brazilian films in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguayand Chile in ...
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News
Mammoth doc excites Brazilian Film Market
The second annual Brazilian Film Market has wrapped inthe country's capital of Brasilia, with 68 features, 81 documentaries and 154shorts being presented to 23 international TV and film buyers from 11countries.The marketran concurrently to Brazil's oldest film festival, the Brasilia Film Festival,now in its 37th year and wrapping on Tuesday.Buyers ...
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News
Foreign Oscar race heats up as deadline looms
As Friday's (Oct 1) deadline for Oscar foreignlanguage film submissions draws close, the Academy has received a raft of bids- including Thailand's The Overture,Korea's Tae Guk Ki and Austria's Antares and Serbia-Montenegro's Goose Feather - for contention.Repped by Fortissimo Films, The Overture premiered at Toronto and has already found aJapanese ...
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News
Allen's Melinda set for big push in UK
Fox International is planning a big UK push for WoodyAllen's Melinda And Melinda following the film's positive reception lastweek at the San Sebastian Film Festival.Fox will release the film in the UK on January 28, withits launch backed by a touring Allen and members of the cast.Allen's last two films ...
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News
San Sebastian to open with Allen's Melinda
The world premiere of Woody Allen's new film, Melindaand Melinda, is set to open Spain'sSan Sebastián Film Festival on September 17.Allen himself, currently filming in London, will attend thescreening.The premiere of Melinda and Melinda spearheads the festival's extensive tribute toAllen, showing all of his work as a director, actor and ...
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News
Former BVI chief Zapata takes over at DeAPlaneta
Former BVI chief AlvaroZapata has been appointed executive president of Grupo DeAPlaneta, the giantproduction-distribution company established by Italy's DeAgostini and Spain'sGrupo Planeta in 2000.Taking over from GiorgioSbampato, Zapata, who spent the last 12 years with BVI as vice President forSpain and Portugal, will oversee all the group's activities in theatrical,video, ...
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News
First Run checks out Torremolinos 73 for US
Spain's Sogepac has sold all US and Canadian rights onits quirky comedy Torremolinos 73 toFirst Run Features.The movie, which swept the boards at the Malaga FilmFestival last year and went on to take Euros 1.8m locally, has been dubbed the"Spanish Boogie Nights".The deal with First Run follows a slew of ...
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News
Spanish film enjoys upswing in admissions
Intheir exhaustive annual analysis of the entertainment sector in Spain publishedyesterday, the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) and the FundacionAutor have pinpointed a rise in fortunes for Spanish films in 2003 - to 15.8percent of the market, up from 13 percent in 2002. However, overall, they foundaudience figures ...
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News
Banderas to direct Los Ingleses in Spain
Antonio Banderas has confirmed that he will direct his nextfilm in 2006 - in his native Spain.The actor told a Madrid press conference that he had boughtthe rights to Antonio Soler's novel El Camino De Los Ingleses and he would go behind the lens to shoot it at homein Spain."Antonio ...
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News
Telespan 2000 readies Other Side Of The Bed sequel
Independent production company Telespan 2000, headed byTomas Cimadevilla, has confirmed it is to go ahead with the sequel to TheOther Side of The Bed (El Otro Lado de La Cama).The original film was the highest-grossing Spanish film of2002, netting $15.1m at the box office and headlining Paz Vega amidst anensemble ...
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News
Amenabar's Sea tipped for Venice slot
Out to Sea (Mar Adentro), Alejandro Amenabar's eagerly-anticipated follow-up to TheOthers looks set for a Venice festival slot with the news that it will openin Spain on September 3.Producer Sogecine has confirmedthat it will go to an un-named "early fall festival". The Venice InternationalFilm Festival runs from September 1-11.Out to ...
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News
Spain's Lauren files for credit protection
Beleaguered Spanish distributor-exhibitor Lauren AudiovisualHoldings, parent company of Lauren Films and Lauren Distribution, is operatingas normal, despite filing for credit protection late last week.According to sources, the company is now operating strictlyon a cashflow basis as a Barcelona judge attempts to reconcile its debt.But its cinemas remained open at the ...
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News
Filmax consolidates market position as revenues rise
After a capital expansion of Euros 50m in September 2003from public sector sources, Filmax Entertainment consolidated its position inthe market last year according to its annual results, announcing revenues ofEuros 91.8m, a 11.4 percent hike from 2002 revenues.A mini-studio involved in production, exhibition anddistribution, Filmax's pre-tax profits for 2003 stood ...
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Spanish film-makers look to boost ties with Germany
Spanish producers have met with their German counterparts aspart of the Madrid's fourth German Film Festival to propose changes to aco-production deal signed in 2002.Measures agreed include lowering the minimum co-productionparticipation to 10 percent of the budget; loosening up the rules governingco-productions; setting up a fund for bi-lateral co-productions comparable ...
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News
Spain's Telespan 2000 wins bank cash injection
Telespan 2000, leading Spanish producer of box office hits TheOther Side Of The Bed, Torremolinos 73 and FootballDays, has completed a restructuring whichincludes a cash injection from local savings bank Banco Gallego in return for20% of the company. Bed and Football Days director David Serrano also becomes a shareholder. The ...
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Spanish industry unites against pirates
Spain's entire audiovisual sector has banded together tolaunch a fully-fledged attack on the pirates which it claims cost the industryEuros 700 million in 2003.But evenas the ICAA film institute, the producers lobby FAPAE, the authors rights'collection society EGEDA and anti-piracy body FAP were announcing details of anad campaign to drive ...
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News
Spanish broadcasters pledge to invest in film
Spain'sregional public broadcasters have signed a pact to invest Euros 30m over thenext three years in the acquisition, production and co-production of Spanishfeature films, TV movies, pilots, animated series, pilots and short features.The dealis a renewal of the accord struck in 1999 between FORTA, an umbrellaorganisation for eight regional public ...
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News
Spain allies with France in piracy move
Spain's new culture minister Carmen Calvo has lent herSocialist administration's support to long-held French moves to lower statetaxes on cultural products including DVDs and CDs in a bid to counter piracy.The French culture minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, whois spearheading the move, said he was delighted with Spanish support but ...
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Ex-San Sebastian chief to take over Spain's ICAA
The former head of the San Sebastian International FilmFestival, Manual Perez Estremera, is set to head up Spain's major state filmbody, ICAA.Left-wingnewspaper El Pais has leaked the news that Perez Estremera, a formerfilm critic responsible for relaunching San Sebastian in 1993, will beconfirmed as head of the Instuito de las ...