Latest – Page 493

  • Features

    In focus - Asian Film Funds Forum - New approaches needed in Asia

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    The Asian film business should avoid over-supply and ensure the interests of distributors and investors are aligned, said panellists at a seminar on Asian film funds at Pusan's Asian Film Market.The seminar, co-hosted by Screen International, also examined how film financing has become more difficult due to the credit crunch, ...

  • Features

    In focus - Asian Film Market - Mixed messages at market

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Pusan's Asian Film Market (October 3-6) closed its third edition last week with most delegates agreeing it had been a quiet event, but many saying they had still found it productive. Certainly there was not much footfall at the market, held for the first time on three floors of the ...

  • Features

    United States - Social partners

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    When Social Capital launched three years ago, headed by musician and real-estate entrepreneur Martin Shore and production and finance specialist Christopher Tuffin, its goal was to make two to three films a year in the $15m-$35m range.The company quickly sealed a partnership with The Steel Company, the veteran buyers' representation ...

  • Features

    United States - Hard Times In Rio

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Even though Bruno Barreto is one of Brazil's most celebrated film-makers, he had trouble finding finance to complete his latest film, Last Stop 174, a well-received drama which had its world premiere at Toronto and two weeks later opened the Rio International Film Festival.The irony was not lost on Barreto ...

  • Features

    Denmark - Madsen burns bright

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Ole Christian Madsen, director of Danish smash Flame & Citron, is modest about the remarkable success of his Second World War epic which has grossed more than $9m at the local box office, and is the most popular Danish film for 10 years."I'm surprised it did so well in Denmark," ...

  • Features

    Spain - Speeding bullet

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Award-winning Spanish director Jaime Rosales has sparked huge controversy with his latest film, Bullet In The Head (Tiro En La Cabeza). It follows the everyday life of an ETA member, with no dialogue within earshot and little action until the explosive closing scenes.During the film's world premiere in competition at ...

  • Features

    United Kingdom - Quantum leap

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    A London hotel a month before the worldwide roll-out of Quantum Of Solace, the 22nd James Bond movie, from October 31, and Marc Forster is looking exhausted. He signed on to direct the film in the summer of 2007 - in other words, he had a little over a year ...

  • Features

    Promotional Feature - New Cinema Network - The right direction

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    One of the most exciting aspects of the three year-old International Film Festival Rome is the New Cinema Network - Fabbrica Dei Progetti (NCN), which runs this year from October 23-27. A two-tier event, the NCN's Focus Europe fosters emerging directors from the continent, while the NCN International section promises ...

  • Features

    Promotional Feature - Focus Europe

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Illegal (Bel)Dir/scr: Olivier Masset-DepasseBudget: $3m (EUR2.2m)Funds raised: $1m (EUR750,000)Tackling one of the world's most challenging issues, Illegal looks at immigration. "It's the first time we will see how an immigrant holding centre functions on the inside," claims Olivier Masset-Depasse. He says he wants to inform audiences of what he calls ...

  • Features

    Promotional Feature - NCN International Projects

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    The Invisible Collection (Braz)Dir: Bernard AttalScrs: Attal, Sergio Machado, adapted from the short story by Stefan ZweigBudget: $1.1m (EUR800,000)Funds raised: $438,000 (EUR320,000)The Invisible Collection is an adaptation of a short story by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig about a young man whose life changes dramatically when he tries to get his ...

  • Features

    Rome opens on a high

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Being the new kid on the block may have its challenges but the three-year-old Rome International Film Festival is rising to them with aplomb. In its first two editions, Rome's ability to squeeze its 10-day festival into the logjam of the autumn calendar raised eyebrows, as did its ability to ...

  • Features

    Festival Talk - 'Be brave in the selection and close to the business'

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Which festivals do you particularly rate and enjoy'Detassis: "I love Cannes above all the other festivals because it's like breathing cinema day and night; even if you happen not to go to a film for two days, cinema is in the air. I love mixing up seeing the films in ...

  • Features

    International - Sea Change at the top

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Russia's Admiral sailed to the top of the international chart this week, following its world premiere on October 6, amassing $12.5m from 1,223 engagements in two territories and ending the reign of Universal's dancing queen, Mamma Mia! The Movie, which dropped 41% to $8.4m.With Twentieth Century Fox distributing, the Channel ...

  • Features

    United Kingdom - Girl uninterrupted

    2008-10-17T00:00:00Z

    Berlin competition title Julia is to be released simultaneously in the UK in cinemas and on Sky television. Chelsea Films and Sky will open Erick Zonca and Camille Natta's film in theatres and to 9 million Sky subscribers via Sky Box Office (SBO) on December 5.Plenty of other titles have ...

  • Features

    Tiffcom - Autumn window for Japanese productions

    2008-10-10T00:00:00Z

    Although it falls in a crowded autumn calendar between Toronto, Pusan, Mipcom and AFM, Tiffcom is still a good place to source increasingly strong Japanese content such as manga and animations, as well as films for remakes, TV dramas and music properties.The mostly local market is also striving to be ...

  • Features

    Festival talk - Tokyo at the cutting edge

    2008-10-10T00:00:00Z

    Which festivals do you particularly rate and enjoy'This year I've been to Berlin, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Toronto and will go to Pusan and AFM. I enjoy just about any festival. Berlin is very chilly but always has lots of new interesting things. Beki Probst (head of the European Film ...

  • Features

    Festival talk: Sandra Hebron - 'As the name implies, a degree of festivity is important'

    2008-10-10T00:00:00Z

    Which festivals do you rate and enjoy'I rate New York, Telluride and Vienna from a programming point of view. In terms of all-round usefulness, Cannes continues to reign supreme, for the sheer volume and range of what it is possible to see there, combined with the benefits of having so ...

  • Features

    International - Canine and able

    2008-10-10T00:00:00Z

    Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International's Beverly Hills Chihuahua was the highest new entry at number seven in Screen's international chart for the October 3-5 weekend, debuting just one place ahead of new Japanese crime thriller Suspect X.The talking-dog family comedy, follows the titular Chihuahua, Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore), ...

  • Features

    Special feature - Dubai International Film Festival at five - The fifth element

    2008-10-03T00:00:00Z

    "Just look around you," urges Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) chairman Abdulhamid Juma, gesturing from the window of his office in the glass-and-steel business district known as Dubai Media City. "Dubai is hungry for new things."It is the middle of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Arguably, Dubai should ...

  • Features

    Special feature - The Muhr Awards - Middle Eastern promise

    2008-10-03T00:00:00Z

    For all the black-tie bacchanalia and glitzy galas, it is Diff's main competition which forms the central focus around which all other activities take place.The Muhr Awards for Excellence in Arab Cinema were introduced in 2006 as a way of drawing international attention to Arab film-makers (a 'muhr' is a ...