All articles by Martin Blaney – Page 137

  • News

    Telepool boosts sales lineup ahead of Berlinale

    2007-01-17T12:28:00Z

    Munich-based world sales company Telepool has added four new titles to its sales catalogue ahead of Berlin's European Film Market (EFM), including Swiss director Mike Eschmann's youth drama Breakout which is being released by Buena Vista International in Switzerland on January 18.The production by Zodiac Pictures' Lukas Hobi and Reto ...

  • News

    Berlin's market boasts record number of companies and buyers

    2007-01-17T04:00:00Z

    Beki Probst looks set to be able to celebrate her 20th year in the post of market director of the Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM) by breaking last year's records when the festival launched its new market venue in the Martin Gropius Bau (MGB). According to the latest figures obtained ...

  • News

    Lives Of Others leads German critics award nominations

    2007-01-16T11:43:00Z

    Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's European Film Award-winning The Lives Of Others has picked up nominations in seven of the nine categories for the 2006 German Film Critics' Award. The Stasi thriller, which is Germany's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next month's Academy Awards, has been nominated ...

  • News

    Berlinale unveils more world premieres in Competition section

    2007-01-15T14:16:00Z

    Berlinale programmers have now confirmed another eight titles in the official Competition section, including new works by International Jury President Paul Schrader, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Nava and Stefan Ruzowitzky. Schrader's The Walker, which stars Woody Harrelson as an escort to lonely society ladies who is accused of murder, will be ...

  • News

    Berlin announces International Forum films

    2007-01-13T11:41:00Z

    New features by Serbian filmmaker Srdan Golubovic, Malaysia's Amir Muhammad and Germany's Ann-Kristin Reyels will have their world premieres at this year's International Forum of Young Cinema in Berlin. Golubovic's thriller The Trap, his second feature after the outstanding 2001 debut Absolute Hundred, was produced by Belgrade-based Bas Celik with ...

  • News

    Berlinale's Generation Kplus to open with The Last Mimzy

    2007-01-12T15:25:00Z

    Generation, the Berlinale's programme for children and young people's films, has set its line-up of 25 feature films, including three world premieres and 10 international premieres, from 22 countries. The competition for Generation Kplus (previously Kinderfilmfest) will open in the Zoo Palast cinema on Feb 9 with the international premiere ...

  • News

    Groenewold to launch new media fund in Germany

    2007-01-12T15:16:00Z

    German fund specialist David Groenewold is set to launch the first media fund in Germany since the end of 2005 when changes to the Income Tax Law put an end to the old-style private film funds. German Film Productions Medienfonds Vierte Beteiligungs KG, or GFP IV for short, is being ...

  • News

    Paul Schrader to serve as jury president for Berlinale Competition

    2007-01-11T15:38:00Z

    US writer-director Paul Schrader (American Gigolo, Mishima) will head up the seven-person International Jury deciding on the Golden Bear and Silver Bears at next month's Berlinale (Feb 8-18). The other members of the jury are: Palestinian actress-writer-director Hiam Abbass, whose recent acting credits include The Syrian Bride, Paradise Now and ...

  • News

    First Berlinale Panorama titles unveiled

    2007-01-11T10:41:00Z

    New films by Hal Hartley (Fay Grim), Eytan Fox (The Bubble), Korea's Hong Sangsoo (Woman On The Beach), actress Julie Delpy (Two Days in Paris) and actor Antonio Banderas (Summer Rain) are among the titles so far confirmed for more than half of the programme for this year's Panorama at ...

  • News

    37 projects selected for Berlinale Co-Production Market

    2007-01-10T17:40:00Z

    New feature film projects by Joe Dante, Reza Bagher, Wang Chao, Srdjan Koljevic, Sarah Polley and Luigi Falorni are among a total of 37 projects selected from 25 countries to be presented at the Berlinale Co-Production Market (Feb 11-13) which is now in its fourth year. This year's Official Projects ...

  • News

    Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose to open Berlinale

    2007-01-10T16:29:00Z

    The world premiere of Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose will open this year's Berlinale on Feb 8 as part of the Competition section of films vying for the Golden Bear and Silver Bears. Writer-director Olivier Dahan, whose last film was 2004's Crimson Rivers II, has assembled ...

  • News

    Beta Cinema picks up controversial Hitler comedy

    2007-01-10T12:16:00Z

    Beta Cinema has picked up the international sales rights to Dani Levy's hotly debated new comedy Mein Fuehrer - The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler which X Verleih is opening with 250 prints in German cinemas on Jan 11. The Y Filme production has already aroused considerable interest internationally ...

  • News

    Big-spending Dubai and Rome festivals under fire from Berlinale

    2007-01-10T05:00:00Z

    New kids on the film festival block such as those in Rome and Dubai have been criticised by Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick for 'buying stars with big money' and 'running through Hollywood with a cheque book.' Speaking in an interview with the Berlin-based media journal Promedia, Kosslick observed: 'I ...

  • News

    German box-office revived in 2006, led by Fox

    2007-01-09T03:00:00Z

    Germany's box-office fortunes were revived in 2006 after a devastating 2005 with a year-on-year increase in takings of 9.6% and admissions rising by 7.9%, according to figures from Nielsen EDI. In data collected from Jan 2 to Dec 31 2006, box-office revenues amounted to $1.02bn (Euros 789.3m), compared to $936.6m ...

  • News

    Slovenian producers face government funding problems

    2006-12-29T13:34:00Z

    Slovenian producers arefacing a bleak future at home following radical changes in the film supportpolicies at the country's Ministry of Culture.The new harsher climate wasushered in with the dismissal of the Slovenian Film Fund's director IreneOstrouska with immediate effect for allegedly not coming up to the Ministry'sexpectations.In addition, funding hasbeen ...

  • News

    Berlinale selects first six titles for Perspektive Deutsches Kino

    2006-12-29T13:15:00Z

    New films by BastianGuenther, Ben von Grafenstein, and Julia von Heinz are among six titlesconfirmed so far for the Berlinale's Perspektive Deutsches Kino sidebar whichshowcases young and up-and-coming German filmmakers with fresh ideas,approaches and talent.Among the films selected isBastian Guenther's feature debut Autopilotswhich is comprised of four interwoven episodes taking ...

  • News

    German tax credit approved by Europe

    2006-12-28T18:00:00Z

    Germany'sState Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann has received the green light from theEuropean Commission in Brussels for the new film production incentive scheme tocome into effect as planned on January 1, 2007.Commentingon the Commission's swift processing of the German proposal, Neumann said:'This is a great negotiated success. The path is ...

  • News

    German home entertainment company takes over media fund

    2006-12-28T00:00:00Z

    One of Germany's leading home entertainment companies VCL Film + Medien has taken over the Munich-based media fund Equity Pictures Medienfonds.Throughthe acquisition by its recently established subsidiary, Allied Film Management,VCL will be expanding its activities from the core operations of homeentertainment to include the management of film funds.It will be ...

  • News

    Rise in Competition entries gives Berlinale welcome problem

    2006-12-21T04:00:00Z

    The Berlinale's selectors are spoilt for choice for the line-up of the 2007 Competition thanks to the festival's increasing popularity with film-makers from around the globe.Speaking to ScreenDaily, festival director Dieter Kosslick said: 'There are many more films which are wanting to come to Berlin this year. There is a ...

  • News

    Berlin World Cinema Fund receives extra funding

    2006-12-19T20:00:00Z

    The German Federal Culture Foundation has agreed to extend funding for the Berlin-based World Cinema Fund (WCF) for another two years.Support will now run for 2008 and 2009, having initially been planned for just three years from 2005-2007. But there will be a reduction in contributions to $395,000 (Euros 300,000) ...