All Middle East articles – Page 225
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Handmade pact with Ilion for $50m CGI film Planet One
The UK's revived Handmade Films is partnering on financing, production and sales with Spain's Ilion Animation Studios for the $50m CGI animated feature Planet One. Shrek and Shrek 2 writer Joe Stillman wrote the original screenplay for the project, which will be directed by Jorge Blanco, who created the game ...
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Dubai announces dates, beefed-up roles for Amralla and Field
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), which will run from Dec 9 to 16, 2007, has announced that CEO and festival director Neil Stephenson has stepped down. Co-artistic directors Simon Field and Masoud Amralla Al Ali have increased responsibility for the programme direction, according to a statement, and report directly ...
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Martin Koechendoerfer to succeed Anatol Nitschke at X Verleih
Concorde Filmverleih's Martin Kochendoerfer is to succeed Anatol Nitschke as board member of the Berlin-based distributor X Verleih from April 1.Kochendoerfer has worked in various functions at Concorde in Munich since the end of 1989, including sales manager since 1995. He will be responsible for sales, PR and marketing and ...
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Video-on-demand prompts Swedish major to merge
To prepare for the breakthrough of video-on-demand in the Scandinavian market, Swedish media giant Bonnier Entertainment - the owner of Swedish major Svensk Filmindustri - has merged its VOD service, SF Anytime, with sister company SF Bio, Scandinavia's largest exhibitor. 'It is a crucial time for video-on-demand, and SF Anytime ...
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Germany breaks 100m barrier for DVD sales
Annual DVD unit sales in Germanypassed the 100 million mark for the first time last year, according to statistics prepared by the GfK market research institute for the home entertainment industry body BVV.A total of 100.7m units were sold in 2006, up from 98.7m in 2005, with record sales in ...
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Zodiak swoops on Yellow Bird
Sweden's Zodiak Television, which already controls such outfits as Jarowskij, MTV Mastiff, Mastiff, Social Club and Diverse Production, has purchased film and television production outfit Yellow Bird. During the last two years Yellow Bird has produced 13 films totalling $28.4 million based on Swedish author Henning Mankell's books about Ystad ...
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Ane Dahl Torp receives inaugural Liv Ullmann prize
Norwegian actress Ane Dahl Torp received the first $16,300 (Euros 12,400) Liv Ullmann Honorary Prize at the Norwegian Film Ball, the gala event organised by the Norwegian Film Institute with the industry at the Oslo Plaza. Ullmann had cancelled her participation due to sickness.Educated at the Norwegian National Drama School ...
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Fallen Angels still ready to fly
Despite losing a director and $1.1m(Eu0.9) state fundingfor Fallen Angels - the second instalment of the Varg Veum project, a $12.9m (Euros 9.8m) package of two theatrical features andfour TV movies - Norway's SF Norge producer Guttorm Pettersonis certain production will proceed as planned.'We expect to name a new director ...
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Final line-up announced for Malaga Film Festival
UK director Francesca Joseph's Stanley Tucci-starrer Four Last Songs will close the upcoming 10th annual edition of the Spanish Film Festival of Malaga (March 9-17). The film, a Spanish co-production which was shot in Mallorca, co-stars Rhys Ifans, Hugh Bonneville and Marisa Paredes in the story of an American pianist ...
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Four Last Songs to play out Malaga festival
UK directorFrancesca Joseph's Four Last Songs will close the 10th annual edition of the Spanish Film Festival of Malaga(March 9-17).The film, aSpanish co-production which shot in Mallorca, stars Stanley Tucci, with Rhys Ifans, HughBonneville and Marisa Paredes. It's the story of an American pianist ofmediocre talents whose efforts to organise ...
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Lady Chatterley takes best picture Cesar
Lady Chatterley was crowned best picture Saturday night at France's Cesar Awards. The film, directed by Pascale Ferran also took the best actress honour for Marina Hands among five awards.Best actor went to Francois Cluzet for his role in Guillaume Canet's Tell No One. Guillaume Canet was also named best ...
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42 Plus to open Austrian Diagonale festival
Sabine Derflinger's latest feature 42 Plus will be the opening film atthis year's Austrian national film festival Diagonale (March 19-25)which is being held in the Styrian capital for the tenth time this year.The DOR Film production, starring Claudia Michelsen, Ulrich Tukur,and Tobias Moretti, centres on a 42-year-old woman whose eye ...
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Sky increases Italian film investment
Satellite TV operator Sky Italia has come to an agreement with Italian producers to increase investment in Italian cinema by 37%, increasing their actual investment from $28.8m (Euros 22m) to $45.9m (Euros 35m) annually. Details of the rights purchasing agreement of local films - including how much exclusivity Sky ...
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Fox executive VP Grass to take leading role at Universal
Christian Grass, London-based executive vice president at Fox International, is leaving to take on the key international production job at Universal Pictures.The move reunites Grass with his old Miramax International boss David Linde, who was named co-chairman of Universal Studios in March last year.Neither Grass nor Universal would comment on ...
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Gaumont strikes US deal for Fidel with Koch Lorber and Red Envelope
France 's Gaumont has announced the sale of Prix Michel d'Ornano winner and Sundance entry Blame It On Fidel to Koch Lorber in the US. The film, directed by Julie Gavras, will go out in the second quarter of 2007 in NY and LA followed by a wider release. Koch ...
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ProSiebenSat.1 Group signs free-TV rights deal with Warner
Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Media has signed a long-running agreement with Warner Bros International Television Distribution (WBITD) for future productions from the Warner Bros studio. Starting in 2007, the agreement grants the German broadcasting group exclusive free-TV rights for all of the studio's feature films and a selection of series released during ...
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Oscar winning Dutch film-maker Fons Rademakers dies aged 86
Dutch director Fons Rademakers died last Thursday at the age of 86. He received an Academy Award in 1987 for his wartime thriller The Assault. Rademakers died in a hospital in Geneva from lung emphysema complications. During his career, he directed 11 features, mostly based on Dutch novels. His most ...
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Renny Harlin to make his first film in Finland in 20 years
Currently making Cleaner in the US with Samuel L Jackson and Ed Harris, Finnish Hollywood-director Renny Harlin will direct his first film in Finland for 20 years, a $15.8-18.8m (Euros 12m-14m) epic of Finnish historical legend CGE Mannerheim, a Swedish-speaking nobleman who served the Russian Tsar before returning in 1917 ...
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European cinema admissions up 4% during 2006
Cinema attendance in Europe was up 4% in 2006, according to new research from the European Audiovisual Observatory.Of the 25 member states of the EU, EAO tracks 20 countries, 17 of which sold more cinema tickets in 2006 than in 2005. Eastern Europe showed the greatest leaps, with Lithuania's attendance ...
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Seville clocks up Berlin deals on Poor Boy's Game
Seville International has closed multiple sales on Clement Virgo's Berlin Panorama entry Poor Boy's Game starring Danny Glover, Rossif Sutherland and Laura Regan. Tot Media bought the film for Spain, CCV for Scandinavia, All Interactive Distribution for Australia, Epelpol for Poland, Video Filmes for Brazil, Teleview International for the Middle ...