All News articles – Page 5043
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Marrakech left deserted by Scorsese, Almodovar
The embarrassing absence ofboth Martin Scorsese and Pedro Almodovar from this year's secondMarrakech International Film Festival stole much of the limelight away from anotherwise glittering event where an outdoor public screening of David Lynch'ssexually-charged Mulholland Drivefurther raised the temperature in this Islamic hot zone.On the eve of King MohammedVI presenting ...
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PGA announce Celebration Of Diversity
The Producers Guild OfAmerica (PGA) is to hold a brand new annual Celebration Of Diversity in LosAngeles to honour the contributions of African Americans, Asians, Latinos, gaysand lesbians and women to the industry. The event will take place on Oct 28 andwill honour Ang Lee, Danny Glover, Moctezuma Esparza, Marian ...
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Paradox Lake wins Athens festival
Paradox Lake, an American independent production by Polish-born, first-time director Przemyslaw Shemie Reut was named best film at the 8th Athens International Film Festival, which wrapped yesterday (Sept 19). The film, which received the Audience Award accompanied by a Euros6,000 prize, beat competition including Gus van Sant's Gerry John Sayles ...
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Oscar hopefuls hit language barrier
Qualifying for the foreign language Oscars has long been the source of some confusion, but this year the imbroglio of the world's most important film trophy is boiling over into resentment. The Oscar for most angry country goes to Sweden, which argues that the criterion of language ghettoises national cinemas. ...
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London Screenings 'confident' buyers will come
Far from being dead, London's pre-Mifed film market is attracting increased interest from buyers. That is the verdict of londonscreenings.com, a buyers' rep acting for the London Screenings (the market organised by Fusion Events), the Raindance independent film festival and the Kodak Vision Screenings. "We remain convinced the market will ...
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San Sebastian festival kicks off with The Good Thief
Spain's San Sebastian International Film Festival (Sept 19-28) kicks off what promises to be a star-studded 50th anniversary edition today with screenings of Official Section inaugural film The Good Thief and sidebar Zabaltegi opening title The Dancer Upstairs.Good Thief director Neil Jordan and co-star Tcheki Karyo will offer a press ...
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Wellspring acquires two for US from Celluloid Dreams
Wellspring Media has picked up US rights to two European films - Alexander Sokurov's acclaimed Cannes title Russian Ark and Bille Eltringham's UK DV thriller This Is Not A Love Song. Both films were sold by Paris-based sales outfit Celluloid Dreams. Russian Ark is slated for a release before the ...
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UK government backs festival to promote EU enlargement
The UK Government is spending£12,000 to back a London film festival showcasing Eastern European film - in a bid to help raise awareness of the planned enlargement of European Union in 2004. The New Europe Film Season opened at London's Barbican Screen on Thursday (19 September).According to a Foreign Office ...
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Open Hearts, The Sea do storming business in the Nordic region
US blockbuster Signs may have dominated many of the bigger European territories, but in the Nordic countries two home grown titles are generating big returns.In Denmark, Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier's new film Open Hearts (Elsker Dig For Evigt) (pictured), which screens in competition at San Sebastian this week, has again ...
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Moonstone sells Chen Kaige's Together to five territories
Etchie Stroh's Moonstone Entertainment has closed a slew of deals on Chen Kaige's latest film Together which world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week and was swiftly sold to United Artists for North America.Momentum Pictures bought the film for the UK, A-Film for Benelux, Vertigo for Spain, ...
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Hong Kong film industry hammers out crisis proposals
The creation of a Hong Kong Film Commission - centralising all of the territory's film support mechanisms - was one of the key proposals to emerge from a crisis conference held by the Hong Kong film industry yesterday (September 18).Conference delegates also suggested that the Hong Kong government underwrite bank ...
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Newmarket makes it four with Whale Rider
Marking its fourth film acquisition in the last two weeks, upstart US distribution outfit Newmarket Films has acquired all North American rights to Whale Rider, Niki Caro's magical fable from New Zealand, which won the AGF People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival last weekend.The film, which world ...
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The Big Blue finally surfaces in Italy after fourteen years
Fourteen years after it became a cult movie across the world, Luc Besson's The Big Blue is at long last set to open in Italy following the resolution of a lengthy court battle. Italian audiences will be able to enjoy the diving movie's premiere at the close of the European ...
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Winchester stock rises after Helkon buys into company
Winchester Entertainment's stock rose a hefty 44% yesterday after Simon Franks and Zygi Kamasa's UK distributor Helkon SK bought 3.67% of the media company.Winchester chief executive and founder Gary Smith played down speculation that Helkon might bid for the company, saying that the share purchase had acted as a catalyst ...
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Struggling Vivendi Universal 'committed' to Babelsberg studios
Struggling media group Vivendi Universal remains committed to its ownership of Babelsberg Film Studios, according to Thierry Potok, chief executive of Vivendi Deutschland and caretaker manager of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures (SBMP).The sudden departure last week of SBMP CEO Gabriela Bacher, plus Vivendi Universal's ongoing attempts to raise cash by ...
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Spanish, Italian publishing giants unveil film production and distribution push
Spanish publishing giant Grupo Planeta and Italian partner De Agostini have finally unveiled full details of their joint multi-media venture, DeA Planeta, including the creation of a new production division to be headed by former Esicma chief Pau Calpe.Calpe will oversee the as yet unnamed production division, which plans to ...
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Melbourne film studio gets government go-ahead
A major new film studio complex in the Australian state of Victoria got the greenlight this week, after the state's government agreed to commit US$22m (A$40m) of public funding to the US$60m ($A110m) project.To be built in the state capital of Melbourne, Central City Studios (CCS) will have five new ...
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Spanish pay-TV merger will get greenlight says media titan
Jesus de Polanco, president of Spanish media group Sogecable, said on Tuesday that he is "convinced" the digital merger between Sogecable's pay TV platform Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) and rival Via Digital will be approved.News reports on Monday suggested the government would give the merger the green light by year-end. ...
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Brazil's Rio festival to showcase 400 films
Brazil's most prominent film event, the Festival do Rio BR, will showcase up to 400 films in more than seventeen sidebars. Running from September 26 to October 10, the festival will include the latest works by internationally renowned directors led by Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, Arturo Ripstein, Atom Egoyan and ...
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Endemol acquires hit-making Spanish TV production outfit
Endemol Entertainment has bought out 100% of Barcelona TV production outfit Gestmusic Endemol.Endemol, itself 100% owned by Spanish telecoms company Telefonica, originally bought into the producer in 1994 and owned 60% prior to the latest move. Gestmusic founders Tony Cruz and Jose Maria Mainat will stay on as co-executive directors ...