All articles by Screen International correspondents – Page 4

  • News

    Wolfhound hunts down Cannes sales

    2006-06-07T04:00:00Z

    Leading Russian producer and distributor Central Partnershiphas announced pre-sales for two of its high-profile projects: the $12m Slavicfantasy Wolfhound and $10m sci-fi Paragraph 78.Both were sold following an official sales launch, includingsome footage, to more than 120 distributors at Cannes.Before the festival SPI International had acquired allrights to Wolfhound for ...

  • News

    Fortissimo opens New York bureau

    2006-05-25T04:00:00Z

    Salesagency Fortissimo is to open a New York office. Thebureau will be led by Hong Kong-based executive Winnie Lau, who has beenpromoted to Senior Vice President, Sales & Acquisitions.Shewill move from Hong Kong to New York this summer for the launch of the office beforethe Toronto Film Festival.Theannouncement was made ...

  • News

    EU film production rose while admissions plummeted in 2005

    2006-05-11T04:00:00Z

    Europeancinema produced record numbers of films last year even as admissions nosedived.Theannual European Audiovisual Observatory report shows 798 films were produced inthe 25 nations of the European Union (EU) - up 37 from 2004.Franceled the way with 240 films in 2004, up by 28 even on the record year of ...

  • News

    Quebecois drama opens Manchester Commonwealth festival

    2006-04-27T04:00:00Z

    Sebastian Rose's Life With MyFather (La Vie Avec Mon Pere) opens the Manchester annualCommonwealth Film Festival (ComFEST06) tommorow night.The event features nine strands with films fromCommonwealth countries, including India, Australia and Canada.It will also include its established Queerscreensection of gay and lesbian cinema.'Notonly will COMFEST06 provide a fascinating showcase for ...

  • News

    French-Canadian drama opens Manchester Commonwealth festival

    2006-04-27T04:00:00Z

    Sebastian Rose's Life With MyFather (La Vie Avec Mon Pere) opens the Manchester annualCommonwealth Film Festival (ComFEST06) tommorow night.The event features nine strands with films fromCommonwealth countries, including India, Australia and Canada.It will also include its established Queerscreensection of gay and lesbian cinema."Notonly will COMFEST06 provide a fascinating showcase for ...

  • News

    Pitt and Blanchett among UIP stars for Cannes

    2006-04-26T04:00:00Z

    JamieFoxx, Beyonce Knowles, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are among the starsconfirmed to attend Cannes next month.UIP, which is distributing their films in certain territories, has eight films at Cannes which include Paramount specialty arm's Babel, being sold by Summit Entertainment internationally, and An InconvenientTruth; excerptsfrom Paramount's World Trade Center; ...

  • News

    Pathe distribution head takes Fox UK MD role

    2006-04-26T00:00:00Z

    Pathe head of distribution Ian George has beennamed as managing director of Twentieth Century Fox UK. George has been with Pathefor the last seven years and enjoyed success with films including this year'sbest film Oscar winner Crash."After seven hugely enjoyable years at Pathe,it is a wrench to leave. However, I ...

  • News

    Capital festivals benefit from Film London fund

    2006-04-25T00:00:00Z

    A dozen London film festivals areto benefit from Film London's Audience Development Fund over the next sixmonths.They are:Black FilmmakersMagazine International Film Festival (September 8-16) £5,000Bird's Eye View(March to September) £7,500 Fashion In Film Festival (May 12-21) £4,000Short Film Summer School (July 12-15) £3,000 African Film Festival (May 30 - June ...

  • News

    UIP makes pioneering move into Vietnam

    2006-04-21T07:00:00Z

    United International Pictures (UIP) is to become the first of the major global film distributors to do business in Vietnam.Its agent Envoy Media Partners is to work with Megastar Media JVC to establish the country's first purpose-built multiplex operation. The first release will be Mission: Impossible III, which will ...

  • News

    UK Manga takes dominant role in download revolution

    2006-04-20T04:00:00Z

    A UK Manga-style animation is promising to be the first to offer serialised monthly downloads to iPod and Playstation before theatrical release.Dominator X, currently in production at the Brighton studios of Renga Media, is the creation of successful comic book writer Alan Grant and director Tony Luke.From July, the feature ...

  • News

    June deadline for expanded Grierson Awards

    2006-04-19T04:00:00Z

    TheGrierson Awards for documentaries have expanded beyond the UK this year totake in factual films made anywhere in the world.The entry deadline is June 2 in 10 categories: bestdocumentary on a contemporary issue, best documentary on the arts, besthistorical documentary, best documentary on science or the natural world, mostentertaining documentary, ...

  • News

    Miller and Relph join Arts Alliance Media

    2006-04-19T04:00:00Z

    Digital film distributor Arts Alliance Media has appointedSir Robin Miller and Simon Relph as non-executive directors.Miller was formerly chief executive and chairman of Emap,owners of Screen International.Relph was thefounding chief executive of British Screen Finance Limited and is anindependent producer with 17 films under his belt.Arts Alliance Media chairman Thomas ...

  • News

    Khan joins Momentum as UK finance director

    2006-04-18T13:00:00Z

    Saher Khan has been appointed as director of finance at Momentum Pictures in the UK.Khan, who is currently financial controller at Universal Pictures International, will take up her position in the London office this month, reporting to Krista Wegener, UK VP of Finance."We are delighted to have Saher join our ...

  • News

    Partnership not politics is key to co-productions - conference

    2006-04-04T04:00:00Z

    Co-productiontreaties between governments are not a catch-all solution to creatingcross-national films, delegates to Screen International's NewFrontiers conference in London were warned.Many nations have bilateral agreements which allow film-makers from partner countries to access local tax breaks. Many more are likely to be signed with the emerging film powers like Russia, ...

  • News

    UK hoping for tax break details in Budget

    2006-03-22T00:00:00Z

    UK Chancellor Gordon Brown may announce tax break details in his Budget speech at 12.30pm (GMT) this afternoon.The UK film industry was cheered in December by an announcement about new film tax laws and they are hoping to have a clearer picture today.There is, however, no guarantee it will even ...

  • News

    Screenwriters Festival launches in UK town

    2006-03-20T04:00:00Z

    The first international Screenwtiters Festival officiallylaunches tomorrow night (Tuesday) in Cheltenham, the location for the June event.The town in the English Cotswolds is already home to amajor literary festival and has strong writing and film links.The launch takes place in the town's own film studiosand will include writers and ...

  • News

    Police seize£500,000 of pirate DVDs in raid

    2006-02-02T12:16:00Z

    AUK police force has seized more than £500,000 of pirate DVDs in a jointoperation with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft).Morethan 100,000 illegally-copied films, including Memoirs of a Geisha, The Chroniclesof Narnia and Munich, were found when Kent Police raided a makeshift factory inBurnt Oak, North-West London and a related facility ...

  • News

    Police seize£500,000 of pirate DVDs in raid

    2006-02-02T12:16:00Z

    AUK police force has seized more than £500,000 of pirate DVDs in a jointoperation with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft).Morethan 100,000 illegally-copied films, including Memoirs of a Geisha, The Chroniclesof Narnia and Munich, were found when Kent Police raided a makeshift factory inBurnt Oak, North-West London and a related facility ...

  • News

    Police seize£500,000 of pirate DVDs in raid

    2006-02-02T12:16:00Z

    AUK police force has seized more than £500,000 of pirate DVDs in a jointoperation with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft).Morethan 100,000 illegally-copied films, including Memoirs of a Geisha, The Chroniclesof Narnia and Munich, were found when Kent Police raided a makeshift factory inBurnt Oak, North-West London and a related facility ...

  • News

    High-tech competition demonstrates digital potential

    2006-02-02T04:00:00Z

    ScreenDaily readers are today invited to take part in a unique digital cinema experiment.Three film-makers are creating short movies using digital footage, mobile phones and downloads from web sitesand are editing them live at the Screen International Cinema Next conference at Bafta in London using affordable commercial software and hardware. ...