All articles by Wendy Mitchell – Page 29

  • News

    Persepolis, Hold Me Tight take honours at Bird's Eye View

    2008-03-18T17:47:00Z

    As the Birds Eye View Film Festival ended its fourth successful run on March 14, Persepolis was given the festival's Best Feature prize. The popular animated feature by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud has collected a slew of awards since its launch in Cannes.Kim Longinotto's Hold Me Tight, Let Me ...

  • News

    Film-maker Anthony Minghella dies at age 54

    2008-03-18T13:54:00Z

    Film-maker Anthony Minghella has died at the age of 54.His spokespeople released this statement: ' Anthony Minghella died this morning at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, west London. He was operated on last week for a growth in his neck, and the operation seemed to have gone well. At 5am ...

  • News

    Everyman acquires seven-cinema chain Screen Cinemas

    2008-03-17T17:13:00Z

    UK exhibitor Screen Cinemas has been sold to Everyman Media Group, the parent company of Everyman Cinema Club.Investment banking firm Livingston Partners advised the Screen Cinemas shareholders, including managind director Romaine Hart, during the deal negotiations. Terms were not disclosed.Screen Cinemas operates seven theatres across London and the Southeast of ...

  • News

    HanWay takes on library sales for British Film Institute

    2008-03-17T17:03:00Z

    The British Film Institute has appointed HanWay films as its worldwide sales and marketing agent for its lucrative catalogue of more than 400 films.The BFI collection is comprised of BFI Production Board films, works from the BFI National Archive and a number of additional features, shorts and documentaries for which ...

  • News

    Michael Elson leaves UK's Moving Picture Company

    2008-03-17T16:52:00Z

    Michael Elson has stepped down as head of film and COO at UK-based Moving Picture Company.He will now pursue other film production interests.Christian Roberton, who had been head of production for film at MPC, will take over as head of film.'Michael has played an enormous part in establishing MPC as ...

  • News

    Dominic Cooper replaces Orlando Bloom in Scherfig's Education

    2008-03-17T15:36:00Z

    Orlando Bloom has pulled out of the cast of Lone Scherfig's new film An Education, which starts shooting today. Dominic Cooper now takes the role after Bloom had scheduling clashes. Cara Seymour has also joined the cast for An Education, shooting now in London, is based on a screenplay by ...

  • News

    UKFC commits almost $4m to Edinburgh festival over 3 years

    2008-03-17T12:12:00Z

    The UK Film Council has announced $3.78m (£1.88m)in funding over three years to the Edinburgh International Film Festival.The Lottery funding, coming via the UKFC's Film Festival Strategy, will run until 2010.The groups said the funding will support growth for public audiences as well as industry professionals from the UK and ...

  • News

    Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck gets Sarasota honour

    2008-03-14T17:33:00Z

    The 2008 Sarasota Film Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary year by kicking off with opening-night film The Deal directed by Steven Schachter and starring William H Macy.The festival will give its Breakthrough Award to The Lives Of Others director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck. Producer Paula Wagner will present the ...

  • News

    India's Century buys UK effects house Men From Mars

    2008-03-14T15:34:00Z

    India-based Century Communications has acquired UK-based visual effects house Men From Mars.Century is the independently owned media company that is the parent of Indian effects company Pixion.Simon Frame and Phil Attfield founded Men From Mars in 2000 after leaving Men In White Coats. The company has since worked on films ...

  • News

    Joel Kennedy joins Revolver as senior acquisitions manager

    2008-03-14T12:08:00Z

    Joel Kennedy has joined UK distributor Revolver Entertainment as senior acquisitions manager.Separately, the company announced that it has acquired Sundance hit The Wackness starring Ben Kingsley, and buzz French title Female Agents starring Sophie Marceau. The Wackness is sold by Celluloid Dreams and Female Agents by TF1 International.Kennedy will acquire ...

  • Features

    Production - On location - Scene stealer

    2008-03-14T00:00:00Z

    Iceland boasts some of the most striking landscapes on earth, is equidistant from the US East Coast and continental Europe and offers extreme daylight in summer and extreme darkness in winter. Locations range from Reykjavik's trendy bars to active volcanoes, geothermal hot springs and Europe's largest glacier.More than 30 international ...

  • Features

    Production - Iceland - White hot

    2008-03-14T00:00:00Z

    Iceland punches above its weight in the film world, considering the number of film-makers and film-goers per capita in this small, isolated nation. The country's reputation is on the up thanks to increasingly high-profile work from the likes of Baltasar Kormakur, whose acclaimed thriller Jar City was launched in the ...

  • News

    Film4 budget holds steady as Channel 4 unveils future vision

    2008-03-13T18:02:00Z

    Channel 4's film production arm Film4 was held up as a central part of the company's public service contribution during the broadcaster's 'Next On 4' future vision presentation earlier today.In London, Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson, chief executive Andy Duncan and director of TV/content Kevin Lygo unveiled strategic plans for ...

  • News

    Hyyti to leave Finland's FS Film Oy; Toiviainen promoted to MD

    2008-03-13T11:26:00Z

    Lasse Hyyti is leaving his post as managing director of Finnish distributor FS Film Oy.The company's current VP of marketing and head of theatrical distribution, Antti Toiviainen, will be promoted to Managing Director as of April 16.Hyyti, who has been with FS Film for eight years, will pursue a career ...

  • News

    Caramel to kick off Istanbul's 200-film programme

    2008-03-12T17:04:00Z

    The 27th International Istanbul Film Festival (April 5-20) will open with Nadine Labaki's Cannes hit Caramel. The festival, sponsored by AKBANK, has programmed 200 films in 20 sections, playing at six venues.Twelve international films are competing for the Golden Tulip: Ben X, Darling, The Wave, Be Kind Rewind, Egg, My ...

  • News

    Kari's The Good Heart beats with Paul Dano, Brian Cox

    2008-03-12T12:20:00Z

    Icelandic director Dagur Kari is gearing up for a late April start of shoot for his next film The Good Heart, which has been pushed back slightly after a planned December 2007 start. The film will shoot for 10 weeks.Paul Dano and Brian Cox are now cast in the leads, ...

  • News

    UKFC, NESTA launch $1m scheme to update film's business models

    2008-03-12T11:22:00Z

    The UK Film Council is working with the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts (NESTA) to start a new $1m (£500,000) initiative to help British independent film companies take better advantage of new technologies.NESTA and the UKFC are now scouting for film companies who want to learn more ...

  • News

    Picturehouse readies Liverpool's first digital 3D cinema at FACT

    2008-03-11T15:53:00Z

    Liverpool, England gets its first digital 3D cinema at Picturehouse at FACT.Picturehouse Cinemas is making the Liverpool location its first in a planned rollout of digital 3D cinemas. The 2K digital cinema projector will be using Real-D technology. 'REAL-D 3D goes leaps and bounds beyond the early 3D technology,' said ...

  • News

    Sheffield's Sensoria music/film festival adds industry day

    2008-03-11T13:55:00Z

    Sensoria, the UK's new music and film festival to be held in Sheffield, has announced that A Life In the Death Of Joe Meek will be its opening night film, with an introduction by musician Richard Hawley.Other films in the programme are The Old Weird America: Harry Smith's Anthology Of ...

  • News

    Barbarian Princess starts UK, Hawaii shoot

    2008-03-10T16:38:00Z

    UK-based Matador Pictures and Hawaii-based Island Film Group have started production today on Barbarian Princess, which director Marc Forby is shooting in Honolulu and in Norfolk, UK.As previously reporter, Q'orianka Kilcher, Barry Pepper, Will Patton and Shaun Evans star.The film becomes the first feature to shoot inside Honolulu's Iolani Palace.The ...