All Africa articles – Page 121

  • News

    Sweden's Astoria Cinemas files for bankruptcy

    2007-07-11T15:19:00Z

    Last curtain fell for Swedish cinema circuit, Astoria Cinemas - once the country's second-largest theatre chain - as part-owner and managing director (since June 8) Jonny Jergander filed for bankruptcy less than two months after distributor-exhibitor Triangelfilm, the main force behind the set-up, also went bust. 'We are all losers. ...

  • News

    4 Months stirs education controversy in France

    2007-07-11T15:16:00Z

    Cannes Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days has been at the heart of some controversy lately in France.The drama, which deals with clandestine abortion in Communist-era Romania, was also awarded the National Education Prize which is given to a Cannes official selection that has relevant artistic, ...

  • News

    Paramount takes UK and otherrights to How To Lose Friends

    2007-07-11T14:49:00Z

    Paramount Pictures International has licensed UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa distribution rights for How To Lose Friends And Alienate People from Intandem Films. Intandem has also struck deals for Portugal, Benelux, CIS, Greece, Cyprus, Scandinavia and the Middle East. The total value of pre-sales so far is $4.8m. ...

  • News

    Halo-8 takes rights to documentary Your Mommy Kills Animals

    2007-07-11T13:37:00Z

    Halo-8 Entertainment, the label distributed by Ryko Filmworks and Warner-Elektra-Atlantic, and taken worldwide theatrical and home video rights to animal rights documentary Your Mommy Kills Animals from Indie Genius Productions. Curt Johnson, who previously worked on Thoth, directs the project about young animal rights activists and their detractors. 'Curt Johnson ...

  • News

    Screenwriting group eQuinoxe expands into Middle East

    2007-07-11T13:29:00Z

    eQuinoxe, the international mentoring association that runs workshops for screenwriters, has set up in the Middle East. EQuinoxe Arabiya is styling itself as an 'incubator' focused on mentoring Arab filmmakers and their projects. A not-for-profit offshoot of Haroun Multimedia, an animation and post-production house based in Dubai Media City, the ...

  • News

    Maire promises diversity and premieres at Locarno 2007

    2007-07-11T11:55:00Z

    A 'diversity in the range of possibilities of filmmaking' is how Locarno Film Festival's Frederic Maire describes the line-up for his second festival as artistic director. The Swiss festival kicks off Aug 1 with a screening of the Japanese film Vexille by Fumihiko Sori on the Piazza Grande. 'The two ...

  • News

    Warner Bros promotes PaoloFerrari in Italy

    2007-07-10T14:32:00Z

    Warner Bros. International has named Paolo Ferrari as president and managing director, Warner Bros Entertainment Italy.The promotion was announced today by Barry Meyer, chairman and CEO, Alan Horn, president and COO and Richard Fox, executive vice president, International, Warner Bros.Ferrari's advancement comes after a 17 year stint with Warner Bros ...

  • News

    Dutch 2007 box office up 8.3% in first half of 2007

    2007-07-10T11:11:00Z

    Recovery of Dutch box office continues after the satisfying 2006 numbers. Total gross increased with 8.3% to $96.5m (Euros 70.7m) in this year's first six months, compared to $89.1m (Euros 65.3m) in 2006. Dutch admissions climbed with 6.6% to 10.4m sold tickets in the first six months. In 2006, only ...

  • News

    Belle Epoque leads prizes at first Film Festival of Serbia

    2007-07-10T10:28:00Z

    At the first national Film Festival of Serbia in Novi Sad (July 3-8), Nikola Stojanovic's Belle Epoque picked up the Grand Prix for the best film, as well as awards for best actress, music, make-up and art direction. The film about the period from 1910-1914 in Sarajevo had been shot ...

  • News

    Czechs prepare to submit new film law calling for 20% rebate

    2007-07-10T10:21:00Z

    Czech filmmakers and politicians are again preparing a new proposal for a comprehensive film law which would help lure runaway productions to Prague and provide sustainable support for local filmmakers. Among the proposal's reported features is a 20% tax rebate for film productions, foreign or domestic, shooting in the Czech ...

  • News

    France sees 9m fewer tickets sold in first half of 2007

    2007-07-09T21:34:00Z

    After a record first half in 2006, the first six months of 2007 have seen a 12% drop in film attendance in France. However, the 90.5m admissions racked up are an increase over 2005. That figure comes from France's Film Federation (FNCF), which represents the nation's exhibitors, while the National ...

  • News

    German Films Previews offers 17 projects to international buyers

    2007-07-09T15:04:00Z

    The European representatives of such US distributors as The Weinstein Company, Paramount Vantage, and Miramax are among over 50 international film buyers attending the German Films Previews showcase which are being held for the first time in Cologne from July 12 until the weekend. Other companies confirmed as coming to ...

  • News

    Muriel Sauzay joins Pathe to head international sales

    2007-07-09T11:57:00Z

    Muriel Sauzay has been named deputy managing director of Pathe Distribution (France) in charge of international sales. She will be based in Paris, while head of international sales Mike Runagall will continue to be based in London. The two offices will work together under Sauzay's supervision. She had been director ...

  • News

    Witi Ihimaera to work on Matriarch adaptation with Binger Lab

    2007-07-09T11:22:00Z

    The Netherlands-based Binger Filmlab will welcome Maori novelist Witi Ihimaera as a writer in residence for six months, and Ihimaera will also follow Binger's Script Development Programme. The author, who previously wrote The Whale Rider, will be working on the screen adaptation of his 1986 novel The Matriarch, about the ...

  • News

    Telepool picks up Ruzowitzky's new feature Lilly The Witch

    2007-07-09T11:12:00Z

    Telepool will handle the international sales for Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky's new feature Lilly The Witch (Hexe Lilli) which is shooting for six weeks at the Babelsberg Studios before moving on to locations in Austria. Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily.com, producer Corinna Mehner of blue eyes fiction said that the German-Austrian-Spanish ...

  • News

    Spider-Man 3 drives Sony to cross overseas $1bn in record time

    2007-07-08T21:01:00Z

    The apocalyptic robots of Transformers just about did enough to keep Bruce Willis at bay as Paramount/DreamWorks' Transformers ruled the overseas market at the weekend. The action epic grossed an estimated $43.6m from 3,503 venues in 29 territories following last weekend's robust take-off and now stands at $93.6m. ...

  • News

    Kormakur's Jar City take top honors at Karlovy Vary

    2007-07-08T20:42:00Z

    Baltasar Kormakur's Icelandic thriller Jar City (pictured above) won the Grand Prix of the 42nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on July 8.Kormakur and producer Lilja Palmadottir will share the $20,000 cash prize. The film also received the FICC Don Quijote Award. Trust Film Sales is ...

  • News

    World Cinema Fund gives largest award to Guerra's Wind Journeys

    2007-07-08T17:42:00Z

    Five projects from Latin America, the Middle East and Africa have been selected by the World Cinema Fund (WCF) from a total of 81 submissions from 28 countries for funding of $313,387 (Euros 230,000).The largest single amount of funding - $81,753 (Euros 60,000) - went to Colombian director Ciro Guerra's ...

  • News

    Venice to close with Alexi Tan's debut Blood Brothers

    2007-07-06T17:04:00Z

    Blood Brothers, the first feature by director Alexi Tan which is produced by John Woo and Terence Chang, will close the Venice Film Festival's 64th edition, out of competition, the Biennale said today. Fortissimo is handling international sales on the project, and already sold a number of territories during the ...

  • News

    EuropaCorp starts trading on Euronext after $95m IPO

    2007-07-06T12:21:00Z

    Luc Besson's EuropaCorp made a strong entry to the Euronext today having raised $95.1m (Euros 70m) in an initial public offering. The French mini-major sold 4.51m shares at $21 (Euros 15.5) each, the company said in a statement. Underwriters have the option until August 3 to sell 451,612 further shares ...