All Middle East articles – Page 136

  • News

    Trust takes on Zapas' Minor Freedoms from Greece

    2008-07-02T14:24:00Z

    Trust Film Sales has taken on world sales for Minor Freedoms, by up-and-coming Greek director and writer Costas Zapas.Minor Freedoms is an unorthodox, cutting edge tale on family relations dominated by violence and sexual exploitation where, according to the director, 'the abolishment of any moral law leads to tragedy'.Produced by ...

  • News

    Berlinale WCF backsfive new projects with $315,770

    2008-07-02T11:49:00Z

    Five new feature film projects from Lebanon, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and Columbia have been selected by the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund (WCF) from 110 projects submitted from a total of 36 countries for production funding totalling $315,770 (Euros 200,000).The projects supported including co-productions with the Berlin-based production house Niko Film, ...

  • News

    Ghent festival to honour Minghella and Yared

    2008-07-01T16:53:00Z

    The life and works of the late director Anthony Minghella will be honoured by his long time friend and collaborator Gabriel Yared at the 35th edition of the Ghent International Film Festival (Oct 7-18)World renowned composer Yared will pay tribute to Minghella with a film music concert showcasing the soundtracks ...

  • News

    Roberto Olla named executive secretary at Eurimages

    2008-07-01T16:29:00Z

    Roberto Olla has been promoted, as of today, to the post of executive secretary of Eurimages, the Council of Europe's film co-production, exhibition and distribution fund.An Italian national, Roberto Olla has a law degree in public law and a PhD in Community law (thesis in European audiovisual and media law). ...

  • News

    Unifrance in controversy over active producing difficulties

    2008-07-01T16:25:00Z

    Trouble is brewing once again at Unifrance. Following a report last March that said that the organisation needed to improve its strategy and governance, the export body is now faced with a mutiny of sorts coming from its internal commissions.The brouhaha follows a general assembly meeting where the results of ...

  • News

    Sci-fi Kenny Begins among 8 features backed in Sweden

    2008-07-01T14:59:00Z

    Kenny Starfighter - the hero of a 1997 sci-fi television series in Sweden - will return in a $5.4m (Euros 3.4m) feature, Kenny Begins, produced by Swedish production house, S/S Fladen (which is controlled by Scandinavian major, Nordisk Film), in collaboration with Nordisk and Swedish public broadcaster, SVT, and supported ...

  • News

    Koelmel unveils expanded production slate for renamed company

    2008-07-01T12:30:00Z

    Following StudioCanal's takeover of Germany's Kinowelt Group earlier this year, Rainer Koelmel has now renamed his Munich-based production company Kinowelt Filmproduktion as Starhaus Filmproduktion as part of an expanded production slate.Kinowelt Filmproduktion had not been part of the StudioCanal deal and remains in the hands of Koelmel who will have ...

  • News

    Merged Copenhagen festival to launch in April 2009

    2008-06-30T16:49:00Z

    CPH:PIX, the new festival combining the NatFilm Festival and the Copenhagen International Film Festival, will run for the first time in Copenhagen from April 16-26, 2009.The new festival will also have a competition.Screen International veteran Jacob Neiiendam, who had been head of programming at the Copenhagen International Film Festival since ...

  • News

    Winding Refn starts Scottish shoot for Valhalla Rising

    2008-06-30T11:56:00Z

    Nicolas Winding Refn has started the Scotland-based shoot for his next film, Valhalla Rising.Alongside Mads Mikkelsen, the film will star Jamie Sives and Gary Lewis from Billy Elliot fame. The budget is about $7m.The famed Danish director is taking with him the organic working method from his Pusher films shooting ...

  • News

    Rennen Schorr to head new $2m Jerusalem Film Fund

    2008-06-30T11:50:00Z

    The State Treasury and the Jerusalem Foundation are backing a $2m fund to promote film-making in Jerusalem, as part of the general effort the refresh the image of Israel's capital city.Rennen Schorr, the head of the Sam Spiegel School for Cinema and Television in Jerusalem, one of the more active ...

  • News

    Cannes hits taketop honours at Munich

    2008-06-29T20:57:00Z

    Laurent Cantet'sThe Class, Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah and Valeria Gaia Germanica's Everybody Dies But Me were among the prizewinners at this year's Munich Filmfest which closed with the world premiere of Thomas Schamoni's documentary Botero.Cantet's Palme d'Or winner - the Filmfest's opening film on June 20 - received the One Future ...

  • News

    Wim Wenders to lead Venice jury

    2008-06-27T16:14:00Z

    Director Wim Wenderswill lead the jury of the 65th Venice Film Festival, the biennale's board of directors has announced.Venice's artistic director Marco Mueller selected Wenders as the president of the jury in what will be a pivotal fifth year as Venice's artistic director and the beginning of his renewed four-year ...

  • News

    The Croatian National Festival announces competition

    2008-06-27T12:56:00Z

    The Croatian National Festival in Pula, Istria, will take place from July 19-26. This will be the 55th edition of the event that used to be the national festival of former Yugoslavia.In addition to the famous and always well-attended open-air venues Arena and Kastel, the former theatre Zagreb has been ...

  • News

    Ballast wins Grand Prix at first Novi Sad festival

    2008-06-27T12:54:00Z

    Lance Hammer's Ballast won the Grand Prix of the first International Festival of Film and New Media- Cinema City in Novi Sad, Serbia (Jun 14-21), worth $15,000. In the competition for the Grand Prix were all feature films of the festival, including the Serbian competition, where the best film award ...

  • News

    Ireland showing mixed box office fortunes

    2008-06-27T12:51:00Z

    Traditionally one of the strongest performing territories in Europe, Ireland is experiencing a marginal decline in year-on-year box office returns, according to new figures from Carlton Screen.The Republic of Ireland box office has dropped 1.2% to date on last year, however this masks a year-on-year rise of 24.5% in March. ...

  • News

    Greek box-office admissions down 1m in pivotal winter season

    2008-06-27T06:00:00Z

    As the European football championships are drawing to a close and the Olympic Games (August 8-24) are around the corner, Greek distributors and exhibitors fear that sporting events could further dampen this year's box office performance. So far this year, Makis Diamantopoulos, generalmanager of the Odeon Cineplex exhibition chain describes ...

  • News

    International writers and directors seek new deal

    2008-06-27T00:00:00Z

    Nothing demonstrates the difference between Hollywood and the international independent sector more than a strike.Earlier this year, Hollywood writers were able to bring prime-time TV shows off the air and halt major film shoots. Now contract negotiations with actors and directors are underway, conducted in a manner that would be ...

  • News

    Kolirin, Bernasconi, Toth line up for Locarno short jury

    2008-06-26T17:23:00Z

    Filmmakers Fulvio Bernasconi (Fuori Dalle Corde) and Eran Kolirin (The Band's Visit) are among the five jury members for Locarno International Film Festival's Leopards of Tomorrow competitions for Swiss and international short films.The other members are the Hungarian actress Orsi Toth, who played the female lead in Kornel Mundruczo's Cannes ...

  • News

    Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburghands out$8.7m

    2008-06-26T14:27:00Z

    Feature films by veteran US actor Dennis Hopper, German comedy star Mario Barth and the Cannes/Sochi prize-winning production house Rohfilm are among 26 German and international projects awarded over $8.7m (Euros 5.6m) by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) in its latest funding session.Hopper received backing for the project River Movie about a ...

  • News

    Davaa's new documentary project begins shooting in Mongolia

    2008-06-26T12:16:00Z

    Principal photography on the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Byambasuren Davaa's new feature documentary project Two Horses Of Genghis KhanstartedMonday(June 23) in the Mongolian city of Ulaanbaatar.Shooting on the musical and mystical journey by the internationally renowned singer Urna will continue in Khentii Aimag, the birthplace of Genghis Khan, on the holy mountain ...