All Middle East articles – Page 139

  • News

    Splendid's Cannes buys include Swing Vote, Unshakable

    2008-06-09T15:36:00Z

    German distributorSplendid Film has acquired German-language rights for a raft of US features currently in postproduction or production.The Cologne-based company's spending spree at the market in Cannes saw Splendid picking up, among others:Joshua Michael Stern's family comedy Swing Vote, starring Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer Romantic comedy I ...

  • News

    Norwegian Film Institute distributes latest funding of $11.8m

    2008-06-09T14:58:00Z

    Norwegian director Marius Holst received the largest cheque, as the Norwegian Film Institute allocated $11.8m (Euros 7.5m) production support for a package of new Norwegian features, and set seven films rolling with costs totalling $54.1m (Euros 34.1m).Holst, whose last film wasaward winner Mirush, got $2.9m (Euros 1.8m) for Bastøy, based ...

  • News

    Shakespeare And Victor Hugo takes prize at Transilvania

    2008-06-09T14:55:00Z

    The Intimacies Of Shakespeare And Victor Hugo, a feature-length documentary from Mexican director Yulene Hugo, took the top prize at the seventh Transilvania International Film Festival.Director Yulena Olaizola received the festival grand prize, and Euros 10,000, from Catherine Deneuve. Deneuve was likewise honored with a lifetime achievement award, which she ...

  • News

    German distributors announce Cannes sales

    2008-06-08T21:24:00Z

    German distributors Kool Filmdistribution, Arsenal Filmverleih and Piffl Medien have unveiled a number of deals concluded during at the Cannes Film Festival.Freiburg-based Kool Filmdistribution acquired German rights to Belgian actor-director Bouli Lanners' tragicomic roadmovie Eldorado, which screened in the Directors' Fortnight and won the Europa Cinemas label for Best European ...

  • News

    Italian comedy master Dino Risi dies at age 91

    2008-06-08T19:30:00Z

    Film director Dino Risi, one of the fathers of the 'commedia all'italiana' (Italian comedy) genre that flourished in post-war Italy has died in Rome at the age of 91 after a long period of ill health.Risi's more than fifty films endeared him to Italians and foreign audiences for his talent ...

  • News

    EEAP acquires Saw 5, new Schweiger comedy

    2008-06-06T15:18:00Z

    Berlin-based EEAP has secured Eastern European rights to Saw 5, the latest edition of the horror franchise, the Hilary Swank-starrer Betty Ann Waters, and Mike Judge's comedy Extract starring Jason Bateman.This is in addition to previously announced deals in Cannes for Last Chance Harvey, Traitor, and Love N'Dancing, among others.Meanwhile, ...

  • News

    Talking Wolf starts shoot for Serbia's first zombie film

    2008-06-05T17:25:00Z

    The new Serbian independent production company Talking Wolf Productions (TWP), which focuses on action and horror genre films, is planning its first feature, Zone Of The Dead.The project, which is co-produced with Pink Film International Studios (the first private large-scale studio in Serbia), Viktorija Film, Italy's Trees Pictures and Spain's ...

  • News

    NBC Universal sells German free channel Das Vierte

    2008-06-05T17:21:00Z

    NBC Universal Global Networks has stuck an agreement to sell its free-to-air German channel Das Vierte to Mini Movie International Channel. NBC Universal said the sale of Das Vierte is part of its strategic plan to focus on the expansion of its pay-TV channels internationally. Das Vierte, which airs US ...

  • News

    New copyright agreement provides greater online access to film

    2008-06-05T17:04:00Z

    A new EU-wide copyright agreement has been signed to increase the number of films made available to the public online by cultural institutions.The films targeted are so-called 'orphan works,' where the true rights holders of films, music or books, are impossible to identify or locate. The problem means that rights ...

  • News

    Constantin dances with Step Up 3-D; Ascot takes Revolver

    2008-06-05T10:53:00Z

    Constantin Film has secured the German-speaking rights toStep Up 3-D from Summit Entertainment after successfully releasing StepUp (over 620,000 admissions in Germany) and Step Up 2 The Streets (over900,000).The dance sequel is again being produced by Summit with TouchstonePictures, anf Offspring Entertainment and will be directed by Step Up2's Jon ...

  • News

    European Commission consults on global entertainment industry plans

    2008-06-05T06:00:00Z

    The European Commission is to hold a public hearing to explore ideas for a global programme to promote the European audiovisual industry.The programme would involve cooperation, for mutual benefit, with so called 'third countries' outside of the EU and represent a firm commitment in European audiovisual policy to engaging with ...

  • News

    The Caregiver, Il Divo among international box-office hits

    2008-06-04T17:16:00Z

    Filipino film The Caregiver proved a sensational local hit this weekend with a whopping $20,616 screen average in its first weekend, the highest by a long run over the three-day period. The top 40 international films generated $181.9m across 42,426 screens for the period of May 30-June 1. For the ...

  • News

    Sony Pictures Entertainment buys Dutch games company

    2008-06-04T16:40:00Z

    Sony Pictures Entertainment has closed its acquisition of Dutch entertainment company 2waytraffic.The company works on games, variety and reality shows.'The acquisition of 2waytraffic is part of our strategy to expand global production and distribution of light entertainment content,' said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of SPE. 'This opens the door ...

  • News

    New Bondarchuk, Bychkova films to be presented at Sochi market

    2008-06-04T16:03:00Z

    New films by such directors as Fedor Bondarchuk and Oksana Bychkova will rub shoulders with presentations of upcoming releases by Russian distributors and the US majors at this year's Russian International Cinema Market which is being held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi from June 5-10 to coincide with ...

  • News

    TVE now on board for Almodovar's Broken Embraces

    2008-06-04T14:26:00Z

    Spanish public broadcaster TVE has joined forces with El Deseo on Pedro Almodovar's new film Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos), which starts shooting this week in Lanzarote.TVE previously worked with Almodovar on his films Bad Education and Oscar winning Volver. The broadcaster also worked with El Deseo on Lucrecia Martel's ...

  • News

    Taormina lauds Turkish cinema, ramps up industry plans

    2008-06-04T14:00:00Z

    Turkish cinema and an industry initiative that aims at uniting international buyers and distributors with the Sicilian Film Commission are all on the agenda of the 54th Taormina Film Festival, under the artistic direction of Deborah Young for the second year.Additionally, Young's line up reflects the 'Mediterranean and beyond' format ...

  • News

    Moszkowicz elected to head European Producers Club

    2008-06-04T11:56:00Z

    The European Producers Club has elected Martin Moszkowicz, from Constantin Film in Germany as its new president. Jean Cazès, who previously served as president, h as been elected vice-president.This move marks the first time since the EPC's founding in 1993 that the group has a non-French president. The group said: ...

  • News

    Rome Cinema Foundation's Bettini steps down

    2008-06-04T10:56:00Z

    Rome's Cinema Foundation president Goffredo Bettini has resigned from his role presiding over the Rome Film Fest, which will be ushering in its third edition Oct 21-31.In a wave of shake-ups that are effecting the culture sector here after Silvio Berlusconi's right wing government took over from Romani Prodi's left ...

  • News

    Czech government rejects tax incentive for filmmakers

    2008-06-04T10:50:00Z

    The Czech government has rejected a proposal to create a tax rebate for filmmaking, saying such an incentive would create special, beneficial tax conditions to a single industry.The proposal would have offered a 20% tax rebate on producers' Czech spend and would have allowed the government to specify what costs ...

  • News

    Cecchi Gori arrested in Rome in ongoing legal battles

    2008-06-04T10:44:00Z

    Oscar-winning film producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori whose credits include Life is Beautiful and Cinema Paradiso is behind bars in at Rome's Regina Coeli prison after he was arrested late in the afternoon Tuesday as he returned to his Palazzo Borghese residence in the center of Rome.A spokesperson for Cecchi Gori ...