All Middle East articles – Page 153

  • News

    Warner Bros Germany checks into The Last Station

    2008-03-31T20:24:00Z

    Warner Bros. Pictures Germany will distribute Michael Hoffman's The Last Station which begins shooting from April 7 at locations in Brandenburg as a production of Egoli Tossell Halle, a production-specific outfit set up by Berlin-based Egoli Tossell Film and the UK-based Zephyr Films run by Chris Curling.The drama of Count ...

  • News

    Fortissimo takes on Tribeca world premiere Chevolution

    2008-03-31T20:17:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has acquired all rights outside North America for the documentary Chevolution.Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment financed the film.Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez directed the documentary about Alberto Korda's iconic photograph of Che Guevara. The film's interviewees include Gael Garcia Bernal, Antonio Banderas, Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine ...

  • News

    Cannes Atelier to welcome Lou Ye, Benedek Fliegauf

    2008-03-31T15:19:00Z

    The fourth Cannes Atelier of the Cinefondation will welcome 15 projects from 14 countries. The selections include the new films from Milky Way director Benedek Fliegauf and Summer Palace director Lou Ye.Now in its fifth edition, L'Atelier seeks to help directors with financing and project completion.The directors and producers will ...

  • News

    Strong documentary presence at Diagonale showcase of Austrian cinema

    2008-03-31T11:10:00Z

    Documentaries are once again out in force at this year's Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film (April 1-6) which opens in Graz on Tuesday evening with the world premiere of Othmar Schmiderer's Back To Africa.Poool Filmverleih will release the film, which follows five artists of Andre Heller's 'Afrika Afrika' musical ...

  • News

    European Commissionfights on for broadband despite setbacks

    2008-03-30T12:20:00Z

    The European Commission (EC) is confident that it will achieve its targets for broadband uptake across the European Union (EU), despite the disappointing figures published and what would appear to be a waning commitment from Member States.EU-wide access to high speed internet services is widely regarded as essential if digital ...

  • News

    CNC reports that investment in French films crosses $1.89bn

    2008-03-28T14:28:00Z

    France's national film board, the CNC, has concluded that 2007 was a globally healthy year for French cinema. In total 228 films were produced with the CNC's stamp of approval. The figure does not match 2005's historic 240 but is higher than the average 213 over the past six years. ...

  • News

    Rebranded Instinctive boards 13 Semesters, The Disposables

    2008-03-28T11:16:00Z

    The Berlin-based international film production and finance company Instinctive Film - previously known as Invicta Entertainment - is boarding its first local German-language film, Frieder Wittich's coming-of-age student comedy 13 Semesters. The film begins shooting in Darmstadt next Monday (March 31).Instinctive Film will co-produce the debut feature with Munich-based Claussen-Woebke+Putz ...

  • News

    Doerrie's Cherry Blossoms leads German Lola nominations

    2008-03-28T10:20:00Z

    Doris Doerrie's Berlinale competition film Cherry Blossoms - Hanami has attracted six nominations for this year's German Film Awards - the Golden and Silver Lolas - which will be presented in a gala ceremony in Berlin on April 25.German Film Academy president Senta Berger and State Minister for Culture and ...

  • News

    Rome may replace public jury with industry jury at next fest

    2008-03-28T10:13:00Z

    One of the Rome Film Fest's most defining elements - its popular jury - may be set to change if comments made by Leandro Pesci, the regional president of ANEC, Italy's national exhibitor organisation hold true. Leandro Pesci made comments at a Rome cinema promotional forum yesterday called Cin ...

  • News

    Spanish piracy- gearing up for a fight

    2008-03-28T00:00:00Z

    Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Belarus ... and Spain. Spain' How does a western European country with such a long-established tradition of cinema-going and a rich history of film-making find itself on a watch list of the worst offenders for intellectual property theft, alongside states with virtually no film industries of their own ...

  • News

    German box office makes strong start to 2008

    2008-03-27T22:30:00Z

    Box-office takings and cinema admissions in Germany are up 30% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2008, according to figures collated by Nielsen EDI.In the period from January 3 to March 23 2008, German cinemas have been experiencing an unexpected, but welcome revival in popularity after the disappointing results of ...

  • News

    Ricky Ghai joins Abu Dhabi Media Company overseeing digital media

    2008-03-27T16:17:00Z

    UAE-based media conglomerate Abu Dhabi Media Company has hired Ricky Ghai as executive director of digital media.Ghai has 20 years' experience in pay and free TV platforms in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. His career highlights include channel development for Universal in Scandinavia, a compliance and regulatory ...

  • News

    Six win places in 16th Cannes Residence

    2008-03-27T06:35:00Z

    The 16th edition of the Cannes Residence is set to welcome six new candidates.During the four-month session, they will meet with experienced film-makersand industry professionals to help them develop either their first or second feature.The successful candidates are: Rebecca Daly (Ireland), Nikias Chryssos (Germany), Adrian Sitaru (Romania), Manuel Nieto Zas ...

  • News

    Jodie Whittaker goes to South Africa for Turner's White Wedding

    2008-03-27T06:00:00Z

    Jann Turner has started a South African shoot for White Wedding, her feature film debut.The romantic road movie is shooting across South Africa from Johannesburg and Durban to the Eastern Cape and Cape Town.Jodie Whittaker, who starred in Venus and St Trinian's, takes the lead opposite South African veterans Kenneth ...

  • News

    Yellow Bird flies for 13 more Mankell thrillers

    2008-03-26T16:33:00Z

    While in production with the $16.8m (Eu10.7m) Millennium Trilogy from the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson's novels, Swedish production outfit Yellow Bird has financed a package of 13 Henning Mankell thrillers, which will begin shooting at Ystad in southern Sweden during the summer.Swedish actor Krister Henriksson will star as detective ...

  • News

    Ascot Elite adds to slate with Swiss sci-fi thriller Cargo

    2008-03-26T16:29:00Z

    Zurich-based Ascot Elite Entertainment has unveiled a raft of new acquisitions, including the first ever Swiss science-fiction thriller Cargo by feature debutants Ralph Etter and Ivan Engler.The acquisition of rights to all German speaking territories are for: the action thriller The Tournament, starring Robert Carlyle, Ving Rhames, Kelly Hu and ...

  • News

    Screen South, Skillset launch co-production producer scheme

    2008-03-25T17:23:00Z

    Screen South and Skillset, in partnership with Cine Regio and sales association Film Export UK, are launching the new Cine-Euro Co-Production Training Programme.The nine-month programme will help 8 UK producers develop, market, finance and seek partners for European co-productions. The 12 events, including one-to-one consultations and training seminars start in ...

  • News

    Borgerding named CEO of Abu Dhabi Media Company

    2008-03-25T17:23:00Z

    Edward Borgerding has been named chief executive officer of The Abu Dhabi Media Company, the media and entertainment conglomerate based in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The announcement was made by company chairman Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei.Borgerding most recently had his own private equity firm in London and recently ...

  • News

    Fliegauf, Puiu and Carrito serve onLocarno juries

    2008-03-25T14:28:00Z

    Film directors Benedek Fliegauf (Hungary), Cristi Puiu (Romania) and Albertina Carri (Argentina) are have been recruited as members of two official juries at this year's Locarno International Film Festival (August 6-16).Fliegauf, who won the Filmmakers of the Present competition Leopard last year for Milky Way and will be the subject ...

  • News

    Marcich promoted to president, MD for MPA's EMEA branch

    2008-03-25T10:20:00Z

    The Motion Pictures Association (MPA) has promoted Christopher Marcich to president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).Marcich is a 13-year-veteran of MPA's EMEA arm, most recently serving as senior vice president and managing director.He assumes the new title immediately and reports directly to MPA president ...