All articles by Patrick Frater – Page 33
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News
Rotterdam provokes 'parliamentary' outcry
The decision by the Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR) to revive its Film Parliament format - first used 15 years ago - produced two of the sparkiest festival debates on film seen in recent years. By ditching the classical panel debates and opting instead for a confrontational set-up concluding in a ...
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News
Rotterdam festival incites 'Parliamentary' dissent
The decision by the Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR) to revive its Film Parliament format - first used 15 years ago - produced two of the sparkiest festival debates on film seen in recent years. By ditching the classical panel debates and opting instead for a confrontational set-up concluding in a ...
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Soft Money - The newcomers
Like a Japanese ronin, independent film-producers are rarely able to settle down with a cosy financier for very long. Samurai warriors without a master, they are forced to roam the lonely planet in search of the ever-shifting treasure chests that will bankroll their good deeds. The reason is simple: private ...
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Berlin completes competition line-up
The remaining five films in competition add significantly to the Asian content of this year's Berlin festival and put increased emphasis on the Holocaust.The new additions, which complete the line-up, are headed by Chinese-German co-production Blind Shaft (Mang Jing), a first feature by documentary director Li Yang. The film about ...
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Fortissimo picks up Jackie Chan And His Lost Family
Fortissimo Film Sales, the Hong Kong and Amsterdam based sales outfit, has picked up Traces Of A Dragon: Jackie Chan And His Lost Family (pictured), which opens the "Dokumente" documentary section of the Berlin festival's Panorama sidebar.The film directed by Mabel Cheung and Alex Law is described as "moving portrayal ...
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Rotterdam festival to revive 'Film Parliament'
The Rotterdam festival is reviving the idea of the "Rotterdam Film Parliament", a forum which adopts the confrontational style of a legislative chamber to discuss the future prospects for visionary cinema. Under the banner "What is to be done'" it aims to deliver a clash of ideas and the development ...
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Soft Money - Luxembourg
LuxembourgShooting in this tiny country can shave 15% from budgets as tax relief is available on everything spent there. Patrick Frater reportsIt may have interesting locations, two studio complexes and a pool of government cash, but it is Luxembourg's tax breaks that are making it such a magnet for foreign ...
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Geopolitics set to shape Berlin festival
Against the background of a possible war in the Middle East in February, the forthcoming Berlin festival (Feb 6-16) looks to be shaping up as a selection of films about how individuals and humanity perform under pressure. While festival director Dieter Kosslick's official theme 'Towards Tolerance' may sound bland and ...
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Berlin selections give clue to Cannes contenders
While Dieter Kosslick and his fellow Berlin selectors have yet to finalise their various sections, there are a number of films by top art-house directors that look like hot contenders for a Cannes slot. The following should be read as no more than a list of titles that are likely ...
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Soft Money - The Netherlands
The NetherlandsThere is still money to be had by canny international producers, but new government restrictions have taken the sheen off The Netherlands as a hub for tax-sheltered productions. Patrick Frater reportsThe Netherlands has been one of the world's hot locations for film producers. In the space of just a ...
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France, Cuba sign co-operation deal
Europe's most prolific film producer France and the Caribbean minnow Cuba have signed a co-operation deal intended to strengthen the links between their film industries.The deal was signed last month by David Kessler, head of France's Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC) and Omar Gonzalez, chairman of Institut Cubain d'Art ...
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The hard facts about soft money
Hard cash may have heavyweight appeal and a sense of immediacy, but it is in increasingly short supply. Patrick Frater examines how soft money has become the currency of choice for the world's independent producers. Over the next weeks, and leading up to the Screen International European Film Finance Summit ...
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Bauer moves closer to Kirchmedia deal
German publishing giant Bauer and Kirch Gruppe say that they are at long last agreed on the terms of a deal which sees KirchMedia's majority stake in broadcast group ProSiebenSAT1 sold to a Bauer-controlled consortium (see Screendaily, Dec 11).They are believed to have settled on an asking price of $715m ...
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Film tracking set to become easier with ID plan
Films are set to get an unique identification number - which will function in similar fashion to ISO numbers for books and music - allowing easier tracking and better anti-piracy protection.The International Standard Audiovisual Number (ISAN) has been launched by a consortium of producers' and authors' associations in conjunction with ...
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Jacob re-appointed as Cannes president
Gilles Jacob was yesterday re-appointed as president of the Cannes Festival.Jacob has been at the festival for nearly 25 years and was its head selector for over 20 years. He relinquished the head selector job two years ago, handing over to Thierry Fremaux (artistic director) and Veronique Cayla (managing director), ...
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Rotterdam sidebars underline event's artistic integrity
New sidebars featuring Indian film-makers and a back to its roots examination of digital film-making, underline the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)'s commitment to cinema at the artistic end of the scale. The festival (Jan 22- Feb 2) has picked Indian director Girish Kasaravalli for retrospective treatment in its regular ...
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Chicago set as Berlinale opening night spectacular
Chicago, the star-studded musical based on the celebrated Broadway show of the same title, will open next year's Berlin festival on Feb 6 in an out-of-competition slot."I am delighted that we will be able to start the coming Berlinale with this splendid cinematic experience and these international stars. Chicago will ...
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Van Warmerdam begins Grimm shoot
Dutch filmmaker Alex van Warmerdam has begun filming Grimm, a fairytale-inspired tale of a young couple who travel to Spain for a fresh start in life. The picture shoots for ten weeks in Spain, Germany and The Netherlands. World sales are by Fortissimo Film Sales.Grimm, which was also written by ...
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DirecTV open to new bids
Satellite broadcaster EchoStar Communications yesterday formally gave up its $18bn attempt to buy Hughes Electronics from General Motors (GM), following regulatory objections. The collapse of the deal means that other media groups are free to re-enter the bidding for Hughes and its giant DirecTV broadcast subsidiary. The sale of the ...
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Talk To Her triumphs at European Film Awards
The 15th European Film Awards were a huge triumph for Spanish maestro Pedro Almodovar and something of a let down for Europe's cherished diversity in a year that saw a wide array of international films score with both critics and audiences. For his touching coma drama Talk To Her (Hable ...