Telstar rocks the UK, Three Monkeys in Spain

UK:

Polish historical drama Katyn, directed by Andrzej Wajda, is being released by Artificial Eye. The foreign-language Oscar-nominated film follows the 1940 Soviet massacre of thousands of Polish in the Katyn forest. It will play on 13 screens from June 19.

UK production Telstar will also debut on June 19, on a limited release. The first directorial effort from actor Nick Moran, the film follows 1960s independent record producer Joe Meek, and stars Con O’Neill, James Corden and Kevin Spacey.

Hitchcock classic North-By-Northwest is being re-released through the British Film Institute, for a limited run from June 19 – July 9. The romantic thriller stars Cary Grant as adman Roger O Thornhill who is forced on the run after a becoming embroiled in a case of mistaken identity.

France:

Mars Distribution released Tellement Proches on June 17 on 384 screens. The Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache-directed film was top of the box office for its first showing in Paris and has been heavily promoted locally. The comedy stars Vincent Elbaz, Isabelle Carre, Francois-Xavier Demaison and Omar Sy, with the latter competing against himself in another film out this week, Lascars.

Animation Lascars also went out June 17 through Bac Films. Heavily promoted during Cannes, the urban comedy has a voice cast that includes Sy, Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger and Fred Testot. The film is directed by Albert Pereira Lazaro and Emmanuel Klotz.

Cannes and Sundance title Amreeka (changed to Amerrika for French audiences)  was released through Memento Films on 88 screens. Cherien Dabis’ film ran in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar in Cannes and was honoured with the FIPRESCI prize. National Geographic has US rights to the film, which stars Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallen, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussef Abu-Warda and Joseph Ziegler in a story about an immigrant single mother who dreams of a new life for herself and her son in small town Illinois.

Spain:

TriPictures will be showing Iain Softley’s family adventure Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren and Andy Serkis, nationwide this weekend. The film tells the story of a young girl who has to fight off a storybook villain brought to life by her father.

Kevin Smith’s latest adolescent comedy Zack & Miri Make A Porno will have a widespread release across the country. The film sees popular comedy actor Seth Rogen’s character, Zack, team with friend Miri (Elizabeth Banks) to make an adult movie only to discover they have true feelings for one another.

Notro will release Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Turkish-French-Italian drama Three Monkeys. Hugely popular on the festival circuit, winning Ceylan the best director award at Cannes last year, the film tells the story of a family torn apart after the father is framed for a crime he did not commit by a politician.

Germany:

Central Film’s release of Martin Weisz’s Rohtenburg was almost halted again on Thursday (June 18)  after the so-called ‘Cannibal of Rotenburg’ Armin Meiwes attempted again to get an injunction from Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court to prevent the film being released. Meiwes, who is serving life in prison for murder, had prevented the theatrical release by Senator in 2006, but last month Germany’s Supreme Court ruled that the film-makers’ artistic freedom should take precedence over Meiwes’ personal rights, especially since he had been active in marketing his own case. Meiwes’ latest appeal was turned down by the Constitutional Court, allowing Central to go ahead with its release of Weisz’s drama starring Thomas Kretschmann.

Movienet opens Danish-born documentary filmmaker Rene Bo Hansen’s feature debut The Eagle Hunter’s Son on over 36 screens nationwide. The German-Swedish co-production of the coming of age tale set in Mongolia had its world premiere in the Berlinale Generation Kplus competition last February.