John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLinking to Paris-based Nadia Turincev (“Raw,” “Mimosas”) and her producer partner Omar El Kadi to develop and produce two new Swiss films, Geneva-based Akka Films is also ramping up TV production, with Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, writer-directors of the acclaimed “My Little Sister,” Switzerland’s Oscar submission, teaming to create a new TV series . Headed by Nicolas Wadimoff and Philippe Coeytaux, Akka is readying with Turincev and El Kadi “O Jacaré,” the third feature from Swiss-Portuguese filmmaker Basil Da Cunha whose debut, “After the Night” played the Cannes Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight in 2013. Its follow-up, “O film do mundo,” screened in main competition at Locarno in 2019.
Swiss Language Diversity Helps Its Films Travel Abroad
11.02.2022 - 09:43 / variety.com
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentUndeterred by the pandemic, the wheels of Switzerland’s film production machine kept on spinning in 2021, churning out the meticulously made multicultural co-productions the country is known for that scored slots at top festivals.Works by young directors such as Elie Grappe, whose coming-of-age drama “Olga” launched at Cannes; Niccolò Castelli’s terrorism-themed “Atlas,” which bowed at Locarno; and also the VR project “Caves” by Carlos Isabel Garcìa, which premiered at Venice; provided a preamble to the exceptionally strong Swiss presence at this year’s Berlinale.Berlin sees a record-breaking two competition slots filled by new works from established Swiss directors, Ursula Meier’s “The Line” and Michael Koch’s “A Piece of Sky,” plus several more Swiss titles in other sections. “In the worst year ever we shot three productions back-to-back during the pandemic; somehow we got used to it,” says Oscar-nominated Max Karli (“My Life as a Zucchini”), who is among the producers of “The Line” via his Geneva-based Bandita Productions, in tandem with Pauline Gygax.In Switzerland, the film and TV industry held firm last year as one of the few sectors where camera crews and actors continued to work, unlike advertising, which shuttered completely for many months.“It was quite hard because we were shooting without insurance pertaining to anything linked to the pandemic,” Karli says, though some government subsidies were made available for physical productions struck by COVID infections.But, as Karli and other Swiss producers point out, Switzerland is a confederation.
“We are basically three countries,” he says. The country, which prides itself on its cultural diversity, is home to regions
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XYZ Films Acquires North American Rights To Horror-Thriller ‘Man’s Son’ Starring Frank Grillo
EXCLUSIVE: XYZ Films has acquired North American rights to the upcoming horror-thriller Man’s Son, starring Frank Grillo and to be directed by his son, Remy Grillo, with plans for a domestic release either later this year or early next year.
Kanye West Posts Cryptic Blue-Tinted Photo With Pal Elon Musk -- Space Travel Collab Coming?!
Kanye West and Elon Musk are working on… a collab of some sort?! Or something??
Filming Italy to Celebrate Best of Italian Cinema and Series in Los Angeles
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentGiancarlo Giannini, who was the late great Lina Wertmüller’s muse, helmer Gabriele Muccino (“The Pursuit of Happyness”), and Teresa Saponangelo, star of Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” are among top honorees of the seventh edition of Filming Italy — Los Angeles, the bridge between Italy and Hollywood set to run as a hybrid event Feb. 28-March 3.The celebration of Italy’s top film and TV titles is headed by longtime Italian industry promoter Tiziana Rocca, a former chief of the Taormina Film Festival.
Former IFC Films Boss Jonathan Sehring On Steering ‘Drive My Car’ From Cannes To The Oscars & His New Venture, Sideshow
As Drive My Car sped from a best screenplay win and stellar reviews at Cannes to four Oscar nominations (Best Picture, International Feature, Director, Adapted Screenplay), distributor credits for the three-hour Japanese drama went to Sideshow/Janus Films – the former a little known new venture from Jonathan Sehring.
Morley Nelson Helming ‘Uncontained’; BondIt Media Capital Boards ‘My Times Up’; Virgil Films, Freestyle, Gravitas Acquisitions; More – Film Briefs
EXCLUSIVE: Police officer turned video game writer and technical director Morley Nelson (MIB: Alien Crisis, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct) is currently in production in Minnesota on Uncontained, a horror-thriller that he is directing from his original screenplay.
IFC Films Sets U.S. Release Date For Claire Denis’ Berlin Winner ‘Fire’ Starring Juliette Binoche
EXCLUSIVE: IFC Films has set a July 8 stateside release date for Claire Denis’ Berlin Film Festival winner Fire, starring Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon.
‘A Piece of Sky’ Review: Things Fall Apart as a Choir Sings in an Impressive, Austere Alpine Tragedy
Guy Lodge Film CriticThe hills are indeed alive with the sound of music in Swiss filmmaker Michael Koch’s intimate Alpine epic “A Piece of Sky,” but if you go in expecting twirling frolics, expect to be harshly disappointed. Acting as a kind of distinctly non-Greek chorus, a full Helvetian choir pops up between the acts of this small-scale domestic tragedy, their solemn folk songs lending a mournful running commentary to this story of a mountain family undone by medical misfortune and psychological upheaval.
Nat Geo’s Ashley Hoppin Tapped As Head Of Content For ‘Secrets Of The Whales’ Producer Red Rock Films
EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Hoppin, who oversaw animal-based programming across Nat Geo and Disney+, has joined Red Rock Films, the company behind Signourney Weaver-narrated Secrets of the Whales.
Locarno Pro’s First Look Set to Focus on German Films in Post
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro initiative dedicated to pics in post is set to look at German films that are in their final stage of production for its upcoming edition.The fest, located in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, in a statement said that the initiative, now in its tenth edition, will celebrate the up-and-coming cinema of a country that has been “crucial to the history” of the fest. Locarno Pro is now looking closer to home after being a springboard for pics from Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Israel, Poland, the Baltic Countries, Portugal, Serbia and Switzerland itself.“German filmmakers and producers and the work they have given us has been at the heart of so many memorable editions of the Locarno Film Festival, the fest said in a statement.
Berlinale Competition Title ‘Return to Dust’ Sells in Europe (EXCLUSIVE)
Leo Barraclough International Features EditorChinese Berlinale Competition title “Return to Dust” has been sold to several European distributors with more about to close deals. M-Appeal is handling world sales.
Saban Films President Bill Bromiley Talks Company’s Global Ambitions As It Signs Distribution Deals In Switzerland & Benelux
EXCLUSIVE: Saban Films is continuing to expand its international footprint, having recently inked a deal with distribution partners in Switzerland and Benelux. The L.A.-based company has signed with WW Entertainment in Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) and Ascot Elite in Switzerland, which it will add to deals it already has in place in the UK and Ireland (Altitude), Germany and Austria (Splendid), France (ACE Entertainment), Spain (Key2Media), Scandinavia (Mis.Label) and Australia and New Zealand (Defiant Screen Entertainment).
Oscar-Nominated ‘Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom’ Travels Further for Films Boutique (EXCLUSIVE)
Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentRolling off its Oscar nomination in the international feature category, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Bhutanese feature debut “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom” has been sold by Films Boutique in further territories. Bhutan’s first Oscar entry in 23 years, “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom” follows a young teacher who dreams of emigrating to Australia to become a singer and instead finds himself assigned to a school in the most remote village in Northern Bhutan, where he unexpectedly bonds with local children and finds happiness.Berlin-based company Films Boutique has already sold the movie in most major markets including North America with Samuel Goldwyn Films and recently closed deals with leading distributors in Spain (A Contracorriente), Benelux (September Films) and Portugal (Alambique).
Loco Films Unveils Trailer for Berlin Pic ‘Land of Sasha,’ Major Deals on WWII drama ‘The Champion of Auschwitz’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLoco Films, the Paris-based world sales and production company, has unveiled the trailer for Yulia Trofimova’s feature debut “The Land of Sasha” which is premiering today at the Berlinale, in the Generation 14plus strand.“The Land of Sahsa” tells the story of an indecisive 18-year-old struggling to pursue his desire to become a painter as his mother urges him to choose a safer career path. The sudden appearance of the boy’s estranged father complicates things further. But when Sasha has an unexpected encounter with an unusual girl called Zhenia, he realizes he has no choice but to finally grow up.“The Land of Sasha” was produced by Katerina Mikhaylova and Konstantin Fam for Moscow-based Vega Film.
‘Against The Ice’ Stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole & Director Peter Flinth Talk Snowstorms & Concussions While Filming Survival Drama – Berlin
EXCLUSIVE: Shooting upcoming Netflix pic Against The Ice was no straightforward task, as its stars and director reveal to Deadline in a first interview as a trio.
Cinema Italiano Hits Berlinale With Films From Veterans and Rookies
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s robust 2022 Berlinale representation of a half-dozen titles runs the gamut from the latest works by venerable veterans Paolo Taviani and Dario Argento to pics by fresh new Cinema Italiano voices including Chiara Bellosi, whose first film, “Ordinary Justice,” launched from Berlin in 2020.Taviani, who is 91, is returning to Berlin but alone this time — his filmmaker brother, Vittorio, with whom he won a Golden Bear in 2012 for “Caesar Must Die,” passed away in 2018 — in competition with surreal drama “Leonora Addio,” inspired by a short story by Italian playwright and author Luigi Pirandello. Argento, who set his 1977 chiller “Suspiria” in Germany, will be at the Berlinale for the first time as a director with Rome-set suspenser “Dark Glasses,” though he was on the fest’s main jury panel in 2001.
TrustNordisk Closes Raft of Deals on 3D-Animated Films ‘Little Allan,’ ‘Just Super’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has closed a flurry of sales on a pair of 3D-animated family features, “Little Allan — The Human Antenna” and “The Super,” underscoring the market appeal of independent youth-skewing movies.“Little Allan – The Human Antenna” marks Danish film Amalie Naesby Fick’s follow up to her commercially successful debut “The Incredible Story of The Giant Pear,” which premiered in the the Generation Kplus section at Berlin in 2018. This year, the helmer has her daring drama series “Sex” selected for the Berlinale Series.The film takes place during summer vacation, when introverted, 11-year old Allan starts acting as a human antenna for his old neighbor, who thinks a huge invasion fleet from the outer space is on its way.
Korean Films That Are Worth the Wait in 2022
Carole Horst While the Korean film business faces challenges, 2022 does offer a bumper crop of Korean movies from big-name filmmakers. Here are some of the best:The Apartment With Two Women(Finecut)Kim-se In’s debut drama unspools in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section.Broker (CJ Entertainment)“Shoplifters” director Kore-eda Hirokazu examines the trade in children in his Korean-language film debut.