Monthly Archives: February 2017

#Berlinale, #BIFF, Berlin Film Festival

Berlinale 2017: International Jury

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

Once again an illustrious International Jury will decide who will receive the Golden and Silver Bears at the Berlinale 2017. Eighteen films are vying in this year’s Competition for the Golden and the Silver Bears. The winners will be announced at the Berlinale Palast on February 18.

Director and screenwriter Paul Verhoeven will serve as Jury President. The other members of the International Jury are producer Dora Bouchoucha Fourati (Tunisia), artist Olafur Eliasson (Denmark), actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (USA), actress Julia Jentsch (Germany), actor and director Diego Luna (Mexico), and director and screenwriter Wang Quan’an (People’s Republic of China).

Paul Verhoeven, Jury President, Director, Screenwriter (The Netherlands)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-33-38-pmThe Dutch director and screenwriter Paul Verhoeven began his directing career in 1969 with the successful Dutch television series Floris. After his feature film debut Business is Business in 1971, came the erotic thriller Turkish Delight in 1973, a big hit in the Netherlands that also garnered a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1974 Academy Awards. Following his international breakthrough Soldier of Orange (1977) and The Fourth Man (1983), Paul Verhoeven moved to Hollywood to focus on an evolution of style in his work. Large productions featuring lots of action and special effects, like RoboCop (1987), and especially Total Recall (1990), were big box-office hits that revolutionised the science fiction film genre while maintaining credibility as auteur films. The provocative, erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992), which was nominated for two Academy Awards, saw Paul Verhoeven return to themes prevalent in his Dutch works. In 1997 and 2000, he once again focused on science fiction with Starship Troopers and Hollow Man. After nearly 20 years in Hollywood, Paul Verhoeven returned to the Netherlands in 2006 to film Black Book (2006). Starting in 2007, he moved his attention to writing. In 2016 he returned to the screen with Elle, which not only won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in the category Foreign Language, but also earned Isabelle Huppert the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Producer (Tunisia)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-35-10-pmTunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha Fourati is something of an institution in the film world. The English literature graduate started off as a teacher and translator of screenplays. In 1992, she launched the Carthage Film Festival “Projects’ Workshop” to assist Arabs and Africans in developing their scripts and the follow-up initiative “Takmil” to support post-production in 2014. In 1995, she founded her own production company Nomadis Images. The many fiction and documentary features, and short films she has produced and co-produced include: Raja Amari’s multiple award-winning Satin Rouge (2002), Barakat! (dir: Djamila Sahraoui, Berlinale Forum 2006), Raja Amari’s Buried Secrets (2009) and Foreign Body (Berlinale Forum 2017). She produced all of Mohamed Ben Attia’s short films and his full-length debut Hedi, which screened in the Berlinale Competition in 2016 and won the Best First Feature Award and Silver Bear for Best Actor (Majd Mastoura). Dora Bouchoucha also founded the screenwriting workshop SUD ECRITURE for Arab and African scripts in 1997 which has launched many award winning films to date. She was festival director of the Carthage Film Festival in 2008, 2010, and 2014. She was appointed president of the Fonds Sud Cinéma of the CNC in 2010; and president of the follow-up institution, Aide aux Cinemas du Monde, in 2014.

Olafur Eliasson, Artist (Iceland)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-36-26-pmBorn in Denmark of Icelandic parentage, Olafur Eliasson quickly garnered international attention after completing the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He participated in the Berlin Biennale in 1998 and the Venice Biennale in 2003, and his piece “The weather project”, which was installed in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern, attracted over two million visitors. Today, with his sculptures, installations, paintings, photographs and films that often focus on physical phenomena in nature as well as climate change, he has become one of the world’s most important contemporary artists. Eliasson, who founded his studio in Berlin in 1995, has received countless awards. Besides being involved in art, he is the founder of a global sustainable energy project and social business called Little Sun, as well as the international architectural firm Studio Other Spaces. His latest artworks include a number of installations at the Palace of Versailles in 2016.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actress (USA)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-38-02-pmCelebrated American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of the outstanding talents of her generation. After studying literature at Columbia University in New York and acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, she became known for her roles in Donnie Darko (dir: Richard Kelly, 2001) and in Spike Jonze’s Berlinale Competition entry Adaptation (2002). Her big breakthrough came when she played the lead in the film Secretary (dir: Steven Shainberg, 2002). For it she received her first Golden Globe nomination and won several awards, including an IFP/Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performance. She went on to star in, e.g., Mike Newell’s Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Marc Forster’s Stranger than Fiction (2006), Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center (2006), Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), Sam Mendes’s Away We Go (2009), and Roland Emmerich’s White House Down (2013). For her role in Scott Cooper’s Crazy Heart (2009) she was nominated for an Oscar. In 2014 she headlined the British TV series The Honourable Woman, for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination. Gyllenhaal, who in recent years has performed on Broadway, is currently cast to star in The Deuce, a new HBO series that she is also producing.

Julia Jentsch, Actress (Germany)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-39-31-pmAfter finishing her studies at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, Julia Jentsch, who was born in Berlin, began her career on the stage. In 2002 “Theater heute” magazine rated her the best female debut of the year. Her breakthrough on the screen was in The Edukators (2004, dir: Hans Weingartner) and in Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (Berlinale Competition 2005), for which she won not only the Berlinale’s Silver Bear, but also both the German and European Film Awards. The film itself, which was directed by Marc Rothemund, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then Julia Jentsch has starred in a number of works, including 33 Scenes from Life by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, Hannah Arendt by Margarethe von Trotta, and I Served the King of England by Jiří Menzel. With Effie Briest (Berlinale Special 2009, dir: Hermine Huntgeburth) and 24 Weeks (Berlinale Competition 2016; dir: Anne Zohra Berrached), Jentsch was again invited to the Berlinale. Most recently she performed in front of the camera in Hans-Christian Schmid’s mini-series Das Verschwinden, which will be released in 2017.

Diego Luna, Actor, Director (Mexico)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-40-58-pmDiego Luna’s breakthrough role came with Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también, for which he shared the Marcello Mastroianni Award with Gael García Bernal at the Venice Film Festival in 2001. His feature film acting credits include Frida (dir. Julie Taymor, 2002), The Terminal (dir: Steven Spielberg, 2004), Rudo y Cursi (dir: Carlos Cuarón, 2008), Milk (dir: Gus van Sant, Berlinale Panorama 2009), Contraband (dir: Baltasar Kormákur, 2012) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (dir: Gareth Edwards, 2016). Next fall he will star in Flatliners (dir: Niels Arden Oplev). Luna’s directorial debut, titled Abel, premiered at the film festival in Cannes in 2010. This was followed by César Chávez (Berlinale Special 2014) and Mr. Pig, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. He and Bernal co-founded “Ambulante” in 2005, a charity organization dedicated, among other things, to promoting documentary film. Luna is also a member of the board of the Washington Office on Latin America.

Wang Quan’an, Director, Screenwriter (People’s Republic of China)

screen-shot-2017-02-04-at-8-42-43-pmThe director and screenwriter trained first as an actor before he turned to filmmaking. After studying at the Beijing Film Academy, Wang Quan’an, who was born in Yan’an in Shaanxi province, presented his debut film Lunar Eclipse in 1999. It screened in the Berlinale’s Forum section in 2002 after making various award-winning appearances at festivals around the world. He was selected with Tuya’s Marriage for the Competition in 2007 and, as the third Chinese filmmaker in the festival’s history, won the Golden Bear. Three years later, Apart Together was chosen as the Berlinale’s opening film and went on to win the Silver Bear for Best Script, which Wang co-wrote with Jin Na. He returned to the Berlinale Competition in 2012 with White Deer Plain, an adaptation of the historical novel of the same name, where his director of photography, Lutz Reitemeier, won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

(Source: Berlinale Press Office)

Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals Honors Ryan Reynolds as 2017 Man Of The Year

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

CAMBRIDGE, MA (February 3rd, 2017) – The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, welcomed producer and Golden Globe nominated actor, RYAN REYNOLDS, to Harvard University where he received his Man of the Year award.

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man and Woman of the Year Awards are presented annually to performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. The Man of the Year award was established in 1963. Its past recipients include, among others, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Justin Timberlake, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Pratt and most recently, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was the 50th Man of the Year.

Hasty Pudding Theatricals Honors Ryan Reynolds as 2017 Man Of The Year
CAMBRIDGE, MA – FEBRUARY 03: (L-R) Roaster Natalie Kim, actor Ryan Reynolds and roaster Adam Chiavacci perform on stage during Hasty Pudding Theatricals Honors Ryan Reynolds as 2017 Man Of The Year on February 3, 2017 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images for for Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770)

The Man of the Year festivities, presented by RELATED, started early in the day, when Mr. Reynolds was given a tour of Farkas Hall, followed by a private seminar with the members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. In the evening, Mr. Reynolds was given the Pudding’s traditional roast and was then made to earn his Pudding Pot as punishment for not finishing college degree. Some of the tasks, which Mr. Reynolds had to perform, were acting out a “traditional” Canadian wedding, complete with lap dance, and auditioning for a role in Deadpool 2, which tested his ability to hurl Deadpool-esque insults at beloved figures, like Tom Brady and former Woman of the Year, Meryl Streep.

A press conference followed the presentation, which was the second to be live-streamed free and to the public via the Hasty Pudding’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/thehastypudding), as it happened. To close out the festivities, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals members gave the Opening Night performance of their 169th production, Casino Evil.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS to the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 169th production, Casino Evil, contact the HPT Box Office at 617-495-5205 or order online www.hastypudding.org

The show will be performed at Harvard University’s historic Farkas Hall, located at 12 Holyoke Street, from February 3rd until March 5th. The company then travels to New York to perform at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College on March 10th and 11th (call 212-772-4448 for tickets), followed by performances on March 15th-17th at Hamilton City Hall in Bermuda.

ABOUT THE HASTY PUDDING INSTITUTE OF 1770

The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770’s philanthropic mission is to provide educational and developmental support in all aspects of the performing arts for the underprivileged, to encourage satire and comedy, and to cultivate young talent around the world. The Institute is comprises the Hasty Pudding Club (the oldest social club in the United States), the Hasty Pudding Theatricals (the third oldest theater group in the world, after the Comédie-Française and the Oberammergau Passion Players) and the Harvard Krokodiloes (the foremost collegiate a cappella group in the United States). Over the last two centuries, it has grown into a premiere performing arts organization, a patron of the arts and comedy, and an advocate for satire and discourse as tools for change worldwide.

(Source: image.net/hastypudding.org)

#SBIFF, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

OSCAR NOMINEES TO BE HONORED AT ACADEMY LUNCHEON

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA – More than 165 Oscar® nominees will come together at noon on Monday, February 6, at the Beverly Hilton when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon.

Among the Lead Actor and Actress nominees, Casey Affleck, Ryan Gosling, Isabelle Huppert, Viggo Mortensen, Ruth Negga, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington are expected to attend the pre-Oscars® event.  Supporting Actor and Actress nominees Mahershala Ali, Jeff Bridges, Viola Davis, Naomie Harris, Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel, Octavia Spencer and Michelle Williams also will join in the celebratory lunch.

All five nominees in the Directing category – Damien Chazelle, Mel Gibson, Barry Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and Denis Villeneuve – are expected to attend as well.

The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

# # #

 

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 7,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is under construction in Los Angeles.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

MEDIA CONTACT
Natalie Kojen
nkojen@oscars.org

(Source: Academy Publicity Department)

Featured, Venice International Film Festival

Nostradamus Report – The Future of Film

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

If you could see what the film industry has in store for the next 3-5 years, would you dare…

2017 Nostradamus Report

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Despite increased competition for audience attention in general and cinema screens in particular, the number of feature films produced in Europe and the US continues to grow. It is not expected to shrink significantly in the next 3-5 years. Among the reasons are new tax incentives and increasing investment from new platform media companies, but also the impact of real democratization of production technologies and to some degree of funding.

A Swell of Films

While this swell of cinema in theory allows a wider range of voices to be heard, in practice it makes it very difficult even for excellent work – of which there is arguably a lot – to find an audience, as there is no equivalent surge of innovation in distribution and audience relations. It also means that bad or irrelevant work has almost no chance to be seen. While it seems clear that public funds should be redirected from the latter categories either towards more deserving feature projects, or towards the production of excellent film content in other formats or for other platforms, this is currently not politically possible. A change like that might also exacerbate the already difficult career paths especially of directors in a marketplace where films by unknowns are very difficult to fund or sell.

3dtechnologyOn the next 3-5 years, all exhibitors will need to focus on the customer experience to stay competitive, but this can look very different depending on their type. On the one hand, we are seeing the emergence of a technologically oriented cinema optimized for experiencing blockbuster fare. On the other hand, we are seeing a focus on human interactions and live performance – so called “live cinema” – as a rapidly developing segment of the exhibition sector, helping audiences both new and old to build relationships with institutions and curators. These ostensibly very different styles of exhibition have in common that they are immersive, allowing the viewers to place themselves socially or physically inside the story, or to engage with its themes together. The social aspect is also at the heart of the growing market for film festivals aimed at general audiences.

Specializing The Screening Experience

Another approach to eventizing movies is just to make the cinemas a lot nicer, with better chairs, better concessions, food and alcohol, increasing cinema’s appeal to, for instance, grownups on dates. This strategy is working well both in mainstream and arthouse environments. At the extreme end are the dedicated luxury cinemas, offering experiences like butler service, Tempur mattresses, or massages.

While the future looks bright for movie theatres big and small, the sheer number of feature premieres means a theatrical window is not feasible even for all quality films – not even on the festival circuit. There is certainly room in the VOD marketplace for both strong curation and dedicated film libraries, but among the pieces missing from the distribution puzzle are still business models for social or distributed digital premieres.

A complete digital transformation of the small screen landscape seems inevitable and will probably happen relatively fast since audiences neither understand nor much care about business models or back-end technologies. As we discussed last year, the end result will probably look something like TV has for the past few decades, with consumers paying one or a few separate bills to services aggregating OTT content. Viewers are, however, likely to be allowed to pick their packaged channels more selectively than before.

The Uncovered Financial Stream

The revenue streams will of course be radically different from the current models. Mergers and acquisitions are likely to continue as the biggest players scramble to establish dominance throughout the value chain. In the US, studios and networks are eyeing a future after affiliate fees and syndication fees, and considering whether owning the viewer relationship directly could provide a similar amount of revenue. Similarly, it seems feasible that a major technology company could purchase a major studio. If antitrust regulation is relaxed under the Trump administration, as net neutrality rules almost certainly will be, the media landscape is regardless likely to consolidate dramatically during the next four years. Changes in the US entertainment industry have global ripple effects. It is also likely that the cultural importance of US content specifically will diminish in the long term, a tendency that could be accelerated by isolationist policies.

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VR on the Verge

In the next 3-5 years, the fundamental grammar of VR storytelling will finally be developed, and the real leaps will happen once the production tools are more widely available. Some standardisation will help focus a splintered marketplace. Investment in “VR cinemas” today should be viewed as tests – exhibitors preparing for a coming generation of the technology that may not be easily available in homes. In the short run we are also likely to see a brief exclusive “theatrical” window for VR.

Download the full report here at your own risk: nostradamus2017

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(Source: nostradamusproject.org)

 

 

 

 

#SBIFF, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival

Variety Artisan Awards at SBIFF

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

VARIETY ARTISANS AWARD

HONORING ALESSANDRO BERTOLAZZI, JESS GONCHOR, JUSTIN HURWITZ, JAMES LAXTON, ROBERT LEGATO, ALAN MURRAY, KEVIN O’CONNELL, JOE WALKER, AND MARY ZEPHERS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2017
LOBERO THEATRE
8:00PM

Click Here To Attend

The third annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) Variety Artisans Awards celebrates those essential to the filmmaking process and who have exhibited the most exciting and innovative work of the year in their respective fields. The Tribute evening will take place on Monday, February 6th, at the Lobero Theatre and will be moderated by Variety’s Sr. VP Awards Editor, Tim Gray.

The Variety Artisans Award will be presented to the following 2017 Oscar nominees:

Alessandro Bertolazzi for Makeup and Hair for the Warner Brothers film “Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer.  This marks Alessandro’s first Academy Award nomination.  His previous credits include “Skyfall, “Biutiful,” and “Babel.”

Jess Gonchor, for Production Design in the Universal Pictures film “Hail, Caesar!” directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Gonchor was previously nominated for an Academy Award for his work on “True Grit” which was nominated for a total of 10 Academy Awards. Gonchor has worked with the Coen Brothers on each of their films since “No Country For Old Men”.

Justin Hurwitz, for original score in the Lionsgate musical “La La Land” directed by Damien Chazelle. Justin received both the Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Award for Best Original Score for the film. He is a first time Oscar nominee this year.

Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul for Original Song City of Stars in the Lionsgate musical “La La Land”.  The song received both the Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Award for Best Original Song this year.

James Laxton for Cinematographer in A24’s “Moonlight” directed by Barry Jenkins. James won the Los Angeles Film Critics,  New York Film Critics, and San Francisco Film Critics award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film.

Robert Legato for Visual Effects in the Disney live-action film “The Jungle Book,” directed by Jon Favreau. Legato has won two Academy Awards (and has been nominated a total of four times) for his work on “Titanic” and “Hugo.”

Alan Murray for Sound Editing in the Warner Brothers film “Sully,” directed by Clint Eastwood.  He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and won for his work on Eastwood’s films, “American Sniper” and “Letters from Iwo Jima.”

Kevin O’Connell for Sound Mixing in the Lionsgate Film “Hacksaw Ridge” directed by Mel Gibson. This is his 21st Academy Award nomination for films that include “Top Gun” and “Transformers.”

Joe Walker for Editor in the Paramount Film “Arrival” directed Denis Villeneuve for which he is nominated for an Oscar®. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on “12 Years A Slave”.   “Arrival” marks his second collaboration with Villeneuve following last year’s critically-acclaimed “Sicario.”  He is currently working with Villeneuve on the upcoming “Bladerunner.”

Mary Zophres for Costume Designer in the Lionsgate film “La La Land” directed by Damien Chazelle. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the Coen Brother’s Film “True Grit”. In 2016, Mary received the Key West Film Festival’s Career Achievement Award for costume design.

(Source: sbiff.org)

 

Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar, Venice International Film Festival

JOHN CHO AND LESLIE MANN TO HOST ACADEMY’S SCI-TECH AWARDS

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA – Actors John Cho and Leslie Mann will host the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation on Saturday, February 11, at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills.  They will present 18 awards to 34 individual recipients, as well as five organizations, during the evening.

cbi
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (Photo via oscars.org)

“We’re so excited to have John and Leslie join us as hosts for this year’s Scientific and Technical Awards,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.  “It’s one of our favorite, and most talked about, events each Oscar® season, and John and Leslie’s humor and refreshing take on the honorees will be a perfect addition to a night where we celebrate our colleagues’ groundbreaking scientific and technical achievements.”

 

Cho most recently starred in the summer blockbuster “Star Trek Beyond.”  His other credits include “Grandma,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and “American Pie.”  He also appeared in the 1999 Best Picture Oscar winner “American Beauty.”

Mann can currently be seen starring alongside Robert De Niro in Taylor Hackford’s “The Comedian.”  Her feature film credits include “How to Be Single,” “The Other Woman,” “This Is 40” and “Knocked Up,” as well as the animated features “Rio 2” and the Oscar-nominated “ParaNorman.”

Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation will be included in the Oscar telecast.

The 89th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

(Source: Oscars Publicity Department)

Venice International Film Festival

Charged Opens Santa Barbara Film Fest

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) opened its 32nd edition with the heartfelt and spirit-lifting documentary, Charged: The Eduardo Garcia Story, directed by Phillip Baribeau. Charged is a film about a TV personality chef, Eduardo Garcia, who experiences a 2400 volt jolt of electricity while hiking in the Montana backcountry when he touches a bear atop a live downed electrical wire. Garcia (pictured below with mic) would lose a hand, several ribs and contract testicular cancer. Charged chronicles his successful road to recovery and reveals a spirit triumphant over adversity and strife.

The festival runs through the 11th. Tickets and passes are still available at sbiff.org.

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Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) Executive Director Roger Durling cajoles Eduardo Garcia during SBIFF’s free Filmmaker Seminar, Thursday, February 2nd, 2017 at the Santa Ynez Lounge. Looking on from left to right are Charged director, Phillip Baribeau and Jennifer Jane (Photo credit: Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee)

SBIFF Executive Director conducted a Q & A – Conversation during the first of the  free Filmmaking Seminars at the Santa Ynez Lounge with the cast and crew the morning after Charged screened as the  Opening Night Film.

Here’s what festival goers had to say about Charged on the recently announced SBIFF app discussion page:

“So impressed with this comprehensive documentary and the story of how medical technology, love and support of family/friends, and Eduardo Garcia’s strength of spirit/humanity/commitment to overcome this tragic accident combined to bring a tragic accident around to the best possible outcome. A must see!” – Laura Ray

“Really good. Quite a tale. Loved what it said about life and love.” – Jim Lincoln

Charged will screen today at 4:30 PM at the Lobero Theatre. Tickets are still available at the door for $15.

The festival runs through the 11th. Tickets and passes are still available at sbiff.org.

See you at the Cinema!

#Sundance

Kimberly Steward up for Oscar gold with ‘Manchester’

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Kenya Vaughn

When Kimberly Steward was at home in St. Louis, Missouri making media rounds for the film “Manchester by the Sea” just ahead of its nationwide theatrical release this past October, she didn’t want to entertain the Oscar buzz surrounding the film.

The idea of it seemed too farfetched – too much of a fairytale ending for the first-time feature film producer.

“If anything happens with any kind of awards, I will definitely be giving Oprah a shout out,” Steward said.

“Manchester by the Sea” was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award making Steward the second African American woman producer to have a film in the running for the most coveted award of the film season. Oprah Winfrey is the other.

“What she has done as a filmmaker and a producer has opened doors for me and so many others,” Steward said of Winfrey. “If that actually happens, I will actually bow and curtsey to her because she paved the way.”

“This is exciting and surreal,” Steward told The Huffington Post’s Zahara Hill. “I’m just beyond belief.”

With a diverse mix of nominees both in front of and behind the scenes, Steward has the chance to strike Oscar gold with her debut as producer/financier thanks to “Manchester.”

“As an African American woman, it’s important to have that representation off screen too,” Steward said of her role in bringing the film to mass audiences.

Steward and her K. Period Media (which she operates with producing partner Lauren Beck) put forth the necessary financing for the Kenneth Lonegran feature to see the light of day.

“We had nobody except K Period,” Matt Damon said during a “Produced By” panel. A fellow producer along with Steward, the concept of the film was Damon’s idea – and he was originally set to star in the drama. Scheduling conflicts meant that Casey Affleck would assume the role of Lee Chandler, a reclusive New England janitor forced to confront his painful past and mend broken familial ties.

The film – and Affleck’s performance in particular – was praised by critics from its premiere at Sundance last winter.

While at Sundance, Amazon paid $10 million for the film’s distribution rights. Manchester” was believed to be a shoe-in for several honors for the next awards season.

First came the Golden Globes – where “Manchester” earned a total of five nominations. Casey Affleck took home “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.” Steward was the first person Affleck reached out to embrace when his name was announced at last month’s ceremony.

Hats off to Kimberly Steward.

(Source: St. Louis American)

distribution

GLOBALGATE EXPANDS ITS WORLDWIDE REACH

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

News provided by Lionsgate

Brazil’s Paris Filmes and Colombia’s Cine Colombia Join the Consortium

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Globalgate Entertainment, the local-language film production and financing venture aligned with Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), has added Brazil’s Paris Filmes and Colombia’s Cine Colombia to its now 11-strong, worldwide consortium of production and distribution partners, the company announced today. The consortium already includes Televisa, Gaumont, Nordisk, Kadokawa, Lotte, Tobis, TME and Belga.

Paris Filmes, founded 57 years ago, is the number-one Brazilian distributor of local-language films with an 81% market share, and it is also a leading Brazilian distributor of English-language films including those of Lionsgate. In addition, the company is a strong home entertainment distributor of premium content in DVD, blu-ray and digital platforms. Paris Filmes’ recent Brazilian hits include Os Dez Mandamentos, Loucas pra Casar, Minha Mae e uma Peca and Meu Passado me Condena 1 & 2.  

Cine Colombia is the number-one distributor in Colombia with a 46% market share, where it distributes major-studio, independent and local-language films.  Joining Cine Colombia in its Globalgate partnership is Colombia’s top production company, Dynamo Productions, producers of Netflix’s super-hit Narcos, the audience-pleasing The Hidden Face, and Sundance award-winning Undertow.

Said Paris Filmes’ Partner Sandi Adamiu and CEO Marcio Fraccaroli, “Clifford has been active in Brazilian cinema production for many years, and this partnership with Globalgate and our strong positioning alongside Globalgate’s partners around the world is certain to enhance Paris Filmes’ dominance in Brazil.”

“Cine Colombia will further leverage our industry-leading position as both a distributor and exhibitor in Colombia, by joining Globalgate’s assembly of best-in-class production and distribution companies,” said Cine Colombia President and CEO Munir Falah.

“Dynamo’s partnership with Globalgate complements our global strategies, and we look forward to working with Paul, William, Clifford, Lionsgate and all our other consortium partners,” said Dynamo CEO Andres Calderon.

Globalgate Co-Founders Paul Presburger, William Pfeiffer and Clifford Werber added, “Paris Filmes, Cine Colombia and Dynamo Productions are world-class film distribution and production companies and a perfect fit for Globalgate’s consortium.  We’re delighted they’ve joined us and look forward to producing many great Brazilian and Colombian films together as well as augmenting Globalgate’s formidable inventory of commercial intellectual property emanating from our consortium partners’ vibrant territories.”

Globalgate management has recently been involved with several major local-language box office successes, including Pantelion Films’ recent Mexican hit  No Manches Frida, based on the German box office sensation Fack ju Gohte and Pantelion’s mega-hit, Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Remakes of Instructions Not Included are being produced and distributed in territories around the world, including Demain tout commence, starring Omar Sy, which has garnered nearly 3 million admissions in France and almost 800,000 admissions in its first four weeks in Germany, and Sen Benim HerSeyimsin in Turkey. The company has several upcoming local-language films in the pipeline with its consortium partners.

ABOUT GLOBALGATE ENTERTAINMENT

Globalgate Entertainment is a producer and financier of mainstream, local-language motion pictures with a proprietary, global consortium of tier-1 production and distribution partners in key and emerging territories. Globalgate’s consortium partners include Lionsgate, Televisa (Latin America), Gaumont (France), Nordisk (Scandinavia), Kadokawa (Japan), Lotte (Korea), Tobis (Germany), TME (Turkey), Belga Filmes (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and Paris Filmes (Brazil). Globalgate, aligned with its consortium partners, has access to over 20,000 titles and, from its offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Beijing, curates additional commercial intellectual property from third-party rightsholders worldwide.

ABOUT PARIS FILMES

Paris Filmes is a Brazilian film company that was founded in 1960.  Led by Marcio Fraccaroli and Sandi Adamiu, the company specializes in high-quality film distribution and production.  Paris Filmes is the leading producer of Brazilian films and, in 2016, had an 81% market share of local-language films.  Produced by Paris Entretenimento, “Um Marido Para Minha Mulher” was a success with audiences and critics alike in 2016, as was “Carrossel 2 – O Sumiço de Maria Joaquina.”  Paris Filmes also had great success in distribution with popular Brazilian films such as “De Pernas Pro Ar” which was directed by Roberto Santucci and “Até Que a Sorte Nos Separe” which starred Camila Morgardo and Leandro Hassum. In 2017, the company released record-tying Academy Award nominee “La La Land” in Brazil and will distribute the much anticipated “Power Rangers”.  International releases by the company in Brazil include: “Inside Llewyn Davis”, the Coen brothers movie; the acclaimed “The Wolf of Wall Street” by Martin Scorsese; “Maps to the Stars” by David Cronenberg (Julianne Moore was the winner of the Best Actress award in Cannes); the first animated adaptation of the masterpiece of Antoine de Saint-Exupery “The Little Prince”; the Divergent film series; “Mockingjay Part 2” from the global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise; “Now You See Me 2”; and successes of Argentine cinema such as “Kóblic” which starred Ricardo Darín, and the movie based on the life of Brazilian MMA fighting champion José Aldo, “Mais Forte que O Mundo”, which was directed by Afonso Poyart. In 2016 Paris Filmes also distributed multiple Academy Award nominees such as “Brooklyn” and “The Desert Wolf”.  Other major achievements were the distribution of the Golden Globe-winning film “Silver Linings Playbook” in which American actress Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in 2013 and “Midnight in Paris“, the highest–grossing Woody Allen film in Brazil.

ABOUT CINE COLOMBIA

Cine Colombia, founded in 1927, is the first circuit in Colombia to install digital projection in 2007, evidencing its architectural and technological industry prominence.  Munir Falah, President and CEO since 1990, currently oversees roughly 2,000 employees. Cine Colombia has 290 screens, at 43 locations, in 12 Colombian cities and is investing $100 million on 110 new screens opening over the next three years. Cine Colombia has several large format screens called Mega Sala Cineco, boosting a 40% bigger screen than traditional screens. The circuit also has 7 MediaMation Mx4D theatres, branded as Dinamix 4D.

In addition, Cine Colombia is the leading distributor in Colombia, with a 46% market share, representing Fox, many Latin American Consortiums and independent production companies. In 2016, the company released 88 of the 320 films released in Colombia and, on average, co-finances 5 Colombian films each year. Cine Colombia also has a very strong Alternative Content division, representing the NY MET Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet, the London National Theatre, and many other cultural events.

 ABOUT DYNAMO PRODUCTIONS

DYNAMO was founded in Bogotá on 2006 by Andrés Calderón and Diego Ramírez, who today lead the Company along with their creative and executive partners Cristian Conti, Andi Baiz and Michel Ruben from their offices in Bogotá, New York, Mexico, and Madrid.

DYNAMO has consolidated itself as one of Latin America’s most important audiovisual production companies. Among their most relevant productions since their first feature film ‘Satanás’, are ‘Malcriados’, ‘Out of the Dark’, ‘Contracorriente’ and ‘The Hidden Face’. Dynamo has also produced ‘Los 33’ with Antonio Banderas, the first feature film under the Rebate Law of 2012 as well as their alliance with Netflix for the widely successful series ‘Narcos’. They also have stellar productions under the Rebate Law such as ‘American Made’ with Tom Cruise and ‘Escobar’ with Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz.

For further information and inquiries, please contact:

Peter D. Wilkes
Lionsgate
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
310-255-3726

(Source: prnewswire.com)