Ukrainian filmmakers and producers, including Mstyslav Chernov, the Oscar-winning director of 20 Days In Mariupol, are attending Cannes in significant numbers despite the ongoing war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
Against heavy odds, fictional films are being made in Ukraine. Evgeniy Drachov, head of Film.UA Distribution, is in Cannes pre-selling two new genre features: supernatural horror The Witch Revenge and thriller The Dam. Despite the war, the company is still trying to make “entertaining content” that will attract international buyers.
Alisa Kovalenko is presenting footage of her documentary project Frontline, about her experiences in the armed forces after the Russian invasion,...
Against heavy odds, fictional films are being made in Ukraine. Evgeniy Drachov, head of Film.UA Distribution, is in Cannes pre-selling two new genre features: supernatural horror The Witch Revenge and thriller The Dam. Despite the war, the company is still trying to make “entertaining content” that will attract international buyers.
Alisa Kovalenko is presenting footage of her documentary project Frontline, about her experiences in the armed forces after the Russian invasion,...
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
European Orgs Could Step Up Ukrainian Biz Support as Filmmakers and Supporters Point to Funding Gaps
European film agencies, festivals and organizations could do more to support Ukrainian filmmakers, the head of Germany’s state film promotion body, German Films, says.
Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films — which supports the promotion of national filmmakers at festivals and events worldwide — says there is a lot of talk at festival panels and industry gatherings of supporting Ukrainians, but little financial backing.
“Festivals, especially the Berlinale, are trying to help by giving the Ukrainians a discount on the European Film Market booth, but there are not many other organisations that are helping them pay their way,” Baumann says.
“It could be better. In Cannes last year, it was the Estonians and German Films that supported the Ukrainian pavilion. Poland has also been helping — many Ukrainian (and Belarusian) filmmaker have got asylum there, and they are trying to help with projects too.”
One example of good practice, she says,...
Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films — which supports the promotion of national filmmakers at festivals and events worldwide — says there is a lot of talk at festival panels and industry gatherings of supporting Ukrainians, but little financial backing.
“Festivals, especially the Berlinale, are trying to help by giving the Ukrainians a discount on the European Film Market booth, but there are not many other organisations that are helping them pay their way,” Baumann says.
“It could be better. In Cannes last year, it was the Estonians and German Films that supported the Ukrainian pavilion. Poland has also been helping — many Ukrainian (and Belarusian) filmmaker have got asylum there, and they are trying to help with projects too.”
One example of good practice, she says,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Ahead of its 39th edition, Poland’s Warsaw Film Festival is betting on timely topics.
“The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn.
“For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland. We try to avoid puff pieces.”
While there is space for “lighter topics” as well, supporting Ukraine – and Ukrainian filmmakers – remains one of the priorities.
“We initiated the first solidarity action with Ukraine back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, we also supported Oleg Sentsov. Last year, we featured the entire Ukrainian competition from Odesa International Film Festival, which couldn’t take place due to the war.”
This year, eight Ukrainian productions and co-productions will be shown at the fest. Including “Diagnosis: Dissent” by Denys Tarasov, about punitive psychiatry used by the Kgb, and Taras Dron’s “The Glass House,” where...
“The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn.
“For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland. We try to avoid puff pieces.”
While there is space for “lighter topics” as well, supporting Ukraine – and Ukrainian filmmakers – remains one of the priorities.
“We initiated the first solidarity action with Ukraine back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, we also supported Oleg Sentsov. Last year, we featured the entire Ukrainian competition from Odesa International Film Festival, which couldn’t take place due to the war.”
This year, eight Ukrainian productions and co-productions will be shown at the fest. Including “Diagnosis: Dissent” by Denys Tarasov, about punitive psychiatry used by the Kgb, and Taras Dron’s “The Glass House,” where...
- 10/5/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov has sustained shrapnel injuries while fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine.
The director, who spent more than five years in prison in Russia for opposing its annexation of his native Crimea in 2014, reported his injuries on his Facebook page, where he regularly posts updates about his life at the front.
He said his unit had come under artillery fire while out on its first sortie of the week.
“Three injured, mostly fractures. Already pulled out of my face, the small things in my hand and foot will stay with me forever. The other guys are fine too – Zaporizhzhia doctors know their stuff, thank you!,” he wrote.
Sentsov, whose filmography spans Rhino (2021), Nomery (2020) and Gamer (2011), joined Ukraine’s voluntary Territorial Defense forces the day of Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
Within a year, the 47-year-old filmmaker had moved into the country’s special forces and...
The director, who spent more than five years in prison in Russia for opposing its annexation of his native Crimea in 2014, reported his injuries on his Facebook page, where he regularly posts updates about his life at the front.
He said his unit had come under artillery fire while out on its first sortie of the week.
“Three injured, mostly fractures. Already pulled out of my face, the small things in my hand and foot will stay with me forever. The other guys are fine too – Zaporizhzhia doctors know their stuff, thank you!,” he wrote.
Sentsov, whose filmography spans Rhino (2021), Nomery (2020) and Gamer (2011), joined Ukraine’s voluntary Territorial Defense forces the day of Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
Within a year, the 47-year-old filmmaker had moved into the country’s special forces and...
- 7/18/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Mohammad Rasoulof’s invitation to Cannes has ignited a campaign to allow the Iranian filmmaker to leave his home nation.
International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (Icfr), an Amsterdam-based organization, issued a statement titled “Let Mohammad Rasoulof Go!” urging the Iranian government to allow the filmmaker to travel to France for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was invited to serve on the Un Certain Regard jury but is unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him.
Rasoulof was recently banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Similarly, director Jafar Panahi, who was detained alongside Rasoulof,...
International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (Icfr), an Amsterdam-based organization, issued a statement titled “Let Mohammad Rasoulof Go!” urging the Iranian government to allow the filmmaker to travel to France for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was invited to serve on the Un Certain Regard jury but is unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him.
Rasoulof was recently banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Similarly, director Jafar Panahi, who was detained alongside Rasoulof,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Early last year, Stefan Kitanov, director of the Sofia International Film Festival, thought that after two years of lockdowns and online events, things were finally getting back to normal.
“For two years I was out of all festival events and travels, I avoided all public events and spent time in our family house outside the city,” says Kitanov, who started Bulgaria’s biggest film event 27 years ago. “[Then], just as we thought the pandemic is finally over, the war in Ukraine broke out, just a month before our 2022 edition.”
The festival lineup was already locked down, but Kitanov quickly adjusted to the new reality. And made Sofia’s allegiance clear.
“We decided to withdraw Russian films and call off Russian talents and guests,” recalls Kitanov, who has many friends among both Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers and fellow festival colleagues. “[Ukrainian director] Oleg Sentsov was selected to serve on the main jury, but he...
“For two years I was out of all festival events and travels, I avoided all public events and spent time in our family house outside the city,” says Kitanov, who started Bulgaria’s biggest film event 27 years ago. “[Then], just as we thought the pandemic is finally over, the war in Ukraine broke out, just a month before our 2022 edition.”
The festival lineup was already locked down, but Kitanov quickly adjusted to the new reality. And made Sofia’s allegiance clear.
“We decided to withdraw Russian films and call off Russian talents and guests,” recalls Kitanov, who has many friends among both Ukrainian and Russian filmmakers and fellow festival colleagues. “[Ukrainian director] Oleg Sentsov was selected to serve on the main jury, but he...
- 4/1/2023
- by Stjepan Hundic
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Irish producer and film industry activist Mike Downey has received the inaugural lifetime achievement award of the Stockfish Film Festival in Iceland for his contributions to the international film industry.
The award, presented at a private ceremony Wednesday night, recognizes achievement from professionals in the “academe, production, distribution, film festival and market scenes.”
Downey, founder of Film and Music Entertainment (F&me), has production credits on more than 100 feature films, including Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return to Montauk, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan and Adrian Sibley’s documentary The Ghost of Richard Harris. He is currently working on Holland’s highly-anticipated upcoming Franz Kafka biopic Kafka. He’s a member of the BAFTA Council, the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
But Downey is arguably better known within the film industry for his tireless activism on behalf of filmmakers in crisis.
The award, presented at a private ceremony Wednesday night, recognizes achievement from professionals in the “academe, production, distribution, film festival and market scenes.”
Downey, founder of Film and Music Entertainment (F&me), has production credits on more than 100 feature films, including Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return to Montauk, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan and Adrian Sibley’s documentary The Ghost of Richard Harris. He is currently working on Holland’s highly-anticipated upcoming Franz Kafka biopic Kafka. He’s a member of the BAFTA Council, the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
But Downey is arguably better known within the film industry for his tireless activism on behalf of filmmakers in crisis.
- 3/29/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, many Westerners imagined that the countries previously within it would become joyful places, quick to adopt a Western way of life, perhaps with some cultural input from their pre-Soviet traditions. They were not prepared for what actually happened, as many places, left with very little infrastructure and sociologically damaged by years of having to deal with secret police and arbitrary justice systems, simply collapsed or fell into a semi-feudal state presided over by gangsters. It’s a an experience which more impoverished areas are still struggling to overcome. Oleh Sentsov’s latest work finds a parallel for it in the story of one man.
This man is Vova, later dubbed ‘Hосоріг,’ or ‘Rhino,’ by local gangsters. We first meet him when he’s just a boy, scrapping on waste ground and subsequently trying to pass off his bruises as accidental. He grows up in a.
This man is Vova, later dubbed ‘Hосоріг,’ or ‘Rhino,’ by local gangsters. We first meet him when he’s just a boy, scrapping on waste ground and subsequently trying to pass off his bruises as accidental. He grows up in a.
- 3/24/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
While we’ve been receiving vital cinematic dispatches from the frontlines of Ukraine’s ongoing battle against Russia, this week another look at the country’s history arrives with Rhino: Ukrainian Godfather. Directed by Oleh Sentsov––who was jailed for years by Russian forces for baseless accusations upon his protest of their annexation of Crimea––his Venice Film Festival selection captures the rise and fall of the Ukrainian Godfather named Rhino as he is submerged into the Ukrainian criminal world in the 1990s and begins his bloody path to the top of the Ukrainian mafia and his destiny.
The film stars Serhii Filimonov, an acclaimed Ukrainian performer who has since put his acting career on hold to fight on the front lines against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of the film’s release this Friday by XYZ Films, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the new trailer and poster.
The film stars Serhii Filimonov, an acclaimed Ukrainian performer who has since put his acting career on hold to fight on the front lines against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of the film’s release this Friday by XYZ Films, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the new trailer and poster.
- 3/22/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Open letter by film industry organisations says Ukrainian Film State Agency head should be dismissed.
Ukraine’s film community has called for the resignation of Maryna Kuderchuk, head of the country’s main film agency, following allegations of “unprofessional and dishonest actions ….which have led to the deepening crisis in Ukrainian cinema”.
An open letter has been signed by film organisations including the Union of Film Critics of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Guild of Directors and addressed to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, prime minister Denys Shmyhal, and minister of culture and information policy Oleksandr Tkachenko, among others.
Contacted by Screen,...
Ukraine’s film community has called for the resignation of Maryna Kuderchuk, head of the country’s main film agency, following allegations of “unprofessional and dishonest actions ….which have led to the deepening crisis in Ukrainian cinema”.
An open letter has been signed by film organisations including the Union of Film Critics of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Guild of Directors and addressed to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, prime minister Denys Shmyhal, and minister of culture and information policy Oleksandr Tkachenko, among others.
Contacted by Screen,...
- 11/29/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab¬Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
All of the projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Award.
New films from Oleg Sentsov, County Lines director Henry Blake and Austria’s Sandra Wollner are among the projects selected for the 14th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Co-Production Village.
All of the projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Award.
Ukraine’s Sentsov participates with new project Kai. The filmmaker was in Venice in 2021 with Rhino, before fighting on the front line following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Blake is attending with The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, a 1919-set romance co-written by Xiao Tang...
New films from Oleg Sentsov, County Lines director Henry Blake and Austria’s Sandra Wollner are among the projects selected for the 14th edition of the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Co-Production Village.
All of the projects will compete for the €6,000 ArteKino International Award.
Ukraine’s Sentsov participates with new project Kai. The filmmaker was in Venice in 2021 with Rhino, before fighting on the front line following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Blake is attending with The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, a 1919-set romance co-written by Xiao Tang...
- 11/15/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
France’s Les Arcs Film Festival has unveiled the 18 European feature film projects due to be presented in the 14th edition of its Les Arcs Coproduction Village, running December 10 to 13 against the backdrop of the French Alps.
The meeting, aimed at connecting projects with co-producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors, received 311 submissions this year, 40 more than in 2021.
Hailing from 13 territories, seven of the projects are helmed by female filmmakers, and 11 by men, a proportion equal to the applications received for the Coproduction Village.
Nine of them are first features, six are second features and three are by more established filmmakers.
They include U.K. director Henry Blake’s The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, his second feature after buzzy debut County Lines. The 1919-set drama follows an English woman who falls in love with a Chinese docker and then morphs into a beetle due to societal hatred.
Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov will attend with Kai,...
The meeting, aimed at connecting projects with co-producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors, received 311 submissions this year, 40 more than in 2021.
Hailing from 13 territories, seven of the projects are helmed by female filmmakers, and 11 by men, a proportion equal to the applications received for the Coproduction Village.
Nine of them are first features, six are second features and three are by more established filmmakers.
They include U.K. director Henry Blake’s The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle, his second feature after buzzy debut County Lines. The 1919-set drama follows an English woman who falls in love with a Chinese docker and then morphs into a beetle due to societal hatred.
Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov will attend with Kai,...
- 11/15/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
’The Execution’ from Russian filmmaker Lado Kvataniya has been selected for Transilvania’s main competition.
Organisers of this week’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) have defended the programming of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution in the main competition following criticism from Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Oleg Sentsov.
“Our common mission is to make sure the Ukrainian spirit is present and powerful in our festival,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, as already stated by the international filmmaking community, it is important to not direct hate towards individuals based on their nationality.”
In an...
Organisers of this week’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) have defended the programming of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution in the main competition following criticism from Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Oleg Sentsov.
“Our common mission is to make sure the Ukrainian spirit is present and powerful in our festival,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, as already stated by the international filmmaking community, it is important to not direct hate towards individuals based on their nationality.”
In an...
- 6/22/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
’The Execution’ from Russian filmmaker Lado Kvataniya has been selected for Transilvania’s main competition.
Organisers of this week’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) have defended the programming of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution in the main competition following criticism from Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Oleg Sentsov.
“Our common mission is to make sure the Ukrainian spirit is present and powerful in our festival,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, as already stated by the international filmmaking community, it is important to not direct hate towards individuals based on their nationality.”
In an...
Organisers of this week’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) have defended the programming of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution in the main competition following criticism from Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Oleg Sentsov.
“Our common mission is to make sure the Ukrainian spirit is present and powerful in our festival,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, as already stated by the international filmmaking community, it is important to not direct hate towards individuals based on their nationality.”
In an...
- 6/22/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.
In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.”
The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the 100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K. and Europe.
“This film...
In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.”
The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the 100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K. and Europe.
“This film...
- 6/21/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
After pulling off the near miraculous feat of mounting two in-person editions in the middle of a global pandemic, the organizing team of the Transilvania Film Festival had hoped for a return to normalcy this year – hopes that were quickly dashed when Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The tone and tenor of this year’s event swiftly shifted gears, says TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu, as festival leadership looked to strike a precarious balance. “The lives of many people have been turned upside-down. We need to be empathetic and pay attention to what’s happening over there and try to mirror through the festival program this tragedy which is happening in Ukraine,” Giurgiu tells Variety.
As TIFF kicks off its 21st edition, which runs June 17 – 26, the war in Ukraine will be reaching the conclusion of its fourth month, a period that has already dramatically upended life in its Eastern European neighbor.
The tone and tenor of this year’s event swiftly shifted gears, says TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu, as festival leadership looked to strike a precarious balance. “The lives of many people have been turned upside-down. We need to be empathetic and pay attention to what’s happening over there and try to mirror through the festival program this tragedy which is happening in Ukraine,” Giurgiu tells Variety.
As TIFF kicks off its 21st edition, which runs June 17 – 26, the war in Ukraine will be reaching the conclusion of its fourth month, a period that has already dramatically upended life in its Eastern European neighbor.
- 6/16/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Nine projects have been selected for the CineLink Co-Production Market and seven for the CineLink Drama at the upcoming edition of CineLink Industry Days within the Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug. 12-19), according to Film New Europe.
The CineLink Co-Production Market includes projects from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, while projects from Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary were selected for CineLink Drama.
A new development award, Female Voices CineLink Award with a cash prize of Euros 10,000, presented by the Slovenian Film Center, will be handed to one project from the CineLink Co-Production Market or CineLink Drama.
CineLink Industry Days will start with CineLink Workshop this month, one-on-one meetings during the festival (Aug. 15-18), and will continue with online meetings in September.
Click here to see the selected projects for CineLink Co-Production Market and CineLink Drama.
‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ Dominates Polish Film Awards, the Eagles
“Quo Vadis, Aida?...
The CineLink Co-Production Market includes projects from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, while projects from Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary were selected for CineLink Drama.
A new development award, Female Voices CineLink Award with a cash prize of Euros 10,000, presented by the Slovenian Film Center, will be handed to one project from the CineLink Co-Production Market or CineLink Drama.
CineLink Industry Days will start with CineLink Workshop this month, one-on-one meetings during the festival (Aug. 15-18), and will continue with online meetings in September.
Click here to see the selected projects for CineLink Co-Production Market and CineLink Drama.
‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ Dominates Polish Film Awards, the Eagles
“Quo Vadis, Aida?...
- 6/10/2022
- by Anna Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov and producer Denis Ivanov are teaming up again after their last collaboration, the ‘90s-set crime drama “Rhino,” premiered in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons sidebar last year.
The new feature, “Shining World,” centers on a mother and her young son living in a small American town in the 1960s. Described by Ivanov as a “fairy tale” with echoes of Wes Anderson’s whimsical tone, it unspools in both the real world and in the imagination of its young protagonist after he learns an amusement park is being built nearby.
“Shining World” was written by Sentsov while imprisoned on what his supporters insist were trumped-up charges after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ivanov had originally intended to sell the script to provide a small windfall for Sentsov after his release – a suggestion the director quickly nixed. “Oleh was quite direct and said ‘No, my scripts belong to me.
The new feature, “Shining World,” centers on a mother and her young son living in a small American town in the 1960s. Described by Ivanov as a “fairy tale” with echoes of Wes Anderson’s whimsical tone, it unspools in both the real world and in the imagination of its young protagonist after he learns an amusement park is being built nearby.
“Shining World” was written by Sentsov while imprisoned on what his supporters insist were trumped-up charges after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ivanov had originally intended to sell the script to provide a small windfall for Sentsov after his release – a suggestion the director quickly nixed. “Oleh was quite direct and said ‘No, my scripts belong to me.
- 5/17/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Festival organisers paid tribute to Ukrainian filmmakers at the awards ceremony.
Bartosz Blaschke’s Sonata has been named best film at Sofia International Film Festival, which is staging its first full in-person edition since the start of the pandemic.
The Polish filmmaker’s debut feature picked up the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix as well as the audience award at a ceremony in the Bulgarian capital on Saturday (March 19). The drama is based on the true story of musician Grzegorz Plonka, who was initially diagnosed as autistic before it is discovered he had acute hearing loss.
The feature received...
Bartosz Blaschke’s Sonata has been named best film at Sofia International Film Festival, which is staging its first full in-person edition since the start of the pandemic.
The Polish filmmaker’s debut feature picked up the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix as well as the audience award at a ceremony in the Bulgarian capital on Saturday (March 19). The drama is based on the true story of musician Grzegorz Plonka, who was initially diagnosed as autistic before it is discovered he had acute hearing loss.
The feature received...
- 3/21/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Denis Ivanov, the Ukrainian producer of critically acclaimed films including Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s “The Tribe,” Sergey Loznitsa’s “Donbass” and Oleh Sentsov’s “Rhino,” has penned an impassioned letter against Russia’s war in Ukraine, describing it as a “genocide against Ukrainians” and accusing the Russian military of war crimes.
In the letter, Ivanov gave his full-throated support to a boycott on Russian films, demanding “no more ‘business as usual’ with Putin’s Russia.”
“I think some festival selectors, film professionals and cultural managers just do not get what is happening in Ukraine,” he wrote, in light of an ongoing campaign by the Russian military that has escalated in recent days. “This war of aggression by the Russians has turned into a war on independence and a war for values and rights. It is, first of all, the genocide of Ukrainians.
“In these circumstances, I sincerely wonder about the position,...
In the letter, Ivanov gave his full-throated support to a boycott on Russian films, demanding “no more ‘business as usual’ with Putin’s Russia.”
“I think some festival selectors, film professionals and cultural managers just do not get what is happening in Ukraine,” he wrote, in light of an ongoing campaign by the Russian military that has escalated in recent days. “This war of aggression by the Russians has turned into a war on independence and a war for values and rights. It is, first of all, the genocide of Ukrainians.
“In these circumstances, I sincerely wonder about the position,...
- 3/3/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
A group of prominent Ukrainian filmmakers has called for the world to wake up to the threat posed to democracy following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Eastern European country on Thursday.
An open letter was circulated Friday by filmmakers including: Oleh Sentsov, director of “Rhino”; Valentyn Vasyanovych, director of “Reflection” and “Atlantis”; Maryna Er Gorbach, director of “Klondike”; Anna Machukh, executive director of the Ukrainian Film Academy and Oiff; Natalia Vorozhbyt, director of ‘Bad Roads”; Iryna Tsilyk, director of “The Earth is Blue as an Orange”; and Nariman Aliev, director of “Homeward.”
“Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. Now, more than ever, we need the help of the international community and anyone who understands that tomorrow war may be at your door. We’ve talked about the war in eastern Ukraine in our films for 8 years. You watched them at the festivals. But this is not a film,...
An open letter was circulated Friday by filmmakers including: Oleh Sentsov, director of “Rhino”; Valentyn Vasyanovych, director of “Reflection” and “Atlantis”; Maryna Er Gorbach, director of “Klondike”; Anna Machukh, executive director of the Ukrainian Film Academy and Oiff; Natalia Vorozhbyt, director of ‘Bad Roads”; Iryna Tsilyk, director of “The Earth is Blue as an Orange”; and Nariman Aliev, director of “Homeward.”
“Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. Now, more than ever, we need the help of the international community and anyone who understands that tomorrow war may be at your door. We’ve talked about the war in eastern Ukraine in our films for 8 years. You watched them at the festivals. But this is not a film,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
A criminal seeks redemption in Oleh Sentsov’s Rhino, showing in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section. Played by newcomer Serhii Filimonov, Rhino is a delinquent in 1990s Ukraine who is easily drawn into the criminal underworld. His intimidatingly bulky stature makes him a natural fit for collecting money for loan sharks, among other violent acts. His love story with girlfriend Marina (Alina Zevakova) is initially a happy one, but when that goes sour, so does his life.
Sentsov’s film is largely set in flashback, punctuated by a present day confessional between Rhino and a mysterious man in a car. This isn’t a spoon-fed narration, however: much of the action unfolds swiftly and alarmingly, without warning, much as it would in real life. There’s a flavor of classic mafia movies as Rhino is drawn deeper into the world of organized crime, but the specific setting sets this apart,...
Sentsov’s film is largely set in flashback, punctuated by a present day confessional between Rhino and a mysterious man in a car. This isn’t a spoon-fed narration, however: much of the action unfolds swiftly and alarmingly, without warning, much as it would in real life. There’s a flavor of classic mafia movies as Rhino is drawn deeper into the world of organized crime, but the specific setting sets this apart,...
- 9/11/2021
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s rare that the director becomes the story. But when Oleh Sentsov was arrested by Russian forces in Crimea in 2014 — he had been protesting Russia’s annexation of the region — the Ukraine filmmaker became a cause célèbre for the European film community. A Russian court found Sentsov guilty of “plotting terrorist acts” and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment. Only a coordinated effort by the European Film Academy, Amnesty International and the European Parliament — acclaimed directors including Ken Loach, Pedro Almodóvar and Agnieszka Holland signed a letter to Russian authorities demanding Sentsov’s release — led to his ...
It’s rare that the director becomes the story. But when Oleh Sentsov was arrested by Russian forces in Crimea in 2014 — he had been protesting Russia’s annexation of the region — the Ukraine filmmaker became a cause célèbre for the European film community. A Russian court found Sentsov guilty of “plotting terrorist acts” and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment. Only a coordinated effort by the European Film Academy, Amnesty International and the European Parliament — acclaimed directors including Ken Loach, Pedro Almodóvar and Agnieszka Holland signed a letter to Russian authorities demanding Sentsov’s release — led to his ...
Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov will mark the second anniversary of his release from Russian imprisonment this month as his new film, “Rhino,” plays in the closing slot in the Horizons section at the Venice Film Festival.
Sentsov, who was seized by Russian security officials after the annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea Crimea territory in 2014 and flown to Russia to be put on trial at a military court on terrorism charges he vigorously denied, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
An international campaign for his freedom galvanized film industry people from Hollywood A-listers to European directors, such as Wim Wenders, and organizations that included the European Film Academy and Pen.
Now, after writing a hit Ukrainian book about his experiences and coming under pressure to go into politics, Sentsov is back in the place he feels most at ease in — making movies.
“Everyone waited for me to make political films...
Sentsov, who was seized by Russian security officials after the annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea Crimea territory in 2014 and flown to Russia to be put on trial at a military court on terrorism charges he vigorously denied, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
An international campaign for his freedom galvanized film industry people from Hollywood A-listers to European directors, such as Wim Wenders, and organizations that included the European Film Academy and Pen.
Now, after writing a hit Ukrainian book about his experiences and coming under pressure to go into politics, Sentsov is back in the place he feels most at ease in — making movies.
“Everyone waited for me to make political films...
- 9/2/2021
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Happy Friday International Insiders. Tom Grater here delivering you a round-up of this week’s international news. To get this sent to your inbox every Friday, sign up here.
Edinburgh TV Fest 2021
High-profile gathering: One arguably positive impact of lockdown life has been how efficient international industry events have become, admittedly after a few bumps in the road. Hats off to organizers of the Edinburgh TV Fest, who this week put on a jam-packed procession of high-profile panels, not just one after the other but even at times overlapping. It was hard to keep up with it all, but no doubt that the overall quality of discussion was high.
Highlights: Where to begin? Jack Thorne set the tone for the event in the prestigious MacTaggart Lecture slot. The National Treasure scribe called out the TV industry, saying it had “failed disabled people. Utterly and totally.” His words echoed throughout the following days,...
Edinburgh TV Fest 2021
High-profile gathering: One arguably positive impact of lockdown life has been how efficient international industry events have become, admittedly after a few bumps in the road. Hats off to organizers of the Edinburgh TV Fest, who this week put on a jam-packed procession of high-profile panels, not just one after the other but even at times overlapping. It was hard to keep up with it all, but no doubt that the overall quality of discussion was high.
Highlights: Where to begin? Jack Thorne set the tone for the event in the prestigious MacTaggart Lecture slot. The National Treasure scribe called out the TV industry, saying it had “failed disabled people. Utterly and totally.” His words echoed throughout the following days,...
- 8/27/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh (not Oleg) Sentsov is back to doing what he loves after an incredibly challenging and near-fatal period that saw him incarcerated for a number of years by Russian authorities on charges that were widely condemned by human rights orgs.
Sentsov’s plight captured the hearts and minds of the international film community. He was arrested in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea, and sentenced to 20 years for “terrorism acts” in 2015. Amnesty International described the charges as “fabricated”.
Serving his time, the filmmaker declined visits from his family on the basis that other visitors were seen to fall into a depression after leaving, and eventually went on a hunger strike that lasted 145 days, leaving many believing he would never make it out alive.
Thankfully, in September 2019 Sentsov was released in a prisoner swap with Ukraine, after which he was reunited with his family. He now lives in Kyiv with his...
Sentsov’s plight captured the hearts and minds of the international film community. He was arrested in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea, and sentenced to 20 years for “terrorism acts” in 2015. Amnesty International described the charges as “fabricated”.
Serving his time, the filmmaker declined visits from his family on the basis that other visitors were seen to fall into a depression after leaving, and eventually went on a hunger strike that lasted 145 days, leaving many believing he would never make it out alive.
Thankfully, in September 2019 Sentsov was released in a prisoner swap with Ukraine, after which he was reunited with his family. He now lives in Kyiv with his...
- 8/27/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Taking place September 1 through 11, the Venice Film Festival has now unveiled its lineup, after a few teases of what it contains (the opening night selection of Madres Paralelas by Pedro Almodovar and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune). Among the selections are Jane Campion’s The Power of a Dog, Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, Pablo Larrain’s Spencer, Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon.
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, and Edgar Wright’s The Last Night in Soho will premiere there, along with new shorts by Radu Jude and Tsai Ming-liang.
Check out the line below for the festival that will feature 50% capacity at screenings.
Venezia 78 – Competition
Madres Paralelas, dir: Pedro Almodovar
Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon, dir: Ana Lily Amirpour
Un Autre Monde, dir: Stéphane Brizé
The Power Of The Dog,...
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, and Edgar Wright’s The Last Night in Soho will premiere there, along with new shorts by Radu Jude and Tsai Ming-liang.
Check out the line below for the festival that will feature 50% capacity at screenings.
Venezia 78 – Competition
Madres Paralelas, dir: Pedro Almodovar
Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon, dir: Ana Lily Amirpour
Un Autre Monde, dir: Stéphane Brizé
The Power Of The Dog,...
- 7/26/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Updated, with more detail: The Venice Film Festival unveiled the lineup for its 78th edition Monday morning with a notably strong studio presence after last year’s near dearth of Hollywood titles and muted star attendance. Universal (with Blumhouse’s previously announced Halloween Kills and Focus’ Last Night In Soho and The Card Counter), Warner Bros (with Legendary’s also previously confirmed Dune) and Disney (with 20th Century’s The Last Duel) will all be represented in town and each was thanked by Venice chief Alberto Barbera for supporting the event. “There is a strong comeback of the Americans,” he said. Scroll down for a full list of titles announced today.
Also showing up is Netflix, which has a cozy relationship with Venice. On the streamer’s roster are Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God and Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog, both in competition.
Venice has...
Also showing up is Netflix, which has a cozy relationship with Venice. On the streamer’s roster are Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God and Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog, both in competition.
Venice has...
- 7/26/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s line-up includes five female directors in competition.
The line-up of the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) has been announced by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Scroll down for the full line-up
This year’s selection saw the festival take a backward step for gender balance, with five female directors selected in the main competition, down from last year’s eight. 26% of films in the overall line-up are directed by women, down from 28% in 2020.
The high-profile titles picked for competition this year include Pablo Larrain’s Spencer; Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God...
The line-up of the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) has been announced by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.
Scroll down for the full line-up
This year’s selection saw the festival take a backward step for gender balance, with five female directors selected in the main competition, down from last year’s eight. 26% of films in the overall line-up are directed by women, down from 28% in 2020.
The high-profile titles picked for competition this year include Pablo Larrain’s Spencer; Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God...
- 7/26/2021
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
The Venice film festival runs September 1-11.
The line-up for the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) is being unveiled this morning at around 11:00 Cest (10:00 BST) by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.
The press conference will be live-streamed here below, and the story will be updated with the films as they are announced.
As previously announced, Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers will open the festival in competition. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will also have its world premiere at the festival out of competition on September 3.
Bong Joon Ho will preside over the competition jury that also includes Chloé Zhao,...
The line-up for the 78th Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) is being unveiled this morning at around 11:00 Cest (10:00 BST) by festival president Roberto Cicutto and artistic director Alberto Barbera.
The press conference will be live-streamed here below, and the story will be updated with the films as they are announced.
As previously announced, Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers will open the festival in competition. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will also have its world premiere at the festival out of competition on September 3.
Bong Joon Ho will preside over the competition jury that also includes Chloé Zhao,...
- 7/26/2021
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Since Amnesty Intl. was founded in 1961 there has been, sadly, no shortage of filmmakers who have been killed or persecuted because of their work. Sixty years on, that danger remains.
In 1975 poet-turned-director Pierpaolo Pasolini was murdered in Italy, possibly by the country’s secret services. More recently, in 2012, filmmaker and activist Bassel Shehadeh was gunned down in Syria by the military, which then prevented his friends from attending the funeral. Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, for whom Amnesty mounted a strong protest campaign, was put behind bars in China due to his 2008 documentary “Leaving Fear Behind.” He was released in 2014 after serving a six-year sentence.
There are, of course, many more cases.
Recently the Italian branch of Amnesty supported distribution in Italy of “Nasrin,” the clandestinely filmed documentary about Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is serving a 38-year sentence for alleged offenses including “propaganda against the state.” She was “promoting causes of political prisoners,...
In 1975 poet-turned-director Pierpaolo Pasolini was murdered in Italy, possibly by the country’s secret services. More recently, in 2012, filmmaker and activist Bassel Shehadeh was gunned down in Syria by the military, which then prevented his friends from attending the funeral. Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, for whom Amnesty mounted a strong protest campaign, was put behind bars in China due to his 2008 documentary “Leaving Fear Behind.” He was released in 2014 after serving a six-year sentence.
There are, of course, many more cases.
Recently the Italian branch of Amnesty supported distribution in Italy of “Nasrin,” the clandestinely filmed documentary about Iranian human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is serving a 38-year sentence for alleged offenses including “propaganda against the state.” She was “promoting causes of political prisoners,...
- 7/17/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The producers of Oleg Sentsov's Rhino are invited to speak about their collaboration and the financing of their film, which has received Eurimages support. The Co-production Podcast is a collaboration between Cineuropa and Eurimages. Each episode welcomes producers to share best practices and to inspire new industry-wide collaborations in Europe and beyond. In the second episode of the Co-production Podcast, Cineuropa’s editor-in-chief, Domenico La Porta, and producers Denis Ivanov, Dariusz Jablonski, and Heino Deckert discuss the production of Rhino, written and directed by Oleg Sentsov.Note: this episode runs 5 minutes longer than usual due to important contextual information related to the director, who was unjustly incarcerated at the beginning of the production process.
Festival in Bulgaria delays final week following emergency pandemic measures.
Iuli Gerbase’s The Pink Cloud has won the top award at the Sofia International Film Festival, which has seen its final week postponed due to emergency lockdown measures in Bulgaria.
The Brazilian filmmaker’s debut feature picked up the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix Award along with €7,000. The sci-fi drama, which premiered in competition at Sundance, centres on a new couple who are forced to stay indoors when a deadly pink cloud covers the world. MPM Premium handles sales.
The award was announced during a physical ceremony at...
Iuli Gerbase’s The Pink Cloud has won the top award at the Sofia International Film Festival, which has seen its final week postponed due to emergency lockdown measures in Bulgaria.
The Brazilian filmmaker’s debut feature picked up the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix Award along with €7,000. The sci-fi drama, which premiered in competition at Sundance, centres on a new couple who are forced to stay indoors when a deadly pink cloud covers the world. MPM Premium handles sales.
The award was announced during a physical ceremony at...
- 3/22/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Ukrainian filmmaker’s third feature was postponed due to five years imprisonment.
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is to showcase footage from upcoming feature Rhino at Bulgaria’s Sofia Meetings, which is taking place virtually from March 17-24.
It marks the third feature from Sentsov and was originally pitched at the industry platform in 2012, before being abandoned when the filmmaker was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service in May 2014 and later sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Sentsov resurrected the project after being released from prison as part of a prisoner exchange in September 2019.
Set in 1990s Ukraine, the drama centres on...
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is to showcase footage from upcoming feature Rhino at Bulgaria’s Sofia Meetings, which is taking place virtually from March 17-24.
It marks the third feature from Sentsov and was originally pitched at the industry platform in 2012, before being abandoned when the filmmaker was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service in May 2014 and later sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Sentsov resurrected the project after being released from prison as part of a prisoner exchange in September 2019.
Set in 1990s Ukraine, the drama centres on...
- 3/19/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Two members of the Russian punk band will appear in court on March 18.
International film and TV professionals including actors Gillian Anderson, Martin Sheen and members of the European Film Academy (Efa) have called on the Russian government to drop all charges against two members of punk band Pussy Riot, as the pair’s trial begins tomorrow (March 18).
Masha Alekhina and Lucy Shtein will appear in court in Moscow, accused of calling for a rally in support of political prisoners. They face up to two years in prison; the pair have been under house arrest for two months already, with...
International film and TV professionals including actors Gillian Anderson, Martin Sheen and members of the European Film Academy (Efa) have called on the Russian government to drop all charges against two members of punk band Pussy Riot, as the pair’s trial begins tomorrow (March 18).
Masha Alekhina and Lucy Shtein will appear in court in Moscow, accused of calling for a rally in support of political prisoners. They face up to two years in prison; the pair have been under house arrest for two months already, with...
- 3/17/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
A group of high-profile industry figures have signed a letter calling for an end to the prosecution of Maria Alekhina and Lucy (Ludmila) Shtein, two members of the anarchist feminist group Pussy Riot.
The pair face up to two years in prison for Instagram posts advocating for the release of political prisoners in Russia, which they sent following the mass protests in response to the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. The pair have been under house arrest for two months and are banned from using the internet. They face a trial this week to see if their house arrest will be extended or if the criminal court process will begin.
The letter has been penned by Nadya Tolokonnikova, a Pussy Riot member who was sentenced to prison in 2012 for her actions with the group. At the time of publication, the list of signatories included Martin and Janet Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Jonze,...
The pair face up to two years in prison for Instagram posts advocating for the release of political prisoners in Russia, which they sent following the mass protests in response to the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. The pair have been under house arrest for two months and are banned from using the internet. They face a trial this week to see if their house arrest will be extended or if the criminal court process will begin.
The letter has been penned by Nadya Tolokonnikova, a Pussy Riot member who was sentenced to prison in 2012 for her actions with the group. At the time of publication, the list of signatories included Martin and Janet Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Jonze,...
- 3/15/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Shadow Game by Eefje Blankevoort and Els Van Driel, and Byambasuren Davaa’s Veins of the World, have received the Grand Prizes of the festival. The 19th Geneva’s International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (Fifdh) has wrapped its first digital edition with the announcement of its winners. Running from 5 to 14 March, the event gathered nearly 45,000 people who watched the films, debates and various content available online. “While we regret not having been able to open this Festival to a physical audience, some of the experiments carried out this year will be perpetuated. We must pay tribute to the Fifdh team, which has been able to adapt to many challenges with increased energy,” mentioned general director Isabelle Gattiker. Starting with the Creative Documentary Competition, the jury headed by Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, and featuring Lamia Maria Abillama, Yulia Mahr, and Arnaud Robert, bestowed the Grand Prize of...
Programme was to include the world premiere of Joana Pontes’ ‘Visions Of The Empire’.
Portugal’s documentary festival Doclisboa has postponed its latest event as the country prepares to enter a national lockdown following a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The Lisbon festival had reimagined its format in the wake of the outbreak and has been staging its latest edition across six smaller events since October, at a rate of one per month.
But the fourth “moment”, which was scheduled to take place from January 14-20, has been put on hold following a decision by the Portuguese government to put the...
Portugal’s documentary festival Doclisboa has postponed its latest event as the country prepares to enter a national lockdown following a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The Lisbon festival had reimagined its format in the wake of the outbreak and has been staging its latest edition across six smaller events since October, at a rate of one per month.
But the fourth “moment”, which was scheduled to take place from January 14-20, has been put on hold following a decision by the Portuguese government to put the...
- 1/14/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Rhinoceros
Ukraine’s Oleg Sentsov has returned the project he was working on prior to his 2014 incarceration in Russia, Rhinoceros, coproduced by Ukraine, Poland and Germany, with 50% of funding coming from State Agency of Ukraine for cinema. The film is being lensed by Polish Dp Bogumil Godfrejow. Sentsov’s 2011 debut Gamer traveled the European festival circuit and won awards at the 2012 Odessa International Film Festival. In 2020, his follow-up feature Numbers (co-directed by Akhtem Seitablayev) premiered at the 2020 Berlin Iff in a sidebar.…...
Ukraine’s Oleg Sentsov has returned the project he was working on prior to his 2014 incarceration in Russia, Rhinoceros, coproduced by Ukraine, Poland and Germany, with 50% of funding coming from State Agency of Ukraine for cinema. The film is being lensed by Polish Dp Bogumil Godfrejow. Sentsov’s 2011 debut Gamer traveled the European festival circuit and won awards at the 2012 Odessa International Film Festival. In 2020, his follow-up feature Numbers (co-directed by Akhtem Seitablayev) premiered at the 2020 Berlin Iff in a sidebar.…...
- 1/4/2021
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
New projects by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Sergei Loznitsa, Oleg Sentsov, Emily Atef and Panos H Koutras, among the selection. At its 160th meeting held online, the Board of Management of the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund agreed to support 18 fiction films and 11 documentary projects for a total amount of €5,692,700. The share of eligible projects with female directors examined at this Eurimages Board of Management meeting was 28%; 33% of the projects supported were directed by women and €1,977,500 was awarded to these projects, representing 35% of the total amount awarded. The films supported: An Iranian Woman - Steffi Niederzoll (Germany/France) (documentary)Architecton - Viktor Kossakovsky (Germany/France) (documentary)Brotherhood - Francesco Montagner (Czech Republic/Italy) (documentary)Brothers - Tomáš Mašίn (Czech Republic/Germany/Slovakia)Captain Volkonogov Escaped - Natalya Merkulova, Alexey Chupov (Russia/France/Estonia)Carbide - Josip Žuvan (Croatia/Serbia)Corsage - Marie Kreutzer (Austria/Germany/France)Dodo - Panos H...
- 10/19/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
A total of €5.7m was awarded in latest funding round.
New projects from Oleg Sentsov, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Emily Atef are among 29 films selected to receive Eurimages funding in its latest round of co-production awards.
Eighteen fiction features and 11 documentary projects will receive a total of €5.7m ($6.7m).
Scroll down for the full list of titles.
Of the projects selected, one third are directed by women; they will receive 35% of the total amount (€2m).
Sentsov receives €270,000 towards his crime drama Rhino, a Ukraine-Poland-Germany co-production. The film started pre-production back in 2013, before Sentsov was imprisoned by the Russian Federal Security...
New projects from Oleg Sentsov, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Emily Atef are among 29 films selected to receive Eurimages funding in its latest round of co-production awards.
Eighteen fiction features and 11 documentary projects will receive a total of €5.7m ($6.7m).
Scroll down for the full list of titles.
Of the projects selected, one third are directed by women; they will receive 35% of the total amount (€2m).
Sentsov receives €270,000 towards his crime drama Rhino, a Ukraine-Poland-Germany co-production. The film started pre-production back in 2013, before Sentsov was imprisoned by the Russian Federal Security...
- 10/16/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Fledgling body has examined seven cases of filmmakers in potential danger over last six weeks.
Fresh details have emerged about the fledgling International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (Ifcr), which was launched late last year to support filmmakers facing political persecution.
Speaking at a special event in Venice, its founding bodies the European Film Academy (Efa), the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) revealed the body would be run as an independent foundation based in Amsterdam.
Idfa’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said the three founding partner organisations would each make a small financial...
Fresh details have emerged about the fledgling International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (Ifcr), which was launched late last year to support filmmakers facing political persecution.
Speaking at a special event in Venice, its founding bodies the European Film Academy (Efa), the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) revealed the body would be run as an independent foundation based in Amsterdam.
Idfa’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia said the three founding partner organisations would each make a small financial...
- 9/7/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Production in Poland was given the greenlight to resume on May 18.
The Polish government has published a series of industry guidelines to safely resume film and TV production in the country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The 12-page document was issued by Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage after the greenlight was given to resume production on May 18.
Recommendations include the wearing of masks by all crew members. Actors, while exempt from wearing masks during filming, are instructed to socially distance from crew. It is also recommended to limit the number of people on set and...
The Polish government has published a series of industry guidelines to safely resume film and TV production in the country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The 12-page document was issued by Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage after the greenlight was given to resume production on May 18.
Recommendations include the wearing of masks by all crew members. Actors, while exempt from wearing masks during filming, are instructed to socially distance from crew. It is also recommended to limit the number of people on set and...
- 5/26/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Film and TV production in Poland has been shut down since mid-March.
Film and TV production in Poland is set to resume on May 18 as the country moves to relax Covid-19 restrictions.
The announcement by the Polish government will end two months of disruption to the industry, which saw cinemas in the country close their doors on March 12 and film sets follow suit shortly after.
The Polish Film Institute told Screen that it was now awaiting more detailed guidelines for shooting from the government’s health office.
These are expected in the coming days and are expected to see crew...
Film and TV production in Poland is set to resume on May 18 as the country moves to relax Covid-19 restrictions.
The announcement by the Polish government will end two months of disruption to the industry, which saw cinemas in the country close their doors on March 12 and film sets follow suit shortly after.
The Polish Film Institute told Screen that it was now awaiting more detailed guidelines for shooting from the government’s health office.
These are expected in the coming days and are expected to see crew...
- 5/14/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Poland’s government has given the greenlight for film and TV production to resume on May 18 as it loosens restrictions in the battle against coronavirus.
The country introduced a 30% cash rebate for production at the start of last year, and the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Film Commission have been wooing foreign producers to come to shoot their projects there. In the first year of the incentive 26 projects benefited from a total fund of €12 million ($13 million).
Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,” produced by local production powerhouse Atm Grupa for Netflix, and “The Turncoat,” a World War II miniseries directed by Florian Gallenberger, an Oscar winner for live-action short.
Upcoming projects to be lensed in Poland include Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest,” which is being co-produced and distributed in the U.S. by A24,...
The country introduced a 30% cash rebate for production at the start of last year, and the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Film Commission have been wooing foreign producers to come to shoot their projects there. In the first year of the incentive 26 projects benefited from a total fund of €12 million ($13 million).
Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,” produced by local production powerhouse Atm Grupa for Netflix, and “The Turncoat,” a World War II miniseries directed by Florian Gallenberger, an Oscar winner for live-action short.
Upcoming projects to be lensed in Poland include Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest,” which is being co-produced and distributed in the U.S. by A24,...
- 5/13/2020
- by Leo Barraclough and Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
With the introduction of a 30% cash rebate at the start of 2019, Poland has been wooing foreign productions to Eastern Europe. Production was steady before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and the industry is optimistic about an incentive scheme that in its first year has received more than €12 million ($13 million) from the Polish Film Institute (Pfi) to support 26 projects.
The rebate is open to feature films, animated films, documentaries and TV series. The Pfi also provided 127 million zloty ($30.6 million) for project development and production in 2019, while a dedicated fund to support minority co-productions is helping to boost ties between Polish and international producers.
Along with evocative locations rarely seen onscreen, Poland offers competitive costs on par with or lower than any in the region, as well as highly skilled crews that benefit from a proud and storied moviemaking tradition. Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,...
The rebate is open to feature films, animated films, documentaries and TV series. The Pfi also provided 127 million zloty ($30.6 million) for project development and production in 2019, while a dedicated fund to support minority co-productions is helping to boost ties between Polish and international producers.
Along with evocative locations rarely seen onscreen, Poland offers competitive costs on par with or lower than any in the region, as well as highly skilled crews that benefit from a proud and storied moviemaking tradition. Among the projects that recently shot there are an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s thriller “The Woods,...
- 5/8/2020
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-nominated animator Dorota Kobiela, Łukasz Ronduda and Łukasz Grzegorzek have also received grants from the Pisf. While the team of experts assembled by the Polish Film Institute (Pisf) debates the ways in which the industry can return to work in a safe and reasonable manner, the main funding body has also decided on the recipients of the first batch of grants for domestic productions for 2020. Some of these films, like Tak ma być (Let It Be) by Łukasz Grzegorzek, are international co-productions but with Poland as a majority co-producer. Ten projects were supported with an overall sum of Pln 25.2 million (€5.8 million). Two of them are receiving subsidies on the basis of the decision of Pisf director Radosław Śmigulski: Code Red/Imigranci (lit. "Code Red/Immigrants") by Dariusz Jabłoński, staged by Apple...
“Charlatan”
Director: Agnieszka Holland
The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor.
Sales: Films Boutique
Berlinale Special Gala
“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in
this documentary.
Sales: Cat&Docs
Generation 14plus
“The Exit of the Trains”
Directors: Radu Jude,
Adrian Cioflanca
This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian.
Sales: MicroFilm
Forum
“Frem”
Director: Viera Cakanyova
This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking.
Sales: Hypermarket Film
Forum
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
Director: Mariusz Wilczynski
A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings,...
Director: Agnieszka Holland
The true story of Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, who enjoyed protection under the Nazis and the Communists, but then fell from favor.
Sales: Films Boutique
Berlinale Special Gala
“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Director: Iryna Tsilyk
Budding cinematographer Myroslava lives in the middle of the Ukraine war zone. She sets out to make a film with her family, one that can offer them new perspectives, in
this documentary.
Sales: Cat&Docs
Generation 14plus
“The Exit of the Trains”
Directors: Radu Jude,
Adrian Cioflanca
This documentary follows an atrocity against Jews in 1941 in which the majority of the perpetrators were Romanian.
Sales: MicroFilm
Forum
“Frem”
Director: Viera Cakanyova
This doc is an unsettling poetic reflection on our view of the natural world, and the limits of anthropocentric thinking.
Sales: Hypermarket Film
Forum
“Kill It and Leave This Town”
Director: Mariusz Wilczynski
A visually powerful labyrinth of memories and feelings,...
- 2/23/2020
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin – For the last six years, for Europe’s movie community at least, the most famous political prisoner in the world was the Ukraine’s Oleg Sentsov. Arrested on trumped-up charges of terrorism in 2014 – Amnesty International compared his court case to the show trials of Stalin – Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment as a pawn in a larger game of realpolitik via which Vladimir Putin attempted to dissuade Crimea’s Ukrainians from dissidence.
Behind bars in a Northern Siberia penal colony, in 2018 Sentsov went on a hunger strike in 2018 demanding the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and, remarkably, began to direct a movie. That film, “Numbers,” world premieres Tuesday Feb. 18 as part of the Berlinale’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Sold by Latino Films, it then screens in the festival on Feb. 21, as a Berlinale Special.
Variety has had access to the film’s trailer and to Sentsov himself, freed last...
Behind bars in a Northern Siberia penal colony, in 2018 Sentsov went on a hunger strike in 2018 demanding the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and, remarkably, began to direct a movie. That film, “Numbers,” world premieres Tuesday Feb. 18 as part of the Berlinale’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Sold by Latino Films, it then screens in the festival on Feb. 21, as a Berlinale Special.
Variety has had access to the film’s trailer and to Sentsov himself, freed last...
- 2/18/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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