Exclusive: Distributor-producer Lucky Red is one of Italy’s most respected independent film and TV companies. Run by former actor Andrea Occhipinti since 1987, the firm has released more than 500 titles and produced more than 50 films.
The company has worked with filmmakers including Paolo Sorrentino, Lars Von Trier, Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee, Park Chan Wook, Michael Haneke, Francois Ozon, Hayao Miyazaki, the Dardenne brothers, Wes Anderson, Paolo Genovese, Denis Villeneuve, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pablo Larraín and Asghar Farahdi.
It has also released more obviously commercial titles such as Angel Has Fallen, Hustlers, Den Of Thieves and Hereditary, and had fruitful theatrical partnerships with companies such as Netflix, Universal and Studio Ghibli.
Since shortly before the pandemic, Lucky Red, which hasn’t been afraid to ruffle the occasional feather, has also increased its activity in TV and exhibition.
We sat down company founder Occhipinti and his longtime lieutenants Stefano Massenzi (Head...
The company has worked with filmmakers including Paolo Sorrentino, Lars Von Trier, Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee, Park Chan Wook, Michael Haneke, Francois Ozon, Hayao Miyazaki, the Dardenne brothers, Wes Anderson, Paolo Genovese, Denis Villeneuve, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pablo Larraín and Asghar Farahdi.
It has also released more obviously commercial titles such as Angel Has Fallen, Hustlers, Den Of Thieves and Hereditary, and had fruitful theatrical partnerships with companies such as Netflix, Universal and Studio Ghibli.
Since shortly before the pandemic, Lucky Red, which hasn’t been afraid to ruffle the occasional feather, has also increased its activity in TV and exhibition.
We sat down company founder Occhipinti and his longtime lieutenants Stefano Massenzi (Head...
- 9/8/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Penélope Cruz is set to star as Olga, a writer forced to give up her artistic ambitions when her husband suddenly leaves her and their two young daughters, in Isabel Coixet’s English-language adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s “The Days of Abandonment.”
The deal to make the film, which is now in development, was signed before the SAG-AFTRA strike. While Cruz did not attend the Venice Film Festival, she elicited raves from critics on the Lido for her performance in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” as the angry, lonely, grief-ravaged Laura Ferrari, emotionally estranged from her husband Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Days of Abandonment,” which will transpose the novel’s original Italian setting to America, reunites the two top Spanish talents following their collaboration on another U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy” an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a...
The deal to make the film, which is now in development, was signed before the SAG-AFTRA strike. While Cruz did not attend the Venice Film Festival, she elicited raves from critics on the Lido for her performance in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” as the angry, lonely, grief-ravaged Laura Ferrari, emotionally estranged from her husband Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver).
“The Days of Abandonment,” which will transpose the novel’s original Italian setting to America, reunites the two top Spanish talents following their collaboration on another U.S.-set film, the 2008 drama “Elegy” an adaptation of Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” about an affair between a...
- 9/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Further winners included Spanish documentary ‘Muyeres’.
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Japanese drama Yoko scored a hat-trick of prizes at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (Siff) Golden Goblet Awards including best film.
The film’s Japanese lead Rinko Kikuchi was named best actress for her performance of Yoko, a 42-year-old single woman who embarks on long journey to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The film also won the best screenplay prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Kikuchi previously received an Oscar nomination for 2006’s Babel and worked with director Kumakiri on Hole In The Sky...
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Japanese drama Yoko scored a hat-trick of prizes at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (Siff) Golden Goblet Awards including best film.
The film’s Japanese lead Rinko Kikuchi was named best actress for her performance of Yoko, a 42-year-old single woman who embarks on long journey to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The film also won the best screenplay prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Kikuchi previously received an Oscar nomination for 2006’s Babel and worked with director Kumakiri on Hole In The Sky...
- 6/19/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Further winners included Spanish documentary ‘Muyeres’.
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Japanese drama Yoko scored a hat-trick of prizes at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (Siff) Golden Goblet Awards including best film.
The film’s Japanese lead Rinko Kikuchi was named best actress for her performance of Yoko, a 42-year-old single woman who embarks on long journey to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The film also won the best screenplay prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Kikuchi previously received an Oscar nomination for 2006’s Babel and worked with director Kumakiri on Hole In The Sky...
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Japanese drama Yoko scored a hat-trick of prizes at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (Siff) Golden Goblet Awards including best film.
The film’s Japanese lead Rinko Kikuchi was named best actress for her performance of Yoko, a 42-year-old single woman who embarks on long journey to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The film also won the best screenplay prize.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Kikuchi previously received an Oscar nomination for 2006’s Babel and worked with director Kumakiri on Hole In The Sky...
- 6/19/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” fresh from its triumphant world premiere at the Cannes fest, opens the 38th Guadalajara Film Festival (Ficg) which touts new sections this year, including a branded series showcase and midnight screenings of Italian fright maestro Dario Argento’s horror films.
Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” which had its West Coast premiere at the LA Latino Film Festival (Laliff) May 31, marks its Mexican debut at the fest.
The Series Showcase includes Patricia Martinez’s fact-based “La Narcosatánica,” which will stream on the rebranded Max, and Maite Alberdi’s “Libre de reir,” a Gato Grande production that centers on inmates in a Mexican prison who enroll in a stand-up comedy workshop. Alberdi’s Sundance-winning docu “The Eternal Memory” also vies for a prize in the festival’s documentary sidebar.
According to festival director Estrella Araiza, the festival has recovered its funding and will screen...
Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” which had its West Coast premiere at the LA Latino Film Festival (Laliff) May 31, marks its Mexican debut at the fest.
The Series Showcase includes Patricia Martinez’s fact-based “La Narcosatánica,” which will stream on the rebranded Max, and Maite Alberdi’s “Libre de reir,” a Gato Grande production that centers on inmates in a Mexican prison who enroll in a stand-up comedy workshop. Alberdi’s Sundance-winning docu “The Eternal Memory” also vies for a prize in the festival’s documentary sidebar.
According to festival director Estrella Araiza, the festival has recovered its funding and will screen...
- 6/1/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The 25th edition marks a return in-person after being cancelled last year.
Han Yan’s Love Never Ends is set to open the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff), which has also revealed the nominations for its Golden Goblet Awards.
The romance drama is adapted from a cartoon of the same name created by Kang Full. Ni Dahong, Kara Wai, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Cecilia Yip play two elderly couples who show it is never too late to love.
Director Han previously directed 2015’s Go Away Mr. Tumor and 2020’s A Little Red Flower. Love Never Ends is set for...
Han Yan’s Love Never Ends is set to open the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff), which has also revealed the nominations for its Golden Goblet Awards.
The romance drama is adapted from a cartoon of the same name created by Kang Full. Ni Dahong, Kara Wai, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Cecilia Yip play two elderly couples who show it is never too late to love.
Director Han previously directed 2015’s Go Away Mr. Tumor and 2020’s A Little Red Flower. Love Never Ends is set for...
- 5/30/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
The Shanghai International Film Festival unveiled the competition selection for its 25th-anniversary edition Monday, featuring a lineup heavy on local Chinese titles, as well as substantial inclusion from Iran and Japan. Notably, though, festival organizers chose not to include a single film from the U.S. movie industry in their 2023 competition lineup.
The 2023 Shanghai festival, running June 9-18, will be the first version of the event that’s easily accessible to the global film industry since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Last year, the festival was canceled in the wake of Shanghai’s monthlong Covid-19 lockdown and the government’s strict travel restrictions at the time. The festival was held the previous two years, but it became an almost entirely domestic Chinese affair, as flights in and out of China were hard to come by at the time (and all travelers had to endure lengthy and expensive hotel quarantines...
The 2023 Shanghai festival, running June 9-18, will be the first version of the event that’s easily accessible to the global film industry since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Last year, the festival was canceled in the wake of Shanghai’s monthlong Covid-19 lockdown and the government’s strict travel restrictions at the time. The festival was held the previous two years, but it became an almost entirely domestic Chinese affair, as flights in and out of China were hard to come by at the time (and all travelers had to endure lengthy and expensive hotel quarantines...
- 5/30/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, June 9 to 18, has unveiled the titles in contention for awards in its four main feature-length sections: main competition, Asian New Talent, Animation film and documentary. These are eligible for the festival’s prestigious Golden Goblet Awards, winners of which will be announced at the Shanghai Grand Theater on the evening of June 17.
While Siff remains the only mainland China festival to be accredited as a so-called A-list event by the International Federation of Film Producers (Fiapf), its selections are largely separate and distinct from those at other major international festivals.
While the lineup includes nine mainland Chinese titles, two from Hong Kong and five from Iran, there are, for instance, no films that hail from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Korea.
Feature Film Competition
“All Ears” Dir. Liu Jiayin (China)
“Dust To Dust” Dir. Jonathan Li (China)
“Good Autumn, Mommy” Dir.
While Siff remains the only mainland China festival to be accredited as a so-called A-list event by the International Federation of Film Producers (Fiapf), its selections are largely separate and distinct from those at other major international festivals.
While the lineup includes nine mainland Chinese titles, two from Hong Kong and five from Iran, there are, for instance, no films that hail from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Korea.
Feature Film Competition
“All Ears” Dir. Liu Jiayin (China)
“Dust To Dust” Dir. Jonathan Li (China)
“Good Autumn, Mommy” Dir.
- 5/29/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff) has unveiled the major competition selections for its 25th edition (June 9-18), which will be the first to be held in a fully physical format with international guests since before the pandemic.
The festival’s Golden Goblet Awards comprises five sections – Main Competition, Asian New Talent, Animation Film, Documentary Film and Short Film. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in the Shanghai Grand Theater on June 17.
Siff’s main competition will screen 12 films, including Mom, Is That You?!, from Japanese veteran filmmaker Yoji Yamada; European titles including Muyeres, from Spanish director Marta Lallana, and The Chapel, from Belgium’s Dominique Deruddere; Indian director Haobam Paban Kumar’s Joseph’s Son; and three Chinese titles – Liu Jiayin’s All Ears, Johnathan Li’s Dust To Dust and Chen Shizhong’s Good Autumn, Mommy.
Poland’s Jerzy Skolimowski is heading the jury for the main competition,...
The festival’s Golden Goblet Awards comprises five sections – Main Competition, Asian New Talent, Animation Film, Documentary Film and Short Film. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in the Shanghai Grand Theater on June 17.
Siff’s main competition will screen 12 films, including Mom, Is That You?!, from Japanese veteran filmmaker Yoji Yamada; European titles including Muyeres, from Spanish director Marta Lallana, and The Chapel, from Belgium’s Dominique Deruddere; Indian director Haobam Paban Kumar’s Joseph’s Son; and three Chinese titles – Liu Jiayin’s All Ears, Johnathan Li’s Dust To Dust and Chen Shizhong’s Good Autumn, Mommy.
Poland’s Jerzy Skolimowski is heading the jury for the main competition,...
- 5/29/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has acquired global rights to Italian rom-com “Era Ora” (“Still Time”), marking a rare instance in which an Italian comedy is set to gain worldwide visibility.
“Still Time” is directed by Alessandro Aronadio, a Los Angeles Film School graduate whose first work “One Life, Maybe Two” launched from Berlin’s Panorama section.
The comedy stars Edoardo Leo (“Perfect Strangers”) as a workaholic named Dante who is perpetually late to everything important, and Barbara Ronchi (soon to be seen in Marco Bellocchio’s “La Conversione”) as his girlfriend Alice. The twist comes when Dante winds up leaping ahead a year in his life every few hours, just as he wants to slow down.
After showing up hours late for his 40th birthday party, Dante wakes up the next day and it’s already the day of his 41st birthday and Alice is four months pregnant. Then, upon waking up again,...
“Still Time” is directed by Alessandro Aronadio, a Los Angeles Film School graduate whose first work “One Life, Maybe Two” launched from Berlin’s Panorama section.
The comedy stars Edoardo Leo (“Perfect Strangers”) as a workaholic named Dante who is perpetually late to everything important, and Barbara Ronchi (soon to be seen in Marco Bellocchio’s “La Conversione”) as his girlfriend Alice. The twist comes when Dante winds up leaping ahead a year in his life every few hours, just as he wants to slow down.
After showing up hours late for his 40th birthday party, Dante wakes up the next day and it’s already the day of his 41st birthday and Alice is four months pregnant. Then, upon waking up again,...
- 3/15/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Joely Mbundu from ‘Tori And Lokita’, Kristine Kujath Thorp from ‘Sick Of Myself’ also in.
European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 10 young actors for the 2023 edition of Shooting Stars, its talent portfolio for promising on-screen talent from the continent.
Selected actors for 2023 include Swiss actress Kayije Kagame, who made her feature debut in Alice Diop’s Venice 2022 feature Saint Omer. Kagame has received plaudits for her role as Rama, a novelist attending a trial at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court which she plans to use for a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea.
Scroll down for the full list...
European Film Promotion (Efp) has selected 10 young actors for the 2023 edition of Shooting Stars, its talent portfolio for promising on-screen talent from the continent.
Selected actors for 2023 include Swiss actress Kayije Kagame, who made her feature debut in Alice Diop’s Venice 2022 feature Saint Omer. Kagame has received plaudits for her role as Rama, a novelist attending a trial at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court which she plans to use for a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea.
Scroll down for the full list...
- 12/14/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Italy’s True Colours has sold Mario Martone’s Naples-set Cannes competition drama “Nostalgia” to Curzon Film for the U.K. and Ireland, among other new territories.
The deal, negotiated by True Colours sales manager Francesca Tiberi and Curzon acquisitions executive Eleonora Pesci, marks the first partnership between the companies.
At the Italian Screenings market event recently held in Lecce, Southern Italy, the Rome-based sales company also sealed fresh deals on several other films, including pre-sales on upcoming Locarno title “Delta,” which is a revenge drama with a contemporary Western vibe.
Martone’s “Nostalgia,” which has been praised by Variety critic Guy Lodge as the prolific Italian auteur’s “most rewarding film in years,” stars Pierfrancesco Favino as the middle-aged Felice Lasco, who returns to the bustling port city after having lived in Egypt for 40 years. Once back, he is caught up in memories of a distant life spent in his hometown,...
The deal, negotiated by True Colours sales manager Francesca Tiberi and Curzon acquisitions executive Eleonora Pesci, marks the first partnership between the companies.
At the Italian Screenings market event recently held in Lecce, Southern Italy, the Rome-based sales company also sealed fresh deals on several other films, including pre-sales on upcoming Locarno title “Delta,” which is a revenge drama with a contemporary Western vibe.
Martone’s “Nostalgia,” which has been praised by Variety critic Guy Lodge as the prolific Italian auteur’s “most rewarding film in years,” stars Pierfrancesco Favino as the middle-aged Felice Lasco, who returns to the bustling port city after having lived in Egypt for 40 years. Once back, he is caught up in memories of a distant life spent in his hometown,...
- 7/22/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Afternoon Insiders. A week is a long time in TV and film, and it’s also a long time in politics. Max Goldbart here and we’ve got you covered on all three. Read on.
Bye Bye Boris
All over in 36 hours: Few in Britain’s London politics bubble would have predicted that the scandal to bring down Pm Boris Johnson would involve a little known Deputy Chief Whip called Chris Pincher, but that is exactly what transpired this week. Within a colossal 36 hours that rocked the UK political landscape, Johnson went from feeling vaguely safe after an almost-year-long-stretch of scandals to resigning in disgrace on the steps of his 10 Downing Street home. At times it was almost impossible to keep up (although the BBC and Sky coverage did a fantastic job), as minister after minister resigned in protest at Johnson’s handling of the Pincher scandal and a more general feeling of disarray,...
Bye Bye Boris
All over in 36 hours: Few in Britain’s London politics bubble would have predicted that the scandal to bring down Pm Boris Johnson would involve a little known Deputy Chief Whip called Chris Pincher, but that is exactly what transpired this week. Within a colossal 36 hours that rocked the UK political landscape, Johnson went from feeling vaguely safe after an almost-year-long-stretch of scandals to resigning in disgrace on the steps of his 10 Downing Street home. At times it was almost impossible to keep up (although the BBC and Sky coverage did a fantastic job), as minister after minister resigned in protest at Johnson’s handling of the Pincher scandal and a more general feeling of disarray,...
- 7/8/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney+ has greenlit The Lions of Sicily, an Italian series based on Stefania Auci’s The Florios of Siciliy from Paolo Genovese.
The eight-parter tells the story of the Florio family. It follows brothers Paolo and Ignazio, two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire.
The series stars Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Donatella Finocchiaro, Vinicio Marchioni, Eduardo Scarpetta, Paolo Briguglia, Ester Pantano and Adele Cammarata.
The show is the latest to come from Disney+ Italy, which was also behind The Ignorant Angels.
“The Lions of Sicily confirms Disney+’s commitment to create Italian contents that enrich and make the already wide and varied offer of the platform unique,” said Daniel Frigo,...
The eight-parter tells the story of the Florio family. It follows brothers Paolo and Ignazio, two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire.
The series stars Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Donatella Finocchiaro, Vinicio Marchioni, Eduardo Scarpetta, Paolo Briguglia, Ester Pantano and Adele Cammarata.
The show is the latest to come from Disney+ Italy, which was also behind The Ignorant Angels.
“The Lions of Sicily confirms Disney+’s commitment to create Italian contents that enrich and make the already wide and varied offer of the platform unique,” said Daniel Frigo,...
- 7/6/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney+ has commenced production on Italian original series “The Lions of Sicily,” a family saga based on Stefania Auci’s bestseller “The Florios of Sicily.”
Principal photography has started in Rome and will take place between there and Sicily. It is directed by Paolo Genovese (“Superheroes”).
Set between 1800 and 1861, the eight-part series follows the Florio family where brothers Paolo and Ignazio are two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire. However, overwhelming Vincenzo’s life and that of the entire family is the disruptive arrival of Giulia, a strong and intelligent woman who is in contrast with the rigid rules of the society of the time.
The series is...
Principal photography has started in Rome and will take place between there and Sicily. It is directed by Paolo Genovese (“Superheroes”).
Set between 1800 and 1861, the eight-part series follows the Florio family where brothers Paolo and Ignazio are two small spice merchants who have escaped from a Calabria stuck in the past and in search of social redemption. In Sicily they invent a future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourish business activity that young Vincenzo, with his revolutionary ideas, will transform into an economic empire. However, overwhelming Vincenzo’s life and that of the entire family is the disruptive arrival of Giulia, a strong and intelligent woman who is in contrast with the rigid rules of the society of the time.
The series is...
- 7/6/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
After sitting out 2020 and hosting last year’s showing at a later-than-usual date and with a slightly smaller scale, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic city kicked off this year’s full-throttle 56th edition with a fiery cocktail of pop and politics that carried through to the next day.
Friday night’s opening ceremony neatly set the scene, marrying ebullience and elegy as dancers from the Cabani troupe writhed around literal fireballs onstage before festival president Jiří Bartoška struck more somber tones as he reflected on the recent loss of longtime festival matriarch Eva Zaoralova and on the ever-continuing conflict in Ukraine.
Swinging back toward the poppier side of the spectrum, opening film “Superheroes” launched this year’s edition with a dose of operatic Italian emotion.
Also Read:
Karlovy Vary Film Festival to Honor Geoffrey Rush, Benicio Del Toro
Directed by Paolo Genovese and led by...
Friday night’s opening ceremony neatly set the scene, marrying ebullience and elegy as dancers from the Cabani troupe writhed around literal fireballs onstage before festival president Jiří Bartoška struck more somber tones as he reflected on the recent loss of longtime festival matriarch Eva Zaoralova and on the ever-continuing conflict in Ukraine.
Swinging back toward the poppier side of the spectrum, opening film “Superheroes” launched this year’s edition with a dose of operatic Italian emotion.
Also Read:
Karlovy Vary Film Festival to Honor Geoffrey Rush, Benicio Del Toro
Directed by Paolo Genovese and led by...
- 7/2/2022
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Crowds gather for Karlovy Vary’s opening film Superheroes followed by a concert and fireworks Photo: Kviff Festival president Jiří Bartoška arrives for the opening ceremony Photo: Kviff After two years in the pandemic doldrums the Karlovy International Film Festival burst back on the scene last night with a determinedly bold face for its 56th edition with its usual eclectic mix of red carpet glamour, live music, a party free-for-all in that icon of brutalist arcand fireworks over the wooded hills of the Bohemian spa town.
The opening film Superheroes was well chosen to reflect the feel-good vibe, directed by Paolo Genovese, whose credits include Perfect Strangers and deals with romantic love and the passing of time.
Alessandro Borghi and Jasmine Trinca play the two protagonists Anna and Marco and Genovese follows their relationship through various twists and turns over a period of 20 years.
She is a rebellious cartoonist and allergic to conventions,...
The opening film Superheroes was well chosen to reflect the feel-good vibe, directed by Paolo Genovese, whose credits include Perfect Strangers and deals with romantic love and the passing of time.
Alessandro Borghi and Jasmine Trinca play the two protagonists Anna and Marco and Genovese follows their relationship through various twists and turns over a period of 20 years.
She is a rebellious cartoonist and allergic to conventions,...
- 7/2/2022
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Audience members encouraged to scan Qr code, which led to YouTube video.
The 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival got underway with an unconventional instruction for cinemagoers – to take their phones out.
Prior to the beginning of the event on Friday, July 1, attendees were requested over the public address system “to turn on” their mobile phones, “and take video during the ceremony”.
The event started with a large Qr code projected on the screen in the Hotel Thermal’s Velky sal auditorium. Those who scanned it were connected to a YouTube video promoting the event, creating a strange but communal...
The 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival got underway with an unconventional instruction for cinemagoers – to take their phones out.
Prior to the beginning of the event on Friday, July 1, attendees were requested over the public address system “to turn on” their mobile phones, “and take video during the ceremony”.
The event started with a large Qr code projected on the screen in the Hotel Thermal’s Velky sal auditorium. Those who scanned it were connected to a YouTube video promoting the event, creating a strange but communal...
- 7/2/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
While Covid cases begin to surge again in Hollywood, it’s a different story nearly 6,000 miles away as the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival kicked off with a bang on Friday night. The prominent Central European festival showed no sign that the pandemic was going to mar yet another edition of the much-loved event as delegates packed into the Hotel Thermal’s Grand Hall for its opening night ceremony and opening night film Superheroes, from Italian director Paolo Genovese.
The 56th edition of the event opened with an unexpected announcement, asking audience members to turn on their phones and start recording as a huge Qr code saying “Scan Me” was unveiled on the screen. Delegates were able to watch festival dancers online on their mobile devices via the Qr code before they descended onto the stage with an energetic and well-choreographed dance number featuring dramatic flames of fire exploding upwards...
The 56th edition of the event opened with an unexpected announcement, asking audience members to turn on their phones and start recording as a huge Qr code saying “Scan Me” was unveiled on the screen. Delegates were able to watch festival dancers online on their mobile devices via the Qr code before they descended onto the stage with an energetic and well-choreographed dance number featuring dramatic flames of fire exploding upwards...
- 7/1/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Good afternoon Insider squad. Max Goldbart here back from Glastonbury with all the news, analysis and sunburn you need as we look back on the final week of June. Read on.
Karlovy Vary Kicks Off
Czeching-in: The film festival calendar is in full swing this summer and the picturesque Czech festival of Karlovy Vary kicks off today, ending next Saturday. On the ground for Deadline are Diana Lodderhose and our new Senior International Film Correspondent Melanie Goodfellow, taking in the Prague festival, which will see 33 films from five continents compete across three sections. Italian director Paolo Genovese’s relationship drama Superheroes will open, while George Miller’s Cannes title Three Thousand Years of Longing is set to close, and A-listers Liev Schreiber, Geoffrey Rush and Benicio del Toro are all in attendance. Diana set us up with two excellent primers, as she posed how Kv continues to be an “edgy...
Karlovy Vary Kicks Off
Czeching-in: The film festival calendar is in full swing this summer and the picturesque Czech festival of Karlovy Vary kicks off today, ending next Saturday. On the ground for Deadline are Diana Lodderhose and our new Senior International Film Correspondent Melanie Goodfellow, taking in the Prague festival, which will see 33 films from five continents compete across three sections. Italian director Paolo Genovese’s relationship drama Superheroes will open, while George Miller’s Cannes title Three Thousand Years of Longing is set to close, and A-listers Liev Schreiber, Geoffrey Rush and Benicio del Toro are all in attendance. Diana set us up with two excellent primers, as she posed how Kv continues to be an “edgy...
- 7/1/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
As the 56th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) is about to kick off on Friday, there will be plenty to discuss at this year’s event in the picturesque Czech spa town. The prominent Central European festival, which is returning to its usual early July slot after last year’s edition was delayed to August because of the pandemic, will see 33 films from five continents screen across its three sections – the Crystal Globe Competition, the Special Screenings section and its new competition, Proxima, which replaces the former East of the West section.
This year’s selections will be bookended by Friday’s opening night film Superheroes, from Italian director Paolo Genovese, and George Miller’s Cannes title Three Thousand Years Of Longing, which will close the festival on July 9. The lineup includes the world premiere of Jake Paltrow’s Israel and Ukraine-shot feature June Zero, about...
This year’s selections will be bookended by Friday’s opening night film Superheroes, from Italian director Paolo Genovese, and George Miller’s Cannes title Three Thousand Years Of Longing, which will close the festival on July 9. The lineup includes the world premiere of Jake Paltrow’s Israel and Ukraine-shot feature June Zero, about...
- 6/29/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Three further Cannes titles also added to 2022 edition.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9) has revealed it will open on Friday with Italian director Paolo Genovese’s romantic drama Superheroes and close with George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing.
Superheroes explores the relationship between a physics teacher and cartoonist, played respectively by Alessandro Borghi and Jasmine Trinca, at the beginning of their courtship and 10 years later. It marks the latest feature of Genovese, who has since directed upcoming drama The First Day Of My Life, starring Toni Servillo. It was released in Italy in December 2021 via Medusa Film.
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9) has revealed it will open on Friday with Italian director Paolo Genovese’s romantic drama Superheroes and close with George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing.
Superheroes explores the relationship between a physics teacher and cartoonist, played respectively by Alessandro Borghi and Jasmine Trinca, at the beginning of their courtship and 10 years later. It marks the latest feature of Genovese, who has since directed upcoming drama The First Day Of My Life, starring Toni Servillo. It was released in Italy in December 2021 via Medusa Film.
- 6/29/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Click here to read the full article.
Two romantic dramas will bookend the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
The A-list Czech festival will kick off its 56th anniversary event with opening film Superheroes, the new feature from Italian director Paolo Genovese (Perfect Strangers) on July 1, and will close, July 9, with a gala screening of George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing.
Jasmine Trinca (The Son’s Room) and Alessandro Borghi (Suburra) star in Superheroes as a mismatched couple — she’s an impulsive cartoonist, he’s a by-the-book physics teacher — whose superpower is finding the strength to keep their relationship together over more than a decade.
In Three Thousand Years of Longing, the star-crossed couple is made up of Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. She’s a lonely academic visiting Turkey; he’s a thousands-year-old genie she uncorks. Three Thousand Years of Longing premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
Two romantic dramas will bookend the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
The A-list Czech festival will kick off its 56th anniversary event with opening film Superheroes, the new feature from Italian director Paolo Genovese (Perfect Strangers) on July 1, and will close, July 9, with a gala screening of George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing.
Jasmine Trinca (The Son’s Room) and Alessandro Borghi (Suburra) star in Superheroes as a mismatched couple — she’s an impulsive cartoonist, he’s a by-the-book physics teacher — whose superpower is finding the strength to keep their relationship together over more than a decade.
In Three Thousand Years of Longing, the star-crossed couple is made up of Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. She’s a lonely academic visiting Turkey; he’s a thousands-year-old genie she uncorks. Three Thousand Years of Longing premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
- 6/29/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paolo Genovese’s “Superheroes” will be the opening film of the 56th Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival on July 1, while George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” will close the festival on July 9.
“Superheroes” is a romantic film that briefly introduces us to the carousel of joys and fears of a couple brought together by chance. Or was it fate? Comic book illustrator Anna and theoretical physicist Marco are a pair of congenial superheroes who, like so many other people, have decided to live together. After all, dealing with shared problems sometimes requires truly superhuman strength. Every relationship has its crises and its idyllic moments – from a random encounter in the rain to serious conversations a decade later.
The film’s structure presents the history of their relationship by following two timelines: the very beginning and 10 years later. The carefully constructed episodes systematically take aim at viewers’ hearts and minds.
“Superheroes” is a romantic film that briefly introduces us to the carousel of joys and fears of a couple brought together by chance. Or was it fate? Comic book illustrator Anna and theoretical physicist Marco are a pair of congenial superheroes who, like so many other people, have decided to live together. After all, dealing with shared problems sometimes requires truly superhuman strength. Every relationship has its crises and its idyllic moments – from a random encounter in the rain to serious conversations a decade later.
The film’s structure presents the history of their relationship by following two timelines: the very beginning and 10 years later. The carefully constructed episodes systematically take aim at viewers’ hearts and minds.
- 6/29/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (July 1-9) will open this Friday with Italian director Paolo Genovese’s relationship drama Superheroes and close with George Miller’s Cannes title Three Thousand Years of Longing, it has revealed in a final pre-kick-off announcement.
Alessandro Borghi and Jasmine Trinca co-star in Genovese’s romance exploring the high and lows of the relationship between a comic book illustrator and theoretical physicist
It is the 11th feature of Genovese, who is best known internationally for his 2016 couple comedy-drama Perfect Strangers which was hit at home and went on to be adapted for multiple territories.
Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing – starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba – world premiered out of competition at Cannes last May.
The festival also revealed that US actor and director Liev Schreiber and former Cannes Marché du Film head Jerôme Paillard will be guests this year. Other previously announced...
Alessandro Borghi and Jasmine Trinca co-star in Genovese’s romance exploring the high and lows of the relationship between a comic book illustrator and theoretical physicist
It is the 11th feature of Genovese, who is best known internationally for his 2016 couple comedy-drama Perfect Strangers which was hit at home and went on to be adapted for multiple territories.
Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing – starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba – world premiered out of competition at Cannes last May.
The festival also revealed that US actor and director Liev Schreiber and former Cannes Marché du Film head Jerôme Paillard will be guests this year. Other previously announced...
- 6/29/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Marco Martone’s Cannes competition title has sold to Spain and Switzerland.
True Colours has clinched additional sales on Marco Martone’s Cannes competition title Nostalgia, with Vertigo Film buying rights for Spain and Xenix Filmdistribution for Switzerland.
The film has also sold to Benelux (Paradiso Filmed Entertainment), Poland (Gutek Film), Taiwan (Av-Jet), Baltic territories (Estinfilm), Bulgaria (Beta Film) and Mena (Moving Turtle).
The feature starring Pierfrancesco Favino is set in Martone’s hometown of Naples and revolves around the protagonist Felice Lasco’s return to his origins after some four decades of being away. Nostalgia so far has grossed...
True Colours has clinched additional sales on Marco Martone’s Cannes competition title Nostalgia, with Vertigo Film buying rights for Spain and Xenix Filmdistribution for Switzerland.
The film has also sold to Benelux (Paradiso Filmed Entertainment), Poland (Gutek Film), Taiwan (Av-Jet), Baltic territories (Estinfilm), Bulgaria (Beta Film) and Mena (Moving Turtle).
The feature starring Pierfrancesco Favino is set in Martone’s hometown of Naples and revolves around the protagonist Felice Lasco’s return to his origins after some four decades of being away. Nostalgia so far has grossed...
- 6/10/2022
- by Alina Trabattoni
- ScreenDaily
Marco Martone’s Cannes competition title has sold to Spain and Switzerland.
True Colours has clinched additional sales on Marco Martone’s Cannes competition title Nostalgia, with Vertigo Film buying rights for Spain and Xenix Filmdistribution for Switzerland.
The film has also sold to Benelux (Paradiso Filmed Entertainment), Poland (Gutek Film), Taiwan (Av-Jet), Baltic territories (Estinfilm), Bulgaria (Beta Film) and Mena (Moving Turtle).
The feature starring Pierfrancesco Favino is set in Martone’s hometown of Naples and revolves around the protagonist Felice Lasco’s return to his origins after some four decades of being away. Nostalgia so far has grossed...
True Colours has clinched additional sales on Marco Martone’s Cannes competition title Nostalgia, with Vertigo Film buying rights for Spain and Xenix Filmdistribution for Switzerland.
The film has also sold to Benelux (Paradiso Filmed Entertainment), Poland (Gutek Film), Taiwan (Av-Jet), Baltic territories (Estinfilm), Bulgaria (Beta Film) and Mena (Moving Turtle).
The feature starring Pierfrancesco Favino is set in Martone’s hometown of Naples and revolves around the protagonist Felice Lasco’s return to his origins after some four decades of being away. Nostalgia so far has grossed...
- 6/10/2022
- by Alina Trabattoni
- ScreenDaily
True Colours has also done robust sales on its sales slate.
Marco Martone’s Competition title Nostalgia has sold to key territories for Italian sales outfit True Colours ahead of its premiere on Tuesday, May 24.
The film has gone to Ama Films for Greece, Leopardo Filmes for Portugal and Stars Media in the former Yugoslavia. Palace Films has Australian rights while Medusa is releasing in Italy on May 25.
True Colours has also sold Marco Martani’s She’s The One, to Selecta Vision for Spain and AvJEt for Taiwan, and Shariff Nasr’s debut feature El Houb to Uncork’d Entertainment and...
Marco Martone’s Competition title Nostalgia has sold to key territories for Italian sales outfit True Colours ahead of its premiere on Tuesday, May 24.
The film has gone to Ama Films for Greece, Leopardo Filmes for Portugal and Stars Media in the former Yugoslavia. Palace Films has Australian rights while Medusa is releasing in Italy on May 25.
True Colours has also sold Marco Martani’s She’s The One, to Selecta Vision for Spain and AvJEt for Taiwan, and Shariff Nasr’s debut feature El Houb to Uncork’d Entertainment and...
- 5/22/2022
- by Alina Trabattoni
- ScreenDaily
Disney, Amazon, Netflix and Showtime all have TV series of different types either recently shot or set to shoot in Sicily.
As one of its first Italian originals, Disney+ has commissioned a still-untitled TV series about Sicily’s Florio family, who, during the 19th century, built an economic empire on the island and became known as the merchant princes of Europe.
Casting is now underway for this high-end period epic, to be directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”) and produced by Rome-based Lotus Prods., a unit of Leone Film Group. The Sicilian skein, which is expected to start shooting in July, is based on local bestseller “The Lions of Sicily,” by Stefania Auci, that has been translated in several languages.
Cameras rolled in October in Palermo, the Sicilian capital, on Amazon Studios’ dark Mafia comedy “The Bad Guy,” which is being produced by Indigo Film, the shingle behind...
As one of its first Italian originals, Disney+ has commissioned a still-untitled TV series about Sicily’s Florio family, who, during the 19th century, built an economic empire on the island and became known as the merchant princes of Europe.
Casting is now underway for this high-end period epic, to be directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”) and produced by Rome-based Lotus Prods., a unit of Leone Film Group. The Sicilian skein, which is expected to start shooting in July, is based on local bestseller “The Lions of Sicily,” by Stefania Auci, that has been translated in several languages.
Cameras rolled in October in Palermo, the Sicilian capital, on Amazon Studios’ dark Mafia comedy “The Bad Guy,” which is being produced by Indigo Film, the shingle behind...
- 5/11/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Rome-based sales outfit has committed to focusing on more international titles this year.
Italy’s True Colours has unveiled its 2022 Cannes Marché slate, as it commits to focusing on more international titles this year.
The Rome-based sales outfit will start selling rights for Delta, Michele Vannucci’s second film after 2016 Venice Horizons debut I Was A Dreamer. The film, produced by Groenlandia and Kino Produzioni with Rai Cinema, is finished and looking for festival slots. The noir drama stars Alessandro Borghi and Luigi Locascio (both David di Donatello winners for On My Skin and One Hundred Steps, respectively) in...
Italy’s True Colours has unveiled its 2022 Cannes Marché slate, as it commits to focusing on more international titles this year.
The Rome-based sales outfit will start selling rights for Delta, Michele Vannucci’s second film after 2016 Venice Horizons debut I Was A Dreamer. The film, produced by Groenlandia and Kino Produzioni with Rai Cinema, is finished and looking for festival slots. The noir drama stars Alessandro Borghi and Luigi Locascio (both David di Donatello winners for On My Skin and One Hundred Steps, respectively) in...
- 5/4/2022
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Disney+ has commissioned a still-untitled TV series on Sicily’s Florio family who during the 19th century built an economic empire on the island and became known as the merchant princes of Europe.
Casting is underway in Rome and Palermo, the Sicilian capital, on this high-end period epic to be directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese whose hit dramedy “Perfect Strangers” has spawned countless remakes around the the world, including an Arab-language adaptation for Netflix.
The Sicilian skein, which according to sources is expected to start shooting in July, is based on local bestseller “The Lions of Sicily,” by Stefania Auci, which has sold more than 500,000 copies in Italy and been translated in 30 languages.
News that Genovese is directing this Disney+ Italian original has been reported in the Italian press and confirmed by multiple sources.
The show, which marks the most high-end Disney+ Italian original to date, is being executive...
Casting is underway in Rome and Palermo, the Sicilian capital, on this high-end period epic to be directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese whose hit dramedy “Perfect Strangers” has spawned countless remakes around the the world, including an Arab-language adaptation for Netflix.
The Sicilian skein, which according to sources is expected to start shooting in July, is based on local bestseller “The Lions of Sicily,” by Stefania Auci, which has sold more than 500,000 copies in Italy and been translated in 30 languages.
News that Genovese is directing this Disney+ Italian original has been reported in the Italian press and confirmed by multiple sources.
The show, which marks the most high-end Disney+ Italian original to date, is being executive...
- 4/29/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Toni Servillo stars in a Genovese film for the first time.
Paolo Genovese’s The First Day Of My Life, starring Toni Servillo, and now in post-production, has sold widely for Italian sales outfit True Colours, following the European Film Market.
The film has been acquired for Benelux (Paradiso Entertainment), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Israel (Nachshon), former Yugoslavia (Stars Media), Finland (Future Films) and Portugal (Outsider Pictures).
The First Day Of My Life is an adaptation of Genovese’s novel of the same title. about a group of individuals who meet a stranger, played by Servillo, at the worst moment in their lives.
Paolo Genovese’s The First Day Of My Life, starring Toni Servillo, and now in post-production, has sold widely for Italian sales outfit True Colours, following the European Film Market.
The film has been acquired for Benelux (Paradiso Entertainment), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Israel (Nachshon), former Yugoslavia (Stars Media), Finland (Future Films) and Portugal (Outsider Pictures).
The First Day Of My Life is an adaptation of Genovese’s novel of the same title. about a group of individuals who meet a stranger, played by Servillo, at the worst moment in their lives.
- 3/4/2022
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Italy’s True Colours has taken international sales on “Perfect Strangers” director Paolo Genovese’s new movie, a comedy drama titled “The First Day of My Life.”
The Rome-based sales company will be launching pre-sales at the upcoming online EFM market on Genovese’s latest concept pic, which has echoes of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Based on Genovese’s novel of the same title, which was a bestseller in Italy, “The First Day of My Life” revolves around four characters on the brink of taking their lives who make a pact with a stranger with supernatural powers, played by “The Great Beauty” star Toni Servillo.
The mystery man gives them a chance to travel forward in time to see for a week how their friends and relatives would react to their deaths and what the world would be like without them. On the last day of the week,...
The Rome-based sales company will be launching pre-sales at the upcoming online EFM market on Genovese’s latest concept pic, which has echoes of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Based on Genovese’s novel of the same title, which was a bestseller in Italy, “The First Day of My Life” revolves around four characters on the brink of taking their lives who make a pact with a stranger with supernatural powers, played by “The Great Beauty” star Toni Servillo.
The mystery man gives them a chance to travel forward in time to see for a week how their friends and relatives would react to their deaths and what the world would be like without them. On the last day of the week,...
- 1/28/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has swooped on the Arabic adaptation of hit Italian concept movie “Perfect Strangers” as its first Arabic original film. The streaming service has also inked a first-look deal with the pic’s lead producer, Dubai-based Front Row Filmed Entertainment, involving other possible titles in its pipeline.
The hotly anticipated Arabic remake of “Perfect Strangers” features a high-caliber pan-Arabic ensemble cast including Lebanese multi-hyphenate Nadine Labaki and Egyptian star Mona Zaki. It is directed by Lebanese first-timer Wissam Smayra.
Pic is co-produced by Front Row’s Yalla Yalla unit with Egypt’s Film Clinic and Lebanon’s Empire Entertainment.
The original “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese and produced by Medusa Films, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions. It grossed over $31 million domestically and spawned remakes in 18 territories including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea that have grossed an estimated total $270 million worldwide.
“Perfect Strangers” is...
The hotly anticipated Arabic remake of “Perfect Strangers” features a high-caliber pan-Arabic ensemble cast including Lebanese multi-hyphenate Nadine Labaki and Egyptian star Mona Zaki. It is directed by Lebanese first-timer Wissam Smayra.
Pic is co-produced by Front Row’s Yalla Yalla unit with Egypt’s Film Clinic and Lebanon’s Empire Entertainment.
The original “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese and produced by Medusa Films, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions. It grossed over $31 million domestically and spawned remakes in 18 territories including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea that have grossed an estimated total $270 million worldwide.
“Perfect Strangers” is...
- 12/21/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Palace Films buys two for Australia.
Palace Film has acquired Australian rights to a brace of Italian films from Rome-based True Colours: Mario Martone’s Venice 2021 competition title The King Of Laughter, starring Toni Servillo, and Paolo Genovese’s upcoming comedy drama Superheroes.
True Colours has also sold The King Of Laughter to Leopardo Filmes for Portugal, Betafilm for Bulgaria and Stars Media for the former Yugoslavia territories. Film Movement earlier acquired North American rights.
Additionally, Superheroes has sold to L’Atelier d’Images for France and to Cinelibri for Bulgaria. It will be released in Italy at Christmas by Medusa.
Further...
Palace Film has acquired Australian rights to a brace of Italian films from Rome-based True Colours: Mario Martone’s Venice 2021 competition title The King Of Laughter, starring Toni Servillo, and Paolo Genovese’s upcoming comedy drama Superheroes.
True Colours has also sold The King Of Laughter to Leopardo Filmes for Portugal, Betafilm for Bulgaria and Stars Media for the former Yugoslavia territories. Film Movement earlier acquired North American rights.
Additionally, Superheroes has sold to L’Atelier d’Images for France and to Cinelibri for Bulgaria. It will be released in Italy at Christmas by Medusa.
Further...
- 9/23/2021
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
ViacomCBS International Studios and Italy’s Leone Film Group have forged a strategic partnership by signing a long-term agreement to co-produce a wide range of Italian content for the global market.
This potentially milestone pact between Vis and Leone — the prominent indie production and distribution shingle owned and operated by late master director Sergio Leone’s children Raffaella and Andrea — will create “vast opportunities for the development and creation of Italian language content, original, scripted, and unscripted formats,” the companies said in a joint statement.
“As part of its commitment to investing in quality content as a strategic lever to generate value for all platforms globally, Vis is bolstering its production capacities in Europe by tapping into the creativity and talent in Italy,” the statement added.
Italy now has an attractive 40% tax rebate for international productions and is in the process of radically revamping Rome’s iconic Cinecittà Studios in...
This potentially milestone pact between Vis and Leone — the prominent indie production and distribution shingle owned and operated by late master director Sergio Leone’s children Raffaella and Andrea — will create “vast opportunities for the development and creation of Italian language content, original, scripted, and unscripted formats,” the companies said in a joint statement.
“As part of its commitment to investing in quality content as a strategic lever to generate value for all platforms globally, Vis is bolstering its production capacities in Europe by tapping into the creativity and talent in Italy,” the statement added.
Italy now has an attractive 40% tax rebate for international productions and is in the process of radically revamping Rome’s iconic Cinecittà Studios in...
- 7/19/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
U.S indie distributor Film Movement has acquired North American rights from Italian sales company True Colours to Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh’s drama “200 Meters,” about a Palestinian construction worker who takes huge risks to cross the West Bank wall to reach his hospitalized son.
In September, “200 Meters,” which marks Nayfeh’s debut, launched from the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days section, where it won the audience award. The pic was praised by Variety critic Jay Weissberg for “drawing out how one man’s story is a reflection of a collective experience.” “200 Meters” subsequently scooped the best actor prize at Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange fest for protagonist Ali Suliman and other awards at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
Suliman (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) plays the Palestinian construction worker named Mustafa, who is separated from his family on the other side of the wall in the West Bank.
In September, “200 Meters,” which marks Nayfeh’s debut, launched from the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days section, where it won the audience award. The pic was praised by Variety critic Jay Weissberg for “drawing out how one man’s story is a reflection of a collective experience.” “200 Meters” subsequently scooped the best actor prize at Turkey’s Antalya Golden Orange fest for protagonist Ali Suliman and other awards at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
Suliman (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) plays the Palestinian construction worker named Mustafa, who is separated from his family on the other side of the wall in the West Bank.
- 3/9/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: 300: Rise Of An Empire and The Departed producer Gianni Nunnari of Hollywood Gang Productions and producer Andre L III of MiLu Entertainment have acquired rights to Cuban author and journalist Armando Lucas Correa’s well-received novel The German Girl, which they are developing as an international TV series.
Weaving dual time frames, the book is based on the true stories of passengers on the ill-fated transatlantic ocean liner the St Louis, carrying Jewish refugees from Germany to Cuba in 1939.
Initially set in Berlin just before the Second World War, the novel charts the life of young girl Hannah Rosenthal, who until recently lived a charmed upbringing. With the rise of the Nazis however, the streets are increasingly draped in ominous flags and Hannah is no longer welcome in the places she once considered home. A glimmer of hope appears in the shape of the St. Louis, the transatlantic...
Weaving dual time frames, the book is based on the true stories of passengers on the ill-fated transatlantic ocean liner the St Louis, carrying Jewish refugees from Germany to Cuba in 1939.
Initially set in Berlin just before the Second World War, the novel charts the life of young girl Hannah Rosenthal, who until recently lived a charmed upbringing. With the rise of the Nazis however, the streets are increasingly draped in ominous flags and Hannah is no longer welcome in the places she once considered home. A glimmer of hope appears in the shape of the St. Louis, the transatlantic...
- 3/4/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Voltage Pictures is launching international sales at the EFM on Italian romantic comedy “Per Tutta La Vita” (“For All Life”), from the writer-director team behind global hit “Perfect Strangers.”
“Strangers,” a dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, grossed over $31 million domestically and spawned remakes in a dozen territories including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea. In total, those remakes have grossed an estimated total $270 million worldwide. An Arabic adaptation is currently shooting.
“For All Life” turns on four couples who discover that their marriages are no longer valid because they were all performed by a fraudulent priest. “Are they going to say the big ‘yes’ once again, or will they use this excuse to run away from their marriage?,” reads the synopsis.
Paolo Costella, who co-wrote “Perfect Strangers,” directed this ensemble pic with “Strangers” director Paolo Genovese and Antonella Lattanzi. “For All Life” is co-produced by Marco Belardi via his Lotus Production,...
“Strangers,” a dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, grossed over $31 million domestically and spawned remakes in a dozen territories including France, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Korea. In total, those remakes have grossed an estimated total $270 million worldwide. An Arabic adaptation is currently shooting.
“For All Life” turns on four couples who discover that their marriages are no longer valid because they were all performed by a fraudulent priest. “Are they going to say the big ‘yes’ once again, or will they use this excuse to run away from their marriage?,” reads the synopsis.
Paolo Costella, who co-wrote “Perfect Strangers,” directed this ensemble pic with “Strangers” director Paolo Genovese and Antonella Lattanzi. “For All Life” is co-produced by Marco Belardi via his Lotus Production,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
As Italy’s government wobbles, the country’s struggling film and TV industry is staying afloat thanks to beefed-up funding that in 2021 will provide a €640 million ($775 million) safety net for local exhibitors, distributors and producers.
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte survived a crucial Senate confidence vote on Tuesday evening by a razor thin margin of just 16 votes (the vote went 156-140 in his favor), averting a crisis sparked by differences over how to spend more than €200 billion ($242 billion) earmarked by the European Union for a Covid-19 recovery fund to help revive its pandemic-plagued economy.
The president of Italy’s Motion Picture Association (Anica) Francesco Rutelli on Wednesday told Variety that the government now remains on track with its recovery plan for the film and audiovisual production industry, drafted by Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, which Rutelli called “a major achievement.” Funding for the industry is up 60% compared with last year and is...
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte survived a crucial Senate confidence vote on Tuesday evening by a razor thin margin of just 16 votes (the vote went 156-140 in his favor), averting a crisis sparked by differences over how to spend more than €200 billion ($242 billion) earmarked by the European Union for a Covid-19 recovery fund to help revive its pandemic-plagued economy.
The president of Italy’s Motion Picture Association (Anica) Francesco Rutelli on Wednesday told Variety that the government now remains on track with its recovery plan for the film and audiovisual production industry, drafted by Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, which Rutelli called “a major achievement.” Funding for the industry is up 60% compared with last year and is...
- 1/20/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Produced by Medusa Film and Lotus, the new film by the author of Perfect Strangers will be toplined by Valerio Mastandrea, Margherita Buy, Sara Serraiocco and Toni Servillo. A story about the strength required to start over when everything appears to be falling apart around you: this is what is promised by Paolo Genovese’s new film intitled Il primo giorno della mia vita, on which filming commenced this Monday in Rome. This latest feature film put forth by the director of the international hit Perfect Strangers, which inspired a record 18 remakes around the world, is produced by Marco Belardi on behalf of Lotus Production (Leone Film Group), and by Medusa Film who are also distributing the work. Written by Genovese himself, together with Paolo Costella, Rolando Ravello and Isabella Aguilar, and based upon the director’s novel of the same name published by Einaudi, the story tells the tale of.
Cameras are set to roll in February on the long delayed Arabic adaptation of hit Italian concept movie “Perfect Strangers” with a high-caliber ensemble cast now in place comprising star Lebanese director/actor Nadine Labaki (“Capernaum”).
After being postponed due to both Covid-19 and political turmoil in Lebanon, the latest in a slew of remakes of the dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, is now on track for principal photography to start February 2. It will be directed by Lebanese first-timer Wissam Smayra who has co-written the Arabic “Perfect Strangers” screenplay with Gabriel Yammine.
Along with Labaki, the pan-Arabic “Perfect Strangers” cast also features Egypt’s Mona Zaki; Egypt-based Jordanian actor/director Eyad Nassar (“The Blue Elephant 2”); Lebanon’s Diamand Bou Abboud (“The Fixer”), Adel Karam (“The Insult”), and fellow Lebanese actor/director/playwright/composer Georges Khabbaz, who co-wrote “Capernaum.”
The original “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese...
After being postponed due to both Covid-19 and political turmoil in Lebanon, the latest in a slew of remakes of the dramedy involving cellphones and personal secrets, is now on track for principal photography to start February 2. It will be directed by Lebanese first-timer Wissam Smayra who has co-written the Arabic “Perfect Strangers” screenplay with Gabriel Yammine.
Along with Labaki, the pan-Arabic “Perfect Strangers” cast also features Egypt’s Mona Zaki; Egypt-based Jordanian actor/director Eyad Nassar (“The Blue Elephant 2”); Lebanon’s Diamand Bou Abboud (“The Fixer”), Adel Karam (“The Insult”), and fellow Lebanese actor/director/playwright/composer Georges Khabbaz, who co-wrote “Capernaum.”
The original “Perfect Strangers” was directed by Italy’s Paolo Genovese...
- 12/29/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Production, which was postponed twice in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic, to shoot in early 2021.
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
- 12/29/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Production, which was postponed twice in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic, to shoot in early 2021.
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
Dubai-based Front Row Entertainment, Beirut-based Empire International and Cairo-based Film Clinic have unveiled a high-profile cast for their upcoming Arabic-language remake of Italian comedy Perfect Strangers and announced early 2021 shooting dates.
The all-star cast will combine Lebanese talents Nadine Labaki, George Khabbaz, Adel Karam and Diamand Bou Abboud with Egyptian star Mona Zaki and Jordan’s Eyad Nassar, who is also a star of mainstream Egyptian cinema.
Produced by Medusa Film, Leone Film Group and Lotus Productions, Paolo Genovese’s comedy-drama Perfect Strangers grossed more than...
- 12/29/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Italy is putting forward Gianfranco Rosi’s latest documentary Notturno as its candidate for the 2021 International Oscar race.
Anica, the country’s national film body, oversaw the selection process with the jury consisting of Nicola Borrelli, Simone Gattoni, Paolo Genovese, Carlo Poggioli, Cristina Priarone, Gloria Satta and Baba Richerme.
The pic premiered at Venice in Competition and picked up a handful of prizes. It it an immersive portrait of those trying to survive in the war-torn Middle East.
The deadline for submissions to the Oscar race is December 1, with the 2021 ceremony scheduled to take place April 25. The shortlist for the International Oscar will be unveiled February 9 and nominations will be announced March 15.
Italy is the most successful nation in the International / Best Foreign Film Oscar category with a total of 11 wins (plus three “honorary” wins in the early days of the awards). It last triumphed in 2013 with Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty.
Anica, the country’s national film body, oversaw the selection process with the jury consisting of Nicola Borrelli, Simone Gattoni, Paolo Genovese, Carlo Poggioli, Cristina Priarone, Gloria Satta and Baba Richerme.
The pic premiered at Venice in Competition and picked up a handful of prizes. It it an immersive portrait of those trying to survive in the war-torn Middle East.
The deadline for submissions to the Oscar race is December 1, with the 2021 ceremony scheduled to take place April 25. The shortlist for the International Oscar will be unveiled February 9 and nominations will be announced March 15.
Italy is the most successful nation in the International / Best Foreign Film Oscar category with a total of 11 wins (plus three “honorary” wins in the early days of the awards). It last triumphed in 2013 with Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty.
- 11/24/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Since True Colours launched in 2015, it has rapidly doubled the size of its lineups to roughly 20 titles per year, while continuing to carefully curate distribution strategies for each film and made lots of global inroads.
The company is known among Italian producers for transparency and providing rapid sales reports, while foreign buyers like working with execs “because they always make things easy,” says Nicolas Zumaglini, head of content at prominent Latin American distributor Telefilms, who notes that “they have definitely helped spread Italian cinema in the region.” As for True Colours giving cinema Italiano more global reach, the most poignant recent example is “Il Testimone Invisibile” (“The Invisible Witness”), a remake of Spanish thriller (“Contratiempo”), directed by Italy’s Stefano Mordini. “Invisible Witness” is the European title that’s scored the highest gross at the Chinese box office, roughly $5 million, since movie theaters re-opened in China post-pandemic.
The True Colours...
The company is known among Italian producers for transparency and providing rapid sales reports, while foreign buyers like working with execs “because they always make things easy,” says Nicolas Zumaglini, head of content at prominent Latin American distributor Telefilms, who notes that “they have definitely helped spread Italian cinema in the region.” As for True Colours giving cinema Italiano more global reach, the most poignant recent example is “Il Testimone Invisibile” (“The Invisible Witness”), a remake of Spanish thriller (“Contratiempo”), directed by Italy’s Stefano Mordini. “Invisible Witness” is the European title that’s scored the highest gross at the Chinese box office, roughly $5 million, since movie theaters re-opened in China post-pandemic.
The True Colours...
- 11/9/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
When Italian sales company True Colours launched from Rome’s Mia market five years ago, international prospects for cinema Italiano titles that were not directed by a handful of name auteurs, such as Nanni Moretti, Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino, had gotten rather dim.
Italian cinema was being sold around the world mostly by foreign sales outfits that had become the preferred global channel for many of Italy’s producers, partly because they provided minimum guarantees that helped close their budgets and that local sellers could not afford. The problem was that lots of exportable Italian product was being overlooked.
“There was a gap,” says veteran distributor-producer Andrea Occhipinti, head of Lucky Red. As a producer, Occhipinti adds, he was unhappy with how his movies were being handled internationally by non-Italian companies. So in 2015 Lucky Red joined forces with production company Indigo Film (“The Great Beauty”) and they formed True Colours.
Italian cinema was being sold around the world mostly by foreign sales outfits that had become the preferred global channel for many of Italy’s producers, partly because they provided minimum guarantees that helped close their budgets and that local sellers could not afford. The problem was that lots of exportable Italian product was being overlooked.
“There was a gap,” says veteran distributor-producer Andrea Occhipinti, head of Lucky Red. As a producer, Occhipinti adds, he was unhappy with how his movies were being handled internationally by non-Italian companies. So in 2015 Lucky Red joined forces with production company Indigo Film (“The Great Beauty”) and they formed True Colours.
- 11/9/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Issa Rae has consolidated her entertainment production ventures for feature film, television and digital under the recently launched Hoorae media company, Variety has learned exclusively.
Formerly Issa Rae Productions, Hoorae includes HBO’s “Insecure” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Rae received Emmy nominations for comedy series and best actress in a comedy series for “Insecure” and best variety sketch series for “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Hoorae’s slate includes “Tre Cnt” and the “Seen & Heard” docuseries for HBO, as well as “Rap S—” for HBO Max, “Perfect Strangers” for Spyglass, “Ghost in the Machine” for Netflix and “Sinkhole” with Monkeypaw and Universal.
“Sinkhole,” based on Leyna Krow’s short story about a mysterious sinkhole, was announced in July as a potential starring vehicle for Rae, who will also produce along with Jordan Peele. Rae came aboard “Perfect Strangers” in December as a producer, writer and star for the...
Formerly Issa Rae Productions, Hoorae includes HBO’s “Insecure” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Rae received Emmy nominations for comedy series and best actress in a comedy series for “Insecure” and best variety sketch series for “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Hoorae’s slate includes “Tre Cnt” and the “Seen & Heard” docuseries for HBO, as well as “Rap S—” for HBO Max, “Perfect Strangers” for Spyglass, “Ghost in the Machine” for Netflix and “Sinkhole” with Monkeypaw and Universal.
“Sinkhole,” based on Leyna Krow’s short story about a mysterious sinkhole, was announced in July as a potential starring vehicle for Rae, who will also produce along with Jordan Peele. Rae came aboard “Perfect Strangers” in December as a producer, writer and star for the...
- 9/30/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Eagle Pictures, one of Italy’s leading film distribution and production houses, has acquired fellow distributor M2 Pictures for around €8.5M ($10M), the company has confirmed to us.
The deal will see M2’s 99 movies head to Eagle as the company looks to grow its library and bolster its position in the local market. Titles include The Cave, the 2019 Hellboy, Escape Plan 2, Hotel Mumbai, London Has Fallen, John Wick, Step Up All In and The Cabin In The Woods.
With the pact, which was completed in late July, Eagle’s library swells to around 1,450 movies. The company has an output deal with Sky Italia and has arranged for the broadcaster to take on a handful of the recent M2 titles.
M2 founders Rudolph Gentile and Marco Dell’Utri set the company up in 2010 but the firm had been challenged by the tough releasing landscape in recent years so the sale...
The deal will see M2’s 99 movies head to Eagle as the company looks to grow its library and bolster its position in the local market. Titles include The Cave, the 2019 Hellboy, Escape Plan 2, Hotel Mumbai, London Has Fallen, John Wick, Step Up All In and The Cabin In The Woods.
With the pact, which was completed in late July, Eagle’s library swells to around 1,450 movies. The company has an output deal with Sky Italia and has arranged for the broadcaster to take on a handful of the recent M2 titles.
M2 founders Rudolph Gentile and Marco Dell’Utri set the company up in 2010 but the firm had been challenged by the tough releasing landscape in recent years so the sale...
- 8/13/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Leone Film Group’s Lotus Production shingle is setting up Lotus Factory, a new unit for high-profile genre projects out of Italy made for the international market.
These currently include a live action TV series in development on the origins of Santa Clause, for which Lotus chief Marco Belardi has recruited top U.S. talent: Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco (“Ratatouille”) and Robert Lence.
“We are planning to make films of different genres from those that are usually produced in Italy,” Belardi told Variety, noting that Italy’s scripted content output is largely made up of “dramas, comedies and an occasional noir.”
For example, Italian film and TV content targeting family audiences is quite scarce, a gap Belardi is looking to fill with Lotus Factory.
Belardi has recruited young Italian director Nicola Abbatangelo, who recently completed “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York, to serve...
These currently include a live action TV series in development on the origins of Santa Clause, for which Lotus chief Marco Belardi has recruited top U.S. talent: Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco (“Ratatouille”) and Robert Lence.
“We are planning to make films of different genres from those that are usually produced in Italy,” Belardi told Variety, noting that Italy’s scripted content output is largely made up of “dramas, comedies and an occasional noir.”
For example, Italian film and TV content targeting family audiences is quite scarce, a gap Belardi is looking to fill with Lotus Factory.
Belardi has recruited young Italian director Nicola Abbatangelo, who recently completed “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York, to serve...
- 7/31/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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