Third feature premiered at Karlovy Vary.
Tinatin Kajrishvili’s black and white drama Citizen Saint about a statue of a saint that come to life in a mining town has been selected as Georgia’s submission for the Academy Awards.
Citizen Saint premiered at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and was recently nominated for best film at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
It marks the third feature from Kajrishvili, whose previous works Brides and Horizon premiered in Berlin in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
Filmed in the oppressive Chiatura mine complex in Georgia, Citizen Saint explores the harsh lives...
Tinatin Kajrishvili’s black and white drama Citizen Saint about a statue of a saint that come to life in a mining town has been selected as Georgia’s submission for the Academy Awards.
Citizen Saint premiered at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and was recently nominated for best film at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
It marks the third feature from Kajrishvili, whose previous works Brides and Horizon premiered in Berlin in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
Filmed in the oppressive Chiatura mine complex in Georgia, Citizen Saint explores the harsh lives...
- 10/10/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
There is an old joke about a pious man stranded on a desert island. As he prays for divine deliverance, a ship arrives, but he sends it away, saying, “God will save me.” Ditto a helicopter and eventually a seaplane. The man dies, to his surprise, and when he gets to heaven, asks God why he did not save him. God replies, “Look, man, I sent a ship, a helicopter and a seaplane…” If the moral of this old chestnut were hewn from the craggy quarries of a benighted Georgian mining village, and carved in strikingly gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, it might look a little like “Citizen Saint,” Tinatin Kajrishvili’s somber, scabrous third film, in which a rural community refuses to accept a God who moves in anything but the most mysterious ways.
Departing from the low-key naturalism of her two prior features “Brides” and “Horizon,” here Kajrishvili moves into an overtly allegorical register,...
Departing from the low-key naturalism of her two prior features “Brides” and “Horizon,” here Kajrishvili moves into an overtly allegorical register,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s main competition section is about to witness a miracle thanks to Tinatin Kajrishvili’s third feature “Citizen Saint,” about small-town miners suddenly discovering that their protector has literally come down from the cross and into their lives.
Kajrishvili, already known to festival audiences thanks to Berlinale titles “Brides” and “Horizon,” wasn’t trying to make a religious film, she states. She was more interested in the power of hope and the lengths most people will go in order to preserve it.
“Georgians are very religious and one day, a guy appeared in my neighborhood, calling himself ‘Saint Nicolas.’ His followers found him an apartment, and they would just stand in front of his house, praying. Whenever he would open a window, or throw a tomato at them, they would just pick it up and consider it as a blessing,” recounts the director, who co-wrote the script with Basa Janikashvili.
Kajrishvili, already known to festival audiences thanks to Berlinale titles “Brides” and “Horizon,” wasn’t trying to make a religious film, she states. She was more interested in the power of hope and the lengths most people will go in order to preserve it.
“Georgians are very religious and one day, a guy appeared in my neighborhood, calling himself ‘Saint Nicolas.’ His followers found him an apartment, and they would just stand in front of his house, praying. Whenever he would open a window, or throw a tomato at them, they would just pick it up and consider it as a blessing,” recounts the director, who co-wrote the script with Basa Janikashvili.
- 7/5/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Central Europe’s biggest cinema fest and party, has a reputation for offering up a healthy mix of regional and international films, as well as a mix of serious and fun fare, including some more outlandish and challenging movies.
The festival’s 57th edition, running June 30-July 8 in the Czech spa town, is no different.
Here is THR‘s look at some of the more outlandish and bizarre-sounding films that it will offer up to cineasts and industry insiders from around the globe.
Sisu, Midnight Screenings section
Described as “a survivalist action film stripped down to the bone” on the Karlovy Vary festival website, Sisu features a tired unit of Nazis at the end of the war picking a fight with a lone man, portrayed by Jorma Tommila, in Finland. “Part Western and part ironic Finnish answer” to action flicks starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone,...
The festival’s 57th edition, running June 30-July 8 in the Czech spa town, is no different.
Here is THR‘s look at some of the more outlandish and bizarre-sounding films that it will offer up to cineasts and industry insiders from around the globe.
Sisu, Midnight Screenings section
Described as “a survivalist action film stripped down to the bone” on the Karlovy Vary festival website, Sisu features a tired unit of Nazis at the end of the war picking a fight with a lone man, portrayed by Jorma Tommila, in Finland. “Part Western and part ironic Finnish answer” to action flicks starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone,...
- 6/29/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tuppence Middleton, star of Fisherman’s Friends, Downton Abbey and Sense8, discusses some of her most memorable scenes.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Imitation Game (2014)
The Current War (2017)
Cinema Paradiso (1991)
Downton Abbey (2019)
Fisherman’s Friends (2019)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Rocks in My Pockets (2014)
My Life as a Courgette a.k.a. My Life as a Zucchini (2016)
13 Tzameti (2005)
13 (2010)
In Absentia (2000)
Eraserhead (1977)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Skeletons (2010)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Alien (1979)
Festen a.k.a. The Celebration (1998)
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Der Samurai (2014)
Under The Skin (2013)
Strasbourg 1518 (2020)
The Fall (2019)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Don’t Look Now (1973)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
I Live in Fear (1955)
Drunken Angel (1948)
Throne of Blood (1957)
High and Low (1963)
Godzilla (1954)
The Piano Teacher (2001)
Possession (1981)
G.I. Blues (1960)
King Creole (1958)
Léolo (1992)
Other Notable Items
War and Peace miniseries (2016)
Giuseppe Tornatore
The Crown TV series (2016- )
Masterpiece Theatre TV series (1971- )
Upstairs Downstairs TV series (1971-1975)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Imitation Game (2014)
The Current War (2017)
Cinema Paradiso (1991)
Downton Abbey (2019)
Fisherman’s Friends (2019)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Rocks in My Pockets (2014)
My Life as a Courgette a.k.a. My Life as a Zucchini (2016)
13 Tzameti (2005)
13 (2010)
In Absentia (2000)
Eraserhead (1977)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Skeletons (2010)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Alien (1979)
Festen a.k.a. The Celebration (1998)
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Der Samurai (2014)
Under The Skin (2013)
Strasbourg 1518 (2020)
The Fall (2019)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Don’t Look Now (1973)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
I Live in Fear (1955)
Drunken Angel (1948)
Throne of Blood (1957)
High and Low (1963)
Godzilla (1954)
The Piano Teacher (2001)
Possession (1981)
G.I. Blues (1960)
King Creole (1958)
Léolo (1992)
Other Notable Items
War and Peace miniseries (2016)
Giuseppe Tornatore
The Crown TV series (2016- )
Masterpiece Theatre TV series (1971- )
Upstairs Downstairs TV series (1971-1975)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus...
- 7/28/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
“Metamorphoses,” the newest film from Christophe Honoré (“Love Songs,” “The Beautiful Person”), promises an enchanting and mythical time in its exclusive trailer and poster.
A modern-day retelling of Ovid’s Roman poem of the same name, “Metamorphoses” follows Europa, a girl who decides to skip class and winds up meeting Jupiter, a young man who takes her on a journey to his world of powerful gods who are capable of transforming humans into plants or animals. As the confrontation between seductive, yet vengeful gods and innocent mortals unfolds, Europa grasps a greater sense of life and love.
Read More: 6 Must-See French Films and Special Events From Rendez-Vous With French Cinema
An official selection at Venice Days at Venice Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and International Film Festival Rotterdam, the film stars Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, and George Babluani.
“Metamorphoses” opens theatrically in New York on...
A modern-day retelling of Ovid’s Roman poem of the same name, “Metamorphoses” follows Europa, a girl who decides to skip class and winds up meeting Jupiter, a young man who takes her on a journey to his world of powerful gods who are capable of transforming humans into plants or animals. As the confrontation between seductive, yet vengeful gods and innocent mortals unfolds, Europa grasps a greater sense of life and love.
Read More: 6 Must-See French Films and Special Events From Rendez-Vous With French Cinema
An official selection at Venice Days at Venice Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and International Film Festival Rotterdam, the film stars Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, and George Babluani.
“Metamorphoses” opens theatrically in New York on...
- 3/8/2017
- by Allison Picurro
- Indiewire
Wide will sell Dede at Cannes, while Latido will sell The Constitution [pictured].
London production outfit Film And Music Entertainment (F&Me) has found sales homes for two projects ahead of Cannes.
Paris-based sales agent Wide Management will represent international sales on Dede, from debut director Mariam Khatchvani.
Wrapping in January, the UK-Georgia-Croatia-Netherlands-Qatar co-production is now completing post-production and is expected to be ready in time for the Toronto and Venice film festivals.
Starring George Babluani and Natia Vibliani, the drama is set in the harsh conditions of the Caucasus Mountains.
Katcharava’s 20 Steps produced the project with Igor Nola’s MP Film Production and JaJa Film Productions. It was originally developed at the Sundance Lab and Cannes’ Fabrique des Cinemas due Monde and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Madrid-based Latido Entertainment will handle international sales for Rajko Grlic’s The Constitution, which is produced by Zagreb’s Inter Film and...
London production outfit Film And Music Entertainment (F&Me) has found sales homes for two projects ahead of Cannes.
Paris-based sales agent Wide Management will represent international sales on Dede, from debut director Mariam Khatchvani.
Wrapping in January, the UK-Georgia-Croatia-Netherlands-Qatar co-production is now completing post-production and is expected to be ready in time for the Toronto and Venice film festivals.
Starring George Babluani and Natia Vibliani, the drama is set in the harsh conditions of the Caucasus Mountains.
Katcharava’s 20 Steps produced the project with Igor Nola’s MP Film Production and JaJa Film Productions. It was originally developed at the Sundance Lab and Cannes’ Fabrique des Cinemas due Monde and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Madrid-based Latido Entertainment will handle international sales for Rajko Grlic’s The Constitution, which is produced by Zagreb’s Inter Film and...
- 5/10/2016
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: London-based production outfit introduces 10 films to the market, including Mariam Khatchvani’s Dede.
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
- 2/12/2016
- ScreenDaily
London-based production outfit introduces 10 films to the market, including Mariam Khatchvani’s Dede.
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
- 2/12/2016
- ScreenDaily
Métamorphoses director Christophe Honoré agrees in a way with Wild Life (Vie sauvage) director Cédric Kahn Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
La Vie Est Un Roman by Alain Resnais, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and Rita Hayworth as a goddess are conjured up by us at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Pina Bausch's Café Müller seems to have unconsciously influenced the performances of Erwan Larcher and Vimala Pons. Working with animals and the mythical cast of Métamorphoses that includes Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, George Babluani, Coralie Rouet, Matthis Lebrun, Gabrielle Chuiton, Jean Courte, Rachid O., and Keti Bicolli.
Christophe Honoré, true to the first Ovid fables, starts with nature. Water, springs, rain on lakes, sunshine on rivers, the transformation of the world has already begun. Then we meet a hunter,...
La Vie Est Un Roman by Alain Resnais, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and Rita Hayworth as a goddess are conjured up by us at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Pina Bausch's Café Müller seems to have unconsciously influenced the performances of Erwan Larcher and Vimala Pons. Working with animals and the mythical cast of Métamorphoses that includes Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, George Babluani, Coralie Rouet, Matthis Lebrun, Gabrielle Chuiton, Jean Courte, Rachid O., and Keti Bicolli.
Christophe Honoré, true to the first Ovid fables, starts with nature. Water, springs, rain on lakes, sunshine on rivers, the transformation of the world has already begun. Then we meet a hunter,...
- 3/21/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
La Vie Est Un Roman by Alain Resnais, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and Rita Hayworth as a goddess are conjured up by us at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Pina Bausch's Café Müller seems to have unconsciously influenced the performances of Erwan Larcher and Vimala Pons. Working with animals and the mythical cast that includes Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, George Babluani, Coralie Rouet, Matthis Lebrun, Gabrielle Chuiton, Jean Courte, Rachid O., and Keti Bicolli.
Christophe Honoré, true to the first Ovid fables, starts with nature. Water, springs, rain on lakes, sunshine on rivers, the transformation of the world has already begun. Then we meet a hunter, with neon-yellow piping on the vest, out in the woods, spotting a red-wigged hermaphrodite taking a shower. A deer was shot.
Christophe Honoré, true to the first Ovid fables, starts with nature. Water, springs, rain on lakes, sunshine on rivers, the transformation of the world has already begun. Then we meet a hunter, with neon-yellow piping on the vest, out in the woods, spotting a red-wigged hermaphrodite taking a shower. A deer was shot.
- 3/21/2015
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Erwan Larcher (Hippomène) and Vimala Pons (Atalante) in Christophe Honoré's Métamorphoses
Métamorphoses director Christophe Honoré discussed with me why myths and cinema make a rare happy coupling, with a few exceptions. La Vie Est Un Roman by Alain Resnais, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and Rita Hayworth as a goddess are conjured up by us inside the Furman Gallery at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Pina Bausch's Café Müller seems to have unconsciously influenced the performances of Erwan Larcher and Vimala Pons. The mythical cast includes Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, George Babluani, Matthis Lebrun, Gabrielle Chuiton, Jean Courte, Rachid O., and Keti Bicolli.
Christophe Honoré with Anne-Katrin Titze: "For myths, there is one filmmaker working today whom I admire tremendously and that is Apichatpong Weerasethakul…" Photo: Anne-Katrin...
Métamorphoses director Christophe Honoré discussed with me why myths and cinema make a rare happy coupling, with a few exceptions. La Vie Est Un Roman by Alain Resnais, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and Rita Hayworth as a goddess are conjured up by us inside the Furman Gallery at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Pina Bausch's Café Müller seems to have unconsciously influenced the performances of Erwan Larcher and Vimala Pons. The mythical cast includes Amira Akili, Sébastien Hirel, Mélodie Richard, Damien Chapelle, George Babluani, Matthis Lebrun, Gabrielle Chuiton, Jean Courte, Rachid O., and Keti Bicolli.
Christophe Honoré with Anne-Katrin Titze: "For myths, there is one filmmaker working today whom I admire tremendously and that is Apichatpong Weerasethakul…" Photo: Anne-Katrin...
- 3/17/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Metamorphoses
Director: Christophe Honore
Writers: Christophe Honore
Producer: Philippe Martin
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: George Babluani, Damien Chapelle, Sebastien Hirel
While his last film, 2011’s Beloved was unfairly criticized for being more of the same from the musically inclined provocateur, whose films sometimes feel like (in tone, not visual style) a sexually playful Jacques Demy, his latest effort, an adaptation of the Roman poet Ovid’s epic mythological narrative, sees Honore changing it up a bit. Continuing his penchant for adapting difficult literary works (his 2004 Isabelle Huppert headlined Ma Mere was an unfinished novel by Georges Bataille and 2008’s The Beautiful Person was inspired by a novel by Madame de La Fayette), Honore’s cast consists of mostly unknown actors, his first film in over a decade not to star either of his muses, Louis Garrel or Chiara Mastroianni. With such lofty aspirations, the enigmatic Honore’s latest...
Director: Christophe Honore
Writers: Christophe Honore
Producer: Philippe Martin
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: George Babluani, Damien Chapelle, Sebastien Hirel
While his last film, 2011’s Beloved was unfairly criticized for being more of the same from the musically inclined provocateur, whose films sometimes feel like (in tone, not visual style) a sexually playful Jacques Demy, his latest effort, an adaptation of the Roman poet Ovid’s epic mythological narrative, sees Honore changing it up a bit. Continuing his penchant for adapting difficult literary works (his 2004 Isabelle Huppert headlined Ma Mere was an unfinished novel by Georges Bataille and 2008’s The Beautiful Person was inspired by a novel by Madame de La Fayette), Honore’s cast consists of mostly unknown actors, his first film in over a decade not to star either of his muses, Louis Garrel or Chiara Mastroianni. With such lofty aspirations, the enigmatic Honore’s latest...
- 3/6/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
I sought out 13 Tzameti (2005) not because it was a cult hit, not because it won the World Cinema Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and two awards at the 62nd Venice Film Festival but because it was directed by the son of Temur Babluani, who made one of the greatest of all films – The Sun of the Sleepless (1992), which has been written about in this column. Father and son also collaborated on another extremely interesting film L’heritage (2006) which has not been seen as widely as it should be. 13 Tzameti was subsequently remade successfully as an American film named 13 (2010) by Babluani but, if these two films are instructive, it is that they suggest the gullibility of the film going public – how easy it is to gather a ‘cult’ following even when the director has so little to offer. 13 Tzameti begins in a way that makes comprehension initially difficult. Sebastien...
- 10/24/2011
- by MK Raghvendra
- DearCinema.com
Just last night I found myself wondering what had happened to the Géla Babluani directed remake of his own 2005 French thriller 13 Tzameti, starring Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke and 50 Cent. I first heard about it in late 2008, which led to me seeing the original in early 2009, and it then seemed to disappear. Despite an image or two popping up online, it was almost like it was never made. Now, thanks to Shadow&Act (via ThePlaylist) we have a poster, but more importantly, a real trailer to take a look at. You can see both below.
What’s interesting, to me, is that this looks to be more plot-driven than the original. The French film only had around 30 minutes (about a third of the run time) devoted to any real story, with the rest relying more on mood and imagery. Sam Riley, the lead this time around, seems like the natural American...
What’s interesting, to me, is that this looks to be more plot-driven than the original. The French film only had around 30 minutes (about a third of the run time) devoted to any real story, with the rest relying more on mood and imagery. Sam Riley, the lead this time around, seems like the natural American...
- 11/16/2010
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
- Quick Links > Gela Babluani > 13 (Tzameti) > 13 (Tzameti) remake > L’Héritage > Palm Pictures > Official Trailer Conventional plot lines fall into the morgue in 13 Tzameti, director Gela Babluani’s ferociously serene mediation on the consequence of choice, the nature of the survival instinct, the schism between classes, and the corrupting power of wealth. The film’s protagonist Sebastien (George Babluani, brother of the director), is a young Russian immigrant living a squalid existence with his family in a dead-end town in rural France. A series of coincidences that conspire to feel like destiny lead him to a chateau in the French countryside where he agrees to compete for a potentially life-altering fortune in a high-stakes game of Russian Roulette played before an audience of well-heeled gamblers. Filmed in stark black-and-white with high contrast lighting reminiscent of Roman Polanksi’s Knife in the Water, 13 examines a netherworld populated by mundane characters with
- 7/27/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -- Palm Pictures has nabbed U.S. and Caribbean rights to the Sundance and Venice festival prizewinner 13 (Tzameti), the company said Thursday. The French production will receive a platform release in the fall, with a Palm DVD release to follow. Gela Babluani's thriller chronicles a young Georgian immigrant repairman in France (George Babluani) who stumbles across instructions meant to be used by a dead gangster. His curiosity and desire to help his poor family leads him along a path that ends with a terrifying game of Russian roulette. The film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic feature at January's Sundance Film Festival and the De Laurentiis Award for best first film at the Venice International Film Festival in September. " '13 (Tzameti)' is a true discovery," said David Koh, head of acquisitions and production at Palm. "It's a mix of 'Rififi, ' 'Man Bites Dog' and 'Fight Club.' The cinematography is powerful, and the images stay with you for a long time." The deal was negotiated by Koh with MK2 head of international sales Florence Stern.
- 3/10/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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