Avishai Sivan’s drama Tikkun has been awarded Best Israeli Feature at the 32nd Jerusalem Film Festival.Tikkun, which follows a committed Hassidic student who begins to doubt himself after a life-changing experience, won the Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film, which comes with a $31,500 (ILS 120,000) prize.The film also won the Anat Pirchi Award for Best Script, which comes with a $2,600 (ILS 10,000) prize, the Haggiag Award for Best Actor for lead Khalifa Natour, also accompanied by a $2,600 (ILS 10,000) prize, and the Van Leer Award for Best Cinematography, which scoops $2,400 (ILS 9,000)
The film was directed by Avishai Sivan and produced by Ronen Ben-Tal, Avishai Sivan, Moshe Edery and Leon Edery of Plan B Productions.Tikkun will also showcase in the International Competition at Locarno Film Festival (Aug 5-15).Hotline, Silvina Landsmann’s documentary about an NGO in Tel-Aviv, won the Van Leer award for Best Documentary.
The jury – which included EFM head Matthijs Wouter Knol, commended the film for its “impressive achievement in exposing the complexity of current human rights politics in Israel”. The award comes with a $7,900 (ILS 30,000) prize.
Comino Films produced Hotline, which premiered at the Berlin International Film festival in February, while Jerusalem-based distribution outfit Go2Films are handling international sales.Wedding Doll, Nitzan Gilady’s drama about a young woman growing up in the Israeli desert, won the Anat Pirchi Award for Best First Film and the Haggiag Award for Best Actress for lead Asi Levi.Apocalyptic horror film Jeruzalem won two awards: the Haggiag Award for Best Editing and the Audience Favourite Award, voted for by the festival’s attendees.
Nirit Aharoni won Best Director of a Documentary for Strung Out, which also won the Haggiag Award for Best Music. Thru You Princess was given an honorary mention in the documentary category.
Full list of winners
The Haggiag Competition for Full-Length Israeli Features
The Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film:
Tikkun, dir. Avishai Sivan, prod. Ronen Ben Tal, Moshe and Leon Edery.
The Anat Pirchi Award for Best First Film:
Wedding Doll, Nitzan Gilady.
The Anat Pirchi Award for Best Script granting:
Avishai Sivan, Tikkun.
The Haggiag Award for Best Actor granting:
Khalifa Natour,Tikkun.
The Haggiag Award for Best Actress:
Asi Levi, Wedding Dolls.
The Van Leer Award for Best Cinematography:
Shai Goldman,Tikkun.
The Haggiag Award for Best Editing granting:
Reut Han, Yoav Paz and Doron Paz, JeruZalem.
Israel Critics’ Forum Award for Best Feature Film:
A.K.A. Nadia, dir. Tova Ascher, prod. Estee Yacov-Mecklberg, Haim Mecklberg.
The Audience Favorite Award:
JeruZalem, dir. Yoav Paz, Doron Paz, prod. Yoav Paz, Doron Paz, Nir Miretzky and Rotem Levim.
The Van Leer Competition for Israeli Documentary Cinema
The Van Leer Award for Best Documentary Film:
Hotline, dir. Silvina Landsmann, prod. Silvina Landsmann, Pierre-Olivier Bardet.
The Van Leer Award for Best Director of a Documentary:
Nirit Aharoni, Strung Out.
The Haggiag Award for Best Music:
Ophir Leibovitch, Strung Out.
Honorary Mention to a Documentary:
Thru You Princess, dir. Ido Haar, prod. Liran Aztmor.
The Wim Van Leer “In the Spirit of Freedom” Competition
The Cummings Award for Best Feature Film:
Three Windows and a Hanging, dir.Isa Qosja.
The Ostrovsky Award for Best Documentary Film:
The Pearl Button, dir. Patricio Guzman
Honorary Mention:
Mussa, dir. Anat Goren, prod. Daniela Rachminov-Sidi, Anat Goren.
The FIPRESCI International Debuts Competition
The FIPRESCI Award for Best First Film:
Songs my Brothers Taught Me, dir. Chloe Zhao.
Honorary Mention to an Israeli Debut:
Wedding Doll, dir. and prod. Nitzan Gilady.
The Israeli Short Film Competition
The Van Leer award for Best Short Feature Film:
Line of Grace, dir. Rotem Kapelinsky, prod. Eyal Shirai.
The Van Leer Award for Best Director of a Short Feature:
Yehonatan Indursky, The Cantor and the Sea.
The Van Leer award for Best Short Documentary:
Mazal Means Luck, dir. Mazal Ben Yishai, Maaleh Film School.
The Van Leer Award for Best Short Animation Film:
Warm Snow, dir. Ira Elshansky, Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design.
The Experimental Cinema and Video Art Competition
The Lia Van Leer Award, donated by Rivka Saker:
Factory, dir. Maya Geller.
The Ostrovsky Family Foundation Award:
Last Person Shooter, dir. Boaz Levin and Adam Kaplan.
The Jewish Experience Competition
The Leah Van Leer Award for Films about Jewish Heritage:
Zelda: A Simple Woman, dir. Yair Qedar
The Avner Shalev – Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award for Holocaust-Related Films:
A Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did, dir. David Evans.
The International Children’s Films Competition
The Cummings Award for Best Children’s Film:
Paper Planes, dir. Robert Connolly
Debut feature directors Yossi Atia, Maysaloun Hamoud and Roman Shumunov pick up prizes.
Debut feature directors Yossi Atia, Maysaloun Hamoud and Roman Shumunov have picked up prizes at the 10th edition of Pitch Point, aimed at connecting Israeli productions with international partners.
Performance artist and filmmaker Atia’s Born In Jerusalem And Still Alive won the $4,400 Wouter Barendrecht — Lia Van Leer award.
A dark comedy based on Atia’s per- sonal experiences, the film revolves around a man who organises terror tours along Jaffa Road in west Jeru- salem, the site of a number of deadly suicide attacks during the second Intifada.
The jury — which included US distribution guru Ira Deutchman, Fortissimo Films’ MD Nelleke Driessen and German producer Thanassis Karathanos — praised the project for its “unique and original take on a tough and emotional subject matter.”
Shumunov clinched the $5,300 Van Leer Foundation award for No Future, about Israeli rappers and graffiti artists of Russian origin struggling to make ends meet in the city of Ashdod. “The film has the potential to be a unique, sensitive and authentic voice of an important ethnic group in Israel,” said the jury.
Palestinian director Maysaloun Hamoud’s In Between picked up two prizes: the Turkish YAPIMLAB Award, offering development sup- port of $5,500, and the IFP Award, which involves an invitation to the Independent Film Market Project in New York this September. Israeli film-maker and producer Shlomi Elkabetz is producing the tale of two liberal Palestinian girls living in Tel Aviv, struggling to find their place in society. Hamoud told the pitching event that the work was a reflection of her own experiences.
Two prizes for the works-in-progress showcase were introduced this year. The Digital District Work-in-Progress Award went to Elite Zexer’s Sand Storm about a Bedouin mother and daughter testing the limits of their conservative community while Udi Aloni’s biopic about Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar won the Jerusalem Film and Television Fund Award for a work-in-progress.
Becoming a strong contender in International Film Festival circuit is not easy for any movie, and things would not be that smooth if the movie is released almost four years back. But ‘DAM 999‘, the movie directed by Sohan Roy has broken all traditional misbelieves about an Indian director’s movie in the International market, and the film is still continuing its dream run. Recently, the film has won 18 awards at the Global Independent Film Awards, and this clearly proclaims the global dimension of the movie irrespective of the time.
The Global Independent Film Awards is one of the growing online film festivals which aims to recognize filmmakers and artists for their excellence. An award from this corner will really turn out to be another feather in the crown for ‘DAM 999‘.
This festival does not screen movies, but it will announce the winners on the event which will be held on January 2nd – 3rd 2015 at Henderson,United States.. The festival gives awards in 72 categories, and this makes it one of the biggest online award platforms in the world.
‘DAM 999′ is touted to be the first Hollywood movie produced and directed by an Indian group. The movie showcases a very emotional story in the backdrop of an endangered dam. The ancient Indian concept of ‘Navarasas’ are also depicted to perfection by the director with nine different actors. Ayurveda and its prominence in the modern world is also discussed in the movie.
The film stars big names like Ashish Vidyarthi, Vimala Raman, Rajit Kapoor, Vinay Rai and Joshua Frederic Smith in the lead roles. Biz TV Network has produced this movie.
DAM999 Awards
Category – BEST FEATURE FILM
DAM999 (IND), Executive Producer Abhini Sohan, Directed by Sohan Roy
Category – BEST ACTION / ADVENTURE FILM
DAM999 (IND), Executive Producer Abhini Sohan, Directed by Sohan Roy
Category – BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DAM999 (IND),Ajayan Vincent
Category – BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
DAM999 (IND), Prasad EFX, Srinivas Mohan, & Priya Vincent
Category – BEST EDITING
DAM999 (IND), Suresh Pai
Category – BEST SOUND
DAM999 (IND), Shajith Koyeri
Category – BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
DAM999 (IND), Padmasree Thota Tharrani
Category – BEST COSTUMES
DAM999 (IND), S.B. Satheesh & Abhini Sohan
Category – BEST HAIR & MAKE-UP
DAM999 (IND), Pattanam Rasheed
Category – BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
DAM999 (IND), C. Prasanna Sujith
Category – BEST ACTION SEQUENCE
DAM999 (IND), Executive Producer Abhini Sohan, Directed by Sohan Roy
Category – BEST ACTOR
DAM999 (IND), Vinay Rai (As Vinay)
Category – BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
DAM999 (IND), Rajit Kapur (As Shankaran)
Category – BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
DAM999 (IND), Ashish Vidyarthi (As Durai)
Category – BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
DAM999 (IND), Vimala Raman (As Meera)
Category – ACTOR UNDER 18
DAM999 (IND), Jineeth Rath (As Samuel)
Category – BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
DAM999 (IND), Ensemble Cast of DAM999
Category – EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD
DAM999 (IND), Executive Producer Abhini Sohan & Director Sohan Roy
Canada based distributor 108 Media corp has picked up US rights to the award-winning comedy drama ‘Lawrence & Holloman’ and plans a one-week theatrical run in August.
Matthew Kowalchuk directed Lawrence & Holloman, which recently won best feature at the 15th annual Canadian Comedy Awards and has won awards across the Canadian festival circuit including Vancouver and Edmonton international film festivals.
In this darkly ridiculous buddy comedy, Lawrence an ever optimistic suit sales man lives a happy, go lucky, charmed life, in which everything always goes right until he meets Holloman, a cynical and pessimistic credit collector and everything starts to go wrong.
Kowalchuk and Daniel Arnold adapted the stage play by Morris Panych. Ben Cotton, Katharine Isabelle, Amy Matysio and Daniel Arnold star.
108 Media will release Lawrence & Holloman in Los Angeles at the Downtown Independent from August 7-13, followed by VOD release on iTunes, Amazon, Xbox, Vudu, Google Play and other platforms on August 11.
Paul Armstrong, Mary Anne Waterhouse, Andrew Currie, Robyn Wiener and Don Thompson produced.
“108 Media can’t wait to introduce Lawrence & Holloman to the United States,” said CEO Abhi Rastogi. “It’s time they see what Canada has to offer when it comes to dark comedy. These characters are sure to make you laugh.”
“Not all Canadian films make it south of the border,” said Kowalchuk. “I’m thrilled to see 108 Media finding the right audience for Lawrence & Holloman and can’t wait to see America’s reaction to our classic odd couple story – with a dark twist.”
108 Media most recently distributed the Tribeca Film festival selection Below Dreams by debut director Garrett Bradley and John Leguizamo’s Fugly.
Jerusalem Film Festival’s Sam Spiegel Intl. Film Lab Jury chaired by Kristen Niehuus, general director of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg has announced its two prizes to a pair of socially and politically relevant projects ‘Darkroom’ and ‘The Death of Black Horses’
Israeli film-maker Itamar Alcalay’s feature debut Darkroom, follows a young gay Armenian man forced into an arranged marriage, has won the top $50,000 prize at the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab’s pitching event.
The Death Of Black Horses by Kurdistan’s Ferit Karahan, a story of family intrigue in a Kurdish village during the First World War, clinched the second prize of $20,000.
The two prizes were donated by the Beracha Foundation.
Budgeted under $ 1 Million, Darkroom is produced by Amir Harel and Ayelet Kait of Tel Aviv-based Lama Films.
Set in a down-at-heel neighbourhood near the central bus station in Tel Aviv, it revolves around the relationship between hot-blooded Armenian Artium, his lover Amir and a free-spirited girl to whom Artium is married-off by his family.
The Death Of Black Horses is Karahan’s second film after The Fall From Heaven, which premiered at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and won the best first film at the Ankara International Film Festival last year.
Gabriele Oricchio of Rome-based ADV Agencies, who produced Karahan’s first feature, is producing The Death of Black Horses.
Jury chairwoman Kirsten Niehuus, said the jury had been impressed by the level of all the scripts and chose to award the prizes to passionate writer-directors with a special urgency, a unique voice and artistic courage.
Other members of the jury included Arte France Cinéma general director Olivier Pere, Oscar-winning producer Ewa Puszczynska and director and former lab participant Laszlo Nemes.
As well as the jury prizes, Paris based Digital District post-production studio gave a $28,000 (€25,000) award to Israeli’s Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun for Aya, a feature-length version of their Oscar-nominated short.
Turkish Director Tolga Karaçelik’s second film Ivy, a slow moving psycologicl thriller has won the best feature film award at the East End Film Festival (July 1-12) in London.
Karaçelik’ first film, Tollbooth was shot by Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s DOP, Gökhan Tiryaki.
Set onboard a hulking cargo ship moored off the coast of Egypt, the film follows a skeleton crew of misfit sailors, forced to stay onboard after their paymasters go bust. But it isn’t long before power structures dissolve, leading to tension, threats of violence, and strange apparitions.
Ivy has just received its UK premiere at London’s Rio Cinema on July 11. It was chosen by a jury comprising EEFF’s 2015 Director-in-Residence Noaz Deshe (White Shadow); writer Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting); director Amma Asante (Belle); artist Viv Albertine; and director Ross Clarke (Dermaphoria).
Karaçelik will be invited back to the festival in 2016 as Director-in-Residence.
Jury member Welsh said of Ivy: “A literal ship of fools piece, this psychological thriller had strong characterization and plot. Brilliantly directed and performed, it takes you into a convincing, claustrophobic world and holds your attention.”
Documentary winner
Welcome To Leith was named best documentary by a jury comprising comedian Kate Smurthwaite, filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel, filmmaker Xiaolu Guo and Channel 4 exec Rita Daniels.
It chronicles the attempted takeover of Leith, North Dakota, by white supremacist Craig Cobb.
Jury member Smurthwaite said of the film: “Yes, yes, yes, this is what I wanted to see. Professionally done. Not just vaguely about racists in America, but what happens when a racist tries to take over a small town, and how they fight back. Clever, fascinating, gripping. Can’t wait to see it again.”
EEFF’s Accession Award focuses on a different cinematic skill set each year and this year was the turn of Soundtrack/Sound Design and was judged by English singer/songwriter Frank Turner.
Composer Graham Hadfield won for his work on Containment, the debut feature by director Neil Mcenery-West about neighbours who find they have been sealed inside their apartments for unknown reasons.
The recipient of Best UK short was Don’t Blame Us Cos We’re Famous!, Amelia Hashemi’s film about “the time when you admire your father for the hero he isn’t”.
The Short Film Audience Award winner will be announced during EEFF’s closing night gala on July 12.
American screenwriter, director and producer Michael Cimino has been chosen to receive receive a Pardo d’onore at the 68th Locarno Film Festival. Several of his films will be shown in tribute at Locarno which runs from August 5- 15 this year.
New York native Cimino, who initially enlisted in the Army Reserves while working towards a Masters Degree in painting from Yale, made his directorial debut on 1974 comedy crime-drama Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
His second film The Deer Hunter (1978) won five Oscars, including Best Film and Best Director, and cemented Cimino’s reputation as one of the most exciting directors of the American New Wave.
Festival director Carlo Chatrain stated: “I am very honored to be able to welcome Michael Cimino and I am sure that his presence will be a great stimulus for the many viewers and young filmmakers attending Locarno.
“As enduring and majestic as the granite of the American mountains with which he has often surrounded his characters, his films have left their mark on my own trajectory as a viewer, and I feel it is important to show them at a festival which aims to be a bridge between cultures, ears, styles. In this respect Cimino’s poetics are timeless, both classical and modern at the same time.”
The festival will feature Cimino’s films Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate (1980), and Year of the Dragon (1985).
Previous recipients of Pardo d’ onore award include Samuel Fuller, Jean-Luc Godard, Ken Loach, Sidney Pollack, William Friedkin, Jia Zhangke, Alain Tanner, Werner Herzog and Agnes Varda last year.
Becoming a strong contender in International Film Festival circuit is not easy for any movie, and things would not be that smooth if the movie is released almost four years back. But ‘DAM 999‘, the movie directed by Sohan Roy has broken all traditional misbeliefs about an Indian director’s movie in the International market, and the film is still continuing its dream run. Recently, the film got selection at the Global Independent Film Awards,United States, and this clearly proclaims the global dimension of the movie irrespective of the time.
The Global Independent Film Awards is one of the growing online film festivals which aims to recognize filmmakers and artists for their excellence. An award from this corner will really turn out to be another feather in the crown for ‘DAM 999‘.
This festival will not screen movies, but they will announce the winners on the event date which is on January 2nd – 3rd 2015. The festival gives awards in 72 categories, and this makes it one of the biggest online award platforms in the world.
‘DAM 999‘ is touted to be the first Hollywood movie produced and directed by an Indian group. The movie showcases a very emotional story in the backdrop of an endangered dam. The ancient Indian concept of Navarasas are also depicted to perfection by the director with nine different actors. Ayurveda and its prominence in the modern world is also discussed in the movie.
The film stars big names like Ashish Vidyarthi, Vimala Raman, Rajit Kapoor, Vinay Rai and Joshua Frederic Smith in the lead roles. Biz TV Network has produced this movie.
Veteran actress Kang Soo-youn has been confirmed as festival co-director for Busan International Film Festival. The announcement was made by Busan International Film Festival Organization Committee yesterday at a special assembly in Busan City Hall.
A member of the BIFF executive committee since 1998, Kang is known to be a widely respected member of the Korean film industry .Having begun her acting career as a child, she won best actress awards at Venice in 1987 and Moscow in 1989 for her performances in Im Kwon-taek’s films The Surrogate Woman and Come, Come, Come Upward, respectively.
She has also served on film festival juries in Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney and Montreal.
“It’s a difficult position with tremendous responsibility, but I will do my best to work together with the people who have been making a good film festival up to now to make it even better,” said Kang on her appointment.
Developments
This is the latest development in BIFF’s saga since screening The Truth Shall Not Sink With The Sewol, a documentary critical of the government’s handling of the Sewol ferry disaster, against conservative Busan mayor Seo Byeong-soo’s wishes last year.The mayor had originally demanded festival director Lee Yong Kwan Step Down.It was Lee’s proposal that the fest gets a co-director and BIFF said Kang was selected after recommendations from people in the film industry.
Lee’s current appointment ends February 2016. Kang’s will run until July 2018.The festival’s hope is that Lee’s appointment will be renewed and the Lee-Kang co-directorship will be continued.
New Deputy Director
The committee yesterday also named a new deputy director, Lee Myung-shik.A former director of English-language radio Busan E-FM, Lee also worked at the local KNN and Busan MBC broadcasters.
They also revised their articles of association, increasing the number of deputy director positions from two to four.With 87 days left to BIFF’s 20th edition, the fest is dealing with budgetary cuts and still awaiting the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea’s results, which were expected out by late June or early July.
BIFF is set to run Oct 10-10, with the Asian Film Market Oct 3-6.
Japanese character and lifestyle business Sanrio is planning to launch a Hello Kitty movie for global release in 2019
Estimated cost for the project is $162m to $ 242cm including production and advertising. Rehito Hatoyama, Sanrio’s acting manager director has been appointed as the new CEO of the US unit that will carry out the project, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
The company is also considering other character properties to star in films as well, with a dedicated fund likely to be established for these projects.
Sanrio’s other iconic characters include My Melody and Little Twin Stars, which are both celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year and will be at the upcoming Comic-Con.
Hello Kitty turned 40 last year.
In January, Sanrio also sold film rights to its Mr. Men and Little Miss characters to Fox Animation.