Screen Dec 13

Issue 1770 December 13, 2013

COMING SOON TO

LEADER

When life interrupts art

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UK office MBI, 101 Finsbury Pavement, London, EC2A 1RS Tel: +44 (0) 20 3033 4267 US office Screen International, 8581 Santa Monica Blvd, #707, West Hollywood, CA 90069 E-mail: firstname.lastname@screendaily.com (unless stated) Please note our new London phone numbers Editorial Editor Wendy Mitchell +44 (0) 20 3033 2816 US editor Jeremy Kay +1 310 922 5908 Jeremykay67@gmail.com News editor Michael Rosser +44 (0) 20 3033 2720 Chief critic and reviews editor Mark Adams +44 (0) 20 3033 4213 Group head of production and art Mark Mowbray +44 (0) 20 3638 5060 Group art director, MBI Peter Gingell +44 (0) 20 3033 4203 peter.gingell@mb-insight.com Chief reporter Andreas Wiseman +44 (0) 20 3033 2848 Asia editor Liz Shackleton, lizshackleton@gmail.com Contributing editors Sarah Cooper, Leon Forde, John Hazelton, Louise Tutt Contributing reporter Ian Sandwell +44 (0) 20 3033 4212 Advertising and publishing Commercial director Andrew Dixon +44 (0) 20 3033 2928 Sales manager Scott Benfold +44 (0) 20 3638 5050 Sales manager Nadia Romdhani (maternity leave) UK, South Africa, Middle East Andrew Dixon +44 (0) 20 3033 2928 France, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Scott Benfold +44 (0) 20 3638 5050 Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux, Eastern Europe Gunter Zerbich +44 (0) 20 3033 2930 Italy, Asia, India Ingrid Hammond +39 05 7829 8768 ingridhammond@libero.it VP business development, North America Nigel Daly +1 323 654 2301 / 213 447 5120 nigeldalymail@gmail.com Production manager Jonathon Cooke +44 (0) 20 3033 4296 jonathon.cooke@mb-insight.com Group commercial director, MBI Alison Pitchford +44 (0) 20 3033 2949 alison.pitchford@mb-insight.com Subscription customer service +44 (0) 1604 828 706 help@subscribe.screendaily.com Festival and events manager Mai Le +44 (0) 20 3033 2950 mai.le@mb-insight.com Sales administrator Justyna Zieba +44 (0) 20 3033 2694 justyna.zieba@mb-insight.com Chief Executive, MBI Conor Dignam +44 (0) 20 3033 2717 conor.dignam@mb-insight.com Screen International is part of Media Business Insight Ltd (MBI), also publisher of Broadcast and shots

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Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

he timing couldn’t have been more surreal — it was during the December 5 Royal Film Performance of Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom that Nelson Mandela’s death was confirmed. Two of his daughters, Zindzi and Zenani, were in London and allowed the screening to go on, saying that’s what their father would have wanted. The crowd was told of his death during their standing ovation, after which they observed two minutes of silence.

Some people have said it was horrible that his daughters were at a film evening when they learned of his death — but then again, they were together, and in a room where Mandela was being celebrated by hundreds of people.

At a Mandela screening the next day, the film-making team was adamant that the family wanted the film’s journey to continue. It was an emotional day to watch the film, but it felt fitting to watch his life dramatised on the big screen — and just as valuable a way to honour him as watching the TV tributes on a loop.

I thought director Justin Chadwick struck the right tone that night when asked about how the film will now go down in history. “I just hope a new generation can discover him, and maybe our film in some small way can keep that legacy going.” In the 12 hours after Mandela’s death, Chadwick recalled Zindzi telling him, “My father would want you to go and work… He knew this film was happening, he was behind it, you celebrated his life. You should carry on with that work,

spread his message, that’s what this film is about, that’s why we’re here.”

Chadwick continued: “It’s about showing what he achieved, and what that country achieved.”

Film is perhaps the most powerful medium for bringing history alive.

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom should be celebrated for that. It is a special way to honour Mandela, and I think it’s great audiences around the world will want to remember him by going to the cinema.

Before Mandela’s death, the biopic had broken box-office records in South Africa. It is now on very limited release in the US in four cinemas, and goes wide on Christmas Day (via The Weinstein Company). Pathé releases in the UK on January 3.

This film’s release plans should be honoured, and I wouldn’t blame distributors if they brought it forward — it’s now an especially timely film, and it would be smart, not crass, to let audiences see it as soon as they can.

What would be crass is awardsseason grandstanding that tries to capitalise on his death. We’ve seen voters mark the untimely passing of actors or directors with awards attention, but this is a special case.

Nikki Finke, the founder of Deadline, got herself in trouble on Twitter by announcing Mandela’s death, noting he was the subject of a buzzy awards film. In a word: ugh. That’s no way to honour one of the heroes of our time. Let’s remember the man on his own and appreciate Mandela the film separately. It would be an insult to the great man’s legacy if s they were confused. ■

The unsung heroes What a great idea that this year’s BIFAs special jury prize went to Sixteen Films and Friends (aka Team Loach), in recognition of their contributions in bringing the work of Ken Loach to life. The roll call includes: producer Rebecca O’Brien and editor Jonathan Morris (both pictured right), designer Fergus Clegg, first AD David Gilchrist, script supervisor Susanna Lenton, sound recordist Ray Beckett, writer Paul Laverty, DoPs Barry Ackroyd, Chris Menges and Robbie Ryan, casting director Kahleen Crawford, second AD Michael Queen, boom swinger Pete Murphy, sound editor Kevin Brazier, assistant editor Paul Clegg, composer George Fenton, production accountant Tina Shadick and stills photographer Joss Barratt, plus the Sixteen Films staff. We want a Team Loach hat!

December 13, 2013 Screen International 1 ■

Contents

International correspondents Asia Liz Shackleton lizshackleton@gmail.com Australia Sandy George +61 2 9557 7425 sandy.george@me.com Balkan region

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Vladan Petkovic +381 64 1948 948 vladan.petkovic@gmail.com Brazil Elaine Guerini +55 11 97659915 elaineguerini@terra.com.br France Melanie Goodfellow +33 6 21 45 80 27 melanie.goodfellow@btinternet.com Germany Martin Blaney +49 30 318 063 91 screen.berlin@googlemail.com

22

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Greece Alexis Grivas +30 210 64 25 261 alexisgrivas@yahoo.com Israel

December 13, 2013

Edna Fainaru +972 3 5286 591

Analysis

People

Awards countdown

Jean Noh +82 10 4205 0318

4 finding the funny

hjnoh2007@gmail.com

With Anchorman 2 about to start its international roll-out, Screen looks at the performance of comedies at the box office in 2013 and examines the prospects for Ron Burgundy’s return

6 connecting creativity

A round-up of recent awards headlines

dfainaru@netvision.net.il Korea/deputy Asia editor

Nordic territories Jorn Rossing Jensen +45 202 333 04 jornrossing@aol.com Scotland Allan Hunter +44 (0) 7904 698 848 allan@alhunter.myzen.co.uk Spain Juan Sarda +34 646 440 357 jsardafr@hotmail.com UK Geoffrey Macnab +44 (0) 20 7226 0516 geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk

Subscriptions Screen International Subscriptions Department, 3 Queensbridge, The Lakes, Northampton NN4 7BF Tel +44 1604 828 706 E-mail help@subsribe.screendaily.com Screen International ISSN 0307 4617

10 World champions The Palm Springs International Film Festival marks 25 years of bringing the best global cinema to California.

How has it become a key staging post in the awards season?

12 against the odds Despite huge challenges, Palestinian film-makers, led by Hany Abu-Assad and Annemarie Jacir, are taking the international festival circuit by storm

16 Top of the heap Stephen Daldry’s Trash built an enormous dump filled with fake rubbish. Screen visited the set on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro

BBC Films head Christine Langan talks about its upcoming slate of projects and establishing a creative hub of writers, directors, producers and actors to deliver outstanding collaborations

Regulars 27 reviews The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, American Hustle and The Wolf Of Wall Street, and a look at key titles at the Dubai International Film Festival

17 News digest 18 Brits putting on the glitz The EE British Academy Film Awards are a cornerstone of the awards season.

Screen examines how the Baftas keep a British flavour while growing globally

20 guitar hero Oscar Isaac is one of 2013’s breakout stars for his role as the titular conflicted musician in the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis

22 High seas adventure The team behind Captain Phillips on the challenges and rewards of recreating a real-life drama for the big screen

32 in pictures The people and the events on the awards circuit this week

All currencies in this issue converted according to exchange rates that applied in December 2013

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Finding the funny With Anchorman 2 about to start its international roll-out, Ian Sandwell looks at the performance of comedies at the box office in 2013 and examines the prospects for Ron Burgundy’s return

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

I

t is kind of a big deal, to paraphrase Ron Burgundy. Over nine years since Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team last reported, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues begins its international roll-out in the UK and Ireland on December 18, two days before the US on December 20.

Despite not making an impact overseas on its release in 2004, Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy has developed into a huge cult hit, with the sequel almost as eagerly anticipated as December’s other notable sequel in the form of The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug.

Overseas box office has been a mixed bag for American comedies in 2013, even when they have been hits domestically. For every international success such as We’re The Millers ($118.8m), there have been the likes of Identity Thief ($39.4m) and This Is The End ($24.4m).

■ 4 Screen International December 13, 2013

Even existing franchises have seen varying degrees of success. Grown Ups 2 managed to top the $109.4m international performance of Grown Ups with $113.4m, but The Hangover Part III fell from The Hangover Part II’s $332.3m overseas to $238.8m.

For Paramount, the goal with Anchorman 2 is clear. “Our objective is to bring fans of the first film, some of whom caught the film on DVD following its initial release, as well as new audiences to the movie,” says Nic Crawley, president, international theatrical marketing, Paramount. “With a sequel, we want to assure fans the movie has what they are looking for, but we also want to make sure those new to the film understand they don’t need any prior knowledge to come on board.”

That new audience will prove crucial to Anchorman 2’s success. While its cult

‘All our stars — in front of and behind the camera — are a big part of the campaign’ Nic Crawley, Paramount

status will ensure the sequel will surpass Anchorman’s $5.3m international performance, Anchorman 2 will have to make an impact in territories where the first film either didn’t release theatrically or didn’t gross much.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst, Rentrak, doesn’t believe this will be an issue. “Sequels often fare better with international audiences,” he says.

“Although it certainly helps if a film has done well in a specific territory, press coverage and the reviews of a movie may be enough to make a sequel a hit in a country that may not have had a release of the original instalment.”

Interestingly, one of the elements in Anchorman 2’s favour could be the long gap between instalments. Not only has it allowed the original to build up its formidable cult status, but also has increased the anticipation for the sequel.

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ANCHORMAN 2 IN FOCUS

One example of the potential of this anticipation is Men In Black 3: after a 10-year gap from Men In Black II, the third feature became one of the most successful live-action comedies of all time internationally at $445m.

Of course, the Men In Black franchise had the added bonus of the star power and worldwide recognition of Will Smith. This is something that the later instalments of The Hangover benefited from with Bradley Cooper, but Rentrak’s Dergarabedian offers another reason that the first instalment of The Hangover — which grossed $190m internationally, terrific for an original concept comedy — succeeded.

“The concept of being hungover is pretty universal and the film benefited from this globally shared activity so to speak,” says Dergarabedian. “And then familiarity with a movie franchise helps overseas. For example, the first Hangover film garnered its greatest percentage of box office from the US, but the sequels derived the lion’s share of their box-office revenue from the international arena.”

Crossing cultures Warner Bros also had an original comedy outing this year benefit internationally from R-rated humour like The Hangover. “We knew We’re The Millers was a special film that could cross cultural boundaries because it’s both outrageously funny and driven by characters that you come to care about,” says Sue Kroll, Warner Bros president of worldwide marketing and international distribution. “There’s clearly an appetite out there for humour that pushes boundaries, so in our marketing, we embraced the film’s edgy and outrageous moments to get people talking and wanting to experience it.

Word-of-mouth helped create real buzz overseas and fuel number-one openings that grew interest and gave us such terrific holds.”

Anchorman 2 could benefit from all of these factors.

“All our stars — in front of and behind the camera — are a big part of the campaign,” says Paramount’s Crawley.

“We also will be showcasing, as the film does,

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Grown Ups 2

Red 2

the relatable comedy in an arena we all know quite well — the 24-hour news.

We have found that audiences everywhere can appreciate the comedic premise of the movie, in addition to the talents of our stars.”

However, just because a comedy sequel has these elements, it doesn’t immediately ensure increased success at the international box office. In 2013 alone, action comedy Red 2 shot its way to $101.6m overseas (as of December 1), down on Red’s $109m, while Scary Movie 5 posted the worst return of the franchise overseas at $44.2m.

Paramount’s Crawley even believes comedies based on original concepts have their own positive points when rolling out internationally. “In marketing a comedy to a global audience, it is our objective to understand what is funny in different markets and also what translates,” explains Crawley.

“With an original movie, there is flexibility in finding the funny for each territory on its own terms.”

While international success for a comedy — either original or based on existing franchises — is still difficult to predict, what is clear is that the overall trend for comedies worldwide is changing; where once comedies were seen as only able to have success in their home territories, the booming international market has altered this.

The Hangover Part III

‘There’s clearly an appetite out there for humour that pushes boundaries’ Sue Kroll, Warner Bros

“Comedy is a genre that has long had the reputation as the one genre that does not travel well and is culturally and regionally biased,” expands Rentrak’s Dergarabedian. “However, the international marketplace for American movies has become a predominant source of box office and has often transformed many a modest performer in the US into a major hit worldwide.

“This phenomenon has spread US culture across the globe and we have seen this translate into bigger international returns for US comedies. Conversely, there are also many comedies from other cultures that have played strongly in the US due to this crosscultural acceptance.”

Evidence of this in 2013 comes from strong territory performances from the likes of The Heat — $13m in Australia and $11m in the UK — and We’re The Millers in Germany ($13m) and Russia ($18m). On the other side, Eugenio Derbez’s Instructions Not Included took $44.4m in the US, almost on a par with its $46m result in its home territory of Mexico, while Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s The Intouchables grossed an excellent $10.2m in the US last year to go with its outstanding international run of over $400m.

Dergarabedian admits that while comedies in general will still have the greatest appeal in their country of origin, this guideline “changes every time a comedy from one culture finds popularity with another”.

Ultimately though, the overseas success of American comedies could come down to a very straightforward element, according to Paramount’s Crawley. “In the case of Anchorman 2, we have the good fortune of having a movie that s stands on its own as a great movie.” ■

December 13, 2013 Screen International 5 ■

Connecting creativity BBC Films head Christine Langan talks to Wendy Mitchell about the company’s upcoming slate and establishing a creative hub of writers, directors, producers and actors to deliver outstanding content

B

BC Films is not the sort of organisation to shout from the rooftops. In fact, the company was almost silent in Cannes this year — no party and no press briefing. That was not a sign of doom and gloom, just a sign that more was in store later in the year.

Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, says: “We had a quiet Cannes — we were keeping our powder dry. Sometimes the Toronto line-up is more expressive of our output. Anyway, our biggest releases were all coming from August onwards, starting with Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. The public and the critics were really enthusiastic and greeted the film very warmly… I’m very excited about the way things have panned out this year — it’s very much what we’d hoped for. Partridge, followed

by Philomena, Saving Mr Banks and The Invisible Woman, early next year.”

While Philomena, The Invisible Woman and Saving Mr Banks stir awards season buzz, A Long Way Down, directed by Pascal Chaumeil, will be released in March.

With its many production partners, BBC Films is in post production on Morgan Matthews’ X Plus Y; What We Did On Our Holiday (from the team behind Outnumbered); Saul Dibb’s Suite Francaise, starring Michelle Williams; Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos, starring Kate Winslet; Thomas Vinterberg’s Far From The Madding Crowd; Israel Horovitz’s My Old Lady, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith; Matthew Warchus’ Pride, starring Bill Nighy; and Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie. Michael Winterbottom’s The Face Of An Angel is shooting now in Italy.

That diverse and busy slate (see page 8) shows the calibre of writers, directors, producers and actors who want to work with BBC Films. “At BBC Films, we hope that we can be a creative hub, connecting people and exploring possibilities,” says Langan. “I believe it’s

n 6 Screen International December 13, 2013

‘You could look at a public funder as a vending machine, but that’s not BBC Films. Not at all’ Christine Langan, BBC Films

strong relationships, and understanding those dynamics, that gets the best work done. It’s a small industry and we’re always looking to renew established talent, bring new talent on and blend talent with the right material.”

That hub approach was central to something like Philomena, which producer Gabrielle ‘Gaby’ Tana — who had worked with Langan on The Duchess and then Coriolanus — brought to BBC Films after Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow acquired the screen rights to Martin Sixsmith’s book about a mother’s search for her son. Coogan wanted to write it,

but needed the right partner; Langan suggested Jeff Pope, who she had worked with on projects at ITV in the past. Coogan and Pope went on to win the best screenplay prize in Venice for their efforts.

“I’ve wanted to work with Jeff Pope again ever since I started at the BBC seven years ago. I loved working with him on Pierrepoint and our TV film, Dirty, Filthy Love. The opportunity hadn’t really presented itself till Steve pitched Philomena. There’s a tremendous satisfaction in nurturing relationships and combinations of talent.

Knowing both Steve and Jeff separately, knowing their skills and a little of what makes them tick, putting them together seemed like a no-brainer. It was easy for me to get Stephen Frears excited about Philomena. Especially as Steve was already in talks with Judi [Dench].

“Philomena coming together meant a great deal to me. My own mother was from Mayo, in Ireland, and would be Philomena’s age if she were still alive — and the similarities don’t stop there!”

Tana also collaborated with BBC Films on The Invisible Woman. Langan remembers BBC Films was developing the project at the time she saw an early cut of Ralph Fiennes’ feature directorial debut Coriolanus. “It occurred to me that he would make the perfect Dickens and that he could follow up the amazing achievement of directing and starring in Coriolanus with doing the same for The Invisible Woman.

“He agreed to direct The Invisible Woman almost straightaway, but it took nearly a year before he would commit to playing Dickens. He had to think really hard about doing both because it’s such a demanding task. He is meticulous and incredibly thoughtful, and he took the challenge very seriously.”

Another BBC Films awards-season contender, Saving Mr Banks, came about when London-based producer Alison Owen came to talk to frequent

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CHRISTINE LANGAN INTERVIEW

just BBC Films’ projects. “I think there is an array of brilliant films this year and I think we are galvanised by the work.”

Connecting with audiences

Far From The Madding Crowd

collaborator Langan about a then-Australian project that was being developed. “We agreed on the potential of the project and decided to develop it together. Alison was very keen on [writer] Kelly Marcel, whose samples were terrific. We backed Kelly and she transformed it.”

Owen led the push in the US, not only getting Disney’s permission to tell the story of Walt Disney convincing author PL Travers to make the film of Mary Poppins, but also getting the studio to come on board to make the film and finance it. “Alison is indomitable and magnificent in taking on the studios — or whoever else,” Langan says. “She is one of our strongest producers. It was a high-stakes game in which Disney had to say ‘yes’ or ‘no dice’. It was an interesting journey and we don’t always get to make movies with a $30m budget.”

An industry backbone BBC Films is one of the key funders in the UK, with an overall annual budget of $18.1m (£11m) — including its overheads. By comparison, Film4 has $24.7m (£15m) annually, not including overheads.

However, it is not just about doling out cash, Langan notes. “You could look at a public funder as a vending machine, but that’s not BBC Films. Not at all. My team are creative and thoughtful, and invest a lot of imagination, time and energy. And we also invest cash.”

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Asked if the pot could grow in future years, Langan is politic. “It would depend on the BBC’s commitment to film. I’m not in a position to increase it myself, but I can make a strong argument for it because I know the public are getting great value for money. A lot of these films wouldn’t happen [without BBC Films funding].

“As linear scheduling recedes, I hope the BBC can make a lot more of its films.

With the growth of digital platforms, film becomes more prominent. Not acquired US fare, but the very unique and individual, rich cultural offering that is British indie film.”

Langan sees the UK finance landscape as healthy, but never easy. “It’s really tough to raise the finance for indie films, usually,” she says. “The recession and a flagging economy haven’t been easy on anyone.” But she sees many bright spots: a robust talent pool in the UK, the invaluable tax credit and committed investors such as BBC Films, Film4 and the BFI. She is also encouraged by the strength of British films in 2013, not

‘With the growth of digital platforms, film becomes more prominent. Not acquired US fare, but the very unique offering that is British indie film’ Christine Langan, BBC Films

Philomena

BBC Films’ offices are now in a corner of the huge Broadcasting House on Portland Place in central London — a small oasis of film folk surrounded by hundreds of TV employees. Indeed, Langan knows that TV and film have to ebb and flow. “I think eventually all of these platforms will converge and the smart thing is to use your talent across the board. Writers like Abi Morgan and Moira Buffini move between the two very happily. It’s about stories and finding the very best form for them.”

With the economics of independent film so tough, she adds, “there’s a growing appetite now for independent producers to make television — the terms of trade are incentivising for building a sustainable business and they feel the grass is greener. It’s ironic: 15 years ago television producers might have aspired to make movies while, now, the traffic is flowing in the opposite direction.”

“Ultimately, they are complementary,” she says, of TV and film. “I think that watching [Scandinavian drama] The Killing might help to expand the taste for foreign film and for reading subtitles. It might take away a perceived wisdom of an audience being lazy and everything needing to be in English.”

Another change in audiences is the growth of the lucrative ‘grey pound’.

BBC Films’ Quartet, directed by Dustin Hoffman, was one project that appealed to older film-goers. “What older audiences are demonstrating is that drama is still theatrically viable. They want engrossing stories, strong characters, emotional engagement and payoff, and they’re a demanding and intelligent audience. Hopefully, that’s a good discipline for film-makers and a lifeline for the less generic, non-tentpole, non-franchise business that is independent film.

“A few years back, there was a real tyranny of the alleged 16-yearold male who was the cinema audience. There’s been something of a reversal in recent times, borne out by films like Philomena. Cinema will always surprise us, however hard we try to shrink the audience taste and behaviour into a predictable formula.” »

December 13, 2013 Screen International 7 ■

Interview Christine Langan

Forthcoming highlights from BBC Films Pride Matthew Warchus directs this 1984-set story about gay and lesbian activists who attempt to support striking miners. The cast features Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West and George MacKay. The buzzy “inspirational comedy” is now in post.

“It is kind of interesting to reflect on hopefully, how far we’ve come [about homophobia] but inconceivable that it was even like that then,” Langan says.

Bill A comedy about how Shakespeare became a writer from the team behind the kids’ TV hit Horrible Histories. To shoot from February 2014 with director Richard Bracewell.

Langan says the “script is in hilariously good shape”.

Brooklyn Bafta-nominated John Crowley will direct Nick Hornby’s adaptation of Colm Toibin’s acclaimed novel, about a young woman who emigrates from Ireland to New York in the 1950s.

Saoirse Ronan leads the cast, which also includes Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters. Lionsgate has UK rights. To shoot in the first half of 2014.

Exhibition Joanna Hogg’s third feature, which world-premiered in Locarno, is about an artist couple coming to terms with selling their home. Artificial Eye has UK rights. Langan says: “I think Joanna is fascinating, and I was keen that she would be seen by a wider audience. It’s a very dry, funny, insightful and unusual film.”

The Face Of An Angel Michael Winterbottom’s Italy-set psychological thriller uses the Amanda Knox case as a very loose jumping-off point in this story, also inspired by Dante. Shooting now, starring Daniel Brühl.

The Falling Dreams Of A Life’s Carol Morley directs this story of a fainting epidemic in 1969. Maisie Williams (Game Of Thrones) stars.

Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Vinterberg takes on the Thomas Hardy classic, with a cast including Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen and Tom Sturridge. Now in post production for Fox Searchlight.

Langan says: “It’s fresh. It’s visceral.

Thomas has been doing an amazing job… It’s got strong performances from a great cast.”

Slight Trick Of The Mind Oscar winner Bill Condon will direct Ian McKellen as a retired Sherlock Holmes in this project financed with Icon/AI. To shoot in spring 2014.

Suite Francaise Gold Daniel Radcliffe will star as British Olympian Sebastian Coe for director James Watkins, working from a script written by Simon Beaufoy. “We are pushing towards a spring shoot next year and it’s incredibly exciting to see James Watkins and Daniel Radcliffe reunited,” Langan says.

The Golden Lady Simon Curtis will shoot the Maria Altmann story written by playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell. Based on the true story of an elderly woman who fought to reclaim paintings by Gustav Klimt that were stolen from her family by the Nazis during the Second World War. To shoot in 2014.

Lilting Intimate drama about a man (Ben Whishaw) who tries to connect with his dead boyfriend’s immigrant mother. This Microwave project is the feature directorial debut of Screen 2013 Star of Tomorrow Hong Khaou.

The film will premiere at Sundance, and Artificial Eye has UK rights.

A Little Chaos Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts star for director Alan Rickman in a story of landscape gardeners competing to design a

n 8 Screen International December 13, 2013

fountain at Versailles for Louis XIV. Lionsgate has UK rights.

A Long Way Down Pascal Chaumeil (Heartbreaker) directs an ensemble cast including Aaron Paul, Pierce Brosnan and Toni Collette in a story (adapted from the Nick Hornby novel) about suicidal strangers who make a pact to stay alive. Lionsgate releases in the UK on March 7. “They’re a really brilliant ensemble,” Langan says.

Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie Brendan O’Carroll’s big-screen adaptation of his hit TV comedy is set in Dublin and is now in post production. It reunites the show’s cast, director Ben Kellett and producer Stephen McCrum.

Universal will release in the UK and Ireland in June 2014.

My Old Lady Playwright Israel Horovitz directs Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Kevin Kline in this Paris-set story.

“I think that Maggie Smith has said it’s the best script she had read in years. It’s a dream cast, sensational actors. It deals in some complex human dynamics, so it’s very thought-provoking and very funny,” Langan says. In post production now.

Suite Francaise EOne, The Weinstein Company and TF1 lead this prestige historical drama directed by Saul Dibb (The Duchess).

Adapted from Irene Nemirovsky’s novel, it is a love story set during the Second World War. Michelle Williams and Matthias Schoenaerts lead the cast. In post production.

Swallows And Amazons Philippa Lowthorpe is attached to direct Andrea Gibb’s adaptation of the classic adventure novel by Arthur Ransome. To shoot in 2014.

X Plus Y Former BBC Films head David M Thompson’s Origin Pictures leads this production, now in post.

Morgan Matthews makes his feature debut with a film inspired by one of his previous documentaries. Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan and newcomer Jo Yang star in the story of a maths genius who doesn’t understand love. Langan says: “Morgan is a really interesting film-maker.”

What We Did On Our Holiday Billy Connolly, David Tennant and Rosamund Pike star in this family road trip story from the creators of the BBC sitcom Outnumbered.

Independent has UK rights.

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INCLUDING

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ANNIE AWARD NomINATIoNS

bEST ANImATED fEATuRE

Dame Helen Mirren is Dean Hardscrabble

Best Animated Film ©2013 Disney/Pixar

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Walesa: Man Of Hope

World champions As the Palm Springs International Film Festival (Jan 3-13) marks 25 years of bringing the best global cinema to California, Jeremy Kay discovers how it has become a key staging post in the awards season

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he Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) heads into its 25th anniversary edition, running from January 3-13, as one of the pre-eminent champions of international cinema and emerging film-makers from around the world.

The festival’s origins go back to the late 1980s when a former household name decided to improve the city’s economic prospects.

“Sonny Bono [then the mayor of Palm Springs] was looking for something to happen in this city in January that would attract tourism,” says PSIFF director Dar­ryl Macdonald.

“The idea of a festival came up in 1988. At that time there weren’t many film festivals in the US, and because I had been one of the founders of the Seattle Film Festival in 1975 [my name came up] when Sonny talked to Jeanette Paulson [founding director at the Hawaii International Film Festival].”

Macdonald joined as director of programming and oversaw a calibre of film selection that rapidly established

n 10 Screen International December 13, 2013

PSIFF as a staunch advocate of films from both the US and further afield.

“My bent had always been international cinema, although the currency of the realm at the time was [US] independent pictures,” says Macdonald. “In that year, in 1989, Sundance came into its own with Sex, Lies, And Videotape and a lot of US festivals were cropping up in that mode.

“So from that point on I stressed international cinema and that is the road we went down that first year, and the festival was successful beyond anybody’s wildest dreams. Attendance reached 17,500, which was quite a shock for it to immediately take off like that.”

International success Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso screened at the inaugural festival in 1990, where it won the audience award and, a little while after that, the Oscar for best foreign-language film.

“That success with awards credibility coupled with the outstanding success in attracting an audience got the festival off

‘From the start, I stressed international cinema, and the festival was successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams’ Darryl Macdonald, PSIFF director

to a healthy launch and set the tone of what was to follow,” says Macdonald.

The second festival opened with the US premiere of Yves Robert’s My Father’s Glory and screened, among others, US premieres of Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita and Margarethe von Trotta’s L’Africana. “It also featured the festival’s first New Directors Showcase, focusing on the first or second features of then relatively unknown talents such as Thaddeus O’Sullivan, Eric Rochant, Beeban Kidron and Pavel Lounguine, among others,” says Macdonald.

“It was a successful year, attracting a much larger number of industry participants, Los Angeles-based press and film-makers than the first year, while attendance jumped by 30% to 22,500.”

The stage was set and in successive years PSIFF screened world, North American and US premieres of work by leading international directors including Mike Newell’s Enchanted April, ­Steven Soderbergh’s sophomore film Kafka and Alfonso Cuaron’s Love In The Time Of Hysteria.

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Palm Springs festival focus

Over the years PSIFF has become an indicator of foreign-language Oscar success with a number of its audience award winners going on to scoop the prize. January will feature plenty of this season’s submissions as well as a special anniversary section called Deja View to showcase some of the greats down the years, including Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Florian Henckel von Don­ners­ marck’s The Lives Of Others, Yojiro Takita’s Departures and of course Cinema Paradiso. Deja View will also celebrate early work from Cuaron and others who went on to global recognition, such as M Night Shyamalan’s Praying With Anger and John Madden’s Ethan Frome.

Running the show Macdonald left after four years to start the Hamptons International Film Festival. He eventually returned to the West Coast to build a year-round film programme at Seattle and was lured back to Palm Springs as festival director by PSIFF chairman Harold Matzner in 2004 following a decade’s absence.

Artistic director Helen du Toit also started out at PSIFF in the early years, working in hospitality. She too left for 10 years to serve at festivals in Vancouver, Seattle, Edinburgh and Toronto before returning. She is also a producer and runs the Toronto Talent Lab. “I took over as artistic director five or six years ago,” says du Toit. “The foreign-language section is very important to me and we now curate the section, rather than accept every submission.”

This year’s picks include The Rocket from Australia, Walesa: Man Of Hope from Poland, Bethlehem from Israel and dozens more. “We have a lot of Academy members here and we want to give them a chance of seeing the strongest submissions,” she adds. “Publicists see Palm Springs as a key plank in their publicity campaign.”

This is also true for the annual awards gala, which provides an opportunity to fete some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The glitzy show has become an essential staging post in the studios’ Oscar campaigns. This year’s honorees will include Julia Roberts, Bruce Dern, Sandra Bullock and Steve McQueen.

But it’s not just about awards. “As an independent producer I love spotting new talent,” says du Toit. “New Voices/ New Visions is my baby. We have been trying to help these film-makers find a

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filmmakers’ forum

Medeas

way into the market. About five years ago we switched it up so the jury exclusively comprises US distributors so we can ensure they are tracking — and hopefully buying — these new films.”

The 2014 selection will feature, among others, Left Foot Right Foot (Switzerland-France) by Germinal Roaux, Patch Town (Canada) by Craig Goodwill and Benedikt Erlingsson’s ­Icelandic Oscar submission Of Horses And Men. The roster also includes the North American premiere of Medeas (US-Italy-Mexico), which recently earned Andrea Pallaoro best director at the Marrakech International Film Festival and so affected du Toit and Macdonald that they arranged a screening for US buyers in New York.

Canadian club The 25th anniversary festival will feature the Oh! Canada tribute to the territory, which du Toit notes is producing a rich vein of work. Entries include Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy, The Grand Seduction by Don McKellar, Sarah Prefers To Run by Chloé Robichaud, foreign-language Oscar submission Gabrielle by Louise Archambault and Richie Mehta’s Siddarth (India-Canada).

Last but not least, du Toit echoes Macdonald’s praise for the strength of the PSIFF programmers. Carl Spence is the lead programmer — as du Toit says, “Carl, Darryl and I are generalists” — while Iberoamerican programmer Hebe Tabachnik oversees Cine Latino and senior programmer Alissa Simon specialises in the Middle East. Therese Hayes covers India and Asia and programming co-ordinator Ken Jacobson oversees documentary.

The generalists have marshalled a winning team that shows no sign of flagging as they move on to the next s milestone in the festival’s history. n

’Publicists see Palm Springs as a key plank in their Academy campaign’ Helen du Toit, PSIFF artistic director

Now in its fourth year, PSIFF’s Filmmakers’ Forum presented in partnership with the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands takes place over a couple of days before the festival.

The venue is on the Rancho Mirage estate of the late philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenberg. “[The retreat] came about because over the years we spoke to filmmakers who said the experience of travelling to festivals and living in hotels could be lonely,” says du Toit.

The event includes a cocktail evening as well as a series of more structured sessions.

“The main thrust of this is for filmmakers to be able to speak candidly about their work,” du Toit says. “Last year we had somebody saying one of the things they found difficult was directing sex scenes and everybody had something to say about that. Or they’d talk about how to direct crowd scenes or keep your crew inspired.

“Two years ago we had a conversation with Arab film-makers and it was fascinating to hear about how they’re perceived by others as one big Arab group, when they all hail from different countries and cultures.

“Directors rarely get the chance to talk candidly with each other so that’s a very important part of it. They all become great friends and travel like a pack to festivals around the world.

“This year we’re partnering with the World Bank which is bringing Marc Forster to talk. He is interested in environmental issues and we are looking to bring other people with films at the festival whose films have something to do with climate change.”

PSIFF’s Filmmakers’ Forum in 2013

December 13, 2013 Screen International 11 n

production palestine

Against the odds Despite huge challenges, Palestinian film-makers, led by Hany Abu-Assad and Annemarie Jacir, are taking the international festival circuit by storm. Melanie Goodfellow reports

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heir statehood contested, economy in the doldrums, foreign aid on the wane and citizens scattered across the globe, the situation for Palestinians is critical. But against these odds, their film-making community has never been so productive or visible on the international scene.

“There is a tremendous need for Palestinians to express themselves, their frustrations and their hopes,” says Hany Abu-Assad, the director of Omar, the Cannes sensation and Dubai International Film Festival’s opening film.

“Their politicians have failed to improve their lives or free them from the occupation and the world has forgotten them even though the situation hasn’t got any better.”

Omar is the story of a young Palestinian militant facing tough decisions in a life lived under occupation. It won the Special Jury prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year.

Short film Condom Lead from Gazaborn twins Ahmed and Mohamed Abu Nasser (aka Tarzan and Arab), about a couple trying to make love during an Israeli lockdown of the Gaza Strip, also screened at Cannes. “They were the only two Arab films in Official Selection,” says Jordan-based Palestinian producer Rashid Abdelhamid of arts initiative Made in Palestine Project.

Rashid Masharawi’s Ramallah-shot Palestine Stereo, a drama about two brothers trying to emigrate to Canada, and Rani Massalha’s Giraffada, set in the only zoo in the West Bank, played to critical acclaim at Toronto. Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You and Mahdi Fleifel’s documentary A World Not Ours have also been picking up prizes on the festival circuit over the past year.

Producing challenges While Palestine’s cinematic reach has expanded, the logistics of pulling together a Palestinian production have never been harder. “Just because there’s this driving need, that doesn’t make it any easier,” says Abu-Assad. “In fact, it’s

n 12 Screen International December 13, 2013

When I Saw You

Giraffada

more difficult than ever. Beyond the usual financial challenges facing independent film-makers the world over, there’s no infrastructure and being under occupation and not being recognised as a country makes it impossible to build one. My cameraman supplements his income working as a salesman in between films.”

“There’s definitely something of a film-making scene in Ramallah at the moment but it’s still sort of a miracle when we manage to pull off a prod­ uction,” adds The Forgotten producer May Odeh.

Earlier this year, Abu-Assad suggested creating an independent Pales-

‘[Having local producers] is absolutely necessary in order to have an independent film industry’ Annemarie Jacir

tinian studio in the vein of Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope in the 1960s. Abu-Assad believes the only way forward for Palestinian cinema is for its citizens to get behind their films. “I’m not nationalistic. I just think it’s important that Palestinians support their filmmakers too,” he says.

Around 95% of Omar’s budget came from Palestinian sources — mainly the entrepreneurial Zuaiter family and Zahi Khouri, CEO of the Coca-Cola franchise in the West Bank and Gaza — with 5% provided by Dubai’s Enjaaz fund. The challenge now, says Abu-Assad, is recouping the money to encourage other Palestinian financiers. “If we want others to come forward, we need to show some returns,” he says.

The producers of Jacir’s When I Saw You were all Palestinian, encouraged by her previous film Salt Of This Sea. “It was quite special and remarkable, especially as Salt Of This Sea had almost no Arab support,” says Jacir. “They said this was embarrassing and wanted to change things. This approach is absolutely necessary in order to have a truly » independent film industry.”

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PRODUCTION PALESTINE

Abu-Assad is also considering crowdfunding on his next two productions: Khoury’s The Flag and his own film, Lamya. He will not be the first Palestinian director to do so. Jacir raised some $10,000 via the Dubai-based crowdfunding site Aflamnah to help roll out the film internationally, and Jinan Coulter pulled in around $20,000 for her documentary Searching For Saris through the same site. “Jinan ran an amazing campaign, reaching out personally to people in her inner and outer circle to get them on board,” says Vida Rizq, the founder of Aflamnah.

Ghada Terawi’s documentary The Forgotten, meanwhile, has managed to secure a small amount of support — roughly $20,000 — from national Palestinian TV. “It’s not much. They don’t have huge resources but there’s a realisation that we need to start telling our own stories,” says Terawi.

International investment Most Palestinian film-makers, however, still turn to foreign financiers, mainly from Europe and increasingly from the Gulf. Massalha’s Giraffada was a Palestine-France-Italy-Germany co-production between Paris-based Mact Productions, Milan-based Lumiere & Co and Heimatfilm from Munich.

Ramallah-based Masharawi’s Palestine Stereo was financed by backers from seven countries including Gaza Media Centre, France’s Mille et Une Prods, Norway’s Ape & Bjorn, Dubai Entertainment and Media Organisation, Film Market Initiative and Produzione Straordinaria with a host of state and institutional funds including France’s National Cinema Centre, Dubai’s Enjaaz fund and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

“It took us a year and a half to raise the $1.5m budget,” says Habib Attia of Tunis-based Cinetelefilms, which produced the film alongside Masharawi and Abdel Salam Abu Askar’s Ramallah-based Cinepal. “We do what I call mosaic financing, pulling together as many sources of finance as possible,” he explains.

“It’s a reality for all independent productions from the region. One of the advantages of working with lots of international A World Not Ours

■ 14 Screen International December 13, 2013

Condom Lead

partners is they then help raise awareness of the film and support its release in their territories.”

French producer Palmyre Badinier — who splits time between Ramallah and Paris — is taking a similar approach for her partner Raed Andoni’s next film, Ghost Hunting. “We’ve got support from France’s Centre Region and Abu Dhabi’s Sanad, and are setting up a co-production between France, Palestine and Switzerland,” she says. “It’s taking time but it’s slowly coming together.”

Ahmed and Mohamed Abu Nasser and producer Abdelhamid shot their

‘One advantage of international partners is they help support the film’s release in their territories’ Habib Attia, Cinetelefilms

short film Condom Lead on a shoestring in just 24 hours. They are now trying to piece together a budget for their feature Casting with the support of French coproducers Thomas Anargyros and Edouard de Vésinne of Paris-based Incognita Films.

Being a Palestinian film-maker presents a unique challenge: as they have Gaza IDs, rather than West Bank, it is impossible for the Nassers and Abdelhamid to meet other Palestinian filmmakers in Ramallah or Nazareth. “We meet up at festivals or when they come s to Jordan,” says Abdelhamid. ■

NEW PALESTINIAN PROJECTS Ghost Hunting Dir Raed Andoni Docu-drama about a Palestinian prisoner’s interrogation at an Israeli detention centre.

Contact Palmyre Badinier palmyre@ zayna.fr Men In The Sun Dir Mahdi Fleifel Black comedy following two illegal Palestinian immigrants trying to survive in Athens.

Contact Signe Byrge Sorensen byrge@final-cut.dk Lamya Dir Hany Abu-Assad A young girl goes in search of the mother

who abandoned her.

Contact Hany Abu-Assad h.abuassad@ gmail.com Gaza D.C. Dir Rashid Masharawi A US activist and a Palestinian refugee fall in love in the Gaza Strip.

Contact Habib Attia mh.attia@ cinetelefilms.net The Forgotten Dir Ghada Terawi Documentary about Japanese activist Kozo Okamoto, who spent years in Israeli jails for his role in the Lod Airport killings in support of Palestinian liberation.

Contact May Odeh may.odeh@gmail.com

Ayla Dir Annemarie Jacir A Palestinian journalist living in the West Bank confronts her demons.

Contact Annemarie Jacir annemarie.jacir@ gmail.com The Flag Dir Firas Khoury Coming-of-age tale about teens who try to swap their school’s Israeli flag with one from Palestine.

Contact Hany Abu-Assad h.abuassad@ gmail.com Casting Dirs Ahmed and Mohamed Abu Nasser A comedy about a director trying to make a film in Gaza, capturing the

absurdities of life there.

Contact Rashid Abdelhamid rashid. abdelhamid@gmail.com The Eyes Of A Thief Dir Najwa Najjar A Palestinian man tries to reconnect with his daughter after a decade in an Israeli prison.

Contact Najwa Najjar najjarnajwa@gmail.com Sharon And My Mother-In-Law Dir Cherien Dabis Adaptation of Suad Amiry’s wry account of life in Ramallah during the Israeli reoccupation in 2002.

Contact Cherien Dabis cheriendabis@ mac.com

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DAILY TELEGRAPH

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“IDRIS ELBA GIVES A TOWERING PERFORMANCE, A MANDELA FOR THE AGES” VARIETY

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THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE WORLD

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PROUDLY PRESENTS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION “FREARS’ BEST FILM SINCE ‘THE QUEEN’…SIDESPLITTING AND HEARTBREAKING” Kate Muir, The Times

“COOGAN DELIVERS AN ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE” Matthew Bond, Mail on Sunday

“DENCH…SHE’S PURELY WONDERFUL” Xan Brooks, Observer

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Inspired by the true story of a search for a lost son

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10/12/2013 17:08

Production report Trash

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ultures are circling over the dump, but they know something is not quite as it should be, since there are not the usual smells of death and decay enticing them down to earth.

“Stephen [Daldry] is such a stickler for authenticity, but we realised that we couldn’t put the three young protagonists and our other actors and crew in a real dump,” recalls Kris Thykier, founder of London-based PeaPie Films, who is co-producing British director Daldry’s latest feature, Trash, together with the UK’s Working Title Films and Brazil’s O2 Filmes.

“It was quite an engineering feat finding a disused quarry, digging it out and bringing in 2,000 cubic metres of clean trash, as well as creating an artificial river and lake for a slum on stilts,” Thykier tells Screen during a set visit in October.

Next to the dump in the neighbourhood of Jacarepagua, two houses doubled up as those of a young NGO worker (played by Rooney Mara) and a Catholic missionary (Martin Sheen), while the team turned a warehouse building into a studio for interiors of a disused hydroelectric plant.

Billed as a contemporary thriller, Trash is based on Andy Mulligan’s novel about three boys living and working on a rubbish dump, who discover a wallet with a treasure map inside it, which leads them on an adventure.

Thykier had come across Mulligan’s book four years ago, acquiring the rights before it had been published and recruiting Richard Curtis to adapt the screenplay and Daldry to direct. “The book itself is set in an imaginary ­country, so one of the challenges was to land it somewhere. Mulligan had taught in Brazil, India and the Philippines, and if you read the book, you see influences from all three countries,” explains ­Thykier.

After deciding on Rio as the setting, Thykier set about looking for a local Brazilian production partner, which he found in the form of Andrea Barata Ribeiro and Fernando Meirelles’ O2 Filmes. They introduced him to a local “network of people who were creatively brilliant”. Almost all of the crew were Brazilian and the Brazilian cast includes Wagner Moura and Selton Mello.

One of the biggest challenges was finding the film’s three young protagonists. “We were going into uncharted

n 16 Screen International December 13, 2013

Director Stephen Daldry (centre) on set with Martin Sheen (left) and Rooney Mara

Top of the heap Stephen Daldry’s Trash built an enormous dump filled with fake rubbish.

Martin Blaney visited the set on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro territory because Stephen’s vision of the film meant he wanted non-acting, real kids,” says Thykier.

The three non-professional actors recruited — Rickson Tevez, Eduardo Luis and Gabriel Weinstein — were whittled down from 10,000 boys seen in a large-scale casting campaign throughout Rio. “They have never had a stable home life or discipline, and they hardly go to school. They are highly unpredictable, so we were unsure how they would react to the discipline of turning up at the set every day,” says Thykier, who admits that while “it’s not been a walk in the park, they have been so good that it’s been worth it, and I would be surprised if Rickson and Gabriel, in particular, didn’t continue careers as actors”.

Since the UK-Brazilian co-production treaty has still not been ratified, the film’s producers opted for a “triangular relationship”, as O2 Filmes’ Barata Ribeiro explains, with a 50-25-25 split

‘We were going into uncharted territory because Stephen’s vision of the film meant he wanted nonacting, real kids’ Kris Thykier, PeaPie Films

on the $12m budget between Working Title, O2 and Universal Pictures’ German-based production arm. The project is evidence of Universal’s increasing involvement in production in local markets such as Germany and Brazil; it will distribute worldwide in 2014.

The Brazilian-German side was regulated by Ancine and the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), while BAFA and the UK’s British Film Institute (BFI) — which has identified Brazil as a “priority territory” for co-productions — could recognise the German-UK side through the European Convention on Cinematic Co-Production.

While the producers were “disappointed” in not being awarded any funding by the local RioFilme fund, Trash received logistical support from the Rio Film Commission. Barata Ribeiro says: “Its doors were always open and we have locations that were, s until only recently, no-go areas.” n

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AWARDS COUNTDOWN Metro Manila comes out on top at BIFAs Philippines-set crime thriller Metro Manila scooped the top prize at the 16th Moet British Independent Film Awards in London on December 8, beating box office hit Philomena as well as The Selfish Giant, Starred Up and Le Week-End. Metro Manila led the pack on the night with three wins including best British independent film, best director for Sean Ellis and best achievement in production.

Clearly stunned, Ellis thanked BIFA for supporting “our little holiday film” when accepting the best film prize. Metro Manila is the UK’s submission for the foreign-language Oscar category.

Lindsay Duncan won best actress for Roger Michell’s Le Week-End, while James McAvoy won best actor for Filth. Imogen Poots took home the best supporting actress award for Michael Winterbottom’s The Look Of Love, while Ben Mendelsohn picked up the best supporting actor prize for Starred Up. Screen International Star of Tomorrow Chloe Pirrie won most promising newcomer for her role in Shell, while For Those In Peril director Paul Wright won the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director. Steven Knight picked up the best screenplay prize for Locke, while Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant won best technical achievement with Amy Hubbard recognised for casting the film.

Sean Ellis

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ADG honour for Scorsese

Best actor winner Toni Servillo and presenter Diane Kruger

Martin Scorsese will receive the Art Directors Guild’s highest honour, the cinematic imagery award, at the 18th annual Art Directors Guild’s Excellence in Production Design awards.

The veteran director, in the awards season mix with his latest film The Wolf Of Wall Street, will collect the award on February 8.

Previous recipients include the production designers on the James Bond franchise, the principal team behind the Harry Potter films, Bill Taylor, Syd Dutton, Warren Beatty, Terry Gilliam, Ray Harryhausen and Zhang Yimou.

Beauty is big winner at EFAs Paulo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty picked up four prizes at the 26th European Film Awards (EFAs) in Berlin on December 7, winning silver statuettes for film, director, actor for Toni Servillo, and editor for Cristiano Travaglioli. The film is Italy’s foreign-language Oscar entry.

Ennio Morricone received the composer statuette for Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Best Offer and was given a standing ovation — also accorded to Pedro Almodovar and Catherine Deneuve, who were honoured with the achievement in world cinema and EFA’s lifetime achievement award respectively.

Belgian cinema — nominated in six categories with Felix van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Break-

down — took home the European actress prize for Breakdown’s Veerle Baetens and short film for Tom Van Avermaet’s Death Of A Shadow.

The screenwriter prize went to Francois Ozon for In The House, while Ari Folman’s The Congress won animated feature. The Act Of Killing took the documentary award while Romanian producer Ada Solomon won this year’s Prix Eurimages for European co-production.

An innovation this year was the introduction of a new comedy category, which was won by Susanne Bier’s Love Is All You Need.

Portuguese film The Gilded Cage was voted as the winner of the People’s Choice Award for best European film.

Jonze and Her favourites with NBR voters Spike Jonze’s Her topped the National Board of Review’s annual vote, being named best film with Jonze as best director.

The NBR also gave best acting awards to Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Emma Thompson for Saving Mr Banks. Fruitvale Station took supporting actress honours for Octavia Spencer, breakthrough actor for Michael B Jordan and directorial debut for Ryan Coogler.

Will Forte won best supporting actor for Nebraska.

VFX Oscar shortlist named WFTV awards Ten films remain in the running for Smith, Harris the visual effects Oscar that will be handed out at the 86th Academy Awa rd s o n Ma rc h 2 , 2 0 14 .

They are: Elysium; Gravity; The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug; Iron Man 3; The Lone Ranger; Oblivion; Star Trek Into Darkness; Thor: The Dark World; Pacific Rim; and World War Z. All members of the visual effects branch will be invited to view

Gravity

10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on January 9, 2014.

Their five nominations will be announced on January 16.

Actress Sheridan Smith, producer Pippa Harris, and director Penny Woolcock were among the honorees at the 23rd annual Sky Women in Film and TV Awards on December 6 in London. The 2013 EON Lifetime Achievement award went to broadcaster Angela Rippon. Nearly 1,000 industry guests were in attendance at the Park Lane Hilton in London.

December 13, 2013 Screen International 17 ■

AWARDS COUNTDOWN bAFTA

Brits putting on the glitz The EE British Academy Film Awards are a cornerstone of the awards season. Andreas Wiseman looks at how the Baftas keep a British flavour while growing globally

“W

e have earned our place in the awards calendar,” says Bafta CEO Amanda Berry, who recently topped a media list of the UK film industry’s most innovative and influential people and is widely acknowledged to have transformed the Baftas into an awards season cornerstone. “While the ingredients can be similar, what we’re producing is quite different [to other key awards shows].

We are respected internationally while retaining a British identity. Our profile continues to grow.”

Its slot before Oscar night remains vital for the Bafta awards. The ceremony takes place this season on Sunday February 16, at the Royal Opera House in London, retaining a two-week cushion before the Academy Awards, which have moved to a later date in 2014 — March 2 — to avoid the Winter Olympics.

Bafta will announce its nominations one week before the Oscars on January 8, giving nominees more breathing room than in 2013 when there was only one day between the Bafta and Oscar announce­ments. However, this proved to be an unexpected boon. “We got a lot of buzz from the nominations being so close last year,” says Berry. “I think we benefited. We didn’t get lost; we became part of the story.”

Berry and the film team report a bumper crop of hopefuls, with 275 films entered this year. “That’s at the top end of what we normally get,” explains Deena Wallace, Bafta’s head of film. “There have been 252 external screenings already this year [as of November 28]. That’s almost 20 more than last year.”

After making a number of tweaks to its voting procedures last year the film committee carried out fewer structural

n 18 Screen International December 13, 2013

changes in 2014. “We’ve had a lot of good feedback from members regarding last year’s changes to chapter voting,” ­Wallace says. “We don’t like to make changes for the sake of it but there are often small changes the committee thinks are important.”

The biggest change to this year’s ­format is an additional nomination in the outstanding British film category, which will remain voted for by chapter [groups made up of members with specific expertise in a field] — but will also add a jury who will select a sixth nomination. “The principle behind that is to make sure the category is representing the full breadth of UK cinema, from a Les Misérables-type film to a much smaller indie,” Wallace says.

Bafta will also recognise five films in the documentary category, rather than the usual three.

Pace and glamour The glamour of the Bafta ceremony itself continues to belie its budget. Without a choreographer or show-runner and a budget of only $3.3m (£2m) — compared with the Oscars, which operates on a budget of around $40m — the event continues to hold its own.

TV audiences continue to grow, helped by Bafta’s ability to attract major international stars, which this year included Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard, Ben Affleck and Daniel Day-Lewis.

In 2001 the ceremony was transmitted only in the UK; last year it was acquired for broadcast in more than 130 territories globally.

With 26 categories to get through, pace remains key for TV audiences and guests on the night: “The Americans that

Key bafta dates December 11 Round one voting opened December 19 Screening deadline for ‘qualified’ films 2014 January 3 Round one voting closes January 8 Nominations announcement; round two voting opens February 12 Round two voting closes February 14 Deadline for all entered films to have opened for general release February 15 Nominees’ party February 16 EE British Academy Film Awards

see the show think ours is fast in c­ omparison,” says Berry. “They feel it has pace.” The Oscars broadcast often runs beyond three hours, compared with about two hours 20 minutes for Bafta.

“The ceremony has to work in the room on the night but also in the rooms of millions of viewers watching on TV,” Berry continues. “That’s not always an easy thing to do. You have to pay proper respect to the guests in the auditorium while also making it interesting and engaging for the audience at home.”

Guiding the ceremony this year will be Stephen Fry, returning for his ninth year.

In recent years, Golden Globes and Oscar hosts Ricky Gervais and Seth MacFarlane have rewritten the script for other awards with edgy and controversial humour. Do audiences expect to be shocked by their hosts nowadays? “I’m not sure they do,” says Wallace. “What you get with Stephen Fry is wit and erudition with a little naughtiness thrown

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Bafta/ Simon Leigh/ Stephen Butler/ Tricia de Courcy Ling

The EE British Academy Film Awards in 2013.

Top right and right: guests arriving at the Royal Opera House for the ceremony

in. Stephen doesn’t go out for shocks, he’s more celebratory and has a real passion for film. He eschews cynicism and it comes from a more genuine place.”

“Stephen understands his role in the evening,” adds Berry. “The audience respect him because he is a film-maker and actor.”

Last year, more than ever, the Oscar ceremony resembled a Broadway revue.

Berry and Wallace see the merits of musical numbers and singer Paloma Faith impressed last year: “We’ve done an opening number in recent years. That has worked well for us. We’ve tried to do something a little bit different and not announce it before so it’s a surprise on the night. It’s quite a difficult thing to find the right artist and song because you don’t want to be promoting one film over another film,” says Berry.

“But the Oscars have weeks of rehearsal in the venue,” adds the former agent, who was awarded an OBE in

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2009. “We get in at midnight the night before. We run the show from beginning to end without breaks. We don’t change the set during the show — our budget wouldn’t allow us to — let alone timing.

But that also means our show has an energy, which people really enjoy.”

Also making headlines in Los Angeles last year was the use of the Jaws score to drown out too-long acceptance speeches.

The UK is far too polite for that. “We ask everyone to keep their speeches short but we’re not going to cut anyone off,” says Berry. “That’s their big moment. Sometimes there’s some frantic editing needed in the trucks but we don’t have space or budget for an orchestra anyway so we’ve got no plans to introduce that.”

Brand building And as the film awards ceremony itself becomes ever more of a staple, Bafta the charity has been able to strengthen its footprint in the UK and beyond. (Bafta

‘We ask guests to keep their speeches short but we’re not going to cut anyone off’ Amanda Berry, Bafta

also holds television, television craft, games and children’s awards shows and awards in Wales and Scotland, as well as the Britannia Awards, produced

by Bafta LA.) “We’re more joined up now,” says Berry. “We’re doing 250 events a year. We run scholarships, mentoring and Q&As. The shorts from 2013 have been on a nationwide tour and to Hong Kong. Over and above the ceremony, we’re building the brand throughout the year. We’re more accessible to the public.”

Exemplifying Bafta’s global push is the recent launch of Bafta Asia, which includes a series of events in Hong Kong, and the setting up of an advisory board to oversee its charitable work on the ­continent.

Despite Bafta’s international expansion the film awards remain its most glamorous event. And with a healthy mix of British, US and international ingredis ents, the recipe remains in demand. n

December 13, 2013 Screen International 19 n

AWARDS COUNTDOWN Oscar Isaac

Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis

n 20 Screen International December 13, 2013

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Guitar hero Oscar Isaac is one of 2013’s breakout stars for his role as the titular conflicted musician in the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis. He talks to Jeremy Kay

I

nside Llewyn Davis star Oscar Isaac studied performing arts at the venerable Juilliard School and had been an accomplished musician for 20 years — but his guitar re-education would come from the unlikeliest source.

It was summer 2011 and the affable performer was in Long Island, New York, shooting the indie caper Revenge For Jolly!.

He had landed a second audition for the Coen brothers’ new film and whenever he could, Isaac would practise the intricate Travis guitar-picking technique required for the eponymous lead role based on the lauded folk musician Dave Van Ronk.

“In between takes [of Jolly!] there was this guy playing in a bar and he picks up a guitar and starts playing in exactly that style — flawlessly,” says Isaac. “Just amazing. One of the best I’ve ever heard.

So I go over to him and ask him what his story is and he says he’s been living here for a long time. I told him I was auditioning for this movie, and he says he played with Dave.”

The man’s name was Erik Frandsen and before long, Isaac was taking lessons at his new friend’s home in Manhattan’s MacDougal Street, coincidentally the thoroughfare that inspired the title of Van Ronk’s memoir, The Mayor Of MacDougal Street.

Isaac recalls an early encounter and chuckles. “He asked how long I’d played and I said 20 years, and he said: ‘Nah. You’ve owned a guitar for 20 years.

You’ve been playing for maybe six months.’ And I was like, ‘Fair enough, fair enough.’”

Over time, Isaac grew more familiar with Travis-style picking and that helped enormously by the time he began his tutelage with another master, executive music producer and frequent Coens collaborator, T Bone Burnett.

“We found my guitar, which is this beautiful 1924 L1 [Gibson] and [Burnett] would listen to me play and help

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me loosen up — he just steeped me in a lot of that music. It was very organic. It was never dictated as to how to play. It was just more about stripping away,” the actor remembers.

The entirely fictitious Llewyn Davis prowls Greenwich Village in 1961 — the same year that Bob Dylan burst onto the scene — and embodies the essence of folk singer-songwriters of the time, such as Van Ronk, who cherished the ­heritage of old blues recordings from the 1920s.

Van Ronk died in 2002 but in order to get a sense of the man, Isaac met his widow, Andrea Vuocolo Van Ronk, who visited the set of Inside Llewyn Davis several times. He also spoke with The Mayor Of MacDougal Street co-author Elijah Wald.

Tuned into history “I grew up listening to Dylan but I didn’t know about this time before,” says Isaac. “You had these guys, these folk artists, who would find all these old songs and curate them and present them. So Llewyn is stuck in a place where all he does is play old songs and he doesn’t make new songs, so what is he supposed to do? Is he supposed to change and make novelty songs to make a living?

“Then Bob Dylan comes in and synthesises what the Beat poets are doing

‘There’s zero vanity with the Coens… They set the stage for people to do their best work’ Oscar Isaac

with what the folk artists are doing. He starts writing poetry and putting it to old music. Whereas characters like Llewyn are preserving these old songs, rearranging them.”

Isaac sought out the Coens when he heard about the film and was not ­d isappointed working with them.

“They’re so darkly humorous but also childlike in their wonder and the mystery of existence. There’s zero vanity with them,” he adds.

“There’s no pretence. They are what they are — I imagine them with berets in the Village as beatniks. They’re so cool and relaxed and just not interested in any games. They set the stage for people to do their best work. It’s the most relaxed environment I’ve ever been in so far as an actor.”

Guatemala-born, Miami-raised Isaac stood out in roles in Drive and W.E., but Inside Llewyn Davis has opened “a bunch of doors” for Isaac — for instance, he is set to star opposite Jessica Chastain in JC Chandor’s period drama A Most Violent Year. He will also take away the experience of the brothers not giving many compliments.

“What’s great about that is… you’re no longer looking for approval every take,” says Isaac. “You’re actually just doing the work. It makes you less square. You’re not so needy; you’re just s doing the work.” n

December 13, 2013 Screen International 21 n

AWARDS COUNTDOWN captain philLips

Captain Phillips: the actors playing the Somali pirates were recruited from the Somali community in Minnesota

n 22 Screen International December 13, 2013

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High seas adventure Jeremy Kay talks to the team behind Captain Phillips about the challenges and rewards of recreating a real-life drama for the big screen

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s producers Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti watched the April 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama unfold on TV, they were struck by the same thought.

Events on board the US cargo ship were ripe for the Hollywood treatment, but there was no knowing what might happen when Captain Richard Phillips was made to board a tiny lifeboat with his four gun-toting Somali captors.

“I didn’t think it was going to end well and I told Mike that wasn’t a movie I wanted to make, and he agreed,” says Brunetti, who along with De Luca and fellow Captain Phillips producer Scott Rudin had earned a best picture Oscar nomination for The Social Network.

Eventually the sinuous four-day ordeal shifted course again and ended triumphantly. US Navy SEALs rescued Capt Phillips in a swift conclusion that resulted in the death of three pirates and the imprisonment of their ringleader, Muse.

“As that rescue operation was going on, we were on the phone and wanted to do it [as a film],” says Brunetti. “We quickly jumped on to it and found a contact for the Phillips family.

“We got in touch with Maersk and met the company representative in New York. Once Phillips got back to Vermont we wanted to meet him, but Mike [De Luca] couldn’t do it, so I called my producing partner at Trigger Street [Productions], Kevin Spacey. He was in London and jumped on a plane and we went to dinner with Phillips and his family. [Phillips] still had bruises on his wrists from being bound,” says Brunetti. “People asked: ‘You went in that

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‘Richard Phillips is very, very down to earth and was concerned that the story get told with integrity’ Mike De Luca

fast?’ but if we hadn’t, someone else would have.”

“Richard is such a humble guy,” says De Luca. “His initial reaction was: ‘Are you sure you want to make a movie about this? Will anyone care? I’m not the hero. The SEALs are the heroes.’

He’s very, very down to earth and was concerned that the story get told with integrity.”

Phillips held off on signing away his life rights until he had finished A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs And Dangerous Days At Sea, a book of the account co-written with Stephan Talty that would be published in 2010.

“He promised to come back to us after his book was completed and he did,” says De Luca. “So we set the book up at Sony and went about trying to get a writer and director. Dana and I both have deals at Sony so we brought it to Doug Belgrad [president of Columbia Pictures] and executive vice-president of production Elizabeth Cantillon, our executives on The Social Network.”

[De Luca is now joining Sony as Columbia Pictures’ president of ­production.]

The ship crews up De Luca went out to screenwriter Billy Ray (State Of Play, The Hunger Games), someone he had worked with before and held in high esteem. It was an open assignment and Ray created a compelling vision that landed the job.

“In my head I was writing this movie for [Tom] Hanks before he was cast,” says Ray. “You write about a fantastic actor and you never get them, but in this case I did. I pictured that movie with »

December 13, 2013 Screen International 23 n

AWARDS COUNTDOWN CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

nobody else in the role — it’s impossible.

When he signed on, it was a mountaintop moment.”

Hanks came on board to star in the title role and Paul Greengrass agreed to direct after he read Ray’s first draft.

“We played around with certain things,” says De Luca. “There was a draft where Billy opened the movie at the moment of Phillips’ escape attempt on the lifeboat and flashed back to the beginning of that day. There were a few drafts that emphasised what was going on back home and cut back to Phillips’ family getting news of the incident.

With the shooting script and the cutting of it, it became more urgent and once we were with Phillips, we stayed with him in the theatre of the incident.”

“There was so much drama going on in that house [during the incident] it seemed odd not to use it as a way of showing a bit more of Phillips,” says Ray. “Paul was interested in exploring scenes at the time that were taking place at the Pentagon. So there were versions of all those scenes.”

Ultimately, it was Hanks who suggested they keep the focus on the lifeboat, charting a course for the final version of Captain Phillips that has gone on to gross more than $100m in North America and almost as much internationally.

“It’s funny when you make big calls on films,” says Greengrass. “You very often feel a sense of release afterwards.

That’s when you know you’ve done something right, because you kind of let go of baggage.

“What we were left with was the framework of the story of two captains, which is the story we all, Billy included, really wanted to tell. That’s a big call.”

The next big calls, as Greengrass puts it, were the casting of the Somali actors and the decision to shoot in the ocean with real ships.

Casting director Francine Maisler orchestrated a global search for actors to play the pirates. In this way she discovered newcomer Barkhad Abdi and a handful of his fellow countrymen from the thriving Somali community in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To procure ships, executive producer Greg Goodman spent months negotiating with the Navy and Maersk. Both institutions requested lower fees than usual given the film’s relatively modest budget of approximately $50m.

■ 24 Screen International December 13, 2013

‘What we were left with was the story of two captains, which was the story we all really wanted to tell’ Paul Greengrass

“We had a few things working to our advantage,” says De Luca. “Maersk and the Navy were very approving of the screenplay and were friends of the production. Maersk made the sister ship, the Alexander, available to us for a nominal charge and were kind of our partners in the production and so were the Navy. Once we got that level of cooperation, it really made the production possible.”

By the time the shoot kicked off in spring 2012 in Boston, which doubled as Phillips’s native

Vermont, the Maersk Alabama was on active duty and the production had secured the services of its sister ship, the Danish vessel Alexander Maersk.

Phillips himself visited the Boston set a few times.

Production sets sail “We shot in Malta off the coast for a lot of the Maersk container ship stuff,” says De Luca. “We had a small stage shoot in London for the interior lifeboat scenes and then we were off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, for all the Naval sequences and then [flew to] Morocco for Somalia.”

“The great thing about Malta was it has these deep-water harbours,” says Greengrass. “You could literally be out in the ocean in 10 minutes. It takes two hours to get out of Long Beach harbour [in California].”

Greengrass used a splinter crew to operate within cramped conditions on the lifeboat and the Alex-

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sequence was filmed near San Diego.

“Pretty much everything that aren’t those things, they’ll let you in on and we extrapolated other information based on declassified material or reasonable assumptions that we would make.”

Production wrapped in the summer of 2012 and post-production was completed a year later. Captain Phillips earned rave reviews following its world premiere in September as the opening night gala at the New York Film Festival.

Getting it right ander Maersk. “Paul had to make do with a lot less than other film-makers and that’s the price we paid for the authenticity of being on a real ship,” says De Luca. “It can be gruelling shooting on the open water and on the lifeboat, bobbing on the water like a cork for 12 hours. Tom playing the hostage for four or five days and trying to capture that was a very intense shoot because the subject matter is so intense.”

The producers assembled a small flotilla for the scenes where US warships escort the lifeboat into harbour at Mombasa, Kenya, in a nerve-shredding prelude to the finale.

“We used the aircraft carrier USS Wasp,” says Brunetti, “while the USS Halyburton was the only ship we used that was deployed in the actual incident. USS Truxtun doubled for the USS Bainbridge.”

“We didn’t know where we would get our [Navy] ships. Originally it was going to be from San Diego but then

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[the impasse with] North Korea kicked off and those ships had to be activated.

So the Navy told us to go to Virginia Beach and they could give us what we needed.

“It was always a gamble; the last thing we shot was the Navy [escort scenes]. Normally when we shoot we watch the weather. This was the first time I was paying attention a lot more to what was happening in the world and particularly in the area where ships were. That’s when you really want world peace.”

The production used military and exmilitary advisers and relied on exhaustive research by Greengrass and screenwriter Ray to give as close an approximation as possible as to how US elite forces would have executed the rescue plan. “With the SEALs, they don’t tell you where they train, where they launch out of and how they got to the theatre of the incident,” says De Luca, who adds that the parachute jump

Clockwise from main picture: producer Dana Brunetti on set with Captain Richard Phillips; director Paul Greengrass gives instructions to the Somali actors; the lifeboat scene. Below left: Tom Hanks

The whole team on the production feels they have done justice to the events of April 2009.

“When I was watching the incident unfold on the news I felt we were seeing a 21st-century collision of [trends] that are fairly recent in the scheme of history, such as globalisation, with the economies of the world that are struggling now,” says De Luca.

“I felt this story would be a great way to shine a light on the heroism of this crew and the desperation of Somalis, and the first thieving of an American vessel since the Barbary Coast pirates [in the late 18th century].

“It’s very brave doing what the merchant marines do — you go out there unarmed and navigate some pretty dicey parts of the world to bring us the [material possessions] we want [via shipping lanes].

“Captain Phillips was a real special one for us,” De Luca adds, “and everyone understood why it was important s for everyone to get this right.” n

December 13, 2013 Screen International 25 n

TIME IS monÂŁy

In our ever-changing industry, ongoing training is vital to your career.

But taking time off work costs money, which is why Creative Skillset offers funding for training to support professionals from all backgrounds across the UK.

210x285.indd 1

Film and TV professionals can apply for up to ÂŁ800 towards training in areas including camera, sound, hair and make-up, production management and health and safety.

Funding is also available for organisations to run training in areas including digital exhibition and audience development.

Find out more and apply at www.creativeskillset.org/funding @SkillsetSSC

26/11/2013 14:06

REVIEWS Highlights of the week’s new films in Review. For full reviews coverage, see Screendaily.com

Reviews in brief The Harvest

Dir: John McNaughton. US. 2013. 104mins A mother’s love is pushed to scary extremes in The Harvest, John McNaughton’s (Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, Wild Things) first theatrical feature in 12 years. A psycho-medical thriller with a very slow pulse, the story contains a thought-provoking twist that has husband and wife medical team Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon playing fast and loose with the Hippocratic Oath. Still in search of distribution, this is a sometimes intriguing, often clunky indie effort with some impressively gung-ho performances in the service of less-impressive material.

Lisa Nesselson

CONTACT ELEPHANT EYE FILMS www.elephanteyefilms.com

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Dir: Peter Jackson. US-NZ. 2013. 161mins

Rather than suffering from that ‘middle film in a trilogy’ syndrome, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is a freewheeling and exciting second film that moves at a breathless pace offering up entertainment and excitement in equal measure. It ends on a dramatic high that will have fantasy fans desperate for more. Likely to be a strong Christmas performer, it may well be hefty in terms of its running time but its epic scale and sheer dramatic zest will likely see it leaving other festive films in its wake.

Director Peter Jackson seems now so at ease in JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth (and even sneaks in a quick cameo in the film’s opening scene) that he is able to take subtle liberties with the source material and not upset hardcore fans. This time round the welcome appearance of Elvish archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom) from the original The Lord Of The Rings trilogy may not tally with the original book, but it fits nicely into this version of Tolkien’s fantasy world, especially when it comes to helping momentum and pacing.

Yes, the heart of the film is still the grand adventure and quest facing Bilbo Baggins (an increasingly excellent Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and their company of 13 dwarves lead by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage)

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and their journey to the Lonely Mountain where waits the dragon Smaug, but around the edges, the characters and their places in Middle Earth are also well drawn.

The story picks up straight from the last film — though there is also a nice prologue, taken from The Quest Of Erebor, one of Tolkien’s supplemental Unfinished Tales that details a meeting between Gandalf and Oakenshield in which they plan the assault on the Lonely Mountain.

But Jackson soon injects dark tension into the proceedings as the party head into the frightening Mirkwood (and a close encounter with some gigantic spiders) before being held captive by the wood-elves ruled by Thranduil (Lee Pace).

The pace settles briefly as the band are smuggled into Laketown by Bard (Luke Evans), a mildmannered bargeman who naturally has his own secret. With their number dwindling due to injury or ineptitude, the hobbit and the dwarves finally make it into the mountain where Baggins’ supposed skills as a ‘burglar’ see him finally come face-to-fire-breathing-face with Smaug (voiced with cruel charm by Benedict Cumberbatch).

Moshi Monsters: The Movie

Dir: Wip Vernooij. UK. 2013. 81mins The invasion of the Moshi Monsters begins in the UK this December with the theatrical release of the first animated film based on the global online phenomenon. It is aimed fair-and-square at its youthful audience, and the film hits the sweet spot in terms of appealing to the hordes of Moshi Monsters fans. With more than 80 million registered users in 150 worldwide territories it is easy to see why Universal is keen to get on board the Moshi Monsters bandwagon.

Mark Adams

CONTACT UNIVERSAL

Walking With Dinosaurs 3D

Dirs: Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale. US. 2013. 87mins.

A spin-off from the hit (and more factually orientated) BBC series, this children’s dinosaur adventure film features great 3D special effects as it tells its romping tale of cheerful dinosaur hero Patchi (voiced by Justin Long), who grows from a bumbling hatchling to become the leader of his herd when danger faces them. There is some love action and a tussle to be head of the herd as Patchi grows and learns the meaning of family, but the film is fun and action-packed enough to appeal to young dino fans.

Mark Adams

Mark Adams

CONTACT 20TH CENTURY FOX CONTACT Warner Bros

»

December 13, 2013 Screen International 27 n

If Jack Bauer needs to fight crime in new frontiers in the upcoming series of 24 or the Fast and Furious crew need to race through Trafalgar Square, Film London can deliver.

Whether it’s Doctor Who fighting Daleks in front of Big Ben, or interstellar spaceships landing in Greenwich for Thor: The Dark World, Film London’s extensive knowledge and network of partners can make your vision a reality.

Film London provides free support to over 1,000 projects every year. Make us your first point of contact for filming in London. www.filmlondon.org.uk @Film_London

Reviews

Dubai Reviews in brief Ant Story

Dir: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. Bang. 2013.

93mins Struggling young graduate Mithu (Noor Imran Mithu) dreams of making it in the big city of Dhaka, and his chance comes when he buys a stolen mobile belonging to actress Rima (the delightful Sheena Chohan). Desperate for him to not reveal a private video on the phone, she agrees to back his involvement in a pyramid finance scheme — but then he gets her to pose as his girlfriend. Mithu may be a fantasist, but he starts to push the boundaries too hard as he tries to live up to the lies he has created.

Mark Adams

CONTACT Mostofa Sarwar Farooki privilegedkid@gmail.com

Habi, The Foreigner

American Hustle Dir: David O Russell. US. 2013. 129mins

American Hustle is about the guises we wear to construct better versions of ourselves, so it is fitting that director David O Russell’s conman comedy-drama is itself an elaborate dress-up, savouring its retro-1970s costumes while gleefully riffing on Martin Scorsese’s mobster films.

There is a certain amount of easy mocking of period detail, but on the whole, American Hustle succeeds in being several things at once: a briskly entertaining caper, a thoughtful examination of reinvention (and self-delusion), and a tricky love story between two odd ducks played beautifully

by Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

Set on the East Coast in the late 1970s, American Hustle takes its inspiration from Abscam, a political-corruption investigation overseen by the FBI that led to the arrests of congressmen and other public officials. A heavily fictionalised account of the operation, the film focuses on Irving Rosenfeld (Bale), a small-time conman, and Sydney Prosser (Adams), a beautiful woman who falls for him, adopting a British accent and a fake name to act as his scamming sidekick.

But when Irving and Sydney are busted by ambitious FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), in exchange for avoiding prison they agree to run cons for the government to ensnare

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crooked politicians. Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), a New Jersey mayor, steps into their trap.

The theme of reinvention reverberates throughout American Hustle: just about every character is trying to convince everyone (and themselves) that they are more than they are.

Irving’s wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) fancies herself a wise old soul even if she is a bit of a dingbat, while Richie seeks to become a major force in the FBI even though he is far too temperamental.

Russell’s desire to deliver a rollicking nostalgic entertainment can make the film seem derivative.

But his confidence is such that Russell gets away with showboating — partly because his characters’ emotional longings are so apparent. Irving comes across as a wounded dreamer, desperately trying to convince himself he is not as miserable as he fears. Bale provides Irving with a core of needy vulnerability that humanises what could be a caricature. As for Adams, this is some of her best work, dropping her good-girl image for a convincing portrayal of a woman whose sex appeal and toughness mask deep loneliness.

Tim Grierson

CONTACT sony pictures www.sonypictures.com

Dir: Maria Florencia Alvarez. Arg-Bra. 2013. 91mins An off-beat and charming film, Habi, The Foreigner (Habi, La Extranjera) stars Martina Juncadella as 20-year-old Analia, who travels from a small Argentinian town to the bright lights of Buenos Aires to sell local crafts. There she accidentally attends a Muslim funeral and finds herself receiving some of the dead woman’s possessions.

This thoughtful young woman starts to examine her own identity and is drawn to the world of Islam, eventually adopting the name of Habiba Rafat. A thoughtful, challenging film made with grace.

Mark Adams

CONTACT MPM FILM pierremenahem@gmail.com

The Mice Room

Dirs/scr: Ahmed Magdy Morsy, Hend Bakr, Mayye Zayed, Mohamad El-Hadidi, Mohamed Zedan, Nermeen Salem. EgyptUAE. 2013. 85mins A collaborative feature directed by six filmmakers in Alexandria, The Mice Room (Odet El Feran) rarely feels like a clash of styles.

Instead it impressively details six different people living their lives in the bustling city.

A lack of star names, a rather freewheeling structure and a lack of links between the sub-plots may hamper broad distribution, but this collaborative film made on an almost zero budget rises above its smallscale origins and hints at strong futures for a group of new young film-makers.

Mark Adams

CONTACT RUFY'S

contact@rufysstudio.tk

December 13, 2013 Screen International 29 n

7-10 April 2014 Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France

FO U R DAYS. 4, 0 0 0 B UYE RS. A L L N EW CONTE NT. The truth is MIPTV welcomes more international buyers than any other content market of the new year. 4,000 buyers from 100 countries gather in Cannes to screen and acquire the freshest content for TV, digital platforms and every screen.

This April, MIPTV launches the MIP DIGITAL FRONTS, the NEW international screenings showcase for original online video and multiplatform content.

Register by 21 January and save 30%.

MIPTV.C OM F E E D YOUR PASSIO N FO R FRESH CO NT ENT To participate, exhibit, advertise or sponsor please contact Peter Rhodes on 020 7528 0086, peter.rhodes@reedmidem.com

Don’t forget to register for and , the weekend before together, they form the world’s largest gathering for the non-fiction community.

Part of the whole experience.

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Reviews

Dubai Reviews in brief Pillow Secrets

Dir/scr: Jillali Ferhati. Mor-Qatar. 2013.

87mins Atmospheric melodrama pervades Pillow Secrets (Sarirou Al Assrar), a Morocco-set film that world premiered in Dubai. Its story of secrets, sexuality and pressures of society may be familiar at times, but it is staged with mood and precision and blessed with a powerful lead performance

by Fatima Zahra Bennacer as a tough woman who runs a brothel. The sexual undercurrents and a couple of risqué shots may make it problematic for some Middle Eastern territories, but it has the lush shooting style and heady drama to appeal to other international film festivals.

Mark Adams

CONTACT Jillali Ferhati ferhati89@gmail.com

The Brain That Sings

The Wolf Of Wall Street Dir: Martin Scorsese. US. 2013. 180mins

GoodFellas without the guns, The Wolf Of Wall Street finds director Martin Scorsese once again essaying an epic on American corruption, except this time it is in the land of stockbrokers instead of mobsters. Based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir of his time working on Wall Street, this dark comedy rubs our nose in its amoral tone for three hours, producing a luridly watchable, often funny tale of the rise and fall of an unscrupulous young broker in the 1980s and ’90s.

The Wolf Of Wall Street can’t entirely escape a feeling of familiarity — both because Scorsese has pursued similar terrain before and this is his fifth film with star Leonardo DiCaprio. But those shades of déja vu don’t diminish from this movie’s sober recounting of the greedy, remorseless monsters who have cataclysmically altered the country’s (and the world’s) financial landscape.

DiCaprio plays Belfort, who got hooked on the adrenaline rush of working on Wall Street in his 20s, only to watch the firm where he was employed collapse during the stock market crash of 1987. Reinventing himself as a seller of seemingly insignificant penny stocks, Belfort founds Stratton Oakmont, a brokerage house that quickly becomes incredibly successful, essentially by conning unsophisticated clients into buying

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worthless stocks. But Belfort’s escalating wealth — which is accompanied by rampant drug use and a predilection for hookers — raises the suspicions of Denham (Kyle Chandler), an FBI agent who investigates Belfort’s shady business.

Comparisons to GoodFellas are inevitable and appropriate: both films are based on real people who serve as the narrator and main character, guiding us through their lawless worlds until their inevitable downfall. But where GoodFellas had life-or-death stakes, The Wolf Of Wall Street is pitched as a satire, revelling in Belfort and his colleagues’ materialistic, alpha-male hedonism.

In his previous collaborations with Scorsese, DiCaprio has often played tormented or troubled characters, and his portrayal of Belfort shows plenty of the darkness that was present in his performances from The Aviator and Shutter Island.

Belfort might be compensating for some great pain from his past, but the film never reveals what that might be, consciously eschewing any attempt at creating empathy for the character.

Consequently, DiCaprio plays him as a soulless cretin utterly devoid of introspection or scruples.

Tim Grierson

Dir: Amal Al-Agroobi. UAE. 2013. 61mins This at times powerful documentary examines treatments for autism in Dubai. It focuses in particular on two boys — 18-year-old Mohammed and six-year-old Khalifa — as they receive music therapy over a three month period. The film dwells on the cultural stigma associated with having special needs children in the Arab world. But music therapist Marion is a determined character, with the film also focusing on 12-year-old Sara who has had music therapy since she was three and used to say little but now sings and plays the piano.

Mark Adams

CONTACT Alagroobi Films amal@alagroobifilms.com

Champ Of The Camp

Dir: Mahmoud Kaabour. UAE-Leb-Qatar.

2013. 75mins Champ Of The Camp opts for an unusual take on the living conditions of Dubai’s migrant workers by tracking the 2012 Champ of the Camp competition that allows one lucky worker to win a series of prizes. The charm of the film comes from simply allowing these men to sing and talk, often emotionally, about the realities of their lives in the UAE. They admit that the conditions are fine but also say it does feel like living in a prison at times.

Mark Adams

CONTACT VERITAS FILMS info@veritasfilms.ae

CONTACT PARAMOUNT PICTURES

December 13, 2013 Screen International 31 n

AWARDS COUNTDOWN THE PEOPLE AND THE EVENTS ON THE AWARDS CIRCUIT THIS WEEK

Leonor Watling, Rossy de Palma, Pedro Almodovar, Paz Vega and Blanca Suarez

Catherine Deneuve and Ennio Morricone

Pedro Almodovar attended the European Film Awards in Berlin on December 7 with several stars of his films, and he was honoured with the achievement in world cinema award. In his acceptance speech, Almodovar attacked the “awful” cultural policy of the Spanish government “who are deaf and completely insensitive to the problems of my country”. Catherine Deneuve received the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award, while veteran Italian composer Ennio Morricone won the composer statuette for his score of Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Best Offer.

Jim Broadbent participated in Bafta’s A Life In Pictures series in London on December 4. Speaking about his role in Roger Michell’s Le Week-End, Broadbent said it was, “closer to me than most characters I’ve played… It was a wonderful experience to get into playing that sort of naturalism, which is not something I’ve done all that much.”

Catrin Hedström

Screen International editor Wendy Mitchell, actress Naomie Harris, producer David Thompson, director Justin Chadwick and screenwriter William Nicholson at a Q&A following a screening of Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom hosted by The Weinstein Company and Pathé at The Coronet Cinema in London on December 6.

August: Osage County director John Wells, writer Tracy Letts and star Meryl Streep took part in a Q&A for the Weinstein Company film in New York on November 25. Also participating were cast members Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Chris Cooper and Dermot Mulroney.

■ 32 Screen International December 13, 2013

Harvey Weinstein (top right) was among guests at the 16th British Independent Film Awards at London’s Old Billingsgate on December 8, where Metro Manila won three awards including best director for Sean Ellis. Lindsay Duncan (left) won best actress for Le Week-End, while James McAvoy (top left) was named best actor for Filth.

The Special Jury Prize went to Sixteen Films & Friends in recognition of their contribution to the work of Ken Loach (above).

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26/11/2013 09:30