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FilmNation is in tune with U2, John Carney BY JEREMY KAY
Gaumont wakes up to Coming In BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW
Gaumont is launching sales on high-concept comedy Coming In about a gay man who wakes up in bed with a sexy blonde Swede on the eve of his wedding to his longterm partner. Starring Pio Marmai and Franck Gastambide, the Paris-set picture is the second film for directorial duo Noémie Saglio and Maxime Govare after comedy Les Voies Impénétrables, about a group of nuns trying to save their convent from bankruptcy. Gaumont deputy head of sales Yohann Comte describes the picture as a Working Title-style comedy with a twist revolving around the idea that you do not chose who you are or who you fall in love with. Shot in Paris last autumn, it will be ready for delivery in the second half of 2014. Gaumont will also unveil Fred Grivois’ thriller Through The Air (La Résistance De L’Air), about a champion rifle marksman who is coerced into becoming a hitman. It is lead-produced by Mourad Belkeddar and Nicolas Lhermitte’s Paris and Los Angelesbased Iconoclast Films, which recently co-produced Spring Breakers, and Gaumont.
FilmNation has bulked up its EFM slate and will kick off international sales on Sing Street, the latest project from John Carney. In what promises to be a heady brew, Carney’s long-time friends Bono and The Edge of U2 will compose original music. The pair are in talks to be involved in the semiautobiographical film in another as-yet-unspecified capacity. Carney is working on the screenplay to Sing Street, a co-production with Anthony Bregman of Likely Story in partnership with Kevin Frakes of PalmStar and Raj Brinder Singh for Merced Media Partners in the US, and Paul Trijbits for FilmWave out of the UK. The 1980s-set story centres on Cosmo, a 14-year-old Dubliner dealing with the stress of his parents’ marriage, a drop-out brother and bullies at a new school. The youngster forms a band then heads off to London with his
French director Philippe Claudel reunites with Stranger By The Lake cast for his new film, (childhood) » Page 4
REVIEW The art of war George Clooney directs and stars in Second World War genre hybrid The Monuments Men » Page 8
SCREENINGS What to see today at the festival and EFM » Page 40 John Carney
aspiring model girlfriend in search of fame and fortune. WME represents US rights. The shoot will take place in Dublin this summer. Bregman and Carney worked together on Can A Song Save Your Life?, one of the runaway hits of Toronto last September that sparked the most talked-about acquisition of the festival.
Harvey Weinstein paid $7m and committed to a $20m p&a spend on the Keira Knightley starrer and will release the comedy-romance later this year. FilmNation’s packed EFM sales slate includes courtroom drama The Whole Truth from director Courtney Hunt, to star Daniel Craig; and A Most Violent Year, JC Chandor’s follow-up to All Is Lost.
Spencer join Gilly Hopkins
BY ANDREAS WISEMAN
The West Wing star will play a small-town mortician who receives a mysterious homicide victim with no apparent cause of death. Based on an original screenplay by Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing, producers are Fred Berger and
NEWS Family affairs
Screen profiles the hottest titles coming to the European Film Market » Page 22
BY ANDREAS WISEMAN
Greta Gerwig
shooting set to start in New York City in the third quarter of 2014. CAA and Cinetic are packaging the project and representing North American rights.
Martin Sheen cuts into Ovredal’s horror Autopsy Director André Ovredal’s anticipated follow-up to Troll Hunter, psychological horror The Autopsy Of Jane Doe, will star Martin Sheen. Goldcrest will be talking to buyers at the EFM about the project, due to shoot this summer in London.
Philippe Claudel
FEATURE What’s the buzz?
Protagonist makes Plan with Gerwig Nélisse, Close, Protagonist has rounded out its EFM slate with Rebecca Miller’s US rom-com Maggie’s Plan, set to star Julianne Moore and Greta Gerwig, who is in Berlin on jury duty. Writer-director Miller’s ‘romantic comedy of manners’, adapted from Karen Rinaldi’s story, will follow a young woman (Gerwig) trying to make her way in New York. Miller (The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee), Rachael Horovitz (Moneyball) and Damon Cardasis’s (March!) Round Films are producing, with
TODAY
Eric Garcia under their Impostor Pictures banner, alongside Rory Aitken and Ben Pugh of 42. Goldcrest’s Nick Quested and Pascal Degove are executive producers. Sheen is repped by ICM. Andreas Wiseman
Sophie Nélisse, star of The Book Thief, is to play the title role in director Stephen Herek’s feature The Great Gilly Hopkins, alongside Glenn Close, Kathy Bates, Danny Glover and Octavia Spencer. Co-financed by William Kay and Peyton Kay of Gemmill Media in association with William Teitler, the film is due to start shooting on April 9. WestEnd Films is representing the title for international sales here at the EFM, while Bob Berney will be distributing in North America through his newly revamped Picturehouse. Gilly Hopkins is David Paterson’s adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel about a wisecracking 12-year-old (Nélisse) who is moved around foster homes until she meets her match in the shape of Maime Trotter (Bates).
Wild Bunch takes Zhang’s Home Coming BY MELANIE GOODFELLOW
Wild Bunch has snapped up international sales of Zhang Yimou’s love story, Home Coming, which will reunite the director with actress Gong Li. Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval told Screen: “This is a couple, Zhang Yimou and Gong Li, at the top of their art, delivering the work of their life. They are at their peak.” Maraval screened a rough cut of Home Coming in Hong Kong last Thursday, and signed the film on the spot. The film was produced by Zhang Zhao, CEO of Beijing-based Le Vision Pictures, and Yimou’s long-time, Hong Kong-based producer and distributor Bill Kong. David Linde is executive producer. Le Vision’s sister company Le TV will distribute the film in China. Kong’s Edko Films is handling Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia/ Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Wild Bunch is selling the rest of the world. Home Coming takes inspiration from Chinese writer Yan Geling’s The Criminal Lu Yanshi, revolving around the tumultuous life of a Chinese dissident from the 1920s to the 1990s. The feature, which is in post-production, will be ready in time for Cannes. Wild Bunch has a script available at the EFM.
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IN COMPETITION
LOLA@BERLINALE
The aristocratic sisters Charlotte and Caroline both love the controversial young writer Friedrich Schiller. May be one of Schiller’s most closely guarded secrets.
4 FRI | FEB 07 | 13.00 H CINEMAXX PRIVATE (NO PRESS) PALAST SAT | FEB 08 | 08.30 H BERLINALE PRESS PALAST SAT | FEB 08 | 21.30 H BERLINALE GALA PREMIERE 2 MON | FEB 10 | 17.30 H CINESTAR MARKET
LOLA@BERLINALE “A sophisticated screenplay and beautiful camerawork. Impressive.” THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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A mesmerizing, thought-provoking yet surprisingly amusing documentary on the life and times of Wolfgang Beltracchi, the biggest art forger of our times.
2 THU | FEB 06 | 11.50 H CINEMAXX MARKET PREMIERE PALAST 2 FRI | FEB 07 | 12.00 H ZOO LOLA@BERLINALE
MARKET SCREENING “Gripping. Poppe imbues the film with enormous emotional resonance, brilliantly grounded by his leading lady.” VARIETY
“Terriffic. As gripping as any high-concept Hollywood thriller.“ THE GUARDIAN Audience Award at Sundance 2014
6 THU | FEB 06 | 13.15 H CINESTAR MARKET PREMIERE 5 FRI | FEB 07 | 09.00 H CINESTAR MARKET
MARKET PREMIERE Based on Juli Zeh’s award-winning novel this tangled drama stages a demonic game of power, obsession and intrigue.
MARKET SCREENING Based on the true story of Gisela Werler, Germany’s first female bank-robber, who carried out 19 armed robberies in the 1960s.
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GLOBAL SCREEN PRESENTS AT EFM 2014
UPCOMING
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From the producer of “Niko & The Way To The Stars” and “Niko 2 – Little Brother, Big Trouble”.
UPCOMING
Wood doll Pinocchio sets out on a wild and adventurous When little dwarf Bobo accidentally sends the kingdom into journey to learn things like courage, honesty and loyalty, and a century-long slumber, the dwarfs must travel into the become a real boy. Based on Carlo Collodi’s world-famous future in order to safe the beloved princess ... stories.
4 PROMO SCREENING AT OUR OFFICE SAT | FEB 08 | 12.30 H CINESTAR MARKET PREMIERE
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14-year-old Giorgio and his chimney-sweep The sequel to “Ready, Steady, Charlie” – friends found a gang called the Black Brothers. one of the most successful Swiss films of all It’s the start of a thrilling adventure, directed time. by Oscar® winner Xavier Koller.
PROMO SCREENING AT OUR OFFICE
LOLA@BERLINALE The internationally appealing true story of the German Turk Murat Kurnaz, an innocent man interned in Guantánamo.
ZOO CINE SUN | FEB 09 | 14.45 H CINE STAR 5 MON | FEB 10 | 09.15 H MAXX 4 THU | FEB 13 | 12.00 H PALAST 3
UPCOMING A fresh and entertaining, yet deeply touching 3D-animated feature about a sparrow who believes he is a stork.
NEWS
Ellen Page
Celsius strides Into The Forest By Andreas Wiseman
Ahead of the EFM, Celsius Entertainment has boarded sales on Mansfield Park writer-director Patricia Rozema’s apocalyptic ecodrama Into The Forest, set to star Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood. Page also produces the Canadian feature, based on Jean Hegland’s novel of the same name, which begins filming this April on Vancouver Island. Into The Forest recounts the story of two sisters, played by Page and Wood, struggling to survive after the collapse of society in the not too distant future. Producers are Page and Karine Martin, executive producers are Sriram Das, Kelly Bush Novak and Haroon Saleem. Mediabiz will cofinance. Page recently wrapped on X-Men: Days Of Future Past, and is attached to Fox’s Queen & Country. Wood recently finished filming Andrew Fleming’s Barefoot.
Gaga enters The World Of Kanako Japan’s Gaga Corporation is launching sales here at the EFM on the upcoming Tetsuya Nakashima film The World Of Kanako, starring Koji Yakusho. The hit director of Confessions, Memories Of Matsuko and Kamikaze Girls is in postproduction for the film, which is produced by Gaga and Licri. Gaga is handling sales for Asian territories while Wild Bunch handles the rest of the world. Gaga plans to release the film this summer in Japan. Based on the novel Hateshinaki Kawaki by Akio Fukamachi, The World Of Kanako follows the search for a missing girl through the eyes of her crazed father who begins to realise how little he knew her and his family. The cast also includes Satoshi Tsumabuki and Joe Odagiri. Jean Noh
Indie Sales takes Mafia drama Senza Pieta By Melanie Goodfellow
Indie Sales has acquired international rights to Italian director Michele Alhaique’s Senza Pieta, starring Pierfrancesco Favino as a Mafia henchman who lands on the wrong side of his boss. One of Italy’s most respected actors, Favino is best known for his award-winning performances in Michele Placido’s Romanzo Criminale, and more recently Stefano Sollima’s ACAB: All Cops Are Bastards and Marco Tullio Giordana’s Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy. He has also made appearances in a dozen international pictures, including World War Z and Rush. “The script stood out and I felt I could help in putting this movie together. Michele Alhaique has a new voice that deserves to be heard,” said Favino. Senza Pieta (working title) marks the directorial debut of Alhaique, an actor best known at home for his performances in television shows and films such as the alpine adventure K2: La Montagna Degli Italiani and the EFAnominated Benvenuto Presidente!. Alongside acting, Alhaique has
Shooting Stars’ Sundance trio By Wendy Mitchell
Senza Pieta
also directed a number of shorts, including the award-winning Il Torneo. Senza Pieta is an Italy-France co-production involving Lungta, PKO and Rai Cinema for Italy and Cine@ for France, the company behind films such as the upcoming Gemma Bovary as well as Adore (formerly Perfect Mothers) and Coco Before Chanel. The producers are Maurizio Piazza, former Paramount VP Alexandra Rossi, Favino and Cine@’s Philippe Carcassonne. “This is a beautiful love tale set
in Rome’s criminal underworld, the one we love to see in Italian films,” says Indie Sales chief Nicolas Eschbach. Favino plays a man who witnesses his Mafia boss assaulting a call-girl. He snaps and beats him up, setting in motion a chain of violence. Paris-based Indie Sales is premiering a promo reel at the EFM. The film is in post-production in Rome where it is being edited by Carlotta Cristiani (Bread And Tulips) and Tommaso Gallone (The Great Beauty).
Les Films du Losange mothers Philippe Claudel’s (childhood) By Melanie Goodfellow
French director Philippe Claudel is set to work with key cast members of Stranger By The Lake on his upcoming film (childhood). The drama, which is due to shoot in France in June, revolves around 13-year-old Jimmy, a teenager forced to grow up too soon due to his turbulent home-life, where he is caught between a depressed mother and a controlling stepfather. Stranger’s Pierre Deladonchamps, Patrick D’Assumcao and Angelica Sarre feature in the cast alongside two unknown siblings in the child roles. The $5.3m (¤3.9m) production is due to start shooting in northeastern France in June. Les Films du Losange, which is producing, will start pre-sales on (childhood) here at the EFM. Claudel is best known internationally for I Loved You So Long, starring Kristin Scott Thomas as a
n 4 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
The Raid 2
Philippe Claudel
woman rebuilding her life after 15 years in prison, which competed at the Berlinale in 2008 and also won a Bafta and César the following year. The director’s last film, Before The Winter Chill, also starring Scott Thomas, is currently on worldwide release. Other additions to Losange’s slate include a remastered version
of Volker Schlöndorff ’s 1969 adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta and Hanna Schygulla. The company is also selling Barbet Schroeder’s Amnesia, starring veteran Swiss actress Marthe Keller as a German woman living in self-imposed exile on the Spanish island of Ibiza, who is forced by a young compatriot DJ, played by Max Riemelt, to reassess her opinion of her homeland. The picture, co-produced by Vega Films and Les Films du Losange, is also in pre-production. Other upcoming titles include Romain Goupil’s The Days Come, an episodic work reflecting on landmark life moments starring Noémie Lvovsky, Marina Hands and Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi. The company will also premiere promo reels for Tony Gatlif ’s Geronimo and Norwegian director Bent Hamer’s 1001 Grams.
Shooting Stars has acquired all Middle Eastern rights to three Sundance hits: Jeff Baena’s zombie comedy Life After Beth starring Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza (sold by XYZ); Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, a psychological horror about a mother and child (sold by eOne); and Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2 (also sold by XYZ). The Middle Eastern distributor was the top earner at the local box office in 2013, thanks in part to its output deal with Warner Bros. The company handles between 15 and 25 theatrical releases per year. “We are feeling very confident coming to the EFM after our three titles were hits at Sundance,” said head of acquisitions Lorianne Hall. “We are looking to continue our success by picking up more high-quality independent films at this market.” Hall and Shooting Stars MD Tony Chacra are attending the EFM.
Buyers sail for Galapagos The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden has worked its charm on international buyers as Diane Kruger and Sebastian Koch prepare to attend Monday’s international premiere here. Hopscotch has Australia/ New Zealand rights, according to buyers, while Kinosmith will distribute in Canada. Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine directed the documentary about sexual intrigue and murder. Kruger and Koch are among an illustrious voice-cast alongside Cate Blanchett and Thomas Kretschmann. Geller and Goldfine produced with Celeste Schaefer Snyder, and Jonathan Dana served as executive producer. The producers are in talks to sell fictional remake rights. The Film Sales Company handles international sales. Jeremy Kay
NEWS
news briefs Altitude adds trio Altitude Film Distribution has picked up three more titles for UK release: Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, Rodney Ascher’s The Nightmare and All Cheerleaders Die from Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson.
Sierra seals Focus deal Sierra/Affinity has secured a relationship with Focus Features and will represent international rights to select titles going forward. The alliance will complement the activities of Universal Pictures International outside North America.
Fister launches agency Veteran marketing executive Michael Fister has launched US-based sales agency Angel Grace Productions with a slate that includes Meera Menon’s Tribeca 2013 selection, Farah Goes Bang.
Edge buys titles for Scandi Fledgling Stockholm-based distributor Edge Entertainment is at EFM snapping up all-rights deals for Scandinavia for its 2014 slate. It has already acquired Berlinale 2013 winner Child’s Pose from Beta and is hunting “upmarket, quality-driven features”.
Works gears up motorcycle doc By Andreas Wiseman
The Works International has boarded sales on motorcycle racing documentary Road, narrated by Liam Neeson, and horror There Are Monsters. Road tells the story of high-profile motorcycle racing family, the Dunlops, experiencing the highs and lows of competing in one of the world’s most dangerous motorsports. Written, produced and directed by Diarmuid Lavery and Michael Hewitt, Road is a DoubleBand Films presentation in association with Generator Entertainment. Jay Dahl’s completed debut There Are Monsters, which he also produced along with Bill Niven, follows a crew of film students on a road trip who discover evidence of evil doppelgangers. The film was produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada and Film & Creative Industries
Liam Neeson
Swiss team launches distributor
Shorts medley finds buyer Raspberry & Cream has picked up Kristian Petersen’s latest compilation of shorts, Fucking Different XXY, which will have its world premiere in Panorama.
By Martin Blaney
Six Swiss film-makers from Langfilm, Tilt Production and Mira Film have joined forces to set up a new distribution company, Vinca Film. The firm will handle the theatrical release of their documentaries and fiction feature films in Switzerland. Marketing strategies will be devised by the three partners at the pre-production stage of the projects, and then further developed during the production stage.
By Andreas Wiseman
London-based AV Pictures has secured US and UK deals on sci-fi thriller Scintilla. Mongrel Media has acquired all rights for North America, while Metrodome has taken UK. eOne had previously acquired rights for France, German-speaking Europe, Scandinavia and South Africa. The film follows a group of mercenaries who must go deep within a former Soviet state to secure the expertise of a scientist who has been working on splicing
Recent projects by the trio of production companies include Mira Film’s co-production of Marc Schmidt’s documentary The Chimpanzee Complex with Netherlands’ Basalt Film, Ivana L a l o v i c ’s S i tt i n g Ne x t To Zoe (Langfilm) and Walter Feistle’s Dead Fucking Last by Tilt Production. Langfilm and Mira Film are no strangers to theatrical distribution, having distributed their own productions and third-party titles in the past.
together alien and human DNA. Andrew Frank, Mongrel Media’s vice-president, sales and acquisitions, said: “Scintilla is an exciting and exceptionally well-crafted entry in the sci-fi genre. We’re thrilled to be bringing it to North American audiences.” Caroline Couret-Delegue, sales and acquisitions director at AV P i c t u re s, a dd e d : “ We a re delighted to have signed our first deal with Mongrel Media and are pleased to see Scintilla be part of such a prestigious line-up of independent films.”
Ant!pode lets animations take strain by Martin Blaney
Nova Scotia, with the assistance of the Nova Scotia film industry tax credit and the Canadian film or video production tax credit. Meanwhile, Swung, starring Elena Anaya, whose credits include The Skin I Live In, and Owen McDonnell and directed by former Screen International Star of Tomorrow Colin Kennedy is in post-production.
Cinemavault boosts slate Toronto-based sales agent Cinemavault heads into Berlin with a robust slate led by the StudioVault roster including family adventure Side By Side, thrillers The Red Robin and The Moment and comedy Heartland.
Scintilla travels to US and UK
New films by animator Garri Bardin and Anna Melikyan are among the titles added by fledgling Russian sales agent Ant!pode Sales & Distribution to its EFM line-up. Anton Mazurov and his team will be starting presales on Bardin’s animation trilogy, Three Strains — Rondo, Exodus, Elegia, which is in post and will premiere at international festivals later in the year.
Ant!pode has also added Melik yan’s third feature, The Star, coming after her award-winning Mermaid (Rusalka), which was the Panorama opening film in 2008; and Alexey Fedorchenko’s Angels Of Revolution, a romantic drama set in the Russian avant-garde period. International distribution is being handled on documentary film-maker Marina Razbezhkina’s Optical Axis (Opticheskaya Os).
EFP’s SHOOTING stars 2014 George MacKay (UK) For Those In Peril
What inspired you to become an actor? My strongest memory of being awed by a film was when I watched
Gladiator for the first time. I was completely blown away by the whole thing. What attracts you to a role? It’s a mixture of feeling connected to the way the character thinks and feels, and having to understand a way of thinking that isn’t your own. What are you working on next? I’m working on a play called The Cement Garden, an adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, as part of the Vault Festival in London.
Credits not contractual
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REVIEWS
» The Monuments Men p8 » Love Is Strange p12 » God’s Pocket p12
» Lilting p16 » God Help That Girl p20
Reviews edited by Mark Adams mark.adams@screendaily.com
The Monuments Men Reviewed by Tim Grierson The Monuments Men tries to mix humour and drama, The Dirty Dozen-style heroics and Ocean’s Eleven-esque charm, but fails ever to properly land on a single consistent tone or direction. Based on the true story of the unsung men who rescued European artworks and artefacts from destruction at the hands of the Nazis, the latest film from director-star George Clooney boasts a fine cast and impeccable tech credits — which only makes The Monuments Men feel all the more like a lost opportunity as it curiously, stubbornly refuses to come to life. Co-starring Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett, The Monuments Men has significant marquee appeal, but respectful, tepid reviews may not inspire audiences to seek this out in cinemas. Word of mouth will be crucial in determining what kind of legs this possible slow-burner will have. Set over the span of about three years as the Nazis’ defeat begins to seem inevitable, The Monuments Men introduces us to the titular ragtag team of mostly Americans, whose mission was to enter Europe and track down priceless paintings, sculptures and other works that were held by Hitler. Led by Frank Stokes (Clooney), an art historian, the group also includes other non-soldiers, such as art expert James Granger (Damon), architect Richard Campbell (Murray) and sculptor Walter Garfield (Goodman). While others are engaged in combat, the Monuments Men investigate leads to retrieve these stolen artworks. For his fifth movie as a director, Clooney continues his tradition of making films in very specific
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out of competition US. 2014. 118mins Director George Clooney Production companies Columbia Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures US distribution Sony Pictures, www. sonypictures.com Producers Grant Heslov, George Clooney Executive producer Barbara A Hall Screenplay George Clooney and Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M Edsel with Bret Witter Cinematography Phedon Papamichael Editor Stephen Mirrione Production designer Jim Bissell Music Alexandre Desplat Main cast George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett
genres. If Leatherheads was his throwback screwball comedy and The Ides Of March his political thriller, The Monuments Men is meant to be an oldschool war movie in the tradition of The Guns Of Navarone or The Dirty Dozen. But the central problem with The Monuments Men is that rather than offering the hearty pleasures of that brand of war movie, Clooney is both too cute and too ambitious in his execution, delivering a somewhat self-satisfied portrait of these unlikely heroes that also aspires to give us a new perspective on the Second World War, one of the most filmed events of the 20th century. Murray’s deadpan melancholy is mostly wasted
as the bland Campbell — this is even more egregious considering that he is paired with the equally dependable (and underused) Bob Balaban — while Damon’s interactions with a French curator (Blanchett) who knows the whereabouts of many stolen artworks amount to an ineffectual thwarted-love story. Even Clooney’s Stokes, ostensibly the leader of this team, feels poorly drawn. These characters are not assertive or compelling enough for their one-dimensional personalities to seem heroic or engaging, no matter the easy warmth the actors bring to the roles. Thankfully, Clooney has surrounded himself with a stellar crew, including cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, production designer Jim Bissell and composer Alexandre Desplat, who give The Monuments Men a gorgeous, faintly nostalgic look and sound. The film is also a bit glib. Based on the book by Robert M Edsel with Bret Witter, The Monuments Men informs us these men rescued around 5 million works, including masterpieces from the likes of Michelangelo, Vermeer and Rembrandt — and yet the film does a poor job of illustrating the importance of that achievement. For as catastrophic as the loss would have been if these works had been destroyed, The Monuments Men never quite makes the case that the loss of life associated with retrieving these artefacts was worth the sacrifice. And once the movie acknowledges the horror of the Holocaust, the fate of a few paintings and sculptures cannot help but feel of secondary importance. Clooney wrestles with this dilemma poignantly a few times near the end of the film, but those moments do not feel sufficient.
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REviews
God’s Pocket Reviewed by Tim Grierson
Love Is Strange Reviewed by Anthony Kaufman With Love Is Strange, US film-maker Ira Sachs (Forty Shades Of Blue, Married Life, Keep The Lights On) has crafted a beautifully observed portrait of love, family and the vagaries of New York real estate. It is a mature and subtle piece of story telling, and as delicate and lovely as the classical compositions by Frédéric Chopin that play on the soundtrack. The film should find a warm embrace in arthouse cinemas and on video-on-demand platforms where sensitive movies are appreciated, thanks to stellar performances by recognisable actors John Lithgow, Alfred Molina and Marisa Tomei, and strong critical word of mouth. The film begins as longtime partners Ben (Lithgow) and George (Molina) are married in New York City. But their marital bliss is short-lived. George, who teaches music at a Catholic school, loses his job after word gets out that he is in a same-sex marriage. Forced to downsize, the couple sell their apartment, and while they wait to find a new place to live, they decide to live apart temporarily: Ben moves in with his busy professional nephew, Eliot (Burrows), his novelist wife, Kate (Tomei), and their teenage son, Joey (Tahan), while George shacks up with two gay cops who live in their building. The set-up is as simple as a family sit-com — ‘My Two Old Gay Roommates’ anyone? But while Sachs milks the situation for some finely calibrated humour — George finds himself in the middle of a raging party when he just wants to sleep; old Ben is out of place sleeping in Joey’s bunk-bed — Love Is Strange goes much, much deeper, examining the nature of Ben and George’s very tender relationship, the pain of their separation and the disruptions they cause, mostly in the lives of Kate and Joey. Lithgow, playing the sensitive older man, and Molina, another big-hearted soul, are superb, totally at ease and credible as the story’s central soulmates. The film establishes their characters’ profound love for each other through several genuinely intimate scenes, whether a rain-soaked sorrowful embrace or cuddling together on the bottom bunk. Tomei’s Kate is patient at first as her uncle-in-law invades her private space, but then slowly frays to a powerful breaking point. The movie’s name suggests the film is not just about Ben and George’s relationship, but also other types of love, from the strained middle-aged marriage between Eliot and Kate to the bonds between ‘Uncle Ben’ and his family, to Joey’s fresh ventures into the world of romantic relationships. Indeed, the film culminates in a gorgeous magic-hour final sequence, which evokes life’s inevitable cycles of love, death and rebirth, bringing the film to a subtly transcendent conclusion.
n 12 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
panorama special US. 2014. 98mins Director Ira Sachs Production company Parts & Labor International sales Fortissimo Films, www.fortissimo.nl Producers Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman Screenplay Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias Cinematography Christos Voudouris Editors Michael Taylor, Affonso Goncalves Production designer Amy Williams Main cast John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Darren Burrows, Charlie Tahan, Cheyenne Jackson
God’s Pocket is populated by a collection of strange, pathetic individuals — there is not nearly enough of a story around them, but nonetheless they have a bizarre pungency that is somewhat hard to shake off. An unwieldy dark comedy that doubles as a slightly cockeyed portrait of downtrodden small-town America, the feature directorial debut of Mad Men actor John Slattery is ultimately too shaggy and tonally inconsistent to hold together. God’s Pocket will be helped theatrically by a cast that includes the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins and Slattery’s Mad Men co-star, Christina Hendricks. Those familiar with Pete Dexter’s original novel may also be interested in giving this uneven offering a try. In the struggling working-stiff neighbourhood of God’s Pocket, delivery driver Mickey (Hoffman) is tasked with paying for the funeral of his wife Jeanie’s (Hendricks) son after his tragic death on a construction site. But when Jeanie becomes convinced his death was not an accident, it sets in motion a series of repercussions throughout the community, including an investigation by a boozing newspaperman named Richard (Jenkins), who is instantly smitten with the pretty, vulnerable Jeanie. Slattery, who has directed a handful of Mad Men episodes, prefers a character-based approach to God’s Pocket, allowing his cast to have standout individual moments that emphasise the protagonists’ bizarre quirks but can also distract from the story. To be fair, though, God’s Pocket is not so much a tightly plotted affair as it is a survey of desperate, discontented individuals. Without overdoing the local colour, Slattery gives this unspecified east coast city the rot of economic decline, letting the diminished characters retain a shred of their dignity despite their financial tough times. Hoffman is quite good in an understated turn, playing a nobody who dabbles in petty crime when he is not nursing a toxic gambling addiction. But the problem is that Slattery never spends enough time with any of his ensemble to give a full sense of who these people are. Hendricks’ Jeanie is not fully developed, while other characters (including a buddy of Mickey’s played by John Turturro) seem to be in the narrative mostly to serve as plot devices. Cinematographer Lance Acord drapes God’s Pocket in grubby grandeur, giving the funeral homes, bars and rundown mom-and-pop stores a lived-in realism. The film’s look is consistent but its tone is not, shifting from graphic violence to underdog drama to screwball comedy without much warning. In a way, the schizophrenic quality is an asset, signalling the stormy moods buried beneath these sad characters’ beaten-down exteriors. Slattery should be commended for taking such risks with his debut, but those risks do not lead to enough rewards.
market US. 2014. 89mins Director John Slattery Production companies Park Pictures, Cooper’s Town Productions, Shoestring Pictures International sales Electric Entertainment, electricentertainment.com Producers Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Lance Acord, John Slattery, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Ziff Executive producers Wendy Neu, Mark Kamine, Michael Mailis, Galt Niederhoffer, Tom Valerio, Bill Perry, Frank Brenner, Stefan Sonnenfeld Screenplay John Slattery and Alex Metcalf, based on the novel by Pete Dexter Cinematography Lance Acord Editor Tom McArdle Production designer Roshelle Berliner Music Nathan Larson Main cast Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro, Caleb Landry Jones, Eddie Marsan, Joyce Van Patten
GoDs oF EGyPt
PoINt BrEAk
Alex Proyas Burk Sharpless & Matt Sazama and Alex Proyas Basil Iwanyk, Alex Proyas Thunder Road Pictures, Mystery Clock Cinema Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, with Gerard Butler, and Geoffrey Rush A Summit Entertainment Release
DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By:
DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
ProDuction comPany: cast:
Ericson Core Kurt Wimmer Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, John Baldecchi, Christopher W. Taylor and Kurt Wimmer Alcon Entertainment N/A
P r E- P r o D U C t I o N
thE LAst WItCh hUNtEr
P o s t- P r o D U C t I o N
DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies:
Breck Eisner Cory Goodman and D.W. Harper Mark Canton, Vin Diesel, Bernie Goldmann Mark Canton Production, One Race Films, Goldmann Pictures cast: Vin Diesel A Summit Entertainment Release
GrAND hyAtt hotEL – MAyBACh sUItE +49 (0) 30 2553 4770
A LIttLE ChAos
ChILD 44
DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
Alan Rickman Alison Deegan, Alan Rickman, Jeremy Brock Gail Egan, Andrea Calderwood, Bertrand Faivre Potboiler Productions, The Bureau Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci
DrAFt DAy Ivan Reitman Rajiv Joseph & Scott Rothman Ivan Reitman, p.g.a.; Ali Bell, p.g.a.; Joe Medjuck, p.g.a. Montecito Picture Company, OddLot Entertainment Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Sam Elliott, Sean Combs, Terry Crews, with Ellen Burstyn, and Chadwick Boseman A Summit Entertainment Release DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
LAzArUs DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
David Gelb Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater Jason Blum, p.g.a.; Jimmy Miller and Cody Zweig, p.g.a. Lionsgate, Blumhouse Productions and Mosaic Productions Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover, Evan Peters, and Sarah Bolger
A Lionsgate Release
PoMPEII DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
Paul W.S. Anderson Janet Scott Batchler & Lee Blatchler and Michael Robert Johnson Jeremy Bolt, Paul W.S. Anderson, Robert Kulzer, Don Carmody Constantin Film, Impact Pictures (Pompeii) Inc. Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas with Jared Harris, and Kiefer Sutherland
Daniel Espinosa Richard Price Tom Rob Smith Ridley Scott, Michael Shaefer, Greg Shapiro Scott Free Productions Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Noomi Rapace, Vincent Cassel, Jason Clarke A Summit Entertainment Release DirecteD By: screenPlay By: BaseD on the novel By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPany: cast:
thE GooD LIE Philippe Falardeau Margaret Nagle Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Molly Smith, Karen Kehela Sherwood ProDuction comPanies: Black Label Media, Imagine Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment cast: Reese Witherspoon DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By:
LovE & MErCy DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
Bill Pohlad Oren Moverman Bill Pohlad, Claire Rudnick Polstein, John Wells River Road Entertainment, Battle Mountain Films John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, and Paul Giamatti
stEP UP 5 DirecteD By: screenPlay By: BaseD on characters createD By: ProDuceD By:
Trish Sie John Swetnam
Duane Adler Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot, Patrick Wachsberger, Erik Feig ProDuction comPany: Offspring Entertainment cast: Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Misha Gabriel, Izabella Miko, Alyson Stoner, and Adam Sevani A Summit Entertainment Release
thE hUNGEr GAMEs: MoCkINGJAy – PArts 1 & 2 DirecteD By: screenPlays By: BaseD uPon the novel: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
Francis Lawrence Danny Strong and Peter Craig “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins Nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik Color Force/Lionsgate Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, with Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland
A Lionsgate Release
IN ProDUCtIoN
PAWN sACrIFICE DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPanies: cast:
Ed Zwick Steven Knight Gail Katz, Tobey Maguire, Ed Zwick Gail Katz Productions, Material Pictures Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber, Michael Stuhlbarg
2014 EFM LINE UP
DIvErGENt Neil Burger Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor Veronica Roth Douglas Wick, p.g.a.; Lucy Fisher, p.g.a.; Pouya Shahbazian Red Wagon Entertainment Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, and Kate Winslet A Summit Entertainment Release DirecteD By: screenPlay By: BaseD on the novel By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPany: cast:
JohN WICk DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By: ProDuction comPany: cast:
David Leitch and Chad Stahelski Derek Kolstad Basil Iwanyk Thunder Road Keanu Reeves, Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist, Adrianne Palicki, Dean Winters, Alfie Allen, Bridget Moynahan, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane
MortDECAI David Koepp Eric Aronson The novel entitled ‘The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery’ by Kyril Bonfiglioli and Craig Brown ProDuceD By: Andrew Lazar, Johnny Depp, Christi Dembrowski, Gigi Pritzker ProDuction comPanies: Infinitum Nihil, Mad Chance Productions, Lionsgate cast: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Oliver Platt, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Bettany, Jeff Goldblum A Lionsgate Release DirecteD By: screenPlay By: BaseD on:
trANsCENDENCE Wally Pfister Jack Paglen Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Kate Cohen, Marisa Polvino , Annie Marter, David Valdes, Aaron Ryder co-ProDucer: Regency Boies ProDuction comPanies: Alcon Entertainment, Straight Up Films cast: Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy DirecteD By: Written By: ProDuceD By:
CREDITS NOT CONTRACTUAL
REviews
Lilting Reviewed by Mark Adams A deft and delicate drama, writer-director Hong Khaou’s debut film is the gently moving story of how a mismatched pair try to overcome the loss of someone whom both love deeply while bridging a cultural and language barrier. Lilting is memorable, and is given heart and soul by the engaging lead performances by up-and-coming talent Ben Whishaw and Chinese acting legend Cheng Pei-Pei. A low-budget UK film, Lilting relies on low-key charm, some nice performances and a simple but nuanced story; it is a strong debut film and should attract arthouse distributor interest, especially in territories where Whishaw (who starred in Cloud Atlas and Skyfall) and veteran Cheng (who starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and is a legend in China) are well known. Set partly in flashback, the core of the story surrounds the accidental death in a traffic accident of young Londoner Kai (Leung). He regularly visits his headstrong Chinese-Cambodian mother Junn (Cheng) in her residential home. She tolerates the place, but Kai is keen to ask her to live with him. The only hurdle is admitting to her that he is gay, and lives with his boyfriend, Richard (Whishaw). Richard and Junn are both grief-stricken and, feeling a strong sense of responsibility toward Kai’s only family member, Richard reaches out to Junn and tries to bond with her. Junn speaks little English and her dislike of Richard is evident, so he hires a translator, Vann (Christie), to enable them to communicate. Vann is also called on to translate for Alan (Bowles), a romantically inclined fellow resident at the assisted care home who takes a shine to Junn and aims to woo her with flowers every day. Little by little, Richard and Junn try to find a way to reach across their cultural and language divides, and they discover ways to understand and appreciate each other through their memories of Kai. Lilting, shot elegantly in widescreen and with its intimate story of tormented souls trying to find a way to move on — charmingly interspersed with nicely composed shots of the chilly English countryside — is gently driven by Whishaw’s moving performance. His restrained emotion is nicely balanced by Cheng’s stoical determination and belligerence. Her tentative romance with Alan (played with delightful faded charm by Peter Bowles, an established UK television star) makes for a nice interlude during the film, though dissipates just when it gets interesting. But Khaou’s film is an impressively insightful and moving tale driven by astute and smart central performances. It is gently low-key about the big issues such as how we react to loss and how we learn to come together.
n 16 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
market UK. 2013. 86mins Director/screenplay Hong Khaou Production companies Microwave, SUMS Film and Media, Stink Films International sales Protagonist Pictures, www. protagonistpictures.com Producer Dominic Buchanan Executive producers Bob Benton, Daniel Bergmann, Andy Brunskill, Robert Herman Cinematography Ula Pontikos Editor Mark Towns Production designer Miren Maranon Music Stuart Earl Main cast Ben Whishaw, Cheng Pei-Pei, Andrew Leung, Peter Bowles, Naomi Christie, Morven Christie
A treasure hidden in a chair; a beautician and a tattoo artist who fall in love while looking for it; a mysterious priest looming over them like a threat. Rivals at first, then allies, the three of them become the protagonists of an incredible adventure, between comic twists and misunderstandings, chased from the hills to the valley, from the Venetian Lagoon to the snow-capped peaks of the Dolomites, where they find a remote valley inhabited by a bear.
Market Screening: February 7th 9.00 am - CINEMAXX 8 February 11th 12.50 pm - CINEMAXX 1
Pierfrancesco Diliberto makes a terrific debut (Variety). Impressive directorial debut (The Hollywood Reporter). Arthur’s life and first love experiences are marked by the tragic events of Mafia, between the 70’s and the 90’s. His civil and sentimental education is the backdrop of this tender but funny story with Flora, the love of his life.
Market Screening: February 7th 7.15 pm - CINEMAXX 2 February 10th 9.30 am - CINESTAR 6
directed by PIERFRANCESCO DILIBERTO “PIF” - with Pierfrancesco Diliberto “Pif”, Cristiana Capotondi
(La mafia uccide solo d’estate)
directed by CARLO MAZZACURATI - with Valerio Mastandrea, Isabella Ragonese, Giuseppe Battiston
(La sedia della felicità)
Official Screenings: February 10th - 5.00 pm - CINESTAR 7 February 11th - 12.00 pm - CINESTAR 7 February 13th - 5.30 pm - CUBIX 7 February 15th - 5.00 pm - INTERNATIONAL
Market Screening: February 7th - 11.30 am - DFFB-KINO
EFM 2014 - Martin-Gropius-Bau N°158
THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN SUMMER
THE CHAIR OF HAPPINESS
A moving look at a century long struggle for happiness and equally that continues today... A hidden Italy never revealed by a camera that wants to explore reality rather than fiction: Gay Italy as it was lived in the 20th century.
directed by GIANNI AMELIO - Documentary 93’
(Felice chi è diverso)
HAPPY TO BE DIFFERENT
INTERNATIONAL SALES
Market Screening: February 8th 6.00 pm - CINEMAXX 1 February 9th 10.40 am - CINEMAXX 5
www.raitradevideolibrary.rai.it Contact: CATIA ROSSI - Mobile +39 335 6049456 - catia.rossi@rai.it
In a small town in southern Italy, suspended in time and space, four strangers arrive for a desperate ransom from their sad lives. Dante, Gianni Agostino and Diego are four fools with the intention to steal the Town’s Statue of the Saint. But in a community where religion and ferocious superstition live in a precarious balance, reactions can be unpredictable, and very violent. It is too late when the four realize that they have made the biggest mistake of their lives.
Market Screening: February 8th 11.15 am - DFFB KINO
Andrea’s parents have left to go on holiday, so he decides to skip summer camp and make love with his girlfriend for the first time. But all goes wrong and he finds himself forced to look after his younger brother and an elderly weird man. Despite his plans, he happens to live an unexpected adventure.
Market Screening: February 10th 5.30 pm - MGB KINO
directed by ENRICO AUDENINO and FRANCESCO CALABRESE - with Remo Girone, Vittorio Giannotti
directed by COSIMO ALEMÀ - with Massimiliano Gallo, Francesco Siciliano
LA SANTA
Market Screening: February 10th 11.00 am - CINESTAR 5
MOONWALKING DISTANCE
Based on a true story When two sisters learn that a member of their family has decided to desert the Syrian Army and join the Free Army, they must embark on a hazardous journey to Turkey seeking freedom and survival, in this powerful account of contemporary Syria.
directed by ALESSIO CREMONINI - with Wasim Abo Azan, Sara El Debuch, Dana Keilani
BORDER
Paco is a cop with an intimate passion for classic music. Undercover, he joins one of the most famous bands in Naples. While performing the worrst pop music ever in this unlikely boy band he risks his life to deafeat Camorra.
directed by MANETTI BROS. - with Alessandro Roja, Giampaolo Morelli
SONG ‘E NAPULE
Credits not contractual
REviews
God Help The Girl Reviewed by David D’Arcy God Help The Girl has a soft whimsy that connects to a time before video clips put editing rhythms into overdrive. As a warmhearted pop musical, its distant ancestor is no less than A Hard Day’s Night, and its natural outlet is the crowd of fans of Belle and Sebastian, director Stuart Murdoch’s own band. Its eclectic vintage costuming and production design could also bring in the fashion audience in Europe, North America and Asia. And if Emily Browning’s career continues to rise, so will the fortunes of this romance. The film’s story brings some welcome local twists to the familiar music-saved-my-life theme. Pouty petite Eve (Browning) is a creative girl, a compulsive songwriter who escapes the hospital where she is being treated for depression. At a music performance that could have been in a Noah Baumbach film, she watches nerdy wholesome James (Alexander) as he is tormented by his own band. The two team up with Cassie (Murray), a friendly blonde whose grooming instincts are stronger than her intellect. Once bonded by their outcast status, the trio’s goal is to recruit a band, which gives Murdoch the excuse to take them all over the greenest, most historic and tidiest parts of Glasgow. Eve’s songs (written by Murdoch) observe and celebrate everyday things with innocent literalism. For a film that begins with depression, God Help The Girl is radiantly blithe. Murdoch is fighting the inner darkness, one song at a time. The director may be a first-timer, but his musical instincts, rooted in performance, pay off (the film was also many years in the making). He directs the actors in his Peter Pan-like script with assurance, although never sending them into dramatic heights and depths. The acting challenge here is to measure up to the mythic everyday obstacles that Murdoch’s script puts in his postadolescent characters’ paths. By the film’s gentle standards, the cast measures up. Just don’t expect anything that looks or sounds like an adult, or any music with an edge. It doesn’t hurt God Help The Girl that Browning’s soft face seems made for a close-up and she is filmed deftly by cinematographer Giles Nuttgens.
n 20 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Generation 14plus UK. 2013. 111mins Director/screenplay Stuart Murdoch Production companies Barry Mendel Productions, British Film Company, Zephyr Films, HanWay Films International sales HanWay Films, www.hanwayfilms.com Producer Barry Mendel Executive producers Chris Curling, Phil Robertson Associate producer Beth Allan Co-producer Carole Sheridan Cinematography Giles Nuttgens Editor David Arthur Main cast Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, Hannah Murray, Pierre Boulanger, Cora Bissett
As an actress, she brings nuance to dialogue that could easily have fallen flat. Her clothes, an endless ensemble of quirky outfits selected and designed by Denise Coombes, help set a picaresque rhythm for the story’s adventures in band-forming. As James, Olly Alexander stays close to the witty nerd template, leading the two girls through some fine-looking parks and canals (thanks again to Nuttgens) that soften Glasgow’s reputation as a hard-fighting and hard-drinking town. Hannah Murray fills out the softness. The trio breaks into song in many of these
charming locations — celebrating them, of course, with extras dancing in uniform to spoof any Mary Poppins allusions — and the production more than meets the technical logistics of lip-synching prerecorded songs to the demands of drama. If Murdoch’s tunes are not memorable, the performances can be. God Help The Girl will not overwhelm you; it is not intended to. Yet it is evidence that Murdoch has a feel for the craft of cinema and that more meaty subjects are within his reach, should he decide to choose them.
© 2013 Studio 100 Media, Buzz Studios. Based on the design of Jan van Rijsselberge and Studio 100 Animation. www.maja.tv - www.studio100.eu, TM Studio 100
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03.02.14 12:49
Feature Focus
Screenings, page 40
(Top row from left) Richard Gere, Daniel Craig, Bruce Willis
(Second row from left) Rebecca Hall, Meg Ryan, Radha Mitchell
European Film Market buzz titles Sales companies from Europe, North America and Asia are in Berlin with a huge range of international titles at various stages of production. Screen correspondents profile the latest projects at the European Film Market
US Sellers By Jeremy Kay IM Global jets into Berlin with the M Night Shy-
amalan and Bruce Willis reunion project, Labor Of Love. Emmett/Furla/Oasis is financing the story, based on an early Shyamalan script about a grieving man who walks across the US in memory of his wife. Shooting is set to start in mid-September in Philadelphia. Richard Gere is swapping his Arbitrage hedgefund manager for a homeless person in Time Out Of Mind, his passion project that QED International represents for international sales. Gere will produce and Oren Moverman (The Messenger) will direct. WME Global represents US rights. FilmNation will start pre-sales on Atlas Entertainment’s The Whole Truth, a courtroom drama that will star Daniel Craig. Richard Suckle will produce the project and Courtney Hunt (Frozen River) will direct from a script by Nicholas Kazan. CAA put the project together. Voltage Pictures holds world rights to the $10m Lady Bloodfight, which will star Amy Johnston, Scarlett Johansson’s stunt double in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Chris Nahon will direct the action film in the autumn in China,
n 22 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Hong Kong and Macao. Johnston will play a backpacker who teams up with a fearsome karate champion to battle dark forces. Bey Logan, producer of the upcoming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny, will produce. Aldamisa International will tempt buyers with Captive, starring Bruce Willis. Simon Brand is gearing up for a July start on the story of a property developer kidnapped in Brazil. Aldamisa cofinances with Emmett/Furla Films. Aldamisa’s Marina Bespalov produces with Randall Emmett and George Furla, Alexandra Milchan and Groundswell’s Michael London and Janice Williams. The Exchange heads to Berlin with world rights on Ithaca, Meg Ryan’s feature directorial debut with her Sleepless In Seattle co-star Tom Hanks on board as executive producer. Erik Jendresen adapted the screenplay to Ithaca from William Saroyan’s novel The Human Comedy, a Second World War rites of passage tale of a teenage bicycle messenger. Ryan will star alongside Sam Shepard, Melanie Griffith and Jack Quaid. Shooting is set to begin this summer. Sierra/Affinity sells Tumbledown, Bron Studios’ romantic comedy that will star Rebecca Hall as a woman who clicks with a young academic while
attempting to write a biography about her late musician husband. Sean Mewshaw will direct from a screenplay by Desi Van Til. Production is set to begin in late March in Massachusetts. CAA represents US rights. Newly formed Dolphin Films International launches with sales on the Mattel property Max Steel, about a teenager and his alien companion who combine as a superhero. The sales division of CEO Bill O’Dowd’s Dolphin Films has signed a multi-year alliance with IM Global to provide a range of sales, marketing and legal services. XYZ Films will commence sales on Kevin Smith’s new horror film Tusk. Demarest financed and produced Tusk in partnership with A24, who will release the film wide in the US in the third quarter. Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez and Michael Parks star in the tale of a journalist who tracks down an adventurer with tall tales and a penchant for walruses. Meyers Media Group has boarded sales on Sacrifice from producer Arnold Rifkin. Radha Mitchell will star as a surgeon whose discovery of a woman’s mutilated body leads to shocking revelations. Rupert Graves and Colm Meaney round out the key cast. Flightplan writer Peter Dowling will direct and Rifkind’s Cheyenne Enterprises will »
Feature EFM buzz
Piranha Sharks
Son Of God
produce with Ireland-based Subotica. Production is scheduled to begin in Dublin in late March. Myriad Pictures will commence pre-sales on the inspirational drama You’re Not You starring Hilary Swank. DPP (the company of Prince Azim, the Sultan of Brunei’s son) produces with Di Novi Pictures and 2S Films. CAA represents US rights. Emmy Rossum, Josh Duhamel and Marcia Gay Harden round out the key cast in the story of the friendship between a care-giver and an ill thirtysomething woman. George C Wolfe directs from the screenplay by Shana Feste and Jordan Roberts. The film is in post. The Solution Entertainment Group has come on board to handle international sales on Archer Gray Productions and Maven Pictures’ drama Ten Thousand Saints starring Ethan Hawke. Robert Pulcini and Shari Berman have started shooting in New York the story of the son of hippies who goes on an odyssey into late 20th century youth culture. Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch and Emily Mortimer also star. CAA represents US rights. Content Film will handle world sales on The Diabolical from director Alistair Legrand. The story centres on a family in a suburban home who are awoken nightly by an increasingly strange presence. Jamie Carmichael, Kevin Iwashina and Ross M Dinerstein produce. Electric Entertainment has picked up international rights to John Slattery’s feature directorial debut and Sundance premiere, God’s Pocket, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. IFC holds US rights to the story of a construction site death
n 24 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
The Mystery Of Happiness
(Above) Food Chains
that lands a blue-collar worker in trouble. The Park Pictures Film was made in association with Cooper’s Town Productions and Shoestring Pictures. Cargo International will tempt buyers with Lost In The Sun starring Josh Duhamel, Lynn Collins and Josh Wiggins, the star of recent Sundance premiere Hellion. Shooting is set to kick off in Austin, Texas, in February. Two Ton Films is financing and Clay Pecorin, Aimee Shieh and Clay Floren produce. Trey Nelson directs the story of a man and his young kidnap victim who bond over a string of robberies. Relativity International has picked up international sales rights to Son Of God, the feature version of producer Mark Burnett’s smash TV series The Bible. Fox plans a wide US release on February 28. Christopher Spencer directed the epic starring Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado as Jesus.
Arclight Films will be touting Reclaim, a thriller starring John Cusack, Ryan Phillippe, Rachelle Lefevre, Jacki Weaver, Luis Guzman and newcomer Briana Roy in the story of adoptive parents whose new daughter goes missing. Alan White directs from a screenplay by Luke Davies and Carmine Gaeta. The shoot just wrapped in Puerto Rico. Inception Media Group’s Barefoot screens at the EFM and stars Scott Speedman, Evan Rachel Wood and JK Simmons from last month’s Sundance hit Whiplash. Andrew Fleming directed the story from a screenplay by Stephen Zotnowski about the black sheep of a wealthy family who falls for a psychiatric patient. Roadside Attractions is set to release the film in the US on February 21. David Pomier, David Scharf and Lisa Demetree produced. Cinema Management Group brings Sly Cooper, a PlayStation adaptation from animation studio Rainmaker Entertainment and producer Blockade Entertainment, who previously collaborated on Ratchet & Clank. The story of a thieving raccoon and his childhood friends who plan a heist is set to open in early 2016. Kevin Munroe directs from his screenplay. Visit Films has Food Chains, narrated by Forest Whitaker, directed by Sanjay Rawal and produced by Smriti Keshari, Rawal and Hamilton Fish. The film screens in the festival’s Culinary Cinema programme and centres on a group of workers who battle to defeat the $4tn global supermarket industry. Visit’s busy slate also includes Competition title History Of Fear by Benjamin Naishtat, Sundance award winner 52 Tuesdays by Sophie Hyde and market premiere titles including Stay and War Story. FilmSharks International arrives with a market screening of hot Argentinian title The Mystery Of Happiness (El Misterio De La Felicidad) from Daniel Burman, a rom-com about a man who falls for his business partner’s wife when the partner goes missing. Disney holds pan-Latin American theatrical and DVD rights and Fox International’s Lap TV will release on pay TV. Bleiberg Entertainment has the drug cartel thriller Close Range, which is in pre-production and will star Scott Adkins. Isaac Florentine directs the Bleiberg and Caliber Force production. Fortitude International, the new sales, financing and production outfit headed by Nadine de Barros, Daniel Wagner and Robert Ogden Barnum, will be talking up Kilburn Media’s David Foster Wallace project The End Of The Tour. Jason Segel will play the acclaimed late novelist Wallace as he embarked on a book tour with a Rolling Stone reporter, played by Jesse Eisenberg. Anonymous Content also produces and James Ponsoldt will direct. Epic Pictures will tempt buyers with Zombeavers from Benderspink and Armory Films, the team behind American Pie, We’re The Millers and Cabin Fever. The project is in post and follows college girls on vacation who are attacked by a new breed of beast. Little Film Company will tout The Husband, a dark marital infidelity comedy from Bruce McDonald starring Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Sarah Allen, Dylan Authors and August Diehl. Red Sea Media arrives with Piranha Sharks, about biogenetically engineered great white sharks the size of piranhas that target the water supplies of rich people in New York City. Highland Film Group has picked up sales on SPJ Enterprises, zgreen entertainment and Boku Films’ horror thriller Email starring Nikki Reed. Shooting will kick off in May in Singapore. »
Feature EFM buzz
kyiv international film festival
25.10– 02.11.
2014
UK Sellers By Andreas Wiseman Protagonist will be in Berlin with anticipated new
PRESENTATION OF
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Friday, February 7 2pm – 4pm Catwalk Bar at the Berlin Marriott Hotel (Inge-Beisheim-Platz 1) OFFICIAL PARTNER
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festival edition
n 26 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
period dramas Testament Of Youth starring Alicia Vikander and produced by David Heyman, and The Childhood Of A Leader starring Juliette Binoche, Tim Roth and Robert Pattinson. Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz are newly attached to Yorgos Lanthimos’s English-language debut The Lobster, which will also star Ben Whishaw and Léa Seydoux. HanWay’s slate includes director Ben Wheatley’s JG Ballard adaptation High-Rise, with Tom Hiddleston newly attached, and John Maclean’s anticipated western Slow West, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender and Ben Mendelsohn (footage available). Ewan McGregor is to star as a holy man and a demon in writer-director Rodrigo Garcia’s drama Last Days In The Desert, which is due to shoot from this month. Embankment Films comes to the EFM with an intriguing slate including Informant’s drama Boy Choir, starring Dustin Hoffman; Daniel Alfredson’s action thriller Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, which screens on promo; and thriller Galveston. Matthias Schoenaerts is set to star in Galveston, Jean Doumanian Productions’ adaptation of Nic Pizzolatto’s novel in which a man is diagnosed with a terminal illness and discovers his boss wants to kill him. David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment will be enticing buyers with Jesse Owens biopic Race, which will see John Boyega (Attack The Block) portray the famed athlete. The shoot is due to get underway in May in Berlin and Montreal. Also on the slate are Russell Crowe’s directorial debut The Water Diviner and comedy romance Love, Rosie, starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin, which gets its market debut screening. WestEnd’s The Great Gilly Hopkins is moving towards production, with additional cast including Sophie Nélisse, Glenn Close and Octavia Spencer, while Michael Winterbottom’s The Face Of An Angel and David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, starring Al Pacino, are both in post-production. Benedict Cumberbatch is due to star in Sergei Bodrov’s drama Blood Mountain, which Altitude will be selling. The film follows a private contractor who must escort one of the world’s most wanted
(Top) The Babadook; (above) Backtrack
terrorists over hostile terrain. Will Clarke and Mike Runagall’s team will also be touting documentaries Bolshoi Babylon and Sundance award-winner Fishing Without Nets. Bankside’s EFM slate includes Michael Petroni thriller Backtrack, starring Adrien Brody and Sam Neill, and Hector And The Search For Happiness, which is in post. There is a promo reel for X Plus Y, Morgan Matthews’ drama with Asa Butterfield. Goldcrest’s growing slate includes Daniel Radcliffe drama Brooklyn Bridge, about brilliant engineer Washington Roebling. Douglas McGrath writes and directs, and the producers are Christine Vachon for Killer Films and Rose Ganguzza. Also on the slate is Andre Ovredal thriller The Autopsy Of Jane Doe, set to star Michael Sheen. Comedy Bill, about William Shakespeare’s ‘lost years’ as a wandering lute player, is the newest project on Independent’s slate. Shooting this month in the UK, the film is produced by Cowboy Films and Punk Cinema and it comes from the creative team behind hit TV show Horrible Histories. Carol Morley drama The Falling and Number 9 thriller Hyena are both in post. eOne’s sales lineup includes hit Sundance horror The Babadook, about a single mother struggling to cope with her seven-year-old son’s feral temperament, as well as Xavier Dolan’s Mommy. UMedia’s roster contains Julian Jarrold actionthriller Exit 147 and psychological thriller The Well. Salt will be teasing 10 minutes of footage from Viking action-adventure Northmen: A Viking Saga, »
CHAGALLMALEVICH Historical Drama, 120 min INTERCINEMA AGENCY
MARKET SCREENINGS SCHEDULE
DARK WORLD: EQUILIBRIUM City Fantasy, Action, 92 min CENTRAL PARTNERSHIP SALES HOUSE
KISS THEM ALL! AKA GORKO! Comedy, 101 min BAZELEVS DISTRIBUTION
MARKET SCREENING
09.02/12:55 — CinemaхX 2 (E)
09.02/12:15 — CinemaxX Studio 17 (E) 11.02/18:40 — CinemaxX Studio 16 (E)
GEOGRAPHER DRUNK THE GLOBE AWAY Drama, 120 min ANTIPODE SALES& DISTRIBUTION
THE SNOW QUEEN II: THE SNOW KING Animation, 80 min WIZART ANIMATION
SOME LIKE IT COLD Romantic Comedy, 90 min SREDA-FETISOV FILMS
10.02/18:35 — Marriott 1
07.02/10:15 — Marriott 3 07.02/10:15 — Marriott 3
08.02/09:20 — dffb-Kino (E) 11.02/11:15 — dffb-Kino (E)
MARKET SCREENING
DEAR HANS, LOVELY PJOTR Drama, 150 min PASSANGER FILM STUDIO
MARKET SCREENINGS SCHEDULE
COURIER FROM PARADISE Adventure Comedy, 93 min FILM DIRECTION
MARKET SCREENINGS SCHEDULE
TREASURES OF LAKE KABAN Action, Adventure Comedy, 110 min RUSSIAN WORLD VISION/ ART PICTURES
which is in post-production, and will also be shopping Neil LaBute project The Geography Of Hope, which has Ed Harris, Ethan Hawke and Vera Farmiga attached. K5 International’s slate includes Bruce Willis action feature Vice, due to shoot in Alabama in March, and heart-warming documentary Next Goal Wins, about the world’s worst football team. Glee star Chris Colfer and Ron Perlman will voice Marza Animation Planet’s Robodog, new to the Timeless Films slate. Timeless also has a market debut screening for Postman Pat: The Movie and will be talking to buyers about The Legend Of The Underzoo from Happy Feet co-writer-director Warren Coleman. The Works will be giving a market debut screening to road-racing documentary Road, narrated by Liam Neeson, and will also screen Toni Collette comedy Lucky Them. There is a promo of Canadian found-footage horror There Are Monsters. Will Machin, Natalie Brenner and the Metro International team will be introducing buyers to Spandau Ballet documentary Soul Boys Of The Western World, which will be world premiering at SXSW, as well as subversive high-school comedy Extracurricular Activities starring Greg Kinnear, Nat Wolff and Sasha Pieterse. Superhero thriller iBoy, starring Will Poulter, is due to shoot in March. Celsius Entertainment will be looking to book pre-sales on apocalyptic eco-drama Into The Forest from director Patricia Rozema. Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood are set to star in the story of two sisters living in a remote part of a northern California forest on the brink of an apocalypse. SC Films has market premieres for The Last Showing, starring Robert Englund, Finn Jones and Emily Berrington, and family-animation Jungle Shuffle set in the jungles of Mexico. Sci-fi-action Tomorrow is due to shoot in the summer.
Carey Fitzgerald’s High Point will be tempting buyers with The Mirror, a found-footage horror, alongside completed comedy-documentary Aim High In Creation and Australian feature Drown, currently in post-production. On AV Pictures’ slate are completed sci-fi Scintilla, about an elite team of mercenaries chosen to carry out a covert operation deep in a former Soviet state, and Liam Cunningham horror Let Us Prey, currently in post-production. Goalpost will shop Six Mile Bottom and The Trip To Italy, while Dogwoof has debuts for docs Dangerous Acts Starring The Unstable Elements Of Belarus and Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon. Genesis will be shopping completed comedy Almost Married and completed horror Soulmate as well as speaking to buyers about space thriller Alone, which has Damian Lewis attached to star as an astronaut who must save the planet when he is the sole occupant of a space station. Among titles on Kaleidoscope’s slate are horror
The Last Showing
Shirin In Love
n 30 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
(Above) Let Us Prey
The Hero Of Colour City
Allies
film Willow Creek from director Bobcat Goldthwait, action-thriller Rise Of The Predator, in which a special-ops team is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a mutant predator, and horror title Radio Silence. Moviehouse will be screening completed actionadventure Biodegradable and showing a trailer for family animation The Hero Of Colour City, with a voice cast including Christina Ricci, Rosie Perez, Craig Ferguson and Wayne Brady. Jinga has added Rick Rosenthal’s topical thriller Drones to its lineup, alongside Ate De Jong’s home invasion thriller Deadly Virtues and Neil Horner’s crime thriller AB Negative. 7 & 7 will be shopping Delicious, a Busanselected UK love story about a troubled French chef who falls for his pretty anorexic neighbour played by Sherlock’s Louise Brealey; and Shirin In Love, a US rom-com set among the affluent Iranian-American community of Beverly Hills. Parkland’s EFM slate includes Second World War action film Allies, starring Julian Ovenden and Chris Reilly, and completed documentary Balkan Spirit, in which Angelina Jolie, Emir Kusturica and Marina Abramovic are among the voices to explore the artistic landscape of the Balkan region. Carnaby will continue to talk to buyers about Panzer 88, Antisocial and Dark Peak. Intandem’s slate includes Gagarin: First In Space and comedy Killing Hasselhoff. Fledgling outfit Saradan will make its market debut with Russian action-thriller Viktor, starring Gerard Depardieu and Liz Hurley. GFM Films will be looking for pre-sales on Hear My Voice, about a Palestinian girl who uses her singing voice to change her life, and comedy Absolutely Anything, which has Simon Pegg and John Cleese attached.
EFM buzz Feature
German sellers
French sellers
By Martin Blaney
By Melanie Goodfellow
One of the most hotly anticipated German titles this year will be Wolfgang Becker’s Me & Kaminski, which will be the director’s first feature film since his international hit Good Bye, Lenin!. The director also reunites with Daniel Brühl. International sales are being handled by The Match Factory, which will also be selling Christian Petzold’s next feature, Phoenix, which reunites Nina Hoss and Ronald Zehrfeld from Barbara in a story set immediately after the Second World War in a Germany coming to terms with the horrors of the Holocaust. Another upcoming title in The Match Factory’s portfolio is Philip Gröning’s next feature My Brother Robert, which the director describes as “a cross between a dream, a western and a poetic lecture on philosophy, with elements from Heimatfilms and splatter”. International buyers coming to this year’s EFM will no doubt be curious to catch the market premieres of two local box-office hits — Suck Me Shakespeer and The Physician — which have been grabbing the headlines in recent weeks. Bora Dagtekin’s Suck Me Shakespeer (known as Fack Ju Göthe in Germany) is a comedy in the vein of Bad Teacher; it sold the most tickets in German cinemas in 2013 and has now totted up 6.5 million admissions and more than $68m (¤50m) in takings. A second outing will go into production later this year for a 2015 release. Suck Me Shakespeer is one of the titles in the line-up of fledgling sales outfit Picture Tree International which is also handling US-born Damian John Harper’s feature debut Los Angeles, premiering in the Forum, and Swiss director Petra Volpe’s Dreamland, which has received four nominations in this year’s Swiss Film Awards. Meanwhile, Beta Film is handling sales for Philipp Stölzl’s $36m (¤26m) English-language adaptation of Noah Gordon’s bestselling novel The Physician, which has attracted more than 3 million admissions in Germany for Universal Pictures International. The lavish historical drama stars UK newcomer Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley and Stellan Skarsgard. The genre of the psychological thriller is increasingly popular with film-makers working in Germany as shown by new films from such directors as Grzegorz Muskala (Whispers Behind The Wall). Muskala’s story, about a young law student falling under the spell of his enigmatic landlady, received its international premiere in the Bright Future sec-
Funny Balloons will commence sales on Abel Fer-
(Top) Los Angeles; (above) The Physician;
(Below) Suck Me Shakespeer
tion at Rotterdam and is being sold internationally by EastWest Distribution. A former Shooting Star at the Berlinale, Berlinborn actor Max Riemelt (Free Fall) and veteran actress Hannelore Elsner (Nowhere To Go) star in Uwe Janson’s To Life!. The film — still in production — is about an elderly cabaret singer and a young man. Global Screen is handling international sales. Meanwhile, this year will see Germany mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. While one can expect many documentaries to rework the familiar footage from that night, director Christian Schwochow is taking a different perspective for his fiction film Bornholmer Strasse, following the dilemma of border guards waiting in vain for orders as the crowds gather on the eastern side of the border. Beta Film’s sister company EOS Entertainment handles sales.
rara’s Pasolini, which has just started shooting in Rome with Willem Dafoe in the role of the tragic film-maker. The company will also market premiere Ablations, starring Denis Ménochet as a man trying to work out who stole his kidney. It is the debut feature of Arnold de Parscau. The company will also show first footage of Laurent Cantet’s Cuba-set Return To Ithaca. Wild Bunch will premiere promo reels for JeanJacques Annaud’s Mongolia-set 3D epic Wolf Totem and Oscar-winner Michel Hazanavicius’s The Search, while Zhang Yimou’s intimate love story Home Coming reunites the director with actress Gong Li. The company will also continue sales on Wish I Was Here and White Bird In A Blizzard. Celluloid Dreams/Celluloid Nightmares will kick off sales on Max Currie’s Everything We Loved, about a magician who conjures up the illusion of a little boy to help his depressed wife, and Saar Klein’s Things People Do, starring Wes Bentley as a man who turns to crime after he loses his job. Titles on The Coproduction Office slate include Roy Andersson’s A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence, about a road trip by a door-todoor salesman and a simple-minded friend, and Jessica Hausner’s period tragi-comedy Amour Fou. TF1 International will start sales on Francois Favrat’s Boomerang, starring Laurent Lafitte and Mélanie Laurent as siblings who uncover a family secret, in an adaptation of A Secret Kept by author Tatiana de Rosnay. Director Frédéric Auburtin will be in Berlin to present early images of FIFA drama United Passions (formerly A Men’s Dream) starring Gerard Depardieu, Sam Neill and Tim Roth. Other titles include Andrea Pallaoro’s Medeas and Jean-Paul Rouve’s intergenerational drama Memories. Elle Driver arrives with an eclectic line-up mixing international genre titles with French films. New genre titles include Uruguayan Gustavo Hernandez’s Local God, in which a rock band unleashes a spirit, and Sundance buzz titles: the vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows and Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead. Upcoming French productions include Benoit Jacquot’s 3 Hearts and Audrey Dana’s French Women starring Isabelle Adjani, Laetitia Casta and Vanessa Paradis. StudioCanal will continue sales on a dozen titles including Stephen Frears’ Lance Armstrong picture, which is in production, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth and John Le Carré adaptation Our Kind Of Traitor starring Ewan McGregor. Berlin titles include The Two Faces Of January and The HundredYear-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of A Window And Disappeared, already a record breaker in Sweden. Gaumont will unveil Paris-set, high-concept comedy Coming In about a gay man who wakes up in bed with a sexy Swede on the eve of his wedding; Fred Grivois’ thriller Through The Air, written by Thomas Bidegain and featuring Reda Kateb, Ludivine Sagnier, Tchéky Karyo and The Broken Circle Breakdown star Johan Heldenbergh, and Mélanie Laurent’s directorial debut Breathe. Bac will market premiere Paolo Virzi’s thriller Human Capital and Henrik Hellström’s The Quiet Roar. The company will also show first footage from French comedy Fool Circle, a promo reel for Dagur Kari’s Fusi, about a fortysomething late bloomer, and images from Run, set during Ivory Coast’s civil war. Doc & Film International’s slate features Belgian director Bernard Bellefroid’s surrogate mother »
February 6, 2014 Screen International at Berlin 31 n
drama Melody, his second film after The Boat Race; Vanja d’Alcantara’s Le Coeur Régulier, starring Isabelle Carré as a woman who heads to Japan in memory of her dead brother; Franco-Chinese coproduction Papa Lanterns about a Chinese family reunion, and Phantom Boy, the latest feature-length animation from Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, the pair behind A Cat In Paris. Festival titles include South Is Nothing, Iranian and Scrap Yard. EuropaCorp will continue pre-sales on Englishlanguage titles Taken 3, Sea At War and unveil plans for Transporter 4. Upcoming French films include Tristan Aurouet’s bodyguard caper Buddy Guards and Bertrand Bonello’s Yves Saint Laurent biopic Saint Laurent starring Gaspard Ulliel as the designer. It is due to be released towards the end of the year. Alongside Berlinale selections The Dark Valley, Superegos and Wolfy, The Incredible Secret, Films Distribution will offer promo reels of half a dozen upcoming pictures including Anne Villaceque’s Weekends In Normandy, Benoit Mariage’s Scouting For Zebras and Lucas Belvaux’s Not My Type. Indie Sales will kick off sales on Quentin Dupieux’s Los Angeles-set Reality, starring Alain Chabat as a director in search of the perfect scream for his horror film, and continue working on animated feature Moomins On The Riviera. Meanwhile, Michele Alhaique’s Senza Pieta stars Pierfrancesco Favino as a loner and Mafia henchman who lands on the wrong side of his boss. UDI will kick off world sales on two Berlinale titles: Argentinian Matias Lucchesi’s Natural Sciences and Tsai Ming-liang’s Journey To The West, starring Denis Lavant and Lee Kang Sheng. It will market screen Like The Wind, starring Valeria Golino as Italy’s first female prison governor. Upcoming films include Marianne Tardieu’s Insecure, starring Reda Kateb and Adele Exarchopoulos, and Quebecois Maxime Giroux’s Felix And Meira. Kinology will kick off sales on Alexandre Arcady’s 24 Days, Mia Hansen-Love’s DJ drama Eden and doc Cartoonists: Infantry Men Of Democracy. Films du Losange will premiere promo reels for Bent Hamer’s 1001 Grams and Tony Gatlif ’s Geronimo and begins pre-sales on Barbet Schroeder’s Amnesia and will unveil a new project from Philippe Claudel. Versatile will show new promo reels for Sebastian Silva’s Nasty Baby, about a gay New York cou-
(Above) Run; (above right) The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq
ple trying to have a baby, which it is producing with Funny Balloons, and Helene Zimmer’s Being 14 about a bunch of turbulent teenage girls. It is also continuing sales on Darren Lynn Bousman’s horror picture Abattoir. Le Pacte is selling a trio of Berlinale selections comprising Guillaume Nicloux’s highly anticipated The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq, revolving around the mysterious disappearance of the French writer in 2011, Hubert Sauper’s timely South Sudan documentary We Come As Friends and Alain Resnais’ Life Of Riley, in Competition. Memento Films International will kick off sales on Jason Lew’s The Free World, starring Cillian Murphy as a recently freed convict who falls for a mysterious woman, and continue selling drama Still Alice starring Julianne Moore as a neuroscientist who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s opposite Kristen Stewart as her daughter. The company has also boarded documentary Energized. Upcoming films on MK2’s slate include Olivier Assayas’s Clouds Of Sils Maria and Naomi Kawase’s Still The Water which are both in post-production. MPM Film will market premiere Georgian drama Brother (Dzma), following two brothers living in
Italian sellers By Melanie Goodfellow Adriana Chiesa Enterprises will launch
sales on Roberto Faenza’s English-language Anita B, about a young Auschwitz survivor trying to rebuild her life, and Andrea Segre’s First Snowfall (La Prima Neve) revolving around a Togolese refugee and a fatherless local boy in the Italian Alps. Rai Trade is selling Gianni Amelio’s Panorama screener Happy To Be Different, a documentary exploring the lives of gay people in Italy in the 20th century. It will also market screen Pierfrancesco Diliberto’s flashback, coming-of-age tale The Mafia Kills Only In Summer, about a boy who can date key moments in his life via Mafia killings throughout the 1970s to 1990s, and lost treasure caper The Chair Of Happiness, the last film by respected
n 32 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Anita B
film-maker Carlo Mazzacurati, who died in January. Intramovies will market premiere Matteo Andreolli’s Puglia-set drama Seven Little Killers about teenagers whose lives are changed by a murder, and Polish director Maciej Pieprzyca’s Life Feels Good about a teenage athlete who is secretly doped by her mother.
Fandango will show a promo reel for Giovanni Veronesi’s comedy Woman As A Friend, starring Laetitia Casta and Fabio de Luigi and revolving around the eternal question, can men and women just be friends? The Open Reel brings Grand Street starring Charlotte Riley and Michael Wincott.
Tbilisi just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Other Angle will market screen romantic jewellery heist caper The Last Diamond, starring Bérénice Bejo opposite Yvan Attal, and Mona Achache’s comedy Gazelles, the director’s first film since award multiple award-winner The Hedgehog. Upcoming pictures from Pathé International include Sarah Gavron’s Suffragette and Matthew Warchus’s Thatcher-era comedy Pride about an unexpected alliance between striking miners and gay activists. At the Berlinale, the company will premiere Beauty And The Beast, starring Léa Seydoux and Vincent Cassel, and Rachid Bouchareb’s Two Men In Town starring Forest Whitaker and Harvey Keitel. Pyramide International will have a market debut for Julie Lopes-Curval’s High Society and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan revolving around petty Russian corruption, and Julie Bertuccelli’s documentary School Of Babel. Premium Films is handling futuristic Vietnamese Panorama opener 2030 (Nuoc), will continue sales on Noaz Deshe’s White Shadow, which premiered at Sundance, and Iram Haq’s I Am Yours. New projects include Fanny Jean-Noel’s upcoming hybrid fictiondocumentary Move! exploring dance around the world. The company has a promo reel available. Rezo will kick off sales on Mondovino director Jonathan Nossiter’s documentary Natural Resistance about four Italian revolutionary winegrowers. SND will introduce Eric Lartigau’s coming-ofage tale La Famille Bélier, about a young girl growing up in a family of deaf people, and will market premiere Anne Le Ny’s Almost Friends starring Karin Viard and Emmanuelle Devos as two allies who go to war over the same man. Berlinale titles include feature animation Aunt Hilda! (Generation) and Yves Saint Laurent (Panorama). Wide Management will kick-off sales on Rotterdam pick-up and Generation selection Tamar van den Dop’s Supernova. It will also market premiere Lech Majewski’s Dante-inspired Field Of Dogs, and Ivan Ikic’s Barbarians, set against the backdrop of Kosovo’s independence declaration. Other Berlinale titles include Peter Krüger’s N — The Madness Of Reason and Satyajit Ray’s restored Nayak. Jour2Fete is offering a market screening of New York-set comedy Swim Little Fish Swim, about a life-changing meeting between a musician and a young artist, and Christophe Cognet’s documentary Because I Was A Painter about secret artworks created in Nazi concentration camps.
EFM buzz Feature
Rest-of-Europe sellers By Geoffrey Macnab The resurgent Hungarian National Film Fund has several titles on its EFM slate. Its sales team will be presenting Mark Bodzsar’s first feature film Heavenly Shift, a very dark comedy. The fund will also be screening Denes Orosz’s gay-themed romcom Coming Out, Bernath Zsolt’s sci-fi family movie Aura and Karoly Ujj Meszaros’s Liza, The Fox-Fairy. TrustNordisk will screen the first promo material from Susanne Bier’s new film A Second Chance. The company is pre-selling The Shamer’s Daughter scripted by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Danish director Kenneth Kainz. The Scandinavian sales outfit will also be screening early material of Anders Morgenthaler’s Kim Basinger-starrer I’m Here, which should be ready for the autumn festivals. In official selection, TrustNordisk is presenting a Competition title from Hans Petter Moland, In Order Of Disappearance, starring Stellan Skarsgard and Bruno Ganz. Pre-sales have already been concluded with Germany (Neue Vision) and Metrodome (UK). Pre-sales are also being continued on The Salvation and on its fast-growing slate of kids’ movies. From Scandinavia, Svensk is screening a promo of selected scenes from its $31.1m (¤23m) TV and feature epic 1864. The BBC has already picked up UK TV rights to the project, directed by Ole Bornedal. Svensk will also be showing the promo from its new female gangster thriller Tommy directed by Tarik Saleh, and will be screening heartwarming family drama Nobody Owns Me starring Mikael Persbrandt. The Yellow Affair has several new titles, among them William D MacGillivray’s love story Hard Drive, Chema Rodriguez’s road trip movie Nightfall In India and Sofia Norlin’s Broken Hill Blues, a drama set in an isolated mining town. The company has two documentaries, Pixadores, about four reckless young Brazilians, and The Joe Show, a portrait of the world’s most “famous and controversial sheriff ”, Arizona’s Joe Arpaio. It will also be preselling several titles in post, among them Aussie drama Fell, produced by John Maynard and directed by Crystal Bear winner Kasimir Burgess, Finnish drama-thriller They Have Escaped and Ronnie Sandahl’s drama Lonelyland. LevelK will be giving a first market outing to New Zealand drama Fantail from Curious Film and Yes Please Films; LevelK boarded the title at Rotterdam. The company will also be giving a market screening to its Sundance and IDFA title Sepideh from Berit Madsen, a feature doc about a young girl in Iran who loves astronomy. Eyewell, launched last year by sales veteran Michael Werner, is bringing its project Nymphs to the EFM. Ambitious new Polish sales outfit New Europe Film Sales will be presenting its new 3D Dutch drama Above Us All, Caroline Strubbe’s Toronto/ Rotterdam title I’m The Same I’m An Other and Generation title Violet. Latido has several market premieres, among them crime thriller Betibu from director Miguel Cohan, fraught romantic drama Inside Love starring Eduardo Noriega and Marta Etura, and Czech comedy Clownwide by Viktor Taus. Filmax is arriving in Berlin with a slate heavily slanted toward horror. [Rec] 4 Apocalypse is in postproduction, and the Spanish outfit presents its latest horror movie Summer Camp, which Alberto Marini will start shooting later this month. Mean-
In Order Of Disappearance
while, Filmax will give market screenings to Torment, writer Michael Foster’s new horror movie co-written with Thomas Pound; Alfredo Montero’s chiller In Darkness We Fall; and Barcelona Summer Night, a romantic drama starring Alex Monner and Jan Cornet. Filmax also has a new erotic drama, The King Of Havana, in pre-production and will be pre-selling new thriller I Will Die Tonight. Spanish outfit Film Factory is screening footage from big-budget animation Mortadelo & Filemon Mission Implausible from Ilion Animation Studios (Planet 51) and will also be giving buyers a taste of Marshland by Alberto Rodriguez (Unit 7) which is
(Above, clockwise) Marshland, Millionaire Dog, 1864
being talked up as a potential awards contender for next autumn. Both films will be released by Warner in Spain and Film Factory is presenting first footage. Meanwhile, the company is screening the Chilean film To Kill A Man, which recently won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in Sundance. 6 Sales will be screening Jake Paltrow’s thriller Young Ones, Irish romantic comedy Gold starring Kerry Condon and James Nesbitt, and ArgentinaSpain comedy I Thought It Was A Party, produced by Fernando Trueba. Another new comedy, directed by David Trueba, is Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed, which follows events when John Lennon came to Almeria to make a movie in the mid1960s. 6 Sales sister company Dreamcatchers will be selling Competition title Aloft, the first English language feature from Berlinale winner Claudia Llosa. Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy and Mélanie Laurent star. Meanwhile, Imagina will be screening Emilio Aragon’s new drama A Night In Old Mexico starring Robert Duvall and Jeremy Irvine. The company is also giving market screenings to Brazilian Western by Rene Sampaio and to psychological drama Wounded by Fernando Franco. Madrid-based Kevin Williams Associates will be showing a trailer of its new Japanese horror film The Little Match Murder Girl, which is in post and will be completed in time for Cannes. It is being sold through KWA’s Asian offshoot Elixir. DeAPlaneta is looking to catch buyers with its new horror picture Viral by director Lucas Figueroa, which is completed and screening. On a lighter note, the company will also be screening new footage from family film Millionaire Dog. David Castellanos at Cinema Republic will be screening Hassan’s Way (El Rayo), a road movie directed by Ernesto De Nova and Fran Araujo. Austrian documentary specialist Autlook is giving a market premiere to A Symphony Of Summits — The Alps From Above, a doc about the history and geography of the Alps. Autlook will also be presenting The New Rijksmuseum, a feature celebrating Amsterdam’s most famous museum. From Iceland, Dagur Kari’s Fusi — sold by BAC — is being given a market premiere by Icelandic Film Centre. The centre will also hold first screenings of Olaf de Fleur’s thriller Brave Men’s Blood and Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson’s comedy Paris Of The North. »
February 6, 2014 Screen International at Berlin 33 n
Feature EFM buzz
Asian sellers By Liz Shackleton Chinese-language cinema is well represented in this year’s Berlin line-up with three films in Competition and several others screening in various sections of the festival. Fortissimo Films is handling sales on mainland Chinese director Diao Yinan’s Competition title Black Coal, Thin Ice, about a former detective investigating a series of murders, as well as Hong Kong film-maker Fruit Chan’s post-apocalyptic thriller The Midnight After, which receives it world premiere in Panorama. Fortissimo’s slate also includes two other Panorama titles — gay-themed drama Unfriend, from the Philippines’ Joselito Altarejos, and Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange, which was snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics for North America, Germany and Scandinavia at Sundance. Fortissimo is also handling European and Latin American territories on Gina Kim’s Final Recipe, starring Michelle Yeoh, which is the opening film of Berlin’s Culinary Cinema section. Hong Kong-based Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) is handling sales on Dante Lam’s psychological thriller That Demon Within, starring Daniel Wu and Nick Cheung, which receives its world premiere in Panorama Special. EMP’s slate also includes Teddy Chen’s martial-arts drama Kung Fu Killer, starring Donnie Yen. Hong Kong’s Edko Films will be introducing The Golden Era, a biopic of Chinese writer Xiao Hong, directed by Ann Hui whose last film, A Simple Life, won best actress at Venice in 2011. Tang Wei (Lust, Caution) plays the writer who lived through turbulent times in China at the beginning of the last century. Edko’s slate also includes Chow Hin Yeung’s Rise Of The Legend, starring Eddie Peng. Distribution Workshop is launching sales on Tsui Hark’s highly anticipated 3D spy movie The Taking Of Tiger Mountain, based on the novel Tracks In The Snowy Forest, and starring Zhang Hanyu and Tony Leung Ka-fai. Meanwhile, We Distribution is introducing Matt Chow’s Golden Chickensss, the third in a series of comedies starring Sandra Ng as a prostitute witnessing a rapidlychanging Hong Kong. Among other Hong Kong-based companies, Pegasus Motion Pictures is selling David Lam’s crime thriller Z Storm, which recently started
The Suspect
n 34 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Horse is handling John Woo’s The Crossing, which
shooting with Louis Koo and Gordon Lam heading the cast, while Media Asia has action drama Helios, now in post and directed by Sunny Luk and Longman Leung (Cold War). Golden Network Asia is handling sales on family animation Bonta 3D and mainland Chinese filmmaker Ke Zhou’s The Master, about the legendary founder of the Choy Li Fut style of kung-fu. All Rights Entertainment also has a 3D animation, Boonie Bears To The Rescue 3D, which recently grossed $34m in mainland China. All Rights has also picked up Indian director Agneya Singh’s road movie M Cream. Beijing-based Huayi Brothers is selling Tian Yusheng’s romantic comedy Ex-Files, starring K-pop sensation Han Geng, and Feng Xiaogang’s recent hit Personal Tailor, while Beijing Galloping
(Clockwise from top left) The Midnight After, Golden Chickensss, A Tale Of Samurai Cooking — A True Love Story
is approaching the end of its shoot. Taiwan also has a strong presence in this year’s Berlin line-up. Taipei-based Ablaze Image is handling sales on Cho Li’s Panorama title The Rice Bomber, as well as Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast, which is screening in Culinary Cinema. Taiwan’s Flash Forward Entertainment is handling Midi Z’s Ice Poison, a Burma-set drama touching on drug addiction, which premieres in Panorama. Among Korean companies, Finecut is handling sales on Leesong Hee-il’s Panorama title Night Flight and recent pick-ups The Attorney, directed by Yang woo-seok and Lee Sujin’s Han Gong-ju — which won one of the three Tiger Awards at Rotterdam — both feature debuts. Recently a massive hit in Korea, The Attorney stars Song Kang-ho as a lawyer defending a student falsely accused of spying for North Korea, while Han Gong-ju won the top award at Marrakech. Korea’s M-Line Distribution is selling Jung Yoon-suk’s Forum title Non Fiction Diary, a documentary that examines a series of crimes and disasters in Korea in the 1990s, and has also picked up Bangladeshi director Mostofa S Farooki’s Ant Story, which premiered in Dubai. Lotte Entertainment’s slate also includes a Forum title — Lee Yong-seung’s office politics drama Ten Minutes — along with Lee Yeon-ho’s romantic comedy Hot Young Bloods, starring Lee Jong-suk and Park Bo-young. Showbox is selling action thrillers The Suspect, directed by Won Shin-yun (Seven Days) and Kim Seong-hun’s A Hard Day, while 9ers Entertainment has Shin Dong-yeop’s thriller Days Of Wrath, starring Joo Sang-wook. CJ Entertainment is handling sales outside Europe and Latin America on Final Recipe and also Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer, which has a special screening in Forum. Japan also has a title in Competition, Yoji Yamada’s The Little House, based on the award-winning novel by Kyoko Nakajima, which is being handled by Shochiku. Free Stone Productions is selling Forum title Forma, a slow-burning thriller directed by Ayumi Sakamoto, which receives its international premiere in Berlin. Meanwhile, Japan’s Gaga Corporation is handling Asian territories on an as-yet-untitled project from Tetsuya Nakashima, whose credits include the hit drama Confessions, and Culinary Cinema title A Tale Of Samurai Cooking — A True Love Story, directed by Yuzo Asahara. Nikkatsu is selling Saiji Yakumo’s high school drama My Pretend Girlfriend, starring Akari Hayami and Taro Takeuchi, while Toei will be screening Takashi Shimizu’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, a live-action take on the popular story of a young witch. NTV’s slate includes Hideo Nakata’s upcoms ing action thriller Monsterz. n
REX MEDIA / MORRO IMAGES — RITZ-CARLTON, SUITE 804
CO N TAC T: H e i k o N e m m e r t , D a n i e l Vo n B ra u n , G e o rg e L a s c u — g e o rg e @ re x f i l m s . c o m — 3 1 0 - 4 3 5 -7 3 8 3
JAPAN HOT TITLES
The Little House
Black Butler
Homeland
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Giovanni’s Island
Hot titles: Japan Japanese films to watch out for include a revenge thriller adapted from a hit manga, a drama about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and a children’s classic. By Jason Gray
Kubota makes his fictional feature debut with Homeland (Ieji), which world premieres in Panorama. It tells the story of a young man (Kenichi Matsuyama) who left his family almost two decades earlier, only to reappear following the March 11 disaster. He returns to his now-irradiated, deserted hometown inside the exclusion zone and begins to work the land as a farmer as his broken family slowly reunites. Masaaki Uchino, Yuko Tanaka and Sakura Ando co-star. The film opens domestically on March 1.
Black Butler
under the prolific director, Shinya Tsukamoto.
Contact Bitters End
Dirs Keiichi Sato, Kentaro Otani
Contact Free Stone Productions miyuki.takamatsu@freestone.jp
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Buyers looking for stylised Japanese action may be interested in this adaptation of Yana Toboso’s hit manga, which has previously spawned TV animations, video games and a musical. Set in a Victorian England-like universe of the near future, the liveaction feature stars Hiro Mizushima as butler Sebastian Michaelis, who is at the beck and call of adolescent master Shiori Genpo (Ayame Gouriki). In a soul-selling bargain with the demonic Sebastian, Shiori relies on the butler’s impeccable service and deadly martial-arts ability to avenge a past family tragedy. Co-directed by Keiichi Sato and Kentaro Otani, whose previous features include brutal animated feature Ashura and the Nana films respectively, the film is currently a top 10 theatrical release in Japan. Contact Gaga Corporation
Giovanni’s Island Dir Mizuho Nishikubo Japanese animation house Production I.G is known for cult favourites, including the Ghost In The Shell franchise and Blood: The Last Vampire, while 2012’s A Letter To Momo garnered mainstream success around the globe. Mizuho Nishikubo’s Giovanni’s Island is also striving for universal appeal with a post-war tale of children from different cultures bonding on Russia’s Sakhalin Oblast. Nishikubo is a longtime key collaborator of animation master Mamoru Oshii, who wrote Nishikubo’s previous feature Musashi: The Dream Of The Last Samurai, which screened at Locarno and Sitges. Buyers can see Giovanni’s Island at EFM before it opens domestically in Japan through Warner Brothers on February 22.
intl@gaga.co.jp
Forma Dir Ayumi Sakamoto Ayumi Sakamoto’s debut feature grabbed the top domestic prize at October’s Tokyo festival, and was quickly snapped up by Berlin’s Forum for its international premiere. This quietly gripping drama depicts the gradually darkening relationship between two former high-school classmates who reunite by chance as young women but now view their shared past in very different ways. Newcomers Nagisa Umeno and Emiko Matsuoka leave a strong impression as the one-time friends, with veteran Ken Mitsuishi (Himizu) lending gravity to the proceedings. The suspenseful climax generates enough can’t-look-away moments to rival full-on genre films. Sakamoto apprenticed
■ 36 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Contact Production I.G, Francesco Prandoni francesco@ production-ig.co.jp
Homeland Dir Nao Kubota
Forma
As Japan continues to struggle with the effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, film-makers are beginning to tackle the topic more directly. Award-winning, prolific documentary director Nao
info@bitters.co.jp
Dir Takashi Shimizu J-horror virtuoso Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge, Tormented) shifts gear with a live-action adaptation of Eiko Kadono’s 1985 bestselling novel Kiki’s Delivery Service. That book, which spawned five sequels, was famously adapted into a 1989 animated feature directed by Hayao Miyazaki. In this new version, newcomer Fuka Koshiba plays Kiki, a teenage budding witch who, along with her talking black cat, takes a job delivering baked goods on her magic broom. Tadanobu Asano appears as a veterinarian. Buyers can see the full film at market. Toei is handling sales outside Asia and distributing it locally on March 1. Contact Toei
international@toei.co.jp
The Little House Dir Yoji Yamada The 82-year old Yoji Yamada is back in Competition at the Berlinale with family drama The Little House (Chiisai Ouchi). Set against the backdrop of pre-war and wartime Japan — with some sequences in the present — Takako Matsu stars as a housewife who falls in love with her husband’s younger colleague. Newcomer Haru Kuroki has generated strong word of mouth for her performance as Matsu’s devoted young maid, who soon grows conflicted over her knowledge of the affair. Yamada has competed four times previously, with 2007’s Love And Honour opening the Panorama and About Her Brother closing the festival in 2010, the year the film-maker received a Berlinale Camera. s Contact Shochiku ibd@shochiku.co.jp ■
SC FILMS BERLIN 2014 SCREENINGS INTERNATIONAL
JUNGLE SHUFFLE (3D): MARKET PREMIERE
THE LAST SHOWING: MARKET PREMIERE
Friday 7th Feb
09:15
CineStar 6
Friday 7th Feb
14:55
CineStar 5
Monday 10th Feb 17:00
CineStar 6
Sunday 9th Feb
13:45
CineStar IMAX
BERLIN: UK FILM STAND, MGB #39, Stand tel: +49-30-863-950-446 Simon Crowe (CEO) t: +44 7764-942-149 e: simon@scfilmsinternational.com Fumie Suzuki Lancaster (Sales & Marketing Director) t: +44 7804-632-427 e: fumie@scfilmsinternational.com
SC Films International London: 1st Floor | 56 Brewer Street | Soho | London W1F 9TJ | United Kingdom | t +44 (0)20 7287 1900 | www.scfilmsinternational.com
TAIWAN HOT TITLES
Hot titles: Taiwan Films exploring Buddhism, crystal meth and social justice are set to make waves in Berlin and beyond. By Liz Shackleton
The Rice Bomber
Journey To The West
Ice Poison
Kano
Ice Poison
Kano
Silence
Dir Midi Z
Dir Umin Boya
Dir Cheng Wen-tang
The third feature from Burma-Chinese film-maker Midi Z follows a young farmer who is forced to move to the city to work as a motorbike taxi driver. He meets a young woman who has started running crystal meth, a drug abused widely in countries such as Myanmar and North Korea, and agrees to become her driver. As with Midi Z’s two previous features, Return To Burma (2011) and Poor Folk (2012), which both screened at Rotterdam, Ice Poison explores the political and economic situation in Burma with sensitivity and subtle humour. The Taiwan-Myanmar co-production is receiving its world premiere in Berlin’s Panorama section.
The directorial debut of Chinese-aboriginal filmmaker Umin Boya, this $10m sports drama is produced by Wei Te-sheng and Jimmy Huang who worked together on Wei’s Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale. Set in the 1920s, when Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the story focuses on a multiethnic baseball team making its way to Japan’s high school championships. Their coach is played by Japanese character actor Masatoshi Nagase, whose credits include Yoji Yamada’s The Hidden Blade and Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train, and the cast also includes Takao Osawa, Maki Sakai and Togo Igawa. The film is being readied for a February 27 release in Taiwan.
Currently in pre-production, Cheng Wen-tang’s Silence is a crime drama that explores issues of social justice through the story of the murder of a real-estate mogul. Produced by Taiwan’s Joint Entertainment International and Dreamosa Film, the project took part in last year’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion in Taiwan and is scheduled to start shooting in late April or early May. Cheng’s debut feature Somewhere Over The Dreamland (2002) won the Critics’ Week award at Venice. His most recent feature Tears (2007), also a crime drama, screened at the Busan and Karlovy Vary film festivals.
Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast
Contact James Liu, Joint Entertainment james@j-ent.com.tw
Contact Patrick Mao Huang, Flash Forward Entertainment patrick@ffe.com.tw
Contact Ablaze Image, June Wu junewu@ablazeimage.com
Journey To The West
The Rice Bomber
Dir Tsai Ming-liang
Dir Cho Li
Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang follows 2013’s Venice grand jury prize winner Stray Dogs with the sixth film in his ‘Walker’ project, a series that has included No Form, Sleepwalk and Diamond Sutra. This 56-minute film follows a monk taking slow steps as part of a centuries-old Buddhist ritual and was filmed in the bustling streets of Marseilles. Tsai draws parallels with Xuanzang, the seventhcentury Chinese monk who travelled across Asia to retrieve Buddhist sutras and whose stories are told in Chinese classic novel Journey To The West. Lee Kang Sheng plays the monk and the cast also includes Leos Carax regular Denis Lavant. The France-Taiwan co-production is receiving its world premiere in Panorama.
Based on true events, Cho Li’s The Rice Bomber tells the story of Taiwanese farmer Yang Rumen who created 17 harmless rice bombs to draw the government’s attention to deteriorating conditions in the agricultural industry. He detonated the first bomb in 2003 after local farmers had struggled for years against agricultural imports and Taiwan had joined the World Trade Organisation. Produced by Lee Lieh and Yeh Jufeng, the film stars Huang Chienwei (Yang Yang), Nikki Hsieh (Honey Pupu) and Michael Chang, known for his role in drama series Falling. Cho Li turned to directing after producing several successful films with Yeh Jufeng. Her directing credits include thriller Zoom Hunting and Chinaset drama The Next Magic. It is screening at EFM.
Chen Yu-hsun’s entertaining comedy, which is screening in Berlin’s Culinary Cinema section, was a huge hit last summer in Taiwan, due to its strong local flavour and likeable performances. Kimi Hsia stars as a would-be fashion model who is forced to return to her home village and ends up fulfilling her father’s wishes to enter the ‘bandoh’ or banquet catering business. Popular TV actress Lin Mei-hsiu also stars as her mother and Yo Yang plays the love interest. Produced by Lee Lieh and Yeh Jufeng, the film marks Chen’s return to features after a 16-year hiatus during which he focused on TV commercials. His previous comedies include Tropical Fish (1995) and Love Go Go (1998).
Contact Delphyne Besse, Urban Distribution International delphyne@urbandistrib.com
Contact Ablaze Image, June Wu junewu@ablazeimage.com
Contact Ablaze Image, June Wu s junewu@ablazeimage.com ■
■ 38 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast Dir Chen Yu-hsun
EFM INDUSTRY DEBATES 2014 FEB 710 GROPIUS MIRROR RESTAURANT NIEDERKIRCHNERSTRASSE Hosted by
7
FRIDAY 16:30–17:30
The Act (and Art) of The Doc Documentary and non-fiction filmmaking is at a crossroads. While television broadcasters scale back their doc budgets, cinematic documentaries continue to enjoy critical and commercial success. While the audience for excellent non-fiction is out there, bridging the financial gap between idea and finished film has never been more difficult. Artistically, however, documentaries have arguably never been stronger. New docs – from the Oscar-nominated “The Act of Killing” to the ambitious 3-D project “Cathedrals of Culture” to U.S. studio efforts such as “Chimpanzee” – are pushing the artistic limits of the non-fiction form, escaping the documentary niche and appealing to a wider audience. MODERATOR Scott Roxborough THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER SPEAKERS Marc Bauder DIRECTOR, GERMANY Anaїs Clanet WIDE HOUSE, FRANCE André Singer PRODUCER, UK
8
SATURDAY 16:30–17:30
9
SUNDAY 16:30–17:30
Producers’ Lessons Learned Producers, quite simply, are the unsung heroes who get films made. We talk to some of the top producers working across the globe today about the secrets to their successes, and the lessons they have learned from the bumps along the way. Hear practical advice about navigating finance, packaging, creative differences and on-set dramas from these producers still active on the frontlines of filmmaking. Get the experts’ first-hand advice that every up-and-coming producer should hear – as well as guidance on how producers can best work with directors, actors, financiers, sales companies, festivals and distributors. MODERATOR Wendy Mitchell SCREEN INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS Robin Gutch WARP FILMS, UK Lars Knudsen PARTS & LABO, USA Judy Tossell EGOLI TOSSELL, GERMANY Louise Vesth PRODUCER, DENMARK New film sales opportunities in fast-moving Asia Unlike Europe, Asia’s theatrical markets are growing. But the key to unlocking film sales potential in the region is understanding that the region is very far from homogenous: China led the way last year with 28% growth at the box office. If China imposes import controls, but with growing copyright protection it offers significant new opportunities through video and TV sales. South Korea saw film imports leap by 50% in 2013, while local films squeezed Hollywood. Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are being galvanized by cinema building. But what do audiences want to watch? This seminar will not only look at the sales and distribution strategies for exporting film to Asia, it will also look at the diverse strategies required. MODERATOR Patrick Frater VARIETY
10
MONDAY 15:30–17:00
The Changing Market Content everywhere, anytime and on every device is finally a reality; due to technical progress, we see radical changes in media content and platforms. The number of TV stations and online platforms is increasing, creating demand for both original and acquired content. The definitions of media categories are eroding. The traditional value chain is outdated: TV series find their way into film festivals, online content is sold on global TV markets, live events are screened in cinemas worldwide, premieres become online events. The film industry is chasing the constantly changing market conditions and consumer needs, in order to secure its sustainability. MODERATOR Michele Ohayon DIAMOND LANE FILMS SPEAKERS Nico Hofmann PRODUCER, GERMANY Mark Johnson PRODUCER, USA Melissa Keeping EVENT CINEMA ASSOCIATION, UK Chris Rice WME, USA Christina Roger MAGNOLIA PICTURES, USA Stefan Schulz WATCHEVER, GERMANY
Panel discusssions followed by networking drinks. EFM 2014_Industry Debates_Screen_245x335_RZ.indd 1
02.02.14 22:52
Screenings
Jury grid, page 56
Edited by Paul Lindsell paullindsell@gmail.com
Berlin theatres Adria Schlossstrasse 48 12165 Berlin – Steglitz
FILMTHEATER AM FRIEDRICHSHAIN Botzowstrasse 1-5 10407 Berlin
Cinema Arsenal Potsdamer Strasse 2 10785 Berlin
FRIEDRICHSTADT-PALAST Friedrichstrasse 107 10117 Berlin
Berlinale Palast Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 10785 Berlin
CinemaxX Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Strasse 5, Entrance Voxstrasse 10785 Berlin
HAUS DER BERLINER FESTSPIELE Schaperstrasse 24 10719 Berlin
HAUS DER KULTUREN DER WELT John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10 10557 Berlin
CineStar Cubix Festival & Press 21:00 2030 (NUOC)
(Vietnam) Dir: NguyenVo Nghiem-Minh. Cast: Quynh Hoa, Quy Binh. Southern Vietnam, 2030. Global warming means large parts of the country are now under water.
FestivaL
and press
09:30 The Great Museum
(Austria) Dir: Johannes Holzhausen. A look behind the scenes of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna: curators, technicians, restorers, taxidermists, marketing strategists and the management board at work. An institutional portrait straddling proud tradition and the economics of culture. Forum press CinemaxX 6
11:30 Thou Wast Mild and Lovely
(US) Dir: Josephine Decker. Cast:Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub, Robert Longstreet, Kristin Slaysman, Matt Orme. What starts as a harmless love story gradually morphs into a dark thriller.
A woman uncovers a multinational’s genetic experiments. Atmospheric ‘2030’ is part apocalyptic film, part sci-fi, part thriller and part romance. Panorama festival and press CinemaxX 7
When Akin moves to Kentucky to work on Sarah and her father’s farm, he has little idea of the turns his relationship with this strange, yet attractive woman will end up taking. Forum press CinemaxX 6
12:00 The Grand Budapest Hotel
(UK, Germany) Dir: Wes Anderson. Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody. Concierge Gustave is bequeathed a Renaissance painting by Madame D in gratitude for certain services. When her son accuses him of legacy hunting, Gustave and the hotel’s lobby boy, Zero, become caught up in a life-threatening row about family assets. Competition press CinemaxX 7
13:45 Butter on the Latch
(US) Dir: Josephine
n 40 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Decker. Sarah Small, Isolde Chae-Lawrence, Charlie Hewson. Inspired by a Bulgarian folk song, this striking drama shows how two friends reconnect at a music festival deep in the forests of California. Sensual and euphoric to start with, the mood slowly darkens into hysteria and confusion. Forum press CinemaxX 6
15:30 Los Angeles
(Mexico, Germany) Dir: Damian John Harper. Cast: Mateo Bautista Matias, Lidia Garcia Garcia, Marcos Rodriguez Ruiz, Daniel Bautista Gutierrez. A young man in rural Mexico dreams of a better life in far off Los Angeles. Yet when he runs into trouble with the local gangsters whose support he was relying on, his goal recedes further and further into the distance. Forum press CinemaxX 6
17:30 Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
(US) Dir: David Zellner. Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, Nathan Zellner, David Zellner. The solitary Kumiko finds a video cassette allegedly showing the true story of a briefcase full of money buried in snowbound
Minnesota. Driven by the hope of escaping her humdrum life, she makes the journey to far-off America. Forum press CinemaxX 6
18:30 American Hustle
(US) Dir: David O Russell. Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Jack Huston, Michael Pena, Louis CK. Two con artists find themselves obliged to help an FBI agent concoct a fake deal worth millions in order to convict a corrupt politician. Berlinale Special Gala press CinemaxX 9
19:30
Alexanderplatz Rathausstrasse 1 10778 Berlin
INTERNATIONAL
CINESTAR imax
MOVIE THEATER AT MARTIN-GROPIUS-BAU
Potsdamer Strasse 4 10785 Berlin
Niederkirchnerstrasse 7 10963 Berlin
CineStar in the Sony Centre
PASSAGE
Potsdamer Strasse 4 10785 Berlin
Karl-Marx-Strasse 131 12043 Berlin – Neukolln
Colosseum
PHILHARMONIE BERLIN
Schonhauser Allee 123 10437 Berlin
Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1 10785 Berlin
Cubix
THALIA PROGRAMM KINOS POTSDAM
Alexanderplatz, Rathausstrasse 1, 10178 Berlin
Rudolf-Breitscheid-Str. 50 14482 Potsdam-Babelsberg
Delphi Filmpalast Kantstrasse 12a 10623 Berlin
TONI & TONINO Antonplatz 1 13086 Berlin
EISZEIT KINO Zeughofstrasse 20 10997 Berlin – Kreuzberg
The Grand Budapest Hotel
EVA LICHTSPIELE
Competition Berlinale Palast
Blissestrasse 18 10713 Berlin – Wilmersdorf
Shadow Days
FILMKUNST 66
(China) Dir: Zhao Dayong. Cast: Liang Ming, Li Ziqian, Liu Yu. Renwei returns to his rural hometown with his pregnant girlfriend in tow, where his uncle, the mayor, enforces the one-child policy with violent fervour. As Renwei gets caught up in the brutal operations, his relationship runs into difficulties.
Bleibtreustrasse 12 10623 Berlin
Forum press CinemaxX 6
Karl-Marx-Allee 33 10178 Berlin
20:30 The Grand Budapest Hotel Competition Friedrichstadt-Palast
21:00 2030 (NUOC) See box, above left
Zeughauskino Unter den Linden 2 10117 Berlin
ZOO PALAST Hardenbergstrasse 29a 10623 Berlin » Screening times and venues are correct at the time of going to press but subject to alteration.
21:30 Seaburners
(Turkey) Dir: Melisa Onel. Cast: Mira Furlan, Timucin Esen, Ahmet Rifat Sungar. Before the austere backdrop of the Turkish Black Sea coast, a foreign botanist, a »
CINEMAVAULT EFM SCREENINGS
THE MOMENT
JOHNNY CHRIST
Directed by Jane Weinstock
Directed by Mark Maggiori
SCREENING TODAY 11:20 CinemaxX 11
SCREENING TODAY 13:00 CinemaxX 13
THE RED ROBIN
HEARTLAND
Directed by Michael Z. Wechsler
Directed by Fred Holmes
SCREENING TOMORROW 11:00 CinemaxX 13
SCREENING TOMORROW 12:45 CinemaxX 13
BRASSERIE ROMANTIQUE
THE CRYPT
Suspense Thriller Jennifer Jason Leigh Meat Loaf Martin Henderson
Psychological Thriller Ryan O’Nan Judd Hirsch C.S. Lee
Culinary Comedy Koen De Bouw Barbara Sarafian
Directed by Joël Vanhoebrouck
SCREENING TOMORROW 14:15 CinemaxX 18
Suspense Mark Wystrach Steeve Olson Cheyann Benedict
Cross-Cultural Comedy Frank Ahearn Prem Chopra Antonia DeNardo
Supernatural Thriller Mark Harris Natalie Stone Peter Woodward
Directed by Mark Murphy
SCREENING SATURDAY 14:30 CinemaxX 13
BLOODLUST
SIDE BY SIDE
Directed by Richard Johnstone
Directed by Arthur Landon
SCREENING SATURDAY 16:10 CinemaxX 13
SCREENING SUNDAY 12:40 CinemaxX 18
THE COLOR OF THE CHAMELEON
XL
Vampire Thriller Victoria Hopkins Angela Zahra
Spy Thriller Lilia Abadjieva Mihail Bilalov
Directed by Emil Hristow
SCREENING SUNDAY 15:00 CinemaxX 13
Family Adventure Bel Powley Alfie Field
Drama Olafur Darri Olafsson Maria Birta Directed by Marteinn Thorsson
SCREENING SUNDAY 19:15 CinemaxX 15
BERLIN: MARTIN GROPIUS-BAU, STAND #143 TEL:+1.416.363.6060 EXT. 200 TORONTO: 1240 BAY STREET, SUITE 307. M5R 2A7 | SALES@CINEMAVAULT.COM
HISTORY OF FEAR
When a heat wave grips the suburbs, blackouts and waves of pollution push the social order to the brink of collapse, forcing each inhabitant to confront his own motives, instincts and fears. Market Screening: Feb. 10 / 3:15pm / CineStar 6 FeStiVaL ScreeningS: Feb. 9 / 10:30pm / Berlinale Palast Feb. 10 / 1:00pm / Zoo Palast 1 Feb. 10 / 3:30pm / Friedrichstadtpalast Feb. 10 / 7:00pm / Haus der Berliner Festspiele
52 TUESDAYS
16-year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans to gender transition and their time together becomes limited to Tuesday afternoons. “Boast[s] breakout talent both in front of and behind the camera.” - Variety Market ScreeningS: Feb. 7 / 4:00pm / CinemaxX 13 Feb. 9 / 12:35pm / CinemaxX 12
SundanCe World Cinema direCting PriZe Winner
FOOD CHAINS
FeStiVaL ScreeningS: Feb. 8 / 8:00pm / Haus der Kulturen der Welt Kino 1 Feb. 9 / 4:30pm / CinemaxX 3 Feb. 13 / 9:30am / Zoo Palast 1 Feb. 15 / 3:30pm / Cubix 8
In this exposé, an intrepid group of workers battle to defeat the $4 trillion global supermarket industry, revealing the rampant abuse of farm laborers in the United States. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, featuring Eva Longoria and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Market ScreeningS: Feb. 7 / 1:10pm / CinemaxX 14 Feb. 8 / 2:30pm / CinemaxX 19 FeStiVaL ScreeningS: Feb. 10 / 10:00pm / mgB Kino Feb. 14 / 3:00pm / mgB Kino
MEMPHIS
THE DISOBEDIENT A strange singer drifts through the mythic city of Memphis, surrounded by legendary musicians, a righteous preacher, and a wolf pack of kids.
Two childhood soul mates reconnect years later and embark on an impromptu bicycle trip, hoping to escape the doldrums of adult life.
marKet SCreening:
marKet SCreening: Feb. 9 / 9:00am / arsenal 2
SCreening todaY
Feb. 6 / 6:40pm / CinemaxX 12
ryan Kampe rk@visitfilms.com
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aida liPera al@visitfilms.com
lorna-lee Sagebiel lls@visitfilms.com
2/4/14 7:59 AM
VF_
59 AM
A war photographer retreats to a small town in Sicily after being held captive during the conflict in Libya.
WAR StoRY
Starring Catherine Keener, Hafsia Herzi and Ben Kingsley “Blessed with a suitably haunting (…) performance by the ever-impressive Catherine Keener.” - Screen International “Compelling and superbly acted.” - The Hollywood Reporter “An impressionistic landscape of emotions.” - Twitch Film Market ScreeningS: Feb. 9 / 4:10pm / CinemaxX 4 Feb. 10 / 10:35am / CinemaxX 13
Set within Rio’s social elite, a teenage boy struggles to escape his overprotective parents as his family spirals into bankruptcy.
CASA GRANDE
oR thE BAllAD of PooR JEAN
Market Screening: Feb. 9 / 11:15am / CinemaxX 14
A couple’s happy existence is upended when Abbey gets pregnant and Dermot is too immature to consider the idea of fatherhood.
StAY
Starring Aidan Quinn and Taylor Shilling “Carolsfeld maintains her excellent track record in creating (…) storylines that cut right to the heart of human interactions and relationships.” - We Got This Covered
Market Screening: Feb. 9 / 4:20pm / CinemaxX 16
An intimate examination of a contemporary artist couple whose living and working patterns are threatened by the imminent sale of their home.
EXhIBItIoN
“An exquisite, chilly film.” - Variety “An impressively mature and crafted work.” - The Hollywood Reporter Market Screening: Feb. 7 / 10:10am / CinemaxX 17
BERLIN OFFICE Martin Gropius Bau #12 +49 174 2688 599
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2/4/14 8:01 AM
SCREENINGS
2014
PREMIERES
I M V
M F E INC N MUSIC, IO IS V / L A ION INTERNAT A I D E M W E G O R R VANTA O M O T G N I N E E R SC
human trafficker and a relationship doomed to failure are the central coordinates of this dark, atmospheric drama. Forum press CinemaxX 6
Market screenings
9:30 The Great Museum
(Austria) Wide, 94mins. Dir: Johannes Holzhausen. This feature documentary portrays one of the most important museums in the world, Vienna’s Museum of Art History. CinemaxX 6
10:15 Stage Fright
lt o v e R e Th
5 1 : 7 1 7 b e F r i d a y, F
(Canada) XYZ Films, 89mins. Dir: Jerome Sable. Cast: Minnie Driver, Meat Loaf, Allie MacDonald. Starry-eyed teenage kitchen hand Camilla Swanson lands herself a role in the Broadwaybound showcase at the musical theatre camp where she works, but just when rehearsals begin, blood starts to spill. The camp is being terrorised by Metal Killer, a masked slasher who sings death metal rock while hunting down every last pretentious cast member of the show. CinemaxX 2
We Are Mari Pepa
(Mexico) FiGa Films, 95mins. Dir: Samuel Kishi Leopo. Cast: Alejandro Gallardo, Arnold Ramirez, Moises Galindo, Rafael Andrade. Alex, a 16-year-old teenager living with his grandma, has various plans to occupy himself during the summer: write a new song with his rock band, find a job and have his first sexual experience. dffb-Kino
11:00 Living is Easy with Eyes Closed
(Spain) 6 Sales, 108mins. Dir: David Trueba. Cast: Javier Camara, Natalia De Molina, Fransesc Colomer. In 1966, John Lennon visits Almeria to shoot a movie, ‘How I Won the War”’. Paco, who works as an English teacher, decides to meet him. In his travels he is joined by two youngsters, Juanjo and Belen. CineStar 7
Open Windows
(Spain) Wild Bunch, 95mins. Dir: Nacho Vigalondo. Cast: Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey, Neil Maskell. Tonight, Nick is the luckiest guy on earth. In a few hours, he’ll be meeting Jill Goddard, the hottest actress around. She’s currently in Austin, Texas, promoting her latest movie, and he’s
won a prize in an online contest consisting of an invitation to the premiere and dinner with her. Then Nick receives a call on his cell phone. It’s some guy named Chord, who claims to be working for the movie’s promotional campaign. CinemaxX 4 by invitation only
Quantum Love
(France) Pathe International, 82mins. Dir: Lisa Azuelos. Cast: Sophie Marceau, Francois Cluzet. CinemaxX 8
The RiceBomber See box, below
Studiocanal Promoreels
(France) Studiocanal, 90mins. Dir: Studiocanal. CineStar 2
The Well
(Mexico) Mundial, 102mins. Dir: Michael Rowe. Cast: Maria Fernanda Sass, Tania Arredondo, Arnoldo Picazzo. Following the divorce of her parents, six-yearold Caro moves into the house of her mother’s new boyfriend, Felipe. Caro does not have a good relationship with Felipe and instead finds refuge in the neglected backyard of the house. CinemaxX Studio 13 by invitation only
th
2 t t o i r Mar IFTA PAITVILEIOBN1 MGB SU
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Market 11:00 The Rice Bomber
(Taiwan) Ablaze Image, 115mins. Dir: Cho Li. Cast: Huang Chien-wie, Nikki Hsieh, Michael Chang.
With the agricultural industry rapidly declining, a farmer created 17 harmless rice bombs in the hope of waking up the conscience of the government. CinemaxX Studio 12
»
n 44 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
February 8th, 11:15am at Zoo Palast Club A Hardenbergstraße 29A
February 9th, 17:30 (5:30pm) at Zoo Palast Club A Hardenbergstraße 29A
February 7th, 11:00am at Marriot 2 Inge-Beishem-Platz 1
Ritz-Carlton - Suite 749
11:30
11:15 Mary Queen of Scots
To Kill a Man
(Switzerland) Picture Tree International, 120mins. Dir: Thomas Imbach. Cast: Camille Rutherford, Mehdi Dehbi, Sean Biggerstaff, Edward Hogg.
(Chile, France) Film Factory Entertainment, 90mins. Dir: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras. Cast: Daniel Candia, Daniel Antivilo, Alejandra Yanes, Ariel Matel. When Jorge, a hardworking family man who’s barely making ends meet, gets mugged by Kalule, a neighbourhood delinquent, Jorge’s son decides to confront the attacker, only to get himself shot. Even though Jorge’s son nearly dies, Kalule’s sentence is minimal, heightening the friction.
CinemaxX Studio 16
11:20 The Moment
(US) Cinemavault, 90mins. Dir: Jane Weinstock. Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alessandra Torresani, Martin Henderson. After a tumultuous affair between international photojournalist Lee and troubled writer John ends in John’s disappearance, Lee lands in a mental hospital to recuperate. She strikes up a friendship with a fellow patient bearing an uncanny resemblance to her missing lover. CinemaxX Studio 11
CineStar 6
Not My Type
(France/Belgium) Films Distribution, 110mins. Dir: Lucas Belvaux. Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Loic Corbery, Anne Coesens. Clement, a young Parisian philosophy professor, is
★★★★ BRITPIC
transferred to Arras for a year. Far from Paris and its nightlife, he doesn’t know what to do with his free time. Then he meets Jennifer, a pretty hairdresser who becomes his lover. Free love and free hearts, they could live a beautiful love story together if it weren’t for the gaping social and cultural divide between them. CinemaxX 10
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely
(US) New Europe Film Sales, 76mins. Dir: Josephine Decker. Cast: Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub, Robert Longstreet, Kristin Slaysman. A man finds himself a job on a farm in the wilds of Kentucky, only to learn perhaps he was hired for reasons far more complex than just farm work. CinemaxX 6
11:50 Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery
(Germany) Global Screen, 98mins. Dir: Arne Birkenstock. Cast: Wolfgang Beltracchi, Helene Beltracchi. A thought-provoking yet amusing documentary on the life and times of Wolfgang Beltracchi, who tricked the international art world for nearly 40 years by forging and selling paintings of early 20th-century masters. CinemaxX 2
12:00 Puzzle
(Japan) Kadokawa Corporation, 84mins. Dir: Eisuke Naito. Cast: Kaho, Shuhei Nomura. Marriott 2
12:15 Qissa
(Germany) The Match Factory, 109mins. Dir:
Anup Singh. Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome. A tale of refugees after the 1947 partition of India. A tale of a father and daughter. Except the father is a ghost and it was his daughter who killed him. CinemaxX Studio 14
12:30 Gods Behaving Badly
(US) Lightning Entertainment, 90mins. Dir: Marc Turtletaub. Cast: Christopher Walken, John Turturro, Sharon Stone, Alicia Silverstone. The deities of Mount Olympus descend on the streets of New York City to intervene in the lives of a young couple – with hilarious results. CinemaxX Studio 15
12:35 Brother (Dzma)
(France) MPM Film,
99mins. Dir: Teona Grenade, Thierry Grenade. Cast: Iraki Ramishvili, Zurab Tsirekidze. CinemaxX Studio 19
12:40 Lovers
(France) Kinology, 93mins. Dir: Emmanuel Mouret. Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Joey Starr, Virginie Ledoyen. CinemaxX Studio 17
Wind of Change
(France) TF1 International, 95mins. Dir: Nicolas Castro. Cast: Pio Marmai, Laetitia Casta, Gaspard Proust, Andre Dussollier. A disabused journalist, an ambitious adman, a pretty politico and a soft-porn impresario friend – lovers, brothers, enemies. Four lives, one destiny. CineStar 2 by invitation only
★★★★ FILMSPOITATION
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n 46 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
SCREENINGS
12:45 Cuban Fury
changed. That was the day I met Tanya. Kino Arsenal 2
See box, right
13:00 A Fine Step
(US) VMI Worldwide, 111mins. Dir: Jonathan Meyers. Cast: Luke Perry, Armand Assante, Leonor Varela, Anna Claire Sneed. When an expert horseman suffers a traumatic accident with his top horse, he overcomes his injury with the help of a girl who helps rehabilitate him and the horse, Fandango. CinemaxX 4
Giovanni’s Island
(Japan) Production IG, 102mins. Dir: Mizuho Nishikubo. Cast: Kota Yokoyama, Polina Ilyushenko. On August 15, 1945, they told us we had lost the war. At that time, we did not really understand. Then one day, everything
Gold
(Ireland) 6 Sales, 85mins. Dir: Niall Heery. Cast: James Nesbitt, David Wilmot, Kerry Condon, Maisie Williams. Twelve years ago, Ray left town after his childhood sweetheart, Alice, dumped him, taking their daughter away from him. Now he must return home at the request of his ailing father, who wishes to see his granddaughter before it’s too late. But things take a turn for the absurd when Ray realises his daughter and her mother have built a new life with his former PE teacher, a controlling and regimented figure who is the direct opposite of Ray. CineStar 7
Hello Carter
(UK) Bankside Films,
81mins. Dir: Anthony Wilcox. Cast: Charlie Cox, Jodie Whittaker, Paul Schneider. Carter’s stumbling attempts to reunite with his ex-girlfriend take him on a wild goose chase around London, meeting some unlikely accomplices along the way. CinemaxX 8
Johnny Christ
(France) Cinemavault, 102mins. Dir: Mark Maggiori. Cast: Steve Olson, Mark Wystrach, Cheyann Benedict, Alyssa Geraghty. The arrival of a Christ-like figure changes the lives forever for the residents of a small desert town. CinemaxX Studio 13
Market 12:45
Longwave
Cuban Fury
(Switzerland/France) Films Boutique, 85mins. Dir: Lionel Baier. Cast: Valerie Donzelli, Michel Vuillermoz, Patrick Lapp.
(UK) Studiocanal, 100mins. Dir: James Griffiths. Cast: Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, Olivia Colman.
Beneath Bruce Garrett’s underconfident, overweight exterior, the passionate heart of a salsa king lies dormant. Now, one woman is about to reignite his Latin fire. CinemaxX 1
»
“DYER IS BACK TO HIS BEST. AWESOME!” GQ MAGAZINE “DEATHLOADED WISH FOR 2013” MAGAZINE MANIFEST FILM SALES presents
A FILM BY STEPHEN REYNOLDS
PRODUCED BY JONATHAN SOTHCOTT
SCREENING TODAY - THURDAY 6TH FEB, CINEMAXX 4 - 17:00 credits not contractual
February 6, 2014 Screen International at Berlin 47 n
SCREENINGS
2014
PREMIERES
I M V
M F E INC N MUSIC, IO IS V / L A ION INTERNAT A I D E M E Y G A VANTA D O T G N I N E E R SC
Market 14:05 Karnaval
(Turkey) Alpha Violet, 95mins. Dir: Can Kilcioglu. Cast: Serdar Orcin, Tulin Ozen, Ipek Bilgin. April 1974. Julie, a young feminist journalist and the cunning Joseph, leading reporter of the Swiss radio, have been sent to Portugal to investigate Switzerland’s aid to poor countries. Sparks fly during the bus trip with Bob, a sound engineer approaching retirement. When suddenly the workers’ revolution is breaking out, things get out of control. CinemaxX Studio 11
Three Brothers: The Return
T
p e t S e n i AF
0 0 : 3 1 6 b h u r s d a y, F e th
4 x x a Cinem
IFTA PAITVILEIOBN1 MGB SU
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(France) Wild Bunch, 106mins. Dir: Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan, Pascal Legitimus. Cast: Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan, Pascal Legitimus. CineStar 4
13:10 Paris Follies
(France) SND – Groupe M6, 100mins. Dir: Marc Fitoussi. Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Michael Nyqvist, Pio Marmai. Brigitte and Xavier have a good farming life. Brigitte, a sophisticated dreamer, keeps hoping for something more. To escape the monotony, she goes on a solo, whirlwind weekend in Paris to find freedom and adventure.
CinemaxX Studio 15
Screen, 99mins. Dir: Nadav Schirman. This real-life thriller tells the story of one of Israel’s prized intelligence sources, recruited to spy on his own people for more than a decade. CineStar 6
13:20
The Green Prince
(Germany, UK) Global
Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, Hannah Murray. An uplifting story of renaissance, friendship and romance over a long, dream-like summer. CinemaxX 10
13:45 Butter on the Latch
Gravy
(US) 72mins.
(US) Synchronicity Entertainment, 100mins. Dir: James Roday. Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Lily Cole, Jimmi Simpson, Michael Weston. It’s Halloween night. A trio of costumed misfits with very special dietary requirements seize a Mexican cantina and force the staff to engage in a late night of gaming, food and drink. The only caveat is what’s on the menu… and who will survive till morning.
CinemaxX 6
CinemaxX Studio 18
13:30 The Famous Five 3
(Germany) Beta Cinema, 94mins. Dir: Mike Marzuk. Cast: Valeria Eisenbarth, Justus Schlingensiepen, Neele Marie Nickel, Quirin Oettl. The adventures of the Famous Five continue on an exotic island. CinemaxX Studio 16
MGB-Kino
13:15
n 48 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
Two lonely protagonists, drifting around due to the “blows of their families” find each other thanks to Karnaval carpetcleaner.
God Help the Girl
(UK) HanWay Films, 111mins. Dir: Stuart Murdoch. Cast:
14:05 Karnaval See box, above
14:15 The Babadook
(Australia) Entertainment One, 94mins. Dir: Jennifer Kent. Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall. Six years after the death of her husband, Amelia struggles to discipline her “out of control” sixyear-old Samuel – a son she finds difficult to love. But Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. CineStar 1
Dreamland
(Switzerland, Germany) Picture Tree International, 99mins. Dir: Petra Volpe. Cast: Luna Zimic Mijovic, Marisa Paredes, Andre Jung, Ursina Lardi. Four stories, one soul. CinemaxX Studio 14
»
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MARITIM HOTEL . Presidential Suite 10001 S t a u f f e n b e r g s t r a s s e 2 6 . Te l : + 4 9 3 0 2 0 6 5 2 9 0 0 4
BERLINALE 2014
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Lila at her boarding school high up in the mountains. This 12-yearold girl does not know who her father is but wants to find him. She sets out on a quest for the truth.
14:20 God’s Pocket
(US) Electric Entertainment, 89mins. Dir: John Slattery. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro. When Mickey’s stepson Leon is killed in a construction “accident”, Mickey tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when the boy’s mother demands the truth, Mickey finds himself stuck between a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please and a debt he can’t pay.
CinemaxX Studio 13
15:15 The Bloody Indulgent
(US) House of Film, 80mins. Dir: Ken Roht. Cast: Kevin Scott Richardson, Diva Zappa, Brian Gaskill, Kenneth Hughes. Marriott 2
CineStar 2
How I Came To Hate Maths
Tape_13
(France) Doc & Film International, 100mins. Dir: Olivier Peyon. Cast: Cedric Villani, Francois Sauvageot, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon. So maths has always bored you. In short, you’ve always hated maths It would be laughable if maths hadn’t become of such paramount importance in our world: Apple, Google, Goldman Sachs are all based on algorithms and mathematical formulas.
(Germany) Rat Pack Filmproduktion, 80mins. Dir: Axel Stein. Cast: Nadine Petry, Lars Steinhofel, Pit Bukowski, Sonja Gerhardt. CinemaxX Studio 19
Films Distribution Promo Reel
(France) Films Distribution, 60mins. Dir: Various. CinemaxX Studio 12
14:25
Market 14:30 Cooties
(US) Synchronicity Entertainment, 99mins. Dir: Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion. Cast: Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, Leigh Whannell, Rainn Wilson. When a mysterious virus borne from chicken nuggets hits
CinemaxX 8
High Performance
(Austria) FreibeuterFilm, 100mins. Dir: Johanna Moder. Cast: Marcel Mohab, Manuel Rubey, Katharina Pizzera. CinemaxX Studio 17
14:30 Annabell’s Spectacularities
(Sweden) Svensk Filmindustri, 75mins. Dir: Elisabet Gustafsson. Cast: Anton Lundqvist, Lea
Stojanov, Martin Eliasson, Vanja Blomkvist. A playful music adventure about little Annabell Olsson, who is older than seven, but younger than 11. She has three little triplet siblings, who mostly just cause trouble, and a grandmother, who is the source of more adventure than Annabell realises. CineStar 7
CineStar 4
Ramzi Choukair, Julie McClemens, Fanny Mallette.
Scouting for Zebras
CinemaxX Studio 11
acclaimed Nicolas Vanier. an isolated elementary school transforming the pre-adolescent children into a feral swarm of mindless cannibals, an unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives against them. Who is this hero? The substitute teacher.
Cooties See box, above
14:55 Belle & Sebastian
(France) Gaumont, 99mins. Dir: Nicolas Vanier. Cast: Felix Bossuet, Tcheky Karyo, Margaux Chatelier, Dimitri Storoge. The remake of the famous classic title revisited by
(France, Belgium, Switzerland) Films Distribution, 80mins. Dir: Benoit Mariage. Cast: Benoit Poelvoorde, Marc Zinga, Tatiana Rojo, Tom Audenaert. Jose is a football agent. His specialty is scouting out promising African players. When he discovers Yaya, he takes him to Belgium to make a champion out of him. He thinks he hit the jackpot, but nothing goes as planned. MGB-Kino
15:00 Arwad
(Canada) FunFilm Distribution, 105mins. Dir: Samer Najari, Dominique Chila. Cast:
The Date Coach
(France) SND – Groupe M6, 90mins. Dir: Pascal Bourdiaux. Cast: Kev Adams, Franck Dubosc, Nora Arnezeder, Valerie Benguigui. The two greatest French comedians team up. Embark with an unlikely duo for a story packed with laughs and surprises. CinemaxX 4
Natural Sciences
(Argentina, France) UDI – Urban Distribution International, 71mins. Dir: Matias Lucchesi. Cast: Paula Hertzog, Paola Barrientos, Alvin Astorga, Sergio Boris. There’s nothing to keep
CinemaxX Studio 16
Roxanne
(Romania, Hungary) Films Boutique, 98mins. Dir: Vali Hotea. Cast: Serban Pavlu, Diana Dumbrava, Mihai Calin. Twenty years after the Romanian revolution, 35-year-old Tavi Ionescu discovers in his Secret Police file that he might be a father. Starting his own investigation,
JOIN US AT THE UK FILM CENTRE • Meet UK sales companies • Meet regional and national agencies • Speak to experts about our co-pro friendly tax credit • Find out about filming in the UK • Find out about UK producers and UK films in Berlin STAND 39, MARTIN GROPIUS BAU (MGB) DISCOVER UK LOCATIONS LES MISERABLES FILMED AT BOUGHTON HOUSE, ENGLAND
n 50 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
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SCREENINGS
Tavi gets caught up in a complicated past and reveals ugly secrets which mess up his life and the lives of the ones close to him. For the first time Tavi is forced to make mature decisions. CinemaxX Studio 18
Viral
(Spain) DeAPlaneta, 98mins. Dir: Lucas Figueroa. Cast: Juan Blanco Raul, Miguel Angel Munoz Frank, Pedro Casablanc David, Aura Garrido Lucia. dffb-Kino
15:25 Barcelona Summer Night
(Spain) Filmax International, 96mins. Dir: Daniel de la Orden. Cast: Luis Fernandez, Joan Dausa, Sara Espiguer, Jan Cornet. 567 love stories being played out under the Barcelona sky in one night – we are going to tell you six of them. CinemaxX Studio 12
15:30 Above Us All
(Netherlands, Belgium) New Europe Film Sales, 99mins. Dir: Eugenie Jansen. Cast: Shayleah Sands, Kaleb Sands, Maarten Baes, Pearl Daavern. After the death of her Indigenous mother, Shay (11) is taken by her Flemish father from Australia to Ypres, Belgium. In the surroundings, full of traces of the Great War, Shay
tries to understand her mother’s death. Parliament
Lilting
(UK) Protagonist Pictures, 86mins. Dir: Hong Khaou. Cast: Ben Whishaw, Cheng Pei Pei, Peter Bowles, Andrew Leung. Set in contemporary London, ‘Lilting’ tells the story of a Cambodian Chinese mother mourning the untimely death of her son. Her world is suddenly disrupted by the presence of a stranger. We observe their difficulties in trying to connect with one another without a common language. Through a translator they piece together memories of a man they both loved dearly, and realise that while they may not share a language, they are connected in their grief. CineStar 6
Los Angeles
(Mexico, Germany) Picture Tree International, 97mins. Dir: Damian John Harper. Cast: Mateo Bautista Matias, Lidia Garcia Garcia, Marcos Rodriguez Ruiz. Mateo, 17, and his family prepare for him to leave their small Mexican village for Los Angeles, like so many before him. CinemaxX 6
15:50 1864
(Denmark) Svensk Filmindustri, 60mins. Dir: Ole Bornedal. Cast:
Jakob Oftebro, Pilou Asbaek, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Sören Malling. It’s an innocent world full of hope when the two brothers Laust and Peter grow up under poor, but also happy, circumstances far off in the Danish countryside in the middle of the 19th century.
themselves overwhelmed by a mutual attraction that they should avoid and a sudden storm of passion that changes all the rules of the game of their relationships. However, this will not be the only turbulence in Elena’s life.
CineStar 7
Hector and the Search for Happiness
Bella Mia
(Germany, Canada) Bankside Films, 118mins. Dir: Peter Chelsom. Cast: Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer. Hector is an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: he feels like his life is going nowhere and his patients are just not getting happier. One day, armed with boundless courage and a child-like curiosity, Hector breaks out of his sheltered and comfortable life to go on a global quest to discover the meaning of happiness.
(Czech Republic, Poland) Bio Illusion, 92mins. Dir: Martin Duba. Cast: Petr Forman, Zuzana Norisova, Igor Orozovic, Petr Rajchrt. CinemaxX Studio 19
16:00 A Many Splintered Thing
(US) Voltage Pictures, 90mins. Dir: Justin Reardon. Cast: Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Michelle Monaghan, Anthony Mackie. This is the story of ME, a young man disillusioned by love, who meets a breathtaking young woman, HER, at a charity dinner by pretending to be a philanthropist. Only one problem: she’s engaged. Yet he engages into a platonic relationship to be able to keep seeing her. CinemaxX 9
Fasten Your Seatbelts
(Italy) Pathe International, 110mins. Dir: Ferzan Ozpetek. Cast: Kasia Smutniak, Francesco Arca, Filippo Scicchitano. Elena and Antonio are total opposites, but find
CineStar 1
CineStar 2
Nine Month Stretch
16:35
16:15 Cannibal
Mindscape
(Spain) Film Factory Entertainment, 116mins. Dir: Manuel Martin Cuenca. Cast: Antonio de la Torre. An intense suspense thriller where Hitchcock meets Bunuel.
(Spain) Studiocanal, 100mins. Dir: Jorge Dorado. Cast: Mark Strong, Brian Cox. A hypnotic psychological thriller about a man with an extraordinary ability to enter people’s minds and manipulate their memory. When he takes on the case of a brilliant, troubled, teenager, he winds up in a dangerous game of seduction and betrayal that spirals out of control.
CinemaxX 8
16:20 Playing Dead
(France, Belgium) Films Distribution, 105mins. Dir: Jean-Paul Salome. Cast: Francois Damiens, Geraldine Nakache, Lucien Jean-Baptiste, Anne Le Ny. Jean, a 40-year-old struggling, out-of-work actor, has hit rock bottom. Although open to any kind of work, he can’t get a break. At the unemployment office, his counsellor has a rather odd proposal: he can get a job helping the police reconstruct crime scenes, by standing in for the dead victim.
(France) Elle Driver, 82mins. Dir: Albert Dupontel. Cast: Albert Dupontel, Sandrine Kiberlain. Ariane Felder is pregnant. Since she’s a young judge with strict morals and a hardened single woman, it’s more than a surprise. And even more surprising is that after paternity tests, the father of the unborn child is revealed as Bob Nolan, a criminal who’s being pursued for a monstrous crime.
MGB-Kino
CinemaxX Studio 14
CineStar IMAX
CinemaxX 1
Trapped
(France) Other Angle Pictures, 78mins. Dir: Yannick Saillet. Cast: Pascal Elbe, Laurent Lucas. An ambushed patrol leaves one man alive. When he thinks he is safe, he steps on a landmine. He stands alone in the desert, and if he lifts his foot, he dies. CineStar 4
16:45 Gabriel
16:30 The Physician
(Germany) Beta Cinema, 150mins. Dir: Philipp Stolzl. Cast: Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgard, Olivier Martinez. Tells the story of Rob Cole, a boy who is left a penniless orphan in an 11th-century English mining town when his mother dies of a mysterious illness.
(Poland) Eastwest Filmdistribution, 83mins. Dir: Mikolaj Haremski. Cast: Jan Rotowski, Natan Czyzewski, Jowita Chwalek. A 12-year-old boy meets his guarding angel while searching for his father. CinemaxX Studio 13
17:00 Amazonia
(France, Brazil) Le Pacte, 83mins. Dir: Thierry Ragobert. This 3D odyssey takes
OUR PARTNERS AT BERLINALE 2014
»
February 6, 2014 Screen International at Berlin 51 n
03/02/2014 16:40
SCREENINGS
Film International, 90mins. Dir: Fabio Mollo. Cast: Vinicio Marchioni, Miriam Karlkvist, Valentina Lodovini, Andrea Bellisario.
us into the heart of the biggest forest on Earth to discover the Green Planet. This is an ode to the beauty of the Amazon rainforest, this exceptional landscape that is both untamed and mysterious.
CinemaxX Studio 13
CineStar 7
18:20
Gaumont Promoreels
Cerro Torre – A Snowball’s Chance in Hell
(France) Gaumont, 90mins. Dir: Various artists. CineStar 3
Holiday
(Ecuador, Argentina) m-appeal – Raspberry & Cream, 82mins. Dir: Diego Araujo. Cast: Juan Manuel Arregui, Diego Andres Paredes, Manuela Merchan. In an world turned upside down, life reveals new paths to explore CinemaxX Studio 18
The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
(France) Le Pacte, 92mins. Dir: Guillaume Nicloux. Cast: Michel Houellebecq, Mathieu Nicourt, Maxime Lefrancois, Francoise Lebrun. CinemaxX Studio 12
October November
(Austria) The Match Factory, 116mins. Dir: Götz Spielmann. Cast: Nora von Waldstätten, Ursula Strauss, Peter Simonischek. Two sisters and their aged father reunite in their family home. They have grown estranged over the years and the meeting slowly and inevitably brings to light the conflict between the dissimilar women. It is clear to their father, too, that little time remain in which to reveal a secret. dffb-Kino
Smart Ass
(France) Wild Bunch, 89mins. Dir: Kim Chapiron. Cast: Thomas Blumenthal, Alice Isaaz, Jean-Baptiste Lafarge. On the first day of term, the dean of their prestigious business school tells his students: “You are the elite… the creme de la creme. Soon the rules of a market economy will no longer be a mystery to you.” CinemaxX Studio 11
Market 18:40 Memphis
(US) Visit Films, 79mins. Dir: Tim Sutton. Cast: Willis Earl Beal. A strange singer drifts through the mythic city of Memphis, surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians,
Unfriend
(Philippines) Fortissimo Films, 93mins. Dir: Joselito Altarejos. Cast: Sandino Martin, Angelo Ilagan, Boots Anson-Roa. A 15-year-old boy plans to kill his 17-year-old online boyfriend hoping he could get the love he had been dreaming of. CineStar 6
Vendetta
(UK) Intandem Films, 106mins. Dir: Stephen Reynolds. Cast: Danny Dyer, Roxanne McKee, Vincent Regan, Ricci Harnett. Special ops interrogation officer Jimmy Vickers tracks down a gang who slaughtered his parents. With police closing in and his old unit on his trail, he has to to evade capture long enough to complete his gruesome crusade. CinemaxX 4
17:05 Medeas
(US) TF1 International, 97mins. Dir: Andrea Pallaoro. Cast: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Brian F O’Byrne, Kevin Alejandro, Ian Nelson. For the first time Tavi is
n 52 Screen International at Berlin February 6, 2014
a stone-cold hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolfpack of kids. Under a canopy of ancient oak trees and burning spirituality, his doomed journey breaks from conformity and reaches out for glory. CinemaxX Studio 12
forced to make mature decisions. CineStar 5
17:10 Journey to the West
(France, Taiwan) UDI – Urban Distribution International, 56mins. Dir: Tsai Ming-liang. Cast: Kang Sheng Lee, Denis Lavant. In a new edition of the ancient Buddhist ritual journeys, Xuanzang, the seventh century monk celebrated for his rigor and his 17-year quest for vacuity on the roads of Asia, wanders through the streets of Marseille. CinemaxX Studio 16
17:20 Grazing the Sky
(Spain, Mexico, Portugal) Latido Films, 87mins. Dir: Horacio Alcala. A magical documentary, an exciting perspective for trapeze and circus lovers, in which viewers can share the efforts of five artists in their quest to achieve perfection and reach their goals. CinemaxX Studio 15
17:25 Mexico’s Most Wanted
(Mexico) Mundial,
110mins. Dir: Jose Manuel Cravioto. Cast: Tenoch Huerta, Noe Hernandez, Marco Perez, Gerardo Taracena. Based on the unbelievable true story of career criminal Alfredo Rios Galeana, “El Charro Misterioso”, the most prolific bank robber in the history of Mexico. CinemaxX Studio 14 by invitation only
17:30 Almost Friends
(France) SND – Groupe M6, 100mins. Dir: Anne Le Ny. Cast: Karin Viard, Emmanuelle Devos, Roschdy Zem. A sensitive and stylish comedy about the need to start over and find your true calling. CinemaxX 2
Girl’s Blood
(Japan) Kadokawa Corporation, 118mins. Dir: Koichi Sakamoto. Cast: Yuria Haga, Asami Tada, Ayame Misaki, Rina Koike. Marriott 1
to search for her lost mythical fortune. CinemaxX 6
Rob the Mob
(US) The Exchange, 103mins. Dir: Raymond De Felitta. Cast: Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia, Ray Romano. Chronicles the lives of a real-life Bonnie and Clyde who made the bold move to rob and humiliate some of New York City’s most powerful mobsters. CinemaxX Studio 19
18:00 The Four 2
(China) Arclight Films, 115mins. Dir: Gordon Chan. Cast: Deng Chao, Yi Fei Liu, Ronald Cheng, Collin Chou. Undercover cop Coldblood is assigned by his corrupt chief to infiltrate a rival department and sabotage their investigation of counterfeit currency. What he discovers is the counterfeiter’s real plan to overthrow the capital. Not by flooding it with funny money, but with an army of undead.
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
CineStar 4
(US) Kathy Morgan International, 105mins. Dir: David Zellner. Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, Nathan Zellner, David Zellner. A lonely Japanese woman becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried in a fictional film is, in fact, real. Abandoning her structured life in Tokyo for the frozen Minnesota wilderness, she embarks on an impulsive quest
Land of the Bears
(France) Kinology, 86mins. Dir: Guillaume Vincent. A breathtaking immersion amid the bears in their extraordinary world, a brutal and savage wilderness.
(Austria) Red Bull Media House/Terra Mater Factual Studios, 100mins. Dir: Thomas Dirnhofer. Cast: David Lama, Peter Ortner, Markus Pucher, Toni Ponholzer. Set against the backdrop of breathtaking Patagonia in South America, David Lama, the world’s youngest climbing world champion, sets out to climb an unfathomable route on Cerro Torre, a mountain that was once said to be the most difficult in the world. CinemaxX 1
18:30 Cathedrals of Culture
(Germany/Austria/ Denmark) Cinephil, 156mins. Dir: Wim Wenders, Michael Glawogger, Michael Madsen, Robert Redford, Margreth Olin, Karim Ainouz. CineStar 7
18:40 Memphis See box, above left
18:45 Tir
(Italy) Fandango, 85mins. Dir: Alberto Fasulo. CinemaxX Studio 11
19:00 The Trip to Italy
(UK) Goalpost Film, 107mins. Dir: Michael Winterbottom. Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon. CineStar 6
20:00 The Pacte 2
South Is Nothing
(us) Content, 96mins. Dir: Patrick Hovath, Dallas Hallam. Cast: Camilla Luddington, Patrick Fischler, Scott Michael Foster, Caity Lotz.
(Italy, France) Doc &
CineStar 4
CineStar 1
18:15
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Good
average
★★★
screen international
Excellent
Stephanie Zacharek Village Voice (US)
Jan Schulz-Ojala Der Tagesspiegel (Germany)
Tim Robey The Daily Telegraph (UK)
Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard (UK)
★★★★
Bo Green Jensen Weekendavisen Berlingske (Denmark)
Jose Carlos Avellar escrevercinema.com (Brazil)
The Screen jury at Berlin
Boris Andjelic Evening News (Serbia)
JURY GRID
The Grand Budapest Hotel (UK-Ger) Wes Anderson
Anderson’s comedy follows the adventures of a legendary concierge (Ralph Fiennes) at a European hotel between the wars. ★★★★ ★★★★Saoirse ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ Also stars Léa Seydoux, Ronan, Harvey Keitel, Jude★★★★ Law, Owen Wilson and Jason★★★★ Schwartzman.
Jack (Ger) Edward Berger
In this coming-of-age drama, a 10-year-old taken into care runs away and roams Berlin with his brother looking for their ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ mother, hoping★★★★ to reunite their★★★★ family. Ivo Pietzcker, Georg ★★★★ Arms and Luise Heyer star. ★★★★ ★★★★
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Screen International office Scandic Hotel, Wolverine Suite, GabrieleTergit-Promenade 19, 10963, Berlin Editorial Tel +49 30 700 779 2740 Editor Wendy Mitchell, wendy.mitchell@ screendaily.com, +44 7889 414 856
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News editor Michael Rosser, michael. rosser@screendaily.com, +44 7843 078 926
Two Men In Town (Fr-Alg-US- Forest Whitaker stars as a convict released into small-town America, buoyed by his conversion to Islam. But he is tempted ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ back into his old★★★★ ways and dogged by the sheriff (Harvey Keitel). Brenda Blethyn and Luis Guzman also★★★★ star. Bel) Rachid Bouchareb
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’71 (UK) Yann Demange
UK TV director Demange makes his feature debut with an action thriller centring on a young and disoriented British soldier ★★★★ abandoned ★★★★by his★★★★ ★★★★ streets ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ accidentally unit following★★★★ a riot on the dangerous of Belfast in 1971.
Beloved Sisters (Ger-Aust) Dominik Graf
Graf’s historical love story is based on the real-life relationship between 18th-century poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller ★★★★ ★★★★(Hannah ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ (Florian Stetter)★★★★ and Caroline Lengefeld Herzsprung), as well as her sister, Charlotte (Henriette Confurius).
Stations Of The Cross (Ger) Dietrich Brüggemann
Lea van Acken plays Maria, a 14-year-old girl who comes from a family of fundamentalist Catholics. She wishes to devote her ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ life to worship and plans to complete her own personal 14 ★★★★ stations of the★★★★ cross, inspired by Jesus on his path to Golgotha.
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US editor Jeremy Kay, jeremykay67@ gmail.com, +1 310 922 5908 Chief critic and reviews editor Mark Adams, mark.adams@screendaily. com, +44 7834 902 528 Chief reporter Andreas Wiseman, andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com, +44 7713 086 674 Germany reporter Martin Blaney, screen.berlin@gmail.com
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Group head of production and art Mark Mowbray, mark.mowbray@ screendaily.com
History Of Fear (Arg-UrugGer-Fr) Benjamin Naishtat
Naishtat’s debut feature explores the culture of paranoia in an exclusive gated community on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ where a young man (Jonathan★★★★ Da Rosa) trims★★★★ the extensive★★★★ lawns and looks after the football pitch. ★★★★
Blind Massage (Chi-Fr) Lou Ye
Lou, who worked with a mixed cast of blind and sighted actors, portrays the desires and dreams of a group of blind massage ★★★★ and★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ therapists, sketches the reality of life in★★★★ modern day China.
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Sub-editors Loveday Cuming, Debbie Kent, Jamie McLeish, Paul Lindsell Screenings Kelly Gibbens, Ben Sillis Advertising and publishing Commercial director Andrew Dixon, andrew.dixon@mb-insight.com, +44 7595
In Order Of Disappearance Moland’s third film in Competition centres on the driver (Stellan Skarsgard) of a snow-blower in Norway who finds himself in ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ (Nor-Swe-Den) Hans Petter Moland the middle of a drug war between Norwegian and Serbian mafia groups. Bruno Ganz co-stars.
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646 541 Sales manager Scott Benfold, scott. benfold@screendaily.com, +44 7765 257 260
Life Of Riley (Fr) Alain Resnais
Two-time Silver Bear-winner Resnais’ French-language comedy drama follows three couples whose peaceful lives in the ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ English countryside are ruffled★★★★ by an enigmatic man called★★★★ George Riley. ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
Inbetween Worlds (Ger) Feo Aladag
Shot in secret in the mountainous regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Inbetween Worlds follows the friendship ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ trying ★★★★ between a German solider (Ronald Zehrfeld)★★★★ and a young interpreter to protect an★★★★ Afghan village★★★★ from the Taliban.
Praia Do Futuro (Bra-Ger) Karim Ainouz
Ainouz’s film follows a Brazilian lifeguard (Wagner Moura) who rescues a German tourist, falls in love with him and heads to ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ Berlin, where he★★★★ is liberated and confused by life in the city.
America Nigel Daly, nigeldalymail@gmail.
Stratos (Gr-Ger-Cyp) Yannis Economides
An ex-con — who works by day in a bakery and by night as an assassin — becomes obsessed with a plan to break out from ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ and ★★★★ ★★★★ prison the man★★★★ who previously★★★★ saved his life.★★★★ Vangelis Mourikis, Vicky Papadopoulou Petros Zervos star.
Production manager Jonathon Cooke,
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International account managers Ingrid Hammond, ingridhammond@libero.it, +39 348 5165 631 Gunter Zerbich, gunter.zerbich@mb-insight. com, +44 7540 100 254 VP business development, North
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The Third Side Of The River Murga tells the story of a 17-year-old boy caught between obeying his father and following his own path. Newcomer Alian ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ Devetac, Argentinian playwright Daniel Veronese and Gaby★★★★ Ferrero star. ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ (Arg-Ger-Neth) Celina Murga
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Aloft (Sp-Can-Fr) Claudia Llosa
Previous Golden Bear winner Llosa’s drama is about a mother and son whose relationship is strained by an accident in the ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ past. Jennifer Connelly, Cillian★★★★ Murphy and Mélanie Laurent★★★★ star.
Black Coal, Thin Ice (Chi-HK) Diao Yinan
Diao’s dark thriller tells the story of a retired policeman turned security guard whose investigation into a serial killer finds the ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ victims are all linked romantically to one woman. He soon ★★★★ falls under her★★★★ spell. Liao Fan★★★★ and Gwei Lun★★★★ Mei star.
No Man’s Land (Chi) Ning Hao
A lawyer travelling across a desert in China meets a series of grotesque and dangerous characters in this parable about a ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ society devoted★★★★ to the scramble for wealth and power. ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★
Boyhood (US) Richard Linklater
Shot over a 12-year period, Boyhood charts the development of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), the son of chaotic divorced parents ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ played by Ethan★★★★ Hawke and Patricia Arquette.
Macondo (Aust) Sudabeh Mortezai
Documentary-maker Mortezai’s first fiction feature is a coming-of-age story that focuses on a Chechen boy who has lost his ★★★★ ★★★★a refugee ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ father in the war★★★★ and lives in Macondo, settlement outside Vienna, with his mother and two★★★★ sisters.
The Little House (Jap) Yoji Yamada
Yamada’s drama reveals hidden passions within a middle-class Japanese household against a backdrop of Japanese politics ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ and society before and during★★★★ the Second World War.
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com, +1 213 447 5120
jonathon.cooke@mb-insight.com, +44 7584 333 148 Festival manager Mai Le, mai.le@ mb-insight.com, +44 7734 967 324 Group commercial director, MBI Alison Pitchford Chief executive, MBI Conor Dignam Printer Printer MHV — Medien, Herstellungs und Vertriebs gmbh DMP — Die Medien Printer, c/o Motivoffset
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