Costa Rica on Friday selected Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s debut feature Clara Sola to as the country’s submission to the 2022 International Feature Oscar race. The pic, which made its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, was later scooped up by Oscilloscope Laboratories which will release it in theaters early next year. Álvarez Mesén and Maria Camila Arias co-penned the script for the pic, which is set in a remote Costa Rican village and centers on 40-year-old Clara, who endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Tension builds within the family as Clara’s younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life. Ana Julia Porras Espinoza, Daniel Castañeda Rincón, Flor María Vargas Chavez and Wendy Chinchilla Araya star. Sweden-based production company Hobab …
Denmark Sends Sundance Hit ‘Flee’ To International Oscar Race
The Danish Oscar committee has selected Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee as its entry for this year’s international Oscar race. The animated documentary tells the true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time. The film beat out Charlotte Sieling’s Margrete – Queen of the North and Ole Bornedal’s The Shadow in My Eye to be chosen. The decision was made by Danish Film Institute CEO Chairman Claus Ladegaard (CEO, Danish Film Institute), Jacob Jarek (Danish Producers), Tea Lindeburg (Danish Directors), Mette Heeno (Danish Screenwriters), Jan Weincke (Danish Cinematographers), Nanna Frank Rasmussen (Danish Film Critics), Søren Søndergaard (Danish Cinema Owners) and Marianne Moritzen (Head of Fiction, Danish Film Institute). Flee was selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s virtual edition last year. It screened physically in Sundance, winning the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Since then the film …
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Russia Submits Cannes Un Certain Regard Winner ‘Unclenching The Fists’ To Oscar Race
Unclenching the Fists , the drama directed by Kira Kovalenko that won the grand prize this year in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar, has been selected to represent Russia in the Best International Feature Film category at the 94th Oscars . The news was announced Monday by the Russian Oscar Committee. Produced by Ukranian-Russian super-producer Alexander Rodnyansky with Sergey Melkumov, the pic (titled Razzhimaya Kulaki in Russian) is set in a former mining town in the industrial section of North Ossetia and follows a young woman named Ada (Milana Aguzarova) who struggles to escape the stifling hold of the family she loves as much as she rejects. Mubi has North American, UK and Ireland, Latin America and India rights to the the film, which will make its Los Angeles premiere next month at AFI Fest. This year’s Un Certain Regard sidebar has spawned at least four submissions to the 2022 International Feature Oscar race, with Unclenching the …
Venice Film Festival & Curzon Tie Up For London Screenings Of Venice Movies
The Venice Film Festival , the Italian Cultural Institute in London, and exhibitor Curzon are tying up on London screening series From Venice To London (18 – 22 November). Seven films from Venezia 78 have been chosen to be shown in London with appearances by filmmakers and cast. The Lost Daughter , directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, will be the opening night film on the 18 November and The Hand of God, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, will be closing the series on 22 November. The seven films that have been handpicked are the following: The Lost Daughter – Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal The Hand of God – Directed by Paolo Sorrentino Qui Rido Io – Directed by Mario Martone La Santa Piccola – Directed by Silvia Brunelli La Ragazza Ha Volato – Directed by Wilma Labate Il Buco – Directed by Michelangelo Frammartino Ariaferma – Directed by Leonardo Di Costanzo President of The Venice Biennale Roberto Cicutto said: “We are …
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‘Dune’ Mines $6.5M Opening Day In China, Eyes $20M+ Weekend; UK Bows Strong & Imax Indexes High
Denis Villeneuve ’s sci-fi epic Dune hit China today with an estimated RMB 42 million ($6.5 million) on 28,274 screens and a 34.3% share of the market. While we do not yet have a social score, Friday’s estimate would portend a weekend in the $20M+ neighborhood as we noted coming into the session . Handled in China by Legendary East (via Wanda), the Warner Bros /Legendary title is also opening domestically this frame (where it did $5.1M in Thursday previews), as well as in 39 other markets including the UK, Korea, Brazil and Mexico. The current international box office cume, not including China or other Friday takes, is approximately $137M through Thursday. In China , Dune has a 7.7 critics rating on Douban and is the first major Hollywood movie to enter the market since Disney/20th Century Studios’ Free Guy in late August. Ticketing platform Maoyan, which regularly updates its estimates, is currently predicting a full run of $31M for Dune , …
UK Comms Firm Organic Expands With L.A. Office
Organic , the London-based PR and communications agency, has expanded to the U.S. Kirsty Langsdale, who has led the company’s international publicity department for the past seven years, has relocated to Los Angeles to run the new office. The company is part of the wider Target Group , which is owned by global advertising business Havas. The PR outfit’s L.A. office will be located on Hollywood Boulevard, sharing space with agency Havas Edge. Organic has grown to 35 employees in recent years, working across UK and international publicity, unit production PR, corporate representation, film and TV festival rep, social media, and event management. Its clients include Netflix, Disney, and eOne. “I’m thrilled to be expanding Organic’s footprint and reputation with a presence in L.A. I now look forward to introducing our bespoke approach to publicity to an even wider pool of content makers,” commented Langsdale. “As the landscape of our industry shifts and evolves, the …
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IDA Shortlists: ‘Flee,’ ‘Ascension,’ ‘Summer of Soul’ Get Recognition, But Other Oscar Doc Hopefuls Snubbed
The International Documentary Association came out with its shortlist of the year’s best documentaries today, a list as notable for what was left out as what made it in. A total of 29 feature films earned a spot on the IDA shortlist, including some considered Oscar frontrunners: Summer of Soul , Ascension , and Flee —each of which earned nominations last week for both the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards and the Gotham Awards. But several other films making a strong bid for Oscar attention were snubbed, among them The Rescue , Becoming Cousteau , Attica , Procession , and My Name Is Pauli Murray . The IDA gave recognition to several documentaries with an international dimension, like Faya Dayi , from Mexican-Ethiopian director Jessica Bashir, Chinese-born filmmaker Nanfu Wang’s Covid-19-related doc In The Same Breath , and Miguel’s War , the story of a gay Lebanese man who exiles himself to Spain. The IDA-shortlisted President focuses on …
BBC To Meet With Pact, Equity, BFI Amid Anti-Bullying Push But Production Managers Warn Of Overload
EXCLUSIVE: Amid the UK TV industry’s push to improve workplace conditions, the BBC is set to meet with leading industry bodies Pact , BFI and Equity to work out how its new anti- bullying guidelines can be implemented, as production managers report being “overwhelmed.” The drive for positive change in the business is throwing up questions and concerns over implementation and UK trade body Pact is currently in talks with the BBC over whether these new guidelines, which were forged in the wake of the Noel Clarke revelations, will create “an additional burden” for producers. The BBC is due to meet with other UK bodies such as actors’ union Equity, The Film & TV Charity and the BFI over the coming weeks to “work out what the best next steps are as an industry to encourage best practice in a way that is consistent, efficient and drives cultural change,” according to a BBC spokeswoman. While the guidelines were broadly welcomed by indie bosses, several production …
Martin Scorsese & Istvan Szabo To Be Honoured With Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur has announced that Mr. Istevan Szabo and Mr. Martin Scorsese will be conferred the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at 52nd International Film Festival of India in Goa. Istvan Szabo is one of the most critically acclaimed Hungarian film directors of the past few decades known for masterpieces like Mephisto (1981) Father (1966). Martin Scorsese is one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential directors in film history. Speaking during the announcements Shri Anurag Thakur remarked "India is a land of story tellers; our tales have captured the imagination of the world. India's wide variety of stories rightly makes us the 'Content Subcontinent'. The 52nd edition of India's most prestigious film festival will be held from 20th to 28th November, 2021 in the beach State. Collaboration with major OTT players The Minister informed …
Anu Aggarwal Says She Had Just Eight Lines In Aashiqui; ‘I Had To Act Through My Eyes’
Anu Aggarwal became an overnight sensation with her debut Bollywood film, Aashiqui. The romantic drama was a massive blockbuster owing to its chartbuster music and Anu's affable chemistry with Rahul Roy. However soon, films took a backseat in her life post a horrifying accident and she turned her attention towards writing. In her recent tete-a-tete with Hindustan Times, the former actress looked back at her journey and recalled how it has been a sort of rollercoaster ride for her. Aashiqui Actress Anu Aggarwal On Her Horrific Accident: I Was Told I Will Survive For Hardly 3 Years Anu revealed that she was always inclined towards acting since she was a child. "I was chosen as the best actor in my school in class 8, and acted in a Greek play which required me to perform 12 A4 size sheets long monologue. I did that to an applause, and then formed the dramatic society in my school too. I directed and acted in a play in class 10 as well. It was all my karma, …