Iranian filmmakers

Whenever the Iranian regime feels threatened by public protest its reflex is to go after two groups: demonstrators, most assuredly, but also artists – especially filmmakers. When protests surged in six provinces in May last year over rising food prices, the government promptly banged on the doors of two documentary filmmakers, Mina Keshavarz and Firouzeh Khosrovani, and arrested them. For good measure, law enforcement agents reportedly harassed numerous other filmmakers, seizing their communications equipment. The May unrest appears mild compared to the uproar triggered in September 2022 by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab in accordance with law. Security forces have attacked and killed an unknown number of demonstrators in the course of months of protests. The government also responded with an immediate clamp down on leading figures in Iranian cinema, detaining or imprisoning Jafar Panahi, Mohammad … [Read more...] about Wim Wenders, Afsun Moshiry Unveil Six Iranian Docs At CPH:DOX As Iran’s Regime Continues Crackdown On Filmmakers

The new National Lottery Filmmaking Fund is the BFI ’s attempt at creating a clearer and more transparent funding mechanism with an emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion, Mia Bays , director of the fund, told the Deadline shortly before the launch of the new plan Tuesday morning. The fund, first announced late last year as part of the BFI’s 10-year strategic plan, will grant $44m (£36.6m) in cash awards over three years to support fiction feature films. The cash will be available through four separate funding strands focused on different parts of the filmmaking pyramid, from debut features and development to more experienced filmmakers. The fund will also hand out $21m (£17.4m) in cash awards to support documentaries, shorts, talent development, and immersive works. The total sum will be $66m (£54M) across three years. “The fund is moving from being a very wide brief into being very focused,” Bays told Deadline. “It’s very much evidence-informed. It’s informed … [Read more...] about BFI’s Mia Bays Talks New Filmmaking Fund, The End Of The Vision Awards & The Challenge Of Supporting UK Film With Less Money

The British Film Institute ( BFI ) today announced that it will grant $44m (£36.6m) in cash awards over three years to support fiction feature films as part of its new National Lottery Filmmaking Fund. The cash will be available through four distinct funds: Discovery – The discovery fund will be dedicated to directorial debuts and aim to support six feature films per year, each budgeted below $4m (£3.5m). The first deadline for applications is April 24 for fully-developed projects seeking to shoot this year. Applications will reopen in July and November. Impact — The impact fund will be a rolling fund focused on projects from second-time filmmakers and beyond or debuts budgeted over £3.5m. The cash pot will aim to support five projects a year with an emphasis on scale and audience impact. Development — The development fund will cover costs at all stages of the development process. The fund will aim to support around 60-70 projects per year. Creative … [Read more...] about BFI Unveils New $66m National Lottery Filmmaking Fund

EXCLUSIVE : Actor-filmmaker Zach Braff has signed with Range Media Partners ahead of the MGM theatrical release of his newest directorial effort A Good Person , starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman. The film hitting screens this Friday, March 24th, which Braff also wrote and produced, tells the story of Allison (Pugh), whose life falls apart after her involvement in a fatal accident. In the following years, it is the unlikely relationship she forms with her would-be father-in-law (Freeman) that helps her inevitably live a life worth living. Braff landed Emmy and DGA Award nominations for his directing on Ted Lasso Season 1 and also recently reteamed with that series’ co-creator Bill Lawrence as a director on his Apple series Shrinking , with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, which has been renewed for a second season . He kicked off his career behind the camera with 2004’s Garden State — a drama that had him starring opposite Natalie Portman which … [Read more...] about ‘A Good Person’ Filmmaker Zach Braff Inks With Range Media Partners

World class climber Jimmy Chin met his future wife, filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi , over a mountain – of footage. He had been working for a number of years on the documentary that would become Meru , the story of an attempt by Chin and his fellow alpinists and friends Conrad Anker and Renan Ozturk to become the first to summit the perilous Shark’s Fin peak in the Himalayas. Perhaps because he was so close to the subject matter, the film wasn’t quite cohering. “I had submitted it to a few film festivals and got turned down,” Chin explained during an Artists & Auteurs conversation at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. He told moderator Thom Powers, TIFF’s documentary programmer and host of the Pure Nonfiction podcast, that while struggling over the film he crossed paths with Vasarhelyi at a conference. “I knew that she had quite an accomplished career as a filmmaker,” Chin said. “So, I asked her to screen what I had cut so far. She didn’t call me back for three months, but it … [Read more...] about Oscar-Winning Filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin On Love Stories – Their Own, And They One They Tell In ‘Wild Life’ – CPH:DOX

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Gordon and Will Speck have signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce feature films. The news comes in the wake of their feature take of the children’s book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile grossing over $104 million at the global box office. The movie, which stars Javier Bardem and Constance Wu and has songs by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and Shawn Mendes, is set for a China release April 15. Speck and Gordon are attached to direct a film based on the AfterShock comic The Kaiju Score for Columbia Pictures. Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal at Escape Artists are producing along with AfterShock Media’s Lee and Jon Kramer; that project is in development. The duo are also attached to direct the A24 TV thriller Silverlake starring Zach Quinto and written by Samuel D. Hunter ( The Whale ). They also are the creators and showrunners of the Hulu/Marvel animated series Hit Monkey , which was recently ordered for a second season and … [Read more...] about ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ Filmmakers Josh Gordon & Will Speck Ink First-Look Deal With Sony

EXCLUSIVE: Producer Amy Williams has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Waheed AlQawasmi, the writer and director of upcoming indie feature Jacir , starring Lorraine Bracco . The suit also names WAFilms, the production company behind the film. AlQawasmi has hit back, describing the complaint as “without merit”. In the complaint, filed in the Chancery Court for Shelby County, Tennessee, producer Williams claims that AlQawasmi wrongfully removed her name from the film as its lead producer and has failed to pay her the promised compensation for her work on the project. According to the filing, Williams says AlQawasmi approached her in 2016 to help produce the film originally titled My Friend Jacir . The suit claims that Williams procured funding and cast members for the movie, including Bracco, who stars in the film’s lead role. The film completed production in December 2020, at which point the suit claims that AlQawasmi “manufactured” a contract breach on … [Read more...] about Producer Amy Williams Files Lawsuit Against Filmmakers Behind Indie Drama ‘Jacir’ Starring Lorraine Bracco

Iran is now on the legal offensive in the wake of " Argo " ... threatening to sue Hollywood filmmakers for their "Iranophobic" portrayal of the Middle Eastern country. Iran's state-run Press TV reports government officials have already contacted an "internationally-renowned" French lawyer named Isabelle Coutant-Peyre to file the lawsuit. Coutant-Peyre released a statement saying, "I will defend Iran against the films like Argo, which are produced in Hollywood to distort the country's image." For its part, Iran's Press TV said, "The Iranophobic American movie attempts to describe Iranians as overemotional, irrational, insane, and diabolical while at the same, the CIA agents are represented as heroically patriotic." In addition to filing a lawsuit, Iran plans to fund a pro-Iran movie called "The General Staff" ... about 20 American hostages who are handed over to the U.S. by Iranian revolutionaries. That being said ... we still think Affleck got screwed outta the … [Read more...] about Iran — We’re SUING Over ‘Argo’ … It’s Iranophobic Garbage!

EXCLUSIVE : Fresh off a surprise “work in progress” screening at SXSW , Robert Rodriguez’s action-thriller Hypnotic , starring Ben Affleck , has been set for a May 12 U.S. release. As we revealed last month , Ketchup Entertainment will be launching the movie on more than 2,000 screens. The looming release for a movie that remains unfinished is yet another talking point in the project’s tumultuous journey to screen. Little has been straight-forward for Hypnotic but the warm reception it received on Sunday night was a welcome respite for its creatives and financiers. It’s unusual for a big budget film to get a public ‘work in progress’ screening at a festival but Austin was a smart choice given the home crowd’s reverence for Texas-native Rodriguez. The director said today: “I’ve been working on this film for many years now, and to see the reaction from my home town audience at SXSW was humbling and validating. I look forward to now sharing it with all movie … [Read more...] about Robert Rodriguez & Ben Affleck’s ‘Hypnotic’ Gets May Release Date Following Surprise SXSW “Work In Progress” Screening

EXCLUSIVE: The Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews , held in northern Scotland, has set the lineup for its second edition, running April 14 – 16. Over the course of three days, the festival will host a series of official screenings and industry talks from filmmakers and artists such as director Joe Russo ( Avengers: Endgame, The Gray Man ), who returns to St Andrews after supporting the inaugural edition in 2022. Russo will be bringing with him what the festival has described as an “early sneak peek of a hotly anticipated project” that he has executive produced under his AGBO production outfit. The title of the pic will not be unveiled until the screening begins. The festival has also set Russo as the host of a public discussion on gaming and contemporary storytelling with Epic Games Chief Creative Officer Donald Mustard, who has worked as a creator and director on titles such as Fortnite . Russo’s AGBO is among the backers of Sands, alongside … [Read more...] about Scotland’s Sands International Film Festival Of St Andrews Sets Second Edition Including Joe Russo Talk & Mystery AGBO Debut