Tense documentary follows the perilous ‘underground railroads’ defectors need to take to escape from the totalitarian state
The toxic anti-Shangri-La of North Korea continues to provide a rich seam of material for film-makers: the late Claude Lanzmann recounted his personal experiences there in the 1950s in Napalm and Werner Herzog discussed the North Korean reverence for Mount Paektu in Into the Inferno. There are many more, including Álvaro Longaria’s The Propaganda Game, Ross Adam and Robert Cannan’s The Lovers and the Despot, Morten Traavik’s Liberation Day and Ryan White’s Assassins. So far no documentary film-maker to my knowledge has tackled one of North Korea’s strangest events: Kim Jong-un’s summit meeting in 2018 with Donald Trump, the man who’d threatened him with “fire and fury”. Oddly, this otherwise excellent documentary about North Korea doesn’t mention that, despite it coming within its timeline.
Beyond Utopia...
The toxic anti-Shangri-La of North Korea continues to provide a rich seam of material for film-makers: the late Claude Lanzmann recounted his personal experiences there in the 1950s in Napalm and Werner Herzog discussed the North Korean reverence for Mount Paektu in Into the Inferno. There are many more, including Álvaro Longaria’s The Propaganda Game, Ross Adam and Robert Cannan’s The Lovers and the Despot, Morten Traavik’s Liberation Day and Ryan White’s Assassins. So far no documentary film-maker to my knowledge has tackled one of North Korea’s strangest events: Kim Jong-un’s summit meeting in 2018 with Donald Trump, the man who’d threatened him with “fire and fury”. Oddly, this otherwise excellent documentary about North Korea doesn’t mention that, despite it coming within its timeline.
Beyond Utopia...
- 10/26/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The veteran documentary-maker revisits a romantic interlude during a visit to North Korea in the 1950s, and the result is self-indulgent but undeniably fascinating
We are living through a mini-boom in documentaries about North Korea. Film-makers are getting into Pyongyang to shoot – clandestinely, semi-clandestinely and on various pretexts – those vast statues and eerie cityscapes. Werner Herzog’s Into the Inferno suggested the North Koreans’ defensive mindset had something to do with living in the shadow of a volcano, Mount Paektu. Norwegian director Morten Traavik told the extraordinary story of how obscure Slovenian art-rockers Laibach became the first Western band to play North Korea. Alvaro Longorio’s The Propaganda Game argued that North Korea is a zombie state, kept alive by the duplicitous interests of great powers, and Ross Adam and Robert Cannon’s The Lovers and the Despot is about the staggering true story of how in late 70s the...
We are living through a mini-boom in documentaries about North Korea. Film-makers are getting into Pyongyang to shoot – clandestinely, semi-clandestinely and on various pretexts – those vast statues and eerie cityscapes. Werner Herzog’s Into the Inferno suggested the North Koreans’ defensive mindset had something to do with living in the shadow of a volcano, Mount Paektu. Norwegian director Morten Traavik told the extraordinary story of how obscure Slovenian art-rockers Laibach became the first Western band to play North Korea. Alvaro Longorio’s The Propaganda Game argued that North Korea is a zombie state, kept alive by the duplicitous interests of great powers, and Ross Adam and Robert Cannon’s The Lovers and the Despot is about the staggering true story of how in late 70s the...
- 5/21/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The 27th edition of the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 9 - 20) will present 200 films from 70 countries.
The Stockholm International Film Festival will kick-off with Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake, followed by a mid-festival ‘middle film’ screening in the shape of Nate Parker’s Birth of A Nation, and will close with Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By The Sea.
Directors attending the festival include Francis Ford Coppola (who will receive the lifetime achievement award, present a public talk, and screen Apocalypse Now), Ken Loach, Francois Ozon (who receives the festival’s Visionary Award), Ira Sachs, Alice Lowe, Mark Cousins, Anne Fontaine, Gabe Klinger, and many more.
The festival’s main competition line-up is:
A Decent Woman by Lukas Valenta Rinner (Arg, S Kor, Aus)A Taste Of Ink by Morgan Simon (Fr)Albüm by Mehmet Can Mertoğlu (Tur, Fr, Rom)Are We Not Cats by Xander Robin (Us)Birth Of A Nation by [link...
The Stockholm International Film Festival will kick-off with Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake, followed by a mid-festival ‘middle film’ screening in the shape of Nate Parker’s Birth of A Nation, and will close with Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By The Sea.
Directors attending the festival include Francis Ford Coppola (who will receive the lifetime achievement award, present a public talk, and screen Apocalypse Now), Ken Loach, Francois Ozon (who receives the festival’s Visionary Award), Ira Sachs, Alice Lowe, Mark Cousins, Anne Fontaine, Gabe Klinger, and many more.
The festival’s main competition line-up is:
A Decent Woman by Lukas Valenta Rinner (Arg, S Kor, Aus)A Taste Of Ink by Morgan Simon (Fr)Albüm by Mehmet Can Mertoğlu (Tur, Fr, Rom)Are We Not Cats by Xander Robin (Us)Birth Of A Nation by [link...
- 10/18/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Films about North Korea have an unfair advantage. The country is one of such baffling oddness that films told about it are often either tragic or outrageous, two extremes that make for memorable viewing. On the other hand, the nature of North Korea’s political situation means few films are indeed made about it. Titles like Solrun Hoaas’ Pyongyang Diaries in which the Australian filmmaker ventured to a North Korean film festival and gave us a glimpse of what it means to be a traveller in this land of fake smiles and concrete, and the giddy delight of Anna Broinowski’s Aim High in Creation in which she travels to North Korea to learn how to make propaganda films from the makers themselves.
This year we can add two more entertaining docs. Both are full of surprises that beggar belief at seemingly every turn: The Lovers and the Despot and Under the Sun.
This year we can add two more entertaining docs. Both are full of surprises that beggar belief at seemingly every turn: The Lovers and the Despot and Under the Sun.
- 9/27/2016
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Sometimes, a story is literally too bewildering to really believe at first blush. Documentary cinema is chock full of these tales, which is partly what makes the art form so genuinely enthralling. Despite being more often than not rigid in its structure and form, a compelling, true life story can elevate even the most standard of non-fiction film. And that’s the case with the latest film from directors Rob Cannan and Ross Adam.
Entitled The Lovers and The Despot, Cannan and Adam introduce us to the husband and wife duo of South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and his muse, actress Choi Eun-hee, who met while working on a film in the 1950s, and subsequently fell head over heels in love. However, things took a troubling turn in the late 1970s, when Choi was kidnapped in Hong Kong by a group of North Korean agents after working on a cavalcade of massively popular films.
Entitled The Lovers and The Despot, Cannan and Adam introduce us to the husband and wife duo of South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and his muse, actress Choi Eun-hee, who met while working on a film in the 1950s, and subsequently fell head over heels in love. However, things took a troubling turn in the late 1970s, when Choi was kidnapped in Hong Kong by a group of North Korean agents after working on a cavalcade of massively popular films.
- 9/24/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
In The Lovers and the Despot, Ross Adam and Robert Cannan recount the bizarre and fantastic story of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee, two darlings of the South Korean film industry kidnapped by Kim-Jong-il to make North Korea a leader in world cinema. CineVue's Maximilian Von Thun spoke to the directorial duo about the making of the film, its unsolved mysteries, and the realities of life in North Korea.
- 9/24/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Truth is stranger than fiction. In 1978, famous South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and his ex-wife, actress Choi Eun-hee were kidnapped in Hong Kong by North Korean agents under order of Kim Jung-il, the future leader of North Korea. While they were held as captives, they made 7 movies in the hermit kingdom, until they made a daring escape in 1986 to Vienna. This bizarre and fantastic experiences that Shin and Choi went through reads like a crazy combination of a high-flying political thriller and a lurid tale from the dark underbelly of the movie business. And it's totally ripe for a movie adaptation that could easily be much more fascinating and entertaining than Ben Affleck's Argo. Two British filmmakers, Robert Canaan and Ross Adam,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/22/2016
- Screen Anarchy
★★★☆☆Two subjects one would never expect to encounter in the same film; North Korea and cinephilia. They come together - bizarrely and fascinatingly - in Robert Cannan and Ross Adam's documentary The Lovers and the Despot. In 1978, celebrated South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee visited Hong-Kong to discuss what she believed to be the offer of a highly lucrative role. Instead, Choi was lured to a beach and kidnapped by North Korean agents, who whisked her off to North Korea under orders from then dear leader Kim Jong-il, one of her biggest fans.
- 9/22/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Hollywood is full of unscrupulous, power-mad producers, but none of them could ever hold a candle to Kim Jong-il. Fondly remembered as a sociopathic dictator, the former “Dear Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” was also a notorious cinephile who — even before his father bequeathed him supreme control of the country — actively tried to weaponize motion pictures in order to fortify ideology at home and bolster North Korea’s reputation abroad. He even wrote a book about film theory called “On the Art of the Cinema,” a revolutionary text which offers almost as much insight into movies as “The Art of the Deal” does into business.
Needless to say, when Kim required something to enhance the local industry, people tended to do whatever was necessary in order to make it happen; after all, “You’ll never eat in this town again” is a particularly dire threat in...
Needless to say, when Kim required something to enhance the local industry, people tended to do whatever was necessary in order to make it happen; after all, “You’ll never eat in this town again” is a particularly dire threat in...
- 9/21/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.
This Past Weekend:
Yikes. What a terrible weekend we just had, not only for the new movies released but also for the Weekend Warrior’s predictions. Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks’ Sully won its second weekend in a row with just under $22 million, but as far as the new movies, neither Lionsgate’s Blair Witch nor Universal’s Bridget Jones’s Baby did very well, putting the last nail in the coffin (hopefully) for sequels/remakes trying to play upon nostalgia that just isn’t there. (Good luck to the Rings movie opening next month!) Blair Witch ended up with $9.6 million to take second place and both Bridget Jones’s Baby and Oliver Stone’s Snowden ended up with around $8 million, so...
This Past Weekend:
Yikes. What a terrible weekend we just had, not only for the new movies released but also for the Weekend Warrior’s predictions. Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks’ Sully won its second weekend in a row with just under $22 million, but as far as the new movies, neither Lionsgate’s Blair Witch nor Universal’s Bridget Jones’s Baby did very well, putting the last nail in the coffin (hopefully) for sequels/remakes trying to play upon nostalgia that just isn’t there. (Good luck to the Rings movie opening next month!) Blair Witch ended up with $9.6 million to take second place and both Bridget Jones’s Baby and Oliver Stone’s Snowden ended up with around $8 million, so...
- 9/21/2016
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Called one of international cinema’s greatest love stories – and wildest – “The Lovers and the Despot” tells the true-life story of how South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee, met and fell in love in post-war Korea. After a successful film career, they were both kidnapped by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.
A big fan of the duo and obsessed with movies, Jong-il forced them to create features for his pleasure and to improve North Korea’s film business. During their imprisonment, Choi and Shin gained the dictator’s trust and made 17 feature films, all while planning their escape.
“Kim laughed out loud like a triumphant general,” says Choi in the trailer about her experience. “Like a puppet, I was told what to eat, I was even told what to wear.”
Read More: ‘The Lovers and the Despot’ Exclusive Poster: New Doc Follows Director-Actress Couple Kidnapped By Kim Jong-il...
A big fan of the duo and obsessed with movies, Jong-il forced them to create features for his pleasure and to improve North Korea’s film business. During their imprisonment, Choi and Shin gained the dictator’s trust and made 17 feature films, all while planning their escape.
“Kim laughed out loud like a triumphant general,” says Choi in the trailer about her experience. “Like a puppet, I was told what to eat, I was even told what to wear.”
Read More: ‘The Lovers and the Despot’ Exclusive Poster: New Doc Follows Director-Actress Couple Kidnapped By Kim Jong-il...
- 6/17/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Sometimes, stories of love, abduction, and espionage don’t have to be concocted by a screenwriter because they already exist. Directors Ross Adam and Robert Cannan (who made his debut in 2008 with Three Miles North of Molkom) have teamed up for the documentary The Lovers and the Despot, a bizarre story about an actress and director who are taken hostage by Kim Jong-il. Looking equal parts a tale of undying love and espionage thriller, the first trailer promises a story that is stranger than fiction.
Unfortunately, the film itself falls back onto tired documentary formulas, as we said in our review, “The doc still relies on a parade of basic interviews to tell its story, and presents them without an iota of imagination. Why have so few realized that this is the essence of telling instead of showing, that it is awfully difficult to make dramatically engaging, much less satisfying?...
Unfortunately, the film itself falls back onto tired documentary formulas, as we said in our review, “The doc still relies on a parade of basic interviews to tell its story, and presents them without an iota of imagination. Why have so few realized that this is the essence of telling instead of showing, that it is awfully difficult to make dramatically engaging, much less satisfying?...
- 6/17/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Highlights include the UK premiere of Finding Dory and the world premiere of the 4K restoration of Highlander [pictured].Scroll down for competition titles
The line-up for the 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been unveiled this morning by artistic director Mark Adams.
This year’s Eiff (June 15-26) will comprise a total 161 features from 46 countries including: 22 world premieres, five international premieres, 17 European premieres and 85 UK premieres.
Highlights include the UK premiere of Disney-Pixar animation Finding Dory, in-person events that include Us indie filmmaker Kevin Smith and Sex & The City actress Kim Cattrall, and the opening and closing gala world premieres of the previously announced Tommy’s Honour and Whisky Galore!.
Old classics will be re-imagined with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing the score to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial live at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and the world premiere of the newly-restored 4K version of Highlander, celebrating its 30th anniversary with star Clancy Brown in attendance.
The...
The line-up for the 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been unveiled this morning by artistic director Mark Adams.
This year’s Eiff (June 15-26) will comprise a total 161 features from 46 countries including: 22 world premieres, five international premieres, 17 European premieres and 85 UK premieres.
Highlights include the UK premiere of Disney-Pixar animation Finding Dory, in-person events that include Us indie filmmaker Kevin Smith and Sex & The City actress Kim Cattrall, and the opening and closing gala world premieres of the previously announced Tommy’s Honour and Whisky Galore!.
Old classics will be re-imagined with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performing the score to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial live at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and the world premiere of the newly-restored 4K version of Highlander, celebrating its 30th anniversary with star Clancy Brown in attendance.
The...
- 5/25/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The biggest European film festival excludsively dealing with Asian cinema will open on Friday the 22nd of April with the South Korean blockbuster “The Tiger” and close with the Hong Kong thriller “The Bodyguard” on Saturday the 30th with the presence of the legendary Sammo Hung. Legendary director Johnnie To and composer Lim Giong will also attend.
The festival will feature 72 films in the official selection (5 world premieres) a retrospective of Japanese science fiction, the restored 4K versions of four Bruce Lee masterpieces and over 100 events organized around the city.
The line up of 2016 includes the followings:
Competition Section
China (10)
Chongqing Hot Pot, Yang Qing, crime-action- hipster noir, China 2016, European Premiere
The Dead End, Cao Baoping, cop-loves-cop thriller, China 2015, European Premiere
Destiny, Zhang Wei, human drama, China 2016, World Premiere
The Left Ear, Alec Su, youth drama, China 2015, European Premiere
Lost in Hong Kong, Xu Zheng, clash of cultures comedy, China 2015, International Festival Premiere
The Master,...
The festival will feature 72 films in the official selection (5 world premieres) a retrospective of Japanese science fiction, the restored 4K versions of four Bruce Lee masterpieces and over 100 events organized around the city.
The line up of 2016 includes the followings:
Competition Section
China (10)
Chongqing Hot Pot, Yang Qing, crime-action- hipster noir, China 2016, European Premiere
The Dead End, Cao Baoping, cop-loves-cop thriller, China 2015, European Premiere
Destiny, Zhang Wei, human drama, China 2016, World Premiere
The Left Ear, Alec Su, youth drama, China 2015, European Premiere
Lost in Hong Kong, Xu Zheng, clash of cultures comedy, China 2015, International Festival Premiere
The Master,...
- 4/21/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The 18th Feff will feature 50 titles in competition, including Lost In Hong Kong, Mojin: The Lost Legend and Ip Man 3, as well as a new Focus Asia market.Scroll down for full programme
The Udine Far East Film Festival (Feff) has revealed the programme for its 18th edition (April 22-30), featuring a myriad of high-profile Asian titles from the past year.
The event will close with the European premiere of director and actor Sammo Hung’s latest feature, The Bodyguard [pictured], with Hung due to be in attendance.
Hung’s appearance marks the second year in a row that the festival has played host to a Hong Kong film icon, after Jackie Chan attended last year’s edition.
The Bodyguard (also known as My Beloved Bodyguard) has grossed close to $50m since its release in China on April 1. The film stars Sammo Hung as a retired bodyguard who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young girl.
The...
The Udine Far East Film Festival (Feff) has revealed the programme for its 18th edition (April 22-30), featuring a myriad of high-profile Asian titles from the past year.
The event will close with the European premiere of director and actor Sammo Hung’s latest feature, The Bodyguard [pictured], with Hung due to be in attendance.
Hung’s appearance marks the second year in a row that the festival has played host to a Hong Kong film icon, after Jackie Chan attended last year’s edition.
The Bodyguard (also known as My Beloved Bodyguard) has grossed close to $50m since its release in China on April 1. The film stars Sammo Hung as a retired bodyguard who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young girl.
The...
- 4/13/2016
- ScreenDaily
The Lovers And The Despot Magnolia Films Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Grade: B+ Director: Rob Cannan, Ross Adam Written by: Rob Cannan, Ross Adam Cast: Shin Sang-ok, Choi Eun-hee, Kim-Jong Il, Paul Courtenay Hu Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 3/29/16 Opens: August, 2016 North Korea is such a bizarre country that a documentary filmed within its confines looks like an unbelievable sci-fi film. Isolated with the world’s longest-running dictatorship, this Communist nation depends on the support of China, which has become increasingly wary of the cultish leaders. Though the only remaining, truly Communist state left, it is actually like a monarchy, with its despots passing the reign to their [ Read More ]
The post The Lovers and the Despot Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Lovers and the Despot Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/1/2016
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Exclusive: Magnolia head of worldwide sales Christina Rogers has reported a strong response from buyers in Berlin to Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World, The Lovers And The Despot, and Tickled.
Lo And Behold, Werner Herzog’s documentary about the internet, sold to the UK (Dogwoof), German-speaking Europe (Koch), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), and Canada (Vsc).
Further deals closed in Poland (Against Gravity), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Mexico (Ambulante), and Israel (Channel 8).
The Lovers And The Despot, Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s documentary about the kidnappings by North Korea of a South Korean actress and her ex-husband, screened in Panorama at the Berlinale following its world premiere in Park City.
All rights were acquired for Italy (I Wonder Pictures), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Singapore (Luna Films) and Canada (Vsc).
David Farrier’s probe into the secretive world of endurance tickling contests in Tickled secured a UK deal with Studiocanal.
Elsewhere, the documentary...
Lo And Behold, Werner Herzog’s documentary about the internet, sold to the UK (Dogwoof), German-speaking Europe (Koch), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), and Canada (Vsc).
Further deals closed in Poland (Against Gravity), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Mexico (Ambulante), and Israel (Channel 8).
The Lovers And The Despot, Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s documentary about the kidnappings by North Korea of a South Korean actress and her ex-husband, screened in Panorama at the Berlinale following its world premiere in Park City.
All rights were acquired for Italy (I Wonder Pictures), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Singapore (Luna Films) and Canada (Vsc).
David Farrier’s probe into the secretive world of endurance tickling contests in Tickled secured a UK deal with Studiocanal.
Elsewhere, the documentary...
- 2/22/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Magnolia head of worldwide sales Christina Rogers has reported a strong response from buyers in Berlin to Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World, The Lovers And The Despot, and Tickled.
Lo And Behold, Werner Herzog’s documentary about the internet, sold to: German-speaking Europe (Koch), the UK (Dogwoof), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), and Canada (Vsc).
Further deals closed in Poland (Against Gravity), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Mexico (Ambulante), and Israel (Channel 8).
The Lovers And The Despot, Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s documentary about the kidnappings by North Korea of a South Korean actress and her ex-husband, screened in Panorama following its world premiere in Park City.
I Wonder Pictures acquired all rights in Italy, Demiurg for the former Yugoslavia, Luna Films in Singapore, and Vsc in Canada.
David Farrier’s probe into the secretive world of endurance tickling contests in Tickled sparked a UK deal with Studiocanal.
Elsewhere, I Wonder...
Lo And Behold, Werner Herzog’s documentary about the internet, sold to: German-speaking Europe (Koch), the UK (Dogwoof), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), and Canada (Vsc).
Further deals closed in Poland (Against Gravity), former Yugoslavia (Demiurg), Mexico (Ambulante), and Israel (Channel 8).
The Lovers And The Despot, Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s documentary about the kidnappings by North Korea of a South Korean actress and her ex-husband, screened in Panorama following its world premiere in Park City.
I Wonder Pictures acquired all rights in Italy, Demiurg for the former Yugoslavia, Luna Films in Singapore, and Vsc in Canada.
David Farrier’s probe into the secretive world of endurance tickling contests in Tickled sparked a UK deal with Studiocanal.
Elsewhere, I Wonder...
- 2/22/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It’s astonishing that the story of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee has not made it onto movie screens before now, whether as a documentary or a work of fiction. In 1978 Shin, a South Korean film director, and Choi, his actress ex-wife, were both kidnapped by North Korean agents and taken to Pyongyang on the direct order of Kim Jong-il. The brutal dictator was also a dedicated cinephile, and he was displeased with the quality of his state’s film industry. For a real-life supervillain, the obvious solution to such a problem was to abduct some outside talent and put it to work.
Shin and Choi spent years being imprisoned and constantly surveilled, ultimately making films for Kim and even falling back in love before making a dramatic vehicular escape in Austria. Every single element reads like it sprung from the mind of a Hollywood hack. And yet it all happened.
Shin and Choi spent years being imprisoned and constantly surveilled, ultimately making films for Kim and even falling back in love before making a dramatic vehicular escape in Austria. Every single element reads like it sprung from the mind of a Hollywood hack. And yet it all happened.
- 1/30/2016
- by Daniel Schindel
- The Film Stage
The Park City deal flow erupted on Friday led by Paramount Home Media’s $2.25m worldwide rights play for Us Dramatic Competition entry Goat.
Andrew Neel directed the gritty drama about hazing, which will get a day-and-date VOD launch with Viacom stablemate MTV securing the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. CAA represented the filmmakers.
Other Sundance Film Festival deals announced on Friday included:
Sony Pictures Classics acquired Us and Asia on John Krasinski’s Premieres family comedy The Hollars starring the director and Anna Kendrick. Wme Global represented the filmmakers.
Universal has swooped on most of world rights to Matthew Ross’ Premieres drama Frank & Lola starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. CAA and Preferred Content represented the filmmakers and Arclight handles international rights.
Magnolia picked up the world on Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot and will...
Andrew Neel directed the gritty drama about hazing, which will get a day-and-date VOD launch with Viacom stablemate MTV securing the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. CAA represented the filmmakers.
Other Sundance Film Festival deals announced on Friday included:
Sony Pictures Classics acquired Us and Asia on John Krasinski’s Premieres family comedy The Hollars starring the director and Anna Kendrick. Wme Global represented the filmmakers.
Universal has swooped on most of world rights to Matthew Ross’ Premieres drama Frank & Lola starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. CAA and Preferred Content represented the filmmakers and Arclight handles international rights.
Magnolia picked up the world on Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot and will...
- 1/29/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Park City deal flow erupted on Friday led by Paramount Home Media’s $2.25m worldwide rights play for Us Dramatic Competition entry Goat.
Andrew Neel directed the gritty drama about hazing, which will get a day-and-date VOD launch with Viacom stablemate MTV securing the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. CAA represented the filmmakers.
In other deals announced on Friday:
Sony Pictures Classics acquired Us and Asia on John Krasinski’s Premieres family comedy The Hollars starring the director and Anna Kendrick. Wme Global represented the filmmakers.Universal has swooped on most of world rights to Matthew Ross’ Premieres drama Frank & Lola starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. CAA and Preferred Content represented the filmmakers and Arclight handles international rights.Magnolia picked up the world on Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot and will commence international...
Andrew Neel directed the gritty drama about hazing, which will get a day-and-date VOD launch with Viacom stablemate MTV securing the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. CAA represented the filmmakers.
In other deals announced on Friday:
Sony Pictures Classics acquired Us and Asia on John Krasinski’s Premieres family comedy The Hollars starring the director and Anna Kendrick. Wme Global represented the filmmakers.Universal has swooped on most of world rights to Matthew Ross’ Premieres drama Frank & Lola starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. CAA and Preferred Content represented the filmmakers and Arclight handles international rights.Magnolia picked up the world on Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot and will commence international...
- 1/29/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Park City trickle is turning into a stream as Paramount Home Media acquired worldwide rights to the Us Dramatic Competition entry in a deal valued at $2.25m, one of at least four festival deals that emerged on Friday.
Magnolia picked up the world on World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot, while A24 took North American rights to the polarising Us Dramatic Competition selection Swiss Army Man and Music Box and Netflix partnered on North American rights to Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You.
Goat, a gritty drama about hazing, will get a day-and-date VOD launch and Viacom stablemate MTV will get the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. Andrew Neel directed. CAA represented the filmmakers.
Magnolia Pictures brokered its worldwide rights deal on The Lovers And The Despot with Submarine Entertainment.
Rob Cannan and Ross Adam directed the story about the kidnappings...
Magnolia picked up the world on World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot, while A24 took North American rights to the polarising Us Dramatic Competition selection Swiss Army Man and Music Box and Netflix partnered on North American rights to Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You.
Goat, a gritty drama about hazing, will get a day-and-date VOD launch and Viacom stablemate MTV will get the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. Andrew Neel directed. CAA represented the filmmakers.
Magnolia Pictures brokered its worldwide rights deal on The Lovers And The Despot with Submarine Entertainment.
Rob Cannan and Ross Adam directed the story about the kidnappings...
- 1/29/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Park City trickle is turning into a stream as Paramount Home Media acquired worldwide rights to the Us Dramatic Competition entry in a deal valued at $2.25m, one of at least four festival deals that emerged on Friday.
Magnolia picked up the world on World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot, while A24 took North American rights to the polarising Us Dramatic Competition selection Swiss Army Man and Music Box and Netflix partnered on North American rights to Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You.
Goat, a gritty drama about hazing, will get a day-and-date VOD launch and Viacom stablemate MTV will get the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. Andrew Neel directed. CAA represented the filmmakers.
Magnolia Pictures brokered its worldwide rights deal on The Lovers And The Despot with Submarine Entertainment.
Rob Cannan and Ross Adam directed the story about the kidnappings...
Magnolia picked up the world on World Cinema Documentary Competition entry The Lovers And The Despot, while A24 took North American rights to the polarising Us Dramatic Competition selection Swiss Army Man and Music Box and Netflix partnered on North American rights to Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You.
Goat, a gritty drama about hazing, will get a day-and-date VOD launch and Viacom stablemate MTV will get the first TV window.
A third party will handle theatrical distribution to the film starring Nick Jonas. Andrew Neel directed. CAA represented the filmmakers.
Magnolia Pictures brokered its worldwide rights deal on The Lovers And The Despot with Submarine Entertainment.
Rob Cannan and Ross Adam directed the story about the kidnappings...
- 1/29/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Magnolia Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s The Lovers And The Despot, a documentary that tells the true story behind the kidnappings of a celebrated South Korean actress and her director ex-husband by late North Korean dictator and film fanatic Kim Jong-il, who made them his personal filmmakers. The pic bowed this week at the Sundance Film Festival and will get a theatrical release this year after it plays in Berlin, where Magnolia…...
- 1/29/2016
- Deadline
We’re a little over a year from the semi-aborted release of “The Interview,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s comedy that passed almost instantly into legend when (supposedly) North Korean hackers attacked the film’s backers Sony in retribution for the film’s satirical portrait, and fictional killing of, the country’s dictatorial leader Kim Jong-Un. So it’s perhaps a little surprising to see another movie premiering at Sundance that hits similar territory: again focusing on a North Korean leader (Kim’s late father Kim Jong-Il) and his infatuation with celebrity, touched with some espionage and dark humor. The difference this time is that Rob Cannan and Ross Adam’s film “The Lovers And The Despot” tells an entirely true story. Read More: The 30 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Sundance Film Festival It’s one that you might be familiar with in the broad strokes, but likely not in this kind of detail.
- 1/27/2016
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
There’s an incredible story somewhere in this tale of how an actor and her husband were forced to make films for the late dictator, but this documentary buries it by way of over-measured effects and chronic pussy-footing
There’s not a lot that’s warm and fuzzy about the late dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il. One factoid that floats around is that “the guy loved movies!” As the documentary The Lovers and the Despot shows, even this is tinged with darkness.
Built around a lengthy interview with former film star Choi Eun-hee, directors Robert Cannan and Ross Adam tell the strange tale of how Choi, a South Korean, and her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, were kidnapped by Kim’s agents and pressed into servitude, with the order to make North Korea’s film output great.
Continue reading...
There’s not a lot that’s warm and fuzzy about the late dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il. One factoid that floats around is that “the guy loved movies!” As the documentary The Lovers and the Despot shows, even this is tinged with darkness.
Built around a lengthy interview with former film star Choi Eun-hee, directors Robert Cannan and Ross Adam tell the strange tale of how Choi, a South Korean, and her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, were kidnapped by Kim’s agents and pressed into servitude, with the order to make North Korea’s film output great.
Continue reading...
- 1/24/2016
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
There’s an incredible story somewhere in this tale of how an actor and her husband were forced to make films for the late dictator, but this documentary buries it by way of over-measured effects and chronic pussy-footing
There’s not a lot that’s warm and fuzzy about the late dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il. One factoid that floats around is that “the guy loved movies!” As the documentary The Lovers and the Despot shows, even this is tinged with darkness.
Built around a lengthy interview with former film star Choi Eun-hee, directors Robert Cannan and Ross Adam tell the strange tale of how Choi, a South Korean, and her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, were kidnapped by Kim’s agents and pressed into servitude, with the order to make North Korea’s film output great.
Continue reading...
There’s not a lot that’s warm and fuzzy about the late dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il. One factoid that floats around is that “the guy loved movies!” As the documentary The Lovers and the Despot shows, even this is tinged with darkness.
Built around a lengthy interview with former film star Choi Eun-hee, directors Robert Cannan and Ross Adam tell the strange tale of how Choi, a South Korean, and her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, were kidnapped by Kim’s agents and pressed into servitude, with the order to make North Korea’s film output great.
Continue reading...
- 1/24/2016
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
Films include Shepherds and Butchers with Steve Coogan; Don’t Call Me Son from Anna Muylaert; and a documentary about a director and actress who were kidnapped by Kim Jong-il.
The Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed the selection for this year’s Panorama strand, comprising 51 films from 33 countries. A total of 34 fiction features comprise the main programme and Panorama Special while a further 17 titles will screen in Panorama Dokumente.
A total of 33 films are world premieres, nine are international premieres and nine European premieres. The 30th Teddy Award is also being celebrated with an anniversary series of 17 films.
Notable titles include Shepherds and Butchers from South Africa, which is set toward the end of Apartheid and stars Steve Coogan as a hotshot lawyer who faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a white prison guard who has killed seven black men. What ensues is a charge against the death penalty itself, in a case...
The Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed the selection for this year’s Panorama strand, comprising 51 films from 33 countries. A total of 34 fiction features comprise the main programme and Panorama Special while a further 17 titles will screen in Panorama Dokumente.
A total of 33 films are world premieres, nine are international premieres and nine European premieres. The 30th Teddy Award is also being celebrated with an anniversary series of 17 films.
Notable titles include Shepherds and Butchers from South Africa, which is set toward the end of Apartheid and stars Steve Coogan as a hotshot lawyer who faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a white prison guard who has killed seven black men. What ensues is a charge against the death penalty itself, in a case...
- 1/21/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Films include Shepherds and Butchers, starring Steve Coogan; Don’t Call Me Son from Anna Muylaert; and a documentary about a director and actress who were kidnapped by Kim Jong-il and forced to make films.
The Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed the selection for this year’s Panorama strand, comprising 51 films from 33 countries. A total of 34 fiction features comprise the main programme and Panorama Special while a further 17 titles will screen in Panorama Dokumente.
A total of 33 films are world premieres, nine are international premieres and nine European premieres. The 30th Teddy Award is also being celebrated with an anniversary series of 17 films.
Notable titles include Shepherds and Butchers from South Africa, which is set toward the end of Apartheid and stars Steve Coogan as a hotshot lawyer faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a white prison guard who has killed seven black men. What ensues is a charge against the death penalty itself...
The Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed the selection for this year’s Panorama strand, comprising 51 films from 33 countries. A total of 34 fiction features comprise the main programme and Panorama Special while a further 17 titles will screen in Panorama Dokumente.
A total of 33 films are world premieres, nine are international premieres and nine European premieres. The 30th Teddy Award is also being celebrated with an anniversary series of 17 films.
Notable titles include Shepherds and Butchers from South Africa, which is set toward the end of Apartheid and stars Steve Coogan as a hotshot lawyer faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a white prison guard who has killed seven black men. What ensues is a charge against the death penalty itself...
- 1/21/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Perhaps one of the last great, and truly bizarre, propaganda machines on the planet, the North Korean government has become expert at attempting to sell itself as bigger, more threatening, and as culturally advanced as the world around it. However, that bluster has also seen the leadership make desperate moves, and the upcoming documentary “The Lovers And The Despot,” premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, dives into a truly odd portion of the country’s history. Read More: The 30 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Sundance Film Festival Directed by Ross Adam and Robert Cannan, the film tells the story of South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and leading actress Choi Eun-hee, both of whom wind up imprisoned and kidnapped separately by North Korea, and reunited by Kim Jong-il, who has another plan up his sleeve for them… Here’s the official synopsis: In the aftermath of the Korean War, ambitious young...
- 1/20/2016
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
My second trip to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah promises to be much colder, though no less exciting than last year’s unseasonably-warm introduction. You could barely hear yourself think over the constant roar of snow cannons trying to preserve the anemic ski slopes. This year finds a return to freezing temperatures and the emergence of female directors. Over 40 feature films are helmed by women.
My personal approach to this year’s festival will be to focus on diversity. Rather than plunging into one particular Section, I will sample generously from each, with no regard to the obscurity of the title. Last year’s Next Section, for example, produce three of my favorite films of 2015, including H., James White, and Tangerine. With that in mind, here are my 10 most anticipated films from Sundance 2016.
The Lure
Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska
Section: World Dramatic Competition
What to make of a film that promises mermaids,...
My personal approach to this year’s festival will be to focus on diversity. Rather than plunging into one particular Section, I will sample generously from each, with no regard to the obscurity of the title. Last year’s Next Section, for example, produce three of my favorite films of 2015, including H., James White, and Tangerine. With that in mind, here are my 10 most anticipated films from Sundance 2016.
The Lure
Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska
Section: World Dramatic Competition
What to make of a film that promises mermaids,...
- 1/14/2016
- by J.R. Kinnard
- SoundOnSight
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