The entire film industry is soon to descend upon the Côte d’Azur this May as the Cannes Film Festival readies for its 77th edition. From May 14 through May 25, the iconic festival event of the year will host much-awaited new works for auteurs and rising directors alike, across sections like the Competition, Directors’ Fortnight, Un Certain Regard (with jury president Xavier Dolan), and Critics’ Week. Major prizes will come at the end of the festival, and will no doubt set the tone for the movie year ahead.
Such was the case last year when Justine Triet’s eventual Oscar winner “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the top award, the Palme d’Or, the fourth consecutive film distributed by Neon to do so. Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 Grand Prize winner “The Zone of Interest” also won two Academy Awards, while Competition entries “Perfect Days” and “May December” earned Oscar nominations, too.
Such was the case last year when Justine Triet’s eventual Oscar winner “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the top award, the Palme d’Or, the fourth consecutive film distributed by Neon to do so. Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 Grand Prize winner “The Zone of Interest” also won two Academy Awards, while Competition entries “Perfect Days” and “May December” earned Oscar nominations, too.
- 3/27/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Opening nights at major festivals often lean towards the showier end of the spectrum, reaching for films with starry, red carpet-friendly casts and headline-grabbing premises to kick off proceedings in flashy style. The past two Berlinales boasted fun but forgettable openers — Rebecca Miller’s “She Came To Me” and Francois Ozon’s “Peter von Kant” — which is why it’s a pleasant surprise that this year’s Berlinale Opening Night offers something altogether subtler, a genuinely profound low-key gem which will be remembered long after the champagne and sequins have been swept away.
On the surface, “Small Things Like These,” produced by and starring the freshly Oscar-nominated Cillian Murphy (and with “Oppenheimer” co-star Matt Damon also on board as producer) fits the Opening Night brief well. In reality, however, this is a surprisingly understated film, dour and difficult to watch in places, and firmly rooted in Irish culture and history.
On the surface, “Small Things Like These,” produced by and starring the freshly Oscar-nominated Cillian Murphy (and with “Oppenheimer” co-star Matt Damon also on board as producer) fits the Opening Night brief well. In reality, however, this is a surprisingly understated film, dour and difficult to watch in places, and firmly rooted in Irish culture and history.
- 2/15/2024
- by Rachel Pronger
- Indiewire
Cohen Media Group has dropped the trailer for Francois Ozon’s drama “Everything Went Fine” ahead of its theatrical release in New York on April 14 and Los Angeles on April 21, followed by a national expansion.
“Everything Went Fine” is based on the autobiographical novel by author Emmanuèle Bernheim who previously collaborated on Ozon’s screenplays for “Under The Sand,” “Swimming Pool” and “Ricky.”
The movie follows 85-year-old art collector André Bernheim (André Dussolier) who, after a debilitating stroke, demands that his daughter Emmanuèle (Sophie Marceau), help him end life on his own terms. Faced with a painful decision, Emmanuèle, with the grudging support of her younger sister Pascale (Géraldine Pailhas), begins sorting through the processes and bureaucratic hurdles necessary to fulfill her father’s final wish, as she is forced to reconcile her past with a complicated, stubborn, yet charismatic man.
Here’s the trailer:
“Everything Went Fine” also stars...
“Everything Went Fine” is based on the autobiographical novel by author Emmanuèle Bernheim who previously collaborated on Ozon’s screenplays for “Under The Sand,” “Swimming Pool” and “Ricky.”
The movie follows 85-year-old art collector André Bernheim (André Dussolier) who, after a debilitating stroke, demands that his daughter Emmanuèle (Sophie Marceau), help him end life on his own terms. Faced with a painful decision, Emmanuèle, with the grudging support of her younger sister Pascale (Géraldine Pailhas), begins sorting through the processes and bureaucratic hurdles necessary to fulfill her father’s final wish, as she is forced to reconcile her past with a complicated, stubborn, yet charismatic man.
Here’s the trailer:
“Everything Went Fine” also stars...
- 3/30/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Strand Releasing has bought all North American rights to Emily Atef’s last two movies, “Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything” which competed at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as her Cannes entry “More Than Ever.” Both films are represented in international markets by The Match Factory.
Based on Daniela Krien’s novel, the film is set in the summer of 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall, in the countryside of former East Germany. Marlene Burow plays Maria, who is about to turn 19, lives with her boyfriend at his parents’ farm. She engages into a passionate and lustful affair with Henner (Felix Kramer), a reclusive neighbor who is twice her age.
“More Than Ever,” meanwhile, premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard. It stars Vicky Krieps and late French actor Gaspard Ulliel as a couple whose bond is tested when one...
Based on Daniela Krien’s novel, the film is set in the summer of 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall, in the countryside of former East Germany. Marlene Burow plays Maria, who is about to turn 19, lives with her boyfriend at his parents’ farm. She engages into a passionate and lustful affair with Henner (Felix Kramer), a reclusive neighbor who is twice her age.
“More Than Ever,” meanwhile, premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard. It stars Vicky Krieps and late French actor Gaspard Ulliel as a couple whose bond is tested when one...
- 3/20/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” continues its strong awards season performance by pulling off an impressive sweep at the 14th Annual Dorian Awards. The Dorians are bestowed by Galeca: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, a group of over 400 critics, journalists, and media icons. A24’s multiverse-jumping family drama scored seven wins, a victory in every category for which it was nominated.
“Everything Everywhere” snatched the coveted Film of the Year title, while creative duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert co-won both best director and best screenplay honors. In Galeca’s gender neutral acting races, Michelle Yeoh seized Performance of the Year and Ke Huy Quan edged out two of his costars for Supporting Performance. Though Stephanie Hsu lost the supporting race, the critics group did name her their Rising Star of the Year. The movie also won LGBTQ Film of the Year and Visually Striking Film of the Year.
“Everything Everywhere” snatched the coveted Film of the Year title, while creative duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert co-won both best director and best screenplay honors. In Galeca’s gender neutral acting races, Michelle Yeoh seized Performance of the Year and Ke Huy Quan edged out two of his costars for Supporting Performance. Though Stephanie Hsu lost the supporting race, the critics group did name her their Rising Star of the Year. The movie also won LGBTQ Film of the Year and Visually Striking Film of the Year.
- 2/23/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Louis Garrel’s “The Innocent” and Dominik Moll’s thriller “The Night of the 12th” are leading the race at the 48th Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Nominated for 11 Cesar nominations, “The Innocent” is a heist romantic comedy starring Garrel, Roschdy Zem and Noemie Merlant, who previously starred in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and most recently in “Tár.” Produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint at Les Films des Tournelles, the crowdpleaser world premiered out of competition at Cannes for the 75th anniversary of the festival.
“The Night of the 12th,” meanwhile, is in the running for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as two cops trying to solve a gruesome murder. The movie, produced by Haut et Court (“The Class”), delves into issues of gender and violence.
Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Klapisch’s dance-filled “Rise,...
Nominated for 11 Cesar nominations, “The Innocent” is a heist romantic comedy starring Garrel, Roschdy Zem and Noemie Merlant, who previously starred in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and most recently in “Tár.” Produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint at Les Films des Tournelles, the crowdpleaser world premiered out of competition at Cannes for the 75th anniversary of the festival.
“The Night of the 12th,” meanwhile, is in the running for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as two cops trying to solve a gruesome murder. The movie, produced by Haut et Court (“The Class”), delves into issues of gender and violence.
Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Klapisch’s dance-filled “Rise,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Peter (Denis Ménochet) is a famous filmmaker living in Cologne, Germany in the 1970s. He lives in a beautiful, colorful apartment with his assistant Karl (Stefan Crepon), a tall, thin, mustachioed man who dutifully does everything asked of him, all while never saying a word. Peter is hard at work on his next script — or not so hard, as he seems to spend most of his time lounging around, drinking, and listening to music while Karl types away. While his professional life is extremely successful, his personal life is far less so. There's an emptiness eating away at his soul — despite having it all, he has nobody to share it with. That might change, however, when a gorgeous young man appears at his door, at the request of his friend, who might finally make Peter's life bearable.
If this all sounds a bit familiar to you, then you're onto something.
If this all sounds a bit familiar to you, then you're onto something.
- 10/24/2022
- by Barry Levitt
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Focus Features has boarded Beast and Everest filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur’s romantic drama Touch, which begins principal photography Sunday in London. Focus will release domestically, with Universal Pictures International handling overseas distribution (excluding Iceland).
Touch is based on the bestselling Icelandic novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, which was published in the U.S. in August this year. Ólaffson co-wrote the script with Kormákur.
Related Story Focus Features Acquires Willem Dafoe Thriller 'Inside', Sets Q1 2023 Release Related Story Film Festival Heat Brightens Arthouse Outlook; 'Honk For Jesus', 'Gigi & Nate', François Ozon's 'Peter Von Kant' Make Holiday Weekend Debut – Specialty Preview Related Story 'Armageddon Time' Director James Gray Reveals Real-Life Tragic Circumstances Of A Key Character In His Autobiographical Film – Telluride Q&a
The story spans several decades and continents as it follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love...
Touch is based on the bestselling Icelandic novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, which was published in the U.S. in August this year. Ólaffson co-wrote the script with Kormákur.
Related Story Focus Features Acquires Willem Dafoe Thriller 'Inside', Sets Q1 2023 Release Related Story Film Festival Heat Brightens Arthouse Outlook; 'Honk For Jesus', 'Gigi & Nate', François Ozon's 'Peter Von Kant' Make Holiday Weekend Debut – Specialty Preview Related Story 'Armageddon Time' Director James Gray Reveals Real-Life Tragic Circumstances Of A Key Character In His Autobiographical Film – Telluride Q&a
The story spans several decades and continents as it follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love...
- 10/6/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
More than 20 years after adapting a Rainer Werner Fassbinder play called “Waters Drops on Burning Rocks” into a movie, François Ozon has made this gender-flipped adaptation of one of Fassbinder’s greatest films, “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” in an attempt to understand Fassbinder’s real-life struggle with the power plays of love.
Fassbinder’s “Petra von Kant” was shot very quickly on a very low budget, and he used a lot of long takes; every camera movement in Fassbinder’s version of this material feels so ultra-controlled that watching it is like getting tied up in an S & M dungeon or getting slowly strangled by a python. Ozon shoots his own “Peter von Kant” with a casualness that can feel frivolous, and he uses very conventional short takes for shot/reverse shot conversations.
Fassbinder’s “Petra von Kant” revolves around a lesbian love triangle that consists of...
Fassbinder’s “Petra von Kant” was shot very quickly on a very low budget, and he used a lot of long takes; every camera movement in Fassbinder’s version of this material feels so ultra-controlled that watching it is like getting tied up in an S & M dungeon or getting slowly strangled by a python. Ozon shoots his own “Peter von Kant” with a casualness that can feel frivolous, and he uses very conventional short takes for shot/reverse shot conversations.
Fassbinder’s “Petra von Kant” revolves around a lesbian love triangle that consists of...
- 9/2/2022
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Click here to read the full article.
Strand Releasing has picked up rights in North America for 99 Moons, an intense love story from Swiss director Jan Gassmann, which premiered in Cannes’ Acid sidebar.
Berlin-based sales group M-Appeal inked the deal with Strand, also closing deals for for the film with distributors in Israel (Shoval Film Production) and Hong Kong (Edko Films Ltd).
99 Moons tells the story of Bigna, a 28-year-old scientist, used to having everything under control, and Frank, a 33-year-old druggie who feeds on other people’s affection. Their different worlds collide, and they become obsessively entwined in a passionate and turbulent erotic love affair. The film stars first-time actors Valentina Di Pace and Dominik Fellmann.
With 99 Moons, Strand adds to its upcoming slate of European art house features. Recent acquisitions by the New York-based distributor include Francois Ozon’s Peter Von Kant and Ursula Meier’s The Line,...
Strand Releasing has picked up rights in North America for 99 Moons, an intense love story from Swiss director Jan Gassmann, which premiered in Cannes’ Acid sidebar.
Berlin-based sales group M-Appeal inked the deal with Strand, also closing deals for for the film with distributors in Israel (Shoval Film Production) and Hong Kong (Edko Films Ltd).
99 Moons tells the story of Bigna, a 28-year-old scientist, used to having everything under control, and Frank, a 33-year-old druggie who feeds on other people’s affection. Their different worlds collide, and they become obsessively entwined in a passionate and turbulent erotic love affair. The film stars first-time actors Valentina Di Pace and Dominik Fellmann.
With 99 Moons, Strand adds to its upcoming slate of European art house features. Recent acquisitions by the New York-based distributor include Francois Ozon’s Peter Von Kant and Ursula Meier’s The Line,...
- 8/3/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Francois Ozon, whose latest film, “Peter von Kant,” opened the Berlinale, is already shooting his next movie, “Madeleine,” with a flurry of stars including Isabelle Huppert, Dany Boon and Fabrice Luchini.
The project, which is believed to be his most ambitious since “8 Women,” is being introduced to buyers at Cannes by Playtime and has already sparked strong interest. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Playtime is presenting the script to select buyers.
Ozon is one of the few bankable European directors whose films have opened at major festivals and traditionally sell around the world, including in the U.S.
“Madeleine” reteams Ozon with his regular producers, Eric and Nicolas Altmayer at Mandarin Cinema. Gaumont will be distributing the film in France, according to Satellifacts.
The cast also includes Rebecca Marder, the rising French star of Arnaud Desplechin’s “Tromperie” and Sandrine Kiberlain’s “Une jeune fille qui va bien.
The project, which is believed to be his most ambitious since “8 Women,” is being introduced to buyers at Cannes by Playtime and has already sparked strong interest. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Playtime is presenting the script to select buyers.
Ozon is one of the few bankable European directors whose films have opened at major festivals and traditionally sell around the world, including in the U.S.
“Madeleine” reteams Ozon with his regular producers, Eric and Nicolas Altmayer at Mandarin Cinema. Gaumont will be distributing the film in France, according to Satellifacts.
The cast also includes Rebecca Marder, the rising French star of Arnaud Desplechin’s “Tromperie” and Sandrine Kiberlain’s “Une jeune fille qui va bien.
- 5/19/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Following its world premiere as the Berlin Film Festival opener, Francois Ozon’s “Peter von Kant” has been acquired by Strand Releasing for U.S. distribution.
Represented in international markets by Playtime, the critically acclaimed movie is inspired by Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s cult film “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” with Denis Menochet playing the tormented filmmaker, opposite Isabelle Adjani, who stars as his muse.
Ozon previously told Variety that the movie was a “universal tale of passion, timely as ever” and “explores the relationships of domination, control and submission in the creative world.”
“Peter von Kant” marks Ozon’s sixth movie that played in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. He won the Silver Bear for his 2018 film, “By the Grace of God,” and “8 Women” 20 years ago. He also debuted “Water Drops on Burning Rocks,” another adaptation of a Fassbinder work, at the festival in 2000.
Playtime...
Represented in international markets by Playtime, the critically acclaimed movie is inspired by Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s cult film “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” with Denis Menochet playing the tormented filmmaker, opposite Isabelle Adjani, who stars as his muse.
Ozon previously told Variety that the movie was a “universal tale of passion, timely as ever” and “explores the relationships of domination, control and submission in the creative world.”
“Peter von Kant” marks Ozon’s sixth movie that played in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. He won the Silver Bear for his 2018 film, “By the Grace of God,” and “8 Women” 20 years ago. He also debuted “Water Drops on Burning Rocks,” another adaptation of a Fassbinder work, at the festival in 2000.
Playtime...
- 3/22/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
NonStop also picks up three Sundance titles.
NonStop Entertainment has gone on a buying spree for Nordic rights to new titles including Berlinale opening film Peter Von Kant directed by Francois Ozon, in a deal with Playtime.
Also from Berlinale’s official selection, the company acquired Dark Glasses by Dario Argento, with Nordic rights acquired from Wild Bunch. The thriller set in Rome stars Asia Argento.
From the Sundance 2022 selection, NonStop acquired Nordic rights from A24 to After Yang by Kogonada (also selected for Cannes 2021). Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith star in a sci-fi about memory, grief and love. Also,...
NonStop Entertainment has gone on a buying spree for Nordic rights to new titles including Berlinale opening film Peter Von Kant directed by Francois Ozon, in a deal with Playtime.
Also from Berlinale’s official selection, the company acquired Dark Glasses by Dario Argento, with Nordic rights acquired from Wild Bunch. The thriller set in Rome stars Asia Argento.
From the Sundance 2022 selection, NonStop acquired Nordic rights from A24 to After Yang by Kogonada (also selected for Cannes 2021). Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith star in a sci-fi about memory, grief and love. Also,...
- 2/23/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Other EFM acquisitions including ‘Rimini’, ’Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom’, ’Peter Von Kant’ and ’La Syndicaliste’.
Pim Hermeling’s Amsterdam-based September Films, one of Benelux’s leading art house distributors, has been on a buying spree at the EFM.
The company has acquired Li Ruijun’s Berlin competition entry Return To Dust from Berlin-based m-appeal. This follows other EFM acquisitions including Ulrich Seidl’s Rimini from the Coproduction Office; Oscar international feature film nominee Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom (from Films Boutique); François Ozon’s Berlinale opening film Peter Von Kant (sold by Playtime) and La Syndicaliste (The...
Pim Hermeling’s Amsterdam-based September Films, one of Benelux’s leading art house distributors, has been on a buying spree at the EFM.
The company has acquired Li Ruijun’s Berlin competition entry Return To Dust from Berlin-based m-appeal. This follows other EFM acquisitions including Ulrich Seidl’s Rimini from the Coproduction Office; Oscar international feature film nominee Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom (from Films Boutique); François Ozon’s Berlinale opening film Peter Von Kant (sold by Playtime) and La Syndicaliste (The...
- 2/16/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has staged its first in-person edition since 2020, soldiering on amid a wave of the Covid omicron variant in Germany and a last-minute virtual pivot for the European Film Market. Here are our main takeaways below:
Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings
Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau. Though the fest nixed parties due to omicron concerns, film delegations held dinners for select outsiders that felt like clandestine wartime get-togethers. “Enough with the Zooms! We need the human contact to make deals,” said Vision Distribution’s Catia Rossi, a veteran Italian sales agent, during the dinner for Panorama title “Swing Ride.” “I never thought I’d say this, but give me back the AFM!”
Technical difficulties
The opening...
Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings
Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau. Though the fest nixed parties due to omicron concerns, film delegations held dinners for select outsiders that felt like clandestine wartime get-togethers. “Enough with the Zooms! We need the human contact to make deals,” said Vision Distribution’s Catia Rossi, a veteran Italian sales agent, during the dinner for Panorama title “Swing Ride.” “I never thought I’d say this, but give me back the AFM!”
Technical difficulties
The opening...
- 2/16/2022
- by Manori Ravindran and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Organizers of the Berlin Film Festival have told us that the world premiere screening of opening film Peter Von Kant was disrupted last night due to “a server problem.”
A festival spokesperson told us: “We very much regret that a server problem at the Berlinale Palast led to an interruption of the screening of Peter Von Kant. After 7 minutes of interruption the screening could be continued.”
The screen blacked out twice in quick succession during last night’s world premiere leading to audible frustration among guests. Reports are that the delay was closer to 10-15 minutes. Following the interruption, the movie played through to its end.
After the premiere, one of the hosts for the night took to the stage to apologize to guests. The film’s star Denis Menochet also thanked cinema-goers for their patience.
It has been a bumpy start for the festival. Covid protocols outside the...
A festival spokesperson told us: “We very much regret that a server problem at the Berlinale Palast led to an interruption of the screening of Peter Von Kant. After 7 minutes of interruption the screening could be continued.”
The screen blacked out twice in quick succession during last night’s world premiere leading to audible frustration among guests. Reports are that the delay was closer to 10-15 minutes. Following the interruption, the movie played through to its end.
After the premiere, one of the hosts for the night took to the stage to apologize to guests. The film’s star Denis Menochet also thanked cinema-goers for their patience.
It has been a bumpy start for the festival. Covid protocols outside the...
- 2/11/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Slate includes 7th & Union, upcoming Cam Gigandet thriller Righteous Thieves.
Grandave International has picked up world sales rights for EFM on upcoming action thriller The Channel and Fantasia selection Fugitive Dreams.
The Channel is in post-production and follows a desperate criminal, his wild brother and their motley crew of former Marines who, after their bank heist goes wrong, must escape New Orleans and the FBI.
William Kaufman directs and Andrew and Isaac Lewis, Jon Wroblewski and Paul Reichelt are producing. Max Martini and Clayne Crawford lead the cast.
April Matthis and Robbie Tann star in Jason Neulander’s Fantasia 2020 entry Fugitive Dreams,...
Grandave International has picked up world sales rights for EFM on upcoming action thriller The Channel and Fantasia selection Fugitive Dreams.
The Channel is in post-production and follows a desperate criminal, his wild brother and their motley crew of former Marines who, after their bank heist goes wrong, must escape New Orleans and the FBI.
William Kaufman directs and Andrew and Isaac Lewis, Jon Wroblewski and Paul Reichelt are producing. Max Martini and Clayne Crawford lead the cast.
April Matthis and Robbie Tann star in Jason Neulander’s Fantasia 2020 entry Fugitive Dreams,...
- 2/10/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The 72nd Berlin Film Festival got off to a promising if somewhat subdued start Feb. 10 amid strict restrictions due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, which put a major damper on this year’s festivities and kept crowds to a minimum.
While only some 800 guests attended the opening night ceremony at the Berlinale Palast — less than half of the normal capacity of the festival’s grand main venue — the event was nevertheless a hopeful sign for the local film industry and for cinema in general.
The festival was uncompromising in its mask policy for the red carpet, rendering most high-profile guests unrecognizable — although many whipped them off for the phalanx of photographers. But the Berlinale Palast’s famous disco ball spun nonetheless and aside from the Covid of it all, the scene felt very much like old times, both on the red carpet and inside, where a number of local guests...
While only some 800 guests attended the opening night ceremony at the Berlinale Palast — less than half of the normal capacity of the festival’s grand main venue — the event was nevertheless a hopeful sign for the local film industry and for cinema in general.
The festival was uncompromising in its mask policy for the red carpet, rendering most high-profile guests unrecognizable — although many whipped them off for the phalanx of photographers. But the Berlinale Palast’s famous disco ball spun nonetheless and aside from the Covid of it all, the scene felt very much like old times, both on the red carpet and inside, where a number of local guests...
- 2/10/2022
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a neat conceit, making the directing colossus of 1970s German cinema into the star of his own show. Peter Von Kant, the opening film of the Berlin Film Festival, is “freely adapted” by French director François Ozon from The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s highly stylized 1972 story of three women locked in a toxic triangle of love, jealousy, domination and submission. The storyline and much of the dialogue, is the same; where Ozon shakes it up is by making the trio all men.
Ozon has tangled with Fassbinder before. His 2000 film, Water Drops On Burning Rocks, which also dealt with power struggles within sexual relationships, was adapted from a Fassbinder play. Taking on The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant, a recognized landmark of European cinema, is a bolder move, made at a different moment in Ozon’s career. This is maestro on...
Ozon has tangled with Fassbinder before. His 2000 film, Water Drops On Burning Rocks, which also dealt with power struggles within sexual relationships, was adapted from a Fassbinder play. Taking on The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant, a recognized landmark of European cinema, is a bolder move, made at a different moment in Ozon’s career. This is maestro on...
- 2/10/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: French actress Isabelle Adjani, co-star of the Berlin Film Festival’s opening film Peter Von Kant, has not traveled for the world premiere tonight due to being a close contact of someone with Covid, we understand from multiple sources.
The film is being represented in Berlin by director Francois Ozon and stars Denis Menochet, Khalil Garbia and Stéfan Crépon, among others.
Veteran German actress Hanna Schygulla, who has a supporting role in the film, is also not in attendance tonight, for reasons that remain unclear. The iconic German New Wave star is well known for her collaborations with legendary local filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, including in The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant (1972), which is the inspiration for Ozon’s Peter Von Kant.
Berlin Film Festival Gets Underway With Messages Of Determination As Event Presses On Amid Question Marks
Fassbinder’s original follows a successful fashion designer who abandons...
The film is being represented in Berlin by director Francois Ozon and stars Denis Menochet, Khalil Garbia and Stéfan Crépon, among others.
Veteran German actress Hanna Schygulla, who has a supporting role in the film, is also not in attendance tonight, for reasons that remain unclear. The iconic German New Wave star is well known for her collaborations with legendary local filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, including in The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant (1972), which is the inspiration for Ozon’s Peter Von Kant.
Berlin Film Festival Gets Underway With Messages Of Determination As Event Presses On Amid Question Marks
Fassbinder’s original follows a successful fashion designer who abandons...
- 2/10/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
François Ozon, the prolific and provocative French director who won the Berlinale’s 2018 Golden Bear Award with “By the Grace of God,” is returning to the festival with “Peter von Kant” which will world premiere on opening night. A twist on Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s cult film “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” Ozon’s movie has Denis Menochet playing the tormented filmmaker, opposite Isabelle Adjani, who stars as his muse. Like the original film, “Peter von Kant” is about a film about love, jealousy and domination. It’s Ozon’s sixth movie in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. Ozon’s Berlin films include 2000’s “Water Drops on Burning Rocks,” another adaptation of a Fassbinder work, and “8 Women,” which won the Silver Bear 20 years ago. The director discussed his artistic ambition for the “Peter von Kant” with Variety.
This is your second Fassbinder-based project. Why is Fassbinder...
This is your second Fassbinder-based project. Why is Fassbinder...
- 2/10/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Thanks to Twitter, we now really know what Jean-Luc Godard thinks about animals: They’re future filmgoers.
Berlinale tweeted a video of the famed auteur discussing his retrospective exhibition as part of the festival’s Sentiments, Signes, Passions, curated by Fabrice Aragno in collaboration with Godard. The exhibition screens Godard’s 2018 “Le livre d’image” as a “living projection” on 40 screens.
“What I would like is what I told you, is that in Berlin, since there are often wild boars in the city of Berlin, a feeder for wild boars should be placed under the screens,” Godard said.
He added, “The film, or something from the cinema, is like when you go into nature and see trees that have several branches. What [cinematographer] Fabrice Aragno does, it is each time a tree of the cinema. In Berlin it will be the second time. The first time was in Nyon. I hope...
Berlinale tweeted a video of the famed auteur discussing his retrospective exhibition as part of the festival’s Sentiments, Signes, Passions, curated by Fabrice Aragno in collaboration with Godard. The exhibition screens Godard’s 2018 “Le livre d’image” as a “living projection” on 40 screens.
“What I would like is what I told you, is that in Berlin, since there are often wild boars in the city of Berlin, a feeder for wild boars should be placed under the screens,” Godard said.
He added, “The film, or something from the cinema, is like when you go into nature and see trees that have several branches. What [cinematographer] Fabrice Aragno does, it is each time a tree of the cinema. In Berlin it will be the second time. The first time was in Nyon. I hope...
- 1/27/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
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