Paris-based The Party Film Sales and Heather Millard of Iceland’s Compass Films have reunited with “When the Light Breaks” director Rúnar Rúnarsson on his next poetic filmic venture “O.”
The Icelandic film “When the Light Breaks” is due to open Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section May 15.
Headlining Iceland’s major international star Ingvar E. Sigurðsson (“A White, White Day,” “Fantastic Beasts, the Crimes of Grindelwald”), the 20-minute film “O” is a “humanistic and poetic story of a fragile man, trying to achieve a simple task where his main obstacle is within himself,” according to the official logline.
“We’re very excited to also accompany Rúnar on his new short film,” said The Party Film Sales’ Samuel Blanc. “O” and “When the Light Breaks” have a lot in common and resonate with each other. We’re confident distributors will be interested in programming both films in tandem: in the frame of special screenings,...
The Icelandic film “When the Light Breaks” is due to open Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section May 15.
Headlining Iceland’s major international star Ingvar E. Sigurðsson (“A White, White Day,” “Fantastic Beasts, the Crimes of Grindelwald”), the 20-minute film “O” is a “humanistic and poetic story of a fragile man, trying to achieve a simple task where his main obstacle is within himself,” according to the official logline.
“We’re very excited to also accompany Rúnar on his new short film,” said The Party Film Sales’ Samuel Blanc. “O” and “When the Light Breaks” have a lot in common and resonate with each other. We’re confident distributors will be interested in programming both films in tandem: in the frame of special screenings,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
With Winter Brothers, A White, White Day, and last year’s Oscar-shortlisted Godland, Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason has emerged as one of the most interesting, singular filmmakers working today. He’s now announced his fourth feature with On Land and Sea, which will begin production this fall. Cineuropa reports the film will “follow the life of a family which, at the turn of the 19th century, transforms its house into a raft and goes looking for a new place to live.”
Pálmason told us last year, “I really love making things, whether it is a film or a video installation or building a table—just creating things. It works for me to work parallel on a couple of projects, because I found that I like having time with each project, not starting it up and then finishing it. I love thinking about it and writing something and then rewriting it and working on something else,...
Pálmason told us last year, “I really love making things, whether it is a film or a video installation or building a table—just creating things. It works for me to work parallel on a couple of projects, because I found that I like having time with each project, not starting it up and then finishing it. I love thinking about it and writing something and then rewriting it and working on something else,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The film was a standout title from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard line-up in 2022.
Hlynur Palmason’s Cannes Un Certain Regard 2022 standout Godland will be the Icelandic contender in the 2024 Oscar race for best international feature.
The film also played at Telluride and Toronto 2022. In the US, Janus Films handled the theatrical release in early 2023, followed by a Criterion Channel streaming premiere.
Godland is produced by Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin of Denmark’s Snowglobe and Anton Máni Svansson of Iceland’s Join Motion Pictures. The companies previously collaborated on A White, White Day (also Iceland’s Oscar submission...
Hlynur Palmason’s Cannes Un Certain Regard 2022 standout Godland will be the Icelandic contender in the 2024 Oscar race for best international feature.
The film also played at Telluride and Toronto 2022. In the US, Janus Films handled the theatrical release in early 2023, followed by a Criterion Channel streaming premiere.
Godland is produced by Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin of Denmark’s Snowglobe and Anton Máni Svansson of Iceland’s Join Motion Pictures. The companies previously collaborated on A White, White Day (also Iceland’s Oscar submission...
- 9/12/2023
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
This week’s streaming releases bring a heavy hitter in the form of a perennial Oscar contender who has been severely under-recognized over the years. Her new movie is a must-see that’s well worth the premium VOD price.
The contender to watch this week: “You Hurt My Feelings“
Nicole Holofcener should have several Best Original Screenplay nominations by now — for “Walking and Talking” and “Enough Said” in particular. She shared an adapted-screenplay nom with Jeff Whitty for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” but “You Hurt My Feelings” gives Holofcener another shot at her first solo recognition. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a novelist whose mild personal crises balloon when she overhears her husband (Tobias Menzies) saying he dislikes her new book. It’s a wise, funny, humanistic gem, like all of Holofcener’s work, and it features a euphorically good performance from Louis-Dreyfus. Rent it on VOD.
Other contenders:...
The contender to watch this week: “You Hurt My Feelings“
Nicole Holofcener should have several Best Original Screenplay nominations by now — for “Walking and Talking” and “Enough Said” in particular. She shared an adapted-screenplay nom with Jeff Whitty for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” but “You Hurt My Feelings” gives Holofcener another shot at her first solo recognition. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a novelist whose mild personal crises balloon when she overhears her husband (Tobias Menzies) saying he dislikes her new book. It’s a wise, funny, humanistic gem, like all of Holofcener’s work, and it features a euphorically good performance from Louis-Dreyfus. Rent it on VOD.
Other contenders:...
- 6/24/2023
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
On a perilous quest to build a church in the wilds of Iceland, a zealous young Danish priest’s faith starts to crack in this striking historical epic
“It’s terribly beautiful,” says a troubled Danish priest in this 19th-century questing tale from Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason, whose previous film A White, White Day was his country’s official submission for the 92nd Academy Awards. “Yes, it’s terrible,” comes the reply, “… and beautiful.” It’s a subtle distinction, but one that lies at the heart of Pálmason’s quietly soul-shaking and wryly satirical epic, a cinematic tone poem that the film-maker describes as being “about inner and outer conflicts”, about miscommunication, and “a journey into ambition, love and faith, and the fear of God”.
Elliott Crosset Hove plays an ambitious and zealous young Lutheran priest, Lucas, who is tasked by his superiors with travelling from Denmark to the remote...
“It’s terribly beautiful,” says a troubled Danish priest in this 19th-century questing tale from Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason, whose previous film A White, White Day was his country’s official submission for the 92nd Academy Awards. “Yes, it’s terrible,” comes the reply, “… and beautiful.” It’s a subtle distinction, but one that lies at the heart of Pálmason’s quietly soul-shaking and wryly satirical epic, a cinematic tone poem that the film-maker describes as being “about inner and outer conflicts”, about miscommunication, and “a journey into ambition, love and faith, and the fear of God”.
Elliott Crosset Hove plays an ambitious and zealous young Lutheran priest, Lucas, who is tasked by his superiors with travelling from Denmark to the remote...
- 4/9/2023
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Hlynur Pálmason’s working methods push against traditional notions of filmmaking in almost every regard. He lives in a remote Icelandic village with his family. He prioritizes time in his writing, sharing new drafts with his collaborators over the course of many years. He lensed the beautiful time-lapse photography in his latest feature, Godland, himself with a film camera that he kept in his car. His films are shot chronologically and the edit is a slow process that only involves watching the film a few times. This is all in service of cultivating an environment where ideas and threads can emerge naturally, something Pálmason recognizes can only occur with time.
Godland reunites actors Elliott Crosset Hove and Ingvar Sigurðsson who previously starred in Pálmason’s 2014 student short “A Painter.” From there they traded turns as his starring men, first Hove in 2017’s Winter Brothers and then Sigurðsson in 2019’s A White, White Day.
Godland reunites actors Elliott Crosset Hove and Ingvar Sigurðsson who previously starred in Pálmason’s 2014 student short “A Painter.” From there they traded turns as his starring men, first Hove in 2017’s Winter Brothers and then Sigurðsson in 2019’s A White, White Day.
- 2/7/2023
- by Caleb Hammond
- The Film Stage
The life and work of writer-director Hlynur Pálmason seems suspended in a liminal space between his homeland of Iceland and the neighboring Scandinavian nation of Denmark, where he studied filmmaking and has now raised a family. And nowhere is that interstitial status more evidently reflected than in his third and finest feature yet, “Godland,” about the arrogance of mankind in the face of nature’s unforgiving prowess, the inherent failures of colonial enterprises, and how these factors configure the cultural identities of individuals.
As in Pálmason’s previous studies of seemingly mild-mannered male characters on the brink of a violent outburst, “Winter Brothers” and “A White, White Day,” his latest maps the mental and physical decay of Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), a 19th century Danish priest of the Lutheran faith tasked with overseeing the construction of a church in a remote corner of Iceland, at the time still a territory...
As in Pálmason’s previous studies of seemingly mild-mannered male characters on the brink of a violent outburst, “Winter Brothers” and “A White, White Day,” his latest maps the mental and physical decay of Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), a 19th century Danish priest of the Lutheran faith tasked with overseeing the construction of a church in a remote corner of Iceland, at the time still a territory...
- 2/3/2023
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Indiewire
Aníta Briem creates and stars in “As Long as We Live,” an upcoming miniseries about a new mother – and once promising musician – suffocating in her marriage. But things change when a young man, her new nanny, starts giving the couple little “assignments” to do.
“This boy is like Mary Poppins! He brings this new, sexy element into their home that neither of them can control. He helps them rediscover each other,” explains Briem.
“Beta has an 18-month-old child, she is in the midst of postnatal depression, but at the same time her body is becoming her own once again. I use sexuality as a representation for her awakening. She has this whole world locked away inside of her head and a big part of her journey is to bring it all out.”
She drew on her own life for inspiration, she says.
“I also found myself at a point where...
“This boy is like Mary Poppins! He brings this new, sexy element into their home that neither of them can control. He helps them rediscover each other,” explains Briem.
“Beta has an 18-month-old child, she is in the midst of postnatal depression, but at the same time her body is becoming her own once again. I use sexuality as a representation for her awakening. She has this whole world locked away inside of her head and a big part of her journey is to bring it all out.”
She drew on her own life for inspiration, she says.
“I also found myself at a point where...
- 1/30/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Janus Films has acquired North American rights for Hlynur Pálmason’s “Godland,” which bowed at Cannes and is bound for Telluride and Toronto.
The film follows a young Danish priest in the late 19th century who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
It stars Elliott Crosset Hove (“Winter Brothers”), Ingvar Sigurðsson, Vic Carmen Sonne (“Holiday”), Jacob Hauberg Lohmann (“Shorta”), Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Waage Sandø “The Team”) and Hilmar Guðjónsson (“Sóttkví”).
Janus Films plans a theatrical release to be followed by a Criterion Channel streaming premiere.
The film is is produced by Katrin Pors, Anton Máni Svansson, Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin. Production entities include Snowglobe (Dk) in collaboration with Join Motion Pictures (Is) and in co-production with Maneki Films (Fr), Film I Väst...
The film follows a young Danish priest in the late 19th century who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
It stars Elliott Crosset Hove (“Winter Brothers”), Ingvar Sigurðsson, Vic Carmen Sonne (“Holiday”), Jacob Hauberg Lohmann (“Shorta”), Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Waage Sandø “The Team”) and Hilmar Guðjónsson (“Sóttkví”).
Janus Films plans a theatrical release to be followed by a Criterion Channel streaming premiere.
The film is is produced by Katrin Pors, Anton Máni Svansson, Eva Jakobsen and Mikkel Jersin. Production entities include Snowglobe (Dk) in collaboration with Join Motion Pictures (Is) and in co-production with Maneki Films (Fr), Film I Väst...
- 9/2/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Iceland-set period drama premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Janus Films has acquired North American rights to Hlynur Pálmason’s Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere Godland ahead of screenings at Telluride and TIFF.
‘Godland’: Cannes Review
The story centres on a late 19th century Danish priest who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Vic Carmen Sonne, Jacob Hauberg Lohmann, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Waage Sandø and Hilmar Guðjónsson star.
Janus Films has acquired North American rights to Hlynur Pálmason’s Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere Godland ahead of screenings at Telluride and TIFF.
‘Godland’: Cannes Review
The story centres on a late 19th century Danish priest who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
Elliott Crosset Hove, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Vic Carmen Sonne, Jacob Hauberg Lohmann, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Waage Sandø and Hilmar Guðjónsson star.
- 9/1/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Janus Films has acquired North American rights for Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s priest drama Godland, which debuted in Cannes Un Certain Regard and now heads to Telluride and Toronto this fall.
Set in the late 19th Century, the drama revolves around a young Danish priest who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. The deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, mission and morality.
“Godland is a breathtaking film about man’s ambition and faith in the face of the natural world. It further establishes Hlynur Pálmason as one of the most exciting new talents in world cinema,” said Janus Films
“It was a standout from Cannes and we cannot wait for Telluride and Toronto audiences to discover it before we release it.”
Godland is Pálmason’s third feature after Winters Brothers (2017) and A White, White Day...
Set in the late 19th Century, the drama revolves around a young Danish priest who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. The deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, mission and morality.
“Godland is a breathtaking film about man’s ambition and faith in the face of the natural world. It further establishes Hlynur Pálmason as one of the most exciting new talents in world cinema,” said Janus Films
“It was a standout from Cannes and we cannot wait for Telluride and Toronto audiences to discover it before we release it.”
Godland is Pálmason’s third feature after Winters Brothers (2017) and A White, White Day...
- 9/1/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Hlynyur Palmason’s Icelandic drama has sold to the UK/Ire, Spain and Greece.
Jan Naszewski’s New Europe has closed a number of high-profile deals for Hlynyur Palmason’s Godland, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Curzon has taken rights for UK/Ireland, with A Contracorriente buying Spain, Scanorama for Baltics, Vertigo Media for Hungary and One from the Heart for Greece.
Previously confirmed sales were to France (Jour2Fete), Benelux (Imagine), Poland (New Horizons Association) and Australia/New Zealand (Palace).
“Godland is a breathtaking piece of cinema filled with intelligent and subtle reflections on politics, art, history,...
Jan Naszewski’s New Europe has closed a number of high-profile deals for Hlynyur Palmason’s Godland, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Curzon has taken rights for UK/Ireland, with A Contracorriente buying Spain, Scanorama for Baltics, Vertigo Media for Hungary and One from the Heart for Greece.
Previously confirmed sales were to France (Jour2Fete), Benelux (Imagine), Poland (New Horizons Association) and Australia/New Zealand (Palace).
“Godland is a breathtaking piece of cinema filled with intelligent and subtle reflections on politics, art, history,...
- 5/27/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Iceland is like no other place on Earth, and the films that take place there can’t help but reflect this. In “Godland,” Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Pálmason attempts to see his homeland through outside eyes, the way it must have looked to the Danes who claimed and controlled it until World War II. Icelandic period pieces are often set much earlier, à la “The Northman,” but this one — at once visually striking and emotionally austere, in its almost Bressonian restraint — takes the country’s colonialist past as its subject, pitting a late-19th-century man of faith against a force far stronger than him, like some kind of Arctic, art-house “There Will Be Blood.”
In the opening scene Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), a Lutheran priest, is sent by the Church of Denmark to establish a parish in Iceland, not at all prepared for what lies ahead. He’s a sincere and devout idealist,...
In the opening scene Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove), a Lutheran priest, is sent by the Church of Denmark to establish a parish in Iceland, not at all prepared for what lies ahead. He’s a sincere and devout idealist,...
- 5/24/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
New Europe Film Sales has announced the first sales for Cannes Un Certain Regard-selected “Godland,” directed by Iceland’s Hlynur Pálmason.
The film was picked up in France by Jour2Fete, and the movie was also acquired by three distributors that worked on Pálmason’s Cannes Critics’ Week title “A White, White Day” – Benelux rights were sold to Imagine, Poland was picked up by New Horizons Association and Australia/New Zealand was picked up by Palace.
The film is set in the late 19th century, when a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
The film is produced by Denmark’s Snowglobe in collaboration with Iceland’s Join Motion Pictures, in co-production with France’s Maneki Films, Film I Väst & Garagefilm in Sweden,...
The film was picked up in France by Jour2Fete, and the movie was also acquired by three distributors that worked on Pálmason’s Cannes Critics’ Week title “A White, White Day” – Benelux rights were sold to Imagine, Poland was picked up by New Horizons Association and Australia/New Zealand was picked up by Palace.
The film is set in the late 19th century, when a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality.
The film is produced by Denmark’s Snowglobe in collaboration with Iceland’s Join Motion Pictures, in co-production with France’s Maneki Films, Film I Väst & Garagefilm in Sweden,...
- 4/29/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The film is Icelandiic director Hlynur Palmason’s third film following ‘Winter Brothers’ and ‘A White, White Day’.
New Europe Film Sales has boarded Icelandic writer/director Hlynur Palmason’s Godland, a feature that was shot in Iceland under the radar in 2021 and has today been confirmed for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
New Europe also sold the director’s first two features, Winter Brothers and A White, White Day, as well as his latest short Nest, which premiered at Berlinale 2022.
Godland is set in the late 19th century, when a young Danish priest (Elliott Crosset Hove) travels to a remote...
New Europe Film Sales has boarded Icelandic writer/director Hlynur Palmason’s Godland, a feature that was shot in Iceland under the radar in 2021 and has today been confirmed for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
New Europe also sold the director’s first two features, Winter Brothers and A White, White Day, as well as his latest short Nest, which premiered at Berlinale 2022.
Godland is set in the late 19th century, when a young Danish priest (Elliott Crosset Hove) travels to a remote...
- 4/14/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The 10 producers will receive support in reaching the next level of their careers.
International producers organisation Ace Producers has selected 10 up-and-coming producers from the EU, Norway and UK for the first edition of its Ace Mentoring Programme EU.
They include Clara Jantzen Kreinoe of Denmark’s Snowglobe Film, who has worked on titles including Jeanette Nordahl’s Wildland and Hlynur Palmason’s A White, White Day; and Thomas Lambert of France’s Tomsa Films, co-producer of Laura Samani’s Cannes 2021 Critics’ Week title Small Body.
Scroll down for the full list of producers
Also selected are Krystyna Kantor, who was...
International producers organisation Ace Producers has selected 10 up-and-coming producers from the EU, Norway and UK for the first edition of its Ace Mentoring Programme EU.
They include Clara Jantzen Kreinoe of Denmark’s Snowglobe Film, who has worked on titles including Jeanette Nordahl’s Wildland and Hlynur Palmason’s A White, White Day; and Thomas Lambert of France’s Tomsa Films, co-producer of Laura Samani’s Cannes 2021 Critics’ Week title Small Body.
Scroll down for the full list of producers
Also selected are Krystyna Kantor, who was...
- 4/7/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Directors Orri Jonsson and David Horgdal Stefansson and producer Anton Mani Svansson are in the research phase for the film, currently titled A Deal With Chaos.
A new documentary feature about the late Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson was introduced at the Stockfish film festival’s industry days in Iceland.
Directors Orri Jonsson (Grandma Lo-Fi) and David Horgdal Stefansson and producer Anton Mani Svansson are in the research phase for the film, currently titled A Deal With Chaos, and have been gathering archive material for more than two years. The team hopes to begin shooting new interviews soon, and expects the...
A new documentary feature about the late Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson was introduced at the Stockfish film festival’s industry days in Iceland.
Directors Orri Jonsson (Grandma Lo-Fi) and David Horgdal Stefansson and producer Anton Mani Svansson are in the research phase for the film, currently titled A Deal With Chaos, and have been gathering archive material for more than two years. The team hopes to begin shooting new interviews soon, and expects the...
- 4/4/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Stockholm-based production house Hobab whose buzzy Cannes Directors’ Fortnight “Clara Sola” was snapped by New-York-based Oscilloscope Laboratories, is ramping up its ambitions, with female-led projects.
“Our vision is to combine arthouse sensitivity with mainstream appeal, and to help talents – both Nordic and international – grow with care,” said Nima Yousefi, producer and joint owner with Peter Krupenin.
Pedigree European shingles Finland’s Tuffi Films, Denmark’s Toolbox and Italy’s Intramovies have boarded as co-producers Hobab’s next Swedish feature drama “Sisters,” from first-time fiction helmer Mika Gustafson.
Ruben Öslund’s former alumna at Göteborg’s Valand Academy, Gustafson had her international break with the short film “Mephobia,” followed by the doc-biopic “Silvana,” about rapper and feminist icon Silvana Imam.
Due to start lensing in June, “Sisters” is penned by Gustafson with actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand, seen in “The Bridge” and “The Hunt for a Killer.”
The coming of age story follows...
“Our vision is to combine arthouse sensitivity with mainstream appeal, and to help talents – both Nordic and international – grow with care,” said Nima Yousefi, producer and joint owner with Peter Krupenin.
Pedigree European shingles Finland’s Tuffi Films, Denmark’s Toolbox and Italy’s Intramovies have boarded as co-producers Hobab’s next Swedish feature drama “Sisters,” from first-time fiction helmer Mika Gustafson.
Ruben Öslund’s former alumna at Göteborg’s Valand Academy, Gustafson had her international break with the short film “Mephobia,” followed by the doc-biopic “Silvana,” about rapper and feminist icon Silvana Imam.
Due to start lensing in June, “Sisters” is penned by Gustafson with actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand, seen in “The Bridge” and “The Hunt for a Killer.”
The coming of age story follows...
- 2/2/2022
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
In first phase sales, Alief has closed multiple major territories across Europe and Asia on “Cop Secret,” one of the key titles marking as move towards the mainstream in the lineup at August’s Locarno Festival, where it had its world premiere.
Made on the near eve of this year’s American Film Market, the sales announcement comes after the comedy action romp bowed in its native Iceland on Oct. 20 breaking a 15-year-old record for the biggest box office opening weekend for a local title.
A buddy cop spoof rendering real the homoerotic undercurrents of the genre, having played the BFI London and Busan Festivals, the feature debut of Icelandic Hannes Thór Halldórsson is now set as the opening night gala,playing in competition, on Nov. 3 at the Nordic Days in Lubbeck, Germany where the film has been acquired, as for German-language territories by Mfa Plus Film Distribution, which is eying a Q2 2022 theatrical release.
Made on the near eve of this year’s American Film Market, the sales announcement comes after the comedy action romp bowed in its native Iceland on Oct. 20 breaking a 15-year-old record for the biggest box office opening weekend for a local title.
A buddy cop spoof rendering real the homoerotic undercurrents of the genre, having played the BFI London and Busan Festivals, the feature debut of Icelandic Hannes Thór Halldórsson is now set as the opening night gala,playing in competition, on Nov. 3 at the Nordic Days in Lubbeck, Germany where the film has been acquired, as for German-language territories by Mfa Plus Film Distribution, which is eying a Q2 2022 theatrical release.
- 10/29/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson’s Heartstone premiered at Venice Days in 2016 and won more than 50 festival awards around the globe.
Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales has boarded international sales for Icelandic drama Beautiful Beings, directed Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson.
The director’s debut feature Heartstone premiered at Venice Days in 2016 and won more than 50 festival awards around the globe.
Beautiful Beings is presented today during the C EU Soon works-in-progress showcase at Mia in Rome.
The story follows Addi, a teenage boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, who adopts a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. When the...
Jan Naszewski’s New Europe Film Sales has boarded international sales for Icelandic drama Beautiful Beings, directed Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson.
The director’s debut feature Heartstone premiered at Venice Days in 2016 and won more than 50 festival awards around the globe.
Beautiful Beings is presented today during the C EU Soon works-in-progress showcase at Mia in Rome.
The story follows Addi, a teenage boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, who adopts a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. When the...
- 10/15/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Alief, the London-based sales agent and production outfit, has swooped on bad ass action comedy “Cop Secret” in the build up to the movie’s world premiere at August’s Locarno Film Festival.
Brett Walker, Alief president, will introduce the propulsive, high testosterone movie to buyers at Locarno Pro, the Swiss festival’s robust industry program, where it is sure to get tongues wagging.
While big fests are embracing genre, few selections to date offer such full-on entertainment as “Cop Secret,” which plays, moreover, in main competition. That action comes often tongue-in-cheek as Icelandic director Hannes Þór Halldórsson recasts an ‘80s and ‘90s buddy cop action movie model in Icelandic capital Reykjavík – in an opening sequence, the camera wings “Miami Vice” style over surprisingly blue waters toward the Icelandic capital’s (limited number of) high rises as an orchestra thunders in tense excitement on the soundtrack.
“Cop Secret” follows Bussi,...
Brett Walker, Alief president, will introduce the propulsive, high testosterone movie to buyers at Locarno Pro, the Swiss festival’s robust industry program, where it is sure to get tongues wagging.
While big fests are embracing genre, few selections to date offer such full-on entertainment as “Cop Secret,” which plays, moreover, in main competition. That action comes often tongue-in-cheek as Icelandic director Hannes Þór Halldórsson recasts an ‘80s and ‘90s buddy cop action movie model in Icelandic capital Reykjavík – in an opening sequence, the camera wings “Miami Vice” style over surprisingly blue waters toward the Icelandic capital’s (limited number of) high rises as an orchestra thunders in tense excitement on the soundtrack.
“Cop Secret” follows Bussi,...
- 7/30/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Producers of ‘Another Round’ and Silver Bear winner ‘Natural Light’ selected for networking platform.
The producer of Oscar winner Another Round is among those selected for European Film Promotion’s (Efp) networking platform Producers on the Move, which will again take place online.
The 20 producers selected for this year’s programme would usually gather at the Cannes Film Festival and take part in meetings, roundtable sessions and case studies. But although Cannes has committed to host a physical festival in July, Efp will run the programme online from May 17-21 to avoid possible pandemic restrictions.
Among this year’s line-up is Kasper Dissing,...
The producer of Oscar winner Another Round is among those selected for European Film Promotion’s (Efp) networking platform Producers on the Move, which will again take place online.
The 20 producers selected for this year’s programme would usually gather at the Cannes Film Festival and take part in meetings, roundtable sessions and case studies. But although Cannes has committed to host a physical festival in July, Efp will run the programme online from May 17-21 to avoid possible pandemic restrictions.
Among this year’s line-up is Kasper Dissing,...
- 5/6/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The producers of this year’s International Feature Film Oscar winner “Another Round” and Berlin Silver Bear winner “Natural Light” have been selected for European Film Promotion’s Producers on the Move program, which promotes promising producers and fosters international co-productions. The 20 participants for the program, which runs online from May 17-21, will be presenting their latest projects in speed meetings and during roundtable sessions. More than half of the selection are women.
The participants, who were selected for the program from all of the nominations submitted by the Efp member organizations, are Annabella Nezri (Belgium), Nikolay Mutafchiev (Bulgaria), Bojan Kanjera (Croatia), Marek Novák (Czech Republic), Kasper Dissing (Denmark), Jean-Christophe Reymond (France), Maite Woköck (Germany), Sára László (Hungary), Ruth Treacy (Ireland), Marica Stocchi (Italy), Iris Otten (The Netherlands), Gary Cranner (Norway), Beata Rzeźniczek (Poland), Tathiani Sacilotto (Portugal), Bianca Oana (Romania), Katarína Tomková (Slovak Republic), Andraž Jerič (Slovenia), Clara Nieto (Spain...
The participants, who were selected for the program from all of the nominations submitted by the Efp member organizations, are Annabella Nezri (Belgium), Nikolay Mutafchiev (Bulgaria), Bojan Kanjera (Croatia), Marek Novák (Czech Republic), Kasper Dissing (Denmark), Jean-Christophe Reymond (France), Maite Woköck (Germany), Sára László (Hungary), Ruth Treacy (Ireland), Marica Stocchi (Italy), Iris Otten (The Netherlands), Gary Cranner (Norway), Beata Rzeźniczek (Poland), Tathiani Sacilotto (Portugal), Bianca Oana (Romania), Katarína Tomková (Slovak Republic), Andraž Jerič (Slovenia), Clara Nieto (Spain...
- 5/6/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Jan Naszewski’s Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has picked up international sales rights to “Matria,” the awaited feature debut of Spain’s Alvaro Gago, a Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance in 2018 for his same-titled short.
Produced by Galicia’s Matriuska and Madrid’s Avalon, in co-production with Catalonia’s Ringo Media, “Matria” has been selected for the official lineup at next week’s Berlinale Co-Production Market.
Expanding on the short, the feature further develops its central character, Ramona, who in the short hardly exchanges a word with her husband, but manages her household and her job – a punishing daily routine – and yet still manages to have a life . afforded by her relationship with her daughter and grandchild which endow her with some emotional dignity.
Just how the character is developed in the feature remains to be seen.
“At its core ’Matria’ has a strong and nuanced female lead...
Produced by Galicia’s Matriuska and Madrid’s Avalon, in co-production with Catalonia’s Ringo Media, “Matria” has been selected for the official lineup at next week’s Berlinale Co-Production Market.
Expanding on the short, the feature further develops its central character, Ramona, who in the short hardly exchanges a word with her husband, but manages her household and her job – a punishing daily routine – and yet still manages to have a life . afforded by her relationship with her daughter and grandchild which endow her with some emotional dignity.
Just how the character is developed in the feature remains to be seen.
“At its core ’Matria’ has a strong and nuanced female lead...
- 2/24/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s postponed edition saw the triumph of Hlynur Pálmason’s A White, White Day and Silja Hauksdóttir’s Agnes Joy. This year’s Edda Awards recipients have been announced by the Icelandic Film and Television Academy. The Eddas, established in 1999, honour the biggest national film and TV successes of the season, and are the most prominent awards in the local audiovisual industry. The prize-giving ceremony was broadcast by RÚV yesterday evening. The event was set to happen in March, but had to be postponed owing to the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. This edition’s two big victors were Silja Hauksdóttir’s Agnes Joy and Hlynur Pálmason’s A White, White Day. Hauksdóttir’s drama revolves around Rannveig, who is experiencing burnout in all aspects of her mundane, suburban life. She’s stuck with a job that she hates and a marriage that is slowly dying,...
What are the benefits of an online festival premiere? It’s been the question on the lips of filmmakers, sales agents, distributors and exhibitors since festivals had to stop operating as physical entities. Venice marked a return to a more traditional way of doing things, while Toronto’s hybrid dance of digital industry and physical public screenings offers a different alternative. But should filmmakers accept invitations to premiere their films at purely virtual festivals?
Now that several online festivals have taken place – Cph:Dox, Locarno and Sheffield Docfest – a consensus is emerging about the efficacy of premiering films online.
Sales agents have discovered that with the right movie, digital festivals can be as profitable as physical festivals.
Filmmakers are missing the experience of meeting audiences and the press and reporting that the consumer media is less interested in digital platforms.
For distributors, it’s a case of plus ça change...
Now that several online festivals have taken place – Cph:Dox, Locarno and Sheffield Docfest – a consensus is emerging about the efficacy of premiering films online.
Sales agents have discovered that with the right movie, digital festivals can be as profitable as physical festivals.
Filmmakers are missing the experience of meeting audiences and the press and reporting that the consumer media is less interested in digital platforms.
For distributors, it’s a case of plus ça change...
- 9/11/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Julia Sawalha has shared an open letter via her social media profiles expressing disappointment and anger at being left out of Aardman Animations’ upcoming “Chicken Run” sequel, confirmed as a Netflix pickup at June’s Annecy festival. Sawalha voiced Ginger in the Oscar-nominated original, which remains the top grossing stop-motion feature ever, 20 years after its release.
“To say that I am devastated and furious would be an understatement,” she said in the letter. “I feel totally powerless, something in all of this doesn’t quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red flags.”
According to Sawalha, she was informed about the decision last week by her agent, who speculated it was because her voice now sounds “too old” after receiving a letter of dismissal in which it was indicated that Mel Gibson would not be returning as Rocky for that very reason.
Sawalha says that voice...
“To say that I am devastated and furious would be an understatement,” she said in the letter. “I feel totally powerless, something in all of this doesn’t quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red flags.”
According to Sawalha, she was informed about the decision last week by her agent, who speculated it was because her voice now sounds “too old” after receiving a letter of dismissal in which it was indicated that Mel Gibson would not be returning as Rocky for that very reason.
Sawalha says that voice...
- 7/10/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The London arts venue has been closed since March 17 due to the Covid-19 crisis.
London arts venue the Barbican has launched its first streaming service while its cinemas remain closed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Cinema On Demand is a pay-per-view service and will host acclaimed international films, children’s titles and virtual Q&As. It has been supported the Mayor of London’s Culture at Risk business support fund (launched in response to the virus crisis) and the BFI Film Audience Network, using National Lottery money.
The streaming service will feature a rolling four-week programme of titles and events,...
London arts venue the Barbican has launched its first streaming service while its cinemas remain closed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Cinema On Demand is a pay-per-view service and will host acclaimed international films, children’s titles and virtual Q&As. It has been supported the Mayor of London’s Culture at Risk business support fund (launched in response to the virus crisis) and the BFI Film Audience Network, using National Lottery money.
The streaming service will feature a rolling four-week programme of titles and events,...
- 7/10/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Ingvar Sigurdsson has one of those faces you just know. But that’s unsurprising when you consider the list of major productions that make up his back catalogue, including the likes of Fantastic Beasts and Justice League – not to mention an appearance in the latest season of Succession. But what we don’t necessarily get a sense for in these projects, is just how remarkable an actor he truly is – but if you see A White, White Day, from his homeland of Iceland, the talent is there for all to see.
To mark the digital release of this moving and stirring drama, we had the pleasure of speaking to Sigurdsson, as he talks about the challenges and complexities of this nuanced protagonist he is portraying. We also speak about his experiences shooting blockbusters, and how the experiences compare.
Watch the full interview below:
Synopsis
In a remote Icelandic town, an...
To mark the digital release of this moving and stirring drama, we had the pleasure of speaking to Sigurdsson, as he talks about the challenges and complexities of this nuanced protagonist he is portraying. We also speak about his experiences shooting blockbusters, and how the experiences compare.
Watch the full interview below:
Synopsis
In a remote Icelandic town, an...
- 7/2/2020
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A Cannes Marche panel of experts notes that industry still missing the impact of theatrical and festival launches, however.
While the industry waits for festivals and cinemas to come back to full health after the Covid pandemic, there are some bright spots to consider during this unprecedented time, said a panel of experts at the online discussion ‘A conversation on the near future of film distribution across all streams’ held in partnership with the Cannes Marche and Screen International last week.
Those include smart collaborations and revenue shares for VoD launches, event-ifciation of online and cinema releases, and audience appetite for genre films and documentaries.
While the industry waits for festivals and cinemas to come back to full health after the Covid pandemic, there are some bright spots to consider during this unprecedented time, said a panel of experts at the online discussion ‘A conversation on the near future of film distribution across all streams’ held in partnership with the Cannes Marche and Screen International last week.
Those include smart collaborations and revenue shares for VoD launches, event-ifciation of online and cinema releases, and audience appetite for genre films and documentaries.
- 6/29/2020
- by 1100142¦Wendy Mitchell¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir and Ingvar Sigurdsson in A White, White Day
Currently showing as part of the Edinburgh international Film Festival’s online selection in partnership with Curzon, Hlynur Palmason’s A White, White Day is the story of a police officer trying to come to terms with the death of his wife in a car accident. Increasingly convinced that she was having an affair in the weeks leading up to her death, Ingimundur (Ingvar Sigurdsson) becomes obsessed with finding out the truth, and Palmason combines escalating tension with moments of absurdist comedy as we find ourselves uncertain where the bereaved man’s quest will take him. I talked to Ingvar back when the film was screening at the Glasgow Film Festival and he began by telling me what brought him to the film.
Ingimundur tries to adjust to bereavement
“It’s just the director,” he says, a little out...
Currently showing as part of the Edinburgh international Film Festival’s online selection in partnership with Curzon, Hlynur Palmason’s A White, White Day is the story of a police officer trying to come to terms with the death of his wife in a car accident. Increasingly convinced that she was having an affair in the weeks leading up to her death, Ingimundur (Ingvar Sigurdsson) becomes obsessed with finding out the truth, and Palmason combines escalating tension with moments of absurdist comedy as we find ourselves uncertain where the bereaved man’s quest will take him. I talked to Ingvar back when the film was screening at the Glasgow Film Festival and he began by telling me what brought him to the film.
Ingimundur tries to adjust to bereavement
“It’s just the director,” he says, a little out...
- 6/27/2020
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Discussing the challenges and opportunities in a landscape radically altered by the Covid-19 lockdown, Richard Lorber of U.S. distrib Kino Lorber said Monday that his company was quickly transforming into a media and technology company due to the focus on its Kino Marquee virtual theatrical exhibition initiative.
Speaking at a Cannes Marché du Film Online conference focusing on how independent streamers are responding to the crisis, Lorber said Kino Marquee had in the past two and a half months generated nearly $700,000 in ticket sales from 13 films. Half of that revenue is going to its partner theaters, which currently include 400 screens, all independent and arthouse cinemas as well as small arthouse chains, he added.
Launched in March, Kino Marquee enables movie theaters shuttered by the outbreak to continue to offer films to their audiences and generate revenue while also allowing moviegoers to support their local theaters.
Kino Marquee’s first...
Speaking at a Cannes Marché du Film Online conference focusing on how independent streamers are responding to the crisis, Lorber said Kino Marquee had in the past two and a half months generated nearly $700,000 in ticket sales from 13 films. Half of that revenue is going to its partner theaters, which currently include 400 screens, all independent and arthouse cinemas as well as small arthouse chains, he added.
Launched in March, Kino Marquee enables movie theaters shuttered by the outbreak to continue to offer films to their audiences and generate revenue while also allowing moviegoers to support their local theaters.
Kino Marquee’s first...
- 6/23/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has unveiled its line up of features for this year’s edition, which is taking place online due to the coronavirus crisis.
The festival, which was due to take place in Scotland this month, has partnered with Curzon Home Cinema to present an online festival instead.
The line up includes the U.K. premieres of Ron Howard’s documentary “Rebuilding Paradise,” Susanne Regina Meures’s doc “Saudi Runaway,” Alex Thomson directed U.S. comedy drama “Saint Frances,” Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, Sebastian Lifshitz’s “Little Girl,” and “Perfumes,” by Grégory Magne.
A film will be presented each day of the 12 day festival, with films playing for between two and 12 days, each priced at £9.99 ($12.80). Alongside the films there will be live Q&As with special guests.
Rod White, Eiff director of drogramming said: “We want to give our...
The festival, which was due to take place in Scotland this month, has partnered with Curzon Home Cinema to present an online festival instead.
The line up includes the U.K. premieres of Ron Howard’s documentary “Rebuilding Paradise,” Susanne Regina Meures’s doc “Saudi Runaway,” Alex Thomson directed U.S. comedy drama “Saint Frances,” Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Last and First Men,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, Sebastian Lifshitz’s “Little Girl,” and “Perfumes,” by Grégory Magne.
A film will be presented each day of the 12 day festival, with films playing for between two and 12 days, each priced at £9.99 ($12.80). Alongside the films there will be live Q&As with special guests.
Rod White, Eiff director of drogramming said: “We want to give our...
- 6/10/2020
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Invisible Man.’
Universal’s The Invisible Man is getting a second lease of theatrical life thanks to drive-ins and newly re-opened cinemas in Western Australia, Adelaide and Alice Springs.
Leigh Whannell’s psychological thriller was the top grosser last weekend as the top 20 titles rang up $456,000, a whopping 148 per cent up on the previous frame, according to Numero.
Including the Queen’s Birthday holiday in most states, nationwide takings totaled $514,000.
Whannell’s film starring Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer and Michael Dorman earned $66,000 on 10 screens over those five days in week 15, lifting the total to $8.06 million.
That means the movie co-produced by Blumhouse Productions’ Jasom Blum and Goalpost Pictures’ Kylie du Fresne has grossed $160,000 since cinemas shuttered in March, although it was released on Premium VOD on April 1.
Seven drive-in cinemas in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Heddon Greta near Newcastle and Yatala in South-East Queensland are generating tidy sums.
Universal’s The Invisible Man is getting a second lease of theatrical life thanks to drive-ins and newly re-opened cinemas in Western Australia, Adelaide and Alice Springs.
Leigh Whannell’s psychological thriller was the top grosser last weekend as the top 20 titles rang up $456,000, a whopping 148 per cent up on the previous frame, according to Numero.
Including the Queen’s Birthday holiday in most states, nationwide takings totaled $514,000.
Whannell’s film starring Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer and Michael Dorman earned $66,000 on 10 screens over those five days in week 15, lifting the total to $8.06 million.
That means the movie co-produced by Blumhouse Productions’ Jasom Blum and Goalpost Pictures’ Kylie du Fresne has grossed $160,000 since cinemas shuttered in March, although it was released on Premium VOD on April 1.
Seven drive-in cinemas in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Heddon Greta near Newcastle and Yatala in South-East Queensland are generating tidy sums.
- 6/8/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Both dramas to release on home entertainment and digital platforms after virtual cinema debut.
Film Movement has picked up all North American rights to female-directed coming-of-age dramas Once Upon A River and Carmilla and will release both through its virtual cinema initiative this year.
Feature debutante Haroula Rose’s Once Upon A River is based on Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Midwestern novel of the same name.
The story takes place in 1970s rural Michigan as a traumatised young woman (newcomer Kenadi DelaCerna) embarks on a river odyssey to find her estranged mother. Film Movement acquired the film from the producers.
Film Movement has picked up all North American rights to female-directed coming-of-age dramas Once Upon A River and Carmilla and will release both through its virtual cinema initiative this year.
Feature debutante Haroula Rose’s Once Upon A River is based on Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Midwestern novel of the same name.
The story takes place in 1970s rural Michigan as a traumatised young woman (newcomer Kenadi DelaCerna) embarks on a river odyssey to find her estranged mother. Film Movement acquired the film from the producers.
- 5/15/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
A single mother must navigate her children through a deadly criminal underworld following the vicious murder of her husband in Abner Pastoll's A Good Woman is Hard to Find. With the thriller having its virtual cinema release via Film Movement beginning May 8th, we've been provided with an exclusive clip that features Sarah (Sarah Bolger) and her children attempting to escape the violent wrath of some not-so-friendly visitors.
You can watch our exclusive clip below, and to learn more about the virtual cinema release of A Good Woman is Hard to Find, visit:
https://www.filmmovement.com/a-good-woman-is-hard-to-find
"Set in the underbelly of Northern Ireland, A Good Woman Is Hard To Find follows Sarah, struggling as a single mother, desperate to discover who brutally murdered her husband in front of her young son, Ben (Rudy Doherty), rendering him mute. Dismissing the crime as thugs killing each other, the police...
You can watch our exclusive clip below, and to learn more about the virtual cinema release of A Good Woman is Hard to Find, visit:
https://www.filmmovement.com/a-good-woman-is-hard-to-find
"Set in the underbelly of Northern Ireland, A Good Woman Is Hard To Find follows Sarah, struggling as a single mother, desperate to discover who brutally murdered her husband in front of her young son, Ben (Rudy Doherty), rendering him mute. Dismissing the crime as thugs killing each other, the police...
- 5/5/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Film at Lincoln Center has revealed a slate of April and May “openings” in its upcoming Flc Virtual Cinema.
The streaming rentals, a mix of festival titles, commercial releases and catalog fare, range from $10 to $12, some with member discounts. Half of all proceeds will benefit the storied New York film organization.
During the lockdown of Covid-19, with the disease disproportionately affecting New York City, film and the rest of Lincoln Center’s artistic and cultural offerings have taken a significant hit. The Metropolitan Opera, for example, is now reported to be tens of millions of dollars in the hole after canceling its season.
The streaming rentals, a mix of festival titles, commercial releases and catalog fare, range from $10 to $12, some with member discounts. Half of all proceeds will benefit the storied New York film organization.
During the lockdown of Covid-19, with the disease disproportionately affecting New York City, film and the rest of Lincoln Center’s artistic and cultural offerings have taken a significant hit. The Metropolitan Opera, for example, is now reported to be tens of millions of dollars in the hole after canceling its season.
- 4/21/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Indiscretion of an Icelandic Wife: Palmason Primes a Crime of Passion in Simmering Drama
Nothing is initially what it seems in Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason’s striking sophomore film A White, White Day, a brooding, slow burn character study which initially portends to be something akin to a neo-noir. But while it paints a portrait of a grieving man who becomes emotionally unhinged, it’s also a striking, albeit austere portrait of relationships regarding dual perspectives, taken-for-granted notions of desire, personal fulfillment, and ownership of another.
Palmason directs noted actor Ingvar Sigurdsson in one what may be the most ferocious performance of his career as a man chasing ghosts upon realizing a heretofore ignorance about his life and relationships.…...
Nothing is initially what it seems in Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason’s striking sophomore film A White, White Day, a brooding, slow burn character study which initially portends to be something akin to a neo-noir. But while it paints a portrait of a grieving man who becomes emotionally unhinged, it’s also a striking, albeit austere portrait of relationships regarding dual perspectives, taken-for-granted notions of desire, personal fulfillment, and ownership of another.
Palmason directs noted actor Ingvar Sigurdsson in one what may be the most ferocious performance of his career as a man chasing ghosts upon realizing a heretofore ignorance about his life and relationships.…...
- 4/19/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
At the last Critics’ Week in Cannes 2019, critics took notice of Hlynur Pálmason’s second feature, A White, White Day. Pálmason’s debut, Winter Brothers, had also impressed ever since its award-winning premiere in Locarno in 2017, and the strong visuals and atmosphere carried into his new work. Set in the director’s native Iceland, A White, White Day is a complex examination of grief centered around a man who lost his wife and is now caring for his granddaughter. At times poignantly obscure and unsettling with its use of ellipses, this brightly-lit but dark at its core psychological drama is not without humor, resulting in one of the most peculiar filmic experiences of the year.…...
- 4/19/2020
- by Tommaso Tocci
- IONCINEMA.com
This time last year, audiences were buying tickets to see “Avengers: Endgame.” Now, pretty much the biggest new release — bypassing theaters and going straight to streaming, amid the turmoil caused by the coronavirus — is a movie called “Butt Boy.”
But don’t worry. Governmental leaders are starting to share plans about a reopening of movie theaters, and there are still lots of quality new releases making themselves available by streaming. So, while no new studio movies bowed this week, you can find treasures from festivals such as Sundance and Cannes, plus fresh fare for Amazon Prime and Netflix subscribers.
Here are all the new releases, with excerpts from reviews and links to where you can watch them.
Independent films, directly on demand:
A White, White Day (Hlynur Palmason) Critic’S Pick
Distributor: Film Movement
Where to Find It: Choose a virtual cinema to support
A muscular study of toxic masculinity...
But don’t worry. Governmental leaders are starting to share plans about a reopening of movie theaters, and there are still lots of quality new releases making themselves available by streaming. So, while no new studio movies bowed this week, you can find treasures from festivals such as Sundance and Cannes, plus fresh fare for Amazon Prime and Netflix subscribers.
Here are all the new releases, with excerpts from reviews and links to where you can watch them.
Independent films, directly on demand:
A White, White Day (Hlynur Palmason) Critic’S Pick
Distributor: Film Movement
Where to Find It: Choose a virtual cinema to support
A muscular study of toxic masculinity...
- 4/17/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Icelandic film has a reputation of setting tones similar to the country's landscape: sparse in character, frequently cold, often impenetrable and inscrutible, but with seething passion and rage beneath its ice. Maybe this is why their thrillers and family dramas are so good. And make a combination of those two genres, and you have a highly uncomforatable, deeply distrurbing, and yet wholly understandable story of one man's anger that can no longer be contained. Such is A White, White Day, Hlynur Palmason's second feature film. Starring Ingvar Sigurdsson, against a backdrop of remoteness, pain, stoicism, and the fires that burn beneath the veneer of calm, it's a mystery wrapped in a thriller wrapped in a family tragedy, that feels both foreign...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/16/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Schrameck piloted sales on titles including ’Personal Shopper’ and ’Portrait Of A Lady On Fire’.
Juliette Schrameck has announced she has left her role as managing director of Paris-based mk2 films after a decade at the company.
“I didn’t think I would be announcing this in such a particular period but I have decided to embark on a new professional project which will begin in a few months time,” Schrameck wrote in an email sent across the film industry on Thursday (April 9).
“Thanks to all of you, I have had some marvellous and intense years sharing cinema and discovering new distribution territories,...
Juliette Schrameck has announced she has left her role as managing director of Paris-based mk2 films after a decade at the company.
“I didn’t think I would be announcing this in such a particular period but I have decided to embark on a new professional project which will begin in a few months time,” Schrameck wrote in an email sent across the film industry on Thursday (April 9).
“Thanks to all of you, I have had some marvellous and intense years sharing cinema and discovering new distribution territories,...
- 4/9/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Vietnamese drama Between Shadow And Soul, Polish thriller Sword Of God also join roster.
Icelandic Oscar submission A White, White Day is one of three new international additions to Film Movement’s Virtual Cinema that will get their first-run North American launch on the digital platform.
Vietnamese drama Between Shadow And Soul and Polish thriller Sword Of God also join the roster, which New York distributor Film Movement set up with Art House Convergence last month in response to theatre closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, launching with five titles.
Since then more than 275 theatres across North America including Laemmle Theatres,...
Icelandic Oscar submission A White, White Day is one of three new international additions to Film Movement’s Virtual Cinema that will get their first-run North American launch on the digital platform.
Vietnamese drama Between Shadow And Soul and Polish thriller Sword Of God also join the roster, which New York distributor Film Movement set up with Art House Convergence last month in response to theatre closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, launching with five titles.
Since then more than 275 theatres across North America including Laemmle Theatres,...
- 4/8/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Vietnamese drama Between Shadow And Soul, Polish thriller Sword Of God also join roster.
Icelandic Oscar submission A White, White Day is one of three new international additions to Film Movement’s Virtual Cinema that will get their first-run North American launch on the digital platform.
Vietnamese drama Between Shadow And Soul and Polish thriller Sword Of God also join the roster, which New York distributor Film Movement set up with Art House Convergence last month in response to theatre closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, launching with five titles.
Since then more than 275 theatres across North America including Laemmle Theatres,...
Icelandic Oscar submission A White, White Day is one of three new international additions to Film Movement’s Virtual Cinema that will get their first-run North American launch on the digital platform.
Vietnamese drama Between Shadow And Soul and Polish thriller Sword Of God also join the roster, which New York distributor Film Movement set up with Art House Convergence last month in response to theatre closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, launching with five titles.
Since then more than 275 theatres across North America including Laemmle Theatres,...
- 4/8/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Watching Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason’s “A White, White Day” taught me an important lesson about the way suspense works in “slow cinema” — a term that describes deliberately paced, take-their-time narratives that aren’t necessarily preoccupied with action, quick cutting and the looming sense of imminent conflict. Just because a film forgoes these techniques doesn’t mean it’s not gripping, or engaging in its own way, although the tension works differently on our psyche. As it happens — and this is key — it wasn’t until a second viewing of “A White, White Day” that the revelation clicked. Let me explain.
Americans raised on a diet of Hollywood studio movies — which is the vast majority of them, myself included, since most of us eat what we’re served, and don’t always know where to find the alternative — are accustomed to intense, ticking-clock storytelling: movies in which our hero pursues...
Americans raised on a diet of Hollywood studio movies — which is the vast majority of them, myself included, since most of us eat what we’re served, and don’t always know where to find the alternative — are accustomed to intense, ticking-clock storytelling: movies in which our hero pursues...
- 4/5/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
With streaming dominating the industry — and suddenly becoming the “new normal” in a changing world — IndieWire is taking a closer look at the news cycle, breaking down what really matters to provide a clear picture of what companies are winning the streaming wars, and how they’re pulling ahead.
By looking at trends and the latest developments, Streaming Wars Report: Indie Edition offers a snapshot of what’s happening overall and day-to-day in streaming for the indie set. Check out the latest Streaming Wars Report for updates to the bigger players in the industry. Buzzy Originals
Embracing the Virtual Experience
In just three weeks, indie outfits like Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, and Film Movement have already rolled out theatrical-at-home plans (otherwise known as...
By looking at trends and the latest developments, Streaming Wars Report: Indie Edition offers a snapshot of what’s happening overall and day-to-day in streaming for the indie set. Check out the latest Streaming Wars Report for updates to the bigger players in the industry. Buzzy Originals
Embracing the Virtual Experience
In just three weeks, indie outfits like Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, and Film Movement have already rolled out theatrical-at-home plans (otherwise known as...
- 4/3/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The films are: Portrait Of A Lady On Fire; A White, White Day; Give Me Liberty ; The Perfect Candidate and A Brother’s Love.
Göteborg Film Festival Film has teamed up with Swedish distributors to launch several new arthouse titles on its VOD platform Draken Film.
The films are: Portrait Of A Lady On Fire by Céline Sciamma; A White, White Day by Hlynur Pálmason; Give Me Liberty by Kirill Mikhanovsky; The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa Al Mansour and A Brother’s Love by Mona Chokri.
During the first six months, half of the revenues from new subscribers will go to independent Swedish arthouse cinemas,...
Göteborg Film Festival Film has teamed up with Swedish distributors to launch several new arthouse titles on its VOD platform Draken Film.
The films are: Portrait Of A Lady On Fire by Céline Sciamma; A White, White Day by Hlynur Pálmason; Give Me Liberty by Kirill Mikhanovsky; The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa Al Mansour and A Brother’s Love by Mona Chokri.
During the first six months, half of the revenues from new subscribers will go to independent Swedish arthouse cinemas,...
- 3/18/2020
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
Swedish distributors are joining forces with the Göteborg Film Festival’s VOD platform Draken Film to launch a series of upcoming arthouse movies online, and will use half of the proceeds to support local cinemas hit by the coronavirus crisis.
The first wave of films will include Céline Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Hlynur Pálmason’s A White, White Day, Kirill Mikhanovsky’s Give Me Liberty, Haifaa al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate, and Mona Chokri’s A Brother’s Love.
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Draken has linked up with local releasers Folkets Bio and Smorgasbord Picture House and is in talks with more distributors about future releases. A representative of the VOD service told us that, with more cinemas closing daily,...
The first wave of films will include Céline Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Hlynur Pálmason’s A White, White Day, Kirill Mikhanovsky’s Give Me Liberty, Haifaa al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate, and Mona Chokri’s A Brother’s Love.
More from DeadlineNickelodeon Launches #KidsTogether To Help Kids & Families During The Coronavirus CrisisCentral Casting Closed Until Further Notice Amid Coronavirus PandemicNYSE Trading Floor Closing As Of Monday: Markets To Shift To Fully Electronic Mode
Draken has linked up with local releasers Folkets Bio and Smorgasbord Picture House and is in talks with more distributors about future releases. A representative of the VOD service told us that, with more cinemas closing daily,...
- 3/18/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Midway through A White, White Day, which was Iceland’s Oscar submission last year (it wasn’t nominated), a man driving along a seaside road runs over a large rock. This doesn’t damage his four-wheel drive vehicle, but he nonetheless pulls over, gets out, and examines the thing—it’s roughly the size of his head. Then…...
- 2/25/2020
- by Mike D'Angelo on Film, shared by Mike D'Angelo to The A.V. Club
- avclub.com
Former agent George Monkland and producer Rowena Wallace have united to launch Peach House, a London-based talent management and production outfit that has the backing of fledgling management collective Tricycle Talent.
Peach House will represent a wide variety of emerging and established U.K. and international actors, musicians, writers and directors across film, TV and theatre. Crucially, the business’s production capabilities, à la Wallace, will allow clients to produce projects in-house.
The outfit’s client roster includes actors Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir (“Woman at War”), Thibault de Montalembert and Ingvar Sigurdsson, screenwriter Ben Bond (“The Drifters”) and director Matt Chambers (“The Bike Thief”).
Projects in development include the BFI-co-produced “Lit,” the first feature from filmmaker Laura Kirwan-Ashman, which is currently in development; “Killing Dad,” a comedy feature from Peach House client Henry David; and event series “Tigers In Red Winter,” in collaboration with “The Night Manager’s” Stephen Garrett.
Prior to Peach House,...
Peach House will represent a wide variety of emerging and established U.K. and international actors, musicians, writers and directors across film, TV and theatre. Crucially, the business’s production capabilities, à la Wallace, will allow clients to produce projects in-house.
The outfit’s client roster includes actors Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir (“Woman at War”), Thibault de Montalembert and Ingvar Sigurdsson, screenwriter Ben Bond (“The Drifters”) and director Matt Chambers (“The Bike Thief”).
Projects in development include the BFI-co-produced “Lit,” the first feature from filmmaker Laura Kirwan-Ashman, which is currently in development; “Killing Dad,” a comedy feature from Peach House client Henry David; and event series “Tigers In Red Winter,” in collaboration with “The Night Manager’s” Stephen Garrett.
Prior to Peach House,...
- 1/15/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
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