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German producers Katharina Bergfeld and Heino Deckert of ma.ja.de. Fiction, co-producers of Colombian filmmaker Simón Mesa Soto’s A Poet, won the third annual €100,000 CineCoPro award at this year’s Munich International Fim Festival (Miff), presented by Bavarian regional fund Fff Bayern with support from the Bavarian State Chancellery.

The dark tragicomedy premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in May where it won the jury award.

Ma.je,de coproduced what is Soto’s second feature with his Colombian outfit Ocúltimo, and Sweden’s Momento Films.

“Equitable and eye-level collaborations across continents are possible and urgently needed,...

Writer-director Tim Ellrich took on a particularly challenging and very personal subject for his narrative feature debut Im Haus Meiner Eltern (In My Parents’ House), which recently world premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR): schizophrenia.

Inspired by Ellrich’s own family experiences and shot on location at his childhood home, the film explores the toll that caregiving takes on families. Presented in black and white, it also captures the sense of claustrophobia that comes with it. The film convinced the Rotterdam experts, leading it to receive a Tiger Special Jury Award at IFFR, which wrapped up this weekend.

“Holle works as a spiritual healer, tending to clients with serious illnesses and chronic conditions. One of four siblings, she devotes much of her time to caring for her aging parents, a commitment that strains her relationship with her partner,” a synopsis on the Rotterdam website reads. “When her...

‘Peppa Pig’ Writer Part Of Kartoon’s ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Team

Just days after unveiling a $30M, multi-year Winnie-the-Pooh plan, Kartoon Studios has unveiled its writing, directing and commercial team. Sam Morrison, who was part of the writing team for Nickelodeon’s Peppa Pig, has been named Head Writer, with Emmy winnner Michale Maliani the director. Kids TV industry veteran Paul Robinson, who was former Managing Director of Disney Channel Worldwide and is the current President of Kartoon Channel! Worldwide & Head of International Sales, will handle international distribution and former Paramount Pictures, Electronic Arts and Dic Entertainment exec Ryan Gagerman has been appointed Head of Global Licensing. He’s known for rolling out Strawberry Shortcake, on which he previously worked with Kartoon Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward. As part of Kartoon’s plan to make several feature films and a series based on A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, a retail deal was...

Carla Juri with Anne-Katrin Titze on When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Six Minutes to Midnight, and Blade Runner 2049: “I think it’s a combination between the setting and the clothes for me.”

In the second instalment of my conversation with Caroline Link’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit star, Carla Juri, she talks about costumes and walking into the apartment of your character, working with children, the presence of Anne Bennent and Ursula Werner, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, Peter Greenaway’s Walking to Paris with Constantin Brancusi, tapping into the past, and playing the piano.

Carla Juri, Riva Krymalowski, Oliver Masucci, and Marinus Hohmann star as the Kemper family, with Justus von Dohnány as the family friend who sends them updates from Germany, the country they had to flee, in Link’s adaptation with Anna Brüggemann of Judith Kerr’s novel.

Dorothea (Carla Juri) with her...

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit star Carla Juri in her Brooklyn sweatshirt in Iceland, on her role: “I was wondering, they describe her as a bit more difficult. Ha, Ha! I like difficult!”

Carla Juri has had a number of memorable performances since 2013, from David Wnendt’s adaptation of Charlotte Roche’s novel Wetlands to Frauke Finsterwalder’s Finsterworld, co-written with Christian Kracht, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, and in 2021 Andy Goddard’s Six Minutes To Midnight and Caroline Link’s adaptation with Anna Brüggemann of Judith Kerr’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.

The father Arthur Kemper (Oliver Masucci) reunited with his son Max (Marinus Hohmann), wife Dorothea (Carla Juri), and daughter Anna (Riva Krymalowski)

Carla Juri, Riva Krymalowski, Oliver Masucci (a Joseph Beuys look-alike in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away), and Marinus Hohmann star as the Kemper family, with a terrific ensemble cast, including Ursula Werner,...

"There's a bright line burning in your heart, Anna." Greenwich Ent. has revealed an official US trailer for the German indie drama When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, based on the classic book of the same name written by Judith Kerr, based on her childhood memories. Telling the story of a Jewish family's escape from 1933 Berlin throughout Europe that tackles prejudice, exile, displacement and adaptation, as told from the perspective of the author's alter ego, nine year-old Anna Kemper - played by youngster Riva Krymalowski in her feature film debut. "You don’t go into exile for fun. You miss the country of your childhood. You miss the people. You miss the language." Indeed. Another tragic story of how terrible Nazis were. Also starring Carla Juri, Oliver Masucci, Marinus Hohmann, Justus von Dohnányi, Ursula Werner, Rahel Hubacher, Peter Bantli, and Anne Bennent. I appreciate the authenticity - German actors all speaking in German.

John Carpenter recevied Cheval Noir Lifetime Achievement Award.

Daria Woszek’s Polish comedy Marygoround was a big winner at the 24th Fantasia International Film festival on Wednesday night (September 2), earning the Cheval Noir Award for best film, director and actress.

Grazyna Misiorowska stars in the story about a virgin approaching the menopause who undergoes hormone therapy and experiences an awakening when her free-spirited niece shows up.

’Marygoround’: review

Brea Grant’s US entry 12 Hour Shift won best screenplay, and Jacky Heung was awarded the best actor prize for Hong Kong’s Chasing Dream.

The festival reported more than...

Let me paint you a picture. You come home from work one day, tired, but happy to be alive. You spend a quiet evening with your spouse and children. You’ve worked hard for the life you have, but it’s all been worth it. Then the phone rings. It’s your 67-year old mother and she’s calling to tell you she’s been having an affair with a 76-year old man and is leaving your father. Shocked? I would be.

Cloud 9 (Wolke Neun) is the story of Inge (Ursula Werner). She is a 67-year old woman, mother and wife of 30 years to Werner (Horst Rehberg). Quite unexpectedly, Inge finds herself fallen in love with an older man. She carries on an intimate affair with 76-year old Karl (Horst Westphal). Inge and Karl both are extremely passionate and rambunctious lovers, finding pure joy and bliss when with one another.

German seamstress Inge is one hot granny. At age 67 she enjoys noisy sex with two men: Werner, her husband of 30 years, and Karl, a customer 10 years her senior.

Acting more like teenagers than senior citizens, Inge and Karl even go skinny-dipping together.

The story of this geriatric love triangle unfolds in the German soaper "Cloud 9," directed by Andreas Dresen, who won his country's equivalent of the best-director Oscar for this film.

Seldom has any movie shown so much geriatric sex and full-frontal nudity (male and female). But, thanks to Dresen, it is all done with taste and sensitivity.

Andreas Dresen’s melodrama Cloud 9 stars Ursula Werner as a happily married seamstress in her late 60s who proves surprisingly receptive when 76-year-old client Horst Westphal makes a pass at her. The two begin seeing each other regularly, enjoying the feeling of having a secret and being desirable again. The level of sensuality and sexuality in Dresen’s simple slice-of-life can be startling at times, and either elevates Cloud 9 or ruins it, depending on how bothered viewers are by the sight of GGILFs getting it on. Repeatedly. In close-up. But viewed with a forgiving eye, the fleshy sex ...

This week offers animation from Asia, science fiction from South Africa, horror from Europe and romance on the home continent.

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"Bandslam"

Despite the odd detour to pen such fare as the unpleasant 1993 remake of "The Vanishing," actor-turned-writer/director Todd Graff has returned time and again to themes of ambitious young performers struggling for recognition. With his follow-up to 2003's "Camp," he offers up a plush, pristinely PG tale of a gaggle of Texas high school misfits who congregate under the believe-in-yourself banner to put together a fledgling rock band. "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens co-stars as Sa5m (the 5 is silent), the object of affection for wannabe rock star Will (Gaelan Connell). Aly Michalka, Charlie Saxton and Ryan Donowho fill out the "Breakfast Club"-esque supporting roles.

Opens wide.

"Cloud 9"

With what's...

Prepare to see stars in your local arthouse as the summer turns to fall. Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Drew Barrymore will all grace celluloid in the coming months. There are new films from star directors -- Tarantino! Campion! Soderbergh! Coen brothers! Even the new documentaries are driven by stars -- Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story," LeBron James' "More Than a Game" and Anna Wintour's "The September Issue." And then, as Matt Singer will tell you, there are breakout stars who you should start catching up with now. In between, there's epic animation ("Ponyo" and "9"), an astounding array of asskicking ("Ong Bak 2" and "Black Dynamite") and Lars von Trier's "Antichrist," proving there's there's just about something for everyone this fall at the multiplex. (And if not there, make sure to check out what films you can catch in the comfort of your own home on demand,...

Inspired by real-life events, the World War II drama John Rabe won the 2009 German Film Academy’s Lola for best film. Directed by Florian Gallenberger, John Rabe tells the story of a German businessman (best actor winner Ulrich Tukur) credited with saving more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing (then Nanking) massacre of 1937-38. Additionally, John Rabe, which has been a box-office disappointment in Germany, won Lolas for best production design (Tu Ju Hua) and best costume design (Lisy Christl). I believe it’s safe to say that Gallenberger’s film will be Germany’s submission for the 2010 best foreign-language film Academy Award. And that it’ll land an Oscar nomination. The best director Lola went to Andreas Dresen for the popular Cloud 9, in which veteran actress Ursula Werner plays a sixty-something married woman who rediscovers love and sex outside of home. Özgür Yildirim’s feature-film debut, Chiko, a gangster...

Berlin – "John Rabe," an historic biopic about the German business man who saved 200,000 Chinese civilians from the Nanking massacre, is the front runner for this year's German Film Awards – or Lolas – with seven nominations.

The film's nominations include best film, best director for Florian Gallenberger and a best actor for star Ulrich Tukur as Rabe.

Steve Buscemi also picked up a nomination as best supporting actor for his role as an idealistic American doctor who helps Rabe. It was one of the few Lola nominations ever given to a non-German actor.

Uli Edel's Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated terrorist drama "The Baader Meinhof Complex" picked up four Lola noms, including best film and best actress for Johanna Wokalek.

"Chiko," a gangster movie by first time director Ozgur Yildirim, surprised many by also nabbing a best film nom along with ones for Yildirim's screenplay, for lead actor Denis Moschitto and for editor Sebastian Thumler.

Cologne, Germany -- Uli Edel's 1970s terrorist drama "The Baader Meinhof Complex" and Florian Gallenberger's biopic "John Rabe" were the big winners at the Bavarian Film Awards, sharing the top prize for best film.

Produced by Bernd Eichinger, "Baader Meinhof" has already picked up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA film award nomination and is on Oscar's shortlist for best foreign-language film.

"John Rabe," the true story of the German businessman who saved hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians during the Rape of Nanking in 1937, will have its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.

"John Rabe" stars Ulrich Tukur, who won the best actor prize at the Bavarian Film Awards on Sunday night.

Best actress went to Ursula Werner for her role as an elderly woman struggling between loyalty to her husband and the passion of a new lover in Andreas Dresen's "Cloud 9.

• The Italians apparently do it better. Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah and Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo grabbed 5 nominations each with Toni Servillo getting nominated as best actor (see above) for his parts in both films. Two films that I thought were worthy contenders in several categories in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys and Abdellatif Kechiche’s The Secret of the Grain were shut out while Steve McQueen’s Hunger got two noms but failed to grab a Best Film nom. Last year’s The Orphanage and Waltz With Bashir both receive four nominations. This year’s Palme d'Or winner walked away with noms for best film and best director. Other well represented films include Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky, Joe Wright's Atonement, Andreas Dresen's Cloud 9 and Eran Riklis' Lemon Tree. Winners will be announced on December 6th in Copenhagen. Here are the categories.: European

...

Cannes Film Festival Directors Fortnight

The 30-year itch proves to be pretty much like the seven-year version in German director Andreas Dresen's "Cloud 9", a cautionary tale about infidelity that suggests the temptations and pleasures are the same but so may be the consequences.

Treating love among old folks just the way most films deal with the youthful variety, the film may attract older moviegoers curious to see their generation represented onscreen doing what comes naturally for once. It's doubtful that the general audience will be so inclined.

Dresen has his geriatric cast get naked and down to the hanky-panky right away as 60-ish seamstress Inge (Ursula Werner) finds herself all breathless and flustered when 76-year-old Karl Horst Westphal) tries on the pants she's just altered for him.

It's not that she has fallen out of love with Werner (Horst Rehberg) after 30 years of marriage. It's just that poor old Werner, who likes to listen to recordings of locomotives and go for train rides, is a bit set in his ways. Karl likes riding his bicycle in the countryside, not to mention a bit of monkey business with another man's wife.

It's all good fun for a bit but, as many have learned, the piper must be paid.

Film Review, Wolke 9 (Cloud 9), Cannes, Un Certain Regard

The 30-year itch proves to be pretty much like the seven-year version in German director Andreas Dresen's "Cloud 9", a cautionary tale about infidelity that suggests the temptations and pleasures are the same but so may be the consequences.

Treating love among old folks just the way most films deal with the youthful variety, the film may attract older moviegoers curious to see their generation represented onscreen doing what comes naturally for once. It's doubtful that the general audience will be so inclined.

Dresen has his geriatric cast get naked and down to the hanky-panky right away as 60-ish seamstress Inge (Ursula Werner) finds herself all breathless and flustered when 76-year-old Karl Horst Westphal) tries on the pants she's just altered for him.

It's not that she has fallen out of love with Werner (Horst Rehberg) after 30 years of marriage. It's just that poor old Werner, who likes to listen to recordings of locomotives and go for train rides, is a bit set in his ways. Karl likes riding his bicycle in the countryside, not to mention a bit of monkey business with another man's wife.

It's all good fun for a bit but, as many have learned, the piper must be paid.