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The death of a parent or the need to move them from the family home has been ripe fodder for filmmakers. From the vitriolic August: Osage County to the gentler One Fine Morning, we see characters wrestling with their past, contending with their present and getting a glimpse of their future. With Everything Must Go, screenwriter and film director Arild Østin Ommundsen has created something more reminiscent of The Meyerowitz Stories: both films focus on three grown-up siblings – two men and a woman – and both use humour to counteract the sadness of the family situation as memories are re-evoked and distant childhood events are gazed on and re-evaluated by adult eyes.

The film opens with the sound of piano playing and a thud as the patriarch plays his final notes. When the family gathers for the funeral, sister Ellen wastes no time dealing with the next stage: cleaning out...

The world premiere of Arild Østin Ommundsen and Silje Salomonsen’sNorwegian family dramaEverything Must Gowill open the35thedition of the Tromso International Film Festival (TIFF), taking place inNorway fromJanuary 13-19, 2025.

James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown will close the festival.

Everything Must Go is aboutthree siblings who move back into their childhood home following their father’s funeral.

In the competition strand, 12 features are in contention for the €5,000 Aurora prize includingBrady Corbet’s The Brutalist,Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths,Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man,and Scandar Copti’s Happy Holidays.

Tromso has introduced a special sidebar focused on...

M-Appeal has acquired sales rights to uplifting family film “Jippie No More!,” which will world premiere as the opening film at Cinekid Festival in Amsterdam in October. The film will be distributed in Benelux by Cinéart.

The film, from Dutch director Margien Rogaar and writer Fiona van Heemstra, follows the story of Jaap Peter, also known as “Jippie” (played by Wesley van Klink), a lively 16-year-old boy, as he eagerly prepares for his older sister’s wedding at their beloved grandfather’s country house. As the whole family rallies together to create the perfect celebration, Jaap Peter falls in love for the first time. But when the girl of his dreams is smitten with his younger sister Joe instead, Jaap Peter is disheartened and loses interest in the wedding, until he realizes that his presence and the unbreakable bond of his family are vital in making the party a success.

Berlin film sales agent M-Appeal has struck deals with leading German distributors for rock music drama “The Night of the Beast” and family adventure film “Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers.”

Alamode, the distributor of specialty titles such as “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “Les Misérables,” has acquired “The Night of the Beast,” which centers on two fans of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Alamode is planning to release the title in June, when Iron Maiden plan to start their next European tour.

The Colombian-Mexican film’s title refers to the band’s 1982 album, “The Number of the Beast,” which has sold more than 14 million copies, and its subsequent tour, “The Beast on the Road.” The film, directed by Mauricio Leiva Cock, revolves around the band’s first concert in Colombia, and includes some of Iron Maiden’s tracks, such as “Aces High” and “The Trooper.

M-Appeal has struck several theatrical deals for Norwegian title “Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers,” including distribution in South Korea, Sweden, Belgium and The Netherlands. The film is described as “an inspiring and empowering story about sisterhood.”

In South Korea, Ak Entertainment will distribute the film and is planning a theatrical release in spring 2021. Folkets Bio Ab will handle the title in Sweden and is planning a theatrical release for February-March 2021. Jef will distribute the film in Benelux, with the Belgium theatrical release planned for Oct. 28. In The Netherlands, the title will screen in six cities and will be available online on Cinekid Play. M-Appeal is also in the process of negotiating a deal for Germany.

The film had its successful national cinema release in Norway at the beginning of August and has surpassed 53,000 admissions so far, having secured the number 1 spot at the box office for three consecutive weeks.

Berlin-based sales agent M-appeal has picked up Norwegian children’s film “Sisters: The Summer We Found Our Superpowers,” ahead of the European Film Market in Berlin, where it will screen.

The film, an uplifting and empowering story about sisterhood, is directed by Silje Salomonsen and Arild Østin Ommundsen, who are a married couple, and stars their daughters, Vega and Billie Østin.

The humorous adventure story is set in the beautiful Norwegian countryside, and features the music of Thomas Dybdahl, recorded by the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.

The film follows 9-year-old Vega and her wild 5-year-old sister Billie as they go on an overnight outdoor hike in the Norwegian woods with their dad. The trip is full of happy moments until their dad twists his ankle. Unable to move he asks Vega and Billie to get help. Initially the girls feel lost, but after several magical encounters in the woods, they embrace the mission.

The 25th New Nordic Films, unspooling Aug. 20-23 parallel to the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, will kick off with the critically-lauded “A White, White Day” by Hlynur Pálmason. The Icelandic drama which world premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week, is among 19 films set to screen, of which 13 are world market premieres such as Jesper W. Nielsen’s thriller “The Exception,” Venice Critics Week’s pick “Psychosia,”, Venice Days’ entry “Beware of Children”, Jens Jonsson’s “The Spy” and Jesper Ganslandt’s “438 Days”.

The hot Works in Progress session has 20 titles to be pitched to more than 300 attendees. Gauging this year’s crop, New Nordic Films’ managing director Gyda Velvin Myklebust underlines the large number of local films, genre-driven and reality-based stories, as well as the healthy gender balance -half the films are female directed. “There are many new female talents to watch out for,” says Myklebust, citing the...

France-Finland co-production A Girl’s Room takes €20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.

The 2018 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has named the winners of its Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event awards after a week of presentations and meetings.

More than 400 delegates attended this year’s event.

In the festival’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market, which featured 16 projects, France-Finland feature A Girl’s Room, from director Aino Suni and producers Sébastien Aubert and Ulla Simonen, won the €20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.

The Cannes Marché du Film Producers’ Network Award, which comes with free accreditations to next year’s edition of Cannes, went to...

Debut competition titles at cinematography festival unveiled.

Camerimage, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 15-22), has revealed the line-up of films screening in three of the festival’s competition sections including Cinematographers’ Debut, Directors’ Debut and Student Etudes.

The entries are:

Cinematographers’ Debut Competition

Duane Hopkins’ Bypass;

UK, 2014; Cinematographer: David Procter

Sidney Lexy Plaut’s Dark Samurai;

Denmark, 2014; Cinematographer: Sidney Lexy Plaut

Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s Difret;

Ethiopia, USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Monika Lenczewska

Krzysztof Skonieczny’s Hardkor Disko;

Poland, 2014; Cinematographer: Kacper Fertacz

Arild Østin Ommundsen’s It’s Only Make Believe;

Norway, 2013; Cinematographer: Arild Østin Ommundsen

Michael Cody and Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Ruin;

Australia, 2013; Cinematographer: Ari Wegner

Ester Martin Bergsmark’s Something Must Break;

Sweden, 2014; Cinematographers: Lisabi Fridell and Minka Jakerson

David Pablos’ The Life After;

Mexico, 2013; Cinematographer: José De- La-Torre

Saar Klein’s Things People Do;

USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Matthias Koenigswieser

Jonas Alexander Arnby’s When Animals Dream;

Denmark, 2013; Cinematographer: [link=nm...

Iram Haq’s debut drama is selected as Norway’s foreign-language Oscar submission.

Iram Haq’s debut feature I Am Yours (Jeg er Din) has been selected by Norway’s Oscar selection committee as the country’s Best Foreign-Language Oscar submission.

Amrita Acharia stars as a young, Norwegian-Pakistani single mother in Oslo who struggles in love until she meets a Swedish film director played by Ola Rapace (Skyfall).

The selection committee described I Am Yours, which screened in the Discovery section at Toronto, as “mature and universal” and said the “personal and authentic” film “raises important questions about being a woman” in a complex society.

Produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film – and the first feature to be supported by the Norwegian Film Institute’s New Ways scheme - it was released domestically on Aug 16 by Sf Norge.

Runners-up for the Oscar submission were Arild Østin Ommundsen’s It’s Only Make Believe (Eventyrland) and Erik Skjoldbjærg’s [link...

Another week, another 10+ submissions for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race. We're up to 15 official titles now (which means there are about 50 to go). We previously covered Germany's finalist list but they didn't go with the youthful hit comedy Oh Boy after all but with the drama Two Lives, which we highlighted as a strong possibility given its war themes and the presence of Liv Ullman in the cast list.

But the German news is just scratching the surface of what's going on in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race.

Finalists And Speculation

"Thy Womb"'s Nora Aunor won several Best Actress prizes at festivals

The Philippines

They've recently announced a list of 8 finalists although, to make things confusing, they are still willing to look at more films that aren't on the list in case of late arrivals to the cinema. But chances are the film will come from this list: Supremo,...

Cannes winner Blue is the Warmest Colour also picked up a prize at the 41st Norwegian International Film Festival (Niff) awards.

Danish director Per Fly picked up the Nordic Film Prize at the Niff awards last night [Aug 20] for his biopic Monica Z (Waltz for Monica).

The story of legendary Swedish singer-actress Monica Zetterlund stars Edda Magnason in her first film role. Monica Z will be released in Norway on Sept 13.

Fly will next direct Backstabbing for Beginners, based on the true story of Un whistleblower Michael Soussan who called for an investigation of the Un’s dealings with Saddam Hussein. Fly is working on the screenplay with Us writer Daniel Pyne (The Sum of All Fears) and it marks the first project developed for the international market by Creative Alliance - a new company created earlier this year by six Nordic directors and Us outfit Parts & Labor.

Other winners included Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which...

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not actually a fan of author Bret Easton Ellis or, more specifically, of the films based on his works having generally found them to be rather too smug for their own good. But that said there’s no denying that when it comes to the dark underbelly of capitalism Ellis is the guy, the one author who saw things as being as hollow as they really were and was unafraid to dive into the murky depths. And while Ellis was very much a child of the 80s there’s no denying that the current economic woes make his approach very much relevant once again and so, we come to Rottenetter ...

The latest film to come out of Norway’s Paradox - home to Erik Poppe’s films and recent Twitch faves such as Fatso - Rottenetter is a slick journey into...

Film Movement has acquired North American rights to writer/director Arild Ostin Ommundsen's Monster Thursday and Mani Ratnam's A Peck on the Cheek, Film Movement president Stuart Litman announced Tuesday. Thursday, which played at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is the story of a young man, in love with his best friend's wife, who takes up surfing to impress her. It picked up six Silver Lotus Awards from the National Film Awards of India. The deal for Thursday was negotiated on behalf of Film Movement by Adley Gartenstein, director of acquisitions, and by Karin Thun on behalf of NonStop Sales AB. The Peck deal was negotiated by Gartenstein and by Stuart Strutin on behalf of Panorama Entertainment Corp.