News

The 69th Taormina Film Festival boasts an impressive lineup of Italian and world premieres as it seeks to reboot and re-establish its status as a date to watch on the festival circuit. Located in the historical Sicilian town – its visibility recently getting an unlooked for boost with the second season of HBO’s ”The White Lotus” – will be hosting a series of screenings. The outdoor Teatro Antico will provide a suitably antique background for the Italian premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” with Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, and Mads Mikkelsen in attendance.

The directorial debut of Italian artist Marco Perego, “The Absence of Eden,” will receive its world premiere. The film stars Perego’s wife Zoe Saldaña, Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona. The thriller tells the story of an undocumented immigrant fleeing a drug cartel whose path crosses with a U.S. Immigration...

Market

The Cannes Film Market has launched Cannes Investors Circle, which will commence with a keynote introduction by Liesl Copland, Participant’s executive VP, content and platform strategy, who will offer her perspective on the modern media landscape. The initiative will also feature a panel discussion titled Navigating Film Finance in a Changing World that aims to offer insights on global financing and market trends in 2023 and beyond. The panelists will include Elisa Alvares, finance expert at Jacaranda Consultants; Rikke Ennis, CEO of REinvent Studios; Emilie Georges, co-founder and CEO of Paradise City; Mike Goodridge, U.K. producer at Good Chaos who is also presenting Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero” in the festival’s official competition; with film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell moderating.

The event will also include an invitation-only session where VIP private investors will listen to pitches of nine new global film projects at the investment stage. The...

Elizabeth Banks Pic Sells For Protagonist

Protagonist Pictures has closed multiple deals on Phyllis Nagy’s Sundance and Berlin title Call Jane, starring Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Chris Messina. Deals include Dcm for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Mis.label for Scandinavia, Eagle for Italy, Shaw for Singapore and Empire for South Africa. Roadside Attractions acquired U.S. distribution rights to Nagy’s directorial debut following its launch at Sundance. The film had already sold well internationally. In Call Jane, Joy (Banks), a traditional 1960s housewife, unexpectedly falls pregnant. She then finds the Janes, an underground abortion movement led by Virginia (Weaver). The group saves her life and gives her a sense of purpose: to help other women take control of their destinies.

The Pantani Affair Inks U.S. & France Deals

Exclusive: Iuvit Media Sales has closed deals for drama The...

Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty Review — Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty (2021) Film Review from the 74th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Alessandro Rak, and starring Ciro Priello, Fabiola Balestriere, Lina Sastri, Francesco Pannofino, Massimiliano Gallo, Tommaso Ragno, and Fabrizio Botta. Director Alessandro Rak’s new animated Italian [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Yaya E Lennie – The Walking Liberty: An Intriguing Animated Tale of Friendship [Locarno 2021]...

Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty Review — Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty (2021) Film Review from the 74th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Alessandro Rak, and starring Ciro Priello, Fabiola Balestriere, Lina Sastri, Francesco Pannofino, Massimiliano Gallo, Tommaso Ragno, and Fabrizio Botta. Director Alessandro Rak’s new animated Italian [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Yaya E Lennie – The Walking Liberty: An Intriguing Animated Tale of Friendship [Locarno 2021]...

The Pantani Affair Gets International & U.S. Sales Deals

Exclusive: The Pantani Affair (Il Caso Pantani), about iconic Italian cyclist Marco Pantani, is launching for international sales at the virtual EFM via Italian firm Iuvit Media Sales. The biographical drama, written, directed and produced by filmmaker and Mr.Arkadin Film founder Domenico Ciolfi (Passaggio A Vuoto), explores the last five years of champion cyclist Marco Pantani’s life, including the events surrounding a doping scandal during the 1999 Giro d’Italia and the beloved sportsman’s tragic death in 2004, at the age of 34. The film is one of the many in consideration for this year’s David Di Donatello awards, which opened its nominations to all movies released via streaming due to the pandemic. Three different actors play Pantani: Marco Palvetti (Gomorrah), Brenno Placido (Romanzo Criminale) and Fabrizio Rongione (Two Days). The film also stars Libero De Rienzo (The Two Popes...

Stars: Dylan Baker, Becky Ann Baker, Bradley Stryker, Francesco Pannofino, Michael Pantozzi, Lorenzo Pisoni, Goran Ivanovski, Greg Hadley | Written by Brando Benetton, Los Silva | Directed by Brando Benetton

Forty one minutes seems like a very odd running time for any movie. Not really a short film but nowhere near the length of a full feature but that is how long Nightfire is… In the movie we see two American agents retrieve military chips containing top-secret content. But an unexpected political prisoner is picked in the process and turns things a little complicated.

In its short run time the film-makers try to throw in as many twist and turns as possible it seems. But to be fair to them,they do all work. They don’t feel like they have been thrown in there just to shock or just to take the story in another random direction. They all seemed pretty logical,...

Thanks to Hewes Pictures, we have an exclusive clip from Brando Benetton's upcoming spy thriller Nightfire to share today. The short film was written and directed by Benetton and Los Silva. While it's billed as a short, it's more of a mid-length, as it clocks in at 43 minutes long. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the project over the past few months and it's finally almost here. The white-knuckle thriller, which was produced by a group of friends from Ithaca college, debuts on streaming platforms, including Hulu and Amazon, May 1st via Hewes Pictures.

Nightfire centers on two American agents (Lorenzo Pisoni and Greg Hadley), who are hired to retrieve military chips containing a large sum of government money. Their plan goes awry when an unexpected political prisoner (Dylan Baker) enters the picture. The two soon learn that their mission isn't about freedom. Instead, greed is at the root.

"You have something they want, and now they are coming." Hewes Pictures has debuted an official trailer for a short film titled Nightlife, the latest from filmmaker Brando Benetton (American Bullet). This film is barely a "short" as it comes in at 43 minutes, closer to being a "medium-length" film than anything. And it will be available to rent/watch streaming starting May. Two American agents are hired to retrieve military chips containing top-secret content. Their plan goes awry when an unexpected political prisoner enters the picture. Starring Dylan Baker, with Bradley Stryker, Francesco Pannofino, and Becky Ann Baker. Described as a "white-knuckle thriller", this looks like it has some serious urban action to offer. Take a peek. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Brando Benetton's short film Nightfire, direct from YouTube: Two American agents (Lorenzo Pisoni and Greg Hadley) are hired to retrieve military chips containing a large sum of government money.

"You have something they want. And now they are coming. They are coming..." F1.8 Studios has debuted a new official trailer for an indie film titled Nightfire, which is finally getting a streaming release on Amazon Prime in January after first premiering back in 2015. This political action thriller runs a total of 43 minutes, which technically makes it a short film, though that's not very short. Described as "an action spectacular student film" made by Brando Benetton, the film is about two American agents hired to retrieve military chips containing top-secret content. Their plan goes awry when an unexpected political prisoner enters the picture. This stars Dylan Baker, Lorenzo Pisoni, Greg Hadley, Bradley Stryker, with Francesco Pannofino, and Becky Ann Baker. This is one helluva trailer, it certainly got my attention. Take a look. Here's the new official Us trailer (+ poster) for Brando Benetton's Nightfire, direct from YouTube: For more info on the film,...