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Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival distributed over $900,000 in prizes at its Souk industry awards.

The biggest award, the $75,000 Red Sea Souk Production Award, went to Katia Jarjoura’s Lebanon-France co-production Robbing Beirut. Produced by Michel Zana for Blue Train Films, the film follows a young woman who becomes a bank robber in order to pay for her sister’s leukaemia treatment.

Scroll down for the full list of awards

Two further titles received prizes in the same section, for Projects in Development. Makbul Mubarak’s Watch It Burn took the $30,000 Red Sea Souk Development Award; with Aboozar Amini...

Lebanese Canadian director Katia Jarjoura’s drama Robbing Beirut has won the top $75,000 in-development prize in the Red Sea Souk project market, presenting 31 feature films and seven series projects within Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival.

Set against the backdrop of Lebanon’s economic crisis, the movie revolves around a woman who decides to rob a bank after it refuses to hand over her $30,00 savings deposit, which she needs to pay for medical treatment for her sister.

The film marks Jarjoura’s first fiction feature after a number of documentaries including Goodbye Murbarak, The Road to Kerbala and most recently, Escape, about Syrian artists living in exile.

Runners-up for the in-development prizes were Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s Watch It Burn, which clinched a $20,000 award, and Afghan director Aboozar Amini’s Tahmina, which won the $20,000 third prize.

Mubarak previously made waves with debut film Autobiography, which premiered in...

The jump from cinematographer to director doesn’t happen so often. Barry Sonnenfeld, Jan de Bont, Ernest Dickerson––an attractive list, if a short one. The latest to join their rank is Tato Kotetishvili, the Georgian Dp behind Uta Beria’s Negative Numbers and Levan Koguashvili’s Blind Dates, now on directing duty with Holy Electricity. The film, part city symphony, part docudrama, offers plenty of style and finds substance in unusual places. Results are compelling, if a little mixed.

It’s a film of real people in somewhat-unreal scenarios, built from precisely composed shots that are often medium, static, and doused with generous color and blunt irony. Take the opening: a shot of a family gathered around an open casket that cuts suddenly to a busted-up car in a scrap yard moments before it’s flattened by a slab of concrete. In the yard, Kotetishvili introduces his low-key, quixotic...

Asmae El Moudir’s Holy Cow and Cj ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s La Pyramide are among 38 feature film and television projects selected for the Red Sea Souk Project Market, at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival (December 5-14).

Selected in the ‘in development’ section, El Moudir’s Moroccan feature Holy Cow (working title) follows a truck driver transporting cattle for slaughter houses in Rabat, who becomes the scapegoat when two cows escape.

Scroll down for the full list of projects

It is a debut fiction feature for Moroccan filmmaker El Moudir, who won the best director prize at Cannes 2023 with...

Tribeca Film Festival Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer with Taís Augusto, Lucas Coelho, Guto Parente and Ticiana Augusto Lima from A Strange Path accepting the Best Cinematography Award for Linga Acácio Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At yesterday’s Tribeca Festival Awards ceremony at Racket, Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer announced the winners of the International Narrative Competition Feature Awards. Best Cinematography went to Linga Acácio for Guto Parente’s A Strange Path (Brazil); Screenplay to Guto Parente for A Strange Path; Performance to Carlos Francisco for A Strange Path, and for a Tribeca record of four honours the Best Film went to A Strange Path, produced by Ticiana Augusto Lima, and starring Lucas Limeira and Carlos Francisco with Tarzia Firmino, Rita Cabaço, Renan Capivara, and Ana Marlene.

Guto Parente’s A Strange Path took home four honours at the Tribeca Festival Awards Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th (Georgia) had won an impressive three awards,...

The selection also includes projects from Kirill Serebrennikov and Agnieszka Holland

David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds is among 32 projects to receive a share of €8.3m in Eurimages’ latest round of co-production funding.

Cronenberg’s new feature, a co-production between Canada and France, received €500,000 – the largest amount awarded in this round of funding. Vincent Cassel plays a widower who creates a device that allows you to connect with the dead. Diane Kruger and Guy Pearce also star in the thriller.

Scroll down for full list of titles

The only other project to also receive €500,000 was Adrià Garcia’s animation The Treasure Of Barracuda,...

The Eurimages Project Evaluation Session of 2023 have just been announced and among the 32 supported films we have some veteran filmmakers in David Cronenberg (The Shrouds), Agnieszka Holland (The Green Border) and Kirill Serebrennikov (Disappearance aka La disparition) landing some significant coin amounts. Also grabbing some noteworthy sums of euros are filmmakers Burhan Qurbani (No Beast So Fierce), Jonathan Millet (Lives of Hamid), Nóra Lakos (I Accidentally Wrote a Book) and Scandi helmers Jeanette Nordahl (Connections) and Fanny Ovesen (Laura). Here is the entire list which includes docus and animated films:

A Light at Midday – Elena Manrique (Spain) – €300 000

Aïcha – Mehdi Barsaoui (Tunisia) – €150 000

Bestiaries, Herbaria, Lapidaries – Martina Parenti, Massimo D’Anolfi (Italy) – €80 000 Documentary

Blood and Mud – Jean-Gabriel Leynaud (France) – €140 000 Documentary

Catane – Ioana Mischie (Romania) – €150 000

Connections – Jeanette Nordahl (Denmark) – €302 000

Disappearance – Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia) – €350 000

DJ Ahmet – Georgi Unkovski (North Macedonia) – €160 000

Dreaming of Lions – Paolo Marinou-Blanco (Portugal) – €150 000

Filipinas – Leonor Noivo (Portugal) – €74 500 Documentary

Flow – Gints Zilbalodis (Latvia...

Lotfy Nathan receives best director award for ‘Harka’.

Iraqi director Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji’s Baghdad-set feature Hanging Gardens took home the best film award at the 2022 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its Yusr award winners on Thursday, December 8.

Hanging Gardens follows a young boy living as a rubbish picker in the dumps of Baghdad, nicknamed the ‘hanging gardens’, who hits the jackpot when he finds discarded US sex doll.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

The Arabic-language film is a Iraq-Palestine-Egypt-uk-Saudi Arabia co-production. The UK producer is Margaret Glover, who also wrote the script with...

Iraqi filmmaker Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji picked up the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film and the Yusr Award for Best Cinematic Achievement at the Red International Sea Film Festival with his debut feature Hanging Gardens on Thursday evening.

Co-written by Al Daradji with Margaret Glover, the film follows As’ad, a 12-year-old rubbish picker, who adopts an American sex doll from the Baghdad dumps, and crosses into a perilous red zone, finding himself caught in the crossfire.

The film won Venice’s 2021 edition of Final Cut for the best film in post-production and debuted in the festival’s Horizons Extra sidebar this year.

The award was handed out at a ceremony on Thursday evening by Red Sea Festival Execs Mohammed Al Turki, Jomana Al-Rashid, and Egyptian actress Yousra.

In other top prizes, American filmmaker Lotfy Nathan won the Yusr Award for Best Director for his Tunisia-set debut feature Harka,...

The main competition of the 2nd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival – the Red Sea: Features Competition – underlines the fest’s ambition to celebrate pioneering works from filmmakers in the Arab region, Asia and Africa.

Oliver Stone presides the jury, whose other members include Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman (“Paradise Now”), Egyptian star Nelly Karim (“The Blue Elephant”), Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (Oscar nominee “The Man Who Sold His Skin”), and Georgian director Levan Koguashvili (“Blind Dates”).

The 15 titles include nine films from the Middle East and North Africa region (of which six are from Middle East and three from North Africa), two films from Sub-Saharan Africa, and four films from Asia. They are directed by four women and 11 men. The competition includes two world premieres, four Mena premieres and one Arab premiere.

“Before Now and Then” – Indonesian helmer Kamila Andini’s third feature set in 1960s Indonesia, where the influential Mr.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Unveils Jury

Egyptian star Nelly Karim, best known internationally for her performance in The Blue Elephant and Clash, Tunisian Oscar-nominated The Man Who Sold His Skin director Kaouther Ben Hania, Georgian film director Levan Koguashvili (Brighton 4th) and Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman have been unveiled as members of the jury for Saudi Arabia’s upcoming second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (Dec 1-10). They join previously announced jury president Oliver Stone. The jury will decide the winner of the main feature competition focused on Arab world, Asian and African cinema. Last year, Koguashvili won the inaugural prize for Brighton 4th.

Warner Bros. Discovery Appoints China President & Western Pacific Commercial Boss

Warner Bros. Discovery has come close to rounding off its international leadership structure by setting two key leadership roles in its Western Pacific team, appointing a China President and SVP,...

Also on the jury is Egyptian actor Nelly Karim and Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili.

Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hani will sit on the feature competition jury for the 2nd edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Also on the jury is Egyptian actor Nelly Karim and Georgian filmmaker Levan Koguashvili.

They join US director Oliver Stone who was previously announced as jury president.

The line-up for the feature competition comprises 15 titles including July Jung’s Next Sohee, Lotfy Nathan’s Harka and Wissam Charaf’s Dirty Difficult Dangerous.

The films are competing for the...

Exclusive: Veteran manager Aleksey Ageyev — who while repping a roster of top global filmmakers, has produced more than 30 scripted series and features — has joined David Unger’s global management company Artist International Group as Partner.

Ageyev brings to Aig clients including 2021 Tribeca prize-winning filmmaker Levan Koguashvili (Brighton 4th); screenwriter Elena Kiseleva, who co-wrote Andrey Konchalovskiy’s 2020 Venice Special Jury Prize winner Dear Comrades!; screenwriter Andrey Zolotarev (Sputnik); and showrunner Roman Kantor, among others.

Prior to joining Artist International Group, Ageyev headed up the global talent management company PlusSeven as well as the Los Angeles-based Storyworld Entertainment, where he specialized in adapting foreign formats for the U.S. market. Notable credits include To the Lake and Seven Seconds, both for Netflix.

“International projects are the future of our industry. David Unger has been nurturing international voices for two decades,” said Ageyev. “With our combined efforts, we...

The Red Sea International Film Festival in partnership with Vox Cinemas, Mbc Group, and Saudia Airlines announced the winners of the Red Sea competition sections. The 16 feature, 18 shorts selection and 21 ground-breaking global virtual reality experiences are a celebration of the most exciting, innovative new films and cinematic storytelling from established and emerging filmmakers from the Arab world and Africa.

This year’s jury included: President of the Red Sea Features Competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore, Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director, writer, actress, and producer Cherien Dabis, Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei.

Competition Jury Prize went to the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiering Hit the Road by Panah Panahi from Iran.

Competition Best Film went to Brighton 4th by Levan Koguashvili a coproduction of Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco. This is Georgia’s submission for Oscar Nomination for Best International Film and the winner of the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles for Best Picture. This film about the Georgian emigrants living in Brighton Beach, USA today captures the heart of the viewers with its open sharing of the Georgians today. Its director Levan Koguashvili graduated NYU Film school. The film is the winner of three prizes at Cottbus Film Festival and three awards at Tribeca as well.

Competition Best Actor and Best Director for Europa went to Amal Ali and Haider Rashid respectively, a coproduction of Iraq, Italy, and Kuwait:

Haider Rashid says, “Regarding the main role, Kamal, I was set on finding an actor who could understand the sense of displacement that we wanted to portray on an emotional level. My colleague Daniele Bernabei ran into a trailer for a short film while at the Short Film Corner in Cannes and sent it to me, as the cast was composed of several Arab actors. As soon as I saw Adam Ali I felt there was something interesting about him, a silent movie face in a way. That made me want to find out more, since we were going to make a film in which dialogue is at a minimum and most of the film is on the protagonist’s shoulders.

While he was in Canada shooting Apple+’s Little America, we had a very interesting conversation and found some common grounds on certain issues like the misrepresentation of certain ethnicities in film and TV and what it feels like to be sometimes torn between two cultures. Adam is of Libyan origins and moved with his family to Manchester when he was a child, so the issue of identity was also a common ground between us.

Of course this film is pretty different as it is so physical and it was clear that we were going to do many things that not every actor would be willing to do. While speaking to Adam, it seemed to me that there was a certain pride about him that would help me in pushing him in certain directions both physically and emotionally by sometimes provoking him. He was great in being determined to do what was necessary and I have to say he was really brave in how he faced the physical and emotional challenges that the story entailed.”

Competition Best Actress Award went to Arawinda Kirana for her role in Yuni a production of Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia. She also won for best actress in the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles. This is a beautifully shot story of the feisy rebellion of a young woman in Indonesia today, a place we have not seen in its contemporary feminine aspects until now.

Best Saudi Film Rupture by Hamzah K. Jamjoom — Saudi Arabia

Audience Award You Resemble Me by Dina Amer — Egypt, France, USA

Immersive Silver Yusr Samsara by Hsin-Chien Huang — Taiwan

Immersive Gold Yusr End of Night by David Adler — Denmark, France

Short Competition Golden Yusr Tala’vision by Murad Abu Eisheh — Jordan, Germany

Competition Special Mention Farha by Darin J. Sallam — Jordan

Competition Best Cinematic Contribution went to Amin Jafari for Hit the Road — Iran

Competition Best Screenplay Neighbours by Mano Khalil — Syria, Switzerland...

Elmo Nüganen’s historical crime thriller “Melchior the Apothecary” has become the first Estonian film to cross the 50,000 admission mark at the local box office in the two years of the pandemic. The film, which was released by Hea Film on April 11, tops the box office with 57,456 admissions, according to Film New Europe.

The pic is the initial instalment in a trilogy – the first time a movie trilogy has been produced in Estonia. All three films were shot simultaneously in 2020. The second film of the series should reach cinemas on Aug. 19, 2022, and the third on Oct. 14, 2022.

Based on a crime bestseller by Indrek Hargla, “Melchior the Apothecary” tells the story of an apothecary in medieval Tallinn, who has a knack for solving mysteries and is employed by the city to untangle a mysterious murder case.

The film, which stars young Estonian actor Märten Metsaviir, was produced by four Estonian companies: Taska Film,...

Vox Cinemas, the highest-grossing exhibitor in West Asia, where it operates more than 600 screens, will focus on diversification next, while also continuing its geographical expansion plan, says Ignace Lahoud, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Leisure (Maf), Entertainment and Cinemas, which operates Vox.

“In the last two or three years, most of our growth has been focused on building and opening cinemas in Saudi Arabia. We intend to continue expanding there, although probably not at the same pace.”

Several analysts, including PwC, see Saudi as becoming a billion-dollar movie market.

Variety is honoring Vox with its Achievement in Intl. Exhibition Award. The company, operating in eight countries, is optimistic about its future in such markets as Kuwait and Egypt, with plans to bring cinema to rural areas and provide an affordable experience.

However, looking for new ways to diversify cinema-going experience continues to be an integral part of Vox’s business strategy.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Apollo 10 ½ A Space Age Childhood (Richard Linklater)

A delightful meditation on childhood in the summer of 1969 set literally in the shadows of NASA’s central operations in Houston, Richard Linklater’s contemplative and vividly animated Apollo 10 ½ A Space Age Childhood reflects on the filmmaker’s own experiences. It captures the joy and wonder of childhood through the eyes of Stan, a ten-year-old who fantasizes about being recruited for “space camp” by NASA. His father (Bill Wise), a frugal but caring man, has uprooted his family from the city to a newly built suburban development in the shadow of the Astrodome and Astroworld amusement parks. Black’s adult narrator fills in the blanks for us with whimsical, nostalgic details that highlight just how...

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael with Anne-Katrin Titze on James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5 production designer Adam Stockhausen: “It’s a very controlled design environment, which is also fantastic because if it’s a great designer you feel like it’s real.”

From London, in late January, Phedon Papamichael took time off from his busy schedule on Indiana Jones 5 (directed by James Mangold) to discuss with me on Zoom his work with Levan Koguashvili on ]Brighton 4th (multiple winner in the 20th anniversary edition of the Tribeca Film Festival), Alexander Payne, Aaron Sorkin and Shane Valentino (The Trial Of The Chicago 7), production designer Adam Stockhausen, John Cassavetes’s Love Streams and Nick Cassavetes’s Unhook The Stars with his father in New York, and the upcoming Light Falls, starring Makis Papadimitriou that he directed.

Phedon Papamichael on Brighton 4th director Levan Koguashvili and the Georgian film industry: “We...

Full list of 15 projects from emerging filmmakers seeking completion funding revealed.

Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev’s drama project Made In EU and Egyptian Ahmed Fawzi Saleh’s Hamlet From The Slums are among 15 projects selected for the 2022 L’Atelier co-production forum, set to be held during the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Part of Cannes’ Cinefondation film development initiative, L’Atelier was launched in 2005 to support emerging filmmakers, from newcomers to high-profile names, who are offered expert advice and the opportunity to meet potential co-production partners and funding sources during the festival.

This year’s projects include Made In EU, a...

Women From Georgia, Blind Dates, and Brighton 4th director Levan Koguashvili on chaos being cinematic: “I remember reading a book about one of my favourite directors, Robert Altman. It talked about why he likes making these group movies with separate stories.” Photo: Ed Bahlman

On December 21, 2021 the 94th Academy Awards Oscar Best International Feature Film shortlist was revealed with some notable omissions. Nora Martirosyan’s Should The Wind Drop (Si Le Vent Tombe) from Armenia; Julia Ducournau’s Titane from France; Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria from Colombia; Zhang Yimou’s Cliff Walkers from China; Kira Kovalenko’s Unclenching The Fists from Russia, and Levan Koguashvili's Brighton 4th from Georgia were among those.

Levan Koguashvili with Anne-Katrin Titze: “The main concern is the cinematic quality of the story.”

The Tribeca Film Festival International Narrative Competition jury comprised of Alexander Payne, Melissa Leo, Delroy Lindo, Peter Scarlet, and Lesli Klainberg awarded Best...

Kakhi (Levan Tediashvili) with his troubled son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze) in Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th, shot by Phedon Papamichael

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael has been in great demand by filmmakers and has worked with some of the most interesting storytellers, including Levan Koguashvili on Brighton 4th. Alexander Payne, Aaron Sorkin (The Trial Of The Chicago 7), Judd Apatow (This Is 40), Oliver Stone (W.), and with James Mangold on Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line (starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash), Identity, 3.10 To Yuma, and the upcoming Indiana Jones 5.

Phedon Papamichael with Anne-Katrin Titze on filming Brighton 4th: “The faces and these portraits as you say, they are very important and the Georgian faces are so expressive and so melancholic and brazed.”

From London, Phedon Papamichael took time off from his busy schedule on Indiana Jones 5 to discuss with me on Zoom his work on Georgia’s Oscar submission Brighton 4th...

Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th, winner of three awards in the International Narrative Competition of the 20th anniversary edition of the Tribeca Film Festival was a 2021 highlight. Brighton 4th (Georgia’s Oscar submission) captures more than a former wrestling champion’s journey to the west. Every face we see, in Tbilisi or New York’s Brighton Beach, every movement of a passer-by, every crumbling high-rise and cloud formation opens up the possibility of story. Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael’s compositions of reality are exquisite; the scenes make you think and feel and often laugh at the same time.

When we first drop in on an unruly crowd of Georgian men watching soccer in a sports betting parlour in Tbilisi, it is still unclear which one of them we will be allowed to follow, as though the camera...

We don’t want to overwhelm you, but while you’re catching up with our top 50 films of 2021, more cinematic greatness awaits in 2022. Ahead of our 100 most-anticipated films (all of which have yet to premiere), we’re highlighting 30 titles we’ve enjoyed on the festival circuit this last year (and beyond) that either have confirmed 2022 release dates or await a debut date from its distributor. There’s also a handful of films seeking distribution that we hope will arrive in the next 12 months, as can be seen here.

As an additional note, a number of 2021 films that had one-week qualifying runs will also get expanded releases in 2022, including A Hero (Jan. 7), Cyrano (Jan. 28), The Worst Person in the World (Feb. 4), Mothering Sunday (Feb. 25), Petite Maman, and A Chiara.

The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs (Pushpendra Singh; Jan. 12)

Northwest India’s Jammu and Kashmir region resides at the center of a...

As we wrap up the year in film, it’s time to set sights on 2022. While we’ll share a few looks at what’s in store over the next 12 months, first we have an overview of January’s most notable films. Unsurprisingly, the top offerings solely consist of 2021 festival premieres (and one from 2020) that are finally arriving.

10. Sundown (Michel Franco; Jan. 28 in theaters)

After last year’s wildly divisive New Order, Michel Franco returns this month with a drama of a much different stripe. As Jared Mobarak said in his review, “Writer-director Michel Franco throws the first curveball early during his latest film Sundown. We’ve already spent a bit of time with his quartet of European characters vacationing in Acapulco to make a few assumptions before workaholic Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) leans over to the quietly satisfied Neil (Tim Roth) and thanks him for coming along. Why wouldn’t he have?...

Edgar (Hayk Bakhryan), the magic water boy with Armen (Vartan Petrossian) in Armenia’s Oscar submission, Nora Martirosyan’s Should The Wind Drop (Si Le Vent Tombe)

Last week the 94th Academy Awards Oscar Best International Feature Film shortlist was revealed with some notable omissions. Levan Koguashvili's Brighton 4th from Georgia; Julia Ducournau’s Titane from France; Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria from Colombia; Zhang Yimou’s Cliff Walkers from China; Kira Kovalenko’s Unclenching The Fists from Russia, and Nora Martirosyan’s Should The Wind Drop (Si Le Vent Tombe) from Armenia were among those.

Grégoire Colin as Alain Delage, an international auditor sent to inspect the remote airport of an independent republic in the Caucasus mountains.

In the second instalment with the director on her debut feature, screenplay with Emmanuelle Pagano (co-writers Guillaume André and Olivier Torres), and produced by Annabella Nezri, Julie Paratian, and Ani Vorskanyan, we...

In Brighton 4th, the Georgian diaspora of Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach (an area known colloquially as “Little Odessa” for its largely East European and Russian communities) provide backdrop to a touching story of father (a former champion wrestler) and son (a decent man with an indecent gambling habit). Equally warm and melancholic with a rich vein of tragicomedy, Brighton is just the second narrative from Levan Koguashvili, a Georgian filmmaker who became toast of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival when Brighton 4th took home the award for Best Film in their “International” selection, as well as Best Actor and Best Screenplay

Brighton 4th was recently announced as Georgia’s submission to the Oscars, selected over more challenging and poetic works from Alexandre Koberidze (What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?) and Déa Kulumbegashvili (Beginning). Koguashvili’s film is clearly the easiest sell, but it is good...

Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has scooped up the Best Film prize at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea Film Festival. The title is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards international feature category this year.

Elsewhere in the festival’s Yusr Awards, Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s title Rupture was the winner for Best Saudi Film while Egyptian title You Resemble Me from director Dina Amer won the Audience Award.

Meanwhile, the jury prize was awarded to Iranian helmer Panah Panahi’s family road trip effort Hit The Road, which also won the Red Sea’s best cinematic contribution award. That title premiered in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. Murad Abu Eisheh’s Tala’Vision nabbed the Best Short award while Haider Rashid won Best Director for his title Europa.

The festival’s selection included 16 features, 18 short films and 21 virtual reality experiences in a celebration of innovative films...

Giuseppe Tornatore was jury president for the inaugural competition featuring 16 features.

Georgian director Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th has won best film at the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival, unfolding in Jeddah from December 6-15.

It follows a raft of prizes for the New York-set father-son drama that world premiered at Tribeca where it won best international feature, actor and screenplay.

There were 16 features from the Middle East and Africa in the inaugural competition.

Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore presided over the main competition jury with Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, Palestinian-American director Cherien Dabis, Morelia...

Levan Koguashvili’s “Brighton 4th” has won best film at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea Film Festival, while Hamzah K. Jamjoom’s “Rupture” won best Saudi film.

“Brighton 4th” is Georgia’s entry in the Academy Awards’ international feature category.

Haider Rashid won best director for “Europa” and Adam Ali won best actor for his role in the film. Arawinda Kirana won best actress for her performance in Kamila Andini’s “Yuni,” which is Indonesia’s entry in the Oscars’ international category.

This year’s jury included: president of the Red Sea features competition, Academy Award-winning Italian director and writer Giuseppe Tornatore; Tunisian actor Hend Sabry; Palestinian-American director, writer, actor, and producer Cherien Dabis; Mexican festival director and founder of the Morelia International Film Festival Daniela Michel; and Saudi film director Abdulaziz Alshlahei. The Red Sea shorts competition jury was headed by Egyptian director Marwan Hamed and joined by...

Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue and that was released theatrically in their respective countries between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021. The shortlist of fifteen finalists is scheduled to be announced on 21 December 2021. The final five nominees are scheduled to be announced on 8 February 2022.

Here are the Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film. There are some excellent movies in this bunch and we have seen and reviewed already some of them.

Armenia

“Should the Wind Drop” by Nora Martirosyan

Azerbaijan

“The Island Within” by Ru Hasanov

Bangladesh

“Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad

Bhutan

“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom...

Brighton 4th was a big winner at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, taking awards for Best International Narrative Feature, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. Shot on location in New York, Kino Lorber’s Oscar hopeful from Georgia tells the story of Kakhi, a former wrestler who travels from his native Tbilisi to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in the hope of helping his wayward son get his life back on track.

Accompanied by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (currently in London shooting James Mangold’s Indiana Jones movie), director Levan Koguashvili revealed that his film was inspired a true story.

“The starting point was a real encounter with a father whom I met while I was a student at NYU film school,” he said. “I was doing research for my first feature, and I spent lots of time in Brighton Beach. I met this father and son; the father had come all the...

Deadline’s Contenders Film: International kicks off this morning, offering up the opportunity to hear from filmmakers who have been making waves around the world in 2021. The second annual event spotlighting international feature films begins at 9 a.m. Pt and will showcase the cream of the crop from this year’s festival awards winners, box office hits and International Feature Oscar hopefuls as the teams behind them discuss their work and inspirations.

Click here to register and watch the livestream.

For Contenders Film: International, we’ve again pivoted to a virtual event, which will boast a robust lineup. In total, talent will appear to discuss 26 titles that will represent their home countries as the official submissions for the International Feature Film category at the 94th Academy Awards. A total of 19 studios, streamers and distributors be on hand with presentations including clips and Q&As moderated by Deadline’s crack crew...

The 25th edition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is about to kick off, and between 12-28 of November the audience will have the oportunity to watch a great number of films from Asia, strewn across festival’s various program sections, including all competition segments. We went through the complete program and counted no more or less than 69 films from the broader Asian region.

Quite surprising is the amount of competition titles in the main selection, with three world premieres, four international. Lu ZHang’s “Yanagawa” will have its European premiere at PÖFF.

Yerzhanov returns to Tallinn a year after he presented two films at the festival, the main competition title “Ulbolsyn” about a woman who comes to a Kazhak village to “steer trouble”, and the oddball comedy “Yellow Cat” screened in the Current Waves program. Kirill Sokolov is also back two years after the premiere of his critically acclaimed...

The Red Sea International Film Festival has set the lineup for its inaugural edition which runs from December 6-15 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The roster includes 138 titles from 67 countries and will open with MGM’s Joe Wright-directed musical romance Cyrano. The film previously played Telluride and Rome among others and releases domestically on December 31. Among highlights are also Netflix’s Venice Film Festival drama The Lost Daughter. Closing the Red Sea Fest is the world premiere of Egyptian director Amr Salama’s Bara El Manhag.

Sixteen films will run in the competition which is focused on films from Asia, Africa and the Arab world (see full list below). They will vie for the Golden Yusr Award as well as in individual directing, acting and writing categories. Among the titles screening are Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon, Georgian Oscar submission Brighton 4th and Panah Panahi’s Hit The Road.

Kaleem Aftab,...

Kakhi (Levan Tediashvili) with his son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze) at Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach in Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th, a Tribeca Film Festival highlight Photo: Kino Iberica

The Tribeca Film Festival International Narrative Competition jury comprised of Alexander Payne, Melissa Leo, Delroy Lindo, Peter Scarlet, and Lesli Klainberg awarded Best Film to Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th, produced by Irakli Rodonaya, Olena Yershova, Michel Merkt, Kateryna Merkt. Best Screenplay went to Boris Frumin, and Best Actor to Levan Tediashvili.

In the first instalment of my conversation with Levan Koguashvili, we discussed his love of Italian Neorealism, working with the amazing Phedon Papamichael, Women from Georgia, Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani, Frédéric Boyer, Sophia Loren in Lady Liberty, Kakhi Kavsadze and when Georgian men sing, and the comedy of cheese.

Levan Koguashvili with Anne-Katrin Titze: “My heart for sure belongs to Italian Neorealism and all those great movies.”

When we first...

The official selection of the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) has been revealed, featuring 32 premieres. Scroll down for the full list of titles.

The fest will open with Zatopek, David Ondříček’s feature about four-time Olympic gold medalist, the runner Emil Zátopek, who is widely regarded as the most popular athlete in Czech Republic’s history. The film will premiere on August 20, 2021 in the Hotel Thermal Grand Hall at the opening night gala. Also screening is Boiling Point, the drama about a restaurant chef starring Stephen Graham.

A retrospective will take place dedicated to the work of The Film Foundation, Martin Scorsese’s non-profit organization established in 1990 dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history, restoring to date more than 900 classic works of cinema. A total of 10 films will be screened at the fest.

In addition to today’s program announcement, a selection of non-competitive strands, featuring notable...

Updated with audience award winners. The Tribeca Festival has announced its Audience Award winners: Catch the Fair One for Best Narrative Feature, Blind Ambition for Best Documentary Feature and Ferguson Rises for Best Online Feature. The winners of the narrative and documentary categories will receive a cash prize of $10,000.

Tribeca’s 20th edition wrapped up on Sunday.

Previously: Lauren Hadaway’s The Novice, about a queer college freshman who joins her university’s rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top boat, has won the Best U.S. Narrative Feature Film prize at the Tribeca Festival.

Star Isabelle Furman won the best actress prize, and Todd Martin took cinematography honors for the film, the first feature for Hadaway, a former competitive rower.

Brighton 4th, directed by Levan Koguashvili, won the fest’s Best International Narrative Feature Film prize, taking that honor as...

“Brighton 4th” tells a gentle, naturalistic story of parental devotion and sacrifice, unfolding mostly in the former Soviet émigré enclave of Brighton Beach, N.Y. The tragicomedy nabbed a trifecta of awards at the recent Tribeca Festival, including best international narrative feature, screenplay and actor. It marks the third fiction outing by Georgian helmer Levan Koguashvili (“Blind Dates”) and follows a former Olympic wrestling champ from Tbilisi who goes to New York to help his adult son get his life back on track. The tender screenplay by Boris Frumin captures characters living in the new world in much the same fashion as they did in the old. It also offers a touching showcase for Levan Tediashvili, a non-professional actor and real-life wrestler. Boutique art-house distributors should take a look at this festival favorite.

A preamble in Tbilisi establishes the main character, Kakhi (Tediashvili), as a kind, even-tempered, nonjudgmental problem solver...

Brighton 4th feels so permeated with the authentic atmosphere of its Brooklyn setting heavily populated with Georgian immigrants that you can practically taste the khinkali (soup dumplings). A slow-burn family drama infused with welcome doses of deadpan dark humor, this third feature from Levan Koguashvili (Street Days, Blind Dates) recently triumphed at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor in the International Narrative competition. Although commercial prospects feel limited for this determinedly arthouse effort, it marks its Georgian director as a filmmaker to watch.

The film benefits greatly from the imposing, quietly dignified presence of ...

Brighton 4th feels so permeated with the authentic atmosphere of its Brooklyn setting heavily populated with Georgian immigrants that you can practically taste the khinkali (soup dumplings). A slow-burn family drama infused with welcome doses of deadpan dark humor, this third feature from Levan Koguashvili (Street Days, Blind Dates) recently triumphed at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor in the International Narrative competition. Although commercial prospects feel limited for this determinedly arthouse effort, it marks its Georgian director as a filmmaker to watch.

The film benefits greatly from the imposing, quietly dignified presence of ...

Ambre (Aurore Déon) and Blanche (Noémie Schmidt) discuss Anish Kapoor’s black in Elisabeth Vogler’s hypnotic and momentous Roaring 20s (Années 20)

The Tribeca Film Festival International Narrative Competition jury comprised of Alexander Payne, Melissa Leo, Delroy Lindo, Peter Scarlet, and Lesli Klainberg, awarded Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature Film to Elisabeth Vogler for Roaring 20s (Années 20) and the film, a highlight of the festival, received a Special Jury Mention for the ensemble cast “for their characters and dialogue both written and improvised seamlessly that provide a portrait timeless and true.” Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th, produced by Irakli Rodonaya, Olena Yershova, Michel Merkt, Kateryna Merkt won Best Film, Best Screenplay to Boris Frumin, and Best Actor to Levan Tediashvili. Best Actress...

The Novice Photo: Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Film Festival has announced the full list of winners for this year's edition. Lauren Hadaway’s The Novice was named best US narrative feature, Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th took home the international feature price and Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension was named best documentary.

Cara Cusumano, festival director and vice president of programming, said: “It’s been a challenging time for filmmakers, storytellers, and actors, and we’re so proud to honour the perseverance and dedication many of them displayed while working through the many obstacles that arose as a result of Covid-19. “Each of these recipients truly embody the spirit of our creative community.”

The full list of film jury winners is below, with audience awards to be announced next week.

US Narrative Competition

The Founders Award for Best Feature Film - The Novice, directed and written by Lauren...

Audience award winners to be announced next week.

The Novice, Brighton 4th, and Ascension have triumphed in the juried awards categories at 2021 Tribeca Festival.

Lauren Hadaway’s The Novice was named best US narrative feature at 2021 Tribeca Festival, while Levan Koguashvili’s Brighton 4th won best international film.

Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension (2014)[/link]Ascension was named best documentary feature in the juried awards. Visit Films holds worldwide rights and is launching sales at the virtual Cannes market next week.

In other awards announced on Thursday (June 17), Isabelle Furman won best actress for The Novice and Matthew Leone was named best actor for...

The Tribeca Festival 2021 has announced the full list of winners for each of its competition categories. Lauren Hadaway’s “The Novice” won for narrative feature, Levan Koguashvili’s “Brighton 4th” won for international feature and Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension” won for documentary feature.

Awards were given out for the following competition categories: U.S. narrative, international narrative, documentary, short films, immersive, the Nora Ephron award and the first-ever podcast and games categories.

“It’s been a challenging time for filmmakers, storytellers, and actors, and we’re so proud to honor the perseverance and dedication many of them displayed while working through the many obstacles that arose as a result of Covid-19,” Cara Cusumano, festival director and vice president of programming, said in a statement. “Each of these recipients truly embody the spirit of our creative community.”

The winners of the audience awards, which are determined by audience votes throughout the festival,...

The 20th annual Tribeca Festival has announced the winners in the competition categories at this year’s awards ceremony out of Spring Studios in New York City. Awards were given in the following competition categories: U.S. Narrative, International Narrative, Documentary; Short Films, Immersive, the Nora Ephron Award, and the first-ever Podcast and Games categories. For the first time ever, Italian eyewear brand Persol presented the award to the 2021 Best Actor, U.S. Narrative, recipient.

The Festival, which had the honor of welcoming back in-person audiences, concludes on June 20.

The top honors in feature films went to “The Novice,” “Brighton 4th,” and “Ascension.”

Chanel James and Taylor Garron won the Nora Ephron Award and a $25,000 prize for “As of Yet.” The award, created nine years ago, honors a female writer or director embodying the late filmmaker.

“It’s been a challenging time for filmmakers, storytellers, and actors, and we’re...

Reflective and stoic, sometimes to a fault, Levan Koguashvili’s film “Brighton 4th” explores the hyper-masculine world of Georgian wrestlers and gamblers in Brooklyn. Featuring a ruminative performance by former Olympic wrestler Lavan Tediashvili, as Kakhi, who travels from Tbilisi to Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach to see his son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze), and try to dig him out a gambling debt, Koguashvili’s film is strongest when focusing on the eclectic immigrants that populate Brighton Beach, as well as Soso’s boarding house.

Continue reading ‘Brighton 4th’: Ruminative Character Study Explores The Georgian Community In Brighton Beach [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.

Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, starring Benicio Del Toro and Don Cheadle is the Centerpiece Gala selection of the 20th anniversary Tribeca Film Festival

The World Premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, starring Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and David Harbour, with Ray Liotta and Jon Hamm is the Centerpiece Gala selection of the 20th anniversary Tribeca Film Festival, and Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s documentary on Dave Chappelle will have its World Premiere at Radio City Music Hall as the Closing Night event. Jon M Chu’s adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights is the Opening Night selection.

Frédéric Boyer with Anne-Katrin Titze on Shariff Korver’s Do Not Hesitate: “In this film there is something I have never seen.”

Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer shared his thoughts on Shariff Korver’s Do Not Hesitate; Adam Leon’s Italian Studies, starring...

Tribeca Film Festival’s Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer (in Paris) with Anne-Katrin Titze (in New York) agrees with Frances McDormand’s Oscar speech: “We have to teach a young generation to see a film on a big screen.”

Tribeca Film Festival’s Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer is always a good person to talk cinema. We covered in our conversation the Opening Night selection, Jon M Chu’s adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights; Mariem Pérez Riera’s Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For It; Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show; Andrew Gaynord’s All My Friends Hate Me with Tom Stourton; Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm’s A-ha the Movie; Thomas Daneskov’s Wild Men; Shariff Korver’s Do Not Hesitate; Adam Leon’s Italian Studies, starring Vanessa Kirby; Morgan Neville’s Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain; Warwick Ross...

Among European titles are films by Elisabeth Vogler, Levan Koguashvili, Thomas Daneskov, Shariff Korver and Max Eriksson. Yesterday, the Tribeca Film Festival revealed its 2021 line-up. This year’s selection includes 66 films spanning three competitive strands. 56 of these titles are world premieres. The festival will run from 9-20 June in a hybrid form, comprising in-person events at outdoor venues across all five boroughs of New York. The gathering will be opened by the world premiere of Jon M Chu’s In the Heights, based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stage musical of the same name. The International Feature Competition includes a few European films. Roaring 20’s by French filmmaker Elisabeth Vogler (Netflix title Paris Is Us) gives viewers the chance not only to travel to Paris, but to live a day in the life there during the Covid-19 pandemic, in a single unbroken shot. Brighton 4th (Bulgaria/Georgia/Monaco/Russia/United States), the new film by.

Anna Nemes and Laszlo Csuja’s female body building drama won award worth $50,000.

Hungarian writer-directors Anna Nemes and Laszlo Csuja’s female body building drama Gentle Monster has scooped the top prize $50,000 prize at the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel International Film Lab (Jsfl).Beauty of the Beast (2022)[/link]

A total of 12 feature projects hailing from Brazil, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Georgia and Israel participated in the eighth edition of the eight-month lab.

The awards were handed out at the end of a final wrap up session in Jerusalem, running July 4-8, at which participants pitched their projects to a jury of industry professionals.

Gentle Monster revolves around...