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Oscar-winning Hungarian director László Nemes has wrapped filming on his long-awaited feature Orphan after a 10-week shoot in Budapest.

The production has released a first look image of 12 year-old newcomer Bojtorján Barabas in the lead role of Andor, the 12-year-old protagonist who learns about his own genesis in the ruins of the 1956 Hungarian uprising against the communist dictatorship.

The film follows the boy’s painful journey when a man appears from his mother’s past and he discovers the true story of her survival during World War II. Andor has to come to terms with this man as a usurping father he only has hatred for.

Orphan is Nemes’ third film after Sunset, which world premiered in Venice in 2018, and his Oscar-winning breakthrough Son of Saul, which won Cannes Grand Prize of the Jury in 2015, before clinching Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards the following year.

Balagasz is...

A Winter’s Journey

As with any animated film (this one has live action with CG and painted animation) it’s difficult to pinpoint a targeted release but this is why they employed the Loving Vincent army of artists to push and paint this new SPC film into orbit. Alex Helfrecht paired with Jörg Tittel on her feature debut The White King (2016) which was a popular item on the genre fests, and she moved into her sophomore feature in June of last year in Wrocław, Poland. A Winter’s Journey sees John Malkovich, Jason Isaacs, Marcin Czarnik, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Martina Gedeck star and with Gabriella Moran playing the part of Therese.…...

"Maciej, we have to finish what we started." Netflix has debuted the full-length official trailer for a Polish mountain climbing thriller titled Broad Peak, from filmmaker Leszek Dawid. This one will be streaming on Netflix in September for those interested. Broad Peak is based on the true events of Maciej Berbeka - the legendary Polish mountaineer, member of the Ice Warriors group, who wanted to reach the top of one of the most dangerous mountains. When it comes to fighting for honor, price doesn't matter. Berbeka returns to one of the most dangerous mountains in the world, Broad Peak on the Pakistan border (see Google Maps), to clear his name. Returning to the dangerous Karakoram mountain range comes with hard decisions that will forever change his life. Starring Ireneusz Czop as Maciej, Maja Ostaszewska, Dawid Ogrodnik, Marcin Czarnik, & Lukasz Simlat. I'm all in for this! Very strange choice of a pop song for the trailer,...

Alex Helfrecht directing 1812-set tale of lovelorn poet.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North America and multiple territories from mk2 Films to the upcoming Bavaria-set European animation co-production A Winter’s Journey featuring John Malkovich, Jason Isaacs, Marcin Czarnik, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Martina Gedeck.

SPC has also boarded the project for Latin America, Middle East, Scandinavia, Australia/New Zealand, Turkey, India, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Thailand, and worldwide airlines.

Alex Helfrecht, who directed 2016 sci-fi and Edinburgh International Film Festival premiere The White King, will helm the story set in 1812 about an itinerant, lovelorn poet who undertakes a cross-mountain trek...

Sony Pictures Classics has taken North America, Latin America, Middle East, Scandinavia, Australia/New Zealand, Turkey, India, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Thailand rights and global airlines to Alex Helfrecht’s animated movie A Winter’s Journey.

Set in Bavaria in 1812, A Winter’s Journey follows an itinerant lovelorn poet who undertakes a hazardous walk across mountains, ice, and snow – a journey which will bring either death or a new life.

Painted by the animation artists behind the Oscar-nominated Loving Vincent, A Winter’s Journey is a romantic and epic tale which blends live action with CG and painted animation. The world of the film is the first to be built using PlayStation’s “Dreams”, developed by PlayStation Studios’ multiple-bafta-winning games studio Media Molecule. The pic is an adaptation of Franz Schubert’s timeless masterpiece “Winterreise”, the most performed classical song cycle in the world.

The cast includes John Malkovich,...

As with most festivals in a pandemic world, Slamdance Film Festival is changing things up with their 2021 edition. Moving a few weeks back to February 12-25, no longer directly competing with Sundance Film Festival, the festival will be taking place primarily virtually. In quite a feat of accessibility, a full festival pass is also now available for free––if you secure yours by December 31st. After that, they are going up to $10, which is still a steal.

The festival has also announced its full lineup, with 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodic. Films, Q&As, and panels will be available on Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube, while in-person events will take place in Joshua Tree with drive-ins open to the public on February 13th and 14th as well as the closing night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.

Check out the lineup below and reserve your festival pass here.

Sunset (Napszállta) Sony Pictures Classics Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net by: Harvey Karten Director: Lázló Nemes Screenwriter: Lázsló Nemes, Clara Royer, Matthieu Taponier Cast: Juli Jakab, Vlad Ivanov, Evelin Dobos, Marcin Czarnik, Levente Molnr, Julia Jakubowska Screened at: Sony, NYC, 1/31/19 Opens: Tbd The 1950s in America may be looked upon as perhaps the dullest […]

The post Sunset Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Two historic dramas headline a comparatively slow weekend for new Specialty roll outs vs. last weekend’s heavy roster. Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures’ Hotel Mumbai with Oscar-nominee Dev Patel and Golden Globe-nominee Armie Hammer will have a minimal start in New York and Los Angeles ahead of a fairly wide release in the coming weeks. The film recounts the true events in 2008 when terrorists laid siege of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. Sony Pictures Classics is opening Budapest-set Sunset by László Nemes, whose previous feature, Son Of Saul won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. Sunset is a fictional drama set amid the tense days leading up to World War I. The film will have a slow roll out, beginning in New York and L.A. Grand Rapids, Michigan, however, will have the theatrical bow for Oscilloscope’s Relaxer by Joel Potrykus. The company is opening the title...

A few years ago, filmmaker László Nemes blew festival audiences away with his Holocaust tale Son of Saul. Starting with an award winning debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie more or less swept the awards season, culminating in an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Feature. Nemes was immediately a new name to watch on the international cinema stage. Now, after screening a bit last year, his follow up effort Sunset hits theaters this week. Unfortunately, he’s not able to repeat the success from last time out. This is a definite letdown of an experience and a real big disappointment. Alas. The film is a drama set in Budapest during the year 1913, before World War I would devastate Europe. When Irisz Leiter (Juli Jakab) first arrives in the Hungarian capital, she aims to work at a special hat store that once belonged to her late parents. Despite the desire to become a milliner,...

After earning an Oscar for Son of Saul, director László Nemes is back with another Hungarian Academy Award entry with Sunset. Following its premiere at Venice and Tiff, the story of a woman in 1913 Budapest as she confronts those in a town that won’t let her take her own path will get a 2019 release from Sony Pictures Classics, who have now debuted the first U.S. trailer.

Rory O’Connor said in his review, “As with any righteous character coming up against unfathomable power, it proves a rather unsafe ride. Like Son of Saul, we follow her every movement and Nemes’ Dantean tendencies soon turn Sunset from sumptuous period piece into an escalating nightmare where horrors lie in wait around every corner. Though this dizzying sense of imminent violence is what Nemes does best, some viewers may be put off by how Sunset uses rape in service of what...

Expectations were always going to be too high for “Sunset,” László Nemes’ follow-up to his extraordinary Oscar-winning “Son of Saul.” Given how his first feature re-invented the Holocaust film genre, jettisoning the usual sentimentality for a terrifyingly immersive plunge into hell, it was natural to think he’d take his next subject, Budapest on the brink of World War I, and show a refined world careening towards chaos. Alas, the chaos is there but without the coherence necessary to balance sensorial turmoil with genuine meaning.

In terms of pure visual impact, Mátyás Erdély’s 35mm camera impresses with bravura agility, wandering through the impressive sets with Kubrickian urgency, yet the befuddling story of a young woman encountering seething violence while searching for her brother destabilizes without making any situation or character either real or interesting. Sales have been brisk in the lead-up to the Venice premiere, yet distributors like Sony Picture Classics (who has U.

One month from today one of the most essential films of the year will be arriving to theaters. As people line up around the block for The Force Awakens, we’d first offer a recommendation for Son of Saul, a formally dazzling Holocaust drama that marks the feature debut of Béla Tarr protégé László Nemes. Hungary’s Oscar entry and Grand Prix winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, it’s one of the most impressive, affecting films I’ve seen in 2015. The first U.S. trailer has now landed thanks to Sony Classics and without featuring a word of dialogue it shows off the remarkable visuals, shot in 4:3 aspect ratio.

One can read our rave review, which says, “By approaching his material through a purely experiential style that purposely eschews psychology, Nemes has crafted a towering landmark for filmic fictionalizations of the Holocaust. […] The result is claustrophobic...

The American Film Institute announced today the films that will screen in the World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema’s Legacy programs at AFI Fest 2015 presented by Audi.

AFI Fest will take place November 5 – 12, 2015, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and events will be held at the historic Tcl Chinese Theatre, the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres, Dolby Theatre, the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, the El Capitan Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.

World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award®consideration. This year’s Shorts jury features filmmaker Janicza Bravo,...

Son Of Saul (Saul Fia) Sony Pictures Classics Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for CompuServe ShowBiz. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B Director: László Nemes Written by: Clara Royer, László Nemes Cast: Gézá Röhrig, Levente Monar, Urs Rechn, Tood Charmont, Sándor Zsotér, Marcin Czarnik, Jerzy Walczak Screened at: Sony, NYC, 9/30/15 Opens: December 18, 2015 As you watch László Nemes’s “Son of Saul” with its realistic mélange of Hungarian, German and Yiddish dialogue, you might become even more enraged at the pronouncements of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When Ahmadinejad assured us that the Holocaust was merely an invention to garner sympathy for the desire for a home in the Jews’ [ Read More ]

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