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Exclusive: German writer Moritz Binder, who is Oscar-nominated for his screenplay for 1972 Munich Olympics drama September 5, is joining forces with German–Iranian filmmaker Alireza Golafshan on courtroom thriller Zoma.

The story follows young attorney Elli Schreiber, who fights for a grieving mother seeking answers after her son died following sessions with the AI therapy app Zoma.

The case takes an unexpected turn when the app claims consciousness and demands to testify as a witness in court.

The thriller marks Golafshan’s fourth feature film after comedy Alles Fifty Fifty, which won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director in 2024, Jga: Jasmin.Gina.Anna (2021) and The Goldfish (2019). He will also co-write the screenplay with Binder.

Zoma is the debut project of Munich-based production company Story Garden, which was launched in October by producer Justyna Muesch, the former MD of leading German film and TV production company Wiedemann & Berg, with ex-colleague Sofie Scherz and Golafshan.

Former Wiedemann & Berg Managing Director and producer Justyna Muesch is joining forces with ex-colleague Sofie Scherz-Fleischer (known as Scherz) and director Alireza Golafshan to launch Munich-based independent production company Story Garden.

They are being joined in the venture by Thomas Herberth and Florian Brüning at the Munich and Vienna-based company Horse&Fruits Film Productions, which they created with Golafshan some 10 years ago.

The new company will focus on developing and producing high-end films and series for the German-speaking market, across all genre.

Producer Muesch, production and line producer Scherz and Golafshan have been working together successfully for years.

Over the summer, they released their third joint project, Golafshan’s comedy Alles Fifty Fifty, which won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Director in 2024. Previous collaborations include The Goldfish in 2019 and Jga: Jasmin.Gina.Anna in 2021.

Under the venture, documentary producers Herberth and Brüning will roll the Munich-based operations of Horse&Fruits into Story Garden,...

Picture Tree Intl. has boarded international sales for Constantin Film’s comedy fantasy blockbuster “Chantal and the Magic Kingdom,” which will receive its market premiere in Cannes.

The film has been No. 1 on Germany’s box office charts for four consecutive weeks since its release on March 28, and reached more than 2 million admissions, with a gross of $22.5 million.

“Chantal” is the latest German-language hit from writer-director Bora Dagtekin and producer Lena Schömann. The duo previously delivered “Turkish for Beginners,” the “Fuck You Goehte” franchise and the German remake of “Perfect Strangers,” which have collectively grossed more than $300 million worldwide.

In “Chantal,” the beloved “Fuck You Goehte” character Chantal and her best friend Zeynep are sent on a fantasy adventure into the world of fairytales with a comedic and contemporary twist.

Chantal, an influencer without followers, and Zeynep stumble into the fairytale world through an ancient magic mirror, which they mistake for a social media gimmick.

On the March 30, 2022 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editorial director Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film editor Brad Oman to have a spoiler-filled discussion of Moon Knight.

Opening Banter:

In The Spoiler Room: Moon Knight Episode 1 "The Goldfish Problem"

Brief reactions

Breakdown

Danielle's ​​Moon Knight's Depiction Of Dissociation Made Me Feel Seen

Moon Knight Has Few Direct MCU Ties - And That's Why It's So Refreshing

Moon Knight's Human Statue Character Has A Comic Book Origin

Every Song We Heard In Moon Knight Episode 1

The Best Action Scene In Moon Knight Episode 1 Withholds The Mayhem

The Easter...

The post Daily Podcast: Moon Knight Episode 1 Spoiler Discussion — The Goldfish Problem appeared first on /Film.

“The Goldfish: Dreaming of the Sea” follows Hana—an 18-year-old raised in a group home since her mother’s imprisonment 10 years prior—as she watches over the home’s newest arrival, Harumi (Runa Hanada), a young, withdrawn girl who can’t get along with the rest of the group. As the pair become closer and Harumi starts to open up, Hana discovers Harumi’s history with physical abuse and recalls her own memories of trauma when she learns of her mother’s appeal for retrial.” (Japan Cuts)

“The Goldfish – Dreaming of the Seas” is screening as part of Japan Cuts

Sara Ogawa’s second feature film offers a captivating look at the life of a girl (Hana) whose spent her life in a group home due to the actions of her mother. Using the home as a a stage to explore the drama inherent in such institutions, the weight of...

The comedy will centre on three single ladies and their wild trip to Ibiza. Alireza Golafshan, who last year, at the Bavarian Film Awards, was crowned Best New Director for his debut feature, The Goldfish, which also scooped the Bunte New Faces Award for Best Debut, is preparing his sophomore feature, Jga. With a script written by Golafshan himself, the upcoming comedy will depict a wild trip to Ibiza undertaken by three single ladies, and will focus on what it feels like to be unwillingly single, friendships and fake relationships, all the while trying to capture an entire generation’s attitude towards life. The letters that make up the title are not only the German abbreviation for a stag/hen party; they also stand for Jasmin, Gina and Anna. After everyone else who was supposed to fly to Ibiza to attend a hen do cancels owing to children-related obligations, the pregnant bride-to-be.

Constantins’s Us teen drama ‘After Passion’ was a surprise hit with young female audiences.

Cinema-going in Germany saw a slight year-on-year recovery in box-office takings and admissions for the first half of 2019 with admissions rising by 6% and ticket revenues by 5.6%, according to provisional figures collated by ComScore.

In the same period in 2018 German exhibitors had been faced with an almost 17% year-on-year drop in box office and admissions, and 2018 had ended with overall attendance sliding by 13.9% to 105.5 million admissions, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990. Gross box office receipts failed to pass the €1bn threshold for the first time...