News

Australian indie horror director Sean Byrne has a new shark attack film that has struck global distribution deals. Dubbed a "shark-meets-serial-killer" movie, the film will see a shark-obsessed serial killer (Suicide Squad's Jai Courtney) abduct a free-spirited surfer named Zephyr, played by Hassie Harrison (Yellowstone). He takes her out to sea in a boat, where she has to figure out how to escape before he "ritualistically feeds her to the sharks below," according to the plot. Joining the cast is Josh Heuston (Dune: Prophecy), who will play Zephyr's boyfriend, Moses. It sounds like a clever plot.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the film was shot last year on the Gold Coast of Australia, and was written by newcomer, Nick Lepard, who also wrote Keeper, Osgood Perkins' new film following The Monkey. The majority of the theatrical rights to the international market have already been sold by Mister Smith Entertainment.

Meanwhile,...

Adam Green is best known for directing three of the four films that make up the Hatchet slasher franchise, but many fans feel that his best movie is actually the 2010 survival thriller Frozen. And while we’re anxiously waiting to hear when Hatchet 5 is going to go into production, it was welcome news when it was announced last week that Green is taking a step back into Frozen territory to helm a survival thriller called Ascent. Now, Deadline reports that the film’s cast includes Inanna Sarkis (Marked Men), Gregg Sulkin (Six Triple Eight), Timothy Granaderos (13 Reasons Why), and Paris Berelc (Alexa & Katie).

When the project was first announced, it was under the title The Ascent, but it seems the “The” has been dropped. The first announcement also referred to the film as a shark thriller, providing the following synopsis: A group of friends arrive in Europe for a glamorous but daring destination wedding.

Shark movies are a breed of their own. Ever since Steven Spielberg turned many people off beach holidays, filmmakers have constantly attempted to keep the fear of sharks alive, with varying results. From the simple premise of Open Water, to the bonkers insanity of Sharknado and its many sequels, spinoffs and ripoffs, there is no denying that shark movies have their own place in the world. Now Frozen (not that one) and Hatchet director Adam Green is about to make everyone afraid to go to a wedding.

As reported by Deadline, The Ascent is described as following “a group of friends who arrive in Europe for a glamorous but daring destination wedding. The fun and games turn into a nightmare when they find themselves precariously suspended above shark-infested waters and in a battle for survival.” All sounds plausible and standard stuff, right?

The film is set to be the first...

Adam Green is best known for directing three of the four films that make up the Hatchet slasher franchise, but many fans feel that his best movie is actually the 2010 survival thriller Frozen. And while we’re anxiously waiting to hear when Hatchet 5 is going to go into production, it makes the wait a little easier to know that Green is taking a step back into Frozen territory to helm a survival thriller called The Ascent. While Frozen had its characters in danger of being eaten by wolves, The Ascent is going to be putting its characters in a dangerous situation involving sharks.

Deadline reports that Addam Bramich, Ryan Hamilton, and Volodymyr Artemenko’s production banner Simple House Films is launching an international sales arm, headed up by Anastazja Bankowska, at the European Film Market this year, and the first project on Bankowska’s slate is The Ascent, which will...

The director of horror films including the Hatchet franchise, Digging Up the Marrow, and the chilly survival nightmare Frozen (2010), Adam Green is set to direct his first feature in eight years with The Ascent, being described as a survival thriller… with sharks!

Deadline details, “The picture follows a group of friends who arrive in Europe for a glamorous but daring destination wedding. The fun and games turn into a nightmare when they find themselves precariously suspended above shark infested waters and in a battle for survival.”

The Ascent is the first project on a new international sales slate from the production banner Simple House Films, run by Addam Bramich, Ryan Hamilton and Volodymyr Artemenko.

Deadline’s report notes that another survival thriller titled Zipline is in the works at Simple House Films. Ioan Gruffudd (Bad Boys: Ride or Die), Ross Butler (Shazam!), Holland Roden (Teen Wolf) and Sonia Ammar (The Equalizer 3) star,...

Exclusive: Addam Bramich, Ryan Hamilton and Volodymyr Artemenko’s production banner Simple House Films is launching an international sales arm at the EFM.

The new division is headed by Anastazja Bankowska, who recently served as Global Sales Executive at Kino Swiat, the leading Polish distributor and Canal+ Group subsidiary, and had held senior positions overseeing international sales at broadcasting, production, and distribution companies for the last two decades.

The first title on her slate is survival thriller The Ascent by director Adam Green.

The picture follows a group of friends who arrive in Europe for a glamorous but daring destination wedding.

The fun and games turn into a nightmare when they find themselves precariously suspended above shark infested waters and in a battle for survival.

“We are thrilled to have a platform to produce and deliver important stories to audiences and work with talented and creative individuals across the industry,...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Film Forum

Michael Roemer’s Dying and Pilgrim, Farewell, screen (watch our exclusive trailer debut); AI: From Metropolis to Ex Machina continues; a print of The Music Man screens on Sunday.

Anthology Film Archives

Wandering Women features films by Barbara Loden, Sembène, Ken Loach, Masao Adachi and more.

IFC Center

Eraserhead, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Mulholland Dr., and Inland Empire all screen; the classic rock doc Dig! returns with an extended recut Seven and Jennifer’s Body show late.

Roxy Cinema

Fat City screens on 35mm this Saturday alongside the return of City Dudes; Brick plays Friday.

Museum of Modern Art

A major highlight of any filmgoing year, To Save and Project continues.

Museum of the Moving Image

See It Big! Let It Snow brings The Shining, Larisa Shepitko’s The Ascent, and a 35mm print of The Gold Rush...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Roxy Cinema

Fat City screens on 35mm this Sunday, as does a 16mm puppets program; restorations of Santa Sangre and Amadeus play Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Museum of Modern Art

A major highlight of any filmgoing year, To Save and Project continues, with Anthony Mann’s Jimmy Stewart-starring Bend of the River screening Friday.

Film Forum

AI: From Metropolis to Ex Machina continues, featuring a rare 35mm showing of Thx 1138, Gog in 3D, and RoboCop; The Iron Giant screens on Sunday.

IFC Center

The classic rock doc Dig! returns with an extended recut; a Donald Sutherland retrospective continues; Seven, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battle Royale, and The Lost Boys show late.

Anthology Film Archives

Blackout 1973 features films by Sembène, Mambéty and more; Essential Cinema hosts two Georges Méliès programs.

Museum of the Moving Image

See It Big! Let It...

Exclusive: Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, has landed rights to The Ascent, the debut novel of police officer and sergeant turned author Adam Plantinga, in a highly competitive situation.

Sources tell Deadline that a pair of prominent directors were taking meetings to set the book up at various studios before Universal stepped in with a preemptive bid and enlisted Davis Entertainment, its collaborator on shows like The Blacklist and The Equalizer, to executive produce the series adaptation. Usg’s Creative Acquisitions and IP Management team, led by Jordan Moblo, was instrumental in securing rights to the novel.

Garnering critical acclaim in its publication last month through Grand Central, The Ascent centers on Kurt Argento, an ex-Detroit street cop who can’t let injustice go — and has the fighting skills to back up his idealism. If he sees a young girl being dragged into an alley, he’s...

An American filmmaker, Steven Spielberg has several high-quality and well-known films under his belt, like Jaws (1975) and Jurassic Park (1993). He's dabbled in various genres throughout the years, making several historical dramas and even a few fantasy films. He's arguably the greatest director to ever work in science fiction, thanks to movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Minority Report (2002), and more.

But from 1941 (1979) and Empire of the Sun (1987) to Saving Private Ryan (1998) and War Horse (2011), this director has also mastered the art of war films. And while he's the most popular name to do so — he's arguably the most famous filmmaker, in general — plenty of other directors throughout cinema history have perfected the war genre. Their work is entirely worth noting before delving into the greatness of Steven Spielberg.

Other Directors Known for Their War Films

Off the bat, there's one name most prominently worth...

Although the conflict ceased nearly 80 years ago, society's fascination with World War II remains as steadfast as ever. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is the latest World War II-era film, causing significant intrigue across the cinematic landscape.

Hollywood has been churning out classic World War II movies ever since the war began in 1939. However, since World War II was a global affair, many countries other than the United States have produced seminal works about the conflict. Italy, France, Japan, Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union are all responsible for some of cinema's best international World War II films.

Related: 10 Great War Movies That Focus On The Losers

The Ascent (1977)

As was the case with many of the Soviet Union's greatest filmmakers, Larisa Shepitko found it extraordinarily difficult to gain permission to direct films under the strict censorship of the Soviet Union's State Committee for Cinematography. Several of her early films were either censored or banned,...

This article is brought to you by Fanatical.

As part of their annual Bundlefest event, Fanatical have launched a wide range of gaming bundles for both Steam gamers and VR fans.

Building that Steam library has never been better. Whether selecting from Aaa titles to Steam Deck verified games or grabbing a great title for just £1/$1, Fanatical’s store offers only fully approved keys that are easily redeemed on the Steam platform. But hurry, stock will only last so long.

From bundles for just a dollar to VR collections, you are bound to find something to love and purchase! Here is every bundle released over the course of BundleFest:

Killer Bundle 26

The Killer Bundle still remains one of the most beloved bundles we offer! We’re up to the 26th one already. Not only will you be taking a whopping 24 games home with you, but you’ll also find some...

Plimsoll Productions, the prominent company specialized in wildlife and natural history programming now owned by ITV Studios, is bolstering its top management ranks.

The announcement follows the recent acquisition of Plimsoll by U.K. broadcaster ITV in a deal that valued the company at £130 million ($160 million).

The prolific U.K. outfit – which is coming off its busiest year ever with 20 shows in production, including National Geographic series “The Ascent” with Alex Honnold – has promoted Jonathan Jackson, its former chief financial officer, to the role of COO, alongside his CFO role, while production executive Lucy Bilson has been elevated to head of production.

Jackson joined Plimsoll four years ago after serving as group managing director at U.K. distributor Drg (now rebranded as Nent Studios), where he boosted growth. He has also held senior financial roles at BBC Studios and Channel 4. Jackson, who will continue to report directly to Plimsoll CEO and founder Grant Mansfield,...

Exclusive: Scott Free Productions has come aboard to produce an film adaptation of the bestselling book The Infinite Machine, from cryptocurrency journalist Camila Russo.

Written with the verve of such works as The Big Short, The History of the Future and The Spider Network, here is the fascinating, Russo’s book charts the rise of Ethereum, the second-biggest digital asset in the world, the growth of cryptocurrency, and the future of the internet as we know it.

The story of Ethereum begins with Vitalik Buterin, a gifted 19-year-old autodidact who saw the promise of blockchain when the technology was in its earliest stages. He convinced a crack group of coders to join him in his quest to make a super-charged, global computer.

The film will be written for the screen and directed by Shyam Madiraju, with Ridley Scott, Tom Moran and Vera Meyer of Scott Free producing alongside Alejandro Miranda of Versus Entertainment.

Exclusive: Scott Free Productions has optioned the rights to the acclaimed thriller Outside from bestselling Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson for feature adaptation. Commercial director Henrik Hansen from Scott’s Rsa Films is in talks to direct the project.

The novel will be released April 28 in the UK and stateside in June.

The story follows four friends seeking shelter in a small abandoned hunting lodge during a deadly Icelandic storm. Miles from help, and knowing they will die outside in the cold, they break open the lock and make their way inside, hoping to wait out the storm until morning. But nothing can prepare them for what they find behind the door.

Ridley Scott, Tom Moran, and Vera Meyer of Scott Free Productions will produce alongside Leifur Dagfinnsson and Kristinn Thordarson of Truenorth Productions.

“Working with Ridley Scott, one of the great visionaries of cinema, is an immense honor,” said Jónasson.

While I understand why some have called 2021 a “slow” year for video games (the challenges of developing during the Covid-19 pandemic delayed numerous games and clearly impacted the quality of others), a quick look at the sheer number of underrated games that managed to sneak under the radar this year reveals how deep the modern gaming industry really is.

While it’s understanable that the average gamer doesn’t have nearly enough time or money to play every game they might enjoy even during a “slow” year, there’s alawys been something sad about the idea that there are games out there that you might absolutely fall in love with but may never even hear about simply becasue there is only so much time in the day.

There are dozens of such games that deserve a bigger share of the spotlight than they ultimately got, but these are 15 of the...

While 2020 was a landmark year for the gaming industry thanks to the release next-gen consoles and PC graphics cards, there are plenty of exciting new games to play 2021. From highly-anticipated sequels like Halo Infinite and Resident Evil Village to brand-new experiences such as New World and Deathloop, there are plenty of titles to try.

We’ve curated a list of the 2021 games we absolutely loved, as well as the upcoming ones we’re most excited about, including big Aaa blockbusters and imaginative indie titles. Keep in mind that we’ve only included games that at the very least have a vague “2021” release window attached, which is why we’re not including games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel or Final Fantasy XVI. We’ll of course update this article as new 2021 titles are announced.

Here’s what you have to look forward to this year:

Age...

Snes games might not be much to look at now, but in many ways, they were a massive improvement over any console games that came before. Snes developers could create massive worlds with detailed sprites that actually looked like what they were intended to represent. New advances in technology also meant that games could take their first real steps toward becoming the kinds of cinematic experiences we arguably take for granted today. And while 4 Mb wasn’t even a ton of storage even space back then, it was still more than enough to fit an impressive script for a 40-hour story.

In short, the Snes was almost perfectly set up to be the home for RPGs. While the console RPG scene was still finding its footing at the time of the Super Nintendo’s release, many developers were more than willing to dip their toes into the genre to see...

Hot games summer continued to unfold at E3’s all-virtual 2021 event, with Nintendo, Ubisoft and more unveiling exciting details for their highly-anticipated titles.

On the tails Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest Kick Off Live!, E3 gave little to no news for video-game inspired TV and Film titles but offered gamers a wealth of updates on projects ranging from Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, inspired by James Cameron’s sci-fi film franchise, to Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel.

See a recap of the gaming event’s most notable announcements and presentations below.

Ubisoft

On Saturday Ubisoft took the E3 virtual stage to boast a number of upcoming titles including Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction, Rainbow Six Seige and a 20th anniversary celebration of Ghost Recon. The French gaming company unveiled updates for Assassins Creed: Valhalla, a first look at Sam Richardson in Mishna Wolff...

Ukrainan-born filmmaker Larisa Shepitko attended famed Russian cinematography school Vgik, where she was a protoge of Alexander Dovzhenko (Earth) and peer of Andrei Tarkovsky and Elem Klimov (Come And See), whom she married and collaborated with. Out this week from Criterion is Shepitko's last fully finished film, The Ascent. Long lauded by fellow filmmakers, critics, and fans, this 1977 black and white parable was infused with religious parallels, not just from the book from which it was adapted, but by Shepitko herself, who was impassioned to make the film. Completing any film requires an insane amount of fortitude, but if Shepitko were to be...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Respawn Entertainment has just released the launch trailer for Apex Legends Season 7, confirming several leaks in the process, including the long-awaited arrival of an all-new map.

As teased earlier this month, World’s Edge, on the verge of total collapse due to continued experiments conducted by Hammond Robotics, has forced the Apex Games and all of its participants to relocate elsewhere. Rather than head back to Kings Canyon, however, Mirage, Rampart, Pathfinder and their fellow competitors have emerged from warp space on the floating settlement of Olympus. This idyllic utopia doesn’t stay pristine-looking for long, however, as no sooner do the aforementioned trio arrive, is their drop-ship shot down by a building-sized rail gun.

Swiftly introducing herself to the crew, Season 7 newcomer Horizon makes quick work of an attacking team, showcasing her various abilities in the process, including what’s presumed to be her previously leaked ultimate – a gravity...

Respawn announced today that Ascension, the seventh season for the hit battle royale Apex Legends, is set to start on November 4 and, along with it, a new map and new Legend to play as. Players got their first look at Horizon and her robotic companion N.E.W.T. in the latest Stories from the Outlands trailer. […]

The post Say Hello to Horizon, the Latest Legend to Join Apex: Legends in Season 7 appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..

With a new month quickly approaching, it’s time to look ahead and see what’s coming to all your favorite streaming services this November. That’s Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and, of course, HBO Max.

Halloween will soon be behind us and given that Christmas isn’t too far off, we’re beginning to see some holiday titles pop up, with all the major platforms getting into the festive spirit. That’ll continue in December as well, of course, but for November, there’s certainly tons on offer for those looking to start the celebrations early.

There’s a lot of other great stuff on the way, too, though, be it classic films, underrated gems, brand new releases and much more, and you can check out the entire lineup, sorted by date, down below. Ready to dive in?

November 1

Netflix

60 Days In: Season 5

A...

The Criterion Collection will be heralding in 2021 with a mix of new and old. First up, Bing Liu’s stellar documentary Minding the Gap will be joining the collection, as will another documentary, Martin Scorsese’s playful Rolling Thunder Revue. Also arriving is a three-film Luis Buñuel box set focusing on his late career, featuring The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Phantom of Liberty, and That Obscure Object of Desire. Larisa Shepitko’s final, harrowing feature The Ascent will also be getting a release.

Check out the cover art and special features below, and see more on Criterion’s website.

New high-definition digital master, approved by director Bing Liu, with 5.1 surround DTS-hd Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-rayNew audio commentary featuring Liu and documentary subjects Keire Johnson and Zack MulliganNew follow-up conversation between Liu and documentary subject Nina BowgrenNew programs featuring interviews with professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and with Liu,...

Brian Eno has collected highlights from his soundtrack work over the past 40 years — some familiar, some hard-to-find — for the producer and ambient music pioneer’s new collection Film Music 1976-2020.

The compilation is a sequel of sorts to Eno’s 1978 EP Music for Films — as well as its follow-up installments in 1983 and 1988 — and bridges his film work from 1976’s Sebastiane (“Final Sunset”) through 2020’s Stewart Brand documentary We Are As Gods.

While some of the Film Music 1976-2020 selections are well-known (Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks’ “Deep Blue Day” and “An Ending...

"What was our mission?" Samuel Goldwyn Films has debuted the official trailer for an indie action horror called Black Ops, which is the new release title – it's also known as The Ascent or Stairs. This originally premiered at Frightfest last year, and will be available to watch in June. Follow a black ops team who find themselves trapped in a terrifying, never-ending stairwell. Forced to climb or die, the group soon come face to face with their past sins in a desperate fight for survival. This stars Shayne Ward, Rachel Warren, Simon Meacock, Bentley Kalu, Samantha Schnitzler, and Toby Osmond. While it seems like a sci-fi concept, it leans way more into horror. There's creepy ghosts everywhere, and they're stuck because of some supernatural force wants to torment them. Maybe a bit too much style, and nowhere near enough substance. Here's the official Us trailer (+ two posters) for Tom Paton's Black Ops,...

A new trailer for Black Ops has been released. This is the latest from the folks at Samuel Goldwyn Films and comes from writer/director Tom Paton. On the surface at least, this seems like a somewhat standard modern military operation flick. A rag-tag group of heroes on a mission. That old bit. However, the movie made its debut at FrightFest last year, a genre film festival. What on Earth was a move like this doing at a festival geared toward horror, one might wonder? This trailer provides a pretty interesting answer to that very question.

The trailer kicks off with a squad of military personal heading out on a mission in 2019. A big deal is made about the level of risk. Seemingly standard stuff for this sort of movie. Their mission takes something of an odd, dark turn and, after its over, things get especially strange. The group is...

By its title alone, Black Ops leads to an immediate assumption: Ah, an action movie about a crack military team who shoot first and ask questions later. Indeed, the first moments in the new trailer for the film, known as Stairs when it screened at FrightFest last year, and also known as The Ascent at another point, appears to confirm my first assumption. But, of course, any film that screened at FrightFest is bound to have unexpected genre elements, and those elements come to the forefront as the crack military team finds itself trapped in a stairwell with something awful. What, then, is it all about? In the words of the helpfully brief official synopsis: "The film follows a black ops team who find themselves...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Following its festival run last year (where it played under the titles Stairs and The Ascent), Black Ops will be released to the masses this June from Samuel Goldwyn Films, and we've been provided with the film's official trailer as a special treat for Daily Dead readers.

You can watch a specialized (and heavily weaponized) team encounter horrors from their past on an endless stairwell in the trailer below, and in case you missed it, read Sean McGeady's review of the film (back when it was known as Stairs).

Written and directed by Tom Paton, Black Ops stars Shayne Ward, Toby Osmond, Simon Meacock, Bentley Kalu, Rachel Warren, and Samantha Schnitzler.

Executive produced by Kirsty Bell, Phil McKenzie, Steve Mosley, and Tom Paton, and produced by George Burt and Alexa Waugh, Black Ops will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films on June 12th.

Synopsis: "Follow a black ops team who...

Here’s the latest episode of the 365Flicks podcast, part of our growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on Libsyn, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

365Flicks Podcast: Episode 147 – Catching up with Tom Paton

Last time we saw Tom Paton he was filming his new movie G-Loc… Since then Black Site has hit physical release, The Ascent (aka Stairs) has had its FrightFest premiere, G-Loc has finished post production and 400 Bullets has wrapped. 2019 was a hell of a year for Tom Paton and we wanted to get him on the show to talk about the year he had and whats next.

Follow 365Flicks Podcast on: FaceBook | Twitter | YouTube...

In a surprise twist no one saw coming The Coen Brothers’ initial anthology series, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, will be featuring at the 2018 Venice Film Festival as a full-length feature in the competition.

The film, which was declared a Netflix original, is made up of 6 of chaptered stories revolving around the American Frontier. As for chapter plot details, information is hard to find. Tim Blake Nelson stars as Scruggs alongside a cast that features names like Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson and Tom Waits.

“We’ve always loved anthology movies, especially those films made in Italy in the Sixties which set side-by-side the work of different directors on a common theme,” the Coens said in a statement. “Having written an anthology of Western stories we attempted to do the same, hoping to enlist the best directors working today. It was our great fortune that they both agreed to participate.”

The...

Non-FictionThe programme for the 2018 edition of the Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Tsai Ming-liang, Frederick Wiseman, Sergei Loznitsa, Olivier Assayas, the Coen Brothers, and many more.COMPETITIONFirst Man (Damien Chazelle)The Mountain (Rick Alverson)Non-Fiction (Olivier Assayas)The Sisters Brothers (Jacques Audiard)The Ballad of Buster ScruggsVox Lux (Brady Corbet)Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)22 July (Paul Greengrass)Suspiria (Luca Guadagnino)Werk ohne autor (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent)The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos)Peterloo (Mike Leigh)Capri-revolution (Mario Martone)What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire? (Roberto Minervini)Sunset (László Nemes)Frères ennemis (David Oeloffen)Where Life is Born (Carlos Reygadas)At Eternity's Gate (Julian Schnabel)Acusada (Gonzalo Tobal)Killing (Shinya Tsukamoto)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesThe Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (Morgan Neville)L'amica geniale (Saverio Costanzo)Il diario di angela - noi...

Sarah Marx’s debut feature explores the challenges of life after prison.

Source: Wiki Commons

Sandrine Bonnaire

Paris-based sales company Versatile has boarded French filmmaker Sarah Marx’s upcoming debut feature L’Enkas exploring the challenges of life after prison through the tale of an ex-convict who sets up a business selling ketamine out of a food truck at raves to make ends meet.

Marx, whose career to date spans music videos, documentaries and shorts, co-wrote the screenplay with French rappers Hamé and Ekoué, founders of the long-running, pro-social justice rap group La Rumeur.

Sandor Funtek stars as the young protagonist Ulysee who returns home after a stint in jail to the harsh reality of a severely depressed mother, played by Sandrine Bonnaire, and mounting bills.

“Ulysee is an ex-convict, fresh out of prison, who has to confront a different kind of incarceration: that of his mother’s illness,” says Marx.

“Right away he has...

Update With Key Speeches: Hungarian title On Body And Soul takes best film; Aki Kaurismaki, Sebastian Lelio among winners; Insyriated and I Am Not Your Negro scoop Panorama audience awards; 2018 festival dates revealed.

The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival took place this evening (18 Feb) with winners including Ildiko Enyedi, Alain Gomis, Agnieszka Holland and Sebastian Lelio.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Ildikò Enyedi’s Hungarian feature On Body and Soul - the unusual love story of two damaged souls trying to make contact in a harsh world - was the big winner on the night taking home the Golden Bear for best film in the Competition as well as the Ecumenical and Fipresci juries’ prizes for best film in the Official Competition and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award.

Enyedi’s film - which is handled internationally by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique and had been hotly tipped for the Golden Bear - is...

Mel Gibson to film special trailer for the festival; plans for Lebanese cinema focus and tributes to late Us actor John Cazale and Chris Penn.

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) has unveiled plans for its 50th ‘annivarysary’ edition, set to run July 3-11.

The jubilee edition will include a look at recent Lebanese cinema, a retrospective of late Soviet-Ukrainian director Larisa Shepitko’s work and tributes to Us actors John Cazale and Chris Penn.

Actor-director Mel Gibson will also film a special trailer for the festival, set to be shot in Los Angeles in early May. The Lethal Weapon star received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at last year’s Kviff.

Gibson continues a tradition that sees the recipients of this award feature in a short trailer for the following festival. It will be written and directed by Martin Krejčí, who has collaborated with Ivan Zachariáš since the beginning of the...

When a Nazi collaborator is led into the Belarusian forest to be executed, why doesn't he protest? Sergei Loznitsa's chilling drama explores the agonies of war and puts European history on trial

The fog of the title is the fog of war, the fog of fear and the abysmal fog of European history: it is a kind of residual pall of smoke across the field of battle – maybe it also means the obliteration brought by death itself. This is the chilling and mysterious historical parable from film-maker Sergei Loznitsa, based on the 1989 novel by the Belarusian author Vasili Bykov, resembling Elem Klimov's Come and See. (Bykov also wrote the 1970 novel The Ordeal, filmed by Larisa Shepitko as The Ascent.)

Its subject is the Nazis' invasion of the Soviet Union, and in particular the poisonous shame of collaboration that they disseminated in every part of the Reich. An important...

With the kickoff of the 37th Telluride Film Festival, so begins the 2010 Awards Season. Of special note are the special sneak previews of The King’S Speech starring Oscar hopeful Colin Firth, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan via the Venice Film Festival and Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. Also on the schedule are Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, and Peter Weir’s The Way Back starring Colin Farrell, Mark Strong, and Ed Harris. Many of the films listed below will continue onto the Toronto International Film Festival which runs September 9-19. So fellow Awards Watchers…let the games begin.

Press Release:

37th Telluride Film Festival Announces 2010 Festival Lineup Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the “Show” Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards Special revival programs...

The line-up for the 2010 Telluride Film Festival has been announced and there are some exciting inclusions. If I were attending Telluride, the two films at the top of my must-see list would be Errol Morris’ new documentary Tabloid which is about former-Miss Wyoming/convicted rapist/dog-cloning advocate Joyce McKinney, and Peter Weir’s war film The Way Back, which is the director’s first film since 2003’s Master and Commander.

The line-up also includes other films that are making the festival rounds including Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, the financial-collapse documentary Inside Job, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful, Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist, Mike Leigh’s Another Year, and Stephen Frears’ Tamara Drewe. Hit the jump to check out the full line-up. The Telluride Film Festival runs from September 3 – 6th.

Here’s the full line-up (via Telluride’s official website):

The “Show”

“A Letter to Elia,...

By Michael Atkinson

The farther we get from it, the clearer it seems that the Age of the Waves . the '60s and '70s, roughly demarcated . was film culture's own belle époque, glowing with post-teen hoochie koo and experimental piss and vinegar and hard-won grit, wherever movie tickets were sold and film stock could be bought. From the Parisian vague team to Budapest to Buenos Aires to even Hollywood, wavism spread over the globe like a supercool, ultra-realist virus, and as the home video digitization of film history continues, it's become obvious that what we thought we knew about the New Waves barely scratches the nitrate. (In just the last two years, the discs have included previously unavailable, and little-seen, world-beaters by Godard, Marker, Teshigahara, Borowzcyk, Varda, Masumura, Rosi, Melville, Syberberg, Klein, and probably scads I missed.) A bewitching case in point: Larisa Shepitko, who was something like the...

At 41 she died of a car crash in 1979 and it almost spelled the end of an era that spanned a humble 4 films. She was a major figure of the postwar Soviet Cinema. But her early death has been the cause of neglect of her work that was done under some really harsh conditions.

Now Eclipse along with the Criterion collection is devoting two of her cinematic masterpieces “The Wings” and “The Ascent”. This is in order to revive her overshadowed career in her films.

She and her husband filmmaker Elem Klimov were like the...

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