News

Sales outfit LevelK is to debut Scandinavian horror-sci fi Encounters at the Afm.

Also on the slate are Anders Thomas Jensen’s Men and Chicken starring Mads Mikkelsen; Sucker, which stars Timothy Spall as a con-man; and documentary Drone.

Encounters, directed by Anders Johannes Bukh, follows a group of young filmmakers who travel into the Swedish woods to shoot a low-budget horror film. After they become lost one of the actors disappears only to return hours later, naked and in a catatonic state.

The film is set for a VOD release in conjunction with Danish horror festival Bloody Weekend.

Pre-sales will continue on Anders Thomas Jensen’s black comedy Men and Chicken, with Mikkelsen and David Dencik in the lead roles.

There will be a promo for Sucker, director Ben Chessell’s debut feature in which Timonthy Spall plays an ageing conman who takes a young novice under his wing.

Warfare doc [link...

Producer Bridget Ikin sets off for Nepal next week to shoot a feature documentary knowing she has already scaled one mountain: a Us studio has bought worldwide rights to Sherpa: In the Shadow of the Mountain.

Co-produced by Ikin and John Maynard.s Felix Media and John Smithson of London-based Arrow Media, the film will follow an Everest expedition from the viewpoints of the Sherpas and their sometimes uneasy relationships with foreign climbers.

Writer/director Jennifer Peedom approached Smithson, who produced Touching the Void and 127 Hours. He agreed to serve as co-producer and introduced Ikin and Peedom to the Us studio.

That studio has yet to announce the deal but it guarantees worldwide cinema release excluding Australia and New Zealand, where Maynard and Rob Connolly.s Footprint Films retains the rights.

Peedom had been thinking about a docu on the Sherpas given the unrest among their ranks and the idea...

Hit musical drama The Sapphires has scored 12 nominations at the 2012 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards including in the coveted best feature film category.

The Sapphires, which follows four indigenous singers during the Vietnam war, has grossed more than $14 million in Australia to become the biggest local film of the year.

Three other films will be also be vying for the best feature film award: Burning Man (10 nominations in total), Lore (eight nominations in total) and Wish You Were Here (eight nominations in total) at the main Aacta ceremony, which will be held on January 30, 2013, at The Star Event Centre. Last year's event was held at the iconic Sydney Opera House.

P.J. Hogan's Mental also scored eight nominations including Best Lead Actress (Toni Collette), Best Supporting Actor (Liev Schreiber) Best Young Actor (Lily Sullivan) and Best Supporting Actress for Rebecca Gibney and Deborah Mailman.

Not Suitable for Children...

The Sapphires has led the Academy of Australian Cinema and Television Arts Awards nominations being nominated in 12 categories.

Awards will be handed out over two events, with an awards luncheon, focused on craft categories on Monday January 28 and the main event on January 30. Both events will be held at the Star Event Centre, the first public events for the venue.

The Sapphires, distributed by Hopscotch/eOne has been nominated for Best Film, Best Direction and best adapted screenplay as well as Best Lead Actor and Actress for Chris O’Dowd and Deborah Mailman, and Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Mauboy.

Burning Man was not far behind on 10 nominations including best film and best direction as well as best lead actor for Matthre Goode and Best Supporting Actress for Essie Davis.

Three more films, Lore, Mental and Wish You Were Here received eight nominations while Not Suitable For Children received four.

The Hive Lab has announced its film-makers to collaborate with artists, theatre actors, choreographers, animators and writers over 11-14 October. The list of film-makers include Sophie Raymond, co-director of Mrs Carey’s Concert and Natasha Pincus, director of music video Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye with artists such as Eddie Perfect and Bill Henson.The announcement:

A roll call of some of Australia’s most extraordinary artists, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, choreographers, animators and writers have signed up for the Hive Lab, taking place during the Melbourne Festival from 11-14 October. The four-day Hive Lab brings seventeen filmmakers and artists together in a creative clash of cultures, nurturing new ideas that cut across artistic boundaries.

The second Hive Lab was originally conceived by Adelaide Film Festival and is co-presented with Australia Council, ABC TV, Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation.

The 2012 Hive Lab participants are arts and performance practitioners Bill Henson,...

DVD Playhouse June 2011

By

Allen Gardner

Kiss Me Deadly (Criterion) Robert Aldrich’s 1955 reinvention of the film noir detective story is one of cinema’s great genre mash-ups: part hardboiled noir; part cold war paranoid thriller; and part science- fiction. Ralph Meeker plays Mickey Spillane’s fascist detective Mike Hammer as a narcissistic simian thug, a sadist who would rather smash a suspect’s fingers than make love to the bevvy of beautiful dames that cross his path. In fact, the only time you see a smile cross Meeker’s sneering mug is when he’s doling out pain, with a vengeance. When a terrified young woman (Cloris Leachman, film debut) literally crossed Hammer’s path one night, and later turns up dead, he vows to get to the bottom of her brutal demise. One of the most influential films ever made, and perhaps the most-cited film by the architects...