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The Isa of the Day segment of SydneysBuzz resumes for the Cannes Film Festival 2015. ISAs, or International Sales Agents, help to bring films into global distribution by selling distribution rights to distributors worldwide. Topics include new trends in distribution and sales, inspirational success stories, film slates and more. A worthy read for any serious filmmaker looking to have a better understanding of the chain of business between producing a film and sharing it with the world.

Philippa Kowarsky is the Managing Director of Cinephil, an international sales company that is renowned for securing financing and distribution for documentaries from all around the world. Kowarsky started Cinephil 18 years ago on the first of January in 1997.

Cinephil has a solid history of working with award winning films including Academy Award nominee, “The Gatekeepers“ (for which Kowarsky was a nominee, with Cinephil as the producer); the 2014 Academy Award nominee, “The Act of Killing, and Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Kowarsky, the first ever film sales agent of Israel, shares more about her background and the success of Cinephil:

I’ve was doing sales, marketing and production before I started Cinephil. I worked for some studios in Israel, and got into sales because there were no companies dedicated to sales only. I was representing films at the previous company I worked at — when I left, people just kept coming to me, saying “Will you take my film?” I started Cinephil and we got a film into Rotterdam’s mocumentary section. It was the first Cinephil festival. I didn’t even have a proper concept or mission for my company, but I did meet sales agents from around the world, and thought, “Perhaps we could have some sales agents in Israel!” Then it became a bit more formal.

We started doing everything - features, children’s programming, and documentaries -working with Israeli and Palestinian films. Over the years, we decided to drop children’s programming, and then let go of feature films (which I still love). Now Cinephil focuses on documentaries.

About 8 years ago, we decided to go International to represent films to the world, from the world – everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you’re based: Tel Aviv, Paris, Montreal or New York. Everyone is traveling to all the festivals, and everything is done by emails and phone. Thanks to technology, we have a very international career and life, and to make matters better, we also have Heather Wyer working for us out of Montreal. Having a North American base is great!

How did you enter the film industry?

A lot of this happened to me by chance. I received an Ma in London for communication policy studies. At the end of the day, it’s been helpful, because it has given me a deeper understanding of the media world. That’s been a strong part of Cinephil – being able to strategize with all this know-how.

When I started 20 years ago, there was very little international film and television activity in Israel. In the meantime, the Israeli industry has developed, but getting Israeli films into festivals was a big deal back then. Now our cinema is well received everywhere. There are fabulous agencies based in Israel, including our TV channels which selling product around the world.

How is Cinephil expanding?

We do sales and distribution and act as Ep’s on films. We’ve always been into development and raising finance for films, but recently the films we’ve been working with are of a higher profile. One of the highlights is when we came in as producers for “The Gatekeepers”, for which we were nominated for an Academy Award in 2012. In 2013, we were back in Los Angeles with “The Act of Killing”, which was nominated as well. We are proud to work with Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sorensen again on “The Look of Silence”, which premiered in competition in Venice last year and won the Grand Jury Award on top of four other awards. Since then, it has won countless awards worldwide. We’re now working with Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi on “The 50 Year Argument”.

Please discuss your slate for Cannes.

We‘re thrilled to be working on a Cannes Classics premiere “By Sidney Lumet” by Nancy Buirski. Cinephil will present several films in the market. One is “Invasion”, by Abner Benaim, about the USA’s invasion of Panama.

Another is a film that we just picked up in Tribeca where it made headlines, titled “Among the Believers”, which follows the growth of the Red Mosques in Pakistan. It portrays a system that offers young children free food and accommodation, and, in return, the young adepts are force fed the principles of radical Islam from the moment they can read.

Other films in the Cannes Market include “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”, which premiered in Sundance, and “The Yes Men are Revolting”, which will open in the Us this summer.

“Thank You for Playing”, follows a family struggling with a terminally ill boy. Ryan, his Dad, an indie video game developer, is building a poetic, autobiographical video game to document his pain and to tell the story of his baby. It’s sophisticated, touching and timely.

Learn more about Cinephil’s new releases here.

See Cinephil’s full catalogue here.

More About Cinephil:

Cinephil is an international sales and advisory firm, which has a strong reputation for securing international distribution, broadcasting and financing deals for documentaries from all over the world on behalf of film producers and directors.

With a history of selling unique and award-winning films,Cinephil also acts as a strategic advisor and co-producer.

Cinephil has facilitated the sale and financing of well over a hundred films. Cinephil represented (and produced) the 2013 Academy Award nominee, “The Gatekeepers“; the 2014 Academy Award nominee, “The Act of Killing“, executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris; “Cathedrals of Culture“, a 3D project executive produced by Wim Wenders and including films by Wim Wenders and Robert Redford, and Martin Scorsese’s new documentary, “The 50 Year Argument“, about The New York Review of Books. Managing director, Philippa Kowarsky, has co-produced many films, including 2014 Academy Award nominee, Dror Moreh’s, “The Gatekeepers“, Dror Shaul’s “Sweet Mud”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, “Defamation” by Yoav Shamir, “Watermarks” by Yaron Zilberman and the award-winning “Trembling Before G-d” by Sandi DuBowski.

Following its Tiff premiere and subsequent Us release late last year, Yaron Zilberman’s A Late Quartet is finally arriving here in the UK next month.

Featuring a terrific leading cast in Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, and Mark Ivanir, the film was well received across the Atlantic back in the autumn/fall last year. And now its UK release is certainly something to look forward to in a few weeks’ time.

Ahead of the release, the UK quad poster has debuted online, along with the UK trailer variant, reminding us what we’ve got to look forward to here.

The Fugue Quartet have performed together for over 25 years, attracting worldwide acclaim. However, when one member admits that time may have finally caught up with them, the quartet are faced with an uncertain future. Yaron Zilberman’s thoughtful drama explores the complexity of the quartet’s lives behind their stage personas,...

Exclusive: After making his narrative feature directing debut on A Late Quartet, Yaron Zilberman has signed with UTA, marking his first agency representation. Zilberman helmed the drama that stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir and Imogen Poots, about a Gotham-based string quartet that confronts long-simmering tensions in preparing for its 25th anniversary season. That film is distributed domestically by eOne. Zilberman previously directed the documentary Watermarks, about the champion women swimmers of the Jewish sports club Hakoah, Vienna, which was banned by the Nazis in the late 1930s. That docu was released by Kino International and was seen on HBO. UTA will look to help Zilberman capitalize on the momentum of A Late Quartet. The filmmakers is still repped by attorney Iddo I. Arad.

On the eve of a world renowned string quartet.s 25th anniversary season, their beloved cellist, Peter Mitchell (Christopher Walken), is diagnosed with the early symptoms of Parkinson.s Disease. When Peter announces he wishes to make the upcoming season his last, his three colleagues find themselves at a crossroad. Competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. Robert Gelbart (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the quartet.s second violinist, announces his desire to alternate chairs with first violinist Daniel Lerner (Mark Ivanir), after years of sacrifice and peacemaking for the benefit of the group. Robert.s wife, violist Juliette Gelbart (Catherine Keener) has a particularly difficult time grappling with the tragic diagnosis, as Peter has served not only as a colleague, but as a dear father figure since childhood. When Juliette is unable to support her husband, their marriage is strained with a palpable tension that they can no longer ignore.

Interview conducted by Tom Stockman November 9, 2012

A Late Quartet, the first fiction film from director Yaron Zilberman, follows the lives of four longtime colleagues who play in a celebrated fugue string quartet together. As the group begin their 25th season together, the eldest member (Christopher Walken) discovers he has the beginning stage of Parkinson’s disease. Because he can’t perform to the best of his abilities, he would like to bow out of the quartet without disbanding it. However, a married couple within the group (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener) are on the brink of breaking up, and their rocky period isn’t helped by the fact that the fourth member has begun an affair with their college-age daughter.

Zilberman was in St. Louis over the weekend to show Late Quartet at the St. Louis International Film Festival. It played Friday night as part of the fest.s opening weekend spotlight selection.

Rko Pictures has provided us with an exclusive video interview featuring Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener discussing their roles in the upcoming drama A Late Quartet. Christopher Walken stars as Peter Mitchell, a cellist whose life is upended when he is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Catherine Keener portrays a violinist who performs alongside Peter. Take a look at as these celebrated actors discuss how they prepared to play classic musicians in this drama from director Yaron Zilberman (Watermarks)

A Late Quartet - Exclusive Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener Interview

On the eve of a world renowned string quartet's 25th anniversary season, their beloved cellist, Peter Mitchell (Christopher Walken), is diagnosed with the early symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. When Peter announces he wishes to make the upcoming season his last, his three colleagues find themselves at a crossroad. Competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration.

Whenever you see a movie playing at a film festival that has some big name stars but a relatively unknown director, as a viewer it can be a risky proposition. It might mark the arrival of an amazing new talent but on the other hand it could just as easily be a middle of the road drama making the festival rounds that will never be heard from again. This is kind of the vibe that I'm getting from A Late Quartet, a movie playing at Tiff this year that stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener and Imogen Poots. It could be great, but it's hard to tell what to expect even after watching the first trailer. Hoffman, Walken, Keener and Mark Ivanir play members of a string quartet who find out that one of them has been diagnosed with Parkinson's and must decide who will take over his position as first chair.

If Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir and Wallace Shawn were in a movie together, would you go see it? Director Yaron Zilberman (Watermarks) is even throwing in Imogen Poots for free. This excellent ensemble formed for A Late Quartet, the story of four world-class string players who struggle to stay together. The official synopsis uses the phrase “insuppresible lust.” Hopefully it’s between Walken and Hoffman. Or hopefully it’s the kind that causes a massive rift between two or three people. That might be the case, as this absolutely gorgeous trailer shows. It’s intense and makes a powerful impact with a striking metaphor. Having Beethoven in its corner doesn’t hurt either. This, right here, looks like must-see filmmaking from a new director and a veteran cast. A Late Quartet is currently at Tiff and hits select theaters on November 2nd.

Watch the brand new trailer for A Late Quartet starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir and Imogen Poots. The film will be in theatres November 2, 2012 and is having it’s world premiere tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival. I’m a huge fan of chamber music and I know a string quartet involves years of absorbing rehearsals and performances – I’ll be eager to see how the film plays out tonight at the festival and during the upcoming awards season. You can read The Hollywood Reporter’s review Here.

On the eve of a world renowned string quartet.s 25th anniversary season, their beloved cellist, Peter Mitchell (Christopher Walken), is diagnosed with the early symptoms of Parkinson.s Disease. When Peter announces he wishes to make the upcoming season his last, his three colleagues find themselves at a crossroad. Competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten...

Given the massive appeal of its cast, perhaps I ought to start paying more attention to A Late Quartet. Now’s the perfect time, actually, as Variety have informed us it’ll be hitting by the end of 2012 — on November 2nd, specifically, with eOne and Rko (we live in 1937) picking the slot.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken, and Mark Ivanir star as a New York City string musician group trying to combat problems in their personal life — in particular, the elder member’s Parkinson’s — in order to create great music; Imogen Poots and Wallace Shawn also chip in some work.

Directing is Yaron Zilberman, who’s only made one other film — the sports documentary Watermarks — a career fact which only leaves me more confident in Quartet. Why else would all these actors come aboard unless the script was great? They’re not getting studio money here, for crying out loud.

So, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir as a string quartet? Sure, we'll make the leap, particularly when it involves some of our favorite actors. Heading to Toronto to make its World Premiere in September, "Watermarks" director Yaron Zilberman's feature film debut will find music and drama coming together, hopefully in harmony. Here's the official synopsis: When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group’s future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert — quite possibly their last — only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy. No release date yet, but the film will be distributed by Entertainment One.

#35. A Late Quartet - Yaron Zilberman  Not sure if Synecdoche, New York pair Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener own or thought about buying a condo in Park City, they might as well since they might be back again for an umpteenth time. Already in the can for several months now, Yaron Zilberman's first foray into fiction feature filmmaking pans out into fare we end up finding in Sundance every year. Almost seven years since his docu debut Watermarks, Zilberman would come to the fest without the stress of bidder wars as Rko Pictures have already picked up the drama. Look for A Late Quartet to receive a Premieres showing. Oh, and Christopher Walken and Imogen Poots also star. Gist: Scripted by Zilberman and Seth Grossman, this centers on a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust. Set in iconic New York City,...

Boasting a fantastic cast led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir, and Imogen Poots, A Late Quartet sounds like it’s going to be one of the finer indie films to look forward to next year.

The Playlist have now got a nice first look at the film, which is to be director Yaron Zilberman’s feature debut after achieving some success with his 2004 documentary, Watermarks.

It’s not often that we get to see a film that has classical music at its centre, and the ones that do come along are usually done very well, so I’m definitely hoping A Late Quartet will follow that pattern. I think it’s a pretty safe bet that the film will have plenty of fantastic moments of music to enjoy throughout.

A Late Quartet sees,

“The four members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death,...

The first-look image above marks the first time I’ve heard anything about Yaron Zilberman‘s A Late Quartet, but after glancing through the splendid cast and the intriguing synopsis, this is a film that could quietly become one of 2012′s surprise offerings. It will mark Zilberman‘s narrative debut — his first feature-length project was the acclaimed 2004 documentary Watermarks. Along with Seth Grossman (The Elephant King), Zilberman has also co-wrote the New York City-based screenplay, which follows “the elder leader of a famed string quartet who is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.” [The Playlist]

The cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken, Imogen Poots, and Wallace Shawn — quite a prominent group for a little-known director, which could mean that they all were on the same page with respect to the project’s potential.

At this point, a 2011 release is almost out of the question, as we’ve heard nothing yet from the film’s distributor,...

Independent filmmaker Yaron Zilberman has cast Catherine Keener, her Capote co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeremy Northam and Christopher Walken in his upcoming A Late Quartet. The four will play members of a famous string quartet who, on the eve of their 25th anniversary as a group, are threatened to be torn apart by greed, lust and illness.

Zilberman's previous credits include the 2004 documentary Watermarks, about an Austrian female swim team from the 1930s. Rko Pictures is slated to distribute A Late Quartet, which Zilberman penned with Seth Grossman. It shoots later this month in New York.

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When Philip Seymour Hoffman stepped in to replace Christopher Walken in the indie drama A Late Quartet last week, he was just another strong addition to an ensemble that already included Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. Even though the subject matter seemed a little unusual-- a renowned string quartet copes with illness and other forms of chaos after 25 years performing together-- the cast seemed like enough reason to see it alone. Now Jeremy Northam has completed the titular quartet, and the movie is ready to start shooting at the end of this month, according to a press release. Yaron Zilberman will be directing his own script, his first feature after directing the 2004 documentary Watermarks. As for Northam, you might recognize the English actor as Sir Thomas More on The Tudors or as Ivor Novello in 2001's Gosford Park. He's not as well known as his co-stars, but has enough of...

The four actors have been set to star in A Late Quartet, an independent film from writer/director Yaron Zilberman. Shooting will start later this month in New York. Hoffman, Keener, Northam and Walken will play members of a world famous string quartet. They struggle to stay together on the eve of their 25th anniversary, with illness, ego and lust among the factors that threaten to tear them apart. Imogen Poots and Liraz Charhi also star. Zilberman directs from a script he wrote with Seth Grossman. Zilberman will produce with partner Tamar Sela through their Opening Night Productions banner. Vanessa Coifman, David Faigenblum, Emanuel Michael and Mandy Tagger are also producing. Concept Entertainment, Spring Pictures and Unison Films are the companies behind the film. Rko Pictures will distribute with its chief, Ted Hartley, among the exec producer roster. Zilberman directed the 2004 documentary Watermarks, about an Austrian female swim team from the 1930s.

Imogen Poots has joined Ethan Hawke and Synecdoche, New York duo Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener in Yaron Zilberman's feature debut, A Late Quartet. We believe Poot replaces the once attached Olivia Thirlby as the youngest member of the quartet. It's still unclear whether Beginners pair Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer are still attached at this point. Poots will next be seen in Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre and Craig Gillespie's Fright Night. Gist: Scripted by Zilberman and Seth Grossman, this centers on a quartet whose members have performed together for 25 years and have to adjust to one of them retiring due to Parkinson's disease. Hawke will portray the second violinist whose desire for more solos leads him to have an affair with his jogging partner, leaving him remorseful and saddened by the state of his marriage. Worth Noting: Zilberman made his filmmaking debut with Watermarks, the...

Looks like Mr. Hawke will have to learn how to play the violin. Or at least act like he knows how to play the violin. The thesp will star in A Late Quartet, directed by Yaron Zilberman (2004′s Watermarks). The film will tell the story of a 25-year-old string quartet and the departure of one of its members, who’s dealing with Parkinson’s Disease. [The Playlist]

Hawke’s violinist will be one wrought with guilt due to infidelity/betrayal. That sounds about right.

Hawke’s been on a nice, ‘back-to-the-basics’ run of decisions, after a trio of not-so-great crime films (What Doesn’t Kill You, Staten Island, Brooklyn’s Finest). He’s still working on Richard Linklater’s neverending 12-year project, he’s got the New York, I Love You-sounding Tonight at Noon in post along with Woman in the Fifth, a super-interesting sounding film with a noir-ish plot, co-starring Kristin Scott Thomas.

After making his debut with the docu film Watermarks, about a group of Jewish swimmers who escaped the Nazis and meet 60 plus years after forming their defiant sports club, Yaron Zilberman is now moving ahead with his fiction feature debut. Penned by Zilberman and Seth Grossman (The Elephant King), the screenplay has been generating enough buzz that several A-listers are currently attached to the project and Ethan Hawke is the first to join A Late Quartet. The drama centers on a quartet whose members have performed together for 25 years and have to adjust to one of them retiring due to Parkinson's disease. Hawke will portray the second violinist whose desire for more solos leads him to have an affair with his jogging partner, leaving him remorseful and saddened by the state of his marriage. The actor just wrapped Pawel Pawlikowski's long awaited return, The Woman in the Fifth -...

Alejandro Amenabar's The Sea Inside, Spain's entry for the best foreign-language film Academy Award, received the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 16th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which concluded Monday. The runner-up was The Thing About My Folks, directed by Raymond De Felitta, and starring Paul Reiser as a son who embarks on a road trip with his father, played by Peter Falk. The Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Yaron Zilberman's Watermarks, which relates the story of the Jewish Sports Club, formed in 1909 and destroyed by the Nazis in 1938, as told by seven women, all former champion swimmers. The runner-up was Seeds, directed by Marjan Safinia and Joseph Boyle, which concerns children from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who participate in the Seeds of Peace Camp in Maine.

Alejandro Amenabar's The Sea Inside, Spain's entry for the best foreign-language film Academy Award, received the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 16th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which concluded Monday. The runner-up was The Thing About My Folks, directed by Raymond De Felitta, and starring Paul Reiser as a son who embarks on a road trip with his father, played by Peter Falk. The Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Yaron Zilberman's Watermarks, which relates the story of the Jewish Sports Club, formed in 1909 and destroyed by the Nazis in 1938, as told by seven women, all former champion swimmers. The runner-up was Seeds, directed by Marjan Safinia and Joseph Boyle, which concerns children from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who participate in the Seeds of Peace Camp in Maine.