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Attack on Titan has received widespread critical acclaim over the past decade with its masterful art and storytelling. Recently, a popular fan project, Attack on Titan: Requiem, officially released its first full trailer, offering a new perspective on the series finale. Attack on Titan: Requiem is created by fans who want to retell parts of the story with significant changes that will lead to an alternate conclusion.

The project is co-produced by Attack on Titan: Declaration of War and Studio Eclypse, both aiming to offer high-quality fan animations for the community free of charge. The fan animation will be made in the style of the first three seasons of Attack on Titan and adapted from a fan comic under the same name.

Some Fans Want To Reimagine Attack on Titan's Final Arc The Divisive Ending Left Many Fans Feeling That It Did Not Live Up To Expectations In partnership with @studio_eclypse,...

Requiem for a Dream was a pivotal project for Jennifer Connelly, and one that she fought for. The film's creative atmosphere, innovative cinematography, and powerful music made it an electric and groundbreaking experience for Connelly. In Apple TV+'s Dark Matter, Connelly portrays different versions of herself in a reality-hopping romance with Joel Edgerton, from writer Blake Crouch.

We spoke with Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly about her new Apple TV+ series with Joel Edgerton and Alice Braga, Dark Matter, which proposes the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics to create a reality-hopping romantic epic. In this reality, however, we're fast approaching the 25th anniversary of Requiem for a Dream, one of Connelly's most affecting performances. The Darren Aronofsky film is well-known for being one of the most harrowing and upsetting of all time, but Connelly looks back on it with palpable joy. (Watch our interview below.)

"It was an amazing experience," said...

Monsters and other unspeakable terrors typically hide in the darkness, but in writer-director Gino McKoy's new sci-fi horror Lumina, the scariest things make their home in the light. Collider is excited to exclusively share the trailer for the upcoming film that offers a peek into the accursed trip of a group of friends and conspiracy theorists into the desert to find the infamous Area 51 and get some much-needed answers. All that awaits them, however, is a dark rabbit hole full of disturbing revelations and interstellar encounters that leave them forever changed. Starring Requiem's Rupert Lazarus as the heartbroken and determined Alex, the film is set to arrive in over 1,000 theaters across the U.S. on July 12.

This article contains discussion of suicide.

Sandra Hüller's career is filled with award-winning performances in international films, spanning across genres and styles. From sensitive dramas like Above Us Only Sky to more comedic films like Sisi & I, Hüller showcases her versatility as an actress. Despite her recent success in films like Anatomy of a Fall, Hüller's past work like Requiem and In the Aisles shouldn't be overlooked.

Sandra Hüller's filmography is full of brilliant performances and thought-provoking films worth checking out. Hüller is widely recognized for her roles in two of the Best Picture nominees of 2024, Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest. However, the Oscars are just Hüller's most recent accomplishment. Her career is filled with award-winning performances in international films. Hüller began her acting career in Swiss theater, before moving on to German cinema where she starred in both critically acclaimed dramas and...

Beyonce‘s new country album Cowboy Carter has officially arrived and you can stream it in full right here!

The 42-year-old singer dropped her eighth studio album on Friday (March 29) and there are 27 tracks on the incredible new album, including some interludes.

The album features duets with Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, and more. Bey‘s six-year-old daughter Rumi Carter even has a feature on the song “Protector.”

Blue Ivy Carter is already a Grammy winner. Could her younger sister Rumi be the next winner in the family?!

Cowboy Carter is also known as Act II in Beyonce‘s trilogy project, which began with Renaissance. The country album has been in the works ever since the entertainer teamed up with The Chicks for a performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the 2016 CMA Awards, a performance which received backlash from country music fans who didn’t want her to be in the genre.

Connelly starred in Noah as Naameh, reuniting with Aronofsky after Requiem For a Dream. Noah broke Connelly's 11-movie Rotten Tomatoes streak, achieving a 75% critics score. Connelly's filmography includes various genres, with some high and low-rated movies.

Jennifer Connelly starred in Noah as Naameh, the wife of Russel Crowe’s Noah, and this role marked a long-awaited reunion for her after one of her most shocking projects. Throughout her career, Jennifer Connelly has been part of a variety of movies, beginning with Once Upon a Time in America, in 1984. Connelly’s big break arrived in 1986 when she starred as Sarah Williams in Jim Henson’s fantasy movie Labyrinth, alongside David Bowie as the Goblin King. Connelly became widely known after her roles in Requiem For a Dream and A Beautiful Mind, for which she received critical praise.

Since then, Connelly has expanded her career to other genres, such as the world...

Darren Aronofsky is a director known primarily for his directorial efforts that examine human beings in extreme physical duress. From The Whale to The Wrestler to Requiem for a Dream, Aronofsky is fascinated by the human body being in turmoil. His grimy, often graphically violent, and deeply uncomfortable works have — somehow — made him a go-to candidate to direct major studio blockbusters. This man came super close to helming a Batman movie in the early 2000s (with Christian Bale in the lead role to boot!), was signed on to direct an early version of The Wolverine, and was even one of the finalists to direct Man of Steel. Hollywood’s obsession with gritty realism in blockbusters for a large part of the first 15 years of the 21st century meant that Aronofsky was a recurring pick to helm new visions of beloved characters for major studios. Case in point: Aronofsky was set...

Star Trek/Legion of Super Heroes #5 revealed Vandal Savage and Flint to be alternate versions of the same immortal character. Emperor Vandar, a third version of the character, is the central threat in the crossover, having used the power of Q to become a galactic conqueror in his timeline. The disparity between Flint's peaceful nature and Savage's desire for power is explored, highlighting the contrast between the two characters, as well as their similar stories, creating a meaningful climax to the story as a result.

A notorious DC villain once encountered the crew of the Enterprise, in an iconic Star Trek: The Original Series episode. The Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes crossover revealed perennial Dcu antagonist Vandal Savage to, in fact, be an alternate universe version of the immortal Flint, from the Tos episode "Requiem for Methuselah."

Star Trek/Legion of Super Heroes #5 – written by Chris Roberson, with art by Jeffery Moy,...

No actor has had a bigger breakout year in the awards circuit than Sandra Hüller, who has spent her 25-year career in European cinema, with prestige films such as “Requiem” (2006), “In the Aisles” (2018) and the Oscar-nominated “Toni Erdmann” (2016). This year, the German actress stars in two of the biggest international awards contenders: Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” from the United Kingdom and Poland, and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” from France, the latter of which she is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Film Drama Actress. Will she clinch the first major precursor award of the season on Sunday, January 7?

This is Hüller’s second collaboration with Triet, previously starring in her 2019 film “Sibyl.” In “Anatomy of a Fall,” she plays Sandra Voyter, a woman accused of murdering her husband, and trying to prove her innocence as she is put on trial.

The Alien franchise has been expanded with a lot of books over the years, but none of them have been aimed at an audience as young as the one the upcoming book A Is for Alien: An ABC Book is hoping to reach. This book – which is set to reach store shelves on July 9th and is available for pre-order at This Link – is meant for kids in the 2 to 5 age range, as it’s out to teach them their ABCs with the help of the xenomorph.

Coming our way from 20th Century Studios and Little Golden Books, A Is for Alien has the following description: In space no one can hear you giggle as you read this Little Golden Book featuring the characters from the classic movie Alien! Follow Ripley and the rest of the Nostromo crew on a space adventure that introduces the alphabet from A to Z.

The End We Start From stars Jodie Comer as a young mother struggling to survive an ecological disaster with her newborn son. She remains steadfast through heartbreaking tragedy in her desperate search for food, shelter, and safety as civilization collapses around her. The film depicts an apocalyptic scenario with a measured, feminine approach not usually seen in the genre. This isn't a Hollywood blockbuster with overblown CGI effects and ravaging cannibals.

Director Mahalia Belo, known for the British television miniseries Requiem and The Long Song, has an outstanding feature debut with searing emotional depth. "Having been through lockdown with a new baby" gave her unique insights and perspective on a kindred protagonist. Belo had been given the novel as a gift from the film's producer "a long time ago." She was "excited to work" with renowned playwright Alice Birch, who adapted it for the screen. Belo considers her a "great...

Ps Plus in January 2024 offers A Plague Tale: Requiem, Evil West, and Nobody Saves the World, providing subscribers with new and diverse gaming experiences. A Plague Tale: Requiem is a highly anticipated addition to the Ps Plus Essential library, continuing the captivating story of Amicia and Hugo in a harsh and challenging world. Evil West and Nobody Saves the World offer dynamic gameplay and multiplayer possibilities, appealing to a wide range of PlayStation Plus subscribers in January 2024.

Sony has announced the lineup of games for PlayStation Plus in January 2024, bringing some new highlights to the steadily updated service. Ps Plus is first and foremost a subscription to online PlayStation features, making it possible to access multiplayer servers for plenty of games across Sony systems. The Ps Plus game catalog is also a major draw, however, making it easy for subscribers to consistently access new experiences that are offered as a...

On Sandra Hüller’s wall is the first piece of art she ever owned: a photograph she bought from a shop in Munich. “I won’t say its name,” she says archly, “because that would be advertising.” It’s a dynamic, joyous image showing the ensemble cast of Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring as staged by Pina Bausch, the German choreographer famous for saying, “Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.” “I just love it,” Hüller says admiringly, turning her head for another look. “These people are all making the same movement, as you can see. But everybody is doing it completely differently. They have the same task, but you can see each personality in the way they’re doing it. I love it so much. It’s like they’re almost flying.” It explains a lot about Hüller and her craft.

The East German-born actress has been a...

Once in a blue moon you come upon a movie that is a complete surprise.

When I saw “Toni Erdmann” at Cannes, I was riveted by the father-daughter comedy, which was a hit with critics but was robbed of an award by an idiosyncratic competition jury. The film went on to wow festivalgoers and cinemas around the world, and Sony Pictures Classics opened it stateside on Christmas Day. It won the Cannes Screen International Critics’ poll, Best Foreign Language film from the New York Film Critics Circle and swept the European Film Awards, grabbing five including Best Picture; it’s nominated for the foreign-language Golden Globe and Indie Spirit awards and was shortlisted for the Oscar.

That doesn’t mean it will win. All the reasons why the movie is unconventional — organic, sprawling, shocking and hilarious — could weigh against it with more mainstream Academy voters, along with its 162-minute running time.

Once in a blue moon you come upon a movie that is a complete surprise.

When I saw “Toni Erdmann” at Cannes, I was riveted by the father-daughter comedy, which was a hit with critics but was robbed of an award by an idiosyncratic competition jury. The film went on to wow festivalgoers and cinemas around the world, and Sony Pictures Classics opened it stateside on Christmas Day. It won the Cannes Screen International Critics’ poll, Best Foreign Language film from the New York Film Critics Circle and swept the European Film Awards, grabbing five including Best Picture; it’s nominated for the foreign-language Golden Globe and Indie Spirit awards and was shortlisted for the Oscar.

That doesn’t mean it will win. All the reasons why the movie is unconventional — organic, sprawling, shocking and hilarious — could weigh against it with more mainstream Academy voters, along with its 162-minute running time.

Toni Erdmann, a German dramedy about a father-daughter relationship that won rave reviews at Cannes this year, is coming out in theaters on Christmas Day here in the States. This exceptionally written and acted film is director Maren Ade's third feature. It's a perfect holiday movie, packed with full of surprises and uproariously funny moments. I haven't had this much fun at the movies in a long time. It is definitely my favorite film of the year. I had the pleasure of talking to three principals from the film -- writer/director Maren Ade (Everyone Else), actress Sandra Hüller (Requiem) and Peter Simonischek (October, November) -- when they were in town for the New York Film Festival in October. They were a raucous team, speaking over...

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

We'll update the Oscar charts when Cannes wraps up but for now let's talk about the buzziest actresses of the festival. We should note, however, that Cannes juries are notoriously hard to predict and there are still a few competition films left to premiere. What's more, every year people say "this is a shoo in for that!" and it does not come to pass -- especially when it comes to the acting prizes.

But here are five gorgeous and talented actresses at their premieres* who have garnered enough buzz to make us go "hmmmmm"

From left to right...

Sandra Hüller stars in the nearly 3 hour comedy Toni Erdmann about a prank loving father and his overly serious daughter. The film comes from German director Maren Ade who had a critical hit several years back with Everyone Else (2009). Hüller's chief claim to fame is the drama Requiem (2006) for which she won Best Actress in Germany.

Exclusive: German comedy Toni Erdmann is attracting buyers following a strong critical reception.

Buyers are stampeding to acquire Maren Ade’s comedy Toni Erdmann – one of the few German films to screen in Competition in Cannes in recent years – following a rapturous reception and glowing reviews.

Pim Hermeling’s September Films has snapped up Benelux rights, while Haut et Court is already on board for France and Filmcoopi Zurich has Switzerland.

Last night, Sony Pictures Classics swooped on North American and Latin American rights.

Sales agent The Match Factory anticipates further details on the comedy, which recorded the highest score to date on Screen International’s jury grid.

It has been seven years since Ade’s Berlin Silver Bear winner Everyone Else, an edgy relationship drama that scored distribution in more than 20 countries. Her third feature, Toni Erdmann, is another in-depth character study about a music teacher who tries to correct the over-serious nature of his career-focused...

Requiem

Written by Bernd Lange

Directed by Hans-Christian Schmid

Germany, 2006

Twisting, turning, and contorting are the stuff of a common exorcism film. Ever since the debut of The Exorcist the focus in just about every exorcism film to hit the market has been on the effects of the possession. Requiem is different in that while there is some contorting, screaming, and eerie mannerisms present they are by no means the focus. Excuses are the main course in Requiem, the excuses we make to ourselves and the excuses that others make for us. This has an interesting effect on the film a

s it removes most of the traditional horror elements of an exorcism film. The horror in requiem is based in ignorance, selfishness, and lack of action/too much action. There’s no real way to decipher which approach to an exorcism film is more effective, but Requiem certainly found...

Nina Hoss in Christian Petzold's Barbara

"An additional ten world premieres will be screening in the Competition program of the Berlinale 2012," the festival's announced today:

Aujourd'hui

France/Senegal

By Alain Gomis (L'Afrance, Andalucia)

With Saül Williams, Aïssa Maïga, Djolof M'bengue

"What goes on inside the head of a man who knows he has only 24 hours to live?" begins a report from the Afp. "Franco-Senegalese director Alain Gomis takes viewers through this final day."

Barbara

Germany

By Christian Petzold (Yella, Jerichow, Dreileben)

With Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld

The synopsis from The Match Factory: "East Germany. Barbara has requested a departure permit. It is the summer of 1978. She is a physician and is transferred, for disciplinary reasons, to a small hospital far away from everything in a provincial backwater. Her lover, a foreign trade employee at Mannesmann that she met on a spring night in East Berlin, is working on her escape.

New film Storm reminded me the people who lose the most from war crimes trials are the ones they should protect: the victims

International criminal lawyers: renowned for being opaque, overpaid and cliquey. International criminal courts: painfully slow, unfair and bureaucratic. The war in former Yugoslavia: depressing, horrific and complex. The combination of all three is perhaps not the most obvious subject for a compelling film.

So I probably underestimated – or to quote a famous non-supporter of international criminal justice former President Bush, "misunderestimated" – the new film Storm, which tells the fictional story of a warmonger on trial for crimes against humanity and mass rape during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s.

The film, by Requiem director Hans-Christian Schmid, tells the story of a young woman who agrees to testify against a Serbian general responsible for the atrocities. She puts her family at risk in the interests of "justice...

• More award winning Berlin film Festival pick-ups from the Film Movement folks to report on, this time they've picked up the latest from Hans-Christian Schmid (director of Requiem and writer for And Along Come Tourists). To be released in the Fall, Storm features an international cast pair of female leads in Kerry Fox (who we most recently seen in Bright Star and might remember all the way back to Shallow Grave) and one of my favorite Eastern European discoveries in Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days). Schmid's Storm sees Hannah Maynard (Fox), prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, is leading a trial against a former commander of the Yugoslavian National Army who is accused of the deportation and later killing of dozens of Bosnian-Muslim civilians. When a key witness commits suicide, it looks like the case will unravel, however Hannah refuses to give in. Hoping to uncover new findings,

...

More Berlinale coverage

Film Review: Storm

Berlin -- The 59th Berlinale has its first Golden Bear front-runner after audiences here greeted Hans-Christian Schmid's war crimes thriller "Storm" with thunderous applause at its world premiere.

The drama, which stars Kerry Fox as a prosecutor going after a Serbian war criminal and Anamaria Marinca ("4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days") as her reluctant star witness, was already on the short list of many Berlinale handicappers for its cast and subject matter.

Political dramas tend to do well in Berlin. The past seven Golden Bear winners have had strong political themes. Jasmila Zbanic's "Esma's Secret," which won in 2006, explored the same subject matter as "Storm" -- the aftermath of the war in Yugoslavia and the mass rape of Muslim women by Serbian soldiers.

The 2009 jury, headed by actress Tilda Swinton, is considered by many Berlinale observers to be one of the most political in years.

With the addition of the following 26 titles (14 of which have been invited), the competition section is almost completed. You'll notice the kid with wings flick Ricky by Francois Ozon that we reported on earlier. Also having it's world premier is Mitchell Lichtenstein's (Teeth) newest film Happy Tears which sounds nothing it's predecessor (a genre piece) as it's a family drama.

You can check out the list after the break.

Competition (some out)

Cheri UK

By Stephen Frears (The Queen, Dangerous Liaisons)

With Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Rupert Friend, Felicity Jones

World premiere

Darbareye Elly (About Elly) Iran

By Asghar Farhadi (Fireworks Wednesday)

With Golshifteh Farahani, Taraneh Alidousti, Mani Haghighi

World premiere

Deutschland 09 Germany - Out of Competition

Compilation film by Fatih Akin, Tom Tykwer, Wolfgang Becker, Sylke Enders, Dominik Graf, Romuald Karmakar, Nicolette Krebitz, Isabelle Stever, Hans Steinbichler, Hans Weingartner, Christoph Hochhäusler, Dani Levy and Angela Schanelec

World...

Berlin -- Stephen Frears' period epic "Cheri," rap biopic "Notorious" and the omnibus project "Deutschland 09," featuring a who's who of German directing talent, have made the cut for next month's Berlin International Film Festival.

As the Berlinale rushes to close its competition lineup, director Dieter Kosslick has secured several high-profile titles for the race for the 2009 Golden Bear.

These include Francois Ozon's "Ricky"; "Storm," from German art house favorite Hans-Christian Schmid ("Requiem"); and "Happy Tears," Michael Lichtenstein's hotly-anticipated follow up to his breakthrough debut, "Teeth."

The fresh faces will be joined by several old masters including Andrzej Wajda, who returns to Berlin with "Sweet Rush"; Bertrand Tavernier, whose Civil War drama "In the Electric Mist," starring Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman, will have its world premiere in Berlin; and Costa-Gavras, who will close the festival with his out-of-competition entry "Eden Is West."

Other competition titles include Danish director Annette K.

COLOGNE, Germany -- There might be fewer German titles in Competition in the Berlin International Film Festival this year but the Festival's Forum sidebar is more than making up for that.

The Forum lineup, announced Wednesday, features no fewer than nine German-language features, including Madonnas, the sophomore effort from Maria Speth (The Days Between) featuring 2006 Silver Bear winner Sandra Hueller (Requiem).

Also from Germany is the family drama Hounds, from first-timer Ann-Kristin Reyels and Angela Schanelic's Afternoon, a retelling of Chekhov's The Sea Gull set in modern day Potsdam and Berlin.

Berlin-based artist Philip Scheffner will also be represented in this year's Forum with The Halfmoon Files, a look at the history of colonialism though the use of historic sound documents.

From Austria, the Forum has picked It Happened Just Before, a documentary-style drama from Anja Salomonowitz, Schindler's Houses from Heinz Emingholz which chronicles the work of architect Rudolph Schindler in Los Angeles; and The Prater, Ulrike Ottinger's portrait of Vienna's legendary fun fair with its iconic giant Ferris Wheel.

Two films from German-speaking Switzerland are also in this year's Forum lineup: Thomas Imbach's underwater fairytale I Was a Swiss Banker and Stefan Schwietert's portrayal of three traditional Swiss musicians, Heimatklaenge.

But the Berlinale Forum is hardly restricting itself to German-language cinema.

This year's Forum includes pictures from India -- Farhan Akhtar's updated version of classic Bollywood gangster film "Don" -- to the U.S., with Frederick Weisman's three-and-half-hour documentary examination of democracy in Idaho: State Legislature.

Other Forum titles include the debut feature Elvis Pelvis, a father-and-son tale from director Kevin Aduaka; Dol, a sarcastic drama from Iraqi Kurd helmer Hiner Saleem and Shotgun Stories, from Jeff Nichols, which tells the story of two feuding brothers in the southern U.S.

• Ioncinema.com presents: Best of Fests Tromsø International Film Festival When: January 16th to 21st, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('January 16, 2007'); Where: Location: Tromsø, NorwayOfficial Website: http://www.tiff.no/What: Tiff is a popular film festival for our audience, and at the same time an important meeting point for Norwegian and international film industry. TIFF07 will be Tromsø's 17th international film festival. Tromsø International Film Festival had in 2006 a total admission of 44 804. This makes Tiff Norway' largest festival.Accredited: No  Film Line Up:Opening NightSPANDEXMAN - Bobbie Peers, 2007Winterland - Hisham Zaman, 2006Closing NightONCE In A Lifetime - John Dower, Paul Crowder, 2005Competition ProgramBORDERPOST - Rajko Grlic , 2006Born And Bred - Pablo Trapero , 2006Chronicle Of An Escape - Isreal Adrián Caetano, 2006Colossal Youth - Pedro Costa, 2006Family Ties - Kim Tae-Yong, 2006Glue - Alexis Dos Santos, 2005Gypo - Jan Dunn, 2005Longing - Valeska Grisebach, 2006Lucy - Henner Winckler, 2006Requiem -

...

COLOGNE, Germany -- Hans-Christian Schmid's exorcism drama Requiem won Germany's top editing prize Monday night, while film editors Hansjorg Weissbrich and Bernd Schlegel took the best feature film award at this year's Schnitt Prize in Cologne.

A jury of film professionals picked Requiem as the best-cut German feature of 2006. In the documentary category, Jean-Marc Lesguillons won for his edit of Christopher Buchholz's Horst Buchholz -- Mein Papa, a portrait of his famous actor father.

The Schnitt short film prize went to Wolfgang Weigl for FairTrade, a look at the illegal business of child smuggling between Morocco and Germany.

The Schnitt Prize, now in its eighth year, is Germany's top award for film editing.

Volver, an opulent melodrama from veteran Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, and The Lives of Others, a claustrophobic look at life in communist East Germany from first-timer helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, garnered the most nominations for this year's European Film Awards.

Volver and Lives each picked up six EFA noms, including ones for best European film, best director and best actress -- for Penelope Cruz (Volver) and Martina Gedeck (Lives). Lives co-star Ulrich Muehe picked up a best actor nom for his portrayal of a Stasi surveillance expert.

Cruz and Gedeck are up against some tough competition, including Sandra Hueller, nominated for her performance as a girl possessed by demons in Requiem; Mirjana Karanovic, as woman scarred by the Balkan war in Jasmila Zbanic's Grbavica; Nathalie Baye as a tough police detective in Le petit lieutenant, from Xavier Beauvois; and Sarah Polley as a hearing-impaired woman caring for a disabled man in The Secret Life of Words.

Close behind Volver and Lives in the EFA-nomination stakes was Ken Loach's Palme d'Or winner "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," which received five nominations, including film, director and actor for Cillian Murphy.

Murphy's nom also was for his performance as an Irish transvestite in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto, a best European film nominee.

Volver, an opulent melodrama from veteran Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, and The Lives of Others, a claustrophobic look at life in communist East Germany from first-timer helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, garnered the most nominations for this year's European Film Awards.

Volver and Lives each picked up six EFA noms, including ones for best European film, best director and best actress -- for Penelope Cruz (Volver) and Martina Gedeck (Lives). Lives co-star Ulrich Muehe picked up a best actor nom for his portrayal of a Stasi surveillance expert.

Cruz and Gedeck are up against some tough competition, including Sandra Hueller, nominated for her performance as a girl possessed by demons in Requiem; Mirjana Karanovic, as woman scarred by the Balkan war in Jasmila Zbanic's Grbavica; Nathalie Baye as a tough police detective in Le petit lieutenant, from Xavier Beauvois; and Sarah Polley as a hearing-impaired woman caring for a disabled man in The Secret Life of Words.

Close behind Volver and Lives in the EFA-nomination stakes was Ken Loach's Palme d'Or winner "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," which received five nominations, including film, director and actor for Cillian Murphy.

Murphy's nom also was for his performance as an Irish transvestite in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto, a best European film nominee.

SITGES, Spain -- Hans-Christian Schmid's Requiem won Sitges' International Film Festival of Catalonia's top prize for best film Saturday as German films depicting horrific but true tales triumphed in the genre festival. Sandra Huller took the best actress nod for her role in Requiem as a young woman who died of exhaustion and malnutrition during an exorcism procedure. Germany's Martin Weisz received the best director prize for his Grimm Love Story, showing the cannibalistic date between two men who arranged to meet via the Internet. The screening in Sitges made headlines thanks to audience members fainting and vomiting during the film's more graphic sequences.

SITGES, Spain -- Hans-Christian Schmid's Requiem won Sitges' International Film Festival of Catalonia's top prize for best film Saturday as German films depicting horrific but true tales triumphed in the genre festival. Sandra Huller took the best actress nod for her role in Requiem as a young woman who died of exhaustion and malnutrition during an exorcism procedure. Germany's Martin Weisz received the best director prize for his Grimm Love Story, showing the cannibalistic date between two men who arranged to meet via the Internet. The screening in Sitges made headlines thanks to audience members fainting and vomiting during the film's more graphic sequences.

COLOGNE, Germany -- The frontrunners for this year's top local awards, the Lolas, were shut out of Germany's No. 2 film nods, the German Camera Awards. Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck's The Lives of Others and Hans-Christian Schmid's Requiem, which both scooped 10 Lola noms, failed to pick up a single German Camera mention. None of the Lola best-film nominees made this year's Camera prize shortlist, which honors excellence in cinematography and editing in film and television. In the feature film category, Carl-Friedrich Koschnik was nominated for lensing Oliver Hirschbiegel's Just an Ordinary Jew, Juergen Juerges for camera work on Sabine Michel's Take Your Life! and Christof Wahl for Til Schweiger's Barefoot. Editing noms went to Anja Neeral for Take Your Life! Barbara Gies for Tobias Hansen's No Songs of Love, Hansjoerg Weissbrich for editing Leander Haussmann's NVA and Christel Suckow for his work on Dominik Graf's The Red Cockatoo. This year's German Camera Prize winners will be announced May 23 in Cologne.

COLOGNE, Germany -- Krabat, the long-in-development children's book adaptation from Munich-based production house Claussen + Woebke, got a big boost Monday when Germany's Federal Film Board (FFA) signed a check for €800,000 ($957,520) toward production financing. Director Hans-Christian Schmid (Requiem) was originally attached to Krabat, an adaptation of Otfried Preussler's best-selling children's book, but in February, Marco Kreuzpainter (Welcome To America) took over as the film's helmer. Krabat is the story of a poor boy who becomes an apprentice to an evil magician. The FFA also backed "Auf der anderen Seite des Lebens" (On the Other Side of Life), the latest drama from director Fatih Akin (Head-On) with €400,000 ($478,760). The feature will be the second from Akin's new Corazon International shingle, which debuted last year with the music documentary Crossing the Bridge.

COLOGNE, Germany -- The Lives of Others, a taut drama about a Stasi surveillance expert who begins to question his faith in East Germany's communist dictatorship, dominated the nominations for Germany's top film prize, the Lolas, securing 11 nominations, including best picture and best director for first-time helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The German Film Academy announced the nominations Thursday at a press conference in Berlin. Close behind The Lives of Others was Hans-Christian Schmid's exorcism drama Requiem, which picked up 10 Lola nominations, including best actress for Sandra Hueller, whose performance won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival last month.

COLOGNE, Germany -- The Lives of Others, a taut drama about a Stasi surveillance expert who begins to question his faith in East Germany's communist dictatorship, dominated the nominations for Germany's top film prize, the Lolas, securing 11 nominations, including best picture and best director for first-time helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The German Film Academy announced the nominations Thursday at a press conference in Berlin. Close behind The Lives of Others was Hans-Christian Schmid's exorcism drama Requiem, which picked up 10 Lola nominations, including best actress for Sandra Hueller, whose performance won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival last month.

COLOGNE -- German helmer Marco Kreuzpainter (Summer Storm) will adapt Otfried Preussler's best-selling children's book Krabat for the screen, the film's producers, Claussen + Woebke, said Tuesday. The long-in-development project centers on a boy who becomes an unwilling apprentice to an evil magician in the German countryside. Shooting is set to start in October for a 2007 release. Kreuzpainter takes over directing duties from Hans-Christian Schmid, who had been previously attached to the project. Schmid's latest feature, Requiem, premiered earlier this month at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won a Silver Bear for lead Sandra Hueller.

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch independent distributor A-Film went on a spending spree during the recently wrapped Berlin International Film Festival, adding more than 20 titles to its catalog. A-Film snapped up rights to festival honorees The Road to Guantanamo from the U.K., Germany's Requiem, Iran's Off Side and Danish entry A Soap. Other A-Film pickups include Mrs. Ratcliffe's Revolution, Water, Closing the Ring, Mother of Mine, Lost Treasure, Little Red Flowers, Cut Sleeves Boy, House of Sands, Nina's Heavenly Delight, Shortbus, Surburban Mayhem, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Twelve and Holding, A Battle of Witz, TV Junkie, Dave Chapelle's Block Party and Quinceanera. Titles will be released this year by A-Film and its arthouse-oriented affiliate 1 More Film.

• Berlin gave us a sampling of comp and out-of-comp pics selected for the 56th edition. Selection of all 26 films to be screened in the competition section at the 56th Berlinale is due to be completed by mid-January. Here are some of the pics: Comp: Requiem - Hans-Christian Schmid The Elementary Particles - Oskar Roehler Candy - Neil Armfield Snow Angels - Marc Evans Grbavica - Jasmila Zbanic Invisible Waves - Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Non-Comp The Promise - The New World - Syriana - ...

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