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Acclaimed Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof will attend the upcoming 2025 Göteborg Film Festival with his latest film, family drama and political thriller “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Germany’s submission to this year’s international feature Oscar race which made the Oscar shortlist on Dec. 17.

Variety rates the film, which he also wrote and co-produced, as one of the five frontrunners in the international feature category to score an Oscar nomination on Jan. 17.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” has also scored Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for foreign-language film, and won the National Board of Review’s best international film award.

Banned in Rasoulof’s home country, the film has already garnered international recognition for its poignant narrative and exploration of political themes. Rasoulof, who currently lives in exile in Germany after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging by the Iranian regime as he wrapped “Sacred Fig,...

Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival.

The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film. The rights for France were previously taken by Pyramide and for North America by Neon.

Negotiations are underway for the rights in Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Latin America, the Baltics, Denmark, former Yugoslavia, the Indian subcontinent, Poland and Sweden.

It was revealed on Monday that Rasoulof had left Iran and traveled to Europe clandestinely after being sentenced to eight years in prison by the country’s authorities,...

While most eyes are on Austin, Texas this week for SXSW, many people on the East Coast eagerly await a closer show as this year’s Tribeca Film Festival kicks off on April 21st. The festival is mainly for indie pictures, rather than the larger, blockbuster films, but is also a great place for up-and-coming directors and writers to showcase their work.

With the festival coming up in just over a month, they are already rolling out this year’s schedule and have announced the first 34 films out of a total of 85 feature length and 47 shorts screening at this year’s fest. Among the titles were those submitted to the World Narrative and Documentary competition, as well as the Showcase and Special Events.

Some of the titles look to be quite intriguing, and could include some of the bigger names of the next decade. Be sure to check out the...

9th Annual Festival to Present 85 Feature-Length and 47 Short Film Selections from April 21 – May 2, 2010

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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach

New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.

The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...

The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival has announced its scheduled lineup -- and just like its home, New York City, its got a little bit of everything.

The Festival will kick off with the world premiere of DreamWorks' 3D "Shrek Forever After."

But then it launches into a darker realm with documentaries like Alex Gibney's latest. The Oscar-winning director ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will screen his new untitled doc on the former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 due to a sex scandal, as a work-in-progress. The film will screen as one of three special events that festival organizers announced Wednesday (Mar. 10).

The Special Events section also includes another work-in-progress screening of "The Western Front." This documentary follows its writer/director and Marine, Zachary Iscol, who returns to his battle site in Iraq's Al Anbar province. David Lean's 1965 classic "Doctor Zhivago" got a make-over for its 45th anniversary,...

Tribeca International Film Festival announced the first 34 feature films of the 2010 festival slate. “This year’s competition, the core of the Festival, represents contemporary international filmmaking at its finest, bringing together fresh voices with established storytellers. These stories will leave audiences engaged, as well as entertained, which is what our Festival is all about,” said David Kwok, Director of Programming for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Representing 8 countries, this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition will be an international film collection created by many first- and second-time directors. 7 of the films here in this section are World Premieres. Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal will be screened in ‘Showcase’ section of the festival. The lineup is as follows:

World Narrative Feature Competition "Buried Land," directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids.

Alex Gibney's latest documentary, a portrait of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 because of a sex scandal, will be spotlighted at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York.

The currently untitled film from the director of the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," will screen as a work-in-progress as one of three special events that festival organizers unveiled today.

"I think people will be really surprised," said David Kwok, the festival's director of programming. "It doesn't just focus on the scandal. It's more comprehensive than that, looking at Eliot Spitzer as a person and at his entire career."

Also playing in the fest's Special Events section are David Lean's 1965 epic "Doctor Zhivago," marking its 45th anniversary with a new restoration that will be released by Warner Home Video, and a work-in-progress screening of the doc "The Western Front,...