The opening title cards of Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand state that history is written primarily about men and war, while “for the rest of humanity, we must draw our own—often wild—conclusions.” For audiences, it’s a warning of the revisionism to come in this story of Katherine Parr (Alicia Vikander), the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII (Jude Law). It is, though, not a promise of a compelling or invigorating story, because the filmmakers, as intent as they were to play fast and loose in the sandbox of history, hardly explore the motives and emotions that drive Katherine as she balances her fealty to her husband and her friend Anne Askew (Erin Doherty), the famed poet who fought for the cause of English Reformation.
Instead, what follows is an often shapeless and rudderless film, focused mainly on whether or not King Henry trusts Katherine. (Spoiler alert...
Instead, what follows is an often shapeless and rudderless film, focused mainly on whether or not King Henry trusts Katherine. (Spoiler alert...
- 6/9/2024
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Jude Law has been teasing audiences for decades now. His looks, charm, tenacity, and willingness to channel that success in interesting, unexpected directions have always been admirable. But one of his riskier pivots — perhaps only in retrospect — was David O. Russell’s 2004 ensemble black comedy, “I Heart Huckabees.” Co-starring Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, and many others, the film follows a group of interconnected lives all being investigated by “existential detectives.” Law had admired Russell and, unlike some of Russell’s past players, continues a relationship with the auteur to this day, but knows the film and the process of making it can be viewed with a negative light.
“The experience of making that film was bizarre,” said Law in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “We were all there doing it for nothing, just loving being in each other’s company and playing. I remember fantasizing,...
“The experience of making that film was bizarre,” said Law in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “We were all there doing it for nothing, just loving being in each other’s company and playing. I remember fantasizing,...
- 6/8/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like Jennifer Lopez will be touring this summer after all. And while that’s certainly a crime against Pride Month if not humanity itself, it at least frees up some extra time–and money–to watch some movies. And while 2024 looks to be a rather tepid year for blockbusters, there are still plenty of Don’t-Miss Indies out there ready to crawl into your eyes and ears.
Someday We’LL Tell Each Other Everything
When You Can Watch: June 7
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Emily Atef
Cast: Marlene Burow, Felix Kramer, Cedric Eich
Why We’re Excited: After directing multiple episodes of the hit BBC America series Killing Eve, filmmaker Emily Atef returns to the big screen with a May-December romance, set in the muggy summer of 1990 in the East German countryside of Thuringia just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Based on Daniela Krien’s 2011 novel,...
Someday We’LL Tell Each Other Everything
When You Can Watch: June 7
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Emily Atef
Cast: Marlene Burow, Felix Kramer, Cedric Eich
Why We’re Excited: After directing multiple episodes of the hit BBC America series Killing Eve, filmmaker Emily Atef returns to the big screen with a May-December romance, set in the muggy summer of 1990 in the East German countryside of Thuringia just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Based on Daniela Krien’s 2011 novel,...
- 6/6/2024
- by Su Fang Tham
- Film Independent News & More
Programmers from Sundance, Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, Toronto, and Rotterdam, sales agents such as Goodfellas and Coproduction Office and U.S. distributor Magnify Pictures are among 50 top international guests expected at the inaugural Ecam Forum co-production market in Madrid, which is due to unspool June 10-14.
More than 300 delegates have signed up for the co-pro event where a curated slate of 37 Spanish, Latin American and international films and series will compete for the best project, including the next Lois Patiño (“Samsara”), Pablo Hernando (“Berserker”), Belén Funes (“A Thief’s Daughter”) and Sergi Perez (“The Long Way Home”).
Other highlights include masterclasses from U.S. indie mogul Ted Hope, and France’s illustrious cinematographer Hélène Louvart, a regular Alice Rohrwacher and Karim Aïnouz collaborator, and Silver Bear winner 2023 for “Disco Boy.”
In this exclusive interview, Ecam Forum’s coordinator Alberto Valverde maps out the full program of the latest industry initiative of Madrid’s Ecam film school,...
More than 300 delegates have signed up for the co-pro event where a curated slate of 37 Spanish, Latin American and international films and series will compete for the best project, including the next Lois Patiño (“Samsara”), Pablo Hernando (“Berserker”), Belén Funes (“A Thief’s Daughter”) and Sergi Perez (“The Long Way Home”).
Other highlights include masterclasses from U.S. indie mogul Ted Hope, and France’s illustrious cinematographer Hélène Louvart, a regular Alice Rohrwacher and Karim Aïnouz collaborator, and Silver Bear winner 2023 for “Disco Boy.”
In this exclusive interview, Ecam Forum’s coordinator Alberto Valverde maps out the full program of the latest industry initiative of Madrid’s Ecam film school,...
- 6/5/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in February 2022 and has been updated multiple times since.]
Sex on film is nothing new, and yet unsimulated intercourse in non-pornographic movies has raised eyebrows and drawn eyeballs for decades. From Vincent Gallo’s controversial directing for “The Brown Bunny” to Robert Pattinson’s masturbatory method acting in “Little Ashes,” genuine intimate encounters captured on film — however staged they may be — can pull audiences into the bigger stories their writers and directors are trying to tell.
Catherine Breillat’s first film in 1976, “A Real Young Girl,” adapts her own controversial novel about a 14-year-old exploring her newfound sexuality. Breillat’s later work, 1999’s “Romance,” tells the story of a woman desperately seeking human connection and featured similar scenes, including sadomasochistic sex play.
“Actors are prostitutes because they’re asked to play other feelings,” Breillat told IndieWire. “This prostitution is not profane; it’s a sacred act that we give them.”
John Cameron Mitchell set out to “honor” sex as a pastime for real people,...
Sex on film is nothing new, and yet unsimulated intercourse in non-pornographic movies has raised eyebrows and drawn eyeballs for decades. From Vincent Gallo’s controversial directing for “The Brown Bunny” to Robert Pattinson’s masturbatory method acting in “Little Ashes,” genuine intimate encounters captured on film — however staged they may be — can pull audiences into the bigger stories their writers and directors are trying to tell.
Catherine Breillat’s first film in 1976, “A Real Young Girl,” adapts her own controversial novel about a 14-year-old exploring her newfound sexuality. Breillat’s later work, 1999’s “Romance,” tells the story of a woman desperately seeking human connection and featured similar scenes, including sadomasochistic sex play.
“Actors are prostitutes because they’re asked to play other feelings,” Breillat told IndieWire. “This prostitution is not profane; it’s a sacred act that we give them.”
John Cameron Mitchell set out to “honor” sex as a pastime for real people,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
The big winners out of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival suggest bright times ahead for indie and international moviegoing. Sean Baker’s “Anora” winning the Palme was a kind of apotheosis for the self-made indie filmmaker. And Neon already has the movie for U.S. distribution — the company’s fifth Palme d’Or winner in a row. Meanwhile, other Cannes winners like “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix), “All We Imagine as Light” (Sideshow/Janus), and “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (Neon) have homes awaiting them on the other side of their journeys out of Cannes and into the world.
But in a compressed time for film sales across fiction and nonfiction titles, that means plenty of movies that premiered at Cannes are still searching for a home. And what a world where the latest film from two-time Palme d’Or winner Francis Ford Coppola is among them (“Megalopolis”). Same with David Cronenberg...
But in a compressed time for film sales across fiction and nonfiction titles, that means plenty of movies that premiered at Cannes are still searching for a home. And what a world where the latest film from two-time Palme d’Or winner Francis Ford Coppola is among them (“Megalopolis”). Same with David Cronenberg...
- 5/28/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Simply put, Brazilian motels are places for people to have sex. Everyone knows it, no one objects to it. You pay by the hour and the suite is yours––a big bed, porn on-demand, bring red or blue lighting to illuminate the bodies as they merge––to fulfill your carnal needs. As well as a haven for horny people in transit, the motel is a place to return to and consummate a bond that deepens with every sexual act. Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz zooms in on one such location in Motel Destino, his sixth Cannes entry thus far, and second in the Main Competition. The northeastern coast of Ceará is where the film takes place. The cinematic version of Aïnouz’s home province glistens under the scorching sun of the equator, the sea lapping at the sand while crime is still what a lot of people do to get by:...
- 5/26/2024
- by Savina Petkova
- The Film Stage
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival is finally coming to a close — but not without a big splash. Crossing the Croissette one last time, stars and filmmakers alike are about to find out who’s taking home this year’s prizes.
Guessing the Palme d’Or winner has become a beloved pastime for fans and critics alike, but the best part of any Cannes Awards ceremony are the surprises. This year’s jury, led by Greta Gerwig and including Lily Gladstone, Ebru Ceylan, Eva Green, Nadine Labaki, J.A. Bayona, Pierfrancesco Favino, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Omar Sy, has been pretty tight-lipped about its preferences, but there are certainly a few standouts amongst the 22 films in competition.
“Megalopolis,” Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-in-the-making passion project saw him return to Cannes after many years, but was met with a mixed response despite IndieWire’s own appreciation for the film. One of the real standouts of...
Guessing the Palme d’Or winner has become a beloved pastime for fans and critics alike, but the best part of any Cannes Awards ceremony are the surprises. This year’s jury, led by Greta Gerwig and including Lily Gladstone, Ebru Ceylan, Eva Green, Nadine Labaki, J.A. Bayona, Pierfrancesco Favino, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Omar Sy, has been pretty tight-lipped about its preferences, but there are certainly a few standouts amongst the 22 films in competition.
“Megalopolis,” Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-in-the-making passion project saw him return to Cannes after many years, but was met with a mixed response despite IndieWire’s own appreciation for the film. One of the real standouts of...
- 5/25/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
A History of Unsimulated Sex Scenes in 17 Cannes Films, from ‘Mektoub’ to ‘Antichrist’ to ‘Caligula’
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated several times since.
Deserved or not, French cinema has a reputation for being a little racy. From classics like “Belle de Jour” to controversial modern films like “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” French film has consistently pushed the boundaries of sexuality and sensuality onscreen. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the country’s premier film festival Cannes is such an oasis for sexually explicit films, ones that have frequently generated controversy over its history — especially when these films feature unsimulated sexual acts.
Unsimulated sex onscreen at Cannes dates back to at least 1973, when the film “Thriller — a Cruel Picture,” featuring several acts of hardcore unsimulated porn, played at the festival. In the years afterwards, particularly provocative and avant-garde works like “Sweet Movie” and “The Idiots” caused shock at Cannes by presenting audiences with real, unvarnished sexual content.
Deserved or not, French cinema has a reputation for being a little racy. From classics like “Belle de Jour” to controversial modern films like “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” French film has consistently pushed the boundaries of sexuality and sensuality onscreen. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the country’s premier film festival Cannes is such an oasis for sexually explicit films, ones that have frequently generated controversy over its history — especially when these films feature unsimulated sexual acts.
Unsimulated sex onscreen at Cannes dates back to at least 1973, when the film “Thriller — a Cruel Picture,” featuring several acts of hardcore unsimulated porn, played at the festival. In the years afterwards, particularly provocative and avant-garde works like “Sweet Movie” and “The Idiots” caused shock at Cannes by presenting audiences with real, unvarnished sexual content.
- 5/23/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Those look for a libido-juicing kick at this year’s Cannes Film Festival surely found it in “Motel Destino,” the sexually explicit erotic thriller from Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz.
Competing in the main competition once again after “Invisible Life” and “Firebrand,” Aïnouz returned to his native Brazil to shoot this perverse psychosexual triangle about the owners of a sex motel along the country’s northeastern Atlantic coast, and the criminal drifter who disrupts their lives. The wild-haired Dayana (Nataly Rocha) operates the Motel Destino with her abusive husband Elias (Fábio Assunção), where she takes up an unhinged affair with Heraldo (Iago Xavier), and amid nonstop sucking and fucking, plot to kill Elias in the grand tradition of the great noirs. Except it’s a noir with a post-Hays Code, liberated twist that has rocked Cannes with its strong, pervasive sexual content, to use the language of the American Motion Picture Association’s ratings board.
Competing in the main competition once again after “Invisible Life” and “Firebrand,” Aïnouz returned to his native Brazil to shoot this perverse psychosexual triangle about the owners of a sex motel along the country’s northeastern Atlantic coast, and the criminal drifter who disrupts their lives. The wild-haired Dayana (Nataly Rocha) operates the Motel Destino with her abusive husband Elias (Fábio Assunção), where she takes up an unhinged affair with Heraldo (Iago Xavier), and amid nonstop sucking and fucking, plot to kill Elias in the grand tradition of the great noirs. Except it’s a noir with a post-Hays Code, liberated twist that has rocked Cannes with its strong, pervasive sexual content, to use the language of the American Motion Picture Association’s ratings board.
- 5/23/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
One of the favorited Brazilian filmmakers of the Cannes film festival with Madame Satã (2002), O Céu de Suely (2006), and winner A Vida Invisível de Eurídice Gusmão having all premiered at the fest’s Un Certain Regard section. Adding Special Screening selected Mariner Of The Mountains (2021) and last year’s Firebrand, Karim Aïnouz makes a quick Croisette return with Motel Destino. Iago Xavier, Nataly Rocha and Fábio Assunção are in the lead roles here in this film noir.
Gist: The neon-hued Motel Destino, a roadside sex hotel steaming under the burning blue skies of the northeastern coast of Brazil, is run by hot-headed Elias and his restless younger wife Dayana.…...
Gist: The neon-hued Motel Destino, a roadside sex hotel steaming under the burning blue skies of the northeastern coast of Brazil, is run by hot-headed Elias and his restless younger wife Dayana.…...
- 5/23/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Destiny Indemnity: Ainouz Retrofits a Noir Classic
“Love, when you get fear in it, it’s not love any more, it’s hate,” wrote James M. Cain in his indelible, eternal noir 1934 novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. Director Karim Aïnouz returns to his native Brazil to deliver a queer take on the text in Motel Destino. Ultimately, set almost entirely within the confines of an isolated ‘love motel’ in Ceara, little does the protagonist realize it’s the kind of place he can check out any time he likes but may not ever leave. A vibrant palette of deep hues courtesy of Dp Hélène Louvart enhances the brooding elements underneath the surface of an idyllic captivity, a sweaty, web gilded with dangerous desires, where death has a better chance of knocking than the postman.…...
“Love, when you get fear in it, it’s not love any more, it’s hate,” wrote James M. Cain in his indelible, eternal noir 1934 novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. Director Karim Aïnouz returns to his native Brazil to deliver a queer take on the text in Motel Destino. Ultimately, set almost entirely within the confines of an isolated ‘love motel’ in Ceara, little does the protagonist realize it’s the kind of place he can check out any time he likes but may not ever leave. A vibrant palette of deep hues courtesy of Dp Hélène Louvart enhances the brooding elements underneath the surface of an idyllic captivity, a sweaty, web gilded with dangerous desires, where death has a better chance of knocking than the postman.…...
- 5/23/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Miguel Gomes’ Grand Tour impressed critics on Screen International’s Cannes jury grid while Karim Aïnouz’s Motel Destino saw mixed results.
Gomes’ first Cannes Competition feature scored an average of three after The Telegraph, Justin Chang (La Times), Kong Rithdee (Bangkok Post) and Screen’s own critic gave it ’four stars’ (excellent). The black-and-white feature also received five ‘three stars’ (good), two ‘two stars’ (average), and one ’one star’ (poor) from Nt Binh at France’s Positif.
Set in 1917, Grand Tour stars Goncalo Waddington as a British Empire official in Burma who runs away on his wedding day, only...
Gomes’ first Cannes Competition feature scored an average of three after The Telegraph, Justin Chang (La Times), Kong Rithdee (Bangkok Post) and Screen’s own critic gave it ’four stars’ (excellent). The black-and-white feature also received five ‘three stars’ (good), two ‘two stars’ (average), and one ’one star’ (poor) from Nt Binh at France’s Positif.
Set in 1917, Grand Tour stars Goncalo Waddington as a British Empire official in Burma who runs away on his wedding day, only...
- 5/23/2024
- ScreenDaily
“Fireband” is a new Brit-produced historical drama feature, directed by Karim Aïnouz, recounting the life of ‘Katherine Parr’, the last wife of ‘Henry VIII’, starring Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, Eddie Marsan, Ruby Bentall, Bryony Hannah, Sam Riley, and Maia Jemmett, releasing June 14, 2024 in theaters:
“..in ‘Tudor England’, twice married, accomplished, and educated ‘Katherine Parr’ (Vikander), reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical ‘King Henry VIII’ (Law).
“Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given that her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded, or dead. When Henry appoints her as ‘Regent’, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas, he lays a dangerous path for her.
“Henry’s courtiers, suspecting she’s sympathetic to radical ‘Protestant’ beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom and are a threat to their power, scheme against her and cast doubts upon her fidelity to the increasingly ailing and paranoid King.
“..in ‘Tudor England’, twice married, accomplished, and educated ‘Katherine Parr’ (Vikander), reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical ‘King Henry VIII’ (Law).
“Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given that her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded, or dead. When Henry appoints her as ‘Regent’, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas, he lays a dangerous path for her.
“Henry’s courtiers, suspecting she’s sympathetic to radical ‘Protestant’ beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom and are a threat to their power, scheme against her and cast doubts upon her fidelity to the increasingly ailing and paranoid King.
- 5/23/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Motel Destino, directed by Karim Aïnouz, begins with a burst of energy and intrigue, setting up a promising neo-noir thriller set against the vibrant backdrop of Northeastern Brazil. The film follows Heraldo (Iago Xavier) and his brother, whose favorite pastime of beach outings and capoeira practice belies their darker side as petty criminals indebted to a local madam. Their latest assignment — a high-stakes murder — plunges them into a realm of danger and desperation. However, despite its gripping start and lush cinematography, the film ultimately loses its way, bogged down by a sluggish middle act and narrative inconsistencies.
The brothers are tasked with assassinating a Frenchman in exchange for freedom from their debt. Before the mission, Heraldo decides to unwind at a nightclub, where he meets a mysterious woman who leads him to Motel Destino. After a night of passion, he awakens to find her gone, his money stolen and himself locked in the room.
The brothers are tasked with assassinating a Frenchman in exchange for freedom from their debt. Before the mission, Heraldo decides to unwind at a nightclub, where he meets a mysterious woman who leads him to Motel Destino. After a night of passion, he awakens to find her gone, his money stolen and himself locked in the room.
- 5/22/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes film festival
A young man on the run from a mob boss lands an unlikely job in a brutally functional love motel and starts a passionate affair with the manager’s wife
As motel names go, it’s certainly more portentous than “Bates”. But destiny of a sort, shaped by class and money and family abuse, is waiting for the hero and heroine of this movie. This is an erotic noir thriller from Karim Aïnouz; a noir lit mostly by bright sunshine, shot with garish glee by Hélène Louvart. It takes place in a brutally functional love motel near the beach in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Ceará; this is a place from which the couple are fated to be expelled naked, like Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
Motel Destino is co-written by Wislan Esmeraldo and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Aïnouz who had a film...
A young man on the run from a mob boss lands an unlikely job in a brutally functional love motel and starts a passionate affair with the manager’s wife
As motel names go, it’s certainly more portentous than “Bates”. But destiny of a sort, shaped by class and money and family abuse, is waiting for the hero and heroine of this movie. This is an erotic noir thriller from Karim Aïnouz; a noir lit mostly by bright sunshine, shot with garish glee by Hélène Louvart. It takes place in a brutally functional love motel near the beach in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Ceará; this is a place from which the couple are fated to be expelled naked, like Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
Motel Destino is co-written by Wislan Esmeraldo and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Aïnouz who had a film...
- 5/22/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Nihilism and neon-popped lust collide in Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz’s Portuguese-language “Motel Destino,” set in a love motel so sordid that lay tourists should best avoid it, and only criminals and castaways are likely to check in. The “Invisible Life” director’s steamy psychosexual thriller set in the sweatiest armpit of the equator speaks melodrama and noir but with a Brazilian accent, Aïnouz returning to his home state of Ceará to shoot on his own turf for the first time in five years. The writer/director lifts from classics such as Lawrence Kasdan’s “Body Heat” and Billy Wilder’s “Double Indemnity” but also from ‘70s Brazilian sex comedies to tell a perverse yarn of extramarital betrayal turned murderous. But while the pre-“Body Heat” noirs he’s channeling could only suggest rather than spell out sex, Aïnouz goes graphic — and relentlessly — in an arthouse-only erotic genre piece that...
- 5/22/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Sean Baker’s Anora has stormed to the top of Screen’s Cannes jury while Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope divided critics and Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio scored the lowest of this year’s festival so far.
Baker’s latest feature received a solid 3.3 - the first film this year to score an average above three stars, overtaking last year’s jury grid winner, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (3.2).
The US comedy-drama about a sex worker received six scores of four stars (excellent) and four marks of three stars (good). Critics Katja Nicodemus (Germany’s Die Zeit) and Anton Dolin (Meduza) were less convinced,...
Baker’s latest feature received a solid 3.3 - the first film this year to score an average above three stars, overtaking last year’s jury grid winner, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (3.2).
The US comedy-drama about a sex worker received six scores of four stars (excellent) and four marks of three stars (good). Critics Katja Nicodemus (Germany’s Die Zeit) and Anton Dolin (Meduza) were less convinced,...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
French- Algerian actor-director Salim Kechiouche has revealed his next film Wolf Dreams will start shooting in Algeria in early 2025.
The film is an adaptation of Yasmina’s Khadra’s novel of the same name about the journey of a young actor who, deprived of his dreams, ends up joining an extremist group in 1990s Algeria.
It is produced by France’s Thelma Films and La Furie de la Lune with Algeria’s 2Horloges Productions, which notably co-produced The King of Algiers that premiered in Cannes last year.
It marks Kechiouche’s follow up to 2023 debut feature L’Enfant Du Paradis in which he also starred.
The film is an adaptation of Yasmina’s Khadra’s novel of the same name about the journey of a young actor who, deprived of his dreams, ends up joining an extremist group in 1990s Algeria.
It is produced by France’s Thelma Films and La Furie de la Lune with Algeria’s 2Horloges Productions, which notably co-produced The King of Algiers that premiered in Cannes last year.
It marks Kechiouche’s follow up to 2023 debut feature L’Enfant Du Paradis in which he also starred.
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Mike Figgis has been shooting a behind-the-scenes documentary for the past 18 months about the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. It’s called Megadoc.
Figgis told me Monday that it’s been edited but there’s allowance for the fact that the film played in competition here at the Cannes Film Festival. He recorded an interview with the cinema titan the other day.
Figgis, who was introduced into the Coppola clan back in the mid 1990s after directing Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, told me that the documentary is “very much a fly-on-the-wall” and also features conversations with various cast members — Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman, Shia Labeouf — and Coppola’s wife Eleanor Coppola, who shot the footage and directed her own study of her husband’s work for the acclaimed Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, about the making of 1979s Apocalypse Now.
He will go...
Figgis told me Monday that it’s been edited but there’s allowance for the fact that the film played in competition here at the Cannes Film Festival. He recorded an interview with the cinema titan the other day.
Figgis, who was introduced into the Coppola clan back in the mid 1990s after directing Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, told me that the documentary is “very much a fly-on-the-wall” and also features conversations with various cast members — Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman, Shia Labeouf — and Coppola’s wife Eleanor Coppola, who shot the footage and directed her own study of her husband’s work for the acclaimed Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, about the making of 1979s Apocalypse Now.
He will go...
- 5/21/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Swedish director Ruben Östlund, who won Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for “The Square” and “Triangle of Sadness,” was among the guests at the German Films and Medienboard Reception on May 18 in the garden of the Mondrian Hotel in Cannes.
Östlund, who is in the Riviera resort to promote his latest production, “The Entertainment System Is Down,” was accompanied by Philippe Bober of Coproduction Office, one of the film’s producers, and Erik Hemmendorf of Plattform Produktion, Östlund’s Swedish producer. (They are pictured above.)
German Films, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, was represented at the event by managing director Simone Baumann, and Medienboard, which is a film fund for the Berlin-Brandenburg region, was represented by its CEO Kirsten Niehuus. Variety was the media partner for the reception.
Among the other guests attending were Karim Aïnouz, director of “Motel Destino,” which plays in this year’s Competition section at Cannes.
Östlund, who is in the Riviera resort to promote his latest production, “The Entertainment System Is Down,” was accompanied by Philippe Bober of Coproduction Office, one of the film’s producers, and Erik Hemmendorf of Plattform Produktion, Östlund’s Swedish producer. (They are pictured above.)
German Films, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, was represented at the event by managing director Simone Baumann, and Medienboard, which is a film fund for the Berlin-Brandenburg region, was represented by its CEO Kirsten Niehuus. Variety was the media partner for the reception.
Among the other guests attending were Karim Aïnouz, director of “Motel Destino,” which plays in this year’s Competition section at Cannes.
- 5/21/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle’s Rome-based company The Apartment has boarded Karim Aïnouz’s next feature Rosebushpruning in partnership with The Match Factory, Mubi, Kavac Film and Rai Cinema.
It marks the first big film announcement for The Apartment since the arrival of Annamaria Morelli as its CEO in February, following the departure of founder Lorenzo Mieli.
As announced in Cannes this week, Kristen Stewart, Josh O’Connor, and Elle Fanning are signed to co-star in Rosebushpruning, which shoots later this year.
Aïnouz is directing from a script written by Efthimis Filippou, adapted from Marco Bellocchio’s debut feature Fists in the Pocket, a satirical drama about a dysfunctional family.
Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing Rosebushpruning for The Match Factory, which is also handling worldwide sales for the film.
The adaptation rights have been acquired from Kavac Film also attached at the production team with Simone Gattoni.
It marks the first big film announcement for The Apartment since the arrival of Annamaria Morelli as its CEO in February, following the departure of founder Lorenzo Mieli.
As announced in Cannes this week, Kristen Stewart, Josh O’Connor, and Elle Fanning are signed to co-star in Rosebushpruning, which shoots later this year.
Aïnouz is directing from a script written by Efthimis Filippou, adapted from Marco Bellocchio’s debut feature Fists in the Pocket, a satirical drama about a dysfunctional family.
Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing Rosebushpruning for The Match Factory, which is also handling worldwide sales for the film.
The adaptation rights have been acquired from Kavac Film also attached at the production team with Simone Gattoni.
- 5/20/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Apartment to Produce ‘Rosebushpruning,’ Starring Kristen Stewart, Josh O’Connor and Elle Fanning
Fremantle’s The Apartment will partner with The Match Factory, Mubi, Kavac Film and Rai Cinema to produce Karim Aïnouz’s next feature film “Rosebushpruning.”
Directed by Aïnouz, the film’s lead cast includes Kristen Stewart (“Love Lies Bleeding,” “Spencer”), Josh O’Connor (“Challengers,” “God’s Own Country”) and Elle Fanning (“Teen Spirit,” “The Great”). Aïnouz is directing from a script written by Efthimis Filippou (Kinds of Kindness, Dogtooth, The Lobster), which is an adaptation from Marco Bellocchio’s debut feature Fists in the Pocket.
Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing “Rosebushpruning” for The Match Factory, who are also handling worldwide sales for the film. The adaptation rights have been acquired from Kavac Film also attached at the production team with Simone Gattoni. The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, is co-producing, with Annamaria Morelli as executive producer. Rachel Dargavel for Crybaby Films is co-producing in the UK. Mubi is financing production alongside...
Directed by Aïnouz, the film’s lead cast includes Kristen Stewart (“Love Lies Bleeding,” “Spencer”), Josh O’Connor (“Challengers,” “God’s Own Country”) and Elle Fanning (“Teen Spirit,” “The Great”). Aïnouz is directing from a script written by Efthimis Filippou (Kinds of Kindness, Dogtooth, The Lobster), which is an adaptation from Marco Bellocchio’s debut feature Fists in the Pocket.
Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing “Rosebushpruning” for The Match Factory, who are also handling worldwide sales for the film. The adaptation rights have been acquired from Kavac Film also attached at the production team with Simone Gattoni. The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, is co-producing, with Annamaria Morelli as executive producer. Rachel Dargavel for Crybaby Films is co-producing in the UK. Mubi is financing production alongside...
- 5/20/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Fremantle’s The Apartment boarded Karim Aïnouz’s next feature Rosebushpruning, as co-producer, with The Match Factory, Mubi, Kavac Film and Rai Cinema.
The cast for the film, first announced last year, includes Kristen Stewart, Josh O’Connor and Elle Fanning.
Brazilian director Aïnouz is in Cometition at Cannes with Motel Destino, having last year premiered Firebrand in Compeition. Aïnouz is directing from a script by Kinds Of Kindness and Dogtooth writer Efthimis Filippou who has adapted Marco Bellocchio’s debut feature Fists In The Pocket.
Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing Rosebushpruning for The Match Factory, who are also...
The cast for the film, first announced last year, includes Kristen Stewart, Josh O’Connor and Elle Fanning.
Brazilian director Aïnouz is in Cometition at Cannes with Motel Destino, having last year premiered Firebrand in Compeition. Aïnouz is directing from a script by Kinds Of Kindness and Dogtooth writer Efthimis Filippou who has adapted Marco Bellocchio’s debut feature Fists In The Pocket.
Viola Fügen and Michael Weber are producing Rosebushpruning for The Match Factory, who are also...
- 5/20/2024
- ScreenDaily
German Films celebrated its 70th anniversary at Cannes on Sunday, with its guests looking back but also looking forward.
“It has gotten much better,” Managing Director Simone Baumann told Variety at the event.
“We’ve had Oscar-winning ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ Oscar-nominated ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ [for best international feature], films by Wim Wenders and with Sandra Hüller! Sure, Wim showed a Japanese movie and Sandra a French one [‘Perfect Days’ and ‘Anatomy of a Fall’], but it doesn’t matter: It’s more ‘mixed’ these days and I am proud of it, to be honest.”
At Cannes, 14 German productions and co-productions have been selected this year, including Match Factory’s main competition offerings “Motel Destino” by Karim Aïnouz – who also attended the bash – and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour.” Run Way Pictures is behind Mohammad Rasoulof’s anticipated “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
As festivals get “more competitive,” underlines Baumann, international collabs are here to stay.
“It has gotten much better,” Managing Director Simone Baumann told Variety at the event.
“We’ve had Oscar-winning ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ Oscar-nominated ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ [for best international feature], films by Wim Wenders and with Sandra Hüller! Sure, Wim showed a Japanese movie and Sandra a French one [‘Perfect Days’ and ‘Anatomy of a Fall’], but it doesn’t matter: It’s more ‘mixed’ these days and I am proud of it, to be honest.”
At Cannes, 14 German productions and co-productions have been selected this year, including Match Factory’s main competition offerings “Motel Destino” by Karim Aïnouz – who also attended the bash – and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour.” Run Way Pictures is behind Mohammad Rasoulof’s anticipated “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
As festivals get “more competitive,” underlines Baumann, international collabs are here to stay.
- 5/20/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Cate Blanchett’s new film “Rumours” took its name from the iconic Fleetwood Mac album, it was revealed on Sunday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference.
The dark comedy, directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, follows a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 — a political and economic meeting of the minds between Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — but get lost in the woods while trying to compose a joint statement. Debauchery ensues, and there are romantic connections between a few of the politicians.
“I did confirm something with Galen last night, and it’s weird that it never came up in rehearsal, which is: ‘Why the hell is this movie called Rumours?'” Blanchett said at the presser. “And my husband had said, ‘Is that after the Fleetwood Mac album?’ And you said, ‘Yes it was.
The dark comedy, directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, follows a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 — a political and economic meeting of the minds between Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — but get lost in the woods while trying to compose a joint statement. Debauchery ensues, and there are romantic connections between a few of the politicians.
“I did confirm something with Galen last night, and it’s weird that it never came up in rehearsal, which is: ‘Why the hell is this movie called Rumours?'” Blanchett said at the presser. “And my husband had said, ‘Is that after the Fleetwood Mac album?’ And you said, ‘Yes it was.
- 5/19/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Brazilian production powerhouse Gullane, which is behind Netflix’s “Senna” and Karim Aïnouz’s Cannes competition title “Motel Destino,” has closed international co-production pacts on new projects from Cao Hamburger (”The Year My Parents Went on Vacation”) and Sandra Kogut (“Three Summers”).
France’s Playtime Group and Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes will co-produce Hamburger’s “School Without Walls.” A Playtime Group company will also handle international sales on the true and inspiring story of Braz Nogueira, principal of a public school in Heliopolis, one of Brazil’s biggest slums.
Kogut will direct “New Cancun,” co-created by and starring Sundance actress winner Regina Casé. The film teams Gullane with Kogut’s regular producer in France, Gloria Films. It’s slated to shoot by the first quarter of 2025.
In the film, Casé plays Madá, who has never dwelled on her family’s tragedy in an environmental disaster. When chosen for a Christmas campaign,...
France’s Playtime Group and Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes will co-produce Hamburger’s “School Without Walls.” A Playtime Group company will also handle international sales on the true and inspiring story of Braz Nogueira, principal of a public school in Heliopolis, one of Brazil’s biggest slums.
Kogut will direct “New Cancun,” co-created by and starring Sundance actress winner Regina Casé. The film teams Gullane with Kogut’s regular producer in France, Gloria Films. It’s slated to shoot by the first quarter of 2025.
In the film, Casé plays Madá, who has never dwelled on her family’s tragedy in an environmental disaster. When chosen for a Christmas campaign,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Cate Blanchett blew kisses to the Cannes Film Festival audience as her new film, “Rumours,” earned a four-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night.
The crowd welcomed the film’s dark humor, laughing throughout the entirety of the late-night screening. While some of the auditorium emptied out while the credits rolled, the majority of filmgoers waited patiently to pay their respects to the film’s stars. Blanchett’s “Rumours” co-star Alicia Vikander was notably not in attendance.
The film’s trio of directors — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson — seemed surprised by Cannes’ relatively new tradition of handing the filmmaker(s) a microphone for post-screening remarks. They made a speech together after the applause wrapped, thanking the audience and quoting their own film by saying “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
The dark comedy follows a group of world leaders who meet...
The crowd welcomed the film’s dark humor, laughing throughout the entirety of the late-night screening. While some of the auditorium emptied out while the credits rolled, the majority of filmgoers waited patiently to pay their respects to the film’s stars. Blanchett’s “Rumours” co-star Alicia Vikander was notably not in attendance.
The film’s trio of directors — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson — seemed surprised by Cannes’ relatively new tradition of handing the filmmaker(s) a microphone for post-screening remarks. They made a speech together after the applause wrapped, thanking the audience and quoting their own film by saying “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
The dark comedy follows a group of world leaders who meet...
- 5/18/2024
- by Angelique Jackson and Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Brazil’s Spcine, the city of São Paulo’s film-tv body, is launching the third edition of its cash rebate program, which prioritizes international projects looking to shoot in the vibrant city and state.
Municipal support for the program has already been renewed, now totalling US$ 3.8 million, while negotiations with the state of São Paulo are still ongoing, said Luiz Toledo, Spcine director of investments and strategic partnerships.
The incentive program, which offers 20%-30% cash rebates to international films and TV shows – whether fiction, non-fiction, Xr or animation – stipulates a minimum investment of $2 million in the territory and a cap per project of $3 million. Additional bonus percentages are provided to projects that embrace diversity.
“We are beginning to reap tangible results since we launched in 2019,” Toledo noted, estimating that São Paulo has attracted an average of 1,000 projects a year – encompassing films, series, ads and video clips – which invested a combined...
Municipal support for the program has already been renewed, now totalling US$ 3.8 million, while negotiations with the state of São Paulo are still ongoing, said Luiz Toledo, Spcine director of investments and strategic partnerships.
The incentive program, which offers 20%-30% cash rebates to international films and TV shows – whether fiction, non-fiction, Xr or animation – stipulates a minimum investment of $2 million in the territory and a cap per project of $3 million. Additional bonus percentages are provided to projects that embrace diversity.
“We are beginning to reap tangible results since we launched in 2019,” Toledo noted, estimating that São Paulo has attracted an average of 1,000 projects a year – encompassing films, series, ads and video clips – which invested a combined...
- 5/18/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Rothman, the Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman and CEO, wined and dined a select few at a splendidly swish soirée Friday at Mamo Michelangelo in Antibes, hosted by Charles Finch as part of his annual Filmmakers Dinner honoring 100 years of Columbia Pictures, and there was something he said about why movies matter that has stuck with me.
Hours earlier, Rothman had introduced a gloriously restored print of Charles Vidor’s 1946 movie Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth as the eponymous nightclub temptress and Glenn Ford as the hardboiled gambler from her past.
They hate each other, but as we all know, that’s often a prelude on the road to love both in real and reel life.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024 Photos
Vidor also uses the vocabulary of dance to signal Gilda’s emotional temperature.
The great choreographer Jack Cole, who later coached Marilyn Monroe on her moves in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,...
Hours earlier, Rothman had introduced a gloriously restored print of Charles Vidor’s 1946 movie Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth as the eponymous nightclub temptress and Glenn Ford as the hardboiled gambler from her past.
They hate each other, but as we all know, that’s often a prelude on the road to love both in real and reel life.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024 Photos
Vidor also uses the vocabulary of dance to signal Gilda’s emotional temperature.
The great choreographer Jack Cole, who later coached Marilyn Monroe on her moves in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, Zach Galifianakis and Tom Sturridge team up in Olivier Assayas’ political thriller “The Wizard of the Kremlin”, based on Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller by the same name.
Produced by Olivier Delbosc’s banner Curiosa Films and Gaumont – who last partnered on Cannes prizewinning “The Taste of Things” — “The Wizard of the Kremlin” is one of the hottest packages launching at the Cannes Film Market where Alexis Cassanet, Gaumont’s EVP international sales and distribution, is kicking off pre-sales.
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” is co-written by Assayas and Emmanuel Carrère, whose novel “Limonov” has been adapted for the big screen by Kirill Serebrennikov and will premiere in official selection at Cannes.
The story opens in Russia, in the early 1990’s, in the aftermath of the Ussr’s collapse. In a new world that promises freedom and flirts with chaos, a young artist-turned-tv producer,...
Produced by Olivier Delbosc’s banner Curiosa Films and Gaumont – who last partnered on Cannes prizewinning “The Taste of Things” — “The Wizard of the Kremlin” is one of the hottest packages launching at the Cannes Film Market where Alexis Cassanet, Gaumont’s EVP international sales and distribution, is kicking off pre-sales.
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” is co-written by Assayas and Emmanuel Carrère, whose novel “Limonov” has been adapted for the big screen by Kirill Serebrennikov and will premiere in official selection at Cannes.
The story opens in Russia, in the early 1990’s, in the aftermath of the Ussr’s collapse. In a new world that promises freedom and flirts with chaos, a young artist-turned-tv producer,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Few companies in the world have had such as impact on their local film industry than Globo Filmes, the feature co-production arm of Brazilian giant Globo, which is Latin America’s biggest communications conglomerate. Over the last 25 years, Globo Filmes has backed more than 500 movies, almost all through co-production.
Those films have collectively sold 260 million cinema theater admissions, an average of over 10 million admissions a year, accounting for more than 70% of Brazilian market share from 1998-2024.
Globo Filmes greenlights more than 20 movies a year, powering up by far the biggest production slate of any company in Brazil, thanks to article 3A of the country’s audiovisual law, which allows it to tap tax incentives for investing in feature films.
Launching in 1998, Globo Filmes helped accelerate the Brazilian film industry’s recovery after President Fernando Collor de Mello shuttered state film agency Embrafilme in 1990, paralyzing production. Twenty-five years later, after a...
Those films have collectively sold 260 million cinema theater admissions, an average of over 10 million admissions a year, accounting for more than 70% of Brazilian market share from 1998-2024.
Globo Filmes greenlights more than 20 movies a year, powering up by far the biggest production slate of any company in Brazil, thanks to article 3A of the country’s audiovisual law, which allows it to tap tax incentives for investing in feature films.
Launching in 1998, Globo Filmes helped accelerate the Brazilian film industry’s recovery after President Fernando Collor de Mello shuttered state film agency Embrafilme in 1990, paralyzing production. Twenty-five years later, after a...
- 5/16/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
A key driver in Brazil’s late 1990s cinema resurgence, Globo Filmes has co-produced iconic box office blockbusters, Oscar and “A” Fest plays, arthouse breakouts. movies sparking big TV spin-offs. A brief selection of milestones in its storied history:
1990
President Fernando Collar’s government closes state owned film company Embrafilme, decimating Brazilian film production.
1993
A new Audiovisual Law offers companies income tax deductions for investment in Brazilian movies as Brazil’s Resurgence – economic and cultural recovery – lifts off.
1997
Globo Filmes is founded. Recalls Daniel Filho, its guiding spirit, in early years: “I started working in Globo TV but I always said: “I want to make cinema.’ I was on my way to close a deal with exhibitor Luis Severiano Ribeiro to launch a film production house when I got a call from Globo to launch Globo Filmes. I agreed: Globo had to do what French and British channels were doing: Participate in films.
1990
President Fernando Collar’s government closes state owned film company Embrafilme, decimating Brazilian film production.
1993
A new Audiovisual Law offers companies income tax deductions for investment in Brazilian movies as Brazil’s Resurgence – economic and cultural recovery – lifts off.
1997
Globo Filmes is founded. Recalls Daniel Filho, its guiding spirit, in early years: “I started working in Globo TV but I always said: “I want to make cinema.’ I was on my way to close a deal with exhibitor Luis Severiano Ribeiro to launch a film production house when I got a call from Globo to launch Globo Filmes. I agreed: Globo had to do what French and British channels were doing: Participate in films.
- 5/16/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
With Cannes Film Festival now officially underway and reviews coming in, we’re also getting new looks at some of our most-anticipated premieres. The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão director Karim Aïnouz returns to the festival, just one year after the starry Firebrand, returning to his roots with Motel Destino. Starring Iago Xavier, Nataly Rocha, Fabio Assunção, the stylish first teaser and poster have now arrived for the Cannes competition premiere.
Here’s the synopsis: “The neon-hued Motel Destino, a roadside sex hotel steaming under the burning blue skies of the northeastern coast of Brazil, is run by hot-headed Elias and his restless younger wife Dayana. The unexpected arrival of 21-year-old Heraldo, on the run after a botched hit, disrupts the established order. As the tropical noir plays out, loyalties and desires intertwine to reveal that destiny has its own enigmatic design.”
Watch the teaser below.
The post First Teaser...
Here’s the synopsis: “The neon-hued Motel Destino, a roadside sex hotel steaming under the burning blue skies of the northeastern coast of Brazil, is run by hot-headed Elias and his restless younger wife Dayana. The unexpected arrival of 21-year-old Heraldo, on the run after a botched hit, disrupts the established order. As the tropical noir plays out, loyalties and desires intertwine to reveal that destiny has its own enigmatic design.”
Watch the teaser below.
The post First Teaser...
- 5/15/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
After four Oscar wins for “All Quiet on the Western Front” last year and the Oscar nomination for “The Teachers’ Lounge” this year, Germany’s film sector seemed to be on the up, but while a government plan to revamp the country’s film funding system is broadly welcomed, its painfully slow progress is also causing some anxiety.
The fact that Cannes’ various sections contain not one feature by a German filmmaker may be seen as a cause for concern, but 13 German productions and co-productions have been selected. This underscores how Germany’s current funding structures nurture co-productions, which in turn benefits local producers. For example, both Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour” in the Competition section have Germany’s Match Factory Productions as a co-producer.
The Berlinale was a better showcase for German talent, with Matthias Glasner picking up the screenplay award for “Dying,” and...
The fact that Cannes’ various sections contain not one feature by a German filmmaker may be seen as a cause for concern, but 13 German productions and co-productions have been selected. This underscores how Germany’s current funding structures nurture co-productions, which in turn benefits local producers. For example, both Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour” in the Competition section have Germany’s Match Factory Productions as a co-producer.
The Berlinale was a better showcase for German talent, with Matthias Glasner picking up the screenplay award for “Dying,” and...
- 5/15/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival may be lighter on glitz and glamour than in years past, but that means arthouse and international fare from emerging and established filmmakers will get a chance to shine. Still, at least two American auteurs, Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”) and Paul Schrader, have films in the main competition for the first time in decades. David Cronenberg (“The Shrouds”) and Yorgos Lanthimos (“Kinds of Kindness”) are also back at the festival, with both making personal stories in their own way: Cronenberg, here, reckons with grief over the death of his wife seven years ago, while Lanthimos appears to retreat back into “Dogtooth” territory in a film that’s almost a rebuke of the global success he’s acquired with “Poor Things” and “The Favourite.”
Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhangke, Karim Aïnouz, and Paolo Sorrentino are also back at Cannes this year with new films in the competition.
Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhangke, Karim Aïnouz, and Paolo Sorrentino are also back at Cannes this year with new films in the competition.
- 5/14/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Cannes isn’t Sundance. The movies on offer aren’t generally genre horror box office surprises or heartwarming indie dramedies, and sometimes they’re not even sure-fire Oscar hopefuls.
But as several sales agents and distributors told us, Cannes is slowly shifting back to being a home for discovery. With the audience now unbothered by subtitles, distributors aren’t just looking for the next “May December” but the next “Anatomy of a Fall.” And when it comes to the package titles on the Marché du Film, buyers are demanding more than the latest Nicolas Cage shark movie.
The sources IndieWire spoke to believe there’s more quality than quantity among this year’s official competition sales titles and the packages being shopped to distributors. And that’s a good thing, even though there are still plenty of hot packages trickling in by the day and buyers already scooping up competition...
But as several sales agents and distributors told us, Cannes is slowly shifting back to being a home for discovery. With the audience now unbothered by subtitles, distributors aren’t just looking for the next “May December” but the next “Anatomy of a Fall.” And when it comes to the package titles on the Marché du Film, buyers are demanding more than the latest Nicolas Cage shark movie.
The sources IndieWire spoke to believe there’s more quality than quantity among this year’s official competition sales titles and the packages being shopped to distributors. And that’s a good thing, even though there are still plenty of hot packages trickling in by the day and buyers already scooping up competition...
- 5/13/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Cannes Competition titles Bird by Andrea Arnold and Emila Perez by Jacques Audiard are among the films eligible for the Queer Palm at this year’s festival.
Any title playing in Cannes which deals in anyway with Lgbtqiaa+ themes is eligible for the Queer Palm, whose jury this year will be presided over by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont. Competing films are drawn from all Cannes selections: Official Selection, Un Certain Regard, Critics’ Week, Directors’ Fortnight and Acid.
Bird centres on a 12-year-old who lives with her single father and brother in a squat and seeks attention and adventure elsewhere; among...
Any title playing in Cannes which deals in anyway with Lgbtqiaa+ themes is eligible for the Queer Palm, whose jury this year will be presided over by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont. Competing films are drawn from all Cannes selections: Official Selection, Un Certain Regard, Critics’ Week, Directors’ Fortnight and Acid.
Bird centres on a 12-year-old who lives with her single father and brother in a squat and seeks attention and adventure elsewhere; among...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Jude Law and Alicia Vikander star as real-life King Henry VIII and his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, in Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand trailer.
The film, based on true 16th-century events, follows Parr’s pursuit of survival in her marriage to the king, after the first five of his wives met untimely ends — divorced, beheaded, died, divorced and beheaded again.
“Katherine’s fate was to change the kingdom, forever,” the trailer’s narrator muses.
“When Henry appoints [Katherine] as Regent, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas, he lays a dangerous path for her,” the Firebrand synopsis reads. “Henry’s courtiers, suspecting she’s sympathetic to radical Protestant beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom and are a threat to their power, scheme against her and cast doubts upon her fidelity to the increasingly ailing and paranoid King.”
When the king returns, his courtiers convince...
The film, based on true 16th-century events, follows Parr’s pursuit of survival in her marriage to the king, after the first five of his wives met untimely ends — divorced, beheaded, died, divorced and beheaded again.
“Katherine’s fate was to change the kingdom, forever,” the trailer’s narrator muses.
“When Henry appoints [Katherine] as Regent, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas, he lays a dangerous path for her,” the Firebrand synopsis reads. “Henry’s courtiers, suspecting she’s sympathetic to radical Protestant beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom and are a threat to their power, scheme against her and cast doubts upon her fidelity to the increasingly ailing and paranoid King.”
When the king returns, his courtiers convince...
- 5/8/2024
- by Zoe G Phillips
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Fireband” is a new Brit-produced historical drama feature, directed by Karim Aïnouz, recounting the life of ‘Katherine Parr’, the last wife of ‘Henry VIII’, starring Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, Eddie Marsan, Ruby Bentall, Bryony Hannah, Sam Riley, and Maia Jemmett, releasing June 14, 2024 in theaters:
“..in ‘Tudor England’, twice married, accomplished, and educated ‘Katherine Parr’ (Vikander), reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical ‘King Henry VIII’ (Law).
“Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given that her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded, or dead. When Henry appoints her as ‘Regent’, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas, he lays a dangerous path for her.
“Henry’s courtiers, suspecting she’s sympathetic to radical ‘Protestant’ beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom and are a threat to their power, scheme against her and cast doubts upon her fidelity to the increasingly ailing and paranoid King.
“..in ‘Tudor England’, twice married, accomplished, and educated ‘Katherine Parr’ (Vikander), reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical ‘King Henry VIII’ (Law).
“Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given that her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded, or dead. When Henry appoints her as ‘Regent’, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas, he lays a dangerous path for her.
“Henry’s courtiers, suspecting she’s sympathetic to radical ‘Protestant’ beliefs that have taken root in the kingdom and are a threat to their power, scheme against her and cast doubts upon her fidelity to the increasingly ailing and paranoid King.
- 5/8/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"Do you believe in Hell? I think we're both bound for it." Roadside Attractions has revealed the first official trailer for Firebrand, the latest from Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz. This first premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last year, which is why they're debuting the trailer now just before Cannes 2024 kicks off soon. In a rotten, blood soaked island kingdom, there once was a queen by the name of Katherine Parr. The sixth wife of the vengeful King Henry VIII - and the only one to survive. This true story is about Queen Katherine Parr & Henry VIII's marriage. Adapted from the novel "Queen's Gambit" by Elizabeth Fremantle. With the hope for a future free of tyranny at risk, will Katherine submit to the inevitable for the sake of King and country? Alicia Vikander stars as Katherine Parr, Jude Law as Henry VIII, plus Eddie Marsan, Amr Waked, Sam Riley, Ruby Bentall,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Lost a bit in last year’s Cannes shuffle was Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand, a period piece starring (who else to put their superb skills into costume dramas) Alicia Vikander and Jude Law. With Roadside Attractions handling distribution, it arrives on June 14 and there’s now a trailer.
We were mixed-positive on Aïnouz’s film out of Cannes. As Savina Petkova said, “Even if Firebrand prefers to stay on the safe side of period cinema about the British monarchy––unlike Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite or Pablo Larraín’s Spencer––Karim Aïnouz doesn’t fail his audiences. Maybe the ones who’d expect something more of his auteur touch would face some disappointment, but the general audience wouldn’t mind an exciting, superbly acted tale of emancipation and revenge.”
Find the preview below:
In blood-soaked Tudor England, twice married, accomplished, and educated Katherine Parr (Vikander), reluctantly agrees to become the sixth...
We were mixed-positive on Aïnouz’s film out of Cannes. As Savina Petkova said, “Even if Firebrand prefers to stay on the safe side of period cinema about the British monarchy––unlike Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite or Pablo Larraín’s Spencer––Karim Aïnouz doesn’t fail his audiences. Maybe the ones who’d expect something more of his auteur touch would face some disappointment, but the general audience wouldn’t mind an exciting, superbly acted tale of emancipation and revenge.”
Find the preview below:
In blood-soaked Tudor England, twice married, accomplished, and educated Katherine Parr (Vikander), reluctantly agrees to become the sixth...
- 5/8/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Sometimes, there are films that feature actors that are too good to pass up. “Firebrand,” which stars Alicia Vikander and Jude Law, is one of those movies. No matter the subject, just knowing they’re in the film is enough for us to pay attention.
Read More: ‘Firebrand’ Review: Karim Aïnouz Paints A Dull Version Of History In Handsome Period Drama [Cannes]
And as seen in the trailer for “Firebrand,” Jude Law and Alicia Vikander star in a period drama inspired by the lives of King Henry VIII and Katherine Parr.
Continue reading ‘Firebrand’ Trailer: Alicia Vikander & Jude Law Star In Period Drama About Henry VIII at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Firebrand’ Review: Karim Aïnouz Paints A Dull Version Of History In Handsome Period Drama [Cannes]
And as seen in the trailer for “Firebrand,” Jude Law and Alicia Vikander star in a period drama inspired by the lives of King Henry VIII and Katherine Parr.
Continue reading ‘Firebrand’ Trailer: Alicia Vikander & Jude Law Star In Period Drama About Henry VIII at The Playlist.
- 5/8/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
Alicia Vikander is unleashing all the fire and the fury as Queen Katherine opposite Jude Law’s King Henry VIII.
The two star in “Firebrand,” which debuted at Cannes 2023 and marked director Karim Aïnouz’s English-language debut film. During war-torn Tudor England, Katherine Parr (Vikander) reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII (Law). Katherine hopes that her fate is different from her predecessors, the queens who were either vanquished, beheaded, or died of non-murder causes.
After their union, Henry appoints Katherine as Regent, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas. Yet that power makes Katherine a target as Henry’s courtiers begin suspecting that she’s sympathetic to radical Protestant beliefs. Once Henry returns to England, his courtiers convince him to convict a series of Katherine’s confidantes with treason and burn them at the stake.
Eddie Marsan,...
The two star in “Firebrand,” which debuted at Cannes 2023 and marked director Karim Aïnouz’s English-language debut film. During war-torn Tudor England, Katherine Parr (Vikander) reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII (Law). Katherine hopes that her fate is different from her predecessors, the queens who were either vanquished, beheaded, or died of non-murder causes.
After their union, Henry appoints Katherine as Regent, the nation’s ruler during his absence when he departs to fight overseas. Yet that power makes Katherine a target as Henry’s courtiers begin suspecting that she’s sympathetic to radical Protestant beliefs. Once Henry returns to England, his courtiers convince him to convict a series of Katherine’s confidantes with treason and burn them at the stake.
Eddie Marsan,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Hassie Harrison (“Yellowstone”), Jai Courtney (“Terminator Genisys”) and “Heartbreak High’s” Josh Heuston, soon to be seen in “Dune: Prophecy,” will star in the horror thriller “Dangerous Animals.”
Adding edge to the package, Australia’s genre auteur Sean Byrne, one of the highest rated horror directors of all time on Rotten Tomatoes, is directing “Dangerous Animals” which will be brought onto the Cannes market by David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment.
Starting principal photography on Australia Gold Coast on May 7, “Dangerous Animals” is produced by London and Sydney-based Brouhaha Entertainment, behind Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Guy Pearce-led “The Convert,” sold by Mister Smith, in conjunction with Ld Entertainment, Oddfellows Entertainment and management-production firm Range Media Partners.
Producers on the film are a prestige alliance of Brouhaha’s Troy Lum and Andrew Mason, Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell for Ld Entertainment, Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows Entertainment and Brian Kavanaugh Jones for Range Media Partners.
Adding edge to the package, Australia’s genre auteur Sean Byrne, one of the highest rated horror directors of all time on Rotten Tomatoes, is directing “Dangerous Animals” which will be brought onto the Cannes market by David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment.
Starting principal photography on Australia Gold Coast on May 7, “Dangerous Animals” is produced by London and Sydney-based Brouhaha Entertainment, behind Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Guy Pearce-led “The Convert,” sold by Mister Smith, in conjunction with Ld Entertainment, Oddfellows Entertainment and management-production firm Range Media Partners.
Producers on the film are a prestige alliance of Brouhaha’s Troy Lum and Andrew Mason, Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell for Ld Entertainment, Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows Entertainment and Brian Kavanaugh Jones for Range Media Partners.
- 5/6/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Meryl Streep is set to receive the highest honor at the Cannes 2024 ceremony.
The Oscar winner has been announced to be feted with the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th annual festival; Variety first reported the news. Streep has not been to Cannes in exactly 35 years, since winning best actress for 1989’s “Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark” directed by Fred Schepisi.
Michael Douglas received the opening ceremony honorary Palme d’Or award in 2023.
Streep’s career has ranged from Academy Award-nominated turns in dramas such as “Sophie’s Choice” to musicals like “Into the Woods.” Streep’s rom-com efforts have marked collaborations with Nancy Meyers and other iconic filmmakers. She most recently starred in Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” following her former “Big Little Lies” TV role. Streep was recently honored by the Academy Museum Gala in 2023 for her career achievements.
As previously announced,...
The Oscar winner has been announced to be feted with the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th annual festival; Variety first reported the news. Streep has not been to Cannes in exactly 35 years, since winning best actress for 1989’s “Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark” directed by Fred Schepisi.
Michael Douglas received the opening ceremony honorary Palme d’Or award in 2023.
Streep’s career has ranged from Academy Award-nominated turns in dramas such as “Sophie’s Choice” to musicals like “Into the Woods.” Streep’s rom-com efforts have marked collaborations with Nancy Meyers and other iconic filmmakers. She most recently starred in Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” following her former “Big Little Lies” TV role. Streep was recently honored by the Academy Museum Gala in 2023 for her career achievements.
As previously announced,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival has announced its all-star lineup of jurors to decide this year’s Palme d’Or.
As previously announced, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president. Fellow recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone is part of the jury, as well as writer/director J.A. Bayona, Eva Green, Omar Sy, Pierfrancisco Favino, director Kore-eda Hirokazu, screenwriter Nadine Labaki, and screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan.
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival will take place May 14-25. The jury will have the honor of awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition, with contenders including Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada.”
New films from Paolo Sorrentino (“Parthenope”), Mohammad Rasoulof (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”), Karim Aïnouz (“Motel Destino”), and Andrea Arnold (“Bird”) are also debuting in competition.
As previously announced, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president. Fellow recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone is part of the jury, as well as writer/director J.A. Bayona, Eva Green, Omar Sy, Pierfrancisco Favino, director Kore-eda Hirokazu, screenwriter Nadine Labaki, and screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan.
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival will take place May 14-25. The jury will have the honor of awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition, with contenders including Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada.”
New films from Paolo Sorrentino (“Parthenope”), Mohammad Rasoulof (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”), Karim Aïnouz (“Motel Destino”), and Andrea Arnold (“Bird”) are also debuting in competition.
- 4/29/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The full Cannes Film Festival competition jury has been revealed.
Joining president Greta Gerwig to award this year’s Palme d’Or will be “Killers of the Flower Moon” Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; “The Three Musketeers” star Eva Green; “Lupin” lead Omar Sy; Ebru Ceylan, who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” won the Cannes jury prize in 2018; director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose latest film “Society of the Snow” was Oscar-nominated for best international feature; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who will next appear in Pablo Larraìn’s “Maria” alongside Angelina Jolie; and director Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the 2018 Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.”
The competition lineup for the upcoming festival includes “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia; Sean Baker’s “Anora”; Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” from Ali Abbasi; Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski; “Caught by the Tides...
Joining president Greta Gerwig to award this year’s Palme d’Or will be “Killers of the Flower Moon” Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; “The Three Musketeers” star Eva Green; “Lupin” lead Omar Sy; Ebru Ceylan, who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” won the Cannes jury prize in 2018; director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose latest film “Society of the Snow” was Oscar-nominated for best international feature; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who will next appear in Pablo Larraìn’s “Maria” alongside Angelina Jolie; and director Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the 2018 Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.”
The competition lineup for the upcoming festival includes “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia; Sean Baker’s “Anora”; Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” from Ali Abbasi; Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski; “Caught by the Tides...
- 4/29/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival lineup was finally revealed at the sliver of dawn on Thursday, April 11. Festival director Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch unveiled this year’s crop of films across the many sections, from the Competition to Un Certain Regard, during a press conference beginning at 5 a.m. Et. See the full lineup below.
The 77th edition of Cannes comes to the Côte d’Azur May 14 through 25, and a few titles were already confirmed to be in the mix. There’s Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded epic “Megalopolis,” which has already screened for a rarified few in the United States to much awe and speculation over what distributor might take on Coppola’s experimental vision. For his first feature since 2011’s “Twixt,” Coppola gathered a cast including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia Labeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman for a sci-fi vision of a ruined NYC-like metropolis.
The 77th edition of Cannes comes to the Côte d’Azur May 14 through 25, and a few titles were already confirmed to be in the mix. There’s Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded epic “Megalopolis,” which has already screened for a rarified few in the United States to much awe and speculation over what distributor might take on Coppola’s experimental vision. For his first feature since 2011’s “Twixt,” Coppola gathered a cast including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia Labeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman for a sci-fi vision of a ruined NYC-like metropolis.
- 4/22/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The world premiere of Trish Dalton and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman In Charge chronicling the life of the fashion designer will open Tribeca Festival, running June 5-16 in New York.
Some 103 features – including 86 world premieres – from 114 filmmakers in 48 countries were selected from a record 13,016 submissions. Half of the films in competition are directed by women and 35% (36) of the selection hails from Bipoc filmmakers.
This year’s selection includes world premieres of Michael Angarano’s road movie Sacramento starring Michael Cera, Angarano, and Kristen Stewart; Andrew McCarthy’s documentary Brats in which the filmmaker catches up with fellow Brat-Packers Rob Lowe,...
Some 103 features – including 86 world premieres – from 114 filmmakers in 48 countries were selected from a record 13,016 submissions. Half of the films in competition are directed by women and 35% (36) of the selection hails from Bipoc filmmakers.
This year’s selection includes world premieres of Michael Angarano’s road movie Sacramento starring Michael Cera, Angarano, and Kristen Stewart; Andrew McCarthy’s documentary Brats in which the filmmaker catches up with fellow Brat-Packers Rob Lowe,...
- 4/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
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