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Category: Movies

  • Lightning Ent. acquires global rights of police thriller Verso

    MUMBAI: Lightning Entertainment has lapped up the international sales rights of Tarantula Productions‘ police thriller Verso excluding Switzerland.

    Lightning co-president Rich Goldberg will commence sales at AFM on the story directed by Xavier Ruiz about a Swiss SWAT officer who fears for his teenage daughter‘s safety when his former partner gets out of jail.

    Starring in the film are Laurent Lucas, Carlos Leal, Chloe Coulloud and Andres Andrekson.

    While Ascot-Elite will release the film in Switzerland in late November, Recreation Media will handle the US sales for the film.

    Guardian brokered the deal with Ariel Veneziano of Recreation Media.

  • Hollywood Film Festival announces 2009 nominees

    MUMBAI: The Hollywood Film Festival has announced five nominees for the year‘s Hollywood Awards‘ annual ‘Hollywood World Award‘.

    The nominees are Jane Campion‘s Bright Star, Luca Guadagnino‘s I Am Love, Jessica Hausner‘s Lourdes, Jacques Audiard‘s A Prophet and Michael Haneke‘s The White Ribbon.

    “These five films are not just among the best international films, but the best films made this year,” said jury chairman Mike Goodridge.

    “In addition, we are extremely proud to honor these titles with selection for the Hollywood World Awards,” he added.

    The winner will be announced at a gala ceremony on 26 October. Previous winners include Laurent Cantet‘s The Class, Pedro Almodovar‘s Volver, Cristian Mungiu‘s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Walter Salles‘ The Motorcycle Diaries.

    The Hollywood Awards additionally announced two more recipients of their annual pre-announced prizes. Christoph Waltz will receive supporting actor award for his work in Inglourious Basterds, while humanitarian Father Rick Frechette will be honoured with the ‘Hollywood Humanitarian Award‘.

  • Graham King delinks from Warner Bros gets attached to Sony Pictures

    MUMBAI: Moving away from Warner Bros Graham King has diverted his filmmaking priorities to Sony after signing a three-year, multi-film output deal with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group.

    Under the deal, King‘s GK Films will independently develop, finance and produce a minimum of two films a year that will be marketed and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures.

    King will continue to develop previously arranged films with the Warner Bros under his first-look deal with that studio as he transitions to Sony. King launched GK Films in May 2007 with business partner Tim Headington.

    Said King, “Working with Warners has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience and I cherish the support and collaboration of the whole team. But the deal with Sony Pictures gives us guaranteed distribution for our films and the opportunity to work with a successful and respected studio that handles every type of motion picture equally well.”

    Said Sony president of worldwide affairs Peter Schlessel, “We have long admired Graham‘s consistent taste in commercial and critically acclaimed material. As a producer, he attracts high-profile talent to top-quality and audience-pleasing projects and we couldn‘t be more excited to enter into this relationship.”

  • Spain floats film commission to combat piracy

    MUMBAI: With its aim to combat piracy, the Spanish government has decided to launch a new film commission that will focus on protecting intellectual property rights. The commission that will launch by the end of year will consist of members from the judicial system, the Ministry of Culture and the wider film industry.

    One of the priorities of the commission will be to repair the fractious relations between Spain‘s internet service providers (ISPs) and rights owners, who have been unable to reach a compromise on how to solve the problem of illegal P2P file sharing in Spain.

    Spain is one of the world‘s biggest piracy offenders with an estimated 350 million illegal film downloads in 2008 that cost the Spanish film industry around $1bn (€668m) in lost revenue.

    Earlier this year, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) called on the Spanish government to develop an “effective action plan” to reduce the availability of unauthourised content online and for monitoring the ISPs.

  • Mumbai Film Festival to showcase 200 films from 56 countries

    MUMBAI: The Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) that commences in the metropolis from 29 October is set to showcase 200 films from 56 countries.

    While Academy-Award Winning Director Steven Soderbergh‘s feature film The Informant will open the 2009 festival, Greek master Theo Angelopoulos‘s review of the past century,The Dust of Time will close the festival on 5 November.


    13 features by first-time directors from across the world will compete for cash awards worth a combined $150,000 in the main competition section.


    The five-member jury includes US director and screenwriter Paul Schrader, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, director Brillante Mendoza from the Philippines, Indian filmmaker Shaji N Karun and former director of the Locarno Film Festival, Irene Bignardi.


    Other sections include ‘Indian Frame‘ that will showcase 15 Indian films made last year and ‘Reel Real‘ for feature length documentaries.

    Meanwhile, veteran Indian actor and producer Shashi Kapoor will be honoured with the Indian Lifetime Achievement Award while Angelopoulos will receive the International Lifetime Achievement Award. Legendary Indian producer-director Yash Chopra whom FIAPF, the international federation of film producers association, will felicitate.

    The festival will also pay tribute to the late legendary filmmaker B R Chopra with a screening of his film, Naya Daur.

  • Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore plans seminar with Dr Peter Zimmermann next week

    BANGALORE: Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore (MMBB) has planned a double film feature next week with Dr. Peter Zimmermann.

    The film scholar will present a seminar on the Cold War, Iron Curtain and Berlin Wall, in one of a series of events that MMBB has organised, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November, 1989. He will also conduct a workshop for cineastes and film students on some of the latest trends in German cinema.


    The seminar will highlight some critical events in German and European history like rebuilding the destroyed country after World War II with the help of the allied forces; the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and different living conditions on both sides of the ‘iron curtain’; the ‘peaceful revolution’ in East Germany in 1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall; daily life in East and West Germany after the reunification and the problems of the integration of the eastern part into a united Germany: hopes and disillusions.



    Besides being a film scholar, Zimmermann is an author and lecturer at the University of Wuppertal (FBA) in Germany. From 1992 to 2006, he was Academic Director of the Documentary Film Center (Haus des Dokumentarfilms) in Stuttgart.


    He has chaired the research project “History of the Documentary Film in Germany” and is co-editor of the Book Series “Close Up” focusing on the history of international documentary film. After studying literature, media and history at the Universities in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Heidelberg, Zimmermann was lecturer and Professor for Literature and Media Studies at the universities in Wuppertal, Cairo and Marburg from 1973 to 1991.


    Events:


    (1) From the ‘Cold War‘ to the Fall of the ‘Iron Curtain‘ and the Berlin Wall: History and Film in Eastern, Western and United Germany Film Seminar on 27 and 28 October.

    (2) The ‘New German Film Wave‘ and the ‘Berlin School‘ film workshop on 29 and 30 October.

  • Australian and Indian cinema collaborate for an OZ independent feature

    MUMBAI: Following the global success of films such as Slumdog Millionaire, Monsoon Wedding, Bride & Prejudice, Salaam Namaste and Chak De! India, Australian actor-producer James Vegter has teamed up with Indian writer-director Daksh Tyagi to develop a new Australian independent feature film called Two Years Two Soon.

    The film is set against a backdrop of the recent alleged racial attacks against Indian students in Melbourne, which has dominated news headlines across the globe and strained relations between the two countries.

    What begins as a love story with racial undertones takes a compelling turn into a fast-paced, riveting thriller. Ultimately, the film deals with the sensitive subject matter of racism with a positive sense of optimism for future relations between the two countries.

  • Osian’s-Cinefan to honour Gulzar with Lifetime Achievement Award

    MUMBAI: The Osian‘s Cinefan Film Festival will honour noted lyricist-writer-director and poet Gulzar with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematic Contribution.

    The presentation will take place on 24 October at the opening ceremony at Siri Fort in New Delhi.


    The Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematic Contribution is the most prestigious Award presented by Osian‘s Cinefan and the tribute focuses on Gulzar‘s creativity and contribution to entertainment that goes beyond cultural, linguistic and other boundaries.


    A renowned poet in his own right, Gulzar‘s contribution to the history of Indian cinema has also been to infuse a sense of poetry and wistful contemplation about the complexities of human life – as a writer, a director and also as a lyricist.

  • Karthik Calling Karthik to release on 12 February

    MUMBAI: Excel Entertainment‘s Karthik Calling Karthik, starring Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, is slated to release on 12 February next year.

    The film is a tale about a man who gets phone calls from himself, one never knows what to expect when the clock strikes five … and the phone rings.


    Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and co-produced by Amit Chandrra and Vijay Lalwani, the film has been directed and written by Vijay Lalwani.


    The film stars Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor and Shefali Shah.
    Other credits include music by Shankar, Eshaan & Loy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar and cinematography by Sano Varghese.

  • Deepak Sharma to head global distribution at PVR Pictures

    MUMBAI: PVR Pictures has announced the appointment of Deepak Sharma as head its global distribution.

    Sharma was earlier the executive vice-president and director with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited where he used to oversee both the film production and distribution verticals along with related lines of business.

    Sharma has been associated with the entertainment and media industry since the last 17 years and his areas of expertise encompass film production, distribution (domestic and overseas), acquisition and syndication of films.

    Says Deepak Sharma on his new role, “I am extremely excited about my new role at PVR Pictures. The team is bright with innovative ideas and completely charged and I am absolutely confident that we will continue to associate with world-class cinema and content both in domestic and international markets.”


    Over the years, Sharma has also been closely associated with Vijayta Films, Sony Pictures along with other Hollywood major studios in India that has helped him carve a niche in the film distribution space in India along with the overseas markets.

    Commenting on his appointment, PVR Ltd MD Ajay Bijli said, “We are operating in an increasingly competitive and dynamic environment. The road ahead is going to be very demanding and exciting. Deepak‘s experience in the industry will add impetus to our all-round aggressive distribution plans in the coming years.”