If it’s been a patchy few years for Errol Morris––one solid doc in-between a bad Steve Bannon portrait and iffy look at John le Carré––our interest in his thorough, startling oeuvre remains strong, and it’s naturally a thrill to hear word of two new features. On the documentary front he’s been adapting, for Netflix, Tom O’Neill’s Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, which quickly engendered great attention for challenging standard Manson Family narratives; and there’s a feature screenplay about Ed Gein, who Morris interviewed in 1975 for a never-completed documentary. If it doesn’t feature that footage and opts for a biopic / procedural path, it would make Morris’ first narrative since 1991’s The Dark Wind. [Screen Daily]
Meanwhile, Michael Almereyda has found his first feature since Tesla. Per Deadline, he and Courtney Stephens are developing an untitled documentary about John C. Lilly,...
Meanwhile, Michael Almereyda has found his first feature since Tesla. Per Deadline, he and Courtney Stephens are developing an untitled documentary about John C. Lilly,...
- 12/20/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will post one full movie every day of the week, allowing viewers to watch them free of charge. Today’s Free Movie of the Day is the mystery thriller Never Forget, starring the great Lou Diamond Phillips. You can watch it over on the YouTube channel linked above or just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.
Directed by Leo Scherman from a screenplay by Kevin Hennelly and Mark Steinberg, Never Forget has the following synopsis: A man (Phillips) who wakes up with amnesia also finds his supposed friend has accused him of murder.
Phillips is joined in the cast by Kris Holden-Ried, Sarah Manninen, Jonathan Whittaker, Jimmy Byron, and Janet Morin.
Phillips’ acting career stretches back almost forty years now, with some of his 150+ screen credits including Bull, Blue Bloods, NCIS: New Orleans, Criminal Minds, Longmire, Brooklyn Nine-Nine,...
Directed by Leo Scherman from a screenplay by Kevin Hennelly and Mark Steinberg, Never Forget has the following synopsis: A man (Phillips) who wakes up with amnesia also finds his supposed friend has accused him of murder.
Phillips is joined in the cast by Kris Holden-Ried, Sarah Manninen, Jonathan Whittaker, Jimmy Byron, and Janet Morin.
Phillips’ acting career stretches back almost forty years now, with some of his 150+ screen credits including Bull, Blue Bloods, NCIS: New Orleans, Criminal Minds, Longmire, Brooklyn Nine-Nine,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Following the death of actor Fred Ward, several of his former costars, including Kevin Bacon, Matthew Modine, Lou Diamond Phillips, Richard E. Grant, and Kate Mulgrew, shared their memories of working with the charmingly gruff star.
Bacon shared a photo of himself and Ward from the 1990 cult hit “Tremors,” writing, “So sad to hear about Fred Ward. When it came to battling underground worms I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I will always remember chatting about his love of Django Reinhardt and jazz guitar during our long hot days in the high desert. Rest In Peace Fred.” The two reunited in 2018 for a “Tremors” TV pilot that sadly was not picked up.
So sad to hear about Fred Ward. When it came to battling underground worms I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I will always remember chatting about his love of Django Reinhardt and...
Bacon shared a photo of himself and Ward from the 1990 cult hit “Tremors,” writing, “So sad to hear about Fred Ward. When it came to battling underground worms I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I will always remember chatting about his love of Django Reinhardt and jazz guitar during our long hot days in the high desert. Rest In Peace Fred.” The two reunited in 2018 for a “Tremors” TV pilot that sadly was not picked up.
So sad to hear about Fred Ward. When it came to battling underground worms I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. I will always remember chatting about his love of Django Reinhardt and...
- 5/14/2022
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Fred Ward, a prolific actor best known for roles in The Right Stuff, Tremors, Miami Blues, True Detective and many others, died May 8. He was 79.
His death was announced by his publicist. No cause or place of death was disclosed.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
Ward, a San Diego native, began his professional career with small roles in 1970s episodic television before making a strong impression in his breakthrough film Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill and released in 1981. Two years later, he’d star as astronaut Gus Grissom in the hit film The Right Stuff.
Featured roles would quickly follow, including in such films as Silkwood, Swing Shift, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors, Henry & June, the Robert Altman movies The Player and Short Cuts Errol Morris’ The Dark Wind and Michael Apted’s Thunderheart. He starred in and exec-produced the 1990 film Miami Blues, directed by...
His death was announced by his publicist. No cause or place of death was disclosed.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
Ward, a San Diego native, began his professional career with small roles in 1970s episodic television before making a strong impression in his breakthrough film Southern Comfort, directed by Walter Hill and released in 1981. Two years later, he’d star as astronaut Gus Grissom in the hit film The Right Stuff.
Featured roles would quickly follow, including in such films as Silkwood, Swing Shift, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Tremors, Henry & June, the Robert Altman movies The Player and Short Cuts Errol Morris’ The Dark Wind and Michael Apted’s Thunderheart. He starred in and exec-produced the 1990 film Miami Blues, directed by...
- 5/13/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
AMC and AMC+ have released a new trailer for their upcoming noir thriller "Dark Winds." The series is based on the Leaphorn & Chee mystery novels by Tony Hillerman. Though I'm not familiar with the series, the mood in this trailer was enough to make me click on over to a book-selling site to check them out. There are 18 books in the series, plus several from the author's daughter Anne Hillerman. There have been several films based on this series, including 1991's "The Dark Wind" starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Fred Ward.
In the trailer, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn has a whole...
The post Dark Winds Trailer: The Mystery Novel Series Becomes an AMC Thriller appeared first on /Film.
In the trailer, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn has a whole...
The post Dark Winds Trailer: The Mystery Novel Series Becomes an AMC Thriller appeared first on /Film.
- 4/18/2022
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
The Office alum Rainn Wilson is set as a lead opposite Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon in Dark Winds, AMC’s Western noir thriller series based on Tony Hillerman’s popular Leaphorn & Chee book series. It hails from creator Graham Roland and executive producers George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford. Noah Emmerich and Jessica Matten also star.
Created and executive produced by Roland, Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Season 1 is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
Wilson will play Devoted Dan, a pious missionary who relies on his divine faith to recruit followers to the gates of his used-car lot.
Created and executive produced by Roland, Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Season 1 is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
Wilson will play Devoted Dan, a pious missionary who relies on his divine faith to recruit followers to the gates of his used-car lot.
- 9/2/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Indigenous actress Jessica Matten (Tribal) is set as a series regular opposite Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon and Noah Emmerich in Dark Winds, AMC’s Western noir thriller series based on Tony Hillerman’s popular Leaphorn & Chee book series. It hails from creator Graham Roland and executive producers George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford.
Created and executive produced by Roland, Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Season 1 is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
Matten will play Bernadette Manuelito, a Navajo police sergeant, she works closely with Leaphorn. Sharp as a tack, efficient, hard-working, perceptive, she’s tough and nothing gets by her.
Created and executive produced by Roland, Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Season 1 is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
Matten will play Bernadette Manuelito, a Navajo police sergeant, she works closely with Leaphorn. Sharp as a tack, efficient, hard-working, perceptive, she’s tough and nothing gets by her.
- 8/23/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Dark Winds’: Noah Emmerich Joins AMC Series From Graham Roland, George R.R. Martin & Robert Redford
Exclusive: The Americans alum Noah Emmerich has been tapped for a major role opposite Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon in Dark Winds, AMC’s Western noir thriller series based on Tony Hillerman’s popular Leaphorn & Chee book series It hails from creator Graham Roland and executive producers George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford.
Created and executive produced by Roland, Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Season 1 is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
Emmerich will play Whitover, a burned-out FBI agent whose once-promising career is dying on the vine. A brazen robbery puts him back in the big time, but...
Created and executive produced by Roland, Dark Winds, which has a six-episode order, is a psychological thriller that follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Chee (Gordon), in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double-murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts. Season 1 is expected to premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
Emmerich will play Whitover, a burned-out FBI agent whose once-promising career is dying on the vine. A brazen robbery puts him back in the big time, but...
- 8/19/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Line-up includes new titles from Yosep Anggi Noen, Hussein Hassan, Ash Mayfair and Hu Jia.
Busan International Film Festival (Biff)’s Asian Project Market has unveiled the 29 projects selected for this year’s edition of the financing and co-production event (October 6-8).
The line-up includes Silah And The Man With Two Names, the new project from Indonesian director Yosep Anggi Noen, whose latest film The Science Of Fictions will premiere in competition at this year’s Locarno.
Other projects of note include Black And White Photo, from Nepali filmmaker Rajesh Prasad Khatri, which received development funding from Biff’s Asian Cinema Fund...
Busan International Film Festival (Biff)’s Asian Project Market has unveiled the 29 projects selected for this year’s edition of the financing and co-production event (October 6-8).
The line-up includes Silah And The Man With Two Names, the new project from Indonesian director Yosep Anggi Noen, whose latest film The Science Of Fictions will premiere in competition at this year’s Locarno.
Other projects of note include Black And White Photo, from Nepali filmmaker Rajesh Prasad Khatri, which received development funding from Biff’s Asian Cinema Fund...
- 8/8/2019
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
21 Best Foreign Language Film submissions and 16 Golden Globe submissions make this festival an important event in Los Angeles.
Now in its third year, The Asian World Film Festival is held at the Arclight in Culver City. While still dealing with growing pains, especially finding its audience, it still hosts a great community of film lovers and filmmakers. My wish is that next year it will reach farther to the Asian filmmaking community in L.A. and to the ethnic communities of L.A. who would love to see the works of their homeland filmmakers which are making their way toward Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Films.
Awff Jury President Lisa Lu
The winner this year of multiple prizes was the South Korean submission A Taxi Driver. This funny and very serious film is so important today, and with the best publicist for the Academy Awards, Pogodin & Associattes, it...
Now in its third year, The Asian World Film Festival is held at the Arclight in Culver City. While still dealing with growing pains, especially finding its audience, it still hosts a great community of film lovers and filmmakers. My wish is that next year it will reach farther to the Asian filmmaking community in L.A. and to the ethnic communities of L.A. who would love to see the works of their homeland filmmakers which are making their way toward Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Films.
Awff Jury President Lisa Lu
The winner this year of multiple prizes was the South Korean submission A Taxi Driver. This funny and very serious film is so important today, and with the best publicist for the Academy Awards, Pogodin & Associattes, it...
- 11/12/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
- 10/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The final deadline for submitting each country’s film for consideration for the foreign-language Oscar was October 2. Last year 85 were finally deemed eligible by the Academy; this year the number is a record 92. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. These films are vying for the initial shortlist of 9, and final five nominations to be announced on January 23. See the final list below.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
Read More:Oscar Announces Changes for Foreign-Film Voting: Now Simpler! (Sort Of.)
The frontrunners include Sweden selected Ruben Östlund’s hilarious Palme d’Or-winner “The Square” (October 27, Magnolia Pictures), an art-world satire shot in majority Swedish with some English from stars Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Dominic West, thus giving Östlund another shot after “Force Majeure” was a surprise 2015 Oscar omission.
Germany’s choice, Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade” (December 27, Magnolia Pictures), won Best Actress for Diane Kruger at Cannes.
- 10/5/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
All the foreign submission charts have been updated to reflect the speedy announcements of new titles. We're now up to 33 I believe. Somehow I neglected to include Ireland on the submission charts. They've selected an "audacious" biopic about the singer Joe Heany called Song of Granite. The film uses both documentary footage and narrative sequences. It's in black and white and looks gorgeous in still photos
Submissions we've reviewed thus far here at Tfe...
Austria's Happy End Belgium's The Racer and the Jailbird Estonia's November Hungary's On Body and Soul
Submissions we've seen but haven't yet reviewed...
Finland's Tom of Finland
Submissions we'll be seeing soon...
Germany's In the Fade Norway's Thelma Sweden's The Square
The rest of the list (thus far - it will more than double, surely). We'll look out for opportunities to see them...
Azerbaijan's Pomegranate Orchard Bosnia & Herzegovina's Men Don't Cry Croatia's Quit Staring at My...
Submissions we've reviewed thus far here at Tfe...
Austria's Happy End Belgium's The Racer and the Jailbird Estonia's November Hungary's On Body and Soul
Submissions we've seen but haven't yet reviewed...
Finland's Tom of Finland
Submissions we'll be seeing soon...
Germany's In the Fade Norway's Thelma Sweden's The Square
The rest of the list (thus far - it will more than double, surely). We'll look out for opportunities to see them...
Azerbaijan's Pomegranate Orchard Bosnia & Herzegovina's Men Don't Cry Croatia's Quit Staring at My...
- 9/9/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Errol Morris has spent most of his career making meticulous and offbeat documentaries that often focus on true stories that are, as they say, stranger than fiction. He directed just one fictional film back in 1991 called The Dark Wind but now this year he is stepping back into the realm of scripted storytelling by […]...
- 8/29/2017
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Trump’s travel ban bars these artists from entering the Us or attending the award ceremonies, and has overshadowed some critically acclaimed work
In Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman, a husband seeks the truth behind a violent assault on his wife. In Hussein Hassan’s The Dark Wind, two families are torn apart by the ramifications of an Islamic State ambush. And Orlando von Einsiedel’s documentary The White Helmets follows Syrian volunteers as they help rescue women and children from airstrike rubble.
All three films have collected awards, nominations and critical acclaim for, among other things, the insights they offer into countries of the Middle East. But in a time when we need to be engaging with these stories most of all, Donald Trump’s travel ban has caused the artists behind them to cancel Us festival and award ceremony appearances – either as a direct consequence of the executive order,...
In Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman, a husband seeks the truth behind a violent assault on his wife. In Hussein Hassan’s The Dark Wind, two families are torn apart by the ramifications of an Islamic State ambush. And Orlando von Einsiedel’s documentary The White Helmets follows Syrian volunteers as they help rescue women and children from airstrike rubble.
All three films have collected awards, nominations and critical acclaim for, among other things, the insights they offer into countries of the Middle East. But in a time when we need to be engaging with these stories most of all, Donald Trump’s travel ban has caused the artists behind them to cancel Us festival and award ceremony appearances – either as a direct consequence of the executive order,...
- 2/3/2017
- by Glenn Dunks
- The Guardian - Film News
It didn’t take long for Middle Eastern filmmakers to respond to President Donald Trump’s executive order last week restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Within days of the order, both Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of the Oscar-nominated “The Salesman,” and the film’s lead actress, Taraneh Alidoosti, had announced that they would not be attending the 2017 Academy Awards 2017 in protest of the recently signed executive order. But while this was the highest profile response, it was hardly the only one.
Read More: Iraq Filmmaker Protests Trump Muslim Ban, Withdraws Visa Application to Attend Miami Film Festival
Other announcements followed from filmmakers who were being blocked from attending U.S. award shows or festival premieres of their work. Iranian director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami’s film “Sonita” is nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, but Ghaemmaghami won’t be able to attend the February 25 ceremony.
“It seems...
Read More: Iraq Filmmaker Protests Trump Muslim Ban, Withdraws Visa Application to Attend Miami Film Festival
Other announcements followed from filmmakers who were being blocked from attending U.S. award shows or festival premieres of their work. Iranian director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami’s film “Sonita” is nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, but Ghaemmaghami won’t be able to attend the February 25 ceremony.
“It seems...
- 2/2/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
On Sunday, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who won an Oscar in 2012 for “A Separation” and whose second Oscar-nominated film “The Salesman” is playing well to arthouse moviegoers, told the The New York Times that he has canceled his plans to attend the Oscars ceremony February 26. He cited President Donald Trump’s 90-day visa ban for citizens from seven Muslim countries including Iran; the order also imposed a 120-day blockage for Muslim refugees, with an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria.
Farhadi was planning to attend the Academy Awards with his cinematographer, but Friday’s executive order offered “ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip … I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of...
Farhadi was planning to attend the Academy Awards with his cinematographer, but Friday’s executive order offered “ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip … I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of...
- 1/29/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
On Sunday, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who won an Oscar in 2012 for “A Separation” and whose second Oscar-nominated film “The Salesman” is playing well to arthouse moviegoers, told the The New York Times that he has canceled his plans to attend the Oscars ceremony February 26. He cited President Donald Trump’s 90-day visa ban for citizens from seven Muslim countries including Iran; the order also imposed a 120-day blockage for Muslim refugees, with an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria.
Farhadi was planning to attend the Academy Awards with his cinematographer, but Friday’s executive order offered “ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip … I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of...
Farhadi was planning to attend the Academy Awards with his cinematographer, but Friday’s executive order offered “ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip … I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of...
- 1/29/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi made Oscar history in 2012 when his film, “A Separation,” became the first Iranian movie to with the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Now, the director is nominated in the category once again for his critically acclaimed drama “The Salesman,” but according to reports, Farhadi won’t be able to celebrate the honor and attend the ceremony in February due to President Donald Trump’s new Muslim ban.
The newly-inaugurated President signed an executive order, “Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals,” which bans all refugees from entering the Us and for 90 days, visas will not be issued to those from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Read More: ‘The Salesman’ Star Is Boycotting the Oscars In Protest of Donald Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban
The order means that Farhadi, along with many others, won’t be able...
The newly-inaugurated President signed an executive order, “Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals,” which bans all refugees from entering the Us and for 90 days, visas will not be issued to those from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Read More: ‘The Salesman’ Star Is Boycotting the Oscars In Protest of Donald Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban
The order means that Farhadi, along with many others, won’t be able...
- 1/28/2017
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Hussein Hassan, the director of the Iraqi film “Reseba” aka “The Dark Wind,” has withdrawn his U.S. visa application for clearance to attend the North American premiere of his film at the Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. The decision was made as an act of peaceful protest against President Donald Trump’s pending executive order titled “Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals” that would restrict visits and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
“The Dark Wind” is a drama about radical Islamist militants who attack a village in Iraq where a young couple prepares for marriage. Miami Film Festival director Jaie Laplante said the festival will proceed with the screening of the film as scheduled, but with a “deep sense of loss and disappointment,” according to a statement.
“This is just a deeply upsetting turn of events,...
“The Dark Wind” is a drama about radical Islamist militants who attack a village in Iraq where a young couple prepares for marriage. Miami Film Festival director Jaie Laplante said the festival will proceed with the screening of the film as scheduled, but with a “deep sense of loss and disappointment,” according to a statement.
“This is just a deeply upsetting turn of events,...
- 1/27/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Festival director says screening will proceed with deep sense of loss and disappointment.
Reseba – The Dark Wind director Hussein Hassan has withdrawn his visa application in peaceful protest over Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Miami Film Festival director Jaie Laplante said the festival will proceed with the North American premiere despite a deep sense of loss and disappointment.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order imminently that will restrict visits and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries including Hassan’s native Iraq.
The other six are Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia.
“One of Miami Film Festival’s core values is to bridge cultural understanding, to provoke thought and discussion, and The Dark Wind is one of the most timely, moving and important films in this year’s festival,” said Laplante.
“It is essential that roadblocks not be put in place that will present artists from the free discussion of their work, and equally...
Reseba – The Dark Wind director Hussein Hassan has withdrawn his visa application in peaceful protest over Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Miami Film Festival director Jaie Laplante said the festival will proceed with the North American premiere despite a deep sense of loss and disappointment.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order imminently that will restrict visits and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries including Hassan’s native Iraq.
The other six are Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia.
“One of Miami Film Festival’s core values is to bridge cultural understanding, to provoke thought and discussion, and The Dark Wind is one of the most timely, moving and important films in this year’s festival,” said Laplante.
“It is essential that roadblocks not be put in place that will present artists from the free discussion of their work, and equally...
- 1/27/2017
- by [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The film world is about to take its first hit due to a looming presidential executive order that would restrict visits and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The Miami Film Festival has been working for the past month with director Hussein Hassan to present his acclaimed film The Dark Wind for its North American premiere. But those plans have been thrown into disarray given that Hassan hails from Iraq, which is one of the seven countries listed in the draft order titled "Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals." The other countries included are Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,...
The Miami Film Festival has been working for the past month with director Hussein Hassan to present his acclaimed film The Dark Wind for its North American premiere. But those plans have been thrown into disarray given that Hassan hails from Iraq, which is one of the seven countries listed in the draft order titled "Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals." The other countries included are Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,...
- 1/26/2017
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 13th edition of Diff has revealed its winners with The Dark Wind scooping top prize.
Kurdish director Hussein Hassan’s drama The Dark Wind, about a Yazidi community attacked by Isis fighters, has won best fiction feature in the central Muhr Feature competition devoted to Arab cinema at the 13th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff).
The feature revolves around a young Yazidi couple - Reko and Pero - who are separated on the eve of their wedding when Isis fighters attack their village.
The prize for best non-fiction feature went to Lebanese film-maker Maher Abi Samra’s A Maid For Each, capturing the inner workings of a Beirut employment agency supplying Asian and African domestic staff.
Lebanese film-maker Eliane Raheb’s Those Who Remain, about an elderly farmer determined to remain on his remote mountain farm, defying age and the political tensions around him, won the jury prize.
It was the...
Kurdish director Hussein Hassan’s drama The Dark Wind, about a Yazidi community attacked by Isis fighters, has won best fiction feature in the central Muhr Feature competition devoted to Arab cinema at the 13th edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff).
The feature revolves around a young Yazidi couple - Reko and Pero - who are separated on the eve of their wedding when Isis fighters attack their village.
The prize for best non-fiction feature went to Lebanese film-maker Maher Abi Samra’s A Maid For Each, capturing the inner workings of a Beirut employment agency supplying Asian and African domestic staff.
Lebanese film-maker Eliane Raheb’s Those Who Remain, about an elderly farmer determined to remain on his remote mountain farm, defying age and the political tensions around him, won the jury prize.
It was the...
- 12/15/2016
- ScreenDaily
I Am Not Madame Bovary’s Feng Xiaogang took the best director prize.Scroll down for full list of winners
The jury of the 10th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) has awarded the best film prize to Mustafa Kara’s Turkish drama Cold Of Kalandar. The film won a total of three prizes at the regional film awards, which took place tonight (Nov 24) in Brisbane, Australia.
The best director prize went to Chinese director Feng Xiaogang for his satirical critique of bureaucratic indifference to the populace of mainland China, I Am Not Madame Bovary.
Cold of Kalandar’s Apsa best film win comes after similar honours at the Tokyo Film Festival, and Turkey’s Istanbul and Antalya film festivals.
In September it was selected as Turkey’s candidate for the foreign language Oscar.
The film depicts an impoverished family’s attempt to make a living through farming in Turkey’s mountainous northern region. Tensions between...
The jury of the 10th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) has awarded the best film prize to Mustafa Kara’s Turkish drama Cold Of Kalandar. The film won a total of three prizes at the regional film awards, which took place tonight (Nov 24) in Brisbane, Australia.
The best director prize went to Chinese director Feng Xiaogang for his satirical critique of bureaucratic indifference to the populace of mainland China, I Am Not Madame Bovary.
Cold of Kalandar’s Apsa best film win comes after similar honours at the Tokyo Film Festival, and Turkey’s Istanbul and Antalya film festivals.
In September it was selected as Turkey’s candidate for the foreign language Oscar.
The film depicts an impoverished family’s attempt to make a living through farming in Turkey’s mountainous northern region. Tensions between...
- 11/24/2016
- ScreenDaily
The 21st Busan International Film Festival (Biff) wrapped on Saturday with its New Currents Award going to two Chinese debut features - Wang Xuebo’s The Knife In The Clear Water and Zang Qiwu’s The Donor.
Running Oct 6-15 in the aftermath of a typhoon and dealing with a partial industry boycott and smaller operating budget, the festival saw a subdued atmosphere with total attendance down 27% from last year to 165,149 this year.
Accredited attendees were down 40% to 5,759 this year, including 1,381 market badge holders and excluding press.
Malian director Souleymane Cisse headed the New Currents jury, joined by Indian producer Guneet Monga, International Film Festival Rotterdam festival director Bero Beyer, Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu and Iranian director Mahmoud Kalari.
They described The Knife In The Clear Water as “a poetic parable on grief and freedom” and praised The Donor for its “serene maturity” as an “excellently scripted film” that “plays as much on the images as on the...
Running Oct 6-15 in the aftermath of a typhoon and dealing with a partial industry boycott and smaller operating budget, the festival saw a subdued atmosphere with total attendance down 27% from last year to 165,149 this year.
Accredited attendees were down 40% to 5,759 this year, including 1,381 market badge holders and excluding press.
Malian director Souleymane Cisse headed the New Currents jury, joined by Indian producer Guneet Monga, International Film Festival Rotterdam festival director Bero Beyer, Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu and Iranian director Mahmoud Kalari.
They described The Knife In The Clear Water as “a poetic parable on grief and freedom” and praised The Donor for its “serene maturity” as an “excellently scripted film” that “plays as much on the images as on the...
- 10/15/2016
- by [email protected] (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Festival will open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running October 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men.
Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running October 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men.
Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
- 9/6/2016
- by [email protected] (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Festival will open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running Oct 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men. Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running Oct 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men. Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
- 9/6/2016
- by [email protected] (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
The Doha Film Institute has announced the recipients of the Fall 2015 session of its grants program following the Dubai International Film Festival, where 15 of the Institute’s previous grantees, 4 of which are world premieres, were showcased. Thirty projects from 19 countries – comprising 16 feature-length narrative films, 10 feature documentaries and 4 short films – will receive funding for development, production or post-production.
The Fall session marks the 11th session of the grants program, which is dedicated to supporting new cinematic talent, with a focus on first- and second-time filmmakers.
Twenty-four of the projects are from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, while 6 are from the rest of the world. For the first time, filmmakers from Chile, Peru and Spain will receive funding from the program.
Stories of displacement, physical or spiritual journeys, tales of family life, the power of nature and the importance of protecting the environment are highlighted in the selections this Fall.
Four projects from Qatar-based filmmakers were awarded grants – Hafiz Ali Abdullah’s "The Search for the Star Pearl," about a young pearl diver from Doha who discovers a map to the most valuable gem on Earth, and sets sail with three teenage friends in search of it; Hamida Al Kawari’s "To the Ends of the Earth" – the first Qatari feature documentary to receive a grant from the Institute – which follows a Qatari woman on an environmental expedition to Antarctica in search of hope; A.J. Al Thani’s "Kashta," a family drama about a father who takes his sons out into the desert to teach them about hunting and survival; and Hend Fakhroo’s "The Waiting Room," about an Arab and a Western family who find themselves sharing a hospital room.
Among the 30 projects selected for funding, 5 are from Morocco – Fyzal Boulifa’s "Pagan Magic," the story of a poor youngster working as a maid for a middle-class family; second-time grantee Uda Benyamina’s "Bastard," about a 15-year-old girl who lives with her mother in a rough Parisian suburb; Yakout Elhababi’s "Behind the Doors," which looks at family life and childhood set high in the Rif mountains of Morocco; Hind Bensari’s "Weight Throwers," a documentary look at the struggles of two young athletes as they train for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro; and "Behind The Wall," by Karima Zoubir, a short film set in a Casablanca slum.
Also featuring strongly are three animation projects – established filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour’s "Miss Camel," the story of a teenage Saudi camel who challenges the deep-rooted restrictions of her culture by travelling across the kingdom to compete in the Miss Camel beauty pageant in Doha; Mortada Gzar’s "Language," about a blind man on the streets of Baghdad who wakes up as a giant and reads the devastation of the city by touch; and Hafiz Ali Abdullah’s "The Search for the Star Pearl."
As in several previous sessions of the grants program, powerful projects from Argentina have also secured funding. Milagros Mumenthaler’s Swiss/Argentinian film "The Idea of a Lake" is about a photographer who undergoes a personal exploration of her past and the absence of her father while creating a book of her work, while Maximiliano Schonfeld’s "The Black Frost" is a drama set on a plantation where a pernicious black frost threatens to devastate the countryside until a mysterious woman arrives.
Continuing the environmental theme, Heidi Brandenburg and Mathew Orzel’s "When Two Worlds Collide" is the story of an indigenous Peruvian man and his people, and of the fate of one of our planet’s most valuable natural resources – the Amazon rainforest. The film, which has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is the first-ever Peruvian recipient of a grant from the Institute.
Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Our Fall grantees cover a broad range of subjects and represent some powerful new voices in cinema, especially from Qatar and North Africa with several projects supported from Morocco and Algeria.”
“Animated films are very popular in our region so it is very encouraging to see an acclaimed filmmaker like Haifaa Al Mansour turn her skills to this important genre; we support two other animated projects in this grants cycle as well.”
“Our grantees represent the core of the Doha Film Institute’s mandate to support emerging filmmakers and contribute to the development of the regional film industry. We have supported more than 255 films since the inception of the grants program and we continue to seek out projects with a strong directorial vision that are challenging, creative and thought-provoking. Our new round of grantees is no exception and I am delighted to welcome this outstanding crop of projects to our growing community of grantee alumni.”
Submissions for the next funding round open January 6 and close January 19, 2016. Funding is available to projects by filmmakers from around the world, with an emphasis on support for filmmakers from the Mena region. Certain categories of funding reserved for Mena and Qatari filmmakers.
The fund is primarily for first and second-time filmmakers. Post-production funding is available to established filmmakers from the Mena region.
For more information about eligibility and submissions, please visit
http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/financing/grants/guidelines
A full directory of past grant recipients is available to view at
http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/financing/projects/grants
The Doha Film Institute Grants Program funding recipients for the Fall 2015 session are:
Feature Narrative / Development
"Death Street" by Mohanad Hayal (Iraq)
Tariq, the sniper of Haifa Street in Baghdad, kills Ahmed on his wedding day. While Tariq prevents anyone from approaching the corpse in the street, an intimate and telling drama unfolds.
"Miss Camel" by Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudia Arabia)
A teenage Saudi camel challenges the deep-rooted restrictions of her culture by traveling across the kingdom to compete in the Miss Camel beauty pageant in Doha.
"Pagan Magic" by Fyzal Boulifa (Morocco, France)
A young, poor and uneducated girl works as a maid for a middle-class family in contemporary Morocco. Her use of pagan rites to confront her entrapment and make sense of her world ultimately corrupt her.
"The Search for the Star Pearl" by Hafiz Ali Abdullah (Qatar)
Ali, a 17-year-old pearl diver from Doha, discovers a map to the Star Pearl of Abu Derya, the most valuable gem on Earth, and sets sail with three teenaged friends in search of the pearl. Along the way, they face mythological beasts that challenge their skills and friendship.
Feature Narrative / Production
"Cactus Flower" by Hala Elkoussy (Egypt)
A flood leaves three Cairenes homeless. As they journey across the city in search of shelter, they depend upon one another to survive and keep their dreams alive.
"Poisonous Roses" by Fawzi Saleh (Egypt)
The world has left nothing to Taheya apart from her brother Saqr. When he disappears, Taheya pursues him in desperation.
"The Return" by Meyar Al-Roumi (Syria, France)
A love story blossoms between Taysir and Lina, exiles from Syria, while they drive across their homeland to bury Taysir’s brother, a victim of the armed conflict.
"Till the Swallows Return" by Karim Moussaoui (Algeria, France)
This is the story of three characters who are a product of the conflicted Algeria of the 2000s. Their ideals shattered and their moral strength drained, each now faces a difficult life choice.
Feature Narrative / Post-production
"Bastard" by Uda Benyamina (Morocco, France)
Fifteen-year-old Dounia lives with her mother in a rough Parisian suburb, where she has been saddled with the nickname “bastard”.
"The Black Frost" by Maximiliano Schonfeld (Argentina)
Soon after a mysterious woman arrives on a plantation, a pernicious black frost ceases to devastate the countryside. Hope emerges. Might she might be a saviour?
"Blue Bicycle" by Ümit Köreken (Turkey)
Young Ali saves up all the money he can working at a tyre repair shop to buy a coveted blue bicycle. Meanwhile, at school, his love for his schoolmate Elif leads him to defend her dismissal as school president. A story of childish love, dreams and resistance.
"The Dark Wind" by Hussein Hassan (Iraq)
Radical Islamists attack a village in Iraq where two young Yazidis are preparing for their marriage. At that moment, their lives become a nightmare.
"The Idea of a Lake" (note: previously titled Air Pocket) by Milagros Mumenthaler (Switzerland, Argentina)
Inés, a photographer, is creating a book of her work. Gradually, the process becomes a personal exploration of her past and the absence of her father, who was disappeared during the military dictatorship in Argentina.
"The Mimosas" by Oliver Laxe (Spain, Morocco, France)
In the Atlas Mountains in the past, a caravan searches for the path to take a Sufi master home to die. Among the party is Ahmed, a rascal who eventually becomes inspired to lead the caravan to its destination. Along the way, he is assisted by Shakib, a man sent from contemporary Morocco to guide Ahmed on his journey.
"Rey" (King) by Niles Atallah (Chile)
In 1860, a French lawyer dreamed of becoming the King of Patagonia – and he did just that. Or so it seemed.
"Suspension" by Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia)
N is a candidate for an illegal crossing of the Mediterranean from Tunisia. A supernatural voyage, during which N will confront Nature and himself, begins.
Feature Documentary / Development
"Agnus Dei" by Karim Sayad (Algeria, Switzerland)
In Algeria, Ali and his sheep, bought for slaughter on Eid Al-Adha, are getting ready for the fight. Once the bets are in, the referee invites the owners into the ring…
"Behind the Doors" by Yakout Elhababi (Morocco)
High in the Rif mountains of Morocco, the people survive by growing kif. Beneath the shadow of the ambiguous legality of the crop, ‘Behind the Doors’ tells the story of a family through its children and their mirroring games.
"The Great Family" by Eliane Raheb (Lebanon)
In 1976, at the age of four, Marlene was put up for adoption in Lebanon and raised in France. In delving into her past, she discovers she is a survivor of the massacre at the Tal Al-Zaatar Palestinian refugee camp, and a family of survivors grows around her.
Feature Documentary / Production
"The Colonel’s Stray Dogs" by Khalid Shamis (Libya, South Africa)
While director Khalid Shamis watched television in his suburban London home, his father was plotting the overthrow of Muammar Gadaffi in his study. When the regime fell, Shamis sought answers about Libya under Gadaffi and his father’s role in its failed liberation.
"Ibrahim" by Lina Alabed (Jordan)
‘Ibrahim’ uncovers the long journey of the director’s father as a young man, when he was a secret member of Abu Nidal, a militant Palestinian revolutionary organisation.
"Searching for Janitou" by Mohamed El Amine hattou (Algeria)
A journey to unravel love in past and contemporary Algeria by exploring the unique phenomenon of a Bollywood film that swept the country in the 1980s.
"To the Ends of the Earth" by Hamida Al Kawari ( Qatar)
A Qatari woman travels on an environmental expedition to Antarctica in search of hope, before returning to the Gulf and finding unity and inspiration for positive change.
"Weight Throwers" by Hind Bensari (Morocco)
‘Weight Thowers’ follows the struggles of Azzedine and Youssef, disabled members of Morocco’s unemployed and disillusioned young generation, as they struggle to train for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Feature Documentary / Post-production
"Tadmor" by Lokman Slim, Monika Borgmann (Lebanon)
A group of Lebanese men re-enact the ordeals they experienced as detainees in Syria’s notorious Tadmor prison. An ode to the human will to survive.
"When Two Worlds Collide" by Heidi Brandenburg, Mathew Orzel (Peru)
A story of a man and a people, and of the fate of one of our planet’s most valuable natural resources – the Amazon rainforest.
Short Narrative / Production
"Behind the Wall" by Karima Zoubir (Morocco)
Nadia, a little girl, lives in a Casablanca slum that is surrounded by a wall. One day, the municipality begins to paint the wall – but why this sudden interest?
"Kashta" by A.J. Al Thani (Qatar)
A father takes his two sons out to the desert to learn about hunting and survival, but the results are not quite what he was expecting.
"Language" by Mortada Gzar (Iraq)
An old blind man walks throught the streets of Baghdad, then falls asleep while reading a book in Braille. When he wakes up, he finds he has become a giant and reads the devastation of the city by touch.
"The Waiting Room" by Hind Fakhroo (Qatar)
An Arab family and a Western family find themselves sharing a hospital room; the only thing that separates them is a curtain.
The Fall session marks the 11th session of the grants program, which is dedicated to supporting new cinematic talent, with a focus on first- and second-time filmmakers.
Twenty-four of the projects are from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, while 6 are from the rest of the world. For the first time, filmmakers from Chile, Peru and Spain will receive funding from the program.
Stories of displacement, physical or spiritual journeys, tales of family life, the power of nature and the importance of protecting the environment are highlighted in the selections this Fall.
Four projects from Qatar-based filmmakers were awarded grants – Hafiz Ali Abdullah’s "The Search for the Star Pearl," about a young pearl diver from Doha who discovers a map to the most valuable gem on Earth, and sets sail with three teenage friends in search of it; Hamida Al Kawari’s "To the Ends of the Earth" – the first Qatari feature documentary to receive a grant from the Institute – which follows a Qatari woman on an environmental expedition to Antarctica in search of hope; A.J. Al Thani’s "Kashta," a family drama about a father who takes his sons out into the desert to teach them about hunting and survival; and Hend Fakhroo’s "The Waiting Room," about an Arab and a Western family who find themselves sharing a hospital room.
Among the 30 projects selected for funding, 5 are from Morocco – Fyzal Boulifa’s "Pagan Magic," the story of a poor youngster working as a maid for a middle-class family; second-time grantee Uda Benyamina’s "Bastard," about a 15-year-old girl who lives with her mother in a rough Parisian suburb; Yakout Elhababi’s "Behind the Doors," which looks at family life and childhood set high in the Rif mountains of Morocco; Hind Bensari’s "Weight Throwers," a documentary look at the struggles of two young athletes as they train for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro; and "Behind The Wall," by Karima Zoubir, a short film set in a Casablanca slum.
Also featuring strongly are three animation projects – established filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour’s "Miss Camel," the story of a teenage Saudi camel who challenges the deep-rooted restrictions of her culture by travelling across the kingdom to compete in the Miss Camel beauty pageant in Doha; Mortada Gzar’s "Language," about a blind man on the streets of Baghdad who wakes up as a giant and reads the devastation of the city by touch; and Hafiz Ali Abdullah’s "The Search for the Star Pearl."
As in several previous sessions of the grants program, powerful projects from Argentina have also secured funding. Milagros Mumenthaler’s Swiss/Argentinian film "The Idea of a Lake" is about a photographer who undergoes a personal exploration of her past and the absence of her father while creating a book of her work, while Maximiliano Schonfeld’s "The Black Frost" is a drama set on a plantation where a pernicious black frost threatens to devastate the countryside until a mysterious woman arrives.
Continuing the environmental theme, Heidi Brandenburg and Mathew Orzel’s "When Two Worlds Collide" is the story of an indigenous Peruvian man and his people, and of the fate of one of our planet’s most valuable natural resources – the Amazon rainforest. The film, which has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, is the first-ever Peruvian recipient of a grant from the Institute.
Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Our Fall grantees cover a broad range of subjects and represent some powerful new voices in cinema, especially from Qatar and North Africa with several projects supported from Morocco and Algeria.”
“Animated films are very popular in our region so it is very encouraging to see an acclaimed filmmaker like Haifaa Al Mansour turn her skills to this important genre; we support two other animated projects in this grants cycle as well.”
“Our grantees represent the core of the Doha Film Institute’s mandate to support emerging filmmakers and contribute to the development of the regional film industry. We have supported more than 255 films since the inception of the grants program and we continue to seek out projects with a strong directorial vision that are challenging, creative and thought-provoking. Our new round of grantees is no exception and I am delighted to welcome this outstanding crop of projects to our growing community of grantee alumni.”
Submissions for the next funding round open January 6 and close January 19, 2016. Funding is available to projects by filmmakers from around the world, with an emphasis on support for filmmakers from the Mena region. Certain categories of funding reserved for Mena and Qatari filmmakers.
The fund is primarily for first and second-time filmmakers. Post-production funding is available to established filmmakers from the Mena region.
For more information about eligibility and submissions, please visit
http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/financing/grants/guidelines
A full directory of past grant recipients is available to view at
http://www.dohafilminstitute.com/financing/projects/grants
The Doha Film Institute Grants Program funding recipients for the Fall 2015 session are:
Feature Narrative / Development
"Death Street" by Mohanad Hayal (Iraq)
Tariq, the sniper of Haifa Street in Baghdad, kills Ahmed on his wedding day. While Tariq prevents anyone from approaching the corpse in the street, an intimate and telling drama unfolds.
"Miss Camel" by Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudia Arabia)
A teenage Saudi camel challenges the deep-rooted restrictions of her culture by traveling across the kingdom to compete in the Miss Camel beauty pageant in Doha.
"Pagan Magic" by Fyzal Boulifa (Morocco, France)
A young, poor and uneducated girl works as a maid for a middle-class family in contemporary Morocco. Her use of pagan rites to confront her entrapment and make sense of her world ultimately corrupt her.
"The Search for the Star Pearl" by Hafiz Ali Abdullah (Qatar)
Ali, a 17-year-old pearl diver from Doha, discovers a map to the Star Pearl of Abu Derya, the most valuable gem on Earth, and sets sail with three teenaged friends in search of the pearl. Along the way, they face mythological beasts that challenge their skills and friendship.
Feature Narrative / Production
"Cactus Flower" by Hala Elkoussy (Egypt)
A flood leaves three Cairenes homeless. As they journey across the city in search of shelter, they depend upon one another to survive and keep their dreams alive.
"Poisonous Roses" by Fawzi Saleh (Egypt)
The world has left nothing to Taheya apart from her brother Saqr. When he disappears, Taheya pursues him in desperation.
"The Return" by Meyar Al-Roumi (Syria, France)
A love story blossoms between Taysir and Lina, exiles from Syria, while they drive across their homeland to bury Taysir’s brother, a victim of the armed conflict.
"Till the Swallows Return" by Karim Moussaoui (Algeria, France)
This is the story of three characters who are a product of the conflicted Algeria of the 2000s. Their ideals shattered and their moral strength drained, each now faces a difficult life choice.
Feature Narrative / Post-production
"Bastard" by Uda Benyamina (Morocco, France)
Fifteen-year-old Dounia lives with her mother in a rough Parisian suburb, where she has been saddled with the nickname “bastard”.
"The Black Frost" by Maximiliano Schonfeld (Argentina)
Soon after a mysterious woman arrives on a plantation, a pernicious black frost ceases to devastate the countryside. Hope emerges. Might she might be a saviour?
"Blue Bicycle" by Ümit Köreken (Turkey)
Young Ali saves up all the money he can working at a tyre repair shop to buy a coveted blue bicycle. Meanwhile, at school, his love for his schoolmate Elif leads him to defend her dismissal as school president. A story of childish love, dreams and resistance.
"The Dark Wind" by Hussein Hassan (Iraq)
Radical Islamists attack a village in Iraq where two young Yazidis are preparing for their marriage. At that moment, their lives become a nightmare.
"The Idea of a Lake" (note: previously titled Air Pocket) by Milagros Mumenthaler (Switzerland, Argentina)
Inés, a photographer, is creating a book of her work. Gradually, the process becomes a personal exploration of her past and the absence of her father, who was disappeared during the military dictatorship in Argentina.
"The Mimosas" by Oliver Laxe (Spain, Morocco, France)
In the Atlas Mountains in the past, a caravan searches for the path to take a Sufi master home to die. Among the party is Ahmed, a rascal who eventually becomes inspired to lead the caravan to its destination. Along the way, he is assisted by Shakib, a man sent from contemporary Morocco to guide Ahmed on his journey.
"Rey" (King) by Niles Atallah (Chile)
In 1860, a French lawyer dreamed of becoming the King of Patagonia – and he did just that. Or so it seemed.
"Suspension" by Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia)
N is a candidate for an illegal crossing of the Mediterranean from Tunisia. A supernatural voyage, during which N will confront Nature and himself, begins.
Feature Documentary / Development
"Agnus Dei" by Karim Sayad (Algeria, Switzerland)
In Algeria, Ali and his sheep, bought for slaughter on Eid Al-Adha, are getting ready for the fight. Once the bets are in, the referee invites the owners into the ring…
"Behind the Doors" by Yakout Elhababi (Morocco)
High in the Rif mountains of Morocco, the people survive by growing kif. Beneath the shadow of the ambiguous legality of the crop, ‘Behind the Doors’ tells the story of a family through its children and their mirroring games.
"The Great Family" by Eliane Raheb (Lebanon)
In 1976, at the age of four, Marlene was put up for adoption in Lebanon and raised in France. In delving into her past, she discovers she is a survivor of the massacre at the Tal Al-Zaatar Palestinian refugee camp, and a family of survivors grows around her.
Feature Documentary / Production
"The Colonel’s Stray Dogs" by Khalid Shamis (Libya, South Africa)
While director Khalid Shamis watched television in his suburban London home, his father was plotting the overthrow of Muammar Gadaffi in his study. When the regime fell, Shamis sought answers about Libya under Gadaffi and his father’s role in its failed liberation.
"Ibrahim" by Lina Alabed (Jordan)
‘Ibrahim’ uncovers the long journey of the director’s father as a young man, when he was a secret member of Abu Nidal, a militant Palestinian revolutionary organisation.
"Searching for Janitou" by Mohamed El Amine hattou (Algeria)
A journey to unravel love in past and contemporary Algeria by exploring the unique phenomenon of a Bollywood film that swept the country in the 1980s.
"To the Ends of the Earth" by Hamida Al Kawari ( Qatar)
A Qatari woman travels on an environmental expedition to Antarctica in search of hope, before returning to the Gulf and finding unity and inspiration for positive change.
"Weight Throwers" by Hind Bensari (Morocco)
‘Weight Thowers’ follows the struggles of Azzedine and Youssef, disabled members of Morocco’s unemployed and disillusioned young generation, as they struggle to train for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Feature Documentary / Post-production
"Tadmor" by Lokman Slim, Monika Borgmann (Lebanon)
A group of Lebanese men re-enact the ordeals they experienced as detainees in Syria’s notorious Tadmor prison. An ode to the human will to survive.
"When Two Worlds Collide" by Heidi Brandenburg, Mathew Orzel (Peru)
A story of a man and a people, and of the fate of one of our planet’s most valuable natural resources – the Amazon rainforest.
Short Narrative / Production
"Behind the Wall" by Karima Zoubir (Morocco)
Nadia, a little girl, lives in a Casablanca slum that is surrounded by a wall. One day, the municipality begins to paint the wall – but why this sudden interest?
"Kashta" by A.J. Al Thani (Qatar)
A father takes his two sons out to the desert to learn about hunting and survival, but the results are not quite what he was expecting.
"Language" by Mortada Gzar (Iraq)
An old blind man walks throught the streets of Baghdad, then falls asleep while reading a book in Braille. When he wakes up, he finds he has become a giant and reads the devastation of the city by touch.
"The Waiting Room" by Hind Fakhroo (Qatar)
An Arab family and a Western family find themselves sharing a hospital room; the only thing that separates them is a curtain.
- 1/5/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Wadjda director among 30 awarded grants in the Doha Film Institute’s latest round of funding.Scroll down for the full list of projects
Haifaa Al Mansour, the director of 2012 Bafta-nominated Wadjda, has received a grant for her first animated feature project Miss Camel (in development) as part of the Doha Film Institute’s Fall 2015 round of funding.
The film will follow a teenage camel in Saudi Arabia which travels across the country to compete in a beauty pageant.
In total, 30 projects have received grants, including 16 feature films, three of which are animations, and 10 documentaries.
Of the projects selected, 24 are from the Mena region, while for the first time filmmakers from Chile, Peru and Spain will all receive funding.
Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Animated films are very popular in our region so it is very encouraging to see an acclaimed filmmaker like Haifaa Al Mansour turn her skills to this important genre; we...
Haifaa Al Mansour, the director of 2012 Bafta-nominated Wadjda, has received a grant for her first animated feature project Miss Camel (in development) as part of the Doha Film Institute’s Fall 2015 round of funding.
The film will follow a teenage camel in Saudi Arabia which travels across the country to compete in a beauty pageant.
In total, 30 projects have received grants, including 16 feature films, three of which are animations, and 10 documentaries.
Of the projects selected, 24 are from the Mena region, while for the first time filmmakers from Chile, Peru and Spain will all receive funding.
Fatma Al Remaihi, CEO of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Animated films are very popular in our region so it is very encouraging to see an acclaimed filmmaker like Haifaa Al Mansour turn her skills to this important genre; we...
- 12/21/2015
- ScreenDaily
Feature Ryan Lambie 11 Mar 2014 - 05:39
In the late 80s, Carolco was one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, but by 1995, it was gone. Ryan charts its dramatic rise and fall...
Paul Verhoeven is not a happy man. It's 1994, and the Dutch director of (among other things) RoboCop and Total Recall is in a pivotal meeting with executives at Carolco Pictures. They're in the boardroom to discuss Crusade: a lavish, $100m historical drama described as Spartacus meets Conan.
With a script by Walon Green (The Wild Bunch, WarGames), and a cast headed up by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it sounds like the kind of star-filled, opulent film Carolco Pictures is famous for making. The supporting cast includes Jennifer Connelly and Robert Duvall. The script is vibrant and brash. There are massive sets being built in rural Spain. But privately, Carolco's bosses are anxious; they have another hugely expensive project in the works...
In the late 80s, Carolco was one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, but by 1995, it was gone. Ryan charts its dramatic rise and fall...
Paul Verhoeven is not a happy man. It's 1994, and the Dutch director of (among other things) RoboCop and Total Recall is in a pivotal meeting with executives at Carolco Pictures. They're in the boardroom to discuss Crusade: a lavish, $100m historical drama described as Spartacus meets Conan.
With a script by Walon Green (The Wild Bunch, WarGames), and a cast headed up by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it sounds like the kind of star-filled, opulent film Carolco Pictures is famous for making. The supporting cast includes Jennifer Connelly and Robert Duvall. The script is vibrant and brash. There are massive sets being built in rural Spain. But privately, Carolco's bosses are anxious; they have another hugely expensive project in the works...
- 3/10/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Holland, Michigan
Director: Errol Morris
Writer: Andrew Sodroski
Producers: Adam Kassan, John Lesher
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Naomi Watts, Bryan Cranston, Edgar Ramírez
Documentarian Errol Morris has signed on to direct not one, but two fiction feature films (he’s only ever done that once before, back in 1991 with the Lou Diamond Philips starrer The Dark Wind). Initially, it looked like the Christopher Walken/Paul Rudd headlining Freezing People Is Easy was set to film first, but now it looks as if it will be Holland, Michigan, set to roll this spring. While that may be cutting it close for a reasonable 2014 release, the 65 year old Morris has an efficient track record, so we shall see. As for Ms. Watts, she’s currently filming with Noah Baumbach for a film set to be released in 2015. This would be her next project, and, then maybe, finally, she’ll get...
Director: Errol Morris
Writer: Andrew Sodroski
Producers: Adam Kassan, John Lesher
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Naomi Watts, Bryan Cranston, Edgar Ramírez
Documentarian Errol Morris has signed on to direct not one, but two fiction feature films (he’s only ever done that once before, back in 1991 with the Lou Diamond Philips starrer The Dark Wind). Initially, it looked like the Christopher Walken/Paul Rudd headlining Freezing People Is Easy was set to film first, but now it looks as if it will be Holland, Michigan, set to roll this spring. While that may be cutting it close for a reasonable 2014 release, the 65 year old Morris has an efficient track record, so we shall see. As for Ms. Watts, she’s currently filming with Noah Baumbach for a film set to be released in 2015. This would be her next project, and, then maybe, finally, she’ll get...
- 2/26/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Edgar Ramirez ("Carlos") are set to star in filmmaker Errol Morris' new darkly comic thriller "Holland, Michigan".
The pair join Naomi Watts who stars as a wife who starts an affair after she suspects her husband is cheating on her. She soon learns the truth - that her spouse isn't an adulterer, he's a serial killer.
Andrew Sodroski penned the script for the film said to be akin to "Fargo" in tone. Filming kicks off in April.
Morris revealed the news during a Reddit Ama. Morris has primarily been known for documentaries, this would mark his first narrative film since 1991's "The Dark Wind".
The pair join Naomi Watts who stars as a wife who starts an affair after she suspects her husband is cheating on her. She soon learns the truth - that her spouse isn't an adulterer, he's a serial killer.
Andrew Sodroski penned the script for the film said to be akin to "Fargo" in tone. Filming kicks off in April.
Morris revealed the news during a Reddit Ama. Morris has primarily been known for documentaries, this would mark his first narrative film since 1991's "The Dark Wind".
- 2/24/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Most moviegoers know Errol Morris for his excellent investigative documentaries, but now the director is looking to return to narrative filmmaking as he’ll be behind the camera for the Naomi Watts led thriller Holland, Michigan, which has just added Bryan Cranston and Edgar Ramirez to its cast.
The news comes from a recent Reddit Ama which took place earlier today. Unfortunately, no details were revealed on who the two actors will be playing in the film but we do know what the premise is. Penned by Andrew Sodroski (whose script made the Black List), Holland, Michigan sees Watts as a woman who begins an affair when she suspects that her husband is cheating. As she digs around though, she finds that cheating isn’t the only thing she should be worried about. Her husband is also a serial killer.
Though this will be the first time that Morris has...
The news comes from a recent Reddit Ama which took place earlier today. Unfortunately, no details were revealed on who the two actors will be playing in the film but we do know what the premise is. Penned by Andrew Sodroski (whose script made the Black List), Holland, Michigan sees Watts as a woman who begins an affair when she suspects that her husband is cheating. As she digs around though, she finds that cheating isn’t the only thing she should be worried about. Her husband is also a serial killer.
Though this will be the first time that Morris has...
- 2/24/2014
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Filmmaker Errol Morris, best known for his law-changing documentary "The Thin Blue Line" and Oscar-winning "The Fog of War," has attached himself to narrative feature "Holland, Michigan." Per Deadline, the film is "a suburban thriller laced with black humor." It is penned by first-timer Andrew Sodroski, a Harvard grad. Le Grisbi's John Lesher and Adam Kessan will produce. Meanwhile, Morris has another feature somewhere in the pipeline: "Freezing People Is Easy." During press rounds for his last documentary "Tabloid," Morris described it to Empire as "a dramatic feature about the first man to be cryogenically frozen"; that project has Christopher Walken, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson on board. "Holland, Michigan" is reportedly set to begin production in early 2014. Morris has had a 22-year hiatus from narrative filmmaking; his Lou Diamond Phillips police procedural "The Dark Wind" was made in 1991.
- 7/11/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Errol Morris's name tends to be met with a hush of reverence in documentary-making circles, but he's no newcomer to the feature-making either. He's attached himself to another, Holland, Michigan, his first since 1991's Lou Diamond Phillips crime procedural The Dark Wind. An Oscar-winner with The Fog Of War and a law-changer with The Thin Blue Line, Morris is turning his attention to a movie that Deadline calls "a suburban thriller laced with black humor", presumably set on the eastern banks of Lake Michigan. Holland, Michigan is written by Harvard grad and newbie screenwriter Andrew Sodroski, and will be produced by Le Grisbi’s John Lesher and Adam Kassan.When Empire met Morris for Tabloid last year, he talked about making "a dramatic feature about the first man to be cryogenically frozen", so his documentary work may be on the backburner for the foreseeable future. That sci-fi-sounding project goes...
- 7/11/2013
- EmpireOnline
Master documentarian Errol Morris is largely known for his fascinating profiles into the odder and darker corners of humanity that still somehow manage to resonate with nearly everyone who crosses his films. Everything from pet cemeteries ("Gates Of Heaven") to war veterans ("The Fog Of War") to physicists ("A Brief History Of Time") to a woman's adventures in kidnapping and cloning ("Tabloid"), Morris chases his fascinations wherever they take him. However, feature films are something he hasn't completely ignored. In 1991, he directed the not very well received "The Dark Wind," and while a long feature break followed, the pieces seemed to be coming together for "Freezing People Is Easy" last year with a star-studded cast -- Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Kirsten Wiig and Christopher Walken -- but then all went quiet. But now it looks like Morris is getting on-board a different fictional feature. Deadline reports that he'll direct "Holland,...
- 7/10/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
There’s a headline you don’t always expect.
As Deadline reports, the inestimable talents of, yes, Paul Rudd, Christopher Walken, Kristen Wiig, and Owen Wilson will come together for Freezing People is Easy, the second narrative feature from documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. (The first is 1991′s largely forgotten The Dark Wind.) Stranger than Fiction scribe Zach Helm has written the script, which is based on two things: We Froze the First Man, a book by the main subject, Bob Nelson, and an episode of This American Life that chronicled his exploits. The show’s host, Ira Glass, will produce with Steve Zaillian, Garrett Basch, and Alissa Shipp.
Both tell a dark, presumably funny tale — that of “a 1960s Los Angeles television repairman who tried to pioneer the field of cryogenics by freezing humans.” After a while, Nelson “quickly discovered that it was more difficult than he imagined.” Rudd will...
As Deadline reports, the inestimable talents of, yes, Paul Rudd, Christopher Walken, Kristen Wiig, and Owen Wilson will come together for Freezing People is Easy, the second narrative feature from documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. (The first is 1991′s largely forgotten The Dark Wind.) Stranger than Fiction scribe Zach Helm has written the script, which is based on two things: We Froze the First Man, a book by the main subject, Bob Nelson, and an episode of This American Life that chronicled his exploits. The show’s host, Ira Glass, will produce with Steve Zaillian, Garrett Basch, and Alissa Shipp.
Both tell a dark, presumably funny tale — that of “a 1960s Los Angeles television repairman who tried to pioneer the field of cryogenics by freezing humans.” After a while, Nelson “quickly discovered that it was more difficult than he imagined.” Rudd will...
- 1/4/2012
- by [email protected] (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
With so many documentary filmmakers like Seth Gordon (The King of Kong) and Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish) continuing to break into the world of fiction, it should probably come as no surprise that one of the all-time masters of the form is also about to attempt a similar transition. That being said, somehow it is still hard to believe that Errol Morris' next few films may not actually be documentaries, even if they are based on true stories. While doing the press circuit in support of his latest film Tabloid, Morris recently revealed that he is lining up adaptations of Richard Preston's The Demon in the Freezer, a non-fiction book about biological warfare with anthrax and smallpox, and We Froze The First Man, a memoir from Robert F. Nelson about the very first man to be cryonically preserved (no, not Walt Disney). Paul Rudd has signed...
- 7/26/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
As globalism renders the world ever smaller, national boundaries seem increasingly porous, if not outright irrelevant to the study of cinema. Yet Errol Morris still strikes me as a distinctly American filmmaker. From pet cemeteries in California (Gates of Heaven) to death row in Texas (The Thin Blue Line), from the Vietnam War (The Fog of War) to the Iraq War (Standard Operating Procedure), and in ads for the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Barack Obama, Morris tends to bring his insatiable curiosity and searing intellect to stories and characters that, for all their strangeness and improbability, are inseparable from American history, American scandal, and American myth.
In Tabloid, his newest and perhaps sweetest cinematic confection, Morris turns his attention to the tale of former Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney, her captive “manacled Mormon” love interest, and the five pit-bull clones she commissioned from the DNA of a favorite pet.
In Tabloid, his newest and perhaps sweetest cinematic confection, Morris turns his attention to the tale of former Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney, her captive “manacled Mormon” love interest, and the five pit-bull clones she commissioned from the DNA of a favorite pet.
- 7/15/2011
- by Livia Bloom
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Errol Morris may be one of, if not the, premiere documentary filmmakers. His subjects have been as varied as pet cemeteries ("Gates of Heaven"), Stephen Hawking ("A Brief History of Time") and Abu Ghraib prison ("Standard Operating Procedure"), and are known for their directness and frequent Philip Glass scores.
One of his docs, "The Thin Blue Line," actually played an integral part in getting a man released from prison.
Now the Oscar-winner is planning to step over another line, into narrative feature filmmaking, and he's taking Paul Rudd with him.
According to The Washington Post, the documentarian has the "Anchorman" star nailed down to play Bob Nelson, a real-life 1960's TV repairman who joins a group of folks developing technology to freeze people for later resuscitation. The screenplay is being developed by Zach Helm along with "This American Life" head-honcho Ira Glass, based on a famous segment from that Public Radio program.
One of his docs, "The Thin Blue Line," actually played an integral part in getting a man released from prison.
Now the Oscar-winner is planning to step over another line, into narrative feature filmmaking, and he's taking Paul Rudd with him.
According to The Washington Post, the documentarian has the "Anchorman" star nailed down to play Bob Nelson, a real-life 1960's TV repairman who joins a group of folks developing technology to freeze people for later resuscitation. The screenplay is being developed by Zach Helm along with "This American Life" head-honcho Ira Glass, based on a famous segment from that Public Radio program.
- 7/13/2011
- by Max Evry
- NextMovie
Academy Award-winning filmmaker and documentarian Errol Morris tells The Playlist that he's planning an adaptation of Richard Preston’s non-fiction work "The Demon in the Freezer".
Preston’s 2002 book explores the U.S. government’s relationship with the biological weapons anthrax and smallpox, focusing on both the “Smallpox Eradication Program” in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the threat of anthrax circa 9/11. Much like 'Hot Zone' or films like "Traffic", the text follows several different storylines in different countries and times.
Preston authored 1994's "The Hot Zone" which was a hot property that Hollywood tried to adapt in the mid-90's until rival project "Outbreak" opened and beat it to the punch. Preston also penned 2007's "The Wild Trees", while his brother Douglas Preston is the best-selling co-author of the Pendergast book series along with Lincoln Child.
Morris is best known for his documentaries like "The Fog of War," "The Thin Blue Line,...
Preston’s 2002 book explores the U.S. government’s relationship with the biological weapons anthrax and smallpox, focusing on both the “Smallpox Eradication Program” in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the threat of anthrax circa 9/11. Much like 'Hot Zone' or films like "Traffic", the text follows several different storylines in different countries and times.
Preston authored 1994's "The Hot Zone" which was a hot property that Hollywood tried to adapt in the mid-90's until rival project "Outbreak" opened and beat it to the punch. Preston also penned 2007's "The Wild Trees", while his brother Douglas Preston is the best-selling co-author of the Pendergast book series along with Lincoln Child.
Morris is best known for his documentaries like "The Fog of War," "The Thin Blue Line,...
- 7/12/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Back in April of 2009 acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris announced his intent [1] to make his second non-doc feature. The film was being written by Stranger Than Fiction scripter Zach Helm, based on two sources: Robert F. Nelson’s memoir We Froze the First Man and a This American Life segment called 'You’re Cold As Ice [2],' which jointly follow the story of Robert Nelson, a TV repairman who developed his own cryogenic preservation technology in the mid-'60s. We haven't heard much about the film in some time, but it isn't dead. (Resist the puns. Resist the puns.) Now, while promoting his recent documentary Tabloid, Errol Morris has revealed that Paul Rudd will play Bob Nelson. Errol Morris has talked about casting Paul Rudd to a couple of outlets, like the Washington Post [3], and says the Zack Helm script is done. (It should be, after two years.)He's also collaborating...
- 7/12/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Update: The Washington Post reveals that Paul Rudd will star in Morris' film, We Froze The First Man.
Director Errol Morris is an interesting filmmaker. With a penchant for really inventive and off-beat documentaries, there has always been an aspect of his filmmaking style that’s seemed to have been really well-adjusted for the world of fiction filmmaking. That said, he’s not really been able to make much of a splash in that world. The Dark Wind being his only fictional film, Morris is looking to dive head first into the world of narrative features however, with one hell of a project.
Read more on Errol Morris to helm adaptation of “The Demon In The Freezer”...
Director Errol Morris is an interesting filmmaker. With a penchant for really inventive and off-beat documentaries, there has always been an aspect of his filmmaking style that’s seemed to have been really well-adjusted for the world of fiction filmmaking. That said, he’s not really been able to make much of a splash in that world. The Dark Wind being his only fictional film, Morris is looking to dive head first into the world of narrative features however, with one hell of a project.
Read more on Errol Morris to helm adaptation of “The Demon In The Freezer”...
- 7/12/2011
- by Joshua Brunsting
- GordonandtheWhale
Another celebrated documentary filmmaker is abandoning nonfiction (at least temporarily) for the made-up stuff. Because it's been so great for Barbara Kopple ("Havoc"), Errol Morris ("The Dark Wind") and Michael Moore ("Canadian Bacon"). Yes, I'm being sarcastic, even if I'm somewhat happy if documentarians can dip into fiction once in a while if it gives them a nice paycheck to live off while making more docs. I just worry that R.J. Cutler, a longtime producer and director of reality TV and films like the recent hit "The September Issue," and other filmmakers, will never return to the mode, a la…...
- 4/6/2011
- Spout
Historically it's nothing new. Just look at Merian C. Cooper for a prime example. Or go back to the Lumiere brothers. But these days it's becoming more and more common for successful documentary filmmakers to jump ship, most of the time only temporarily, and give fiction a try. Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple and Errol Morris have all done it. Seth Gordon seems to be sticking with it. Werner Herzog has been balancing both mediums for a while. And now the latest documentarian to make the transition is Nanette Burstein, whose fiction debut, the raunchy yet sweet rom-com Going the Distance, opens this Friday.
Usually I'm disappointed with the filmmakers who try it, even while recognizing that maybe a cash-grab fiction project here will help finance a great non-fiction film there. The truth is few documentarians make good narrative features (see Canadian Bacon, Havoc, The Dark Wind, Four Christmases). Burstein is the exception,...
Usually I'm disappointed with the filmmakers who try it, even while recognizing that maybe a cash-grab fiction project here will help finance a great non-fiction film there. The truth is few documentarians make good narrative features (see Canadian Bacon, Havoc, The Dark Wind, Four Christmases). Burstein is the exception,...
- 9/2/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
Robert here, back with another entry in my series on great contemporary directors.
Maestro: Errol Morris
Known For: Documentaries about politicial, social and strange topics.
Influences: More film noir and French New Wave than classic docs.
Masterpieces: The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War and Mr. Death.
Disasters:Well his one narrative feature The Dark Wind sorta qualifies.
Better than you remember: History seems to recall all of his docs with fondness, as it should be.
Box Office: Just over 4 mil for The Fog of War
The alarming intimacy of the Interrotron, the impact of wildly composed visual asides, the clang of a Philip Glass (or similar) score... few documentarians bring a specific personal style to their films like Errol Morris. Yet his films could never be dismissed with that most common of eye-rolling declarations "style over substance." Morris's films are rooted in the revelations of his interview, utilizing his stylization as punctuation or underlining,...
Maestro: Errol Morris
Known For: Documentaries about politicial, social and strange topics.
Influences: More film noir and French New Wave than classic docs.
Masterpieces: The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War and Mr. Death.
Disasters:Well his one narrative feature The Dark Wind sorta qualifies.
Better than you remember: History seems to recall all of his docs with fondness, as it should be.
Box Office: Just over 4 mil for The Fog of War
The alarming intimacy of the Interrotron, the impact of wildly composed visual asides, the clang of a Philip Glass (or similar) score... few documentarians bring a specific personal style to their films like Errol Morris. Yet his films could never be dismissed with that most common of eye-rolling declarations "style over substance." Morris's films are rooted in the revelations of his interview, utilizing his stylization as punctuation or underlining,...
- 7/15/2010
- by Robert
- FilmExperience
If you follow Errol Morris on Twitter, you'll know that he's been finishing up a new film called Tabloid. For the most part, we haven't known much about what the film covers, as he's been quite oblique in referencing the project. But the simple fact of Morris making a new movie is exciting enough. The man hasn't made a bad documentary (Ok, his dramatic feature The Dark Wind isn't so hot) and many of his films hold well-earned spots on best-of lists for the year of their release. Now we know a bit more about Tabloid, and if the pieces are coming together as appears to be the case, then it might be one to please audiences who take more to the quirky, focused portraits Morris sometimes creates. The big clue to Tabloid was a recent tweet by the director, which said "Joyce McKinney is my favorite protagonist." That kicked...
- 4/1/2010
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
So last year I joined Twitter and desperately struggled to figure out a good use for it. Assuming most people following my account might come from the Film Junk podcast, I thought it might be an idea platform to keep track of what films I've been watching and what ratings I give them. My first post was March 9th, 2009 with David Cronenberg's The Brood (3.5/4) and since then I've managed to check out a good number of great films over the last year. (Jacques Tati's Play Time and Wim Wender's Paris, Texas are definitely two stand outs on this list.) Many of these are first time viewings, but a there are also a lot of movies I just felt the urge to revisit. So what do you think? Any favourites? Have a look for yourself after the jump! The Brood, (Cronenberg, 1979) 3.5/4 Operation Crossbow (Anderson, 1965) 3.5/4 Watchmen, (Snyder, 2009) 3/4 Pontypool, (McDonald, 2008) 4/4 Pinocchio,...
- 3/10/2010
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Oscar winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris has signed on to direct an Untitled Cryonics Project – his first narrative feature since 1991’s The Dark Wind. Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction) is writing the screenplay. Mandate Pictures and Steve Zaillian's Film Rites are producing the dark comedy, which was inspired by both Robert F. Nelson's memoir "We Froze the First Man" and a story that aired on NPR's This American Life this week titled "You're as Cold as Ice." The true story centers on Nelson, a TV repairman who in the 1960s joined a group of enthusiasts who believed they could cheat death with a new technology: cryonics. But freezing dead people so scientists could reanimate them in the future turned out to be harder than Nelson thought. Morris, whose documentary credits include A Brief History of Time, Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, Fog of War and The Thin Blue Line,...
- 4/16/2009
- by James Cook
- TheMovingPicture.net
0:00 - Intro / In-House Stuff 10:50 - Headlines: The Three Stooges Casting, Let The Right One In Subtitles 37:15 - What We Watched: Seven, Moonraker, The Dark Wind, Phase IV, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, The 400 Blows, Star Wars Episode II, Surfwise, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Punisher: War Zone, Frozen River, Role Models, Adventureland, The Daytrippers 1:13:05 - Review: 12 Rounds 1:31:35 - Trailer Trash: Where The Wild Things Are 1:38:00 - Junk Mail: Editing, Wtf Moments, John Waters, Movies That Are Better Than The Book, If Looks Could Kill, Top 3 Schwarzenegger Movies 2:05:45 - This Week's DVD Releases 2:06:45 - Outro » Download the MP3 (59 Mb) [1] » View the show notes [2] » Vote for us on Podcast Alley! [3] Subscribe to the podcast feed: [4] [5] [6] [7] [1] http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/media.libsyn.com/media/filmjunk/filmjunk213.mp3 [2] http://www.filmjunk.com/podcast/#mar30_09 [3] http://www.
- 3/31/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
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