Exclusive: Director with focus on Aboriginal culture revisits western genre from indigenous perspective.
Memento Films International has taken on world sales of Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country, an Australian frontier drama set in the 1920s told from an aboriginal perspective.
The film is scheduled to shoot mid-November in Alice Springs, Australia and will be ready for Cannes 2017. The confirmed cast includes Sam Neill, Bryan Brown and Ewen Leslie.
Memento will be starting sales at script stage at Afm. Manuel Chiche’s Paris-based The Jokers has already taken French Rights.
“The project resonates so much with today’s issues of injustice and racism, it’s uncanny. The script manages at the same time to pack a lot of action and to paint a subtle (and quite hard) portrait of a nation being built,” commented Mfi sales chief Tanja Meissner.
It marks a third feature for Thornton after Samson & Delilah, which won the Caméra d’Or in Cannes in 2009, and...
Memento Films International has taken on world sales of Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country, an Australian frontier drama set in the 1920s told from an aboriginal perspective.
The film is scheduled to shoot mid-November in Alice Springs, Australia and will be ready for Cannes 2017. The confirmed cast includes Sam Neill, Bryan Brown and Ewen Leslie.
Memento will be starting sales at script stage at Afm. Manuel Chiche’s Paris-based The Jokers has already taken French Rights.
“The project resonates so much with today’s issues of injustice and racism, it’s uncanny. The script manages at the same time to pack a lot of action and to paint a subtle (and quite hard) portrait of a nation being built,” commented Mfi sales chief Tanja Meissner.
It marks a third feature for Thornton after Samson & Delilah, which won the Caméra d’Or in Cannes in 2009, and...
- 11/3/2016
- ScreenDaily
Aftrs has launched a revamped Indigenous Unit, headed by Kyas Sherriff.
The initial program for 2016 will include the Black Talk series (similar to Aftrs Friday on My Mind), talent labs and Industry events.
Across the Aftrs curriculum, there will be an increased academic focus on Indigenous representation on Australian screen.
The school is also proposing an industry symposium on cultural diversity both on screen and behind the scenes.
The Black Talk series aims to engage the wider screen industry in an understanding of contemporary Indigenous storytelling.
The first Black Talk, on February 17, featured Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer Guillermo Arriaga (writer of 21 Grams, Babel and Amores Perros)..
Arriaga, who is in Australia as a guest of Nitv, has a history of sharing his knowledge with Australian Indigenous filmmakers, including participating in a previous Screen Australia Workshop with published Indigenous novelists on the craft of writing for screen.
Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton,...
The initial program for 2016 will include the Black Talk series (similar to Aftrs Friday on My Mind), talent labs and Industry events.
Across the Aftrs curriculum, there will be an increased academic focus on Indigenous representation on Australian screen.
The school is also proposing an industry symposium on cultural diversity both on screen and behind the scenes.
The Black Talk series aims to engage the wider screen industry in an understanding of contemporary Indigenous storytelling.
The first Black Talk, on February 17, featured Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer Guillermo Arriaga (writer of 21 Grams, Babel and Amores Perros)..
Arriaga, who is in Australia as a guest of Nitv, has a history of sharing his knowledge with Australian Indigenous filmmakers, including participating in a previous Screen Australia Workshop with published Indigenous novelists on the craft of writing for screen.
Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton,...
- 2/22/2016
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Docu-drama selected for BFI London Film Festival.
Artscope has taken on international sales of UK artist and experimental director Ben Rivers’ Morocco-set The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers, a picture which explores the act of film-making.
Shot against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains and the Moroccan Desert, the multi-layered film combines an adaptation of the late Tangiers-based, Us writer Peter Bowles’s 1947 short story A Distant Episode with footage of contemporary films sets.
“Part documentary, part fiction, we believe the film will not only speak to audiences familiar with Ben’s work as an artist but also to cinephiles and festival-goers eager to be shaken by different forms of expression,” said Sata Cissokho, head of Artscope, the specialist art film label of Paris-based Memento Films International.
The BFI London Film Festival (Lff) announced on Tuesday that the film would screen in its line-up in October. The feature...
Artscope has taken on international sales of UK artist and experimental director Ben Rivers’ Morocco-set The Sky Trembles And The Earth Is Afraid And The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers, a picture which explores the act of film-making.
Shot against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains and the Moroccan Desert, the multi-layered film combines an adaptation of the late Tangiers-based, Us writer Peter Bowles’s 1947 short story A Distant Episode with footage of contemporary films sets.
“Part documentary, part fiction, we believe the film will not only speak to audiences familiar with Ben’s work as an artist but also to cinephiles and festival-goers eager to be shaken by different forms of expression,” said Sata Cissokho, head of Artscope, the specialist art film label of Paris-based Memento Films International.
The BFI London Film Festival (Lff) announced on Tuesday that the film would screen in its line-up in October. The feature...
- 9/1/2015
- ScreenDaily
Ivan Sen.s Mystery Road and Kim Mordaunt.s The Rocket shared the best film honours at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards presented last night.
The Great Gatsby collected four awards followed by The Rocket with 3 and Mystery Road and The Turning with 2 awards each.
Naomi Watts was named best actress for her role in the little-seen Adoration and Aaron Pedersen was best actor for Mystery Road. Sen was best director.
There was another tie for the supporting actor prize: The Great Gatsby.s Joel Edgerton and Mystery Road.s Hugo Weaving. The Turning.s Rose Byrne was best supporting actress. The Rocket.s Sitthiphon Disamoe was on hand to receive the gong for best young performer.
Best script award went to The Railway Man.s Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Haydn Keenan's Persons of Interest was named best documentary.
An Acknowledgment Award was presented to...
The Great Gatsby collected four awards followed by The Rocket with 3 and Mystery Road and The Turning with 2 awards each.
Naomi Watts was named best actress for her role in the little-seen Adoration and Aaron Pedersen was best actor for Mystery Road. Sen was best director.
There was another tie for the supporting actor prize: The Great Gatsby.s Joel Edgerton and Mystery Road.s Hugo Weaving. The Turning.s Rose Byrne was best supporting actress. The Rocket.s Sitthiphon Disamoe was on hand to receive the gong for best young performer.
Best script award went to The Railway Man.s Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Haydn Keenan's Persons of Interest was named best documentary.
An Acknowledgment Award was presented to...
- 3/11/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Above: Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
The lineup for this year's Forum section has been unveiled (minus the special screenings which will be announced soon), providing "an overview of independent, artistic filmmaking with a disregard for convention, screening 28 world and eight international premieres from every single continent."
The Airstrip (Heinz Emighol), Germany - World Premiere
Al doilea joc (The Second Game) (Corneliu Porumboiu), Romania - World Premiere
Le beau danger (René Frölke), Germany / Italy - World Premiere
Butter on the Latch (Josephine Decker), USA - World Premiere
Casse (Scrap Yard) (Nadège Trebal), France - International Premiere
Castanha (Davi Pretto), Brasil - World Premiere
Cheol-ae-kum (A Dream of Iron) (Kelvin Kyung Kun Park), Republic of Korea / USA - World Premiere
Chilla (40 Days of Silence) (Saodat Ismailova), Uzbekistan / Tajikistan / Netherlands / Germany / France - World Premiere
The Darkside (Warwick Thornton), Australia - International Premiere
L’enlèvement de Michel Houellebecq (The Kidnapping...
The lineup for this year's Forum section has been unveiled (minus the special screenings which will be announced soon), providing "an overview of independent, artistic filmmaking with a disregard for convention, screening 28 world and eight international premieres from every single continent."
The Airstrip (Heinz Emighol), Germany - World Premiere
Al doilea joc (The Second Game) (Corneliu Porumboiu), Romania - World Premiere
Le beau danger (René Frölke), Germany / Italy - World Premiere
Butter on the Latch (Josephine Decker), USA - World Premiere
Casse (Scrap Yard) (Nadège Trebal), France - International Premiere
Castanha (Davi Pretto), Brasil - World Premiere
Cheol-ae-kum (A Dream of Iron) (Kelvin Kyung Kun Park), Republic of Korea / USA - World Premiere
Chilla (40 Days of Silence) (Saodat Ismailova), Uzbekistan / Tajikistan / Netherlands / Germany / France - World Premiere
The Darkside (Warwick Thornton), Australia - International Premiere
L’enlèvement de Michel Houellebecq (The Kidnapping...
- 1/16/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
The Berlinale’s Forum line-up includes new films from Corneliu Porumboiu, Denis Côté and Guillaume Nicloux.
The strand will include 28 world premieres and eight international premieres from every continent.
Porumboiu’s Al Doilea Joc (The Second Game) follows a football match between top Romanian teams Dinamo and Steau and the experience of the director’s father who refereed the game.
In L’enlèvement de Michel Houellebecq (The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq), French director Guillaume Nicloux has brawny gangsters kidnap controversial writer Michel Houellebecq, where he is held captive for days in a house outside Paris.
Canadian director Cote was last year nominated for the Golden Bear for Vic + Flo Saw a Bear.
Ken Jacobs’ The Guests is an expanded one-minute film turned into a 70-minute black-and-white silent film in 3D.
The strand’s Special Screenings will be announced soon.
Forum
Wp = World premiere, IP = International premiere
The Airstrip by Heinz Emigholz, Germany - Wp[p...
The strand will include 28 world premieres and eight international premieres from every continent.
Porumboiu’s Al Doilea Joc (The Second Game) follows a football match between top Romanian teams Dinamo and Steau and the experience of the director’s father who refereed the game.
In L’enlèvement de Michel Houellebecq (The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq), French director Guillaume Nicloux has brawny gangsters kidnap controversial writer Michel Houellebecq, where he is held captive for days in a house outside Paris.
Canadian director Cote was last year nominated for the Golden Bear for Vic + Flo Saw a Bear.
Ken Jacobs’ The Guests is an expanded one-minute film turned into a 70-minute black-and-white silent film in 3D.
The strand’s Special Screenings will be announced soon.
Forum
Wp = World premiere, IP = International premiere
The Airstrip by Heinz Emigholz, Germany - Wp[p...
- 1/16/2014
- by [email protected] (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
An analysis of the Australian films released in cinemas in 2013 makes for grim reading, with a handful of critical and/or commercial successes outnumbered by misfires and under-achievers.
On the positive side, the debut films from directors Kim Mordaunt (The Rocket), Catriona McKenzie (Satellite Boy) and Mark Grentell (Backyard Ashes) unearthed talent with plenty of potential.
The year ended on a strong note with the Boxing Day launch of Jonathan Teplitzy.s The Railway Man, which ranks as the second-highest local grosser behind Baz Luhrmann.s The Great Gatsby, which amassed $27.4 million to become the fifth-biggest Australian title of all time.
Tellingly, the drama starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman raked in more money in its first week than the lifetime earnings of every other title. According to If.s estimate, the combined B.O. tally of the 26 local films and documentaries is $38.88 million, well short of 2012.s $47.9 million.
Only...
On the positive side, the debut films from directors Kim Mordaunt (The Rocket), Catriona McKenzie (Satellite Boy) and Mark Grentell (Backyard Ashes) unearthed talent with plenty of potential.
The year ended on a strong note with the Boxing Day launch of Jonathan Teplitzy.s The Railway Man, which ranks as the second-highest local grosser behind Baz Luhrmann.s The Great Gatsby, which amassed $27.4 million to become the fifth-biggest Australian title of all time.
Tellingly, the drama starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman raked in more money in its first week than the lifetime earnings of every other title. According to If.s estimate, the combined B.O. tally of the 26 local films and documentaries is $38.88 million, well short of 2012.s $47.9 million.
Only...
- 1/5/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The combined B.O. tally of the Australian films and documentaries released theatrically this year will fall far short of 2012.s $47.9 million.
Through last Sunday, the 24 local titles had raked in about $37.5 million, according to If.s estimates. Only four titles earned more than $1 million and of those, Goddess. result was generally regarded as soft. Excluding Baz Luhrmann.s The Great Gatsby, which amassed $28.2 million to rank as the fifth-highest Australian grosser of all time, and Tim Winton.s The Turning, the per-picture grosses vary from modest to skimpy.
To be fair, the eight lowest-ranked titles had limited playing time and three, Uncharted Waters, Circle of Lies and Lasseter.s Bones, had Q&A screenings.
Australian B.O. takings should not be seen as the sole barometer of each film's success, given many have multiple viewings on VOD, pay-tv and free-to-air TV. Festival exposure and critical acclaim are also important,...
Through last Sunday, the 24 local titles had raked in about $37.5 million, according to If.s estimates. Only four titles earned more than $1 million and of those, Goddess. result was generally regarded as soft. Excluding Baz Luhrmann.s The Great Gatsby, which amassed $28.2 million to rank as the fifth-highest Australian grosser of all time, and Tim Winton.s The Turning, the per-picture grosses vary from modest to skimpy.
To be fair, the eight lowest-ranked titles had limited playing time and three, Uncharted Waters, Circle of Lies and Lasseter.s Bones, had Q&A screenings.
Australian B.O. takings should not be seen as the sole barometer of each film's success, given many have multiple viewings on VOD, pay-tv and free-to-air TV. Festival exposure and critical acclaim are also important,...
- 12/3/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Given the packed schedule of movies in December/January, it.s not surprising that distributors unloaded a bunch of short-run films last weekend, including One Chance, Carrie, Magic Magic and Austenland.
Unsurprisingly, the dominant title was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which dropped by 46% in its second weekend, raking in $6.75 million, bringing its total to a lucrative $22.7 million.
The only other title to gross more than $1 million was Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, which rustled up $1.1 million in its third frame (off 36%), propelling its total to a juicy $7.85 million.
One Chance tells the true story of Paul Potts, the shy, bullied shop assistant and amateur opera singer who won Britain's Got Talent. Directed by The Devil Wears Prada.s David Frankel, the movie musical bombed in the UK but the Australian opening was a bit more respectable at $706,000, released on a very wide 263 screens.
Carrie, Kimberly Peirce.s remake of the...
Unsurprisingly, the dominant title was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which dropped by 46% in its second weekend, raking in $6.75 million, bringing its total to a lucrative $22.7 million.
The only other title to gross more than $1 million was Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, which rustled up $1.1 million in its third frame (off 36%), propelling its total to a juicy $7.85 million.
One Chance tells the true story of Paul Potts, the shy, bullied shop assistant and amateur opera singer who won Britain's Got Talent. Directed by The Devil Wears Prada.s David Frankel, the movie musical bombed in the UK but the Australian opening was a bit more respectable at $706,000, released on a very wide 263 screens.
Carrie, Kimberly Peirce.s remake of the...
- 12/2/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
This collection of Indigenous ghost stories from Warwick Thornton is intriguing but less than the sum of its parts
Warwick Thornton's The Darkside was developed from a national callout for Indigenous ghost stories. Submitted by black and white Australians, Thornton narrowed down the more than 150 stories into 13 to make this film. The filmmakers recorded these stories, told firsthand, and the documentary combines three of these original audio recordings with monologues performed by 10 of Australia's leading performers.
The stories Thornton relays are varied: there is a woman who was attacked by a ghost in her bed; a white woman who, when meditating, saw a rainbow serpent and Aboriginal elders; a man who met a spirit through a firefly. There are people who see strangers, and those who see family members; stories of fear, stories of curiosity, and stories of protection.
Thornton lets these stories speak for themselves. They are powerfully...
Warwick Thornton's The Darkside was developed from a national callout for Indigenous ghost stories. Submitted by black and white Australians, Thornton narrowed down the more than 150 stories into 13 to make this film. The filmmakers recorded these stories, told firsthand, and the documentary combines three of these original audio recordings with monologues performed by 10 of Australia's leading performers.
The stories Thornton relays are varied: there is a woman who was attacked by a ghost in her bed; a white woman who, when meditating, saw a rainbow serpent and Aboriginal elders; a man who met a spirit through a firefly. There are people who see strangers, and those who see family members; stories of fear, stories of curiosity, and stories of protection.
Thornton lets these stories speak for themselves. They are powerfully...
- 10/17/2013
- by Jane Howard
- The Guardian - Film News
David Gulpilil in Charlie's Country..
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Filmmaker Rolf de Heer says his friend and frequent collaborator, actor David Gulpilil, is caught between two cultures, meaning the blackfella.s and the white man.s.
Not co-incidentally, Gulpilil plays a similarly conflicted character in de Heer.s new film, Charlie.s Country, which has its world premiere next month at the Adelaide Film Festival.
That.s one of 10 projects- features, documentaries and shorts- that deal with indigenous themes, most directed by indigenous filmmakers, screening at the festival.
They include Warwick Thornton.s The Darkside, a collection of poignant ghost stories from across Australia performed by Deborah Mailman, Bryan Brown, Aaron Pedersen, Leah Purcell, Brendan Cowell and Shari Sebbens; and Ben Pederick.s Ringbalin, a multi-platform project which tells the story of an Aboriginal elder who.s tired of watching his ancestral home at the end of the Coorong die and embarks on a...
.
Filmmaker Rolf de Heer says his friend and frequent collaborator, actor David Gulpilil, is caught between two cultures, meaning the blackfella.s and the white man.s.
Not co-incidentally, Gulpilil plays a similarly conflicted character in de Heer.s new film, Charlie.s Country, which has its world premiere next month at the Adelaide Film Festival.
That.s one of 10 projects- features, documentaries and shorts- that deal with indigenous themes, most directed by indigenous filmmakers, screening at the festival.
They include Warwick Thornton.s The Darkside, a collection of poignant ghost stories from across Australia performed by Deborah Mailman, Bryan Brown, Aaron Pedersen, Leah Purcell, Brendan Cowell and Shari Sebbens; and Ben Pederick.s Ringbalin, a multi-platform project which tells the story of an Aboriginal elder who.s tired of watching his ancestral home at the end of the Coorong die and embarks on a...
- 9/17/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Kevin Macdonald, Jim Jarmush and Asghar Farhadi all have films in competition in the Adelaide Film Festival.Scroll down for full list
UK features How I Live Now, directed by Kevin Macdonald, and Clio Bernard’s The Selfish Giant are among the 12 films in competition in the Adelaide Film Festival (Aff) (Oct 10-20).
Aff director Amanda Duthie has also included two films from France: Claire Dennis’ Bastards and Stranger By The Lake, which earned Alain Guiraudie the directing prize at Cannes in Un Certain Regard. France was also the location for another competition film, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past.
“The international feature competition covers the globe with big bold stories created by masters through to first timers,” Duthie told ScreenDaily.
“Included in the mix is Dance Of Reality, for example, directed by Alejandro Joderowsky, a master filmmaker at the height of his power and in his eighties, and These Final Hours, directed by Australian...
UK features How I Live Now, directed by Kevin Macdonald, and Clio Bernard’s The Selfish Giant are among the 12 films in competition in the Adelaide Film Festival (Aff) (Oct 10-20).
Aff director Amanda Duthie has also included two films from France: Claire Dennis’ Bastards and Stranger By The Lake, which earned Alain Guiraudie the directing prize at Cannes in Un Certain Regard. France was also the location for another competition film, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past.
“The international feature competition covers the globe with big bold stories created by masters through to first timers,” Duthie told ScreenDaily.
“Included in the mix is Dance Of Reality, for example, directed by Alejandro Joderowsky, a master filmmaker at the height of his power and in his eighties, and These Final Hours, directed by Australian...
- 8/28/2013
- by [email protected] (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
Rolf de Heer on location for.Charlie's Country with David Gulpilil
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Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country, Warwick Thornton.s The Darkside and Rowan Woods' The Broken Shore will have their world premieres at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival, which runs October 10-20. Among the other world premieres unveiled today by the Aff.s new CEO/ Director Amanda Duthie are the Adelaide-shot features One-Eyed Girl and 52 Tuesdays and the documentaries All This Mayhem, Muriel Matters and Sons and Mothers. Duthie ticked off an impressive list of 166 titles from 48 countries, including 28 world premieres, 47 Australian premieres and 34 South Australian projects. The line-up features 14 works including seven features which were supported by the Aff.s investment fund. As announced, the fest will open with John Curran.s South Australian-shot Tracks, the true story of Robyn Davidson.s solo 2,700 km trek via camels across the Australian desert in 1977, accompanied by her dog Diggity. Curran,...
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Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country, Warwick Thornton.s The Darkside and Rowan Woods' The Broken Shore will have their world premieres at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival, which runs October 10-20. Among the other world premieres unveiled today by the Aff.s new CEO/ Director Amanda Duthie are the Adelaide-shot features One-Eyed Girl and 52 Tuesdays and the documentaries All This Mayhem, Muriel Matters and Sons and Mothers. Duthie ticked off an impressive list of 166 titles from 48 countries, including 28 world premieres, 47 Australian premieres and 34 South Australian projects. The line-up features 14 works including seven features which were supported by the Aff.s investment fund. As announced, the fest will open with John Curran.s South Australian-shot Tracks, the true story of Robyn Davidson.s solo 2,700 km trek via camels across the Australian desert in 1977, accompanied by her dog Diggity. Curran,...
- 8/28/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
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