Notizie

The 21st European Film Festival also awarded trophies to Disco, Scandinavian Silence, Sister and Lara, while the Cineuropa Prize went to Open Door. The French title Twelve Thousand has been crowned Best Film at the 21st Lecce European Film Festival, an event which unfolded entirely online this year, between 31 October and 7 November, in full compliance with anti-Covid health regulations. Awarding the Golden Olive Tree to Nadège Trebal’s film, the jury presided over by Katriel Schory and composed of Beatrice Fiorentino, Mathilde Henrot, Antonio Saura and Mira Staleva also honoured Disco by Jorunn Myklebust Syversen for its screenplay and Scandinavian Silence by Martti Helde for its photography. Meanwhile, Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Sister and Jan-Ole Gerster’s Lara found themselves joint winners of the Special Jury Prize. The latter also claimed the Sngci Award for Best European Actor, courtesy of Corinna Harfouch. For its part, the Mario Verdone Award, which is now.

The cult film VOD platform Spamflix has launched a new worldwide app, available now for mobile and smart TV compatible. Via the app users can browse, rent and stream from the full catalog, which includes a wide range of feature and short films from around the globe.

Visit spamflix.com/app.do for more information, or available directly on Google Play and the Apple Store.

Spamflix was founded in 2018 by Markus Duffner, a project manager at the Locarno Film Festival and Julia Duarte, former producer of São Paulo International Film Festival. Called ‘Netflix for Cult Film Fans’ by Geek Spin the bulk of Spamflix’s library consists of hard to find and lesser-seen genre titles, many of which garnered acclaim on the festival circuit only to land without significant distribution.

A treasure trove for cult film enthusiasts that has a specialty focus on black comedy and adult animation, the new...

European Film Promotion’s networking program Producers on the Move will take place as a digital edition on its original dates – from May 11 to 15 – and independently of the Cannes Film Festival, which has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Twenty up-and-coming European producers will meet online and present their projects in speed meetings and roundtable sessions. A case study as well as talks with experts will round out the program.

Efp, a network of 37 European film promotion institutions, has selected the following producers from 20 different European countries: Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria), Danijel Pek (Croatia), Mikuláš Novotny (Czech Republic), Monica Hellström (Denmark), Elina Litvinova (Estonia), Aleksi Hyvärinen (Finland), Andrea Queralt (France), Tanja Georgieva-Waldhauer (Germany), John Wallace (Ireland), Giovanni Pompili (Italy), Yll Uka (Kosovo), Marija Razgutė (Lithuania), Alan R. Milligan (Norway), Marta Habior (Poland), Mário Patrocínio (Portugal), Marina Gumzi (Slovenia), Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo (Spain), Marie Kjellson (Sweden), Flavia Zanon (Switzerland) and Rupert Lloyd (U.

The Estonia 100 project ignites local production and cinema-going.

Estonia is one of Europe’s most interesting emerging co-production territories. Buoyed by the success of the six films supported by last year’s government-backed Estonia 100 film programme, created to celebrate the country’s centenary, local producers are now putting together a wide array of productions aimed at an international market.

Veteran producer Ivo Felt of Allfilm is close to completing the finance on the English-language sci-fi thriller Gateway 6, which is set to star Olga Kurylenko It is being set up as a UK-Estonian-German coproduction. It will be the...

The sixth edition of the Latvian festival saw the triumph of Karolis Kaupinis’ Nova Lituania. It’s a wrap for the 6th edition of Riga International Film Festival (Riga Iff), which took place from 17-27 October this year. Karolis Kaupinis’ Nova Lituania snagged the most important prize, the Riga Iff Award. The Lithuanian helmer’s feature revolves around an eccentric geography professor (played by Aleksas Kazanavičius) who, sensing the upcoming political turmoil of World War II, has the wild idea of creating a “backup” homeland on a distant island. Meanwhile, the Fipresci Jury Award went to Estonian-French-Belgian co-production Scandinavian Silence by Martti Helde, also recipient of the People’s Choice Award. Finally, the Latvian strand of Russian festival Artdocfest awarded Ksenia Okhapkina’s Immortal. The Estonian-Latvian documentary had a very successful festival run since it won the Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film at Karlovy Vary in July. The prestigious Baltic film event featured.

Estonian director Triin Ruumet, whose feature debut “Days That Confused” won the special jury prize after its 2015 premiere in Karlovy Vary, is prepping her second feature film, “Dark Paradise,” which she’ll be presenting with producer Elina Litvinova this week at the Locarno Film Festival.

“Dark Paradise” is a modern adventure about a 27-year-old woman battling with grief and searching for love. When she perpetrates a violent act against her half-brother, she learns that the price she has to pay for crossing boundaries is solitude.

The film is “a story about young people caught in the carousel of life, and in a way coming of age in their thirties,” says Litvinova, of Tallinn-based Three Brothers. “It explores complex family relationships in a juicy manner that I believe will offer both laughter and emotional relief to the audiences.”

She continues: “Triin Ruumet is a one-of-a-kind female director: incredibly fierce and brave.

Winners include Bulgarian-Greek comedy ‘The Father’ and Jan-Ole Gerster’s ‘Lara’.

Bulgarian-Greek comedy The Father won the Grand Prix - Crystal Globe at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 – July 6), which closed yesterday with its annual awards ceremony.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, The Father was selected by grand jury comprising Annemarie Jacir, Štěpán Hulík, Sergei Loznitsa, Angeliki Papoulia and Charles Tesson. The Crystal Globe comes with $25,000 prize money.

The film tells the story of a middle-aged man (Ivan Barnev) attempting to stop his widowed...

The 2019 installment of the sprawling Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 – July 6), held for more than 50 years at the sunny resort hub of the Czech Republic, boasted 12,521 accredited attendees, including 395 filmmakers, 1158 global industry professionals, and 605 journalists. They watched a selection of 177 films at 497 screenings.

Karlovy Vary, run by president Jiří Bartoška and artistic director Karel Och, runs three competitive categories. “The Father,” from Bulgaria and Greece, took home the Grand Prix, and “Lara,” from Germany, won three awards. The full list of winners is below.

Official Selection – Competition

Jury: Štěpán Hulík (Czech Republic), Annemarie Jacir (State of Palestine),Sergei Loznitsa (Ukraine), Angeliki Papoulia (Greece), Charles Tesson (France)

Grand Prix – Crystal Globe

Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s “The Father”

Special Jury Prize

Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Lara” (Germany)

Best Director Award

Tim Mielants for “Patrick” (Belgium)

Best Actress Award

Corinna Harfouch, star of Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Lara” (Germany)

Best Actor Award

Milan Ondrík,...

The 2019 installment of the sprawling Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 – July 6), held for more than 50 years at the sunny resort hub of the Czech Republic, boasted 12,521 accredited attendees, including 395 filmmakers, 1158 global industry professionals, and 605 journalists. They watched a selection of 177 films at 497 screenings.

Karlovy Vary, run by president Jiří Bartoška and artistic director Karel Och, runs three competitive categories. “The Father,” from Bulgaria and Greece, took home the Grand Prix, and “Lara,” from Germany, won three awards. The full list of winners is below.

Official Selection – Competition

Jury: Štěpán Hulík (Czech Republic), Annemarie Jacir (State of Palestine),Sergei Loznitsa (Ukraine), Angeliki Papoulia (Greece), Charles Tesson (France)

Grand Prix – Crystal Globe

Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s “The Father”

Special Jury Prize

Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Lara” (Germany)

Best Director Award

Tim Mielants for “Patrick” (Belgium)

Best Actress Award

Corinna Harfouch, star of Jan-Ole Gerster’s “Lara” (Germany)

Best Actor Award

Milan Ondrík,...

The 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has wrapped today and set its winners with Bulgarian road-trip comedy The Father taking home the top prize Grand Prix Crystal Globe, which comes with cash prize of $25,000. Scroll down for a full list of winners.

The Czech festival’s special jury prize went to German drama Lara, while best director went to Tim Mielants for Belgian feature Patrick. Milan Ondrík won best actor for his role in Czech film Let There Be Light and Corinna Harfouch won the best actress accolade for the aforementioned Lara.

This year’s competition jury comprised Štěpán Hulík, Annemarie Jacir, Sergei Loznitsa, Angeliki Papoulia and Charles Tesson. As previously revealed, there were career Crystal Globes for Julianne Moore and Patricia Clarkson.

Full List Of Winners:

Grand Prix – Crystal Globe (25 000 Usd)

The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winning film.

The Father / Bashtata

Directed by: Kristina Grozeva,...

Scandinavian Silence, a minimalist black-and-white drama from Estonian director Martti Helde, has won the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film at the 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

In Helde's second feature, a newly released inmate reunites with his sister after many years apart. They set out on a journey together across a bleak winter landscape, struggling to communicate and re-connect by overcoming their past traumas. The director presents three versions of the same story from different perspectives.

Estonian shingle Three Brothers produced the film together with Arp Sélection in France and Belgium's Media International....

Scandinavian Silence, a minimalist black-and-white drama from Estonian director Martti Helde, has won the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film at the 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 

In Helde's second feature, a newly released inmate reunites with his sister after many years apart. They set out on a journey together across a bleak winter landscape, struggling to communicate and reconnect by overcoming their past traumas. The director presents three versions of the same story from different perspectives.

Estonian shingle Three Brothers produced the film together with Arp Sélection in France and Belgium's Media International....

The 54th Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled the first titled in its 2019 lineup, featuring 10 world premieres in its competition section including the Hong Khaou’s drama Monsoon starring Crazy Rich Asians‘ Henry Golding and the lone U.S. feature, Martha Stephens’ black-and-white drama To the Stars starring Kara Hayward.

The fest, which runs June 28-July 6, also unveiled films set for its East of the West, Documentary and Out of Competition sections. The latter lineup includes the world premiere of Martin Krejčí’s The True Adventures of Wolfboy, a U.S. film starring starring Jaeden Martel, Eve Hewson and John Turturro, and the European premiere of Mystify: Michael Hutchence, a documentary about the life of the lead singer of Aussie rock band INXS.

The Documentary section includes the European premiere of Apollo 11, the Todd Douglas Miller

feature-length pic that launched in March in the U.S. tied to...

Selection includes Hong Khaou’s Monsoon, Jan-Ole Gerster’s Lara and Damjan Kozole’s Half-Sister.

The 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 - July 6) has unveiled the first competition titles in its Official Selection, East of the West and Documentary sections.

Scroll down for full line-ups

The 12-strong main competition will include 10 world premieres and two international premieres.

UK director Hong Khaou’s Monsoon, his follow up to his 2014 Sundance debut Lilting, is among the world premieres. Backed by BBC Films, Monsoon stars Henry Golding, best known for Crazy Rich Asians, as a man struggling with his return to...

Each year at the Berlin Film Festival the brightest young talent from across Europe gather to celebrate becoming part of the select group of European Shooting Stars. Spearheaded by the European Film Promotion the initiative spotlights ten of the most promising talents from across the continent, and we had the chance to sit down with each of the ten Shooting Stars this week.

Stefan Pape was our man in Berlin and spoke to each of them about their careers so far, their hopes for the future and what it means to be heralded as a European Shooting Star.

You can find each of the interviews below, along with a brief biography, selected film and TV works and a commendation from the jury about what makes them so promising.

Ardalan Esmaili (Sweden)

Raised in Sweden by Iranian parents, Ardalan Esmaili studied at Stockholm’s University of Dramatic Arts. Upon graduating he...

Film and folks in attendance on the Croisette this year:

“Captain Morten & the Spider Queen,” directed by Kaspar Jancis, Henry Nicholson, Riho Unt

In this feature-length stop- motion animation, a young boy learns to take control over his life when he is shrunk to the size of an insect and has to sail his toy boat through a flooded cafe. (Market)

Intl. sales: Sola Media

“Fire Lily,” directed by Maria Avdjushko

Mystery drama about a recently divorced, middle-age ophthalmologist whose marriage has ended because she could not have children. As she gets on with her life, she finds herself pregnant. But who or what has impregnated her? (Market)

Intl. sales: The Yellow Affair

“Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway,” directed by Miguel Llansó (Spain/ Estonia/Ethiopia)

The Estonian co-producer is Kristjan Pütsep from Alasti Kino. (Frontières Platform)

“The Little Comrade,” directed by Moonika Siimets

Historical drama based on...

The Baltic Event Coproduction Market Awards at the 20th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

The Baltic Event Coproduction Market, taking place since 2005, is the largest coproduction platform in the region of Northern and Central Europe. With a complete overview of the year’s audiovisual production in the region and a range of programs open for feature film projects, Baltic Event is the key production platform to be at in November.

For its 15th edition, Baltic Event selected 14 projects from its traditional roster of new EU territories, Scandinavia and Russia, as well as a project from Georgia in collaboration with Eave and 2 projects from this year’s focus country, Luxembourg. The Baltic Event Coproduction Market presented these 17 projects from November 22 to 24, 2016 to international coproducers and buyers at more than 500 one-to-one meetings during the 20th jubilee edition of the Black Nights Film Festival.

The Baltic Event team was satisfied by the exceptionally...

The prize offers editorial coverage during the winning film’s life-cycle.

The 15th edition of Tallinn’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market saw Screen International’s Best Pitch award being presented to Luxembourg-based producer Marion Guth of a_BAHN for UK artist filmmaker Vicki Thornton’s hybrid docu-fiction (N)Ostalgia.

a_BAHN currently has the UK’s Roastbeef Production and Norway’s Oya Films supporting the project about a remote Soviet ghost town on the edge of the Arctic Circle and its transformation into a tourist spectacle.

The Best Pitch Award - which is decided on by the co-production market’s participants and offers editorial coverage during the film’s life-cycle - was presented in the past to such projects as Finnish filmmaker Petri Kotwica’s suspense drama Rat King; Russian director Alexei German Jr.’s Under Electric Clouds; and the first pan-Baltic fiction co-production Seneca’s Day by Kristijonas Vildziunas.

Guth had also...

Demon, from late director Marcin Wrona, among those in competition.Scroll down for full competition list

The 31st Warsaw Film Festival (Oct 8-19) has revealed the 16 films selected for its international competition, which will vye for the main award - Warsaw Grand Prix, Best Director Award and Special Jury Award.

The titles include Demon, from Marcin Wrona, the 42-year-old Polish who died in Gdynia on Saturday (Sept 19). The death was likely a suicide, according to reports.

Other films in competition include Hany Abu-Assad’s The Idol, Gabriel Mascaro’s Neon Bull and Alex van Warmerdam’s Schneider vs. Bax.

This year’s festival will include 111 full-length films from 57 countries, comprising 90 features, 18 documentaries and three animations as well as 66 short films.

The winners of Short Film Competition will be put forward to compete for the Oscar.

The festival will open with Men and Chicken by Anders Thomas Jensen, whose film Adam’s Apples won theAudience Award at Wff...

World premiere of Nordic disaster movie The Wave to open festival in Haugesund.

Joachim Trier’s Louder Than Bombs, starring Jesse Eisenberg, has been named as the closing film of the 43rd Norwegian International Film Festival (Aug 16-21) in Haugesund.

The drama, about how a father and his two sons confront their feelings of their deceased wife and mother, was Norway’s first Palme d’Or contender at Cannes in 36 years and is set to play at Toronto next month.

As previously announced, Niff will open with the world premiere of Roar Uthaug’s disaster movie, The Wave (Bølgen), when the festival is launched by Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon on Aug 16.

It means Norwegian films will both open and close the festival.

Tonje Hardersen, who was named the new Niff festival director in March, said: “I am very happy to see that local cinema is so well represented, and in so many genres.”

Considering the wider...

Non-competitive sidebar features 19 films; Brillante Mendoza tribute on festival slate.

The Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 14-22) non-competitive strand Kinoscope will feature 19 films, 12 of which come from first or second-time feature directors.

The eclectic selection includes festival favourites such as Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Andrew Haig’s 45 Years, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster, Martti Helde’s In The Crosswind, Ciro Guerra’s Embrace Of The Serpent, and Jerusalem Film Festival winner Tikkun.

Also featured are documentaries Killing Time by Lydie Wisshaupt-Claudel, Chad Gracia’s The Russian Woodpecker, and Benedikt Erlingsson’s archive footage collage The Greatest Shows On Earth: A Century Of Vaudeville, Circuses And Carnivals.

Genre fare is represented by Green Room, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, and Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse.

The strand’s programmers, Protagonist Pictures’ CEO Mike Goodridge and Festivalscope’s Alessandro Raja and Mathilde Henrot, said: “In programming Kinoscope this year, we found ourselves unconsciously veering towards work from young...

Paramount's "Selma" from director Ava Duvernay is picking up steam this awards season. The Martin Luther King drama has been announced to be the opening night movie of the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. The festival will close on Sunday, January 11 with the Us premiere of "Boychoir" from director Francois Girard. David Oyelowo, who plays the beloved King in "Selma," is also being honored at the fest with Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor.

Here's the complete press release which includes the list of Easter European movies in a program titled Eastern Promises:

Palm Springs, CA (December 16, 2014) . The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will launch on Friday, January 2 with the opening night screening of the GoldenGlobe nominated Selma directed by Ava Duvernay. The Festival will wrap on Sunday, January 11 with the Us premiere of Boychoir directed by François Girard. New this year, the festival will focus on...

Selma and Boychoir will bookend the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff), set to run from January 2-12.

For the first time, the festival will focus on 20 films from Eastern Europe in the strand called Eastern Promises.

The 20 films in Eastern Promises are:

Afterlife (Virág Zomborácz, Hungary);

Corn Island (George Ovashvili, Georgia);

Cowboys (Tomislav Mršić, Croatia);

Fair Play (Andrea Sedláčková, Czech Republic-Slovakia-Germany)

Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland);

In The Crosswind (Martti Helde, Estonia);

The Guide (Oles Sanin, Ukraine);

The Japanese Dog (Tudor Christian Jurgiu, Romania);

Kebab & Horoscope (Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov Grzegorz Jaroszuk, Poland);

The Lesson (Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov Bulgaria-Greece);

Mirage (Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary-Slovakia);

No One’s Child (Vuk Ršumović, Serbia-Croatia);

The Reaper (Zvonimir Juric, Croatia-Slovenia);

Rocks In My Pockets (Signe Baumane, Latvia);

See You In Montevideo (Dragan Bjelogrlic, Serbia);

Tangerines (Zaza Urushadze, Estonia);

These Are The Rules (Ognjen Svilicic, Croatia-France-Serbia);

Three Windows And A Hanging (Isa Qosja, Kosovo);

The...

Redmayne lauded for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Belgian director Gust van den Berghe’s Lucifer was presented with the Grand Prix – including a €10,000 grant from the City of Tallinn - at the 18th edition of the Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 14-30) at the weekend.

This is the first year that Tallinn’s International Competition was held with Black Nights now operating as a Fiapf-designated non-specialised competitive festival.

Van den Berghe’s third feature had its world premiere in Rome’s Cinema d’Oggi competition at the Rome Film Festival in October and is being handled internationally by the Paris/Mexico-based sales company Ndm.

The International Jury including Finnish actress Kati Outinen and film-makers Andrei Proshkin (Russia) and Tomasz Wasilewski (Poland) awarded the prize for Best Cinematographer to Erik Põllumaa for his work on Estonian film-maker Martti Helde’s In The Crosswind and for Best Director to Kyrgyzstan’s Marat Sarulu for Move...

Other prizes included a Best Actor prize for Eddie Redmayne for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Belgian director Gust van den Berghe’s Lucifer was presented with the Grand Prix – including a €10,000 grant from the City of Tallinn - at the 18th edition of the Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 14-30) at the weekend.

This is the first year that Tallinn’s International Competition was held with Black Nights now operating as a Fiapf-designated non-specialised competitive festival.

Van den Berghe’s third feature had its world premiere in Rome’s Cinema d’Oggi competition at the Rome Film Festival in October and is being handled internationally by the Paris/Mexico-based sales company Ndm.

The International Jury including Finnish actress Kati Outinen and film-makers Andrei Proshkin (Russia) and Tomasz Wasilewski (Poland) awarded the prize for Best Cinematographer to Erik Põllumaa for his work on Estonian film-maker Martti Helde’s In The Crosswind and for...

Mexican feature Perpetual Sadness and Israeli drama Next to Her take top prizes at Greek festival.Scroll down for full list of winners

Mexican director Jorge Perez Solorzano’s Perpetual Sadness (La Tirisia) was named best film at the 55th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Oct 31 - Nov 9) winning the Golden Alexander.

It beat competition from 13 other first and second films screened in this year’s international competition section.

The film deals with the stoicism and the sadness shared by women in a remote village facing the departure of their sons in search of work. World sales are handled by Media Luna.

It marks the second consecutive year that a Mexican production has won top honours at Thessaloniki. Last year, Diego Quemada-Diez’s Golden Dream (La jaula de oro) scooped the top award as well as best director.

Some 10 Mexican features have played in competition at the festival since 2000, winning cropping 12 principal awards.

Israeli feature...

Industry@Tallinn will feature discussions involving the likes of Jessica Switch of Lionsgate and Jeff Barry & Nigel Meiojas of ICM Partners.

Industry@Tallinn has announced its full programme for its upcoming edition, running Nov 24-28 during the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

Organised by Black Nights and Baltic Event, the programme is targeted to over 500 regional film industry professionals.

This year’s industry talks will look into the impact of feature-length television on the film industry, business customs and practices for Asian collaboration, strategies of linking small scale talent and post production pools to major players, and rebel release tactics in distribution.

Speakers at this year’s event include Jessica Switch, director of development, Lionsgate; Jeff Barry & Nigel Meiojas, ICM Partners; Judy Ahn, head of international, Showbox/MediaPlex Entertainment; Matteo Solaro, Creative Europe/Media; and Sylvia Wroblewska, business and marketing director, Sheffield Doc/Fest.

The Film Festivals Confab will return in collaboration with Independent Cinema Office, focusing...

White God and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence bookend the 55th Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

The 55th Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Oct 31-Nov 9) kicks off today with the Cannes Certain Regard Gran Prix awarded White God by Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó.

It concludes November 9 with the Venice Golden Lion awarded A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Swedish director Roy Andersson.

Both directors will be present as they are set to also receive homages.

Also receiving tributes are legendary German actress Hanna Schygulla, Us director Ramin Bahrani and his Serbian colleague Želimir Žilnik.

They will enjoy retrospectives of their films and will offer master classes.

Among others attending are Fatih Akin to present The Cut, Ira Sachs to introduce Love Is Strange co-produced by local production powerhouse, Christos Konstantakopoulos’ Faliro House boasting among its international coproductions slate Jarmush’s Only Lovers Left Alive plus two upcomig Terrence Malick films in post...

Daringly utilizing the cinematic medium by suppressing its inherent necessity for movement, Martti Helde's “In the Crosswind” tells the story of an obscure genocide in the Baltic region via a collection of astonishing “living pictures” (tableaux vivant). Shot in black-and-white, each sequence is a static tridimensional photograph conformed of a meticulously arranged motionless cast. The historical events at hand are approached in a strikingly subtle, but deliberately entrancing manner.

Deported to Siberia by the Soviets in 1941 alongside thousands of people from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Erna (Laura Peterson), an Estonian woman, and her young daughter Eliide are forced to work in the forest as lumberjacks in order to stay alive. Separated from Heldur (Tarmo Song), her husband, Erna’s driving force is to live long enough to be reunited with him. Since dialogue is non-existent, the guiding narration is taken from the actual letters Erna wrote to her beloved. Whether she actually believed they would reach him or not, through them she explained in detail the agony and daily tragedies of her imprisoned life. These writings served as the basis for the film due to their invaluable first hand accounts of the events.

Contrasting with the dreamlike stillness of the present, memories have a special quality in the film: movement. When Erna revisits her life before the relocation, the images regain their normal rhythm. Joy seems to have stayed in these moments making the darkness in Erna’s current situation all the more bleak. Her life has been literally frozen by sorrow. Not long after they arrive at their new precarious community, Eliide falls ill. Malnutrition, the inhospitable Siberian weather, and Erna’s inability to take care of her, eventually take the young girl’s life. Her circumstances prevent Erna from grieving, she must work to survive. Finding Heldur is now her only motivation. Other people there seem to have resigned and started new lives. New makeshift families built out of the need for companionship. Erna refuses to abide by these wartime conventions. Heldur’s fainting image fuels her determination.

Like a ghost walking among the tombs of shattered lives, the camera slowly examines each petrified gesture of love, despair, and anger. Under time’s spell the images captured are so perfectly conceived it is difficult not to be mesmerized. By using cinematography as the most prominent storytelling device, Helde rids his film of the need for fluid acting. The static performances convey a thousand words in one facial expression. Given that every frame is looked at with intense scrutiny, every aspect of the film needed to be flawless. Exquisite production design, costumes, and the stylized framing are adorned by haunting music and the poetry of Erna’s words. Everything is carefully crafted to be an honest reenactment of the occurrences as if flipping the pages of a live-action history book.

Watching “In the Crosswind” is an awe-inspiring and bone-chilling experience that redefines the concept of “motion picture,” but still finds a unique way of being truly cinematic. Helde finds meditative beauty in the chaos of a little known chapter in Eastern European history. This is a story about a massive attempt to subjugate an entire group of people told from the point of view of a strong woman whose most heroic action was staying alive and lucid enough to chronicle her ordeal. In a bold fashion, this emerging filmmaker has created a film that doesn’t choose substance over form, but which very successfully makes its visual mechanics work for its enthralling content. Heldr’s powerful language manipulates time and space enabling the viewer to get lost in the details of such vivid images. A moving film without motion, "In the Crosswind" is Helde's solemn tribute to his compatriots' suffering.

First time features this audacious come once in a blue moon. Young director Martti Helde is still attending the Academy of Music and Theater in his native Estonia, but he found a subject so close to his heart that he realized it into a full-length theatrical feature through years of comprehensive research and preparation. “In The Crosswind” is immediately distinguishable from the ordinary motion picture by the use of painstakingly choreographed tableux vivants – literally, a “living picture” where the actors are motionless, ostensibly frozen in time, as the camera sashays around them. It’s an approach that’s a bit of a double-edged sword for ‘Crosswind’; certain moments will test your patience, but the total effect will leave you awe-struck in the literal sense of the word. During the Second World War, when Hitler's Final Solution for the Jewish people was becoming public, Stalin had similar malevolent plans for people living in Estonia,...

Capturing History Through the Art of Tableau

Despite only having a couple of short films under his belt, Estonian director Martti Helde’s feature film debut, In the Crosswind, has the assuredness and certainty of a work crafted by someone well-versed in the cinematic medium. It has a clear vision and intent, never deviating from its central focus of capturing a time in history—when thousands of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians were taken from their homes and placed in Siberian labour camps by the Ussr military—feeling concise and planned on every front. But, to be fair, it’s also a filmed gimmick; it’s a well-conceived and thought-provoking gimmick but a gimmick nonetheless.

Helde’s guide, which constructs a narrative and heart unto itself, is the diary of Erna (Laura Peterson), a young philosophy student separated from her husband during the 1941 raids. Told in voiceover amidst an array of...

Deckert Distribution sells Martti Helde’s debut feature to Arp.

Leipzig-based sales company Deckert Distribution has sold Estonian feature In The Crosswind to Arp for France.

Martti Helde’s feature has its international premiere in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema programme.

Helde’s inspiration for the film was a diary he found by a young woman who was separated from her husband and child during Stalin’s mass deportation to Siberia in 1941.

“I first heard of the project at a documentary pitch in Riga, Latvia,” said Heino Deckert, managing director of Deckert Distribution.

“Since then it has not only evolved into a feature film in which Martti so ingeniously visualises the main character’s state of mind, but the subject of Soviet-style aggression has become very topical recently. In The Crosswind is a great addition to our slate and I’m very glad that Arp has picked up the film ahead of Tiff.”

Deckert negotiated...

Nearly 30 sales companies receive financial backing to market their films in Toronto.

A total of 28 sales companies from eight European countries are to receive financial backing from to market their films at the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 4-14) from European Film Promotion’s Film Sales Support scheme.

More than €150,000 ($200,000) in total is being reserved by Efp for Europe’s attending sales companies.

European films eligible for Fss support have to run in the festival and need to be available for Canada. Of the 39 supported films, 27 are receiving their world premiere in Toronto.

Amongst them are François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend, Bent Hamer’s 1001 Grams and Susanne Bier’s A Second Chance.

Michael Winterbottom The Face Of An Angel sees German actor and former European Shooting Star Daniel Brühl in a lead role.

Foreign Body by Krzysztof Zanussi, a co-production between Poland, Italy and Russia with one-time European Shooting Star Agata Buzek in a main role...

If you wanted a snapshot of worldly issues then Tiff’s Contemporary World Cinema programme would certainly serve as a whirlwind passport. Loaded in Cannes Film Festival preemed items receiving their North American Premiere debuts (Jessica Hausner’s Amour Fou, Mélanie Laurent’s Breathe , Bruno Dumont’s P’tit Quinquin and Pascale Ferran’s Bird People are are just the tip of the iceberg) Tiff programmers have landed world premiere items from the likes of Cristián Jiménez, Ole Christian Madsen, Alex Holdridge & Linnea Saasen (we pic above) and Baran bo Odar. Along with the Canadian items mentioned last week, Here is the largest section’s offerings for 2014.

“Aire Libre,” Anahí Berneri, Argentina / International Premiere

“Amour Fou,” Jessica Hausner, Austria/Luxembourg/Germany / North American Premiere

“Behavior” (“Conducta”), Ernesto Daranas, Cuba / Canadian Premiere

“Bird People,” Pascale Ferran, France / North American Premiere

“Black Souls” (“Anime Nere”), Francesco Munzi, Italy / International Premiere

“Breathe” (“Respire”), Mélanie Laurent,...

This morning the Toronto Film Festival added several more films to their lineup including the world premiere of Thomas McCarthy's The Cobbler which stars Adam Sandler as a New York City cobbler who, disenchanted with the grind of daily life, stumbles upon a magical heirloom that allows him to step into the lives of his customers and see the world in a new way. The film co-stars Method Man, Ellen Barkin, Melonie Diaz, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi and Dustin Hoffman. Additionally, Sundance standouts Infinity Polar Bear and Laggies starring Keira Knightley and Chloe Grace Moretz were added to the Gala selection. Joining The Cobbler as new additions to the Special Presentations field include Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria starring Kristen Stewart and Juliette Binoche and Two Days, One Night from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and starring Marion Cotillard. Both films made a splash at Cannes earlier this year,...

Toronto film festival organisers have programmed features from 42 countries in the Contemporary World Cinema (Cwc) programme and unveiled eight South Korean selections in the City To City.

Cwc features latest work by Jessica Hausner, Rolf de Heer, Christian Zübert and Ryuichi Hiroki, among others.

For the third year, Tiff (Sept 4-14) has partnered with the University of Toronto’s Munk School Of Global Affairs on the Contemporary World Speakers series, pairing five films in selection with expert scholars.

The Contemporary World Speakers series is programmed in conjunction with the Tiff Adult Learning department.

Contemporary World Cinema

Wp = World premiere / Nap = North American premiere / IP = International premiere / Cp = Canadian premiere.

Aire Libre (Argentina), Anahí Berneri IP

Amour Fou (Austria-Luxembourg-Germany), Jessica Hausner Nap

Behavior (Conducta) (Cuba), Ernesto Daranas Cp

Bird People (France), Pascale Ferran Nap

Black Souls (Anime Nere) (Italy), Francesco Munzi IP

Breathe (Respire) (France), Mélanie Laurent Nap

Charlie’s Country (Australia), Rolf de Heer Nap

*John Stackhouse...