Fortissimo Films announced today that it has completed numerous additional distribution deals in key territories for Naji Abu Nowar’s critically-acclaimed THEEB. The deals include JIFF Distribution (Australia), Rialto Distribution (New Zealand), Lemon Tree (China), Neo Films (Greece), Entremode (Korea) and Edko (Hong Kong). Furthermore, Paris Filmes acquired the theatrical rights for Brazil and will be releasing the film there on February 18th while French distributor Jour 2 Fête acquired the rights for France and will release later this year. This news follows a number of previously announced sales including New Wave Films (UK), Film Movement (USA), Cinemien (Benelux) and AS Fidalgo Film Distribution (Norway) where the film has enjoyed strong releases.

Directed by Naji Abu Nowar, who won the best director Orrizonti prize in Venice 2014, THEEB tells the dramatic story of a young Bedouin boy who is propelled into adulthood following the tragic death of his father.  Set amidst the spectacular landscapes of the Arabian Desert, the title character embarks upon a treacherous journey across the unforgiving desert plains in order to guide a British Officer to a secret location.

THEEB has also been enjoying notable awards recognition.  Following an impressive Festival run, the coming-of-age drama has racked up 15 awards around the globe. Recently, the film gained an Academy Award® nomination for Best Foreign-Language picture, marking the first ever Jordanian picture to receive an Oscar® nod, along with picking up the BAFTA® for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer last night. THEEB also won the Best Picture by a New Director award at the 2015 Beijing International Film Festival and Best Film from the Arab World and the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the Dubai International Film Festival. The film has been lauded by critics and holds an impressive 96% certified-fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes®.

The Jordanian, UK, UAE and Qatar co-production is produced by Bassel Ghandour and Rupert Lloyd for Bayt Al Shawareb and Noor Pictures.

deals

JIFF Distribution for Australia

Rialto Distribution for New Zealand

Neo Films for Greece

Film Buro Producciones for Spain

Skyline Ife for World Wide Air

Edko for Hong Kong

Paris Filmes for Brazil

Lemon Tree for China

Cineplex Inc. for Central America

Sinema TV for Turkey

Global Eagle Entertainment for Singapore and Brunei

HBO Central Europe for Eastern Europe (pay TV)

ABC/Cinemien for Benelux

DENK for Turkey

Megacom Film for Former Yugoslavia and Slovenia

Jour 2 Fête for France

Entermode Corp for South Korea

Film Movement for North America

AS Fidalgo for Norway

New Wave Films for UK

Other screenings :

Thursday February 18 at 7:00 pm at the Delphi

Friday February 19 at 7:30 pm at CinemaxX 4

Saturday February 20 at 2 :00 pm at Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg

Sunday February 21 at 1:45 pm at CineStar 8

Synopsis : An absurdist, pastel noir that documents events after an artist flees New York and winds up dead in a small town.   A local sheriff, an old lover, and a distant friend try to sort out what’s happened and, in the process, confront the ways that their own needs and desires have created the mysteries that surround them.

"Bang!" – white on black. A man in a shiny velvet one-piece stomps through a sunny garden, enters a house and walks back out again. The swaying camera seems to share the sheriff's discomfort. Is the dead man in the house a certain Duncan Ross, or is it Hilary, a painter from New York who is pretending to be Duncan Ross? 

Bakersfield, California. A telegram from the missing painter brings together Jane, a former lover of his, and Rhonda and Sten – the latter a collaborator? Sheriff Shaw attempts to uncover the potential conspiracy. So much to the story then, since the announcement soon comes that "The plot is now resolved and other parts of the movie can breathe easier." 
Offer Egozy's remarkable debut was shot on 35 mm and strings together individual scenes into a rich tapestry, creating atmospheres that increasingly replace the plot of the detective story. As the criminal case drifts further into the background, the editing, acting, costumes, camerawork and props continually work towards flaunting the story’s artificiality, its synthetic nature, its obvious construction: a film noir deeply rooted in film history that continuously deconstructs and re-assembles itself.

Offer Egozy (1977, Israel) received a B.A. in Film Studies from Yale University and a law degree from University of California at Berkeley.  As a filmmaker, he has made numerous experimental short films.  Fantastic is his first feature film and was made with support of Panavision’s Emerging Filmmakers Production Grant.  As an attorney, he has worked primarily on behalf of young people in the juvenile justice system.  He is currently a doctoral student at NYU studying criminal justice reform.

Opening of Forum Expanded exhibition 'Traversing the Phantasm' at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

Highlights Press Conference for CARTAS DA GUERRA (LETTERS FROM WAR) by Ivo M. Ferreira at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. 

Ivo M. Ferreira (Director, Writer) 

Highlights Press Conference for QUAND ON A 17 ANS (BEING 17) by André Téchiné at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. 

André Téchiné (Director, Writer) 

The Traditionnal wine tasting reception by filmfestivals.com took place at Michel Adam Offices celebrating Exodus to Shanghai successfull engagement in the Market.

Director and cast in attendance.

With Markus von Lingen and Elif Dagdeviren

Inspired by true events, Exodus to Shanghai tells the story of two brave lovers on the eve of the Nazi invasion in 1938 Austria. Joining forces with Dr Ho, the Chinese consul who helped thousands of Jews flee Vienna, they make their way to the Orient Express and the promise of safe passage to China. With the help of music, martial arts and wisdom, they save thousands of Jews as they make their Exodus to Shanghai.

A few minutes before the photocall in Berlin Filmfestivals.com was interviewing the director of Exodus to Shangai when lead actor Alexander Nguyen popped up from a cab and joined the  Interview at the gates of the Marriott. 

Highlights Press Conference of SMRT U SARAJEVU / MORT À SARAJEVO (DEATH IN SARAJEVO) by Danis Tanović at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. 

Sarajevo on 28 of June, 2014. At the Hotel Europa, the best hotel in town, the manager Omer prepares to welcome a delegation of diplomatic VIPs. On the centenary of the assassination that is considered to have led to World War I, an appeal for peace and understanding is supposed to start from here. But the hotel staff have other worries: having not been paid for months, they are planning to go on strike. Hatidza from the hotel laundry is elected strike leader even though her daughter Lamija, who works in reception, is firmly against industrial action. Meanwhile, in the sealed-off presidential suite, a guest from France rehearses a speech. Elsewhere, a television reporter conducts interviews about war and its consequences. Was Gavrilo Princip, the 1914 assassin, a criminal or a national hero? What long shadow does his deed cast into the present?
Danis Tanović, whose An Episode in the Life of an Iron Pickerscreened in Competition at the Berlinale in 2013, offers a satirical parable about political dreams and nightmares. His Hotel Europa, which he portrays from its cellar passageways right up to its sunlit roof terrace, becomes an arena of hope, violence and death.

France / Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016, 85 min

Bosnian

by

Danis Tanović

with

Jacques Weber
Snežana Vidović
Izudin Bajrović
Vedrana Seksan
Muhamed Hadžović

Danis Tanović (Director, Scriptwriter) 
Bernard-Henri Lévy (Writer of Hotel EUROPE)
Izudin Bajrović (Actor)
Vedrana Seksan (Actress)
Snežana Vidović (Actress)
Jacques Weber (Actor) 
Amra Bakšić Čamo (Producer) 
François Margolin (Producer)

Highlights Press Conference ALONE IN BERLIN (Jeder Stirbt Für Sich Allein) by Vincent Perez at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. 

Berlin in June of 1940. While Nazi propaganda celebrates the regime’s victory over France, a kitchen-cum-living room in Prenzlauer Berg is filled with grief. Anna and Otto Quangel’s son has been killed at the front. This working class couple had long believed in the ‘Führer’ and followed him willingly, but now they realise that his promises are nothing but lies and deceit. They begin writing postcards as a form of resistance and in a bid to raise awareness: Stop the war machine! Kill Hitler! Putting their lives at risk, they distribute these cards in the entrances of tenement buildings and in stairwells. But the SS and the Gestapo are soon onto them, and even their neighbours pose a threat.
Completed in four weeks of feverish writing in the autumn of 1946, Hans Fallada’s (1893–1947) last novel memorialises Otto and Elise Hampel who resisted the Nazis between 1940 and 1943 and were beheaded for their actions. The novel – which has been adapted for the screen several times – is regarded as an authentic testimonial of daily life in Berlin under the Nazis. A quietly persuasive eulogy to human courage and dignity in an atmosphere of surveillance and intimidation.

 

Germany / France / Great Britain 2016, 103 min

English

by

Vincent Perez

with

Emma Thompson
Brendan Gleeson
Daniel Brühl
Mikael Persbrandt
Monique Chaumette

Marco ‘Curumim’ Archer’s life changed abruptly when police at Jakarta airport seize 13.5 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in his hang-glider. At first he managed to escape, hiding out in Indonesia for sixteen days before being arrested and sentenced to death. Eleven years later, on 17 January 2015, he was executed for drug dealing.
Using a hidden camera, Marco recorded his daily life in prison and asked director Marcos Prado to help him make this documentary. Interviews with friends, photographs, letters and telephone conversations provide an extraordinary insight into his life and allow us to share his fear and his daily battle to maintain hope. Marco proves to be a tireless entertainer, delighting his cell-mates with humorous performances. His lack of family ties, his search for supportive friendships, his enthusiasm for hang-gliding and his love of adventure – Marco reflects critically upon the roller-coaster ride that has been his life – a life that is at the same time representative of a whole generation of young Brazilians. A passionate appeal for more self-confidence in a world in which inhumane violence ensures the hegemony of the rich.

Panel for NATIONAL BIRD by Sonia Kennebeck at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. 

Louis Klamroth (Host)

‘This is not science fiction’, says a commercial inviting young people to join the US Air Force. Indeed it is anything but a utopian vision when drones targeting humans in Afghanistan and other countries are operated from a safe distance. National Birddescribes the dramatic experiences of three former Air Force analysts who have decided to break their silence about the secret deployment of these combat drones. Haunted by the realisation that they might have been responsible for the death of innocent victims, they are going public with their knowledge – regardless of the possible consequences. These three war veterans all signed up voluntarily for military service – either out of a sense of idealism, hardship or a feeling of duty. But all that changed as a result of the drone programme. 
National Bird provides insights into the US drone programme as seen through the eyes of veterans and survivors whose stories are connected. At the same time the film asks whether it is possible for a world to exist other than one in which violence breeds violence.

USA 2016, 92 min

English, Dari

by

Sonia Kennebeck

Highlights Press Conference CHANG JIANG TU (CROSSCURRENT) by Chao Yang at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. 

Yang Chao (Director, Scriptwriter)

Gao Chun, a young captain, steers his cargo boat up the Yangtze river. His father has recently died and, according to his beliefs, his son is now responsible for liberating his soul. At the same time, Gao Chun is looking for the love of his life. But all the women he meets in all the different ports are the same person: a magical being who grows ever younger the closer he gets to the source of the Yangtze. His trip up river turns into a journey through space and time. Gao Chun encounters people who accompany him for a while, and then loses them again. He comes across a town that had to make way for the big Yangtze dam only to reappear elsewhere. He hears the ghost story of a girl who crept into the body of a merchant. He enters a pagoda that reverberates with the voice of the Buddha from all sides. And he immerses himself in the verses of an unknown poet that reveal secrets from his past and make him contemplate his own crimes and their atonement. Yang Chao's odyssey merges daily life in China with politics and poetry, outer and inner worlds to create a magical universe.

People's Republic of China 2015, 116 min

Mandarin

by

Yang Chao

with

Qin Hao
Xin Zhi Lei
Wu Lipeng
Wang Hongwei
Jiang Hualin

by Martin I. Petrov 

Maggie’s Plan, Rebecca Miller’s new dramatic comedy starring Julianne Moore, Greta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke received its European premiere at the 66th Berlinale Panorama section yesterday evening at the Friedrichstadt Palast Theatre. 

The film is a contemporary story, following young Maggie who leaves and works in NYC. She is convinced that at the approach of her thirties, she wants to have a child and is seeking a sperm donor. But after she bumps into one of her colleagues, who happens to be looking for new friendships, Maggie’s life plan changes overnight. 

An overwhelming and fresh romantic comedy, with a hot contemporary topic, Maggie’s Plan deals with new family forms, societal recognition and challenges for both women and men with the background of a huge cosmopolis. It is a nicely told story about life, relationships and the ability to stand behind your choices, when everything and everyone is pointing to the opposite direction. 

Actresses Julianne Moore and Greta Gerwig, along with director Rebecca Miller, attended the Berlinale to present their film. 

At the official press conference, Julianne spoke about the role of Georgette, the powerful independent and career-minded wife of Ethan Hawke, calling it “challenging, but also thrilling”. Having to go through a divorce in the film, she remembered a personal story: “I've been with my husband for 20 years, so it’s difficult to imagine how it is to go through a separation. Of course we all have our ups and downs but in the end it’s always been good. I recently spoke to a person who went through a divorce and they told me they wouldn't go through marriage again. So I think I understand Georgette, she appears to be a funny person and not a monster after all.”  

Greta Gerwig also commented on her part as Maggie, saying that Rebecca guided her very well through everything. “We had long talks and we built the character together. All the lines were so good and speaking for themselves so I just needed to find a way to express them, speak them out loud.” 

After getting off to a brilliant start with the opening film Hail, Caesar! - with directors Joel & Ethan Coen as well as actors George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin, Channing Tatum and Alden Ehrenreich in attendance – the spectacular list of stars continues: Pernilla August, Susanne Bier, Daniel Brühl, Daniel Burman, Isabel Coixet, Doris Dörrie, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Firth, Greta Gerwig, Brendan Gleeson, Isabelle Huppert, Julia Jentsch, Denis Lavant, Jude Law, Spike Lee, Laura Linney, Julianne Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Guy Pearce, Michael Peña, Tim Robbins, Gianfranco Rosi, James Schamus, Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgård, André Téchiné, Emma Thompson, Wayne Wang, and many more, have all put in appearances during the first half of this year’s Berlinale.

There were standing ovations for Jury President Meryl Streep who - with her co-jurors Lars Eidinger, Nick James, Brigitte Lacombe, Clive Owen, Alba Rohrwacher and Małgorzata Szumowska - will award the Berlinale’s main prizes on February 20.

And so far the turnout of visitors at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival has been tremendous. At half time, almost 250,000 tickets have been sold.

“Once more the Berlinale is proving to be a huge crowd-puller. We are very pleased that thousands of people from Berlin and around the globe have again joined us to take a cinematic voyage of discovery,” says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM) is also heading for success in 2016. This international platform for trading in film rights and audio-visual content has again registered a rising number of visitors and exhibitors.
 

horror/ slasher, has been sold to Japan (New Select) and Korea (Sejong Communications) at the European Film Market. Six friends – 3 girls and 3 guys – have planned a wild week away at a festival. But their week of sailing and partying gets off to a mysterious start: who booked the gigantic villa for them? Is it their new, quiet housemate, who was involved in a dark episode from their past that they would rather forget? Who cares, let’s get the party started! But when one of the girls starts getting serious nightmares, sees masked figures around the villa and one of her friends develops bizarre side effects from a drug cocktail, the holiday turns into a grueling nightmare… With 28 Spinnin’ Records hit songs, including ANOTHERYOU, by Armin van Buuren ft Mr. Probz & POLICEMEN by Eva Simons ft Konshens Incredible Film has been working over the last couple of years on becoming the worldwide sales agent for Dutch production companies. The catalogue consists a full range of family adventures, teen movies, drama, thrillers and (romantic) comedies. Incredible Film in Berlin -­‐ MGB Stand 156 

SCREAM WEEK IS AN UPBEAT, TONGUE-IN-CHEEK DUTCH HORROR / SLASHER, SKILLFULLY AND CLEVERLY DONE

Six friends – 3 girls and 3 guys – have planned a wild week away at a festival. But their week of sailing and partying gets off to a mysterious start: who booked the gigantic villa for them? Is it their new, quiet house mate, who was involved in a dark episode from their past that they would rather forget? Who cares, let’s get the party started! But when Merel starts getting serious nightmares, sees masked figures around the villa and one of her friends develops bizarre side effects from a drug cocktail, the holiday turns into a grueling nightmare…

WITH 28 SPINNIN’ RECORDS HIT SONGS, INCLUDING ANOTHER YOU, BY ARMIN VAN BUUREN FT MR. PROBZ & POLICEMEN BY EVA SIMONS FT KONSHENS

CORD

Dir Pablo Gonzales,  70'  Colombia, Germany, France 2015       erotic scifi

17th and 18th February

22.00   IM BABYLON

http://genrenale.de/cord-film

Best Film Ravenna Nightmare, Fantasporto, Cartagena, Mauvais Genre, Morbido Mexico

''From Beyond crossed with Fifty Shades of Grey ''Horror Talk 

"Created a believable post-apocalyptic world'' FILM BIZARRO

 On a post-apocalyptic   world of never-ending winter, a sparse cast of outsiders live underground. 

Due to their unsanitary conditions, sexual contact has become a health hazzard.

Masturbation has become the paradigm of sexual experience and an array of low-tech devices with this purpose has come into existence.

 In this bleak reality, Czuperski  and Tania  make a deal: she will allow him to experiment new devices on her body in exchange of pleasure.

 Soon however, their relationship goes out of control.

  TRAILER

51 min / 1:1,78 / HD / s/w / dolby surround 5.1 / PAL / EN - DE subtitles / 2016

Ten-year-old Valentina invites us to meet her family. What follows are bizarre anecdotes, daydreams and documentary observations - a film as lively as its roaming heroine. 

one of the 15 highlights of 66th Berlinale Spiegel Online, most visited german online newspaper

„…impressive documentary in terms of content and aesthetics“ Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin daily newspaper

„nothing has been glorified…very intimate, honest moments“ Deutschlandradio Kultur, national german radio, focused on cultural issues

„a stunning protagonist“  tageszeitung „taz“ online, german daily newspaper 

VALENTINA - a documentary film by Maximilian Feldmann and Luise Schröder

SCREENING DATES

Thursday        February 18th, 2 PM, CinemaxX 5 (Berlinale press screening)
                       February 18th, 07:30 PM, CinemaxX 3 (Berlinale premiere)
Friday             February 19th, noon, Colosseum (second screening)
                       February 19th, 08:30 PM, CinemaxX 1 (third screening)

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Maximilian Feldmann was born in Berlin in 1985. He shot his first documentary portrait in 2005 during his Voluntary Social Year in Ecuador. This was followed by several traineeships at film and TV productions. Between 2007 and 2015, he studied Documentary Filmmaking at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Since graduating in 2015 he works as a director and author for both fictional and non-fictional productions. VALENTINA is his graduation project.

www.valentina-film.com or 

https://www.berlinale.de/de/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?film_id=201608083#tab=video25