Month: September 2021

Whenever a film begins with a disclaimer asserting that the story you’re about to see is fictional — and furthermore, that what shall unfold on-screen “should not be considered a reflection of a reality” — it’s hard not to go in assuming the exact opposite. Why protest so much if there’s no factual basis there? In the
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“Welcome to Siegheilkirchen” not only honors Manfred Deix, one of Austria’s most revered cartoonists and satirists, it also marks the country’s first ever animated feature film. Unspooling in Gala Premieres at the Zurich Film Festival, the film follows a kid whose immense talent for drawing gives him an outlet for his discontent while growing up
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Bobby Zarem, the famed entertainment industry publicist who represented stars such as Cher and Diana Ross, died Sunday in Savannah, Ga., according to the New York Times. He was 84. Zarem’s colleague Bill Augustin confirmed to the New York Times that he died of complications related to lung cancer. Zarem was born in Savannah in
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A new and ambitious Ibero-American industry event, Iberseries Platino Industria, runs Sept. 27 thru Oct 1 with a slew of activities broken into eight thematic sections: Financing and Business Models; Conversations with Platforms and their Studios; Industry Talks; Creativity; Market Intelligence; Keynotes and Masterclasses; Audiovisual Arts as an Educational Tool; and Synergies between Tourism and
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Meghan McCain drew controversy when she joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” as a panelist on Sunday morning, in her first television appearance since her departure from “The View.” McCain was featured on a panel about President Joe Biden’s domestic spending plan, along with Amy Walter, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Cook Political Report; Leigh Ann
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An in-person Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG), which has moved its traditional spring dates to the fall, runs Oct. 1-9 this year. It opens with Dennis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” following its splash in Venice, and closes with the North American premiere of the first two episodes of Netflix’s animated series “Maya and the Three” from Mexico’s Jorge Gutiérrez (“The Book
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Moviegoers, at least at the international box office, have kept the ticket sales flowing for “Dune,” the big-budget reimagining of Frank Herbert’s landmark sci-fi novel. The movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival”), brought in $26.3 million from 32 overseas markets in its second weekend of release. It has generated $76.5 million to date, a solid
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Jonas Carpignano has become known for a particular type of naturalism born from observing – and then depicting –  life in contemporary Calabria, specifically in the coastal town of Gioia Tauro, known as an  ‘Ndrangheta mob hotbed, in a trilogy that started with “Mediterranea,” which won the Critics Week Grand Prize in 2015, followed by
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“Dear Evan Hansen,” the Universal Pictures adaptation of the smash Broadway musical, didn’t strike a chord with moviegoers. Marred by negative reviews and COVID-19 concerns, the film fell short of expectations and collected a muted $7.5 million from 3,365 North American theaters in its debut. Industry experts predicted the movie musical would make at least
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Portugal’s Sardinha em Lata and Latvia’s Atom Art have boarded two new projects – “Saari 2” and “Taste Buddies” respectively – at Cartoon Forum, the biggest European animation event devoted to TV series. Both series are lead-produced by Helsinki and Barcelona-based Pikkukala (“Royals Next Door Sisters,” “The Stinky Dog”), run by Pablo Jordi. “Saari 2”
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Female directors and actors reigned supreme at tonight’s San Sebastian Film Festival awards ceremony, with the Romanian actor-turned-director Alina Grigore taking the Golden Shell for Best Film for her intimate debut feature “Blue Moon.” The film, a raw realist study of a young woman attempting to free herself from an abusive rural household, was an
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Recently spotlighted at the Finnish Film Affair, where it was given the Best Nordic Project Award, Danish production “The Great Silence” will head straight to the convent, where Sister Alma (played by “Ninjababy” lead Kristine Kujath Thorp) is preparing to take her perpetual vows. But once her recovering alcoholic brother shows up, stirring up memories
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