Exclusive: Watermelon Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights for Palestinian director Mohamed Jabaly’s documentary Life Is Beautiful about his experiences after he became stranded in Norway in 2014 when Gaza’s borders were shut indefinitely.
The distribution agreement, which includes all North American theatrical and ancillary rights, was negotiated in Cannes by Munir Atalla, head of Production and Acquisitionat Watermelon Pictures and Esther van Messel of First Hand Films.
Jabaly was attending a film festival in Tromsø in 2014, when the borders to Gaza closed. Little did he know that it would be seven years before he could see his family again.
While waiting for the situation to change, Mohamed’s friends back home tell him to seek asylum or get married to stay in Norway. But Mohamed refuses to give up his Palestinian identity and insists on being recognized for his work.
After being denied a work permit after several appeals,...
The distribution agreement, which includes all North American theatrical and ancillary rights, was negotiated in Cannes by Munir Atalla, head of Production and Acquisitionat Watermelon Pictures and Esther van Messel of First Hand Films.
Jabaly was attending a film festival in Tromsø in 2014, when the borders to Gaza closed. Little did he know that it would be seven years before he could see his family again.
While waiting for the situation to change, Mohamed’s friends back home tell him to seek asylum or get married to stay in Norway. But Mohamed refuses to give up his Palestinian identity and insists on being recognized for his work.
After being denied a work permit after several appeals,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
A delegation of Palestinian filmmakers is in Cannes, seeking both international support for projects and the opportunity to alter the discourse on how Palestinians are perceived internationally.
“A lot of the time, in western media, Palestinians are just a bunch of angry Arabs,” suggested Palestine-Denmark filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel, whose debut To A Land Unknown is playing in Directors’ Fortnight. He hopes his film “can contribute a level of humanity to the discourse” on Palestinians.
“People don’t see us as people with dreams, and hopes and fears. I hope that’s what will resonate with audiences.”
To A Land Unknown...
“A lot of the time, in western media, Palestinians are just a bunch of angry Arabs,” suggested Palestine-Denmark filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel, whose debut To A Land Unknown is playing in Directors’ Fortnight. He hopes his film “can contribute a level of humanity to the discourse” on Palestinians.
“People don’t see us as people with dreams, and hopes and fears. I hope that’s what will resonate with audiences.”
To A Land Unknown...
- 5/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
The impact of the Israel-Hamas war covered extensively by the world media and saturating social media platforms has Middle Eastern directors and their films suddenly in the spotlight on the international film festival circuit.
At Hot Docs, Canada’s largest documentary festival that kicks into gear this weekend, Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly has brought his documentary Life is Beautiful to Toronto for a North American premiere. The film follows his exile to Norway caused by an earlier 2014 regional conflict and thwarted efforts to get back to his family in Gaza.
“The film has unfortunately become more relevant to what’s going on these days. I was hoping to release the film in a more peaceful situation,” Jabaly tells The Hollywood Reporter. The irony is his documentary debuted at the IDFA Festival in Amsterdam in November 2023, soon after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel sparked a wider Israel-Gaza conflict...
At Hot Docs, Canada’s largest documentary festival that kicks into gear this weekend, Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly has brought his documentary Life is Beautiful to Toronto for a North American premiere. The film follows his exile to Norway caused by an earlier 2014 regional conflict and thwarted efforts to get back to his family in Gaza.
“The film has unfortunately become more relevant to what’s going on these days. I was hoping to release the film in a more peaceful situation,” Jabaly tells The Hollywood Reporter. The irony is his documentary debuted at the IDFA Festival in Amsterdam in November 2023, soon after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel sparked a wider Israel-Gaza conflict...
- 4/26/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mohamed Kordofani’s Goodbye Julia and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters lead the nominations for the 8th Critics Awards for Arab Films, which will be held during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
Both features picked up seven nominations apiece for the awards, focused on Arab films that were produced and premiered outside of the Arab world in 2023. Overseen and run by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), it was voted on by 209 critics from 72 countries and the winners will be announced during Cannes on May 18.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
This year’s nominees range from Sudan,...
Both features picked up seven nominations apiece for the awards, focused on Arab films that were produced and premiered outside of the Arab world in 2023. Overseen and run by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), it was voted on by 209 critics from 72 countries and the winners will be announced during Cannes on May 18.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
This year’s nominees range from Sudan,...
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
‘Four Daughters’ & ‘Goodbye Julia’ Lead Nominations For 8th Edition Of Critics Awards For Arab Films
Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary Four Daughters and Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s Lupita Nyong’o-EPed drama Goodbye Julia lead the nominations in the eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Hybrid work Four Daughters, exploring the story of a real-life Tunisian mother who lost two of her daughters to Isis after they were radicalized by a local preacher, world premiered in Competition in Cannes last year.
The film won Cannes’ Golden Eye for Best Documentary and also went on to be nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia was also at Cannes in 2023, making history as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions, with a debut in Un Certain Regard. It represented Sudan at in the 2023-24 Oscar race but was not nominated.
Set against the backdrop of the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum,...
Hybrid work Four Daughters, exploring the story of a real-life Tunisian mother who lost two of her daughters to Isis after they were radicalized by a local preacher, world premiered in Competition in Cannes last year.
The film won Cannes’ Golden Eye for Best Documentary and also went on to be nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia was also at Cannes in 2023, making history as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions, with a debut in Un Certain Regard. It represented Sudan at in the 2023-24 Oscar race but was not nominated.
Set against the backdrop of the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
On the heels of its successful world launch at IDFA, the critically-acclaimed anti-colonial pic “Our Land, Our Freedom,” sold by First Hand Films, has landed a deal with BBC Africa Eye.
“Our Land, Our Freedom,” a Kenyan/U.S./Portuguese co-production, and the upcoming India-set “Kalari,” to be pitched in Visions du Réel docu festival’s Swiss Films Previews showcase, epitomize what First Hand Films stands for.
“What’s important for First Hand Films is defending diversity, minorities, female voices and new talent,” said Esther van Messel, CEO of the doc sales, production and Swiss distribution shingle, ahead of Visions du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland.
“We are so very pleased about this sale, our very first on the film,” said the seasoned doc specialist van Messel.
Co-directed by L.A.-based Meena Nanji and her Kenyan counterpart Zippy Kimundu, the feature tells of Kenyan woman Wanjugu Kimathi’s search for the...
“Our Land, Our Freedom,” a Kenyan/U.S./Portuguese co-production, and the upcoming India-set “Kalari,” to be pitched in Visions du Réel docu festival’s Swiss Films Previews showcase, epitomize what First Hand Films stands for.
“What’s important for First Hand Films is defending diversity, minorities, female voices and new talent,” said Esther van Messel, CEO of the doc sales, production and Swiss distribution shingle, ahead of Visions du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland.
“We are so very pleased about this sale, our very first on the film,” said the seasoned doc specialist van Messel.
Co-directed by L.A.-based Meena Nanji and her Kenyan counterpart Zippy Kimundu, the feature tells of Kenyan woman Wanjugu Kimathi’s search for the...
- 4/7/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 47th edition, which runs from January 26 to February 4. (Scroll down for the full list).
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400,000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.
Among the Nordic highlights is Madame Luna, Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaking following a series of Hollywood titles such as Morbius and Safe House. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows an Eritrean refugee who gets stuck in Libya and becomes a notorious human trafficker known as “Mama Luna” with deep ties to the Italian Mafia. When she is forced to flee to...
- 1/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The 6th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (Gff) has wrapped with a feeling of quiet triumph. The glitz and celebrities were largely absent, although Egyptian star Yousra and legendary French actor Christophe Lambert both appeared at In Conversation events. But in a way, this allowed festival organizers to better focus on the core values which they wish to take forward.
For artistic director Marianne Khoury, the mission was clear, though the challenges were extraordinary, even before the horrific attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. “I joined in June, so it was quite a crazy summer where we’re working almost every day. Then on the 10th October, we decided to postpone. So it was very overwhelming. Since then, we were on hold every day. We wanted this edition to take place before the year end.”
Better late than never; better small than not at all
With the 2022 edition already having been canceled,...
For artistic director Marianne Khoury, the mission was clear, though the challenges were extraordinary, even before the horrific attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. “I joined in June, so it was quite a crazy summer where we’re working almost every day. Then on the 10th October, we decided to postpone. So it was very overwhelming. Since then, we were on hold every day. We wanted this edition to take place before the year end.”
Better late than never; better small than not at all
With the 2022 edition already having been canceled,...
- 12/21/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
IDFA – the largest documentary film festival in the world — has just wrapped its 36th edition, and it was a memorable one by every definition. Two hundred and fifty films screened in Amsterdam, representing work from across the globe –the Middle East to Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe.
In a special edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we report on the festival from Amsterdam, speaking on the ground with five notable filmmakers, including Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, who came to IDFA for the European premiere of his new Netflix documentary Stamped From the Beginning, an examination of how racist ideas have permeated American culture.
Sex researcher Shere Hite
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham tells us how European audiences reacted to her award-winning documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite, about the titular American sex researcher who became a sensation after the publication of her book The Hite Report in the 1970s,...
In a special edition of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast, we report on the festival from Amsterdam, speaking on the ground with five notable filmmakers, including Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, who came to IDFA for the European premiere of his new Netflix documentary Stamped From the Beginning, an examination of how racist ideas have permeated American culture.
Sex researcher Shere Hite
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham tells us how European audiences reacted to her award-winning documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite, about the titular American sex researcher who became a sensation after the publication of her book The Hite Report in the 1970s,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly is leaving the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam with a major award: Best Director in International Competition for his film Life Is Beautiful. But where he goes next is uncertain – he can’t return to Gaza for the time being because the border is closed as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.
Amid the prestige and excitement of premiering a film at IDFA, the world’s biggest documentary festival, his thoughts, for obvious reasons, have been back in his homeland.
“Of course, it’s not easy when people come and ask you how are you? And then what should you say?” he tells Deadline. “It’s really difficult even to speak, but then silence also doesn’t help at this stage in our life.”
Director Mohamed Jabaly, at right, with camera.
“Making films,” he continues, “or speaking about it became kind of heavy on our shoulders and...
Amid the prestige and excitement of premiering a film at IDFA, the world’s biggest documentary festival, his thoughts, for obvious reasons, have been back in his homeland.
“Of course, it’s not easy when people come and ask you how are you? And then what should you say?” he tells Deadline. “It’s really difficult even to speak, but then silence also doesn’t help at this stage in our life.”
Director Mohamed Jabaly, at right, with camera.
“Making films,” he continues, “or speaking about it became kind of heavy on our shoulders and...
- 11/18/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
IDFA Winner Mohamed Jabaly, Director of ‘Life Is Beautiful,’ Reflects on Events in Home City of Gaza
Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly, who won the best director award at documentary festival IDFA on Thursday for “Life Is Beautiful,” has expressed his sense of helplessness amid the rising death toll in Gaza, where he was born.
On Oct. 7, Hamas – a terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since 2006 – launched coordinated attacks in Israel, killing over 1,200 civilians, and taking over 240 civilian hostages. Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza and has launched a ground offensive. More than 11,500 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Jabaly told Variety: “I have so much pain inside me, I don’t know how I am even able to speak these words.”
“If the whole world can’t stop what’s happening, to make a ceasefire…it’s just a feeling of being trapped,” said Jabaly. “Even walking in the street is really difficult these days. Just knowing that [loved ones] have been under the bombs for over a month,...
On Oct. 7, Hamas – a terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza since 2006 – launched coordinated attacks in Israel, killing over 1,200 civilians, and taking over 240 civilian hostages. Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza and has launched a ground offensive. More than 11,500 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Jabaly told Variety: “I have so much pain inside me, I don’t know how I am even able to speak these words.”
“If the whole world can’t stop what’s happening, to make a ceasefire…it’s just a feeling of being trapped,” said Jabaly. “Even walking in the street is really difficult these days. Just knowing that [loved ones] have been under the bombs for over a month,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary chronicles the Armenian director’s search for her missing soldier brother.
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s documentary 1489, which chronicles the Armenian director’s search for her missing soldier brother, has won the best film award in international competition at The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The title 1489 refers to the anonymous number of a “body of an individual missing in action,” and was the number assigned to Soghomon Vardanyan, a 21-year-old student and musician who was close to completing his military service when the conflict between Azerbaijan and his home country Armenia over Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) flared up again in September...
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s documentary 1489, which chronicles the Armenian director’s search for her missing soldier brother, has won the best film award in international competition at The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The title 1489 refers to the anonymous number of a “body of an individual missing in action,” and was the number assigned to Soghomon Vardanyan, a 21-year-old student and musician who was close to completing his military service when the conflict between Azerbaijan and his home country Armenia over Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) flared up again in September...
- 11/17/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Armenian war documentary 1489, from director Shoghakat Vardanyan, has won the top prize for best film at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The prize comes with a 15,000 euro ($16,000) cash bursary.
In the film, Vardanyan records her and her family’s efforts to find out what happened to her brother, Soghomon, a 21-year-old student and musician who was close to completing his mandatory military service when a conflict broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan in September 2020. Soghomon went missing in action, identified only with the anonymous number 1489.
The IDFA jury said 1489 was “a film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see. And ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The...
In the film, Vardanyan records her and her family’s efforts to find out what happened to her brother, Soghomon, a 21-year-old student and musician who was close to completing his mandatory military service when a conflict broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan in September 2020. Soghomon went missing in action, identified only with the anonymous number 1489.
The IDFA jury said 1489 was “a film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see. And ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The...
- 11/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Documentaries about the impact of war claimed two of the top prizes as the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam handed out awards Thursday night.
1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang.
‘1489’
Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see.
1489, directed by Armenian filmmaker Shoghakat Vardanyan, won Best Film in International Competition. The film revolves around the disappearance of the director’s 21-year-old brother, Soghomon Vardanyan, who went missing in the early days of the renewed fighting in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area Armenians refer to as Artsakh.
The award comes with a €15,000 cash prize. The jury members of the International Competition were Emilie Bujès, Francesco Giai Via, Tabitha Jackson, Ada Solomon, and Xiaoshuai Wang.
‘1489’
Jurors called 1489, “A film that acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence. Cinema as a tool of survival—to allow us all, to look at the things we would rather not see.
- 11/17/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Shoghakat Vardanyan’s “1489,” which follows the director’s family after her brother goes missing while serving in the Armenian army, won documentary festival IDFA’s best film prize Thursday.
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
The jury of the International Competition section said the film “acts as a piercing light that makes visible the vast hidden interior landscape of grief and creates a tangible presence from unbearable absence.”
The jury added that it was “cinema as a tool of survival — to allow us all to look at the things we would rather not see, and ultimately, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”
The best directing award went to Mohamed Jabaly for “Life Is Beautiful,” in which the Palestinian filmmaker documents his life in 2014 when he was visiting Norway and was prevented from returning home to Gaza because the border was closed.
“Life Is Beautiful”
The jury members said the film was “a...
- 11/16/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
“Standing here and talking about my film is the only way I can feel I am doing something,” said Mohamed Jabaly.
An emotional Mohamed Jabaly unveiled his new feature doc Life Is Beautiful in the international competition at IDFA on Monday. The premiere came as the Palestinian director said his relatives in Gaza have been displaced by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“For me, standing here and talking about my film is the only way I can feel I am doing something. I could just hide inside the room and decide not to talk,” said Jabaly of the decision to go ahead with his screening.
An emotional Mohamed Jabaly unveiled his new feature doc Life Is Beautiful in the international competition at IDFA on Monday. The premiere came as the Palestinian director said his relatives in Gaza have been displaced by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“For me, standing here and talking about my film is the only way I can feel I am doing something. I could just hide inside the room and decide not to talk,” said Jabaly of the decision to go ahead with his screening.
- 11/15/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Feel-good stories out of Gaza are not exactly plentiful at present, making “Life Is Beautiful” something of an anomaly. Though the predicament depicted — Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly’s unplanned long exile due to closed borders and political shifts — is hardly upbeat in outline, his ebullient personality insists on emphasizing humor and warmth. Thus this chronicle of a one-month visit to Norway that drags on for seven years ends up an incongruously charming footnote to a much larger conflict that just keeps escalating. Jabaly’s doc will appeal to programmers looking for something that touches on its backgrounding issues without being “divisive.” By the same token, however, this likable first-person documentary seems almost too apolitically innocuous for this fraught moment in time.
Frizzy-haired Jabaly, who clearly has no qualms about being his own camera subject, is introduced saying “There was no film school in Gaza. … I had to learn by doing.
Frizzy-haired Jabaly, who clearly has no qualms about being his own camera subject, is introduced saying “There was no film school in Gaza. … I had to learn by doing.
- 11/14/2023
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
First Hand Films is at IDFA with a busy slate including portmanteau project ’The Ten Commandments’.
Toei has acquired Japanese rights to Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour’s completed Billy Elliot-style US doc Call Me Dancer, from Switzerland’s First Hand Films. The sales outfit is now talking to buyers about the remaining rights, including North America, at IDFA this week.
The film follows a teen with a passion to dance who struggles against the disapproval of his family. It was made with support from Zdf/Arte, yes Docu and Ebs. North American rights are still available.
First Hand Film...
Toei has acquired Japanese rights to Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour’s completed Billy Elliot-style US doc Call Me Dancer, from Switzerland’s First Hand Films. The sales outfit is now talking to buyers about the remaining rights, including North America, at IDFA this week.
The film follows a teen with a passion to dance who struggles against the disapproval of his family. It was made with support from Zdf/Arte, yes Docu and Ebs. North American rights are still available.
First Hand Film...
- 11/13/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Documentary’s gatekeepers are playing it awfully safe lately, in the estimation of Orwa Nyrabia, artistic director of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary film festival.
In conversation with Deadline before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Nyrabia assessed the landscape of nonfiction film, finding streaming platforms and other distributors inordinately risk averse.
“I think post pandemic especially, it seems like everybody in the distribution space is really striving to make up lost money,” he told Deadline. “And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses. So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP. I mean, they don’t say so. But when I look at what it is that is really working [for them], it is all about celebrities who have their audience predefined, and when that’s not possible, then relying on preset formats such as serial killers and crime.
In conversation with Deadline before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Nyrabia assessed the landscape of nonfiction film, finding streaming platforms and other distributors inordinately risk averse.
“I think post pandemic especially, it seems like everybody in the distribution space is really striving to make up lost money,” he told Deadline. “And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses. So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP. I mean, they don’t say so. But when I look at what it is that is really working [for them], it is all about celebrities who have their audience predefined, and when that’s not possible, then relying on preset formats such as serial killers and crime.
- 11/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Pfi has issued a petition demanding IDFA acknowledge the festival’s earlier statement ”unjustly criminalises Palestinian voices and narratives”.
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has again found itself caught in the middle as the fall-out from the war between Israel and Hamas spills out to Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers and into the festival space.
The Palestine Film Institute (Pfi) has today issued a strongly-worded statement in which it has demanded IDFA acknowledge that the festival’s earlier statement ”unjustly criminalises Palestinian voices and narratives” and has withdrawn from all IDFA market participation.
The Pfi statement is in reference to...
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has again found itself caught in the middle as the fall-out from the war between Israel and Hamas spills out to Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers and into the festival space.
The Palestine Film Institute (Pfi) has today issued a strongly-worded statement in which it has demanded IDFA acknowledge that the festival’s earlier statement ”unjustly criminalises Palestinian voices and narratives” and has withdrawn from all IDFA market participation.
The Pfi statement is in reference to...
- 11/12/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
This year’s edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with the world premiere of “A Picture to Remember” by Olga Chernykh. The film, which received the support of the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2022, is a deeply personal account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women.
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
- 10/18/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Olga Chernykh’s A Picture To Remember explores the war in Ukraine through three generations.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will open with the world premiere of Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh’s A Picture To Remember as the festival unveils the line-ups for the international and Envision competitions.
A Picture To Remember explores the war in Ukraine through three generations of women, including the director herself, and is a co-production between Ukraine, France and Germany. The film is screening in Envision and has received backing from the IDFA Bertha Support fund.
The international competition features 11 titles, seven of which are world premieres,...
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will open with the world premiere of Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh’s A Picture To Remember as the festival unveils the line-ups for the international and Envision competitions.
A Picture To Remember explores the war in Ukraine through three generations of women, including the director herself, and is a co-production between Ukraine, France and Germany. The film is screening in Envision and has received backing from the IDFA Bertha Support fund.
The international competition features 11 titles, seven of which are world premieres,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam revealed its opening night film and announced competition lineups in two main categories today, completing the program for the upcoming 36th edition of the world’s largest documentary festival.
At a press conference in Amsterdam, A Picture to Remember, directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh, was announced as IDFA’s opening night film on November 8. The festival, which includes more than 250 films total, runs from Nov. 8-19.
“[A Picture to Remember] presents a deeply personal and essay-style account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women: Chernykh herself, her mother, and her grandmother,” IDFA said in a release. “In a bid for connection and intimacy, the filmmaker uses old family films, recordings of conversations, and news reports to bridge the distance between her and her grandmother. The result is a kaleidoscopic and personal film that travels through time fluidly.
At a press conference in Amsterdam, A Picture to Remember, directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh, was announced as IDFA’s opening night film on November 8. The festival, which includes more than 250 films total, runs from Nov. 8-19.
“[A Picture to Remember] presents a deeply personal and essay-style account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women: Chernykh herself, her mother, and her grandmother,” IDFA said in a release. “In a bid for connection and intimacy, the filmmaker uses old family films, recordings of conversations, and news reports to bridge the distance between her and her grandmother. The result is a kaleidoscopic and personal film that travels through time fluidly.
- 10/18/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Projects come from 34 different countries.
Projects from Rodrigo Reyes, Ike Nnaebue and Sean McAllister are among 48 titles that will be pitched to international and UK industry representatives and experts at this year’s Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket.
One of the world’s largest documentary and factual pitching forums, MeetMarket moved to the beginning of the festival and will take place on June 15-16 with all projects in the development or production stage.
The projects have been selected from more than 500 submissions. Rodrigo Reyes, whose doc Sanson And Me was the winner of DocFest’s 2022 international competition, is pitching Mexican-us co-pro Warrior Mothers.
Projects from Rodrigo Reyes, Ike Nnaebue and Sean McAllister are among 48 titles that will be pitched to international and UK industry representatives and experts at this year’s Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket.
One of the world’s largest documentary and factual pitching forums, MeetMarket moved to the beginning of the festival and will take place on June 15-16 with all projects in the development or production stage.
The projects have been selected from more than 500 submissions. Rodrigo Reyes, whose doc Sanson And Me was the winner of DocFest’s 2022 international competition, is pitching Mexican-us co-pro Warrior Mothers.
- 4/25/2023
- by Heather Fallon Broadcast
- ScreenDaily
The first world won’t recognize the problem with awfully bad internet connections outside their “I am on the train/ here’s the tunnel/ the holiday on the mountain/ travel transit through a shit-hole” perspective. Even if you are in the middle of nowhere in Iceland, observing the people-empty landscape with volcanoes ready to show you the end of the world as you know it, you’ll still be pretty much able to Instagram your crappy selfies at any given moment.
“My Gaza-Online” is screening at the London Palestine Film festival.
What it means to be dependent on very bad internet connections while your friends and family are left behind in the country you were born and raised in, but which struggles to keep any sense of normality under constant military threats is the core of Mohamed Jabaly’s low-budget short “My Gaza-online” based on his countless attempts at normal...
“My Gaza-Online” is screening at the London Palestine Film festival.
What it means to be dependent on very bad internet connections while your friends and family are left behind in the country you were born and raised in, but which struggles to keep any sense of normality under constant military threats is the core of Mohamed Jabaly’s low-budget short “My Gaza-online” based on his countless attempts at normal...
- 11/11/2020
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Leading documentary festival Idfa has selected a diverse lineup for Idfa Forum, the festival’s co-production and co-financing market, which will be entirely online this year, as will the rest of the industry program. Among the 63 projects to pitch at Idfa Forum, there is a strong representation of female pitch teams.
In the Forum, women make up 64% of the producers and directors; in the DocLab Forum, the market’s new media strand, 46% are women. The entire Forum selection includes projects from 45 different production and co-production countries.
Many of the projects center on women. “How to Build a Library,” directed by Maia Lekow and Christopher King, follows two women as they transform a dilapidated, junk-filled library in downtown Nairobi into a vibrant space for the city’s residents.
“Queen of Chess,” directed by Bernadett Tuza-Ritter, tells the story of the relationship and mind games of Judit Polgar, the greatest female chess player of all time,...
In the Forum, women make up 64% of the producers and directors; in the DocLab Forum, the market’s new media strand, 46% are women. The entire Forum selection includes projects from 45 different production and co-production countries.
Many of the projects center on women. “How to Build a Library,” directed by Maia Lekow and Christopher King, follows two women as they transform a dilapidated, junk-filled library in downtown Nairobi into a vibrant space for the city’s residents.
“Queen of Chess,” directed by Bernadett Tuza-Ritter, tells the story of the relationship and mind games of Judit Polgar, the greatest female chess player of all time,...
- 10/13/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The forum will take place online from November 16 to 20.
New works from The Trial director Maria Ramos and The Other Side Of Everything filmmaker Mila Turajlić are among the 63 projects selected for Idfa Forum, the Dutch documentary festival’s co-production and co-financing market.
The online forum will take place from November 16 to 20.
Ramos will pitch her new investigative project Justice Under Suspicion, focusing on state rule in present-day Brazil. Her 2018 documentary The Trial debuted at Berlin, winning awards at IndieLisboa and Madrid documentary festivals.
Turajlić will present a rough cut of Serbia-France co-pro The Labudovic Reels, constructed from archive footage...
New works from The Trial director Maria Ramos and The Other Side Of Everything filmmaker Mila Turajlić are among the 63 projects selected for Idfa Forum, the Dutch documentary festival’s co-production and co-financing market.
The online forum will take place from November 16 to 20.
Ramos will pitch her new investigative project Justice Under Suspicion, focusing on state rule in present-day Brazil. Her 2018 documentary The Trial debuted at Berlin, winning awards at IndieLisboa and Madrid documentary festivals.
Turajlić will present a rough cut of Serbia-France co-pro The Labudovic Reels, constructed from archive footage...
- 10/13/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Their filmmaking community has the first-ever official pavilion at the event, sponsored by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.
New films from award-winning documentarian Mohamed Jabaly, artist and filmmaker Larissa Sansour and the latest production from Degradé producer Rashid Abdelhamid are among 14 Palestinian projects to be pitched at a Producers’ Network happy hour event on May 15 in Cannes.
Palestine’s stateless filmmaking community is out in force at Cannes with its first-ever official pavilion at the event, supported by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture in partnership with the French Consulate in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Cultural Fund.
“We’ve had a...
New films from award-winning documentarian Mohamed Jabaly, artist and filmmaker Larissa Sansour and the latest production from Degradé producer Rashid Abdelhamid are among 14 Palestinian projects to be pitched at a Producers’ Network happy hour event on May 15 in Cannes.
Palestine’s stateless filmmaking community is out in force at Cannes with its first-ever official pavilion at the event, supported by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture in partnership with the French Consulate in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Cultural Fund.
“We’ve had a...
- 5/14/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Palestinian filmmakers pay tribute to Yasser Murtaja, who dreamed of travelling the world.
A Palestinian cameraman who worked on dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s Human Flow as well as on compatriot Basma Alsharif ’s feature Ouroboros, has died after being shot while covering clashes between Gaza protestors and the Israeli military on Friday.
Both Palestinian and Israeli media outlets reported that Yasser Murtaja, 30, was shot in the stomach by the Israeli military while covering demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border and died later in hospital.
Murtaja, who was married with a young son, was a rising star in Gaza’s...
A Palestinian cameraman who worked on dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s Human Flow as well as on compatriot Basma Alsharif ’s feature Ouroboros, has died after being shot while covering clashes between Gaza protestors and the Israeli military on Friday.
Both Palestinian and Israeli media outlets reported that Yasser Murtaja, 30, was shot in the stomach by the Israeli military while covering demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border and died later in hospital.
Murtaja, who was married with a young son, was a rising star in Gaza’s...
- 4/7/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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