The Week in Fests | Cinefan, Deauville and Fantastic Fests

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The latest from the festival scene this week. A link exchange by Variety.com and indieWIRE.

'SONATA' NAMED BEST FILM AT CINEFAN
Osian's fest gives top prize to Kurosawa film

'MAMMA MIA!' OPENS DEAUVILLE
Musical to kick off festival on Sept. 5

FANTASTIC IN PINK
"Porn is an afterthought" For Fest Section

More at Variety's Festival Central 
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iW NEWS | "Wild Combination" Scores Plexifilm Pact

Documentary coverage sponsored by SnagFilms.

Worldwide rights to Matt Wolf's "Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell," which debuted earlier this year at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, have been acquired by Plexifilm. A documentary about the late musician and disco producer Russell, the film will open theatrically at IFC Center on September 26th and concurrently at the ICA in London. Plexifilm's Gary Hustwit negotiated the deal with Sheri Levine and Michael Thornton of Forward Entertainment. [Eugene Hernandez]  
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SF360 | San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

How to tell a coherent story to children when narrating from opposing points of view is a question that surfaces repeatedly in the documentary "Bridge over the Wadi," which screens in this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Lynn Rapoport reports. 
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Reuters | New German film to shed light on Hitler's trial

"Hitler vor Gericht" (Hitler on Trial) explores the 1924 trial of Adolf Hitler in Munich for his part in an abortive coup d'etat that could have earned him the death penalty. Dave Graham reports. 
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INDUSTRY MOVES | CAA Signs Spurlock

CAA announced that Morgan Spurlock has signed with the agency for representation in all areas. Spurlock is managed by The Arlook Group and his attorney is John Sloss of Sloss, Eckhouse, Brennan LLP.  
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VAR | Paramount Vantage lowers ax

"Paramount Pictures and Paramount Vantage handed out pinkslips to 60 employees Thursday," Variety reported today, adding that the expected cuts were in the wake of the studio recently absorbing Vantage. The trade continued, "All of Thursday's casualties were VP level or below. Cuts mean that Vantage will operate with a staff of 40, down from 100. Not all of the 60 axed employees came from Vantage, however, as some Vantage staffers were absorbed by the parent studio."  
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iW NEWS | IDA Unveils DocuWeek in NYC

Fourteen feature documentaries from around the world are on tap for the International Documentary Association's DocuWeek, which will run August 8 - 14 at the Village East Cinema and IFC Center in New York. Among the titles screening are festival favorites "Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts," "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," and "The Matador." "We developed this showcase to give deserving filmmakers an opportunity to qualify for Oscar consideration by providing theatrical platforms where their films can be seen," commented IDA president Diane Estelle Vicari in a statement. "In addition to our annual Los Angeles run, we are thrilled to also bring these outstanding films to audiences in New York for the first time." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' rules require documentary features to be exhibited on theatrical screens for paid admissions in Los Angeles County and Manhattan, twice daily for at least seven consecutive days. DocuWeek Los Angeles will be held August 22 -28. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Sony Classics Brings "Synecdoche, New York" Stateside

U.S. rights to Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, "Synecdoche, New York" have been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, the company confirmed today in a deal brokered by UTA from Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. The film screened in official competition at the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival. Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays theater director Caden Cotard's who views his life in Schenectady, New York as bleak. His wife Adele (Catherine Keener) has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel (Samantha Morton) has prematurely run aground, and a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his body's autonomic functions. Worried about the transience of his life, he moves his theater company to a warehouse in New York City. SPC plans an October release. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | here! says "Ciao" to America

North American rights to "Ciao" by Yen Tan have been acquired by here! Films for a planned autumn theatrical release through sister entity, Regent Releasing, the company announced Thursday. The film, which won the jury prize for best feature at the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, is described as an "emotionally astute film about the incidental friendship between two strangers living in two different parts of the world. Their connection is linked by the unexpected loss of a mutual friend. One has been with him for many years and the other has never even met him, but may have gotten to know him on a more intimate level through the e-mails exchanged." here! Films' Quinn Coleman negotiated the deal with Jim McMahon from Unauthorized Films. [Brian Brooks] 
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iW NEWS | Fantasia Fest Wraps Up In Montreal

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The 12th edition of the 20-day Fantasia International Film Festival came to a close, with record audience numbers and a few distribution deals to celebrate. The US rights to Christopher Denham's "Home Movie" was acquired by IFC Entertainment for IFC's Festival Direct Video on Demand, while Anchor Bay picked up the Canadian distribution rights. Satoshi Miki's "Adrift in Tokyo" was acquired for Canadian distribution by new company Evokative Films. "Tokyo" also took home the awards for best script and a special award for the dual performances of Jo Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura when Fantastia's official jury prizes were announced. Tomas Alfredson's "Let The Right One In" led the awards, winning best film, best director and best photography, while Ben Siegler won best actor for "Rule of Three" and Jin-hie Park best actress for "Shadows in the Palace." The extensive "Public's Prizes," which gives gold, silver and bronze in a variety of categories, were also announced. Among the winners, Yoshihiro Nishimura's "Tokyo Gore Police" won the gold prize for best Asian feature, "Let The Right One In" won gold for best European/North-South American Feature and Darren Lynn Bousman's "Repo! The Genetic Opera" won for most innovative feature. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Cinelan Partners With Telegraph, BritDoc

Documentary coverage sponsored by SnagFilms.

Cinelan, publisher of three-minute, non-fiction films, and telegraph.co.uk, the online arm of the Telegraph Media Group, have announced a partnership for online syndication of Cinelan films. "The Telegraph shares Cinelan's belief that online video is best showcased in context and will show Cinelan films both as stand-alone features and embedded within stories as companion video" said James Flint, General Manager of Telegraph TV in a statement. "Content of the quality of Cinelan films is hard to come by and we're excited to include them as part of our expanding video strategy." Cinelan also announced today that a selection of its three-minute stories will play before each of the 16 feature films screening at the 2008 BritDoc Festival, which runs July 23-25, 2008 in Oxford. Cinelan, which plans to distribute its films via digital cinemas, television, Internet and mobile partners, is also in talks with UK broadcaster Channel 4 regarding and output deal via its "3 Minute Wonders" series, and will distribute through UK theatrical partner, Picturehouse Cinemas. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | TIFF Announces Midnight Madness

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The Toronto International Film Festival has set the complete lineup of the 21st Midnight Madness program. The program will open with Mabrouk El Mechri's Jean-Claude Van Damme project, "JCVD," and will continue with JT Petty's "The Burrowers," Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel's "Deadgirl," Miguel Marti's "Sexykiller," Toshio Lee's "Detroit Metal City," Mark Hartley's "Not Quite Hollywood," Jon Hewitt's "Acolytes," Prachya Pinkaew's "Chocolate," Franck Vestiel's "Eden Log," and Pascal Laugier's "Martyrs." The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4 through 13, 2008. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | "The Pool," from Vitagraph, Among Film Forum's Fall Premieres

Chris Smith's "The Pool" from Vitagraph Films will have its theatrical debut in September at New York City's Film Forum. The film, acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival last year, is set for Film Forum along with a number of new indies and docs. Also on tap this fall are: Koji Masutani's "Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived" (September 17th), Lance Hammer's self-distributed "Ballast" (October 1st), Caroline Suh's "Frontrunners," also from Oscilloscope (October 15th), Gonzalo Arijon's "Stranded" from Zeitgeist Films (October 22nd), Mijke de Jong's "Stages" (November 5th), Kevin Rafferty's "Harvard Beats Yale 29 - 29" (November 19th), Hartmut Bitomsky's "Dust" from Icarus Films (December 3rd), Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy" (December 10th), recently acquired by Oscilloscope Pictures, and John Walter's "Theater of War" from White Buffalo Entertainment (December 24th). [Eugene Hernandez] 
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INSIDE WORD | Netflix Shutting Red Envelope Entertainment

On Tuesday evening, Netflix publicly confirmed the closure of Red Envelope Entertainment, the company's film production and acquisition unit that has backed more than 100 independent, foreign language and documentary films. indieWIRE also learned that division head Liesl Copland, who joined the company nearly two years ago, is leaving Netflix. The move marks a major shift in strategy for the world's leading movie rental service as it expands to deliver more movies and TV shows via instant streaming. indieWIRE will have more on this story later today (Wednesday). [Eugene Hernandez] 
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iW NEWS | Impact Film Festival Sets Slate for Upcoming U.S. Presidential Conventions

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The Impact Film Festival has announced its slate of films set to screen for lawmakers, candidates and delegates at the upcoming national political conventions. The films will be supplemented with panel discussions featuring members of the filmmaking community along with policy makers and other "issue experts" during the daytime hours of the convention. The program includes Jessica Gerstle's "Accidental Advocate," Stuart Townsend's "Battle in Seattle," Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell's "The Black List," Stefan Forbes' "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story," Irena Salinas' "FLOW: For Love of Water," Cynthia Wade's "Freeheld," Patrick Creadon's "I.O.U.S.A," Susan Koch and Jeff Werner's "Kicking It,"Charles Guggenheim's "Robert Kennedy Remembered," Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's "Trouble the Water," and Mary Lambert's "12 Women." Feature films will be preceded by shorts from FYI-Film Your Issue and Cinemocracy contests. "This Festival was born from the idea that the artistry and urgency reflected in these films could have a real impact on political discourse," said Jody Arlington, one of the Festival's three co-founders, in a statement. "Our tagline is: 'Where Film Crosses the Aisle.' We're certain these films will rally leaders and citizens attending both conventions to engage in nuanced discussions about the domestic and international priorities explored in these exceptional films." At the Democratic Convention, the films will screen at the Starz FilmCenter in Denver, Colorado, August 25-28. At the Republican Convention, the films will screen at the Landmark Center in Minneapolis, St. Paul September 1-4. [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Maizel Named Newport Executive Director

Jennifer Maizel has been named the new executive director at the Newport International Film Festival. Maizel had worked at the festival, which takes place in June in Newport, Rhode Island, as director of guest services in 2006. Most recently, she served, for the past three years, as managing director of the Sarasota Film Festival. "I'm very excited about Newport," commented Maizel in a statement. "I think my main goal is to continue the strong relationship between the festival and the community, not just the Newport community but the state and the region. And I want the festival to have a strong relationship with the film industry. That's important." [Brian Brooks] 
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iW BOT UPDATE | "Transsiberian" On Top

Box Office coverage presented by Rentrak Theatrical

Brad Anderson's "Transsiberian" from First Look Studios is atop the weekly iW BOT box office chart, which was published this afternoon. The film averaged $17,308 in its first weekend from 2 runs. More in this week's box office column, which was published last night.  
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iW NEWS | Fox Searchlight Gets "Ruins"

Fox Searchlight announced that it will distribute the "My Life In Ruins" in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The film stars Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss, and was directed by Donald Petrie. "Given the wildly enthusiastic audience response, we are thrilled to be distributing the film," Fox Searchlight Pictures President Peter Rice said in a statement. The film is scheduled to be released in 2009. [Peter Knegt]  
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iW NEWS | Paramount Launches Worldwide Acquisitions Group; Brodlie Heading Unit

Unveiling a centralized studio acquisitions arm, Paramount Pictures has announced the creation of the Paramount Worldwide Acquisitions Group. Paramount Pictures International (PPI) president Andrew Cripps and Paramount Vantage president Nick Meyer announced that SVP Matt Brodlie will lead PWAG, reporting to Cripps and Meyer on all PPI productions and acquisitions, and to newly appointed EVP of Production and Acquisitions Guy Stodel on possible Vantage projects. Stodel also reports to Cripps and Meyer, following the recent departure of Amy Israel. Rounding out the acquisitions team's top tier are Los Angeles-based VP Joe Matukewicz, executive director Ben Cotner, and director Mary John Frank, London-based VP Berenice Fugard and director Alexei Boltho, and director level exec Karen Adler in France. In the words of an announcement this afternoon, "The new group will be responsible for acquiring films for distribution and seeking co-production opportunities around the world. These acquisitions, co-productions, and local productions will be focused initially in the territories where Paramount currently has direct distribution: UK, France, Spain, Australia, Japan and Latin America." [Eugene Hernandez] 
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FILMMAKER | '08 Edition: 25 New Faces of Independent Film

The tenth annual list of 25 New Faces of Independent Film has been unveiled by Filmmaker Magazine. On the list for 2008 are: Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo and Zachary Lieberman (online series: "The West Side"), E.E. Cassidy ("We Are the Mods"), Encyclopedia Pictura (Bjork's "Wanderlust" video), Jesse Epstein ("Wet Dreams & False Images"), Shana Feste ("The Greatest"), Barry Jenkins ("Medicine for Melancholy"), Myna Joseph (short film: "Man"), Eric Latek ("Sweet Dreams"), Julia Leigh (screenwriter, "The Witness"), Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (short film: "Sikumi"), John Magary ("Blood Abundance"), Aasif Mandvi ("7 to the Palace," and The Daily Show), Bent-Jorgen Permutt ("Lumo"), Oren Peli ("Paranormal Activity"), Jennifer Phang ("Half-Life"), Tom Quinn ("The New Year Parade"), Dee Rees (short film, "Pariah"), Daniel Robin (short film, "my olympic summer"), Mark Russell (visual effects: "Sleep Dealer," "Synecdoche, New York"), Joshua Safdie ("The Pleasure of Being Robbed"), Tariq Tapa's ("Zero Bridge"), Matt Wolf ("Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell"), Christina Voros (short film: "The Ladies"), Benh Zeitlin's (short film: "Glory at Sea"), David and Nathan Zellner ("Goliath"). "The people on Filmmaker's '25 New Faces' list are not only innovators we believe will be impacting tomorrow's film scene, but they're also artists engaged in a vital re-think of what it means to be independent today," said film producer and Filmmaker's editor in chief Scott Macaulay, in a statement. A full list of the 265 people on the list over the years is available on the Filmmaker Magazine site. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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iW NEWS | Oscilloscope Gets Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy"

North American rights to Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy," from this year's Cannes Film Festival, have been acquired by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's upstart distribution company Oscilloscope Pictures. The film, starring Michele Williams, will have its theatrical debut in December at New York City's Film Forum. The story of a woman and her dog who are sidetracked in Oregon while en route to Alaska, the film is based on Jonathan Raymond's short story Train Choir. David Fenkel of Oscilloscope Pictures negotiated the acquisition of the film with Tanja Meissner of Memento Films International, with producers Neil Kopp and filmscience's Anish Savjani. The company is anticipating awards season attention for Michelle William's acclaimed performance in the film's lead role. [Eugene Hernandez]  
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iW NEWS | Rhode Island Fest Announces 289 Films

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) has announced 289 feature length, documentary and short films to be screened over a six-day period. This year's Festival will showcase cinematic work submitted from 53 countries. RIIFF will present 58 World Premieres and 41 US Premieres. Following months of adjudication and review, Festival films have been selected from a whopping entry base of 3,000 submissions. FIlms include Ed Gass-Donnelly's "This Beautiful City," David Oliveras' "Watercolours," Tom Gustafson's "Were The World Mine," Stefan Forbes' "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story," Sue Williams' "Young and Restless in China," Jeffrey Schwarz's "Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story," and Paul H-O and Tom Donahue's "Guest of Cindy Sherman." Check out full programming here. "It's a pretty sensational year for us," said RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall in a statement. "We have films from all over the world that our audiences will definitely enjoy. They're not just going to be popcorn entertainment. We have some very thoughtful pieces that will inspire, and hopefully encourage audiences to take action." RIIFF also announced that actor Richard Jenkins will receive The George M. Cohan Ambassador Award. The Festival runs August 5-10, 2008.  
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iW NEWS | Four Companies Get Dutch Hubert Bals Fund

Dutch companies Isabella Films, IDTV Motel Films, Waterland Film and Volya Films have been selected to receive 50,000 euros each from the Hubert Bals Fund Plus programme, an initiative of the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Netherlands Film Fund. The Dutch producers will coproduce four films from Costa Rica, China, Mexico and Kyrgyzstan. The 'Hubert Bals Fund Plus' programme, initiated in 2006, aims to "promote international involvement of Dutch producers with films already supported by Rotterdam's Hubert Bals Fund." [Peter Knegt]  
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VAR | Ebert, Roeper exit the balcony

Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper are officially leaving their movie review show "At the Movies," with Ben Lyons from E! and Ben Mankiewicz from Turner Classic Movies -- the sons of notable industry figures -- set to take over, according to Variety's Anne Thompson. 
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iW NEWS | Here!/Regent Get "Tru Loved"

Here! Networks has announced a theatrical and worldwide sales deal for Stewart Wade's "Tru Loved," which closed Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival tonight (Monday) in Southern California. The story of a teen moved to a conservative SoCal commmunity by her lesbian moms, the film follows the girl's friendship with a closeted high school football player and her founding of a campus gay-straight alliance. "We are honored to bring Stewart Wade's accomplished and transformative second feature to U.S. audiences this fall," said the Regent's Mark Reinhart, in a statement. "'Tru Loved' falls squarely into our company mission by offering us an opportunity to showcase emerging talent while providing entertainment that fosters change and creates understanding around important real-life issues facing LGBTQ youth and their families." The film was produced by BrownBag Productions and stars Najarra Townsend, Alec Mapa, Bruce Vilanch, Nichelle Nichols, Jasmine Guy, Alexandra Paul, Cynda Williams, Jake Abel, Matthew Thompson and Jane Lynch. Here! Films' Regent Releasing will release the movie in theaters this fall. [Eugene Hernandez] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Queer Cinema ]

iW NEWS | "Were The World Mine" Leads Outfest Winners

Festival coverage sponsored by Stella Artois.

Outfest 2008 announced its 14 annual film competition awards last night at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. 17 "Outie Awards" were handed out upon selection by grand juries, festival audiences and the Programs Committee. Tom Gustafson's "Were The World Mine," which indieWIRE profiled, won the Grand Jury Award for outstanding U.S. dramatic feature, while Lucia Puenzo's "XXY" won for international dramatic feature, Daryl Wein's "Sex Positive" won for documentary feature, and Tye Olson ("Watercolors") and Nicole Bilderback ("The New Twenty") won for acting. "Watercolors" also won the audience award for outstanding first dramatic feature. Other audience awards went to Andrew Fleming's "Hamlet 2" for dramatic feature and Carolyn Coal's "A Place To Live" for documentary feature. The Programs Committee awarded David Assmann and Ayat Najafi's "Football Under Cover" the Outfest Freedom Award, Matt Wolf the artistic achievement award for "Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell," and Dave O'Brien the emerging talent award for directing "Equality U." The awards ceremony was followed by the Los Angeles premiere of "Were The World Wine." [Peter Knegt] 
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iW NEWS | Fortissimo Gets "Native Dancer"

Fortissimo Films has announced a deal for Guka Omarova's "Native Dancer." Written "Mongol" director Sergei Bordov, the film is the story of a spiritual healer from Kazakhstan. Set for a fall festival debut, the movie was co-produced and financed by The CTB Film Company, The National Studio "Kazakhfilm", Kinofabrika GmbH and Les Petites Lumieres. The deal was brokered between Fortissimo Co-Chairmen Wouter Barendrecht and Michael J. Werner and producers Sergey Selyanovfrom CTBwith Natacha Devillers from Les Petites Lumieres.  
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HR | Cinetic Launching Finishing Fund

Cinetic Media is launching a multimillion-dollar film finishing fund, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The trade paper reported that the fund, for projects in various states of completion, is backed by Aver Media. 
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WRAP-UP | indieWIRE Acquired by Snag Films

Last Thursday, we announced that indieWIRE has been acquired by Ted Leonsis' new startup, SnagFilms. In addition to the press release, we published a letter to our readers with additional background. Variety reported on the deal with a comprehensive story. Links to additional coverage follows: Hollywood Reporter | Filmmaker Magazine | PaidContent | All These Wonderful Things | Thompson on Hollywood | The Circuit | Cinematical | IDA | Spout | Digital Media Wire | GMD Studios | Google Blog Search  
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iW NEWS | Weekend Estimates: "Transsiberian" Leads

Brad Anderson's "Transsiberian" led the specialty-focused iW BOT over the weekend, according to indieWIRE Box Office Tracking (iW BOT) estimates from Rentrak this afternoon. While "The Dark Knight" was breaking every record imaginable, opening to $155.3 million, First Look's "Transsiberian" managed to take in an impressive $35,216 from 2 screens in its first weekend, averaging $17,608. Just behind it was the third weekend of Guillaume Canet's "Tell No One," which continues to hold up very nicely. The Music Box Films release averaged $7,440 from 55 locations, taking in $409,181 and moving its total to $1,065,284. Jonathan Levine's "The Wackness" averaged $4,435 from 34 houses in its third weekend, a decent number but another big drop for the Sony Pictures Classics release. The other notable opener was Julian Schnabel's "Lou Reed's Berlin," which grossed $7,650 on 2 screens for Third Rail Releasing, for a $3,825 average. indieWIRE will publish its weekly box office column Monday night and final weekend numbers for specialty and limited release films on Tuesday. Get the latest in the indieWIRE Box Office section. [Peter Knegt] 
[permalink]   [ filed under Biz ]

HR | Harvey and Bob hone their act

Among the highlights of Gregg Goldstein's Hollywood Reporter profile of Harvey and Bob Weinstein is the characterization of their new Third Rail label, apparently The Weinstein Company's division for lower profile releases. "We should have had Third Rail two years ago," Harvey Weinstein told HR, "because it's a good way of differentiating between what we really believe in, and what has been for ancillary value." In the article, the Weinstein brothers also reflect on the state of the business, talk about their new deal with Showtime and the executive shuffle at the company. 
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