|
|
| New Releases | In The Works | Catalogue | Acquisitions | Home Entertainment | News | |
|---|
Strong Foreign Titles for IFCThe films are diverse and unique but have ony thing in common; quality. IFC has no quota to fill in the aquisition department and no output deals whatsoever so we can afford to be very picky and choose only the films we love and are willing to put all our efforts into when distributing. These are some of the highlights:
Cabin Fever - Summer 2003Writer and director: Eli Roth. Cast: Jordan Ladd, Rider Strong, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern and Arie Verveen. US 2002 A huge hit at Toronto where it played at the Midnight Madness programme. Lion’s Gate ended up buying world rights for a healthy sum and is releasing the film in the US in August on ca 1500 prints.Eli Roth actually got the idea for the film in Iceland 10 years while staying at a horse farm and getting a curious skin disease from 20 year old hey. Eli lived here with his parents for some time as a teenager and is very fond of Iceland, stills speaks a little Icelandic and remembers all names of places and people. Eli will visit Iceland for the premiere of his film to promote the movie. The plan is to do Q&A’s with the Icelandic audience, talk to the media, visit the place where he got the decease etc. Eli even has the glass container for the pills he got for the disease, of course in Icelandic with dates and everything. http://www.liquiddesign.biz/cabinfever/ http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=13625
Sweet Sixteen – September 2003Directed by: Ken Loach. Written by Paul Laverty. Cast: Martin Compston and more – UK/2002 Liam is a young, restless teen struggling to realize his dream in the gritty and dismal streets of Glasgow, where unemployment is rampant and little hope is available to the city's youth. He is waiting for the release of his mother, Jean, from prison where she is completing a prison term for a crime that her boyfriend actually committed. Her boyfriend, Stan, is a crude and obnoxious drug pusher is partnered by Liam's equally rough and foul-mouthed, mean-spirited grandfather. Liam is determined to rescue his mother from both of them, which means creating a safe haven beyond their reach. But first he's got to raise the cash--no small feat for a young man It's not long before Liam and his pals' crazy schemes lead them into all sorts of trouble. Finding himself dangerously out of his depth, Liam knows he should walk away. Only this time, he just can't let go. A remarkable film by one of the most respected filmmakers of our time. Martin Compston, who will next bee seen in NICELAND by our very own Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, makes an unforgettable debut. Compston was nominated as best actor at Cannes 2002. http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=10083&st=sweet+sixteen&s=3
Ken Park – Summer/Fall 2003Larry Clark & Ed Lachman - USA/Netherlands/France – 2002 "Every film festival needs its success de scandale, and who better than http://www.larryclarkofficialwebsite.com/ http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=9332&st=ken+park&s=3
Fuehrer Ex – Fall 2003Director: Winnfried Bonengel. Written by: Winnfried Bonengel, Ingo Hasselbach, and Douglas Graham. Based on the novel "Füehrer-Ex: Memoirs of a former Neo-Nazi" by Ingo Hasselbach. "A courageous German film showing how the origins of the neo-Nazi party are to be found, at least in part, in the repressive politics of former East Germany, "Fuehrer Ex" should get automatic attention from audiences tuned in to headline news. But far from exploiting the violence of its subject, director Winfried Bonengel convincingly dramatizes the way two East Berlin boys are drawn into the neo-Nazi camp. Their harrowing story is based on Bonengel and Ingo Hasselbach's book "Fuehrer EX: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi" (the memoirs are Hasselbach's.) What cools pic off is its long central section set in prison, in which it turns into a familiar genre piece featuring male rape, solitary confinement, escape attempts, etc. Nevertheless, pic has sufficient strength to be one of the top German entries this year, with a ripple effect beginning at fests and spreading into theatres." – Deborah Young, Variety
City of God (Cidade de Deus) – fall 2003Kátia Lund & Fernando Meirelles – Brazil – 2002 Highest grossing foreign film of the year in USA. Brazil, 1960's, City of God. The Tender Trio robs motels and gas trucks. Younger kids watch and learn well...too well. 1970's: Li'l Ze has prospered very well and owns the city. He causes violence and fear as he wipes out rival gangs without mercy. His best friend Bene is the only one to keep him on the good side of sanity. Rocket has watched these two gain power for years, and he wants no part of it. Yet he keeps getting swept up in the madness. All he wants to do is take pictures. 1980's: Things are out of control between the last two remaining gangs...will it ever end? Welcome to the City of God. "’City of God’ delivers a bruising, visceral experience of the vicious spiral of violence that draws kids into a life of crime, brutality and murder as the only avenue open to them. Director Fernando Meirelles’ background in commercials is evident in the drama’s highly developed visual aesthetic, giving it a slickness that’s almost disconcerting and to some degree glamorises the dirt-poor favela setting. But the impressive filmmaking craftsmanship and sharp storytelling skills make this two-hour-plus epic fly by and could push it beyond art house ghettos to find broader urban acceptance. Pre-sold worldwide, the Brazilian pic was acquired by Miramax for the U.S., U.K. and much of Latin America. Adapting the novel by Paulo Lins, who grew up in the Cidade de Deus favela and based the story on actual events and characters, screenwriter Braulio Mantovani has condensed the mammoth 600-page tome into key chapters, titles of which appear onscreen, and split the action into three specific periods: the late 1960s, the 1970s and the early ’80s." – David Rooney, Variety http://www.cidadededeus.com.br/
Magdalene Sisters – September 2003Peter Mullan – UK/Ireland – 2002 Winner at Venice Film Festival and Discovery price at Toronto. Ireland in the sixties: Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their more or less sinful behaviour: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a pre-marriage child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishments. Some of the inmates develop countermeasures, while others perish under the treatment. "While recent media exposure has shone an unflattering light on the hypocrisy and immorality in the priesthood and the Catholic Church, "The Magdalene Sisters" delivers a further slap in the face to the theocratic institution, indignantly exposing one of its more perverse routes to salvation. A significant advancement of qualities evident in actor-turned-director Peter Mullan's flawed but admirable debut, "Orphans," this drama about a shocking reality from recent history balances a light touch with searing intensity and a sense of moral outrage." – David Rooney, Variety "Shocking true events are transformed into a powerful and moving human drama in The Magdalene Sisters. The second feature from writer-director Peter Mullan, the film is an angry cry from the heart rendered all the more effective by its restraint and burning sense of injustice at the evils perpetrated in the name of God. The combination of controversial subject matter, excellent performances and Mullan’s growing international reputation should help build an audience for a small, serious-minded endeavour, especially in territories where the church still holds a grip on the life of the nation. It will have to fight for a commercial foothold but Mullan’s award-winning Orphans (1998) was a surprisingly robust box-office performer and festival screenings at Venice (where it premiered in competition), Toronto, Cork and New York should help build critical support before it is released in Ireland in October by Momentum Pictures (which also release in the UK during the early part of 2003)." – Allan Hunter, Screen.
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0318411
Whale Rider - Fall 2003Director and writer: Niki Caro. Based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera. New Zealand 2002. Won the audience price both Toronto 2002. One young girl dared to confront the past, change the present and determine the future. The legend is that Paikea rode on the back of a whale and led his people to New Zealand. Since that time tradition has decreed that the first-born male descendant will become chief of the tribe. Then Pai is born...and she is a girl. She grows up within a close-knit village which retains the tribes traditional spiritual relationship with the sea and their warrior values. Although loved by all, Pai faces rejection from her grandfather who is broken-hearted that there is no grandson to carry on the line. But Pai is indeed blessed with the spiritual and leadership qualities of her ancestors and, in her own way, struggles in a male-dominated world to prove herself to her grandfather, the chief, and win his respect. Then the community is forced to come together in order to save a pod of whales that is stranded on its beach. Pai's spiritual affinity with the whales and her courage finally proves that she is the true leader of her people..... "Whale Rider deftly melds in a spirited package a portrait of contemporary rural Maori life with a tale from its rich mythology. Avoiding the overt sentimentality that often mars coming-of-age tales, this New Zealand-Germany co-production offers something for every age group without pandering to the youngest. At the film’s core is sensational newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes, as the spiritual keeper of her tribe’s founding myth. She certainly charmed audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival where the film received the AGF People's Choice Award. The prize no doubt influenced recently-launched distributor Newmarket Films, which this week acquired all North American rights. Other territories are sure to snap up this treasure for these ecologically-correct times: it’s good and it’s good for you." - Denis Seguin in Toronto for Screen International http://www.whaleriderthemovie.com/
Bollywood/Hollywood - Winter 2003Written and Directed by: Deepa Mehta – Canada – 2002 Cast: Lisa Rye and more. A wonderful and fynny musical comedy from Canada which has broken all box office records in it’s home country, by the one and only Deepa Mehta.
Pure -Winter 2003Director: Gillies MacKinnon. Writer: Alison Hume. – UK, 2002, 96min. Cast: Harry Eden, Molly Parker and David Wenham. "An exceptional performance from child actor Harry Eden provides the heart and soul of Pure, an unflinching portrait of the unbreakable bond between a drug-addicted mother and her loving son. Returning to territory familiar from his work on award-winning television projects like Needle and The Grass Arena, director Gillies MacKinnon has crafted a sincere, well-acted human interest drama that studiously avoids sentimentality." Allan Hunter in Toronto for Screen International.
Motorcycle Diaries - Winter 2004Director: Walter Salles (Central Station, Behind the Sun) and starring: Gabriel García Bernal (Amores Perros, And Your Mother Too, The Crime of Father Ammarro). Based on the journals of Che Geuvara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s. http://us.imdb.com/Title?0318462
Party Monster - Winter 2003Directed and written by: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato - USA Macauly Caulkin, Chloe Sevigny, Lucy Liu, Natasha Lyonne, Dylan McDermott, Seth Green, Marilyn Manson and more. This is the true story of Michael Alig (Culkin), a Club Kid party organizer whose life was sent spiralling down when he bragged on television about killing his drug dealer and roommate (Cruz). Filmmakers Bailey and Barbato made a documentary on the same subject in 1998. The film marks the return of child star Culkin who hasn’t been seen since Richie Rich in 1994 and has surely never been like this before. http://www.partymonster.com/ |
News Latest News
News
World Sales Rights for FALCONS signed to Bavaria |
| Icelandic Film Corporation - Tel: +354 551 2260 - Fax: +354 552 5154 | About us | Contact US | |