India’s first charity film directed by M. Padmakumar has got another global prestigious accolade before its theatrical release. Multiple songs from the movie are now in the contention for nominations in the Original Song Category for the 88th Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences today announced that 74 songs from eligible feature length motion pictures released in 2015 are in contention for nominations in the category.
‘Bhoomiyilenganumundo..’, ‘Kooduvaykkam..’, ‘Yaathra Manoradhamerum’ and ‘Pakalppathichari’ are the songs from Jalam that are competing for a nomination in the category. Lyrics for these songs are penned by Dr. Madhu Vasudevan and National award winning music director Ouseppachan composed the tunes that perfectly sink with the mood of the movie.
Jalam, is produced by Aries Group. The movie’s cast includes Priyanka Nair, Jain Syriac, Prakash Bare, Sethulakshmi and P. Balachandran. Jalam movie revolves around a young woman who struggles to own a piece of land to live in. “We are all happy with the Academy’s announcement, with this, we will be heading forward to the nomination campaign for Oscars”, said Mr. Sohan Roy, the producer and CEO of Aries Group while responding to the declaration made by the Academy.
Prior to its release, Jalam has been screened at the All Lights India International Film Festival which held at Kochi. Screened in a packed theatre, the film had earned rave reviews among the national and international delegates at the festival.
With having a total of four songs selected by the academy, the movie Jalam raises India’s hope at the Oscar race for nominations in the original song category.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 14, 2016.
This year’s Eye Catcher International Film Festival is scheduled from November 12- 15, 2015 at McAlester, OK. The film festival is widely touted to be one of the fastest growing film events in the country, and the number of spectators who are part of this program is getting increased year by year. The recent news from the corner is regarding the selection of ‘DAM 999’ in this year’s screening list.
‘DAM 999’, the Hollywood movie directed by Indian Filmmaker Sohan Roy has been selected for screening in this year’s Eye Catcher International Film Festival. The movie which showcased an emotional story in the backdrop of an outdated dam has been the hottest festival property from the date of its release, and it is still continuing its dream run in International Film Festival circuit.
‘DAM 999’ is a movie which is blessed with an ensemble star cast. The film stars Joshua Frederich Smith, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vimala Raman, Rajit Kapoor and Linda Arsenio in the lead roles. Biz TV network headed by the director himself has produced this movie.
The movie stirred up many controversies upon its release in India in 2011. Many people claimed that this movie is based up on the sensational Mullaperiyar issue (a tiff between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, two Indian states), and as a result, the film was banned from screening in Tamil Nadu.
The movie’s screenplay was added to the permanent core collection in Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and this clearly indicates the top notch nature of this flick.
Eye Catcher Film Festival screens all kinds of movies which include, Documentaries, Short Films, Full Feature Films, Micro Shots, Scripts and music videos in their festival. The festival organizers are quite confident about the reach of the festival this year, as they have tried their best to make it impeccable in all means.
The 62nd Pula Film Festival concluded in Croatia on Saturday. Pulas Best Croatian Film of the year award has been given to Dalibor Matanics The High Sun.
Since The High Sun is one of the best received Croatian productions in years, the award has been anticipated by almost all movie buffs .The film also had won rave reviews upon its premiere in Cannes in May.
The High Sun won seven prizes at Pula, including the critics award. It won the Grand Golden Arena for Best Festival Film, and the jury said it chose the film that has the ability to reach out to the viewers with its message through the great articulated narrative structure and the original actors performances.
The film also won: Golden Arena for Best Director for Dalibor Matanic; Golden Arena for Best Actress for Tihana Lazovic; Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actress for Nives Ivankovic; Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actor for Dado Cosic; and Golden Arena for Best Costume Design for Ana Savic Gecan.
Croatian society of film critics also awarded The High Sun with its Octavian prize.
Director Dalibor Matanic said: I am very happy for the Best Director award; however I am most happy about three awards that went to my actors in the film.
Yesterday, the The High Sun was the triumph of the audience in the Arena, and today it is the triumph of jury.
Other prizes
In other prizes, the Golden Gate of Pula, voted by the audience, went to We Will Be The World Champions directed by Darko Bajic.
The Golden Arena for Best Feature Film in the International programme went to Next to Me, directed by Stevan Filipovic (a special mention went to Koza).
The Diploma for Best Film in Neighbours and Friends programme went to Koza, directed by Ivan Ostrochovský.
The best film in the Student Programme was Moonless Summer by Stefan Ivancic.
Vuk Rumovics No Ones Child won best film and best director, and best actor for Denis Muric in Croatian Minority Co-Productoin section.
Best Croatian film Debutant was Helena Buljan in You Carry Me, and Josip Mlakic won best screenplay for Ungiven, Pula offered two new programs this year, Neighbors and Friends and the Student Programme.
The festival this year has benefitted from an improvement in quality in the Croatian feature section, says artistic board member Mike Downey, and there is real quality in the documentary films.
However, it is in the International sections and the Friends and Neighbours section that the festival has really hit the mark and got some form and is giving the festival, once very weak in these areas areas, a boost not only in world class films but the number of people filling our cinemas.
Anna Muylaert’s The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?) has been chosen to to open the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival on August 14.
Brazilian director Muylaert will be in attendance at Sarajevo’s impressive open air theatre for the screening of the film, in which the estranged daughter of a live-in housekeeper suddenly appears, breaking down unspoken class barriers that exist within the home.
The film debuted at Sundance in January where actors Regina Casé and Camila Márdila picked up the Special Jury Prize. It went on to win the Panorama Audience Award at Berlin in February and the jury prize for best screenplay at RiverRun.
Sarajevo has also announced that Dagur Kári’s Virgin Mountain (Fusi) will close the festival on August 22.
Kári will present the screening alongside lead actor Gunnar Jónsson, who plays a 43-year-old that still lives with his mother and whose monotonous daily routine is turned around by a new arrival.
Jónsson won best actor at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, where Kári also won best screenplay and the film picked up best narrative feature. It went on to win the audience award at CPH:PIX.
As previously announceed, Benicio Del Toro will attend the Open Air screening of Fernando León de Aranoa’s A Perfect Day, which first played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. He will be accompanied by co-star Feđa Štukan.
Before the screening, on August 20, Del Toro will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award, the festival’s highest accolade.
Other Open Air screenings include Jacques Audiard’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Dheepan, with actors Jesuthasan Antonythasan and Kalieaswari Srinivasan in attendance.
Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic and actor Danny Huston will present drama Tigers, alongside writer/producer Andy Paterson, producers Cat Villiers and Čedomir Kolar, and DoP Erol Zubčević.
Ognjen Sviličić’s These Are The Rules (Takva Su Pravila) will also screen with the director and cast at the Open Air theatre.
Also showing in the Open Air strand are Woody Allen’s Irrational Man, Jonathan Demme’s Ricki and the Flash, and Cannes Best Screenplay winner Chronic, with director Michel Franco in attendance.
Jerusalem Film Festival’s Sam Spiegel Intl. Film Lab Jury chaired by Kristen Niehuus, general director of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg has announced its two prizes to a pair of socially and politically relevant projects ‘Darkroom’ and ‘The Death of Black Horses’
Israeli film-maker Itamar Alcalay’s feature debut Darkroom, follows a young gay Armenian man forced into an arranged marriage, has won the top $50,000 prize at the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab’s pitching event.
The Death Of Black Horses by Kurdistan’s Ferit Karahan, a story of family intrigue in a Kurdish village during the First World War, clinched the second prize of $20,000.
The two prizes were donated by the Beracha Foundation.
Budgeted under $ 1 Million, Darkroom is produced by Amir Harel and Ayelet Kait of Tel Aviv-based Lama Films.
Set in a down-at-heel neighbourhood near the central bus station in Tel Aviv, it revolves around the relationship between hot-blooded Armenian Artium, his lover Amir and a free-spirited girl to whom Artium is married-off by his family.
The Death Of Black Horses is Karahan’s second film after The Fall From Heaven, which premiered at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and won the best first film at the Ankara International Film Festival last year.
Gabriele Oricchio of Rome-based ADV Agencies, who produced Karahan’s first feature, is producing The Death of Black Horses.
Jury chairwoman Kirsten Niehuus, said the jury had been impressed by the level of all the scripts and chose to award the prizes to passionate writer-directors with a special urgency, a unique voice and artistic courage.
Other members of the jury included Arte France Cinéma general director Olivier Pere, Oscar-winning producer Ewa Puszczynska and director and former lab participant Laszlo Nemes.
As well as the jury prizes, Paris based Digital District post-production studio gave a $28,000 (€25,000) award to Israeli’s Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun for Aya, a feature-length version of their Oscar-nominated short.
Becoming a strong contender in International Film Festival circuit is not easy for any movie, and things would not be that smooth if the movie is released almost four years back. But ‘DAM 999‘, the movie directed by Sohan Roy has broken all traditional misbeliefs about an Indian director’s movie in the International market, and the film is still continuing its dream run. Recently, the film got selection at the Global Independent Film Awards,United States, and this clearly proclaims the global dimension of the movie irrespective of the time.
The Global Independent Film Awards is one of the growing online film festivals which aims to recognize filmmakers and artists for their excellence. An award from this corner will really turn out to be another feather in the crown for ‘DAM 999‘.
This festival will not screen movies, but they will announce the winners on the event date which is on January 2nd – 3rd 2015. The festival gives awards in 72 categories, and this makes it one of the biggest online award platforms in the world.
‘DAM 999‘ is touted to be the first Hollywood movie produced and directed by an Indian group. The movie showcases a very emotional story in the backdrop of an endangered dam. The ancient Indian concept of Navarasas are also depicted to perfection by the director with nine different actors. Ayurveda and its prominence in the modern world is also discussed in the movie.
The film stars big names like Ashish Vidyarthi, Vimala Raman, Rajit Kapoor, Vinay Rai and Joshua Frederic Smith in the lead roles. Biz TV Network has produced this movie.
Japanese character and lifestyle business Sanrio is planning to launch a Hello Kitty movie for global release in 2019
Estimated cost for the project is $162m to $ 242cm including production and advertising. Rehito Hatoyama, Sanrio’s acting manager director has been appointed as the new CEO of the US unit that will carry out the project, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
The company is also considering other character properties to star in films as well, with a dedicated fund likely to be established for these projects.
Sanrio’s other iconic characters include My Melody and Little Twin Stars, which are both celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year and will be at the upcoming Comic-Con.
Hello Kitty turned 40 last year.
In January, Sanrio also sold film rights to its Mr. Men and Little Miss characters to Fox Animation.
US-based FUNimation Entertainment has taken up North, Central and South American rights to upcoming Japanese dark fantasy live- action manga adaptation Attack On Titan from Japanese studio Toho.
The film which has two parts is directed by Shinji Higuchi.’ Attack on Titans’ will receive its world premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July14. Shinji Higuchi will make a visit to San Diego Comic-on July 12 , two days ahead of the world Premiere.
Haruma Miura and Kiko Mizuhare, the two stars of the film are also expected to attend the world premiere along with the director Shinji Higuchi.
Toho is releasing the two parts of the film on Japan on August 1 and September 19, 2015.
The Attack On Titan manga has sold more than 50 million copies and inspired four spin-off manga, as well as a 25-episode anime series, which FUNimation simulcast and released on home video in North America.
The story follows a world where most of humanity has been destroyed by giant humanoid creatures called Titans and the last of mankind fights to survive behind three concentric walls that were once impenetrable to the giants.
Series creator Hajime Isayama worked directly with the film’s producers to create the live-action adaptation.
“Attack On Titan is truly a worldwide phenomenon and we are excited to bring the live action movie to theatres across the Americas later this fall,” said FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga.
The Los Cabos International Film Festival initiative will present five awards at this year’s event, set to run from November 11-15 in Mexico.
A Cabos In Progress jury will select a winner from six Mexican documentary or fiction films at post-production stage in need of financing. The chosen project will receive $10,000.
Meanwhile FOX+ will offer $30,000 for broadcasting rights to one of the films and guarantee airtime on its channels in Latin America and the Caribbean, excluding Brazil.
For the second consecutive year the Chemistry prize will present a $45,000 post-production award.
Under the auspices of the Los Cabos Goes To Cannes Prize, four films from all projects enrolled in the section will take part in the 2016 Marché du Film and show their work to industry attendees.
The Los Cabos International Film Festival will cover transport expenses while the Marché du Film will provide industry accreditation.
For the third consecutive year the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund Prize will award two projects $52,000 each in post-production services provided by Labodigital.
The deadline for feature project submissions is July 31.The picture that accompanies this article is taken from the 2015 edition’s official trailer.
As part of the Cabos Discovery scheme for projects in development from Mexico, the US and Canada, festival brass have partnered with the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) under the latter’s No Borders international co-production market. One project from Cabos Discovery (Cabos Discovery Meetings and the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund) will be selected to participate in co-production forums and/or industry meetings held by the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI), Strategic Partners, Cine Link-Sarajevo Film Festival and IFP. One project from each of IFP, TFI, Strategic Partners and the Sarajevo Film Festival will take part in the Cabos Discovery Meetings.
For the first time in the festival’s four-year history the International Federation Of Film Critics will present a FIPRESCI prize. A three-member jury will select the best film from the México Primero official selection for first-time and second-time filmmakers. Festival director Alonso Aguilar-Castillo said the involvement of the critics group bolstered Los Cabos’ goal of becoming “the most influential platform for international take-off [of] Mexican cinema.”
The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film goes to Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years.The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival has gone to Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, which received its UK premiere at the festival.The film follows an eldery married couple (Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay) in the five days leading up to their forty-fifth wedding anniversary. After the body of the husband’s first love is discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps, their relationship becomes strained.
The award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film was shared between James Cosmo for his performance in The Pyramid Texts and Charlotte Rampling for her performance in 45 Years.The Michael Powell Jury, which also awarded the main acting prize, was chaired by LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan.
The award for Best International Feature Film went to Marielle Heller’s The Diary of A Teenage Girl (USA), which received its UK Premiere at EIFF, while Special Mentions in the category were given to Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s The Stanford Prison Experiment and J. Davis’ Manson Family Vacation.
Best Documentary Feature Film prize was awarded to Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack (USA).
Scrapbook, directed by Mike Hoolboom, won The Award for Best Short Film and Special Mentions went to Juliana Bao’s performance in Maruani Landa’s Cipriani and Ahmet Simsek’s performance in Jannis Lenz’s Shadowboxer.
Voted for by the audience, The McLaren Award for Best New British Animation, supported by the British Council, went to Stems by director Ainslie Henderson.
The Student Critics Jury Award went to Black Mountain Poets, directed by Jamie Adams.
The EIFF Audience Award, voted for by the public, will be announced at Sunday’s Closing Gala, which concludes the 12-day festival with the world premiere of Scott Graham’s Iona.
The Michael Powell Jury said of 45 Years: “We’re delighted to present the Michael Powell Award for best British feature. This year it goes to a quietly explosive film which represents classic filmmaking at its best. This is a measured yet provocative film, a masterclass in understated acting that was the unanimous choice of the jury.”
Director Haigh added: “This is a real honour and made even more special when you consider the list of British films that have won before. All you can hope for when you make a film is that it resonates with people and that is why receiving an award such as this feels so fantastic.”
Full list of winners:
Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film: 45 Years (Andrew Haigh)
Best Performance in a British Feature Film: James Cosmo (The Pyramid Texts) and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
Best International Feature Film: The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Marielle Heller)
Best Documentary Feature Film Award: The Wolfpack (Crystal Moselle)
The McLaren Award for New British Animation: Stems (Ainslie Henderson)
Student Critics Jury Award: Black Mountain Poets (Jamie Adams)
Best Short Film: Scrapbook (Mike Hoolboom)