News

France TV Distribution has acquired “Furcy,” an epic film inspired by the true story of a slave in a French colony who was able to achieve legal emancipation prior to the definitive abolition of slavery.

“Furcy” is directed by Abd Al Malik, whose debut feature “May Allah Bless France!” won the Discovery prize at Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for a Cesar Award.

The part of Furcy is played by Makita Samba, who had a lead role in Jacques Audiard’s “Paris 13th District,” which competed at Cannes. The rest of the cast comprises Romain Duris (“The Animal Kingdom”), Ana Girardot (“The House”) and Vincent Macaigne (“Bonnard: Pierre & Marthe”). The script was written by Etienne Comar (“Django”), based on the book by Mohammed Aissaoui.

Set in 1817 on the Bourbon Island, the epic film tells the story of an enslaved man, Furcy, who stumbles upon a letter of emancipation...

Actor, writer and director Lutz and producer Didar Domehri reflect on bringing the film to the big screen.

Studiocanal has inked deals in key European territories for Alex Lutz’s twisty romantic drama Strangers By Night (Une Nuit) following its Cannes premiere as the closing night film of Un Certain Regard.

The Paris-set love story, written by and starring Lutz opposite Karin Viard, has sold to Wanted in Italy, Lusomundo in Portugal, Scanbox in Scandinavia, Kino Swiat in Poland, Mars Films in Turkey, Arthouse in Ukraine, O’Brother in Benelux and will be released by Studiocanal in Germany. Studiocanal will release...

Mathieu Amalric on the coat worn by Shirley Knight in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People and the one on Vicky Krieps: “That’s the reference. I told that to Caroline Spieth, the costume person.”

Mathieu Amalric’s terrific Hold Me Tight (Serre Moi Fort), based on the play Je Reviens De Loin by Claudine Galéa, shot by Christophe Beaucarne and starring Vicky Krieps and Arieh Worthalter was a highlight of the 74th Cannes Film Festival and New York’s 27th edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. In the first instalment with Mathieu we discussed his films on John Zorn, thoughts on Robert Musil, Thomas Bernhard, Jerry Lewis, and going to Rome to film with Nanni Moretti Il Sol Dell'avvenire.

Mathieu Amalric (Je Reviens De Loin by Claudine Galéa) with Anne-Katrin Titze on Vicky Krieps as Clarisse: “As you said, she does the film. Her character is the projectionist,...

Etienne Comar, a well-established French producer and screenwriter who made his directorial debut with the Berlinale opener “Django” in 2017, is stepping back behind the camera for the prison drama “A L’ombre des filles.”

The movie, which will soon begin shooting, is headlined by a top-notch European cast including Alex Lutz (“Guy”), Agnès Jaoui (“The Taste of Others”), Veerle Baetens (“The Broken Circle Breakdown”), Hafsia Herzi (“Mektoub My Love”) and Marie Berto (“Grand Central”).

Set over a summer, the film follows Luc, a renowned singer who agrees to give singing lessons in a women’s prison. Quickly, Luc will have to deal with their unpredictable temperaments and keep them in harmony throughout the various prison dramas.

“A l’ombre des filles” is being produced by Didar Domehri at Maneki Films and Comar at Arches Films, and is co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart and Gwenaëlle Libert at Versus Production in Belgium. Playtime...

The film stars Catherine Frot as a homeless woman who takes a lost Burkinabe boy under her wing.

Memento Films International (Mfi) has unveiled pre-sales on Claus Drexel’s French-language drama Under The Stars of Paris starring Catherine Frot, ahead of its market premiere at Unifrance’s Rendez-vous with French cinema in Paris this weekend.

The Paris-based sales company has pre-sold the film to a slew of European territories including Switzerland (Jmh distributions), Denmark (41 Shadows), Portugal (Outsider Films), Greece (Spentzos) and Bulgaria (6A Media).

It has also been acquired for Brazil (A2 Filmes), Mexico (Alamedia), China (QC Media), Taiwan...

Wallonia’s regional investment fund is backing eight new projects: three feature films, four series and one Vr project. In its final session for 2019, Wallimage has pledged support to 8 new audiovisual projects, including A l’ombre des filles, the new film by Etienne Comar (Django), as well as a number of series in the making. A l’ombre des filles will tell the story of an opera singer who, deciding to take a break in his career, makes the most of his free time to give singing lessons to prison inmates. In so doing, Alex Lutz will find himself faced with a series of strong women, starting with Veerle Baetens, Agnès Jaoui and Hafsia Herzi. The film is produced in France by Maneki Films, and is co-produced in Belgium by Versus Productions. Wallimage will also lend support to the new title by Austrian filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky (Oscar-nominated in 2007 for The.

François Ozon on By The Grace Of God (Grâce À Dieu): “It was important to show the complexity of all these characters.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

François Ozon’s timely and relevant By The Grace Of God (Grâce À Dieu), shot by Manuel Dacosse (Jean-François Richet’s The Emperor Of Paris) edited by Laure Gardette, and costumes by Pascaline Chavanne, stars Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet and Swann Arlaud with Aurélia Petit, Josiane Balasko, Éric Caravaca, Martine Erhel, François Marthouret, Bernard Verley, Amélie Daure, Hélène Vincent, Max Libert, Nicolas Bauwens, Zuri François, Timi-Joy Marbot, and Zéli Marbot.

Alexandre Guérin (Melvil Poupaud) and François Debord (Denis Ménochet) with Gilles Perret (Éric Caravaca)

In the second half of my in-depth conversation with the director/screenwriter we discuss the complexity of the characters who are struggling to come to grips with memories from the past and the importance of the flashbacks in telling the story.

Chicago – The art masters, and the masterpieces they have created, become a background culture in our lives… even if we don’t necessarily know the artist. Paul Gauguin is one of those painters-as-cultural-influencer, and a vital point in his artistic life is told in the film “Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Vincent Cassel – best known to American audiences in “Ocean’s Twelve” (and “Thirteen”) – dives into the role of Paul Gauguin like a man possessed, and in many ways this was Gauguin’s most obsessive period. He left everything behind as a French painter to find his “artistic” self in Tahiti, and as many great masters do, paid the price. The story is fascinating and frustrating, much like the artist himself, but doesn’t project an understanding to the artist’s inner life or the Tahitian natives around him. This works as a lesson in being an artist over everything else,...

Pnp to release in Canada, partners with Tva Films for French-speaking regions.

Pacific Northwest Pictures (Pnp) has acquired Canadian rights from Elle Driver to Eva Husson’s Cannes selection Girls Of The Sun.

Golshifteh Farahani and Emmanuelle Bercot star in the story of an all-female Kurdish battalion commander, and the French journalist who bears witness to the battalion’s actions.

Didar Domehri produced Girls Of The Sun and Etienne Comar, Vladimer Katcharava, Jospeh Rouschop, Dan Wechsler, and Jamal Zeinal Zade served as co-producers.

Pnp plans a theatrical release and is partnering with Tva Films for distribution in French-speaking Canada.

“It...

Two of France’s major film companies, Curiosa and Playtime, are teaming up to launch Curious Times, a production label dedicated to premium scripted drama. Under this label, the two Paris-based companies will produce French and European TV projects.

The first project to be developed under the Curious Times banner is “War Photographer,” a mini-series based on the life of the legendary photographer Robert Capa, who lived through three wars and was a witness to all key events of the 20th century.

“War Photographer” was created by French director Gilles Bourdos (“Renoir”) and Israeli screenwriter Yaron Seelig (“Matter Of Time”).

Curious Times is currently developing a slate of high-profile projects with well-established filmmakers, in line with the auteur-driven approach of both Curiosa Films and Playtime.

The two companies previously collaborated on several films, including Claire Denis’s critically-acclaimed “Let the Sunshine In” with Juliette Binoche which opened Cannes’s Directors’ Fortnight last year.

Django Director: Etienne Comar Written by: Etienne Comar, Alexis Slako, adapted from Alexis Salatko’s novel “Folles de Django” Cast: Reda Kateb, Cécile de France, Bea Palya, Bimbam Merstein, Gabriel Mireté, Vincent Frade, Johnny Montreuil Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 12/30/17 Opens: January 5, 2018 Overlooked by most of the world, which believe that only Jews […]

The post Django Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

John Oliver has wrapped up another season of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, and he made sure to go out with a powerful bang on the November 12 episode. The Emmy winner devoted the entirety of the season finale to a segment analyzing the year since Donald Trump’s election and the many ways the current President of the United States has destroyed America and its values.

Read More:John Oliver Rips Into Donald Trump For Calling Colin Kaepernick a ‘Son of a B*tch’

“Let’s pull back from the daily Trump-induced chaos and take a look at the norms his Presidency has violated,” Oliver said at the top of the show, “and not the obvious ones like the fact that he never released his tax returns or that his own daughter and son-in-law work in the White House, although admittedly I an using the word ‘work’ there so generously...

Domestication: It’s not for everyone. In Marianna Palka’s latest film, “Bitch,” the concept of the domestic drama is gleefully upended, thanks to a natty twist on what it means to be expected to act a certain way. The filmmaker and actress stars in the film as beleaguered housewife Jill Hart, who snaps after her suburban existence is ruined by revelations that her dum-dum husband (Jason Ritter, playing hilariously against type) is cheating on her, all while their kids run roughshod over her.

Jill takes this domestication thing to crazy ends, literally assuming the psyche of a vicious dog, one who doesn’t care — and doesn’t have to — about the demands of her thankless life. While Bill and the kids attempt to manage this entirely unforeseen situation, Jill basically runs wild in the basement, finally free to give into her own worst impulses and be the bitch she’s always wanted to be.

In Nazi-occupied France, lauded musician Django Reinhardt — considered by many to be the first “guitar hero” — had two strikes against him: he was a jazz musician and he was a Gypsy. The Nazis loathed both groups, and in 1933, made that hatred part of the fabric of their government, banning banning most jazz (after over a decade of general suppression) and barring Gypsies from living in cities, instead forcing them into settlement camps.

Ten years later, Reinhardt was still able to find success at his art, but his beloved city of Paris was under Nazi control and the walls were starting to close in. That’s where Etienne Comar’s heartbreaking biopic “Django” opens, carrying its eponymous subject through an unbelievable story of survival, one bolstered by a love of art and creativity that no fascist regime could snuff out. The film opened the Berlin Film Festival this year, and is...

Reda Kateb met Ben Mendelsohn on the set of Ryan Gosling's sharp Lost River Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Wim Wenders has played a big part for Reda Kateb with films Paris, Texas, The State Of Things, Buena Vista Social Club, and The Soul Of A Man and he recently starred with Sophie Semin in Les Beaux Jours D'Aranjuez, based on a Peter Handke story and appears in Wim's latest, Submergence, starring James McAvoy and Alicia Vikander. Longtime Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis, who is featured in Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth's 20,000 Days On Earth and is the composer for Deniz Gamze Ergüven's Mustang, got involved with Étienne Comar's Django through Reda's film Pitchoune.

Cave and Ellis did work for David Oelhoffen's intimate Loin Des Hommes, in which Reda starred opposite Viggo Mortensen. His next film, Territoires, will be with Alice Winocour's Disorder star Matthias Schoenaerts,...

Reda Kateb enjoys playing Django Reinhardt for director Étienne Comar Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema lunch, hosted by uniFrance, Reda Kateb gave me the connection between David Oelhoffen's Loin Des Hommes with Viggo Mortensen at the Venice Film Festival and meeting longtime Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis there, which led to composing for Reda's film Pitchoune and to Warren creating a requiem for Étienne Comar's Django.

Over really good coffee and delicious gelato at Robert De Niro's Locanda Verde in Tribeca, Reda told me about discovering Bimbam Merstein with casting director Stéphane Batut, insights with Cécile de France, spending one year in preparation, and Django Reinhardt's monkey Joko in the film.

On Django Reinhardt (Reda Kateb): "I didn't have an idea of him but I wanted to be him."

Django, based on the novel by Alexis Salatko, chronicles a crucial time...

Nicole Garcia to her producer Alain Attal on Milena Agus's novel Mal Di Petra: "Tell me if the rights are free or not!" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

After attending the morning press preview for Agnès Varda's exhibition at Blum & Poe, organized by Olivier Renaud-Clément, I walked over to Le Parker Meridien to meet with Nicole Garcia for a conversation on From The Land Of The Moon (Mal De Pierres), co-written with Jacques Fieschi and starring Marion Cotillard, Louis Garrel and Alex Brendemühl. Shot provocatively by Christophe Beaucarne (Étienne Comar's Django, which stars Reda Kateb with Cécile de France; and Jacques Doillon's Rodin, with Vincent Lindon in the title role) with costumes by Catherine Leterrier, Garcia's film carefully chisels out something about women growing up in the 1950s, claiming themselves.

Marion Cotillard as Gabrielle in Mal De Pierres

Gabrielle (Cotillard) lives with her parents and sister in the post-war French countryside.

At the bar with Nocturama director Bertrand Bonello Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

After being seated next to Django director Étienne Comar and Reda Kateb (who portrays Django Reinhardt) at the uniFrance Locanda Verde lunch, I had a conversation with Bertrand Bonello on his latest film. Nocturama, shot by cinematographer Léo Hinstin, edited by Fabrice Rouaud, costumes by Sonia Philouze with music by Bonello. It has an ensemble cast that includes Finnegan Oldfield, Vincent Rottiers, Hamza Meziani, Manal Issa, Martin Petit-Guyot, Jamil McCraven, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laure Valentinelli, Ilias Le Doré, Robin Goldbronn, Luis Rego, Hermine Karagheuz, and Adèle Haenel.

Finnegan Oldfield as David in Nocturama Photo: Carole Bethuel

When I spoke last year with Thomas Bidegain on Les Cowboys about actor Finnegan Oldfield, who stars in both his and Bertrand's film, he told me that Nocturama was being edited the day of the Bataclan attack in Paris.

Nocturama, a highlight of...

If you’re looking for something related to Sergio Corbucci or Quentin Tarantino, one will have to keep searching. Rather, Django tells the story of famous musician Django Reinhardt as he flees from a German-occupied Paris in 1943. Premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival as its opener, the first trailer has now landed for Etienne Comar‘s drama starring Reda Kateb (A Prophet, Zero Dark Thirty) ahead of a release in France this spring.

We said in our review, “this drama about an artist who – at first – ignores the rise of far-right fascism in Europe (“who I play to is of no concern” Reinhardt argues) proves, by its close, an effective warning of the troubles of collaborationists and appeasers to society’s malignant forces. While it’s narratively unadventurous and its characters are undeveloped, this debut by French director Étienne Comar does have the ring of prescience, and is all the better for it.

Below you will find our favorite films of the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival, as well as an index of our coverage.Awardstop PICKSGiovanni Marchini CamiaI.On the Beach at Night AloneII.Bright NightsIII.Ulysses in the Subway, The Other Side of Hope, The Party, El Mar La Mar, Railway Sleepers, UntitledYaron DahanI.El Mar La MarII.The Other Side of HopeHave a Nice DayIII.On Body and SoulCOVERAGEGiovanni Marchini CamiaRead | How Political Is the Berlinale?: On Berlin's Critics' Week and Étienne Comar's DjangoRead | Family Dinners and Parisian Hotels: On Oren Moverman's The Dinner and Neïl Beloufa's OccidentalRead | Getting Better—and Funnier: On Aki Kaurismäki's The Other Side of Hope and Sally Potter's The PartyRead | Chromesthetic Delirium and Documentary Spontaneity: On Marc Downie, Paul Kaiser, Flo Jacobs & Ken Jacobs' Ulysses in the Subway and Michael Glawogger & Monika Willi's UntitledYaron DahanRead | Elemental Poetics: On J.

At lunch with Reda Kateb, who plays Django Reinhardt in Étienne Comar's Django Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Étienne Comar's (co-screenwriter of Xavier Beauvois' Of Gods And Men, producer of Abderrahmane Sissako's Timbuktu) directorial debut, Django, starring Reda Kateb and Cécile de France with Alex Brendemühl (who is also in Nicole Garcia's Mal De Pierres), was the opening night film of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York.

Django (not to be confused with Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, which starred Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz, or Franco Nero's Django films) is based on the novel by Alexis Salatko, with a score by longtime Nick Cave collaborator Warren Ellis, costumes by Pascaline Chavanne, and shot by Christophe Beaucarne on the life of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Étienne Comar with Cécile de France and Reda Kateb Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Étienne brought up Madeline Fontaine,...

Cécile de France stars in Étienne Comar's Django Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

On the opening night of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York, Cécile de France who stars with Reda Kateb (as Django Reinhardt) in Étienne Comar's Django, spoke with me about costume designer Pascaline Chavanne, Man Ray's muse Lee Miller as the inspiration for her character, Lauren Bacall, Edward Hopper and Claude Miller's Un Secret.

Reda Kateb plays Django Reinhardt Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Django, based on the novel by Alexis Salatko, chronicles a crucial time period in world-famous jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt's life and simultaneously sheds light on the hypocrisy and contradictions at the core of Nazi policies. Admired for his musical genius, Reinhard, because of his Romani background, also was a target of the regime. In 1943, Django was a star in Paris and received an invitation by Goebbels to come play in Berlin.

Class of 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema opening night Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Pictured above from left to right are: Frantz's François Ozon, uniFrance General Director Isabelle Giordano, Reda Kateb and Cécile de France, stars of Django, a highlight of the festival, Mal De Pierres' Nicole Garcia, Django's Étienne Comar, Réparer Les Vivants' Katell Quillévéré, composer Martin Wheeler for 150 Milligrams and Sólveig Anspach's L'Effet Aquatique, Planetarium's Rebecca Zlotowski, La Fille De Brest's Emmanuelle Bercot, and in the front row, Florence Almozini, Associate Director of Programming for the Film Society of Lincoln Center with Agnès Varda for the Opening Night of the 22nd edition of New York's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema on March 1 at the Walter Reade Theater.

Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at the Film Society of Lincoln Center Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Jérôme Salle’s The Odyssey (L'Odyssée) starring Lambert Wilson as Jacques Cousteau with Audrey Tautou...

For the twenty-second year in a row, The Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance have lined up a sparkling slate for their Rendez-Vous with French Cinema screening series, which aims to showcase “the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking.” This year’s programming, including the selected films, panels, and events, includes a special focus on the myriad of ways that French culture influences the arts in America, and vice-versa.

The lineup features 23 diverse films, comprised of highlights from international festivals and works by both established favorites and talented newcomers. The series runs from March 1 – 12.

Read More: Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Exclusive Trailer: Annual Series Celebrates the Very Best in Contemporary French Cinema

Ahead, check out the 6 titles and events we are most excited to check out at this year’s screening series.

“Frantz”

Screwball comedy master Ernst Lubitsch took a rare stab at straight drama with 1932’s “Broken Lullaby,...

As the film-business-crowds move through meetings designed to meet all sorts of movie-related objectives in this vast mix of people, and the movie-going public lines up for films in the Competition, Out-of-Competition, Panorama, Forum and Retrospectives; and families attend the Generation series, some for kindergarteners and others for preteens and some for those 14 and up, and as the constant exchange of ideas continues, there is lots of buzz, mostly positive about the Hungarian Competition film “On Body and Soul”.“On Body and Soul” by Ildikó Enyedi

Buzz continues the next day both pro and con about Oren Moverman’s Competition film, “The Dinner” which is definitely a must-see for each to decide on one’s own response to it. As Scott Roxborough in The Hollywood Reporter says, it “looks like just the political dish the times demand.” Produced by Caldecot Chubb, the script was originally to be written by Moverman for Cate Blanchett to direct.

Marion Cotillard stars with Alex Brendemühl and Louis Garrel in Nicole Garcia's From The Land Of The Moon (Mal De Pierres) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

New York's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema opens with Étienne Comar’s biopic Django, starring Reda Kateb (Wim Wender's Les Beaux Jours d'Aranjuez) as Django Reinhardt with Cécile de France (Catherine Corsini's Summertime) and closes with Jérôme Salle’s The Odyssey (L'Odyssée) starring Lambert Wilson as Jacques Cousteau with Audrey Tautou and Pierre Niney (Jalil Lespert's Yves Saint Laurent).

Emmanuelle Bercot, Stéphanie Di Giusto, Caroline Deruas, Sébastien Marnier, Marina Foïs, François Ozon, Nicole Garcia, Katell Quillévéré, Justine Triet, Rebecca Zlotowski, Marc Fitoussi, Bertrand Bonello, Julia Ducournau, Christophe Honoré, Antonin Peretjatko, and Martin Wheeler are expected to attend.

La Danseuse (Soko, Lily-Rose Depp, Gaspard Ulliel, Mélanie Thierry); Nocturama (Finnegan Oldfield); Frantz (Paula Beer, Niney), and From The Land Of The Moon (Mal De Pierres - Marion Cotillard,...

The first time I went to the Berlin Film Festival, the city was existentially cold, cottoned in fog, and grayer than “Wings of Desire.” And I loved it. I had just been laid off and my personal life was mired in one of those brutally unsolicited periods of self-reflection, so a jet-lagged week in the grim heart of Europe was just what the doctor ordered.

That was the year of titles like “Boyhood,” the frigid Chinese neo-noir “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” and an Estonian drama about a film critic who loses his newspaper job — and then his mind — after filing a two-word review of “The Tree of Life.” (“Fuck you.”) I bundled up and walked by the Reichstag, spent a few nights on the east side of town, and tried most of the brews at the House of 100 Beers, a flavorless, three-tiered tourist trap near the center of the festival...

For the twenty-second year in a row, The Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance have lined up a sparkling slate for their Rendez-Vous with French Cinema screening series, which aims to showcase “the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking.” The series runs from March 1 – 12. This year’s programming, including the selected films, panels, and events, includes a special focus on the myriad of ways that French culture influences the arts in America, and vice-versa.

Read More: ‘Django’ Review: Etienne Comar’s Django Reinhardt Biopic Dazzles Despite Striking a Few Flat Notes — Berlinale 2017

The series will open with the North American premiere of Étienne Comar’s “Django,” starring Reda Kateb as the legendary jazz musician and Cécile de France, and will close with the U.S. premiere of Jérôme Salle’s “The Odyssey,” with Lambert Wilson as explorer Jacques Cousteau and co-starring Audrey Tautou and Pierre Niney.

This year...

Django. © Roger ArpajouThe Berlinale is the most political of the big film festivals. This claim is repeated ad nauseam every year, not least by the festival itself. But is it justified? What does it even mean for a film, for a festival to be political? These were two of the questions put forward in the organizers’ opening speeches at last night’s launch of the Berlin Critics’ Week, an independent program of screenings and subsequent discussions that runs in parallel to the Berlinale. Born as a staunchly cinephilic counterpart to the heavily commercialized main event, the Critics’ Week has made impressive strides in the two years since its inception. The quality of the program has improved each year, and the attendance numbers have risen accordingly. The launch of the inaugural edition had been a modest affair held in a medium-sized cinema, whereas last night’s event took place in a...

It appears there’s been a conscious effort to de-glamorise this year’s Berlin film festival, rid of the star wattage that recent opening-night films have brought (The Grand Budapest Hotel and last year’s Hail, Caesar! to name two). Instead, in light of the unremitting dread that seems to now pervade Western politics, program director Dieter Kosslick has chosen Django, a relatively low-key biopic of jazz artist Django Reinhart set in World War II to start proceedings. It’s a curious choice, but this drama about an artist who – at first – ignores the rise of far-right fascism in Europe (“who I play to is of no concern” Reinhardt argues) proves, by its close, an effective warning of the troubles of collaborationists and appeasers to society’s malignant forces. While it’s narratively unadventurous and its characters are undeveloped, this debut by French director Étienne Comar does have the ring of prescience,...

“For Ahkeem” follows the story of Daje Shelton, a 17-year old girl who ends up in a court-supervised alternative high school after getting into a fight at her school. She’s from a tough St. Louis neighborhood, but realizes she wants a better future for herself and is committed to turn her life around.

But staying focused on school proves to be a challenge for the eleventh grader, who loses multiple friends to gun violence. She also falls in love for the first time; his name is Antonio. Daje gets pregnant and is faced with the harsh reality of having to raise her son under the same rough circumstances she grew up in. The story takes place just as the Ferguson conflict is erupting a few miles down the road.

Read More: Sony Pictures Classics Acquires ‘A Fantastic Woman’ — Berlin 2017

The documentary film is helmed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers Jeremy S. Levine...

Lineup and Pre-Festival Announcements and News

Paul Verhoeven to Serve as Berlin Film Festival Jury President

Berlinale 2017 Will Premiere ‘Logan,’ ‘Trainspotting: T2,’ and Hong Sangsoo’s Latest

Berlin Film Festival Adds ‘Golden Exits’ and ‘Menashe’ to 2017 Line-Up

Pre-Festival Analysis

Berlinale 2017: 8 Must-See Films At This Year’s Festival

Shia Labeouf, Rooney Mara and More: 10 Hot Projects at Berlin’s European Film Market

Berlin Film Festival Adds ‘Golden Exits’ and ‘Menashe’ to 2017 Line-Up

Reviews

‘Django’ Review: Etienne Comar’s Django Reinhardt Biopic Dazzles Despite Striking a Few Flat Notes — Berlinale 2017

‘Barrage’ Review: Isabelle Huppert Acts Against Her Daughter In Laura Schroeder’s Movingly Delicate Family Drama — Berlinale 2017

‘The Dinner’ Review: Steve Coogan and Richard Gere Are Enraged Siblings in Oren Moverman’s Intense Family Drama — Berlinale 2017

Interviews Features and Analysis Events

‘T2: Trainspotting’: Danny Boyle and His Reunited Cast Bring Film to Berlin for Live Press Conference — Watch...

If Grumpy Cat is the blockbuster franchise of cat videos, “Kedi” is the “Citizen Kane” of the genre. Though technically a sophisticated, artful documentary from Turkish filmmaker Ceyda Torun, “Kedi” will automatically find devout fans among anyone who delights at all things feline. (I’m an unapologetic member of that club.) Shot throughout the streets of Istanbul, the movie takes the inherent appeal of its subject and goes beyond the call of duty.

Cat lovers may be content with a mashup of feline faces bounding around the city, but hell, YouTube’s got that covered. “Kedi” isolates the profound relationship between man and cat by exploring it across several adorable cases in a city dense with examples. The result is at once hypnotic and charming, a movie with the capacity to elicit both the Omg-level effusiveness of internet memes and existential insights. Torun interviews a variety of locals about their bonds with the creatures,...

Another trans documentary, another disappointment. Following the release of National Geographic’s tone-deaf “Gender Revolution: A Journey With Katie Couric,” YouTube Red presents “This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous,” a lifestyle portrait of transgender YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous that also misses the mark, this time from two-time Oscar winning director Barbara Kopple.

Multi-faceted and charming transgender characters are beginning to populate narrative film and television: “Orange is the New Black,” “Transparent,” and “Tangerine” have all placed transgender people at the center of their own narratives, in stories that move beyond transition and into the rest of their lives. As queer filmmakers push beyond hackneyed coming-out narratives, trans stories (and those wishing to tell them) have the added responsibility to reject the public’s fascination with medical transition. However, despite a wealth of fascinating trans stories to choose from, commercial documentaries are lagging behind.

Read More: ‘Gender Revolution’ Review: Katie Couric Means Well,...

Update with details of the opening-night ceremony: The Berlin Film Festival kicked off tonight with the world premiere screening of Django, French director Etienne Comar’s movie about guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt and his flight from Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943. It is a movie that is fitting for Berlin, a traditionally political-tinged festival. That was evident in the red carpet arrivals leading up to the screening at the Berlinale Palast in Potsdamer Platz…...

The thing about fascism is that it forces people to figure out who they are; it’s us vs. them, and anyone who tries to feign indifference or bury their head in the sand is only ceding ground to the armies of violence. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,” goes Edmund Burke’s famous maxim, but how — in the face of such monstrous villains — could men who do nothing possibly be thought of as good?

Perhaps it’s a matter of semantics, but the movies would seem to argue that it’s more accurate to say “All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do something.” Oskar Schindler, to pick but one famous example, was not a good man until the empirical reality of genocide goaded him into becoming one. A more subtle (though perhaps more...

He jammed for the Nazis and aided the resistance, but this tale of guitar genius Django Reinhardt’s war falls flat due to slack tempo and poor characterisation

The fire, the attack and the thrilling energy of Django Reinhardt’s music are disconcertingly absent from this high-minded and heavy-footed movie based on the 2013 novel Folles De Django by Alexis Salatko, a fictional take on Django’s wartime experiences as a Belgian-born Romani in occupied France; the screenplay is co-written by Salatko and the film’s first-time director, Étienne Comar – known until now as the writer-producer who worked on Of Gods and Men (2010).

Django electrified audiences with his jazz guitar genius, and was tolerated by Nazis who, despite their loathing of “monkey music”, saw that his celebrity and hugely popular concerts could be used to pacify and divert a defeated population.

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Author: Stefan Pape

Opening the Berlinale this year, and in somewhat surprising circumstances, is Django – which marks the a debut for Etienne Comar, as the renowned producer – behind two of the finest foreign language films in recent years in Timbuktu and My King – takes his seat in the director’s chair for the very first time, to bring us the story of jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt.

Known to many as the father of ‘Gypsy Swing’, Django (Reda Kateb) reached the pinnacle of his success during the Second World War, playing to packed out crowds on a regular basis, wowing audiences in Paris alongside the Quintette du Hot Club de France. He was renowned not only for his innovation in his genre, but for his ability to play with just two fingers, having burnt his hand in a fire. Given his Romani ethnicity, Django was a target for the Nazis, though...

The Oscar for best animated short film may not generate nearly as much attention as other categories, but it strikes an exciting contrast with the more traditional forms of storytelling found throughout other categories.

These films usually celebrate animators from around the world — including a number of up-and-comers — who apply a range of visual techniques and sophisticated concepts only possible in the animated medium. This year is entirely North American, but still features a lot of different approaches — and yet, ironically, the frontrunner in the category is a very familiar name: Pixar.

Read More: 2017 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts Review: Humanity Prevails in This Politically Charged Group

Fortunately, the company’s latest short deserves the hype. Of course, just landing a nomination helps bring additional attention to these titles, and anyone seeking them out will discover an exciting range of experiences. While this isn’t the strongest list of nominees in recent years,...

Don’t let that title fool you: The second entry in the “Fifty Shades of Grey” cinematic trilogy is by no means a darker outing than its predecessor, and the franchise (already set to wrap up with a third feature in 2018) is all the better for it. Whipping up a proper tone for the big screen versions of E.L. James’ wildly popular novels was always going to be the films’ biggest problem, and while director James Foley might not quite nail it, wily injections of humor prove to be an unexpectedly helpful addition to the kinky franchise.

Picking up mere days after the events of Sam Taylor-Johnson’s 2015 “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Foley’s film quickly shifts gears away from the doom and gloom of the first film to give audiences something sexier, sillier and a fair bit soapier. After gliding through a series of literally tattered childhood memories that...

While the opening film of this year's Berlinale, a biopic about famed jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, might not sound like something with any overtly political tones, its director said Thursday that there are strong connections between the story and some of the most contentious topics in the current political debate.

Those include the refugee crisis and U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban.

"There are a number of parallels with our contemporary period," said Etienne Comar, who made his feature debut with Django, which chronicles the life of Reinhardt as a gypsy musician during the Nazi occupation of France.

"I wanted...

Starting today at 4:40Am Et/1:40Am Pt, you can watch a live stream of the Berlinale press conference featuring members of the fest’s distinguished international jury. President Paul Verhoeven is expected to attend the conference, as well as other members, including Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Julia Jentsch and Wang Quan’an.

The International Jury will decide who will receive the Golden Bear and Silver Bears of the 2017 Berlinale Competition.

Read More: Paul Verhoeven to Serve as Berlin Film Festival Jury President

You can find the full list of live stream options for the run of the festival right here, and check out the live stream for today’s jury press conference below.

The Berlin International Film Festival runs from January 9 – 19, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.

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T2 Trainspotting and Django make the cut, with only one American production – The Dinner – chosen for the festival’s competition

As Europe and the Us retreat from each other politically, European cinephiles are learning to cut back on Hollywood fare – with big Us productions strikingly absent from this year’s Berlin film festival, which opens on Thursday.

In past years, the German capital’s Berlinale has opened with star-studded Oscar contenders such as the Coen brothers’ Hail, Caesar! or Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. This year, the world’s biggest audience participation festival launches with the world premiere of a biopic of French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt – focusing on his family’s persecution in Nazi-occupied Paris – by little-known first-timer Etienne Comar.

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This past January, the 2017 Berlin Film Festival announced that its opening night film would be the world premiere of Etienne Comar’s “Django,” about famous French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and his struggles in German-occupied Paris. Now, ahead of opening night this Thursday, watch an exclusive clip from “Django” below.

Read More: 2017 Berlin Film Festival to Open With Etienne Comar’s ‘Django’

Set in France in 1943, Django Reinhardt delights Parisian audiences with his music despite numerous Romany people finding themselves the target of persecution and death from the the Nazi occupation forces. Though Reinhardt believes himself to be safe, soon Nazi propaganda agents demand he tour Germany in order to counteract the influence of “negro music” from the United States. When he refuses, he goes on the run with his pregnant wife and his mother only to find the Nazis are on his trail.

This is Comar’s debut feature film.

The Berlin Film Festival begins this Thursday, February 9, and will feature such premieres as Aki Kurasami’s “The Other Side of Hope,” Sally Potter’s “The Party” and Oren Moverman’s new psychological thriller “The Dinner,” about a claustrophobic double date gone completely awry.

Read More: 5 Exciting Films in the 2017 Berlin Film Festival Competition Lineup

The film follows Stan Lohman (Richard Gere), a well-known politician, who invites his brother Paul (Steve Coogan) and his wife Claire (Laura Linney) out to dinner at a hip restaurant. Though Paul reluctantly agrees to go, he’s stunned by Stan’s insistence that they air their dirty laundry, particularly a horrific crime their children have committed but has yet to surface. It co-stars Chloë Sevigny (“The Last Days of Disco”), Rebecca Hall (“Christine”), Charlie Plummer (“King Jack”) and Adepero Oduye (“Pariah”). Watch a trailer for the film below via EW.

This is Moverman’s fourth feature film,...

Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.

Lineup Announcements

– The Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance announce the complete lineup for the 22nd edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, the celebrated annual series showcasing the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking, March 1 – 12.

The lineup features 23 diverse films, comprised of highlights from international festivals and works by both established favorites and talented newcomers, including François Ozon’s Lubitsch adaptation “Frantz,” set after World War I; Bertrand Bonello’s “Nocturama,” a provocative exploration of a Paris terrorist attack carried out by young activists; Bruno Dumont’s oddball slapstick detective story “Slack Bay,” starring Juliette Binoche; Rebecca Zlotowski’s visually arresting “Planetarium,” with Natalie Portman as a touring psychic who catches the eye of a movie producer in 1930s Paris; and Jean-Stéphane Bron’s “The Paris Opera,...

Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve dramas join competition; TV dramas and Oleg Sentsov doc set to get world premiere.

The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.

Joining the festival in Out Of Competition berths are Stanley Tucci-directed Final Portrait and Catherine Deneuve drama Sage Femme.

James Gray’s The Lost City Of Z will have its interntional premiere while documentary The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov will have its world premiere.

Among TV world premieres are Amazon’s Patriot and BBC One’s SS-gb.

In total, 18 of the 24 films selected for Competitionwill be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.

For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year...

Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve dramas join competition; TV dramas and Oleg Sentsov doc set to get world premiere.

The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.

Joining the competition are

18 of the 24 films selected for Competition will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.

The Berlinale Special will present recent works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries, and extraordinary formats, as well as brand new series from around the world.

Berlinale Special Galas will be held at the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Zoo Palast. Other Special premieres will take place at the Kino International. Moderated discussions will follow the screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year. Audiences...

The Berlin Film Festival has announced that it will kick off its 67th edition with the world premiere of Etienne Comar’s directorial debut “Django,” according to Deadline.

The film, co-written by Comar and Alexis Salatko, is a biopic about the jazz legend Django Reinhardt. Starring Reda Kateb as the guitarist and composer, the film is set during Reinhardt’s flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943. As a beloved artist, he and his family were harassed and hounded by the Nazis. Cécile de France, Alex Brendemühl and Ulrich Brandhoff co-star.

Read More: 5 Exciting Films in the 2017 Berlin Film Festival Competition Lineup

“Django Reinhardt was one of the most brilliant pioneers of European jazz and the father of Gypsy Swing,” said Berlin festival director Dieter Kosslick. “‘Django’ grippingly portrays one chapter in the musician’s eventful life and is a poignant tale of survival. Constant danger, flight and the atrocities committed against...

The 67th Berlin International Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Etienne Comar’s jazz biopic “Django.” Comar’s directorial debut will also participate in the Berlinale’s official competition. The French film follows Django Reinhardt, the famous guitarist and composer, and his flight from German-occupied Paris in 1943. Within moments, this superb guitarist was able to reach people’s hearts with his instrument, the official description reads. Yet his family was harassed and hounded by the Nazis. “Django Reinhardt was one of the most brilliant pioneers of European jazz and the father of Gypsy Swing. ‘Django‘ grippingly portrays...