News

Italian shows on Netflix were never such a hit. Only a few weeks ago, Netflix released The Brigands, which failed to receive good reviews because of the haphazard screenplay. However, their venture into comedy was quite a success thanks to a brilliant show named Framed, an oddball comedy set in Sicily. Following the trope of Latin telenovelas, the brand-new Italian show The Life You Wanted, directed by Ivan Cotroneo, is about a fully transitioned woman dealing with her past, which could mess up her current relationships.

Spoilers Ahead

Why did Marina come to meet Gloria?

Gloria was a renowned photographer and one of the curators of a local museum who was used to running the place with the help of her assistant Eva. Gloria was assigned male at birth who had transitioned from Alessandro to a woman a couple of years ago. A heavily pregnant Marina showed up in front of Gloria,...

Oscar winner Roberto Benigni is attached to Paramount+ original Francesco Il Cantico, as the global streamer prepares to launch in Italy tomorrow with more than 8,000 hours of content.

Benigni will front the show, which is billed as “an immersive reading of one of the most iconic texts dedicated to love.” Its announcement came at a star-studded blue carpet event at the iconic Cinecittà Studios in Rome this evening, with Paramount+ still gathering pace following launches in countries such as the UK and South Korea.

Further production details of Francesco Il Cantico are understood to be following at a later date.

Also unveiled on the evening was a new season of comedy Vita Da Carlo, in which comedian and actor Carlo Verdone plays himself, revealing his difficult relationship with Italy’s capital Rome. Verdone also directs the show, which bills its plot as “showing the frugal private life of a man...

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Paramount+ will land in Italy on Sept. 15, Paramount Global confirmed Thursday, as it unveiled details of its new Italian service, one that could prove a major test of the studio’s streaming platform.

The Italian version of Paramount+ will feature a library of more than 8,000 hours of programming, including original series such as video game adaptation Halo, Sylvester Stallone crime drama Tulsa King and Taylor Sheridan’s highly anticipated Yellowstone prequel. The platform will also have third-party local originals, including new Brit series Sexy Beast, French thriller Mask: Marie Antoinette Serial Killer and German drama Simon Beckett’s Chemistry of Death.

From Italy, Paramount+’s titles will include Cicero, a true-crime drama set in 1970s Italy, from Gomorrah producers Cattleya, made in collaboration with Vis, Paramount+ and Rai Fiction; erotic drama 14 Days, a Paramount+ original from writer-director Ivan Cotroneo; and the thriller Corpo Libero,...

Streaming

Streamer Paramount+ will arrive Sept. 15 in Italy with some 8,000 hours of content spanning all genres at launch. Paramount originals available at launch include “The Offer,” “Tulsa King” and “Halo.” Upcoming originals include “1883,” Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” prequel; and “1923,” also from Sheridan, featuring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford in the next instalment of the “Yellowstone” origin story.

The selection of available Italian titles will include ‘Circeo,” the series produced by Cattleya in collaboration with Vis, Paramount+ and Rai Fiction which retraces the process following double murders in 1975; “14 Days,” a Paramount+ original Italian production, written and directed by Ivan Cotroneo, which tells the story of a couple forced into two weeks of seclusion; the “Corpo Libero” series, a co-production by Indigo Film and Network Movie, in co-production with ZDFneo, in collaboration with Rai Fiction and Paramount+, in association with All3Media International Limited: the thriller based on the novel by Ilaria Bernardini...

Amazon Studios has unveiled a new high-concept Italian original movie featuring pop star Laura Pausini, who recently collaborated with Diane Warren to perform the Oscar-nominated theme song “Io Sì” (Seen) for Sophia Loren-starrer “The Life Ahead.”

The still untitled film, which has begun shooting, is being helmed by Ivan Cotroneo, who is among Italy’s most innovative writer-directors, known for several hit Rai TV series such as “Crazy About Love,” which featured Bollywood-style musical numbers, as well as some indie feature films. Endemol Shine Italy is producing. The pic will drop exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 territories in 2022.

Pausini, who performs mainly in Italian and Spanish, is a 2006 Grammy Award winner for “Escucha” in the best Latin pop album category, one of 13 studio albums she has released, scoring more than 70 million album sales around the world.

She regularly tours internationally and has performed with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti,...

When Italian sales company True Colours launched from Rome’s Mia market five years ago, international prospects for cinema Italiano titles that were not directed by a handful of name auteurs, such as Nanni Moretti, Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino, had gotten rather dim.

Italian cinema was being sold around the world mostly by foreign sales outfits that had become the preferred global channel for many of Italy’s producers, partly because they provided minimum guarantees that helped close their budgets and that local sellers could not afford. The problem was that lots of exportable Italian product was being overlooked.

“There was a gap,” says veteran distributor-producer Andrea Occhipinti, head of Lucky Red. As a producer, Occhipinti adds, he was unhappy with how his movies were being handled internationally by non-Italian companies. So in 2015 Lucky Red joined forces with production company Indigo Film (“The Great Beauty”) and they formed True Colours.

A five-member jury will award a grand prize of €50,000 to help develop the winning show.

French TV festival and professional meeting Series Mania, running March 22-30 in the northern French city of Lille, has announced the 16 projects due to be pitched in co-production sessions taking place during its industry-focused Series Mania Forum (Mar 25-27).

The selection includes a number of projects from production houses, working both in film and TV.

Rome-based Indigo Film, best-known for its long-time collaboration with Paolo Sorrentino on films such as Academy Award-winning The Great Beauty and Loro, will present Gymnasts. The company’s past TV...

Italian sales company True Colours is launching sales in Berlin on new pics by Italian auteurs Mario Martone (“Capri Revolution”) and Guido Lombardi (“La-bas: A Criminal Education”). Both pics have ties to the city of Naples and are produced by Indigo film, the shingle behind Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty.”

Martone (pictured) is a veteran of both stage and screen whose “Capri, Revolution” competed in Venice last year. He has now finished shooting “The Mayor of Rione Sanità” a contemporary adaptation of the eponymous play by late Neapolitan playwright Eduardo De Filippo that delves into the complexities of the Camorra, as Neapolitan organized crime is known. Shot in crime-riddled areas of the city, the film is performed by a mix of professional and non-professional actors. Martone’s regular editor Jacopo Quadri, who is also known for his work with Gianfranco Rosi and Bernardo Bertolucci, is currently in final stages on the project.

Exclusive: Brisk business for Italian sales outfit at Efm.

Rome-based sales company True Colours struck multiple deals at this year’s European Film Market (Efm) for It’s The Law (pictured), One Kiss and Monolith.

Comedy duo Ficarra and Picone’s hit It’s The Law, about a village in Sicily that elects a straight-arrow professor as mayor, will be distributed in Latin America by Sun Distribution, in China by Hy Media, in Greece by Seven Films and in Bulgaria by Film Vision.

True Colours is also handling international remake rights for the film, which was produced by Tramp Limited and distributed in Italy by Medusa Film.

Ivan Cotroneo’s adult dramedy One Kiss, about three high school outsiders, was sold to Japan Italy Films and to Portugal’s Il Sorpasso. There were already deals in place for USA, UK (Tla), France (Optimale) and Germany (Pro-fun).

True Colours has also inked deals for English-language Italian thriller [link=tt...

Perks of Using the Star System: Tognazzi’s Tale a Tad Too Familiar

Maria Sole Tognazzi, daughter of famed actor/director Ugo Tognazzi, visits the mid-life crisis mode of the single female for her third feature, A Five Star Life. Featuring one of Italy’s most noted leading ladies, Margherita Buy, this rather reserved exercise feels far too buttoned up to make any lasting impression, genuine as everyone involved seems to be. The plotting, the scenario, and the eventual outcome are all far too familiar, (unique occupations aside) to register as anything more than standard cliché. Several subplots seem like a bid to pad out the running time rather than furthering the development of supporting characters.

A single, childless fortysomething woman, Irene (Buy) seems to have a dream job as a luxury hotel inspector. Sailing into extravagant lodges, she plays a mystery guest, ticking off demerits on the service and presentation.

A Five Star Life (Viaggio sola) Music Box Films Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: A- Director: Maria Sole Tognazzi Screenplay: Ivan Cotroneo, Francesca Marciano Cast: Margherita Buy, Stefano Accorsi, Gianmarco Tognazzi, Alessia Barela, Lesley Manville, Henry Arnold Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 6/30/14 Opens: July 18, 2014 A typical five-star hotel in the more expensive areas of Europe, Morocco and China would cost, figure, oh, $700 a night and up. And that doesn’t include the enormous tip that would be expected for your butler, assigned to you only, waiting in the hall at your beck and call with room service treats that, of course, [ Read More ]

The post A Five Star Life Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Miptv: New structure will be more active in co-productions. Current Rai Trade director Luigi De Siervo [pictured] to serve as CEO of new division.

Italian state broadcaster Rai is restructuring its sales division to create a new subsidiary bringing all its commercial activities under the same roof.

The new entity will cover all the areas traditionally covered by Rai Trade, including the domestic and international distribution of all Rai television and cinema productions, sports rights, licensing and music publishing.

In addition, it will also handle the digital rights of the slate of 01 Distribution, the distribution arm of the broadcaster’s feature film subsidiary Rai Cinema.

“The idea is to create a structure which is more flexible and can act more quickly while taking time to market Rai’s products… it will be in the vein of France Televisions Distribution, Zdf or BBC Worldwide,” Rai Trade’s head of cinema and TV international Mattia Oddone told ScreenDaily at Miptv...

Six emerging producers selected to join upcoming writers and support development of their stories.

After hosting a first module in August with 14 upcoming UK screenwriters, The Bureau’s Sos development programme is set to enter its second stage.

Six emerging producers have been selected to join the writers to support them during the development of their story – now at treatment stage - the aim being to fast track their own development experience while connecting with writers and writer-directors.

Selected Participants & Projects for Module II

Writers

Adam Dewar – The SafetyAl Mackay Mackay – The FarmAleem Khan – After LifeEd Hime – Last ChristmasJesse Quinones – Carlito Y JaneMatthew Knott – TrollOrhan Boztas - Twinelle

Producers

Amy BasilDavid AllainEmily MorganFarhana BuhlaJack TarlingJessica Levick

The newly selected producers includes Nfts graduates Jessica Levick and Emily Morgan, who have been active in producing shorts since leaving the school, and Jack Tharling, a Newcastle-based producer with more than 20 shorts to his credit and production experience, currently co-producing...

I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.

The International Rome Film Festival announces fifteen films playing in competition at the fest's 6th edition. From October 27-November 4, the Italian festival will open with Luc Besson's The Lady (out of competition), close with a digitally restored version of Breakfast at Tiffany's (marking its 50th anniversary), and in-between will showcase Leander Haubmann's Hotel Lux, Pål Sletaune's Babycall, Tanya Wexler's Hysteria, Juhn Jaihong's Poongsan, Fred Schepisi's The Eye of the Storm, Cédric Kahn's Une vie meilleure, Jaffe Zinn's Magic Valley, Sebastián Borensztein's Un Cuento Chino and Pawel Pawlikowski's La Femme du cinquièmen (The Woman in the Fifth), starring Kristin Scott Thomas (pictured). The four Italian films playing in competition are Ivan Cotroneo's La kryptonite nell borsa, Pupi Avati's Il cuore grande delle ragazze, Marina Spada's ...

Loose Cannons/Mine Vaganti

Director: Ferzan Ozpetek

Writtem by Ivan Cotroneo & Ferzan Ozpetek

Italy, 2010

Ferzan Ozpetek’s comedy drama Loose Cannons springs a few surprises – not least the long-forgotten voices of Spanish disco duo Baccara on the soundtrack. The dubious musical selections sound a jarring note in what is otherwise a witty and well-crafted tale of dysfunction within a bourgeois Italian family. To borrow that memorable last line from one of the greatest screen comedies: “Nobody’s perfect.”

Tommaso Cantone (Riccardo Scamarcio) and his elder brother Antonio (Alessandro Preziosi) are about to take over the reins of the family’s pasta business in southern Italy. But Tommaso, a writer who now lives in Rome, is determined to go his own way. He confides to his brother that he plans to come out to his relatives at an important dinner that evening. In the ultimate act of filial betrayal, Antonio steals...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/29, R, trailer)

Major Threats

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“The Ghost Writer” (Summit, 2/19, PG-13, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, R, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

Possibilities

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, PG-13, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/29, R, trailer)

“Alice in Wonderland” (Disney, 3/5, PG, trailer)

Best Director

Frontrunners

David Fincher...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, R, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, PG-13, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

Major Threats

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, R, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/29, R, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

Possibilities

“The Ghost Writer” (Summit, 2/19, PG-13, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, PG-13, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Alice in Wonderland” (Disney, 3/5, PG, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, R, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, PG-13, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, R, trailer)

Major Threats

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“The Ghost Writer” (Summit, 2/19, PG-13, trailer)

Possibilities

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, PG-13, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/29, R, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, R, trailer)

Outside Shots

“Somewhere” (Focus Features,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, PG-13, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

Major Threats

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, Nc-17, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, PG-13, trailer)

Possibilities

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/29, R, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, R, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

“The Ghost Writer” (Summit, 2/19, PG-13, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, R, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, PG-13, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, R, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, Nc-17, trailer)

Major Threats

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

Possibilities

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, R, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, R, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, R, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, Tbd, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, Tbd, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, Nc-17, trailer)

Major Threats

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

Possibilities

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, R, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, R, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, R, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, R, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, Tbd, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, Tbd, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, Nc-17, trailer)

Major Threats

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

Possibilities

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, R, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, R, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, R, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, PG-13, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, PG-13, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, R, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, PG-13, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, R, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, Tbd, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, R, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, Tbd, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, G, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, R, trailer)

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, R, trailer)

Major Threats

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, PG, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, Tbd, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, PG-13, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, PG-13, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, R, trailer)

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, Nc-17, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, R, trailer)

Possibilities

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, R, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, PG-13, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, PG-13, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, R, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, PG, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, PG-13, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features,...

Best Picture

Frontrunners

“The Social Network” (Columbia, 10/1, trailer)

“The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company, 11/26, trailer)

“Inception” (Warner Brothers, 7/16, trailer)

“127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight, 11/5, trailer)

“True Grit” (Paramount, 12/25, trailer)

“Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight, 12/1, trailer)

“Another Year” (Sony Pictures Classics, 12/31, trailer)

“Toy Story 3” (Disney, 6/18, trailer)

“The Fighter” (Paramount, 12/10, trailer)

“The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features, 7/9, trailer)

Major Threats

“Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions, 6/11, trailer)

“Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate, 12/17, trailer)

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Paramount Vantage, 9/24, trailer)

“Get Low” (Sony Pictures Classics, 7/30, trailer)

“Shutter Island” (Paramount, 2/19, trailer)

“How Do You Know” (Columbia, 12/17, trailer)

“Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions, 12/17, trailer)

“The Town” (Warner Brothers, 9/17, trailer)

Possibilities

“Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company, 12/31, trailer)

“Inside Job” (Sony Pictures Classics, 10/8, trailer)

“Love and Other Drugs” (20th Century Fox, 11/24, trailer)

“Secretariat” (Disney, 10/8, trailer)

“Hereafter” (Warner Brothers, 10/22, trailer)

“Somewhere” (Focus Features, 12/22, trailer)

“Made in Dagenham” (Sony Pictures Classics, 11/19, trailer)

“The Way Back” (Newmarket, 12/29, trailer)

Outside Shots

“Fair Game” (Summit, 11/5, trailer)

“Country Strong” (Screen Gems,...

Chicago – Critics don’t have any business reviewing films if they aren’t able to admit when they are wrong. I am here to freely admit that I was wrong about “I Am Love.” While it blindsided me at the European Union Film Festival, I detected certain glaring flaws in its plot during the film’s limited theatrical run, which seem to have evaporated upon its magnificent DVD release.

Yes, the film is an unabashed melodramatic romance at heart, requiring the viewer to buy into its less-than-credible flights of fancy. But as an experiment in pure cinema, the film is an extraordinary hybrid of the classical and contemporary. Love is depicted as nothing less than a force of nature, inspiring its central character to evolve into the person she was always meant to be. The film is about revolution rather than repression, and that is its stroke of genius, reflecting...

Rating: 3.5/5

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writer: Luca Guadagnino (story and screenplay), Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, Walter Fasano

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini

Studio: Magnolia Pictures

If there’s one thing the Italians are known for it’s their passionate nature for all matters concerning love, sex, food, and family. I don’t know if it’s because of all the Adriatic air, but the Italians are certainly an amorous people who strive to keep their decadent culture alive. The film I Am Love from director Luca Guadagnino is no different from this sentiment, as Guadagnino creates a swooning love letter to Italian culture and cinema through the story of a seemingly traditional family whose lives are turned upside down by an unexpected announcement that unleashes a quiet chaos throughout the entire family.

Read more on Theatrical Review: I Am Love…...

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Chicago – “I Am Love” is the type of visceral tone poem that requires its audience to feel more than think. As the end credits roll, viewers may find themselves going over the plot in their heads, and discovering its inherent shallowness. It’s only after we wake up from a dream that we discover just how silly or inexplicable it all was.

Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has created a romance so punch-drunk on passion that it forgets to tell a decent story. Any trashy romance novel available in the bargain box at Borders could probably tell a tale as complex and unpredictable as this one. Once the gears of the plot start grinding away, there’s no turning back. The melodramatic plot twists are a hoot, and threaten to derail the film into all-out lunacy toward the end. But this is one rare instance where a film’s style...

2010 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Awards

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When We Leave (Die Fremde), Dog Pound, Monica & David, And The Arbor Win Top Awards In Juried World Competitions

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More Than $150,000 Handed Out In Cash Prizes

[April 29, 2010 – New York, NY] –The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winners of its world competition categories tonight at a ceremony hosted at the W Union Square in New York City.

The world competition winners for narrative and documentary films were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 20 countries. Two awards were given to honor New York films, which were chosen from seven narrative and six documentary features. Awards were also given for the best narrative, best documentary and student visionary films in the short film competitions. This year’s Festival included 85 features and 47 short films from 38 countries.

Also announced at the awards were the...

The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival announced its winners Thursday night at a ceremony hosted at the W Union Square in New York City.

“The award winning films selected by the jury each features strong characters and subjects; these films challenge you to see the world from another perspective,” said Jane Rosenthal. “I wish all the filmmakers continued success and hope that they will bring their work back to Tribeca in the years to come.”

Following are the winners and their awards:

The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – When We Leave (Die Fremde), directed and written by Feo Aladag. (Germany).

Special Jury Mention: Loose Cannons, directed by Ferzan Ozpetek and written by Ferzan Ozpetek and Ivan Cotroneo.

Best New Narrative Filmmaker – Kim Chapiron for Dog Pound, written by Kim Chapiron and Jeremie Delon. (France).

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film – Eric Elmosnino as Serge Gainsbourg in Gainsbourg, Je t’Aime … Moi Non Plus,...

Sibel Kekilli in Feo Aladag’s When We Leave (top); Riccardo Scamarcio in Ferzan Ozpetek’s Loose Cannons (upper middle); Eric Elmosnino as Serge Gainsbourg, Lucy Gordon as Jane Birkin, in Joann Sfar’s Gainsbourg, Je t’Aime… Moi Non Plus (lower middle); Kim Chapiron’s Dog Pound (bottom) Tribeca 2010 Winners: When We Leave, Monica & David, Sibel Kekilli, Eric Elmosnino World Narrative Competition 2010 World Narrative Feature Competition Jurors: Hope Davis, Aaron Eckhart, John Hamburg, Cheryl Hines, John Ridley, Gary Ross and Gary Winick The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature When We Leave (Die Fremde) Directed and written by Feo Aladag (Germany) Special Jury Mention Loose Cannons Directed by Ferzan Ozpetek, written by Ferzan Ozpetek and Ivan Cotroneo Best New Narrative Filmmaker Kim Chapiron for Dog Pound Written by Kim Chapiron [...]...

Tonight, as the Tribeca Film Festival comes to an end, the Festival Awards were announced. This year the jury was comprised of Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Cheryl Hines, America Ferrera, Justin Bartha, Brooke Shields, Alicia Keys, Zach Braff, Aidan Quinn, Hope Davis, Gary Ross, Selma Blair, Peter Facinelli, Whoopi Goldberg and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey were among the 35 festival jurors.

The big prize for Best Narrative Feature went to, “When We Leave” (Germany), written and directed by Feo Aladag. Also Best Documentary Feature went to, “Monica & David” (USA) directed by Alexandra Codina. You can read my review of “Monica & David”. The film follows a married couple with Down Syndrome, learning to live together and wanting to gain more adult responsiblities was the most charming film I’ve seen during the festival. The couple accepted the award in New York City.

Although I am personally disappointed my favorite documentary, “The Arbor” didn’t get the award,...

Images, the trailer as well as the poster are up for "I Am Love." The drama stars Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, Diane Fleri and Maria Paiato. Luca Guadagnino directs from the writing by Walter Fasano, Barbara Alberti and Ivan Cotroneo. The film opens on June 18th in limited areas via Magnolia Pictures. We open on a journey through the idyllic snow covered streets of Milan in the run up to Christmas. We enter a stunning, bourgeois mansion house: the home of the wealthy Recchi family. The families are gathering for a birthday dinner in honor of the patriarchal figure of Edoardo Recchi Sr. We are introduced to Emma, the stylish head of the household who is overseeing arrangements with the servants. With his health in a poor state, Edoardo Sr is preparing to hand over the reigns to the Recchi textile business. It seems...

While most eyes are on Austin, Texas this week for SXSW, many people on the East Coast eagerly await a closer show as this year’s Tribeca Film Festival kicks off on April 21st. The festival is mainly for indie pictures, rather than the larger, blockbuster films, but is also a great place for up-and-coming directors and writers to showcase their work.

With the festival coming up in just over a month, they are already rolling out this year’s schedule and have announced the first 34 films out of a total of 85 feature length and 47 shorts screening at this year’s fest. Among the titles were those submitted to the World Narrative and Documentary competition, as well as the Showcase and Special Events.

Some of the titles look to be quite intriguing, and could include some of the bigger names of the next decade. Be sure to check out the...

9th Annual Festival to Present 85 Feature-Length and 47 Short Film Selections from April 21 – May 2, 2010

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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach

New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.

The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...

The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival has announced its scheduled lineup -- and just like its home, New York City, its got a little bit of everything.

The Festival will kick off with the world premiere of DreamWorks' 3D "Shrek Forever After."

But then it launches into a darker realm with documentaries like Alex Gibney's latest. The Oscar-winning director ("Taxi to the Dark Side") will screen his new untitled doc on the former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 due to a sex scandal, as a work-in-progress. The film will screen as one of three special events that festival organizers announced Wednesday (Mar. 10).

The Special Events section also includes another work-in-progress screening of "The Western Front." This documentary follows its writer/director and Marine, Zachary Iscol, who returns to his battle site in Iraq's Al Anbar province. David Lean's 1965 classic "Doctor Zhivago" got a make-over for its 45th anniversary,...

Tribeca International Film Festival announced the first 34 feature films of the 2010 festival slate. “This year’s competition, the core of the Festival, represents contemporary international filmmaking at its finest, bringing together fresh voices with established storytellers. These stories will leave audiences engaged, as well as entertained, which is what our Festival is all about,” said David Kwok, Director of Programming for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Representing 8 countries, this year’s World Narrative Feature Competition will be an international film collection created by many first- and second-time directors. 7 of the films here in this section are World Premieres. Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal will be screened in ‘Showcase’ section of the festival. The lineup is as follows:

World Narrative Feature Competition "Buried Land," directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids.

Alex Gibney's latest documentary, a portrait of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned his post in 2008 because of a sex scandal, will be spotlighted at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York.

The currently untitled film from the director of the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side," will screen as a work-in-progress as one of three special events that festival organizers unveiled today.

"I think people will be really surprised," said David Kwok, the festival's director of programming. "It doesn't just focus on the scandal. It's more comprehensive than that, looking at Eliot Spitzer as a person and at his entire career."

Also playing in the fest's Special Events section are David Lean's 1965 epic "Doctor Zhivago," marking its 45th anniversary with a new restoration that will be released by Warner Home Video, and a work-in-progress screening of the doc "The Western Front,...