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Six world premieres, 16 European and international premieres and 70 UK premieres feature in the line-up

Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) has unveiled the full line-up for its 19th edition, taking place March 1-12, with the UK premiere of Nida Manzoor’s Sundance title Polite Society the closing night film.

The festival will screen 123 features, including six world premieres, 16 European and international premieres and 70 UK premieres.

Polite Society is the feature debut of Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021 Nida Manzoor, who created Channel 4 and Peacock series We Are Lady Parts.

Her first feature is an action comedy about an aspiring stuntwoman who tries...

Local audiences at Cairo Film Festival fell for Nicolas Giraud’s “The Astronaut,” applauding several times during its world premiere on Saturday, even though critics were less enthused. But it wasn’t the only sound that accompanied the screening, frequently interrupted by a cacophony of ringtones.

“What we shared here today was this unique experience of watching a film in a theater, together, an experience we need to protect as it’s endangered all over the world. But what I would like to say to you, people from Egypt…,” started actor Hippolyte Girardot.

“…Turn off your phones in the cinema! Goddamnit!,” added Mathieu Kassovitz during a Q&a that followed, eliciting a hearty laughter from the room.

“The Astronaut”

The film – produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boëffard (Nord-Ouest Films) with Orange Studio handling the sales and Diaphana Distribution on board – is competing in Cairo’s international competition, with its...

The Egyptian festival runs November 13-22.

The Cairo International Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 44th edition.

Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans will open the festival following its world premiere at Toronto where it picked up the people’s choice award.

Scroll down for full line-up

Ciff’s international competition section contains 14 titles, including five world premieres.

Egyptian director Ahmad Abdalla’s 19B is one of the world premieres competing for the Golden Pyramid for best film. It follows an old guard whose peaceful job of watching over an abandoned villa is threatened when a young park attendant turns up.

Orange Studio has unveiled a first still for “L’astronaute,” a French drama headlined by Nicolas Giraud and Mathieu Kassovitz (“The Bureau”).

The film is produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boëffard at Nord-Ouest Films. It will be distributed in France by Orange Studio and Diaphana Distribution.

Orange Studio is also representing “L’astronaute” in international markets and kicked off sales at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in January as well as this month’s virtual EFM.

The film follows the journey of Jim, a passionate engineer who has always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, and devotes all his spare time to building a rocket, sacrificing his social and love life and putting himself in danger.

“This tale of transcendence, pursuit of dreams and collective strength is in line with the type of films we aim to produce at Nord-Ouest: films that are meaningful and have a universal humanity,...

Orange Studio is set to co-produce and represent in international markets a trio of ambitious French movies, “L’astronaute,” “Madame de Sevigné” and “Chien blanc.” All three films will start shooting during the first quarter of 2021 and will be co-distributed by Orange Studio in theaters.

“Chien blanc,” to be directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, will be headlined by Denis Ménochet and Canadian actress Kacey Rohl (“The Killing”). Produced by Nicole Robert at Go Films, “Chien blanc” is an adaptation of Romain Gary’s novel. Barbeau-Lavalette bought the adaptation rights from Alexandre Diego Gary, the only child of Gary and Jean Seberg.

The film, mainly inspired by Gary’s own life, unfolds in the U.S. in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Gary and his wife, Seberg, welcome in their home an abandoned dog who appears to have been trained to attack Black people. Gary nevertheless refuses to have the dog euthanized,...

Title: Fréres Ennemis (Close Enemies) Director: David Oelhoffen Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Reda Kateb, Sabrina Ouazani, Nicolas Giraud, Gwendolyn Gourvenec. The French filmmaker David Oelhoffen — who was acclaimed in the International Critics’ Week of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival with his debut feature ‘In Your Wake’ and at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival with […]

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The Guardians (Les Gardiennes) Music Box Films Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Xavier Beauvois Screenwriter: Xavier Beauvois, Frédérique Moreau, Marie-Julie Maille, based on the novel by Ernest Pérochon Cast: Nathalie Baye, Laura Smet, Iris Bry, Cyril Descours, Gilbert Bonneau, Olivier Rabourdin, Nicolas Giraud Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 4/22/18 Opens: May 4, 2018 How ya […]

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

"She's a hard worker. As good as any man." Music Box Films has released the official Us trailer for the Us release of Xavier Beauvois' new French film The Guardians, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year. This indie drama is set during World War I, otherwise known as "The Great War" at the time, and it's about the few local women who are left behind to work on a family farm. Everything gets disrupted when the sons return on leave, and "Francine becomes the center of a familial disturbance." Oh boy. Romance always messing things up. The cast is lead by Nathalie Baye and Iris Bry, and also includes Laura Smet, Cyril Descours, Gilbert Bonneau, Olivier Rabourdin, Nicolas Giraud, Mathilde Viseux-Ely, and Xavier Maly. This looks like a very moving, meaningful film about the power of "love, loss, and resilience." Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Xavier Beauvois' The Guardians,...

Stars: Beatrice Dalle, Théo Fernandez, Damien Ferdel, Zacharie Chasseriaud, Anne Marivin, Francis Renaud, Fabien Jegoudez, Nicolas Giraud, Chloé Coulloud, Dominique Frot | Written and Directed by Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo

French directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the driving force behind the notorious L’interieur (aka Inside) and the stylish Livid, turn their gallic focus to a much-maligned genre – the slasher movie – with Among the Living, a film that’s best described as Stephen King’s Stand By Me meets Friday the 13th.

Starting out with a disturbing prologue featuring a cameo by an almost unrecognisable Beatrice Dalle; a prologue that recalls the nastiness and brutality of L’interieur, Among the Living tells the story of troublemakers Victor, Tom and Dan who, on the last day of school, leave early to explore the countryside and commit petty crime. Ending up on the scenery-strewn back-lot at an abandoned film studio, they witness...

Stars: Beatrice Dalle, Théo Fernandez, Damien Ferdel, Zacharie Chasseriaud, Anne Marivin, Francis Renaud, Fabien Jegoudez, Nicolas Giraud, Chloé Coulloud, Dominique Frot | Written and Directed by Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo

French directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the driving force behind the notorious L’interieur (aka Inside) and the stylish Livid, turn their gallic focus to a much-maligned genre – the slasher movie – with Among the Living, a film that’s best described as Stephen King’s Stand By Me meets Friday the 13th.

Starting out with a disturbing prologue featuring a cameo by an almost unrecognisable Beatrice Dalle; a prologue that recalls the nastiness and brutality of L’interieur, Among the Living tells the story of troublemakers Victor, Tom and Dan who, on the last day of school, leave early to explore the countryside and commit petty crime. Ending up on the scenery-strewn back-lot at an abandoned film studio, they witness...

Stars: Beatrice Dalle, Théo Fernandez, Damien Ferdel, Zacharie Chasseriaud, Anne Marivin, Francis Renaud, Fabien Jegoudez, Nicolas Giraud, Chloé Coulloud, Dominique Frot | Written and Directed by Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo

French directors Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the driving force behind the notorious L’interieur (aka Inside) and the stylish Livid, turn their gallic focus to a much-maligned genre – the slasher movie – with Among the Living, a film that’s best described as Stephen King’s Stand By Me meets Friday the 13th.

Starting out with a disturbing prologue featuring a cameo by an almost unrecognisable Beatrice Dalle; a prologue that recalls the nastiness and brutality of L’interieur, Among the Living tells the story of troublemakers Victor, Tom and Dan who, on the last day of school, leave early to explore the countryside and commit petty crime. Ending up on the scenery-strewn back-lot at an abandoned film studio, they witness...

Among the Living (Aux yeux des vivants)

Director:Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury

Writer(s): Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury

Producer(s): Fabrice Lambot, Caroline Piras, Jean-Pierre Putters

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Anne Marivin, Béatrice Dalle, Francis Renaud, Fabien Jegoudez, Nicolas Giraud

Many consider this duo’s 2007 debut, Inside, to be one of the most frightening films ever made, and it gave Beatrice Dalle one of her greatest roles in years, leading Dalle to vow to be in every feature Maury & Bustillo make. Her role was cut down considerably in their 2011, follow-up, Livid, which didn’t make the same aggressive mark (though both films have been tipped to be remade in English). Now, we’re excited to see their third union, and scant plot details have us excited. We’re hoping Ms. Dalle is back, front and center.

Gist: Three kids who decide to skip school in order...

The ‘Midnighters’ lineup for SXSW 2014 has been announced and it includes the Us premiere of Oculus, the world premiere of Exists and Late Phases, and more. South By Southwest 2014 will take place from March 7 – 16 in Austin, Texas and the festival is known for its solid lineup of genre films. Below is the complete list of ‘Midnighters’ titles that have been announced, but don’t be surprised if another horror movie or two show up as secret screenings.

13 Sins

Director/Screenwriter: Daniel Stamm, Screenwriter: David Birke

A cryptic phone call sets off a dangerous game of risks for Elliot, a down-on-his luck salesman. The game promises increasing rewards for completing 13 tasks, each more sinister than the last.

Cast: Mark Webber, Rutina Wesley, Devon Graye, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Richard Burgi, Tom Bower, Ron Perlman (World Premiere)

Among The Living (France)

Director/Screenwriter: Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo

After horror favorites Inside and Livid,...

The real "meat" of the 2014 SXSW Film Festival has arrived with the announcement of the ten films that will comprise this year's Midnighters lineup. Read all the details and see some new stills here!

Along with the incredible list of Midnighters you'll find below, SXSW 2014 also revealed the 113 titles that will be shown in 11 curated shorts programs, selected from a record 4,249 submissions. Click here for the full short film details.

Now, back to the Midnighters. The program, which includes 8 World Premieres, is described as: Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.

13 Sins

Director/Screenwriter: Daniel Stamm, Screenwriter: David Birke

A cryptic phone call sets off a dangerous game of risks for Elliot, a down-on-his luck salesman. The game promises increasing rewards for completing 13 tasks, each more sinister than the last.

Cast: Mark Webber, Rutina Wesley, Devon Graye, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Richard Burgi, Tom Bower,...

South by Southwest has unveiled 10 titles for its Midnighters lineup, including the world premiere of the Bigfoot found-footage film Exists, directed by Eduardo Sanchez – his first foray into found footage since 1999′s monster hit Blair Witch Project. The lineup also includes the U.S. premiere of Oculus, directed by Mike Flanagan, which topped our most anticipated horror films of 2014. Also set for the lineup is Adam Wingard’s The Guest, which premiered last month at Sundance to very positive reviews. The 21st edition of South by Southwest opens March 7 in Austin. Check out the full lineup below.

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13 Sins

Director/Screenwriter: Daniel Stamm, Screenwriter: David Birke

A cryptic phone call sets off a dangerous game of risks for Elliot, a down-on-his luck salesman. The game promises increasing rewards for completing 13 tasks, each more sinister than the last.

Cast: Mark Webber, Rutina Wesley, Devon Graye, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Richard Burgi, Tom Bower,...

SXSW top brass have announced the Midnighters and short film line-ups, set to screen when the festival runs in Austin, Texas, from March 7-15.

The Midnighters selections comprise eight world premieres and Us premiere and one film that previously screened at Sundance. Magnolia Pictures has acquired Us rights to one of the films, Stage Fright. See separate story.

The 113 shorts were chosen from a record 4,249 submissions, representing an increase of 19% over 2013.

Midnighters

All synopses provided by the festival. World premiere unless marked otherwise.

13 Sins (pictured), dir Daniel Stamm

A cryptic phone call sets off a dangerous game of risks for Elliot, a down-on-his luck salesman. The game promises increasing rewards for completing 13 tasks, each more sinister than the last.

Cast: Mark Webber, Rutina Wesley, Devon Graye, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Richard Burgi, Tom Bower, Ron Perlman

Among The Living (France), dirs Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo

After horror favourites Inside and Livid, Maury and Bustillo...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced the titles which will screen as part of the Midnighters section, as well as the complete short film lineup.

The list includes 10 Midnighter titles (8 World Premieres, 1 U.S. premiere & 1 Sundance title), and 113 shorts, which were selected from a record 4,249 submissions, an overall increase of 19% over 2013. The Midnigther films are genre films centering on horror, gore, and sci-fi. Fans can check out the full list of accepted shorts at Swsw’s website.

“What an amazing year for genre film! We were blown away by the quality of work submitted and narrowing them down was no easy task,...

Daniel Benmayor’s Legend of the Soldier will be released on October 17th on Blu-ray and DVD. We have three copies of the DVD to give away.

1808. The Napoleonic Army suffers its first defeat at the hands of a single man: a military drummer who used the Montserrat mountains to echo his drums and send the enemy troops into a panicked retreat. When the news reaches Napoleon he furiously orders the captain of the imperial guard to bring back the head of the young hero responsible for his army’s defeat. The captain gathers together a band of his best and most deadly men and so begins a hunt to the death of the soldier who was to become a legend.

Starring Juan José Ballesta, Vincent Pérez, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Nicolas Giraud

All you need to do for your chance of winning a copy of the DVD is email contest@obsessedwithfilm.

With The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adèle Blanc-Sec out today on DVD and Blu-ray, Ryan explains why you should see Luc Besson’s brilliant action comedy…

The conventions of the crowd-pleasing summer blockbuster are, by now, well established. The simple tussle between hero and villain, the liberal sprinkling of chase scenes and fighting, and the globe-trotting exploration of such films as Indiana Jones, The Mummy or Tomb Raider can all be traced back to the tall tales of Victorian and Edwardian literature.

But as Spielberg himself proved with the abortive Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, it’s still difficult to keep the elements of the perfect action blockbuster in balance, even with all the benefits of computer frippery at Hollywood’s disposal. In fact, it’s been ages since we saw a genuinely great ripping yarn in the tradition of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, or a new pulp hero in the vein of Allan Quatermain.

Critics' Week has already begun celebrating its 50th anniversary by posting 50 video interviews with directors and actors who've seen their work debut in this section at Cannes. We're celebrating, too. In association with the 4+1 Film Festival, Mubi is presenting a retrospective of some of the greatest films first seen in Critics' Week over the past half-century. And even though the first 1000 views of each of the films will be free to you, the viewer, the rights holders will carry on receiving their duly earned revenue.

The retrospective encompasses over 100 titles in all, but please do keep in mind that rights issues can get complicated and not every film can be available in every country. That said, here's a quick overview of just some of the highlights:

Over in the Garage, a La Semaine Blogathon is already on the roll, starting with Kj Farrington's entry on Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know,...

French distributors Gaumont have announced that on June 1 they will release on Blu-ray Abel Ferry's Vertige (aka High Lane), starring Fanny Valette, Johan Libéreau, Raphaël Lenglet, and Nicolas Giraud.

This taut tale follows a groups of friends on a climbing vacation in Eastern Europe. One mountain they want to climb is closed for repairs, but urged on by group leader Fred (Giraud), they ignore the warning signs and start their ascent anyway. There’s underlying tension among the friends to begin with, as Luke (Libéreau) is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, Chloe (Valette), and has joined the journey just to be near her. But the usual perils of mountain climbing (and broken hearts) start to pale next to the prospect of collapsing rope bridges, bear traps, torture and other deadly dangers supplied by a deranged and mysterious killer hiding in the adventurers’ midst.

Blu-ray special features include:

Audio...

The Film:

From the opening scene I knew I was going to enjoy High Lane (Vertige). The cinematography in the picture is gorgeous, and elevate this horror-thriller a notch on the kick ass movie ladder. Director Abel Ferry creates a tense atmosphere that is both engaging and disorienting.

The flick follows climbers Loïc (Johan Libéreau), Guillaume (Raphaël Lenglet), Fred (Nicolas Giraud), Karine (Maud Wyler), and the very beautiful Chloé (Fanny Valette) as they decide to brave a trail up high in the mountains that is closed because it is in disrepair. Of course this doesn’t stop these young hotshots from ignoring the warnings. It doesn’t take long for things to go wrong. After avoiding a near fatal accident, and realizing they could be trapped on the mountain until they can find another route down, they start falling into various booby traps, and soon realize that they are not alone.

An interesting film we came across at this week's Afm comes from Gaumont and is directed by Abel Ferry. Announced this week is High Lane, where a group of friends on vacation decide to venture onto a trail high up in the mountains that has been closed for repairs. The climb proves more perilous than planned. Especially as they soon realize that they're not alone. The adventure turns into a nightmare. Sounds a little like Deliverance, no? The Dp is Nicolas Massart, who also worked on the forthcoming French horror film Mutants, with the art director being Olivier Afonso, who worked on Mutants, Hitman and Frontier(S). Fanny Valette, Raphael Lenglet, Johan Libereau, Nicolas Giraud and Maud Wyler all star, Inside you can check out the first ever images and art from the film.