News

In a big deal that closed in the days leading into this week’s Cannes market, Apple Original Films has landed worldwide rights to Tenzing, the new package we told you about last week starring Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe.

The question we asked today was whether the U.S. buyers would come to play for the Cannes market projects and we have an answer already.

Oscar-winning producer See-Saw Films (The King’s Speech) is producing Tenzing, about the inspirational life of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and his summit of Mount Everest in 1953 alongside fellow outsider New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

A search is underway to cast the lead role of Tenzing Norgay who will star alongside BAFTA-nominated Tom Hiddleston (Loki) as Sir Edmund Hillary and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things) as the English expedition leader, Colonel John Hunt.

Tenzing comes from filmmaker Jennifer Peedom who has the exclusive rights...

“Tenzing,” a film about the true story of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay’s 1953 trek to the summit of Mount Everest alongside Edmund Hillary, has been snapped up by Apple Original Films.

Casting is underway for Tenzing while “Loki” star Tom Hiddleston is set to play New Zealand mountaineer Hillary.

Willem Dafoe (“Eternity’s Gate”) is expected to star as English expedition leader Colonel John Hunt.

Apple acquired the rights the project in what was described as a “competitive situation” as Cannes kicked off. It is one of the first major deals to come out of the market as it goes into Day 3.

“Tibetan born Tenzing Norgay, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, both outsiders on a British Expedition, defied insurmountable odds to achieve what was once thought impossible, reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest,” reads the logline. “After six previous attempts, Tenzing risked everything for one final venture.

Apple Original Films has taken worldwide rights to true-story mountaineering drama Tenzing, from See-Saw Films and director Jennifer Peedom.

Based on the famous 1953 ascent of Mount Everest by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the film is set to star Tom Hiddleston as Hillary and Willem Dafoe as English expedition leader Colonel John Hunt. Casting is underway for the role of Norgay.

Peedom, whose previous projects include Bafta-nominated documentary Sherpa, has a close relationship with the Tenzing family and the Sherpa community and has been working on a Norgay biopic project for almost a decade.

The project gained momentum in...

Apple has landed the worldwide rights to mount Everest climbing drama Tenzing, starring Willem Dafoe and Tom Hiddleston.

The package, which sold out of the Cannes film market, tells the true story of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who led the first climbers to the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. Hiddleston will play New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Dafoe will play English expedition leader Colonel John Hunt. Casting is underway for the role of Tenzing Norgay.

Jennifer Peedom is set to direct the film. She made docs Sherpa and Mountain and has a close relationship with the Tenzing family and the larger Sherpa community. Lion writer Luke Davies is behind the screenplay.

Producing is Liz Watts, Emile Sherman and Iain Canning for See-Saw Films, alongside Desray Armstrong, Peedom and Davies. (Apple and See-Saw have partnered on five seasons of the series Slow Horses.) Simon Gillis, David Michôd and Norbu Tenzing (son of...

Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe have signed on the dotted line to star in a biopic on the legendary Nepalese-Indian mountaineer who summited Mount Everest, Tenzing Norgay.

Titled ‘Tenzing,’ Hiddleston takes on the role of Edmund Hillary – who Tenzing partnered with in 1953 to reach the top of Everest. Dafoe will play the English expedition leader, Colonel John Hunt. Casting is currently underway to cast the lead role of Norgay.

Also in news – Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie & Laura Dern set for drama ‘Monsanto’

The project hails from acclaimed filmmaker Jennifer Peedom who has the exclusive rights to tell Tenzing’s story via his family and has a close relationship with the Sherpa community.

Academy Award-nominated Luke Davies has written the screenplay. The movie is produced by Liz Watts, Emile Sherman and Iain Canning for See-Saw Films, alongside Jennifer Peedom and Davies. Executive producers are Simon Gillis, David Michôd and Norbu Tenzing.

Tom Hiddleston will play Sir Edmund Hillary in 'Tenzing'.The 'Night Manager' actor will star alongside Willem Dafoe, who will play English expedition leader Colonel John Hunt in See-Saw Films' upcoming biopic of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the Nepalese-Indian mountaineer who became one of the first men to stand on the top of the world when the group summited Mount Everest in 1953.A search is currently underway for an actor to take on the title role of the mountaineer, who had made six previous attempts to scale Everest before the historical 1953 effort.Jennifer Peedom is making the movie after landing the exclusive rights to tell Tenzing's story via his family, and has a close relationship with the Sherpa community thanks to her acclaimed documentary, 'Sherpa'.She said in a statement: “I could not be more thrilled to be bringing Tenzing Norgay’s story to the screen. I’ve been...

Exclusive: Oscar-winning producer See-Saw Films (The King’s Speech) is gearing up on Tenzing, about the inspirational life of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and his summit of Mount Everest in 1953 alongside fellow outsider New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

A search is underway to cast the lead role of Tenzing Norgay who will star alongside BAFTA-nominated Tom Hiddleston (Loki) as Sir Edmund Hillary and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things) as the English expedition leader, Colonel John Hunt.

Tenzing comes from filmmaker Jennifer Peedom who has the exclusive rights to tell Tenzing’s story via his family and has a close relationship with the Sherpa community after making acclaimed documentary Sherpa.

Script comes from Oscar-nominated Luke Davies (Lion) and producers are Liz Watts, Emile Sherman and Iain Canning for See-Saw Films, alongside Jennifer Peedom and Luke Davies. Executive producers are Simon Gillis, David Michôd and Norbu Tenzing.

Tibetan born Tenzing Norgay,...

Three years into its local production effort in Australia and New Zealand, Netflix has greenlighted two new series, one feature film and one full-length documentary from Australia.

These are in addition to previously announced renewals of teen series “Heartbreak High” and “Surviving Summer” and the go-ahead for prestige book-to-series adaptation “Boy Swallows Universe” and kids animation “Eddie’s Lil Homies.”

Set in the Australian Outback, epic succession tale “Desert King” revolves around billionaire miners, traditional owners, cowboys and desert gangsters fighting over the world’s biggest cattle station the size of Wales. It’s a hot, dusty, sexy Outback Western with guns and helicopters.

It is directed by Greg McLean and created by Tim Lee and Ben Davies, with production by Paul Ranford. The series is a co-production between Easy Tiger and Ronde.

“We’re thrilled to have assembled an incredible creative team, on and off screen, to do justice to the rarely-seen world,...

Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has secured U.S. rights to The Melt Goes On Forever: The Life and Times of David Hammons, a new documentary from directors Judd Tully and Harold Crooks. Pic is set to open at the Film Forum in New York City on May 5.

Related Story Roadside Attractions Acquires Emerson Brothers Drama ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ With Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe & Zooey Deschanel Related Story Greenwich Entertainment Takes Na Rights To Director Jennifer Peedom's 'River', Environmental-Themed Documentary Narrated By Willem Dafoe Related Story Greenwich Ent. Acquires Na Rights To 'I Got A Monster,' Documentary On Corrupt Baltimore Police Unit Accused Of Terrorizing Black Community

The Melt Goes On Forever is a portrait of the African American artist and provocateur David Hammons, who emerged as a powerful aesthetic force out of L.A.’s Watts Rebellion in 1965. With his radical work rooted in a deep critique...

Exclusive: Anonymous Content has hired longtime literary agent and former UTA partner Bec Smith as a partner and manager in their Los Angeles-based lit team. We revealed Smith’s impending exit from UTA last month.

The respected veteran has amassed a client roster including directors and writers such as Coline Abert, Levan Akin, Jane Anderson, Benedict Andrews, Emily Atef, Anthony Chen, Eva Husson, Ellen Kuras, Katrin Gebbe, Sebastian Junger, Julia Leigh, Phillip Noyce, Joshua Oppenheimer, Jennifer Peedom, Maria Schrader, Tali Shalom-Ezer, Dawn Shadforth, Kirsten Sheridan, Goran Stolevski, Warwick Thornton and Max Werner.

Related Story Shocker! Anonymous Content CEO Dawn Olmstead & COO Heather McCauley Resign; Protesting Settlement To Former Top Producer Keith Redmon? Related Story UTA Partner & Top Talent Agent Brian Swardstrom Leaving Agency For New Ventures; Will Produce With 'Nomadland's Peter Spears To Start Related Story UTA Signs Cecillia Aldarondo, Filmmaker Behind SXSW-Premiering Documentary 'You Were My First Boyfriend...

Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Jennifer Peedom’s visually stunning documentary River, “a profound cinematic and musical reflection on how rivers have shaped both the planet’s elaborate landscapes and all human existence.”

Greenwich plans to release the film in theaters on April 21, ahead of Earth Day on April 22. River is a sequel to Peedom’s 2017 documentary Mountain – also a Greenwich release – and reunites the director with her creative collaborators on that earlier film, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, narrator Willem Dafoe and writer Robert Macfarlane.

‘River’

“Throughout history, rivers have shaped our landscapes and our civilizations; flowed through our cultures and dreams,” notes a description of the documentary. “River takes the audience through space and time; spanning six continents, drawing on extraordinary cinematography, the film shows rivers on scales and from perspectives never seen before. Its union of image, music and poetic script create a...

Lukas Dhont’s “Close,” which won the Grand Prix in Cannes last month, picked up the Sydney Film Prize, the top prize at the Sydney Film Festival, on Sunday evening.

Accepting the award via video message Dhont said: “It’s a film that comes from our hearts, that we worked on for a lot of years with many people.”

The international jury consisted of Australian actor David Wenham, Australian director Jennifer Peedom, writer-director-producer Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), Berlin Golden Bear winner Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey), and the executive director of the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute in Tokyo, Yuka Sakano (Japan). Twelve titles in the official competition included Carla Simon’s “Alcarras”, Hlynur Palmason’s “Godland”, Colm Bairead’s “The Quiet Girl” and Del Kathryn Barton’s “Blaze.” The winner is awarded AUD60,000.

Australian filmmaker Luke Cornish was presented with the Documentary Australia Award’s AUD10,000 cash prize for “Keep Stepping,” a...

To mark the release of River on 16th May, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD.

Throughout history, rivers have shaped our landscapes and our journeys; flowed through our cultures and dreams. River takes its audience on a journey through space and time; spanning six continents, and drawing on extraordinary contemporary cinematography, including satellite filming. The film shows rivers on scales and from perspectives never seen before. Its union of image, music and a sparse, poetic script creates a film that is both dream-like and powerful, honouring the wildness of rivers but also recognising their vulnerability. Directed by Jennifer Peedom.

Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only

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Open to UK residents only The competition will close 26th May 2022 at 23.59 GMT The winner will be picked at random from entries received No cash alternative is available Please note prizes...

Eliza Kubarska’s documentary follows the plight of the Nepalis expected to take huge risks to aid western leisure pursuits

Like Jennifer Peedom’s 2015 film, Sherpa, this climbing documentary is more interested in the Nepali ethnic group than the westerners who hire them – chipping away at the stereotype of Sherpas as smiling, uncomplaining helpers. The director is climber and documentary-maker Eliza Kubarska whose film follows Ngada, who has eight Everest ascents under his belt. He is agonising about whether to guide a trio of experienced climbers – two Russians and a Pole – on an expedition to the unclimbed eastern face of Kumbhakarna, a more dangerous and difficult climb than Everest.

The reason Ngada is willing to risk it is that his 16-year-old son, Dawa, is a gifted student who dreams of becoming a doctor, but there is no money to pay for his education. Some of the scenes in the family’s home feel staged,...

‘River’ is in the Highlights strand, with ‘How To Survive A Pandemic’ in Cph:Science.

UK-based sales company Dogwoof has closed deals on two documentaries playing at Denmark’s Cph:dox film festival, which begins today (March 23) in Copenhagen.

David France’s How To Survive A Pandemic has sold to Belgium (Vrt), Spain (Movistar), Denmark (Dr), Netherlands (Nl) and Israel (Yesdocu/Channel 8).

The HBO title will launch on the pay-tv network and streaming platform HBO Max in North America on March 29 and in Latin America the following day. Previously announced deals include to the UK, Germany and Italy (Sky), Norway (Nrk...

‘The Nan Movie’, ‘Hive’, ‘X’ also opening.

eOne’s UK sports comedy The Phantom of the Open tees off at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, in a bumper weekend with 17 new releases.

Directed by Craig Roberts, The Phantom Of The Open debuted at the BFI London Film Festival in October last year. The film tells the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, an aspiring golfer of limited talent, who managed to gain entry to the British Open Gold Championship Qualifying in 1976 only to shoot the worst round in the event’s history. It will open in 629 locations - the fourth-biggest...

Made by the same team that shot Mountain, including director Jennifer Peedom, this stunning documentary captures the great power and beauty of rivers – and how vulnerable they are to a modern world they helped create

Nature documentaries tend to fall into one of two camps. Either they seek to awe us with the splendour and richness of the natural world, or they sound the alarm about how human activity is jeopardising that splendour and richness. It’s a tricky balance: you are in danger of serving up visual wallpaper or beating your audience over the head for not doing enough, even as you ask them to do nothing more than sit and watch a film.

Faced with this dilemma, River seeks to do both. On the one hand, it delivers stunning landscape visuals that demand to be seen on the largest possible screen, enhanced by a stirring score from the Australian Chamber Orchestra,...

Revisiting a formula that worked well in Mountain, director Jennifer Peedom lets Willem Dafoe’s voiceover run away with bland generalities

Australian director Jennifer Peedom had a huge hit with her 2017 documentary Mountain, descanting on the majesty of mountains. I found myself carried along by its admittedly gushy mix of great cinematography, swirling orchestral score, sonorous voiceover from Willem Dafoe and prose-poetic script by Robert Macfarlane. Peedom has now done it again, this time on the subject of rivers with the usual montage of powerful images.

Visually rich though it still is, I have to admit to being a bit restless with this kind of globalist Imax-style docu-fantasia – a hangover, maybe, from the success of Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. The droning observations can be platitudinous and verging on insufferable. “The world’s great cities all have a river at their heart!” intones Dafoe. This film has a story,...

Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” continued its sway over the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second weekend in a row with £7.4 million ($9.6 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The dark brooder starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz now has a total of £26.5 million.

In second place, Sony’s “Uncharted” collected £1.05 million on its fifth weekend and has a total of £21.7 million.

Trafalgar Releasing’s concert film “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul,” featuring K-pop sensation BTS, debuted in third place with £899,127. In fourth position, on its seventh weekend, was Universal’s animated sequel “Sing 2” with £819,153. The film now has a robust total of £31.3 million.

Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “The Duke” with £500,749, which now has £3.8 million after three weekends.

In its 13th weekend, Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” collected £203,906. With a total of £95.7 million, is fourth on the all time U.

Hallelujah has sold to France, Germany and Austria.

UK documentary specialist Dogwoof has reported sales on Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song and River following this year’s European Film Market (EFM).

Venice premiere Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song has sold to The Jokers for France and Prokino for Germany and Austria. As previously announced, the documentary feature was taken for the world by Sony Picture Classics, excluding the aforementioned territories.

The title takes inspiration from the book The Holy Or The Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & The Unlikely Ascent Of Hallelujah by Alan Light. It is...

Screen Australia has unveiled 13 titles that will share in $3.7 million of production funding, with six documentaries to be supported through the Producer Program and seven projects via the Commissioned Program.

They include a feature documentary from Stranger Than Fiction that follows an Indigenous figure skater from Western Sydney, Harley Windsor, on his quest to compete in the Winter Olympics; a series going inside the Sydney Opera House for the ABC; and a feature documentary about a grandmother with dementia who became an internet sensation in Everybody’s Oma.

Screen Australia head of documentary Alex West said the documentaries were a testament to the talented filmmakers creating local stories with great impact.

“These projects will explore contemporary social issues including how First Nations artist Richard Bell’s work uses art to effect change in War & Order, as well as the complexities of teen parenting in Kids Raising Kids,” he said.

“They...

The New Zealand International Film Festival had to cancel the Auckland leg of its multi-city exhibition series, but will continue in Wellington and Christchurch and other regional stops with a diverse lineup that includes an impressive Asian selection.

Wellington will screen a total of 164 feature films from 51 countries over 18 days (Nov. 4-21) across its eight venues. Christchurch will screen 95 features from 37 countries.

International highlights include Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Zhang Yimou’s “One Second,” and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Oscars contender Jasmila Zbanic’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?” Germany’s Oscar contender, Maria Schrader’s “I’m Your Man,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” and “My Salinger Year” also screen. So too does Jane Campion’s U.S.-set, New Zealand-made “The Power of the Dog.” The middle of the festival includes Cannes Palme D’or winner “Titane” and Paulo Sorrentino’s Venice grand...

Jonny Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson are one of the most beloved composer-director pairings working today following collaborations on “There Will Be Blood,” “The Master,” “Inherent Vice,” and “Phantom Thread.” The latter earned the Radiohead band member his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. While there has yet to be confirmation about Greenwood scoring Anderson’s upcoming new movie, which still is without an official title, it seems like the two will be continuing their collaboration into the future.

“I’m getting annoying emails from Paul Thomas Anderson about a couple of potential projects!” Greenwood recently told NME (via The Film Stage). “They sound really interesting and peculiar, so I’m thinking about those while I wander around. I really enjoy the thinking time of music, drifting off and wondering how to describe in music what [Paul Thomas Anderson] is talking about. It’s very self-indulgent, but really fun. I’m an extremely lucky man.

We’re now a little over two months from the release of a new film by Paul Thomas Anderson and, as has become accustomed, we know almost nothing about it. With a potential title (Soggy Bottom) and a cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son, Cooper Hoffman, as well as Bradley Cooper, Alana Haim, Benny Safdie, Nate Mann, Skyler Gisondo, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Destry Allyn Spielberg, and Sean Penn, the plot is some combination of high school drama, local politics, and Hollywood dealings in the 1970s San Fernando Valley.

As we await the first look, another question that has been on our minds is if Jonny Greenwood––who scored PTA’s previous four films (as well as their work together on Junun)––will return to collaborate with the director. The Radiohead musician is staying busy this fall with the scores for Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer,...

Not to be confused with a similarly titled sci-fi suspense film that squeaked into release in July, this River, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, is a visually majestic, significantly airborne journey over a wide variety of rivers around the world. It is, on a moment-to-moment basis, stunning to behold, and there are ecological messages to be received by the receptive. At the same time, a little of this can go a long way, and there is a level of pretension that will be indulged by some and not by others.

Rivers, the narration aptly points out, are the veins of the world, the source of life without which human, animal and plant life would quickly expire. Visually, Jennifer Peedom’s film is a spectacular display of, and tribute to, the rushing waters that feed the planet. The uncredited cinematography, much of it in slow-motion, is uniformly magnificent, as...

Previously confirmed titles include ‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’.

Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast are among the world premieres on the programme for the 48th Telluride Film Festival (September 2-6).

The festival has confirmed a line-up of 80 films across features, shorts and retrospectives. Francis Ford Coppola, who said this week he is willing to invest up to $100m of his own money to get passion project Megalopolis made, will be among filmmakers attending in person. Coppola has a new cut of The Outsiders and The Rain People playing in Special Screenings.

Barry Jenkins...

As usual, Telluride Film Festival has unveiled their 2021 lineup just moments before the event gets underway. Taking place from Thursday, September 2 through Monday, September 6, 2021, the lineup features Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon, Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter, as well as Cannes highlights Bergman Island and Red Rocket, and more.

See the lineup below.

The Automat (d. Lisa Hurwitz, U.S., 2021) In person: Lisa Hurwitz

Becoming Cousteau (d. Liz Garbus, U.S., 2021) In person: Liz Garbus

Belfast (d. Kenneth Branagh, U.K., 2021) In person: Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan

Bergman Island (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany/Sweden, 2021) In person: Mia Hansen-Løve

Bitterbrush (d. Emelie Mahdavian, U.S., 2021) In person: Emelie Mahdavian, Colie Moline

C’Mon C’Mon (d. Mike Mills, U.S., 2021) In person: Mike Mills,...

Celebrating its 48th edition, the Telluride Film Festival announced its official programming selections, which include world premieres of Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Mike Mills’ “C’mon C’mon,” Joe Wright’s “Cyrano,” Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard” and Céline Sciamma’s “Petite Maman.”

Also on the docket are Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” and Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer.” Larraín’s film is opening the Venice Film Festival, where several of the films are screening before debuting Stateside in Colorado.

From the documentary side, festivalgoers will get a smorgasbord of subjects from acclaimed filmmakers such Todd Haynes (“The Velvet Underground”), Lisa Hurwitz (“The Automat”), Liz Garbus (“Becoming Cousteau”) and Sam Pollard and Rex Miller (“Citizen Ashe”).

From the international circuit, selections include the Sundance hit “Flee” from Jonas Poher Rasmussen, an international animated documentary...

Actress Isla Fisher, director Zak Hilditch, producer Judi Levine, and producer Julia Redwood will make up the jury for next week’s CinefestOZ Film Festival.

They are set to join jury chair Nadia Tass to decide which of the four in-competition films will take home the $100,000 Film Prize at the Closing Gala Night August 28 at Orana Cinemas Busselton.

This year’s finalists include Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Justin Kurzel’s Nitram, anthology feature drama Here Out West, and Jennifer Peedom’s River.

Fisher has more than 35 years of film and TV experience, having begun appearing in commercials from the age of nine before playing Shannon Reed in Home & Away. She has since gone on to appear in a raft of international productions, including The Wedding Crashers, Rango, The Great Gatsby, Nocturnal Animals, Definitely, Maybe, Now You See Me, Hot Rod, The Brothers Grimsby,...

Leah Purcell’s The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Justin Kurzel’s Nitram, anthology feature drama Here Out West, and Jennifer Peedom’s River will each compete for CinefestOZ’s $100,000 Film Prize.

A jury of industry guests will award the honour at the festival, due to run August 25-29 in Western Australia’s South West hubs of Busselton, Augusta-Margaret River and Bunbury.

CinefestOZ chair Helen Shervington said this year’s finalists reflected the diversity and complexity of storytelling set for this year’s festival.

“I continue to be impressed by the calibre and originality of film submissions to the festival each year, and I’m proud to say the 2021 Film Prize finalists are fantastic,” she said.

“We can’t wait for our audiences to be back at the cinema watching these films – all of which will have their Wa premieres at CinefestOZ.

“The range and creativity shown across...

Director Jennifer Peedom’s follows her record-breaking documentary Mountain with River, again created in collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and narrated by Willem Dafoe.

Produced by Stranger than Fiction Films and Arrow Pictures, River is a cinematic and musical reflection on how rivers have shaped both the planet’s elaborate landscapes and all human existence.

Dafoe’s narration guides audiences on a journey across 39 countries, including Australia, with a script written by renowned writer and environmentalist Robert Macfarlane.

River is the second of a planned trilogy of feature documentaries that explores the impact of landscape on the human heart, and was conceived as both a film for cinemas and one that would have its score played live by the Aco.

River will be presented live in concert with the Aco July 29 – August 10, followed by a national cinema release from October 7 via Madman Entertainment.

The post ‘River’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.

"Where rivers wandered, life could flourish... They have shaped us as a species." Dogwoof has unveiled the first official trailer for another stunning new documentary film titled River, a follow-up to the doc feature Mountain made by filmmaker Jennifer Peedom a few years ago. River is a cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers. Featuring text by Robert Macfarlane, with music by Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (Aco), and featuring music by Jonny Greenwood and Radiohead. With narration by Willem Dafoe. Peedom is one of my favorite doc directors, she creates mesmerizing works of cinematic art that celebrate the majestic and incomparable beauty of this planet we live on. Rivers have indeed played an important part in human civilization since the beginning, and I'm looking forward to watching them explore this in-depth in the film. I adore this kind of filmmaking. Here's...

The Willem Dafoe-narrated documentary “River,” from “Sherpa” director Jennifer Peedom, has unveiled its first trailer.

Produced by Stranger Than Fiction and Arrow Pictures, “River” is an exploration of the timeless relationship between humanity and rivers. Billed as an orchestral concert film, the doc is an ode to the natural word and a retelling of the history of both rivers and human civilization.

“When the first rains fell, the Earth awakened,” reads Dafoe in the moving trailer, which features stunning footage of river systems around the world. “Where rivers wandered, life could flourish. They have shaped us as a species and we worship them as gods. Today, there is scarcely a river unspanned, undammed or undiverted. The sheer scale of the human project has begun to overwhelm the world’s rivers.”

With a score composed by Richard Tognetti from the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Dafoe narrates a script from award-winning author...

Sir Edmund Hillary’s family will ascend the mountain that made their grandfather a household name in a new documentary being launched in Cannes.

Directed by Ben Webster, one of the world’s top expedition leaders, “Everest: Legacy” is currently in pre-production and will be shopped to buyers by New York-headquartered documentary sales firm Cargo Film & Releasing, which has picked up world rights.

The film follows Hillary’s son Peter and his grandchildren, along with the world’s best climbing Sherpa, Tendi, on an epic family climb of Everest next spring. Along the journey, the film will highlight the changes on Everest — which has become dangerously congested over the years with a high traffic of eager climbers — in contrast to when it was first climbed by Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in May 1953.

In addition to the commercialization of Everest, the Himalayas are warming faster than the global average, and...

Willem Dafoe is set to narrate the documentary “River” from “Sherpa” director Jennifer Peedom.

Produced by Stranger Than Fiction and Arrow Pictures, “River” is an exploration of the timeless relationship between humanity and rivers. Billed as an orchestral concert film, the doc is an ode to the natural word and a retelling of the history of both rivers and human civilization. With a score composed by Richard Tognetti from the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Dafoe will narrate a script from award-winning author and fellow of Cambridge University, Robert Macfarlane. The film will also feature additional music from William Barton, Jonny Greenwood and Radiohead.

“I wanted to be conscious of not dumping the words on top of the image or illustrating the music, but having them sonically blend,” said Dafoe, who also narrated Peedom’s 2017 doc “Mountain.”

“Of course there is some underlining but I try to let the words just open channels of thought and emotion,...

Jennifer Peedom and Rowan Woods will lead this year’s Screenworks Directing Intensive, a two-day workshop to be held in late July.

Put on with support of the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg), the duo will advise up to 12 selected regional screen directors from Nsw and Queensland on technique, skills and project development for drama and documentary.

“We’re so excited to have Jen and Rowan on board for this directing intensive,” says Screenworks CEO Ken Crouch.

“Both have excelled in the field of directing – Rowan in drama and feature films and Jen in documentary filmmaking – and they will bring extraordinary advice and mentoring to the twelve regional screen directors who are selected to take part in this workshop. We’re very grateful to the Australian Directors Guild for recommending them as tutors.”

To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate some experience directing content for screen and must be living in regional Nsw or regional Queensland.

To celebrate the 40 years since its inception, the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) will launch a series of mentoring sessions from some of its most high profile members, starting this week.

Adg-40 ‘First-Hand’ consists of 40 60-minute Zoom forums in a moderated Q&a format that will be held each Tuesday and Thursday from April 8.

Each Adg-40 ‘First-Hand’ webinar will be provided free-of-charge to Adg members across Australia and will include on-notice and ‘from the floor’ questions.

Adg strategy and development executive Ana Tiwary will moderate the forums, with president Samantha Lang to introduce the inaugural session mentor – Adg’s first president, Gillian Armstrong.

Armstrong said she was “delighted” to have the opportunity to “hopefully assist and inspire” the next generation of director members.

“It’s hard to believe it’s 40 years since a passionate and noisy group of us gathered around my kitchen table to form some sort of guild to protect Australian directors,...

Director Jennifer Peedom is set to re-team with her Mountain collaborators, the Australia Chamber Orchestra’s (Aco) Richard Tognetti and writer Robert Macfarlane, on new a theatrical documentary, River.

Co-commissioned by the ABC and BBC Arts, the project is a partnership between Stranger Than Fiction Films and the UK’s Arrow Pictures which will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor and explore the relationship between humans and rivers.

Set to span six continents and boast “extraordinary contemporary cinematography”, including satellite filming, the film promises to show rivers on scales and from perspectives never seen before.

“As Mountain drew its audience up to the highest world’s most formidable summits, so River will draw its audiences in to explore the arteries of the planet,” Peedom said.

“This is not a traditional theatrical documentary. The phenomenal global success of Mountain shows that audiences worldwide have a huge appetite for a different kind of experience.

Australia’s Stranger Than Fiction Films and the U.K.’s Arrow Pictures have teamed for theatrical documentary “River,” commissioned by ABC Arts and BBC Arts.

Exploring the relationship between humans and rivers, the documentary spans six continents. It is directed by Jennifer Peedom, co-directed by Joseph Nizeti and produced by Jo-anne McGowan and Peedom from Stranger than Fiction and John Smithson from Arrow.

Peedom’s previous film “Mountain” (2017) is the highest-grossing Australian documentary in box office history, and completed an 11-week run in U.K. and U.S. cinemas. An earlier collaboration, “Sherpa” (2015), was BAFTA-nominated and won best documentary at the London Film Festival. It also won at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, Australian Film Critics Association Awards and Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, among numerous other accolades.

“Mountain” was written by Robert Macfarlane with music by artistic director Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra...

Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions has unveiled its next round of projects in development at Netflix.

Among the new film and series projects in the works are an adaptation of the Mohsin Hamid novel “Exit West” starring Riz Ahmed, a science fiction film written by Ola Shokunbi, a docuseries about National Parks and a series adaptation of the forthcoming novel “Firekeeper’s Daughter.”

“We created Higher Ground to tell great stories,” the former president and first lady said in a statement. “This group of projects builds upon that goal and the incredible path forged by films like Crip Camp, Becoming, and the Oscar-winning American Factory. From science fiction to the beauty of our natural world to the relationships that define us, Higher Ground continues to strive for fresh perspectives, compelling characters, and a healthy dose of inspiration. We couldn’t be more proud to team up with...

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground Productions has set its latest slate of film and TV projects for Netflix.

The streamer is developing two TV series and four feature films as part of the slate.

On the TV side, Reverie and Extant creator Mickey Fisher is adapting Firekeeper’s Daughter, the debut YA thriller from Angeline Boulley. The book follows an 18-year-old Native girl as she reluctantly goes undercover in a police investigation on her Ojibwe reservation. Fisher will serve as showrunner and co-write with Wenonah Wilms, the Horsehead Girls writer who is also from the Ojibwe tribe and will also act as exec producer.

Great National Parks is a natural history docuseries that comes from Blue Planet II filmmaker James Honeyborne. The series, which is produced with Wild Space Productions, will explore some of the most wondrous national parks and wild spaces on Earth...

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground Productions, has set a slate of new projects under their deal with Netflix.

The new slate encompasses both TV and film projects, including a film adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s critically-acclaimed novel “Exit West” and a biopic on Tenzing Norgay, who was the first person to reach the peak of Mount Everest alongside Sir Edmund Hillary. The company is also prepping a U.S. National Parks docuseries and a series adaptation of the Angeline Boulley book “Firekeeper’s Daughter.”

The full description of all the projects can be found below. They are currently in different stages of development, to be released over the next several years.

“We created Higher Ground to tell great stories,” the Obamas said. “This group of projects builds upon that goal and the incredible path forged by films like ‘Crip Camp,’ ‘Becoming,’ and the Oscar-winning ‘American Factory.

Pipeline includes Satellite, The Young Wife.

Australian high-altitude director Jennifer Peedom’s Everest feature Tenzing has landed at Netflix under the streamer’s deal with former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions (Hgp).

The feature is one of several film and TV projects announced on the Higher Ground slate on Friday (February 5) that includes Oscar contender Riz Ahmed (Sound Of Metal) in the thriller Exit West, and a sci-fi from Rian Johnson (Knives Out) and his producer Ram Bergman.

Tenzing is based on the true story of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who accompanied Edmund Hillary on...

Clockwise from top left: Jennifer Peedom, Rachel Okine, Kyas Hepworth and Sue Maslin.

The Natalie Miller Fellowship (Nmf) organisers have appealed for more Indigenous female screen practitioners to apply for the fellowship that provides an annual $20,000 grant for leadership advancement.

Nmf president Sue Maslin lamented the small number of applicants from the Indigenous cohort in a Facebook Live session on Monday with director and Nmf ambassador Jennifer Peedom, Aquarius Films MD Rachel Okine and Nitv acting head Kyas Hepworth.

Established in 2011 to recognise the unique contribution of screen industry pioneer Natalie Miller, the Nmf is open to women with at least five years experience in any screen sector to help them reach their full leadership potential through attachments, internships, secondments and other means.

“We have not had a high level of applications yet from Indigenous women. We really want to make a focus on having Indigenous women applying,” Maslin said.

Baz Luhrmann.

A new feature film from Baz Luhrmann, set in a small Australian country town, is among the 18 projects to recently receive story development funding from Screen Australia.

The agency announced today it will share $620,000 between 11 films, five TV series and two online projects.

These projects come from both the existing Premium and Generate development funds. Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers.

Projects pitched for Premium Plus funds – the additional development funding the agency announced in response to Covid-19 – are still being assessed.

Screen Australia head of development Nerida Moore said: “With many productions temporarily halted it is more important than ever for us to support the development of Australian stories for all platforms. I...

‘Sequin in A Blue Room’.

Sydney Film Festival announced its audience awards today, with best narrative feature awarded to Samuel Van Grinsven’s Sequin in a Blue Room and best documentary to Selina Miles’ Martha: A Picture Story – both Aussie films.

Sequin in a Blue Room, a queer coming-of-age story, is Van Grinsven’s debut feature, completed as part of an Aftrs Masters project and produced by Sophie Hattch. It stars Conor Leach in his film debut, alongside Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Anthony Brandon Wong.

Martha: A Picture Story, documents the life and work of NYC photo journalist Martha Cooper. It is the first full length documentary film from Miles, and was executive produced by Jennifer Peedom and and produced by Daniel Joyce.

Two other Australian films – Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones and Imogen McCluskey’s microbudget debut Suburban Wildlife – were also voted in the top five narrative films,...

Damon Gameau’s upbeat documentary predicts our best selves saving the planet but would have been better as a TV series

Nobody predicted the immense success of Australian Damon Gameau’s 2015 directorial debut, That Sugar Film, a candy-coloured, Supersize Me-esque documentary exploring the effects of consuming sugar while on a supposedly healthy diet. It was a smash hit in its home country, becoming the highest grossing non-Imax Australian documentary in history (since overtaken by Jennifer Peedom’s majestic 2017 doco Mountain).

Perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised. Gameau took an issue relevant across cultures and demographics, and prised it open with a broadly accessible style that neither bored nor talked down to young people – who form much of his target demographic.

From humble beginnings, Dogwoof has quietly built up a thriving documentary production, sales and distribution company, and has just enjoyed its first £1m UK box-office hit.

Since its inception in 2003, London-based Dogwoof has always been perceived as a niche operator. Its company name has a kitchen-table, low-key feel. Documentaries, which long ago became its exclusive focus, are viewed as a marginal activity by much of the film industry. Dogwoof’s prolific activity as a UK distributor has tended to pigeonhole it, even as it has expanded into other areas of operations. Its expansion from its original team of two has been slow and steady.

From humble beginnings, Dogwoof has quietly built up a thriving documentary production, sales and distribution company, and has just enjoyed its first £1m UK box-office hit.

Since its inception in 2003, London-based Dogwoof has always been perceived as a niche operator. Its company name has a kitchen-table, low-key feel. Documentaries, which long ago became its exclusive focus, are viewed as a marginal activity by much of the film industry. Dogwoof’s prolific activity as a UK distributor has tended to pigeonhole it, even as it has expanded into other areas of operations. Its expansion from its original team of two has been slow and steady.

Distributor plans early 2019 theatrical release.

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired Us rights to the Emily Dickinson drama and SXSW selection Wild Nights With Emily starring Molly Shannon.

Madeleine Olnek wrote and directed the feature about the life and love of the celebrated 19th century American poet and depicts her lesser-known vivaciousness and irreverence, including her lifelong romance with another woman.

The filmmakers secured permission from Harvard University Press to use Dickisnon’s own words in the film, and received research support from the Guggenheim foundation.

“Madeleine’s witty, madcap yet poignant and absolutely necessary version of Emily’s life is an...