Charles C. Cohen's Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to Persian Lessons, from House of Sand and Fog director Vadim Perelman, which had its world premiere earlier this week at the Berlinale.
The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg executive vice president, and Mathieu Delaunay, head of sales for Paris-based Memento Film International. Cmg acquired all rights for the U.S. and Canada and plans to release the film in late 2020.
The darkly comic drama, inspired by a true story of the Holocaust, sees Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (If You Saw His Heart) play a Belgian Jew ...
The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg executive vice president, and Mathieu Delaunay, head of sales for Paris-based Memento Film International. Cmg acquired all rights for the U.S. and Canada and plans to release the film in late 2020.
The darkly comic drama, inspired by a true story of the Holocaust, sees Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (If You Saw His Heart) play a Belgian Jew ...
- 2/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Charles C. Cohen's Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to Persian Lessons, from House of Sand and Fog director Vadim Perelman, which had its world premiere earlier this week at the Berlinale.
The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg executive vice president, and Mathieu Delaunay, head of sales for Paris-based Memento Film International. Cmg acquired all rights for the U.S. and Canada and plans to release the film in late 2020.
The darkly comic drama, inspired by a true story of the Holocaust, sees Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (If You Saw His Heart) play a Belgian Jew ...
The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg executive vice president, and Mathieu Delaunay, head of sales for Paris-based Memento Film International. Cmg acquired all rights for the U.S. and Canada and plans to release the film in late 2020.
The darkly comic drama, inspired by a true story of the Holocaust, sees Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (If You Saw His Heart) play a Belgian Jew ...
- 2/27/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Vadim Perelman’s Berlin festival drama will get a Us release later this year.
Cohen Media Group (Cmg) has bought North American rights to Persian Lessons, director Vadim Perelman’s drama that had its world premiere this week at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Perelman is best known for his 2003 literary adaptation House Of Sand And Fog and his 2013 Russian mini-series Pepel.
Cmg has taken all rights for the Us and Canada from sales company Memento Film International and plans to release the film in late 2020.
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart stars in the black comedy-tinged drama – inspired by a true story...
Cohen Media Group (Cmg) has bought North American rights to Persian Lessons, director Vadim Perelman’s drama that had its world premiere this week at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Perelman is best known for his 2003 literary adaptation House Of Sand And Fog and his 2013 Russian mini-series Pepel.
Cmg has taken all rights for the Us and Canada from sales company Memento Film International and plans to release the film in late 2020.
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart stars in the black comedy-tinged drama – inspired by a true story...
- 2/26/2020
- by 31¦John Hazelton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Cohen Media Group has taken North American rights to Vadim Perelman’s Persian Lessons following its well-received bow at the Berlin International Film Festival this week.
The releaser is planning a late 2020 berth for the movie, which stars Nahuel Pérez Biscayart in the story of a Belgian Jew who claims to be Persian when he is rounded up and about to face the firing squad. The terrified prisoner desperately tries to save himself by agreeing to teach Farsi – a language he does not know and thus makes up – to an eager-to-learn Nazi transit camp commandant (Lars Eidinger).
The film received a significant standing ovation from the watching audience after premiering at the fest on February 22. It was produced by Moscow-based Hype Film (Leto), and co-produced by Berlin-based Lm Media and One Two Films (The Tale) in association with Belarusfilm.
The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg Executive Vice President,...
The releaser is planning a late 2020 berth for the movie, which stars Nahuel Pérez Biscayart in the story of a Belgian Jew who claims to be Persian when he is rounded up and about to face the firing squad. The terrified prisoner desperately tries to save himself by agreeing to teach Farsi – a language he does not know and thus makes up – to an eager-to-learn Nazi transit camp commandant (Lars Eidinger).
The film received a significant standing ovation from the watching audience after premiering at the fest on February 22. It was produced by Moscow-based Hype Film (Leto), and co-produced by Berlin-based Lm Media and One Two Films (The Tale) in association with Belarusfilm.
The acquisition was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg Executive Vice President,...
- 2/26/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to the Holocaust drama “Persian Lessons,” following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, where it has become a buzz title. The film was produced after the lead producers met at a Variety “10 Producers to Watch” event in Cannes in 2018, and decided to work together on the project.
Cmg plans to release the film in late 2020. “Persian Lessons” is directed by “House of Sand and Fog” director Vadim Perelman from a script by Ilya Zofin, based on the story “Erfindung Einer Sprache” by Wolfgang Kohlhaase.
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (“If You Saw His Heart”) plays a Belgian Jew who claims to be Persian when he is rounded up and about to face the firing squad. The terrified prisoner desperately tries to save himself by agreeing to teach Farsi – a language he does not know and thus makes up – to an eager-to-learn Nazi transit camp commandant,...
Cmg plans to release the film in late 2020. “Persian Lessons” is directed by “House of Sand and Fog” director Vadim Perelman from a script by Ilya Zofin, based on the story “Erfindung Einer Sprache” by Wolfgang Kohlhaase.
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (“If You Saw His Heart”) plays a Belgian Jew who claims to be Persian when he is rounded up and about to face the firing squad. The terrified prisoner desperately tries to save himself by agreeing to teach Farsi – a language he does not know and thus makes up – to an eager-to-learn Nazi transit camp commandant,...
- 2/26/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Cohen Media Group has acquired U.S. rights to Safy Nebbou’s “Who You Think I Am,” the critically acclaimed film starring Juliette Binoche which world premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Special Gala section.
“Who You Think I Am” turned out to be a hot title among international distributors at the Efm and was sold throughout the world by the Paris-based company Playtime rolling off its world premiere.
Blending romantic comedy, heated melodrama and psychothriller, “Who You Think I Am” features Binoche on nearly every shot as she plays a woman struggling with identity, sexuality and the perils of online flirtation. The film earned upbeat reviews including in Variety which described it as “a surprise package that plays its trump cards with shrugging insouciance, yielding giggles and gasps in equal measure, sometimes at once.”
“Who You Think I Am,” adapted from a 2016 novel by Camille Laurens, follows Binoche as Claire Millaud,...
“Who You Think I Am” turned out to be a hot title among international distributors at the Efm and was sold throughout the world by the Paris-based company Playtime rolling off its world premiere.
Blending romantic comedy, heated melodrama and psychothriller, “Who You Think I Am” features Binoche on nearly every shot as she plays a woman struggling with identity, sexuality and the perils of online flirtation. The film earned upbeat reviews including in Variety which described it as “a surprise package that plays its trump cards with shrugging insouciance, yielding giggles and gasps in equal measure, sometimes at once.”
“Who You Think I Am,” adapted from a 2016 novel by Camille Laurens, follows Binoche as Claire Millaud,...
- 2/22/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to Tuva Novotny’s to “Britt-Marie Was Here,” the Swedish comedy-drama that is based on a bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman, the author of “A Man Called Ove.”
Represented in international markets by Sf Studios, “Britt-Marie Was Here” stars Pernilla August as a 63-year-old woman who leaves her husband after 40 years of marriage and is forced to reconsider her life. The film also stars Peter Hamer.
“We fell instantly in love with ‘Britt Marie’ and so will American audiences as soon as they discover her,” said John Kochman, executive vice president at Cohen Media Group.
Sf Studios has also sold the film to Germany (Prokino), Spain (Watson and Holmes), Japan (Shochiku), South Korea (Kth), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Iceland (Myndform), Baltics (Estinfilm), former-Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Ascot Elite) and Hungary (Cirko Film).
Anita Simovic, head of international sales at Sf Studio,...
Represented in international markets by Sf Studios, “Britt-Marie Was Here” stars Pernilla August as a 63-year-old woman who leaves her husband after 40 years of marriage and is forced to reconsider her life. The film also stars Peter Hamer.
“We fell instantly in love with ‘Britt Marie’ and so will American audiences as soon as they discover her,” said John Kochman, executive vice president at Cohen Media Group.
Sf Studios has also sold the film to Germany (Prokino), Spain (Watson and Holmes), Japan (Shochiku), South Korea (Kth), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Iceland (Myndform), Baltics (Estinfilm), former-Yugoslavia (Cinemania), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Ascot Elite) and Hungary (Cirko Film).
Anita Simovic, head of international sales at Sf Studio,...
- 2/10/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Sameh Zoabi’s “Tel Aviv on Fire,” the critically acclaimed Israeli comedy that world premiered at the Venice Film Festival, has been acquired by Cohen Media for the U.S., along with a flurry of distributors in key territories.
Paris-based sales company Indie Sales has also sold the pic to Italy (Academy Two), Spain (Surtsey Films), Switzerland (Trigon Film), and Greece (Seven Films). Indie Sales is now in final negotiations to close deals for Canada, Benelux, Germany, and Austria.
The politically-charged comedy world premiered at Venice in the Orizzonti section, nabbing the best actor award for Kais Nashif. It went on to play at fests in Toronto and Haifa, where it won best film and screenplay prizes.
“Tel Aviv on Fire” reteams actor Kais Nashef and Lubna Azabal (“Incendies”), who co-starred in the foreign-language Oscar-nominated “Paradise Now.”
“Tel Aviv” follows the journey of Salam, a charming 30-year-old Palestinian man living...
Paris-based sales company Indie Sales has also sold the pic to Italy (Academy Two), Spain (Surtsey Films), Switzerland (Trigon Film), and Greece (Seven Films). Indie Sales is now in final negotiations to close deals for Canada, Benelux, Germany, and Austria.
The politically-charged comedy world premiered at Venice in the Orizzonti section, nabbing the best actor award for Kais Nashif. It went on to play at fests in Toronto and Haifa, where it won best film and screenplay prizes.
“Tel Aviv on Fire” reteams actor Kais Nashef and Lubna Azabal (“Incendies”), who co-starred in the foreign-language Oscar-nominated “Paradise Now.”
“Tel Aviv” follows the journey of Salam, a charming 30-year-old Palestinian man living...
- 10/9/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Cohen Media Group has acquired Us distribution rights to director Eva Husson’s Girls of the Sun, a drama focusing on the sisterhood of women taken prisoner by Kurdistan extremists, and director Jia Zhanqke’s Ash Is Purest White, a Chinese drama detailing a woman’s romance with a mobster.
Charles S. Cohen, the owner, chairman, and CEO of Cohen Media Group, announced the Cmg deals in advance of the closing ceremony of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where both films had their world premiere.
Cohen Media Group has distributed over 113 feature films and 10 shorts and has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, including The Salesman from Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and the Oscar-nominated Faces Places and The Insult.
Girls of the Sun stars Golshifteh Farahani and Emmanuelle Bercot and tells a story of resistance and sisterhood. Set in modern-day Kurdistan, the drama centers on Bahar, a young lawyer visiting her family. In a bloody attack led by extremists, her husband is killed and she’s taken prisoner with her son and thousands of other women and children. United by their quest for hope and justice, a universal sisterhood is born out of an unimaginable situation.
John Kochman and Georgia Poivre of Cohen Media Group negotiated the agreement for Girls of the Sun with Adeline Fontan Tessaur, co-founder and international sales director of Paris-based sales and acquisition firm Elle Driver.
Ash Is Purest White stars Tao Zhao and Liao Fan. It tells the story of Qiao, in love with Bin, a local mobster. During a fight between rival gangs, she fires a gun to protect him – which results in a five-year prison sentence. Upon her release, she goes looking for Bin to pick up where they left off.
Cmg’s Kochman and Poivre negotiated the agreement with Fionnuala Jamison, head of International Sales for MK2.
“These films, while set far apart from each other, both geographically and culturally, share an urgency and passion in stories of people whose lives have been thrown into chaos,” said Charles S. Cohen. “We’re thrilled to bring both films to wider audiences.”
Adeline Fontan Tessaur of Elle Driver added, “We are extremely proud to have been able to bring to light the destiny of these astonishing Yazidi Women fighters with Eva Husson’s impassioned film, Girls of the Sun. We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with Cohen Media Group in the Us, given their proven brio with distributing resonant cinema and powerful stories. It is a great satisfaction to bring such an important film to the American audience.”
“We are extremely proud to have been able to bring to light the destiny of theses astonishing Yazidi Women fighters, with Eva Husson’s impassioned film Girls of the Sun. We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with Cohen Media Group in the Us, given their proven brio with distributing resonant author cinema and powerfull stories. It is a great satisfaction to bring such an important film to the American audience.”
Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 praised Ash director Jia ZhangKe as “one of the world’s truly great filmmakers and with Ash he delivers anther profound and riveting look at China. While his wife and muse Zhao Tao gives a powerhouse performance as a gangster’s moll. Cohen Media’s passion for this epic love story and their excellent track record in bringing foreign language films to the Oscar’s leaves us no doubt in their ability to maximize Ash’s potential. We are thrilled to be working together.’...
Charles S. Cohen, the owner, chairman, and CEO of Cohen Media Group, announced the Cmg deals in advance of the closing ceremony of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where both films had their world premiere.
Cohen Media Group has distributed over 113 feature films and 10 shorts and has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, including The Salesman from Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and the Oscar-nominated Faces Places and The Insult.
Girls of the Sun stars Golshifteh Farahani and Emmanuelle Bercot and tells a story of resistance and sisterhood. Set in modern-day Kurdistan, the drama centers on Bahar, a young lawyer visiting her family. In a bloody attack led by extremists, her husband is killed and she’s taken prisoner with her son and thousands of other women and children. United by their quest for hope and justice, a universal sisterhood is born out of an unimaginable situation.
John Kochman and Georgia Poivre of Cohen Media Group negotiated the agreement for Girls of the Sun with Adeline Fontan Tessaur, co-founder and international sales director of Paris-based sales and acquisition firm Elle Driver.
Ash Is Purest White stars Tao Zhao and Liao Fan. It tells the story of Qiao, in love with Bin, a local mobster. During a fight between rival gangs, she fires a gun to protect him – which results in a five-year prison sentence. Upon her release, she goes looking for Bin to pick up where they left off.
Cmg’s Kochman and Poivre negotiated the agreement with Fionnuala Jamison, head of International Sales for MK2.
“These films, while set far apart from each other, both geographically and culturally, share an urgency and passion in stories of people whose lives have been thrown into chaos,” said Charles S. Cohen. “We’re thrilled to bring both films to wider audiences.”
Adeline Fontan Tessaur of Elle Driver added, “We are extremely proud to have been able to bring to light the destiny of these astonishing Yazidi Women fighters with Eva Husson’s impassioned film, Girls of the Sun. We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with Cohen Media Group in the Us, given their proven brio with distributing resonant cinema and powerful stories. It is a great satisfaction to bring such an important film to the American audience.”
“We are extremely proud to have been able to bring to light the destiny of theses astonishing Yazidi Women fighters, with Eva Husson’s impassioned film Girls of the Sun. We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with Cohen Media Group in the Us, given their proven brio with distributing resonant author cinema and powerfull stories. It is a great satisfaction to bring such an important film to the American audience.”
Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 praised Ash director Jia ZhangKe as “one of the world’s truly great filmmakers and with Ash he delivers anther profound and riveting look at China. While his wife and muse Zhao Tao gives a powerhouse performance as a gangster’s moll. Cohen Media’s passion for this epic love story and their excellent track record in bringing foreign language films to the Oscar’s leaves us no doubt in their ability to maximize Ash’s potential. We are thrilled to be working together.’...
- 5/19/2018
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Since its launch in 2008, Cohen Media Group has become a much-admired producer and distributor of independent and arthouse films.
It’s the largest distributor of French films in the U.S. Its offerings have also racked up kudos, including a 2016 Oscar win for “The Salesman,” and 2017 Acad nominations for “Faces Places” and “The Insult.”
In addition, its specialty home entertainment label, the Cohen Film Collection, releases restored and re-mastered editions of classics on digital platforms, Blu-ray and DVD.
“We distribute about 10 new films a year,” says executive VP Gary Rubin, who heads up the L.A. office and notes that distribution is just one arm of a four-part business model. “We also have the library, which we’re constantly adding to; the production group, which is run by [senior VP of production] Erica Steinberg and which is producing bigger films; and then the theaters. We have several in the U.S., and Charles [Cohen, chairman-ceo] just bought La Pagode in Paris.
It’s the largest distributor of French films in the U.S. Its offerings have also racked up kudos, including a 2016 Oscar win for “The Salesman,” and 2017 Acad nominations for “Faces Places” and “The Insult.”
In addition, its specialty home entertainment label, the Cohen Film Collection, releases restored and re-mastered editions of classics on digital platforms, Blu-ray and DVD.
“We distribute about 10 new films a year,” says executive VP Gary Rubin, who heads up the L.A. office and notes that distribution is just one arm of a four-part business model. “We also have the library, which we’re constantly adding to; the production group, which is run by [senior VP of production] Erica Steinberg and which is producing bigger films; and then the theaters. We have several in the U.S., and Charles [Cohen, chairman-ceo] just bought La Pagode in Paris.
- 3/28/2018
- by Iain Blair
- Variety Film + TV
Agreement is Arte Distribution’s first ever theatrical deal.
Source: Arte
The Four Sisters
Arte Distribution, the sales arm of pan-European broadcaster Arte, has sold North American rights to Claude Lanzmann’s holocaust survivor documentary The Four Sisters to the Cohen Media Group (Cmg).
The deal marks a first foray into theatrical film sales for Arte Distribution, which normally focuses on sales of the Arte catalogue to broadcasters and streaming platforms worldwide.
“This is actually our first theatrical deal,” Céline Payot-Lehmann, head of distribution at Arte, told Screen. “We plan indeed on taking on only a few prestigious films a year co-produced by Arte for theatrical and festival audiences.”
Payot-Lehmann negotiated the deal with John Kochman, executive vice president of Cmg.
The Four Sisters consists of a quartet or remastered films, originally intended for Lanzmann’s epic work Shoah.
It revolves around four Holocaust survivors with unique destinies, each finding herself unexpectedly and improbably alive after the end of...
Source: Arte
The Four Sisters
Arte Distribution, the sales arm of pan-European broadcaster Arte, has sold North American rights to Claude Lanzmann’s holocaust survivor documentary The Four Sisters to the Cohen Media Group (Cmg).
The deal marks a first foray into theatrical film sales for Arte Distribution, which normally focuses on sales of the Arte catalogue to broadcasters and streaming platforms worldwide.
“This is actually our first theatrical deal,” Céline Payot-Lehmann, head of distribution at Arte, told Screen. “We plan indeed on taking on only a few prestigious films a year co-produced by Arte for theatrical and festival audiences.”
Payot-Lehmann negotiated the deal with John Kochman, executive vice president of Cmg.
The Four Sisters consists of a quartet or remastered films, originally intended for Lanzmann’s epic work Shoah.
It revolves around four Holocaust survivors with unique destinies, each finding herself unexpectedly and improbably alive after the end of...
- 2/1/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The film is set for a North American release in early 2018.
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights to Michel Hazanavicius’ Jean-Luc Godard biopic Redoubtable.
John Kochman, executive vice president of Cohen Media Group, negotiated the agreement with Eva Diederix, head of sales for Paris-based Wild Bunch and CAA.
Hazanavicius also wrote the film starring Louis Garrel as Godard and Stacy Martin as his second wife, Anne Wiazemsky that is currently in competition in Cannes.
A portrait of the artist as an angry middle-aged revolutionary, Redoubtable centres on the drama surrounding the shooting of Godard’s 1967 film, Le Chinoise, which starred his then-wife, Wiazemsky.
The romantic dramedy depicts the moment in Godard’s career when his commitment to revolutionary politics began to affect both his art and his personal life.
Cmg CEO Charles S. Cohen said, “We’re thrilled to work with Michel Hazanavicius and we’re especially excited to give this important film a...
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights to Michel Hazanavicius’ Jean-Luc Godard biopic Redoubtable.
John Kochman, executive vice president of Cohen Media Group, negotiated the agreement with Eva Diederix, head of sales for Paris-based Wild Bunch and CAA.
Hazanavicius also wrote the film starring Louis Garrel as Godard and Stacy Martin as his second wife, Anne Wiazemsky that is currently in competition in Cannes.
A portrait of the artist as an angry middle-aged revolutionary, Redoubtable centres on the drama surrounding the shooting of Godard’s 1967 film, Le Chinoise, which starred his then-wife, Wiazemsky.
The romantic dramedy depicts the moment in Godard’s career when his commitment to revolutionary politics began to affect both his art and his personal life.
Cmg CEO Charles S. Cohen said, “We’re thrilled to work with Michel Hazanavicius and we’re especially excited to give this important film a...
- 5/26/2017
- ScreenDaily
Wild Bunch screens Christian Carion’s latest film in Cannes.
Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to the thriller My Son (Mon Garcon) starring Guillaume Canet and Melanie Laurent.
Christian Carion directs the recently completed film that Wild Bunch is screening in Cannes.
My Son centres on a husband and wife who are growing apart as the man receives a message from his distraught ex-wife during a stop-over in France.
When she says their son has gone missing, the man begins a search and will stop at nothing to get him back.
Carion directed French Oscar nominee Joyeux Noel and Farewell (L’affaire Farewell) and most recently Come What May, which Cohen Media Group distributed last autumn.
“Following our success with Come What May we are delighted to continue our close relationship with Christian Carion,” Cohen Media Group chairman and CEO Charles Cohen said.
“I’m really happy to work again with Cohen’s crew...
Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to the thriller My Son (Mon Garcon) starring Guillaume Canet and Melanie Laurent.
Christian Carion directs the recently completed film that Wild Bunch is screening in Cannes.
My Son centres on a husband and wife who are growing apart as the man receives a message from his distraught ex-wife during a stop-over in France.
When she says their son has gone missing, the man begins a search and will stop at nothing to get him back.
Carion directed French Oscar nominee Joyeux Noel and Farewell (L’affaire Farewell) and most recently Come What May, which Cohen Media Group distributed last autumn.
“Following our success with Come What May we are delighted to continue our close relationship with Christian Carion,” Cohen Media Group chairman and CEO Charles Cohen said.
“I’m really happy to work again with Cohen’s crew...
- 5/16/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Al Pacino, Bono among talking heads in documentary profile. Separately, The Orchard has picked up Rotterdam premiere Super Dark Times, while Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films acquire Tracktown.
The distributor has picked up North American rights to Italian filmmaker Pappi Corsicato’s profile of the artist and filmmaker.
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait was created using a blend of material from Schnabel’s personal archives, newly filmed footage of the artist, and commentary from friends, family, actors and artists including Al Pacino, Mary Boone and Bono. Valeria Golino produced.
Cohen Media Group plans a theatrical release in May at the relaunched Quad Cinema in New York.
Charles S. Cohen, chairman and CEO of Cohen Media chairman and CEO Group Charles S. Cohenannounced that Cmg has acquired North American rights to Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait. The distributor
“Julian Schnabel is a brilliant artist and filmmaker and we are thrilled to bring the very personal...
The distributor has picked up North American rights to Italian filmmaker Pappi Corsicato’s profile of the artist and filmmaker.
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait was created using a blend of material from Schnabel’s personal archives, newly filmed footage of the artist, and commentary from friends, family, actors and artists including Al Pacino, Mary Boone and Bono. Valeria Golino produced.
Cohen Media Group plans a theatrical release in May at the relaunched Quad Cinema in New York.
Charles S. Cohen, chairman and CEO of Cohen Media chairman and CEO Group Charles S. Cohenannounced that Cmg has acquired North American rights to Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait. The distributor
“Julian Schnabel is a brilliant artist and filmmaker and we are thrilled to bring the very personal...
- 3/7/2017
- ScreenDaily
Producer Michel Merkt, Cohen Media Group’s John Kochman and long-time The Simpsons writer-producer Mike Reiss will also attend.
The Doha Film Institute kicked off the third edition of its bespoke event Qumra on Friday bringing together up and coming film-makers and experienced cinema professionals from across the globe.
A total of 34 Dfi-backed projects from 25 countries at different stages of development are due to attend the six-day event featuring master-classes, screenings seminars and one-on-one sessions.
“Our focus remains to cultivate the exchange of knowledge, ideas, creativity and inspiration, and create a supportive and productive space for your projects to benefit from interactions with some of the most experienced industry professionals,” said commented Dfi CEO Fatma Al-Remaihi who welcomed the guests alongside the event’s artistic director Elia Suleiman.
Prolific Portuguese producer Paulo Branco will kick off the master-classes on Saturday (5), having chosen to screen Wim Wenders’s 1994 Lisbon Story as a work representative of his career.
French...
The Doha Film Institute kicked off the third edition of its bespoke event Qumra on Friday bringing together up and coming film-makers and experienced cinema professionals from across the globe.
A total of 34 Dfi-backed projects from 25 countries at different stages of development are due to attend the six-day event featuring master-classes, screenings seminars and one-on-one sessions.
“Our focus remains to cultivate the exchange of knowledge, ideas, creativity and inspiration, and create a supportive and productive space for your projects to benefit from interactions with some of the most experienced industry professionals,” said commented Dfi CEO Fatma Al-Remaihi who welcomed the guests alongside the event’s artistic director Elia Suleiman.
Prolific Portuguese producer Paulo Branco will kick off the master-classes on Saturday (5), having chosen to screen Wim Wenders’s 1994 Lisbon Story as a work representative of his career.
French...
- 3/3/2017
- ScreenDaily
When French New Wave icon Jacques Rivette passed away earlier this year, the outpour of admiration from the film community was deafening, with obituaries flooding the internet and retrospectives quickly taking shape at film centers across the country. It has been almost a year since Rivette’s death, but luckily he’ll continue to thrive on the big screen well into 2017 and beyond. Film distributor Cohen Media Group has acquired 10 features by Rivette for restoration and release under the Cohen Film Collection banner. Variety first reported the news.
Read More: Tributes to French New Wave Master Jacques Rivette, Dead at 87
The 10 features included in the deal are all from Rivette’s career from 1984 and after. The titles include: “Love on the Ground” (1984), “Wuthering Heights” (1985), “The Gang of Four” (1989), “The Beautiful Troublemaker” (1991), “Divertimento” (1992), the two-part Joan of Arc biopic “Joan the Maiden: Part 1 – The Battles” (1994) and “Joan the Maiden: Part 2 – The Prisons” (1994), “Up,...
Read More: Tributes to French New Wave Master Jacques Rivette, Dead at 87
The 10 features included in the deal are all from Rivette’s career from 1984 and after. The titles include: “Love on the Ground” (1984), “Wuthering Heights” (1985), “The Gang of Four” (1989), “The Beautiful Troublemaker” (1991), “Divertimento” (1992), the two-part Joan of Arc biopic “Joan the Maiden: Part 1 – The Battles” (1994) and “Joan the Maiden: Part 2 – The Prisons” (1994), “Up,...
- 10/13/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights and world sales rights outside France, Germany and China to an untitled documentary currently in production by Agnès Varda and the artist known as Jr.
The Untitled Agnès Varda And Jr Project is on schedule to be completed this year and will focus on faces, encounters, huge images related to people and mostly the growth of an unlikely friendship between a 33-year-old youngster and an 88-year-old lady.
Cohen Media Group executive vice-president John Kochman brokered the deal with producer Rosalie Varda on behalf of Cine Tamaris and Jr’s production company Social Animals.
“As my life draws to a close, I find myself wanting to see ever more faces, to film or photograph them, to keep them in images if not in my memory,” said Varda.
“Jr, with his imagination and talent, gives me the opportunity to create with him new ways to share images.”
“Agnès Varda is a visionary...
The Untitled Agnès Varda And Jr Project is on schedule to be completed this year and will focus on faces, encounters, huge images related to people and mostly the growth of an unlikely friendship between a 33-year-old youngster and an 88-year-old lady.
Cohen Media Group executive vice-president John Kochman brokered the deal with producer Rosalie Varda on behalf of Cine Tamaris and Jr’s production company Social Animals.
“As my life draws to a close, I find myself wanting to see ever more faces, to film or photograph them, to keep them in images if not in my memory,” said Varda.
“Jr, with his imagination and talent, gives me the opportunity to create with him new ways to share images.”
“Agnès Varda is a visionary...
- 5/14/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American rights from Beta Cinema at Afm to Lars Kraume’s historical drama.
The People Vs. Fritz Bauer chronicles the efforts of West German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to justice in postwar Germany.
Burghart Klaussner plays Bauer and the cast includes Ronald Zehrfeld, Sebastian Blomberg and Michael Schenk.
Cohen plans a spring release. Senior vice-president John Kochman brokered the deal with Beta Cinema CEO Dirk Schuerhoff.
Bauer is a key character in Germany’s foreign-language Oscar submission Labyrinth Of Lies, which Spc ditributes in the Us.
The People Vs. Fritz Bauer chronicles the efforts of West German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to justice in postwar Germany.
Burghart Klaussner plays Bauer and the cast includes Ronald Zehrfeld, Sebastian Blomberg and Michael Schenk.
Cohen plans a spring release. Senior vice-president John Kochman brokered the deal with Beta Cinema CEO Dirk Schuerhoff.
Bauer is a key character in Germany’s foreign-language Oscar submission Labyrinth Of Lies, which Spc ditributes in the Us.
- 11/7/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Cohen Media Group has swooped on Us rights to Les Cowboys ahead of tomorrow’s screening in Toronto’s Discovery strand.
Thomas Bidegain, who wrote the screenplay to Palme d’Or winner Dheepan as well as Jacques Audiard’s Rust And Bone and A Prophet, makes his feature directorial debut.
Les Cowboys premiered at Cannes in Directors’ Fortnight back in May and tells of an Old West enthusiast in modern day France who embarks on a 16-year odyssey to track down his daughter who has run away and converted to Islam.
Cohen Media Group plans a second quarter 2016 release after Svp John Kochman negotiated with Muriel Sauzay of Pathe, which represents international sales at Tiff.
Les Cowboys will screen again at Toronto on Tuesday (Sept 15).
Thomas Bidegain, who wrote the screenplay to Palme d’Or winner Dheepan as well as Jacques Audiard’s Rust And Bone and A Prophet, makes his feature directorial debut.
Les Cowboys premiered at Cannes in Directors’ Fortnight back in May and tells of an Old West enthusiast in modern day France who embarks on a 16-year odyssey to track down his daughter who has run away and converted to Islam.
Cohen Media Group plans a second quarter 2016 release after Svp John Kochman negotiated with Muriel Sauzay of Pathe, which represents international sales at Tiff.
Les Cowboys will screen again at Toronto on Tuesday (Sept 15).
- 9/11/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Chairman and CEO Charles Cohen announced the North American deal for the Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner on Monday.
Iceland’s Grimur Hakonarson wrote and directed Rams, about estranged brothers on neighbouring sheep farms who come together when a virus threatens their flocks.
Cohen Media Group plans a February 2016 theatrical release.
Senior vice-president John Kochman negotiated the deal with CEO Jan Naszewski of Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales.
Iceland’s Grimur Hakonarson wrote and directed Rams, about estranged brothers on neighbouring sheep farms who come together when a virus threatens their flocks.
Cohen Media Group plans a February 2016 theatrical release.
Senior vice-president John Kochman negotiated the deal with CEO Jan Naszewski of Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales.
- 8/17/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Emmanuelle Bercot became the first female director to open the festival since 1987.
Cohen Media Group has acquired all Us distribution rights to this year’s Cannes Film Festival opening night feature, Standing Tall (La Tête Haute) from French filmmaker Emmanuelle Bercot.
The film, which is the second ever female-directed feature to open the festival, stars Catherine Deneuve and newcomer Rod Paradot.
Cmg plans a theatrical release in early 2016.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by Cmg svp John Kochman and Adeline Fontan Tessaur, co-founder and international sales director of Paris-based sales and acquisition firm Elle Driver.
The film follows juvenile delinquent Malony from childhood to adulthood, as a children’s judge and social worker try to save him from a life of crime.
Standing Tall received its world premiere in Cannes - out of competition - on May 13 and was released in French cinemas the same day.
Cohen Media Group has acquired all Us distribution rights to this year’s Cannes Film Festival opening night feature, Standing Tall (La Tête Haute) from French filmmaker Emmanuelle Bercot.
The film, which is the second ever female-directed feature to open the festival, stars Catherine Deneuve and newcomer Rod Paradot.
Cmg plans a theatrical release in early 2016.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by Cmg svp John Kochman and Adeline Fontan Tessaur, co-founder and international sales director of Paris-based sales and acquisition firm Elle Driver.
The film follows juvenile delinquent Malony from childhood to adulthood, as a children’s judge and social worker try to save him from a life of crime.
Standing Tall received its world premiere in Cannes - out of competition - on May 13 and was released in French cinemas the same day.
- 5/22/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Turkish feature plays in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival.
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights to Mustang, the feature directorial debut of Turkish-French filmmaker Deniz Gamze Ergüven.
The drama is showing in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Cmg plans to release the film theatrically in early 2016.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by Cmg evp John Kochman and Ram Murali, head of acquisitions and sales for Kinology.
Mustang is the story of five sisters growing up in a remote Turkish village who attempt to assimilate into the modern world, despite the pull of tradition from their family and community.
Cmg president Daniel Battsek said: “Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s incredibly confident feature film directorial debut takes a serious subject and handles it with such a sure yet light touch that one can’t help being emotionally connected to the young women she portrays with great compassion.”
Cmg’s previously acquired Cannes 2014 award-winner Timbuktu, which...
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American distribution rights to Mustang, the feature directorial debut of Turkish-French filmmaker Deniz Gamze Ergüven.
The drama is showing in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Cmg plans to release the film theatrically in early 2016.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by Cmg evp John Kochman and Ram Murali, head of acquisitions and sales for Kinology.
Mustang is the story of five sisters growing up in a remote Turkish village who attempt to assimilate into the modern world, despite the pull of tradition from their family and community.
Cmg president Daniel Battsek said: “Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s incredibly confident feature film directorial debut takes a serious subject and handles it with such a sure yet light touch that one can’t help being emotionally connected to the young women she portrays with great compassion.”
Cmg’s previously acquired Cannes 2014 award-winner Timbuktu, which...
- 5/21/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Cohen Media Group has acquired North American rights to Diary of a Chambermaid, Benoit Jacquot's period drama, starring Lea Seydoux, from Elle Driver. The film, which premiered in competition in Berlin last week, is the latest adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's novel from 1900 about the relationship between a simple chambermaid and the lecherous master of the house. The book has previously been adapted by Jean Renoir (1946) and Luis Bunuel (1964). Read more Berlin Roundtable: Five Fest Actors Talk Sex Scenes, Tough Directors and Dream Roles The deal for Chambermaid was negotiated by Cmg senior vp John Kochman and Elle
read more...
read more...
- 2/9/2015
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After making its world premiere in Toronto, François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend has inked U.S. distribution with Cohen Media Group. The Hitchcockian romance is adapted from the story by British suspense writer Ruth Rendell about Claire (Anaïs Demoustier), who discovers a surprising secret about her late best friend’s husband (Romain Duris) that tests the boundaries of sexual and gender identity. French company Mandarin Cinema produced the pic from the prolific Ozon (In The House, Swimming Pool, Under The Sand). Cmg Evp John Kochman and Films Distribution co-founder Nicolas Brigaud Robert negotiated the deal. The New Girlfriend won the Sebastian 2014 Award last week at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it screened in competition.
- 9/29/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
The Hollywood Reporter has reported (Here) that the Cohen Media Group has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to Abderrahmane Sissako’s new film Timbuktu, which tells of how people living in northern Mali deal with, and eventually resist a jihadist takeover by some militant Islamic rebels, and which just recently got rave reviews when it was shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which officially ended this weekend.According to John Kochman, who is executive vice president of Cohen Media, “Timbuktu is a movie that finds the raw, emotional heart in a political conflict and holds it up to the light." He further went on to praise Sissako and his film...
- 5/25/2014
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Film sold by Le Pacte.
Cohen Media Group has acquired all Us rights to Abderrahmane Sissako’s Cannes Competitor Timbuktu.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg Executive Vice President, and Camille Néel, head of International Sales for Le Pacte.
Cohen Media Group’s John Kochman said, “Timbuktu is a movie that finds the raw, emotional heart in a political conflict and holds it up to the light. Abderrahmane Sissako’s calm, objective eye paints characters who are all-too-real performing acts both heroic and hard to understand. He truly is one of Africa’s great filmmakers and Timbuktu is a masterpiece of storytelling, filmmaking, and human compassion. We are proud to be bringing it to a wider audience in America.”...
Cohen Media Group has acquired all Us rights to Abderrahmane Sissako’s Cannes Competitor Timbuktu.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by John Kochman, Cmg Executive Vice President, and Camille Néel, head of International Sales for Le Pacte.
Cohen Media Group’s John Kochman said, “Timbuktu is a movie that finds the raw, emotional heart in a political conflict and holds it up to the light. Abderrahmane Sissako’s calm, objective eye paints characters who are all-too-real performing acts both heroic and hard to understand. He truly is one of Africa’s great filmmakers and Timbuktu is a masterpiece of storytelling, filmmaking, and human compassion. We are proud to be bringing it to a wider audience in America.”...
- 5/24/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Hours ahead of the Palme d'Or awards ceremony in Cannes, Cohen Media Group has acquired U.S. rights to competition title Timbuktu. Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, the film tells the story of the brief occupation of Timbuktu by militant Islamic rebels. Videos: Cannes: Steve Carell, Marion Cotillard, Cate Blanchett Preview Their Upcoming Movies John Kochman, Cmg executive vice president, and Camille Neel, head of international sales for Le Pacte, negotiated the U.S. deal. Timbuktu, which had its world premiere in competition, represents Sissako’s second film to play at the Cannes Film Festival. “Timbuktu is a movie that finds the raw,
read more...
read more...
- 5/24/2014
- by Rebecca Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chairman and CEO Charles S Cohen announced (17) that the company has picked up North American and English-language remake rights to the French thriller.
Eric Barbier directed Berenice Bejo, Yvan Attal and Jean-Francois Stévenin in The Last Diamond (Le Dernier Diamant), the French Vertigo Productions thriller about a jewel thief who befriends a gem expert in the run-up to a significant auction.
Cohen Media Group evp John Kochman brokered the deal with agency Other Angle Pictures head of sales Olivier Albou and anticipates an early 2015 Us theatrical release.
The film is set to receive its international premiere at Colcoa in Los Angeles on April 25 and opens in France at the end of the month.
Cohen recently partnered with Dreamworks Studios on the remake of French thriller The Prey, which Charles Cohen is producing.
Anchor Bay Films has secured North American rights to Distant Horizon’s live action adaption of Yasuomi Umetsu’s anime revenge story Kite starring [link=nm...
Eric Barbier directed Berenice Bejo, Yvan Attal and Jean-Francois Stévenin in The Last Diamond (Le Dernier Diamant), the French Vertigo Productions thriller about a jewel thief who befriends a gem expert in the run-up to a significant auction.
Cohen Media Group evp John Kochman brokered the deal with agency Other Angle Pictures head of sales Olivier Albou and anticipates an early 2015 Us theatrical release.
The film is set to receive its international premiere at Colcoa in Los Angeles on April 25 and opens in France at the end of the month.
Cohen recently partnered with Dreamworks Studios on the remake of French thriller The Prey, which Charles Cohen is producing.
Anchor Bay Films has secured North American rights to Distant Horizon’s live action adaption of Yasuomi Umetsu’s anime revenge story Kite starring [link=nm...
- 4/17/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Cohen Media Group has made its second Toronto 2013 pickup, nabbing North American rights to Holocaust documentary “The Last of the Unjust” with an Oscar-qualifying run planned for this year followed by a 2014 theatrical release. Claude Lanzmann (“Shoah”) tells the story of a little-known concentration camp in Eastern Europe that was a stopoff for larger death camps like Auschwitz — and the daily negotiations between the local president of the Jewish Council and a Nazi official. Toronto: A24 Acquiring Scarlett Johansson Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Under the Skin’ Cohen Media Group’s Gary Rubin and John Kochman sealed the deal with co-producer Jean Labadie,...
- 9/10/2013
- by Josh Dickey
- The Wrap
Cohen Media Group has acquired North American distribution on The Last Of The Unjust, the documentary that’s playing Toronto and will follow with a New York Film Festival berth. The film is directed by Shoah helmer Claude Lanzmann and will be released theatrically next year after a qualifying run for the Oscars. The film reveals a little-known yet fundamental aspect of the Holocaust, and sheds light on the origins of the “Final Solution.” Lanzmann tells the story of the Theresienstadt concentration camp (located in what is now the Czech Republic), where tens of thousands died and many more were held before being sent to their deaths at Treblinka, Auschwitz and other camps. The central figure in the film is Benjamin Murmelstein, the last president of the Theresienstadt Jewish Council, a fallen hero condemned to exile. He was forced to negotiate day after day from 1938 until the end of the...
- 9/10/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Cohen Media Group has acquired all North American rights to Shoah director Claude Lanzmann’s Toronto entry The Last Of The Unjust.
The documentary will screen in the New York Film Festival and is lined up for a 2013 theatrical release for awards season qualification followed by traditional theatrical release in 2014.
The Last Of The Unjust chronicles the efforts by Theresienstadt concentration camp intern Benjamin Murmelstein to negotiate with Adolph Eichmann the freedom of tens of thousands of Jews.
Cohen Media Group’s John Kochman and evp Gary Rubin brokered the deal with Le Pacte CEO Jean Labadie and head of international sales Camille Neel.
Sundance Channel has acquired Us broadcast rights to the supernatural drama The Returned from Music Box Films. The eight-part French series distributed by Zodiak Rights was created by Fabrice Gobert and is based on the feature film Les Revenants by Robin Campillo. Own: Oprah Winfrey Network will broadcast later this year Barbara Kopple’s documentary...
The documentary will screen in the New York Film Festival and is lined up for a 2013 theatrical release for awards season qualification followed by traditional theatrical release in 2014.
The Last Of The Unjust chronicles the efforts by Theresienstadt concentration camp intern Benjamin Murmelstein to negotiate with Adolph Eichmann the freedom of tens of thousands of Jews.
Cohen Media Group’s John Kochman and evp Gary Rubin brokered the deal with Le Pacte CEO Jean Labadie and head of international sales Camille Neel.
Sundance Channel has acquired Us broadcast rights to the supernatural drama The Returned from Music Box Films. The eight-part French series distributed by Zodiak Rights was created by Fabrice Gobert and is based on the feature film Les Revenants by Robin Campillo. Own: Oprah Winfrey Network will broadcast later this year Barbara Kopple’s documentary...
- 9/10/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Cohen Media Group has acquired all Us release rights to Chinese Puzzle, starring Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris.
The romantic comedy-drama is the third film in writer-director Cedric Klapisch’s Spanish Apartment series and will be released theatrically in early 2014.
The film is produced by Ce qui me meut / Bruno Levy and co-produced by Studiocanal - France 2 Cinéma in France and Panache productions & La Cie Cinématographique - Rtbf in Belgium.
Studiocanal also sells the film worldwide.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by John Kochman on behalf of Cohen Media Group and Vanessa Saal, Svp of international sales for Studiocanal.
Chinese Puzzle is the next chapter in Klapisch’s series that began with 2002’s Spanish Apartment, in which French international finance student Xavier (Duris) left his girlfriend Martine (Tautou) to move Barcelona to learn Spanish.
By 2005’s Russian Dolls, Xavier had given up finance and was trying to make it as a writer, traveling between...
The romantic comedy-drama is the third film in writer-director Cedric Klapisch’s Spanish Apartment series and will be released theatrically in early 2014.
The film is produced by Ce qui me meut / Bruno Levy and co-produced by Studiocanal - France 2 Cinéma in France and Panache productions & La Cie Cinématographique - Rtbf in Belgium.
Studiocanal also sells the film worldwide.
The distribution agreement was negotiated by John Kochman on behalf of Cohen Media Group and Vanessa Saal, Svp of international sales for Studiocanal.
Chinese Puzzle is the next chapter in Klapisch’s series that began with 2002’s Spanish Apartment, in which French international finance student Xavier (Duris) left his girlfriend Martine (Tautou) to move Barcelona to learn Spanish.
By 2005’s Russian Dolls, Xavier had given up finance and was trying to make it as a writer, traveling between...
- 6/24/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Back to New York, post New Years. The Rabbi at the closing of the New Year said we still have until the next holiday (Sukkot) to ask forgiveness and to be written up in the Book of Life, and so I continue the blog I was writing regarding not only our recent New York trip but the unfinished topics that I did not get to complete in the past year, mostly about Cannes. As in Part I, this is a rambling account, so get ready for a long read.
We went to NYC after Tiff 12. Being at Ifp Filmweek in NYC where my partner Peter Belsito was on a speed dating table, we appreciated its new venue at Lincoln Center. At the same time as our event, Nyff was having its press screenings. Our own L.A. Times gave its Los Angeles stars some ink today. We hugged Rose Kuo, chatted with Eugene Hernandez, Eric Kohn and Peter Kneght, all hanging around together just like in the old Indiewire days. The layout of Ifp and Nyff at the newly designed Lincoln Center and the convergence between the two events is a great development. Joana Vicente has infused Ifp with new energy.
Rose (Kuo) is also so smart! I had wanted to discuss her unique views on distribution, festivals and exhibition in a blog. We talked about it at length during our 2 hour drive home from Monte Carlo during Cannes. Another conversation I had wanted to blog about was one held over lunch at the Plage des Palmes in Cannes with French producer, Sylvain Burnsztejn and John Kochman of Unifrance about the futility of factoring in U.S. revenues when writing up budgets and projections for French films. U.S. has to be ignored as a market because the chances of foreign language films making any money are so negligible, even when they are French which have proven to be the most popular of all foreign language films in the U.S. U.S. box office and video numbers are so small that the U.S. is excluded from important participation in the film activities among European countries unless, like the French, they offer incentives even for English language films. This is something new which is proving lucrative for mid-range U.S. productions. I spoke more about it over dinner at Antonia Dauphin and Peter Newman's 5th Avenue apartment. (Another New York great spots!)
Antonia has been casting American name actors in European funded films with great success. I told her I wanted to introduce her to my friend in Berlin, Geno Lechner of Volume57, a unique collective of international performers - actors, dancers, musicians and vagabonds - dedicated to the promotion of outstanding, independent performing artists. Geno, an actress in European art films is also the owner of an extraordinary house in Berlin which she is considering using for artist retreats. If you are lucky you could rent a unit that was recently rented by one of my favorite actresses, Tilda Swinton. You can read more about Antonia and casting in Backstage.
As Antonia and I talked, I told her about Tiff 12's Casting By, a new documentary paying tribute to the legacy of the late, legendary casting director Marion Dougherty. It shines a light on one of the most overlooked and least understood crafts in filmmaking. Packed with interviews with a "who's who" of top stars and filmmakers (she discovered James Dean and told Warren Beatty to lose his Brando accent), this world premiere screening was followed by a live, onstage discussion with people who were deeply affected by Dougherty, including some of the participants in the film. Dougherty surely would have won an Academy Award for Casting had there been any. I had never thought about this before, but the film seemed like a call to action about this issue. I am for adding an Oscar for Best Casting. The craft of casting seems like a predominately female craft. It also reminded me that I had wanted to write a blog about casting and my friend Ronnie Yeskel and her new British casting director partner. Another issue casting directors face every day is that when they submit a script to a talent agent for a client, by law the agent is supposed to send the script to the client. However, this often does not happen. This was not brought up in the film because Marion, her director clients and the actors she chose to push (Richard Dreyfus for The Graduate, Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, etc.) did not work that way. She brought new Broadway and off-Broadway talent to the directors. Anyway see the movie; it’s a great piece of New York and Hollywood history. HBO picked up No. American rights, but Submarine is still repping the film for the world.
That was quite a day; earlier the same day, my Peter (Belsito) and I had presented our ideas on the world market at Peter Newman’s 3rd year graduate class at Nyu’s Tisch School of Film. At our dinner with Peter and Antonia, we also talked with their 14 year old daughter recently returned from a year in Paris with her mother where Brodlie had studied at Gordon Bleu. She is already an accomplished food writer, and is being presented to the King and Queen of Sweden for her talent.
Another great dinner with a couple of friends, Richard Lorber, his wife Dovie Wingarsd, was at Back 40 West at Prince and Crosby in SoHo, formerly Savoy, a restaurant our friend Larry Bognanow designed and had taken us to before. We ate and rushed to the screening of his film Radio Unnamable. Speak of being So New York. This film got great coverage that very day in the N.Y. Times, not only with A.O. Scott’s review but with a separate article about “The Cuban Boys”. It was held at Karen Cooper’s Film Forum. The audience had film people in it I had not seen since my heady New York days in the early 80s like Jill Godmilow. I knew the audience was made of other New York intelligentsia though I did not know them, and consequently I did not go to the after party, a mistake I frequently make due to my innate shyness. Oh well, try as I might, I cannot entirely rid myself of this...Maybe during the New Year I'll be better.
The story of Wbai’s Bob Fass, an icon of free speech radio, his legacy and his archives, are, to quote Variety, “as epic as the medium gets”. Indiewire itself says that it “superbly recreates a time when radio mattered”. I loved this doc about the people who never sleep in the city that never sleeps. I knew Wbai’s call letters but did not know Bob Fass. He evokes a NYC that equals that New York of Weegee. The warm testimonies and radio appearances by such friends of his such as Larry Krassner, Arlo Guthrie, Kinky Freidman, Abbie Hoffman, Bob Dylan, Joni Collins, Carly Simon evoke an entire era. He created the community network in the days of be-ins and fly-ins, flash mobs via radio. I loved this movie, the venue, the audience. A totally New York experience. Thank you Richard and Dovie! See the film’s website www.radiounnameablemovie.com or on Facebook or via www.kinolorber.com.
We called on Susan Krim, Donald’s recent widow but didn’t connect. She welcomed in the New Year with her two children in a country house she and Don had bought not so long ago.
We went to Rosh Hashanah at B’nai Jeshurin, the Upper Westside Reconstructionist Synagogue whose music Shlomo Carlbach created and which is now under the leadership of Argentinean clergy and cantor. The next day, we were invited by an old friend from Peter’s childhood in Bayside, Queens to Temple Emanu-el, the High Reform Synagogue of the Upper Eastside. Their rabbi retires next year and this year’s sermon was by the woman rabbi there. This brave woman spoke of church and state, faith-based politics, the kashruth of what makes a fetus a human with a soul and what control a woman has over her own body, and when must we speak out for what we believe to be true. (And if now now, when?)
A press screening of Bianconieves (Isa: 6 Sales) which some after-tiff buzz was held in N.Y.and L.A. but I missed it! Pity! I do hope I will see it soon as Snow White ranks with my favorite Sleeping Beauty among childhood fairy tales I loved.
Hilary Davis of Bankside, here for Ifp No Borders, her husband, Peter and I had an outstanding dinner at Robert with a view from the 9th floor of 2 Columbus Circle at the Museum of Arts and Design. So New York! I later returned for lunch with my cousin and afterward visited the Museum whose elevator dropped me on the 3rd floor where there was a native arts’ exhibiton for modern and traditional art from the Americas.
Trisha Robinson who was in acquisitions with me at Lorimar in the late 80s and went on to head Academy Home Video when video was going through its changes, has moved to New York’s Upper East Side for the next year or two. Our dinner at Table d’hote, a small intimate and quiet restaurant with 6 tables on East 92ndStreet at Madison had wonderful waiters and great Italian food. The next day Trisha and I had lunch at the Vienneses café in Neue Galerie and then went to the Guggenheim to see the photograpy retrospective of contemporary Dutch woman, Rineke Dijkstra.
Dinner with Ben Barenholz at an old favorite of his in Chelsea from before he had moved to the Eastside brought up film history in yet another New York light. His first midnight screening (El Topo), his box office all time winner Cousin, Cousine and his experiment with dubbing, his opinions of film today, of the people we know, his remembering having hired John Tilley as soon as he graduated college in North Carolina, and of hiring Eamonn Bowles for his first job outside of college again made me want to write a book! I plan to look up his history on the internet in the coming year. Ben had wanted to go to Gotham Pizza which has the best pizza in N.Y., but it was too crowded, so we went down 9th St. to another old, small and intimate Italian restaurant.
Some of my readers might remember Joy Pereths. She was the first U.S. rep for U.K.’s Channel Four / Film Four and licensed My Beautiful Laundrette to me when I was buying for Lorimar and Orion Classics, in the days when it was run by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Donna Giogliotti. Lorimar paid $75,000 for U.S. rights. That went toward P&A as it opened in N.Y. and L.A. and from there the film went on to make an astonishing $7 million at the box office and sold 75,000 video cassettes at wholesale, $59.95 a unit. The first film I acquired on my return to L.A. for Lorimar (and their first acquisition as well), the first film produced by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radcliffe, the first produced film written by Hanif Kureishi, starring Daniel Day Lewis, sold to U.S. by a British company, gay and with a Pakistani protagonist – what a record of firsts! I recall that when I made the deal, N.Y. was in hurricane-warning mode and Joy and I had to hold on to each other as we crossed the street from Lincoln Center. She is now raising money for marketing a documentary film.
Finally, my friend who dates back to before those Lorimar days, to the days she worked for Fox-Lorber and I was looking for my next job in New York after heading a special social issue documentyr branch of Films Inc, started by Charles’ wife Marge Benton. Susan Margolin of New Video had lots of news and ideas to share now that the company has been acquired by Cinedigm. She’s bringing together a new staff. Jeff Reichert from Magnolia heads theatrical marketing and former New Video executive Stephanie Bruder is VP of marketing; Vincent (Vinni) Scordino – who started with Sara Rose at Picurehouse -- is VP of acquisitions, and Bob Fiorella is Executive VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Entertainment. Also, Ellen Trost is their Business Affairs Manager is a great asset. We knew each other when she was in London working for a blue chip company, BFI if I remember correctly. I bumped into her on the streets in New York quite by accident.
Finally, we had lunch with Juan Caceras and Vanessa Erazo of the New York Latino Film Festival at Spice, a Thai restaurant on 9th Avenue in Chelsea. My readers know them as the originators ad writers of Latino Buzz which appears on SydneysBuzz every Wednesday (except today!). It was the first time we met face to faces. We discussed their wish to bring light to the Latino filmmakers in the U.S. in their blog and how pleased they are to be receiving news for others requesting blog space. I love having them use SydneysBuzz as their platform. Juan’s film was picked up for North American distribution by Tla and is winding down its festival run of about 20 film festivals. We discussed the Latin Film Festivals in the U.S. Vanessa’s ideas about the feasibility of a sort of Latino Film Festival co-ordinating umbrella and our discussion of the upcoming Film Festival Academy (Ffa) which will hold its first edition with the New York Film Festival this year spurred us on to creating a workable plan.
As I write this the High Holidays have come to a close. Completed are the processes of Atonement, Reconciliation and a Turning Back to what is important with my fellow humankind. Thursday I will take off on my next trip, this time a four- day trip to trinidad + tobago film festival. You’ll hear more from me then.
Until then, Le Shana Tova! A Sweet New Year! May you be inscribed in the Book of Life. Forgive me if my rambling has bored you, though if you got this far, it is a compliment for which I thank you!
We went to NYC after Tiff 12. Being at Ifp Filmweek in NYC where my partner Peter Belsito was on a speed dating table, we appreciated its new venue at Lincoln Center. At the same time as our event, Nyff was having its press screenings. Our own L.A. Times gave its Los Angeles stars some ink today. We hugged Rose Kuo, chatted with Eugene Hernandez, Eric Kohn and Peter Kneght, all hanging around together just like in the old Indiewire days. The layout of Ifp and Nyff at the newly designed Lincoln Center and the convergence between the two events is a great development. Joana Vicente has infused Ifp with new energy.
Rose (Kuo) is also so smart! I had wanted to discuss her unique views on distribution, festivals and exhibition in a blog. We talked about it at length during our 2 hour drive home from Monte Carlo during Cannes. Another conversation I had wanted to blog about was one held over lunch at the Plage des Palmes in Cannes with French producer, Sylvain Burnsztejn and John Kochman of Unifrance about the futility of factoring in U.S. revenues when writing up budgets and projections for French films. U.S. has to be ignored as a market because the chances of foreign language films making any money are so negligible, even when they are French which have proven to be the most popular of all foreign language films in the U.S. U.S. box office and video numbers are so small that the U.S. is excluded from important participation in the film activities among European countries unless, like the French, they offer incentives even for English language films. This is something new which is proving lucrative for mid-range U.S. productions. I spoke more about it over dinner at Antonia Dauphin and Peter Newman's 5th Avenue apartment. (Another New York great spots!)
Antonia has been casting American name actors in European funded films with great success. I told her I wanted to introduce her to my friend in Berlin, Geno Lechner of Volume57, a unique collective of international performers - actors, dancers, musicians and vagabonds - dedicated to the promotion of outstanding, independent performing artists. Geno, an actress in European art films is also the owner of an extraordinary house in Berlin which she is considering using for artist retreats. If you are lucky you could rent a unit that was recently rented by one of my favorite actresses, Tilda Swinton. You can read more about Antonia and casting in Backstage.
As Antonia and I talked, I told her about Tiff 12's Casting By, a new documentary paying tribute to the legacy of the late, legendary casting director Marion Dougherty. It shines a light on one of the most overlooked and least understood crafts in filmmaking. Packed with interviews with a "who's who" of top stars and filmmakers (she discovered James Dean and told Warren Beatty to lose his Brando accent), this world premiere screening was followed by a live, onstage discussion with people who were deeply affected by Dougherty, including some of the participants in the film. Dougherty surely would have won an Academy Award for Casting had there been any. I had never thought about this before, but the film seemed like a call to action about this issue. I am for adding an Oscar for Best Casting. The craft of casting seems like a predominately female craft. It also reminded me that I had wanted to write a blog about casting and my friend Ronnie Yeskel and her new British casting director partner. Another issue casting directors face every day is that when they submit a script to a talent agent for a client, by law the agent is supposed to send the script to the client. However, this often does not happen. This was not brought up in the film because Marion, her director clients and the actors she chose to push (Richard Dreyfus for The Graduate, Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, etc.) did not work that way. She brought new Broadway and off-Broadway talent to the directors. Anyway see the movie; it’s a great piece of New York and Hollywood history. HBO picked up No. American rights, but Submarine is still repping the film for the world.
That was quite a day; earlier the same day, my Peter (Belsito) and I had presented our ideas on the world market at Peter Newman’s 3rd year graduate class at Nyu’s Tisch School of Film. At our dinner with Peter and Antonia, we also talked with their 14 year old daughter recently returned from a year in Paris with her mother where Brodlie had studied at Gordon Bleu. She is already an accomplished food writer, and is being presented to the King and Queen of Sweden for her talent.
Another great dinner with a couple of friends, Richard Lorber, his wife Dovie Wingarsd, was at Back 40 West at Prince and Crosby in SoHo, formerly Savoy, a restaurant our friend Larry Bognanow designed and had taken us to before. We ate and rushed to the screening of his film Radio Unnamable. Speak of being So New York. This film got great coverage that very day in the N.Y. Times, not only with A.O. Scott’s review but with a separate article about “The Cuban Boys”. It was held at Karen Cooper’s Film Forum. The audience had film people in it I had not seen since my heady New York days in the early 80s like Jill Godmilow. I knew the audience was made of other New York intelligentsia though I did not know them, and consequently I did not go to the after party, a mistake I frequently make due to my innate shyness. Oh well, try as I might, I cannot entirely rid myself of this...Maybe during the New Year I'll be better.
The story of Wbai’s Bob Fass, an icon of free speech radio, his legacy and his archives, are, to quote Variety, “as epic as the medium gets”. Indiewire itself says that it “superbly recreates a time when radio mattered”. I loved this doc about the people who never sleep in the city that never sleeps. I knew Wbai’s call letters but did not know Bob Fass. He evokes a NYC that equals that New York of Weegee. The warm testimonies and radio appearances by such friends of his such as Larry Krassner, Arlo Guthrie, Kinky Freidman, Abbie Hoffman, Bob Dylan, Joni Collins, Carly Simon evoke an entire era. He created the community network in the days of be-ins and fly-ins, flash mobs via radio. I loved this movie, the venue, the audience. A totally New York experience. Thank you Richard and Dovie! See the film’s website www.radiounnameablemovie.com or on Facebook or via www.kinolorber.com.
We called on Susan Krim, Donald’s recent widow but didn’t connect. She welcomed in the New Year with her two children in a country house she and Don had bought not so long ago.
We went to Rosh Hashanah at B’nai Jeshurin, the Upper Westside Reconstructionist Synagogue whose music Shlomo Carlbach created and which is now under the leadership of Argentinean clergy and cantor. The next day, we were invited by an old friend from Peter’s childhood in Bayside, Queens to Temple Emanu-el, the High Reform Synagogue of the Upper Eastside. Their rabbi retires next year and this year’s sermon was by the woman rabbi there. This brave woman spoke of church and state, faith-based politics, the kashruth of what makes a fetus a human with a soul and what control a woman has over her own body, and when must we speak out for what we believe to be true. (And if now now, when?)
A press screening of Bianconieves (Isa: 6 Sales) which some after-tiff buzz was held in N.Y.and L.A. but I missed it! Pity! I do hope I will see it soon as Snow White ranks with my favorite Sleeping Beauty among childhood fairy tales I loved.
Hilary Davis of Bankside, here for Ifp No Borders, her husband, Peter and I had an outstanding dinner at Robert with a view from the 9th floor of 2 Columbus Circle at the Museum of Arts and Design. So New York! I later returned for lunch with my cousin and afterward visited the Museum whose elevator dropped me on the 3rd floor where there was a native arts’ exhibiton for modern and traditional art from the Americas.
Trisha Robinson who was in acquisitions with me at Lorimar in the late 80s and went on to head Academy Home Video when video was going through its changes, has moved to New York’s Upper East Side for the next year or two. Our dinner at Table d’hote, a small intimate and quiet restaurant with 6 tables on East 92ndStreet at Madison had wonderful waiters and great Italian food. The next day Trisha and I had lunch at the Vienneses café in Neue Galerie and then went to the Guggenheim to see the photograpy retrospective of contemporary Dutch woman, Rineke Dijkstra.
Dinner with Ben Barenholz at an old favorite of his in Chelsea from before he had moved to the Eastside brought up film history in yet another New York light. His first midnight screening (El Topo), his box office all time winner Cousin, Cousine and his experiment with dubbing, his opinions of film today, of the people we know, his remembering having hired John Tilley as soon as he graduated college in North Carolina, and of hiring Eamonn Bowles for his first job outside of college again made me want to write a book! I plan to look up his history on the internet in the coming year. Ben had wanted to go to Gotham Pizza which has the best pizza in N.Y., but it was too crowded, so we went down 9th St. to another old, small and intimate Italian restaurant.
Some of my readers might remember Joy Pereths. She was the first U.S. rep for U.K.’s Channel Four / Film Four and licensed My Beautiful Laundrette to me when I was buying for Lorimar and Orion Classics, in the days when it was run by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Donna Giogliotti. Lorimar paid $75,000 for U.S. rights. That went toward P&A as it opened in N.Y. and L.A. and from there the film went on to make an astonishing $7 million at the box office and sold 75,000 video cassettes at wholesale, $59.95 a unit. The first film I acquired on my return to L.A. for Lorimar (and their first acquisition as well), the first film produced by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radcliffe, the first produced film written by Hanif Kureishi, starring Daniel Day Lewis, sold to U.S. by a British company, gay and with a Pakistani protagonist – what a record of firsts! I recall that when I made the deal, N.Y. was in hurricane-warning mode and Joy and I had to hold on to each other as we crossed the street from Lincoln Center. She is now raising money for marketing a documentary film.
Finally, my friend who dates back to before those Lorimar days, to the days she worked for Fox-Lorber and I was looking for my next job in New York after heading a special social issue documentyr branch of Films Inc, started by Charles’ wife Marge Benton. Susan Margolin of New Video had lots of news and ideas to share now that the company has been acquired by Cinedigm. She’s bringing together a new staff. Jeff Reichert from Magnolia heads theatrical marketing and former New Video executive Stephanie Bruder is VP of marketing; Vincent (Vinni) Scordino – who started with Sara Rose at Picurehouse -- is VP of acquisitions, and Bob Fiorella is Executive VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Entertainment. Also, Ellen Trost is their Business Affairs Manager is a great asset. We knew each other when she was in London working for a blue chip company, BFI if I remember correctly. I bumped into her on the streets in New York quite by accident.
Finally, we had lunch with Juan Caceras and Vanessa Erazo of the New York Latino Film Festival at Spice, a Thai restaurant on 9th Avenue in Chelsea. My readers know them as the originators ad writers of Latino Buzz which appears on SydneysBuzz every Wednesday (except today!). It was the first time we met face to faces. We discussed their wish to bring light to the Latino filmmakers in the U.S. in their blog and how pleased they are to be receiving news for others requesting blog space. I love having them use SydneysBuzz as their platform. Juan’s film was picked up for North American distribution by Tla and is winding down its festival run of about 20 film festivals. We discussed the Latin Film Festivals in the U.S. Vanessa’s ideas about the feasibility of a sort of Latino Film Festival co-ordinating umbrella and our discussion of the upcoming Film Festival Academy (Ffa) which will hold its first edition with the New York Film Festival this year spurred us on to creating a workable plan.
As I write this the High Holidays have come to a close. Completed are the processes of Atonement, Reconciliation and a Turning Back to what is important with my fellow humankind. Thursday I will take off on my next trip, this time a four- day trip to trinidad + tobago film festival. You’ll hear more from me then.
Until then, Le Shana Tova! A Sweet New Year! May you be inscribed in the Book of Life. Forgive me if my rambling has bored you, though if you got this far, it is a compliment for which I thank you!
- 9/27/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
A lot of companies in Cannes are not directly responsible for the buying and selling of films, but rather operate in an important support capacity. The various film commissions that set up shop along the Croisette are good examples. I took the opportunity to speak with industy veteran John Kochman who represents the French film industry in the States via an organization called Unifrance.
So tell me a bit about Unifrance; what is it and how long has it been
Around?
Unifrance was started in 1949 and is the official French film industry agency for the promotion of French cinema around the world. Its 800 members are producers, sales agents, talent agents, actors and filmmakers of features and short films.
What is your position and what does that entail specifically?
I represent Unifrance in the Us, meaning my job is to offer financial and logistical support to American distributors, festivals and film societies who promote French films, whether it's a theatrical release, festival showcase, or an event that we are partners in organizing, such as the Rendezvous with French Cinema in New York.
How did you get into this line of work?
I started out representing a UK film lab (Kay Labs) in Paris in the late '70s. The idea was to get distributors to send their dubbed soundtracks to London for film processing. It was a great education in the French film business! From there I gravitated to foreign sales (Samuel Goldwyn, MK2, StudioCanal), and to Unifrance in 2006.
What's your take on the current climate for French films abroad?
Very friendly for many types of film these days. France enjoys an edge in that it possesses a highly talented film industry producing some of the world's most interesting and diverse cinema. Many mainstream movies intended for domestic audiences are also doing well abroad; an encouraging development.
Have things improved lately or do you feel the market tightening?
It's always tough, but of course it's been a terrific year for French films. The trick is riding the wave of opportunity in this very rapidly changing marketplace.
Next up...The Exhibitor
Written by Zack Coffman. Follow Zack's film marketing tips and adventures @choppertown on Twitter.
So tell me a bit about Unifrance; what is it and how long has it been
Around?
Unifrance was started in 1949 and is the official French film industry agency for the promotion of French cinema around the world. Its 800 members are producers, sales agents, talent agents, actors and filmmakers of features and short films.
What is your position and what does that entail specifically?
I represent Unifrance in the Us, meaning my job is to offer financial and logistical support to American distributors, festivals and film societies who promote French films, whether it's a theatrical release, festival showcase, or an event that we are partners in organizing, such as the Rendezvous with French Cinema in New York.
How did you get into this line of work?
I started out representing a UK film lab (Kay Labs) in Paris in the late '70s. The idea was to get distributors to send their dubbed soundtracks to London for film processing. It was a great education in the French film business! From there I gravitated to foreign sales (Samuel Goldwyn, MK2, StudioCanal), and to Unifrance in 2006.
What's your take on the current climate for French films abroad?
Very friendly for many types of film these days. France enjoys an edge in that it possesses a highly talented film industry producing some of the world's most interesting and diverse cinema. Many mainstream movies intended for domestic audiences are also doing well abroad; an encouraging development.
Have things improved lately or do you feel the market tightening?
It's always tough, but of course it's been a terrific year for French films. The trick is riding the wave of opportunity in this very rapidly changing marketplace.
Next up...The Exhibitor
Written by Zack Coffman. Follow Zack's film marketing tips and adventures @choppertown on Twitter.
- 6/18/2012
- by Zack Coffman
- Sydney's Buzz
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