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UK filmmakers and talent have a strong showing at Sundance 2025, taking place from January 23 to February 2, 2025 in Park City.

Brides, the feature debut of theatre director and incoming Young Vic artistic director Nadia Fall,premieres in the World Cinema Dramatic competition.The film, which is written by Suhayla El-Bushra,follows two troubled teenage girls who decide to run away to Syria, is produced by Neon’s Nicky Bentham and Marica Stocchi from Italian outfit Rosamont.

It was supported by the BFI and Ffilm Cymru Wales, Welsh Government via Creative Wales, Great Point Media, the Italian Ministry of Culture Minority Co-production Fund,...

With only two films selections it looks like Sundance’s Spotlight section is about to be snuffed out but among the pair of films programmed here we find perhaps the best sophomore feature of 2024 in Dea Kulumbegashvili‘s Venice Film Festival competition premiered April — which lands another U.S premiere after showcasing at the New York Film Festival last October. Metrograph Pictures grabbed the rights on this one.

One to One: John & Yoko by Kevin Macdonald is the other offering here. In the solo Family Matinee offering – Isaiah Saxon long-anticipated The Legend of Ochi will also go to Park City while Eugene Jarecki returns with a hot-topic The Six Billion Dollar Man for the Special Screenings offering.…...

In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week: the music videos of Encyclopedia Pictura. Recently the trailer for A24's The Legend of Ochi dropped online, and the filmmaker behind it might not ring a bell as it is his debut feature. Isaiah Saxon should be well known to fans of animated shorts and music videos though, as he is one part of the collective Encyclopedia Pictura. Allow me to introduce the collective to newcomers, as Encyclopedia Pictura well deserves to be a household name. If three things are emblematic for Encyclopedia Pictura it is their ambition, their mixed-media approach and their love for nature. Let's tackle their ambition first: Encyclopedia Pictura is not...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

“Heretic” co-writers and directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are worshiping at the altar of A24, especially amid the blasphemy of using AI in films.

The “A Quiet Place” screenwriters told Variety that A24 fully supported the inclusion of an end-credits message saying that “no generative AI was used in the making of this film” to point to the practical effects of the indie horror feature.

“Heretic” opens in theaters November 8, and stars Hugh Grant as a theological scholar who preys upon two Mormon teen missionaries, played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East.

“As far as we’re aware, they’re absolutely fine with it,” Beck said about A24 backing the AI message in the film. “They’re a studio that is incredibly artist-friendly in the best sense possible. They’re a home where you feel like you’re working with human beings, you’re not working with algorithms, or...

What would you get if you combined the ears of Yoda, the face of a kinkajou, the furriness of Paddington, and the mythical mischievousness of Gremlins' Gizmo into one adorable little fantasy creature? The answer is probably something a little like Ochi, the titular cutie at the heart of The Legend Of Ochi, an original A24 fantasy adventure from first-time feature writer-director — and long-time music video maker for the likes of Björk, Grizzly Bear, and Kanye West — Isaiah Saxon. It stars Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard, and newcomer Helena Zengel, and it looks like a wild ride of a movie. Check out the trailer below:

First thing's first — none, and we repeat none, of what you see in the above trailer is AI (no matter what folk on X/Twitter may try to say to the contrary.) Saxon's movie and its fantastical central lil' guy is a product of animatronics,...

Su director y guionista, Isaiah Saxon, ha tenido que defenderse de acusaciones de uso de Ia. © A24

A24 ha publicado el primer tráiler y póster de The Legend of Ochi, una aventura épica de fantasía que supone la ópera prima de Isaiah Saxon, tras haber dirigido videoclips de artistas como Björk, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors o Kanye West, y que también ha escrito el guion de la película.

The Legend of Ochi se sitúa en un remoto pueblo del norte. Una niña, Yuri, es educada para no salir nunca de noche y para temer a las criaturas del bosque conocidas como Ochi. Cuando un bebé Ochi es abandonado por su manada, Yuri se embarca en la aventura de su vida para reunirlo con su familia.

La película está protagonizada por Helena Zengel (Noticias del gran mundo), Finn Wolfhard (Cazafantasmas: Imperio helado), Emily Watson (Gosford Park) y Willem Dafoe (Pobres criaturas).

Después del lanzamiento del tráiler,...

A24 has debuted the full official trailer for the original fantasy adventure ‘The Legend of Ochi.’

Set in a remote northern village, a young girl named Yuri is raised to never go outside after dark and to fear the reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi.

When a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.

Music video director Isaiah Saxon makes his feature directorial debut. The cast includes Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel.

Also in trailers – Osgood Perkins & Stephen King? Sign us up… Full trailer drops for ‘The Monkey’

The movie hit U.S. cinemas on February 28th 2025.

The post Just trust me…” Trailer drops for ‘The Legend of Ochi’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

“The Legend of Ochi” is already gaining internet lore.

The upcoming A24 fantasy adventure film sent the internet into a tizzy with its first trailer, which marked the debut of the adorable eponymous Ochi creature — but also had fans wondering if the sprawling epic used generative AI for its production.

In short: No, it didn’t.

Writer/director Isaiah Saxon, who makes his directorial debut with the feature, took to X to refute assumptions that AI was involved. A source close to A24 also confirmed to IndieWire that the film was handmade.

“All close and medium shots of the Ochi are animatronics, puppetry, and suit performers,” Saxon wrote in a since-deleted post. “Wider stunt shots are 3D animation.”

Saxon further added, “Six years of handmade work: puppets, animatronics, matte paintings, and a bit of 3D animation. No AI. There’s the statement.”

Saxon also clarified which scenes involved real sheep,...

People tend to fear what they do not understand, and in A24‘s The Legend of Ochi trailer, a young girl defies the laws of tradition to return a mythical creature to its forest home. Isaiah Saxon wrote and directed this adventure fantasy film starring Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Finn Wolfhard.

The Legend of Ochi takes place in what appears to be some post-apocalyptic setting, with survivors forever fearful of what lurks within the depths of a nearby jungle. The group shares stories about a vicious creature skulking beyond the treeline, drooling and waiting for anyone foolish enough to come within its iron-like grasp. They hunt the beast but know little about its actual identity. It’s all fear-mongering and cautionary tales. That is until one young woman, Yuri, discovers the truth and can communicate with the creature.

Here’s the official logline for The Legend of Ochi...

"They can't be our pets." "He's my friend." A24 has revealed an official trailer for a magical new adventure film called The Legend of Ochi, marking the feature debut of up-and-coming filmmaker Isaiah Saxon. He has created many shorts and other cinema projects, but this is his first movie and it's gorgeous. "Something else is out there..." A young girl who lives on a mysterious island heads off on her own into the wilderness when she befriends a little creature known as an Ochi. Similar to a monkey, but not like anything that really exists. The rest is a mystery, though IMDb adds that she "uncovers the mysteries of animal communication." Look at this little cutie! Reminds me of Gizmo from Gremlins. The film stars Helena Zengel (from System Crasher & News of the World), Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, and Willem Dafoe. It was originally filmed in 2021 and took three years to complete.

If you haven’t heard the name Isaiah Saxon, you likely will soon. An American film and music video director, Saxon co-founded the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura and the online community DIY.org. He’s co-directed incredibly imaginative, surreal music videos for Grizzly Bear, Björk, and Panda Bear that all feel like a whimsical, creative mix of Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze, and it should be no surprise his inventive work has inspired a forward-looking company like A24 to back his first feature-length film.

Continue reading ‘The Legend Of Ochi’ Trailer: Helena Zengel & Willem Dafoe Star In A24’s Fantasy Adventure About Magical Forest Creatures at The Playlist.

Well, 2024 just got its new adorable mascot thanks to “The Legend of Ochi.”

The upcoming A24 indie fantasy adventure film teased a creature that looks eerily similar to Grogu Aka Baby Yoda-slash-“Gremlins” character Gizmo as a central figure in the coming-of-age tale.

Writer/director Isaiah Saxon makes his feature debut with “The Legend of Ochi” after helming music videos for Björk, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, and Kanye West. Saxon is also the co-founder of the animation studio Encyclopedia Pictura.

“The Legend of Ochi” is based on Saxon’s own characters and screenplay. The film tells the story of a young girl (Helena Zengel) who runs away from home and learns to communicate with an elusive animal species known as Ochi, hence the title.

Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, and A24 staple star Willem Dafoe round out the cast.

Writer/director Saxon shared first look images at the animation of...

Exclusive: Neighborhood Watch, the New York-based production company behind titles like Cannes prize winner Blue Ruin and the Netflix docuseries Killer Sally, has brought in Dal Wolf to serve as Managing Director and Executive Producer.

Other new additions to the roster, who will create projects under the banner, include filmmakers Fatal Farm, Sergio Cilli, and Adam Bricker.

Best known for helping to launch commercial production company Gifted Youth alongside the team at Funny or Die, Wolf comes to Neighborhood Watch after overseeing numerous Fortune 100 company campaigns. Notable past projects in the commercial space include Fatal Farm’s “Apologize the Rainbow” for Skittles and Pepsi’s “Test Drive 1 & 2,” among many others.

Stated Wolf on his hiring, “Joining the team with Traci [Carlson] and Rich [Peete] has already been rewarding. As soon as we met we recognized our shared values and approach. They are also a team that, like myself, started from the ground...

Italy’s I Wonder Pictures has acquired Italian rights to three new titles from A24, including Benny Safdie’s hotly anticipated “The Smashing Machine” with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

The move solidifies an ongoing rapport between the indie U.S. studio and the growing Italian distributor.

“Smashing Machine,” which is currently in production and stars “The Rock” as legendary Mma fighter Mark Kerr, who struggled with addiction and his marriage while becoming an icon of the sport, will be released by I Wonder in Italian cinemas in 2025.

I Wonder, which is owned and operated by Biografilm Festival founder Andrea Romeo, has a longstanding — albeit not exclusive — rapport with A24, having successfully released other A24 titles such as “The Zone of Interest,” Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

Besides “Smashing Machine,” I Wonder’s new titles now set for Italian release in 2025 also comprise A...

Exclusive: Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe is set to join the ensemble cast of of Sony Pictures’ SNL 1975 (working title), which will be directed by Jason Reitman and based on the real-life behind-the-scenes accounts of the opening episode of Saturday Night Live. Reitman and Gil Kenan penned the script.

Dafoe will play David Tebet, who was VP Talent Relations at NBC when SNL launched.

On October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. SNL 1975 is the true story of what happened behind the scenes that night in the moments leading up to the first broadcast of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. It depicts the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

The screenplay is based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by...

With professional baggage that includes music video work for the likes of Björk, Panda Bear, Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear, Isaiah Saxon has been painstakingly putting together The Legend of Ochi since October of 2021. Among the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Labs attendees back in 2018, due to the complex work involved in post, it’ll have been a long journey to completion for Saxon’s feature debut — animation takes time folks! Starring Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel, some scenes The Legend of Ochi were shot in Transylvania and other magical backdrops. Cinematographer Evan Prosofsky (who has worked on Sam Kuhn’s shorts films) was hired here.…...

Amid a host of lawsuits by foreign productions looking to recoup money from Romania’s beleaguered cash rebate system, industry insiders say the situation has reached a crisis point, with one leading U.K. financier and executive producer warning that the government runs the risk of “obliterating foreign direct investment” into Romania if a resolution isn’t reached in the coming weeks.

Nearly a dozen lawsuits are currently active in the Romanian court system, which last month ordered the government to pay roughly 642,000 plus legal fees to the producers of “The World to Come” (pictured), writer-director Mona Fastvold’s romantic frontier drama starring Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston, which filmed in Romania in 2019. The government has appealed the ruling.

The U.K. financier, who has two decades of experience in the country, says that an impasse now dragging into its third year has caused “immense reputational damage” to both the government and the industry.

“Sex Education” star Asa Butterfield and “Stranger Things” actor Natalia Dyer are set to take the lead roles in high concept horror thriller “All Fun and Games.” The movie follows a group of siblings who find themselves in a game with a demonic twist.

Anton, whose credits include “Greenland,” “The Night House” and “Curs>r,” is producing with Anthony and Joe Russo’s Agbo, best known for “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” and will present the film to buyers at the virtual European Film Market in Berlin next month.

It will be co-directed by Ari Costa, whose credits include “Extraction,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Internet Kills,” and Eren Celeboglu, who worked on “The Internet Kills” and “Scrubs,” in their directorial debuts. It will be written from a script they co-wrote based off J.J. Braider’s original spec that sold competitively to Agbo. Principal photography is set to begin at...

A24 continues its streak of betting the farm on promising new storytellers and adds a foray into new-to-A24 genre territory. The entertainment company has greenlit Isaiah Saxon's fantasy epic "The Legend of Ochi," which will mark Saxon's feature debut and star Willem Dafoe ("The Lighthouse") and Finn Wolfhard ("Ghostbusters: Afterlife"). Saxon and Encyclopedia Pictura will produce alongside Traci Carlson and Richard Peete under the Neighborhood Watch banner, and Jonathan Wang with Year of the Rat. "The Legend of Ochi" is executive produced by The Russo Brothers, Mike Larocca and Angela Russo-Otstot of Agbo, Louise Lovegrove, and Alex Plapinger.

The movie...

The post A24's First Family Film The Legend of Ochi to Star Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard appeared first on /Film.

Exclusive: A24 has has assembled an all-star cast including Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel for Isaiah Saxon’s fantasy epic The Legend of Ochi. The film will mark Saxon’s debut feature and is based on his original characters, world and screenplay.

The Legend of Ochi follows a young girl (Zengel) who runs away from home and learns to communicate with an elusive animal species known as Ochi. The film will include an original score by composer and Dirty Projectors founder Dave Longstreth, a frequent collaborator of Saxon’s animation and film studio Encyclopedia Pictura.

Encyclopedia Pictura co-founder Saxon has directed music videos and projects for Björk, Panda Bear, Dirty Projectors, Kanye West and Grizzly Bear. Encyclopedia Pictura is currently developing an animated series at Apple, and its animated pilot for Cartoon Network, DIY, is based on DIY.org, an online community it co-founded to teach kids practical skills.

Gather round and enjoy, friends. This is one of the most beautiful and emotional animated short films of the year. Earth Crisis is a new animated short made by filmmaker Isaiah Saxon set to the music of Dirty Projectors. It's a story about Earth, and what we're (humans) doing to it, and how vitally important it is to nurture and appreciate nature and life (that isn't human) on this planet. Isaiah introduces it: "Hi friends, I miss you. I made a new film about everything I’ve been feeling this year. If you have a moment, please watch." What I love about this short is that it's just gorgeous in every way, filled with love and appreciate for nature and Earth. There's a cute doggie that plays an important part, and so many lovely landscape shots. I also love coming across animation that is so distinct and entirely different than other animation out there.

Vimeo has announced its 2018 nominees for the Best of the Year Staff Picks Awards. Vimeo has recognized the best Staff Picks of the year by calling out the winners on its blog since 2016, but the company is elevating its end-of-the-year celebration this year by revealing nominations and bringing in a distinguished jury for each category to decide the winner. Each award recipient will receive a cash prize and a physical trophy, in addition to the Best of the Year badge, and the winning films will be screened at Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on January 17th.

There are three jurors for each Staff Pick category, including the 2017 winners for each respective category. Categories include: Best of Action Sports, Best of Animation, Best of Comedy, Best of Documentary, Best of Drama, Best of Eye Candy and Best of Travel. Jury members include Alan Cumming, Roger Ross Williams, Reinaldo Green, and Sarah Schneider,...