News

In “When We Were Sisters,” Swiss filmmaker Lisa Brühlmann decided to stand on both sides of the camera: as both an actor and a director.

“After drama school, I quickly decided to study filmmaking. I wanted to learn it so that no one could say: ‘She’s just an actor.’ I’ve never felt I wasn’t taken seriously as a director, because I took myself seriously,” she says.

“Being an actor makes me a better director, especially when I’m working with younger performers. For me, it all feeds into each other.”

While juggling both jobs was “exhausting,” the role of pregnant Monica, who goes on holidays with her 15-year-old daughter Valeska, new boyfriend Jaques and his own daughter Lena, was too irresistible to pass on.

“That’s a good way to put it. It’s a great female character, because she has this dark side. Monica desperately wants to be a good mother,...

Trans-formative

After ending last month with Lisa Brühlmann’s female coming-of-age tale Blue My Mind (listen), we’ve spent June discussing Danny Boyle’s Sunshine (listen) and Brian Trenchard-Smith’s 1997 sequel Leprechaun 4: In Space (listen).

Now we’re back in YA territory with Brad Michael Elmore‘s trans vampire tale Bit, but the 2019 film is quite a bit more fun than most coming-of-age texts.

Laurel (Nicole Maines) is a recent high school graduate that moves to L.A. to crash on her older brother Mark (James Paxton)’s couch and immediately falls in with a squad of female-identifying vampires. But fang life is complicated by Laurel’s refusal to feed or kill, which leads to friction with the coven’s leader Duke (Diana Hopper), who warns that Laurel’s bloodlust will put them all in danger.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday.

Lunar luck.

After concluding May with a discussion of Lisa Brühlmann’s female coming-of-age tale Blue My Mind (listen) and kicking off June reevaluating the unfairly maligned third act of Danny Boyle’s Sunshine (listen), we’re…..staying in outer space to marvel at the wacky antics of Lubdan the Leprechaun (Warwick Davis) in Brian Trenchard-Smith‘s 1997 sequel Leprechaun 4: In Space!

In the film, the Leprechaun abducts Princess Zarina (Rebekah Carlton), a member of an alien planet’s royalty, in an attempt to wed her and become her home planet’s new ruler. Unfortunately for him, a platoon of well-armed soldiers, led by Master Sergeant “Metal Head” Hooker (Tim Colceri), arrive to foil his plans. Not easily defeated, however, the feisty Leprechaun bursts out of one of the solider’s penises and continues to battle the soldiers while also contending with the warped scientist Dr. Mittenhand (Guy Siner).

Be...

Payload.

After heavy discussions of Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin (listen) and Lisa Brühlmann’s Blue My Mind (listen) – with a stop-over to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s Alien (listen) – we’re headed to space with Danny Boyle‘s 2007 collaboration with Alex Garland: Sunshine.

The film features an all-star international cast, including Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Cliff Curtis and Rose Byrne as scientists/astronauts on a mission to restart a dying sun before the Earth freezes.

Sunshine features all of the usual space movie tropes, including dangerous external repair job, a mysterious Sos beacon, and a disastrous previous mission, but the film’s legacy is an unconventional third act that turns the film into a slasher courtesy of mysterious character Pinbacker (Mark Strong).

Will the crew of Icarus II survive to save the world or will they be picked off one by one?...

Let’s bounce.

After concluding May with discussions of Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin (listen) and Ridley Scott’s Alien (listen), we’re delving back into the world of female coming-of-age tales with Lisa Brühlmann‘s 2017 body horror film Blue My Mind.

Blue My Mind sees 15-year-old Mia (Luna Wedler) face an overwhelming transformation which calls her entire existence into question. After getting her first period, her body begins to change radically in some very non-human ways. Despite desperate attempts to halt the process, she is soon forced to accept that nature is far more powerful than her.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.

Episode 284: Blue My Mind (2017)

Swallow that fish and peel the skin off your legs because we’re discussing Lisa Brühlmann’s...

The Perfect Organism.

After kicking off May with discussions of Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy (listen), Trace and I have checked out Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark (listen) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Gregg Araki‘s Mysterious Skin (listen).

Now we’re crossing a classic title off our list: Ridley Scott‘s Alien.

Alien tells the story of the crew of the Nostromo as they’re awoken from stasis to answer a distress beacon on a nearby planet. When Kane (John Hurt) is attacked on an alien ship, Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) refuses to let Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) back on board with quarantining.

Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm) overrides her command and brings them inside, but as the alien creature on Kane’s face evolves, it becomes clear that there’s more than one antagonist on board the ship and everyone, including Engineers Parker...

Adapted from Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Netflix’s limited series “All the Light We Cannot See” sets two unlikely kindred spirits on a collision course as World War II begins in France when Germany occupied the country. Shawn Levy directed all four episodes of Steven Knight’s scripts.

Marie-Laure LeBlanc (Aria Mia Loberti) and Werner Pfennig (Louis Hoffman) share curiosity and empathy, which translates across their opposing countries and positions in the war. Werner’s skill for fixing and translating radios leads him to a high position in the Nazi effort to decode secret broadcasts that their targets might send. Marie-Laure herself becomes a broadcaster after her father moves her to her uncle’s home in a small, seaside French town.

Here are the cast and characters of “All the Light We Cannot See”:

Aria Mia Loberti in “All the Light We Cannot See” (Netflix)

Marie-Laure LeBlanc...

Most of the well-known mermaid films are romantic and upbeat, from the tween fantasy "Aquamarine" to Disney's revolutionary animated feature "The Little Mermaid" (which will be reimagined as a live-action movie in May), and the sex comedy "Splash" where Tom Hanks meets a beautiful mermaid who also happens to be the girl of his dreams. But mermaids can also be a nightmare.

In Greek mythology, mermaids — also known as sirens — are half-human, half-sea creatures who are mysterious and inquisitive, but also deceitful. According to folklore from around the world, female mermaids are harborers of doom. They use their bewitching singing voices to hypnotize male sailors and lure them to a watery death. In Homer's "Odyssey," Odysseus forces his men to fill their ears with wax so that they are not tempted by a mermaid's enchanting song.

Their liminal existence between the sea and shore often brings violence and conflict,...

“Selma” star David Oyelowo has played spies, saints, and even a guy who drowns a dog in “Chaos Walking,” but you’ve never seen him in a role quite like Svengali-esque architect Edward in “The Girl Before,” which premieres on HBO Max on Feb. 10. It’s based on the 2016 novel of the same name by J.P. Delaney, who adapted it for television.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Jane, who’s trying recover from a tragic loss. She applies to live rent-free at One Fulgate House, an ultra-modern, minimalist house designed by Edward, who has some very strict rules for his tenants. Jane encounters his rarely-given approval, and he soon makes his romantic intentions towards her clear. He becomes her lover as well as her landlord, but when she learns the previous female tenant, Emma (Jessica Plummer) – who looked remarkably like her – died in the house, she wonders if she can really trust him.

Talk to the people behind the Zff Academy, and it quickly becomes clear that this Zurich Film Festival talent program is close to their hearts.

Launched back in 2006, just a year after the festival itself, the aim of the Zff Academy is to promote exchange between notable filmmakers and aspiring directors, writers and producers. It’s there to help up and coming creatives and execs to learn from film industry experts, connect with each other and to exchange ideas.

In many ways, it’s like the well-known Berlinale Talents program – only more intimate. Just 19 talents – nine women and 10 men – have been selected from hundreds of applicants to take part in the five-day Zurich initiative.

Talent from all over the world traditionally apply to the Zff Academy, but this year the cohort is largely European – reflecting the difficulties that many people are having travelling due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Head of Zff...

The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Above: The Witch Who Came From the SeaAcross decades and genres, mermaids and sirens rise from the deep to confront audiences with the already unstable human identity.In 2009, Nadya Vessey, an Australian double amputee, bewitched the world with her personal transformation—with the help of special effects company Weta Workshop, she acquired a prosthetic mermaid tail. As glamorized as it was by news stories, Vessay’s adult mermaid embodiment serves as an example of how the female—and disabled—body queers one of the longest-standing fetishes of the male gaze. It is precisely the hybrid nature of the marine feminine which attracts and repulses, its fluidity intimately tied to female maturation, in the process of which the flesh and bone remain both human and foreign at the same time. There’s...

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo have been set to star in the upcoming psychological thriller ‘The Girl Before’ for BBC One and HBO Max.

The limited four-part series is adapted from Jp Delaney’s own best-selling novel of the same title. Delaney will co-write episodes of the series while Emmy nominated Lisa Brühlmann (Killing Eve; Servant; Blue My Mind) will direct.

The Girl Before tells the story of Jane (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who gets the chance to move into a beautiful, ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect (David Oyelowo). There’s just one catch: occupants have to abide by his list of exacting rules. Jane starts to feel the house changing her in unexpected ways, but when she makes the shocking discovery that her predecessor Emma died in the house, she’s forced to confront unnerving similarities. As the two women’s timelines interweave, Jane begins to question if her...

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo will star on the HBO Max and BBC One limited series “The Girl Before,” the WarnerMedia-owned streaming service said Tuesday.

The four-episode limited series is based on J.P. Delaney’s best-selling thriller of the same name and will be directed by Lisa Brühlmann.

“The Girl Before” tells the story of Jane (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), “who gets the chance to move into a beautiful, ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect (Oyelowo),” per HBO Max’s description. “There’s just one catch: occupants have to abide by his list of exacting rules. Jane starts to feel the house changing her in unexpected ways but, when she makes the shocking discovery that her predecessor Emma died in the house, she’s forced to confront unnerving similarities. As the two women’s timelines interweave, Jane begins to question if her fate will be the same as the girl before…...

Zurich-Berlin based Tellfilm, producer of “Blue My Mind” from “Killing Eve” director Lisa Brühlmann, is set to go into production on Aug. 22 on its biggest movie yet, “Monte Verità,” a period drama about a woman’s across-the-board emancipation.

Set to shoot in the Locarno region of Ticino, southern Switzerland, “Monte Verita” is lead produced by Tellfilm and co-produced by Vienna’s Kgp Filmproduction and Coin Film in Germany’s Cologne.

Directed by Stefan Jäger (“Horizon Beautiful”), “Monte Verità” consolidates Tellfilm’s transformation from a company making movies targeting the Swiss domestic market into one creating higher-profile European co-productions.

“‘Blue My Mind’ and ‘Animals’ marked a kind of breakthrough for us. ’Monte Verità’ is our next step, the biggest Telefilm production to date. We have become bigger and more international,” said Katrin Renz, CEO at Tellfilm and one of the European Film Promotion’s 2018 Producers on the Move at the 71st Cannes Festival.

M. Night Shyamalan has spent the last five years reinventing himself from blockbuster filmmaker to low-budget genre auteur, thanks to films such as “The Visit” and “Split.” And with that resurgence, it appears that the filmmaker is able to attract quite an impressive cast.

Read More: ‘Servant’: M. Night Shyamalan Says Directors Of ‘Raw’ & ‘Blue My Mind’ Are Helming Episodes Of Season 2

According to Variety, Shyamalan is rounding out the cast of his upcoming, untitled film for Universal.

Continue reading Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Vicky Krieps & More Join M. Night Shyamalan’s Next Film at The Playlist.

To say that Apple’s launch of its streaming service isn’t going as well as the tech company would have hoped is a bit of an understatement. Once the initial slate of series launched in November, each one getting fairly terrible reviews (despite the inexplicable awards recognition for “The Morning Show”), it was clear that Apple TV+ wasn’t going to have a smooth launch. But then came M.

Continue reading ‘Servant’: M. Night Shyamalan Says Directors Of ‘Raw’ & ‘Blue My Mind’ Are Helming Episodes Of Season 2 at The Playlist.

You want trailers? Folks, we’ve got trailers for miles. We have so many trailers that you better watch your step, because you might trip over them. It’s crazy how many trailers we have! With such an abundance of movie trailers clogging up the place, we have no choice but to take extreme measures: a trailer […]

The post Trailer Round-Up: ‘An Acceptable Loss’, ‘The Last Man’, ‘Blue My Mind’, ‘The Quake’, ‘A Madea Family Funeral’, ‘Astral’, ‘When Jeff Tried to Save the World’ appeared first on /Film.

Stars: Luna Wedler, Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen, Regula Grauwiller, Georg Scharegg, Lou Haltinner, Yael Meier, David Oberholzer, Una Rusca, Timon Kiefer, Benjamin Dangel, Martin Rapold, Rachel Braunschweig | Written by Lisa Bruhlmann, Dominik Locher | Directed by Lisa Bruhlmann

There has been more talk than ever about women in the film industry and in particular, directing movies. Being even more specific, female directors in the horror genre has been a hot topic of discussion lately after Jason Blum’s comments on the subject. So, you’ve guessed it, Blue My Mind comes from a female director by the name of Lisa Bruhlmann. And as her first feature film, it’s a very impressive debut. It’s a hard film to review in that the little you know about the movie the better, and I am going to write this spoiler-free because I would love people to watch Blue My Mind knowing very little about it like I did.

Our own Tom Kiesecoms described Blue My Mind as "a confident, full-bodied portrayal of adolescence and its fearful insecurities" in his review. We have an exclusive clip that gives a hint about the changes that a young women is experiencing. Here's the official synopsis: "15-year-old Mia and her parents move to the suburbs of Zürich. While Mia plunges into a wild teenager existence, her body begins to change oddly. First hardly noticeably, but then with a force that threatens to drive her out of her mind. Mia's transformation progresses inexorably, and she turns into the being which has slumbered within her for years... and is now gaining the upper hand." Luna Wedler and Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen star. Lisa Brühlmann wrote and directed. Watch the clip...

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

It is the first day at a new school for teenaged Mia (Luna Wedler). At lunch break, a girl shyly tries to make friends. But the pouty, pretty Mia, who is just days away from her first period and is perhaps taking this new start as an opportunity to better her social standing, has her eyes on a different clique. Wild-child Gianna (Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen), all silky waist-length hair and bare midriff, is the sexually precocious center of a trio of girls (orbited by an undifferentiated constellation of good-looking but oafish boys) that will soon become a quartet with Mia’s inclusion.

The setup for actor-turned-writer/director Lisa Brühlmann’s debut feature is beautifully drawn and remarkably well-performed especially by Wedler and Holthuizen, but it’s hardly anything we haven’t seen in a hundred coming-of-age tales before. But then suddenly there’s Mia standing over her living room tank of tropical fish,...

Coming of age stories have taken on some interesting supernatural themes. In the last few years alone we've seen movies about a vagina with teeth in Teeth, a young woman who turns out to be more than human in Wildling and the classic Ginger Snaps, and perhaps the most memorable of the bunch, a cannibal teen in Raw. One of the most recent additions to the subgenre is Lisa Bruhlmann's Blue My Mind.

Luna Wedler is Mia, the new girl in town. Her father has moved the family for work and Mia finds herself trying to make friends at a new school partway through the school year. Facing an uphill battle, she starts to push boundaries in an effort to make friends and her efforts quickly pay off; skipping class, shoplifting and lying to her parents opens the doo...

There’s something about first-time filmmakers turning to the coming-of-age genre that feels oddly appropriate. Ostensibly at least, it’s a perfect experiential match between creator and creation insofar as both cineaste and protagonist are debuting into the world after a journey filled with firsts. But whatever jitters Swiss writer-director Lisa Brühlmann may have had realizing her graduation project, it doesn’t show on screen. To the contrary, in terms of craft and overall execution Blue My Mind expertly differentiates itself from its subject matter, resulting in a confident, full-bodied portrayal of adolescence and its fearful insecurities. The story centers on Mia (Luna Wedler), a sensitive teen who’s been uprooted and forced to adapt to a new school midway through the year on account of her father’s career...

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

Happy Halloween, everyone! While I know it’s a bittersweet feeling that our favorite holiday is finally upon us, that doesn’t mean we have to bid the horror genre farewell any time soon. In fact, there are a ton of great genre films hitting VOD and a variety of digital platforms throughout the month of November, which should help with the sting of it no longer officially being the spooky season.

November’s digital releases kick off on Friday with Possum, Welcome to Mercy, and Monster Party, and then just a few days later, get ready for Death House, Kin, The Heretics, Beyond the Sky, and Blood, Sweat and Terrors on November 6th. One week later, the cyber thriller Searching hits various platforms (and is definitely worth a watch), and there are a few more titles making their digital debuts that day as well: Blue My Mind, Lasso, and Bloody Ballet.

At 15 years of age, Mia is in the throes of puberty; like her peers, her body is going through changes—but she’d no ordinary girl. We’ve seen coming of age used as a metaphor in genre offerings like Raw, Wildling, and Ginger Snaps; the hormonal and physical changes of adolescence make for some truly brilliant […]

The post Raw Meets Little Mermaid in Coming of Age Body Horror Blue My Mind appeared first on Dread Central.

"Don't you dare tell anybody, or else I'll destroy you." Uncork'd Entertainment has released an official Us trailer for a funky film from Switzerland titled Blue My Mind, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Lisa Brühlmann. This already premiered at Fantastic Fest last year, and is finally getting a release this fall. Blue My Mind is about a 15-year-old girl named Mia who begins to notice changes in her body. She starts to discover weird changes: her toes begin to web together, then she grows gills and scales. Is she turning into a mermaid? The film is already being compared to Julia Ducournau's Raw, another creepy body horror flick from Europe. Blue My Mind stars Luna Wedler as Mia, Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen, Regula Grauwiller, Georg Scharegg, Lou Haltinner, and Yael Meier. This looks quite gnarly and almost too close to Raw. Here's the official Us trailer (+ original psoter) for Lisa Brühlmann's Blue My Mind,...

Our own Tom Kiesecoms described Blue My Mind as "a highly accomplished debut by everyone involved" after he saw it at the Rotterdam fest earlier this year. His positive review goes into more detail about the film, written and directed by Lisa Brühlmann, and starring Luna Wedler and Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen. The Swiss film is "a confident, full-bodied portrayal of adolescence and its fearful insecurities." Ahead of its theatrical / VOD release in the U.S. on Friday, November 2, a new trailer has dropped, which you can watch below. It is quite intriguing and achieves its desired result -- now I really want to watch it a.s.a.p....

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

Imagine Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” but in reverse. That’s the basic premise of the upcoming body horror film “Blue My Mind.” And in the new trailer for the film, we see exactly why people were comparing the film to recent horror hits like “Raw” after its premiere at last year’s San Sebastian Film Festival and Fantastic Fest.

Continue reading ‘Blue My Mind’ Trailer: A Young Woman Discovers Her Fishy Side In This Body Horror Film Drawing ‘Raw’ Comparisons at The Playlist.

Prior to ending its 24th edition with a closing night screening of Park Hoon-jung’s action thriller The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, the Lund Fantastic Film Festival announced the winners of both its short and feature film competitions. The Méliès d’Argent competition saw six European shorts and six European feature films go head to head with Madres De Luna and Blue My Mind emerging victoriously in their respective categories. The former, told from the perspective of unborn children, is a meditation on the lives of women who suffered violence at the hands of men. The latter is a subversive fairy tale that filters a young woman's coming-of-age through symbolical metamorphosis and body horror imagery. As winners of...

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

San Sebastian — Paris-based sales agent Loco Films has acquired world sales rights outside Spain and France to “Journey to a Mother’s Room,” a flagship first feature from the Barcelona-based writer-director Celia Rico, part of a young generation of often women directors who are lending new energies and focus to Catalan cinema.

Alfa Pictures will distribute the film in Spain. “Journey to a Mother’s Room” will world premiere in competition at San Sebastian’s main sidebar, its New Directors section, a launchpad for other notable women talents such as, reaching back to just last year, Switzerland’s Lisa Brühlmann (“Blue My Mind”), Colombia’s Laura Mora (“Killing Jesús”) and France’s Marine Francen (“The Sower), its eventual winner.

Loco Films will introduce the film to buyers at the San Sebastian Festival, which starts Friday. After that, “Journey to a Mother’s Room” will segue to the BFI London Festival.

Sold by Be for Films to 15 territories off a San Sebastián world premiere, winner of best film, screenplay and actress (Luna Wedler) at the Swiss Film Awards, “Blue My Mind” has now won actress turned writer-director Lisa Brühlmann a gig directing two episodes of BBC America’s “Killing Eve” Season 2.

It chronicles how 15-year-old Mia changes high school near the end of the summer term, falls in with the cool bad girl crowd, plays truant, shoplifts, has casual sex, drinks, and does drugs as if there is no tomorrow; on which score, at least for Lisa as a human being, she is entirely right. What seems like a classic allegory for horror at pubescent physical change finally develops into a tale of verge-of-maturity female liberation.

After bowing at Austin’s Fantastic Fest and in the San Sebastian’s New Directors, “Blue My Mind” went on to win the Golden Eye...

Belgian-French sales company Be For Films has announced the pickup of international sales rights for debut Swiss director Hannes Baumgartner’s “Midnight Runner,” set to play as part of San Sebastian’s New Directors.

The true-story feature turns on Jonas Widmer, one of Switzerland’s top long-distance runners, who dreams of one day participating in the Olympics. When not training, he works as a chef and is a pillar of support among his friends and acquaintances.

Just as everything seems to be headed in the right direction, Jonas fails to defend his title during a race in Switzerland, and suppressed memories of his deceased brother start to creep back into his life. Not knowing how to cope, Jonas begins to live a double life in an effort to handle his growing depression.

The film stars two European Film Promotion Shooting Stars in Max Hubacher, who this year dazzled in Marcel Gisler’s “Mario,...

As Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer prepare to resume their cat-and-mouse game in the second season of BBC America hit “Killing Eve,” Emerald Fennell is taking over from Phoebe Waller-Bridge as lead writer on the show, and two women have joined the directing team.

Waller-Bridge is in demand as a writer and actor, with her breakout hit “Fleabag” also entering its sophomore season. She landed an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for “Killing Eve.” She will remain actively involved as executive producer on the new season, which has started shooting in Europe.

Lead writing duty now goes to writer-actor Fennell, who will serve as an executive producer and is best-known for her role in the BBC and PBS series “Call the Midwife.” Waller-Bridge brought Fennell on board, and was also instrumental in attaching two new directors to the series, Lisa Bruhlmann (“Blue My Mind”) and Francesca Gregorini...

Adolescence is a metamorphosis from youth to adulthood — a time defined by its constant state of flux physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Puberty is the backbone to this period because of the changes it inflicts. It alters our hormones and appearance while also providing a moment with which to be reborn. To shed your skin, so to speak, by putting the past behind you in order to embrace a future you can define. Rebelliousness is therefore a common theme as we reconcile who we want to be with what we believe society and/or our peers demand. Add an upheaval to a new city thanks to the parents your age holds you subservient towards and/or a fresh appetite for flesh (carnally or otherwise) and objective beauty can become subjective nightmare.

This is where the awkwardness sets in as well as the pain experienced due to changing friends, interests, and desires...

Handling more films than any other international sales agent at this year’s Locarno Festival, Europe’s biggest mid-summer film event, Brussels-based B For Films will represent new films by Bettina Oberli, one of Switzerland’s most popular cineasts, Canadian Philippe Lesage’s return to A-fest international competition after debut “The Demons” dazzled at San Sebastian, and Antoine Russbach’s first feature, the highest-profile Swiss debut this year at the Swiss festival.

The two Swiss titles are for “no special reason,” said B For Films Pamela Lau, who set up the sales company with pan-European sales-financing-production company Playtime.

But Lau recognized that Be For Films has been approached by Swiss producers since the success of Lisa Brühlmann’s “Blue My Mind,”which sold 15 territories off a San Sebastian Festival world premiere last year.

Only about half B For Films’ titles are Belgian, and often minority co-productions. Reteaming Lesage with producer...

This year's Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal opens on 12 July, and there's a fantastic line-up to look forward to. As always, there's an impressive line-up of premières accompanied by a few retro classics you won't want to miss (Body Melt is a particular treat), and there are also films that have been making a splash on the festival circuit around the world. We look at five of those you won't want to miss.

Blue My Mind

Blue My Mind

Growing up is never easy. Lisa Brühlmann's raw, unflinching début feature takes us uncomfortably close - both physically and metaphorically - to a girl for whom the changes brought by adolescence are rather more extreme than usual, for whom finding her own direction means not only coming to terms with physical difference but embracing the cruel streak essential to her nature. Blue My Mind explores horror and fantasy themes through abruptly realist.

Luna Wedler, Jannik Schümann will star in project based on Jessica Koch’s autobiographical eBook.

Studiocanal is to handle world sales on Tim Trachte’s adaptation of Jessica Koch’s debut autobiographical novel So Near The Horizon (Dem Horizont so nah) which is set to go into production this autumn.

Pantaleon Films is partnering with Studiocanal’s German production arm, Studiocanal Film for the first time to produce the film which will also be co-produced by SevenPictures Film.

A release by Studiocanal in German cinemas is planned for 2019.

The story about two young lovers is based on the real-life experiences of novelist Koch,...

Laplace's Witch Photo: Fantasia Film Festival

The final part of this year's Fantasia slate was announced today, and fans will be excited to hear that it includes the premiers of new films by Takashi Miike (Laplace's Witch) and Donnie Yen (Big Brother). The closing film has been revealed as Panos Cosmatos' Mandy, starring Nicolas Cage.

A masterclass with Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov is among the special events now scheduled, there will be an audience with Michael Ironside, and Goblin's Maurizio Guarini will provide a live score for a special screening of 1911 genre spectacular L'Inferno.

Other film highlights include Nicolas Pesce's creepy Piercing, Xavier Gens' Lovecraftian Cold Skin and Lisa Brühlmann's blistering début Blue My Mind. There's also a retrospective outing for underrated genre gem Body Melt.

The festival runs from 12 July to 2 August....

Top brass unveil full line-up.

The 22nd edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal will close with the world premiere of Donnie Yen martial arts film Big Brother and the Canadian premiere of Nicolas Cage action thriller Mandy.

On Thursday (June 28) the festival released its complete line-up of more than 125 features and 220 shorts, including more than 100 premieres. It runs from July 12-August 1.

Five of the features on the roster originated through Fantasia’s film production market, Frontieres. These are Chained For Life, The Dark, Knuckleball, The Night Eats The World, and The Ranger.

Other Canadian premieres include Demian Rugna’s Terrified,...

A slew of recent genre films, most of them helmed by women, have proven once and for all that fantastical stories are the perfect conduit for empathy. By placing the viewer in a bizarre situation, making them “feel for” a character becomes organic—who wouldn’t be terrified to find their body changing in some grotesque way? Lisa Brühlmann takes this principle to an unusually beautiful height in her debut feature film, Blue My Mind.

Screening last weekend as part of the 2018 Overlook Film Festival, Brühlmann introduces us to Mia (Luna Wedler), a 15-year-old girl who struggles to adjust to a new school after her distant father forces them to move. As she skips class to prove herself to the cool kids and butts heads with her parents, she realizes that her body’s puberty process is far from normal. She attempts to hide the changes from her parents, friends,...

There’s been a quite interesting subgenre outburst of late that draws parallel relationships between coming-of-age sexual awakenings and creature transformations. Werewolves, amphibious swimmers, forest beasties – films like Blue My Mind, about bodily explorations based on youthful changes that cannot be contained. Director Lisa Brühlmann focuses not on vicious animal attacks as Wildling or The Lure does, falling more in line with something heady like When Animals Dream. How perfect a metaphor? Straight forward soul-searching dramas of youth like Lady Bird and The Edge Of Seventeen are not without their own “monster moments” – genrefication just adds another uninhibited layer of depth and scaly intrigue.

Brühlmann’s muse is 15-year-old Mia (Luna Wedler), dropped into a new hometown after her parents’ recent move. This means finding new friends and avoiding “fresh meat” hazing at school, which she does by befriending posh cool-girl Gianna (Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen). After a few showings of good faith,...

If you think you’ve seen everything the coming-of-age narrative style has to offer, you haven’t seen director Lisa Bruhlmann’s fantastical, surreal debut film, Blue My Mind, which premiered at IFC’s What the Fest!? tonight. The story follows Mia (Luna Wedler), a 15-year-old late-bloomer who is trying to make an impression on the cool girls at her new […]...

Lisa Brühlmann’s debut film takes three prizes including Best Fiction Film

Blue My Mind, the debut film from Lisa Brühlmann, won three awards at the 21st Swiss Film Awards in Zurich tonight (March 23).

The film, a coming-of-age story imbued with elements of body horror, received best fiction film, best screenplay and best actress for Lena Wedler.

See below for the full list of winners

Brühlmann’s film world premiered in the New Directors section at the 2017 San Sebastian Film Festival, and won the Golden Eye and Critics’ Choice awards at Zurich Film Festival last year.

Best documentary was awarded...

The 10 young European actors selected for this year’s Shooting Stars initiative are in town to meet the global film industry.

While young acting talent is spotlighted annually by initiatives such as Bafta’s Rising Star award and Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow, European Film Promotion’s (Efp) Shooting Stars programme is the most visible celebration of next-generation thespian talent allied to an A-list film festival.

Each year, 10 young European actors are awarded the Shooting Star accolade at the Berlinale, a five-person jury having selected the winners from submissions by the 37 Efp member countries. The recipients travel to Berlin to meet producers, casting directors and other film industry figures, and are feted at a ceremony at the Berlinale Palast, which this year takes place on Monday February 19.

This year’s line-up includes UK Screen Star Of Tomorrow Michaela Coel, Norway’s Thelma star Eili Harboe, Hungary’s Réka Tenki, who appeared in last...

There’s something about first-time filmmakers turning to the coming-of-age genre that feels oddly appropriate. Ostensibly at least, it’s a perfect experiential match between creator and creation insofar as both cineaste and protagonist are debuting into the world after a journey filled with firsts. But whatever jitters Swiss writer-director Lisa Brühlmann may have had realizing her graduation project, it doesn’t show on screen. To the contrary, in terms of craft and overall execution Blue My Mind expertly differentiates itself from its subject matter, resulting in a confident, full-bodied portrayal of adolescence and its fearful insecurities. The story centers on Mia (Luna Wedler), a sensitive teen who’s been uprooted and forced to adapt to a new school midway through the year on account of her father’s career...

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

Bero Beyer speech kicks off 47th edition.

Source: Iffr

Iffr director Bero Beyer

The International Film Festival Rotterdam kicked off its 47th edition last night (Jan 24) with an impassioned speech from festival director Bero Beyer.

Beyer addressed what he described as the “pattern of widespread abuse and often quite criminal sexual misconduct, committed almost exclusively by white middle-aged heterosexual men of power or status in the film industry.”

“It’s hard to say what’s more disturbing: The fact that anyone ever considered this behaviour to be acceptable, that so many were willing to look the other way and pretend it wasn’t going on,” Bero commented of the recent spate of industry scandals.

“It matters who tells the story and it matters who we see on our many screens. Too often history is written by the so-called winners, but mostly by bullies and mostly by men. So, if Iffr is part of the film industry: Who should...

InsectThe upcoming 47th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (January 24 – February 4) is going to be the third with Dutch independent producer Bero Beyer as festival director. “To be honest, it is exhilarating,” said Beyer to the Notebookwhen asked how it feels to lead the festival for the third time. He began his tenure with an enthusiasm that he still harbors and he is determined to usher Iffr into a new era. Beyer had a clear vision he wanted to pursue and steer the industry and programming to. “There were three main goals,” Beyer said regarding his vision, “one was to be more coherent in our professional approach. To really be a partner to a film project than to be just a short-term platform.” The festival integrates funding, development, production and distribution into more a tightknit operation, revising the film market CineMart and moving it with the Hubert Bals Fund “under one roof,...

Hailing out of Switzerland, we have first word and imagery from Lisa Brühlmann‘s fantasy genre film Blue My Mind. The film follows a 15-year-old Mia who is facing an overwhelming transformation which calls her entire existence into question. Her body is changing radically, and despite desperate attempts to halt the process, she is soon forced […]...

Thirteen first and second films revealed.

The San Sebastian Film Festival has revealed 13 of the first and second films by European, Asian and Latin American filmmakers set to compete for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award.

Among the films are Chilean film Princess, produced by Juan de Dios, Pablo Larraín and Fernanda del Nido, and the first film by Marine Francen, former assistant to Michael Haneke and Olivier Assayas, starring Pauline Burlet (The Past) and Géraldine Pailhas (Young & Beautiful).

Princess is the second feature film by Marialy Rivas. The Chilean director debuted with Young & Wild (Joven & Alocada) selected for Films in Progress 20 at the San Sebastian Festival (2011) and a competitor in Horizontes Latinos after winning the World Cinema Screenwriting Award at Sundance in 2012.

The film, which was selected by Films in Progress 28, narrates the experience of a 12-year-old girl living in a sect.

The Sower (Le Semeur), the first film by Marine Francen, former assistant...

Thirteen first and second films revealed.

The San Sebastian Film Festival has revealed thirteen of the first and second films by European, Asian and Latin American filmmakers set to compete for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award.

Among the films are Chilean movie Princess, produced by Juan de Dios, Pablo Larraín and Fernanda del Nido and the first film by Marine Francen, former assistant to Michael Haneke and Olivier Assayas, starring Pauline Burlet (The Past) and Géraldine Pailhas (Young & Beautiful).

Princess is the second feature film by Marialy Rivas. The Chilean director debuted with Young & Wild (Joven & Alocada) selected for Films in Progress 20 at the San Sebastian Festival (2011) and a competitor in Horizontes Latinos after winning the World Cinema Screenwriting Award at Sundance in 2012.

The film, which was selected by Films in Progress 28, narrates the experience of a 12 year-old girl living in a sect.

The Sower (Le Semeur), the first film by Marine Francen, former assistant...