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Dovlatov

Director: Aleksey German Jr.

Writer: Aleksey German Jr., Katherine Dovlatov

Since helping to complete his father’s posthumous opus Hard to Be a God, Russian director Aleksey German Jr. revealed his third feature, Under Electric Clouds in competition at Berlin in 2015 (where it won an award for cinematography). He’s just received another round of funding from Eurimages to support his latest project, Dovlatov, a film which explores four days in the life of cult Russian author Sergei Dovlatov in 1971, Leningrad. Collaborating with the author’s daughter Katherine, German is interested in capturing the particular scene of early 70s Leningrad. In May of 2015, German was still finishing up the script, while reports of filming preparation were reported from St. Petersburg in October.

Cast: Na

Production Co./Producer: Na

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic) Tbd (international).

Release Date: German’s first two films played at Venice, with his...

Syndromes and a Century: German Jr.’s Existentialist State of Things

Aleksey German Jr., son of famed Russian auteur Aleksey German, comes into his own prominence with his third feature Under Electric Clouds, which took home a cinematography award following its premiere at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival. Much like his father’s cinema, German announces similar interests in existentialist societal woes impervious to logical narrative format, and exchanges deliberations of the past (his previous title, Paper Soldier takes place in 1961) for the looming future of 2017 (a date that may dawn before the title premieres in certain international markets). With production delayed so German could put the finishing touches on his father’s posthumous masterpiece, Hard to Be a God, this indictment on the decaying cultural state of Russia tuned exactly one hundred years after the Russian Revolution is a critique as obscurely damning as it elusively oblique in tone. Some...

Under Electric Clouds

Director: Alexey German Jr. // Writer: Alexey German Jr.

Son of famed Russian auteur Alexey German (whose final, posthumous film, the decade long project Hard to be a God finally premiered at the Rome Film Fest in 2013) unveils his fourth feature in Berlin, a change of pace since he’s premiered all three first features in Venice, including his most notable title, 2008’s Paper Soldier. His latest, Under Electric Clouds, reunites him with Chulpan Khamatova, who starred in all three previous features (as well as 2003’s Goodbye Lenin) and concerns an architect that is forced to stop work on an ongoing project, meant to be a metaphor for the current generation. While his father’s work is often noted as being not only obscure but difficult to grasp for non-natives (but worthy of seeking out, particularly 1998’s Khrustalyov, My Car!), we hope to see German Jr. command the same indefatigable mise en scene.

The first paparazzi photos from Terrence Malick’s "Knight of Cups" surfaced in October 2012. Featuring Christian Bale and Natalie Portman playing in the ocean, it looked as poetic and narrative-less as anyone could hope from the "Badlands" and "Tree of Life" director. Since the shoot, Malick shot a second film (set around the Austin music scene... we think) and fought a few legal battles over his "Tree of Life" IMAX companion film "Voyage of Time." So we’ll forgive him that it’s taken this long for "Knight of Cups" to actually make its way on to the theater circuit and towards an actual release date. Monday morning, the 65th Berlin Film Festival announced the first seven films to be included in its 2015 Competition program. And whaddaya know — "Knight of Cups" is on it! Starring Bale, Portman, and Cate Blanchett, the film is about… well, we’re not sure. When...

Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella to get international premiere out of comp.

The first seven films for the 65th Berlin International Film Festival Competition programme have been selected.

Competitors include former Berlinale bear winners Andreas Dresen (Nightshapes, 1999; Grill Point, 2002) and Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, 1999) with their newest works.

Berlinale regular Peter Greenaway, former Generation participant Andrew Haigh, Russian director Alexey German and newcomer Jayro Bustamante also make the cut.

Kenneth Branagh’s live action Cinderella will screen out of competition.

Films confirmed in competition to date (in alphabetical order):

45 Years

United Kingdom

By Andrew Haigh (Weekend)

With Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay

World premiere

Als wir träumten (As We Were Dreaming)

Germany / France

By Andreas Dresen (Grill Point, Cloud 9, Stopped on Track)

With Merlin Rose, Julius Nitschkoff, Joel Basman, Marcel Heuperman, Frederic Haselon, Ruby O. Fee

World premiere

Cinderella

USA

By Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet)

With Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, [link...

The Rome Film Festival to award its first posthumous award to the Russian filmmaker, who died in February.

The 8th Rome Film Festival (Nov 8-17) is to present its Lifetime Achievement Award to the family of Russian filmmaker Aleksei Yuryevich German, who died in February aged 74.

The director, who was based in Saint Petersburg, was informed of the award late last year, so as to accompany the release of his new film Hard To Be a God (Trudno byt’ bogom).

The award will be accepted by Svetlana Karmalita, the director’s widow, partner in all of his most personal projects and screenwriter for the filmmaker’s last two features, along with their son Aleksei A. German, who won the Silver Lion at the 2008 Venice Film Festival for Paper Soldier.

Following the ceremony, the world premiere of Hard To Be a God will be screened. Described as a “philosophical science-fiction epic”, the film was inspired by the 1964 cult...

With the film eligibility dates covering portions of two years, the 2009 European Film Awards finds itself in an awkward mode of having a clear favorites from circa 2008 (Slumdog Millionaire, Let the Right One In) go up against cream of the crop from Cannes 2009 (A Prophet, The White Ribbon and Fish Tank). - With the film eligibility dates covering portions of two years, the 2009 European Film Awards finds itself in an awkward mode of having a clear favorites from circa 2008 (Slumdog Millionaire, Let the Right One In) go up against cream of the crop from Cannes 2009 (A Prophet, The White Ribbon and Fish Tank). Jacques Audiard's A Prophet leads all nominations with a total of six with Best European Film, Director, Screenwriter, Actor (Tahar Rahim), Cinematography and Sound Design. Slumdog comes in 2nd place with five nominations while the Palme d'or winning The White Ribbon and Broken Embraces are tied with 4 each.

Mumbai-based film "Slumdog Millionaire" will have the chance to get its glory in Europe. The Danny Boyle-directed movie is honored with four nominations at 2009 European Film Awards for European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter and European Cinematographer categories. Additionally, the lead actor, Dev Patel, is nominated to receive European Actor prize.

Competing with "Slumdog Millionaire" in the same five categories is Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet", which leads the pack with six nominations. The French prison tale additionally is nominated to take home Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer award. Joining the Mumbai-based film and the Tahar Rahim-starred movie as the possible big winners at the award ceremony is "The White Ribbon", which grabs four nods.

At the same event, Penelope Cruz is nominated as European Actress for her role in "Broken Embraces". She is going up against Kate Winslet in "The Reader", Charlotte Gainsbourg in "Antichrist", Yolande Moreau...

Cologne, Germany – Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet," Danny Boyle's Oscar champ "Slumdog Millionaire" and Palme d'Or winner "The White Ribbon" from Austrian director Michael Haneke are the front-runners in a crowded field at this year's European Film Awards.

Audiard's hard-hitting French prison tale, Haneke's austere black-and-white period piece and Boyle's Mumbai-based story of rags-to-riches all picked up nominations in the European film, European director, European screenwriter and European cinematographer categories.

"A Prophet" leads the pack with six nominations, including ones for star Tahar Rahim in the European actor category and an Efa Prix d'Excellence nomination for sound design.

Also in the running for best European film 2009 are Stephen Daldry's Oscar winner "The Reader," Scottish director Andrea Arnold's kitchen sink drama "Fish Tank" and Tomas Alfredson's Swedish vampire film "Let the Right One In."

Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" was shut out of the best film lineup,...

• Fish Tank, Everyone Else, Dogtooth, Police Adjective, A Prophet and White Ribbon are just a half a dozen titles among the 48 films that have a shot at being nominated among several categories for 22nd The European Film Awards. Among those that mysteriously didn't make the list are a pair of films that played at Cannes in Romania's Tales From the Golden Age and France's The Father of My Children. The way it works is, 2000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the different award categories which will be announced on the 7th of November with the winners announced on the 12th of December. Here is the complete list below. 33 Scenes From Life Poland / Germany, 96 min Written & directed by Ma½goÊka Szumowska Produced by Raimond Goebel & Karl Baumgartner Broken Embraces Spain, 129 min Written & directed by: Pedro Almodóvar Produced by: Agustín Almodóvar Everyone Else Germany, 119 min

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Venue: Venice Film Festival, In Competition

A film about the Sixties' space race told from the Russian p.o.v.? Yuri Gagarin in the Cosmodrome preparing for the first manned space flight? How could a film with a concept like that miss, especially when shot by hot young filmmaker Alexey German, Jr.? Unfortunately, "Paper Soldier" does miss, at least as far as paying audiences are concerned, though this handsome looking, theatrical-style film can count on festival hosannas from auds into sophisticated filmmaking and complexly orchestrated camerawork.

But however good the film looks on screen, it's a pity the script-writers vote to ignore the subject's dramatic potential in favor of chattering Chekhovian dialogue and dense, incomprehensible characters.

The theme that finally emerges is fascinating enough: the dashed hopes of the Russian intelligentsia following the 1960's thaw in East-West relations, when freedom and happiness seemed around the corner and ultimately failed to materialize.