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San Francisco, June 6 (Ians) Apple has announced a new Os (operating system) version for iPhone users ‘iOS 17’, which includes a new Journal app, more accurate autocorrect, a new display mode for your nightstand, and more.

The new iOS 17 release also upgrades the communications experience across Phone, FaceTime, and Messages, makes sharing even easier with AirDrop, and provides more intelligent input that improves the speed and accuracy of typing.

“With iOS 17, we’ve made the iPhone more personal and intuitive by deeply considering the features we all rely on every day,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said in a statement.

Journal is a new app that helps iPhone users reflect and practice gratitude through journaling, which has been shown to improve well-being. Using on-device machine learning, personalised suggestions can be provided to help inspire a user’s journal entry.

Journal is built to protect a user...

“Scrapper” starts in a dreary English flat with a child all alone but not incapable. That seems to be the M.O. for Georgie (Lola Campbell), who is quiet initially through the opening scene. But that, of course, changes as we get to know her better throughout the movie. Directed by Charlotte Regan (“Standby”), “Scrapper” dives into the carefully constructed composure of a child who just lost her mother and has to deal with that new reality.

Continue reading ‘Scrapper’ Review: Harris Dickinson Stars In An Endearing Story Of A Grieving Daughter & Long-Lost Father [Sundance] at The Playlist.

A young boy watches over his dying mother and fantasizes about better times with her in the video for Mumford and Sons’ new Delta single “Beloved.” The son and mother, who’s still wearing a hospital gown, run around, go shoplifting and ride horses on a beach. “Before you leave, you must know you are beloved,” Marcus Mumford sings against a serene backdrop of synths and guitars, “and before you leave, remember I was with you.” It all builds to an emotional finale.

“Everyone knows loss in one way or another,...

Other recipients include Virginia Woolf romance Vita & Virginia and new Hong Khaou, Carmel Winters films.

Lenny Abrahamson’s forthcoming adaptation of Sarah Waters’ acclaimed wartime ghost story The Little Stranger is among the films being supported by the Irish Film Board in its latest round of funding decisions.

Projects by Mary McGuckian, Carmel Winters and British/Cambodian filmmaker Hong Khaou are also among those given production funding support, as is a drama about Virgina Woolf’s love affair with the poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West.

In a diverse and wide-ranging first quarter, Room director Abrahamson’s [pictured] adaption of The Little Stranger has received production funding of €350,000.

The novel, which centres on the strange goings on in a country house in rural Warwickshire, has been adapted for the big screen by English novelist and screenwriter Lucinda Coxon (The Danish Girl). Domhnall Gleeson is attached to the project, which will be co-produced by Element Pictures.

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The Irish famine drama also stars Stephen Rea, Freddie Fox.

Production has commenced on Irish famine drama Black 47 starring Hugo Weaving (Hacksaw Ridge) and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent (Iris).

The eight-week shoot will take place in Connemara, Kildara and Wicklow.

Black 47 is directed by Lance Daly, whose previous films include Life’s A Breeze and Kisses. Daly teamed with Pj Dillon (Rewind), Pierce Ryan (Standby) and Eugene O’Brien (The Flag) to write the screenplay.

Set in Ireland during the Great Famine, the drama follows an Irish Ranger named Feeney, who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, as he abandons his post to reunite with his family. Despite experiencing the horrors of war, Feeney is shocked by the famine’s destruction of his homeland and the brutalisation of his people and his family.

When Feeney sets on a destructive path to avenge his kin, an ageing British soldier is sent to stop him before...

Titles include Molly from British director Sally Potter (Ginger & Rosa) [pictured].Scroll down for full line-up

The 12 projects that will make up this year’s Holland Film Meeting Co-Production Platform (Sept 22-25) have been revealed and include titles from the UK, France and Germany among others.

Filmmakers this year include British filmmaker Sally Potter who will present her latest project, Molly.

Potter’s films include Oscar-nominated Orlando (1992), starring Tilda Swinton; Rage, which competed for Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2009; and her most recent feature, Ginger & Rosa (2012), which screened at Toronto and Iffr among other festivals.

Bulgaria’s Maya Vitkova is back at Hfm with upcoming project Love, following the success of her previous film Viktoria, which played in competition at Sundance and Iffr.

Serbian director Nikola Ležaić will present The Religion of Night Walks, his second feature length work after Tilva Ros, which was selected for Locarno and won the top prize at Sarajevo in 2010.

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Coda, the award-winning animated short from director Alan Holly, will play before all screenings of Patrick’s Day at the Light House Cinema in Smithfield when the film goes on release on Friday 6th February. Coda tells the story of a lost soul’s revelatory encounter with the spectre of death in a Dublin park. The film stars Brian Gleeson (Love/Hate, Standby) and Orla Fitzgerald (The Guarantee) and was produced under the Frameworks animation scheme. It has already won prizes including Best Animated Short Film at SXSW, Most Creative Short at the Edinburgh Short Film Festival, Best Animation at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, and was shortlisted for the 2015 Academy Awards® in the category of Best Animated Short Film. Patrick’s Day has been no slouch on the awards circuit itself, picking up prizes at the Galway Film Fleadh, the Cork Film Festival, the Woodstock Film Festival,...

Mystery screenings at a film festival are always an interesting thing. You have a wish list of the films you hope it is and another list of films you hope it is not. People in line hear whispers and rumors about what it is, and you try not to get your hopes up. I think to the collective surprise of everyone in the theater the mystery screening at this year's Austin Film Festival was Irish romantic comedy Standby. This is a film that appeared on neither of my lists, as I had never heard of it before. And, for the life of me, I do not know why the festival, known as "the writers festival", would select one of the most formulaic romantic comedies I have seen in quite some time as their marquee mystery screening. It was almost shocking how formulaic it was. Alan (Brian Gleeson) works at the...

Next spring, Mad Men fans will welcome the end of an era when the show bows with its seventh and final season — a time when we’ll find out the fate of our favorite characters, including Megan Calvet Draper herself, Jessica Paré. But for those who simply can’t wait for the return of the hit period show, an Irish romcom that goes by the name Standby could offer some respite.

Starring Love/Hate’s Brian Gleeson alongside Paré, Standby charts the story of Alan, an out of luck and out of love travel advisor who happens to cross paths with Alice (Paré) the night before she leaves Dublin airport. Eager to take his second chance at romance and turn the who who got away into the one who almost got away, Alan convinces her to stay one more night.

Sibling pair Rob and Ronan Burke — who have worked across...

Next spring we'll finally see what happens to Megan Draper and the rest of the characters on AMC's "Mad Men." But if you need a bit of Jessica Paré in your life before then, this trailer for the upcoming romantic comedy "Standby" should fit the bill. Directed by sibling pair Rob and Ronan Burke, the movie co-stars Brian Gleeson, and follows Alan, who has hit a bit of a rough patch. Recently left at the altar and fired from his banking job, he's now working with this mother as a tourist guide at the Dublin Airport, where he happens to cross paths with Alice, an old flame. She's on her way home to New York, but he convinces her to stay for one more night, and it may turn out that the fire between them isn't extinguished just yet. "Standby" premieres at the Cork Film Festival, and then open in theaters abroad on November 14th.

The feature film directorial debut of brothers Rob and Ronan Burke (Damo & Ivor, Roy), Standby is the sweet and funny story of Brian Gleeson's Alan (The Stag), a down on his luck twenty something working as a tourist advisor at Dublin Airport, who finds he has an unexpected second chance with Alice (Mad Men's Jessica Paré), who he had a summer romance with eight years previously. There is something endlessly charming about the first trailer for this movie, with Gleeson and Paré perfectly served by a really smart and funny script. Check it out below. Standby is released in Irish cinemas on November 14th.

Coverage of International Sales Agents (ISAs) has resumed for the Toronto International Film Festival. This segment covers inspirational companies that have officially selected films in the festival. SydneysBuzz features ISAs, as they play an instrumental and necessary role in helping filmmakers to share their visions and voices with the world.

New York Based Magnolia Pictures featured the following films at Tiff this year:

"Honeymoon"Directed by Leigh JaniakStarring Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey) and Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful)

Young newlyweds Paul and Bea travel to remote lake country for their honeymoon where the promise of private romance awaits them. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of the night. As her behavior becomes increasingly peculiar, Paul begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place in the woods.

"Life Itself"Directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) Executive produced by Martin Scorsese And Steve Zaillian

Based on his bestselling memoir, Life Itself recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert – from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.

"Standby"Directed by Rob And Ronan BurkeStarring Brian Gleeson (The Stag) and Jessica ParÉ (Mad Men)

Alan works at the Tourism Desk in Dublin Airport. Alice is an American on standby. Eight years ago, Alan and Alice had a romance which ended badly. Now every hotel room in Dublin is booked. Reunited by chance, an impromptu evening reveals they are more compatible than ever before.

"The ABC's of Death II"

The sequel to 2012's anthology horror hit with Twenty-six New directors. Twenty-six New ways to die. Featuring Alex De La Iglesia, Rodney Ascher, Bill Plympton, Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, Sion Sono, Vincenzo Natali and many more!

Learn about the Magnolia Pictures Slate.

About Magnolia Pictures:

Magnolia Pictures is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically-integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes the Landmark Theatres chain and Axs TV. Recent releases include the riveting killer whale doc Blackfish, David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche, Joe Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies, Thomas Vinterberg’s Oscar-Nominated The Hunt, hit documentaries Muscle Shoals, Jiro Dreams of Sushi and The Queen of Versailles, and the Academy Award nominated A Royal Affair. Magnolia's upcoming releases include Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, Richard Ayoade’s dystopian vision The Double, the raucous Alan Partridge starring Steve Coogan, Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank, Joe Swanberg’s Happy Christmas, Lukas Moodysson’s We Are the Best!, Norwegian thrillers Pioneer and Ragnarok, and many more.

Exclusive: Distributor picks up films with Maisie Williams, Jessica Paré and Killian Scott.

Irish outfit Wildcard Distribution has picked up a slew of titles to bolster its slate including Galway Film Fleadh features Gold and Get Up and Go.

Also among the haul are rom-com Standby starring Jessica Paré and Ian Power’s The Guarantee.

Game of Thrones star and 2014 Screen International Star of Tomorrow Maisie Williams stars in Niall Heery’s Gold alongside David Wilmot, Kerry Condon and James Nesbitt.

Written by Niall and his brother Brendan Heery and produced by Tristan Orpen Lynch and Aoife O’Sullivan for Subotica Films, the film is scheduled for a cinema release this year.

The offbeat comedy is about an estranged father who returns to his hometown after an absence of ten years in order to reconnect with his daughter and ex-wife.

Irish/UK rights have been acquired from Magnolia Pictures International for the romantic comedy Standby starring [link=nm...

Exclusive: Christina Rogers and her team will commence sales in Cannes on the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself, announced in the Cannes Classics line-up this week, as well as Irish rom-com Standby.

Steve James directed Life Itself, which premiered at Sundance and will receive its international premiere on the Croisette. The film chronicles the life and times of the late film critic Roger Ebert.

Magnolia svp of acquisitions Dori Begley brokered the world rights deal with Cinetic Media on behalf of Kartemquin, Film Rites, KatLei and CNN Films. Zak Piper produced for Kartemquin and Garrett Basch for Film Rites.

Magnolia International will also represent the bulk of the world excluding France and Benelux on Standby. Mad Men’s Jessica Paré and Brian Gleeson star in the tale of an American stranded in Dublin Airport who reacquaints herself with an old flame.

Rob and Ronan Burke direct from a screenplay by Pierce Ryan. John Wallace of Black...

Exclusive: Christina Rogers and her team will commence sales in Cannes on the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself, announced in the Cannes Classics line-up earlier on Wednesday (30), as well as Irish rom-com Standby.

Steve James directed Life Itself, which premiered at Sundance and will receive its international premiere on the Croisette. The film chronicles the life and times of the late film critic Roger Ebert.

Magnolia svp of acquisitions Dori Begley brokered the world rights deal with Cinetic Media on behalf of Kartemquin, Film Rites, KatLei and CNN Films. Zak Piper produced for Kartemquin and Garrett Basch for Film Rites.

Magnolia International will also represent the bulk of the world excluding France and Benelux on Standby. Mad Men’s Jessica Paré and Brian Gleeson star in the tale of an American stranded in Dublin Airport who reacquaints herself with an old flame.

Rob and Ronan Burke direct from a screenplay by Pierce Ryan. John Wallace of Black...

Gearing up for the season premiere of “Mad Men,” Jessica Paré headed over to “ Jimmy Kimmel Live” in Hollywood on Monday (April 7).

The “Standby” starlet was gorgeous in a form-fitting floral dress teamed with a pair of black leather booties as she flashed her legs and scurried inside for her interview.

As it turns out, Jessica loves her character Megan Draper’s fashion sense and it’s starting to bleed into her everyday style.

She told Glamour, “There's tons of stuff I want to steal from Megan's wardrobe. I even love the nightgowns and robes she wears around the house. I've learned a lot about fashion from Megan; she wears lots of patterns and silhouettes that I wouldn't have necessarily tried for fear they'd be too feminine.”...

Paris-based Bac Films, one of France's most respected sales agent, production company and distributor will be showing a promo of the long awaited film, El Ardor co-produced by and starring Gael Garcia Bernal. This is the second co-production of Canana, the production and distribution company of Gael Garcia Bernal,Diego Luna,Pablo Cruz and Julian Levin and Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media's Participant Panamerica. The Academy Award nominated No was their first film together.

Exemplary of the wide range of programming being sold by international sales agents today, Bac is offering coproductions from France-Belgium-Luxembourg (The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears), France-Italy (Human Capital), Iceland-Denmark (Fusi), Sweden-Norway (The Quiet Roar) and a script in French only, from France starring Ludivine Sagnier entitled Fool Circle.

This month prolific producer David Grumbach acquired Bac films with the backing of a consortium of French and European investors. Previously a subsidiary of the publicly traded Bac Majestic which was majority owned by the animation house Millimages, it will now independently control Bac Films Distribution, the Bac brands and the exclusive right to sell the Bac back catalogue. Bac Films Distribution currently controls a 0.45% stake in the French market.

Grumbach's production companies Juliette Film and Jaya Productions will continue to operate as he becomes CEO. Eric Chinchon, a Luxembourg-based business structuring and financing specialist, will act as CFO.

Grumbach said he intended to grow the company in the direction of “a full service European mini major capable of intervening in the entire process of a film’s creation.”

To that end, Bac will board international projects at an earlier stage and have a strong presence throughout development, financing, production and distribution.

Bac’s managing director, Mathieu Robinet will remain in place, overseeing the core activities of acquisition and theatrical, TV, DVD and VOD distribution, international sales and production.

There will be no changes to the current distribution and sales teams. Head of Sales, Gilles Sousa has spearheaded the expansion of the sales line-up since his arrival in 2011. Recent pictures on the slate Human Capital, The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears, The Quiet Roar and Ardor.

Grumbach’s recent co-production credits include Ari Folman’s The Congress and Sylvie Testud’s Another Woman’s Life. Upcoming productions include Rob and Ronan Burke’s Standby.

French-born Grumbach started out as a production manager in Luxembourg, before working as a producer for Paul Thiltges Distributions. His consortium-backed acquisition of Bac Films comes six years after its founder Jean Labadie was ousted as managing director of the company by the majority shareholder Millimages

Labadie originally created Bac in 1986, floating the company in 2000 under the Bac Majestic banner. Animation house Millimages took over as the majority shareholder in 2004, after the company over-diversified and hit financial problems.

Recent and upcoming releases include Oggy and the Cockroaches, Northwest and Human Capital.

Company set to boost production and film financing activities under new ownership.

Paris-based Bac Films has been acquired by producer David Grumbach, backed by a consortium of French and European investors.

The independent distributor and sales outfit was previously a subsidiary of publicly traded company Bac Majestic, which is majority controlled by animation house Millimages.

Under the deal, Grumbach, who already runs production companies Juliette Films and Jaya Productions, will become CEO.

Eric Chinchon, a Luxembourg-based business structuring and financing specialist, will act as CFO.

Mathieu Robinet will remain in place as Bac’s managing director, overseeing the core activities of acquisition and theatrical, TV, DVD and VOD distribution, international sales and production.

There will be no changes to the current distribution and sales teams.

It will be business as usual for the international sales chief Gilles Sousa and his team at the Afm this year. Sousa has spearheaded the expansion of the sales line-up since his arrival...