NEWS

Our upcoming co-production with Canadian Lithium Studios and Dutch Lemming Film received €350,000 of funding. Starring Gillian Jacobs and Marwan Kenzari, ANY OTHER NIGHT is a Berlin-set romantic comedy written by Patrick Whistler and to be directed by Michiel ten Horn. XYZ handles worldwide sales, X Filme will release in Germany.

We are beyond happy that the German Film Academy has nominated Holy Spider four times: Best Feature Film (Sol Bondy & Jacob Jarek), Best Director (Ali Abbasi), Best Actress (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) and Best Actor (Mehdi Bajestani). We cannot wait to celebrate with the whole team – and are looking forward to the award ceremony on May 12th.

Holy Spider has won the prestigious LOLA in Bronze for Best Feature Film. A demonstration of the German Film Academy’s openness, the 2200 voting members had also celebrated Holy Spider with 4 nominations. The LOLA is a historic milestone and significant recognition by the German Film Academy for HOLY SPIDER. We congratulate our colleagues and are celebrating this great success!

We are beyond happy that the German Film Academy has nominated Holy Spider four times: Best Feature Film (Sol Bondy & Jacob Jarek), Best Director (Ali Abbasi), Best Actress (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) and Best Actor (Mehdi Bajestani). We cannot wait to celebrate with the whole team – and are looking forward to the award ceremony on May 12th.

Our Fear-of-flying comedy Northern Comfort, directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, will celebrate its world premiere at the 2023 South by Southwest Film Festival in March this year. We’re looking forward to the next steps with our partners from Netop Films, Good Chaos. Supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Icelandic Film Centre, Nordisk Film & TV Fund, HES Strategies and Creative Europe. Northern Comfort will be released by Weltkino in Germany; Charades handles sales.

This Thursday, January 12, Holy Spider will be screened in nearly 100 cinemas across Germany. Thank you to our fantastic distributors Alamode and our PR agent Panorama Entertainment for making this important film so visible. A nationwide impact tour with Q&As with team members and many speakers of the Iranian community will follow with stops in: Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Kassel, Münster, Heidelberg, Bonn, Kiel, Frankfurt, Dresden.. for details please check: holyspider-derfilm.de

The British Academy of Film and Televison Arts (BAFTA) have unveiled their longlist, from which the members will choose the nominations and winners. Holy Spider has made the cut and is one of 10 best „Film not in English Language“ of 2022. The nominations will be announced on January 19th and the ceremony will take place on February 19th.

We are delighted that the Film und Medien Stiftung NRW has decided to support our upcoming project KÖLN 75 with 750.000 €. This great news comes on top of the Polish Film Institute also supporting the project with 320.000 € via our wonderful polish co-producer Extreme Emotions, Ewa Puszczynska. This is a massive step for the project with more good news to follow soon, hopefully!

The German and British premieres of Holy Spider took place in Hamburg and London. Both very emotional screenings due to the terrible events in Iran, with many Iranian audience members chanting before the screenings and even during the credits. In Hamburg, we received a Special Mention by the jury for the festivals top prize, the Hamburg Producer Award. The festival tour continues in Prague, Ghent, Bogota, Vancouver, Berlin, Dubai, Wiesbaden, Sevilla.. and the list keeps growing!

The Danish Film Institute has chosen Ali Abbasi’s Cannes competition title as the country’s candidate for Best International Feature at the 2023 Academy Awards. After Zar Amir Ebrahimi’s Palme D’Or for Best Actress and selling to over 50 territories worldwide, the film is getting rave reviews across the globe. We’re extremely happy and honored to celebrate this milestone for the project; being able to represent one of the most traditional countries at the Academy Awards.

We are delighted to celebrate the Canadian Premiere as Special Presentation at Toronto’s 47th edition in September. Many other festivals have already invited the film like Nowe Horizonty, Haugesund, and more to be announced soon. The German premiere will take place at the Filmfest Hamburg on October 6th, where the film also competes for the Hamburg producers award.

We are over the moon for Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who was rewarded with the Golden Palm for Best Actress at the 75th Cannes Film Festival this year. Her outstanding performance as a journalist on the heels of a serial killer in Mashhad, in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider convinced the jury spearheaded by president Vincent Lindon. Huge congratulations for Zar, who was an integral player in getting this film made.

Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider will world premiere in competition at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. We’re extremely proud and congratulate our producing partners at Profile Pictures as well as our co-producers Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Why Not Productions, Film i Väst, ZDF/ARTE, ARTE France Cinéma and we thank The Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Filmförderungsanstalt, Swedish Film Institute, DFFF, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein for their incredible support. Alamode will release in Germany; Wild Bunch handles sales.

Annemarie Jacir’s The Oblivion Theory received 10k project development support from French-German MiniTraité. The project ist an adaption of José Agualusa’s renowned novel A General Theory of Oblivion. The script is being written by Olivia Hetreed. We’re happy to welcome another important supporter and look forward to the next steps.

Also, our 4-countries co-production Under the Tree is having its Free-TV Premiere on ARTE. The film directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson goes on air in France and Germany this Wednesday 19th January at 11:20pm. The film also stays available on the ARTE-Mediathek until January 25th. Don’t waste time and go watch it!

After a successful festival and theatrical career, our Russian-German Co-Production Persian Lessons, directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Lars Eidinger and Nahuel Perez Biscayart, now arrives on the small screen. The Free-TV premiere will be this Friday 14th of January at 23:15 on ZDF. After that, the film will stay available on the Mediathek for a few weeks further. Don’t miss it!

Our latest film SHAKE YOUR CARES AWAY, by Tom Shoval has had its premiere at the Jerusalem Film Festival. We are proud that announce that the film has won the Israeli Feature Film Competition. The jury’s verdict: “Tom Shoval’s challenging film straddles between fantasy and reality. Through this unusual and profound social allegory, the filmmaker offers a sharp observation of Israel’s complex reality with a gaze that is both sobering and ironic”. We are delighted that the film has further been awarded with the The Aaron Emanuel Award for Best Cinematography and The Yossi Mulla Award for Best Original Score. 

Annemarie Jacir’s The Oblivion Theory received 25k EUR script development support from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. British sceenwriter Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring, Wuthering Heights) has started to write the screen adaptation based on the novel A General Theory of Oblivion, by José Eduardo Agualusa. We’re very thankful for this support and look forward to the next steps alongside our co-producers Incognito Films and O Som e a Furia!

The film directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart and Lars Eidinger was released in Chinese theaters on March 19 on over 10.000 screens and remains in the top 10 in the second week. So far, the film has grossed 3,5 Million USD with over 600k admissions. And counting…

The Berlinale Co-Production Market has been an amazing kick-off for Annemarie Jacir’s The Oblivion Theory, where it has won the top prize of the market, the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of 20k EUR. A unanimous decision, said the jury members Luís Urbano, Els Hendrix and Tine Klint. The award ceremony took place online on March 03. We’re honored to be part of this project, alongside Eric Dupont’s French company Incognito Films. 

Our Russian-German-Belarusian co-production took another important step into the award season by qualifying for the Golden Globes as Best Foreign Language Film. The nominees will be announced on February 02, with the award ceremony set for February 28 in Beverly Hills, California.

Vadim Perelman’s Persian Lessons has been chosen as the Belarusian contender at the upcoming 93rd Academy Awards. The film was completely shot in the country and stars Lars Eidinger and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart. Cohen Media Group will release in the US, who have a great track record of nominees and winners in the International Feature Film category, most recently The Salesman. Sales are handled by Memento, releases across major European territories are planned for the next 2 months.

After many awards and a successful career at festivals and at the box-office worldwide, Isabel Coixet’s The Bookshop now arrives on the small screen. The Free TV Premiere will be this Friday 06 at 8:15pm CET on ARTE. After that, the film will stay available on the Mediathek until December 05. Don’t miss it!

EAVE Puentes is the most relevant and successful training program for developing European-Latin American co-productions. It is divided into two modules: the first one to take place online due to COVID-situation and the second one in South Tirol on March 21. We’re proud of our producer being one of 14 selected participants for this year’s edition of this renowned program.

Our Russian-German co-production Persian Lessons, directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Lars Eidinger and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart had a great opening in German theaters, despite the COVID safety measures. The film went straight to no. 1 in the Arthouse Charts and now remains in the top 10. Further releases are planned in Russia, UK, Spain, Italy, France, and the US in the next months. Memento International is in charge of world sales. Alamode Film distributes in Germany.

Vadim Perelman’s latest feature starring Lars Eidinger and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart is in the selection for the European Film Awards 2020! Our Russian-German co-production had a successful world premiere at the latest edition of the Berlinale and was sold worldwide by Memento International. Alamode Film will release in the German theaters on September 24. The EFA nominations will be announced on November 7. The EFA Ceremony will take place in Reykjavik on December 12.

Our new co-production with producers Helen Olive and Martin Bertier from French company 5à7 Films received financial support from the German-French MiniTraité (FFA/CNC). Wild Encounters is Sarah Arnold’s debut feature, following her award-winning short films Totems (Locarno’s Golden Pardino) and The Quartet (Torino’s jury prize). The project’s also got supported by Region Grand Est, Region Ile-de-France, Grand Region, Torino Script Lab and Full Circle Lab.

British distributor Curzon has just released Grímur Hákonarson’s The County online via Curzon Home Cinema. Our Icelandic-Danish-German-French co-pro received great local reviews from The Times and The Guardian, whose top film critic Peter Bradshaw gave it 4/5 Stars. Click here for the trailer and streaming link. The director will also take part of a live Q&A on May 25, which will be also stay available on Youtube afterwards.

After receiving a standing ovation at its wold premiere during the Berlinale, US-distributor Cohen Media acquired Vadim Perelman’s Persian Lessons for North America. Sales agent Memento International also closed deals for other key territories such as France (KMBO), Latin America (California Filmes), Spain (Avalon), Scandinavia (Scanbox), AU/NZ (Rialto), South Korea (Jinjin Pictures), China (Infotainment) and Poland (Best Film), for a total of over 50 countries. The German release will be on May 7 through Alamode Film.

Named a „landmark advance in the field of cinematic memoir“ by Variety after it’s 2018 Sundance premiere, Jennifer Fox’s film The Tale will be aired on free TV in France and Germany this Friday, March 6, at 20.15 CET. The film stars Laura Dern, Ellen Burstyn and Elizabeth Debicki and was nominated at the Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes and Indpendent Spirit Awards, among others, after being sold worldwide to HBO.

Leonard Kunz was nominated in the category Best Actor for his role in The Most Beautiful Couple.

Jan Speckenbach’s Freedom competes in the category Best Fiction. Since 1964, the Grimme Prize honors television programs that contribute to an excellent use of the specific possibilities of the TV medium and can serve as a role model for television practice in terms of form and content. The award ceremony takes place at the Grimme Institute in Marl on January 29. 

After premiering at Toronto IFF and at Hamburg IFF, our Icelandic co-production opens in German cinemas on January 9th! The film is Grímur Hákonarson’s follow-up to Rams, which won Cannes Un Certain Regard back in 2014 and went on to get almost half a million admissions in Europe. International critics have been very positive. Alamode Film will distribute in Germany. New Europe Film Sales handles international sales.

Grímur Hákonarson’s latest feature will celebrate its German premiere competing at the Filmfest Hamburg. The film was reviewed warmly at its international premiere in Toronto: „Arndis Hronn Egilsdottir gives a commanding performance as Inga, Hákonarson keeps it focused and involving to achieve a satisfying conclusion“ (SCREEN) and „an audience-pleasing Icelandic drama that is the yin to ‚Rams‘ yang“. (VARIETY). The film will be released in Germany by Alamode and has already secured distribution in over 20 countries. Sales are handled by New Europe Film Sales.

The founders and managing partners, Sol Bondy and Jamila Wenske, have decided to part ways. Bondy will continue to run the company with investor and partner Christoph Lange. Fred Burle, One Two Films’ project manager since 2017, has started working on his own projects as a producer. One Two Films will continue to focus on international cinema. Jamila Wenske has taken her projects to a new home, Achtung Panda! Media GmbH.

The latest feature by director Grímur Hákonarson will celebrate its world premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019. The film follows up Grímur’s debut feature Rams, which won Un Certain Regard in Cannes back in 2015. It’s co-produced with Icelandic Netop Films, Danish Profile Pictures and French Haut et Court. SR / ARTE will broadcast in Germany and France. New Europe Film Sales handles world sales; Alamode distributes in Germany.

After an award-winning festival career, The Most Beautiful Couple is hitting the German screens on 2nd May! The film, distributed by Koryphäen Films, has also received a nomination at the German Film awards for Luise Heyer in the category of Best Lead Actress – with the award ceremony taking place the day after its theatrical release, on May 3rd.

Our co-production Under the Tree will hit cinemas nationwide on the 16th of May! It premiered in Venice, won an incredible 7 out of 12 nominations at the Icelandic Film awards, was the country’s contestant for the Oscars 2018 and the second highest box office of the year in Iceland. The black comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson has been released all across Europe. Farbfilm Verleih distributes it in Germany.

Adam Fillenz, the cinematographer of our six-country co-production Hier, has been nominated for the Vilmos Zsigmond’s award at the Zsigmond Vilmos International Film Festival. The goal of the festival is to draw attention to an important co-creator of films, the cinematographer. It takes place from May 28 to June 1st in Szeged, Hungary. Congratulations to Adam! 

Luise Heyer has been nominated as Best Lead Actress at the German Film Awards! We congratulate her for her amazing performance in our film. The award ceremony will take place on the 3rd of May in Berlin, one day after its theatrical release in Germany. Fingers crossed!

The project by German writer Knut Mierswe and director Birgit Möller, starring Jella Haase, won the Junior Entertainment Talent Slate (JETS) pitching competition at the Berlinale, confirming industry support from a broad range of international participants. The initiative unites up-and-coming filmmakers and their feature film projects with producers, sales agents, financing companies and distributors from a number of European countries, Canada and the US.

The ball keeps rolling in the US-award season, as The Tale got three nominations to the Critic’s Choice Awards in the categories Best Film (TV), Best Actress (TV or Limited Series) for Laura Dern and Best Supporting Actress (TV or Limited Series) for Ellen Burstyn. The award ceremony will be held at a gala event to be aired live on the CW Network Sunday on January 13, 2019, from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, US.

Our six-countries co-production Hier (Tegnap) by Balínt Kenyeres was selected for the International Film Festival Marrakech and will celebrate its African premiere in the section The 11th Continent. The festival takes place from November 30 to December 8 and highlights the best movies out of the festival circuit from the last year.

The Tale swoops two more nominations in the award season! Jennifer Fox’s Sundance breakout is nominated for two Satellite Awards in the categories for Best Motion Picture Made for Television and Best Actress for Laura Dern. The Satellite Awards are presented by the International Press Academy and the award ceremony will take place in February 2019 in Beverly Hills.

The Tale has now been nominated for Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay (Jennifer Fox) and Best Editing (Anne Fabini, Gary Levi, Alex Hall) for the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards! Also, The Gotham Awards have also nominated Jennifer Fox for the Bingham Ray – Breakthrough Director Award and the film is up for the Audience Award too (IFP members can vote here). The award ceremonies will be held on November 26 in NewYork and February 23 in Los Angeles.

Tom Shoval’s second feature received 180.000,- EUR funding from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. The project is our newest co-production with long-time partners Green Productions (IL), with Les Compagnons du Cinema (FR)  joining the producer’s team. The film stars Berenice Bejo and is executive produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Principal photography is scheduled for early 2019. World Sales are handled by Wild Bunch.

The new feature by the award-winning director Bettina Blümner has granted 200.000,- EUR fund from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. The film stars Victoria Schulz, Leonard Scheicher and Hanna Hilsdorf. Broadcaster ZDF / ARTE and distributor Neue Visionen are also on board. Principal photography to start in spring 2019 in Cuba.

Sven Taddicken’s The Most Beautiful Couple won the Hamburg Producer Award at the Hamburg Film Festival. The fantastic camera-work follows the brilliant actors, supported by a precise edit and original use of music and sounddesign, the jury remarked. Next screenings will be at the Filmfestival Cologne and Nordic Film Days Lübeck. Zorro Film will release the film early next year, Beta Cinema handles world sales.

Sven Taddicken’s sixth feature will celebrate its world premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018. The film stars Maximilian Brückner and Luise Heyer. It was funded by Filmstiftung NRW, MBB, FFA and co-produced with french Arsam International. World Sales are handled by Beta Cinema, Zorro Films will release in Germany. 

After successful screenings at the biggest film festival in South Africa, The Tale was awarded twice at the closing ceremony. Congratulations to Jennifer Fox for the Best Screenplay and to Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Levy for the Best Editing!

Bálint Kenyeres’ Tegnap (Hier) will play in the Cineasti del Presenti competition at the 71th Locarno Festival. The six-countries co-production stars Vlad Ivanov, Djemel Barek and Gamil Ratib and was funded by Hungarian National Film Fund, CNC Avance sur Recettes & Nouvelle Technologies, Film i Väst, MEDIA Program and The Netherlands Film Fund and supported by SR / arte.

After a sucessful career in the cinemas of Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina, Isabel Coixet’s new feature, starring Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy and Patricia Clarkson hits the british theaters on June 29. The adaptation of the story by Booker Prize-winning novelist Penelope Fitzgerald won 3 Goyas (best film, best director and best adapted screenplay) and had its international premiere in the Berlinale Special Gala section. World sales are handled by Celsius Entertainment.

Variety has released its 10 Producers to Watch for 2018 and we’re thrilled to have our both producers included in the diverse mix of producers from the U.S. and the thriving international film scene. Variety Producers to Watch, which was originally launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998, returned to the Croisette last year and will once again be presented there this year.

HBO Films announced that The Tale, starring Laura Dern and Ellen Burstyn, will premiere at 10pm on Saturday, May 26. Also a first teaser was launched. The film celebrated its world premiere in the US competition at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received standing ovations at every screening. The HBO acquisition was the second highest deal of the festival.

Isabel Coixet’s new feature won best film, best director and best adapted screenplay. The adaptation of the story by Booker Prize-winning novelist Penelope Fitzgerald has been a success at the Spanish box office so far grossing €2.47m. International premiere is up next as a Berlinale Special Gala session. World sales are handled by Celsius Entertainment. German distributor is Capelight.

The black comedy by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson was the big winner in the Icelandic Film Awards, winning 7 out of 12 nominations. Awards includes Best Film, Director, Screenplay, VFX, Lead Actress, Lead Actor and Supporting Actor. Farbfilm will distribute the film in Germany. World sales are handled by New Europe Films Sales.

German distributor Film Kino Text launched Jan Speckenbach’s second feature starring Johanna Wokalek and Hans-Jochen Wagner theaters on February 08th. On top of that, distributor Corinth Films bought the rights for the US and Canada. World sales are handled by Pluto Films.

The Spanish-British-German co-production starring Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy and Patricia Clarkson and directed by Isabel Coixet – which has already generated over 430k admission to date in Spanish cinemas – will celebrate its international premiere at the 68. Berlin International Film Festival in the Berlinale Special Gala section. Celsius Entertainmenthandles world sales. Capelight will distribute in Germany.

The debut feature of renowned documentary filmmaker Jennifer Fox starring Laura Dern and Ellen Burstyn will premiere in the “U.S. Dramatic Competition” of the most important film festival in America. The US-German co-production with A Luminous Mind Productions, Untitled Entertainment and Blackbird Films was financed with the support of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Gamechanger Films and ZDF / arte.

World sales New Europe Film Sales has inked a host of deals on the Icelandic Oscar entry. The IS / PL / DK / DE co-production, directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, has secured distribution in over 25 countries, including US (Magnolia), China (Times Vision), France (BAC), UK (Eureka), Australia/NZ (Palace) and Spain (La Aventura).

Bálint Kenyeres’ debut feature was selected for the “Work In Progress” programme at Connecting Cottbus and will compete for the “COCO Post Pitch Award“. The project is also looking for distribution and world sales.

Isabel Coixet’s upcoming feature won the prize for Best International Literary Adaption for „The Bookshop“ at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2017. World sales are handled by Celsius Entertainment. German distributor is Capelight.