Film Shorts International # 2
Netribution: Good News for Creative People
Italy
€3m will be distributed to all cinemas that work to program quality Italian and European films in the next 12 months. This is the amount allocated by the Ministry of Culture for the "Schermi di qualità" (“Quality Screens”) project, which is aimed at "continuing to support the circuit of small, arthouse theatres that have been severely penalised in recent years, and best promote and distribute quality Italian and European films", said Director General of Cinema Gaetano Blandini at a press conference.
Ireland
Oscar-winning producer John McDonnell from Fantastic Films has been selected by the Irish Film Board as his country’s representative for the 7th Producers On The Move initiative organised by the EU’s European Film Promotion during the Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28). McDonnell started out in the film industry as a location manager, working on films such as Mike Newell’s Into the West, Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father and Braveheart by Mel Gibson.
United Kingdom
Two European films awarded at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival are finally being released today on UK screens: the Dutch/ German/French/Israeli co-production Paradise Now by Hany Abu-Assad, released on eight screens by Warner Bros, and French comedy Crustacés et coquillages by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, launched under the English title Cockles and Mussels by Peccadillo Pictures on eight screens.
Portugal
Following the increase of Portuguese titles in the programme of the upcoming IndieLisboa, the association Zero em Comportamento will organise a parallel film market called Lisbon Screenings, set to take place at the ICAM headquarters from April 21-23. The aim of the screenings is to broaden the visibility of recent Portuguese films among international buyers and the programmers of international film festivals. Holland’s Fortíssimo Films has confirmed its presence in the screenings, as have programmers from Toronto, Locarno, Rotterdam, Berlin (Forum), Sundance, Melbourne and Adelaide (Australia) Film Festivals.
Hungary
The first part of shooting finished last week on Delta, the third feature by talented Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó, whose previous film, Johanna, was shown in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Mundruczó won a Silver Leopard at Locarno 2002 for his first feature Pleasant Days, and has once again chosen to work with his favourite actress Orsi Tóth, who will head the bill alongside Lajos Bertok, Martin Wuttke and Mari Kiss.
France
Shooting begins tomorrow on Anna M., the third feature by Michel Spinosa following 1994’s Take Me Away (in competition at Locarno) and The Enchanted Interlude in 2000. Heading the bill is Isabelle Carré (César for Best Actress in 2003), alongside rising stars Gilbert Melki and Anne Consigny. The film revolves around erotomania, a delusion in which a person believes that another person is in love with them.