TheFishChild Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cannes in 60 Seconds: Sunday, May 17, 2009
Filed under: Deals », Cannes », Festival Reports », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »

And on the fifth day of the Cannes Film Festival, it snowed (actually, part of a promotion for Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, due out in November). Meanwhile, Rachel Weisz walked the red carpet and talked about her role as a fourth century astronomer, and Lars Von Trier's Antichrist provoked both boos and applause.
Key Screenings. Out of Competition: Alejandro Amenabar's Egyptian historical epic Agora (with the aforementioned Rachel Weisz). Press screening: Lars Von Trier's polarizing Antichrist. Competition: Johnny To's Vengeance (with Johnny Hallyday as a French chef with a murderous past), Brillante Mendoza's crime-themed drama Kinatay. Robert Guediguian's tale of Nazi resistance during World War II, The Army of Crime. Un Certain Regard: Pavel Lounguine's Russian historical drama Tzar. Directors' Fortnight: Denis Villeneuve's school shooting recreation Polytechnique, Riad Sattouf's teen coming of age flick Les Beaux Gosses.
Films Sold. The festival is a great time to conclude and/or announce distribution deals. indieWIRE brings word that Regent Releasing / Here Media have acquired Lucia Puenzo's The Fish Child and Eran Merav's Zion and His Brother. The former, from the director of XXY, tells of a romance between an upper-class teenage girl in Argentina who falls in love with her family's 20-year-old Paraguayan maid. The latter, from a debut director, is a coming-of-age drama about two brothers, "set in a gritty neighborhood in Haifa, Israel." Look for both films in theaters early next year.
Thomas Balmes' doc Baby(ies) is still in post-production, but Focus Features has seen enough; they picked up US and other rights to the film in a deal announced today. They plan a release in 2010. The film "simultaneously follows four babies, in Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco, and Tokyo, respectively, from birth to first steps," according to indieWIRE.
After the jump: The critics divide on Antichrist.
Tribeca Fest Announces Lineup (Part One)
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Gay & Lesbian », Independent », Tribeca », Cinematical Indie »
The Tribeca Film Festival has been in the news lately for significant personnel changes, but what about the movies? This year's edition gets underway on April 22, and Cinematical has received a list of the first 38 of the 86 feature films that will be screened. A few titles that jumped out at me:
The Eclipse. The great Ciaran Hinds stars in an "atmospheric drama about a widower who sees and hears strange things in his house." Hinds was fairly magnificent in the TV series Rome and stood out in Steven Spielberg's Munich. Add to that Iben Hjejle and Aidan Quinn as writers the widower encounters at a literary festival, and this is a drama that I want to see.
The Fish Child. Lucia Puenzo made the well-regarded XXY and now comes a "a passionate love story in the arms of a pulsating thriller." I love the idea that for her sophomore feature, the director has made what is evidently a very different type of movie than her quieter debut drama.
Stay Cool. The Polish Brothers (Northfork) return with a "charming comedy" about a high school reunion of sorts, with Winona Ryder and Hilary Duff. Manure was sharply criticized at Sundance just a couple of months ago; could Stay Cool possibly be any good? Winona Ryder doesn't get seen enough, and Hilary Duff has made interesting choices, so this could be surprisingly good -- or another train wreck.
Outrage. Documentarian Kirby Dick, who made the terrific This Film is Not Yet Rated, turns to the subject of "the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to." I'm hoping it's as sensational as it sounds.
After the jump: The complete announcement. Browse away, and tell us what looks good to you!









